New Delhi has lived up to its fearful reputation of disappearing kids with over 1,500 children - mostly between 6 and 15 - reported missing in the first five months of this year and only few are expected to return home. By Indo-Asian News Service: New Delhi, the capital has lived up to its fearful reputation of disappearing kids with over 1,500 children -- mostly between 6 and 15 -- reported missing in the first five months of this year, according to police figures. And only few are expected to return home, going by the past trends on tracing missing children. The latest data follows the disturbing trend of over a dozen children going missing in the capital each day and despite CCTV cameras and hi-tech aids, Delhi Police are finding it difficult to locate them. advertisement The success rate of Delhi Police is unimpressive, with a majority of the located children being those who return home on their own, according to crime record data. Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajan Bhagat said that the missing children mostly are in the age group of 6 and 15 and belong to economically weaker familes of downmarket areas of Delhi. "As per the data, around 12 to 15 children are reported to be missing every day in Delhi," Bhagat said. He said there was a possibility of the involvement of "some inter-state human trafficking gangs" who usually prowl the slum areas and abduct kids of "deprived and migrants families" for cheap labour. The capital has a bad record on account of missing children. As per government figures tabled in parliament during the budget session, nearly 27,000 children have gone missing in Delhi in the last five years and only 9,700 could be traced. Across the country, 30 per cent of the children remained untraceable, but in Delhi the number is the highest - 63 per cent. INITIATIVES LAUNCHED Bhagat said police have launched a scheme, "Pehchaan: Safeguarding the Childhood", as part of its anti-human trafficking drive. Under the 'Pehchaan' initiative, children belonging to poor families residing in JJ clusters and resettlement colonies are being registered and photographed from time to time with the district police "so that they can be traced if they happen to go missing in future", Bhagat said. Bhagat said the "situation is alarming" in the capital and "sometimes it is difficult to trace missing children since poor families do not even have photographs" of their children. Thus beat constables have been tasked to capture photograph of all kids in slum areas, he said. "Under the 'Pehchaan' scheme, we also create awareness with the help of NGOs from time to time about crime rates with minors and juvenile in the capital. We educate parents on how to take care of their children." HELP OF CYBER EXPERTS IN FINDING CHILDREN Sometimes police even take help of cyber-experts to trace those missing children who have access to cellphones and have social networking accounts. advertisement They are mostly aged 12-17 and such children leave their houses of their own volition. But sometimes they do access their social networking accounts and police cyber experts follow their IP addresses. But the number of such cases is minimal, a cyber expert officer said. Police also take help of NGOs as sometime children, who have been abducted and employed as domestic helps, get in touch with voluntary groups. These NGOs -- like "Bachpan Bachao Andolan" run by Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi -- play a crucial role in informing the police about exploitation of children. Satyarthi's group on May 18 rescued nine children -- aged between 7 and 15 -- from an illegal factory in old Delhi's Daryaganj area, where they were forced into slavery after being trafficked from Bihar. Also Read: Delhi's missing children: 12-15 kids disappear every day, 4 out of 10 never return Free education upto class 12 for children of HIV positive patients Missing children to be traced by face soon Also Watch: Delhi: Gas leak from container leaves several school children unconscious --- ENDS --- Beijing, June 15 China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved $150 million equity investment loan to the India Infrastructure Fund, the banks first such loan to fund private projects, a statement said today. The Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), who met in Jeju in South Korea, has approved $150 million equity investment to the India Infrastructure Fund, said a statement from the bank. The bank, in which India is a lead partner, has approved two loans and one equity investment totalling $324 million to support infrastructure projects in India, Georgia and Tajikistan. The Infrastructure Fund aims to invest in mid-cap infrastructure companies in India, and to expand the banks equity and loan deal sourcing pipelines in the private sector through its equity participation in this fund, the statement said. This initiative will benefit local infrastructure development by enhancing private capital inflows from global long-term investors, such as public pension funds, endowments and insurance companies, it said. Approving our first equity investment is another milestone for the Bank and will enhance our potential to source and fund high quality, private sector projects, said D J Pandian, Vice-President and Chief Investment Officer AIIB. These three projects demonstrate a growing sophistication in our ability to support our member countries across different region, he said. AIIB also approved loans to support transport and power projects in Georgia and Tajikistan. Besides India, the bank has granted $114 million loan for the Georgia Batumi Bypass Road Project, which is the banks first loan to Georgia, co-financed with the Asian Development Bank. The project aims to improve regional connectivity and efficiency of road transport along the EastWest Highway in Georgia. The project will construct a new, two lane road approximately 14.3-km long in a key section of the EastWest highway that skirts the port city of Batumi. The bank has granted $60 million loan for the Tajikistan Nurek Hydropower Rehabilitation Project Phase I, co-financed with the World Bank (IDA Credits and Grants). The project aims to rehabilitate and restore the generating capacity of three units of the Nurek hydropower plant, improve their efficiency and strengthen the safety of Nurek dam operations. The AIIB was officially established late last year with 57 founding members. With authorised capital of $100 billion, China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 per cent voting shares. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 per cent followed by Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany with 4.5 per cent. PTI Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 15 Textile traders across Punjab under the aegis of different associations observed a complete shutdown today to press for their demand for exemption from the GST. According to traders, all major cloth markets in the state, including Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Bathinda, Jagraon and Barnala etc remained closed. The GST Council has imposed 5% GST on textiles. There are about 60,000 textile traders, including retailers and wholesalers, in the state. The bandh was observed on the call given by Gujarat and Rajasthan textile traders associations. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 14 Residents will have to pay for parking from June 19 as Arya Toll Infra Ltd has decided to start paid parking at all 26 lots in the city that day. The parking places have been without a contractor for over a year leading to a huge loss to the MC and chaos for the public. The Mumbai-based company has been allotted the parking contract for Rs 14.78 crore. This time, the MC had decided to give the contract of the parking lots to one company rather than small contractors who failed to live up to the expectations of the residents. Sandeep Vohra, project director of the company, said the company would take charge of all parking lots from June 19. He said the company would charge the existing rates Rs 2 for two-wheelers and Rs 5 for four-wheelers for the next three months. The new rates on an hourly basis would be charged once the complete infrastructure was set up at the parking lots. Toll-free number The company will start a toll-free number 18001231819 for residents to lodge complaints. They can also lodge complaints through WhatsApp. By Press Trust of India: By Shirish b Pradhan Kathmandu, Jun 15 (PTI) The Nepal government today postponed the date of local-level elections in the disputed Madhesi-stronghold province number two by nearly three months, adding a third phase in the polls. With the move, which came following a Cabinet meeting, the polls will now be held in three phases of which the first phase was concluded in provinces 3, 4 and 6 on May 14. advertisement The second phase in Province 1, 5 and 7 will be held on June 28 and the third phase in Province 2 on September 18. The local-level elections are being taken place across Nepal after a gap of 20 years. They should be held in every five years but due to political instability, they were halted since May 1997. The government and the agitating Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJP-N), agreed on the postponement of the elections in Province number 2 following a joint meeting held on Thursday. According to Nepali Congress sources, an agreement to defer the polls was reached during a meeting between the two sides at the prime ministers office at Singhdurbar. "The talks with the ruling party leaders today were positive," said senior Madhesi leader Mahendra Yadav. Bara, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Parsa, Rautahat, Saptari, Sarlahi and Siraha are the eight districts under Province two, where the agitating Madhesi party, RJPN has a stronghold. The RJP-N leader said they would make decision on whether to participate in the June 28 polls after holding an internal meeting of the party. However, the RJP-N had threatened to disrupt the polls if their demand relating to the amendment to the Constitution was not addressed before the June 28 polls. The Nepal government has tabled a new Constitution amendment bill in Parliament to address the demands of the agitating Madhesi parties ahead of the local elections. Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution which they felt marginalised the Terai community PTI SBP CPS AKJ CPS --- ENDS --- SNM Abdi GRANTED that Rajnath Singh is not Narendra Modi's alter ego that special privilege is reserved for Arun Jaitley a polished English-speaking, clean-shaven version of Modi sufficiently important to be given the Ministry of Finance and Defence. But Singh is no push-over. Before becoming the Home Minister of India in 2014, he was twice the president of the BJP and a pretty successful Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, not to speak of his stint as Cabinet Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government. It's precisely because Singh is such a towering figure that I resent his failure to give Muslims their due while speaking about the Home Ministry's performance on the third anniversary of the Modi government. Singh said that although India has the world's second-largest Muslim population, the Islamic State has failed to set foot in our country. Then, abruptly shifting gear, the Home Minister applauded the security agencies for doing a great job by rounding up 90 IS sympathisers, and went on to praise the coordination between central and state agencies in combating the Islamic State. Just 90 odd sympathisers among India's 172 million Muslims say it all. Hence Singh should have praised India's peace-loving and law-abiding Muslims sky-high for vociferously rejecting the IS ideology. At this juncture, when Muslims are being subjected to extremist attacks on various pretexts across the country, the Home Minister's good words would have acted like a balm on their bruises and restored their badly shaken faith in the BJP leaders. To be honest, commending Muslims for keeping the IS at bay would have served the national interest more than patting policemen on the back. I am even more disappointed because Singh is not like Yogi Adityanath who ordered Hindus to rape dead Muslim women, or Mahesh Sharma who solemnly observed that A P J Abdul Kalam was a nationalist despite being a Muslim. Singh, in contrast, seems to have some civilisation values. Recently, he batted for Muslims like a true liberal who knows that endorsing weaker sections fortifies democracy. Addressing Directors General of Police in November, Singh truthfully said that, The threat of radicalisation by IS is not an issue because people who follow Islam in India love the country." He even went to the extent of adding that no innocent should be troubled and none of the offenders should be spared an acknowledgement of rampant violation of human rights of Muslims by the police in the name of terror. In future, Singh should use every opportunity and platform to give Muslims full credit for acting as a bulwark against IS and Al- Qaida. Ajit Doval, the National Security Adviser and ex-Intelligence Bureau chief, has given more marks to the minority community than to security agencies for the negligible number of IS recruits in our country. He openly said that it was Muslim parents who approached the police and intelligence agencies and sought their help in preventing their wards from joining. If families had hushed up matters or turned a blind eye to the indoctrination of gullible youths, IS would have got a headstart in India making the job of the police so much tougher and riskier. The selfless role of parents in fighting IS or Al-Qaida can't be over-emphasised. In March, when Lucknow's Sartaj refused to accept his slain terrorist son Saifullah's body saying that "a traitor cannot be my son", there was a scramble in Parliament to salute the father who put the nation before his progeny. There are unsung cases of parents taking a principled stand against their own children's descent into extremism. Singh would do well to cite these cases in future. His words will carry a lot of weight because as the Home Minister he is supposed to be in the know of all things good or bad happening in our land. Last year, Mohammad Naseer, a Tamil origin computer engineer was deported to India from Sudan for alleged IS links and arrested by NIA. His father, Mohammad Pakeer, a Dubai-based mechanic, voluntarily flew to Delhi to record a statement under Section 184 of the IPC before a magistrate corroborating how his son was drawn to jihad. The upright dad knows fully well that his statement will be used as evidence against his own son. In a similar case, NIA is using mother Gulshan Bhanu's letters to her son, Adnan Hasan Damudi, expressing her anger and disapproval for his unlawful activities, as key evidence against Damudi who is accused of being an online recruiter for IS. Equally significant is the consistent condemnation of IS and Al- Qaida by Muslim politicians and religious leaders ranging from Asaduddin Owaisi to Syed Ahmed Bukhari. Owaisi repeatedly calls IS fighters "dogs of hell" and says that the terrorist outfit's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi deserves to be chopped into pieces for the pain he is causing to Muslims worldwide. Not too long ago, 70,000 Muslim clerics in India issued a fatwa against IS and other extremist groups declaring that they were not Islamic organisations but the anti-thesis of Islam. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and seminaries in Deoband are Bareilly have issued statement after statement saying there is nothing even remotely Islamic about IS. Not surprisingly, Al-Qaida's Zakir Musa slammed and taunted India's Muslims this month for not joining the global jihad. He said: They are the most beghairat qaum (shameless community) in the world. Their sisters are getting abused and dishonoured and Indian Muslims keep screaming that 'Islam is peace'. They cannot speak up against oppression and injustice. Is this what our Prophet has taught us?" Musa's rant drew a measured response from Naved Hamid, president of All-India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat, an umbrella body of 14 organisations, who said: "We don't need lectures from a terrorist. We know how to fight our battles peacefully within the framework of our secular Constitution. Musa's stand will only please anti-Muslim forces in India." The minority community's unwavering faith in the judicial and democratic process despite provocations is one of the most wonderful aspects of our great country. That's why mass leaders like Singh should not miss even a single opportunity to praise the community for its impeccable behaviour and positive attitude in today's increasingly hostile environment, even if it means displeasing Modi, Amit Shah and Mohan Bhagwat who clearly believe in demonising and belittling Muslims in order to consolidate Hindus. The writer is a Kolkata-based senior journalist. Parveen Arora Tribune News Service Karnal, June 15 In violation of the order of the Supreme Court prohibiting signage, placard or hoarding about availability of liquor near national and state highways, Oasis Tourist Complex, a government undertaking, has put up a placard here saying Enjoy chilled beer at our Karna Lake bar just near about 501 metres ahead. Harman Sidhu, who had filed the original petition which led to the Supreme Court verdict banning liquor sale along national and state highways, would approach the state government over this violation. This is in violation of the order of the apex court, which has banned signage and advertisements on availability of liquor near highways. This signage is visible from National Highway 1, he said. Haryana Tourism is a government body and should behave responsibly by following the apex court order. It is setting a precedent for liquor traders, who use every opportunity to flout rules, he said. I have sent copies of the complaint to the Chief Secretary, DGP and Karnal DC and SP, he added. The in charge of Karna Lake and Oasis Tourist Complex did not consider the act to be in violation of the Supreme court ruling. He said it was displayed in the vicinity of the complex and was not visible from National Highway 1. He made it clear that he would get it removed if it violated norms. Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Naresh Kumar said displaying the availability of liquor was banned. I will get it checked and it will be removed if it is found to be a violation. Action will be initiated against violators, he said. Tribune News Service Ambala, June 15 The cloth market remained closed here today to protest the Centres decision to levy 5 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on textiles. A cloth merchant said taxes would make it difficult for small traders to do their business. The Centre has decided to impose 5 per cent tax on textiles and 12 per cent on readymade garments, which is unacceptable. It should withdraw its decision or we will be forced to keep shops closed for a longer period, said Harish Chadha, president of the Ambala Hosiery and Textile Market Association. REWARI: Cloth markets wore a deserted look on Thursday as all wholesale and retail merchants shut their shops. Merchants said they had been passing through a difficult phase due to slowdown since demonetisation. They threatened to hit the streets if cloth trade was not taken out of the GST ambit. It is for the first time that any tax has been imposed on the sale of clothes. The GST regime has come into effect at a time when cloth merchants are struggling due to adverse effects of demonetisation, said Arun Sehgal, a local cloth merchant. Rajeev Jain, another trader, said it was not feasible to follow all GSTguidelines. Retailers buy clothes from wholesalers on credit, return unsold clothes and pay as per convenience. It is not easy to maintain ledgers in this situation, said Madan Lal, yet another trader. KARNAL: Cloth merchants shut their shops on Thursday to oppose the new GST regime. Some merchants refused to seek GST registration, citing that the industry had always been exempted from tax. Various associations jointly observed a bandh here. They handed over a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to DC Mandeep Singh Brar. We handed over a memorandum to local Member of Parliament Ashwini Chopra two days back, said Narinder Bamba, president of the Karnal Suit and Saree Traders Association. PANIPAT: Thousands of cloth merchants observed a day-long bandh here on Thursday. Members of around 40 associations took out a march towards the Mini-Secretariat here. They also submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister to the City Magistrate. Around 25,000 small-scale cloth-manufacturing units and 1,500 cloth shops remained closed. The bandh hit business of around Rs 1,000 crore while around 3 lakh labourers remained without work, said Rakesh Chugh, president of the Chamber of Manufacturing of Textile Association. Naveen S Garewal Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 15 Whats in a name? Lots, if it has a Bhupinder Singh Hooda connect. That perhaps was the reason why two senior BJP ministers went all out to announce that the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had been renamed as Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran to end the HUDA-Hooda resemblance. However, it now turns out that the issue was neither on the agenda of the June 1 Cabinet meeting, nor was any decision on changing the name taken. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Responding to an application by RTI activist Hemant Kumar, Under Secretary of the Cabinet Branch, Haryana Civil Secretariat, has written that the move to change the name of HUDA was neither on the agenda of the Cabinet meeting, nor has any decision been taken. The straight reply has put the Haryana ministers in an awkward position for misstating facts. After the Cabinet meeting, Health Minister Anil Vij had said that any reference to HUDA was often misunderstood as talking about Hooda since it rhymed with the name of the former Chief Minister. Questioning of Hooda by CBI was read as wrongdoing by officers of HUDA, so the Cabinet has rechristened HUDA, he was quoted as saying. Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi said the same day that the government found it apt to have HUDA renamed in Hindi, the way Gurgaon was changed to Gurugram and Ballabhgarh to Balramgarh. The RTI activist had also written to the Governor about adopting the proper procedure to change the name of HUDA through suitable amendment(s) to the Haryana Urban Development Authority Act, 1977 so as to facilitate change of its abbreviation/acronym from HUDA to HSVP as decided by the Haryana Cabinet. He even suggested that since the Assembly was not in session, the government can resort to promulgation of an ordinance. Shyam Sood Rajouri, June 15 A youth who was accused of molestation by the wife of an Army soldier surrendered at the Rajouri police station today. The accused, Nadeem Ahmed, a resident of Jawahar Nagar, was booked by the police on a complaint of the victim on Tuesday. The victim had also alleged inaction by the police in dealing with her complaint and to express her resentment, she uploaded a video on the social media which went viral on Wednesday. Taking strong notice of the viral video, the state police chief directed the SSP, Rajouri, to take cognisance of her allegations and take stern action against the accused. The victim, mother of two children, had alleged that Nadeem Ahmed had been forcing her to adopt Islam and tie the knot with him for the past three years. On June 9, Nadeem allegedly intercepted the victims vehicle near the Jamola bridge and tried to outrage her modesty. Well before the video went viral, the police acted swiftly on the complaint of the victim and registered a case against the accused under Sections 323, 341, 354 and 506 of the RPC. The allegations of the victim against the police are totally baseless, said SSP Yougal Manhas. The accused, who was absconding, surrendered before the police today, he said. Victim had alleged inaction by police Vikas Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, June 15 Of the total 2,527 roads/bridges sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) by the Ministry of Rural Development to J&K, only 1,383 projects have been completed while 1,144 are still pending. This was revealed in a regional review meeting regarding the yojana which was held at Shimla on June 1 and 2 under the chairmanship of Rajesh Bhushan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development and Director General, National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA). Sources said of the total sanctioned length of 13,672 km, the state has constructed 7,118 km of roads as nearly 6,554 km of the sanctioned length is still pending for completion. The Director General of the NRRDA said there were nine districts in J&K with less than 40 per cent road connectivity. These are Baramulla, Doda, Kathua, Poonch, Kargil, Kupwara, Rajauri, Srinagar and Udhampur. J&K has a total of 304 habitations which are not connected. The representatives from the state in the meeting said the detailed progress reports of 116 habitations had already been submitted to the NRRDA and the left out habitations would be reconciled by the end of July this year, the sources added. The Central ministry had asked the state to hold review meetings with programme implementation units besides fixing targets for completion of the ongoing road works in a time-bound manner. The state was requested to submit a plan of action of all incomplete road works to the Ministry of Rural Development. The ministry also expressed concern over the non-completion of 514 road works pending for more than four years. Pertinently, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was launched on December 25, 2000, as a fully-funded Centrally sponsored scheme to provide all-weather road connectivity in rural areas of the country. The programme envisages connecting all habitations with a population of 500 persons and above in the plain areas and 250 persons and above in hill states, tribal and desert areas. Jammu, June 15 Pakistan on Thursday violated the ceasefire by shelling mortars and firing small arms on forward posts and civilians areas along the LoC in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing strong retaliation from Indian troops, the Army said. There have been 11 ceasefire violations in the last five days and total 15 along the LoC and the international border in Jammu region since January 1 in which one civilian was killed and seven others were injured. The Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of mortars, small arms and automatic weapons from 1400 hours in Naushera sector along the Line of Control in Rajouri district, Defence Spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta said. Indian troops are retaliating strongly and effectively, and the firing is on, he said. Two Pakistani soldiers were yesterday killed in retaliatory fire after they breached the truce, targeting forward posts and civilians areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts. There were 3 ceasefire violation on June 12. PTI Samaan Lateef Tribune News Service Srinagar, June 15 Amid controversy surrounding the goods and service tax (GST) in J&K, the state government has decided to constitute a panel of experts to build consensus on its implementation, which is likely to get delayed beyond the scheduled date of July 1. After criticism from the Opposition and even some leaders of the ruling PDP, official sources said the PDP-BJP government had decided to constitute a panel comprising members from all political parties along with constitutional and economic experts. The expert panel is aimed at building a consensus before implementing the GST in the state, an official in the General Administration Department, which is likely to issue an order on Friday, told The Tribune. The panel has to submit its report to the government within two weeks, he said. The constitution of the panel has put shadows on the special session of the Legislative Assembly on the GST, commencing from June 17 to 21. A senior PDP minister said, We are just holding the obituary session on June 17 and the rest of the session will be deferred till the expert panel submits its report. He said the implementation of the GST would get delayed beyond July 1, when the Centre government was planning to roll the GST across the country. Before implementing the GST, we want our people, particularly business community, to get satisfied with what we are going to do. We want broader discussions on the GST before implementing it, he said. The ruling PDP-BJP government wanted to extend the 101 Amendment of the Indian Constitution to J&K by virtue of which the GST came into effect. However, it faced resistance from the opposition political parties, saying it would erode the fiscal and political autonomy of J&K, which is shielded from the Central laws by its special constitutional status within the Indian union. J&K draws its power to levy taxes from Section 5 of its constitution while other states draw their power to tax from Article 246 of the Indian Constitution.The opposition parties have been accusing the government of making haste on the GST implementation and demanded the postponement of the GST session. The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Legislative Assembly, which is meeting on June 17 at 10 am, an hour before the commencement of the GST session, has been entrusted to decide the calendar of the session. Vikas Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, June 15 Taking note of government degree colleges allegedly not updating their official websites which often result in hardships to students to find relevant information, the J&K Higher Education Department has asked all these colleges to update their websites and provide all information about the courses being offered to students. Pertinently, there are a total of 96 government degree colleges in J&K, including 46 each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions and four in Leh. Sources said the department issued the directive after it came to the fore that at the time of admissions in these colleges, a majority of them did not have their websites updated. There was no mention of new courses being offered by the institutions, faculty position, intake capacity, introduction of professional courses, etc. The sources said another reason for this directive was that the department had taken several steps to vocationalise undergraduate courses in various degree colleges and new institutions like architecture colleges, nursing colleges, cluster universities and engineering colleges were also being established. Keeping this in mind, the department had made it mandatory for all colleges to have updated websites to attract new students and to serve the needs of students currently studying in these colleges. These college websites must provide all relevant information about the courses being offered that can boost students career prospects and employability. Moreover, information on achievements of colleges, curriculum, courses offered, admissions, academic profile of each faculty, etc, must also be placed in public domain through college websites. Therefore, it is enjoined upon all principals of government degree colleges to establish official websites of their respective colleges by utilising the services of faculty members of computer departments, a Higher Education Department circular said. It further stated that the colleges which were already having such websites must ensure their regular update and those institutions where faculty members of computer subject were not available, they could seek necessary assistance from the respective nodal principals. Goa is the most popular choice for a monsoon getaway among Indian travellers, while they stick to Bali for an international short-haul trip, according to a survey. The survey, conducted by online accommodation booking website Hotels.com, analysed data on hotel searches made by users. The searches were conducted for stays during the period of June to September 2017, which became the foundation to develop the India Monsoon Travel Hotlist for this year, read a statement. The data reveals Goa to be the most popular destination this monsoon, with four of its towns - Candolim (which was the most popular), Calangute, Arpora and Baga making it to the top 10. The village of Arpora in Goa registered a massive 91 per cent increase in hotel searches in comparison to 2016. Mumbai found second spot in the list with 49 per cent increase in searches as compared to 2016. It was followed by Delhi at 50 per cent increase in searches. Other places mentioned in the list include Udaipur, Bengaluru and Jaipur. Jessica Chuang, Hotels.com Director, Regional Marketing Greater China, South East Asia and India, said: The 2017 Monsoon Travel Hotlist reveals significant insights about Indian travellers especially, their preference for quick, mini-vacations and a renewed interest in exploring their home country.IANS Salman Khan fans in Pakistan are in for some major disappointment. Tubelight will not see a release in Pakistan this Eid. By India Today Web Desk: It's now official. Salman Khan's Tubelight will not release in Pakistan because no local distributor is willing to come forward and release it there. Apparently, Salman's extraordinary popularity among Pakistani audiences has proved to be a deterrent. According to the President of the Indian Film Exporters Association, Hirachand Dand, local distributors in Pakistan are hesitant to acquire the film since there are two big local films scheduled for an Eid release and the makers do not want any competition, especially in the form of a Salman starrer. advertisement "Salman has millions of fans in Pakistan and the filmmakers are in no mood to pitch their films against his. They are determined to protect the interests of their films instead," said Dand. Sources point out that there is a huge amount of money riding on the two big local releases, one of them being Yalghaar, touted as one of Pakistan's first ever international film, and the other being Shor Sharaba. Interestingly, Yalghaar, based on the sacrifices of the people and armed forces against terrorism, has premiere shows scheduled in the US, UK and China. According to Dand, there was initial speculation that Tubelight would have a delayed release after two weeks in Pakistan but that possibility is now likely to be ruled out due to the price factor. A Salman Khan film in the Pakistan market is said to come with a hefty price tag, and Dand reveals that the money has become a major point of contention. Directed by Kabir Khan, Tubelight is scheduled for an Eid release in India. The film is an official Hindi remake of the 2015 Hollywood film Little Boy. Apart from Salman, the film stars Sohail Khan, Om Puri, Chinese actor Zhu Zhu in pivotal roles. Tubelight is the story of village simpleton Laxman, who is devastated after his brother leaves to fight the 1962 India-China war. (With inputs from Siddharth Hussain) ALSO READ: Will Tubelight be able to break Baahubali 2's records? Salman Khan responds ALSO READ: Seen the Tubelight trailer? 5 intriguing points from the film ALSO WATCH: Salman Khan's Tubelight won't release in Pakistan --- ENDS --- Sanjeev Suri I WAS a student of Class VII at a government senior secondary school at Nagrota Bagwan, Himachal Pradesh, in 1984. The principal, a devout Sikh, was strict, making it difficult to take leave. A student had to appear before him in person to get leave sanctioned and no one wanted to do that. I needed to take leave in May to attend a wedding ceremony of my cousin at Batala. My parents had already left to help with the arrangements. The very thought of meeting the principal sent a cold shiver down my spine. Mustering courage, I entered his office and sought three days leave. His eyes seemed to pierce right through me. An official from the education board was sitting in his office, so he could not engage me in a long conversation. He granted leave, warning me: Three days mean three days. When my teachers and friends learnt that I was going to Punjab all by myself, they were surprised as Punjab was then in a deadly grip of terrorism. But the allure to go to my hometown was so irresistible that no bullet could suppress it. The next morning I boarded a bus for Batala. Just as the bus entered Punjab, I was gripped by fear. Only three days ago, terrorists had hijacked a bus, ordered passengers of a certain community to get off and shot seven. I was scared. When passengers got in the bus at various stops, I would eye them suspiciously. The journey seemed endless, but finally I alighted at my station. After attending the wedding, we had to leave for Nagrota the following day. But when we woke up, the entire town was surrounded by the Army and announcements were being made on loudspeakers, asking people to remain indoors. Indira Gandhi had sent the Army to flush out terrorists holed up in the Golden Temple. We were stuck. I had mixed feelings: I was happy at the idea of staying there for a longer period but was afraid of missing school, thereby earning the wrath of the principal. After a fortnight, we left for home. With great anxiety, I reached school. I did not agree to my fathers suggestion of accompanying me as parents at school were a rare occurrence! The child would become the centre of attraction for all the wrong reasons. The principal spotted me during the morning inspection of classrooms and was furious. He asked me the reason for missing school without permission. I told him the things my elders had been discussing at home and how the sanctum sanctorum was harmed in the cross-firing during Operation Bluestar. I saw pain and sadness on his face. That was unusual. We had only seen angry expressions on his face. While hearing my account, he kept silent, and moved his lips soundlessly. At the end, as he was leaving the classroom, he turned to the teacher and told her, Help the boy make up for the lessons he has missed. New Delhi, June 15 The Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi government has slapped a fine of Rs 27 lakh on the AAP for "unauthorised occupation" of a bungalow in Rouse Avenue here. The PWD has issued a notice to AAP national secretary Pankaj Gupta over its continued occupation of 206, Rouse Avenue as party office. Sources in the government said that as on May 31, the fine, which is essentially penal rent, amounts to Rs 27,73,802. The fine amount, which is 65 times the license fee, will pile up further if the party doesn't vacate the premises, the sources said. In April, the PWD had issued a notice to AAP's National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal asking him to immediately vacate the office, which it said that was allotted in "violation" of rules. The party had then said that it would seek a legal recourse against this action as other political parties too have been allotted bungalows to use as office space. The three-member Shunglu committee, formed by the then Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to examine over 400 files pertaining to the decisions taken by the AAP government, had pointed out "irregularities" in allotting the office. In November 2015, the AAP government had approved a policy for land allotment to state parties. The Kejriwal government then alloted a bungalow to the AAP on Rouse Avenue the following year. The bungalow was earlier alloted to Asim Ahmed Khan, the then Delhi minister, who was sacked over graft charges. PTI Dantewada (Chhattisgarh), June 15 A tribal student of Kirandul village of Chhattisgarhs Dantewada region has made his mother proud by securing a place for himself in the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Vaman Mandavi credits his 2912th rank in the IIT examination to his mother, who supported and funded his education by selling wood. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Mangali said she was happy with the achievement of her son. Vaman's father Chamro Ram Mandavi died after 10 months of Vamans birth. I raised him by selling wood. It was my dream to make my child a big man by educating him. We belong to the tribal society where children are asked to graze cow, gather produce, which affects their studies. But I sent Vaman to school to educate him, she said. She said the district administration and the government had contributed a lot for her sons success, adding that she got the support because of the free education scheme. Vaman, who completed his studies from a government school in his village, secured 72 per cent in high school and 76 per cent in intermediate. I want to fulfil my mothers dream. My mother has raised me with difficulty. I want to become engineer for her, Vaman said. ANI Panaji, June 15 A sadhvi attending a conclave of various Hindu outfits here has said those who eat beef should be hanged in public, sparking a row amid the raging debate over cattle slaughter and consumption of beef. The remark made by Sadhvi Saraswati on Wednesday evening was condemned by the Congress, whose leaders demanded that the BJP-led government in Goa lodge an FIR over the hate speech and put her under arrest. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Saraswati, president of Sanatan Dharma Prachar Seva Samiti of Chhindwara in MP, also likened eating beef to eating ones own mother. I would recommend the Government of India that those who consider it as a status symbol to eat the meat of ones own mother should be hanged in public. Then only people will realise that it is our duty to protect gau mata, the sadhvi said during the inauguration of the All India Hindu Convention at Ramnathi village here. She also exhorted the Hindus to keep arms at their homes to protect themselves. If we do not stock arms, we will be destroyed in future, she said. Today Bharat is under attack from all directions. Efforts are being made to separate Kashmir from Bharat and also stop the Amarnath pilgrimage. Bharatmata-Gaumata are under attack, she added. Slamming the demand by some political parties to ban the right-wing outfits calling for the creation of the Hindu rashtra, she said they should realise that no power in the country can prevent the Hindus from establishing the Hindu Nation. She also said there is no such thing as saffron terrorism, adding that saffron means dedicated life for the nation and dharma. About 130 Hindu organisations from 21 states and foreign countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, are attending the four-day convention, its organisers said. Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik said he had raised Saraswatis speech at the meeting of the Consultative Committee of Home Affairs, presided over by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, held in New Delhi today. Naik said Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who also holds the Home portfolio, should immediately take cognizance of the sadhvis statement and put her under arrest. Otherwise it would be presumed that BJP, including its national leadership, is in agreement with her views, Naik said in a press note. Reacting to the speeches made at the meet, All India Congress Committee secretary Girish Chodankar questioned the Manohar Parrikar-led state governments silence over them. Statements causing communal hatred are made during the convention. The state government has become a party to the entire programme by maintaining silence and allowing it to continue, Chodankar alleged. He also questioned Goa Forward Party leader Vijai Sardesais silence on the issue. Sardesai, whose party is now an ally of the ruling BJP, had in the past hit out at the VHPs claim that it would ban beef in the state. Why is he (Sardesai) silent over Sadhvis statement promoting violence? Chodankar asked. He said the government should have taken cognisance of the sadhvis comments on its own and filed an FIR against her for hate speech. PTI Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 15 As the number of farmers suicide rises in Madhya Pradesh and their counterparts from other states take to streets demanding loan waiver on the lines of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, experts say loan waiver can be a short-term solution but not a real answer to the countrys agrarian crisis. Several bankers and economists, including former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, had warned of repeated loan waivers affecting credit pricing and disrupting the credit market. However, given the political emotions attached with the community a huge vote bank spanning castes and religions the voices failed to draw support. Given the falling prices of produce and increasing production costs, an agriculture ministry official describes loan waiver as an atonement of sins for all kinds of restrictions imposed on farmers by governments while pandering to consumers. With states like Haryana and Uttarakhand jumping on the loan-waiver bandwagon, the issue could become a major worry for the ruling party in the Centre ahead of the 2019 General Election. Agriculture expert Sudheer Panwar says the government wants to double the farm income by 2022 through a transformation of Indian agriculture, but under present circumstances the only way it can fix some of the distress, despite a bumper crop, is by waiving debts, even though it is hardly a solution. Farm loan waivers can actually lead to adverse consequences, affecting agricultural outputs as wary banks get more selective in extending credit. But it has already been linked to the next General Election. If the BJP does not give an assurance on loan waiver to this huge vote bank, someone else will, he says. While political discourse continues to revolve around loan waiver and increasing the MSP, Panwar suggests identifying the farmers in real distress the small and marginal ones which comprise almost 90 per cent of the farming community in the country. The government needs to identify and make provisions for this segment. Loan waiver is not an answer for them as majority still depends on informal money-lending sector, he says. Despite the demand for it, some experts also believe increasing the MSP is also not the real answer. Only a limited number actually avails the benefit of the minimum assured price announced by the government, they say. Given that the benefit of the MSP does not reach a sizable number in the community, expert Devendra Sharma wonders why is no one talking about the segment comprising small and marginal farmers". Former agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain adds: Indian farmer has been under stress for the past three years, first due to consecutive droughts, then due to low prices. The demand for loan waiver is primarily a manifestation of farmers inability to receive remunerative prices. For many horticultural crops they are not even being able to realise the cost incurred." Sharma says it is time individual states devised specific plans, their own set of policies and individual farmer income commissions to suit specific needs. For example, the biggest mistake that CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is believed to have made was not being able to read the ground situation in Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, which was struggling to contain problem of the plenty, and take recourse. New Delhi/Islamabad, June 15 India on Thursday said Russia had not made any mediation offer to it to resolve Indo-Pak issues, and asserted that Moscow was well aware of New Delhis position of bilateral resolution of all such matters in a terror-free environment. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The remarks by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay came following reports in the Pakistani press that Russia expressed its intention to mediate between the two countries. A senior diplomat in the Russian embassy in New Delhi also rejected the reports and said it was Pakistans wishful thinking. The Pakistani media quoted Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying we welcome UNSC Permanent Member Russias attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda. Zakaria was asked about reported offer made by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO Summit earlier this month. Asked for his reaction, Baglay said, No offer of mediation was made by Russia to India. Russia is very well aware of Indias consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence. The senior diplomat in the Russian embassy also rejected reports of any mediation offer. We do not have any information of such an offer made by our president. Russia is clear in its position that Indo-Pak issues need to be resolved, bilaterally, and we will never ever suggest anything contrary to that. It seems wishful thinking on part of Pakistan, said the diplomat, on the condition of anonymity. PTI Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 15 The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre on a petition challenging its notification banning sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter. A Bench headed by Justice RK Agrawal asked the Centre to respond to the petition by July 11, the next date of hearing. On behalf of the Centre, Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha told the Bench that too much was being read into the notification, which was just an attempt to regulate livestock trade. The Madras High Court has already stayed the notification. At a press conference to highlight the achievements of his ministry, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government couldnt control eating habits of people. He, however, said there was a need to strike a balance because a large number of people in India revered cows and the Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution called upon the State to prohibit cow slaughter. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) He said Health Minister Harshvardhan had already clarified that the government was ready to review the decision. To a question on cow vigilantes, the Law Minister said the PM had made it clear that they would have to be dealt with firmly as per the law. Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 15 The Supreme Court on Thursday issues notice to the Centre on a petition challenging its controversial notification banning sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter. A Bench headed by Justice RK Agrawal asked the Centre to respond to the petition by July 11, the next date of hearing. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) On behalf of the Centre, Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha told the Bench that too much was being read into the notification, which was just an attempt to regulate livestock trade. The Madras High Court has already stayed the notification. Advocate Mohammed Abdul Faheem Qureshi who is also President of All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee had on June 7 challenged the Centres May 25 notification contending it was discriminatory and unconstitutional as it prevented cattle traders from earning their livelihood. He said slaughtering of animals for food and sacrifice was part of the cultural identity of certain communities and it was protected by law. Qureshi, who works with butchers and cattle traders, contended the order violated the law on prevention of cruelty to animals, which allowed sacrifice of cattle for religious purposes. The ban on trade in animals younger than six months and reselling of cattle within six months impinged trade, he said, adding right to life to included right to livelihood and trade. Farmers cant be forced to take care of an animal for six months and maintaining it better than his family members, he submitted. The Modi governments controversial notification bans sale of cattle, including cows, for slaughter and restricts cattle trade to farm owners. Those opposed to the order say it will adversely affect poor farmers and hit cattle supplies to the meat industry estimated to be worth Rs 1 lakh-crore. Cows are worshipped by millions of Hindus and Article 48, which falls in the chapter on Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution, mandates the State to prohibit the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle. Cow slaughter is banned in most states, except Kerala and northeastern states beef consumption is quite common. Many states have opposed the Centres notification order, as the Centre cant dictate food habits. The Centre said its notification was based on a Supreme Court order to prevent cow smuggling across the border. Based on the Section 38 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the new rules aimed to regulate livestock market and restrict trade in livestock only to animals bought for agricultural purposes. It meant that animals for slaughter had to be bought directly from farms, making it difficult to procure livestock for slaughter as besides the legal hurdles, livestock traders also had to face cow vigilante groups which have lynched several people in the recent past. New Delhi, June 15 Some caricatures drawn by a 10-year-old abandoned girl depicting her ordeal of being sexually assaulted by her uncle led to his conviction by a Delhi court, which said her "so-called saviour" repeatedly ravished her. In a one-of-its-kind case, the court relied on the sketch drawn by the child with the help of crayon colours on white sheet, given to her during the hearing to keep her busy and focused, showing commission of sexual assault upon her by somebody in her house after undressing her. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The court awarded five years imprisonment to the 45-year-old man, a resident of north west Delhi, for the offence of aggravated sexual assault. It said the girl was subjected to sexual assault by the man, but the assault was not penetrative. "If the elements of this drawing are considered in the background of facts and circumstances of this case, then commission of sexual assault upon her by somebody in her house after undressing her and the said fact having left impression upon her mind becomes evident. Therefore, I find the child victim to be a competent witness," Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav said. The court said that a close scrutiny of the drawing through the spectacle of a 10 years old child reveals that she has depicted an abandoned house in gloomy colours, a girl carrying some balloons with intermingled threads and her dress lying removed. "The plain and simple inference, which a person of ordinary prudence, without even having knowledge of facts of this case would make out that the drawing shows a girl child having intermingled relations and the removal of the dress of that child by somebody having created an impression upon her mind and the girl child having distant dream of a house," the court said. Meanwhile, the court also directed Delhi Legal Service Authority to pay a compensation of Rs 3 lakh to the child, living in a shelter home, for her welfare and rehabilitation. The incident dates back to 2014 when the child was brought to the house of one of her aunts, her father's sister, as her father who was a drug addict abandoned her and her siblings after the death of their mother. During her stay at her aunt's place here, she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her uncle who also threatened her not to disclose about his acts to anyone. When her aunt came to know about it, she sent her to a woman's house who obtained forced labour from the minor who did not like it and left the place. The court noted that under these circumstances, the girl abandoned the woman's house and started her voyage to an unknown destination with the aim to never return home. The incident came to light when the child confided in a bus conductor about her ordeal and he informed the police. Initially, the police was clueless about the address of the man. He was arrested on June 4, 2016 and is in judicial custody since then. During the trial, the man claimed innocence and said that he was implicated by the child at the instance of the police. The court also appreciated the efforts of two counsellors of NGO, HAQ Center for Child Rights, in rehabilitating the child and helping the police in getting the address of the man and his subsequent arrest. PTI Tribune News Service Ropar, June 15 The district police have registered cases of theft and under the Mining Act against AAP leader Harpreet Singh Kahlon. Raids were conducted on two screening plants of Kahlon, a confidant of Ropar MLA Amarjeet Singh Sandoa, late night at Algran and Plahta villages near here yesterday. Kahlon was the vice-president of AAPs Punjab unit till last month when all the state units were dissolved after the defeat of the party in the Assembly poll. Ropar MLA Sandoa alleged that these were conducted at the behest of Congress leaders who wanted to target him through his party associate. He alleged that a local Congress leader even tried to implicate him in the matter and he had evidence in this regard. I will raise the issue in the Punjab Assembly, said Sandoa. A case under Sections 379 and 188 of the IPC and 2 (1) and 4(1) of the Mining and Minerals Act was registered against Kahlon on the complaint of functional manager of Industry Department Rakesh Kumar. It is alleged that Dasmesh Stone Crusher at Algran was not registered. Similarly, a case has been registered on the complaint of mining officer Uggar Singh alleging that during the raid at Kahlon Screening Plant at Plahta village, the owner could not present the required documents pertaining to a stone crusher installed at the site. Two teams of the Mining Department headed by deputy director Vishav Bandhu and joint director (infrastructure) Daljit Singh Sidhu raided the screening plant and crushers of Kahlon at Plahta and Algran village, respectively. Both teams found raw material stored at the sites. Kahlontermed the action as political vendetta. He said he had all required documents but the raiding party did not ask for those. It went on and registered the cases. By Press Trust of India: New York, Jun 15 (PTI) More than one third of the devices that are used in open-heart surgeries may be contaminated with a life-threatening bacteria, putting patients at the risk of deadly infections, a new US study warns. Researchers from the Special Pathogens Laboratory in the US found that 33 out of 89 heater-cooler units (HCU) about 37 per cent tested positive for Mycobacterium chimaera (M chimaera) - a bacterium associated with fatal infections in open-heart surgery patients. advertisement HCUs control the temperature of a patients blood and organs during heart bypass surgery. "The extent of contamination from such a rare organism in multiple units from all over the country was surprising," said John Rihs, from the Special Pathogens Laboratory. Some devices remained positive for M chimera for months, indicating that disinfection can be difficult and routine testing is advisable, researchers said. "Beyond M chimera, we found other NTM species, Legionella and fungi, indicating these units are capable of supporting a diverse microbial population," Rihs said. The team assessed devices already in use for the presence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) colonisation (primarily M chimaera) in Heater-cooler units (HCU) before and after decontamination. Researchers tested about 653 water samples from 89 units received from 23 hospitals across the US and Canada. The team was surprised to find how contaminated the units were, with 97 cultures deemed uninterpretable due to high levels of bacterial and fungal contamination. Multiple other strains of mycobacteria were also detected in many of the units. HCUs have water tanks that provide temperature-controlled water during surgery through closed circuits. The water in the instrument does not come into direct contact with the patient, researchers said. However, the water can aerosolise, and if contaminated, transmit bacteria through the air into the environment, and to the patient, they said. M chimaera is often found in soil and water but is rarely associated with infections. However, patients exposed to the bacteria through open-heart surgery can develop general and nonspecific symptoms that can often take months to emerge. As a result, diagnosis of these infections can be missed or delayed, sometimes for years, making these infections more difficult to treat. PTI APA MHN SAR MHN --- ENDS --- Chandigarh: As news of Ajmer Aulakh's death broke before the beginning of the Budget session's second day, the Speaker read the obituary reference of Aulakh. The House observed a two-minute silence in his memory. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his Cabinet colleagues expressed grief over the demise of Aulakh. "His works were not mere literary creations, but a source of inspiration, with a message for underprivileged sections to lead their lives with dignity. His death leaves a void in the literary world and it can never be filled," the CM said. TNS Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 15 Sustained commotion by Shiromani Akali Dal MLAs on the second day of the Punjab Vidhan Sabhas Budget Session worked to the advantage of the Congress in blocking the move by the Aam Aadmi Party to rake up the issue of sand mining contracts, involving Power and Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit Singh. The prolonged pandemonium resulted in the Speaker adjourning the House twice and suspending Lok Insaaf Party MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains for the entire session, before calling off the days proceedings abruptly. In the absence of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Majitha MLA Bikram Majithia, Akali MLAs Ajit Singh Kohar, Parminder Singh Dhindsa and others flashing the Congress debt waiver forms strongly protested the rejection of their adjournment motion to debate the farmer debt issue as soon as the proceedings commenced. A volley of one-liners by Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu against the Akalis (calling them names) further provoked them. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) While the Akalis created commotion twice first on being denied discussion on the debt waiver issue and then demanding an apology from Sidhu the AAP MLAs, along with the Lok Insaaf MLAs, stormed the Well of the House when denied discussion on an adjournment motion on the sand mining issue. When the AAP MLAs did not relent and threw paper missiles at the Speaker, he ordered the marshals to evict them. But before they could act, the House was adjourned for the day. Outside, AAP MLA Sukhpal Khaira alleged a tacit understanding between the Congress and Akalis to block AAPs move to rake up the sand mining issue. Khaira went on to say that the Akalis raked up non-issues to create commotion on the flour of the House. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh was quick to lash out at the Aam Aadmi Party for the unruly and obnoxious conduct of its MLAs inside the Vidhan Sabha. Intervening in the discussion to flay the disruptive behaviour of Khaira, the CM said it was not the Kapurthala dangal where he could indulge in such acts. After the session, Capt Amarinder said it was an unprecedented act amounting to constitutional sacrilege. Regarding allegations against Khaira by another AAP member who claimed he had given the former Rs 20 lakh for a ticket, the Chief Minister said if any complaint was lodged against him in this regard, the State Government would certainly look into the matter. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra said the Question Hour was meant to reply to the questions raised by the MLAs. While the Akalis were demanding discussion during Zero Hour, the AAP legislators wanted a debate ahead of the calling attention notice moved by AAP MLA and Leader of Opposition HS Phoolka. Capt says mining auction transparent Dismissing all charges by AAP on the sand mining issue, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said the e-auction had been conducted in a transparent manner for the first time in the state, earning the exchequer huge revenues. Responding to a query regarding Wednesday's crackdown by officials of the Mining Department in Ropar at two screening plants which were found related to AAP leader Harpreet Singh Kahlon, the Chief Minister said the judicial commission probing the issue would look into all aspects of the mining auctions. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 15 The Budget session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here was adjourned for the day on Thursday after it witnessed pandemonium over the farmers debt and Rana Gurjit issues. Sad Akalis are not allowing house to run. They know we are committed to loan waiver. We will do what they didn't do in 10 years! Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) June 15, 2017 The Speaker adjourned the House for half an hour barely 15 minutes after it began. Shocked & disgusted at behaviour of AAP MLAs in Vidhan Sabha, not seen such disrespect to Speaker in 50 yrs in politics, strongly condemn. Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) June 15, 2017 The Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP MLAs stormed into the Well of the House demanding discussion on the farmers debt. Akalis know, they have to answer for many omissions and commissions they don't have answers for. They cannot run away from it. Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) June 15, 2017 The Speaker said the issue should be raised after Question Hour. The speaker did not relent and adjourned the session after Congress MLAs also raised slogans. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Akalis sought an apology from Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for abusing them. Akali MLAs also stormed into the Well of the House. The Vidhan Sabha paid homage to Punjabi writer Ajmer Singh Aulakh, who passed away in Mansa on Thursday. AAP leader Sukhpal Khaira waived a copy of The Tribune in the House, demanding a vigilance inquiry in the Rana Gurjit issue. The House was again adjourned for half an hour. Later, AAP MLAs walked into the Well of the House raising slogans against the sand mafia. They also threw papers at the Speaker and raised slogans against him. Following this, the Speaker ordered the eviction of AAP MLAs from the House. Ludhiana MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains was suspended for the entire session. After the House was adjourned for the day, AAP leader HS Phoolka announced to hold a mock session outside the House. Kuala Lumpur, June 15 Malaysia found two air force officers dead in a northeastern forest on Thursday after their fighter jet went missing during a training exercise, the chief of the countrys air force told reporters. The task of upgrading Malaysias ageing fleet of fighter jets is being complicated by defence budget cuts, as Prime Minister Najib Razak grapples with growing public discontent over the rising cost of living. French arms maker Dassault Aviation SA, which builds the Rafale fighter jet, is seen as a frontrunner to supply up to 18 new aircraft to Malaysias air force in a deal that could be worth more than $2 billion. The bodies of the two jet pilots Major Hasri Zahari and Major Yazmi Mohamed Yusof were found with their parachutes unfurled in a swamp in the state of Terengganu, said Affendi Buang, the chief of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). We saw the bodies and their parachutes, which means they had ejected from the plane, Affendi told a news conference broadcast on Facebook by Malaysian publication BH Online. We have yet to find the plane, he said at the event in Kuantan, about 400 km (249 miles) from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. Authorities lost contact with the British-made Hawk 108 fighter jet half an hour into the exercise, Affendi said, adding that a panel has been set up to investigate the incident, and the air force will temporarily ground all its Hawk 108 aircraft. Najib offered condolences to the pilots families in a message on social network Twitter, and vowed an indepth investigation. The last mishap involving a Malaysian-owned Hawk fighter jet was a 2003 jet crash off the coast of Kuantan during a training flight, killing both occupants. Thursdays crash comes six months after an air force twin turboprop Beechcraft B200T crashed at a base in northern Penang state during a training exercise, killing the pilot and injuring three. In May last year, two air force officers suffered minor injuries when their Aermacchi MB-339CM training jet crashed because of a faulty engine on a training flight, media said. Reuters Kabul, June 15 An explosion has struck a crowded Shiite mosque in Kabul late today, officials said, in the latest militant attack in what has been a bloody month of Ramadan in the Afghan capital. Terrorist attack on Al Zahra mosque in west of Kabul. Special forces have been sent to the area, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said on Twitter. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the assault. AFP Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today appeared before a Supreme Court-appointed team probing the Panamagate graft case, becoming Pakistan's first sitting premier to depose before such a panel. By Press Trust of India: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today appeared before a Supreme Court-appointed team probing the Panamagate graft case, becoming Pakistan's first sitting premier to depose before such a panel. "The day that creates history and sets a much required and welcome precedent for others to emulate," Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz tweeted along with pictures of the PML-N leader and his top aides just before leaving for the Judicial Academy - the JIT's temporary secretariat - amid tight security. advertisement Joint Investigation Team (JIT) chief Wajid Zia had summoned the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team on June 15 with all documents relevant to the case. HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW The summons was issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned last Saturday from Kazakhstan where he had attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. In its judgment of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted a JIT and empowered it to summon the prime minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money-laundering, through which the four apartments in London's posh Park Lane area were purchased. Sharif has denied any wrongdoing. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had questioned Sharif's sons - Hussain and Hasan - last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings. His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice. The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in the 1990s. On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six-member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons' alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case. The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time. It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister is appearing before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases. It is not yet clear whether Sharif will be questioned once or would be called again like his two sons. The JIT probing the offshore holdings of Prime Minister Sharif and his children has also summoned his younger brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to appear before it on June 17. Also read | Panama Papers: Nawaz Sharif to be questioned over family's wealth Also read | Panama Papers haunt Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan lawyers give him 7-day deadline to quit as PM WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- Volvo Trucks SuperTruck was revealed in September 2016. It achieved more than 12 mpg during the test run, and demonstrated an 88% improvement in freight efficiency and a 70% improvement in fuel efficiency over the baseline truck, a 2009 Volvo VNL 670. Photo: Jim Park The September 2016 unveiling of Navistars SuperTruck brought to a close the first round of the U.S. Department of Energy funded research and development project aimed at improving freight efficiency and reducing heavy-truck fuel consumption. The results were spectacular. And that begs the question, where do we go from here? HDT reported on each SuperTruck as it was unveiled, and looking back, one can see the similarities in the various approaches the truck makers took, as well as those unique to each project. The most obvious development in each case was the aerodynamic work. All the OEs went long on aero, an easy target. Thats not to say the task was simple, as there was extensive design work along with modeling and testing. But at the end of the day, the closer each could get to the ideal aerodynamic shape, i.e., something similar to a rain drop, the greater the gains would be. Each OE ran into the brick wall of trailer shape, of course, but added a lot of bolt-on gear to the trailer to change what they could. The rear of Daimlers trailer featured a rear fairing, a sculpted underride guard and tapered lower side skirts. The concept was similar across all four trucks, but execution was slightly different. Photo: Jim Park All used full-length trailer skirts that reached from close to the ground up to the bottom rail of the trailer. The problem is the potential for body damage resulting from day-to-day use. Fleets would never accept the maintenance problems associated with that sort of side skirt, but its interesting to note that some of todays newer products are taller than previous versions. Maybe there is a growing acceptance that the aero benefits might outweigh the maintenance headaches. The Cummins-Peterbilt truck featured retractable side skirts that could swing inward to provide about 8 inches of ground clearance when needed. On that trailer, the skirts had to be retracted manually, but Peterbilt said the system could be easily tied to road speed and deployed automatically at higher speeds where the likelihood of hitting something is low. On top of the skirting, each of the SuperTruck teams added various aero treatments to the nose and base of their trailers to improve airflow, and each achieved varying degrees of success. All the aero devices were add-ons, rather than factory installations from trailer makers. Navistar did something no other team did, and that was to fundamentally change the shape of the truck. The suspensions on the steering axle and the trailer bogies could each be lowered by a couple of inches while at highway speed, while the drive axle ride-height did not change. That gave the entire vehicle a slight airfoil shape, which is proven to be more aerodynamic than a flat trailer at a uniform height from front to back. Several trailer makers overseas are designing trailers with a tear-drop shape, which lowers the back of the van body by close to a foot. Its said to produce a 12% improvement in fuel economy, but you give up a lot of height at the door opening. Interestingly, Navistar says the aero treatment applied to the trailer has more of an impact on the tractor rather than the other way around. Dean Oppermann, chief engineer for advanced vehicles and the SuperTruck group at International, told me his team approached the aero problem from back to front. An engineer from another OE once told me it would make great sense for the truck makers to acquire their own trailer manufacturer and to begin designing trailers to match their tractors aero profiles. The Cummins/Peterbilt SuperTruck was the first project completed in February 2014. At 10.7 mpg on the official test run, it demonstrated a 75% increase in fuel economy, a 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and an 86% gain in freight efficiency. Photo: Jim Park Semi-advanced technology The four SuperTruck projects yielded an impressive list of what I respectfully refer to as semi-advanced technology new ways of looking at an old problem. By the projects nature, everything was a bit of a science project intended to demonstrate ways of reducing emissions and improving freight efficiency, not to pass the market test for feasibility, cost/benefit, and fleet acceptance. That said, we saw clutched air compressors that cut in only when the truck was coasting or braking, not when it was running under power, thus harvesting energy from the momentum of the vehicle. We saw components such as fans, oil and water pumps and the like operating at variable speeds and on an as-needed basis, further eliminating draw on the engine. We even saw an old idea reimagined in a louvered radiator opening that remains closed most of the time for better aerodynamics, and opens only when air flow is needed for cooling. There were some interesting tweaks to electrical systems where 48-volt charging and storage systems were used to power components such as HVAC compressors and hotel loads on three-voltage busses, 12, 24 and 48 volts. Each different voltage was assigned to a component or system that operated more efficiently at a voltage other than the current 12 volts. The early generation of a Rankine Cycle waste heat recovery system proved the concept works, but it was heavy, complex and expensive. Photo: Jim Park We also saw wide use of lithium-ion storage cells as well as AGM batteries for hotel loads and ultra-capacitors for starting. Each of these has its own advantages, and when the technology was applied in a thoughtful manner it produced fuel-saving results. Lightweighting also got wide exposure across the four projects, with something like 3,000 pounds, give or take, shaved off each of the baseline trucks before an additional 2,000 pounds of hardware was added. This yielded a net weight reduction of about 1,000 pounds per truck. Volvo, for example, used an all-aluminum frame for a savings of 900 pounds along with liberal use of carbon fiber in the tractor body panels. The Cummins-Peterbilt truck used aluminum-matrix brake drums, which are 50 pounds lighter than cast iron drums. That team also used variable-gauge steel in some crossmembers and magnesium in others. Lightweight metals were also used in the cab and trailer for additional weight reduction. Daimlers SuperTruck was the second project completed. It was unveiled at the 2015 Mid-America Trucking Show. At 12.2 mpg, it achieved a 115% freight efficiency improvement, and hit 50.2% brake thermal efficiency. Photo: Jim Park 11L engines All the aerodynamic trim and the work that went into lowering rolling resistance and mechanical drag on the powertrain allows the trucks to cruise at 65 mph with a gross weight of about 65,000 pounds at an astonishing 125-140 hp. The 11L engines used by all but the Daimler and Volvo teams came in lighter, had less internal parasitic drag and took up less space under the hood than a 13L or 15L engine allowing for additional aero modifications. Torque does most of the work with a downsped driveline, but in the real world we need horsepower on hills. These small-block engines delivered adequate horsepower and torque for this exercise, but probably would not be embraced except by really forward-thinking carriers whose freight lanes allowed them. Navistars SuperTruck, the fourth and final truck, was revealed in September 2016. Called CatalIST, it achieved a freight efficiency improvement of 104% compared to the DOEs control vehicle, 50.5% brake thermal efficiency, and it ran the test course at 13 mpg. Photo: Navistar The U.S. DOE set specific energy saving targets for SuperTruck I, and they were all shattered by the four SuperTruck teams. The goal of the project was to get truck and engine makers thinking beyond products that can be commercialized in three to five years. Many of the technologies developed for the project have already found their way into current OEM offerings, and others are a model-year or two away. Others may be 10 years out, but these demonstrations will give engineers and consumers an unprecedented opportunity to see which technologies have potential, and which do not. Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ... European dramas, Monterey Pop at 40 and John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the Old West are featured in art-house cinema showings this week. NEW AT CIRCLE CINEMA Paris Can Wait: This grown-up drama and travelogue (a car trip from Paris to Cannes) has Diane Lane as the lonely wife of a movie producer (Alec Baldwin) whose French car companion reawakens her emotions. Wakefield: Bryan Cranston stars in this mental-health drama about a man whose nervous breakdown leads him to begin living in the attic of his familys home. Sami Blood: A teen girl hoping to escape racism toward her Sami background looks to escape her family and culture and change her identity in this Swedish drama. Monterey Pop: One of the great rock-music documentaries is director D.A. Pennebakers look at the famed 1967 summer of love concert featuring Jimi Hendrix, Simon & Garfunkel and many more. The 7 p.m. Friday screening features rare photos and trivia, while all showings feature a video introduction by Pennebaker and video highlights of the directors visit to the Circle in 2016. SOMM: Into the Bottle: The Circles Wine & Film series continues with this 7 p.m. Tuesday movie and a post-film wine tasting and discussion with special guest Jarrod Jordan, proprietor of Mixco and a certified sommelier. NT Live: Salome: National Theater Live showing of Salome set for 6 p.m. Thursday, including pre-show trivia and giveaways and champagne served at intermission. ALSO... El Dorado: A film-classics series continues with showings of the 1967 John Wayne-Robert Mitchum Western. Screening at 2 p.m. Sunday and 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesday at Cinemark Tulsa. Zakaria said there was a growing realisation among countries in the region and the United Nations that India's "unprovoked hostility" along the Jammu and Kashmir border threatens peace. By Indo-Asian News Service: Pakistan today said it welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin's reported offer to resolve tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. "Pakistan welcomes Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said. Zakaria said there was a growing realisation among countries in the region and the United Nations that India's "unprovoked hostility" along the Jammu and Kashmir border threatens peace. advertisement India, on the other hand, has rejected any third-party mediation in its longstanding dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir and related issues like cross-border terrorism. Also read: Pakistan's tall claims fall short: Russia denies holding 'secret talks' with Islamabad to join China-Pak Economic Corridor Russia doesn't have tight military ties with Pakistan: Putin tells Modi --- ENDS --- OKLAHOMA CITY Sen. Joe Newhouse, a member of the Navy Reserve, will be deploying to northern Africa as part of the fight against terrorism, the Oklahoma Senate announced Thursday. He will likely miss the 2018 legislative session. Newhouse, R-Broken Arrow, has been a member of the Senate since 2016. His district includes south Tulsa, Bixby, Broken Arrow and Jenks. Before seeking elected office, he was a jet pilot in the Navy with the rank of lieutenant assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. He flew multiple combat missions during the Iraq War. After completing his service, Newhouse returned to Tulsa and continued to serve in the Officer Reserve Corps as a Navy Commander and military advisor to NATO. When you are in the reserves, you know there is the possibility that you could be deployed at any time, Newhouse said. Although my service in the Senate could have possibly exempted me, I would not want to be treated differently than any other reservist especially in light of recent terrorist attacks in England, France and around the world. We have to stop these murderous attacks on innocent people, and right now northern Africa is a hotbed for terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, Boko Haram and more. In 2014, Oklahoma voters passed State Question 769 that allows elected officials to remain in office after they are called to active duty or service as a member of the National Guard or reserves. Newhouse said he will be in contact with his Senate office, fellow senators and constituents during his deployment and will return to the Capitol when his tour is complete. I want to assure my constituents that my office will continue to be available to them while I am on active duty, he said. To all who live in District 25, I want to thank you for your patience and understanding, and humbly ask for your prayers for all who are serving in the military and for our families here at home. I am honored to fight for our country and the freedoms we hold dear, and I look forward to returning to my family, friends and loved ones and continuing my service in the Oklahoma State Senate. Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus, thanked Newhouse for his service. Its because of the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the Armed Forces that we are able to live freely in this country, Schulz said. I will continue to pray for Sen. Newhouse and his family during his deployment and also pray for his safe return. Newhouse serves on the following Senate committees: Appropriations; Appropriations Subcommittee on Select Agencies; General Government; Judiciary; and Veterans Affairs. He runs his a real estate investment business. The victims of a deadly robbery at a Eufaula bank last year are suing Tulsa County, Creek County and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections as a result of the shooters improper release from prison. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in McIntosh County District Court on behalf of Bank of Eufaula President Randy Peterson, who was shot and killed by Cedric Norris in January 2016. Also listed as plaintiffs are Betty Howell, a bank employee who was shot but survived the ordeal, and members of their families. The suit accuses the two counties and the DOC of failing to ensure Norris prison sentence in Oklahoma was carried out after he finished another sentence for robbery in Texas. Records show Norris, who was fatally shot by state troopers during a pursuit after the robbery, was released from Texas prisons twice despite having a 60-year prison term to serve in Oklahoma for robbery convictions in Tulsa and Creek counties. Creek County District Attorney Max Cook previously told the Tulsa World that a communication failure between Texas and Oklahoma was responsible for Norris freedom. Norris was first released from Texas Department of Criminal Justice custody following a two-year term for a burglary conviction in 2007. Three weeks earlier, he received sentences totaling 60 years in Oklahoma. His second release came in 2012 after he served 12 years of a robbery sentence. Norris requested a detainer so he could be returned to Oklahoma for his sentence there. He sent a handwritten motion to Creek County in July 2010 stating Texas refused to send him back to Oklahoma without the detainer form. No action was taken despite the document being filed, according to state records. Apparently there was a breakdown in communication, I guess, whether it was Texas fault or Oklahomas fault, Cook said. The lawsuit states the bank robbery in Eufaula happened because the Oklahoma Department of Corrections took no action to ensure Norris return from Texas. On the morning of Jan. 21, 2016, Norris walked into the Bank of Eufaula and shot Peterson, who died at the scene. He then reportedly took an undisclosed sum of money from a teller and tried to abduct Howell at gunpoint. Norris shot Howell after she resisted and forced a customer, Julie Huff, to leave with him and enter a getaway car parked across the street. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the McIntosh County Sheriffs Office and Eufaula police caught up with the vehicle as it fled north on U.S. 69. The pursuit ended on a road east of the highway near Onapa. Officers exchanged gunfire with Norris, who was shot and killed. Huff was critically wounded during the shootout. The lawsuit is brought under the Oklahoma Government Tort Claims Act, which limits the reward money that can be recovered. According to a news release from the plaintiffs attorneys, the act required them to first submit their claims in writing to the defendants. The Department of Corrections reportedly denied the claims, while neither Tulsa nor Creek County responded. The release also states the plaintiffs filed the suit because they seek accountability and want to make sure the same kind of mistake is not made again. OKLAHOMA CITY Gov. Mary Fallin and several other governors on Thursday met with President Donald Trump to talk about workforce development. Trump signed an executive order to expand apprenticeships and vocational training. The order removes federal restrictions that prevented some industries from creating apprenticeship programs, its supporters say. Fallin launched Oklahoma Works in 2015 to ensure students are prepared for high-quality, high-paying jobs that the state wants to retain and attract. Her office says the program was modeled after the America Works initiative she created in 2013 when she was chairman of the National Governors Association. Aligning our education and workforce training programs to provide relevant work skills will be the best way to keep job growth strong, Fallin said. I appreciate President Trumps leadership and commitment to education and workforce issues, and his executive order to make policy changes that encourage more apprenticeship programs. In March, Fallin was one of three governors who went on an National Governors Association-sponsored trip to Germany and Switzerland to study apprenticeships. The goal of the trip was to learn how those countries effectively leverage apprenticeships as a key workforce and economic development strategy, and to provide governors with ideas as they look to build globally competitive talent development systems in their states. Fallin was expected to leave Washington, D.C., later in the day for the Paris Air Show. She will lead a trade delegation, said Michael McNutt, a spokesman for the governor. While overseas, Fallin will also visit Denmark as part of an economic development trip, McNutt said. The Oklahoma Business Roundtable covers the cost of the governors trip to Paris and Denmark, he said. Fallin is expected to return June 24, McNutt said. After being escorted out of the hospital, the man got into his vehicle and rammed into a security vehicle. He then sped toward the security officers, attempting to hit them, and the officers "fired one shot each at the vehicle in self-defense," Saint Francis said in a press statement. Authorities released the names Wednesday of the police officer and sheriffs deputies who fatally shot a mentally ill man as he entered a north Tulsa convenience store while carrying knives last week. Joshua Barre, 29, was fatally shot Friday morning by two Tulsa County deputies and one Tulsa police officer as he held two large knives in his right hand and entered the Super Stop convenience store at 4449 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The shooting sparked demonstrations at the site, with hundreds of people turning out to protest. Police officers and deputies donned riot gear, but the tense situation eventually simmered down. The Tulsa County deputies are William Ramsey, 49, and Brandon Walker, 41. Ramsey was hired April 18, 1989. Walker was hired Feb. 1, 2005. The Tulsa police officer is Donnie Johnson, 32. He was hired July 1, 2008. The deputies and officer are on routine paid administrative leave. Ramsey and Walker were awarded unit commendations in 2015 for their work in the Sheriffs Offices Mental Health Unit, according to The Shield, a Sheriffs Office internal publication. Ramsey also received the award in 2010. The two received letters of commendation in 2014. Ramsey was named the departments Deputy of the Year in 2006. In May of that year, Ramsey shot a woman as she was driving while he and his partner were investigating a dispute that involved the womans firing a single gunshot into the air, according to court records and Tulsa World archives. Ramsey and his partner both in the Sheriffs Offices Mental Health Unit were in the area to serve an unrelated mental health civil paper at an apartment complex near 61st Street and Peoria Avenue in south Tulsa. The woman was acquitted in September 2007 of assault and battery with a deadly weapon (automobile). She was convicted of discharging a firearm in a public place. A civil rights lawsuit filed by the woman in February 2008 alleges that a bullet shot by Ramsey struck under her jawbone on her left side and passed through her neck and mouth before exiting through her right cheek. She argued that the vehicle she was driving posed no threat to the deputies. A Tulsa federal judge ruled in December 2009 in favor of Ramsey. An appeal was dismissed in September 2010. The Tulsa World reported in December 2016 about Johnsons initiative in handing out stuffed animals to children on most of his shifts keeping a bag of them in the trunk of his patrol vehicle. Barres family said he stopped taking medication for his schizoaffective disorder in April, which led to a decline in his mental health. His family questions why authorities didnt or couldnt act sooner to safely detain Barre. His sister, Nyesha Barre, said that they failed him as a mental illness patient by not handling the situation before it escalated to his death. The Sheriffs Office and Police Department say they gave Barre every chance to drop the knives and also attempted to subdue him by Taser, holding off on using deadly force until he became an imminent threat to the public. Before Friday, the Sheriffs Offices Mental Health Unit had made three unsuccessful attempts to detain Barre on a May 31 court order for him to receive a mental-health evaluation or treatment. On Friday morning, two deputies made verbal contact with Barre near his home in the 300 block of West 50th Court North and requested police assistance because Barre was walking in the street and carrying two large knives. The Tulsa Police Department received four separate 911 calls from residents who reported that Barre was walking with knives. Sheriff Vic Regalado said he was unsure whether the two deputies were in the area because they were trying to serve the order a fourth time or were there on an unrelated matter. A police statement says the deputies told Barre they were there to get him help but that Barre refused to drop the knives or stop and threatened to kill them. Barre continued walking toward Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and then walked south toward the Super Stop. The distance from first contact to the convenience store is about a mile. Regalado said one of the deputies attempted to use a Taser on Barre in the businesss parking lot. However, both probes didnt make contact to complete the electrical circuit, he said. Tulsa Police Sgt. Shane Tuell said he believes that the officer arrived as the two deputies and Barre approached the convenience store. Tuell said the officers car was parked in the north end of the lot. Surveillance video from inside the store released Friday evening by police shows Barre carrying two large knives in his right hand as he opened the door and entered. The police statement said the officer and two deputies who fired the shots feared for the lives and safety of occupants of the business, so they fired their handguns. The video shows the Tulsa police officer firing shots at Barre, but neither deputy can be seen in the video. Regalado said a deputy was on each side of the entrance, putting the two deputies and single police officer in a triangle configuration. By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached a Delhi-based jewellery groups Rs 7 crore bank deposits, the amount equivalent to the value of alleged assets stashed abroad, in connection with its probe into the Panama Papers case. It was the first action by the ED against alleged illegal accumulation of assets abroad after the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) was amended recently to empower it to act in such cases. advertisement The central probe agency said in a statement that the seized funds "relate to A K Mehra, Deepak Mehra, Shalini Mehra and Naveen Mehra of Mehrasons Jewellers of Delhi". The Rs 7 crore funds are lying in various bank accounts in the country. Through the recent changes in the FEMA, the ED was empowered to seize equivalent property in India, if there is a suspicion that any forex, foreign security or any immovable property located outside India is held in contravention of the Act. This section or amendment was brought in FEMA in 2015 as part of the Union governments strategy to combat black money stashed abroad. "In the matter of Panama leaks, during the course of investigation, it was found that huge amounts were sent out of India by mis-utilising the scheme of liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) of the RBI in the garb of making investments abroad by the Mehras of Mehrasons Jewellers of Delhi. "The amount remitted outside India was given as interest free loan in individual capacity by the persons to two companies in the British Virgin Islands and later on transferred to a company in the UAE which is owned by one of the persons," the ED said. The agency said, at present, around Rs 10.54 crore is still "parked outside India illegally by the persons". The jewellery group has at least four showrooms in popular market areas in the national capital. "Further investigation is in progress," it said. There are about 500 Indians named in the Panama Papers list which include prominent businessmen, film celebrities and those belonging to lucrative professions. These names, along with those from other parts of the globe, were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) a few years ago. The government had subsequently created a multi-agency group (MAG) of probe agencies to go into these cases, comprising the I-T department (CBDT), its foreign tax wing, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), financial intelligence unit and the ED. PTI NES SMN --- ENDS --- Editor's Note: The Tulsa World spent a year producing a six-part narrative on what remains perhaps the state's most infamous cold case: the unsolved murders of three girls Lori Farmer, Denise Milner and Michele Guse at a Girl Scout camp near Locust Grove 40 years ago. Arrested after an intense manhunt, Gene Leroy Hart, who was charged with the crimes, was ultimately acquitted after a sensational trial. The series examines the details of what happened and the lingering effects on those who survived. CHAPTER FIVE: TRYING TO FIND GOOD Please water her African violets. It had been one of Michele Guse's farewell instructions for her family before she left for Girl Scout camp. They promised her they would. And that promise would be kept even after they knew she was not coming back. Unlike the purple flowers, though which became a way to keep Michele's memory alive what Richard Guse discovered growing in his heart in the months afterward was not beautiful. And, he decided, it needed rooting out. "I was bitter and angry at the time of my daughter's murder," he told the Tulsa World in a previous interview. "It's an easy thing to do hate and that will consume you. "I decided something has to come from this from her life." That something began to take shape in 1980 three years after the deaths of Denise Milner, Lori Farmer and Michele Guse as Guse threw himself into victim's rights efforts in Oklahoma. Becoming a leading voice and volunteer, he told Michele's and his family's story again and again, pushing for passage of the Crime Victim-Witness Bill of Rights, a package of laws adopted by the state Legislature. Praised by the bill's sponsors as their "No. 1 lobbyist," Guse from there was appointed by the governor to the Crime Victims Compensation Board, which was created in that effort. "This is my commitment to our situation," Guse said in 1994 after 13 years of never missing a board meeting. "Because of my daughter, maybe the world will be a little better place to be. ... Hopefully, some good is coming out of this." In the immediate aftermath of a tragedy, finding some good in it is a tall order. With this story, even after 40 years, the picture is still complicated, the memories painful. Among those connected to the case, that's certainly true for the Girl Scouts. Lauren Zeligson, spokeswoman for what is now Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma, said the murders "marked a point in our history of unspeakable pain for the families, girls, our council, its supporters and surrounding community. Our hearts continue to go out to the families and Girl Scouts that were lost." For four years after the crimes, with Camp Scott's closure, Tulsa-area Girl Scouts had no summer camp. Then, land was acquired in Osage County, and Camp Tallchief was established. Surrounded by a large fence, Tallchief introduced cabins rather than tents for Scouts to sleep in. Security measures also were heightened. With other improvements made through the years, including most recently new cabins, Tallchief continues to be "everything we thought it would be and more," Zeligson said. Not only does it reflect that "the safety of our girls is our highest priority ... (but it) offers better opportunities for our girls to engage in outdoor experiences that are the hallmark of our summer camp program." As the organization tried to find its way forward after the murders, it also had to weather criticism. The Farmers and Milners filed civil lawsuits against the Magic Council, claiming its negligence was partly responsible for the deaths of their daughters. In 1985, the case was brought to trial, with the plaintiffs seeking a total judgment of $5 million. Testimony from former campers and counselors included claims of thefts and strange happenings in the days leading up to camp, and on the night of the crimes, screams heard in the night and sightings of a strange man. But in the end, the jury ruled in favor of the council. Two years later, the decision was upheld by the state appeals court. In interviews over the years, Sheri Farmer has remained critical of the organization, particularly for the way she says it closed ranks, treating her as an adversary rather than a grieving parent as she tried to get information. Today, Farmer says her anger has softened. But she adds that she is "still resentful." In later interviews, the organization conceded that in the interest of the girls it served, it had wanted to protect its image. Plenty spoke up for the organization, too, however. One of the campers at Camp Scott in 1977, Amy Sullivan is now a college history professor in St. Paul, Minnesota, and wrote her master's thesis on how the Tulsa council preserved outdoor programs for girls after the murders. "They saved camping for us," the former Tulsan said. "They saved that experience for girls here." "My place in this story is as someone who has loved the Girl Scouts, who stayed in the Girl Scouts." For Dick Wilkerson and others on the investigative side, the Girl Scout murders case remains the one that taught them "the good guys don't always win." "We had 'the Lord on our side.' We were right and I thought that was all that was needed, " said the former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation deputy director. Stunned at the time by the verdict, years later he came to understand it better, he said, noticing what he believes are parallels with the O.J. Simpson case. It was a situation where "people could not believe that somebody who they thought they knew could do something like this," Wilkerson said, adding that he now thinks of the Girl Scout case as the "O.J. (case) before O.J." That factor "created a general atmosphere," in his opinion, that ultimately influenced the jury. Wilkerson later became a state senator, where the experience was on his mind when he sponsored successful legislation funding a DNA database and upgrading the state's forensic testing capabilities. But 40 years later, he said he still hurts for the investigators, who he says were unfairly "maligned." "There was no appreciation for what these officers had sacrificed. The worst thing you can say about a career law enforcement officer is to accuse him of corruption. Or incompetence." To frame Hart and fabricate evidence, "Think what would've been necessary. OHP, OSBI, Mayes County sheriff, Mayes County DA, the FBI. ... All would've had to have gotten together. You couldn't get all those people to agree it's daylight outside." Wilkerson's brother, Mike Wilkerson, was an agent on the case, and together they co-wrote a book that defended the investigation. Titled "Someone Cry for the Children," it was later made into a documentary. "I was proud of that investigation," Dick Wilkerson said. "Our guys did great work and under adverse circumstances." As for Sheriff Pete Weaver, who suffered a heart attack before the trial, he went on to lose his re-election bid in 1980. In a later interview, Weaver said the case still haunted him. How "a man like Gene Leroy Hart could become a folk hero," he added, was something he would never understand. Now in his 80s, Ron Shaffer, too, is still unable to put the case behind him, he said. "The pictures of those little girls such little bitty innocent things to be brutalized like that," the former chief prosecutor said. "Those are still with me. I guess they always will be." Shaffer, who went on to become a Tulsa County district judge, said he hasnt changed his mind about the case and believes "in my heart we had the right man." The prosecution is not allowed to request a change of venue, he said. But if it had been, "I think it would've made a hell of a lot of difference. We always said if we'd had it in Tulsa, we'd have gotten a conviction." In Mayes County, "I think they had their mind made up before they ever got to the trial." Ross Swimmer, who was the Cherokee Nation principal chief at the time of the trial, doubts that opinions among tribal members have changed in 40 years. It was the kind of case, he added, where once people made up their minds, they seemed to be set. "I think people who were certain that he was guilty and got justice in jail are still certain," Swimmer said. "And people that were certain that he was innocent, they probably still are certain." Officially, the Cherokee Nation had no position on the case. But the council did donate $12,500 to Hart's defense, which might at least have created the appearance of taking sides. Swimmer said that was not the case: "I wish I could remember our exact discussions. But I really don't believe the council had particular feelings one way or the other (about Hart's guilt or innocence)." The concern was, he said, "that with Hart there had been a rush to judgment by the authorities. And so part of the reason for the donation was to see that he had a defense, had his day in court. We were just ensuring that he had a fair trial. I think he did." Moveover, he added, he doesn't believe Hart's identity as a Cherokee created "any prejudice in his favor" among tribal members in general. "I think a lot of Cherokees were sad early on because it appeared a Cherokee had committed this terrible crime," Swimmer said. "But I think the more that came out about the investigation, the problems with it, speculation that evidence was planted it began to turn people around, changed their minds." Swimmer was supportive of the two late tribal members, Sam Pigeon and William Lee Smith, who were charged with aiding Hart. Members of a respected traditional religious order, if they helped Hart, he said, they "believed they were doing the right thing." The charges against the men were dropped after Hart's acquittal. In the late 1980s, hopes surged that there might finally be answers in the case. DNA testing had just been introduced and was on its way to revolutionizing criminal investigation. In the 30 years since, a number of DNA tests have been conducted on biological evidence from the crime scene. To date, due largely to the degraded state of that evidence, authorities say, nothing conclusive has come from them. One test, though, at least gave reason for pause. In 1989, of five aspects of DNA tested from the scene, three reportedly matched those of body fluids taken from Hart. Only one in 7,700 American Indians would match the samples of fluids, as Hart did, authorities said. But because only three of the five aspects matched, the results were officially deemed inconclusive. The late Jack Graves, then-Mayes County district attorney, said if that test result had been available, he would have used it at trial. "What it comes down to is, if there were 7,700 North American Indians at the Girl Scout camp on the night of the murders, only one would have matched the gene characteristics of Gene Leroy Hart," he said in a 1989 interview. "The chances of that are pretty small." Something more conclusive may be forthcoming. A new round of DNA testing is currently being done, this time paid for through a private fundraising effort. The Mayes County Sheriff's Office spearheaded the effort, which raised just over $30,000, much of it from Mayes County residents. OSBI assisted with preparation and submission of the evidence. With the history of unsuccessful testing in this case, those involved are hopeful this time will be the charm. Either way, they add, it shows that Mayes County residents are committed to pursuing closure for the families. New leads are also followed when they arise, officials say. To date, though, those, too, have failed to pan out. In the mid-1980s, then-Mayes County Sheriff Paul Smith announced that he was investigating links to possible other suspects. In the end, nothing came of it. So, too, for claims that Bill Stevens, a convicted rapist, was the killer, the theory put forward by the Hart defense team. A Kansas inmate, Stevens had been investigated and eliminated as a suspect even before the trial, authorities said. A more recent claim, which is the thrust of an upcoming film about the case, points the finger at convicted murderer Karl Myers. John Russell, an ex-convict who is making the film "Candles" about the case, says the late Myers confessed to him once while they shared adjacent cells. Russell gave the information to OSBI, which would say only that agents checked out the lead. Myers died in 2013 of natural causes while awaiting execution for the 1996 killing of Cindy Marzano of Broken Arrow. "It's amazing how, when I'm speaking, that emotion can come right back," Sheri Farmer said. "You wouldn't think so, after 40 years." Much like Richard Guse, Farmer found a constructive way to redirect her grief and anger in the years following the murders. She took up the cause of victim's rights. Over the past four decades, Farmer has met, spoken to and counseled thousands of people in classes, seminars and one-on-one, including crime victim and law enforcement groups. She said whenever she speaks, she prays going in, "'Lord, just let these words make a difference. Let them matter in another life.'" If it existed at all in the late 1970s, "crime victims rights" as a movement was in embryonic form. Farmer was in on the first wave, helping lead efforts in Oklahoma. Among the changes she personally pushed for were, for victim's families, the right to be in the courtroom and to have a secure waiting area during court proceedings. Together with her husband, Farmer also started a Parents of Murdered Children chapter in Oklahoma to mark what would've been Lori's 16th birthday. "One thing we can do is we can make a difference in other people's lives," Farmer said. "If you have something bad happen, (ask yourself) how can this help anybody else." Every now and then Farmer hears from somebody who's heard her speak. "And I think 'OK wow, maybe I did change some things. Something has changed because of that experience.'" Former Tulsan Sheryl Stokes can speak to just how profoundly that experience has changed some. A childhood friend and schoolmate of Lori Farmer's, Stokes saw the course of her life altered by the murders and their aftermath. Now, she advocates for families at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia. Every morning at her office, she said, she walks in and sees the three photos on display there of Lori, Denise and Michele and her sense of mission is renewed. "Everyone who walks in sees these three little girls," Stokes said, adding that it's one way she tries to keep their memories alive. She also has books, articles and photos about the case displayed, along with the "Remembering Lori" button she wears every May 25 National Missing Children's Day. "In my office, it's all about them." Stokes was 8 years old at the time of the crimes. "I remember hearing Lori's name over and over and thinking to myself, 'this can't be our Lori,'" she said. "My heart ached for all the families." From the experience of following the case and the trial, Stokes said she knew when she grew up she was going to be an advocate: "I wanted to make sure families would not be alone ... through one of the most difficult and isolating times in their lives." Just because Stokes is zeroed in on that mission, though, doesn't mean she's forgotten about the status of the case that started it. Again, those three little faces are there in her office as reminders. "We will never give up never," Stokes said of finding answers for the Farmers and the other families. "I still believe the murders will be solved. I believe somewhere out there someone knows something. "I hope they realize it is time they came forward." Related content The complete Girl Scout Murders series Chapter 1: Tulsans react to the stunning news that three area girls have been murdered at a Girl Scout camp near Locust Grove. Chapter 2: The largest manhunt in Oklahoma history kicks off in pursuit of two-time prison escapee Gene Leroy Hart, who, despite being charged with the murders, has a growing number of supporters. Chapter 3: One of the state's most-anticipated and sensational trials pits a seasoned, successful district attorney from Tulsa County against a scrappy, young Oklahoma City defense attorney in a battle over evidence and accusations that Hart is being framed. Chapter 4: Officials stop pursuing the case despite a not-guilty verdict, and Hart dies unexpectedly while in prison for unrelated crimes. Chapter 5: In the years following the murders, the survivors and others affected continue trying to make sense of it all, while maintaining hope that advancements in DNA testing may ultimately bring answers. Chapter 6: After 40 years, the victims' families show their resilience, undeterred by the mystery that still surrounds the case. OKEMAH Three Okemah city council members accused of violating the states Open Meeting Act were prepared to proceed with a trial on Monday but instead the prosecutor dropped the charges. Lloyd Lamar Raimer, Wayne Bacon and Bobby Massey appeared in Okfuskee County District Court where each man faced a misdemeanor charge in connection with meeting together after a June 22, 2015, city council meeting and allegedly discussing hiring city employees. Oklahoma law prohibits public bodies from meeting and discussing public business without giving the public advance notice of the meetings time and subject. Timothy D. Beets, the attorney for the three men, said prosecutor Patty High reviewed the case and went to Lincoln County District Attorney Richard Smothermon with her reservations and the charges were dropped. It was my understanding it was dropped because there wasnt enough evidence, Beets said. Beets filed a motion requested another prosecutor handle the case after District Attorney Max Cook filed the charges. Bert Robison, Okemah city manager, said he did not know why the charges were dropped. Robison took over the city managers position in January. Bacon and Massey attended Monday nights city council meeting and nothing about the matter was discussed, he said. Raimer was not in attendance because he was defeated in Aprils election, Robison said. Efforts to reach the men by telephone were unsuccessful. After the June 22, 2015, council meeting, Bacon, Massey and Raimer re-entered council chambers and discussed hiring city employees, according to an arrest affidavit. City Attorney Bruce Coker told them they were violating the Open Meeting Act, the affidavit says. Okemah has a population of 2,500 and is located about 65 miles south of Tulsa in Okfuskee County. ABC South-East Asia correspondent Adam Harvey has been hit in the neck by a bullet while working in the Philippines, CNN reports. CNN reported that Harvey was within the Provincial Capitol Compound in Marawi, which is considered a safe zone, when he was struck by a stray bullet while taking photos of evacuees. He was taken for treatment and said to be not seriously injured, but requires surgery. Harvey is the son of the late Nine reporter Peter Harvey. Sniper on the loose. Marines go in. pic.twitter.com/W7OAsZZj3N Adam Harvey (@adharves) June 14, 2017 Source: Fairfax, News Corp 2015 US feature documentary The Hunting Ground will screen on ABC2 next week. The Hunting Ground Australia Project which has instigated a national conversation about sexual violence within Australian universities will be releasing an Action Toolkit for students to consider how effective their university is in responding to, and helping end, sexual violence, as well as resources with further information. The statistics are staggering. One in five women in college are sexually assaulted, yet only a fraction of these crimes are reported, and even fewer result in punishment for the perpetrators. From the intrepid team behind The Invisible War comes The Hunting Ground, a piercing, monumental expose of rape culture on campuses, poised to light a fire under a national debate. In a tour de force of verite footage, expert insights, and first-person testimonies, the film follows undergraduate rape survivors pursuing both their education and justice, despite ongoing harassment and the devastating toll on them and their families. Scrutinizing the gamut of elite Ivies, state universities, and small colleges, filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering reveal an endemic system of institutional cover-ups, rationalizations, victim-blaming, and denial that creates perfect storm conditions for predators to prey with impunity. Meanwhile, the film captures mavericks Andrea Pino and Annie Clark, survivors who are taking matters into their own handsingeniously employing Title IX legal strategy to fight back and sharing their knowledge among a growing, unstoppable network of young women who will no longer be silent. Since the films premiere at Sundance, it had been screened at the White House and hundreds of college campuses across the country. The documentary has inspired new laws in New York and California and changes in campus policies. 8.30pm Wednesday 21 June on ABC2. Am I sailing this ship until they decide its over? a TEN employee asks Fairfax. I guarantee you, if they suddenly turn around and say, Were going with SKY News, a lot of us wont even come to work the next day. It feels like millionaires and billionaires are controlling our lives, and were just the chess pieces. In the fall-out of TENs administration this week, there are conflicting reports about how it feels at the coalface. People were in tears, one employee told the newspaper. This isnt a normal redundancy round. Our company is in administration. Were genuinely worried about our futures. But another says It really is business as usual. Nothings changed, day-to-day, in the way I do my job. CEO Paul Anderson told staff earlier this week there were no redundancies are planned. Meanwhile attention continues on the media reform package introduced in Parliament yesterday, but which still lacks enough support to pass. The four One Nation senators are proposing an amendment to the two-out-of-three rule. One Nation whip Brian Burston told The Australian a new three-out-of-four rule could allow a person to control radio, TV and newspaper companies but not, for example, a cable television network. The party has also proposed establishing a two-out-of-four rule. Negotiations are progressing. Were going to reconvene Monday next week, Senator Burston said. The ideas were canvassed without any sense of whether theyll be successfully negotiated. I think were making progress. Media buyers are confident TENs ad revenue wont be affected by the corporate drama for some time. Standard Media Indexs managing director in Australia, Jane Schulze, said, Their programming, which is what the agencies are buying, is locked in into the foreseeable future. I would concur with others that it would be business as usual. Rebel Wilson has won her defamation case against Bauer Media. Wilson took action against the magazine empire citing loss of income after eight articles published in 2015 that gave the impression she was a serial liar who invented fantastic stories including falsifying her age. Jury finds Bauer Media was motivated by malice in publishing the first Women's Weekly article. Shannon Deery (@s_deery) June 15, 2017 BREAKING: Rebel Wilson wins epic defamation stoush >> https://t.co/IzvJLBEHh0 pic.twitter.com/ohQWaT1Md0 Herald Sun (@theheraldsun) June 15, 2017 Lawyers for Bauer said she had misled journalists and it wasnt true that her career had slowed down. But her defence case, including testimonies from family and actors Hugh Sheridan and Kate Jenkinson, said, Womans Day has a readership of 1.5 million. Its potential to do harm is enormous. Her claim is not about money. It is about restoring her reputation. The case attracted daily media attention, fans and colourful references to Walt Disney, David Letterman, rapping and Julia Zemiros Home Delivery. Justice John Dixon said told them to keep one simple question in mind: is the star a serial liar? In order to win the case, Wilson had to have convinced the jury that the series of articles published by Bauer painter her as a serial liar. Wilson has 3 upcoming movies Isnt It Romantic, Nasty Women & Pitch Perfect 3 which were referenced during the case. Damages will be assessed at a later date. Bauer Media tight lipped in light of thrashing by Rebel Wilson. pic.twitter.com/yjkXBeRj8z Shannon Deery (@s_deery) June 15, 2017 Source: Herald Sun Seven and Foxtel have renewed their sponsorship of the AACTA Awards, including Foxtel sponsorship for the next two years. The 7th AACTA Awards will be held on Wednesday December 6th at The Star, screening first on Seven. AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella said: Foxtel is, and always has been, a great supporter of Australian screen content. We are thrilled to continue our Presenting Partner relationship with Foxtel, whose commitment to developing, promoting and celebrating Australian film and television aligns so closely with AACTAs mission. Were also very pleased that for the third consecutive year the AACTA Awards will be telecast primetime nationally on Channel Seven, Australias leading free to air network and another company committed to sharing great Australian stories including Seven produced A Place to Call Home. I look forward to celebrating the Australian screen community, alongside all our valued partners, this December at the 7th AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel. Foxtel Executive Director of Television Brian Walsh said: Foxtel is proud to continue its role as presenting partner for the 7th AACTA Awards, further cementing the companys commitment to developing, promoting and celebrating the Australian film and television community. At Foxtel we are committed to producing a wide range of local content for our customers and this partnership with AACTA provides the ideal platform to embrace, recognise and celebrate the vibrant Australian film and television industry. We look forward to this years Awards and particularly those nominated in subscription television which, last year, saw our diverse drama slate celebrated so comprehensively including wins for Best Television Drama and Best Mini Series. Sevens Director of Production Brad Lyons said: We all look forward to televisions night of nights. The bringing together of both the film and television industries in this black tie event is a fitting celebration of the passion behind telling great Australian stories. The AACTA Industry Luncheon will be held on Monday 4 December. The AACTAs are supported by the NSW govt through Destination NSW. By Shivendra Srivastava, Atir Khan: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its first seizure under Section 37A of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 has seized Rs 7 crore bank deposits related to A.K Mehra, Deepak Mehra, Shailini Mehra and Naveen Mehra of Mehrasons Jewellers, Delhi. In the matter of Panama leaks, during the course of investigation under FEMA,1999, it was found that huge amounts were sent out of India by misutilising the scheme of Liberalized Remittance Scheme(LRS) of RBI in the garb of making investments abroad by A.K.Mehra, Deepak Mehra, Shailini Mehra and Naveen Mehra of Mehrasons Jewellers. advertisement The amount remitted outside India was given as interest free loan in individual capacity by the said persons to 2 companies in British Virgin Islands and later on transferred to a company in UAE which is owned by one of said persons. As on date around Rs 10.54 crore is still parked outside India illegally by the said persons. The government has brought in Section 37 A in 2015 by which equivalent property situated in India can be seized, if there is a suspicion that any foreign exchange, foreign security, or any immovable property, situated outside India, is held in contravention of Section 4 of FEMA,1999. Further investigation is in progress. ALSO READ: INX Media case: ED probes Karti Chidambaram-Peter Mukerjea links, writes to UK for bank account details Samruddha ponzi scam: ED attaches Rs 207 crore property of main accused --- ENDS --- Tickets raced out the door for U2's first show in Mexico City, so a second date has been added. It will be on 4 October, the day after the first show, and also at Foro Sol. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Wednesday 21 June at 11am local time. A presale for U2.com subscribers commences at 10am this Friday, 16 June. Mexico City is likely to be the only North American city on the third leg of the tour to get multiple showsthe US dates have not sold fast enough to justify second shows, nor is there room in the schedule for another date to be added in most of those cities anyway. We do, however, anticipate additional dates in South America for La Plata and Sao Paulo. This extra show means that every time U2 have visited Mexico City, they have played multiple dates. Will there be a third date? Current rumours indicate just two shows in Mexico City, and there is not room in the schedule for a third date to be added after the second one. But could a third date be added before these two shows? That's exactly what happened the last time U2 were in Mexico, when demand in 2011 was so strong a third show was added before the first two. Don't count on a third show being added this time, but there is a sufficient gap between San Diego and the first Mexico City date for another to fit in. | By Mary T. Phelan Diversity and interprofessionalism were among the key topics addressed by University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Jay A. Perman, MD, in a keynote address given at an international summit of biotechnology entrepreneurs. First, I must say how incredibly honored I am to be here today, in the company of such dynamic scholars and entrepreneurs tomorrows global leaders, tomorrows innovators, disrupters, and problem-solvers, Perman said June 9 at GapSummit 2017 held in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the host, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University. Never have I stood in front of a group of people and been so confident that I will see them again on the world stage sharing their revolutionary ideas and transforming how we approach the most pernicious problems before us. GapSummit 2017 is the flagship event of Global Biotech Revolution, an international student-led organization dedicated to connecting bio-leaders across generations, regions, and cultures. The 100 attendees are competitively selected from countries around the world to connect with global leaders in biotechnology. The mission of the summit is to inspire and train the Leaders of Tomorrow in catalyzing innovation, helping to build the global bioeconomy, and facilitating communication through three core values challenge, grow, and connect. From left, Ben Portney, University of Maryland, Baltimore President Jay A. Perman, MD, Kamalika Saha, PhD'15, and Andong Nkobena, PharmD'16, at GapSummit 2017 at Georgetown University. Perman thanked Kamalika Saha, PhD 15, speaker liaison director for GapSummit 2017, who earned her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Saha had extended an invitation to Perman to be one of the keynote speakers during the four-day summit. Shes responsible for my being here today and I am deeply humbled, deeply honored, Perman said. Saha is currently a postdoctoral fellow in medical communications at MedImmune. Two other UMB graduates, Andong Nkobena, PharmD '16, and Abdulafeez "Deji" Oluyadi, PharmD '16, joined Saha on the executive planning team of GapSummit 2017. Like Saha, Nkobena and Oluyadi are postdoctoral fellows at MedImmune. Perman also recognized Ben Portney, a Leader of Tomorrow, whom Perman described as one of UMBs most prolific disrupters. Portney, a Presidents Fellow, is a PhD student in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Maryland Graduate School. UMB is helping him launch his early-stage startup, AgamiLife, which hes co-founded with two fellow students, Perman said. Through sheer dint of will, Ben has carved out a rich space at UMB for student entrepreneurs and innovators, and I owe him a debt of gratitude for his leadership, he said. I cant begin my remarks today without acknowledging that youve come here at an interesting, and occasionally frightening, time in American history. The direction were heading as a nation, toward isolationism, toward tribalism, stands as a stark counterpoint to the fundamental philosophy underpinning this summit, Perman said. You are here because you believe in the limitless power of collaboration and cooperation. You believe that there are challenges we confront as a global society that must be solved as a global society. You believe that we will find our answers and our hope not in the walls we erect, but in the bridges we build. You believe not only in global leadership, but global fellowship. Perman noted that when President Donald J. Trump recently pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron had a powerful message for him. Taunting Trump and his slogan Make America Great Again, Macron said it was time instead to Make Our Planet Great Again. Thats why youre here, Perman told GapSummit attendees. To bridge the gaps that imperil us all. To be the change we wish to see in the world. To disrupt globally and implement locally. When he was dean of the medical school at the University of Kentucky, prior to becoming president of UMB, Perman would send medical students around the world to learn from their counterparts in other countries. He was often asked why he sent students abroad when Kentucky had plenty of economic, educational, and health challenges of its own. Ill tell you why. Because global versus local is a false dilemma. Its not an eitheror proposition, Perman said. The problems that plague Americas under-resourced communities are the same problems plaguing developing nations. The innovations and practices that can help developing nations address urgent problems of health, education, communication, and sustainability can be applied in the U.S. with the same efficacy but only if we allow it. Turning his attention to the city in which UMB resides, nearly one-quarter of Baltimore residents live in poverty, Perman said. There is an inextricable link in our country between health and wealth, he said. In the worlds richest nation, with everyday access to breakthrough technologies, we know without a doubt that race, class, and address still dictate how long one lives. And so I think its a particular brand of arrogance to believe that we cant learn anything from other nations. Global experience teaches us humility a trait that America might consider trying on. Regarding interprofessionalism, Perman told the audience, I promise you that youll start the biotech revolution sooner if you undertake it with people who know nothing about biotechnology. If theres one disruptive thing Ive learned over a 45-year medical career its that education and practice have to become more interprofessional. Patients with chronic disease need team-based care and a holistic approach to their health and well-being. At UMB, students in the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Social Work, and Law are expected to function in health care teams, Perman noted. He used a child diagnosed with lead poisoning as an example of the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach to health care. It is a diagnosis common for children in Baltimore, he added. We know how to get the lead out of a childs blood. Its not a complicated process, Perman said. Once that process is complete, that child no longer needs a doctor. He needs a lawyer who will make the landlord comply with the lead-paint laws on the books. He encouraged attendees to seek out teams of diversity in gender, race, ethnicity, background, perspective, and experience. There are plenty of studies proving that diverse teams perform better than alike teams, Perman said. Interacting with people who are different from us forces us to prepare better, to focus on facts and to process them more carefully, to anticipate opposing viewpoints, and to expect that reaching agreement will be difficult. The Harvard Business Review says that diverse teams feel less comfortable and thats exactly why theyre successful. Perman concluded by saying he was eager to keep a class photo of the GapSummit 2017 attendees because he strongly believed the young men and women will be making significant contributions to the world. No pressure, but well be watching. And we cant wait to see what youll do. By Press Trust of India: jeweller New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate has attached foreign assets worth Rs 7 crore of a Delhi-based jeweller in connection with its probe into foreign exchange violation in the Panama Papers leak case. The business entity was identified by the ED as Mehrasons Jewellers. The agency said it was the first instance of seizure of foreign assets after the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) was amended recently and the ED was empowered to take action in cases where illegal assets were stashed abroad. advertisement The amendment was made by the government in Section 37A of the FEMA. The Panama Papers, that was brought to the fore by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) a few years ago, had about 500 Indian names in it. They were alleged to have stashed assets abroad illegally. PTI NES ACB SMN --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: By Lalit K Jha Washington, Jun 15 (PTI) US Defence Secretary James Mattis has confirmed that President Donald Trump gave him the authority to determine troop levels in Afghanistan, paving way for sending more American forces to the war-ravaged country. "At noon yesterday, President Trump delegated to me the authority to manage troop numbers in Afghanistan. The delegation of this authority, consistent with the authority President Trump granted me two months ago for Iraq and Syria does not, at this time, change the troop numbers for Afghanistan," Mattis told members of the Subcommittee on Defence Hearing on the Department of Defence yesterday. advertisement The New York Times yesterday reported that such an authorisation was granted to Mattis by Trump on Tuesday. "Together in the inter-agency, we will define the way ahead and I will set the US military commitment, consistent with the commander in chief strategic direction and the foreign policy as dictated by secretary of state Tillerson,? he said during the hearing. The Pentagon chief, however said that he has yet not decided on the final plan of deploying troops. "Our overall mission Afghanistan remains the same. To train, advise and assist the Afghan forces so they can safeguard the Afghan people and terrorists can find no haven in Afghanistan for attacking us or others. The revised Afghanistan strategy with the new approach will be presented to the president for his approval in the coming weeks," he said. The US currently has some 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. Army General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, had told Congress that he could use an infusion of US and allied troops to bolster support for the Afghan army. The decision to fix troop levels has been by welcomed by Afghanistan as it stated that it firms the commitment towards between the two nations. "Afghanistan welcomes the decision by President Trump to give Defence Secretary Gen. James Mattis the authority to set US military troop levels in Afghanistan, a development that underscores the United States strong commitment to our two countries long-term joint efforts to defeat common enemies and bring about peace and stability," Afghanistans Ambassador to America Hamdullah Mohib said. He exuded confidence that the decision will advance the strategic objectives of the US-Afghan mission and provide essential support to the brave Afghan troops fighting on the front lines of this global struggle between good and evil. "Daesh (IS), Al-Qaeda and the Taliban along with more than two-dozen other terror groups threaten not just the people of Afghanistan but also the United States and other nations," Mohib said. Mattis said the US military posture in Afghanistan is part of a larger regional context in South Asia. advertisement "Our primary national interest and the international interest in Afghanistan is ensuring it does not become an ungoverned space from which attacks can be launched against the United States, other nations or the Afghan people," he said. "In this regard, our forces are conducting partnered counter-terrorism operations, and we are supporting the NATO-led resolute support mission so in the future, the Afghan people can defend themselves," he told the lawmakers. Responding to questions, Mattis said the Afghan policy of the Trump administration is likely to be announced within weeks. "Im talking about within weeks, not months. I will come up and brief you and any of your colleagues," he said. "I think right now what we have to look at is what kind of capabilities do we bring to them because the Afghans have proven they will fight. They have suffered horrible losses and they keep fighting. Theyre not fighting as well as they could if we gave them the kind of air support, more intel support that we could give them," he asserted. PTI LKJ ASV --- ENDS --- Syrian refugee chef Mohammad Elkhaldy (left) and French restaurant owner Hubert Vergoin prepare for the opening event of the Refugee Food Festival on Thursday at Le Substrat restaurant in Lyon, France. UNHCR/Benjamin Loyseau LYON, France Acclaimed French chef Hubert Vergoin opened the kitchen of his upmarket Lyon restaurant Le Substrat on Thursday to Syrian cook Mohammad Elkhaldy, launching the second Refugee Food Festival in Frances gastronomic capital. After last years successes in Paris and Strasbourg, the 2017 festival is going international, with events in 13 European cities in six countries between 15 and 30 June. The Lyon venue is the first of 84 restaurants where refugee chefs from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Somalia, Syria and Ukraine will tempt European diners with the colours and flavours of dishes from their home countries. The French-born initiative started last year as a partnership between the NGO Food Sweet Food and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with the support of partners, citizens, local authorities, restaurants and private businesses. We still have a lot to learn from each other and we will take the time to do so." The 2017 festival will take place in Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Athens, Amsterdam, Florence, Rome, Milan, Bari, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon and Lille as part of the events marking World Refugee Day on June 20. In June last year, more than 1,000 people enjoyed food prepared by refugee chefs from India, Iran, Ivory Coast, Russia, Sri Lanka and Syria in 11 Paris restaurants, which opened their kitchens and changed their menus for the occasion. European restaurants are opening their kitchens to refugee chefs. In December, it moved to the eastern French city of Strasbourg, where six restaurants served Afghan, Syrian and Tibetan dishes and some newly-invented recipes. Elkhaldy, who was a professional chef and restaurateur in Damascus, was one of the stars of last years festival, when he cooked with French chef Stephane Jego at the Left Bank restaurant lAmi Jean. Refugees will have the opportunity to showcase their skills and promote their food traditions." Since he moved to France, he has catered for several high-profile events, including a catwalk show for the Kenzo fashion house and a reception at Paris City hall attended by the mayor, Anne Hidalgo. He and head chef Vergoin met in the Substrat kitchen in Lyon a day earlier to swap stories about their cooking experiences and discuss preparations for Thursdays six-course dinner, which will kick off the two-week festival. The pair will be serving a six-course menu including quail, duck hearts, veal, spicy vegetables, baklava and Damascus-style ice cream. "Yesterday, we took the time to sit together and learn a bit more from each other, Vergoin told UNHCR. We still have a lot to learn from each other and we will take the time to do so after the service tonight." Marine Mandrila, one of the founders of the festival, said last years event had been a great success, with people from all over the world wanting to replicate it. Its expansion to several European cities stems from the desire of many citizens across Europe to engage with and welcome refugees in their own country, she said. Refugees will have the opportunity to showcase their skills and promote their food traditions and ordinary people will discover a new culture through its cuisine. Vincent Cochetel, director of UNHCRs Europe Bureau, described the festival as a positive cultural experience based on the simple joy of preparing a meal and enjoying good food. It also helps to generate awareness about refugees and creates opportunities for refugee chefs, promoting their talents and integration, he said. The event has boosted refugees culinary careers in France by their cooking skills, and opened doors for all the participating refugee chefs. An Afghan mother hugs her child and weeps with relief on arrival on the Greek island of Lesvos. UNHCR/Giles Duley LONDON Photographer Giles Duley travelled to countries in the Middle East and Europe in 2015 and 2016 documenting the refugee crisis, in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. The resulting images, shot on celluloid film mostly in black and white giving them a timeless quality, have been assembled and published as a book, I can only tell you what my eyes see. Duley is renowned for his humanitarian photographic work. It has taken him into the lives of men, women and children uprooted by war and persecution, yet who resolutely make the most of their lives. Giles has pictured their encounters with a new reality, that of life as a refugee walking, grieving, playing, resting, questioning, teaching, thinking. Trying to survive, seeking ways to rebuild their lives, United Nations High Commissioner Filippo Grandi writes in the introduction. The result is a collection of images of powerful and arresting intimacy. Duley is himself a war survivor. He lost both legs and his left arm in 2011 when he stepped on an improvised explosive device, or IED, while photographing U.S. troops on patrol in Afghanistan. The blast nearly killed him He dedicated the book to a Syrian girl, Aya, who has spina bifida, and Khouloud, a Syrian refugee mother paralysed from the neck down by a snipers bullet. He met and photographed them with their families in Lebanon where they lived as refugees in makeshift tents. These meetings were a turning point for him. When everybody else had given up on me, they were the first to believe in me, that I can tell their stories, he explained. They were the ones that gave me my life back. In some small way, I hope this book does that for them. The book I can only tell you what my eyes see is published by Saqi Books. All profits are donated to UNHCR to protect the rights and well-being of refugees all over the world. His photos will be exhibited at the Old Truman Brewery gallery in London in October 2017. By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Former Chief Justice of India P N Bhagwati, considered a pioneer of judicial activism in the country for introducing the concept of PILs, died here today after brief illness, family sources said. Bhagwati, 95, is survived by his wife Prabhavati Bhagwati and three daughters. The funeral will be held on June 17, they said. advertisement The 17th Chief Justice of India, Bhagwati remained on the highest judicial post between July 1985 and December 1986. He was a former Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court and was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in July 1973. As a Supreme Court judge, Bhagwati introduced the concepts of public interest litigation (PIL) and absolute liability to the Indian judicial system. As a champion of PILs, he had ruled there was no need for a person to have any locus standi (the right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a court) to knock the doors of a court on the issue of fundamental rights. He was also instrumental in furthering the cause of prisoners when he ruled that they too enjoyed fundamental rights. One of the important judgements pronounced by him was in the Maneka Gandhi passport impounding case in 1978 in which he elaborated the concept of right to life, and ruled that a persons movement cannot be restricted. He had ruled that a person had full right to hold a passport. The regional passport officer, New Delhi, had issued a letter dated 2/7/1977 addressed to Maneka Gandhi in which she was asked to surrender her passport under section 10(3)(c ) of the Passport Act in public interest within 7 days from the date of receipt of the letter. Maneka Gandhi had later filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the constitution in the Supreme Court challenging the order of the government of India claiming it violated her fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution. He was the lone dissenting judge in the Minerva Mill case who upheld the 42nd Constitution amendment during Emergency. It was struck down by a majority verdict. In the Minerva Mills case, the Supreme Court provided key clarifications on the interpretation of the basic structure doctrine. The court had ruled that the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution is limited by the Constitution. Hence Parliament cannot exercise this limited power to grant itself unlimited power. PTI RKS SK SK --- ENDS --- advertisement By Press Trust of India: By Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, Jun 15 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear today before a Supreme Court-appointed team probing the Panamagate graft case, an unprecedented development that will make him the first sitting premier to depose before such a panel. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) chief Wajid Zia had summoned the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team today with all documents relevant to the case. advertisement Ahead of his deposition befor the JIT, Sharif held consultations with his close aides and family members this morning. It is expected that finance minister Ishaq Dar will accompany him to the deposition. Sharif has already barred his party activists from join him or receiving him at the Judicial Academy in Islamabad where he would be questioned. The summons were issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned last Saturday from Kazakhstan where he had attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted a JIT and empowered it to summon the prime minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money-laundering, through which the four apartments in Londons posh Park Lane area were purchased. Sharif has denied any wrongdoing. The Joint Investigation Team had questioned Sharifs sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the familys alleged improper business dealings. His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the youngerson, was summoned twice. The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s. On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six- member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case. The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time. It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would appear before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases. It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or would be called again like his two sons. Media reports had also said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar may also be questioned today by the JIT before Sharifs appearance. The JIT probing the offshore holdings of Prime Minister Sharif and his children has also summoned his younger brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to appear before it on June 17. PTI SH ASK ASK --- ENDS --- advertisement Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note 8 smartphone is said to be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 836 processor. The Snapdragon 836 chipset is Snapdragon 835's improved version. However, the tech giant might launch its new flagship phablet in mid-August. Samsung's highly anticipated flagship phablet will be available with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 836, which is an improved version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. The Snapdragon 836 is said to come along with a 740MHz GPU as well as a 2.5GHz octa-core processor. The Galaxy Note 8 will reportedly be the first smartphone to arrive with Qualcomm's powerful chipset. Nevertheless, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 may roll out in mid-August, which is the same period that Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 7 last year, Android Authority reported. The tech giant has traditionally unveiled the Galaxy Note lineup at the IFA conference in Berlin, which transpires in September, until the Galaxy Note 7 bucked the trend last year. However, tech enthusiasts and experts are anticipating that the South Korean tech titan would take extra time in unleashing the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 to ensure the launch will not have a hitch. In spite of that, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is expected to feature a 13MP dual-lens camera system and a 6.4-inch dual-edge curved display. The Galaxy Note 8 may not be running on Google's latest Android O and will likely be available with Android 7.1.1 Nougat at launch. In terms of the price, the Note 8 smartphone is expected to have a $900 price tag, Phone Arena reported. In addition, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 phablet is said to arrive with an Infinity Display, which is already featured in the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. It is likely that the Galaxy Note 8 will also ditch the physical Home button. But, Samsung's upcoming flagship smartphone will have an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Watch The Video Here: cxs Automattic, the company behind WordPress, is shutting down its office in San Francisco because its employees refuse to go to work anymore. Rather, they prefer to work remotely from home or any other places. The WordPress office is anyone's dream workspace - spacious and well-designed. Yet, only a handful of employees reports for work every day. According to Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg, only five people go there and enjoy the 15,000-square foot office. The number barely represents one percent of the company's total workers. To date, Automattic has 550 employees who'd rather work anywhere but at the San Francisco office. The culture of working remotely among WordPress employees is not surprising. Automattic employees have been given the choice to either work in the office or other places of their choice. In fact, the company gives an additional $250 stipend to those who choose to work remotely. Thus, WordPress is closing its doors not because of wrong reasons. In fact, the move can greatly save a lot of money for the company. While Automattic embraces the culture of working remotely, some companies, like Yahoo and IBM, are not as enthusiastic. These companies believe that if people work side-by-side, they will be more creative and nimble. Furthermore, it can prevent misunderstanding as people communicate with each other face-to-face. While this is true, a Gallup report revealed that employees who work remotely or some of the time put on longer working hours than those who go to the office. However, companies like WordPress have made some adjustments to their working dynamics. For example, software company Elastic has 500 employees in 35 countries. Yet, they have no physical headquarters in all these areas. To foster company camaraderie and make the company culture alive, Elastic flies all of its employees in one place once a year so they can meet each other. As Elastic CEO Shay Banon said, there is a danger that misunderstandings and conflicts can blow out of proportion if they don't know each other and the only method of interaction is through email or messaging apps. Apple Inc. made the iOS 11 available to developers. The new Apple mobile operating system will soon roll out to the public, which could indicate that the days of iOS 10.3.1 are numbered. However, several iOS device users are still hoping for an iOS 10.3.1 jailbreak tool. The iOS 10.3.1 jailbreak tool has not come out yet, and the tool may never will. But, jailbreak fans kept their fingers crossed for a possible crack from the Pangu hacking team. Nonetheless, as Apple is rolling out the iOS 11 soon, it could indicate that an iOS 10.3 jailbreak tool may come out soon. Wherein, Apple's latest mobile operating system may be launched alongside the highly anticipated iPhone 8, probably around September, The Sun reported. But, a member of the Pangu hacking team was spotted with a jailbroken iPhone 7 that was running on iOS 10.3.1. iOS device users anticipated that the Pangu hacking team will launch a jailbreak tool in the coming weeks. As jailbreak fans are expecting Pangu's iOS 10.3.1 jailbreak tool, the tool is supposed to be available during the time that the tech giant launched the iOS 11 beta, Blasting News reported. Several iOS device users are claiming that Pangu is seriously taking into consideration creating an iOS 10.3.1 jailbreak tool. It has been said that the Chinese hacking group is expected to release the jailbreak tool sometime in June. In spite of that, the latest iOS 11 operating system will have a Do Not Disturb While Driving Mode, a feature that hides notifications while the user is behind the wheel. The feature utilizes a Bluetooth or Wifi to figure out how quickly a person is moving and if a person attempts to view their screen while in motion. Meanwhile, those who are using iOS 11 on their iPad will be able to drag and drop files between apps and can use file managers, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and iCloud. Watch The Video Here: City Campus: "The initial impression is of immensity, boldly signalling the buildings presence as an important place of learning. The palette and form of the building are deliberately restrained to generate something of skill, clarity and elegance" Due West: "This house is more than a match for the challenge of its dramatic site. Uncompromisingly rectilinear, its interior gains maximum benefit from the extraordinary views which it commands. In keeping with the exposed rock faces" Dunfermline: ""Bringing together museum, art galleries, meeting rooms and a cafe, alongside the worlds first Andrew Carnegie Library, the building is arranged around an internal street. This elegantly and legibly connects all of its facilities" Eastwood: "This is a substantial healthcare hub, serving a large area, bringing together NHS and Council services with four GP practices. The brick-clad exterior of the building, softened by timber accents, draws visitors into the welcoming atrium" Edinburgh Road: "There are very few sites which combine proximity to a major conurbation with coastal views of this quality. Although set between a busy road and a public beach, this new home is simultaneously public and private" Fernaig: "This adapted former shepherds cottage keeps faith with its original character. New red roofs echo the historic corrugated metal which features throughout the Highlands. A thing of gentle diligence" Glendale: "This shared English and Gaelic language campus brings together two schools on one site yet allows each to maintain its own distinct identity. Scale, form and materials respond to the historic tenemental character of the area" James Gillespie: "Set within the Listed walls of the A Listed Bruntsfield Tower, these new buildings retain the historic campus quality of the school. The new development embraces the full education journey from nursery to secondary" Moray Place: "In the 1930s, two adjoining townhouses were adapted to provide large floorplate apartments. While respecting the Georgian character of its spaces, bold design moves and the reconfiguration of the layout create a contemporary dwelling" Newhouse: "On an elevation, commanding long views over the agricultural landscape, this cluster of separate spaces reflects the way that historic farm buildings developed over decades past. The zinc cladding reflects the light and cloud patterns" Powis Place: "This urban-edge site is bounded on three sides by busy roads, rising significantly front to back. Self-contained around an upper level courtyard, this robustly sculptural building enhances the locale. Entrance and shared social spaces" Rockvilla: "Described as creative engine room for the National Theatre, the existing structural frame was retained and re-clad to reinforce the industrial aesthetic. A restrained internal palette houses a double-height atrium" By Press Trust of India: Ahmedabad, June 15 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma today said those who have suffered electoral drubbings are trying to create "unrest" in the states ruled by the BJP. He said such "unrest" will also be created in Gujarat, which is going to polls later this year, to counter the development works done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. advertisement "There is a planned conspiracy behind riots and crimes (reported in the BJP-ruled states). The conspiracy is hatched by some people who could not digest their electoral defeat. This will happen across the country," Sharma said. He was in the city to participate in a "mega job fair" programme organised by Education department of the state government. "...Such incidents are going to happen in states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where elections will be held in the coming months. These states are targeted by those people who are rattled by their defeat in elections," the deputy CM said. He said such people could not digest the development ushered in by Modi. "Elections are coming in Gujarat. Everybody knows about the development works done by our prime minister here. So they will try to create unrest here. Whether it is Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh or Gujarat (all ruled by BJP), they will try to create unrest," Sharma said. PTI KA PD NSK --- ENDS --- UW Appoints Haub School Dean, Other Interim Leaders A faculty member in the University of New Mexicos Department of Geography and Environmental Studies has been named the dean of the University of Wyomings Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. Melinda Harm Benson, who holds a masters degree from UW and a law degree from the University of Idaho, will begin her new post Aug. 1. The UW Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Benson during a teleconference meeting last week. Also approved were the appointments of David Chicoine, former president of South Dakota State University, as interim dean of UWs College of Business; and Nycole Courtney as interim associate vice president and dean of students in the Division of Student Affairs. Benson currently is an associate professor at the University of New Mexico, where she has been on the faculty since 2008. She also worked at UWs Haub School and Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources from 2003-07. We are delighted that Melinda has agreed to return to UW to lead this important academic unit, UW Provost Kate Miller says. Our states environment and natural resources are near and dear to the hearts of Wyomingites, and Melindas background shows that she is all about working to help stakeholders solve complex challenges in this area. Benson has had a lengthy career in natural resource management, including work as an attorney on a variety of issues in the West. Her experiences in environmental law and policy include a background in collaborative process. We need to work together to create innovative solutions to environmental challenges, she says. The Haub School is a nationally recognized leader in the field, and I am excited to be a part of it. At New Mexico, she has taught courses in natural resource management, public lands and water resources management, among others. Her research focus has been on environmental governance -- how society conceptualizes, employs and protects the natural world. Benson received a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Oregon in 1991 and a law degree from the University of Idaho in 1998, before earning a masters degree in community counseling from UW in 2011 while also working at the Haub School. Im thrilled to be coming back to Wyoming, Benson says. The Haub School is a premier environmental studies program doing important work for the state. I look forward to working with the staff and faculty to build on past successes and take the program to the next level. The Haub School, established at UW in 1994, applies interdisciplinary and collaborative problem-solving approaches to help stakeholders solve complex environment and natural resource challenges. In addition to offering a suite of undergraduate and graduate majors and minors, Haub School faculty members conduct research in a range of environmental fields including conservation economics, ecology and conflict resolution. The Haub School is home to the Ruckelshaus Institute, which disseminates relevant policy and science information from the university to natural resource managers and decision makers, and offers facilitation services and training to build collaborative problem-solving capacity in Wyoming and the surrounding region. Meanwhile, Chicoine, who served as South Dakota States president from 2007 to 2016, will lead the UW College of Business in the coming academic year as interim dean while a national search is mounted for a successor to Sanjay Putrevu, who has accepted the position of dean of the College of Business at Cleveland State University and will leave UW effective June 30. Chicoine -- who was South Dakota States president at the same time UW President Laurie Nichols served as that universitys provost and executive vice president for academic affairs -- retired from the presidency in 2016. Chicoines degrees are in agribusiness, economics and agricultural economics from South Dakota State (B.S. 1969), Western Illinois University (M.S. 1971, M.A. 1978) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Ph.D. 1979). He is currently a professor of economics at South Dakota State. It is wonderful to have a former university president and economics scholar agree to lead our College of Business during the search for a dean, Miller says. Im sure he will provide the leadership stability the college needs during this period of transition. In the Division of Student Affairs, Courtney will serve as interim associate vice president and dean of students while a search is undertaken to find a successor to Sean Blackburn, who was appointed last month as UWs vice president for student affairs. Courtney has been assistant dean of students since January 2016, coming to UW after serving as director of student services at Laramie County Community Colleges Albany County campus. Courtney holds a bachelors degree in public relations and communications (2003), a masters degree in counselor education (2005) and a doctorate in higher education (2014), all from UW. UW Summer Programs Offers Tickets to Little Big Town Concert at CFD University of Wyoming students and the public have the opportunity to attend a concert featuring country group Little Big Town Saturday, July 22, at Cheyenne Frontier Days. UW Summer Programs will sell Party Zone tickets to UW students for $10 apiece beginning Monday, June 26, at the Wyoming Union information desk. Tickets go on sale to UW faculty and staff members Friday, July 7, at $30 per ticket, and to the public Wednesday, July 19, for $50 per ticket. The concert starts at 8 p.m. July 22. UW Summer Programs will not provide transportation to or from the concert. For more information about Summer Programs events, visit www.uwyo.edu/summerprograms, like the Wyoming Union on Facebook, or follow on Twitter @UWYOCAC. Individuals needing assistance to attend this event should call the Campus Activities Center at (307) 766-6340. The little red portion on the world map holds more people than the blue areas. Bangladesh including Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal in India are more crowded than many expansive countries in the world including the US and Russia. By India Today Web Desk: On our planet, we have as many as 195 countries. With 7.5 billion people living on Earth in various countries, it is clear there are too many of us. The population imbalance with regard to land is something that might send a chill down your spine for all the legitimate reasons. Imagine an urban setup of a mansion where lives a family of five and a few blocks away, there is a slum where in each shanty, those of the size of one of the mansion's washrooms, lives a family of 10. advertisement It is an old news that the majority of the world's population lives within a proportionally small circle that covers China, India, Japan, and other parts of Southeast Asia. With 1.3 billion people in India, 1.3 billion in China, 127 million in Japan, Southeast Asia is crowded. Southeast Asia is crawling with people as it is not just the three aforementioned countries. Countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia are all part of Southeast Asia with their respective populations. Comparing it with expansive regions like Canada, Russia and non-coastal USA, it is heavily packed since all-embracing areas hold close to 400 million people only, where India alone house 1.3 billion people. POPULATION DISPARITY - GIANT, HUGE, HUMONGOUS, GIGANTIC, EXPANDED The Business Insider found an interesting comparison. Metrocosm -- a website of data visualisation expert Max Galka -- submitted an image which shows an extreme comparison of the density of population. Bangladesh and three provinces in India - Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, which are highlighted in red, take up just 415,000 sq km - that's smaller than two times the are of Uttar Pradesh in India. Together they hold more population than all of the blue territories on the map. Visual Capitalist The population density of Dhaka in Bangladesh is 45,000 people per square kilometre. India's fourth-most populous state has a population density of 1,029 people per square kilometre. Population density of Jharkhand is 414 people per square kilomtre and the population density of Bihar is 1,102 people per square kilomtre. Now, if we see the population density of a US city, for example Califronia, it is 251 people per square kilometre. This comparison shows people have more land to roam around on as compared to Dhaka or West Bengal. People living in cramped places have their own struggles. In India itself, we have countless footpaths, but not for people but for shops to flourish. Indians have mostly walked in the middle of the roads because we are crowded and footpaths are already taken. In a bus meant for 30 people will be full of 50, because, again, we are too many. This also makes people of populous areas more adjusting since we are used to people, a lot of people. advertisement FASTEST GROWING CITIES IN THE WORLD The disparity gets intense as we check out the fastest growing cities. Here is the map of these cities showing the rate if new citizens per hour. Dhaka which is the largest city in Bangladesh, is one of the fastest growing cities in the entire world. It has a growth rate of 74 people per hour. Kolkata in India is also adding 32 citizens every hour. Visual Capitalist Also Read: India's population: 127,42,39,769 and growing Also Read: Indian migrants fuel Australian population boom, Hinduism fastest-growing religion --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Raipur, Jun 15 (PTI) The Chhattisgarh police today recovered a powerfulIED, allegedly planted by Naxals, in Kanker district. A joint team of the district force and Border Security Force was patrolling when it spotted a connection of the improvised explosive device (IED) beneath the dirt track near a culvert on Kankers Badgaon-Himmatwahi road, located around 200 kms from the state capital, a police official told PTI. advertisement Later, the security personnel recovered the explosive kept in a steel container. The IEd, weighing nearly eight kgs, was immediately destroyed by the bomb disposal squad, the official said. The Maoists have been planting the IEDs to target security forces and stall the developmental works in the state. They mostly plant landmines close to trees and culverts. Several times in the past security men as well as villagers have become victims of such Maoist blasts. PTI TKP GK --- ENDS --- The 18-year-old North Dakota man in custody after a domestic incident is being charged with felony terrorizing and simple assault. The Towner County States Attorney, Tom Nikolaisen, says that after investigation the attempted murder charge was not appropriate in this case. Sam Bjornstad, of Cando, was taken into custody Sunday and had not been charged until Wednesday. After further looking into the incident, Nikolaisen and the officer handling the case decided the terrorizing and assault charges were more appropriate. Esha Deol and her husband Bharat Takhtani are off to Greece for their babymoon. By India Today Web Desk: Esha Deol and her family is expecting a visit from the stork very soon. The Dhoom actor is on the family way as she is expecting her first child with husband Bharat Takhtani. And before the mom-to-be enters her third trimester, she decided to go on a babymoon with husband. The expecting couple flew to Greece last night to spend some quality time together before the arrival of the baby. advertisement Esha, who has been missing from the public eye for quite some time, looked glowing as she made her way to the airport. Teaming up a black shirt with a white shrug, the mom-to-be looked pretty in her simple attire. It was in April this year that the news of Esha being pregnant came out. Esha's pregnancy was announced in April by her mother Hema Malini on Twitter, who said that that the Deols and Takhtanis (family of Esha's husband Bharat Takhtani) were "overjoyed" at the good news. Esha got hitched to her childhood friend, Bharat, in 2012. This will be the couple's first child, after five years of marriage. (Photos: Viral Bhayani) ALSO READ: Esha Deol is expecting her first child with husband Bharat Takhtani ALSO WATCH: Esha Deol gets married to Bharat Takhtani ALSO READ: See first photo of pregnant Esha Deol flaunting her baby bump --- ENDS --- The NDA has about 47.5 per cent share in the vote pool for the presidential election. The difference between the NDA and UPA is about 93,000 votes in the Electoral College. By Prabhash K Dutta: Electing the President of India is a politics of managing numbers. In 2012, when Pranab Mukherjee was elected as the President of India, he received about 69 per cent of the total votes, which is about 10.99 lakh. A candidate is required to have half-plus-one votes to become the President of India. But, the presidential elections have not been so simple in the past. advertisement As a ruling coalition five years ago, UPA had only 33 per cent of votes of its own. It managed the rest with regional parties ruling in the states to defeat NDA's candidate PA Sangma. HOW THE NUMBERS ARE STACKED This time, the NDA has about 47.5 per cent share in the vote poll of the presidential election - 5.27 lakh in absolute numbers. But, Opposition UPA and declared anti-BJP votes add up to 4.34 lakh. Who should be the next President of India? The elected members of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and state assemblies are the electors. This means, 776 Members of Parliament and 4,120 Members of Legislative Assemblies are the electors. While the value of the vote of an MP is fixed at 708, that of an MLA varies depending upon the state s/he represents. For example, a Uttar Pradesh MLA contributes 208 votes in the presidential election, his counterpart from Sikkim adds up only 7 votes in the choosing the President of India. The recent assembly elections in five states altered the vote shares in the Electoral College along the party lines considerably. The BJP's performance in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa increased the NDA's vote share by 6.5 per cent. The difference between the two camps stands at a little less than 1 lakh votes. Yet, the NDA has looked hesitant in declaring its candidate while the Opposition camp has been trying for over a couple of months to arrive at a consensus. Both camps are vying for the votes of the parties, who could be the kingmakers of the presidential election. These are being called neutral votes. In numbers, the neutral votes are about 1.19 lakh excluding about 15,000 votes of Independent electors. THE KINGMAKERS With 5.27 lakh votes, the NDA falls short of the magic number by 20,390 votes. If Independent electors vote with the NDA, it will still require about 5,000 votes, which could be manageable in an election where party whips don't apply. However, it does not seem possible for the BJP to garner support of all the independent MLAs and MPs. This makes role of neutral party votes extremely crucial. The three non-aligned parties are the AIADMK - ruling in Tamil Nadu, a state that needs substantial central assistance to address its farm issues, the BJD - ruling in Odisha, another state needing Centre's help and the TRS - ruling in Telangana, which is facing farm related issues for years. advertisement Individually, the AIADMK has 59,000 votes while the BJD has 36,500 votes and the TRS holds 23,200 votes in the Electoral College for presidential election. THE ALIGNMENT EQUATION These three parties have in the past voted along the ruling coalition in Parliament to ensure passage of crucial legislation. Interestingly, in all the three states where they are respectively in power, the Congress is the main Opposition parties. However, the BJP's growing ambition may force these parties to calibrate their strategy for presidential election afresh. The BJP emerged as the second largest party in Odisha in the panchayat elections in February marking an eight-fold increase in its vote-share. BJP president Amit Shah has laid out extensive plan to widen the base of the party in Telangana while the BJP is getting more serious in Tamil Nadu after the demise of Jayalalithaa and factionalism in the AIADMK. SHIV SENA AS SPOILER With 47.5 per cent share in the vote pool, the BJP-led NDA should sit happy but Shiv Sena may play spoiler for its senior alliance partner. advertisement Given the state of relationship between the Shiv Sena and the BJP, the former may decide to vote differently from the latter like the past two presidential elections. It voted in support of Congress-led UPA candidates Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee in the last two presidential elections. Shiv Sena holds 25,893 votes - or 2.5 per cent share in vote pool - in the presidential election. If the BJP fails to get Shiv Sena vote for its candidate, the BJP or NDA's deficit will increase from 20,390 to abour 46,000 votes. In that case, AIADMK with 5.5 per cent, the BJD with 3.5 per cent and the TRS with 1.5 per cent votes may actually decide who wins the presidential election on July 20 and enter the Raisina Hill four days later when President Pranab Mukherjee will retire. ALSO READ | Presidential election 2017: Will it be Gopalkrishna Gandhi vs NDA candidate? How PM Narendra Modi can now have a president of his choice ALSO WATCH | BJP sets up three-member panel to search for presidential election candidate advertisement --- ENDS --- Beer Park at Paris Las Vegas will celebrate Independence Day with a rooftop barbecue, featuring food and drink specials from Saturday, July 1 to Tuesday, July 4 (Photo credit: Anthony Mair). Beer Park will kick off the Fourth of July festivities with hot dog and ice cream carts throughout the venue. Beer Park will also offer a beer bucket special on Budweisers Ameri-cans, priced at $18 for a bucket of six, 16-ounce cans. In true Fourth of July fashion, guests will have front row seats to a firework show on the Strip over the weekend. Surrounded by panoramic views of the Las Vegas Strip, guests can relax with a game of pool or enjoy adult-sized activities such as Jenga, shuffle board and Connect Four. Get ready to don as much, or as little, black and white possible at Aid for AIDS of Nevadas (AFAN) hottest event of the year, the 31st Annual Black & White Party. Returning to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the party will take place on Saturday, Aug. 19 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. (Pictured: Jane McGuire, Alison Scheel, Sheila Taylor, Jermey Szymankowski). The over-the-top affair will feature performances from world famous entertainers, Las Vegas stars, avant-garde fashions, surprise celebrity guests and appetizing dining options from some the citys finest restaurants. All proceeds for the night will directly benefit AFANs supportive services for those individuals living with or affected by HIV. TICKETS: Tickets can be purchased at afanlv.org. $65 Black Package includes general admission access at 9 p.m. and unlimited food and beverage samples from vendors $85 White Package includes entry to private reception from 7-9 p.m. with complimentary toast, passed appetizers, early access to silent auction items, and unlimited food and beverage samples from vendors $125 Silver Package includes access to VIP lounge area inside the party with upscale open seating and cocktail service, premium vodka samplings, entry to the private reception from 7-9 p.m., and unlimited food and beverage samples from vendors Purchase tickets early and receive 15% off by using discount code EARLYBIRD. Offer only available during the month of June. Hard Rock Hotel is also offering a limited amount of staycation packages for party attendees. Receive 10% off rooms by visiting bit.ly/2sj8RjC or calling reservations at 1.800.473.7625 and mention the B&W Party. For sponsorship opportunities, please email events@afanlv.org By: Dezan Shira & Associates Editor: Koushan Das Tax officials in Ho Chi Minh City have sent tax demands to 13,500 Facebook retailers, urging online businesses to declare earnings and submit their taxes. As per the law, online retailers earning more than VND 100 million (US$4,400) a year are required to declare taxes. Taxes are required to be submitted to the municipal and trade department of the city. This move aims to target only long-term and unregistered business. With the e-commerce industry thriving, the government hopes that the taxation of online transactions will reduce the citys tax losses. The government has been contemplating collecting taxes since February 2017 from online businesses on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Zalo. They believe, once sellers are registered with the trade ministry, they can be held accountable for products and services and protect customers from fraudulent transactions or subpar products. Tax authorities hope to work closely with the Ministries of Trade and Information, the banks, and postal services to oversee such transactions. Tax obligations Tax obligations consist of licensing tax, value added tax, personal income tax, excise tax, and environmental protection tax (if any). The amount of license tax on online businesses is VND1 million ($44) per year for annual revenue above VND500 million ($22,000), VND500,000 ($22) per year for annual revenue between VND300-500 million ($13,200-22,000), and VND300,000 ($13) for revenue between VND100-300 million ($4,400-13,200). Tax departments in districts will play a direct role in penalizing Facebook vendors who do not register their business or pay taxes. They will also publish a list of individuals and organizations that commit acts of tax evasion. Online merchants who have already registered for taxes and received tax codes during the first half of the year will pay a license tax for the whole year, while those who are granted in the second half of the year will have to pay 50 per cent of the annual charge. Internet sellers who distribute and supply goods have to pay value added tax and personal income tax of one per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. The VAT and personal income tax for service providers are five and two percent, respectively. In addition, online sellers providing transportation services or other services related to distribution will be required to pay three per cent of value added tax and 1.5 per cent of personal income tax. Other e-commercial business activities have to pay two per cent value added tax and one per cent personal income tax. Challenges facing tax authorities Taxing online retailers will pose a number of challenges for the authorities. First, most of the online transactions in Vietnam involve cash, which will be difficult to track and tax. Currently, tax authorities sometimes track conversations between buyers and sellers in Facebook to check transactions. However, this has misled authorities sometimes, as not all conversations lead to transactions. Second, the use of anonymous, fake, or multiple accounts allows sellers to hide their identity. To identify and monitor the sellers, authorities would require the support of the sellers themselves to disclose their businesses and transactions. The government has reached out to sellers online for voluntary disclosure, but the response has been limited. To confront multiple account holders, the government is planning to shut down their accounts or send officials posing as customers to confront them. The relevant authorities need to work with the platform, post offices, delivery companies, and banks if it wants to monitor and tax relevant retailers efficiently. This will require massive coordination between the different entities. The tax officials have already reached out to 13,422 Facebook account holders engaged in online sales, but only 2,000 have registered themselves with the government. E-commerce market With over 40 million Facebook users in Vietnam, the social networking site has emerged as the primary medium for retailers. Small and home-based business owners have had their revenue grow manifold once they switched to online sales. Through Facebook, more than 50 individuals have earned over US$1 million in a year. Annual e-commerce spending rose by 22 percent to US$160 last year. The market has been expanding almost 20 percent per year and is currently worth US$4 billion. It is expected to rise to US$10 billion by 2020, driven by broader adoption of smartphones and growing use of Facebook as an online marketplace. According to a survey in the recent Vietnam E-commerce Report 2017, 34 per cent of enterprises ran their online business on social networks, such as Facebook or Zalo in 2016. In terms of receiving an order, the report highlights that 85 per cent of enterprises received online orders through email, 45 percent received orders through their own websites, and less than 50 per cent of the surveyed enterprises received orders through social networks. Going forward, tax officials needs to take a cautious approach while enforcing the new regulations. Responses so far from retailers have been mixed due to lack of clarity on how the new regulations will be implemented. The government needs to work with all parties to have a structured approach to efficiently monitor and tax online sellers. Editors Note: This article was originally published in June 2017 and incorporates information on recent government announcements. Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide. An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country. Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts. As smoke continued to billow from the gutted building, survivors voiced anger over longstanding safety fears at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower, which was home to between 600 and 800 people. Parents wrapped wet towels around their children as they tried to escape, while others were seen desperately waving for help from the higher floors, which firefighters could not reach at the blaze took hold. "There are now 12 people that have died that we know of," police commander Stuart Cundy told reporters at the scene. "I do anticipate that the number of fatalities will sadly increase" he said, adding that he did not expect fire crews hunting through the debris to find any survivors. Seventy-eight people were being treated in hospitals, 18 of whom are in a critical condition. The alarm was raised just before 1.00am (8.00am Singapore time) and within an hour flames had engulfed the entire block of 120 flats. More than 200 firefighters had been tackling the blaze and managed to rescue 65 people. Witnesses reported hearing screaming from the upper floors as the flames rose, and one desperate resident could be seen waving a white cloth from a top floor window. Some 16 hours on, pockets of flame were still burning inside, and fire crews had reached the top. They had used drones to examine the upper floors. Blazing chunks of debris fell from the wrecked building, a 1970s local authority-built block in the working-class area of north Kensington, just streets away from the wealthy homes of Notting Hill. Residents claimed the fire spread on the exterior of the tower, which had been covered in cladding in a major refurbishment completed last year. The London Fire Brigade said the cause of the fire was under investigation, but its chief Dany Cotton said she had "never seen anything on this scale" in her 29-year career. 'WE SAW THEM DYING' Witnesses said they heard screaming from the upper floors as the flames raced up the tower. "I saw people jumping out of their windows," Khadejah Miller, who was evacuated from her home nearby, told AFP. Two witnesses said they saw children dropped by their parents out of the building into the arms of people on the ground. Adi Estu, 32, who lives nearby and took refuge in a church with her husband and nine-month-old son, said: "I saw people flashing their lights for help, families flashing their mobile phones like a torch. But the smoke covered them. Members of the local community delivered food, water, blankets and clothes to the local church and nearby community centre, where frantic families attempted to call their loved ones, fearing they could be stuck inside. Eddie Daffarn, a 16th-floor resident, said he struggled to find the stairs as the building filled with black smoke until a fireman grabbed his leg and directed him to safety. "Loads of people haven't got out," the 55-year-old said. He said residents had complained for years about mismanagement of the block, saying he had warned that "one day there will be a catastrophic fire and that will hold these people to account". "This is mass murder and these people need to be put into court," he said. Prime Minister Theresa May said she was "deeply saddened" by the situation and has called an emergency meeting to coordinate the response to the fire, which comes just 11 days after eight people were killed in a terror attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. May faced further delays in forming her new government after a failed election gamble when her would-be allies said their agreement would be put back following the blaze. REFURBISHMENT CONCERNS The apartment block was built in 1974, but had recently undergone a major refurbishment, including a new heating and hot water system and new cladding on the outside. The 8.7 million (US$11 million) refit was completed in May 2016. "Since the refurbishment they've had problems with the electricity, problems with the gas," said local resident Virginia Sang, 62. Rydon, the construction firm which carried out the refurbishment, said it "met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards". David Collins, a former chairman of the Grenfell Tower residents' association, said he was shocked but not surprised by the fire. "Ninety percent of residents had signed a petition at the end of 2015 complaining about the mismanagement," he said. "If the same concerns were had in a wealthy part of Kensington and Chelsea they would have got resolved, but here they didn't." Local authority landlords KCTMO sent their "sincere and heartfelt condolences" to those affected by the tragedy. "We always take all concerns seriously and these will form part of our forthcoming investigations," they added. Fire minister Nick Hurd said checks would be carried out on tower blocks going through similar refurbishment to Grenfell Tower. Angus Law, from the Centre for Fire Safety Engineering at Edinburgh University, said the blaze seemingly had similarities with other recent fires worldwide. "It appears that the external cladding has significantly contributed to the spread of fire," he said. He said regulations for tall buildings were intended to prevent the spread of fire, so if it does occur, "the consequences are often catastrophic". The Bay Nui bull racing festival Associated with religious beliefs, Bay Nui is a multicultural, multinational and multi-religious region that holds various festivals throughout the year, most notably the Ba Chua Xu temple festival (also called the Via Ba ceremony) in Sam Mountain ward, Chau Doc city. It can be said that this is the biggest festival of the year in the Mekong River Delta region, attracting a large number of local people and visitors. The festival is held annually from the 24th to the 27th day of the fourth lunar month, featuring solemn rituals as well as activities imbued with spiritual characteristics which are associated with the local peoples fresh ground breaking and territory protection. Ba Chua Xu temple has grandiose and artistic architecture and features a sandstone statue of Ba Chua Xu who is known as the goddess of the realm. According to deputy head of Sam Mountain management committee Thai Cong No, the Ba Chua Xu temple relic site annually attracts millions of pilgrims and visitors, particularly during the festival. Numerous other festivals, such as Bay Nui bull racing, festivals of the southern Khmer ethnic minority group, have also greatly contributed to increasing the number of visitors and pilgrims to the region. The festivals have become key tourism products that An Giangs tourism sector has paid much attention to investing in and promoting. In addition to spiritual cultural tourism, the Bay Nui region is famous for attractive destinations offering seasonal experiences including unique travel experiences during flood season (annually in September and October). Visitors can enjoy food processed from ca linh (sacred fish) a kind of fish from Cambodia's Tonle Sap to An Giang following the flow of water; visiting 850 ha Tra Su cajuput forest. Over the past five years, the number of visitors to An Giang has increased 8.4% on average per year, bringing an increase of 17% per year in revenue. However, provincial agencies have not paid much attention to spiritual, cultural and ecological factors to tourism development. Last May, the An Giang tourism month was held for the first time, aiming to fully introduce local typical tourism products as well as attract more investment to bring the tourism become the provinces spearhead economic sector. The stand-off of Bibica's two largest shareholders may be resolved by acquisition PAN Foods ambition In June, Bibica announced that it has received PAN Foods offer to purchase 7.27 per cent of its outstanding shares in the market, an equivalent of 1,121,670 shares, at the price of VND112,800 ($5) apiece. It means that PAN Food will have to spend about VND127 billion ($5.6 million) on the deal. If the transaction succeeds, PAN Foods stake in Bibica will rise to 51 per cent, turning Bibica into a subsidiary. However, currently, Lotte has two representatives in Bibicas board of directors, while PAN Food has only one, Nguyen Khac Hai. Even if PAN Food can successfully hold 51 per cent stake in Bibica, it cannot add another representative to the board of directors immediately, as they will have to wait until a Lotte representative or an independent member end their term. Otherwise, in accordance with the Law on Enterprises, PAN Food should hold 65 per cent of Bibicas stakes to call a shareholders meeting and call for the election of a new member. Previously, Truong Phu Chien, vice chairman cum general director of Bibica, registered to sell his 0.72 per cent stake in the company on May 19, 2017. Bibicas leader, who has devoted 30 years of his life to Bibica, said that he wanted to transfer his entire shareholding due to personal financial reasons. However, investors do not completely give credence to this reason, as Chien used to say that stake sale was the best way to eliminate conflicts between the two biggest shareholders. At the same time as Chien, Vo Ngoc Thanh, another shareholder, also registered to sell a part of his stake in Bibica. From May 23 to June 11, 2017, 2.66 per cent of Bibicas stakes have been offered for sale. From 2013, there have been conflicts between Bibicas two biggest shareholders, PAN Food and Lotte, which was exacerbated by their similarly large holdings that prevented either of them from making the final decisions in the company. Purchasing this 7.27 per cent would give PAN Food an advantage over the other majority shareholder. Also, Chiens wish for Bibica to have one biggest shareholder will come true. A shareholder in Bibica since 2007 by acquiring a 38 per cent stake, now Lotte holds 44.03 per cent as the biggest shareholder. Lotte is one of the most famous confectionery manufacturers, offering vital support to Bibicas research and development department. Moreover, thanks to Lotte, Bibicas products are now exported to five countries, all part of Lottes system of 16 foreign markets. Meanwhile, Saigon Securities Inc. (ticker SSI on HOSE) has been holding a 9 per cent stake in Bibica since the middle of 2009. As Nguyen Duy Hung fills the position of chairman at SSI and The PAN Group, this acquisition raised PAN Foods stake in Bibica to 43.73 per cent. PAN Food offers Bibica both financial support (on account of SSI) and support in the agriculture and food sectors. Bibica scheduled electing additional member to its board of directors at its May 26, 2017 annual shareholders meeting, but the plan fell through and the board remained unchanged. Nevertheless, the two board members decision to sell is expected to alter the balance between the two biggest shareholders. Hung is expected to play a major role in this. In the past, when asked whether he wanted to increase ownership in Bibica and gain control, Hung said that even if he wanted to, not enough shares are available on the market. When mentioning me or SSI, people may think that my investment in Bibica is a financial investment instead of a strategic one. If Kinh Do Vietnam Joint Stock Company (now Mondelez Kinh Do Joint Stock Company) had not sold 80 per cent of its stake in the confectionery sector to Mondelez International (an American multinational confectionery, food, and beverage company), we would not have invested in Bibica. We finally decided to invest in this company because in the next five years, we do not want to see our ancestors altars covered by foreign confectionery, Hung told VIR at a recent meeting in Ho Chi Minh City. Ambition of becoming a leading confectionery company Chien agreed with Hung about Bibicas development target, saying that the 2.66 per cent stake will be transferred to a new owner based on Bibica benefits, such as its brand and product development, instead of personal benefits. This is an important thing as Bibica is deploying its key products. One of its main products is chocolate pie. Upon mention of this type of confectionery, Vietnamese people may think of ChocoPie, a product of Orion Group, which generated $174.5 million of revenue in 2016 in Vietnam, or Lotte Pie. However, in April 2017, Bibica introduced Mini Pie Orienko, which was adjusted to better suit the Vietnamese taste, so that this product can compete with other foreign brands. Talking with VIR, Phan Van Thien, deputy general director of Bibica, said that this will be one of Bibicas main products. The company targets to win 20 per cent of market share away from its competitors with this product. Previously, Bibica already introduced this product, geared towards the high-income segment, but failed. Thus, Orienko is now repositioned as a product for the middle-income segment at the price of VND30,000 ($1.32) per 264 gram box. We employ high-technology for product preservation without using preservatives. The products quality is as good as foreign pies, while its price is 30-40 per cent lower. I believe that in the short term we will gain market share, and in the long term our products will replace foreign brands, Thien said. With the capacity of 20 tonnes per day, this chocolate pie product is expected to induce VND200 billion ($8.8 million) of revenue, which will account for 13-14 per cent of Bibicas total revenue in 2017. Currently, Bibica holds 30 per cent of the candy sector and 25 per cent of the pie/cake/cookies sectors. At present, Bibica is taking advantage of agricultural products, such as coffee and coconut, or manufacturing products with functions similar to supplementary food, such as candies for sore throat. Bibica develops its products based on the advantages of domestic agricultural products. Other candy brands for the high-income segment will be produced in June 2017 to reach the target of 50 per cent annual growth rate. Chien said that Bibica will develop its products in the domestic market and considers this its main market. Bibicas products were exported to 15 countries, but they contributed only 7 per cent to the companys total consolidated revenue. It is forecasted that the confectionery market in Vietnam will have a growth rate of 8.5-9 per cent per year, with more competition coming, as duties and tariffs in the ASEAN will be eliminated gradually. Regarding technology, most companies in the industry across the ASEAN stand on the same technological level (except for Korea and Japan). This requires every manufacturer to focus on quality to win market share. Bibica targets to become a leading confectionery company in Vietnam by 2021, with a revenue of VND2.618 trillion ($115.2 million), an equivalent of 20 per cent annual growth rate. This is a challenge to Bibicas board of directors and supervisors. Bibica has announced expanding its manufacturing at Eastern Bibica Co., Ltd. and Northern Bibica Co., Ltd. In particular, in 2017, Bibica expects to spend about VND217 billion ($9.5 million) on investment (in 2016 the amount was $800,800). Targets include Bibica Bien Hoa factory (about $2.8 million), the biscuit production line in the Eastern factory ($5.6 million), upgrading the bread production line in the Hanoi factory ($316,800), upgrading the cookie production line ($264,000), and upgrading the fire protection system of Bibica Bien Hoa factory ($132,000). Additionally, Bibica is developing an online store with the aim of developing its distribution channels in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, so that the two cities will contribute 30 per cent of Bibicas total sales. At present, Bibica has more than 2000 products in over 500 big and small supermarkets, with 120 exclusive distributors and retail outlets in Vietnam. To reach these targets, it is vital for Bibica that its big shareholders get on with each other and put a stop to conflicts. Sumito Ishii will not only ensure continuity, but will centralise the management of GM's operations in the region (Source: bangkokpost.com) Alternative title: GM marries Vietnamese and Thai management Ishii will fill in for previous managing director Wail A. Farhaly from Egypt, who left GM to pursue other opportunities. While GM has not called off what was termed as an executive leadership transition in Thailand by news source Bangkok Post, its strategy remains to focus solely on pickup trucks and SUVs in the local market. Bangkok Post quotes Laurent Berthet, GM Internationals director for brand and products communications, as saying that the company has high momentum for the Colorado pickup truck and the Trailblazer SUV, both made in Thailand, in Southeast Asia. "In Ishii's dual role, he will ensure the continuity of our business in Thailand," said Berthet. According to the company website, GM Thailand was established in 1993 and now has two facilities in the country: a manufacturing plant in Rayong province (opened in 2000) and a state-of-the-art powertrain facility (opened in 2011). The Rayong facility has an annual production capacity of 180,000 units, while the powertrain engine manufacturing plant can push out 120,000 units per year. This shifting of high-level human resources comes in the wake of GMs international restructuring bonanza in May 2017, when the company overhauled operations in India and passed on its South and East African sales and manufacturing operations to Isuzu Motors, as previously reported by VIR. In particular, the company stopped production of vehicles in its Indian manufacturing facilities for domestic consumption and refocused efforts to produce for exports exclusively. In South Africa, GM also decided to stop sales activities and sold its Struandale plant in Port Elizabeth to Isuzu Motors. Additionally, Isuzu also agreed to buy 57.7 per cent of GM Internationals East African operations, seizing management control. As the industry continues to change, we are transforming our business, establishing GM as a more focused and disciplined company, said GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra. We are committed to deploying capital to higher return initiatives that will enable us to lead in our core business and in the future of personal mobility. Globally, we are now in the right markets to drive profitability, strengthen our business performance and capitalise on growth opportunities for the long term. We will continue to optimise our operations market by market to further improve our competitiveness and cost base, she said. Cutting off losing operations and streamlining operations, including management and oversight, falls heavily in line with the global strategy outlined by CEO Mary Barra. Centralising management over Thailand and Vietnam is not entirely surprising either, as at the same time as retreating from India as well as South and East Africa, GM also strengthened its regional headquarters in Singapore, reinforcing its strategic oversight over its remaining markets, including Australia and New Zealand, India, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Creating more cohesive business units by assimilating management positions at markets that are not only enjoying geographic proximity but are strongly co-operating in trade simply makes sense. At the moment, Vietnamese car imports are going through the roof due to the country reducing tariffs as per its ASEAN commitments. As reported by newswire VNExpress, imports from Southeast Asian neighbours, primarily from Thailand, are driving the Vietnamese car market. Only in the first half of January, car imports surged by 50 per cent against the same month in 2016, to hit 5,000 units and $116 million, customs data shows. Tariffs on cars from Thailand and Indonesia dropped to 30 per cent at the start of the year, instigating the surging imports and reducing the price of many imported units by 7 per cent. Imported cars from Thailand dominate the market, mainly with the Mazda, Toyota, and Ford brands, but GM Vietnam had a promising beginning of the year as well. As previously reported by VIR, GMs market share in Vietnam grew to 4.7 per cent from 2016s 3.6, producing a 30.6 per cent increase, far ahead of the rest of the market. Probably another strong point towards sharing a managing director between the two countries is the fact that the Colorado pickup truck produced in Thailand is in fact GM Vietnams best-selling model, with about 607 units from 3,783 sold in total this year until April. K Padmarajan from Salem in Tamil Nadu has earned the moniker of 'Election King' by contesting more than 150 elections. By Indo-Asian News Service: Six candidates filed their papers for the presidential election on the first day of nominations, officials said on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the Election Commission issued notification for the presidential poll, setting the ball in motion for the July 17 election to the country's highest constitutional post. Those who filed nominations on Wednesday include K. Padmarajan from Salem in Tamil Nadu, who has earned the moniker of 'Election King' by contesting more than 150 elections. advertisement His name figures in the Limca Book of Records for being the "most unsuccessful candidate". Earlier, Padmarajan has contested against political bigwigs like J. Jayalalithaa, M. Karunanidhi, A.K. Anthony, P.V. Narasimha Rao, K.R. Narayanan, S.M. Krishna, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (in Rajya Sabha polls) and President Pranab Mukherjee in the presidential election. Others who filed their nominations were Anand Singh Kushwaha from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, A. Bala Raj from Mahbubnagar in Telangana, Saira Bano Patel from Mumbai, Abdul Hamid Patel from Mumbai, and Kondekar Vijayprakash from Pune in Maharashtra. Lok Sabha Secretary General Anoop Mishra, the Returning Officer for the election, issued the notification that the nomination papers may be delivered by a candidate or any of their proposers/seconders not later than June 28. Voting will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 17 at places fixed under the rules. The vote count will be on July 20, four days before incumbent Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 24. The new President is set to assume office the following day. Also Read: Presidential election 2017: Will it be Gopalkrishna Gandhi vs NDA candidate? Who will be India's next President? Election Commission begins process Presidential election: BJP chief Amit Shah's 3-member team to select NDA's candidate Also Watch: --- ENDS --- Can Tho City seeks consultation from Japan to implement several urgent infrastructure projects funded by the World Bank.- Photo dantri.com.vn Vo Thi Hong Anh, Vice Chairwoman of Can Tho Peoples Committee, said the city needed consultation from Japan to implement several urgent infrastructure projects funded by the World Bank. The projects include building dykes along the Can Tho River and two bridges. EJECT has more than 50 years of experience in providing consultation on infrastructure development, with a strength in urban planning and cityscape. According to the companys representatives, EJECT has participated in a planning contest for Han River in the central city of Da Nang. The company is carrying out a project on garbage collection and sorting in HCM City. Technicians are repairing cars at a high-tech maintenance centre of Ford Thang Long, authorised agent of Ford Viet Nam Co., Ltd - VNS Photo Truong Vi The decree, developed by the MoIT and the Ministry of Transport with other agencies and offices says that enterprises engaged in automotive manufacturing, assembling and importing must be responsible for recalling and disposing of defective vehicles. However, no specific sanctions for violations are mentioned. The statement was made by lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, Chairman of the Viet Nam Lawyers Commercial Arbitration Center (VLCAC) and also Vice Chairman of the HCM City Lawyers Association, at a meeting to discuss the draft decree in HCM City on June 13. The question is how exactly will businesses compensate consumers and how do we ensure that they will recall defective vehicles?" Hau told Nguoi Lao ong (The Labourer) newspaper, adding that the draft decree should include sanctions for violations and serve as a legal basis for state agencies to manage automotive manufacturing, assembling, and importing enterprises. Regarding recalls of defective vehicles, the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) suggested the drafting agency reconsider the responsibility of vehicle recalls. The decrees article 21 stops importers from demanding accountability from manufacturers over the recall of defective units, the draft dictates that car importers are responsible for providing warranty and maintenance services and recalling the products. But according to the VCCI, recalls should be executed by manufacturers, both domestic and foreign, through authorised agencies. No commercial importers should be allowed to initiate recalls. Technical failures arise during the design, manufacture and assembly processes, all of which are conducted by manufacturers, not distributors, the VCCI said, therefore, in all cases, only the manufacturer possesses precise knowledge of systematic errors in the design and production process. Diagnosing defects related to details, parts, and components and how to fix them can only be carried out by the manufacturer, with their equipment and technical knowledge, it added. In fact, in some cases, the two sides could negotiate with each other so that the distributors can help manufacturers initiate product recalls. However, such companies often merely acted as an intermediary in recalls, VCCI said. Concerning imported completely-built units (CBUs), if foreign manufactures fail to fulfil their obligation to recall vehicles, Viet Nam can issue an import ban on products provided by that supplier, the VCCI said. A flood of low-price cars At the meeting, Tran inh Thu, a lawyer from the Legal Consulting Center under the HCM City Lawyers Association, warned about auto redundancy as the draft loosened restrictions on the import of CBUs. Article 21 of the Draft stipulates that importers file a written commitment with the MoIT in fulfilling their responsibilities in the warranty, maintenance, recall, and recalls of imported cars, which was not tough enough, Thu said. With importing cars are easy, people will flock to buy cheap cars to run businesses, pressuring the market, Thu said. In addition, there is a risk that defective vehicles with poor quality will flood easy markets, with manufacturers not required to recall defective vehicles, Thu said. Although the decree stipulates that importers must "commit to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to recall defective vehicles" this makes recalls impossible, Thu said, adding that the importers, who just trade the vehicles, are not capable of dealing with technical problems. Since there are no specific sanctions for those who cant fulfil their warranty and maintenance commitments, they will likely to ignore problems of consumers and open another company to continuing importing cars, Thu said. Cars imported from Thailand, Indonesia increase sharply According to the General Department of Customs, in May, imports of automobiles of all types hit 9,900 units valued at US$216 million, up 42.7 per cent in volume and 27.3 per cent in value compared with the previous month. In the first five months of the year, Viet Nam imported 43,300 automobiles of all types, up 5.3 per cent in volume and down 10.1 per cent in value over the same period last year. Thailand supplied the most CBUs to Viet Nam up to June with 15,900 units worth $288 million, up 27.2 per cent in volume and 27.4 per cent in value. Vehicles from Indonesia reached 8,700 units, up sharply against 2016. Regarding cars under nine seats, Indonesia became the largest supplier for Viet Nam with 7,200 units in the first five months, soaring from last years figure of 100 units in the same period, surpassing Thailand, India and South Korea. American oil producers are racking up output as prices rise, denting efforts to soak up excess supply. (Photo: AFP/Robyn Beck) PARIS: Global oil output will expand faster than worldwide demand for oil next year, primarily as US producers rack up production, and that could hamper exporters' efforts to prop up prices, the IEA said on Wednesday (Jun 14). A day after OPEC complained that increased output in the US was slowing efforts to rebalance supply and demand in the oil market, the IEA also suggested that the dynamism of US producers could prove a headache for exporters. "In 2018, we expect non-OPEC production to grow ... slightly more than the expected increase in global demand," the International Energy Agency wrote in its latest monthly report. "Our first look at 2018 suggests that US crude production will grow year-on-year ... but such is the dynamism of this extraordinary, very diverse industry it is possible that growth will be faster," the report said. "Our first outlook for 2018 makes sobering reading for those producers looking to restrain supply," the IEA said. Originally, OPEC members had agreed to cut production for six months beginning from the start of the year in a bid to reduce the glut of oil supplies on the shore up prices. Non-cartel producers led by Russia partially matched the cuts. The measures helped stabilise oil prices at the beginning of the year, with the international benchmark Brent crude sticking above US$50 per barrel. And at a meeting at the end of May, both OPEC and non-OPEC countries decided to roll over the output cuts for a further nine months. Nevertheless, dynamic growth in output in the US, particularly by shale producers, seems to be slowing down the rebalancing process. And Brent has dropped back below US$50 since the OPEC meeting and was trading at US$48.17 on Wednesday. American producers have benefitted from the OPEC and non-OPEC efforts to push prices higher. Shale producers, in particular, can react quickly to market developments, because they are less capital intensive than other ventures. And they have racked up production as prices rise. The IEA forecast an increase in non-OPEC output of 1.5 million barrels per day to 59.7 million bpd in 2018, with US output to reach more than 14.1 million bpd. It did not provide a forecast for OPEC output next year, but calculated that it rose to 32.08 million bpd in May, taking the overall global supply to 96.69 million bpd last month. At the same time, overall global demand is expected to pick up by 1.4 million bpd to 99.3 million bpd next year, the IEA predicted. SolarBK's successes surprised the world community by their scale and reliability According to SolarBKs report, among the installed 1.2MWp of solar photovoltaic rooftop systems, the industrial sector accounts for 95 per cent, while the remainder belongs to households. The percentage of households with a solar PV system is quite modest. However, it is a good signal as rooftop solar panels have never been more affordable for homeowners and they are more aware of using solar energy, especially since Decision No.11/2017/QD-TTg on mechanisms for encouraging the development of solar power, with an approved feed in tariff rate of 9.35 UScents, was issued, said a representative of SolarBK. We are striving to reach 3MWp installed by the end of this year, he added. Vietnams potential for solar power generation is great, with 1,600-2,700 sunlight hours per year and an average direct normal irradiance of four-to-five kilowatt-hours (kWh) per square metre, comparable to Thailand, the Philippines, Spain, and Italy. However, the solar photovoltaic market in Vietnam is still in its early stages, with approximately six-to-seven MW of solar PV capacity currently installed. Its projected potential, in the best scenario, might be 2-5 GW for residential and commercial rooftops, and 20GW for solar PV plants. Recently, Solar ESCO JSC, a member of Vietnamese renewable energy firm SolarBK, and Tan Cang-Song Than ICD signed a contract to lease a 500.96 KWp solar system to ICD Song Than Logistics Centre in the southern province of Binh Duong. Under the agreement, Solar ESCO JSC would invest in the solar power system installed by SolarBK at Tan Cang-Song Than ICD. SolarBK is the first Vietnamese organisation to win the Energy Globe Award twice in a row, each time with projects that apply clean energy solutions to improve the living conditions and environment in the Spratly Islands (locally known as Truong Sa). The company has shown its capability over the course of a decade implementing large-scale projects on the islands. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Trump administration will press Central American countries and Mexico to keep their people at home Nadia Prophete, 12, collects food from trash to sell to pigs owners in the Cite Soleil area of Port-au-Prince on Monday. Unsanitary conditions have led to the spread of cholera in Haiti. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Sonia Gandhi will hear out the proposal that Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu place before her when they come calling on Friday. By Javed M. Ansari : Union Minister Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu will call on the Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday, in a bid to explore the possibility of evolving a consensus on the choice of the next president of the country. Similar meetings have been planned with CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, NCP chief Sharad Yadav, and Mayawati the BSP supremo. These meetings not withstanding all indications are that a consensus is unlikely and the next president of the country will be chosen through an election. advertisement For the first time in the country's history, the BJP is in a position to elect the next president and the vice-president of its choice and this is an opportunity that it does not want to forgo at any cost. The only way a contest can be avoided is if the Opposition decides to support the ruling combines candidate, a proposition that appears highly unlikely given the state of the government - opposition relations at the moment. The three-member committee of senior ministers will try and impress upon the opposition that given the fact that the NDA has majority support in the electoral college, the Opposition must cooperate and help the ruling combine elect a candidate of its choice. IDEALOGICAL COMPROMISE The Left and the RJD have already made it clear that they oppose idea of supporting the ruling combine's candidate as it would mean an ideological compromise with the BJP. The Congress has yet to take a formal position on the issue but senior party functionaries have indicated that the possibility of the party supporting the BJP candidate "are extremely remote". The Congress strategy is to ensure that the 17-party Opposition grouping takes a joint stand on the issue and it will work to ensure that there are no fissures in the grouping on this issue. Sonia Gandhi will hear out whatever proposal Rajnath Singh and Naidu place before her when they come calling on Friday. She is unlikely to reveal her mind and is likely to take the plea that the Congress will consult its colleagues in the Opposition before taking a stand. She is likely to convene a meeting of the 17-party Opposition grouping around the 20th or 21st of the month, once the NDA has concluded its consultations with other Opposition leaders as well. DIVIDING RANKS The dominant view within the Opposition ranks is that the government is merely going through the motions by talking to them. The fear in the Opposition ranks is that the ruling combine might try and divide its ranks by coming up with a candidate from a state like Maharashtra, thereby making it difficult for the Shiv Sena and the NCP to oppose it. If that does indeed happen, it will be a replay of what the UPA did to the NDA by putting up Pratibha Patil, forcing the Sena to break ranks with the BJP to vote for her, and even in the case of Pranab Mukherjee, where the JD (U) despite being a part of the NDA voted for him. advertisement Also read: Presidential election 2017: How AIADMK, BJD and TRS may play kingmakers Also read: Presidential election 2017: PM Modi may have bigger plans for Metro Man Sreedharan --- ENDS --- The Ministry for Heritage has announced that three new interpretation panels have been placed within our Old Town in order to provide information on our Medieval History, namely our Islamic and Spanish Periods. Government Reassures Public on Fire Safety in Government Estates Government wishes to reassure the public of the safety of its dwellings and particularly the newly refurbished buildings, including the high rise blocks in Glacis Estate. The Government is confident that the refurbishment and the cladding of buildings have been undertaken to the highest of standards. Following the tragic events caused by the blaze in Grenfell Tower in West London in the early hours of Wednesday, the Minister for Housing yesterday requested a complete fire safety review of the high rise buildings of the Governments Housing Stock. Although there has not yet been a full investigation of the Grenfell Towers fire,several major points of difference should be noted: The Governments contractors, GJBS, have confirmed that the cladding systems used in Grenfell Tower was completely different to that used in Gibraltar. The Grenfell Tower cladding system consisted of aluminium composite panels whereas the system used in the Government of Gibraltar Estates is an insulated render system. In Grenfell Towers the panels were fitted to wooden frames: the Gibraltar system uses metal frames. The cladding product in London is manufactured by Reynobond; Gibraltars product is made by Weber. GJBS have also confirmed that when considering the application and the design of the cladding throughout the refurbished housing estates, fire risk issues were a paramount consideration. The Weber system uses accredited and approved materials for this type of use and the design was developed in direct consultation with the manufacturers of the insulation system and was applied using their latest approved technical guidelines, which include a system of fire breaks, both horizontal and vertical, to ensure that any potential fire does not spread in an uncontrolled manner through the building. The technical advice to HM Government of Gibraltar as regards the behaviour of the materials used in a fire situation is that the external surfaces of the system is classified as Class 0 or low risk as defined in the documents supporting the national Building Regulations. These matters were at the same time discussed with and approved and certified with the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service. In addition, in the context of its review of Standard Operating Procedures, two weeks ago the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service undertook routine operational training for High Rise Incidents. Additionally, in keeping with current fire safety regulations, dry risers were tested at both Glacis Tower Blocks and certified to British Standards in March 2017. Since Gibraltars estates were refurbished, there have been three recent incidents of fire - none of which spread past their immediate areas or caused any significant damage to external cladding. One was a substantial fire inside a flat in Laguna Estate, where the flames reached the external fabric of the building and only stained the external finish: there was no damage or propagation of fire upon contact of the external cladding. There was an external fire in Glacis Estate where, despite the flames reaching the second floor, again there was no damage other than staining. There was a final incident where a cigarette had been thrown from a window in Referendum House and fell on clothes hanging in the drying baskets, resulting in a fire. The damage was once again only cosmetic and there was no spread of fire. These incidents confirm that the quality of the materials used, the manner in which these are installed, and the design of the cladding is entirely safe. The Chief Minister, said: Late yesterday, I convened all relevant parties through the Minister for Housing and I sought all essential information. We then met today at No6 to consider all emerging information that might be significant. The public can rest assured that the refurbishment works on the estates have been reviewed already in the light of the tragic events at Grenfell Tower. I am satisfied that our professionals at the Housing Works Agency, GJBS and Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Services are on top of the issues and have been informed of all matters arising from the incident in London. I am sure tenants will find this very reassuring. The condolences of the people and Government of Gibraltar go to all those who have lost friends or family in this terrible tragedy. Minister for Housing, the Hon Samantha Sacramento MP, said: Upon hearing the news of the terrible incident in London, I spoke yesterday to the Principal Housing Officer and commissioned a working group of all relevant professionals to ensure that the safety of all our blocks are maintained to the highest standards. We will continue that work as the UK inquiry carries out its work. The Housing Department reminds tenants that they are not permitted to have any items in the communal areas as this is a breach of the tenancy agreement and constitutes a serious fire risk. The Department has written to all tenants asking that items be removed within 14 days, failing which items will be removed. The nicest man in the world, reportedly. Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images This post originally ran after the release of The Mummy. Because Tom Cruise has continued to be a nice guy (unless COVID-19 protocols are being broken), we have continued to update this post to include more unsettlingly nice stories. First things first: We get it. Theres an awful lot of unsettling Scientology stuff (a whole lot of stuff ) around Tom Cruise. But pay no attention to that: Cruise has a new movie out, which means its time for the latest round of absolutely gushing stories about Tom Cruise. Theyre kind of like Prince stories always unique and surprising, often exceedingly delightful, if you can ignore the odd feeling in the back of your spine. On a Hollywood press tour, its a truth universally acknowledged that Tom Cruise is a super-nice dude. He taught Zac Efron how to ride a motorcycle. In 2010, a young Zac Efron sat down with the now-defunct Details magazine for a cover shoot. He was in his postHigh School Musical phase, trying to break out of the teen-star shell. Somewhere along the line, Tom Cruise asked him if he knew how to ride a motorcycle. You wanna learn how? Cruise asked, inviting young Efron to his house. According to Details, Cruise taught him how a motorcycle engine works, showed him the hangar with his dozens of pristine bikes including the Triumphs he rode in the Mission: Impossible movies. When Details asked him why he thought Tom Cruise would do such a nice thing, he had no idea. I dont know. I dont even want to know, he said. Its just so cool that he gave a shit, the fact that he cared at all. No one else did that. He helped Mummy co-star Jake Johnson get in shape. Heres a story that is very anti-Hollywood, but very Tom, Johnson told Thrillist recently. He wanted me to work out with him and get in shape for the movie. People have told me in the past, including New Girl, that I need to lose weight and stay in shape. But they dont tell me how. Its like, Hey tubbo, fit into these slacks! Instead Tom Cruise invited Johnson to his gym (the Pain Cave). He said, Youll be training with me and my trainers. If you want Ill put you on a food plan with my chef. The food is great, Johnson recalled. When someone on Mummy set insisted that Johnson wait until after Cruise was done working out so the star could have the gym alone, Cruise was furious. Let me make something crystal clear: I dont care what anybody on the crew says to you, they dont know what Im saying to you, Johnson remembered him saying. And Im saying to you that you are always welcome. I dont care what Im doing in there. Youre not other. Youre my castmate. Come in. He stayed in touch with the kid who dropped out of Jerry Maguire. Before Jonathan Lipnicki, there was another kid set to steal the show on the Jerry Maguire set. He spent a few weeks filming, but after a certain point, he ran out of gas, Cameron Crowe told Deadline, and wanted to leave the production. The role was recast Lipnicki stepped in but Crowe got a call from the mother of the boy who almost took the role. Weeks later, the mother of the first kid calls the office. I got on the phone and she says, Will you please tell Tom Cruise thank you for the way he has kept in touch with my son, sent him letters and gifts, and just let him know all is well? I thought, wow, I had no idea Tom Cruise was doing that, he said. Crowe continued: She said, It really helped my son. Hes over it now, hes fine, and Tom did a beautiful job helping him transition back to his life. I went to Tom, later, and said, you quietly helped this kid through what could have been a terrible transition. Thank you, but why did you never tell any of us? Tom said, I just didnt want that first actor to go to the movies, look at the screen and think hed failed. I wanted him to love movies, his entire life. That is the quiet way Tom Cruise conducts his professional life. He gave Kanye West advice on his fledgling comedy career, but declined a role in Kanyes HBO pilot. Once upon a time, Kanye made a comedy pilot for HBO. When Vulture saw the pilot, Wyatt Cenac revealed overhearing a conversation between Kanye and Cruise: Kanye had been trying to get Tom Cruise to be in the pilot. And he had asked him because they were friendly. And were shooting a scene [in the Escalade] and at one point Kanyes like, Shut the fuck up, its Tom Cruise, and because he couldnt get out of the car, he had to take the phone call smashed between people, Cenac said. You can hear Tom Cruise laughing [does a Tom Cruise laugh] as Kanye goes, Yeah, man, Ive been working on the improv stuff, you know, all your suggestions were great. [Does another Tom Cruise laugh.] That went on for like 15 minutes. Tom Cruise never did the show and we had to hire a Tom Cruise look-alike that was like five-feet taller than Cruise. Hes a good sport on set. I think theres something very right with him in that he cares so much about the audience experience, his Mission: Impossible co-star Simon Pegg told Jimmy Fallon. Its like hes obsessive with giving people an authentic experience. Actor-director Todd Field, who acted with Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut, said something similar of working with Cruise and Stanley Kubrick: Youve never seen [an actor] more completely subservient and prostrate themselves at the feet of a director. He convinced the Black Eyed Peas to do a song for Knight and Day. Tom Cruise, a self-described big fan of the Peas, was almost done with filming Knight and Day when he, co-star Cameron Diaz, and ex-wife Katie Holmes saw them play over Super Bowl weekend. He was struck with a brilliant idea: As we were watching, it occurred to me that this is the perfect time, so I called up Will [i.am], and he doesnt have any time, but I asked, Are you interested [in doing a song for the film]? They were, so they did. He totally did not get mad at Cuba Gooding Jr.s dad when he asked about his sexuality. During the filming of Jerry Maguire, Cuba Gooding Sr. impolitely inquired about Tom Cruises sexuality. He gave Tom Cruise a hug and said, I love you, man. Now seriously, are you gay or not? Gooding Jr. recalled, years later. I almost fainted. And thought, Please, lord, let me disappear. Cruise was so chill dealing with the prying parent: Tom just laughed and said No, his co-star reported. He gave Kevin Pollock a $500 pen (and then a second pen). During rehearsals for A Few Good Men, Kevin Pollock noticed Tom Cruise making notes in his script with a ridiculously huge pen. At first, they joked about it. Then, Cruise convinced Pollock to try writing with it. Its like an angel wing floating on a cloud. It was a magical pen, Pollock recalled to the Chive. Even Demi Moore agreed the pen was a total joy to use. When Pollock learned the pen cost $500, he was crestfallen. Later, Cruises assistant showed up with a gift: the luxury writing utensil itself. When Pollock admitted to his co-star that he hadnt used the pen because he felt it deserved a special spot on his mantle, Cruise bought him a second $500 pen one for the mantle, and one for Pollocks pocket. He personally arranged for Bill Hader to leave a set and get home to New York after an attempted bombing in Times Square. As Bill Hader and Tom Cruise were in Los Angeles filming promos for the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, word reached the set that a car bomb had just gone off in Times Square. Hader was a new dad at the time, concerned about his wife and infant daughter in New York. Cruise noticed Haders concern, and asked when hed get to go home to check on them. Hader wasnt due back to the city for two more days, and so, Tom Cruise took over the set and got Bill Hader home by 8 a.m. the next morning. As Hader recalled: He thinks for a second. No, he says. Well get you home tonight. And in that moment, Tom Cruise, as Les Grossman, in a karate gi, began to direct all my coverage, Hader recalled. All my footage, all my close-ups. Boom! We do three perfect takes. Boom, boom, boom. Everyones chest-butting each other, some people are chest-butting themselves, people are going insane. Two days worth of work, Hader said, and he got it done in 45 minutes. Then Katie Holmes came up to him and handed him a piece of paper with his new flight information. Youre on the red eye tonight, she told him. Im like, What?! Hader said. Because Cruise got him out of work and on a plane that night, he was able to surprise his wife and daughter by 7:45 the next morning and check in on them in person. So thats what its like to work with Tom Cruise, Hader said. He rescued a family from their burning sailboat. While vacationing with then-wife Nicole Kidman and their kids on their luxury yacht in 1997, Tom Cruise spotted a sailboat going up in flames. The actor sent the yachts skiff to rescue the people aboard French paper tycoon Jacques Lejeune, 68, his wife, Bernadette, 42, daughter Eugenie, 7, and two crew members according to People. He helped rescue a victim of a hit-and-run, and paid her medical bills. The year before the sailboat rescue, Tom Cruise was driving down Wilshire Boulevard on a rainy night when he watched Heloisa Vinhas, a 23-year-old aspiring actress, get hit by a car. Cruise commanded someone to call for help and accompanied her to UCLA Medical Center, according to People. He even picked up the $7,000 medical bill for her broken left leg and bruised ribs when he found out she wasnt insured. If hes not Superman, he can be Batman Batman doesnt have superpowers, Vinhas told the mag. He saved a pair of his littlest fans during a crowded red carpet. At Mission: Impossibles West End premiere, Tom Cruise spotted preteen fans Laurence Sadler, 7, and Christos Chris Tzanetis, 13. As he and Kidman made their way through the crowd, he eyed Sadler being pinned against a steel bar. Cruise rescued both young fans from being crushed, and called for a police officers help. Every night I say good-night to him when I pass his poster in my room, Sadler told People at the time. He never forgets Dakota Fannings birthday. He has sent me a birthday gift every year since I was 11 years old, Fanning told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live. I always think, Oh, when Im 18, hell probably stop. Oh, 21, hell stop. But every year. Its really kind. Fanning says he usually gifts her shoes. He bought his publicists daughter so many wedding gifts. Pat Kingsley and Tom Cruise had one of the closest talent-publicist relationships. They met after hed finished work on A Few Good Men, and often talked every day. They parted ways, she later said, over a disagreement over The Last Samauris press tour: He wanted to talk more openly about Scientology; she thought it wasnt a good talking point during the press tour. But before that, she said, We talked constantly, telling The Hollywood Reporter that they shared 11 p.m. calls almost nightly. He was an insomniac. I liked the fact that he was so much fun. And he was so thoughtful. He remembered birthdays, my daughters birthday. He came to her wedding; she was registered somewhere for the china, and he bought out everything. Theyve got things they havent even opened yet, and theyve been together 15 years! He sends Kirsten Dunst (and Jimmy Kimmel) a cake every year. Kirsten Dunst acted with Cruise in 1994s Interview With a Vampire. I ran into Tom like five years ago, and now I get this cake every thats one of the best cakes Ive ever had. Its from Dylans Bakery in Thousand Oaks, she explained to Jimmy Kimmel in 2015. We call it the Cruise cake at my familys house. Were like, Cruise cakes here! And its gone within a day. Kimmel agrees that the cake is good, and that he receives one regularly, too. He gifted his lawyer a rare book of English history. When Cruises longtime lawyer Bert Fields turned 86, the actor got him an especially thoughtful gift. Fields received a customized Cruise cake and an extremely rare edition of [Raphael] Holinsheds history of England, Fields told THR. He knows I write about English history, and this is a fantastic prize. Hes maintained a friendship with Billy Wilder in the directors last years. Cameron Crowe really wanted the legendary director to take the role of Jerrys mentor, Dicky Fox. Crowe was inspired by The Apartment, and set a meeting with Wilder to offer him the role. When he arrived to Wilders office, the director started chatting about his old movies, mistaking him for a messenger. When Crowe offered him the role, he declined, finally saying yes after a long courtship. When filming began, Wilder apologized and dropped out. Crowe told Cruise. Cruise says, lets go talk him into it. We drive to Billy Wilders office. Billy is there, and he lights up when he sees that its Tom Cruise. He invites us in, Crowe recalled to Deadline. He tells Tom these stories about Cary Grant, and Sunset Boulevard. Hes just magnificent. And I realize he is in full Hollywood director, getting-ready-to-make-another-picture-as-soon-as-possible mode, and hes got Tom Cruise in his office. And Im virtually invisible at this point, as that romance is happening. Eventually, Wilder finally declined and the role was recast. Crowe told Deadline Wilder and Cruise remained friends until the directors death. He loved Billy Wilder and we talked about him, constantly. Tom wrote notes to Billy, and they developed a little bit of a friendship. When Billy passed away, Tom came to the memorial and really let everybody know how much he loved Billy. I think Tom got a big kick out of Wilder. How could you not? He got Cameron Crowe back into directing. After the failure of Elizabethtown, Cameron Crowe wasnt sure about directing another movie. Then Tom Cruise took him for a drive, and the two of them ended up on the set of Knocked Up. Mr. Cruise introduced Mr. Crowe to Mr. Apatow, who joked that hed been stealing for years from Say Anything, the sharp-witted teen comedy that first established Mr. Crowe as a director in 1989, the New York Times reported. Cruise sidles up to me and goes: See? Get out of your house, man, its fun, Crowe recalled to the Times. And thats when it felt like, yeah, its time to direct again. He released Jessica Chastain from her Oblivion contract so she could star in Zero Dark Thirty. Jessica Chastain was set to co-star with Tom Cruise in the dystopian action movie Oblivion when she got a call from Kathryn Bigelow, who wanted Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty. Before even reading the script, Chastain told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, she agreed to star. Cruise came to Chastains rescue: I was excited to do [Oblivion]. But when [Zero Dark Thirty] came my way, I realized I had to do this. And the person who made it possible for me to do this movie is Tom Cruise. Someone contacted him from my agency and said, Listen, she wants to work with you. And she would love to, but there is this other film, and its so important. And he said, OK, were going to let you out of your contract. Olga Kurylenko eventually signed on to Oblivion in Chastains place. He always takes his kids calls, even in the middle of a scene. There were times that I was about ready to say Action; and the phone rang, Steven Spielberg told People in 2002 about working with Tom Cruise in Minority Report. If it was Toms kids, everything stopped for that. Just when he was preparing for probably the hardest scene he has in the whole movie, the phone rang. Anybody else would have looked up with anger in their eyes, but he immediately broke character and walked off and took the call. Spielberg was impressed by his stars attention to his kids even when it came to minor emergencies: Connor or Isabella had stuck an eraser in their eye or something like that. It was not serious, but Dad came to the rescue. I thought it was amazing. I have been known to say, Ill call them back after the shot. He bought W. Earl Brown Elton JohnBilly Joel tickets after a rehearsal ran late. While shooting Vanilla Sky, a rehearsal ran late and Cruises scene partner W. Earl Brown (Deadwood, Preacher) missed an Elton JohnBilly Joel concert he had tickets to in L.A. Once Tom Cruise found out, according to People, he made it up to Brown: You didnt give your tickets away? Why didnt somebody tell me? he reportedly asked. When Elton John and Billy Joel played in L.A. a few nights later, Cruise got Brown two tickets to the show, fourth-row center. He danced to Yung Joc on BET. Technically, this isnt a nice thing Tom Cruise did for any one person in particular, but rather one very nice thing he did for the internet as a whole. For a short period of time, the Yung Joc motorcycle dance was the most important dance you could do. And Cruise, in an appearance on BET, did the dance. He sold it, committed completely. So here you have it: Tom Cruise dancing on 106 & Park during Mission: Impossible IIIs press tour. He helped Jennifer Connelly face her fear of flying. Turns out Tom Cruise can help someone without even knowing hes doing it. Jennifer Connelly told Graham Norton that she suffered from a really crippling fear of flying for years before she filmed Top Gun: Maverick. She didnt realize her character had a scene in the air. But even though he was unaware of her phobia, Cruise gave her a reassuring heads-up from the cockpit: Hes like, Its going to be very graceful, very elegant, just some very elegant rolls, you know. Its going to be nice and easy. Every week Vulture highlights the best new music. If the song is worthy of your ears and attention, you will find it here. Read our picks below, share yours in the comments, and subscribe to the Vulture Playlist for a comprehensive guide to the years best music. Vince Staples ft. Ty Dolla $ign, Rain Come Down The third fantastically sober single from Vince Stapless upcoming sophomore album, Big Fish Theory, finds the Long Beach artist revisiting familiar ground: I feel just like Snoop on Andre day, he says, envisioning himself as a successor to his home citys most illustrious alumnus; a terse, smooth hook from Ty Dolla $ign, himself the inheritor of Nate Doggs legacy, plus a first verse so sharp, Staples repeats the whole 16 verbatim for the second, only adds to the sense that the past is never over. Yet the production by Zack Sekoff, joined to Stapless preternaturally precise and calm delivery, sounds like nothing else: The song, like the artist himself, is essentially new, a sign of things to come. Fans aware through prior songs of the artists history will nod when he notes that hes paid a pretty penny for my peace of mind, but careful newcomers can infer as much just by paying attention to the tremendous self-control implicit in his tone. No one could show so much discipline unless experience had made it absolutely necessary. Frank Guan (@frankophilia) Sigala and Ella Eyre, Came Here for Love If a song could sound like a parade, this would be that song. This song is all the bright colors and confetti. Its the song you dance to in a safe space that welcomes all genders, before Proud by Heather Small comes on and makes you weep openly with joy. Happy Pride, everyone! Jordan Crucchiola (JorCru) SZA, 20 Something Its fascinating the way age becomes a persons defining feature at any given period in their life. When youre a teenager, you think theres nothing more important than being a teenager and that these years will never end, not that youre sure you even want them to. That feeling, you find when you enter your 20s, is identical. Im 27, and I suspect that self-perception doesnt change with maturity. Maybe SZA will feel stuck in her 50-somethings when she gets there (shes excited for them either way), but, for right now, all the 26-year-old knows or can think about is being a 20-something. The final song on her debut album is a guitar-driven meditation on what it means to be in your 20s this decade where youre expected to start finding your way, when anyone whos lived through it knows you never do. Theres a tremendous weight of failure and disappointment Prayin the 20 somethings dont kill me, she sings, channeling Frank Oceans vocal cadence that often gives way to moments of not giving a fuck. Older generations who forgot what that kind of overall exhaustion does to the psyche might look at such moments and see laziness. But SZA knows that sometimes you gotta lose yourself in not caring, if only for a little while, to make it out of your 20s alive. Dee Lockett (@Dee_Lockett) Rostam, Bike Dream A central theme of Noah Baumbachs 2005 film Squid and the Whale is how sometimes, despite our best efforts to speed up the process, it just takes some time to overcome fear of change and grow up a little bit. Spoiler alert, I guess but at the end of the film, Jesse Eisenbergs character is finally able to face the massive sculpture of a sperm whale and giant squid locked in eternal combat at the American Museum of Natural History, after being scared to look at it his whole life. In the scene, the squid and the whale are totems for his parents, who are going through a messy divorce, but you dont need to know that to grasp the moment as an emotional awakening of sorts. Rostams singles from his upcoming Half-Light, first Gwan, and now Bike Dream, capture this same sense of process struggle, acceptance, awakening against the backdrop of a life in New York. Here, hes sifting through his memories even as hes singing them: Bittersweet nostalgia mingles with regret, and the entire concept of youthful love and loss actually starts to feel more cosmic than sad. Sam Hockley-Smith (@shockleysmith) Oumou Sangare, Kamelemba If, like me, you do not speak the native language (or languages) of Malis Oumou Sangare, youll be grateful that this music video provides captions with the lyrics in English. When I didnt know what I was hearing, Kamelemba was a beautiful piece of music, but realizing its a song about longing and love and keeping your own pride by withholding judgment of others makes the experience so much more rich. I want my summer to be an Oumou Sangare summer. JC Toro y Moi, Girl Like You Did chillwave get a bad rap, or exactly what it deserved? Notoriously pegged as a genre made by people who had nothing but time, an endless supply of weed, and loved relaxing by a placid body of water (oceans, slow rivers, and lakes got equal billing), the genre was written off as one-dimensional pretty quickly. More props are due, then, to Toro y Moi, who managed to transcend the genre by delving deep into off-kilter retro funk, and then spit it back slightly warped, like he was making music explicitly designed to be rediscovered and reissued by an enterprising crate digger decades down the line. Except Toro y Moi is so good at making songs in this mode that hes in no danger of being written out of musical history. What would happen if someone made outsider music that everyone ended up loving anyway? The answer is Girl Like You. SH-S liv, Heaven liv is a collaboration between Lykke Li, Andrew Wyatt, Pontus Winnberg (of Miike Snow), Bjorn Yttling (of Peter Bjorn and John), and Jeff Bhasker, and theyve been slowly doling out singles since last year. The sonic fingerprints of the supergroups respective members meld together with all the harmony youd expect from wall-of-sound Swedish indie-music assassins like these. Dive in for good vibes. JC Bill Cosby arrives for his trial on sexual-assault charges at the Montgomery County Courthouse on June 6. Photo: Pool/Getty Images Just before lunch this morning, the jury in Bill Cosbys sexual-assault trial announced to the court that its unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The jury, which has been deliberating since late Monday afternoon, has on multiple occasions requested the rereading of transcripts from the trial. Just yesterday, the foreman asked to hear transcripts from Cosbys statement to investigators specific to the night of the alleged assault in his suburban Philadelphia home. During the statement, Cosby admitted to giving his accuser, Andrea Constand, blue pills before they engaged in what he described as heavy petting. After the jury announced they were deadlocked, the comedians defense team immediately made a motion for mistrial. Judge Steven ONeill overruled it, instructing the jury to return to deliberations. No one at the Montgomery County Courthouse seemed surprised by the mornings latest announcement. The evidence the jury has asked to review during deliberations seems to point to a split among jurors, and what could conceivably signal a heated debate taking place behind closed doors. In order to return a verdict in any charge, ONeill reminded the jury, you must agree unanimously on that specific charge. He added, If after further deliberations you are still deadlocked on some or all of the charges, you should report that to me. At this point, the jury could come back with a partial verdict or no verdict on any of the three felony indecent sexual-assault charges Cosby faces. This mean the jury could return a verdict on one (or some) of the charges, but not all of them. What they ultimately decide in hours, days, or weeks could dictate whether there will be a retrial on any of the charges or whether the remaining charges would be dropped. Right now, the jury is wrestling with three different charges against the entertainer. Count one and two in the case deal with lack of consent, and specifically whether Constand was in a state of unconsciousness when she says Cosby sexually assaulted her. The third count goes to intent, or whether Cosby intentionally administered an intoxicant to Constand that night in his home. A partial verdict of guilt on any of these charges could mean that the prosecution may or may not opt to retry the remaining charges. Its likely the prosecution would take a poll of the jury to find out how split they are before making any decision about retrial, and any deadlocked charges could be withdrawn. Another scenario is this: If theres a not-guilty verdict on any of the charges, the defense would likely have the verdict or verdicts recorded to protect Cosby from double jeopardy. This simple means that he would not be able to be retried on these same charges. But because this is a criminal trial, any verdict (or a mistrial) would likely not have much of an impact on impending civil suits, including the one Cosby is facing in California later this month. Cosby, best known for playing Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has been present throughout the jury deliberations. When the court heard the jury was deadlocked today, the comedian sat quietly beside his legal team, showing very little reaction. Shah grew up in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, the son of a doctor who emigrated from India. His mother managed his father's medical practice. By Press Trust of India: Indian-American Rishi Shah, who quit college 10 years back to pursue entrepreneurial dreams, has become tech's newest billionaire. And his business partner, Shradha Agarwal, is close behind. Their windfall came with a USD 600 million infusion of venture capital into Outcome Health, the Chicago health care tech company they founded in 2006. It's now valued at USD 5.6 billion. advertisement Shah grew up in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, the son of a doctor who emigrated from India. His mother managed his father's medical practice. The initial idea for a company providing content to doctor's offices was inspired, Shah says in an interview to local media, by his sister. "My sister has type 1 diabetes," Shah says. "If she gets on an insulin pump and she is able to achieve better blood sugar control and she is checking her blood sugar more effectively, the device manufacturer wins, the insulin manufacturer wins, the blood glucometer wins, the doctor wins, but the payer wins most of all. And she wins personally." CONTEXT MEDIA FOUND IN 2008 He attended North-western University as a transfer student, where he met a woman named Shradha Agarwal, now Outcome's president. Originally working on a campus magazine, they eventually found a company called Context Media, out of North-western in 2008, funding it by taking loans that have over the years reached a combined USD 325 million instead of giving up equity. Knocking on doctor's office doors around the Chicago area, the two found little appetite for their idea. Some doctors didn't see the value in digital education in their offices; others who did want to see revenue to feel comfortable committing to such a fledgling product. Without signing them, however, the entrepreneurs had no revenue with which to placate them. They eked out $1 million in revenue that first year. "Then we were off to the races," says Shah, doubling most years since. "We had to build a profitable business, or at least a break-even business, from scratch," says Shah. "We had no margin of error." Outcome Health is not only the newest unicorn company, having earned the honor just last week, but it is also already valued in the top 30 on the list of roughly 200 non-public companies worth $1 billion. THE GROWTH OF CONTEXT MEDIA CEO Rishi Shah, 31 and president Shradha Agarwal found Context Media in 2006 while the two were at North-western University. The company began to sell its video monitor services to physicians and hospitals without any outside investment. Over the next decade, the company grew and big-time investors noticed, but Shah and Agarwal passed up offers in order to scale organically and retain ownership. In January, the company changed its name to Outcome Health as it slowly pushed towards its first major round of funding. advertisement According to Crain's, the company took in more than $130 million in revenue last year and posted an operating profit margin of roughly 40%. Outcome Health doubled its revenue in each of the last two years, and it also grew with its acquisition of Accent Health last November. WHAT THE COMPANY DOES TODAY Today, Outcome Health helps both patients and doctors by providing touch screen monitors to hospitals and health care offices around the country. The company installs large, interactive video boards that allow physicians to better explain a patient's current health care needs or problems through the use of video, graphics and interactive visual aids. Outcome Health also utilises specialised software to assist physicians and patients for everything from treatment decisions to medical warning signs. Outcome tries to maximise how both doctors and patients spend their time, which helps unclog those stereotypically crowded waiting rooms. According to one of the company's online testimonials, Neil Baum, a New Orleans-based urologist, cut the time it takes him to explain a common urological procedure from 12 minutes to less than five minutes through the use of Outcome Health's Digital Anatomy Board. advertisement Outcome Health often provides its services to medical providers for free. The company makes most of its money from insurance providers, drug makers, health care marketers and pharmaceutical companies. Also Read: The story of Nagaland cop who turned Kerala billionaire Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma's journey to Lutyens' Delhi costs him Rs 82 crore Also Watch: You don't work to become a billionaire: Mukesh Ambani at Conclave 2017 --- ENDS --- Photo: Getty Images At the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards on Tuesday, Elizabeth Banks was on hand to receive one of the organizations top honors, the Crystal Award for excellence in features. During her speech, Banks implored attendees to expose their kids to movies with women at the center, and called out legendary director Steven Spielberg for failing to make female-led films, The Wrap reports. I went to Indiana Jones and Jaws and every movie Steven Spielberg ever made, and by the way, hes never made a movie with a female lead. Sorry, Steven. I dont mean to call your ass out but its true. While Bankss statement may not be literally true, criticism of Spielberg in this context is not without merit. Since starting out with Firelight in 1964, Steven Spielberg has directed 30 feature films. His second movie, The Sugarland Express, from 1974, starred Goldie Hawn, but he didnt make another female-fronted feature until nine years later with The Color Purple. After that, it took another 32 years for Spielberg to make a little girl his main character in the critically well-received flop, The BFG, from 2016, but even that was mostly a showcase for Mark Rylances Big Friendly Giant. His upcoming drama The Papers, starring Meryl Streep as Washington Post publisher Kay Graham, will be his first to star an adult woman since 1985. So while one cannot say with factual accuracy that Steven Spielberg has never directed a movie with a female lead, going 3 for 30 over the course of half a century is a very poor track record. And the point Banks makes about one of the most influential creators in cinema history underserving women by relegating them to supporting roles is still true. Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park and Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark were scene stealers to be sure, but they were still parts of other peoples stories. To single out Spielberg, however, would be unfair. His contemporary and fellow icon Martin Scorsese, even less known for quality female characters, had a female lead in his second feature, 1972s Boxcar Bertha, but that came after the main woman in his first movie was literally just called Girl. The 1974 film Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore earned lead actress Ellen Burstyn an Oscar, but that was the only such female-driven vehicle from a director whose made celebrated works for more than 40 years. When each man found success and the opportunities to direct more and bigger movies kept coming, perhaps there was just no more incentive to imagine interior lives for characters with points of view so different from their own. While Scorsese is one of the all-time best, though, Spielberg is perhaps the greatest populist director of all time, making PG-13 movies for the delight of broad audiences. If you could crunch the numbers, its likely that Spielberg would emerge as one of the most-watched directors in history, and with classics like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park to his name he also has one of the greatest imaginations weve ever seen in mainstream cinema. Spielberg has brought many heroes to screen, but for a director that specializes in tales of heroism and the strength of the human spirit and the power of imagination, its too bad he hasnt seen his way to putting women at the heart of them more often. Elizabeth Banks may have gotten the figures incorrect, but she wasnt entirely wrong to, as she said, call his ass out. Update: Elizabeth Banks has written a statement acknowledging the inaccuracy of her previous remarks, and apologizing for misrepresenting the filmography of Steven Spielberg. Melodrama is out on Friday. Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival On Friday, former teen prodigy Lorde will release her sophomore album, Melodrama. (Its out now for all you lucky Aussies and Kiwis.) Now a seasoned 2o-year-old with plenty of swear words sprinkled throughout the album to prove it the album will look to evade the sophomore slump and establish Lorde as a legitimate pop force. But with more than three years (mostly) away from the music scene making this album, theres a lot of blanks to fill in. Whats this album even about? Were here to tell you that and more. Its about a house party. Lordes latest is a loose concept album centered around a single house party, the events leading up to it, and all that might entail for your average 20-something (yes, even Lorde). With a party, theres that moment where a great song comes on and youre ecstatic, she told The New York Times Magazine, and then theres that moment later on where youre alone in the bathroom, looking in the mirror, you dont think you look good, and you start feeling horrible. Part of the mood switch also comes from the fact that Melodrama was written in the aftermath of Lordes first real breakup, though shes adamant its not a breakup album: Its a record about being alone. The good parts and the bad parts. Everything written about on the album, give or take a couple of lines, all took place in New Zealand, is about me and my friends, shes also said. Jack Antonoff co-produced and co-wrote the whole thing. On Lordes first album, she only worked with one person, Joel Little, whom she tried to collaborate with again on Melodrama, but he wasnt the right fit this time. Instead, she worked exclusively with fun. and Bleachers Jack Antonoff, who co-wrote and co-produced the whole album with Lorde from his Brooklyn apartment and various other New York City studios. I was like, Lets just gather around a piano and see how youre feeling, and see what has happened to you since your last album thats really worth sharing, Antonoff told Rolling Stone of their writing process. She turned down Max Martins advice. Though Lorde kept her circle tight, she did seek out pop-production wizard Max Martins advice about the melodic structure of the albums lead single, Green Light, because his opinion is widely regarded as the best in pop. Martin called the song incorrect songwriting, which Lorde says wasnt an insult, just a statement of fact. Lorde also thinks the the final result is a strange piece of music, which is why she trusted her gut and stuck with the original vision she and Antonoff had for the song. Robyn was a major influence. During her Governors Ball performance, Lorde talked about how Robyn was a huge influence on the making of Melodrama, before she launched into a cover of Hang With Me with Antonoff. Robyn was also present during the recording of the album, though not physically: According to The New York Times Magazine, Lorde kept a framed picture of the Swedish pop savant with her in the studio, and then brought it to Saturday Night Live to put on Antonoffs piano during their performance of Liability. Lorde said she also listened to Graceland, Don Henley, and Phil Collins while making the album. She wrote and recorded the album while transitioning from her teens to her 20s. In a candid open letter that officially announced the album was near completion, published on the eve of her 20th birthday, Lorde said she wrote the bulk of the album as she was exiting her teens and trying to navigate what it means to now be in your 20s. Writing Pure Heroine was my way of enshrining our teenage glory, putting it up in lights forever so that part of me never dies, and this record well, this one is about what comes next, she wrote. A lot of the songs germinated on train and cab rides. Because Lorde moved to New York City to wrap up the album, she did what all New Yorkers do and tuned everyone out on various trains and cab rides by listening to music. Except Lorde was listening to her own album. Or at least the early demos of it, to figure out what worked and what didnt. In a lot of ways I felt like a little monk, drifting down into the subway, being very solitary and just thinking about the music all the time and not really socializing very much, she told Rolling Stone. She came up with the idea for Liability, in particular, after a cab ride listening to Rihannas Higher. And when she wasnt on trains, she semi-lived at New Yorks Flame Diner. In other New York things, Lorde also spent time lurking in a diner in Columbus Circle giving her album a test run. I spent about four months here last year with my laptop out and my headphones on, listening to demos, looking at lists of what I needed to get done and writing songs. People must have thought I was an aspiring poet or something, she said. NeNe Leakes. Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images There was no way Kim would come back to Real Housewives of Atlanta without NeNe having some sort of say in it. On Twitter today, NeNe Leakes announced that shell return to the Housewives franchise for season ten, writing, Its been a long process but weve finally reached an agreement! Leakes, the shows go-to villain, left RHOA after its eighth season. Leakess nemesis Kim Zolciak, who left the show in 2013, will also return to RHOA next season. Expect fireworks. Thomas Mars of Phoenix. Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images For their sixth LP, Ti Amo, the French band Phoenix looked to the Italian lifestyle for inspiration. Blending shimmering disco pop with a smattering of Italian phrases, Phoenix created a colorful, occasionally decadent sonic trip that manages to be optimistic even in these troubled times. Apparently inspired by gelato, and all the connotations the notoriously rich form of ice cream might bring, Phoenix recorded the album without much rehearsal time. We tried to keep the first take, and the first emotion [we experienced], says front man Thomas Mars. We wanted to keep the first awkward, unconscious chemistry that was happening between the four of us. During a visit to New York, Mars and bassist Deck DArcy spoke with Vulture about finding inspiration in hedonism, and why it felt important to create a fantasy for their listeners. How did you land on Ti Amo as an album title? Thomas Mars: One of the working titles for our previous record Bankrupt! was Je taime. Maybe people dont know [in the U.S.], but for a French band, its extremely ballsy to call your album Je taime. Its not something you do and we wanted to do it, but the songs and the title didnt go together. [Je taime] isnt very unique. Its something thats used by a lot of people. So its hard to appropriate it theres a bit of work that you need to make it yours. And slowly, while writing the songs, we embraced some of our own language, which had mostly English, but French and Italian. And then we shifted: Je taime became Ti Amo and it felt like a natural choice. It felt like the record sounded like Ti Amo; the [music and title] matched. And that helped us choose the direction of which songs would be on the [album]. Why did a fantasized version of Italy become the focus for the record? TM: When we first wrote the songs, it sounded like a mumble. The words came, and they didnt really make sense, but there were a few words here and there that popped, and they were written in Italian. Then we embraced it: We tried to keep the first take and the first emotion [we experienced]. We wanted to keep the first awkward, unconscious chemistry that was happening between the four of us. Italy was a part of it because of a few trips and a few influences. But it popped out really strongly because I think [Italian] is not really being used a lot in contemporary music, and its always interesting for us to find things that no one taps into for some reason. People seem to drink from the same water. We went just a little bit outside and we found a giant oasis of fresh water. What accounts for the romantic, carefree-sounding record? TM: Its romantic, but at the same time, while recording, we were the first ones surprised by the fact that it was light, carefree, and hedonistic. Because around us, there was not a lot of pleasure. I think that any artist would have you ask themselves, What was really the point of [making this record] when the atmosphere in Paris was really dark? So we all were a little bit surprised that we did something that opposite. So is it a form of escapism? TM: You know, people are gonna write protest songs its that time. But music shouldnt be one thing. We went into [making music] in its most precious and simple form, which is just a fantasy, pure and detached, but not escapism. Deck DArcy: A lot of our favorite artists turn darkness into light. From Prince to Hank Williams. You know, [Princes] Sign O the Times? The song has a darkness: Its a questioning song, but then at the same time, theres a lot of light, and a strong, new sound. Theres something new about it that I love. What were you listening to when you made this record? TM: Tons of things, but nothing specific. Maybe Italian music more, like Lucio Battisti, Franco Battiato. But then we have to find a common language; we have to make them fit into the same [music]. The less inbred, the better. The less inbred? TM: Were Frenchmen, so it would be inbred to be inspired by a French artist. The more foreign in time and distance like Monteverdi, thats perfect: 1500s Italian music. Thats really far from us we can easily steal from that. Is this a concept record? TM: Not on paper, but maybe. The word concept has a bit of a negative twist for me somehow, but at the same time, every album is a concept, because we see it as a book. With every single song that you hear, we want each of them to have a strong identity. DD: Its more coherence than concept. Concept sometimes goes against freedom. And the way we made it was free-spirited for a while. At least there was no concept at the beginning Judging by the titles of the songs, Europe was a huge influence. How did you land on those titles? TM: The thing is, we are a European band as well. Even in our previous albums, we talk about the European roots, and then we sing in English. And actually what we sing about is our European roots. But we probably pushed it even farther this time. How? DD: There are songs in Italian, like Thomas was saying. Telefono and Fior di Latte. The song is named after a kind of sweet milk. Its actually the flavor of a very good ice cream. We were thinking a lot about ice cream and gelato while we were doing this album. That was the concept. TM: Melting, always melting. DD: Melting gelato. TM: It had to melt. Otherwise, it helps when youre in this industry to have a few words whenever youre surrounded by instruments, and you have to choose something to fit in a song. If you have a word that you can think of, it helps to make that decision. I know in movies they do that. Every day they have to take that: We want this shot to be green or white. And then, if milk is part of one of those words, you go with white it helps create a coherent identity. So in that way, [the album] is maybe a little bit conceptual. So is the theme of the album melted gelato, then? TM: It is! Yeah! What would you say? I would say, like, love and passion? TM: Yeah. Melted gelato theres an erotic quality in gelato, and in food in general. How many gelatos did you have while making this record? TM: None, but you fantasize about them. No, actually, we had a few the Fior di Latte one has this pure quality. Its hard to analyze I read recently a really good quote from Mike Nichols, who was quoting someone else. But hes trying to explain his work, and hes saying, Im a bird, not an ornithologist. And I think it explains really well how incapable people are at analyzing their own work. We are the bird. Other than gelato, how did you immerse yourself in Italy and Europe in general to create the record? Did you go to any specific places to gain inspiration? TM: We did, but we werent looking for authenticity. We were looking for this distortion; we we were looking for mistakes and imperfection. With this record, were almost happy to stay as tourists to get the distorted feeling. Similar to the way that we sing in English, we dont want to make perfect American songs with American accents. We love that our brain cells and connections are French, and it makes something cool that sometimes people dont get. But I think it makes the music unique. So its the same way with Italian, we just used it as a vehicle to create a tone. This interview has been edited and condensed. Brad William Henke as Piscatella. Photo: Jojo Whilden/Netflix Spoilers for the fifth season of Orange Is the New Black ahead. The inmates of Litchfield Penitentiary have endured horror after horror during their time served, be it getting branded with a swastika or beating each other to a bloody pulp. But more often than not, its the prison staff not its population thats responsible for Litchfields darkest days. In Orange Is the New Blacks fifth season, as the aftermath of the prison riot spurred by a prison guard killing Poussey continues to unfold, we see several of the shows most beloved characters brutalized by the prisons worst villain yet, Desi Piscatella (Brad William Henke), the militant head of the guards introduced last season when Litchfield became a for-profit prison. With the prison now under siege from within, Piscatella concentrates his vitriol on the inmates namely his No. 1 enemy Galina Red Reznikov (Kate Mulgrew) into devising a plan to infiltrate the prison against the governors orders so he can punish Red and all her friends however he sees fit. In episode ten, directed by OITNB star Laura Prepon (a.k.a. Alex Vause), Piscatellas horrific torture of Red, Piper Chapman, Vause, Big Boo, Nicky Nichols, and Blanca alternates with flashbacks that of a young Piscatella that reveal he once fell in love with an inmate at his first job at a mens maximum-security prison, and had burned to death another inmate who attacked his lover. Vulture talked to Henke who speaks of Piscatella in the first person about Piscatellas humanity, the deleted scene that changes Piscatellas story, and what its like having to torture your own director. How much of Piscatellas backstory did you know? Zero. I just knew the stuff about how my mom treated me, but I didnt know anything about the rest of it. When I read the rest, I thought awesome. But let me tell you whats different: In the script, and what we shot, when [Piscatellas lover] gets beaten up and I save him, I reach down and his tattoo [with Piscatellas initials] smears. He had faked his tattoo. And that didnt make it into the show. I texted Laura the other day, I just watched the show and the tattoo coming off isnt on there! Shes like, No way. I guess they cut that for some reason. So when I was playing it, I was playing that he broke my heart. He had a tattoo of me and I got a tattoo of him, and his was fake. That changes Piscatellas entire motivation entirely. I know! Completely. I liked how it was because Im doing these things because my heart is broken. Now its more like its vengeance toward them. But because I was playing it like that, you can feel that. Well, its vengeance either way. I read it as maybe Piscatellas lover didnt make it after being attacked, and so now all prisoners must be punished for it. Its misplaced rage. You think? My heart was hurt by my mom because she didnt accept me or love me for who I am. Then, I loved this guy, and for whatever reason, I let my guard down and got hurt. And I swore that I would never let my guard down again. Thats why I have to be a hard ass, keep structure, and cant be friendly with one person and not with another. I feel responsible. Is Piscatella humanized to you? He is. We all get in fights with people, lovers, or friends, and we get triggered or hurt and say mean things or do too much. He just went way, way, way too far. But I feel like that interrogation scene these women idolize Red. They call her mom, they want to be like her, and think shes this great person. When, in fact, if shes your role model, shes in prison for the rest of her life. So when I grab Nicky and I say, You see what prison does to a person? Im really trying to teach them a nice lesson. A loving lesson. But I was triggered and Im doing it in a fucked up way. And I dont feel like theyve gotten the point. How did it work having Laura direct you and also be in that torture scene? I dont just trust that every director is gonna help me, because sometimes a director is so worried about the show theyre shooting and the puzzle that goes together. But I had this rehearsal with Laura and she had this notebook with all these notes about every line I said. Im like, goddamn, shes prepared. I came away from that meeting saying, Laura, Im gonna trust you and everything you say to do, Im gonna do and Im gonna try it. It was so great. Ive never felt so taken care of or so much like a director made my performance better. I read you filmed some of the torture scene on Election Day and it pushed you all to go further. What was the mood like on set? Not for me, but this is the best character Ive ever gotten to play. Im so immersed in it when Im there that Im just pacing around. I like to sit away from everyone, especially on a scene like that. They know to put a chair for me away from everybody. What was hard was there was so many people in one room, and its mostly me and Red talking. Sometimes it gets loud and I would just stand with my face in the corner. Natasha [Lyonne] is one of the best actors around, and she also talks and sings a lot. For me to be able to concentrate and just be present if Im irritated, let everything irritate me. Natasha was awesome. Red is so fun to act with because I always feel like shes judging me as an actor. I like that. If she thinks youre shit, youre gonna know it. At the end of the day, she gives me a little wink, and that feels good. How were the scenes where youre ripping out Reds hair filmed? Sometimes its me pulling her hair, sometimes its me having fake hair in my hand, pulling her hair, and then dropping the fake hair. And then sometimes its a stunt person in a wig so I can really do it. Just the hair took six hours. Did you ever worry about actually hurting the other actors? I always worry about that because Im a giant. Kate is like, Just do it, throw me. And Im like, Wait, wait, wait. How hard to throw you and how hard to grab you so Im not thinking about it during the scene? Shes so tough and into it, but I always like to ask if this is okay. Im strong and I want to know what the boundary is. Was it in the script to break Vauses arm, or was that Laura Prepons decision? It was written and we rehearsed all that with a stunt person the week before. But, as Piscatella, hes not thinking hes gonna break a persons arm. Thats, she jumped on my back and I had to subdue her and then she triggered me. He justifies all his actions. When I watch the show, of course, I see thats too far. But as the character, I got a lot of anger and hurt in me and it comes out. He needed a lot of therapy. Danielle Brooks told me that the scene in the finale where Taystee has a gun to Piscatellas head was one of her hardest to shoot. How was it on your end? We did the rehearsal and she asked me what I thought, and I told her, If you put the gun to my head too many times and let go too many times, Im not gonna fear it as much. So she put the gun to my temple and thats when I try to talk Taystee out of it, but when she put the gun to my forehead, I thought, This is it. And I said a prayer to ask God to forgive me. But Taystees not a murderer, shes just hurt. It didnt make it on the show, but Taystee did slap me and I think it really helped getting that aggression out and added some intensity. Danielles awesome. Do you think Piscatella got what he deserved in the end, to die by friendly fire? I read the whole script and thought this could not be a better end. Its poetic. But, no, because I think I made a transformation. You dont really see it in the show, but when I see Taystee crying with Black Cindy [about Poussey], Im like, Oh my god, look what youve created. And then Red lets me go. [I didnt want him to die], especially not by some fucking idiot whos not a trained officer when I really took that shit seriously. I wouldve been a better person. Will you continue to watch the show? I will watch it next year in two days just I like I do every other year. I actually didnt see the show until year three and I binged it over a few days, and then I go the audition, and was in New York a few days later. I will always love and watch this show. Its interesting because I was a fan of Lost, and then once I shot Lost, I never watched it again. Thats all Im gonna say about that. Orange Is the New Black was the best acting experience of my life. This interview has been edited and condensed. By India Today Web Desk: Their selfies break the internet, their Instagram and Twitter accounts are constantly stalked, and the paparazzi go crazy to capture them on the lens. No, they aren't your average Bollywood star, but nothing less than celebrities. If one is Sridevi and Boney Kapoor's daughter, the other was born to Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh. Sara Ali Khan and Jhanvi Kapoor are the latest crop of star kids to have become darlings of Bollywood enthusiasts. From their fashion quotient to their Bollywood debuts, the young ladies are in news for almost everything. If their popularity has made them a favourite with many, they cannot escape the constant comparisons drawn between them. advertisement But this so-called and almost forced rivalry has almost no effect on these girls. In fact, the star kids are busy defying Bollywood's infamous norm that two heroines cannot be friends. Their Bollywood career might kickstart at the same time, but Jhanvi and Sara are busy playing the thickest of buddies in real life. From parties to dinner dates to salon sessions, Jhanvi and Sara do not miss a chance to catch up with each other. And that's what exactly happened on Wednesday evening (June 14) when the two were spotted coming out of a salon together after a relaxing session. Sara + Janhvi ???? how cute! #saraalikhan A post shared by ? sara ali khan pataudi fc ? (@saraalikhanx) on Jun 14, 2017 at 10:17am PDT While Sara looked stunning in white shorts and off-shoulder top, Jhanvi made heads turn in a Lakhnavi suit. However, this is not the first time that Sara and Jhanvi were captured in one frame. They earlier grabbed eyeballs with their camaraderie at a wedding early this year. Fairytale vibes ???????? #saraalikhan #janhvikapoor A post shared by ? sara ali khan pataudi fc ? (@saraalikhanx) on Feb 1, 2017 at 12:36am PST If this wasn't enough, they did not hesitate from giving friendship goals when the two happily posed for a selfie with designer Manish Malhotra. #AllAboutLastNight with the young Super Girls #janvhikapoor @janhvikapoor6 #SaraAliKhan @saraalikhanx A post shared by Manish Malhotra (@manishmalhotra05) on May 26, 2017 at 2:18am PDT Going by the pictures, it seems Jhanvi and Sara do share a great bond, and in no mood to let their Bollywood debuts ruin their friendship. While Jhanvi has signed Sairat remake with rumoured boyfriend Ishaan Khatter, Sara will soon begin shooting for Kedarnath with Sushant Singh Rajput. ALSO READ: When Jhanvi Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan came together for a wedding advertisement ALSO READ: Sara Ali Khan chills with friend post her return from Kedarnath ALSO WATCH: Star kids are B-Town's next big thing, Priyanka meets PM Modi --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Updating with additional quotes) New Delhi/Mumbai, Jun 15 (PTI) BJP president Amit Shahs three-day visit to Maharashtra is scheduled to begin tomorrow, during which he is expected to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, whose party has threatened to take an "independent stand" in the presidential poll. "We are hopeful of getting the Senas votes," a senior BJP leader said, adding that the regional party would not like to vote against a candidate most likely to become the next president. advertisement Sena mouthpiece Saamana has reported that Shah will meet Thackeray on June 18. Ties between the two Hindutva parties have been strained for long due to the power tussle between them in Maharashtra. The Sena has a history of voting against the BJPs choice in the presidential polls. Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut had recently said his party may take an independent stand in the polls. Sena had proposed the name of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the post. While Bhagwat expressed his unwillingness, the proposal also drew little enthusiasm from the BJP. BJP leaders have been expressing confidence that they are in a position to get their candidate elected for the top constitutional post with the support of allies as well as some regional parties. Sena had gone with the UPAs choice of Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee in 2007 and 2012 despite being an ally of the BJP, which had supported Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in 2007 and P A Sangma five years later. Both Patil and Mukherjee had emerged victorious. Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Danve said Shahs visit is aimed at strengthening the party base. "Shahs visit is not about the presidential elections or the cabinet reshuffle. It is a part of his pan-India tour, where he will be interacting with the party workers and ministers," Danve said. When asked about the purpose behind Shahs meeting with Uddhav, which he had not done on earlier occasions, Danve said, "There is no compulsion on the BJP chief to meet Thackeray. As Shah is meeting all the allies of BJP, he is going to meet Thackeray as well." Shah is scheduled to offer floral tributes to Chhatrapati Shivaji, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Veer Savarkar and Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray at Shivaji Park tomorrow. He will later meet BJP MPs, MLAs, state office-bearers, heads of districts and mandals besides other elected representatives before a meeting with state ministers at the chief ministers residence, a party statement said. He will also meet all party MPs. On June 17, he will meet core committee members of the state and later take part in other party events. On the last day of his tour, Shah will hold a meeting of the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Birth Centenary Year Karya Vistarak Yojana in Mumbai and review various programmes to strengthen the party at the booth-level, the party statement said. advertisement Shah is visiting all states over a 110-day tour, part of his efforts to further strengthen the party ahead of the 2019 general election. PTI KR ND NP ARK --- ENDS --- A jury in Fort Worth has found that Brian Pardo, longtime CEO of Waco-based Life Partners Holdings, committed fraud in his operation of the company he founded and owes millions of dollars to creditors who filed suit against Pardo and several family members. An attorney for Life Partners Creditors Trust, Jennifer Ecklund, of Dallas, said the finding could result in Pardo owing creditors as much as $65 million. But Robert Burford, a Houston attorney representing Pardo, said the award for damages will not exceed $15 million. The judge will have to sort it out, Burford said of the verdict form. But I know the judgment will be nowhere near $65 million. Considering this was a $750 million lawsuit, I would say it is a victory for us. The trial in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth lasted six days, and the jury reached its verdict on the second day of deliberation, Ecklund said. The original lawsuit was filed in August 2015 by the trustee in the Life Partners Holdings bankruptcy case, she said. The suit later became consolidated with other legal action taken against Pardo by more than 200 investors. At issue were claims that Pardo siphoned money from Life Partners and placed it into family trusts and other companies he formed, Ecklund said. Litigants also accused Pardo and Life Partners of underestimating the life expectancy of terminally ill clients who made their life insurance policies available to investors through deals brokered by the company. Ecklund said more than 22,000 investors may have been affected, and more than 200 actually filed lawsuits. Viatical settlements Life Partners Holdings, founded in the early 1990s, specialized in viatical settlements that allowed terminally ill clients to sell their life insurance policies to investors at a percentage of their face value. Investors would agree to take up premium payments and would collect the full value of the policies upon the death of the individuals, Ecklund said. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Pardo, Life Partners and former general counsel Scott Peden over the issue of determining life expectancy and won a $38.7 million award that forced Life Partners into bankruptcy, from which it emerged in December. Ecklund said the SEC brought legal action to protect the interests of shareholders in the company, while the civil action that went before a Fort Worth jury and U.S. District Court Judge Reed OConnor was brought on behalf of those who actually bought shares in one or more life insurance policies. Named in the lawsuit filed by Life Partners Creditors Trust were Brian Pardo; his daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Kurt Carr, former employees of the company; Pardos wife, Linda Robinson Pardo; Pardo Family Trust; Pardo Family Holdings; and Pagel Holdings Inc. Money that went to these entities should have been used to protect investors, Ecklund said. To make it clear, the jury found Mr. Pardo and Mr. Peden liable for fraud but awarded damages only through Mr. Pardo. The actual damage figure will remain up in the air until the judge renders a final determination. That will require a number of steps and probably motions to be filed and heard, all of which could impact the final figure. I could not speculate on when that will take place. Financial loss for plaintiffs Burford said the case will ultimately represent a financial loss for the plaintiffs the jury ruled were defrauded. They spent more money than they possibly will get back, Burford said. This is a monster loss for them. They paid $500,000 to an expert. He said his client, Pardo, is in a wheelchair and on morphine from having his back broken in the Vietnam War and suffered a brain infection almost two years ago that put him in a coma. Meanwhile, Life Partners Holdings, which has sold 3,400 policies with a face value of $2.3 billion, according to its website, no longer operates except to service policies that remain in force. That work is done by Magna Servicing, which was appointed by the bankruptcy court. A state district judge threw out felony charges against McLennan County Commissioner Will Jones on Thursday morning after ruling the arrest warrant affidavit contained insufficient probable cause. Judge Ralph Strother of Wacos 19th State District Court granted a motion from Jones attorneys to quash two engaging in organized crime warrants obtained last week in another county by R.S. Gates, a retired law enforcement officer. In finding the warrants lack probable cause, Strother said, I have some serious questions about the veracity of the affidavits sworn out in the first place, referring to the affidavits Gates presented to a Caldwell County justice of the peace to secure the arrest warrants. Gates, who did not attend Thursdays hearing, said afterward, Well, it is McLennan County. He said he thinks it is interesting he was not given notice of the hearing. I think former (McLennan County) First Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis said it best when he resigned, when he said he couldnt support two systems of justice in McLennan County. I guess Will Jones is right, you can convince a judge to do anything, Gates said. Caldwell County JP Ben Brady, of Maxwell, issued the warrants last week after Gates filled out the probable-cause affidavits and drove to Caldwell County seeking the warrants. The move was highly unusual on a procedural basis because arrest warrants are usually obtained by officers working for a police agency. Gates is a certified officer and a former sheriffs deputy but he is not currently commissioned by a law enforcement agency. Jones, who was present in the courtroom Thursday with his wife, said he was pleased to get the matter resolved and put the issue behind him. Happy its over Im happy its over and we found someone who thinks reasonably, Jones said. I want to say thank you to my attorneys for the great job they did. Jones attorneys, Jim Dunnam and Thomas West, notified the attorney generals office and law enforcement agencies, including the Texas Rangers, after Gates obtained the warrants. Law enforcement agencies made no efforts to serve the warrants in the week they were pending before Thursdays hearing. Sheriff Parnell McNamara attended the hearing and technically took Jones into custody in the courtroom. West said Jones officially had to be taken into custody before the arrest could be declared unlawful, which Strother did. West said he talked to Patrick Pena, the Texas Ranger who investigated the bribery allegations against Jones. He didnt think it was a valid warrant, West said. It was a validly issued warrant, but he didnt think the reason behind it was appropriate. Dunnam, who called the new charges ridiculous last week, said Thursday that Gates is either misguided or malicious. Gates alleged Jones committed the offenses when he took the oath of office in January and signed an anti-bribery statement, knowing that at the time he was under investigation on bribery allegations by the Texas Rangers. Jones was investigated on possible bribery charges after he offered in early December 2015 to refund the $1,250 filing fee to his opponent in the Republican primary election, Ben Matus, if Matus withdrew from the race. Matus had recorded Jones offer over the phone, which Jones at the time told the Tribune-Herald was merely a simple business transaction but has later termed a mistake. The commissioner was ultimately charged in March of this year and last month pleaded guilty to offering a gift to a public servant, a Class A misdemeanor, and has been on deferred adjudication probation since he entered the plea. The attorney generals office handled the case, including the plea agreement, because McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna recused his office. Jones said last week that he was shocked by the new charges because he thought the matter had been resolved with his plea arrangement with the attorney generals office. Dunnam filed a motion Wednesday in Caldwell County to quash the charges, but also asked Strother to consider dismissing the charges. Gates said he pursued the charges against Jones because he wasnt satisfied with Jones plea bargain and he thought the commissioner would have to resign from office. Texas law requires officeholders convicted of crimes involving official misconduct to resign from office, but Jones will not have a conviction if he completes his deferred adjudication probation and can remain in office. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan asserted last week that if the president were a Democrat, the House wouldnt be pursing impeachment. He must know thats not true. If FBI Director James Comey had angered a President Hillary Clinton by restarting the investigation into her private email server and she had fired him, Republicans would be howling. Rightly so. Instead, Donald Trump won the election. Comey was pursuing an investigation into Russian meddling. It angered President Trump, and he fired Comey. But rather than howling, Republicans are whimpering. The chair of the Republican National Committee has even called for a halt to all investigations of collusion with Russia. Thats a problem. I was on the House Judiciary Committee that began the consideration of impeaching President Bill Clinton. Armed with information from independent counsel Kenneth Starr, we were convinced the president had lied under oath. We drafted articles of impeachment and a majority of the House concurred with our assessment. The Senate subsequently determined that there wasnt sufficient cause to remove him from office. In retrospect, a public censure or reprimand might have been more advisable. Regardless, Clinton was impeached for charges less serious than the ones before us now. In the current case, Comey was exploring the possibility of American involvement in the Russian plot, a treasonous offense. While its not time to start drafting articles of impeachment, it is time to pursue this investigation into Russian meddling in our presidential election with vigor, without friends to reward and without enemies to punish. Confronting Trump will take more courage than it took when Republicans told President Richard Nixon that it was time for him to leave office. Not that Trump is more imposing than Nixon; Nixon was a serious president with significant accomplishments. The difference, now, is the presence of sycophantic media. When Republicans confronted Nixon in 1974, they faced three, 30-minute, nightly news broadcasts. The networks competed, but their newscasts and the facts presented were virtually identical. Those Republicans knew that their political futures rested upon their maintenance of credibility. Today, Fox News, talk radio, Breitbart and others fawn over Trump, Vice President Pence and the rest of the administration. They amplify the White Houses words while defying the journalistic calling to test and to probe the governments claims. Recall how those outlets immediately affirmed Trumps unsubstantiated morning tweets about President Barack Obamas wiretapping of Trump Tower. With Fox and others clogging the media landscape, Republicans political futures now rest on feeding the passions and proclivities of Trumps hard-core base the 39 percent of the electorate that likes him and responds to his code of grievance. That 39 percent is the dominant force in Republican primaries today. Cross them and you die. Thats why Sen. Marco Rubio, for example, used his time at last weeks Senate Intelligence Committee hearing to ask Comey questions that excused, lessened and dismissed the possible connection between the Russians and Trump. Its not that Trump has wooed Rubio; its that the Florida senator is aware of the power of the 39 percent. Of course, the 39 percent will ultimately kill the Republican Party unless we can turn them around. A dead GOP would deprive a generation of Americans of the free-enterprise and individual-accountability solutions that thoughtful people such as Rubio would like to offer. Furthermore, a hostile foreign power has struck at the heart of our constitutional republic. As Comey said with passion last week: If any Americans were part of helping the Russians do that to us, that is a very big deal. Republicans must be prepared to follow those facts all the way to the president, his family and his campaign, if thats where the facts lead. Fox News alerts play it down, the RNC says drop it, and the 39 percent shrugs, but we need real courage from real Republicans and a real investigation. It was a riveting display of political fireworks, complete with a fired FBI director accusing his former boss of lying about why he was fired. James Comey also said he had to take special precautions with Trump in large part because the president cant be trusted to tell the truth. Devastating. But the core of James Comeys testimony was built upon the question of obstruction of justice, for which he had a clear and, basically, uncontested story: President Donald Trump made clear over time he wanted Comey to be loyal to the president, not to the law or the Bureau, and that loyalty meant curtailing the Russia investigation. The investigation went forward unimpeded. Comey is in fact loyal to the law and the Bureau, not to the president. Trump fired Comey. And Trump himself said the dismissal was over the Russia investigation. Committee Republicans may have had some success poking holes in the precise meaning of Trumps requests to Comey: Was it limited to just the Flynn portion of the investigation or something broader? But its Trumps public statements on why he fired Comey that support the latter. That this constitutes a form of obstruction of justice and is therefore impeachable is fairly obvious. But impeachable is a funny word. What is a justified and legitimate use of Congress impeachment power? The Constitution doesnt say. Nor does it require Congress to act just because everybody thinks that the president has done something impeachable. Thats a political question completely up to the House to decide (and then for the Senate if the House puts it to them). In that sense, while theres no way of knowing how this scandal plays out, what we already know is devastating to the presidents professional reputation. Republicans as well as Democrats will conclude that the president is incompetent, that his word cannot be trusted, that he does not respect the laws and norms of the constitutional system and that those around him either share each of those traits or act as if they share them. Of course this episode and the broader Russia scandal are only one piece of that, but anyone tempted to believe that Trumps bluster was limited to peripheral situations will certainly know that he acted unprofessionally and worse even with national security and his own political viability on the line. We can see that, too, in the questioning from committee Republicans, which broke down into three groups. A couple just wanted to talk about Hillary Clinton and emails. A couple asked questions designed to draw Comey out further, questions the White House could not be happy about at all. And about half of them tried to challenge Comeys facts and interpretations, but most of them did so in only a half-hearted way and none of them shook the former directors story at all on any subject. So while its quite true that no Republican broke with the president in the sense of adopting the harsh language that the Democrats used, its also true that none of them really did much to support the president; at best it seemed the president can count on some Republicans to be reluctant but willing partisan warriors. It sure didnt seem to me that Trump had any real friends in that room. The legal case against the Trump team and any potential impeachment will depend on many factors, including other facts which we dont yet know. But the damage to Trump is severe. A president who is not respected, trusted, or even feared is not going to have much influence in Washington. Im not only talking about members of Congress (and remember, Republicans who arent influenced by the president will still try to pass very conservative legislation because they themselves are very conservative). Im also talking about bureaucrats, state governments, even judges. If things dont change, and its hard to see any reason to expect them to, were going to have years of a president who, as Matt Glassman said, will be reduced to almost the bare-bones formal powers of the office. Impeachment and removal may be less likely at this point than an extended demonstration of just how powerless a president can become. In the days since former FBI director James Comey gave his compelling if hardly overwhelming testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Trib has published columns aplenty from all political perspectives, ranging from those who believe Comeys comments actually open up President Trump to even more allegations of wrongdoing to unbending Trump apologists who believe the real conspiracy is by rabid Democrats, old-styled Republicans dismayed at their partys turn of late and, of course, the news media, always handy for vilification when all else fails. Weve held back in our own estimation because we havent heard enough. Anyone with objectivity must acknowledge the bare outlines of obstruction of justice are present: The president pressured the FBI director for personal loyalty. He expressed hope the FBI could let this go regarding an investigation into conflicts of interest with foreign powers by the presidents national security adviser. Then he fired the FBI director for this Russia thing. But what specifically did the president mean by this Russia thing? And if your boss expresses hope you do something, is that the same as a directive? Theres just enough ambiguity also present to suggest a reasonable doubt, like it or not. With a third of our nation unconcerned about Russian meddling in U.S. elections and many more confused to the point of tedium by daily developments coming to light, we suggest citizens keep their attention focused squarely on policy matters. While allegations about Trump team members colluding with Russian operatives are serious, Americans would be smarter at this critical juncture to focus on percolating legislation that could adversely impact families, neighborhoods, national security and our way of life. For instance, while all were fixated on the Comey hearing last week, the House passed legislation repealing parts of the Dodd-Frank Act. Republican Congressman Bill Flores, who represents Waco, calls it a big step forward to rein in federal bureaucracy by dismantling regulations that crippled community banks and hindered folks trying to gain mortgages, auto loans and mobile-home loans. But critics say this bill puts our economy back in the same wildly unstable situation it was in during the years preceding the 2008-09 financial crisis that sank so many boats. Health care is also important. Should we worry about the health-insurance legislation some experts predict will hike premiums for those everyday folks with pre-existing conditions or those over 60? Didnt the president promise not to touch Medicaid or Medicare? How come he now recommends cutting Medicaid? Is that a broken promise? A lie? How about steps to make Medicare insolvent quicker so we can cut taxes for the rich? Concern can be expressed on a number of serious issues, from environmentalism to foreign policy. We look forward to public testimony today from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the ensuing investigation by much-respected Special Counsel Robert Mueller. But till Mueller is done, all should keep their eyes focused on legislation being hammered out in the halls of Congress very often with little scrutiny or scruples. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have now hit 766 runs from nine matches together at an average of 88.77 in two editions of the ICC Champions Trophy. By Ranit Das: Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma continued their rich vein of form as the duo struck a 87-run partnership against Bangladesh in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy at Edgbaston. Chasing a 265 to qualify for the final, the pair provided India with a solid start before Dhawan fell for 46 to Mashrafe Mortaza. advertisement With the 87-run partnership, Dhawan and Rohit became the most successful opening pair in the history of the tournament. The Indian pair now has 766 runs from nine matches at an average of 88.77. They overtook Chreis Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who have 635 runs from nine matches. The Delhi-Mumbai batting pair has four hundred run stands and three half-century stands in the tournament. The first time they played together in the Champions Trophy was in 2013 at Cardiff, where they hit 127 runs from 21.2 overs. They followed it up with a 101-run stand against West Indies at The Oval. The century stands were followed by a 58-run partnership and a 77-run stand against Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively. They failed in the final but their consistent display steered India to the final, where they beat England by five runs to lift the Champions Trophy. They continued their good form into this year's tournament as well. Gabbar and the Hitman slammed 384 runs so far in this tournament from four matches. They have hit two century run stands against Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well. --- ENDS --- WAHOO A familiar face at Bishop Neumann Junior- Senior High School is transitioning into a new role. John Kreikemeier has been named the Bishop Neumann principal following the reassignment announcement of former principal Father Jeremy Hazuka. Hazuka has been reassigned to be a pastor at Saint Michael Catholic Church in Hastings. My goal is to bring every student closer to Christ and their career goals every day, said Kreikemeier of his vision as principal. The duties of principal are not unfamiliar to Kreikemeier, who served as the schools assistant principal last school year. Having that year of experience should be beneficial as he assumes more responsibilities, he said. I helped with the day-to-day teacher observation, student discipline and faculty professional development, he said. Kreikemeier will have those same responsibilities next school year. However, creating and submitting state reports will be an additional responsibility hell take on in his new role. Kreikemeier earned his masters degree in educational administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha. During his seven years at the parochial school in Wahoo, Kreikemeier has taught junior high physical education, junior high social studies and eighth grade religion. Before that, the West Point native also taught at Pius the X in Lincoln and in Rochester, Minn. while his wife, Em- ily, completed her residency. He had also spent a year and a half teaching at Neumann. Father (Charles) Townsend asked if Id have any interest coming back, he said. That was seven years ago. Kreikemeier said he returned to Bishop Neumann and continues to commute from west Omaha because he loves the Bishop Neumann community. I love the faith-based education and how we work together, he said. I love the small community togetherness. Kreikemeier and his wife, Emily, have two sons, Leo, 4, and Zac, 2, and another child due in September. Kreikemeier said he will be spending much of the summer with other Bishop Neumann administrators to discuss strategies and professional development for the staff. The school will not have a new assistant principal next school year. However, Father Matthew Zimmer has been appointed the assistant chief administration officer. Zimmer will be the assistant to Chief Administration Officer Father Mike Morin. Hazuka served as the schools principal for seven years and was the pastor at St. George in Morse Bluff. It has been a privilege to serve the students, parents and staff of Bishop Neumann I was humbled by the opportunity, he said. May God bless Bishop Neumann as our school looks to a bright and exciting future. Nearly 75 years ago, the 13th Bomber Squadron was anxious to take the fight back to the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Their only issue? They were without any aircraft. Forward deployed at the time to Brisbane, Australia, the 13thBomber Squadron pitched tents and questioned how they were to fight without their beloved A-20 Havoc medium bombers. The commanding officer at the time, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Bob Strickland, called the Far East Air Force (FEAF) headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, pleading with the higher headquarters to get his men planes. Their response to Strickland: The unit would be getting B-25 Mitchells and they were inbound. Unfortunately, two weeks later, those planes never made it to the 13th Bomber Squadron. In fact, the Dutch Air Force ended up receiving the planes. So with no planes and a desire to get in the fight, the grim reapers did what they had to. They appropriated the planes from the Dutch. The 13th crafted some authorization paperwork stating the planes belonged to the U.S., then 24 members of the 13th BS tactfully appropriated the B-25s and the rest, as they say, is history. Now the 13th Bomber Squadron comes full circle as they took advantage of the Commemorative Air Force Missouri Wings B-25 Mitchell Show Me being present at the 2017 Scott Air Force Base (AFB), Illinois air show and had the B-25 fly to Whiteman AFB, Missouri. Working with the Commemorative Air Force , the Grim Reapers waltzed out to the flightline at Whiteman and placed their reaper logo over the Show me logo of the CAF B-25 and claimed the aircraft as their own. The B-25s the 13th Bomber Squadron took control of during World War II would go on to fly vital combat missions in the Pacific. The 13th Bomber Squadron continued to fly combat missions through the Korean War, logged their 1000th combat sortie during Vietnam, participated in the Global War on Terror while flying B-1 Lancers, and the Grim Reapers proudly led the fight against ISIS when the B-2 Spirit bomber launched from Whiteman in January of this year and struck targets in Libya. Despite their old age, the Grim Reapers clearly still have what it takes to get the mission done and will always be ready to take the fight to the enemy. "The government deliberately delayed the process, so a consensus is unlikely," said Sitaram yechury. By Poulomi Saha: Accusing the BJP-led NDA government of "deliberately delaying the process" to find a consensus candidate who would be India's next President, senior Left Front leader Sitaram Yechury today claimed the people's mandate is with the Opposition which got 69 per cent votes in the 2014 election as opposed to the BJP's 31. "The government deliberately delayed the process, so a consensus is unlikely. Election looks inevitable," he said. "They are saying respect the people's mandate. We are also saying the same thing. People's mandate was with the Opposition. The BJP got just 31 per cent votes in the last election while the Opposition parties jointly got 69 per cent vote," he added. advertisement Yechury's indication that the July 17 presidential election is on came a day before top BJP leaders - Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu - are expected to meet him and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to find a consensus candidate who succeeds Pranab Mukherjee as India's 14th President. Singh and Naidu, along with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, form Amit Shah's three-member BJP panel that has been formed to consult the NDA allies as well as the Opposition to evolve a consensus over the presidential poll. Yechury, on the other hand, is a part of the 10-member Opposition sub-group that has been formed by the Congress to zero in on a "mutually acceptable" presidential candidate with the ruling dispensation. The members of this committee met in Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's office in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. While the Opposition leaders said no names were discussed in the meeting, there are indications that former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar have been shortlisted as their likely candidates. The term of incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24 and that of Vice-President M Hamid Ansari on August 10. Also read: Presidential election 2017: Will it be Gopalkrishna Gandhi vs NDA candidate? Who will be India's next President? Election Commission begins process Presidential election: Even as divisions run deep, BJP says will woo Sonia, Yechury for consensus candidate WATCH | BJP constitutes three-member panel to decide Presidential candidate --- ENDS --- "Make it clear you know the law, and if they contest that, show them the ACCC website, because they would've heard about the ACCC." In Australia, most goods and services come with automatic consumer guarantees. Credit:Louise Kennerley It appears many businesses are failing to comply with the ACL and offer a free repair if the problem is minor, or give the customer the choice of a repair, exchange or refund if there's a major fault. In response to the rising tide of complaints, the ACCC has launched an online "complaint letter" tool that consumers can use to assert their rights. ACCC deputy chairwoman Delia Rickard. It had noticed that its original "how to write a complaint letter" was being viewed frequently but was infrequently downloaded. "Instead of downloading a copy, we thought we'd build a tool that guides you through what you should say to get the best response," said Ms Rickard. Under the law, purchases come with guarantees that it will be of "acceptable quality" (safe and durable), fit for purpose, and match the description, sample or demonstration model. Any warranties are in addition to these guarantees. The latest ACCC figures show that 70 per cent of the 9000 complaints were in relation to issues of "acceptable quality". But retailers say there needs to be more guidance about what exactly "acceptable quality" and "reasonable durability" mean, because everyone has different expectations. Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the Australian Retailers Association, said its members were concerned about the varying opinions on what is "reasonable and fair wear". "For example, a product that's worn by a child everyday and it becomes faulty. The consumer sees that as highly important and wants a replacement now, whereas the retailer might say 'I can get that repaired, and under the circumstances, it doesn't warrant a replacement'," he said. "Then you get into a difference of opinion about what is reasonable wear, because the retailer might think 'You've had that for six to eight months and we think a repair is enough'." The final report of the review of the Australian Consumer Law was released in March, and among the recommendations was for the development of guidance on "reasonable durability". A key political fundraiser for former prime minister Tony Abbott has maintained contact with Chinese Communist Party-aligned businessman Huang Xiangmo, despite warnings from ASIO to Mr Abbott about the billionaire donor. Mr Huang has sought to get Abbott confidant and Liberal party heavyweight, John Caputo, to intervene in his citizenship application, according to a well-placed source. The revelation comes as the controversy over foreign interference in Australian affairs continues to grow, more than a week after a Fairfax Media and Four Corners investigation exposed efforts by China's Communist Party to exert influence through political donations. Every sad couple out there were once in love. Full of longing and infatuation, desire to undress and be touched. To lay awake and watch the other sleep, this miraculous person who infused life with meaning and physical and spiritual pleasure. Once someone in the partnership feels unloved or unrecognised, the relationship is under threat to outside forces. Credit:Stocksy But "limerence", the biochemical processes in the brain when we fall in love, which releases norepinephrine, dopamine, phenylethylamine, and gives us that drug-like arousal, only lasts so long. Usually, at the six to 24-month mark, romantic euphoria slips away the honeymoon is over. But with the help of attachment hormones, vasopressin and oxytocin, a more settled kind of love kicks in. The time has come to shop for couches. There is light at the end of the tunnel for Perth languishing office property market, a leading commercial property analyst predicts. The Australian Financial Review reports resource-rich Western Australia, which was just emerging from its most severe downturn since the 1990s, was on the rebound, according to David Cannington,research chief at commercial real estate company Investa. the outlook for Perth's office market is finally improving. Credit:Stefan Gosatti The office cycle in Perth was typically volatile as it rides the highs and lows of the mining cycle, but the CBD was expected to experience a subdued cyclical upturn, with conditions less dependent on the mining sector outlook than in recent years, according to Mr Cannington. "The outlook for Perth CBD office property has improved through the first half of 2017," he said. To the uninitiated, the Internet of Things is the networking of devices, vehicles, buildings and other items embedded with sensors that allow them to collect and exchange data. But that dry definition is something Tom Zorde from Perth's Internet of Everything Community wants to rise above, because he reckons this rapidly emerging technology "gives you superpowers." The Internet of Things promises to make us more interconnected than ever. "With Internet of Things capable devices and assets you understand and control the physical world at great distances like never before," Mr Zorde said. "And you can also anticipate and intercept, with known certainty, future events before they happen. Weather predictions have been around for along time, but everything predictions have not Could these adorable pictures of some recently rescued puppies break the internet? We think they could go pretty close. Police officers in Kununurra in WA's Kimberley region rescued eight Staffy Cross Kelpie puppies recently from a home in the local area. Some of the puppies which were rescued. Credit:WA Police Police were called to the home at the weekend due to an animal cruelty complaint and seized the puppies in an effort to nurture them back to health. Mogadishu: At least 17 people were killed on Wednesday when a suicide bomber and gunmen attacked two popular restaurants in the Somali capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses have reported. Special forces rescued more than 50 hostages, according to the state news media. A suicide car bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the Posh Treats restaurant, which also serves as a hotel, killing guards and civilians, Somali police officer Ali Hassan said. The blast also partially hit a neighbouring restaurant. Security officials believe that armed attackers also divided themselves into two groups, storming both establishments, and that hostages are being held in the second building. Australian ABC journalist Adam Harvey has been hit in the neck by a bullet while working in the Philippines. CNN Philippines reported that Harvey was hit by a stray bullet inside the Provincial Capitol Compound in Marawi on Thursday. CNN reported that Harvey was within the compound, which is considered a safe zone, when he was struck while taking photos of evacuees. Harvey wrote on Twitter: "I'm okay. Bullet is still in my neck, but it missed everything important." Muslim residents of London's Grenfell Tower, who were awake during the night because they were observing Ramadan, helped save lives after a deadly fire tore through the block early on Wednesday, witnesses said. A local woman told a gathering outside the block that more people would have died if not for the actions of a number of Muslim boys. She said the boys knocked on doors, yelling in an attempt to alert residents in the absence of fire alarms. DU's St. Stephens college as released its first cut-off list which set the bar highest for English and Economics courses at 98.5 per cent and the lowest for Sanskrit at 70 per cent. By Arpan Rai: Ending the day long nail-biting delay for Delhi University's St. Stephens' aspirants, the college released its first cut-off list for commerce, science and arts students. Presenting a cut-off list merrier than last year's bar, the college released its highest cut-off for English and Economics at 98.5 per cent, provided a student has secured a 90 per cent in Maths for pursuing an Eco. (Hons) and 90 per cent in English Core for pursuing English (Hons). advertisement Those aiming for a seat in History programme offered by the college need a score of 97.75 for commerce, 97 for science and 96 for arts. The college has asked for lowest score of 70 per cent for a Bachelors degree in Sanskrit from students coming from science, commerce and arts background. Cut-off marks for Mathematics stand at 97 for a commerce student and a science student and 96 for an arts student. The most sought-after course of B. A. programme has also found itself in a demanding slot by setting a bar for commerce students at 97, 95 for humanities students and 96.5 for science students. As for Chemistry and Physics, by decreasing the bar for students belonging to schedule caste and schedule tribe, St. Stephen's has asked for a score as low as 91 per cent. St. Stephen's is the first college to release merit list for admitting students for academic session starting 2017. DU's centralised first cut-off list has been decided to be flashed on June 23. The varsity will release its second cut-off list on July 1, third on July 7, fourth cutoff list on July 13 and fifth one on July 18. Click here to Enlarge St. Stephens first cut-off list ALSO READ | DU to CBSE: No extra weightage, special treatment to board students --- ENDS --- A section of the Port of Charleston in South Carolina was shut down for several hours on Wednesday night after a tip from a far-right YouTube conspiracy theorist warned that a dirty bomb might be on a container ship moored there, officials said. A section of the Port of Charleston was closed for about seven hours as nearly a dozen federal, state and local agencies searched and turned up nothing. The episode began around 8pm on Wednesday when the Coast Guard said it received two phone calls about a potential dirty bomb -- a crude explosive rigged to spray radioactive material -- aboard the container ship Maersk Memphis, Lt. James B. Zorn, a Coast Guard spokesman, said on Thursday. Four containers aboard the ship were scanned and the section of the port that had been closed, the Wando terminal, was reopened around 3.30am on Thursday. Norristown: The jurors at comedian Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial said on Thursday they were deadlocked after more than 30 hours of deliberations. "We cannot come to a unanimous consensus on any of the counts," said the jury's note to Judge Steven O'Neill in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Jurors began discussing the charges late on Monday and worked 12-hour days on both Tuesday and Wednesday. In response, Mr O'Neill gave a standard instruction that the jurors should continue trying to reach a verdict without compromising any of their individual beliefs. As reporters streamed out of the courtroom, poet and author Jewel Allison - one of the dozens of women who have accused Cosby of assaulting them - burst into tears. Several accusers have been in court all week awaiting a verdict. And in March this year fire experts warned that a government delay in reviewing building regulations could be endangering tower blocks throughout the UK. Fires continued to rage in the Grenfell Tower block in London well into the next day. Credit:Getty Images One fire safety expert said non-fire resistant, even flammable materials were being used to make buildings more energy efficient. In July 2009, three women and three young children died in a fire that spread through Lakanal House in Camberwell, south London. Police forensics carry a body bag on a stretcher out of the Grenfell Tower block. Credit:Getty Images An inquest into the deaths in 2013 found that a recent refurbishment adding 'composite panels' to the building "had a significant impact on the fire resistance of the external wall". Coroner Frances Kirkham wrote to the government recommending a review of building regulations, "with particular regard to the spread of fire over the external envelope of the building", especially if renovations or refurbishments might reduce existing fire protection. At least 12 people died in the inferno, but more casualties were expected. Credit:Getty Images Newly-added aluminium cladding on Grenfell Tower has been blamed for helping the fire to quickly spread across the building. The coroner in 2013 also said the government should encourage housing providers to retro-fit sprinkler systems in high-rise residential buildings. A missing person poster is displayed near the tower block. Credit:Getty Images And she said it should clarify the "stay put principle" under which residents are initially told to remain in their apartments if there is a fire outside. Grenfell lacked a functioning sprinkler system, and residents who fled the building said they had been instructed to "stay put". Southwark Council said after the 2013 inquest "we urge everyone in the country that has a responsibility in this area to ... try to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again and in order that those who tragically lost their lives did not do so in vain". But Ronnie King, the secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Fire Safety & Rescue Group, told LBC radio that the government had sat on the coronial report and not acted. "Successive ministers since 2013 have said they are still looking at it," he said. "We've been waiting." Those ministers include the previous Housing Minister Gavin Barwell, now prime minister Theresa May's new chief of staff. Mr King said there were around 4000 tower blocks in Britain that still lack fire sprinklers. He said in March that social landlords and housing providers could face multi-million pound legal costs and compensation should they experience a "Lakanal House tragedy". Dr Jim Glocking, technical director of the industry Fire Protection Association, told the Guardian his organisation had "lobbied long and hard" for changes to building regulations, without success. "Various ministers have said over the years that there will be an imminent review, but it keeps being put on hold, in spite of organisations like ourselves campaigning very hard," he said Glocking said they had wanted rules to ensure that external insulation underneath cladding on tower blocks was fire resistant. On Wednesday, a note on one of the earliest flowers placed at the scene read "Justice has to be done. People before money." David Collins, of the Grenfell Tower residents association, told the BBC their concerns about the safety of the building had been ignored by the landlord and by the council. They had complained about "fire safety concerns which were not investigated during the regeneration works", Mr Collins said. "(There were) concerns over locations of boilers, concerns about escape, concerns about fire escape lighting, the list goes on. "I spoke to councillors and they refused to investigate." Rydon, a company that recently finished a refurbishment of the building, said their work had "met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards". "We will cooperate with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their inquiries into the causes of this fire at the appropriate time," they said in a statement. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn linked the fire on cuts to local government funding under the Conservative government. "If you deny local authorities the funding they need then there is a price that's paid by the lack of safety facilities all over the country," he said. He said it was too early to go more deeply into the question of blame, as the first priority was "saving life". "Tomorrow is the day for searching questions, searching questions on the provision of fire safety equipment, the provision of sprinklers and the support the emergency services need and must have," he said "The reports that have been made in the past have to be acted on and we will make sure they are." Policing and fire minister Nick Hurd said checks would be carried out on other tower blocks going through similar refurbishment to Grenfell Tower. A local builder called Alan told LBC radio he had been in the building many times and had noticed the stairwell doors were not properly sealed fire doors. The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said. The move by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Trump's own conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said. Trump had received private assurances from former FBI Director James Comey starting in January that he was not personally under investigation. Officials say that changed shortly after Comey's firing. Sunil Grover will be back on TV with Super Night with Tubelight this weekend. By India Today Web Desk: Comedian Sunil Grover, who has been missing from small screen for quite some time, will be back with Sony TV's Super Night with Tubelight on July 18. Sunil will be seen in various avatars on the show including the famous Dr. Mashoor Gulati. Salman Khan and Sohail Khan were seen bursting into peals of laughter on the sets of the show. advertisement Sunil, who is not keen to return to The Kapil Sharma Show post his mid-air fight with Kapil, said that it was solely because of Salman Khan that he agreed for the show. "I came back to Sony only for a very special person, Salman Khan. It's a special show dedicated to his new film Tubelight," he told DNA. As per recent reports, Salman refused to appear on TKSS without Sunil, so Sony proposed for a special show with the comedian. Sunil, who has been busy doing live shows after his fallout with Kapil, said that he is happy to be back on small screen again. "I worked in front of a camera after a while. I must say I enjoyed myself thoroughly," added the actor. Also read: Sunil Grover finally unveils his look for Super Night with Tubelight; see pic --- ENDS --- With the sponsorship of EUROCUSTOMS, a WCO National Workshop on the modernization of the Customs Laboratories in Azerbaijan was held, from 12 to 14 June, in the premises of the WCO Regional Training Center of Baku (Azerbaijan). The Workshop was facilitated by a Senior Technical Officer from the WCOs Tariff and Trade Affaires Directorate and by Mr. Alessandro Proposito from the Central Directorate for Chemical Laboratories of Rome (Italy). This Workshop was attended by 20 officers, from different sections of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, involved in Customs Laboratories and HS classification matters. At the opening of the Workshop, Ms. Mehriban Alizadeh, Head of Central Department of Customs Expertise of the State Customs Committee, highlighted the importance of a Customs Laboratory for the correct classification of certain commodities in the National Tariff and thanked the WCO and the representatives from the Italian Customs Administration for facilitating the high level discussions on the modernization of the Customs Laboratories of Azerbaijan. Mr. Alessandro Proposito, emphasized the importance of the role played by Customs Laboratories in the National Customs Administrations not only for the efficient collection of Customs duties but also for the protection of the society and the environment. During the Workshop a wide range of topics related to the HS and Customs Laboratories were addressed and the participants were informed about several databases and documentation specifically designed for the day to day routine in a Classification Unit. The structure of the Italian Customs Laboratories was described in detail as a representative example of modern Customs Laboratories. Participants were also informed about the efforts of the WCO Secretariat in promoting cooperation and networking between Customs Laboratories and, in particular, about the WCO Regional Customs Laboratories initiative. Moreover, some analytical determinations of special interest for Azerbaijan Customs (e.g., polymers, metals, medicines, analysis by infrared and gas chromatography) were discussed by participants and facilitators. During the week of 5 June, the World Customs Organization delivered its Eleventh Strategic Trade Control Enforcement Training event since the Programme was launched in July 2016. The event took place in Zagreb, Croatia and was the first regional training event, with participants attending from Bosnia-Hercegovina and Serbia as well as Croatia. The workshop covered the importance of Strategic Trade controls along with case studies of detections and commodity identifications of strategic and dual use materials and items. This was the first regional training event and was targeted at front line officers from the three countries. The Strategic Trade Control Enforcement Training is a key component of the WCOs Security Programme and the training supports Members to meet their United National Security Council obligations in relation to controlling the export, import and transhipment of weapons of mass destruction, their components and related dual use materials and items. This event was the third of three workshops delivered in the June, with other National Trainings taking place in Mexico and Armenia. The WCO has a programme of planned National Training throughout the year and hosts a train the trainer event 22 to 30 August in Brussels. Sunil Grover, Sanket Bhosale and Ali Asgar at their best on Super Night with Tubelight. Salman Khan and Sohail Khan had a blast on Super Night with Tubelight. Picture courtesy: Facebook/sonytelevision By Shweta Keshri: Sunil Grover along with other former TKSS comedians Ali Asgar, Sugandha Mishra and Sanket Bhosale will be back on TV with Super Night with Tubelight this weekend. The show is a 2-hour special episode on Sony TV where Salman Khan will be promoting his Eid release Tubelight. The special episode promises to be super entertaining with some hilarious acts and some spectacular performances. advertisement Here are five interesting acts from Super Night with Tubelight that will air on June 18. Sunil Grover as Mashoor Gulati on Super Night With Tubelight. Sunil Grover will once again be seen in his popular avatar Dr. Mashoor Gulati and he will entertaining people in his trademark style. In the trailer of the episode, Dr. Gulati is seen performing a surgery on Salman Khan, while the Sultar actor can't stop smiling. 2. KBC Duplicate with Salman Khan and Sohail Khan Sunil Grover will be playing KBC Duplicate with the Khan brothers and they were seen holding their stomach to control their laughter. Salman praised Sunil's KBC act and said that he was so good that it felt like they were sitting in front of Amitabh Bachchan. Sanket Bhosale hosted Dutt Ka Dum and left the Khan brothers in splits. Sanket Bhosale hosted Dutt Ka Dum and left the Khan brothers in splits. Sanket Bhosale appeared as Sanjay Dutt and played Dutt Ka Dum (spoof of Dus Ka Dum) with Salman and Sohail. Sanket is a great artist and it would be interesting to see him host Salman Khan's show in Sanjay Dutt's style. Mouni Roy dancing with Super Dancer kids on Super Night with Tubelight. Dressed in black dress, Mouni Roy looks beautiful dancing to hit Salman numbers like Maye Ni Maye from Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Tann Tanna Tan from Judwaa. Mouni will be accompanied by Super Dancer kids on the stage. Ali Asgar as kabootar in Super Night with Tubelight. Picture courtesy: Facebook/sonytelevision Ali Asgar, who played Naani in TKSS will be seen in various characters on Super Night with Tubelight. He will tickle your funny bone as the pigeon from Salman's first blockbuster film Maine Pyar Kiya. Also read: Sunil Grover came back on Sony for this special person --- ENDS --- The Supreme Court has not put a stay on the Centre's notification regulating sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter. SC has asked the Centre to file its response within two weeks. Photo for representation. By Anusha Soni, Farzand Ahmed: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre on the plea challenging the notification banning sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter. The Supreme Court has given the Centre two weeks to file its response and posted the matter for hearing on July 11. The Supreme Court, however, has not put a stay on the Centre's notification as of now. advertisement The Centre told the court that its intention was "to create a regulatory regime all over the country" and that it would file a detailed reply. UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND DISCRIMINATORY The petition was filed by a Hyderabad-based lawyer Fahim Qureshi who is also the president of the All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee. The state of Kerala and several other groups have filed pleas to become intervenors in the matter. The Supreme Court has asked Center to reply to the plea challenging cattle slaughter ban as "unconstitutional" and "discriminatory". Besides arguing that the decision will hit poor farmers and squeeze supplies to the country's Rs 1 lakh-crore meat industry, Fahim Qureshi's petition also accused the government of pushing a beef ban through the back door in keeping with the BJP's Hindutva agenda. THE MAY 25 NOTIFICATION The Centre's controversial May 25 notification regulating sale of cattle for slaughter has triggered protests across the country. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, allows only farmland owners to trade at animal markets. The notification covers bulls, bullocks, cows, buffaloes, steers, heifers and calves, as well as the camel trade. They also require anyone purchasing cattle to provide an undertaking that the animals are bought for agricultural purposes and not slaughter. ALSO READ: Beef 'stews' BJP in Goa, CM Parrikar caught between frozen slab of meat and a very hard place Beef ban: How BJP plans to milk the cow in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu Owaisi slams BJP over beef 'hypocrisy', says cow 'mummy' in UP, 'yummy' in Northeast ALSO WATCH: Supreme Court issues notice to Centre over cattle trade curbs --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Former The Kapil Sharma Show comedian Chandan Prabhakar had been making news lately for his infamous mid-air feud with Kapil Sharma, but Chandan could not be bothered about all the reports circulating about his fight with Kapil, as he has now a big reason to smile. And no, it has nothing to do with his professional life. advertisement Chandan welcomed a baby girl in his life and shared the news with his fans on March 31. Chandan, who had tied the knot with Nandini Khanna two years ago, recently took to social media site Twitter to express his happiness at the news. And he has once again shared a super-adorable picture of his baby girl on Twitter with the caption, "This is the best frame of my life. Thank you God." Here's the post: This is the best frame of my life...thank you God. pic.twitter.com/SrjOPc4ILt- Chandan Prabhakar (@haanjichandan) June 14, 2017 Also read: Congratulations! The Kapil Sharma Show's Chandan Prabhakar is now a father to a baby girl --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: By Lalit K Jha Washington, Jun 15 (PTI) Defence Secretary James Mattis has confirmed that President Donald Trump has authorised him to "manage" US troop levels in Afghanistan, paving the way for sending more American forces amidst a surge in Taliban attacks in the war-ravaged country. Mattis new authority to manage troop levels in Afghanistan will likely mean the deployment of thousands of additional US service members this summer. advertisement "At noon yesterday, President Trump delegated to me the authority to manage troop numbers in Afghanistan," Mattis said. "The delegation of this authority, consistent with the authority President Trump granted me two months ago for Iraq and Syria does not, at this time, change the troop numbers for Afghanistan," he told members of the Subcommittee on Defence Hearing on the Department of Defence yesterday. "Together in the inter-agency, we will define the way ahead and I will set the US military commitment, consistent with the commander in chief strategic direction and the foreign policy as dictated by secretary of state Tillerson,? he said during the hearing. The Pentagon chief, however said that he has yet not decided on the final plan of deploying troops. "Our overall mission Afghanistan remains the same. To train, advise and assist the Afghan forces so they can safeguard the Afghan people and terrorists can find no haven in Afghanistan for attacking us or others. The revised Afghanistan strategy with the new approach will be presented to the president for his approval in the coming weeks," he said. The US currently has some 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. Army General John Nicholson, the top US commander in war- ravaged Afghanistan, had told Congress that he could use an infusion of US and allied troops to bolster support for the Afghan Army. The decision to fix troop levels has been by welcomed by Afghanistan as it stated that it firms the commitment towards between the two nations. "Afghanistan welcomes the decision by President Trump to give Defence Secretary Gen. James Mattis the authority to set US military troop levels in Afghanistan, a development that underscores the United States strong commitment to our two countries long-term joint efforts to defeat common enemies and bring about peace and stability," Afghanistans Ambassador to America Hamdullah Mohib said. He exuded confidence that the decision will advance the strategic objectives of the US-Afghan mission and provide essential support to the brave Afghan troops fighting on the front lines of this global struggle between good and evil. "Daesh (IS), Al-Qaeda and the Taliban along with more than two-dozen other terror groups threaten not just the people of Afghanistan but also the United States and other nations," Mohib said. Mattis said the US military posture in Afghanistan is part of a larger regional context in South Asia. advertisement Responding to questions, Mattis said the Afghan policy of the Trump administration is likely to be announced within weeks. "Im talking about within weeks, not months. I will come up and brief you and any of your colleagues," he said. "I think right now what we have to look at is what kind of capabilities do we bring to them because the Afghans have proven they will fight. They have suffered horrible losses and they keep fighting. Theyre not fighting as well as they could if we gave them the kind of air support, more intel support that we could give them," he asserted. The Taliban has stepped up their attacks on foreign forces in recent months. Three US soldiers were killed and another wounded last Saturday when they were attacked by an Afghan soldier, who was then killed. Two US Army Rangers died in a April 27 raid on an IS compound in eastern Afghanistan. PTI LKJ ASV AKJ AKJ --- ENDS --- The Hermitage by John Hedden Read Part One Here... Read Part Two here... The historical aspect of Cat Island culture is not readily apparent, even with the brief outlines presented in the touristic flyers. Visitors are expected to find their own way around the sites of plantation ruins and surmise their own story of how the planters arrived, set up their operations, and eventually failed. Included in this would be the remains of a portion of the old railway used for the transport of the harvested and processed sisal from the plantings to the waiting vessels off the deep water Atlantic coast. Also remaining are the rock walled pans in the salinas where at one time the salt water was evaporated by the sun to leave the sea salt deposits for raking and harvesting for sale. It was not until I returned to Abaco did I read about the very significant impact made by Father Jerome on the religious aspect (Tribune weekend supplements), with construction of many churches throughout the island, all showing his distinctive architectural style and use of native stone. The hermitage on top of Como Hill (Mount Alvernia) is his most visual achievement, where he eventually retired and tried to live in total seclusion with his God. The expression of the Rake and Scrape and associated dance of Quadrille and others, inherited by the people from the planters is nowhere to be found, unless searched for by talking to the local people. Then it comes to light, but only in the memories of stories handed down from previous generations to great grandmothers of the now active members of the community, who talk with nostalgia of this aspect of their culture. In all I was shocked to find that no profile of this is actively presented to the visitor. Cat Island has a wealth of history and culture waiting on the sidelines to be exposed and understood. This should be taken advantage of because cultural and ecological tourism is becoming more and more sought after by both the international and Bahamian visitor to the island. For example I only found out in discussion with a senior member of the National Trust that Fernandez Bay is (to be?) designated a protected area in order to preserve the fauna and flora (marine included) of the area. It is interesting to note that the descendants of the now ruined Armbrister Estate have developed the Fernandez Bay resort at the site, complete with the traditional thatched roofing done by a local craftsman still expert in this style of craftsmanship. Greenwood Beach Every effort needs to made to showcase these aspects of Cat Island and must include all of the traditions handed down from previous generations, including the churches extant today, and the slash and burn agriculture practised throughout the island. The religious culture even dictates that all local business is closed on a Sunday, except of course, the churches. It is incumbent that local communities, councils, administrators contribute to this, with the assistance of the Bahamas National trust, Ministry of tourism, Antiquities and Monuments, Ministry of Education and Culture. Developing a package which is well researched, documented, and physically expressed will do wonders for the tourism of the island. For example the Deveaux Estate could be partially restored and demonstrations and shows of a bygone era, accompanied by a sound and light performance, and costume, would do wonders to educate and instruct both the foreign and the local visitor. Travellers would leave the island that much wealthier in knowledge, accompanied by local craftwork such as straw products, jewellry, cane juice, sugared cassava sweets, for example. Ecological tours and bird watching would do the same for its natural history. Meanwhile the people of Cat Island will gain more wealth from exposure to other people, and learn how to welcome the visitor; all while proudly exposing a culture and a history which up to now remains hidden in the past. As an aside, this theme could be used in other island promotions throughout the archipelago. Abaco June 14, 2017 Salman Khan-starrer Tubelight might not see a release in Pakistan due to popularity of the star in the country. But have Kabir Khan and his last film Phantom got nothing to do with it? By Ananya Bhattacharya: Phantom, 2015. "Unnke ghar may ghuss ke maarenge," is the one dialogue from Kabir Khan's last film that left certain people in Pakistan thoroughly shaken. 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed appeared on Pakistani channels and said how he was taking on Phantom for this dialogue. He said it was a blatant threat to Pakistan and him. He moved court. Phantom was banned. All the good karma that Bajrangi Bhaijaan helped director Kabir Khan earn in Pakistan, was reduced to dust. advertisement Kabir Khan is now on the threshold of his next release. It has Salman Khan, it is called Tubelight, and it has the 1962 Indo-China war as the backdrop. And it is not being released in Pakistan. (At the time of filing, a statement from the makers of Tubelight said that the film might release in Pakistan but not on Eid, and that they would try their best to take Tubelight across the border. There is no release date yet. Tubelight is yet to be submitted to the censor board of Pakistan.) Two big Pakistani films are scheduled for a release in the country this Eid. Yalghaar and Shor Sharaba. And a Salman Khan film is an adversary that no distributor in our neighbouring country is willing to take. Salman Khan's popularity in the country has been touted as the reason why no one is keen on helping secure a release for Tubelight in Pakistan. How will the Pakistani films compete with a mammoth like Tubelight, is the refrain in the country. BUT IS IT REALLY THAT SIMPLE? Kabir Khan has directed six films till date. Kabul Express, New York, Ek Tha Tiger, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Phantom, and now Tubelight. Out of the last five, Pakistan took offence to Kabul Express, Ek Tha Tiger was banned, as was Phantom. When Kabir Khan made Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Pakistan stood up and gave him an ovation. In a long long time, they said, a film that portrayed Pakistan in such a positive light hadn't come out of India. Bajrangi Bhaijaan had a smooth release and set the cash registers ringing in the neighbouring country. Kabir Khan and Salman Khan began being hailed as the new messengers of peace. Soon after Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the director decided to release his been-in-production-for-long film Phantom. It starred Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif and gave nightmares to Pakistan for weeks before the country finally banned it. Phantom, based on the book Mumbai Avengers by Hussain Zaidi, told the fictional tale of how a man is entrusted with the task of eliminating all the key players of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in the aftermath of the same. The characters to be eliminated were all picked up straight from reality, with very thin veils hiding their identities. Mastermind of the attacks Hafiz Saeed became Haris Saeed, David Coleman Headley and Sajid Mir's names were retained and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was changed to Sabauddin Umvi. There was no doubt in anyone's mind as to who these people were in reality. And that left Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed in sweat. advertisement He moved court. He argued that Phantom was a threat to him and Pakistan ("ghuss ke maarenge"). He got the film banned in Pakistan. Following the release of Phantom in India, Kabir Khan fell out of favour with many people in Pakistan. On a visit to Pakistan in April 2016, about eight months after the India release of Phantom, Kabir Khan was heckled at the Karachi International Airport. People asked him to 'make a film on Kulbhushan Yadav' (whose fate now lies in the hands of the International Court of Justice), while some others waved a slipper at him. Soon after the incident, Kabir Khan took to Twitter to clear the air. Calling these hecklers 'lunatics', Kabir wrote, "To media on both sides: 12 screaming lunatics with a mobile phone camera is not news. Please don't give them the attention they want. Ignore." Now, a year later, Kabir Khan's Tubelight is scheduled for a release in a few days. That the film might not see a release in Pakistan will undoubtedly leave people to wonder: Has Kabir Khan's post-Phantom fame in Pakistan got nothing to do with it? advertisement (The writer tweets as @ananya116) OPINION: For once Salman Khan said the right thing. And he was still bashed. ALSO READ: Phantom Movie Review ALSO READ: Bajrangi Bhaijaan Movie Review ALSO WATCH: Salman Khan's Tubelight will not release in Pakistan --- ENDS --- Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 15, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 15, 2017 | 01:45 AM | PADUCAH, KY McCracken County Judge Executive Bob Leeper was honored Wednesday with the ceremonial signing of Senate Bill 11, otherwise known as the Leeper Act. The legislation, which lifts the state's 33-year-old moratorium on nuclear power plant construction, was signed by Governor Matt Bevin in a ceremony at the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce building. Bevin was flanked by Judge Executive Leeper, Senator Danny Carroll, and members of the Kentucky Senate leadership. Senator Carroll was elected to take Leeper's seat in the Senate after his retirement in 2014. Leeper was the driving force behind the legislation for many years but was never able to see it get through the House. A bipartisan effort, lead by Senator Carroll in the Senate and Representatives Steven Rudy and Gerald Watkins, helped usher the bill through both the House and the Senate in March of this year. Carroll said that the bill would have a major impact on both the state and the region allowing Kentucky to attract business and industry to the state because of inexpensive energy costs. Governor Bevin said that signing the bill was an easy choice to make. "This was the right thing to do for this community. This was the right thing to do for Kentucky. This was the right thing to do for America." Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 15, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 15, 2017 | 05:45 PM | PADUCAH, KY Two men are facing up to life behind bars after being indicted in federal court on charges related to the overdose of two Calvert City brothers in March, one of whom did not survive. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Paducah says a grand jury indicted 23-year-old Thomas "Jared" Hardin of McCracken County and 25-year-old Jevan Sheppard of Draffenville Tuesday. The indictment was unsealed Thursday during initial appearances before Magistrate Judge Lanny King. The indictment charges Sheppard and Hardin with conspiring to possess and intentionally distribute U-4, a Schedule I controlled substance. Both defendants are charged with knowingly and intentionally distributing the drug, which authorities say led to the overdose death of 23-year-old Taylor May. May's brother, Karson also overdosed on the drug, but survived. Sheppard was additionally charged with a single count of possession with the intent to distribute U-4 on March 22, and with a single count of knowingly and intentionally importing the drug into the United States from China. If convicted, both men face a mandatory minimum of 20 years to life in prison. they could also be fined up to $1,000,000 and serve no less than a three year period of supervised release. At a press conference Thursday afternoon at the Federal Courthouse in Paducah, U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn expressed his support for the potential lengthy sentences. My Office is committed to attacking the supply of deadly opioids and bringing some measure of justice to the victims and their families, Kuhn said. These federal charges carry a mandatory 20-year sentence upon conviction, without the possibility of parole. This indictment and prosecution, we hope, will deter others who consider trafficking this poison. Both Hardin and Sheppard were arrested in March by Marshall County Sheriff's Deputies. Hardin was initially charged with trafficking in a synthetic drug and 2nd degree manslaughter. Sheppard was charged with one count of trafficking in a synthetic drug and one count of firearm enhanced trafficking in a synthetic drug. Paducah City Commission sees three retain seats and one return The rape survivor says that Uber officials obtained her medical records and tried to misuse them into proving that she fabricated the attack. By AP: A woman who was raped by an Uber driver in India is suing the company for a second time, alleging that Uber executives got her private medical records and made false statements claiming she fabricated the attack. The lawsuit filed Thursday in a California federal court seeks unspecified damages on behalf of the woman, who is identified only as Jane Doe. advertisement The allegations compound a long string of image problems for the ride-hailing company, whose CEO took a leave of absence earlier this week after an investigation found a dysfunctional culture that allowed sexual harassment. Twenty employees have been fired, and this week a board member was forced to step down after making a sexist remark at an employee meeting. UBER OFFICIALS TRIED TO DECRY ASSAULT The new lawsuit says Uber executives falsely portrayed the woman as a liar who made up the 2014 rape in collusion with a competing service seeking to undermine Uber's business. But the driver was convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison. The first lawsuit was settled in 2015, before the allegations regarding the woman's medical records surfaced last week. San Francisco-based Uber issued a statement Thursday that didn't deny the allegations. "No one should have to go through a horrific experience like this, and we're truly sorry that she's had to relive it over the last few weeks," the company said. The new lawsuit alleges that shortly after the rape, Eric Alexander, then Uber's vice president for business in Asia, got the woman's medical records after a meeting with police in New Delhi. Alexander showed them to Emil Michael, then vice president of business, and CEO Travis Kalanick "so that he (Alexander) could attempt to defame and undermine her very serious allegations of sexual assault and rape," the lawsuit says. KALANICK ON INDEFINITE LEAVE Alexander was dismissed from Uber this month after media reports about the medical records, the lawsuit said. Michael left Uber on Monday. Kalanick, who has said he must grow up and needs management help, has taken an indefinite leave. His mother was killed and father was hurt in a May boating accident. The lawsuit alleges that Kalanick stated publicly after the rape that Uber would support the woman and her family, then put out false conspiracy theories about the woman. "Rape denial is just another form of the toxic gender discrimination that is endemic at Uber and ingrained in its culture," said Douglas Wigdor, a New York attorney who represents the woman. At the time of the rape, the woman lived in New Delhi, but now she lives in Texas, according to the lawsuit. advertisement Also read: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to take leave of absence, says need to become a better leader Also read: Uber doubted Delhi rape happened in its car, investigated rape victim before firing exec Also read:| Uber fires 20 employees over harassment issues, hires 1 Apple marketing executive --- ENDS --- Loading... In a week where Julius Caesar has become the most talked about play in the world, the Bristol Old Vic and Bristol Old Vic Theatre school co-production couldn't feel more timely. Our politics couldn't be more fragile: a general election in Britain that has revealed we don't want any of our leaders in power, a country divided right down the middle with what should happen next. So Shakespeare's play, which looks at the consequences of bringing down a political leader unlawfully, couldn't feel more pertinent. Simon Dormandy, perhaps wisely, has not placed the action slap bang in the middle of our own turbulence but relocated the action to modern Italy, though with visual flourishes that recollect the past, the Black-shirted Metellus wouldn't look out of place in the fascist kingdom of Mussolini, Caesar looking down at the carnage that has befallen his country since his assassination looks like Don Corleone overseeing his empire at the beginning of The Godfather. This Caesar is played by Julian Glover, he of the big blockbuster, most recently five years in the world of Westeros as part of Game Of Thrones. He is supported by other veteran actors Lynn Farleigh and John Hartoch while the rest of the named cast is made up of the theatre school graduates. This collaboration arguably is the most exciting drama school project in the country, a chance for the baton to be handed down from one generation close to the end of their careers to another just setting out. These students turn professional during the course of the run, there can't be much better first jobs to graduate into. Of course, it's not completely altruistic for Bristol Old Vic to collaborate on this project. It is also an opportunity to stage the epic on regional budgets. Fifteen actors are swelled up by a further eight supernumeraries. There are moments as they swell the stage, spread graffiti on Sarah Mercade's brutalist set, and take up residency in the auditorium when the roof threatens to raise. Brutus and Mark Anthony's contrasting speeches over the body of Caesar becomes a true debating chamber, as we see both orators delicately shift their audience from one side to another. Yet arguably Dormandy has pushed them to do too much, the speeches getting lost in the passionate crowds' responses. It's a sign of a production that doesn't yet feel fully on top of its lights and shades. Glover holds the stage with an aura that comes from a fifty-plus-year career working with the greats, a man who you can easily imagine drawing pack dog admiration. Yet there is steel beneath the charm, a dark glint that suggests the conspirators may be right in taking him down for the safety of the country. Out of the students, it is Freddie Bowerman as Brutus who most stands toe to toe with him, portraying a decent man caught in an impossible situation. With his towering height, crisp, clipped tones and flowing blonde mane he could easily see the same kind of career trajectory as James Norton. Rosie Gray and Eleanor House as gender-flipped conspirators both make telling contributions but generally, the performances don't yet fully fill the theatre. Dormandy should be an ideal man for this project, having helped kick-start many a career as Head of Drama at Eton, but this is a project that feels workmanlike, combining moments of strong stage imagery with others where the energy is dropped. See it to witness a new crop of exciting talent entering the profession, just don't expect it to be as incisive or as explosive as it could. Julius Caesar plays at Bristol Old Vic until the 1st July 2017. Loading... This was supposed to be Tim Pigott-Smith's Salesman. Announced with appropriate fanfare back in the spring, rehearsals were well under way when the distinguished actor died suddenly and unexpectedly. It's appropriate that the rescheduled tour is dedicated to his memory. Stepping into the role of Willy Loman, Arthur Miller's complex and tragic creation, was never going to be an easy task. Nicholas Woodeson, a safe pairs of hands as well as an actor of great sensitivity and subtlety, takes on the job with humility and considerable class. If there's an undercurrent of trepidation about his performance, one can only imagine that it's partly due to the shadow of sadness across the whole production. But Woodeson intelligently mines this seam to give Willy a tangible sense of vacillation, lurching from insane pride in his sons Biff and Happy to outbursts of rage at their failure to live up to his aspirations. Ultimately, of course, the failure is Willy's the gradual collapse of his optimism and belief in the illusory American Dream is the story of Miller's play and Woodeson makes it painfully believable. At his side is a quietly supportive wife Linda, played with simple sincerity by Tricia Kelly, another late replacement for Pigott-Smith's wife Pamela Miles. Much of Willy's disintegration in Miller's script depends on his relationship with the boys. Here, fortunately, Biff and Happy are terrific. Ben Deery's Happy probably the trickier of the two roles emerges as a would-be replica of his father, willing to deceive himself as much as the rest of the world about how well he's doing and how bright his future is. George Taylor as Biff brings a youthful turmoil to the conflicted boy, desperate to retain faith in a parent who is transparently not the man he thought he was. The interplay between the two of them and Willy is crucial to the dynamic of the production. There's a supporting cast of strong players, from Thom Tuck's weaselly boss Howard to Geff Francis's touching performance as next-door neighbor Charley. Less successful, perhaps, is Georgia Lowe's design, which places the action in a minimalist grey box of a set, with panels of light denoting different spaces. Emblazoned with the stuttering neon legend Land of the Free', the message is not so much subliminal as stark. There are some strange directorial choices too, such as a host of anachronisms among the furniture and props. So a beaten-up 1940s refrigerator has a cordless telephone hanging from it, while shiny-suited 1980s business types socialise in a thoroughly modern New York eaterie. If director Abigail Graham is working in metaphor here, I'm afraid it was lost on me. But it's a sound, solid production of Miller's masterpiece and certainly goes down well with the teenagers in the audience for whom it is on the A-level syllabus. It's also a worthy tribute to the man who was to have been Willy Loman. Death of a Salesman runs at Royal & Derngate until 17 June and then tours to King's Theatre, Edinburgh, Hall for Cornwall, Truro, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and Oxford Playhouse. SHERIFF SAYS: "OPERATION OFFENDER BLITZ" A SUCCESS KEEPING REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS IN COMPLIANCE Operation Offender Blitz was a success for the Henderson County Sheriffs Office. Registered Sex Offender compliance checks were conducted by a Joint Multi-Agency Task Force from members of the Henderson County Sheriffs Office, North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Department of Homeland Security and the US Marshals Office. Agencies involved were conducting residential verification checks as the sun began to rise in the early morning hours of June 8, 2017. The operation lasted through the late afternoon. Seventeen members from various agencies came together last week where they were briefed on Operation Offender Blitz by Henderson County Sheriffs Office Deputy Steve Owen. Deputy Owen laid out the missions objective and operations plan. This mission is to ensure that those currently registered in our county are in full compliance with North Carolina General Statutes pertaining to the Sex Offender Registry (SOR), he said to members of the task force. Several teams were formed with members from each agency. Each were given assignments at various locations throughout the county to conduct the residential verification checks. Our goal is to ensure that the 124 registered sex offenders currently in Henderson County remain in compliance, said Sheriff Charles McDonald. If they decide not to, we will handle each case accordingly and work with the District Attorneys office to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. The Sheriffs Office wants the community to know they are doing their due diligence in accordance with state laws and to educate both offenders and local residents. Any offender who has a reportable conviction and who resides in North Carolina, moves to North Carolina, or is a non-resident student or worker in North Carolina must maintain registration in accordance with current laws. Residential restrictions are also enforced where registered sex offenders are generally prohibited from living, such as within 1,000 feet of a public or non-public school or childcare center or within 300 feet of any place intended primarily for the use, care or supervision of minors. Such locations include but are not limited to schools, childrens museums, child care centers, nurseries, playgrounds or any place where minors frequently congregate, including libraries, arcades, amusement parks, recreation parks and swimming pools when minors are present. The State Fairgrounds are also prohibited during the period of time each year when the State Fair or North Carolina Mountain State Fair is conducted. Registered offenders must comply with state laws pertaining to registry and the Henderson County Sheriffs Office strives to hold offenders accountable if they violate such laws. Offenders must report where they are residing, employed or attending institutions of higher education and must report all online identifiers. Furthermore, offenders are banned from accessing commercial networking sites that accept minor children as members or allow children to create or maintain personal web pages on the commercial social networking websites. North Carolina Sex Offenders must maintain registration requirements for a minimum of 30 years. During criminal sentencing, a court order is required before certain sex offenders are classified. Certain offenders not classified as recidivists, aggravated offenders or sexually violent predators may petition for removal after being registered in North Carolina for ten (10) years and must petition the Superior Court where the offender was convicted in North Carolina. If an offender meets the criteria specified in NCGS 14-208.12A, then the court in its discretion may terminate the requirements to register. Compliance checks by the Sheriffs Office are conducted regularly throughout the year. It is not unusual for the offenders to see deputies knocking on their door or leaving some sort of notification of their presence. However, utilizing the services offered from both state and federal agencies made Operation Offender Blitz a successful team effort by all involved. All of the registered sex offenders where residential checks were conducted in Henderson County were in compliance with state regulations. The following arrests were made on unrelated charges during Thursdays operation: Anthony Wade Hollifield, age 45 of 29 N Holly Ln. in Fletcher, was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine, felony maintaining veh/dwell/place of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Hollifield was held in the Henderson County Jail and was released after posting an $18,500.00 secured bond. Sheila Marie Woodham, age 43 of 29 N Holly Ln. in Fletcher, was charged with misdemeanor simple possession of schedule IV controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Woodham was held in the Henderson County Jail and was released after posting a $600.00 secured bond. Timothy Ian Matthews, age 34 of 120 Timberland Dr. in Etowah, was taken into custody for an outstanding warrant for misdemeanor larceny. Matthews was held at the Henderson County Jail and was released after posting a $500.00 secured bond. A listing of Henderson Countys 124 registered sex offenders can be found at sexoffender.ncsbi.gov The dissolution process has been started after taking into account all legal aspects. By Press Trust of India: The Uttar Pradesh government today announced dissolving the Shia and Sunni waqf boards in the state in the wake of corruption charges against them. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has assented to the dissolution of the boards, Minister of State for Waqf Mohsin Raza told PTI here. The dissolution process has been started after taking into account all legal aspects, the minister said. advertisement There have been serious allegations of corruption against the Shia and Sunni waqf boards related to their properties. An inquiry conducted by the Waqf Council of India had also found many irregularities in this regard. The role of the chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, Wasim Rizvi, as well as the minister for waqf in the previous Samajwadi Party government, Azam Khan, had come under scanner after the inquiry by the Waqf Council of India. MISUSE OF OFFICE Barely a fortnight after the SP suffered a humiliating defeat in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, a report by the fact-finding committee of the Central Waqf Council (CWC) indicted Khan -- one of the controversial ministers in the erstwhile Akhilesh Yadav government -- of corruption, mismanagement and misuse of office. The fact-finding committee, constituted after the CWC received several complaints from UP, was headed by Syed Ejaz Abbas Naqvi, who is also the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand waqf boards. Raza had recently handed over separate reports of the Waqf Council with regard to the two boards to the chief minister. GRABBED PROPERTIES The committee in its report elaborated on how Khan as minister allegedly misused his position to grab properties under the boards. It said Khan made a trust -- Maulana Johar Ali Education Trust -- and diverted funds from waqf properties to it. The report pointed out discrepancies in maintaining rent collection records on Waqf properties. It recommended that the Uttar Pradesh Waqf Board be dissolved immediately and all accused officials be barred from entering waqf offices pending investigation. Khan has, however, maintained that he was absolutely clean and the allegations against him were baseless. Also read: Azam Khan in soup for allegedly diverting funds from Waqf properties Also read: Muslims protest Yogi government's move to make Muslim marriage registration mandatory --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Adding background) Lucknow, Jun 15 (PTI) Hours after Uttar Pradesh government ordered dissolution of Shia and Sunni waqf boards, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tonight recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities worth multi-crores committed by the two bodies in the state. "The chief minister recommended a CBI probe into alleged scam worth crores in Shia and Sunni waqf boards," Minister of State for Waqf Mohsin Raza told PTI here. advertisement Raza said scam worth crores has come to the fore in a probe by the Waqf Council of India. The chief minister has also given orders to dissolve both state Shia and Sunni waqf boards. The process to dissolve the two boards has been started after taking into account all legal aspects, the minister said. There have been serious allegations of corruption against the Shia and Sunni waqf boards related to their properties. The role of the chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, Wasim Rizvi, as well as the minister for waqf in the previous Samajwadi Party government, Azam Khan, had come under scanner after the inquiry by the Waqf Council of India. Barely a fortnight after the SP suffered a humiliating defeat in the state Assembly polls, a report by the fact- finding committee of the Central Waqf Council (CWC) indicted Khan -- one of the controversial ministers in the erstwhile Akhilesh Yadav government -- of corruption, mismanagement and misuse of office. The fact-finding committee, constituted after the CWC received several complaints from UP, was headed by Syed Ejaz Abbas Naqvi, who is also the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand waqf boards. Raza had recently handed over separate reports of the Waqf Council with regard to the two boards to the Chief Minister. The committee in its report elaborated on how Khan as minister allegedly misused his position to grab properties under the boards. It said Khan made a trust -- Maulana Johar Ali Education Trust -- and diverted funds from waqf properties to it. The report pointed out discrepancies in maintaining rent collection records on Waqf properties. It recommended that the Uttar Pradesh Waqf Board be dissolved immediately and all accused officials be barred from entering waqf offices pending investigation. Khan has, however, maintained that he was absolutely clean and the allegations against him were baseless. PTI ABN SAB SMI GVS KIS --- ENDS --- By Parmita Uniyal: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs has slowly but successfully carved out a place for itself in the weekend space. The show opened to decent ratings, but has upped its game with each passing week. And now the kids' reality show has acquired No. 1 spot on ratings chart, according to the latest data released by BARC India. The show has garnered 5.7 million impressions. advertisement No. 1 spot eludes Naagin Season 2 for the fourth time in row (5.5 million impressions), while Ekta Kapoor's tear-jerker Kumkum Bhagya (5.4 million impressions) has finally managed to bore the viewers with its over-stretched plots and sub plots. The decline in the ratings of the above-mentioned shows gives us hope that viewers are looking for a change from the mindless dramas. The Kapil Sharma Show had revived a bit last week; but the show is at 4.1 million impressions this week. We fear, it might wrap up if viewers find Sunil Grover's Super Night With Tubelight--airing this weekend--more engrossing. Also read: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs: Javed Ali gets emotional after parents' surprise visit Also read: The war of ratings: Li'l Champs of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa beat Nach Baliye's popular TV couples Also read: The Kapil Sharma Show hits a scary low amidst rumours of shutting down --- ENDS --- South Mumbai region education inspector B B Chavan stated that no school can run without the NOC (no objection certificate) yesterday. By Press Trust of India: The Mumbai civic body education department has said that controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic International School (IIS) in south Mumbai is operating without authorisation. In a letter issued yesterday, South Mumbai region education inspector of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BB Chavan stated that no school could run without an NOC (no objection certificate) of the local governing body, as defined under provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009. advertisement It was also mentioned in the letter that parents should not enroll their children in IIS. However, it was not specified in it whether the school had obtained the NOC. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi, who recently took over the school, alleged that "there was a conspiracy to harass" the institution's management. AZMI NIYAZ MINORITY EDUCATION AND WELFARE TRUST The school, which has around 135 students and conducts classes from nursery to class X, was taken over by Azmi Niyaz Minority Education and Welfare Trust. "The school is being run on the same lines (as earlier) with only some changes, including in its name and management. I have taken the premises on rent and have done nothing to invite the fury of the education department," said Azmi, who is the legislator from Mumbai's Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Assembly constituency. However, he also said that the school management would get in touch with the education department and find out if any more permissions were required to run it. "I would not want any controversy. Neither me nor the education department would want to jeopardise the future of the students. Therefore, I have asked our team to get in touch with the education officers and obtain all the required permissions," Azmi said. Notably, the Maharashtra government had in December last year informed the parents of the students of IIS that it would either be shut or brought under a new management. Azmi had last year requested the Maharashtra government not to close down the IRF-run school, saying doing so would jeopardise the future of students enrolled there. He had made the request to state Education Minister Vinod Tawde. In November last year, the Union Home Ministry had banned the IRF for five years under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for its alleged involvement in terror acts. Besides the IRF, Naik is also the founding trustee of the IRF Educational Trust and the Islamic Dimensions Trust. ALSO READ: Zakir Naik's outfit radicalised Indian youth to join Islamic State NIA set to revoke passport of IRF president Dr Zakir Naik advertisement ALSO WATCH: Expert talk: Time to ban Zakir Naik in India? --- ENDS --- Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 14/06/2017 (1975 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA With two weeks to go until Canada hits 150, Manitoba politicians are asking Ottawa how much anniversary money the province is getting. It seems to me that it is a case of Manitoba being forgotten, said NDP MP Daniel Blaikie. I do find it strange that were not getting our fair share. Blaikies Elmwood-Transcona constituency staff have faced frustration in trying to track down when funding will be announced, and for what projects. Its opaque, in terms of the information you get, he said. WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Files A public art installation celebrates Canadas 150 in front of the pavilion in Assiniboine Park. The Free Press reported Wednesday that Canadian Heritage has allotted $3 million of its Canada 150 funds to Manitoba for local, one-time events. But grant disclosures clarify that the bulk of the departments funding to Manitoba is going to so-called Signature events, which take a national focus like opening ceremonies for the upcoming Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg. Of the $80 million of national Signature funding, three per cent is going to projects based out of Manitoba, falling roughly in line with the provinces share of Canadas population. But some of the Signature funding has loose connections to the province, with $420,000 going to a CBC mini-series in French that has 10 Canadians re-create a colonial ship crossing from France to Quebec City. Its categorized as a Manitoba project because its co-produced by Winnipeg-based firm Les Productions Rivard. And of a separate $100 million that Heritage Canada is allocating for community events such as murals and festivals only $500,000 of $85 million spent so far has gone to Manitoba in a total of 18 projects, meaning 0.62 per cent of national community funding thus far. Blaikie says that doesnt fit in with the dozens of constituents who asked him for support letters and advice for locking down Canada 150 funding, on everything from renovating community buildings to special celebrations. I dont think its for a lack of demand, Blaikie said. Canadian Heritage couldnt say by Wednesday evening how many applications it received for Manitoba projects. Meanwhile, a $300-million Canada 150 infrastructure fund has allotted $92.4 million for the western provinces. But the agency distributing that money Western Economic Diversification doesnt know how much each province is getting. Staff in the office of Liberal MP Terry Duguid, who represents Winnipeg South, say he asked the agency Wednesday how much funding its allocated to Manitoba. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Manitoba New Democrat MP Daniel Blaikie on how much of the Federal Government's Canada 150 money is flowing to the province: I do find it strange that were not getting our fair share. But Karl Sasseville, spokesman for Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, warned the Free Press it might take days for bureaucrats to piece a list together. That baffles Blaikie. It doesnt give one confidence that the people holding the purse strings really have a firm sense of what theyre doing, he said. Its frustrating and a little unsettling to me that these arent figures that they have ready at hand. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/06/2017 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Canadian Coast Guard is staying docked in Gimli and Kenora, after all. Even better, construction is going ahead to finish the new base facilities on the shore of Lake Winnipeg near Gimli. Liberal and opposition MPs from Manitoba both heralded the development in a flurry of statements Thursday afternoon. TREVOR HAGAN / FREE PRESS FILES The public reaction against the closures turned the tide on the federal government's decision to shut down coast guard services in Gimli. I can absolutely confirm there will be no changes to the CCG services in Gimli and Kenora, and there will be no reductions in CCG presence in inland waterways, said an email from the constituency office of Jim Carr, Manitoba senior minister in the Liberal cabinet. The new development also includes a small coast guard presence at Selkirk and one in Vancouver. Together the group of stations had been under review for weeks and slated for closure. I want to reassure everyone that there will be no reduction in the CCG Simply put, the proposed changes to operations at inland waterways, specifically those on the Lake of the Woods, are no longer under review, said Kenora Liberal MP Bob Nault. The public reaction against the closures turned the tide on the federal governments decision to shut the coast guard, he said. Conservative MP James Bezan also credited the reversal to the public outcry. The Liberals were trying to pinch pennies and they thought they could get away with it, said the Tory MP, whose Interlake riding includes Gimli. He believes well-heeled Winnipeggers with cottages in the Gimli and Kenora areas probably made it clear to Ottawa closing the local coast guard was a bad idea. The decision also means construction will go ahead on a partly finished million-dollar coast guard facility near Gimli, he said. About half-a-dozen staff, who had been dismayed when Ottawa handed them redeployment notices in early June, are also delighted they wont have to move. It took the serious events on Lake Winnipeg for the CCG to realize the shortsightedness (of) their decision. We are grateful the minister (of fisheries and oceans Dominic LeBlanc) saw the light before more severe accidents the communities and mariners alike can break a sigh of relief at not losing these valuable services, said a statement from the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees. The union is part of the Canadian Public Service Alliance, the biggest public sector union in the country. The last two weeks saw a series of boating accidents and incidents on Lake Winnipeg, including a coast guard rescue last weekend of a couple of children swept out 500 metres off shore in a dinghy. The shallow, windswept lake is notorious for sudden storms. In addition to search and rescue operations, the coast guard also maintains navigational markers on Lake Winnipeg and the Lake of the Woods. The cuts were initially floated as part of a billion-dollar national marine strategy that focused coast guard operations on the countrys marine coasts, the St. Lawrence Seaway and in the Great Lakes. The cost of maintaining the Lake Winnipeg and Lake of the Woods operations was never made public. In Gimli, the news lifted tension that settled like a dark cloud over the lakeshore resort. After that rescue we had on Saturday, this is fantastic news. Everybodys happy about it, said Mayor Randy Woroniuk. I talked to the RCMP also and theyre very happy. Theyre relieved. RCMP had expected to take on the coast guards work if they closed up. This is a good news story. We put a lot of pressure on (Ottawa) and Im glad they rescinded it because we need the coast guard on Lake Winnipeg. alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/06/2017 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A report projecting an 11-year wait for refugee board hearings is overblown and off base, says a Winnipeg immigration lawyer. I dont believe that report and I dont agree with its findings, said Bashir Khan. Immigration lawyer Bashir Khan said the memo's dire forecast is based on expectations that the number of refugee claimants entering Canada would continually increase -- when it hasn't. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press) The Immigration Department memo obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act said an increase in refugee claims could lead to an 11-year wait for a hearing and $2.97 billion in social supports for claimants in the meantime. The memo was written this spring amid a flood of migrants crossing into Canada from the U.S. to claim asylum. Since January, at least 2,700 people have been intercepted by the RCMP between border ports of entry; most went on to file claims. The memo does not directly address the impact of the border crossers, though certain sections were redacted. The memo said that with 2017 application numbers expected to far exceed earlier projections, the board cant keep up. After a meeting about the U.S. border-crosser issue in March, the department was asked to explore estimated backlogs at the Immigration and Refugee Board and the associated wait times under different scenarios. Khan said the forecast is based on expectations that the number of refugee claimants entering Canada would continually increase when it hasnt. In Manitoba and Canada as a whole, there was a drop in the number of refugee claims in April from March, even though warmer weather was expected to attract more refugee claimants. Theres going to be no mass exodus to Canada from the U.S., Khan said Thursday. And its not going to be worse this summer. The numbers rose steadily in Manitoba during the first three months of 2017 then tapered off in April. Refugee claims down: Khan More current data hasnt been released yet but, judging from his own practice, Khan said the number of refugee claimants in May and June have decreased dramatically. The fear among undocumented asylum seekers in the U.S. over the election of President Donald Trump is subsiding, Khan said. People dont want to leave where theyre living, he said. Mass deportations are not happening. Theres going to be no mass exodus to Canada from the U.S.. And its not going to be worse this summer.-Immigration lawyer Bashir Khan And the surge of refugee claimants who came to Canada this winter are now having their hearings and getting decisions from the IRB and close to 40 per cent will find out they are rejected, Khan said. The 2015 election of a Liberal government thats perceived as more refugee-welcoming wont result in more refugee claims being accepted and inspire more asylum seekers to cross, said Khan. Since late 2012, adjudicators hearing refugee claims are no longer government appointees serving terms that are subject to renewal. Now theyre civil servants, whose job security has nothing to do with pleasing the government of the day or towing a party line. Most IRB members hearing cases right now were appointed by the former Conservative government then transitioned into civil servants, said Khan. News of refugee claim rejections spreads and serves as a deterrent to those who dont have a legitimate claim, he said. That message will come across dont go unless youre really desperate.' The government memo says asylum claims have been steadily rising since 2015; that year, there were 16,115, and in 2016 there were 23,895. As of April this year, the last month for which data is publicly available, there were already 12,040 claims in the system. It projects that claim levels will hit 36,000 this year and could continue to increase after that. In Manitoba and Canada as a whole, there was a drop in the number of refugee claims in April from March, even though warmer weather was expected to attract more refugee claimants. (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press files) This scenario best reflects current concerns around increased volumes of claimants observed to date in 2017, and takes into account overall increases in asylum intake from 2015 to 2016, it says. The government says that by the end of 2021, the new system inventory would grow to approximately 192,700 claims, equivalent to 133 months worth of output from the board, or a wait time of approximately 11 years. The IRB is already trying to whittle down its current backlog, but received no new money in the latest federal budget. More than study needed: Opposition Last Friday, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen announced a wide-ranging review of the IRB, bringing in a former deputy minister in the department to study the system and report back by the summer of 2018. Opposition MPs Thursday urged the Liberal government to do more than simply study the issue and then leave it to the board to find efficiencies to handle the problem. Ensuring the right processes are in place to support government policy on immigration is essential, said Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel, warning the situation could erode public support for Canadas policy of welcoming refugees. When the government ignores that, you start getting politicized rhetoric thats polarized on the right and the left, instead of being compassionate about people, Rempel said. And thats the governments fault. A study wont cut it, said NDP Immigration critic Jenny Kwan. He cant just say Im going to study this year again and hope the problem will go away, she said. It will not go away until they take real action and the need to resource the IRB properly. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca With files from The Canadian Press Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/06/2017 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In early March, the Manitoba Geological Survey and its industry partner, Lynx Consortium, made an important diamond discovery southeast of Thompson. While there is no guarantee the find will lead to a significant mining project, the province should move quickly to enhance the potential by involving industry partners, First Nations and municipalities in the region. If this development works out, Manitoba would join Ontario, Quebec and the Northwest Territories in profiting from diamond mining. Royalties, employment opportunities and tax revenue may lie ahead from, and in, places where they are sorely needed. Mining is a long-term venture relying on good economic policies, political stability and the prospect of decent returns on investment. The provincial government should be careful, but also reasonably venturesome. To move forward, the province will have to involve northern First Nations. Indigenous communities would best become true partners in the venture to avoid problems that have plagued some other ventures and communities, such as Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario. The chief of that isolated community decided that the draft agreement being considered with diamond producer De Beers was inadequate and let the project and the work opportunities go a lost opportunity. ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Heavy haulers move rock out of the Diavik diamond mine pit on the shore of Lac de Gras, N.W.T. An important diamond discovery southeast of Thompson could have an impact on northern Manitoba's economy. In 2012, then Grand Chief David Harper of the MKO (Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak) the organization representing 30 northern Manitoba First Nations complained that the province was holding up northern mining development by excluding First Nations from discussions and decisions. His criticisms were corroborated by mining executives. The Fraser Institutes annual Survey of Mining Companies reports and rates mining policy environments around the world. To no surprise, northern Manitoba was then ranked 20th. The main problem: mishandling of First Nation consultations, leading to excessive delays in granting permits. In response, the former NDP government dramatically improved pre-development conditions. Today, Manitoba is ranked second worldwide. Improvements were particularly focused on reducing the degree of uncertainty in regulations and taxation. Manitobas new Progressive Conservative government must continue with these positive policies. In 2016, the NDP government increased the incentives for mining exploration, boosting the Mineral Exploration Assistance Program (MEAP) to 50 per cent from 40 per cent. This program provides financial assistance for non-fuel mineral exploration in Manitoba, sharing eligible expenditures based on the location of the proposed project. As well, the level of mining investment tax credits was increased while the government committed to building northern roads to serve development. Also of critical importance: the province improved its consultation with indigenous communities with regard to mineral exploration and development. The provinces Mining Advisory Council is now bearing fruit. The advisory council was the first of its kind in Canada, having representatives from First Nations, mining companies and the provincial government. The body has prioritized exploring revenue-sharing formulas, and benefit agreements, with an eye toward ensuring there is a duty to accommodate aboriginal rights. In addition, the council is working on improving First Nations procurement and business co-ventures. The council prefers that First Nations are full equity partners in northern mining projects. Manitoba could be a world leader in promoting and supporting mining. While other provinces and territories regularly make the news when it comes to mining, mining is actually Manitobas second-largest resource sector. Back in 2013, when the council was created, 40 companies were active in mineral exploration and the industry employed close to 1,000 indigenous workers. A new diamond mining development could create many more new jobs. It could also drive the development of northern infrastructure, including roads and access to potable water. Mining operations are expected to contribute about $1.5 billion to the provincial economy this year, which would represent about 2.7 per cent of the provinces gross domestic product. Approximately 3,200 workers are employed in Manitobas mining industry. The province should strongly pursue the new diamond opportunity. Both our provincial government and First Nations, through their band councils, need to co-operate, working at landing the opportunity at the expected speed of business. Joseph Quesnel is a research associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/06/2017 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. It may seem unusual for an organization that works with incarcerated men to support a program that benefits women living in the inner city. But there is a direct link between the work of groups such as the North Point Douglas Womens Centre, which is facing a significant loss of funding, and the safer communities that the John Howard Society is committed to creating. The link is especially strong in a neighbourhood such as North Point Douglas, which is challenged by poverty, intergenerational trauma and the ongoing negative impact of residential schools. The John Howard Society has twice assisted inmates in the Winnipeg Remand Centre with raising funds to support programs for families in Point Douglas and the North End. These men, who are paid less than $6 a day for jobs inside the Remand Centre, acted on their own initiative and contributed several hundred dollars to support the work of two community agencies, because they clearly recognized the importance of these programs to their own families. Womens and family centres such as North Point Douglas Womens Centre do the heavy lifting of stabilizing communities. They provide basic services, community development, healing programs and organizational support. They also support individuals coming out of incarceration to lead healthier, more stable lives. In recent years, the Red Road to Healing program, a core program at the North Point Douglas Womens Centre, developed by Shannon Buck, assists women as they identify and heal from cycles of violence. At a recent rally for the womens centre, one participant from Red Road spoke publicly about how the program had helped her raise her child and improve the health of her family. Participants face a complex array of challenges alongside intimate-partner violence, including interactions with Child and Family Services, family members who are incarcerated, prevalent mental illness and intense poverty. The Red Road program is an example of the vital service the womens centre provides for residents. Women at the centre recently led the call for more supports for men. They said if women go home to partners who dont have the same opportunities for growth and healing, the family as a whole isnt much further ahead. As a result, a mens group now meets on a weekly basis. The women at the centre also created the Mama Bear Clan, a community care and outreach project. This is a group of volunteers of all genders that goes into the community two evenings a week and offers care and problem solving. The womens centre is a community hub that strengthens families. Kids raised by their own families, in their own communities, are far less likely to be incarcerated as adults. They are more likely to stay in school and find subsequent employment. In addition, individuals who have a family to go back to after they leave jail are far less likely to reoffend. We know that incarceration, on its own, does not stop people from reoffending. Nearly half of those behind bars in the province have a record of previous offences. People stop reoffending when they have a reason to do so, and one of the most common reasons is the desire to be a better parent and role model for children. This is much more likely to happen when the family unit remains strong. We can turn the tide on poverty, intergenerational trauma and the legacy of residential schools, struggles that are felt so keenly in North Point Douglas and many other neighbourhoods. The good work that is happening through community organizations needs to continue in order to build health and strength from the ground up. The more they are properly supported, the deeper their impact will be. As an organization, the John Howard Society remains committed to working toward safer communities and addressing the causes of crime. We see a group such as the North Point Douglas Womens Centre as a critical ally in this important work. We urge the broader community to support this important organization and call for its funding to be fully restored. Kate Sjoberg is a board member with the John Howard Society of Manitoba and a former executive director at the North Point Douglas Womens Centre. John Hutton is the executive director of the John Howard Society of Manitoba. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/06/2017 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. We dont know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end, tweeted Donald Tusk, former Polish prime minister and now president of the European Council. He doesnt know when the talks will start because even now, a year after Britains referendum on leaving the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May doesnt know what her negotiating position is. She thought she knew. It was going to be a hard Brexit where Britain left both the European Unions internal market (complete free trade between the half-billion people in the EUs 28 members) and the customs union (the same external tariffs against everybody else). Free movement would also end (to limit immigration from EU countries), and Britain would flourish all alone thanks to its genius for free trade. Good luck with that. But then May called a needless election to get a bigger majority in parliament to strengthen her hand in the negotiations with the EU that are scheduled to begin next Monday, or so she said. Instead, after a botched campaign focused entirely on May, the Conservative Party lost its majority in last Thursdays election. Frank Augstein / The Associated Press Leader of Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party Arlene Foster arrives at 10 Downing Street for a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May. Now, she is a zombie prime minister: Dead woman walking, one senior Conservative called her. Yet the Conservative Party cant dump her yet because she is in the midst of talks with the small Democratic Unionist Party (exclusively Northern Irish) to get enough votes in Parliament to keep the government in power. Even if May succeeds, hard Brexit is dead. To get the support of the 10 DUP members of parliament even to retain the support of the 13 MPs of the Scottish Conservative Party she will have to agree to a much softer Brexit. That would certainly include a customs union, and maybe also continued membership of the internal market. That may tear the Conservative Party apart, as the hard-line Brexiters in the party will fight against it tooth and nail. Mays Brexit Minister, David Davis, has already warned that next weeks start to the talks with the EU may have to be postponed. But the deadline for an agreement is only 18 months away, in practice, and the negotiations will be extremely complex. No wonder Tusk is losing patience. The Brexit referendum was originally promised in 2013 by Mays predecessor, David Cameron, in order to prevent a split in the Conservative Party. Mays devotion to Brexit today is still mainly aimed at avoiding that split, but the rest of the country has moved on. If the referendum were held again today, it would almost certainly result in a victory for the Remainers, not the Leavers. The problem is that both main parties include large numbers of Leave voters. They are a bigger proportion of the Conservative Party, although around half of the Conservative MPs are still secretly anti-Brexit. Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party is equally divided: at least a third of Labours voters were Leavers. Corbyn would not have come so near to displacing the Tories if he had not maintained his ambiguous stance on Brexit in the recent election. Many of the traditional Labour voters who came back to the Labour Party this time were former supporters of the United Kingdom Independence Party. They had been made homeless by the collapse of that party, but they are still Leavers. So neither party is going to propose a second referendum now. To do so would be to lose many of their pro-Leave voters, and probably to lose the new election that is likely to be called before the end of the year. Yet, the outcome of last weeks election does open up a possible path to a new referendum. If the Conservative Party shreds itself over who is to replace May, or if either the DUP or the pro-Remain Scottish Conservatives withdraw their support, there will have to be another election. Labour could win that election, but only if Corbyn can convince the Leavers in his party that he will try very hard to make a soft Brexit work. At the same time, he must persuade all the students and other young people who voted for the first time this month (and almost all voted Labour) that he will put the results of the negotiations with the EU to a second referendum, even though he cannot promise that publicly now. Its a fine line to walk, and Corbyn is genuinely ambivalent about the EU. Nevertheless, the final result could be either an acceptably soft and amicable Brexit, (leaving Britain in a close relationship with the EU, such as Switzerland or Norway) or an abandonment of the whole Brexit project after a second referendum. But it will leave deep scars for a generation whichever way it comes out. Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries. I live in Wabasha and I am really threatened by the Army Corps of Engineers' plan to build a truck and haul operation for dredged river sand near the entrance to the road we live on -- which is River Drive on the backwaters of the Mississippi. This is a road of 59 homes, various age groups, totally residential. River Drive in Wabasha is a dead end road. Everyone will have to go through the "truck and haul" twice -- whether to the grocery store, by school bus, by handicap cab, etc. River Drive is also popular with walkers and bicyclists. The beauty of the backwaters is precious. Just this past April well over 50 pelicans came down from the sky to the backwaters where I live. Another year, we had pelicans for 28 days. And there was the fox family that moved their "nursery" of kits by us a few years ago. Per the Army Corps tables: public safety, wetlands, floodplain, and property values are marked as concerns or negative impact. The positive in the plan is that it is viewed as most cost effective - and that's it. I have not so far mentioned nearby farms that will have acres filled over with river-dredge sand through eminent domain. This 40-year plan is misplaced. If the silt is coming from the Chippewa River in Wisconsin, why not address it there? Why must a residential neighborhood in Wabasha and nearby farms experience the brunt of keeping the Mississippi at a certain depth? SA has highest blood pressure in southern Africa A study by Wits scientists and peers has revealed that South Africa has the highest prevalence of hypertension in southern Africa. South Africa also has the largest number of people whose blood pressure is still not controlled, even whilst on treatment. These were among the findings of a paper, entitled: Stark Regional and Sex Differences in the Prevalence and Awareness of Hypertension: An H3Africa AWI-Gen Study Across 6 Sites in Sub-Saharan Africa published in Global Heart today. Hypertension is abnormally high blood pressure. It is a condition in which the force of the blood against the artery walls is too high. This causes the heart to work harder than normal, which is dangerous. Professor Michele Ramsay of the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience at Wits and Dr Osman Sankoh from the International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and Their Health (INDEPTH) published the ground-breaking study, which reports on the prevalence of hypertension in approximately 10,000 older people at six sites across sub-Saharan Africa. The study also assessed awareness and control of blood pressure. Dr Stuart A. Ali, Project Manager and Researcher at the Institute, says: This knowledge provides a platform from which we can explore the environmental and genetic contributions to cardiovascular disease in Africa. This was a first-of-its-kind cross-sectional study and it revealed astounding results there were stark differences in the prevalence, awareness, and control of high blood pressure in the cohort studied. Prevalence of hypertension ranges from: 15% in the west of southern Africa 25% in the east of southern Africa between 42% and 54% in South Africa Pooled analysis also showed some gender differences. For men, only 40% were aware of their hypertension condition. Of those who knew and were being treated, only 39% had controlled blood pressure. For women, the picture was better with 54% being aware of their hypertension condition, and of those undergoing treatment, 51% had controlled blood pressure. South Africa has the highest prevalence of hypertension and also the largest number of people whose blood pressure is still not controlled, even whilst being on treatment Cardiovascular diseases, particularly hypertension, are considered diseases of the aging population. Increased life expectancy from access to antiretroviral treatment to those with HIV is expected to increase the incidence of hypertension. Consequently, non-communicable diseases, including hypertension, need to be prioritized and managed to reduce the public health burden and avert a new epidemic in Africa. This research supports the need for regionally tailored interventions. For example, whilst the east of Africa shows lower levels of hypertension, possibly due to being in the early phases of an epidemiological and health transition, levels of awareness and control are also low. Further detailed research is necessary if we are to stop the ticking time bomb of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, says Ali. More research is needed to establish systems in health facilities that will increase the proportion of patients with controlled blood pressure. Improved treatment quality and increased adherence to anti-hypertensive treatment will facilitate management of this potential epidemic. The study was conducted under the auspices of the Wits-INDEPTH Partnership for Genomic studies (AWI-Gen) and leveraged the INDEPTH networks existing Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) centres in rural Navrongo (Ghana), Nanoro (Burkina Faso), Agincourt and Dikgale (South Africa), urban Nairobi (Kenya), as well as the Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit in urban Soweto. AWI-Gen is part of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Arica) Consortium. The Wits-INDEPTH Partnership, through AWI-Gen, will continue to investigate the main drivers and consequences of hypertension in the different regions by revisiting study participants five years after their enrollment in the original study. Spring 2017 Phi Beta Kappa initiates Page Menu Announcements Archive Facebook Twitter YouTube Search This Site Submit Search Phi Beta Kappa, America's most prestigious honor society, was founded by five William & Mary students on Dec. 5, 1776. The Alpha Chapter of Virginia is still active on campus today, and, this Friday, 48 of W&M's top students will be initiated in a ceremony to be held in the Wren Chapel. In addition, History Professor James Whittenburg will be initiated as a new faculty member of the society, and the Williamsburg Regional Library will receive the chapter's 2017 Award for Lifelong Learning. According to the honor society's national website, the first president of Phi Beta Kappa, John Heath, wanted to develop a student society that would be more "serious minded" than its predecessors at the College. The Greek initials for the society reflect its motto, "Love of learning is the guide of life." It was founded as a secret society so that its members could discuss any topic freely, and freedom of inquiry has been a hallmark of the society ever since. Today, there are 286 chapters at American colleges and universities with nearly 50 active alumni associations located throughout the country. Nationally, only 10 percent of Arts & Sciences graduates at universities with chapters are invited to join each year. At W&M, that number is just 7 percent, according to George Greenia, professor emeritus of Hispanic studies and corresponding secretary of the chapter. Greenia, who served on the society's national committee for six years, added that the process at W&M is more complex and careful than any other chapter and serves as a benchmark for the rest of the country in rigor. Students selected for membership have demonstrated intellectual integrity, tolerance for other views and a broad range of academic interests. Past members of the society have included 17 U.S. presidents, 40 U.S. Supreme Court justices and more than 130 Nobel Laureates among countless other leaders in a variety of fields. This spring's Alpha Chapter initiates are: John Lindsey keeps things cool (or warm) at W&M 40 years of service John Lindsey started working at William & Mary six months after coming home from a Navy deployment in Vietnam. Photo by Stephen Salpukas Photo - of - Hide Caption Did you hear the one about the 800-amp breaker that flew to a concert at William & Mary in a commercial passenger jet?Or the one about the chill water pump at then-W&M Hall that went out in the 1990s before an important event, and the man who helped take it apart and put it back together seven times over 24 hours to make sure it would work?It did then, and it still does today.The source of those two stories is John Lindsey. Theyre the kinds of things one is likely to experience if theyve worked for 40 years in a universitys facilities management department.Lindsey is among the 240 employees who will be honored today for their service to the university, starting at five years and feted in five-year increments. The other headliner of the group is Roxie Greene, who has spent 50 years in a variety of food-service positions.W&M News has updated its story on Greene from five years ago. [See Related links]As for Lindsey, whose job title is energy systems specialist, hes a Williamsburg native who said he remembers as a kid riding his bike down Route 199 when it was nothing but a dirt road. He came to work at W&M not long after serving 10 months on a ship in Vietnam, where he received two medals, the second for being in a combat zone for more than 30 consecutive days.He has worked as an HVAC mechanic, leader of an HVAC team and in a couple of supervisory positions. Lindsey said he has witnessed a remarkable transformation of the campus since he first came on board.When I first started in the HVAC shop there were three of us, and we took care of the whole campus ice machines, refrigeration up at the Commons, at the Marketplace, along with all of the animal technology at Millington, Lindsey said. But weve been converting the campus over to central plants.While that has made the job more manageable, the tradeoff has been the sheer exponential expansion of the campus.We have a lot more dormitories, he said. The Mason School of Business actually has 256 [Variable Air Volume] units in it; thats quite a few for just one building. The School of Education is relatively new. The Student Recreation Center is new. Theres a new frat complex; we put air conditioning in the common areas of the old frats. Things have changed quite a bit.Lindsey said it isnt the challenge of keeping up with new and ever-changing technology thats the most satisfying part of his job. Its the gratitude W&M students and often their parents show for the work he does.A student will call the office with a problem and theyll pass it down to us, Lindsey said. Well take care of it, and well get calls from the students, thanking us. A lot of times, parents will write and say they appreciate the quick response we made to taking care of the matter.Back to that story about the concert and the new amp breaker so desperately needed in order for it to take place.Lindsey said that for some reason, perhaps a clerical snafu, the university wasnt able to order the part itself. Lindsey phoned a contractor from General Electric, who ordered it.But the part was housed in California, and only way to get it to Williamsburg in time was to buy an airline ticket for it.And for some reason, Lindsey said, the breaker literally had to sit in a seat on the plane.The contractor drove to Richmond to pick up the item, rushed it back to campus, and it was installed in time for the concert.While thats taking the adage that the show must go on to a whole new level, keeping W&M going onward is something Lindsey has helped the university do for 40 years. 'William & Mary is on the cusp' Presidential Search Committee hears from Chancellor Robert M. Gates about what to consider when looking for W&Ms 28th president When you combine William & Marys history and stature, a recent period of stable and positive leadership as well as growth and progress on campus, the presidency at the Alma Mater of the Nation is an attractive position. That was one of the messages W&M Chancellor Robert M. Gates 65 gave to the Presidential Search Committee at a meeting June 13 in Williamsburg. Gates, who serves as an advisor to the committee in addition to his honorary role as chancellor, called into the meeting and spoke with the committee for more than 40 minutes about what he thinks is important as they consider candidates. Whoever comes in, he or she will come in during a time when the College is on the threshold of breaking out, said Gates, pointing to the current For the Bold fundraising campaign as well as the mood on campus. Taylor leaves a campus that is feeling pretty good about itself. Theres a sense of teamwork and common purpose in the objectives. Its a pretty blemish-free opportunity. President Taylor Reveley announced earlier this year he was retiring on June 30, 2018. A committee of faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the Board of Visitors, led by Vice Rector Tom Watkins, is conducting the search. Tuesday was the committees second full meeting, though members have been conducting many listening sessions (61 as of June 13) with interested groups since they began their work in April. A subcommittee has also been reviewing potential search firms to help conduct the national search for W&Ms 28th president. The committees charge is to present the Board of Visitors no more than three finalists no later than Feb. 15, 2018. At Tuesdays meeting, Gates, who in addition to serving as secretary of defense under two presidents of different parties and director of the CIA was president of Texas A&M University from 2002 to 2006, called into the meeting from his home in Washington state. The chancellor made general points about leadership skills that are necessary for the job and also specific points about the position at William & Mary. The College needs someone with the political and leadership skills to deal with multiple constituencies, said Gates, adding he was referring to faculty, students, staff, alumni, members of the legislature, state officials and the media. That requires a fair amount of political skill and a deft touch. Gates said the next president should also understand the importance of shared governance. He said successful leaders believe in an open and transparent decision-making process with constituents across campus but also have the will and self-confidence to make tough decisions. He added there is value in selecting a president who has run a large organization in the past. Having somebody who is a good administrator is critically important, he said. Specific to William & Marys search, Gates said the university would benefit from selecting a president who can be a leader in higher education at a national level. In conversations with others in academia, Gates says he hears William & Mary is better than it thinks. The College is too self-effacing and too modest. He said the committee should not limit the search to traditional academic circles, but the person should understand academic culture and also the type of history and tradition that is important at a place like William & Mary. Someone with a connection to the university could also be beneficial, he said. You want someone who can blend innovation with respect to those traditions, Gates said. But you dont want someone who sees it as a stepping stone. You dont want a gunslinger. Finally, the chancellor said William & Mary needs a leader who has a vision of taking the university to the next level. Thanks to the leadership of Reveley, who will have served 10 years as president when he steps down, the Board and those on campus, William & Mary is positioned well for the future, Gates said. I think William & Mary is on the cusp of having a real national impact, said Gates, later adding You dont want to look for another Taylor because that would be a disservice to Taylor and a disservice to the person who replaces him. You want to look for someone who can build on what Taylor has done. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Russia to start upgrading Armenian plant in 2018 15 June 2017 Share Rosatom plans to carry out work to extend the operating period of unit 2 of the Metsamor nuclear power plant in Armenia in 2018 and 2019, the Russian state nuclear corporation said on 13 June, following a meeting between its director-general, Alexey Likhachov, and Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. A "large amount" of construction and commissioning work on the VVER-440 unit will include modernisation of its cooling towers, turbine unit, control and safety systems, and other equipment, Rosatom said. Rosatom and the Armenian government signed an agreement in December 2014 on extending the operations of Metsamor 2 by ten years to 2026, and in February 2015 the two sides agreed on Russia's provision of a loan to finance the project. In February this year, Artem Petrosyan, head of nuclear energy at Armenia's energy infrastructure and natural resources ministry, said no issues had been found that would prevent the 2026 target. During his meeting with Karapetyan on 12 June, Likhachov said Russia has "rich practical experience" in the implementation of such projects and understands the importance of work on the Metsamor unit for Armenia's energy security. The unit provides about 40% of the country's electricity. "Armenia's nuclear facilities will in fact be thoroughly upgraded. Our common goal today is to move clearly on the agreed schedule, observing the unequivocal priority of quality work and safety requirements," Likhachov said. The Metsamor unit, known as Armenia unit 2, is the second of two Russian-built 376 MWe VVER reactors at the site which started operating in 1976 and 1980, respectively. Both units were taken off line in 1988 due to safety concerns regarding seismic vulnerability, although they both continued to operate and had not sustained any damage in a major earthquake in the region earlier that year. Unit 2 was restarted in 1995, and is subject to ongoing safety improvements. Unit 1 is now being decommissioned. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Compliance Search Discover all ENDS content in one place, including legislation summaries to keep up to date with compliance deadlines Many cities, states, towns, and provinces around the world have undergone a name change for different reasons. A name change is often done for political or nationalistic reasons such as removing traces of colonial rule or reflecting the ideologies of the government in power. A country or state may also change its name for purely commemorative reasons, especially in honor of an influential person or an important event in the country. A country may also change its name to improve their image and to erase an unpleasant event or memory in its history. Here are ten countries that have successfully changed their names. 10. Persia/Iran Historically, Iran was referred to as Persia due to the Greek writings. The region covering the present day Iran was occupied by the Persians who established the Persian Empire. In 1935, the government of Iran directed the countries it had diplomatic relations with to refer to it as Iran instead of Persia. The suggestion to change the name is thought to have been influenced by Iranian ambassador to Germany who had also been influenced by the Nazis. The countries obliged and the name Iran began to appear in official documents. Although there was opposition to the change of name from some quarters, the move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably changed the perception of the people and today the country freely referred to as Iran. 9. Kampuchea/Cambodia Cambodia has changed its name several times, especially when the new ruling party wanted to erase the traces of the previous one. Between 1953 and 1970, the country was renamed the Kingdom of Cambodia. From 1970 to 1975 it was named the Khmer Republic. Under the communist rule from 1975 to 1979, it was referred to as Democratic Kampuchea. Under the UN transition authority from 1989 to 1993, the country was named the State of Cambodia. After the restoration of the monarchy in 1993, Cambodia was renamed the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Khmer people prefer to call themselves Kampuchea meaning Descendant of Prince Kambu. The name Cambodia is a Western mispronunciation of Kampuchea. 8. Burma/Myanmar Myanmar is known in English by two names; Myanmar and Burma. The countrys name has been changed from the Burma to the Myanmar and finally to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar which has been a subject of controversy. The change of name was done by the military junta in 1989, one year after several people were killed in an attempt to suppress a popular uprising. The name change was recognized by several countries including France and Japan and the UN. However, the US and the UK did not recognize the unelected military that changed the name. 7. Transjordan/Jordan Transjordan was recognized as a state in September 1922 and remained a British mandate until 1946 when it was granted independence. In May 1946 the authorities renamed it The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan after the ratification of the Treaty of London. In 1949 the name was again changed to The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Jordan is referred to as the Hashemite Kingdom since it was ruled by the Hashemite dynasty. Hashemite is today used in Jordan to refer to the royal family while Jordan is a name that refers to the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. 6. Abyssinia/Ethiopia The Ethiopian Empire, also known as Abyssinia, covered the northern present state of Ethiopia. The founding of the Solomonic dynasty by the Abyssinians in 1270 led to the naming of the whole country Abyssinia. The Abyssinians ruled uninterrupted up until the 20th century, governing larger parts of Ethiopia. Abyssinia was changed to Ethiopia during World War II by Hailesilase, the X King of Ethiopia. Some scholars have argued that Ethiopia has always been called the same name (Ethiopia) since the 4th century and that the name Abyssinia was just popularized by the Arabs and that Ethiopia is bigger than Abyssinia geographically. 5. Bechuanaland/Botswana Botswana was formerly known as the British protectorate of Bechuanaland. The name Bechuanaland was adopted by the British on March 31, 1885, when it adopted the country as one of its territories. The territory remained under the Bechuanaland Protectorate until independence on September 30, 1966. Botswana adopted the new name after independence. Botswana is named after Tswana, the largest ethnic group in the country, also referred to as Bechuana in older variant orthography. 4. Ceylon/Sri Lanka Sri Lanka has been known by several names over time. Under the British rule, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon from 1815 to 1948. Ceylon is a transliteration of Ceilao, the countrys name under the Portuguese who were the first colonial rulers. The name Sri Lanka was introduced during the push for independence in the early 20th century. It was used by the Marxist Lanka Sama Samaja Party while Sri was introduced by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. It officially adopted the name The Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972 and changed the name to Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in 1978. 3. Zaire/Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of Congo was formally known by several names such as Congo Free State, Belgium Congo, and Congo-Leopoldville. In 1960, it attained independence under the name Republic of Congo, named after the Congo River. From 1965 to 1971 the country was renamed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in 1971 President Mobutu Sese Seko named it Republic of Zaire. Although the Sovereign National Congress voted to change the name back to the "Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1992, the change took place in 1977 following the fall of Mobutu. 2. Upper Volta/Burkina Faso Burkina Faso, formally known as the Upper Volta, was renamed in August 1984 by President Thomas Sankara. He chose the names Burkina and Faso from the two main languages in the country. The name Upper Volta had been given by the French colonialist because of the Volta River which flows across the country. Burkina means honest people in Moore language while Faso means fatherland in Dyula language. The two words put together means land of the honest people. 1. Dahomey/Benin Dahomey was a powerful pre-colonial kingdom that was established in West Africa in what is now the Benin Republic. The kingdom also covered the present day Togo and some parts of southwestern Nigeria. The Dahomey Kingdom was famous for the skilled female warriors who served as royal bodyguards. The country changed its name from Dahomey to the Benin Republic fifteen years after the country attained its independence in 1975 under the leadership Mathieu Kerekou. The change of name was likened to Marxist-Leninist ideals in which Kerekou believed. Who Was Just Nuisance? Just Nuisance was a male Great Dane dog, who lived between 1937 and 1944. He is famous for being the only dog to have ever served as an officially enlisted member of the Royal Navy, the UK naval military branch. He was stationed at Simons Town in South Africa. This article takes a closer look at the life and death of Just Nuisance, the famous navy canine. Life History Of Just Nuisance Just Nuisance was born on April 1, 1937, in the Rondebosch area of Cape Town, South Africa. Once he was of age, Benjamin Chaney purchased him and the two moved to Simons Town, where Benjamin would manage the United Services Institute. While his owner worked, Just Nuisance would busy himself by walking and resting along the naval base, dockyard, and ship decks. His friendly nature soon earned him the affection and friendship of everyone nearby. Even the enlisted Navy members loved him, taking him for walks and spoiling him with delicious treats. Great Danes are large dog breeds, although Just Nuisance was particularly large for his size. His favorite place on board the ships was the gangplank, which made it difficult for people to board or leave the ship. This difficulty inspired his name: Nuisance. Because Just Nuisance was friends with everybody, he would often travel with the navy members by train. Sometimes, he followed them all the way to Cape Town, if he was lucky enough to not be caught on board by the train conductors. During this time, the railway companies were state-owned and the officials contacted Chaney about his dog boarding the trains. He was informed that Just Nuisance would be euthanized if his actions didnt stop. When word spread that Just Nuisances was in trouble, many in Simons Town worked together to petition the Navy for a solution. Navy officials decided to officially enlist Just Nuisance as a navy member, giving him the right to ride the trains without paying the fare. He became an official navy seaman on August 25, 1939. During his time with the Navy, Just Nuisance never traveled on the ocean. Instead, he stayed on land and continued accompanying the other sailors from place to place. Additionally, Just Nuisance appeared at a number of events and became a source of morale for World War II troops. The Navy even staged a wedding between him and Adinda, a female Great Dane. The two went on to have 5 puppies, 2 of which were sold in an effort to raise funds for the war. His Navy record contained the following personal information: Canine Divinity League as his religion (having converted from the Scrounger religion) and Bonecrusher as his occupation. His disciplinary marks included: not leaving the pub at closing time, sleeping in another Petty Officers bed, losing his collar, taking leave without permission, and killing 2 mascots from other ships. Death And Legacy Of Just Nuisance On January 1, 1944, Just Nuisance was discharged from the Navy as a result of medical complications. His diagnosis was thrombosis, which was believed to have stemmed from a prior car accident. His health never improved and on April 1, 1944, he was brogught to the veterinarian for a medical checkup. With no positive outlook for his future health and comfort, Just Nuisance was euthanized. He was given a funeral with full naval honors and buried at the former SA Navy Signal School. In honor of his memory, the Simons Town Museum has an exhibit following his life and the municipal government placed a statue of his likeness in Jubilee Square. 18. Ordos Desert Also known as the Mu Us Desert, the Ordos Desert is located in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China. The desert spans an area of about 90,650 square km. The Kubuqi Desert in the north and the Maowusu Desert in the south make up the Ordos Desert. The desert is surrounded by the Great Bend of the Yellow River and mountain chains. Montane grasslands and shrublands constitute the vegetation of the region. Przewalski's gazelles, Przewalski's horses, Bactrian camels, snow leopards, etc., are found here. Small scale farming is practiced in the oases of the desert. Cattle ranching is an important activity here. Soda deposits in the Ordos Desert are heavily mined. 17. Lop Desert The Lop Desert is a desert located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The desert hardly exhibits any variations in relief being almost perfectly flat. The desert has poor biodiversity with sparse natural vegetation. Only about 36 species of plants grow here. 23 species of mammals, 91 bird species, 7 reptilian, and 1 amphibian species have been recorded in the Lop Desert. The desert serves as one of the last refuges of the wild Bactrian camel. The Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve was created to conserve this camel species in 2001. The region is subject to violent sand storms during the spring season. 16. Karakum Desert The Karakum Desert is located in Central Asia where it covers nearly 70% of the total area of Turkmenistan. The desert region is extremely sparsely populated. The desert is rich in oil and natural gas deposits. A chief attraction here is the Darvaza gas crater or the "Door to Hell, a continuously burning crater set on fire intentionally by geologists to check the spread of methane gas. The worlds second largest irrigation canal, the Kara Kum Canal traverses the desert. The Trans-Caspian Railway crosses the Karakum Desert. The oases in the region are noted for cotton cultivation. 15. Kyzylkum Desert Occupying an area of 298,000 square km, the Kyzylkum Desert is the worlds 16th biggest desert and is located in the doab region of Central Asia. The desert is currently shared by the countries of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. The landscape of the desert features extensive plain land with sand dunes, takirs, and oases. The oases of the desert are inhabited by small human populations. The notable fauna of the Kyzylkum Desert includes the Russian tortoise, Desert monitor, saiga antelope, Bukhara Deer, common pheasant, golden eagle, and others. The exposed rock formations in the desert have also yielded fossils whose study have contributed significantly to paleontological knowledge. The desert is famous for its rich mineral deposits of copper, gold, uranium, oil, and natural gas. 14. Registan Desert The Registan Desert is located in southwestern Afghanistan. The sandy desert features sandy plains, rocky areas, clay-covered areas, and small sandy hills. Nomadic tribes inhabit this desert. Recently, the desert has been observed to migrate westwards into agricultural areas. This migration has triggered a crisis situation in the region and displaced communities and destroyed villages. 13. Dasht-e Margo The Dasht-e Margo (meaning "Desert of Death) is a desert in Afghanistan in the Helmand and Nimruz provinces of the country. The desert occupies an area of about 150,000 square km. The landscape of the desert features rocky-clayish plains and masses of sand. 12. Thal Desert The Thal Desert is located in Punjab Pakistan near the Pothohar Plateau. The desert area is inhabited by small pockets of population that are spread out over the large expanse of the desert. People here often travel long distances for their daily living needs. 11. Kharan Desert The Kharan Desert is a mountainous, sandy desert found in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The Chagai-II, the second nuclear test of the country was executed at the desert in 1998. Little agriculture is practiced in the region. The settlers here are mainly engaged in the carpet weaving business. 10. Indus Valley Desert The Indus Valley Desert is a remote and desolate area of northern Pakistan. The desert encompasses an area of 19,501 square km in the countrys northwestern Punjab Province. The desert area experiences extremes of climate ranging from extremely hot summers to freezing winters. The striped hyena, caracal, urial, Indian leopard, and the Indian wolf are the notable mammalian fauna of the Indus Valley Desert. Little farming or grazing activities are carried out here. Hunting is prevalent in the region and thus the wildlife here face constant threat. 9. Cholistan Desert The Cholistan Desert occupies an area of 26,300 square km stretching from Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan to the Thar Desert of India. The Hakra River runs through the desert and many settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization are found along the banks of the river. The desert is inhabited by semi-nomadic tribes who migrate through the desert in search of food and fodder. The Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally, an annual Jeep rally, is hosted in this desert. 8. Maranjab Desert The Maranjab Desert is an Iranian desert located in the Aran va Bidgol, Isfahan Province. The desert is one of the best destinations for off-roads trips in the country. Wolves, hyenas, monitor lizards, chameleons, sand cat, eagle, etc., are some of the notable fauna of the desert habitat. 7. Polond Desert Also known as the Mozaffari Desert, the Polond Desert is a desert located in Irans South Khorasan Province. It is part of the Mozaffari Protected Area. The sand dunes and sandy hills of the Polond Desert with the mountains in the backdrop offer stunning landscapes to those visiting the area. Among the tourist attractions here is the Cheetah's Tail, a sand dune that is shaped like the tail of a cheetah. The Ferdows Hole-in-the-Rock, a geological attraction, is also present in this desert. 6. Dasht-e Loot Also known as the Loot Desert, the Dasht-e Loot, the 25th biggest desert on Earth, is located in Iran. Here, it occupies parts of the Baluchistan, Kerman, and Sistan provinces of the country. In 2016, the desert was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The desert features a plateau, ravines, sinkholes, salt flats, and a series of furrows and ridges, and vast expanses of sand. The sand dunes found in the southeast of this desert are among the worlds tallest sand dunes attaining a height of about 980 feet. The land surface temperature at Dasht-e Loot often reaches 70.7 C making it one of the hottest places on our planet. 5. Dasht-e Kavir The Dasht-e Kavir, also known as the Great Salt Desert, is located in the central Iranian Plateau region. It encompasses a total surface area of about 77,600 square km. It is the worlds 23rd biggest desert. The Dasht-e Kavir features vast areas of salt marshes like the 1,800 square km large Daryahcheh-e Namak. It also hosts a protected ecological zone named as the Kavir National Park. Although the desert receives little precipitation, run-offs from the surrounding mountains create large marshlands, playas, and temporary lakes in the desert. Sand and pebbles constitute the desert soil. Mugwort is the most common plant growing here. Birds like sandgrouses, larks, ground jay, etc., live here. The mammalian fauna of the Dasht-e Kavir include camels, goats, Persian gazelles, Asiatic cheetah, etc. There is negligible human habitation in the region. 4. Taklamakan Desert The Taklamakan Desert is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. It is surrounded by mountains to the north, south, and west and the Gobi Desert to the east. The Taklamakan Desert occupies an area of 337,000 square km which is nearly equal to the size of Germany. 85% of the desert comprises of shifting sand dunes making it the second largest shifting sand desert in the world. Two cross-desert highways exist on the Taklamakan Desert. The desert has been described in several accounts of ancient travelers who have described it is a dangerous desert that can easily claim lives of those who stray away from the known paths. 3. Thar Desert The Great Indian Desert or the Thar Desert is a massive desert in the Indian subcontinents northwestern section. It forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan where 85% of the desert area lies within India and the rest in Pakistan. Several protected areas of India and Pakistan like the Desert National Park, the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, and the Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary serve to protect the unique flora and fauna of the desert habitat. The biodiversity found here is quite rich in contrast to other desert regions of the world. The blackbuck, Indian wild ass, chinkara, desert fox, caracal, etc., are the notable fauna of the desert. 141 species of migratory and resident birds can be found here. The Thar Desert is the worlds most densely populated desert and has a population density of 83 per square km. 2. Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert located in northern and northwestern China is Asias second largest desert and the worlds fifth largest desert. It lies in the rain shadow region of the Tibetan Plateau. The desert is famous in history as the home of several cities along the historical Silk Route. It was also a part of the great Mongol Empire. The desert spans across an area of 1,295,000 square km. The landscape of most of the Gobi Desert features bare rock instead of sand. Fossils of early mammals, prehistoric human artifacts, and dinosaur eggs have been discovered in the Gobi Desert. 1. Arabian Desert The Arabian Desert, the largest desert of Asia and the fourth largest desert in the world, is located in Western Asia. The massive desert of about 2,330,000 square km stretches across most parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Despite the extreme conditions, the Arabian Desert hosts some desert-adapted species like the oryx, gazelles, sand cats, lizards, etc. Many species of the desert have become extinct due to overgrazing and hunting. There is very little vegetation in the region. The desert also has areas with treacherous quicksand. What Is Abalone? The abalone species is considered a type of marine snail, or gastropod mollusk, that belongs to the family Haliotidae. The number of abalone species is not known exactly, although it has been estimated at somewhere between 30 and 130. Abalone shells have an oval shape that can be arched or flattened. This species is easily recognized by the row of open holes, which are respiratory pores, located along its outer edge. The inside of the shell is characterized by a thick layer of nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl. It has an iridescent sheen that changes colors depending on the angle viewed. Abalone can be found in a variety of sizes, with the smallest species measuring .79 inches and the largest at 7.9 inches in length. Inside of its shell is the living organism. It has a large, soft body, known as a foot, that is anchored to the shell by the columellar muscle. The abalone uses its muscular foot body to attach itself to rocky outcroppings in shallow parts of the ocean. This species can be found all over the world, preferring the cold waters off the coasts of New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, Australia, and the Pacific coast of North America. Human Use Of Abalone Humans have used abalone as both a food source and decorative object for at least 75,000 years. Shells have been found in archaeological ruins from the Northern Channel Islands to the Blombos Caves of South Africa. Today, most of the abalone meat consumed comes from farm-raised animals, a practice that began in China and Japan between the late 1950s and early 1960s. Countries all over the world now practice abalone farming because wild populations have been significantly reduced due to overfishing and poaching. This article takes a closer look at the effects of illegal abalone poaching in South Africa specifically. Harvest And Trade Of Abalone In South Africa In South Africa, annual permits are required to harvest abalone. Use of scuba diving to locate this species for harvest is prohibited. Over the last several years, however, the government has not issued any abalone harvesting permits in an attempt to help restore wild populations. In 2007, the South African government listed this species as endangered according to the regulations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This designation required member countries to monitor abalone trade, however, it was removed from the list in 2010. Trading abalone is now allowed by government regulation but requires export permits. Consumers in South Africa are prohibited from purchasing abalone meat in the local market. Abalone Poaching In South Africa One of the greatest instances of illegal abalone poaching in the world occurs in South Africa. This species, considered the most expensive shellfish in the world, is known locally as white gold due to its high value and pearl-like interior. The majority of this illegally poached meat is sold in Asian countries, where it is considered a delicacy. Demand for abalone meat has substantially increased over the last few years, creating an international export industry worth billions of dollars. The most desired abalone species is the Haliotis midae, which is the largest of its kind and found only along the coasts of South Africa. Around 75 million abalone have been illegally fished from the waters of South Africa since 2001, 10 times more than the legal quota. According to nonprofits dedicated to preventing illegal trade of wildlife, approximately 3,477 tons of abalone were illegally removed from the water in 2015. The legal abalone harvest for the same year was only 105 tons. Development Of Abalone Poaching In South Africa Researchers believe the poaching industry first began during the post-Apartheid era of the 1990s. As part of industry reforms, the government redistributed annual abalone quotes among fishing companies. During Apartheid, the vast majority of the quotas were given to white-owned companies. Post-Apartheid, abalone limits were taken from these larger companies and redistributed to the previously disadvantaged black-owned companies. New fishing policies were applied to several sectors except the local traditional and artisanal fishers. These individuals, who had been harvesting abalone for generations, were excluded from the market. When the government refused to provide traditional abalone fishers with a larger quota based on a collective practice, the locals began to illegally collect this species. Then in 2007, the government reacted to drastically reduced wild abalone population numbers by decreasing the annual limit from 800 tons to 80 tons. Faced with losing their livelihood and only source of income, many individuals ignored the restriction and continued harvesting abalone. Today, illegal abalone poaching has been taken over by criminal organizations. The local police force, known for high levels of corruption, accepts bribes from these syndicates to overlook the illegal fishing. Additionally, these criminal organizations recruit young individuals who are living in conditions of poverty and often pay in drugs, creating an addiction that can only be fulfilled by harvesting more abalone. This illegal trade is worth approximately $440 million annually. Future Of Abalone In South Africa If the illegal poaching of abalone continues in South Africa, experts believe this species could become extinct in as little as 10 years time. The absence of abalone in the marine ecosystem would be detrimental to the habitat. These species are ecologically important and their algae grazing behavior cleans the area, allowing for colonization and population growth of other species. They also serve as a food source for many larger marine animals. Alternative To Illegal Abalone Poaching The answer to reducing illegal poaching in South Africa is not necessarily tied to prosecuting illegal fishers and corrupt police. Instead, investing in commercial abalone farms may provide a safer and more environmentally sustainable economic opportunity for thousands of individuals. Training local abalone harvesters to raise, produce, and process quality abalone meat would provide a number of secure employment opportunities. In fact, commercially farmed abalone meat is worth significantly more than illegally poached abalone. At Abagold in South Africa, which is the largest abalone farm located on land and outside of China, dried abalone meat sells for $200 per pound, whereas illegal abalone meat sells for around $70 per pound. South Africa could follow the example set by Japan, a country that has increased its wild abalone population by introducing commercially raised young abalone (called spat) to the local coastal areas. This has helped the wild population numbers grow and allows the country to sustainably harvest 5,000 tons of abalone each year. Critics, however, claim that this method reduces the levels of wild diversity. What Is The Skeleton Coast? The Skeleton Coast of Namibia has a very ominous sounding name, and with good reason! This 976-mile stretch of Atlantic coastline is covered in animal skeletons and shipwreck ruins, more closely resembling a graveyard than a beach. This section of the coastline is situated along the northern edge of Namibia, just south of the border of Angola, between the Kunene and Swakop rivers. The Skeleton Coast has also been called the Land God Made in Anger by the Bushmen and the Gates of Hell by Portuguese explorers. Why So Many Skeletons? Why exactly does this particular beach have such a high number of skeletons and shipwrecks? The answer lies in the ocean currents running just off the coast. The Benguela current carries its cold waters up from Cape Point in the south, colliding with the warm air located off the coast of the Namibian Desert. This extreme mix of temperatures creates a heavy fog that covers both the beach and the ocean. In addition, strong winds blow from land to sea, resulting in heavy waves along the beach. These conditions can best be described as harsh and hostile; they are responsible for the high number of shipwrecks and animal carcasses on shore. Life On The Skeleton Coast Given its inhospitable climate and conditions, one can imagine that life on the Skeleton Coast is not abundant. With an average annual rainfall of .39 inches, the plants that do manage to survive here are kept alive by the moisture of the fog. Insects here also rely on the fog as well as decomposing plant material that blows into the area from the inland. The Skeleton Coast is located within a 6,200-square mile national park of the same name. Areas of the park located further away from the beach have some larger animal populations, such as giraffe, lion, springbok, black rhinoceros, and baboons. These animals are able to survive along the river which provides freshwater, vegetation, and a reliable food source. Wrecks Found Along Skeleton Coast Some of the wrecks found along the Skeleton Coast are more well-known than others. One of these is the Eduard Bohlen, which ran ashore in 1907. This ship is of German origin and was headed from Swakopmund to Table Bay when it met its demise. The Eduard Bohlen is located approximately 1,640 feet from the waters edge. Visitors often wonder how the ship made it to the middle of the desert, but the truth is that it has not always been located so far away from the ocean. In fact, the desert sands have blown in around the ship over time, creating a wider stretch of beach and making it appear as if the ship wrecked in the middle of the sand. Another famous shipwreck located here is the Dunedin Star, which ran aground in 1942. This ship was carrying supplies for the Allied forces and 21 refugees fleeing London during World War II. On its course, the Dunedin Star collided with an underwater obstacle, stranding the boat, its cargo, and its passengers over 1,000 feet from the shore. This incident initiated what would become a very unsuccessful rescue mission. Two vessels were sent to retrieve the passengers and drop off supplies. Both the warplane and the tugboat wrecked during their attempts. The remains of all 3 can still be seen today. Before the 19th century, the political landscape in the UK was dominated by the Whigs and the Tories. The Whigs were made up of most of the prominent aristocratic dynasties agitating for Protestant succession and subsequently enjoyed the support of the wealthy merchants and emerging industrial interests. The Tories were mostly associated with the Church of Scotland; the landed gentry and the Church of England. Towards the mid 19th century, the Whigs evolved into the Liberal Party while the Tories became the Conservative Party. The Labour Party emerged in the place of the Liberal Party in the 1920s. The Conservative and Labour Parties are the major political players in the UK although they are other many parties. Conservative Party The Conservative Party has a centre-right position in UK's politics. The party garnered the largest number of seats in the House of Commons at the last election in 2015 and is thus the party that formed the government. The party's chair is Theresa May who is currently the UK's Prime Minister. Among the major views of the party is the belief that free markets in addition to individual achievement drive economic growth. The party advocates for supply-side economics, a theory which stipulates that reduced income tax rates triggers GDP growth and thus amounts to the same or more revenue collected by the government from the lesser tax on the additional growth. This theory is in line with the party's advocacy for tax cuts. The Conservative Party has established a wide range of global alliances including ties with the US. Other views of the party are restrictions on trade union, a strong national defense, fiscal conservatism, and deregulation. Labour Party The Labour Party occupies a centre-left position in UK's politics. After garnering 231 seats in the 2015 election, the Labour Party assumed the place of the Official Opposition. Jeremy Corbyn is currently serving as the party's chair. The party initially favored socialist policies including the redistribution of wealth, a belief in publicly funded education and healthcare, government intervention, and public ownership of strategic industries. The Labour Party began embracing several free market policies in the mid-1980s under the leadership of Neil Kinnock, Tony Blair, and John Smith. The party's current political stand has been described as Third Way.' Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party is the third-largest in the UK in terms of membership. The party has the majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament as well as the majority of representatives in the Parliament of the UK. The party is currently under the leadership of Nicola Sturgeon. The Scottish National Party is associated with Scottish Nationalism, and it has been at the forefront in agitating for Scottish independence. Being a social democratic party, some of its views include investments in renewable energy, construction of affordable social housing, progressive personal taxation, same-sex marriage, and government-subsidized higher education. Liberal Democrats In 1988, the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party merged into the Liberal Democrats. Tim Farron is the partys current leader. The Liberal Democrats advocate for civil liberties, electoral and constitutional reform, environmentalism, progressive taxation, European integration, drug decriminalization, and human rights laws. Emerging Trends The UK's two party system which is dominated by the Conservative and Labour Parties has been decreasing in popularity. Smaller parties have been registering increasing support such as the Scottish National Party which is pushing for Scottish independence. Another rising party is the Green Party of England and Wales as well as the Green Party in Northern Ireland. The Green Party advocates for peace and non-violence, environmental consciousness, social justice, and grassroots democracy. The UK Independence Party has garnered support due to its stances on British Nationalism, Economic liberalism, immigration, and exit from the EU. Greek and Turkish are two official languages of Cyprus. The three main minority languages spoken in Cyprus are Armenian, Cypriot Arabic, and Kurbetcha. English is a popular foreign language spoken in the country. Cypriot Greek and Cypriot Turkish are the vernacular languages of Cyprus. The Official And Vernacular Languages Of Cyprus Standard Modern Greek and Standard Turkish are the two official languages of Cyprus. These languages are used by the government, courts, administration, media, and educational institutes of Cyprus. Greek was introduced in Cyprus by the Greek settlers who arrived in the island in about the 12th to 11th century BC. The general population uses Cypriot Greek and Cypriot Turkish as everyday spoken languages. However, the Cypriot Greek developed over centuries in the country and was heavily influenced by the various languages spoken by the different colonial groups who arrived in Cyprus over the years. The Cypriot Greek is significantly different from Standard Modern Greek. Minority Languages Of Cyprus The minority communities living in Cyprus speak their native languages in the country. The most popular minority languages spoken in Cyprus include: Armenian Armenian is spoken by the ethnic Armenians living in Cyprus. These people have been living in the country since the sixth century but a new group of Armenian immigrants also arrived in the 20th century following the Armenian genocide in Turkey. Currently, about 3,000 people in Cyprus speak Armenian as their first language. Many of the ethnic Armenians living in Cyprus are bilingual in Armenian and Greek. Cypriot Arabic Cypriot Arabic is a variant of Arabic that is spoken by the ethnic Arabians living in Cyprus. The language is fast dying and is spoken by about 900 Cypriot Maronites living in the country of which most are aged above 30 years. Most speakers of this language are bilingual in Greek and Cypriot Arabic. Kormakitis in Cyprus is considered to host a significant population of Cypriot Maronites. Kurbetcha Kurbetcha is a little-studied minority language of Cyprus. The language is spoken by the Romani people living in the northern parts of the country. The language uses Romani vocabulary and Cypriot Turkish grammar. Little is known about this minority language and it is not protected by the countrys law. Immigrant Languages Spoken In Cyprus A number of immigrant languages are spoken in Cyprus. These languages are spoken by the immigrant population of various ethnicities living in the country. English, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian, etc., are some of the immigrant languages of Cyprus. Foreign Languages Spoken In Cyprus English is the most popular foreign language spoken in Cyprus. The Cypriots have a high proficiency in English. As per a report by Eurobarometer, 73% of the population of Cyprus can speak English. The language is used in street signs, advertisements, and public notices in the country. During the British colonial rule in Cyprus, English served as the countrys official language. It also acted as the countrys lingua franca till 1960. English was used in the courts of Cyprus till 1989 and in the legislature till 1996. Other popular foreign languages spoken in Cyprus include French and German which are spoken by 12% and 5% of the people of Cyprus, respectively. In the past, Sweden occupied greater territory than what it does today. Hence, the modern linguistic landscape of the country is greatly different from its historic linguistic landscape. The Swedish language, treated as the official language of Sweden evolved around the 14th and 15th century from Old Norse. The language has several dialects spoken in various parts of the country. The formally recognized minority languages spoken in Sweden include Finnish, Meankieli, Yiddish, Sami, and Romani. German was the most important foreign language of Sweden prior to the Second World War after which English replaced German as the dominant foreign language spoken in the country. Official Language Of Sweden Swedish is the official language of Sweden and is held in high regard in the country. Nearly the entire population of Sweden speak Swedish with most speaking it as a first language and the rest as a second language. The Swedish language is a North Germanic language that closely resembles Norwegian and Danish. The language is also given an official status in Finland where it is spoken by the ethnic Swedes of Finland. Swedish is also spoken in other countries by the ethnic Swedes. In the US, Swedish is spoken by about half a million people with a Swedish ancestry. Several different dialects of Swedish are spoken in various parts of Sweden. These include: Westrobothnian (coastal areas of Westrobothnia and Norrbotten) Dalecarlian (spoken primarily in the Alvdalen Municipality and other northern parts of the Dalarna province) Modern Gutnish (spoken in Gotland and Faro) Jamtlandic ( spoken mainly in Jamtland but with scattered speakers throughout Sweden) Scanian (spoken in the province of Scania) Minority Languages Of Sweden Five minority languages have been formally recognized in Sweden since 1999. They are as follows: Finnish The Finnish language has been spoken for many generations of ethnic Finns in Sweden. The fact that Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom for centuries makes Finnish one of the oldest minority languages of Sweden. About 5% of the population of Sweden comprises of ethnic Fins and Finnish is spoken by about 470,000 speakers in the country. A majority (about 16,000) of the Finnish speakers of Sweden reside in Norrbotten. Meankieli The Meankieli is a Finnic language so closely related to Finnish that it is often treated as a dialect of Finnish. The language is spoken as a first language by about 40,000 to 70,000 speakers in the Torne Valley region of Sweden. These people are called the Tornedalian people. Sami The Sami languages are spoken by the Sami people of northern Scandinavia. These languages are Uralic languages. The Sami languages feature a significant number of loanwords from Germanic languages like Finnish, Swedish, etc. Three different Sami languages are spoken in Sweden. These languages are spoken by about 9,000 of the 15,000 to 20,000 Sami people living in Sweden. The Sami language speakers of Sweden are mainly found in the municipalities of Kiruna, Arjeplog, Jokkmokk, and Gallivare. Romani The Romani language is a language spoken by the Romani people. These people are a nomadic group tracing their origins to northern India. The Romani language is an Indo-Aryan language and is closely related to the languages spoken in northern India. Since the Romani people have a nomadic lifestyle, no particular area in Sweden can be designated as a Romani-speaking region. The language is, however, given significant importance in the country with the Swedish government promoting plans to preserve the Romani language. Yiddish Yiddish is a Germanic language spoken mainly by the Ashkenazic Jews. Traditionally, Sweden served as the home of the Sephardic Jews but the Ashkenazic Jews immigrated to the country after the 18th century and introduced the Yiddish language in the country. The language is written using a variant of the Hebrew Alphabet. The Swedish government gives considerable attention to the preservation of this language in the country. Most of the Yiddish speakers in Sweden are adults. 2,000 to 6,000 of the 20,000 strong Jew population in Sweden claim to have some knowledge of Yiddish. The Society of Yiddish and Yiddish Culture in Sweden has been established with the aim of promoting the use of the language in the country. Immigrant Languages Spoken In Sweden Immigrants to Sweden speak their native languages. Sweden attracts a large number of workers, especially from the countries of Southern Europe. Thus Bulgarian, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Turkish are some of the languages spoken by the immigrant settlers in Sweden. These languages are known as the immigrant languages of Sweden. Foreign Languages Spoken In Sweden German The German language was quite popular in Sweden for the period extending from the Middle Ages to the end of the Second World War. During this time, Sweden had close connections with Germany. Many Swedish pioneering intellectuals were educated in the universities in Germany and they helped spread the knowledge of German in Sweden. However, all changed after World War II and the defeat of the Germans. Sweden now attempted to maintain a distance with Germany and the huge popularity of the German language in the country was lost. Soon English became a more popular foreign language of Sweden. Currently, German is no longer a compulsory second language taught in schools but is usually offered as an elective language in educational institutions. English A large section of the Swedish population speaks English. The language is most commonly spoken by the younger generations who were born after the Second World War. The trade links of Sweden with English-speaking nations, the strong American influence, overseas travel to English-speaking countries, and cultural interchange have increased the popularity of English in Sweden. Since 1952, studying English has been made compulsory for all students in the country. Other Foreign Languages Spoken In Sweden French and Spanish are offered as additional languages in school. There are also plans to introduce Mandarin as an additional language. Danish and Norwegian is also taught on certain occasions to native Swedish speakers. This SherlocKat isnt fooled by this ownership business An heir claims ownership over his ancestor's painting seventy-years and six months after the death of his ancestor... and the Paris Tribunal seems likely to grant his request. How is it possible? Elementary, my dear Watson. The legal ownership of artworks spans across a number of legal fields, going beyond intellectual property rights in some cases. As a result, more than one kind of ownership is vested in works of art. Ownership may be conferred by copyright in the graphic representation embodied by the painting, and by (traditional) property law over the painting itself. Unlike copyright-ownership, property-ownership knows no time-limit. As confirmed by a recent decision of the Paris Tribunal, property-ownership may be passed down from one generation to the next without losing its legal force. Old titles may thus come back to haunt collectors, galleries and museums who exhibit works that are otherwise cleared by copyright. "La Cueillette des Pois" by Pissarro (1886) On 30 May 2017, the Paris Tribunal (Tribunal de Grande Instance) granted an interim injunction sought by the heir of a private collector whose artwork collection had been plundered during the German occupation in 1943 . The dispute illustrates that owning or exhibiting works of art can be fraught with both legal and historical complexities. The interim order concerns the work of the famous French artiste Camille Pissarro known as "La Cueillette" (also going by the name of "La cueillette des pois", "Pea Harvest"). "Pea Harvest" was one of the ninety-three paintings Simon Bauer, the private collector, owned and ultimately lost during the war. The plundering of Bauer's collection was executed on 1 October 1945 in accordance with the legal status of Jewish French citizens at the time. Bauer began legal actions to recover his collection, shortly after his escape from the Drancy camp in 1944. On 8 November 1945, the Paris Tribunal declared null and void the sales of the paintings Bauer had managed to locate since his return, and secured their restitution. This decision was confirmed in appeal on 4 May 1951. Yet not all paintings were recovered. When Bauer passing away on 1 January 1947, the search for the remaining items of his collection was carried on by his grandchildren, who have continued to do so to this day. Camille Pissarro The present dispute began with the reappearance of "Pea Harvest" in the Pissarro exhibition put on by the Marmottan museum in Paris. The painting's current owners, Mr and Mrs Toll, US citizens, had lent the piece to the Museum for the duration of their exhibition. Anxious not to see the painting leave France at the end of the show, Bauer's heirs filed for an interim injunction granted by expedited proceedings in order to have Pissarro's piece kept in sequestration with the Academy of Fine Arts until 2 July 2017, and with the Orsay and Orangerie museums thereafter. Ultimately, the claimants hope that the interim injunction will facilitate the recovery of the painting once full court proceedings settle the issue. Mr and Mrs Toll challenged the interim sequestration of the piece on three grounds: (1) the Paris Tribunal's lack of jurisdiction in the matter; (2) the presence of procedural irregularities in the claimant's injunction request; and (3) the inappropriate use by the claimant of expedited proceedings in this case (a procedure known as "jugement en r e f e r e" in France ). (1) On the Paris Tribunal's jurisdiction. The defendants argued that the involvement of the Academy of the Fine Arts (based in Paris) is a ruse on the claimants' parts for their case to be heard in Paris, and not in the United States, where the Tolls live permanently. As such, the Tribunal should declare themselves lacking jurisdiction to rule on this matter. The Bench dismissed the argument by pointing to the fact that the involvement of the Academy of Fine Arts was legitimate given that the institution manages the Marmottan Foundation (including its museum), who currently hold the painting. The Tribunal President thus concluded that since the interim injunction seeks to have the painting retained by the Marmottan museum (i.e. the Academy of Fine Arts) which is itself located in France, French courts enjoyed jurisdiction in this matter (p. 5-6). (2) On the procedural irregularities of the claim. The defendants first challenged the injunction claim by stressing that the Marmottan Foundation lacked legal personhood and, as such, could not be party to the dispute or receive the painting in sequestration. The Tribunal responded by reminding the parties that such grounds could have only been raised by the Marmottan Foundation, who did not, and that the Academy of Fine Arts (who enjoy legal personhood) had joined the proceedings in support of the Foundation precisely for this reason (p. 6) Jean-Jacques Bauer (Simon Bauer's heir) at the Marmottan museum. (Photograph by France 3 TV) The defendants also asked for the dismissal of injunction request on the basis that the required notification for expedited interim injunction made against parties residing abroad had not been fulfilled by the plaintiffs. The Court rejected the argument by stating that the defendants were granted further time to prepare, seek advice from counsel and present their arguments, which they did in full at the hearing on 5 May 2017. Earlier irregularities had thus been rectified (p. 6). A Pea-cat (Flickr: jaci XIII) (3) On the suitability of expedited proceedings. Finally, the defendants put forward that expedited proceedings in this case would be prohibited by the French civil procedural rules because they have a serious and legitimate claim to retain the painting (see bona fide owners of Pissarro's painting, having acquired the piece at a public auction held by Christies in 1995. According to them, their position as owners in good faith should bar the restitution requested by Bauer's estate. Yet, the Court dismissed this argument by referring to the 1945 ordinance issued by the Paris Court of Appeal in which the judges had declared that "any subsequent owners [of Bauer's paintings] will be regarded as possessors in bad faith [...]. They may not, under any circumstances, invoke a right to retain a lien". The Paris Tribunal thus concluded that the defendants' bona fide defense could not hold, and did not form a legitimate or serious claim susceptible to prevent expedited proceedings (p. 7). Finally, the defendants put forward that expedited proceedings in this case would be prohibited by the French civil procedural rules because they have a serious and legitimate claim to retain the painting (see Art 808 of the Code of Civil Procedure - available here in English ). For this reason, any injunction or decision should be heard in the context of full, and not expedited, proceedings. The Tolls argue that they are theowners of Pissarro's painting, having acquired the piece at a public auction held by Christies in 1995. According to them, their position as owners in good faith should bar the restitution requested by Bauer's estate. Yet, the Court dismissed this argument by referring to the 1945 ordinance issued by the Paris Court of Appeal in which the judges had declared that "any subsequent owners [of Bauer's paintings] will be regarded as possessors in bad faith [...]. They may not, under any circumstances, invoke a right to retain a lien". The Paris Tribunal thus concluded that the defendants'defense could not hold, and did not form a legitimate or serious claim susceptible to prevent expedited proceedings (p. 7). The conclusion of the Tribunal President on this last point seems to indicate that Bauer's estate stand strong in their battle to secure the ownership of Pissarro's work. Jean-Jacques Bauer, Simon Bauer's heir, reported by the French newspaper FranceInfo, was pleased to see judges taking actions helping him restore his ancestor's collection as similar proceedings had failed in the past (see ). The full trial on the painting's ownership is yet to be heard. More than seventy-year after the confiscation of Bauer's paintings, the search and the legal battles to complete the collection continue. The decision also reminds us, and the practitioners of the GLAM sector (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) that the ever-so-worrisome intellectual property rights represent only one of two legal ownership rights. By Mathilde Pavis In the opening part of our Rally Italia Sardegna review, we examine the key moment of the weekend and spotlight our top driver. Turning Point Monte Lerno is Sardinias signature special stage. Huge crowds watched the high-fliers at the iconic Mickys Jump early in the test, but theres much more to it than that. The roads become increasingly narrow, bumpy and rough and are a tough challenge. Saturdays first pass was where Sebastien Ogier lost this event. He started the 28.89km stage with a solid, if not comfortable, 19.5sec advantage over Thierry Neuville. He ended it just 4.9sec to the good after a lacklustre sixth fastest time. Ogier handed Neuville a lifeline which the Belgian grabbed to enhance his title claims. Wrong rhythm probably, was the Frenchmans explanation at the time and come Sundays Alghero finish, he knew this was the defining point. Driver of the Rally No arguments here step forward Mr Neuville. Thierry is never short of confidence and having propelled himself back into contention in Monte Lerno, he went for Ogiers jugular. Not for him the option of playing safe and settling for solid points courtesy of second place. He wanted a win to send Ogier into the mid-season break with something to think about. He was sublime on the final day, taking four wins from four stages. He matched that skill level with the utmost bravery through the final Sassari - Argentiera Power stage to seal the deal. It was the stuff champions are made of. Sardinia lacked nothing in excitement Youll Never Believe It In early June, you can guarantee sunshine in Sardinia, with temperatures edging towards 30C. Not this year. Torrential rain made Fridays stages so muddy and wet they more resembled Wales Rally GB. Happily normal service was resumed, and by Sunday we were enjoying Italys wonderful gelato in 31C heat. Quote of the Rally Conditions were so tough that Fridays second pass through the technically tricky Tula test brought big time margins. The roads worsened with the passage of every car as standing water and mud hampered the later starters. Mads stberg summed it up perfectly. Sometimes it feels like you are walking through the stage and its a long walk! VIDEO More News Good Progress In Implementing Welsh Language Standards But Questions Raised If Right Approach This article is old - Published: Thursday, Jun 15th, 2017 Wrexham Council is doing quite well at implementing Welsh Language Standards however a lead councillor has questioned if the standards are the right way to go about things. Councillors will receive and possibly discuss the annual monitoring report into Welsh language standards in Wrexham Council at the first Executive Board meeting of the new administration next week. In line with the Welsh Language Standards the Council are required to draft an annual report that has to be on the Councils site by the end of this month. Wrexham Council say they have made good progress over the last 12 months in terms of implementing the standards, whilst acknowledging there are still changes to be made with the occasional instance of non-compliance reported. Prior to discussing the Councils progress Deputy Leader Cllr Hugh Jones was keen to note: It is important to note that the Welsh Government themselves have fully recognised now that the standards are complex and difficult for many councils and public bodies to comply with and have ordered a review into the standards. That review has been supported by former Chairman of the Welsh Language Board who has said standards are complex, in the meantime we are getting on and complying with them. We will be happy to contribute to any review the Welsh Government will carry out. Cllr Jones reiterated his previously made comments over preferring carrots than sticks. He added: In terms of the Council we are doing quite well, we are establishing Welsh Language Champions in each department in an attempt to encourage staff to learn the Welsh language. We have established a five year strategy that was agreed by the Executive Board, that is a promotional strategy for the Welsh language that we were required to produce by the Welsh Government. In terms of the progress in actual use and take up by public, that is clearly slow. In terms of the 12 monthly figures for the Contact Centre there has been an increase in people using the Welsh language to communicate with us. Wrexham.com asked Cllr Jones over the costs of implementation, he said: We need to make the Welsh Government aware that the standards imposed were not funded, and we were not given extra funding at a time when we were taking 26-30 million out of our budget. Not withstanding that what we have done is worked hard to implement standards as cost effectively as possible. We have been able to implement standards at a lower cost than first anticipated. Are these standards the right way to achieve the objectives for the Welsh language? Are they encouraging and promoting the use of the Welsh language in the most effective way, is it a stick rather than a carrot? I believe we need to encourage and enthuse people, and not see as something that is tied up and bound in legal niceties. The report also contains two elements of the complaints log, and resolutions with eight being investigated by the Welsh Language Commissioner There are some meat on the bone style stats, with details of the visits to the council website homepage being included with an English / Welsh split. During 2015/16: English visitors 307,912 Welsh visitors 5,236 i.e. 1.7% in Welsh. During 2016/17: English visitors 291,423 Welsh visitors 4,726 Which equates to 1.6% in Welsh Council website transactions are also logged with similar splits: During 2015/16 there were: English: 774,956 Welsh: 7,042 i.e.1% in Welsh During 2016/17 there were: 890,565 in English and; 8,666 in Welsh i.e. 1% in Welsh Contact centre stats are also included covering calls/visits: During 2015/16 Contact Wrexham received 237,447 calls/visits in English; and 215 in Welsh I.e. 0.090%. in Welsh During 2016/17 the Contact Centre received: 262,191 calls/visits in English; and 1307 in Welsh i.e. 0.5% in Welsh The full report can be found here. Members of the Executive Board will discuss the reports findings at a meeting at 10am on Tuesday 20th June. For those who cant attend the meeting it will be webcast live on the Wrexham Council website. Also signed between senior managers of Irans Social Security Investment Company and the Turkish investment company was a delivery document for an Iranian-built catamaran-type ship. The high-speed double-hulled passenger watercraft with an aluminum body catamaran vessel has a contract on its construction of about $10 million. Another Turkish company signed a $15-million agreement with The Social Security Investment Company for the modernization and development of Arvandan shipbuilding site in Khuzestan province. Approximately $5 million will be allocated as working capital for the projects. Also signed today was a third contract, a $70 million investment in construction of a commercial building in Tehran in four years. The costs of this construction will also be paid by the Turkish side. The Social Security Investment Company (Shasta) was established in 1986 for the purpose of investment, contribution and attainment of interests and benefits from the reserves of Social Security Organization. Irans Social Security Organization (SSO) is a social insurer organization in which Iran provides coverage for wage-earners and salaried workers. It also provides voluntary coverage for self-employed persons as well. The Social Security Law was approved and the SSO was established for workers in 1975. Although Iran did not legislate in favor of a universal social protection, in 1996, the Center of the Statistics of Iran estimated that more than 73% of the Iranian population was covered by social security. Membership in the social security system is compulsory for all employees. Presently, after thirty years of experience in investment affairs and as a trustee of peoples capital the Social Security Investment Company has made efforts to keep an active presence in the production and services scope. However, the Shasta holdings and subsidiary companies have allocated themselves a great portion of production and services in the fields of oil, gas and petrochemical, medicine, cement, ICT, energy, mineral, metallic and nonmetallic industries. Irans Social Security Organization is a non-governmental organization and it is solely financed by contributions, with participation of insured (7%), the employer (2023%) and the government (3%). Social Security protection is extended to the self-employed workers, who voluntarily contribute between 12% and 18% of their income, which depends on the protection they desire. Civil servants, the regular military, law enforcement agencies, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have their own pension systems. Two weeks have now passed since Professor Jorg Baberowski withdrew his lawsuit against the general student committee (ASTA) of Bremen University. The head of the Department of Eastern European History at Humboldt University (HU) wanted to ban the Bremen students from criticising his statements and describing him as a right-wing extremist and racist. In this, he has completely failed. His lawyer was forced to withdraw his legal complaint on June 1 so as to avoid a written judgement that would have been devastating to Baberowskis reputation. The Cologne District Court of Appeals (OLG) made unmistakably clear during the oral arguments that it would rule in favour of the ASTA. Despite Baberowskis defeat, a statement defending him by the HU Presidium dated March 30, 2017 is still posted in the press section of the universitys web site. In it, the Presidium claims that his scholarly statements are not right-wing extremist and criticism of them is unacceptable. It threatens Baberowskis critics with criminal prosecution. The statement refers to a March 15, 2017 ruling by the Cologne District Court that was explicitly rejected by the OLG and is no longer valid following the withdrawal of the lawsuit. The OLG judges specifically contradicted the allegation that statements by Baberowski had been torn out of context and cited falsely and in a manner that distorted their meaning, as the statement of the Humboldt University Presidium claims. Despite this, the Presidium has not retracted its statement. Neither have any of the 23 professors who signed it withdrawn their signatures. One can conclude only that this is a conscious decision to defend or at least cover up right-wing extremist and historical revisionist positions. Renowned jurist Andreas Fischer-Lescano made this unmistakably clear in a full-page article published on June 10 in the Frankfurter Rundschau and now available online. The law professor heads the Center for European Law and Politics at Bremen University and is an expert on public law, European law and international law. He became well known nationwide in 2011 when he discovered plagiarism in the doctoral thesis of then-Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, which ultimately led to Guttenbergs resignation. Fischer-Lescano advises Baberowskis supporters to take his defeat in Cologne as an opportunity to distance themselves from their premature whitewashing of the scholar. There were good reasons why the District Court of Appeals had confirmed that after a close analysis of Baberowskis writings and statements on daily politics, he had to accept the criticism of his positions as right-wing extremist. These reasons, the court said, were to be found in the works of Baberowski. In contrast to the Presidiums statement, which describes Baberowski as having unquestionable integrity as a scholar, who could be referred to as a right-wing extremist, whether that was right or wrong, only because of the right to freedom of opinion guaranteed in the Basic Law, Fischer-Lescano notes that one cannot make a distinction between the right-wing author of texts on daily politics and the excellent scholar. With Baberowski, his scholarly Oeuvre and statements on daily politics coalesce into an amalgam of right-wing extremist criticism that is pervaded by historical revisionism and nationalist motives. Fischer-Lescano substantiates this in detail in the course of his article. He notes how Baberowski defended the Nazi apologist Ernst Nolte in Der Spiegel in February 2014 and went on to assert: Hitler was not a psychopath. He was not vicious. He did not want people to talk about the extermination of the Jews at his table. Baberowski has recently repeated this remark on several occasions and justified it. It is simply historically false to state that Hitler did not want to discuss the extermination of the Jews at his table, Fischer-Lescano remarks, pointing to documented discussions at Hitlers table in the Wolfs Lair. But even if Hitler had remained silent at his table, it could not be concluded from this that Hitler was not vicious. There is no conceivable context in which Baberowskis statement that Hitler was not vicious would not be repulsive. Viciousness, Fischer-Lescano continues, is one of the legal criteria for murder. The perpetrator acts without feeling or mercy. But what was the Holocaust if not vicious mass murder? At another point in his article, Fischer-Lescano points out that Baberowski eliminates anti-Semitism entirely from his explanatory model for Nazi violence. He adds that in his study of violence, Baberowski does not use the word anti-Semitism once. In his statements on daily politics regarding violence and refugees, Baberowski argues in openly nationalist terms, Fischer-Lescano writes. He cites as an example the fact that Baberowski asserts, in regard to the integration of refugees, that this endangers the traditional continuity in which we stand and which provides social stability and consistency. He further notes that Baberowski promotes violence in connection with people who want to destroy us and our way of life. At the same time, Baberowski downplays the violence to which refugees are exposed: Refugee deaths in the Mediterranean, xenophobic attacks in Germany, the burning of refugee accommodation centresviolence against refugees is for this researcher on violence relatively harmless and represents an understandable response to problems with immigration, writes Fischer-Lescano. Fischer-Lescano also deals with the methods employed by Baberowski and his supporters to silence his critics. With the conclusion of the court proceedings, a peculiar spectacle of self-dramatisation has come to an end, he writes. For months, Baberowski has spread the narrative in the literary supplements of newspapers that he was a victim of left-wing moral guardians engaged in intellectual terrorism against him. The same tone was to be found in statements of solidarity portraying Baberowski as a renowned scholar who was being unfairly defamed. Baberowski attempts to define his revisionist and nationalist comments as the new mainstream, and protests against being described as what he really is: a right-wing extremist. He hasand this is the shocking thingmanaged over months to win support for his right-wing extremist statements and mobilise new allies who have unconditionally attested that he is not arguing as a right-wing extremist, states Fischer-Lescano. The author of the article adds that while Baberowski discredited those who criticised his statements, while he intimidated student critics and sought to silence them in the courts, he sought to claim the right to freedom of opinion for himself. Fischer-Lescano accuses the Presidium of Humboldt University of not saying a word in its March statement about this perfidious actioneven though it was directed against studentsand instead asserting that the professor was arguing not as a right-wing extremist in his academic work. This demonstrates how shockingly normal right-wing speech at universities has become. A university that, after Baberowskis defeat in Cologne, insists that its academic is not arguing as a right-wing extremist is making itself an accomplice of right-wing scholarship. This is undoubtedly correct. But one must add that over the past three years hardly any academic or journalist was disturbed by Baberowskis right-wing extremist and historical revisionist views. The only ones to warn of his defence of Nolte and Hitler were the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality PartySGP) and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE). For this reason, they were targeted for an hysterical campaign of slander in the media, without a single voice being raised in opposition. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zietung led the way in this campaign. On March 27, 2017, it published a tirade by Heike Schmoll titled The creeping poison of character assassination, which combined shameless lies with outrageous slanders and accused the IYSSE of violating freedom of scholarship by criticising Baberowskis right-wing extremist statements. Die Welt and Cicero Magazine were not far behind, and even Die Zeit displayed its support for Baberowski in a lengthy feature by Mariam Lau. Fischer-Lescano is correct to state that right-wing speech has become shockingly normal, and not only at universities. If the IYSSE and SGP had not taken up these issues in the face of huge pressures, Baberowski would still be free to spread his right-wing ideology unhindered. The Left Party, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens all maintained a stony silence or defended Baberowski. Humboldt University President Sabine Kunst is an SPD politician. While the HU administration, several other academic institutions and numerous professors backed Baberowski or remained silent, the IYSSE found strong support for its criticisms among students and workers. Many student bodies, including the student parliament at HU, passed resolutions critical of Baberowski. The Bremen ASTA protested against Baberowski on its own initiative. But in the course of its legal proceedings against Baberowski, it was able to rely on the material produced by the IYSSE and SGP. Fischer-Lescano himself uses citations from the book published in 2015 by Merhring Verlag titled Scholarship or War Propaganda, as well as passages from articles published on the World Socialist Web Site in the course of the conflict with Baberowski. In the final analysis, the normalisation of right-wing speech at universities is the result of fundamental political shifts. Three years ago, in its first statement on Baberowskis claim that Hitler was not vicious, the IYSSE pointed to the connection between Baberowskis downplaying of Hitlers crimes and the growth of German militarism. German President Joachim Gauck and other leading government members had just declared the end of military restraint. As the IYSSE wrote in 2014, The attempts to establish a historically false narrative come at a critical point in German history. The revival of German militarism requires a new interpretation of history that downplays the crimes of the Nazi era. Since then, this militarisation has continued to advance. The fight against right-wing tendencies in scholarshipas Fischer-Lescano puts it in the title of his articleis thus only beginning. It is inseparable from the struggle against militarism and war. The IYSSE demands that the Humboldt University Presidium publicly retract its statement supporting Baberowski and remove it from the HU web site. An open letter to this effect dated June 8 has thus far elicited no response. The university administration is deeply discredited. It is apparently playing for time. While it fired left-wing sociologist Andrej Holm for a trivial matter and reinstated him only after protests from students, it is defending the right-wing extremist historian Jorg Baberowski at all costs. The outcome of the legal proceedings in Cologne has, however, upset its plans. Applicants for citizenship must be Australian patriots, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared this week. He issued this edict, with its distinctly militarist overtones, in outlining reactionary new legislation to hand the government far-reaching powers to bar access to the fundamental democratic right of citizenship. The Liberal-National Coalition, with the Labor oppositions in-principle support, has seized upon the latest alleged terrorist attacks in Manchester, London and Melbourneeach committed by individuals well known to the authoritiesto justify measures to deny citizenship on a range of discriminatory grounds. Facing widespread social discontent and an intensifying political crisis, the fragile government is whipping up anti-immigrant sentiment to divide the working class. It is also introducing more so-called terrorism laws to strengthen the powers of the police-intelligence apparatus, while escalating its involvement in the US-led war for dominance over the Middle East. Delivering a National Security Statement to parliament on Tuesday, Turnbull stated: We should make no apology for asking those who seek to join our Australian family to join us as Australian patriotscommitted to the values that define us, committed to the values that unite us. The proposed citizenship powers show that the values being pushed focus on support for US militarism, promotion of nationalism, discrimination against targeted groups, such as Muslims and Chinese, and exclusion of poor and working-class immigrants. Under the legislation, tabled today, citizenship applicants must prove they have been a permanent resident in Australia for at least four years, instead of one. They must also undertake a university-level, English-language speaking, writing and reading test that will be extremely difficult for many working-class people to pass, especially those from a non-English speaking background or who have limited formal education. In addition, applicants must formally pledge allegiance to Australia and pass a yet-to-be-detailed values test to demonstrate they uphold community standards and laws and have integrated into Australian society. The immigration minister will hold discretionary powers to set the integration test and the Australian Values Statement that applicants must sign. According to Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton, applicants will have to prove that, over four years, they have been employed, and not received welfare payments, have engaged with local organisations, and their children have not been in trouble with the police. The minister will have new powers to arbitrarily reject applications if a person has been assessed as a risk to security or the minister is no longer satisfied that the applicant has displayed behaviour consistent with Australian values. These provisions allow for rejection, and potential deportation, for opposing war, austerity or virtually any other government policy. Those who fail the citizenship test on three occasions will face a two-year ban before they can make another application. A good character test will also be extended from adults to include children under the age of 18 if they have been accused of criminal activities, even if their parents pass the tougher test. Dutton seized on a hysterical media campaign against immigrant youth allegedly involved in gangs in Melbourne to provide a pretext for this provision, claiming that 15, 16, 17-year-olds are involved in adult-like criminal behaviour. In an ABC radio interview on Tuesday, Dutton indicated that parents of supposed youth gang members could also be denied citizenship. He said applicants would have to say whether their kids have been involved in that gang violence. The legislation features further arbitrary ministerial powers, including to overturn citizenship decisions made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. This measure was originally proposed in a 2014 bill, which later stalled in the Senate. There will be new powers to revoke citizenships if the minister considers the citizenship was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation, including concealment of material circumstances or the citizen committed certain offences. The English-language test recalls the dictation test that was used in the first six decades of the 20th century to enforce the White Australia policy, while barring entry to officially unwanted working-class people and those with left-wing political views. Applied selectively to Chinese and other non-European immigrantsbut not to wealthy business peoplethe test was often conducted in obscure European languages to make it impossible to pass. In his radio interview, Dutton dismissed calls for the government to provide English-language courses to assist applicants pass the test. He said people would need to help themselves and use online learning abilities, workplace abilities to improve English language, etc. Tabling the Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Requirements for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill today, Dutton asserted that Australian citizenship is an extraordinary privilege. Rather than a privilege, citizenship is an essential democratic right, without which members of society are stripped of all political and civil rights, including to vote, stand for office and obtain health, education, welfare and other social services. These measures escalate an attack on these fundamental civil and political rights. In 2015, the government pushed through legislation, with the Labor Partys backing, enabling it to revoke the citizenship of dual nationals by decree. In his national security statement, Turnbull directly linked the citizenship changes to the expansion of the war on terror. He claimed that the Australian Defence Force was helping to liberate people in Iraq and Syria from ISIS and boasted that Australias state and territory leaders had agreed to further bipartisan terrorism legislation, on top of eight tranches already introduced by the government. Having actively participated in Washingtons predatory wars across the Middle East, killing thousands of people, devastating entire societies and sending millions fleeing, both the Coalition and Labor are intensifying this drive. They are seeking to divert growing social discontent over unemployment and underemployment, the rising cost of living and cuts to education, healthcare and other social services, into militarist and xenophobic channels. At the same time, the measures are aimed at staving off a deepening crisis of the Coalition government, which faces frustrated demands from big business for more severe austerity measures, as well as internal rifts and renewed speculation of a move against Turnbulls leadership. Fearing popular opposition, Labor would not promise to pass the latest bill until it saw the details, but indicated underlying support. Citizenship spokesman Tony Burke said the party would deal responsibly with any sensible proposal. Labor has backed, or initiated, every major attack on citizenship and other legal and democratic rights since the fraudulent war on terror was proclaimed in 2001. The author also recommends: Australian government pushes through bill to revoke citizenships [4 December 2015] Citizenship and the assault on democratic rights [13 June 2015] Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed charges of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday against the states top health officer over an outbreak of deadly Legionnaires disease during the Flint water crisis. Nick Lyon, the director of Michigans Department of Health and Human Services, is being charged in relation to the death of Flint resident Robert Skidmore, aged 85, on December 13, 2015. Lyon is accused of failing to alert the public to an outbreak of Legionnaires disease in the city. Documents show Lyon was aware of the outbreak as early as January 2015. He is the highest-ranking state official charged to date. With this indictment, the investigation touches for the first time the inner circle of the administration of Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder. On Wednesday, Schuette said Snyder is not being charged with any crimes related to the Flints lead-contaminated water but left the door open to the possibility, according to the Detroit News. Four other public officials, who had previously been charged with lesser crimes, also face involuntary manslaughter charges over the death of Skidmore. They include former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley; Liane Shekter-Smith, the former Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) official in charge of drinking water; Stephen Busch, another DEQ official; along with Howard Croft, who headed the City of Flint Water Department. If convicted the defendants could face up to 15 years in prison. Another top Michigan health official, Dr. Eden Wells, the states chief medical executive, is being charged with obstruction of justice in connection to the water crisis and ensuing cover-up. She was named along with other state officials in a lawsuit filed last year by Flint resident LeeAnne Walters. The suit charges that they bore responsibility for the lead poisoning of Walters children. There are now a total of 15 Michigan public officials charged in relation to the Flint water crisis. There have been repeated public calls for the charging and arrest of Snyder, who oversaw the disaster in Flint that resulted in the lead contamination of the citys water supply and the poisoning of 100,000 people. An outbreak of Legionnaires disease that resulted in the death of 12 people is also being blamed on the contamination of Flint water that resulted from the criminal switch-over from the Detroit water system to the polluted Flint River. Snyder administration authorities rolled the dice on the health and lives of Flint residents to accelerate their efforts to drive Detroit into bankruptcy and provide a windfall of profits to private developers of the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) pipeline. The charges against the Michigan officials have been brought in the face of massive and continuing popular anger over the crisis in Flint. Public documents made available so far point to a conspiracy by Democratic and Republican officials at all levels to keep Flint residents in the dark over the poisoning of their water. E-mail records show that Health and Human Services Director Lyons was aware at least by January 2015 of a spike in Legionnaires disease cases in Genesee County, which encompasses Flint. He even ordered an epidemiological investigation. E-mail records also show while Genesee County Public Health officials were aware of the outbreak, they kept it from the public, informing only a relative handful of physicians. Lyon apparently sought to divert attention from the real source of the outbreak, the untreated Flint water system, by claiming issues with the plumbing at McLaren Flint Hospital, where many of the victims were treated, was behind the outbreak of Legionnaires disease. In addition to causing 12 deaths the Legionnaires outbreak sickened 90 people. Virginia Tech University professors Marc Edwards and Amy Pruden have asserted that the outbreak of Legionnaires disease resulted from the highly corrosive Flint River water leaching iron from Flint pipes that then combined with the chlorine, thus preventing the chlorine from killing bacteria. This left Flint residents vulnerable to the outbreak of the deadly waterborne disease. Others charged to date include former Flint Emergency Manager Gerald Ambrose; Howard Croft, Flints director of public works; and former utilities director Daugherty Johnson. Mike Glasgow, head of Flints water treatment plant, accepted a plea deal offered by the state in exchange for securing his cooperation with the investigation. Earley, Ambrose and Croft could face prison terms ranging up to 46 years relating to the corrupt decision to issue bonds to fund the controversial KWA pipeline project, the building of which motivated the switch from Detroit water. One of those who has so far escaped indictment is former Michigan Treasurer General Andy Dillon, the highest-ranking Democratic Party officeholder in the state at the time of the unfolding of the Flint water crisis. Dillon signed off on the decision to allow Flint to join the KWA. The breadth of the indictments and the fact that so many ranking state officials had a hand in the Flint crisis and cover-up points to a conspiracy orchestrated at the highest levels. It is simply not believable that Snyders office had no role in the disaster. In remarks following the announcement of the indictments Snyder defended both Lyon and Wells and said they would not be suspended from their posts pending a trial. He called Lyon a strong leader completely committed to Flints recovery. He continued, Director Lyon and Dr. Wells have been and continue to be instrumental in Flints recovery. They have my full faith and confidence, and will remain on duty at DHHS. These comments have something of the character of circling the wagons on the part of the Snyder administration. Snyder appointed Lyon to his current cabinet post in April 2015, just as the Flint water crisis was reaching a critical stage, with angry protests by Flint residents building. He had earlier defended Lyon as reports surfaced that Schuettes investigation was probing top health officials in the state. The indictments by Schuette appear to be an attempt to salvage credibility by the Republicans. For his part Schuette is being heavily promoted as a possible Republican candidate for governor. In recent polls Schuette had a significant lead over his nearest potential competitor for the 2018 Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary. It is too early to say how the official investigation into the Flint water crisis will play out. No trials have yet been scheduled as the cases wind slowly through the courts. While those accused are implicated in serious malfeasance, when viewed in the context of the magnitude of the crimes committed, the court proceedings are themselves part of the cover-up. They are designed to divert attention from the broader implications of the Flint water crisis, which is a crime of capitalism carried out by the most powerful corporate and financial interests and their political front men in both political parties. The events in this former center of the General Motors manufacturing center demonstrate once again the incompatibility of a social system based on the defense of private wealth with the needs of working people. Beginning with the decision to help fund the KWA pipeline, at every stage of the Flint crisis the health and safety of residents took a back seat to the profit drive of big business. Nothing has meanwhile been resolved for Flint residents. More than a year and a half after the official exposure the replacement of lead pipes has barely begun while no serious assistance is being offered to the thousands of children suffering irreversible effects of drinking lead-tainted water. This underscores the fact that an accounting for the crimes committed against the people of Flint, including the full compensation of the victims and a rebuilding of the infrastructure, require the independent political mobilization of the working class against the entire corporate political establishment. We urge Flint residents interested in finding out more about the socialist answer to the Flint water crisis to attend our public meeting: 3 Years on: The Flint Water Crisis and the Case for Socialism Speaker: World Socialist Web Site Labor Editor Jerry White Thursday, June 15, 7:00 pm University of MichiganFlint Murchie Science Building, Room 306 Written, directed and produced by Purni Morell, based on An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen A remarkable cultural event took place last week in the devastated city of Flint, Michigan, whose 100,000 inhabitants have been systematically poisoned with dangerous amounts of lead and other deadly contaminants. Actors from across the US, assisted by a British writer-director, performed Public Enemy: Flint, an adaptation of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsens 1882 play, An Enemy of the People, on June 8, 9, and 10 in the gymnasium of a former school. Ibsens famed work concerns a doctor, Thomas Stockmann, who tries to warn the local authoritiesincluding his brother, the mayorabout water contamination problems and is persecuted for his discoveries. Parallels to the present catastrophe in Flint are striking, and hundreds of residents from the city and surrounding area responded enthusiastically to the performances. British theater directors Purni Morell and Christian Roe learned about the Flint water crisis in January 2016, while touring the US. In an interview, Morell explained to a reporter: Its not about doing a play about a water crisis in a city experiencing a water crisisits about the underlying issues, like what made the water crisis possible in the first place. In the play, as in Flint, the water is a symptom of a bigger problem, and I think that needs to be investigated because it affects all of us, not just the city of Flint. Morells version follows the general outline of Ibsens play. Dr. Heather Stockman has ascertained through laboratory tests that the water in the towns economic salvation, its Wellness Resort, owned by Mineralcorp, is contaminated with lethal chemicals and carcinogens. Stockman tells the newspaper editor Oscar Hofford: I mean contaminated, Hofford. Polluted. Impure. Mercury, in high proportions, chloroform off the scalethat means legionella; copper levels way too highIm saying the Wellness Resort is a danger to public health. Anyone who uses the water is endangering himself. It turns out, she explains, that an industrial plant upriver is seeping chemicals into the groundwater. And that groundwater is the same groundwater that feeds the pipes into the pump room. Hofford, at this point supportive of Stockmans expose, thinks the contamination speaks to broader issues: What if the water isnt the problem, but only a symptom of the problem? I think this is the perfect opportunity to talk about whats really going on. The vested interests, thewell, maybe not corruption exactly, but the system, Heatherthe system that means these people can do whatever they like without any comeback. The newspapers publisher, Stephanie Anderson (Ibsens Aslaksen), representing the citys small business concerns, makes an appearance. The embodiment of petty bourgeois philistinism, Andersons watchword is moderation in all things. As a founding member of the Homeowners Association and the Temperance Club, she informs Stockman that the resort is the backbone of our enterpriseEspecially for the property owners. Anderson too is initially supportive of Stockmans revelations, even suggesting that the doctor be recognized for her contribution to the citys welfare. Everything changes when Stockmans brother Peter, the mayor, outraged by word of the doctors findings, bursts in and demands that the truth be suppressed to protect Mineralcorps interests. He claims that re-laying the pipes, to avoid the contaminated water, will cost $7 million and mean closing the resort for at least two years. Do you have any idea, any idea at all, what this means? This would finish us. We close the resort, everyone else capitalises on our idea, and in three years time, when, if, we reopen it again, this city will face ruin. And itll be your fault. In Ibsens play, Act IV is entirely taken up by a public meeting at which Stockmann denounces town officials and imparts a discovery of a far wider scope than the trifling matter that our water supply is poisoned the discovery that all the sources of our moral life are poisoned and that the whole fabric of our civic community is founded on the pestiferous soil of falsehood. He passes on from that insight to a misguided conception, the defense of isolated, intellectually superior personalities and the notion that the majority never has right on its side. In the Morell-Flint adaptation, the director and actors have decided to turn over this portion of the play to a genuine public meeting. Tyee Tilghman, the actor playing Jim Horster, a soldier who faces deployment to Mosul in Iraq, addresses the audience directly: What were going to do now is change things up a little bit because in the next scene in the play, theres a town meeting and what normally happens in it is that Stockman tells the people in the town about the water problem, and they call him an enemy of the people because they dont want to hear about itbut we thought it would be more interesting to do this a different way, since were here and youre here, and so we thought wed set up a little town hall of our own. This prompted audience members of all ages, children, teenagers and adults, to discuss their appalling and inhuman conditions. One man described having to lug endless cases of water up flights of stairs. Some audience members reported owning houses that were literally crumbling. Others bitterly denounced the bullying of the authorities, who threaten to take their homes and even their children. Still others recounted how they had received water bills higher than their mortgages, and how the homes of protesters had been broken into by police who confiscated computers. Angry residents explained how they contracted health problems and even debilitating diseases from the poisoned water. All of this was reinforced by the fact that signs in the restrooms alerted users not to wash their hands with water from the taps! Cases of canned water were stacked against the wall. When Public Enemy: Flint resumes, Dr. Stockman and her daughter, Petra, a teacher, both lose their jobs. Moreover, Stockmans mother-in-law, Eleanor, the owner of the polluting plant, threatens the doctor and her daughter with financial disenfranchisement and destitution. Stockman lashes back at hypocrites like Anderson, with her cheap, small-town flimflam, and the townspeople themselves. Petra has the final word: This town is fineits no better or worse than anywhere else. OK, there are things you cant fixyou cant fix that people with money can buy their way out of problems, and you cant fix that some people care more about their position than whats rightmaybe you cant even fix the water. I think youre wrong about people, Mom. You said people get the government they deserve but I think people get the government government can get away with. And the government gets away with a lot, not because people are poor or because people are stupidbut because for years, for decades, weve eroded our schools, weve failed to educate our youth, weve failed to invest in ourselves as people. And she mentions that like her counterpart in Ibsens play, a work now 130 years old, she will start a school. Public Enemy: Flint is a highly unusual confluence of a classic play, committed, talented actors and a motivated and engaged audience. It is proof, if proof be needed, that art is not something detached from social life. Important, enduring art by definition is work that does not remain indifferent to the crises and convulsions of its time. From that point of view, this modest three-day presentation, staged in a gym, was one of the most significant theatrical efforts in the US in recent years. The participants in the production, which was serious and thoroughly professional throughout, deserve the strongest congratulations and thanks. The central role of Dr. Stockman was exceptionally performed by Los Angeles-based actress Michole Briana White. She was supported by an outstanding cast that included Charles Shaw Robinson from Berkeley, California as Peter Stockman, Madelyn Porter from Detroit as Stephanie Anderson, Briana Carlson Goodman from New York as Petra, Tilghman from Los Angeles as Horster, Meg Thalken from Chicago as Eleanor and Chris Young from Flint as Billing. Public Enemy: Flint was the creation of British theater company fieldwork, in collaboration with Detroit Public Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, the Goodman Theatre (Chicago), Chautauqua Theater Company (New York), Berkeley Repertory Theater, Peoples Light (Philadelphia), UM-Flint Department of Theatre and Dance, M.A.D.E. Institute, & the New McCree Theater, Flint. Morells adaptation honored Ibsens play while eliminating its more elitist tendencies. The latter had a great deal to do with the situation in Norway in the 1880s, where, as Russian Marxist Georgi Plekhanov once explained, a working class, in the present sense of the term, had not yet developed and was, therefore, nowhere evident in public life. Plekhanov pays strong tribute to Ibsens social insight and instincts, in particular the dramatists abhorrence of the crude, grasping petty bourgeoisie. The Norwegian writer, observes Plekhanov, despises the moral rottenness and hypocrisy of small town society and politics and the boundless tyranny of petty bourgeois public opinion. He notes that Ibsen hates opportunism with all his soul; he describes it brilliantly in his plays. Recall the printer Aslaksen [Anderson, in Morells play], with his incessant preaching of moderation, which, in his own words, is the greatest virtue in a citizenat least, I think so. Aslaksen is the epitome of the petty bourgeois politician. The plays passion and outrage continue to speak to present-day audiences, not least of all in Flint, whose working-class residents are the victims of corporate predation and government indifference or worse. In fact, when the mayor in Public Enemy: Flint proclaims that the public doesnt need new ideas; what the public needs is good, strong, time-tested method, not hare-brained theories that turn the world upside down, one is tempted to shout out that the world, above all, needs to be turned upside down. The WSWS spoke to a number of the actors who appeared in Public Enemy: Flint, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsens An Enemy of the People (1882), performed last week in Flint, Michigan. We asked them how they got involved in the production, their thoughts about the Flint crisis and their reactions to the audience response. Michole Briana White (Dr. Heather Stockman) This is something bigger than myself, doing a project on this level with so much integrity. It was extraordinary to be a part of something like this. In many ways, it scared me to death. I did not know how people would receive the monologue I deliver towards the end. But I wanted to move beyond my fears, the point of this play was to help people. The way the director [Purni Morell] organized the cast was unusual. Her thought process was inspiring. She is interested in dealing with the truth. She is a very courageous woman. There were actors from all over the country. Our stage manager and crew members live in Flint. People from Flint really shared their truth with us. Hearing people from the city speak up during the play about how the water crisis hurt so many people was difficult, and rewarding. There are incredible people in Flint who want to fight for what they have. It was very meaningful, quality work. When we broke the fourth wall and invited the audience in, it was important to Purni that it not be simply about the play, that it be about the people and what the people are going through. The director came from London, England and spent the time to really immerse herself in the community, so she could understand what was really going on in Flint. Hearing about Flint in Britain! It blew me away that we had to use canned water in the building where the play was performed. This project takes the cake in terms of the work I have done. It is the most meaningful. This was a super-bonus, to really be in the thick of it. The work has a much stronger purpose than just entertaining. Chris Young (Billing) It was so meaningful, coming together from all parts of the country. We were all so focused on one thing. Every time we gathered before a show, it was so emotional. The response from the children of Flint, the response from those whose children have passed away, those who may be afraid to speak up! Or those who are discouraged because they feel that even if they speak up nothing is going to happen. We as a collective cast have given Flint a little more hope. I was born in Flint at Hurley Hospital. I was raised in Detroit. I came back to Flint seven years ago. My dad has lived on the north side of Flint for about 20 or 30 years. He has developed a lot of health problems. Its just recently that he has been having these difficulties. He spoke up during the last night of the play--Saturday night--about the things hes gone through because of the water crisis. He mentioned about the difficulty in lifting the cases of water. They even had to have cases of water in the bathrooms of the building where the play was performed! There are things as small as remembering not to wash your hands with the tap water. Naturally, you want to go into your bathroom and kitchen and turn on the water. But in most of the houses in Flint, its not possible to do that. Who wants to wash up by pouring water on their body? Most of the people dont feel clean enough because thats what they have to do. Even when I take my short showers, my skin becomes chapped because of what seeps into my skin. Because the situation is urgent, it is one of the reasons we decided to have free admission. What would be the purpose of us putting a ticket price on this production? We all know that most of the money that gets collected for the crisis is not used for that purpose. We wanted to make a difference by waking up or educating Flint, or giving the people their voice back. Give them the hope back that theyve lost because things are not improving. Madelyn Porter (Stephanie Anderson) Theater can be a tool for political change. Its important to speak up and speak out. Education through the arts is one of the most important things that a society can provide. I have a long history of political awareness and struggle going back to the 1970s. Theres always been a struggle over the Detroit water. A lot of these cities around Detroit are dumping grounds and Flint doesnt have a good filtering system. Flints pipes have been corroding forever. Theyre not just corroded as the result of the last five years. In any case, its not just the pipes in Flint, its an economic issue, with all the plant closures and everything else. This play gave the people of Flint inspiration. They had reached a point of wanting to throw their hands up. I thought it was important if we could help rekindle that desire to fight. The system takes advantage of poor people and people of color and certain communities. Its not right! I react when there are problems all over the world, not just in Flint or Detroit! In Syria, the Iranian regime has left a trail of destruction behind it. It seems like the road from the Iran border to Syrias Mediterranean coastline will go ahead, allowing Iran to keep its allies in Syria armed easier (and cheaper) than the current air transport. It has also been said that the road will give Iran direct access to the Syrian capital and to Bashar al Assads government. This land route is also important to Iran because it will bring all of the countrys allies together. One obstacle for the land route that has hampered Iran has been the Kurds in a certain part of Iraq. They made it very clear that they did not want militias going through their land. Part of their strong objection was due to Irans ever increasing influence over their government. To save face following the twin attacks last week, the Iranian regime has announced that dozens of people have been charged in connection with the crime and it vowed to step up security measures. Mahmoud Alavi, the intelligence minister of Iran, said at the weekend that the commander of the attacks was killed by intelligence operatives (although he refused to release the name of the criminal). Some people are rather sceptical about the attacks that happened last week, believing that they were engineered by the Iranian regime so that it has a pretext for further supressing the people of Iran. The fact that the full names of those who were arrested have not been released is making some question the veracity of the regimes claims. Mostafa Izadi, the Iranian armed forces deputy chief of staff, said that he had proof that the United States had provided direct support to Daesh, according to an Iranian state-run news agency. Russia also backed this statement by saying that the United States helped ISIS fighters escape capture in Syria. However, as has been seen many times in the past, the Iranian regime, and its ally, are spinning tales to divert from the truth. If the Iranian regime had evidence of US involvement, why will it not show the evidence? Because it doesnt, maybe? British Prime Minister Theresa May traveled to Paris Tuesday to meet with newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron, in the run-up to the opening next week of formal talks between the European Union (EU) and Britain on the terms of Britains exit from the EU. It was the occasion for top German and French officials to signal that they would allow London to reverse the Brexit vote and resume a close alliance with the remaining EU powers. The first such comment came from German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble. The British government has said we will stay with the Brexit, Schauble told Bloomberg News as Macron prepared to meet May. We take the decision as a matter of respect. But if they wanted to change the decision, of course, they would find open doors. At the joint press conference with May, the French president also said that the decision was taken by the British people to leave the European Union, and I respect that decision. He said however that the door is also open as long as the Brexit negotiations arent over once the talks have started, we have to be collectively conscious that its much more difficult to go back. May, badly weakened by the loss of her Conservative Partys absolute majority in Parliament after last weeks snap election, said she had confirmed to Macron that the timetable for Brexit negotiations remains on course, and will begin next week. She did not take a position however on calls from within the British ruling elite, including from inside the Conservative Party, to adopt a soft Brexit strategy to maintain closer relations to the EU. May and Macron also discussed plans for stepped-up censorship of social media, threatening to fine social media corporations who do not take down posts deemed radical or terrorist. These proposals reflect the increasingly desperate maneuvers of the rival European states as they seek to contain growing popular discontent, while a bitter struggle between the EU and Washington unfolds after Trumps first tour of Europeincluding over Britains foreign policy orientation. Berlin and Paris understand the setback dealt to May in the recent snap election as a sign of growing popular rejection of austerity and nationalism in Britain. They are hoping through a combination of threats and inducements to convince London to abandon its fading hopes of an alliance with Trump, and to side with Europe instead, through some type of soft Brexit or conceivably an abandonment of Brexit altogether. At the same time, they hope to limit growing popular opposition to their own reactionary plans for militarism and austerity across Europe. Schauble said he had discussed the British election with his British counterpart, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond. He said, we agreed from the first day that Brexit is a decision we have to accept by the British voters. But we will minimize the potential damage and maximize the mutual benefit. After speaking to Hammond, Schauble said, he concluded they are thinking in the UK about the fact that young voters supported Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party based on more distance to Brexit. Bloomberg added that Schauble saw certain parallels with the situation in France. There, the population elected Macron despite broad opposition to his policies of deep austerity, a militarized alliance with Berlin, and a permanent state of emergency. The vote was primarily due to opposition to neo-fascist candidate Marine Le Pen and the plans of Le Pens National Front for a French exit from the euro. It is widely expected, including inside the ruling elite, that these policies will provoke bitter and explosive social opposition in the working class in France. Schaubles remarks came after several leading British conservatives, including former prime ministers David Cameron and John Major, pushed for a soft Brexit strategy. Major called plans for a hard Brexit increasingly unsustainable, while Cameron called on May to consult more widely with other parties on her Brexit strategy. While Schauble and Macron held out limited prospects for an accommodation with London, other EU figures, including the EUs Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, continued to threaten London with harsh economic consequences for the Brexit vote. In an interview on his Brexit strategy with a consortium of European newspapers, including Le Monde, Barnier said: We will implement it without aggressiveness, without desire for revenge or punishment, but without naivete. What will our future relations with London be? We are preparing for every option, including the no deal option that British political leaders regularly mention. Barnier added that the no deal option would be particularly harmful to British trade with Europe. The role of Schauble and Macron in floating soft Brexit proposals underscores the essentially reactionary character of all the bourgeois factions in the Brexit debate. While the hard Brexit factions were the most overtly nationalistic and determined to slash regulations and attack the workers, those advocating a soft Brexit or remaining inside the EU are also backing an aggressive policy of austerity and militarism, advanced by the EU. The critical question, as the Socialist Equality Party (Britain) stressed by calling for an active boycott of the Brexit referendum last year, is the rejection of all the bourgeois camps and the formulation of an independent, revolutionary and socialist perspective for the working class. As the coordination of policy between reactionary bourgeois politicians on both sides of the Channel increasingly makes clear, this can only take place through a fight to unify British workers with workers inside the EU in struggle for the United Socialist States of Europe. What is emerging in the capitalist classes of Europe, on the other hand, is a ruthless geopolitical struggle and drive to increase military spending that presages new wars in Europe. The situation is all the more explosive due to the open calls from top German officials, including Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, for an independent European foreign and military policy formulated in opposition to that of the Trump administration. Since Macrons election in France, Berlin has an ally in Paris that is siding closely with its drive to establish a German-dominated EU as the worlds hegemonic power, replacing the United States. Some of the calculations underlying Macrons foreign policy were laid out in a recent interview in Le Point by Dominique Moisi, the special geopolitical advisor to the Institut Montaigne think tank. He called on Macron to work rapidly and closely with Berlin, as Trump is his greatest stroke of luck. Moisi laid out a program for a far-reaching EU bid for global hegemony, predicting that if the United States disengage and the US decline accelerates, everything will change very fast. Moisi hailed Macrons handling of the summit meeting last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the first time anyone told Vladimir Putin, Enough silliness! Now get to work. We were waiting for that. He added that Macrons nomination of former Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian as foreign minister would reassure authoritarian governments and certain important partners like General al-Sisi in Egypt and the Saudis. He also pointed to rapid improvements in Chinese-EU ties at US expense: Due to Trump, we are seeing counterbalancing alliances whose implications are not yet fully understood. This is not just on climate, where the Chinese are totally aligned on the Europeans. As the United States today is unpredictable, China has no choice but to turn to Europe. China wants stability above all. It will doubtless need to take on its responsibilities and become the policeman of Asia sooner that it had expected. Tens of thousands of people marched yesterday in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, in solidarity with strikes and clashes in the Rif region that have led to protests in cities across the country. The protesters are demanding the freeing of members of Hirak Rif, the movement protesting the killing last year of fisherman Mouhcine Fikri by the security forces. Its leaders have been targeted for mass round-ups by the police. The protestors in Rabat were so numerous that, though tightly packed, they spread for over a kilometer. Protesters, among which were trade union bureaucrats as well as various opposition political parties, denounced not only the repression but also the deep social inequality of Morocco's monarchic regime. They shouted slogans including Free the prisoners and Liberty, dignity and social justice. The latest protest is the outcome of several months of demonstrations concentrated in the cities and towns around Al Hoceima, in Moroccos mountainous north, a region known as the Rif. Protests have spread at various times across the country in opposition to the brutality of the monarchy and also to advance social demands, including for more hospitals and jobs. Fikri died last November during a confrontation with police and state officials who wanted to confiscate a load of swordfish he had caught. He tried to negotiate for several hours to prevent the destruction of the fish, but ultimately the police ordered the confiscation and destruction of the fish in the compactor of a garbage truck. Fikri and his friends went into the garbage truck to try to get back his merchandise, but police coldly gave the order to turn on the compactor, and Fikri was killed, crushed in the truck. Tens of thousands of people marched in protest in Al Hoceima and in the principal cities of Morocco, including Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Marrakech, and Agadir on the occasion of his funeral. His death has repeatedly been compared to the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi, the young street merchant who immolated himself to protest the confiscation of his fruits and vegetables by police in Tunisia in 2010. This was the catalyst for the mass revolutionary uprisings of workers that toppled Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in 2011. The Rif is one of Morocco's poorest regions, and historically a center of opposition to French and Spanish colonization of the country. It has been heavily monitored by the army since the 1958 insurrection against the closure of the border with neighboring Algeria during that country's war for independence against France. The Rif uprising was crushed by 30,000 men led by crown prince Moulay Hassan, the future King Mohammed V, leading to the lasting isolation of the Rif. Al-Hoceima was also a center of the 1984 bread riots. Pierre Vermeren, a researcher who studies Morocco at the University of Paris, warned in Liberation: Any incident (death of a protester, police violence) can escalate the situation. The monarchy has always watched the Rif region extremely closely. The province is hyper-militarized. For the time being, the protests are mainly located in Al Hoceima, which is essentially a small provincial city, but if it were to spread to the larger cities in the North, like Nador, which is three times larger and poorly controlled by police, the authorities would start panicking. The arrest last month on charges of threatening internal security of the main leader of the Hirak Rif, Nasser Zefzafi, as well as forty other members, provoked broad anger in the population. Najib Ahmajik, the organization's second-in-command, launched an appeal for a general strike on social media. Nearly 2,000 people responded rapidly, marching with a banner inscribed with a picture of Zefzafi to demand the liberation of the prisoners. Virtually all of the shops in the Al Hoceima's downtown observed a general strike call to demand the liberation of the Hirak Rif leaders. For at least a week, protesters have been regularly gathering in the Sidi Abed neighborhood, close to the center of the city. Sit-ins and solidarity protests have been organized across the country, several of which were violently dispersed by police, including in Rabat, Casablanca, and Meknes. In Nador, according to press reports, the authorities arrested a journalist working for Algeria's El Watan newspaper. After night-time clashes with police on the week-end the protesters were arrested, protests have continued without violence. Demonstrations have also spread to Europe, including France, Belgium and the Netherlands, where people of Moroccan origins have gathered to protest in front of Moroccan consulates to show their solidarity. The explosive class conflicts in North Africa and its revolutionary implications are once again coming to the fore. The revolutionary struggles of the working class in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011 are well remembered by millions of people, and the Moroccan monarchy is desperately trying to control the situation and limit the eruption of popular anger. The coming to power of representatives of the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia under the presidency of Caid Essebsi and the bloody coup of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt have resolved none of the problems which drove the working class to revolutionary struggles six years ago. The enormous fragility of the Moroccan monarchy and of the Tunisian regime under Essebsiwhich could emerge only due to the lack of revolutionary leadership, and the counter-revolutionary role of the trade union bureaucracy, a pillar of the old Ben Ali regime, and of the parties of the Popular Front in Tunisiais again exposed by the mobilization of the masses. The protests in Morocco are developing in parallel with a protest movement in Tunisia that began in March in the region of Tataouine, in the south of the country, from which the revolutionary struggles started six years ago. The situation there has been extremely tense since May: violent clashes have taken place, pitting the national guard and the army against the Tunisian masses, who are demanding an oil subsidy in order to make it to the end of the month. Solidarity protests have taken place in other cities in the country, including Tunis. The candidates backed by the Democratic Party establishment won gubernatorial primaries in Virginia Tuesday and New Jersey last week, confirming that the Democrats will offer conventional, pro-corporate candidates in the only two statewide races on the election calendar for 2017. The more high-profile contest was in Virginia Tuesday, where Lt. Governor Ralph Northam defeated former congressman Tom Perriello for the nomination, winning 55.9 percent of the vote to 44.1 percent, an unexpectedly wide margin. Virginia limits governors to a single four-year term, so incumbent Democrat Terry McAuliffe could not run again. McAuliffe, Senator Mark Warner and Senator Tim Kaine, the three top statewide elected Democrats, all backed Northam, as did all but one of the states Democratic representatives in Congress. Perriello had the support several prominent national figures, including Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and raised most of his campaign funds out of state as well. Northam, born on the rural eastern shore of Virginia, served in the United States Army as a physician between 1984 and 1992, and later became a pediatric neurologist in Norfolk. He first ran for public office in 2007, when he was elected to the state senate in a district that including parts of Hampton Roads and the eastern shore. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 2013, running with McAuliffe. In the 2017 campaign, he had the support of Democratic Party chairs in each of the states 95 counties and 38 independent cities. Perriello was a one-term congressman from a southside Virginia district that stretches north to include Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia, where he grew up. After a law degree from Yale, he worked for a UN war crimes investigation in Sierra Leone and then as a legal consultant in several countries, before winning a congressional seat in 2008 in the Obama landslide. He was defeated for reelection, and went on to serve three years in the Obama State Department, working as a long-term planner and then as US special envoy to the Congo and the Great Lakes states of Africa. With this record of service to US imperialism and the Obama administration, Perriello hoped for Obamas backing for his race in Virginia, but the former president declined to offer his support. Perriello then turned to Bernie Sanders, running as the Virginia incarnation of the former presidential candidate although his past political record showed no such radical posturing. Until this year, Perriello had been viewed as on the right of the Democratic Party, following the conventional wisdom that he had won his seat in Congress in a conservative district by running as a moderate, endorsed by the National Rifle Association and, as a fervent Catholic, adamantly opposed to abortion rights. He was one of the main proponents in Congress of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to the Affordable Care Act, which would have prohibited the use of federal funds to cover abortions under Obamacare. This record allowed Northam to present himself to primary voters as equally liberal, even suggesting in debates that Perriello was a Johnny-come-lately who recast himself as a left-wing Democrat to ride the Sanders wave. Perriello sought to combat this by pointing to Northams voting for George W. Bush for president in both 2000 and 2004, before he entered electoral politics in 2007 as a Democrat. Both candidates freely pledged their support to a $15-an-hour minimum wage and free community collegestandard talking points for Sanders that are purely rhetorical given Republican control of the state legislature. Both also competed for the most vituperative insults directed against President Trump, with Northam winning headlines by describing Trump as a narcissistic maniac. Following his win, Northam told the press that Perriello had agreed to support him throughout the rest of the election, stating, we agreed that were going to bring all Democrats under the tent starting tonight. This is too important an election. This is the bellwether of the country. Voter turnout in the primary suggested widespread and deep popular hostility to the Trump administration. Some 540,000 voted in the Democratic primary, nearly double the total of four years ago, and dwarfing the 360,000 who voted in the Republican primary, narrowly won by the former chairman of the Republican National Committee and George W. Bush aide Ed Gillespie. Gillespie edged Corey Stewart, former chairman of the Trump campaign in Virginia, by barely 4,500 votes, and Stewart refused to support the candidate he had vilified as Establishment Ed during the campaign. Stewart told media, There is one word you will never hear from me, and thats unity. Stewarts campaign was directed at whipping up ultra-right and fascistic elements, focusing mainly on denouncing efforts to remove monuments to Confederate generals like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and hailing every action taken by the Trump administration against democratic rights, particularly the travel ban directed against Muslims. In the New Jersey primary election, held a week earlier than Virginias, on June 6, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno easily won the Republican primary to succeed Governor Chris Christie, who is limited to two four-year terms. Christie leaves office as the most unpopular governor in all 50 states, with the state budget in disastrous condition, widely hated for repeated cuts in social spending, pensions and infrastructure. The Democratic Party primary for governor was won by Phil Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive and US Ambassador to Germany under the Obama administration, who easily defeated three under-funded rivals. Murphy is heavily favored to win the general election in a state where Trumps approval rating is only 28 percent, and Christies is even lower. The National Party government last month falsely portrayed its annual budget as a generous package to assist working families. Most media commentators focused on the small income tax cuts and increases to the Accommodation Supplement. Any meagre concessions contained in the budget will be more than cancelled out by other cuts to basic services. One major cut, not mentioned in the commentary surrounding the budget, is the governments decision, announced in March, to raise the superannuation entitlement (aged pension) age from 65 to 67. The increase is estimated to cut $4 billion per year from public pension funding. The government claimed that the superannuation system would otherwise not be affordable in future because of longer life expectancy. The change is scheduled to be phased in between 2037 and 2040, but could easily be brought forward as the underlying economic crisis deepens. Legislation for the change will be introduced in 2018, following this Septembers national election. The announcement represents a further escalation of the austerity measures implemented over the past decade. As in Europe, the US and Australia, the full burden is being imposed on the working class. The government has cut thousands of public sector jobs, increased the regressive Goods and Services Tax (GST), privatised companies, starved health and education sectors of funds and pushed thousands of vulnerable people off welfare. Prime Minister Bill English said he wanted to bring New Zealand into line with other countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany and the United States, which are all moving to a retirement age of 67. A National Party press release threateningly declared: Without making changes, future trade-offssuch as restricting spending increases in areas like health and education or increasing taxeswould be necessary. Former Prime Minister John Key, who resigned in December 2016, promised during his eight years in office that he would not raise the retirement age. He criticised the opposition Labour Party for campaigning for the increase in the 2011 and 2014 elections. Days after Keys resignation, English indicated he supported raising the ageto the delight of the business elite and its representatives in the media. The decision, however, had been prepared for years. Retirement commissioner Dianne Maxwell, appointed in 2013 to advise on policy changes, recommended last year that the eligibility age be gradually raised to 67. Her report stated that superannuation spending was not affordable without cuts to other areas of spending, such as health, education and infrastructure. Business commentators echoed these claims and called on the government to act more quickly against pensioners. Economist Shamubeel Eaqub wrote on the Radio NZ website that the willingness to engage in fixing the superannuation scheme is welcome and positive. But the super changes are so little and so distant, that it is pathetic. A New Zealand Herald editorial declared the change should not wait 20 years. According to the newspapers business columnist Brian Fallow, any serious attempt to put retirement income on a sustainable footing has to look beyond the state pension to private provision. Far-right ACT Party leader David Seymour, Nationals main coalition partner, attacked the budget for failing to address the ballooning cost of superannuation and said waiting 20 years is a farce. The claim that there is not enough money for pensions is entirely false. There is plenty of money concentrated in the hands of the rich, who have received generous tax cuts and profited from property speculation, the privatisation of public assets and other pro-business policies under successive governments. Labour, Greens and New Zealand First claim to oppose raising the eligibility age. This is entirely cynical; the opposition parties all accept the governments austerity agenda. The 19992008 Labour government introduced KiwiSaver, a scheme that encouraged workers to save for their own retirement through contributions deducted from their salaries and placed in private funds. The purpose of the scheme, retained by National, is to undermine the principle of state superannuation and justify future cuts by making workers personally responsible for their income in retirement. Labour Party leader Andrew Little said his party would not lift the age of entitlement while he is leader. However, Labour campaigned in both the 2011 and 2014 elections with a pledge to raise the retirement age and make KiwiSaver compulsory. The policy was extremely unpopular and contributed to Labours record loss in both elections. Nevertheless, at a business event in 2015, Little suggested that state pensions could be means-tested. Labour and the Greens, which are contesting the September election in a formal alliance, sought to win the support of the ruling elite by announcing in March an agreed set of Budget Responsibility Rules. The pact includes a promise to restrict government spending to under 30 percent of gross domestic productthe same as the level set by the National Party. This amounts to a commitment to continue underfunding vital services on which working people rely. The right-wing populist NZ First Party is being courted as a political ally by Labour and the Greens. In a speech on May 16 leader Winston Peters declared he would wage political war against the age increase. However, NZ First agrees that government spending should be cut and welcomed a separate proposal to restrict entitlement for tens of thousands of immigrants. The government wants to require immigrants to live in New Zealand for 20 years, instead of the current 10, to be eligible for superannuation. NZ First, echoed by Labour and the Greens, has scapegoated immigrants, especially those from China, for the lack of affordable housing, unemployment, low wages and over-stretched public services, including welfare and pensions. Whichever party or combination of parties takes office after the September election, the next government will intensify the assault on living standards, including the right to a decent retirement. The authors also recommend: New Zealand budget deepens austerity [3 June 2017] Pensions cut for 330,000 Australian retirees [13 January 2017] Thousands of Brazilian workers and youth protest against Temers pension reform [24 March 2017] Teachers at the two largest school districts in California, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), will have their union contracts expire by the end of the month. The LAUSDs contract with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 99, which represents thousands of workers including teachers aides, custodians and cafeteria workers, is also set to expire this summer. While the contracts are set to expire at the same time, along with the upcoming expiration of the SEIU contract, there is no attempt by the unions to wage a unified struggle against the wholesale assault on public education. Quite the opposite is taking place; the unions are doing everything in their power to isolate teachers and school workers from one another. A report from Southern California Public Radio, paints a gloomy picture for teachers as they head towards the deadline, If recent history is any indication, talks could last months In other words, teachers will be expected to work without a contract for that period of time. Both unions, the San Diego Education Association (SDEA) and the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), posture as defenders of teachers and other school workers when in reality they are working tirelessly with the National Education Association, beholden to the Democratic Party, to ensure that union dues continue without any hiccups and cuts enforced without any eruption of opposition outside of their control. The SDEAs slogan, L.E.A.R.N!, and UTLAs Schools LA Students Deserve are revealed as entirely empty when one begins to examine only the most recent behavior of the two unions. Over the past couple of months, hundreds of educators and support staff in San Diego faced the uncertainty of whether or not they would be returning to their jobs in the coming school year. In May it was announced that some 1,500 teachers and staff will be laid off due to potential funding cuts announced by the district, with a reported budget deficit of $124.4 million. To offset the deficit, the union and the district worked together to convince older workers to take the Supplementary Early Retirement Plan (SERP), or Golden Handshake, a retirement incentive equal to 100 percent of their finally salary spread out over 5 years. Five hundred and twenty-eight teachers opted for the agreement, saving the jobs of 485 teachers. However, the reality is that SERP still ensures a deficit of educators as pink-slipped positions have still been eradicated. There has been no reassurance that there will be a one-for-one rehire for every teacher that accepts early retirement. In LA, where the most expensive school board election in US history recently took place, with more than $14 million spent on the election, the candidates favored by the UTLA lost the election. Their defeat underscores the discrediting of the unions through their collaboration with the Democrats in closing schools and diverting funds to charter schools. The Schools LA Students Deserve campaign by the UTLA is a cover for the unions support for school accountability and parental control, both of which are favored by pro-charter industries. Under these conditions it is no surprise that membership in the UTLA fell from 45,000 in 2008 to roughly 32,000 in 2016. Against the backdrop of the two contract expirations is the claim that there is no money for teachers, reduced class sizes, pensions, benefits, school supplies or new buildings. Both districts are facing multi-million dollar budget deficits. SDUSD is projecting a $124 million dollar deficit, while LAUSD has a staggering $13.6 billion unfunded liability for retiree health care benefits. The SDEA and UTLA are promoting the illusion that Democratic governor Jerry Browns finalized budget in May will come to the teachers rescue. Despite these assurances, SDUSD interim president, CFO Patricia Koch, made clear to the board that even if the May revise restores the entirety of what was lost in January, we are still facing more than $100 million in reductions in 17-18. So, the May revise is not the place to look for eliminating our problem. It may help, but we will still need to make reductions. Browns proposed budget for the 2017-2018 year is a mere $1.5 billion increase in general funds, nothing of substance that will help under-funded schools throughout California, the largest state by population in the United States. On top of this Browns proposed $1 billion in one-time funding for K-12 schools has been pushed back. The claim that there is no money for education is ludicrous when the 124 billionaires who call California home claim a total net worth of $532.4 billion. Between just the two wealthiest men in the state, Mark Zuckerberg ($44.6B) and Larry Ellison ($43.6B), there is more than enough money to guarantee every single child the right to a high quality education. On Monday, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers lower federal courts in the western United States, unanimously upheld an injunction against President Donald Trumps second executive order to block nationals of six Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States. The decision, Hawaii v. Trump, affirms the order entered last March by a federal judge in Honolulu, but based on different reasoning. Less than three weeks earlier, a 13-judge en banc panel of the Fourth Circuit, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, voted 103 to block the bigoted travel ban, affirming a similar injunction by a federal judge in Maryland. The Ninth Circuit opinion was issued per curiam by Bill Clinton appointees Michael Daly Hawkins, Ronald M. Gould and Richard A. Paez, and is therefore unsigned by any of them. The writing is notably collegial in tone and the ruling itself narrow in scope. The decision does not address the lowers courts holding that the second order, like the first, was issued with an intent to disfavor people of Islamic faith and therefore violated the First Amendments Establishment Clause. Instead, the panel ruled that Trump violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by not making the findings required under the INA and by using nationality as a criterion despite specific INA provisions that prohibit the denial of entry visas based solely on national origin. Both of Trumps executive orders were aimed at mobilizing the most intolerant and backward elements of the population to muster their support for imperialist interventions abroad and escalating attacks against all sections of the working class at home. Trump promised to ban Muslims repeatedly during his presidential campaign, and one week after taking office last January, without any meaningful internal governmental review or hearings, issued an executive order entitled Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States. A federal judge in the state of Washington enjoined that order, and the Ninth Circuit refused to delay the injunction while Trump appealed. Following those courtroom defeats, Trump issued a second executive order to supersede the first. White House lawyers then dismissed Trumps appeal of the Washington ruling. The second order is somewhat narrower than the first, as it applies only to individuals outside of the United States without a valid visa and excludes lawful permanent residents, dual citizens and refugees already admitted. There are other minor changes, including the possibility of waivers for certain visitors and a slight modification allowing the admission of a few Syrian refugees. The second order is just as discriminatory and irrational as the first, however. It provides for a 90-day ban on entry for nationals of all but one of the majority-Muslim countries identified in the first order. Those countries targeted are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. As justification, the second order recites that the risk of erroneously permitting entry of a national of one of these countries who intends to commit terrorist acts or otherwise harm the national security of the United States is unacceptably high. The provision bans more than 180 million people from entry based on their national origin, including nationals who may have never been physically present in those countries, the Ninth Circuit decision explains. The order cites the terrorism convictions of two Iraqi nationals admitted as refugees and a native of Somalia brought to the United States as a child refugee, who became a naturalized United States citizen before his arrest. Iraq, which was included in the first order, was dropped from the second, supposedly because of its close cooperative relationship with the United States. The order makes no mention of any incident of domestic terrorism involving a national or immigrant from any of the five other nations (excluding Iraq and Somalia) named in the order. One provision of the INA enacted in 1952, the high point of official anti-Communism in the United States, gives the president broad power to bar aliens from certain nations, but the Ninth Circuit ruled that Trump did not make the necessary finding that entry of the excluded classes would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. The Order does not tie these nationals in any way to terrorist organizations within the six designated countries, the Ninth Circuit panel continued. It does not provide any link between an individuals nationality and their propensity to commit terrorism or their inherent dangerousness. In short, the Order does not provide a rationale explaining why permitting entry of nationals from the six designated countries under current protocols would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. In conclusion, the Ninth Circuit panel wrote, the Order does not offer a sufficient justification to suspend the entry of more than 180 million people on the basis of nationality. National security is not a talismanic incantation that, once invoked, can support any and all exercise of executive power under the INA. In 1965, at the height of post-war reform efforts, Congress amended the INA to eliminate the national origins system as the basis for the selection of immigrants to the United States. The INA also limits the ability of government officials to exclude refugees. As an alternative basis for its ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that the second order contravenes the INA by discriminating on the basis of nationality, and, by arbitrarily capping the number of refugees at 50,000, disregarding the procedures for setting annual admissions of refugees. Trump is seeking Supreme Court review of the appellate rulings in both the Maryland and Hawaii cases. The justices are scheduled to commence their summer recess in a few weeks, so a full high court vetting of the recent decisions is not likely before next fall. At a charity event held in Nablus, in the West Bank, Faraj stated, regarding the Hamas responses and statements to the Qatar crisis, Palestinian Authorities have sided with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt and refuses any Persian projects (in a remark made on Irans expansionist ambitions) for the region. It is awfully embarrassing what we heard of slogans being cheered over in Gaza against Arab countries. We must cheer on for life and for the Arab countries taking in our children abroad, we do not need for any Arab state to take a negative stance against our people or government. The Hamas movement is strong in Gaza controlling the situation. But it is involving Palestinians in troublesome positions, where the consequences it leads to may be unpleasant, due to its involvement in Qatar. Our decision is independent and does not belong to foreign agendas. We refuse to interfere unilaterally or with bias into any Arab spat at hand. Intervention would cost us heavily for our cause and people who live all over the world, Faraj said. Faraj called out Hamass decisions as unsound, and he said that the movement should resort to the umbrella of Palestinian legitimacy, and thereby end the conflicts that divide the people of Palestine. Meanwhile, Egypt has announced that it is prepared to provide more electricity to Gaza. However, it comes with a price. Egypt will only do so if Hamas cooperates with them in their counterterrorism crackdown. Its also been reported that Egypt has demanded that Hamas give them back 17 men who are wanted for terrorism charge in Cairo, has also asked for more protection by Hamas at the border, as well as the cessation of alleged weapons smuggling into the Sinai Peninsula, and lastly, information on the movement of elements into Gaza via underground tunnels. Gazas monthly electricity bill from Israel is paid by the Palestinian Authority by subtracting it from the taxes Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authorities. The electricity cuts were approved by Israeli authorities on Monday, per the request of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the occupied West Bank. PERRY, Fla. (WTXL) - The third suspect charged in the murder of a well-known Taylor County teacher was sentenced to 30 years in person Tuesday. Rodney Whiddon was set to start trial that morning to face a number of charges in the 2015 death of Shelly Strickland. Whiddon's son Manden agreed to a plea deal in February 2017 for 15 years in prison and an additional 15 years probation in exchange for testimony that claimed he, his father and Garrett Arrowood were involved in Strickland's death. Arrowood, Strickland's nephew, was sentenced to life in prison for her death. He is currently being held at the Florida Department of Corrections in Jasper. According to the state attorney's office, Manden Whiddon recanted portions of his testimony just prior to the scheduled start of Rodney Whiddon's trial. A jury was already seated, and members of the Arrowood and Strickland families were waiting for the trial to start. The recanted testimony "undermined" the state's case, according to assistant state attorney John Weed, prompting a reassessment of how to proceed. Weed told WTXL that there was enough evidence to continue with the charge of "dealing in stolen property," but all other charges -- including first degree murder while armed, burglary while armed, and possession of firearm or electric weapon by felon -- were dropped as part of what's called an "open plea." Weed said the state argued for the maximum sentence for the remaining charge, which would be 15 years. However, due to Rodney Whiddon's status as a "habitual felony offender," the maximum sentence was doubled to a total of 30 years by the judge. -- Lisa Arrowood, Garrett's mother and Strickland's sister, characterized the sequence of Tuesday's events as "crazy." "This should automatically give our son a new trial," she said. "I mean, it calls everything that they have done into question." "It should all come back," added her husband Danny, referring to Manden Whiddon's recanted testimony. "He told lies the whole time, and what are they going to do now? Are they going to take back that 15 years? What are they going to do?" "We want to know who did this, who took Shelly from us, and we want justice," Lisa said. "I am 100 percent convinced that Garrett did not do this." The Arrowoods say the Whiddons have some role in Strickland's death. "I'm not sure to what extent Rodney was involved," Lisa said. "I would've liked to have heard all of the evidence at trial to be able to make a full decision on that. If he was involved, he got off lightly with 30 years. If he did shoot my sister -- if he was there -- he got off light with 30 years." Assistant state attorney John Weed said it's possible Manden Whiddon could face up to life in prison, depending on if a judge rules he violated the terms of his plea. Meanwhile, the Arrowoods continue to follow every development in Strickland's death. "This is sadly what we live and breathe and think on a daily basis," Lisa said. "We miss Shelly terribly." The state attorney's office has requested a hearing next month to determine whether Manden Whiddon will be re-sentenced. MIDWAY, Fl. (WTXL) -- More of this week's pattern continues for the next several days. This means we'll see more cloudy and mild mornings turning to hot and humid afternoons with scattered thunderstorms. Thursday through Saturday: More moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will move into the Big Bend and South Georgia, priming the afternoons for scattered/numerous showers/storms. Your Beach and Boating forecast information and your Thursday Tide Times are available below: Mornings are expected to start off partly to mostly cloudy, with areas of patchy fog. Each day, expect morning lows in the lower 70s. Forecast highs each day are in the mid to upper 80s, with partly sunny skies and scattered to numerous storms each afternoon (rain coverage at around 50-60%). Heavy downpours are possible. Sunday and Monday: High pressure's influence may bring slight drying, though rain chances will still be around. Expect morning lows in the lower 70s with afternoon highs in the lower 90s. Rain coverage is forecast to be around 40%. Tuesday and Wednesday: More moisture is expected to come back, with relatively little change in the overall pattern. Expect lows in the lower 70s, highs in the upper 80s, with rain coverage at around 50%. You can catch the forecast on WTXL Sunrise starting at 5:00, as well as WTXL Midday at Noon. Chief Meteorologist Casanova Nurse has your forecast at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, and 11:00 this evening. Plus, you can get the Storm Team Forecast every 10 minutes on Channel 27.3 Weather NOW. Remember to follow the ABC 27 Storm Team on Social Media. Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/abc27stormteam/) Twitter (http://twitter.com/abc27stormteam) Only a few days ago, the militias were struck again (after two previous incidents) by US-led coalition aircraft to serve as a warning to stop approaching the forces. In the same area, an armed drone built by Iran was shot down by a US warplane after it had fired at US advisers and local forces. Analysts say that Iran is not in fact trying to target American forces, but rather it is trying to secure and defend a supply route that goes through Iraq and southern Syria, eventually arriving in Lebanon. It is particularly frustrating for the US to have to deal with Iran and its militias on top of the Islamic State. It has been noted by officials that Iran has become even more dangerous and bold in its actions. It also has an unprecedented network of proxies. A spokesman for the Pentagon criticised Iran for creating a distraction in the fight against ISIS. Col. Ryan Dillon urged the parties in the south of Syria to concentrate on defeating ISIS the common enemy and what he described as the greatest threat to the region and the rest of the world. Experts believe that the sheer amount of militias and powers in the area is leaving a vacuum of power because there are so many different objectives being pursued. For Russia, and of course the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite declaring otherwise, defeating ISIS was never a main goal. Turkey has somewhat supported Syrian President Bashar al Assad, but has an issue with the Syrian Kurds that are producing the most results in the fight against ISIS. Russia and Iran are firm supporters of Assad. It seems like the defeat of ISIS is nevertheless progressing well, and many say that ISIS demise is in sight. It had been a goal for many regions for a long time, but now, not surprisingly, other powers in the Middle East are starting to move into the place of ISIS and to strengthen their position for when the time comes. Iran in particular. Yakima County Corrections officers restrain Jose Pedro Linares in Yakima County Superior Court Wednesday. Linares' sentencing hearing on a second-degree assault charge was delayed when his attorney withdrew Wednesday, days after authorities say Linares attacked him in court. (DONALD W. MEYERS/Yakima Herald-Republic) Some lawmakers are turning attention to the alleged deception by President Barack Obama and his administration to pass his do or die nuclear deal with Iran. Republican leaders of the House Committee initiated a full-scale investigation into the Obama administrations activities in obtaining the nuclear deal. They are also probing last years controversial prisoner swap with Iran for over a billion dollars. Lieutenant George OBrien, former military intelligence operative and police unit commander said, A number of former intelligence and counter-terrorism officers were concerned with the way the deal was negotiated and the misrepresentation of the nuclear pacts details by Obamas questionable national security team. Remember how the assistant national security adviser Ben Rhodes admitted to being deceitful in order to get the deal accepted? That alone should have triggered a probe not only by Congress, but also the Justice Department. Republican Representatives Jason Chaffetz and Ron DeSantis, in a May 5 letter, asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to produce Justice Department documents they said would help the Committee in better understanding these issues. They sent the same letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson demanding all related documents to the Iran deal in the State Departments possession. Chaffetz gave both a deadline of May 19 to provide one copy to committee Republicans, and another to the Oversight Committees Democratic Party lawmakers. An article published by Track Persia, a Platform run by dedicated analysts who spend much of their time researching the Middle East, says the following In part, the letter stated: When President Obama revealed a prisoner exchange agreement with Iran in January 2016, he announced the release of one Iranian and six Iranian-Americans convicted of crimes or awaiting trial. The President described the exchange as a benign reciprocal humanitarian gesture, and went as far as to call the individuals released civilians who were not charged with terrorism or any violent offenses. Among those granted clemency were individuals that the Justice Department deemed threats to national security. The news account identified 14 Iranian fugitives accused of serious crimes for whom the Obama Administration dropped criminal charges, but never released the names or charges. These reports note an Iranian spokesperson contradicted the Administrations position by claiming there were 28 Iranians freed or relieved from judicial restrictions as part of the prisoner exchange agreement. If true, this leaves seven individuals unaccounted for. [It was] also reported that Obama Administration officials blocked and delayed law enforcement efforts to lure Iranian fugitives to countries where they could be arrested and to extradite Iranian suspects in custody overseas. In the letter, Chaffetz told the officials, please also make your staff available for a briefing on these issues no later than May 25. According to the Republican Post, The noose tightens, the clock is ticking and Jason Chaffetz will get to the bottom of this. Dont forget Jason has an ace up his sleeve, Trey Gowdy is also on the committee investigating Obama. That should terrify him. Donald Trump should stand "on the right side of history" by reconsidering the decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate change accord, former United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday. "If the US withdraws, this has a much bigger political impact. I'm afraid that any leadership vacuum could be filled by others, and this is not what we want to see," Ban said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. He called the choice made by the US president "misguided" and said that it responded to "a short-term vision." He also called on the public to raise its voice and said that commitment to the agreement from governors, mayors, business leaders and civil society in the US was "very encouraging." An Iranian naval patrol boat shined a laser at a US Marine Corps helicopter flying over the Strait of Hormuz in what officials said was an unsafe encounter. US Navy Cmdr. Bill Urban said Wednesday that the Iranian vessel also turned its spotlight on two Navy ships that were moving through the strait on Tuesday. Urban, a US Fifth Fleet spokesman, said the Iranian boat came within 800 yards of the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship, and scanned it from bow to stern with the spotlight. It also shined the light on the USS Cole, a guided missile destroyer. The Marine CH-53E Super Stallion heavy lift helicopter automatically fired flares in response to the laser. No one was injured and there was no damage to the ships. A third American vessel, the USNS Washington Chambers cargo ship, was accompanying the others but was not affected. Urban said the action was considered unsafe because "illuminating helicopters with lasers at night is dangerous as it creates a navigational hazard that can impair vision and can be disorienting to pilots using night vision goggles." Israeli author David Grossman has won the Man Booker International Prize for his novel "A Horse Walks into a Bar," it was announced Wednesday night. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Grossman, whose novel is about a failing standup comic and his final performance, beat out five other finalists, including fellow Israeli author Amos Oz, who was nominated for his book "Judas." Grossman (R) and Cohen (Photo: AFP) The other contenders were Argentine novelist Samanta Schweblin and her debut novel "Fever Dream," French writer Mathias Enards "Compass," Norwegian author Roy Jacobsens family epic "The Unseen," and Danish novelist Dorthe Nors Mirror, Shoulder, Signal." The award comes with a 50,000 GBP ($64,000) prize, which is split evenly between Grossman and translator Jessica Cohen. Grossman's acceptance speech X Thank you all. I will cherish this award and this evening, Grossman said after receiving the prize at a ceremony in central London, expressing his joy that not one but two Israeli writers made the shortlist. "Amos is my friend and my teacher and it's very meaningful to be on the same list as him," he said. "It's a great sign of honor to our language, which is a very insular language," he said. "And yet, since it was a dormant language for something like 1,800 years, it is such a phenomenon that in the last 120 years the Hebrew language has been revitalized, awakened from its long sleep and became a language of every day." Grossman added that with the revitalization of Hebrew, writers worked "so hard to bring this language to life and to start to tell stories in Hebrew. Today we have such a flourishing and really wonderful literature. There are so many wonderful wonderful writers in Israel that deserve to be translated and to be read." Judges explain why Grossman won X "I thank first of all my wonderful, devoted, translator, Jessica Cohen," the 63-year-old author went on to say. The translator, Cohen, was born in England, raised in Israel and lives in Denver. She has translated Grossman as well as Etgar Keret, Rutu Modan, Dorit Rabinyan and others. Cohen decided to donate the prize money to the left-wing B'Tselem organization. "I will donate the prize money to B'Tselem, which for almost 13 years has been working on exposing human rights violations committed by Israel in the occupied territories," she said. "It is not easy to tell a truth that is not flattering and uncomfortable, but it is essential. Not only in literature but in life." Nick Barley, chair of the judging panel, praised Grossman. David Grossman has attempted an ambitious high-wire act of a novel, and hes pulled it off spectacularly, he said. A Horse Walks into a Bar shines a spotlight on the effects of grief, without any hint of sentimentality. The central character is challenging and flawed, but completely compelling. We were bowled over by Grossmans willingness to take emotional as well as stylistic risks: every sentence counts, every word matters in this supreme example of the writers craft, Barley added. Police investigators raided the Yedioth Books offices and a home early Thursday in search of classified documents ostensibly related to an investigation into former prime minister Ehud Olmert. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The Israel Prison Service seized documents suspected of being classified from Olmert's prison cell and from his lawyer last month. Police is investigating whether the documents in question, which did not receive approval from the Director of Security of the Defense Establishment, were related to the book Olmert is writing in prison, where he is serving time after having been convicted of corruption. Olmert back to prison after furlough (Photo: Dana Kopel) After the documents were found in his cell, Olmert was denied furloughs as well as visits from his lawyers. The Parole Board is scheduled to discuss Olmert's request for early release on Sunday. The State Attorney's Office, which recently said it would oppose the request to shorten Olmert's sentence, requested on Thursday to postpone the discussion because of the investigation into classified documents found in his cell, but the request was denied. A statement from the Justice Ministry on Thursday afternoon elaborated on the suspicions against Olmert, saying that during his incarceration, the former prime minister wrote a book, "parts of which deal with sensitive security matters." Last month, Olmert's lawyer was stopped on his way out of the prison after visiting his client, with a chapter from the book found in his possession. "The chapter deals with a security incident the details of which have been barred for publication by the Military Censor. The chapter includes, among other things, secret operational details, which have not been cleared for publication in the past," the Justice Ministry said. Olmert is suspected of sending the chapter to different unauthorized people outside of prison "in violation of the Penal Code and the warnings he has been given before." "Failing to completely safeguard these secrets, in violation with the law and the guidelines determined by authorized defense officials, raises concern the information leaked, which could have caused severe damage to state security," the statement went on to say. "As part of examination, testimonies were collected from different people and different documents were seized. This morning, the police searched, among other places, the offices of Yedioth Ahronoth's books punisher (but not the newspaper's offices)... at a later stage, in light of the examination's findings, a decision will be made whether to turn it into a full criminal investigation." After the discovery of the documents last month, Olmert's lawyers said in response, "During his prison sentence, Olmert wrote an autobiographical book about his life and his work on social, economic and security issues. This book was submitted in its entirety to the Military Censor over two months ago and no one, especially Mr. Olmert, has any intention of publishing it without their approval. Beyond the book, no classified information was leaked, transferred or published by Mr. Olmert." Yedioth Books is a publication company owned by the Yedioth Ahronoth Group, which also owns, among others, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper, Ynet and Ynetnews. (Translated & edited by Lior Mor) Authorities evacuated a terminal at the Port of Charleston in South Carolina to investigate a "potential threat" in a container ship, the US Coast Guard said. Maersk Line, the world's biggest container shipping company, said in a statement on Thursday the US Coast Guard had informed it of a threat of a "dirty bomb" aboard one of its vessels. It said all crew members were safe and ashore. Coast Guard officials described the threat as a possible dirty bomb on the Maersk Memphis ship docked in the Wando Terminal, where hazardous materials crews and rescue workers were seen working, an NBC affiliate in South Carolina reported. The Coast Guard said the threat was "active and ongoing," in a Tweet at 2 am. The US Coast Guard said authorities were made aware of the potential threat in a container aboard the vessel at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday (midnight GMT) and the terminal had been evacuated. The Maersk Memphis, a 300-meter vessel, was in New York before arriving in South Carolina at about 7:30 pm, according to Reuters data. Update: The US Coast Guard Southeast said on Twitter that "Unified Command determines no existing threat to the port. Terminal will reopen and safety zone has been lifted." There were four containers where a threat was posed at the terminal, it said. "These have been scanned and cleared by authorities." The investigation into suspicions Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family received illicit gifts, the so-called Case 1000, is not expected to end before the fall, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said in a meeting on the case earlier this week. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The meeting was also attended by State Attorney Shai Nitzan, the head of the Israel Police's Investigations and Intelligence Division, Meni Yitzhaki, and the prosecutors working the case. Prime Minister Netanyahu will be questioned several more times in the coming months to allow police investigators to confront him with all of the suspicions against him and get his response to the allegations. Millionaire Arnon Milchan and Netanyahu in 2015 (Photo: Gettyimages) Senior sources involved in the investigation said it will unequivocally present the large-scale delivery of gifts given to the prime minister and his wife by billionaire Arnon Milchan and others, some at the request of the couple . However, law enforcement officials clarified this would not be enough to determine whether to indict. Investigators are currently focusing on trying to understand the relationship between Netanyahu and Milchan. The objective, according to the sources, is to find evidence to establish what is referred to as the "heart of the case": whether the gifts were given to Netanyahu because he is a public figure, and whether Milchan received or expected to receive anything in return. Netanyahu has claimed his relationship with Milchan is a personal friendship that has lasted for many years. An indictment would only be filed if investigators could find evidence to disprove this claim and prove a conflict of interest. Liat Ben Ari of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office said last week that "bribery cases are not simple. To reach one conclusion or another, thousands of hours of work are required, as well as piles of evidence and witnesses, documents and judicial inquiries. In almost all of the big cases we need witnesses from abroad, whom we can't reach with cooperation from the authorities." The police and the State Attorney's Office have not yet given up on collecting the testimony of Australian billionaire James Packer , despite the difficulties they've encountered so far. Investigators are now working to convince Packer to cooperate, as his testimony is very significant to the case. While Attorney General Mandelblit is aware of the criticism over the slow pace of the investigation, Justice Ministry officials said no external pressure could affect the attorney general's decision-making process. Mandelblit's close associates said Wednesday, "On the one hand, he's being called to exhaust all lines of inquiry, while on the other hand he's being criticized for the prolonged process. There's nothing to be done about it, investigations like that require time, and no stone will be left unturned in the search for the truth." Qatar's Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday the country signed a deal to buy F-15 fighter jets from the United States for $12 billion. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The deal was completed despite the Gulf country being criticized recently by US President Donald Trump for supporting terrorism. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and representatives from Qatar met Wednesday to seal the agreement, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters. Bloomberg News reported the deal was for 36 jets. The sale will increase security cooperation and interoperability between the US and Qatar, the Pentagon said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Defense Secretary Mattis and Qatari Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah also discussed the current state of operations against the ISIS and the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals, the Pentagon added. In November, the United States approved possible sale of up to 72 F-15QA aircraft to Qatar for $21.1 billion. Boeing Co is the prime contractor on the fighter jet sale to the Middle East nation. Boeing declined to comment. Trump on Friday accused Qatar of being a "high-level" sponsor of terrorism, potentially hindering the US Department of State's efforts to ease heightening tensions and a blockade of the Gulf nation by Arab states and others. Under heavy security, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in northern Greece to discuss plans to become a key supplier of European energy through an ambitious Mediterranean undersea natural gas pipeline project. Netanyahu met in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, while Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades was also due to attend the talks. More than 3,500 police officers were deployed for security around the city, which historically had a large Jewish community that was almost wiped out during the Nazi occupation in World War Two. Israel is hoping to export much of its newly discovered natural gas to Europe by a proposed undersea pipeline to Cyprus and Greece. Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz, Minister of Science Ofir Akunis and Minister of Economy Eli Cohen also met with their Greek counterparts. The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) accused Israel in a report Wednesday of using "force that has at times been deemed excessive" against the Palestinians, "which may have amounted to extrajudicial executions." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter According to ECOSOC, from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, Israeli security forces killed 63 Palestinians, including 19 children, and wounded 2,276 others, including 562 children. The report also stated the UN's Committee against Torture has "expressed concern about a number of Israeli practices towards Palestinian detainees, including minors," and has accused Israeli security forces of "deprivation of basic legal safeguards for administrative detainees, isolation and solitary confinement of detainees, including minors, punishment and ill-treatment of hunger strikers, torture or ill-treatment of Palestinian children and the hindering of visits of relatives for child prisoners." The UN Security Council (Photo: Reuters) Among other things, the report claims "No criminal investigation was opened into more than 1,000 complaints of torture or ill-treatment filed since 2001." Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said he would work to scrap the report. "This is another blood libel against Israel," he said. "Just as we got the previous farfetched report scrapped, we will fight against this distorted and false report. We won't allow slandering of IDF soldiers." The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which reports to ECOSOC, released a report in March accusing Israel of imposing an "apartheid regime" on the Palestinians. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked that the report be removed from the agency's website, leading ESCWA's executive secretary Rima Khalaf to resign in protest A group of children dangle their feet in a hidden pool, in the steep slopes descending from Kibbutz Meitzar in the southeastern Golan Heights. The ravishing image is completed by the nearby meadow, with cows and horses and the trickling water from the Yarmouk and Ruqqad rivers. An IDF tank shields the children from above, as the new fence on the Israel-Syria border, just a few dozen meters way, winds southward to the border triangle with Jordan. The view from the armored forces soldiers post is breathtaking. The calm sounds nothing like the artillery fire which is heard here on an almost weekly basis. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter On the other side of the border, as the Israeli children bathe undisturbed in a hidden jewel of nature, a Syrian boy from the nearby village of al-Sharaf learns how to fire an assault rifle, guided by an Islamic State member, in an improvised shooting range between an abandoned United Nations post and the slopes of the Ruqqad River. Everything here is green, people hike here and enjoy the nature and the amazing landscape, and only several kilometers away there is total chaos, says Lieutenant Colonel Nir Ben Hamo, commander of the Givati patrol unit, who has been responsible for this area in the past few months. The same viewfrom two different worlds. Military exercise on the border triangle, the heart of the most explosive area (Photo: Ido Erez) While the heart of Ben Hamos regiment belongs in the south, keeping one eye on Gaza at all times, and his forces are constantly preparing for war in Givatis home zone, for several months in the past year Lt. Col. Ben Hamo and his soldiers were in charge of the most dangerous and explosive region, where they had complete lack of control and limited intelligence on the enemies. This time, it was neither the familiar Hamas nor Hezbollah, which remains the armys primary scenario, or even 1,000 ISIS fighters scattered across a huge area in Sinai, who the Egyptian army is working to crush. Only last week, Arab media reported on an attacklikely the first of its kindof ISIS posts on the Syria-Israel-Jordan border, which was most probably carried out by the international coalitions aerial forces. According to foreign sources, Israel has been helping the forces that are fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq for years, providing intelligence on targets, and its quite possible that it did the same this time too. Nevertheless, the explosive tensions and the incomprehensible discrepancy between the pastoral view and the moment that everything could blow up continue as the forces move northward along the border fence. Photo: Yoav Zitun Israel is not taking in Syrian refugees yet, but they are already knocking on its door. In the past year, refugee encampments have been slowly piling up near and north of Har Chozek, close to the orchards of the Druze town of Buq'ata, a few tens of meters from the fence. The IDF has also institutionalized the handling of wounded Syrians: The field hospital in the northern Golan Heights has been shut down, and military teams have been trained to provide quick care on the ground and examine every wounded person in an armed and secured booth on the fence, before evacuating them into Israel. Photo: Yoav Zitun The fighters along the border not only hear the sounds of explosions and bursts of gunfire, but they also read press reports sometimes about alleged Israeli attacks and targeted killings of Hezbollah and regime supporters who are active in the Syrian Golan Heights. These incidents definitely prompt us to raise the alertness and tension level among the fighters, out of a common sense that the Syrian regime may react against us, explains Lt. Col. Gidi Kfir-El, commander of the 9th Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade, who is responsible for the central and northern Golan Heights area. The perception of our activity in the defense mission, he adds, has become just like our activity vis-a-vis the Gaza Strip: Regimental combat teams of the engineering, armored, infantry and canine forces, with combat intelligence gathering and aerial guidance if necessary. We are capable of getting a tank ready for action within minutes, and like in Gaza, it has possible targets beforehand for a counter-attack over a spillover from Syrian fighting. Lt. Col. Nir Ben Hamo, commander of the Givati patrol unit (Photo: Yoav Zitun) The problem with ISIS in the Golan Heights is that it is largely based on localsa few thousand ISIS-supporting residents in villages in the southern Golan, who are trying to increasingly wear out the Al-Nusra Front organization, al-Qaedas branch in Syria, which is considered more moderate and which still controls a considerable part of the border strip with Israel. In between, there are a number of small outposts which still belong to the army of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who recently fought back and succeeded in regaining control of a few parts of the northern Golan Heights. The southern part remains black, painted in ISIS colors. Photo: Yoav Zitun It is for a reason that the IDF constantly stations the regular reconnaissance units here, the finest units with specific patrol, antitank and destruction abilities, says Lt. Col. Ben Hamo, who during Operation Protective Edge replaced his commander, Major Benaya Sarel, who was killed near Rafah while chasing the kidnappers of Lt. Hadar Goldin. Ben Hamo asks his fighters to exercise quite a lot of restraint and intelligence against the enemy. In a regimental or even company region, he says, there could be a few rules of engagement, sometimes for the same fighters, in accordance with the type of gunmen they see. In this region, we get to exercise our specific abilities excellently. We see members of Shuhada al-Yarmouk (the ISIS organizations name in the Syrian Golan Heights) attacking more areas controlled by the other rebels. They have diverse weapons, Western arms, antitank missiles, explosive devices and even some armored vehicles, including a few tanks. Photo: Yoav Zitun Lt. Col. Ben Hamo prefers to hold his peace when he is asked if wounded Syrians are offered humanitarian aid in his region as well. Up until recently, Israel took a lot of pride in this activity, but then it apparently decided to keep a low profile for some reason. The field hospital that was built on the border in the northern Golan Heights halted its activity, the official reason being an optimization of the way the wounded are evacuated to Israel. In the southern part of the Golan Heights, which is controlled by ISIS, the IDF prefers to keep mum on the humanitarian issue. The IDF refers to the Syrians who live in the Golan Heights as locals, and has detected that they prefer to keep the war as far away from their villages as possible. Nevertheless, the army does not approve of the southern villagers support for ISIS, which was implemented about nine months ago when mortars and gunshots were fired at a Golani force that was in the middle of conducting an ambush operation as it crossed the fence while remaining in an Israeli enclave in the southern Golan Heights. There were no casualties among the soldiers, but the IDF launched a quick response: Tanks and aircraft killed the cell members and destroyed a United Nations Disengagement Observer Force post, which was used by the Shuhada fighters. Patrolling near the fence (Photo: Ido Erez) When First Lt. Gal Yaniv, deputy commander of the armored company from the 9th Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade, which operates in the region together with Givati, talks about the incident, he isnt referring to the Golani incident or to previous incidents that took place on the border. He is addressing an incident which has yet to happen: The infiltration of a cell of dozens of ISIS terrorists through blind spots. Its only a matter of time before this happens, he believes. Within minutes, we are ready to bring a strong fire into this incident, even if it arrives without any intelligence warning, the officer says as he directs Merkava Mk 4 tanks with Trophy active protection systems. Photo: Ido Erez In Gals battalion, the fighters are versatile: Some perform infantry missions like ambushes and patrols near the fence, while their fellow fighters cover from back posts with the armored monsters, hidden from ISIS antitank cells. Tanks have already attacked posts in retaliation fire, including in the recent incident with the Golani patrol unit, but we are ready and prepared for a shelling of other targets in another incident, the incident, with the same tanks, in an evolving incident, the young officer explains. Photo: Ido Erez The Givati patrol units commander speaks calmly, practically whispering, as we cross the intimidating fence that has been built along the entire border strip, from Hamat Gader to the foot of Mount Hermon. He points to the next Hourglass Project in his region: A considerable upgrade of the barrier in the border triangle, facing the Jordanian side as well, which is also concerned by the ISIS spillover to the south, into its territory. The new barrier there will do a better job explaining exactly where the border passes to whoever needs an explanation, the battalion commander indicates. Scouts, fighters from the Oketz canine unit and observation devices open up the area for us. On the surface, there is no more barrier to separate us from dozens of ISIS gunmen in the village of Abadin, which is located about 2 or 3 kilometers away, on the eastern bank of the Ruqqad River. In front of us, down the mountain extension, we see the sooty remains of an ISIS post that was bombed by the IDF in an encounter with Golani. ISIS fighters are training in the constructed area and eastward in the open area, sometimes in improvised firing ranges too, Lt. Col. Ben Hamo explains. They have headquarters which rise and fall, and fighters who come from the outside. Our job is to create a barrier between them and the farmers here, who keep working the land to the very last inch, as well as the many hikers and Golan Heights residents. In a sarcastic outburst, President Vladimir Putin on Thursday scoffed at former FBI director James Comey's disclosure of his conversations with US President Donald Trump, saying the move has made Comey eligible for political asylum in Russia. Putin, speaking in a live call-in show with the Russian nation, likened Comey to NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who has been living in Russia since being granted asylum in 2013. "It looks weird when the chief of a security agency records his conversation with the commander-in-chief and then hands it over to media via his friend," Putin said. "What's the difference then between the FBI director and Mr. Snowden? In that case he's more of a rights campaigner defending a certain position than the security agency chief." On an acerbic note, he added that if Comey "faces some sort of persecution in connection with that, we are ready to offer political asylum in Russia to him as well." BEIRUT -- Syrian government forces are marching toward the last town held by the Islamic State group in the central province of Homs in the latest push by President Bashar Assad's troops against the extremists, state media and opposition activists said Thursday. The capture of Sukhna would pave the way for government forces to march toward the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, where IS has been besieging a government-held part of the city for nearly three years. Syrian troops have also advanced against IS in the north, evicting the extremists from Aleppo province. The elite "Egoz" special forces unit of the IDF participated in a joint military exercise with the Cypriot National Guard last week in Cyprus' Troodos Mountains and the Paphos Forest. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Alongside Egoz forces were soldiers from the IDF's elite "Yahalom" combat engineering unit and the Oketz canine unit. IDF forces in Cyprus (: " | | : ) X IDF forces in Cyprus (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) Soldiers from all three special forces units were only informed of their destination once they boarded transport aircraft. The objective of the exercise, as explained by a senior officer, was to rehearse an operation in foreign territory unfamiliar to IDF forces and to practice cooperative drills with a foreign military force. IDF forces along with roughly 100 Cypriot troops conducted offensive exercises including unit assaults and close quarters combat in both mockup villages and the forested landscape. Additionally, drills involving mountain combat and subterranean tunnel threats were also conducted. Egoz soldiers during their briefing (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit IDF forces board IAF Blackhawk helicopters in Cyprus (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit As part of the exercises, ten Israeli Air Force (IAF) Blackhawk helicopters ferried soldiers to and from drills conducted both at night and during the day. In addition to the Blackhawks, a number of IAF "Shimshon" Super Hercules transport aircraft also took part in the exercises. "The exercises seriously raised everyone's sense of security and confidence in the field," said a senior IDF officer present for the exercises. "You could say that the unit's level of skill rose; starting from the individual fighter up through the commanders in the field and commanders in Israel." Cypriot National Guard forces (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit Egoz Commander, Col. 'R' (Photo: Ido Erez) Commander of IAF forces during exercise, Lt. Col. 'G' (Photo: Ido Erez) Commander of the Egoz Unit, Col. 'R', said, "From our point of view, we landed deep in enemy territory and were briefed about the mission only on the aircraft. We simulated various scenarios of enemy contact, including subterranean complexes and a dam. Our missions can be in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria or any other place we're needed. We thank the Cypriots for their cooperation and we hope for more in the future." The Palestinian government in the West Bank has blocked 11 news websites affiliated with Hamas and other political rivals critical of President Mahmoud Abbas. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter An official at the attorney general's office of the Palestinian Authority says the sites were blocked because they are in "violation of the rules of publications," which forbid alleged fake news and defamation. Palestinian police officers in Jenin (Photo: AP) The official spoke anonymously Thursday because he was not authorized to brief the media. The editor of Jordan-based Amad news website, Hassan Asfour, said in a statement that the censorship was due to its "bold reporting" on the Palestinian government's "dirty deals." The internationally backed Palestinian Authority has tightened its grip in the West Bank since losing control of the Gaza Strip to the Islamic militant group Hamas a decade ago. Police officers searching for a wanted suspect in Qalansawe are being accused of excessive force and violence by a village family. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter In a conversation with Ynet, the family said they did not understand what police wanted and claim authorities resorted to violence immediately. Footage of the incident X Footage of the incident According to Kafa Suidan, the wife of one of the detained suspects, "We were sitting at a Ramadan meal. All of a sudden, we saw police around the house. Within seconds, they entered the hour two dogs and started causing damage during their search. They disrespected the women. "They humiliated and cursed at us, and yelled at us in front of the children. The children were terrified and didn't stop crying. All this happened without us understanding what they wanted." Suidan said her husband and two of her sons were violently arrested. "They beat them and wounded them. We called an ambulance, but unfortunately, they did not allow them to treat the wounded. "The police also brought dogs into the house. I tried to stop them, but a police officer pushed me hard and the dog that was with him bit me in the mouth. They treated us like terrorists. Even criminals don't get treatment like this." Finally, the family understood that police were searching for a wanted suspect, who is a resident of the West Bank. "I don't know where they got this false information. We would never do something like that." Suidan went on to claim that the family intends to file a lawsuit against police, saying, "We won't go through this quietly." Police at the scene In response to the claims of the family and footage, police issued a statement saying, "The residents of the home and additional persons attempted to prevent police from conducting operations by attacking officers. Four suspects were detained for assaulting police, obstruction of justice and insulting a public servant." This past week, the governor and first lady launched an important initiative in celebration of the states 150th birthday and in an effort to make sure all of Nebraskas fourth graders get to take field trips to the Nebraska State Capitol and other historically significant sites. During the next school year, superintendents can apply for funds for what they are calling The Nebraska Experience. The funds are being provided through a partnership with the Nebraska Arts Council, the Peter Kiewit Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and NextEra Energy Resources. The Nebraska Experience is modeled after the long time School Bus for the Arts Grant program the Nebraska 150 Celebration will underwrite the cost of school buses as well as admission fees to museums and other venues across the state. The grant funds will help school districts pay for these very important field trips, if they had to cut funding from their budgets because of financial shortfalls. Besides making sure all fourth graders get to go to the capitol, grants will also be made available for visiting 11 historical/cultural sites in the state: Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Site in North Platte; Chimney Rock National Historic Site in Bayard; Durham Museum in Omaha; Homestead National Monument in Beatrice; Knight Museum in Alliance; Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center in Chadron; Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney; Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln; Niehardt Center in Bancroft; Stuhr Museum in Grand Island; and the Scotts Bluff National Monument in Scottsbluff. These sites were selected throughout the state to make the program accessible to all Nebraska schools. Do you remember your fourth grade field trip to the capitol building? I sure do. I was totally in awe of our beautiful and iconic architectural gem. I probably used up four rolls of 24-exposure film as I and a group of other fourth graders walked the halls and learned about Nebraskas history. I remember marveling at the impressive room where legislation is debated and laws are created. I remember wondering how on earth artists created the marble floor mosaic in the center of the rotunda. And thinking about the really important people that stood out in our states history . . . so important that their likenesses are perpetually displayed so we dont forget about their contributions. Oh, and that elevator ride to the top . . . the view once we arrived was fantastic. I didnt have a full blown fear of heights at that point in my life. Maybe I did . . . I was just too enthralled to care. Did you get to tour the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln? We sure did. As if our morning tour of the capitol building wasnt enlightening enough, the next stop was more than I could have imagined. Ive loved history since I was a little kid, so I was just blown away by the many exhibits and the incredible stories about how this state was transformed from a prairie to what it is today. I loved learning about how the Native Americans lived and their traditions, long before our ancestors arrived. The story of the pioneers has always intrigued me as I marvel at their true grit and determination. I think it was that fourth grade field trip that jump-started my fascination . . . which led to reading lots of books on the subject and studying on my own free will. In other words, those field trips were so significant when I was a fourth grader that I believe they inspired me to want to educate myself more. And it fostered a lifelong appreciation for the state we call home, as well as a counter of the false claim this area of the world is and has been boring. As a fourth grader, I was also gifted with a field trip to the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island. I loved literally seeing and experiencing the way people lived in the old days . . . which I think is important for kids so they appreciate how those before us persevered, how they worked so hard and how we should appreciate 150 years of innovation. I applaud this initiative. The fourth grade field trips are valuable experiences at an important time in a students educational life. They are of great value. They are more than just a day without regular classes. It made a great impression on me. It was so important to see with my own eyes what we had been studying that whole year in our yellow Nebraska social studies book. Governor Ricketts agrees with me. He said in a statement, Fourth grade in Nebraska is such a special time. Its when children learn about our states rich history. We want to ensure that during our states sesquicentennial, as many fourth graders as possible have the opportunity to get out of the classroom and see what they are learning about in their textbooks. And so does First Lady Susanne Shore who said, The Nebraska Experience will certainly help bring history to life for Nebraskas fourth graders, but we believe it will also illustrate that they live in a truly amazing place. We want to build on the pride they already have for being Nebraskans and encourage them to stay here and help write the next chapter of our states history. Writing this has suddenly prompted a thought. You know, the fourth grade was a long time ago. Maybe its time to get out there and revisit those places . . . and be inspired to learn all over again. Maybe its time to have The Nebraska Experience. GRAND ISLAND In recent years, Grand Island has hosted a number of prominent goat shows that are helping to focus attention on an industry that holds a lot of potential in Nebraska. This week, the American Boer Goat Association is holding its national show at Fonner Park, bringing participants from nearly 30 states to Grand Island. The Hall County Fair, the Nebraska State Fair and in September the AKSARBEN Stock Show will all feature goat shows as well. A focus on raising goats as 4-H and FFA projects is also introducing a new generation to a lean protein source that is consumed by 63 percent of the world and is being consumed more and more in the United States because of its nutritional value. On Wednesday, Noah Teel of Stillwater Okla., was named the national champion in the Yearling Percentage Boer Doe Show. Teel said he and his family have been raising Boer goats for 16 years. It is a big moment, he said. It means lots. Like many of the young people at the American Boer Goat Association National Show, Teel started out raising goats as part of a 4-H project. My brother started with goats as a 4-H project, he said. He graduated and I had a niche for it and just continued to do it. From there, it has blossomed into a family enterprise. It just grew and we loved the goats and now have been doing it for 16 years, Teel said. This year, there are about 1,600 Boer goats at Fonner Park for the national show. Joe Airoso of Sacramento, Calif., is a board member of the American Boer Goat Association. People have driven a long way to get here, Airoso said about the large national contingent attending the show. This is the capstone show of the year, not only for a lot of these breeders but for our association. The goats in the Yearling Percentage show have to be 50 percent of more Boer goat. They run in age from 12 to 14 months. This is an extremely large show, Airoso said. It is probably one of the biggest. The class was so big that we had to split it in half. The percentage yearlings were being judged primarily on conformation, breed characteristics and structural integrity, along with their ability to show meat, muscle and skeletal strength. There were people of all ages in the show ring. The American Boer Goat Association is very family oriented, Airoso said. The association is made up of everything from hobby farmers to full-time goat producers and everything in between, he said. Also, many of the members are full-time farmers and ranchers who have a goat enterprise as part of their operation. Many producers, he said, run their goats alongside their cows as goats can consume types of grasses that cattle do not. Ranchers also like goats to get rid of noxious weeds, such as leafy spurge, in their pastures. It is kind of a broad range of backgrounds and applications, Airoso said. It is a great project for young kids because goats are smaller and more docile and cheaper to raise than a cow, which is a lot bigger and harder to manage. Demand for goat meat in the U.S. is growing, with more than a million carcasses slaughtered last year. Because of the growing demand, the U.S. has to import goat meat from abroad, which can put domestic producers at a disadvantage as many of the countries from which the goat meat is imported have government subsidies for their goat producers. We are still pork, chicken and beef, but with the changing demographic of the population, goats are becoming more and more in demand, Airoso said. Lee Dana is a Boer goat producer from Clay Center who has been a member of the American Boer Goat Association for about 12 years. Dana, who is also a cattle producer, first learned about Boer goats on the Internet and then later attended a goat show in Missouri. I was intrigued with them and they were so stocky compared to any other goats that I had seen, he said. It was the desire to provide some show wethers for 4-Hers that got Dana into raising Boer goats. It is probably the fastest growing 4-H project there is in the livestock part of it, Dana said. Goats occupy a lot of our time, he said. We are trying to produce breeding stock for people here in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Iowa, Dana said. Ive sold goats to most of the surrounding states. We are trying to provide some top quality breeding stock to new ABGA members and some older members. Dana said he is optimistic about the future of the goat industry in Nebraska. He said as more and more pasture land is turned into cropland, there will also be those acres that cant be farmed and re-fenced for cattle, but that is where goats and sheep have a niche for producers. I think goats are probably going to be the choice, Dana said. More than 60 percent of the worlds population eats goat meat and ethnic populations are growing in Nebraska. The fastest growing meat market is goat meat. I can see more Americans catching on to goat meat because it is leaner than chicken. It is one of the healthiest protein sources you can eat. As more people start to catch on to it, I think we are going to see a bigger market. [June 14, 2017] Fastsigns International, Inc., CEO Catherine Monson To Speak At International Franchise Expo June 15-17 CARROLLTON, Texas, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FASTSIGNS International, Inc., franchisor of FASTSIGNS, the leading sign, graphics and visual communications franchise, announced today that CEO Catherine Monson will speak at the International Franchise Expo from June 15-17 at The Javits Center in New York City. Additionally, entrepreneurs are invited to meet Monson and the brand's franchise development team at booth #214 to learn more about franchise opportunities throughout the Northeast, including in the New York City metro area and Long Island. The brand also is seeking international partners worldwide to be master franchisees. Under Monson's leadership, FASTSIGNS has achieved World Class Franchise certification for the past seven years the highest honor bestowed by the Franchise Research Institute and, in 2015, was one of the inaugural inductees to Franchise Business Review's Hall of Fame for being named to its "Top Franchises" list for 10 consecutive years for its high rate of franchisee satisfaction. During the conference, Monson will share insights gained during her more than 30 years in franchising, including FASTSIGNS' expansion into nine countries, and strategies and best practices that helped make FASTSIGNS an international success story. Thursday, June 15 10 a.m. 1 p.m. : "Global Franchise Expansion: Strategies for Lucrative and Planned Growth" Thursday, June 15 2 3 p.m. : "Why Franchising? How Women Can Be Successful in Today's Franchising Marketplace" Saturday, June 17 : 12:30 1:30 p.m. : "The Franchisor-Franchisee Relationship: Striking the Perfect Balance" (with FASTSIGNS franchisee Denise Acquaye , of Newark, New Jersey ) "I have spent my entire career in the franchising industry and am thrilled to share my knowledge and expertise with franchisors, franchisees, and potential franchisees at the International Franchise Expo," said Monson. "FASTSIGNS is a vibrant, growing 32-year-old brand; we are looking for qualified entrepreneurs interested in helping us expand globally. I'm looking forward to meeting with potential franchisees in New York City." On the heels of an extremely successful 2016, fueled in part by the ongoing worldwide need for visual communications and digital signage technology, the company xpects to open a projected 45+ locations in 2017. During the International Franchise Expo, FASTSIGNS will showcase digital signage that will serve as an alternative to traditional video walls made up of multiple flat panel displays. The new LED is brighter, seamless, and easy to install. Additionally, author Dean Lindsay will sign complimentary copies of his book, "How to Achieve Big PHAT Goals," at FASTSIGNS' booth from 11 a.m. 1 p.m. and 2 4 p.m. on Friday, June 16, and on Saturday, June 17, from 10 a.m. 12 p.m. and 1 2:30 p.m. (Limited quantities available.) FASTSIGNS International, Inc. closed out 2016 with record-breaking growth and was recently ranked number 1 in the Business Services/Signs category and 95 overall in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500, the world's first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking. Acknowledged by entrepreneurs and franchisors as a top competitive tool of measurement, the Franchise 500 recognizes FASTSIGNS for its exceptional performance in areas including financial strength and stability, growth rate and brand power. In addition to more than 400 U.S. and Canadian markets targeted for development, FASTSIGNS is seeking international partners worldwide to be master franchisees. For information about the FASTSIGNS franchise opportunity, contact Mark Jameson ([email protected] or 214-346-5679) or download an eBook that explores the FASTSIGNS franchise opportunity at http://amzn.to/1FrnDJu. About Catherine Monson Catherine became CEO of FASTSIGNS International, Inc. in 2009, bringing over 25 years of franchising and management experience. In 2009, she received the International Franchise Association (IFA) Bonny LeVine Award in recognition of her contributions to the growth of the franchising industry and in 2010, the Dallas Business Journal named her a top Women Industry Leader in the Dallas Metroplex. In 2012, Catherine appeared on the Emmy Award-winning series Undercover Boss to learn new ways to advance the FASTSIGNS brand. In 2015, she received the International Franchise Association's first Franchise Action Network FAN of the Year award for her advocacy work in the franchising community. In 2016, she was selected as a Soderstrom Society Inductee for her contributions to the printing and graphic communications industry and was also honored with the 2016 Leadership Award from the Women That Soar organization. Catherine currently serves on the Board of Directors of the IFA and was elected Secretary in 2017. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Directors for two franchise companies The Learning Experience and Brain Balance and one other industry association, Idealliance. About FASTSIGNS FASTSIGNS International, Inc. is the largest sign and visual communications franchisor in North America, and is the worldwide franchisor of 660 independently owned and operated FASTSIGNS centers in nine countries including the US, Canada, England, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Grand Cayman, Mexico and Australia (where centers operate as SIGNWAVE). FASTSIGNS locations provide comprehensive sign and visual graphic solutions to help companies of all sizes and across all industries attract more attention, communicate their message, sell more products, help visitors find their way and extend their branding across all of their customer touch points including decor, events, wearables and marketing materials. Learn more about sign and visual graphic solutions or find a location at fastsigns.com. Follow the brand on Twitter @FASTSIGNS, Facebook at facebook.com/FASTSIGNS or LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fastsigns. CONTACT: Ashley Davidson Fish Consulting 571-351-4837 [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fastsigns-international-inc-ceo-catherine-monson-to-speak-at-international-franchise-expo-june-15-17-300473944.html SOURCE FASTSIGNS International, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company. As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism. We hope you are equally as excited as us. This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers. Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited. In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy. Happy shootin' my friends! Buying Guides: Firearms Firearm Accessories Ammunition Gun Safes Scopes & Optics Hunting Air Rifles Best AR-15 Best AR 15 Scope Best Hunting Rifle Best Gun Safe Best AK 47 Best AR 10 Best Glock Triggers Best Glock Best Home Defense Shotgun [June 14, 2017] NComputing Launches VERDE VDI 8.1 Solution for Enterprise Customers SAN MATEO, California, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the acquisition of VERDE Workspaces in Q1 2017, NComputing today launches VERDE VDI 8.1, a purpose-built desktop virtualization solution for enterprise and SMB. NComputing is now able to cater to businesses and organizations of all sizes, offering a full stack, end-to-end solution including thin clients, software clients, and desktop management and provisioning infrastructure. VERDE VDI is a purpose-built VDI solution for enterprise customers, aiming to deliver the highest performing, flexible and affordable desktop management and provisioning infrastructure on the market. VERDE VDI's features address the three main challenges that stand in the way of widespread VDI adoption: cost, complexity and use case coverage. Security, in addition to Windows 10 migration, is a major driver of VDI adoption and is at the heart of VERDE VDI. VERDE VDI is organically built from the ground up on a secure Linux foundation. VERDE VDI incorporates a dynamic provisioning model that protects users by making unsanctioned changes non-persistent. Prevention of malware, virus attacks, data leakage and unauthorized access to the internal network are all cornerstones of the VERDE VDI security protocols. VERDE VDI also automates desktop management and helps keep images up-to-date and available thereby offering further protection to users. VERDE VDI is the lowest cost VDI solution currently available on the market, offering companies a meaningful cost take-out with respect to desktop management and end user computing by making hardware utilization more efficient, while lowering the cost of administering and provisioning users. Compared to enterprise managed PC solutions costs that stand at $1150, traditional VDI at $950 and cloud VDI at $700, VERDE VDI costs up to half as much as other solutions, at only $420 per year (Bluemix-hosted with VDA)[1]. Designed with ease of use and efficiency in mind, VERDE VDI leverages a stateless server architecture for easy infrastructure management and a gold master image management model that dramatically streamlines the process of provisioning and managing users. VERDE VDI 8.1 is available in multiple deployment modes - on-premise, cloud and hybrid - enabling managed service providers to deliver customer services in a more efficient and modern way. Other key features that make VERDE VDI 8.1 a unique solution include: Enhanced client and guest support Windows 7 (32 bit) Windows 8.1 (32 bit and 64 bit) Windows 10 (32 bit and 64 bit) Windows Server 2008 R2 li>Windows Server 2012 R2 Ubuntu 14.04 and 16.04 Enhanced security with TLS 1.2 support Improved HTML5 browser based access to virtual desktops Enhanced Cloud Branch technology optimized for remote office deployment MSP-ready hosting with the IBM Bluemix cloud platform [2]. With the addition of VERDE VDI, NComputing can now cater to an even wider sector of this growing market. NComputing's vSpace Pro desktop virtualization solution - a single OS and one set of apps to be shared with multiple users - meets the needs of smaller-scale organizations such as schools and SMBs. With its scalable, multi-tenant, dynamically-provisioned VDI solution, VERDE VDI is better suited to address the requirements of higher EDU, government, defence and large enterprise segments. Jim Curtin, VP and GM of Software Business at NComputing, explains: "VERDE VDI 8.1 is perfectly timed to take advantage of the resurging interest in VDI not only from organizations looking to streamline and lower the cost of a Windows 10 migration, but is also poised to fill the increasing need for an enhanced security solution as breaches and attacks dominate today's news. VERDE VDI is a tier 1 solution at a tier 2 price." Testimonials Dr. Werner Degenhardt, CIO Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at LMU Munich explains: "LMU Munich have been happy VERDE VDI users for over five years. We find the cost, ease-of-use and enhanced security a very compelling advantage over other major VDI solution providers. We have tested the VERDE VDI 8.1 release and believe it is the best platform for the 2nd Wave of VDI that is building in the global market as a result of widespread enterprise migration to Windows 10. Additionally, in our case, we find VERDE's VDI treatment of Linux desktops as an equal citizen to Windows in their VDI environment and the freedom to use any directory service for provisioning of users and rights (and not only Microsoft AD) to be a major differentiator for us in choosing VERDE VDI." Dr. James Clark, visiting professor of Information Technology explains: "USM (University of South Mississippi) has a strategic goal to stay on the cutting edge of information technology innovation and evolution. As such we engage with the market through grants, research and sponsored projects in collaboration with various entities, including the DoD and other IoT initiatives. VERDE VDI has proven to be the most flexible and secure VDI platform for our needs. We were impressed with not only their ease of use and cost advantages, but also their strong security pedigree in working with the defense and intelligence communities". For more testimonials please visit https://www.ncomputing.com/products/verde-vdi Availability: VERDE VDI 8.1 is available now by contacting your NComputing representative or your preferred NComputing VERDE partner. About To learn more about NComputing and VERDE VDI please visit: https://www.ncomputing.com/en For bios and further information, please visit our press pack link here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/og7rfwiexku1xxn/AAB-FJ6unYUlh06xYmFljSoba?dl=0 About NComputing: NComputing Global Inc, an NComputing Co., Ltd. company founded in 2003, is the fastest growing desktop virtualization company in the world, with more than 70,000 customers and 20 million daily users in 140 countries. Adding the recently acquired VERDE Workspaces along with vSpace desktop virtualization, NComputing now offers the full stack of end-to-end desktop virtualization solutions including thin clients, software clients, desktop management and provisioning infrastructure providing a turnkey solution for businesses and organizations of all sizes. Removing the barriers through a unique formula of simplicity, performance and value, NComputing's integrated solutions serve global customers in key verticals such as education, SMB, healthcare, government, defense and large enterprise segments. To learn more, visit http://www.ncomputing.com 1. Source: Technavio 2. Source: http://prsync.com/researchmoz-global-pvt-ltd/-virtual-desktop-infrastructure-market-to-expand-at-a-cagr-of--to--due-to-rise-in-it-industry--1645371/ SOURCE NComputing [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Columbia: The special counsel overseeing the probe into Russia`s alleged meddling in the US election is also looking at whether President Donald Trump tried to obstruct justice, media reports say, citing unnamed officials. In what appears to be a pivotal shift in the investigation that has riveted Americans like no other in decades, the Washington Post said senior intelligence officials have agreed to be interviewed by investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller. In a report published on Wednesday, the paper quoted five people briefed on the requests, saying those who agreed to be interviewed include national intelligence director Daniel Coats, Admiral Mike Rogers who heads the National Security Agency (NSA), and his recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett. The New York Times corroborated the report, citing a person briefed on the investigation. It also quoted an intelligence official who said Mueller`s office had asked the NSA for documents related to the agency`s interactions with the administration as part of the investigation into Russian meddling into last year`s presidential election, and whether Trump campaign officials colluded with Moscow. Mueller also has the authority to investigate whether Trump tried to obstruct justice amid mounting evidence that he pressured the FBI to drop an investigation into his former national security advisor, Mike Flynn. Trump was forced to fire Flynn in February after he misled the White House about his contacts with Russian officials last year as a member of Trump`s transition team. The president vehemently denies any collusion between himself or any of his associates and Russia.The shift toward investigating the US president began days after Trump fired James Comey as FBI director on May 9, the Post said. Comey, who had been overseeing the bureau`s Russia investigation, says he had previously assured Trump he was not personally under investigation. Recent reports have said Trump also requested help from Coats and Rogers to pressure Comey to end the investigation into Flynn`s activities. Quoting officials, the Post said one event of interest to Mueller, a widely-respected former head of the FBI is an exchange on March 22, when Coats told associates Trump had asked him to intervene with Comey to get him to back off from focusing on Flynn. A few days later, Trump spoke separately with Coats and Rogers and asked them to issue public statements to the effect that there was no evidence of coordination between his campaign and Russia. Both men refused the president`s request, the Post said. Coats and Rogers refused to answer questions about the matter during a Senate committee hearing last week. The interviews could come as early as this week, the Post said.The newspaper`s story provoked a furious reaction from Trump`s personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz and the Republican National Committee. Kasowitz issued a statement saying the FBI was behind the Post story and called the leak "outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." He did not deny the story, however. Mueller briefed senators on his work on Wednesday. "I`m going to acknowledge we had a meeting with the special counsel Mueller, but I`m not going to get into the contents," Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters later. Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called the accusation in the Post unfounded and said it "changes nothing." "There`s still no evidence of obstruction, and current and former leaders in the intelligence community have repeatedly said there`s been no effort to impede the investigation in any way," she said in a statement. "The continued illegal leaks are the only crime here." Even if Mueller`s probe finds evidence Trump tried to obstruct justice, the Justice Department -- which oversees the FBI and the special counsel investigation -- is highly unlikely to indict a sitting president. However, any findings of criminal activity would put pressure on the Republican-controlled Congress to use them as the basis for launching impeachment proceedings against Trump. [June 14, 2017] Infiniti Research Examines the Challenges of Medical Device Security As the Internet of Things grows in popularity, so too does the number of people trying to take advantage of connected devices. An increasing number of medical devices are making use of advanced software and networking capabilities in order to provide faster, easier access to vital health information. However, this also means that they are vulnerable to hacking attempts and ransomware. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170614005170/en/ Infiniti Research offers a variety of healthcare market intelligence solutions. (Graphic: Business Wire) In their recent blog titled 'Medical Devices Security: New Challenge in the Life Sciences Industry', market intelligence firm Infiniti Research delves into the risks that come with connectivity in medical devices The many benefits provided by these connected devices are partially offset by the dangers of cyber attacks. Infiniti notes that, "Apart from issues related to a patient's safety, hacked medical devices can be used for identity theft, tax fraud, or buying medications that can later be sold on the dark web." "Complex software and network capabilities have transformed medical equipment into sophisticated devices. The need of the hour is to build a strong and secure network which will protect the equipment from hacking and other cyber malpractices," added Infiniti Research. It also maintains that security is the responsibility of every stakeholder in the industry, not just the manufacturers, and outlines steps that can be taken to make these vital devices more secure. Read more: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/thoughts/medical-devices-security-new-challenges-life-sciences-industry Medical Device Intelligence from Infiniti Research The medical devices industry is witnessing constant growth with technical advancements and the development of improved medical devices. With a number of pure-play companies, conglomerates, and combined drug device manufacturers focusing on product innovation and cost-containment, medical device companies have the need to create efficient market intelligence solutions to face major changes in trends and enhance the efficiency of their operations. Infiniti Research has worked on several projects with leading organizations in the medical devices industry, helping them identify the newest market trends, key challenges, and untapped avenues within the industry. Recent medical device studies from Infiniti Research include: Assessment of the Radiography Systems Market View study: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/casestudy/market-intelligence-study-helps-medical-devices-manufacturer-assess-radiography-systems-market Market Intelligence Study for the Orthopedic Devices Market View Study: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/casestudy/competitive-intelligence-orthopedic-devices-market About Infiniti Research Established in 2003, Infiniti Research is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to help analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions, and develop intelligent business strategies. With 13 years of experience and offices across three continents, Infiniti Research has been instrumental in providing a complete range of competitive intelligence, strategy, and research services for over 550 companies across the globe. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170614005170/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Washington: One of the terminals at the port of Charleston in South Carolina was evacuated over a potential bomb threat from a container on a ship, the US Coast Guard said on Thursday. "The Maersk Memphis is currently moored at Charleston`s Wando terminal which was evacuated (on Wednesday night) while units from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies investigate the threat," the Coast Guard said in a statement. The statement added that a joint command has been set up to oversee the coordinated response, reports Efe news. The Coast Guard later tweeted that "a safety zone has been established around the vessel while law enforcement authorities investigate the threat." In another tweet, the Coast Guard confirmed the Maersk Memphis threat was "active" and an investigation "was ongoing by unified command in Charleston". Wyoming: An American university student who was detained for 17 months in North Korea and suffered a serious neurological injury was "brutalized" by the reclusive regime, his father said on Thursday. Despite the "severe" injury, Otto Warmbier, 22, is stable and receiving treatment at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, center spokeswoman Kelly Martin said at a news briefing at Warmbier`s high school in Wyoming, Ohio. Doctors are scheduled to provide further details about Warmbier`s condition on Thursday afternoon. Warmbier has been in a coma since March 2016, shortly after he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea, the family said on Tuesday after he was released. He was arrested for trying to steal an item with a propaganda slogan, according to North Korean media. The University of Virginia student was "brutalized and terrorized" by the North Korean regime, his father Fred Warmbier said at the news conference, two days after his son arrived in Ohio on a medical evacuation flight. North Korea`s official KCNA news agency said in a one-line report on Thursday the student was "sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK." Fred Warmbier said the family did not believe North Korea`s story, that his son had fallen into a coma after contracting botulism and being given a sleeping pill. "We don`t believe anything they (North Korea) say," said Fred Warmbier, who was wearing a sport coat that Otto Warmbier had worn during a confession to his crimes last year in North Korea that was broadcast. Fred Warmbier said he was stunned when told of his son`s condition one week ago. "Disbelief. Couldn`t sit down. I don`t know what being in shock is, but I`m pretty sure I was," he said, referring to being informed Otto Warmbier was in a coma. The New York Times previously cited a senior U.S. official as saying Washington had received intelligence reports Warmbier was repeatedly beaten while in North Korean custody. Fred Warmbier said of his son`s release: "They did not do this out of the kindness of their hearts." Ohio Senator Rob Portman called the North Korean government`s handling of Warmbier "abhorrent" in an interview with Fox News. "Now we know why they wouldnt allow consular access," he said. "Its a real tragedy." US President Donald Trump spoke to Fred Warmbier on Wednesday night, Warmbier said. Trump discussed how US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Joseph Yun, the U.S. State Department`s special envoy on North Korea, worked together to help secure Otto`s release, Warmbier said. Fred Warmbier praised the Trump administration`s handling of the situation. Asked if the administration of former President Barack Obama had done enough to secure their son`s release, Warmbier said: "The results speak for themselves." Visakahpatnam: Telugu Desam Party MP JC Diwakar Reddy on Thursday allegedly created a ruckus at an airport in Visakahpatnam after an airline did not let him board a flight to Hyderabad. According to reports, Reddy, who represents Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur seat in the Lok Sabha, reported late for the flight and hence, was not allowed to board it. As per aviation regulator DGCA norms, airlines close the check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure. The MP was scheduled to fly IndiGo's flight 6E-608, which departs from the Viskahpatnam airport at 8.10 am, to Hyderabad. "On being informed by the airline staff that he was late and cannot be issued a boarding pass, an enraged Reddy went to the IndiGo office next to the check-in counter and created a ruckus," the airline source said. When contacted, IndiGo said it has initiated a probe into the incident, but refused to elaborate on the issue. "We are investigating the matter and have no further comments to offer," the Gurgaon-based airline said in a statement. "The safety and security of our colleagues and customers is our highest priority," it said. #CCTVVisuals: TDP MP JC Diwakar Reddy created ruckus at Visakhapatnam airport today,allegedly raged against staff using aggressive behaviour pic.twitter.com/JqUtcyKq0e ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 Reddy was not available for comments. Reddy is a repeat offender as he had last year allegedly damaged furniture at Air India office at Gannavaram Airport in Vijayawada after missing his flight for similar reasons. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju also belongs to the TDP. Earlier this year, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was temporarily banned by airlines from flying after he assaulted an Air India staffer. In May, the Centre released draft rules for a national no-fly list of unruly passengers for all domestic carriers, proposing a ban on flying from three months up to an indefinite period. The government is likely to release the no-fly list rules by June 20. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: Broadbasing government's outreach, senior minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and ally TDP's chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu as part of its exercise to evolve a consensus on presidential candidate. Naidu's talks with Pawar and Chandrababu Naidu came a day before he and another senior minister Rajnath Singh would be meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday seeking her party's support even as opposition parties are said to be keen on a contest. Sources said Pawar told Naidu that he would be in Delhi for the next couple of days for the talks, while Chandrababu Naidu told him that his party would stand by the Prime Minister's decision on the issue. Naidu has so far contacted leaders of the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the All India Congress (N. Rangasami). Singh and Naidu -- who are part of the three-member team constituted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah for holding discussions with political parties on the presidential candidate -- are set to meet Gandhi at her residence on Friday morning, sources said. This will be followed by a meeting with CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury later in the day. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also part of the team, is away in South Korea. He is scheduled to return only on Saturday morning. The BJP has given no indication so far as to who its candidate is, but there is speculation around the names of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The name of BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi is also not ruled out in the BJP circles, since he is said to have the backing of Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS). It remains to be seen whether the BJP team will put forward any name to Gandhi and other opposition leaders it would be meeting or talking to in the coming days, or whether the team will merely seek the support for a BJP nominee. Sources in the opposition parties say they are waiting for the government side to come out with the name of its nominee before they can finalise their strategy. Opposition leaders say that the choice of BJP candidate, even according to insiders, is known "only to (Prime Minister) Modi and God", to stress the point that it is Modi who is calling the shots on the issue. They feel that the government is only engaged in an exercise of consensus building for the sake of formality and, in fact, might not be keen on a consensus candidate. They point to Naidu's statement a couple of days ago that the government has the mandate and the opposition should keep this in mind while talking about a presidential candidate. At the meeting of opposition parties on Wednesday, there were suggestions mainly from the Left parties that they should put up a fight by fielding a candidate, because it is an "ideological battle" with the BJP. They feel the BJP might be keen on having someone with ideological moorings in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Should there be a fight, the Left parties are reportedly keen on fielding Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former Governor of West Bengal. There is also another section in the opposition, saying that it should be a political fight and the nominee could be a political leader like Janata Dal-United (JD-U) veteran Sharad Yadav. As part of BJP's outreach, Shah is likely to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai for seeking the party's support for the NDA nominee. The Sena, which has been having a cold war with the BJP, has not voted with the NDA in the last two presidential elections. The Sena has been pitching for RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the top constitutional post and has also sought to know from the BJP why he (Bhagwat) is not acceptable. Bhagwat on his part has ruled himself out, saying he is not in the race. Meanwhile, disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday yet again backed party veteran L.K. Advani as the most deserving candidate for the post of President, saying he is physically fit and has the ability to "understand the complexity of the Constitution". In a series of tweets, Sinha said: "What Advaniji has, is the ability to understand the complexity of the Constitution and to take the right decision when needed without getting influenced by anyone, in the larger interest of the nation." Sinha also said that Advani, who is 89, is "physically fit" for the post and no one has come out against his candidature. "No one is able to speak anything, be it from within or outside d party...no voice coming out against Advani's candidature. "Advaniji is much more healthy and energetic than any of the young leaders. He has kept himself maintained so that he can take responsibility of the country," Sinha said. Sinha has been sidelined in the party after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country. He was also not inducted into Modi's council of ministers, though he has claimed of long association with the BJP, since the time when the party had two members in the Lok Sabha. His proximity to Advani is said to be one of the reasons for being sidelined in the party. Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh`s ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Thursday suspended Legislative Council member G. Deepak Reddy, who was arrested last week for his alleged involvement in a land scam. Taking a serious note of the allegations against Reddy, TDP national president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu suspended the MLC, a close relative of TDP MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy. According to party sources, Naidu conveyed to party leaders and ministers during a meeting of TDP coordination committee that those facing allegations of corruption had no place in the party. Naidu made it clear that there was no question of tolerating anybody bringing bad name to the party. Last week, Hyderabad police arrested Reddy and his two associates for their alleged involvement in fraudulent land transactions. The city court sent them to jail for two weeks. The MLC and his associates were allegedly involved in encroachment of land worth over Rs 160 crore in Asifnagar and Banjara Hills areas in the city. Reddy is the second MLC suspended by the party following corruption charges in less than a month. Last month, Vakati Narayana Reddy was suspended following a cheating and loan default case registered against him and his firm by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI had conducted searches at the MLC`s house in Nellore town and also at his office VNR Infrastructures in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The agency has registered a case against him and his firm for obtaining a loan of Rs 190 crore from IFCI using "fabricated" documents and later defaulting on repayment. Islamabad, June 15 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday appeared for thr first time before a judicial panel probing the familys offshore properties in line with the apex courts verdict in the Panamagate case. "Today, I have just presented my stance before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT)," said the Prime Minister adding that all sources of his assets were already submitted to relevant authorities. "A historic day for Pakistan`s judiciary, I and my whole family have presented ourselves for accountability." "Is there any family in Pakistan that has appeared for accountability other than mine," asked Sharif, stating it was the third time the family appeared before the court. "My personal businesses have nothing to do with federal treasury. And no matter how many conspiracies my rivals are hatching, they will not be successful," he said. Sharif, ahead of appearing before the JIT, met his close aides including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, reports The News International. Sharif became the first sitting Pakistani Prime Minister to appear before a judicial panel. Before this, former Prime Ministers Yousuf Raza Gillani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf were the only ones summoned by the Supreme Court. Ashraf was a respondent in the rental power case before the National Accountability Bureau, but never personally appeared before investigators while in office. The JIT is conducting its proceedings at the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA) here. On June 8, the team issued summons asking the Prime Minister to appear before the panel on Thursday. The JIT questioned Hussain Nawaz, the Prime Minister`s elder son, on May 28. Hussain has made five appearances before the JIT so far. The panel has also grilled Sharif`s younger son, Hassan. In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted the JIT and empowered it to summon the Prime Minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money laundering, through which four apartments in London`s Park Lane area were purchased. Tokyo: Japan passed a controversial anti-terror law on Thursday that sparked street protests and warnings from critics that it would stomp on citizens` privacy rights and lead to over-the-top police surveillance. The upper house of parliament passed the conspiracy bill early Thursday morning after a full night of debate by sleepy parliamentarians and unsuccessful efforts on the part of Japan`s weak opposition to block it. Thousands of demonstrators protested outside the legislature over the bill which criminalises the planning of serious crimes. The government argues it is necessary to prevent terrorism ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan`s capital. But rights groups, Japan`s national bar association and numerous academics have opposed the bill, saying it is so broad it could be abused to allow wiretapping of innocent citizens and threaten privacy and freedom of expression guarantees in the constitution. US surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden and Joseph Cannataci, UN special rapporteur on the right to privacy, have both criticised the law. Recent polls show the public is divided on the issue. The bill`s passage overcame the opposition`s no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe`s cabinet and a censure motion aimed at Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda. Tokyo insists the law -- which calls for a prison term of up to five years for planning serious crimes -- is a prerequisite for implementing a UN treaty against transnational organised crime which Japan signed in 2000. "We will uphold the law in an appropriate and effective way to protect people`s lives," Abe told reporters after the legislation passed. "Three years ahead of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, we hope to cooperate with the international community to prevent terror," he added.The bill was revised several times over the years as earlier versions met with fierce resistance and never made it through parliament. The latest bill reduced the number of targeted crimes to over 270 offences and narrowed the definition of terrorist and criminal organisations. Earlier versions of the law targeted more than 600 crimes unrelated to terrorism or crime syndicates. Critics argued, however, that the current law still gives police and investigators too much leeway. The general public could be targeted on conspiracy charges via monitoring phone and online conversations once they are suspected of being a member of criminal group, they warned. The opposition chastised Abe for trying to push the law through quickly, as he faces mounting criticism over allegations that he gave friends special consideration in a couple of unrelated business deals. "This is an ultimate form of forced vote -- it shut down sensible debate in the upper house," Renho, head of the leading opposition Democratic Party who goes by one name, told reporters. The opposition has warned that petty crimes could fall under the scope of the law, and mocked Japan`s justice minister when he earlier conceded that, hypothetically, mushroom hunting could be targeted if the fungi were stolen to raise money to fund terrorism. "This legislation is a serious violation of the constitution," said Kazuo Shii, head of the Japanese Communist Party, the second-largest opposition party. Some Japanese media have likened the bill to the World War II-era "public order maintenance law" under which ordinary people were arrested for political offences, exercising labour rights and anti-war activities. Imphal: An Assam Rifles trooper was killed and four others were wounded on Thursday when militants ambushed them in Manipur`s Ukhrul district bordering Myanmar. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the "dastardly act" and told IANS that the attackers would be hunted and brought to justice. Police sources said when the Assam Rifles personnel returned to their camp at Kasom post near Hundung after patrolling, a remote-controlled bomb exploded. All the five injured in the blast were flown to a military hospital at Leimakhong near Imphal where one of them died. Marawi: An Australian journalist says he is fine after being hit by a bullet in his neck while covering the Philippine military's assault against militants aligned with the Islamic State group in a southern city. A tweeted video showed ABC journalist Adam Harvey wearing a neck brace and putting on his helmet after receiving treatment today in Marawi. He told reporters he was fine and that he was to get an X-ray. Harvey was hit at the provincial capitol building, where government officials hold briefings on the progress against the militants who've laid siege to Marawi since last month. Also Thursday, a suspected militant bomber was arrested in Cagayan de Oro City, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Marawi. Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay says Mohammad Noaim Maute was under investigation. New Delhi: India`s antitrust watchdog on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs 870 million (USD 13.6 million) on South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co's local unit, accusing the company of anti-competitive behaviour. The Competition Commission of India in its order alleged that Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) contravened competitive practices by imposing certain arrangements upon its dealers including monitoring the maximum permissible discount level and mandating the use of recommended lubricants and oils. The penalty has been levied at 0.3 percent of Hyundai Motor India`s average relevant turnover of the preceding three years, the anti-competition watchdog said. "For the purposes of determining the relevant turnover for the impugned infringement, revenue from sale of motor vehicles alone have been taken into account," the watchdog said, adding the final order was passed on the basis of information provided by the dealers. Hyundai, in a late night statement, said they were surprised by the order and were looking into the matter. "We are studying the order in detail and will take necessary course of action to challenge the order at appropriate level to protect the interest of our customers and channel partners by abiding (by) all the laws of land," Hyundai said. [June 14, 2017] New Patent Granted to Cedexis to Accelerate Internet Traffic Delivery PORTLAND, Ore., June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cedexis, the leader in crowd-optimized application and content delivery for clouds, CDNs and data centers, today announced the grant of patent number 9,553,844. The patent covers programmable, data-driven content delivery infrastructure selection, and represents a significant enhancement to the traditional DNS resolution methods that govern internet use. A web client obtains an Internet Protocol (IP) address for accessing an Internet resource (a "resource") by initiating a Domain Name System (DNS) query for a resolution of a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), or hostname, such as www.example.com. The patent covers a method in which that process is enhanced by a system that uses a code to check the status of various infrastructural methods that could be used to reach that resource, selects the most effective and efficient from among the various options, and directs the user request along the optimal pathway. "The Internet is a complicated, de-centralized, complex environment," said Josh Gray, Chief Architct at Cedexis. "While DNS is at the heart of matching content requests to data sources, the sheer volume of traffic on the Internet demands an efficient global traffic management process that uses data to ensure efficient exchanges between users and content." The new patent adds to a portfolio that includes patent number 9,385,988, as well as several other patents filed and pending. The patent includes the use of real-time data ingestion, enabling it to deliver on the promise of making infrastructure actionable. The calculations it uses to ensure efficient connections relies upon the global Cedexis Radar community, which is the largest crowd-optimized real user experience community, collecting some 14 billion measurements a day to build an accurate, real-time virtual map of global Internet delivery. "This patent is a clear recognition of Cedexis innovation," noted Ryan Windham, Cedexis CEO. "As we continue to build out our extensive intellectual property portfolio, we are excited about the pace of innovation we are bringing to bear to deliver on our vision of software-defined application delivery." To start exploring the free Cedexis Radar community reports on CDNs and Clouds, click here. To view a demo of Cedexis ADP, please click here. To find out more about Cedexis ADP solutions, please visit www.cedexis.com. About Cedexis Cedexis provides web-scale, end-user-experience monitoring and real-time traffic routing across multiple clouds and networks. Cedexis Radar crowd sources billions of real user measurements (RUM) a day from a community of 1,000s of popular websites and mobile apps, with traffic routing services based on the insights this data provides, for the best performance, availability, or cost. Trusted by nearly 1,000 global brands including Microsoft, A&E, Accor Hotels, Airbus, Hudl, Comcast, LinkedIn, Mozilla, and Nissan. Cedexis is headquartered in Portland, Oregon with offices in Paris, France, San Francisco, CA, Brooklyn, NY and London, UK. Press contact (USA-Canada): Jacqueline Velasco Lumina Communications on behalf of Cedexis E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (408) 680-0564 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-patent-granted-to-cedexis-to-accelerate-internet-traffic-delivery-300474245.html SOURCE Cedexis [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to visit Bihar on Thursday to showcase the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in the past three years. CM Yogi Adityanath will be accompanied by his Deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya, Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti among other prominent leaders and MPs during his visit to Bihar today. The visit is part of BJP's massive campaign to highlight Narendra Modi government's achievements in the past three years. However, as Yogi Adityanath readies for his visit to Bihar, state's Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has a asked him ''not to come empty-handed." Throwing a chaallenge to his UP counterpart, Nitish said, ''Just like Bihar, Yogi Adityanath should first implement liquor ban and 50 percent reservation for women in local bodies.'' "You (Adityanath) should take cue from us and implement liqour ban and 50 per cent reservation for women in local bodies," Kumar said at a public meeting after laying foundations of development projects worth Rs. 300 crore in Darbhanga, about 125 km from state capital Patna. Taking a dig at the much-hyped Darbhanga visit of Yogi Adityanath, Mr Kumar said, "He must be coming empty handed whereas I am here to launch various development schemes." Kumar also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not fulfilling various promises made to Bihar during the 2014 general elections and assembly polls in the state the next year. "We implement whatever works we promise, but others forget about it," he said. Kumar also took a jibe at cow vigilantes and said they should learn to take care of stray bovines before taking law into their own hands to deal with those involved in trade of animals. He claimed that the liquor ban has become a runaway success in Bihar and asked BJP-ruled states to follow suit. Kumar said that his government will launch a total de-addiction drive as follow up action after the success of liquor ban in the state. New Delhi: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who recently stepped forward to endorse peace, might soon be facing a huge setback in Pakistan. Speculations are rife that his upcoming film 'Tubelight' will not be releasing in Pak on Eid this year. According to a DNA report, originally attributed to Deccan Chronicle, two big films will release in Pakistan on Eid and local distributors there are apparently not ready to compete with a Salman Khan film. Even after two weeks, the movie is not likely to be screened in Pak theatres. However, there is no official confirmation about the same. Based on 1962 Sino-Indian War, this historical war drama also features Chinese actress Zhu Zhu and the late Om Puri besides Shah Rukh Khan in a cameo appearance. 'Tubelight' is slated to release on June 23 this year. Mumbai: Deepika Padukone recently did a bold photo-shoot for a magazine and even shared the images on Instagram. She drew flak for wearing a revealing dress and trolls were quick enough to body shame her. Deepika, however, ignored them all and responded by posting a similar photo to silence them. But theres someone else who is reportedly worried about her recent photographs that have now gone viral. According to a MissMalini.com report originally attributed to Deccan Chronicle, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is not happy with her photo-shoot because he believes that it could have a negative impact on his upcoming film Padmavati in which she essays a historical character. Deepika is essaying the role of a historical character, a Rani in Padmavati and to pose for steamy photoshoots right before the release of the film, is unacceptable to him . He feels the pictures could rub people the wrong way. After what has happened in the past, he just cannot afford to risk it all for the third time, Deccan Chronicle quoted a source as saying. For the uninitiated, Padmavati has been in trouble over its content despite several clarifications and assurances from the filmmaker. And the least SLB would want at this juncture is anymore trouble that will be counterproductive. Chennai: At a time when Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK is witnessing a bitter struggle for power between the O Panneerselvam and Edappadi Palaniswami-led camps, one of its MLAs on Thursday said that the late former general secretary of the party, J Jayalalithaa, was actually an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. According to a Times Now report, Mariappan Kennedy, an AIADMK lawmaker, today compared late Jayalalithaa with Lord Vishnu and said that the departed leader was in fact the 11th 'avatar' of the deity. Kennedy, while referring to Jayalalithaa as the 11th reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, also said that VK Sasikala is her replacement and her corruption-accused nephew TTV Dinakaran a 'guiding light' for the AIADMK. The AIADMK MLA reportedly made these remarks while participating in a debate in the Tamil Nadu Assembly today. Kennedy represents the Manamadurai assembly constituency. Leaders from the Opposition benches, however, objected to his remarks and urged the Speaker to expunge his statement from the official records. His remarks came on a day when both O Panneerselvam and Edappadi Palaniswami-led camps are due to file affidavits before the poll panel to stake claim to the AIADMK's frozen ''two leaves'' symbol. Mumbai: The Reserve Bank's recent move to reduce risk weights and standard asset provisioning on individual housing loans are credit negative for the banking sector, says a report. In the second bi-monthly monetary policy review announced on June 7, RBI had reduced the LTV (loan to value) ratios, risk weights and standard asset provisioning rate for individual housing loans on certain category for new customers. "The RBI's moves are credit negative for banks because lower capital requirements will weaken banks' protection from the housing sector, which has grown rapidly in recent years, and will encourage greater lending," global rating agency Moody's said in a report here Thursday. It said this growth is occurring as non-bank finance companies increasingly target the home-loan segment, posing greater downside risk if there is a correction in property prices. RBI lowered the risk weight for housing loans above Rs 75 lakh to 50 percent from the earlier 75 percent, while for loans between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 75 lakh, the risk weights were cut to 35 percent from 50 percent. The standard asset provisions, or the amount of money to be set aside for every loan given, on home loan was lowered to 0.25 percent from the earlier 0.40 percent. The RBI also removed the previous distinction of risk weights based on loan-to-value ratios for loans in the same category. Over the next 12-18 months, the rating agency expects overall system bank credit growth to remain muted given banks? weak balance sheets amid continued asset quality deterioration. As of March 2017, annual bank credit growth was 7.6 percent, down from 10.2 percent the previous year. "Although lower risk weights would boost sluggish credit growth while limiting the effect on banks' capital position, we believe competition for housing loans has significantly increased among banks and non-bank finance companies," the report said. Since 2015, housing loan growth has been roughly double that of overall bank credit. In 2015, overall bank credit growth was 7.8 percent while housing credit was at 16.7 percent. In the year ended March 2017, bank credit grew at 7.6 percent whereas home loan segment witnessed a 15.2 percent growth. New Delhi: In a clear snub to senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today attended an iftar party, which was primarily organised by the party's Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan. Khan, who was suspended from the party to pacify Vishwas, ushered Kejriwal to the event, held on the lawns of the Jamia Milia Islamia University, which falls under the Okhla constituency that the former represents. Abdul Wajid Khan, party's councillor from ward no 102 of the South MCD was also present at the event, along with party supporters. The event was organised by the AAP's Okhla unit. "Fundamentalist forces are rearing their heads in the country. I hope they are defeated and people of all communities live in peace and amity," Kejriwal said in an address to the gathering. Both, Kejriwal and Khan left the venue in the same car, parrying questions by the media on whether it should be considered a signal to Vishwas, who has publicly differed with the AAP leadership over several issues in the recent months. In what is being seen as the leadership's resolve to further corner Vishwas, newly-appointed AAP treasurer Deepak Bajpai took a dig at the poet-turned-politician, suggesting that he had stayed in a "beach-view five star hotel in Goa" during the state polls there. "Stop this pretence. Stop defaming the party volunteers and look within and answer the questions," Bajpai tweeted. The differences had come to the fore when Vishwas had refused to toe the party's official line that "manipulation" of electronic voting machines was the prime reason behind its recent string of electoral defeats. Khan had dubbed Vishwas an "RSS-BJP agent" and had accused him of "plotting a coup in the AAP", following which the poet-turned-politician had threatened to quit the party if no action was taken against Khan. As things threatened to spiral out of control, the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) had suspended Khan. Yesterday, former AAP Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey had also questioned Vishwas, who is also the party's Rajasthan in-charge, for attacking the Congress but remaining "silent" on the BJP. New Delhi: Four armed robbers looted a jewellery shop on Thursday in Delhi`s Malviya Nagar area. The four men decamped with gold ornaments worth few lakhs. The police were told that the jewellery worth Rs. 60 to 70 lakh has been looted.An investigation has been initiated to nab the culprits. New Delhi: This runaway teenager faced the ordeal of continuous physical assault by her mother for expressing desire to study but the Delhi High Court on Thursday turned out to be her saviour as it directed the police to protect her and ensure her education in the government school. The high court also took an undertaking from her mother, a widow that she would not come in the way of education of her daughter who was forced to drop out when she was in class IX. A bench of justices S Muralidhar and C Hari Shankar gave a patient hearing to both, the 17-year-old girl and her mother, before coming out with its directions. "The girl is not asking for any luxurious educational institution. She simply wants to study in a school. She will right away go to school and you should not stop her any more," the bench told her mother. While the girl said she fled from the house on May 2 as she was regularly being beaten and asked to work at home, the mother, who worked as a labourer, expressed her difficulty in meeting the day-to-day expenses after the death of her husband. It was the mother who with the help of an advocate moved the plea to the high court seeking help of the police to trace her daughter, who said that she had left the home to stay with her married elder sister. The girl, police claimed was recovered from Chawri Bazar metro station as the mother had also approached the cops with the case of her daughter missing. In the order, the high court asked the senior police officers of the area to "take measures for her protection of life and liberty" which has to be informed on the next date of hearing on June 23 when the girl and her mother has been asked to remain present. Additional public prosecutor Kamna Vohra, representing Delhi Police, told the court "when she (the girl) protested, she was allegedly given beating by her mother. In the backdrop of continuous assault, she fled away from her house on May 2. During the hearing the mother said she want her daughter to pursue education and her counsel rubbished the girl's allegation that she was regularly beaten. New Delhi: India`s oil imports from Iran have fallen to their lowest since June 2016, shipping data shows, in possible retaliation for Tehran not awarding a gas field development to Indian companies. India, Iran`s top oil client after China, shipped in 487,600 barrels per day (bpd) in May, about 9 percent less compared with April and nearly 40 percent less than a peak registered in October, according to ship tracking data obtained from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts. Most Western-led sanctions against Tehran`s nuclear programme were lifted in January last year, and India`s Iranian crude imports began climbing two months later in March. In the fiscal year to March 2018, though, India has said it plans to order about a quarter less Iranian crude due to a snub over development of Iran`s Farzad B gas field. "We stood by them in difficult times. We still buy substantial amounts of oil from them, and we expect reciprocity from Iran," Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters on Wednesday when asked if India was still hopeful of getting the development rights for the Farzad B field. Following years of seeming rapprochement over the field, Iran has likely reached an agreement on the concession with Russia`s state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, Russian and Indian media have reported. Iran last month said India had not offered an acceptable proposal on the Farzad B development. Sri Paravaikkarasu of energy consultancy FGE said India`s lower Iran imports were a "reaction of Iran`s decision to award the gas field to Russia and the availability of cheaper grades like those from Russia." India was one of four countries - China, Japan and South Korea being the other three - that continued to import large amounts of Iranian oil after sanctions were toughened in 2012. Some of the drop in imports from Iran may be due to lower demand. Overall, India imported about 4.2 percent less oil in May, compared with April, due to a shutdown of the 180,000-bpd Bathinda refinery for upgrades. In the first five months of 2017, India`s oil imports from Iran still jumped about 64 percent, the data showed. While Iran`s oil exports to India are stalling, supplies to Europe and Turkey hit their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in 2016. Iraq continued to be India`s biggest oil supplier for the second month in a row in May, followed by Saudi Arabia. Middle Eastern oil in May accounted for 65 percent of India`s overall imports, compared to 71 percent a year ago, while the import share of Africa and Latin America have risen, the data showed. The shift is likely a result of an effort led by the Middle East-dominated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut production to prop up oil prices. New York: Indians working across the globe sent home USD 62.7 billion last year, making India the top remittance-receiving country surpassing China, according to a UN report. The 'One Family at a Time' study by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said about 200 million migrants globally sent more than USD 445 million in 2016 as remittances to their families, helping to lift millions out of poverty. Remittance flows have grown over the last decade at a rate averaging 4.2 percent annually, from USD 296 billion in 2007 to USD 445 billion in 2016. The study is the first-ever of a 10-year trend in migration and remittance flows over the period 2007-2016. It said 80 percent of remittances are received by 23 countries, led by India, China, the Philippines, Mexico and Pakistan. The top 10 sending countries account for almost half of annual flows, led by the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia. The study said India was the top receiving country for remittances in 2016 at USD 62.7 billion, followed by China (USD 61 billion), the Philippines (USD 30 billion) and Pakistan (USD 20 billion). In the decade between 2007 and 2016, India surpassed China to become the top receiving country for remittances. In 2007, India was on the second spot, behind China, with USD 37.2 billion in remittances as compared to USD 38.4 billion for China. The study said Asia is the highest originating region with 77 million migrants; with 48 million remaining within the region. Over the past decade, remittances to Asia and the Pacific increased by 87 percent, reaching USD 244 billion, while migration grew by only 33 percent in comparison. Asia remains the main remittance-receiving region, with 55 percent of the global flows and 41 percent of total migrants. It is projected that an estimated USD 6.5 trillion in remittances will be sent to low and middle-income countries between 2015 and 2030. The study added that the amount of money migrants send to their families in developing countries has risen by 51 per cent over the past decade - far greater than the 28 per cent increase in migration from these countries. This dramatic increase in the amount of money migrants send home to their families in developing countries is helping to lift millions out of poverty and in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the study said. "About 40 percent of remittances- USD 200 billion - are sent to rural areas where the majority of poor people live," said Pedro de Vasconcelos, manager of IFAD's Financing Facility for Remittances and lead author of the report, adding that the money is spent on food, health care, better educational opportunities and improved housing and sanitation. "Remittances are therefore critical to help developing countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)," de Vasconcelos said. Currently, about 200 million migrant workers support some 800 million family members globally. In 2017, an expected one-in-seven people globally will be involved in either sending or receiving more than USD 450 billion in remittances, according to the report. Migration flows and remittances are having large-scale impacts on the global economy and political landscape. Total migrant earnings are estimated at USD 3 trillion annually, approximately 85 percent of which remains in the host countries. The money sent home averages less than one per cent of their host's GDP. Taken together, these individual remittances account for more than three times the combined official development assistance (ODA) from all sources, and more than the total foreign direct investment to almost every low-and middle-income country. The report makes several recommendations for improving public policies and outlines proposals for partnerships with the private sector to reduce costs and create opportunities for migrants and their families to use their money more productively. "As populations in developed countries continue to age, the demand for migrant labour is expected to keep growing in the coming years," de Vasconcelos said. "However, remittances can help the families of migrants build a more secure future, making migration for young people more of a choice than a necessity," he added. Despite the decade-long trend, IFAD President Gilbert Houngbo noted the impact of remittances must first be viewed one family at a time. "It is not about the money being sent home, it is about the impact on people's lives. The small amounts of USD 200 or USD 300 that each migrant sends home make up about 60 percent of the family's household income, and this makes an enormous difference in their lives and the communities in which they live," Houngbo said. [June 15, 2017] Blue Prism Partners and Customers Honored at Blue Prism World New York Blue Prism, the company delivering the world's most successful digital workforce, announced the winners of its inaugural North American Partner and Customer awards in front of over 550 attendees at Blue Prism World New York last week. Each winning organization was selected by a panel of industry judges made up of third-party analysts, scholars and consultants for their outstanding and innovative uses of Blue Prism's robotic process automation (RPA) software platform to drive strategic digital transformation and deliver business value across the enterprise. The winners of the 2017 Customer Awards are: AMEX , for Best Enterprise Implementation of Blue Prism RPA, honoring its best practice approach and implementation of Blue Prism RPA. This award assesses numerous criteria including speed of deployment, buy in from key stakeholders in both business and IT, design and implementation, as well as technical infrastructure and delivery methodology. , for Best Enterprise Implementation of Blue Prism RPA, honoring its best practice approach and implementation of Blue Prism RPA. This award assesses numerous criteria including speed of deployment, buy in from key stakeholders in both business and IT, design and implementation, as well as technical infrastructure and delivery methodology. BNY Mellon , for Best Use of Blue Prism to Deliver Business Value, honoring their use of Blue Prism to deliver outstanding business benefits including greater ROI, an improved customer experience, top-line growth, mitigated risks, increased customer retention, etc. Prudential earned an Honorable Mention in this category. , for Best Use of Blue Prism to Deliver Business Value, honoring their use of Blue Prism to deliver outstanding business benefits including greater ROI, an improved customer experience, top-line growth, mitigated risks, increased customer retention, etc. earned an Honorable Mention in this category. The Lighthouse Works, for Most Innovative Use of Blue Prism RPA, awarded to the team that used Blue Prism in conjunction with other technologies, including AI, cognitive and cloud capabilities, to drive digital transformation and embed artificial intelligence within their organization. A nonprofit working to empower sight-challenged individuals through employment, Lighthouse Works uses RPA to allow those individuals to execute end-to-end processes that otherwise would have been impossible or extremely challenging. The judges of the Customer Awards were Lee Coulter, CEO Shared Services, Ascension and Chair for the IEEE (News - Alert) Working Group on Standards in Intelligent Process Automation; John Hindle, PhD and Managing Partner at Knowledge Capital Partners; Mary Lacity, Curators' Distinguished Professor at the University of Missori, St. Louis and a Visiting Scholar at MIT (News - Alert) Center for Information Systems Research; Craig Le Clair, Vice President, Principal Analyst serving Enterprise Architecture Professional at Forrester Research; Brandy Smith, Partner at McKinsey & Company (News - Alert); and Cathy Tornbohm, Research Vice President for Gartner. The winners of the 2017 Partner Awards are: Ascension , for Authorized Training Partner of the Year , for Authorized Training Partner of the Year Accenture (News - Alert) , for Global Reach & Investment, offering the largest digital workforce capability and accredited resources worldwide , for Global Reach & Investment, offering the largest digital workforce capability and accredited resources worldwide EY , for Global Delivery & Excellence , for Global Delivery & Excellence IBM , for the Innovation Award , for the Innovation Award Solai & Cameron , for Most Promising Newcomer of the Year , for Most Promising Newcomer of the Year Symphony Ventures, for Best Practice & Implementation Partner "The applications we received for our first-ever Customer and Partner Awards were truly fantastic; our judges did not have an easy time choosing the winners," said Pat Geary, CMO, Blue Prism. "We're incredibly proud of our customers' success and our partners' impact on the market, and Blue Prism is dedicated to giving our customers and partners the platform and training they need to create true digital transformation within their organizations." Winners were unveiled in front of a packed house of over 550 people at Blue Prism World in New York City. Customers and partners alike gathered for a full day to hear from partners such as Ascension Ministry and customers such as BNY Mellon, Metlife, Pfizer, Prudential, Western Union (News - Alert) and Williams Martini Racing, as well as Lacity, who discussed the evolution of RPA and its role in the future of work and lessons learned from RPA deployments. Blue Prism CTO Dave Moss and others shared details on the latest updates to the Blue Prism platform, announced at the show. On June 21, Blue Prism will announce winners for the Partner and Customer Awards for the UK at Blue Prism World London. Visit http://blueprismworld.com/london/ for more information. About Blue Prism Blue Prism delivers the world's most successful digital workforce. Its Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software operates within the most demanding enterprise administrative environments to automate high-risk, manual, rules-based and repetitive tasks and radically improves agility, efficiency, accuracy and compliance. Blue Prism provides a scalable and robust execution platform for best-of-breed AI and cognitive technologies and has emerged as the trusted and secure RPA platform for the digital enterprise. Blue Prism's RPA software has executed more than one billion transactions for enterprises including Aegon, BNY Mellon, Commerzbank, IBM, ING, Maersk, Nokia, Nordea, Procter & Gamble, Raiffeisen Bank, Siemens, Westpac and Zurich. For more information about Blue Prism (AIM: PRSM), visit www.blueprism.com and follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005214/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] New Delhi: Children of HIV positive patients would now be entitled to get free education in private schools till class 12, the government has announced in a major policy decision. As part of the policy, free education will be given to the targeted children, falling in the age group of three and seven years, under the Right to Education (RTE). According to The Times of India, 19 students have already been enlisted under this category so far by the anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centre located in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. The initiative will commence from the 2017-18 academic year, and children between three to seven years will be given admissions in nursery and class 1 respectively. "Admissions will be given only in nursery and Class I. We have identified 19 children under this category and have registered them with our centre. We have informed the district magistrate and the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) about them. The last date for registering students under this category is June 19," Manoj Verma, data manager, ART centre, was qouted as saying. Children, irrespective of their family's economic status, can apply in private schools for free education. "Though many HIV patients approached us for free education for their kids in private schools, their children were above seven and hence could not be registered. The selected students will have to apply on the RTE website. If the number of applications is higher than the reserved seats, BSA will take a final call on the basis of a lottery system," Verma was further quoted as saying. New Delhi: Sightings of rare creatures, especially marine animals are exactly that rare. So, imagine the bewilderment of two Dutch fishermne when, in a first, their fishing nets caught a two-headed porpoise! Swimming off the coast of Holland on May 30, the incredible creature was accidentally captured in a trawler net. Unfortunately, the mammal was already dead when it was pulled aboard. Fearing trouble with fishing authorities, the fishermen threw the carcass of the two-headed porpoise back into the water, but not before taking a few images and alerting researchers. In numerous cases, humans, reptiles and domestic animals have been studied for their 'conjoined twins' situation, however, it is extremely rare in wild animals. In fact, as per the National Geographic, before this find, only nine other instances of two-headed cetaceans of any kind had ever been reliably documented. A study recently published by the online Journal of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam contextualized the rarity of the find. "Descriptions of conjoined twins in whales and dolphins are extremely rare," Erwin Kompanje, from the National History Museum Rotterdam, noted in his study. "We were aware of only nine [other] published cases," National Geographic reported. After the photographs of the two-headed creature started doing the rounds, researchers from the University of Rotterdam examined them thoroughly and are trying to gain more insights about the discovery. Even though the researchers say it would have been incredible to examine the carcass physically, there is still a lot that can be gleaned from the images. According to a report in Gizmodo, the research team believes the twins did not survive long after they were born, since their dorsal fin was not yet erected. The small hairs on their upper rostrums (that beak-looking dolphins have) had also not fallen off, indicating they died pretty quickly. However, scientists know definitively that the porpoise was both a newborn and a male. This case concerns the second known case of twinning, the first case of conjoined twins in Phocoena phocoena, the fourth known case of parapagus dicephalus in a cetacean species and the tenth known case of conjoined twinning in a cetacean species, the researchers wrote. Their work has been published in Deinsea, Gizmodo reported. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature states that the incidental catch is the biggest threat facing porpoises. As a result, the European Union has adopted measures to monitor the effect nets and trawls have on populations, National Geographic said. Check out some more pics of the bizarre creature below: (Images by: Henk Tanis) New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Centre and other stakeholders to clarify their stand on demarcation and encroachments on the floodplains of the Ganga from Haridwar to Unnao. The green panel asked the ministries of environment and water resources, the National Mission for Clean Ganga, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Uttar Pradesh government and others to file written submissions on the matter. The tribunal also asked them to specify their view on minimum environmental flow of the river and extraction of groundwater to restore Ganga to its original condition. With regard to the industries located in the Ganga basin, the apex environment watchdog asked the CPCB and the UP pollution control board to strictly regulate all the units falling in the catchment area of Kali river. "Compliance should be strictly made. If there is default in compliance within the prescribed period, which normally should not exceed three to six months, the industries should be shut down," the bench said in a recent order. Kali East originates from Antwada village in Muzaffarnagar district and flows through eight districts of Uttar Pradesh before its confluence with Ganga near Kannauj. The tribunal also took note of the industrial cluster at Pilkhuwa in Hapur district and directed it to put a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) in collaboration with the government agencies so that no untreated effluent goes in the drains joining Ganga or its tributaries. (With Agency inputs) Brussels: The European Parliament on Thursday debated and adopted a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Pakistan, as well as slamming Islamabad for breaching international law by not allowing consular access to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who been sentenced to death for espionage. The resolution, which was adopted by majority, expressed grave concern over the "roll-back in Pakistan of the respect for human rights and the rule of law", in particular the freedom granted to security forces, the use of military courts, the crackdown on NGOs, the intimidation of human rights defenders and religious minorities, and the increase in extrajudicial killings. Expressing "deep concern at the alarming rate of executions in Pakistan following flawed trials, including of minors and persons with mental disabilities, some of which are carried out while appeals are still under way", it urged the Pakistani government to prevent misuse of the "blasphemy law", which is so vaguely defined as to render it open to abuse, including to target political dissidents. It highlighted the case of Jadhav who was sentenced to death in April 2017 by a military court without any access to consular services which is in breach of international law. Speaking during the debate in plenary in the French city of Strasbourg, British Member of the European Parliament Neena Gill, said: "In 2014, the EU allowed Pakistan to access GSP+, an exceptional tool to help kick-start the economy and - crucially - encourage progress on improving human rights. It has proved its value in many countries. But I question whether this is the case for Pakistan." A delegation of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee visited Pakistan in April. "From our meetings with government officials and civil society it became glaringly clear that a lack of rule of law permeates Pakistani society and human rights are violated instead of advanced," said Gill, the only MEP of Indian origin. "In March, military courts that can try civilians were reinstated for 2 more years. Basic rights of foreigners brought to trial are trampled on. With no access to consular rights. People who work for NGOs face harassment, arrest or worse - death," she added. "It is high time to see real progress on human rights and strengthening of the civil judiciary in Pakistan.If not, GSP+ has to be reviewed," she stressed. Budapest: Prosecutors said on Thursday there was nothing Hungarian authorities could have done to prevent the deaths of 71 migrants in a lorry found by an Austrian motorway at the height of Europe`s migrant crisis in 2015. The refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, 59 men, eight women and four children were crammed into the back of a small lorry by people smugglers and suffocated on the journey from Hungary. The case highlighted the perils of the journey that more than a million migrants undertook as they fled conflict and economic hardship in the Middle East and Africa, causing a humanitarian crisis and political strife in Europe. German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung reported on Wednesday that Hungarian police had intercepted and recorded mobile phone conversations among the traffickers who drove the lorry, but acted too late to stop it. "It is incorrect to assume Hungarian authorities could have prevented the deadly crime considering its extremely rapid course," prosecution spokesman Gabor Schmidt wrote in a response to questions from Reuters. He said Hungarian police were working to disrupt human trafficking networks that ferried migrants, often in poorly ventilated refrigerator trucks, across international borders. Schmidt said before the deadly incident police had no indication the migrants would be in mortal danger inside the trucks and focussed on mapping the networks. He said investigators had tapped the phones of the leaders of the trafficking ring that caused the deaths of the 71 migrants from Aug. 13, 2015 - two weeks before the deadly journey - trying to map traffickers in an earlier case. Suddeutsche Zeitung detailed some of the conversations based on police records it obtained. In one instance, the Afghan ring leader explicitly forbids the driver to open the lorry`s door despite loud banging and cries for help from the inside. "You should in no way open the door," he says. "If people die in there unload them in a forest in Germany." As this conversation took place in the early hours of Aug. 27, 2015, no one was listening in on the Hungarian side. "Because there had been no data about transports threatening human life... we could not shorten the period of the wiretap (and move in on the traffickers sooner)," Schmidt wrote. There was "no reason or capacity" to listen to the conversations live. He said the languages spoken - Pashto, and Bulgarian and Serbian dialects posed additional difficulties. "All of that meant the Hungarian authorities could only translate and analyse the wiretaps after the transport that led to the deaths of the 71 migrants," he said, adding authorities had observed all relevant Hungarian laws. Eleven men have been charged in connection with the deaths. Their trial is due to start next week. Rome: Italian lawmakers have approved a new law extending a series of statutes of limitations for court cases, a move aimed at reducing the number of criminals who escape punishment because of Italy`s snail-paced judicial system. Unlike most countries, Italy counts the time when a first conviction is being appealed as part of the limitation period. As many cases take years to come to court in the first place, with suspects then allowed two appeals with hearings that can stretch over months, convicted criminals can often rely on running out the clock to avoid jail. Under the new law, approved by parliament late Wednesday, the first 18 months after an initial conviction will not be part of the limitations period, nor will the 18 months after a conviction is upheld if the defence takes the case to the final court of appeal. The highest-profile case to time out recently was former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi`s 2015 conviction for bribing a senator in 2006, in an attempt to bring down the Italian government at the time. Had the new law been in place two years ago, the additional three years for the statute of limitations might have provided enough time to see Berlusconi`s three-year prison sentence confirmed on appeal. The new law also starts the limitations counter for violent and sexual crimes against minors from the victim`s 18th birthday. And it introduces a six-month deadline for judges carrying out a preliminary examination of a case to make a decision on whether to send it to court or shelve it. For terrorism and mafia cases, a longer period of 15 months will be allowed. The law also toughens sentences for burglary and purse snatching-type thefts, lifting the minimum sentence to three years from one. For armed robbery the minimum was raised to four years from three. London: At least 17 people have been killed in a massive blaze that engulfed a London high-rise, raising serious questions about fire safety in Britain`s housing blocks. Here is what we know so far. Police say at least 17 people were killed in the fire that broke out in the early hours of Wednesday at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London, and they expect the number to rise as emergency workers make their way through the charred wreck of the building. Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said firefighters had been able to search only half of the building "in detail" because of structural safety concerns, and that sniffer dogs were being used to find bodies. Cotton had earlier told Sky News it would take weeks to clear the building, and that "tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive." The tower was home to about 600 residents and had only one stairway through which people could escape. Seventy-four people were being treated in hospitals, 20 of them in critical condition. Fire services said they received the first call at 00:54 am on Wednesday and were on scene at the public housing complex within six minutes. The concrete block was built in 1974 in the working-class area of north Kensington, close to the wealthy Notting Hill district which contains some of the most expensive homes in the world. Witnesses reported the entire building was on fire by around 2:00 am (0100 GMT). Survivors said they saw the flames racing up the exterior of the building, which had recently been covered in cladding during a major refurbishment finished last year. The 8.7 million (9.9 million euro, $11 million) refurbishment also included new windows and heating systems. Questions are growing about how the flames spread so quickly, engulfing its 120 apartments. "It appears that the external cladding has significantly contributed to the spread of fire," said Angus Law from the BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. According to the BBC, the cladding had a plastic core, and was similar to that used by high-rise buildings in France, the United Arab Emirates and Australia which had also suffered fires that spread. There were questions about why there was no sprinkler system in Grenfell Tower which could have helped stop the fire spreading, or any central smoke alarm system that would have woken sleeping residents. Construction firm Rydon, which completed the refurbishment in 2016, said the work "met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards". But David Collins, former chairman of the Grenfell Tower Residents` Association, said the building`s management had failed to listen to residents` calls for improvements on fire safety. "If the same concerns were had in a wealthy part of Kensington and Chelsea they would have got resolved, but here they didn`t get resolved," Collins told AFP. "This is a multi-ethnic, multicultural, diverse community that just didn`t get served by the people representing them." Local residents had warned a year ago about a potential fire risk caused by rubbish being allowed to accumulate during the refurbishment. "This matter is of particular concern as there is only one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during the improvement works," read a blog post by the Grenfell Action Group. "The potential for a fire to break out in the communal area on the walkway does not bear thinking about as residents would be trapped in the building with no way out." Some residents said the official advice was that people should stay inside in the event of a fire.The disaster triggered a wave of mourning in a country already battered by a string of terror attacks. More than 480,000 had been raised online for the victims by Thursday morning, while local community centres were inundated by donations of clothes and food. Volunteers in Glasgow, 550 kilometres (350 miles) away sent a truck laden with nappies and other supplies. Moscow: The Russian defence ministry on Thursday accused the US-led coalition in Syria of deploying missiles against the Syrian army at the Al-Tanaf garrison where rebels battling the Islamic State group are being trained. In a statement, the ministry said that the "United States has moved two HIMARS multiple rocket launchers from Jordan to the Al-Tanaf US special forces base," suggesting that the equipment would be used for strikes against Syrian government forces. London: The state opening of the UK Parliament, marked by the Queen's Speech to set the parliamentary agenda for the year, will take place on June 21, two days later than planned after Prime Minister Theresa May's election setback. The state opening had been originally scheduled for June 19, but had to postponed as a result of talks between May and Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) over support for her minority government after the Conservative party lost its overall majority in the House of Commons in the June 8 general election. In a statement, Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons said: "The government has agreed with Buckingham Palace that the state opening of the Parliament will take place on 21 June 2017." Queen Elizabeth II, 91, will read out a prepared speech on May's plans for new laws in what has already been declared as a low-key affair as a result of the snap general election called by May in April and clashes with the monarch's diary. The announcement of the date indicates the Conservatives are confident they can agree a deal with the Democratic Unionists, whose 10 MPs that will allow them to get their agenda through the Commons. Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is planning to set out his party's own programme for government in a substantial amendment to the Queen's Speech, and will urge all other parties to back it in an attempt to topple May and form a minority Labour administration. It is not yet clear whether the EU withdrawal talks, which had been due to start on Monday, will also now go ahead on Wednesday, although Brexit Secretary David Davis has said they will start "next week". Meanwhile, May is holding talks on Thursday with other Northern Ireland political parties amid concerns a DUP deal will undermine the Northern Ireland peace process. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement commits the UK and Irish governments to demonstrate "rigorous impartiality" in their dealings with the different political traditions in Northern Ireland. Hague: A UN court condemned Turkey on Thursday for sentencing a top judge to seven years in jail on charges of links to a group blamed for last year`s attempted coup. Retired ambassador Aydin Sefa Akay, a top judge attached to the UN`s Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, was sentenced in Ankara on Wednesday to seven years and six months, the MICT said in a statement. MICT president Judge Theodor Meron "deeply regrets this action of the Turkish authorities, in further breach of Judge Akay`s protected status under the international legal framework," the Hague-based tribunal said in a statement. Akay was charged with "membership in an armed terror group" over alleged links to the organisation of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based preacher blamed by Ankara for the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last July. Gulen denies any involvement in the botched coup. Akay has vehemently denied the charges against him, which caused an uproar in the international legal community. His arrest in September last year, his detention and a legal case against him "are inconsistent with the assertion of his diplomatic immunity by the United Nations," the MICT said. He has been released under judicial supervision pending confirmation of the verdict by Turkey`s top appeals court, and the MICT stressed "the verdict has yet to acquire legal finality". Meron said he remained "gravely concerned", although he welcomed "as a humanitarian matter that Judge Akay has been provisionally released". He called on Ankara to "take urgent steps to respect the protected status of Judge Akay and to resolve the situation consistent with international law." The UN court ordered in late January that Akay should be released by at least mid-February so he can return to his work in The Hague, where the appeals case of a former Rwandan minister has been paralysed by the judge`s absence. Augustin Ngirabatware is calling for a 30-year jail term imposed for his role in his country`s 1994 genocide to be overturned. The MICT said in March it would report the matter to the UN Security Council as the case against Ngirabatware languished, with the Rwandan`s lawyers saying their client "remains in prison for a crime he did not commit, waiting for a hearing he cannot have". In Turkey, Akay was found guilty of using Bylock, a communications service which Ankara claims was especially created for Gulen supporters, the Dogan news agency reported. He was released pending the ruling from the supreme appeals court, a date for which has not been set. If the verdict is confirmed by the higher court, he will go back to jail. The court also placed an overseas travel ban on Akay, Dogan reported, meaning there is no prospect of him resuming his work with the UN courts system. [June 15, 2017] General Micro Systems Receives 2017 Soldier's Network Defender of the Year Award for Supporting U.S. Army Warfighter Information Network - Tactical General Micro Systems (GMS (News - Alert)) received General Dynamics Mission Systems' 2017 Soldier's Network Defender of the Year award for the company's innovative and cost-effective support of the U.S. Army's Warfighter Information Network - Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2 program. The program is the Army's tactical communications network backbone delivering mission-command, communications, and situational awareness for soldiers. It is a cornerstone of soldier readiness and a high priority for today's leaner, expeditionary Army. General Dynamics (News - Alert) Mission Systems is the prime contractor for WIN-T Increment 2. GMS Chief Technology Officer Chris Ciufo and National Sales Manager Jonathan Malaney accepted the award on behalf of the more than 120 employees who focus on providing Mission Systems and the Soldier's Network with the highly integrated, high-density rugged server technology that come together to form this mission-critical tactical network. General Micro Systems (www.gms4sbc.com), a long-time supplier to General Dynamics and a vendor-of-record for three types of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) computing systems in the WIN-T point-of-presence (PoP) and Soldier Network Extension (SNE), developed a 14-core server/switch/router networking box that would ultimately become the WIN-T Increment 2 solution. Just two of the new GMS boxes replace up to eight others in the previous system, giving the COTS computer industry's latest processor technology to the warfighter in record time and meeting the program's demanding size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) requirements. More than 60 WIN-T Increment 2 suppliers from 39 states attended the 2017 Soldier's Network Supplier Event in Washington D.C. The annual event provides a forum for suppliers to collaborate and receive status updates on WIN-T Increment 2 and the value it delivers to oldiers. Suppliers also had an opportunity to visit their local congressional representatives about the program and General Micro Systems did its part on behalf of WIN-T. "A robust supplier base that supports military programs like WIN-T Increment 2 is key to ensuring soldiers have a critical advantage over adversaries who threaten our nation's safety and security," said Bill Weiss, a vice president of General Dynamics Mission Systems. "This success story was only possible because of the trust, leadership and teamwork honed by over a decade of previous close collaboration," said Ben Sharfi, CEO and chief architect of GMS. "And while the team achieved success, ultimately it's the warfighter who will benefit with a WIN-T Increment 2 communicate on-the-move battlefield network that meets today's standards, not yesterday's. We're proud to be part of WIN-T Increment 2 and we appreciate the support of our local congressional members, including California Representative Pete Aguilar, with whom we've met for two years running." WIN-T Increment 2 depends on support from a diverse group of suppliers. Located in more than 39 states, these suppliers include small, veteran-owned, woman-owned, disadvantaged and other businesses representing thousands of jobs. These suppliers and the employment they represent support local economies and help maintain job opportunities for highly skilled workers. About General Micro Systems General Micro Systems (GMS) is the industry expert in highest-density, modular, compute-intensive, and rugged small form-factor embedded computing systems, servers, smart-panel displays, and networking switches. These powerful systems are ideal for demanding C4ISR defense, aerospace, medical, industrial, and energy exploration applications. GMS is an IEC (News - Alert), AS9100, and MIL-SPEC supplier with infrastructure and operations for long-life, spec-controlled, and configuration-managed programs. Designed from the ground up to provide the highest performance and functionality in the harshest environments on the planet, the company's highly customizable products include GMS Rugged DNA with patented RuggedCool cooling technology. GMS is also the leader in deployable high-end Intel (News - Alert) processors and a proud Intel partner since 1986. For more information, visit www.gms4sbc.com. General Micro Systems and the General Micro Systems logo are trademarks of General Micro Systems, Inc. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. 2016 General Micro Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. High-resolution product photos available at http://www.gms4sbc.com/press/award/ Additional press materials can be found at http://www.gms4sbc.com/press/award/defender_of_the_year View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005333/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Geneva: The United Nations urged Russia, Iran and Turkey on Thursday to open up areas of Syria to the delivery of humanitarian aid in "de-escalation" zones whose parameters the three are meant to finalise. The three countries brokered a deal in the Kazakh capital, Astana, in May to create four de-escalation zones in Syria. Russia said on Tuesday that the next round of negotiations in Astana was likely to be held in early July. Jan Egeland, U.N. humanitarian adviser, said that U.N. technical experts were joining officials from Russia, Iran and Turkey in Moscow at preliminary talks that began on Thursday. A Western diplomat told Reuters the two-day talks are to focus on setting GPS coordinates for the de-escalation zones. Egeland, asked about his hopes for the Moscow meeting, told a news briefing: "That the de-escalation reaches a place like (the southern city of) Deraa, which is supposed to be a de-escalation zone but rather has been an area of increased fighting." The United Nations had received an appeal from the Deraa provincial council describing "intensive bombardment of (rebel-held) Deraa city, including the use of barrel bombs", he said. The Deraa region of southwestern Syria is split between rebel- and government-controlled areas. Fighting has lessened in the northwestern Idlib region and in eastern Ghouta in the Damascus countryside, Egeland said, calling for using that window of opportunity to open up humanitarian access. He said he hoped that the zones, in which some 2.5 million people are expected to live supposedly safe from harm in Syria`s civil war, "will indeed become not only de-escalation zones but free humanitarian access zones", as spelled out in the Astana memorandum. Russia, Iran and Turkey are trying "to agree on exact delineation of the zones," Egeland said. "We have been invited to observe the (Moscow) meeting. We will certainly use any opportunity to tell them that we need free, unimpeded access and we certainly do not need a more bureaucratic system. We need an end to this red tape system that is keeping (humanitarian aid) away from many populations." "We hope for white smoke from Moscow and Astana again soon." Egeland said he expected U.N. aid convoys to arrive later in the day in hard-to-reach areas in Homs and Hama, and in besieged areas of eastern Ghouta at the weekend. It had been 40 days since the United Nations last reached any of the besieged areas where 680,000 people are trapped, which was Douma in May. The Syrian government has given the United Nations permission to get aid to the Kurdish-dominated city of Qamishli by truck, the world body said on Wednesday. "We`re hopeful that we will able to reach that place very soon now, within hours, hopefully," Egeland said. Gurgaon: In a devastating loss, young twin sisters met with an agonising death after they were accidentally locked inside a hot car for over two hours. The five-year-olds were spending their summer holiday with their grandparents when the incident took place in Jamalpur village on Wednesday. Harsha and Harishita were rushed to a private hospital after they were found unconscious in an old Hyundai car but they were declared brought dead. There were signs the girls had tried to open the door, according to NDTV. The girls, whose father is in the army and posted in Meerut, were to return to the city with their parents the same day. The vehicle's locks were reportedly defective and its windows could not be rolled down because of a malfunctioning lever. The girls were found around 4 pm inside the car in an unconscious state following a frantic search by their distraught family members. "When my daughters were born, there was so much joy in the family. Both of them had been admitted to the Central School in Meerut. Everyone saw them as very promising, they were sharp and naughty," NDTV quoted the girls' father Govind Singh as saying. "Once, they nearly climbed a thousand-volt pole... No one knew that both would be gone...that my daughters would also leave this world together," he said with teary eyes. Dharamsala (HP): At least 10 pilgrims were killed and 30 others injured on Thursday when a tourist bus fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh. The accident took place near Dhaliara, some 60 km from the Dharmsala town. The pilgrims were from Punjab's Amritsar city. The deceased are yet to be identified but the injured has been rushed to Tanda Medical College in Kangra, Dharamsala Superintendent of Police S Gandhi said. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has expressed his condolences and assured all possible help for the victims. New Delhi: A total of 79 Indian students have been selected for the French Education Ministry`s English Language Assistants programme that will see participation of 60 countries. The programme will start in October 2017 and end in May 2018, according to a statement from the French Embassy and the Institut Francais India (IFI) here on Thursday. "In the framework of their bilateral cooperation in education, France and India have agreed to support the mobility of students, encouraging the internationalisation of their higher education training courses," it said. Students taking part in this 20-year-old teaching programme will be assisting English language teachers in primary, secondary and higher secondary schools by offering them an understanding of the language throughout the whole academic year. The 79 students have been selected on the basis of their expertise in both French and English. "The programme provides a unique opportunity to Indian students who have already acquired a high level of French language competence and to have a first professional experience in the French academic milieu," IFI Attache for Cooperation in Education Marie Doublier told IANS. "They shall not only work in French schools but also live with French families to get a complete familiarity of the French lifestyle. They will also help develop links between French and Indian schools, teachers and students," she said. She added that most participants become French language teachers in Indian schools, colleges and universities when they return. New Delhi: Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu will meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday in a bid to evolve consensus on the presidential candidate even as opposition parties are said to be keen on a fight in the July 17 election. Singh and Naidu, who are part of the three-member team constituted by BJP President Amit Shah for discussion with political parties on the presidential candidate, are set to meet Gandhi at her residence on Friday morning, sources said. This will be followed by a meeting with CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury later in the day. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also part of the team is away in South Korea. He is scheduled to return only on Saturday morning. The BJP has given no indication so far on who its candidate is but there is speculation around the names of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The name of BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi is also not ruled out in BJP circles since he is said to have the backing of RSS. It remains to be seen whether the BJP team will put forward any name to Gandhi and other opposition leaders it would be meeting or talking to in the coming days, or whether the team would merely seek the support for a BJP candidate. Sources in the opposition parties say that they are waiting for the government side to come out with the name of its nominee before they can finalise their strategy. Opposition leaders say that the choice of BJP candidate, even according to insiders, is known "only to (Prime Minister) Modi and God", to stress the point that it was Modi who was calling the shots on the issue. They feel that the government was only engaged in an exercise of consensus building for the sake of formality and, in fact, may not be keen on a consensus candidate. They point to Naidu`s statement a couple of days ago that the government has the mandate and the opposition should keep this in mind when talking about a presidential candidate. At the meeting of opposition parties on Wednesday, there were suggestions mainly from Left parties that they should put up a fight by fielding a candidate because it is an "ideological battle" with BJP. They feel the BJP might be keen on having someone with ideological moorings in the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Should there be a fight, the Left parties are reportedly keen on fielding Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former Governor of West Bengal. As part of BJP`s outreach, Shah is likely to meet Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai in seeking the party`s support for the NDA nominee. The Sena, which has been having a cold war with BJP, has not voted with the NDA in the last two presidential elections. The Sena has been pitching for RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat for the top constitutional post and has also sought to know from the BJP why he (Bhagwat) is not acceptable. Bhagwat on his part has ruled himself out, saying he was not in the race. Meanwhile, disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday yet again backed party veteran L.K. Advani as the most deserving candidate for the post of President, saying he was physically fit and has the ability to "understand the complexity of the Constitution". In a series of tweets, Sinha said: "What Advaniji has, is the ability to understand the complexity of the Constitution and to take the right decision when needed without getting influenced by anyone, in the larger interest of the nation." Sinha also said that Advani, who is 89, is "physically fit" for the post and no one has come out against his candidature. "No one is able to speak anything, be it from within or outside d party...no voice coming out against Advani`s candidature. "Advaniji is much more healthy and energetic than any of the young leaders. He has kept himself maintained so that he can take responsibility of the country," Sinha said. Sinha has been sidelined in the party after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country. He was also not inducted into Modi`s council of ministers though he has claimed of long association with the BJP, since the time when the party had two members in the Lok Sabha. His proximity to Advani is said to be one of the reasons for being sidelined in the BJP. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Centre in connection with its recent notification banning the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter. According to PTI, the apex court also asked the Centre to file its response within two weeks and posted the matter for hearing on July 11. A vacation bench of the apex court comprising Justices RK Agrawal and SK Kaul passed the order while hearing a petition challenging the Centre's notification banning the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter a move that backfired and received flak from various quarters. Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that intention behind bringing the notification was to have a regulatory regime on cattle trade across the country. He also told the apex court that the Madras High Court has recently granted interim stay on the notification. A Hyderabad-based lawyer, Fahim Qureshi, who had filed the petition, had claimed that the Centre's order was discriminatory and unconstitutional, as it prevented cattle traders from earning their livelihood. On May 25, the Centre through an order imposed a ban on the sale of cattle, including cows, for slaughter and restricted cattle trade solely to farm owners. Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan ordered that the ministry has notified the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 to ensure that the sale of cattle is not meant for slaughter purposes. Regulating animal trade is a state business but animal welfare is a central subject, thereby providing the window for the ministry to notify the rule. In lieu of this, there was widespread opposition of the order, with many states openly denying accepting the notification. Kerala govt led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and some other northeastern states last month opposed the move and announced that they would not comply with the centre's ordwer. Vijayan said he would call for a meeting of all the Chief Ministers, asserting that the Union Government does not have the right to issue such an order on cattle slaughter ban. Vijayan further said that the Centre's new rule is an impermissible encroachment into the domain of the State Legislatures which is a clear 'violation of the spirit of federalism.' On June 1, the students of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT- Madras) staged protest against the same. With the police deployed in front of the IIT campus, the students protested at the main gate and raised slogans against the Centre's controversial notification. With ANI inputs Delhi: This is interesting. For Chinese internet users, it came as 'news' when Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday posted a message on China's social media platform Sina Weibo wishing Chinese President Xi Jinping on his birthday. PM Modi wrote in Mandarin, "On the occasion of President Xi Jinping's birthday, I congratulate him, and wish he lives till one hundred years and has a healthy life." "A few days ago, I met with President Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, and we had a fruitful discussion to further promote the development of India China relations," he added. As per India Today, PM Modi's tweet was liked by 750 people and forwarded and commented on by more than 200. Weibo is a equivalent of Twitter. The PM has 1.7 lakh followers there. Sina Weibo is said to usually screen comments when China's leader is involved. In China news about the personal lives of Chinese leaders is off limits. Xi is General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, in addition to being the head of state through the office of the President. As General Secretary, Xi holds an ex-officio seat on the Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body. New Delhi: Accusing Islamabad of using terror to destabilise Kashmir, the Indian government on Thursday told the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that Pakistan was misusing the UN platform to pursue its political objectives. "Pakistans unsolicited and unwarranted comments pertaining to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of the Union of India, are factually incorrect and bear no relationship to reality," India said in a statement. "The foremost challenge to stability in Kashmir is the scourge of terrorism, which receives sustenance from Pakistan and the territories under Pakistans control," the statement said. "Contrary to Pakistans claims, and in gross violation of UN Security Council resolution 1267, the designated terrorist entities and organisations continue to carry out their activities freely as reported in the local Pakistani print, audio-visual and social media," it said. India said that concrete evidence about cross-border encouragement and support for the protests in Kashmir has been handed over to Pakistan. "Instead of working with a sense of purpose to address this issue, Pakistan resorts to short-sighted tactics to divert attention, as we have once again seen today," it said. "Pakistan keeps referring to UN Security Council Resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. However, it very conveniently forgets its own obligation under these resolutions to first vacate the illegal occupation of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir," India said. Pakistan had described the situation in Kashmir as Indias national shame and said that this hateful cycle can only be stopped through political dialogue. India also criticised Pakistan for blatantly disregarding its other commitments saying, "be it under the 1972 Simla Agreement, the 2004 joint declaration foreswearing terrorism as well as the understanding between our two Prime Ministers at Ufa in Russia". "The people of Jammu and Kashmir have chosen and reaffirmed their destiny repeatedly through Indias well- established democratic processes. Pakistan, on the other hand, has witnessed continuous degradation and weakening of its institutions," it said. Asserting that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is administered by a deep state and has become an epicenter of terrorism, India said Pakistans human rights record in PoK and Balochistan is deplorable. "It has had no hesitation in using air power and artillery against its own people, not once but repeatedly over the years. It is high time for Pakistan to do some deep introspection. We would once again urge Pakistan to focus its energies on improving human rights situation and dismantling the terrorism infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK. This would go a long way in bringing peace and stability to the region and beyond," India said. New Delhi: In a major bonanza, the Defence Ministry on Thursday ordered to pay disability pension to all the disabled soldiers of all the three services, who took pre-mature retirement before 2006. Earlier the ministry used to pay pension to the disabled soldiers who retired after January 1, 2006. The ministry also stated that the Pension Regulator of all the three services will be amended in due courses. Earlier in May, the Union Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accepted the major demand of the armed forces and decided to continue with an earlier system of disbursing disability pension. The government took the decision as the armed forces had been pressing for reverting to the percentage-based regime for disability pension and were strongly opposed to the slab-based system conceived by the seventh central pay commission (CPC). New Delhi: Farmers will protest by performing yoga exercises on highways on International Yoga Day on June 21, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) announced here on Thursday. The decision was announced during a `Kisan Panchayat` held by BKU at Jantar Mantar here, in which thousands of farmers from various parts of the country participated. "Farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand will perform yoga on highways from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on June 21," Rakesh Tikayat, spokesperson of BKU, said. Tikayat said that they want farmers` loans to be waived off and the Swaminathan Committee report, which promises 50 per cent profit for farmers, to be implemented. "A new committee should be formed to look into farmers` problems and to find practical solutions," he added. The protest started around 11 a.m. and leaders, including Atul Kumar Anjan of the Communist Party of India, Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj Abhiyan, and Swami Agnivesh of Bandhua Mukti Morcha, took part in the protest and extended their support to the farmers. Yadav told IANS that there are a series of farmers` protests happening across the country at the moment and Swaraj Abhiyan is also fighting for the farmers. [June 15, 2017] Concept Engineering Announces the Latest Version of its Debugging Platform for Analog, Digital and Mixed-Signal Design at DAC 2017 Concept Engineering, leaders in visualization and debugging technology for electronic circuits and systems, will unveil version 6.7 to the company's popular Vision platform at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) in Austin, Texas, in June 2017. The new features in version 6.7 of Concept Engineering's Vision Debugging platform, improves the exploration and debug of Verilog AMS (News - Alert) designs, makes RTL design and debug faster and more efficient and improves SPICE-level debugging, among other new functions. Concept Engineering representatives will demonstrate the new features at the upcoming Design Automation Conference (DAC) to designers of analog, digital, mixed-signal circuits and systems-on-chip (SoCs). Concept Engineering's Vision Debugging platform consists of three individual tools for specific design styles and abstraction levels: SpiceVision PRO for device-level debugging (SPICE-level debugging) for device-level debugging (SPICE-level debugging) GateVision PRO for full chip netlist debugging (Gate-level debugging) for full chip netlist debugging (Gate-level debugging) RTLvision PRO for easy RTL code exploration, SoC/IP integration and debugging (RTL code debugging) The three individual tools are complemented by Concept Engineering's flagship tool StarVision PRO, which combines the individual debugging features of all Vision tools into one customizable mixed-signal and mixed-language platform with powerful debugging and flow automation capabilities for the design of complex SoCs, ASICs, IoT devices or mixed-signal silicon chips. "With version 6.7, we continue to improve our Vision product family and help our customers to find bugs earlier and faster," said Gerhard Angst, president and CEO of Concept Engineering. "We are proud to deliver significant improvements for mixed-signal designers and provide RTL design engineers with smarter RTL exploration and improved RTL debugging capabilities." Notable Enhancements for Mixed-Signal Design/Debugging: Support to read mixed-signal Verilog AMS designs has been added. This offers exciting new options to explore and debug complex analog, mixed-signal, IoT and RF integrated circuits. designs has been added. This offers exciting new options to explore and debug complex analog, mixed-signal, IoT and RF integrated circuits. The tools perform a more relaxed language checking while reading complex SoCs. This allows improved handling of incomplete designs where IP building blocks are not yet properly defined, but engineers must still be able to start to analyze the system while it's under construction. Notable Enhancements for RTL Design/Debugging: The RTL source view window has been improved significantly. We introduced "Action Bar" for easy object specific navigation within complex RTL source code files. Several changes have been made to improve memory consumption and speed while reading RTL code (System Verilog, Verilog and VHDL). The RTL parsers do a more relaxed language checking. We now offer easy display of RTL source code fragments in the schematic window using instant tooltips. The integrated waveform viewer has been extended and optimized. Notable Enhancements for SPICE-level Design/Debugging: We improved netlist parsing for Mentor Graphics' (News - Alert) Eldo and Cadence's Spectre SPICE dialects. Many enhancements and fixes for post-layout debugging (SPEFand DSPF parser enhancements) have been made. The SPICE netlist export interface has been extended and improved. Notable Enhancements for design flow automation: We extended and enhanced our database APIs and GUI APIs to support more sophisticated code to be developed and executed by the tool platform. Batch processing and customized GUI commands allow company specific - or project specific - debugging tasks and flow automation. StarVision PRO, RTLvision PRO, GateVision PRO, and SpiceVision PRO are customizable and scriptable debugging and visualization software tools that help electronic design engineers to easily understand, debug, optimize and document their designs. StarVision PRO provides analog, digital and mixed-signal debugging capabilities, customizable design rule checks and automated netlist pruning. RTLvision PRO is used for RTL debugging and intellectual property (IP) development. Designers use GateVision PRO for advanced netlist debugging of complex SoC netlists. SpiceVision PRO provides advanced exploration and debugging features for transistor-level and post-layout netlists. SpiceVision PRO's unique SPICE netlist visualization capabilities help engineers to analyze SPICE simulation results and allow easy location of circuit problems at the device level. The company's updated Vision product family and its software components Nlview, T-Engine and S-Engine for EDA tool developers, will be demonstrated in the Concept Engineering booth (#1028) at DAC 2017 being held at the Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas, June 19-21, 2017. Availability The version 6.7 Vision tools will be available shortly after DAC to download from the company's website. About Concept Engineering Concept Engineering is a privately-held company based in Freiburg, Germany, that provides visualization and debugging technology for electronic circuits and systems, including automatic schematic generation technology for all major design levels. The company's technology helps electronic design engineers to easily understand, debug, optimize and document electronic designs. Concept Engineering's software technology is used in many fields in the EDA market, including: RTL development, IP reuse, ASIC and SoC design, FPGA design, analog/mixed-signal design, logic synthesis, design verification, test automation, post-layout analysis, debugging and visualization at system level, RTL level, netlist level and transistor level. SpiceVision PRO, GateVision PRO, RTLvision PRO and StarVision PRO are registered trademarks and Nlview, T-engine and S-engine are trademarks of Concept Engineering GmbH. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005172/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] New Delhi: To help women abandoned by their NRI husbands, the government will soon launch a centralised web portal which will be a repository of information on lawyers and NGOs working in this field and a list of dos and don'ts for them. The decision to launch a portal was taken last week in a meeting of a three-member committee comprising officials of the ministry of women and child development, the ministry of external affairs and the ministry of home affairs. The portal will help women who have been abandoned by men abroad and are struggling to get a divorce or seeking maintenance from them and their children. The committee, formed last year to address the issue after such complaints poured in, has taken a series of measures to protect the rights of these women, including providing financial aid of USD 3,000 in developed countries and USD 2,000 in developing ones. However, the committee felt that there was a need to set up a single-point redressal system, where such women can register their grievances, find help from civil society groups and are made aware of the institutionalised aid that they can get from the government of India. As per data available with the government, 275 complaints of fraudulent marriage have been received at 12 Indian Missions abroad from 2011-12 to 2014-15. In most cases, the husband is already married, or the wife is abandoned in the foreign country or the husband demands dowry. The National Commission for Women (NCW), however, says that the problem of such fraudulent marriages is much larger in scale than it seems with thousands of women falling prey to such alliances every year. According to a paper published by the New Jersey based- NGO Manavi, there were 12,000 abandoned women living in Gujarat in 2004. A 2007 study estimated 25,000 wives of Non- Resident Indians (NRIs) to have been deserted in Punjab. In 2008, the then Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs had stated that in Punjab alone, at least 20,000 legal cases were pending against NRI husbands, presumably for abandoning wives. "The Ministry of External Affairs has over the years launched awareness-cum-publicity campaigns to sensitise to-be brides to be careful while choosing an NRI groom and also how to deal with problems that might arise post such alliances. We are planning this in addition to that," said a WCD ministry official, who added that the portal would be manned by the MEA. The MEA had recently issued a guidance booklet -- 'Marriages to Overseas Indians' -- which contains information on safeguards available to women deserted by their NRI spouses, legal remedies available, authorities that can be approached for redressal of grievances and non-governmental organisations which can provide assistance. New Delhi: The Indian government on Thursday asserted that Russia has not offered to New Delhi to mediate in the India-Pakistan conflict. Speaking to ANI, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said, "No offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India." Denying reports in Pakistan media about Russia's reported offer for mediation to ease the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan, Baglay said, "It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence". The reaction came after the Pakistani government recently welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'reported' offer to ease the ongoing tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. However, Russia has not confirmed about it. 'The Dawn' quoted Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Thursday that the country had recently established high-level contact with Russia and Islamabad welcome Putin's offer to mediate between India and Pakistan. According to unverified reports in Pakistan media, Russian President Putin during his meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the recently-held Belt and Road Forum reportedly offered to help mediate tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. As per a TOI report, the Russia has reportedly rubbished any such report by Pakistan on Putin's offer of mediation between the two neighbouring countries. It has reportedly termed media reports in this regard as baseless and said that it is not trying to mediate between Islamabad and New Delhi. Tensions have been running high between the two Asian neighbours amid spree of ceasefire violations and cross-border infiltration from Pakistan side. Relations between India and Pakistan worsened after several terror attacks including one on an Indian military base in Uri and also on an Indian air force base in Pathankot. The situation between both nations further deteriorated after a Pakistan military court announced a death sentence to former Indian Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav. Relations between the two nations have been particularly worsened after the 2008 Mumbai attacks by Pakistan based terrorists. (With Agency inputs) Washington: Karnataka-born ISIS operative Mohammed Shafi Armar has been declared global terrorist by US Treasury Department, Washington`s strict sanctions blacklist. His name has now been added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department which enforces economic sanctions programmes, primarily against countries and groups of individuals, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers. It blamed him for cultivating "dozens" of IS supporters involved in building the group`s operations in the country. The SDGT designation aims to notify the international community that the three "have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism,` the department said in a statement. "Designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the US financial system," it added, as per AFP. The sanctions can be either comprehensive or selective, using the blocking of assets and trade restrictions to accomplish foreign policy and national security goals of the US. The department officially named three senior ISIS men - Mohammad Shafi Armar, Oussama Ahmad Atar, and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali - as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Armar is said to be a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka and had reportedly joined banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen initially. Later, he started helping ISIS to spread in India and supposedly recruited at least 30 men for the dreaded Islamic State terror group. Armar was said to have left for Pakistan along with his elder brother after crackdown on IM cadres. After a fight with Bhatkal brothers, including Riyaz, the founder of IM, in Pakistan, Armar is believed to have created Ansar ul Tawhid, which later pledged its allegiance to the ISIS. There have been many reports of him having been dead in a drone attack or crackdown by the allied forces, as per PTI. However, every time intelligence agencies began giving credence to such reports, his name or voice cropped up in intercepts. Tech savvy, Armar has been operating on Facebook and other personal messenger services to contact, brainwash and recruit youths from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. His links to the ISIS were also the highlight of the interrogation of Yasin Bhatkal, who was arrested near the Nepal border in 2013. Armar first came on the radar of investigation agencies when the NIA was probing suspected ISIS cadres in Ratlam of Madhya Pradesh. During the interrogation of alleged ISIS operatives, it emerged that Armar was motivating and radicalising Muslim youths in India. He was said to have been recruiting youths for the Jund ul Khalifa-e-Hind through online radicalisation. The NIA had chargesheeted him along with five others for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror strikes in the national capital and also during ardh kumbh in Haridwar. On the other hand, Belgian-Moroccan national Atar was named as the man who established the ISIS network in Europe responsible for a number of deadly strikes, including in November 2015 attacks in Paris. Atar also allegedly recruited and mentored two of the bombers in the March 2016 attacks in Brussels. The third man, Binali, is a Bahraini who has appeared in ISIS videos trying to recruit other Bahrainis to the group, the state department said. (With Agency inputs) New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government has made grand plans for the forthcoming International Yoga Day that falls on June 21. The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) has been working tirelessly to make the International Yoga Day functions across the country and world a grand success. According to a report, union government's 74 ministers are likely to participate in the Yoga Day functions in 74 cities on the Yoga Day. Prime Minister Modi would take part in the Yoga Day function in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow where AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik would also be present. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah would perform Yoga in Ahmedabad. Home Minister Rajnath Singh would attend the Yoga Day function in Himachal Pradesh's Sujanpur Tihra. Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu would be present in Delhi. Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nitin Gadkari, J. P. Nadda, Smriti Irani, Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal would take part in International Yoga Day functions at Patna, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam respectively. AYUSH Ministry is working day and night to make the International Yoga Day a big success not only at national level but also at international level. It has written letters to different Ambassadors and Embassies and urged to make the event successful. International Yoga Day is celebrated annually on 21 June since its inception in 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his UN address had suggested the date of 21 June, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world. (With Agency inputs) New Delhi: A meeting of state home ministers, called by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the internal security situation in the country, was postponed for an indefinite period. The meeting of state home ministers, which was scheduled for July 3, has been postponed "indefinitely", a home ministry official said. No reason has been cited for the deferment of the meeting, nor a new date given. Sources said the reluctance of a few non-BJP ruled state governments to participate in the meeting could be the reason for the postponement. The prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, cross- border terrorism, Maoist violence and other issues were expected to be discussed at the meeting. This would have been first such conference on internal security during the NDA government rule. During the UPA regime, the home ministry used to call a conference of chief ministers every year to discuss issues related to internal security. However, no such conference was held in the last three years. Srinagar: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Thursday inaugurated a toll free helpline called `MADADGAAR` for the Kashmiris, whereby it shall be able to serve the citizens of the Valley located all over the country. MADADGAAR will render assistance in case of public safety, medical emergencies, disruption of civic amenities, natural and manmade calamities, women safety etc.Speaking to ANI, Director General (DG) of the CRPF Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar said, "Addressing distress is not merely the aim. The helpline would also aid career counselling for those interested in joining the paramilitary forces, help victims of drug addiction by referring them to the counsellors, provide important information on tourism, especially to pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi and Sri Amarnath shrines. "Further assuring help to the citizens of Kashmir, DG Bhatnagar stated that the helpline would merely act as a link between the citizens as well as the administrative arm of the state."The success of this helpline can only be assured when the relevant departments of the state also respond to the pleas, as and when approached by CRPF, as the establishments of CRPF would merely act as a link between the citizens as well as the administrative arm of the state," added the DG. Meanwhile, he also assured to rebuild the lost trust and confidence in the forces."The effort is intended not only to help rebuild the lost trust and confidence in the Forces but is also expected to project the humane face of the Force. In the long run the forces should not be conceived merely as villains of peace and perpetrators of violence and injustice, but as well wishers of the people of Kashmir who sincerely wish to witness peace, tranquillity and prosperity return to the valley," added DG Bhatnagar. The CRPF is the largest central armed police force of the country with strength of over three lakh was one of the first responders in 1989 when the first signs of militancy appeared in the valley. Though the force did make its presence felt since the late 50s and into the 60s and 70s battling the Chinese and the Pakistani aggression alongside the army, the force was inducted in a big way in the late 80s. The CRPF has continued to be a constant, ever since.Currently, 47 Battalions of the force are deployed in the Valley.CRPF, being a pan India force, has its base in almost every state, reinforcing its ability to serve the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir, both here as well as in any part of the country. The CRPF has maintained that reaching out to the citizens and building bridges of trust and confidence is also an integral part of their duties, apart from, assisting the state in maintaining law and order. The force in its various theatres of deployment has been undertaking various outreach programmes to build a connect with the people.The Kashmir Valley has been ravaged by militancy for the last three decades throwing the lives of Kashmiris into the throes of despair, despondency and helplessness. Curfews and bandh calls have become the order of the day and in times of necessity the citizens have no means to reach out to the authorities for redressal of their grievances. Jammu: Two Pakistani soldiers have been killed in retaliation by the Indian Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The incident reportedly took place Bhimber Gali sector of Poonch on Wednesday. "Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliation by Indian troops in Bhimber Gali sector on Wednesday," IANS quoted an official as saying. Meanwhile, heavy exchanges of fire continued on Thursday between the two sides on Thursday on the LoC in Naushera sector after Pakistan violated ceasefire again. "The Pakistani Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, heavy automatics and mortars in Naushera sector," IANS quoted Defence Ministry Spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta as saying. Pakistan shelling and firing started at 2 p.m. following retaliation by "the Indian Army posts strongly and effectively". The Pakistani Army resorted to "unprovoked, indiscriminate" shelling and firing at three places on the LoC after which the Indian Army retaliated "effectively and strongly". On Wednesday, the Pakistani Army violated the ceasefire at two places in Rajouri district and in Bhimber Gali sector of Poonch district. Pakistan had violated the ceasefire ten times during the past four days on the LoC in Jammu region. Bogund: A group of terrorists on Thursday open fired at a policeman in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district. The policeman identified as Shabir Ahmad Dar succumbed to his injuries after the attack that took place in Kulgam's Bogund area. Dar was rushed to the Kulgam District Hospital where he was declared brought dead. The incident comes days after the Lashkar-e-Toiba issued a video where terrorists are requesting cops to join militant ranks. Pahalgam : Ahead of the Amarnath yatra, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N. N. Vohra on Thursday said that the government is working hard to make the Amarnath yatra safe and convenient for the tourists. "The yatra is starting from June 29 and the preparations are going on since a past few months. I`ve come to take stock of facilities here at the Pahalgam base camp. I can see the hard work being put to make the stay easier for the tourists. I want to say that enjoy your visit and reach back home safely," Vohra told the media here. The Indian Army has deployed total five battalions in the valley in view of the Amarnarth Yatra yesterday, sources said. The Indian Army is gearing up for a major task to prevent any communal flare up during the yatra that will be preceded by Eid-ul-fitr on June 26. One battalion will be on the Sonamarg-Baltal route to the Amarnarth shrine in Jammu and Kashmir and another one will be in the Pahalgam route. The remaining battalions will be positioned along the Srinagar-Jammu highway north of the Jawahar Tunnel.The troops will be equipped with night vision capability and tasked with securing the heights around the routes. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the overall in-charge for conducting the Amarnarth yatra and the Army units will be in-charge for preventing militants from interdicting the yatra.One additional battalion in counter infiltration role is deployed along the Line of Control (LoC). Bengaluru: In a relief to former chief minister and state JDS chief H D Kumaraswamy, the Karnataka High Court today directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) not to arrest him till June 20 in an illegal mining case. Justice Rathnakala passed the order on an application for anticipatory bail moved by Kumaraswamy after the special court turned down his bail plea on Tuesday in the Janthakal mining company case. The judge then posted the matter to June 20. Kumaraswamy, son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, is accused of putting immense pressure on the then commissioner of mines, Gangaram Baderiya, to clear a file in favour of Janthakal mining firm in 2007, when he was the chief minister. Baderiya, now the principal secretary (revenue), was arrested by the SIT on May 15 for allegedly allowing the firm to illegally lift one million tonnes of mined ore in Chitradurga, based on forged documents. The SIT had summoned Kumaraswamy, following the arrest of Baderiya. Kumaraswamy had earlier said that he had no role in the case and would come out clean. He also had accused the Congress government of targeting him ahead of the 2018 assembly polls. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters today, Kumaraswamy said he has nothing to fear and knows about the strength of the case. He also questioned as to why the government which is fast tracking the Janthakal mining case involving him was not taking similar action relating to former chief minister Dharam Singh who is also facing charges in the case. Asked whether he was being victimised, he said, "There?is no doubt about it." Kochi: A Panama-registered merchant ship was involved in a recent collision with an Indian fishing boat in the sea off the coast here in which two fishermen were killed, a preliminary inquiry has found. The Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Kochi, which conducted an inquiry into the incident, has ordered the detention of the ship, 'Amber L', at Kochi till further orders. An "initial report" on the incident was submitted to the Directorate General of Shipping yesterday, the MMD said. A copy of the report was provided to the other agencies concerned, including the Kerala police. The MMD said that based on digital and physical evidence, it had prima facie concluded that "the Panama Flag Bulk Carrier, Amber L, IMO No. 9200354, is the merchant ship involved in the collision with the Indian fishing boat, Carmel Matha, at about 0223 hours on June 11 off the Kerala coast". At the time of the incident, Capt Georgiannakis Ioannis (Greek national) was on the command of the vessel, second officer Galanos Athanasios (Greek national) was keeping a navigational watch on the bridge and Zewana (Myanmar national) was the designated Able Seaman, the report said. The causes and circumstances of the incident, along with the contributing factors, violations of national or international maritime laws, if any, professional lapses and human errors would be included in the "final report", to be submitted to the Centre, it added. The final report will also have details, including the extent of involvement of both the vessels in the incident and the recommendations to "avoid recurrence of such unfortunate incidents in the future". Two fishermen were killed and 11 others injured when the merchant ship hit their fishing boat off the Kochi coast. Of the 14 crew members on board the fishing boat, 11 were rescued by other such vessels in the vicinity and two bodies were recovered, while one fisherman, Motidas from Assam, was missing. Kochi: 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan on Thursday said he was not disappointed with his name missing from the list of dignitaries who will share the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Kochi Metro inauguration on June 17. Sreedharan, who is the principal advisor for the Kochi Metro project, urged everyone not to rake up the issue. While speaking to the mediapersons he said, "Don't make it into controversy, security of PM is important, must follow what security agency says, adding that he was not disappointed with his name being excluded. The 'Metro Man' made the comments while inspecting the newly constructed Kochi Metro train station. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday travel on a Kochi Metro train when he inaugurates Kerala`s first metro, it was announced on Wednesday. But "Metro man" E Sreedharan has not been given a seat on the dais. As per the approved list from the PMO, the prime minister, governor, chief minister, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu, KV Thomas, MP, state minister Thomas Chandy and Mayor Saumini Jain are the seven persons who will be on the dais at the inaugural function, according to an official release. Kochi Metro Rail Ltd Managing Director Elias George, who will welcome the gathering, has not been permitted to be on the dais. After hearing about the exclusion of Sreedharan, Opposition Leader in the State Assembly Ramesh Chennithala and local legislator PT Thomas, Vijayan has written to the Prime Minister`s office to include these three also. In the first 25-km phase, trains will run for 13 km between Palarivattom and Aluva. Work is on the remaining section. Kochi: Acting on Kerala government's request, the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday informed Kerala CMO that names of Opposition leader leader Ramesh Chennithala and "Metro Man" E Sreedharan, have been included for Kochi metro inauguration. The Kerala government had sent a letter to Prime Minister's Office yesterday requesting to include their names. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday travel on a Kochi Metro train when he inaugurates Kerala`s first metro. There was a hullabaloo after the names of Sreedharan and some key personalities were missing from the list of dignitaries who would share the stage with the Prime Minister during the Kochi Metro inauguration on June 17. The state government yesterday asked the PMO to accommodate three more dignitaries, including DMRC Principal Advisor, E Sreedharan, popularly known as the 'metro man' on the dais of the metro project during the inaugural function. A letter in this regard was sent by Chief Secretary Nalini Netto in the wake of a controversy over omission of key personalities, including Sreedharan, who was associated with the project from the beginning, from the dais. Earlier today, Sreedharan said he was not disappointed with his name missing from the list of dignitaries who will share the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Kochi Metro inauguration on June 17. Sreedharan, who is the principal advisor for the Kochi Metro project, urged everyone not to rake up the issue. While speaking to the mediapersons he said, "Don't make it into controversy, security of PM is important, must follow what security agency says, adding that he was not disappointed with his name being excluded. Kochi: Amid rising complaints about noise pollution, a leading mosque in the Muslim-majority Malappuram district in Kerala has decided decides to deliver only one 'azaan' over loudspeaker during the holy month of Ramzan. Hindustan Times reported on Thursday that Valiya Juma Masjid, which is the biggest in Vazhakkad area, has decided that only a single azaan will be delivered from the mosque and 17 other small mosques dotting the area will only repeat it without any noise. Taking a cue from the grand mosque, other mosque or mahal committees have also decided to follow suit. There are about seven mosques run by various denominations in Vazhakkad and 10 others in the village areas. A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting of the members of these mosque committees during which it was decided that the use of loudspeakers for all other religious purposes will also be stopped. Initially many opposed the idea but later came around. Nearby schools and hospitals often complained about the indiscriminate use of loudspeakers, TP Abdul Aziz, president of the mahal council, was quoted as saying. Besides, the mahal council has also constituted a five-member panel to unify the timings of the 'azaan'. The mosque committee will also hold consultations with the chief qazi of Kozhikode, who wields enough influence among community members. The initiative has earned praise from several NGOs, social bodies and residents of the area, who say that ''it will go a long way in curbing the mindless use of ear-splitting speakers.'' New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed the Madhya Pradesh government for not lodging any FIR in the killing of protesting farmers in the state. "Nine days on, 45 FIRs against protesting farmers, but not one against those who murdered six farmers in cold blood in Mandsaur," wrote Gandhi on his official Twitter account. Farmers in Madhya Pradesh were on protest from June 1 demanding better prices for their produce and debt relief. The agitation turned violent on June 6 when five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur. Mumbai: Ruling allies Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena on Thursday engaged in a verbal spat ahead of a crucial meeting between BJP President Amit Shah with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reiterated that his BJP was ready for mid-term elections in Maharashtra and would win on its own strength in a reaction to Sena MP Sanjay Raut`s recent comments that the party would withdraw support to BJP if it failed to announce a complete farm loan waiver. "Some people had said that they will withdraw support and bring down the government. We are ready for mid-term elections. If they compel us for mid-tem polls, I am confident we will form the government again," Fadnavis told media persons. Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar also made a similar statement in a different function, making it clear that "the BJP is always prepared for mid-term elections" and would romp home on its own strength if any allies withdrew support. Reacting sharply to this, Thackeray said "if they (BJP) have so much money, they should give it to the farmers and clear their debts". "It seems they have a lot of money to fight mid-term elections. They should give it to the poor farmers and clear all their loans. We shall fully support them," he said sarcastically. He added that the talk of mid-term polls is a ploy to divert attention and dilute the issue of farm loans waiver. The Sena chief said he offered prayers on Thursday at the Gajanan Maharaj Temple in Pune to give strength to the government to implement its promise of farm loans waiver. "We did not care for power and supported the farmers. The farmers will not forgive those who called them as `saala` and make they cry," Thackeray said. Later, state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve attempted so soothe ruffled feathers on both sides, saying Fadnavis did not mean mid-term elections will be held but merely the BJP as a party was ready for it. The aggressive stance of both partners came as Shah and Thackeray plan to meet on Sunday with discussions expected to centre around the upcoming the upcoming presidential elections. The meeting will take place at the Thackeray residence, `Matoshri` in Bandra east during the three-day visit of Amit Shah to Mumbai to celebrate the BJP`s three years in power at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting assumes significance for the BJP as the Shiv Sena is the most vocal critic of the party, the Prime Minister and also Fadnavis. In an embarrassment for the ruling BJP, its ally Shiv Sena has virtually joined ranks with the state opposition parties demanding complete loan waiver for farmers and on other major issues confronting the state. Amit Shah is expected to mollify Thackeray and ensure his support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the upcoming presidential election. In the past, the Shiv Sena had deviated from supporting NDA candidates on at least two occasions - during the elections of former President Pratibha Patil and later the current President Pranab Mukherjee for whom it pitched for a second term. It has also suggested RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat be field for the post. Mumbai: Taking a dig at Shiv Sena, Congress MLA Nitesh Rane on Wednesday said that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party deserved a place in the Guinness World Records for vowing to quit the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Maharashtra government many times (but not doing so). Notably, Nitesh Rane's father, Narayan Rane, was once with Shiv Sena before defecting to Congress. Rane made this tongue in cheek demand in his letter to the Director of Guinness World Records on Wednesday. "We would like to register a record on his (Uddhav Thackeray's) behalf for announcing a number of times that his party Shiv Sena would withdraw support to Maharashtra government," Rane wrote in his letter. It will be a first-of-its-kind record, he added. Responding to Rane's letter, Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said her party already holds a Guinness record for collecting largest quantity of blood in a day (24,200 bottles) at a blood donation camp in 2010. "Nitesh is a child in politics who is basking under the glory of his father without any substance of his own. He should be made aware that the Sena already holds a Guinness record and we are proud of it," Kayande said. Though Shiv Sena and BJP are long-time allies, relations between them have become strained in the last few years. Shiv Sena had backed the recent farmers' agitation in Maharashtra, despite being a part of the government. (With PTI inputs) Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that his party BJP is prepared for mid-term polls, a day after Shiv Sena warned of a 'big step' if the loan waiver for farmers announced by the state government is not fully implemented by July. Fadnavis made the remarks in Mumbai in reference to reports speculating mid-term polls in Maharashtra amid farmers' stir seeking loan waiver in view of the agrarian crisis. The Fadnavis dispensation had on Sunday announced the long-standing demand of the loan waiver for state agitating and debt-ridden farmers. "Some people said (when the agitation was on) that they will bring the government down, will withdraw support. I said we are ready for mid-term polls. "If someone wants to impel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will be able to form the government again," Fadnavis told reporters without naming any party. Buoyed by the BJP's success in Maharashtra local governing bodies' polls, held in the recent past, Fadnavis exuded confidence that people of the state were with the party notwithstanding various agitations against the state. "This success was unprecedented and no other party achieved such success. The Congress-NCP couldn't attend the success even during their hay days. So, people believe in the government," he said. Talking to a Marathi news channel recently, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had suggested that the Shiv Sena would withdraw support to the government if the loan waiver was not announced. San Francisco: Google`s flagship Android device has now sold over 1 million units, media reported, saying the figure was reached based on downloads of an application exclusive to the device. While this is a milestone in the eight-month history of Pixel seen as Google`s answer to the Apple iPhone, the number is overshadowed by its competition. In comparison, Apple sold over 70 million iPhones (which included iPhone 7) in the last quarter of 2016 while Samsung is estimated to have sold 5 million units of Galaxy S8 in the first month of its release. According to Arstechnica, Google doesn`t release sales data but the installs of the device-exclusive "Pixel Launcher" app has just passed the 1 million mark. The data includes pre-installed apps on new Pixel phones and doesn`t count installs on third-party devices and so can accurately estimate the number of Pixel phones sold, the report said. Launched last year, Pixel is the first smartphone that works as an intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator. The 5-inch smartphone is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset, 4GB of RAM and runs on Android Nougat 7.0 operating system. The device also has Pixel Imprint -- a fingerprint scanner on the back of the smartphone for quick access to all apps, texts and e-mails. Guwahati: The army on Thursday admitted that it shot dead a man in a case of "mistaken identity" during a counter-insurgency operation in an Arunachal Pradesh village, bordering Myanmar. Thingtu Ngemu, 35, was killed when soldiers of 21 Para (Special Forces) were carrying out an operation in Changlang district during Wednesday night. Defence spokesman Lt.Col. Suneet Newton said in a statement that Ngemu walked into the ambush, was challenged and asked to stop but he did not. "The army troops had laid an ambush in this particular area based on hard intelligence with regards to movement of a group of hardcore terrorists," the spokesman said. "It was during this time, the individual, who has got killed, came into the ambush and on being challenged he made very suspicious movements and rushed towards the ambush party, which forced them to open controlled fire, resulting in the individual suffering fatal injury. It is a case of mistaken identity," the spokesman added. Mumbai: Karan Johar is a family man at heart and has flaunts his love for his loved ones in the sweetest way possible. He did something recently that reflects his feelings for his family; he changed his Twitter bio it is too cute. The Bollywood producer-director, who welcomed his twins via surrogacy, mentioned the name of his children and parents in the Twitter bio. Roohi aur Yash ka papa! Hiroo aur Yash ka beta.... (sic) Karans bio reads. While Yash has been named after Karans late father, Roohi is an anagram of Hiroo ( KJos mothers name). The owner of Dharma Productions became father to the twin children in February. The infants were kept in a hospitals neonatal intensive care unit because they were born premature. They were taken home in the end of March. Now the children have a beautiful nursery at home designed by none other than Gauri Khan, one of Karans dearest friends. New Delhi: Bollywood actor Sidharth Malhotra, who was recently shooting for Neeraj Pandey's 'Aiyaary' in Kashmir, on Thursday took to Twitter to share an interesting video with his fans. In the short clip, the 32-year-old star can be doing Sunny Deol's signature dance step with perfection. "Couldn't help but do #sunnydeol paahji step in betaab valley Kashmir,historic film location," the 'Brothers' hunk tweeted along with the boomerang clip. Sunny's iconic dance move became a rage and it is, till date, loved by the cinema lovers of all age groups. Have a look: Couldn't help but do #sunnydeol paahji step in betaab valley Kashmir,historic film location pic.twitter.com/n1kqwKjhWg Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) 14 June 2017 The place, where Sid shot the clip, got its name from the Sunny-Amrita Singh's hit debut film 'Betaab'. New Delhi: Bollywood veteran Rishi Kapoor on Wednesday took to Twitter to talk about the recent London's Grenfell Tower disaster. The 64-year-old actor lauded the firefighters, police, and medics by calling them the real heroes. The 'Kapoor and Sons' star also said that acting in films is not the real heroism. His tweets are now getting a positive response by the social media users. Rishi also highlighted the bravery of 9/11 firefighters who ignored all the odds to save lives of many. The Real Heroes. "9/11" Firefighters entered Twin Towers knowing eminent death. Now Grenfell Tower where again the braves have entered. Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) 14 June 2017 "The Real Heroes. "9/11" Firefighters entered Twin Towers knowing eminent death. Now Grenfell Tower where again the braves have entered," Chintu tweeted. He further posted on the social media, "Singing songs,romancing or fighting in films is no Heroism.The real HEROES are the Firefighters,Police and the Medics. I was no hero! Sorry!" Singing songs,romancing or fighting in films is no Heroism.The real HEROES are the Firefighters,Police and the Medics. I was no hero! Sorry! Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) 14 June 2017 For the unversed, at least 12 persons were confirmed dead and many were reported missing on Wednesday in a major fire that engulfed and consumed a 24-storey apartment complex in west London housing hundreds.24-storey apartment complex in west London housing hundreds. Pune: At least two people were killed in an explosion at India's premier ordinance factory here on Thursday. According to media reports, the blast occurred around 9.30 AM when "rejected ammunition" was being shifted. Several people were injured in the blast. Military experts are conducting investigations at the blast site in which there was no damage to any buildings in the establishment, IANS reported citing an official statement. The victims have been identified as Ashok Kashinath Dubal, 51 and S. Maria Rokh, 47, both local residents in Khadki, the statement said. The ordinance factory, one of the oldest such factories in the country, is located in Khadki in Pune. The factory manufactures various night warfare items like pyrotechnic ammunition, for the security forces. The facility started manufacturing these items since 1920s. Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered a vigilance probe into the alleged encroachment of water works land at Abohar by a relative of former Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal and five others. The issue was raised by Congress MLA Sukhjinder during the Question Hour in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here. Replying to it, Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu acknowledged that the land was encroachment by some people. He said that in 1961, 9.25 acres of land was acquired to increase the capacity of the water works, built in 1931, at Abohar and people from whom the land was acquired were given adequate compensation at that time. The record pertaining to this is secured in record room at Ferozepur, he added. But after the formation of SAD-BJP government in 2007, some SAD leaders allegedly tampered with the government record and got some portion registered in their names, Sidhu alleged. The then Deputy Commissioner without checking the record ordered the demarcation to facilitate the illegal encroachment of this land worth crores by these people, he said. These people, Sidhu said, not only encroached this land but also the next 'khasra' number outside the ambit of registry. He further informed the House that the registries were made in the names of Paramjit Singh alias Lali Badal (uncle of ex-deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal), Gurdit Singh, Mahinder Pratap, Ram Dayal, Varinder Pal Singh and Ashok Kumar. Agreeing to the MLA's demand, Sidhu sought a thorough probe against illegal encroachers by Vigilance and stringent action against the guilty from the chief minister, who then ordered a probe into the matter. Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government today said it has so far not received any response from the Centre on the Presidential assent to two bills passed by the state assembly exempting the state from the National Entrance-cum Eligibility Test (NEET). Stating this in the assembly, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, however, expressed confidence of receiving a favourable response from the Centre on the matter. Vijayabaskar was responding to DMK's K Ponmudi who sought to know if the state government would move the court to protect the interests of students from the state. "The NEET bills are with the Ministry of Home Affairs. It has to be either accepted or rejected. Only if its negative (rejected) can we move the court," he said. Tamil Nadu government has been seeking exemption from NEET and in February last the assembly adopted two bills which seek to ensure continuation of the present system of admission to medical courses in the state. Opposition parties, including DMK, had supported the legislative measure. Chief Minister K Palaniswamy had taken up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention to obtain the presidential assent for the bills. Mumbai: Actress Urvashi Dholakia, who will soon be seen in the upcoming TV series "Chandrakanta", says Indian television is widely ruled by women. Asked about her opinion on the representation of women on the small screen, Urvashi told IANS: "First of all, let me tell you television is always ruled by women. And I am sure television could not have grown so much without being accepted by the audience on the ground of women's representation." "I see no point of going down to feminism and saying that we represent women as they are discriminated by men all the time." She added: "There are all kinds of people on the face of this Earth. Some women are dominating, some are dominated, some are holding a strong personality, some are grey, but each to its own. I think more than representation, it is the matter of perception." Produced by Ekta Kapoor, "Chandrakanta" will premiere on June 24 on Colors. Urvashi is playing the character of a greedy queen, who believes in black magic and can go to any extent to reach to the top of a powerful position. Giving an insight into her character, the actress said: "I always get into the character, there is no other way for me to build a character on screen. Having said that, I am acting for too long to analyse my process as an actor, I think it is in-built. I switch into a character so effortlessly that I do not over-analyse anything." Urvashi became a household name with her role in "Kasautii Zindagi Kay". She was also the winner of reality show "Bigg Boss 6". Ghaziabad: A dreaded interstate gangster who was wanted in a Rs 56-lakh robbery case near Arthala Peer on the Trand Trunk road has been arrested in this Uttar Pradesh city, the police said. "Hasan Ahmad was nabbed from Ramlila Ground in Kavinagar by Special Operation Group (SOG) after a tip-off by an informer," Superintendent of Police (City) Akash Tomar told reporters in a press conference on Thursday. A .32 calibre pistol and 3 live cartridges were recovered from him, the police officer added. In March 2016, Hasan looted Rs 56 lakh from a businessman near Arthala Peer under the Sahibabad police station jurisdiction. While two persons involved in the robbery were arrested, Ahmad managed to escape. During interrogation, Ahmad, a resident of Loni, confessed to the robbery. It was found that he was also involved in robberies and other crimes in Delhi. Three cases were registered against him in Karawal Nagar, Malviya Nagar and South Campus police stations, while three other cases were registered against him in Ghaziabad. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government has made grand plans for the forthcoming International Yoga Day. The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) has been working tirelessly to make the International Yoga Day functions across the country and world a grand success. Union Government`s 74 ministers would take part in the Yoga Day functions in 74 cities on June 21. Prime Minister Modi would take part in the Yoga Day function in Uttar Pradesh`s capital Lucknow where AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik would also be present. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah would perform Yoga in Ahmedabad. Home Minister Rajnath Singh would attend the Yoga Day function in Himachal Pradesh`s Sujanpur Tihra. Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu would be present in Delhi.Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nitin Gadkari, J. P. Nadda, Smriti Irani, Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal would take part in International Yoga Day functions at Patna, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam respectively. AYUSH Ministry is working day and night to make the International Yoga Day a big success not only at national level but also at international level. It has written letters to different Ambassadors and Embassies and urged to make the event successful.International Yoga Day is celebrated annually on 21 June since its inception in 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his UN address had suggested the date of 21 June, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world. Lucknow: Hours after ordering dissolution of Shia and Sunni waqf boards, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday night recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the alleged irregularities worth multi-crores committed by the two bodies in the state. Talking to news agency PTI, Minister of State for Waqf Mohsin Raza said: The Chief Minister recommended a CBI probe into alleged scam worth crores in Shia and Sunni waqf boards. Raza said scam worth crores has come to the fore in a probe by the Waqf Council of India. Earlier in the day, the Uttar Pradesh government announced dissolving the Shia and Sunni waqf boards in the state in the wake of corruption charges against them. Raza said that the dissolution process has begun after considering all legal aspects. There have been serious allegations of corruption against the Shia and Sunni waqf boards related to their properties. The role of the chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, Wasim Rizvi, as well as the minister for waqf in the previous Samajwadi Party government, Azam Khan, had come under scanner after the inquiry by the Waqf Council of India. Barely a fortnight after the SP suffered a humiliating defeat in the state Assembly polls, a report by the fact- finding committee of the Central Waqf Council (CWC) indicted Khan -- one of the controversial ministers in the erstwhile Akhilesh Yadav government -- of corruption, mismanagement and misuse of office. The fact-finding committee, constituted after the CWC received several complaints from UP, was headed by Syed Ejaz Abbas Naqvi, who is also the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand waqf boards. Raza had recently handed over separate reports of the Waqf Council with regard to the two boards to the Chief Minister. The committee in its report elaborated on how Khan as minister allegedly misused his position to grab properties under the boards. It said Khan made a trust -- Maulana Johar Ali Education Trust -- and diverted funds from waqf properties to it. The report pointed out discrepancies in maintaining rent collection records on Waqf properties. It recommended that the Uttar Pradesh Waqf Board be dissolved immediately and all accused officials be barred from entering waqf offices pending investigation. Khan has, however, maintained that he was absolutely clean and the allegations against him were baseless. (With PTI inputs) Kolkata: Amid an ongoing shutdown across the Darjeeling Hills over separate Gorkhaland statehood issue, the authorities on Thursday raided the residence of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung in the Patlebas area. According to ANI, the GJM chief's residence was raided by West Bengal Police and the CRPF in a joint operation during which a large cache of weapons were also recovered. The officials broke locks and barged into the GJM chief's residence in the wee hours to carry out a massive search there. Got info they (GJM) gathering arms to attack police, that's why tried to conduct raid at several places: Akhilesh Chaturvedi, #Darjeeling SP pic.twitter.com/dQ08Hmx7Kw ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 A huge cache of explosive devices, bows and arrows, sharp weapons, firecrackers along with mobile phones were recovered, according to Akhilesh Chaturvedi, Darjeeling SP . Darjeeling: Weapons recovered during police raid at Gorkha Janmukti Morcha office #DarjeelingUnrest #Gorkhaland pic.twitter.com/PJ60QWurEv ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 Meanwhile, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has renewed call for an indefinite shutdown in protest against the police raid at Gurang's office. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha workers protest against police raid at their office in Darjeeling #DarjeelingUnrest #Gorkhaland pic.twitter.com/VRluWNo4K7 ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is said to be monitoring the situation in Darejeeling. Today's raid at the GJM chief's residence comes amid escalation of tension across the Darjeeling Hills over the statehood issue. The Bimal Gurang-led GJM had on Wednesday threatened to intensify the ongoing stir if the police continue to hound Morcha supporters like they did in the last two days. During the day, not only did GJM president Bimal Gurung iterate his earlier stand that tourists should leave, but also suggested migrant labourers do the same, suggesting a mass exodus from the Hills in the days to come. "We are protesting peacefully, in a democratic manner, but the state government is using its machinery to commit atrocities in an effort to crush our movement. Our agitation could get prolonged and the situation can take a turn for the worse. We request tourists and daily-wage earners who have come from other parts to work in the Hills to understand the situation and leave," Gurung said. The GJM youth wing, the Gorkha Janmukti Yuwa Morcha (GJYM), is expected to hold a massive rally today in protest against police crackdown and the arrest of its members and a GTA councillor. "We want to protest and agitate peacefully and democratically. If the police do lathicharge on Thursday, we will call an indefinite bandh in the Hills. Our one-point agenda is Gorkhaland and we will not cower before any threat," GJYM president Prakash Gurung had said. On Wednesday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called on Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi at Raj Bhavan to brief him on the administrative steps taken to tackle the situation. Banerjee has been in touch with the governor right from the beginning to keep the Centre posted about the state's initiative, at a time GJM leaders are trying to use their own channels to get in touch with the Union government. Anticipating the GJM plan that may lead to resignation of GJM members from GTA, the CM packed the GTA with her trusted officials. IAS C Murugan has taken over as GTA secretary and IAS Deepap Priya P has been posted as executive director GTA to keep the organization running in case its CEO puts in his papers. The shuffle in the GTA came hours within the chief minister's meeting with the governor. The administration is also aware of the situation and has brought in reinforcements to thwart any violence. Meanwhile, fearing retribution and being labelled 'traitors to the cause', several Trinamool workers have started joining the GJM. New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday rushed 400 additional paramilitary personnel to Darjeeling, taking the total number to 1,400, to assist the local administration there to restore peace and normalcy. "As many as 400 paramilitary personnel were sent to Darjeeling to help the state government on their request to maintain law and order," a home ministry official said. Around 1,000 personnel, including 200 women, have already been deployed in Darjeeling. The West Bengal government is yet to send a report on the prevailing situation in Darjeeling which has witnessed violence in the last few days. The home ministry is closely monitoring the situation in the hill district and assisting the state government to restore normalcy there. As their indefinite shutdown continues, protesters demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland pelted stones at police in various parts of Darjeeling as they were stopped from enforcing their shutdown in many government offices. Gorkhaland supporters had also vandalised government offices in Darjeeling as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)- sponsored indefinite shutdown forced tourists out of the picturesque hill station due to threat of violence. The GJM, which controls the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), has called a shutdown of all state and GTA offices to press its demand for creation of a separate state. Darjeeling: Police recovered 300-400 weapons, including arrows, and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morch chief Bimal Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Police said some party activists also were arrested today in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his group's campaign for a separate Gorkhaland state would go on till it was achieved. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official told PTI on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from today. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting," said GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from today," Giri told PTI. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition". "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us," he alleged. Giri said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centre's intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, told PTI over phone. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force", he alleged. The raids came on the fourth day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite strike in government and GTA offices in the hills. The GJM's call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language of the rest of the state. Prominent among the six states to join GJM is the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Centre has dispatched 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the West Bengal government in restoring normalcy in violence-hit Darjeeling hills which witnessed incidents of stone pelting during GJM-sponsored indefinite bandh. The Centre had also sought a detailed report on the prevailing situation in the hill district from the state government. Beijing: A first-ever calligraphic exhibition depicting the verses of 'Bhagavad Gita' was held on Thursday in China, highlighting its growing popularity in the Communist nation. Drawn by China's renowned calligrapher Dai Daosen, the calligraphic rendition of Chinese Translation Gita, titled 'Rendezvous in Hangzhou - Calligraphic Works from Bhagavad Gita' was held at the prestigious Zhejiang Museum in Hangzhou. Gita has been translated into Chinese language earlier but this is the first time it was rendered on Calligraphy, Prakash Gupta, the Consulate General of India in Shanghai, told PTI here. Dai has done this as he is deeply inspired by Gita, Gupta said. The calligraphic exhibition was conducted by Consulate General of India in Shanghai with Zhejiang Museum. It was organised as part of the India Week celebrations, and jointly inaugurated by Gupta along with Dai and Nie Bangrui, President of Wangxizhi Organisation. The exhibition comprises 88 pieces of calligraphy, which took six months to prepare; and marks the first stage of 'Exhibition of Chinese Calligraphic Works from Eastern and Western Classics'. Thematically, the exhibition centres on the cultural and artistic exchanges between China and India. It aims to exhibit and universalize Oriental culture represented by China and India, including classics in both languages, a the consulate said in a stateent. Born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, Dai has been a successful entrepreneur, with enterprises spread across Zhejiang and Gansu provinces. He has been practicing Chinese Tai Ji and probing Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist ideas, and also specialises in Chinese calligraphy. Dai's inclination towards Gita was owing to it being not only a revered sacred scripture of Hinduism, but also as one of the most important religious classics of the world. The exhibition brings together two ancient civilisations, Dai said. The India Culture Week would also comprise India-China (Hangzhou) Business and Investment Forum and a photo exhibition of Buddhist images among others. The consulate along with Zhejiang Provincial Museum jointly organised a rare exhibit of Gupta Period Sculpture and Art Works titled 'Across the Silk Road: Gupta Sculptures and their Chinese Counterparts: 400-700 CE' at the prestigious Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou today. Islamabad: Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has lashed out at the US for carrying out drone strikes "unilaterally" on a militant hideout in the tribal Orakzai Agency. "Unilateral actions, like drone strike, etc., are counterproductive and against (the) spirit of ... ongoing cooperation and intelligence-sharing being diligently undertaken by Pakistan," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday quoted Gen Bajwa as saying. "Pakistan Army is capable of taking effective measure if actionable intelligence is shared," Gen Bajwa said, referring to Tuesday`s drone strike in the Spin Thall area of Orakzai Agency adjacent to North Waziristan Agency. According to media reports, a US drone fired two missiles at a compound, killing two suspected militants, including a leader of the Haqqani network, Abubakar. Gen Bajwa on Wednesday said the army would continue its efforts to consolidate gains achieved thus far and added that the army stood with all other institutions to get Pakistan rid of menaces retarding its progress and prosperity. Mogadishu: A suicide car bombing and assault by Shabaab militants on two neighbouring restaurants in Somalia's capital Mogadishu ended on Thursday morning with 18 dead, a government spokesman said. "The operation is over now and the gunmen were killed by the security forces," said Mohamed Ahmed Arab, spokesman for Somalia's security ministry. "They have attacked business places and killed innocent civilians: 18 civilians were killed, including a Syrian national, and more than 10 others were wounded," he said. The attack began at around 8pm (17.00GMT) on Wednesday evening with a suicide car bombing at the Post Treats restaurant and club, after which gunmen stormed inside the nearby Pizza House restaurant. Both venues are popular with affluent, young and diaspora Somalis and were busy as customers broke the Ramadan fast. The gunmen spent the night roaming the restaurant killing those they found trapped before they were eventually killed by the security forces. Washington: China's cooperation in pressuring its close ally North Korea over its nuclear and missile programme is "notable but uneven", US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told lawmakers. "The approach we are taking with North Korea, as you're aware, is one of eliciting countries all over the world to support us in putting pressure on the regime in Pyongyang, to change and alter their position and their view before we are willing to sit down and conduct discussions with them," Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a Congressional hearing. Clearly, China is the capstone to achieving this kind of pressure, he said, adding that this was a topic of significant discussion in President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump's summit in Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. "The communications have been very clear. Our expectations have been very clear with the Chinese. Their cooperation, I would say, has been notable, but it has been uneven," he said. "And we continue that dialogue with the Chinese, specifically around their actions that support revenue streams to North Korea, but also taking action against entities inside of China that may be supporting revenue streams as well," Tillerson said. The Secretary of State said he along with Defense Secretary James Mattis will be having another high-level dialogue next week when they meet their Chinese counterparts here in Washington. "That will be one of the first topics on the agenda. We have made it clear to them, and we have provided them a list of entities that we believe they need to take action against. We have asked that they take the action, but President Trump has also been very clear with President Xi that if they either don't want to take the action or they do not take the action, we will act on our own," Tillerson said in response to a question. Responding to a series of questions on Taiwan, Tillerson said that there is no change in US' One-China policy. "The China-US relationship has been defined for the past 50 years by our One-China policy and our agreement around One-China policy. They have their interpretation of what that means, and we have ours, and we've agreed that we will accommodate each other's interpretation," he said. "But it has led to 50 years of stability in the region. It has prevented conflict. It has allowed for this enormous economic growth that has gone on, much of which we have benefited from," Tillerson said. "As we began our dialogue with Chinese leadership, with this new administration, as you know, there was some questioning of our commitment to (the) One China early on. The president has reaffirmed that we are committed to the One- China policy," he said. Tillerson asserted that the US is also completely committed to the Taiwan Relations Act, and fulfilling all of its commitments under it. "But we are also in a discussion with China, now, about what is our relationship going to be for the next 50 years. How do we enter another era of stability and absence of conflict? And Taiwan, clearly, to the Chinese, is a part of that discussion," he said. "So it is important, as we engage with them, that we are able to fulfill our commitments to Taiwan, which we have every intention of doing, and the question is, is the One China Policy sustainable for the next 50 years? And those are the kinds of discussions we're having," Tillerson said. The discussions are extremely complex in many regards, he said. "But this is what we seek is another 50 years of stability and no conflict with China in the Pacific region. Taiwan is a big element of that. North Korea is a big element of that. Their island building and militarisation of islands is a significant element of that," Tillerson said. "All of these are in our discussion with them about how do we define this relationship for the next half century, to ensure we have a continued era of no conflict and stability," said the Secretary of State. Washington: Defene Secretary James Mattis has asserted that the US' freedom of navigation exercise in the South China Sea which evoked strong protests from China would not be paused as it was being carried out as part of a strategy. "This (Freedom of Navigation exercise) is our policy. We will continue this," Mattis told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing yesterday. "Could it change if circumstances change...Of course, but right now Secretary (of State, Rex) Tillerson and I give him the military factors -- and we're in league together on this, so I don't think anything is going to change," he said in response to a question. The US last month sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Donald Trump, prompting the Chinese government to say that the "provocative action" violated its sovereignty. The guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, conducted a patrol within 20 kilometres of Mischeef Reef, part of the Spratly Islands over which several countries, including China, have competing claims. Mattis said when he came to the Pentagon, he received, from the chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff a recommendation to conduct a Freedom of Navigation Operation in the South China Sea. "I was the one who rejected it and I said I want to see the plan for how we do this, not each one of them coming up as a stand alone. I wanted to see a strategy. He provided that on very short notice," Mattis said. "I authorised the Freedom of Navigation -- those voyages to continue and get underway and that's what you saw was the first. Now there's a programme inside a coherent strategy that support Secretary Tillerson's view of foreign policy, engaging in that part of the world," Mattis said. He made the remarks while responding to a question over the United States Navy not conducting a Freedom of Navigation Operations in the South China Sea for more than six months from October 2016 to May 2017. "I'm glad that we've resumed them, but I worry about fits and starts and what kind of a signaling that sends about our resolve as China continues to violate and challenge international law," said Senator Brian Schatz. The Defense Secretary also told Senators that the US is currently seeking assistance from China on the North Korea issue. "Right now, I think we are seeing assistance from China in dealing with this growing issue," he said. "The military options are uniformly very, very tough. They're very serious and the effort right now, led by secretary of State Tillerson, under the president's direction, is to find a diplomatic solution, if there is anything along those lines possible. And it's full effort on this by all the interagency working with Secretary Tillerson," he said. Kabul: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) said its fighters had captured Osama bin Laden's infamous Tora Bora mountain hideout in eastern Afghanistan, but the Taliban on Thursday dismissed the claim, saying they were still in control of the cave complex that once housed the former al Qaeda leader. Attaullah Khogyanai, spokesman for the governor of the eastern Nangarhar province where Tora Bora is located, confirmed to Efe that the region had been captured, spelling the first huge victory for the IS in Afghanistan in two months. However, he stressed that security forces had already launched an offensive to get rid of the IS. Earlier, ISIS released an audio recording, saying its signature black flag was flying over the hulking mountain range. The message was broadcast on the militants' Radio Khilafat station in the Pashto language late on Wednesday. It also said ISIS has taken over several districts and urged villagers who fled the fighting to return to their homes and stay indoors. A Taliban spokesman denied ISIS was in control, claiming instead that the Taliban had pushed ISIS back from some territory the rival militants had taken in the area. The Tora Bora mountains hide a warren of caves in which al Qaeda militants led by bin Laden hid from U.S. coalition forces in 2001, after the Taliban fled Kabul and before he fled to neighboring Pakistan. According to testimony from al Qaeda captives in the U.S. prison at Guantamo Bay, Cuba, bin Laden fled from Tora Bora first to Afghanistan's northeastern Kunar province, before crossing the border into Pakistan. He was killed in a 2011 raid by U.S. Navy SEALs on his hideout in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. Pakistan complained the raid violated its sovereignty while bin Laden's presence -- barely a few miles from the Pakistani equivalent of America's West Point military academy -- reinforced allegations by those who accused Pakistan of harboring the Taliban and al Qaeda militants. Pakistan denies such charges, pointing to senior al Qaeda operatives it has turned over to the United States. Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that Taliban fighters had pushed back ISIS militants from areas of Tora Bora that they had earlier captured. He emphasised that most parts of Tora-Bora were still under the Taliban control, and added that they had sent reinforcements to carry out a fresh counterattack. This is the most significant IS triumph since April 13 when it lost its main base during a US bombing in Achin district of Nangarhar province. The US had then dropped the powerful GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast device, dubbed the "mother of all bombs", to wipe out a cave and bunker complex, killing around a hundred IS fighters and commanders. The tunnels of Tora Bora were built by the Taliban with the US help during the Soviet-Afghan war (1979-89), and later served as an Al Qaeda and the Taliban stronghold during the 2001 US invasion. (With Agency inputs) Aaron Carter, the singer-rapper who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead at his home in Southern California. He was 34. Representatives for Carters family confirmed the singers death Saturday. They did not provide any immediate further comment. A sheriff's official says deputies responding to reports of a medical emergency found a person deceased at the home in Lancaster. Aaron Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brothers boy band, and appeared on the familys reality series, House of Carters. Astana: A Kazakh man died and another was hospitalised after they were caught in a fire on the steppes triggered by falling debris from a Russian space launch, emergency services said on Thursday. The blaze, reaching 15 kilometers (9.5 miles) across, was unleashed by parts of a rocket that fell to earth on Wednesday after launch from the nearby Baikonur cosmodrome, emergency situations committee spokesman Ruslan Imankulov told AFP. The rocket had been used to successfully launch a supply ship destined for the International Space Station (ISS), emergency services in Kazakhstan said Thursday. Russia's space agency Roscosmos confirmed the death in a statement today, attributing it to "difficult meteorological conditions in the fallout region," which is experiencing extremely high temperatures. The truck the deceased man was driving was smothered by flames "as a result of a particularly strong gust of wind", the statement added. Imankulov told AFP the local fire service had been notified by a citizen that a "dry grass fire" was raging around 40 km from the Kazakh steppe town of Zhezkazgan at around 1325 GMT yesterday. The fire broke out in "the planned fallout zone" for the Soyuz 2.1a rocket, which blasted off from Baikonur at 0920 GMT (3:20 pm), according to Imankulov. The fire was extinguished by around 2100 GMT on Wednesday, he said. Imankulov said the two Kazakhs had been working on debris-clearing for a Russian rocket-building firm, NPO Mashinostroyeniya. Roscosmos confirmed in its press statement that they were employed by the company. NPO Mashinostroyeniya could not be reached for comment. The Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is the main hub for launches to the ISS while Zhezkazgan is the closest major town to the site where astronauts currently land on their return from the ISS. New York: After an 11-hour-long battle, Somalian security forces have finally ended the siege at a Mogadishu restaurant early Thursday. The seige, however, resulted in the loss of 19 civilian lives. The Voice of America (VOA) quoted the commander of the police in Hodan district, Major Abdifatah Bashir Ali, as saying that Somali special security forces launched a major operation just before 6 a.m. local time and were able to overpower the militants who were holed up in the restaurant. According to the report, five special forces members also died during a fierce gun battle with the al-Shabab militants in the restaurant.Mogadishu ambulance services said they evacuated 26 people wounded in the attack. The attack started Wednesday evening with an explosion from a car bomb that detonated outside two restaurants, Pizza House and Posh Treats, causing massive damage. Witnesses said the gunmen entered Posh Treats and proceeding to Pizza House where they put up a fierce resistance against the security forces who were trying to end the siege. The al-Shabab militant group claiming responsibility for the attack, said on its website, that they have been targeting restaurants "because there are women (inside) who sell their bodies for money. "There has been no independent confirmation on their accusation. Seoul: North Korea released US student Otto Warmbier "on humanitarian grounds", state media said on Thursday, two days after he was evacuated from Pyongyang after falling into a coma while imprisoned in a labour camp. The 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Cincinnati spent more than a year in North Korean detention after being arrested for stealing a political poster from a hotel. His family have said he was "terrorised and brutalised" by Kim Jong-Un's regime. "Otto Frederick Warmbier, who had been in hard labour, was sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a one-line statement. Warmbier's release came after a flurry of secret diplomatic contacts between Washington and Pyongyang, which culminated in Joseph Yun, the State Department's special envoy on North Korea, travelling to Pyongyang to secure Warmbier's release. "Joseph Yun went to Pyongyang to accompany Mr Warmbier home," Thomas Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters in Seoul yesterday. Warmbier's parents Fred and Cindy have said that they were told their son had been in a coma since March 2016, allegedly after falling ill from botulism and being given a sleeping pill. "Otto is not in great shape right now," Fred Warmbier told Fox News yesterday. Warmbier had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour, a sentence the US decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime, accusing the North of using him as a political pawn. The New York Times reported a senior US official as saying the authorities recently received intelligence indicating Warmbier was repeatedly beaten while in custody. The release came amid tension between Washington and Pyongyang following a series of missile tests by the North, focusing attention on an arms buildup that Pentagon chief Jim Mattis on Monday dubbed "a clear and present danger to all." The North has occasionally jailed US citizens and released them only after visits by high-profile political figures, including former president Bill Clinton. Cincinnati: The parents of an American university student who was detained in North Korea are expected on Thursday to detail his mistreatment during 17 months in prison when he fell into a coma. Otto Warmbier`s parents, Fred and Cindy, are scheduled to speak to reporters at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) at their son`s former high school in the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming, Ohio. Warmbier, 22, was "brutalized and terrorized" by the North Korean regime, his parents said in a statement released Tuesday before he arrived in the United States on a medevac flight. He was being treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, but details of his condition have not been released. Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years of hard labor for trying to steal an item with a propaganda slogan, according to North Korean media. In a one-line report issued on Thursday, North Korea`s official KCNA news agency said he was "sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK." Warmbier`s family said they were told by North Korean officials, through contacts with American envoys, that Warmbier fell ill from botulism some time after his trial and lapsed into a coma after taking a sleeping pill, the Washington Post reported. The New York Times quoted a senior US official as saying Washington received intelligence reports that Warmbier had been repeatedly beaten in custody. Joseph Yun, the U.S. State Department`s special envoy on North Korea, traveled to Pyongyang and demanded Warmbier`s release on humanitarian grounds, capping a flurry of secret diplomatic contacts, a U.S. official said Tuesday. The State Department is continuing to discuss three other detained Americans with North Korea. Tensions between the United States and North Korea have been heightened by dozens of North Korean missile launches and two nuclear bomb tests since the beginning of last year. Pyongyang has also vowed to develop a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the US mainland. The US government this week issued a rare alert squarely blaming the North Korean government for a raft of cyber attacks stretching back to 2009 and warning that more were likely. Doha: Qatar`s Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday the country signed a deal to buy F-15 fighter jets from the United States for USD 12 billion. The deal was completed despite the Gulf country being criticised recently by US President Donald Trump for supporting terrorism. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and representatives from Qatar were set to meet Wednesday to seal the agreement, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters. Bloomberg News reported the deal was for 36 jets. The sale will increase security cooperation and interoperability between the US and Qatar, the Pentagon said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Defense Secretary Mattis and Qatari Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah also discussed the current state of operations against the ISIS and the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals, the Pentagon added. In November, the United States approved possible sale of up to 72 F-15QA aircraft to Qatar for USD 21.1 billion. Boeing Co is the prime contractor on the fighter jet sale to the Middle East nation. Boeing declined to comment. Trump recently accused Qatar of being a "high-level" sponsor of terrorism, potentially hindering the US Department of State`s efforts to ease heightening tensions and a blockade of the Gulf nation by Arab states and others. Tokyo: At least 2,000 protesters gathered on Thursday in front of the Japanese Parliament after the Upper House passed the controversial anti-terrorist conspiracy law, that they fear will compromise basic freedoms. The law will penalise for the first time criminal conspiracy, which is defined as an organisation or group of people planning to commit a crime (out of a total of 277 typified), or prepare for it, Efe news reported. The legislative body, in which the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a majority, promulgated the law despite the opposition's rejection, after deliberating on Wednesday night. A demonstration against the law on Wednesday saw a huge turnout of around 5,000 people. The approval of the law will allow the government to avoid an extension of the current parliamentary session, which will be finalised on Sunday, at a time of intense scrutiny of Abe's government for its alleged involvement in the arbitrary approval of a university project. The government defends the law as a tool to prevent terrorism, especially ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and to allow Japan to ratify the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, adopted in 2000. Critics of the legislation, including legal experts such as the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), warned that the legislation's scope will lead to a violation of fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, or excessive oversight of civil groups such as labour unions or NGOs. Amnesty International is also concerned about the law and the UN Special Rapporteur on Privacy, Joseph Cannataci, had warned in a letter to Abe in May that this could affect the right to privacy as well as other freedoms. These concerns were publicly rejected by the Abe government. Doha: Turkey`s foreign minister held talks with Qatar`s emir Wednesday as the search for a diplomatic solution to the Gulf crisis intensified and the UN voiced fears over growing humanitarian concerns in the region. Mevlut Cavusoglu called for dialogue to end the crisis, after meeting Qatar`s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha. "The meeting discussed developments of the Gulf crisis and means of solving it in addition to reviewing the strategic ties between the two countries and aspects of developing them on all fronts," a statement on the Qatar News Agency said. The reference to "all fronts" could refer to Turkey`s military base in Qatar. Cavusoglu will on Thursday travel to Kuwait -- which is also seeking to solve the crisis -- before holding talks with Saudi King Salman in Saudi Arabia on Friday, Turkey`s state-run Anadolu news agency said. Ankara is one of Qatar`s strongest allies and earlier this week committed to deploying troops at its base in the emirate. "Saudi Arabia has the potential and capability to solve this crisis as a wise state and big brother of the region and also as a major actor," Turkey`s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said. "We aim to involve all actors in this process." Saudi Arabia is one of several countries which have imposed a political and economic "blockade" on Qatar, in protest at Doha`s support for Islamist extremist groups as well as over its ties to Shiite Iran. The move has been backed by nations including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and others. Qatar strongly denies the charges and claims neighbouring countries are trying to interfere with its foreign policy. The diplomatic push continued elsewhere, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- who has described the decision by Gulf states to cut political and economic ties with Qatar as "inhumane" -- expected to hold phone talks with US President Donald Trump in coming days. Erdogan`s spokesman said a trilateral meeting between Ankara, Paris and Doha was also planned, in addition to efforts already launched by Kuwait`s Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah. France`s President Emmanuel Macron met Moroccan King Mohammed VI in Rabat on on Wednesday to discuss the Gulf crisis along with other regional issues. Macron said he would meet a senior leader from the UAE next week. Meanwhile, the United Nations` secretary general urged the Gulf countries to find a peaceful solution to the row. Antonio Guterres expressed his "full support for Kuwait`s efforts to de-escalate tensions and promote an effective dialogue", a spokesman said. The planned talks follow discussions on Tuesday between Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Doha also announced that its navy was to take part in a joint naval exercise with US vessels, which arrived in Qatar on Wednesday. In Geneva, concern surrounding the humanitarian situation grew Wednesday, with the intervention of the UN human rights chief. "I am alarmed about the possible impact on many people`s human rights in the wake of the decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain to cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar," said Zeid Ra`ad Al Hussein, in his first comments on the crisis. "It is becoming clear that the measures being adopted are overly broad in scope and implementation," he added. The decision to isolate Qatar had led to fears that thousands of families in the Gulf would be split apart. As well as economic and political ties, the Gulf states also ordered Qataris out within 14 days as well as calling home their own citizens. Bahrain and the UAE have also banned expressions of sympathy for Qatar. Manama announced on Wednesday that it had detained a citizen for sympathising with Qatar on social media. There have also been fears of food shortages in Qatar -- so far not realised -- and a disruption of imports needed for a number of capital projects in the gas-rich emirate. Qatar is receiving food deliveries from Turkey, Iran and Morocco among others. Ankara: Thousands of supporters from Turkey`s main opposition party took to the streets of Ankara on Thursday to protest the jailing of one of its MPs, vowing to march to his jail in Istanbul. Former journalist turned Republican People`s Party (CHP) lawmaker Enis Berberoglu was sentenced to 25 years` jail on Wednesday for handing secret information to a newspaper. A dozen lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples` Democratic Party (HDP) -- the third largest party in parliament -- have been arrested under the state of emergency that followed last year`s failed coup. But this is the first time a deputy from the CHP -- the main secular opposition founded by Turkey`s first president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk -- has been held. The CHP is the second largest party in parliament after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who has been accused by critics in the past of not taking a sufficiently tough line against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, joined the protest brandishing a sign saying "justice". He vowed that he and his supporters would march all the way to Maltepe, on the outskirts of Istanbul, where Berberoglu is being held in jail. "If there is a price to pay then I will be the first to pay it," said Kilicdaroglu. "I am going to walk and I am going to walk all the way to Istanbul. And we will continue this march until there is justice in Turkey." Istanbul is by road some 450 kilometres (280 miles) west of the capital. Protesters chanted "shoulder to shoulder against fascism" while others held placards urging "justice for arrested MPs". Hundreds also held a protest at Istanbul`s Macka Park on the European side of the city, chanting "we will win through resistance". Kilicdaroglu and the CHP expressed solidarity with Erdogan in the wake of the July 15, 2016 failed coup against his rule, even meeting the president at his palace. But tensions have risen since the April 16, 2017 referendum on expanding Erdogan`s powers which the president narrowly won but the opposition says was marred by violations. Kuwait: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday held talks in Kuwait to push mediation efforts aimed at resolving a standoff between a Saudi-led alliance and Qatar. Cavusoglu discussed with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah "regional and international developments," the official KUNA news agency said. Kuwait`s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has launched a mediation effort after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism. The Turkish chief diplomat held talks with Qatar`s emir and foreign minister on Wednesday and plans to visit Saudi Arabia. Ahead of the talks in Kuwait, Cavusoglu told a press conference that he will travel to the holy city of Mecca on Friday for talks with King Salman. "Although the kingdom is a party in this crisis, we know that King Salman is a party in resolving it," the Turkish minister said. "We want to hear the views of Saudi Arabia regarding possible solutions and will share with them our views in a transparent way. We pay a great attention to our relations with them," he said. Cavusoglu said Qatari officials believe they are not the cause of the current crisis and want to know the claims of the four countries. "We are trying hard to prevent any escalation and find a quick solution to the crisis. Resolving the crisis is not through taking (boycott) decisions but through dialogue," Cavusoglu said. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism". US President Donald Trump expressed support for the allegations against Doha, which categorically denied them. The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf but is also keen to maintain its improving relations with the key regional power Saudi Arabia. Turkey is also eager to maintain workable relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia`s foe with whom Doha`s critics say Qatar maintained excessively close ties. Geneva: Myanmar should guarantee the rights and medical care of children from the Rohingya Muslim minority detained in an army crackdown launched in October, a UN human rights investigator said on Thursday. Children as young as 10 were among hundreds of men detained on charges of consorting with Rohingya insurgents, Reuters revealed in March, citing a previously unreleased police document. Thirteen juveniles were among more than 400 arrested since Oct. 9, when insurgents attacked police posts in northwestern Rakhine state, near the border with Bangladesh, according to the police document, dated March 7. The insurgent attacks led to the biggest crisis of leader Aung San Suu Kyi`s first year in power, prompting some 75,000 Rohingya to flee the subsequent army crackdown to Bangladesh. Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Yanghee Lee, the organisation`s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said children should not be "arbitrarily deprived of their liberty" and the government should guarantee their right to timely proceedings. "I remind the government that children should be detained strictly as a last resort, for the shortest appropriate period of time, and must be treated with humanity and respect in a manner which takes into account their age," said Lee. She also urged the government to investigate the death of a child who, according to the government, died because of ill health in February. The government did not report the death until last week, she said. In April, a deputy executive director of the UN children`s fund (UNICEF), Justin Forsyth, sought the release of the children while on a visit to Myanmar. The United Nations, in report based on interviews with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, said Myanmar`s security forces had committed mass killings and gang rapes against Rohingya during their campaign, which could amount to crimes against humanity. The military has denied the accusations, saying it was engaged in a legitimate counterinsurgency operation. Myanmar`s ambassador in Geneva, Htin Lynn, did not directly address the issue of the detained children, limiting his remarks to say that the Convention of the Rights of the Child applied "equally to all children in Myanmar". Lee also called on Myanmar to "fully cooperate" with a recently established U.N. fact-finding mission to investigate the alleged human rights violations by the military. Suu Kyi has opposed the mission, saying this week it would create "greater hostility between the different communities". On Thursday, ambassador Htin Lynn echoed her comments, "It will not help solve the problems Myanmar is facing in Rakhine State ... We are ready to work with the international community on any advice or arrangements should they constitute part of the solution, not part of the problem." A NOTE FROM PENNY: I'm on vacation this week, so here's a "blast from the past," written in April 2014 and frighteningly applicable today, too. I'll tell you what: It's getting harder and harder to be a "middle of the road" kind of gal. I'm talking politics, sure, but on a variety of issues, I just don't fall to one extreme or another. I can see both sides. My eyes are gettin' kinda sore from looking both ways all the time, believe you me. I routinely read the online comments that people make on things like letters to the editor and other opinions that are in the paper. I help moderate the comments on our website, so I kind of have to read what folks are saying. Some days, it's a real burdensome HAVE TO. Other days, it's not so bad, but the latter are becoming fewer and farther between. I don't mean offense to anyone. Unlike some folks of either far right or far left, I don't enjoy honking off people whose views are different than mine. Sure, I like to tweak a nose here or there when writing a column, but I generally don't aggravate just to aggravate. That's not entertaining to me. Perhaps I'm wishy washy. Maybe I'm a wimp and I don't have the guts to take a stand. Mostly, I think I just find enough irritation already in the world without creating more. Some of our commenters online do nothing but aggravate and insult. Most fall far to one side or another, with no compromise whatsoever in them, and few are "middle ground" sort of folks. It feels like America is more and more like that, and I'll take one solid stance right now: I don't like it. Right wingers bring up Bill Clinton's impeachment, seeming to think that that shame is something left wingers should still wallow in. Left wingers spout that Clinton was impeached over a sexual act and that was all there was to the issue; that is, mere witch hunting by the GOP. On our own website or elsewhere, far right-leaning thinkers want to talk about the tragedy of the four Americans who died at our Benghazi embassy and hold that up as a massive splash of mud on the started-out-clean shirt of Barack Obama's presidency, as if he was there and it was directly his fault. Left-leaning mouthpieces want to go back to the George W. Bush presidency and say anything Obama does can't be bad because the latter didn't get us into Iraq or "lead" the country to the brink of financial collapse, allegedly. That's as if one person, even the president, has that much control over absolutely everything. There's the tired old line about liberals hating Christianity, and the Second Amendment, and America in general. I hear or read, over and over again, the worn-out tales told of conservatives supposedly being nothing but mindless Bible thumpers who want to let the rich take off with this country and leave the poor to rot. Everyone has to one-up the next guy. It's always a contest. Oh please. Stop. Just stop! All this sounds like the way our politicians act, and maybe the hard truth is that we are, collectively, just as childish and do-nothing as our own current Congress. Ouch. Are we the reflection in the mirror, or are we the collective America making the reflection? It's tough to tell. Either way, I don't like what I see. Cooperation, finding middle ground, is the way to get things done. I wonder where our Congress, and we as a people, would be if we re-routed all the energy we expend trying to prove we're right and the other guy is wrong. Think of the time spent on harping about how bad "the other side" is on this issue or that topic. Now imagine if more people could tout their own ideas without completely deriding the other side of the aisle. Think of what Congress or the state legislature could get done if more of its members realized that some good ideas actually come from the party opposite their own. What a concept! Some days, I could swear the anti-Obama folks would blame the president because their ice cream melted too fast. There are plenty of times that pro-Obama folks remind me of the crowd in "The Emperor's New Clothes;" it's as if he could wear a pink pin-striped suit and they'd swear up and down that it's blue. I don't think gravitating toward the "middle of the road" or the center means never taking a stand on anything. To me, it just means being able to see that both sides -- Republican and Democrat, right and left, or whatever the case is -- have some good ideas. I think it's good to be independent. Obama isn't fundamentally changing this country toward socialism, and I'm really sick and tired of hearing that nonsense. The GOP isn't all about putting guns in the hands of every American from age 1 to 100, or about "taking over" women's bodies, for examples, and I'm weary as can be from hearing that ridiculousness over and over, too. The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. We all need to be more reasoned and thoughtful about things. That's not to say that we shouldn't take action -- and definitive, strong action -- when action is required, e.g., the potential escalation of the situation with Russia clearly trying to take over Ukraine. But there's also nothing wrong with pushing diplomatic means as far as possible, too. It also doesn't mean that the answer is always, always in the middle. More folks in the center sometimes do need to stand up and take sides. But I don't see that as our overwhelming need in society today. Our need is for action, in a positive way, and working together. We need to stop vilifying people who disagree with us and instead find common ground. I know. I'm dreaming, right? I suppose those of us in the middle will just keep getting squeezed by the vitriolic rhetoric until our eyes bug out. Then we'll resign ourselves from the whole process and just let the extremists fight it out. If you need me, I'll be crouched right here, hopefully below the fray. Doha: The United States agreed a $12-billion warplane sale to Qatar and began manoeuvres with its military Thursday, re-affirming support for the emirate in the throes of a diplomatic crisis with its neighbours. A deal for the "state-of-the-art" F-15 fighter jets was signed by Qatar in Washington, which has sent conflicting signals to its longtime ally in the crisis that has seen Saudi Arabia and its allies impose sweeping sanctions on the emirate. Last week, US President Donald Trump expressed support for the Saudi-led allegations against Qatar, charging it had "historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level". Pentagon and State Department officials have since scrambled to reassure the emirate, which hosts the largest US airbase in the Middle East and the command headquarters for US military operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis welcomed his Qatari counterpart Khalid al-Attiyah to Washington on Wednesday for the F-15 sale. "The $12-billion sale will give Qatar a state-of-the-art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar," the Pentagon said. It did not provide additional details on the sale but Bloomberg reported it could involve as many as 36 warplanes. Attiyah said the agreement would boost Qatar`s defences and create 60,000 jobs in the United States. "We believe that this agreement will propel Qatar`s ability to provide for its own security, while also reducing the burden placed upon the United States military in conducting operations against violent extremism," he said. The Pentagon meanwhile deployed two warships to carry out joint manoeuvres with the Qatari navy in the Gulf. The vessels docked in Hamad Port, south Doha, on Wednesday, the Qatari defence ministry said.One Western diplomat in Qatar said this would send a message to Doha and other Gulf states. "The deal and the naval exercise is a strong signal for Qatar and I am sure that reassures the government in Doha that their relationship is strong," the source told AFP. Qatar is also home to Al-Udeid, the US military`s largest base in the Middle East. Mattis and Attiyah also discussed the US-led military campaign against the Islamic State group and "the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the Gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals". Washington has voiced growing concern about the impact of the diplomatic crisis on its military operations against IS, just as they come to a climax in the jihadists` Iraq and Syria bastions, Mosul and Raqa. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last week the rift was "hindering" the campaign and urged Saudi Arabia and its allies to ease their "blockade". At a Washington news conference with Tillerson on Wednesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir denied the sanctions amounted to a blockade, insisting it was the kingdom`s sovereign right to close its airspace to Qatari aircraft and seal the emirate`s sole land border. Saudi Arabia and its allies -- led by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain -- have said there can be no mending of ties until Qatar ends its support for groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, which the four governments blacklist as a "terrorist" group. But Qatar and its allies -- led by Turkey -- say the emirate has every right to conduct an independent foreign policy and have branded the sanctions imposed as "inhumane and un-Islamic".Meanwhile Turkey`s diplomatic push to try to resolve the crisis on behalf of Qatar continued with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Kuwait on Thursday. Ankara has thrown its support behind a UN-backed mediation effort by Kuwait, one of the Gulf states which did not join the Saudi-led sanctions. Cavusoglu met Qatar`s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha 24 hours earlier where he told Turkish state media that "the crisis must be solved through peace and dialogue". He will travel to Saudi Arabia for more talks on Friday. Turkey has been caught in a delicate balancing act. While standing squarely behind its ally, it has been anxious not to antagonise Saudi Arabia. "Saudi Arabia has the potential and capability to solve this crisis as a wise state and big brother of the region and also as a major actor," Turkey`s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Wednesday. The United Nations has expressed mounting concern about the humanitarian impact of the crisis. As well as severing economic and political ties, the four governments ordered Qataris out within 14 days and called home their own citizens. Bahrain and the UAE have also banned expressions of sympathy for Qatar. Bahrain announced on Wednesday that it had detained a citizen for sympathising with Qatar on social media. "I am alarmed about the possible impact on many people`s human rights," UN human rights chief Zeid Ra`ad Al Hussein said. "It is becoming clear that the measures being adopted are overly broad in scope and implementation." Hanoi: Vietnam urged China today to take responsible and constructive actions in the disputed South China Sea following a Pentagon report that highlighted Beijing's military buildup in the strategic waters. Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters that her government has legal basis and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea and that acts by foreign countries on the islands without Vietnam's permission were illegal. "It's our view that China as a major power in the region and in the world needs to act in responsible and constructive manner in maintaining peace, stability in the region as well as in the East Sea on the basis of respecting international law," she said, referring to the South China Sea. In an annual report released earlier this month, the Pentagon said that as of late last year, China was building 24 fighter-sized hangars, fixed-weapons positions, barracks, administration buildings, and communication facilities on each of the three largest outposts Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs. Each has runways that are at least 8,800 feet (2,680 meters) long. Once complete, the report said China will be able to house up to three regiments of fighters in the Spratly Islands. China has also built up infrastructure on the four smaller outposts, including land-based guns and communications facilities, the report said. Vietnam, along with China and the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan claims parts of or all the Spratly islands, which are believed to sit on rich natural resources and occupy one of the world's busiest sea lanes. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The Republic of Artsakh is taking steps for the development of solar energy in the country. At the directive of Artsakhs Prime Minister, the ministry of economy is studying the capabilities of the sector. The Prime Minister has given a clear directive to set a schedule. Our experts must study the possibilities of the solar energy sector within a 6-months period. We are currently at this stage, after completing the studies we will present specific proposals for the development of solar energy, deputy minister of economy of Artsakh Mr. Tigran Gabrielyan told ARMENPRESS. According to the official, Artsakh has huge potential for developing the solar energy branch. I find it difficult to give preliminary estimates, it would be better to wait for the completion of the studies, currently the mapping works are being done, territories are being outlined. Studies will show more specifically as to where exactly we can install solar stations. Anyhow I am convinced that the potential is huge, there are sufficient opportunities for the development of the sphere, he said. Mr. Gabrielyan said there are investors who are interested in this branch, and they must present them with specific calculations. Therefore, after completing the studies, the Artsakhi government will carry out targeted work with the investors. The ministry also finds work with the population regarding the significance of solar energy to be priority. The economy ministry official said informational works are underway in this regard. The Artsakhi PM has also tasked the ministry or urban development to study possibilities of installing solar batteries on rooftops of newly constructed buildings. The multilateral studies will be finished September-October. Mr. Gabrielyan said they are actively cooperating with their counterparts in Armenia, who have advanced significantly in this sector. WASHINGTON, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. US Law enforcement agencies are set to press criminal charges against dozen members of Turkish President Erdogans security officers for their involvement in the May 16 attack on peaceful protesters in Washington D.C. The New York Times said several people have already been charged, including two US citizens and two Canadian citizens. Washington police officials confirmed that the two Americans are Sinan Narin, of Virginia, and Eyup Yildirim, of New Jersey. Mr. Narin was charged with felony and misdemeanor assault. Mr. Yildirim, who can be seen on video repeatedly kicking a protester, was charged with two felony counts and one misdemeanor assault count, the New York Times reported. The New York Times said Coming almost a month after the episode, the charges are the most significant retaliatory step taken to date by American authorities, who have fumed privately and publicly over what they see as a highly offensive attack on free speech not to mention American law enforcement. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reported that the arrested are not members of the Turkish presidents security detail, but rather ethnic Turks with US citizenship. A law enforcement official, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said police have identified 34 assailants of the attack and new arrests might happen. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held a luncheon with President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon who is in Armenia on official visit, press service of the Government told Armenpress. The sides discussed a number of issues related to the further development and expansion of Armenian-Tajik relations at various spheres. The two officials stated that the governments of the two countries must continue making efforts to further intensify the bilateral economic ties, increase trade turnover volumes and implement different joint programs. In this sense, the sides attached importance to the Armenian-Tajik business forum held in Yerevan and expressed confidence it will give new impetus to boosting business ties. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenias deputy minister of economic development and investments Mr. Emil Tarasyan and vice-president of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI) Mr. M. Maghadam signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on June 14 in Tehran. Under the memorandum, the sides will enhance cooperation in the following areas : exchange of information on the legal arena of food and non-alcoholic beverage sphere, audit and training regarding control on products certified as halal, information exchange regarding the markets of the two countries, implementing joint projects, issuing Iranian halal certification in Armenian territory, information exchange regarding procedures of halal certification etc. The Iranian side suggested discussing the possibility of using halal for non-food products as well. The meeting was also attended by president of ISIRI Mrs. N. Piruzbakht, leader and coordinator of the Halal sphere Ayatollah Alemi and representatives of other structures. The Armenian deputy minister mentioned that Armenia is willing to expand cooperation with Iran in all branches of the economy, and halal is yet another opportunity for increasing the tourism and commercial flows. Deputy minister Tarasyan also had a meeting in the council of nano-technology initiatives of Iran. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenias minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan held a meeting on June 15 with the delegation of Christoph Bierwirth - Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The delegation included Inna Borisovich head of the legal department and Anahit Hayrapetyan external relations coordinator, the Diaspora ministry told ARMENPRESS. Minister Hakobyan highlighted the organizations assistance programs for the Syrian-Armenians, as well as the close cooperation with the ministry. The National Integration Strategy for Displaced People who Re-located to Armenia as Result of the War in Middle East project was discussed. Mr. Bierwirth presented his opinions, proposals and inquiries on the strategy. He highlighted the proper presentation of the issues of Syrian-Armenians in the international arena, for drawing the international communitys attention towards Armenia. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. According to travel agencies and airlines of Oman, Armenia is a preferred tourism destination for Omans citizens ahead of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, Times of Oman reports. Georgia, Goa, Kochi and Nepal are also top destinations along with Armenia. Omans travel agencies say Armenia and Georgia are top destinations in Eastern Europe due to relaxed visa procedures. Times of Oman recalled that on February 22, 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia said citizens of India, who have residence permit in the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain, State of Qatar, State of Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman can obtain entry visa upon arrival in Armenia. After this, we are getting a lot of bookings as budget carriers with attractive fares operate (flights) to Armenia, a travel agency representative said, as quoted by the Times of Oman. Eid al-Fitr is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The official farewell ceremony of President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon was held at the Armenian Presidential Palace on June 15, press service of the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress. Before the ceremony the two leaders held a private meeting during which they highly appreciated the results of talks held during the visit, which, according to them, will give new impetus to the development of Armenian-Tajik relations and the deepening of cooperation in fields of mutual interest. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Government will free Syunik Food canned production company from customs duties for imported equipment, reports Armenpress. During the Cabinet meeting on June 15, Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan said the company is going to make 1.7 billion AMD investment. 21 permanent and 210 seasonal jobs will be created, the Minister said. The PM asked the Minister whether the agreements reached with the company are being implemented based on the set timeframes. No, there is certain delay which is not linked with them, but with the delivery companies: the delivery company made violations, but the timeframe fluctuations is not so big, he said. Picture use Unless otherwise stated all photos on this site are copyrighted Jim Budd. They should not be used without authorisation and due credit. Please contact me on budmac@btinternet.com for all use. There will usually be a charge for use in commercial publications papers, magazines, websites etc. and for other commercial uses. Photos that are used for commercial use without permission will be charged double the fee for the use of photo and for breach of copyright. Commercial organisations asking to use photos for no payment may not always receive a polite response. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS/ARTSAKHPRESS. Colonel Senor Hasratyan chief of the information & PR department of Artsakhs Defense Army commented on the border situation and the latest military exercises of Azerbaijan. Colonel Hasratyan, please briefly comment on the tactical situation in the line of contact. The situation in the frontline is under the constant and full control of the Defense Army units. The situation is calm compared to the developments of last years escalations in April. Of course ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan happen, but not in the previous intensity. Various caliber firearms are mainly used, while in some cases mortars. If necessary, the Defense Army takes preventive measures and suppresses the adversarys aggression. Judging by the Azerbaijani media reports, it seems that they are holding various level military exercises quite often, including jointly with the Turkish military, during which armaments of their arsenal like the TOS rocket launcher are used. How would you comment on this? Military exercises are one of the important components of strategic-professional training of the Armed Forces, and every Army must use them. Its another issue in terms of to what extent the given Army uses this component and what goal it pursues with it. I wouldnt want to underestimate such events which are held by our adversary, but it is also impossible to notice the frequency of constant reports about them, the majority of which being propaganda, and therefore an impression of psychological influence is being created, rather of productive process. Regarding the usage of modern armaments during the military exercises, this is also natural. By the way, Azerbaijan was also using this kind of weapons during the military exercises before the April War, however life showed that it is one thing to use them in training, but a completely different thing in the battlefield. Our relevant services are closely following the developments in the adversarys side and take timely steps if necessary. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. While on official visit to Armenia, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmons delegation visited Technology and Science Dynamics (TSD) factory, reports Armenpress. The Tajik President was accompanied by Armenias Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies Vahan Martirosyan. Emomali Rahmon toured the factory where he was introduced on the company production. He also witnessed the production process of mobile phones and tablets. We have presented him a number of scientific-research works, our 360 degree educational program, as well as a number of programs. At the end of the tour they watched a number of video materials on Armenias vision over information technology development, Levon Galstyan, TSD Vice-President told Armenpress. He informed that before this meeting they had another meeting with Tajikistans business field representatives and discussed certain cooperation directions. This time their business delegation was more representative. I think they have great desire to implement certain programs with Armenia, Levon Galstyan said. Asked whether Armenia is interested in Tajikistan market, Galstyan said Armenia is interested in every market. I think it is necessary to look not only at market size, but also to its features. I think we have certain similarities and in this sense, of course, we are interested in their market, he said. Levon Galstyan added that Tajik businessmen are interested in Armenias IT development opportunities. They also explore their opportunities. I think there will be a cooperation between the Armenian and Tajik businessmen in the frames of mutual interests. Business will reveal these opportunities, he said. The delegation of Tajikistans President arrived in Armenia on June 15 on two-day official visit. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov on June 15 held a meeting with Ambassador of Greece to Armenia H.E. Nafsika Nancy Eva Vraila, press service of the Parliament told Armenpress. Welcoming the guest, Sharmazanov assessed the Armenian-Greek centuries-old ties as friendly, stating that the current level of political relations of both countries is on high basis. He expressed gratitude to the Greek Parliament for adoption of resolution recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide, as well as informed that the lawmakers of Armenia and Artsakh unanimously adopted statements condemning the genocides of Greeks and Assyrians committed by Ottoman Empire. In this context, Eduard Sharmazanov attached importance to unification of efforts of both states on international condemnation of the Genocide and the condemnation of denial since, according to him, it is a step towards human rights protection, and Greece need to take actions here. The officials also talked about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. In this regard, Sharmazanov said: The Artsakh issue is not a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is an issue of exercise of right to self-determination of Artsakh people: people who want to decide their fate in their historical homeland. Artsakh peoples fight is fight for freedom, and the civilized world should support their fight. In her turn the Greek Ambassador thanked for warm reception and attached importance to development of inter-parliamentary ties, as well as expansion of cooperation at various international platforms. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of cooperation with Eurasian Economic Union countries, the Armenian economy and Armenian businesses began to display positive results last year, expert Hayk Khalatyan said during a Bishkek-Yerevan-Saratov-Moscow-Astana-Minsk video conference on Best Ways of Selling Products for EEU market participants. According to Khalatyan, last year Armenias commercial turnover volume with EEU amounted 15%, the volumes of exports of Armenian products drastically increased. Khalatyan said in order to ensure the dynamics of the last year, it is necessary to solve the issue of investments. The investment issue is the most painful side of Armenia. Investments should be made in Armenia, the opportunities which our country offers must be used. First of all, a huge potential of human resources exists here. The IT branch, which is considered to be the leading sphere, provides sustainable growth in the past 10-15 years, he said. In addition, Armenia has economic cooperation possibilities with USA and Europe. The GSP+ system operates with the EU, which provide a number of privileges for exporting products to EU countries. Armenia is implementing a rather flexible foreign policy and has very good relations with neighboring Iran. Armenia is creating a free trade economic zone on the border with Iran. According to Hayk Khalatyan, this will enable not only to export products to the EEU, but also enter the Iranian market. In addition, Armenia is negotiating with China for proposing a unilateral privilege system. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government allocated 144 million drams to the viticulture and winemaking foundation. Agriculture minister Ignati Arakelyan said the financing will come from the governments reserve fund. A program of nearly 252 million 282 thousand drams has been approved by the board of trustees of the foundation for 2017, of which 108 million 250 thousand has already been allocated to it. 144 million drams must be allocated to the foundation for implementation of the whole years programs, the minister said. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Consultations entitled Economic cooperation development issues within the framework of CIS countries were held in Armenias foreign ministry. Representatives of the CIS Executive Committee, as well as foreign ministry officials of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia took part in the consultations, the foreign ministry told ARMENPRESS. The session was chaired by Ashot Kocharyan head of the multilateral and bilateral economic cooperation department of the Armenian foreign ministry. Timur Mansurov, head of the scientific-technical cooperation and innovations unit of the economic cooperation department of the CIS Executive Committee delivered opening remarks. Issues related to development of commercial cooperation within the CIS, economic growth, strategy of tourism development, as well as strengthening partnership in the areas of transportation and IT were discussed at the consultations. The necessity of boosting works for strengthening the economic component in CIS circles and holding regular consultations on economic cooperation was touched upon. At the end of the session, the chair signed the record of consultations between the foreign ministries. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan hosted Jean-Louis Atangana Amougou, Cabinet Director of the International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF), press service of the Government told Armenpress. The PM attached importance to the development of cooperation with the IOF and member states and focused on the process of preparation works of 17th summit of heads of Francophonie states and governments which will be held in Armenia in 2018. PM Karapetyan said an inter-agency commission, as well as a working group on preparation and holding of the summit has been formed in the Foreign Ministry led by him, assuring that the Armenian Government will make all efforts to hold the event at the highest level. Karen Karapetyan stated that the summit can become a good platform to discuss issues and programs relating to development of mutual partnership between the member states. Jean-Louis Atangana Amougou highlighted Armenias active cooperation with the IOF and expressed confidence the summit will be held at best in Armenia. He stated with satisfaction that he is impressed with the process of summit preparation works, adding that the upcoming event in Armenia will become a celebration for all members of Francophonie members. YEREVAN, 15 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 15 June, USD exchange rate down by 0.51 drams to 482.07 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.69 drams to 538.09 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.07 drams to 8.39 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.09 drams to 612.57 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price up by 188.54 drams to 19768.86 drams. Silver price up by 1.89 drams to 262.86 drams. Platinum price up by 186.25 drams to 14599.97 drams. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian received on June 15 the delegation of the International Organisation of LaFrancophonie - Cabinet Director of the International Organization of La Francophonie Jean-Louis Atangana Amougou and Special Adviser to the Secretary General of La Francophonie, Jacques Bilodeau. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, during the meeting the sides touched upon the visit of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan to the Headquarters of the OIF in March and the implementation of the agreements reached with OIF Secretary General Michaelle Jean. The interlocutors discussed a broad scope of issues related to the preparatory works of the 17th summit of the Organisation of LaFrancophonie to be held in Armenia in 2018. Introducing the process of works in that direction, Edward Nalbandian noted that a number of sessions of inter-agency commissions and working groups have already been convened, and different state bodies are already engaged in relevant works. The high ranking OIF Secretariat officials highly assessed Armenias involvement in the activities of the Organization as one of the most active members of the OIF. According to them, the productive cooperation between Armenia and the Secretariat of the Organization that started during the Ministerial Conference in Yerevan in 2015 is a good ground for a successful organization of the upcoming summit. The interlocutors referred to the agenda issues of the Ministerial Conference of the OIF to be held in Togo in November, as well as the future activities of Armenia following the assumption of the presidency of that conference. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Britain has announced that Brexit negotiations will begin on June 19, despite earlier speculation they could be delayed, as Prime Minister Theresa May is still scrambling to prop up her minority government, Armenpress reports, citing Russia Today. Britain's Brexit minister David Davis and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier will start talks over Britain's departure from the EU on Monday, Britain's Department for Exiting the European Union said on Thursday. "David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and Michel Barnier, the European Commission's Chief Negotiator, agreed today to launch Article 50 negotiations on Monday, 19 June," the department said in a statement. There has been uncertainty over whether May will still be able to pursue a hard Brexit after a defeat in the general election left her short of a parliamentary majority and requiring the support of other parties. Negotiations will now start two days before the official state opening of parliament. Yes, Simon's Cat is between the covers again The new book is called Simon's Cat vs the World and you can win your own copy, acco... YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States will meet with the Foreign Ministers of the Eastern Partnership countries, including Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian during the session of Ministerial Council, Armenpress reports the official website of the Council of the EU informs. During the meeting issues of preparatory works of the EaP Summit to take place in Brussels on November 24 will be discussed. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram Hamparian offered the following statement in the wake of the latest updates provided by Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Peter Newsham and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Kevin Donahue regarding the May 16th assault on peaceful protesters, carried out by Turkish President Recep Erdogans bodyguards and various Turkish government supporters, Armenpress reports, citing ANCAs official website. The May 16th Erdogan-ordered attacks on peaceful protesters in Washington DC were not only a brutal assault on American citizens but on our fundamental first amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. We commend the efforts of Mayor Bowser, Chief Newsham and all the law enforcement agencies involved in bringing the perpetrators to justice, and look forward to continuing to work with them to identify all involved. Law enforcement is doing its part; now its time for the Trump Administration to take action and demand that Turkey lift any claims to diplomatic immunity for those involved in this crime, so that criminal proceedings can move forward and justice can be served. The ANCAs Hamparian was videotaping live at the scene of the May 16th attack, which took place in front of the Turkish Ambassadors residence where President Erdogan was scheduled to have a closed-door meeting with representatives of The Atlantic Council, a leading think tank in Washington, DC which receives funding from Turkey. Hamparians video showed pro-Erdogan forces crossing a police line and beating peaceful protesters elderly men and several women who were on the ground bleeding during most of the attack. Hamparian testified before a May 25th Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on this matter. Joining him at the hearing were Ms. Lusik Usoyan, Founder and President of the Ezidi Relief Fund; Mr. Murat Yusa, a local businessman and protest organizer; and Ms. Ruth Wedgwood, Edward B. Burling Professor of International Law and Diplomacy, at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Usoyan and Yusa were victims of the brutal assault on May 16th by President Erdogans bodyguards. On June 6th, with a vote of 397 to 0, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously condemned Turkey in response to the attacks, taking a powerful stand against Ankaras attempts to export its violence and intolerance to Americas shores. H.Res.354, spearheaded by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA), Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), has received the public backing of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). A companion measure has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA). The House vote follows broad-based Congressional outrage expressed by over 100 Senate and House members through public statements, social media, and a series of Congressional letters. Senate and House members have also raised concerns about the recently announced $1.2 million sale of semi-automatic guns slated for use by Turkish President Erdognans security detail, many of whom participated in the May 16th attacks. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Democrat Ben Cardin (D-MD) and House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ed Royce have already objected to the sale. Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Dave Trott (R-MI) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) are urging colleagues to co-sign a letter to Secretary Tillerson to block the gun sale to Turkey. YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. During a press conference on June 15, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham announced that arrest warrants have been issued for the arrest of 12 members of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans security detail and Turkish police officers in connection with the May 16 attack on peaceful protesters in front of the Turkish Ambassadors residence in Washington, D.C., "Armenpress" reports, citing The Armenian Weekly. Yesterday, it was reported that United States Marshals had arrested two Turkish men living in the U.S., for their role in beating peaceful protesters on May 16. Two arrests of Turkish-Americans Eyup Yildiriman owner of a construction company in New Jerseyand Sinan Narina Virginia residentwere made by law enforcement officials. Yildirim was charged with felony Assault with Significant Bodily Injury, felony Aggravated Assault, and misdemeanor Assault or Threatened Assault in a Menacing Manner, while Narin was charged with felony Aggravated Assault and misdemeanor Assault or Threatened Assault in a Menacing Manner. According to a Washington D.C. Police Department press release, a total of 18 individuals have been charged or are facing charges. Photographs of the 14 individuals, including Turkish security officers, who have outstanding warrants for their arrests, were also released by D.C. Police. In response to a question from the Armenian Weekly, D.C. Police Chief Newsham acknowledged that investigators are looking into the role of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the May 16 attack, but indicated that, despite the available video and other evidence, there is not yet sufficient probable cause to seek his arrest. As Ive said before, I condemn this attack. It was an affront to our values as Washingtonians and as Americans and was a clear assault on the First Amendment. As Americans, the First Amendment grants us the right to assemble and protest peacefully, and here in D.C., we are committed to safeguarding and protecting that right, Mayor Bowser said during the press conference. She then thanked the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. State Department, and the D.C. U.S. Attorney for their cooperation with the Washington D.C. Police Department. We commend the efforts of Mayor Bowser, Chief Newsham, and all the law enforcement agencies involved in bringing the perpetrators to justice, and look forward to continuing to work with them to identify all involved. Law enforcement is doing its part; now its time for the Trump Administration to take action and demand that Turkey lift any claims to diplomatic immunity for those involved in this crime, so that criminal proceedings can move forward and justice can be served, ANCAs Hamparian added. MIAMIFlava Works has signed DeAngelo Jackson to a an exclusive two-year contract. DeAngelo Jackson is making his return to gay porn after a several-year hiatus. Jackson is known as a powerful dominant top and will make his debut as a bottom to a yet-to-be announced top or versatile-top performer. He just celebrated his 32nd birthday on June 14, and this return to porn is sure to be one of the hottest and sexiest in gay porn history. Flava Works is seeking suggestions and will run a contest for DeAngelo Jackson fans to vote for who will be the guy to top him bareback in a film. Flava Works will also be working with other studios to co-brand a few scenes with the sexy actor in them. Studios and actors looking to work with DeAngelo Jackson should contact Flava Works at (305) 438-9450 ext. 305 or at [email protected]. See more of DeAngelo at FlavaWorks.com. MONTREAL, QuebecThe latest series from Icon Male, Boyfriend Swap, focuses on the joys and pitfalls of gay partner swapping. Written and directed by Nica Noelle, the first volume in the series includes four passionate scenes with stars Billy Santoro, Jackson Cooper, Jaxton Wheeler, and Gabriel Alanzo. The movie is distributed through parent company Mile High Media. To view box art and product information for Icon Males Boyfriend Swap, click here. Each new Icon Male series continues to outperform the last in regards to sales, as news of the studios unrivaled quality spreads throughout the industry, claimed Mile High Media Vice President Jon Blitt. The demand leading up to the release of Boyfriend Swap was huge, and we are extremely impressed with how the title is performing. In the first installment of Boyfriend Swap, muscle man Billy asks shy boyfriend Jackson if he wants to spice up their sex life by going to a swinger's club. Jackson is offended, but when he meets gorgeous European Gabriel at the club, he has a change of heart. Meanwhile, Jaxton takes Billy to a motel for a session of sweaty sex that leaves Billy doubting his relationship with Jackson. With real orgasms and passionate, authentic sex scenes, Boyfriend Swap looks at the pleasures and pit falls of sexual exploration. The DVD includes behind-the-scenes videos and a photo gallery. The latest Icon Male trailers can be seen on IconMale.com. For Icon Male sales and distribution, contact [email protected] . For the latest news and BTS previews follow Icon Male on Twitter. For production stills and content log on to Mile High Medias Press Access site. The Democrat leadership has made constant, profound and incredible pronouncements that one's supportive vote for Republicans is tantamount to surrendering Democracy forever. Understanding their sincere thinking in their extreme position: How will you still vote on this election day? Democrat; because the continuance of this Democracy from the existential threat of extreme Republicans is paramount. Republican; the process of having a choice is the democratic method within what so called "Democracy" does exists. Bill sets limits on how many doses a physician could prescribe and mandates electronic reporting of prescriptions A jarring supply of opioids is flooding North Carolina.Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Richmond, said if all of the opioid pills prescribed in the past 12 months were counted,including preventable deaths.McInnis cited the data during a presentation to the Senate Health Care Committee on Wednesday.Legal opioids are a gateway to more addictive, more lethal street drugs such as heroin, and overprescribing must be stopped, McInnis said. People oftentimes move from the pills and turn to the streets to find illegal narcotics, including heroin, from which prescription opioids are based.Debate on House Bill 243 , titled Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act, included wide-ranging topics from the family pet to pot, but was for information only. The committee will vote Thursday on the measure.The House bill is similar to Senate Bill 175 , which the committee heard in March on an information-only basis.The debate comes amid the backdrop of nine prosecutors representing nine Tennessee counties filing suit this week against several pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioids. The suit claims the companies are drug dealers who have been untruthful about the addictive quality of their products, causing widespread addictions in the state.Several other states also have taken legal action against opioid manufacturers.The intent of the STOP Act is to strengthen the prescribing relationships between physicians and others. It would set limits how many doses a doctor can prescribe, with exceptions for hospice and palliative care patients, and chronic and acute pain sufferers.Every prescription would be entered into a statewide Controlled Substance Reporting System, linked to the state Health Information Exchange. All controlled substances would be prescribed electronically to reduce fraudulent use of the narcotics, and for better data collection and analysis.Rep. Greg Murphy, R-Pitt, a primary sponsor of H.B. 243, told the committee opioids in and of themselves are not "bad entities." They are needed to treat acute and chronic pain.He said the opioid epidemic began in the early 1990s, when several institutions, including the National Institutes of Health, criticized medical providers and prescribers for not doing enough to relieve patients' pain. Several lawsuits were filed, including one in North Carolina, against hospitals, doctors, and nurses for not treating pain adequately.But the pendulum has swung too far the other way after pharmacies and drug companies created more potent, longer-lasting medications, and hospitals and nurses based part of patient satisfaction surveys on pain management.Sen. Jeff Tarte, R-Mecklenburg, asked if alternatives as effective as opioids existed.Murphy cited non-narcotic pain medications such as ketorolac, along with yoga and physical therapy for people with fibromyalgia and other illnesses.Murphy said.said Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, a pastor. He told of presiding over the funeral of a 34-year-old woman he had baptized and whose high school graduation he attended. He attributed her death to opioid addiction.In response, Sen. Jim Davis, R-Macon, a primary sponsor of Senate's version of the STOP Act, said the legislation will be amended and improved over time as policymakers get more information.Murphy said bill sponsors were "especially sensitive" to rural physicians on the electronic reporting system because of the high cost. Rural doctors and podiatrists received more time to comply with the law.Steven Stelma, a New Bern veterinarian, said animal doctors are both prescribers and dispensers of the controlled substances, and are affected by the bill much more than regular physicians. He requested giving veterinarians more time to comply.Stelma cited problems meeting the electronic reporting requirements because vets often don't have access to software compatible with the mandate.Animals also can't tell vets how much pain they're in, and typically aren't kept at animal hospitals for long stays, he said. Say what you want about Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) CEO Lourenco Goncalves and his brusque, audacious claims about the iron ore and steel industry, but he has delivered on many of the things he promised when he took over the fledgling iron ore producer. The company's finances and business strategy look better than they have in years, and there are some modest tailwinds that could help boost the business. Republican fundraiser Kelly Knight Craft to be new U.S. ambassador to Canada Kelly Knight Craft will be nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump as the next ambassador to Canada, according to a statement from the White House. The White House has reached out to officials at the Canadian embassy in Washington to make their intentions known. Before appearing at a Senate committee in Ottawa Wednesday CBC asked David MacNaughton, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., if he knew when Knight Craft would take up her new role. "No, I mean obviously any ambassador has to be approved through their system, I don't know when that may or may not happen," he told CBC. Knight Craft is married to American billionaire coal magnate Joe Craft. He's the president and CEO of Alliance Resource Partners L.P., the second-largest coal producer in the eastern United States, which operates 10 coal mine complexes in five states, according to the company's website. "I deeply appreciate the President's confidence in me, and am looking forward to the Senate confirmation process," she said in an email to CBC. The pair have collaborated on political fundraising and both support the University of Kentucky. Knight Craft serves as a member of the university's board of trustees. Knight Craft was appointed to the U.S. delegation at the UN in 2007 by former president George W. Bush, advising the U.S. ambassador on various issues, including U.S. engagement in Africa, according to her bio on the University of Kentucky's website. She is also involved in charitable work, including the Salvation Army of Lexington, Ky. Last June, Bloomberg reported that Trump promised he would keep two top Republicans, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, in their leadership posts a key factor in the Crafts' decision to raise money for the then presumptive Republican presidential nominee. "That is a big priority for Joe and I and from talking directly to Donald Trump I know for a fact it is a big deal to him," Knight Craft told Bloomberg at the time. "He made that very clear." The U.S. ambassador's office has been vacant since the departure of Bruce Heyman, who was named by former president Barack Obama. Heyman had offered to help Trump's transition team get up to speed on key issues on the Canada-U.S. file, but his offer was met with silence. He resigned in January after the Trump transition team delivered a blanket mandate for all politically appointed ambassadors to leave their posts by inauguration day. ISTE | Keynote Richard Culatta Has Big Dreams for ISTE Interview with the CEO of the worlds biggest nonprofit ed tech organization. Richard Culatta is the new chief executive officer of the International Society for Technology in Education, or ISTE. He leads an active nonprofit organization of more than 16,500 members, with reach in 126 countries and programs that touch approximately 148,00 students and 100,000 education stakeholders. Prior to joining ISTE on May 1, Culatta was the chief innovation officer for the state of Rhode Island the first person to hold that position. He also served as director of the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Educational Technology, where he helped author the National Educational Technology Plan. Culatta, 37, recently spoke with THE Journal about his experiences in education and ed tech, as well as his plans for ISTE as it prepares for its big summer conference this month in San Antonio, TX. The father of four also discussed his vision for ISTE in the coming years. THE Journal: Can you describe what you did in Rhode Island prior to joining ISTE? Richard Culatta: I was the first chief innovation officer for the state; I reported to the governor. My role was to ask, How can we use technology and new approaches to tackle tough problems? I grew up in Rhode Island. When I was asked, Would you return to the state, and would you come and start this from scratch? I said Id love to! We accomplished some major initiatives around personalized learning, open educational resources, redesigning libraries and expanding infrastructure. The work of the innovation team in Rhode Island is still going strong and I continue to cheer them on from the sidelines. THE Journal: What does your job at ISTE entail? Whats the purpose of ISTE, from your perspective? Culatta: ISTE is really focused on how we can use technology to help accelerate good practice in education, also help solve problems in education. I want to help make sure we are extending the reach of our services and offerings to as many education leaders as possible. I also want educators to help us determine what are the areas we should focus on and what conversations ISTE should be hosting. Were also highlighting best practices of people who are doing amazing work. And frankly, were calling out practices that arent working out there. THE Journal: How many people are on staff at ISTE? Are you the boss of all of them? And what are some of your other responsibilities? Culatta: We have a great team. There are about 50 people on the team. We also work with a number of partners, especially around large events, like our conference. Our offices are based in the D.C. area, also in Portland. At this point, my role is learning as quickly as I possibly can. We have our conference coming up its one of the largest ed tech focused events in the world. Its a pretty amazing endeavor, to pull off an event with over 20,000 people. Im going to be hosting some of the conversations were going to be holding there. Ill also be connecting with our members, who are really deep experts in this work. THE Journal: What else do you hope to achieve with ISTE? Culatta: Were very interested in looking at how technology can be used to close equity gaps. We want to use technology to bring opportunity to students and families who may not have same opportunities as others. The La Aurora 1903 Cameroon is the third installment of the La Aurora Time Capsule Series. La Aurora is the brand that comes out of La Aurora SA, the oldest cigar factory in the Dominican Republic. With that distinction comes a rich history associated with that factory. As a result, over the years the La Aurora brand has released many cigars commemorating milestones associated with that history. The Time Capsule Series is a unique line where each installment pays homage to a year where La Aurora first starting working with a particular wrapper tobacco. In addition, the cigars in the Time Capsule Series are designed to be value-priced premium cigars at around the six dollar price point. Earlier this year, the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon was released paying homage to 1903 being the year the factory started working with Cameroon. Today I take a look at the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon in the Robusto size. Overall I found this to be an excellent cigar at an affordable price. The Time Capsule Series first made its debut in 2016 with the release of the La Aurora 1962 Corojo and 1987 Connecticut with 1962 being the year La Aurora started using a Corojo wrapper and 1987 the year La Aurora started working with a Connecticut Shade wrapper. Over the years, Corojo, Connecticut, and Cameroon tobaccos have been staple wrappers seen across many releases in the La Aurora portfolio. Of significance is that the year 1903 is not only the year La Aurora first started using Cameroon, but it is also the year the La Aurora factory opened. Like all La Aurora Cigars, they are distributed in the U.S. market exclusively by Miami Cigar & Company. Without further ado, lets break down the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table. Blend Profile The La Aurora 1903 Cameroon utilizes a multi-national blend of tobaccos. Wrapper: Cameroon Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan Country of Origin: Dominican Republic (La Aurora SA) Vitolas Available The La Aurora 1903 Cameroon is offered in four sizes each packaged in 20 count boxes. Robusto: 5 x 50 Churchill: 7 x 47 Toro: 5 3/4 x 54 Gran Toro: 6 x 58 Appearance The Cameroon wrapper of the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto had a dark brown color to it. This wrapper could easily be mistaken for a maduro. There was a slight amount of oil on the surface of the wrapper. The wrapper had somewhat of a bumpy surface with some visible veins. The darker color of the wrapper did a good job at hiding the wrapper seams. There are two bands on the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon. The primary band is common to all three installments of the Time Capsule Series. This is a white band with red and gold trim. On the center of the band is a yellow, orange, and red La Aurora lion logo. Above the logo is the text LA AURORA in red font arranged in a curved fashion. Below the logo are some red and gold adornments highlighted by a gold crown in the center. Below those adornments is the text REPUBLICA DOMINICANA in a smaller red font also arranged in a curved fashion. The left and right side of the band each have two gold medallions. The far right of the band has the text HECHO A MANO DESDE 1903 arranged in landscape mode in red font. The secondary band has a pale yellow color with red and gold trim. On the center of the band is the text CAMEROON in red font. Preparation for the Cigar Experience Prior to lighting the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto, I went with a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, I proceeded with the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of chocolate, wood, and black pepper. Overall, I considered this to be an excellent pre-light draw. I was ready to light up the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto and enjoy the smoking phase. Flavor Profile The La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto started out with notes of mocha, earth, and wood. The mocha notes are what I consider to be a cross of coffee and chocolate. Throughout the smoking experience, there were times the wood notes also had a cedar quality to them. As for the retro-hale, it produced a mix of cedar and mixed pepper. During the first third, the mocha and wood notes moved into the forefront. The mocha notes delivered a nice (but not overpowering) sweetness. The earth notes settled into the background. Meanwhile, a slight amount of mixed pepper and a subtle metallic note surfaced in the background. By the second third of the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon, the mocha notes seemed have more of the coffee qualities than the chocolate qualities. The background still had notes of pepper and earth. The metallic note that surfaced early was pretty much gone. As the cigar entered the second half, there were some bitter notes that surfaced with the mocha notes.This wasnt a negative as it provided some balance to the sweetness the mocha also delivered. The pepper and earth notes still were in the background with the pepper notes. The last third of the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto continued along the same pattern that emerged in the second half. Toward the very end, the bitterness ramped up a bit and at that point, the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto had reached a nub point. The nub itself was cool in temperature and firm to the touch. Burn and Draw Overall, the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto scored quite well on its burn. For the most part, this was a cigar that maintained a straight burn path and had a straight burn line from start to finish. Along the way, some touch-ups were required, but there was not an excessive amount of them required. The resulting ash was on the firm side with a silver-gray color to it. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal. The draw to the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Robusto was also excellent. It had a touch of resistance to it which is something that I like. This made the 1903 Cameroon Robusto an enjoyable cigar to smoke. Strength and Body The strength and body of the La Aurora 1903 Cameroon started out in the medium range. There was a gradual increase in both attributes along the way. I did find the strength increased at a slightly higher rate. As a result, the strength level crossed into medium to full territory by the second half. While the strength and body started out even at the beginning, the strength gained a slight edge during the second half. Final Thoughts The La Aurora 1903 Cameroon comes in at $5.75 per cigar and I can honestly say this cigar might be one of the best values out there. If this cigar was being smoked unbanded, I could have easily mistaken it for a cigar two to three dollars higher. Flavor-wise the cigar performs really well. As mentioned there is some bitterness toward the end, but that should not be mistaken for harshness. I found that component helped to round out the flavor profile. This is a cigar that Id recommend to a more seasoned cigar enthusiast. It is also a good cigar for a novice looking to expand ones flavor palate. As for myself, this is a cigar Id smoke again and at the $5.75 price, it garners a box worthy cigar rating. Summary Key Flavors: Mocha, Wood, Mixed Pepper, Earth Burn: Excellent Draw: Excellent Complexity: Medium+ Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half) Body: Medium Finish: Good Rating Assessment: 4.0-Box Worthy Score: 90 References News: La Aurora 1903 Cameroon Released Price: $5.75 Source: Miami Cigar and Company Brand Reference: La Aurora THURSDAY, June 15, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- It may not be for everyone, but a new study suggests that the smooth stride of a gentle horse may help stroke survivors regain lost mobility and balance years after their brain attack. "I don't think we're ready to say that once you've reached the last phase of stroke recovery, you should get on a horse," said Dr. Daniel Lackland, a spokesperson for the American Stroke Association. But, it's "exciting" that many of these patients saw improvements with therapies "outside of what's available in traditional stroke rehabilitation," he added. None of the stroke survivors in the study had severe disabilities, but they did have lingering problems with essential functions like balance, walking and memory. Researchers found that two unconventional therapies -- horseback riding and music-and-rhythm therapy -- seemed to help many of these patients. Lackland also pointed to the bigger picture: The study showed that improvements can be made long after a stroke occurs. That, in itself, has not been clear, according to Lackland. Most research, he said, has focused on shorter-term stroke recovery. Senior study researcher Dr. Michael Nilsson agreed. "A very important message is that it's never too late to improve functions, to learn or relearn, because of the capacity of our brains," said Nilsson, a rehabilitation medicine specialist and professor at the University of Newcastle in Australia. Stroke rehabilitation begins as soon as a patient is stable. The specifics depend on the damage the stroke has caused: Some people need physical therapy to try to regain the function of their limbs; some need speech and language therapy; others need help with getting back to work. But, Lackland said, it's not known whether those same conventional approaches continue to help in the later phases of recovery. In fact, he said, stroke survivors usually do not continue rehab for the long haul. According to Nilsson, "the general opinion has been -- and in many cases still is, unfortunately -- that in late phase after stroke, there is nothing further to be achieved." But, he said, researchers are increasingly looking at late-phase recovery, as they learn more about the brain's "plasticity" -- its ability to adapt and recover from injury. The idea behind horseback riding is, partly, that the movement of the horse gives a "sensorimotor experience" that is similar to normal human walking, according to Nilsson's team. On top of that, it engages people mentally and socially. Similarly, the researchers say, the music-and-rhythm therapy stimulates the body, senses and mind: It requires people to listen to music, and move their hands and feet in tricky patterns based on cues they hear and see. For the study, Nilsson's team randomly assigned 123 stroke survivors in Sweden to either one of those therapies or to a comparison group that stuck with standard care. Patients in both treatment groups met with therapists twice a week for 12 weeks. Six months later, patients who went through either the riding or music therapy were showing better balance and mobility, versus those in the comparison group. They also felt better: After six months, 56 percent in the horseback riding group believed their stroke recovery had progressed, as did 43 percent in the music group. That compared with only 22 percent of patients in the standard care group. Lackland stressed that the study was small, so it's hard to draw firm conclusions. But he said the findings suggest that researchers should keep looking into nontraditional approaches to helping stroke survivors in the long term. Is horseback riding or music therapy practical in the "real world?" According to Nilsson, music therapy would certainly be more feasible. It requires therapists who know how to do it, he said, but their training would not be extensive. Plus, Nilsson said, it could be done in rehab clinics, group settings or even in people's homes. Horseback riding, of course, requires a specific setting. But Lackland said it would be interesting to figure out whether certain aspects of the therapy -- like the socializing with other people or interaction with animals -- had specific benefits. For now, Lackland said that even simpler things, like taking a walk every day or trying to stay socially engaged, may be helpful for long-term stroke recovery. In the shorter term, he noted, physical exercise can help stroke patients recover not only physically, but mentally as well. The findings are published in the July issue of Stroke. More information The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more on stroke rehabilitation. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Updated November 9, 2017 As the political situation in Venezuela continues to deteriorate, journalists covering protests have been routinely targeted, harassed, attacked, and detained. To provide concrete safety information for local and international journalists covering the unrest, CPJs Emergencies Response Team is issuing periodic updates on the political situation and the climate for journalists. This page contains the following information: 1. What to expect next After months of daily protests and repression, many members of the opposition are exhausted and disillusioned, particularly after failing to stop the constituent assembly vote on July 30, 2017. Opposition candidates suffered widespread losses in gubernatorial elections on October 15, further weakening their political movement. Now that the assembly has been installed, it is unclear if the opposition will be able to stay unified or what its goals will be going forward. Opposition strategy is evolving. Demonstrations continue, but according to the Caracas-based human rights non-governmental organization Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, the number of protests decreased by 80 percent from July through the first half of August. Protests are also receiving less attention from international press. On August 30, the U.N. human rights office issued a report that said Venezuelan security forces had committed widespread and deliberate human rights violations in their response to the street protests, according to news reports. Although protests have diminished, Venezuelan authorities continue to detain civilians. More than 600 people are currently detained, which legal nongovernmental organization Foro Penal, has said raises concerns about human rights violations. Still, all major cities continue experiencing regular disturbances and road blocks. Caracas continues to be the epicenter of the most violent protests, but violence has also escalated in Maracay, Barquisimeto, Valencia, and Lecheria and Puerto la Cruz in Anzoategui. Meanwhile, the new constituent assembly has taken steps to consolidate power and weaken the opposition politically. On November 8, the assembly unanimously passed a restrictive anti-hate law that punishes anyone who instigates hate or violence on the radio, television or via social media. Members of a colectivo pro-government group attack Leonardo Rodriguez (center), a photographer for the pro-opposition newspaper El Nacional, as he covered a student protest at Venezuelan Central University (UCV) in Caracas, April 3, 2014. (AFP/Federico Parra) 2. Press freedom violations Journalists covering the protests have been attacked and harassed by all actors involved, though armed civilian groups known as colectivos and Venezuelan state security forces are responsible for the majority of incidents, according to local press freedom organizations. Physical violence against journalists has declined as protests tapered off, but government censorship of radio and TV stations continues to affect the press. Journalists covering protests in Venezuela generally face the following threats: Injuries from tear gas inhalation or from being hit by water cannon, tear gas canisters, ball bearings, marbles, or buckshot. Assault by local authorities and their supporters, as well as protesters. Theft or destruction of equipment, notably cell phones. Detention for time periods ranging from half an hour to more than 24 hours. Detention National Guard and police have detained journalists covering protests, sometimes for as little as 15 minutes, and sometimes overnight in police or intelligence facilities. In one instance, on May 1, members of a reporting team for the online platform VivoPlay were detained in Caracas. The two VivoPlay reporters were released after several hours, but their drivers remained in detention until June 2, according to media reports. In April, two journalists with French photo agency CAPA were removed from their flight back to France and held for nine days without charge. Venezuelan officials have previously deported international reporters or blocked them from entering the country. Physical aggression Security forces and colectivos (see section 5 for more details on the actors involved) have threatened and blocked journalists from covering certain locations, confiscated equipment, photographed identification, and detained reporters for multiple hours. Several videos posted by news outlets have documented National Guard officers rolling tear gas canisters in the direction of journalists. One video from VivoPlay shows a National Guard official telling journalists to move away, or well treat you like the guarimberos.groups of civilians who construct barricades and roadblocks. See section 5 for more details. Journalists should avoid colectivos as much as possible and relocate to a safe location if they encounter them. Dozens of journalists across the country have reported their cell phones have been stolen by National Guard or police as well as colectivos and civilian gangs. Journalists working in Caracas told CPJ that the theft of phones is so systematic and widespread that it appears to be part of a deliberate strategy to prevent reporters from covering protests. These tactics are especially damaging to freelancers and journalists working for smaller publications outside of Caracas, who have limited resources and rely on their phones as a vital reporting tool. Meanwhile, protesters have also targeted journalists, robbing them, attacking them, and accusing them of being government sympathizers. Though there are no credible reports of guarimberos directly targeting reporters, journalists should use caution when dealing with them. Censorship In addition to direct physical threat against journalists, the government has censored news outlets. At least 49 radio stations have been shut down and five international TV channels were removed from national subscription services under government orders, according to a statement from the Office of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Venezuelas state telecommunications regulator CONATEL ordered two international news channels off the air on April 19, according to the broadcasters, and other outlets have reported service interruptions. On July 13, CONATEL instructed the media not to refer to the referendum as a popular consultation, which is how the opposition defines it, and informed radio broadcasters that their licenses could be revoked if they appeared to promote or encourage participation in the referendum, according to news reports. At a press conference on July 28, Tibisay Lucena, president of the National Electoral Council, the entity responsible for overseeing the voting process, announced that media outlets would be required to stay at least 500 meters (approx. 1,600ft) from voting centers. The council also denied credentials to at least nine of the 15 media outlets that requested credentials to cover the July 30 vote, according to the Caracas-based Institute for Press and Society (IPYS Venezuela). During a television appearance on July 31, President Maduro also called for CONATEL to investigate the privately owned television network Televen for apologizing for crimes, according to news reports. Maduro criticized Televen for its coverage of the vote, saying the outlet instead preferred to show the fire in Altamirareferring to an explosion in a Caracas neighborhood that injured at least three police officers, according to reports. On August 22, Maduro ordered Reuters reporters based in Venezuela to leave a press conference at the Miraflores presidential palace, the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) reported. Two days later, CONATEL ordered Colombian TV networks Caracol TV and RCN to be taken off the air indefinitely for broadcasting a message it said incited violence toward Maduro, according to news reports. IPYS Venezuela, the SNTP, and local press freedom organization Espacio Publico have documented hundreds of press freedom violations via Twitter. CPJ is aware of the following serious attacks on journalists covering protests in Venezuela: Week of November 5 No major incidents. Week of October 29 November 2: Local police briefly detained four photographers at a checkpoint in Lecheria, Anzoategui, reported Espacio Publico . November 4: Unidentified individuals beat Venezuelan freelance photographer Jesus Medina Ezaine and kidnapped him for two days before releasing him. The kidnapping took place four days after Medinas article on the violent Tocoron prison was published on Dolar Today, CPJ documented. Week of October 22 October 24: Correo del Caroni reporter German Dam received threatening phone calls while reporting on the murder of a law student, according to news reports . Week of October 15 October 15: Security forces blocked journalists from entering and reporting from voting centers in more than six states across Venezuela, reported Espacio Publico. In Tachira, armed civilians stole equipment from VPITV reporter Lorena Bornacelly, according to a tweet from the SNTP. In Guarico state, soldiers ripped up Notipascua photographer Franklin Carrillos press credential and told him he couldnt vote because he was a member of the media. Various journalists in multiple states were punched and kicked while reporting on scuffles between groups of civilians at voting centers, reported Espacio Publico. October 16: Opposition supporters used their hands to hit VPITV reporter Carlos Suniaga while he reported on a protest in Bolivar state, reported Espacio Publico. October 18: Unidentified individuals shot multiple times at the home of radio journalist Felix Amaya, who previously worked at Amanecer Radio in Coro, Falcon state, according to news reports. Week of October 8 October 10: Police officers detained freelance radio journalist Isael Madriz while he was covering protests on the Paraguana peninsula in Falcon state, according to a tweet from Espacio Publico . October 11: The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced it was opening an investigation into three newspapers in Lara state for publishing surveys about the upcoming elections within a week of the vote, which is prohibited by law, according to news reports. October 14: The CNE denied the newspaper El Carabobeno accreditation to cover elections for the first time in 84 years, the outlet reported. Multiple news outlets in Carabobo, Aragua, Sucre, and Tachira states did not received accreditation either, according to IPYS Venezuela. Week of October 1 October 4: Unidentified individuals threw a Molotov cocktail at the home of Amanecer Radio journalist Felix Amaya in Coro, Falcon state, reported the SNTP. October 6: National Guard officers detained DolarToday reporter Jesus Medina and two international freelance journalists, Roberto Di Matteo and Filippo Rossi, while they were reporting from the Tocoron prison in Aragua state, and confiscated their equipment, according to news reports. A judge on October 8 released all three journalists without charge. Week of September 17 September 18: During a patient protest at the Hospital Clinica Universitaria in Caracas, Caraota Digital reporter Jessica Nunes and her cameraman were stopped from covering the event when the hospital directors bodyguard removed the pair from the building, the SNTP reported. September 20: Unidentified individuals broke into the National Union of Journalists headquarters in Zulia state, and stole equipment, according to news reports. In Merida, national police detained Galera 102.1 radio reporter Juan Rojas for three hours in the western town of Tovar, according to Espacio Publico. CPJ was unable to determine the reason for his arrest. Week of September 10 September 11: During primary elections in Maracaibo, civilians allegedly affiliated with the Un Nuevo Tiempo political party threatened reporters from the regional Version Final newspaper, and threatened a photographer to force her to delete photographs she took of a fight between supporters of different parties at the voting center, the newspaper reported. September 16: The national Tal Cual newspapers website went offline for three days after what the newspaper described as a cyberattack, the SNTP reported. Week of September 3 September 3: A Twitter account published personal information and threatening messages directed at four journalists from the investigative news site Armando.Info after the site published an article alleging government corruption, reported Espacio Publico. Week of August 27 August 28: Armed agents from the national intelligence service (SEBIN) entered the offices of the F.M. Center radio network in Caracas and took a recording of a program in which radio host Caterina Valentino interviewed protesters, reported Espacio Publico. August 29: Unidentified individuals on a motorcycle threw an explosive into the parking lot of the Version Final newspaper offices in Maracaibo, damaging multiple vehicles, reported the SNTP. August 30: Ultima Hora, a newspaper in the western state of Portuguesa, was forced to stop circulating print copies after the government refused for two months to sell it any newsprint, according to news reports . September 1: Authorities at Maiquetia airport denied entry to Gabriela Donoso, a Chilean reporter for Reuters, reported the SNTP. Week of August 20 August 23: Airport security officials briefly detained La Verdad de Vargas reporters Luisana Herice and Alexis Chique and ordered them to delete photos they had taken at Maiquetia airport in Caracas, reported Espacio Publico. August 26: CONATEL ordered two more radio stationsCaracas 92.9 F.M. and Magica 99.1 F.M.taken off the air, reported the SNTP. Week of August 13 August 18: Unidentified individuals in northwestern Trujillo state threw two petrol cocktails at the offices of radio station Trujillo 102.5, and cut the stations cables, interrupting a broadcast, according to news reports. Week of August 6 August 6: Pellets fired by National Guard injured reporters for Caraota Digital and Telemundo and a Univision cameraman, IPYS Venezuela reported. August 8 Mildred Manrique (800 Noticias, Te Lo Cuento News) suffered burns on her leg when police fired a tear gas canister at her at close range, Espacio Publico reported. August 11: National Guard in the central state of Guarico forced reporters from El Pitazo TV, El Tubazo Digital and La Jornada to delete photos, Espacio Publico reported. Week of July 30 July 30: Police detained Cambio16 photojournalist Felipe Royet in Caracas, and Las Noticias de Cojedes journalists Brigitte Gerdel and Daniel Rodriguez, in San Carlos, according to the SNTP. National intelligence agency (SEBIN) officials detained Venevision reporter Euclides Sotillo in Caracas. A video recorded by digital news outlet VivoPlay in the El Paraiso neighborhood of Caracas appeared to show a National Guard soldier threatening to break journalists equipment if they continued filming. Members of a colectivo threatened freelance photojournalists Fabiola Ferrero and Santiago Escobar and stole their vests, gas masks, helmets, camera equipment, and cell phones, Espacio Publico reported. In Altamira, pellets fired by police injured freelance photographer Leonardo Rodriguez, and a tear gas canister hit freelance photographer Angel Colmenares in the head, the SNTP reported. August 1: Jose Hernandez Sequero, a sportswriter for El Nuevo Pais who went missing the previous night, was found dead on the Central University of Venezuela campus in Caracas, according to news reports. The case is under investigation, but initial reports indicate he was likely the victim of a robbery. August 2: President Maduro ordered foreign press banned from covering the swearing-in of constituent assembly members, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Anatoly Kurmanaev. Week of July 23 July 24: People claiming to be part of the Resistance group threatened El Pitazo TV photographer Rayner Pena and tried to force him to delete footage, reported the SNTP. July 26: Police officers detained Hector Carballo and Maikel Herrera (El Siglo) and forced them to delete footage of protests in Maracay, according to Espacio Publico. July 27: Airport security, police and National Guard officers blocked reporters Nadeska Noriega (El Pitazo TV), Luisana Brito and Rossmary Hernandez (Diario La Verdad de Vargas) from reporting in Maiquetia Airport, the SNTP reported. In Caracas, pellets fired by police hit Univision cameraman Alejandro Molina multiple times. Week of July 16 Week of July 10 July 10: In Altamira, Marcos Bello, of Reuters, and Abraham Tovar, of El Nacional, were injured by shotgun pellets fired by the National Guard, reported the SNTP. In El Trigal, Valencia, an explosive wounded photographer Juan Carlos Hernandez, of Ultimas Noticias, reported the SNTP. National Guard in El Hatillo arrested Mireya Vivas, of El Hatillano. In a video of her talking about her three-hour detention, she says guards rubbed teargas in her face and beat her. July 11: A National Guard colonel refused to allow journalists into the National Assembly, according to news reports. July 12: During protests in Lecheria, Anzoategui, Grisnel Guevara of El Tiempo was injured by shotgun pellets, and National Guard beat six reporters, destroyed equipment, and confiscated photojournalist Samir Apontes memory card, reported IPYS Venezuela. Diosdado Cabello, a member of the National Assembly and one of the top Chavista leaders, said on his weekly television show that an explosion in Altamira that wounded seven members of the military occurred with the complicity of journalists that were there, echoing an earlier statement by National Guard commander Sergio Rivero accusing journalists of failing to inform authorities about the explosives. A protester poses in Caracas, June 14, 2017. (AP/Ariana Cubillos) 3. Political Background Venezuelan opposition supporters have been protesting against the government of President Nicolas Maduro since late March, when the countrys Supreme Court ruled in favor of stripping the opposition-led National Assembly of its lawmaking powers. This wave of anti-government demonstrations, the longest since 2014, has become violent in many parts of the country. As of August 6, the attorney generals office had recorded 121 people killed over 120 days of protests. Of those, 19 percent are younger than 18, and an additional 58 percent are between 18-29 years old. According to the official report, state security forces and armed paramilitary civilian groups are responsible for 65 percent of the deaths. There are two main parties involved in the current political crisis. One is the governing Socialist Party (PSUV) led by President Maduro, who has attempted to continue the populist Bolivarian Revolution movement of his predecessor Hugo Chavez. The other is the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), a coalition of opposition political parties. Though Venezuelas political opposition has historically been fractured, a March 29 Supreme Court ruling (later reversed) that stripped legislative power from the opposition-led National Assembly inspired disparate factions of MUD to work together in collective opposition to Maduro. MUD has several leaders, including Henrique Capriles, the governor of the northern state of Miranda and a candidate for president; Leopoldo Lopez, a former politician currently under house arrest; and National Assembly President Julio Borges. The Supreme Court in July granted house arrest on humanitarian grounds to Lopez, who had spent more than three years in the Ramo Verde military prison serving a 14-year sentence for inciting violence. On July 30, the Venezuelan government held a controversial vote to convene a constituent assembly with the authority to rewrite the countrys constitution, which the opposition had used as a rallying point since protests began in April. Despite an opposition-led boycott, the vote went forward, resulting in the election of 545 predominantly pro-Maduro delegates, including first lady Cilia Flores, former National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello and former foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez, now president of the constituent assembly. Opposition leaders have described the constituent assembly vote as a power-grab and an attempt to interfere with local and national elections previously scheduled for 2017 and 2018, respectively, according to news reports. It is now unclear when these elections will take place, or how the constituent assembly will affect them. In its first act after convening on August 4, the assembly decided to fire Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz, who had emerged as one of the strongest critics of Maduro within the government, replacing her with Tarek William Saab, the former national ombudsman. The assembly has taken additional steps to consolidate power, including establishing a truth commission whose responsibilities include investigating opposition candidates running in Octobers gubernatorial elections to ensure they were not involved in the protests. Amid reports of rising discontent among members of the armed forces, on June 27 a former police inspector allegedly stole a helicopter and staged a brazen attack on government institutions in Caracas, firing at the Interior Ministry and dropping grenades on the Supreme Court. Tensions escalated further on August 6, when a group of armed men in military uniform attacked the Fuerte Paramacay military base in the northern state of Carabobo, according to press reports. Two people were killed and eight were arrested during the attack. In a video shared on social media, a man who identified himself as retired National Guard Captain Juan Carlos Caguaripano declared that he and the other men were staging a rebellion against a murderous tyranny, according to reports. More than 120 members of the military have been arrested since the protests began in April, according to news reports. 4. The protests Early demonstrations were organized by the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) and affiliated activists. As the protests have continued, other actions have been sponsored by an increasingly diverse range of organizers, including student groups, teachers and other civilian groups. Marches normally begin at a predetermined meeting point where protesters gather for two or three hours. They then move toward city centers where government ministry offices are located. Organizers across the country have led recent marches to Public Ministry offices in a show of support for Ortega. Protesters are also holding protests that involve blocking all surrounding streets, which are referred to as trancazos. In Caracas, the capital, protests have many different route options, but security forces typically stop them after only a short distance. Police and National Guard place barriers, armored vehicles equipped to fire tear-gas canisters, lines of police and soldiers, and vehicles equipped with water cannons. Around the country, Venezuelan state security forces, including the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB), national police (PNB), and state police, have used tear gas and rubber-coated bullets to disperse crowds. Hundreds of people have been injured and arrested. In a press conference for international media on June 23, President Maduro stated that he had given a clear order to security forces not use firearms against protesters, according to news reports. However, state security forces and armed civilian groups have repeatedly fired live rounds into crowds of demonstrators, resulting in multiple deaths and dozens of injuries. The weekend of the constituent assembly vote was the most deadly stretch to date, with at least 13 people killed in protests and clashes across the country on July 29 and 30, according to reports. Meanwhile, customs officials have banned the import of protective items used by both journalists and protesters, including helmets, gas masks, and bulletproof vests, according to news reports. The same ban has also blocked imports of first aid supplies and goods used by protesters to protect themselves, such as antacids, eye drops, and stretchers. The following locations are the sites of most, though not all, of the documented protests and violent incidents. Journalists should take additional precautions when reporting there: Caracas : Chacao, Autopista Francisco Fajardo, Las Mercedes, El Rosal, El Paraiso, San Bernardino, Santa Fe, El Valle, La Vega : Chacao, Autopista Francisco Fajardo, Las Mercedes, El Rosal, El Paraiso, San Bernardino, Santa Fe, El Valle, La Vega Valencia : Avenida Bolivar de Valencia, Distribuidor El Trigal, Sector Manongo, Urbanizacion Isabelica of Valencia, Flor Amarillo, Naguanagua, San Diego : Avenida Bolivar de Valencia, Distribuidor El Trigal, Sector Manongo, Urbanizacion Isabelica of Valencia, Flor Amarillo, Naguanagua, San Diego Maracay : Avenida Las Delicias, Avenida Fuerza Aerea, El Limon : Avenida Las Delicias, Avenida Fuerza Aerea, El Limon Barquisimeto : El Cardenalito, Los Cardones, Fundalara, Avenida Los Leones, Urbanizacion Santa Elena, Distribuidora Santa Rosa, Sector Cabudare (Urb La Hacienda, Villa Roca, Hondo), Universidad Fermin Toro, Avenida Libertador, Av. Florencio Jimenez (Urbina) : El Cardenalito, Los Cardones, Fundalara, Avenida Los Leones, Urbanizacion Santa Elena, Distribuidora Santa Rosa, Sector Cabudare (Urb La Hacienda, Villa Roca, Hondo), Universidad Fermin Toro, Avenida Libertador, Av. Florencio Jimenez (Urbina) Maracaibo : El Milagro, 5 de Julio, Amparo, La Pomona : El Milagro, 5 de Julio, Amparo, La Pomona Lecheria San Cristobal Merida Protesters unload pallets from a truck they forced to stop on a highway in Caracas, May 22, 2017. (AP/Fernando Llano) 5. The key groups State security forces are responsible for the majority of incidents of harassment, threats, and violence against individual journalists. However, belligerent groups from across the political spectrum are also present at demonstrations or hotspots throughout Venezuelas largest cities. Many are armed with different types of weapons and all pose a potential threat to journalists. They include pro-government armed groups known as colectivos, which operate sometimes in support of security forces and sometimes alone, and protester barricades, known as guarimbas, which most often appear along main roads and in opposition-friendly neighborhoods. Colectivos maintain a significant presence at demonstration sites. They primarily consist of former police officers, military, or security service personnel. Members are usually dressed as civilians, though some wear black jackets and masks. They typically carry small arms, though some have also been seen with rifles or machine guns. Colectivo members usually travel in groups of two aboard motorcycles. Colectivo members have fired directly into protests and are allegedly responsible for a number of protester deaths, according to reports. They have also threatened, physically attacked, and robbed journalists. On July 5, a group of about 200 Colectivo members attacked the National Assembly building. They trapped more than 300 people in the building, including 108 journalists, 94 deputies and 120 workers, and held them there for more than seven hours, according to news reports. At least 12 people were injured, and digital news outlet Vivoplay reported that members of Colectivos threatened journalists with pipes and rocks and stole cameras, microphones, and other equipment. Guarimbas, or protest barricades, which first appeared during the 2014 protests, are commonly manned by university or high school students, known as guarimberos. The barricades are made of materials ranging from bags of trash to tree trunks and stolen vehicles, such as trucks or buses, which guarimberos sometimes set on fire. Local reports indicate that some guarimbas in Caracas have included gangs who have extorted drivers and forcefully collected money from passersby. There are also reports of these groups using violence. Some street demonstrations and roadblocks are now led by more radical groups of protesters, who call themselves the Resistance, rather than those affiliated with the MUD political movement, increasing the possibility of violent confrontations with security forces. 6. Hospitals and other resources In Caracas, most of the people injured during protests are treated by volunteer field medics (including the Red Cross, Blue Cross and the newly formed Green Cross, which is staffed by medical students). Next, victims are often transferred to medical facilities such as Salud Chacao, or, in the case of serious injuries, to private facilities which have modern equipment and good qualified staff. CPJ does not recommend that victims go to public hospitals. These hospitals have excellent staff and significant experience with trauma injuries, but currently have very limited equipment and supplies. Patients may have to supply their own bandages, sutures, or even blood. Below is a list of medical facilities in different locations: Caracas Salud Chacao Prolongacion Av. Libertador, con Sorocaima, Urb. El Rosal Tel: 0212-9532263 / 0212-9537685 / 0212-9538002 Clinica El Avila 6ta Transversal con Avenida San Juan Bosco, Caracas Tel: 0212-2761111 Clinica Sanatriz 4ta. Avenida cruce con Calle 2, Edif. Higea, Urb. Campo Alegre, Caracas Tel 0212-2016604 / 0212-2016255 Hospital Clinica Caracas Av. Panteon con Av. Alameda, Urb. Bernandino, Caracas Tel 0212-5086111. Centro Medico La Trinidad Avenida Intercomunal La Trinidad, El Hatillo, Apartado Postal 80474 Tel: 0212-9496411. Valencia Ciudad Hospitalaria Henrique Tejera Av. Lisandro Alvarado. Valencia Edo. Carabobo Tel: 0241-8316551 / 0241-8316662. Centro Policlinico Valencia C.A. (Clinica La Vina) Urbanizacion La Vina, final Av. Carabobo. Tel: 0241-8236372 / 0241-8239759 / 0241-8236276 Cruz Roja Av. Bolivar Norte, Calle Lopez Latouche, Cruz Roja Hospital Luis Blanco Gasperi, Prebo. Tel: 0241-8214841 / 0241-8215330 / 0241-8239843. Barquisimeto Sociedad Venezolana De La Cruz Roja Del Estado Lara Avenida Intercomunal de Barquisimeto. Patarata. Tel: 0251-2543354. Cruz Roja El Trigal Cabudare Cabudare, Municipio Palavecino, Avenida El Placer, entre Transv. 07, Urbanizacion El Trigal. Tel: 0251-2619236. Hospital Central de Barquisimeto Sede Principal de Hospital Central Universitario Dr. Antonio Maria Pineda. Av. Vargas, con Av. Las Palmas, Casco Central. Tel: 0251-2523301 / 0251-2519498. Maracay Centro de Atencion de Emergencia 171 Maracay Avenida Sucre. Urbanizacion los Olivos Viejos. Tel: 0243-2416267. Cruz Roja Maracay Avenida Marino diagonal Plaza Girardot. Tel: 0243-2465358 / 0426-3499406. Policlinica Maracay, C.A. Urb. Calicanto, Calle Lopez Aveledo Norte, Numero 5 (Frente a la Maestranza). Tel: 0243-2472001. Centro Medico de Atencion Social CANAOBRE Prolongacion de Perez Almarza, entre Paez y Negro Primero, Maracay, al lado del Banco de Venezuela y Diagonal al Centro Comercial de la Economia Informal, Calle Perez Almarza. Tel: 0243-2475183. 7. CPJs Safety Advisory for journalists covering Venezuela General advice: Plan the assignment and ensure that you have a full battery on your cell phone. Know the area you are going to. Work out in advance what you would do in an emergency. Always try to work with a colleague and have a regular check-in procedure with your base. Particularly if covering rallies or crowd events. If going to rallies or crowd events, wear clothing and footwear that allows you to move swiftly. Consider your positionif you can, find an elevated position that would offer greater safety. At any location, always plan an evacuation route as well an emergency rendezvous point if you are working with others. Remember that crime and kidnapping are a serious problem in Venezuela. Maintain situational awareness at all times and limit valuables you are taking. Do not leave any equipment in vehicles as they are likely to be broken into. After dark, the criminal risk increases dramatically. Tear gas: It is sensible to wear personal protective equipment which includes gas masks, eye protection, body armor and helmets. (For visiting journalists, please note there are mixed reports about getting such equipment into the country. Some journalists have entered without issues, but others have had complications entering when identified as journalists. Journalist permits are very difficult to obtain.) Venezuelan authorities are using tear gas indiscriminately and there is the possibility of high concentrations of tear gas sitting in areas with no movement of air. Individuals with asthma or respiratory issues should avoid areas where tear gas is being used. Likewise, contact lenses are not advisable. If you are exposed to tear gas, try to find higher ground and stand in fresh air to allow the breeze to carry away the gas. Do not rub your eyes or face as this may worsen the situation. Once possible, shower in cold water to wash the gas away from skin, but do not bathe. Clothing may need to be washed several times to rid the crystals completely or even be discarded. Dealing with aggression: Read body language to identify an aggressor and use your own body language to pacify a situation. Keep eye contact with an aggressor, use open hand gestures and keep talking in a calming manner. Keep an extended arms length from the threat. Back away, breakaway firmly without aggression if held. If cornered and in danger, shout. If working in a crowd, keep to the outside of the crowd and dont get sucked into the middle where it is hard to escape. Identify an escape route, and have a team emergency meeting point if working with others. If aggression increases, keep a hand free to protect your head and move with short, deliberate steps to avoid falling. If in a team, stick together and link arms. While there are times when documenting aggression is crucial journalistic work, be aware of the situation and your own safety. Taking pictures of aggressive individuals can escalate a situation. Report any aggression to the authorities. If you are attacked, threatened or otherwise intimidated while covering these events, you can contact CPJ by emailing [email protected]. For more information on basic preparedness, assessing, and responding to risk, or covering safety measures when covering civil conflict and disturbances, we encourage journalists to review CPJs Journalist Security Guide. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy According to Iran Human Rights' (IHR) annual report on the death penalty in Iran at least 530 people were executed in 2016. With 296 executions Drug offences accounted for the majority of executions in 2016. In 2016, the Iranian Judiciarys High Council of Human Rights stated in a report that 93% of all executions are based on drug-related charges. This is not true. Drug offences counted for 48% of executions in 2013, 49% in 2014, 66% in 2015 and 56% in 2016. Drug-related executions, and the new legislation proposed by the Iranian Parliament, Majles, will be briefly reviewed in the following sections. The status of the cooperation between the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Iran in fighting drugs and the ongoing debate inside Iran will be discussed in the next article. Drug offences count for more than 50% of executions in Iran and the majority of the death sentences issued by the Revolutionary Courts. Reports collected by IHR show that those arrested for drug offences are systematically subjected to torture during the weeks after their arrest. Often, they have no access to a lawyer while in detention and by the time the lawyer enters the case they have already confessed to the crime. Trials at the Revolutionary Courts are often very short and there is little the lawyer can do. In addition, most of those executed for drug offences belong to marginalized groups in the Iranian society. This last point has been emphasized by several Iranian officials, including Mohammad Bagher Olfat (picture), one of the deputies of the Head of the Judiciary, who told an Iranian news agency: It is important to note that the individuals who are being executed are not the main drug traffickers, because the main drug traffickers are not involved in the shipment of drugs. Normally, the drugs are sold cheaply to individuals who do not have sufficient financial income. The Current Anti-Narcotics Law and the new bill proposed by Parliament The current Anti-Narcotics Law requires the death penalty for the fourth conviction for drug-related offences in several instances including: planting opium poppies, coca plants or cannabis seeds with the intent to produce drugs; smuggling more than five kilograms of opium or cannabis into Iran; buying, possessing, carrying or hiding more than five kilograms of opium and the other aforementioned drugs (punishable on third conviction); smuggling into Iran, dealing, producing, distributing and exporting more than 30 grams of heroin, morphine, cocaine or their derivatives. In December 2015, the official Iranian media announced that 70 members of Iran's Parliament signed a proposal for a change in legislation in order to end the death penalty for drug offences. After the Parliamentary elections in early 2016, the call for a change was followed up and in October 2016 the Iranian media announced that 150 of the 290 members of Parliament (Majlis) has signed the bill. At that time, Deputy Jalil Rahimi-Jahanabadi, a member of the Majlis Legal and Judicial Committee, told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA): In essence, we are proposing to add an amendment to the current law for fighting drugs to say the death penalty would apply only if certain conditions were met, such as carrying and using a gun, or being an international drug kingpin, or having a commuted death sentence and repeating the crime. Although the details of the new proposal have not been published, based on the information in the Iranian media if the new bill is approved the death penalty will be removed for some drug offences unless offenders were armed while carrying drugs or if they had been imprisoned for more than 10 years if the case is related to organized crime, or in cases where larger amount of drugs are involved. However, it is not clear whether the new bill will be approved by the powerful Guardian Council which has to approve all new laws. It is not clear either where the Expediency Council stands in this matter. Irans Expediency Council has amended the countrys anti-drug-trafficking law several times: in 1988, 1994 and 2001. The last amendment decreed that being in the possession of more than 30 grams of crystal meth was the same as the possession of heroin, and was punishable by the death penalty. The Judiciary has also sent mixed signals regarding the new bill. In October 2016, Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli-Larijani told the Iranian media that: "Executions are not necessarily desirable, but narcotics are a great detriment to society and also shatter families. We have no choice but to confront the issue quickly, swiftly, firmly, and decisively. We want prosecutors in the country not to hesitate in implementing the (death) sentences," said Amoli Larijani. "We should not wait three years (before carrying out the execution sentences), until the prisoner learns how to pray in order to get amnesty...It is offensive to say that the death penalty is ineffective. If it wasn't for the strictness of the Judiciary, the situation would be much worse." In addition, even if the bill is passed and approved there is no guarantee that it will lead to a significant reduction in the number of drug-related executions. The bill doesnt address the issue of due process at all. As mentioned earlier in this section, lack of due process is probably the biggest reason for the high number of drug-related executions in Iran as large number of the death sentences for drug charges are solely based on confessions extracted under torture. Parliamentary Committee Blocks Security Agencies Attempts to Significantly Delay Death Penalty Amendment Watching a public execution in Iran A Parliamentary committee in Iran has blocked an attempt by security agencies to delay for a year a parliamentary vote on an amendment that could drastically reduce death penalty sentences for drug-related crimes. Unfortunately, some security and government agencies wrote a letter requesting that the final vote be delayed for a year, Hassan Norouzi, a member of Parliament and spokesman for the Legal and Judicial Affairs Committee, told the Shargh newspaper on June 13, 2017. We explained to Parliaments secretariat that there was no reason to put this bill on hold, he said. The committee worked on it with legal experts for six months. It is a good, solid plan. If (opponents) have something to say, they should say it on the parliamentary floor as government representatives and we will give our replies, added Norouzi. When asked where the letter originated from, Norouzi said it was written by authorities involved in (fighting) drugs. Legislators were scheduled to deliberate an amendment to the Law Against Drug Trafficking on June 7, but the letter by the security authorities resulted in the final vote being delayed until mid-July, when members of Parliament (MPs) return from their summer break. If approved by Parliament and the Guardian Council, the amendment could spare the lives of 4,000 out of the 5,000 prisoners currently on death row in Iran for drug-trafficking related crimes by making the death penalty only applicable for organized drug lords, armed traffickers, repeat offenders and bulk drug distributors. Those who wanted the vote to be postponed for a year argued that the committee had not worked hard enough on the amendment, Norouzi told Shargh on June 7. He continued: In fact, we drafted it after discussions with the prosecutors office, with authorities fighting against illicit drugs, the police and the Interior Ministry. If they have something to say, they should join the deliberations and tell legislators why they oppose the proposal. Then it will be up to the peoples representatives to decide. It was wrong to stop the proposal from being voted on, but we held some talks and it was decided to put it back on the voting track. Norouzi refused to identify any agencies by name, but the Iran Drug Control Headquarters (IDCH) has been a strong opponent of removing the death penalty as a punishment for low-level drug crimes. Earlier this year, the IDCHs Legal Affairs director Ali Alizadeh said stopping the amendment from being ratified was a top priority and called on the judiciary to intervene. Organized crime and drug enforcement experts believe if these unbalanced and unscientific reforms are implemented under the guise of human rights, society will be struck by a great wave of drug and other related crimes, said Alizadeh on February 5, 2017. Proponents of limiting the death penalty have pointed out the political and social costs of maintaining one of the highest per-capita execution rates in the world. Iran: Medieval and barbaric punishments At least 567 people were executed in Iran in 2016, down 42 percent from the 977 who were in executed in 2015. The majority of executions are for drug-trafficking crimes and the Western countries and international organizations are taking political advantage of (the situation), said MP Ezatollah Yousefian, in a parliamentary debate on November 23, 2016. This is extremely costly for our country, he added. Those who are being condemned to death are not traffickers in the true sense. The real traffickers are those who are managing the drug trade from hotels rooms in Ankara and Istanbul. In September 2016, the deputy director of the judiciarys Human Rights Headquarters, Kazem Gharibabadi, said About 93 percent of the executions in Iran are related to drugs. A staunch opponent of limiting executions, Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani has advocated for the death penalty to be carried out at a faster pace. We dont think that the laws concerning drug trafficking are revelations from God. They are man-made laws that have not had perfect results. But its wrong to say that executions have had no effect, said Larijani on September 29, 2016. If the Judiciary had not been strict, we would have been in a far worse situation. However, some hardliners have begun admitting that the death penalty has failed as a preventative measure against drug trafficking. We are looking to see what punishments can replace executions with greater effectiveness for certain criminals, said Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi on October 29, 2016. Of course, the death penalty will still be enforced, but not to the extent we have today, he added. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! : Iran Human Rights, April 2017 Center for Human Rights in Iran , June 14, 2017 KYODO NEWS - Jun 14, 2017 - 11:26 | Arts, All A Japanese artist has attained his goal of painting murals in 10 countries in spreading a message of peace, completing the last one on his home soil after a period of three years. Shinichiro Higashi finished a painting of a pigeon holding a white daisy flower in its mouth on a wall of a hospital in Okinawa on May 15, the 45th anniversary of its reversion to Japan after 27 years under U.S. administrative control following Japan's defeat in World War II. The 47-year-old Higashi embarked on the project in Egypt in 2014 and continued to travel to other countries -- India, Australia, South Korea, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Philippines, the United States, Mexico -- to draw murals promoting peace. When he visited the Middle East in 2014, Higashi understood the misery of war through talks with Palestinian refugees and other people, and decided to draw murals with pigeons and doves as the motif. The latest painting was done at Hakuai Hospital, which stands on a hill in Haebaru town in the southernmost island prefecture. Elsewhere, he had difficulties in finding space to draw murals but for the last work, Yuzuru Nakamoto, the 37-year-old deputy head of the hospital, offered help. Nakamoto was a student of Higashi's when the latter was an art teacher at a junior high school in nearby Kagoshima Prefecture. The Okinawa painting is about 9 meters high and 7 meters wide and can be seen from nearby roads and houses. Daisies are flowers that also symbolize peace. Higashi completed the work jointly with his 35-year-old wife Kaori in four days, despite being exposed to rain. Nakamoto said that Okinawa, a gruesome battlefield during World War II, has issued various messages about the importance of peace. "I hope the mural painting here can reach people in the world as a new message," he said. Having achieved his immediate goal, Higashi, hailing from Makurazaki in Kagoshima, has set his eye on visiting Spain to draw his 11th mural, hoping that "a chain of desire for peace will sever the negative chain of hatred one day." The global server market isn't the most flashy part of the technology industry, but it is one of the most important sectors in all of tech. Whether physical or cloud-based, servers are the backbone of modern computing. Without them, our tech-laden world could not exist. In order to improve efficiency, Bank of America Corporation BAC plans to continue cutting costs even after reaching its $53 billion of expense-savings target by 2018. Chief Operating Officer, Thomas K. Montag, said at the Morgan Stanley Financials Conference on Jun 14 that the company is trying to look for innovative and new ways in which technology can replace humans, so as to reduce expenses. Montag said that the company will look for ways to optimize its business. He added that the firms markets risk-management and trading platform is one of the areas which require a huge sum of money to be maintained. If the bank can consolidate these systems, it can reduce costs. Also, for BofA, technology and operations costs are very high. Thus, in order to reduce these costs, it has already started to lay off employees in its operations and technology division. The news, which was first reported by the Charlotte Observer, stated that the company cut an undisclosed number of jobs on Wednesday, particularly in its Charlotte headquarters. Dan Frahm, a BofA spokesperson, said in a statement that the employees who have been fired were notified a day before. However, the company encourages them to apply for other positions available within BofA, which has nearly 600 vacancies in its Charlotte region. The bank has been continuously trying to improve efficiency by reducing costs. Its expense-saving plan Project New BAC (launched in 2011) helped improve overall efficiency and save as much as $8 billion in operating expenses annually till the end of 2014. The same trend continued in 2015 and 2016 too. Further, the bank is planning to move toward digitalization as an increasing number of people search for off-site banking methods to fulfill their needs. This will also help it control costs. For example, if it is successful in developing ATM machines which can perform the basic daily needs of customers, then tellers will no longer be needed for these transactions. In fact, tellers can then move from behind the counter and focus on the more complex transactions. This will help reduce payments towards salaries and also improve efficiency. Apart from BofA, various other companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS and Morgan Stanley MS have been engaged in expense-reduction initiatives. Notably, shares of BofA surged nearly 78.5% in the last one year, outperforming the Zacks categorized Banks - Major Regional industrys rally of 39.6%. Story continues Currently, the stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 3 Stocks to Ride a 588% Revenue Explosion At Zacks, we're mostly focused on short-term profit cycles, but the hottest of all technology mega-trends is starting to take hold... By last year, it was already generating $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for those who make the right trades early. See Zacks' Top 3 Stocks to Ride This Space >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Click for Free J P Morgan Chase & Co (JPM) Stock Analysis Report >> Click for Free Bank of America Corporation (BAC) Stock Analysis Report >> Click for Free Morgan Stanley (MS) Stock Analysis Report >> Click for Free Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) (GS) Stock Analysis Report >> To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Emma Thomasson BERLIN (Reuters) - General Electric (GE.N) will not abandon its high-tech strategy under its new chief executive even if the transition to digital equipment proves "uncomfortable" for many of its customers, senior managers said on Tuesday. "There is no plan B. We're not going back," Ganesh Bell, chief digital officer of GE Power, the group's largest industrial business, told Reuters on the sidelines of a Berlin conference to promote its digital products. Bell was speaking a day after GE named insider John Flannery as its next CEO, taking over from long-serving Jeff Immelt, who reshaped the company to sharpen its focus on technology but failed to deliver profit growth fast enough for some investors. Flannery said on Monday that he will conduct a swift review of the conglomerate's business portfolio with "no constraint", but that digital efforts will be at the heart of its strategy. Bell said that all of GE's senior managers, including Flannery, are "believers big time" in Immelt's push to invest billions of dollars to build a digital business that marries electronic sensors and analytic computing with industrial equipment. "Investors are starting to get the story. What they haven't grasped fully is that it is not just about making existing business more efficient but about a whole new franchise," he said. Beth Comstock, who runs the innovations unit at the maker of jet engines and power plants, noted that Flannery was part of the strategy team that drove the digital push and had seen positive results in his own healthcare unit. "You don't go digital at your own peril," she said. Immelt had been due to speak at the Berlin conference, but pulled out after Monday' announcement, leaving Comstock to speak in his place. Comstock admitted that it can be difficult to persuade GE customers of the need to digitize, even though 50 billion machines are expected to have online connectivity by 2020. "The more we can show how we have digitized, the more likely they are to try it," she said. "They want examples of others that have done it." Story continues Comstock said that such initiatives represent a huge opportunity for GE, with only 30 percent of European companies currently analyzing data from their industrial equipment to inform decisions. She cited the example of DB Cargo, the logistics arm of the German railways company, which she said had improved fleet reliability since adopting GE's software on its locomotives. "We have to accept that the old is going away and the new has not yet fully emerged," she said. (Editing by David Goodman) Medical staff at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has drawn criticism from a passenger on board an American Airlines flight for its handling of an unconscious passenger who later died. On Monday, American Airlines Flight 2423 from Dallas to the Twin Cities made an emergency landing after the crew discovered an unresponsive female passenger inside one of the aircraft's lavatories. Paramedics at the airport met the plane when it landed, joining the medical professionals already on the flight in attempting to resuscitate the passenger. Paramedics moved the passenger from the aircraft to an area with more room to provide aid. But another passenger complained that more could have been done to cover up the partially clothed woman as she was "dragged" off the plane, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Airport authorities and the airline pushed back on early reports that the distressed passenger was naked when she was taken from the plane in a portable stretcher, saying she was wearing a shirt and underwear. But Art Endress told The Star Tribune that he felt that an emergency medical technician was "out of line" and flight attendants could have "thrown a blanket on" the passenger as the paramedics "dragged her down the aisle" of the Boeing 737-800. An airport spokesman defended the emergency responders, telling The Associated Press that they acted according to procedure. He told The Star Tribune the paramedics "were focused on trying to save her life and get her in the jetway, where they can continue to try to resuscitate her." The woman was pronounced dead after nearly an hour of resuscitation attempts, the AP reported. In a statement to Business Insider, American Airlines wrote: "The crew of Flight 2423 from DFW to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) found one of our passengers in medical distress prior to landing. They, along with several medical professionals, provided onboard medical assistance to her. Our crew declared an emergency landing and requested that paramedics meet the flight. The paramedics worked immediately to remove our passenger from the aircraft and provide her with medical aid, but unfortunately, they were unable to revive her. We are deeply saddened by this event and our thoughts and prayers go out to our passenger's loved ones. We're grateful for the response of our highly trained flight attendants and our customers who assisted our passenger until first responders arrived." Story continues NOW WATCH: How often airlines involuntarily bump passengers (United isn't the worst) More From Business Insider Liane Hornsey. Source Meet the Boss/YouTube During an all-hands meeting on Tuesday, Ubers chief of HR made multiple references to doing shots, in one of several awkward moments at a meeting meant to share recommendations on how the company can fix its culture. Those moments were caught on recorded audio shared exclusively with Yahoo Finance. The embattled ride-hailing startup saw renewed backlash after the meeting, which came following accusations of sexual harassment at the company. Also on Tuesday, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said hes taking a leave of absence, amid mounting pressure and a drumbeat of negative press. His mother also recently died in a boating accident. You can have two shots At one point during the all-hands meeting, Hornsey encouraged employees to essentially participate in a drinking game: every time she said the word bloody, they should take a shot (presumably, of alcohol). Hornsey, who appeared to have a British accent, made the reference several times throughout the all-hands meeting. We have just got to get seriously real, and we have got to get real in a way that no bloody companys oh sorry, Im blind, mused Hornsey. I read yesterday that if I said bloody, you all have to take a shot. So, so sorry. I just said bloody. In fact, I said it twice. So you can have two shots, but only after hours. Sorry. Hornsey, a former Google (GOOG, GOOGL) veteran and Softbank operating partner who joined Uber in late 2016, was very likely joking when she made those off-the-cuff remarks, but theyre nonetheless troubling given Hornsey helps set the tone for Uber a company that employs more than 12,000 people. In this Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, file photo, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif. Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File I have heard of people paying into a fine jar for using swear words (where the jar gets donated to some charity), but taking shots as in alcohol seems not like the best punishment, said Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University. Alcohol abuse is a serious health problem and a particular problem in the SV bro culture that Uber exemplifies, but it is hardly the only instance of [that bro culture]. I do not think encouraging people to take shots is a wise move, regardless of the specific companys history. Story continues Pfeffer added that there are religions not to mention personal background issues like alcoholism in ones family that forbid alcohol consumption. If one wants to encourage a truly inclusive culture, we need to be sensitive to that, he said. Will you all just stand up and give each a hug before I speak, please? Another unequivocally awkward moment? When Hornsey encouraged employees to hug one another. This feels so somber, Hornsey commented during the all-hands meeting. I dont know whether any of you noticed, as Arianna walked down, she gave me a hug and she whispered in my ear, This is an energy hug. So will you all just stand up and give each a hug before I speak, please? Go on, do it. Pfeffer contended Hornseys recommendation was less about sex, or sexuality, and more about HR at its most stereotypically worst. HR at most places is the soft side, emotional support, kumbaya leadership, authenticity, and similar sentiments that often have little to do with either performance or with reality, which is one reason that HR often has less power than other functions, explained Pfeffer, who pointed to Google as one tech company with a healthy, successful work culture. Indeed, Google ranked No. 4 on Glassdoors Best Places to Work For list this year two spots behind Facebook (FB). Pfeffer then referred to the report Uber commissioned on how to fix its culture, which was conducted by former attorney general Eric Holder and one of his partners at the law firm Covington & Burling. Much of the Holder report is about building in processes that ensure effective performance, added Pfeffer. Larry Page is a terrific CEO. I dont know if he hugs or not, but I can assure you his leadership skills and success dont depend on it. Granted, these problematic moments during Ubers all-hands on Tuesday paled in comparison to sexist remarks made by board director David Bonderman there. Bonderman ultimately resigned as a direct result of those comments, first reported by Yahoo Finance. Uber did not respond to Yahoo Finances request for comment in time for publication. JP Mangalindan is a senior correspondent for Yahoo Finance covering the intersection of tech and business. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook. More from JP: LEAKED AUDIO: Ubers all-hands meeting had some uncomfortable moments The tech giants that made billions copying others In San Francisco, $160,000 gets you a storage locker Heres how much Nvidia will make off the Nintendo Switch LEAKED PHOTOS: Fitbits new headphones and troubled smartwatch Facebook exec: How Messenger can improve your social life If it was meant to soften the image of the North Korean leader Kim Jung-un, the announcement that the regime had released captive American college student Otto Warmbier on Tuesday failed dismally after it was revealed that the young man, unbeknownst to his family, has been in a coma since last year. Warmbier was convicted in a show trial last year for allegedly stealing a political poster -- a crime for which he was sentenced to 15 years hard labor. While the treatment of one prisoner by a regime that has historically brutalized both its own citizens and foreigners by the thousands seems like a small addition to the list of the Kim dynastys crimes, its the sort of personalized story that can draw public attention to a larger issue. And in this case it seems to be doing just that. Related: 3 Reasons North Korea Is a Bigger Threat Than a Month Ago The mistreatment of Warmbier is attracting additional attention to North Korea at a time when U.S. officials are already convinced that the rogue regime presents a serious threat to U.S. interests and national security. Kims government frequently threatens attacks on the U.S., is known to possess nuclear weapons and is working to develop a delivery mechanism with a range great enough to strike the United States mainland. However, over the years, U.S. officials have struggled to find effective ways of punishing a government that has been willing to tolerate starvation of its own citizens even as it continued to build up its military capabilities. In addition, North Korea is already largely isolated from the global economy, and uses a network of hidden international intermediaries and financial institutions to provide the things it does need -- including financing, weapons and technology. But according to a new study from C4ADS, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C., the answer may be simpler than many imagine. The report, Risky Business: A System-Level Analysis of the North Korean Proliferation Financing System, argues that pressure applied to a relative handful of specific points in a global network of shadowy actors could do vast damage to illicit Korean trade with the rest of the world. Story continues Although to date economic coercion has been ineffective in persuading North Korea to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons, this does not mean it cannot work, writes David Thompson, a senior analyst with C4ADS. On the contrary, targeted enforcement actions against key nodes within the system can have the effect of impacting multiple networks across multiple countries simultaneously, removing key functions, such as individuals or entities specialized in illicit finance and procurement, who cannot be easily replaced. Thompson, who has previously produced reports using publicly available data to map the connections between North Korean companies and their enablers around the world, describes a system that is global in nature but reliant on a relative handful of intermediaries and facilitators who have a hand in most of the countrys trade relationships. Their relatively small numbers, he argues, makes the countrys system especially vulnerable to disruption if the United States and its international allies were to take concerted action against them. Related: North Koreas Missile Test Leaves Trump with Three Options He points out that action last year against just one Chinese company, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co., resulted in a massive revenue loss to the North Korean government. Each action can individually increase the cost and complexity of sanctions evasion for North Korea, but if applied against a number of these key nodes simultaneously, they could, in theory, cause the entire overseas system to collapse. The impact, he believes, could be enough to force the Kim regime to the negotiating table under circumstances in which the U.S. and its allies would have a much stronger hand. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: us special forces raqqa syria US-led coalition forces destroyed what were reportedly pro-Syrian regime forces near al Tanf in southeast Syria on Tuesday, Operation Inherent Resolve officials said in a release. According to the release, pro-Assad forces, consisting of a tank, artillery, antiaircraft weapons, armed technical vehicles, and more than 60 troops, entered the "well-established de-confliction zone." That zone covers a 34-mile radius around al Tanf, which is located near the intersection of the Syrian, Iraqi, and Jordanian borders. "The Coalition issued several warnings via the de-confliction line prior to destroying two artillery pieces, an anti-aircraft weapon, and damaging a tank," the release said. This is the second time in a month that coalition forces have engaged pro-regime forces around al Tanf, where coalition advisers train local partners (and where US and partner forces repulsed a fierce ISIS attack in April). On May 18, coalition airstrikes targeted pro-Assad forces "that were advancing well inside an established de-confliction zone" northeast of al Tanf, US Central Command said in a release at the time. The strike came after unsuccessful Russian efforts to stop the movements, a show of force by coalition aircraft, and warning shots. Kataib Imam Ali Forces (Iraqi militia in Syria) announced that they are preparing for Al #Tanf battle. See https://t.co/iyhjOPHsAY pic.twitter.com/ZLo5elflN5 Balanche (@FabriceBalanche) May 30, 2017 Defense Department spokesman Eric Pahon told Bloomberg at the end of May that the US was not turning its attention to Assad's forces. Story continues "This is not a new policy," he said of the May 18 strike. "Now that they've backed off, we're not going after them," though, he said, the US "would certainly respond as necessary" to protect partner forces in the area. The area around al Tanf in southeast Syria looks to be a potential flashpoint going forward, as ISIS' territorial control in Syria erodes and combatants in the country the US-led coalition and its partners as well as the Assad regime and its partners, backed by Iran try to position themselves to take control of spaces the terror group leaves behind. Russia and Iran have deployed forces to Syria to back up leader Bashar al-Assad while the US and many of its regional and Western allies have called for the strongman to leave power. The area from al Tanf north to Sinjar in northwest Iraq "is now being contested by various belligerents on behalf of their regional sponsors," according to Fabrice Balanche, a French expert on Syria and visiting fellow at the Washington Institute on Near East Policy. Intelligence sources have told Reuters that the coalition's presence near al Tanf is meant to keep Iranian-backed forces from securing an overland route between Syria and Iraq. And in May, Western-backed Syrian rebels said Russian jets bombed them to stop their push to capture a checkpoint on the Damascus-Baghdad highway near the Syrian borders with Iraq and Jordan. Increased activity in eastern Syria has prompted Washington and Moscow to set up a deconfliction hotline to avert potential confrontations. "Anything can happen," Pahon told Bloomberg. "This is the most complicated battle-space anybody has ever known." NOW WATCH: Watch the King of Jordan participate in a military exercise with his armed forces More From Business Insider It has been about a month since the last earnings report for NVIDIA Corporation NVDA. Shares have added about 22.9% in that time frame, outperforming the market. Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to the stock's next earnings release, or is it due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts. NVIDIA Q1 Earnings & Revenues Top, Outlook Strong NVIDIA posted first-quarter fiscal 2018 adjusted earnings (including stock-based compensation but excluding other one-time items) on a proportionate tax basis of $0.82 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.66 per share. Also, earnings increased from $0.39 per share reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenues Revenues not only increased 48.4% year over year to $1.937 billion but also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.910 billion. The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to better-than-expected growth across all the platforms, that is, GPUs gaming platform, Professional Visualization, datacenter and Tegra automotive platforms. Also, NVIDIA continued to strengthen in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, which positively impacted the quarters revenues. Revenues from the GPU business increased 45% year over year to $1.56 billion, driven by strength in GeForce GPUs Gaming revenues and datacenter. Revenues from Gaming GPU increased 49% on a year-over-year basis. Revenues from datacenter (including Tesla and Grid) came in at $409 million, which more than tripled on a year-over-year basis. Tegra processor revenues came in at $332 million, which more than doubled on a year-over-year basis. The increase was primarily due to better-than-expected growth in Tegra development services and automotive. Automotive revenues for the quarter came in at $140 million, reflecting an increase of 24% year over year, primarily from infotainment modules. Story continues Quarters revenues were also positively impacted by 43 million from the Intel (INTC) agreement. Moving to Professional Visualization, revenues from Quadro increased 8% year over year and came in at $255 million. The increase was mainly due to strong demand in real-time rendering tools and mobile workstations. Margins NVIDIAs adjusted gross margin (including stock-based compensation but excluding other one-time items) expanded 106 basis points (bps) from the year-ago quarter to 59.4%. In dollar terms, gross profit came in at $1.150 billion, reflecting an increase of 51.1% from the year-ago quarter, primarily on the back of strength in GeForce GPU gaming platform and a higher revenue base. Adjusted operating expenses increased 19.9% from the year-ago quarter to $590 million, as the company continued to invest in sales, general and administrative activities and higher research and development expenses. As a percentage of revenues, operating expenses, however, decreased 724 bps from the year-ago quarter to 30.5%. NVIDIAs adjusted operating margin was up from 20.6% to 28.9% during the quarter, reflecting growth in its GeForce GTX GPU business and lower operating expenses as a percentage of revenues. In dollar terms, adjusted operating income increased from $269 million to $560 million. Balance Sheet & Cash Flow NVIDIA exited the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $6.206 billion compared with $6.798 billion in the previous quarter. NVIDIAs total debt (including current portion) was $2.199 billion. Free cash flow in the quarter came in at $229 million, while cash flow from operations was $282 million. During the quarter, the company paid a cash dividend of $82 million. NVIDIA also announced quarterly dividend of 14 cents per share, payable on Jun 14, 2017. Guidance For the second quarter of fiscal 2018, NVIDIA expects revenues of approximately $1.95 billion (+/-2%). Non-GAAP gross margin is expected to be 58.6% (+/-50 bps). Non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $530 million. Capital expenditures are expected to be roughly in the range of $55$65 million. Non-GAAP tax rate is expected to be 17% (+/-1%). For fiscal 2018, the company expects to return $1.25 billion to its shareholders in the form of cash dividends and share repurchases. How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then? Analysts were quiet during the last one month period as none of them issued any earnings estimate revisions. NVIDIA Corporation Price and Consensus NVIDIA Corporation Price and Consensus | NVIDIA Corporation Quote VGM Scores At this time, the stock has a nice Growth Score of 'B', while Momentum is lagging a bit with a 'C'. However, the stock was allocated a grade of 'F' on the value side, putting it in the bottom 20% quintile for this investment strategy. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of 'D'. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Based on our scores, the stock is more suitable for growth investors than for those looking for momentum. Outlook The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We are expecting an inline return from the stock in the next few months. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Click for Free NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) Stock Analysis Report >> To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The Federal Reserve just approved the second interest rate hike of 2017, and the third in the past six months. Inflation is shaping up to be lower than the Fed had hoped to see, but GDP growth and employment projections for 2017 were both improved from those made after the March Fed meeting. Here are the highlights from June's Federal Reserve meeting, and what this rate hike could mean to you. Former and current Afghan security officials and lawmakers have welcomed an expected reorientation of U.S. policy in Afghanistan, which is now predicted to focus on ending militant sanctuaries in neighboring Pakistan. Afghan officials are optimistically evaluating congressional testimonies by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis this week. During his two testimonies, Mattis hinted that as part of a "regional approach" Washingtons action against insurgents will be connected to the geographic reality of where this enemy is fighting from, which is not just Afghanistan. General Sher Muhammad Karimi, a former top Afghan soldier, says a U.S. action on denying the Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan will go a long way to turn around the war. One of the problem we always encountered was that the U.S. and Pakistan were old allies, which prompted Washington to look at things from Islamabads perspective while preventing it from addressing Afghan concerns [about Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan], he told Radio Free Afghanistan. Now if they really want to defeat terrorism, they need to include Pakistan in their strategy and recalibrate their pressures and relations with the country. Karimi was one of the Afghan officials who regularly accused Pakistan of providing safe havens for the Taliban and attempted to convince his U.S. and NATO counterparts that without addressing the issue a victory in the Afghan war would remain elusive. U.S. and NATO dependence on Pakistan as their main supply route for troops stationed in landlocked Afghanistan also prevented them from going after the Afghan Taliban sanctuaries in the countrys western borderlands with Afghanistan. While hundreds of suspected U.S. drone strikes in Pakistans northwestern Federally Administered Tribal Areas have killed Al-Qaeda and allied Central Asia and Pakistani Taliban fighters, there was only one U.S. drone strike in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where remnants of the Taliban regime regrouped to launch an insurgency inside Afghanistan by 2003. The lone U.S. drone strike in Balochistan killed former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur in May 2016. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said Washingtons failure to deal with Pakistans covert support for the insurgents has prolonged the Afghan conflict. In its new strategy, the U.S. must address this issue, he told Radio Free Afghanistan. They need to pressure Pakistan to cease supporting terrorists. Lawmaker Najiba Hussaini, a member of Mishrano Jirga or the upper house of the Afghan Parliament, agreed. She told Radio Free Afghanistan that the new U.S. strategy will benefit her country only if Washington and its allies go after terrorist sanctuaries in the region. The U.S. and its allies must launch airstrikes against the terrorists in Pakistan and elsewhere, she said. This will be a good solution. Islamabad, however, is working overtime to show it is interested in peace within its western neighbor. Sartaj Aziz, adviser to Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on foreign affairs, says with Chinese facilitation Islamabad wants to improve relations with Kabul. Prime Minister [Sharif] and President [Ashraf Ghani] had a very good meeting in Astana [on June 9], and [they agreed] theres been enough of the blame game and we should move forward and try to restore trust, he told Radio Mashaal on June 14. China is also very keen on improvement in Pak-China relations. A more telling response came from Pakistans powerful military chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. During a visit to the northwestern city of Peshawar on June 14, he said Afghanistan was a brotherly neighbor and terrorists were a common enemy of both countries. But in a visible move to offset the likely new U.S. approach, Bajwa warned that unilateral actions like drone strike are counterproductive and against [the] spirit of ongoing cooperation and intelligence-sharing being diligently undertaken by Pakistan, an official statement quoted him as saying. The statement followed a suspected U.S. drone strike on June 13, which reportedly killed a Haqqani network commander in the Speen Tal area of Hangu, a rural district some 300 kilometers south of Peshawar. The network, named after distinguished Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, is considered a lethal Taliban faction that mostly orchestrates complex attacks in Kabul. Afghan officials blamed the faction for a devastating tanker bomb that killed more than 150 people in Kabuls diplomatic area on May 31. But Sirajuddin Haqqani, the networks current alleged head and one of the top Taliban leaders, denied responsibility for the attack. In 2011, former U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen dubbed the network a "veritable arm" of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's secret service. Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Hadee Pardes contributed reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan. Radio Mashaal correspondent Rabia Akram contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan. fg/ AIM: MARL TSX-V: MARL 14 June 2017 Granite House, La Grande Rue, St. Martin, Guernsey, GY1 3RS Channel Islands Update on Drilling at Hot Maden Project, NE Turkey Mariana Resources Limited ('Mariana' or 'the Company'), the TSX.V and AIM (MARL) listed exploration and development company with projects in Turkey, South America, and Ivory Coast, is pleased to provide the following update on the ongoing diamond drill program at the high grade Hot Maden gold-copper project in NE Turkey. Assay results have been received for a total of 6 new drill holes (HTD-118, HTD-120 to HTD-123, and HTD-125); assays for a further 4 holes (HTD-107, HTD-108, HTD-111, and HTD-113) on which detailed geotechnical logging has now been completed remain pending. Of the six holes for which assays have been received, one (HTD-118) was completed in the Main Zone resource area, four (HTD-120, HTD-121, HTD-123, and HTD 125) were scout holes in the Southern Deposit area, and one (HTD-122) was drilled into a zinc-bearing zone in the former Russian mining area (Figures 1 - 3). Highlights: Three diamond rigs currently remain on site at Hot Maden. However, activities during June will be reduced in recognition of Ramadan and the Bayram national holiday season. High grade gold-copper (Au-Cu) mineralisation was intersected in HTD-118, a deep step-back hole drilled on section 4,542,125N. Best results included: 31m @ 7.4 g/t Au + 0.71% Cu from 399m downhole, Including 8m @ 21.0 g/t Au + 0.76% Cu from 403m downhole. (approximate true width of Au-Cu zone is 25m) Late stage anhydrite brecciation resulted in lower gold-copper grades in the remaining multiphase breccia. Scout drilling in the Southern Deposit continues to return positive intercepts, with HTD-123 returning 1m @ 12.7 g/t Au + 1.76% Cu from 107m downhole, and 10m @ 4.2 g/t Au + 0.12% Cu from 164m downhole. Mineralisation is associated with pyrite-chalcopyrite-bearing quartz vein/breccia zones in dacitic volcanoclastic rocks. Initial drilling is underway in the Pre-1923 Russian Mining Area, in an area located approximately 1km to the south of the Southern Discovery. HTD-122 is the third scout hole to be completed to date in this zone, and intersected two levels of zinc mineralization (4m @ 1.46% Zn from 43m downhole and 2m @ 8.34% Zn from 89m downhole). The Pre-1923 Russian Mine Area is a complex zone of mineralised veins and hydrothermal alteration, with first results being similar to those obtained from the first drill holes around the Main Zone discovery. However, given that the drill collars in the pre-1923 Russian mine area lie 300m vertically above the known mineralization in the Main Zone, further systematic work will still be required to identify the central part of the mineralized system. is the third scout hole to be completed to date in this zone, and intersected two levels of zinc mineralization (4m @ 1.46% Zn from 43m downhole and 2m @ 8.34% Zn from 89m downhole). The Pre-1923 Russian Mine Area is a complex zone of mineralised veins and hydrothermal alteration, with first results being similar to those obtained from the first drill holes around the Main Zone discovery. However, given that the drill collars in the pre-1923 Russian mine area lie 300m vertically above the known mineralization in the Main Zone, further systematic work will still be required to identify the central part of the mineralized system. Technical studies required to support the Hot Maden Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), currently scheduled for completion in Q4 2017, are well underway with the current focus being on additional metallurgical sampling and the optimization of metal recoveries in flotation circuits. Links to Figures: http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/24ee23_4d11f6b2d5f547d49020e7432a5789f4.pdf Table 1: Summary of assays for drill holes HTD-118, HTD-120 to HTD-123, and HTD-125. Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Intercept (m) Au g/t Cu % Zn % Comments HTD-107 (Line 2325N) Oriented drill hole for geotechnical logging; sampling in progress Pending Assays HTD-108 (Line 2250N) Oriented drill hole for geotechnical logging; sampling in progress Pending Assays HTD-111 (Line 2025N) Oriented drill hole for geotechnical logging; sampling in progress Pending Assays HTD-113 Oriented drill hole for geotechnical logging; sampling in progress Pending Assays (Line 1950N) HTD-118 (Line 2125N) 187.0 190.3 3.3 - - 3.19 Zinc Zone 281.0 292.0 11.0 - - 3.33 299.0 306.0 7.0 - - 1.55 314.0 320.0 6.0 - - 2.28 342.0 345.0 3.0 - - 5.33 377.0 387.0 10.0 2.0 0.66 - Main Zone 399.0 430.0 31.0 7.4 0.71 - Including 403.0 411.0 8.0 21.0 0.76 - 437.0 442.0 5.0 0.8 0.94 - 524.0 547.0 23.0 0.3 1.23 - HTD-120 (Line 1925N) 18.0 20.0 2.0 3.1 - - Southern Deposit (Dacite) 23.0 24.0 1.0 5.9 0.30 - 211.5 215.0 3.5 1.1 0.66 - 257.0 258.0 1.0 5.8 1.07 - HTD-121 (Line 1650N) 27.0 29.0 2.0 4.4 0.44 - Southern Deposit (Dacite) 43.0 44.0 1.0 11.4 0.66 - 48.0 49.0 1.0 6.0 0.58 - 51.0 52.0 1.0 4.0 0.41 - 56.0 58.0 2.0 3.3 0.27 - 77.0 81.0 4.0 2.8 0.51 1.36 83.0 84.0 1.0 0.5 - 4.50 92.0 110.0 18.0 0.3 - 2.36 HTD-122 (Line 1050N) 43.0 47.0 4.0 - - 1.46 Russian Workings 89.0 91.0 2.0 - - 8.34 HTD-123 (Line 1650N) 107.0 108.0 1.0 12.7 1.76 - Southern Deposit (Dacite) 138.0 140.0 2.0 4.1 0.38 - 142.0 144.0 2.0 4.1 0.10 - 164.0 174.0 10.0 4.2 0.12 - 373.0 384.0 11.0 - - 1.60 422.0 432.0 10.0 - - 2.28 HTD-125 (Line 1550N) 58.3 67.0 8.7 - - 1.40 Southern Deposit (Dacite) Quality Control and Assurance Mineralised intervals presented in Table 1 are drill intersection widths and may not represent true widths of mineralisation. Drill core obtained from the diamond drill program was dominantly HQ-sized core with the remainder being PQ-sized core. All drill core was photographed and quick logged prior to sampling. Standard sampling protocol involved the halving of all drill core and sampling over generally 1 m intervals (in clearly mineralised sections) or 2 m intervals (elsewhere), with one half of the core being placed in a sealed sample bag and dispatched to the analytical laboratory for analysis. Samples have been analysed at ALS Laboratories' facility in Izmir, western Turkey. All samples have been analysed for gold using a 30g Fire Assay with AAS finish (or Screen Fire Assay for higher grade samples), in addition to a 32 element ICP-AES analysis of an aqua regia digest. Samples in which ICP analyses returned greater than the maximum detection limit for the elements Ag (10 ppm), Cu (10,000 ppm), Fe (15%), Pb (10,000 ppm), and Zn (10,000 ppm) were reanalysed using the AAS analytical technique. Standards and blanks were inserted in to the analytical sequence on the basis of one standard for every 20 samples, 2 blanks in every batch, and one duplicate every 40 samples. Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) No HSE incidents have been reported during the current diamond drill program. Hot Maden drill holes - technical data Technical data relating to the Hot Maden diamond drill holes being reported are given in the following table. Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation (m) Azimuth Dip (degrees) Depth (m) Assays HTD-107 740,619.0 4,542,325.9 885.0 090 -64 300 Pending HTD-108 740,476.6 4,542,254.7 868.5 090 -62 555 Pending HTD-111 740,403.0 4,542,026.5 872.4 090 -60 486 Pending HTD-113 740,398.7 4,541,947.6 879.5 090 -57 445 Pending HTD-118 740,831.8 4,542,123.6 871.1 271 -63 618 Complete HTD-120 740,448.3 4,541,925.3 917.7 090 -60 360 Complete HTD-121 740,554.3 4,541,653.6 915.6 090 -60 243 Complete HTD-122 740,404.2 4,541,051.0 1,089.2 090 -60 363 Complete HTD-123 740,415.6 4,541,657.5 943.5 090 -59 492 Complete HTD-124 740,407.8 4,542,069.2 877.2 088 -61 510 Pending HTD-125 740,553.6 4,541,552.9 947.6 090 -60 207 Complete Pre-Feasibility Study Update Technical studies required to support the Hot Maden Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), currently scheduled for completion in Q4 2017, are well underway with the current focus being on additional metallurgical sampling and the optimization of metal recoveries in flotation circuits. Future studies will also evaluate the potential benefits of utilizing gravimetric separation techniques on gold recoveries in high grade gold-copper samples. The Hot Maden PFS is being prepared in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), and will include contributions from independent mining consultant firms AMC Consultants (Mining and Geology), GR Engineering Services ("GRES"; Process Plant Design and Surface Infrastructure), Hacettepe Mineral Technologies ("HMT") and SGS (Metallurgical Testwork). Mariana Resources Limited "Glen Parsons" Glen Parsons, CEO **ENDS** Qualified Person The technical and scientific information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved for release by Eric Roth, the Company's Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr Roth is the Company's Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director and holds a Ph.D. in Economic Geology from the University of Western Australia, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), and is a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Mr Roth has 25 years of experience in international minerals exploration and mining project evaluation. Glen Parsons (CEO) Mariana Resources Ltd +61 2 9437 4588 Eric Roth (COO) Mariana Resources Ltd +56 9 8818 1243 Karen Davies (IR) Mariana Resources Ltd (Canada) +1 604 314 6270 Rob Adamson RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0041 Will Souter RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0050 In U.K. Oliver Stansfield Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5061 Jonathan Evans Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5016 Camilla Horsfall Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3224 Megan Ray Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3203 About Mariana Resources Mariana Resources Ltd is a TSX.V and AIM (MARL) quoted exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of gold, silver, and copper projects in South America, Turkey, and Ivory Coast. Mariana's most advanced asset is the Hot Maden gold-copper project in northeast Turkey, which is a joint venture with Turkish partner Lidya Madencilik (30% Mariana and 70% Lidya) and which is rapidly advancing to development. On January 17, 2017, Mariana released the results of a Preliminary Economic Study ("PEA") which demonstrated exceptional potential economics for the Hot Maden Project (after-tax NPV and IRR of USD 1.37B and 153%, respectively) based on a development scenario incorporating a 1Mtpa underground mining / processing operation and the production of two saleable concentrates (a copper-gold concentrate and a gold-pyrite concentrate). This PEA was based on the updated (July 25, 2016) mineral resource estimate of 3.43 Moz gold equivalent (Indicated Category) and 0.09 Moz gold equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) in the Main Zone, as well as a maiden 351,000 Moz gold equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) resource in the New Southern Discovery. Elsewhere in Turkey, Mariana holds a 100% interest in the Ergama project where first drilling was reported on February 14, 2017, to have intersected porphyry-style gold-copper mineralisation. On October 7, 2016, Mariana announced the signing of a binding Term Sheet to acquire an indirect 80% interest in Ivory Coast-focused private exploration company Awale Resources SARL ("Awale"). Through the transaction Mariana will gain an immediate foothold in an established exploration portfolio with known gold mineralisation and artisanal gold workings, and which comprises i) 3 granted contiguous licenses (1,191 km2) in the Bondoukou area, and ii) 4 licenses under application (1,593 km2) in both the Bondoukou and Abengourou areas. The Boundoukou concessions lie along the southwestern extension of the Birimian Bole-Nangodi greenstone belt in adjacent Ghana, host to a number of high grade orogenic gold deposits. In southern Argentina, the Company's core gold-silver projects are Las Calandrias (100%), Sierra Blanca (100%), Los Cisnes (100%), and Bozal (100%). These projects are part of a 100,000+ Ha land package in the Deseado Massif epithermal gold-silver district in mining-friendly Santa Cruz Province. In Suriname, Mariana has a direct holding of 10.2% of the Nassau Gold project. The Nassau Gold Project is a 28,000 Ha exploration concession located approximately 125 km south east of the capital Paramaribo and immediately adjacent to Newmont Mining's 4.2Moz gold Merian project. Hot Maden Mineral Resource Estimate - July 2016, Up to Hole HTD 62 Main Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Indicated Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 463,000 1.1 1.1 0.3 2.4 17,000 5,000 36,000 Main Zone HG 4,501,000 3.9 1.9 0.2 6.3 570,000 87,000 908,000 Main Zone UHG 2,086,000 32.7 3.5 0.1 36.9 2,195,000 73,000 2,476,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 17,000 7.5 3.1 3.6 11.2 4,000 1,000 6,000 Peripheral Lodes 60,000 2.1 0.4 0.4 2.5 4,000 5,000 Total 7,127,000 12.2 2.3 0.2 15.0 2,790,000 166,000 3,431,000 Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 395,000 1.7 0.9 0.03 2.8 21,000 4,000 35,000 Main Zone HG 31,000 3.9 1.6 0.1 5.8 4,000 6,000 Main Zone UHG 6,000 39.1 2.1 0.01 41.6 7,000 8,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 4,000 1.7 0.4 2.4 2.2 Peripheral Lodes 282,000 3.2 0.9 0.1 4.3 29,000 2,000 38,000 Total 718,000 2.7 0.9 0.1 3.8 62,000 7,000 88,000 Southern Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** South Zone LG 396,000 2.8 0.7 0.0 3.6 35,000 3,000 46,000 South Zone HG 583,000 5.3 0.7 0.0 6.1 98,000 4,000 114,000 Main Zone UHG 224,000 22.2 1.0 0.0 23.4 160,000 2,000 169,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 44,000 9.0 1.0 3.2 10.2 13,000 15,000 Peripheral Lodes 104,000 1.9 0.3 0.0 2.2 6,000 7,000 Total 1,352,000 7.2 0.7 0.1 8.1 313,000 10,000 351,000 *Au Equivalence (AuEq) calculated using a 100 day moving average of $US1,215/ounce for Au and $US2.13/pound for Cu as of May 29, 2016. No adjustment has been made for metallurgical recovery or net smelter return as these remain uncertain at this time. Based on grades and contained metal for Au and Cu, it is assumed that both commodities have reasonable potential to be economically extractable. *-The formula used for Au equivalent grade is: AuEq g/t = Au + [(Cu % x 22.0462 x 2.13)/(1215/31.1035)] and assumes 100 % metallurgical recovery. **-Au equivalent ounces are calculated by mulitplying Mineral Resource tonnage by Au equivalent grade and converting for ounces. The formula used for Au equivalent ounces is: AuEq Oz = [Tonnage x AuEq grade (g/t)]/31.1035 Safe Harbour This press release contains certain statements which may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this press release and include, without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, the realization, cost, timing and extent of mineral resource estimates, estimated future exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, and requirements for additional capital. The words "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimate", "forecasts", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "may", "will", or similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the effects of general economic conditions; the price of gold, silver and copper; misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements; risks associated with international operations; the need for additional financing; risks inherent in exploration results; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters; currency and commodity price fluctuations; title matters; environmental liability claims; unanticipated operational risks; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; political risk; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's annual financial statements for the most recently completed financial year which is available on the Company's website at www.marianaresources.com . Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CLEARWATER, Fla., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Saturday, July 22nd, the Church of Scientology Choir of Clearwater will perform at the Scientology Information Center in Downtown Clearwater. Refreshments will begin at 6:30pm, concert starts 7pm. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7e98d3f0-e74f-42e5-b961-0d369cbfd18d The tribute celebrates diversity, tolerance and respect for the religious beliefs of all people based on the article # 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights where it says, Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. At this concert the Choir will perform original songs by Choir Director Rexford Essilfie from Ghana Africa, as well as other gospel songs inspiring spiritual freedom and freedom of thought. The 25 person choir comes from diverse religious backgrounds and countries including Canada, France, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Mexico, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. Sharing the messages of tolerance and human rights through music is something which the world really needs at this time, said Linda Ferguson, the Choir President. This is why we are happy to perform again for the community. The Church of Scientology sponsors Human Rights education all over the world through support of the non-profit organizations United for Human Rights and Youth for Human rights. By informing people of their rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human rights ratified by the United Nations in 1948, people are empowered with knowledge and are inspired to help defend and stand up for their rights and prevent violations of them for others. The Church supports these initiatives based on the writing of L. Ron Hubbard where he says, Human Rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream." To attend this concert or to learn more about the Scientology Information Center, please contact Amber at 727-467-6966 or amber@cos.flag.org. The Church of Scientology: The Scientology religion was founded by humanitarian and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in the United States in 1954 and has expanded to more than 11,000 churches, missions and affiliated groups in 167 nations. Clearwater is the home of the spiritual headquarters for the Church of Scientology. Its Information Center is open to all and provides answers to questions about Scientology through its audio visual displays, exhibits and publications. For more information please visit scientology-fso.org. English Spanish The cash tender offer is subject to a minimum acceptance condition of 95% of its capital stock OHL Concesiones and IFM launch a Cash Tender Offer for 100% of the free float OHL Mexico through the corporate vehicle Magenta Infraestructura It reinforces the partnership with IFM GIF, a global infrastructure fund with over US$62 billion of assets under management and significant experience in toll road investments across Mexico, the US, UK and Australia OHL has been partnered with IFM GIF in relation to the Mexiquense Beltway in Mexico since 2015 Madrid, June 14th, 2017.- The National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) of Mexico has approved the cash tender offer launched by the OHL Concesiones and IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (IFM GIF) for 100% of the free float of OHL Mexico at a price of $MX 27.00 per share. The transaction will be carried out through Magenta Infraestructura (Magenta), a corporate vehicle constituted for this purpose, currently 100% owned by OHL Concesiones. At present, OHL Mexico has a free float of 41.99%, treasury shares of 1.15% and OHL Concesiones controls 56.86% of its social capital. The Board of Directors of OHL Mexico, by unanimous resolution of its independent members, has determined the Offer Price to be fair from a financial perspective, taking into consideration both the opinion issued by the independent expert (Rothschild Mexico S.A. de C.V.), and the opinion of the Corporate Practices Committee of OHL Mexico. The acceptance period will open on June 15th and will close on July 19th, 2017 and the offer is subject among other conditions, to shares accepting the offer that, together with 56.86% of the shares of OHL Mexico already held by OHL Group (and that will be contributed to Magenta), will allow Magenta to reach a minimum 95% of OHL Mexico's share capital. The agreements reached with IFM GIF to jointly launch the offer include: IFM GIF to contribute to Magenta the necessary funds to close the offer through a capital increase. The shareholders agreement between OHL Concesiones (as controlling shareholder) and IFM GIF to operate Magenta. The 400 million euro loan that IFM GIF will provide OHL Concesiones which, upon the closing of the offer, will be used to repay in full the same amount exchangeable bond into OHL Mexico shares maturing April 2018. This operation, registered with The National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) on 14 June, represents the addition of a strategic business partner, IFM GIF, to OHL Mexico. Thanks to this transaction, the OHL Group reinforces its partnership with IFM GIF, which commenced in 2015 when IFM GIF invested in the Mexiquense Beltway, in which it currently has a 39% share. For further information regarding the Cash Tender Offer on 100% free float of OHL Mexico please go to www.bmv.com.mx, www.gob.mx/cnvb and www.ohlmexico.com.mx About OHL Mexico OHL Mexico was incorporated in 2005 and its continued growth since then has positioned it as a relevant transport infrastructure operator in the industry within the metropolitan area of Mexico City, both for the number of concessions awarded and the miles of highways under management. Currently, OHL Mexico builds, manages, operates and maintains 7 toll roads and one airport. The highway and related infrastructure concessions are located in urban areas with high vehicular traffic in Mexico City, Mexico State and the State of Puebla, that are home to 27.22% of the nation's population and in 2015 generated 29.23% of GDP and accounted for 34.39% of the total number of vehicles in Mexico (12.02 million (Mexico City 4.7 million, State of Mexico 5.9 million, and Puebla 1.4 million)). In the airport sector, OHL Mexico participates in the integral management of the second largest airport serving the Mexico City metropolitan area. About OHL Concesiones OHL Concesiones is a participant in the market of projects of public-private partnerships in transport infrastructure. It has experience in the development of new concessions, as well as the operation of highways, ports, railways, and airports comprising metropolitan areas, industrial and commercial corridors, and tourist areas, bringing development and competitiveness in their main markets. Directly manages 20 concessions in Spain and Latin America of which 14 of them are toll highways. The development strategy focuses on the permanent analysis of opportunities in the active markets nowadays and the incorporation of new markets that are considered strategic. About IFM GIF IFM GIF is an open-ended unit trust for institutional investors. The unrestricted structure of IFM GIF allows maintaining long-term investments, in line with the long-term investment horizons of the institutional pension funds. The main IFM GIF advisor is IFM Investors. About IFM Investors IFM Investors is a global fund manager with US$62 billion under management as of March 2017. Established over 20 years ago and owned by 28 Australian pension funds, IFM GIF's interests are deeply aligned with those of its investors. Investment teams in Australia, Europe and North America manage institutional strategies across debt investments, infrastructure, listed equities and private capital. IFM GIF is committed to the United Nations supported Principles for Responsible Investment and has been a signatory since 2008. IFM GIF has offices in six cities: Melbourne, Sydney, New York, London, Berlin and Tokyo. For more information visit: www.ifminvestors.com. Para mas informacion OHL Begona Moreno Email: bmoreno@tinkle.es Tel.: (+34) 91 702 25 82 Movil: (+34) 676 39 34 33 Mar Yuste Email: myuste@tinkle.es Tel.: (+34) 91 702 10 10 Movil: (+34) 638 04 05 79 Attachments: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bcbae8d4-e300-4a7c-9118-3bfb4c22eb73 HELENA, Mont., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- REACH Air Medical Services and PacificSource Health Plans have signed an agreement for REACH to become an in-network provider for PacificSource members in Montana. With the addition of REACH, PacificSource now offers members access to all air ambulance providers in Montana and is the first insurer in the state to do so. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8e22290d-29fa-44d4-a048-b4c45993f32c REACH is here to provide vital emergency air transport to Montana residents. Offering in-network solutions through healthcare partners, such as PacificSource, is one way to bring our much-needed services directly to members of the community, said Sean Russell, president of REACH Air Medical Services. In Montana, PacificSources dedication to working with us to provide these vital services as an in-network provider should be applauded by their members, residents, and the Montana legislature. REACH has three air ambulance resources available in Montana, including a helicopter base in Bozeman and a dual helicopter/airplane base in Helena. Each base is staffed 24/7 with highly skilled critical care flight teams ready to respond at a moments notice. Patients fly aboard the companys medically equipped aircraft and receive an ICU level of care throughout their transport. When emergencies strike, especially in rural communities, access to rapid air transport is crucial. Without this service, many residents would not make it to the lifesaving emergency trauma care they need. We are very pleased that REACH and PacificSource have reached this agreement to do whats right for Montanans, said Todd Lovshin, PacificSource vice president, and Montana regional director. Its important that in times of crisis, our members can now focus on their wellbeing and not have to worry about which emergency provider is in their network. About REACH Air Medical Services REACH Medical Holdings, LLC, headquartered in Santa Rosa, CA, provides critical care air and ground transport service to communities throughout Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, California, Oregon, Nevada, and South Texas. The company has been in operation for 30 years and has nearly 50 air ambulance bases across seven states. To date, REACH has transported more than 115,000 patients to essential emergency care. In addition to critically ill and injured adult patients, REACHs teams are prepared to care for and transport high-risk obstetric, neonatal and pediatric patients. REACH has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Services since 1998. CAMTS is the gold standard for patient care and safety for air medical transport services. For more information, visit www.REACHAir.com. About PacificSource Health Plans: PacificSource Health Plans is an independent, not-for-profit community health plan serving the Northwest. Founded in 1933, PacificSource began offering health plans in Montana in 2011 and has offices in Helena and Billings. PacificSource offers Individual and employer-based insurance plans for Montana residents. The PacificSource family of companies operates in Montana, Oregon, and Idaho, employs more than 900 people, serves more than 300,000 individuals, and has 3,900 employer clients throughout the Northwest. For more information, visit www.PacificSource.com. Re: Although a cause for concern in farmers, inflammation in female dairy [ #permalink Let us analyze, by removing the fluff. Although a cause for concern in farmers, inflammation in female dairy cattle, which occurs commonly after they give birth -- many disorders, including metabolic diseases such as ketosis and fatty liver, are known to occur at this time -- it is believed to play a beneficial role in the complex process of going from late pregnancy to lactation. (A) Although a cause for concern among farmers, inflammation in pregnant female dairy cattle, which occurs commonly just after birth - it is believed to play a beneficial role in the complex process of going from late pregnancy to lactation WRONG - double subject error, as first independent clause is not complete. (B) Although inflammation in pregnant female dairy cattle, which occurs commonly just after birth, is a cause for concern among farmers CORRECT - also "which" non vital modifier correctly modies inflammation, in pregnant female dairy cattle - prepositional phrase is vital modifier for inflammation. This is exception to touch rule in which a vital modifier can inserted between noun and non-vital modifier. (C) Although a cause for concern among farmers, inflammation in female dairy cattle, occurring commonly after birth WRONG - same as A, double subject error. (D) Occurring commonly after birth, inflammation in female dairy cattle is a cause for concern among farmers Looks wordy to me, also there is no expression of although to give a connection in terms of meaning between two clauses (E) Inflammation in pregnant female dairy cattle, which occurs commonly after birth, although it is a cause for concern among farmers WRONG - same as A - double subject error Experts, please add/correct if anything wrong. Thanks One product to protect all your devices, without slowing them down. A chain of cosmetic surgery clinics in Lithuania has been hacked, and fallen victim to cold-hearted extortionists who have no qualms about blackmailing both the business and its customers. According to media reports, a hacking group called the Tsar Team broke into the servers of GroAio Chirurgija and stole the personal data and more than 25,000 private photos of clients. At first the Tsar Team attempted to sell the stolen data back to the clinic, for the eye-watering sum of 300 bitcoins (about half a million dollars). But when the clinic refused to play ball, the hackers targeted patients demanding payments of up to 2000 Euros for the victims photos, home addresses, scans of passports and national insurance numbers. The GroAio Chirurgija cosmetic surgery clinics has thousands of customers in more than 60 countries around the world, including the UK, Germany, and Denmark, who travel to Lithuania for nips and tucks on the cheap. Clients are thought to include celebrities, who might have particular interest in their details and private photos not leaking onto the internet. Even the most selfie-obsessed individual would probably balk at the thought of private photographs of their wobbly or intimate body parts taken before and after surgery falling into the hands of the public. The full database is now being offered for a 50 bitcoin, a measly $112,000 at current rates, which is quite a reduction from the hackers initial demands. Andzejus Raginskis of Lithuanias police bureau told reporters that the data had been uploaded to the dark web: Its extortion. Were talking about a serious crime. On its website, the hacked chain of clinics says that it is working closely with the police, and is urging customers to take precautions. Those precautions include telling clients to be wary of opening emails or clicking on links which may have been sent by the blackmailers, and to pass any communications (including SMS text messages they may receive) to the authorities. GroAio Chirurgija is also advising concerned customers that if they find a link to their private data online, to request its removal from the Google search engine as soon as possible. All of which seems like sensible advice to me, but I was disappointed to see it only offered on the Lithuanian version of the surgerys website and not on its (probably more widely understood) English language edition. The cosmetic surgery says that it is strengthening its IT security in the wake of the attack. But for those innocent patients whose privacy has been put at risk, it really is a case of too little, too late. Nebraskans who get individual health insurance on the federal Marketplace exchange got some potentially good news Thursday. Medica, the only insurer that has yet to drop out of the Affordable Care Act market in Nebraska, said it plans to file a rate request with the state Department of Insurance next week. "We will be filing Tuesday or Wednesday of next week," said Greg Bury, a spokesman for the Minnesota-based insurer. Thursday had been the deadline to submit proposed rates, but the department decided to provide an extension. Director Bruce Ramge said companies still were expected to provide policy form filings by the end of the business day Thursday, although the department provided a time extension on the filing of actual rates. Filing a rate request does not obligate a company to provide coverage. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska filed a rate request in June of last year and then announced in September that it was pulling out of the ACA market. Bury said it is "fair to say" that Medica at this time is still planning to offer individual coverage that is ACA-compliant in Nebraska for 2018. Ramge did not say whether the extension was specifically for Medica, but he said the department is not expecting filings from any other insurers to offer ACA-compliant individual health plans next year. That leaves Medica as the last hope for nearly 100,000 people who had individual policies this year. Aetna, which insured about 50,000 Nebraskans through the Marketplace exchange, announced in May that it will not be back next year. That followed pullouts by both UnitedHealth and Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which both dropped out of the exchange this year. Blue Cross had continued to sell off-exchange plans that met the ACA requirements to more than 12,000 people, but it announced earlier this month that it will no longer offer those plans. Medica, which currently insures about 36,000 people in Nebraska, has been making contingency plans for both Nebraska and Iowa, where it also could wind up as the only ACA insurer in all but a handful of counties. In an interview earlier this week with news website Vox, Geoff Bartsh, Medicas vice president of individual market business, said the company has to consider whether it can realistically absorb so many potential new customers. Each state is asking questions about their own state, and they should, but weve got to look at the bigger picture and what is realistic for an insurance plan our size, Bartsh said in the interview. Its a marketplace that hasnt been wildly successful, and this would be dramatic growth. A Tecumseh prison inmate now faces a first-degree arson charge, the first criminal case filed in connection to a March 2 disturbance there that left two prisoners dead. Eric L. Ramos, 27, is set to make his first court appearance next week on allegations he started a fire that day at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, intentionally damaging the building or property in it and knowing there were people inside. He is serving eight to 10 years on criminal mischief, domestic assault and gun charges out of Gage County in 2012. Johnson County Attorney Rick Smith said Wednesday that no other charges have been filed yet, but that the incident remains under investigation. Two inmates, Damon Fitzgerald, 39, and Michael Galindo, 31, were killed by other inmates during the melee, triggered by staff confiscating 150 pounds of homemade alcohol. That day, staff searched a housing unit while inmates were at lunch and found four foot lockers filled with alcohol. After inmates returned and learned staff had discovered it, some were angry and reacted by setting fires and damaging the unit, prison officials said last month. Smith said a grand jury called in connection with the deaths, including Terry Berry's death in April allegedly at the hands of his cellmate, will convene after the conclusion of any related criminal case to preserve the defendant's right to a fair trial. A 74-year-old woman convicted of murder three decades ago went back to prison Thursday, for stabbing a man she lived with in Lincoln. Even with credit for good time, which has the potential to cut a sentence in half, Dorothy Mae Jackson term of 35 to 45 years is a likely life sentence. She said nothing first. But her attorney, Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender Shawn Elliott, argued for probation or a sentence that would allow her to get out on parole more quickly. "This is certainly a tragic incident," he said. Elliott said Jackson has had a life filled with tragedy that started with abuse as a child. Her only other criminal history was a big one, a second-degree murder charge in Omaha in 1987, a crime for which her attorney said she has paid the price. Then 44, she stabbed a 68-year-old man with Parkinson's disease after drinking with him all day. Police found her holding a knife, standing near the man she had lived with for four years. She went to prison, paroled out in 2001 and was done with the sentence on Nov. 21, 2014. On Oct. 1, a Sunday just shy of two years later, Lincoln police went to an apartment at 18th and Knox streets. Jackson and witnesses had called 911. A 54-year-old man was lying in the parking lot, bleeding. She had stabbed him in the back. He headed to the hospital in critical condition. The knife had cut his kidney, and he couldn't move his legs. First responders thought he might have had a punctured lung. They arrested Jackson, who told them she knew that she had stabbed him but she had blacked out and didn't remember the details, according to the affidavit for her arrest. In the new case, Jackson pleaded no contest to first-degree assault in April. Elliott said the two had been drinking and she had fallen from her chair, but thought he pushed her. "If she could take it back, she would," he said. But, he said, he didn't think she posed a risk to the public at large, if she could be monitored for alcohol. Elliott pointed out that for nearly 13 years while on parole she had no problems and even had a job working at the Governor's Mansion. Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Dan Packard said the state doesn't believe probation was appropriate, given her prior murder conviction and that the new case was so similar. And given the serious nature of the victim's injuries. Jackson, a petite woman who came into the third-floor courtroom in a wheelchair, sat quietly as Lancaster County District Judge Kevin McManaman told her he understood she had expressed remorse. "I'm considering also the safety of the community," he said. And he sentenced her to 35 to 45 years in prison. On Feb. 19, Brittany Blessing saved her grandfather's life. She was home with both her grandparents when her grandfather had a medical episode and stopped breathing. While her grandmother dialed 911, Blessing stepped up and began CPR, according to Lincoln Police Capt. Chris Peterson. At the hospital, doctors told police and Blessing's family that without her, that day may have ended very differently. For that, she was given the Citizen Life Saving Award by LPD Wednesday evening. Before she was honored, 11 new police officers graduated from the 21-week academy and took their oaths. They are: Jesse Orsi, Willis Jensen, Phillip Rutz, Jonathan Dickman, Matthew Slingwine, Taylor Murphy, Stephanie Janiak, Benjamin Jennings, Carrie Setlik, Patrick Sullivan and Matthew Owen. Owen was honored as the top shooter and for the most improvement in his physical fitness, Orsi for having the best physical fitness and Janiak for having the overall best test scores with 96.25 percent. They will ride with a field training officer for 22 weeks before patrolling on their own. Chief Jeff Bliemeister reminded the new officers of the importance of community policing, and encouraged them to make relationships with as many Lincoln residents as possible. "Make relationships on every shift," he said. "In the worst of times, the rapport and reassurance you will provide to victims gives hope." He told them they may show interest in different units such as crime scene investigations, accident reconstruction or narcotics. He asked that they become well-rounded officers, but ultimately follow their individual passions. Handfuls of officers and department employees were also given awards Wednesday evening: * Life Saving Award: Officer Chris Howard * Officer of the Year: Brian Ward * Exceptional Duty Award: Officers Anthony Gratz, Tate Hallowell, Luke Bonkiewicz, Chris Monico, Jennifer Glantz, Timothy Dolberg and Launa Groves; Investigator Robert Hurley; Capt. Ryan Dale; and Senior Public Safety Dispatcher Christy Harmon * Citizen Meritorious Conduct Award: David Montoya * Civilian Employee of the Year: Brenda Roby * Field Training Officer of the Year: Shane Winterbauer * Volunteer of the Year: Senior Chaplain Rich Kelly * Civic Achievement Award: Officer Dawn Moore * Outside Law Enforcement Agency Certificate of Merit: Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Jeffrey Rutan. China may find it difficult to increase its influence in the Middle East because of the diplomatic dispute between Qatar and its neighbors. Chinas Belt and Road trade Initiative, a development plan valued at more than $1 trillion, could affect the Middle East in many ways. It may permit China to influence the region economically. However, experts say there are doubts that many of the projects may be completed. That means China has less influence in the Middle East than many experts would expect, although it has the worlds second largest economy. In addition, the Middle East suffers from conflicts within and between its countries. It also is an area of competition between major world powers. Chinas diplomatic policy of non-interference limits its ability to develop close ties with Middle Eastern countries. Recently, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. Those nations may also cut air and sea traffic because they believe Qatar is supporting terrorism. Qatar denies this. The United Arab Emirates has threatened economic restrictions against Qatar while Bahrain has said all options are on the table. The U.S. and Kuwait have tried to prevent further intensification of the dispute. Some say China needs to make changes to its non-interference policy to increase its economic power in the region. They want China to be more active there. Experts say the dispute between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors will cause problems for Belt and Road trade deals in the region. Projects for the initiative stretch across 65 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. Li Quofu is a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Affairs. He said China is not in a rush to mediate conflicts in the Middle East. He said China believes Gulf nations are willing to solve their differences. He also said the projects China has proposed can help Middle Eastern countries work together. He added, In this regard, I think China is already playing an active role there. Wu Sike is a former special diplomat for China to the Middle East. Wu said Chinas cooperation with the region has deepened partly because of the Belt and Road trade initiative. Kuwaits proposed Silk City is part of that effort. It will help connect Europe and Asia. Kuwait plans to invest $130 billion on the proposed northern city. Wu said in May that China is turning to investments supporting trade in manufactured goods in the Middle East. Chinas earlier investments focused on energy. Half of Chinas imported oil comes from the region. Wang Tofar, an economics professor from the National Taipei University, said China will place its interests in the region before its political role. He said this is the case, although the Belt and Road Initiative expands its international influence. Wang told VOA that the initiative has strategic value since it lets China compete with the economic or political power of the U.S. But Chinas willingness to help the Middle East depends on whether it thinks economic interest is its first concern. Kerry Brown is with the Asia Program at Chatham House, a foreign policy research group based in London. He said China will need to be involved in the Middle East because it depends on the region for energy. But he said Chinas involvement will be limited. Brown said in an email to VOA that China has interests in the region, but does not want to be trapped in the problems there. In addition, Chinas non-interference policy will always interfere with its desire to be more involved. So in the end it has to perform a balancing act, Brown wrote. Liu Chang is the China economist at the research group Capital Economics. He wrote in an email that he doubts whether China has the economic ability to influence the region. He said the initiatives plans and reality do not match. For example, Kuwaits Silk City may not be completed. And it is unclear how it is being financed. Chinas latest information on commerce shows its foreign direct investment in Kuwait decreased from $162 million in 2014 to $144 million in 2015. Chinas total investment in Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia was $560 million in 2015. Liu said that is not a major investment. He said it is about 5 percent of what China invested in Singapore and 0.4 percent of Chinas total foreign investments in 2015. Liu said there is little evidence that China has been investing more in countries that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative than before it announced the plan. Im Mario Ritter. And I'm Olivia Liu. Olivia Liu adapted this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story intensification v. to become stronger or more extreme option n. the opportunity to choose among two or more choices mediate v. to work with opposing sides to reach an agreement focused adj. giving attention and effort to a specific task or goal strategic adj. of or relating to a general plan that is created to achieve a goal in war, politics, etc., usually over a long period of time commerce n. activities that relate to the buying and selling of goods and services We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. Labor rights activists say the case of three activists in China helps to direct attention on the countrys labor abuses and lack of enforcement of labor laws. Chinese officials detained the three for trying to investigate a factory that manufactures Ivanka Trump-brand shoes. Rights activists said Ivanka Trump could help change the labor culture in China if she speaks up about the case. Trump is the daughter of American President Donald Trump. She is also his assistant. The Ivanka Trump brand has yet to comment on the arrests. But the company confirms that shoes for the brand were made at the factory. The company said its last order was placed in March 2017. Rights activists are pressuring the Chinese government to give labor activists and investigators more power to uncover labor rights violations. The government has refused to release the three activists. It accuses them of using illegal monitoring devices and interfering in the companys normal operation and production activities. The activists work for China Labor Watch, or CLW. The non-profit group has carried out similar investigations at Chinese factories for years. It said the governments reaction to the investigation at the factory making Ivanka Trump shoes is the strongest in its 17-year existence. Li Qiang is the founder and head of CLW. He said he has pictures and videos that show Trumps shoes have been made in factories owned by the Huajian Group for the past four years. He says labor abuses were reportedly uncovered at those factories. We can prove that her products were manufactured in the factories and that many workers have been underpaid or forced to work overtime as well as a slew of labor abuses, Li told VOA. The detained CLW rights activists are Hua Haifeng, Li Zhao and Su Heng. They worked in the Huajian factories between March and May, before their detention by Chinese police. In Li's words, The brand has repeatedly boasted in overseas markets that their products comply with [strict] regulations. But now its advertising looks false." So, Li said, "[Trump] has to speak up [against the arrest of investigators] and shoulder some responsibility for the [Chinese] manufacturers violations of labor rights. Li noted that labor costs are responsible for only one percent of the price of Ivanka Trumps branded shoes, which sell for more than $100 in U.S. stores. Li said he has sent evidence to Trump and the U.S. State Department. He also said he expects her to call for the release of his investigators and to pressure the factories where her shoes are made to improve working conditions. Last week, the State Department called for the release of the activists and for China to give them a fair trial. The State Department also noted the work of labor activists in helping American companies understand conditions in Chinese factories. One industry expert told VOA that suppliers of costly goods can easily lose orders if they fail to meet requirements set by American companies. But the expert said that violations of workers' rights can be easily found in small- and medium-sized Chinese suppliers. The source added that the companies are dealing with strong competitors and must keep costs low. Keegan Elmer is a researcher at the Hong Kong-based China Labor Bulletin. He says labor violations happen throughout China. Its not just global brands. And its not just little tiny sweatshops. Its really quite pervasive and its something thats the nature of work in China these days, Elmer said. He said the groups Strike Map http://maps.clb.org.hk/strikes/en# shows that there are thousands of worker strikes every year in China. The strikes are not limited to smaller businesses, Elmer noted. He said labor activists risk being jailed even if they have obeyed the law and followed the rules required to report labor violations. Elmer said industries and the Chinese government need to create a process that lets workers report abuses and help improve working conditions in China. Im Caty Weaver. Joyce Huang reported this story for VOANews.com. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story brand n. a category of products that are all made by a particular company and all have a particular name monitor v. to watch, observe, listen to or check (something) for a special purpose over a period of time device n. an object, machine or piece of equipment that has been made for some special purpose overtime n. time spent working at your job that is in addition to your normal working hours slew n. (informal) a large number of people or things boast v. to express too much pride in yourself or in something you have, have done or are connected to in some way shoulder v. to deal with or accept (something) as your responsibility or duty sweatshop n. a place where people work long hours for low pay in poor conditions pervasive adj. existing in every part of something; spreading to all parts of something A Vietnamese blogger, honored by the United States for her activism, has been officially charged by the government of Vietnam. Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom, faces three charges related to "conducting propaganda against the government, VOA Vietnamese reported. Her given name is Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh. She has been detained since October 2016 and faces up to 12 years in prison if found guilty. The law used against her has drawn international criticism for giving the government power to limit free expression. Several lawyers have offered to represent Quynh in court. Mother Mushroom was honored with Americas International Women of Courage Award in March. The U.S. State Department award recognizes the courage and leadership of women around the world. She was not able to attend an award ceremony in Washington led by first lady Melania Trump. A State Department spokeswoman praised Quynh for exposing corruption, raising awareness about environmental protection and reporting on human rights violations in Vietnam. Vietnam's foreign ministry criticized U.S. officials for giving the award to someone being investigated for violating Vietnamese law. Quynh also received the 2015 Civil Rights Defender of the Year award for speaking out freely against injustices and human rights abuses in Vietnam. Quynh began blogging as Mother Mushroom in 2006. She is also a founding member of the Vietnamese Bloggers Network. It is one of the few independent blogging groups in a nation where the ruling Communist Party tightly controls the media and writers. Among her recent campaigns, she blogged about the government's handling of a chemical spill at Formosa, a Taiwanese-owned steel plant in central Vietnam. The spill killed 80 tons of fish, embarrassing the Vietnamese government as images of dead fish along beautiful beaches were published worldwide. Thousands of protesters demonstrated at the plant and in cities throughout Vietnam. The April 2016 incident is widely seen as having raised environmental awareness and activism in Vietnam. The movement led the steel company to accept full responsibility for the fish kill. It also pledged to pay $500 million in damages for dumping toxic wastewater into the South China Sea. Im Jonathan Evans. An Hai reported this story for VOA Vietnamese. Bryan Lynn adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story conduct v. to carry out courage n. ability to do something difficult or dangerous expose adj. cause to be known, especially something secret or dishonest awareness n. the state of knowing about something embarrassing adj. make someone look foolish toxic adj. containing something poisonous Cheap smartphones these days are really, really cheap. I recently picked up a bunch of budget phones with some models selling for as little as $20 but the only reason they were quite so cheap is because theyre carried-locked and designed for use with specific pre-paid carriers. That said, it looks like you can basically assemble your own smartphone from $20 in parts. Well, kind of. Two things to note before you go any further: This wont be a very good phone Youll need to spend a bit more than $20 if you want silly things like a case, storage, and battery or a power supply. Shipping will also cost a few bucks. That said, you get a bit of versatility from building your own device, including support for Android or GNU/Linux-based operating systems. So heres the deal: the maker of the Orange Pi line of single-board computers recently launched a model called the Orange Pi 2G-IoT. It sells for just $10 (plus shipping), and as the name suggests, it has a built-in 2G cellular modem. Now the company has also released a toucshcreen display that you can connect to the Orange Pi 2G-IoT. It also sells for $10, and comes in two versions: one with black bezels and one with white. The accessory features a 3.5 inch, 800 x 480 pixel TFT display. Like I said, its not very good. But it does basically transform Orange Pis little screenless, case-less computer into a functional device with a display and touch input. The Orange Pi 2G-IoT features a 32-bit ARM Cortex-A5 processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, a microSD card slot, a USB 2.0 port, a mic and speaker, and an LCD connector, as well as a 40-pin header and a few other developer-centric features. Theres also a micro USB port for power. You can pay a few bucks extra for a model that comes with a power supply or just use your own if you have one handy. Theoretically you could also use a USB battery pack, but theres also a dedicated battery connector on the board Im just not sure that the device maker is selling a compatible battery yet. Orange Pi provides Android 4.4, Raspbian, Ubuntu Server, and several other operating systems for the little computer. So even if you dont plan to use it as a phone, you could pick one up for use as a DIY server and use the touchscreen display as a cheap monitor and/or input method. But mostly I just find it intriguing that its not only possible to get a $20 smartphone buy purchasing a carrier-locked version, but also buy picking up a DIY set of tools and assembling your own model thats capable of running a variety of open source software even the end result in both cases is a relatively crappy phone. Just keep in mind, youll probably end up spending a bit more than $20 on this particularly crappy phone once you account for things like a microSD card for storage, a battery of some sort, and some sort of case to hold the screen and mainboard together. via CNX Software Russian ambassador to Israel has slammed the classification by the West, Israel and the Saudi Arabia-led bloc of Gaza ruler Hamas and Lebanon-based Shia movement Hezbollah as terror groups. As long as they have not attacked Russian interests, Moscow cannot classify them as terror groups, he was quoted as saying. Alexander Shein in an interview recorded June 9 with the Israeli Russian-language Channel 9 TV removed the terror adjective attributed to the two movements, transcript of the interview published by Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor, has revealed. We do not consider these organizations to be terrorist, Shein said. The Russian diplomat insisted that Russian law does not designate these groups as terrorist. Russian law the Supreme Court, following an appeal by the prosecution defines terrorist organizations as such when they intentionally conduct acts of terror in Russian territory, or against Russian interests abroad installations, embassies, offices, or citizens, he said. Hamas, which has been ruling Gaza since it won the 2007 election against rival Fatah, has waged several wars against Israel with the last occurring in 2014. The Islamist movement has made Israel its arch enemy, calling for its eradication; a call which was recently toned down. The Iran-backed group enjoys good ties with Moscow, which also has very friendly ties with Israel. Some 1.5 million Israelis are native of the former Soviet Union and speak Russian. Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which operates alongside Russia on the side of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is also opposed to Israel. The Shia movement fought several wars with Israel, the latest taking place in 2006. Despite apparent settlement of disputes, tension between the two sides is still running high. Both groups are shortlisted as terrorist entities by the US and the EU. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt have also branded them as terror groups sponsored by Qatar. A 43-year-old man who fled a traffic stop and led police on an 11-minute chase in September while on parole got four to eight years in prison Wednesday for a string of crimes. Toby Leiting pleaded no contest to driving during revocation, operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, criminal impersonation, resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer. It started at 1:42 a.m. Sept. 26, when an officer pulled him over on Salt Creek Roadway near Nebraska Innovation Campus for not having a front license plate. He said his name was Mark and that he didn't have his license with him. Then, when the officer asked him to step out of the car, Leiting put it in gear and took off, police said. Leiting ultimately stopped near 20th and Benton streets and ran. Officers arrested him after he tripped over a tree and fell face-first into a nearby creek. He had paroled from prison in July after serving a 10- to 15-year sentence for third-offense DUI out of Dodge County. His parole was revoked as a result of the new charges. Structure of a Bdf1 bromodomain bound to a chemical compound that blocks the growth of the fungus, Stopping Candida albicans, shown in the background. Credit: IlluScientia, University of Grenoble Alpes Each year, invasive fungal infections sicken an estimated 2 million people worldwide and kill nearly 800,000 - but a team of international scientists have discovered a new approach for antifungal drug treatments. Researchers from USC and France identified that a gene-regulating protein, Bdf1, is critical for the survival of the pathogenic fungus, Candida albicans. "We have shown that Bdf1 is an important new target for drug design," said Charles McKenna, a senior author of the study who is a professor of chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "Our findings show that compounds that bind to this target will disrupt the growth of the fungus, opening the way to novel drug treatments for fungal disease." The French scientists who led the study with McKenna were Jerome Govin and Carlo Petosa, both at the University of Grenoble Alpes. Rising health threat The fungus, C. albicans, is an aggressive pathogen that in healthy individuals is normally held in check by the immune system. However, people with a weakened immune system, including patients who have cancer, HIV or autoimmune diseases, are susceptible to the infection, which can be life-threatening, McKenna said. The team's findings, published on May 18 in the journal Nature Communications, may prove timely. Fungal infections such as candidiasis are increasingly resistant to drug treatments. Each year, an estimated 46,000 patients in the United States become infected with invasive candidiasis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "When susceptible people develop candida infections, the fungus may enter the bloodstream. If treatment is unsuccessful, it has a very high mortality rate - in the 40 percent range," McKenna said. "We have a very limited number of drugs that are effective in treating such systemic infections. Unfortunately, like many other pathogens, C. albicans is increasingly resistant to the few available drugs, raising the stakes for patients, and fresh approaches are urgently needed." Converging bioscience McKenna noted that his team's discovery was made possible through convergent bioscience, an emerging fusion of multidisciplinary research to accelerate health-related discoveries from the bench to the bedside. By drawing from a diverse network of scientists, engineers and students, the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience program fosters biomedical discovery, innovation and real-world solutions to fast-track detection and cures for diseases ranging from microbial infections to Alzheimer's and cancer. This fall, USC will open the hub for this new initiative, Michelson Hall - a 190,000 square-foot, high-tech research facility that is supported by a $50 million gift from retired spinal surgeon Gary K. Michelson and his wife, Alya Michelson. The facility will house the new USC Center for Drug Discovery with McKenna as its director. Disrupting fungal gene expression Many scientists are studying alternative approaches for possible treatments to diseases such as cancer by manipulating gene expression. The USC-Grenoble team is the first to prove that this approach is feasible to target fungal infections. "The idea is that if you shut down this specific protein, Bdf1, you totally disrupt the whole process of gene expression and it becomes impossible for the fungus to grow," said Govin. "If you knock out the gene that makes the Bdf1 protein, then the fungus doesn't grow. Moreover, the fungus is no longer virulent when injected into mice." The challenge for the scientists was finding a compound that shut down the Bdf1 protein without mistakenly affecting any similar proteins in humans. "Using a technique called X-ray crystallography, we showed that the fungal Bdf1 protein and corresponding human proteins are very different at the atomic level," said Petosa. "This showed that compounds could specifically inhibit the fungal protein without affecting the human bromodomain proteins." By screening a large library of chemical compounds at the California Institute for Biomedical Research, the researchers have already identified one compound in particular that selectively inhibits Bdf1. The finding holds great promise for future drug development. "It shows that a whole new class of antifungal drugs is possible," said McKenna. More information: Flore Mietton et al, Selective BET bromodomain inhibition as an antifungal therapeutic strategy, Nature Communications (2017). Journal information: Nature Communications Flore Mietton et al, Selective BET bromodomain inhibition as an antifungal therapeutic strategy,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15482 Patients who have aggressive prostate cancer could be identified by a highly accurate and simple blood test, according to an early study by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The research discovered rare cells in the blood that could be used to identify patients who are 10 times more likely to die of their prostate cancer, allowing targeted treatments to be offered as early as possible. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Western men and the fourth most common overall, with more than 1.1 million new cases recorded in 2012. Identifying patients with aggressive cancer could have major implications for their treatment; however, methods to detect whether the cancer has spread (metastasis) are costly and expose patients to radiation. A simple blood test that is accurate and has the ability to predict earlier whether the prostate cancer has become metastatic would meet a key unmet medical need. The study, published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, analysed blood samples from 81 prostate cancer patients using a new cell capture technology called Parsortix developed by the British company ANGLE plc. Unlike many other systems, the Parsortix system captures all types of circulating tumour cells (CTCs)cancer cells that have left the original tumour and entered the bloodstream prior to spreading around the body. Metastasis is responsible for over 90 per cent of cancer-related deaths. The researchers investigated various types of CTCs including two that are involved in the metastasis process. The number of 'EMTed' CTCs, which had previously not been possible to capture by many other systems, was associated with poor patient survival, while the presence of 'EMTing' CTCs was closely correlated with whether the patient's cancer had become metastatic. Using the Parsortix system, the researchers also discovered the presence of rare cells in the blood, known as 'megakaryocytes' - large bone marrow cells which produce platelets for blood clotting. Megakaryocytes have never before been linked to cancer prognosis, but the presence of these cells was found to be strongly linked to patient survival, with better outcomes for patients with greater numbers of megakaryocytes. Lead researcher Dr Yong-Jie Lu from QMUL's Barts Cancer Institute said: "This work opens up a wide range of exciting opportunities to benefit cancer patients. We have already started to test more patient samples and will soon move on to wider clinical trials to confirm the efficacy of the test. We are also working to see if this test can be used on other types of cancer." The team found that combining the number of 'EMTing' CTCs with the patient's 'Prostate-Specific Antigen' level (used in currently available tests) gave the best predictor of metastasis (over 92 per cent accuracy), significantly out-performing all current tests. They also developed a combined scoring system, taking into account the numbers of both 'EMTed' CTCs and megakaryocytes harvested by the Parsortix system from a patient's blood. The scoring system was developed with 40 patients who had their disease monitored over a 20 month period, and was able to identify patients who were 10 times more likely to die from their disease in the short term. Rebecca Porta, CEO of Orchid - Fighting Male Cancer, the main funder of the study, added: "This is a very promising study for patients and has the potential to significantly increase the ability of clinicians to act earlier to treat those who are at a higher risk of dying earlier from their cancer. Delivering more appropriate treatment more quickly could help to save lives and pro-long life expectancy." Dr Catherine Pickworth, Cancer Research UK's science information officer, said: "Cancers spreading to new areas of the body is the main reason why people die from the disease. This study shows a potential new way of helping to monitor this spread in men with prostate cancer. It was able to predict which patients were likely to fare better than others, based on the number of a rare type of immune cell found in the blood. This may help doctors make better-informed treatment decisions based on the extra information, and ultimately improve survival." The research was funded by Orchid - Fight Male Cancer, Cancer Research UK and ANGLE plc, developers of the ParsortixTM system. The Chinese Scholarship Council provided funding support for PhD studentships to some of the researchers. More information: Lei Xu et al, The novel association of circulating tumor cells and circulating megakaryocytes with prostate cancer prognosis, Clinical Cancer Research (2017). Journal information: Clinical Cancer Research Lei Xu et al, The novel association of circulating tumor cells and circulating megakaryocytes with prostate cancer prognosis,(2017). DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-3081 The results of a meta-analysis presented today at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) 2017 press conference has demonstrated that early therapeutic intervention in patients with so-called pre-rheumatoid arthritis (pre-RA) significantly reduces the risk of the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in these patients at 52 weeks or more. Recent progress in the understanding of RA pathogenesis has led to growing interest in the concept of pre-RA, which is defined as undifferentiated arthritis or very early RA, a clinical stage in which very early intervention could be more efficacious. "Our review of the available clinical data supports the rationale for early treatment in these patients," claimed lead author Dr. Stephane Hilliquin, from the Pitie Salpetriere University Hospital, Paris, France. "In those studies where pre-RA patients received active treatment, there was a significant reduction in the risk of occurrence of RA at 52 weeks or more," he said. "Although there was no statistically significant difference in the absence of disease progression as seen on X-ray between those taking active treatments or placebo due to the disease being at such an early stage." "Our data nicely complements the newly launched EULAR campaign: 'Don't Delay, Connect Today,' which emphasises the importance of early intervention in the treatment of people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases through early diagnosis and early referral," added Dr. Hilliquin. "However, the benefit / risk balance and feasibility of early aggressive treatment of pre-RA in clinical practice will still need further assessment," he concluded. From 595 abstracts, 9 randomised controlled trials (8 related to undifferentiated arthritis; 1 to very early RA) were deemed eligible for analysis, including 2 from congress abstracts. Together these studies provided a total population of 1,156 patients, with weighted mean age of 45.8 15.2 years, mean symptom duration of 16.2 12.6 weeks; and 66.0 17.7 percent were female. The occurrence of RA at week 52 was available in six studies and at week 120 in 1 additional study (a total of 800 patients). Early therapeutic intervention in these pre-RA patients included methylprednisolone, methotrexate, TNF-blocker, abatacept or rituximab. A systematic literature review was performed following Cochrane guidelines using the terms 'undifferentiated arthritis' or 'very early rheumatoid arthritis' (VERA) associated with 'therapy' or 'treatment', and was limited to randomised controlled trials published in English over the last five years. In addition to searching the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases, the review included EULAR and American College of Rheumatology congress abstracts from the last two years. Two independent readers extracted data using a standardised form covering study quality, patient status at baseline, type of intervention, and disease characteristics over time, as well as the occurrence of RA. Australian researchers have developed a world first test to identify which influenza patients will need urgent, life-saving, medical treatment. The High-risk Influenza Screen Test (HIST) measures 'an early warning signal' released by the patient's body into their blood to 'kick start' their immune system's fight against the infection. The test, developed by Dr Benjamin Tanga doctor from the Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital and medical researcher at Westmead Institute for Medical Researchneeds only a single drop of blood and a few hours to predict, with 91 percent accuracy, which influenza patients will develop potentially deadly secondary infections, such as pneumonia. Previously doctors could only test for influenza infection but didn't know which patients would be at risk of rapid deterioration. "Influenza can sometimes kill otherwise healthy people in the prime of their lives," says Dr Tang. "By using the High-risk Influenza Screen Test we're eavesdropping on the immune system to pick up when the body first mounts a defence against a serious, life-threatening, infection. The early warning means we have a greater chance to treat the patient's infection before it overwhelms them and potentially kills them," says Dr Tang. The research, published today by Dr Tang and colleagues in the European Respiratory Journal, deciphered the genetic codes that immune cells release to warn the body of a serious infection, such as pneumonia, caused by the influenza virus. HIST will be particularly useful during pandemics when there is a delay in developing vaccines for strains of the influenza virus. "We can now test people during a pandemic, or outbreak of a new flu virus, to identify those who might be at greater risk of developing serious complications. The test works with any flu infection as it looks at how the body reacts rather than the strain or type of virus." Dr Tang says HIST could also be used to track the effectiveness of new drugs in clinical trials by accurately plotting the patient's immune response. The patented High-risk Influenza Screen Test runs on equipment already available in most pathology laboratories. Provided by Westmead Institute for Medical Research The results of a study presented today at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) 2017 have confirmed that fluorescence optical imaging (FOI), a technique used to visualise inflammation in arthritic joints, is as effective as ultrasound with power doppler (US/PD) at monitoring response to treatment in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). FOI was also found to be more effective than US/PD at detecting inflammation in the absence of symptoms and signs.1 To a certain degree, US/PD is acknowledged to be operator dependent and potentially limited in visualising very detailed inflammatory changes, such as altered blood flow in tiny blood vessels and / or capillary leakage, especially in very small finger joints. In contrast, FOI may provide greater information on the microcirculation in these joints. Also, FOI is a time-efficient and operator-independent imaging modality, which can be performed by nurses or other non-medically qualified personnel.2 "Accurate detection of inflamed joints is essential both to guide treatment decisions and to assess treatment efficacy in patients with JIA," said lead author Professor Gerd Horneff, from the Asklepios Children's Clinic, Sankt Augustin, Germany. "FOI may be used in clinical practice to accurately identify joint inflammation earlier and with greater confidence. It should be particularly useful in identifying those children with clinically non-apparent joint inflammation of the hands and/or wrists who need to start on anti-rheumatic drug treatment," he said. In this study, out of 37 patients with polyarticular JIA, 24 were started on methotrexate and 13 on a biologic for the first time (11 on etanercept, 1 on adalimumab and tocilizumab respectively). Clinical examination showed an effective response to these treatments with the percentage of affected joints in the hand and fingers reducing from 23.6 percent at baseline to 16.4 percent and 9.0 percent at week 12 and 24 respectively. Measurements of disease activity also showed an effective response with a significant reduction in the mean juvenile arthritis disease activity score from 17.7 at baseline to 12.2 at week 12 and 7.2 at week 24. The percentage of patients achieving JIA American College of Rheumatology 30 / 50 / 70 / 100 response rates at week 24 were 85 percent / 73 percent / 50 percent / 27 percent respectively. Using ultrasound at baseline, week 12, and week 24, 19.4 percent, 16.1 percent, and 11.5 percent of the wrist or finger joints showed an effusion (fluid in the joint), 18.8 percent, 12.7 percent, and 9.6 percent showed thickening of the joint lining and, with the Power Doppler function, 6.9 percent, 1.8 percent, and 5 percent of the joints showed excessive blood flow (hyperperfusion), which are all signs of inflammation. Overall, any sign of arthritis was detected by US/PD in 24.5 percent, 19.2 percent, and 17 percent of joints at baseline, week 12 and week 24 respectively. FOI images are interpreted in three phases: an early phase (phase 1) where the flow of dye into the blood vessels can indicate a higher perfusion, an intermediate phase (phase 2) where the dye stays longer in a pathological than a normal vessel, and a late phase (phase 3) where dye remaining in the tissues demonstrates more vessel formation due to chronic inflammation. Among this patient population, FOI showed a signal enhancement suggesting active inflammation in at least one phase in 38.7 percent, 29.2 percent, and 27.6 percent of the joints at baseline, week 12 and week 24 respectively. Summarising the data across all 3 time points, the highest number of signals suggesting active inflammation were detected by FOI with 32 percent of joints (especially in phase 2), compared to 20.7 percent with US/PD and 17.5 percent by clinical examination. A high number of joints (21.1 percent) had FOI signals suggesting inflammation, but were clinically inactive. 20.1 percent of joints with FOI signals did not show any effusion, synovial thickening or hyperperfusion on US/PD. "The ability of FOI to detect inflammation in joints not detected by clinical examination or US/PD will be helpful in guiding treatment decisions based on determining the number of affected joints. Also, being able to discriminate between painful but uninflamed joints and those with inflammation will avoid unnecessary treatment with conventional DMARDs or biologics in the former," Professor Horneff concluded. JIA is a chronic debilitating disease of childhood and adolescence characterised by arthritis persisting for at least six weeks with onset before the age of 16 years. The polyarticular form involves more than four joints within the first 6 months. The incidence of polyarticular JIA varies worldwide with a vast difference in reported cases between different global regions as well as within individual countries. The incidence of JIA ranges from 0.83 per 100,000 children in Japan to 23 per 100,000 in Norway, with low rates in Asian populations and relatively higher frequencies in those of European descent, with an overall trend that this rate is increasing.3 Credit: CC0 Public Domain Adult marijuana use rose significantly in states that passed loosely regulated medical marijuana laws (MMLs) according to a new study by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Medical Center. Highest increases were reported among adults ages 26 and over. Little change was found in past-month marijuana use among adolescents or young adults between the ages 18 and 25. The findings are published online in the journal Addiction. Adults 26 years of age and older living in states with less regulated medical marijuana programs increased past-month marijuana use from 4 percent to 6.59 percent after the laws were enacted. No significant change was found in the prevalence of cannabis use disorder among adolescents or adults after states enacted medical marijuana laws, regardless whether programs were highly regulated or "loose." Using data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health from 2004-2013 the researchers analyzed trends over time with particular emphasis on age groups. This included obtaining prevalences of marijuana use outcomes at the state level by year and whether the enacted laws included a highly regulated ("medicalized") or less regulated ("non-medical") program. Participants were classified as having marijuana abuse or dependence based on DSM-IV criteria. "In addition to the increase in rates of marijuana use among this age group, we found that the magnitude of impact on rates of marijuana use was greatest among heavy users," said Silvia Martins, MD, PhD, professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, and senior author. Findings showed an annual increase in near-daily users of 2.36 percent. There remains concern that with the increase in prevalence of marijuana use, especially heavy use, there will be a proportionate increase in the percent of the population meeting diagnostic criteria for cannabis use disorder. "If this is the case, states with non-medical or lax programs may bear the brunt of this increase, especially among adults over age 25," noted Arthur Robin Williams, MD, fellow, Department of Psychiatry at Columbia, and first author of the study. However, it may be too early to detect trends regarding the prevalence of cannabis use disorder as the time lag between initiation of marijuana use, escalation of use, and meeting diagnostic criteria for the disorder is often several years. "We believe our current, largely negative findings however cannot definitely rule out impending increases in cannabis use disorder without further study. The effects of changes in marijuana use prevalences might only be reflected with analyses conducted in future years with more data points," said Dr. Martins. As of the November 2016 election, 28 states and Washington D.C. had legalized the use of marijuana for medical indications through the passage of medical marijuana laws either by voter initiative or legislative action. Additionally, 8 states and Washington D.C. (all of which allow for medical marijuana) have now fully legalized the recreational use of marijuana by adults over age 21. In addition to differing combinations of these laws, states also vary tremendously in regulations guiding their programs and participant eligibility. Drs. Martins and Williams recommend further investigation of key aspects of regulation that are currently lacking among non-medical programs. These include active physician oversight, requiring participation in state-licensed dispensaries, and the use of state-licensed products as they may have greater influence on individual morbidity and social costs than the mere passage of medical marijuana laws. "While the United States has entered a new era of marijuana control policy over the past two decades, our findings strongly suggest researchers should not treat all states with medical marijuana laws uniformly," said Dr. Martins. (HealthDay)The number of U.S. newborns hospitalized for opiate withdrawal has spiked sharply in recent yearsand so has the cost of treating them, a new study shows. In fact, the national bill for caring for these fragile newborns now runs in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the study found. Researchers have known that the U.S. epidemic of painkiller abuse is extending to infants. Recent studies have charted a steep rise in so-called neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), the researchers said. Most often, newborns suffer the condition because their mother took opioid painkillerssuch as OxyContin or Vicodinduring pregnancy. Babies are born dependent on the drugs and quickly develop withdrawal symptoms. That can mean a host of problems, from tremors and seizures, to breathing difficulty, to diarrhea and poor feeding. Last year, a federal study found that the number of U.S. infants born with NAS tripled between 1999 and 2013at least across the 28 states that had data. The new study, published June 14 in the journal Addiction, adds another layer: The financial toll. By 2012, researchers found, NAS was costing the United States over $300 million in hospital care. That was up from $61 million in 2003. And compared with other hospitalized newborns, those with NAS had stays that were three times as long and three times as costly. "Opioid use during pregnancy comes at a cost to the babyboth in potential withdrawal symptoms as well as length of hospital admission," said researcher Dr. Tammy Corr, a newborn medicine specialist at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Dr. Nicole Villapiano is a pediatrician at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. In a recent study, she found that NAS is hitting rural communities especially hard. Between 2003 and 2012, cases in rural areas rose from 1.2 per 1,000 births to 7.5 per 1,000. In contrast, the rate in U.S. cities rose from 1.4 cases for every 1,000 births to 4.8 per 1,000. That disparity is no surprise, according to Villapiano, since rural communities are at the center of the opioid epidemic. The new study may actually underestimate the costs of NAS, Villapiano said, because it could not account for newborns at small community hospitals who had to be transferred to urban medical centers. That points to a bigger issue, according to Villapiano. Rural hospitals are not necessarily equipped to handle NAS, and women who live in those areas, pregnant or not, may not have access to help for opioid addiction. Quitting opioids "cold turkey," even if possible, is dangerous, Villapiano said. The recommended treatment for dependence is medication, like methadone or buprenorphine, along with behavioral counseling. But that can be hard to come by in rural areas, she added. "And finding a facility that will deliver that care to a pregnant woman is very challenging," Villapiano said. Corr agreed that pregnant women addicted to opioids can face tough barriers. "State policies vary in their treatment of pregnant women who have a substance abuse problem," Corr said. Those policies, she noted, range from offering women help with treatment, to "criminalization." "Rather than treating substance abuse as a crimewhich may discourage expectant mothers from seeking helpwe need drug treatment programs that are specifically targeted to pregnant women," Corr said. The findings are based on pediatric discharge records from more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals. Between 2003 and 2012, Corr's team found, hospital admissions for NAS rose more than fourfold. Those babies ended up with longer hospital stays than newborns hospitalized for other reasonsalmost 17 days, on average, versus five days. And the typical cost approached $17,000, versus $5,600. Babies with NAS do seem to recover well, Villapiano saidthough it's not clear whether some might have lingering issues with attention or other behavior later on. Ideally, both researchers said, prenatal exposure to opioids should be prevented in the first place. Women who are abusing opioidsor taking a legitimate prescriptionshould be aware of the risks of using the drugs during pregnancy, Corr said. "If a woman does become pregnant while using opioids," she added, "she should notify her provider immediately to seek the appropriate helpto provide the best outcomes for herself and her baby." More information: Tammy Corr, D.O., assistant professor, pediatrics, division of newborn medicine, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pa.; Nicole Villapiano, M.D., pediatrician, University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor; June 14, 2017, Addiction Tammy Corr, D.O., assistant professor, pediatrics, division of newborn medicine, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pa.; Nicole Villapiano, M.D., pediatrician, University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor; June 14, 2017, The March of Dimes has more on neonatal abstinence syndrome. Journal information: Addiction Copyright 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. A closeup look at four cancerous tissues shows no estrogen receptor beta (ERS2) in the breast tumor (lower left), nor in one of two samples of granulosa cell tumors (top right). Arrows point to the ERS2 in another granulosa tumor sample (upper left) and a thyroid tumor (lower right). Credit: the Human Protein Atlas For nearly two decades researchers have sought a way to target an estrogen receptor in the hope they could improve breast cancer survival, but an article published today in Nature Communications contends that the effort may never pan out. The reason? The target receptor does not actually appear to be where they believe it to be. The study questions whether reliance on insufficiently-validated antibodies has led science down a dead-end path since the discovery of estrogen receptor beta (ESR2) in the 1990s. Cecilia Williams, a researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the joint research center, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab), says the beta receptor's discovery changed our understanding of estrogen signaling. It also raised hopes for a new endocrine treatment to complement the success of estrogen-blocking drugs such as Tamoxifen. These therapies target estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1), which was the first and most important biomarker in breast cancer, and can predict which patients respond to anti-estrogen treatment. But about half of such breast cancer tumors do not respond to anti-estrogen therapies, or they develop resistance over time, Williams says. "It has been thought that ERS2 had an opposite effect to ERS1, and that the beta receptor should not be blocked, but instead activated in breast cancer. This would supposedly improve survival. "Clinical trials are ongoing in the world right now, which activate ERbeta in breast cancer patients efforts that our study suggests are based on inadequate data," she says. "While we cannot claim that this receptor is completely absent in breast tumors, we do challenge the data behind the notion that the receptor is there." The Sweden-based research team says their study invalidates all but one of the antibodies used to detect estrogen receptor beta. These 12 antibodies have instead been mistaking other proteins for ESR2, Williams says, and data generated with these antibodies cannot be trusted. The one remaining antibody that can successfully be used against the beta receptor, however, can find no trace of the receptor in cancerous or healthy breast tissue, the study states. Also estrogen research relating to multiple other tissues and diseases are impacted by this study. Many false leads over the years may be due to "insufficiently specific" antibodies in the field of immunohistochemistry (IHC), Williams says. The researchers validated the antibodies with a level of unprecedented rigor, she says. The team, which included researchers from Uppsala University and Karolinska Institute, used negative and positive controls and applied multiple antibody-based applications. They compared performance of different antibodies on 44 different human tissue types and further identified bound proteins through techniques such mass spectroscopy at a scale not before undertaken. They also searched large databases of gene expression, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, The Genotype-Tissue Expression, and the Human Protein Atlas, and pin-pointed a universal lack of estrogen receptor beta messenger RNA in breast tissue. "Our study contributes to improved reproducibility within research using biologics, or antibodies, and it clarifies earlier controversies within the field of estrogen and breast cancer, thus helping move the field forward. In the end, we hope our study will help save both research funding and research time," Williams says. Anna Asplund, a researcher with Uppsala University, says the work should bring attention to a timely topic. "Significant problems due to poor validation of antibodies have recently been brought to the headlines by major journals, including Nature. We hope that our study, together with other on-going antibody validation efforts, will lead to a better quality of antibodies and antibody-based research." In addition to the Swedish research universities, the research involved the Division of Pharmaceutical Industries, National Research Centre, in Dokki, Egypt; and the Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Texas, USA. The project was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, Marie Curie Actions via the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA), the Swedish Cancer Society, the Stockholm County Council, the Swedish Research Council, and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. More information: Sandra Andersson et al, Insufficient antibody validation challenges oestrogen receptor beta research, Nature Communications (2017). Journal information: Nature Communications Sandra Andersson et al, Insufficient antibody validation challenges oestrogen receptor beta research,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15840 (HealthDay)A small percentage of Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors have a novel retinal lesion, according to research published in the July issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infectious Diseases. Paul J. Steptoe, M.B.Ch.B., from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a case-control study in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to examine ocular signs in survivors of EVD. Ophthalmic examination, including widefield retinal imaging, was performed in 82 EVD survivors with ocular symptoms and 105 controls from asymptomatic civilian and military personnel and symptomatic eye clinic attendees. The researchers found that Snellen visual acuity was 6/7.5 in 75.6 and 75.5 percent of EVD survivors and controls, respectively. Unilateral white cataracts were seen in 7.4 and 0 percent of EVD survivors and controls, respectively. In two EVD survivors with cataract but no anterior chamber inflammation, the aqueous humor was polymerase chain reaction-negative for Zaire Ebola virus, allowing cataract surgery to be performed. In 14.6 percent of EVD survivors and no controls there was a novel retinal lesion following anatomical distribution of the optic nerve axons. "We have documented a novel retinal abnormality in EVD survivors that appears to be specific to EVD, although the proportion in the cohort with the condition is small," the authors write. Copyright 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Credit: University of Aberdeen Scientists at the Universities of Aberdeen and Dundee have established a foot in the door in finding new, precision treatments for patients with oesophageal cancer, one of the hardest forms of the disease to treat. Professor Russell Petty, Chair of Medical Oncology in the University of Dundee School of Medicine led the decade long study into oesophageal cancer while at the University of Aberdeen. This research has culminated in a diagnostic test to establish which patients might benefit from a specific treatment. This can help predict which class of drugs may act to extend and improve quality of life for some patients. By identifying which patients will benefit from being treated with the drug gefitinib and just as importantly identifying those who get no benefit from it clinicians can focus on the best treatment plans in each case. A clinical trial initiated by Professor Petty and colleagues in 2007 involving 450 patients in 50 hospitals across the United Kingdom looked at their responses to gefitinib. The researchers saw dramatic improvements in some patients who lived well beyond their initial prognosis of only weeks or months to live, in some cases by around 18 months to two years, and had improved quality of life. Professor Petty explained: "After starting the trial we quickly observed very dramatic responses in some patients with improvement of their symptoms, and while not curative the responses were durable, lasting many months, for example up to two years in some cases. "These responses to gefitinib were transformative to patients in this situation, moving them from being severely ill, with rapidly deteriorating health and within a few months of the end of their life, to a much improved condition where we had control of their cancer's growth and symptoms and they could return to 'normal life' with their families." However, these responses occurred only in a minority, and the overwhelming majority of patients gained no benefit from gefitinib. The research team carried out a detailed genetic analysis of biopsies of the patients' tumours to establish why some patients responded so well. As a result they have now developed a diagnostic test - the EGFR FISH test - that identifies those patients who will benefit from taking the drug. Professor Zofia Miedzybrodzka, Chair in Applied Medicine at the University of Aberdeen who led the genetic testing part of the study explained: "By examining why some patients responded very well to gefitinib while others didn't, we have also learned more about how oesophageal cancer develops and what makes it so difficult to treat successfully," An estimated 455,000 individuals worldwide are diagnosed annually with oesophageal (or esophageal in American English) cancer and the rate has risen over the last four decades. The disease has been notably resistant to treatment. While significant advances in treatment for other cancers have led to improved survival rates around 50 per cent of patients with breast cancer, and 60 per cent of those with colon cancer, now recover the rate for oesophageal cancer is only around 15 per cent. Professor Petty clarified: "This research is extremely important because oesophageal cancer can be very aggressive and, without treatment or with ineffective treatment, many patients will unfortunately only have a short time to live. "It is important to treat people with the medicine most likely to control the cancer first time around, as we may not get a second chance. Gefitinib, for example, only benefits around 1 in 10 patients, so it was vital we developed the test to identify which patients would and would not benefit. "In those patients where we know gefitinib will not work, we can avoid proceeding with an ineffective treatment and give them the opportunity to try alternatives. "This really is a foot in the door which will help us get better and more effective treatments for oesophageal cancer, using the same kind of precision treatment approaches which are already being applied in some other cancers. "My hope is that our work is the end of the beginning in finding a range of precision treatments for patients with oesophageal cancer, which will lead to much better survival rates or extension of life." Professor Petty added, "Gefitinib was the best of this class of medicine at the time we started our trial. Better drugs have since emerged in the same class, known as EGFR inhibitors, and our hope is that the same test we have developed to identify the patients that benefit from gefitinib will also work with these newer drugs." The results of the research are reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the leading journal in the field. A Las Vegas man is in the Lancaster County Jail after authorities say he stole credit card information following a security breach at Sally Beauty Supply Co. Prosecutors charged Yusniel Sierra-Lopez, 34, with theft over $1,500. He was taken into custody Wednesday in North Platte. The Lincoln Police Department began investigating Sierra-Lopez and others on June 6, 2015, after the department was contacted by a compliance officer with Union Bank, according to a warrant for Sierra-Lopez's arrest. The Lincoln-based bank found at least 66 customers had their debit card information compromised during a 2015 data breach of Sally Beauty Supply. Bank records, the warrant says, show about 250 unauthorized purchases, totaling $28,587.70. Of those purchases, 90 were made in Nebraska, including Lincoln, Omaha, York, Gretna, Grand Island and Papillion. The card numbers were also used in Iowa, Colorado, South Dakota and Missouri. Lincoln police worked with several other law enforcement agencies to string together the thefts, leading them to four people, including Sierra-Lopez. Danger Caballero, 37, and, Maikel Rodriguez, 38, both of Grand Island, were also charged with theft by deception over $1,500. Caballero was arrested in April and Rodriguez in May. Both are being held at the Lancaster County Jail. The fourth person has not yet been arrested. Sally Beauty Supply announced the breach on May 14, 2015, saying that 4,900 stores worldwide were targeted. The Texas-based chain has four stores in Lincoln. Dr. David Armstrong, an acknowledged expert on diabetic foot care, tends to a patient. Credit: Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance Foot ulcers are a prevalent complication for millions of people with diabetes. Estimates indicate that as many as one-third of people with the disease will develop at least one foot ulcer over the course of their lifetime. These wounds can lead to further complications such as strokes, heart attacks, infections, loss of limbs and premature death. Yet, the morbidity and mortality directly associated with foot ulcers often go unrecognized by physicians and patients alike. Currently, the clinical focus is on repairing an ulcer's surrounding tissue and healing the wound. Instead, physicians and patients need to focus on ulcer remissionthat is, extending the time between the formation of ulcers, says Dr. David Armstrong, professor of surgery and director of the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson. Armstrong says extending patients' ulcer-free days using treatment and prevention is essential, according to a report from Armstrong and his co-authors. The manuscript appears in the June 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "This paper is the first of its kind to call attention to remission," Armstrong says. "The word 'remission' has been mentioned in the literature over the last few years. But this is the loudest call yet, and more than any other work before, (it) lays out data in a way that sort of flips the script from healing to what we do in between healed wounds." Indications of diabetic foot ulcers include a lessened ability to feel pain coupled with repetitive stress on specific areas of the foot. Once healed, as many as 40 percent of patients will have recurrence of some kind in a year. This rises to three-quarters of patients by five years. Armstrong likens diabetes to cancer because the morbidity and mortality are similar. But clinicians have yet to treat diabetes like cancer, he says. "Diabetes can be more significant than many forms of cancer," Armstrong says. "This is a concept that's misaligned right now in medicine. As we move toward diseases of decay, as I call themthings like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetesour goal as physicians, surgeons, scientists and policymakers is to delay that decay." Diabetes is unique, Armstrong says, because people can unknowingly injure themselves. "People can wear a hole in their foot just as you or I might wear a hole in a sock," he says. "These sores are covered up by a shoe or a sock, and very often a person with diabetes may feel little or no pain." But developing a diabetic foot ulcer means a person's chances of living an additional 10 years are half that of someone who has not developed one, Armstrong says. What's more, foot ulcers and infections dramatically increase a person's chances of being admitted to the hospital. "We looked at the data from 5 billion outpatient visits and found that diabetic foot ulcers and diabetic foot infections were astonishingly high-risk factors for hospitalization," Armstrong says. According to the study in the New England Journal of Medicine and cited in the May issue of the journal Diabetes Care, the admission rate was comparable to, or exceeding, that of congestive heart failure, kidney disease, depression and most types of cancer. To realign the way in which diabetes is viewed and treated, Armstrong says physicians must begin talking with their patients about severe complications, the way they talk with their patients about cancer, and emphasize that with new technologies and continuous care, such as careful dosing of physical activity, remission can be prolonged. "The real idea here is for physicians to help people move through their world a little better and give them more ulcer-free days and more activity-rich days," Armstrong says. "We want to keep our patients moving, so they're not on the sidelines of life." More information: Julie R. Ingelfinger et al. Diabetic Foot Ulcers and Their Recurrence, New England Journal of Medicine (2017). Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine Julie R. Ingelfinger et al. Diabetic Foot Ulcers and Their Recurrence,(2017). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1615439 New King's College London research reveals a 39 per cent drop in physical assaultsboth between patients and towards stafffollowing the introduction of a smoke-free policy at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). Published today in The Lancet Psychiatry, the study has important implications for the introduction of smoke-free policies, not only in psychiatric hospitals but also in other institutions such as prisons. Smoking within psychiatric hospitals has long been a cultural norm, and is thought to be a major reason why people with mental health problems die 15-20 years earlier than the general population. Despite this, smoke-free policies have previously been hampered by concerns, especially from hospital staff, that physical violence will increase. In 2013, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended the introduction of smoke-free policies in acute, maternity and mental health services, with on-site help for patientswhether they want to stop smoking or not - to manage their withdrawal symptoms. As part of SLaM's policy, smoking is prohibited in the buildings and grounds of its four south London hospitals, smokers are offered stop smoking treatment such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and patients are allowed to use e-cigarettes. The researchers from King's College London, SLaM, University of Nottingham and University of York, analysed incident reports of physical assaults 30 months before and 12 months after the smoke-free policy was introduced. During this study period, there were 4,550 physical assaults, with 2,916 towards staff and 1,634 between patients. Researchers found a 39 per cent reduction in the number of physical assaults per month following the introduction of the policy. This was after accounting for general and seasonal trends and a range of factors that could also have influenced the rates of violence. For example, the number of patients on the wards each month who were male, of a younger age and detained under the Mental Health Act. Dr Debbie Robson, Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher in Tobacco Addiction at King's College London, said: 'Hopefully our findings will reassure staff that introducing a smoke-free policy does not increase physical violence as is often feared. We believe there are a number of possibilities why rates of violence actually decreased. Historically, cigarettes have been used as a tool to manage patient behaviour and patients often coerce their peers into handing over cigarettes. To support the introduction of the smoke-free policy SLaM invested in new treatment pathways for smokers and a staff training programme, which may have contributed to changing the culture of how staff and patients interact.' Mary Yates, Nurse Consultant and smoke-free lead at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, added: 'Tobacco withdrawal often prompts restlessness, irritability and a fixation on finding opportunities to smoke, and hospital staff understandably mistake this as a sign of worsening mental health. Smoking during a period of tobacco withdrawal only serves to reinforce this misinterpretation, as patients will appear calmer and less irritable as nicotine levels are topped up. This is incorrectly taken as evidence that smoking is therapeutic and necessary to prevent agitation.' This study was undertaken at the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) South London, where a team of researchers are investigating ways to help people with severe mental illness to improve their physical health. MyBroadbands May 2017 speed test results show that the highest recorded speed in South Africa was from a fibre user, with Vanilla as his ISP, who clocked 939Mbps. MyBroadbands new HTML 5 speed test servers are hosted in Teracos vendor-neutral data centres to ensure a neutral testing environment. Through NAPAfrica, all network operators present at its peering points are provided with a free 1Gbps connection to the MyBroadband speed test platform. The new MyBroadband speed test platform was designed to be lightweight and easy to use on mobile devices. 195,722 speed tests have been conducted on the new MyBroadband speed test platform since it was launched in March. Top 20 highest speeds The top 20 results were all from fibre connections. Service Provider Download (kbps) Upload (kbps) Latency (ms) Test Server Vanilla 939,221 24,043 2 Cape Town Vodacom 928,898 505,612 2 Johannesburg Vodacom 928,604 481,157 22 Cape Town Audatex 927,734 890,227 2 Cape Town Converged Telecoms 926,282 931,916 3 Johannesburg BitCo 921,815 885,817 3 Johannesburg ECOTECH 921,048 820,650 3 Johannesburg Vox Telecom 919,038 25,882 2 Cape Town Vox Telecom 917,897 26,324 2 Cape Town Vodacom 916,778 486,842 22 Cape Town BitCo 916,334 829,965 3 Johannesburg BitCo 915,853 871,920 1 Johannesburg BitCo 915,775 848,975 3 Johannesburg Vodacom 914,677 266,641 22 Cape Town Vodacom 913,935 587,738 2 Johannesburg Vodacom 913,784 779,142 2 Johannesburg Vox Telecom 912,261 26,380 15 Cape Town Converged Telecoms 909,341 939,528 4 Johannesburg Converged Telecoms 898,682 924,617 4 Johannesburg MWEB Business 894,362 432,614 2 Johannesburg Now read: South African companies with the highest Internet speeds Advertise Here Be seen advertise here. Contact us. Amazon becomes world's first public company to lose $1 trillion in market value EU's odd couple: Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel can't stand each other US, China set first benchmarks ahead of presidents' meeting Iranian MFA summons Azerbaijani ambassador to carpet in connection with anti-Iranian propaganda Washington to resist any attempt by new Israeli government to annex West Bank Biden thinks Elon Musk's relations with other countries are worthy of being looked at Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister tells Polish senator about consequences of Azerbaijani aggression Armenian deputy in Vilnius talks about goals of Azerbaijan's aggressive policy Taliban bans women from gyms U.S. to send Ukraine another $400 million in military aid Ursula von der Leyen announces EUR 250 million support package for Moldova Biden and Jinping meet on sidelines of G20 summit in Bali to be held on November 14 Riches of world get poorer suddenly State Duma deputy: Interparliamentary format Yerevan-Baku-Moscow will be included soon to solve issues IMF sees growing risk of economic fragmentation Armen Gevorgyan to visit Strasbourg, Brussels and Paris State Duma deputy: Upper Lars border crossing capacity has increased fivefold UK government freezes over 18 billion pounds worth of Russian assets State Duma deputy on Zatulin's ban on entering Armenia: These issues must be resolved Borrell calls for retooling EU infrastructure for rapid transport of military equipment to East European Parliament clears way for Croatia's admission to Schengen Area European Council President Michel calls on EU member states to jointly purchase gas to reduce fuel prices Alen Simonyan congratulates scientists on their professional holiday Armenian President meets with leaders of several countries in Egypt Greece accuses Turkey of profiting from the suffering of other countries under sanctions USAID official says she personally saw how democracy, economic development are progressing in Armenia (VIDEO) Spain court sentences civilian to prison for spreading fakes Armenian Embassy in Russia issues statement on Azerbaijan's actions Indian company to supply 155mm self-propelled artillery guns worth $155mln to Armenia Japanese minister caught in scandal for talking about death penalty France changes its ambassador to Azerbaijan UN General Assembly draft resolution requires Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine Belarusian State Border Committee: Poland creates tense situation on border Joint meeting of Armenian National Assembly and Russian State Duma Committee takes place Iranian President says attempt to destabilize country fails Deputy: Russian side is informed about importance of withdrawal of Azerbaijani units from the territory of Armenia State Duma deputy: We can't imagine Russia without Armenia Georgian PM and Armenian Ambassador discuss cooperation issues Bali is short of armored limousines for G20 summit participants FLYONE ARMENIA to start flights between Yerevan, Dubai Kyodo: Emperor of Japan revealed to have prostate hyperplasia Iranian intelligence urges Saudi Arabia not to test Tehran's strategic patience Kazakhstan intends to ship 1.5 mln tons of oil via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline Former Ombudsman: 2,700 ha of Kapan community of Armenia's Syunik Province are under occupation by Baku Armenia to ratify cooperation agreement with China Japan and the US begin major joint exercise Armenia soldier sustains gunshot wound from Azerbaijan shooting Armenia legislature speaker receives deputy chair of Russia State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration PM: If anyone thinks peace agenda is peaceful annihilation of Armenia or Karabakh Armenians, they are sorely mistaken Armenia Premier: We have 16 missing persons since September 13 military aggression by Azerbaijan Bitcoin is trading just above $16,000 Armenias Pashinyan: Spreading of fake news by Azerbaijan becomes prelude to new aggression Armenia PM: Azerbaijan, with its practices, reminds of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which discredit Islam PM: Armenia, Karabakh propose Azerbaijan to create demilitarized zone Pashinyan: There is no Armenia army in Karabakh All 10 fallen soldiers transferred on October 27 by Azerbaijan to Armenia are identified, buried Pashinyan: Armenia is going to present new proposal to Azerbaijan $25M allocated to Armenia MOD Biden says he will discuss Ukraine conflict at G20 summit Pashinyan: Armenia has no obligation to construct new roads Pashinyan: Aliyev not only threatens but is already preparing genocide of Karabakh Armenians Armenias Pashinyan: Azerbaijan president is attempting to create invented grounds for closing Lachin Corridor Erdogan tells what relations between Turkey and Armenia depend on Iran says it has developed first hypersonic ballistic missile Armenias Pashinyan: Russia peacekeepers are deployed in Karabakh indefinitely FM Lavrov to head Russia delegation at G20 summit Erdogan: Ankara continues mediation efforts to resolve Ukrainian crisis Armenia to get 100mn loan to fund budget deficit IAEA head: Talks on Iran's nuclear program ended inconclusively Armenia PM: Aliyev grossly violated tripartite written agreement of Sochi This year 320 people seek asylum in Armenia, 213 are from Ukraine Erdogan speaks on trusting relationship with Putin Gold prices remain stable Ombudsperson in Brussels, reflects on top Azerbaijan leaderships policy of Armenophobia Indonesian authorities: Putin won't come to G20 summit in Bali World oil prices falling Washington demands part of Israeli Arrow 3 for sale to Germany, be produced in the U.S. Armenia Security Council chief meets with Lithuania officials Armenia FM heading for Paris Egypt launches Tax Free system for foreign tourists Washington, Brussels don't approve German plan to resume transatlantic trade talks Newspaper: Armenias Mirzoyan makes it clear to Blinken that wording Artsakh should be included Newspaper: Armenia parliamentary opposition decides to return to legislative body Polar and brown bear hybrids may appear in Yakutia due to climate change Volkswagen releases office chair with electric motor and klaxon Israel reveals Pulcinella secret, admitting that it used drones not only for surveillance Chinese woman makes dresses for her daughter out of trash bags Poland and Slovakia will increase defense spending Audi presents new crossovers Q8 e-tron Benny Gantz: Israel has an opportunity to strike Iran's nuclear facilities France National Assembly speaker reaffirms solidarity with Armenia, Armenians Samvel Babayan: Russia will withdraw peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh Hungarian government sets price ceiling on eggs and potatoes Benny Gantz: Israel does not have the production capacity to supply Ukraine with air defense systems Germany must adopt energy-saving measures in face of skyrocketing inflation Beglaryan: Azerbaijan continues and will continue its policy of genocide and hatred against the Armenian people Kiev believes it is too early to talk about withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson Raisi: Relations between Tehran and Moscow have a bright future Taliban virtue representative kills minor for refusing to marry Meeting held at Ministry of Defense A University of Nebraska-Lincoln student accused of an assault near campus is suing the university alleging that staff violated his due process rights when they banned him. Jeremiah Perkins said in his federal civil rights lawsuit the ban prevents him from attending classes in the fall and that he had no opportunity for a hearing after he was banned April 15. University police arrested Perkins, 21, of Beaver City, the night after an incident on a sidewalk at 16th and S streets. Perkins, in his lawsuit, claims he was assaulted by one or more UNL students on property not owned by the university. In reports from that night, police said Perkins assaulted his girlfriend and then a man who intervened after witnessing the assault. Perkins repeatedly hit the man's head against the sidewalk until a group of onlookers pulled him off, police said, citing an independent witness and surveillance video. During the fight, Perkins allegedly threatened to kill the man, according to court documents. He told police that night his actions were in self-defense, according to the report. Perkins was taken to jail and later charged with first-degree assault and terroristic threats, both felonies. Those charges are pending in Lancaster County Court. He immediately appealed the notice telling him he was banned from campus for four years, according to the lawsuit. But April 20, university officials denied his appeal, citing unlawful or unauthorized conduct in violation of state or federal laws, according to the lawsuit. "Mr. Perkins has never been convicted of a crime," his attorney, David Chipman, wrote in the lawsuit. Perkins, who is listed as a junior agribusiness major, is prevented from attending his classes in the fall and would thus be unable to graduate, the lawsuit said. His due process rights were violated, he said, because he had no opportunity for a hearing on the ban decision or an opportunity to review the evidence against him, among other claims. He is seeking a judgment that prevents the university from enforcing its ban, as well as unspecified damages. A university spokesman declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit, saying UNL does not comment on litigation. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova did not rule out that Karabakh issue can be raised during the upcoming visit of the French foreign minister to Moscow. At a weekly briefing Thursday, Maria Zakharova noted that the visit of the French minister is scheduled for June 20. The main topic of the talks will be the fight against terrorism, the situation in Syria, bilateral relations and a schedule of political contacts. Asked whether the Karabakh issue will be discussed, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry did not rule out that the issue will be raised among other international challenges: This is natural. We are in a dialogue with our French colleagues, including this matter. Speaking about the possibility of organizing a meeting at the level of the foreign ministers after the recent visit of the co-chairs to Yerevan and Nagorno-Karabakh, Maria Zakharova urged to wait for the official comment of the Russian representative who was directly on the ground and would share the assessments that would be later published on the Foreign Ministry website. As soon as the contacts are agreed upon, we will inform you. Now there is no information, Zakharova noted. Cindy Lange-Kubick Columnist Cindy Lange-Kubick has loved writing columns about life in her hometown since 1994. She had hoped to become a people person by now, nonetheless she would love to hear your tales of fascinating neighbors and interesting places. Follow Cindy Lange-Kubick Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today On her Facebook page, the world-traveling, eclipse-chasing Aussie living in Northern Ireland has given her Lincoln talk a name. Totality not just for geeks and bearded men with telescopes. Kate Russo affirms the accuracy of her title Tuesday, chatting from her Belfast home about the three books shes written, her white paper on eclipse planning, and the absolute life-changing wonder of an eclipse all in decidedly laywoman language. And, even if her own interest isnt strictly academic: Even scientists will be gabbering about how amazing it is. Gabbering scientists. I cannot wait. As for Russo, the clinical psychologist will be in town long before the Aug. 21 solar eclipse to help get the party started. Shell speak on the UNL campus Monday night, a guest of the Hyde Observatory. The star-gazing facility on the hill in Holmes Park is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, which serendipitously aligns with once-in-a-lifetime eclipse totality in Lincoln, said Lee Thomas, an amateur astronomer and head of the observatorys board of supervisors. And so Russo was a natural fit. Were shameless opportunists, he quipped. Thomas had heard of Russos work from Jack Dunn, former director of the Mueller Planetarium on campus. And we thought it would be beneficial for people to hear her. I agree. I was Russos fifth interview Tuesday and she had one more to come, all in preparation of a 10-day visit to the States to talk about our upcoming celestial wonder. And she cannot wait. The legacy of the eclipse is going to be huge in your region, the 44-year-old said. Everyone is planning for an event that no one has seen. Russo has spent the past two years preparing for this two-minute window of awe-inspiring midday darkness. And the last 16 years of her life traveling the world to bask in the shadows of others. Its so beautiful and powerful and amazing, she says. If theres one thing worthy of all the hype, its definitely a solar eclipse. Russo was 10 when she read an Enid Blyton short story that described the wonder of a solar eclipse It captured my imagination and 26 when she set off to the south of France to see for herself. I could not believe my eyes, she wrote in the forward to her latest book. A black hole appeared where the Sun should be. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw the corona the outer atmosphere of the Sun illuminate beyond the black shape of the Moon. It was the most awe-inspiring nature event I have ever witnessed. Madagascar was next, and then a sunset eclipse in southern Australia, followed by the Galapagos Islands, Turkey, Outer Mongolia, China, and back home to Australia. In 2015, she traveled to the Faroe Islands, both as an eclipse chaser and as their eclipse coordinator. She stayed for six weeks. I was very proud to be part of that celebration; it poured millions into the economy. Along with her books Being in the Shadow was released last week the psychologist devotes much of her time to educating municipalities about the practicalities of eclipse preparation. But she also extols the human impact. One that for her, and other chasers, lasts far beyond a moment in time. To explain, she draws a parallel to her work as a psychologist with dying hospital patients. For those families, life changes. You live day by day, you dont get caught up in the trivial things, Russo says. Theres a similar feeling witnessing an eclipse, of how precious life is and how fleeting life is. (Caveat: Not everyone becomes quite as moved. Russos partner has accompanied her on all of her eclipse adventures, but hes not as obsessed as I am about them. He calls himself an eclipse chaser-chaser.) Russos best advice to us? Embrace our moment in the sun. (So to speak.) Dont go away. This is a one-time-in-375 years event. Russo will watch the August eclipse from the Tetons during the western wave of its 2,498-mile, 94-minute march across the United States. Eclipse chasers from around the world will descend on your country, she says. The man from the Hyde Observatory who brought her here believes it. Thomas witnessed a total solar eclipse on the shores of the Ob Sea (Russia's Novosibirsk Reservoir) in 2008. I was on the Trans-Siberian railroad with about 120 eclipse enthusiasts, he said. And they were already excited about the one thats coming here. Thats a big part of the message the eclipse-chasing Aussie in Northern Ireland is spreading in Nebraska next week. The real story is that this is happening in your community. How lucky you are. YEREVAN. - After the criticism of Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski regarding the electoral processes in Armenia, Deputy Speaker of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Eduard Sharmazanov has got an impression that people dont want the Republican Party to be the ruling one. At a discussion during the conference on electoral developments in the country, Piotr Switalski slammed the electoral processes in Armenia, noting that the composition of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia is not reliable and thus representatives of civil society should be included it. He also stated that the halls of power are attempting to make the election law suit their own political objectives. In an interview with Armenian News NEWS.am, Eduard Sharmazanov opposed the EU Ambassador, recalling that the Electoral Code has been adopted by the consensus of all the parliamentary forces. Our partners should understand that it is the National Assembly (NA) that decides what kind of Electoral Code to have. The Electoral Code was adopted by an unprecedented consensus, for the information of Mr Switalski. Let me remind that five political forces signed that document. The Electoral Code is not solely that of the authorities: it was largely supported and passed by an unprecedented [number of] votes, Sharmazanov added. The Deputy Speaker also recalled to the EU Ambassador that the international institutions have already positively assessed the 2017 electoral processes, while Switalski has not only now heard about the electoral system discussed. The issue on the formation of CEC is decided by the parties included in the National Assembly (NA), and nobody is more interested than us in the development of democracy in our country. Our partners should understand and realize the significance of their words and understand that the NA decided what kind of Electoral Code to have and what kind of commission to have in the CEC. [] They should understand that Armenia has an NA, improved code, which some may like, while others not. Besides, the Code was passed by a great number of votes, being signed by five political forces. From this perspective, Switalskis assessments are odd to me, Sharmazanov noted. Asked whether it is not odd that the Armenian authorities receive great amounts from international institutions but are reluctant to receive criticism from the representatives of those institutions, the RPA Deputy Speaker said: This is not a wedding, where one pays money and orders music accordingly. I think the Europeans support us, since they are confident that the democratic values should be disseminated throughout the world, Armenia being able to develop the system of democracy through its authorities, opposition and civil society. Has Mr Switalski only now learnt about the existence of rating system in Armenia? I have the impression that people at all costs dont want the Republican Party to be the ruling one in Armenia. He also stressed that earlier the same Electoral Code was approved by the EU Ambassador. When Faris Parali began working with the U.S. Army in Iraq, he knew it would be dangerous, but he also knew it was the right thing to do. After years of uncertainty for his family on where they could live and whether they would be safe, the Iraqi man and his wife Kali finally attained American citizenship Wednesday afternoon during a ceremony at Beatrice's Homestead National Monument. Thirty-one people from 19 countries received citizenship during the ceremony. The Homestead National Monument holds the services twice a year. Wednesday's service held extra sentiment for many because it was held on Flag Day. Among the new citizens was Yolanda Sanchez, one of many with tears in her eyes. She left her home in Mexico in 1995, following her brothers to Nebraska because she feared for the safety of her 11-year-old son. Like Paralis, she said she felt overwhelmed with gratitude at the citizenship ceremony. Sanchez currently works as a cosmetologist in Scottsbluff. Her son is now 31 and serves in the National Guard, a source of pride for Sanchez. Faris' journey was different from Sanchez's. In Iraq, two of Faris' brothers had been working with the military as translators, so after finishing school, he found work as a contractor. His fluency in English made the job a good fit, and he hoped it could someday help his family immigrate to America. When he and Kali left Iraq in 2010 with their 2-year-old daughter, the conflicts there hadn't escalated yet, he said. ISIS had not yet taken hold in the country, and many of his friends and family members remained. As conflicts moved closer to their home, he knew his family needed to leave. His work with the military put a target on his back. The family applied for pre-approval for visas, and after about a year of processing, they received the first steps of approval. "As soon as we found out we had been approved, we started packing," he said. "And we started collecting money because we knew we were going to need a lot of money." The family then left Iraq and moved to Jordan, where they would finish processing their applications over the next year. Faris said the family moved to Jordan because the only office in Iraq that could process the applications was in Baghdad, which was dangerous. They moved to Jordan to finish the process and wait in a safer environment. In August of 2011, the family of three boarded a plane and headed to Lincoln. The biggest relief, they said, was just being safe. As they watched conflicts in their homeland increase, their appreciation grew. "We looked at our kids and just said, 'Imagine if they were there,'" Faris said. Other family members gradually arrived in Nebraska. Many of Faris' family are now here, but Kali still has brothers in Iraq. The couple said the hardest thing was leaving their friends and family. As violence increased in Iraq, many of their friends were forced from their homes and now live in camps. Others are missing. After spending six years in America, they now can officially claim it as their home. "We waited a long time," Faris said. "It's a huge deal for us we can finally say we have our own country." Milwaukee County Transit System officials sought feedback from residents who attended two open houses last week regarding the ambitious East-West Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, a proposed nine-mile high-speed bus line that would run along Wisconsin Avenue Downtown to Hawley Road, then turn onto Bluemound Road before ending up at the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa. Developers estimate that the 12 new 40-foot-long 75-person-capacity BRT buses would eventually increase ridership in the corridor by 31 percent and average 10,000 riders daily by 2035. The line would remove thousands of cars from the road, ease congestion caused by the reconstruction of I-94 and spur millions in economic development, according to Brendan Conway, spokesman for MCTS. The transportation system, which Conway described as the spine of MCTS, will consist of new buses, dedicated lanes and other amenities. It is estimated to cost between $42 million and $48 million, with 80 percent covered by funding from the Federal Transit Administrations Capital Investment Grant program. The annual cost for the bus system, which will run every 10 minutes, has been estimated at $3.7 million, which would be freed up by cutting from and diverting other routes that would no longer run on Wisconsin Avenue, Conway said. Only the 30 and 30X routes would continue to run on Wisconsin Avenue if the BRT plan is implemented, he added. According to a 2015 Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission survey, 85 percent of residents support an expanded rapid transit system and 86 percent said its very important to reach jobs by public transit. During the open houses, officials from development companies AECOM and HNTB were on hand to walk residents through the proposal options. Residents were asked to provide feedback on the proposed BRT lane configurations, station locations and designs, safety, traffic and parking considerations, among other issues. Pepper Ray, who attended the open house at Marquette University High School, 3401 W. Wisconsin Ave., said she saw many positives in the plan, including the high-speed aspect, but is skeptical about other parts. "It seems like it could be another one of those plans that helps people who are well off more than it does others in the community," said Ray, Amani Building Neighborhood Capacity Program coordinator at the Dominican Center for Women. A North Side resident who goes by the name Mz. Rose said she is concerned that funding the new route would result in current routes being eliminated or cut. "What about people traveling north and south on the bus? You cant tell me they wont be affected," Rose said. Ald. Michael Murphy, who represents the 10th District neighborhood where Marquette High School is located, said feedback from his constituency has been mixed. For example, business owners who dont have parking lots and rely on street parking are concerned that the dedicated lanes would leave no parking for customers. "Im very concerned about the impact of the dedicated lanes to the local businesses on Bluemound corridor," said Murphy. He added that hes looking forward to seeing more data on the impact of the project on businesses and on the projected migration of people from cars to BRT lines. Nick DeMarsh of the Milwaukee Transit Riders Union said business owners need to realize that the BRT line will be bringing in thousands of potentials customers each day. DeMarsh said the riders union has been pushing for a project such as the BRT for years, adding that Milwaukee is one of only a few cities its size that doesnt have a BRT, rail line or something similar. He described it as a more viable alternative to freeway expansion. Asked whether the BRT and the new streetcar, which will initially run Downtown, connecting the intermodal station, the Third Ward and East Town, could result in more mass transit supply than demand, DeMarsh said he believes that both systems can work well together. "They both have their strengths: the BRT for longer rides with less stops and the streetcar for shorter distances," DeMarsh said. MCTS officials are anticipating that construction on the BRT lines will begin in 2019, with startup tests and service beginning between 2020-2021. Ray said shell be taking a "wait and see" approach until then. "It seems like another one of those, 'If you build it they will come,' kind of projects, so well see how it goes," Ray said. The study revealed that the western lazy toad (Scutiger occidentalis), found at an altitude of 4,300 m on Pakistan's Deosai Plateau, is a separate species that is presumably one of the ancestors of the species inhabiting the central Himalayas. This stands in contradiction to the assumption that the lazy toads had colonized the Himalayas from the east. Credit: Matthias Stock Until now, the fauna of the Himalayas was considered to be an "immigration fauna", with species that have immigrated primarily from neighbouring regions to the west and east since the geological formation of this mountain range. Using molecular-genetic methods, a German-Chinese research team has now tested an alternative colonization hypothesis on lazy toads (Pelobatoidea). The findings indicate that this group arose earlier than assumed in southern Tibet, and went on to colonize the Himalayas from there after its formation. The immigration and evolution of many species in the Himalayas might therefore have taken a different course than previously assumed. The Himalayas are one of the global "hotspots" of biodiversity; thousands of species are believed to be as yet undiscovered or not yet scientifically described. The history of the population of the Himalayas is still not fully understood. Until now, most species were assumed to have immigrated into the High Himalayas relatively recently, from the west and east. One theory that has received little attention to date works on the assumption that the origins of many Himalayan species began far earlier, in southern Tibet. This assumption is also in line with modern findings of the geological origins of the Himalaya-Tibet mountain system. Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), the University of Rostock, the Natural History Museum of Erfurt and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have now been the first to test this theory on a group of high-mountain vertebrates. For this purpose, they chose the less mobile lazy toads from the genus Scutiger of the Pelobatoidea, a species group found along of the Himalayas and in eastern Tibet, in habitats at altitudes between 2,500 and 5,000 metres. To date, it was also assumed that lazy toads had colonized the Himalayas from neighbouring mountainous regions to the east. The researchers analysed genetic samples from populations of Scutiger in order to decode their evolutionary relationships. Furthermore, they dated the origin of the species using evolutionary trees calculated from DNA sequences in comparison to the uplifting history of the Himalaya-Tibetan mountain system. This revealed that the Himalayan species formed a separate group that is apparently evolutionarily older than the one found on the Tibetan Plateau and in adjacent mountain ranges to the east. The question is: where do these evolutionarily older Scutiger come from? "They apparently evolved in today's southern Tibet as long ago as in the Eocene Epoch, i.e. the period in which lignite was created. But the formation of mountains and the desiccation of Tibet forced the populations to gradually move out of their original habitats towards the south into the Himalayas that were rising upwards", outlines Dr. Joachim Schmidt of the University of Rostock. Further research is now planned to substantiate the researchers' observations. "Our findings demonstrate that common biogeographical opinions have to be called into question time and time again and checked on the basis of the most recent geoscientific knowledge", explains the UFZ's Dr. Sylvia Hofmann. "Molecular-genetic methods provide a decisive new approach to testing old biogeographical hypotheses", adds the IGB's Dr. Matthias Stock. More information: Sylvia Hofmann et al, Molecular Phylogenies indicate a Paleo-Tibetan Origin of Himalayan Lazy Toads (Scutiger), Scientific Reports (2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-03395-4 Journal information: Scientific Reports Jun Zhou, Karen Smith and Yuhang Lu are using a 3D scanner to build a database of prehistoric pottery designs. The multidisciplinary project will ultimately help researchers track human interaction and migration in the South more than 1,500 years ago. Credit: University of South Carolina Cutting-edge computer vision technology could help unlock the mystery of how people interacted and traveled in the Southeast more than 1,500 years ago. Researchers at the University of South Carolina are working to create a software program that will automatically match prehistoric pottery fragments, or sherds, with whole designs. The project is a collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences' Center for Digital Humanities and S.C. Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, the College of Engineering and Computing and Research Computing Center. The work is funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and National Park Service. Native Americans carved the designs into wooden paddles about the size of ping-pong paddles and stamped them onto the pottery during the Woodland period, from about 100 to 900 AD. Known as Swift Creek pottery, the fragmentscalled sherds or potsherdshave been found throughout the South, mainly in Georgia, northern Florida, parts of western South Carolina and eastern Alabama. "Pottery paddles are like fingerprints in a way," says archaeologist Karen Smith, director of the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology's Applied Research Division. "At the most basic level, they are indicators of individual artists. Some sherds in middle Georgia were impressed with the same paddles as sherds in Florida. That's almost unprecedented in our field that we can see people, paddles and movement." Needle in a haystack Swift Creek pottery has attracted interest from archaeologists because of its prevalence in the region and the opportunity it presents to track human interaction and migration. In the 1940s, archaeologists discovered that complete paddle designs could be reconstructed from sherds and that certain designs were widely distributed across the region. Two pioneers in this fieldarchaeologist Bettye Broyles and naturalist Frankie Snowdevoted their careers to piecing together individual Swift Creek sherds and recreating whole designs. Together, they reconstructed about 900 paddle designs from dozens of sites. However, Broyles is no longer living, and Snow has retired. Smith, who has studied Swift Creek pottery throughout her career and published articles on the designs and pattern matching, is interested in finding a faster way to reconstruct entire paddles. "We lack efficient methods for combing through the volumes of material from Swift Creek sites that reside in curation facilities across the Southeast," she says. "Finding sherds that match a particular known design is akin to finding a proverbial needle in a haystack." Speeding up the matchmaking process Enter the collaboration with Colin Wilder of the Center for Digital Humanities, Song Wang, professor in the College of Engineering and Computing, and Jun Zhou of the Research Computing Center. Using digital imaging and analysis technologies, the group is developing algorithms and software that will match patterns between sherds and designs. Designs on Swift Creek pottery are like fingerprints of the artist and can offer information about location and time. Credit: University of South Carolina "We are speeding up a task and making it hundreds of times faster," Wilder says. "This is a task that is tedious and difficult to do, and there are large collections of unprocessed pottery. There is a huge mystery out there. What is the actual story of these people and their movements? It's within the realm of the possible to find out." This summer, Smith and her graduate students will travel to various Swift Creek pottery collections in Georgia to scan pottery sherds and begin building a database of images. Because the sherds are fragmented parts of whole designs that have been around for thousands of years, a 3-D scanner coupled with developing new data processing algorithms are key tools to making matches, explains Wang, whose research expertise is in computer vision and image processing. The software will extract patterns from an individual sherd, identify the underlying design and ultimately connect it with a corresponding reconstructed whole design. Because paddles were applied to pottery multiple times to imprint designs, this presents a challenge that Wang is eager to tackle through developing new algorithms. "Solving this problem will advance and extend the basic computer vision research on shape and partial shape matching, which have been studied for a long time in the computer vision field," Wang says. Pioneers in humanities computing Working with experts from the Research Computing Center, the group used high-performance computer clusters to bring processing time down dramatically, from hours to minutes. According to Zhou, the process is Humanities High-Performance Computing, which refers to the use of high-performance computers for humanities and social science projects. "Currently, only a few humanities scholars are taking advantage of high-performance computing," she says. "But just as the sciences have begun to explore the enormous potential of high-performance computing, the humanities are beginning to as well. We are among the pioneers." One of the reasons the computer vision approach works is because the paddle designs are not random but rather follow certain regularities and rules, which Smith has studied closely. The earliest pieces started out with simple lines, and more intricate patterns began to appear in later years, peaking around 550 AD. Some pieces from this period include framing lines around the central design. "Through this project, we can begin to map out how creativity in this artistic system changed through time, as well as when, where and how designs were copied," Smith says. According to Wilder, the ultimate goal is to create a website where archaeologists and other interested individuals can upload photos of sherds, access the pattern-matching technology and identify pieces right away. For Smith, the project will open the door to asking further research questions about the pottery's composition and chemical makeup. The partnership with colleagues throughout the university continues to be a rewarding experience, the researchers agree. "When you think about what it means to be on a campus like ours and make these types of connections for research, that's exactly the type of collaboration we show with this project," Smith says. "It's going to pay dividends." With future Medicaid funding support for children, older Nebraskans and the disabled in jeopardy, several beneficiaries stepped forward Thursday to tell their stories. Amanda Gershon of Lincoln, who was denied Medicaid support for years until her chronic health conditions deteriorated to the point that she became disabled, said an end to future medical funding assistance probably would result in regression of her health. That, she said, would shut the door on her efforts to acquire the educational skills that will allow her to obtain a job, earn a living wage and obtain her own health insurance. "I'm very terrified," Gershon said. Katie Nungesser of Lincoln already has made that transition. Medicaid assistance that met the health needs of her daughter gave her an opportunity to acquire an education that has led to employment, "allowing us to transition" off Medicaid assistance, she said. "It really was a game-changer," Nungesser said. "It would be really sad to see a decision that would take that opportunity away from other Nebraskans." Susan Williams of Omaha said the possibility that her 8-year-old disabled son could not receive the therapeutic care he needs is "very, very scary to me." "That is so important for my son's continued health," she said. "I work part-time," she said, trying to support three children, two of whom have disabilities. The three women spoke at a roundtable forum hosted by Nebraska Appleseed as the U.S. Senate prepares to act on what so far has been a secret Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act with legislation that is expected to sharply reduce funding support for Medicaid and assign more responsibility to governors and state legislatures. Medicaid was a target during this year's 2017-2019 state budget deliberations. Jeff Sheldon, communications director for Appleseed, noted that 67 percent of the Medicaid recipients in Nebraska are children. Fifteen percent are blind or disabled and 7 percent are the elderly. Medicaid is a vital revenue source for rural nursing homes and rural hospitals, he noted. "No area would be hit harder" by sharp funding reductions than rural Nebraska, Sheldon said. Legislation previously approved by the House would effectively cut $1 billion in federal funding for Nebraska over a 10-year period, he said, jeopardizing the state's ability to provide needed health care for children, seniors and people with disabilities. "Medicaid is under considerable threat," Sheldon said. One in eight Nebraskans is receiving Medicaid assistance now to meet health care needs, he said. "This is a matter of lives," Sheldon said. Three days of flight disruption at British Airways due to a massive computer crash last month will cost the airline an estimated 80 million (92 million euros, $102 million), its parent company said on Thursday. "Initial assessment of the gross cost of the disruption is in the order of 80 million," Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways owner IAG (International Airlines Group), told a shareholders' meeting in Madrid. "British Airways is working hard to ensure that affected passengers are compensated as soon as possible," he said, adding they had had a "dreadful experience". The airline cancelled 726 flights worldwide between May 27 and 29. Some 75,000 passengers were affected. The disruption caused chaos on a busy holiday weekend at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Walsh has suggested that human error could be to blame after an engineer disconnected and then reconnected a power supply to the British Airways data centre in "an uncontrolled and uncommanded fashion". "You could cause a mistake to disconnect the powerit's difficult for me to understand how you can mistakenly reconnect the power," Walsh told an industry conference in Mexico, according to comments published by The Guardian newspaper last week. The airline boss said "physical damage to the servers and distribution panels" was caused, making it difficult for BA to overcome the power outage quickly. And Walsh added that the technician was "authorised to be in the room, but wasn't authorised to do what he did". On Thursday, Walsh said that an independent investigation was still ongoing. "What we do know at this stage, however, is that this failure had absolutely nothing to do with changes to the way we resource our IT systems and services," he told the shareholders' meeting. 2017 AFP As bees' social behavior evolved, their complex chemical communication systems evolved in concert. An international team of researchers, including those from Princeton University, reported that a certain species of bees, called halictid bees, have more sensorial machinery compared with related solitary species. The difference is measured by the density of tiny, hollow sensory hairs called sensilla on their antennae. Credit: Sam Droege, U.S. Geological Survey As bees' social behavior evolved, their complex chemical communication systems evolved in concert, according to a study published online by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. An international team of researchers, including those from Princeton University, reported that a certain species of bees, called halictid bees, have more sensorial machinery compared with related solitary species. The difference is measured by the density of tiny, hollow sensory hairs called sensilla on their antennae. Because social living requires the coordination of complex social behaviors, social insects invest more in these sensory systemsused to communicate information about resources, mates and sources of danger to their colonies and, therefore, are integral to survivalthan their solitary counterparts, according to Sarah Kocher, an associate research scholar at the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and the paper's corresponding author. Kocher and her colleagues imaged the antennae of adult females from 36 species that Kocher netted in the wild, mostly in France, or secured from specimens from the Museum of Comparative Zoology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Using a scanning electron microscope at Princeton, they obtained information about the antennae's surface topography and composition and observed convergent changes in both sensilla structures and the chemical signals of the groups as sociality was gained and lost. Sarah Kocher, an associate research scholar at Princeton University's Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, and her colleagues imaged the antennae of adult females from 36 bee species using a scanning electron microscope. They obtained information about the antennae's surface topography and composition and observed convergent changes in both sensilla structures and the chemical signals of the groups as sociality was gained and lost. Credit: Bernadette Wittwer, University of Melbourne Kocher and her colleagues chose to examine halictid bees because they exhibit remarkable diversity in social behavior, from eusocial to solitary. Eusocial refers to an organizational structure in which individual insects in a colony forgo their reproductive capacity and perform a specific task, such as caring for young or gathering food, as seen in many ant, wasp and honeybee species. Also, within this family of insects, social behavior has evolved independently several times, and there are numerous examples of reversion, or a reappearance of an earlier physical characteristic, and replicated losses of sociality. These repeated gains and losses make the species one of the most behaviorally diverse social insects on the planet, and good candidates for studying sociality, according to Kocher. "What we have is a system with tremendous comparative power," she said. Relatively little is known about the evolutionary transition between solitary and social living, according to Kocher. But in this paper, "[The researchers] provide an elegant solution to this problem," said Tom Wenseleers, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Leuven in Belgium who is familiar with the research but had no role in it. "By studying a group of primitively eusocial insects that evolved sociality more recently and on several occasions reverted back to a solitary lifestyle, [they] succeed in making an accurate comparison of the investment in chemosensory systems made by social and derived, closely related, nonsocial species." In the paper, the researchers also noted that ancestrally solitary halictid beesthose bees that had never evolved social behaviorshad sensilla densities similar to eusocial species, while secondarily solitary halictid beesthose bees that evolved from social to solitary and backexhibited decreases in sensilla density. Kocher was surprised by these patterns, but concluded that "sensilla density may be an important precursor to the evolution of social behavior." "This study demonstrates that changes in social structure are reflected in changes to the sensory systems of insects," she said. "[It] not only illustrates the evolutionary shift from reproducing as an individual to having to coordinate reproduction as a group, but also how this behavioral change can create an evolutionary feedback loop in which traits are selected in order to increase sociality in subsequent generations." More information: Bernadette Wittwer et al, Solitary bees reduce investment in communication compared with their social relatives, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2017). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1620780114 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Instrumentation is readied for a borehole observatory installation during an expedition. Credit: Dick Peterse, ScienceMedia.nl Understanding "slow-slip" earthquakes on the seafloorseismic events that occur over a period of days or weeksis giving researchers new insights into undersea earthquakes and the subsequent creation of tsunamis. Through an ocean discovery program supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), scientists are studying the seafloor off the coast of Japan. The region could provide vital clues. Two tectonic plates, the Pacific Plate and the Eurasian Plate, meet there. In this ocean trench zone, the Pacific plate slides beneath the Eurasian plate. Such subduction zones are often associated with large earthquakes. "This area is the shallowest part of the plate boundary system," said Demian Saffer, a geoscientist at Penn State University. "If this region near the ocean trench slips in an earthquake, it has the potential to generate a large tsunami." Saffer and Eiichiro Araki, senior research scientist at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, published the results of their investigations of the plate boundary in this week's issue of the journal Science. The results are important for understanding tsunami risk, according to James Allan, program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences. "Such tidal waves can affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and result in billions of dollars in damages, as happened in Southeast Asia in 2004," Allan said. "This research underscores the importance of scientific drillship-based studies, and of collecting oceanographic and geologic data over long periods of time." The plate boundary earthquake zone off Japan's coast forms part of the "ring of fire" that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. Once the end of a plate slidingor subductingbeneath another reaches a certain depth, the material from the descending plate melts, forming volcanoes that often are located on land. Mount St. Helens in the U.S. is one of these volcanoes, as is Mount Fuji in Japan. In 2009 and 2010, scientists with the IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, now the International Ocean Discovery Program) NanTroSEIZE (Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment) project drilled two boreholes in the Nankai Trough southwest of Honshu, Japan. The holes were drilled from aboard a scientific drillship. In 2010, also from a scientific drillship, researchers installed monitoring instruments in the holes as part of a network that includes sensors on the seafloor. NSF supports the IODP. The two boreholes are 6.6 miles apart, straddling the boundary of the last major earthquake in this area, which occurred in 1944 and measured magnitude 8.1. The resulting tsunami, which hit Tokyo, was 26 feet high. Assembly of pressure sensors to be installed 8,202 feet beneath the ocean surface. Credit: Achim Kopf Research shows that slow earthquakes are an important part of fault slip and earthquake occurrence at tectonic plate boundaries. They may explain where some of the energy built up in a fault or a subduction zone goes. "Until we had these data, no one knew if zero percent or one hundred percent of the energy in the shallow subduction zone was dissipated by slow earthquakes," Saffer said. The scientists found that about 50 percent of the energy is released in slow earthquakes. The remaining 50 percent, Saffer said, could be taken up in a permanent shortening of one of the plates or be stored for the next 100- or 150-year earthquake. "We still don't know which is the case, but it makes a big difference for tsunami hazards," Saffer said. "The slow slip could reduce tsunami risk by periodically relieving stress, but it is probably more complicated than just acting as a shock absorber." The researchers discovered a series of slow slip events where the tectonic plates meet, seaward of an area of recurring magnitude 8 earthquakes. Some of these were triggered by unconnected earthquakes, and some happened spontaneously. This group of slow earthquakes recurred every 12 to 18 months. "We discovered slow earthquakes of magnitude 5 or 6 in the region that last from days to weeks," Saffer said. These earthquakes usually go unnoticed because they are so slow and far offshore. The researchers also note that because earthquakes that occur at a distance from this subduction zone can trigger slow earthquakes, the area is much more sensitive than previously thought. "The question now is whether it releases stress when these slow earthquakes occur," Saffer said. "Some caution is required in simply concluding that the slow events reduce hazard, because our results also show that the outer part of the subduction area can store strain. Furthermore, are the slow earthquakes doing anything to load deeper parts of the area that do cause big earthquakes? We don't know." More information: C.W. Johnson el al., "Seasonal water storage, stress modulation, and California seismicity," Science (2017). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi 1126/science.aak9547 Journal information: Science A study of Great Barrier Reef waters is helping solve the puzzle of how the essential element nitrogen gets into the marine food web. Credit: University of Technology, Sydney When Captain James Cook and the botanist Sir Joseph Banks navigated Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in the 1770s they described blooms of "sea sawdust" we now know to be the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium. Similarly, in 2014, a UTS led research voyage found the species in abundance, but with the benefit of new molecular biological techniques they were also able to identify other important species of bacteria that could help solve a scientific puzzle. Paradoxically, although coral reefs are generally areas of high biological productivity, the surrounding marine waters are often low in nutrients, especially nitrogen. One way that high levels of biological productivity may be supported is through the activity of a specialised group of microorganisms. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert nitrogen gases, which are abundant but unavailable to most organisms, into essential bioavailable forms, allowing the nitrogen to be incorporated into the food web. Nitrogen-fixation is hence one of the most essential biochemical processes on earth. The research team, led by scientists from the Climate Change Cluster (C3) at UTS, along with collaborators from UNSW and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, conducted a study across waters spanning 10 different locations within the GBR. The results of the survey, published in Frontiers for Microbiology provide the first quantitative evidence for the potential ecosystem level importance of nitrogen fixation in GBR waters. Lead author Dr Lauren Messer explains the study is important because the GBR is largely a nitrogen-limited, low nutrient system, especially during the tropical dry season (austral winter) when the research was undertaken. "Nitrogen fixation by marine bacteria might alleviate nitrogen limitation within this important ecosystem by introducing new nitrogen into the water column. This new nitrogen will then be available to support the growth and production of phytoplankton in the region under times of nitrogen stress," she says. Dr Messer, who undertook the study as part of her PhD candidature in the UTS Climate Change Cluster Ocean Microbes and Healthy Oceans research program said that this was fresh information for the GBR and suggests a greater potential for dinitrogen fixation in the region. "Because of the molecular techniques we now have available we can target the bacterial genes responsible for facilitating nitrogen fixation and this allows us to identify 'who' is capable of this process. We can also determine if they are active or not," she says. Dr Messer's PhD supervisor and leader of the Ocean Microbes and Healthy Oceans research program, Associate Professor Justin Seymour, said that the findings can inform future research efforts to incorporate the activity of diverse dinitrogen fixing bacteria into the marine nitrogen budget for the GBR. "Lauren's research has successfully united a suite of sophisticated approaches to deliver unprecedented new insights into the biological and chemical processes that underpin the function of one of the planet's most important and threatened marine ecosystems," he says. More information: Lauren F. Messer et al. Diversity and Activity of Diazotrophs in Great Barrier Reef Surface Waters, Frontiers in Microbiology (2017). DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00967 Credit: University of Western Australia The Achilles' heel of coral growth is high temperatures, not ocean acidification, according to researchers from The University of Western Australia and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. The research will be presented tomorrow in Canberra at the Coral Reef Futures Symposium. The researchers say coral will find it increasingly difficult to build strong skeletons as the world's oceans rapidly warm. Global-scale coral bleaching events are becoming more frequent and intense, potentially compromising the future of coral reefs. Lead researcher Professor Malcolm McCulloch from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) and The University of Western Australia (UWA) found that under ocean acidification, coral can still build skeletons, or calcify. However, they lose this ability when they bleach under the extreme heat events that now characterise global warming. Professor McCulloch said coral calcification, a process vital for building reefs, was dependent on a partnership between coral and their photosynthetic algae (zooxanthellae). "Coral fine-tune their internal pH to maximise the supply of carbon and energy from their zooxanthellae. This can then lead to calcification, or skeleton-building," Professor McCulloch said. "However when there are abrupt increases in seawater temperatures this relationship breaks down - the coral becomes stressed and expels its zooxanthellae. This leaves it with little energy to survive. Unless the temperature drops and the zooxanthellae are able to recolonise in the coral, the coral may die." Stony coral builds the iconic tropical coral reef networks that dominate many shallow-water environments, harbouring more than one-third of the oceans' biodiversity. Professor McCulloch examined massive Porite coral collected from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and from Coral Bay Ningaloo Reef. A coral core collected from the GBR was used to look directly at the impact of the global bleaching event of 1998which is still the warmest summer on record for the central section of the GBR. One of Professor McCulloch's studies concludes that the increasing frequency and intensity of coral bleaching events due to CO2-driven global warming is the greatest immediate threat to the growth of shallow-water reef-building corals, rather than the closely associated process of ocean acidification. More information: J. P. D?Olivo et al. Response of coral calcification and calcifying fluid composition to thermally induced bleaching stress, Scientific Reports (2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02306-x Malcolm T. McCulloch et al. Coral calcification in a changing World and the interactive dynamics of pH and DIC upregulation, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15686 Journal information: Scientific Reports , Nature Communications Silicon still represents the most important material for the production of semiconductor elements such as transistors, diodes or solar cells. For a number of years, however, an interesting alternative has been available: certain hydrocarbons that also exhibit semiconductor properties are now the new standard in OLED displays of mobile phones and television sets. Moreover, these "organic" semiconductors, as these hydrocarbons are also called, can also be used for solar cells or transistors. Their big disadvantage is their lack of stability: atmospheric oxygen quickly destroys these elements, which is why they need to be packaged in an airtight cover. A research team led by the physicist Serdar Sarciftci from the Johannes Kepler University Linz has now achieved a breakthrough in solving this problem. In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the team managed to produce semiconductors related to the indigo pigment which is not only stable when exposed to air, but also under water. A miracle material that is difficult to process "Actually, we were looking for semiconductor materials that are biodegradable," explains Sarciftci. "In the process we came across this biblical material known as indigo. Indigo and its derivatives exhibit true semiconductor properties. "It did not come as a surprise that indigo showed high stability: "Indigo was used, for instance, in the tombs of Pharaohs, where it is still visible after thousands of years. And the blue in jeans' material is well known for its sturdiness," notes Sarciftci. Processability was the problem in using indigo as a semiconductor: it is almost insoluble, which, incidentally, partly explains its durability. Many methods to produce organic semiconductor elements do, however, require the material to be first dissolved in some way and then deposited on a carrier medium. Sarciftci and his group managed to render the pigment soluble by binding volatile side groups to the indigo molecule. When heated above 100C these side groups split off again. That has removed the main obstacle to using indigo as a semiconductor, says Sarciftci: "We see this stability of indigo as a game changer. We advise everyone working on organic transistors to concentrate on this class of materials from now on." Unanswered questions about solar cells and light diodes Does this mean the entire field of organic semiconductors can now shift to indigo compounds? Sarciftci sounds a note of caution: "Owing to the hydrogen bonds, indigo has strong luminescence-quenching properties."This weak bond between molecules, which plays an important role in ice, has a disruptive effect on optical applications. The function of solar cells, for instance, is based on irradiating light interacting with the material, which releases electrons and initiates a current. In indigo molecules, however, such "excited" electronic states are quickly dissipated and converted into heat before they can be used. That means that both solar cells and light-emitting diodes will be difficult to realise with the indigo family of compounds. "We are trying to work around this problem, but there is no real solution to it," explains. Sarciftci. This is an aspect he is currently researching. Transistors are not affected by such problems. Electronics for implants Sarciftci perceives great potential for indigo materials in medical uses. "We are devoting particular attention to the bio-compatibility of indigo transistors. We were able to show that they can operate even under water at different pH levels. "This means they can be used for implants in human tissue. "It opens the door for bio-applications," observes Sarciftci. Most recently his group published several articles on this issue in renowned journals and was granted a patent. In 2014, he started organising an annual conference on the topic of bioelectronics. The low cost of the basic material might also be a decisive advantage. "This will be an argument for future mass applications," notes Sarciftci. Researchers from the A*STAR Bioprocessing Technology Institute involved in the study. Credit: A*STAR Bioprocessing Technology Institute Stem cells have paved the way for a new era in regenerative medicine, but their use is fraught with risk. Now, A*STAR scientists have developed an antibody that could make stem cell therapy safer. Human pluripotent stem cells that can differentiate in a petri dish to become any cell needed to repair tissues and organs, hold great promise. Since the first human embryonic stem cells were isolated in 1998, scientists have edged closer to developing 'cell therapy' for humans. In early 2017, a Japanese man became the first patient to receive a retina transplant made of reprogrammed pluripotent stem cells to treat macular degeneration. These potential rewards come with great risk. Differentiating stem cells into other cell types is an imperfect process, and any stem cells that remain in a culture of transplanted cells can form dangerous by-products, including tumors, such as teratomas. "If stem cells become a cell therapy product there will be the question of safety," Andre Choo, from the A*STAR Bioprocessing Technology Institute, explains. Choo and his team are working to make stem cell treatments safer by creating antibodies that 'clean up' the pluripotent stem cells which fail to differentiate. In 2016, the researchers used a whole-cell immunization strategy to generate different antibodies by injecting mice with viable embryonic stem cells. They then isolated the antibodies and tested their ability to search and destroy pluripotent stem cells in a culture dish. One antibody, tagged 'A1', was discovered which destroyed pluripotent stem cells in minutes but left other cells unharmed. Choo's team then focused on how the antibody destroyed its target. The scientists discovered that A1 docks to sugar molecules that are only present on the surface of embryonic stem cells, setting off a signaling cascade that ruptures the stem cell. "That was quite exciting because it now gives us a view of the mechanism that is responsible for the cell-killing effect," says Choo. Understanding this mechanism could allow Choo's team to combine the A1 antibody with other treatments to clean stem cells from a mixture of differentiated cells even more effectively. The finding could also pinpoint how best to target antibodies against sugar molecules on other unwanted cells, including cancer cells. "We hope that in the near future regenerative medicine will have a place in the clinic," says Choo, who wants this antibody to be part of that process. The A*STAR-affiliated researchers contributing to this research are from the Bioprocessing Technology Institute. For more information about the team's research, please visit the Stem Cell 1 group webpage. More information: Ji Yun Zheng et al. Excess reactive oxygen species production mediates monoclonal antibody-induced human embryonic stem cell death via oncosis, Cell Death and Differentiation (2017). DOI: 10.1038/cdd.2016.164 Satellite (Landsat) picture of Chesapeake Bay (center) and Delaware Bay (upper right) - and Atlantic coast of the central-eastern United States. Credit: Landsat/NASA, via Wikimedia Commons A University of Michigan ecologist and colleagues from several institutions are forecasting a larger-than-average Chesapeake Bay "dead zone" in 2017. This summer's Chesapeake Bay hypoxic or "dead zone," an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and aquatic life, is expected to be approximately 1.89 cubic milesnearly the volume of 3.2 million Olympic-size swimming pools. The forecast was released today by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which funds the work. Measurements of the Chesapeake Bay's dead zone go back to 1950, and the 30-year mean maximum dead zone volume is 1.74 cubic miles. The anoxic portion of the zone, which contains no oxygen at all, is predicted to be 0.35 cubic miles in early summer, growing to 0.49 cubic miles by late summerboth of which are at or slightly above average. Above-average nutrient loading from the Susquehanna River this spring accounts for the overall slightly larger-than-average predicted size of the anoxic portion. The bay's hypoxic (low-oxygen) and anoxic zones are caused by excess nutrient pollution, primarily from agriculture and wastewater. The excess nutrients stimulate an overgrowth of algae, which then sinks and decomposes in the water. The resulting low oxygen levels are insufficient to support most marine life and habitats in near-bottom waters, threatening the bay's crabs, oysters and other fisheries. "The forecast calls for an above-average dead zone in the Chesapeake Bay this year, illustrating that more work needs to be done. The dead zone remains considerably larger than the size implied by the targets set under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load agreement," said U-M aquatic ecologist Don Scavia, U-M professor of natural resources and environmental engineering. Scavia is a member of the NOAA-funded teams that produce annual forecasts for the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie. This year's gulf forecast will be issued this month, and the Lake Erie harmful algal bloom forecast will be released in early July. Spring rainfall plays an important role in determining the size of the Chesapeake Bay hypoxic zone. In spring 2017, the Susquehanna River delivered 81.4 million pounds of nitrogen into the bay, which is slightly greater than the long-term average. Rainfall amounts were greatest in New York and Pennsylvania, leading to higher than average streamflow into the bay from the Susquehanna. "Despite this year's forecast, we've made great strides in reducing nutrient pollution from various sources entering the Chesapeake Bay, and we are starting to see positive long-term signs," said Rob Magnien, director of NOAA's Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research. "However, more work needs to be done to address indirect nutrient pollution from farms and other developed lands, to make the bay cleaner for its communities and economic interests." The bay outlook is based on models developed by NOAA-sponsored researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the University of Michigan. They rely on nutrient-loading estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey. Throughout the year, researchers measure oxygen and nutrient levels as part of the Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Program, run by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. This year's findings will be released in the fall. "The USGS supports this forecast by calculating nutrient loads based on its streamflow gauges and water-quality sampling sites," said Don Cline, associate director for the USGS Water Mission Area. "The USGS and Maryland have maintained a monitoring partnership for over 30 years in order to track conditions in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. These data are all publicly accessible at waterdata.usgs.gov." Credit: University of Santiago In the desert, the sand surface can become extremely hot during the day, up to 70C. In order to escape these temperatures, some desert lizards adopt a fascinating strategy: They dive a few centimeters under the sand surface where it's much cooler (around 40 C). This is also a good strategy to hide and to escape from predators. But diving into the sand is a difficult task which requires a large force to overcome sand friction. In order to dive more easily, different genera of lizards like the fringe toed lizards and the horned lizards used rapid lateral undulations of their body in order to fluidize the sand. A team of researchers at the University of Santiago has inspected how these lateral undulations ease the penetration into granular media such as sand. They considered a model experiment of a solid finger penetrating different granular media made of small glass beads. Thanks to a tiny eccentric motor, similar to those used in cell phones and joysticks, they imposed mechanical vibrations of small amplitudes (about 10 m) and low frequencies (100-200 Hz) to the penetrating finder. Results of these experiments are reported in PLOS One. Thanks to this setup, they showed that mechanical vibrations decrease the resistance to penetrate into a granular medium. "The resistive force can be decreased up to ten times by the presence of these tiny vibrations," explained Baptiste Darbois Texier, a post doc researcher of the SMAT-C laboratory where the study has been led. The researchers also sought the conditions under which a drop of the resistive force occurs. They proved that this phenomenon is controlled by the acceleration of the mechanical vibrations. When vibrations have an acceleration higher than gravitational acceleration, contacts between grains surrounding the intruding object are constantly broken. In order to observe the grains' motion, the researchers tracked the displacement of the grains in a two-dimensional version of their experiment. Credit: University of Santiago "We observed that when the vibrations have a sufficient acceleration, the grains in contact with the intruding finger start to follow a convective motion," said Alejandro Ibarra, a PhD student involved in the project. In such a convection zone, force chains that usually propagate into granular media are broken and the material is fluidized, an effect that finally reduces the force experienced by the intruding object. The lateral undulations developed by sand diving lizards like fringe toed lizards and horned lizards correspond to accelerations which are several times the gravitational acceleration. Thus, these undulations ensure the fluidization of the surrounding sand and the reduction of the resistive force to dive into it. The researchers think that such a strategy can be implemented to reduce the energy required by engines digging into soil. Looking after this purpose, the researchers conducted a complementary experiment. They added a small amount of water into the grains of their experiment in order to make them cohesive, the same cohesion that holds sandcastles at the beach. They were surprised to observe that the drop of the penetrating force still occurs in presence of cohesive forces. "The scenario of the resistance drop in presence of cohesive interactions by mechanical vibrations is still unclear for us, but it proves that the observed phenomenon is very robust and has to be considered for applications really soon," concluded Francisco Melo, the leading researcher of this study. More information: Baptiste Darbois Texier et al. Low-resistive vibratory penetration in granular media, PLOS ONE (2017). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175412 Journal information: PLoS ONE Provided by University of Santiago Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered an unexpected layer of the regulation of gene expression. The finding will likely disrupt scientists' understanding of how cells regulate their genes to develop, communicate and carry out specific tasks throughout the body. The researchers found that cellular workhorses called ribosomes, which are responsible for transforming genes encoded in RNA into proteins, display a never-before-imagined variety in their composition that significantly affects their function. In particular, the protein components of a ribosome serve to tune the tiny machine so that it specializes in the translation of genes in related cellular pathways. One type of ribosome, for example, prefers to translate genes involved in cellular differentiation, while another specializes in genes that carry out essential metabolic duties. The discovery is shocking because researchers have believed for decades that ribosomes functioned like tiny automatons, showing no preference as they translated any and all nearby RNA molecules into proteins. Now it appears that broad variation in protein production could be sparked not by changes in the expression levels of thousands of individual genes, but instead by small tweaks to ribosomal proteins. 'Broad implications' "This discovery was completely unexpected," said Maria Barna, PhD, assistant professor of developmental biology and of genetics. "These findings will likely change the dogma for how the genetic code is translated. Until now, each of the 1 to10 million ribosomes within a cell has been thought to be identical and interchangeable. Now we're uncovering a new layer of control to gene expression that will have broad implications for basic science and human disease." Barna is the senior author of the study, which will be published online June 15 in Molecular Cell. Postdoctoral scholars Zhen Shi, PhD, and Kotaro Fujii, PhD, share lead authorship. Barna is a New York Stem Cell Robertson Investigator and is also a member of Stanford's Bio-X and Child Health Research Institute. The work builds upon a previous study from Barna's laboratory that was published June 1 in Cell. The lead author of that study was postdoctoral scholar Deniz Simsek, PhD. It showed that ribosomes also differ in the types of proteins they accumulate on their outer shells. It also identified more than 400 ribosome-associated proteins, called RAPs, and showed that they can affect ribosomal function. Every biology student learns the basics of how the genetic code is used to govern cellular life. In broad strokes, the DNA in the nucleus carries the building instructions for about 20,000 genes. Genes are chosen for expression by proteins that land on the DNA and "transcribe" the DNA sequence into short pieces of mobile, or messenger, RNA that can leave the nucleus. Once in the cell's cytoplasm, the RNA binds to ribosomes to be translated into strings of amino acids known as proteins. Every living cell has up to 10 million ribosomes floating in its cellular soup. These tiny engines are themselves complex structures that contain up to 80 individual core proteins and four RNA molecules. Each ribosome has two main subunits: one that binds to and "reads" the RNA molecule to be translated, and another that assembles the protein based on the RNA blueprint. As shown for the first time in the Cell study, ribosomes also collect associated proteins called RAPs that decorate their outer shell like Christmas tree ornaments. 'Hints of a more complex scenario' "Until recently, ribosomes have been thought to take an important but backstage role in the cell, just taking in and blindly translating the genetic code," said Barna. "But in the past couple of years there have been some intriguing hints of a more complex scenario. Some human genetic diseases caused by mutations in ribosomal proteins affect only specific organs or tissues, for example. This has been very perplexing. We wanted to revisit the textbook notion that all ribosomes are the same." In 2011, members of Barna's lab showed that one core ribosomal protein called RPL38/eL38 is necessary for the appropriate patterning of the mammalian body plan during development; mice with a mutation in this protein developed skeletal defects such as extra ribs, facial clefts and abnormally short, malformed tails. Shi and Fujii used a quantitative proteomics technology called selected reaction monitoring to precisely calculate the quantities, or stoichiometry, of each of several ribosomal proteins isolated from ribosomes within mouse embryonic stem cells. Their calculations showed that not all the ribosomal proteins were always present in the same amount. In other words, the ribosomes differed from one another in their compositions. "We realized for the first time that, in terms of the exact stoichiometry of these proteins, there are significant differences among individual ribosomes," said Barna. "But what does this mean when it comes to thinking about fundamental aspects of a cell, how it functions?" To find out, the researchers tagged the different ribosomal proteins and used them to isolate RNA molecules in the act of being translated by the ribosome. The results were unlike what they could have ever imagined. "We found that, if you compare two populations of ribosomes, they exhibit a preference for translating certain types of genes," said Shi. "One prefers to translate genes associated with cell metabolism; another is more likely to be translating genes that make proteins necessary for embryonic development. We found entire biological pathways represented by the translational preferences of specific ribosomes. It's like the ribosomes have some kind of ingrained knowledge as to what genes they prefer to translate into proteins." The findings dovetail with those of the Cell paper. That paper "showed that there is more to ribosomes than the 80 core proteins," said Simsek. "We identified hundreds of RAPs as components of the cell cycle, energy metabolism, and cell signaling. We believe these RAPs may allow the ribosomes to participate more dynamically in these intricate cellular functions." "Barna and her team have taken a big step toward understanding how ribosomes control protein synthesis by looking at unperturbed stem cells form mammals," said Jamie Cate, PhD, professor of molecular and cell biology and of chemistry at the University of California-Berkeley. "They found 'built-in' regulators of translation for a subset of important mRNAs and are sure to find more in other cells. It is an important advance in the field." Cate was not involved in the research. Freeing cells from micromanaging gene expression The fact that ribosomes can differ among their core protein components as well as among their associated proteins, the RAPs, and that these differences can significantly affect ribosomal function, highlights a way that a cell could transform its protein landscape by simply modifying ribosomes so that they prefer to translate one type of genesay, those involved in metabolismover others. This possibility would free the cell from having to micromanage the expression levels of hundreds or thousands of genes involved in individual pathways. In this scenario, many more messenger RNAs could be available than get translated into proteins, simply based on what the majority of ribosomes prefer, and this preference could be tuned by a change in expression of just a few ribosomal proteins. Barna and her colleagues are now planning to test whether the prevalence of certain types of ribosomes shift during major cellular changes, such as when a cell enters the cell cycle after resting, or when a stem cell begins to differentiate into a more specialized type of cell. They'd also like to learn more about how the ribosomes are able to discriminate between classes of genes. Although the findings of the two papers introduce a new concept of genetic regulation within the cell, they make a kind of sense, the researchers said. "About 60 percent of a cell's energy is spent making and maintaining ribosomes," said Barna. "The idea that they play no role in the regulation of genetic expression is, in retrospect, a bit silly." The completed European X-ray Laser tunnel, also known as the XFEL Beschleunigertunnel, photographed in March 2017. Credit: European XFEL / Heiner Muller-Elsner "Big science" is a term originally coined by historians to describe the major scientific advancements made by industrial nations around the period of the Second World War. The phrase usually implies enormous investment of capital, often running into the billions of dollars. Due to the massive scale of these projects they require support from national governments or even groups of governments. But is this huge investment of tax dollars ultimately worth it? That is one of the key questions currently being asked about the European X-ray Laser, also known as XFEL an eight-year, 1.22 billion project involving Germany, Russia, and nine other European nations. Described as "the most expensive experiment in Germany" and with a start date estimated to be September 2017, scientists and the general public are still debating the opportunities and challenges associated with this huge international science project. Big Science in the 21st century One of the most famous Big Science projects so far in the 21st century was the Large Hadron Collider. That project, which ended up costing around US$5 billion to construct and US$1 billion a year to run, aimed to detect the fundamental particles that make up the universe. The most famous of these was the so-called "God particle" or Higgs boson, described at the time as the "missing link in the standard model of particle physics". Of course, aside from the Higgs boson, there are countless other less famous discoveries that could and have already been made by the Large Hadron Collider. But if the project had failed to deliver the Higgs boson, would the Large Hadron Collider still have been regarded by the public as a success? To answer this question we could consider the National Ignition Facility in California. The project was finally completed in 2009, five years later than planned and around four times over budget (the total cost ended up being around US$3.5 billion). The facility's primary goal was to demonstrate nuclear fusion with a substantial gain in energy. If successful, it could have had a massive impact on the world's energy supply, with a legacy stretching far into the future. However, in the second half of 2012, the experiment officially ended, having only reached one-tenth of the required conditions for fusion ignition. How XFEL helps scientists see molecules interact. Since 2012, the facility has been used for countless other successful materials and weapons experiments. In the minds of the American taxpayer though, could this project be regarded as a success when measured against its original aims? Exploding molecules Similarly burdened by the weight of international expectation, the European X-ray Laser has an equally ambitious goal. This project aims to create the first ever atomic-scale molecular movies of proteins, the fundamental building blocks of life. The facility consists of a vast underground network of tunnels, stretching for kilometres beneath the northwest border of Hamburg in Germany. The basic idea is to focus trillions of X-ray photons into a tiny volume of space containing just a single molecule and record an image of it before it explodes. This concept, known as "diffraction before destruction" would open up an entirely new window on the molecular world. It would, for example, allow scientists to visualise the molecules inside cancer cells as they form in real time. The tricky part is to take the image fast enough to "photograph" the intact molecule and not just catch the debris as it flies apart. Because of this enormous potential, governments have invested huge amounts of money into these facilities. But what happens if the experiment fails? After all the effort and political capital expended (not least placating the scores of German citizens under whose houses the 3.4km facility runs), expectations for the European X-ray Laser are understandably high. How Germans feel about the X-ray Laser In fact, the question of cost versus reward was the subject of a recent front-page article in the German national news magazine Der Speigel. In it, prominent physicist Holger Stark, director of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Gottingen, argues that the investment would only be worthwhile if there were no alternatives, and that the approach has disadvantages. The European X-ray Laser is a 3.4-km-long facility which runs essentially underground. The three sites (framed in red) are located in Hamburg (DESY-Bahrenfeld and Osdorfer Born) as well as in the south of the city of Schenefeld (Pinneberg district, Schleswig-Holstein). Aerial views: FHH, Landesbetrieb Geoinf. und Vermessung. Credit: European XFEL For example, Stark points out that for a comparatively paltry 4 million to 5 million you can buy a transmission electron microscope. This microscope also offers the possibility of being able to image single molecules. However, the key difference is that in the electron microscope the molecules are static, whereas in the European X-ray Laser they are free to move around (at least until they are destroyed). The scientists supporting the X-ray Laser project say that the ability to make movies of molecules "in action" is a breakthrough that is well worth the investment. They argue that to be able to actually "see" the movements of biologically important molecules will yield essential insights that will benefit all of humanity. Of course, at this stage we simply don't know. As a scientist, whether or not the 1.22 billion would have been better spent elsewhere probably largely depends on whether you have some involvement with X-ray research. Our own research group is among the dozens worldwide hoping to get a chance to obtain images of molecules before they explode. Eyes on the prize However, with only a few experiments possible at any one time, competition for access to the European X-ray Laser is fierce. This has been another argument against investing so much money into one facility: only a comparatively small number of scientists may actually get the chance to use it. But whichever side of the fence you are on, there is undeniably a huge sense of excitement among scientists to see what the first experiments at the European X-ray Laser will yield come September. Finally, there is the argument that the creation of the world's first atomic-scale molecular movies would only be the beginning. The observation of the Higgs boson essentially helped to validate our current understanding of the fundamental structure of matter. While the Higgs discovery could eventually lead to new theories being developed, the successful outcome of the European X-ray Laser experiments would arguably have more immediate practical applications. These in turn would spawn many more questions, as scientists race to make the most of the new technology. One of the key questions, which is already in the minds of many of the groups leading this research, is who gets the Nobel Prize if the idea works? This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Credit: ESA Set to be shipped to the USA around the New Year, ESA's contribution to NASA's Orion spacecraft is taking shape at Airbus in Bremen, Germany. This is no test article: the service module pictured here will fly into space by 2020, past the Moon and farther than any other human-rated spacecraft has ever flown before. The service module will supply electricity, water, oxygen and nitrogen, propulsion and temperature control. The blue circular frame is the support structure that holds the module as technicians work to get it ready. Yellow ties keep the 11 km of wiring in place as the thousands of components are installed and connected the ties will be removed before flight. Behind the red support covers are the eight 490 N R-4-D-11 thrusters, built by Aerojet. Technicians are working in three shifts a day to assemble the components that are being shipped from all over Europe to complete this service module in just a few months' time. In December it will be taken by road to Bremen airport and flown to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to meet its crew capsule. CMOS image sensor chip. Credit: KAIST Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the key emerging technologies. Global IT companies are competitively launching the newest technologies and competition is heating up more than ever. However, most AI technologies focus on software and their operating speeds are low, making them a poor fit for mobile devices. Therefore, many big companies are investing to develop semiconductor chips for running AI programs with low power requirements but at high speeds. A research team led by Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo of the Department of Electrical Engineering has developed a semiconductor chip, CNNP (CNN Processor), that runs AI algorithms with ultra-low power, and K-Eye, a face recognition system using CNNP. The system was made in collaboration with a start-up company, UX Factory Co. The K-Eye series consists of two types: a wearable type and a dongle type. The wearable type device can be used with a smartphone via Bluetooth, and it can operate for more than 24 hours with its internal battery. Users hanging K-Eye around their necks can conveniently check information about people by using their smartphone or smart watch, which connects K-Eye and allows users to access a database via their smart devices. A smartphone with K-EyeQ, the dongle type device, can recognize and share information about users at any time. When recognizing that an authorized user is looking at its screen, the smartphone automatically turns on without a passcode, fingerprint, or iris authentication. Since it can distinguish whether an input face is coming from a saved photograph versus a real person, the smartphone cannot be tricked by the user's photograph. The K-Eye series carries other distinct features. It can detect a face at first and then recognize it, and it is possible to maintain "Always-on" status with low power consumption of less than 1mW. To accomplish this, the research team proposed two key technologies: an image sensor with "Always-on" face detection and the CNNP face recognition chip. The first key technology, the "Always-on" image sensor, can determine if there is a face in its camera range. Then, it can capture frames and set the device to operate only when a face exists, reducing the standby power significantly. The face detection sensor combines analog and digital processing to reduce power consumption. With this approach, the analog processor, combined with the CMOS Image Sensor array, distinguishes the background area from the area likely to include a face, and the digital processor then detects the face only in the selected area. Hence, it becomes effective in terms of frame capture, face detection processing, and memory usage. The second key technology, CNNP, achieved incredibly low power consumption by optimizing a convolutional neural network (CNN) in the areas of circuitry, architecture, and algorithms. First, the on-chip memory integrated in CNNP is specially designed to enable data to be read in a vertical direction as well as in a horizontal direction. Second, it has immense computational power with 1024 multipliers and accumulators operating in parallel and is capable of directly transferring the temporal results to each other without accessing to the external memory or on-chip communication network. Third, convolution calculations with a two-dimensional filter in the CNN algorithm are approximated into two sequential calculations of one-dimensional filters to achieve higher speeds and lower power consumption. With these new technologies, CNNP achieved 97% high accuracy but consumed only 1/5000 power of the GPU. Face recognition can be performed with only 0.62mW of power consumption, and the chip can show higher performance than the GPU by using more power. These chips were developed by Kyeongryeol Bong, a Ph. D. student under Professor Yoo and presented at the International Solid-State Circuit Conference (ISSCC) held in San Francisco in February. CNNP, which has the lowest reported power consumption in the world, has achieved a great deal of attention and has led to the development of the present K-Eye series for face recognition. Professor Yoo said "AI - processors will lead the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With the development of this AI chip, we expect Korea to take the lead in global AI technology." SPbPU scientists were able to design codes, which surpass state-of-the-art competitors in performance and decoding simplicity. Credit: Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University Scientists of Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) have proposed a new channel coding method for the fifth generation of wireless systems (5G). Channel coding theory encompasses techniques for introducing redundancy into information to protect it from errors that occur during transmission or storage. For example, human speech has some redundancy, so that not every combination of sounds or letters is a permissible word. This enables people to communicate even in a noisy environment. Storage and information transmission systems are integral parts of gadgets, smartphones and computers. Their developers implement simple, reliable methods to protect data from corruption. Currently, many universities in the world are working on improving polar codes. This is the method of noise-immune coding developed by Turkish scientist Erdal Arikan. Significant progress in this area was achieved by SPbPU. "We were able to design codes that surpass state-of-the-art competitors in performance and decoding simplicity," says Peter Trifonov, an associate professor of the Higher School of Software Engineering at SPbPU. "We generalized the construction of polar codes proposed by Arikan and obtained polar subcodes. We excluded some codewords from Arikan's polar codes, which could be easily entangled by the receiver, and introduced additional restrictions on the symbols of their codewords in order to simplify the error correction task of the decoder, " added Trifonov. Researchers of SPbPU proposed a computationally simple decoding algorithm for polar codes and subcodes. Credit: Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University In addition, the researchers of Polytechnic university proposed a computationally simple decoding algorithm for polar codes and subcodes. Decoding process can be interpreted as searching for the shortest path in a labyrinth. By predicting the average number of errors at different decoding phases (in the labyrinth corridors), it was possible to significantly reduce decoding complexity. As a result, scientists of SPbPU obtained both improved performance compared to widely used low-density parity check (LDPC) codes and decreased decoding complexity. Improved code performance enables communication system to operate in more challenging environment. This results in improved coverage and enables the system to support a larger number of users. And due to reduced complexity of decoding algorithms, mobile terminals will become more energy efficient. Polar codes have not yet found an application in real devices, but now various generalizations of polar codes are considered by the leading international standardization bodies to be included as a part of 5G wireless standard . Currently, theoretical foundations, including the principle of polar subcodes construction and decoding algorithms, are developed. Now researchers are working on adapting them for standardization and then they are going to start designing specific devices. More information: P. Trifonov, "Star Polar Subcodes," 2017 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference Workshops (WCNCW), San Francisco, CA, 2017, pp. 1-6. DOI: 10.1109/WCNCW.2017.7919043 Provided by Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University American scientific teams still publish significantly more biomedical research discoveries than teams from any other country, a new study shows, and the U.S. still leads the world in research and development expenditures. But American dominance is slowly shrinking, the analysis finds, as China's skyrocketing investing on science over the last two decades begins to pay off. Chinese biomedical research teams now rank fourth in the world for total number of new discoveries published in six top-tier journals, and the country spent three-quarters what the U.S. spent on research and development during 2015. Meanwhile, the analysis shows, scientists from the U.S. and other countries increasingly make discoveries and advancements as part of teams that involve researchers from around the world. The last 15 years have ushered in an era of "team science" as research funding in the U.S., Great Britain and other European countries, as well as Canada and Australia, stagnated. The number of authors has also grown over time. For example, in 2000 only two percent of the research papers the new study looked include 21 or more authorsa number that increased to 12.5 percent in 2015. The new findings, published in JCI Insight by a team of University of Michigan researchers, come at a critical time for the debate over the future of U.S. federal research funding. The study is based on a careful analysis of original research papers published in six top-tier and four mid-tier journals from 2000 to 2015, in addition to data on R&D investment from those same years. The study builds on other work that has also warned of America's slipping status in the world of science and medical research, and the resulting impact on the next generation of aspiring scientists. "It's time for U.S. policy-makers to reflect and decide whether the year-to-year uncertainty in National Institutes of Health budget and the proposed cuts are in our societal and national best interest," says Bishr Omary, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the new data-supported opinion piece and chief scientific officer of Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center. "If we continue on the path we're on, it will be harder to maintain our lead and, even more importantly, we could be disenchanting the next generation of bright and passionate biomedical scientists who see a limited future in pursuing a scientist or physician-investigator career." The analysis charts South Korea's entry into the top 10 countries for publications, as well as China's leap from outside the top 10 in 2000 to fourth place in 2015. They also track the major increases in support for research in South Korea and Singapore since the start of the 21st Century. Meticulous tracking First author of the study, U-M informationist Marisa Conte, and Omary co-led a team that looked carefully at the currency of modern science: peer-reviewed basic science and clinical research papers describing new findings, published in journals with long histories of accepting among the world's most significant discoveries. They reviewed every issue of six top-tier international journals (JAMA, Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, Cell, Nature and Science), and four mid-ranking journals (British Medical Journal, JAMA Internal Medicine, Journal of Cell Science, FASEB Journal), chosen to represent the clinical and basic science aspects of research. The analysis included only papers that reported new results from basic research experiments, translational studies, clinical trials, metanalyses, and studies of disease outcomes. Author affiliations for corresponding authors and all other authors were recorded by country. The rise in global cooperation is striking. In 2000, 25 percent of papers in the six top-tier journals were by teams that included researchers from at least two countries. In 2015, that figure was closer to 50 percent. The increasing need for multidisciplinary approaches to make major advances, coupled with the advances of Internet-based collaboration tools, likely have something to do with this, Omary says. The authors, who also include Santiago Schnell, Ph.D. and Jing Liu, Ph.D., note that part of their group's interest in doing the study sprang from their hypothesis that a flat NIH budget is likely to have negative consequences but they wanted to gather data to test their hypothesis. They also observed what appears to be an increasing number of Chinese-born scientists who had trained in the U.S. going back to China after their training, where once most of them would have sought to stay in the U.S. In addition, Singapore has been able to recruit several top notch U.S. and other international scientists due to their marked increase in R&D investments. The same trends appear to be happening in Great Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and other countries the authors studied - where research investing has stayed consistent when measured as a percentage of the U.S. total over the last 15 years. The authors note that their study is based on data up to 2015, and that in the current 2017 federal fiscal year, funding for NIH has increased thanks to bipartisan Congressional appropriations. The NIH contributes to most of the federal support for medical and basic biomedical research in the U.S. But discussion of cuts to research funding that hinders many federal agencies is in the air during the current debates for the 2018 budget. Meanwhile, the Chinese R&D spending is projected to surpass the U.S. total by 2022. "Our analysis, albeit limited to a small number of representative journals, supports the importance of financial investment in research," Omary says. "I would still strongly encourage any child interested in science to pursue their dream and passion, but I hope that our current and future investment in NIH and other federal research support agencies will rise above any branch of government to help our next generation reach their potential and dreams." From the ground, researchers measured laser signals that originated from a satellite and traveled through Earth's gravitational potential and the turbulent atmosphere. The successful characterization of quantum features under such conditions is a precondition for the implementation of a global quantum communication network using satellites that would link metropolitan area quantum networks on the ground. Credit: Picture of the Earth: Google, picture of the satellite: ESA In a new study, researchers demonstrate ground-based measurements of quantum states sent by a laser aboard a satellite 38,000 kilometers above Earth. This is the first time that quantum states have been measured so carefully from so far away. "We were quite surprised by how well the quantum states survived traveling through the atmospheric turbulence to a ground station," said Christoph Marquardt from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany. "The paper demonstrates that technology on satellites, already space-proof against severe environmental tests, can be used to achieve quantum-limited measurements, thus making a satellite quantum communication network possible. This greatly cuts down on development time, meaning it could be possible to have such a system as soon as five years from now." A satellite-based quantum-based encryption network would provide an extremely secure way to encrypt data sent over long distances. Developing such a system in just five years is an extremely fast timeline since most satellites require around 10 years of development. Normally, every componentfrom computers to screwsmust be tested and approved to work in the harsh environmental conditions of space and must survive the gravitational changes experienced during the launch. Marquardt and his colleagues from the division of Gerd Leuchs at the Max Planck Institute in Erlangen report their new research in Optica, The Optical Society's journal for high impact research. Using light to keep data safe Today, text messages, banking transactions and health information are all encrypted with techniques based on mathematical algorithms. This approach works because it is extremely difficult to figure out the exact algorithm used to encrypt a given piece of data. However, experts believe that computers powerful enough to crack these encryption codes are likely to be available in the next 10 to 20 years. The looming security threat has placed more attention on implementing stronger encryption techniques such as quantum key distribution. Rather than relying on math, quantum key distribution uses properties of light particles known as quantum states to encode and send the key needed to decrypt encoded data. If someone tries to measure the light particles to steal the key, it changes the particles' behavior in a way that alerts the intended communicating parties that the key has been compromised and should not be used. The fact that this system detects eavesdropping means that secure communication is guaranteed. Although methods for quantum encryption have been in development for more than a decade, they don't work over long distances because residual light losses in optical fibers used for telecommunications networks on the ground degrade the sensitive quantum signals. Quantum signals cannot be also regenerated without altering their properties by suing optical amplifiers as it is done for classical optical data. For this reason, there has been a recent push to develop a satellite-based quantum communication network to link ground-based quantum encryption networks located in different metropolitan areas, countries and continents. Although the new findings showed that quantum communication satellite networks do not need to be designed from scratch, Marquardt notes that it will still take 5 to 10 years to convert ground based systems to quantum-based encryption to communicate quantum states with the satellites. Measuring quantum states For the experiments, Marquardt's team worked closely with satellite telecommunications company Tesat-Spacecom GmbH and the German Space Administration. The German Space Administration previously contracted with Tesat-Spacecom on behalf of the German Ministry of Economics and Energy to develop an optical communications technology for satellites. This technology is now being used commercially in space by laser communication terminals onboard Copernicusthe European Union's Earth Observation Programmeand by SpaceDataHighway, the European data relay satellite system. It turned out that this satellite optical communications technology works much like the quantum key distribution method developed at the Max Planck Institute. Thus, the researchers decided to see if it was possible to measure quantum states encoded in a laser beam sent from one of the satellites already in space. In 2015 and the beginning of 2016, the team made these measurements from a ground-based station at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, Spain. They created quantum states in a range where the satellite normally does not operate and were able to make quantum-limited measurements from the ground. "From our measurements, we could deduce that the light traveling down to Earth is very well suited to be operated as a quantum key distribution network," Marquardt said. "We were surprised because the system was not built for this. The engineers had done an excellent job at optimizing the entire system." The researchers are now working with Tesat-Spacecom and others in the space industry to design an upgraded system based on the hardware already used in space. This will require upgrading the laser communication design, incorporating a quantum-based random number generator to create the random keys and integrating post processing of the keys. "There is serious interest from the space industry and other organizations to implement our scientific findings," said Marquardt. "We, as fundamental scientists, are now working with engineers to create the best system and ensure no detail is overlooked." More information: "Quantum-limited measurements of optical signals from a geostationary satellite," Optica (2017). DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.4.000611 Journal information: Optica Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Lexalytics Releases New Text Analytics Software for Retailers to Improve Online Shopping Experience The Lexalytics eCommerce Industry Pack Analyzes Customer Feedback to Identify Site Challenges and Opportunities BOSTON, MA, June 15, 2017 Lexalytics, the leader in cloud and on-prem text analytics solutions, announced today the eCommerce Industry Pack, a specialized version of the companys text analytics software. The eCommerce Industry Pack is engineered to help online retailers enhance the customer experience, including checkout and payments, shipping and delivery, and the sites overall shopping performance. The eCommerce Industry Pack leverages Lexalytics deep experience in developing natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence technologies to gain insights from large volumes of data. Retailers and social media marketers can quickly analyze feedback from sources such as online comment sessions, customer surveys, product reviews, social media and call logs to uncover correlations that arent obvious to humans. For example, if a marketer receives negative customer feedback around the holiday shopping season related to shipping and delivery issues, were the majority of those comments about a particular shipping carrier? Retailers using the eCommerce Industry Pack can quickly examine that information to determine what might be happening with that carrier. As the eCommerce industry continues to boom and mature, marketers need an easy way to analyze the deluge of data around customer experience to ensure their site is more efficient, easier to use and more interesting than any of the latest crop of exciting startups. We can help them ensure that any issues are quickly addressed while theyre still manageable, well before they get to the point that customers and careers are adversely affected, said Jeff Catlin, CEO of Lexalytics. The eCommerce Industry Pack is our latest offering to help customers in specific vertical industries get valuable insights, right out of the box. The eCommerce Industry Pack contains over 100 eCommerce-specific entities, including the names of major eCommerce sites, payment and shipping services, and loyalty programs. The pack also includes more than 4,800 sentiment phrases drawn from original eCommerce feedback straight from customers. In a test of over 1,000 documents, the Lexalytics eCommerce Industry Pack achieved 87 percent overall agreement with human annotators, far surpassing the gold standard at which humans agree of approximately 80 percent. In addition, Lexalytics offers complex intention analysis for eCommerce, identifying whether someone intends to buy, sell, quit or recommend a product or service. In doing so, Lexalytics empowers the company or sales team with immediately actionable information on the state of important leads the lifeblood of any company. The Lexalytics eCommerce Industry Pack is now available for Lexalytics on-premise Salience and SaaS Semantria platforms. For more, please visit https://www.lexalytics.com/technology/industry-packs or contact sales@lexalytics.com.. About Lexalytics Processing billions of unstructured documents every day globally, Lexalytics is the industry leader in translating text into profitable decisions. Lexalytics deploys state-of the-art cloud and on-prem text and sentiment analysis technologies that transform customers thoughts and conversations into actionable insights. The on-premise Salience and SaaS Semantria platforms are implemented in a variety of industries for social media monitoring, reputation management and voice of the customer programs. Based in Boston, MA, Lexalytics has offices in the US and Canada. For more information, please visit www.lexalytics.com, email sales@lexalytics.com or call 1-617-249-1049. Follow Lexalytics on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I read somewhere that most peoples first taste of single malt scotch is with their father. That was true for me back in my early 20s; a dram of Glenlivet 12 with my dad, Bob Feit. That tradition soon became our unique bond. It became a way to celebrate things, big and small. We traveled to Scotland in 2013 with our wives and fell in love with the land, the people and the whisky. So much so, that we decided to return just the two of us. Our Whisky Tour started in Glasgow, where after picking up our rental car (and trying to recall how to drive on the wrong side of the road), our first of 27 scheduled stops or tastings was Auchentoshan. Our next visit was Glengoyne, the highlight of day one, with some tastes of its distillery-exclusive Teapot whisky, and a wee nip of its 18- and 25-year-old batches. For the evening, we crashed in Pitlochry a picturesque highland town with a quaint main street (a good thing, since the jet lag had caught up with us). Our next stop was the heart of whisky country, Speyside. This region is about the size of Lancaster County and has 51 distilleries crammed in more than half of all the distilleries in Scotland. On our way to Aberlour (the town, not the distillery), we managed a stop at Royal Lochnagar, which happens to be adjacent to Balmoral Castle, the Royal Family estate. It sits in the middle of Cairngorms National Park, an amazingly beautiful area full of lush, green rolling hillsides and cold, clear rivers and streams. Our trip continued to the Glenlivet, a must-stop for any fans of whisky, not only because of its popularity, but the amazing bottle sculpture, tasting room and hiking trails on the estate. Our tasting was expensive but easily the best value. In addition to some 12-year-old scotch straight from the cask (I was momentarily disappointed, as on the last visit there was a 37-year-old to try), we returned to the loft, where we tried one of Glenlivets limited cellar editions (about $250 a bottle), and it went up from there. We sampled the 21 Archive, and then some special single casks: 25-, 30- and finally 40-year-old Glenlivet. These arent available to the public, and if they were, the last one would easily cost five figures. We based our time in Speyside at the Mash Tun, a pub/B&B with five whisky-themed rooms. The food is authentic, fresh and vibrant, as is the scene. A whopping five miles from Aberlour is Dufftown, home of Balvenie and Glenfiddich. You have to pre-book a tour at Balvenie, but its well worth it. Most distillery tours are the same: the mill, mash tun, washbacks, stills and warehouse. At Balvenie, two unique things are on display: one of the few operational malting floors left in operation, and its own cooperage, where you get to see craftsmen building the casks that will hold the precious liquid for years. But the best part of this tour was checking one off my bucket list. I finally tried a whisky older than I am, a 43-year-old from 1974, straight from the cask. After all of that, we stopped at Macallan to see the progress on its new distillery and visitors center. It looks incredible with natural lighting and green roofing. Later that evening, I made up for missing my Rotary #14 meeting by visiting with some locals at the Aberlour-Speyside Rotary Club meeting. We could spend a month just in Speyside, but we had more to see. Our next stop was Oban, a port city on the northwest coast of Scotland, overlooked by McCaigs Tower, a monument reminiscent of the coliseum in Rome. We spent the afternoon visiting the sights and enjoying a tasting at the Oban Distillery. An unexpected treat was a performance by the Oban High School Pipe and Drum band at the harbor. Then we were off on the ferry to Islay (pronounced EYE-luh, as any local will quickly correct you on), and the peaty scotches that most either love or hate. Our first stop was Bowmore, home of one of the eight wonders of the whisky world, the famed No. 1 vaults. We also made the trip down the coast to the big three: Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg. Around the harbor is Bruichladdich, and up and over the ridge on a tiny one-lane road is Kilchoman, the newest (Est. 2005) distillery in Scotland, and also the smallest. Our last day on Islay brought us to our personal favorite of Islay whiskys Bunnahabhain. We were the only two there, so we had a personal tasting of four single casks of whisky. We also stopped at Caol Ila, which was just down the road. Our final distillery was Jura. We hopped on the two-minute ferry ride, drove up the only road on the island and found ourselves at the home of Jura Whisky (and the only hotel/pub/restaurant.) If you want to get away, Jura is the place to do it. Its where George Orwell wrote 1984, by the way, in seclusion. The only way to get to the estate where he was at involves a hike, or a large four-wheel-drive vehicle. As is the case with almost any trip, it was our time to leave. Two ferries later, and a hundred or so miles in the rental car, we were back in Glasgow, then off to home. We planned to visit 27 distilleries we ended up at 41 (most of those were just quick photos, but still, we were there!). It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a father and son, and one I will cherish for all of my days. If youre a whisky fan, put a trip to Scotland on your list. I hope you fall in love with it as we have. Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether Read more News Microsoft Warns Exchange Server Users To Avoid .NET Framework 4.7 Microsoft today issued an announcement warning that current Exchange Server versions don't support the newly released .NET Framework 4.7 and that organizations using the server should block the installation of the new framework for the time being. Exchange Server versions currently have the broadest support using .NET Framework 4.6.2, according to Microsoft's "Exchange Server Supportability Matrix" article. If .NET Framework 4.7 did get installed in an environment running Exchange Server, then IT pros need to back out of it, following the steps in the announcement. As a preventive measure, it's possible to set up a temporary block of the framework through a Registry edit, as described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 4024204. Microsoft first released .NET Framework 4.7 as part of the Windows 10 "creators update" current branch release in April. Microsoft later announced that it had reached "general availability" commercial-use status in May. The new framework is conceived as an in-place upgrade to other 4.x frameworks, but it will run side-by-side with older 3.x versions, such as .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1. The new .NET Framework 4.7 supports the Windows 10 "creators update" and "anniversary update" releases, as well as Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 Service Pack 1. It also supports Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1. The new framework oddly has a specific DirectX file dependency for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, as described in Knowledge Base article KB4019265, although there's a known issue associated with the use of AMD Carrizo DDR4 processors. A DirectX file also needs to be present to use the new framework with Windows Server 2012, as described in Knowledge Base article KB4019218. IT pros can get these DirectX files as standalone install packages at this Microsoft Update Catalog page. The improvements brought by .NET Framework 4.7 include high dots-per-inch on Windows Forms in Windows 10, as well as touch support for Windows Presentation Foundation applications. The framework also adds supports for C# version 7 and Visual Basic version 15. Enhanced cryptographic support was added as well. Today, .NET Framework 4.7 will be arriving for users of Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) management system as a "recommended update" for all supported Windows clients and server operating systems, according to a Microsoft announcement, although Windows 10 users got it earlier. Microsoft is planning to release Language Packs for .NET Framework 4.7 via WSUS, too, but the timing wasn't announced. Blocking .NET Framework 4.7 on WSUS involves carrying out the Registry edits described in KB4024204. The new framework is expected to be available from the Windows Update service in a couple of months. Update 6/14: a new announcement explained that .NET Framework 4.7 is already available on Windows Update, but the framework is undergoing a throttled release, based on Microsoft's telemetry information, and so it will be rolling out "over the next few weeks" in various regions. by Suhaile Md THE public denunciation yesterday (June 14) of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong by his siblings Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang shocked Singapore, the ripples of which reached far beyond its shores. The story was picked up by international news wire agencies, Reuters, AP, and AFP, with three different angles. Reuters angled on fear with the headline: Singapore prime ministers siblings say they feel threatened, have lost confidence in him. AP went with family feud: Siblings accuse Singapore PM of using his power against them. And AFP focused on the accusations of power abuse: Siblings accuse Singapore PM of abusing power in family row. The articles were a straight retelling of what transpired, with the added context that in Singapore, such public criticism of the Prime Minister is rare. By and large these three angles were repeated the world over. In the United States (US), The Washington Post ran the AP report with the same headline. Time magazine went with the Reuters report with a modified headline, Singapore Leaders Younger Siblings Say They Are Concerned About Big Brother'. Its US counterparts CNBC, CNN, and The New York Times (NYT) all wrote their own stories, angling on family feud: In rare feud, Singapore PM Lee under attack by his siblings (CNBC), Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong publicly denounced by siblings (CNN), and In Singapore, Prime Ministers Siblings Are Taking Private Feud Public (NYT). There was not much difference across the Atlantic. The United Kingdoms BBC and Guardian went with Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong family feud erupts again, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong denounced by siblings respectively. The Times ran Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong is behaving like Big Brother, say siblings. The Orwellian phrase was used by the younger Lee siblings in their public statement, playing off the fact that PM Lee is their elder brother and that they felt threatened by him. Financial Times (FT) covered two angles in one shot with the headline: Singapores first family feud over big brother. FT was also the first to get a comment from Mr Lee Hsien Yang after news broke. Story continues The same angles were rehashed by Singapores neighbours. Up north, Malaysiakini headlined Singapore PMs siblings publicly denounce him. The Star Online directly quoted the statement by the younger Lees for its headline: We fear the use of the organs of state against us. Malay Mail Online reprinted the Reuters article with the same headline. Indonesias Jakarta Globe did the same as Malay Mail Online. The New Straits Times ran the AFP story, keeping the AFP headline as well. Thailands The Nation also ran the AFP report. Australias Sydney Morning Herald wrote their own story: Siblings of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong say they fear for their safety. Further afield, Japans Nikkei Review called it a bitter feud although its headline, Singapore prime minister in open feud with siblings, is more factual. The Hong Kong Free Press focused on the feud also, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong criticised by siblings in strongly-worded statement. Its counterpart, the South China Morning Post wrote a more thorough piece, adding context on the disputed Oxley road house where the Lees grew up in, as well as the popularity of PM Lee as evidenced by his strong mandate in the 2015 elections. Chinas Global Times reprinted the Reuters article with the same headline. There was one other angle outside of the three above about Mr Lee Hsien Yangs decision to leave Singapore. Malaysias Malay Mail Online: Lee Kuan Yews son to leave Singapore amid family home conflict. The Malaysian Insight was slightly more dramatic with, Hsien Loongs brother feels need to flee Singapore as Lee siblings feud deepens. International media like Quartz and Bloomberg had similar angles as well: The brother of Singapores prime minister may enter self-exile, all because of a house and Singapore Premier Lees Brother to Leave City Amid Family Feud, respectively. For the record, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife are still in Singapore, although yes, they plan to leave the country. The reports so far have dealt with facts, getting readers up to speed on what is happening. Columns, commentaries, and opinions will no doubt appear in the coming days. Thats the news from foreign sites. Heres our series of articles on the famiLEE feud, starting with the most recent: Featured image by Sean Chong. If you like this article, Like The Middle Grounds Facebook Page as well! For breaking news, you can talk to us via email. The post FamiLEE saga: Headlines around the world appeared first on The Middle Ground. Antihero Skateboards and Six Stair Productions presents The Body Corporate, a New Zealand tour video which morphed into a musing on what draws people to skateboarding. The video, the first that the 18 and Six Stair have collaborated on since Tent City, drops on the 25th of July, so for now youll have to content yourself with a brief trailer and the text from the management below Featuring Raney Beres, Daan Van Der Linden, Grant Taylor, Frank Gerwer, Jeff Grosso, Peter Hewitt, Brian Anderson, Julien Stranger, Chris Pfanner, Robbie Russo, Sean Gutierrez, Div Adam, Albino, Pat McLain and Austin Kanfoush. The Body Corporate. That wasnt the original title I had in mind I was pushing for Reality Breakdown. But things change along the way. The vid itself came out a lot different than the vid we into it thinking we were making. And thats not a bad thing. This is the vid we came back from New Zealand with. It morphed from wanting to tell a story about skating being an act of defiance, a path away from the status quo and spoon fed commercialism and all that lazy shit, to being the story of what drew these guys to skateboarding and why it sticks so strongly with some of us. And in the end I think it still speaks to those other ideas too, though not said out loud. These guys poured their hearts into this thing and I couldnt be more stoked on how it came out. We hope you dig it. The Management SkS Analogy 8 - I'll take the specialist Posted on 15 June 2017 by Evan Tag Line Ill take the specialist, please. Elevator Statement Your child has an eye injury and needs a doctor. Who are you going to call? A Ph.D. in chemistry? No, you need a medical doctor. A family-practice medical doctor? No, you need an eye doctor. Any eye doctor? No, you need an eye doctor who does surgery. Any eye surgeon? No, an experienced eye surgeon. Because this is your childs eye, you decide to take your child to two, experienced eye surgeons to make sure they agree on the course of action. You want consensus from at least two recognized experts in their field of specialty before messing with something as precious as the eye of your child. You care about your child and are using common sense. Climate Science Youve heard that there is a global emergency on the planet on which your child is living, which is getting more and more severe, has already reached critical levels for some, and is increasingly threatening the lives of more and more people. You are concerned about the future your child faces, you want to get the facts, want to learn how to respond, and how to prepare. You want to know if this hype surrounding global warming, climate change, and ocean acidification is fact or fiction. How will you get the facts? A lot of your friends have said theyve read this, seen that, or heard something else. In the age of the Internet, you can find passionate views on all sides of any topic. Who do you believe? There is a petition of over 30,000 scientists (the requirement is that the signatories have some kind of science-related degree) in the US who say that global warming is not a problem. 30,000 sounds like a lot, but actually this represents only about 0.3% of the people in the US who qualify to sign this petition, and they do not need to be studying climate science. Would you trust the opinion of any 10 "doctors" to recommend the eye surgery needed for your child if they were a mixture of gynecologists, orthopedic surgeons, general practitioners, and chemical engineers with Ph.D.s? You would probably prefer to rely on the opinion of just 2 or maybe 3 qualified, experienced, eye surgeons. So if this is how you approach the care of your childs eye, why not use the same approach for the care of your childs entire life, and the life of others on Earth you care about. Lets see what real experts are saying. Weve all heard of Albert Einstein. In his day he was a geeky rock star with his theory of relativity, E=MC2, stretchy fabric of space with planets and stars warping here and there. He belonged to an exclusive group of people called the US National Academy of Sciences, which was set up by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 to advise the US Congress on matters of science. These are the Top Guns of the scientific community, and include many of the people responsible for the scientific miracles that we take for granted, like cell phones, computers, implantable medical devices, etc. They are the cream of the crop, individuals who think outside the box, challenge traditional thinking, and create scientific miracles that have transformed society. Periodically this group of Top Gun scientists put out publications on matters of interest to let us know what the consensus view is of the top scientists in the US. So lets see what they say about global warming, climate change, and ocean acidification. The National Academy of Sciences published a book that you can download for free, called Climate Change, Evidence & Causes. Here are a couple of excerpts. When reading the following, substitute over the coming century with in the lifetime of your children and grand-children. How confident are scientists that Earth will warm further over the coming century? Very confident. If emissions continue on their present trajectory, without either technological or regulatory abatement, then warming of 2.6 to 4.8 C (4.7 to 8.6 F) in addition to that which has already occurred would be expected by the end of the 21st century. Are climate changes of a few degrees a cause for concern? Yes. Even though an increase of a few degrees in global average temperature does not sound like much, global average temperature during the last ice age was only about 4 to 5C (7 to 9F) colder than now. Global warming of just a few degrees will be associated with widespread changes in regional and local temperature and precipitation as well as with increases in some types of extreme weather events. These and other changes (such as sea level rise and storm surge) will have serious impacts on human societies and the natural world. So who will you trust? 0.3% of Americans with some kind of science degree, or the Top Guns of the US science community? Although the US NAS includes both climate and non-climate scientists, a separate study found that over 97% of current, practicing climate scientists endorse the consensus position of the US National Academy of Sciences. In addition, the science academies from over 80 countries as well as the Vatican (Pontifical Academy of Science) endorse this position. Humans are causing global warming, the problem is caused by greenhouse-gas emissions, mainly CO 2 , global warming is creating huge stresses on society that may cause irreversible degradation to our way of life, and the only sure way to stop the damage is to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases to near zero. The scientific evidence for CO2-induced warming dates from the 1800s, the evidence is monumental, and yet the US Republican party continues to insist their own National Science Foundation is wrong. Perhaps the reason for their resistance to accepting the science can be summed up as follows. Regarding global warming, a leading US Senator said Do you realize I was actually on your side of this issue when I was chairing that committee [Environment and Public Works Committee] and I first heard about this, I thought it [referring to global warming] must be true, until I found out what it cost. (See the Rachael Maddow show, about 4 minutes into an interview with Senator James Inhofe). What does the cost of mitigation have to do with the accuracy of the diagnosis by the US National Science Foundation? Typically a medical doctor will provide a diagnosis followed by multiple options for treatment. We dont reject the diagnosis if the recommended treatment is expensive, but we might be forced to choose a treatment plan that fits our budget. Doctors typically provide multiple options for treatment, and with global warming as well, we have multiple mitigation options. But failure to act is not one of the options. Taking action on Global Warming will be painful for us, but will mean a brighter future for our children. Failure to act will simply allow the problem to grow, shifting more of the burden and the pain to our childrens generation. Acting now will mean a brighter future for our children. Download the US National Academy of Sciences book called Climate Change, Evidence & Causes., read it, and make sure your children read it as well. This is an issue that is just as important as their immediate health ... it is about their future health. To mark President Donald Trumps first 100 days in office, the Department of Homeland Security posted a multimedia update on its website featuring video of faceless federal agents placing handcuffs on a series of suspects. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had detained some 41,000 undocumented immigrants in that perioda 38 percent year-on-year increasewhich, according to the site, reflects President Trumps commitment to enforce our immigration laws. The update listed the names of now-detained immigrants who had been wanted for murder, following similar announcements from ICE highlighting detentions of rapists and kidnappers. Advertisement But fewer than 9 percent of the detainees whom ICE calls criminal aliens have been connected to crimes of violence. When ICE detained 84 foreign nationals in a sweep of the Pacific Northwest, for example, their press release led with the arrest of a previously deported Mexican man charged with the rape of a child. The agency did not mention 21-year-old Emmanuel Ayala Frutos, who had come to the United States when he was 6 and was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status in 2013. In February, he entered a plea in a county court for possession of a butterfly knife. The judge in the case said Ayala Frutos posed no danger to the community; nevertheless, ICE agents picked him up at his Portland, Oregon, home and detained him for 19 days. Advertisement Advertisement Theres a gulf between Ayala Frutos story and the story ICE tells. To close that gap, the Columbia Journalism Schools Global Migration Project has been working to build a database of Trump-era immigration enforcement, scouring public sources from news reports to federal court filings. The team then selected a single event for every day in a 60-day period and distilled each into a short scene. The 60 days begin on Feb. 20, when DHS issued a pair of memos outlining how it would enforce Trumps hardline stance on immigration: by broadening the definition of priorities for removal, hiring thousands more agents, deputizing local police to aid in arrests, loosening criteria for deportation, and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The targets include people like Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez, a Los Angeles father who had just dropped his 12-year-old daughter off at school when an ICE patrol detained him. (One of Avelica-Gonzalezs other daughtershe has four, all born in the U.S.caught the detention on video and can be heard crying behind the camera.) They include the four Denver women who dropped domestic violence cases out of fear that ICE agents might detain them at the courthouse, or the 11 farm workers who were pulled from the buses delivering them to work and detained by immigration agents. They include people who were simply trying to visit the U.S.the Nigerian software engineer, for example, who was forced to prove his credentials by taking a garbled test. They include immigrants who died while jailed in private detention centers. Advertisement Stories like these are not entirely peculiar to the Trump administration. In the early and middle years of President Barack Obamas time in office, deportations reached historic highsmore than 400,000 annually. Hundreds of thousands of children were separated from their parents; communities were ruptured. But in the last two years of the Obama era, deportations fell nearly by half, and over his presidency a growing proportion of deportations were of people detained at the border rather than taken from their homes. Under pressure from immigrants rights groups, the Obama administration ordered immigration agents to focus on recent arrivals and people convicted of crimes, and avoid targeting caretakers of young children and people with physical or mental disabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Now the pendulum is swinging in the other direction. ICE will no longer exempt any class of individuals from removal proceedings if they are found to be in the country illegally, DHS states. During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised nothing less than a mass deportation of the nations undocumented immigrants. So far, he and his agencies seem intent on keeping that promise. What follows is a fearful mosaic of raids, detentions, and deportations in 2017 America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Research for this project was conducted by Chris Gelardi and the graduate students from Columbia Journalism Schools Global Migration Project. The Department of Homeland Security issues two memos on enforcement of President Trumps immigration stance. Edwin was arrested for traffic violations. He posted bail but was jailed overnight on an immigration hold. The 15-year-old missed a check-in with an immigration judge. ICE locked her upand her mother. Feb. 23 Idaho Falls, Idaho Tomas girlfriend said he was doing routine paperwork for ICE when they detained him. Two buses of farmworkers were heading to the flower fields. Eleven were detained. Feb. 25 Charlotte, North Carolina Arrested for theft, Gus will miss graduation and instead fly to Mexico, a place he barely knows. Advertisement Feb. 26 New York Customs didnt believe Celestine was a software engineer. So they gave him an impossible test. At 20, Juan had consensual sex with a 16-year-old. The Supreme Court would decide if hed be deported for it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Feb. 28 Los Angeles Romulo had just dropped off his daughter at school. As he drove away, two ICE vehicles followed closely after. Advertisement March 1 Jackson, Mississippi ICE raided a Dreamers home. They arrested her father and brother. She spoke out. So ICE arrested her, too. March 2 Chinook, Washington She wanted her kids to visit their dad in detention, but her lawyer warned that she might also be detained. March 3 Mira Mesa, California Clarissa dotes on her grandchildren. She didnt see them again after unmarked SUVs arrived at her house. March 4 Cincinnati Khoudiedia was put on a plane to Senegal. Her kids started fundraising for a trip to visit her. March 5 Lacolle, Quebec America isnt safe anymore, Mamadou thought, and fled to Canada. Police found him freezing in the snowy woods. March 6 Denver Isidro has grandchildren, a green cardand an old marijuana conviction. ICE detained him. March 7 Burlington, Kentucky Rony told the agents he was a U.S. citizen. They didnt think so and held him for nearly three weeks. March 8 Honolulu If they are here in the U.S. illegally, I wont teach them, a high school teacher wrote to colleagues. March 9 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Her husband was going to work when he was detained. Now, she says, I dont know how we are going to eat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement March 10 Dickinson, Texas A week after he was pulled over for a broken taillight, Gerardo was deported back to Mexico. March 11 Lewiston, New York Border Patrol denied entry to the 12 Canadian church volunteers because they would be taking American jobs. March 12 Los Angeles Eloq was supposed to play South by Southwest. Instead he was cuffed, detained, and sent back to Denmark. March 13 Lafayette, Louisiana Roger Rayson, 47, becomes the first immigration detainee to die under President Trump. March 14 Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia ICE announces arrests of 248 immigrants in three states over two weeks, to keep our communities safe. Advertisement March 15 Burlington, Vermont Alex wasnt in court when his DUI charge was tossedICE arrested him before the hearing. His wife is pregnant. March 16 Denver Within a week, four women will drop domestic violence cases due to fear ICE will spot them in the courtroom. March 17 Dover, New Hampshire Enrique was on the Vermont attorney generals immigration task force. Now hes in ICE detention. March 18 Detroit 140 agents raided a cockfight. About 50 people were taken into custody. March 19 Four towns in Alabama Last day of a three-day ICE sweep. 40 people removed from their families without any warrants, one advocate said. March 20 Houston Arrested at his annual ICE check-in, the Army vet requested release so he could pay his 12 employees. March 21 Albion, New York Five apple pickers were carpooling to work. No criminal records. All detained. March 22 Adelanto, California After three months of detention, Osmar was found hanging in his cell. He died six days later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement March 23 Irondequoit, New York People rally in support of a familytwo women, six childrenpulled over by Border Patrol and detained. March 24 Tacoma, Washington A couple paid $2,000 for green cards. Now they know it was a scamand they risk deportation. March 25 Nationwide 43 Dreamers with criminal convictions deported in the first two months of the Trump presidency. March 26 Portland, Oregon The county judge said Emmanuel posed no danger. ICE detained him for 19 days anyway. March 27 Chicago They shot my dad and I dont know why, Carmen said. He wasnt the one ICE was looking for. March 28 Durham, North Carolina ICE agents came looking for a wanted murderer. The suspect wasnt there, but Edwin was. March 29 Lawrence, Massachusetts ICE arrested three people at their green card appointments. Its a catch-22, said one lawyer. March 30 Stamford, Connecticut Carmelino, who has no criminal record, was put on a plane to Guatemala, where he hasnt been for 21 years. March 31 Boston Two sisters, 11 and 20, deported to Panama after two nights detention at Logan Airport. Theyd come to visit their mom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement April 1 Oklahoma and Texas ICE begins three-day operation that ends in 75 arrests of undocumented immigrants. April 2 Penn Township, Pennsylvania Everything was peaceful, the lieutenant said after police turned over two men with expired registration to ICE. April 3 New York ICE concludes a sweep of 31 foreign nationals, including one with a pending drug charge. April 4 South Bend, Indiana Helen voted for Trump. Five months later, ICE forced her undocumented husband back to Mexico. April 5 Fairfield, Ohio Maribel will be deported to Mexico. Her four young children are U.S. citizens. Where will they go? April 6 Portland, Maine Abdi fled war in Somalia at age 7. He was in court for a DUI when ICE handcuffed him. April 7 Salt Lake City Betty took care of her elderly mother and disabled son. Then she was deported to Colombia. April 8 Why, Arizona Ulises kept trying to cross the border. This time the sentence was up to 30 days in prison. April 9 Clarkston, Georgia At least eight Somali immigrants and refugees arrested this week. People are beginning to hide, says one advocate. April 10 Tacoma, Washington Detainees at a holding center start a hunger strike. Right now its more of a meal refusal thing, an ICE rep said. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issues a memo mandating prioritization of criminal immigration enforcement. April 12 Aurora, Colorado In 2012, Maria drove without a license. In 2017, she was arrested and deported. Her youngest child is 7. April 13 Adelanto, California Sergio succumbed to internal bleeding. He was the sixth ICE detainee to die in custody this year. April 14 Eagle Pass, Texas Macario was deported to Mexico in January. When he tried to come back, he was charged as a felon. April 15 Westboro, Massachusetts The ESL teacher worries about her students, who fear their parents might disappear while theyre at school. April 16 San Ysidro, California Families met at Friendship Park on the U.S.Mexico border. Patricia hadnt seen her siblings for 17 years. April 17 Houston ICE arrests some 95 immigrants, saying most of them committed crimes but offering few details. April 18 St. Louis Mahir, who stayed sober and out of trouble for a decade, was deported to Afghanistan. His wife and daughter will follow. April 19 Detroit 29 years after he left, Raied boarded the first deportation plane to Iraq since 2010. April 20 Miami Espilvio was still appealing his asylum case when he was deported back to Nicaragua. Lead photo caption: Border Patrol agents took two Guatemalan women and six children into custody after a traffic stop in Geneseo, New York, on March 23. Photo by Evan Goldstein. Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. Ellie L'Heureux, a 2017 graduate of Lincoln Lutheran High School, was selected to represent Nebraska as a delegate to the 2017 National Youth Science Camp in West Virginia from June 14-July 8. The camp is a summer experience that brings in the brightest young minds from all around the country and beyond. Each states governor nominates two delegates. L'Heureux joins 108 other top science students from across the nation and around the world for the honors science leadership program. In your 20s and think you need to spend a few years in the working world before striking out with a small business of your own? Or perhaps youve got a fairly simple business idea like reselling fashions or other items on eBay and think it just cant be grown into a huge thriving business. Well you may be wrong on both counts. One hard working young entrepreneur in particular whos business had very humble beginnings exemplifies the role hard work and determination can play in business success. To help todays youngsters be successful in an often unforgiving and always challenging business climate, Small Business Trends spoke to highly successful entrepreneur Yang Yang. CEO of Dese Enterprise, Yang Yang, aka the Boss In White, was born and raised in Beijing. Starting from humble beginnings selling on eBay in 2004, Yang Yang quickly developed a flourishing business comprised of AMEClubwear.com, Pinkbasis.com and Cuteshoesforsale.com. The driven CEO now employees 80 people. Yang Yang owes much of her success to commitment and study. The CEO obtained her undergraduate degree from Beijing University and went on to complete her Masters in Cambridge, UK. Now I can look back and clearly see that the reason I did so well was because of all the studying and extra work they [her parents] made me do, says the Boss In White. Success Tips from CEO Yang Yang If youre a millennial interested in starting your own business and being your own boss, take a look at the advice the incredibly successful Yang Yang gives to kindred entrepreneurial spirits. Always Give Yourself Deadlines Give yourself a deadline on everything, Yang Yang says. A lot of things have no deadlines. Setting a deadline will help you finish your task faster. Reward Yourself When You Reach a Goal Reward yourself when you hit a goal, she ads. Set a goal and when you reach it buy yourself something nice this will keep you motivated. Avoid Being a Perfectionist in Business Dont be a perfectionist, Yang Yang says.In life everything is a balance, only you can decide if something is up to your standards. Sometimes trying to do something perfect may waste your time. Balance every aspect of your life and business, get the work done to the best of your ability the first time and dont second guess yourself, she ads. If you always work hard and dont cut corners then this is easy to achieve and you will be happy with your work. A good example of this is when we take product pictures we can always go back and photoshop the background to make it look cleaner, she explains. Or you could clean up the background before you shoot and not have to go back at all. The background might not be as perfect as if you photoshopped them all but it will keep you from having to do double the work and remember youre selling the product, not the background. Be Well Groomed and Always Present Yourself Well Be well groomed, Yang Yang urges. When you walk into a room your personal appearance is the first thing a client or customer is going to notice. Wear a nice outfit, when you look and feel good you tend to work faster. I am very lucky because I can just pick something from my website, and have new clothes all the time, she says. You dont need to wear new clothes every day but you should always spend five minutes before you leave the house and look in the mirror. Make sure clothes are nicely prepared, buttons are buttoned, the collar is straight, skirt or dress is not wrinkled, no breakfast stain on them lol, she xplains. Always make sure your hair is looking good and it doesnt look like you just got out of bed. A good rule is to always be over dressed than under dressed! she ads. Dont Waste Time Commuting to Work and if You Do Commute, Spend Your Time Well If you really love your job, then try to live as close as possible to your work office so you dont waste time on the drive, Yang Yang says. She ads, If you cant live close, then take advantage of your time traveling to and from the office. You can list how to books on tapes to learn a new skill, or simply to relax in the little bit of alone time that you have in the car. If you take the train or bus to work the same applies, use this time to your advantage and dont let it go to waste. Give Yourself Long-Term Goals Its important to have a long-term goal to work towards, Yang Yang says. Do you want to be rich? Do you want to help people? Or do you see yourself living at home with your mom when youre 40 waiting for the meatloaf to be ready? She ads, The point is, if you dont want a lot out of life then you dont have to put a lot into it, but if you are like most of us and want to be successful then you need to plan ahead. Only you can decide how your life will end up so make sure and give yourself some options. Dress for Success Here Yang Yang has one simple rule. Dress for Success, she says. I always say it is better to be overdressed! See Also: Apply These 3 Techniques For Better Email Marketing Campaigns Study and Work Hard for Exams Write your way to success, Yang Yang advises. You cant just decide you want to go to Harvard or in my case Cambridge and expect to get in if you havent been preparing for years. I was lucky that my parents pushed me to succeed in school from a very young age. I always had straight As but my parents still made me study and work with tutors every day. I could never figure out why and would always complain that I didnt have free time to relax or play with friends, she explained. Now I can look back and clearly see that the reason I did so well was because of all the studying and extra work they made me do. Find Your Passion Finding your passion is easy just think about what you enjoy doing in your free time for fun, Yang Yang says. I loved to shop for clothing and walk through the Fashion District downtown to see all the new styles and trends and was able to turn this into a job buying wholesale and reselling online. The question she poses to every entrepreneur? What makes you happy? Network, Network, Network! Networking is a necessity, Yang Yang insists. One of the most important things about running a successful thing is networking. For my industry, its even more crucial than other types of businesses since I purchase items for resale every day. She explains:The reason I am so successful is because I dont have any buyers I do it all myself. Over the last ten years, I have developed personal relationships with the owners in order to buy direct from them, where my other competitors buy from sales reps, she ads. Making a great impression and keeping that relationship is key. Public Goods June 15, 2017 Natalie Mehra In the Globe and Mail this weekend, physicians who are extra-billing patients for services at private clinics justified themselves by complaining that they cannot get operating room time and waits are too long in the public system. Lets be honest, these problems do exist. But these problems do not justify double-billing charging the public healthcare system and patients as well for healthcare. They do not justify breaking Canadian laws that are meant to provide equity and protect patients from user fees when they are sick, elderly and least able to pay. And they do not justify charging two times, three times, five times or even more what the public system pays for healthcare services to seniors and patients when they are sick and in need. At the Ontario Health Coalition, we have been advocating for 10-years to stop the cuts and reinvest in our public hospitals. We have led this fight, which we know is overwhelmingly supported by the public. But in all these years of advocating to save and improve services in our public hospitals, the private clinic owners that are justifying their extra-billing of patients by complaining about access to operating room time have been nowhere in sight. They have not joined in the fight to save local hospitals from closure, I have not seen them advocating to improve public hospital funding, to build public capacity, nor to ensure that funding goes to care. Flirting with Privatization For two decades, pro-privatization pundits, clinic owners and politicians claimed that it doesnt matter if services are owned and controlled by for-profit entities or public and non-profit hospitals. Private clinics, they promised, would exist under Canadas public medicare laws without causing harm. They would, on every occasion, avow that private clinics are beneficent and healthcare would not rely on your credit card. They were not telling the truth. Over the two decades or more in which Canadian provinces have experimented with privatization, the attempt to regulate private clinics has failed. Illegal billing, double-billing and quality problems have become widespread. The clinics are violating the laws of Canada and the provinces as a business model because doing so increases their (already substantial) incomes and profits. The evidence is indisputable. In 2008, we called every private clinic in Canada. We researched and wrote a report Eroding Public Medicare: Lessons and Consequences of For-Profit Health Care Across Canada . In it, we published the notes from our calls with the private clinics, showing that the vast majority were violating the Canada Health Act. Again in 2014, we called all the private clinics in Ontario, and we found that the clinics continued to break Canadas medicare laws. If anything, the majority of clinics had become more manipulative and unethical in the information that they were giving to patients to sell-up medically unnecessary add ons. Physicians, nurses and health professionals from Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec have organized themselves to ask governments to stop privatization on behalf of their patients. Almost half-a-million patients in Quebec filed a petition with the federal court to force the Health Minister to uphold Canadas medicare laws and stop the burgeoning user fees charged at private clinics in that province. Now, we have released our latest surveys of 136 clinics and 400 patients that again proves that the transgressions are not the exception among private clinics they are the rule and they are causing hardship for patients. Now that the private clinic owners are caught breaking the laws that they said they would not threaten, they want politicians to legalize their illegal activities and simply regulate extra-billing. So far, the record on regulation is abysmal. Support Public Hospitals Private clinics are using failures in public policy as cover for their unethical behaviour. But their critique of what is happening in our public system is not entirely wrong. The solution is not to throw out public medicare and the protections against user fees and financial hardship that it affords to patients. The solution is to open unused capacity in our public operating rooms and diagnostic suites, use sound population planning processes to plan public hospital capacity to meet our communities needs, adopt innovations in wait time management and the organization of services to improve access, and roll contracts back in to our local public hospitals. Privatization is a failure. Its time to rebuild capacity in our community hospitals that operate on a non-profit basis in the public interest and insist that our governments plan for and resource our public hospitals to provide the services we need. A special thank you to all of you who answered surveys and distributed them to your contacts. Together, I know that we can protect public healthcare, based on the principles of equity and compassion for all Canadians. Patients Subject to Thousands of Dollars in Extra User-Fees for Healthcare Surveys of hundreds of private health clinics and patients reveal that extra user-fees amounting to hundreds or even thousands of dollars are threatening access to healthcare and hurting patients, and Canadas governments are doing too little to stop it. A new cross-Canada study Private Clinics and the Threat to Public Medicare in Canada, includes the results of surveys of 136 private hospital, diagnostic and boutique physician clinics across Canada and with almost 400 individual patients. Both clinics and patients were asked about extra user-charges for needed healthcare services. Under the Canada Health Act such user fees are forbidden. But the Health Coalition found evidence that at least 88 clinics in six provinces are charging extra user-fees. Two-hundred and fifty patients detailed instances in which they have been charged for care. Health Coalitions and public-interest advocates across Canada are warning that challenges to public healthcare posed by private clinics have come to a head, and unless governments act to protect patients, public healthcare is at risk. Two major legal actions have been launched from opposite sides of the country: in British Columbia, private clinics have brought a charter challenge to dismantle legal prohibitions on extra billing, user fees and private insurance. In Quebec almost half-a-million seniors petitioned the federal court to force the Federal Health Minister to stop burgeoning user fees. At the same time, Saskatchewans government passed legislation to bring in two-tier healthcare in flagrant opposition to the Canada Health Act. As private clinics have moved in and taken over services provided by our public hospitals, they have bolstered their owners incomes and profits by charging extra user fees to patients amounting to hundreds or even thousands of dollars, explained Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition and the reports author. We found that the majority of private clinics are charging extra user fees to patients, with many also billing the public health system. We found that costs for patients in the private clinics are exorbitant up to five times or more than those in the public system. As a result of extra charges for healthcare, patients described running short on rent, using a significant amount of their pension, forgoing groceries, and finding themselves unable to buy things for their families, she reported. The stories are shocking. It is unacceptable that patients are manipulated into paying outrageous prices for healthcare when they have already paid in their taxes. Healthcare should be based on need, not wealth. This is the cornerstone principle of public healthcare and it has come under threat. Under Canadas Public Medicare system, provinces are required to protect patients against unlawful user charges and extra-billing, said Adrienne Silnicki, national coordinator of the Canadian Health Coalition. The federal government is obligated to uphold the law and has the power to penalize provinces that fail to comply. Both levels of government also have an obligation to provide needed hospital and physician care to meet our communities needs. But they are failing to do so. The coalitions are calling for: Federal and provincial governments to recommit themselves to the Canada Health Act and the values of equity and compassion upon which it is based. The federal government must uphold the Canada Health Act, stop illegal user-fees for patients, and impose penalties on provinces that fail to protect their residents. The privatization of public and non-profit hospital services to be stopped. Capacity must be built in our public hospitals and services that have been cut and shed from public hospitals must be restored. Governments at both levels to engage in sound planning to build public hospital capacity to reduce wait lists and to act to improve equity and access. The Federal government to reverse funding cuts imposed in the recent bilateral funding deals with provinces and territories, and to provide a Canada Health Transfer of at least 5.2 per cent as recommended by the Parliamentary Budget Office, the Conference Board of Canada, the Ontario Accountability Office and Health Coalitions across Canada. Governments at all levels to protect public healthcare from international trade agreements through a general carve out for all healthcare services. Canadian Health Coalition. I am happy about this victory because my team sacrificed everything for me, Slovak cyclist said immediately after his June 14 win. Font size: A - | A + Sagan said the whole team was all in. The first stage was chaotic, and in the third one I missed the victory closely. Today, I felt great. I am very thankful for the stage, he said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The fifth stage led from Bex to Cevio and was 222 kilometres long. Sagan asserted himself with a finishing sprint that propelled him ahead of his rivals. video //www.youtube.com/embed/t8wwaWs1nlI Italian Damiano Caruso of BMC still holds the yellow jersey as the overall leader, while Peter Sagan led the points competition. Other members of the Slovak team were Michael Kolar in 85th place and Peter Sagans brother Juraj Sagan in 152nd. In the total ranking of the race, Peter Sagan is 55th, Kolar 109th and Juraj Sagan 155th. This is the 14th time that Sagan, 27, has won a stage in the Tour de Suisse. The Slovak cyclist now holds a record for the most stage victories. Extended version: The Lincoln Area Retired Personnel (LARSP) has recognized Doris Wiens as the 22nd recipient of the Community Service Award from the AARP/NRTA (National Retired Teachers Association) and LARSP. She taught elementary school for 39 years in four Lincoln Public Schools: Meadowlane, Bethany, Calvert, and Zeman. Since retiring she has stayed involved in a variety of areas at church and within the community. She is a cashier for the LARSP book sales, and her sewing skills have been focused on patchwork quilt tops for missions and making baby bibs. Cooking is another like for Doris as she donates food for a variety of church events including pies for dinners after Lenten services. LARSP members have enjoyed her pies among the treats available for workers during the book sales. She is a greeter at LARSP meetings and a regular at LARSP during the holidays to provide a sing-along of carols as she mixes accordion music and humor. She entertains at nursing homes, senior centers, and other places throughout the community. She was a pianist during the LARSP social time, directed the school choruses while teaching at Bethany, and directed a childrens choir for 20 years at her church. To be honored today is a special event for me, but Im humbled since these things I do have really brought me much happiness and have made my life complete, she said. She received the award from last years recipient, Pam Ford. The theme for the awards brunch was There is Music in the Air! Knight Sounds from Lincoln Southeast High School provided a variety of vocal music selections. LARSP focuses on community service, continuing education, fellowship, philanthropy, recognition of service to the association, and member welfare concerns by promoting the social, professional, and economic well-being of retired school personnel. The gang leader who had been charged with five murders in Slovakia has been detained in Ukraine. Volodymyr Yegorov with police on July 27, 2011 in Bratislava. Citajte viac: https://domov.sme.sk/c/20559262/na-ukrajine-zatkli-bossa-yegorova-na-slovensku-obzalovaneho-z-piatich-vrazd.html#ixzz4k47ek7wE (Source: TASR) Font size: A - | A + The 20-year case against Volodymyr Yegorov, 52, involves charges of drug and arms smuggling to Ukraine, the SITA newswire wrote on June 15. The Russian national with a Ukrainian passport was detained with pre-trial custody proposed, according to documents made available to the Cas.sk website. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement However, the Slovak Justice Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the Bratislava Court were not informed of his detention. Our most recent action was to ask the Ukrainian Justice Ministry in written form for legal advice in bringing him to Slovakia... and we have received no answer so far, Justice Ministry spokesman Peter Bubla told SITA. Read also: Read also: Yegorov deported to Ukraine Read more The documents indicate that Ukrainian investigators proposed the court in the Ukrainian Vinnitska Region for Yegorovs pre-trial custody following charges of participation in the smuggling of drugs, arms and ammunition to Ukraine. The custody should last for 60 days, and if Yegorov posts bail, he could be investigated while on house arrest with an electronic tracking bracelet. Yegorov spent 12 years in Slovak prisons before being released and extradited to Ukraine. The extradition ended in October 2016, the Sme daily wrote, allowing him to attend hearings and court proceedings in Slovakia. Read also: Maybe the country would benefit from a dose of youthful enthusiasm. Font size: A - | A + Street protests have more impact than you might think. They have turned the countrys prime minister into the countrys prime fighter against corruption. Again. Even though he still maintains, at least in public, that the demands of the protesting crowd do not concern him or his cabinet, he has once again tried to take advantage of the topic they have raised: corruption. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement This time around, Robert Fico has not stopped at medical metaphors (corruption is cancer), but has assigned a special Governments Office department to tackle corruption, directly under his remit, and put an absolute professional with the trust of all governments at its helm. Fico has also met with representatives of NGOs for whom he had previously expressed nothing but contempt, and recently even held a seminar at his office about the fight against corruption. Meanwhile, the crowds in the squares, and not only in Bratislava, chant: investigate Gorilla and cut Kalinak loose. Fico is trying to apply a time-proven political strategy to turn the tables by throwing his own efforts to fight corruption to the protesters, and to the public, as bait. But a single seminar at the Governments Office comes across as a rather pitiful effort when contrasted with the demands of the thousands who took to the streets again this week. The usual political strategies do not work so well when their intended targets are not MPs or other politicians, but normal people. Fico might have learned how to deflect the unpredictable Igor Matovic, but that is not a skill he can apply here. Ruling politicians, so embedded in their own world, are facing forces that do not fit into their House-of-Cards-like schemes. Their cynical attitude to public affairs, and to life itself, has limited effect against angry young women and men who have not yet developed the immunity of cynicism. Inoculation against hope is not compulsory, and every generation has its idealists who will never build up immunity to youthful enthusiasm and righteous anger. But for many of them it is just a matter of time: their system will harden, and they will conform or leave. Who will take up responsibility for another generation immune to idealism? The prime minister has long since developed complete immunity to hope. With supreme cynicism, he downplays the intentions of the protesters and their cause. In an op-ed in the Hospodarske Noviny daily before the second protest, he suggested that the students should instead rise up against extremism, the real evil as if to suggest that corruption is not really evil, and is not a prime reason for extremism finding sympathetic ears across the generations. What is more, Fico has also mocked the march and its organisers. He has repeatedly compared attendance at the anti-corruption marches with a May 1 gathering organised by his ruling Smer party (and followed by a concert by a popular Czech band), saying that Smer managed to do this without the support of the media. This is laughable. For one thing, it neglects to mention that the Smer event was a widely advertised promotional event paid for by the extremely well-endowed (at taxpayer expense) ruling party. Experienced activist Juraj Rizman argues, in an interview with The Slovak Spectator, that the goals that the students have set out for their protest might be too ambitious. That makes sense from the reasonable perspective of a man who has led campaigns and succeeded. But there is something else to this case. It is common across cultures, regardless of their era, to celebrate the energy and enthusiasm of youth. Is it wise to ask an 18-year-old to be realistic? Do we not want our kids to think big, to dream big? Or should we ask the doctor to inoculate them against such nonsense, so that they can skip it like mumps and need never suffer the pain of disappointment? Yes, the absence of Robert Kalinak from the cabinet would definitely help cleanse Slovakias body politic, but the protests would still make perfect sense even if that were never to happen. Maybe that is where some prospect of redemption lies for Slovakia: in the hope that the energy and the enthusiasm of the youngsters carrying the banner The deed is happening will be contagious enough to infect their parents, their teachers, and everyone around them. Slovak mobile operators claim they respect new rules, authorities to monitor compliance. Font size: A - | A + Following a series of staged cuts to mobile roaming fees, as of June 15, holiday-makers and short-term travellers can enjoy roaming with their mobile phones across Europe, free of extra charges. This means that they can make calls and send texts while abroad for the same price as at home. Regarding data services, however, this is not necessarily the case, as the European Commission has created a scheme for setting the limit for pre-paid data services to be used when abroad. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Four Slovak mobile operators say they comply with the new rules. Slovakias Regulatory Office for Electronic Communication and Postal Services (RU) has warned that it will monitor operators closely and impose heavy fines on those that do not comply with the new regulation. If an operator fails to comply, it can face a fine of 5 percent of its turnover for the previous accounting period. Read also: Read also: EU roaming fees to end on June 15 in theory Read more The European Commission (EC) sees eliminating roaming charges as one of the greatest and most tangible successes of the EU. Each time a European citizen crossed an EU border, be it for vacation, work, studies or just for a day, they had to worry about using their mobile phones and recently a high phone bill with roaming charges when they came home, the EC wrote in its statement issued on June 14. Roaming charges will now be a thing of the past. Three of four Slovak mobile operators waited till nearly the last minute to unveil how they have implemented the EC regulation on roaming into their products. Customers of O2 have been benefiting from no roaming fees since June 13. Slovak Telekom and Orange Slovakia launched adapted products on June 15. 4ka, the newest mobile operator, unveiled its scheme for after June 15, only on June 13. New roaming rules The new rules mean that citizens travelling in EU member countries including the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein can call, text and browse the internet on mobile devices for the same rate they pay at home. But exceeding agreed upon minutes, texts and data will still be charged, thus mobile users should check the details of their plans with their providers. Yet, in any case, this is not an easy task as each mobile operator has several product lines with packages containing different combinations of calls, text messages and data. This complicated structure also makes it difficult to compare operators individual products. In general, the maximum charge for calls is 0.038 per minute, 0.012 per text message and 0.00924 per MB (or 9.24 per 1GB). But not all operators have opted for these maximum charges. For example, Slovak Telekom asks only 5.99 per 1GB of data. This also means that if a customer has unlimited calls and texts, he or she will get unlimited calls and texts when roaming in the EU. But the EC enables the operator to apply a safeguard: a fair use limit on data usage, also while roaming. Up to this threshold, customers can continue data roaming. All four Slovak mobile operators have prepared special products for travellers, promising them better prices. The various approaches of individual operators to the new rules also differ. For example, the newest mobile operator, 4ka, does not enable its clients to use its post-paid production line TO abroad. They should pay as they have only a pre-paid card Moja 4ka when abroad, the techbox.sk website points out. The operator argues that neither the valid European legislation nor the Slovak regulations oblige mobile operators to provide international roaming as part of each of their products. In the meantime, 4ka reiterates that it scrapped roaming fees in the EU immediately upon launching its voice services in October 2015, and that its customers can continue to make calls, send text messages and use data in the EU for 0.04 per megabyte without paying any additional fees. The remaining three operators: Orange Slovakia, Slovak Telekom and O2, enable their customers to use post-paid programmes abroad. They have either prepared new product lines or adapted the existing ones. No permanent roaming Roam like at Home is not meant to be used for permanent roaming, i.e. permanent use of a SIM card from another country, the EC warns. The commission has set safeguards against abuses of this principle. Operators can detect possible abuses based on the balance of roaming and domestic activity over a four-month period. It requires that consumers use, during a four-month period, at least 51 percent of units, be it calls, text messages or data, in Slovakia. Otherwise, the operator can apply surcharges. In the case of calls, the rate is up to 0.0384 per minute, 0.012 per text message and a maximum of 0.00924 per MB of data. Operators assure that this will not affect people on holiday or travelling abroad for a short period of time. Mobile operators could lose The regulation represents a relatively big change for mobile operators and will affect products across their portfolio. [The regulation] cancels roaming fees for customers but not for us, said Tereza Molnar, spokesperson for O2. Thus, operators will continue to pay fees to foreign operators when their customers use their networks. O2 also points to a certain disproportionality between European countries. While operators in Mediterranean countries, which enjoy a net inflow of tourists every year, will tend to benefit from roaming because they will receive fees from operators from other countries, countries that welcome fewer tourists will lose out. Unfortunately, Slovakia belongs among those countries in which the number of outgoing tourists exceeds the incoming figure, said Molnar. Thus, Slovak mobile operators will pay more to foreign operators for their customers roaming abroad than they receive from the roaming customers of other operators who visit Slovakia. Slovak Telekom (ST) agrees that the new rules have a negative impact on the operators. The costs per customers using roaming will increase compared to revenues we can obtain for visitors to Slovakia, said Michal Korec, spokesperson of ST. Therefore the upcoming holiday season will show how Slovak customers have adapted to the new conditions for using their mobile phones abroad. For now, the operators cannot exactly forecast the consumption of mobile services after scrapping roaming charges. In this moment the market does not know exactly what scrapping the roaming fees will mean, said Igor Toth, marketing director at O2. In any case this will increase the costs of the operators without any compensation. ISTE | Keynote Richard Culatta Has Big Dreams for ISTE Interview with the CEO of the worlds biggest nonprofit ed tech organization. Richard Culatta is the new chief executive officer of the International Society for Technology in Education, or ISTE. He leads an active nonprofit organization of more than 16,500 members, with reach in 126 countries and programs that touch approximately 148,00 students and 100,000 education stakeholders. Prior to joining ISTE on May 1, Culatta was the chief innovation officer for the state of Rhode Island the first person to hold that position. He also served as director of the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Educational Technology, where he helped author the National Educational Technology Plan. Culatta, 37, recently spoke with THE Journal about his experiences in education and ed tech, as well as his plans for ISTE as it prepares for its big summer conference this month in San Antonio, TX. The father of four also discussed his vision for ISTE in the coming years. THE Journal: Can you describe what you did in Rhode Island prior to joining ISTE? Richard Culatta: I was the first chief innovation officer for the state; I reported to the governor. My role was to ask, How can we use technology and new approaches to tackle tough problems? I grew up in Rhode Island. When I was asked, Would you return to the state, and would you come and start this from scratch? I said Id love to! We accomplished some major initiatives around personalized learning, open educational resources, redesigning libraries and expanding infrastructure. The work of the innovation team in Rhode Island is still going strong and I continue to cheer them on from the sidelines. THE Journal: What does your job at ISTE entail? Whats the purpose of ISTE, from your perspective? Culatta: ISTE is really focused on how we can use technology to help accelerate good practice in education, also help solve problems in education. I want to help make sure we are extending the reach of our services and offerings to as many education leaders as possible. I also want educators to help us determine what are the areas we should focus on and what conversations ISTE should be hosting. Were also highlighting best practices of people who are doing amazing work. And frankly, were calling out practices that arent working out there. THE Journal: How many people are on staff at ISTE? Are you the boss of all of them? And what are some of your other responsibilities? Culatta: We have a great team. There are about 50 people on the team. We also work with a number of partners, especially around large events, like our conference. Our offices are based in the D.C. area, also in Portland. At this point, my role is learning as quickly as I possibly can. We have our conference coming up its one of the largest ed tech focused events in the world. Its a pretty amazing endeavor, to pull off an event with over 20,000 people. Im going to be hosting some of the conversations were going to be holding there. Ill also be connecting with our members, who are really deep experts in this work. THE Journal: What else do you hope to achieve with ISTE? Culatta: Were very interested in looking at how technology can be used to close equity gaps. We want to use technology to bring opportunity to students and families who may not have same opportunities as others. Im also very interested in focusing on personalized learning, on using technology to tailor and customize learning for every student. Its a right for every student to have an educational experience thats tailored to their needs. We have activities or lessons delivered to all students. Technology has a key role in helping to solve that problem. ISTE is an international organization. We should find out where are there best practices that we can be learning from people all around the world. A lot of what we do is brokering expertise. We should be looking at how we can help increase access to computer science opportunities. In Rhode Island, we launched something called CS4RI. The governor made it a goal to be the first state in the country to offer computer science in every school. I'd love to see that expand to all states. There are still long-standing gaps when it comes to which students have access to computer science and which don't. but theres a lot of work that still needs to be done. We need to provide a lot more support to teachers. THE Journal: Its almost become a cliche, but dont we need to teach kids technological skills so they can be prepared for the jobs of the future, jobs that dont even exist yet? Culatta: Absolutely. We know were not preparing them for specific jobs of the future, because we dont know what those jobs are. But if were preparing them with the technical skills theyll need, they can be reliant on those skills to do things which we haven't yet imagined. Also, we should prepare them to be life-long learners. We should show them where to get the resources that they need. If we teach them how to continually learn, they will always be prepared. THE Journal: In recent years, the United States has ranked about midway in the pack among industrialized nations when it comes to students achievement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Shouldnt we be doing better than that? Culatta: Theres one thing to remember we are very large and very disparate country. When it comes to education, we should be careful when we see averages. There are some schools that are doing amazing, amazing things. There are also schools that are far, far below par. The challenge is to expand the phenomenal examples. We should remember what William Gibson said: The future is already here. Its just not very evenly distributed. 3D Printing Challenger Center to Roll Out New Matter 3D Printers Challenger Center, an international science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education organization, recently partnered with New Matter to launch a competition for its Challenger Learning Centers to receive the latters desktop 3D printers. Challenger Learning Centers will be receiving the MOD-t 3D printer. Image: New Matter. Over the next several months, New Matter will be installing desktop 3D printers at several of the 43 Challenger Learning Centers that submitted proposals, according to a company statement. Selected centers (to be revealed later this month) will receive the companys flagship MOD-t 3D printers. The end-to-end consumer model is known for being quiet, easy-to-use and affordable at a price tag of $299. The MOD-t works with the New Matter store, an online marketplace of 3D designs where users can use free designs, buy design or import their own .stl or .obj files. It prints with PLA (1.75 mm diameter), a consumer and eco-friendly material that comes in an array of colors. Furthermore, it is operated via a browser-based interface that works with most desktop and mobile browsers. Other specifications include: A build envelope of 150 mm x 100 mm x 125 mm; Weight of 11 lbs; Mac OSX 10.7+, Windows 7+ (required for setup only); and Wi-Fi connectivity, USB 2.0. Learn more about the MOD-t by watching the video above, or visit the New Matter site. RACINE The City of Racine is getting creative in its efforts to prevent potential federal budget cuts from sinking its affordable housing initiatives. Taking advantage of a provision in Wisconsin statutes, the city plans to extend Tax Increment District (TID) No. 8 to improve affordable housing stock in 2019. City Development Director Amy Connolly, at Mondays meeting of the city Finance and Personnel Committee, proposed the one-year extension of the TID, which expires on July 17. The committee unanimously recommended approval of the plan. The TID was created in 1990 to revitalize the State Street corridor and has generated more than $12 million over 27 years, according to a City Development Department memo. It spans much of the length and surrounding area of State Street, from its intersection with Forest Street (just south of Spring Street and just west of North Memorial Drive) to the Root River. Wisconsin statutes have a provision that if you have a tax-increment district that is ready to expire, you can extend it for one year, only if the purpose is to improve affordable housing, Connolly told the committee. Those monies can be used anywhere in the city, not just within the tax increment district. The city projects the TID will generate $625,000 in the additional year, which will go toward housing funds the following year. Connolly said that beyond this being an available option for the city to take advantage of, the TID extension will help safeguard against potential federal low-income housing cuts expected from the Trump administration. Those funds are always debated at Congress and every year they come to us later and later and later, Connolly said. Right now, we dont expect to get this years (federal funds) until August. The money from the extension could also replace Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds, which have expired and will not be renewed, according to Connolly. NSP, which funded our programs for many, many years, has now expired and theres no more money coming to us, she said. This would be a way for us to use the existing regulations and processes that we have for NSP to do more housing for our community. The extension would benefit 2019s budget because youre always in arrears with TIDs, according to Connolly. You have to create the district and then a year has to pass and the tax increment has to be created and then you can spend the money, she said. Where the money is targeted According to a memo, Connolly and her staff seek to use the additional money in two ways: for homeowner housing development and homeowner code compliance grants. The department further recommends that 75 percent of the funds, a projected $468,750, be used for the former purpose and the remaining 25 percent, or an estimated $181,250, for the latter. They are two programs that we currently do within our organization, but we would use more funding to do more projects in each of those areas, Connolly said. Sixth District Alderman Sandy Weidner, who attended Mondays meeting but is not a member of the committee, asked Connolly to inform other taxing bodies through the Joint Review Board of the plan before the City Council considers the extension next week. Connolly replied that she could send a letter to the taxing bodies, including the Racine Unified School District, Racine County and the Gateway Technical College District, even though shes not required to do so by state law. As a measure of good faith, Id like to see that happen before the council takes an action on this, Weidner said. According to the state Department of Revenue, under the provision of a TID, the other taxing bodies have their tax revenue rates for the targeted area frozen at the level before the TID was enacted, while the city collects incremental increases in property revenue to fund civic improvements. The end idea is once the TID expires, all taxing bodies will reap the benefits of increased property value. LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May urged the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar on Thursday to take steps to reduce tensions that have led the Arab world's biggest powers to cut ties with Qatar. "The Prime Minister raised the ongoing isolation of Qatar in the Gulf region, calling on all sides to urgently de-escalate the situation, engage meaningfully in dialogue, and restore Gulf Cooperation Council unity at the earliest possible opportunity," a spokesperson for May said in a statement. Qatar should "continue to build on the progress it has already made to address the scourge of radicalisation and terrorism in the region, in partnership with its Gulf allies," the spokesperson added. May's office said she spoke with the kings of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and the emir of Qatar on Thursday evening. British foreign secretary Boris Johnson urged Gulf states including Saudi Arabia to ease their blockade of Qatar on Monday. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Elisabeth O'Leary) MADISON State agencies would have to submit more detailed reports about their programs and spending under a bill state Sen. David Craig is circulating. Craig, whose district includes the Waterford area of Racine County, says he wants to reinstate whats known as the base budget review process. It requires state agencies to submit a report of every dollar and program they administer to be reviewed by the Legislature at budget time, according to a news release. In the state budget process, the previous budget becomes the new starting point, or base. That base budget is hardly ever examined its baked into the cake, Craig, R-Town of Vernon, said in the release. Craigs bill requires one third of state agencies to submit more detailed reports about spending during a given two-year budget process. Over a six-year period, each government agency will have submitted this report describing all programs, activities and costs. Wisconsin enacted such a law in 2002, but then-Gov. Jim Doyle repealed it in 2009. At the time, Doyle, a Democrat, argued the base budget reports were of limited use, and noted every agency had completed at least one base budget review in the previous seven years, according to media reports. Craig argued wasteful spending is hiding in the base budgets of all state agencies, free of scrutiny. Once a government program is created, it often never dies and its existence rarely has to be justified, Craig and state Rep. Rob Hutton wrote in a memo to legislators. Wisconsin families have to put all their bills and receipts on the table when making their budgets. They examine every dollar, and so should government, Craig said. The bill goes further than a 2015 law requiring state agencies to submit two budget requests: one assuming a 5 percent reduction in spending and another at current spending levels, according to the memo. Craig and Hutton, R-Brookfield, are circulating the bill for co-sponsors until June 20, after which it will be formally introduced. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen attends the annual Han Kuang military drill in Penghu, Taiwan May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu Thomson Reuters Taiwan severed diplomatic ties with Panama on Tuesday to "uphold the sovereignty and dignity of the nation" one day after Panama cut ties with its longtime ally in favor of establishing relations with China. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen called Panama's decision "deeply regrettable" and issued a defiant message to Beijing that the island would not back down from its engagement with the international community. "Although we have lost a diplomatic ally, our refusal to engage in a diplomatic bidding war will not change," Tsai said in a speech Tuesday. "We are a sovereign country. This sovereignty cannot be challenged nor traded. China has continued to manipulate the one China' principle and pressure Taiwan's international space, threatening the rights of the Taiwanese people, but it remains undeniable that the Republic of China [Taiwan] is a sovereign country. This is a fact China will never be able to deny," she continued. Panama's government announced on Monday that it recognized "only one China in the world" and considered Taiwan an "inalienable part" of it. The statement directly undermined Taiwan's interpretation of the longstanding "one China" principle. Only 20 countries, including the United States, and the Vatican now recognize Taiwan's sovereignty. The island has faced a series of diplomatic setbacks contributing to its isolation over the past decade. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Tuesday it would immediately close its embassy in Panama City, withdraw all staff, and end all bilateral cooperation and aid programs in the country. The de facto embassy said Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela "caved in to" economic pressure from Beijing. Juan Carlos Varela Seth Wenig/AP "The ROC government strongly condemns Panama's act, and reiterates that it will not engage in checkbook diplomacy with the Beijing authorities," Taiwan's diplomatic arm said in a statement. Story continues The move marks a significant setback for Taiwan. Tsai visited Panama one month after taking office in June 2016 for the opening of the expanded Panama Canal. She returned to Central America in January for the inauguration of Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega, where she also visited Guatemala and Honduras to reinforce Taipei's commitment to its allies. Taiwanese optimism that Washington would deepen its relationship with Taipei spiked after President Donald Trump engaged in a brief phone call with Tsai in December, but this has all but faded after the president's April meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida. Trump told Reuters in an interview shortly after the meeting that he would consult with Xi before again speaking to Tsai to avoid creating problems with the Chinese president. Tsai warned Xi on Tuesday that Taiwan would "not sit idle" as its interests were "threatened and challenged," vowing never to surrender to Beijing's "intimidation." NOW WATCH: An expert navigator explains the toughest environment to get lost in and a simple trick to find your way again See Also: A Syrian refugee has been named as the first victim of the Grenfell Tower fire. Mohammad Alhajal told a friend moments before his death: It is over. The fire has reached me. Tell my mum and dad I love them. Family friend Abdulaziz Almashi told Yahoo News UK that Mohammad tried to escape the fire, following his brother Omar who is now recovering in hospital. The 23-year-old lived on the 13th floor of the block with his two brothers Omar, 25 and Hashim, 20, after they fled Syria in 2014. Mr Almashi said: He tried to flee the flats and went into the corridor, but it was too dark with smoke. He explained that Omar managed to flee the building but Mohammad returned to the flat where he was trapped for two hours, speaking to a friend from Syria on the phone, speaking his heartbreaking final words. Omar is currently in hospital in a stable condition Mr Almashi described Mohammad as a kind and charitable person. He always tried to help others. He was an incredible person, he said. They [the three brothers] were happy in London because they had the chance for an education. This is absolutely devastating for the family. Mohammad was studying civil engineering at the University of the West of London, and Omar is training to be an accountant. Read more about the Grenfall Tower fire Fire death toll set to rise as grim search for victims continues Firefighters praised after sick lies spread that it took them two hours to arrive Kind-hearted strangers raise more than 1 million for victims of Grenfell Tower blaze Man arrested after taking pictures of the dead at Grenfell tower block Devastated Grenfell Tower resident claims fire was caused by his fridge exploding The devastating fire that broke out in the tower has killed at least 17 people, with that number expected to rise. Emergency services are today trawling through the wreckage, with no survivors expected to be found. A residents group has said they flagged up the buildings fire safety issues a number of times, but their warnings fell on deaf ears. MONTREAL Racine Mayor John Dickert is spending this week in Montreal at the annual meeting and conference of the organization hell soon become president and CEO of, the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. The conference, which runs from Tuesday night through Friday morning, is asking both federal and local governments to take action to preserve their fresh water supply. Though the release named Dickert as the organizations successor, the mayors spokesperson, Gretchen Herrmann, said the date Dickert will assume that role depends on the retirement of current Executive Director David Ullrich. That will also determine the date of his resignation as Racines mayor, which has also not yet been announced. The GLSLCI is a coalition of 130 cities from the United States and Canada with a combined population of over 17 million. Dickert announced his intention to step down as mayor and lead the GLSLCI on March 27. In the release issued Thursday morning, Dickert urged these continued efforts from societys leaders. It is not the time for complacency, Dickert said. Our commitment to the spirit of the Paris Agreement is going to have to be proven at the city level, as it ultimately always has been, with or without federal backing. Ensuring clean and safe water is our responsibility to our children and future generations. Dickerts support for the Paris Climate Change Agreement comes in light of President Donald Trump removing the United States from the global climate deal, citing his desire to negotiate a better deal. The United States was one of three countries to withdraw from the agreement, along with Nicaragua and Syria. Dickerts support for the deal was recently echoed by all three official candidates to succeed him, Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine), Pastor Melvin Hargrove and Wally Rendon. All three said they would prioritize protecting the environment as mayor, if elected. The special election to replace Dickert cannot be scheduled until his resignation takes effect. Once Dickert steps down, the City Council could call for the general election between 62 and 77 days in the future or schedule it on a future election day. SANTA FE Democratic state lawmakers on Wednesday bluntly questioned whether it was necessary for the state Public Education Department to reduce funding by 28 percent for a summer program that helps elementary school students. State administrators, in turn, said they were simply trying to solidify the programs finances to ensure theres enough money to continue it next summer, amid an incredibly tight budget situation. The back-and-forth came in a hearing of the Legislative Education Study Committee, a bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers who recommend funding levels for public education. Democratic committee members highlighted a letter by legislative staffers who after reviewing state data suggested some of the cuts werent necessary. Sen. William Soules, D-Las Cruces, said the state was holding back too much money for next years programs money thats needed this summer. There would still be time to find a funding solution for next years services, he suggested, if some of that money is tapped this summer. Arent we denying students who need it right now? Soules asked. Matthew Pahl, policy director in the Public Education Department, disputed that cuts were unnecessary. The money thats been held back roughly $10 million is necessary for the program next summer, he said, assuming the department has a flat budget. Were ensuring the program has a sustainable path forward, Pahl said. The state government has been under incredible financial pressure because of a budget crunch, he said. Sen. Mimi Stewart, an Albuquerque Democrat and chairwoman of the committee, said the state had made a variety of mistakes in its handling of the program, including holding back too much money. Youve mismanaged it, she told PED executives. Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, said the school district in her city should have found the money elsewhere to offset the state funding cut, perhaps by reducing administrative spending. I really hope this program continues to be a priority, she said. Restoring enough funding to serve as many students this summer as in the past would take somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million, according to legislative staff. The debate focuses on New Mexicos K-3 Plus program, which adds instructional days to the school year for students in kindergarten through third grade. The program targets low-performing schools and schools that serve a high percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. It has demonstrated success at improving students math and reading skills, officials said. The states top health official on Wednesday rejected state Medical Cannabis Advisory Board recommendations to add opiate dependence and Alzheimers disease to the list of conditions that qualify someone to legally buy medical cannabis from a state-licensed producer. The board had voted 5-1 on Nov. 4 to recommend adding opiate-use disorder to the list of 21 medical conditions that allow a patient to qualify for the New Mexico medical cannabis program. That recommendation would have allowed people addicted to heroin or narcotic painkillers to legally purchase marijuana. Health Secretary Lynn Gallagher rejected the boards Nov. 4 recommendation, citing a lack of scientific research to support the argument that cannabis can offer relief from the pain and suffering of people struggling with opiate addiction. While I share the Advisory Boards concern about opioid use and its costs, I cannot say with confidence that the use of cannabis for treatment of opioid dependence and its symptoms would be either safe or effective, Gallagher wrote in her response, issued Wednesday. She added: Also, I am concerned that utilizing one addictive substance to treat dependence on another without reliable medical evidence and human research studies is problematic at best considering our current opiate epidemic. The Journal was unable to contact members of the advisory board Wednesday for comment. Gallagher noted that the board had listed several abstracts from medical journals and other articles that discussed addiction and cannabis use to support its recommendation. Most of the articles cited in the petition concern the effects of cannabinoids on chronic pain, and do not specifically address opioid use or opioid addiction, Gallagher wrote. The board also voted 5-0 in November to recommend adding Alzheimers disease, a form of dementia, to the list of qualifying conditions. Gallagher responded that a former health secretary, the late Retta Ward, had rejected a 2014 recommendation by the advisory board to add dementia to the list of qualifying conditions, citing a lack of scientific research about the effects of cannabis on people with dementia. I share the concerns raised by Secretary Ward and add that the Advisory Board has not provided any subsequent evidence to change that determination, Gallagher wrote. She also cited her concern about possible drug interactions between cannabis and medications prescribed to treat dementia. Gallagher also rejected another advisory board recommendation that would have allowed doctors to use telemedicine to evaluate patients for certification in the medical cannabis program. Telemedicine evaluations could erode the already limited contact that patients have with certifying practitioners, she wrote. Emergency personnel on Wednesday rescued a female hiker who had been lost in the East Mountains for more than a day. The woman, who is in her 60s, was tired and dehydrated but doing well, Bernalillo County spokesman Larry Gallegos said in a news release issued late Wednesday afternoon. She was transported to a hospital for evaluation. Gallegos said Air-1 Metro Air Support Unit pilot Larry Koren of the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office, Battalion Commander Devon Sullivan and Rescue Specialist John Turrietta of the Bernalillo County Fire Department, New Mexico State Search and Rescue, and Bernalillo County Emergency Communications took part in the operation. SEOUL, South Korea North Korea said Thursday it released an American university student over humanitarian reasons in its first official comment since he was returned to his home state of Ohio in a coma. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said Otto Warmbier had been serving hard labor but didnt comment on his medical condition or how the country negotiated his release with the United States. Warmbier, who had been in hard labor, was sent back home on June 13, 2017, on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK, the agency said in the one-sentence report, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. The 22-year-old Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate, was convicted and sentenced in a one-hour trial in North Koreas Supreme Court in March 2016. He got 15 years in prison with hard labor for subversion after he tearfully confessed that he had tried to steal a propaganda banner. He was medically evacuated from North Korea and arrived in Cincinnati late Tuesday. His father, Fred Warmbier, told Fox News that his son was terrorized and brutalized and has been in a coma for more than a year. The U.S., South Korea and others often accuse North Korea of using foreign detainees to wrest diplomatic concessions. Three Americans remain in custody in North Korea over accusations including alleged hostile acts and spying. CANBERRA, Australia Australias prime minister on Friday denied he was impersonating President Donald Trump during an off-the-record speech he gave at Parliament House, describing his performance as lighthearted and affectionate channeling. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has attempted to limit any diplomatic fallout from the speech he gave on Wednesday night at an annual charity ball hosted by the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery after an Australian television network on Thursday broadcast excerpts recorded with a phone. Turnbull made fun of both Trump and the Australian governments dismal opinion polls in an animated performance. Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls. We are winning so much. We are winning like we have never won before, Turnbull said in a speech that has now attracted international attention. We are winning in the polls. We are, we are not the fake polls, not the fake polls theyre the ones were not winning in. Were winning in the real polls, you know, the online polls. They are so easy to win, he added. Did you know that? I know that, did you know that? I kind of know that. I know that. They are so easy to win. I have this Russian guy, believe me its true, its true, he said. Turnbull told Seven Network television on Friday that he was making fun of his own poor polling performance since his conservative coalition barely scraped back into government in elections last July. I dont actually do impersonations, that was not an impersonation. I was speaking on my own behalf, but perhaps a little bit of lighthearted and affectionate channeling, Turnbull said. I was sending up my own singular performance in opinion polls and I was the butt of my own jokes, he added. Turnbulls relationship with Trump has been a subject of speculation. Turnbulls first telephone conversation with Trump in January over a refugee resettlement deal was, in Trumps words, testy. But the two leaders made a public show of solidarity and friendship when they met for the first time in New York in May. Turnbull is rarely critical of Trump in public and says they share a bond as wealthy businessmen who entered politics late in life. Unnamed government lawmakers have told The Australian newspaper that Turnbulls speech could damage the bilateral relationship and demonstrated the prime ministers lack of judgment. Turnbull said on Friday the speech had to be seen in its Australian cultural context. We are all larrikins, Turnbull said, using an Australian term for an unconventional and lovable troublemaker. We dont take ourselves too seriously, he added. Turnbull said his speech got mix reviews. I dont think it demonstrates that Im up for Saturday Night Live yet, Turnbull said, referring to the U.S. television show in which Alec Baldwin won acclaim through his Trump impersonations. Asked if he followed Trump on Twitter and was checking Trumps feed for reaction to the speech, Turnbull replied: I think the whole world follows him on Twitter. U.S. charge daffaires to Australia, James Carouso, was among the 600 who attended the ball. The U.S. Embassy said in a statement: We understand that last nights event is equivalent to our White House Correspondents Dinner. We take this with the good humor that was intended. Just last month, a White House aide told the media that President Donald Trumps attendance at a summit of Muslim leaders in the Saudi capital had united the entire Muslim world in a way that it really hasnt been in many years. In reality, that Trump visit seems to have prefigured a startling period of division. The showdown in the Persian Gulf over the tiny emirate of Qatar is now well into its second week. As we explained when it first began, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and a number of other allied Arab states are seeking to isolate Qatar over its supposed support for Islamist extremism abroad, its perceived friendliness to Iran, and the subversive commentary of its Al Jazeera news channel and other affiliated outlets. Theres little sign that Qatar, whose officials reject the allegations, is willing to acquiesce to Saudi and UAE demands. Regional officials and sheikhs are now conducting hurried rounds of shuttle diplomacy, hoping to calm a feud that threatens to split apart the Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc of six Arab monarchies that once seemed the most stable and coherent group in the region. Meanwhile, borders have been shut and flights grounded. Ambassadors and diplomats have been withdrawn. Families with roots and relations in different kingdoms are suddenly facing a traumatic, uncertain new reality. It seems increasingly clear that the Saudis and Emiratis have bitten off more than they can chew. Despite its tiny size, Qatar is the largest producer of natural gas in the Middle East; it is wealthy and has friends. After Saudi Arabia closed its land border with Qatar, Turkey and Iran flew in hundreds of tons of goods to help stave off potential food shortages. Qatar has also launched new shipping routes via Oman to boost its supplies from other sources. The Qatari public has rallied in a show of nationalist defiance. I will never buy Saudi Arabian and UAE products again, said a Qatari man recently to my colleague Sudarsan Raghavan. I will stay loyal to the people who support us now. The role of the Trump administration in the crisis has been both conspicuous and confusing. Qatar is a long-standing, albeit problematic, U.S. ally. It hosts a number of American university campuses and a vast U.S. military base that is critical to counterterrorism operations in Iraq and Syria. Yet Trump, fresh from his trip to Riyadh, seemed to giddily join the Saudi and UAE bandwagon. During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar look! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017 So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017 extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017 This raised eyebrows for quite a few reasons. First, its a bit much to single out Qatar for not doing enough to curb terrorism when similar accusations can be leveled at its neighbors, perhaps especially Saudi Arabia. Such is the nature of the Middle East that while it is entirely true that the Qataris are difficult partners and pursue unsavory policies, that does not make them all that different from any of Washingtons other Middle Eastern allies, wrote Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations. All of these countries have questionable records on human rights, and some have distinguished themselves as incubators of extremism. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones, except thats exactly what happens in the Middle East. Some critics suggest the real impetus for the move is Saudi and UAE irritation with Qatars Al Jazeera, which embraced democratic struggles across the Arab world in keeping with Dohas own tacit support for the Islamist political parties emerging in various countries. Not content with muzzling their own media, they want to shut down all media that reveals the inconvenient truth about their despotic, venal, corrupt regimes, wherever it is in the world, wrote David Hearst, editor-in-chief of the Middle East Eye, an English-language news website that is critical of the regions autocrats. Moreover, Trumps own line seemed to contradict the far more cautious approach pushed by his lieutenants. From the onset of the crisis, both Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis counseled conciliation, not confrontation. On Wednesday, the Pentagon even completed a $12 billion agreement over the sale of as many as 36 F-15 jets to the Qataris hardly the sort of deal you make (or signal you send) if you want to isolate a rogue actor. Tillerson, whose credibility in Washington has taken a series of hits, also spent much of this week attempting to broker an understanding between the two sides. Trumps statements have not helped. Everybody was taken by surprise by the presidents comments. It undermined what the secretary had to say, one State Department official told my colleague Josh Rogin. The policy that is being worked is the Tillerson policy, Trumps comments notwithstanding. Tillerson strongly opposes blockade. @POTUS tweeted enthusiastic support. I dont think this is how foreign policy is supposed to work. Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 9, 2017 Rogin explained the conundrum facing the U.Ss top diplomat: Tillerson, who has decades of experience with Qatar, represents a large swath of the foreign policy and national security community who believe that Qatar has been a reliable albeit complicated ally supporting U.S. military operations. Isolating and punishing Qatar runs counter to the goal of getting its leadership to address U.S. concerns, their argument goes. Qatars detractors in Washington are mostly keen on punishing a country that wont get in line with the broader neoconservative project to contain Iran, a goal championed by the Saudis and cheered on by Trump. But the current crisis is achieving the opposite, creating new fault lines between Arabs and pushing Qatar potentially closer to Iran. By not leaving diplomatic space for Iran and its Arab neighbors to manage their own differences, Trump has set the United States squarely alongside the House of Saud on a collision course with Irans Shiite regime, wrote Amar Handjani, a senior nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council. Thats a problem, argues Handjani, because Trump needs Iran and its Arab neighbors to work together in finding holistic solutions for the sectarian wars that have inflamed the Middle East. Last week, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel lamented Trumps bluster over Qatar. A further escalation would serve nobody. The Middle East is a political and a military powder keg, said Gabriel to reporters. The heavy-handed approach of the Saudis and Emiratis, he said, is a dangerous Trumpization of regional affairs. NEW YORK He tested the presidential waters for Donald Trump and then served as a campaign guard dog, threatening a reporter that he would mess your life up. Before long, he was swept up in the questions swirling around the administration and Russia. Michael Cohen, an integral part of Trump world for a decade, says hes preparing to testify before the House intelligence committee on Sept. 5 about its investigation into Moscows interference in the U.S. election and hes already fighting back. The liberal media has painfully learned that they cannot get under the skin of Donald Trump, he said in an interview. To continue this fake Russian narrative, they attack anyone and everyone who is close to the president who knows someone who has a connection to or is involved in any way shape or form to someone from the former Soviet Union. I still cannot figure out why they are obsessing over my relationships that existed in the Ukraine when the Ukraine and Russia are two separate countries who presently dont even get along. For those who suspect that the Trump campaign and the Kremlin colluded, Cohen offers an alluring target. New York business filings list him as an officer of two family financial companies in Ukraine incorporated in 1998, and he and his younger brother were directors of International Ethanol of Ukraine, according to 2006 filings. Cohen visited Georgia in 2010 with the aim of building either a Trump hotel or residential tower on the Black Sea. His wife of 23 years is of Ukrainian extraction, he was long involved with a Ukrainian businessman in the rough-and-tumble New York City taxicab business and he was named in an uncorroborated dossier about Russian interference compiled by a former British spy. Cohen has been quick and absolute in his denial of any inappropriate activity. He said his role in all three companies was to file legal paperwork for family members; none of the businesses got off the ground. And after the spy dossier was published, including a claim he had gone to Prague to meet a Russian, he tweeted a photo of his passport and said hed never been to Prague. Cohen, 50, resembles his boss with his in-your-face style, legions of Twitter followers and real estate deal-making history (he says he personally owns 115 apartments in New York City). For years, he held the title of special counsel to Trump. Today, hes Trumps personal lawyer, separate from White House counsel and from attorneys, including Marc Kasowitz, Trump has hired to handle Russia inquiries. To those who know the Trump cast of characters, Cohen fits a pattern. Theres a definite type that Trump has been drawn to through the years, and theyre people who share his kind of street sensibility, said Marc Fisher, co-author of the recent biography Trump Revealed and senior editor at The Washington Post. He likes tough guys, he likes people who he thinks shoot from the gut and are direct and dont hold back in any way. Cohen grew up on Long Island and has the accent to prove it; after American University in Washington, and law school at Western Michigan University, he returned to New York to practice law. He married into a Ukrainian family and began buying taxi medallions. By 2003, campaigning for New York City Council, Cohen listed his occupation as Businessman, Attorney and Community Activist and ran a fleet of more than 200 taxis, according to a voter guide. (He lost.) Cabs were a good investment: Legal filings in a contractual dispute with his longtime partner, a polo-playing Ukrainian emigre named Simon Garber, show that he and his wife were pulling in $90,000 a month from their medallions in 2011. Other ventures werent as lucrative, like an unsuccessful $1.5 million investment in a Miami gambling cruise boat. His enthusiasm for high-end real estate brought him to Trump. Over the years, Cohen and his family have owned apartments in Trump World Tower near the United Nations, as well as in Trump Palace on 69th Street and Trump Park Avenue. Trumps oldest son, Donald Jr., recommended Cohen to his father after getting to know him through his investments, Cohen told The Real Deal in February. Cohen joined Trump on the upswing, as The Apprentice was turning the developer of troubled Atlantic City casinos into a worldwide reality TV phenomenon. His title at the Trump Organization was executive vice president and special counsel, and he served on the boards of the Miss Universe Organization and Trump Productions, as well as the Eric Trump Foundation. His legal work in-house hasnt left much of a trace in the public record. But he has played a very public role in promoting Trump as a politician. Cohen scouted in Iowa for Trump in 2011, and started a website to drum up interest in yet another makeover for the political candidate. He defended even his bosss most controversial utterances in the 2016 race, including the suggestion that Mexicans crossing the border were rapists. Cohen called that potentially and partially true. Not long after, he threatened a Daily Beast reporter trying to get a comment for a story about rape allegations Trumps first wife, Ivana, made during their divorce and later retracted: You write a story that has Mr. Trumps name in it, with the word rape, and Im going to mess your life up for as long as youre on this frickin planet youre going to have judgments against you, so much money, youll never know how to get out from underneath it, the Daily Beast quoted him as saying. Cohen later partially apologized. In the interview with Bloomberg, he elaborated: I apologized for my inarticulate statement, but I didnt apologize for my reaction to a query that is disgraceful. I have tremendous admiration and affection for Mr. Trump and the family. To accuse him of such a heinous act was nothing more than a feeble attempt to malign his good name, reputation and thwart his presidential ambition. Clearly, it did not work. In February, The New York Times linked Cohen to a proposed peace plan for Ukraine aimed at getting the U.S. to lift sanctions against Moscow. The plan involved leasing Crimea to Russia for 100 years and was developed by Trump business associate Felix Sater and Ukrainian legislator Andrii Artemenko. The paper said Cohen delivered the proposal to the office of Michael Flynns, days before the former national security adviser was forced to resign over his own Russia contacts. Cohen says this account is wrong. He said he suggested in a brief encounter with Artemenko that Flynn might be an appropriate conduit, but he himself never read the proposal or delivered it to anyone. At the end of May, he said House and Senate investigators requested that he voluntarily provide information to Congress on Russia. He refused, saying the whole issue was fake. After he was subpoenaed, he said he would cooperate. The Russia cloud has not prevented Cohen from capitalizing on his Trump ties. In April, the law firm Squire Patton Boggs announced a strategic alliance with Michael D. Cohen & Associates, to continue building a pre-eminent global public-policy offering. Also in April, the Republican National Committee announced Cohens appointment as one of three new national deputy finance chairmen. (Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report) 2017 Bloomberg News Visit Bloomberg News at www.bloomberg.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. - PHOTO (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): _____ COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. A Colorado man whos a 12-year member of an Army Special Forces unit is standing trial for shooting an intruder three times in the back in his houses detached garage. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/2seJ3FX ) prosecutors argued Wednesday that 35-year-old Michael Joseph Galvin crossed the line from serviceman to vigilante when he shot the intruder. Galvin is charged with negligent homicide, which carries a maximum penalty of up to three years in prison. Galvins fate hinges on how the states make my day law will be interpreted. The law gives homeowners the right to shoot and kill an intruder if they believe the person intends to commit a crime and use physical force. The question in the case is whether a detached garage qualifies under the law. ___ Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com PHOENIX One person is dead following a shooting at a Phoenix home and police say an 18-year-old man who lives at the house been detained for questioning. Police say the circumstances of the shooting early Thursday are under investigation, but theres no immediate indication that the incident involved a burglary or forced entry. They say a male was pronounced dead at the scene. His name and age werent immediately released, but police say he could possibly be in his teens. Police say the unidentified 18-year-old man reportedly was visibly shaken when he went to the home of neighbors after the shooting and it was the neighbors who called police. The man is cooperating with authorities as they investigate the death. Leo Molzhon spent many days and nights on a mattress underneath Interstate 40 at 12th Street NW. Thats where he was, along with four or five other men, Wednesday afternoon when, witnesses say, he was doused with gasoline and set on fire. Molzhon, 50, was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he died. Police believe the fire was set intentionally, and Albuquerque Fire Department arson investigators are assisting Albuquerque Police Department homicide detectives with the investigation, according to officer Fred Duran, a spokesman for the APD. Molzhons friend Chett, who didnt want to give his last name, said he had been sleeping nearby. He and other witnesses say they know the man who police suspect was involved. The man came up and he had a bottle full of gasoline and he splashed it all over Leo and set him on fire, Chett said. It was rough to watch, a man burning to death; its not a pleasant sight. Duran said police and firefighters were called to the blaze around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. When they got there, they found Molzhon and the mattress he had been lying on engulfed in flames. Officers arrived minutes before AFD and were able to put out the fire on the man with a fire extinguisher, Duran said. Duran said they are looking for two men, possibly named Randy and AZ, who the witnesses said ran from the scene. He described them as African-American men in their 40s and said one has a large build, and the other has a smaller build and is bald or balding. By Thursday afternoon, news of Molzhons death had spread among the group near the underpass. Many of the men who had been with Molzhon when he was killed were still there, struggling to come to terms with what they had seen and worrying that they could be next. The guy was aflame from head to foot, Chett said. I didnt think he would make it to the ambulance. He was a good man. He was a friend. Others said Molzhon, who they said was originally from Minnesota, had been living on the streets for more than a year. They said he had a teenage daughter whom he had recently reconnected with and described him as being quick to share drinks or cigarettes if he could. Choking up, John Jackson said he had tried to drag Molzhon away from the flames but couldnt move him. Hes a nice guy, and he didnt deserve that, Jackson said. That son of a (expletive) killed my friend. Journal staff photographer Adolphe Pierre-Louis contributed to this report. Tips: Police ask anyone with information about the case to contact Crime Stoppers at 843-STOP. WASHINGTON Police in the U.S. capital issued arrest warrants Thursday for a dozen Turkish security agents accused of attacking protesters during a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month, prompting an angry denunciation by Turkeys leader and creating a new spat between the NATO allies. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the charges send a clear message that the United States does not tolerate individuals who use intimidation and violence to stifle freedom of speech and legitimate political expression. He said the State Department would work with police and legal authorities as the cases progress and decide on additional steps when that process is complete. Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert declined to say what actions might be taken, but the U.S. could seek the extradition of the Turkish suspects or bar them from entering the United States. Tillersons comment came shortly after District of Columbia Police Chief Peter Newsham and Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that arrest warrants had been issued for nine Turkish security guards, three Turkish police officers and two Canadians. Newsham urged those being sought and some still unidentified to surrender, speaking a day after two other people were arrested in the case. The melee has become a major irritant in U.S.-Turkish ties and the charges appeared to escalate the situation Thursday. Speaking at a dinner to break the Ramadan fast in Ankara, Erdogan asked, What kind of a law is this? Referring to his security detail, he said, If they are not going to protect me, why would I bring them with me to America? Erdogan said the protesters were members of an outlawed Kurdish militant group and the U.S. police failed to act. He vowed to fight the decision on legal and political grounds. Relations were severely strained even before the melee, which came as Erdogan arrived May 16 at the Turkish ambassadors residence after a White House meeting with President Donald Trump. Newsham said video showed security guards and some Erdogan supporters attacking a small group of protesters. Nine people were hurt. We all saw the violence that was perpetrated against the protesters, Newsham said. Were not going to tolerate this. He said many were being sought on assault charges, and other counts. Erdogans security detail returned with him to Turkey after his visit, so it was unclear if any would face any immediate U.S. legal repercussions. However, they could end up being threatened with arrest if they return to the U.S. If any are still in the country, they could be expelled if Turkey refuses to waive diplomatic immunity. They should bring themselves here to the United States to answer these charges, Newsham said. Upon learning of the charges, Turkeys Foreign Ministry summoned John Bass, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, to issue a protest. The ministry said in a statement that the decision to charge the agents was wrong, biased and lacks legal basis and that the melee was actually the fault of U.S. law enforcement that failed to take necessary security steps. It also accused U.S. authorities of roughing up Erdogans security detail. It has been emphasized that the decision, which clearly was not taken as a result of an impartial and independent investigation, is unacceptable, the ministry said. Newsham recounted how video near the residence showed some people attacking protesters with their fists and feet. Men in dark suits and others were recorded repeatedly kicking one woman as she lay curled on a sidewalk. A man with a bullhorn was repeatedly kicked in the face. After officers struggled to protect the protesters and ordered the men in suits to retreat, several of the men dodged the officers and ran into a park to continue the attacks. Bowser said the nations capital is a frequent protest venue but police insist those be peaceful. We make sure they are safe, but we also make sure they follow our laws, she said. And certainly anyone traveling to the United States will be held to that standard. Rep. Ed Royce of California, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Thursday he was encouraged by the police action. The violent attacks by Turkish security forces on peaceful protesters in Washington were completely and totally unjustified, Royce said. Now, the State Department should double down on efforts to help bring these individuals to justice. Police displayed photos at the news conference of those sought, urging the public to help find some still unidentified. Turkey has claimed the demonstrators were associated with the PKK, which has waged a three-decade-long insurgency against Turkey and is considered a terrorist group by the United States. Newsham said Thursday there was no indication that the protesters were part of a terrorist group. In Washington, D.C., we do not care particularly what your views are, what you support or what you do not support, Newsham said. Our goal as a government, as a police department, is making sure you can do it safely. ___ Associated Press writers Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul and Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report. The FBI in New Mexico has joined the investigation into what new documents allege is a scheme by the CEO of the Desert State Life Management Company of Albuquerque to defraud clients, who include mentally and physically incapacitated people, out of millions of dollars set aside in trust accounts for their care. The FBI is asking a federal judge in a civil petition filed today to forfeit two properties, including an Angel Fire luxury lodge that had recently been put up for sale by Paul Donisthorpe and his wife amid a state financial examination of the accounts and financial dealings of Desert State, a nonprofit trustee company Donisthorpe controls. The northern New Mexico lodges sale price dropped another $174,000 over the weekend, from $899,000 to $725,000, according to Internet real estate listings. An FBI special agent signed off on the forfeiture petition today, contending that a review of financial records showed nearly $49,800 in client trust funds was diverted from Desert State accounts and applied to the mortgage on the Angel Fire property. Another $38,000 allegedly siphoned from client funds was applied to a mortgage on a North Fourth Street property that has been the business location for Desert State. No criminal charges have been filed against Donisthorpe, who is a CPA and former investment banker. Neither he nor his wife have returned requests for comment. The FBI petition states the forfeiture of the two properties is warranted because they were purchased with proceeds of unlawful activities, such as wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. RICHMOND, Va. Virginias attorney general and the top attorneys in other states are investigating whether opioid manufacturers have used unlawful marketing and sales practices. Attorney General Mark Herring said in a statement on Thursday that the bipartisan group of attorneys general is looking into whether drug manufacturers played a role in creating or prolonging the addiction epidemic. Herring didnt provide further details about the investigation, including what companies theyre investigating. His office couldnt provide a list of all the states involved, but attorneys general in Pennsylvania, Texas and Illinois, among others have said they have joined the investigation. Herring says in a statement that the investigation into the culpability of opioid manufacturers in creating, sustaining and extending the drug crisis is part of an ongoing effort to tackle the problem in Virginia. Water Positive Cerveza Imperial Launches New Brew in Colorado with Partnership to Help Restore and Sustain State Waterways How can drinking beer help the environment? Costa Rican-based Cerveza Imperial, the worlds first and only water positive beer, has chosen Denver, Boulder and across the state of Colorado for the first U.S. launch of Imperial Silver. To spread its water positive concept of giving more than it takes, Imperial will partner with the Colorado Water Trust (CWT) to help fund and support efforts to restore and sustain Colorado waterways. The brewery will also launch a series of communications and events to engage people interested in learning more about what can be done locally to preserve and protect waterways. We have committed to a revolutionary concept of being the worlds first and only water positive beer, a unique approach that allows us to return more fresh water to the environment than we use, said Gisela Sanchez, Cerveza Imperials corporate affairs director. Imperial analyzed its entire water footprint in sourcing, brewing and transporting our beer to understand our total water impact. We looked for ways to not only reach water neutrality by reducing and compensating the water we use but to actually improve upon the availability of fresh water in Costa Rica. As a result, Coloradans are helping to save the environment by drinking Imperial products, Sanchez said. So its not surprising that Denvers environmentally conscious beer lovers drink more Imperial than any other city in the nation. In order to give back to Colorado, Cerveza Imperial is investing in state waterway restoration efforts as part of its water positive approach. The companys partnership with the Colorado Water Trust and other local environmental groups will provide assistance on multiple local waterway efforts, including: Investing in the CWTs Yampa River Project by funding 50 percent of the projects efforts with the City of Steamboat Springs to ensure adequate water flow in the river to maintain the health of the waterway, its fishery and use for hydropower. Participating as a Gold Sponsor and product contributor to the CWTs 9th Annual RiverBank Fundraiser on June 14, 2017. Hosting volunteer-led river cleanup projects around major waterways in and around the city of Denver. To accomplish its water positive mission, Cerveza Imperial has adopted the following four-step process of measure, reduce, compensate and create positive value in achieving a positive water footprint: 1. Measure. Analyze and measure the entire production water footprint including all suppliers and water used in the distribution process. 2. Reduce. Once a benchmark is established, the operations team develops processes that reduce water usage in the brewing, fermenting and packaging process, achieving an average 44 percent reduction in water usage over the last nine years while increasing production 70 percent. 3. Compensate. The third step is offsetting water being used in the production process and supply chain by returning water to the eco-system for water use. Cerveza Imperial protects more than 600 hectares of the Costa Rican tropical forest that are critical in trapping rainwater, recharging the natural water basins and protecting the quality of the water by reducing runoff. 4. Create Positive Value. Cerveza Imperial partners with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to improve access to fresh water, conserve fresh water, clean fresh water and sustain fresh water. This water positive approach has been recognized by ISO14046 international guidelines and reviewed by the Life Cycle Analysis and Sustainable Design center in Mexico and is verified each year by the Institute of Technical Standards of Costa Rica. We take very seriously our commitment to support the tropical forest and local communities in Costa Rica, Sanchez said. Our partnership with the Colorado Water Trust is no different. We are proud to make an investment in the well-being of the community and carry the water positive message to this beautiful state. About Cerveza Imperial Silver Cerveza Imperial Silver is crisp with a light body and soft bitterness balanced with the sweetness of malt. It has a bright golden color and presents light banana fruit notes with a dry texture, and clean and refreshing taste. Beer Profile: American Style Lager ABV: 4.5 percent IBUs: 11 Key Ingredients: Ninety percent two-row malt with light stable hops For more information, please visit www.imperialbeer.com About Cerveza Imperial Cerveza Imperial, Costa Ricas, most popular beer, is a product of FIFCO, Florida Ice and Farm Company S.A., founded in 1908. FIFCO is a Costa Rican food and beverage company and has a portfolio of more than 1,500 products, including beer, spirits, wine as well as a nonalcoholic portfolio of juices, water, carbonated soft drinks, milk, among other. FIFCO operates under a triple bottom line business strategy, reporting its economic, social and environmental results through the Integrated Report following GRI Standards and Integrated Reporting methodology. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005764/en/ Volume PR for Cerveza Imperial Kristina Groves, 720-529-4850 kgroves@volumepr.com BUDAPEST, Hungary, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Executives from Hungary's leading companies gathered on Thursday 8th June, to practice how to lead commercial recovery after a major data breach. CEOs and executives from Hungary's leading companies participated in a simulation of a major data beach run by Cyber Rescue, the leading consultancy based in London, UK in collaboration with DBH Group. DBH Group and Cyber Rescue have signed a collaboration agreement in March 2017. Under the agreement they will provide cyber recovery services in the CEE region. The event was also supported by the American Chamber of Commerce on 8th June at the Kempinski Hotel. "The number of major data breach events increased significantly over the last year and effected major commercial as well as political organizations. Hungarian business leaders have wisely recognised they must be ready to lead commercial recovery if hackers breach their defences," said Sandor Erdei, CEO of DBH Group. "This simulation helped CEOs reflect on why information security is so important, by rehearsing the decisions they might confront during a major data breach," he concluded. "Reputations are ruined, revenues are compromised and operations are overwhelmed, when executives are unprepared for the cascade of commercial consequences that can follow a major breach," said Kevin Duffey, Managing Director of Cyber Rescue. "I was very impressed by the professionalism shown by the leading Hungarian CEOs who participated in this simulation," he concluded. DBH Group provides investment and business services to thousands of companies in Central and Eastern Europe, and beyond. Headquartered in Budapest, the DBH Group delivers accountancy, serviced office, investment, IT services, project management and startup incubation services. Website: http://www.dbh-group.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/335013/ Cyber Rescue is the leading consultancy helping CEOs lead commercial recovery when hackers have breached their defences. Headquartered in London, Cyber Rescue's consultants have trained executives from hundreds of organisations across Europe, such as Vodafone, Swedbank, and LDSC, established by the Mayor of London to make London the safest place to innovate online. Website: http://www.cyberrescue.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyber-rescue-alliance/ Further information contact: Kevin Duffey, Managing Director, +44(0)7920-766530, kevin.duffey@cyberrescue.co.uk Further information, contact: Edina VARADI, Marketing Manager, +36-30-208-3203 edina.varadi@dbh-group.com SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- TravelTalkMEDIA and Monaco Business Development announced that under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein, Jordanian Soprano Zeina Barhoum has unveiled plans for the first ever opera festival in the Arab world. The Amman Opera Festival will debut with the full operatic production of Verdi's La Traviata on July 19 and July 22 of 2017. The historic performance will take place at the 2000 year old Roman Amphitheatre in Downtown Amman. Zeina's motivation behind this initiative is to plant the seeds towards growing the opera culture in Jordan and the Arab world, and perhaps inspire the building of a purpose-built Opera House in Jordan's Capital, Amman, joining the company of other Arab states such as Oman and the UAE. The production will include over 150 International musicians and dancers from more than 10 countries, starring Zeina Barhoum as Violetta, Andres Versamendi as Alfredo, Simon Svitok as Germont and Ady Naber as Gastone, accompanied by the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring musicians from La Scala and local talent and musicians, The Batumi Opera House Choir led by Conductor Lorenzo Tazzieri and directed by Luigi Orfeo. Amman Opera Festival is supported by Greater Amman Municipality, with the Strategic Partnership of The Ministry of Tourism and Jordan Tourism Board, Embassy of The People's Republic of China, Embassy of Italy and Embassy of Georgia in Jordan with Royal Jordanian Airlines as the official carrier. The official hotels include Marriott, Rotana Towers, Arjaan Rotana, The Sheraton and Crowne Plaza. HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein, who is the Royal Patron of La Traviata said, "Zeina Barhoum has helped to put Jordan on the map with all her hard work that she does both here and around the world. It has always been delightful to work with her. I have had the pleasure of listening to Zeina at various concerts and also enjoyed her voice on CD's very much. I consider her a great Ambassador of Music for Jordan." Zeina also promotes Music and the Arts for the Arab youth in the region. Her tireless work to promote women's issues, peace and healthy lifestyles are evident in her lengthy list of credits with performances in Jordan, UAE, London, Italy, Austria, France and Lebanon with renowned artists including Italian Baritone and tutor Walter Alberti and Roberto Alagna. Previously, Barhoum was invited to take part in the International Peace Festival Tour with the Prague Youth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riad Al Kudsi. She was also hosted for a concert at the UNESCO theatre in Paris, organized by the Jordanian Embassy in France and in honor of Dr Irina Bokova in celebration of the listing of the Baptism Site in Jordan as a World Heritage Site. Zeina Barhoum remarked. "Throughout my career, I have been blessed to work with people from around the globe. Through my music and art, I have realized the importance of cross cultural connections and I have seen first-hand how music provides an important bridge that unites cultures from all over the world. Through the use of music, we speak one language, a language we can all understand without interpreters," La Traviata in Amman will be on the 19th and the 22nd of July 2017 starting at 8 30 PM. Doors open at 7:30 PM. Tickets can be found at: http://www.karasi.com and at Amman Opera Festival's ticket booth at Cozmo in Amman, Jordan or call: +962 77 7980081 or +962 6 5515383. For more information go to:http://www.ammanoperafestival.com. About Zeina Barhoum Zeina Barhoum is a classically trained Soprano and founder of The Alcantara music and art series. Zeina has performed at benefits countless times for the benefit of women, children, peace and prosperity. Among her many invitations to perform, Ms. Barhoum was invited to perform at Kensington Palace in celebration of Women achievers, and for bridging cultures through The Arab International Women's Forum. Her album titled Alcantara refers to the Roman stone arch bridge built in Extremadura, Spain. The title of the album reflects Zeina's dedication to building strong connections of understanding and compassion through her music. Her second Album, Alcantara II was recently recorded live and launched in a concert accompanied by The Philharmonic Orchestra of Lviv and Choir lead by Conductor Lorenzo Tazzieri. Zeina also obtained a Bsc in Visual Communication at American University of Sharjah. For more information about Zeina go to: http://www.zeinabarhoum.com. About HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein is the mother of His Majesty King Abdullah the Second of Jordan. HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein married the late King Hussein Bin Talal, King of Jordan, in 1961. As an art and music lover HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein also sponsors a number of talented music students and musicians About Monaco Business Development and TravelTalkMEDIA Founders Working together for the past 10 years, MBD and TTM founders, Mona Naffa and Sandy Dhuyvetter, (both daughters of immigrants to the US), have brought the good news of Jordan to the world via radio, TV print and online distribution. 'Highlighting Jordan as a family destination and provided exciting stories has given the world a moment to pause and take notice that life in Jordan is full, rewarding, and available to visitors from all over the world', said Sandy Dhuyvetter, TravelTalkMEDIA. Media Contact: Sandy Dhuyvetter, TravelTalkMEDIA / TravelTalkRADIO, 415 806 5740, sandy@traveltalkmedia.com News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com SOURCE TravelTalkMEDIA / TravelTalkRADIO #WhosOnNextMX MEXICO CITY, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This June 14th Vogue will be getting all dressed up to attend the awards ceremony for winners of the 5th edition of Who's On Next, with the presence of two judges who have made their mark in the fashion industry: Lauren Santo Domingo, founder of the successful platform Moda Operandi, and Colombian Pink Filosofy designer Johanna Ortiz. Photo - http://www2.prnewswire.com.br/imgs/pub/2017-06-14/original/3644.jpg Since it started five years ago, Who's On Next has managed to bring together more than 200 designers, underscoring the importance of this platform and Vogue's commitment to national design. The platform has helped to strengthen the talent of our previous winners, and is the only one to offer an annual cash prize of half a million pesos for the fashion design winner, while in 2017 an additional prize of 100,000 pesos will be added to the first place award in the accessories category. Lobo Shoes, Sophie Simone, Jesus Giles, Angela Reyna and Mancandy are the finalists in the fifth edition of Who's On Next Mexico presented by Cadillac. "This award is not important because of the monetary value that goes with it, but rather because it makes it possible to access an unforgettable experience and receive solid guidance from genuine experts. Today we've got to support Mexico, and its industries and fashion should be no exception. Vogue supports the industry, with its 7 million followers of these designers throughout the region," notes Vogue Editorial Director, Karla Martinez de Salas. Who's on Next is a platform of international renown, which consists in discovering the fashion creators who will be taking over at the world's leading runways, and whose talent and vision of the future will make them into the ones Vogue will be backing in Mexican design. "This is the only platform in Mexico with international weight, considering that it is celebrated in a number of countries where Vogue has a presence. In the last 5 years, more than 200 designers have signed up to compete for the dream of being recognized and supported by Vogue, and for taking home the most coveted award in fashion," added Eva Hughes, CEO and General Manager of Conde Nast Mexico and Latinoamerica. This year, to celebrate the 5th edition of this major platform, in an alliance with Spotify under #VogueEscucha ['Vogue is listening'], Vogue has launched an unbeatable playlist from Vogue Who's on Next in which the editorial staff of the Bible of Fashion has taken part. Listen to the playlist specially prepared for this event by the whole team at Who's On Next Mexico, and follow coverage of our event on social networks under hashtag #WhosOnNextMx https://open.spotify.com/user/voguemexlatam/playlist/3GFpneh48iMCrdQ0QQuslB Contact: Conde Nast Mexico and Latinoamerica - Mexico (Headquarters): Phone: (55) 5062 3710, Fax: (55) 5062 3727 ; Miami: Phone: (305) 371 9393 Fax: (305) 371 9392 ; Colombia: Phone: (1) 744 7853 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lauren-santo-domingo-and-johanna-ortiz-are-star-guests-at-5th-edition-of-whos-on-next-mexico-300474344.html WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Organization of Iranian American Communities-US (OIAC) welcomes the US Senate overwhelming passage of bipartisan legislation that would impose further sanctions against the religious dictatorship ruling Iran for its sponsorship of terrorism, violations of human rights, and ballistic missile program. Specifically, the bill will impose terrorism sanctions on Iran's main instrument of suppression at home and terrorism and subversion abroad, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC). OIAC political director Dr. Majid Sadeghpour lauded the bipartisan legislation, emphasizing that "to the extent the IRGC and its functionality are restrained, the anti-regime democracy movement in Iran, as well as the pro-peace efforts to rid the region from terrorism, instability, and Islamic fundamentalism will benefit immensely." He added, "The passage of this bill must be complemented by the designation of the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State." The IRGC's continued engagement in terrorism has undermined peace and economic stability in the region. "Tehran's strategy of advancing its lines of defense beyond its borders is being implemented by the IRGC through sponsorship of terrorism and despicable involvement in countries like Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen," Sadeghpour added. Since its inception, the sole task of the terrorist IRGC has been to ensure the survival of Iran's theocracy. Domestically, IRGC has been directly responsible for murder, imprisonment, and torture of hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy Iranians. Beyond Iran's borders, IRGC has been a major sponsor of terrorism and responsible for murder of tens of thousands, including American military personal and civilians in Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. On July 20, 1987, in regards to the 1983 terrorist bombing of the US Marine barracks in Lebanon, Mohsen Rafighdoost, the former Minister of the IRGC, was quoted as saying that "both the TNT and the ideology behind it [the attack] came from Iran." According to detailed information released in February 2017 by the Iranian democratic opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the IRGC has at least 14 training centers in Tehran and other Iranian cities, where foreign nationals receive terrorist training before being dispatched back to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere. Much of the funding for IRGC's terrorist operations come from the profits IRGC makes thru dominating a significant portion of the Iranian economy. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oiac-welcomes-us-senate-overwhelming-passage-of-bipartisan-iran-sanctions-bill-300475025.html SOURCE Organization of Iranian American Communities - U.S. (OIAC) PEI-Genesis, one of the worlds fastest assemblers of precision connector and cable assemblies, is opening a sales office in Tel Aviv, Israel, it was announced today. The office opens on June 19. With Israel ranked fifth among the most innovative countries in the Bloomberg Innovation Index, expanding into this high growth area provides new opportunities for both PEI-Genesis and Israels Silicon Valley, the area in and around Tel Aviv where so many of the countrys high-tech industries are concentrated. Israel ranks thirteenth in the world in scientific activity, said Steven Fisher, PEI-Genesis CEO. It also has one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed, which indicates clearly that innovation is at the forefront. Our work with companies from design to delivery, and with our vast inventory and ability to customize quickly, it made perfect sense for PEI-Genesis to have a presence in this expanding market. The company plans to focus its sales efforts on all market sectors and on start-up tech companies, fostering relationships so that it will be known as a valued, strategic partner moving forward. Simcha Frimer has been named Country Manager for PEI-Genesis in Israel. Before joining PEI-Genesis, Frimer spent 21 years at Nisko, one of Israels largest distributors of electronic components. At Nisko, Frimer served as COO and since 2006, as Acting General Manager. Many of Israels most innovative companies are focused on the industrial, military, aviation, energy, and rail and mass transit sectors, a perfect fit for the segments well served by PEI-Genesis, said Frimer. The company is known as one that responds quickly and has the ability to deliver customized interconnect solutions in any quantity. Israel is the right place for PEI-Genesis. Frimer, who has a Masters degree in Industrial Engineering, will be joined by four others in the Tel Aviv office, all of whom have experience in distribution and electronic components. There are so many new companies we want to get to know and we believe strongly we can bring as much value to them as they can bring to us, said Fisher. This office opening follows PEI-Genesiss ongoing strategic expansion. In the spring of 2015, the company expanded into Zhuhai, China. About PEI-Genesis PEI-Genesis is one of the worlds fastest assemblers of precision connectors and cable assemblies. From the largest connector component inventory in the world, they develop engineered solutions that support the military, industrial, medical, aerospace, transportation, and energy sectors worldwide. Headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, PEI-Genesis has production facilities in South Bend, IN; Chandler, AZ; Nogales, MX; Southampton, UK; and Zhuhai, China as well as sales offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. More information may be found at www.peigenesis.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005046/en/ PEI-Genesis Kathleen Herron, 215-737-1147 Kathleen.herron@peigenesis.com NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2017 Remittance Innovation Awards (RemTECH Awards), whose aim is to showcase the most innovative and outstanding ideas, models and projects designed to improve remittance services worldwide were announced at the Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development GFRID2017 organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank and the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) in New York City at the United Nations Headquarters. UK's digital money transfer company Azimo received the Judges Overall Favorite Award while Safaricom, the parent company of the mobile service M-PESA received the Mobile Creativity Award and US online money transfer service Xoom received the Digital Pioneer Award. Other awardees were, identity company Trulioo for Potential for Growth, Start-up Moneytis for Most Innovative Service, Mexican Bitcoin company Bitso, Pioneering Spirit, Singapore-based TransferTo, Networking Hub and Zimbabwe's mobile money service EcoCashDiaspora, the Visionary Award. ComplyAdvantage received the Innovative Service for Compliance, Fintech Airpocket, Remittances & Financial Inclusion and Blockchain-Powered Remittance Service Everex, the Service Originality Award. The Voter's Pick award went to Digital Agent & Money Transfer Marketplace WireCash who received 9,857 online public votes. The entries were judged by an independent judging panel co-Chaired by US blockchain entrepreneur Greta Geankoplis and Filipino fintech expert Luis Buenaventura with the well-known expertise of Leon Isaacs, Faisal Khan, Yakov Kofner, Sofia Freyder, Francois Briod, Mehul Dasai and Juan Llanos. Mentions were given to ten contestants to highlight their contributions to the technological advances in remittances. For Diaspora Impact, Daviplata Global from Banco Davivienda (Colombia) and EnviouChegou from US money transfer company Pontual (for the Brazilian diaspora), Digital Transition for US money transmitters Transfast and Uniteller. Digital Pioneer for Spain's TransferZero, Innovative Agent Solution for Guatemala's RedChapina, Remittance Software for UK's RemitOne and Remittance Formalization for United Arab Emirates UAExchange. Mexico's Sistema de Transferencia y Pagos STP received the Poised for Succeed Mention and US IdentityMind the Market Understanding-Clear Vision Mention. Hugo Cuevas-Mohr, Director of the RemTECH Awards, stated: "We are extremely happy to have been part of IFAD's Global Forum GFRID2017, a key to the success of the RemTECH Awards. I thank the judges and congratulate the winners hoping that this effort will significantly benefit the technological advancement of the industry in order to better serve remittance users everywhere, reduce costs and increase transparency. We have many reasons to proudly celebrate the International Day of Family Remittances." The RemTECH Awards have been developed by IMTC, the International Money Transfer & Cross-Border Payment Conferences, who has announced that the second edition of the awards will take place in 2019. LINKS: RemTECH Awards: http://remtech.org/ ; IMTC: http://imtconferences.com ; Global Remittance Forum: http://bit.ly/GFRID2017RT ; International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD): http://www.ifad.org ; International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR): http://www.un.org/en/events/family-remittances-day/ More Information Claudia Avila (claudia@imtconferences.com) +1 3057420759 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-2017-remittances-technology-innovation-remtech-awards-were-announced-today-at-the-global-forum-gfrid2017-taking-place-at-the-united-nations-in-new-york-300472833.html SOURCE IMTC RACINE COUNTY Area entrepreneurs could be getting a boost in funding thanks to a grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation awarded to Gateway Technical College. On Tuesday, WEDC announced an $80,000 grant for the Launch Box Growth Accelerator Program at Gateway, which provides startups with technical and financial assistance. The grant will allow Gateway to conduct two intensive 10-week classes, one in fall and one in spring, with five teams in each class. Thalia Mendez, business resource specialist at Gateways Business and Workforce Solutions Division, said the grant will help grow the program and help young businesses. Ten entrepreneurs are going to reap the benefits of a rigorous customer discovery exercise and at the end will receive, at a minimum, a $2,500 seed grant to spend at their discretion, Mendez said. Past accelerator graduates have seen business increases of up to 30 percent, so we know the knowledge they gain by going through this process is more than beneficial. Accelerators provide business model training, experienced mentorship and financial assistance to a class of selected entrepreneurs. Launch Box is one of 13 accelerators to be supported by WEDC, which has assisted more than 200 entrepreneurial ventures throughout Wisconsin. Increased activity During the last accelerator program, Mendez said, the program helped two entrepreneurs from Racine and two from Kenosha. There has been an increase in entrepreneurial activity here lately and I know there are businesses which are at the point of benefiting from an accelerator, Mendez said. Many entrepreneurs have the ideas but dont have the customer discovery skills yet, and this is what the accelerator is about. Aaron Hagar, vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation for WEDC, said the program has been a success at Gateway. With the leadership from Gateway and the support of a network of mentors throughout the region, Launch Box is a great example of how the state, the college and the private sector are working together to strengthen Wisconsins entrepreneurial ecosystem, Hagar said. This is Gateways third grant for the program from WEDC, which has invested $180,000 in Launch Box since its inception. All 14 companies that have participated in the program so far remain active, and together they have raised nearly $300,000 and generated more than $200,000 in sales revenue. WEDCs Seed Accelerator Program was launched in 2012 to support nonprofit accelerators that support pre-seed, technology-based and growth-oriented businesses. A video depicting whats said to be the front panel and screen cover for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 leaked online on Thursday, having originally appeared on Chinese social media website Weibo. The supposed component and accessory were sighted in a 25-second video that can be seen beneath this writing, providing several hints about the design of Samsungs upcoming phablet. According to the latest leak, the Galaxy Note 8 will succeed the almost bezel-less design language that the South Korean original equipment manufacturer (OEM) introduced with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, with the smartphone also boasting a somewhat larger Infinity Display featuring an unconventional aspect ratio of 18.5:9. The top-left corner of its front panel will house a single-sensor secondary camera setup and its bottom bezel wont sport any Samsung branding, the latest leak suggests. According to previous reports, the Galaxy Note 8 is likely to be powered by either the Snapdragon 835 of Snapdragon 836 in the United States, with the latter being a rumored revision of Qualcomms latest high-end system-on-chip (SoC). The international model should still ship with Samsungs own Exynos 8895, and both models are said to feature 6GB of RAM and 64GB of UFS memory that should be expandable by up to 256GB via a microSD card slot. The Galaxy Note 8 is thought to feature a 6.3-inch or 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display panel with a QHD+ resolution, in addition to running Android 7.1.1 Nougat and Samsungs in-house user interface out of the box. The device is also expected to boast a dual camera setup comprising two vertically arranged sensors and a dual LED, dual tone flash unit on its rear panel, recent leaks suggested. While the Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer was originally expected to announce the Galaxy Note 8 as early as mid-August, some industry insiders later said that the company opted to delay the announcement until IFA Berlin 2017 thats scheduled to start on September 1. However, with Samsung reportedly looking to beat the iPhone 8 series to the market, the Galaxy Note 8 is likely to be available for purchase by the end of September even if the company doesnt announce it until late summer. More details on the highly anticipated handset should be available in the coming weeks. A Lenovo executive has confirmed that the company will consolidate its smartphone offerings in India into its Moto brand. A side-effect of this consolidation is that the smartphone manufacturer will end the sales of Vibe-branded smartphones in the sub-continent. According to Lenovos vice president of global marketing and communications Jack Huckfeldt, the consolidation will allow the manufacturer to send a stronger and clearer message to the consumers about its smartphone offerings. Huckfeldt also stated that the manufacturer will ultimately phase out all Lenovo smartphone lines that are not Moto-branded in other smartphone markets within the next few months. By concentrating the companys marketing resources on the Moto-branded devices, Lenovo hopes it could finally capitalize on the legacy and widespread recognition of the Motorola brand. However, Huckfeldt clarifies that while the company will no longer offer Vibe-branded devices, there will still be a few Lenovo-branded phones that will be sold at least in India. The Lenovo-branded devices that will still be available in the country include the Lenovo K and the Lenovo Note devices. Huckfeldts statements provide additional support to the previous reports of the impending end of another Lenovo smartphone line, ZUK. It has been previously reported that Lenovo plans to shut down ZUK Mobile and it will absorb the employees and assets of the said subsidiary. With the manufacturer absorbing the assets of ZUK Mobile, it is rumored that Lenovo will soon offer Moto-branded devices with ZUK UI installed. The consolidation of the Lenovo device offerings in India is a part of the manufacturers strategy to strengthen its presence in one of the biggest smartphone markets in the world. With India likely to surpass the United States as the second largest smartphone market, it is important for any smartphone manufacturer to have a substantial share of the Indian market to become profitable. Recently, Lenovo announced that it will begin selling Moto-branded devices in brick-and-mortar gadget stores to supplement its online retail presence. Increasing the devices offline presence will result in increased awareness of the brands and in turn may result in an increase in sales. Lenovo hopes that these efforts will help the company regain the market share it lost due to the intense competition with the global leader Samsung and other Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo. Marissa Mayer may have led Yahoo for nearly five years and gotten used to all its products, including Yahoo Mail, but the former CEO of the Sunnyvale, California-based company seems eager to use Gmail again after all this time following her resignation on Tuesday. Mayer officially left Yahoo after Verizon completed the acquisition of the search engine company for $4.48 billion, leaving her $23 million richer in the process. On top of her payout, Mayer now has the freedom to use the email service she helped design herself, as implied by her comments. As CEO of Yahoo, Mayer was likely supposed to use Yahoo Mail and despite the aforementioned comment that was recently made at the accelerateHER forum in London, Mayer later said she will also be using Yahoo Mail going forward, describing her original comment as being taken out of context. Prior to joining Yahoo in 2012 as its chief executive officer, Mayer held key roles in several of Googles units, including Gmail. She helped manage and develop Google Search, Google Maps, Google Books, Google Images, and Google News, being among the earliest employees of the Mountain View, California-based tech giant and reaching 13 years of service at the company before joining Yahoo as its CEO in the summer of 2012. Mayers departure from Yahoo did not come as a surprise; in January, she announced that she would step down from the company upon closure of Yahoos sale to Verizon. Earlier than that, in July last year, Mayer also sent a farewell letter to Yahoo employees. In her letter, she talked about the companys efforts to streamline its consumer and advertising offerings, praising the employees for their passion at executing the companys goals. With Yahoo now being under Verizons umbrella, the company is soon set to be consolidated with AOL into a new unit called Oath. The largest mobile service provider in the country previously clearly voiced its intentions to merge the two units in an effort to create a new, relatively autonomous business thats set to compete in the digital advertising market with the likes of Google and Facebook. An update on the companys efforts to do so should follow this summer. A new U.S. Foxconn plant could be built in Wisconsin or possibly Michigan, according to latest reports. The Taiwanese multinational company makes electronics goods including Apple iPhones and Sony and BlackBerry products, with its operations largely being located in China, employing around one million people. A new facility in the U.S. would be a massive boost for jobs and thousands of people would likely be employed if its established. Wisconsin is already in discussions with Foxconn about the new plant, according to an unnamed industry insider, although Midwest state Michigan is reportedly also in the running. Gov. Scott Walkers administration in Wisconsin has declined to comment on the speculation, although its known that Walker was in Japan earlier this month, with his visit pertaining to an economic development prospect. At the same time, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was also visiting Japan, and he has been driving forward with a move that would bring tax incentives for major businesses in the state. Mark Maley, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., has stated that the agency would not comment on any upcoming opportunities. Nevertheless, Wisconsin Technology Council President Tom Still, said that any such development would be excellent for the state. If Foxconn does come to Wisconsin, it would be a big lift for Gov. Walkers re-election hopes, in addition to boosting the local economy in a significant manner. The latest news follows calls from now-President Donald Trump during last years election campaign for Apple to transfer the manufacturing of iPhones to the U.S. in a bid to bring more jobs to the country at the cost of increasing the iPhone prices. Shortly after the election, Apple said that some iPhone production could be moved to the U.S. in the future. At that time, there were talks about the possibility of a domestic supply chain and some discussions with Foxconn and Pegatron. Additionally, Foxconn acquired Japanese company Sharp last year, after which rumors emerged that Sharp could build a U.S. factory for display panels and possibly invest up to $7 billion into it. An update on the situation is expected to follow soon. Androids market share continued to increase in early 2017 despite some of Googles largest original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) underperforming in a number of key markets including the United States, according to the latest industry study conducted by the Kantar Worldpanel that was published on Thursday. Samsung Electronics, Motorola Mobility, and LG Electronics all experienced year-over-year declines in the U.S. during a three-month period ending this April, the report states, adding that neither the Galaxy S8 series nor the LG G6 helped improve their performance during the said timeframe. That observation can likely be explained by the fact that the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, and the LG G6 all launched at the very end of the period inspected by Kantar and will presumably have a larger effect on the performance of the two companies in the following timeframe. Regardless, with a number of largest Android OEMs struggling in the United States, Android market share dropped to 61.7 percentage points in early 2017, down from 67.6 percent recorded 12 months earlier. While Kantar has yet to publicize the findings of its inspection of a three-month period ending this May, early signs point to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus capturing a significant share of the U.S. handset market thats said to surpass eight percentage points, though it likely wont hit the 8.8-percent share boasted by the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge in the same period last year. The Apple iPhone 7 lineup is expected to remain the best-selling family of smartphones in the following timeframe, with a market share that accounts for more than every fifth sale in the country. Android did better in the five largest handset markets on the Old Continent, increasing its share by 2.2 percent in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and Great Britain, Kantar found, adding that the exact share of Googles ubiquitous operating system in those markets now amounts to 78.3 percentage points. Huawei did particularly well in Europe during the latest fully inspected period, accounting for almost nine percent of sales in Great Britain. An update on Androids global market share and commercial performance of major OEMs is expected to follow this summer. Samsung Electronics will release a variant of the Galaxy Note 8 with 8GB of RAM and is planning to push the amount of RAM to 12GB with the Galaxy Note 9 next year, one industry insider said on Thursday. The South Korean original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is said to only include 8GB of RAM into the Emperor Edition of the Galaxy Note 8, the source claimed, likely referring to the Chinese model of the handset. The international variant is still set to ship with 6GB of RAM, according to the same insider who didnt provide more details on the matter. The largest phone maker in the world recently opted to differentiate its flagship Galaxy S8 series in terms of RAM and internal storage, with the so-called Emperor Edition of the Galaxy S8 Plus boasting 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage compared to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of flash memory featured in the international model. Provided that the company sticks with recent industry trends and its own product release patterns and the Chinese Galaxy Note 8 units sport 8GB of RAM with the Galaxy Note 9 having 12GB, the Galaxy S9 lineup may be launched with 10GB of RAM in the Far Eastern country in spring of 2018. Samsung recently appointed one Kwon Kye-hyun as the new head of its Chinese unit in an effort to revitalize its phone business in the largest smartphone market in the world that accounts for approximately one-third of global handset shipments; the company has been struggling in China in recent years and is currently holding only several percentage points of the countrys market thats dominated by domestic OEMs with aggressively priced products. Samsungs decision to make the Chinese variants of its devices more powerful compared to other models is likely an attempt to incentivize consumers to buy them, though its still too early to tell whether that strategy is working. The Galaxy Note 8 has been the subject of numerous leaks and rumors in recent weeks, with the Korean OEM reportedly planning to introduce the phablet in either the second half of August or beginning of September at IFA Berlin 2017. More details on the upcoming flagship will likely follow in the coming weeks. T-Mobile announced today in a blog post that it plans to begin testing its 600MHz spectrum this summer, and it has already begun rolling it out in some areas (which are unnamed). The Un-carrier noted that the FCC handed over the spectrum licenses to T-Mobile yesterday, and it is wasting no time getting going in developing its 600MHz network. With T-Mobile doing tests this summer on this new spectrum, it plans to have it commercially available by the fall. Which means smartphones that launch later this year will likely sport T-Mobiles 600MHz spectrum band, so that customers can take full advantage of the new spectrum. This is all well ahead of schedule, and many skeptics had stated that it would be several years before carriers could use this spectrum. T-Mobile is aiming to prove everyone wrong. It had stated earlier this year, even before the Incentive Auction had ended, that it would have 600MHz spectrum rolled out in some capacity before the end of the year, and it looks like T-Mobile is well on its way to doing just that. T-Mobile is planning to use this spectrum to improve its current 4G LTE network, and will also use it to build its 5G network which T-Mobile says will be the first nationwide 5G network in the US. The 600MHz spectrum was a big deal for T-Mobile. This is because its considered low-band spectrum, which T-Mobile has the least of, out of the four carriers. T-Mobile had picked up some 700MHz spectrum from Verizon and various regional carriers, but now it has a large amount of low-band spectrum. Now low-band spectrum is pretty important because it allows a carrier to cover more area than something like T-Mobiles 1900MHz band. The lower the band, the more coverage it offers. While high-band spectrum, like Sprints 2.5GHz is the holy grail, because it has a whole lot of bandwidth, so it can offer faster speeds. Low-band spectrum doesnt offer as much bandwidth, but that is where carrier aggregation comes in, allowing T-Mobile to pair it with other bands, like its 1900MHz spectrum thats in the mid-band range. Verizon will reportedly sell the Moto E4 in stores and on its website according to a new set of press renders, which carry the Verizon branding on the backside of the device towards the bottom. Verizons Moto E4 will come in two different colors based on these images, which includes Black, and Gold. The images are said to come from Motorola directly but at the moment Motorola nor Verizon have shared any information regarding specific details about the phone such as the launch date and pricing. Motorola also hasnt officially stated that Verizon will be a carrier partner but images with visible branding of the US largest wireless carrier seems to be more than enough proof that the device will eventually land on Verizons network as an option for consumers. Although there was no price point given, the Moto E4 is an entry-level device so the cost on Verizon likely wont be too high, and Verizon should end up offering the Moto E4 on its payment plan option so subscribers will be able to pay for the phone in installments that are added on to each monthly bill until the phone is paid for in full. Of course Verizon would also likely offer the option to just pay for the entire phone up front, and since it should come in with a fairly affordable price tag it wouldnt be surprising to see most Verizon subscribers choosing this option. The Moto E4 was officially unveiled by Motorola alongside the Moto E4 Plus earlier this week, which also came with US-based pricing information. The Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus will be available as unlocked options for $130 and $180 respectively, so its a good bet the $130 price is going to be the cost for Verizons model, or at the very least the price should be close to the same amount. There is no word on if Verizon will also carry the Moto E4 Plus, though presumably it might end up selling both phones so it can offer its customers the choice to go with either configuration. The Moto E4 comes with a 5-inch HD display and is powered by both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 CPU and the Snapdragon 427 CPU, as there are two models, each with one of the CPU options and each being meant for a specific region. The Moto E4 also has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage space. Xiaomi has opened its first offline brick-and-mortar Mi Home store in Greece, in partnership with local IT firm Info Quest Technologies. The store is located in the countrys capital, Athens, and the Chinese tech giant is apparently looking to employ new personnel to operate the store. However, whether or not the Mi Home store in Athens will sell any Xiaomi smartphones is still unclear. Xiaomi is looking for new employees through a job-seeking portal called Kariera. The company is apparently seeking a full-time salesperson, a part-time seller, and several employees for customer and service support. The job listings require applicants to be fans of the Mi and Xiaomi brands and be enthusiastic about technology in general. At the moment, theres no concrete information in regards to the type of products that will eventually be available for purchase through the Mi Home store in Greece, though Xiaomi already started selling smartphones in Greece last December through partnered retail chains, network operators, and web shops including Electronet, Germanos (), Cosmote, MediaMarkt, YOU, and WIND. At the same time, Xiaomi Europe does not sell any smartphones online on the Old Continent, and the companys European online store instead offers other types of products, ranging from Xiaomi earbuds to T-Shirts, electronic screwdrivers, Bluetooth speakers, PC peripherals, and Amazfit-branded smartwatches. In fact, Xiaomis European online store does offer a couple of protective silicone cases for the Xiaomi Mi 6, but the page does not sell the device itself. The most costly product available through Xiaomi Europe is the MiJia Smart Room Vaccum Robot, which is currently available for the equivalent of $350.99, down from the original price of approximately $379. That being said, it remains to be seen whether Xiaomis first brick-and-mortar Mi Home store in Greece will offer any smartphones to prospective buyers in Athens, or if the store will be used as a way to distribute other types of products manufactured by Xiaomi and the numerous brands operating under the Chinese tech giants umbrella, including MiJia, Yeelight, Lumi United, Yi Technology and more. An update on the companys European ambitions is expected to follow later this year. YORKVILLE A convicted sex offender can live at his sisters home while he challenges the towns sex offender ordinance, a judge has ruled. Andre Landeau of Kenosha and his sister, Yorkville resident Renee Sparks, sued the Town of Yorkville last month in federal court arguing that the towns ordinance, which bars sex offenders from living in Yorkville unless they were residents of the town when they committed their offense, is unconstitutional. Landeau was a Kenosha resident when he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in 2002, but now wants to live with his sister. As of Tuesday, he was still residing in a Kenosha apartment, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. As part of the lawsuit, Landeau and Sparks asked the court to grant them a preliminary injunction barring the town from enforcing the ordinance so that Landeau can live at the address while the court considers the lawsuit. They argued that without the injunction Landeau, who was slated to have to leave his apartment by May 31, could end up homeless. Late last month, U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper honored that request. Group home But the courts decision comes amid a wrinkle in the case. Although Wisconsin Department of Corrections had supported Landeaus request to live at Sparks' home until they learned of the original domicile section of the towns sex offender ordinance, the DOC reportedly was not aware at that time that Sparks ran a group home for developmentally disabled adults from the address located in the 2300 block of Raymond Avenue (Highway U). According to the lawsuit, the residence is situated on 13 acres of property and is located 1,000 feet away from all protected locations listed in the town ordinance, such as schools and public parks. But during a preliminary injunction hearing on May 26, an attorney for Sparks and Landeau told the court that the DOC had recently informed Sparks that it would not approve Landeau living in a residence that housed a group home, an official account of the hearing proceedings states. According to the minutes, the attorney went on to state that she and her colleagues were working with the DOC to determine whether there were conditions that would alleviate the issue, such as having Landeau live in a separate area of the 13-acre property. Although Landeau is still residing in Kenosha, Landeaus attorney said Tuesday the she was still working with the DOC to see if some arrangement can be found that would allow him to reside on his sisters property. A call made Tuesday to the state Department of Health Services which oversees licensed group homes such as the one operated by Sparks was not returned. Argument and decision According to the lawsuit, Landeau was released from prison in late March. Ordered to remain on extended supervision for the next 10 years, Landeau reportedly suggested to Wisconsin Department of Corrections staff sometime in early April that he be placed at his sisters home while he serves that portion of his sentence. Under the proposal, Sparks would rent some portion of her property to her brother. In their lawsuit, Landeau and Sparks argue that the original domicile restriction in Yorkvilles ordinance violates the 14th Amendment of the constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law. They also argue that it violates the ex post facto clause of the Constitution, because it makes more burdensome the punishment imposed for offenses committed before the ordinance was enacted. In her ruling honoring the preliminary injunction request, which prevents the town from enforcing the ordinance in the Landeau case, Pepper stated that Yorkvilles ordinance is similar to a Village of Pleasant Prairie ordinance shot down by a U.S. Judge U.S. District J.P. Stadtmueller. The Yorkville ordinance, like the Pleasant Prairie one, was ruled to be punitive and cited no evidence or data supporting the conclusion that sex offenders who lived in Yorkville when they committed their offense were any less dangerous than those who had not, Pepper reasoned. Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice, The Washington Post reported Wednesday evening. Mueller is interviewing as early as this week three top intelligence officials as part of the probe, the Post reported, citing "five people briefed on the requests." It is the most significant sign that Mueller's investigation is extending beyond questions of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The news came the same week as Trump friend Chris Ruddy floated the possibility that Trump would fire Mueller, who was appointed to head up the investigation after Trump fired Comey. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, immediately condemned the Post report. "The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal," Corallo told CNN. The NSA said in a statement that the "NSA will fully cooperate with the special counsel. We are not in a position to comment further." Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, hinted broadly that the special counsel investigation could be looking at Trump during a House committee hearing on Tuesday. When asked about a letter he wrote recommending firing former FBI Director James Comey, Rosenstein said that Mueller could be looking into the decision-making process for the firing -- and he was therefore "not at liberty to talk about that now." Mueller has been tasked with leading the executive branch's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and any potential collusion between Russia and Trump associates. Mueller met with Sens. Richard Burr and Mark Warner, the Republican and Democratic leadership of the Senate intelligence committee Wednesday. Comey testified before the Senate intelligence committee last week and confirmed that he gave Mueller the memos he wrote detailing his interactions with Trump ahead of his firing. In one memo, Comey said Trump tried to direct him to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Comey said he believed Mueller would look into Trump for obstruction of justice. "I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct," Comey said. "I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but that's a conclusion I'm sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether that's an offense." This story is breaking and will be updated. CNN's Jim Acosta contributed to this report. Simmons & Simmons already has the largest hedge fund team in London, but now it has Asia firmly in its sights.The international firm has launched its dedicated online resource for startup hedge fund managers in Singapore, just a month after launching it in Hong Kong. Called LaunchPlus: Singapore , the resource is an adaptation of the firms resource for hedge funds in the UK. The firm also has LaunchPlus Hong Kong and a UK-to-US system that helps US-based investment managers who are looking to cross the Atlantic.The rollout of LaunchPlus: Singapore coincides with the public consultation on the proposed Singapore Variable Capital Companies (S-VACC) framework as the state aims to develop itself as a leading international asset management and investment fund centre.As Singapores start-up scene in the hedge funds space grows livelier and more dynamic, this award-winning tool will give emerging managers a competitive edge and head-start in a highly regulated industry. The Singapore start-up scene can expect an even more exciting time when the S-VACC regime kicks-in in 2018 and more hedge funds choose to domicile here, said Jek-Aun Long, partner and head of the funds practice at Simmons & Simmons JWS, the firms joint law venture in Singapore. We have seen a significant uplift in new fund launches in recent months. The emerging managers we work with value expert and practical guidance when navigating the legal and regulatory environment that at times can seem daunting for any new business just starting up. Professionals seeking to add value to the industry will need to be relentless in coming up with innovative and productive solutions that benefit their clients practicallyLaunchPlus is hosted on the firms online services platform, elexica.com. Wisconsin would join states requesting an unprecedented convention to amend the U.S. Constitution under a measure that passed the state Assembly Wednesday. The resolution requests the convention for the limited purpose of requiring the federal government to operate under a balanced budget. It passed the Assembly on a 54-41 vote, with seven Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. Meanwhile, Gov. Scott Walker will be next to act on a separate bill that would give lawmakers power to block administrative rules put forth by state agencies. That bill also passed the Assembly Wednesday. For the resolution seeking a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution, the state Senate would be the next stop. Its fate in that chamber is uncertain. The threshold to trigger such a convention, under Article V of the Constitution, is if two-thirds, or 34, of the states pass resolutions requesting a convention. For now, 27 other states have requested such conventions for the purposes of a balanced budget amendment, according to a group advocating a convention. Critics of the resolution say it could open the door to a runaway convention a free-for-all in which other far-reaching proposals could surface. They say theres no mechanism to enforce limitations on the scope of a convention once its underway. In Wisconsin, most of those critics are Democrats but some are conservative, including the John Birch Society, which has advocated against an Article V convention. You could have this convention and the whole thing could go off the tracks and before we know it, some of our most important rights could be stripped away, Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, said during the Assembly debate. The resolutions sponsor, Rep. Kathleen Bernier, R-Lake Hallie, said the safeguard against a runaway convention is that amendments emerging from the convention would need to be ratified by three-fourths, or 38, of the states. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said a greater threat than a runaway convention is a U.S. Congress that cant control federal spending. The runaway Congress is the danger to our future, Vos said. Critics of a balanced budget requirement say the federal government should be permitted to run deficits, especially during wars, recessions or other emergencies. During Wednesdays debate, Rep. Jimmy Anderson, D-Fitchburg, described the requirement as a Trojan horse to force sweeping cuts to popular entitlement programs. A related bill, which passed the Assembly 58-37 Wednesday, calls for the governor and lawmakers to appoint seven delegates to serve as Wisconsins delegation to a constitutional convention if one is called. Under the bill, if one of the delegates votes at the convention to consider or approve an unauthorized amendment defined as being outside the scope of the call of the convention the delegate may be immediately dismissed by a majority of the states other delegates and replaced. The U.S. Congress can propose individual constitutional amendments. But requesting a convention is the only way for state lawmakers to initiate the process. Congress mulled a federal balanced budget amendment in 1992. It fell just shy of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the U.S. House. Majority votes in the state Assembly and state Senate are all thats needed for Wisconsin to join the states requesting a convention. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald was notably cool to the idea in March, saying he had questions about the scope of a constitutional convention. Fitzgerald spokeswoman Myranda Tanck said in an email this week that the Senate Republican caucus will continue to discuss the measure. She did not respond to an inquiry about what position Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, takes on the measure. State agency rules A bill giving a legislative panel power to block implementation of proposed state agency rules passed the Assembly on a 62-34 vote Wednesday. The state Senate passed the bill last month. Under the bill, which supporters call the REINS Act, state agencies could not impose rules projected to cost businesses or local governments more than $10 million. Lawmakers and the governor would have to enact a law instead. It also would allow the Legislatures Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules to contract for an outside party, rather than the agency proposing a rule, for an alternate projection of costs associated with a rule. Vos, in a Wednesday press conference, cast the bill as a check on the power of the governor. It is a really important thing for the rebalance of power between the executive branch and the legislative branch, Vos said. Rep. Gary Hebl, D-Sun Prairie, said the bill would allow industries and other groups override experts in the agencies meant to regulate them. It turns the reins of our legislative action over to special interests, Hebl said. There may be questions about the constitutionality of the provision of the bill allowing the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules to indefinitely block agency rules. The question is addressed by a memo, provided to reporters by Rep. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, penned by Legislative Council, the nonpartisan agency that gives lawmakers legal advice. The memo says a series of opinions from the state Attorney General have concluded that the Legislature, or a legislative committee, cannot act independently to revoke an administrative rule. The proposed expansion of ministerial power over certain Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decisions has been slammed by Australias top lawyer organisation as rash and overreaching.Part of the changes being introduced to Parliament in the Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Requirements for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill 2017, the immigration minister may be given the power to overrule independent citizenship decisions made by the AAT. Fiona McLeod SC, president of the Law Council of Australia , said that the decision is based on a small set of cases, when the AAT makes thousands of immigration-related decisions every year.It is concerning that a small sample of cases, where the full facts are not entirely known, is being used to legitimise the expansion of ministerial power. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal made some 76,000 decisions in the past two years, and around 33,000 relating to immigration, McLeod said. "The immigration minister already has the power to appeal AAT citizenship decisions that he disagrees with. The minister also has wide powers to cancel an individuals visa on character grounds before a citizenship application is made. This new legislation effectively allows the minister to override citizenship decisions or to render his own decisions unreviewable.The Law Council said that important checks and balances will be undermined by the proposed new powers.The AAT exists to provide an important check and balance on ministerial power. This will be substantially watered-down through this legislation, McLeod said. Without checks on ministerial power, scrutiny of government decision-making is severely curtailed. Such scrutiny is important because mistakes are made and due process not always observed."The AAT was established nearly half a century ago, because the Australian government recognised that ministers and their departments could make incorrect decisions on the basis of incomplete or erroneous information, she added. "There has been much recent discussion on the importance of protecting Australian values. A core element of these values is surely fairness and proper checks on executive power. We urge Parliament to refer the bill for a comprehensive committee review, with sufficient time to consider the potential effects of these changes.In addition to the new powers, the Turnbull government is proposing stricter requirements to citizenship tests, including a standalone English language test where applicants need to demonstrate a competent level of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It is also proposing a longer residency requirement and that applicants demonstrate their integration into the Australian community.The administration said that the proposal is being made to strengthen the integrity of the citizenship process in the face of heightened threats around the world. Free newsletter Subscribe to our FREE newsletter service and well keep you up-to-date with the latest breaking news, cutting edge opinion, and expert analysis affecting both your business and the industry as whole. Please enter your email address below and click on Sign Up for daily newsletters from Australasian Lawyer. The $70 million conditional settlement reached this week for detainees of Manus Island has highlighted the importance of access to justice.In a statement following what is said to be the largest human rights class action settlement in Australian history, the principal lawyer of Slater and Gordon, which led the action, said the people detained there would no longer suffer in silence.Most were fleeing religious persecution and violence and came to Australia seeking protection, only to be denied their basic human rights, Andrew Baker said.The security issues at the Centre are well documented and culminated in the tragic, foreseeable and foreseen February 2014 attack on the Centre, where one detainee was killed and dozens of others were injured, he added.The defendants to the proceeding were the Commonwealth of Australia and its contracted service providers G4S and Broadspectrum (formerly known as Transfield). Security provider Wilson Security was separately joined to the proceedings by G4S and Broadspectrum.Mr Baker explained that this was the largest class action the law firm had ever run with more than 50 court appearances, more than 200 witness statements and over 200,000 documents analyzed.This was a long battle for social justice, but we hope that [the] result, and the three years of work preceding it, helps to ensure the voices of the Manus Island detainees have finally been heard, Baker concluded.Paris-based lawyer Michael Foundethakis will become global head of banking & finance at Baker McKenzie from the start of July, succeeding Bernard Sharp.The practice has more than 900 lawyers worldwide and Foundethakis has been with the firm since 1999, making partner in 2003. As well as Paris, he has also worked in the firms London and German offices.Alongside his new role, he will continue as global head of trade & export finance.Global law firm Hogan Lovells is adding to its presence in the US by merging with Boston firm Collaro.Collaro is a litigation/investigations firm focused on life sciences and healthcare but also financial services and technology. All of its lawyers will join Hogan Lovells when the merger completes, which is expected to be in September 2017. The modern diesel engine was touted as a cure for global warming, burning less fuel than a gasoline counterpart and emitting less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The authorities bought the story, the carmakers invested in developing the technology and the consumers were all too happy with their high mpg vehicles that also didn't harm the environment. But they mostly cared about lower fuel costs, to be honest.In recent years, however, it has become apparent that diesel engines are not clean at all. While they may indeed have lower CO2 emissions, their tailpipes also spew other particles into the air which have a much more severe immediate impact on our health.Some countries didn't embrace the diesel revolution wholeheartedly, even a few European ones, but most of them did. And now we have a series of big cities taking drastic measures against the oil burners, with names like Paris, Madrid, and even Stuttgart coming to mind.It would seem Munich, the Bavarian capital and home of BMW , will be the latest A-lister to join the group. Renowned for its Englische Garten park and bohemian atmosphere, the city's renown as a green oasis is now being tarnished by a government study.The research discovered hazardous pollution levels in the city's air, prompting a proposal to ban cars using older diesel engines. Buses, taxis, and diesel engines that comply with Euro 6 emission standards would be exempt, Automotive News says.Ever since the Volkswagen emissions scandal, diesel sales have begun dwindling, but one car in two sold in Europe still uses this type of engine. However, manufacturers have expressed their intention to offer a more varied range of non-diesel powertrains, with some even vowing not to build any of them anymore (like Volvo , for example).The obvious alternative would be a gasoline hybrid system which has similar carbon dioxide emission levels to a diesel engine while also providing the same low-rev torque that made them a favorite among some drivers. However, hybrid vehicles usually command a premium over traditionally powered ones, so the authorities might have to offer incentives for the switch to happen sooner. Inspiration for the name of the former model comes from a motorcycle that made history in Ducati s 60s era. Back in 1965, the Mach 1 250 was launched. It was a classic of its day and used the same engine as the Scrambler 250 of the time.Needless to say, the choice of the name stems from its association with speed and movement; Mach being a measuring unit for supersonic speeds.Sleek, with low-slung tapered aluminum handlebars, the 2018 Scrambler Mach 2.0 also features a dedicated Flat Track Pro seat, black exhaust and cylinder covers, as well as cafe racer-style brushed cooling fins.Its fresh new graphics are created by Roland Sands and take their cue from the Bell Cross Idol helmet, featuring colors that evoke the typical West Coast style of the 70s.Moving over to the second model, the Scrambler Full Throttle comes with a new Shining Black gas tank and front mudguard as well as a new side panel finished with a distinctive black checkered pattern on a yellow stripe.Ducati also worked to introduce the new rides in a special way at the French event. the two bikes arrived in style, and their carry vehicles turned into a mobile jukebox to provide attendees there some special beats for the rest of the time.Both new rides arrived at Biarritz after leaving Borgo Panigale on June 12, traveling together in a Volkswagen California Ocean and a Volkswagen Amarok converted into a mobile radio station broadcasting Radio Ducati Scrambler live.Once the Amarok arrived at Wheels and Waves, it became the events official radio station. And until June 18, you too can listen in to live Wheels and Waves broadcasts four times a day.Oh, and the Ducati Scrambler Mach 2.0 was first unveiled in scale model variant as you can see in the funny clip below. SUV During his reign, FIAT completed the merger with U.S. company Chrysler, opening up the North American market for some FIAT products as well as offering the Italian brand access to Jeep 'splatforms, thus preventing it from missing out on a very lucrative segment.The group's ultra-luxury brand, Ferrari, has also undergone some very important changes. The first four-wheel-drive car from Maranello was built under Marchionne, and so was the first ever hybrid. Turbocharged engines also made a comeback, adding to the list of previously unthinkable transformations. Despite all that Ferrari is doing better than ever, which is the best way to confirm the CEO's decisions.But Marchionne will mostly be remembered for his outspoken nature. Never one to hold back, he famously called electric vehicles a fad, prophesizing that they would eventually go away. He even went as far as to recommend people they don't buy the FIAT 500e , because his company loses about $10,000 on each unit sold.Well, we're talking about Marchionne in past tense, but the truth is the CEO still has two more years to go a the head of FCA, plus another two leading the faith of Ferrari. Even so, given the importance of his position, the board is already looking for his replacement, and as it's perfectly normal, it seems they are limiting their search to company employees.According to Bloomberg , that has forced the board to widen its search and include some younger, second-tier managers on the provisional list, alongside more prominent figures such as Jeep CEO Mike Manley, Chief Technology Officer Harald Wester, or Marchionne's closest aides, Europe chief Alfredo Altavilla and Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer.Despite the upward trend of FIAT , it's not all peachy at FCA with the multinational company potentially involved in a diesel emissions scandal not much different from the one that shook Volkswagen close to two years ago. Apart from that, it has also been struck by a series of recalls which also dent the already shaky reliability image of FCA's products.On top of that, the new CEO will have to navigate the company through uncharted territory as the automotive industry is headed toward an electrified, self-driving future, two areas where FCA is trailing its competitors, even though there is a very lucrative partnership with Alphabet's Waymo. To this effect, One company that rolled up its sleeves is GME Performance . The Schkeuditz-based shops most extreme creation started life as your average Mustang GT. But in comparison to stock, this bad boy prides itself on a 705-horsepower and 590-lb.ft. punch.The naturally aspirated Coyote V8 is now a supercharged affair thanks to an Edelbrock blower augmented by an intercooler. The 5.0-liter engine also benefits from custom mapping, upgraded fuel system, and a stainless steel exhaust with driver-controllable volume valves.Serious get-up-and-go makes a great team with upgraded brakes and chassis components, so GME did just that to its blacked-out Mustang GT. Riding on 21-inch alloy wheels with low-profile tires, handling takes a turn for the better thanks to an adjustable coil-over suspension system. The brake discs are of the floating variety, whereas the GME ventilation system helps maintain braking performance at all times.To round things off nicely, the German-flavored pony car is beautified by an aerodynamic body kit consisting of an underbody diffuser, bootlid and front spoiler, and side skirts. Interestingly enough, customers can choose between no less than four rear spoiler designs.As far as the interior is concerned, the sky is the limit in the view of GME Performance. The German tuner doesnt use exotic leather from animals not considered as farmed. Im looking at you, Carlex Design, and your elephant skin -upholstered Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.Equipped with a six-speed stick shift, the 1,726-kilogram (3,805 pounds) GME Performance Ford Mustang GT can hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.9 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 280 km/h (174 mph). Artificial intelligence beat the world's Go master. It won Jeopardy, and defeated chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov. But China's college entrance exam in math is a different kettle of fish. Even after three years of prep, human Chinese won hands down. The AI contest was carried out by Chengdu Zhunxingyunxue Technology under China's Ministry of Science and Technology, reports Futurism. CZT used a machine called AI-Maths to take the mathematics section of the grueling, two-day Gaokao, as China's college entrance exam is called. In two tries, AI-Maths scored 105 and 100 points, respectively. The average for top Chinese scorers _ 135. What it means: The difficulty for AI-Maths came in understanding word problems, and its developers will have to work on its natural language capabilities if they want to do better next time. CZT's CEO Lin Hui told Xinhua that he hopes to score over 130 next time. But that still won't beat the humans. Last week, seven of Qatar's neighbors cut diplomatic ties with the nation, citing Qatar's financial support of terrorist groups in the region. But tensions in the Gulf region have been brewing for several years. Data: Natural Earth; Map: Lazaro Gamio / Axios The fallout: The crisis is tearing apart households as Saudi, Bahraini and Emirati family members are forced to leave Qatar. The nation is relying on Iran, which sent in several airplane-loads of fruits and vegetables, to sustain the impact of the seven-nation blockade. Turkey has also offered aid. And one Qatari business tycoon is flying 4,000 cows into the country to compensate for the lack of fresh dairy products that once came from Saudi Arabia. Qatar's leaders have turned their focus inward and have not taken significant steps to remedy relations with regional neighbors. The foreign minister said Qatar has yet to hear specific demands from the nations who have cut ties. How the crisis reached fever pitch: Qatar has supported Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The Gulf nation has also maintained a strong diplomatic relationship with Saudi Arabia's geopolitical rival Iran. And Saudi Arabia, the nation with which Qatar shares its only land border, has been a leader in the push to isolate the nation. 15 June 2017 14:21 (UTC+04:00) By Jim O'Neill If you were a Briton who had been stuck in Antarctica for the past year and a half, you might be forgiven for wishing you had stayed put. The decisions taken during your absence by British politicians, especially the leaders of the Conservative Party, have called into question your countrys future. The United Kingdom seems to have lost its grip on sanity. But the madness can be reversed. First, recall that in the May 2015 general election, the Conservatives won an outright parliamentary majority, having previously been in a (surprisingly successful) coalition with the Liberal Democrats since 2010. The Tories clearly didnt expect their comprehensive victory, and some argue that it was the partys promise to hold a referendum on European Union membership that made it possible. I am dubious of that claim. But the salient fact is that by early spring 2016, with the Brexit referendum just three months away, Whitehall and the government had, in essence, lost all sway over policy. I know because I was part of that government, serving as a Treasury minister. After the Leave camp won the referendum, the Conservative Party, split over withdrawal from the EU, responded with a change in leadership from David Cameron to Theresa May and a significant shift in focus for Mays new government. But the Tories still had little sway over policy, because May and her overweening advisers spent most of her time telling the cabinet how things were going to go. This culminated in Mays disastrous decision to seek a bigger majority. The snap general election she called in April, when the Tories were 20 points ahead in opinion polls, has now left the United Kingdom with a minority government. But maybe it is not the politicians alone who are mad. Perhaps many voters are, too. Consider young voters, who in the recent election appear to have gone to the polls in droves, giving huge support to Labours far-left leader, Jeremy Corbyn. If young people had participated in the Brexit referendum in similar numbers, the UK would have voted Remain. Todays uncertainty, magnified by signs that the UK economys positive momentum is waning, would remain the stuff of nightmares. So how can this self-destruction be stopped? For starters, assume that the Conservative Party remains petrified about choosing a new leader or holding another general election. To avoid both, the Tories will need to get past their paranoia and make their next government possibly involving a formal agreement with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party a sustainable arrangement. That will require greater flexibility and inclusiveness on key policy issues. On Brexit, for example, while the most vehement Leavers and Remainers will stick to their strong bias, it seems pretty clear that the electorate does not want to bear any economic and social pain. So one clear conclusion of the recent vote is that May will have to consider some softer form of Brexit than she was previously willing to countenance. Instead of worrying about whether Parliament will pass future bills related to the UKs withdrawal from the EU, why not head off impasses by bringing in some Labour figures and others as part of a broadened Brexit negotiating team? Many are now eagerly offering their views as to whether the UK should look again at the Norway model of relations with the EU, or some other scheme that maintains UK participation in the single market. Whatever the option, it is now clear that Britain needs a policy that can command broad and genuine support. A second change for the better would, I hope, be less controversial: reducing the power bestowed in the UK on non-elected Special Advisers, or SPADs, who have become dominant figures in all government departments. During my 17-month experience as a minister, I became convinced that the SPADs excessive power and haughty approach undermines the UKs excellent civil service, as well as elected and appointed ministers. Mays two leading SPADs, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, took this danger to worrying levels. They have now paid the price, with May sacking them at the demand of her party. SPADs certainly have a role to play, but not the exalted one they too often abuse. Third, the UK needs to put todays political drama into perspective, and get on with policymaking, including in areas that have nothing to do with Brexit. The Northern Powerhouse, designed to revitalize the UKs economically neglected north, which has shown early signs of success (the Northwest, for example, has been outperforming the rest of the country economically for the past 12-15 months), needs more support from government. Intergenerational inequality also needs to be addressed. Young people need greater access to a useful and affordable post-secondary education, as well as the chance to afford their own homes. If their demands are not properly represented, they might turn away from voting in the future and toward less constructive forms of protest. The UK needs to be far more serious about skills training, embedding it in the countrys educational DNA in the way that apprenticeships are embedded in Germanys. More generally, the best way to serve todays young people is to make higher productivity a national priority. But for any of this to happen, May needs to use the fear of a leadership battle within the Conservative Party, and the partys dread of anther general election, to get ahead of the coming challenges. After two years of government fecklessness, Britain deserves better. Copyright: Project Syndicate: How to Prevent the UKs Self-Destruction --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 12:02 (UTC+04:00) By Sara Israfilbayova The International Association of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the China Communications and Transportation Association, the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC reported on June 14. The memo was signed within a round table on "Development of transport infrastructure and increase of efficiency and competitiveness of transportations by TCITR " in Astana, in which representatives of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC took part. About 80 representatives of the railway departments of Kazakhstan, China, Ukraine, Poland, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lithuania and Latvia, as well as port, shipping and logistics companies joined the round table. The forum participants were provided with information on TITR, its advantages, current status and prospects of development. It was noted that the route is stable and constant and the participants also discussed the possibilities for expanding the port and railway infrastructure. The meeting also discussed the issue of determining the competitive tariffs for the transportation of containers through the Black Sea ports of Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. The agreement on creation of the TITR was signed in April 2016 in Baku by the railway authorities of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Ukraine decided to apply the competitive feed-in tariffs for cargo transportation via the TITR in January, 2016. Single competitive rate was introduced in the framework of the route starting from June 1, 2016 with the view to reduce the costs of international cargo transportation. About 300,000-400,000 containers are expected to be transported via the Trans-Caspian international transport route by 2020, bringing huge financial profits to Azerbaijan. Growing interest in the transport infrastructures passing through Azerbaijan's territory is expected to make the country a major transport hub in the region. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 10:57 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijani carpets will be demonstrated at the International Carpet Festival, to be held in Georgia from June 28 to July 2. The festival will open at the Georgian State Museum of Folk and Applied Art. Exhibits of the Azerbaijan State Carpet Museum will be presented as part of the event, Report.az reported. From June 30 to July 2, the festival will continue on the territory of Rabati Castle, the medieval castle complex in Akhaltsikhe. The festival will feature samples of modern carpet weaving from Iran, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Turkey and Georgia. Local and invited masters will show their works and demonstrate different stages of the process and techniques of carpet weaving to the public. In addition, there will be master classes and a variety of educational programs on the techniques of making carpets, ornaments, staining, design and much more. Bright, colored and unique Azerbaijani carpets are well-known all over the world for their quality and high artistic value. Azerbaijani rugs are the honorary "residents" at the White House, State Department, and every important museums in the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Louvre, Victoria and Albert Museum, Vatican, and the Hermitage. Thanks to the care of the country, the Azerbaijani carpet art was included into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO in late 2010. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 11:43 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova The EU Mission in Baku has presented a new website on cooperation in the sphere of culture between Azerbaijan and Europe. The website Sizinavropa.az is the first online platform in the Azerbaijani language, telling about the European culture, art, education system etc. Here you can find many articles about the various attractions of the EU, the travel, interesting festivals and other cultural events in Europe, an interview with the Azerbaijani students studying in Europe and European students studying in Azerbaijan, videos and more. In addition, the website will inform readers about cultural events held with the support of diplomatic missions of EU countries in Baku, including concerts, festivals, film screenings, exhibitions, etc. The website will be fully available next week. The website has its Facebook and Youtube channel. Over the past years, Azerbaijan had a very close cooperation with EUs various institutions and member countries. The energy-rich country signed and adopted documents on strategic partnership with nine member countries of the EU. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 12:58 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Daughter of the world-famous cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich, Elena Rostropovich has visited the House-Museum of Leopold and Mstislav Rostropovich in Baku. Although the museum is not open to visitors after repair works, it was opened for the daughter of the maestro. Elena Rostropovich was informed about the activities of the Museum, while she gave her recommendations. Elena Rostropovich also spoke to Director of the Museum Sheila Heydarova about the upcoming new projects of the Charitable Foundation of Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya. Born in Baku, Azerbaijan Rostropovich was internationally recognized as a staunch advocate of human rights, and he was awarded the 1974 Award of the International League of Human Rights. Rostropovich was a huge influence on the younger generation of cellists. Many have openly acknowledged their debt to his example. In the Daily Telegraph, Julian Lloyd Webber called him "probably the greatest cellist of all time." He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces and formed long-standing artistic partnerships with such prominent composers as iDmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutosawski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris and Benjamin Britten. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has become one of the West leading conductors. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966.They performed together regularly. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 14:37 (UTC+04:00) The International Real Estate & Investment Show 2017 (IREIS) is the one-stop shop for real estate investment opportunities across the world. The 9th edition of the expo will be held from November 2-4 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Abu Dhabi. Organized by Dome Exhibitions with the support of Federation of Chamber of Commerce and ADNEC, the show will attract more than 120 local, regional and international exhibitors representing a spectrum of the real estate business, including property development, investment, real estate brokerage and related services. The exhibition will showcase a variety of high-end properties ranging from residential to land properties from Europe, US, Canada, Asia, GCC and the Middle East. International investors and participants seek to benefit from the facilities, incentives and investor-friendly regulations in the UAE, in addition to Abu Dhabis strategic location as a business hub and an attractive investment destination, according to the organisers. Managing Director of Dome Exhibitions, Antoine Georges commented on the potential of IREIS 2017 saying, Over the previous editions of the show, we have witnessed an increase in demand among local and international investors who are eagerly interested to invest in the region. This years International Real Estate & Investment Show will be a consumer-focused (B2C) exhibition, creating a 30% growth in terms of visitors and exhibitors participation for 2017 edition. We will be bringing together leading real estate, finance, and investment companies under one roof. It will stand as a way for direct engagement among real estate companies, consultants, investors and potential buyers. He added that the low property prices and the expected growth in coming years especially with the announcement of the new projects and the Expo 2020/Strategic Vision 2030 initiatives will further create an ample of opportunities which are growth promising. IREIS is an indispensable sales and networking platform where all the professionals of international real-estate industry are gathered to share and gain invaluable insight on sought-after fields through our International Conference platform. Dual citizenship and residency by investment pavilion will not only educate but will also offer opportunities pertaining to the field for investors, and compare the different global investor citizenship and migration programmes to see which works best for you. The new segment, Investors Meet Zone is an innovative meeting platform designed to provide institutional and individual investors with insights on the best investment opportunities across the globe. Its truly a global platform aimed to connect projects and the investors worldwide. Here, HNW and Ultra HNW investors from Private & Public sector represented by C-Level executives, Government representatives, Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, Portfolio Managers, Real Estate and Investment Project Managers from around the region will meet the best project offers from the international market. IREIS 2017 will also host its signature country pavilions that are set up in collaboration with its respective embassy and trade promotion councils from countries including Turkey, Cyprus, Portugal, Philippines, Egypt, India and Pakistan. IREIS 2016 witnessed 92 exhibitors from 24 countries and attracted more than 8,500 visitors from 73 countries in 2016, has projected a 30% growth for this year. Regarding its successful participation, Andrew Covill the Director of Henry Wiltshire Abu Dhabi Leasing & Estate Agents said, We are thrilled with our successful participation at IREIS 2016. It has been a steady footfall with enquiries and generated interest across the board. Abdelaziz Fikri, Acting Director of UAEs very own Sharjah Asset Management that launched its biggest project Al Sajaa Industrial Oasis stated, This is our first participation in Abu Dhabi and we selected IREIS as our platform given its outstanding reputation, high demand, and reliability. Alaa Massoud, Vice President Marketing for Schon Properties highlighted the fact that Abu Dhabi residents are interested to invest in Dubai real estate market which is the best opportunity at the moment. That is the reason we are here at IREIS to attract Investors to our projects and its been a very good show for us. Arton Capital, one of the oldest companies of the industry, facilitates citizenship primarily in Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean region. Armand Arton, President of Arton Capital had to add, It has been a privilege for us to participate in the Citizenship by Investment Exhibition. We are happy with the outstanding results, the interest generated, and the high attendance we have been receiving, not just from the UAE, but from the region. Sam Bayat, the CEO of Bayat Legal Services explained, Our most demanded service has always been migration. We focus on investment programs particularly in Europe and the Caribbean region. Our participation at IREIS is a privilege as the GCC market is booming. The expatriate community that makes up nearly three quarters of the total population is our primary target. Most expats wish to eventually migrate or are actively seeking to obtain a secondary passport. Dome Exhibitions aims to grow the shows global scope, especially as the exhibition focuses on nationalities demonstrating a high demand for real estate investments. For more information, please visit www.realestateshow.ae 15 June 2017 13:51 (UTC+04:00) By Sara Israfilbayova The State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance under Azerbaijans Cabinet of Ministers is preparing a package of amendments to the legislation to determine the size of a premium for the medical insurance, Agencys Director Zaur Aliyev said on June 14. "Currently, the issue of insurance premium and its size is not described in our legislation. All costs were assumed by the state, so we need to make changes to the legislation to implement this mechanism. We have submitted our proposals on the sources of our financing to the Administration of President, which in turn will send them to the relevant bodies and Milli Mejlis [Parliament] for consideration," Aliyev said, adding that the proposed changes could be adopted before the end of the year. The State Agency will also prepare some changes to the basic package, which will be developed on the basis of the experience of the pilot projects realized in two regions of Azerbaijan - Mingachevir and Yevlakh. "We have achieved a significant expansion of access to health services for the population of Mingechevir and Yevlakh. Today, we can say that compulsory health insurance covered about 100 percent of the population in these areas. In this case, if the operations or the provision of other services in these cities lack the capacity we send people to the hospital in Ganja or Baku. Occupancy of hospital beds in Mingachevir and Yevlakh rose from 45 to 80 percent and visits to the clinic increased from 1,200 to 1,400. Only in Mingachevir number of surgeries rose to 700. We also achieved a multiple increase in the salaries of medical workers in these areas and contributed to increased competition between medical institutions, added Aliyev. Implementation of compulsory medical insurance in Azerbaijan is planned within the health care reform framework. The compulsory insurance program ensures citizens to receive free, high-quality medical care and eliminates unofficial payments from the health system. The compulsory insurance is an integral part of health care reform, which will increase the financial capacity of the health system. The State Agency for Compulsory Health Care Insurance, established this February, aims to ensure access to health services for all citizens. Including some 1,800 medical services, the compulsory medical insurance is a new and innovative direction in the social policy of the Azerbaijan. Among the services covered by the insurance, are inspection, treatment, diagnostic procedures, surgical procedures, and other services. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 11:50 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov NATO continues to encourage both Armenia and Azerbaijan to work towards a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a NATO official told Trend on June 15. The official was commenting on the recent visit of James Appathurai, NATO secretary generals special representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia, to Armenia, where he made several statements regarding the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. NATO fully supports the [OSCE] Minsk Groups efforts to that end, the NATO official said. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years. Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 12:28 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Moscow does not exclude the discussion of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the meeting of Russian and French Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Jean-Yves Le Drian on June 20 in Moscow. We do not exclude the raising of this issue during the discussion of a number of international problems. We are in dialogue with our French colleagues, including on this issue, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on June 15. She noted that the essence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is in finding a compromise of seeming diametrically opposed positions. The situation requires progress and resolution, therefore contacts in different formats have lately intensified, Zakharova said. The spokeswoman added that Russia, as a mediator, is doing everything so that a compromise would be found, but not to the detriment of the peoples of the two countries. The conflict between two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 10:00 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli June 15 is one of the most remarkable days in the history of Azerbaijans statehood. The day celebrates the National Salvation Day -- the beginning of a new and invaluable stage in the history of independent Azerbaijan. For Azerbaijanis, this is one of the countrys most memorable days, marking the historical return of the national leader Heydar Aliyev from the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to capital Baku in 1993. Having restored its independence two years earlier - in 1991, Azerbaijan faced a frighteningly real prospect of losing its own statehood in summer 1993. The Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, that began in 1988, grew into a more aggressive attitude by February 1992 -- genocide of Azerbaijanis in Khojaly, occupation of Shusha, capture of Lachin and soon after Kalbajar by Armenia. Chaos was spreading in all spheres of social life, and the situation was hard for the armed forces. In such troubled times, the country was in need of a strong-willed leader who could solve the existing crisis and prevent potential crises in the future. And this person was the prominent political leader Heydar Aliyev. People invite Heydar Aliyev to Baku In June 1993, when the people of Azerbaijan believed that the national statehood was on the edge of fall, and when there began the hardest days, it insistently demanded change of the existing power, and since that time relied its destiny on Heydar Aliyev. Desperate and helpless, the people of Azerbaijan invited their national leader from the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to Baku on June 15, 1993 and elected him Chairman of the Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet. In 1993, people in the government of Azerbaijan made a decision to invite Heydar Aliyev to power. At the time between 1991 and 1993, he held the post of Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchyvan, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev, who could not stand indifferent towards misfortune of his nation, accepted the invitation and returned to big politics in Azerbaijan. The national leader in a very short time led Azerbaijan to the path of development and prosperity. He confirmed with each step his words said on October 10, 1993 at an inauguration ceremony. The Azerbaijani people is going through the most difficult, tragic period of its history. I am deeply aware of the degree of responsibility that is entrusted to me in this difficult time, and I want to assure you that I will try to justify all my activity, my entire life, the highest trust and the hopes of the people, he said. The people met Heydar Aliyev's return with hope and joy, and this day entered the history of independent Azerbaijan as the Day of National Salvation. Since July 24, 1993, Heydar Aliyev began to exercise the powers of the President of Azerbaijan. Though the nationwide voting on October 3, 1993, Heydar Aliyev was elected as the President of Azerbaijan. Building a modern and strong state With the return of Heydar Aliyev to the leadership of Azerbaijan in 1993, a turning point occurred in the socio-political, social, economic, scientific and cultural life of the country, as well as in international relations, the process of building an independent state began in accordance with scientific principles and international norms. Having gone through many ordeals, Azerbaijan is today a flourishing country involved in many major global projects and with an independent foreign and interior policy. All these became possible because in a particularly difficult period, Azerbaijan's respected son, Heydar Aliyev came to help it restore order and justice and take steps in the path of prosperity. In such troubled times, the country was in need of a strong-willed leader who could solve the existing crisis and prevent potential crises in the future. Heydar Aliyev was the very prominent political leader to undertake this historical responsibility. Heydar Aliyev took urgent measures to form the National Army, to create regular Armed Forces capable of guarding the national interests of Azerbaijan, to protect the national lands. Thanks to his efforts all diplomatic and political means, it was possible to achieve a ceasefire in May 1994, which was of a vital importance to the young independent country. The signing of the first oil contract, called the "Contract of the Century", in September 1994, and its implementation, using the relative stability established in Azerbaijan and the growing trust and interest in the country on the international arena are clear evidence of the implementation of the oil strategy developed by Heydar Aliyev, which is the concept of economic development of Azerbaijan. After securing order, Heydar Aliyev chose to set Azerbaijan on a democratic path. A new constitution was adopted in 1995. New progressive laws were passed, bringing drastic changes to the judiciary. Under the leadership of the great leader, the foreign policy of the Azerbaijani state, its relations with the world's leading states and international organizations began to develop at a course based on national interests and a far-sighted political perspective. The rich activity of Heydar Aliyev, as a political and state figure, who devoted his entire conscious life to the people, leaving a deep imprint in the history of the Azerbaijani people, has become a true school of public administration. Many generations of the Azerbaijani people will use this school and the rich political heritage of Heydar Aliyev for the sake of the development of the country and the well-being of its people. 15 June 2017 10:43 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova A delegation led by Luc Devigne, the director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia and OSCE at the European External Action Service (EEAS) is visiting Azerbaijan within next round of negotiations on Azerbaijan-European Union partnership agreement. In Baku, the EU delegation was received by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Azertac reported. The sides expressed their satisfaction with the constructive and intensive pace of negotiations on the draft partnership agreement. They noted that at this round of negotiations main focus of discussion was political and trade issues. They expressed their hope that as a result of the talks conducted in an atmosphere of mutual understanding the draft of partnership agreement will be finalized by the Summit Meeting of the European Union Eastern Partnership countries to be held at the end of this year. The sides also exchanged views on the current status of relations and prospective development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU. It was noted that recently held Azerbaijan EU Business Forum provided new opportunities for further development of mutually beneficial economic, trade and investment cooperation. The sides expressed confidence that during the visit of Johannes Hahn, the Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations on June 16, fruitful discussions will be held on various aspects of Azerbaijan-EU cooperation with a particular focus on transport, trade, connectivity issues. During the meeting, regional issues were also discussed. Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Minister Mammadyarov stressed the importance of a unified approach by EU with respect to the resolution of protracted conflicts based on the principles of respecting to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states within internationally recognized borders, as it is enshrined in the Global Strategy of EU. The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan. The new agreement envisages the compliance of Azerbaijans legislation and procedures with the EUs most important international trade norms and standards, which should lead to the improvement of Azerbaijani goods access to the EU markets. The Union has repeatedly voiced support to Azerbaijan in its reform efforts, and aims at increasing networking and contacts between companies that will increase trade and economic activity even further. The EU has 28 Member States with a total population of more than 500 million people and is hence, after China and India, the most populous region in the world. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz CALEDONIA Fans of 1980s pop music may do a double take when looking at Saturdays lineup of main stage acts at this weekends Kraut Fest. Scheduled to perform at 5:45 that evening is Take Me a once very popular, Racine-based band that seemed to be on track for leaving its mark on the national music scene. But that was more than 30 years ago and Take Me hasnt performed as a complete band here, or anywhere, since. Until now. Three original members of the band Danny Siebert (guitar), Jeff Hunter (drums) and Jeff Slater (vocals) have teamed up with a new bassist, Jon Ianni of Kenosha, and will perform their first show together (again) as Take Me Saturday on the Main Stage at Kraut Fest at Caledonia-Mount Pleasant Memorial Park. I think it will be fun, said Slater, now 57, and a father of four. We hope people will come out, share some memories with us and have a good time. Take Me lost its original bassist and dear friend, Kent Parco, to cancer in 2007. And the bands other guitar player, Tommy Ford, lives in the Chicago area and is busy with other projects and unavailable for the reunion, according to Take Mes Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TakeMeUSA) . All of the bands original members, in fact, had mostly gone their separate ways, pursuing other musical ventures, different professions and raising families long before Parcos passing. At the height of its popularity in the early 1980s, Take Me opened shows for big-name acts including Duran Duran, Cheap Trick and A Flock of Seagulls, as well as headlining its own shows at Milwaukees Summerfest, The Palms, and venues throughout the Chicago area. When we opened for Duran Duran at the arena in Detroit, we played in front of 20,000 people, Slater said. But, by 1983, Take Me which played one of its first shows in 1979 at Memorial Hall had performed its last show together. It was tough to walk away from all of that, Slater said. When asked what led to the split he said, There were a lot of different things going on at the time. In retrospect, Slater said he thinks the bands lack of a good, strong leader someone who would encourage them to stick together and weather the storm may have played a role in its breakup. All of us had our own ideas, he said. And there were a lot of people who wanted a piece of us. Seeds for a reunion Such memories, though, have faded with time, and what remains are good musical memories ones that brought Slater and Siebert back together on stage earlier this year. The spark was lit one night in February when Slater was invited to sing with Untrained Laymen, the band that Siebert has played with in recent years, at their show. The crowd that night gave them a very warm reception, Slater said. It was pretty incredible. Theres no denying that, he said. Before long, those two had gotten together with Hunter and Ianni and, in the last couple months, the foursome has managed to build up enough of a repertoire for a 75-minute show, featuring 16 of Take Mes original songs. Ninety-eight percent of Take Mes music is original, with songs having been created through a group effort involving all band members, Slater said. The audience at Kraut Fest will hear such 80s favorites as Say Hello, So Lonely Girl, Get to Me and Its Over Now. The band still plays 80s pop music, Slater said, but its version of pop has always had a little heavier edge to it. We have a good guitar sound, he said. Members of the new Take Me are excited for their debut at Kraut Fest and are hopeful that they will find future opportunities to play in the area as well. 15 June 2017 17:21 (UTC+04:00) The Consulates General of Azerbaijan and Israel held a joint event in Los Angeles to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Israel. The event was hosted by the Sinai Temple, which is one of the largest and most influential synagogues not only in Los Angeles, but also in the entire U.S.. Attended by over 300 guests, including consuls general of various countries, elected officials, representatives of different ethnic and religious communities, journalists and others, the celebration included a discussion between Azerbaijans Consul General Nasimi Aghayev and Israels Consul General Sam Grundwerg. The discussion was moderated by Daniel Schnur, the Regional Director of the American Jewish Committees Los Angeles Office. The event opened with an impressive performance of national anthems of Azerbaijan, Israel and the U.S. by Sinai Temples senior cantor Marcus Feldman. Speaking afterwards, Rabbi David Wolpe of the Sinai Temple recalled the 2015 trip of 45 members of his congregation to Azerbaijan, noting that the journey offered the opportunity to learn more about Azerbaijans model of interfaith tolerance and harmony up close. He stressed that walking in the streets of Baku freely with a Jewish headgear (kippah) and seeing nothing but respect was a beautiful experience, especially in a majority-Muslim nation. Rabbi Wolpe noted that celebrating the Azerbaijan-Israel relations was important also in terms of showcasing the possibility of peace between Muslims and Jews. Then Consul General of Azerbaijan Nasimi Aghayev and Consul General of Israel Sam Grundwerg addressed the audience. In his remarks, Consul General Aghayev informed the attendees about Azerbaijans long-standing traditions of tolerance, inclusion and multiculturalism. Noting the centuries-long peaceful co-existence of Azerbaijani Muslims and Jews, Consul General Aghayev said that these bonds between the two peoples provided a strong foundation for the emergence of close friendship and partnership between Azerbaijan and Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union when Azerbaijan restored its independence. Speaking about the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Consul General Aghayev emphasized appreciation for Israels unwaivering support for Azerbaijans territorial integrity. In this regard, Aghayev also expressed gratitude for Israeli President Rivlins special reference to the 1992 Khojaly Massacre committed by Armenia against Azerbaijani civilians in his 2015 U.N. speech on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Aghayev noted that this was another indicator of a genuine friendship between the two countries. In his remarks, Consul General of Israel Sam Grundwerg called the environment of interfaith tolerance and harmony in Azerbaijan a great model and example. He also highlighted the strategic nature of Azerbaijani-Israeli partnership, encompassing many crucial areas. Recalling the high-level bilateral visits, Consul General Grundwerg expressed his satisfaction with the current level of Azerbaijan-Israel strategic partnership as well as with the remarkable achievements Azerbaijan has been able to make as a free and independent nation. Touching on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Grundwerg noted that Israel supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan as well as the peaceful resolution of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. The discussion was followed by a lively Q&A session, during which the Consuls General were asked various questions. The event concluded with the performance of Azerbaijani and Jewish music by talented musicians of both nations, which left the audience mesmerized. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 11:35 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva Qatar will buy American McDonnel Douglas F-15 Eagle jet fighters for about $12 billion, Reuters reported. The agreement was signed on June 14 after a visit to Washington by Qatars Minister of State for Defense Khalid Al-Attiyah. The fighter jets will be built by Boeing and give Qatar a state of the art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar, the U.S. Department of Defense said. The Qatari Defense Ministry also issued a statement regarding the F-15 deal. "This agreement underscores the longstanding commitment of the State of Qatar in jointly working with our friends and allies in the United States," al-Attiyah said in the statement. He also praised the U.S.-Qatar relationship, saying the two countries had "solidified their military cooperation by having fought together side by side for many years now in an effort to eradicate terrorism." Al-Attiyah called the deal "yet another step in advancing our strategic and cooperative defense relationship with the United States." This announcement comes after a week of mixed messages from the Trump administration regarding the conflict between Doha and a number of Arab nations. The sale of U.S. combat aircraft may be seen as a signal of U.S. support for Qatar as it faces regional isolation and the severing of travel and trade links. In November last year, the United States approved possible sale of up to 72 F-15QA aircraft to Qatar for $21.1 billion. Boeing Co is the prime contractor on the fighter jet sale to the Middle East nation. McDonnel Douglas F-15 Eagle is an all-weather tactical fighter of the fourth generation, developed by McDonnell Douglas in the first half of the 1970s. A total of about 1,200 units of different modifications were made since that time. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 11:18 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Uzbekistans Uzbekneftegaz national holding company is studying the prospects and possibilities for joining the TurkmenistanAfghanistanPakistanIndia (TAPI) gas pipeline project, chairman of the companys board Alisher Sultanov said during the meeting of the International Press Club in Tashkent city. He reminded that the issue of Uzbekistans joining the TAPI project was raised during the visit of the countrys President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Turkmenistan. The Turkmen side offered us to participate in the TAPI project, Sultanov said. In turn, the Uzbek president instructed the Uzbekneftegaz company to study this issue. Sultanov went on to add that currently there is no decision whether Uzbekistan will participate in this project or not. The total length of the TAPI pipeline will be 1,814 kilometers. A 214-kilometer section of the pipeline will run through Turkmenistan, a 774-kilometer section will run through Afghanistan and an 826-kilometer section will run through Pakistan. Construction of the Turkmen section of TAPI started in 2015 and is scheduled to finish in late 2018. The pipelines annual capacity will be 33 billion cubic meters of gas. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 12:20 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill to expand the anti-Russian sanctions, RIA Novosti reported. The new measures are presented in the form of an amendment to the draft law on the application of sanctions against Iran. Besides, the document contains a provision that does not allow President Donald Trump to weaken or cancel the measures taken without the approval of the Congress. The proposed sanctions involve a reduction of the maximum period for market financing of Russian banks to 14 days, and companies in the oil and gas sector - to 30 days. In addition, within 180 days after the introduction of amendments, the head of the U.S. Treasury Department must submit a report on the possible consequences of extending sanctions on Russia's sovereign debt to the Congress. The bill passed to the House of Representatives, after which, if approved, it will be sent to the Head of the White House for signing. Earlier Moscow said that the plans of the American senators threaten to turn into a new "sanctions peak." Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary of the Russian president, stressed that "this is not our choice." The question of new Russian sanctions has been raised by a number of senators in both parties after the intelligence community announced in January its conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election on behalf of President Donald Trump. The White House has been silent on the proposal and administration officials have been unclear on what the official position is. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in April that the current Russian sanctions would remain until the country gives up control of the Crimean peninsula. Earlier, Trump has indicated he is skeptical about additional sanctions and has been dismissive about the role of Russian interference in the U.S. elections. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 13:23 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva Iran will provide humanitarian aide to Qatar, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a meeting with former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, IRNA reported. Pointing to the unilateral sanctions of some Arab countries against Qatar, the foreign minister said that Iran is ready to provide humanitarian aid to this country if necessary. Several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing the latter of supporting ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorists and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East. They were later joined by Libya, Yemen, the Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania, with Jordan and Djibouti announcing they would lower the level of diplomatic contacts with Qatar. Senegal and Chad recalled their ambassadors from Doha. Doha denied allegations over its support to terrorism and extremism adding that the diplomatic rift was based on "baseless fabricated claims." Qatar expressed its readiness for a dialogue to solve the crisis and denied to take counter-action measures against its neighbors. Turkey and Iran have been providing food and water supplies to Qatar after the crisis occurred. Moreover, Turkey has declared its full support to Qatar by adopting a bill on deploying Turkish troops in the country. Meanwhile, the Elysee Palace said that French President Emmanuel Macron would meet separately in Paris with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the crown prince of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan in an attempt to solve the conflict. The meetings are due to take place in the last week of June and are aimed at trying to defuse the Gulf dispute. The information came after Macrons 24-hour visit to Morocco for talks on combating terrorism, as well as the Libyan conflict and Qatar's dispute with its Gulf neighbours with King Mohammed VI. It was stressed at the meeting that both Paris and Rabat are keen on mediating a solution to the crisis. At a press conference following the visit to Rabat, the French president said he would meet with "one of the leaders of the UAE, who will be in Paris next week." --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 15 June 2017 13:59 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva Russia, Iran and Turkey continue their work on terms for a new round of talks on Syrian crisis in Astana, TASS reported referring to Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova. "The guarantor countries of the Astana process - Russia, Iran and Turkey - are working on new terms for the next round of the international meeting on Syria in Astana, and there are active consultations on the issue of coordinating a package of documents related to the implementation of the memorandum of May 4," she said. Four rounds of negotiations on the ongoing Syrian conflict were held in the Astana, on January 23-24, February 15-16, March 14-15 and May 3-4. During the most recent round, the guarantor countries of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime Russia, Iran, and Turkey agreed to establish four safety zones across the country. The civil war in Syria between government and opposition with various terrorist groups involved, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), began back in March 2011. Syrian President Bashar Assad managed to turn the tide of war in his favor after Russia started an air campaign in September 2015, while Iran is an uncompromising supporter of the Syrian leader. According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the countrys pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain. Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that. And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details. If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For Immediate Release, June 15, 2017 Contact: Jean Su, (415) 770-3187, jsu@biologicaldiversity.org Lawsuit Seeks Federal Documents on Trump's Border Wall Prototypes Secretive Administration Continues Evading Environmental Laws SAN DIEGO The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection today for failing to provide environmental documents required for the construction of border wall prototypes in San Diego County. The Center requested the public records in May under the Freedom of Information Act, but the agencies have failed to provide any response. Prototype construction is scheduled to begin this summer. There's no evidence that the Trump administration has done any environmental review, though the review is required by federal law. We're calling out the Trump administration's disturbing failure to study how these border wall prototypes will hurt communities and endangered wildlife, said Jean Su, an attorney with the Center. The administration can't pick and choose which laws to follow. This project requires compliance with federal environmental laws that protect people and wildlife. The prototypes are supposed to be built in the Otay Mesa area of south San Diego, which is surrounded by thousands of communities and contains critical habitat for several endangered species, including Quino checkerspot butterflies. The Trump administration's refusal to produce a shred of environmental analysis on the prototypes is a grim omen for the construction of the larger border wall, Su said. Officials are ignoring thousands of communities and species that will be threatened by these destructive plans. The Center recently filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection over threats to endangered species and critical habitat from building the prototype designs in San Diego County. A recent study by the Center identified more than 90 endangered or threatened species that would be threatened by border wall construction along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. The Center and U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sued the Trump administration in April over the proposed border wall and other border-security measures, calling on Homeland Security to conduct an in-depth investigation of overall border-security environmental impacts. In May the Center sued the Trump administration for failing to provide documents prepared for Trump's transition team about border-wall construction. Those public records, first requested in January, could provide information about the feasibility, effectiveness or impacts of the wall. In addition to jeopardizing endangered species, Trump's plan for a 30-foot impenetrable wall would separate communities and endanger cultural and religious practices among people whose ancestral lands straddle the border. Download today's lawsuit here. Download one of the original records requests here. Beyond jeopardizing wildlife, endangered species and public lands, the U.S.-Mexico border wall is part of a larger strategy of ongoing border militarization that damages human rights, civil liberties, native lands, local businesses and international relations. The border wall impedes the natural migrations of people and wildlife that are essential to healthy diversity. The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. 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Archbishop and primate of Nigeria Nicholas Okoh, who heads the conservative Gafcon grouping in the Anglican Communion, has compared the crisis over gay marriage to the battle between the heretic Arius and St Athanasius that rocked the church of the fourth century. That battle centred on the nature of the Trinity. Arius believed, against what came to be the wider orthodoxy, that 'there was a time when the son was not'. And controversially, Okoh has offered to provide 'missionary bishops' to give oversight conservative Anglicans anywhere in the world who object to the liberal drift towards acceptance of gay marriage. Okoh says in his June letter to GAFCON Anglicans: 'The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is vital. Without it, we cannot speak truly of God in a way that is faithful to the Bible. However, in the fourth century the Church was nearly overwhelmed by the Arians. They were the followers of Arius, who claimed that the Son was a created being, not really God. 'If the Church had continued to follow Arius, the Christian faith would have been lost. To deny the full divinity of Jesus strikes at the heart of the Christian message that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. St Athanasius is still remembered as the man who was willing to make a costly stand against this heresy.' The Christian Church is facing a similar struggle for the integrity of the gospel in this era, he continues, and refers to the decision by the Scottish Episcopal Church to change its doctrine to allow gay marriage. This follows similar decisions by the Episcopal Church of the US and the Anglican Church of Canada. Okoh says: 'This attempt to redefine marriage is not a secondary issue about which we can agree to disagree and continue to walk together. It means that Jesus was mistaken when he taught that marriage was between a man and a woman and that sex outside of such a marriage is a sin. It is a radical rejection of the authority of Scripture. The Church claims that it can consecrate behaviour that God's Word clearly teaches to be sinful. According to the Bible, this behaviour, without repentance, separates those who practice it from his kingdom.' Okoh compares the consecration of Andy Lines as a 'missionary bishop' by GAFCON conservatives to the actions of Athanasius consecrating orthodox bishops in dioceses led by Arians. 'This is not a step we have taken lightly, but from the beginning GAFCON has been committed to standing with the marginalised. 'Requests for help from Scottish orthodox leaders to the Archbishop of Canterbury were turned down. Indeed, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church told his General Synod last year that the Archbishop of Canterbury, had assured him that he would welcome the Scottish Church to the 2020 Lambeth Conference even if it chose to change its marriage canon to include same sex unions. 'So now GAFCON stands ready to recognise and support orthodox Anglicans in Scotland and elsewhere in Europe as the drift away from apostolic faith and order continues. For reasons of mission and conscience, we can expect to find a growing number of orthodox Anglican congregations needing oversight outside traditional structures, as is already the case with the Anglican Mission in England. 'The creation of a missionary bishop for Europe is an historic moment. It is a recognition that the era of European Christendom has passed and that in this 500th anniversary year of the Reformation, a new start is being made by building global partnerships for mission. 'So let us be strong. Let us stand with the marginalised and work tirelessly for the continuing reformation of our beloved Communion.' Can Christians do politics? Six leaders who are inspired by their faith Tim Farron's resignation as the leader of the Liberal Democrats for which he cited his own faith convictions can make for a depressing read. Is there any hope for Christians in politics? Farron cited an irreconcilable chasm between living faithfully as a Christian, and leading a progressive political party. As he put it: 'To be a political leader especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me.' Now he's resigned, because of his faith, is it game over for Christians in the public sphere? Some young believers may take his fall as a sign that Christians, particularly evangelicals, are not welcome in politics, much as they might want to be there. Farron noted that 'A better, wiser person than me may have been able to...have remained faithful to Christ while leading a political party in the current environment.' In that more hopeful light, and on the assumption that Christians should distance themselves from the world but engage in, love and serve it, here are six contemporary leaders who've been public about their faith. 1. Barack Obama Despite facing numerous conspiracy theories that he was a Muslim, US president Barack Obama has long been a committed Christian for whom faith is central. At the 2011 Prayer Breakfast he said: 'When I wake in the morning, I wait on the Lord, and I ask him to give me the strength to do right by our country and its people. And when I go to bed at night I wait on the Lord, and I ask him to forgive me my sins, and look after my family and the American people, and make me an instrument of his will. 'I say these prayers hoping they will be answered, and I say these prayers knowing that I must work and must sacrifice and must serve to see them answered. But I also say these prayers knowing that the act of prayer itself is a source of strength. It's a reminder that our time on Earth is not just about us; that when we open ourselves to the possibility that God might have a larger purpose for our lives, there's a chance that somehow, in ways that we may never fully know, God will use us well.' 2. Theresa May The daughter of a vicar, British PM Theresa May is also a regularly church-going Christian. In 2014 she told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs that her faith does impact her politics, and put the hymn When I Survey The Wondrous Cross as one of her favourite songs. She added however that 'It's right that we don't flaunt these things here in British politics.' She told LBC last month that faith helped her cope with the death of her parents and realising she herself couldn't have children: 'It's difficult to explain in simple words but actually the faith was there and did provide support for me through those difficult times.' 3. David Lammy British Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy has also be vocal about his faith and politics. Last year he spoke about how it was 'first and foremost as a Christian' that he opposed the renewal of Britain's nuclear arsenal through Trident submarines. In May he told Christians in Canterbury: 'People of faith have the compass to navigate our way to a better society. We need to speak when we feel the burden on society is too great and when society needs reining back...Armed with the glorious story of Jesus Christ, this is our moment and time. We must set to work.' 4. Tony Blair Christian and former British Prime Minister and Tony Blair once famously ducked questions about his faith and politics when his communications chief Alastair Campbell told the American interviewer: 'We don't do God'. Nonetheless, Tony wrote in his memoir that 'I have always been more interested in religion than politics', and told The Globe and Mail that 'faith plays a far greater role in political leaders than you might think'. He once wrote: 'For a politician, [faith]... means that you see the need for change around you and you accept your duty to do something. Christian belief means you cannot detach yourself from the world around you.' Then in this interview with Jeremy Paxman, a youthful Blair began by saying he didn't like to 'make a big thing of' faith. But he went on to say: 'Of course, I'm a person...with a character and part of my character is what I believe in and part of my beliefs is a religious conviction.' 5. Angela Merkel The German chancellor and TIME magazine's Person of the Year 2015 may not put her piety in the spotlight, but she has a Christian faith that religious commentator Nick Spencer calls 'deep, genuine and important'. She said in 2012: 'I am a member of the evangelical church. I believe in God and religion is also my constant companion, and has been for the whole of my life...We as Christians should above all not be afraid of standing up for our beliefs.' 6. Jimmy Carter Former US president Jimmy Carter may no longer take the centre stage in politics, but his philosophy on faith and politics continues to inspire many. Facing cancer in 2015, he declared that his life was 'in the hands of God, whom I worship'. He once summed up his life motivation: 'I have one life and one chance to make it count for something... I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands this is not optional my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.' You can follow @JosephHartropp on Twitter Does Tim Farron's resignation mean the end for Christians in politics? Tim Farron's resignation claiming that being a political leader and a 'faithful Christian' has been 'impossible' is sparking questions over whether Christians can ever enter play a leading role in politics. The Liberal Democrat's speech to announce he was stepping down was greeted with alarm and sorrow by church leaders as he claimed 'we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society'. Rumours abound as to whether he was pushed out following the resignation of the gay front-bench peer Lord Paddick citing concerns with Farron's 'views on various issues'. Regardless of the real reason, Farron could have resigned quietly, pointing to the party's minor recovery at the election and saying it was someone else's turn. Instead he went out with a bang, saying he was 'torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader'. He finished: 'Imagine how proud I am to lead this party. And then imagine what would lead me to voluntarily relinquish that honour. 'In the words of Isaac Watts it would have to be something "so amazing, so divine, (it) demands my heart, my life, my all".' The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, described Farron as 'honourable and decent' and said: 'Regardless of party if he can't be in politics media & politicians have questions.' Tim Farron honourable & decent. Regardless of party if he can't be in politics media & politicians have questions. https://t.co/glmDDsfJ2J Justin Welby (@JustinWelby) June 14, 2017 Christians differ strongly on this as on so many other things. Faith is not a list of views; it is the living God in Christ whom we worship. https://t.co/ekrWXF1NIs Paul Bayes (@paulbayes) June 15, 2017 The Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said he was 'sorry' to read Farron's statement and 'recognises the hurt it expresses'. He said: 'Undoubtedly he has been given a hard time.' The Bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes, offered a different tone to his Archbishop. Tim Farron's resignation has provoked a blind collision of blunt stereotypes, "Christian" & "liberal" alike. May we think harder together? Paul Bayes (@paulbayes) June 15, 2017 The Liberal Democrat Christian Forum, a grouping within the party, insisted Christians must still be involved in politics. A spokeswoman said: 'Sadly his resignation reflects the fact we live in a society that is still illiberal in many ways and is intolerant of political leaders having a faith. This urgently needs to change. 'It will only change if Christians step up and get involved in all areas of life and change the rhetoric, whether in politics, media, business, or the arts. We need to bring about a society that is truly liberal where everyone of all faiths and none are valued and considered equal.' But Theos, a religion and society think-tank, said the resignation 'cast significant doubts about the future of Christians in public life'. A statement read: 'Farron's resignation speech chose to highlight what a growing number of people in Britain now recognise: that it is becoming increasingly difficult for Christians to hold public office. 'In spite of Farron's voting record and his determined and public commitment to political liberalism, he found himself "the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in".' Director Nick Spencer added: 'Farron's resignation is powerful, honest and alarming. Christianity was fundamental to the formation of political liberalism in the West. Liberalism seems now to be hacking away at these roots. 'Liberalism has a much-needed role to play in contemporary society, but it is increasingly being hijacked by those who think that liberal tolerance is only for tolerant liberals. Tim Farron's conviction that the Christian faith is no longer compatible with leading a liberal party is both an indictment of, and warning to, our public life today.' Andrew Wilson, a prominent conservative theologian from the New Frontiers Church, described the statement as 'extraordinary, brave and principled'. Don't believe the bad press: Refugees are good for communities Disparate communities and divided religious groups can unite around sponsoring refugee families, churches are being told. Christians are being urged to adopt a Syrian refugee family under the government's community sponsorship scheme. Church groups and inter-faith organisations can sponsor a family as part of the Home Office's attempt to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020. Several churches have already led the charge after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, became the first, housing a family in a cottage in the grounds of Lambeth Palace. Tania Bright, chief executive of Church Response for Refugees which is coordinating the drive, urged more churches to follow suit. 'The situation in Syria is worsening by the day. It is easy to feel powerless when we read stories of destruction and displacement. Community Sponsorship offers people of all faiths and none a solution to the unfolding crisis, by resettling one Syrian family at a time. 'It gives you the chance to say, "Yes we can" to showing hospitality to refugees directly. By providing financial, social, and emotional support directly to a newly arrived refugee family, you will be responding to the Gospel call to be Good Samaritans to our neighbour.' Speaking to Greyfriars Church in Reading on Wednesday night, she added sponsoring a family did not just benefit them, but also brought communities together. 'Of the five families currently placed, the greatest impact has been the incredible shift in how the community has pulled together around the family,' she said. 'It has deepened all layers of those involved, toward each other, such as the Middle Eastern restaurant owner; taxi drivers, school teacher, ESOL tutor, retired Arabic man who volunteers in interpretation and the list goes on.' Quoting Justin Welby she added: 'Refugees, like all people, are treasured human beings, made in the image of God, who deserve safety, freedom and the opportunity to flourish.' Ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June dozens of supporters are planning to raise money for refugees under the #2020Challenge. The campaign hopes to spark a wave of donations with people pledging to undertake 20 challenges and then nominating friends to follow suit. Find out more about the campaign here. Dozens of Christians rounded up in Eritrea church crackdown More than 120 Christians have been rounded up in Eritrea as the government steps up its crackdown on unregistered churches. The round-up represents a new phase in action begun in 2002 against religious practices that are not affiliated with Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran and Orthodox Christian churches or Sunni Islam. Christian Solidarity Worldwide is reporting that 45 Christians, including entire families, elderly men and a disabled woman, were taken from their homes in Adi Quala town in the south of the country and transported to Adi Aglis detention camp. The arrests last month left 23 children without their parents. A further 15 Christians were arrested in Gindae town in the Northern Red Sea Region and in the Godaif district of the capital Asmara, 17 Christians were rounded up. Forty-five others, mostly women, had already been rounded up earlier in May in another part of the city as they gathered at a party arranged by a recently married couple. Further arrests are anticipated as local district committees, composed of members of the security services, the ruling party, the local administration and the Orthodox Church, continue their house to house inquiries. Christians in the city have begun a period of prayer and fasting for peace and safety, said CSW. In her latest report to the Human Rights Council, Sheila Keetharuth, the United Nations special rapporteur on Eritrea, noted that 'the practice of arbitrary arrest and detention of individuals based on their religious belief continues', and referenced earlier arrests in Ghindae and Adi Quala, as well as the continuing detention of Patriarch Antonios of the Eritrean Orthodox Church. Among the report's recommendations is a call for the immediate and unconditional release of 'all those unlawfully and arbitrarily detained, including members of the G-15, journalists and members of religious groups'. Mervyn Thomas, chief executive of CSW, said: 'These arrests signify a renewed intensity in the crackdown that has been ongoing since 2002, and are a clear indication that the severe repression of freedom of religion or belief continues unabated in Eritrea. 'In her latest report, the special rapporteur noted that Eritrea has ignored the bulk of recommendations from her previous reports, while those made by the Commission of Inquiry have gone unheeded. In view of the continuing violations and lack of cooperation, we call on the HRC to support the renewal of the special rapporteur's mandate, and also to urge the international community to ensure that perpetrators of crimes against humanity are held accountable, including through universal jurisdiction, whenever this is appropriate.' Last year Helen Berhane, young Christian woman from Eritrea, described how she was imprisoned in a shipping container, tortured and beaten and starved - all because she refused to stop saying the name of Jesus. She found asylum in Denmark after spending years locked in a shipping container because she would not deny her Christian faith. 11 dead, 21 injured in bus accident At least 11 people died and 21 others were injured, two critically, when a bus veered off the road at Aathbiskot Municipality-4 in Dailekh on Wednesday. The ill-fated vehicle with the registration number Na 4 Kha 2998 fell 300 metres at around 3:20pm. Farron's fall neither liberal nor democratic After being exposed to an insufferable media campaign about his faith, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, found himself 'torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader' and so he resigned. And who could blame him? Politics has always been a tough business and general elections have always been rough rides. Tim was surely prepared for that. What he wasn't prepared for, and what nobody really expected, was a vicious and sustained assault on his faith. And he wasn't alone in this. During the election, various Christian candidates where targeted with some pretty unsavoury media attention, political criticism and activist protests. Their crime? They are Christians. Or more precisely traditional, mainstream, theologically orthodox, practising Christians. No more. No less. Just Christians. With the same motivations for public service as figures such as Hannah More, William Wilberforce, Shaftesbury, Gladstone, Kier Hardie and even Gordon Brown. So what's changed? Why are candidates with faith now being subjected to such scrutiny? The issue, for some, it seems is the traditional Christian view on marriage and sexual ethics. To clarify, what these candidates believe is no different from what the vast majority of people who self-identify as Christians have historically believed and no different to what many Christians believe today across the world in increasing numbers. Their convictions, deriving as they do from mainstream, historic Christian views about sexual ethics are not only consistent with biblical teaching, they are, extraordinarily consistent across Protestantism, Roman Catholicism and expressions of Greek and Russian Orthodoxy. So, even accounting for religious illiteracy, what on earth do people expect Christians and for that matter, those of the other Abrahamic faiths to believe? There's no doubt that historically Christianity has much to repent of with regard to the treatment of gay people, and repent it does. Yet, however committed Christian public figures are to seeing a plural public square, a truly civil society, and a common good, it seems that, for some it can never be enough. Notwithstanding Tim Farron's rather untenable line that 'my faith is private', it was notable that he had tried with patience to prove his liberal credentials. Including eventually responding to persistent questions around gay sex with a response he hoped and thought would answer his critics. But to no avail. Perhaps, most importantly it's also worth reflecting on the fact that, more than what he espoused or how he had voted, he was pursued for what he believes, what he thinks. Other candidates sought to be open about their faith, and to express and explain their beliefs in a equally gracious and democratic spirit. But again to no avail. With the hung parliament the spotlight turned on the Democratic Unionist Party. Vilified by the so-called liberal media because of the views of MPs on issues such as abortion and the redefinition of marriage, the coverage has been justified on the basis that such views are so 'extreme' and intolerant that they should not be tolerated. Akin to a form of societal gas-lighting, this is about presenting assumptions and opinions as facts, as 'givens'. All of which makes this general election different from all the others that went before. Different because of the coronation of a new ideology, the proponents of which take every opportunity to infer the normality of their views by challenging, delegitimising and ultimately silencing any dissenting views and voices. Let's call it 'sextremism'. With its roots on the campuses of universities which have facilitated the growth of identity politics, it has a focus on gay rights, radical feminism, intersectionality and gender-fluidity. The language here is about hate speech and offence, and involves virtue signalling, trigger-warnings, no-platforming, micro-aggressions and the provision of safe-spaces to exclude individuals who might hold 'unsafe' or different views whether this is Peter Tatchell, Germaine Greer or Melanie Phillips. Unchecked, this loud and occasionally violent ideology propagates a particular view of history, reality and human nature that skews intellectual enquiry, erodes diversity and stifles debate. The effect of which is that, in the words of WB Yeats: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.' The blood sport of hunting down Tim Farron is where this leads. In the end, Tim chose to put his hope in Jesus Christ, because in the end that's what really matters. Yet when the leader of the Liberal Democrat Party says that 'to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me' it suggests that contemporary liberalism is no longer liberal. It also suggests that this new authoritarian ideology is no respecter of plural society and democracy to which Christianity has contributed so very much. Which raises an important question: after centuries of shaping politics and government, are Christian beliefs now unacceptable in public life? If the answer is 'no', then it is beholden on all who value liberal democracy to stand up to this new ideology. If the answer is 'yes', then things will need to change. We should not expect our politics and society to enjoy the fruits of Christianity without the roots. In this case, we should drop the pretence of calling ourselves a liberal democracy and simply legislate against Christians in public life. That's at least a more honest approach. Because as Tim Farron conceded, 'we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society'. Dr David Landrum is director of advocacy at the Evangelical Alliance. Jesus cared about the scandal of food going to waste and so should you One of the privileges of being a Christian is being able to join with others across the world in praying the Lord's prayer and asking our Father to give us our daily bread. And yet we now know that each month, we throw away enough bread from our homes to fill St Paul's Cathedral to the brim. It's not just bread either. When you add up all the perfectly edible food we bin from our homes fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, even in-date foods it comes to 470 per household each year. In a world where so many are hungry, this surely can't be right. And the injustice doesn't end there. Food waste is now more of a hot topic thanks to campaigns by high profile people such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver, but how many of us are aware of the link between food waste and climate change? Our current food system is inefficient, and the greenhouse gases emitted from growing, farming, processing, transporting and disposing of our food are huge. We throw away enough food from our homes each year to fill Wembley Stadium nine times over and these are needless emissions that contribute to climate change. Tearfund sees first hand that this is making life harder for people in some of the world's poorest countries leading to droughts, floods and less reliable rain, and leaving people struggling to feed themselves. If we continue to live in a way that brings harm rather than renewal, families will be pushed further into poverty across the world. Jesus shows us another way to live. We see his act of lavish generosity in the feeding of the 5,000 and we learn about God's gift of food, but that's not the end of the lesson. The leftovers are an important part of the story. Jesus asks his disciples to gather up what is left. He says 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.' (John 6:12) Picking up the leftovers is a vital part of the story, a part that can often be overlooked. In picking up the leftovers there is a key discipleship lesson here: waste matters. Jesus doesn't just say, 'Ah, leave it, surely the birds will eat it.' This food is valuable and although plenty is left over, it is worth the energy and effort of collection. Together we can gather up the pieces. If every single one of us eliminated our avoidable food waste at home, we could save emissions equivalent to taking one in four cars off the road in the UK. As consumers, reducing our food waste is one of the simplest things we can do to live more sustainably, and as customers, we can also encourage our retailers to play their part too. The combined impact of lots of people living differently can make a big difference, and shows supermarkets and governments that food waste is an issue that matters to them. That's why we are inviting people to take the Renew Our Food pledge (www.tearfund.org/foodwaste) to reduce your food waste at home, and also call on your supermarket to do the same. We're also hosting a number of delicious Food Waste Feasts (www.tearfund.org/feast) across the UK, and encouraging churches to host these too, using food that would otherwise go to waste. Let us follow Jesus' example and let nothing be wasted. Please get involved with this: put your faith into action and pledge to renew our food today. www.tearfund.org/foodwaste Ruth Valerio is Global Advocacy and Influencing Director at the Christian relief and development agency Tearfund. On Twitter @Tearfund #RenewOurFood New Flatliners reboot asks: Is there life and evil after death? It's been 27 years since the first Flatliners movie a classic '90s shocker about five medical students who discover a way to tap into the afterlife through brief bursts of death. Now Sony is resurrecting the franchise with a sequel confusingly also called Flatliners which explores the same idea, and from the newly-released trailer, it seems like the film will offer plenty of theological food for thought. The timing of the film's reemergence is fascinating. The first instalment arrived at a time when the Cold War was coming to an end, but the threat of apocalypse still hung over the world. It was part of a slew of '80s and early-'90s teen films which explored dark themes of death and its consequences; contemporaries included the first two Terminator films, the Nightmare on Elm Street series, The Lost Boys and WarGames (also now being re-made). These movies, all aimed at older teenager viewers, tapped in to a cultural sense that life as we know it might come to an end at any moment. In that context, 2017 seems a fitting moment for another slice of Flatliners, as the world and particularly the younger generations find themselves gazing at an uncertain future, and perhaps asking those Big Questions once again. The second instalment sees a new cast (plus Kiefer Sutherland, reprising his role from the first film) undertaking a set of experiments which involve stopping the human heart and momentarily 'killing' themselves in order to experience several minutes of an apparent afterlife. As they each see the wonders contained on 'the other side', they begin to extend the experiment for a longer and longer period, cheating death to gain a sneak glimpse of life after death. Inevitably the experiment turns sour, just as it did in the original. While it certainly doesn't seem to project a Christian perspective on what happens when we die, the film will raise some interesting questions. For a start, it's unusual in that it takes place in a cinematic universe where a spiritual dimension very definitely exists. In a world where atheists plaster signs on buses telling you that it doesn't, it's a fairly strong counter-message, and one that is helpful to the Christian evangelist narrative at such a time of uncertainty. The trailer also includes some interesting nods toward faith, including shots of a stained-glass-windowed church, high-pitched Gregorian-style chanting and the prominence of the great apologetics question, 'What happens to us after we die?' It also appears that the characters become perfected, and even attain the ability to heal others, through the process of crossing over into death. Despite residing with at least one foot in the horror genre, Flatliners looks set to be one of 2017's most theologically-minded films. And given that the tagline for the movie is, 'You haven't lived until you've died,' it's a safe bet that many youth evangelists will be using it as a cultural bridge to talk about the Christian story later this year. The official trailer, which includes brief, upsetting scenes, can be viewed here. Martin Saunders is a Contributing Editor for Christian Today and the Deputy CEO of Youthscape. Follow him on Twitter @martinsaunders. Printing error in Indian school textbook renders Christ as 'demon Jesus' A printing error in a Hindi language school textbook has accidentally rendered Jesus as a 'devil', rather than 'God' as intended, prompting upset from Christian Indian groups. The textbook was published by the education board of Gujarat, a state in western India. It used the Hindi word 'haivaan' (devil) prefixing 'Jesus Christ' as opposed to the intended word 'bhagwan' (God), according to the Hindustan Times. The executive president of the Gujarat State School Textbook Board, Nitin Pethani, called it a 'printing mistake'. He said: 'Instead of word 'Bhagwan', the word 'haivaan' got printed. We have already made the correction in the online version. Since books have already been distributed among students, it is not possible to withdraw them now.' He said the board would seek to rectify the issue, though it couldn't recall the books: 'To make sure that the corrected version is taught to students, we will issue a written advisory to all the teachers, asking them to take into account this correction while teaching this subject'. The relevant passage from the class IX textbook reads in English as 'In this context, a statement by "demon Jesus" is always memorable'. Some Christian groups have claimed offence, and lobbied for the removal of the books. 'The textbook has depicted our God in a bad light. We condemn the word used for Jesus Christ. It has hurt our religious sentiments. We want the government to withdraw the book immediately,' said one protestor, from a crowd gathered outside the District Education Officer's office in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's capital city. The Indian Christian advocacy group Indian Christian Voice (ICV) demanded criminal punishment for those involved in the misprint. 'We demand criminal action against the perpetrators and an unconditional apology from the state government...Such wild and reckless statements have the potential to spark off a conflagration that could seriously jeopardise communal harmony. In the larger interest of peace, this particular edition of the book must be withdrawn and banned immediately,' said ICVs president Abraham Mathai, according to IANS. The forgotten tragedy: What's happened to Europe's refugees? The EU has begun legal action against against Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic for refusing to accept refugees under a 2015 solidarity plan. The migration commissioner of the EU, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said that the three countries had ignored 'repeated calls' to take their share. The three states could be referred to the European Court of Justice and eventually face heavy fines. Only 20,869 of the 160,000 refugees have been relocated in the EU so far, and the western media appears largely to have forgotten about the plight of refugees. What is the background to the relocation plan? The 2015 relocation plan was made in response to the so-called international 'refugee crisis', in which there was a large influx of migrants and refugees. It was agreed in an attempt to relieve pressure on certain countries, mainly Greece and Italy, where the vast majority of migrants were arriving. EU countries agreed to relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers between them, though Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary voted against accepting mandatory quotas. The UK and Ireland were exempt from the original 2015 proposal, while Poland's previous government backed the plan, though its current, Eurosceptic administration has since rejected it. Hungary and Poland have received none, while the Czech Republic has accepted only 12 of the 2,000 it had been designated. What is the Turkish connection? A year after a separate, controversial deal between the EU and Turkey blocked the flow of asylum seekers into Europe, tens of thousands are stuck in camps, with suicides and trauma reportedly on the increase there. Since the Balkan migration route was closed in March last year, and the EU-Turkey accord drawn up a few days later, around 62,000 have been left in limbo in Greece, 14,000 of them on the islands of the eastern Aegean, where they arrived after crossing by boat from Turkey. Some 8,000 asylum seekers, meanwhile, are stranded in Serbia. What was the accord between Turkey and the EU? On March 18, 2016, the EU and Turkey agreed a joint statement which sought to implement policies that would stem the flows of asylum-seekers and migrants crossing from Turkey's shores to the Greek islands. In exchange for visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to the EU, a revival of negotiations for Turkey's accession to the EU, and billions of euros in financial assistance to Turkey, it was agreed that Greece would return people who arrived irregularly on its shores after March 20, 2016. The agreement also provided for a 'one in, one out' policy under which, for every Syrian who traveled irregularly from Turkey to a Greek island, another Syrian would be resettled to the EU. What have been the results of the accord? While EU leaders have presented the policy as a success, heralding a decrease in the number of arrivals on the Greek islands since March 2016, campaign groups say that the policy has also left thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers stranded in Greece and has eroded the right to seek asylum in Europe. By February 27 of this year, 3,565 refugees had been resettled to the EU under that arrangement. What other hidden problems are there? There is the huge psychological cost. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) recently documented a 2.5-fold increase in the number of refugees suffering from anxiety and depression and a threefold increase in the number of people with post traumatic stress disorder between the start and the end of 2016. As well as mental distress, asylum seekers who are stuck in the Balkans have reported being beaten up by police and border guards, bitten by police dogs and repelled with tear gas and pepper spray. 'The deal is having a direct impact on the health of our patients, and many are becoming more vulnerable. These people have fled extreme violence, torture and war and survived extremely dangerous journeys,' said Jayne Grimes, an MSF psychologist working on the Aegean island of Samos. What do the experts say? Christian Aid's Refugee Policy and Advocacy Adviser, Fraser Murray says: 'The global displacement situation has not changed much in the last twelve months. In Europe there has been a marked decrease in the number of people arriving via Greece, yet number of migrants arriving via Italy has not decreased (in the last seven years). This drop in numbers is almost solely related to the EU extra territorial border controls and the EU-Turkey deal which came into effect earlier this year. It has nothing to do with the end of the conflicts that cause people to become displaced. 'The number of displaced globally has in fact risen in the last year. Around Syria the number of people who have fled the conflict has risen. The UN is in a two-year process of developing and signing two compacts; one on refugees and another on migration. Unfortunately neither of these compacts will address the largest number of the global population who are forcibly displaced; these are what is known as Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs). Of the global displaced population which is over 65 million, approximately 43 million are IDPs, yet there is little being done by the international community to address this situation. Countries such as Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, Philippines, South Sudan, DR Congo, Colombia as well as central American states have shown a rise in IDPs in the last 12 months.' Sarah Rowe, also of Christian Aid, adds that most people who have been forcibly displaced remain in their own country and therefore do not get the attention or support from the international community that they need. 'Most of those that do cross a border remain in countries nearby and therefore poor countries are bearing a disproportionate burden in offering support to refugees,' Rowe says. 'Humanitarian, refugee and aid systems are currently unable to cope with such large-scale displacement. UNHCR reports that it is consistently underfunded. The international community needs to find a fair way of sharing responsibility for people forcibly displaced from their homes. Next September, the UN is calling a summit to agree two new compacts on refugees and migrants. Countries should ensure the UN Compacts increase support and recognition for internally displaced people and host communities, by providing predictable and appropriate financing to programmes for short- and long-term support to refugees and other displaced people.' The Grenfell Tower fire: Again, the victims are the poor and we should be angry The true scale of the horror may not be known for weeks. At the time of writing at least 17 people are known to have died in the Grenfell Tower in West London. With flames still being tackled over 24 hours since the fire was initially reported it's hard to comprehend the scale of the devastation. Tributes are pouring in for the fire service whose bravery in running into the inferno is almost incomprehensible. We also learn of the thousand acts of kindness offered by neighbours, local churches and other faith communities. 'We can marvel at the signs of the Kingdom of God,' said the acting Bishop of London, 'expressed in the neighbourliness and care that has been evident in the lives of people of all faiths and none in the local community and beyond.' This is undoubtedly true and, just like in the recent terror attacks in London and Manchester, focusing on the good in the aftermath of such tragedy is a commendable instinct. We also need, though, to focus on why this happened and why so often those affected by tragedies are those at the bottom end of the social ladder. There will be a painstaking investigation into what happened and where culpability lies for the fire. We hope and pray that justice will be done and will be seen to be done. Yet even a thorough and open process won't bring back the lives lost and the homes incinerated. 'The fire is here now, goodbye,' wrote the first named victim, a Syrian refugee called Mohammed al-Haj Ali. The horrific carnage of the Syrian civil war behind him, he was killed by smoke in the supposed safety of West London. A refugee who fled the carnage of Assad's barrel bombs and torturers and the horror of ISIS only to be killed in the UK. It beggars belief. A local pastor, Danny Vance from Notting Hill Community Church, was quoted by the press suggesting that the victims of the fire died, because they were poor. 'The disparity in this country between rich and poor is disgusting,' he said. 'This would not have happened in those 2m, 5m flats around the corner.' Vance went on, 'This isn't a surprise to me. Anyone who's worked anywhere in the inner city this isn't a surprise. The poor are constantly neglected.' The anger in his words is palpable. 'Things like this are going to keep happening if the poor are ignored in this city,' he added. While we need to wait for the official investigation for the findings in this case, the howl of rage from Dann Vance is not only understandable, it is justified. From helpless civilians in Yemen and Syria, to the Christians persecuted in Pakistan, to the forgotten working class in the Rust Belt of America there is a running theme. Those without power and influence are the ones who are affected worst, by natural and man-made disasters. The consequences of being poor and living in a deprived part of the UK are stark. People in poorer areas die younger than those in richer areas, children from poorer backgrounds lag at all stages of education, while one expert said, 'Paediatricians around the country are telling us that poverty is affecting the health of children in a way we haven't seen before. Meanwhile, a third of children in the UK are now living in relative poverty. 'This is corporate manslaughter and people must be held to account.' Tweeted Labour MP David Lammy, who grew up in social housing in North London. His anger over the Grenfell Tower fire will be felt by many, regardless of whether there is technical liability. The Hebrew prophets brimmed with rage at injustice throughout the pages of the Bible. 'Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice,' rails the Prophet Jeremiah. But it isn't just the prophets. 'The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender,' says Proverbs 22. 'Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail. Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.' This is a constant theme of the Bible. We may not yet have full details of the terrible events in West London, but we do know that, as it always has, being poor makes life far more precarious than being rich. That should be an affront to us all. It's an affront to the faith we proclaim. Why has being Christian become so controversial in this election? Perhaps it is a sign of the increasingly secular times, at least in the political world, that religion appears to have become a running theme in the current general election and not in a good way. In the latest of a series of stories relating to the faith of various candidates, the Conservative MP for Lewes Maria Caulfield, who is a practising Christian, was targeted by 'Progressive Alliance' campaigners dressed in nun costumes and singing 'How do you solve a problem like Maria?' In a bitter war of words, Caulfield accused the flash mob of 'preaching hate,' which prompted Progressive Sussex to describe Caulfield's claims as 'astounding' and 'disresectful' in the wake of the terror attacks while the Liberal Democrat candidate Kelly-Marie Blundell urged her Tory opponent to find the humour in the event. But Caulfield said: 'While many on the march may have found it a bit of fun, I see no funny side in them marching down the street chanting "get her out" with placards with my photo on and dressing up as a nun, perhaps to ridicule me as a Christian MP. In the final days of the campaign I would urge opposition parties to be more responsible considering what happened to my colleague Jo Cox this time last year. Let's stick to fighting on policies rather than personal attacks and while we may not agree on issues let us truly be tolerant of each other's views.' The row follows another controversial event last weekend, when Theresa May found herself under attack for joining pastor Agu Iruweku at Jesus House for a church service followed by a question and answer session. Peter Tatchell, the human rights campaigner, said that by meeting the pastor the Prime Minister had 'recklessly colluded with homophobic Christian extremists'. And last month, there was a furore when it emerged that the Tory candidate in Hove and Portslade claimed that she 'healed' a man who was deaf in both ears. Kristy Adams said in a recording obtained by the Mirror that she laid her hands on the man's ears and said: 'Be healed in Jesus' name.' 'He was a Jewish evangelist,' said Adams. 'Jewish people come to God. He had hearing aids in both ears and I just thought that wasn't right. It just annoyed me. I said "I don't think that's right that you should be serving God like this. Can I pray for you?" His eyes lit up, which is unusual when you offer to pray for someone for healing. He took his hearing aids out and I just put my hands on his ears and said "be healed in Jesus' name". He took my hands off and he could actually hear. I don't know if he was more surprised than me!' And then there is poor old Tim Farron. The embattled Liberal Democrat leader has apparently failed to make much headway in this election, with his party languishing in single figures in most polls, partly, perhaps, because of the incessant media questioning of his views on homosexuality. Only last night, Farron pleaded with viewers on BBC1's Question Time to accept that he was not 'running to be pope' as he fended off questions that began as a media confection over his opinions on whether gay sexual relations were a sin. During the course of this curious general election campaign, Farron, an evangelical Christian, has been forced to row back not only on his views on homosexuality but also on abortion, declaring himself to be 'pro-choice'. He has, arguably, been smothered by the blanket social liberalism in the media and political spheres at Westminster. The Farron questioning showed that the very concept of sin caused alarm in the political world. And the other stories show that, during this election at least, many in the media and politics have a problem with the existence of religion itself. Baseline of 300,000 New Immigrants to Canada Established Naomi Endicott Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Levels of immigration to Canada will not dip below 300,000 new arrivals per year, Canadas Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmed Hussen, has confirmed. The period of July 2015 to July 2016 saw a historic high of 320,932 new arrivals to Canada. The target for 2017 has been set at 300,000, a figure Hussen called the baseline for admissions going forward. Although we dont know what next years levels will be, I can tell you they will not be below 300,000, he said, adding that, Notably the 2017 300,000 landings plan increased the share of economic admissions from the previous year. This is a reflection of our commitment to the idea that immigration continues to be a key ingredient to our economic future as a country. Speaking at a conference on June 10, 2017, Hussen reaffirmed his departments commitment to welcoming newcomers, and removing obstacles to citizenship for permanent residents. We want more permanent residents in fact, we want all permanent residents, if possible to become Canadians, he emphasized. He also highlighted several recent innovations within his department, intended to improve both the economic integration of new immigrants, and the reuniting of families in Canada. Innovating for economic success Recently-introduced initiatives such as the Global Skills Strategy, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Project (AIPP), and changes to the federal Express Entry system have been designed to ensure that Canadas immigration levels not only remain consistent, but that newcomers to Canada can integrate successfully into the Canadian labour market and communities. In late 2016, a target of 300,000 new arrivals was announced for 2017, and the Minister has committed to maintaining this target as the new baseline for immigration in the future. In its 2017 Immigration Levels Plan, the government increased the share of economic immigrants within the target of 300,000 by more than 22 percent compared to 2016. The new baseline, coupled with an increased target for economic immigration, may bode well for a future of continued large draw sizes within the Express Entry system. So far in 2017, record-high Express Entry draw sizes have been seen. By April 19, the number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued so far in 2017 had exceeded those issued over the whole year of 2016. Quite frankly we need to fill the skills shortages that exist in Canada, Hussen said. And by allowing highly-skilled immigrants to come to Canada and share with us their skills and their talents, we allow them to also help us create more jobs for Canadians, and more prosperity for all of us. Among other features, the Global Skills Strategy introduces a two-week processing time standard for certain work permits for foreign workers in high-growth companies and sectors. This is enabled by the Global Talent Stream, introduced on June 12, which establishes a framework for employers to collaborate with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to successfully recruit highly-skilled workers in key occupations, and expedite their arrival in Canada. Hussen also highlighted the early popularity of the AIPP, a new employer-driven program designed to attract and retain immigrants in the four provinces of Atlantic Canada. By putting employers at the heart of the program, Hussen explained, more skilled immigrants will have the resources they need to successfully build a new life in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador. The lessons we learn from Atlantic Canada will allow us to transfer those lessons to the rest of the country and theres no reason why we cant use those lessons in other parts of the country that face demographic and labour market challenges, Hussen explained. Family reunification remains a priority In addition to emphasizing the need for successful economic integration of immigrants to Canada, the Minister also reiterated his departments commitment to family reunification. As we do these innovative programs, we still have the strong commitment that we have to reuniting families, Hussen said. We know that when families are able to reunite and stay together, it improves their integration into Canadian society, their economic outcomes, and their ability to contribute to our communities, and our great country. Measures which are already in place include introducing additional points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) for candidates in the Express Entry pool with a sibling in Canada, cutting processing times and simplifying the application process for spousal and common-law partner sponsorship, and doubling the intake cap for parent and grandparent sponsorship applications from 5,000 to 10,000. Removing obstacles to citizenship Hussen also touched on Bill C-6, the pending legislation that proposes changes to the Citizenship Act. If enacted, Bill C-6, which is currently awaiting royal assent after being passed by the Canadian Senate on May 3, would reduce the residency requirement for permanent residents, from four out of six years to three out five years. It would also count a portion of the time an applicant spent in Canada on temporary status such as on a work or study permit towards this residency requirement. Bill C-6 is the current governments response to Bill C-24, introduced by the previous Conservative government in 2014. C-24 put deliberate barriers and obstacles for permanent residents on their way to citizenship. We believe those barriers were problematic towards permanent residents, Hussen stated. Were confident that C-6 will receive royal assent in the very near future, he continued. I am extremely encouraged by the Ministers words and attitude towards the welcoming of new Canadians, says Attorney David Cohen. Acknowledging that highly-skilled foreign talent will enrich our economy and society is the first step towards building a stronger country. The innovative developments we have seen so far from this department, as led by Minister Hussen and his predecessor John McCallum, are a heartening sign of benefits to come. I look forward to seeing how these initiatives improve the immigration and integration process for many newcomers and families. To find out if you are eligible for immigration to Canada, please fill out a free online assessment today. 2017 CICnews All Rights Reserved The Manhattan Institute has been magnificently blessed in the Wall Street tycoons who have served as its chairmen, and perhaps the most magnificent of them all was Charles H. Brunie, Jr., chairman from 1980 to 1990, who died at age 86 on February 23. A securities analyst whose research department at the Oppenheimer brokerage firm ranked first in the league during the four years he ran it, he went on to found the investment-advisory firm Oppenheimer Capital in 1969 and served as its chairman for more than a quarter of a century. There, he made many clients rich, including his cherished friends Milton and Rose Friedman, who welcomed him to their grand new apartment overlooking San Francisco in 1988 by singing a patter song, Welcome to the House That Chuck Built. There are as many kinds of investors as there are ice cream flavors. Chuck was the highest and rarest kind of all: the intellectual investor. Thats why he so revered Milton Friedman, who could explain economic and financial cycles not as some occult magic but as the rational outcomes of describable forces, which Chuck analyzed subtly in a fascinating 2007 City Journal article celebrating Friedman but also displaying dazzlingly Chucks own deep understanding of economics, history, and politics. You knew that Chuck was about to utter some proposition that would brook no disagreement when he began a sentence with, Milton says . . . . But those Delphic utterances explain no small part of the Manhattan Institutes success. Milton says that a think tank should not draw up a list of policies it wants to advance and then find scholars to expound them, Chuck pronounced. Instead, find very smart people who share your worldview, and let them choose their own issues. Then youll come up with new and creative ideas, not dogma. Or: Milton says that the information revolution allows organizations to be flatter and leaner, with fewer layers of costly and change-inhibiting bureaucrats. We should be like that. Well, it worked. As a youth, Chuck had sat with Alan Greenspan at the feet of guru Ayn Rand and had imbibed some of her views, not all of them equally salubrious. But what was certainly correct, as Chuck knew, was her view that entrepreneurialism allowed the greatest development both of the human potentialities of the entrepreneur and the benefits to society. He championed a creative capitalism, not a bureaucratic one. When he said that the Manhattan Institute stood for free markets, he meant that it stood for human freedom. We were driving into Manhattan from the airport one evening, and, as the skyscrapers came into view, he remarked, Ayn Rand once said how remarkable it was that this island, without any natural resources, had produced so much wealth. I looked at him with a certain challenging skepticism, and he grasped my thought immediately. Ah, he said, the mind of man: the greatest natural resource of them all. Only his modesty exceeded his generosity. Back in the late 1980s, the institutes then-president hired me to write a book, at a substantial salary (for a writer). Not a nickel was in the young institutes kitty to pay it. When the board of directors heard of this commitment, its members clamored that it was impossible to keep. Chuck mildly declared that he thought that he could raise the necessary fundssecretly admiring the presidents entrepreneurial audacity, I expect. But he never told me how he had saved my career until at least a decade later, and then in the most self-effacing terms. For that was Chuck: one of the last of the great American gentlemen, proud of having been an Eagle Scout and the soul of truth and honor all his life; proud of his father, broader-chested than tall, handsome, and impeccably tailored Chuck, and whose eminence as a banker and a man Chuck strove to live up to; proud of his country, whose freedoms Chuck felt it his responsibility to defend and advance. I loved and admired him, as did so many others. I was praciticing an exercise in the book called C How to program by deitel. In which a question is there about cryptography. Following is the question (Also notice to the phrase mentioned in BOLD letters). Quote: (Enforcing Privacy with Cryptography) The explosive growth of Internet communications and data storage on Internet-connected computers has greatly increased privacy concerns. The field of cryptography is concerned with coding data to make it difficult (and hopefullywith the most advanced schemesimpossible) for unauthorized users to read. In this exercise youll investigate a simple scheme for encrypting and decrypting data. A company that wants to send data over the Internet has asked you to write a program that will encrypt it so that it may be transmitted more securely. All the data is transmitted as four-digit integers. Your application should read a four-digit integer entered by the user and encrypt it as follows: Replace each digit with the result of adding 7 to the digit and getting the remainder after dividing the new value by 10. Then swap the first digit with the third, and swap the second digit with the fourth. Then print the encrypted integer. Write a separate application that inputs an encrypted four-digit integer and decrypts it (by reversing the encryption scheme) to form the original number. [Optional reading project: Research public key cryptography in general and the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) specific public key scheme. You may also want to investigate the RSA scheme, which is widely used in industrial-strength applications.] Following is the code block I've written for Encryption Scheme. #include void main(){ int iFirst; int iSecond; int iThird; int iFourth; int iTemp; printf( " Enter four digits (with a space in between): " ); scanf( " %d %d %d %d" , &iFirst, &iSecond, &iThird, &iFourth); iFirst = iFirst + 7 ; iSecond = iSecond + 7 ; iThird = iThird + 7 ; iFourth = iFourth + 7 ; iFirst = iFirst % 10 ; iSecond = iSecond % 10 ; iThird = iThird % 10 ; iFourth = iFourth % 10 ; iTemp = iFirst; iFirst = iThird; iThird = iTemp; iTemp = iSecond; iSecond = iFourth; iFourth = iTemp; printf( " Encrypted Data - %d%d%d%d" , iFirst, iSecond, iThird, iFourth); } Output - Quote: Enter four digits (with a space in between): 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Encrypted Data - 0189 and Decryption Scheme - #include void main(){ int iFirst; int iSecond; int iThird; int iFourth; int iTemp; printf( " Enter encrypted four digits (with a space in between): " ); scanf( " %d %d %d %d" , &iFirst, &iSecond, &iThird, &iFourth); iTemp = iFirst; iFirst = iThird; iThird = iTemp; iTemp = iSecond; iSecond = iFourth; iFourth = iTemp; iFirst = iFirst % 10 ; iSecond = iSecond % 10 ; iThird = iThird % 10 ; iFourth = iFourth % 10 ; iFirst = iFirst + 7 ; iSecond = iSecond + 7 ; iThird = iThird + 7 ; iFourth = iFourth + 7 ; printf( " Decrypted Data - %d%d%d%d" , iFirst, iSecond, iThird, iFourth); } Output- Quote: Enter encrypted four digits (with a space in between) 1 8 9 0 1 8 9 Decrypted Data - 151678 Above programs should be working like this - if Encryption programs output for input 1234 is 0189 then Decryption program's output for input0189 should be 1234 but its not happening not sure why. Can anyone help on this? A fine balance Both RJP-N and govt should do their best to ensure broad participation in the polls and avoid violence Ports, cruise lines and other stakeholders around the Cruise Canada New England region had plenty of news and notes at the Cruise Canada New England Symposium being held in Montreal. The news ranged from new cruise lines looking at the region to ports considering expansion plans. **For an in-depth look at the region's key 10-year plan, presenting a vision for year-round cruise business by 2026, click here. **The Cruise Canada New England Symposium is a packed event in 2017, with over 170 attendees in Montreal, according to the president of Cruise the Saint Lawrence, Tony Boemi. Montreal previously hosted the event in 2000 and 2006. **Are non-U.S. flagged ships finding a workaround in carrying a single U.S.-flagged tender to land passengers? **MSC Cruises was represented at the Cruise Canada New England Symposium, but has not had a ship in the region since 2011. With 10 ships on its orderbook through 2026, the privately-owned cruise line is eyeing the region on a seasonal basis. **In 2016, the Canada/New England region saw 1,322 cruise ship calls from 21 different cruise lines, adding up to 2.4 million guest visits. **Also on the scene in Montreal was river cruise operator Croisiere Europe, which is looking at a Canada/New England program. **Rene Trepanier, executive director of Cruise the Saint Lawrence, will take over as chair of the CCNE Alliance, taking over from Amy Powers, director of Cruise Maine USA. The position rotates between the members of the alliance. **Cruise the Saint Lawrence will see a 32 percent increase in 2017 traffic across its nine member ports. **AIDA Cruises is heading to Canada/New England for a summer program, according to Dana Keller, destination management supervisor. **One cruise line already in the region, Holland America Line, has varied its deployment in the area for the summer. "Next year we will go more north in the summer," said Dirk van der Raadt, senior manager of deployment and itinerary planning. **"Winter cruising in this region is not something we are looking at," said Jennifer Marmanillo, director of itinerary planning at Norwegian Cruise Line. She said the line's customers want to go south, to the Caribbean, during the colder parts of the year. **Montreal's new and improved cruise terminal accepted the Maasdam as its first call and is mostly ready to go, according to Port of Montreal CEO Sylvie Vachon who told Cruise Industry News final touches would make the facility fully operational by August. The updated terminal also allows concurrent embark/debark activities for the first time in Montreal. **Port expenses are a key component to itinerary management, according to Sebastian Rosenberg of TUI Cruises, who said the company presents an all-inclusive fare to cruise guests (including port fees). Not part of the ticket price, however, are shore excursions, which make up the majority of onboard revenue. Thus, excursion inventory and items such as proper staging areas for busses and sufficient tour capacity are critical for the German operator. TUI makes its Canada/New England debut later this year with the Mein Schiff 6. **The 2018 Cruise Canada New England Symposium will take in Boston. The event, which will be the 20th annual Symposium, is scheduled from May 30 to June 1. Planning is already in full swing, said Michael Vanderbeeke, deputy port director, business development. Boston last hosted the event in 2013. **Boston is set to acquire a new boarding bridge for bigger ships in time for the 2018 cruise season. The port is also looking at converting Terminal 1, which is used for smaller vessels, into a multi-story facility, also to accommodate larger vessels. "We want to make sure we have two proper homeport facilities," said Vanderbeeke. **Michael DiMeo has taken over heading up cruse duties at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). DiMeo joined the NYCED in late May. **Charlottetown is yet another port considering a port expansion in time for the 2019 season to accommodate two ships. **Also for this year, the alliance has launched and refreshed its branding with a new logo, incorporating a lighthouse. **The French government is putting 8 million euro into port facilities in Saint Pierre and Miquelon (a destination that fulfills cabotage requirements). Will round-trip Quebec sailings that mainly feature Saint Lawrence ports be making a comeback soon? "By having Saint Pierre and Miquelon it opens up additional itinerary options from Quebec, Montreal and even some of the additional Atlantic Provinces," said Marc Miller, director of deployment and itinerary planning, Royal Caribbean Cruises. **Past and future investments across the region in port infrastructure, among 100+ ports, is estimated at $656 million CAD, the biggest of which was the Saint Lawrence ports, which have spent some $156 million CAD combined on port facilities and related infrastructure. **Portland, Maine is seriously considering a third finger pier as cruise traffic grows, which would enable it to host four ships at once. **Next for Bar Harbor will be a vote in early 2018 on whether to purchase an unused ferry terminal. A vote earlier this week was the first hurdle to pave the way for the town to take over the terminal and potentially build out a dedicated cruise pier. American Cruise Lines has announced that its newest ship, the 175-passenger American Constellation, will be heading to the West Coast in 2018. The line said the decision came as a result of increased demand for its Southeast Alaska, Alaska Inside Passage and Puget Sound itineraries. The Constellation, which only entered service in May of this year, will more than double the brands capacity in the Pacific Northwest and add 18 sailings to the 2018 season. The new addition will allow an expanded schedule in Alaska aboard the Constellation, while enabling the American Spirit to operate the companys Puget Sound and San Juan Islands itinerary through July and August of 2018. This will be the first time American has ever offered summer cruises in Puget Sound. While expanding its existing schedule, American has also added a brand new itinerary, the Grand Puget Sound, for the 2018 cruise season. This 11-day round-trip out of Seattle will travel to a number of ports not often accessed by larger cruise ships, such as Olympia and Tacoma. Before heading west, the Constellation will spend the remainder of 2017 on the East Coast, in New England and on the Hudson River, and in the South. The Canada/New England region had more news to celebrate this week as AIDA Cruises confirmed that the AIDAvita will spend the 2018 summer in Canadian and U.S. waters. That is in stark contrast to this summer, when the 2002-built ship sails in Northern Europe. It is also the earliest season ever for AIDA in North America. The German line typically sails a handful of fall foliage cruises from New York. The ship heads from Hamburg to New York on a 17-night crossing next June, with stops in St. John's, Halifax, Bar Harbor and Boston. After that, the ship sails 14 days from New York to Montreal, before two 14-day round-trip Montreal cruises. Following that is a 14-day open-jaw sailing from Montreal to New York on August 3. On August 17, the ship heads back to Europe on an 18-night crossing from Manhattan. The deployment news is a major coup for Canada/New England, and will help build the region as a summer destination. Margurite M. Cofell denied most of the allegations by the NCUA that she stole millions while she was the CEO of a the $51 million St, Francis Campus Credit Union in Little Falls, Minn., according to court documents her lawyers filed U.S. District Court in St. Paul on Monday. However, Cofell acknowledged she drafted a written confession about how she carried out her embezzlement scheme. An NCUA civil lawsuit alleged that the 60-year-old woman of Little Falls, Minn., embezzled $2.8 million over 15 years. However, Cofell allegedly began stealing from the credit union in the mid-1990s, which led to a total loss that likely exceeded $10 million, according to a forensic auditors report filed with the lawsuit. Cofell admits that there was an examination by the NCUA on January 23, 2014 and that NCUA initiated an investigation at that point, Cofells lawyers wrote in answering the NCUAs allegations. Cofell lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the truth of the allegation regarding the forensic report by Lillie & Company. NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger said a bright future lies ahead for Americas credit unions as they work to accomplish extraordinary things on behalf of their members during opening remarks Wednesday at NAFCUs 50th Annual Conference and Solutions Expo in Honolulu, Hawaii. Berger hailed NAFCUs founders as visionaries for creating an association that has never been afraid to stand up and fight for credit unions. We have worked tirelessly for advances that have dramatically improved the way credit unions do business and serve their members, said. Berger noted NAFCUs achievements over the past 50 years, including leading the way for federal share insurance, an independent federal regulator, expanded credit union powers, passage of the Credit Union Membership Access Act and protecting the federal income tax exemption. He described how credit unions are there for their members at every stage of their lives, providing needed loans, financial counseling and other services designed to help members achieve their financial goals and realize their dreams. Cambodias Cyber War Room Documents leaked to media suggest Cambodias Prime Minister Hun Sen, his eldest son Hun Manet and son-in-law Sok Puthyvuth and other prominent governmrnt officials, were involved in an ongoing campaign to spread Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) rhetoric, monitor opposition supporters on social media and attack opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leaders. Two Cambodian government officials listed as senior members of a Cyber War Room denied the existence of the group even as five current and past members of the body confirmed its existence. The documents and emails were forwarded to reporters recently, apparently from the hacked Gmail account of Kim Santepheap, an undersecretary of state at the Cambodian Justice Ministry and ministry spokesman, who is also listed as a deputy head of the war room, dubbed the CWR, on a leaked roster. Mr. Santepheap denied the veracity of the leaks, suggesting that a hacker had created illegal news by tampering with his account. He had filed a complaint with the National Police claiming his personal email and Facebook accounts had been hacked, which was reported by the media recently. The hacker probably tried to create confusion in the news and if the media broadcasts it, it will make the public confused too, he said. As reporters know, my only duty is as undersecretary of state at the Justice Ministry. National Police spokesman Kirth Chatharith could not be reached for comment on Mr. Santepheaps complaint. Dith Tina, a spokesman for the Mines and Energy Ministry who is listed as a deputy chairman of the CWR, claimed yesterday to have never heard of the group and urged reporters to focus on more optimistic stories. But five people listed on the leaked documents from 2013 said they were either current or former members of the CWR, even as they seemed reluctant to discuss the groups activities. Rin Vireak, who is listed as deputy head of the group on a 2013 CWR contact list, said he stopped already when asked if he was involved with the CWR before hanging up on a reporter The CWR contact list included 40 people, with their telephone numbers and email addresses, and a second contact list included more than 100 foot soldiers. The five who spoke to Daily reporters confirmed their names as listed. Takeo province governor Lay Vannak acknowledged he was an active member of the provinces CWR working group while Ieng Aunny, listed as a member of the working group, said he had left the group four years ago. Both men said they were too busy to answer more questions. Yam Panha, who identified herself as a university student studying business, said she, too, was an active member of the CWR, but claimed to be too busy and junior in rank to elaborate on her role, which was listed on the 2013 roster as a member of the administrative team. I cannot tell you very much about the CWR or something because Im just a member, she said, demanding to know how reporters knew about the group and obtained her phone number. Seng Kim Hong, listed as a support member, said he left the group about a year ago, and declined to answer questions about its activities, saying because something is secret so I cannot tell you. A spate of Facebook and email hacks over the past six months have spilled secrets from both opposition activists and ruling party officials into the public domain, with the recipient list on the CWR leaks similar to earlier ones sent by an anonymous anti-government hacker identified only as Champa Borey. The emails and documents in the latest leak, which continued yesterday, and could not be verified, paint a vivid picture of a nascent social media propaganda machine. A five-page file from June 2013 introduces the structure and members of the group, which it says was initiated a year earlier to prepare for the national elections, and which it says is headed by Lieutenant General Manet. Mr. Hun Sens eldest son, who holds a number of senior military posts and is widely seen as a possible successor to his father, did not respond to requests for comment yesterday. Mr. Puthyvuth, CEO of the conglomerate Soma Group, who also did not respond for comment, is listed as one of nine deputy chairs of the CWR. As laid out in the documents, Lt. Gen. Manets top-level groups tasks were numerous: monitor and control the information on social media, research and collect information involving attacks on the party, assess the partys social media strengths and weakness, coordinate with relevant institutions or bodies, file reports to a central committee, and fulfill duties assigned by the party leader. According to the leak, these tasks appeared to be divided up among five subgroups, whose assignments include creating and distributing media favorable to the party as well as the study, research and observation of any behavior which promotes the opposition party. The leaked emails, whose recipients include an email address with Mr. Hun Sens name, seem to show the group leaping into action for the election by creating anti-opposition memes and sharing recorded audio and video clips, including those involved with an alleged mistress of then-deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha whose mother claimed in 2013 that she was beaten by Mr. Sokhas security guards. In perhaps the most direct exchange, an email allegedly sent by Lt. Gen. Manet on July 11, 2013, describes how the CPP will spin the return from exile of then-CNRP President Sam Rainsy, referred to as SR, including the release of proactive information/disinformation, analysis as well as justification for the arrest of SR and that he should face arrest as a person responsible for breaking the law and not as victim as he wants to be seen. Notes allegedly documenting an urgent meeting on the night of July 30, just two days after the contested election handed the CPP a near-defeat, seem to show CWR leadership assessing the damage of the vote, claiming the CNRP sought to destroy or reject the election results by relying mainly on youth forces. The summary of the purported meeting pats the ruling party on the back for winning the popular vote because of its strong structure, control of the police and military police, and unspecified help from outside, and describes plans to counter the CNRPs mobilisation efforts by diluting the oppositions message on social media, and galvanising CPP supporters. But it notes that the influence of Facebook can topple the government through people power. CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said he was unaware of the CWR but was unconcerned. The people have the right judgement, he said. We do not have to pay attention to false things like [propaganda]. We have important things to do. Ein News: You Might Also Read: Facebook To Introduce Fake News Tools: Is It Possible To Neutralise Fake News?: BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems, such as isocyanates and polyamides, as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for plastic and plastic processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, pigments, resins, electronic materials, antioxidants, light stabilizers, oilfield chemicals, mineral processing, and hydrometallurgical chemicals. The Surface Technologies segment offers chemical solutions and automotive OEM, which include refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and precious and base metal services for the automotive and chemical industries. The Nutrition & Care segment provides nutrition and care ingredients for food and feed producers, as well as pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergent, and cleaner industries. The Agricultural Solutions segment offers crop protection products and seeds, such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop production products, as well as seed treatment products. The company has strategic partnerships with Contemporary Amperex TechnologyCo., Limited on battery materials solutions, including cathode active materials and battery recycling. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Accelerator Programme looks for new applicants Enterprise is looking for applicants to be a part of its Nepal Business Accelerator Programme after successfully concluding the second batch of companies in their accelerator programme. China Pharma Holdings, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets generic and branded pharmaceutical, and biochemical products primarily to hospitals and private retailers in the People's Republic of China. The company offers products in the form of dry powder injectables, liquid injectables, tablets, capsules, and cephalosporin oral solutions. Its products include Cerebroprotein Hydroloysate injection to treat memory decline and attention deficit; Gastrodin injection for tiredness, loss of concentration, poor sleep, and traumatic syndromes of the brain; Propylgallate and Ozagrel Sodium to treat cerebral thrombosis, coronary heart disease, and after surgery complications; Alginic Sodium Diester injection for ischemic heart, cerebrovascular, and high lipoprotein blood diseases; Bumetanide injection to treat edema diseases; and Candesartan for hypertension. It also provides Roxithromycin dispersible tablets for pharyngitis and tonsillitis; Cefaclor dispersible tablets for tympanitis, lower respiratory tract infection, urinary tract infections, and skin/skin tissue infection; Cefalexin capsules for acute tonsillitis; Andrographolide for sore throat caused by upper respiratory tract infection; Clarithromycin granules and capsules; and Naproxen Sodium and PseudophedrineHydrochlorida sustained release tablets. In addition, the company offers Hepatocyte growth-promoting factor, Tiopronin, Compound Ammonium Glycyrrhetate S, and Omeparzole for the treatment of digestive diseases. Further, it provides Vitamin B6 injection; Granisetron Hydrochloride injection to treat nausea and vomiting caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy during the treatment of malignant tumors; Noni Enzyme, a food supplement; sanitizers; and masks. The company offers its products through distributors, as well as through its network of 16 sales offices and approximately 1,000 sales representatives. China Pharma Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is based in Haikou, the People's Republic of China. Arrest warrant likely against Mahat, Dhakal The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) could issue an arrest warrant against Tax Settlement Commission (TSC) Chairman LD Mahat and member Umesh Dhakal on Thursday after they failed to turn up before the anti-graft body on Wednesdaythe deadline set by the body. Banda continues to cripple life in Dhanusa General strike called by Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal continued to affect life in Janakpur in the district for the third consecutive day on Thursday. Discourage corrupt practice: KMC mayor Newly-elected Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Bidhya Sundar Shakya has urged not to encourage corruption at local units. Clear Leisure updated the market on Thursday, confirming it had been informed that the court prosecutor of Ivrea in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy, had filed a winding-up request on Mediapolis . The AIM-traded company held a 74.67% majority share in the directly owned subsidiary which holds its interest in the Mediapolis property, a strategic 497,884 square metre site on the A4/A5 motorway between Milan and Turin and 10 holiday villas in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. It said the petition arose from an initiative of the Ivrea Court following a claim which had now been settled by the company. Under Italian law, once the request from the court has been passed to the prosecutor, the winding up petition may proceed in consideration of other outstanding debts, notwithstanding that the original debt may have already been settled. A hearing of the court was set for 23 June, at which Mediapolis was set to provide evidence of its continuing discussion with its creditors. Mediapolis was also required to call a shareholder meeting, scheduled for 21 June, to approve its 2016 accounts and discuss the winding-up petition and possible further financing by its shareholders. In May, and before Mediapolis was notified of the court hearing, Clear Leisure acquired - at a discount from Mediapolis banks - a debt of 3.14m and the corresponding first charge mortgage on the Mediapolis site. Clear Leisure also calculated that unpaid interest on the mortgage, currently amounting to approximately 4m, was due to it from Mediapolis. Under the terms of the charge, the total amount that could be received by Clear Leisure following the disposal of the land was capped at 5m, and as a result, any recovery above 5m would first be assigned to other creditors which hold a second charge over the property. Should Mediapolis be made the subject of a winding-up order, Clear Leisure said the holiday villas in Porto Cervo, Sardinia would be part of the process as they were owned by the subsidiary. However, as the debt owed against the villas was only slightly lower than their current market value, that would have minimal impact on Clear Leisures balance sheet. Clear Leisures board said it would update the market on the outcome of the 23 June hearing, once a ruling had been received. We are dealing with the winding-up petition, by accelerating discussions with existing creditors to achieve settlements before 23 June, said Clear Leisure chairman and CEO Francesco Gardin. However, having acquired the Mediapolis 3.1m bank debt at the beginning of May 2017, with the attached first charge over the asset, we have legally ring fenced the Mediapolis site for the benefit of Clear Leisure and its shareholders. US President Donald Trump is being investigated by the FBI for a potential obstruction of justice related to the ongoing inquiry into Russian meddling in last year's election, according to media reports in the country. The Washington Post originally reported that the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller had been expanded to include Trump, who is suspected of having attempted to obstruct the investigation. Trump has faced numerous allegations of the offence since his inauguration in January, and calls for him to be investigated increased following testimony to the Senate intelligence committee last week by sacked FBI director James Comey. Comey told the committee that Trump encouraged him to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a claim the president has denied. Flynns conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak are reportedly a focus of the investigation, with the former having been forced to resign just weeks after his appointment because he failed to disclose details to vice-president Mike Pence. Speculation had been rife earlier this week that Trump was considering the sacking of Mueller, who was appointed as special counsel to the investigation shortly after Comeys firing. A member of Trumps legal team said on Wednesday that reports of the expanding investigation were outrageous. The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal, said spokesperson Mark Corallo. Driver among two dead in Baitadi jeep plunge Two people died and another one injured when a jeep met with an accident at Shivanath Village Council-2 in Baitadi on Thursday. BP and Reliance Industries announced they were taking the next step to develop the massive natural gas fields offshore eastern India. When fully developed by 2022, they were projected to meet over 10% of the country's gas demand, helping cut the country's dependence on imports. The two companies said they would award contracts to progress on developing the 'R series' (D34) of deep water gas fields in Block KGD6 off the east coast of the Subcontinent. D34 is a dry gas development in water-depths of over 2,000 metres located roughly 70 kilometres offshore. The project was expected to produce as many as 425.0m cubic feet of gas a day and come on-stream in 2020. It was the first of three planned projects within that block, producing from roughly 3.0trn cubic feet of discovered gas resources. Following a meeting between their two bosses in New Delhi, BP also said they were planning to submit development plans for the next two projects to the government before the end of 2017. Combined, the three projects were expected to require $6.0bn-worth of investments and to bring 1.0bn cubic feet of gas a day in new domestic production on-stream by 2020. New Delhi's stated goal was to double India's gas consumption by 2022, from over 5.0bn cubic feet at present. Theresa Mays hopes of securing the support of the Democratic Unionist Party for her minority government were faltering last night as the Treasury dug in against the costs of a deal. Some ministers were urging the prime minister to call the Northern Irish partys bluff as negotiations stalled, while Britains most senior civil servant told the prime minister that she had little choice but to gain an agreement. - The Times Philip Hammond will outline plans to increase support for key infrastructure projects with extra government funding and guarantees to keep Britain building through Brexit. The Chancellor will use his annual Mansion House speech on Thursday night to ensure key infrastructure projects are protected as the UK leaves the European Union. - Telegraph ost skilled workers from the EU who are employed by large companies are likely to leave the UK before Brexit, according to a survey that will raise concerns that Britain is primed for a continental brain drain. About 56 per cent of 250 EU citizens surveyed by Baker McKenzie said that they were highly likely or quite likely to leave the UK before the outcome of the Brexit negotiations was known, with healthcare, technology, media and telecoms and financial services likely to be hardest hit. - The Times Donald Trump is reportedly being investigated for potential obstruction of justice by the special counsel looking into Russias interference in the 2016 presidential election. This marks the first time that the ongoing investigation, which has hung over Trump since his inauguration, has potentially implicated the president himself. - Guardian Theresa Mays chief of staff is among former ministers facing questions over their alleged failure to act on warnings about fire safety in tower blocks. Gavin Barwell, the housing minister until he lost his seat at the general election, told MPs last year that the government intended to review building regulations covering fire safety. - The Times The European Union has turned up the heat on Theresa May ahead of a summit next week as Brussels chief Brexit negotiator warned that Britain would need to transform itself like Alice in Wonderland to rejoin. After President Macron offered an open door to rejoining the EU, Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliaments Brexit negotiator, said that coming back would be on far worse terms than when Britain left. - The Times Accountancy firms have been warned of a gap in quality between their audits of big businesses and those of smaller firms, which are increasingly flawed, according to the industry watchdog. The Financial Reporting Council found that 81pc of audits of FTSE 350 companies in 2016-17 by the six largest accountancy firms - BDO, Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, KPMG and PwC - were either good or required only limited improvements, up from 77pc a year earlier and 70pc in 2014-15. - Telegraph Britains car insurers suffered combined losses of 3.5bn last year due to controversial new compensation rules for serious injuries, according to a report which predicts further sharp rises in insurance premiums, especially for young drivers. Consultancy EY said the new Ogden formula led to significant underwriting losses for the motor insurance market in 2016. - Guardian The Alternative Investment Market is staining the reputation of the London Stock Exchange. The global business that competes for listings by top companies has been hit by scandals on the LSEs junior market that have prompted questions about disclosure, transparency and abuse. - The Times BAE, Britains biggest arms company, secretly sold mass surveillance technology to six Middle Eastern governments that have been criticised for repressing their citizens, the BBC has reported. The sophisticated technology can be used to spy on a huge number of peoples emails and mobile phones, triggering accusations from human rights campaigners that it is being used to silence or jail dissidents. Yahoo laid off dozens of staff in the UK on Wednesday, the day after Verizon completed its $4.5bn (3.5bn) takeover of the former internet giant. The Telegraph understands at least 50 Yahoo employees were made redundant after the business became part of Verizon. - Telegraph Residents in care homes are forced to pay unexpected bills because many would be traumatised by moving to a different home, an inquiry has found. Some families are charged fees by a care home for up to a month after their relative dies, even if the room is reoccupied, and many are not given contracts until after they have moved in. - The Times Almost half of large airlines using Heathrow are falling short of tough restrictions on night flights, noise or emissions, the airport says today. Europes busiest airport reports that 24 out of 50 carriers violated at least one target designed to cut disruption for households and improve air quality over the first three months of the year. - The Times Tim Farron has announced his resignation as Liberal Democrat leader after he was repeatedly pressed during the general election over his personal beliefs on issues including homosexuality. Farron issued a statement on Wednesday night saying he felt remaining faithful to Christ was incompatible with being his partys leader. It is understood several senior figures in the party have visited Farron in recent days to attempt to persuade him to step down, though he was initially reluctant. - Guardian The chief executive of News Corporation accused Google and Amazon last night of doctoring search results for commercial gain and said their deliberate manipulation of search algorithms amounted to a charlatans charter. Robert Thomson told the TechXLR8 conference in London that certain US tech giants claimed that their algorithms were based on pure science when, in reality, they were the result of human interventions designed to benefit their own companies while failing to distinguish between real and fake news or identify extremist materials. - The Times Nick Hugh has been named as the new chief executive officer of Telegraph Media Group, taking over from Murdoch MacLennan who has run the publisher of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph since 2004. Mr Hugh, who joined the publisher in January in the newly created role of chief operating officer, was previously vice president of Yahoo in Europe The Trump administration will publish a proposed rule Friday that would permit the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to export its own poultry products to the U.S. It is doing so because U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) claims that the PRCs food safety inspection system is equivalent to ours. The decision comes on the heels of the PRC agreeing to resume importing U.S. beef after a 14-year ban. We cant let trade trump food safety. While China will get U.S. beef that underwent strong food safety regulatory oversight, U.S. consumers will be subject to imports from a country whose own public health officials admit has weak food safety enforcement. The PRC has experienced numerous avian influenza outbreaks that have led to the death of hundreds of thousands of birds. Some of the strains have been so virulent that they have killed humans that came into contact with infected poultry. At last count, there have been 268 reported human deaths since October 2016. In February, a multinational group of scientists published a study in which they found that antibiotic strains of pathogens run rampant in Chinese poultry. Food safety scandals have continued to plague the PRC in recent years. In 2008, dairy products tainted with melamine killed six infants and caused 300,000 Chinese consumers to be hospitalized. Other food safety violations include food processing establishments recovering and reusing used cooking oil from street gutters; another food processor marinating duck meat in sheep urine in order to pass it off as lamb meat, another meat merchant marinating pork in chemicals to disguise it as beef; and companies manufacturing and exporting poultry-flavored pet treats tainted with toxins that sickened thousands of pets in the U.S. What makes the proposed rule even more odious is that the PRC had decided to designate in advance two plants operated by Cargill as being able to export Chinese poultry products to the U.S., should the rule be finalized. Cargill is now reportedly trying to qualify to sell its U.S. beef to Chinaa win for Cargill, but a big loss for consumers. To make matters worse, processed poultry from the PRC will not be subject to country of origin labeling requirements, leaving consumers completely in the dark about what they are buying and feeding to their families. There will be a 60-day public comment period once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. Food & Water Watch urges consumers to tell USDA to cancel this dubious proposed rule when the comment period opens Friday. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration must conduct additional environmental review of the Dakota Access Pipeline, handing a limited victory to Native American tribes fighting the administrations decision to move forward with the project. In an extensive opinion, Washington, DC District Court Judge James Boasberg sided with the tribes by agreeing the Army Corps of Engineers did not consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, human rights, or environmental justice. This decision marks an important turning point, said Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman. Until now, the rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have been disregarded by the builders of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Trump administrationprompting a well-deserved global outcry. The federal courts have stepped in where our political systems have failed to protect the rights of Native communities. Boasberg did not order a shutdown of operations on the pipeline, which began pumping oil early this month. The tribes and pipeline owner Energy Transfer Partners are ordered to appear in court next week to decide next legal steps, and the tribes are expected to argue for a full shutdown of pipeline operations. Dallas Goldtooth, national Keep It In the Ground organizer for Indigenous Environmental Network, had this to say about the ruling: This is a huge victory for the tribal nations of the Oceti Sakowin, Water Protectors around the world and for the Indigenous leaders who led organizing efforts to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. Were ecstatic with the courts decision, and applaud the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne Sioux for continuing to hold the line and take the fight against the Trump administration and the Dakota Access Pipeline to the nations courts. We hope this decision leads to the stoppage of oil flowing in the Bakken crude oil pipeline as a permanent remedy to protecting the drinking water of the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Nations. Since the 1990s, our organization has been working to ensure the United States recognizes the need for environmental justice and for meaningful participation by Indigenous communities in permitting processes that will affect our sacred lands, inherent rights and access to clean water. Were seeing those efforts bear fruit, and now our movement has dealt a major blow to big oil. Despite underhanded, brutal tactics by Energy Transfer Partners to suppress Indigenous peoples, our movement will not be stopped. We will continue to support any and all efforts to divest from fossil fuels and stop the Dakota Access Pipeline once and for all. For a deeper dive: Washington Post, Reuters, The Guardian, The Hill, CNBC, The Atlantic, Seattle Times, InsideClimate News, Greenwire, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News. Chemical company Dupont Co. will pay Virginia a stunning $50 million to clean up decades of mercury pollution. The proposed settlement is the largest natural resource settlement in the states history and the eighth largest in the nation, state and federal officials said. Todays settlement, the largest of its kind in Virginia history, is the culmination of a coordinated effort by countless partners at both the state and federal level, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a statement. Thanks to their hard work, Virginians and the environment will benefit from unprecedented investments in land conservation and habitat restoration. I applaud and appreciate the meticulous monitoring by our state agencies, the thorough analysis of the scientific advisory committee, and DuPonts willingness to come to the table and make this happen. [The settlement] ranks 8th in all of time of natural resource damage settlements across the country and that includes such big cases like Deep Water Horizon and Exxon Valdez, Paul Phifer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services said, according to the Associated Press. The case dates back several decades when a former DuPont factory outside the city of Waynesboro leaked mercurya chemical used for the plants rayon productioninto the South River from 1929 to 1950. The pollution was finally discovered in the 1970s and DuPont has worked with federal and state officials on cleanup solutions over the years. Still, the mercury remains persistent and has been difficult to remove. The South River is one of the areas leading tributaries so any contamination eventually flows into the Shenandoah River. According to the Shenandoah Riverkeeper, the South River Science Team found that South River and South Fork Shenandoah River fish continue to have elevated mercury concentrations some 60 years later after the DuPont plant ceased production. Mercury is highly toxic and can travel up the food chain and can have a whole host of terrifying problems for aquatic life and humans alike. Fish consumption advisories in affected areas are in place to this day. Alarming Levels of Mercury Contamination Found Across Western North America https://t.co/Eeb88jsjPg @Waterkeeper @foodandwater EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) September 20, 2016 Over 100 miles of river and thousands of acres of floodplain and riparian habitat were impacted from the mercury, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Some of the assessed and impacted natural resources include fish, migratory songbirds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Recreational fishing opportunities were also impacted from the mercury. NBC29 notes that the historic settlement would go towards wildlife habitat restoration, water quality enhancement and improvements to recreational areas. DuPont has agreed to provide $42.3 million in support of restoration projects in the South River and South Fork Shenandoah watersheds. The trustees will use these funds for a number of restoration projects to enhance natural resources in the region, Mike Liberati, South River project director for the DuPont Corporate Remediation Group, said in a statement. In keeping with its long history of cooperation with, and participation in, government initiatives, and its ongoing support of the local community, DuPonts is committed to a long-term presence in the Waynesboro area and to maintaining transparency with its citizens, Liberati continued. The trustees, through U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Commonwealth of Virginia, invite feedback on actions to restore the river and wildlife habitat and improve public lands and recreational resources. A draft restoration plan and environmental assessment (RP/EA) was also released today for a 45-day public comment period. The plan results from stakeholder meetings beginning in 2008 to determine how best to compensate the public for the injured natural resources and their uses. By Josh Gay In February, DuPont and its spinoff Chemours finally agreed to pay out the $670+ million settlement stemming from their toxic chemical Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), commonly known as C8. The chemical was shown to cause kidney, pancreatic, liver and testicular cancer, high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia), pregnancy issues, including preeclampsia, thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis in thousands of cases. The carcinogenic chemical was used to manufacture Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), known as Teflon. Teflon is most commonly used as a non-stick coating found in cookware. But by 2003, DuPont had dumped almost 2.5 million pounds of C8 from its Washington Works plant into the mid-Ohio River Valley area. To date, the chemical has been found in drinking water in 27 states. This all took place even 53 years after DuPont classified C8 as a toxin. Now, it appears that the chemical that DuPont and Chemours have relied on to replace C8 in Teflon may be just as bad. Known as GenX, the new chemical has been known by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have negative health effects since at least 2006. Yet, the unregulated chemical has been continuously dumped into the Cape Fear River in North Carolina since 2009. Ring of Fires Mike Papantonio addressed DuPonts deception with Ed Schultz on News with Ed: In response to the C8 lawsuits, companies like Chemours, Dow and 3M sought to develop chemicals with a similar composition to C8, but with a shorter molecule chain, in hopes it would be less harmful to humans. The smaller chain allows the body to pass the chemical quicker. However, it appears to still be quite dangerous. Even in its consent order, the EPA noted that GenX shows many of the same harmful properties as C8. In a series The Teflon Toxin published by The Intercept, it was revealed that DuPont filed numerous reports confirming the risks of GenX. In experiments, rats were shown to develop cancer, kidney and liver disease, various tumors, as well as other negative health effects, all very similar to the effects of C8. Still, DuPonts researchers claim that these tumor findings are not considered relevant for human risk assessment. Detailing just how terrible GenX can be, The Columbus Dispatch reported in February that: From 2006 through 2013, DuPont filed reports with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on its testing of the substances that make up GenX. In 2006, DuPont reported that a 1963 study of those substances showed that adult rats given 7,500 milligrams died gasping, convulsive deaths within three hours. Those that received smaller doses survived with slightly enlarged livers. A 2013 report stated that rats given a much lower dose of GenX developed tumors in some organs. The report stated that these tumor findings are not considered relevant for human risk assessment. Though DuPont and Chemours had previously assured regulators that GenX would not enter the environment, researchers have found the chemical in large quantities in North Carolinas water supply. Wilmingtons The StarNews has reported that researchers had found GenX in the Cape Fear River on three separate occasions in recent years. In 2013-14, a team of researchers and scientists found a GenX average of 631 parts per trillion, or nine times the advisory level for C8, at [the Cape Fear Public Utility Authoritys] water intake on the river. Unfortunately, because of the diminutive size of the molecule chain and the fact that Chemours and DuPont kept the chemical composition of GenX secret for many years, there is no way for a utility company to effectively filter GenX out of a water supply, meaning as many as 250,000 residents along the Cape Fear River could be consuming the harmful chemical. Meanwhile, Dutch officials are opening their own investigation into GenX, as the chemical has been found in the Merwede River, which provides drinking water to approximately 750,000 people. The Dutch public health institute, RIVM is currently conducting a study into the long-term effects of the chemical and hopes to present some of its findings at a conference in August. While it may seem that a massive lawsuit, fines from the government, and evidence that people are dying from a product would discourage a company from continuing to produce harmful chemicals and release them into the waterways, it is evident that it just isnt enough. Even after spending more than $60 billion in the wake of the Gulf Oil Spill, BP is still taking major risks because they returned to profitability just six years after the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Quite frankly, the fines and settlements just are not enough. Now that the Trump administrations insists on rolling back regulations, companies like DuPont and Chemours have zero reason to change their behavior. Papantonio said that tougher measures are needed: These corporate thugs can kill thousands of people and keep earning millions of dollars and never see the inside of a prison. They act like criminals and should be treated as such. I have fought DuPont before and I will keep fighting until they stop poisoning innocent people. Reposted with permission from our media associate The Ring of Fire. The known extent of the contamination of U.S. communities with PFCs continues to expand with no end in sight. PFCs, also known as PFASs, are highly fluorinated toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity and other health problems. New research from Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Northeastern University in Boston details PFC pollution in tap water supplies for 15 million Americans in 27 states and from more than four dozen industrial and military sources from Maine to California. EWG and the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern collaborated to produce an interactive map that combines federal drinking water data and information on all publicly documented cases of PFAS pollution from manufacturing plants, military air bases, civilian airports and fire training sites. On the map, blue circles show public water systems where PFCs were detected in public drinking water systems the larger the circle, the more people served by the system. Clicking on a circle brings up detailed information, including contamination levels. Red dots indicate a contamination site in Northeasterns PFAS Contamination Site Tracker. Clicking on a dot brings up detailed information and links to more information and resources from the Institute. The map, which will be updated as more contamination is discovered, is the most comprehensive resource available to track PFC pollution in the U.S. Its release coincides with a major PFAS conference June 14 and 15 at Northeastern which will bring together scientists, regulators, activists and others to examine a class of pollutants that contaminate water, soil, and the bodies of animals and people worldwide but were little known until recently. The map focuses on the most well-studied fluorinated compounds perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA, formerly used to make DuPonts Teflon, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, or PFOS, formerly an ingredient in 3Ms Scotchgard. Because of their nonstick, waterproof and grease-repellent properties, these and closely related chemicals were used in hundreds of consumer products and industrial applications, including cookware, outdoor clothing, food packaging and firefighting foam. The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention have found PFOA or PFOS in the bodies of virtually all Americans, and these chemicals can be passed through the umbilical cord from mother to fetus in the womb. PFOA and PFOS are known as long-chain PFCs because they are built around eight or more carbon atoms. They were phased out in the U.S. after revelations that for decades DuPont and 3M covered up evidence of their health hazards, buildup in peoples bodies and persistence in the environment. But today, PFOA production continues outside the U.S., with China now the biggest producer. In a classic case of regrettable substitution, U.S. chemical manufacturers have replaced the phased-out chemicals with reformulated short-chain PFCs with six or fewer carbon atoms. Manufacturers claim the new chemicals are less likely to build up in our bodies, but they were not adequately tested for safety before going on the market, and the limited research available suggests they may have similar health hazards. More than 3,000 PFCs have been or now are used worldwide. Drinking water contamination Despite widespread contamination and mounting evidence of health hazards, there are no federal regulations for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water. After persistent pressure from contaminated communities and elected officials, last year the Environmental Protection Agency dramatically lowered its nonbinding health advisory level to 70 parts per trillion for either chemical or the two combined. (A part per trillion, or ppt, is about one drop of water in 1,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.) But there is evidence that a safe level of exposure is much lower. After reviews by state scientists in Minnesota, New Jersey and Vermont, these same states have set or proposed health-based limits for PFOA or PFOS between 14 ppt and 35 ppt. In a 2015 study by the National Toxicology Program and the University of North Carolina, researchers were unable to find a level of these chemicals so low that it did not harm mouse fetuses during critical windows of development. From that and other studies, in 2015 Phillipe Grandjean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Health and Richard Clapp of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell calculated that an approximate safe level for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water was 1 ppt. EWG endorses that level. Under the EPAs Unmonitored Contaminant Monitoring Rule, or UCMR, from 2013 to 2016 all U.S. public water systems serving 10,000 or more customers tested their supplies for PFOA, PFOS, and four other PFCs. EWGs analysis of the results shows that the tests found PFOA and/or PFOS in 162 systems serving 15.1 million Americans. Because the EPA only required reporting of detections at or above 20 ppt for PFOA and 40 ppt for PFOS, all of those water supplies had detections exceeding Grandjean and Clapps safe level of 1 ppt. Several large metro areas had detections in only a small number of samples. It is not known exactly how many people were served the contaminated water, and since testing began four years ago, some systems may no longer be contaminated and new areas of contamination may have emerged. Some systems filter their water to remove or reduce PFOA and/or PFOS, but those treatment methods do not effectively remove short-chain PFCs. There is no ongoing national-level testing of PFCs in drinking water, and the EPA has said it could be 2019 or later before it decides whether to set a national drinking water standard for PFOA and PFOS. In the meantime, several members of Congress have introduced bills that would require federal standards for PFCs or further study on their health effects: Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, both of New York, have introduced a bill that would require the EPA to set drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS. Representatives Frank Pallone and Josh Gottheimer, both of New Jersey, have also each introduced legislation that would require the EPA to create an enforceable standard for perfluorinated chemicals in drinking water within two years. Representatives Sean Patrick Maloney of New York has introduced legislation that would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the health impacts of PFCs and similar chemicals in drinking water. But the extent of contamination is likely much greater than the UCMR results indicate. The EPA testing program covered only a small percentage of water systems with fewer than 10,000 customers and did not cover private wells, which together provide drinking water for about a third of Americans. The example of New Jersey shows how UCMR data underestimates PFC contamination: In 2006, New Jersey did its own statewide water testing, using methods approximately 10 times more sensitive than the EPAs. EWG calculated that the less sensitive EPA tests and higher reporting threshold would have missed almost three-fourths of the PFC water contamination the state found in New Jersey. Industrial, military and other contamination PFC contamination of drinking water first came to national attention in 2001, when attorney Robert A. Bilott filed a class-action suit on behalf of 50,000 people whose drinking water was polluted by PFOA from DuPonts Teflon plant in Parkersburg, W. Va. In November 2005, the company agreed to a settlement valued at more than $300 million, and shortly thereafter the EPA fined DuPont a record $16.5 million for the pollution and cover-up. The issue largely faded from the headlines until 2015, when drinking water tests commissioned by a private citizen in the village of Hoosick Falls, New York, found levels of PFOA exceeding the EPAs health advisory. The likely source of the contamination was a manufacturing plant operated by Saint-Gobain Corporation. A string of towns in New York, Vermont and New Hampshire with similar factories tested their own water and also found contamination. At about the same time, PFOS from firefighting foam was discovered in the water near hundreds of military bases, airports and fire department training sites. Since then, the number of known sites of industrial or military contamination have mounted at a pace with which it is difficult for citizens, activists and journalists to keep up. Now this gap is being filled by the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern University. In 2015, the Social Science Environmental Health Institute received a grant from the National Science Foundation for a project called Perfluorinated Chemicals: The Social Discovery of a Class of Emerging Contaminants. The research team from Northeastern University and Whitman College is studying how PFC contamination went largely undetected for so long, and what led to the surge of awareness by citizens, advocates, state and local officials, and the news media. The researchers are collaborating with Toxics Action Center, Silent Spring Institute and the Green Science Policy Institute to track state, industry and community responses to the problem. The Institutes director, Phil Brown, co-authored a 2016 paper examining the reactions of people in West Virginia and Ohio who learned they had been exposed to PFOA from DuPonts Teflon plant. Last year the research teamlead author Alissa Cordner, Lauren Richter and Brownpublished a paper on how the Food and Drug Administrations ban on long-chain PFCs in food packaging could signal a shift toward regulating chemicals as a class rather than one at a time. That flawed regulatory approach allowed the substitution of untested short-chain PFCs after the phaseout of PFOA and PFOS. Six other papers are in progress, but in the meantime the team has developed the PFAS Contamination Site Tracker. The Site Tracker provides detailed information for 50 industrial or military contamination sites in 18 states and Guam, plus Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. The informationcompiled by Elizabeth Boxer, Nick Chaves and Yvette Niwaincludes when the pollution was discovered, contamination levels, government response, lawsuits, health impacts, media coverage and community characteristics. New Jersey has the most known contamination sites with six, followed by Alabama and New Hampshire with five each and New York with four. At many of the sites, contamination levels are extremely high. The highest level recorded is at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, a combined Air Force, Army and Navy base near Trenton, New Jersey. Groundwater at the base was found to have 580,000 ppt of PFOS. At Dover Air Force Base near Dover, Del., groundwater was found to have 270,000 ppt of PFOS. Of the 47 locations where the source of the contamination is known or suspected, 21 sources are military bases, 20 are industrial facilities and seven are from civilian firefighting sites. Some locations have multiple sources of contamination. Pa. Dems could flip the House of Reps. Here's what that might mean. elections In a landmark study, Chinese scientists report the successful transmission of entangled photons between suborbital space and Earth. Furthermore, whereas the previous record for successful entanglement distribution was about 100 kilometers (km), here, transmission over a distance of more than 1,200 km was achieved. The distribution of quantum entanglement, especially across vast distances, holds important implications for quantum teleportation and communication networks. Yet, efforts to entangle quantum particles, essentially "linking" them together over long distances, have been limited to 100 km or fewer, mostly because the entanglement is lost as they are transmitted along optical fibers, or through open space on land. One way to overcome this issue is to break the line of transmission into smaller segments and repeatedly swap, purify and store quantum information along the optical fiber. Another approach to achieving global-scale quantum networks is making use of lasers and satellite-based technologies. Using the Chinese satellite Micius, launched last year and equipped with specialized quantum tools, Juan Yin et al. demonstrate the latter feat. The Micius satellite was used to communicate with three ground stations across China, each up to around 1,200 km apart. The separation between the orbiting satellite and these ground stations varied from 500 to 2,000 km. A laser beam on the satellite was subjected to a beam splitter, which gave the beam two distinct polarized states. One of the spilt beams was used for transmission of entangled photons, while the other was used for photon receipt. In this way, entangled photons were received at the separate ground stations, more than 1,000 km apart. ### EC concerned as officials detained Concerned over protests launched by the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N), which has warned of disrupting the local elections scheduled for June 28 Patients with severe and end-stage heart failure have few treatment options available to them apart from transplants and "miraculous" stem cell therapy. But a new Tel Aviv University study finds that stem cell therapy may, in fact, harm heart disease patients. The research, led by Prof. Jonathan Leor of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Sheba Medical Center and conducted by TAU's Dr. Nili Naftali-Shani, explores the current practice of using cells from the host patient to repair tissue -- and contends that this can prove deleterious or toxic for patients. The study was recently published in the journal Circulation. "We found that, contrary to popular belief, tissue stem cells derived from sick hearts do not contribute to heart healing after injury," said Prof. Leor. "Furthermore, we found that these cells are affected by the inflammatory environment and develop inflammatory properties. The affected stem cells may even exacerbate damage to the already diseased heart muscle." Tissue or adult stem cells -- "blank" cells that can act as a repair kit for the body by replacing damaged tissue -- encourage the regeneration of blood vessel cells and new heart muscle tissue. Faced with a worse survival rate than many cancers, many heart failure patients have turned to stem cell therapy as a last resort. "But our findings suggest that stem cells, like any drug, can have adverse effects," said Prof. Leor. "We concluded that stem cells used in cardiac therapy should be drawn from healthy donors or be better genetically engineered for the patient." Hope for improved cardiac stem cell therapy In addition, the researchers also discovered the molecular pathway involved in the negative interaction between stem cells and the immune system as they isolated stem cells in mouse models of heart disease. After exploring the molecular pathway in mice, the researchers focused on cardiac stem cells in patients with heart disease. The results could help improve the use of autologous stem cells -- those drawn from the patients themselves -- in cardiac therapy, Prof. Leor said. "We showed that the deletion of the gene responsible for this pathway can restore the original therapeutic function of the cells," said Prof. Leor. "Our findings determine the potential negative effects of inflammation on stem cell function as they're currently used. The use of autologous stem cells from patients with heart disease should be modified. Only stem cells from healthy donors or genetically engineered cells should be used in treating cardiac conditions." The researchers are currently testing a gene editing technique (CRISPER) to inhibit the gene responsible for the negative inflammatory properties of the cardiac stem cells of heart disease patients. "We hope our engineered stem cells will be resistant to the negative effects of the immune system," said Prof. Leor. ### American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU) supports Israel's most influential, comprehensive and sought-after center of higher learning, Tel Aviv University (TAU). TAU is recognized and celebrated internationally for creating an innovative, entrepreneurial culture on campus that generates inventions, startups and economic development in Israel. For three years in a row, TAU ranked 9th in the world, and first in Israel, for alumni going on to become successful entrepreneurs backed by significant venture capital, a ranking that surpassed several Ivy League universities. To date, 2,400 patents have been filed out of the University, making TAU 29th in the world for patents among academic institutions. DALLAS, June 15, 2017 -- Horseback riding and rhythm-and-music therapies may improve stroke survivors' perception of recovery, gait, balance, grip strength and cognition years after their stroke, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke. A variety of interventions that engage patients in physical, sensory, cognitive and social activities simultaneously target a range of functions. Researchers said this combination of different activities and stimuli, rather than the individual components, appear to produce additional beneficial effects for stroke recovery. "Significant improvements are still possible, even years after a stroke, using motivating, comprehensive therapies provided in stimulating physical and social surroundings to increase brain activity and recovery," said Michael Nilsson, M.D., Ph.D. senior author and Director of the Hunter Medical Research Institute and Professor at the University of Newcastle in Australia and University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Researchers studied 123 Swedish men and women (age 50-75) who had suffered strokes between 10 months and 5 years earlier. Survivors were randomly assigned to rhythm-and-music therapy, horse-riding therapy or ordinary care (the control group). The therapies were given twice a week for 12 weeks. Researchers found that among the survivors who felt they experienced an increased perception of recovery: 56 percent were in the horse-riding group; 38 percent in the rhythm and music group; and 17 percent in the "control or usual care" group. The perception of recovery was sustained at three-month and six-month follow-ups. Horse-riding therapy produces a multisensory environment and the three-dimensional movements of the horse's back create a sensory experience that closely resembles normal human gait and is beneficial for stroke survivors. In rhythm-and-music therapy patients listen to music while performing rhythmic and cognitively demanding hand and feet movements to visual and audio cues. Researchers found that the rhythm-and-music activity helped survivors with balance, grip-strength and working memory. Limitations of the study include the relatively small number of participants and survivors with severe disabilities could not be considered for the therapy. In addition, researchers doubt these therapies would be cost-effective if patients with mild deficiencies had been included. Further analyses of the study results and follow-up studies involving more participants are planned to help determine efficiency, timing and costs. ### Co-authors are Lina Bunketorp-Kall, Ph.D.; Asa Lundgren-Nilsson, Ph.D.; Hans Samuelsson, Ph.D.; Tulen Pekny, M.D.; Karin Blomve, M.D.; Marcela Pekna, M.D., Ph.D.; Milos Pekny, M.D., Ph.D.; and Christian Blomstrand, M.D., Ph.D. Author disclosures and funding are on the manuscript. Additional Resources: Researcher photo and brain illustration available on the right column of the release link: http://newsroom.heart.org/news/horse-rhythm-and-music-therapies-may-boost-recovery-after-stroke?preview=e4c59de4503b84935d4cb4eb8f0e31a2 After June 15, view the manuscript online. You are not alone Healthy living after stroke Follow AHA/ASA news on Twitter @HeartNews For stroke science, follow the Stroke journal at @StrokeAHA_ASA Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association's policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations and health insurance providers are available at http://www.heart.org/corporatefunding. About the American Heart Association The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke -- the two leading causes of death in the world. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. DURHAM, N.C. -- When states suffer a widespread loss of jobs, the damage extends to the next generation, where college attendance drops among the poorest students, says new research from Duke University. As a result, states marked by shuttered factories or dormant mines also show a widening gap in college attendance between rich and poor, the authors write. Yet simple economics aren't the only factor at play, the authors write. Poor students in economically stricken states don't avoid college simply because they can't afford it. Instead, widespread job losses trigger adolescent emotional problems and poor academic performance, which, in turn, puts college out of reach, say the authors, whose research is published in the June 16 issue of Science. "Job loss has led to increased inequality in college-going not just because people lose income, but because they are stressed out," said Duke economist Elizabeth Ananat, one of the paper's lead authors. "Losing your job is traumatic, and even if a community is adding new jobs, jobs aren't interchangeable." During the 2016 presidential race and since the November election, attention has focused on economically distressed regions where technology and globalization have obliterated jobs, and where worries run high about the next generation's future and about growing inequality. Some economists promote higher education as the natural remedy. According to this view, inequality will disappear as more young people choose college rather than "following their parents' footsteps to the now-closed factory," the authors write. The new study tests that theory empirically, and finds it flawed. "Our whole narrative as a country has been, creative destruction will push kids toward more profitable, growing industries," Ananat said. "But if kids are stressed out and parents are stressed out, they may not be as nimble as we imagine people being." The authors compared job loss rates during middle and high school years with college attendance rates a few years later, at 19 years of age. In states that suffered a 7 percent job loss, college attendance by the poorest youth subsequently dropped by 20 percent, even when financial aid increased. The pattern also persisted across a wide range of states, despite variations in public college tuition rates. "Rather than clearing a path to new educational opportunities in deindustrializing areas, job destruction knocks many youth off the path to college," the authors write. The research points to a need for more rigorous job retraining programs, which could lessen the trauma of job loss for the whole community. "Bringing back jobs that technology has replaced is not necessarily possible or desirable," Ananat said. "Imagine if we had insisted on subsidizing the buggy-whip industry." "But that doesn't mean we must abandon everyone to a terrifying future. Instead we could actually support people in getting new jobs." The new research also found that while job loss lowered college attendance among poor whites, the decline was even steeper for poor African-Americans. Furthermore, after widespread job losses, suicide and suicide attempts among African-American youths rose by more than 2 percentage points. "What happens with African-Americans are the same things that happen to working class white people -- just worse," Ananat said. "Yes, there have been losers from the changing economy." Ananat said. "But white working class people and African-American working class people are in the same boat due to job destruction. Imagine the policies we could have if folks found common ground over that." ### The research was supported by a grant from the Russell Sage Foundation to Ananat and Anna Gassman-Pines, an associate professor of public policy and psychology and neuroscience at Duke. Ananat and Gassman-Pines teach at Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy and are faculty fellows at the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy. CITATION: "The effects of local job losses on intergenerational mobility: A post-election discussion," Elizabeth Ananat, Anna Gassman-Pines, Dania Francis and Christina Gibson-Davis. Science, June 16, 2017. DOI: 10.1126/science.aam5347 Philadelphia, PA, June 15, 2017 - After nearly 14 years of continuous combat operations, there have been many major advances made in casualty care by medical professionals in the US military that have resulted in the highest casualty survival rate in the history of modern warfare. The implementation of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) in military units has drastically reduced the number of preventable deaths from traumatic injuries. Many of the lessons learned on the battlefield translate well to the austere conditions encountered every day in the wilderness. A lack of resources, extreme weather, and delayed transport to an established medical facility are just some of the common challenges practitioners and participants face. A special supplement to Wilderness & Environmental Medicine offers an in-depth examination of military trauma techniques to help educate medical professionals and the end-user community to improve readiness and outcomes. Shaped out of a preconference held last July in Telluride, Colorado, Tactical Combat Casualty Care: Transitioning Battlefield Lessons Learned to Other Austere Environments provides an overview of TCCC, explains the evolution and adaptation of the guidelines, discusses key updates, details ongoing TCCC process improvements, describes how these procedures can be best utilized in austere environments, and finally, explores how TCCC tenets have successfully been applied to civilian medicine. "Without Tactical Combat Casualty Care training to all military personnel, most severely traumatized personnel would die before reaching surgical care," explained CAPT (Ret) Brad Bennett, PhD, EMT-P, FAWM, US Navy, Chair, TCCC Preconference and Guest Editor, TCCC special supplement. "However, today it is well documented that of the injured military personnel who reach surgical care, 97% will survive. The same surgical resuscitation methods have been transitioned already to US trauma surgical care in civilian medical centers and have shown the same significant reduction in mortality." Preventable trauma deaths mostly occur from three main causes: bleeding, airway obstruction, and collapsed lungs. This special supplement contains 19 papers exploring different aspects of TCCC and specific trauma care techniques including tourniquet and hemostatic dressings use, establishing surgical airways, thoracic trauma care, integration of military-established trauma techniques into other settings, and key lessons in establishing guidelines and their use. COL (Ret) Craig H. Llewellyn, MD, MPH, MSTMH, emeritus professor and chair (1982-2001), Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, delivers an extensive overview of the symbiotic relationship between operational military medicine, tactical medicine, and wilderness medicine in the keynote lecture. "Much of the scientific base for both military medicine and wilderness medicine was and continues to be derived from the same research on physiologic responses to environmental extremes," writes Dr. Llewellyn. "This shared knowledge base created by civilian and military investigators continues to inform both military medicine and wilderness medicine." In his comprehensive look at the origins of TCCC, Frank K. Butler, MD, FAAO, FUHM, Chair, Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Joint Trauma System, US Army Institute of Surgical Research, San Antonio, TX, explains that TCCC was developed using the best evidence-based battlefield practices and grew out of a Naval Special Warfare biomedical research effort and the realization that, as Dr. Butler writes, "extremity hemorrhage, a leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield, was not being treated with a readily available and highly effective intervention: the tourniquet." One of the areas of focus of the supplement is how these military techniques can be integrated into medical care in other austere environments. In his article "Translating Tactical Combat Casualty Care Lessons Learned to the High-Threat Civilian Setting: Tactical Emergency Casualty Care and the Hartford Consensus," David W. Callaway, MD, FACEP, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC, talks about "trauma care as an individual skill" that should be taught to providers based on their level of knowledge. "Similar to the small team operations in combat, all individuals venturing into the wilderness should possess relevant threat-based trauma-training; teams cannot rely on a designated medic or external medical assistance when in the backcountry." TCCC guidelines can help medical professionals, but can also aid first responders and civilians. In an emergency situation, medical professionals are often not the first people on the scene. Many of the practical recommendations can help those encountering trauma victims, whether it be far from other help in the wilderness or in an urban area. A new nationwide effort called "Stop the Bleed" was developed using TCCC guidelines to teach laypeople how to control hemorrhaging in an emergency. The authors hope this special supplement will help spread important, hard-earned knowledge about trauma care and, in the end, save lives. "TCCC medical guidelines can work in both austere and urban environments by both medically trained and laypersons to stop severe bleeding," concluded Dr. Bennett. "As stated decades ago: the saving of a life is done by the first person who places their hands on the injured, so be that right person, at the right time, with the right training to save a loved one or another community member." "This special supplement provides an impressive cross-section of information that will be valuable to many in the broad community," according to Neal Pollock, Editor-in-Chief of Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. "We appreciate the efforts of all involved to bring the project to fruition." ### Chicago, June 15, 2017 - Patients who are at risk for malnutrition when undergoing heart surgery now can be more quickly and easily identified, leading to intervention and potentially better surgical outcomes, according to a study published online today in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) in Baltimore, MD developed the JHH Nutrition Score to identify the risk for malnutrition. Malnutrition resulting from inadequate calorie intake after surgery is associated with high morbidity and mortality, as well as delayed recovery, increased hospital stay, early readmission, decreased quality of life and increased health care costs. Benefits of the JHH nutrition risk score are that it is easily calculable and highly predictive, the markers for the score are immediately available in the patient's ICU admission chart and providing nutrition sooner to high risk heart patients may improve their outcomes. "Days in the ICU can go by quickly before we realize patients are not getting the nutritional support they need to improve recovery," said senior author Glenn Whitman, MD, of Johns Hopkins Hospital. "The nutrition risk score may heighten our sensitivity to patients who are most at risk for needing nutritional support, allowing them to receive intervention sooner than we might have done in the past." Dr. Whitman and his colleagues at JHH and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., identified 1,056 adult open heart surgery patients from their institutions in 2012. Among this cohort, 87 (8%) required postoperative nutritional support. The patients who required nutritional support were more likely than their counterparts to have diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The JHH Nutrition Score is generated by seven variables, such as prior cardiac interventions, white blood cell count, and urgent/emergent operation status, that independently predicted the need for nutritional support. Each variable was given a number if it was abnormal, with higher total scores demonstrating increased need for nutritional support. "The JHH risk score can be used as a screening tool to divide cardiac surgery admissions into low or high risk for needing nutrition support," said Dr. Whitman. "By adding up the total point score, we can look at patients and determine how at risk they are for being unable to eat during the initial ICU period. If the patients are at high risk, and we know that, we can start nutrition sooner." The variables used for the JHH NS are "readily accessible," all available immediately from the chart at the time of ICU admission, and the score is easily calculable and highly predictive, explained Dr. Whitman. In contrast, markers from other nutrition risk tools require more history and understanding of patients, so there are substantial limitations when applied to an ICU admission. The researchers validated the JHH NS by applying the scores to 1,336 patients who underwent heart surgery in 2015 at their institutions. The scores strongly correlated to the 115 (8.6%) who required postoperative nutritional support. "In using the JHH Nutrition Score to accurately identify the at-risk patients and then aggressively pursuing nutrition support, we may improve substantially upon their current poor outcomes," said Dr. Whitman. "Individualized nutrition strategies, combined with the expertise of the nutrition support team and the clinical approach of the caregiver, may further enhance the management of these patients." ### Notes for editors The article is "A Novel Risk Score to Predict the Need for Nutrition Support After Cardiac Surgery," by Ohkuma RE, Crawford TC, Brown PM, Grimm JC, Magruder JT, Kilic A, Suarez-Pierre A, Snyder S, Wood JD, Schneider E, Sussman MS, Whitman GJ . It appears in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, published by Elsevier. Find comprehensive medical information presented for patients by leading experts in cardiothoracic surgery at the STS Patient Website. Copies of this paper are available to credentialed journalists upon request; please contact Jennifer Bagley at jbagley@sts.org or +1 312 202 5865. About The Annals of Thoracic Surgery The Annals of Thoracic Surgery is the official journal of STS and the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. It has a 5-year impact factor of 4.104, the highest of any cardiothoracic surgery journal worldwide. Founded in 1964, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is a not-for-profit organization representing more than 7,100 cardiothoracic surgeons, researchers, and allied health care professionals worldwide who are dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart, lung, and esophagus, as well as other surgical procedures within the chest. The Society's mission is to enhance the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality patient care through education, research, and advocacy. About Elsevier Elsevier is a global information analytics company that helps institutions and professionals progress science, advance healthcare and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and professional education; including ScienceDirect, Scopus, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, more than 35,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. http://www.elsevier.com Media contact Jennifer Bagley Society for Thoracic Surgery +1 312 202 5865 jbagley@sts.org Madrid, Spain, 15 June 2017: The results of a study presented today at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) 2017 press conference showed that implementing a vaccination programme run by nursing staff dramatically improves pneumococcal vaccination coverage among vulnerable patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases receiving immunosuppressive therapy are known to be at high risk of invasive pneumococcal disease. However, despite EULAR and national recommendations regarding pneumococcal vaccination, rates of vaccination remain low in this population. "Patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases and receiving immunosuppressive therapies are at increased risk of dying from infections compared with the general population. Pneumococci are one of the causative pathogens," said lead author Dr. Tiphaine Goulenok, from the Bichat Hospital, Paris, France. "Our study has shown that nurses can play an important role in improving the uptake of pneumococcal vaccination in these vulnerable patients." Over a four-month period, 126 consecutive adult patients with a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease admitted to the day hospital unit at Bichat Hospital in Paris were screened, and their eligibility for pneumococcal vaccination assessed according to French national recommendations. A total of 76 (60% of this population) were candidates for pneumococcal vaccination because they were receiving prednisone, immunosuppressive drugs and / or biotherapy. Before the introduction of the nurse-led pneumococcal vaccination programme, only 13 of these 76 patients (17%) had received the vaccination. Among the remaining 63 patients who were candidates for vaccination, but not vaccinated, 56 (89%) were accurately identified by nursing staff as requiring vaccination. Having been informed about the benefits and risk of vaccination, 46 subsequently agreed to be vaccinated by the nurse. Comparing the rate of vaccination before and then after the introduction of this intervention programme confirmed a significant improvement in vaccination coverage (p <0.001). ### Abstract Number: OP0065 NOTES TO EDITORS: For further information on this study, or to request an interview with the study lead, please do not hesitate to contact the EULAR congress Press Office in the Goya Room at the IFEMA, Madrid during EULAR 2017 or on: Email: eularpressoffice@cohnwolfe.com Onsite tel: +44 (0)7786 171 476 / +34 91722 3115 Twitter: @EULAR_Press Youtube: Eular Press Office About Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) are a diverse group of diseases that commonly affect the joints, but can also affect the muscles, other tissues and internal organs. There are more than 200 different RMDs, affecting both children and adults. They are usually caused by problems of the immune system, inflammation, infections or gradual deterioration of joints, muscle and bones. Many of these diseases are long term and worsen over time. They are typically painful and Iimit function. In severe cases, RMDs can result in significant disability, having a major impact on both quality of life and life expectancy. About 'Don't Delay, Connect Today!' 'Don't Delay, Connect Today!' is a EULAR initiative that unites the voices of its three pillars, patient (PARE) organisations, scientific member societies and health professional associations - as well as its international network - with the goal of highlighting the importance of early diagnosis and access to treatment. In Europe alone, over 120 million people are currently living with a rheumatic disease (RMD), with many cases undetected. The 'Don't Delay, Connect Today' campaign aims to highlight that early diagnosis of RMDs and access to treatment can prevent further damage, and also reduce the burden on individual life and society as a whole. About EULAR The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) is an umbrella organisation which represents scientific societies, health professional associations and organisations for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases throughout Europe. EULAR aims to reduce the burden of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases on individuals and society and to improve the treatment, prevention and rehabilitation of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. To this end, EULAR fosters excellence in education and research in the field of rheumatology. It promotes the translation of research advances into daily care and fights for the recognition of the needs of people with musculoskeletal diseases by the governing bodies in Europe through advocacy action. To find out more about the activities of EULAR, visit: http://www.eular.org ESMO is delighted to announce that the Impact Factor for Annals of Oncology has risen to 11.855 Lugano, 15 June 2017 - ESMO, the leading European professional organisation for medical oncology is delighted to announce that the Impact Factor for Annals of Oncology has risen to 11.855, according to the latest Journal Citation Reports* (1). Annals of Oncology now sits as 10th in the field, within the top 5% of oncology titles. Professor Jean-Charles Soria, Editor-in-Chief, commented: "We are proud of bringing our Impact Factor above 11, less than three years after ESMO & JSMO leadership installed us on the steering wheel. I want to thank the editorial office staff members, as well as our readers and most importantly our authors whose trust in our journal will be reinforced." This remarkable achievement proves yet again that Annals of Oncology is a true global leader and the journal of choice for ground-breaking work in oncology. The journal plays a fundamental role in today's fast-moving oncology landscape and will remain firmly at the forefront of revolutionary developments. Annals of Oncology will continue to grow as one of the most influential platforms in oncology worldwide. "We extend our deep gratitude and warmest congratulations to Professor Jean-Charles Soria, Editor-in-Chief, the Associate Editors, the Editorial Board and everyone who has contributed to this extraordinary success," said Professor Fortunato Ciardiello, ESMO President. To celebrate the new Impact Factor and the positioning of the journal in the global top 10, the Annals of Oncology editorial team has selected the 20 most cited articles which contributed to the new Impact Factor, free to read online (2). ### Notes to Editors References (1)http://clarivate.com/journal-citation-reports/ (2)https://academic.oup.com/annonc/pages/highly_cited_articles About Annals of Oncology Annals of Oncology, the journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology and the Japanese Society of Medical Oncology, provides rapid and efficient peer-review publications on innovative cancer treatments or translational work related to oncology and precision medicine. About ESMO ESMO is the leading professional organisation for medical oncology. With more than 15,000 members representing oncology professionals from over 130 countries worldwide, ESMO is the society of reference for oncology education and information. We are committed to supporting our members to develop and advance in a fast-evolving professional environment Until now, the fauna of the Himalayas was considered to be an "immigration fauna", with species that have immigrated primarily from neighbouring regions to the west and east since the geological formation of this mountain range. Using molecular-genetic methods, a German-Chinese research team has now tested an alternative colonization hypothesis on lazy toads (Pelobatoidea). The findings indicate that this group arose earlier than assumed in southern Tibet, and went on to colonize the Himalayas from there after its formation. The immigration and evolution of many species in the Himalayas might therefore have taken a different course than previously assumed. The Himalayas are one of the global "hotspots" of biodiversity; thousands of species are believed to be as yet undiscovered or not yet scientifically described. The history of the population of the Himalayas is still not fully understood. Until now, most species were assumed to have immigrated into the High Himalayas relatively recently, from the west and east. One theory that has received little attention to date works on the assumption that the origins of many Himalayan species began far earlier, in southern Tibet. This assumption is also in line with modern findings of the geological origins of the Himalaya-Tibet mountain system. Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), the University of Rostock, the Natural History Museum of Erfurt and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have now been the first to test this theory on a group of high-mountain vertebrates. For this purpose, they chose the less mobile lazy toads from the genus Scutiger of the Pelobatoidea, a species group found along of the Himalayas and in eastern Tibet, in habitats at altitudes between 2,500 and 5,000 metres. To date, it was also assumed that lazy toads had colonized the Himalayas from neighbouring mountainous regions to the east. The researchers analysed genetic samples from populations of Scutiger in order to decode their evolutionary relationships. Furthermore, they dated the origin of the species using evolutionary trees calculated from DNA sequences in comparison to the uplifting history of the Himalaya-Tibetan mountain system. This revealed that the Himalayan species formed a separate group that is apparently evolutionarily older than the one found on the Tibetan Plateau and in adjacent mountain ranges to the east. The question is: where do these evolutionarily older Scutiger come from? "They apparently evolved in today's southern Tibet as long ago as in the Eocene Epoch, i.e. the period in which lignite was created. But the formation of mountains and the desiccation of Tibet forced the populations to gradually move out of their original habitats towards the south into the Himalayas that were rising upwards", outlines Dr. Joachim Schmidt of the University of Rostock. Further research is now planned to substantiate the researchers' observations. "Our findings demonstrate that common biogeographical opinions have to be called into question time and time again and checked on the basis of the most recent geoscientific knowledge", explains the UFZ's Dr. Sylvia Hofmann. "Molecular-genetic methods provide a decisive new approach to testing old biogeographical hypotheses", adds the IGB's Dr. Matthias Stock. ### Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have obtained the first 3D snapshots of a sperm protein attached to a complementary egg coat protein at the beginning of fertilisation. The study, which reveals a common egg protein architecture that is involved in the interaction with sperm in both mollusc and mammal, is published in the respected scientific journal Cell. By transmitting the genetic information to the next generation and marking the beginning of a new life, the encounter between female and male gametes at fertilisation is one of the most fundamental processes in biology. Although egg and sperm were first observed centuries ago, how sperm recognises the coat of the egg and penetrates it has remained unknown. Using X-ray crystallographic data collected at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Luca Jovine's research team at Karolinska Institutet first visualised the sperm-interacting regions of two egg coat proteins, ZP2 in mammals (including humans) and VERL in the marine mollusc abalone (a classic model system of invertebrate fertilisation). Both of these molecules contain repeated sequences that play a key role in gamete recognition. "Mammals and molluscs are thought to be separated by 600 million years of evolution, and their sperm receptor proteins are almost completely different in sequence. However, comparison of the structures conclusively demonstrates that ZP2 and VERL repeats share a common 3D architecture", says Luca Jovine, Professor of Structural Biology at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition and the Center for Innovative Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. Subsequently, the research group determined crystal structures of different VERL repeats bound to lysin, the counterpart protein of VERL on abalone sperm. This gave an unprecedented view of how gametes recognise each other in a species-specific way at the beginning of fertilisation. "Abalone was our system of choice for this investigation, as it is one of the few organisms where cognate egg coat and sperm proteins are known. Moreover, different species of abalone spawn in the open sea but, despite overlapping habitats and breeding seasons, hybrids rarely occur", says Professor Jovine. The VERL-lysin complex structures also suggest how lysin opens a hole into the egg coat, allowing sperm to penetrate into the egg. "Gamete recognition was first compared to a lock and key mechanism more than one hundred years ago. Our study provides the first example of how this is achieved at the very beginning of fertilisation", concludes Luca Jovine. ### Isha Raj and Hamed Sadat Al Hosseini at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Biosciences and Nutrition are co-first authors of the study, which was performed in collaboration with Alessandra Villa at the same department, and Daniele de Sanctis at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. It was supported by the European Research Council, the Center for Biosciences, the Center for Innovative Medicine, the Swedish Research Council, the Goran Gustafsson Foundation for Research in Natural Sciences and Medicine, the Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg foundation, and an EMBO Young Investigator award to Luca Jovine. Publication: "Structural Basis of Egg Coat-Sperm Recognition at Fertilization". Isha Raj, Hamed Sadat Al Hosseini, Elisa Dioguardi, Kaoru Nishimura, Ling Han, Alessandra Villa, Daniele de Sanctis and Luca Jovine. Cell, online 15 June 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.05.033 Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often find it difficult to look others in the eyes. This avoidance has typically been interpreted as a sign of social and personal indifference, but reports from people with autism suggests otherwise. Many say that looking others in the eye is uncomfortable or stressful for them - some will even say that "it burns" - all of which points to a neurological cause. Now, a team of investigators based at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital has shed light on the brain mechanisms involved in this behavior. They reported their findings in a Scientific Reports paper published online this month. "The findings demonstrate that, contrary to what has been thought, the apparent lack of interpersonal interest among people with autism is not due to a lack of concern," says Nouchine Hadjikhani, MD, PhD, director of neurolimbic research in the Martinos Center and corresponding author of the new study. "Rather, our results show that this behavior is a way to decrease an unpleasant excessive arousal stemming from overactivation in a particular part of the brain." The key to this research lies in the brain's subcortical system, which is responsible for the natural orientation toward faces seen in newborns and is important later for emotion perception. The subcortical system can be specifically activated by eye contact, and previous work by Hadjikhani and colleagues revealed that, among those with autism, it was oversensitive to effects elicited by direct gaze and emotional expression. In the present study, she took that observation further, asking what happens when those with autism are compelled to look in the eyes of faces conveying different emotions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Hadjikhani and colleagues measured differences in activation within the face-processing components of the subcortical system in people with autism and in control participants as they viewed faces either freely or when constrained to viewing the eye-region. While activation of these structures was similar for both groups exhibited during free viewing, overactivation was observed in participants with autism when concentrating on the eye-region. This was especially true with fearful faces, though similar effects were observed when viewing happy, angry and neutral faces. The findings of the study support the hypothesis of an imbalance between the brain's excitatory and inhibitory signaling networks in autism - excitatory refers to neurotransmitters that stimulate the brain, while inhibitory refers to those that calm it and provide equilibrium. Such an imbalance, likely the result of diverse genetic and environmental causes, can strengthen excitatory signaling in the subcortical circuitry involved in face perception. This in turn can result in an abnormal reaction to eye contact, an aversion to direct gaze and consequently abnormal development of the social brain. In revealing the underlying reasons for eye-avoidance, the study also suggests more effective ways of engaging individuals with autism. "The findings indicate that forcing children with autism to look into someone's eyes in behavioral therapy may create a lot of anxiety for them," says Hadjikhani, an associate professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. "An approach involving slow habituation to eye contact may help them overcome this overreaction and be able to handle eye contact in the long run, thereby avoiding the cascading effects that this eye-avoidance has on the development of the social brain." The researchers are already planning to follow up the research. Hadjikhani is now seeking funding for a study that will use magnetoencephalography (MEG) together with eye-tracking and other behavioral tests to probe more deeply the relationship between the subcortical system and eye contact avoidance in autism. ### The co-authors of the Scientific Reports study are Nicole R. Zurcher, Amandine Lassalle and Noreen Ward of the MGH Martinos Center; Jakob Asberg Johnels, Eva Billstedt and Christopher Gillberg of Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden; Quentin Guillon of the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France; Loyse Hippolyte of the University of Lausanne, Lausanne, France; and Eric Lemonnier of CRA, of Limoges, France. The study was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant PP00P3-130191), the Centre d'Imagerie BioMedicale of the University of Lausanne, as well as the Foundation Rossi Di Montalera, the LifeWatch Foundation, the AnnMarie and Per Ahlqvist Foundation, the Torsten Soderberg Foundation and the Swedish Science Council. Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with an annual research budget of more than $800 million and major research centers in HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, genomic medicine, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, photomedicine and transplantation biology. The MGH topped the 2015 Nature Index list of health care organizations publishing in leading scientific journals and earned the prestigious 2015 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service. In August 2016 the MGH was once again named to the Honor Roll in the U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Hospitals. Postponing polls again not a prudent idea, EC tells ruling parties The Election Commission (EC) has made it clear that it is not a prudent idea to postpone the elections time and again. ANN ARBOR, MI - American scientific teams still publish significantly more biomedical research discoveries than teams from any other country, a new study shows, and the U.S. still leads the world in research and development expenditures. But American dominance is slowly shrinking, the analysis finds, as China's skyrocketing investing on science over the last two decades begins to pay off. Chinese biomedical research teams now rank fourth in the world for total number of new discoveries published in six top-tier journals, and the country spent three-quarters what the U.S. spent on research and development during 2015. Meanwhile, the analysis shows, scientists from the U.S. and other countries increasingly make discoveries and advancements as part of teams that involve researchers from around the world. The last 15 years have ushered in an era of "team science" as research funding in the U.S., Great Britain and other European countries, as well as Canada and Australia, stagnated. The number of authors has also grown over time. For example, in 2000 only two percent of the research papers the new study looked include 21 or more authors -- a number that increased to 12.5 percent in 2015. The new findings, published in JCI Insight by a team of University of Michigan researchers, come at a critical time for the debate over the future of U.S. federal research funding. The study is based on a careful analysis of original research papers published in six top-tier and four mid-tier journals from 2000 to 2015, in addition to data on R&D investment from those same years. The study builds on other work that has also warned of America's slipping status in the world of science and medical research, and the resulting impact on the next generation of aspiring scientists. "It's time for U.S. policy-makers to reflect and decide whether the year-to-year uncertainty in National Institutes of Health budget and the proposed cuts are in our societal and national best interest," says Bishr Omary, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the new data-supported opinion piece and chief scientific officer of Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center. "If we continue on the path we're on, it will be harder to maintain our lead and, even more importantly, we could be disenchanting the next generation of bright and passionate biomedical scientists who see a limited future in pursuing a scientist or physician-investigator career." The analysis charts South Korea's entry into the top 10 countries for publications, as well as China's leap from outside the top 10 in 2000 to fourth place in 2015. They also track the major increases in support for research in South Korea and Singapore since the start of the 21st Century. Meticulous tracking First author of the study, U-M informationist Marisa Conte, and Omary co-led a team that looked carefully at the currency of modern science: peer-reviewed basic science and clinical research papers describing new findings, published in journals with long histories of accepting among the world's most significant discoveries. They reviewed every issue of six top-tier international journals (JAMA, Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, Cell, Nature and Science), and four mid-ranking journals (British Medical Journal, JAMA Internal Medicine, Journal of Cell Science, FASEB Journal), chosen to represent the clinical and basic science aspects of research. The analysis included only papers that reported new results from basic research experiments, translational studies, clinical trials, metanalyses, and studies of disease outcomes. Author affiliations for corresponding authors and all other authors were recorded by country. The rise in global cooperation is striking. In 2000, 25 percent of papers in the six top-tier journals were by teams that included researchers from at least two countries. In 2015, that figure was closer to 50 percent. The increasing need for multidisciplinary approaches to make major advances, coupled with the advances of Internet-based collaboration tools, likely have something to do with this, Omary says. The authors, who also include Santiago Schnell, Ph.D. and Jing Liu, Ph.D., note that part of their group's interest in doing the study sprang from their hypothesis that a flat NIH budget is likely to have negative consequences but they wanted to gather data to test their hypothesis. They also observed what appears to be an increasing number of Chinese-born scientists who had trained in the U.S. going back to China after their training, where once most of them would have sought to stay in the U.S. In addition, Singapore has been able to recruit several top notch U.S. and other international scientists due to their marked increase in R&D investments. The same trends appear to be happening in Great Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and other countries the authors studied - where research investing has stayed consistent when measured as a percentage of the U.S. total over the last 15 years. The authors note that their study is based on data up to 2015, and that in the current 2017 federal fiscal year, funding for NIH has increased thanks to bipartisan Congressional appropriations. The NIH contributes to most of the federal support for medical and basic biomedical research in the U.S. But discussion of cuts to research funding that hinders many federal agencies is in the air during the current debates for the 2018 budget. Meanwhile, the Chinese R&D spending is projected to surpass the U.S. total by 2022. "Our analysis, albeit limited to a small number of representative journals, supports the importance of financial investment in research," Omary says. "I would still strongly encourage any child interested in science to pursue their dream and passion, but I hope that our current and future investment in NIH and other federal research support agencies will rise above any branch of government to help our next generation reach their potential and dreams." ### Omary is professor of physiology and internal medicine at the U-M Medical School, where Schnell is professor of physiology and computational medicine and bioinformatics. Conte is the Assistant Director, Research and Informatics, at U-M's Taubman Health Sciences Library, and Liu is a research specialist at the Michigan Institute for Data Science. Reference: JCI Insight, https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.95206 Instruments placed on seafloor off the coast of Japan lead to new insights Find related stories on NSF's geosciences risk and resilience interest area. Understanding "slow-slip" earthquakes on the seafloor -- seismic events that occur over a period of days or weeks -- is giving researchers new insights into undersea earthquakes and the subsequent creation of tsunamis. Through an ocean discovery program supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), scientists are studying the seafloor off the coast of Japan. The region could provide vital clues. Two tectonic plates, the Pacific Plate and the Eurasian Plate, meet there. In this ocean trench zone, the Pacific plate slides beneath the Eurasian plate. Such subduction zones are often associated with large earthquakes. "This area is the shallowest part of the plate boundary system," said Demian Saffer, a geoscientist at Penn State University. "If this region near the ocean trench slips in an earthquake, it has the potential to generate a large tsunami." Saffer and Eiichiro Araki, senior research scientist at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, published the results of their investigations of the plate boundary in this week's issue of the journal Science. The results are important for understanding tsunami risk, according to James Allan, program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences. "Such tidal waves can affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and result in billions of dollars in damages, as happened in Southeast Asia in 2004," Allan said. "This research underscores the importance of scientific drillship-based studies, and of collecting oceanographic and geologic data over long periods of time." The plate boundary earthquake zone off Japan's coast forms part of the "ring of fire" that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. Once the end of a plate sliding -- or subducting -- beneath another reaches a certain depth, the material from the descending plate melts, forming volcanoes that often are located on land. Mount St. Helens in the U.S. is one of these volcanoes, as is Mount Fuji in Japan. In 2009 and 2010, scientists with the IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, now the International Ocean Discovery Program) NanTroSEIZE (Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment) project drilled two boreholes in the Nankai Trough southwest of Honshu, Japan. The holes were drilled from aboard a scientific drillship. In 2010, also from a scientific drillship, researchers installed monitoring instruments in the holes as part of a network that includes sensors on the seafloor. NSF supports the IODP. The two boreholes are 6.6 miles apart, straddling the boundary of the last major earthquake in this area, which occurred in 1944 and measured magnitude 8.1. The resulting tsunami, which hit Tokyo, was 26 feet high. Research shows that slow earthquakes are an important part of fault slip and earthquake occurrence at tectonic plate boundaries. They may explain where some of the energy built up in a fault or a subduction zone goes. "Until we had these data, no one knew if zero percent or one hundred percent of the energy in the shallow subduction zone was dissipated by slow earthquakes," Saffer said. The scientists found that about 50 percent of the energy is released in slow earthquakes. The remaining 50 percent, Saffer said, could be taken up in a permanent shortening of one of the plates or be stored for the next 100- or 150-year earthquake. "We still don't know which is the case, but it makes a big difference for tsunami hazards," Saffer said. "The slow slip could reduce tsunami risk by periodically relieving stress, but it is probably more complicated than just acting as a shock absorber." The researchers discovered a series of slow slip events where the tectonic plates meet, seaward of an area of recurring magnitude 8 earthquakes. Some of these were triggered by unconnected earthquakes, and some happened spontaneously. This group of slow earthquakes recurred every 12 to 18 months. "We discovered slow earthquakes of magnitude 5 or 6 in the region that last from days to weeks," Saffer said. These earthquakes usually go unnoticed because they are so slow and far offshore. The researchers also note that because earthquakes that occur at a distance from this subduction zone can trigger slow earthquakes, the area is much more sensitive than previously thought. "The question now is whether it releases stress when these slow earthquakes occur," Saffer said. "Some caution is required in simply concluding that the slow events reduce hazard, because our results also show that the outer part of the subduction area can store strain. Furthermore, are the slow earthquakes doing anything to load deeper parts of the area that do cause big earthquakes? We don't know." ### Also part of this project were Achim J. Kopf, MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences; Laura M. Wallace, GNS Sciences, New Zealand and University of Texas Institute of Geophysics; Toshinori Kimura and Yuya Machida, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kanagawa, Japan; Satoshi Ide, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tokyo; Earl Davis, Pacific Geoscience Centre, Geological Survey of Canada; and IODP Expedition 365 shipboard scientists. ARLINGTON, Va.--The flight decks of aviation-capable vessels like aircraft carriers bustle with noise and danger--screaming jets, snapping steel cables and powerful tractors and forklifts. Planning and orchestrating this high-octane dance requires precision and accuracy from those responsible for directing deck traffic. To make the jobs of aircraft handlers easier, the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) TechSolutions program has sponsored the development of the Deployable Ship Integration Multitouch System--DSIMS, for short. DSIMS is a mobile software package that features a digital, touchscreen image of a ship's flight deck or hangar bay, and can be used on a laptop or desktop computer. It enables aircraft handlers to change flight deck configurations anywhere on the ship, plan operations before deployment, and share information digitally with other DSIMS users for improved collaboration. "This interactive, computerized system is a leap forward for naval aviation," said ONR Command Master Chief Matt Matteson. "It's a fairly straightforward technological solution that brings with it tremendous functionality and saves time." To track the movements of aircraft and equipment on the flight deck, handlers currently use a tool informally called a "Ouija board"--a waist-high, six-feet-long physical replica of the deck. Located in the ship's flight deck control center, the board is covered with toy-like plastic models of aircraft, each marked with colored thumbtacks to designate maintenance, fuel or flight status. The Ouija board's design has barely changed since World War II. Despite its effectiveness, however, it does have limitations. For example, if aircraft handlers need to plan for upcoming or unexpected scenarios--bad weather or a surprise VIP visit--they must do so while underway, and change the Ouija board back to its original layout after completing the planning session. By contrast, DSIMS can help plan such situations months before a ship leaves port. When playing out various flight deck situations--called "evolutions"--on the DSIMS touchscreen, participants can use their fingertips or a computer mouse to move around digital aircraft, to show which aircraft need to be in which location and where crates and other equipment should be positioned. There also are special screen modules denoting aircraft fueling needs, maintenance requests and availability for flight. Each evolution can be saved and recalled during operations, or used for briefings and training. "DSIMS allows for planning of future evolutions," said Tim Zieser, an engineer at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey. "It also enables aircraft handling officers to create briefs that can be used to inform the chain of command, and train their people before a complex evolution, so everyone is on the same page." Zieser recently demonstrated DSIMS at Lakehurst's Carrier Analysis Lab for Sailors and Marines from the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), before the amphibious assault ship deployed. "The technology is fantastic," said Lt. Timothy Sullivan, stationed aboard the Iwo Jima. "It lets us make time-critical decisions today, so we don't have to months from now, over the Ouija board on the ship. It will save us man hours down the road as we execute the mission." DSIMS originated in 2016, when a request from Commander, Naval Air Forces, was sent to ONR's TechSolutions program for a digital, mobile version of the Ouija board. TechSolutions is ONR's rapid-response science and technology program that develops prototype technologies to address problems voiced by Sailors and Marines, usually within 12-18 months. Later this year, TechSolutions will deliver a prototype DSIMS for testing and evaluation on several ships, including the Iwo Jima. Zieser and his team hope to see the system issued throughout the fleet next year. Watch a video of the DSIMS demonstration. ### Scientists have developed a new technique for investigating the effects of gene deletion at later stages in the life cycle of a parasite that causes malaria in rodents, according to a new study in PLOS Pathogens. The novel approach, developed by Upeksha Rathnapala and colleagues at the University of Melbourne, Australia, could enhance research into potential drug targets for malaria treatment. New treatments are needed for malaria because of increasing drug resistance in the single-celled Plasmodium parasites that cause it. Metabolic processes in Plasmodium that are essential for its development could serve as potential new drug targets. However, the Plasmodium life cycle, which occurs in both mosquitos and host animals, makes it difficult to identify and study such processes. In the new study, the researchers demonstrate their novel technique by focusing on an important metabolic process in Plasmodium berghei, which causes malaria in rodents and is commonly used in mouse studies of malaria. This metabolic process requires a gene known as the ferrochelatase (FC) gene, and it allows P. berghei to produce a chemical compound known as heme. Heme synthesis is known to be essential for P. berghei development in mosquitos that transmit the parasite between rodent hosts, but it is not essential during a later stage in the host bloodstream. However, between these two stages, P. berghei undergoes a developmental phase in the host liver, and it has been unclear whether heme synthesis is essential at this stage. Rathnapala and colleagues produced P. berghei parasites that are capable of expressing the FC gene and developing properly in mosquitos, but produce a mix of FC-expressing and FC-deficient parasites once they infect mouse liver cells. The scientists genetically engineered the parasites so that FC-deficient individuals would express fluorescent markers, allowing for easy identification. The researchers found that FC-deficient parasites were unable to complete their liver development phase. This suggests that disrupting the heme synthesis pathway could be an effective way to target Plasmodium parasites in the liver. Such an approach would be prophylactic, since symptoms aren't apparent until the parasite leaves the liver and begins its bloodstream phase. This same novel approach involving fluorescent markers could be adapted for other genes, allowing scientists to identify additional metabolic processes that are essential for Plasmodium development in host animals. "The idea of tagging mutant genes with fluorescent proteins is a simple one but it allowed us to follow mutant parasites throughout the malaria life cycle and dissect their phenotypes in the liver stage, something that hasn't been easy to do for mutations that block mosquito development," the author explain. "Our analysis of heme biosynthesis shows the power of this simple method but It's a technique that can be easily applied to other genes and other malaria parasite species, greatly expanding the scope for investigating this immunologically important stage in the malaria parasite's life cycle." ### In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS Pathogens: http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1006396 Citation: Rathnapala UL, Goodman CD, McFadden GI (2017) A novel genetic technique in Plasmodium berghei allows liver stage analysis of genes required for mosquito stage development and demonstrates that de novo heme synthesis is essential for liver stage development in the malaria parasite. PLoS Pathog 13(6): e1006396. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006396 Funding: This study was funded by the Australian Research Council grant DP160104980, http://www.arc.gov.au, and the National Health and Medical Research Council grant APP1106213, http://www.nhmrc.gov.au, awarded to GIM. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. PHILADELPHIA--The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today the 2017 class of Pew Latin American Fellows in the Biomedical Sciences. Ten pioneering postdoctoral scientists from Latin America will each be awarded two years of funding to conduct research at laboratories and academic institutions in the United States. The 2017 fellows are from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, and their research interests range from the design of mosquito control tools to combat the spread of malaria to how obesity, cancer, and other diseases develop. "Pew is delighted that these rising talents will join our truly global scientific collaboration," said Rebecca W. Rimel, Pew's president and CEO. "They bring with them new ideas, insights, and curiosity that will again demonstrate that science and discovery know no borders." The fellows will conduct their research under the mentorship of some of the most distinguished researchers in biomedical science, including alumni of the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. An important element of the program is additional funding provided to awardees who return to Latin America to launch their own research labs after the completion of their fellowships. About 70 percent of program participants have taken advantage of this incentive and are conducting work on regional and global health challenges in nine Latin American countries. "Almost 150 young scientists have returned to their home countries and established independent research labs, providing critical groundwork for biomedical research across Latin America," said Torsten N. Wiesel, M.D., the 1981 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine and chair of the program's national advisory committee. "The 2017 class is again made up of researchers of outstanding promise who will no doubt continue to enhance the growing biomedical research community in the region." The 2017 Pew Latin American fellows and their U.S. mentors are: Cesar L. Cuevas Velazquez, Ph.D. Laboratory of Jose R. Dinneny, Ph.D. Carnegie Institution for Science Plant Biology Heverton Dutra, Ph.D. Laboratory of Flaminia Catteruccia, Ph.D. Harvard University Immunology and Microbiology Ana Fiszbein, Ph.D. Laboratory of Christopher Burge, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computational Biology Maria E. Inda, Ph.D. Laboratory of Timothy K. Lu, M.D., Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Synthetic Biology Rafik Neme, Ph.D. Laboratory of Laura Landweber, Ph.D. Columbia University Evolutionary Biology Ana S. Peinetti, Ph.D. Laboratory of Yi Lu, Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Bioengineering Jose E. Soto Laboratory of Jorge Galan, V.M.D., Ph.D. Yale University Microbiology Djalma Souza Lima Junior, Ph.D. Laboratory of Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH Immunology Silvio G. Temprana, Ph.D. Laboratory of Hillel Adesnik, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley Neuroscience Mauricio A. Torres, Ph.D. Laboratory of Ling Qi, Ph.D. University of Michigan Physiology Visit the program page to read the fellows' full abstracts and learn more about the program. The Latin American fellows program, launched in 1990, is part of Pew's strategy to invest in young scientists who are exploring questions fundamental to advancing human health. New classes of the Pew-Stewart scholars for cancer research and the Pew biomedical scholars were also announced today. ### The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Learn more at http://www.pewtrusts.org. As bees' social behavior evolved, their complex chemical communication systems evolved in concert, according to a study published online by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. An international team of researchers, including those from Princeton University, reported that a certain species of bees, called halictid bees, have more sensorial machinery compared with related solitary species. The difference is measured by the density of tiny, hollow sensory hairs called sensilla on their antennae. Because social living requires the coordination of complex social behaviors, social insects invest more in these sensory systems -- used to communicate information about resources, mates and sources of danger to their colonies and, therefore, are integral to survival -- than their solitary counterparts, according to Sarah Kocher, an associate research scholar at the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and the paper's corresponding author. Kocher and her colleagues imaged the antennae of adult females from 36 species that Kocher netted in the wild, mostly in France, or secured from specimens from the Museum of Comparative Zoology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Using a scanning electron microscope at Princeton, they obtained information about the antennae's surface topography and composition and observed convergent changes in both sensilla structures and the chemical signals of the groups as sociality was gained and lost. Kocher and her colleagues chose to examine halictid bees because they exhibit remarkable diversity in social behavior, from eusocial to solitary. Eusocial refers to an organizational structure in which individual insects in a colony forgo their reproductive capacity and perform a specific task, such as caring for young or gathering food, as seen in many ant, wasp and honeybee species. Also, within this family of insects, social behavior has evolved independently several times, and there are numerous examples of reversion, or a reappearance of an earlier physical characteristic, and replicated losses of sociality. These repeated gains and losses make the species one of the most behaviorally diverse social insects on the planet, and good candidates for studying sociality, according to Kocher. "What we have is a system with tremendous comparative power," she said. Relatively little is known about the evolutionary transition between solitary and social living, according to Kocher. But in this paper, "[The researchers] provide an elegant solution to this problem," said Tom Wenseleers, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Leuven in Belgium who is familiar with the research but had no role in it. "By studying a group of primitively eusocial insects that evolved sociality more recently and on several occasions reverted back to a solitary lifestyle, [they] succeed in making an accurate comparison of the investment in chemosensory systems made by social and derived, closely related, nonsocial species." In the paper, the researchers also noted that ancestrally solitary halictid bees -- those bees that had never evolved social behaviors -- had sensilla densities similar to eusocial species, while secondarily solitary halictid bees -- those bees that evolved from social to solitary and back -- exhibited decreases in sensilla density. Kocher was surprised by these patterns, but concluded that "sensilla density may be an important precursor to the evolution of social behavior." "This study demonstrates that changes in social structure are reflected in changes to the sensory systems of insects," she said. "[It] not only illustrates the evolutionary shift from reproducing as an individual to having to coordinate reproduction as a group, but also how this behavioral change can create an evolutionary feedback loop in which traits are selected in order to increase sociality in subsequent generations." ### Other authors on the paper, "Solitary bees reduce investment in communication compared with their social relatives" published online May 22 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, were Bernadette Wittwer and Mark Elgar of School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne; Abraham Hefetz and Tovit Simon of the Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel-Aviv University; and Li Murphy and Naomi Pierce of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. The research was supported in part by the Holsworth Research Wildlife Endowment, the National Science Foundation (IOS-1257543), the Norman and Rose Lederer Chair of Biology at Tel-Aviv-University and Princeton University. Patients who have aggressive prostate cancer could be identified by a highly accurate and simple blood test, according to an early study by Queen Mary University of London Patients who have aggressive prostate cancer could be identified by a highly accurate and simple blood test, according to an early study by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The research discovered rare cells in the blood that could be used to identify patients who are 10 times more likely to die of their prostate cancer, allowing targeted treatments to be offered as early as possible. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Western men and the fourth most common overall, with more than 1.1 million new cases recorded in 2012. Identifying patients with aggressive cancer could have major implications for their treatment; however, methods to detect whether the cancer has spread (metastasis) are costly and expose patients to radiation. A simple blood test that is accurate and has the ability to predict earlier whether the prostate cancer has become metastatic would meet a key unmet medical need. The study, published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, analysed blood samples from 81 prostate cancer patients using a new cell capture technology called Parsortix developed by the British company ANGLE plc. Unlike many other systems, the Parsortix system captures all types of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) -- cancer cells that have left the original tumour and entered the bloodstream prior to spreading around the body. Metastasis is responsible for over 90 per cent of cancer-related deaths. The researchers investigated various types of CTCs including two that are involved in the metastasis process. The number of 'EMTed' CTCs, which had previously not been possible to capture by many other systems, was associated with poor patient survival, while the presence of 'EMTing' CTCs was closely correlated with whether the patient's cancer had become metastatic. Using the Parsortix system, the researchers also discovered the presence of rare cells in the blood, known as 'megakaryocytes' - large bone marrow cells which produce platelets for blood clotting. Megakaryocytes have never before been linked to cancer prognosis, but the presence of these cells was found to be strongly linked to patient survival, with better outcomes for patients with greater numbers of megakaryocytes. Lead researcher Dr Yong-Jie Lu from QMUL's Barts Cancer Institute said: "This work opens up a wide range of exciting opportunities to benefit cancer patients. We have already started to test more patient samples and will soon move on to wider clinical trials to confirm the efficacy of the test. We are also working to see if this test can be used on other types of cancer." The team found that combining the number of 'EMTing' CTCs with the patient's 'Prostate-Specific Antigen' level (used in currently available tests) gave the best predictor of metastasis (over 92 per cent accuracy), significantly out-performing all current tests. They also developed a combined scoring system, taking into account the numbers of both 'EMTed' CTCs and megakaryocytes harvested by the Parsortix system from a patient's blood. The scoring system was developed with 40 patients who had their disease monitored over a 20 month period, and was able to identify patients who were 10 times more likely to die from their disease in the short term. Rebecca Porta, CEO of Orchid - Fighting Male Cancer, the main funder of the study, added: "This is a very promising study for patients and has the potential to significantly increase the ability of clinicians to act earlier to treat those who are at a higher risk of dying earlier from their cancer. Delivering more appropriate treatment more quickly could help to save lives and pro-long life expectancy." Dr Catherine Pickworth, Cancer Research UK's science information officer, said: "Cancers spreading to new areas of the body is the main reason why people die from the disease. This study shows a potential new way of helping to monitor this spread in men with prostate cancer. It was able to predict which patients were likely to fare better than others, based on the number of a rare type of immune cell found in the blood. This may help doctors make better-informed treatment decisions based on the extra information, and ultimately improve survival." The research was funded by Orchid - Fight Male Cancer, Cancer Research UK and ANGLE plc, developers of the ParsortixTM system. The Chinese Scholarship Council provided funding support for PhD studentships to some of the researchers. ### For more information, please contact: Joel Winston, Public Relations Manager Queen Mary University of London j.winston@qmul.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 207 882 7943 / +44 (0) 7970 096 188 Notes to the editor Research paper: 'The novel association of circulating tumor cells and circulating megakaryocytes with prostate cancer prognosis'. Lei Xu, Xueying Mao, Tianyu Guo, Pui Ying Chan, Greg Shaw, John Hines, Elzbieta Stankiewicz, Yuqin Wang, Tim Oliver, Amar Ahmad, Daniel Berney, Jonathan Shamash, Yong-jie Lu. Clinical Cancer Research. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-3081 URL when published: http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-3081 About Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is one of the UK's leading universities, and one of the largest institutions in the University of London, with 23,120 students from more than 155 countries. A member of the Russell Group, we work across the humanities and social sciences, medicine and dentistry, and science and engineering, with inspirational teaching directly informed by our research. In the most recent national assessment of the quality of research, we were placed ninth in the UK (REF 2014). As well as our main site at Mile End -- which is home to one of the largest self-contained residential campuses in London -- we have campuses at Whitechapel, Charterhouse Square, and West Smithfield dedicated to the study of medicine, and a base for legal studies at Lincoln's Inn Fields. We have a rich history in London with roots in Europe's first public hospital, St Barts; England's first medical school, The London; one of the first colleges to provide higher education to women, Westfield College; and the Victorian philanthropic project, the People's Palace at Mile End. Today, as well as retaining these close connections to our local community, we are known for our international collaborations in both teaching and research. QMUL has an annual turnover of 350m, a research income worth 125m (2014/15), and generates employment and output worth 700m to the UK economy each year. About ANGLE plc ANGLE is a specialist medtech company commercialising a disruptive platform technology that can capture cells circulating in blood, such as cancer cells, even when they are as rare in number as one cell in one billion blood cells, and harvest the cells for analysis. ANGLE's cell separation technology is called the ParsortixTM system and it enables a liquid biopsy (simple blood test) to be used to provide the cells of interest. Parsortix is the subject of granted patents in Europe, the United States, Canada, China, Japan and Australia and three extensive families of patents are being progressed worldwide. The system is based on a microfluidic device that captures live cells based on a combination of their size and compressibility. Parsortix has a CE Mark for Europe and FDA authorisation is in process for the United States. ANGLE has established formal collaborations with world-class cancer centres. These Key Opinion Leaders are working to identify applications with medical utility (clear benefit to patients), and to secure clinical data that demonstrates that utility in patient studies. Details are available here. The analysis of the cells that can be harvested from patient blood with ANGLE's Parsortix system has the potential to help deliver personalised cancer care offering profound improvements in clinical and health economic outcomes in the treatment and diagnosis of various forms of cancer. The global increase in cancer to a 1 in 3 lifetime incidence is set to drive a multi-billion dollar clinical market. The Parsortix system is designed to be compatible with existing major medtech analytical platforms and to act as a companion diagnostic for major pharma in helping to identify patients that will benefit from a particular drug and then monitoring the drug's effectiveness. As well as cancer, the Parsortix technology has the potential for deployment with several other important cell types in the future. ANGLE stock trades on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AGL and in New York on the OTC-QX under the ticker symbol ANPCY. For further information please visit: http://www.angleplc.com Orchid - Fighting Male Cancer Orchid is the UK's leading registered charity focused exclusively on male-specific cancers. Formed in 1996 by a testicular cancer patient, Orchid exists to save men's lives from testicular, prostate, and penile cancers through pioneering research, the provision of specialist information and support, campaigns and raising awareness. For more information, please visit: http://www.orchid-cancer.org.uk Help and Advice Those who have concerns relating to male specific cancers can seek specialist advice and support from a team of male cancer information nurse specialists every Monday and Wednesday from 10am-5pm on the freephone Orchid Male Cancer Helpline 0808 802 0010. The Nurse Specialists can also be contacted at helpline@orchid-cancer.org.uk Male Cancers Every year over 50,000 men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate, testicular and penile cancer. Of these men over 47,300 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, over 2,300 will be diagnosed with testicular cancer and 600 will be diagnosed with the rare penile cancer. Sadly, these numbers are increasing. For more information on Orchid, or to speak to an expert or case study, please contact: James M. Butcher, 01444 811099, James@spinkhealth.com NEW YORK (June 15, 2017) - Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), a family of highly pathogenic antibiotic-resistant organisms, are endemic across Washington, D.C. healthcare facilities, with 5.2% of inpatients testing positive for the bacteria, according to new research published online today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. This study, determining a regional baseline prevalence of the often-deadly superbug among inpatients, is part of a coordinated regional approach led by the D.C. Department of Health (DOH), D.C. Hospital Association (DCHA), and D.C. Department of Forensic Science-Public Health Lab (DFS-PHL). "CRE is a significant clinical and public health concern, with a potential for widespread and rapid transmission within and between facilities. Our study demonstrates the strength of a collaborative approach within a city or region to determine the prevalence of multi-drug resistant organisms in healthcare facilities," said Roberta DeBiasi, MD, MS, a principal investigator of the study and division chief of infectious diseases at Children's National Medical Center. As part of the Healthcare Antibiotic Resistance Prevalence - DC (HARP-DC) project, the three agencies partnered to conduct a multi-center study of CRE in D.C. Sixteen facilities voluntarily participated, including eight acute care hospitals, two long-term acute care hospitals, one inpatient rehabilitation facility, and five skilled nursing facilities. Each facility conducted bacterial colonization surveillance over a one-to-three-day interval from January to April, 2016. The researchers used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CRE surveillance definition and tested all cultures at a single laboratory to ensure consistency. Of 1,022 completed tests, 53 samples tested positive for CRE, which corresponds to a prevalence rate of 5.2 percent, confirming that CRE has become endemic in healthcare facilities in Washington, D.C. The median prevalence rate by facility was 2.7 percent, with one facility measuring as high as 29.4 percent of tested patients, indicating the potential for hyperendemicity. Male patients had a significantly higher prevalence of CRE compared to females (7.1 percent vs. 3.7 percent). Adults ages 20-39 (8 percent) also showed higher prevalence than any other age group. Of the positive samples, 18 were determined to share genetic similarity with at least one other sample. This revealed the potential transmission of CRE within and between facilities. The ability to determine similarity of strain profiles from culture and molecular testing also enabled the researchers to detect an ongoing outbreak in one facility, further demonstrating the utility of these laboratory techniques for surveillance programs. "The study represents a unique collaboration of cutting-edge science, public health concern, dedicated investigators, and selfless patient-volunteers who came together to successfully complete this investigation," said Glenn Wortmann, MD, a principal investigator of the study and section director of infectious diseases at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. "The results will hopefully guide future efforts to control the spread of multi-drug resistant bacteria." Traditionally, healthcare facilities would actively work to reduce CRE only after an outbreak was identified; but colonization can be a predictor for future infections and outbreaks, so it is important for these facilities to understand the total CRE burden. Additionally, past studies have estimated that a coordinated approach, such as HARP-DC, may result in up to a 74% cumulative reduction in CRE acquisition over a five-year period compared to independent facility-based interventions. As a result of this study, healthcare facilities were able to establish a baseline prevalence of CRE in Washington, D.C., and demonstrate the ability to work together to identify and prevent future outbreaks of dangerous antibiotic-resistant organisms. ### Jacqueline Reuben, Nancy Donegan, Glenn Wortmann, Roberta DeBiasi, Xioyan Song, Princy Kumar, Mary McFadden, Sylvia Clagon, Janet Mirdamadi, Diane White, Jo Ellen, Angella Browne, Jane Hooker, Michael, Yochelson, Milena Walker, Gail Jernigan, Kathleen Hansen, Brenda Dockery, Brendan Sinatro, Morris Blaylock, Kimary Harmon. "Healthcare Antibiotic Resistance Prevalence - DC (HARP - DC) - A Regional Prevalence Assessment of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in Healthcare Facilities in Washington, District of Columbia." Web (June 15, 2017). About ICHE Published through a partnership between the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and Cambridge University Press, Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology provides original, peer reviewed scientific articles for anyone involved with an infection control or epidemiology program in a hospital or healthcare facility. ICHE is ranked 19th out of 83 Infectious Disease Journals in the latest Web of Knowledge Journal Citation Reports from Thomson Reuters. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) is a professional society representing more than 3,000 physicians and other healthcare professionals around the world who possess expertise and passion for healthcare epidemiology, infection prevention, and antimicrobial stewardship. The society's work improves public health by establishing infection-prevention measures and supporting antibiotic stewardship among healthcare providers, hospitals, and health systems. This is accomplished by leading research studies, translating research into clinical practice, developing evidence-based policies, optimizing antibiotic stewardship, and advancing the field of healthcare epidemiology. SHEA and its members strive to improve patient outcomes and create a safer, healthier future for all. Visit SHEA online at http://www.shea-online.org, http://www.facebook.com/SHEApreventingHAIs and @SHEA_Epi. About Cambridge Journals Cambridge University Press publishes over 350 peer-reviewed academic journals across a wide spread of subject areas, in print and online. Many of these journals are leading academic publications in their fields and together form one of the most valuable and comprehensive bodies of research available today. For further information about Cambridge Journals, visit journals.cambridge.org About Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University's mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Its extensive peer-reviewed publishing lists comprise 45,000 titles covering academic research, professional development, over 350 research journals, school-level education, English language teaching and bible publishing. Playing a leading role in today's international market place, Cambridge University Press has more than 50 offices around the globe, and it distributes its products to nearly every country in the world. For further information about Cambridge University Press, visit cambridge.org. JUPITER, FL - June 15, 2017 - Professor Matthew Disney of the Department of Chemistry on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), together with scientists from Mayo Clinic's Florida campus and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, has been awarded $7.2 million from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of The National Institutes of Health to create new RNA-based treatments for the most common form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as well as a type of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Disney is the principal investigator on the five-year project, along with Leonard Petrucelli, chair of neuroscience at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus, and Jeffrey D. Rothstein of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. While the scientists will initially focus on small-molecule drug candidates for ALS and FTD, the grant establishes the RNA Therapeutics Center at TSRI for the continued study of RNA-based therapies for a number of untreatable diseases. "Our work has changed the view of what is considered a druggable target, and this grant is a clear recognition of that accomplishment," Disney said. "The funding will allow us to more rigorously assess if a small molecule drug can be developed to target the RNA that causes the most common inherited form of ALS and FTD. The question we can now try and answer is if these studies can help to advance the science to bring a drug to ALS patients." ALS is usually fatal two to five years after diagnosis. There is no effective treatment for FTD, a neurodegenerative disease that destroys neurons in the frontal lobes of the brain. This study will focus on a lead compound that interferes with the synthesis of an abnormal protein--known as a repeat RNA expansion--that plays a key role in the development of both diseases. Disney has been a pioneer in the development of potential treatments for a number of diseases caused by defects in RNA, which affect millions worldwide. His success in identifying drug-like small molecules that bind to RNA is the result of his lab's broad, bottom-up, computational approach known as Inforna, which can deep mine information against such genome sequences and cellular RNAs. "RNA plays critical roles and causes many incurable diseases, and even more common diseases that have limited treatment options, such as cancers. The work of the new center will be to study and develop insights into developing treatments that target RNAs broadly, which were not thought to be targetable before," Disney said. "Our work will apply to any disease." The initial research is a particularly good test case for RNA-based treatments, said Disney. "The new grant supports the idea that RNA is a legitimate target to treat disease," Rothstein added. "We believe that this approach--to truly treat the starting point of ALS--can lead to effective and impactful therapies." "We want to further evaluate bioactive small molecules targeting the repeat expansion in preclinical models of ALS," Petrucelli noted. ### The number of the grant is 1P01NS099114-01. About The Scripps Research Institute The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the world's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health, including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924, the institute now employs more than 2,500 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists--including two Nobel laureates and 20 members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering or Medicine--work toward their next discoveries. The institute's graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. In October 2016, TSRI announced a strategic affiliation with the California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr), representing a renewed commitment to the discovery and development of new medicines to address unmet medical needs. For more information, see http://www.scripps.edu. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered an unexpected layer of the regulation of gene expression. The finding will likely disrupt scientists' understanding of how cells regulate their genes to develop, communicate and carry out specific tasks throughout the body. The researchers found that cellular workhorses called ribosomes, which are responsible for transforming genes encoded in RNA into proteins, display a never-before-imagined variety in their composition that significantly affects their function. In particular, the protein components of a ribosome serve to tune the tiny machine so that it specializes in the translation of genes in related cellular pathways. One type of ribosome, for example, prefers to translate genes involved in cellular differentiation, while another specializes in genes that carry out essential metabolic duties. The discovery is shocking because researchers have believed for decades that ribosomes functioned like tiny automatons, showing no preference as they translated any and all nearby RNA molecules into proteins. Now it appears that broad variation in protein production could be sparked not by changes in the expression levels of thousands of individual genes, but instead by small tweaks to ribosomal proteins. 'Broad implications' "This discovery was completely unexpected," said Maria Barna, PhD, assistant professor of developmental biology and of genetics. "These findings will likely change the dogma for how the genetic code is translated. Until now, each of the 1 to10 million ribosomes within a cell has been thought to be identical and interchangeable. Now we're uncovering a new layer of control to gene expression that will have broad implications for basic science and human disease." Barna is the senior author of the study, which will be published online June 15 in Molecular Cell. Postdoctoral scholars Zhen Shi, PhD, and Kotaro Fujii, PhD, share lead authorship. Barna is a New York Stem Cell Robertson Investigator and is also a member of Stanford's Bio-X and Child Health Research Institute. The work builds upon a previous study from Barna's laboratory that was published June 1 in Cell. The lead author of that study was postdoctoral scholar Deniz Simsek, PhD. It showed that ribosomes also differ in the types of proteins they accumulate on their outer shells. It also identified more than 400 ribosome-associated proteins, called RAPs, and showed that they can affect ribosomal function. Every biology student learns the basics of how the genetic code is used to govern cellular life. In broad strokes, the DNA in the nucleus carries the building instructions for about 20,000 genes. Genes are chosen for expression by proteins that land on the DNA and "transcribe" the DNA sequence into short pieces of mobile, or messenger, RNA that can leave the nucleus. Once in the cell's cytoplasm, the RNA binds to ribosomes to be translated into strings of amino acids known as proteins. Every living cell has up to 10 million ribosomes floating in its cellular soup. These tiny engines are themselves complex structures that contain up to 80 individual core proteins and four RNA molecules. Each ribosome has two main subunits: one that binds to and "reads" the RNA molecule to be translated, and another that assembles the protein based on the RNA blueprint. As shown for the first time in the Cell study, ribosomes also collect associated proteins called RAPs that decorate their outer shell like Christmas tree ornaments. 'Hints of a more complex scenario' "Until recently, ribosomes have been thought to take an important but backstage role in the cell, just taking in and blindly translating the genetic code," said Barna. "But in the past couple of years there have been some intriguing hints of a more complex scenario. Some human genetic diseases caused by mutations in ribosomal proteins affect only specific organs or tissues, for example. This has been very perplexing. We wanted to revisit the textbook notion that all ribosomes are the same." In 2011, members of Barna's lab showed that one core ribosomal protein called RPL38/eL38 is necessary for the appropriate patterning of the mammalian body plan during development; mice with a mutation in this protein developed skeletal defects such as extra ribs, facial clefts and abnormally short, malformed tails. Shi and Fujii used a quantitative proteomics technology called selected reaction monitoring to precisely calculate the quantities, or stoichiometry, of each of several ribosomal proteins isolated from ribosomes within mouse embryonic stem cells. Their calculations showed that not all the ribosomal proteins were always present in the same amount. In other words, the ribosomes differed from one another in their compositions. "We realized for the first time that, in terms of the exact stoichiometry of these proteins, there are significant differences among individual ribosomes," said Barna. "But what does this mean when it comes to thinking about fundamental aspects of a cell, how it functions?" To find out, the researchers tagged the different ribosomal proteins and used them to isolate RNA molecules in the act of being translated by the ribosome. The results were unlike what they could have ever imagined. "We found that, if you compare two populations of ribosomes, they exhibit a preference for translating certain types of genes," said Shi. "One prefers to translate genes associated with cell metabolism; another is more likely to be translating genes that make proteins necessary for embryonic development. We found entire biological pathways represented by the translational preferences of specific ribosomes. It's like the ribosomes have some kind of ingrained knowledge as to what genes they prefer to translate into proteins." The findings dovetail with those of the Cell paper. That paper "showed that there is more to ribosomes than the 80 core proteins," said Simsek. "We identified hundreds of RAPs as components of the cell cycle, energy metabolism, and cell signaling. We believe these RAPs may allow the ribosomes to participate more dynamically in these intricate cellular functions." "Barna and her team have taken a big step toward understanding how ribosomes control protein synthesis by looking at unperturbed stem cells form mammals," said Jamie Cate, PhD, professor of molecular and cell biology and of chemistry at the University of California-Berkeley. "They found 'built-in' regulators of translation for a subset of important mRNAs and are sure to find more in other cells. It is an important advance in the field." Cate was not involved in the research. Freeing cells from micromanaging gene expression The fact that ribosomes can differ among their core protein components as well as among their associated proteins, the RAPs, and that these differences can significantly affect ribosomal function, highlights a way that a cell could transform its protein landscape by simply modifying ribosomes so that they prefer to translate one type of gene -- say, those involved in metabolism -- over others. This possibility would free the cell from having to micromanage the expression levels of hundreds or thousands of genes involved in individual pathways. In this scenario, many more messenger RNAs could be available than get translated into proteins, simply based on what the majority of ribosomes prefer, and this preference could be tuned by a change in expression of just a few ribosomal proteins. Barna and her colleagues are now planning to test whether the prevalence of certain types of ribosomes shift during major cellular changes, such as when a cell enters the cell cycle after resting, or when a stem cell begins to differentiate into a more specialized type of cell. They'd also like to learn more about how the ribosomes are able to discriminate between classes of genes. Although the findings of the two papers introduce a new concept of genetic regulation within the cell, they make a kind of sense, the researchers said. "About 60 percent of a cell's energy is spent making and maintaining ribosomes," said Barna. "The idea that they play no role in the regulation of genetic expression is, in retrospect, a bit silly." ### Other Stanford co-authors are graduate students Kyle Kovary and Naomi Genuth; postdoctoral scholar Hannes Rost, PhD; and Mary Teruel, PhD, assistant professor of chemical and systems biology. The research was supported by the New York Stem Cell Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Mallinckrodt Foundation, a Pew Scholars Award and the National Institutes of Health (a Director's New Innovator Award and grants R21HD086730, R01DK101743, R01DK106241 and P50GM107615). Stanford's departments of Developmental Biology and of Genetics also supported the work. The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://med.stanford.edu/school.html. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. For information about all three, please visit http://med.stanford.edu. Ethiopian, Nepali private sectors urged to team up The Ethiopian envoy to India has urged cooperation between the private sectors of Ethiopia and Nepal for the development of agro processing, manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and textiles and apparels sectors, among others. As World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is observed on June 15, new study data from the Chinese community in Chicago is shedding light on the impact of elder abuse in America. The discoveries are reported in five articles appearing in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. Rush University Medical Center Medical Center Professor XinQi Dong, MD, MPH, led the team that conducted the research. "What we're finding is that elder abuse is an extremely complex problem, with severe consequences regarding psychological well-being," Dong said. "Patterns of victimization may be influenced by the older adults' health, intergenerational relationships, and other social determinants like culture. This is the first time that scholars have examined elder abuse -- including psychological, physical, sexual, financial exploitation, caregiver neglect -- and self-neglect in relationship to a number of factors, such as two-year incidence, adult children perpetrators and previous child abuse, levels of physical function, and thoughts of suicide. The researchers utilized the PINE and PIETY studies, two population-based longitudinal studies surveying more than 3,000 Chinese older adults and their adult children in the Chicago area, to investigate elder abuse among the U.S. Chinese population. They found: Nearly 1 in 10 Chinese older adults become new victims of elder abuse every two years. Risk factors for elder abuse vary depending on the type of abuse. Adult children who were abused as minors are nearly twice as likely to abuse their older parents compared to those who were not abused. Victims of elder abuse and self-neglect are 2 to 3 times more likely to have suicidal ideation than non-victims. Lower levels of physical function may be a protective factor against victimization "Examining elder abuse in the U.S. Chinese community sheds light on the potential cultural nuances of elder abuse," Dong added. "Perpetrators of elder abuse tend to be family members, but adherence to collectivism or familism and lack of institutional support may deter Chinese Americans from asking for help." Elder abuse or mistreatment is a serious public health issue impacting at least 1 in 10 older adults in the U.S. each year, leading to declines in the health and well-being on individual and family levels. "While we want prevention and intervention efforts to be implemented as soon as possible," Dong said, "researchers need to make sure they have enough information to create effective, culturally-appropriate programs to truly improve the lives of older adults." ### The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences is a peer-reviewed publication of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society -- and its 5,500+ members -- is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA's structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. An intervention at a free clinic that included comprehensive care for hearing was able to provide recycled, donated hearing aids to low-income adults, according to a study published by JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Free clinics play an important role in providing health care to uninsured and underinsured individuals. A 2010 survey reported that there are more than 1,000 free clinics providing health care to approximately 1.8 million Americans annually. Aileen P. Wertz, M.D., of the University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined the feasibility and outcomes of a partnership between a free independent clinic (Hope Clinic, Ypsilanti, Mich.) for indigent patients and an academic medical center (University of Michigan Health System) in providing hearing aids. The program (Hope for Hearing) secured donated hearing aids, which were obtained by placing advertisements and through direct purchases via funding provided by a $5,000 intramural grant. During the study period, a total of 84 hearing aids were donated. Seventeen hearing aids (20 percent) were purchased with grant funding; the remainder were donated. Supplies required to make ear molds were also purchased with grant money. A total of 54 patients had audiograms performed. The patients were provided with free audiograms, hearing aid molds, and hearing aid programming, as well as follow-up appointments to ensure continued proper functioning of their hearing aids. Since 2013, a total of 34 patients have been determined to be eligible for the free program and were offered hearing aid services. Of these, 20 patients (59 percent) have been fitted or are being fitted with free hearing aids. The value of services provided is estimated to be $2,260 per patient. "Comprehensive audiologic care including donated hearing aids can be effectively delivered to indigent patients in a well-established free clinic and academic medical center collaboration. The opportunity for low-income patients to benefit from hearing rehabilitation at minimal personal cost can represent an effective extension of safety net services," the authors write. Limitations of the study include the small sample size. ### For more details and to read the full study, please visit the For The Media website. (doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2017. 0680) Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the key emerging technologies. Global IT companies are competitively launching the newest technologies and competition is heating up more than ever. However, most AI technologies focus on software and their operating speeds are low, making them a poor fit for mobile devices. Therefore, many big companies are investing to develop semiconductor chips for running AI programs with low power requirements but at high speeds. A research team led by Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo of the Department of Electrical Engineering has developed a semiconductor chip, CNNP (CNN Processor), that runs AI algorithms with ultra-low power, and K-Eye, a face recognition system using CNNP. The system was made in collaboration with a start-up company, UX Factory Co. The K-Eye series consists of two types: a wearable type and a dongle type. The wearable type device can be used with a smartphone via Bluetooth, and it can operate for more than 24 hours with its internal battery. Users hanging K-Eye around their necks can conveniently check information about people by using their smartphone or smart watch, which connects K-Eye and allows users to access a database via their smart devices. A smartphone with K-EyeQ, the dongle type device, can recognize and share information about users at any time. When recognizing that an authorized user is looking at its screen, the smartphone automatically turns on without a passcode, fingerprint, or iris authentication. Since it can distinguish whether an input face is coming from a saved photograph versus a real person, the smartphone cannot be tricked by the user's photograph. The K-Eye series carries other distinct features. It can detect a face at first and then recognize it, and it is possible to maintain "Always-on" status with low power consumption of less than 1mW. To accomplish this, the research team proposed two key technologies: an image sensor with "Always-on" face detection and the CNNP face recognition chip. The first key technology, the "Always-on" image sensor, can determine if there is a face in its camera range. Then, it can capture frames and set the device to operate only when a face exists, reducing the standby power significantly. The face detection sensor combines analog and digital processing to reduce power consumption. With this approach, the analog processor, combined with the CMOS Image Sensor array, distinguishes the background area from the area likely to include a face, and the digital processor then detects the face only in the selected area. Hence, it becomes effective in terms of frame capture, face detection processing, and memory usage. The second key technology, CNNP, achieved incredibly low power consumption by optimizing a convolutional neural network (CNN) in the areas of circuitry, architecture, and algorithms. First, the on-chip memory integrated in CNNP is specially designed to enable data to be read in a vertical direction as well as in a horizontal direction. Second, it has immense computational power with 1024 multipliers and accumulators operating in parallel and is capable of directly transferring the temporal results to each other without accessing to the external memory or on-chip communication network. Third, convolution calculations with a two-dimensional filter in the CNN algorithm are approximated into two sequential calculations of one-dimensional filters to achieve higher speeds and lower power consumption. With these new technologies, CNNP achieved 97% high accuracy but consumed only 1/5000 power of the GPU. Face recognition can be performed with only 0.62mW of power consumption, and the chip can show higher performance than the GPU by using more power. These chips were developed by Kyeongryeol Bong, a Ph. D. student under Professor Yoo and presented at the International Solid-State Circuit Conference (ISSCC) held in San Francisco in February. CNNP, which has the lowest reported power consumption in the world, has achieved a great deal of attention and has led to the development of the present K-Eye series for face recognition. Professor Yoo said "AI - processors will lead the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With the development of this AI chip, we expect Korea to take the lead in global AI technology." ### The research team and UX Factory Co. are preparing to commercialize the K-Eye series by the end of this year. According to a market researcher IDC, the market scale of the AI industry will grow from $127 billion last year to $165 billion in this year. Precise Earth-based measurements of optical signals from satellite show that equipment already in space can be adapted for extremely secure data encryption WASHINGTON -- In a new study, researchers demonstrate ground-based measurements of quantum states sent by a laser aboard a satellite 38,000 kilometers above Earth. This is the first time that quantum states have been measured so carefully from so far away. "We were quite surprised by how well the quantum states survived traveling through the atmospheric turbulence to a ground station," said Christoph Marquardt from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany. "The paper demonstrates that technology on satellites, already space-proof against severe environmental tests, can be used to achieve quantum-limited measurements, thus making a satellite quantum communication network possible. This greatly cuts down on development time, meaning it could be possible to have such a system as soon as five years from now." A satellite-based quantum-based encryption network would provide an extremely secure way to encrypt data sent over long distances. Developing such a system in just five years is an extremely fast timeline since most satellites require around 10 years of development. Normally, every component -- from computers to screws -- must be tested and approved to work in the harsh environmental conditions of space and must survive the gravitational changes experienced during the launch. Marquardt and his colleagues from the division of Gerd Leuchs at the Max Planck Institute in Erlangen report their new research in Optica, The Optical Society's journal for high impact research. Using light to keep data safe Today, text messages, banking transactions and health information are all encrypted with techniques based on mathematical algorithms. This approach works because it is extremely difficult to figure out the exact algorithm used to encrypt a given piece of data. However, experts believe that computers powerful enough to crack these encryption codes are likely to be available in the next 10 to 20 years. The looming security threat has placed more attention on implementing stronger encryption techniques such as quantum key distribution. Rather than relying on math, quantum key distribution uses properties of light particles known as quantum states to encode and send the key needed to decrypt encoded data. If someone tries to measure the light particles to steal the key, it changes the particles' behavior in a way that alerts the intended communicating parties that the key has been compromised and should not be used. The fact that this system detects eavesdropping means that secure communication is guaranteed. Although methods for quantum encryption have been in development for more than a decade, they don't work over long distances because residual light losses in optical fibers used for telecommunications networks on the ground degrade the sensitive quantum signals. Quantum signals cannot be also regenerated without altering their properties by suing optical amplifiers as it is done for classical optical data. For this reason, there has been a recent push to develop a satellite-based quantum communication network to link ground-based quantum encryption networks located in different metropolitan areas, countries and continents. Although the new findings showed that quantum communication satellite networks do not need to be designed from scratch, Marquardt notes that it will still take 5 to 10 years to convert ground based systems to quantum-based encryption to communicate quantum states with the satellites. Measuring quantum states For the experiments, Marquardt's team worked closely with satellite telecommunications company Tesat-Spacecom GmbH and the German Space Administration. The German Space Administration previously contracted with Tesat-Spacecom on behalf of the German Ministry of Economics and Energy to develop an optical communications technology for satellites. This technology is now being used commercially in space by laser communication terminals onboard Copernicus -- the European Union's Earth Observation Programme -- and by SpaceDataHighway, the European data relay satellite system. It turned out that this satellite optical communications technology works much like the quantum key distribution method developed at the Max Planck Institute. Thus, the researchers decided to see if it was possible to measure quantum states encoded in a laser beam sent from one of the satellites already in space. In 2015 and the beginning of 2016, the team made these measurements from a ground-based station at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, Spain. They created quantum states in a range where the satellite normally does not operate and were able to make quantum-limited measurements from the ground. "From our measurements, we could deduce that the light traveling down to Earth is very well suited to be operated as a quantum key distribution network," Marquardt said. "We were surprised because the system was not built for this. The engineers had done an excellent job at optimizing the entire system." The researchers are now working with Tesat-Spacecom and others in the space industry to design an upgraded system based on the hardware already used in space. This will require upgrading the laser communication design, incorporating a quantum-based random number generator to create the random keys and integrating post processing of the keys. "There is serious interest from the space industry and other organizations to implement our scientific findings," said Marquardt. "We, as fundamental scientists, are now working with engineers to create the best system and ensure no detail is overlooked." ### Paper: : K. Gunthner, I. Khan, D. Elser, B. Stiller, O. Bayraktar, C.R. Muller, K. Saucke, D. Trondle, F. Heine, S. Seel, P. Greulich, H. Zech, B. Gutlich, S. Philipp-May, C. Marquardt, G. Leuchs, "Quantum-limited measurements of optical signals from a geostationary satellite," Optica, Volume 4, Issue 6, 611-616V(2017). DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.4.000611 About Optica Optica is an open-access, online-only journal dedicated to the rapid dissemination of high-impact peer-reviewed research across the entire spectrum of optics and photonics. Published monthly by The Optical Society (OSA), Optica provides a forum for pioneering research to be swiftly accessed by the international community, whether that research is theoretical or experimental, fundamental or applied. Optica maintains a distinguished editorial board of more than 40 associate editors from around the world and is overseen by Editor-in-Chief Alex Gaeta, Columbia University, USA. For more information, visit Optica. About The Optical Society Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students and business leaders who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership initiatives, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts. For more information, visit osa.org. Media Contacts: Rebecca B. Andersen The Optical Society randersen@osa.org 1-202-416-1443 Joshua Miller The Optical Society jmiller@osa.org 1-202-416-1435 If a dangerously inbred puma population in Southern California is to survive in the future, an urgent need for genetic connectivity must be met, according to two scientific papers from a team of researchers coordinated by the University of California, Davis, and involving scientists at the University of Wyoming and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The first paper, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science in May, reports that the puma population of about 20 adults in the Santa Ana Mountains has the lowest genetic diversity ever reported for pumas besides the Florida panther, which nearly went extinct from genetic causes. The pumas' isolation is primarily due to surrounding urbanization from Los Angeles and San Diego. "The only hope for puma movements in and out of the Santa Ana Mountains is to cross I-15 -- an eight- to 10-lane interstate highway -- which poses a major barrier for pumas attempting to migrate between the Santa Ana Mountains and the rural Eastern Peninsular Mountains," said lead author Kyle Gustafson, a postdoctoral conservation geneticist from the University of Wyoming. University of Wyoming researchers conducted genetic analyses of both radiocollared and uncollared pumas to develop a multigeneration pedigree. This showed where pumas and their offspring were born, and whether they successfully migrated and reproduced after crossing I-15, which separates the Santa Ana Mountains from other mountain ranges to the east. THE POWER OF ONE Although seven males crossed I-15 over the past 20 years, only one -- male puma #86 (M86) -- was able to successfully produce offspring in the Santa Anas after migrating from the genetically diverse population to the east. By producing a total of 11 detected offspring, M86 rapidly disseminated unique genes into the inbred population, which reduced the level of inbreeding and significantly increased genetic diversity. Unfortunately, M86 was hit by a car between 2014 and 2015, and more than half of his offspring are either now deceased or in captivity. "This is consistent with mortality rates we found previously in the region," said Winston Vickers, a wildlife veterinarian from UC Davis' Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center who conducted most of the field research. "Only one other migrant, named M119, remains in the Santa Ana Mountains, but whether he is alive or produced offspring is uncertain." Senior author Holly Ernest, a wildlife population geneticist and research veterinarian at the University of Wyoming, said that by introducing new genetic material and raising the level of genetic diversity in this population, that single male mountain lion, M86, performed what amounts to a "genetic rescue." "Our study also shows how quickly his genetics were lost by high mortality levels of his offspring," Ernest said. "A message here is that this population needs help to regain healthy genetics and persist in the Southern California landscape. That help can come in the form of just a few individuals over time adding 'new blood' to the population." CONNECTIVITY IS KEY The second paper, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, provides a potential solution to this issue. In it, the researchers propose a conservation network for pumas spanning the Santa Ana Mountains and the Eastern Peninsular Mountains. Using genetic data and data from GPS radio-collared pumas, this analysis identified critical habitat patches, movement corridors, and key road crossing locations across I-15 that would allow pumas to persist and increase genetic diversity. "Without continued emigration into the Santa Ana Mountains by pumas coming from the east of I-15, eroding genetic diversity and continued inbreeding are expected to resume," said veterinarian Walter Boyce, co-director of the Wildlife Health Center's Southern California Mountain Lion Study with Vickers. Protected areas in Southern California currently cover about 50 percent of this proposed puma conservation network. Incorporating key new areas in Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties would increase the protected areas to nearly 80 percent. Habitat protection, coupled with wildlife crossing structures and wildlife fencing, will be needed to promote the safe passage of pumas across I-15 and ensure adequate gene flow. "The current protected area system is not enough to ensure the survival of pumas in Southern California," said lead author Katherine Zeller, a wildlife biologist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. "Without additional avenues for pumas to move safely between large habitat blocks, these populations will continue to see decreased gene flow, as well as high mortality rates, which will decrease their chances of long-term survival in the region. ### Primary financial support for the research was provided by the San Diego County Association of Governments, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The studies required partnerships across research institutions and state agencies to combine GPS and ecological data collected over 15 years by researchers from the UC Davis Southern California Mountain Lion Study with analysis of genetic, habitat use, and movement data by researchers at the University of Wyoming and University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Potential new ways of understanding the cause of cognitive impairments, such as problems with memory and attention, in brain disorders including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's are under the spotlight in a new research review. The review has just been published in a special 'Pharmacology of Cognition' issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology. In the paper, Tobias Bast, Stephanie McGarrity and Marie Pezze from the School of Psychology at The University of Nottingham highlight recent evidence, which suggests that too much uncontrolled activity in specific brain areas may lead to the cognitive impairments characterizing these conditions. Neurons in the brain interact by sending each other chemical messages, so-called neurotransmitters. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the most common inhibitory neurotransmitter, which is important to restrain neural activity, preventing neurons from getting too trigger-happy and from firing too much or responding to irrelevant stimuli. In the extreme, impaired inhibitory GABA transmission can cause epileptic seizures. In addition, as highlighted in the review, more subtle impairments in inhibitory GABA transmission, which are below the threshold to cause seizures, have recently been linked to a range of brain disorders characterised by cognitive impairments, including schizophrenia, age-related cognitive decline and early stages of Alzheimer's. However, until recently it was not clear if and how such subtle impairments in inhibitory GABA function affect important cognitive functions, such as memory and attention. Two recent studies by Dr Bast and his colleagues have combined experimental reductions in inhibitory GABA transmission in specific brain regions with behavioural tests of memory and attention in rats.These studies focused on two brain regions that have long been known to be important for memory and attention, the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus (a brain region in the temporal lobe). The studies found that faulty inhibitory neurotransmission and abnormally increased activity in the prefrontal cortex or hippocampus impairs memory and attention. Dr Bast said: "Traditionally, memory and attentional impairments in conditions like ageing, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia have mainly been thought to be caused by reduced neural activity or damage in brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex or hippocampus. However, more recent evidence shows that actually too much activity can be just as detrimental for memory and attention. We reviewed recent studies in animal models, including our own research, which show that some important cognitive functions, including memory and attention, can be impaired if neural activity in brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, is not under sufficient inhibitory control, which is normally mediated by the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. A key finding is that increased activity of a brain region, due to faulty inhibitory neurotransmission, can be more detrimental to cognitive function than reduced activity or a lesion. Insufficiently restrained activity within a brain region can disrupt not only the function of the region itself, but also the function of other regions to which it is connected. For example, our studies revealed that faulty inhibitory neurotransmission in the hippocampus does not only disrupt aspects of memory typically supported by this brain region, but also impaired attentional function, which is highly dependent on the prefrontal cortex, a region that is strongly connected to the hippocampus. We hope that our findings and a deeper understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying impairments in memory and attention will help to develop new treatments for these debilitating problems. Our review highlights potential pharmacological treatments to re-balance aberrant neural activity and restore memory and attention, which we aim to test in future research." The review is part of a special issue concerned with the Pharmacology of Cognition, on the British journal of Pharmcology which is co-edited by Dr Paula Moran, Associate Professor and Reader in Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Nottingham. She explains the significance of this issue for understanding cognitive conditions: "We urgently need new strategies to treat cognitive problems.These problems occur not only in Alzhiemer's disease and ageing, but also in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. It is often overlooked, but the functional outcomes of these disorders can depend on how well people can learn, remember and concentrate. New treatments are most likely to come from deeper understanding of brain circuitries that are involved. This special issue adresses new approaches to improving cognition from rebalancing abnormal neural activity to cannabinoids to exercise. It also highlights the importance of not only using information from animal models to translate to human studies but also taking that information back to animal models to improve their accuracy to to predict new treatments." ### UNSW Sydney is proud of the early publication performance, influence and reach of its Nature Partner Journal npj Quantum Information, from advancing discovery to affecting public discourse. At a time of the year when the Journal Citation ReportsTM are published, UNSW sees npj Quantum Information's inaugural Impact Factor in the context of a variety of journal-based metrics that provide a richer view of the journal's performance. For 2016, the range of performance metrics, which are made available on the journal website, include: 2-year Impact Factor: 9.111 Immediacy Index: 1.560 Eigenfactor score: 0.00060 Article Influence Score: 4.617 By making available a range of article-level metrics including social media shares, we wish, with our partner publisher Springer Nature, to encourage the shift toward assessment based on the scientific content of an article rather than solely on publication metrics of the journal in which it was published. This promotes both responsible authorship practices and the provision of information about the specific contributions of each author. The journal, npj Quantum Information (npjQI), covers a wide range of topics from quantum computing to quantum communications and quantum cryptography. It was also the first Nature Partner Journal to be based in Australia. npjQI Editor-in-Chief and UNSW Sydney quantum scientist Professor Michelle Simmons said: "The field of quantum information is growing very rapidly, and there has been a need for a high quality journal in this space." "The success of the journal is a testament to our phenomenal editorial and advisory boards, to our hard-working community of referees and to all the brilliant quantum researchers who have submitted manuscripts to us." UNSW Dean of Science Professor Emma Johnston said: "UNSW leads the world in the race to build a quantum computer in silicon, and is also proud to be a leader in the global sharing of knowledge in this rapidly evolving field." UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Nicholas Fisk was equally enthusiastic, highlighting: "This is a fantastic performance for a new journal - testimony not only to this exponentially advancing field, but also to the vision and leadership of Professor Simmons and her editorial team." Professor Simmons is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC2T), and Scientia Professor of Science at UNSW. As a pioneer in quantum computing, she was recently awarded the Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology for work in 'the new field of atomic-electronics, which she created'. The open access publication was launched by then Minister for Education Christopher Pyne and the first articles were published in October 2015. Some of the most viewed and shared npjQI papers to date include: Majorana zero modes and topological quantum computation Demonstration of a quantum advantage in machine learning Quantum algorithms: an overview Building logical qubits in a superconducting quantum computing system Quantum sampling problems, BosonSampling and quantum supremacy Energy efficient quantum computing ### Media contacts: Prof Michelle Simmons | npjQI Editor-in-Chief | +612 9385 6313 | michelle.simmons@unsw.edu.au Deborah Smith | UNSW Science media officer | +61 478 492 060 | deborah.smith@unsw.edu.au Kristin O'Connell | CQC2T Communications Officer | +61 413 261 362 | k.oconnell@unsw.edu.au npjQI Launch: http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-technology/education-minister-launches-first-nature-partner-journal-australia and https://youtu.be/3jvKjSPMQzs One area of research within mechanobiology, the study of how physical forces influence biological processes, is on the interplay between cells and their environment and how it impacts their ability to grow and spread. Many studies have shown that stiffness of the extracellular matrix, the fibrous network of collagen that surrounds cells, promotes cellular mobility; cells can get a better grip on stiffer surfaces and thus invade neighboring tissue. New research by scientists in the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science is diving deeper into this relationship, showing that stiffness is not the only factor researchers should consider when studying this process. The relationship between cellular adhesion and spread is a key factor in cancer metastasis. Better understanding of this dynamic would improve diagnosis of the disease and provide a potential target in combating it; reducing the ability of cells to grip their environment could keep them contained. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was led by Vivek Shenoy, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and co-director of Penn's Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, along with Xuan Cao and Ehsan Ban, members of his lab. They collaborated with Jason Burdick, professor in the Department of Bioengineering, Boston University's Christopher Chen, the University of Michigan's Brendon Baker and the University of Hong Kong's Yuan Lin. This collaboration reflects work of The Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, a National Science Foundation-funded Science and Technology Center that supports interdisciplinary research on the way cells exert and are influenced by the physical forces in their environment. Previous work from Shenoy's group has shown that the relationship between cancer cells and the extracellular matrix is dynamic, containing feedback mechanisms that can change the ECM's properties, including overall stiffness. One earlier study investigated how cancer cells attempt to strike a balance in the density of the fibrous netting surrounding them. If there are too few fibers to grip, the cells can't get enough traction to move. If there are too many, the holes in the net become too small for the cells to pass through. Their research has shown that feedback between the cells and extracellular matrix reshapes this network of fibers and is a key mechanism in cancer's spread. However, existing model systems for observing this process in the lab do not capture this feedback dynamic. Cells are often cultured on top of hydrogel films. These gels are good for simulating tissues with different levels of stiffness, but they lack the fibers that are characteristic of extracellular matrix. "It's widely believed," Shenoy said, "that stiffness is the only things that cells care about, but we're saying that's there's another dimension to this. Cells are constantly pulling on what is surrounding them, but," Burdick said, " when they are pulling on a static material like a hydrogel, that material doesn't change its stiffness in response." Shenoy and his colleagues were interested in the points where cells actually bond to the surrounding matrix, known as focal adhesions. They developed a computer model that better simulates how the cells recruit new ligands that eventually form focal adhesions by altering the geometry of the matrix's component fibers. In their model, cells are able to change the properties of the surrounding matrix when they pull on it. Specifically, they can break the crosslinks that hold the fibers together, allowing cells to change fiber density near their edges. "Some fibers are drawn closer to the cells, which increases ligand density. Those are the parts they can grab onto," Shenoy said. "This means that the cell has more handles to hold on to. This is what doesn't happen if the model is static." Working with Burdick and Chen, who have experience in creating custom three-dimensional hydrogels and fibrous networks with varied crosslinking, the research team ran physical experiments to validate their computer model. They created the fibrous hydrogels through an electrospinning process with subsequent photocrosslinking to link the polymers together. By creating fibrous hydrogels with different levels of crosslinks, the team was able to show that cells surrounded by matrices with fewer crosslinks were better able to draw in fibers and increase the number of focal adhesions around them. "When you're engineering a synthetic matrix," Burdick said, "you have a degree of control over various properties of the material. For example, it is possible to tune the fiber mechanics by altering the level of crosslinking within and between the fibers." Further research from the group will look into the timescales over which these dynamic processes occur. "Natural physiology is extremely complex," Shenoy said, "so we need to break it down to smaller pieces. Unless you get these smaller pieces right, the rest of the model is not going to be accurate." ### The research was supported by National Cancer Institute grants U01CA202177 and U54CA193417, National Institutes of Health grants R01EB017753 and R01AR056624 and National Science Foundation Grant 1548571, as well through financial support from National Institutes of Health Pathway to Independence Award HL124322. A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania is gaining new insight into the smart materials used in ultrasound technology. While forming the most thorough model to date of how these materials work, they have found striking similarities with the behavior of water. The research, published in Nature, was led by Andrew M. Rappe, the Blanchard Professor of Chemistry in the School of Arts & Sciences and a professor of materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and postdoc Hiroyuki Takenaka in the Department of Chemistry. Penn Research Specialist Ilya Grinberg and alumnus Shi Liu also contributed to the study. The researchers in this group are interested in how materials interact with, harness and convert energy into different forms. In this study, they were investigating a behavior of smart material called piezoelectricity, which is the interchange of mechanical energy with electrical energy. In piezoelectricity, applying an electric field to a material reorients dipoles within it; this is the key to the functionality of the material. "You can imagine that there's a cage of oxygen atoms," Rappe said, "and there's a positive ion in the middle. If it sits in the middle of the cage then there's no dipole, but if it moves off-center then there's a dipole. The rearrangement of those dipoles is what leads to these smart material properties." As the positive ions move off center, the cages of ions surrounding them either shrink or elongate in a concerted fashion, causing the material to change shape. In ultrasound devices, providing voltage makes the material change shape, or vibrate, and those vibrations enter the human body and echo around. Piezoelectric materials are also used in sonar to allow instruments to see under water. Recently, a set of materials was discovered that scientists believe gives higher piezoelectric performance than previous ones. But at a fundamental level, Rappe said, people didn't understand why these materials function as well as they do. "If you don't know why it works, how could you possibly reverse engineer it and get to the next level?" he said. Researchers often use theory and modeling to study smart materials. They have an idea of how they think a system works and can portray what an actual material is doing by solving some equations. "One thing that we often do is solve the equations of quantum mechanics because quantum mechanics is known to be an accurate model for how electrons behave," Rappe said. "The electrons are the glue that holds the nuclei together. If you know how they're behaving, then you know what determines when bonds break and form and so forth." But one exciting development, he said, is the ability to go beyond what researchers can afford quantum mechanically and build mechanical models to give them a more approximate way of dealing with the bonds in a solid while also allowing them to model finite temperature, larger amounts of material and for longer periods of time. "This allows us to observe behaviors that take a long time to happen or only happen deep inside a material, and this gives us unique perspectives on complicated behaviors," Rappe said. While other experiments have probed this material and some theoretical models have revealed certain aspects of it, the Penn researchers have now provided the most comprehensive model to date of how this material works. Previously, scientists thought that at higher temperatures it's "every dipole for himself," making it easy for them to respond to external stimuli such as electric fields. As the material cools down, the dipoles clump into groups called polar nanoregions. As these regions grow larger, they become sluggish and it becomes increasingly difficult for them to respond. In this new paper, the researchers showed that, while at higher temperatures the dipoles are in fact floating free as the temperature cools and the dipoles find each other and form these polar nanoregions, the regions don't actually grow bigger but instead just become more thoroughly aligned. This leads to the birth of domain walls within the material separating patches of different alignment. It's these domain walls between dipolar regions that lead to enhanced piezoelectric properties in the material. This echoes a similar behavior in water, wherein the lower the temperature the more correlated the dipoles become, but the correlation doesn't hold at larger distances. "They're never perfectly aligned," Rappe said. "Nearby water dipoles may get more and more aligned, but because of hydrogen bonding there's some intrinsic size beyond which it doesn't grow." Piezoelectric materials are an important element in transducers, actuators and sensors used in many industries. Lack of understanding about how they work has slowed the improvement of higher quality materials. This paper provides a novel understanding of how they function and reveals similarities with the behavior of water. A more complete understanding of why these materials behave the way they do can unlock new materials design, leading to higher quality piezoelectrics that may revolutionize smart material applications. "It's exciting to be able to build up a model from individual electrons up to millions of atoms at finite temperature and observe complex properties," Rappe said, "and it's exciting that observing those complex properties gives us new productive directions where we can enhance materials that will more efficiently convert energy for useful devices to help people." ### This research was supported by the Office of Naval Research under Grant N00014- 12-1-1033. Computational support was provided by the U.S. Department of Defense through a Challenge Grant from the High Performance Computing Modernization Office. PHILADELPHIA - The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has named Penn Medicine dermatology expert Elizabeth A. Grice, PhD, as a recipient of the 2017 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infection Disease Award. Grice was selected for the five-year, $500,000 award for her research proposal on skin microbiome functions in colonization resistance to pathogens. She is one of just 12 researchers to receive the award this year. In addition, the Fund has awarded 2017 Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS) to two additional Penn researchers, Vijay Bhoj, MD, PhD and Kara Maxwell, MD, PhD. They are among 12 physicians who will each receive a five-year, $700,000 grant. Grice is an assistant professor of Dermatology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her lab uses an interdisciplinary approach to understand how microbial communities coexist and interact with the skin of their host in health and disease. She will use the award to further investigate how microbial communities colonizing healthy skin are protective against colonization and/or infection by pathogenic microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus. The Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infections Disease Award provides opportunities for accomplished researchers still early in their careers to bring multidisciplinary approaches to the study of human infectious diseases. The goal of the program is to provide opportunities to study what happens at the points where the systems of humans and potentially infectious agents connect. The program supports research that sheds light on the fundamentals that affect the outcomes of these encounters, specifically how colonization, infection, and other relationships play out. For a complete list of the 2017 honorees, visit the Burroughs Wellcome Fund website. Bhoj is a Blood Bank/Transfusion Clinical Fellow at Penn. The grant will fund his research on the development of CAR T-cell immunotherapy for the prevention and eradication of FVIII inhibitors in Hemophilia A. Maxwell is an instructor in the division of Hematology-Oncology who focuses on care and research for patients with hereditary cancers. The grant will fund her study of tumors from patients with inherited mutations in DNA repair genes, with a specific focus on the genetic makeup of those tumors and how those genes may affect response to targeted therapies. The goal of the CAMS grant is to help physicians transition into a full-time career as a biomedical research scientist and tenured faculty member. The full list of winners is published online. ### Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $6.7 billion enterprise. The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2016 fiscal year. The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine. Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2016, Penn Medicine provided $393 million to benefit our community. Govt decision to postpone phase II polls in Province 2 not acceptable: RJP-N Agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) has said that the unilateral decision taken by government to postpone the second phase of local level elections in Province 2 would not be acceptable to the party. PHILADELPHIA - Misfolded proteins are the culprits behind amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other neurodegenerative brain disorders. These distorted proteins are unable to perform their normal functions and cause devastating problems for neurons. Currently, there is no way to untangle the knotted mass of these proteins to treat disease. A high-resolution view of the structure of Hsp104 (heat shock protein 104), a natural yeast protein nanomachine with six subunits, has been acquired by James Shorter, PhD, an associate professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues at the University of Michigan. The Shorter lab has been working on Hsp104 for close to a decade as a way to dismantle harmful protein clumps in disease. The team described their findings in Science this week. Shorter teamed with colleagues at Michigan who use cutting-edge cryo-EM to provide the clearest image to date of Hsp104 in action. The Penn team provided the highly purified Hsp104 proteins for the study. "This superb collaboration has yielded the highest resolution picture of Hsp104 caught in the act of processing a protein," Shorter said. "We can now see the moving parts of the Hsp104 complex and how we might tune it to optimally attack neurodegenerative disease proteins." Hsp104 pulls in proteins it "processes" through a central channel, but scientists had not seen this at high resolution before this study. "With this more-in-focus view, we can see parts of its structure that we want to engineer to make better on-target therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases," said JiaBei Lin, PhD, co-author and postdoctoral fellow in the Shorter lab. Normally, Hsp104 is a "disaggregase" enyzme, which dissolves previously aggregated proteins and helps them acquire the correct shape. Although Hsp104 is found in most organisms on the planet, it has no analogue in humans or animals. Shorter asked whether it could be introduced as a drug to dismantle the protein clumps that characterize some diseases. In previous studies, Shorter's lab established that the natural version of Hsp104 is active against neurodegenerative proteins such as alpha-synuclein. Hsp104 pulls out one polypeptide at a time from the tangles of protein fibrils. The six subunits of the Hsp104 complex hydrolyze ATP as it climbs up the polypeptide strand, which ultimately gets pulled out of the aggregate. Once released, the polypeptide can refold or be degraded. The team has already made some tweaks to Hsp104 by mutating specific residues to enhance its activity. Working to break up TDP-43, FUS, and alpha-synuclein disease clumps, the reprogrammed Hsp104 pulls these proteins apart better. "It appears to pull substrates through stepwise, like a ratchet," said senior study author Daniel Southworth, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute. "We can see how the proteins in the machine rearrange between different states to grab onto the next site on the substrate." "The study helps us to understand how cells can break apart toxic protein aggregates to restore protein function," Shorter said. "Finally having a clear picture of this remarkable nanomachine will empower our designs for therapeutic versions that work in humans." ### This work was supported in part by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01GM099836), a Muscular Dystrophy Association Research Award (MDA277268), the Life Extension Foundation, the Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University, and Target ALS. Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $6.7 billion enterprise. The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2016 fiscal year. The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine. Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2016, Penn Medicine provided $393 million to benefit our community. PHILADELPHIA - The drug lenvatinib can significantly improve overall survival rates in a group of thyroid cancer patients whose disease is resistant to standard radioiodine treatment, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The study, published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, is the first to show lenvatinib has a definitive impact on overall survival (OS). Researchers found OS improves in patients older than 65 years of age and that the drug is well-tolerated. "Due to limitations of study design, it has been hard to prove that multikinase inhibitors improve overall survival, although we have suspected it," said the study's lead author Marcia Brose, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Otorhinolaryngology and a member of Penn's Abramson Cancer Center. "These findings put that doubt to rest for the group of patients over 65 treated with lenvatinib." Most cases of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) are treated with radioiodine therapy. Since the thyroid absorbs nearly all of the iodine in the human body, radioactive iodine given to a patient will concentrate in thyroid cancer cells, killing them with little effect on the rest of the body. The treatment can be curative, but about 15 percent of DTC patients have cancers that are resistant to the therapy. Levatinib is one of two first-line therapies approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for patients who are resistant to radioiodine treatment. The drug is a multi- kinase inhibitor (MKI) -- meaning it targets the specific enzymes that are required for growth in DTC. "It was approved based on previous trials that showed it had a benefit for progression-free survival, but until now, nobody has shown it also has a benefit for overall survival," Brose said. Brose and her team participated in the SELECT trial to study the effects of levatinib on DTC, and Brose directed the further analysis published in this report which specifically looked at OS and safety of lenvatinib in younger and older patients. Patients were divided into two groups: Those 65 or younger, and those older than 65. The median age of the younger group was 56. For the older group, it was 71. Each group contained patients on the drug and patients receiving a placebo. Researchers found significant differences in overall survival between those on the drug and those on the placebo in the older age group. Among the older cohort, those on the placebo had an OS of 18.4 months. For patients receiving the drug, OS was not reached, but confidence intervals show the expected survival would exceed 22 months. In the younger cohort, overall survival was not reached for either group. "There's a belief that these drugs should be withheld from older patients due to concerns about toxicity and other medical concerns, but our results show just the opposite," Brose said. "Not only do older patients benefit from these drugs, but they generally tolerate them well." Brose says the results of this study can have an immediate impact in clinical care, and several other studies are ongoing to find new uses for lenvatinib in other types of thyroid cancer. ### This study was supported by Eisai, Inc., which manufactures levatinib. Editor's Note: Brose has received consulting fees from Eisai, Inc. for speaking engagements. Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $6.7 billion enterprise. The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2016 fiscal year. The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine. Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2016, Penn Medicine provided $393 million to benefit our community. PITTSBURGH, June 15, 2017 - Researchers at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC have discovered a clue that could unlock the potential of immunotherapy drugs to successfully treat more cancers. The findings, published in Cell, were made in mice and showed that targeting a sub-population of immune cells called regulatory T cells could be an effective approach to treating cancers. The findings also point to what could be an important mechanism by which current immunotherapy drugs work, providing clues to making them more effective. Immunotherapy drugs that push the immune system to detect and kill cancer cells have been successful against several cancers, yet they are still only effective in approximately 10 to 30 percent of patients with certain tumor types. Exactly why these drugs don't work in more patients has remained a mystery. The discovery points to what could be an important mechanism by which current immunotherapy drugs work, providing clues to making them more effective. Regulatory T cells (Tregs; pronounced "tee-regs") help maintain a delicate balance in our immune system. "They act like a dimmer switch, keeping the lights bright enough to detect and eliminate threats, but not so bright that our own cells are hurt," said Dario Vignali, Ph.D., who holds the Frank Dixon Chair in Cancer Immunology, and is professor and vice chair of immunology at Pitt's School of Medicine. "In cancer, Tregs can be detrimental because by turning down the lights, they prevent the immune system from detecting and killing cancer cells. While creating drugs to eliminate Tregs may seem like a logical approach to treatment, they could lead to life-threatening autoimmune complications, making them unusable in cancer patients. Thus, we need to identify approaches that selectively target Tregs in tumors, sparing those outside the tumor," said Vignali, who also is co-director of the Cancer Immunology Program at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. A few years ago, Vignali and his colleagues discovered that a surface protein called neuropilin-1 (Nrp1), which is expressed on almost all Tregs that infiltrated mouse tumors, was required to maintain the function, integrity and survival of Tregs within the harsh tumor microenvironment. Thus, Nrp1 on Tregs helps suppress the body's natural anti-tumor immune response thereby helping the tumor survive. Importantly, blocking or deleting Nrp1 in Tregs in mice only impacted their function in tumors and not in the rest of the body, resulting in tumor eradication without inducing autoimmune or inflammatory disease. "What we've shown in the current study is that in mice, Nrp1 expression by Tregs is required to maintain their ability to prevent the immune system from clearing the tumor. Interestingly, when Tregs lose Nrp1, they not only fail to suppress, they also become active participants in the anti-tumor immune response," said Vignali. "Intriguingly, we also found that in cancer patients who had a poor prognosis, the Nrp1-expressing Treg subset was much higher, suggesting that the findings could apply to humans as well." To arrive at their findings, the research team created a genetically modified mouse model in which the Nrp1 gene was deleted in only half the Treg cell population, but not the other half. Tumor growth in this model, they found, was dramatically reduced when compared to a normal mouse in which Nrp1 was present in all Tregs. "Not only did Tregs without Nrp1 have a reduced ability to turn down the lights, they also prevented the normal Treg population from performing their own immunosuppressive functions. This allowed the immune system to see and attack the tumor," said Abigail E. Overacre-Delgoffe, a graduate student in Vignali's lab and the first author of the Cell study. Genomic and cellular analyses revealed that a secreted immune molecule called interferon-gamma (IFN) prevented the dimmer switch function of Tregs in the mice, particularly and selectively in the tumor microenvironment. Using another genetically modified mouse model, they found that the role of IFN in diminishing Treg function was crucial to the success of immunotherapies targeting the PD1 protein that have been proven to be very effective in patients. "While we thought that IFN might impact the function of Tregs and thus influence immunotherapy outcome, the magnitude of the effect really took us by surprise. When we deleted the receptor for IFN in Tregs so they were no longer sensitive to the impact of IFN, the immunotherapy drug had absolutely no effect," said Vignali. "In essence, IFN seems to make Tregs fragile so that they lose their suppressive function, but only in the tumor. Thus, maybe making Tregs fragile is a critical requirement for effective immunotherapy." Overall, the authors note that their findings are significant because they show that if we can get a portion of the tumor-associated Tregs to lose their immunosuppressive functions--possibly by using IFN--it may be enough to set off a chain reaction where these cells can influence other tumor-associated Tregs, consequently promoting anti-tumor immunity without the adverse autoimmune side effects. Additionally, in the near-term, tracking Treg functional fragility may prove to be an effective approach to monitor whether immunotherapy treatments are effective in patients. ### Additional authors on the study are Maria Chikina, Ph.D., Rebekah E. Dadey, Hiroshi Yano, Ph.D., Erin A. Brunazzi, Gulidanna Shayan, William Horne, Ph.D., Jessica M. Moskovitz, Jay K. Kolls, M.D., Cindy Sander, Yongli Shuai, Daniel P. Normolle, Ph.D., John M. Kirkwood, M.D., Robert L. Ferris, M.D., Ph.D., Greg M. Delgoffe, Ph.D., Tullia C. Bruno, Ph.D., and Creg J. Workman, Ph.D., all of Pitt. The study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01 CA203689, F31 CA189441, CA047904, CA21765, CA097190, CA121973, P30 CA047904, S10 OD011925, S10 OD019942, and the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. Vignali and Delgoffe have disclosed competing financial interests and have submitted patents regarding Nrp1 that are pending or granted. About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings recently released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt ranked fifth among all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support. Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see http://www.medschool.pitt.edu. About UPMC A $14 billion world-renowned health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of patient-centered, cost-effective, accountable care. UPMC provides nearly $900 million a year in benefits to its communities, including more care to the region's most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates 65,000 employees, more than 25 hospitals, 600 doctors' offices and outpatient sites, and a more than 3.2 million-member Insurance Services Division, the largest medical and behavioral health services insurer in western Pennsylvania. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC ranks No. 12 in the prestigious U.S. News & World Report annual Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals. UPMC Enterprises functions as the innovation and commercialization arm of UPMC while UPMC International provides hands-on health care and management services with partners in 12 countries on four continents. For more information, go to UPMC.com. http://www.upmc.com/media Contact: Arvind Suresh Office: 412-647-9966 Mobile: 412-509-8207 E-mail: SureshA2@upmc.edu Contact: Cyndy Patton Office: 412-586-9773 Mobile: 412-415-6085 E-mail: PattonC4@upmc.edu A team of Chinese scientists has realized the satellite-based distribution of entangled photon pairs over 1200 km. The photon pairs were demonstrated to be still entangled after travelling long distances and Bell's inequality was shown to be violated under strict Einstein locality conditions. This experiment was made through two satellite-to-ground downlinks with a summed length varying from 1600-2400 km. The obtained link efficiency is orders of magnitude higher than that of the direct bidirectional transmission of two photons through telecommunication fibers. Quantum communication scientists have a fundamental interest in distributing entangled particles over increasingly long distances and studying the behavior of entanglement under extreme conditions. So far, entanglement distribution has only been achieved at a distance up to ~100 km due to photon loss in optical fibers or terrestrial free space. One way to improve distribution lies in the protocol of quantum repeaters, whose practical usefulness, however, is hindered by the challenges of simultaneously realizing and integrating all key capabilities. Another approach makes use of satellite- and space-based technologies, as a satellite can conveniently cover two distant locations on Earth. The main advantage of this approach is that most of the photons' transmission path is almost in vacuum, with almost zero absorption and de-coherence. To prove the feasibility of satellite- and space-based distribution research, ground-based studies were done that demonstrated bidirectional distribution of entangled photon pairs through a two-link terrestrial free-space channel, over distances of 600 m, 13 km, and 102 km, with an ~80-dB effective channel loss. Quantum communications on moving platforms in a high-loss situation and under turbulent conditions were also tested. After these feasibility studies, a quantum science experiment satellite - Micius - was developed and launched from Jiuquan, China on August 16, 2016 with a mission of entanglement distribution. Cooperating with Micius are three ground stations (Delingha in Qinghai; Nanshan in Urumqi, Xinjiang; and Gaomeigu Observatory in Lijiang, Yunnan). The distance between Delingha and Lijiang (Nanshan) is 1203 km. The distance between the orbiting satellite and these ground stations varies from 500-2000 km. Due to the fact that the entangled photons cannot be amplified as classical signals, new methods must be developed to reduce link attenuation in satellite-to-ground entanglement distribution. To optimize link efficiency, the scientists combined narrow-beam divergence with a high-bandwidth and high-precision acquiring, pointing, and tracking (APT) technique. By developing an ultra-bright space-borne two-photon entanglement source and high-precision APT technology, the team established entanglement between two single photons separated by 1203 km, with an average two-photon count rate of 1.1 Hz and state fidelity of 0.869 0.085. Using the distributed entangled photons, the scientists performed the Bell test at space-like separation and without locality and freedom-of-choice loopholes. Compared with previous methods of entanglement distribution by direct transmission of the same two-photon source -- using the best performance and most common commercial telecommunication fibers, respectively -- the effective link efficiency of the satellite-based approach is 12 and 17 orders of magnitude higher, respectively . Distributed entangled photons are readily useful for entanglement-based quantum key distribution, which, so far, is the only way to establish secure keys between two distant locations on Earth without relying on trustful relay. Another immediate application is to exploit distributed entanglement to perform a variant of quantum teleportation protocol for remote preparation and control of quantum states. This satellite-based technology opens up bright prospects for both practical quantum communications and fundamental quantum optics experiments at distances previously inaccessible on the ground. ### Wednesday, June 14, 2017 The Herman Trend Alert June 14, 2017 Not-So-Conspicuous Consumption on the Rise When our author Joyce was growing up, the phrase, "Keeping up with the Jones" was the reality of day. If you wanted to be accepted into certain peer groups, you consumed visibly. The type of car you drove, the brand of clothes you wore, the street on which you lived, these conspicuous displays of status and others, all mattered. Now, we are beginning to see major changes in that attitude. What is behind that shift With "the democratization of consumer goods" luxury brands---often copied---are far less useful for displaying status. Many people in the middle classes can now afford to buy impressive TVs and designer handbags. Both upper and middle class consumers can now afford to lease expensive cars, take exotic cruises, and travel the world. Given that luxury brands are now accessible to many people, the rich have started using different, less conspicuous displays of wealth. The rise of The Aspirational Class Though Russian oligarchs and affluent billionaires will still demonstrate their wealth with large estates, super yachts, and Rolls Royce automobiles, there is a new class of elite emerging. According to Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, professor at the University of Southern California and author of The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class (Princeton University Press 2017), this trend is being driven by "a well-to-do, educated elite", that she calls the "Aspirational Class". The Aspirational Class values "knowledge and building cultural capital", plus their spending habits are different as well. These folks prefer to spend on services, education, and other types of investments in themselves, rather than "purely material goods". The author calls these new status behaviors "inconspicuous consumption". What the Aspirational Class is spending on Bottom of Form Though the rise of The Aspirational Class is not limited to the United States, this trend appears to be strongest in the US. According to the US Consumer Expenditure Survey, since 2007, the country's top one percent (people earning more than $300,000 USD per year) are spending significantly less on material goods. At the same time, middle-income groups (earning approximately $70,000 USD per year) are spending the same, and their trend is upward. Avoiding overt materialistic spending, the rich are investing significantly more in education, retirement, and health. Education is/will be the benefactor These intangibles, cost many times more than any designer handbag that a middle-income consumer might purchase. The top one percent now dedicate most of their expenditures to inconspicuous consumption. Plus, education accounts for a significant portion of these expenditures (almost 6 percent of top one percent household expenditures, compared with just over one percent of middle-income spending). In fact, since 1996, spending of the top one percent on education has increased 3.5 times. Spending on other non-status items From reading costly magazines to choosing organic foods, The Aspirational Class is voting for inconspicuous consumption with their wallets. The implications are fascinating Obviously, members of the Aspirational Class will drive increases in spending education, organic foods, and other less conspicuous goods and services, including physical and financial fitness. We are already seeing some television commercials appealing to The Aspirational Class and we expect to see more, acknowledging peoples' desires to invest in improving themselves. ******** The Herman Trend Alert June 14, 2017 Not-So-Conspicuous Consumption on the Rise When our author Joyce was growing up, the phrase, "Keeping up with the Jones" was the reality of day. If you wanted to be accepted into certain peer groups, you consumed visibly. The type of car you drove, the brand of clothes you wore, the street on which you lived, these conspicuous displays of status and others, all mattered. Now, we are beginning to see major changes in that attitude. What is behind that shift With "the democratization of consumer goods" luxury brands---often copied---are far less useful for displaying status. Many people in the middle classes can now afford to buy impressive TVs and designer handbags. Both upper and middle class consumers can now afford to lease expensive cars, take exotic cruises, and travel the world. Given that luxury brands are now accessible to many people, the rich have started using different, less conspicuous displays of wealth. The rise of The Aspirational Class Though Russian oligarchs and affluent billionaires will still demonstrate their wealth with large estates, super yachts, and Rolls Royce automobiles, there is a new class of elite emerging. According to Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, professor at the University of Southern California and author of The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class (Princeton University Press 2017), this trend is being driven by "a well-to-do, educated elite", that she calls the "Aspirational Class". The Aspirational Class values "knowledge and building cultural capital", plus their spending habits are different as well. These folks prefer to spend on services, education, and other types of investments in themselves, rather than "purely material goods". The author calls these new status behaviors "inconspicuous consumption". What the Aspirational Class is spending on Bottom of Form Though the rise of The Aspirational Class is not limited to the United States, this trend appears to be strongest in the US. According to the US Consumer Expenditure Survey, since 2007, the country's top one percent (people earning more than $300,000 USD per year) are spending significantly less on material goods. At the same time, middle-income groups (earning approximately $70,000 USD per year) are spending the same, and their trend is upward. Avoiding overt materialistic spending, the rich are investing significantly more in education, retirement, and health. Education is/will be the benefactor These intangibles, cost many times more than any designer handbag that a middle-income consumer might purchase. The top one percent now dedicate most of their expenditures to inconspicuous consumption. Plus, education accounts for a significant portion of these expenditures (almost 6 percent of top one percent household expenditures, compared with just over one percent of middle-income spending). In fact, since 1996, spending of the top one percent on education has increased 3.5 times. Spending on other non-status items From reading costly magazines to choosing organic foods, The Aspirational Class is voting for inconspicuous consumption with their wallets. The implications are fascinating Obviously, members of the Aspirational Class will drive increases in spending education, organic foods, and other less conspicuous goods and services, including physical and financial fitness. We are already seeing some television commercials appealing to The Aspirational Class and we expect to see more, acknowledging peoples' desires to invest in improving themselves. ******** Welcome to the News Release Wire Selection Control Panel. Instant News Wire Farmers are being told to learn more about the importance of using social media to harness support for British farming. During a special session at Cereals 2017, the National Farmers' Union will be running stand today (June 15) outlining the best ways to get positive messages about British farming to wider audiences. Simon Ashby, the NFUs social media adviser said: In recent months we have been touring the country connecting with farmers to create momentum across Twitter and Facebook on key farming issues and outlining the most effective ways to use social media to combat some of the challenges facing the industry. We have already seen the number of active British farmers on social media increase substantially in 2017 using our top tips as a guide for increasing their social media footprints and we want to get more actively involved. The #glyphosateisvital campaign, in particular, has captured the imagination of British farmers with scores of them using their Twitter accounts to show why glyphosate is important to their farming businesses and the environmental benefits it brings. This has played a key role in boosting farmings voice in the debate over its reauthorisation. The Twitter campaign under #glyphosateisvital has been backed by a number of British farmers, who have posted tweets in support of keeping the herbicide. Young farmers have been told to use the power of social media to be bolder about self-promotion and be proud of their products if they want to build a successful career in the industry. A new report on the benefits of sheep in arable rotations, aimed at arable farmers thinking about introducing sheep onto their farms, has been launched at Cereals 2017. The 16-page document discusses the advantages of having sheep in arable systems, either for grazing short term crops such as stubble turnips or swedes, or longer-term grass and clover leys which may be growing for two or more years. Phil Stocker, National Sheep Association (NSA) Chief Executive, said that 50 years ago, sheep were considered highly useful on arable farms. They supported the rotation and helped keep weeds and cereal pests at bay, while adding manure and nutrients following crops could use. Artificial fertilisers, herbicides and plant protection products, the specialisation of arable enterprises and the hassle factor of looking after animals, have all been responsible for the sheep sectors sharp decline here. But now the tide seems to be turning as more arable farmers are looking to see how they can bring sheep back. Soil health and structure The report highlights many advantages of keeping sheep on arable farms, including their beneficial effect on soil health and structure, how they can help control difficult weeds like blackgrass and improve the yields of subsequent crops. It offers practical guidance on growing crops to feed sheep as well as infrastructure needed like fencing and water, while outlining additional rules and regulations which come with keeping animals. Mr Stocker continues: With the aim of getting an increasing number of arable farmers to consider the benefits sheep could bring to their system, the report concludes with a checklist of questions for arable farmers to see if sheep really could be the answer to their arable problems. Case studies in the report demonstrate sheep are already doing very good things on arable farms across the UK, and those considering this option will find a list of possible business structures which can be adopted and modified depending on individual circumstances. NFU president Meurig Raymond says the General Election result has completely changed the dynamics of the Brexit negotiations. The NFU leader spoke to farmers during this year's Cereals event in Lincolnshire. He said the result of the election, which led to the Conservatives losing their majority in the House of Commons, now made it more likely that the UK would look for a soft Brexit deal, seeking to remain a member of the European customs union. "It has changed quite dramatically from the majority of the Cabinet looking for a fairly hard Brexit, even if it meant cliff edge," he said. Theresa May and her Brexit chief, David Davis, had been looking for a hard break from the EU following last June's referendum. In March the Government gave formal notice of the UK's intention to withdraw, leaving two years for negotiations. However, the Prime Minister subsequently decided to call a General Election, saying that she wanted the electorate to give her a stronger mandate for the talks. But her party lost seats, leaving Theresa May relying on the Democratic Unionist Party to prop her up. 'New dynamics' Meurig Raymond said there were now "new dynamics around the Cabinet table." He said he had been led to believe that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, was now pressing for the Government to opt for remaining in the European customs union, which would involve a U-turn on the Government's previous position. "Whether he achieves that through the Brexit committee only time will tell," said the NFU leader. Cereals saw a discussion about what the future held for the UK in the wake of Brexit "Those political dynamics have changed quite dramatically." He said free and frictionless trade was very important. "With lorries parked up in Dover or the opposite direction and all the costs involved with certification in customs, these are just going to put us at a huge disadvantage from a farming perspective, where we export between three and four million tonnes of wheat, barley and oil seed into the European Union, 38 per cent of our sheep meat is exported to the European Union. "Speaking to exporters, yes tariffs would have a big bearing on their ability to export, but it is those tariff barriers that would cause far more concern in the market place than maybe the tariffs themselves. It's the unknown cost." 'Integrated and complicated' The European supply chain in the horticultural sector was as integrated and complicated as the motor car industry, he said. People exported and imported on a daily basis. The knock-on effect of tariff barriers and customs checks would be "absolutely huge," he said. Meurig Raymond was taking part in a discussion about what the future held for the UK in the wake of Brexit. Also involved in the discussion were Ruth Bailey of the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA), David Caffall of the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) and Paul Temple of AHDB Cereals. Ruth Bailey said that non-tariff barriers were of greater concern to her association than tariffs. "I don't want to see a great divergence of standards following Brexit." David Caffall said he was concerned about uncertainty whilst negotiations were taking place between the UK and the EU. He said important investment decisions were likely to be delayed or cancelled over the next 22 months. Paul Temple said he was now hoping for a soft Brexit. All of the speakers were asked by a member of the audience how important it was that the UK remained a member of the European customs union. All four of them said it was their top priority in a any deal negotiated by the Government." 'Biggest industry in UK' Meurig Raymond said that the food and farming industry was worth 108 billion and employed 3.9 million people. "We are the biggest industry in the UK - bigger than the motor car industry and British aerospace put together. And it is the sector that has probably got most to lose if these negotiations around Brexit turn out to be a cliff edge - WTO - and they are not successful from a UK perspective," he said. "Trade is going to be the top issue for us. We want that frictionless trade - no tariff barriers," he said. "We have a huge success story. We export 20 billion tonnes of food out of the UK. Some of it is outside the European Union. We need to develop those markets; those are the opportunities that we must look for at the end of these negotiations. "But, again, we must also remember that in the majority of farming sectors we are only 62 per cent self sufficient in food at home. The domestic market is going to be very important." Good or bad trade deal However, he said that negotiating a good trade deal with the European Union was the priority. "If we end up with a fair trade deal, then I believe we can look forward in a very positive manner; we can be optimistic. Then we can be looking towards developing an ambitious domestic agricultural policy. "But if we end up with a very bad trade deal, cliff edge, tariffs are all up, then the argument to Government will be that we will need a fair bit of support just to sustain an industry. It's that important. "But, again, I believe that the political dynamics are moving towards an understanding of a more frictionless trade customs union - bespoke customs union. That is the view you pick up in Southern Ireland, the Irish border is going to have a big part to play in these negotiations," he said. The NFU president said he had spoken to the new Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, and he said he had been heartened by what he said. "I said to him I am looking for a secretary of state who is going to champion food and farming and is going to fight our case because we enter these negotiations next week around our Brexit withdrawal. I was heartened by what I heard." The Cereals event is promoted as the arable industry's leading technical event. It was held on June 14 and 15 at Boothby Graffoe in Lincolnshire. The European Parliament has voted in favour of a ban on the use of pesticides in Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). The vote means the European Commissions proposals to ban the use of pesticides on nitrogen-fixing crops, fallow, cover and catch crops can now come into force. Farmers who receive subsidies from the blocs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and with arable land exceeding 15 hectares must ensure that at least 5% of their land is set aside for nature improvement. This include measures that affect biodiversity such as field margins, fallow land, buffer strips and hedges and trees. It is up to national governments to draw up a list of ecological focus areas, based on a common EU definition, and taking national circumstances into account. A group of European Parliament lawmakers sought to block the spraying restriction, saying it would undermine the production of crops that are allowed to be cultivated in ecological focus areas. However, the lawmakers objection fell short, garnering 363 votes. 'Urgency' Ed Hutley, farm consultant at Strutt & Parker, said it is 'vital' that farmers are given clarity on how the rules will be implemented with 'some urgency'. He said: People are currently looking at next years cropping plans and will need to know if adjustments are necessary to ensure they can meet their 5% EFA requirement when it comes to completing their 2018 Basic Payment Scheme application. The majority of our clients use peas or beans to meet their EFA requirements, but without pesticides their viability as break crop will be questionable. This means farmers will instead look to maximise any other fallow, buffer strips and hedges to use as EFA. The ban on use of pesticides in certain ecological focus areas will apply beginning January 1 2018. Grade 11 exam kicks off, fake examinee held in Kathmandu The annual examination of grade 11 kicked off across the country on Thursday. Developing new genetic and genomic traits for the dairy industry will require worldwide collaboration, according to experts. AHDB Dairy and Scotlands Rural College (SRUC) are currently driving forward initiatives such as the Global Dry Matter Initiative, which is a collaboration of eight different countries worldwide. Discussion on new ways of working will take place this week at ICAR 2017, a key international conference on livestock recording held in Edinburgh. The event will see hundreds of academics and experts from around the world discussing how the industry can make best use of data, both in terms of livestock management and genetics. Both organisations have recognised how important the area is to the future productivity and profitability of the UKs livestock sector. 'Real difference' Speaking ahead of the conference, AHDB Dairys Head of Genetics Marco Winters explained: Our initial work on genetic selection was focused on outputs, such as milk yield, before we moved on to look at health, fertility and so on. However outputs are of course driven by inputs, so we now need to look at these to make a real difference on farm. Mr Winters said gathering data for these type of future traits is far more complex. We must now look beyond our own borders and work in partnership with organisations around the world to develop an entirely new way of working so we can continue to develop new traits, both in the dairy and beef sectors. While previously we could use the data farmers gathered themselves, for example through milk recording, we are now looking at traits, such as feed efficiency, which are very costly to measure on an individual farm basis, therefore we need collate data worldwide. 'Difficult and costly' Professor Mike Coffey, who leads SRUCs animal breeding and genomics team, agrees that the net now needs to be thrown far wider. We cannot do this on our own anymore, Mr Coffey said. The phenotypes we need in the future will be difficult and costly to produce, which means it is now impractical to rely on purely British data. However we are also looking at a new approach within the UK, contracting nucleus farms which will record data on a much more detailed level. That data can then be shared with our international partners, and used to create these new traits. The first genomic trait likely to be produced with support from the Global Dry Matter Initiative, and funding from AHDB Dairy, will be on feed efficiency, with results expected within the next twelve months. Mr Coffey explained: Feed efficiency is a key trait of interest as it will help us identify those animals which convert their feed into milk most efficiently and so can produce a robust milk supply on a lower volume of feed, while still remaining healthy and fertile. The public showed its support for British farming en masse last weekend with over a quarter of a million people visiting farms for LEAF Open Farm Sunday. Initial estimates indicate that over 250k people spent the day at one of the 358 farms across the country that hosted an event. Press and media attention was extensive with coverage on national radio and TV including ITV's Good Morning Britain and This Morning, as well as in consumer media. Radio 2's Chris Evans who interviewed dairy farmer Abi Reader on air, backed the campaign by visiting his local Open Farm Sunday event and called for more farmers to take part next year. Day to be proud of "Once again, farmers from across the country have come together to showcase the diversity and importance of British farming," said Caroline Drummond, LEAF chief executive. "We have had another spectacular year, with visitor numbers showing a clear interest from the public in finding out more about farming. "This year's Open Farm Sunday was a day the whole industry should be justifiably proud of. "We called on the public to get out and show their support for UK farmers and they did just this in their thousands." Passion and energy LEAF also welcomed its Honorary President, the Countess of Wessex to the Waitrose Farm, Leckford Estate where she toured the event and spoke with staff, helpers and visitors, as well as speaking with ITV Meridian for a feature on the evening news. Ms Drummond said "Her genuine interest and commitment to helping the farming industry connect with the public was clearly evident." "As the industry negotiates its way towards leaving the European Union, it has never been more important for farmers to reach out to their customers. "Their passion and energy will go a long way to making a difference to how the public perceive farming and understand its value. "We'd like even more people to have a chance to visit a farm next year." Around 325 water voles will be released into Kielder Forest in Northumberland this summer in what is the biggest reintroduction of 'Ratty' in the UK. Vole numbers have dropped by almost 90% in recent decades, and they have become one of the UK's most threatened mammals. Between 2016 and 2021, this project will reintroduce and establish a source population of water voles which could then expand into the wider mink monitoring area. Northumberland Wildlife Trust said the project will reintroduce an 'iconic British species'. "Habitat loss, inappropriate wetland management and, principally, the introduction of the North American mink have all contributed to huge and continued water vole population losses since the 1960s. "Populations fell by over 90% in the 1990s alone. The species has disappeared from 94% of sites where it was once prevalent." The Restoring Ratty project was funded with a grant of 421,000 over five years from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and is run by the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, the Forestry Commission and Tyne Rivers Trust. Roisin Black, a National Trust ranger at Malham Tarn, said: "In the rest of Europe, water voles are common. In Britain, the creatures are incredibly rare. "We know water voles have thrived at Malham Tarn in the past and thanks to work by the National Trust, the habitat here is perfect for water voles again." Rewilding and farming A report suggests 'rewilding' the UK's natural landscape is the best option for coping with flooding. Rewilding Britain, the organisation behind the report, says a growing body of evidence suggests that managing flood risk naturally, by restoring natural processes, can be cheaper and more sustainable. However, many rural organisations disagree with this approach, with the NFU saying it is "idealistic", and that rewilding and farming need to work together in order for it to work. "You have to go back hundreds, if not thousands, of years to find a Welsh hillside or Lake District uplands where sheep werent present and integral to the communities that live there," said Phil Bicknell, writing on the National Farmers' Union website. "More importantly in my view, they ignore the economic impact. Without our uplands, we wouldnt have a UK sheep industry. "The raw materials that leave the farmgate are the source material for the largest manufacturing sector in the UK - our food processors - and that equates to jobs and economic growth," Mr Bicknell concluded. The legacy of an IT programme set up to deliver financial support to rural businesses still presents significant risks and costs for the Scottish government, says Audit Scotland. Audit Scotland has reviewed the progress made in resolving serious issues with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Futures programme, and says fines of up to 60m are still possible. It was created to enable the Scottish government to provide financial support to farmers and rural businesses in line with European Commission reforms. But a 'highly critical' report into the 178m IT system has created a rift between MSPs and Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing. A farming leader has previously asked whether the government is "flogging a dead horse" by sticking with its IT system for delivering CAP support. And farming union NFU Scotland said every farmer will remember 2016 as a year when the Scottish government's 'flawed IT system failed to deliver' the subsidy CAP payments, 'damaging' the rural economy. Value for money The Scottish government oversaw the IT and business change programme, which closed at the end of March. Over the last year, significant changes in leadership have been introduced which have brought about a renewed effort to stabilise the programme. However, Audit Scotland has said the programme hasn't delivered value for money or planned benefits for applicants. The report acknowledged the application process has improved, but problems still lie with making payments. It said the Scottish government will need to incur further costs to develop the IT systems used for payment applications and maintain existing processes. There is not yet a fully developed or tested plan for recovering the systems in the event of a breakdown. The Scottish Government has used loan schemes to get money to farmers more quickly. Payment delays for 2016 applications meant loans took longer to recover than planned, which introduced more risk to the wider Scottish budget and put pressure on payment timescales and staff. 60 million fine There is still a risk of fines if the payments system doesn't comply with European Commission regulations, for example by missing deadlines or weaknesses in controls. The Scottish government is still to carry out a detailed analysis of what penalties it may face, so it can decide where to focus future funding to ensure the system is compliant. Audit Scotland's latest assessment is that fines of up to 60 million are possible. The Scottish Government has said it is making changes to improve longer-term strategic thinking and capacity. It said they will need time to embed and management time is still being taken up by responding to short-term risks. Transferring knowledge from programme contractors to government staff is also essential, but will be a challenge due to short timescales and immediate payment priorities. Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, said: "The challenges of building a complex rural payments system mean the Scottish Government is juggling multiple demands on its time and resources. This has had an impact on its progress over the past year. "It's crucial that knowledge is effectively transferred to staff so the system can be maintained and payments made on time for 2017. The Scottish Government also urgently needs to fully understand the financial risk it faces, so that it can target funding at ensuring the system is compliant and secure." Quote: First I shopped around looking for the best price (5 different dealers). Mine also was worked from the invoice price. Once I had a dealer agree to work with me and they had the best price I place my order. No deposit was required and the deal did not close until the you sign the contract. Most of the time it is when you take delivery of the truck. I got my truck at invoice plus incentives. __________________ This is a great example of the wrong way to do it, and while the poster got a good deal, they wasted alot of peoples time, and could have just built a relationship with one person and gotten a better deal in far less time.I presume since you're looking at ordering that you've already decided mostly what you're looking for. Good. Just go to the dealer you want to work with for sales and service and order it.How to get a great fair deal? You start at invoice. If you're a serious buyer and ready to make an offer to order then you'll be in great shape. I would suggest the commercial department. I've seen the FNG get called "our truck expert" to a customer, and the guy that has been here over 20 years really doesn't know what payload means, so other than going to a truck department, it's a crap shoot for how well they know the product. If you really know what you want then it won't matter, but IMO, it doesn't hurt to have someone who orders a bunch of these look it over and see if you might want to consider something. So anyway, how do you get the invoice for a truck that doesn't exist? I've always said just build it on true car and that'll put you in the ball park. That will include incentives. When they order it Ford shows you what the invoice cost is, and they should be able to give you a good idea what the holdback will be. If I were going to order a truck and not use D plan, I'd just go in and offer to "split the holdback". So on a $70k truck, that might be around $2k, so if the invoice is $68, you'd get the truck fro $67 and then take off rebates. (those numbers are completely made up, do NOT use them as a basis). On a cheap work truck, the hold back is closer to $1k, so it'd be $500 under invoice. You won't know the exact amount at the time of order, but its a great price.It's not the best price, and if you're going to lose sleep over a few hundred bucks, then ordering probably isn't for you. I've proposed to our management that rather than taking a deposit, we charge a fee, with a redeemable coupon towards the vehicle purchase. A deposit is refundable, a fee wouldn't have to be. Why? Too many folks do just what you ask, make a deal and then back out. IMO using the law as your basis of your moral backbone is as slimy as the worst dealers out there. If you agree to something, follow through. If it's damaged Ford will make it right. If you don't want it after repairs, if the damage was major, I get that and the dealer should be able to work with you. But backing out because you found it a few bucks cheaper (and that's what it could be) is poor business. If you shop how I suggest you really shouldn't have to worry. So who cares if you back out of a deal? Most dealers pay interest on their inventory, so when a truck sits for a few months we lose money. Ford doesn't charge right away, but after the grace period, that adds up fast. If you're ordering, it's probably a somewhat unique build, so then we have to find someone else willing to buy it. Most mis-orders sit for a long time and cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. So a dealer taking your order on a handshake and deposit is a pretty strong show of faith with little risk from you and big risk from them. They are typically doing it with a low expectation of profits too (if you do what I said, a loaded up $70k truck will net lower profits than a off the street sale of a $20k Focus), so while yes, you're spending lots of money, you're not really paying the dealership all that much. Order folks are more likely to use their own financing as well, so there is a good chance it's a big risk for little reward, and you might not give them perfect survey scores either, so yuck.Still, it can be a great process for you, an easy sale for the dealer, and a great survey for the sales person. I've always said, make the sale easy for me and I'll make sure I get a mini (industry term for a flat commission when the vehicle profit doesn't generate enough commission to pay more than the flat). Do I love great paydays? Absolutely. But I don't know too many sales folks that wouldn't take an easy sale every day if they knew they could count on the volume. When you "shop" around... all we hear is "I want you to work harder for me for less money than anyone else". And while that's the nature of capitalism in many ways... it's much easier just to say "no thanks" and wait for someone who we can make a little money off of the old fashioned way (also just the nature of capitalism). No matter how much you're buying the truck for... you're not that important if you're ONLY focused on the absolute cheapest price. That sucks too, I get it, but think about it! But if you focus on getting a great price and making the process easy, you'll be treated extremely well by any good salesman. Haiti - DR : 19,5 million Euro for the next binational program Monday in Santo Domingo in the presence of Ambassador Antonio Vargas Hernandez, Director General of Multilateral Cooperation and National Authorizing Officer of the European Development Fund Alberto Navarro, Head of the European Union Delegation in the Dominican Republic, was launched a national workshop on the next binational program between Haiti and the Dominican Republic (sport, culture and education among others), which will be financed to the tune of 19.5 million by the European Union. This workshop was also used as a preparation for a bi-national workshop to be held later in June in Haiti for the joint sharing of work in order to finalize and subsequently submit to Brussels the final action document. For Ambassador Vargas Hernandez, General Director of Multilateral Cooperation (DIGECOOM) the Dominican-Haitian relations are of great importance for the development of the two nations and present challenges that requires to continue to strengthen the links and the promotion of dialogue between the two peoples. He recalled that the 50.1 million binational program of the 10th European Development Fund, focusing on trade, environment and support, will be deepened in the next binational workshop. It should be noted that the continuity of this binational program under the 11th European Development Fund, both at the level of governments and non-state actors, was agreed by the Haitian and Dominican government and by the European Union, at a meeting within the framework of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM). SL/ HaitiLibre KMC gets down to clean and green business Weeks after getting the newly-elected mayor, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), the countrys largest metropolis, is introducing some new measures for improving environment of the city. CapitaLand"s wholly owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has secured contracts to manage its first three properties under its latest brand, lyf, in its two key markets China and Singapore. This marks the launch of Ascott"s new co-living concept in China as Ascott seizes to capture the booming millennial market and shape the future of travel. Signifying a new way of living and collaborating as a community, Ascott is showcasing its first lyf property today, the 112-unit lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen which will open in the first half of 2018. The 120-unit lyf DDA Dalian is scheduled to open in end 2018 while lyf Farrer Park Singapore, the biggest of the three lyf properties with 240 units, is slated to open in 2021. Located in the economic zone or innovation park, these three lyf properties will provide conducive environments in which innovation and creativity can thrive. lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen is situated in an innovation park named Wu Tong Island that has 24 office buildings leased to firms in the technology, design, media and tourism industries. lyf DDA Dalian is in the Dalian Development Area (DDA), China"s first Economic and Technological Development Zones that is home to start-ups, local and foreign enterprises, including Fortune 500 companies. lyf Farrer Park Singapore is conveniently located in the Central Region of Singapore and a short 15-minute drive from the Central Business District. Please refer to the Annex for more information on these lyf properties. Ascott first unveiled the lyf brand in Singapore in November 2016, and it set up the serviced residence industry"s first-of-its-kind living lab to field test co-living concepts for lyf in February 2017. Working in partnership with the Singapore Management University, the [email protected] living lab will translate data into actionable insights so that upcoming lyf properties are tailor made for Ascott"s target customers. Hotel website Canada's hotel industry reported flat occupancy to 73.8% during the week of 4-10 June. ADR increased 5% to 167.45 Canadian dollars ($126.14) and RevPAR increased 5.1% to CA$123.59 ($93.10). The Canadian hotel industry reported mostly positive year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 4-10 June 2017, according to data from STR. In comparison with the week of 5-11 June 2016, the industry reported the following: Occupancy: flat at 73.8% Average daily rate (ADR): +5.0% to CAD167.45 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +5.1% to CAD123.59 Among the provinces, British Columbia posted the largest year-over-year increase in RevPAR (+13.4% to CAD154.53), driven primarily the weeks only double-digit lift in ADR (+10.6% to CAD192.71). Ontario recorded the only other double-digit rise in RevPAR (+10.3% to CAD124.10). Manitoba saw the largest increase in occupancy (+4.6% to 78.6%). Alberta saw the steepest decline in RevPAR (-10.1% to CAD90.33). Saskatchewan reported the largest drop in ADR (-9.4% to CAD119.22). New Brunswick experienced the largest decrease in occupancy (-4.1% to 67.9%). STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com. Old War Office Building in Whitehall to Be Transfromed Into the Raffles Hotel London Raffles Hotels & Resorts today announces the signing of a partnership with the Hinduja Group and Obrascon Huarte Lain Desarrollos (OHLD) to transform the iconic Old War Office building in Whitehall into the most unique hotel and deluxe residences in London. The Raffles Hotel in London will be the heart and soul of this exciting landmark destination. Raffles Hotels & Resorts is delighted to complete its already stunning portfolio with such an exclusive asset in such strategic city and location. Steeped in history, the first Raffles Hotel was opened in 1887 in Singapore, named after the British statesman and founder of Singapore, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. Raffles was celebrated by Nobel Prize winner, Rudyard Kipling in his 1889 book, From Sea To Sea and in 1915 Singapore's most famous cocktail, the Singapore Sling was created at the hotel. The Grade II* listed Old War Office, with its 1100 rooms across seven floors, and two miles of corridors, was completed in 1906. It was the office to many of the United Kingdom's most important and influential political and military leaders of the twentieth century, notably Sir Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George, Lord Kitchener, Herbert Asquith and T.E. Lawrence. It was also the haunt of the British Secret Service who had their own, more discreet entrance. Close to 10 Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, the Old War Office was bought by Hinduja Group and OHLD in December 2014 following a public bid. Planning permission was granted for a multi-purpose development including 125 rooms (of which 40% are suites), 88 private residences, restaurants and other amenities. Completion is expected in just over three years. Commenting on the new partnership, Sebastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of AccorHotels said: "I am delighted to announce this long-term management contract with the Hinduja Group and OHLD. This is the start of an important partnership for Raffles Hotels & Resorts and will create a new and vibrant landmark for London. This is a significant step for Raffles and a strategic addition to the Group's Luxury portfolio. We remain committed to providing guests with unparalleled service and experience." Gopichand P. Hinduja, the Hinduja Group's Co-Chairman said: "Our new partnership with Raffles Hotels and Resorts is a significant milestone in our vision to transform the Old War Office into London's finest luxury destination. Raffles brings a unique understanding of British heritage and tradition that will help revive this great British landmark." Sanjay G Hinduja, President of the Hinduja Group, said: "We are delighted that after the completion of the Grade I listed building in Carlton House Terrace, we can now apply this valuable experience to a greater challenge and create what will become the most iconic place in London." Juan Villar-Mir de Fuentes, Chairman of Grupo OHL said: "The OHL Group is extremely proud to be part of, in partnership with the Hinduja Group, this exciting project which, reinforced with the Raffles brand, is now fully aligned with OHL Desarrollos's strong commitment and strategy to develop unique projects around the world." Shiftboard & ISI Partner to Provide Employee Scheduling Optimization Solution to Automotive Fast Lube Industry Posted by Press Releases on Thursday, 06-15-2017 2:27 am Currently 0.0/5 Stars. 1 2 3 4 5 0.0 from 0 votes With Integrated Solution, Service Providers Can Save Thousands Through Optimized Labor SchedulingShiftboard, Inc. and Integrated Services, Inc. (ISI) announce the formation of a strategic partnership that brings intelligent employee scheduling to the automotive oil change business. Shiftboard is the top-rated staff scheduling solution provider according to PC Magazine and Capterra, a Gartner company. ISI is the market leading provider of software point-of-sale and back office solutions in the automotive fast lube Industry.Shiftboard and ISI will co-market an integrated labor optimization scheduling solution for automotive oil change businesses. The SaaS solution automatically schedules the optimal number of employees throughout the day to reduce operating cost without compromising quality of service. Shiftboard analyzes customer traffic and labor data from ISI systems to forecast future demand, then applies intelligent, rules-based scheduling automation to create an optimized staff sch... Close Forgot Your Password? Enter in your email address and we will send it to you. Send Email An HR.com member profile provides you with access to a multitude of information and education along with the opportunity to network with the largest HR community on the web. If you need any help, call .877.472.6648 and ask for our Member Experience Co-ordinator. Hi Please check your email for an activation link. If you do not receive your activation email within a few minutes, check your spam folder or call our Help Desk at 1.877.472.6648 For faster assistance, dial extension 4. Thank you! Continue Hi Verification error - Please enter the correct code above. Verified Wow! You have successfully verified the account Continue Hi your HR.com account is ready Your Profile completion: 30% Complete your profile Stats You Need to Know about Employee Donation Matching Programs Posted by Ryan Scott on Thursday, 06-15-2017 12:41 am Currently 0.0/5 Stars. 1 2 3 4 5 0.0 from 0 votes Matching gifts are often the best kept secret at companies across the country. And thats not a good thing. Too many employees arent aware of their companys policies around matching gifts or arent able to easily capitalize on this perk. Too many companies arent sufficiently promoting this engagement-fostering tool. And too many nonprofits are left with a fraction of the resources that they could have benefited from with each employee donation. Unmatched donations is, plain and simple, money left on the table. So if your company offers matching gifts, consider how you can make this benefit more widely known and easier to access. And if you dont offer matching gifts, its time to make the case to the powers that be about adding this benefit at your company. According to our friends at Double the Donation, a matching gifts services company, higher matching gift caps yield higher employee engagement. From their research: Caps that are set at $1,000 see a 12% employee engage... Close Forgot Your Password? Enter in your email address and we will send it to you. Send Email An HR.com member profile provides you with access to a multitude of information and education along with the opportunity to network with the largest HR community on the web. If you need any help, call .877.472.6648 and ask for our Member Experience Co-ordinator. Hi Please check your email for an activation link. If you do not receive your activation email within a few minutes, check your spam folder or call our Help Desk at 1.877.472.6648 For faster assistance, dial extension 4. Thank you! Continue Hi Verification error - Please enter the correct code above. Verified Wow! You have successfully verified the account Continue Hi your HR.com account is ready Your Profile completion: 30% Complete your profile We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector NAC receives only one bid for its Boeing 757 An auction sale by Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) of its Boeing 757 has attracted only one bidder. The extended deadline for submitting tenders ended Monday. Appeals court upholds tribes claim in dispute over Gila River water By Ben MoffatCronkite News WASHINGTON A federal appeals court Tuesday agreed with two tribes who challenged a Freeport Minerals plan to divert water from the Gila River, saying the company had failed to show that its proposal would not affect the tribes. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the company, now Freeport-McMoRan, did not meet its burden of proving that the plan to reroute water would not have substantial negative effects on those downstream, which included the Gila River Indian Community and the San Carlos Apache Tribe The plans in question were the remaining handful of hundreds filed in the 1990s to sever and transfer water rights under a 1935 consent decree that controls allocation and use of water from the Gila River. Attorneys for Freeport and several other users who were challenged by the tribes did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the courts ruling. But an attorney for the San Carlos Apache welcomed the decision, saying the tribes are already reamed by diversion, which makes the remaining water too salty to use. It wouldnt do that to itself and its neighbors, but it will do it to San Carlos Apache, Joe P. Sparks said of the rejected Freeport plan. Officials with Freeport-McMoRan and with the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the Gila River Indian Community also did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Control of water from the Gila River was set out in a 1935 consent decree, the Globe Equity Decree, issued by the federal district court, which still has jurisdiction over that decree. Besides distributing the water between landowners in the area, it set out rules in 1993 for how landowners can transfer their rights to the water. Those rules said that to divert water, an applicant would have to publish a sever and transfer notification with the water commissioner. If any other party objects, the issue can go to court where the applicant has to prove that there will be no injury to the rights of other parties by the change. When its applications were challenged, Freeport said the only thing that would change would be the point of diversion and that there would be no change to the priorities, volumes of water use and acreage no net increase or decrease in decreed rights as a result. But the appeals court said that was not enough. Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of Gila River Indian Community:Water is a trust resource.Water is life Listening session on BIA reorganization pic.twitter.com/8K45gejAqX indianz.com (@indianz) June 12, 2017 Parties must do more than recite that the quantity of water being diverted and the order of priorities remain the same, said the opinion by Judge Diarmuid OScannlain. Freeport also had to address water quality and the cumulative effect of all of its transfer applications, he wrote. One part of the river often runs dry, for example, allowing landowners upstream to pump more water, the court said. Other considerations were that how and where the water was diverted could affect salinity of the remaining water. Freeport responded by noting that the tribes can issue a call to stop upstream landowners from drawing water if the downstream landowners are affected. But the court said that would only happen after the harm was done to the tribes, which the 1935 decree was set to avoid. Such delays are inimical to the Tribes ability to grow crops, which will die if they do not receive water at the appropriate time, OScannlain wrote. According to testimony from the Water Commissioner, there is already insufficient water to meet the Tribes demands. Anything that exacerbates these shortages could detrimentally impact the Tribes rights, he wrote. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision: United States of America v. Gila Valley Irrigation District (June 13, 2017) Join the Conversation Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America Meeting Date: Monday, June 26, 2017 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Event Type: Meeting Organizer/Author: Silicon Valley DSA Email: Location Details: Mountain View Community Center (Room 2), 201 South Rengstorff Avenue, Mountain View, CA 5:30 Doors Open (if you want to help set up) 6:00-6:30 New Member Orientation 6:30-8:00 Branch Meeting Topics may include single payer healthcare (SB 562), DSA National Convention, Voting Reform, Socialist Feminism, Local Politics, Tenants Right, Reading group, Workers rights, and more! Check us out at facebook.com/svdsa/ and on Twitter @SV_DSA KPFA Pacifica WorkWeek radio looks at the organized fightback of labor in Portland against the growth of racists and fascists who are mobilizing. Trade unionists with the support of their locals organized protests against a nazi rally and stopped the racists and Nazis from marching through the city. WorkWeek also plays the speech of Labor MP Jeremy Corbyn who spoke in 2007 at a ILWU supported Labor Conference To Stop The War. WorkWeek looks at the response of trade unionists and union locals opposed to racists and nazis in Portland. Following the murders in Portland on May 26, 2017 of two workers including one who was a member of IATSE Local 17, the neo-nazis and racists tried to have a rally and march in the city. WorkWeek interviews Wyatt McMinn who is Vice President of the Painters Union Local 10 in Portland and Rebecca Lewis who is a member of IATSE 488 and both are supporters of the Internationalist Group.Next we hear from Jeremy Corbyn, who is the leader of the UK Labor Party who was in San Francisco on October 20, 2007 to speak at a Labor Conference to Stop The War sponsored by the ILWU Local 10 and Local 34.He discussed the role of the ILWU, internationalism and the fight against US wars in the Middle East and attacks on Iran.For additional information:Production of WorkWeek Radioworkweek(at)kpfa.orgPacific Northwest Regional Council Of Carpenters Calls on Labor To Mobilize Against Racist and Fascist Hate GroupsMobilize Labor to stand against racist and fascist hate groupsWhereas, there has been a sharp increase in racist and anti-immigrant attacks across the country in recent days, andWhereas, numerous hate groups have stated that they will stage menacing provocations in many areas, including the Pacific Northwest, andWhereas, groups like the KKK and other racist organizations represent a deadly threat to African Americans, Latinos (and other people of color), immigrants, Muslims, Jews (and other marginalized religious groups), LGBTQ, among many others, and represent a threat directly to the members of this Union, and the labor movement as a whole, andWhereas, the white supremacist forces are related to the origins of anti-labor right to work laws in order to destroy unions because they believed unions would lead to uniting and empowering the multi- national, multi-racial, working class to resist these attacks, andWhereas, if the US labor movement is to rebuild its strength during this period of crisis of racist organizing and attacks, it must take up the struggle against white supremacy/white nationalism, not as an abstract debate, but as part of its social, political, and organizing agenda, andWhereas, unions are considered a threat to many fascist groups, and other racist organizations because the unions are working class defense organizations for all workers in the community, andWhereas, we stand by the principles of the UBC, whos constitution states, we recognize that the interests of all labor are identical regardless of occupation, sex, national origin, religion, or color, for a wrong done to one is a wrong done to all. We oppose all unlawful discrimination and harassment against workers, whether based on race, gender, nationality, or any other basis.Therefore be it resolved that the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters stands ready to join with the broader labor and social justice community in mobilizing against the clear and present danger that the provocations of racist and fascist organizations pose to us all.Unions react to the MAX killings "Best was a well-liked member of the COPPEA chapter of Professional & Technical Employees (PTE) Local 17 at the City of Portland. An army veteran and a father of four, he had been a technician at the citys Bureau of Development Services since 2015.Jun 2, 2017 Building CommunityAt the Hollywood Transit Center, an impromptu memorial to the victims of the May 26 attack on the MAX light rail.By Don McIntoshPORTLAND The May 26 attacks on the MAX light rail train hit close to home for many local union members.Jeremy Christian, an ex-con and self-described political nihilist, got on a westbound train at Lloyd Center at about 4:30 Friday and immediately targeted two African-American girls, one of them wearing a hijab, with a loud and frightening racist rant. Three men stepped forward to defend the girls and were stabbed in the neck by Christian. Micah David-Cole Fletcher survived. Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Rick Best died of their wounds.Best was a well-liked member of the COPPEA chapter of Professional & Technical Employees (PTE) Local 17 at the City of Portland. An army veteran and a father of four, he had been a technician at the citys Bureau of Development Services since 2015.Local 17 posted a tribute to Rick on its website, and asked members to contribute to a GoFundMe pageto fund scholarships for Bests children: Erik, Isaac, David, and Tramanh. The union also wrote a check to cover COBRA payments for June so Bests family can maintain health insurance it was getting through the City. Portland City Council is working on ordinance to pay the COBRA payments for three years after that. The PTE 17 board will also consider other ways to honor Ricks sacrifice and bravery at its June 15 meeting in Seattle, including the possibility of contributing to the Rick Best Memorial Scholarship Fund, since that is where his family would like donations to go.Other union members dealt with the aftermath of the attacks in the course of doing their jobs, including members of the Portland Police Association, Teamster-represented paramedics who staff American Medical Response, and TriMet police officers and the TriMet light rail operator who halted the train after the attacks occurred. TriMet employees are represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757, which has been raising concerns about security on board buses and light rail trains for several years.A thank you to the Good Samaritans, signed by TriMet operatorsBut in a May 31 statement about the attacks, ATU Local 757 president Shirley Block expressed opposition to a proposal to increase the presence of armed police officers aboard buses and trains. Armed police officers aboard transit vehicles intimidate the public, reduce ridership, and provide little more than expensive security theatre, Block wrote. Instead, Block said, the union is calling for a return to well-trained fare inspectors who can de-escalate and/or assess the proper response to dangerous situations, as well as a reinstatement of TriMets Rider Advocate program, which recruited and paid individuals from low-income communities and communities of color to ride our buses and trains as liaisons between operators, fare inspectors, riders, and even police. See the full statement here.Oregon AFL-CIO president Tom Chamberlain also issued a statement May 31 in response to the attacks: The unions of the Oregon AFL-CIO offer our sincere condolences to the families and friends of Taliesin Namkai-Meche and Ricky John Best, and we hope Micah David-Cole Fletcher has a complete recovery, Chamberlain said. The actions these three took demonstrates a unique combination of bravery and compassion. We hope the two young women who endured a hate-fueled verbal assault can process and ultimately heal from what I can only imagine to be a deeply devastating experience.Incidents of hate and hate crimes have been on the rise in our country, and Fridays violence remind Oregonians that we all must stand together in opposition to those who seek to divide us through fear and violence. Oregonians are sickened and disturbed by Fridays events, and I encourage all of us to stand together and continue to take positive actions to protect the rights of us all. Its through unity and solidarity that we will heal from this tragic incident. Its through standing together against hatred that we can stop events like this from happening again. Nepal-China trade fair kicks off at Korala The Nepal-China inter-country trade fair has commenced at the Korala transit point on the Nepal-Tibet border from Thursday. Why: Raise awareness of current United Nations General Assembly nuclear weapons ban treaty negotiationsThis local action is part of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom - San Jose Branch's support of the Women's March to Ban the Bomb, happening the same day in New York City. Rallies and marches around the U.S. and the world will focus on the June 15 - July 7 United Nations General Assembly conference in NYC -- to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination.There are nearly 15,000 nuclear weapons in current stockpiles, enough to destroy human civilization. Most nuclear weapons are in United States and Russian arsenals. The less-powerful atom bombs dropped in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed hundreds of thousands. Most casualties were civilians. The longterm aftermath of nuclear bomb explosions contaminates the atmosphere and the earth and causes genetic damage.Visuals: Large sign with mushroom cloud with red X superimposed on it, plus http://www.ICANW.org URL - visible from passing vehicles at busy intersection, plus smaller signsNote: San Francisco and Palo Alto will also have activities at noon on Saturday 6/17 relating to the UNGA negotiations. See (incomplete) listings of those and other events on the WomenBantheBomb.org website.More info: http://reachingcriticalwill.org As a person involved in the last year's scandal concerning real property, which was purchased using undocumented revenue, Sapar Isakov made a great leap in his career in the past six months. He rose from the rank of the Deputy Head of the Kyrgyz President's Office to the position of the Chief of the President's Administration. Thus, at his age of 39, Isakov is the fourth man in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan after the country's President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament. Some journalists even call him the future successor of Almazbek Atambayev. But it is more significant that Isakov's successive career advancement has always been accompanied by his hard work as an informer of the US Embassy and CIA. It seems Americans do not want to lose this valuable insider. Moreover, they actively help him to be as close as possible to the political decision-making center of Kyrgyzstan. At the age of 31, Sapar Isakov started tightly cooperating with the US representatives, especially when he headed the international relations department of Kyrgyzstan's Government Office. By his own admission, at that time he held a lot of meetings with US Deputy Ambassador, who regularly went to the Government Office for talks. In 2009, Sapar Jumakadyrovich was against the closing of the US base in Manas, considering that it would dramatically reduce the country's opportunities. He was explaining the Kyrgyz authorities' position of categorically rejecting this base existence to US Embassy's representatives as a result of mercantile interests. At the same time, Isakov was also complaining to Americans about Russia that, as explained by Isakov, did not fully fulfill its financial obligations after the closing of the Manas airbase. Such public pro-American statements and providing important information on the subject of the country's policies to the US Embassy have not been lost on Isakov. In the dispatch of US Ambassador T. C. Gfoeller that was recently published by Wikileaks, a mention "strictly protect" has been written down next to the surname of Sapar Jumakadyrovich. Igor Chudinov's memories (I mean former premier of Kyrgyzstan at whose Cabinet current Chief of the President's Administration has worked) are also evidence of Isakov's special importance for the USA. According to Chudinov, in 2007-2009, the US Embassy found out the Kyrgyz government's plans and initiatives before the very premier learned about them. For instance, the US Ambassador was informed in advance of the Kyrgyz government's plan to denounce the 1993 agreement with the USA in which personnel of American NGOs received immunities. In addition to regular meetings with US diplomats, Isakov was also cooperating with CIA station chief in Kyrgyzstan Mr. Litzenberg. Now Sapar Jumakadyrovich refutes any allegations of doing information work in that direction, justifying his statements towards the Manas airbase by claiming that he "didn't know where his mind went at that time" and that he was mad at Bakiyev's clan. But the time has left Isakov unchanged. When he entered into entourage of President Atambayev and, in 2012, became chief of foreign policy department of the President's Administration, Isakov continued to play up to Americans in every possible way. For instance, for several years, Sapar Isakov has been lobbying a new agreement with the USA on the stay of US military in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. Perhaps, major Isakov's expenditures are linked just to his work on behalf of the US Embassy. In 2015, he spent almost twice as much as he earned. In addition to the charge of unlawful enrichment and links with two mobile communications dealer companies, Sapar Jumakadyrovich was seen involving in activity that is directly threatening to national interests and security of the Kyrgyz Republic. For instance, in 2016, Isakov prepared documentation on renting helicopters MI-8 by Uganda. The latter were received by Kyrgyzstan in the form of military and technical assistance of Moscow. Isakov also turned out to be involved in the establishment of illegal migration's channel for Afghani citizens, whom he was visaing Kyrgyz citizenship papers. Turkish vocational schools, being the inspiration of Fethullah Gulen, have gone into Sapar Isakov's protection, too. Isakov personally contributed to throwing off any 'terrorist activities' suspicions' towards Gulen's schools. To that end, the vocational schools were renamed, and Kyrgyz Ministry of Education became one of their founders. Sapar Isakov presiding over the Office of the Kyrgyz President can be fully involved in the process of making foreign-policy decisions and get a chance to provide more information for his American sponsors about President Atambayev's intentions, as well as, initiatives of Kyrgyz ministries and departments. In fact, from average informer and lobbyist of Washington's interests, Isakov became a high-ranking resident agent with broad powers, which opens up a lot of opportunities for the USA in this region. It means that at any moment Kyrgyzstan's foreign policy may change its direction to opposite; cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Customs Union (EACU) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) risks being slowed down, and before the election, to be held on October 15, the political situation in the republic threatens to become extremely unpredictable and stressful. Burma KIO Sentences Poppy Grower to Death for Killing Anti-drug Activist A KIO tribunal sentences two poppy growers for their involvement in a killing in Kachin State. / Hkun Awng Nlam / Facebook YANGON A tribunal of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) sentenced a poppy grower to death and another to seven years in jail for fatally shooting a member of an ethnic Kachin movement against opium. Lahtaw Tu Sai, 19, a member of Pat Jasan an anti-narcotics coalition of church and community activists was reportedly killed, as poppy growers Nsan Naw Mai and Diapha Gam shot at Pat Jasan members who tried to destroy poppy fields in Tanai Township, Kachin State, on Jan. 15, 2016. The tribunal sentenced Nsan Naw Mai to death and Diapha Gam to seven years imprisonment. Both men are from Tayawn village in Tanai Township. It is unclear whether the two men were detained throughout the trial process and when that process began. Netizens shared reports of the ruling along with photos of the trial on June 13. KIO information officer Lt-Col Naw Bu confirmed the news, but said he had not received an official letter from the ethnic armed groups leadership informing him of the verdict. As far as I can remember, the KIO tribunal hardly ever gives death sentences. But there were cases in which death sentences were commuted after an appeal, said Lt-Col Naw Bu. Lt-Col Naw Bu said the KIO has implemented an anti-narcotics policy since 1963. The KIO has assigned staff to combat opium and drug production as well as drug deals in the state, he said. The group also punishes citizens and KIO staff involved in drug cases, he added. Naw Tawn, a Pat Jasan leader in Tanai Township, told The Irrawaddy that he heard the KIO investigated the two poppy growers after the incident, but he was not aware of the details of the case or the workings of KIOs judicial system. I saw a post about the trial on Facebook, but we didnt receive an official letter informing us about it. I dont know exactly how the hearing took place, he said. Pat Jasan was formed in April 2014 in reaction to the states growing drug problem. Thousands of volunteers joined the movement, motivated by leaders of the Kachin Baptist Church (KBC). The group runs awareness and education campaigns and rehabilitation centers. Its vigilante element arrests and prosecutes drug users and dealers, and destroys poppy fields. Pat Jasans activities came under the spotlight after 30 people were injured in a clash between poppy growers, a militia and Pat Jasan in February 2016. Since then, the groups vigilante activities have quieted. Members of Pat Jasan asked the government to provide security in their plans to destroy poppy plantations in February this year, but the government did not respond, according to Naw Tawn, so it abandoned its plans. He said, however, it still runs education campaigns and rehabilitation centers for drug addicts. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma Pathein Students Accused of Defamation Face Trial at District Court Students face trial at Pathein District Court. / Salai Thant Zin / The Irrawaddy PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division Pathein University students faced defamation charges at Pathein District Court on Wednesday after the military appealed last months acquittal by the township court. The Tatmadaw sued nine students of Pathein University for defamation under Section 500 of the Penal Code after they staged a drama critical of military clashes with ethnic armed groups during a peace event in Pathein on Jan. 9 The township court acquitted seven of the students on May 12, but the plaintiff, Lt-Col Aung Myo Khaing of the Tatmadaws South Western Command, appealed to the district court. As the army was not satisfied with the township courts acquittal of the seven students, it appealed to the district court, Ko Min Min, one of the seven prosecuted students, told The Irrawaddy. But the township court did not send the dossier, so the trial will continue next week, he added. Two other studentsKo Aung Khant Zaw and Ko Myat Thu Htetare still facing trial at the township court. The court hearing for the two will be held on June 28. The township court has already acquitted [seven of the students], but the army appealed to the district court, so, I feel like the army is keen to put us behind bars, said Ko Aung Kaung Myat. The students performed a satirical comedy in which a news agency interviewed supporters of conflict in Burma. U Tun Tun Oo, leader of the Human Rights Activists Association in Pathein, is also facing trial at Pathein Township Court under Article 66 (d) of the Telecommunications Law for streaming the drama on Facebook. Burma Rakhine Protesters Demand UN Protect Buddhist Chakma in Bangladesh Rakhine demonstrators outside the UN offices in Maungdaw Township demand action on behalf of the Chakma in Bangladesh on Wednesday. / Alladin Maungdaw YANGON The Arakan National Party (ANP) led 300 people, including Buddhist monks and local Arakanese, in a protest outside the UN offices in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State on Wednesday, urging the agency to protect the Buddhist minority Chakma in Bangladesh. Police Maj Kyaw Mya Win confirmed that the demonstration was granted permission by the authorities to proceed and that the rally participants went to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), located on the outskirts of Maungdaw Township, which shares a border with Bangladesh. The demonstrators held signs written in English, stating: We want justice! Where is the UN? Where is the human right? What is UN doing? The Chakma are locally known in Myanmar as ethnic Thet, a Rakhine sub-ethnicity also recognized as an indigenous tribe in Bangladesh. Police Maj Kyaw Mya Win told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that hundreds of Chakma homes in Rangamati Langadu in the Chittagong hill tracts were set on fire on June 2 by a mob made up of members of the Bengali majority. One 75-year-old woman was killed, 300 houses destroyed, and hundreds of people from three villages were displaced. The arson followed the June 1 murder of Bengali motorcycle taxi driver Nurul Islam Noyon, who was also reportedly an activist, according to the Dhaka Tribune. Rumors immediately circulated that Chakma men were responsible for Noyons death, erupting in the burning of the homes of ethnic Chakma in the area. Locals described the mob violence as communal, but noted that it had appeared law enforcement did little to halt it. Buddhist Arakanese from Maungdaw now say that the Bangladesh-based branch of the UNHCR should encourage authorities to prevent further violence against the Chakma, and protect them within existing legal frameworks. Last week, Myanmars Union Solidarity and Development Party and 16 Rakhine civil society organizations released a joint statement demanding that the UN provide mediation to prevent attacks on the Chakma in Bangladesh, and to urge authorities to take action against the perpetrators. In response to the conflict, the Bangladeshi police have prohibited large gatherings in the region and have arrested seven individuals in connection with the acts of arson; 400 have been reportedly charged, and a three-member team has been formed to probe the incident. Atul P. Chakma, a resident from Arunacha town, near Rangamati, told The Irrawaddy that several Chakma civil society organizations will continue to protest against the authorities, demanding that they take action against the attackers. Reddit Email 384 Shares By Tarek Osman | (Project Syndicate) | LONDON Fifty years after the Six Days War, the Middle East remains a region in seemingly perpetual crisis. So it is no surprise that, when addressing the region, politicians, diplomats, and the donor and humanitarian community typically focus on the here and now. Yet, if we are ever to break the modern Middle Easts cycle of crises, we must not lose sight of the future. And, already, four trends are brewing a new set of problems for the coming decade. The first trend affects the Levant. The post-Ottoman order that emerged a century ago an order based on secular Arab nationalism has already crumbled. The two states that gave weight to this system, Iraq and Syria, have lost their central authority, and will remain politically fragmented and socially polarized for at least a generation. DONATE NOW In Lebanon, sectarianism remains the defining characteristic of politics. Jordan has reached its refugee-saturation point, and continued inflows are placing limited resources under ever-greater pressure. As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is no new initiative or circumstance on the political horizon that could break the deadlock. The Middle East is certain to face the continued movement of large numbers of people, first to the regions calmer areas and, in many cases, beyond primarily to Europe. The region is also likely to face intensifying contests over national identities as well, and perhaps even the redrawing of borders processes that will trigger further confrontations. The second major trend affects North Africa. The regions most populous states Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco will maintain the social and political orders that have become entrenched over the last six decades of their post-colonial history. The ruling structures in these countries enjoy broad popular consent, as well as support from influential institutions, such as labor and farmers unions. They also have effective levers of coercion that serve as backstops for relative stability. But none of this guarantees smooth sailing for these governments. On the contrary, they are poised to confront a massive youth bulge, with more than 100 million people under the age of 30 entering the domestic job market in North Africa between now and 2025. And the vast majority of these young people, products of failed educational systems, will be wholly unqualified for most jobs offering a chance of social mobility. The sectors best equipped to absorb these young Arabs are tourism, construction, and agriculture. But a flourishing tourism sector is not in the cards not least because of the resurgence of militant Islamism, which will leave North Africa exposed to the risk of terror attacks for years to come. Moreover, a declining share of the European food market and diminished investments in real estate undermine the capacity of agriculture and construction to absorb young workers. The likely consequences of North Africas youth bulge are thus renewed social unrest and potentially sizeable migration flows to Europe. The Gulf used to provide a regional safety valve. For more than a half-century, Gulf countries absorbed millions of workers, primarily from their Arab neighbors lower middle classes. The Gulf was also the main source of investment capital, not to mention tens of billions of dollars in remittances, to the rest of the region. And many Arab countries viewed it as the lender of last resort. But and herein lies the third key trend the Gulf economies are now undergoing an upgrade, ascending various industrial value chains. This reduces their dependence on low-skill foreign workers. In the coming years, the Gulf countries can be expected to import fewer workers from the rest of the Arab world, and to export less capital to it. The Gulf might even become increasingly destabilized. Several Gulf powers and Iran are engaged in a partly sectarian proxy war in Yemen one that will not end anytime soon. And now, several Sunni powers are forcefully trying to compel one of their own, Qatar, to abandon a regional strategy it has pursued for decades. The pressures being generated across the Arabian Peninsula could produce further political shocks. That is all the more likely, given mounting domestic pressure for reform from a technologically savvy and globally engaged young citizenry. Reforming centuries-old social and political structures will be as difficult as it is necessary. The fourth trend affects the entire Arab world, as well as Iran and Turkey: the social role of religion is becoming increasingly contested. The wars and crises of the last six years have reversed much of the progress that political Islam had made in the decade before the so-called Arab Spring uprisings erupted in 2011. With radicalism becoming increasingly entrenched, on the one hand, and young Muslims putting forward enlightened understandings of their religion, on the other, a battle for the soul of Islam is raging. The problems implied by these four trends will be impossible for leaders, inside or outside the Arab world, to address all at once, especially at a time of rising populism and nativism across the West. But action can and should be taken. The key is to focus on socioeconomic issues, rather than geopolitics. The West must not succumb to illusions about redrawing borders or shaping new countries; such efforts will yield only disaster. One highly promising option would be to create a full-on Marshall Plan for the Arab world. But, in this era of austerity, many Western countries lack the resources, much less public support, for such an effort most of the Arab world today couldnt make the most of it in any case. The Year Ahead 2017 Cover Image What leaders both within and outside the region can do is pursue large-scale and intelligent investments in primary and secondary education, small and medium-size businesses (which form the backbone of Arab economies), and renewable energy sources (which could underpin the upgrading of regional value chains). Pursuing this agenda wont stem the dissolution of the modern Arab state in the Levant. It wont generate workable social contracts in North Africa. And it certainly wont reconcile the sacred with the secular. But, by attempting to address young peoples socioeconomic frustrations, it can mitigate many of the longer-term consequences of these trends. Tarek Osman is the author of Islamism: What It Means for the Middle East and the World and Egypt on the Brink. Licensed from Project Syndicate Related video added by Juan Cole: France 24 English: War in Syria: On the frontline in Raqqa TORONTO, June 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation ("Mandalay" or the "Company") (TSX:MND) is providing an update on the flooding event at the Cerro Bayo mine that was originally announced on June 9, 2017. Extended families of the two missing miners have been gathered at a comfort center in the nearby town of Chile Chico, where they receive support and at least once daily briefings on progress of the search efforts. Our thoughts are with them during this very difficult time. As well, our employees, unions, and community members gather in town for regular updates. Surface and underground operations at Cerro Bayo were suspended in a safe and orderly manner immediately after the incident occurred on the morning of June 9. Only authorized personnel critical to the search efforts have been traveling to the site. There, the search operations are proceeding around the clock with approximately 100 to 120 people on day shift and 50 to 60 on night shift. Cerro Bayo has had extensive visits by national, provincial and local government and regulatory officials to gather information, contribute ideas and offer logistical and technical support. Search efforts continue to be focused on drilling to intersect the deepest level of the mine, approximately 200 metres below surface (where the miners were working), to test the extent to which inundation of that level has occurred. Currently, two rigs are drilling with a third preparing to start. Meanwhile, all surface and underground haul trucks on site are engaged with several excavators and loaders in constructing a containment berm across a bay of Laguna Verde in an attempt to isolate the incident zone from the larger lake and manage possible further water inflows. Dr. Mark Sander, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mandalay, commented: Our Company is grateful to the community and our employees, the Chilean government, SERNAGEOMIN, all emergency responders, military, police and local government, as well as other mining companies, for the outpouring of support and generous offers of help to us in this emergency. Mandalay is doing everything possible to locate Jorge Sanchez and Enrique Ojeda, who were working in the flooded section of the Delia NW mine. The presence of water and disturbed material makes this effort extremely complicated. We will continue to deploy our own resources as well as the resources coming from suppliers, contractors, other mining companies, and government, while taking extraordinary care to proceed safely during these unprecedented efforts. We are working diligently to keep the families, employees, local community and the wider Chilean population informed of our efforts in a timely way. About Mandalay Resources Corporation: Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia, Chile, and Sweden, and a development project in Chile. The Company is focused on executing a roll-up strategy, creating critical mass by aggregating advanced or in-production gold, copper, silver and antimony projects in Australia, the Americas, and Europe to generate near-term cash flow and shareholder value. MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - June 15, 2017) - Sama Graphite Inc.(TSX VENTURE:SRG) ("SRG" or the "Company") today announced receipt of more results from the drilling program currently underway on the Lola Graphite property in the Republic of Guinea. Assays returned encouraging results, such as 30 meters at 8.14% Cg, including 19 meters at 11.40% Cg. Additionally, drilling in the northern part of the deposit demonstrated increased thicknesses of the weathered graphite mineralized profile to up to 50 meters ("m") from surface. Highlights Assay results confirm the high-grade potential: LL45-009429: 30.00 meters at 8.14% Cg, including 19.00 meters at 11.40% Cg Thickness of the weathered profile extends to a depth of up to 50 meters in the northern section of the deposit, considerably more than the initially estimated depth of 20 meters Based on results to date, the average weathered profile is approximately 32% greater than anticipated. Approximately 60% of the drilling program has been completed To date, the Company has completed 99 boreholes totaling approximately 2,450 meters, representing approximately 60% of the program. The drill rig is now situated in the northern zone of the deposit, where a total of 36 boreholes are to be drilled. The first hole drilled at this location returned 52 meters of weathered profile, significantly thicker than SRG's initial estimate of 20 meters. Based on results to date, the average weathered profile is approximately 32% greater than anticipated. Composite results shown in Table 1 are for 19 boreholes drilled in southern locations. The current drilling program aims at producing the first mineral estimates that will be included in the Preliminary Economic Assessment planned for Q4 2017. Boreholes are drilled on a 50 m x 20 m and 100 m x 20 m drilling spacing in two separate locations: southern sector and the northern sector. The current drilling program is aiming at covering approximately 16% of the total surface area of deposit as defined by geological mapping, a geophysical Max-Min survey and previous drilling and pitting. Table 1 The following table illustrates the details of the mineralized intervals for 20 holes drilled at the Lola Graphite Deposit. Intervals were defined using 1.0% Cg cut-off grades. HOLEID FROM (m) Thickness (m) CG % LL45187550 9.00 19.70 5.68 including 6.20 9.31 LL45193605 0.00 15.85 3.81 including 4.50 7.21 LL45211611 3.00 12.00 2.33 LL45117580 1.50 12.40 6.77 including 8.90 8.42 LL45097572 0.00 6.00 3.64 including 3.50 4.65 LL45077565 0.00 28.60 6.22 including 21.60 7.73 LL45059559 0.00 27.20 4.10 LL45079303 0.00 33.00 4.02 including 4.50 14.73 LL45060296 0.00 34.00 3.67 including 10.50 8.40 LL45037287 1.50 10.50 4.72 including 3.00 11.93 LL45001269 16.50 15.00 3.23 LL45026378 0.00 27.70 4.41 including 14.10 6.70 LL45043385 0.00 31.00 4.56 including 23.00 5.55 LL45066393 0.00 30.75 4.03 including 4.50 12.70 LL45137423 0.00 2.60 1.55 LL45159425 0.00 0.00 LL45176433 2.20 19.00 5.35 including 14.60 6.24 LL45196439 3.00 20.00 5.08 including 16.10 5.95 LL45009429 0.00 30.00 8.14 including 19.00 11.40 Drilling was performed using a Coretech core drill rig. Core logging and sampling were performed at SRG's facility in Gogota village. Sample preparations were performed by Bureau Veritas Mineral Laboratory's facility in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Pulp samples were delivered to Activation Laboratories Ltd, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada for assaying. All samples were assayed for graphitic carbon by infrared. About Sama Graphite Inc. (SRG) SRG is a Canadian-based company focused on developing the Lola Graphite deposit, located in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. SRG is committed to operate in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner. For additional information, please visit SRG's website at www.srggraphite.com. MONTREAL, June 15, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - ALGOLD RESOURCES LTD. (TSXV: ALG) ("Algold" or the "Corporation") today announced more assay results from the diamond ("DDH") and reverse-circulation ("RC") drilling carried out on its Tijirit property ("Tijirit") in Mauritania, as part of the Corporation's Phase III 25,000-meter drilling campaign. The results continue to demonstrate the high-grade nature of the mineralization, both near surface and at depth over the 3.4-kilometer strike length of the Eleonore zone. Highlights Hole T17DD011 (Eleonore Central) 3 m @ 16.16 g/t Au, approximately 55 meters below the surface (Figure 1) (Photo) Hole T16RD041 ( Eleonore South ) 1 m @ 36.09 g/t Au, including 0.5 m @ 65.0 g/t Au approximately 126 meters below the surface and 1.25 m @ 5.68 g/t Au, approximately 133 meters below the surface (Figure 2) ) 1 m @ 36.09 g/t Au, including 0.5 m @ 65.0 g/t Au approximately 126 meters below the surface and 1.25 m @ 5.68 g/t Au, approximately 133 meters below the surface (Figure 2) Hole T17RD064 ( Eleonore South ) 1.10 m @ 44.02 g/t Au, approximately 69 meters below the surface (Figure 2) ) 1.10 m @ 44.02 g/t Au, approximately 69 meters below the surface (Figure 2) Hole T17RD068 ( Eleonore North ) 4.58 m @ 1.55 g/t Au, approximately 28 meters below the surface (Figure 3) These new results, combined with the structural and lithological information gathered from the drill core, further increase Algold's level of confidence with regard to the potential of the three main Eleonore zones. All three zones remain open along strike and at depth. In hole T17DD011 (section 8960), the shear structure hosting the mineralization was well developed with a sub-1-g/t-Au mineralization occurring at 63.9 meters to a 16.16 g/t Au high-grade zone at 78 meters. Visible gold was noted in the intersections corresponding to the highest assay values. Hole T16RD041 (section 8400) was a re-entry of an RC hole drilled in 2016, designed to test the mineralization at depth (100 meters vertically below hole T16RC109). Coarse visible gold was observed within the high strain shear zone. Hole T17RD064 (section e7730) was sited to intersect mineralization 50 meters between RC holes T16RC133 and T16RC139 and 50 meters below ground level. An alteration halo of disseminated pyrrhotite occurred from 62 to 73 meters down the hole. This surrounds the main mineralized zone, which is comprised of smoky quartz veining with associated pyrite and biotite alteration. Both coarse and fine-grained visible gold was observed within the vein. Hole T17RD068 (section 9800) intersected a 6.2-meter-wide shear zone with abundant biotite and quartz stringers. No VG was noted. This was an infill hole, drilled along strike between T16RC045 (7.45 g/t Au over 5 m, 40 meters southwest), and T16RC088 (1.43 g/t Au over 1 m, 50 meters northeast). Hole T17RD068 served to confirm the mineralization between the two section lines. The Phase III 20,000-meter RC and 5,000-meter DDH drilling program was initiated on February 1, 2017 with the objective to further delineate the high-grade gold deposit. As of June 5, 2017, 117 RC holes, 16 DDH and 18 RC pre-collar/diamond tails were completed for 14,944 meters of RC and 4,053 meters of diamond drilling. As of June 5, 2017, 6,945 samples (excluding QA/QC and re-assays) from the Phase III drilling program were sent to the SGS Bamako lab facility for analysis. To date, the Corporation is in receipt of 5,821 RC and 772 DDH results, with assays still pending for 221 RC and 111 DDH samples (with further samples being processing in Nouakchott for export). The Phase III drilling program remains ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter 2017. Table 1: Assay Results Highlights - Phase III Drilling Program Hole ID Prospect East Local North Local From (m) To (m) Vertical Depth* (m) Grade** (g/t Au) Width*** (m) T17RD068 Eleonore N 9568 9801 44.9 49.5 28 1.55 4.58 T17DD011 Eleonore C 9804 8962 78.0 81.0 55 16.16 3.00 T17RD064 Eleonore S 9847 7729 73.2 74.3 69 44.02 1.10 T16RD041 Eleonore S 10096 8402 166.0 167.0 126 36.09 1.00 175.3 176.5 133 5.68 1.25 T17RC076 Eleonore S 10014 7679 126.0 136.0 104 1.58 10.00 *Vertical depth of intersection below RL collar. **Weighted average grade, composite based on a minimum grade of 0.3 g/t Au with an internal dilution of 0.005 g/t Au over 2 m and an edge grade of 0.25 g/t Au permitted. ***Down-hole length (believed to be close to true width) No capping of higher values has been applied. Note: Complete assay results are available on Algold's website (www.algold.com) Filing of a Technical Report Algold will filed a technical report entitled "Tijirit Property NI 43-101 Technical Report with Resource Estimate Update, Tijirit, Mauritania" dated June 15, 2017 (the "Report"), which was prepared by Yann Camus, P.Eng., SGS Geostat, Blainville, Canada an independent Qualified Person (as defined in NI 43-101). The Report supports the Corporation's disclosure in its news release issued on May 1, 2017, entitled "Algold More Than Doubles Inferred Mineral Resources at Tijirit, Gold Grade up by 25%". The Report will be filed today on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and also made available on the Corporation's website (www.algold.com). Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) Analytical work for drill core and chips, geochemical samples and rock chip samples is being carried out at the independent SGS Laboratories Ltd. in Bamako, Mali. The 50 g fire assay with ASS finish analytical services are accredited by SANAS and are carried out with a quality assurance protocol in line with ISO 17025:2005. Samples are stored at the Corporation's field camps and put into sealed bags until delivered by a geologist on behalf of Algold to the laboratory in Bamako, Mali, where samples are prepared and analyzed. Until the end of 2016, samples were analyzed at ALS's facility in Loughrea, Ireland. Beginning in 2017, samples are analyzed at SGS Laboratory, Bamako. Samples are logged in the tracking system, weighed, dried and finely crushed to better than 70%, passing a 2 mm (Tyler 9 mesh, US Std. No.10) screen. A split of up to 1,000 g is taken and pulverized to better than 85%, passing a 75-micron (Tyler 200 mesh) screen, and a 50-gram split is analyzed by fire assay with an AA finish. Anomalous samples greater than 5 g/t Au are re-analyzed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish. Selected samples may be re-analyzed using a 1 kg cyanide leach (Bottle Roll) using "LeachWELL" or the 1 kg screen fire assay method. Blanks, duplicates and certified reference material (standards) are inserted to monitor laboratory performance during the analysis. This press release has been reviewed for accuracy and compliance under National Instrument 43-101 by Andre Ciesielski, DSc., PGeo., Algold Resources Ltd Lead Consulting Geologist and Qualified Person, and Alastair Gallaugher, C.Geo. (Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London), BSc. Geology, Algold's Exploration Manager in Mauritania, Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Andre Ciesielski, Dsc., PGeo., has further approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release. ABOUT ALGOLD Algold Resources Ltd is focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa. The board of directors and management team are seasoned resource industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa. PM to visit India after local polls: Mahara to Indian envoy Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is likely to visit India after the second phase of local elections. A Britain-based scholar has raised the need to tighten international sanctions on North Korean diplomats to close loopholes in the existing sanctions regime for the country's nuclear and missile programs, a news report said Tuesday. Andrea Berger, associate fellow at Britain's Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, made the argument in a recent report identifying the challenges of implementing sanctions on North Korea, according to U.S.-based Radio Free Asia. In the report, titled "A House Without Foundations: The North Korea Sanctions Regime and its Implementation," Berger calls for designating North Korean diplomats as "politically exposed persons," citing allegations that their private and embassy bank accounts, diplomatic pouches and personal luggage have been used to trade in weapons of mass destruction and other blacklisted items. With the designation, countries will be able to demand data on the bank accounts from relevant financial institutions and help stop the flow of funds that can be used for Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development, she says. Berger also notes in her report that there is difficulty in implementing U.N. Security Council resolutions 2270 and 2321, which call for reducing the number of North Korean diplomats in U.N. member countries and limiting the number of bank accounts. In her research, she found that Western nations in particular experienced difficulty in restricting bank transactions, prompting the need to access detailed and up-to-date information on North Korea's suspected bypassing of sanctions. The expert also addressed concerns that North Korean diplomats linked to blacklisted organizations are freely traveling to parts of Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. (Yonhap) By Jung Min-ho Chung-Ang University has been removed from the QS World University Rankings 2018 after one of its officials fabricated data to boost its standing. According to Chung-Ang and its student union, Wednesday, the school has been ruled out of the rankings after it fabricated "employer reputation" data, one of the evaluation items. Employers, not the school, are supposed to write reviews of Chung-Ang graduates in terms of their performance in workplaces, but a Chung-Ang official did the job with intent to raise its ranking. Chung-Ang said the official will be punished soon according to school rules. Its student union has asked Chung-Ang to reveal all the details of the incident, which gravely damaged the school's reputation. Chung-Ang was ranked 386th in the 2017 assessment, up from 461st from the previous year. By Ted Gover Much has been said of Beijing's influence on Pyongyang and its ability to compel the regime towards change. Through sustained support for Pyongyang since the 1950s, China has demonstrated its strategic interests in ensuring the Kim Dynasty's survival. Seemingly disregarding this fact, expectations in Washington for Beijing to rein in Pyongyang are rising. Yet, what can Beijing do to change Pyongyang's behavior, and to what extent is it willing to act given its interests? It's well known that China has leverage over North Korea given the North's dependence on Beijing for its energy, food and trade. Many assert that China can constrain North Korea's actions by cutting off commercial ties. Some contend that China's civilizational ties to the Korean people, its support for Pyongyang during the Korean War and its decades-long role as an ideological partner give it a moral authority with the Kim regime that others do not have. Others claim that China's rise as a power gives it more clout with Pyongyang than it ever had before. However, Washington must come to terms with the reality that Beijing is willing to live with a nuclear-armed Pyongyang. Why? Because taking measures to change Pyongyang's conduct runs counter to Beijing's interests in these ways: Regime collapse: A heavy hand by Beijing may contribute to the fall of Kim's regime. A collapse would likely bring a flood of refugees into China, creating an expensive humanitarian nightmare for Beijing. This development may result in Seoul coming to secure the North's territory, ending North Korea's role as a buffer state for China. Beijing eyes the prospect of a Washington-allied Seoul controlling the entire peninsula as a threat to its territorial sovereignty. Instability & loose nukes: Chinese moves to clamp down on North Korea may create instability inside the Kim regime, increasing chances of parts of its nuclear arsenal getting into the wrong hands. Such a development would threaten China's security, particularly if the weapons came into the possession of groups hostile to Beijing, such as pan-Turkish supporters of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement and East Turkistan Liberation Organization. Backlash: Strong efforts by Beijing to curtail Pyongyang may result in Kim believing his existence is threatened, resulting in the regime creating a crisis or even sparking a war. Such tactics have been used by the North before for exacting concessions. Should Beijing conclude that Pyongyang's nuclear program must be stopped, it has an option. China could negotiate an agreement where it becomes the North's security guarantor, thereby creating the conditions for the regime to relinquish its nuclear program. It should be noted that some assert this prospect is without merit, arguing that Pyongyang's ultimate aim is to vanquish Seoul and unite the peninsula under its rule. These considerations aside, it is improbable at best that Beijing will see it in its interests to oblige Mr. Kim to change course. Ted Gover, Ph.D. is Instructor of Political Science at Central Texas College, Camp Pendleton, California. Write to tedgover@gmail.com. Public Service Commission launches mobile app The Public Service Commission (PSC) has introduced a mobile app to keep the general public informed about its every activities. Revise draft bill to amend Bonus Act The parliamentary Industry, Commerce and Consumer Welfare Protection Committee on Wednesday directed the Finance Ministry to revise the draft bill to amend the Bonus Act 1973 due to an ambiguous provision regarding the distribution of bonus by public enterprises to their employees. LifeStyle The best LifeStyle shows are right here, from Australia and around the world. Catch up with the experts on home design and interiors, food and cooking, the property market, and get fresh ideas with the savviest of renovators. Whether you need inspiration for cooking up a storm, to refresh a tired room, or tips to sell your property, Foxtel LifeStyle will always something new for you to watch. Enjoy your favourite experts like Andrew Winter and Neale Whitaker, or Deb Hutton and Jamie Oliver live or On Demand. Get Foxtel The Mesa Verde archaeological region, located in the American Southwest, was the home of a pueblo people who, during the 13th century A.D., constructed entire villages in the sides of cliffs. Mesa Verde is Spanish for "green table," and the people who lived there are often called the "Anasazi," a Navajo word that has been translated as "the ancient ones" or "enemy ancestors." While they did not develop a writing system, they left behind rich archaeological remains that, along with oral stories passed down through the ages, have allowed researchers to reconstruct their past. Recently researchers found evidence that the people at Mesa Verde had sophisticated mathematical knowledge, using the golden ratio, a mathematical ratio also used at the Giza Pyramids, to help construct a Sun Temple. The region the people of Mesa Verde lived in is defined by researchers at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. It encompassed almost 10,000 square miles (26,000 square km) of territory going across the states of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, with part of the region in Colorado forming Mesa Verde National Park. It was a tough place to make a living. "Cold, snowy winters give way to hot, dry summers, and periods of relatively abundant moisture are punctuated by sporadic but sometimes prolonged periods of drought," wrote a team of Crow Canyon researchers in a 2011 online article. "Living off the land has always been, and continues to be, a challenge, but one that people through the ages have met with extraordinary ingenuity and resilience." Early history The "Basketmakers" The Crow Canyon researchers noted that after A.D. 500, a people whom archaeologists refer to as the "Basketmakers" (named from their finely woven baskets) moved from the peripheries of the Mesa Verde archaeological area into the center. They grew corn, squash and beans, supplementing these crops by hunting game and collecting wild plants. In the time after they moved into the center of Mesa Verde, they developed pottery and the bow and arrow. The adoption of the bow appears to have increased their hunting proficiency, resulting in some game animals, like deer, eventually becoming overhunted and replaced with domesticated turkey. They lived in simple pit houses with a hearth, fire hole and room for storage. Entered through the roof by way of a ladder, the house was cool in the summer and warm in the winter because it was partly underground. These people came together in what we call "great kivas," which were also located partly underground. "These very large (more than 100 square meters, or 1,076 square feet), round structures are thought to have been used for public gatherings during which members of the community socialized, performed ceremonies, or discussed issues important to the group," the Crow Canyon researchers wrote. Another view of the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde. (Image credit: National Park Service) Growth and first collapse This way of life appears to have been quite successful, at least for a time. A team of researchers reported in a 2007 article in the journal American Antiquity that a portion of the Mesa Verde region, located in Colorado, more than doubled in population between roughly A.D. 700 and 850. At this time, larger communities began to appear in Mesa Verde. These communities used a new type of above-ground structure known to archaeologists as "room blocks." Built in addition to pit houses, they contained fire hearths and places for storage. Crow Canyon archaeologists noted that these room blocks were made of adobe, stone and plant materials, with stone masonry becoming more important as time went on. But, just as the population peaked, something happened and the people left in droves. The researchers in the American Antiquity article noted that the area of land they were studying, in Colorado, saw its population rapidly shrink between A.D. 850 and 930 to a level not much above zero. This appears to have happened across the Mesa Verde region, with the population moving south to places like Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Recent research suggests that a change in climate played a role in this emigration. In a 2008 article in the journal American Scientist, researchers noted that pollen remains indicate that the weather in at least part of the Mesa Verde region became colder. "Presumably, the most productive portions of this area became cold enough in the 900s to make maize [farming] risky. Dry winters compounded this problem." Moving back to Mesa Verde This downturn in the climate did not last and evidence indicates that after A.D. 930 people moved back into the Mesa Verde region. Their time at sites like Chaco Canyon, to the south, influenced them, and they brought back a type of building that archaeologists call a "great house." These buildings functioned as community centers, of sorts, that stood on high ground and contained multistory rooms. The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center archaeologists noted that "like great kivas, great houses were public structures, probably used for community-wide ceremonies and meetings," they wrote. "In addition, great houses with their large storage capacity may have served as central storage and distribution facilities for both food and trade items." A sun temple was constructed at Mesa Verde using the golden ratio and its design used a variety geometric shapes that were constructed with great precision. In addition, the people of Mesa Verde also constructed unroofed circular structures for outdoor ceremonies. Recent research reveals that a circular structure sometimes called "Mummy Lake" (which, despite its name, has no mummies) did not actually hold water but was likely used for some form of outdoor ritual. Mesa Verde also took part in a vast trade network. "The presence of Chaco-style pottery vessels, macaw-feather sashes, and copper bells at some sites indicates that the Pueblo people of the Mesa Verde region were part of a vast trading network that included not only Chaco Canyon but much more distant locations in Mexico as well," write the Crow Canyon archaeologists. The Square Tower House at Mesa Verde. (Image credit: National Park Service) Cliff dwellings During the 12th century there were periods of drought and violence that drove some people to leave Mesa Verde, wrote Donna Glowacki, an anthropology professor at the University of Notre Dame, in her book "Living and Leaving: A Social History of Regional Depopulation in Thirteenth Century Mesa Verde" (University of Arizona Press, 2015). When environmental conditions stabilized in the early 13th century, the population increased in the Mesa Verde region, in some areas quite dramatically, wrote Glowacki. During this time of population increase, in the early 13th century, people began creating what are called "cliff dwellings," which are houses, and in some cases entire villages, built into cliff edges. The National Park Service estimates that there are about 600 of these preserved at Mesa Verde National Park. Built near springs, the naturally enclosed sites offered protection against both the elements and intruders. "Many of the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde are small, only one or two rooms built in alcoves or shallow caves," wrote archaeologist Larry Nordby in a chapter of the book "The Conservation of Decorated Surfaces on Earthen Architecture" (J. Paul Getty Trust, 2006). He noted that one of the largest cliff-dwelling sites is a place we call "Cliff Palace." It contains about 150 rooms and nearly two dozen kivas that were used, presumably, as a gathering place for rituals. Cliff Palace also had many decorations that are not well preserved. "Fairly typical examples of embellishments are a panel of numerous stamped handprints above doorways and a series of zoomorphic (animal) figures painted onto plasters," Nordby writes. Final collapse The cliff settlements were not to last. Another population collapse occurred, this time at the end of the 13th century, leaving sites like Cliff Palace abandoned and falling into ruin. The people appear to have migrated south again to sites in Arizona and New Mexico. In the American Scientist article, researchers noted that a mix of factors seemed to be involved in this collapse. "A combination of factors including climate change, population growth, competition for resources and conflict seem to have sparked the move," they wrote. At one Mesa Verde site called "Sand Canyon," people late in the 13th century were depending more on wild plants and were eating less domesticated turkey. With the population shrinking, the site fell into ruin and "refuse was being deposited in once-important civic or ceremonial structures, such as the great kiva," the researchers wrote. There were also signs of a battle. "Excavators found 23 complete or fairly complete human bodies, as well as scattered bones from at least 11 other individuals, indicating that at least 34 people died at or near the end of the village occupation," the researchers wrote, noting that "none of these bodies was formally buried, and at least eight exhibit direct evidence of violent death." The people who left Sand Canyon, before the final fall, likely joined the other people of the Mesa Verde region in migrating south to new lands. Modern-day threat A recent study reveals that a "megadrought" even worse than the drought that wiped at Mesa Verde, may hit the American Southwest by the end of the 21st century. The effects on the people living in the American Southwest could be severe, leaving future inhabitants to grapple with water shortages amidst a hotter, more arid, environment. Aside from leaving future inhabitants struggling for water the changing environment also poses threats to the Mesa Verde ruins. In 2014, the Union of Concerned Scientists published a report noting that Mesa Verde National Park has already suffered the loss of much of its forest due to wildfires. These wildfires, as well as flash flooding caused by the loss of vegetation, have already caused damage to the ruins at Mesa Verde and could get worse in the future. Tenochtitlan was an Aztec city that flourished between A.D. 1325 and 1521. Built on an island on Lake Texcoco, it had a system of canals and causeways that supplied the hundreds of thousands of people who lived there. It was largely destroyed by the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes after a siege in 1521, and modern-day Mexico City now lies over much of its remains. In a 1520 letter written to King Charles I of Spain, Cortes described the city that he would soon attack: The city is as big as Seville or Cordoba. The main streets are very wide and very straight; some of these are on the land, but the rest and all the smaller ones are half on land, half canals where they paddle their canoes. (From "An Age of Voyages: 1350-1600," by Mary Wiesner-Hanks, Oxford University Press, 2005) He noted the city's richness, saying that it had a great marketplace where sixty thousand people come each day to buy and sell... Its merchandise included ornaments of gold and silver, lead, brass, copper, tin, stones, shells, bones and feathers ... In June 2017, officials with Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced they had discovered an ancient ceremonial ball court and an Aztec temple dedicated to the wind god Ehecatl, both of which were likely in use from A.D. 1481 until 1519 in Tenochtitlan, in modern-day Mexico City. Nearby the ball court, archaeologists discovered the neck bones of 30 infants and children. The findings were part of the Urban Archaeology Program, in which archaeologists are uncovering the remains of the razed. Aztec capital. Origins of Tenochtitlan According to legend, the Aztec people left their home city of Aztlan nearly 1,000 years ago. Scholars do not know where Aztlan was, but according to ancient accounts one of these Aztec groups, known as the Mexica, founded Tenochtitlan in 1325. The legend continues that Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, the sun and human sacrifice, is said to have directed the Mexica to settle on the island. He ordered his priests to look for the prickly pear cactus and build a temple in his honor. They followed the order and found the place on an island in the middle of the lake ... writes University of Madrid anthropologist Jose Luis de Rojas in his book "Tenochtitlan: Capital of the Aztec Empire" (University of Florida Press, 2012). De Rojas notes that the early years were difficult. People lived in huts, and the temple for Huitzilopochtli was made of perishable material. Also in the beginning, Tenochtitlan was under the sway of another city named Azcapotzalco, to which they had to pay tribute. Political instability at Azcapotzalco, combined with an alliance with the cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan, allowed the Tenochtitlan ruler Itzcoatl (reign 1428-1440) to break free from Azcapotzalcos control and assert the citys independence. A statue of Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain, stands at the entrance of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. (opens in new tab) Shutterstock (opens in new tab) ) (Image credit: Irafael Over the next 80 years, the territory controlled by Tenochtitlan and its allies grew, and the city became the center of a new empire. The tribute that flowed in made the inhabitants (at least the elite) wealthy. The Mexica extracted tribute from the subjugated groups and distributed the conquered lands among the victors, and wealth began to flow to Tenochtitlan, writes de Rojas, noting that this resulted in rapid immigration into the city. The city itself would come to boast an aqueduct that brought in potable water and a great temple dedicated to both Huitzilopochtli (the god who led the Mexica to the island) and Tlaloc, a god of rain and fertility. Aztec social organization The people of Tenochtitlan were divided into numerous clan groups called calpulli (which means big house), and these in turn consisted of smaller neighborhoods. Usually, the calpulli was made up of a group of macehaultin (commoner) families led by pipiltin (nobles) writes California State University professor Manuel Aguilar-Moreno in his book "Handbook to Life in the Aztec World" (Oxford University Press, 2006). Fray Diego Duran, a Spaniard who lived in Mexico a few decades after Cortes conquest, wrote that King Motecuhzoma (or Montezuma) I, who reigned from 1440 to 1469, created an education system where every neighborhood had to have a school or temple to educate youth. In those places they will learn religion and correct comportment. They are to do penance, lead hard lives, live with strict morality, practice for warfare, do physical work, fast, endure disciplinary measures, draw blood from different parts of the body, and keep watch at night... (Translation by Doris Heyden) Another feature of Tenochtitlans society was that it had a strict class system, one that affected the clothes people wore and even the size of the houses they were allowed to build. Only the great noblemen and valiant warriors are given license to build a house with a second story; for disobeying this law a person receives the death penalty... Fray Duran wrote. Among the people considered to be in the lower classes were the porters the city relied on. The lack of wheeled vehicles and pack animals meant that the citys goods had to be brought in by canoe or human lifting. Surviving depictions show porters carrying loads on their backs with a strap secured to their forehead. Trade and currency As Tenochtitlans empire grew so did its trade. Aguilar-Moreno writes that a pivotal moment in the citys economic history was its capture of the nearby city of Tlatelolco in 1474. He notes that Tlatelolco was a trade city and that the union of these two cities made the site of Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco the economic and political center of the Valley of Mexico. [Related: Aztec Conquerors Reshaped Genetic Landscape of Mexico] Instead of minted currency people bartered for goods using cacao beans for small transactions, cotton blankets for mid-range ones, and quills filled with gold dust for large business operations, writes researcher Carroll Riley in her book "Rio del Norte: People of the Upper Rio Grande From Earliest Time to the Pueblo Revolt" (University of Utah Press, 1995). She notes that metallurgy played a major role in Tenochtitlans economy and society. Metallurgy was now well established for copper, silver, and gold; there was even enough metal to allow copper to be used for agriculture and industrial tools as well as for armaments and jewellery. Aztec writing The writing used by the people of Tenochtitlan, and by other Aztec groups, was what researchers call pictorial. This means that it is composed predominately of figural images that bear some likeness to, or visual association with, the ideas, things, or actions they represent, writes Elizabeth Boone in her book "Stories in Red and Black: Pictorial Histories of the Aztecs and Mixtecs" (University of Texas Press, 2000). She notes, however, that this system of writing also contains abstractions and other marks that were arbitrarily assigned certain meanings, meanings unrelated to their likeness. [Related: Amazing Aztecs Were Math Whizzes Too] The Aztecs used this writing system to create codices made from the bark of fig trees. Hundreds of manuscripts existed at the time of the Aztecs. All but eleven disappeared with the arrival of the Europeans. The majority were destroyed in a bonfire ordered by [Fray] Juan de Zumarraga in 1535, writes Houston Museum of Natural Science curator Dirk Van Tuerenhout in his book "The Aztecs: New Perspectives" (ABC-CLIO, 2005). He notes that the Spanish priests objected to the Aztec religious content in the codices. A model of reconstructed Tenochtitlan is featured at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. (Image credit: National Museum of Anthropology ) Templo Mayor At the heart of the city was a sacred area surrounded by a wall. Within the enclosure were more than seventy buildings, and these were surrounded by a wall decorated with images of serpents, called a coatepantli, writes de Rojas. Archaeologists are still trying to determine exactly what this sacred area looked like, and how it changed over time, but scholars know for sure that the greatest structure was a place that the Spaniards called the Templo Mayor (main temple). As mentioned earlier, it was dedicated to the gods Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc. Standing about ninety feet [27 meters] high, the majestic structure consisted of two stepped pyramids rising side by side on a huge platform. It dominated both the Sacred Precinct and the entire city, writes Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Heidi King in an online article. Two long, broad, staircases led to the top of monument where two temples stood. The temple structures on top of each pyramid were dedicated to and housed the images of the two important deities, writes King. It was a place where great, and gruesome, rituals were performed. We know of human sacrifice at the top of the Templo Mayor, but it also was the scene of athletes and dancers moving gracefully in and around platforms and braziers, writes University of Utah professor Antonio Serrato-Combe in his book "The Aztec Templo Mayor: A Visualization" (The University of Utah Press, 2001). The human sacrifice element should not be underestimated, though. Serrato-Combe points out that there were two Tzompantli (skull racks) located near the Templo Mayor, a bigger one to the west and a smaller one to the north. A Spanish account of a sacrifice reads that the high priest who wielded the sacrificial knife struck the blows that smashed through the chest. He then thrust his hand into the cavity which he had opened to rip out the still beating heart. This he held high as an offering to the sun... (Account by Fray Toribio de Benavente Motolinia, from the book "The Aztec Templo Mayor: A Visualization") The fall of Tenochtitlan Michael Smith, a professor at the State University of New York at Albany, notes that when Cortes landed in Mexico in 1519 he was, initially, greeted with gifts of gold from Tenochtitlans ruler Motecuhzoma (or Montezuma) II. The king may have been hoping that the gifts would appease the Spanish and make them go away, but it had the opposite effect. The gold, of course, made the Spaniards more anxious than ever to see the city. Gold was what they sought, Smith writes in his book "The Aztecs" (Blackwell Publishing, 2003). Cortes pushed on to Tenochtitlan, where Motecuhzoma II again gave the conquistador a warm welcome. Cortes then repaid the ruler by taking him prisoner and trying to rule the city in his name. This arrangement quickly soured with dissident groups naming Cuitlahuac, the kings brother, to take over from the soon-to-be-killed Motecuhzoma. Cortes fled the city on June 30, 1520, but within several months started marching back with a great army to conquer it. Smith notes that this force was made up of 700 Spaniards and 70,000 native troops who had allied themselves with the Spanish. Much of the Spanish success was owed to the political astuteness of Hernando Cortes, who quickly divined the disaffection towards the Mexica that prevailed in the eastern empire. Ruins of Tenochtitlan lie in the center of Mexico City. (opens in new tab) / Shutterstock.com (opens in new tab) ) (Image credit: Grigory Kubatyan This army laid siege to Tenochtitlan, destroying the aqueduct and trying to cut off food supplies to the hundreds of thousands of people in the city. Making matters worse is that the inhabitants of the city had recently been decimated by a smallpox plague to which they had no immunity. The illness was so dreadful that no one could walk or move. The sick were so utterly helpless that they could only lie on the beds like corpses... wrote Friar Bernardino de Sahagun (from "The Aztecs" book). The sheer size of Cortes force, their firepower and the plague ravaging Tenochtitlan made victory inevitable for the Spaniards. The city was theirs in August 1521. Smith notes that the Tlaxcallan soldiers that were in Cortes force went on to massacre many of the remaining inhabitants of Tenochtitlan. Smith notes that an elegy for the city was later written, it reads: Broken spears lie in the roads; we have torn our hair in grief. The houses are roofless now, and their walls are red with blood. We have pounded our hands in despair against the adobe walls, for our inheritance, our city, is lost and dead. The shields of our warriors were its defense, but they could not save it. (Translated from the Nahuatl language by Miguel Leon-Portilla) The ancient city had fallen, and a new Spanish colonial city would be built atop its ruins. Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor The canals of Xochimilco, where tourists can rent brightly colored boats for parties and excursions, are built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan. (opens in new tab) / Shutterstock.com (opens in new tab) ) (Image credit: steve estvanik Editor's Note: This reference article was first published on May 23, 2013. It was updated with new discoveries on June 15, 2017. Two-headed conjoined porpoises were recently hauled up by a fishing boat in the North Sea, not far off the coast of the Netherlands. The bizarre-looking creatures were already dead, and the fishermen, who feared trouble from the authorities, took photos and then tossed the duo back overboard. It's not clear exactly why the porpoises died, but the double-headed creatures likely could not swim, said Erwin Kompanje, a researcher at the Natural History Museum and the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, who recently wrote up the case in the June 7 issue of the journal Deinsea. Another cause may have been their fused hearts, which may not have worked adequately, Kompanje said. [Porpoise Photos: The World's Most Endangered Mammal] Conjoined twins Conjoined twins are a rarity for humans, but they're also extremely rare for harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), Kompanje said. That's because newborn dolphins and porpoises, which are mammals, need to immediately start swimming on their own or they drown, Kompanje said. "Normal twins are extremely rare in cetaceans, as there is not enough room in the mother's body to have more than one fetus," Kompanje told Live Science. One case report pegged the incidence of twinning in cetaceans at less than one in 200. Only one past case of a harbor porpoise bearing twins has ever been reported. Given the rarity of twinning, it stands to reason that conjoined twins are even more of an oddity, Kompanje added. In the past, only nine other cases of conjoined twins have been reported in whales or dolphins, and most of these were described in fetuses pulled from dead pregnant females, according to the study. Conjoined twins likely form in cetaceans in the same way they do in humans; either two separate embryos fuse after having separated, or a single embryo fails to completely split. Trawling the deep Harbor porpoises are the most abundant cetaceans in the waters off northwest Europe, with at least 345,000 of these creatures frolicking in these northern waters. Each female typically produces one offspring every year or two. In the current case, the fused porpoises were first pulled up in the netting of a fishing boat on May 30, 2017, near Hoek van Holland, the Netherlands. The creatures were clearly newborn; they had a floppy dorsal fin, an open umbilical opening and hairs in the rostrum, or beak-like snout all telltale signs that the creatures were not long outside the womb. The body was about 27 inches (70 centimeters) long and weighed about 13 lbs. (6 kilograms). However, the specimen had two completely formed heads and one fully formed body with two pectoral fins. This makes it likely that the porpoises were symmetrical conjoined twins (or "Siamese twins"), meaning fusion occurred between two well-developed embryos. The twins had fused side-by-side at the pelvis and abdomen. The lone genital opening revealed that the porpoises were male. Lost to science Because the fisherman tossed the porpoises overboard (they thought keeping the body would be illegal), other insights that could have been gleaned from the rare case are lost to science, the researchers said in the study. If researchers had been able to study the porpoise more thoroughly, they likely would have captured 3D computed tomography (CT) scans, put the porpoises in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, conducted CT angiography to study the blood vessels leading to and away from the heart, and 3D-printed a skeleton of the creature, Kompanje said. Originally published on Live Science. A Chinese satellite has split pairs of "entangled photons" and transmitted them to separate ground stations 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) apart, smashing the previous distance record for such a feat and opening new possibilities in quantum communication. In quantum physics, when particles interact with each other in certain ways they become "entangled." This essentially means they remain connected even when separated by large distances, so that an action performed on one affects the other. In a new study published online today (June 15) in the journal Science, researchers report the successful distribution of entangled photon pairs to two locations on Earth separated by 747.5 miles (1,203 km). [The 18 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics] Quantum entanglement has interesting applications for testing the fundamental laws of physics, but also for creating exceptionally secure communication systems, scientists have said. That's because quantum mechanics states that measuring a quantum system inevitably disturbs it, so any attempt to eavesdrop is impossible to hide. But, it's hard to distribute entangled particles normally photons over large distances. When traveling through air or over fiber-optic cables, the environment interferes with the particles, so with greater distances, the signal decays and becomes too weak to be useful. In 2003, Pan Jianwei, a professor of quantum physics at the University of Science and Technology of China, started work on a satellite-based system designed to beam entangled photon pairs down to ground stations. The idea was that because most of the particle's journey would be through the vacuum of space, this system would introduce considerably less environmental interference. "Many people then thought it [was] a crazy idea, because it was very challenging already doing the sophisticated quantum-optics experiments inside a well-shielded optical table," Pan told Live Science. "So how can you do similar experiments at thousand-kilometers distance scale and with the optical elements vibrating and moving at a speed of 8 kilometers per second [5 miles per second]?" In the new study, researchers used China's Micius satellite, which was launched last year, to transmit the entangled photon pairs. The satellite features an ultrabright entangled photon source and a high-precision acquiring, pointing and tracking (APT) system that uses beacon lasers on the satellite and at three ground stations to line up the transmitter and receivers. Once the photons reached the ground stations, the scientists carried out tests and confirmed that the particles were still entangled despite having traveled between 994 miles and 1,490 miles (1,600 and 2,400 km), depending on what stage of its orbit the satellite was positioned at. Only the lowest 6 miles (10 km) of Earth's atmosphere are thick enough to cause significant interference with the photons, the scientists said. This means the overall efficiency of their link was vastly higher than previous methods for distributing entangled photons via fiber-optic cables, according to the scientists. [Twisted Physics: 7 Mind-Blowing Findings] "We have already achieved a two-photon entanglement distribution efficiency a trillion times more efficient than using the best telecommunication fibers," Pan said. "We have done something that was absolutely impossible without the satellite." Apart from carrying out experiments, one of the potential uses for this kind of system is for "quantum key distribution," in which quantum communication systems are used to share an encryption key between two parties that is impossible to intercept without alerting the users. When combined with the correct encryption algorithm, this system is uncrackable even if encrypted messages are sent over normal communication channels, experts have said. Artur Ekert, a professor of quantum physics at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, was the first to describe how entangled photons could be used to transmit an encryption key. "The Chinese experiment is quite a remarkable technological achievement," Ekert told Live Science. "When I proposed the entangled-based quantum key distribution back in 1991 when I was a student in Oxford, I did not expect it to be elevated to such heights!" The current satellite is not quite ready for use in practical quantum communication systems, though, according to Pan. For one, its relatively low orbit means each ground station has coverage for only about 5 minutes each day, and the wavelength of photons used means it can only operate at night, he said. Boosting coverage times and areas will mean launching new satellites with higher orbits, Pan said, but this will require bigger telescopes, more precise tracking and higher link efficiency. Daytime operation will require the use of photons in the telecommunications wavelengths, he added. But while developing future quantum communication networks will require considerable work, Thomas Jennewein, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing in Canada, said Pan's group has demonstrated one of the key building blocks. "I have worked in this line of research since 2000 and researched on similar implementations of quantum- entanglement experiments from space, and I can therefore very much attest to the boldness, dedication and skills that this Chinese group has shown," he told Live Science. Original article on Live Science. RJP-N supporters, police clash during Tarai banda Clashes erupted in various Tarai districts during a banda enforced by the agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) on Wednesday. by Larissa Faw , June 14, 2017 Fourteen days into his new role as Publicis Groupe chairman/CEO, Arthur Sadoun is already making his mark on the holding company by filling two new senior executive posts and creating two new committees. Carla Serrano, CEO of Publicis New York and chief strategy officer of Publicis Communications, has been elevated to the newly created role of chief strategy officer of Publicis Groupe. She will be based in New York to help oversee the network's strategic objectives. Throughout her career, Serrano has held strategic leadership and agency management roles inside big network shops as well as creative boutiques. Before arriving at Publicis in 2014, she held positions such as CEO of Naked NA, CSO at TBWA Chiat/Day NY and president of Berlin Cameron and Partners. Veronique Weill will join Publicis Groupe in its Paris offices to serve in the newly created role of general manager. Her responsibilities will include the Groupe's Re:Sources, IT, Real Estate, Insurance and M&A units, effective September 1, 2017. She spent 21 years at JP Morgan, where she led operations and IT globally. She then joined French insurer Axa in 2006, where as part of the management committee she was responsible for operations, technology, digital, marketing and innovation. advertisement advertisement Both Weill and Serrano will report to Sadoun. To further facilitate the network's Power of One transformation, announced in late 2015, Publicis is creating two committees composed of more than a dozen company executives to ensure that its various implementation goals are achieved on schedule. Maurice Levy and I are both very confident in these recruitments as well as in the implementation of the two new management bodies composed of diverse, talented leaders to drive the Groupe through its transformation to become a true platform," stated Sadoun. The Executive Committee will meet in person every month to monitor the Groupes vision and align the Groupe's assets and talents with client objectives. In addition to the existing Directoire this board will include Serrano; Weill; Chip Register, Co-CEO of Publicis.Sapient; Nigel Vaz, President, DigitasLBi; and Alan Wexler, Co-CEO, Publicis.Sapient. Meanwhile, the new Management Committee will meet every quarter to oversee Groupe operations as well as track the Groupe's execution plans set by the Executive Committee. This group is composed of the Executive Committee members plus Valerie Beauchamp, EVP Business Development, Publicis Groupe; Justin Billingsley, COO Publicis Communications; Gerry Boyle, CEO APAC, Publicis Media; Andrew Bruce, CEO North America, Publicis Communications; Nick Colucci, CEO Publicis Health; Lisa Donohue, Global Brand President, Starcom; Tim Jones, CEO North America, Publicis Media; Loris Nold, COO Publicis Communications; Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Growth Officer, Publicis Groupe; Alexandra Von Plato, Group President, Publicis Health; and Jarek Ziebinski, CEO, Publicis One. Agathe Bousquet, President, France, Publicis Groupe will join the board effective September 1. by Jess Nelson , June 14, 2017 Now that Verizon has officially completed its acquisition of the fallen Internet giant, what will happen to Yahoos once-popular email client? Verizon closed its acquisition on Yahoos core Internet business on Tuesday for $4.5 billion, including Yahoo Mail, Tumblr, Yahoo Finance, and Yahoo Sports. The ramifications of Yahoos acquisition have already begun to unfold in the business world. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, resigned from her position on Tuesday after the business deal officially closed. More than 2,000 Yahoo and AOL employees -- 15% of its workforce -- were laid off on Wednesday as a result of a merger between Verizons AOL and Yahoo entities. advertisement advertisement Oath, the result of Verizons AOL and Yahoo merger, is Verizons attempt to remain competitive in a digital advertising market dominated by Facebook and Google. The new business entity will be comprised of AOL and Yahoo products including HuffPost, AOL.com, Tumblr, Yahoo Mail, and Yahoo Finance. Tim Armstrong, the previous CEO of AOL, will lead as chief executive office of Oath. Even amidst several security breaches, Yahoo Mail remained one of Yahoos most popular applications. It even ranked as the ninth-most popular email client for May 2017, according to a study of more than 1 billion email opens by Litmus. Considering that AOL and Yahoo are merging, will Verizon merge the more popular Yahoo Mail application with the less popular -- but more technologically savvy -- AOL Mail? A similar fate was bestowed upon 4.5 million Verizon.net email addresses that were deactivated in March. At the time, Verizon.net users were given 30 days to either transfer their email account to AOL, transfer it to another provider, or delete their account altogether. Users who chose to transition to AOL were able keep their Verizon.net email addresses, but now have to log in through AOL Mail. Chad White, research director at Litmus, predicts that Yahoo Mail will "live on for a long time." White says that Yahoo Mail is a completely different situation than verizon.net email addresses. "While neglected and tainted by being hacked in recent years, Yahoo Mail has decent capabilities, a ton of brand recognition, and a much larger user base of accounts," says White. "I would be shocked if Verizon did a forced migration of Yahoo Mail accounts." White predicts that Verizon will instead consolidate the back-end systems of AOL Mail and Yahoo Mail, merging them into one email system and user interface. "They will then use that single backend system to service both AOL and Yahoo email accounts," says White. "On the surface, those will have different branding, but under the hood, theyll be one system. Although Verizon says there wont be oath.com email addresses, I wouldnt be surprised if they did just that once that consolidation of email infrastructure is completeperhaps as part of an effort to service corporate email needs to match Gmails success with business users." Ruling parties, RJP-N agree to postpone election in Province 2 The ruling parties and the agitating Rastirya Janta party-Nepal (RJP-N) on Thursday has agreed to postpone the local level election in Province 2 for September 18. by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, June 15, 2017 Late last month when GroupM disclosed it was folding its media agency Maxus into its larger sibling MEC, the firm said the merger would free up resources for initiatives like bulking up digital agency Essence and transforming it into a fuller-service agency providing both digital and traditional media services. To help make that happen, three senior Maxus executives are now shifting to roles at Essence. A couple of other top-level managers are also joining the Essence team. Steve Williams has been named Essence CEO of North America; he currently holds this title at Maxus. Williams is charged with driving innovation and is also being tasked with insuring client and employee satisfaction throughout the region. Previously, Williams built out the OMD UK Group, and then led PHD USA as President. advertisement advertisement Rob Reifenheiser, current Essence CEO of The Americas, will shift to the newly created role of executive director, helping Essence with the task of winning and integrating multi-agency clients across both the agency and GroupM. Nick Baughan will become CEO of Essence EMEA, after serving as CEO of Maxus UK. He will be responsible for leading the 260+ person region and its client roster, which includes the Financial Times, Google, and FrieslandCampina. As reported earlier this week, Jenny Bullis, Essences current CEO of EMEA, is moving into the role of Chief Strategy Officer for [m]PLATFORM. Also joining Essence is Damian Blackden, who has been appointed Chief Strategy Officer; he currently holds the title at Maxus. Blackden will design the agencys proposition, which will include bridging digital and analog by applying Essences digital-first techniques to all channels. Hes a digital pioneer who is credited with conceiving and launching Zeniths digital business and has since held leadership roles at UM and Omnicom Media Group. Given the agencys evolving proposition, Essence is also creating two new senior positions. Simeon Duckworth will step into the role of global head of strategy & analytics, responsible for driving the agencys analytical capability across both digital and analog channels. He has worked in the space for over 20 years in both media and creative, most recently as head of data and analytics strategic development at GroupM. And Garrick Schmitt has been named global director, experience design, charged with further bridging Essences regional creative teams across North America, EMEA and APAC. He most recently co-founded Junior, a company that invented digital products and services. Before that, he spent 15 years at Razorfish, lastly as managing director and North American lead of service innovation. Commenting on the additions Essence Global CEO Christian Juhl stated: For years, Essence has harnessed granular event-level data to deeply understand audiences, moments and outcomes to deliver world-class digital advertising. Our firm intent is to apply the very same techniques, combined with machine learning and new modelling approaches, to inform targeting decisions and measurement across all media channels. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, June 15, 2017 Toyota has launched an advertising campaign using IBM Watson Ads to introduce the Prius Prime, a new plug-in hybrid model that went on sale earlier this year. The ad units serve up across mobile and desktop on The Weather Channel app and weather.com, which provides weather data. The ads, which are scheduled to run through the third quarter of 2017, are part of a larger campaign. Sarah Ripmaster, head of automotive sales, The Weather Company, said Toyota trained Watson on data from frequently asked questions to videos. "Watson ingested the data to understand how in-market shoppers interact and what types of questions they ask," she said. Watson only knows what you teach it. Ripmaster said. It doesnt go out to the Internet to pull in information. Rather than keyword searches, IBM Watson uses natural-language processing and machine learning to reveal insights from large amounts of structured and unstructured data fed into the platform, which is trained to identify queries and respond to questions with personalized answers in real time. advertisement advertisement The ads are intended to direct consumers to a local dealer for a test drive, so it also displays information about scheduling a test drive. Through attribution technology and other data sources, Toyota can tie the ads back to a car's VIN number to determine what ultimately prompted a sale, such as the Watson Ads. Here's how it works: The conversational app launches a dialog box that suggests to the site visitor to explore the Prius Prime. It also prepares the consumer to ask questions about efficiencies such as how far you can go on one charge and what type of gas mileage the car gets. It focuses on common topics that consumers would think about when considering the purchase of a new car. When Watson doesn't have the answer, developers will identify the question and the gaps in knowledge to fill them in so the technology gets smarter with each use. Ripmaster said The Weather Company hopes to run these ads on other publisher sites. This is the seventh Watson Ads campaign, which includes Campbell's, Country Crock, Theraflu, Flonase, among others. In the past, brands have seen engagement rates of between one and two minutes, which is three times longer than a television commercial, she said. Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. Henry III was a believer in the absolute right of kings and did not care for Magna Carta or any early concepts of the king in parliament. This, coupled with an immense tax burden, led to demands for reform and the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. When Henry reneged on these commitments six years later, the barons rose in revolt and found their leader in Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester (who was actually the Kings brother-in-law). Although already well into his 60s, de Montfort proved an active and inspiring leader. The Battle of Lewes Early on the morning of 14 May 1264, de Montforts forces marched eight miles from their camp at Fletchling to Lewes, where the royal army was billeted. Their approach was so rapid that they allegedly captured Henrys sentry. De Montfort drew up his forces on Offham Hill, and almost immediately the Kings son, Prince Edward (the future Edward I) launched an impulsive cavalry attack, which scattered de Montforts left wing made up of inexperienced Londoners. The King was obliged to follow up this attack with his infantry, and advanced up the hill to engage de Montforts line though some accounts have de Montforts forces advancing down the hill. Whatever the truth, the King lacked cavalry support, as his son was rashly pursuing the baronial left wing off the field. As de Montforts reserve was committed, the Kings forces were pushed down the hill and into the town of Lewes itself, where bitter street fighting ultimately led to a royalist surrender. The King took a battering, being much beaten with swords and maces. As the royalist army disintegrated, the King and Prince Edward, now belatedly returned, were captured at Lewes Priory. An army of some 10,000 had fallen victim to a rebel force only half its size, and the slaughter in defeat had been considerable, with anything between 1,300 and 2,700 killed (numbers are disputed). The terms of the surrender (the mise of Lewes) saw Prince Edward held hostage at Hereford Castle as a guarantor of the Kings future good behaviour, and left de Montfort as the ruler and controller of the Kings person. With de Montforts famous parliament called for the following year, the Battle of Lewes became a significant step in the development of British parliamentary democracy. After his victory at Lewes, de Montfort promised government by consent, with the first directly elected parliament in Medieval Europe. But he discovered that maintaining power was harder than taking it. Crucially, Prince Edward escaped from captivity by challenging his captors to a horse race, which he proceeded to win, disappearing into the sunset. The Prince then began gathering an army. The Battle of Evesham His first aggressive move was to attack de Montforts son at Kenilworth (1 August 1265), catching most of the baronial force asleep and capturing men and banners. He then marched overnight to intercept the main baronial army at Evesham, where de Montfort allowed himself to be trapped inside the loop of the River Avon. As the royal forces closed on Evesham, de Montfort was misled by the captured banners into thinking that his sons relief force was coming to join him. He soon realised his mistake and the hopelessness of his situation. There was only one crossing of the river, at Bengeworth, south-east of the town, and this had been secured by Roger Mortimers cavalry on behalf of Prince Edward. When de Montfort surveyed the scene, high up in the tower of Evesham Abbey, he uttered his despairing submission to fate. The baronial army now had no escape route to the south and the road north was blocked by the royal army of Prince Edward and Gloucester, which had taken up its position astride the road up on Green Hill. Faced with these dispositions and outnumbered by some 6,000 troops against 8,000, de Montfort felt he had no choice other than to try to fight his way out by advancing north up the hill and attempting to smash his way through the royal army into open country beyond. He duly lined up his forces in one column and aimed at the gap between the two battles of the Prince and Gloucester. The battle was to be fought in a thunderstorm and lasted just over two hours. The baronial army had little chance, with the royalist cavalry, held in reserve, closing around the rebel f lanks, effectively surrounding de Montforts struggling army. What followed was a massacre, with between 3,000 and 4,000 of the rebel troops, including de Montfort himself, being butchered. Few prisoners were taken at Evesham: Edwards revenge for the defeat at Lewes and all the humiliations that had followed was terrible. The remains of de Montfort were buried by the monks in Evesham Abbey. For many years, it became a place of pilgrimage. But there was an orchestrated attempt to stop the pilgrims, and eventually they ceased to come. Finally, Henry VIII dissolved the great abbey here and the legend of de Montfort almost died with the ruins. But there is a memorial to de Montfort at Evesham. Erected 700 years after his death, it reads: Here were buried the remains of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, pioneer of representative government, who was killed in the Battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265. This stone, brought from his birthplace, the Castle of Montfort-LAmaury in France, was erected to commemorate the 700th anniversary of his death. This is an edited extract from an article about the battlefields of Lewes and Evesham, written by Stephen Roberts and published in issue 22 of Military History Monthly. To subscribe to the magazine, click here. In what industry players describe as a vote of confidence in Ghana, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has selected the country as the centre of excellence for the training of tourism professionals throughout West Africa. The UNWTO's decision has been communicated to Ghana's Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in a letter signed by its out-going Secretary-General, Dr Taleb Rifai in a letter from its headquarters in Madrid, Spain. Disclosing the content of the letter to the DAILY GUIDE yesterday, the Minister of Tourism, Mrs Catherine Abelema Afeku, said the UN body had mandated Ghana to set up a Regional Centre for Tourism and Hotel Training Institute to be incorporated within an existing university or training institution. The letter said the world body will work alongside your team to guide and support in the establishment of the regional training centre to serve, not only the West African sub-region but Africa at large. Negotiations leading to the formal appointment on Ghana comes after what the world body described as our very fruitful meeting held on the margins of the 59th UNWTO CAF meeting on April 9, 2017 in Addis Ababa. It said Ghana was selected because the world body was satisfied that the Government of Ghana has committed itself to a planned approach to the development of the tourism sector through the implementation of a national Tourism Development Plan, a plan that has positioned the sector as a consistent driver of growth and development, as evidenced by the increases in public and private sector investments in facilities, arrivals and receipts, employment and contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) It hoped that under the leadership and wide experience of Mrs Afeku, this initiative will reinforce Ghana's leadership role in the Africa Region and at the global level in promoting sustainable tourism development reference to the current Minister's background as a hospitality specialist, having graduated from one of Switzerland's prestigious hotel and tourism universities. Capacity building has been listed among the Minister's five-point plan for tourism development for the next four years. Mrs Afeku said the Ministry itself had developed plans to put up a state-of-the-art hospitality training school accredited to offer degrees and diplomas as well as refresher courses. Mrs Afeku said training for decision makers in the national, regional and local tourism administrations was of utmost importance to develop and implement effective tourism strategies urgently needed to ensure destination competitiveness and sustainability. Conctacted for his comment, Okatakyie Nana Anim, president of the Ghana Tourism Federation, said this decision was a vote of confidence in Ghana. The fact that Ghana has mertited this appointment in spite of the existence of similar institutes in Africa, is an endorsement by the world body of the efforts our country is putting in to link tourism with national development. Top Ghanaian Accessory brand Aphia Sakyi debuts it's latest collection entitled 'Nhyria' (pronounced 'Enshrah'). The collection represents the status African queen and the various designs have manifested influences from various queens looks across the Ghanaian nation. The concept was also influenced by Ghana's 60th Independence Anniversary. The necklaces come in various styles and colours and represent a section of what the designer is said to be showcasing at her next Accra Fashion Week show. According to the designer 'We wanted something for the bold but not loud women of society, women who wish to make a strong statement without necessarily speaking. This is whom Aphia Sakyi's Nhyira colleciton represents'. The collection can be ordered directly from the designer but will also be available online this weekend on www.fashionghana.com/store . See the images below. CREDITS: Designer: Aphia Sakyi (@aphiasakyi) Photography: Pixxy Photography (@pixxyphotography) Model: Kukua (@kuu_ku_wah) From Confidence (@confidencemodels) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (1) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (2) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (3) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (4) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (5) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (6) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (7) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (11) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (14) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (15) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (17) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (23) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (26) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (27) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (29) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (32) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (35) Aphia Sakyi Nhyira Collection (39) The celebration of the end of the Holy month of Ramadan is drawing near. It is called Eid Al-Fitr. A day where all Muslims troop to the praying ground in different parts of the world including Nigeria to offer prayers. On this day, there are certain things you are not expected to do on the day so that you will get the utmost reward. In line with this, Jumia Travel the leading online travel agency shares some of the things. Taking too many Selfies There is nothing wrong with taking selfies. However, do not overdo it by taking pictures every minute and splashing it on your social media pages. Eid celebrates the end of Ramadan, reflect and ensure you do not return to the bad habits you have dropped. Food bingeing Granted, you have the tendency to food binge at the end of Ramadan especially in the morning of going to the prayer ground. Just eating Date is enough and then after you return you can eat. In summary, do not over eat. Appearing dishevelled You are supposed to wear your best attires on the day of Eid and men are allowed to use perfume. This will reflect the fact that you are celebrating. However, dressing shabbily and looking dirty is not really encouraged. Returning to your bad habits Some persons are just waiting for the morning of Eid to return to their bad habits. They take and do all sorts of things that are prohibited in Islam. So what is the essence of your abstinence from all these things during Ramadan? Fasting on the day of Eid You are not allowed to fast on the day of Ramadan. It is highly prohibited and not permissible. If it is just water, you should drink. Sleeping during Eid Eid is all about celebrating the festival with your family, relatives, and friends. Instead of spending it by sleeping and doing nothing, go out, to visit your relatives and spread the joy of Eid. For those whose family and relatives live quite far away, they can lodge in a hotel where they get an extra 50% off on all hotels with code EIDNG50 if they book on Jumia Travel. Forgetting to give Zakat al-Fitr Zakat is a payment made annually under Islamic law on certain kinds of property and used for charitable and religious purposes, one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Zakat al-Fitr is money, food, or similar items given to the poor as a charitable act to celebrate the end of Ramadan. The purpose of the Zakat al-Fitr is to prevent people from begging during the celebration. It must be given on behalf of all Muslims, young and old, male and female. It is also obligatory to give it before the Eid prayer, and not permissible to delay it until after the Eid prayer. Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has welcomed a ruling by the Supreme Court ordering the Auditor General to immediately begin surcharging persons found to have misappropriated public funds. James Avedzi Klutse believes that the ruling by the apex court will facilitate the fight against corrupt by public officers. He said the ruling also gives PAC the stamina to ensure retrieval of funds from public officials cited for financial misappropriation. The ruling by the Supreme Court its will make the work of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament easier James Avedzi Klutse told host of Adom FMs 'Burning Issues' programme, Afia Pokua. His comment on Wednesday follows the ruling by a seven-member panel of justices of the Supreme Court, presided over by incoming Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, ordering the Auditor-General to begin surcharging persons found to have misappropriated monies belonging to the state. The order of the court follows a suit filed by pressure group, Occupy Ghana in June 2016, seeking an order directing the Auditor-General to issue disallowances and surcharges to and in respect of all persons and entities found in relevant, successive reports to have engaged in misappropriation of state funds. Occupy Ghana had explained that it sued the Auditor General for refusing to surcharge persons who are said to have misappropriated monies belonging to the state to the tune of over billions of Ghana cedis. Mr. Klutse Avedzi assured the general public that his committee, together with the Auditor-Genera,l will ensure that funds misappropriated by public officials will be retrieved into government chest. Meanwhile, the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelovo, who was also speaking on the show on Adom FM, said he was excited by the Supreme Court ruling as it reinforces his powers of disallowance and surcharge. He promised that his outfit will vigorously chase after individuals who have in one way or the other misappropriated state money. The ruling by the Court brings clarity to provisions of the 1992 Constitution which for several years have not been enforced, he said. Lawyer and a member of the pressure group, Occupy Ghana, Ace Ankomah, urged the Auditor-General to work assiduously with the Supreme Court ruling. In a last-ditch effort, ruling parties hold talks with RJP-N A meeting between the ruling partiesNepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre)and the agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) is underway at Singha Durbar, Kathmandu on Thursday, in a last-ditch effort to bring the latter on board the second phase of local level election slated for June 28. A Kumasi-based businessman has been fingered as a key suspect by the family of the 78-year-old hotel owner who was stabbed to death on Monday. Relatives of late Anthony Owusu Adomako, who suspect contract killing, have since filed a complaint with the police. They cite the businessman (name withheld) as a close business associate of the murdered hotel owner. Relatives point to previous violent exchanges between Mr Adomako and his business partner as grounds for their suspicion in the callous murder. They say before his death Mr Adomako accused the suspect of cheating him in a business deal amounting to some thousands of Ghana cedis. A few weeks before the attack that cost the life of Mr Adomako, a disagreement erupted between the two over the failure of the businessman to fully honour his part of that deal, the relatives say. The proprietor of Coconut Guest House died on arrival at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital after a masked man stabbed him several times in the lobby of the hotel at about 11 p.m. on Monday. A receptionist on duty had led the assailant at knife-point from the reception to the lobby where Mr. Owusu Adomako was relaxing after close of work. The 52-year-old receptionist reportedly locked the deceased and the assailant in whilst he sought help unsuccessfully from outside. Police have confirmed receipt of information from the family which is likely to influence their investigations but they will not give details. Public Relations Officer at the Ashanti Regional Command, ASP Juliana Obeng, says the family has given police some clues. They [family] have spoken to us but it is something that we want to keep under our sleeves, she said. According to her, police could sooner or later go after the businessman who Nhyira News sources say owns a chain of businesses scattered across the Ashanti Region capital and other parts of the country. We are in touch with the family...They have given us some leads and at the appropriate time we are going to move on that lead or that piece of information that the family has given us, she said. Meanwhile, the Coconut Guest House remains closed. Benin City (Nigeria) (AFP) - Grace and Sunday Otoide's house is the last one standing on Bata Road in Benin City, southern Nigeria. All the neighbours have left and the retired couple hope to do the same. With the money their two children send from Italy, they want to build a new house. Dozens of lorries used to pass along the road to get to the local shoe factory, once one of Benin City's industrial jewels. But it's now no more than a track swallowed by swamps. At the turn of the century, the leading shoe manufacturer that gave the road its name relocated its factory to Ghana, frustrated by constant power cuts. About 3,000 employees, most of them young people, lost their jobs. Since then, the flood barriers surrounding the area have fallen into disrepair and the water has reclaimed the earth, flooding every dwelling and the factory. "We have no nothing. No chop (food), not'in," says Grace in pidgin English from a large sofa that has seen better days. Her husband's pension has also been hurt by the devaluation of Nigeria's naira currency. Two of the couple's six children were smuggled into Italy several years ago. They send back what they can, when they can, to help their parents build a new home. The current one threatens to fall down at any moment. Grace and Sunday Otoide's home in Benin City threatens to fall down at any moment "I don't know what kind of job she do. But she dey work, she dey abroad, she's the one who must worry for me. If I dey young again, I go travel overseas," says Grace. Money transfers More than 37,500 Nigerians arrived on the Italian coast by boat in 2016, according to the International Organization for Migration. Most of them came from Benin City. The city is riddled with human trafficking networks. Often the Nigerian women who end up in Italy become sex workers, while men are pushed into Italian mafia networks around the trade. The phenomenon can be traced back to the time of the region's industrial collapse in the late 1980s, military rule and the structural adjustment programmes that killed the economy. For nearly 30 years, Edo state, of which Benin City is the capital, has survived on the money sent back from across the Mediterranean. Retired civil servant Sunday Otoide has seen his pension hit by the devaluation of Nigeria's naira currency Even small sums represent a real monthly salary for families -- as long as the money is sent in foreign currency. On the outskirts of the city, there are no roads, electricity or drainage, yet brick houses are mushrooming in the largely abandoned fields. Emmanuel Otoide is building a large house for a client who left for Italy 10 years ago and has not come back. On the walls, the owner's mother has stuck a notice from her Pentecostal church: "2017 My Year of Greater Light". "The mother of the owner is (a) pure water seller, she is a street vendor," the construction engineer says, adding that without the money from overseas, building the house would be impossible. Behind him, workers dig the foundations of another house by hand, sweating in the suffocating heat, 10 hours a day, for 3,000 naira ($9.5/8.5 euros). 'Non-sustainable' The appearance of economic development because of migrants from Edo state is "fake and non-sustainable", according to Kokunre Eghafona-Agbontaen, from the University of Benin City. The money sent to often very poor and uneducated families is not invested in viable enterprises or to buy arable land to farm. "The remittances are utilised on a personal and family basis, and there are no visible contributions to the development and transformation of the community," she says. What's worse is that illegal migration has led to a fall in the level of education in Edo state, Eghafona-Agbontaen says. Young people, convinced that their professional future will not be in Nigeria, now look to leave rather than continue their studies. The deputy governor of Edo state, Philip Shaibu, agrees, saying parents would look for the "best agent to transfer them to Europe" in the same way they might look for a good school. "Now children want to go on their own. That trend we want to stop." After years of political inaction, the new Edo state governor has promised to eradicate the "dangerous cartels" involved in human trafficking, and wants to reinvigorate industry and create 200,000 jobs. It's a huge challenge and unlikely to be achieved in a country where energy problems are a major brake on development. But since 2016 the European Union has put pressure on source countries of illegal migrants -- "soft diplomacy" according to Shaibu, who wants politicians to recognise the problem. "We prefer to have our young ones being celebrated outside for skills that they learn in Nigeria" rather than drowning off the coast of Libya, he says. "That we don't want." Agadez (Niger) (AFP) - "I'm prepared to die," says Abdullah Ibrahim, a 27-year-old migrant from The Gambia. "I want to go to Germany, I love Germany since I'm young. I hope my dream will come true." For the time being, that dream is on hold after a first attempt negotiating the dangers of the desert, then armed militias in Libya to reach the Mediterranean. But he failed to find passage on a vessel to Europe and has returned to the central Niger city of Agadez, currently Africa's people-smuggling capital. Undaunted, he plans to try again, but his frustration is evident as he contemplates his situation, a black hood crammed so low on his head that it almost covers his eyes. He shares a house with several compatriots on the outskirts of Agadez, where they live in fear of the police who hunt down migrants such as them living in so-called "ghettos". They make do with ultra-basic facilities -- a simple mat for a bed, a handful of kitchen utensils, with what few clothes they possess rolled into a bundle. They have neither electricity nor running water and must put up with incessant swirling hot, dusty winds. Fear of the desert Conditions are ultra-basic for migrants staying in "ghettos" in Agadez, Africa's people smuggling capital "Here in Agadez it's pain. I am a Muslim: even to pray I have to pay, for water to clean myself," says Ibrahim, who has no money. A bricklayer by trade, he says he helped to build a house in the city but that the owner never paid him. He hopes he will get paid for his services eventually and then he can plot another departure, even though the first was an ordeal. The desert, he says, makes him very afraid. "The desert is hard. You see people dying, some (for) lack of energy, some (because) their water is finished. I even saw my friend dying," he says. "Some escape -- they are in Europe, some escape and go to Tripoli." Others, he says, escape and go back home. The Libyan border is a 750-kilometre (465-mile) trip from Agadez. The coast is twice as far again. 'No money, no boat' Plenty don't make it. The bodies of at least 44 migrants, some of them babies, were found after they died of thirst when their vehicle broke down in the scorching Sahara desert in northern Niger, officials said in early June. "The desert is full of bodies of migrants," said Niger's Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum. Migrants making it as far as Libya try their luck with perilous voyages across the Mediterranean If the desert poses one deadly challenge, Libya poses another. "The desert is... full of revolution. There are guns everywhere," says Ibrahim, who managed to avoid the violent perils which befell so many others who have headed for Libya since the 2011 fall of late dictator Moamer Kadhafi. After successfully crossing the desert, he made it to the coast and began looking for a boat. "We spent lots of time (waiting but we had) no money, no boat so the (trafficker) decides to drive us back," he shrugs. But he remains undaunted by the experience and intends to hit the migrant trail again. "I still want to go." No work in Africa "The problem is that youth (in Africa) has no jobs. Thousands of youths try to take this road to go to Europe. "Since you are born, you don't see nothing, no work. If I had something good here, I could develop my life, I would not go to Europe. "Normally, today (is when) you build tomorrow. But in Africa, you can't build anything -- a family, not even a bed for a room," he says, "(so) how can I have a wife?" Despite the hardships of the journey, he remains dazzled by stories of friends who managed to reach Europe and send money back home and by images of the European El Dorado visible online. Map showing the migrant crisis as thousands seek to make perilous sea crossings from Libya to Europe For Ibrahim, there is no going back home. "My family? I miss them, they don't know my whereabouts. I left my family without telling them. "I gathered my things and said I was going to see a friend. I knew my mother would say 'don't go'. "Since before I was born, my parents have been suffering. Now I'm a big and I have to do something for them," says Ibrahim. "You have to sacrifice your life for your brothers and sisters. Every human being will die. One day, all of us will end up going." Agadez (Niger) (AFP) - Once an El Dorado for those seeking work and advancement, Libya has turned into the seventh circle of hell for migrants whose experiences range from exploitation verging on slavery to kidnapping and torture. Back in the days when Moamer Kadhafi was leader, Africa's second-largest oil producer was billed as a top destination for those looking for jobs and money. But with the collapse of the Kadhafi regime in 2011, everything changed. These days, those who have been there say Libya is in the grip of anarchy, controlled by a network of armed groups and militias, a place where African migrants are exposed to every form of abuse. "Now Libya is bad, bad, bad," said Ibrahim Ali, a native of Guinea-Bissau who has just returned to Agadez, the main city in central Niger which has become a revolving door for economic migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Exhausted by his trip back through the desert, this young man appears traumatised by the two years he spent working there. "Guns, everywhere guns. It no good any more," agrees Eric Manu, a 36-year-old bricklayer from Ghana who stayed there for several years. "Too much problems." He said he left because of the unrest but also because wages had fallen by two-thirds and that he'd had problems being paid. "You can work and they don't pay you." Scavenging at the abattoir "Too much thieves -- sometimes they look for telephones, for money. If you don't give (it to them), they can kill you, shoot you," says Manu. Originally from Abidjan in Ivory Coast, he was able to wire the money back home knowing full well there would be bandits waiting on the route back to Agadez, where he eventually arrived without a penny to his name. Kante Sekou, a 27-year-old graduate, left Guinea in 2013 in the hope of getting to Europe but gave up after spending several nightmare years in Libya Kante Sekou, a 27-year-old graduate, left Guinea in 2013 in the hope of getting to Europe. But he gave up after reaching Libya where he spent a difficult time dodging both the police, who were arresting people, and the militias who were fighting each other. He was finally taken on as a labourer on a construction site with a group of other migrants. "It's shite. We were paid 15 dinars ($11/10 euros) per day and we had to hand over five of that for food. But we never saw any money. We would sometimes go three or four weeks without being paid," he said. "The food ran out and we didn't know what to do," recalls Sekou, who holds a degree in communications studies. "In one village, we had to go into an abattoir (to find food). We took the leftovers -- camels' feet and things like that which nobody wanted. "It didn't taste good but we had to do it." Kidnapped for ransom One day, the workers were told the money had arrived, but Sekou wasn't paid what he was owed so he upped and left, moving to Misrata in the west where he worked as a decorator. He also had a run-in with bandits, who routinely kidnap migrants and lock them up in makeshift 'prisons' in order to extort a random. For many, the nightmare they experience in Libya forces them to turn back and they often return to Agadez, a desert city in Niger "Once, I had to jump out of a moving car to escape from armed men who wanted to take me away," he recalls. Others weren't so lucky, such as 26-year-old Ibrahim Kande from Senegal who says anyone earning money -- which is usually sent home to support family -- is targeted by bandits. "If you earn money, the 'boys' (armed men) catch you, beat you, and put you in prison -- not a normal prison, a private one," he says, "They lock you up and you have to pay between 200,000 and 500,000 CFA" to get out -- the equivalent of 300-750 euros ($350-$850). "They call your parents and you have to tell them 'Send me the money or they'll kill me'." The money is picked up in the home country by an intermediary who gives the green light to free the captive, according to a modus operandi confirmed by multiple migrants. Then, through various murky channels, the money is transferred to Libya. 'Can't sleep, always afraid' "They hit me many times, they kicked me, stabbed me," says Kande, showing scars on his forehead and on his leg. "They robbed me three times. You can't sleep, you're always afraid. I suffered a lot." Balde Aboubakar Sikiki from Kindia, a city in Guinea, was also kidnapped and held in a private prison. Many west African migrants report being abused and robbed in Libya "They look like normal houses from the outside, but there are rooms where they lock you up. There are many people in there," says this 35-year-old. He also says he was tortured before paying the ransom to get out. "They take you out of the cell and they beat you on the soles of your feet with batons or cables," he says. Such stories are rife among those who have returned from Libya. Even so, there many people in Agadez who remain undeterred by such horror stories. "It will make the journey more expensive because it's dangerous, but in the end, it's always the migrants who pay," shrugs one. The Ghana Technology University College (GTUC) in collaboration with Coventry University, United Kingdom, has organised the International Conference on Education, Technology and Entrepreneurship (ICETE) 2017 in Accra. The two-day conference, on the theme: Promoting Development through Technology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, seeks to create an environment that would bring together like-minded individuals and groups to share knowledge in the areas of education, technology and entrepreneurship. Being the first of what would be an annual event, the ICETE would serve as a platform for further discussions in the areas of education, technology, and entrepreneurship as key components for the study of economic growth. Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, said in these times when the world economy was knowledge-based and science and technology-driven, the most important parameter in the production process was the human capital otherwise known as human integrity. Countries and cultures that have acquired the requisite human capital and technology rule the world. That is why there are countries in the world that have little or no natural resources but are much richer than those with abundant natural resources, he said. It is for this reason why the poverty gap is a technology gap and not natural resources gap. In actual fact, natural resources have no natural owners. Those who own the resources are those countries that have the human capital and technology to exploit them, he said. He pointed out that education had to come in as tool to prepare Ghana to develop its natural talents which some might call ability. You may have talent, but without exposure to an environment that will help unearth the talent and the knowledge that must be applied for it to become useful, the talent may not be exposed, he said. Prof. Frimpong-Boateng said there were different kinds of knowledge such as know-what, know-why, know-how, and know-who which refer to knowledge about facts, scientific knowledge of the principles and laws of nature, skills and capability to do something, and information about who knows what and who knows how to do what. He said whether a nation would ultimately succeed there were three things involved; ability, motivation, and attitude. Ability determines what a person is capable of doing given the right training and exposure. It is a potential force that needs to be developed. Having unearthed that ability, motivation determines what the person does with his ability. Motivation may take many forms, including provision of a conducive environment, better wages or salary or simple recognition, he said. Prof. Frimpong-Boateng said attitude determined how well a person did what he did adding; a talented person who is well motivated can still be a failure if he has got the wrong attitude towards work, he said. Prof. Osei K. Darkwa, the President of GTUC, said the theme of the conference was timely and relevant to todays world saying; it came at a time when a number of higher educational institutions are exploring ways to transform their delivery options and promote entrepreneurship and innovation. For a developing country like Ghana, it is an equally important conversation to have because all three subjects (technology, entrepreneurship and education) are intrinsically connected to our development as a people and a nation, he said. He said institutions of higher learning ought to be challenged to move into science, technology and technical-oriented education because technology could offer real opportunities to improve the quality of life of the people. On education, Prof. Darkwa said education provided knowledge and knowledge had now become the key to wealth creation and the alleviation of poverty. Due to their unique role in society, our educational institutions have become an essential part of the fabric of our civilization and civic life. Our universities must work hard to catch up with the new reality of providing an education that frees the imagination and provide not only a degree but the flexibility, insight and foresight that comes from thinking creatively, asking critical questions, forming and testing hypothesis and reasoning quantitatively, he added. The conference is being attended by businessmen, entrepreneurs, academics, researchers, industrialists, politicians and students. The ICETE hopes to provide a friendly and nurturing environment where participants would share their research experiences with colleagues, interact with accomplished professionals in various fields and create a networking opportunity for long term professional and business relationships. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will give its judgement on the dispute between Ghana and Cote dlvoire concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary in the Atlantic Ocean by the end of September this year. The president of the Tribunal, Mr. Vladimir Golitsyn announced this in his annual report at the opening of the 27th Meeting of the States Parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea at the United Nations headquarters in New York. During the five-day event, the States Parties will look at the annual reports from the institutions established under the Convention and the budgetary matters of the Tribunal, they will also elect a new 21-member body to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and another seven members to the International Tribunal to the Law of the Sea. He stated that the Special Chamber formed to deal with the disputed matter delivered an order on a request for the prescription of provisional measures filed by the Cote dlvoire on April 25, 2015. Subsequently, the partners submitted their written pleadings in respect of the merits of the case and the oral proceedings took place from February 6 to 16 this year, he stated. In his opening remarks, Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under Secretary General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations urged the various delegations to contribute especially to the Trust Fund for the participation of the members of the Commission from the developing countries in the work of the Commission, given the potentially adverse implications that its deletion would have on the ability of the Commission to progress in its work. He expressed the hope that the States Parties will continue to advance the goals of the Convention through peaceful uses of the oceans, equitable and efficient utilization of their resources, conservation of the living resources, the study, protection and preservation of the marine environment. Ghanas delegation to the annual Convention is headed by the Attorney General, Ms. Gloria Akuffo. It includes the Solicitor General, Mrs. Helen Ziwu, Chief State Attorney, Mrs Stella Badu and Mrs Audrey Abayane, acting Director of Legal, Ministry of Foreign Affairs . Also attending are two officials of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Nana Poku, Senior Genetic Manager and Mrs. Adwoa Wiafe, LegaL Manager. Mogadishu (AFP) - A suicide car bombing and armed assault by six Shabaab militants on two neighbouring restaurants in Somalia's capital Mogadishu ended Thursday morning with at least 18 dead, the government said. "The operation is over now and the gunmen were killed by the security forces," said Mohamed Ahmed Arab, spokesman for Somalia's security ministry. He said the six attackers -- one suicide bomber and five gunmen -- "attacked business places and killed innocent civilians: 18 civilians were killed, including a Syrian national, and more than 10 others were wounded." The attack began at around 8pm (1700GMT) on Wednesday evening with a suicide car bombing at the Posh Treats restaurant and club, after which gunmen stormed inside the nearby Pizza House restaurant. The Syrian national is believed to have been a chef at Pizza House. Both venues are popular with affluent, young and diaspora Somalis and were busy as customers broke the Ramadan fast. Islamist attacks often increase in tempo during the holy month but Wednesday's was the first major assault by the Shabaab this Ramadan. 'I could not stop my tears' Somali security forces' operation to halt the overnight attack was slowed by the darkness The gunmen spent the night roaming the restaurant killing those they found trapped before they were eventually killed by security forces whose operation had been slowed by the darkness. Survivors and witnesses described chaos after the bomb went off. "I was about to have dinner when the blast threw me to the ground," said Abdikarim Ahmed, a customer at Posh Treats. "I rushed to the nearby exit and went out. I could see the chaos caused by the blast and shrapnel everywhere." Abdukadir Mohamed, who was close by, said it was the loudest blast he had ever heard in years living in Mogadishu. "It was very close. I could see the huge fire it caused, the dust, destruction, everything. Both Pizza House and Posh Treats were on fire. The whole area looked like a different place," he said. Others spoke of finding dead relatives and friends. "One of my neighbours was among the dead, a young innocent girl. When I saw her body this morning I could not stop my tears," said Abdiwahid Ali. Worshippers in a neighbouring mosque were thrown to the ground and felt the walls shake and windows shatter. "You cannot recognise this area," said Hawa Ahmed, a local resident and a regular at Pizza House, who had opted not to visit last night. "Where there were two beautiful restaurants, this morning there is complete devastation and death, blood and body parts everywhere." 'Nightclub' targeted The Shabaab, an al-Qaeda aligned militant group that carries out regular suicide bombings and raids in the capital against civilian, government and military targets, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted a "nightclub" frequented by "foreigners, government and intelligence officials". Pizza House, where most of the civilian victims were killed, is a popular outdoor spot for iftar, the breaking of the Ramadan fast. Posh Treats in a converted villa across the road is a liberal hangout with shisha pipes and a disco, a rarity in Mogadishu. The austere Shabaab group, which wants to impose a Taliban-style rule on Somalia, has been fighting for the last decade to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Mogadishu and has also launched attacks in Kenya and Uganda, both contributors to a 22,000-strong African Union force in the country. Although pushed out of the capital in 2011 the group still controls parts of the countryside, where a drought threatens to tip into famine this year. Salva Dut was 11 years old, sitting through the last lesson in class and looking forward to the trip home with his schoolmates. Suddenly all hell broke loose. An infernal civil war had ignited in his native South Sudan. The year was 1985. After a single gunshot, the teacher peeked outside, just as more gunshots rent the air. Get down, lie on the floor, the teacher cried out to the frightened pupils. Rebels from southern Sudan had taken up arms against the government in the north in a war for independence. Suddenly it was no longer safe for the students to remain at school, and the teachers ordered them to run and hide in the bushes, because they knew their villages would be attacked soon. This marked the beginning of a long odyssey for Salva and the other boys from Loun-Ariik village fleeing from war. He escaped before seeing his parents or knowing whether they were alive or not. He joined a group of villagers from his Dinka ethnic group who walked for two months, with many succumbing to hunger, dehydration and famished wild animals along the way. Upon reaching neighbouring Ethiopia, they were sent to Itang refugee camp in the western part of the country. Salva was among some 20,000 children, mostly boys between 7 and 17 years of age, according to UNICEF, who were separated from their families during the war and ran into the bush and who came to be known as the lost boys of Sudan. After six years at the Ethiopian refugee camp, it was time to move again. Salva led a group of 1,500 lost boys who walked hundreds of kilometres over 18 months, through the desert and across three countries, to reach Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya. Only 1,200 boys made it to Kenya. There Salva had the good fortune to get a sponsorship to travel to the United States in 1996. In the United States, Salva was taken in by an American family and a church in Rochester, New York, who took him to school. All this time he kept wondering what had befallen his family back home. Since no one seemed to know their fate, he assumed they had died in the war. One day Salva received a message from his cousin that his dad was very sick back home. He was a patient in a health centre supported by the UN. It was the first time in years to hear about a member of my family, recalled Salva. I was excitedeven though my father was very ill, at least he was alive. He travelled back home and was eventually reunited with his family. He learned that his father had fallen sick from drinking dirty water. This triggered Salvas resolve to help his village get clean water to drink. When he returned to the United States in 2003, he started Water for South Sudan (WSS), a nonprofit organization, together with his partner from the Nuer ethnic group, a rival of Salvas Dinka group. Through the NGO, Salva raised funds and sank the first borehole in his village in 2005. The change was immediate. Women and girls no longer trekked for hours in unsafe terrain in search of water, Salva told Africa Renewal. Having seen how the project had transformed the lives of people in his village, Salva felt the need to do more. It costs from $8,000 to $15,000 to sink a borehole in South Sudan, and all the equipment is imported. Back in the United States, Salva shared his story with friends, members of the Rochester church and others who contributed to his cause. He received small grants from various faith-based organizations, from Rotary International and from sales of a novel based on his life journeyA Long Walk to Water, a New York Times best-seller written by Linda Sue Park, which is read by seventh graders in American schools. Many students have contributed to the project. We have supporters in all 50 US states and in 33 other countries, among them Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, because of the book. Many international schools worldwide read it, said Salva. By March 2017 Salvas organization had drilled 300 wells in South Sudan. Experts are involved in the project to ensure the boreholes are far enough apart to keep the water aquifers sustainable, usually not less than 100 miles. The borehole water is then treated and used for drinking, domestic use and watering cattle, but not for irrigation or other large-scale purposes. For the project to be popularly accepted, Water for South Sudan involves local communities from the planning stages. To avoid conflicts, disagreements and misunderstandings, the organization also engages local leaders and elders to decide the location of future boreholes. We also train the villagers on how to operate the boreholes, and they are part of the committee that is charged with overseeing maintenance and repair of the equipment, he said. This year Salvas team plans to drill up to 40 new boreholes in Waubaai County in Wau State and in Kuac North County in Gogrial State. They will focus more on schools and the new county headquarters in Payam. Salva says that wherever the boreholes are sunk, schools and markets spring up, transforming the area and changing livelihoods. It is this kind of transformation that keeps Salva energized and the WSS project strong. A board of 14 directors in the United States, all volunteers, helps with strategic planning. The organization has three full-time and one part-time employee. Salva is based in South Sudan. Lynn Malooly, who has been WSS executive director for the last seven years, says, We are proud to be helping Salva and to be part of this. For the team, though, it has not been an easy ride. Transportation of borehole equipment from one part of the country to the other is often impeded by the frequent conflicts in South Sudan, as well as poor infrastructure. Oftentimes there are neither existing roads nor gas stations where we can refuel the trucks transporting the machines, said Salva. Extreme weather conditions, with temperatures rising up to a punishing 38C, and the outbreak of malaria during the rainy season also affect the pace of the work, but do not stop it entirely. Future plans Salva plans to seek more partnerships to help many more people in South Sudan get access to clean drinking water. He hopes his water project will help foster peace and bring together the warring ethnic groups of Nuers and Dinkas for the sake of developing their country. We are one people no matter what. We have to work together. When I go back and see all these positive changes, I feel good. We are just planting a seed and you never know what that seed could turn out to be in the future, he said. At the end of the day, the lost boy of South Sudan has come home bearing gifts, and his people are grateful. 15.06.2017 LISTEN Capital markets, where money from savers is put into long-term investments, can contribute significantly to socio-economic development if they invest in productive projects and enterprises. But small size and market illiquidity can undercut this process. The East African Community (EAC) has been prioritizing regional financial-market integration, creating linkages between the regions markets, as the combined pools of local savings, pension funds, insurance companies and other local institutional investors will be the essential drivers of capital-market development and the integration of markets in the EAC. Institutional investors in the region are already making some intraregional asset allocations, but there is potential for expansion, according to the Milken Institute, an economic think tank based in the United States that conducted a survey early this year of over 40 institutional investors in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. With this survey, the institute sought to examine current intra-regional investments and how their role may develop in the future. The regional institutional investor base has been expanding lately, as favourable demographics and economic growth spur the development of local pension and insurance industries. According to national statistics, EAC pension funds and insurance companies managed $19.1 billion in assets as of 2015, up from $10.7 billion in 2010. When it comes to investing abroad, about 50% of the firms studied allocated a portion of their portfolio to assets beyond their own countrys domestic markets. Most of their foreign investments, though, stay within the regional bloc. Ugandan institutional investors, for example, were most likely to hold foreign assets, with 70% of surveyed Ugandan funds deploying at least some capital abroad. Their main motive for doing so was to access Kenyas more developed securities markets. Assets outside our country are in Kenya, specifically in the equities market. Kenya is a more active economy with a liquid stock market, it is growing and we want to participate in this growth, a fund manager told the Milken Institute. For their part, the Kenyan institutional investors that made foreign investments primarily did so to diversify their portfolios in light of domestic concerns, such as political dysfunction, budget deficits and the depreciation of the Kenyan shilling. As one survey participant explained, his fund was diversifying away from Kenyan-specific risk. While some Kenyan firms directed around 5% of their portfolio to securities beyond the EAC, most cross-border Kenyan investment stayed within the region. Given that Kenyan firms manage more than half of regional assets, this is an important finding for Kenyas neighbours, as well as for any long-term investments in regional infrastructure, such as projects to link the EACs Northern Corridor. The survey also found out that about a third of Rwandan pension funds and insurance companies invested abroad, with Kenyan markets the most common destination. In Tanzania no participating firm held foreign assets, mainly because of long-standing regulatory restrictions on investments abroad. Some of these restrictions have only recently been lifted. Under the 2010 EAC Common Market Protocol, Member States are required to remove all restrictions to the intraregional movement of goods, labour and capital. Overall the EAC has made significant advances toward this goal, although some restrictions still remain, such as rules preventing Tanzanian and Ugandan insurance companies from investing in other EAC countries. Regulations, though, are not the only obstacle to further market integration. Investment guidelines imposed by boards often place tighter restrictions on fund managers than regulations do. At the same time, investors do not always know where regulations allow them to invest. The survey showed that this lack of awareness was particularly notable among Ugandan pension funds. Even when firms want to invest in their regional neighbours, they may be ill-prepared to manage the currency risk involved. Nearly a third of the survey respondents rated their ability to assess exchange-rate risk as poor or very poor. About 73% of the firms said they lack the tools needed to hedge against negative currency movements. Possible futures The survey findings indicate that institutional investors are ready to increase their intra-regional investment. First, nearly half of participating firms would be willing to increase investment in Rwanda, if they had access to better currency hedging solutions that are used to mitigate the impact of foreign exchange risk on international investments. The new frameworks for derivatives established by Kenya and Uganda may offer firms the currency hedging instruments they need, though these instruments are not a panacea. Another solution would be not to require hedging products at all. What if the Rwandan government, for example, were to issue bonds denominated in Kenyan shillings instead of Rwandan francs? About 75% of EAC institutional investors say they would be interested in investing in such an issuance. For Kenyan investors, this product would enable cross-border diversification without exchange-rate risk. For the Rwandans, this kind of security would likely facilitate further investment from Kenyan firms, which manage the regions largest pools of capital by far. East African institutional investors also clearly signaled their appetite for two other new products that would drive regional integration. Nearly three-quarters of the firms surveyed would be interested in investing in a regional fund focused on infrastructure, while 64% would look to invest in a regional fund of funds for private equity and venture capital. These kinds of funds, if they were established, would be invested in multiple projects or enterprises, thus pooling and dividing the risks among various investors. Moreover, these funds would be managed by specialists, enabling some institutional investors to access expertise they might not be able to otherwise. Donors could help facilitate the creation of such funds by providing first-loss capital where they agree to bear first losses in the investment in order to encourage the participation of co-investors that otherwise would not have entered the deal, or other credit enhancements. Next steps According to the recent EAC common market scorecard, the region is already one of the most integrated in Africa, although challenges remain. Developing products that meet the needs of institutional investors as they look to diversify beyond their national markets would be one step toward further integrated regional capital markets. Such an approach will require constant engagement with firms to understand how and why they allocate assets. It will also require expanding awareness among fund managers and investment boards, so that they are able to take advantage of new developments as they become available. Pooling regional institutional investor capital to finance cross-border infrastructure or invest in the regions growth-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would, of course, have widespread benefits beyond financial sector development. If managed properly, these investments could further unite the economies of the EAC member states, expanding trade and spurring economic growth. Mr. Schellhase is a consultant at the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets, where he researches on deepening and strengthening capital markets in developing countries. Africa Renewal Major Maxwell Adam Mahama one of the national hero helping to kill Galamsey Snake. 15.06.2017 LISTEN More effort is now needed to fight against Galamsey menace incessantly in order to win the battle by cutting off it head as King David did to win his battle to Goliath who was instigating treats on Israelites as Galamsey is threatening our lands and water bodies. As we are aware the snake does not move straight, so it is the movement of Galamsey snake which does not have negative impacts on one area alone but moves in meandering directions to degraded thousand hectares of Ghanas arable lands, vegetation, species of animals so it is that our rivers have also equally been polluted, notably river Pra, Tano, Ankobra and Birim and many smaller rivers among other negative effects. This snake has been with us for very long time and has now grown in size with more venom that has been injected into our drinkable rivers to turned into undrinkable, on our arable lands not be able to sustain the crops to yield it fruits. This demands more attention, effort, unity, perseverance, patriotism, continuity to ends it actions once and for all. The reason has been that Governments have come and gone in this country but the problem of Galamsey continues to be escalated, because of lack of political will to kill that snake and cut off it head. One thing we should not forget is that the more this menace continues to stay with us, the higher it put harm to our environment. Therefore, now that political will has given approval to eradicate this menace, we should all put our political colures aside and merge as one broom to sweep out this unwanted national canker to save the environment for now and future generations. Let us rise, be bold to support fight against Galamsey as our leader has encouraged that my government would not rest until Galamsey becomes a thing of the past in the country. He also insisted that his administration would not allow mining to compromise the future of the country, compromise our environment, destroy and pollute our water bodies. If we do that, we will wake up tomorrow with no country to live in. Less not forget, since the media coalition sported this snake called Galamsey in Ghanas paradise, it is now behaving like the old serpent. To the extent that in a process to beat it with a stick and cut of it head, the snake hided at Denkyira Obuasi in the central region, where national security personnel Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama through his contribution to fight against the menace; met his gruesome death which has been entirely condemned by all Ghanaians. Ghanaians should not be discourage in fighting against this menace though our beloved Major Mahamas lynching was extremely painful, unforgettable, disheartening but what can we do to deter the venom not to spread to far and wide as now encompassing to Ghanas sea and tourism. These came to light when group of journalists touring eight landing sites as part of a capacity-building programme sponsored by (USAID) and the University of Cape Coast Fisheries and Coastal Management Capacity-Building Support Project. According the report, Shamma bay and part of the sea water has become muddy that is colored, unclear, making it unmanageable for the fishes to survive in the water. The Chief Fisherman, Nana Enubasa said that the water from the estuary used to be fresh and clean and served as a source of drinking water, now you cannot drink this water anymore". Further, claimed that certain species, especially the smaller fishes, had become nonexistent. We no longer get them and as a result, it has even affected the catch for big fishes which fed on the smaller species. The report further read that tourists who used to visit the area regularly due to the clean beaches and estuary no longer found the area attractive any more. They protested that "We don't do Galamsey here but when the estuary overflows, due to the operations of the illegal mining activities around River Pra in the upstream region, we at the downstream region suffer the consequences," it means that as snake bite from the down, the venom moves upward and vice versa, so it is the acts of Galamsey activities in the country. Already, Ghana has a deficit in fish production while fish consumption hovers around one million tonnes annually; only 400,000 tonnes is produced locally. This means that about 600,000 metric tonnes of fish is imported annually to fill the gap. An official figure has also indicated that Ghana spends between $300,000 and $400,000 on fish imports annually and when this adds to our import bill, it negatively affects our economic development as a country that is why we need to pay attention to everything that pollute our sea and rivers. We should all be courageous to confidently participate in this fight in incessant manner without rest and at the end Ghana will defiantly win the battle; irrespective of some setbacks as Atticus Finch a lawyer once said I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. By: Abraham Frank Eshun Journalist and communication consultant [email protected] Strong security in place for polls: Home minister Minister for Home Affairs Janardan Sharma said on Wednesday that the government has ensured strong security on the ground for the second phase of local elections scheduled for June 28. 15.06.2017 LISTEN The Auditor Generals Office can now bark and bite courtesy of the powers granted it yesterday by the Supreme Court of Ghana. Bark and bite, what does that mean? It simply means the office can now retrieve all monies stolen from the state by public officials and also surcharge them. Hitherto, the Auditor General could only document cases of misapplication of public funds. Though that ammunition is in the 1992 constitution, the Auditor Generals Office had over the years failed to test its mettle or apply it. Article 187 (7) (b) of the 1992 Constitution states that in the performance of his functions under this Constitution or any other law the Auditor-General - (a) Shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority; (b) May disallow any item of expenditure which is contrary to law and surcharge. It was as though the apex court was telling the Auditor Generals Office to wean itself from feeding on the daily milk. Its now time to eat bones and crack the whip. And I will urge the office to let l the wild dogs begin to bark and bite. It should also ensure that there will be no more room for fraud, pilfering, thievery and corruption. Nobody could be happier than Daniel Domelovo the Auditor General, regarding the Wednesdays remarkable ruling by the SC. He told the local media in Accra that he was elated as the decision reinforced his powers of disallowance and surcharge. This brings clarity to provisions of the 1992 Constitution which for several years have not been enforced. We have started implementing the constitutional provision, he said. The ruling as earlier indicated empowers the office to surcharge and retrieve monies embezzled by officials at the Ministries, Department and Agencies. It seems the old order is gone, the period that the office would hand over its final report to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) to decide on what to do. It is time for the Office to call the shot. This is what Ghanaians have been expecting, making sure looters account for their loot and not let them off the hook. The citizenry would like to see government s give looters tougher punishments rather than rebuke them or give them a slap on the back of their hands. Ever wondered what to do when an intruder breaks into your home? Sometimes we have the guns inn our rooms but we lack the courage to shoot. Remember the intruder comes to steal, to destroy and to kill. One would expect the Auditor General to take his gun and do justice to it. Interestingly the Auditor General knew about this retrieve and surcharge but for several years two powerful guns idled in his room. He couldnt use them and never bothered to enforce them. And probably the result is what we have been reaping over the years. The looters saw the loopholes and they capitalised on them. However, OccupyGhana a pressure group saw the absurdity in the entire process. The group saw the Auditor Generals Office as a toothless bulldog or lame duck. How could the office not bite? Why did it limit its function to only documenting cases of misappropriation of public funds and not put to use the power to retrieve and surcharge? It was against this backdrop that the group filed a suit at the Supreme Court and asked it to remind the Auditor General of his duties of surcharge and disallowance as stipulated by law and to ensure that all public officers found to have embezzled public funds are surcharged and prosecuted where necessary. On Wednesday 13, 2017, the court granted all the reliefs by Occupy Ghana and ordered the Auditor General to issue disallowance and surcharges in respect of all state monies found to have been expended contrary to law. The second relief granted by the Court was that the Auditor-General must take steps to recover all amounts lost to the state, and this covers private persons. In a related development, the Attorney-General has been ordered to ensure enforcement of the orders including criminal prosecution where necessary. To that I say kudos to OccupyGhana. Blessed are those who file law suits to stop corruption in Ghana. And now woe unto those who still think they will harvest where they havent sown, the wild dog has been given new teeth. Reacting to the ruling a member of Occupy Ghana Ace Ankomah told Joy News in Accra that for once the power given to the Auditor General by the constitution, which has never been exercised will finally be exercised. He was hopeful the new Auditor General appointed in December 2016, as well as the Attorney General appointed in March 2017 will both execute the reliefs granted by the court. An estimated GHc 5bn of taxpayer's money has lost through mismanagement by public officers. This was made known by Sydney Casely Hayford another member of the pressure group. According to him the judgement emboldens the Auditor-General to do more than document the sins of public officers in his annual reports. OccupyGhana will assist in this effort to identify persons who through mismanagement, negligence or corruption have caused public funds to go waste, he said. In 2014, the audit report revealed in 152 pages blood-cuddling stories of wastages and corruption. Some 43 district assemblies dissipated GH1 billion. And in last April, the Auditor-General submitted 13 reports to Parliament on public accounts for the year ended December 31, 2015. These yearly reports, according to the group are forwarded to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee where indicted public officers and managers are invited to explain themselves. The way and manner undocumented Ghanaian migrants who were deported from the United States of America (USA) back to Ghana on Wednesday were treated by authorities there is condemnable, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, has said. Almost 80 Ghanaian illegal immigrants in the United States were deported. They arrived at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra on Wednesday, 14 June in handcuffs. The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), and the Ghana Police Service screened the deportees upon arrival. The deportees, most of whom had no records on them, are the second batch of immigrants to be brought back since Donald Trump became President of the US. There have been reports that they were handcuffed from the US till they reached Ghana. Speaking on this matter in an interview with Valentina Ofori-Afriyie on 505 on Class91.3FM on Wednesday, Mr Ablakwa said: Even in international law, it is important to also recognise that even when you have arrested a criminal caught even in the act, you will need to respect his rights. Everybody has rights, it doesnt matter if the person is a convict or whether the person is caught in the act, so the report that we are all picking up about the dehumanising way in which these Ghanaians were treated, arrested, handcuffed and continued to be handcuffed in this long distance flight and arrived at the Kotoka International Airport in handcuffs should be condemned. These are fellow human beings and you dont treat them that way; even deportees have rights. I want to stress that we all have to condemn the way these deportees have been treated. Inasmuch as we all concede that the deportees have questions to answer, it is important that these deportees rights are respected. So far, it appears that their rights have been violated and they have not been treated in a humane manner. We expect our Foreign Ministry and Foreign Minister to speak out about these matters. 15.06.2017 LISTEN Tema, June 14, GNA - Importers have threatened to increase prices of goods if government implements a proposed 0.02 per cent import tax. Mr Samson Awingobit Asaki, Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association, told the Ghana News Agency that the implementation of the tax would increase the cost of operation for importers. Mr Asaki added that when it happens like that, they would have no other choice than to transfer the cost onto the prices of goods for the consumers. Presidents Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced cabinet's approval of the 0.02 per cent import tax some days past in a speech read on his behalf during the closing ceremony a five-day orientation workshop for newly appointed envoys. According to President Akufo-Addo, the new tax which would be on all imports outside of the African Union (AU), was aimed at supporting the activities of the AU to ensure that it would not go begging from other countries. But, the Importers who are not happy about the new tax as they described it as a 'stab in the back' connotes that government was using other means to replace the taxes it scrapped early this year. Mr Asaki added that giving importers one per cent tax reliefs and introducing a new tax would only create disaffection for them as consumers might blame them for not reducing prices of goods after the announcement of tax reliefs by government during the budget reading. He explained that majority of Ghanaian importers import their goods from outside the AU therefore implementing this tax reduction would affect everybody. He however stated that importers were not against the government supporting activities of the AU but government should look at getting the money from other sectors. GNA By Laudia Sawer, GNA Juapong (VR), June 14, GNA - Dr Archibald Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, has assured management and staff of Volta Star Textiles (VST) of government's commitment to revive the company. He said government has funds for "distressed" companies and was earnest about its industrial policy. The Regional Minister said this during a working visit to the company where he called for adherence to strict financial principles and good corporate governance by all institutions to attract government support. Mr Divine Vigbedor, the Acting Managing Director of VST, said the once vibrant company was in debt and is underperforming. He said the company made a monthly profit of 1,492,000 million cedis out of which raw materials took a chunk of 863,000 cedis; salaries and other miscellaneous, 444,000 cedis and 409,000 for power. Mr Vigbedor said apart from the company's old debts, it was accumulating a monthly debt of about 363,000 cedis with threats coming from the Electricity Company of Ghana to cut power supply. He said the company was also faced with periodic labour agitations due to accumulated unpaid salaries. Mr Vigbedor said last year government took a loan of six million cedis to buy raw materials to help revitalize the company but the money was used to pay some salaries and ECG arrears. He said the company has the machines, to produce at full capacity of 1,200,000 yards a month instead of the current 452,925 it was producing with a labour force of 1,200. Mr Vigbedor said the company's main challenge was inadequate funds to clear debts and buy raw materials to operate. GNA Jihad Chaaban, the Marwako Fast Food Abelemkpe branch manager in Accra, has informed the Abekah District Court that he would be calling two witnesses to testify for him in a case before the court. Ending his cross-examination, Chaaban disagreed with the prosecution's assertions that it was his fault that the blended pepper splashed on Evelyn Boakye's face. According to Chaaban, Ms. Boakye, a female employee who has accused him of dipping her face into blended pepper, told him that she had pain in her eyes after chopping onions in the restaurants' kitchen. The manager also denied that it was through his pushing and pulling of the victim's head to take a look into the blender that led to the splashing of the pepper on her face. He however, admitted that he gave money to one Ali a worker at the restaurant to accompany the victim to the pharmacy to purchase medicine for the treatment of her (Ms. Boakye's) eyes. Mr Jihad Chaaban further admitted that Ms. Boakye had never demanded money from him since she began work at the restaurant. According to him, he heard that Abigail another employee of the restaurant and the victim were planning to demand money from him. The branch manager maintained that he gave two caution statements to the police without any compulsion. The accused person explained that the police however, did not give him the chance to explain himself, adding that he was also not given an Arabic interpreter at the police station before those two statements were taken. Hearing has been adjourned to June 15. Chaaban, the 26-year-old branch manager, has been put before the court for allegedly dipping the face of Ms. Boakye into blended pepper at the Abelemkpe branch of Marwako Restaurant. The accused is standing trial over offensive conduct, intentionally and unlawfully causing harm and assault. He has denied the charges and is on bail. GNA Residents of Anlokrom in the Shama District of the Western Region, who were hit by tidal waves last Sunday, are calling for support from government to relocate. Over 800 residents in the area were rendered homeless following tidal waves that destroyed homes on Sunday. The displaced residents said the strong tidal waves have destroyed their property annually in the community. The tidal waves ripped off the roofs of about 191 low-lying houses recently. This was disclosed by Noble King Dogbatey, an opinion leader in the area when officials from the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) visited the affected communities in the region. The NADMO officials were in the communities to assess the situation and also distribute some relief items such as mattresses, bags of rice, plastic cups and plates, among others to the affected residents. Communities like Fawomaye, Axim and adjoining areas were also hit by the heavy tidal waves over the weekend. Mr. Dogbatey noted that the residents in the affected communities have decided to voluntarily relocate, but were seeking assistance from the government. He indicated that about 200 houses were affected with the inhabitants losing properties running into several millions of Ghana cedis. It has been happening every time, but this year's has been very severe and I understand it has even affected some parts of the country, he said. The National NADMO boss, Nana Agyeman Eric Prempeh, said that the relocation of the residents would help address the problems and help them live peacefully. He disclosed that the relief items and other support from government would go a long way to lessen their plight. Mr. Prempeh, however, assured the people of government's efforts to bring a lasting end to their plight. Speaking in separate interviews, the residents mentioned that the situation had compelled some of the people to flee from their homes. According to the people, the tidal waves had destroyed most of their homes. My appeal to the government is to construct a sea defence wall to protect us from the devastation of the tidal waves, he indicated. From Emmanuel Opoku, Shama Parliament yesterday passed the Customs (Amendment) Bill, 2017, paving the way for import duties to be removed from selected vehicular parts, as agreed by spare parts dealers and officials of the Ministry of Finance after extensive consultations between the two parties. In line with the government's promise to scrap import duties on spare parts as contained in the 2017 budget statement, majority New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) argued strongly during the consideration of the bill that the passage of the bill would bring relief to consumers of spare parts and also stimulate growth in the domestic transportation sector by making it relatively cheap and easy for vehicle owners to maintain their vehicles to reduce road accidents. The new amendment bill that sought to amend the Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891) specified categorically that car tyres are not covered under the new bill and that they would still attract import duties. The removal of the import duties would affect both new and used vehicular parts and so importers and consumers of both new and used vehicular parts would benefit from the tax exemption. The President is expected to assent to the bill passed by Parliament soon. The Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament, however, argued that the bill is very populist, deceptive and does not represent the actual promise made by the ruling government to remove taxes on spare parts imported into the country. The ranking member of Finance and NDC Member of Parliament for Ajumako/Enyan/Essiam, Cassiel Ato Forson, who contributed to debate on the bill during its second reading on Tuesday, said the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs (CET) Secretariat has given Ghana only four years of exemption for taxes and that by 2021, government would be imposing import duties on spare parts again. According to the ranking member on finance, spare parts dealers have been made to understand that all taxes on the importation of spare parts have been removed, but that is not the case as importers would be asked to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) and National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) on those goods. The NDC MP for Wa West, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, said the government must not create any confusion between spare parts dealers and consumers, asking government to clearly come out with a list of all vehicular parts that are to be exempted from tax. The minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said that there is still ambiguity in the definition of spare parts and the actual vehicular parts that are to be exempted from taxation, arguing further that car tyres could also be described as spare parts since they are also changed regularly and are part of the 'whole' motorized vehicle. The MP for Lower Manya Krobo, Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, said he would only support the bill if car tyres are included in the list of spare parts to be exempted, otherwise it would be an unfair and discriminatory law. The chairman of the Finance Committee, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, who presented the committee's report, said the Ministry of Finance has not made any forecast for revenues that would be accruing from import duties on the spare parts in question in 2017 but added that for the first quarter of 2017, the government realized GH30,441,159 as revenue from the affected taxes. He said for whole of 2016, the government realized an amount of GH97.5 million from import duties on spare parts and that the government could be losing between GH90 million and GH100 million every year from the exemption, which more than compensates for the general reliefs and comfort the exemption will bring to Ghanaians. The MP for Berekum East, Dr Kwabena Twum-Nuamah, lauded the removal of taxes on spare parts and added that the exemption will eventually trickle down to the pocket of every Ghanaian since transport cost would be reduced and food prices could also be reduced while transport users would save for other needs. By Thomas Fosu Jnr Adam Alhassan alias Dogo America, before he was killed 15.06.2017 LISTEN A member of a gang who allegedly killed Constable Michael Kporyi at Yellow Signboard, a suburb of Michel Camp in Tema, Greater Accra Region, last Monday, has been shot dead in what is seen as reprisal attack. The deceased, Adam Alhassan alias Dogo America, 33, who resided at Washington, near Michel Camp, was killed Tuesday when a police team stormed his house at Washington, a suburb of Zenu, near Ashaiman. Four other persons were said to have been apprehended at the premises of the house to assist with investigations. It is believed that the deceased commanded at least 60 trigger-happy land guards with a stockpile of arms and ammunition, some of which had earlier been retrieved by the police. Prior to his death, Adam Alhassan was said to be on police wanted list for some time. Confirming the killing to journalists at a news conference yesterday, DCOP George Tuffour, Tema Regional Police Commander, claimed that his outfit picked intelligence that a group, led by Adam Alhassan, was behind the killing of 32-year-old Constable Michael Kporyi, who was attached to the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) under the Command. According to him, intelligence revealed that some armed members of Alhassan's gang had gathered at Aviation No.7, Washington. Consequently, a team of police personnel from the Regional Command were deployed to the place. Upon sighting the police, two of the gang members fled on a motorbike and were pursued by the police into a building which turned out to be the house of Dogo America, according to DCOP George Tuffour. He revealed that his personnel followed them into the house where they saw one AK47 assault rifle and one submachine gun (SMG) on the terrace of the house being serviced. The regional commander further stated that two persons who were also on the terrace were apprehended by the police, saying that the suspects mentioned Dogo America as the one servicing the weapons but disappeared upon seeing the police approaching. As the police entered one of the rooms, DCOP Tuffour noted, Dogo America suddenly dropped down from the ceiling armed with an SMG fully loaded and aiming at the police. He added, Police promptly fired at him and rushed him to the police hospital where he was pronounced dead. Commissioner of Police (COP) Christian Tetteh Yohunu, Director General of Police Operations, added that strategies were being outlined to pursue other members of the gang and appealed to the public to provide them with information to make Tema and its environs safe for law-abiding citizens. Dogo America was said to be involved in several criminal cases such as robbery, possession of firearms, attempted murder, causing harm and the use of offensive weapons, which were under investigation at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters of the Ghana Police Service. He was said to have been granted bail in all cases, but jumped bail for which reason he was placed on the police wanted list. One AK 47 rifle, two SMG rifles, a dagger, machete, a pair of pliers, 2 screw drivers and 12 rounds of live ammunition were said to have been retrieved from his residence. Preliminary investigations conducted, according to the police, revealed that on July 30, 2015, two AK 47 rifles and ammunition concealed in a sack were retrieved by the police from his hideout at Doryumu, leading to his arrest. Also, sometime in November 2016, eight weapons were retrieved from Alhassan at his block factory at Gbestile, a community near Washington. On Thursday, June 8, 2017, a member of his gang also engaged the police in a shootout at Community 9, Tema, which resulted in the death of a gang member. Remains of the purported land guard Exhibits retrieved From Vincent Kubi, Tema Maseru (Lesotho) (AFP) - Just days before his inauguration, Lesotho's incoming prime minister was left shaken Thursday by the murder of his estranged wife in a shooting highlighting the political uncertainty which has long gripped the mountain kingdom. Thomas Thabane's 58-year-old wife Lipolelo, was shot dead Wednesday in Ha Masana village, 35 kilometres (22 miles) south of the capital Maseru where she lives, as she was driving with a friend. Samonyane Ntsekele, the secretary general of Thabane's All Basotho Convention party, said the prime minister-elect was devastated by the shooting. "Yes it is true that Mrs Lipolelo was shot dead last night... Everyone is traumatised by these developments," he said. Thabane, whose party won a parliamentary election earlier this month, is due to replace Pakalitha Mosisili, prime minister since 2015, after forming a coalition with three other parties. The gunning down of Thabane's wife just two days before he is due to take office, has created confusion in the tiny poverty-stricken country, completely surrounded by South Africa. Thabane is expected to be sworn in Friday amid hopes his new coalition government will end the political uncertainty that has long dogged the mountain kingdom. His ABC party won snap elections on June 3 but failed to get an outright majority, leading it to negotiate joint rule with the Alliance of Democrats (AD), Basotho National Party (BNP) and Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL). The new alliance will replace the government of Mosisili, a seven-party coalition plagued by infighting and corruption. Mosisili's government was toppled in March and elections triggered when opposition parties called a vote of no-confidence which he lost. Thabane, 77, previously had served as premier of the nation of two million people after coming to power in 2012 -- but was forced to flee to South Africa following an attempted military coup in 2014. 'Manage the security forces' He has pledged to bring the country stability and address its chronic poverty and 22.7 percent adult HIV rate. "We are fully cognisant of our mandate to work tirelessly for peace and stability as well as economic recovery and prosperity," he said. Thabane will be sworn in at the Setsoto stadium in the capital Maseru, marking the country's third attempt at a coalition government. Both of the previous joint administrations have collapsed. The Thabane-led alliance won 63 of the 120 seats in parliament, while outgoing Mosisili's Democratic Congress (DC) scored just 30. Stability was the dominant theme of the election in the kingdom known as Africa's Switzerland, because of its mountainous scenery. Political analyst Mafa Sejanamane told AFP that the main challenge facing the new government will be to "manage the security forces". "The new government also needs to unscramble Mosisili's government system, as it is known that he placed a number of allies in key positions in the last days of his tenure," said Sejanamane. Thabane has vowed that his new government will be "committed to the rule of law... good governance, rebuilding and strengthening of the pillars of democracy". Thabane secured victory just four months after his return from South Africa having claimed there was an army plot to kill him. He only headed back after the removal of army chief Tlali Kamoli who led the putsch. Lesotho has a long history of political instability having suffered coups in 1986 and 1991. South Africa's foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane warned Lesotho this week that Pretoria will not tolerate another putsch. "The coup thing is clear: we will not allow it to happen. Not in our backyard," she told local media. South Africa led mediation efforts after Thabane's ouster and its Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected in Lesotho for the inauguration ceremony. Lesotho's economy is totally reliant on South Africa which it supplies with water -- one of its major exports. Angry youth backed by constituency executives have locked up the Savelugu Municipal Assembly office in the Northern region despite the presence of armed police personnel. A police officer who refused to come out from the building has been locked up inside, according to Starr News Northern regional correspondent Eliasu Tanko. The action of the angry youth comes after soldiers on Wednesday escorted and inducted the Municipal Chief Executive, Hajia Aishetu Seidu into office. It was her first time in office two months after her overwhelming endorsement. She was blocked by the youth from gaining access after they intensified protest for a replacement. Hajia Aishatu Seidu officially took over from the municipal coordinating director on Wednesday, June 14 in a short ceremony under heightened security. The regional Security Council on Wednesday, in a show of force sanctioned the deployment of dozen of riot gear wearing soldiers to force the MCE into her office to fully assume duty as head of the municipal assembly. The action of the council followed a third demonstration staged by the youth against the MCE after two initial protests failed to intimidate assembly members to reject her. However, the move enraged the protesters who resolved to besiege and lock up the office despite the presence of the combative military force. Speaking exclusively to Starr News, leader of the youth, Zakaria Karim said after the late night meeting that it has been agreed to drive out all workers from the facility at 8am Thursday morning and close it down until the president heed to their request. The action by the youth has raised security concerns in the region. Political tensions have escalated since in the municipality since the appointment of Hajia Aishatu. The youth have roundly rejected her and held series of rampaging protests despite an unprecedented approval by the assembly members. According to Tanko, only four officers were present at the assembly office Thursday morning when the angry youth arrived there. The irate youth overpowered the police who and managed to lock up the premises. Meanwhile, ASP Yusif Tanko, spokesperson for the Northern regional police command in an interview on Morning Starr said reinforcement have been called from Tamale to help combat the situation. According to him, he is yet to receive any briefing from the commander that the premises has been locked up. UML urges RJP-N not to disturb election in the name of constitution amendment The CPN-UML has concluded that to jeopardise the election by bringing forth the topic of constitution amendment is an anti-political act. The CEO of National Youth Authority Mr.Emmanuel Sin-nyet Asigri yesterday met with the leadership of the CAYE-GH chapter to see possible ways of collaborations between the two firms towards promoting and empowering young entrepreneurs in Ghana. The CEO is his welcome address said, his team is well poised for action and with their upcoming programs plus the good plans of this government towards youth, He is optimistic that many good things will come the way of the Ghanaian youth. Let us put all hands on deck to help the government solve the many issues confronting young people in Ghana he observed. He advised young people not to only claim the title entrepreneurs but to setup viable businesses that will solve the wide range of issues confronting the nation. We can do this by sharing ideas and creating business partnerships. He charge the leadership to do all within their best to make sure Ghana shines within the west African sub region since Ghana was currently the headquarters for the west Africa movement. With the unflinching support of my minister(ministry for youth and sports) we will support this call and do our possible best to promote CAYE GH chapter. CAYE-GH which is a subsidiary of Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs-West Africa (CAYE-WA) was launched here in Ghana on 24th March, 2017 by the commonwealth secretariat to strengthen and support the ambitions of young entrepreneurs in Commonwealth regions. These regional networks ensure they have a combined voice and representation at forums to influence policy development on youth entrepreneurship. The West African Regional chapter which was the last to be formed seeks to champion the cause of young entrepreneurs at the national and regional level, through its engagement with governments, the media, the public, and other relevant stakeholders. It will commit to achieving measurable progress towards the development of youth entrepreneurship and innovation within West African sub region. CAYE-GH currently has 5 member organizations under its network. Each member organization has an average membership population of over 3000 members. The national coordinator (Mr. Sherif Ghali) took the CEO and his team through the state of CAYE-GH chapter and unveils the program of activities for the rest of the year. He said, CAYE GH will be organizing it first summit this August,2017 which will be followed up by a breakfast meeting with the President and then we will climax the year with the national young entrepreneurs awards program. He call on the CEO to use his good office to create the needed network for the young entrepreneurs and assist the movement in creating strategic partnership with Government agencies, embassies and the cooperate world. The Member of Parliament for South Tongo constituency in the Volta region Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has condemned the inhumane treatment of Ghanaian deportees from the US. Clearly this is troubling, and this is worrying, deportees have rights even criminals have rights, even in war if the opponent surrenders and you arrest him in war, there are laws that you cannot violate the human rights of that enemy of war, the former deputy minister of education told Accra-based Radio Gold. He said various accounts from the deportees clearly show that their rights were violated. All the accounts we have been treated to, make it clear that, the deportees were deported in an inhuman state, Mr. Ablakwa, who is the ranking member of foreign affairs, said. He stressed there are questions to be answered by the US authorities who carried out the deportation, noting this is the second time Ghanaians are hearing this incident. It must be noted that this is the second time we are hearing this, and some if you recall when the US ambassador met the media in Sunyani, he indicated that they are going to deport some 7,000 Ghanaians, the legislator noted. At least 60 Ghanaians were Wednesday deported from the US and according to some of them they were in handcuffs in the plane, describing their treatment as inhuman. The US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson in April this year revealed that over 7000 Ghanaians face possible deportation. In fact about 7000 of them are currently at different stages of the deportation process. And we are not apologetic about that, Ambassador Jackson said. U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to deport illegal immigrants and immigrants with criminal records as part of his immigration laws to be rolled out. Despite former President Barack Obamas push for immigration reforms, a record 2 million deportations were executed during his administration. A subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies has been accused of stealing a concept to implement a mandatory fee for vehicle towing. Making the accusation, a manager at Ruttchen Trucks Ghana Ltd, Evans Dzide, claims the concept was presented to the National Road Safety Commission as far back as 2007. But to their surprise, Road Safety Management Limited (RSML), a subsidiary of Jospong Group of Companies has been awarded the contract to do the same work. From July 1, 2017, vehicle owners and motorcyclists will pay compulsory annual fees, tied to the acquisition of a road worthy certificate, to cater for towing services. Fees per year for both commercial and non-commercial vehicles, depending on tonnage, range from E20 to E 200. While the project has been met with growing public disapproval, there is a raging controversy on the sidelines over ownership of the concept. Marketing and Communications Officer for RSML Roland Walker explained, the project is a concept practised the world over and cannot be copyrighted to an entity in Ghana. He explained Jospong's company was incorporated in 2011 after the mandatory towing project idea was conceived in 2010. "Before you incorporate a company you have to do the background thinking," Roland said. Roland Walker The Marketing and Communications Officer for RSML said the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) opened a tender for the project which RSML, like other companies, put in a bid for. RSML company eventually won because it was recognised as having the capacity to tow vehicles all over the country, he insisted. But Ruttchen Trucks Ghana Ltd says it has a Memorandum of Understanding with NRSC and a Cabinet memo dated March 2010, indicating an agreement to implement a mandatory levy for towing services. According to Evans Dzide, the NSRC has seen his company roll out a trial version of the project after the Chief of Staff accepted their proposal on behalf of the government in 2007. Pleased with their work, the NSRC moved to the second phase of the project which required Parliament to pass an LI making the payment of a fee mandatory on all motorists, Evans Dzidze explained. For years, Ruttchen Trucks Ghana (RTG) Ltd says it has had to wait for the law to be passed until eventually, LI 2180 was passed in 2012. During this time, Ruttchen Trucks Ghana Ltd provided towing services to the NRSC free of charge with the expectation that it will manage the project once it was fully rolled out. Following a change in government in 2017, the company met new government officials to find out the state of the project implementation. He says to their shock, it was discovered the project had been given over to Jospong's RSML. "I suspect someone[at the National Road Safety Commission took our proposal and smuggled it to RSML", Evans said. The Executive Director of the NRSC Madam May Obiri Yeboah informed RTG during a meeting on Monday, March 20, 2017 that a contract had been signed with RSML as the major contractor. "This project was stolen...and they know. You have stolen the concept and that is it", he told Roland Walker pointedly on the Joy FM Super Morning Show, Thursday. Evans Dzide Following this discovery, the management of Ruttchen Trucks Ghana Ltd met with government officials where the company offered to pay off Jospong for the cost in assembling a fleet of towing vehicles so it can carry on as the original company to do the job. After much intervention, it was finally agreed the two companies share the job 50-50 after the NSRC acknowledged that Ruttchen Trucks Ghana Ltd has the copyright to the project. To date, the NSRC is yet to operationalise this understanding. Ruttchen Trucks Ghana Ltd has hinted the plan to launch the project July 1 will not come off until it is fairly treated in the sage of ownership of a financially rewarding project. Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|Edwin Appiah|[email protected] The death has been reported of Mr. J.H. Owusu-Acheampong in Accra. Confirming the news, a member of the Akwamu division of the Berekum Traditional Area confirmed the death of the former Agric minister who, according to the confirmation died yesterday. A meeting of elders from the Akwamu division of the Berekum Traditional Area has been convened to deliberate over the issue. The late Owusu Acheampong was the Abusuapanin of the Akwamu division of Berekum. Owusu Acheampong came into public life when he served as the Brong Ahafo Regional Secretary(minister), during the PNDC era from 1988 to 1993. -Adomonline 15.06.2017 LISTEN Adama Dogo, aka America, leader of an armed criminal gang, was shot dead by the police at Ashaiman near Tema yesterday. The action of the police came barely a day after one of their colleagues from the command Constable Micheal Kporyi was shot dead by criminals riding a motorbike. The police suspect 'America' to be the kingpin behind numerous contract killings in the country. The Chronicles investigations revealed that 'America', who claimed to have links, created an empire of gangsters, who he used for his nefarious activities upon a request and subsequent payment of the contract sum. The Chronicle gathered that sometime this month, motorbike patrol policemen on duty at Tema Community 9 engaged two criminals in a fierce gun battle, with one of the cops being shot in the thigh by the gunmen. The wounded policeman, however, managed to return fire, killing the gangster instantly. The deceased gangster was reportedly one of the 'America's' boys, and upon hearing of his death, 'America' swore to revenge by eliminating policemen every other day, and to crown it with a senior police officer. He, according to police sources, also swore to make Tema very uncomfortable for the Regional Police Commander for the loss of two of his men at the instance of the police. On Monday, June 12, 2017, at about 21:00 hours, Constable Kporyi of the Tema Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), while on a motorbike to a duty point, was sprayed with bullets upon reaching Yellow Signboard, opposite the UBI filling station near Michel Camp, by unknown gunmen. Police investigation linked 'America' and his criminal armed gang as being responsible for the Constables killing. Barely 24 hours later, a squad of crack armed policemen stormed Washington, a suburb of Ashaiman near Tema, to a supposed fortress of the gang, led by 'America'. Information gleaned from police sources indicated that 'America', who apparently got wind of the police operation in his area, climbed the roof of his building and hid himself in the ceiling. A search conducted by the police in his rooms yielded no fruitful results, as there was no sign of his presence. The Chronicle gathered that the police had initially wanted to retreat after failing to locate 'America' in the house. They, however, changed their mind, and instead, decided to fire tear gas canisters into the rooms. The trick worked to perfection, as Adama Dogo, after inhaling and experiencing the effects of the chemical, suddenly descended from his hideout in the ceiling. Armed with a sub-machine gun (SMG), he reportedly cocked and aimed at one of the policemen, but his action was too late. The police quickly opened fire, which was too much for him, and he dropped dead. His SMG was loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition. Two AK47 assault rifles with 12 rounds and other ammunition were retrieved from one of his rooms. His wife was among five suspects who were apprehended during the operation. The Chronicle's in-depth investigation revealed that 'America', a Burkinabe, first settled in the Asante Regional capital, Kumasi, where he started robbery activities. He was alleged to have masterminded the killing of a policeman in Kumasi and took his rifle away. That weapon was later retrieved, when police battled an armed group and traced the gun to be that of the late policeman in Kumasi. He then escaped to Tema, where some people engaged him to fight their cause in land and chieftaincy disputes. 'America' established a camp in the enclave of Gbetsile, Appolonia and Kubekro, near Ashaiman, which he literally declared a republic, in the sense that the police had openly stated that they had no mandate to enter the jurisdiction and effect arrests. In the said republic, the group reportedly operates an armoury, where he stores different kinds of sophisticated weapons such as AK47s, SMGs, G3s, pistols, revolvers, pump action guns and locally-made ones. He, at a stage, started selling land his masters wanted him to guard and pocketing the proceeds, an action that resulted in friction between himself and the followers from Ashaiman, leading to a rebellion in their camp, resulting in the deaths of some members of the group, including one Lartiokor in November 2013. He, therefore, went to Kumasi and recruited gangsters, and beefed it up with some from Nima, Fadama and Kasoa, who he used to terrorise innocent citizens in the Accra-Tema Metropolis. The Chronicle source at the Police Headquarters in Accra, intimated that the killing of 'America' was welcome news. According to the source, he was not surprised that the operation that felled him was leaked, but it was too late for him to escape. He stated that 'America' had been on their radar, suspected of masterminding a number of dastardly acts. These included the murder of the boss of a soft drink bottling company in Accra, assassination of the Chief of Sota, near Dodowa, and three of his subjects, a little over a year ago on the Dodowa-Afienya road. Others are the shooting of one Mr Tetteh of Appolonia, burning of his vehicle and house, because he fell out with a group in a chieftaincy dispute in that locality. 'America' and his boys were also on contract at Tokpo, near Asutsuare, to eliminate the current Paramount Chief of Osudoku, Nene Animle, when a few years ago, the Osudoku Paramount stool became vacant, following the demise of Nene Klagbordjor. His activities were allegedly, according to the Police Headquarters source, extended to Anloga in a chieftaincy dispute. Dogo is also alleged to have masterminded the killing of a Dutch lady at New Sebrepor in 2014, not forgetting the murder of a former Airforce officer at New Dawhenya. Meanwhile, the Tema Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) George Tuffuor, in an interview with The Chronicle, sounded a warning to criminals to find different vocations. According to him, the action against 'America', who promised to make Tema an uncomfortable working ground for him, should serve as a good lesson to them, as the jurisdiction has no place for them. Information available has it that remnants of his group, who are suspected to have fled to Somanya, Nima and Kasoa, and in some cases, Aflao, have promised to stage surprise attacks from their new bases, in retaliation for their boss' death. Stay tuned! From John Bediako A seven-member panel of justices of the Supreme Court, yesterday, ordered the Auditor General, to, as a matter of urgency, begin the process of surcharging persons found to have misappropriated state funds. This follows a suit filed by Occupy Ghana in June 2016, seeking an order to direct the Auditor-General to issue disallowances and surcharges to, and in respect of, all persons and entities found in relevant, successive reports to have engaged in misappropriation of state funds. The seven-member panel of justices, presided over by incoming Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, however, did not give reasons for their judgment, but indicated that they will make available the full details of the decision later in the day. Even though at the time of writing this piece the full details of the SC's decision had not been made public, The Chronicle believes that the decision is in the right direction, and all right-thinking Ghanaians must support it. It appears in recent times that the embezzlement or misappropriation of state funds has become endemic among public and civil servants, who have been placed in positions of trust. Perhaps, because those who are found to have embezzled state funds are allowed to go scot free, with excuses such as 'to err is human' and 'I'm sorry', among others, many people find it prudent to dip their hands into state coffers with impunity. Reports of public and civil servants stealing state funds on the airwaves across the length and breadth of the country have become a daily occurrence, which has infuriated some public-spirited individuals and groups, who are determined to do whatever it takes to retrieve the monies. It is estimated that monies public and civil servants have stolen, from the era of former President Jerry John Rawlings to John Dramani Mahama, amounts to about GH112 billion, close to the total amount of GH127 billion which Ghana owes as a sovereign state. It is against this backdrop that Occupy Ghana; a local-based pressure group, filed a suit at the Supreme Court in 2016, seeking an order to direct the Auditor-General to issue disallowances and surcharges to, and in respect of, all persons and entities who have been implicated in its successive reports to have misappropriation state funds. According to the Occupy Ghana, it sued the Auditor General because he refused to surcharge persons who are said to have misappropriated state funds to the tune of over GH40 billion. To this end, the pressure group, in 2014, wrote a letter to the Auditor General's office, reminding it to surcharge such persons or face them (Occupy Ghana ) in court. A statement issued by the pressure group said it filed a case against the Auditor General at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, because several efforts to ensure that the Auditor General makes such surcharges had proved futile. Less than a month ago, a team from the Multi-Media Group, led by Captain Smart, host of the flagship programme of the Adom FM morning show, Edwaso Nsem, organised a mammoth demonstration dubbed 'Yeregye Ye Sika'. The intention of the demonstrators was to make public their intent to retrieve monies believed to have been embezzled by some public and civil servants over the years. The Chronicle believes the order of the Supreme Court has come at an opportune time, especially, at a time when all Ghanaians are calling on the government to recover all state funds found to have been misappropriated by egocentric individuals. The Auditor General must be given the teeth to bite hard enough, to deter other people from developing the necessary appetite for the consumption of state funds at any level. This, to The Chronicle, is the only way greedy and self-centered individuals could be made to stay away from touching state funds, or better still, make it a no-go-zone for such people. Bouygues Construction Ghana Limited as part of their World Safety Day celebrations has held a safety day demonstration workshop at the Companys main office in Labone, Accra. Speaking to Bouygues staff, subcontractors, suppliers, partners and clients present at the opening of the workshop, the Managing Director of Bouygues Ghana, Jerome Mulot stated that as a world leading Construction Company, Bouygues is determined to remain a leader in safety at construction sites and reach the target of zero accidents. He indicated that Bouygues have over 55,000 employees, based in more than 80 countries across 5 continents but for the significance of marking the day of safety at construction sites and especially what it means to Bouygues, all these workers stopped construction activities to focus on safety as the day suggests... what a strong signal, it is just phenomenal: 55,000 people who are dropping their tools to focus on what must be our priority: SAFETY. Mr. Lumot indicated further that, the only way they measure the success of a project done by Bouygues is by having done a good job where the client is satisfied, met the deadline for handover and of course achieved expected profit but above all Bouygues is particular and concerned about safety and its key because theres no pride to be found in delivering a project ahead of schedule if there has been accidents when in fact its better to be late than sorry. Again, Mr. Jerome admonished that it is the duty and obligation of all to put safety as number one priority the first consideration of any decision we take must be the safety and well-being of our people and our partners such that everybody is able to go home safely every day to their families and loved ones. Safety must not be considered as a burden. It should rather be considered as a way to protect life in a collective meaningful way so that in the end your life and your colleagues life is protected, he added. Dash Cryptocurrency, Coinpedia, Bitnation and The Libertarian Community with CLE Ghana are set to Eliminate Poverty in Northern Ghana. Northern Ghana is the poorest part of the country. Although theres rich land in abundance, people cannot leverage their land to, for instance, borrow money for education, start businesses, or secure it for their children or spouses if something happens, because they have no land titles to prove the ownership of the lands. The sector covers about 30% of Ghanas land mass; unfortunately, it suffers a lack of financial mobility and often violent conflicts over land ownership. Land titles can be done on the Bitcoin blockchain at very minimal costs and without the involvement of centralized institutions. Its an unprecedented opportunity to free millions of people from poverty in the Savannah Belt of Ghana. The Centre for Liberty & Entrepreneurship, a nonprofit research and educational Think Tank devoted to the principles of free markets, individual liberty, secure private property rights, the rule of law, limited government and entrepreneurship with the support of Dash & coinpedia is set to host an activist forum this summer dubbed Liberty & Entrepreneurship Camp 2017 on the Theme: Entrepreneurship, Growth & Competitiveness; The Blockchain To The Rescue at Bolgatanga, the capital city of Upper East Region Ghana on the 2nd to 6th August to train participants on how to use the Blockchain Technology to issue land titles in Northern Ghana. The Think tank shall hold stakeholders meetings in each of the three Northern regions after the forum involving chiefs, regional ministers, the survey department and some key legislators from each region to discuss an in-depth understanding of the project, its efficiency and ability to avoid currencies of land disputes and demystify poverty by providing economic leverage over lands for land owners in the regions. CLE Ghana is, therefore, calling on civil societies, opinion leaders, the media, journalists, government and the general Ghanaian public for their support throughout the implementation and execution of this project. Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog has launched an investigation into several allies of President Jacob Zuma allegedly linked to corruption at three state-owned companies, based on a trove of recently leaked emails. South Africa's Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said she would probe alleged "improper or dishonest" acts and "unlawful enrichment... by certain public officials" at rail company Prasa, power company Eskom and the Transnet freight logistics conglomerate. One of the allegations involves suspected kickbacks worth 5.3 billion rand ($411 million) on a contract to purchase locomotives from China for Transnet, Mkhwebane said in a statement late Wednesday. Brian Molefe, a close Zuma ally and a former head of Eskom, is among the people who will be investigated. Thousands of leaked emails have recently emerged in the local press exposing alleged misconduct over lucrative government contracts awarded to the Guptas, an influential Indian business family. A report published last year by the state ombudsman accused the Guptas of wielding unprecedented influence over the government, including letting them select ministers. It also ordered a judicial inquiry into the allegations, but Zuma has opposed the inquiry and launched a court challenge against the report. His challenge will be heard in October. The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, on Thursday criticised the probe for being too narrow and not focussing on Zuma. "It appears that this investigation has been crafted as narrowly as possible to create the veneer of a state capture investigation, while at the same time protecting the real power brokers," the party said. In power since 2009, Zuma has been engulfed by graft scandals and several humiliating court rulings while grappling with record unemployment and a sluggish economy. His ruling African National Congress (ANC) party welcomed the decision to investigate the claims contained in the emails. "We trust that the investigation will shed some much needed light on the disturbing allegations which, if left unattended, have the effect of undermining the integrity and credibility of our government and state," the ANC said. Member of Parliament ((MP) for Krachi Nchumuru has called on government to mainstream issues of albinism and disability at all levels of the educational system. According to John Majisi, a reliable and accurate database of all persons with albinism would ensure timely dissemination of information and continuous provision of support services to persons with the condition. He made the statement on the floor of Parliament on the occasion of the celebration of the third International Albinism Awareness Day (IAAD), which fell on June 13, 2017. The International Albinism Awareness Day had been proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) to spread information about albinism. The theme for this years celebration is: Advancing with renewed hope. Persons with albinism are born with a congenital condition characterised by the complete or partial absence of melanin, the pigment that gives colour to the skin, hair and eyes. Albinism is non-contagious and occurs in all racial and ethnic groups throughout the world. Mr Majisi also called for the inclusion of sun care products, dermatological and optical services on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) drugs and services list for persons with albinism. He said persons with albinism face multiple forms of discrimination worldwide because of their distinctive appearance. Mr Majisi said they are often denied the most basic rights, such as access to education, healthcare, employment, right to political participation, social and family life and their freedom of movement is curtailed. The MP also noted that in the area of health, persons with albinism have pale or fair skin susceptible to sunburns, skin cancers, wrinkling of the skin and chapped lips which could lead to cancer and live with poor vision not correctable either by medication and or eye glasses. He said most persons with albinism encountered obstacles in formal schooling and skill acquisition as their impaired vision rendered them unable to copy notes from chalkboards in classrooms. Mr Majisi said there were no tailored textbooks with large fonts to aid their studies and also faced social challenges with inclusion and forming positive relationships with other students as they were often subject to ridicule, exclusion and even ostracism. He further stated that persons with albinism were generally poorer since they need to spend more on medical care or personal support, and at the same time need to overcome various barriers which prevented them from earning a living. He said despite Local, Regional and International Human Rights instruments emphasising the importance of human respect and dignity, acts of injustice against persons with albinism in many African countries abound. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele in his contribution stated that all persons with albinism should be treated with dignity, fairly and given equal opportunity. He said the nation must also provide a level playing field for individuals with different types of challenges or disability. Mathias Kwame Ntow, MP for Aowin in his contribution called for the full integration of persons with albinism into society in order for them to contribute their quota to development. Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, MP for Ledzokuku his contribution called for the setting up of support services for persons with albinism. He revealed that most persons with albinism were depressed because society viewed them as strange human beings and as such there should be counselling services for them. He also called for affirmative action for persons with albinism by capturing them onto the NHIS and provide them with the opportunity to attend school. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Will end political interference in security bodies: Sharma Minister for Home Affairs Janardan Sharma said on Wednesday that he would end political interference in security agencies. Lagos (AFP) - Nigeria's military has rejected a call for senior army officers to be investigated for possible war crimes in the fight against Boko Haram Islamists. Amnesty International named six serving or retired army officers whom it said should be probed to establish whether they were responsible for murder, torture and disappearances. It alleged that more than 1,200 people had been extra-judicially killed and thousands more arbitrarily arrested during the bloody, eight-year conflict. But the army's chief of civilian-military affairs, Major General Nuhu Angbazo, said there was "no evidence" against any of the commanders named in Amnesty's report. Angbazo told reporters in Abuja on Wednesday that the findings were contained in the report of a board of inquiry set up to look into the claims. That report has not been published in full. Amnesty's allegations were contained in a 133-page report "Stars on their Shoulders. Blood on their Hands", published in June 2015. Similar allegations made in the past have typically been dismissed but President Muhammadu Buhari, who was just one month into office at the time, vowed to look into the claims. Separate claims from Human Rights Watch of extra-judicial killings, rape and sexual coercion at camps for those displaced by the conflict were also dismissed in the report. So, too, were Amnesty claims that Nigeria's security forces had killed at least 150 pro-Biafra protesters and injured hundreds more since August 2015 in the southeast. Angbazo said the board had raised concerns about several issues relating to the Boko Haram insurgency, including the processing of detainees and overcrowding at military jails. "The current delay in the trials of Boko Haram detainees resulting in some cases in deaths in custody is unacceptable and a denial of the rights of fair trial," he added. Lack of access to legal representation or visits from legal practitioners was a "violation of human rights", he said, adding the board had recommended improvements. Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa adopted a new mining code on Thursday requiring companies to have majority black investors to qualify for new prospecting licences, causing the major miners' stock to tumble. The controversial Mining Charter forces firms seeking mining prospecting rights to have a minimum of 50 percent plus one share owned by black investors while requiring firms with existing mines to have 30 percent black ownership -- up from 26 percent. Companies will have one year to achieve the new 30 percent target. By midday, South African-focussed miners Sibanye Gold shares had shed six percent, platinum giant Anglo American had lost five percent while Kumba Iron Ore also dipped five percent. The country's mining minister Mosebenzi Zwane said the long-awaited regulations were a "key instrument for radical change, designed to address many of the inequalities in the mining and minerals sector prior to 2002". Ministers have for years been critical of the slow pace of change in the sector which has been a cornerstone of South Africa's economy. Despite its continued importance to the economy, mining has in the last decade experienced a marked decline, as lengthy sometimes violent labour disputes, low commodity prices and underinvestment have all taken a toll. Zwane acknowledged the important role of mining over the last 100 years, but said the sector, which is often accused of exploitation, had not done enough to increase the participation of South Africa's black majority. The charter, which includes a raft of reforms including mandatory workers' housing and quotas for blacks on boards, also requires that the 30 percent black-held equity be distributed between employees, mine communities and entrepreneurs. Zwane said previous regulations had failed to have an impact. But the mining industry's trade body, the Chamber of Mines, has rejected the charter, calling it a "seriously flawed" policy adopted without proper consultation. "The lack of meaningful engagement with the industry, and collective engagement with all stakeholders, has been most disappointing," said Chamber of Mines chief Mxolisi Mgojo. "Transformation should be implemented in a way that is sustainable, with practical and rational targets. Transformation and competitiveness goes hand in hand." Until you take your profession as passion, each and every activity looks as a headache Vignesh S.V According to recent figures from the Hospitality report Africa released by Africas leading online travel agency Jumia Travel, a total of 365 hotel chain development pipelines were reported in Africa in 2016, with 64,231 rooms. This is a 29% increase, from the 2015 figure. This implies that more and more hotels and hospitality enterprises are trooping into the continent making this industry very competitive and profitable at the same time. In Africa, foreign visitor spending stood at 36.3% in 2016 (USD 40.7 bn), and is expected to grow by 5.3% in 2017 to USD 42.9bn, and then by 5.9% pa to USD 76.0bn in 2027. In order to derive great benefits from this massive wave, it is imperative that the Ghanaian industry takes a much closer look at one aspect that draws us back. Lack of trained professionals or professionalism is hampering the growth and development of Tourism and hospitality in Ghana . Now, lets remind ourselves how lack of professionalism in this industry impacts its development. Firstly, lack of professionalism usually breeds bad customer service at hotels , restaurants, and tourist sites which means that most guests and tourists are more likely to be dissatisfied with service and may not come back in the future. Also these same guests and tourists are also unlikely to give good referrals to others who wish to travel to Ghana and experience the rich culture , heritage and tradition that we speak so highly of. This causes a decline in revenue and foreign exchange which hampers the development of the industry. Below are a few ways to counter such issues and ensure productivity and development of our tourism and hospitality industries. It takes training - In Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and other giants in the African tourism industry, hospitality training institutions are widespread which offer tourism and hospitality related degrees and diplomas. Some even go as far as the Master of Arts degrees. Here, prospective professionals are carefully trained in various areas and these courses are open to a wide range of people such as front office staff, tour guides, car rental drivers etc. Take a look at other countries such as Sri Lanka and Singapore where some taxi drivers and tour guides are university graduates. The knowledge, eloquence and open mindedness allows them to assist guests and tourists to feel more at home even in a far away land. This gives guests confidence to return to Ghana on other vacations. They are even more confident referring the country as a tourist destination to other family and friends. These countries know the value of quality service. This is something Ghana can pick up and intensify. Standards & Regulation - Even with all the trained staff, it will also take some level of efforts from the policy makers and law enforcers to ensure strict compliance to certain codes and regulations. For instance, front office and kitchen staff at some hotels or restaurants feel reluctant to wear uniforms and aprons all the time. Some kitchen staff even dont wear appropriate attires for work. Some also lack the facilities and technology which will aid the individuals exhibit a high sense of professionalism. It is the responsibility of certain law enforcement agencies as well as policy makers to regularly inspect and check standards at these hotels, guest houses, tourist sites and restaurants. This will ensure that they always conform to these standards and regulations and in turn better serve their guests, tourists and visitors . When all these are in place, there is only an upward path for tourism and hospitality development in Ghana. Competition - Competition is not always negative. Sometimes, especially in hospitality and tourism development, competition is very good. When hotels, tourist sites, car rentals, airlines and restaurants improve upon their services and facilities but invest heavily in the standard of professionalism, it provides a great platform for competition. Hotel A, which may have been comfortable with a few staff who didnt take excellent customer service and professionalism seriously will see a decline in sales because hotel B may have put in place measures to ensure a strict professionalism output and this will automatically transform into sales. With more and more hotel chains coming into Africa and Ghana, facilities and technology alone may not be adequate. In order to stay in business, hotels have to comply and improve upon professionalism standards and ensure strict adherence to procedures as well as regular training. Tourist sites are also not left out. When a tourist visits a destination and is greeted by a well uniformly dressed guide who speaks multiple languages and is able to relate hospitably with this tourist, we are 90% assured of that person returning and referring Ghana to his family and friends. When these sites are run by trained staff who keep adequate records and manage the facilities effectively with regular maintenance, tourism and hospitality in Ghana will definitely grow massively. Credit : Bennet Otoo, Jumia Travel 15.06.2017 LISTEN Kumasi, June 14, GNA - The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has ordered traders and hawkers off the pavements at Kejetia A statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Assembly, Mr. Godwin Okumah Nyame asked that they relocated to the Kumasi Zoo main gate. This has become necessary to pave way for work to commence on the construction of the road linking Pampaso to the Kejetia Traffic Light - a key component of the US$298 million Kejetia/Central Market Redevelopment Project. The statement expressed concern about the failure of the traders to comply with an earlier directive. The understanding between the KMA and the leadership of the petty traders association and the contractors, Messrs Contracta Engenharia Limited was that those selling on pavements at the Children's Hospital, Pampaso and Kejetia Traffic Light were to have left those areas latest by June 10, this year. The statement noted that some of them had chosen to be recalcitrant -blatantly refused to make way and doing brisk business at unauthorized areas, a development which could unduly delay the project. It warned that such people were not going to be allowed to have their way and would be ejected. GNA By Stephen Asante, GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN Tema, June 14, GNA - The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Felix Mensah Nii Annang-La, has laughed off a projection by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that it will return to power in 2020. According to the Mayor, the party's hasty declaration of a comeback, less than six months into the administration of President Nana Akufo-Addo, shows that the leadership of the NDC was still offering false hopes to its followers. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said, 'My memory serves me very right because it is less than six months since the election. We all remember the NDC leaders in and out of the EC strong room constantly telling their followers that the party was in a comfortable lead even though they knew they were losing. And we saw how eventually they had to confess and apologize to their followers that they were doing a political talkit is the same people who are today telling their followers that the NPP will be handing over power in 2020.' Mr Annang-La's was reacting to the NDC's claims at a rally in Ashaiman that the party will return to power in 2020. At that rally, organized as part of the Silver Jubilee of the NDC, which had seen its Founder, former President Jerry John Rawlings, tell it to the face of the party that greed and corruption was what had cost the NDC the 2016 election. Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, longstanding NDC MP for Nadowli and Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, had said at the rally that the reason why the NPP will lose power in 2020 is that the party will suffer internal wrangling at the end of the tenure of President Akufo-Addo. 'I would advise Hon. Alban Bagbin to diagnose his own backyard first, before he seeks to remove the spec from the eyes of the NPP. We all know that the NDC at the moment is divided between the Rawlings' faction and the Mahama faction. Rawlings wants Mahama and even the entire leadership of the party outhe has said publicly that they need to change the leadership. The NDC's mother, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings is estranged from the party and will never return. The foot soldiers of the NDC are angry over the neglect that they suffered for 8 years by their own government. The NDC's stronghold, Volta Region, has rejected the party and all indications are that, Volta is coming along with the NPP, so between the NPP and the NDC, which one looks like it is beset by wrangling?' He asked. According to Mr Annang-La, even the timing of the proclamation of a come-back is so propaganda given and borne out of wishful thinking. 'The NPP has been in power for less than six months and already, practical efforts are underway to fulfill all the party's campaign promises. Just yesterday it was in the news that the 275 million dollars to be allocated to the 275 Constituencies is ready and about to be disbursed,' he said. The Mayor said President Akufo-Addo would win the 2020 elections by even wider margin because Volta is coming onboard. 'In the 2016 election, the NDC had lost by a huge margin of almost 1 million votes, with voters in their stronghold of Volta, mostly abstaining from the polling stations in anger. Contrary to the prayers and wishes of the NDC that President Akufo-Addo will be too weak by the time of the 2020 elections, the 73 year-old President is actually looking fitter and fitter as the days go by,' he said. According to him, 'God willing, President Akufo-Addo will stand again in 2020 and when he does, we all know that his incorruptibility alone will nail the NDC in opposition for another 4 years. If I were a member of the NDC, I would either be jumping ship and joining NPP or will be psyching myself up to remain in opposition for at least 8 years.' He dismissed insinuations that President Akufo-Addo is too old, citing that most African Presidents and even world leaders are septugenarians. 'United States President, Donald Trump, is over 70 years, Nigerian President Buhari is over 70. The Presidents of Eritrea , Djibouti , Mali , Sudan , Uganda , Congo , South Africa , Cote d'ivoire , Angola , Equatorial Guinea , Namibia etc are all above 70,' the Tema Mayor said. He pointed out that Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is 78, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria is 79, Paul Biya of Cameroon is 83 , Mohammed Benji Caid Essebsi of Tunisa is 90 while Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is 92 adding that 'What therefore is the big deal about President Akufo-Addo being 73?' The Tema Mayor advised the NDC party not to resort to cheap propaganda against the government but rather work hard and be a responsible opposition. 'The NDC as a party has a problem and the problem is that, it does not know its problem', he said. GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN Krapa, (Ash), June 14, GNA - Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Samuel Atta Akyea, has challenged local Ghanaian contractors and businesses to develop a passion for excellence - quality job execution. That, he said, was the way forward to make them more competitive and win government contracts. They had over the years been accused of poor quality work, which had seriously affected the structural and engineering integrity of many a government infrastructural projects. Mr. Atta Akyea, who was inaugurating a concrete products factory at Krapa in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality said it was incumbent on them to develop competencies that would improve their capacity to deliver quality job to meet required specifications and acceptable standards. The factory owned by Erduk Group of Companies, produces solid and hollow blocks of all sizes, kerbs, paving blocks, culverts, reinforcement bars and other concrete products for the construction sector. The Minister underlined the government's determination to support the private sector to grow to create jobs for the people. They were looking forward to a situation where local private developers would lead the way in the use of local materials to construct affordable houses to reduce the housing deficit of about 1.7 million units. He praised Mr. Eric Duku, the founder of the company, for the initiative and said it tied in with the government's one district, one factory agenda. Mr. Simon Osei Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, said private sector development and growth was the surest way to speed up the nation's socio-economic progress. He indicated that the effort to reduce poverty could struggle without the active support and participation of the private sector. That was why the government was creating the right conditions for the sector to thrive, he added. Baffour Asare Owusu Amankwatia VI, Bantamahene, who represented the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, said the achievement of Mr. Duku should inspire other young people to take bold business decisions to create employment opportunities not only for themselves, but others. Mr. Duku said the factory was his contribution to efforts at helping to make the nation a better place for everybody to live. GNA By Kwabia Owusu-Mensah GNA Accra, June 14, GNA - The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Ghana (AIMS Ghana) is seeking collaboration with the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana in the area of biomedical research. Professor Kwadwo Ansah Koram, the Director, NMIMR, said the collaboration would aim at using their facilities and skills to address the challenges of some diseases afflicting the people. Prof Koram made this known in his address at the opening of the Introduction to Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) for complex diseases workshop in Accra. The five-day workshop is being organised by the AIMS-Ghana in collaboration with the H3AbioNet Node of the NMIMR. AIMS is a non-profit pan-African network of Centres of Excellence enabling Africa's talented students to become innovators, driving the continent's scientific, educational and economic self-sufficiency. AIMS-Ghana is a centre for education, research and outreach, located in Biriwa in the Central Region. Operating as a partnership between African and international universities, AIMS Ghana provides an innovative and relevant curriculum within a unique 24-hour learning environment. Prof Koram said the NMIMR was set up in 1979 in memory of Hideyo Noguchi, a prominent Japanese bacteriologist, who came to Ghana 90 years ago to research into yellow fever but unfortunately lost his life in the process. He said NMIMR is the leading biomedical research facility in Ghana; adding that the Institute was committed to researching on national health priorities and training of biomedical scientists. The Director said the Institute's vision was to be a world class Institute capable of conducting high quality cutting edge research and training in the biomedical sciences. He said the Institute, which was set up initially with the mission of researching into the control of infectious diseases but as disease patterns had changed, non-communicable diseases were being researched into. He mentioned that currently they were working with the University of Ghana Medical School on chronic kidney diseases and cancer biology. He said research shows that more people were dying of non-communicable diseases, hence, the need for people to adopt a healthy living lifestyle. On the workshop, Prof Koram said it aimed at introducing an interdisciplinary audience to important concepts in genetics and population genetics that were relevant to complex disease association studies and data analysis. He said participants would be taken through Basic Genetics and Introduction to Population Genetics, GWAS study design, Genomic Data Quality Control and Introducing to population Structure. Others are Introduction to Admixture, Principles of Genome wide Association Studies, Genome-Wide Association Studies pipelines with plink and Genome-Wide Association Studies pipelines -imputation. Dr Gaston K. Mazandu, the IDRC Research Chair at AIMS Ghana and South Africa, said participants were being introduced to the potential of GWAS and to key strategic considerations in designing and performing association studies for mapping disease genes. GNA By Iddi Yire, GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN By Benjamin Apeke/Sam Christiana Tema, June 14, GNA - Commissioners of Oath operating around the Tema court yard say that manual typewriters which are largely ignored in a fast moving cyber world, serve as a veritable tool in processing court documents. They told the Ghana News Agency that even though computers have replaced typewriters in homes and offices, they still rely on it to type and produce the needed documents for their clients. The commissioners of oaths who used to operate from the premises of the court were seen busily typing on their manual typewriters under the trees in front of the court yard while calling on litigants and the public to patronize their services. They often work on indentures, affidavits, deeds, power of attorney and other legal documents as well as provide letter writing and legal advice services to the public. Mrs. Jennifer Asare, a commissioner of oaths, said, for them, the typewriter was yet to lose its relevance even though computers were in vogue. Mrs Asare explained that it enabled them to easily insert names, dates and other information into already printed documents such as certificates. She further noted that using a manual typewriter enabled them to work at all times as they do not need electricity to power them. She added that using typewriters cut down on their cost of operations while increasing their profits as they do not have to invest into printers and tonners and payment of electricity bills. 'When it comes to issues of cost, using of a typewriter has a minimal cost compared to that of a computer, which can only be powered by electricity hence users get value for money,' she said. The Commissioner of oath said she made an average of GHE50.00 daily and above GHE100.00 on a good day. Miss Eva Listobel, a commissioner of oath, who uses a computer and a typewriter to ply her trade, said even though she used both, the 'typewriter comes in handy' during power outages. Miss Victoria Ayebeng, a Senior High School (SHS) graduate, told GNA that, her mother had been in the business for 15 years and that she had helped her for barely a week now. According to her, the typewriter was still vital because some people naturally prefer their work to be done with it whilst others prefer the use of computers. GNA Accra, June 14, GNA - A 35-year old Nigerian, Utham Nasir Ismail, has been arrested by Immigration Officers at the Aflao Border Post for attempting to traffic two Ghanaian girls through the Togo border to board a flight to Saudi Arabia. The girls, ages 19 and 21 were rescued from the suspected trafficker who initially claimed to be a trader who buys Woodin clothes and ginger to sell in Nigeria from Ghana. According to Senior Inspector Gifty Amgborm, Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) Public Affairs Unit-Headquarters in Accra, the girls were recruited from their hometowns by the help of an illegal recruiting agency to send them to Saudi Arabia to work as domestic workers. She said upon interrogation, it was discovered that the girls were from Ejisu in the Ashanti Region and Krachi in the Volta Region. 'Mr. Ismail is said to have acquired Ghanaian passports for his alleged victims and also secured for them Saudi Arabian working permit to enable them stay and work in that country for a monthly salary equivalent to GHC1000 upon their arrival. 'Further information gathered indicates that, the suspected trafficker has been aiding other groups of girls outside the country for some time now,' she added. Ismail is now in the custody of the Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons (AHSTIP) Unit of the GIS assisting with investigations. Senior Inspector Amegborme said the arrest was as a result of prudent measures the GIS put in place to tighten security at its borders to ensure that trafficking in persons was curtailed. 'The Service wishes to caution the general public not to fall prey to agents who promise them non-existent juicy and lucrative job offers in the Gulf areas and also to be aware that all persons without proper and legal exit documentation from the Labour Department to travel to the Gulf areas, shall be arrested and prosecuted accordingly,' she added. GNA By Patience Gbeze, GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN By Alexander Nyarko Yeboah Tema, June 14, GNA - The man suspected to have killed Police Constable Michael Kporyie has been shot dead by the Police, says Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) George Tuffuor, Tema Regional Police Commander. He made this revelation on Wednesday in a press briefing at the Tema Regional Police Command, Tema. DCOP Tuffuor identified the deceased as 33 year-old Alhassan Adams popularly known as Dogo America who was the leader of a notorious land guard and robbery gang. He said police intelligence led to the dispatching of police officers from the Tema Regional Police Command to Aviation No. 7, Washington, Ashaiman, and upon arrival, two of the gang members fled on a motorbike and a trail on them led the Police to the house of Dogo America. He said that a search on the facility revealed one AK47 rifle and one SMG rifle on the veranda of the house which were displayed as if they were being serviced. Mr. Tuffuor indicated that two persons arrested on the compound mentioned Dogo America as the one who was servicing the weapons, and as the police entered the building, Dogo America suddenly dropped down from his ceiling armed with an SMG rifle ready to shoot. 'The Police promptly fired at him and rushed him to the Police Hospital where he was pronounced dead,' he said. DCOP Tuffuor said Dogo America had been on the wanted list for many crimes involving robbery, possession of firearms, attempted murder, causing harm and use of offensive weapons. 'The deceased had been granted bail in all cases, but had jumped bail for which reason he was already on police wanted list,' he informed. He said the Police picked up four suspects within the premises to assist investigations, and they found one AK47 rifle, two SMG rifles, a dagger, a machete, a pair of pliers, two screw drivers and 12 rounds of live ammunition. Mr. Tuffuor informed that Dogo America commanded at least 60 armed and trigger-happy land guards, and that he was believed to have a stock-pile of arms and ammunition. 'Two AK47 rifles and ammunitions concealed in a sack were retrieved by the Police on July 30, 2015 from one of his hideouts at Doryumu, and eight weapons were retrieved from Himat, his block factory at Gbetsile,' he said. He indicated that a member of his gang engaged the police in a shootout at Community Nine, Tema, which resulted in the death of a gang member. GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN Accra, June 14, GNA - Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Wednesday reiterated the need for Ghanaians to restore the cherished societal values and national identity to enable Ghana to thrive as a stable and humorous nation. He said Ghanaian values such as discipline, tolerance, patriotism, punctuality, integrity, honesty, accountability, courtesy and the rule of law among other things had been lost and, therefore, called for the restoration those values since they were pre-requisite in re-building the nation. He said these values were universal and central to forging unity and building strong nations and civilisation and, thus, must be made integral to the lives of the citizens. Vice President Bawumia said this at this year's National Dialogue organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) which formed part of Ghana's 60th Anniversary celebration and 25 years of the Fourth Republican Constitution. The forum was held on the theme: ''Restoring the Ghanaian Identity: Our Values, Our Passion'' which brought together traditional rulers, members of Parliament, the diplomatic corps, heads of departments, students and people from all walks of life. The eminent panelists for the dialogue were Justice V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe, Professor of Law, Professor Steven Adei, a renowned Educationist, Professor Ama Ata Aidoo, celebrated Writer and Mr K.B. Asante, Senior Statesman. The participants dispassionately discussed the lost Ghanaian values and called for the restoration of those good values in order to engender national unity and patriotism. The Vice President said restoring those values would give Ghanaians the hope of achieving their potentials and aspirations of economic development. He said Ghanaian culture and traditions were the foundation for achieving development adding that the potentials of the people were not in doubt. ''Ghanaians possess the necessary building blocks needed for development including our history, culture and sense of purpose upon which successful nations are built. ''With this foundation in place, what we need to do is to re-affirm our identity and commit to a progressive set of values that will serve as the oil that keeps the wheels of development running smoothly and quickly,'' he said. Vice President Bawumia noted that Ghana at a point normalised traits such as extreme corruption, greed, dishonesty, indiscipline, disrespect, selfishness and lack of apathy to civic responsibility, which had led to lack of self-confidence and acceptance of mediocrity. However, he said, in the quest to reverse those negative trends President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his inaugural address, insisted that true citizens must not be mere spectators but active citizens. Vice President Bawumia, therefore, said government was determined to re-invigorating patriotism and nationalism among Ghanaians which would lead to re-building the nation based on the right values of discipline, integrity and tolerance as well as respect for the rule of law and love for the country. ''No nation can achieve real development without the people developing clear identity and forging a common purpose based on good value system,'' he said. The Vice President, therefore, implored Ghanaians to co-operate with the NCCE in restoring good values in the society and, thus, urged Ghanaians to embrace values espoused in the National Anthem and National Pledge and eschew negative attitudes in order to make Ghana a stable and united democratic country. He commended the Commission for the initiative that had created a platform for the nation to dialogue to strengthen the values and identity of the country. Vice President Bawumia said due to the recognition of the crucial role the NCCE could play in getting the citizens imbued with those positive values, the Government had increased the budgetary allocation to the Commission to support its operations. 'This shows government's commitment in supporting the Commission to execute its constitutional mandate and continue to support it to achieve its noble roles,' he said. ''Ghanaians are looking up to the Commission to restoring good values in the citizens because without these values our aspirations as a nation for socio-economic excellence will be threatened and we will never attain our potential as a people,'' the Vice President said. He tasked the Commission to ensure prudence and efficiency in the management of resources so as to achieve its objectives. Madam Josephine Nkrumah, the Chairperson of the NCCE, said the dialogue was a significant platform as it hinged on restoring the national identity and the values that defined the people. ''These values are at the core of our being, our genetic make-up, the fabric of our nation and essential for our nation building process,'' she said. Madam Nkrumah said there was the need for collective efforts to systematically, purposefully, and deliberately work to instill the cherished values of society in the people, especially the youth, for accelerated national development. She acknowledged the support of the Government and asked for more resources and retooling to enable the Commission to deliver on its mandate. GNA By Godwill Arthur-Mensah /Kwamina Tandoh, GNA Accra, June 14, GNA - An 11-Member trade Mission from the Netherlands horticulture sector are in the country to explore business and investment opportunities from June 13 to June 15. The delegation, led by the Dutch Top sector on horticulture, is also to establish a network with government, knowledge institutes and the private sector. Dr Robert Ahomka-Lindsey, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, speaking at the third GhanaVeg Fruit and Vegetable Fair, commended the government and people of the Netherlands for the continuous support to promote vegetable consumption. GhanaVeg is an initiative supported by the Netherlands Embassy to improve productivity in the vegetable sector, facilitate more efficient markets, and improve the business climate and further professionalise the value chain for vegetable production and consumption in Africa. The Mission, which coincided with a fair on the theme: 'Fruits and Vegetables made in Ghana will bring together 50 Ghanaian companies representing the entire vegetable value chain. He said government would continue to revamp the EXIM Bank to grow and develop businesses to improve on the economy. The Minister said packaging continued to be a great challenge to small and medium enterprises in promoting their business on to the international market. He said government would continue to support businesses to address the issues of packaging concerns to drive growth of the enterprises. He expressed the hope that come September, vegetables exported from Ghana would be accepted into the EU markets. Mr Ron Strikker, the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana said 'trade delegation exemplified the Netherlands government's focus on promoting agriculture through private sector investments, gradually moving from aid to trade. He said the mission and trade fair clearly resonated with the motto of Holland and Ghana growing together. He commended the GhanaVeg team for putting the fair together to promote the local vegetable growers. The Ambassador said: 'Fruits and Vegetable is good for our health.' He said vegetables would become part of basic daily meal of people in the future. 'Netherland wants to be a partner with Ghana in promoting vegetable and fruit growth,' he added. The delegation comes from a wide variety of horticultural technology and knowledge providers. The Netherlands horticulture sector accounts for a12.5 billion in domestic production and a 17 billion in exports and provides jobs to more than 450,000 people. The delegation will hold match-making sessions with Ghanaian businesses to discuss business partnerships and investments. GNA By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN Accra, June 14, GNA - The Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) Board would be in place within two weeks, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery has announced. He said the Ministry had forwarded the list of competent persons for appointment as GRB Board Members to the Presidency, which was currently receiving attention from the Council of State. Mr Dery made this known on Wednesday in Accra during a familiarization tour of the GRB. The Minister, who is currently embarking on a familiarization tour of Departments and Agencies under his Ministry, was accompanied by his Deputy, Mr Henry Quartey and the Chief Director of the Ministry, Mrs Adelaide Anno-Kumi. The tour has already taken the team to the National Peace Council and the Narcotic Control Board. The GRB was established under the Ghana Refugee Law 1992 (PNDC Law 305D), and is charged with the management of activities relating to refugees in Ghana. Mr Dery said the government wanted to handle things based on facts; adding that 'you first have to understand the problem before attempting to find the solution'. He said there was no country which had problem free refugee administration situation; stating that 'at least for us in Ghana we are alive to our obligation as a member of the international community and we do not throw people out, the way some of our people are being thrown out of other countries.' 'As I speak to you today 63 Ghanaians are expected from the US. I believe that if we were also less considerate we probably would have sent some people out.' He said the Ministry had had discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) and the European Union about legal and illegal migrations, during which he made it clear to them that Ghana was not only a source but also a destination for refugees. He appealed to Ghanaians to help combat the human trafficking situation in the county. Dr Kofi Anani, the Executive Secretary, GRB said by the close of 2016 about 80 per cent of refugees living in Ghana had returned to their home. He said currently, there were about 14,000 refugees living in Ghana, of which two-thirds were living in the four refugee camps: Buduburam in the Central Region, Fetentaa in the Brong Ahafo, Krisan and Ampain in the Western Region. He said of the total number of refugees in the country, 50 per cent were willing to go back, whereas 48 per cent were undecided with the two per cent not willing to go back. He explained that some of the refugees were living with families and friends in the cities and towns. Dr Anani said due to resource constraints, the GRB was finding it very difficult to meet all the needs of the refugees in the various camps. He said the GRB was working in collaboration with the World Bank and the UNHCR to see how best they would address the refugee situation in Ghana. He said the composition of the GRB Board was urgent in order to enable Refugee Status Determination to be carried out. He mentioned that there were some outstanding appeals by rejected asylum seekers; stating that appeals against the Board's decisions had been outstanding for a long time. He said their current office space, which is a rented facility was inadequate and unsuitable; stating that the Ghana Refugee Board was unstaffed. Dr Anani said the Buduburam Verifcation Committee, which had been dissolved now, was unable to sit due to lack of resources; he therefore, appealed to the Minister to ensure that it was reconstituted. He announced that the GRB in collaboration with the UNHCR would be observing the World Refugee Day Celebration on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. An elated Dr Anani also announced to the gathering that for the first time since the establishment of the Ghana Refugee Board, approval had been received from government for the purchase of an official vehicle. Mr Tetteh Padi, GRB Programme Coordinator, cited the case of former refugees from Benin (mostly Togolese) who had been formally integrated in Benin but had now relocated to Ghana and were seeking refugees' status. He said the Board was facing logistical constraints such as vehicles, which was hampering their operations. GNA By Iddi Yire, GNA I have in recent times observed a trend in the Ghanaian media and this I must say is very worrisome. The media is a very powerful means used to publish and broadcast information and therefore serves as an educating platform. In view of this, one would expect the media is well informed of whatever they put out for consumption. For the past few week, I have observed that both radio and television stations have suddenly switched from using MOB JUSTICE to MOB INJUSTICE to describe the barbaric incident which took place at the Denkyira Diaso District in the Central Region some weeks ago. And I ask myself; how did this come about? What is the brain behind it? Mob Justice as defined by Urban Dictionary is when a large mob takes justice into their own hands. And this is a common method of dispensing justice in the more rural areas of a country as in the unfortunate case of Major Maxwell Adams Mahama at Denkyira-Obuasi. It is in simple terms referred to as Lynch. Lynching as can be used interchangeably with Mob justice is an extrajudicial punishment by an informal group. Wikipedia.org It is most often associated with the informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor or an individual suspected of a wrong doing. It is an extreme form of a social control by the informal group in very rural communities. When large mob takes justices into their own hand, though the action may be injustice, it does not make the action Mob Injustice To the mob, they are administering justice but to term it as a mob injustice may mean a different thing. Learned Ghanaians like Samson Lardy Anyenini have used the phrase Mob Injustice in his presentation on Newsfile, a TV and radio programme he hosts and I find it logically contradictory. He is a renowned lawyer for that matter. The media should really take this serious. They are supposed to be schooling the populace and not to be misleading us as its been happening. None of the media houses has isolated itself from such an unhealthy practice. Mob Justice is a phenomenon and no matter how injustice it can be, it should it cannot be termed as Mob Injustice. Mob justice, also known as street justice or jungle may come about as a result of a dysfunctional and a corrupt judiciary system, mainly because these law enforcement institutions have lost their credibility which has led to loss of trust by the people. Quoting Okeke Onyebuchi, Jungle justice is no justice at all, but a misrepresentation of justice since fairness is not guaranteed. I was almost lynched whiles on University of Ghana campus by an agitated residents of a hall after their candidate failed to win the Students Representative council (SRC) elections in 2015 and accused me of rigging the election for his contender. I had to seek for shelter at the university library; Balme library that night. This is how bad mob action is. Even on our University campuses, it occurs! It is just the lowest possible point you can get as a nation; such cruelty and such bestial. It was devilish. I think we have to master all the resources we have as a nation and deal with this resolutely.- Mr. Kwesi Botchway. The government should take keen interest in this vicious act. The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) should up their game to educate the country on some of these vices causing menace in our societies. Everyone deserves to be heard and a fair hearing for that matter! A concerned citizen Hammond Akwasi Tanoh 0500001057 Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, 15 June 2017 Flagging data showing the steep fall in trade between Africa and the United States of America, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina called for a reboot and boost of the erstwhile robust economic relations that existed between the two sides. Adesina, who made the call at a US-Africa business summit organized by the Corporate Council on Africa in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, 14 June 2017, said that while business and economic cooperation between Africa and Asian countries were on the rise, the continents transactions with the United States have nose-dived. Africas exports to the US fell from an all-time high of US$113 billion in 2008 to US$26.5 billion in 2015. The continents exports from January to April this year have only reached US $10 billion. Similarly, US exports to Africa have also declined to US$ 22 billion from an all-time high of US$38 billion in 2014. China has become the largest trading partner for Africa with its exports to China rising to US$67 billion, a 153% increase over those of the USA in the same year. By 2015, China's exports to Africa were US$102 billion, while US exports were US$27 billion, or 26% of that of Chinese exports to Africa. We need to reboot and boost U.S.-Africa commerce and investments. And the time is now! I was very happy that US Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, also mentioned that it was time to engage with Africa, Adesina emphasized. He added: We must change the lenses with which we look at Africa, from the traditional development mindset to an investment mindset. Adesina gave many reasons it would be in the USs interest to re-engage with Africa, especially at a time when African economies are performing well despite the tough global economic environment. Africas GDP growth rate, which averaged 2.2% in 2016, is estimated to rise to 3.4% this year, and to 4.3% in 2018 - above the global averages. In 2016, 12 African countries recorded more than 5% while 20 others achieved growth rates ranging from 3 to 5%. Furthermore, most of the best performing countries are the non-oil or non-commodity dependent economies such as Cote d'Ivoire which grew at 8.2%, Ethiopia at 8%, Tanzania at 7.2%, Senegal at 6.7%, and Rwanda and Kenya at 6%, respectively. So we are swimming with our heads above water. Africa is buoyant and robust. The African economies are doing better than the global average. The message is clear: African economies are resilient, Adesina said. In addition to macroeconomic stability, Africa is witnessing a spate of good governance, rising domestic demand, and increasing regional trade. African countries are also implementing economic reforms, to the point where the continent accounted for 30% of all global improvements in business and regulatory reforms in 2016. Adesina cited World Bank data which indicates that 34 out of 48 countries in sub Saharan Africa had at least implemented one business regulatory reform in the previous year. Foreign direct investment is growing in Africa. From just $2 billion in 1990, it rose to $56.2 billion in 2016, and is expected to rise to $57.5 billion this year. Africa is still the second fastest growing destination in terms of foreign direct investments, he noted. In Berlin early this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched the G20 Compact with Africa, which will focus on expanding private investments, in the presence of Adesina and nine African Presidents. In addition, China, Japan, South Korea and India have launched initiatives for Africa cumulatively valued at US$ 110 billion in recent months. They are looking for a place where investments will be sure to grow, Adesina told the summit noting that the world cannot ignore a continent where household expenditures will rise to US$1.4 trillion in the next three years. Think of the continent where business-to-business investments will rise to $3.5 trillion in the next eight years. Think of the continent where the population by 2050 will be the same as India and China together today. Think of the continent that will brim with huge demand from a rising youth population that will reach 840 million by 2050, all buying and owning consumer products, he said. There has to be a close partnership between the US, the most powerful nation in the world, and Africa, the next investment growth frontier in the world, Adesina said. Adesina and President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique later engaged the audience in a question and answer session. There was a panel session with African ministers on the promotion of small and medium sized businesses, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and business and regulatory issues. The forum was attended by some 700 participants including Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross who gave the opening speech; the President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa Florizelle Liser; and the Chairman, Jeffrey Sturchio. Key words- Africa, United States of America, Macroeconomic Stability, Foreign Direct Investment, Youth Population. Business, Private Sector. The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has reiterated government's commitment to providing incentives to individuals and groups interested in commercial agricultural production to improve yield. He said agriculture was a scientific business, therefore it required professionals who would use scientific methods and modern practices to ensure high productivity. He said government would provide the youth with the necessary logistical and technical support to excel in the agricultural sector in order to ensure food security and sustainable national development. Vice President Bawumia gave the assurance in a speech read on his behalf by Dr Sagre Bambangi, a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, at the launch of this year's National Food and Agric Show (FAGRO) in Accra. The five-day event would be organised from September 26 to 30 in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale. The programme would be held on the theme: "Creating Jobs in Agriculture-Northern Region in Focus".There would be exhibitions, agribusiness booth camp, women in agriculture leadership summit, and agriculture dialogue among other things to whip up interest and showcase potentials in the country's agricultural sector. Dr Bawumia said there must be a paradigm shift in the practice of agriculture in the country by adopting modern practices such as irrigation farming and strategies that would add value to the agricultural value chain. He said the New Patriotic Party administration was committed to using agriculture to creating jobs hence the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative that would ensure food security in the country and export surplus foods to earn foreign exchange. Dr Bawumia noted that Ghana had huge potentials to use agriculture to reduce poverty and become net exporter of agricultural produce. He said agriculture should not be left to the aged and the uneducated populace but needed the energetic youth and professionals to venture into it in order to ensure high productivity. The Vice President said government had contained the army worm infestation that damaged food crops in some parts of the country in recent times and gave the assurance that it would do everything possible to protect the investments of farmers. Mr Salifu Saeed, the Northern Regional Minister, expressed delight that his region would host this year's programme and noted that it would expose farmers in the three regions of the north to new crop varieties and modern farming methods and practices. He said the event had come at an opportune time when government had introduced the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative and urged farmers to tap into it to achieve the maximum benefit. He said the event would provide a platform for farmers to network and make agriculture attractive to the youth so as to curtail the mass migration of the northern youth to the south for non-existent jobs. Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, has touted the launch of a new specialised bank, the Construction Bank, as a significant chapter in Ghanas banking industry. Delivering a keynote address on Wednesday at the unveiling of the bank in Accra, Dr Bawumia urged the Board of Directors and shareholders of the new bank to pick up critical lessons from the defunct state-owned Bank for Housing and Construction. Read: AGI lauds plans to revamp Bank for Housing and Construction The Construction Bank is a wholly Ghanaian-owned company that will provide banking services in project finance, commercial and consumer banking with specialisation in construction, infrastructure and mortgage financing. The launch of the new bank brings to 34 the number of major banks currently operating in the country. The Vice President has promised that, because most of the infrastructural projects will be initiated by state agencies, the government will ensure prompt payment for completed projects undertaken by investors on behalf of the government. What we have done is that in the context of the Public Financial Management Act, we are going to implement very strictly the GIFMIS [Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System] system to make sure [state agencies] are only awarding contracts if there is money to pay for those contracts. This is quite a departure from how things have been done previously, he said. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia He adds that, as part of governments efforts to support the banking sector, three key projects will be undertaken by the end of the year to formalise the economy: a National ID system, a national digital addressing system and a robust interoperable payment system. He notes, for instance, that an interoperable payment system will provide a seamless payment platform between the telcos, banks and other players. We will do our part as government, and we will in return hold you to your promises the same way as you hold us to ours and together can create partnerships that will see this country work once again, he told managers of the new bank. First Deputy Governor the Bank of Ghana, Millison Narh, said the Construction Bank is special to the central bank because it is breaking into the banking sector at a time when the construction industry, which has been bedevilled with a lack of financial support, is resiliently leading the countrys infrastructural development. The First Deputy Governor said he considers the initiative to set up a specialised bank to support the construction sector of the economy as a laudable venture with the potential to addressing the financing gap. The opening of this bank in my view is in recognition of the growing importance of the construction sector of the economy, he said. Mr Narh said although the demand for low-cost housing remains very strong, so is the competition within the banking sector, and hence urged managers of the bank to be innovative in order to remain vibrant. Millison Narh The contribution of Industry, of which Construction is a subsector contributed some 5.7% to GDP in 2012, and in 2014 the share increased to 12.7%. Available data also suggest that growth in Industry, however, declined slightly by 1.4% to 11.3% in 2016 with the growth rate in the Construction subsector declining by 3.5% over the same period. Considering the critical role of the Construction sector in supporting infrastructural development, there is a need to initiate action towards reversing the trend in the industrial sector of the economy, he urged. He said the country has a huge housing deficit that requires proportionate financing response from the financial sector and hence urged the new bank to step up efforts at making gains in the housing industry. The Construction Banks Board Chair, Asare Akuffo, said the bank appreciates that the quality of infrastructure of a country is one of the key indicators in the measurement of development and called for a concerted and integrated effort by all stakeholders to ensure that the right facilities are in place to propel Ghanas overall development. The bank's vision is to become the bank of choice for construction and infrastructure development financing through innovation, technology, quality customer care and affordability. The driving force behind our vision is anchored on our values of open-mindedness, boldness and visionary leadership. These are principles that will inform our decisions and how we collaborate with our clients to contribute our quota to Ghanas changing development landscape. There is a wind blowing across the length and breadth of this nation to grow businesses and we are poised to be a reliable partner in that endeavour, he said. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | [email protected] Mantrac Ghana Limited has launched a hybrid power generating set that uses the latest Caterpillar solar and energy storage technologies. The product, which is a full range hybrid solution, is the first of its kind in Ghana. The Hybrid Power Generating set; named Mantrac Energy Systems was launched as part of the First Mantrac Energy System Seminar in Accra. The Minister of Energy, Emmanuel Boakye Agyarko who was the special Guest of Honour was represented by Mr. Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, Director of Renewable Energy and Alternative Energy at the Ministry. Also present was the Executive Director of the Energy Commission, the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Ghana Industries, Executives of the Mantrac Group and customers. Mantrac Energy System, is a compact, highly efficient, low consumption, low maintenance, integrated and extendable generating energy station that provides direct and stable power supply customised for various application including Telecommunications, Banking, Manufacturing, Mining, Rural electrification, Residential Apartments and many more. The Managing Director of Mantrac Ghana Mr. Emad Adeeb said Mantrac is at the forefront of the energy transition, integrating renewable power with smart energy storage and conventional diesel or gas-fuelled power generation to keep your industries producing, communities developing and people connected. Our Energy System pack can be customised to provide clean, efficient, economic and reliable power supply to meet customers demands. Mr. Adeeb explained industries are assured of reduced fuel expenses, decreased harmful emissions, lower total cost of ownership and achieve favourable return on investment. This he believes is in line with the Ministry of Energy plans of improving renewable energy penetration into the nations energy mix by 10% in 2020. Mr. Adeeb mentioned Mantrac is well positioned to support customers with its extensive branch network and dedicated 600 work force who have been trained to support every equipment sold to customers. He said all branches are well equipped with state of the art workshops, service bays and parts warehouse to offer 360 degrees support to customers. Representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Commission including the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Ghana Industries, Seth Twum-Akwaboah, commended Mantrac Ghana for the foresight and initiative to provide alternative energy solution in the industry. Participants at the seminar were also introduced to CAT Finance services, a collaboration between Mantrac Ghana and Stanbic Bank Ghana, which provide customized financial solutions for customers who buy Caterpillar products. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com A new bank, with focus on construction, infrastructure and mortgage financing, will begin operations today after it secured a licence from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) earlier this year. The bank is expected to bring relief to the construction and real estate sector, after years of calls for a specialised bank for mortgaging financing failed to yield results. Although it will be the first bank to focus on financing to the construction and the real estate sector since the collapse of the Bank for Housing and Construction in the 1990s, The Construction Bank will bring to 33 the number of universal banks offering financial intermediation in the country. The Daily Graphic has gathered that the bank is owned by indigenous investors, including the former Managing Director (MD) of the then HFC Bank, Mr Asare Akuffo, who will serve as the inaugural chairman. Mr Akuffo, who retired from frontline banking in April 2015, has enormous experience in mortgage, construction and property financing. He is now expected to bring his years of experience and expertise in the mortgage, construction and infrastructure financing to bear on The Construction, which will play a lead role in financing prospective home owners, real estate and construction companies. Timely intervention The construction and real estate industry has enjoyed steady growth over the past 10 years, with average annual growth estimated at 10 percent. While this is commendable, access to long-term, patient and low-cost finance has continued to be a bane, with the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) flagging the menace on an annual basis. Its Executive Secretary, Mr Sammy Amegayibor, said the coming of The Construction Bank was timely for the development of the sector and its players. It's coming will help fill the deficiency that the banking sector faces in focusing on the sector. As it is now, I am not aware of any dedicated bank that is committed to the financing of housing and construction after the collapse of the Bank for Housing and Construction, he said in an interview. The Bank for Housing and Construction, a state-owned bank, was liquidated in 2000, after protracted losses. Since then, calls for its replacement have fallen on deaf ears, causing each of the various banks to offer bits and pieces of financial products and services to players in the construction, infrastructure and real estate business. But given the peculiar nature of the business, Mr Amegayibor said a dedicated bank, with long-term, stable capital was needed to help propel growth in the various companies. Various banks have been trying to give loans for projects and that is fine but there is still the need for a dedicated bank that specialises in construction and real estate financing, he said. Our hope is that this new bank will be more focused and understand us better, he said. The gestation period of projects in the construction sector requires that loans granted to the players are stable and long-dated, compared to the current loan books of banks which are predominantly short term. Given Mr Akuffos experience at HFC Bank and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), GREDA executive secretary was confident that The Constriction Bank would be an answer to the financial challenges facing the industry. The launch of the bank is expected to attract heavyweights from the banking and construction industries, including officials from the BoG. Safaricom is planning to take its successful mobile money service M-Pesa across Africa after building a dominant home base in Kenya and presence in its East African neighbours. The news came after UKs Vodafone Group transferred its 35% stake in Safaricom to its South African subsidiary, Vodacom. Subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, the proposed transaction will cost Vodacom 34.6 billion rands ($2.6 billion) in exchange for the stake. Safaricom, Kenyas largest telecommunication company, said it gave appropriate assurances to the government of Kenyawhich owns a 35% share in the companyabout the deal. Vodafone will also retain a 5% stake in Safaricom, while 25% of the shares are on a free float being traded in the stock market. Aly-Khan Satchu, a financial analyst based in Nairobi, says that the deal would be lucrative for both companies and help consolidate their reach across Africa in new markets such as Ethiopia, Africas second largest country by population. I think by consolidating the African businesses, you could apply scale and target these markets to make a wider opening to Vodacom and Safaricom. Vodacom says the proposed deal gives it access to a market with high growth, high margin, high cash generation business. Shameel Joosub, the Vodacom Groups chief executive, said the stake will drive M-Pesa adoption across its business. M-Pesa is a huge cash cow for Safaricom. Since it launched in 2007, the service has grown to serve more than 29 million people in and out of Kenya. The platform allows users in 10 countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe to send and receive money, pay bills, and access loans. Last week, the company announced a 70.4 billion Kenyan shillings pre-tax profit largely boosted by the growth of mobile money services. M-Pesa revenue grew by 32.7% to 55 billion Kenyan shillings ($567 million) for the year ending March 2017. More than 3 million Kenyans also joined the platform, increasing its registered users to 26.57 million. Yet the rise of M-Pesa in particular has also raised questions on whether Safaricoms market dominance is anti-competitive. A leaked report from earlier this year, commissioned by the Communications Authority of Kenya, suggested M-Pesa should be separated from its voice and data services. Given the billions of dollars that run through M-Pesa annually, Kenyan Treasury officials have also expressed their concern about the platform, noting that it could be a plausible fiscal risk. But the Safaricom has also been softening its position, allowing its agents to host other services beyond M-Pesa, and rooting for an agreement to allow cross-network mobile transfer systems. Satchu says the shareholding belongs better with Vodacom than with Vodafone in the UK from a corporate perspective. It makes sense to try and get some of the acceleration that we have seen in Safaricom complemented to Vodacom South Africa. If Vodacom goes more pan-African it will be going head-to-head with larger South African rival, MTN in several countries. At one point in 2016, Vodacom overtook MTN as Africas most valuable telecom operator. The two companies have also faced a legal tussle over a non-compete clause after MTN poached its new CEO from Vodacom last year. Government will soon issue a $2.5 billion bond to retire the legacy debt in the energy sector considered the biggest threat to the economy. The debt arising out of the energy crisis that hit the country between 2012 and 2016 stands at $2.4 billion with the potential to collapse many banks and plunge the nation back into darkness. Addressing the World Bank Development Finance forum earlier today in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said the bond when issued would create the needed space for increased investment in the sector. Energy & Agriculture As part of the process of formalising the economy, President Akufo-Addo reiterated the commitment of his government to the implementation of a digital property addressing system for Ghana this year and also the issuance of biometric National Identification cards to residents so that every resident will have a unique identification number. We have encouraged majority Ghanaian private sector participation in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the main distributor of power in Ghana, under the Millennium Challenge Compact with the U.S. Government. "Government has reviewed existing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). Our policy is to move Ghana from a reliance on thermal towards renewable energy. We have, thus, decided that new PPAs will only be signed for renewable energy, he said. On agriculture, President Akufo-Addo told the World Bank forum that we have instituted a programme that we have dubbed Planting for food and jobs. It provides farmers access to affordable inputs, extension services and improved irrigation infrastructure. "We are embarking on a private sector-led industrialisation programme through a 'one district, one factory initiative', and a $100 million stimulus package for the revival of distressed companies. Private sector financing for projects In a clear departure from the historic resort to borrowing and more borrowing that has resulted in the ballooning of our debt stock by the previous Mahama administration, the President indicated that his government, as a matter of policy, has decided to seek more private sector equity financing for infrastructure projects. This, he added, is a policy underpinned by his commitment to the private sector, and by the desire to maintain debt sustainability. We are implementing a policy of re-profiling our existing debts to extend the maturities, reduce the interest burden and create space for the private sector. "About six weeks ago, Ghana issued, for the first time, a 15-year local-currency bond, raising in that cycle more than $2 billion. That is evidence of the returning private investor confidence in Ghana, he said. He continued, Because investors make decisions on the basis of their perception of risk and uncertainty, this transaction sends a clear message to the markets that this new government, my government, has started on a sound footing and that Ghana is on a path of fiscal consolidation, debt sustainability and growth. Fiscal consolidation, debt sustainability and growth The President said programmes and policies that have been initiated by his government, so far, will put the country on a path of fiscal consolidation, debt sustainability and growth. He noted that maintaining a stable macroeconomic environment in the context of a growing economy is fundamental to attracting private sector investment into the country. He explained that his administration has established a macroeconomic framework with policies that seek to restore fiscal discipline and macroeconomic stability. We have put in place measures to reduce the fiscal deficit bequeathed to us from 9% in 2016 to 6.5% this year. Government has created fiscal space by capping earmarked funds to 25% of government revenue and realigning expenditures to government priorities. This is a policy that successive governments have tried over several years to implement, but were unable to do, he said. A section of the audience at the Forum To boost growth, the President stated that his government has re-oriented fiscal policy from a focus on taxation to a focus on production. In this regard, we undertook the following tax reforms: abolished the 1% Special Import Levy; abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on domestic airline tickets; abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on financial services; abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on selected imported medicines, that are not produced locally; abolished the 5% VAT/NHIL on Real Estate sales; replaced the 17.5 VAT/NHIL rate with a flat rate of 3 % for traders; and granted Capital Gains Tax Exemption on stocks traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange or publicly held securities approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, he said Furthermore, the President added, effective September 1 this year, clearance of goods from Ghanas ports will be 100% paperless. Additionally, all internal customs barriers in the country will also be removed to facilitate the movement of goods. Ghana, a land for private capital President Akufo-Addo, in view of these, declared to the gathering that Ghana is a land of opportunity for private capital. More importantly, President Akufo-Addo stated that Ghana is Open for Business and has taken it upon herself to build a business-friendly economy that will enable her get to the stage where the opportunities available here will help her build an optimistic, self-confident and prosperous nation. Beyond Aid. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim Four hardworking Shell service station staff, who excelled in their work in 2016, have been awarded an all-expenses paid trip to New York, USA to participate in this years Shell Global Smiling Stars Programme. The winners, who will be travelling with their spouses, are Mr George Ayensu Afful, the Country Retailer of the Year, Mr. Winfred Agbewu, the Gold Retailer of the Year and Mr. Famous Boateng, Service Champion and Quality Marshall of the Year. Mr. Samuel Addai was also adjudged the Best Territory Manager of the Year 2016. The Smiling Stars Programme, organised by Shell, is an annual event that rewards Shell service station sales staff from around the world for exceptional performance across. Shell believes that people make the difference real, hence the institution of the programme. The winners were announced during Vivo Energys recent Retailers Conference and Awards, where a total of forty-one (41) awards were presented to deserving retailers and support staff across the country for their sterling performance in 2016, which contributed to the growth of the business. The Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr. Ebenezer Faulkner (ninth from left) together with all award winners. Delivering his keynote address, the Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr Ebenezer Faulkner said in spite of the challenges that confronted the oil marketing industry in 2016, Vivo Energy Ghana delivered a robust plan, increasing its network size with the addition of 45 new sites. This ensured that our expanded footprint nationwide provided us the platform to perform well, in the face of market challenges. he said. Mr. Faulkner said, the objective of Vivo Energy Ghana is to provide the best experiences for its customers when they visit Shell service stations, hence the annual awards to recognise hard working retailers and operational staff who have contributed to making the Shell brand the most preferred fuel brand in Ghana. Mr. Faulkner said that the company will continue to deliver a high end customer experience to its valued customers. The Retail Manager of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr. Kwame Ackah, also remarked that Vivo Energy Ghana will continue to build the capacity of its forecourt staff to ensure they deliver top-notch services to customers. Commenting on his award, the 2016 Country Retailer of the Year, Mr. George Ayensu Afful, said he started his career at Shell as a Quality Marshall and rose to become a Retailer. I am deeply involved in my job and the customer is the focus of my business. I have developed a personal relationship with my customers to ensure optimum customer satisfaction and I dedicate this award to them and my staff. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Thirteen African countries including Ghana have signed series of partnership agreements with India to enhance the supply of agricultural machinery, credit advancement to farmers and scientific cooperation. Farm machinery suppliers from the Indian state of Gujarat signed agreements with Ghana, Zambia, Mozambique and Togo for the supply of farm machinery, training on the use of the machinery in mechanized agriculture and cooperation in the use of the machinery in mining. These partnerships were announced as African Ministers of Agriculture, private sector associations and industry representatives from Africa and India, converged for crucial sessions of deal-making at the 52nd session of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings in India, on May 24, 2017 to rapidly advance cooperation, a release copied to the Ghana News Agency said. Gujarat State Minister of Agriculture, Chimanbhai Dharamshibai Shaparia , said "We feel the areas identified for cooperation could raise agricultural productivity in Africa because these include our support to the Pan African University Institute of Life and Earth Sciences in Ibadan, Nigeria. We want to ensure that capacity building is given full priority." This opportunity is very rare. I am here to ensure that India-Africa cooperation reaches new heights. Africa can feed the world. The Feeding Africa initiative has pointed Africas agriculture towards a specific direction. It is all about feeding the world, he said. The Indian Government is currently preparing an aide memoire an informal diplomatic communication to all African countries indicating proposed negotiating texts on identified fields of agriculture cooperation, he said at a session on Africa-India Cooperation: Partnerships for Green Revolution. India has made a proposal to provide vaccines to enable West African countries to deal with foot and mouth disease an illness that affects livestock production. The Indian Government also spoke of its eagerness to advance cooperation through rapid expansion of agricultural trade between the two regions. To ensure a trade balance, the Indian Government is also ready to accept imports of key cereals and grains from African producers. One key import from Africa is expected to be pigeon peas, which the New Delhi-based Indian Government hopes to assist farmers in cultivating. The Indian Government believes both sides could exchange key commodities through trade with India availing markets for millet produced from Africa, while India would look for opportunities to sell its wheat to the continent. Indian officials said there was a huge potential of doing business with African States, considering that most countries are vulnerable to the risk of climate change. The availability of the large Indian market for crops produced from climate adaptation farming could be crucial to saving lives. The proposals to invest in Africas climate-smart future in farming, providing high quality but low-cost farm machinery and opening avenues for cooperation between Indian and African industry group representatives, stood out as one of the most practical highlights of the 52nd session of the AfDB Annual meeting in the outskirts of the Gujarat capital, Ahmedabad. Kinshasa (AFP) - The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday two staff kidnapped when armed men attacked their convoy in the troubled eastern DR Congo last week had been released. The workers were abducted on June 7 between Kirumba and Beni in North Kivu province while on a humanitarian mission, prompting a Red Cross appeal for their immediate release. A Red Cross statement said the pair were freed Thursday morning. Spokeswoman Christine Cipolla said the organisation was relieved their ordeal was over but deplored an abduction she said threatened humanitarian work. An ICRC spokesman told AFP its operations remained suspended in the region, where it has been aiding 5,000 families, following the abduction of the two, whose nationality has not been revealed. "We have suspended our movements in North Kivu province until further notice ... awaiting security guarantees," the spokesman said. The eastern DR Congo has been rocked by more than 20 years of armed conflict among both domestic and foreign armed groups, fuelled by struggle for control of lucrative mineral resources as well as ethnic and property disputes. North Kivu has served as a base for Hutu rebels fighting with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) since 1994 and sees frequent kidnappings. 15.06.2017 LISTEN VOiCE, Centre for Governance, Democracy, Leadership and Research in collaboration with Accra Metropolitan Assembly have organized a one day summit on local governance under the theme, ESTABLISHING A MORE ROBUST INTERFACE BETWEEN THE YOUTH, LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND URBAN PLANNING. The summit brought together experts from the local government institutions, National Disaster Management Organization, the Engineering Council, Assembly and Unit Committee Members and other Community Based Organizations (CBOs) within the Ayawaso sub-metro. The summit was aimed at bridging the gap between the local government and the youths of the Ayawaso Districts as well as bring the various local government bodies closer to foster inclusiveness and make the youth more informed about their activities and the holistic activities of the central Government so as to channel their demands appropriately and promote accountability. Addressing participants at the summit, the President of VOiCE, Ahmed Mustapha Yaajalaal expressed his dissatisfaction with the youth being relegated to the background when it comes to decision making which he believes affect them more. He called on policy makers to consider the youth as an integral part of decision making and involve them at anytime. Municipal leaders he said regularly make decisions, shape policies and take action on issues that directly affect youth, yet, youth are the experts on their experiences, needs, and interactions with their local environments. "If governments do not engage youth, well-intentioned programs and policies for youth are more likely to fail" he noted. On his part, the deputy director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) Mr. Daniel Kwaku Denteh, schooled the participants on disaster management. He chided Ghanaians for the floods the country has experienced over the years and termed it as purely attitudinal and encouraged the youth to engage the organsation (NADMO) in propagating their activities. He hinted that NADMO is moving away from being a disaster management to disaster prevention. He assured the participants that NADMO will engage any individual who wants to complement the effort in disaster management and prevention. The District Director for National Commission for Civic Education Mr. Sadick Zagoon called on the Assembly and Unit committee members present to lend the commission their support in selling their message since it is a collective responsibility. Chief Gbangbana, the chief of Kotokoli community in Accra applauded the organizers for taking such a good initiative and encouraged the youth to organize more of such programmes. He suggested that the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana be made part of this laudable initiative. The chairperson for the occasion, Hon. Gladys Tetteh, deputy director, Centre for Local Governance Advocacy in her closing remarks, charged the youth to continuously engage the opinion leaders in issues affecting them. 15.06.2017 LISTEN The Global Position System (GPS) bus innovation is the first of its kind in Ghana. Global Positioning system is a worldwide radio navigation system formed from a constellation of 24 satellites and their ground station. It is a great innovation and I personally like the creativity thus a bus system that can aid transportation on campus and the GPS will help to track the location and even the time for the bus to get to one's location for pick up. Such an amazing technology cannot be made free and will require a price to be paid by the students. However the problems arise when the payment of such a new GPS bus service is made compulsory at a flat fee and added to the school fees components. MyJCR news reported that every student will be paying around Ghs50.0 for the GPS transport service for an academic year. If this is what to go by then I know with time it will be increasing from Ghs50.0 to God knows where the price ceiling will be. How does the compulsory payment or Flat fee limit student economic freedom? The limitations stem from the fact that, by compulsory payment, student would have already sold their freedom to the management of the bus service. Whether, one will patronize or not, you have made payment for it. Whether the transport service is suitable or not, you have already made payment for the year. Whether there is poor customer care or not, you have already paid for it. Free market principles uphold the sovereignty of the consumer/customer. That way the student pays for what he needs and finds valuable through individual choice. The students can walk away if he feels he doesn't need the transport service. I believe although you may need bread for breakfast but, its not everyday you would purchase bread for your morning breakfast. This is because you have your freedom and you purchase what you want. Interestingly, if a bread seller shows an attitude you dislike or sell bread that is not fresh to meet your demand, once you have freedom of choices, one may decide to buy bread from a different bread seller with good altitude or how fresh the bread is. That's what economic freedom gives you. Now that we are making the transport service compulsory can one enjoy his or her economic freedom and making choices of preferences? Certainly not, this is because you have already paid by compulsion. This is against your will and freedom of making choices. Alternatively, it would be better for the payment plan for such an innovative GPS transport service be Paid_As_You_Go. That way, students economic freedom cannot be limited. There will be competition in pricing between the new GPS buses and the 207 Shuttles. Competition in free market makes the consumer better off since he only pays for the service he finds valuable. Let's allow the service to rather compete for our money, not our money competing for the service. Let's reason in freedom and understand the principles of free market. Students for Liberty - KNUST and KNUST Students' Parliament, there is a great work ahead. Students leaders, every President, be it Department, Faculty, College, able appointees and SRC President needs to value students freedom to become leaders for Liberty. If we don't know our freedom, certainly we cannot fight for it. Also, the transport service will be expensive for those who per their location will find it reasonable to walk to anywhere they desire on campus. What happens to someone who will use the service twice in the whole academic year? Yes, its not always true that a policy's focus is to benefit majority of the people. Government spends on AIDS patience and certainly they are not a majority group. Even if the payment is made on a Pay_As_You_Go basis, it will still benefit the majority who would find it valuable. The compulsory payment will be expensive for this category of persons. Finally, technology wise, we can use Magnetic Stripe Stores Card data for transaction which can be read by physical contact and swiping past a reading head. This technology can charge the service of the bus per swipe. So that by swiping the Magnetic Stripe Store card or school ID card since we can load fund on it, you can pay for the transport. This system can be made flexible and transferable in that with a double swipe you pay for your friend and yourself. Say NO!! to compulsory payment for the GPS bus transport because it is a limitation to students economic. Yours in Liberty NATHANIEL DWAMENA [email protected] Local Coordinator, African Students for Liberty Volunteer: ILAPI-GHANA The Minister of Business Development, Honourable Ibrahim Awal today reiterated governments commitment in making Ghana a business hub through a number of strategies that will also improve the countrys economy. He stated that government has started work on improving local businesses as a priority and will need the support of Ghanaians to make it a reality, It is our top priority to make Ghana a number one business nation at least in West Africa, he added. Hon. Awal made the assertion today, during an interaction with Chief Executive Officers from various companies who are also members of the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce to deliberate on strategies to drive businesses in Ghana. Established in 2016, the UK - Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) was launched to facilitate and promote the ever-increasing need for collaboration between SMEs and large multi-national corporations operating in the UK and Ghana. The meeting which involved about twenty (20) members of the UKGCC, from the telecoms, energy, logistics, finance, legal and business associations, also created a platform for the CEOs to share their concerns and challenges with the minister. It was also an opportunity for Mr. Awal to clarify issues concerning local businesses and ways to improve the Ghanaian economy. According to him, a criteria has been rolled out for the implementation of the One District, One Factory initiative as part of governments strategies in building the economy. Government is implementing this considering the raw materials and also employing the local people from these areas. He said. The Minister also mentioned that his ministry would launch a National Employment and Implementation Plan, a capacity building program of about USD 100 million that will equip the youth in various fields to acquire entrepreneurial skills. Capacity building is important to us in improving businesses. We also believe this will curb unemployment and make Ghana an entrepreneurial nation, he added. Hon. Awal further revealed that 70% percent of public funded projects would be given to Ghanaians out of which 10% will also be directed to startups, and also promised tax relieves for startups. He agreed with participants on the importance of infrastructure in growing businesses reiterating that infrastructure is key and very important to us when we talk about business growth, he added. On how the government would fund projects, Hon. Awal indicated that governments approach to realigning taxes, working with budget, banks, business associations and the private sector. He assured businesses of governments plan to tackle inefficiency in public institutions through the Public Sector Reform Committee, and encouraged participants to consult his ministry should they have challenges. In his welcome address, the CEO of UKGCC, Mr. Tony Burkson congratulated government for its work on improving Ghanaian businesses, and on behalf of the group appealed to government to implement an internal policy that would protect local businesses from multinationals pervading the atmosphere. Mr. Burkson also revealed that the UKGCC is setting up a Tax and Commercial Law committee to help hold government and office bearers accountable. Mr. Edward Addo Jr. and Madam Linda Vasnani, from Winmat Limited and Consolidated Shipping Agencies Limited (Conship) respectively, declared governments new policies as positive and encouraging, and expressed hope that they would be implemented for constructive results. They both referred to difficulties in funding projects as one major challenge in their businesses. Participants expressed appreciation to the UKGCC for making it possible for them to meet with the Minister. The UKGCC also facilitates and promotes trade and commercial relations between the UK and Ghana, and provides exceptional support for its members through the sharing of knowledge and ideas whilst hosting various activities designed to build stronger networks that will connect business and create further opportunities. The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu has called on the Ghanaian youth, especially in the Muslim community to emulate the exemplary life of businessman Alhaji Inusah Sally following his philanthropism in the country. To him, Alhaji Inusah Sally is the perfect definition of a benevolent person urging the youth not hesitate in making him a role model. He made the call on Tuesday evening when they were breaking the Ramadan fasting at the office of the businessman at 37 in Accra. Speaking at the event, the Chief Imam quoted the Qur'an by saying 'Let those who emulate, emulate an example like this' - referring to humble business mogul. 'This is what the Qur'an prescribes for us. Let those who emulate, emulate examples like this. If our zongo communities should have five people like this man (pointing to Alhaji Inusah), there will be less hardship,' the Chief Imam said. 'His generosity goes beyond the Zongos to non-Zongo and non-Muslim communities just alleviate the suffering of others. And that is the true definition of Islam,' he added. The Iftaar - breaking of the fast, which was organised by Friends of Alhaji Inusah Sally saw many dignitaries and his workers - most of whom were non-Muslims, all gracing the occasion. The National Chief Imam prayed for Alhaji Inusah and his family, his associates and workers after presenting a citation which was given to him by Friends of Alhaji Inusah Sally on the night, for his benevolence and selfless support as to humanity. Bankroller of former Ghana Premier League campaigners Kumasi King Faisal, Alhaji Karim Grusah, who was at the event seized the opportunity to advice the youth not to be arrogant in their activities since it pays to be humble. 'Arrogance is not a virtue and I emplore each of you to be humble in all your endeavours. Despite the fact that I am not as old as the Chief Imam, he still respects me likewise Alhaji Inusah Sally. 'Pride always comes before a fall and the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) always called on us to be humble. Arrogance is a virtue of Shaitaan and we must discard it,' Alhaji Grusah advised. Alhaji Inusah Sally whose benevolence has seen him assist and sponsor the University education of more than 30 people as well as providing support for the poor and needy humbly thanked all for making time to grace the memorable occasion. It is all cooked in a single pot with rice and a tomato-based stew plus preferred meat, fish or poultry very popular in West Africa and its called Jollof rice. The tentacles of Jollof has spread beyond the borders of West Africa into all of Africa and thanks to emigration the star dish has successfully accomplished its global invasion in the world of culinary delicacies. So, Washington DC will on July 2, 2017, set the ball rolling for the first ever Jollof Festival to be organized by Afropolitan Insights. The venue is the North Hall of Eastern Market from midday to 5 PM, Eastern Standard Time. Yes, Jollof is one of West Africas most beloved dishes and pretty easy to cook, well depending on where on the continent you picked up your Jollof-cooking skills. One thing remains certain though, the art of perfecting this delicacy has been a subject of debate for years. Ghanaians for example, claim to have the best Jollof while Nigerians beg to differ. Who really owns Jollof? Amidst all that debate that has fueled the Jollof wars on social media for years, some countries in the Senegambia region of Africa including Senegal, Gambia, Mali, and Mauritania have asked all to hush it up since they are the original inventors of the meal. Heck some of them even say the word Jolof itself is rooted in the Jolof Empire which is the successor to the Mali Empire where todays Senegal stands in modern Africa. See it however you want but one thing is for sure, Afropolitan Insights has set its sights on bringing all of Africa together under their Jollof Festival to celebrates the meal, the continent, and the respective cultures that are interwoven by the delicious string of Jollof. Why a Jollof Festival According to Afropolitan Insights Jollof is a cheap and common dish people make on a massive scale. Our festival is simply a target of expressing rivalry between countries, in a good-natured way, explains Ishmael Osekre, the Ghanaian-born, New York-based founder of the festival. This is still a big thing in the emigre community. We decided to let people come in and compete in a healthy way, and to let everyone get a chance to enjoy the results. Osekre says interest in African cuisine as part of a growing fascination with the culture and style of the extremely diverse continent is what encouraged his team to create the event to provide Jollof masters and opportunity to face off, while visitors sample different versions of the dish and its accompanying sides. The sides really reflect the local flavors, explains Osekre. They showcase the ingredients and tastes from different parts of the continent. The festival will feature vendors representing eight different countries, each with their own Jollof spin. In many ways, this simple rice dish is a mirror that reveals important parts of our lives, as Africans and people of the African diaspora, muses Osekre. I hope people of all backgrounds will come and taste and discover and just enjoy. Though of course, Ghanaian Jollof is the best. More at Jollof Festival Chefs would be invited to come together and contest to determine whose Jollof rules, one of such would be Chef Francis Otoo , an executive chef at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington DC who is also going to be on the panel of judges for the event. Maame Boakye, Co-founder and Director of Event Production and Talent Management at Dine Diaspora, is another judge. Exciting experiences at the Jollof Festival will include Jollof vendors undertaking demos and Jollof wars, cultural performances, an Ankara Shop with readily available African fashion in forms of clothing, accessories, hair, body and skincare products and so on. Yes, there will be libations and it would be powered by Mixed Sips to gently push down your Jollof. Osekre unveiled to TheAfricanDream.net that the Washington DC event is just the starter as Afropolitan Insights plans to take the festival to Brooklyn in New York, and Atlanta in Georgia. For now, the festivals aim is to engage the buzzing African, Caribbean, and African-American food community through a celebratory delicacy Jollof in a friendly and pseudo-competitive atmosphere. Find out more about Jollof Festival at www.JollofFestival.com and share your #JollofFestival experiences on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with @JollofFestival Source: Oral Ofori / AfropolitanInsights.com Accra, June 14, GNA - Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport has noted that the introduction soot-free buses would help reduce transport related air pollution and climate change emissions. In a speech read on behalf of the Minister said most of the country's public transport vehicles were powered by diesel engines and as a result of the high sulphur levels, emissions from these vehicles posed health related diseases to the citizenry. The Minister said this on Wednesday at the opening of a two-day regional workshop to promote soot-free bus and sustainable public transport in Accra. The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Transport and Ghana Health Service with support from the UN Environment. The workshop brought together participants from CAte d'Ivoire; South Africa, Senegal and Kenya to support stakeholder engagement on the need to adopt soot-free public transport and transform the informal public transport to a formalized public transport. Mr Asiamah said vehicular emissions and air pollution was a global concern due to its negative impact on human health and environment, adding that research has shown that there is a direct linkage between exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular diseases. He said the use of gas was not new as the country had witnessed quite a number of vehicles retrofitting to run on LPG. Mr Asiamah said public transport buses could be supported to introduce alternative clean burning fuels instead of diesel. The Minister said the country relied heavily on second-hand vehicles for both private and commercial purposes and it was imperative an efficient public transport system must meet user needs in a sustainable, reliable and safe manner. He said road transport continued to be the dominant mode of transport with more than 80 per cent of the services provided largely by private sector owners and operators. He said the issues have direct implication on the environment and human health. 'The Ministry is committed to support any move towards greening the public system and that there is the need to develop innovative and cleaner alternatives fuels to reduce the country's dependence on diesel fuel and its associated pollution,' he added. Mr John Pwamang, Acting Executive Director of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said the Agency's key function was to prescribed standards and guidelines relating to the pollution of air, water, land and any other forms of environmental pollution. Mr Emmanuel Appoh, Head of Environmental Quality Department at EPA, noted the need for efficient and sustainable mass transport in African cities and urged African countries to prioritize mass transit that would provide social, economic and environmental benefits to the citizens. GNA By Kodjo Adams, GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN Accra, June 14, GNA - The Resurrection Power New Generation Church (RPNGC) has refurbished the room nine of the maternity ward (Yaa Asantewaa Ward) of the 37 Military Hospital at the cost of GHE70,000.00. The refurbishment covered redesigning, painting as well as the provision of items such as two beds, bedside lockers, bed sheets, refrigerator, new furniture , LED television, decoder, air conditions and curtains. Addressing the media at a handing over ceremony in Accra, Reverend Dr Anthony Kwadwo Boakye, the General Oversee of RPNGN, said the gesture was part of the Church's effort to improve health care delivery at the hospital. Rev Kwadwo Boakye commended the supervisors of the project for a good work done. 'This will also create conducive environment for pregnant women who will be admitted at the hospital, as it is one of the biggest hospitals in the country and capable of handling emergency cases,' he added. The General Oversee on behalf of the entire Church expressed optimism that the upgrading of the ward would help improve maternal health care. He said the Church through its spirit of voluntarism would continue to extend a helping hand to the 37 Military Hospital. Colonel Michael Yeboah-Agyapong, Commanding Officer of the 37 Military Hospital, on behalf of the Management and Staff, expressed gratitude to Rev Kwadwo Boakye and the Church, for their tremendous assistance. He said the quality of work done clearly showed how committed the Church was in supporting the Hospital. The Commanding Officer appealed to benevolent individuals and organisations to emulate the kind gesture of RPNGN. GNA By Iddi Yire, GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN Accra, June 14, GNA - Professor Ama Ata Aidoo, a renowned Writer, on Wednesday called on the Government to close all witches camps in the country and resettle the women with their families by the end of the year. She expressed worry about the ill-treatment most women who were labeled as witches went through in society which infringed on their fundamental human rights. Professor Aidoo made the call during her contribution to a panel discussion at the 2017 National Dialogue organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on the theme; 'Restoring the Ghanaian Identity: Our Values; Our Passion''. The forum provided a platform for Ghanaians to discuss values that defined them as people and called for restoration of these cherished values to engender national development. Some eminent personalities that took part in the panel discussion included Professor Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe, Professor Steven Adei and Mr K .B Asante. The meeting was chaired by Nana Kobina Nketsia V, Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area. Prof. Aidoo cited a 67-year-old woman who was recently lynched at the Pelungu Market in the Upper East Region on Monday, May 29, and said such inhuman practices must be condemned by all well-meaning Ghanaians so as to create a safe environment for the citizenry. She said those practices were negative and must not be tolerated and called for all hands on deck to fight against the menace. On the issue of mob justice, she said it was atrocious to visit instant justice on individuals perceived to have offended society and that those actions did not define the dignified Ghanaian. She explained that values such as obedience to the rule of law, tolerance, nationalism, respect, courtesy, discipline, hard work, and decency amongst Ghanaians had dwindled and there was the need to restore and build those positive values for national development. Mr K.B Asante, a Senior Statesman, said law breakers must be dealt with in accordance with the law without shielding offenders. He said leaders must set examples worthy of emulation by being punctual, accountable, disciplined and eschew corrupt practices adding that those were but a few values that could build their integrity. Professor Steven Adei, Dean of Arts and Sciences of Ashesi University, proposed a seven strategic approach to instill positive values in people beginning from the home, schools and institutions. He mentioned core fundamental values such as responsibility, tolerance, discipline and courtesy, mobilising progressive forces for a positive crusade, and strengthening institutions that are mandated to champion the efforts of restoring the national identity. Prof. Adei said there was need to strategically incorporate the fundamental values into a national programme which the Government and leadership of religious organisations and corporate institutions must rally behind to build a stable nation. He said the NCCE must be supported to effectively deliver its core constitutional mandate especially carrying out civic education in the schools and society. The event brought together people from all walks of life including security agencies, the diplomatic corps, representatives of religious institutions, traditional rulers, students, and the Council of State. The participants urged the government to introduce civic education at the basic level to inculcate civic responsibility in pupils. They called on parents to instill positive societal values in their children such as punctuality, honesty, accountability, and fairness. GNA By Godwill Arthur-Mensah /Kwamina Tandoh, GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN By Belinda Ayamgha Accra, June 14, GNA - The United States Embassy, in Accra, Wednesday, said 63 Ghanaian and 12 Liberian nationals were deported from the United States to Ghana. A statement issued to the GNA, on Wednesdays said: 'On Tuesday, June 13, and Wednesday, June 14, 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed 63 Ghanaian nationals to Ghana and 12 Liberian nationals to Liberia in accordance with their final orders of removal.' Those removed, according to the statement, were found ineligible to remain in the United States for reasons including; overstaying their visas or committing crimes while in the United States. They were ordered removed by an immigration judge, the Embassy said. 'As mandated by law, ICE carried out their lawful removal orders'. The statement explained that it was the U.S. Government's policy to attempt to have individuals under removal orders return to their home countries by flying on regular commercial flights, except in special cases where flights were chartered. 'ICE Air Operations conducts special charter flights to accommodate certain individuals, including those who failed to cooperate with efforts to remove them via commercial flights.' It said the U.S. Embassy worked to facilitate the legitimate travel of international visitors to the United States and the proper use of visas by Ghanaians, adding that the quick repatriation of deportees would contribute to the ability of the Embassy to facilitate the future travel of Ghanaians to the United States. 'We are grateful to the Government of Ghana and the Embassy of Ghana in the United States for their support in facilitating the return of these Ghanaian nationals,' the statement concluded. The Trump Administration has stated its resolved to deport undocumented foreigners, especially those with criminal records from the United States. GNA Accra, June 14, GNA - A Scottish Oil and Gas Trade Mission would be in Ghana from June 19 to 23 to explore investment opportunities. A statement issued by the British High Commission in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the visit would provide an opportunity for Scottish businesses to access the local market conditions, and to look for potential local partners interested in enhancing their own offer by linking up with Scottish companies. It said Andrew Monaghan, Scottish International Trade Advisor for West Africa at Scottish Development International - Scotland, UK would lead the Trade Mission to Ghana. Commenting, Andrew Monaghan said: 'I am delighted to be bringing such a large trade delegation from Scotland, all of whom are interested in helping to develop and build the Ghanaian oil and gas industry for the benefit of its citizens.' Sub sectors to be represented include; education and training; subsea engineering; electrical product distribution; well construction and engineering services; and remote communications systems. Awareness of the need to address local content and local participation issues is high on the agenda and will also be discussed during roundtables. The Scottish Oil & Gas Industry has faced challenges since the drop in oil prices, however, it has responded impressively through a combination of innovation, lowered costs and by engaging with new markets in West Africa. The statement said currently Ghana benefits from Scottish-based companies operating in Ghana, there was scope to develop partnerships and for the transfer of the technologies, educational capabilities and skills that had been built up over the 50 years of operating in the North Sea. It noted that Scotland is a true Global Hub for Oil and Gas and associated with education and training. It said the Oil and Gas cluster made a huge contribution to the Scottish economy with Scotland having creative and innovative companies operating in over 100 countries worldwide. It urged companies or individuals interested in finding out more about the composition of the delegation to get in touch with British High Commission, Accra. Scottish Development International (SDI) is the international economic development arm of Government in Scotland and provides a broad range of services to support companies and institutions to help them develop their overseas business. SDI also helps overseas businesses tap into Scotland's key strengths in innovation, knowledge, high levels skills and technology. Operating in 29 countries around the world, SDI opened its first office in Africa in the British High Commission in Accra in June 2014. Whilst regional in its geographic focus, sectorally the focus of activity in Africa is primarily oil & gas and education & training related to oil and gas. The delegation comprises of 19 companies: ACE Winches, Aquatic Subsea, Bowalds Energy UK Ltd, Corex (UK) Ltd, Exceed and Flexlife Ltd. The rest include; Grant Thornton UK LLP, Hydrasun Group Ltd, ION Geophysical 10, Katoni Engineering, Oil States Industries (UK) Ltd and Online. GNA By Iddi Yire, GNA 15.06.2017 LISTEN Robert Anane, GNA Accra, June 14, GNA - The Consortium comprising the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA), and the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), has described as unfortunate, the exclusion of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), from the Cabinet list. A press release signed by Vladimir Antwi Danso, Acting Executive Director of the Consortium, said whilst it commended the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, on the release of his cabinet to Parliament, in line with Article 76(1) of the 1992 constitution, 'the Centre noted with concern, the exclusion of the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry from the list.' It described the development as very unfortunate and added, that though the President had the reserved power under Article 76(1) of the 1992 Constitution to determine who formed part of his cabinet, 'we believe that the exclusion of the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry is unfortunate.' The release said among the NPP's manifesto was local governance and rural development, adding that the President's flagship programmes of one district one factory, one village one dam, and other initiatives such as the Zongo Development Fund and the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, were all imminent development initiatives, which fell under the MLGRD. It said for this reason, the Ministry should not have been excluded from the list. The release said Article 35(6) of Ghana's 1992 Constitution, backed the decentralization and local government agenda, and urged the State to make democracy a reality by affording opportunities to all citizens to participate in governance and decision making. The MLGRD, through the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Asseblies (MMDAs), gives true meaning to this constitutional provision, and affords citizens from all walks of life to participate in governance through MMDAs, it said. 'The exclusion of the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development from Cabinet, does not show sufficient commitment and prioritization of the sector that brings governance to the doorstep of the people,' said the release. It noted, that the President had shown goodwill towards feminism and added, that touting itself as a gender sensitive government, there was optimism that gender would play a significant role simultaneously along the constitutionally mandated regional balance. The release observed, that the success of the President's tenure and His contribution to the growth of the country, would 'be an aggregate' of what happened at Matemano in the Suhum Municipality, Kyenkyenku in the Birim North District, Awisa in the Birim South District and every other community in the entire country. The Minister in charge of this crucial sector, must not be absent from the table, where critical decisions are made, the release said. 'In conclusion, while exercising the full force of the authority, the constitution bestows on him as the President, the Centre is, imploring the President to take a second look at his cabinet, and make the necessary inclusions as proposed,' it said. GNA Bishop Daniel Obinnim together with his wife Florence Obinnim, who happens to be a gospel musician ; were caught in the camera romancing to gospel musician Joyce Blessing's song during Joyce's performance at his church ,International God's Way Church in Accra. The video reveals how frenzied the couple were as they enjoyed Joyce Blessing's energetic performance which kept the whole congregation on their feet. The controversial pastor grabbed her wife Florence ,held her waist and smooched for some minutes as some church members happily "sprayed" money on them. His amazing dance moves will make you laugh throughout. We hear so much, about how high Australian property prices are. That Australia has not had a recession in two decades and one is due. That the lucky country has to turn down soon. The latest example comes from a Sydney based asset manager. Philip Parker, the chairman of Sydney based Altair Asset Management, has advised clients to sell everything, citing an impending collapse in property and share markets. Altair is handing investors back their cash. It reminds me of a similar call the Royal Band of Scotland made back in January 2016. We know how well that went! Altair did give clients the choice of transferring their shares to other managers, to simply sell as advised. 95% of clients took the latter decision to cash up. Mr Parker cites the east coast property bubble, China debt and an overvalued Australian equity market as the reason to move out of equities. He saw little alternative but to hand back the cash at such an overvalued and dangerous time in the cycle. I just wonder what he will tell those same investors a year from now? Something to watch next year. We arent alone What you have to understand is that Australia does not operate in isolation from the rest of the world. And since Federation and before, Australia has never entered a recession without the US having done so first. Presently the US economy is in reasonably good shape, overall. The April job report noted strong employment gains and a further decline in the unemployment rate. Industrial production also recorded the largest expansion in more than three years in April. With data still strong, GDP growth is poised to come in stronger in the next quarter, despite events in Washington. The same can be said for much of the rest of the world. The OECD says the global economic outlook is improving. It revised up its forecasts for global growth rates to 3.5% in 2017 and 3.6% in 2018. With so much attention on the US, UK and Europe, often whats happening in Asia gets overlooked. Today I relay a few news items that Ive come across, to give a feel for whats happening in the region. Hong Kongs largest property developer by market value, Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited [HK:0016], saw a 57% surge in profit this year, as sales benefited from a surging home market. Profit climbed to HK$14.6 billion for the six months to December 31, compared with HK$9.3 billion a year earlier. This sort of developer activity is not indicating recession any time soon for Hong Kong and surrounding areas. To Indonesia. Their largest cement producer, Semen Indonesia, has just earmarked IDR 6 trillion US$449 million to finance expansion in 2017, so it can meet the Indonesian government demands for nationwide infrastructure development. The company has plans to build further cement plants to increase production, in addition to the two already under construction. Indonesia has 225 projects planned in 13 sectors, especially railroads and toll roads, as strategic priorities to complete over the next decade. It dwarfs anything Australia has planned. And it creates significant land speculation in all the new areas involved. This tells you a lot about whats going on in the world. And again it doesnt say collapse coming. Major developer GuocoLand Ltd [SGX:F17], listed in Singapore, is forming strategic partnerships to expand into the British and Australian markets. Thats interesting because we hear continually about overpriced Australian and UK property markets. Yet listed developers all over the world are still opening up offices in Australia and cant wait to start developments here. Shares in the property development and investment firm Hong Fok Corporation [SGX:H30], also listed in Singapore, broke in to 52 week highs in March. The company is engaged in retail and residential property development, and owns a string of prime real estate in Singapore. The move didnt happen on any specific news, but the joint managing directors have been quietly buying up shares in their company through on market buying. It would be hard to see Singapore directors doing this if they didnt see improved outlook for the company, and an even better outlook going forward. Perhaps then its no surprise Singapores manufacturing output is expanding faster than expected on electronics demand. Which is bullish for growth in the broader Singapore economy. Demand for electronics and also for semiconductor usage are boosting earnings for Asian stocks all across the board. Growth in semiconductor usage is also behind a 42% surge in Malaysian technology stocks, sending them into 10 year highs. It all ties in with what we are seeing almost everywhere in the rest of the world. Nothing here is signalling a recession in the next 12 months. And whats happening in Southeast Asia is particularly relevant to Australian property. Australian property is extensively advertised in the entire Southeast Asian region. Property spruikers regularly run classes teaching Southeast Asian residents how to successfully buy Australian property. While Southeast Asia remains so bullish, its exceedingly unlikely that Australian property prices are going to collapse anytime soon. To really know when the next property collapse will occur, go here. Regards, Terence Duffy, Lead Researcher, Cycles, Trends & Forecasts Sacramento Capitol Building View Photos Sacramento, CA Ears are straining, training on budget talks underway this week at the Capitol regarding possible cuts that could impact key local funding. Mother Lode lawmaker Senator Tom Berryhills staff is reporting thus far that, with regard to monies to finance construction of the new Tuolumne County Courthouse (reported here), there have been no changes to the status. Staff indicates that this signals, as of right now, that the Judicial Council is still planning to move forward with the project, currently on a county hold in anticipation of future funding. However, the assumption is that since no budget change proposal was made requesting an appropriation or re-appropriation for it in this years budget, the councils plans for it are potentially still a year or more out. In other budget-related DOJ news, the May revision has added a $6.5 million General Fund - plus 31 positions described as necessary to address the states new legal workload related to various actions taken at the federal level impacting public safety, healthcare, the environment, consumer affairs, and general constitutional issues. Tussling With Uncertain Tree Mortality Funding With regard to local concerns as to the status of continued tree mortality funding, the May revision addresses concluding drought response funding, despite the still escalating incidences of bark beetle-killed trees across the state and the fact that several jurisdictions, such as Calaveras County, are just beginning to roll out their projects. The May revision currently calls for reducing State OES program funding for tree mortality and emergency water tanks from $52.7 million to $8.5 million; and zeroing out drought-related emergency response funding from the state operations office, which was previously budgeted at $4 million. Calaveras County has been busily attending to Butte Fire hazard tree removals ahead of tackling project plans to address its tree mortality crisis. County CAO Tim Lutz told Clarke Broadcasting that while he is concerned, he is optimistic that the state sees the enormity of what counties are still facing in dealing with the disaster and will come through to help provide ways and means to effectively deal with it. Senator Berryhill called for increasing the amount of state aid Tuolumne County would receive in tackling tree mortality costs from the current 75 percent of removal costs to 90 percent in his SB 265, which passed the Senate on May 31 with strong support, as reported here. To view the latest revision of the state budget, click here. Nigeria is a country of many wonders. It has a lot of different and beautiful places that are worth visiting. They are loved both by Nigerians and tourists. Today we will cover the 20 most beautiful places in Nigeria. Where are the most beautiful places in Nigeria? Beauty can be found all around the country. Nigeria has vast forests, beautiful caverns, springs, parks, waterfalls and other wonders. All equally gorgeous and worth visiting. So lets get started, shall we? 1. Osun-Oshogbo Sacred Grove The sacred forest of Osun-Osogbo is located along the banks of the Osun river. The forest is outside the city of Osogbo, Osun State. Because of its global significance, it was described as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 2. Ikogosi Warm Springs One of the most gorgeous places in the Ekiti State. The Warm Springs are one of the eight warm springs in the world. The tourist's attraction is about 70C at the source. Besides the warm spring, there is a cold spring. They form a confluence. 3. Kano City Walls Unlike most of the places listed, the Kano City Walls is an architectural structure. The construction started in the 11th century and was completed in the middle of the 14th century. The Walls were used as a defense that protected the ancient city of Kano. They were from 30 to 50 ft high and about 40 ft thick. Enormous, right? 4. Gurara Falls Oh, the beautiful falls of Nigeria! Located between Minna and Suleja in Niger State. They are about 30m high and 200m wide. A lot of myths are told about this place. Maybe you will hear some of them from the locals! 5. Idanre Hills The hills are known to be one of the most beautiful sightseeing places in Nigeria. Besides the hill of Idanre, there are other important cultural sites - Old Court, Omi Apaara, Owa's Palace, Agbooogun footprint, Shrines and the Iraye Tree. It is also quite high above the sea level - 3000 ft! It is not only a beautiful place but also home to a unique ecosystem. Worth visiting, if you ask us! Located in Idanre Town, Ondo State, Nigeria. 6. Ogbunike Caves Located in Ogbunike, Anambra State. Besides being a tourist attraction in Nigeria, the caves have a spiritual significance for the local people. The immediate environment of the caves is huge - about 200 meters radius. Interesting fact - people cant enter the caves with their shoes on, as per tradition. Women on their period cant go in either. 7. Matsirga Waterfalls The spectacular waterfalls of Matsirga are about 25 meters in height. They are located in Madakiya, close to Kafanchan. They fall directly into a large pool, creating a rainbow-like mist. The cool breeze is a great relief during the sunny days. 8. Alok Ikom (Akwanshi) Monoliths The oldest man-built attraction on this list. They were made between 200 and 1850 AD. They are located in the area of Ikom, Cross River State. These impressive monuments were made from volcanic stones. There are about 300 of them in total, all different sizes (from 1 to 6 feet). 9. Ngwo Pine Forest READ ALSO: Best hotels in Nigeria 2017 Located on the outskirts of Enugu, Ngwo Pine Forest is a gorgeous array of pine trees. It is usually visited by groups of tourists. They can either have a party, do different activities or camp in the forest. 10. Lekki Conservation Centre The center was created in order to protect all the unique fauna and flora from the rapid urbanization. Today the conservation site is around 78-hectares and is located in Lagos state. It is beautiful and wild, but the tickets for a tour to this place could be a little cheaper if you ask us! 11. Obudu Mountain Resort One of the most beautiful state in Nigeria! The Obudu Plateau is located in Cross River state. The plateau is surrounded by green land and beautiful trees. Most tourists come here because of the nice semi-temperate climate and breathtaking views. 12. Yankari National Park The large wildlife park is ideal for those who want a delightful safari experience. It is located in Bauchi State and covers an area of 2,244 square kilometers. There are several natural warm springs and a wide variety of fauna and flora. 13. Ancient Nok Settlement An interesting place too. The settlement is located in Jaba Local, Kaduna State. This place is known to be where many artifacts and terracotta figurines were found. 14. Ibeno Beach The Ibeno Beach is known, not only for its breathtaking view but also for being the longest sand beach in West Africa (stretched for over 89 kilometers). It is located in Ibeno, in Akwa Ibom State. 15. Olumo Rock This place is located in the city of Abeokuta, Ogun State. The popular tourist attraction used to be a fortress in the early 19th century. It is known for its great views that can be seen from the top of the rock. 16. Erin Ijesha Waterfalls This popular tourist attraction is located in Erin Ijesha. The Erin Ijesha waterfalls are also known as the Olumirin Waterfalls. They have seven levels, and each of them can be climbed. Also, there is a village at the top of the waterfalls. 17. Mambilla Tea Estate Do you like tea? Well if you do, then this is a place just for you! The Mambilla Plateau can be called the home of the highland tea. The highest plateau in Nigeria is located in the Taraba State. Besides having West Africas only highland tea plantations, there is also a breathtaking mountain area and the ancient Gang Peak. 18. Gashaki-Gumpti National Park The largest national park in Nigeria. It covers the area of 6402 km2. The park was established in 1991. The park is located in the provinces of Taraba and Adamawa. Besides having beautiful plans, it has a fauna of 103 various species! Including yellow-backed duiker, African buffalo, chimpanzee, African golden cat and more. 19. Awhum Waterfall and Cave The Awhum Waterfall is known to be one of the most popular tourist's attractions in Nigeria. And no wonder - the waterfall, which is 30 meters high, cascades over an outcrop and forms a stream. It is also believed that the waterfall has healing powers. 20. Tarkwa Bay The beautiful bay of Tarkwa is located near the Lagos harbor. It has many hangout spots and pristine beaches and is quite popular among swimmers and water-sport enthusiasts. Nigeria is full of beautiful places. That's why tourism in Nigeria is so widespread. There are different Nigeria destinations that are so pleasant to the eye. However, we can't say where is the most beautiful place in Nigeria. It is gorgeous everywhere! If you are planning a vacation, dont bother going abroad. You should visit the gorgeous locations that we listed and admire the beauty of our homeland! READ ALSO: Coldest country in the world Source: Legit.ng - Billionaire kidnapper has started to confess in police net - The notorious suspect is also uncomfortable in the cell where he is being held - He confessed that he started his crime as a robber before moving to kidnapping Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudemeje George Onwuamadike, who is popularly known as Evans has broken down in the cell where he is being kept complaining about his welfare. Evans whose arrest on Saturday, June 10, sparked public commendation is being kept in a maximum security cell and according to The Nations, he is concerned about where he is being kept. READ ALSO: OPINION: There is no Nigeria without the Igbos It was reported that Evans broke down in tears on Wednesday, June 14, crying that in spite of his wealth and status, he was being held among poor criminals. A source also revealed that Evans has started to reveal damaging confessions saying he started off as a robber in Sokoto. He also revealed during interrogation that he had two other detention camps in Lagos. The source said: He has been weeping uncontrollably because he is in a cell with common poor criminals despite all the wealth and mansions he owned. He has started talking. He has given us locations of other detention camps he had in Lagos. Aside Igando, he had two others and detectives would visit the place. He also said that his very first robbery was in Sokoto State and that they killed the victim. He is still being interrogated and more details would come out after the camps have been visited. Meanwhile, Stephen Onwuamadike, the father of Evans is blaming his sons notorious antics on Evans' mother. According to New Telegraph, Onwuamadike claimed Evans had been manipulated by his mother since he was 3 years old. He claimed to have once been wealthy but had been thrown into poverty by Evans' mother, who reportedly left him penniless. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Onwuamadike. claimed he had no idea that Evans had become so wealthy through such nefarious activities as he had not seen him since 2008 when he had warned him to stay away from illegal activities. Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of farmers lamenting the kidnap of their members. Source: Legit.ng - A clash has ensued between the Tiv and Jukun people of Benue state - It remains unclear what the cause of the clash is - Houses have been burnt beyond recognition - So many persons have been declared missing while others are feared dead Emerging reports suggest that several people have been declared missing and many houses razed following a clash between Tiv and Jukun people. According to Daily Post, the clash ensued on Wednesday, June 14, at Fidi suburb, opposite the Tactical Air Command of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in Makurdi. The clash took another dimension early hours of today when the vicinity, popularly known as airport village, suddenly came under attack by arsonists who set many houses on fire. Legit.ng gathered that more than 20 houses were torched in the fresh fracas, including that of the Kindred Head of Kyurav, Uor Adi. But the paramount traditional ruler of Makurdi Local Government Area, Ter Makurdi II, Dr. Sule Abenga, told newsmen that the matter was reported to him this morning by youths from the troubled community who marched in protest to his palace. They (youths) told me that several houses were burnt including that of my Kindred Head. They also alleged that some persons were missing but Im yet to confirm that. I calmed them and urged them to exercise patience while I go to Gboko to brief the Tor Tiv about the development. I have just returned from Gboko and the Tor Tiv expressed need for calm so that the government could intervene in the matter. I have related the Tor Tiv message back to them and they have promised to remain calm, Abenga said. READ ALSO: Billionaire kidnapper Evans breaks down in cell, reveals damaging confession The Benue state police commands spokesman, Moses Joel Yamu, who confirmed the incident, added that four people have been arrested in connection with the matter. The incident is coming barely three weeks after the two ethnic groups clashed in the state, leading to the death of several lives. Meanwhile, the three major ethnic groups in Benue, Mdzough U Tiv, Ochetoha KIdoma and Onmiyi Igede have urged all Benue state indigenes to resist any attempt by the Miyetti Allah Kautal to invade the state over the states Anti-Open Grazing Law. According to reports, the call was made by the leaders of the socio-cultural groups led by President General Mdzough U Tiv Chief Edward Ojege. Ojege urged the residents of Benue state to defend themselves against attacks from rampaging Fulani herdsmen. Recall that the Miyetti Allah Kautal group had vowed to resist the states Open Grazing Prohibition Establishment Law, 2017, also known as Anti-Open Grazing Law which was signed into law by the state governor, Samuel Ortom. Ojege, advised at a briefing on Wednesday, June 7 in Makurdi, the state capital, that citizens of the state should form vigilante groups to defend themselves. He said: All Benue ethnic groups also take exception to the characterization of the Anti-Open Grazing Law by the leadership of the Mayetti Allah Kautal as wicked, obnoxious and repressive. There is neither historical, archaeological nor anthropological evidence to indicate that the Fulani ever inhabited the Benue Valley at any time before the advent of the Benue people. The recent claim by Miyetti Allah Kautal that they were in Benue Valley before our person is not only ridiculous, but also a lie concocted to support a desperate and diabolical claim on our ancestral lands. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app We are ready to resist this aggression with all the legitimate means that we can mobilize. We will not attack anyone, but if our people are attacked they will have to defend themselves. If the Federal Government cannot protect us, we will protect ourselves. Below is Legit.ng video in which the killings and destruction in Southern Kaduna were documented. Source: Legit.ng A young man Tochukwu Ambrose Onwuamadike is particularly happy about the arrest of now popular billionaire kidnapper Chukwumeme Onwuamadike alias Evans. This is because before Evans was arrested, the Nigerian Police published photos of the young man referring to him as Evans on a national daily. Evans' lookalike READ ALSO: See photos of billionaire kidnapper's wife and 5 kids (photos) Tochukwu who has same surname as Evans is a Nigerian business man based in Angola. According to National Helm, Tochukwu is from Akaboukwu Uruagu Nnewi while Evans is from Akamili, Umudim Quarters in Nnewi, Anambra state. It was once published in one of the Nigerian dailies The young guy has been excited over the arrest of the real Evans since the news of the arrest broke. PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App Recall that Evans was arrested at his Magodo home on Saturday, June 10, after over three months search by the Nigerian Police. It was reported that during the arrest he was wearing a designer wristwatch which costs $170,000. Source: Legit.ng We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form - A call has been made to all Igbos in the north, urging them to return - The call was made by the Biafra People National Council (BPNC) - BPNC has dished out 10 resolution in the light of the Arewa quit notice The Biafra People National Council (BPNC) has said that Igbos must use the opportunity availed them by the recent quit notice order by the Arewa youths. According to Daily Post, the umbrella body of all the groups agitating for the actualization of the sovereign state of Biafra, described the quit notice as a divine intervention. The group also called on Igbo people living in the northern region not to have confidence on the promises by Northern politicians and the federal government to protect them, urging them to take the threat seriously and start running down to Biafran land. BPNC also begged owners of transport companies in Igbo land to reduce all fairs by 50 per cent in order to make it affordable for their people. This was part of a communique signed by Comrade Uchenna Madu for MASSOB, Comrade Felix Obiora for Eastern Peoples Congress (EPC), Rev Dr Stanley Ajah for Biafra Revolutionary Organization (BRO), Comrade Ositachukwu Agbanarilam for Salvation People of Biafra (SP-Biafra), Comrade Prince Onyema for Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC), Comrade Austin Mary Ndukwu for Biafra Liberation Council (BLC), and Comrade Austin Ugwuoke for BULCO. In the communique made available to newsmen after the groups meeting in Enugu, BPNC highlighted 10 major resolutions of the Biafra people. READ ALSO: Controversy! Buhari is older than he claims - Reno Omokri Nnamsi Kanu has said that there is no other outcome for Biafra which he leads other than Freedom (1) That BPNC welcomed the quit notice order given to the people of Biafra by Arewa people. We view the quit notice order as divine intervention on speedy actualization and restoration of Biafra Republic. (2) That BPNC advised the people of Biafra to take the quit notice order serious as three weeks. Also BPNC has put the necessary humanitarian arrangements to assist on the welcoming back home all Biafrans returning home to Biafra land. (3) That BPNC urge all the Igbo owned transport companies to reduce all the transport fares to 50% to enable our people to return easily. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app (4) That BPNC condemned the political romance of some disgruntled self acclaimed Igbo leaders with Arewa people as such people are on their own. They dont represent Ndigbo. (5) That BPNC opposes any form of restructuring or confederation in Nigeria. Our only demand is Biafra independence from Nigeria. (6) That BPNC salute the consistency, uprightness and steadfastness of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Biafra actualization and restoration struggle. (7) That BPNC condemn the bias raid and confiscation of SUN Newspaper publishing company by EFCC. (8) That BPNC demand the unconditional release of all pro Biafra detainees in Nigeria prisons like Kuje, Onitsha and Awka prisons. READ ALSO: Despite all intimidation, foreigners are visiting us, Nnamdi Kanu boasts as he receives Turkish diplomat (photos) (9) That BPNC demand that Federal Government of Nigeria should set up necessary machineries for separation of the region of Biafra from Nigeria and sharing of all assets and liabilities. (10) That BPNC advised all the governors of Eastern region (Southeast/ south south) to ignore the questionable assurances given to them by the Arewa governors and federal government with the subtle promises that Biafrans residing in Arewa land are save. In a similar vein, The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has said that anybody that is still preaching that the problem of Nigeria is Yoruba or Hausa or Fulani does not love Nigeria. Reports have it that Sanusi made this known on Wednesday, June 14, via a series of posts on Instagram. Legit.ng gathered that he said the problem with Nigeria is that a group of people from each and every ethnic tribe is very selfish. The Emir of Kano revealed that the poverty that is found in Maiduguri is even worse than any poverty that can be found in any part of the South. He however blasted the groups that have resorted to hate speech along ethnic lines. The former CBN governor said: ''My grandfather was an Emir also fulani my uncle and guardian was also the immediate late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero and therefore I represent all that has been talked about this afternoon. ''My grandfather was a Northerner, I am a Nigerian, he wrote. ''The problem with this country is that in 2009, we speak in the language of 1953. Sir Olaniwun can be forgiven for the way he spoke, but I cannot forgive people of my generation speaking in that language. ''Let us go into this issue because there are so many myths that are being bandied around. Before colonialism, there was nothing like Northern Nigeria, Before the Sokoto Jihad, there was nothing like the Sokoto caliphate". Below is a Legit.ng video in which Nnamdi Kanu speaks about his Biafra course. Source: Legit.ng - Buhari Media Support Group has faulted the story that President Buhari has lost his memory - The group also claimed that the president met with his wife during her recent trip abroad - According to the chairman of the group, Austin Braimoh, visit of the president`s wife was a family affair The Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG) on Thursday, June 14, said Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, saw her husband during her recent visit to London, contrary to insinuations in some quarters. The group stated this in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr Austin Braimoh and Secretary, Mr Cassidy Madueke, in Abuja. READ ALSO: Evans weep uncontrollably in detention over his welfare It said that the insinuation, also peddled by an online medium, was a tissue of lies aimed at ridiculing the President, his office, wife and officials working with him. According to the chairman of the group, Austin Braimoh, visit of the president`s wife was a family affair It described the report as mischievous, malicious and wicked and was capable of bringing the office of the president to disrepute. The group said that it was shocking that the medium descended so low to the point of being a harbinger of fake news. For the avoidance of doubt, President Buhari met and spoke with the 81 released Chibok girls before embarking on the second medical mission to London. It is evident that he spoke at the airport with officials of state before taking off; both events were televised nationwide, it said. It was therefore, most uncharitable for a media outfit to claim that the president lost his memory before travelling and could not adduce any fact to its claim. The group said that the attack on the first family had got personal, adding that it unfortunate and dangerous because the visit of the president`s wife was a family affair. It wondered the sources that gave the information when it was obvious that the president`s wife met and spoke with her husband. According to the group, the president`s wife even came home with the cheering news that her husband`s health has improved and that Nigerians should keep praying for his full recovery. It said that it was unfortunate that the media organisation relied on information gathered from its so-called sources and could not speak with the president`s image makers before publishing. It advised that embarking on high level fabrications of news should not be the hallmark of media organisations. It maintained that the presidency remained one as evidenced by the freehand given to the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to run the country while the president was away. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigerias #1 news app The claim that a cabal or a few officials working for Buhari is holding the presidency to ransom is far from the truth, the group stressed. It urged the media to stick to the ethics of journalism in order to eschew malicious and tendentious reports. It pointed out that false reports were capable of putting the country on the edge, particularly now that it was making steady, but significant progress on all spheres of development. Sahara Reporters has reported that President Buhari was not allowed to see his wife, Aisha during her recent trip to London. According to Sahara Reporters, sources disclosed in a stunning revelation that the President's whereabouts is unknown to many of his aides including his bodyguards. The news outlet also reported that the president has not spoken with Professor Yemi Osibanjo, who is acting on his behalf since he traveled on another round of medical treatment abroad. Source: Legit.ng GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us. 1. Unit 4 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in Chinas Fujian province has begun fuel loading. The unit is expected to start up later this year. CNNCs Fuqing plant will eventually house six Chinese-designed pressurized water reactors, the first four being 1087 MWe CPR-1000 units. Units 1 to 3 entered commercial operation in November 2014, October 2015 and October 2016, respectively. Unit 4 is scheduled to start up later this year. Chinas State Council gave final approval for construction of Fuqing units 5 and 6 in mid-April. First concrete was poured for the fifth unit in May 2015, while that for unit 6 was poured in December. These will be demonstration indigenously-designed Hualong One reactors. 2. A court in Japan has dismissed a request for an injunction against the restart of units 3 and 4 of Kyushu Electric Power Companys Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture. The court sided with the utility in deciding the units are safe to operate. Genkai 3 and 4 are expected to resume operation later this year, once the Japans Nuclear Regulation Authority has completed remaining safety inspections. Of Japans 42 operable reactors, five have so far cleared inspections confirming they meet the new regulatory safety standards and have resumed operation. These are: Kyushus Sendai units 1 and 2; Shikokus Ikata unit 3; and, Kansais Takahama units 3 and 4. Another 19 reactors have applied to restart. Subscribe | What is RSS News Release Date: June 15, 2017 June 15, 2017 Contact: Emily Davis, 928-525-6490 Grand Canyon, Ariz. Search efforts continue in Grand Canyon National Park for missing hiker, 72 year-old Raafat Ralph Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA and Lebanon. Todays operations include four ground teams of ten people total and aerial searches with the National Park Service helicopter. Search efforts will focus on drainages between the Bright Angel and Boucher trails. Steep, hazardous terrain characterizes much of the search area and high temperatures could reach 106 F in the shade today. On Tuesday, June 13 at approximately 7:45 pm, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting an overdue hiker. The hiker, 72 year old Raafat Ralph Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA and Lebanon, was last seen at Hermit Camp on the Hermit Trail Sunday morning, June 11. A park ranger hiked the Hermit Trail June 11 and 12 and was unable to locate Nasser-Eddin. Nasser-Eddin is described as 510 tall, 170 pounds, with gray hair and green eyes. He was last seen carrying a reusable shopping bag, a gallon jug of water, and wearing a black and white ball cap, a green plaid shirt, and khaki shorts. Nasser-Eddin had reservations to stay at Phantom Ranch. In addition to the search and rescue operation, the National Park Service is also conducting a missing persons investigation. No further information is available at this time. Any individual with information on the location of Raafat "Ralph" Nasser-Eddin should call the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch Tipline at 888-653-0009, text 202-379-4761, or email -NPS- Search efforts continue in Grand Canyon National Park for missing hiker, 72 year-old Raafat Ralph Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA and Lebanon.Todays operations include four ground teams of ten people total and aerial searches with the National Park Service helicopter. Search efforts will focus on drainages between the Bright Angel and Boucher trails. Steep, hazardous terrain characterizes much of the search area and high temperatures could reach 106 F in the shade today.On Tuesday, June 13 at approximately 7:45 pm, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting an overdue hiker. The hiker, 72 year old Raafat Ralph Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA and Lebanon, was last seen at Hermit Camp on the Hermit Trail Sunday morning, June 11. A park ranger hiked the Hermit Trail June 11 and 12 and was unable to locate Nasser-Eddin.Nasser-Eddin is described as 510 tall, 170 pounds, with gray hair and green eyes. He was last seen carrying a reusable shopping bag, a gallon jug of water, and wearing a black and white ball cap, a green plaid shirt, and khaki shorts. Nasser-Eddin had reservations to stay at Phantom Ranch.In addition to the search and rescue operation, the National Park Service is also conducting a missing persons investigation. No further information is available at this time. Any individual with information on the location of Raafat "Ralph" Nasser-Eddin should call the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch Tipline at 888-653-0009, text 202-379-4761, or email e-mail us ANGOLA Ryan Park Elementary School students in Julie Clarys second-grade classroom took top honors in the Steuben County Soil and Water Conservation District poster contest. The contest is offered annually to Steuben County youth. This years theme was Healthy Soils are Full of Life! Abrielle Adams created the first-place poster. Kenzie Barron took second and Emily Skinner, third. The poster contest is an excellent addition to our celebration of the National Soil and Water Stewardship Week, held during the first week of May, said Janel Meyer, administrative coordinator for the SWCD. We encourage students to participate in designing a poster based on the current stewardship theme to give them a voice within our community on important conservation issues. This year, the theme centered on why its essential to protect and enhance soils productive soils are the foundation of a healthy ecosystem. Responsible land-management practices are critical to ensure a sustainable food supply and healthy soils for future generations, said a news release from the SWCD. The poster contest was open to kindergarten through fifth grade students. This contest was announced when educational activity booklets, which complemented the Stewardship Week theme, were delivered to the Metropolitan School District of Steuben County elementary schools and Fremont Elementary School. Poster contest categories included kindergarten and first grade, second and third grades and fourth and fifth grades. Since entries were only received from Clarys class, the SWCD was able to provide a small gift bag to each student to thank them for the great job they did on their posters, said the news release. In addition to the small gift bag, the first-place winner received a $15 gift card for Walmart. The second- and third-place winners were awarded a $10 and $5 Walmart gift card, respectively. Posters were judged on their conservation message, visual effectiveness, originality, and universal appeal. SWCD staff, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency staff voted to determine the poster winners. Aldo Leopold Foundation leaders say a $100,000 grant will help the nonprofit train and inspire a new generation of conservationists. The conservation organization announced Tuesday it was offered a $100,000 challenge grant from the Madison Community Foundation. Aldo Leopold Foundation communications coordinator Cassie Mordini said the funds will help create an endowment that will provide sustainable funding for the organizations Future Leaders Program. Similar to an internship, the Aldo Leopold Foundations Future Leaders Program invites conservationists from across the country to participate in a variety of fellowships at the organizations headquarters north of Baraboo. The program offers six to 12-week courses for college students and nine-month courses for college graduates. During the courses, fellows learn practical skills in ecological restoration and management, or education and outreach. Aldo Leopold Foundation Executive Director Buddy Huffaker said the program teaches technical skills needed for conservation field work, in addition to the science and theories behind land management. Since 1996, 50 fellows have completed the program, and more than 90 percent have landed conservation-related careers. Huffaker said seven current Aldo Leopold Foundation staff members, including himself, were introduced to the organization through the program. The Aldo Leopold Foundation currently is embarking on a $5 million campaign to expand its educational programs. Leaders say the revamped courses will help the organization meet a growing demand for capable and diverse conservation leaders. The expansion will provide more fellowship opportunities, a new learning facility to house fellows and future support for the program. Once renovations are complete, Mordini said the organization plans to train 50 fellows through its Future Leaders Program within five years. To date, the Aldo Leopold Foundation has raised more than $3.6 million for the effort. The Madison Community Foundations $100,000 challenge grant will be awarded after the Aldo Leopold Foundation raises the next $300,000 toward the remaining $1.4 million. Huffaker said the grant provides incentive to raise more money by challenging the Aldo Leopold Foundation to raise an additional $300,000 before it receives the additional funds. Huffaker added that the organization hopes to raise the money before the end of the year. Madison Community Foundation community impact vice president Tom Linfield said in a press release that the Madison organization is proud to support the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and added that the money will help ensure that future generations are taught Leopolds vision. MADISON Gov. Scott Walkers proposed switch to a self-insurance plan for state workers was rejected Thursday in a rare bipartisan vote by the Wisconsin Legislatures budget-writing committee, a defeat for the governor who had lobbied strongly to make the change. The Joint Finance Committee voted 16-0 to reject proposed self-insurance contracts in its first meeting in two weeks as budget talks have stalled amid disagreements over K-12 school funding, roads and taxes. The panel wasnt taking up any of those issues Thursday, but in addition to self-insurance it also voted to approve pay raises for state workers and University of Wisconsin System employees. Walker has been lobbying for his self-insurance proposal, under which state workers and their families are insured by the state rather than purchasing coverage through private HMOs. The state would assume the risk for medical claims that exceed premiums. Republicans have been cool to the idea, fearing the move could result in higher premiums, not as much savings to the state as Walker projected and damage the states private health insurance industry. This is the wrong time for us to make major shifts in the marketplace, Sen. Alberta Darling, co-chair of the committee from River Hills, told reporters before the vote. Walker has argued that not accepting his self-insurance plan will lead to steep 10 percent health insurance premium increases for state employees next year. The Wisconsin Association of Health Plans, an advocacy organization for 10 health plans that currently cover state workers, said that estimate was overblown. Under the current system, total costs to 250,000 public workers and their families covered under the existing plan including premiums could not increase more than 10 percent in each of the next two years, committee co-chair Rep. John Nygren said Thursday. Walker counted on the $60 million saved from the self-insurance move to pay for salary increases for University of Wisconsin workers and to increase funding for K-12 schools. The budget committee planned to recoup $63 million by tapping nearly $26 million in insurance reserves, $23 million in negotiated savings and $15 million through plan design changes and other means. The current budget runs through the end of June, but the government wont shut down even if Republicans who control the Legislature cant reach a deal by then. Instead, current funding will continue until a deal is reached. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Wednesday he didnt expect the budget to pass before July 1. Nygren said he thought Senate and Assembly Republicans were closer on a deal on education funding than they are on transportation. Darling said the budget committee could meet again next week to vote on K-12 school funding and taxes. Other issues the committee approved on Thursday included: Providing state employees 2 percent pay raises in September 2018 and May 2019 as Walker proposed. The committee also approved spending enough money to provide 2 percent raises over the next two years for University of Wisconsin System employees, but whether thats awarded across-the-board or in some other way would be up to another legislative panel that votes on the pay plan. Eliminating a domestic partner registry primarily used by opposite-sex partners. Walker argued it was unnecessary given that all couples, including same-sex, can legally marry. The committee was expected to vote later Thursday on eliminating a separate registry, available only to same-sex domestic partners, that was created in 2009. Purchasing 269 body cameras for guards at maximum-security prisons. Devoting $17.2 million over two years to support 1,052 contract prison beds to house state inmates in county jails and federal facilities. That is 1,208 fewer beds than the Department of Corrections said was needed. The agencys estimate was based on projections that tougher drunken driving penalties would create 1,421 new inmates over the next two years. Walkers administration doesnt believe the influx of inmates will be that steep. Even as politicians promise to bring back the manufacturing jobs lost to foreign factories, theres a new promise that suggests a second industrial revolution is underway in America that will produce home-grown micro-factories instead. Thats the gist of recent reporting on the commercialization of 3-D printing technology and other scientific advances. Columnist Thomas L. Friedman wrote earlier this month about his visit to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory where whole car bodies and car parts are being printed on giant 3-D printers at its demonstration facility. Parts for all kinds of applications can be designed and tested on computers and then sent to the printer, Friedman reported, thus greatly reducing the length of time and costs of production. An Oak Ridge official told Friedman that the beauty of 3-D printing is that any community can now go into the manufacturing business. Really? I called Jim Hill, executive director of the La Crosse Area Development Corporation, to see who is using 3-D printing locally. He referred me to Nick Altoff, owner of Northstar Composite Solutions LLC, located in LADCOs business incubator. Altoff has used his printer to manufacture a model of a car bicycle rack, a process from computer design to finished product that took just a couple of days. He works with the application of composite technology to products such as his rack, which he plans to produce commercially. Initially, the 3-D printer will produce only the models, but he envisions future 3-D production as the prices of 3-D printers are coming down and the strength of composite materials increases. Hod Lipson, a mechanical engineer who has a lab at Cornell University and has written extensively about 3-D printing, has identified it as the core of a second industrial revolution. Additive manufacturing as it is known, he said in an article online in 2011, can print objects out of almost any material: nylon, titanium, chocolate and foods, as well as the composites Altoff works with. Lipson wrote that Soon anyone will be able to make complex products quickly and cheaply, something that will democratize innovation and unleash human creativity. Since that time, for example, progress has been reported in printing human body parts. He had invited readers to think of a process so complex that it could create a replacement spinal-disc implant exactly tailored for your bad back. Friedman quotes the Oak Ridge official saying over the last 100 years the U.S. went from decentralized artisan-based manufacturing to centralized mass manufacturing on assembly lines, saying, Today with these emerging technologies we can go back to artisans, which will be great for local communities that spawn a leadership and workers able to take advantage of these emerging technologies. This was the week that President Donald Trump stressed the importance of workforce development, which is not a new concern. An editorial in the Onalaska Community Life and Holmen Courier newspapers in 2000 stressed the importance of economic development focused on the development of technology-oriented jobs that push up wages as a state report had recommended. The report, co-authored by Joel Rogers of the Center on Wisconsin Strategies, said the strong state economy at the time was masking a growing income inequality to which the low-paying jobs created in the retail sector contributed. Rogers said at the time that one of the many things that make Wisconsin a great place to live and work is that we dont have the gross inequalities that mark other states. Thats a precious thing, which Id really hate to see us lose. Since then, Wisconsin has joined the slide into income inequality with 27 percent of the workforce in poverty level jobs, according to the most recent State of Working Wisconsin report produced by the Center for Wisconsin Strategies. Rogers was one of the authors who noted that in 2001, one-in-four students in Wisconsin public schools were economically disadvantaged. By 2013, that number nearly doubled to 43 percent. Friedman sees a path for communities and regions to turn this around if they provide the support needed to take advantage of the new industrial revolution technologists see. Its a challenge this region, with its great education, business community and environment can meet. Friedman again: Show me a community that understands todays world and is working together to thrive within it, and Ill show you a community on the rise coastal or interior, urban or rural. Ten area counties and the Wisconsin Division of Public Health have been investigating an outbreak of norovirus infections that occurred among attendees of the Special Kids Day event held Thursday, May 18-19 at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair Grounds in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Students and staff from multiple districts in the area are known to have attended this event. At this time, at least 60 staff and students who attended the event have experienced gastrointestinal illness. Symptoms and testing have confirmed the illness to be caused by Norovirus. Preliminary results suggest that most of the illnesses likely occurred from consuming contaminated food. Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that can be found in the stool (feces) and vomit of infected individuals. It is the leading cause of illness and outbreaks from contaminated food in the U.S. and it affects about 19-21 million people each year. Symptoms of Norovirus include vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. The symptoms are typically short in duration, lasting 12-48 hours after exposure to the virus, and most people recover in 2-3 days without requiring medical care. There is no vaccine nor any treatment beyond drinking fluids to stay hydrated. The virus can stay in the stool of an infected person for two weeks or more after people recover. While the virus is most contagious when an individual is experiencing symptoms, it can be spread even after the person feels better. In addition, some people do not have any symptoms. Even though Jackson County is not involved in this outbreak, proper hand washing with soap and water, especially after using the toilet and changing diapers as well as before eating, preparing or handling food, is the best way to prevent the spread of Norovirus. For more information on Norovirus, please see the State of Wisconsins communicable disease fact sheet located online at: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p4/p42075.pdf. HIXTON Myrtle E. Berget, 88, of Hixton passed away Monday, June 12, 2017, at Pigeon Falls Nursing Home, Pigeon Falls, while under the care of Black River Memorial Hospice, Black River Falls. She was born July 10, 1928, in the town of Hale, Trempealeau County, to Melvin and Emma (Erickson) Linberg. Myrtle graduated from Hixton High School in 1946; after graduation she worked for a time in Milwaukee and then returned to Hixton and worked at the Hixton Cafe until her marriage to Norman Berget May 5, 1948. Together they farmed until 1970. She worked for the Hixton Egg Company for nine years. In 1973, Myrtle went to work in accounting at Federation Cooperative in Black River Falls, retiring from there in 1990. Then she became a volunteer at the Pine View Care Center in Black River Falls, where she continued until 2017. Myrtle was a member of Pine View Auxiliary, serving as treasurer for many years. She was an active member of New Hope Community Lutheran Church, where she served as treasurer, assisted with church records, made banners and helped with alter duties, always trying to have flowers by the alter. Myrtle was a member of New Hope Women of Life, serving as treasurer for many years. She was one of the quilting ladies, and belonged to a group of Red Hatters. Myrtle spent several years with the village beautification group, keeping Hixton beautiful. She enjoyed many years with the Prime Time Group with Jackson County Bank, going on trips and playing bingo and games. Myrtle was awarded, Women in History Award in 2001. She always enjoyed time with her family. Myrtle is survived by her husband of 69 years, Norman; daughter, Genell Severson; two granddaughters, Shannon Severson and Emma Jo (Matthew) Karls; three great-grandchildren, Lily Severson, Evelyn and Henry Karls; sister, Vera Nerby; other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Melvin and Emma; great-grandson, Jake Mikkel Brown; six brothers, Orville, Milton, Archie, LaVern, Hilman and Charles; sister, Ilene. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 18, at New Hope Community Lutheran Church, Northfield, Wis. The Reverend Blaine McNeil will be officiating. Burial will follow in Upper Pigeon Creek Lutheran Cemetery, Northfield. Family and friends are invited for visitation from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday, June 17, at Jensen-Modjeski Funeral Home, Hixton, and again from 1 p.m. until the time of the service Sunday at the church. Jensen-Modjeski Funeral Home of Hixton is assisting the family with arrangements. Saturday 4) 9 A.M. Market Meal Over a hundred farm stands, food stalls and craft sellers sprout each Saturday morning from April to December at the popular Market at Pepper Place in the parking lot of a handsome brick complex that used to house a Dr Pepper factory. Graze for blackberries, buttery poundcake (made with a recipe by a matriarch named Big Mama) and sheeps milk dulce de leche. For a sit-down meal, head to OvenBird, whose cast iron hearth sends out Spanish-meets-Southern dishes like fried chicken with chorizo ($13) and a pork belly B.L.T. with piparra chile ($15). 5) 11 A.M. On a Roll Check out a flashy green Zyp bicycle from a bike-share kiosk next to Pepper Place ($6 for unlimited rides of up to 45 minutes each within a 24-hour period). Then explore the expansive grounds of Sloss Furnaces, which manufactured pig iron from 1882 for nearly a century. Now a National Historic Landmark building with a ruddy patina, this interpretive museum is not only a site for concerts and metal forging classes, but also a symbol of the citys industrial foundation and green evolution. Sloss Furnaces, opened in 1882, is now a site for concerts and metalworking classes. Credit Robert Rausch for The New York Times 6) 11:45 A.M. Rail to Trail A pleasant 1.5-mile ride, which includes zipping down an abandoned railroad reborn in 2016 as the Rotary Trail, will lead you to Railroad Park. This 19-acre green lung, molded largely with materials reclaimed from the site where warehouses once occupied the heart of the city, has become a communal garden with ponds, streams, hills and a skate park. Dock your bike and join the joggers and stroller-pushers on the three-quarter-mile loop path to admire the skyline. 7) 12:30 P.M. Out of the Park The intimate (and free) Negro Southern League Museum views baseball through a distinctively local lens. As you browse the memorabilia, interactive displays and uniforms of players like the pitcher Satchel Paige, youll learn not only about how the sport has evolved, but also about how the United States changed in the 20th century, causing the league to rise and fall. 8) 1:30 P.M. Global Aspirations Once deserted after business hours, downtown has made a dazzling comeback in the last decade, with lofts occupying historic buildings along First and Second Avenues North. Catering to the young professionals who flock here, the Pizitz Food Hall opened in February with globally minded dining spots like Elis Jerusalem Grill, which pairs a shawarma pocket ($7.79) with sweet tea, and Lichitas, which scoops out Mexican-style (eggless) ice cream made with local fruits, all centered on a bar serving milkshakes and cocktails. Drop by Yellowhammer Creative, brimming with covetable dish towels, retro-style posters and T-shirts reading Its nice to have you in Birmingham. In the Kelly Ingram Park, there are statues of the four African-American girls killed in the 1963 church bombing. Credit Robert Rausch for The New York Times 9) 3 P.M. Yearning for Freedom Designated a national monument by President Barack Obama during his last days in office, the Birmingham Civil Rights District consists of sites like the A. G. Gaston Motel, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. met with activists, and the 16th Street Baptist Church, where a 1963 bombing killed four girls and injured many other congregants. Today the Romanesque church remains a thriving place of worship that testifies to the communitys resilience. Tour the adjacent Birmingham Civil Rights Institute ($15), which chronicles African-Americans continuing struggles through photographs, multimedia and objects like the bars of the cell where Dr. King wrote the Letter From Birmingham Jail. At the eerily quiet Kelly Ingram Park across the street are a number of sculptures, including a police dog lunging at a boy and three pastors kneeling in prayer. 10) 7 P.M. Points Well Taken Spend your Saturday evening in Five Points South, where the idyllic neighborhood of Highland Park collides with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The dynamic neighborhood is home to convivial gastro pubs as well as James Beard winners like Frank Stitt, who runs two French-accented restaurants, Highlands Bar & Grill and Chez Fonfon, side by side, and Chris and Idie Hastings, whose Hot and Hot Fish Club serves plates like rabbit roulade with crawfish and rice grits ($36). Afterward, sip a dessertlike martini at the intimate Blue Monkey Lounge or rock out with the towns good-hearted revelers to live music at Martys PM, which stays open until 6 a.m. Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman wont seek a second term, he announced Thursday. A spokesman for Gableman said it is my understanding that the justice will serve the rest of his term that ends July 31, 2018. But a source with knowledge of Gablemans plans but not authorized to speak for the justice said its unclear if that will happen. That potential vacancy would allow Gov. Scott Walker to make his third appointment to the Supreme Court since 2015. If Gableman finishes his term, the 2018 race to replace him would be the first open competition in a decade. I make this announcement with a heart filled with gratitude to the people of the great state of Wisconsin for permitting me to serve them in public office for the past twenty-three years, including the past eighteen years in elective office, Gableman said in a statement. He did not respond to messages seeking an interview. Gableman was elected to the states highest court in 2008 and created the courts current conservative majority when he defeated Justice Louis Butler. At the time, Gableman was the first candidate in decades to defeat an incumbent. Ten years ago, I began my campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court by setting out a vision based on the rule of law that judges ought to apply the law rather than make it, Gableman said. Serving on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the last nine years has been my great privilege. In decisions large and small, I have fulfilled my promises and put my judicial philosophy into practice. I trust the people of Wisconsin will elect a successor who is similarly committed to the rule of law. The conservative majority has since grown to five of the seven seats on the court at a time when it has become increasingly fractious. On Thursday, Gableman praised his colleagues. It has been a privilege to engage with such capable people in the collaborative search for justice through law as the sacred mission it is, he said. Through robust discussion, debate, and sometimes disagreement, my colleagues have been hard working, intelligent, and dedicated to the application of the law as they saw it. Chief Justice Patience Roggensack said in a statement that Gablemans extraordinary fund of legal knowledge has helped the court in its work for almost 10 years. His thoughtful insights and dedication to the rule of law will be greatly missed by the Supreme Court and the people of Wisconsin when he concludes his service on the Supreme Court, she said. And Walker thanked Gableman in a statement for an untiring commitment to the rule of law and the proper role of the judiciary during his time on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A request for comment from Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who was chief justice when Gableman was elected, was not immediately returned. Act 10 author Gableman was the author of the courts opinion upholding Walkers defining legislation that squashed collective bargaining for most public employees. He has been criticized for not recusing himself from a case that resulted in a decision to halt a secret John Doe criminal probe into whether Walkers campaign illegally coordinated its actions with conservative outside groups. During Gablemans 2008 election campaign, the same groups that were subjects of the probe spent millions to help elect him. And in 2010, the court deadlocked 3-3 on whether Gableman violated the judicial code of conduct by running a potentially misleading and race-baiting campaign ad on his way to being elected in 2008. Gableman recused himself. The other three conservative justices said the ad was distasteful but objectively true and protected by the First Amendment. Ed Fallone, a Marquette University Law School professor and former Supreme Court candidate backed by liberals, said Gablemans legacy is rooted in those decisions and actions. His legacy is always going to be tied to whether or not he was acting ethically with his attack ads against former Justice Butler and in some of his blanket statements of law, especially in the John Doe opinion, Fallone said. Theres always been questions about his veracity both as a judge and on the bench. Wide open 2018 race Running for Gablemans seat in 2018 are Madison attorney Tim Burns and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet, both backed by Democrats. They announced their candidacies before Thursdays statement from Gableman. Burns said in a statement that the 50-year-old justice and his fellow conservative justices have been advocates for the special interests in Wisconsin. Dallet said she is seeking the seat held by Gableman because the court is out of balance. Justice Gableman is clearly part of the problem. But its not just about him, its about the direction of the court, she said in a statement. Jenni Dye, a lawyer and research director for the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, which does research on conservative Supreme Court candidates during races, said Gablemans departure creates an even bigger opening for challengers of the conservative status quo at a time when progressive energy and enthusiasm are on the rise. Ryan Owens, a UW-Madison Law School professor who studies the Supreme Court, said Gablemans departure makes it easier for conservatives to keep their majority on the court. Owens said whomever becomes the conservative-backed candidate for the court will have an easier time defending themselves from liberal critics because they wont have a record on the Supreme Court like Gableman had. Well want to see what happens in the primaries here its quite likely that the candidates on the left are going to go after each other pretty good, Owens said. If there is a consensus on who the nominee should be on the right, itll make it easier for them to retain the seat. Fallone said it was not a complete surprise that Gableman decided not to seek a second term. He said Gableman was seen as a weaker candidate than Justice Annette Ziegler, a conservative-backed justice who sought re-election this year unopposed. In decisions large and small, I have fulfilled my promises and put my judicial philosophy into practice. Michael Gableman, Wis. Supreme Court Justice Court of Justice Rules Gibraltar Operators Should Pay Same Taxes as UK Counterparts Published June 15, 2017 by Ivan P The Court of Justice of the EU rules that Gibraltar can't be exempt from the Point of Consumption tax, as they can only be regarded as the part of the UK. The dispute between the UK and Gibraltar has been going on since 2014, when the United Kingdom had introduced the Point of Consumption tax, requiring all gambling operators offering services in the UK to pay a 15% tax on their gross revenues, regardless of where they are located. Gibraltar, whose economy is primarily based on online gambling, appealed the decision before the UK court, which sent the case to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). On Tuesday, the court reached its preliminary decision, and it seems that the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) won't be getting the exemption they were looking to obtain. The UK and Gibraltar: One and the Same The reason why the UK court decided to send this case to the Court of Justice was because they believed that, in the interest of a fair decision, it was first necessary to clearly define the position of Gibraltar in relation to the UK and the European Union. Officially, Gibraltar is a colony of the British Crown, but it isn't part of the UK as such. However, CJEU ruled that, when regarded in the context of the EU, Gibraltar and the United Kingdom can only be observed as a single member state. Although the decision is still not official, it indicates that Gibraltar will have to accept the Point of Consumption tax despite formally not being a part of the UK. Future Prospects Gibraltar entered this battle because online gambling represents a crucial source of income for the country, and they contribute 25% of the overall GDP of all overseas British territories. The new tax could have major adverse effects on Gibraltar's economy. At the same time, the CJEU decision is interesting in the light of the upcoming Brexit negotiations. Gibraltar has every reason to stay inside the European Union, exactly due to the nature of the country's economy, and they have repeatedly expressed this stance. However, if they are treated as one with the UK, Gibraltar might not have a lot of say in the matter, which would seriously impact their plans for the future. Article Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their articles after publishing them. To see if the article was renamed or re-published, please click here. From The National Israeli and US officials are in the process of jointly pre-empting Donald Trump's supposed "ultimate deal" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They hope to demote the Palestinian issue to a footnote in international diplomacy. The conspiracy -- a real one -- was much in evidence last week during a visit to the region by Nikki Haley, Washington's envoy to the United Nations. Her escort was Danny Danon, her Israeli counterpart and a fervent opponent of Palestinian statehood. Mr Danon makes Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu look moderate. He has backed Israel annexing the West Bank and ruling over Palestinians apartheid-style. Ms Haley appears unperturbed. During a meeting with Mr Netanyahu, she told him that the UN was "a bully to Israel." She has warned the powerful Security Council to focus on Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hizbollah, instead of Israel. To protect its tiny ally, Washington is threatening to cut billions in US funding to the world body, plunging it into crisis and jeopardizing peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. On the way to Israel, Ms Haley stopped at the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva, demanding it end its "pathological" opposition to Israel's decades of occupation and human rights violations -- or the US would pull out of the agency. Washington has long pampered Israel, giving it millions of dollars each year to buy weapons to oppress Palestinians, and using its veto to block UN resolutions enforcing international law. Expert UN reports such as a recent one on Israel's apartheid rule over Palestinians have been buried. But worse is to come. Now the framework of international laws and institutions established after the Second World War is at risk of being dismembered. That danger was highlighted on Sunday, when it emerged that Mr Netanyahu had urged Ms Haley to dismantle another UN agency much loathed by Israel. UNRWA cares for more than five million Palestinian refugees across the region. Since the 1948 war, Israel has refused to allow these refugees to return to their lands, now in Israel, forcing them to live in miserable and overcrowded camps awaiting a peace deal that never arrives. These dispossessed Palestinians still depend on UNRWA for education, health care and social services. UNRWA, Mr Netanyahu says, "perpetuates" rather than solves their problems. He prefers that they become the responsibility of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which looks after all other refugee populations. His demand is a monumental U-turn, 70 years in the making. In fact, it was Israel that in 1948 insisted on a separate UN refugee agency for the Palestinians. UNRWA was created to prevent the Palestinians falling under the charge of UNHCR's forerunner, the International Refugee Organization. Israel was afraid that the IRO, formed in the immediate wake of the Second World War, would give Palestinian refugees the same prominence as European Jews fleeing Nazi atrocities. Israel did not want the two cases compared, especially as they were so intimately connected. It was the rise of Nazism that bolstered the Zionist case for a Jewish state in Palestine and Jewish refugees who were settled on lands from which Palestinians had just been expelled by Israel. Also, Israel was concerned that the IRO's commitment to the principle of repatriation might force it to accept back the Palestinian refugees. Israel's hope then was precisely that UNRWA would not solve the Palestinian refugee problem; rather, it would resolve itself. The idea was encapsulated in a Zionist adage: "The old will die and the young forget." Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). The matter in the petition before the court: The Attorney General and the State Attorney claim that they were acting within their authority in perverting the expert opinion of Dr Chen Kugel - Head of the State Forensic Institute - pertaining to the case of Roman Zadorov. As is the case in other court files related to Zadorov, the Supreme Court perverted the records in the petition itself as well. Prof M Kremnitzer summed up conduct of the Attorney General, the State Attorney and the Supreme Court in the Roman Zadorov affair: "The justice system is primarily defending itself." Tel-Aviv, June 14 - the Roman Zadorov affair continues to reverberate through the Israeli justice system, producing evidence of incompetence and/or corruption. [1-4] The Supreme Court has so far failed to respond in any way on a June 11, 2017, repeat request to provide a duly signed and certified decision, pertaining to Disqualification for a Cause, which was filed against three Supreme Court Justices - Yoram Danziger, Noam Solberg and Neal Hendel - in the petition Ometz v Attorney General, State Attorney et al (5514/16). The June 11 request was filed after the justices issued two different, invalid-on-their-faces decisions, pertaining to their Disqualification for a Cause. (Image by Public) Details DMCA (Image by Public) Details DMCA Figures. The Jew Mendel Beilis was falsely convicted in the murder of a boy in the Ukraine a century ago. Only after intense international pressure he was released from prison. The Christian Ukrainian Roman Zadorov was falsely convicted in the 2006 murder of a girl in Israel. Regardless of public protest and obvious corruption of all state agencies involved in the case, Roman Zadorov is still held in life imprisonment. _______ A. Two different, invalid, false and misleading Supreme Court decisions on the Disqualification for a Cause (Image by Public) Details DMCA (Image by Public) Details DMCA (Image by Public) Details DMCA Figures. Justices Yoram Danziger, Noam Solberg and Neal Hendel of the Supreme Court denied access to inspect the original, signed court records in a petition against Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and State Attorney Shai Nitzan, pertaining to attempt to pervert the affidavit of Dr Chen Kugel, Director of the National Forensic Institute, in Roman Zadorov's case. Israeli law says: "Any person is permitted to inspect court decisions, which are not lawfully prohibited for publication". The Supreme Court itself declared in 2009 that such right was "a fundamental principle in any democratic regime... constitutional, supra-statutory..." But instead or permitting inspection of the original, signed records in the Supreme Court's paper court file, the three Justices repeatedly sent by mail unsigned, invalid printouts from IT system of the Court. Consequently, they failed to rule on repeat requests to inspect the original, signed records in the Supreme Court's paper court file "in compliance with the letter and the spirit of the law". The Disqualification for a Cause stated that their conduct was perceived as gimmickry, which circumvented the law, and indicated lack of sincerity and lack of integrity. Instead of producing a lawful decision on the Disqualification for a Cause, the three Justices issued two different records, which are invalid, false and misleading on their faces. In such fake court records, the justices claim: After we reviewed the Disqualification and its justification, we decided to deny it. Our decisions regarding inspection of the court file records were rendered with no bias and do not show any concern of bias. The Requester's requests to inspect were granted by sending the requested records to him directly by mail. As far as the Requester is not pleased with the decisions, or that he claims that there is some defect in the records that were mailed to him, with all due respect, it does not indicate any justification for Disqualification for a Cause. _____ So far, the Supreme Court has issued two different, invalid, false and misleading decisions on the Disqualification for a Cause, but neither was duly served, signed and certified. The June 11, 2017, request states that the resulting situation raises serious concerns, not only lack of integrity of the Justices, but also of incompetence of the Supreme Court: a) VERSION A: The first decision on the Disqualification for a Cause was issued on May 29, 2017, and was titled "Judgment" on the "Petition", it was likewise entered in the dockets of the Supreme Court. In doing so, the Supreme Court failed to duly answer on Disqualification for a Cause, and also further perverted the Petition itself, by falsely disposing of the petition, by entering a "Judgment", prior to completing the review of the Petition itself. b) VERSION B: The second decision on the Disqualification for a Cause was issued on June 06, 2017, and was correctly titled "Decision" on "Disqualification for a Cause". The record was faxed to the Requester of Disqualification unsigned and unauthenticated from an anonymous fax number, and it has not been entered in the dockets of the Supreme Court to this date. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From National Memo Donald Trump - Caricature (Image by DonkeyHotey) Details DMCA Reprinted with permission from Creators. When I think of freedom, I think of it in positive, aspirational terms -- our First Amendment freedoms, for example, or FDR's "Four freedoms" or the uplifting songs of freedom sung by oppressed people around the globe. But right-wing, corporate-funded ideologues have fabricated a new negative notion of "freedoms" derived from individual choice. You're free to be poor, free to be politically powerless or free to be ill and uncared for -- it's all a matter of decisions you freely make in life, and our larger society has no business interfering with your free will. This is what passes for a philosophical framework behind many of the policies of today's Republican congressional leaders. For example, they say their plan to eliminate health coverage for millions of Americans and do away with such essential health benefits as maternity care for millions more is just a matter of good 'ol free-market consumerism. As explained by Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Tea Party Republican, "Americans have choices. And so maybe, rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and they want to go spend hundreds of dollars on that, maybe they should invest in their own health care." Lest you think that Jason must simply be an oddball jerk, here's a similar deep insight from the top House Republican, Speaker Paul Ryan: "Freedom is the ability to buy what you want to fit what you need." Yes, apparently, you are as free as you can afford to be. As Vice President Mike Pence recently barked at us, Trumpcare's you're-on-your-own philosophy is all about "bringing freedom and individual responsibility back to American health care." The GOP's austere view is that getting treatment for your spouse's cancer should be like buying a new pair of shoes -- a free-market decision by customers who choose their own price point from high-dollar Neiman Marcus to barging-basement Dollar General. And some go barefoot" but, then that's their choice. So, that's what Republicans' Trumpcare is offering us, this so-called "freedom" from health care. Well, good news, people -- at last, congressional Democrats have gotten a clue, grown some spine and are beginning to act like... well, like Democrats! In particular, a majority of Dems in the U.S. House are responding to the rising public demand that decent health care be treated as a right for everyone, rather than being rationed by profiteering insurance conglomerates. Nearly six of 10 Dems in the House have now signed on to Rep. John Conyers' "Medicare for All" bill, which is being carried in the Senate by Bernie Sanders. So -- Hallelujah, progress! Yes, but many speed bumps remain on the Democratic Party's entry ramps onto the moral high road of politics. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, for one. When the leader of House Democrats was asked if the party should make health care for all a major issue in Congress and in the 2018 elections, she replied with a flat "no." Basically, Pelosi says "the American people" aren't ready for it -- by which she really means that the narrow slice of the public that inhabits her world -- health industry executives, lobbyists and big campaign donors -- aren't ready. Meanwhile, a good 60 percent of regular Americans are damned sure ready, telling pollsters flat out that our government has a responsibility to ensure that everyone gets the care they need. Let's be blunt: When it comes to the fiery leadership that America's grassroots people want and need, the Democratic Party establishment is weaker than Canadian hot sauce. When you've got 60 percent of your party's rank-and-file congressional members ready to go on such a basic issue, and 60 percent of the public is also ready to go -- it's time to go! The national party's "leadership" must get going on health care for all, or the leadership itself must go. To help push both the party and the issue forward, forward go to www.NationalNursesUnited.org. Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here. Progressive Content Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their progressive content after publishing. To see if the progressive content was renamed or re-published, please click here. This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. In her first interview since President Obama commuted her 35-year sentence and she was released from the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Chelsea Manning explained to Nightline co-anchor Juju Chang why she leaked documents about America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We're getting all this information from all these different sources and it's just death, destruction, mayhem," she said, describing the period when, still Bradley Manning, she was an intelligence analyst at a U.S. military forward operating base in Iraq. "We're filtering it all through facts, statistics, reports, dates, times, locations, and eventually, you just stop. I stopped seeing just statistics and information, and I started seeing people." That crucial transformation led Manning to release to WikiLeaks, among many other documents, a now-infamous 2007 video. It offered a graphic view of how the crew of an American Apache helicopter slaughtered civilians (including two Iraqi Reuters correspondents) on the streets of Baghdad and then riddled a "good Samaritan" van that tried to help those gunned down, killing its driver and wounding his two young children in the backseat -- all this to a soundtrack of brutal, sardonic comments. As Manning explained at her 2013 court-martial, speaking of such videos as "war porn," "The most alarming aspect of the video to me... was the seem[ing]ly delightful bloodlust [the crewmen] appeared to have... [They] seemed to not value human life by referring to them as quote dead bastards unquote and congratulating each other on the ability to kill in large numbers... While saddened by the aerial weapons team crew's lack of concern about human life, I was disturbed by the response of the discovery of injured children at the scene... Within minutes, the aerial weapons team crew learns that children were in the van and despite the injuries the crew exhibits no remorse. Instead, they downplay the significance of their actions, saying quote Well, it's their fault for bringing their kids into a battle unquote." Manning served seven years in a military prison for having grasped in a deeply personal and powerful way that, as she told the military judge at her trial, "not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan are targets that needed to be neutralized, but rather people who were struggling to live in the pressure cooker environment of what we call asymmetric warfare." As TomDispatchregular Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School and author most recently of Rogue Justice: The Making of the Security State, points out, this may, in fact, be the hardest thing for Americans thousands of miles from their country's war zones to grasp. And yet, as she makes clear, not to grasp what's been happening to the inhabitants, especially the children, of the Greater Middle East, where the U.S. has fought its disastrous war on terror for the last 15 years, means consigning our world to far worse in the future. After all, what else is likely to come from a region now in chaos, with failed states multiplying, a number of its great cities in rubble, its territories filling with ever more extreme jihadists, ethnic conflict on the rise, and staggering numbers of its inhabitants uprooted and brutalized? I'm reminded of the last line of the short story "A Madman's Diary" published in 1918 by the great Chinese writer Lu Hsun. In it, he imagines a man plunged into insanity and so freed to see, as no one else around him can, that his country is quite literally being consumed by cannibalism. (His was a vision of a "feudal" Chinese world, perched at the edge of modernity, that continued to eat itself alive.) The unforgettable final lines of his story are: "Perhaps there are still children who haven't eaten men. Save the children..." In significant parts of our world, in Lu Hsun's terms, even the children are now being eaten and the Chelsea Mannings seem sadly few in number. Tom Where Have All the Children Gone? > The Age of Grief By Karen J. Greenberg "This is a war against normal life." So said CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward, describing the situation at this moment in Syria, as well as in other parts of the Middle East. It was one of those remarks that should wake you up to the fact that the regions the United States has, since September 2001, played such a role in destabilizing are indeed in crisis, and that this process isn't just taking place at the level of failing states and bombed-out cities, but in the most personal way imaginable. It's devastating for countless individuals -- mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, friends, lovers -- and above all for children. Ward's words caught a reality that grows harsher by the week, and not just in Syria, but in parts of Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya, among other places in the Greater Middle East and Africa. Death and destruction stalk whole populations in Syria and other crumbling countries and failed or failing states across the region. In one of those statistics that should stagger the imagination, devastated Syria alone accounts for more than five million of the estimated 21 million refugees worldwide. And sadly, these numbers do not reflect an even harsher reality: you only become a "refugee" by crossing a border. According to the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in 2015 there were another 44 million people uprooted from their homes who were, in essence, exiles in their own lands. Add those numbers together and you have one out of every 113 people on the planet -- and those figures, the worst since World War II, may only be growing. Rawya Rageh, a senior crisis adviser at Amnesty International, added troubling details to Ward's storyline, among them that deteriorating conditions in war-torn Syria have made it nearly "impossible to find bread, baby formula, or diapers... leaving survivors at a loss for words" (and just about everything else). Meanwhile, across a vast region, families who survive as families continue to face the daily threat of death, hunger, and loss. They often are forced to live in makeshift refugee camps in what amounts to a perpetual state of grief and fear, while the threat of rape, death by drone or suicide bomber, or by other forms of warfare and terror is for many just a normal part of existence, and parental despair is the definition of everyday life. Resignation Syndrome When normal life disintegrates in this way, the most devastating impact falls on the children. The death toll among children in Syria alone reached at least 700 in 2016. For those who survive there and elsewhere, the prospect of homelessness and statelessness looms large. Approximately half of the refugee population consists of young people under the age of 18. For them and for the internally displaced, food is often scarce, especially in a country like Yemen, in the midst of a Saudi-led, American-backed war in which civilians are commonly the targets of airstrikes, cholera is spreading, and a widespread famine is reportedly imminent. In a Yemeni scenario in which 17 million people now are facing "severe food insecurity," nearly two million children are already acutely malnourished. That number, like so many others emerging from the disaster that is the twenty-first-century Middle East, is overwhelming, but we shouldn't let it numb us to the simple fact that each and every one of those two million young people is a child like any other child, except that he or she is being deprived of the chance to grow up undamaged. And for those who do escape, who actually make it to safer countries beyond the immediate war zone, life still remains fragile at best with little expectation of a sustainable future. More than half of the six million school-age children who are refugees, reports the UNHCR, have no schools to attend. Primary schools are scarce for them and only 1% of refugee youth attend college (compared to a global average of 34%). Startling numbers of such refugees are engaged in child labor under terrible working conditions. Worse yet, a significant number of child refugees are traveling alone. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), "at least 300,000 unaccompanied and separated children were recorded in some 80 countries in 2015-2016... easy prey for traffickers and others who abuse and exploit them." Such children, mired in poverty and dislocation, are aptly described as growing up in a culture of deprivation and grief. At least since the creation of UNICEF in 1946, an agency initially focused on the needs of the young in the devastated areas of post-World War II Europe, children at risk have posed a challenge to the world. In recent years, however, the traumas experienced by such young people have been rising to levels not seen since that long-gone era. A heartbreaking story by Rachel Aviv in the New Yorker catches the extremity of both the plight faced by child refugees and possible reactions to it. She reports on a group of them in Sweden, largely from "former Soviet and Yugoslav states," whose families had been denied asylum and were facing deportation. A number of them suffered from a modern version of a syndrome once known as "voodoo death," in which a child falls into a coma-like trance of severe apathy. Doctors have termed this state "resignation syndrome, an illness that is said to exist only in Sweden, and only among refugees." Fearing ouster and threatened with being deprived of the ties they had already formed in that country, they simply turned off, physically as well as emotionally. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). New licensing requirements for Minnesota teachers are set to take effect next summer after they were passed as part of the education budget last session. The changes put more control in the hands of school districts and aim to address problems identified in a critical legislative audit last year. The audit called Minnesotas current licensing system broken, citing confusing requirements and uneven standards for in- and out-of-state candidates. The new system provides for four tiers of licenses. Teachers with fewer qualifications get licensed at a lower tier, where licenses expire more quickly and are apt to have limited renewals. Higher qualifications lead to a higher tier. At Tier One, teachers will be able to obtain a one-year license with a four-year degree in any subject; or, if theyre teaching in a technical field, with a two-year degree, a professional certificate or work experience. A school district must vouch for the teachers skills and show it cant find a more qualified candidate. The short-term license replaces a system of state-issued variances that districts currently use to fill shortages. In technical fields and shortage areas, the one-year licenses can be renewed indefinitely. In other subjects, such licenses carry a maximum of three renewals. The school (will have) the freedom to say, Hey, Keith is very qualified for the industrial tech position, and we want to keep him, said Keith Polus, an industrial technology teacher. He currently works under state permission with limited renewals at Dover-Eyota high school in southeast Minnesota. But some parts of the new system have raised eyebrows and others have roused anger from groups like the state teachers union. Gov. Mark Dayton wants legislators to renegotiate parts of the system as part of his push for another special session this year. The legislation allows unlimited renewals in any subject for Tier One licenses in regions (of the state) where there is a shortage of licensed teachers who reflect the racial or ethnic diversity of students in the region. Thats every region, according to the most recent state enrollment and staffing data. Teachers will also be able to get long-term licenses without going through a college or university-based teacher training program. It feels like the Legislature just took those hard-earned licenses off the classroom wall and spit on them. We wont forget this, Education Minnesota President Denise Specht wrote in a statement prior to the bills approval. Non-union teachers are upset, too. Social studies teacher Crystal Johnson works at the Minnesota International Middle School, a non-union charter school. I think it really demeans my effort and my classmates efforts, Johnson said, adding that she went back to school as a single mom in 2012 to get her teaching degree. Johnson said she cant imagine getting in the classroom without completing a college training program, either. Under the new system, candidates can use other sets of qualifications, like a Masters degree plus state testing and experience, or an out-of-state license plus experience. Thats problematic, said Rene Antrop-Gonzalez, dean of the School of Urban Education at Metropolitan State University. Antrop-Gonzalez said a requirement that teachers pass a state pedagogy test to become licensed at the third tier isnt enough. The test is not going to determine the extent to which you are able or not able to build relationships with children and youth, he said. However, theres no guarantee anything radically different will happen under the new system. Theoretically ... there could be no change in who ultimately ends up in the classroom, said Dan Goldhaber, a professor and education researcher at the University of Washington. Goldhaber said there isnt solid research to predict how licensing changes affect the overall quality of teachers. Hiring decisions rest with school districts, and Dover-Eyota Principal Todd Rowekamp said he, for one, doesnt plan to change his hiring criteria. Its not like you can just put anybody in the classroom and if theyre completely incompetent we never hear about it, Rowekamp said. The greater flexibility that we might have doesnt mean that were just going to start pulling people in off the street. From Our Future New Yorkers face a "summer of hell" as Governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie seek to hand over the city's historic Penn Station to private investors. This "hell" is the result of our leaders' "bipartisan" reluctance to invest in needed government infrastructure. Donald Trump is working with his fellow Republicans in Congress to enact a "privatization" program that could become the largest giveaway of public resources to private corporations in our nation's history. (See Part 1 of this privatization series.) Why wouldn't they? Republicans claim to hate "big" government, and privatization -- the dismantling of government and giveaway of publicly owned resources to corporate interests -- has been a core part of the Republican agenda for years. Unfortunately, a number of corporate-friendly Democrats have also embraced the idea. The latest Democratic politician to embrace privatization is New York's Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo recently introduced a joint proposa l with his Republican counterpart in New Jersey, the scandal-plagued Christie, to privatize Penn Station. In a joint letter, the two governors have asked that the station be taken away from Amtrak and given to private investors or corporate interests. They wrote: "As Amtrak's management of Penn Station continues to produce multiple failures, we believe systematic changes cannot wait. A professional, qualified private station operator must be brought in to take over the repairs and manage this entire operation going forward." Cuomo also made his case to Donald Trump. "...I know that you believe in privatization where appropriate," Cuomo wrote to Trump, "and in this situation I think there is no doubt that it is appropriate." Unfortunately, Cuomo and Christie are giving the public a misleading impression by leaving out an important part of the story. Republicans have been cutting Amtrak's budget since the George W. Bush administration, without regard for public need or public safety. Congress passed a $242 million budget cut in 2015 just days after a deadly crash capped a year-long series of lethal train accidents, many could be tied to decaying railroad infrastructure. Trump's budget proposal includes additional deep slashes to the railroad's finances. This is how privatization advocates work: First they cut funding for vital government programs. Then they issue a complaint like the one in the letter written by Cuomo and Christie: ""Amtrak's management of Penn Station continues to produce multiple failures." It would be more accurate to blame those failures on unexpected surges in ridership over recent decades, and a failure to budget appropriately for increased demand. In demonizing a government program, Cuomo is betraying his party's New Deal tradition. Progressives should stand in opposition to the budget cuts that lead to "multiple failures." These cost jobs, reduce access to affordable transportation and put passengers at risk. Instead, Cuomo -- who is positioning himself as a leader of the "Resistance" -- has joined the Republican chorus of attacks on an important government institution, and on the capabilities of government itself. It shouldn't be surprising that Cuomo is cozying up to Trump and the Republicans on this critical issue. Cuomo, who has been called "the Governor of Wall Street," is reportedly close to Wall Street billionaire John Mack. "I think the governor's already plugged into Wall Street," Mack told a reporter in 2014. "He knows all the C.E.O.s, he knows most of the chairmen of each board ..." Cuomo also appointed real-estate mogul Steve Roth to an advisory panel charged with overseeing Penn Station's privatization. As David Sirota reports, Roth and his wife donated $95,000 to Cuomo's campaign, several months after Roth's firm Vornado was one of three firms chosen to "a new 255,000 square foot Train Hall to house passenger facilities for the Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak," as a Cuomo press release put it. In pushing for privatization, Cuomo is following in a centrist/corporate Democratic tradition that dates back to Bill Clinton's ascendancy to party leadership. In his 1992 acceptance speech for the party's presidential nomination, Clinton broke with his party's New Deal tradition when he said that "big bureaucracies, both private and public (have) failed too." Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From New York Times Bernie Sanders (Image by flickr.com) Details DMCA In 2016, the Democratic Party lost the presidency to possibly the least popular candidate in American history. In recent years, Democrats have also lost the Senate and House to right-wing Republicans whose extremist agenda is far removed from where most Americans are politically. Republicans now control almost two-thirds of governor's offices and have gained about 1,000 seats in state legislatures in the past nine years. In 24 states, Democrats have almost no political influence at all. If these results are not a clear manifestation of a failed political strategy, I don't know what is. For the sake of our country and the world, the Democratic Party, in a very fundamental way, must change direction. It has got to open its doors wide to working people and young people. It must become less dependent on wealthy contributors, and it must make clear to the working families of this country that, in these difficult times, it is prepared to stand up and fight for their rights. Without hesitation, it must take on the powerful corporate interests that dominate the economic and political life of the country. There are lessons to be learned from the recent campaign in Britain. The Conservatives there called the snap election with the full expectation that they would win a landslide. They didn't. Against all predictions they lost 13 seats in Parliament while Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party won 32. There is never one reason elections are won or lost, but there is widespread agreement that momentum shifted to Labour after it released a very progressive manifesto that generated much enthusiasm among young people and workers. One of the most interesting aspects of the election was the soaring turnout among voters 34 or younger. The British elections should be a lesson for the Democratic Party. We already have among the lowest voter turnout of any major country on earth. Democrats will not win if the 2018 midterm election turnout resembles the unbelievably low 36.7 percent of eligible voters who cast ballots in 2014. The Democrats must develop an agenda that speaks to the pain of tens of millions of families who are working longer hours for lower wages and to the young people who, unless we turn the economy around, will have a lower standard of living than their parents. A vast majority of Americans understand that our current economic model is a dismal failure. Who can honestly defend the current grotesque level of inequality in which the top 1 percent owns more than the bottom 90 percent? Who thinks it's right that, despite a significant increase in worker productivity, millions of Americans need two or three jobs to survive, while 52 percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent? What person who claims to have a sense of morality can justify the fact that the richest people in our country have a life expectancy about 15 years longer than our poorest citizens? While Democrats should appeal to moderate Republicans who are disgusted with the Trump presidency, too many in our party cling to an overly cautious, centrist ideology. The party's main thrust must be to make politics relevant to those who have given up on democracy and bring millions of new voters into the political process. It must be prepared to take on the right-wing extremist ideology of the Koch brothers and the billionaire class, and fight for an economy and a government that work for all, not just the 1 percent. Donald Trump wants to throw 23 million Americans off health insurance. Democrats must guarantee health care to all as a right, through a Medicare-for-all, single-payer program. Mr. Trump wants to give enormous tax breaks to billionaires. Democrats must support a progressive tax system that demands that the very wealthy, Wall Street and large corporations begin paying their fair share of taxes. Mr. Trump wants to sell our infrastructure to Wall Street and foreign countries. Democrats must fight for a trillion-dollar public investment that creates over 13 million good-paying jobs. Mr. Trump has withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Democrats must take on the fossil fuel industry and accelerate our efforts to combat climate change by encouraging energy efficiency and the use of sustainable energy. Mr. Trump has proposed deep cuts to higher education. Democrats must make public colleges and universities tuition free, and substantially lower student debt. Mr. Trump has doubled-down on our failed approach to crime that has resulted in the United States' having more people in jail than any other country. Democrats must reform a broken criminal justice system and invest in jobs and education for our young people, not more jails and incarceration. Mr. Trump has scapegoated and threatened the 11 million undocumented people in our country. Democrats must fight for comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship. This is a pivotal moment in American history. If the Democrats are prepared to rally grass-roots America in every state and to stand up to the greed of the billionaire class, the party will stop losing elections. And it will create the kind of country the American people want and deserve. In a paradoxical development in the current Saudi-Qatari dispute, Qatar and the United States Wednesday signed a deal to buy F-15 fighter jets for $12 billion while two US warships arrived in Qatar for joint exercise. Tellingly, the $12-billion-dollar deal was signed despite Qatar being criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump for supporting "terrorism." Bloomberg News quoted a Defense Department statement as saying that Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah and his U.S. counterpart, Jim Mattis, completed the $12-billion-dollar agreement on Wednesday in Washington. The sale "will give Qatar a state-of-the-art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar," the Defense Department said in a statement. Defense Secretary Mattis and Qatari Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah also discussed the current state of operations against the ISIS and the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals, the Pentagon added. According to Bloomberg News, the F-15 sale highlights the complex position the Trump administration finds itself in, forced to balance its focus on fighting terrorism against regional rivalries between key allies. Qatar hosts the regional headquarters for U.S. Central Command, which includes a state-of-the-art air base the U.S. depends on to target 'Islamic State'. "It is confusing, and the worst thing you want to do in a heated, delicate situation like this is to give mixed messages," Paul Sullivan, a Middle East specialist at Georgetown University in Washington, was quoted as saying of the Pentagon announcement. Qatar's Defense Ministry said the deal would create 60,000 jobs in 42 U.S. states while reducing the burden on U.S. forces. The F-15 accord will lead to "closer strategic collaboration in our fight to counter violent extremism and promote peace and stability in our region and beyond," the ministry said Wednesday in a statement. Bloomberg News pointed out that, while Trump appeared to back Saudi Arabia and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took a more neutral tone, the Defense Department underscored its relations with Qatar, saying the U.S. was grateful to the country for its support of the U.S. presence there. "We encourage all our partners in the region to work towards common solutions that enable regional security," Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart, a spokesman for U.S. Air Forces Central Command, said in a statement when the crisis began. Last year, after the State Department approved the jet sale, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency issued a report saying that the proposed sale "enhances the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country and strengthening our strategically important relationship. "Qatar is an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Persian Gulf region," the agency said. Two US Navy vessels Meanwhile, the Qatari news agency reported Wednesday that two US Navy vessels arrived in Doha to take part in a joint military exercise with the Qatari Emiri Navy. The two warships arrived in Qatar just days after US President Donald Trump accused Qatar of being "a funder of terrorism at a very high level". Qatar hosts the biggest US military base in the Middle East with more than 11,000 troops deployed or assigned to al-Udeid Air Base. More than 100 aircraft operate from there, according to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera said it was unclear if the arrival of the two warships to Doha was planned before the Gulf rift or if it was a sign of support from the Pentagon. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). " 2010 02 24 - 2011 - Washington DC - Capitol Some of our senators do show common sense! (Image by thisisbossi) Details DMCA by Susan C. Strong Right now there seems to be no common agreement in our country about what kind of future we want. Just keeping up with the news is deeply depressing for us. But the other day I had two insights. The first: the country we were on November 7, 2016 is still very much alive, even though it's hard to believe sometimes. The second: Trump's policies and the GOP agenda fail to make basic "common sense." They may be trying to do the bidding of their corporate masters and those hardcore Trump voters, but the GOP/Trump axis is making a hash of it. Reactions to the House "American Health Care Act" (the "Anti-Health Care" bill), Trump's DOA budget, and our Paris Accord exit make this crystal clear. Trump and the GOP can push "alternative facts" all they want, but real facts have a way of biting back. That's why I suggest we start talking now about "building a Common Sense U.S. future." Note that I said "common sense," not "common future." This is an important framing distinction right now. We must focus on the way the Trump/ GOP agenda lacks rock bottom "common sense." Here are a few of the most obvious examples: A. Throwing huge numbers of citizens off any kind of health insurance, even Medicaid, when the health care sector is one of the few, non- automated local job engines left in our country is just plain stupid, as well as cruel. A recent New York Times article explains in detail how destroying this system would also damage health care for the rich. B. In similar vein, turning INS agents loose on workers without papers who are picking our food in the fields right now is a "cut off your nose to spite your face kind of policy."(1) Deporting innocent workers without papers and innocent parents without papers, throwing vast numbers of their American-born children into our overwhelmed, abusive foster care system, will cost us and those American children big in every way. Or how about C.: passing huge tax cuts for the super rich and corporations, with the idea that they will use it to create jobs , when they are already sitting on piles of idle cash overseas to avoid any kind of tax at all, to the tune of literally 11Trillion, according to The Economist(April29, 2017). The idea that tax cuts for the rich create jobs has also long been widely discredited by economists . And the GOP's love of austerity economics and destroying the welfare state shows they don't understand how the U.S. economy actually works, since consumer spending is roughly 70% of it. (For a close to the ground look at what austerity economics has done to a state, take a look at Kansas. You can also see what just happened in Kansas to back off austerity here. ---------------------- Susan C. Strong, Ph.D., is the Founder and Executive Director of The Metaphor Project, http://www.metaphorproject.org, and author of our book, Move Our Message: How to Get America's Ear. The Metaphor Project has been helping progressives mainstream their messages since 1997. Follow Susan on Twitter @SusanCStrong and check out her TEDx talk too. --------------------- (1) "Workers without papers"/parents without papers is the frame I suggest we use instead of "undocumented" workers and parents. Why? Because if you start the phrase with "undocumented," you have already lost the battle to put the focus on the fact they are workers and parents. (2) Well informed advocates have come up with the following new language for talking about climate protection action right now: "energy investments, resilience, sustainable resilience, national security, countering mass migrations." (3) Of course, I haven't said anything here about exactly what "a common sense future" platform would contain, except for mentioning the criminal justice reforms Senators Paul and Leahy propose to protect. It would definitely be wise for framers of a detailed "common sense platform" to include broadly accepted American policy ideas. No doubt Democrats running in contested districts in '18 will find plenty of that kind of material to hand locally. Then the overall frame could become "building a common sense future for our (city, county, state, or nation). Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121 "In Bottom-Up, Rob Kall offers important insights on why our society is in such disarray and what we must do to change it. He demonstrates how "top down" thinking is what has produced our current mess, and how bottom up thinking is much more efficient for solving problems and producing change. Rob shows how lasting change must come from the people themselves and not from the leaders. This was as true in the days of the Magna Carta as it was for the Bill of Rights as it was for the Union movement that first gave workers' rights and protection in this country, as it is today. Indigenous elders have told me, "if you want to change the world, start talking and keep talking." Rob is doing this with this book and with his OpEdNews, and he is making a difference. I recommend this book to all who wish to see lasting, human-friendly, compassionate change that will sustain humanity is this crazy world of today." Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, author of the Coyote trilogy that discusses healing practices from Lakota, Cherokee, and Cree traditions and how they intersect with conventional medicine Kurdish modern Politics are not different from Kurdish tribal and religious leaders' performances. Also, Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan did come up with philosophies for Kurds to follow when they are electing leaders. But his message did not reach Kurds of Europe and Syria yet. A small group of Kurdish leaders united under the leadership of Zubeyir Aydar to force other Kurdish leaders to seek refuge in Turkey with an enemy of Kurd and Kurdistan known as President Erdogan of Turkey. Similarly, many Kurdish leaders of Syria are seeking refuge in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) with traitors Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani as enemies of United Kurds. Kurdish Politician Zubeyir Aydar was a lawyer and member of HEP Pro-Kurdish political party. He was elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 1991 as an independent from Siirt (Kurdish: Sert, is a city in southeastern Turkey (North Kurdistan) and the seat of Siirt Province). When HEP banned in 1993, he joined the new Kurdish party, the Democracy Party (DEP). When DEP banned in 1994, Aydar fled to Belgium as Turkish authorities arrested most party members. He has been living in Brussels since then. In Europe, he joined the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile (PKDW) and later the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) and Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), where he became head of the legislature in 2003. Beside Kurdish Guerrilla forces, Kurds need 'Unified Kurdish Language and Kurdish History' to be united and be known by other nations around the world. Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan did come up with many ideas for Kurds to be an independent nation. Kurdish leaders of Europe destroyed his plans to support small business among Kurds as the source of income for his organization around the world. His ideas to help Kurdish education never been followed by Kurdish leaders in Europe. What if Zubeyir Aydar groups were supported Kurds to have real Kurdish institution to serve Kurdish student in Europe. What if his team helped Kurds to have the history book based on research and finding. What if they helped Kurds in every European country to have the actual democratic system to elect the representative to be members of True KNK instead of appointed members by Mr. Aydar and his loyal group? Juggling jobs among members of Mr. Aydar group are not going to fool educated Kurds in Europe. United Kurds only can be achieved by true practice of Abdullah Ocalan philosophies. Many Kurds are learned from Massoud Barzani, and Jalal Talabani trades to sell Kurd and Kurdistan for self-interest. They are joined Barzani and Talabani to be wealthy and powerful as Governor, Minister, members of Parliament in Kurdistan and Iraq and then turn around to lead Kurds and be respected because they are rich and powerful. Stealing from Kurdish people oil wealth is giving those people power. Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan taught Kurds not to respect such traitors. But you can see those so-called Kurdish leaders loyal to Abdullah Ocalan philosophy are recognizing those traitors with money than the poor Kurds who served Kurdish people. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Josh Bryceland loving it. Sam Blenkinsop winding up off the lip. Blenky never afraid to make shapes. Sam Reynolds fully sideways One of the Fest's finest, no stranger to massive air and phat whips. Reynolds stoked on proceedings. Martin Soederstrom improvising a bit. Josh Oxenham sideways for Subways. Multi whip-off winner Finn Iles heading up to the top. About to whip both feet right out of the pedals. Anthony Rocci boosting higher than anyone. Jackson Davies has come back with a stronger than ever whip game after the NZ summer. Tippie chats with an ex-King of Crankworx. Allan Cooke throwing the back end out to the mountains. Even the slopestyle legends have to push their own bikes... Blenky waits his turn. Rocci's signature move... going massive. Finn Iles has taken a couple of Whistler wins in his time and stomped a couple of vicious whips this evening. Whips without stoppie landings are just too easy for Bernard Kerr. Kerr makes sure everything is being documented accurately. Casey Brown easing into things. Brown the undisputed queen of whips. Nothing looks better than a stylish whip. Sam Blenkinsop always goes for the long and slow whip that doesn't fully extend until he is well out over the landing. King Rat on the mic. Bas Van Steenbergen hanging off the side. Van Steenbergen reflects post show-down. Antoni Rocci walking away from a big hit after pushing a little too much. Iago Garay leads out Casey Brown. Ninety degrees for Casey Brown. Jackson Davies repping a strong game for his Vanzac brethren. Szymon Godziek fully clicked. Finn Iles was just getting warmed up before the event was cut short due to rain. Bas Van Steenbergen dips it in. Pump track specialist Adrien Loron getting amongst it. Casey Brown making it count against her rival ladies. Sam Blenkinsop and Finn Iles less than excited about the thunderstorm quickly moving in. Jackson Davies, happy with a short but sweet whip off before the rains moved in. Martin Soderstrom accessorizing his sideways action. Sure it's a whip off contest, but there's plenty of room for flips and spins before the judging round. William Robert obliges... Bryceland going up for another. Ratboy sideways in the rain. Remi Morton grabbin'. Rocci's whips were so dialled it was hard to choose the best moment from each one. BMX Olympians in the mix... Caroline Buchanan dropping in. Caroline Buchanan couldn't match Casey Brown and would have to settle for second. Possibly the most goddamn ridiculous whip of the day... ...unfortunately ending in disaster for Bubba Warren. After almost hitting 180 degrees, there was just no hope of bringing her back... Past ninety degrees for Allan Cooke. Incoming thunderstorm and torrential downpour in 3, 2, 1... If there's a mountain bike race event in 2017 it will rain. Tarps on and game over... Allan Cooke, Santa Cruz team manager and doer of things, can also hang it out on a DH bike. Men's winner Anthony Rocci. Micayla Gatto and Steffi Marth grilling the World's finest over on the Pinkbike social media accounts. 2nd for Caroline Buchanan. That's it, that's all... fingers crossed on a sunnier start to tomorrow. The makeshift podium was made as the torrential rains started to pour down. No hope of staying dry on the podium with all that champagne... 1st: Rocci and Brown, 2nd Buchanan and Cooke, 3rd: Robert and Hill-Wright. Under threatening skies the 2017 Crankworx round from Les Gets, France, kicked off with riders flying through the air sideways in the Official European Whip Off Championships Presented by Spank . As is often the case in the Alps during the summer months, afternoon thunderstorms had been predicted but organizers did not want to cancel the event unless things became unsafe for the riders. The schedule at Crankworx is grueling enough as it is with all the practice and events, and moving things around only adds to the madness. So as they say... The show must go on.Unfortunately, though, things would get cut short, and at the worst possible time. Riders had really just warmed up and were starting to push their limits ahead of the final judged round, going bigger and bigger each time they dropped in. Mother Nature, however, had other plans and decided to rain on everyone's parade just as the excitement was building. Some riders got caught out a bit and hadn't thrown down their best hand, while others who had set the bar early were not fully challenged. That doesn't mean anyone was robbed or unfairly scored, it just means we didn't get to see the kind of one-upmanship that often comes later in the contest, with riders using each round to outdo one another. As the lightning snaked through the sky and torrential rain began to make things slick and dangerous, the judges had the difficult task of calling the winner early.For the women, it was an easy decision as Casey Brown was once again in a league of her own. But for the men, there was quite a bit of debate as to whether Allan Cooke's past ninety degrees style topped Anthony Rocci's insane amplitude. In the end, it was size that mattered most, and Rocci would land himself his first Crankworx podium by going straight to the top step. PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-15 15:39:02 SAN MATEO, Calif., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aryaka, the leading global SD-WAN provider, announced today the launch of SmartACCESS, the first-to-market clientless SD-WAN solution with built-in dynamic CDN to deliver: Up to 3 times faster application performance for remote and mobile users Consolidated and simplified VPN infrastructure Enhanced security and visibility of all remote and mobile user activity Global deployment in hours, with the ability to scale in minutes While SD-WAN technologies have been making inroads into enterprise branch offices and datacenters, remote access has been a key missing link due to SD-WANs' mandatory appliances, leaving remote and mobile users struggling with poor application performance and slow access to corporate resources, translating into lost productivity. Aryaka is the first company to address these performance challenges by software-defining remote access. SmartACCESS significantly enhances both on-premises and cloud/SaaS application performance for the remote and mobile workforce without requiring additional hardware or software clients. To achieve that, Aryaka, for the first time, has integrated Dynamic CDN functionality into SD-WAN. "Global enterprises are increasingly struggling with real-time application performance, especially for remote and mobile users. This adversely impacts productivity and increases costs as well as complexity for IT," said Shawn Farshchi, Aryaka's President and CEO. "We're excited to introduce the first solution to software-define remote access, by combining Aryaka's global SD-WAN and dynamic CDN capabilities to deliver faster performance for enterprise remote access without requiring any additional software clients or appliances." "Remote access is critical to any large enterprise. Network latency and overall application performance are the Achilles heel of the remote and mobile workforce, hampering productivity and exacerbated by overseas travel," said Jennifer Clark, Vice President, Network Research at 451 Research. "Enterprises are looking for options, such as Aryaka's SmartACCESS, that leverage the performance, cost and flexibility of SD-WAN, but are clientless and able to extend its benefits to the mobile workforce, seamlessly." Key Capabilities: Global Private Network enables remote and mobile employees to bypass the bottlenecks and unpredictability of the public Internet. enables remote and mobile employees to bypass the bottlenecks and unpredictability of the public Internet. WAN Optimization accelerates application delivery. accelerates application delivery. Dynamic IP App Acceleration accelerates all IP-based traffic to global users (application-agnostic acceleration). accelerates all IP-based traffic to global users (application-agnostic acceleration). Intelligent DNS-Based Routing automatically connects mobile and remote employees to the most optimal POP for the best application performance. automatically connects mobile and remote employees to the most optimal POP for the best application performance. Global Load Balancing enables remote and mobile employees to use a single domain name to connect to the VPN concentrator (and corporate resources) without having to change local VPN settings or worrying about where they are. enables remote and mobile employees to use a single domain name to connect to the VPN concentrator (and corporate resources) without having to change local VPN settings or worrying about where they are. BYOD Support enables faster delivery of applications to all devices and operating systems. Platform Specialty Products Saves $100,000 Annually with Aryaka's SmartACCESS Platform Specialty Products (PSP) (NYSE:PAH), one of the early adopters of SmartACCESS, is a global, high-tech specialty chemical company with 40 percent remote and mobile employees. They were looking to significantly enhance performance of both on-premises and cloud/SaaS applications for their remote workforce, while reducing their complexity of having to manage 50 VPN concentrators globally. Aryaka SmartACCESS enabled PSP to: Improve application performance for remote and mobile users delivering up to several hundred milliseconds reduction in client-server setup times Reduce their 50 VPN concentrators around the world down to 4 Save over $100,000 in operational costs annually Raise productivity for sales, marketing, and IT by 20-30% "The ability of Aryaka's SmartACCESS to centralize and control the environment better and reduce the number of control sets you have to run for various audit purposes is the biggest benefit," said Dustin Collins, VP of Global Infrastructure Services at PSP. SmartACCESS is now available to Aryaka's customers globally, and has been deployed in full production by 15 large global enterprises. To learn more, visit http://www.aryaka.com/services/smartaccess. About Aryaka Aryaka is transforming how global enterprises connect sites and users worldwide, and use mission-critical applications to support modern business execution demands. Aryaka's Global SD-WAN combines a purpose-built private network, SD-WAN, optimization and acceleration techniques, connectivity to cloud platforms, and network visibility in a single solution that is delivered as a service. To learn more, visit www.aryaka.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. Aryaka Media Contact: Shehzad Karkhanawala Public Relations Manager Aryaka 408.273.8420 pr@aryaka.com PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-15 07:24:34 Press Information Future Market Insights 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com email Published by Abhishek Budholiya +1-347-918-3531 e-mail http://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 628 Words 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531 Balloon catheter is a billion dollars market accounting for a substantial proportion of healthcare expenditure worldwide. The global balloon catheter market is expected to reach US$ 2,887.4 Mn in 2016 and is projected to register a CAGR of 3.8% during the period 2016-2026. The market is anticipated to reach 16,587 thousand units in terms of volume by the end of 2026. In a new report titled Balloon Catheter Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026, Future Market Insights provides in-depth analysis and insights into the global balloon catheter market and studies the factors and restraints impacting the market during the forecast period.According to Future Market Insights, a rising prevalence of cardiac diseases leading to interventional cardiology procedures and an increasing geriatric population prone to cardiac arrest is expected to fuel the growth of the global balloon catheter market over the forecast period. Economic factors such as growing healthcare expenditure, increasing disposable income per capita, rising government support in developed economies, and favourable reimbursement policies are expected to boost the growth of the global balloon catheter market over the forecast period. Analyst, Future Market Insights.However, a high cost of coronary angioplasty and stenting treatment and risk of infection and artery collapse associated with balloon catheterisation is likely to hinder market growth over the forecast period.The global balloon catheter market is segmented on the basis of product type (Normal Balloon Catheter, Cutting Balloon Catheter, Scoring Balloon Catheter, Drug Eluting Balloon Catheter, Stent Graft Balloon Catheter); disease indication (Coronary Artery Disease, Peripheral Vascular Disease); raw material (Polyurethane, Nylon, Others); and end user (Public Hospitals & Private Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centres, Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratories).Request For Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1916 Segmentation highlightsThe Drug eluting product type balloon catheter segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 20.0% in terms of value over the forecast period while the Stent graft balloon catheter segment is estimated to account for 33.9% revenue share by 2016 endThe Polyurethane raw material segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 4.6% while the Nylon segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.8% in terms of value over the forecast periodThe Coronary artery disease indication segment is projected to dominate the global balloon catheter market in terms of value; the Peripheral vascular disease indication segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.1% in terms of value over the forecast periodAmong end users, the Ambulatory surgical centres segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 2.7% in terms of value over the forecast period while the Cardiac catheterisation laboratories segment is estimated to account for 19.8% revenue share by 2016 endSend An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-1916 Regional forecastThe global balloon catheter market is segmented into seven key regions North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APEJ, Japan, and MEA. Sales of balloon catheters have remained quite healthy in the U.S. market in recent years, making North America the most lucrative market globally. Revenue from the North America market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 3.5% from 2016 to 2026 to reach US$ 1,312.2 Mn by 2026. In addition to North America, balloon catheters sales are also growing steadily in Japan, MEA, and APEJ. Revenues in APEJ are anticipated to grow by 4.2% whereas MEA is expected to increase at 3.4% over the forecast period.Vendor insightsBoston Scientific Inc., Medtronic, Terumo Corporation, MicroPort Scientific Corporation, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Jotech GmbH, QX Medical LLC, Meril Life Pvt. Ltd., Hexacath, Abbott Laboratories, Tokai Medical Products Inc., Biosensors International Ltd., Cook Medical Inc., Cardionovum GmbH, Cordis Corporation, and Biotronik Inc. are the leading companies operating in the global balloon catheter market. Major market players are adopting strategies such as mergers and acquisitions to maintain their market share.Browse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/balloon-catheter-market Clinical Alarm Management Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026 Research Report By Future Market Insights Clinical Alarm Management Market PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-15 09:06:03 Press Information Future Market Insight 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com press@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com 13479183531 email Published by Abhishek Budholiya +1-347-918-3531 e-mail http://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 715 Words 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.com13479183531Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531 Clinical alarm systems are devices that alert caregivers of immediate adverse patient conditions and help in enhancing potential patient-safety. Alarmsmust be accurate, unique and provide alerts, which could be readily identified and understood by caregivers and the products must belong to standardized & approved product categories. These systems are either built-in or attached to other medical equipment & monitoring systems. Alarm fatigue is the psychological effect produced by too many alarms occurring in a clinical environment, causing clinicians to miss true clinically significant alarms. When alarms work well, the environment of patient care is enhanced. When alarms do not work well, they pull caregivers away from their line of respective duties and other patients, or even ignore alarm sounds altogether. Cases of ignored alarms have resulted in patient deaths earlier in extreme cases. Most often, the major usability problem is an alarm flood- too many alarms ringing together, in case of any device failure. Other defects hampering clinical alarm uptake in sophisticated healthcare systems include poorly designed alarms, improperly set alarm points, ineffective alarm announcements, and unclear alarm messages among others.Clinical Alarm Management Market: Drivers and RestraintsIncreasing awareness of care providers towards enhancing patient safety is a prominent factor pushing the revenue growth of the clinical alarm management market. Others revenue drivers include rising medtech investments by governments of all major countries and promoting access to basic healthcare across all sections of the society. Integrated alarm system designs are often not standardized across different medical equipment systems and devices. This could be considered as a restraint for clinical alarm management market. Improper alarm escalation leading to false negative cases - such as a patient needs immediate clinical attention but a clinician is not alerted - substantially compromises on patient-safety. Other factors negatively affecting market growth are lack of product standardization across regions and lack of proper skills to rationalize the alarm adjustment process.Request Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1713 Clinical Alarm Management Market: SegmentationClinical alarm management market is segmented based on product type, end user and geography.Based on product type, clinical alarm management market is segmented as follows:Physiological monitorsTelemetry monitorsVentilatorsInfusion PumpsAnesthesia MachinesCompression PumpsFeeding PumpsNurse Call SystemBed AlarmsBased on end user, the clinical alarm management market is segmented as follows:HospitalsClinicsAmbulatory surgical centersLong term and palliative care centersHome careOthersRequest For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1713 Clinical Alarm Management Market: OverviewIn the present market scenario, clinical alarm manufacturers prioritize sensitivity over specificity. This often leads to a large number of false positive cases, which is often misleading. Particularly, when alarm frequency is high, caregivers could become desensitized, develop alarm fatigue, and create a false negative outcome, compromising patient safety. With rise in the number of urban healthcare centers across regions, there clinical alarm management market is witnessing a sustained growth in demand for standard and tested products. To avoid product level dysfunctionalities, the AAMI (Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation) Foundation had added clinical alarms to its portfolio of multidisciplinary initiatives to advance patient safety and created an Alarm Best Practices Workgroup in 2012. The committee reviews and recommends best practices on clinical alarm management at regular intervals. Developed pharmaceutical markets are expected to create sustainable traction in generating demand for standardized clinical alarm systems over the forecast period, while developing markets are expected to follow suit.Clinical Alarm Management Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global clinical alarm management marketis classified into seven regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America is expected to dominate the clinical alarm management market in terms of both revenue and demand generation owing to greater awareness on medtech advancement followed by Western Europe. However, over the foreseeable long term, markets in Latin America and Asia-Pacific could prove lucrative in terms of market opportunities owing to persistence of factors such as greater penetration of access to organized healthcare and rising disposable income level contribution to private healthcare spending.Clinical Alarm ManagementMarket: Key PlayersSome of the major companies contributing to global clinical alarm management market include Medtronic, Extension Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Koninklijke Phislips N.V., Baxter incorporated, Connexall, Mindray Medical International Limited among others. Headlines from the past month reveal the disappointing truth about the state of Wisconsins dairy industry. Dairy industry breathes a sigh of relief, said one headline, celebrating a return to normal now that most of the farmers who were axed by Grassland Dairy Products have found new milk buyers. And what does normal look like? Dairy farm exits outpaced 10-year trend, read another headline from Hoards Dairyman, noting Wisconsin lost 400 dairy farms in 2016. There is nothing normal about Americas Dairyland losing more than a dairy farm per day in 2016. If that is what passes for normal in todays dairy industry, then we need an entirely new normal. One place to start is strengthening Wisconsins prohibition on corporate farm ownership. Wisconsins anti-corporate farming law was written in 1973. Since then, it has been chipped away, creating loopholes that allow even very large corporations to own farmland. Wis Statutes Section 182.001(1) prohibits corporations with 16 or more shareholders from owning farmland and farming operations, including the production of dairy products not including the processing of such dairy products. This law prevents large publicly-traded corporations about 1 percent of all U.S. businesses from owning Wisconsin farms. However, corporations with 15 or fewer shareholders face no such limitations on their ability to own farms or farmland. Grassland Dairy Products, a privately-held family corporation, apparently has fewer than 16 shareholders, so regardless of its size and corporate status it can own unlimited amounts of farmland and farming operations. Another significant loophole in Wisconsins anti-corporate farming law is that it allows corporate investors to own unlimited amounts of farmland, as long as the land is in turn rented to a farmer. Wisconsin Statutes 182.001(2)(e) states: This section [prohibiting corporate ownership of farmland] does not apply to agricultural land acquired by a corporation or trust for expansion or other corporate or trust business purposes and such land may be used for farming operations if leased to a person not prohibited from engaging in farming operations[.] Wisconsin is experiencing a growing trend of investor-ownership of farmland, such as purchases by retirement fund TIAA-CREF, which drive up the cost of farmland and make it harder for beginning farmers to purchase farmland. We should not accept as normal a world in which farmers are merely tenants on land owned by an out-of-state corporate investor. When an investment fund like TIAA-CREF owns the land, there is very little hope that the farmer will ever have the chance to buy it or pass it down to the next generation. This chipping away of farmer ownership of land also has significant implications for conservation. Why should a farmer invest in soil health or conservation practices on land that he or she doesnt own? If there is one issue where there is almost universal agreement among farmers, it is that there should be limits on corporate ownership of farms. Wisconsin Farmers Union conducted a survey of all Wisconsin dairy farmers last fall, and 88 percent of respondents answered yes to the following question: Should farm organizations like Wisconsin Farmers Union continue to stand up for laws that limit foreign and corporate ownership of farms? It did not go unnoticed by Wisconsin farmers that at the same time Grassland Dairy was dropping dozens of family farms, it was directly engaged in assisting the development of a 5,000-cow CAFO in Dunn County. Grassland is the largest producer of butter in the nation, with a market share of nearly 50 percent. Its effort to consolidate ownership at both the processing and farm level is a perfect example of why we need stronger anti-corporate farming laws. If we fail to put some reasonable limits on corporate farming in Wisconsin, we can expect to see less farmland owned by actual farmers, and more of Wisconsins family farms getting pink slips from their processors in the years to come. That is not a future that any of us should accept as normal. Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Proteinase K Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026"report to their offering. Proteinase K Market PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-15 07:20:40 Press Information Future Market Insights 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com email Published by Abhishek Budholiya +1-347-918-3531 e-mail http://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 709 Words 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531 Proteinase K is a million dollars market accounting for a small portion in reagents and enzymes. The Global Proteinase K market is classified into two main segments lyophilized powder form and liquid form. By application the market is segmented as purification of DNA & RNA, in situ hybridization, mitochondria isolation and enzyme removal. Proteinase K is mainly used in contract research organisations, biotechnology companies, academic institutes, and diagnostics laboratories. In terms of revenue, the global Proteinase K market is expected to reach US$ 18.5 Mn in 2016, witnessing a year-over-year growth of 6.1%.A plethora of factors are expected to impact the growth of the global Proteinase K market. A significant rise in research and development activities, lesser production costs, broader application of Proteinase K and good product stability and specificity of Proteinase K will give a massive push to the revenue growth of the global Proteinase K market by the end of the forecast period. A steady rise of chronic diseases and better government-backed investment channels to fund advanced research and development are expected to expedite the expansion of the global Proteinase K market over the period of assessment.A slew of research activities, soaring expenditure on personal healthcare and increasing adoption of gene therapy has been significantly high in the U.S. market in the recent years, making North America the most lucrative market globally. As per a report published by the Cancer Society of America, in 2016, the population of cancer patients is skyrocketing within the country. The use of Proteinase K is high in gene therapy for hereditary diseases such as cancer, diabetes and others. The North America Proteinase K market revenue was accounted to be US$ 6.5 Mn in 2015, with the U.S. contributing a majority of revenue share.Request For Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2399 Segmentation highlightsBy product form, lyophilized powder form segment accounted for higher revenue share in global Proteinase K as compared to liquid form segment. Lyophilized powder from segment is expected to reach a value of US$ 19.2 Mn by 2026, reflecting a CAGR of 6.3% over the forecast period. The growth in lyophilized powder form can be attributed to the increasing advantages of powder form over liquid form in case of storage and preservation of sampleBy application, purification of DNA & RNA segment accounted for highest revenue share in global Proteinase K market as compared to other applications of Proteinase K. Purification of DNA & RNA segment is expected to reach a value of US$ 19.2 Mn by 2026, reflecting a CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period. This is expected to be followed by mitochondria isolation and enzyme removal applicationBy end-user, biotechnology companies account for higher demand for Proteinase K as compared to other end user segments such as academic institutes and diagnostics laboratories. The strong growth in biotechnology companies can be attributed to an increasing use of Proteinase K in research and development and new drug discovery. The cost effectiveness of Proteinase K over other reagents is the key factor responsible for its increasing use in biotechnology companies. Biotechnology companies segment is expected to register highest CAGR of 6.7% over the forecast periodSend An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-2399 Regional market projectionsDemand for research in academics and funding facilities provided by the US government to support gene therapy and other activities for drug development is anticipated to boost the North America Proteinase K market. Followed by North America, APEJ and Western Europe are the most lucrative regions of the global Proteinase K market and are anticipated to grow by 6.1% and 5.7% respectively over the forecast period. Increasing demand for drug development, rising hereditary diseases due to changing lifestyles and growing disposable income are some of the factors expected to contribute to the growth of the global Proteinase K market.Vendor insightsTop companies profiled in the global Proteinase K market report include Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Merck KGaA, Qiagen N.V., Worthington Biochemical Corporation, Sisco Research Laboratories Pvt. Ltd, Promega Corporation, Bioline and F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG among others. Leading market players are adopting different strategies such as product launches and acquisitions to maintain their market share. For instance, in November 2015, Merck KGaA acquired Sigma-Aldrich to strengthen and expand its consumable and reagent portfolio.Browse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/proteinase-k-market Smart Pulse Oximeters Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2016-2026 Research Report By Future Market Insights Smart Pulse Oximeters Market PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-15 09:00:12 Press Information Future Market Insight 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com press@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com 13479183531 email Published by Abhishek Budholiya +1-347-918-3531 e-mail http://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 574 Words 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.com13479183531Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531 Smart pulse oximeter is one of the fastest growing product type in the vital sign monitoring devices segment. Smart pulse oximeter is a non-invasive medical device used to measure the oxygen saturation level and heart rate in human. Smart pulse oximeter is a clip like device also known as a probe and is placed on body parts such as fingertip or ear lobe to measure the heart rate and oxygen level. It uses infrared light to measure the oxygen level and heart rate. The measurement of oxygen level and heart rate are very important while performing surgeries and injecting the anaesthesia, because the changes in the oxygen level in such a conditions may cause life threatening effects. Smart pulse oximeter also used to check the human health with a conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), anaemia, lung cancer and asthma. However, the readings of smart pulse oximeter may not accurate in peripheral vascular diseases. Smart pulse oximeters products market is segmented into handheld pulse oximeters, finger pulse oximeters, paediatric pulse oximeters and wrist pulse oximeters.. Hand held smart pulse oximeters are useful for pilots to check the oxygen level when they are operating at above 10,000 feet. These devices are also useful to the mountaineers and athletes to check the oxygen level. Paediatric pulse oximeters mainly used in the hospitals and these devices are separately designed to measure the oxygen saturation level and heart rate in the infants.Smart pulse oximeter market has been segmented on the basis of product type, and end userSmart Pulse Oximeter Market, by Product TypeFinger Pulse OximeterHandheld Pulse OximeterPaediatric Pulse OximeterWrist Pulse OximeterSmart Pulse Oximeter Market, by End UserHospitalAmbulatory surgical centresHome Care SettingAsk For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1665 The use of pulse oximeter in the home care settings has expanded over the last few years and is expected to register a healthy growth rate during the forecast periodOver the past few years, leading players in the vital sign monitoring devices segment are manufacturing devices with new technology such as Bluetooth which displays the readings in the smartphone. Moreover, the availability of cost effective smart pulse oximeters are the factors driving growth of overall smart pulse oximeter market., World Health Organization (WHO) started safety pulse oximetry project to improve the health in middle-income countries also expected to boost the smart pulse oximeter market. Increasing incidence rates of trauma conditions and increasing prevalence of heart related diseases are also expected to drive the smart pulse oximeter market. However, availability of high end devices to measure the heart rate is expected to hamper the overall market.Depending on geographic region, Smart Pulse Oximeter Market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is estimated to contribute maximum revenue share in the global market of smart pulse oximeter followed by Europe. Asia Pacific regions are expected to grow at a higher growth rate owing to high occurrence of chronic disease. Middle East & Africa is expected to show a healthy growth rate during forecast period.Ask For Table of Content@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1665 Smart Pulse Oximeters Market: Key PlayersKey players of smart pulse oximeter market are Nonin Medical Inc, Shenzhen Creative Industry Co.,Ltd , iHealth Labs Inc. Indiegogo, Inc., Technocare Medisystems, Contec Medical Systems Co.,Ltd ., and Masimo Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Special Purpose Needles Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026"report to their offering. Special Purpose Needles Market PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-15 07:23:24 Press Information Future Market Insights 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com email Published by Abhishek Budholiya +1-347-918-3531 e-mail http://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 566 Words 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531 The global special purpose needles market is projected to be valued at US$ 17,261.5 million by the end of 2026, registering a CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period (20162026). In a new report titled Special Purpose Needles Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 20162026, Future Market Insights delivers key insights on the factors and trends impacting the global special purpose needles market over a 10-year forecast period (20162026).The market for special purpose needles is witnessing steady growth across the globe owing to an increasing geriatric population. According to analysts at Future Market Insights, Increasing prevalence of diabetes and infectious diseases and increasing incidence of cancer and spine disorders across the globe are the primary factors driving the growth of the global special purpose needles market. Availability of better reimbursement options for some types of special purpose needles in developed economies is likely to propel demand for special purpose needles over the forecast period. A key trend witnessed in the global special purpose needles market is the development of advanced techniques in the production of special purpose needles to facilitate enhanced patient safety and comfort. However, rise in awareness on needle free injections and risks associated with injections are major factors expected to hamper the overall growth of the special purpose needles market over the forecast period.The global special purpose needles market can be segmented on the basis of product type (Fine Aspirating Needles, Biopsy Needles, Hypodermic Needles, Pen Needles, Suture Needles, IV Catheter Needles, Implantation Needles, Dental Needles, Ophthalmic Needles, Blood Collection Needles, Spinal Anaesthesia Needles, Epidural Needles, AV Fistula Needles, Cannula Needles); application (Sample Collection, Drug Delivery); and distribution channel (Hospital Pharmacies, Private Clinics, Retail Pharmacies and Drug Stores, E-Commerce).Request For Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-583 Segmentation highlightsThe Pen Needles product type segment is expected to gain popularity over the forecast period, driven by increasing global adoption of small sized needles for insulin injections. The Pen Needles product type segment is estimated to reach a valuation of US$ 644.3 Mn by the end of 2016, registering a CAGR of 9.1% over the forecast period.The Sample Collection application segment is estimated to register a CAGR of 7.7% while the Drug Delivery application segment is expected to register a CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period.Demand for special purpose needles over the forecast period is expected to be the highest in the Hospital Pharmacies distribution channel segment, which is expected to register a CAGR of 8.5% in terms of value.Regional forecastThe North America market has been estimated to dominate the special purpose needles market while the market in APEJ is expected to be the fastest growing in terms of revenue growth. The markets in North America, Western Europe, and APEJ are estimated to collectively hold 74.7% market share of the global special purpose needles market in 2016.Send An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-583 Vendor insightsMedtronic, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Terumo Corporation, Smiths Medical, Boston Scientific Corporation, Novo Nordisk A/S, Argon Medical Devices, Inc., Stryker Corporation, NIPRO Medical Corporation, Cook Medical, and SERAG-WIESSNER GmbH & Co. are some of the major companies operating in the global special purpose needles market. These companies are adopting innovative strategies to bring in improvements to their product design and are initiating advanced R&D activities and market consolidation to strengthen market foothold and expand customer base.Browse Full Report@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/special-purpose-needles-market How many additional millions of people have to die before intentional fools like Bernie Sanders will acknowledge that socialism quickly destroys any society that it takes over? The death toll is easily at least 75 million when you add up all the innocent people who were starved to death, worked to death or shot in the back of the head like weve witnessed in the last 100 years in the Soviet Union, Cambodia, China, North Korea, Cuba and now Venezuela. In 1999, when the socialists took control of Venezuela it was the wealthiest country in Latin America. Venezuela still has the greatest petroleum reserves of any country in the world but children now needlessly die there because hospitals dont have very basic medicines. The average Venezuelan has lost 20 pounds because there is no food, beverages, dairy products or cooking oil. All the farms and food-processing facilities were nationalized by the government. Basic hygiene products arent to be found. An uncharismatic socialist Venezuelan dictator ignores the will of 85 percent of the people there. The capital has been locked in daily violent demonstrations for several months. Scores of demonstrators have been murdered by roving gangs of para-military goon squads, funded by the socialist dictator. Socialism is always quickly destructive. "Browse And Choose From Our World Class Research Reports" PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-15 09:17:16 Press Information Market Data Forecast USA Abhishek Manager (International Business Development) +1-888-702-9626 email http://www.marketdataforecast.com/ # 590 Words USAManager (International Business Development)+1-888-702-9626 The Global Controlled Release Fertilizers Market was worth $2400 million in 2016 and estimated to be growing at a CAGR of 5.8%, to reach $3181.56 million by 2021. These controlled and release fertilizers are recognized to improve the agricultural produce, which is a demanding need of hour due to fast urbanization and drip in the number of farming jobs as the younger population is pursuing other professions.Controlled release fertilizers are part of enriched productivity fertilizers. These are grainy fertilizers that discharge nutrients steadily into the soil. Controlled release fertilizers are generally coated or encapsulated with inorganic or organic constituents that control the level, pattern, and interval of plant nutrient release.Full report at: http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-controlled-release-fertilizers-market-965/ The difficulty of population outburst has led to reduction of arable land, which has generated a situation of increasing demand for higher food consumption and lower production. Reuniting these concerns has led to a great demand for controlled release fertilizers in the past few years. The increasing concerns of food security have persuaded several governments across the globe to approve these fertilizers to rise their produce and decrease their dependence on food imports. Consequently, in spite of the advantages of controlled release fertilizers, the market is facing issues such as increasing prices of these fertilizers, which has discouraged many farmers to invest in these products.Global market for controlled release fertilizers is segmented by type into Chemical Condensation Products, Coated and Encapsulated Fertilizers, Nitrogen Stabilizers and Other Controlled Release Fertilizers. Based on application the controlled release fertilizers market is segregated into crop based and non-crop based fertilizers. Crop based fertilizers are further divided into Grains & Cereals, Oil seeds and Fruits & Vegetables. While non-crop based fertilizers are bifurcated into Turf & Ornamental Grass and other non-crop based fertilizers. Crop based controlled release fertilizers segment is expected to increase at highest rate due to increase in demand for crops because of increase in population.Geographically the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle-East and Africa. North America is the dominating region for controlled release fertilizers market. Asia Pacific is projected to be the substantial regional segment in the coming years. This regional demand will be led by China as the demand to nourish the bursting population base remains to ask for greater crop yields in the coming years.Request sample: http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-controlled-release-fertilizers-market-965/request-sample The global market for controlled release fertilizers is described with strong competition with the large number of big and small players. The Chisso Corporation, Shandong Shikefeng Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group Co. Ltd., Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Agrium, Yara International, Israel Chemicals Ltd. (Israel), Compo GmbH Co., Sociedad Quimica Y Minera S.A. and Haifa Chemicals Limited are some of the big players in controlled release fertilizer industry.About Market Data Forecast:The publisher of this report is Market Data Forecast whose forte lies in Market research and Business Intelligence. Handling both individual and corporate clients across multiple business domains they offer syndicated/customized research to suit the clients research objective. Their research reports section offers a wide variety of market studies ranging from all-encompassing comprehensive market studies to product specific niche markets covering North America among other regions of the global market as well. For more info kindly visit, www.marketdataforecast.com Contact:Abhishek ShuklaSales Manager (International Business Development)Market Data ForecastDirect Line: +1-888-702-9626Mobile: +91 998 555 0206Mail: abhishek@ marketdataforecast.com Visit MarketDataForecast Blog @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/blog/ View latest Press Releases of MDF @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/press-releases For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. New bookstores for Missouri and New Jersey; Texas resort-town store wins top honor; Michigan and Ohio stores to reopen; and more. New Bookstore Opens in Missouri: Neighborhood Reads in Washington, Mo., celebrates its grand opening this weekend. Amazon Store Opens in New Jersey: The Paramus location of Amazon Books is in the state's largest mall. South Padre Island Bookstore Named Best in Texas: Paragraphs Books was picked as the top bookstore in the state by an online survey. A California Bookstore's Summer Reading Challenge: Cellar Door in Riverside is urging readers to read all 52 books listed on a "Literary Map of the United States." Michigan Store to Reopen After Owner Accident: Stirling Books & Brews in Albion is re-opening despite an accident that paralyzed one of the co-owners during a recent renovation. Cleveland Bookstore to Reopen: Guide to Kulture bookstore will reopen in a new location this month, alongside a new black box theater. Average revenue per pay-TV user varies from the $26 per month in Mexico to $95 in the US, reveals a report by OTI Telecom. However, when analysing the share of household income necessary to pay for a TV subscription in each country, the figures vary from an average 10.3% in Bolivia to 2% in the US.The monthly ARPU registered by OTI Telecom across Latin America, the US, Spain and Portugal (defined as IbAm-EUA region), is $48.3. This figure has been expressed under the purchasing power parity (PPP) theory to reduce differences caused by currency fluctuations.Mexico and Portugal have the lower ARPU levels in the region. In Mexico, this is due to a price contraction of basic satellite packages, which have the lowest rates in the region. In Portugal, convergence is reducing costs for operators, which are offering cheaper packages, says the report The highest ARPU reported by OTI Telecom is registered in the US. However, when looking at affordability, the North American country is among the most convenient territories in which to subscribe to pay-TV.The monthly $95 invoiced through each US subscriber represents only 2% of the average income of US families. On the other hand, Central American countries pay less for the services, but allocate a larger share of their incomes to subscribe to pay-TV, stated the report.According to OTI Telecom, affordability is what matters when trying to explain pay-TV penetration in the region. In fact, Portugal, Mexico and the US, the three reported countries with highest service penetration , also have the most affordable pay-TV offerings. Pay-TV businesses in Latin America face a variety of threats, including high levels of economic inequality, strong free-to-air (FTA) TV offerings, growing take-up of over-the-top (OTT) services, and rising rates of pay-TV piracy. This is according to the Pay-TV Innovation Forum, developed by Nagra and MTM.However, some countries, such as Mexico and Peru, have reported significant growth in recent years, and the industry is expected to increase at a moderate rate in the near future.Industry executives acknowledge that content piracy has become a significantly bigger issue in the pay-TV industry over the last couple of years. Content piracy is getting worse. In the old days of Bit Torrent, we could at least easily measure the impact, but now its much harder as a lot of it has shifted into IPTV and OTT-based boxes, says the report.As for the over-the-top (OTT) sector, industry executives taking part at the pay-TV innovation Forum said it was rapidly developing and is challenging the pay-TV realm.Latin American pay-TV operators have recognised, and to a certain extent responded to, the growing pressures from OTT competitors by introducing their own OTT services, said Simon Trudelle, senior director, product marketing, Nagra. 78% of major pay-TV operators in Latin America currently offer TV everywhere services, while 22% also offer standalone OTT services.As the market becomes more and more complex, improving the core pay-TV proposition will be key in the future, especially through advanced data and analytics.Pay-TV industry executives across Latin America remain focused on strengthening their core pay-TV propositions to deliver more interactive and seamless experiences across multiple devices, said Jon Watts, managing partner, MTM. In addition to this, advanced data and analytics are becoming a major area of interest and development for certain operators.They believe that advanced data and analytics will add significant value by helping pay-TV businesses better understand their customers and deliver value through highly relevant, personalised content and user interfaces, targeted advertising, and improvements to sales and marketing as well as customer service, added the executive. Billionaires Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon have merged their shareholdings in Ten after the Australian free-to-air (FTA) broadcaster entered voluntary administration. Signalling a possible future takeover of the network, Gordons company Birketu and Murdochs investment vehicle Illyria combined their 15% and 7.5% shares in the struggling TV network.Their withdrawal of credit support to Ten had triggered the insolvency process on 14 June. Administrator KordaMentha has now been appointed to run the company, after Gordon and Murdoch refused to guarantee an A$250 million finance package.Australias third largest commercial TV network will be run as much as possible on a business-as-usual basis, Ten said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange.Ten grew its revenue by 2.1% to A$341.4 million in the first half of FY17, and its commercial TV revenue share increased 1.8 points to 25.5%. However, during the same period, costs increased by 7.4% to $349 million.Ten forecasts it will lose A$30 million this year in earnings (EBITDA) but says it has already begun its transformation process with plans that could increase earnings by $50 million in FY18 and more than $80 million in FY19.The Company has agreed in principle the vast majority of the commercial terms of replacement volume content supply agreements with its US studio partners, Fox and CBS, although final terms have not yet been formally agreed, Ten said in a statement.The effect of these replacement content agreements, if finalised and implemented, would be to reduce by approximately 50% the Groups future liabilities for US content, while still allowing Ten access to the best productions of those studios over the medium term.Ten expects to save a further A$22 million in FY17 and A$12 million in FY18 in costs if changes to the federal governments licence fees are passed.The government is tabling its media reform package in Parliament on 15 June and, in light of Tens situation, has called for Labour and the minor parties in parliament to pass the package as a matter of urgency.Commercial TV lobby group Free TV has also cited the crisis at Ten as reason for the reforms to be urgently agreed.This puts the opposition, Greens and Pauline Hansons One Nation on notice that inaction on media reform has serious consequence, said Harold Mitchell, chairman, Free TV. The responsibility for the continued decline of the local media industry will sit with those that did not support the media reform package.Although administrators will consider the sale of Ten a potential option, any deal that Murdoch and Gordon may propose can only be viable if parliament passes the media reform package.Currently, Australian legislation only allows an owner to have control of two out of three media outlets such as television, radio and print in one market. The governments reform package seeks to abolish this two out of three rule, although the Labour Party opposes this proposal. The SPI/FILMBOX deal wagon keeps rolling with the news that the company has won the rights to offer a new ten-episode story of the Knights Templars, Knightfall from A+E Studios as well as the new German crime series Einstein from Red Arrow International. Both series will air on FilmBox movie channels across Eastern Europe and in several other territories as SPI continues its worldwide expansion.Developed by HISTORY, and produced by A+E Studios in association with The Combine and Midnight Radio, Knightfall comes from executive producers Dominique Minghella, Don Handfield, Richard Rayner and American Hustle, The Hurt Locker lead Jeremy Renner. It chronicles the mysterious but true accounts of the Knights Templar, the elite warriors of the Crusades. Tom Cullen (Downton Abbey) stars as Landry while Renner appears as a guest star on the show. Knightfall will come to FilmBox channels in 2018 in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and the former Yugoslavian states.Einstein is produced by Zeitsprung Pictures and distributed worldwide by Red Arrow International. It is based on a young university professor accused of the theft and abuse of illicit stimulants until the police offer him an extraordinary deal: if he agrees to help them solve crimes, he wont have to serve a prison sentence. The protagonist is the great-grandson of Albert Einstein. The ten-episode show starring Tom Beck will premiere on FilmBox channels in the autumn.We have been focusing on worldwide expansion of our distribution footprint and we are fully committed to bringing more exclusive content to our channels across all the markets, commented Berk Uziyel, executive director for SPI International/FILMBOX. We are happy to bring to our viewers Knightfall, an excellent series which shows both the history and the legend of the Templars. We are also excited to have acquired Einstein as it offers an innovative approach to the crime format and which appeals to younger audiences.We are extremely excited to cement our partnership with FILMBOX with a show like Knightfall. We know their audience will love the characters and storytelling, added Marica Giessen, senior sales manager, EMEA for A+E Networks WASHINGTON -- U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says President Donald Trump has given him the authority to establish troop levels in Afghanistan but that the president has not given him "carte blanche" to set strategy in the war-torn country. Speaking on June 15 before the House Appropriations Committee, Mattis also said that "we're not looking at a purely military strategy" and that the U.S. effort must be one that leads to "reconciliation," without elaborating. Mattis repeated what he told a Senate panel a day earlier, that he would present a new military strategy for Afghanistan to the president within weeks, including an adjusted troop number. Before the House panel, he said Trump "has delegated details of the forces that will be allocated to support what he approves as a strategy." "But I assure you this is not a carte blanche for me to come up with numbers that are going into this interagency, foreign-policy-led effort." He said the president "maintains strategic oversight, he is an actively engaged, a very hard questioner about what the strategy is." After his comments before the Senate panel, some critics had expressed concerns that Trump had handed over too much authority to the military to set strategy in Afghanistan. Mattis declined to answer directly when asked how long U.S. troops would be engaged in Afghanistan or what would constitute a "victory" in the conflict. "As far as what it is we would be doing to bring this to a better conclusion, we've got to recognize that we tried to leave the Afghan forces before they were fully mature, without the sufficient air support that would allow them to hold the high ground." He said future strategy would need to "marry itself to reality," one that does not "add to [Afghan forces'] responsibility without preparing them for success. If that means we have to keep advisers with them a little longer...we will do so." He also said the United States must "work hard" on anticorruption efforts "to make this [Afghan] government more responsive to its people.... We're not looking at a purely military strategy." He repeated his earlier comments that the new U.S. strategy would take a "regional approach" rather than looking at Afghanistan in "isolation." Mattis on June 13 acknowledged that the United States was "not winning" the 16-year war in Afghanistan amid a surge by Taliban militants seeking to regain power in the country. Some outside governments, including Russia's, have urged national reconciliation to include the Taliban to restore stability in the country. U.S.-led forces invaded Afghanistan at the end of 2001 to oust the Taliban government, which was accused of sheltering Al-Qaeda militants blamed for carrying out the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. The United States has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, and army officials on the ground have told Congress that they could use an infusion of forces to bolster support for the Afghan National Army. U.S. media have reported that the defense secretary will recommend sending another 3,000-5,000 U.S. troops to break what he has called a "stalemate" between U.S.-backed government forces and the Taliban. BRUSSELS -- European lawmakers passed on June 15 a resolution calling on Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release journalist Afqan Muxtarli and drop all charges against him. The document, backed by all the main political parties in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, condemned Muxtarlis abduction in Georgia last month and his prosecution in Azerbaijan on bogus charges. The MEPs expressed strong concern that the case is another example of the Azerbaijani authorities targeting and persecuting critics living in exile and their relatives at home. They also urged the Georgian authorities to conduct a prompt, thorough, transparent, and effective investigation into Muxtarlis disappearance and to clarify beyond any doubt all suspicion regarding the involvement of Georgian state agents. Muxtarli and his wife fled to Georgia in 2015, fearing for their safety over his investigations into Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's alleged links to corruption. He was reported missing in Tbilisi on May 29, and Azerbaijani authorities later said he was in custody in Baku on suspicion of illegally crossing the border and smuggling money. Muxtarli, 43, was jailed for a preliminary three months by an Azerbaijani court. Two parliamentary groups in the European Parliament, the center-right EPP and ECR, wanted to postpone the vote on the resolution, but the proposal was narrowly turned down. The EPP and ECR groups said they wanted to give a chance to the EU's silent diplomacy as the EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn is traveling to Baku on June 15. The U.S. State Department has said the United States was "disturbed" by Muxtarlis alleged abduction in Georgia and subsequent arrest in Azerbaijan. The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff says Russia is "each and every day" undermining the credibility of the U.S. commitment to NATO and its ability to respond to the alliance. "Since World War II, the strategic source of strength for the United States is the network of allies and partners we have built up," Chairman Joseph Dunford, a Marine Corps General, told the House Appropriations Committee on June 15. "What Russia really is going about doing each and every day is undermining the credibility of our alliance commitment to NATO and our ability to respond to NATO," he said. "Thats what theyre doing. That's the most insidious thing that Russia is doing," said Dunford, who was testifying alongside Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. In addition to efforts to disrupt U.S. alliances, he said, the Russians possess nuclear weapons "in the thousands that can destroy our nation" and has significant cybercapabilities that they have been using on a regular basis. To fight these efforts, Dunford pointed to the U.S. European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) -- a program initiated in 2014 by the White House to increase the U.S. presence in Europe for security purposes -- to which the United States has allocated $4.8 billion this year, giving it three brigade combat teams and additional pre-deployed equipment in Europe. "It assures our allies that we actually are committed, and it deters Russia because they know we have the ability to respond," he said. In terms of capabilities and behavior, Dunford said, given what Russia has done in Ukraine recently and Georgia in the past, "of all the nations in the world that could pose an existential threat to our nationit would be Russia." As the process of adopting amendments to the Georgian Constitution enters what is intended to be the final phase, the level of recriminations between parliament speaker Irakli Kobakhidze, the constitutional lawyer who chaired the commission that drafted the changes, and Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has reached a new level of intensity after confidential interim comments on the draft amendments by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission were leaked last week to the Georgian media. Kobakhidze publicly blamed the president's office for that breach of confidentiality. Then, when Margvelashvili's parliamentary press secretary, Ana Dolidze, denied that Margvelashvili had ever received those comments, first deputy parliament speaker Tamara Chugoshvili said she had e-mail confirmation from the Venice Commission that the comments had indeed been sent to the president's office. Meanwhile, five civil-society organizations and two extraparliamentary political parties have made a last-ditch appeal to postpone the parliamentary debate on the amendments until the autumn parliamentary session, the website Civil.ge reported on June 8. They expressed doubt that it would be possible to hold an in-depth discussion of the Venice Commission's recommendations and reach the maximum consensus in the limited time available. Kobakhidze and Margvelashvili have been at odds since the process of drafting the amendments got under way late last year, trading accusations of insincerity, intransigence, and ignoring the interests of democracy and the Georgian people. Margvelashvili announced at the outset that he and his staff would boycott the work of the constitutional commission because he had not been named to co-chair it. Instead, he launched his own personal campaign under the slogan "The Constitution Belongs to Everyone." While the stated aim of that campaign was to elucidate public attitudes to the proposed changes, the primary focus was on tapping into public indignation over the proposed abolition of direct presidential elections, and to a lesser degree on the risks Margvelashvili claimed were inherent in the proposed abolition of the National Security Council subordinate to the president, which he heads. Those controversial changes were among several proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, whose members dominated the work of the constitutional commission. Others related to the anticipated transition from the present mixed proportional/majoritarian electoral system to a fully proportional one in which all 150 lawmakers will be elected on the basis of party lists -- a change for which opposition parties have long been lobbying. Opposition politicians nonetheless objected vehemently that two other proposed changes effectively negated the anticipated benefits of switching to the proportional system. The first was the abolition of election blocs while preserving the existing 5 percent barrier for parties to qualify for parliamentary representation that, the opposition argues, effectively leaves small parties with no chance of winning any seats. Kobakhidze's stated rationale for that change was that it would contribute to the emergence of half a dozen strong parties rather than the survival of a multiplicity of small ones. The second was the proposal that all the parliamentary mandates that remained unallocated as a result of votes cast for parties that failed to surmount the 5 percent hurdle should go to whichever party garnered the largest number of votes. Opposition parties construed that provision as intended to ensure that Georgian Dream preserves indefinitely its current constitutional majority. (Georgian Dream won the October 2016 parliamentary elections with 115 of the 150 mandates.) In light of that repeated criticism, prominent Georgian Dream lawmaker Gia Volsky suggested in late May that it might be preferable to preserve the existing mixed system. In early May, civil-society groups and NGOs had appealed to the Venice Commission of expert constitutional lawyers to rule on whether the proposed amendments are appropriate and acceptable in the Georgian context, even though Kobakhidze has said repeatedly over the past few months that parliament will not endorse any amendment that the Venice Commission deems inappropriate. And during talks with Georgian officials in Berlin later in May, Venice Commission experts were quoted as expressing overall approval of the proposed amendments while at the same time stressing the need for unspecified minor changes and to reach the maximum consensus. The Venice Commission was scheduled to unveil its formal assessment of the planned changes on June 16, after which the parliament was to vote on the amendments in the first and second readings before the end of the spring session in late June. It therefore seems likely that the interim recommendations the Venice Commission sent to Tbilisi last week were intended as both guidance and gentle pressure on the Georgian leadership to tone down the most controversial proposals in time to meet that deadline and thus save face. Venice Weighs In As quoted by the website Interpressnews.ge, the Venice Commission's experts concluded that the proposed changes constitute "a positive step forward that will strengthen democracy, the supremacy of the law, and constitutional order." At the same time, they noted that Georgia "lacks a lengthy tradition of independence of the judiciary." They further registered the risk that the majority will continue to dominate the parliament and called for a system of checks and balances to preclude that, such as establishing a bicameral parliament and strengthening the role of the parliamentary opposition. As for the proposed transition to a proportional system, the commission described it as a positive step but went on to argue that taken together, the 5 percent hurdle, the proposed abolition of electoral blocs, and the proposed allocation to the winning party of all unapportioned mandates "limit the influence of the proportional system to the detriment of pluralism and the smaller parties." The commission therefore recommended considering alternative variants, such as that the unallocated mandates either be divided among all the parties that garner 5 percent of the vote in proportion to the percentage they received, or that an upper limit be placed on the number of unallocated mandates the winning party would be entitled to, or that the barrier for parliamentary representation be lowered to 2-3 percent. With regard to the office of the president, the Venice Commission reportedly warned that the transition to the indirect election of the president by an electoral college comprising the 150 parliament deputies and 150 regional representatives "should not lead to the constant election of the presidential candidate proposed by the majority." The commission's experts reportedly did not offer any recommendation with regard to the National Security Council. Just days before their interim evaluation became public knowledge, the Tbilisi Strategic Discussion, a forum convened by Margvelashvili, released a communique arguing that the proposed constitutional amendments, including the abolition of the National Security Council, would further weaken Georgia's defense capacity insofar as they do not provide "a full-fledged and coherent legal and institutional framework for security policy formulation, planning, execution and oversight." The 27 signatories, among them two former defense ministers, three former deputy defense ministers, and a former deputy foreign minister, therefore called for revising the time frame for passage of the constitutional amendments in order to allow for a detailed analysis of the threats the country faces, Civil.ge reported. The Georgian parliament is unlikely to heed that warning, however. Kobakhidze has already gone on record as saying that "all the Venice Commission's comments are acceptable [to us]. We have promised that they will all be taken into consideration." He added that Georgian Dream was discussing the optimum limit on the number of unallocated parliamentary mandates to which the winning party would be entitled. At the same time, Kobakhidze noted that the Venice Commission did not reject outright either the proposed abolition of electoral blocs, or the 5 percent hurdle for parliamentary representation, which he pointed out was characteristic of the electoral systems of most EU member states. Those remarks suggest the party is unwilling to yield on those points. Georgian Dream is even less likely to revise its proposal to switch to the indirect election of the president. It has already made one concession by agreeing that the new mechanism will go into effect only in 2023, thereby preserving the possibility for Margvelashvili to run for a second term next year. How the tensions between the Georgian Dream-dominated parliament and the president's office will play out in the coming weeks after Kobakhidze publicly accused the president of lies, sabotage of the reform process, and systematic attacks on the parliament can only be guessed at. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL Over the past five years, Iranian officials and state media have touted the "indigenous" ingenuity in the Islamic republic's mass-produced Mohajer-6 combat drone, which Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine. But a new investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, has found that electronic components underpinning Tehran's production of the Mohajer-6 are far from homegrown. The Mohajer-6 drones contain components produced by companies from the United States and the European Union, both of which have sanctions restricting the export to Iran of such technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes dual-use technology. The presence of these components in the Mohajer-6 does not mean their producers are in violation of U.S. or EU sanctions, and RFE/RL does not have evidence that this is the case. The investigation also found Mohajer-6 components produced in China, including a real-time mini-camera made by a Hong Kong firm that said it was "very sorry" that its products were being used in war. At least one major foreign-produced component of the Mohajer-6 has previously been identified by reporters in a Mohajer-6 recovered from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military: an engine made by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products. But Ukrainian intelligence assesses that the Iranian combat drone contains components from nearly three dozen different technology companies based in North America, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan, the Schemes investigation has found. A majority of these companies are based in the United States. A Schemes reporter who personally inspected the foreign-made drone parts identified components produced by at least 15 of these manufacturers. These include parts made by the U.S. technology firm Texas Instruments, which said in a statement that it does not sell into Russia or Iran and complies with applicable laws and regulations. To identify these components, Schemes reporters examined parts of the Mohajer-6 drone that the Ukrainian military shot down over the Black Sea near the Mykolayiv region coastal town of Ochakiv. They also reviewed Ukrainian intelligence records on the sources of these components. The drone also contains a microchip bearing the logo of a California technology company and a thermal-imaging camera that Ukrainian intelligence says may have been produced by a firm based in Oregon or China. Both Western officials and experts on illicit technology transfers say Iran has built a broad, global procurement network using front companies and other proxies in third countries to obtain dual-use technology from the United States and the EU. "Exporters will look at the request coming from the [United Arab Emirates] or another third country, and they'll think that they're selling to an end user based there, when really the end user is in Iran," Daniel Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told RFE/RL. In September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions specifically targeting Iranian companies that Washington links to the production and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for deployment in its war on Ukraine. Fighting rages with no sign of an end more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion on February 24. "Non-Iranian, non-Russian entities should also exercise great caution to avoid supporting either the development of Iranian UAVs or their transfer, or sale of any military equipment to Russia for use against Ukraine," U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement announcing the sanctions. Chinese Cameras, California Chips Development of the Mohajer-6, the latest model in a series of drones Tehran has used since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, began in 2017, while mass production began the following year. During a ceremony commemorating the Islamic Revolution, then-Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that the new tactical drone could perform surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as help destroy targets. Hatami extolled what he described as the drones domestic design, a portrayal echoed in later reports by Iranian media. "The homegrown drone was made through cooperation among the army, Defense Ministry, and Quds Aviation Industries," the English-language Tehran Times quoted an Iranian military official as saying in July 2019. The dismantling of the Mohajer-6 drone recovered by the Ukrainian military shows that the UAV is packed with foreign components. One of these parts is a bright-orange real-time mini-camera produced by the Hong Kong-based company RunCam Technology. Documents seen by Schemes show that Ukrainian intelligence has also identified RunCam as the producer of the camera, which likely assists in remote guidance of the drone. Founded in 2013, RunCam is involved in the development and production of so-called "first-person-view" real-time cameras. "Our users are our friends," the company's website states. The site says that RunCam has two authorized Iranian dealers. Reached by Schemes for comment about the use of its camera in the Iranian drone deployed by Russia in its war on Ukraine, RunCam said in an e-mailed response: "We are very sorry to know that RunCam's products were used in warfare. RunCam is specialized in producing products for model aircraft hobby. We never contact any customer related to military." The provenance of the Mohajer-6 drone-s thermal-imaging camera is more difficult to determine. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Schemes indicates it could be the Ventus Hot model produced by Sierra-Olympic Technologies, based in the U.S. state of Oregon, but that it also resembles a cheaper analog available for sale by the Chinese company Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology. Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology said in an e-mailed statement that the company did not "have any business with Iran," because "it will affect our business." The company said it specializes in marine services and is not involved in manufacturing. It also said that it did not have a single successful order for its online advertisement of the thermal-imaging camera resembling the one recovered from the Iranian drone. Sierra-Olympic Technologies did not respond to a request for comment on the possible use of its thermal-imaging cameras in Iranian combat drones in time for publication. Microchips recovered from the drone also featured the logos of the California-based company Linear Technology Corporation and its parent company, the Massachusetts-based semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). ADI did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the possible use of its technology in the Iranian combat drone. Schemes reporters also observed among the components of the Iranian drone a voltage step-down converter produced by Texas Instruments. The company said in an e-mailed statement that it "does not sell into Russia, Belarus, or Iran." "TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and does not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren't designed for," Texas Instruments said. Schemes reporters also saw several components produced by the California-based technology manufacturer Xilinx, whose parent company is the multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also based in California. According to Ukrainian intelligence, one of these Xilinx components was integrated into a video data-link module located in the wing of the Mohajer-6 that helped carry out attack missions. "This module transmits information from the board to the missile head. That is, guidance for the missile. With the help of this module, it was possible to guide the missile to the target," a Ukrainian military intelligence representative told Schemes. AMD did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. 'No Authorization' Previous media reports about the components of the Mohajer-6 drone, including by CNN, have shown evidence that its engine was produced by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, whose parent company is the Quebec-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). The Canadian company responded to the reports on October 21, saying in a statement that it "has not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia." "As soon as we were made aware of this situation, we started an investigation to determine the source of the engines," BRP said. . But Schemes reporters found that the authorized Rotax distributor listed on the Austrian manufacturer's website advertised itself as a Rotax aircraft engines distributor for Iran as recently as December 2020. The distributor, the Italian company Luciano Sorlini S.p.a., has posted multiple magazine advertisements on its websites in which it describes itself as a Rotax distributor for numerous countries. Prior to January 2021, Iran was listed among these countries. The Rotax website also lists a Tehran-based company -- MahtaWing -- as an official service center for its engines. The company, known in Persian as Mahtabal, conducts repairs of Rotax engines, including the Rotax 912 iS, the engine that was found in the Mohajer-6 combat drone recovered in Ukraine. BRP said in an e-mailed statement on November 4 that while Luciano Sorlini S.p.a. is the appointed distributor of Rotax aircraft engines in Iran, "since 2019, no Rotax engines have been sold in Iran, and we will not sell any engines to Iran moving forward." The Canadian company said it had "internal controls" that "significantly" restrict the sale of its products for military purposes. "For example, the sale of any BRP product to operators with any military activity in Iran, Turkey, and Russia is strictly prohibited," BRP said. "We conduct our business in compliance with all EU, Canadian, and U.S. applicable regulations." BRP described the Iranian company MahtaWing as a "local service center" that "offers maintenance services for previously sold aircraft engines." Shahriar Siami of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report. Reports from Afghanistan say the extremist group Islamic State (IS) has captured Tora Bora, a mountainous area in eastern Afghanistan that was once Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Ladens hideout. An audio recording broadcast on the militants' Radio Khilafat station on June 14 said the IS flag was flying over the extensive cave and tunnel complex in Nangarhar Province following fierce clashes with Taliban fighters. Unidentified local officials and elders confirmed that Tora Bora and surrounding areas have fallen into IS control. They also said that several days of fighting have prompted hundreds of families to flee their homes. However, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on June 15 that the group had pushed back IS fighters from the areas that they had earlier captured. Al-Qaeda militants led by bin Laden hid in the warren of caves in Tora Bora following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 that ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul. The United States invaded because Al-Qaeda carried out the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that brought down the World Trade Center in New York, damaged the Pentagon, and killed nearly 3,000 people. Based on reporting by AP, dpa, Pajhwok, and The New York Times ASTANA -- One person has died and another was injured in a fire that officials say broke out when part of a Russian rocket fell to earth in central Kazakhstan. A spokesman for Kazakhstans Committee for Emergencies, Ruslan Imankulov, told RFE/RL on June 15 that the fire was caused by part of a rocket that was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome the previous day, carrying a cargo ship bound for the International Space Station (ISS). A piece of the booster rocket hit the ground some 20 kilometers from the village of Talap, sparking a fire that local residents began fighting to prevent it from spreading to the village, Imankulov said. He said one person died while fighting the fire and another was hospitalized with burns. Imankulov told reporters earlier in the day that the part of the rocket that fell to Earth did not contain toxic substances. He said the fire was extinguished early in the morning on June 15. -- Vladimir Putin took questions from Russians across the country in the Direct Line program, which lasted four hours. -- Putin said there was no cause for the new sanctions against Moscow that are under consideration in the U.S. Congress, and that the aim of Western sanctions is to hold Russia back. -- Putin said the country had pulled out of a long recession and that "the economy has moved to a period of growth." -- The Direct Line program is one of three high-profile annual events that Putin uses to burnish his image in Russia, send signals abroad, and offer hints about future plans. -- This year's rendition comes at a time of social tension in Russia, just days after police detained more than 1,500 people at anticorruption protests in cities across the country on June 12. In addition, Moscow has seen numerous protests in recent weeks over a controversial government plan to raze and replace thousands of Soviet-era residential buildings. *NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Moscow (GMT/UTC +3) President Vladimir Putin said that a U.S. Senate move to increase sanctions against Moscow came "out of the blue" and were meant to "restrain Russia." On June 14, the U.S. Senate approved further sanctions over alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election. The measure also would prevent President Donald Trump from unilaterally easing existing sanctions imposed since 2014 over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and meddling in Ukraine. During his annual question-and-answer session with Russian citizens on June 15, Putin said Russia would remove its counter-sanctions on goods from other countries if they removed their sanctions imposed on Moscow. (Reuters) MOSCOW -- When Ukraine was finally granted visa-free travel to the European Union last week, President Petro Poroshenko hailed it as a "final break" with the "Russian Empire," quoting 19th-century Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov with a smile: "Farewell, unwashed Russia!" When Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked about the comment in his annual call-in program on June 15, he fired right back at Poroshenko. Quoting the poem in its entirety, Putin used it to suggest that Ukraine is historically a province of Russia and to quip that Ukraine should have its guard up in "gay" Europe. Throughout Putin's third presidential term, Russia has cast itself as a bastion of "traditional" values, introducing for instance legislation to prevent minors being exposed to "nontraditional" propaganda, although officials have never explicitly condemned homosexuality. 'Running Around With Swastikas' In his call-in program, called Direct Line and featuring questions from selected Russians, the president began by playfully praising Poroshenko for knowing his Russian classics, eliciting chuckles from older men in the studio audience. He then quoted the whole poem from memory, zeroing in on the first stanza: Farewell unwashed Russia, the land of slaves, the land of lords, And you, blue uniforms of gendarmes, And you, obedient to them folks." Putin noted Lermontov wrote the poem in 1841 when he was traveling to fight as a Russian officer in the Caucasus, a region also then a part of the Russian Empire despite the "farewell unwashed Russia" reference. In an aside, Putin then noted that, at the time the poem was written, Ukraine was a province of the Russian Empire, echoing his controversial contention to U.S. President George W. Bush in 2008 that "Ukraine is not even a country." "Perhaps Poroshenko is trying to send a signal that he also is not going anywhere," said Putin, "but he does this so subtly, with an eye to the patriots and to the real nationalists, idiots, who are running around with swastikas." The latter comment dovetailed with Moscow's portrayal of Ukraine as teeming with "fascists" and violent ultranationalists, a depiction developed throughout Ukraine's 2014 Euromaidan revolution to legitimize Moscow's annexation of Crimea and its alleged support for separatists in Ukraine's east. 'Civilizational Choice' Finally, Putin punned on the word "blue" (also meaning "gay" in Russian) in Lermontov's poem to suggest that Ukraine should beware because there are actually "more gays" in Europe than in the Russia. "In fact, probably Pyotr Alekseyevich wanted to show his voters that he is carrying out his promises, making a civilizational choice as the Ukraine leadership now says, a civilizational choice to take the country into Europe." "By the way, there are many more blue uniforms [gays] there than here, so he shouldn't relax too much, [and] just in case, he should keep a look out about him." As the camera panned to the audience, many people were laughing, although at least one person frowned in apparent disapproval. Russia's track record on gay rights has been in the spotlight most recently as activists have accused officials in the Russian republic of Chechnya of rounding up more than 100 homosexuals in a campaign of persecution, holding them in a "secret prison," and subjecting them to severe abuse. YEREVAN -- Armenia has proposed creating a demilitarized zone with international guarantees around Azerbaijan's mostly Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Speaking at a weekly session of his government on November 10, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said he voiced this proposal, originally put forth by Nagorno-Karabakhs de facto authorities, at a meeting on October 31 with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan in Sochi, Russia. "It is proposed to create a demilitarized zone around Nagorno-Karabakh with international guarantees, as a result of which Nagorno-Karabakh may not need a defense army of that scale. This proposal is still valid, I think," Pashinian said. Pashinian also said an updated proposal on the demilitarization of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border zone was proposed to Azerbaijan, suggesting it withdraw its troops from the border line confirmed in 1991 when both nations gained independence, creating a three-kilometer demilitarized zone on either side. Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of cease-fire violations along the border in recent days. A spokesman for Armenia's Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers had been shot and wounded on November 10 along the border in what Yerevan says was a fresh cease-fire violation by Baku. Aram Torosian said the Armenian soldier was wounded by "an enemy shot" and was in severe condition. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry issued a statement denying the report. "Azerbaijani units did not open fire in the mentioned direction," the statement said, calling the report a "lie." Baku on November 9 accused ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh of firing at Azerbaijani military positions in the east of the region the previous night. De facto Armenian authorities in Stepanakert denied the accusation. Reports of shootings along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and in Karabakh come days after the latest round of talks focused on a peace deal between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, that was hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on November 7. In a statement issued on the results of the talks the Armenian and Azerbaijani ministers said they agreed to expedite negotiations and organize another meeting in the coming weeks. During the October 31 meeting hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pashinian and Aliyev pledged not to use force to resolve the conflict. Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of invading and occupying parts of its territory in the border zone during several incursions since May 2021. Azerbaijan denies any occupation, referring to the fact of the absence of delimitation and demarcation of the nearly 500-kilometer border between the two South Caucasus nations. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for years. Some 30,000 people were killed in a war in the early 1990s that left ethnic Armenians in control of the breakaway region and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan proper. The two sides fought another war in 2020 that lasted six weeks and killed thousands of people on both sides before a Russia-brokered cease-fire, resulting in Armenians' losing control over parts of the region and the adjacent districts. Under the cease-fire agreement Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops in the region to serve as peacekeepers. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. With reporting by AFP and RFE/RL's Armenian Service Authorities in Russia's Chechnya region say they have dropped charges against a man who was handed over by Belarus, despite warnings that he could be tortured or killed in Chechnya. Law enforcement officials in Chechnya said on June 15 that charges against Murad Amriyev were dropped the previous day. Amriyev, a former mixed-martial-arts champion from Chechnya who says he was tortured by police there in 2013, had fled to Belarus on June 7 after evading Chechen police who were trying to take him into custody. On June 9, Belarusian authorities handed Amriyev over to the Russian authorities, who then transferred him to Chechnya. Chechen authorities said they wanted to question Amriyev about allegations that he intentionally used a false passport. Rights defenders have decried his transfer to Chechnya, saying he might face torture or even death there. The United States on June 9 expressed concerns about Amriyev's "safety and well-being" after Belarus returned him to Russia. On June 10, Chechen authorities released Amriyev but ordered him not to leave the Chechen capital, Grozny, while investigations into his case were under way. With reporting by TASS and Interfax The U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly approved legislation that included tougher new sanctions against Russia and Iran, making it more difficult for President Donald Trump to ease existing restrictions without congressional approval. The Senate on June 15 voted 98-2 to pass the legislation, which will now be sent to the House of Representatives for approval before being sent to Trump for his signature. Senator Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) said, "Any idea of the president's that he can lift sanctions on his own for whatever reason are dashed by this legislation." The measure looks to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for his country's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and to make Iran pay a price for its "continued support of terrorism." A day earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a plea for patience from lawmakers in relation to Russia, saying the administration feared being "handcuffed" by the new measure. By tying Iran and Russia together, Congress has made it more difficult for Trump to oppose the action. The Russia amendment was part of a larger measure that targets Iran for sanctions over its ballistic missile program, human rights violations, and other issues. The president, who has been highly critical of Iran, would have to reject the tougher sanctions against Tehran if he rejected other parts of the legislation. In the House, the Republican speaker, Paul Ryan, has signaled backing for the measures, although his partys support for the measure may not be as strong as in the Senate. Based on reporting by Reuters, CNN, and AFP Supporters of Akhtem Chiygoz, the head of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis who has been held by Russian authorities since January 2015, say a Russian court in the annexed Ukrainian region of Crimea has rejected a request that Chiygoz be allowed to see his mother, who is reportedly dying of cancer. The Russian-installed High Court of Crimea made the ruling on June 15, although Chiygoz's lawyers said doctors say his mother, Aliye Abduraimovna, most likely has only days to live. Chiygoz is charged with organizing an illegal demonstration in the Crimean capital of Simferopol on February 26, 2014, outside the Crimean parliament. Lawyers say the charges are absurd because the demonstration came before Moscow's annexation of the Ukrainian region and no Ukrainian laws were violated. Some analysts have argued that the massive demonstration forced Moscow to use its own military personnel to carry out the annexation instead of relying on local supporters. Chiygoz, 52, and two other Crimean Tatars charged in connection with the demonstration -- Ali Asanov and Mustafa Degermendzhy -- have been declared political prisoners by Russia's Memorial human rights group. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other international organizations have called for their release. Russian political activist Ildar Dadin has been fined after reading aloud from the Russian Constitution on Red Square outside the Kremlin. A court in Moscow fined Dadin 20,000 rubles ($350) on June 15 for holding a public gathering without permission from the authorities. He was detained on Red Square on June 12, amid antigovernment protests elsewhere in central Moscow and in cities nationwide. Dadin was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2015, when he was convicted under a controversial law that criminalizes participation in more than one unsanctioned public gathering in a 180-day period. The punishment was later reduced to 2 1/2 years, and he was released on February 26 after the Supreme Court threw out his conviction and ordered the case closed. Dadin, the only person convicted under the law, was considered a political prisoner by major human rights groups. His plight attracted additional attention last autumn, when he alleged he and other inmates had been tortured and abused at a prison in Karelia. Since his release, Dadin has continued to protest to call attention to abuse and inhumane conditions in Russian prisons. Based on reporting by Rapsinews and Interfax U.S. President Donald Trump says that an investigation touching on whether he tried to obstruct justice stems from what he asserts is a "phony story" about possible collusion between his campaign and Russia. Trump made the remark on Twitter on June 15, a day after The Washington Post reported that special counsel Robert Mueller -- who has been investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether there was any collusion by Trump's campaign -- is now also examining whether Trump tried to obstruct justice. "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," Trump tweeted. In a subsequent tweet, Trump wrote, "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history -- led by some very bad and conflicted people!" In Russia, meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin repeated a denial that Moscow interfered in the U.S. election -- and made mocking remarks about former FBI Director James Comey during a nationally televised call-in show. Comey, who was fired by Trump in May, testified in a Senate hearing last week that he believes his dismissal was an attempt to exert influence on the investigation into alleged Russian interference and possible collusion. Comey has also said Trump asked him to drop an investigation into ties between Michael Flynn, who advised Trump during the campaign and briefly served as national security adviser after Trump's inauguration, and Russian officials. In January, the U.S. intelligence community issued an assessment that Putin "ordered an influence campaign" aimed at the U.S. presidential election, with goals including undermining faith in the U.S. democratic system, denigrating Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, and improving Trump's chances of winning the presidency. Trump has denied any collusion between himself or any of his associates and Russia, and Putin has denied that Moscow sought to interfere in the election. Putin repeated that denial -- and took at aim at Comey -- during the tightly choreographed Direct LIne program on June 15. Responding to a question phoned in by a U.S. man from the state of Arizona, Putin said that Comey's testimony did not include any evidence that Russia meddled in the election. He said that is was "very strange" for Comey to relay the content of conversations with Trump and likened Comey to Edward Snowden, the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor who fled the United States after leaking details of extensive surveillance activities by U.S. intelligence and who has lived since 2013 in Russia, where he has been granted asylum. Noting that Comey had "made a record of a conversation with the commander in chief" and then conveyed it to the media through a friend, Putin said: "If this is so, then there is no difference between Comey and Snowden as he is then a rights defender" -- a term he has used in the past to describe Snowden. "By the way, if he faces any kind of persecution in this regard, we are ready to provide him with political asylum in Russia," he said wryly of Comey. "He has to know this." Ukrainian forces have liberated 41 settlements in the south of the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on November 10 but noted the "brutal struggle" and the "lives given for freedom for Ukrainians." In his nightly address Zelenskiy said: "Today we have good news from the south. The number of Ukrainian flags returning to their rightful place within the framework of the ongoing defense operation is already dozens," he said, adding that 41 settlements have been liberated. But he stressed that even as Ukrainians rejoice, they must remember that "every step by our defense forces represents...lives given for the freedom of Ukrainians. Everything that is happening now has been achieved by months of brutal struggle. It was achieved through courage, pain, and losses." Zelenskiy spoke a day after the Russian defense minister announced the withdrawal of Russian troops from the west bank of the Dnieper River, the latest in a number of setbacks for Moscow on battlefields in Ukraine's east and southeast. Zelenskiy did not specify the number of Ukrainian troops killed in the effort to reclaim the settlements, where he said stabilization measures have begun. He noted the Russian troops left behind thousands of land mines and ammunition as they retreated from Kherson. Presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said the land mines turned Kherson into a "city of death" and predicted they would shell it from occupied areas across the Dnieper River. Vitaliy Kim, the regional military administration chief in the Mykolayiv region, said Ukrainian soldiers had already entered the outer suburbs of Kherson. He declined to give further details to avoid revealing the military's plans. Russia said it began withdrawing troops on November 10 from Kherson city. The Ukrainian military's General Staff said the withdrawal was taking place slowly to allow the Russian forces to reinforce positions on the other bank of the Dnieper River. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said it will take Russia at least a week to withdraw from the city of Kherson. He told Reuters Russia had 40,000 troops in Kherson region and it still had forces in the city, around the city, and on the west bank of the Dnieper River. "It's not that easy to withdraw these troops from Kherson in one day or two days. As a minimum, [it will take] one week," he said. Ukrainian Army chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy said earlier that Kyiv could not yet confirm whether Russia was indeed pulling out from the southern Kherson region but said Ukrainian forces were continuing their advance. "We continue to conduct the offensive operation in line with our plan," he wrote in a post on Telegram. Ukrainian officials said Moscow's forces had no choice but to flee Kherson, yet they remained cautious, fearing an ambush. "The enemy had no other choice but to resort to fleeing," armed forces chief Zaluzhniy said, because Kyiv's army destroyed supply systems and disrupted Russia's local military command. Kherson is strategically important, as it controls both the only land route to Ukraine's Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and the mouth of the Dnieper, which bisects Ukraine. Recapturing the city could provide Ukraine a launching pad for supplies and troops to try to win back other lost territory in the south, including Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in late September celebrated the annexation of Kherson and three other Ukrainian regions and vowed to defend them by any means, has not commented on the withdrawal. With reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller is examining whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice by trying to quash part of an FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and then firing the FBI director, The Washington Post reported on June 14. The inquiry into possible obstruction of justice, which is a criminal offense in the United States, started days after Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, The Washington Post said, citing anonymous officials, and marks a major turning point in an investigation that began nearly a year ago as a probe of signs that Russia was attempting to influence the elections through repeated leaks of Democratic e-mails. Comey testified last week that he believes he was fired because Trump was unhappy with the Russia investigation, which Trump has called a "witch hunt." Its my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation, Comey said. I was fired, in some way, to change -- or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. Also under examination, The Post said, is Trump's suggestion to Comey in February that he drop an investigation into Russia's ties with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Trump later repeated that request to other White House officials involved with the investigation. Comey testified that he thought Trump's request to "let go" of the Flynn probe was "very disturbing...very concerning" and that he expects Mueller will closely examine whether it amounted to an obstruction of justice "offense." Trump's legal team quickly denounced The Post report. "The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable, and illegal," a spokesman for Trumps legal team, Mark Corallo, said. Earlier this week, a month after Trump fired Comey, a close associate of Trump said the president was considering firing Mueller, as well, though he was installed by the Justice Department to conduct the Russia investigation only a few weeks ago. After the comment by Newsmax Media chief executive Christopher Ruddy in an interview with PBS, the White House denied that Trump has any plans to fire Mueller, but said he has the "right" to do so. While a sitting president is unlikely to face criminal prosecution, obstruction of justice could form the basis for his impeachment in Congress. Some Democrats in Congress have started to press for impeachment of Trump, citing obstruction of justice, but any move to start an impeachment process faces steep hurdles as it would require approval by the U.S. House of Representatives, which is controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans. With reporting by The Washington Post, Reuters, and AFP New 2018 BMW 6-Series GT receives a sculpted design with flowing lines and an overall sporty feel. It is being offered in the four door, crossover, hatchback style, as it takes the place of the outgoing 5 Series Gran Turismo. The car was unveiled at the hands of BMW Indias brand ambassador, Mr Sachin Tendulkar at the 2018 Auto Expo earlier this year. The new BMW 6 Series GT is seen with extensive use of aluminum and high tensile steel in its body and chassis. In the front it receives a new front grille, full LED headlights, 19 wheels and air suspension on its rear axle. It also comes in with BMWs Active Driving Assistant while there is an optional M Sport package as well. Interiors offer enhanced space, comfort and the latest in technology and safety features. The new 6-Series GT gets a 10.25 high definition display, BMW iDrive infotainment system with 16 speakers, 1400 watt Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system, heads up display and BMW gesture control technology. Safety features include Active Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning and Cross Traffic Warning. 2018 BMW 630i Gran Turismo is powered by a 2.0 liter turbocharged, inline-four cylinder petrol engine offering 190 hp peak power and 400 Nm torque sending power to wheels via an 8 speed automatic gearbox. Acceleration is pegged at 0 to 100 kmph in 6.3 seconds. After launching the petrol variant back in February, BMW India today announced the launch of diesel variant of the 6 Series GT. Two trims are on offer BMW 630d Gran Turismo Luxury Line and BMW 630d Gran Turismo M Sport. Price Rs 66.5 lakhs and Rs 73.7 lakhs respectively, ex-showroom. Price of the petrol BMW 630i Gran Turismo Luxury Line is Rs 61.8 lakhs, ex-sh. Mr. Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India said, With the launch of the first-ever BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo, we created a new segment in the Indian luxury car market. The first-ever BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo immediately stands out from the crowd due to its striking presence and alluring coupe style. With the trademark BMW driving pleasure and long-distance comfort, it creates an unrivalled experience for both the driver and passengers. The success of the first-ever BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo will now be taken forward as we present it in a new diesel variant, broadening the range of choices for our discerning customers. Despite legislation prohibiting the use of ultraviolet (UV) indoor tanning facilities by minors, one in every five tanning salons in US states where such bans are in place stated over the phone that they would allow an underaged caller to do so. Many others provide inaccurate health information about indoor tanning, says Leah Ferrucci, of the Yale School of Public Health in the US. She led a study in Springer's journal Translational Behavioral Medicine. Research has shown that indoor tanning increases a person's risk of developing different types of skin cancer. In the US alone, up to 400,000 skin cancer cases are attributed to indoor tanning. The risk of contracting the disease is higher for people who have been using such facilities frequently from a young age. Effort is therefore made to raise awareness about possible dangers among young people, while some states and cities have introduced bans prohibiting minors from using indoor tanning facilities. Ferrucci's team set out to assess compliance with these bans, and whether tanning salons provided accurate health information about the dangers and benefits attached to these services. To do so, research assistants posing as potential underaged clients phoned tanning salons in the states of Connecticut, New York, California, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. These are states in which bans were in place prohibiting people younger than either 17 or 18 years from using indoor tanning facilities at the time the research was conducted. "While most businesses followed the indoor tanning ban when a minor called, one-fifth did not. Many stated inaccurate health claims," Ferrucci explains. Of the 412 respondents, 19.9 percent stated they would provide the service to the minor caller. Fifty-one (12.4 percent) respondents replied with an outright "yes," while 31 (7.5 percent) said that it depended, or that a minor could do so with permission from an authorized health professional or guardian. Businesses located in the Southern parts of the US had the lowest compliance, with 28.7 percent willing to let a minor use their services. Compliance was highest (87.9 percent) in states where bans have been in place for at least two years. It was further found that some tanning businesses provide false or misleading information about the health implications of indoor tanning. Vitamin D production, cosmetic reasons and treatment of skin diseases were commonly claimed as benefits, while 10 percent of respondents denied any dangers associated with the practice of indoor tanning. Only 20.1 percent said it could potentially cause skin cancer. "Enacting well-crafted age restriction laws to maximize compliance through enforcement of penalties on the state level and moving towards a national ban with similar accompanying strong enforcement as proposed by many national and international health organizations are essential to reduce skin cancer risk in the vulnerable youth population," she adds. Carbon is one of the most versatile elements: it forms the basis for an enormous number of chemical compounds, it has several allotropes of different dimensionality, and it exhibits many different bonding geometries. For this reason, carbon materials have had a special place in materials research for a long time. Although the three-dimensional forms of carbon -- diamond and graphite -- are known since ancient times, it took until 1985 before the first low-dimensional carbon allotrope, the quasi-zero-dimensional fullerene, was discovered. Soon after this, in 1991, the one-dimensional carbon nanotubes were brought to the attention of the scientific community, and in 2004 the two-dimensional carbon allotrope, graphene, became experimental reality. Different combinations of carbon allotropes such as fullerene-filled carbon nanotubes (carbon peapods) and graphite intercalated by fullerenes have been made already. In the article published in Science Advances, the scientists at the University of Vienna demonstrate a hybrid carbon system, termed buckyball sandwich, in which a single layer of fullerenes is encapsulated between two graphene sheets. The analysis of the structure via atomically resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy provided insights into the dynamics of the molecules. At the edges of the fullerene layers, the scientists could observe the diffusion of individual fullerenes within the pocket of the graphene sandwich: Due to the movement of the fullerenes, they are only partially visible in the image (recorded line by line, so that mobile fullerenes only appear on some of the lines). Moreover, fullerenes were found to rotate inside the sandwich -- however this rotation was blocked when the fullerenes merged into larger objects due to extended electron irradiation. With the fullerene-graphene system, the scientists have created a new material that fills a gap in the available combinations of hybrid carbon heterostructures. The graphene sandwich provides a nanoscale reaction chamber and a clean interface to the microscope vacuum, that allows the observation of molecular dynamics in the transmission electron microscope. Therefore the researchers expect that this work also opens many new avenues for studying the structure and dynamics of molecules similarly encapsulated in the 2D space between graphene sheets. Farmers in Montana, and other parts of the Northern Great Plains, are shifting from cereal mono-cropping to a cereal-dry pea cropping system. This transition is not without its share of unknowns, however. Yield and performance of pea crops depend on both their genetics and the environment. Environmental factors such as temperature and rainfall can vary greatly. Farmers in different parts of the Plains need to know which varieties of pea will do well in the area they are farming. Chengci Chen of Montana State University is working to generate that information. He has been studying how pea genetics interact with the environment to affect crop yields, and pea protein and starch content. "Ultimately, I hope to be able to recommend which pea varieties to cultivate to growers in various environments," says Chen. To do that, Chen and his colleagues tested how nine different varieties of pea performed when grown in five locations across Montana. These locations were spread across the state and had different soils and climatic conditions. Chen examined yield and protein and starch content of the different pea varieties. "These are characteristics that are important to growers and end users," he says. Pea varieties that have higher yield can bring more profits to producers. Varieties that have higher protein or starch contents interest different end users. For example, "dry yellow peas are fractionated into protein, starch, and fiber. These components are widely used in food ingredients, especially by health-food businesses," Chen explains. "The market for pea protein is growing rapidly because it is non-dairy and allergen-friendly." When the researchers evaluated the nine pea varieties grown in different environments, they found that "pea yield is affected by both genetics and environment, but environment has the larger effect," Chen says. Pea protein content is largely affected by environment as well. However, one kind of starch -- resistant starch -- content is mainly controlled by genetics. advertisement "Resistant starch is important because it is beneficial to human health," says Chen. It's a type of starch that escapes digestion in the small intestine. Instead, it is fermented by intestinal bacteria in the large intestine into short-chain fatty acids. "These short-chain fatty acids can be absorbed by the colon or used by bacteria as energy, which provides many benefits to the colon and to the body," says Chen. Also, since resistant starch does not release glucose within the small intestine, it helps balance the body's blood sugars. That helps everyone, especially individuals with diabetes. Growing pea crops benefit the environment as well. "Pea is an excellent rotation crop for wheat," says Chen. "It helps control weeds, diseases, and insects. It also fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere." Pea crops require very little nitrogen fertilizer as a result, which reduces energy cost and greenhouse emissions. Finally, "pea-wheat rotations produce higher yield," says Chen. "They provide farmers with more net returns than traditional cereal mono-cropping in the Northern Great Plains." Chen hopes his research will help guide growers on which varieties of peas will grow best in different environments. "Our findings will help farmers identify site-specific varieties of pea or select general varieties for a broader area," says Chen. "Also, growers will be able to choose pea varieties with a specific trait, such as higher resistant starch content, and grow them for different end users." Chen continues to work with plant breeders to develop new varieties of pea with higher protein or resistant starch content. He also aims to overcome limiting factors to help peas thrive for optimum yield. College students attending an Oregon university are using more marijuana now that the drug is legal for recreational use, but the increase is largely among students who also report recent heavy use of alcohol, a new study has found. Oregon State University researchers compared marijuana usage among college students before and after legalization and found that usage increased at several colleges and universities across the nation but it increased more at the Oregon university. None of the universities were identified in the study. "It does appear that legalization is having an effect on usage, but there is some nuance to the findings that warrant further investigation," said the study's lead author, David Kerr, an associate professor in the School of Psychological Science in OSU's College of Liberal Arts. "We found that overall, at schools in different parts of the country, there's been an increase in marijuana use among college students, so we can't attribute that increase to legalization alone." The results were published today in the journal Addiction. Co-authors are Harold Bae and Sandi Phibbs of OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences and Adam Kern of the University of Michigan. The study is believed to be the first to examine marijuana usage patterns following legalization of recreational marijuana in Oregon and the first to examine the effects of any state's legalization on college students. Voters in Oregon approved legalization in 2014 and the law took effect in 2015. advertisement Oregon's legalization of marijuana is part of a larger trend among U.S. states, but little research has been done so far to understand the impact. In their study, Kerr and his colleagues set out to begin addressing some of those questions. "It's an important current issue and even the most basic effects have not been studied yet, especially in Oregon," he said. "There are a lot of open questions about how legalization might affect new users, existing users and use of other substances." Researchers used information collected in the Healthy Minds Study, a national survey of college students' mental health and well-being -- including substance use -- conducted by the University of Michigan. The study is designed to give colleges and universities information to help them understand the needs of their student populations. As part of the survey, participants are asked about marijuana and cigarette use in the previous 30 days, as well as frequency of heavy alcohol use within the previous two weeks. Using data from a large public university in Oregon and six other four-year universities around the country where recreational marijuana is not legal, researchers compared rates of marijuana use before and after the drug was legalized in Oregon. They also examined frequency of heavy alcohol use and cigarette use at those points. advertisement The researchers found that the overall rates of marijuana use rose across the seven schools. Rates of binge drinking -- where a person consumes four to five or more drinks in a period of about two hours -- stayed the same and cigarette use declined in that period. "It's likely that the rise in marijuana use across the country is tied in part to liberalization of attitudes about the drug as more states legalize it, for recreational or medical purposes or both," Kerr said. "So legalization both reflects changing attitudes and may influence them even outside of states where the drug is legal." Researchers also found that marijuana use rates were generally higher, overall, among male students; those living in Greek or off-campus housing; those not identifying as heterosexual; and those attending smaller, private institutions. One area where legalization had a marked impact was among college students who indicated recent binge drinking; students at the Oregon university who reported binge drinking were 73 percent more likely to also report marijuana use compared to similar peers at schools in states where marijuana remains illegal. "We think this tells us more about the people who binge drink than about the effects of alcohol itself," Kerr said. "Those who binge drink may be more open to marijuana use if it is easy to access, whereas those who avoid alcohol for cultural or lifestyle reasons might avoid marijuana regardless of its legal status." The researchers also found that Oregon students under age 21 -- the minimum legal age for purchasing and using marijuana -- showed higher rates of marijuana use than those over 21. "This was a big surprise to us, because legalization of use is actually having an impact on illegal use," said Bae, the study's primary statistician. These initial findings about marijuana use among college students help form a picture of how legalization may be affecting people, Kerr said, but more study is needed before researchers can quantify the harms or net benefits of legalization for young people. "Americans are conducting a big experiment with marijuana," Kerr said. "We need science to tell us what the results of it are." A major discovery about a set of immune cells, published in the journal Science Advances, started with a Creighton University physics professor going a little farther on an experiment than was initially planned. First author on the paper, the Rev. Andrew Ekpenyong, MS'08, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics, was a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge in 2011, working with a team of medical doctors and scientists studying the stiffness of cells when he noticed something strange about a certain type of immune cell -- the neutrophil. The more Ekpenyong pulled the cell with an optical stretcher -- a special kind of dual-beam laser invented by Jochen Guck, PhD, a co-senior author on the paper -- the smoother and more rounded the cell became. Neutrophils, a special kind of white blood cell, are the human body's version of the Wild West desperado, shooting first and asking questions later, when foreign objects enter the body. Through cell signaling, neutrophils are first on the scene in such instances, going from a round, smooth and quiet cell to a rough-edged, activated one in an instant. It can take a neutrophil up to an hour to regain its quietude, but as Ekpenyong noticed, manipulation with the optical stretcher can speed the process of depolarization down to about one minute. "It was just one of those cases where you start out to do one thing and take just one or two steps further for a bit of fun or further insight, and you have something else," said Ekpenyong, who earned a master's degree in physics from Creighton and joined the faculty in 2014 after post-doctoral work at Technical University of Dresden in Germany with Guck. "One of the lead researchers I was working with saw the video I had taken, jumped from his chair, left the room and beckoned his medical colleague to take a look." That researcher is Edwin Chilvers, PhD, a professor of respiratory medicine in Cambridge's Department of Medicine. For Chilvers, another co-senior author on the paper, the discovery has implications across a broad spectrum of maladies, most notably acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and acute lung injury (ALI). In those cases, activated neutrophils have become stuck in the lungs' tiny capillaries, leading to a host of life-threatening problems. Scientists have been searching for a chemical means of calming the cells, but to no avail. Ekpenyong's physics-based approach has led to his development of a microfluidic device that mimics the body's microvascular system by squeezing and stretching the neutrophils into their tranquil state, after they are activated. The challenge now, Ekpenyong said, will be to find a way to translate this discovery into a clinical application, something at which Cambridge and Dresden researchers are already hard at work. For people with headache, seeing the neurologist by video for treatment may be as effective as an in-person visit, according to a study published in the June 14, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Headache is the most common neurologic disorder, yet is often not diagnosed or people don't receive adequate treatment," said study author Kai I. Muller, MD, of the Arctic University of Norway in Troms. "New technology is available to diagnose and treat people through telemedicine, but few studies have looked at whether it is effective for people with headache." The study involved 402 people with non-acute headaches, or headaches that came on gradually, who had been referred from a primary care doctor to a neurologist. Half of the participants then had a traditional office visit with a neurologist at a hospital in northern Norway. The other half came to the hospital but saw the neurologist through video conference. Participants completed questionnaires about the impact their headaches had on their daily life and about the level of pain at the beginning of the study and again after three months and one year. The researchers found no differences between the people treated using telemedicine and those who had traditional office visits. The study was what is called a non-inferiority study, which is designed to show that the new type of treatment is not clinically worse than the current type of treatment. To assess the safety of using telemedicine, the researchers looked to see whether participants had secondary headache a year after the visit. Secondary headache is a headache that is a symptom of a disease or another underlying condition. "We wanted to make sure that the neurologists were not missing any underlying diseases that were causing the headaches when they were treating people via telemedicine, but there was only one person in each group who had a secondary headache, so there was no difference in the diagnosis and treatment," Muller said. The researchers estimated that in every 20,200 consultations by telemedicine, one diagnosis of secondary headache would be missed. "Northern Norway covers a huge area and it is broken up by mountains, valleys and fjords into many sparsely populated places, so traveling to see a doctor can be cumbersome and expensive for many people," Muller said. "But telemedicine may be valuable for people all over the world who are suffering with headaches and want to see a specialist without any extra hassle or inconvenience." Muller noted that having all of the participants come to the hospital made the study conditions less realistic. He said that other weaknesses of the study were the lack of a placebo group and blinding, but that those would be difficult to implement. For nearly two decades researchers have sought a way to target an estrogen receptor in the hope they could improve breast cancer survival, but an article published in Nature Communications contends that the effort may never pan out. The reason? The target receptor does not actually appear to be where they believe it to be. The study questions whether reliance on insufficiently-validated antibodies has led science down a dead-end path since the discovery of estrogen receptor beta (ESR2) in the 1990s. Cecilia Williams, a researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the joint research center, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab), says the beta receptor's discovery changed our understanding of estrogen signaling. It also raised hopes for a new endocrine treatment to complement the success of estrogen-blocking drugs such as Tamoxifen. These therapies target estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1), which was the first and most important biomarker in breast cancer, and can predict which patients respond to anti-estrogen treatment. But about half of such breast cancer tumors do not respond to anti-estrogen therapies, or they develop resistance over time, Williams says. "It has been thought that ERS2 had an opposite effect to ERS1, and that the beta receptor should not be blocked, but instead activated in breast cancer. This would supposedly improve survival. "Clinical trials are ongoing in the world right now, which activate ERbeta in breast cancer patients -- efforts that our study suggests are based on inadequate data," she says. "While we cannot claim that this receptor is completely absent in breast tumors, we do challenge the data behind the notion that the receptor is there." The Sweden-based research team says their study invalidates all but one of the antibodies used to detect estrogen receptor beta. These 12 antibodies have instead been mistaking other proteins for ESR2, Williams says, and data generated with these antibodies cannot be trusted. advertisement The one remaining antibody that can successfully be used against the beta receptor, however, can find no trace of the receptor in cancerous or healthy breast tissue, the study states. Also estrogen research relating to multiple other tissues and diseases are impacted by this study. Many false leads over the years may be due to "insufficiently specific" antibodies in the field of immunohistochemistry (IHC), Williams says. The researchers validated the antibodies with a level of unprecedented rigor, she says. The team, which included researchers from Uppsala University and Karolinska Institute, used negative and positive controls and applied multiple antibody-based applications. They compared performance of different antibodies on 44 different human tissue types and further identified bound proteins through techniques such mass spectroscopy at a scale not before undertaken. They also searched large databases of gene expression, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, The Genotype-Tissue Expression, and the Human Protein Atlas, and pin-pointed a universal lack of estrogen receptor beta messenger RNA in breast tissue. "Our study contributes to improved reproducibility within research using biologics, or antibodies, and it clarifies earlier controversies within the field of estrogen and breast cancer, thus helping move the field forward. In the end, we hope our study will help save both research funding and research time," Williams says. Anna Asplund, a researcher with Uppsala University, says the work should bring attention to a timely topic. "Significant problems due to poor validation of antibodies have recently been brought to the headlines by major journals, including Nature. We hope that our study, together with other on-going antibody validation efforts, will lead to a better quality of antibodies and antibody-based research." In addition to the Swedish research universities, the research involved the Division of Pharmaceutical Industries, National Research Centre, in Dokki, Egypt; and the Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Texas, USA. The project was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, Marie Curie Actions via the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA), the Swedish Cancer Society, the Stockholm County Council, the Swedish Research Council, and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. There is a tendency to highlight the importance of cognitive achievements and the family's socioeconomic background for people's success in the future, but this study shows that children's self-regulation, which comprises children's social skills and processing of emotions, directs the future development in a profound way in different domains of life. Strong self-regulation promotes success in education and work, the intimate relationship, health behaviour, integration into society and the development of flexible personality, explains Professor Lea Pulkkinen. The results of Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, which has taken place for more than 40 years, have been summarised in the book Human development from middle childhood to middle adulthood: Growing up to be middle-aged (London:Routledge) to be launched on 15 June 2017. The study started in 1968 when the participants were 8 years old and the latest data collection was implemented in 2009 when they were 50. The book is written by the founder and long-time leader of the study, Professor Lea Pulkkinen in collaboration with Research Director Katja Kokko from the Gerontology Research Center of the University of Jyvaskyla. Kokko has been the leader of the study since 2013. The extensive research summarised in the book demonstrates that constructive ways of coping with problem situations, the consideration of other people's feelings and a positive way of thinking as a child predict good functioning capacity in adulthood. The development of self-regulation is enhanced by child-oriented mature parenting. Child-oriented parents are able to analyse their behaviour from the perspective of the child and create an environment in which children are able to sense warmth and approval from their parents as well as notice continuing dedication and interest towards their lives. Child-oriented parents also pay attention to the child's opinions and react to the child's needs in order to provide satisfaction and give support, Pulkkinen explains. The study provides a plenty of new information on adulthood development which has been studied sparsely. Important matters in life are not limited to childhood. The transition to adulthood and the different roles of adults in the family and work create new situations in which humans can develop and mature to take responsibility for themselves and others. Harmful effects on adult development are, above all, caused by the excessive use of alcohol which usually is connected to starting alcohol use at an early age. The study shows that people in midlife are usually healthy, capable to work and willing to take responsibility. They are active in different domains of life and their physical and mental well-being is good. The research was conducted at the Department of Psychology at the University of Jyvaskyla and has been supported financially for decades by the Academy of Finland. American scientific teams still publish significantly more biomedical research discoveries than teams from any other country, a new study shows, and the U.S. still leads the world in research and development expenditures. But American dominance is slowly shrinking, the analysis finds, as China's skyrocketing investing on science over the last two decades begins to pay off. Chinese biomedical research teams now rank fourth in the world for total number of new discoveries published in six top-tier journals, and the country spent three-quarters what the U.S. spent on research and development during 2015. Meanwhile, the analysis shows, scientists from the U.S. and other countries increasingly make discoveries and advancements as part of teams that involve researchers from around the world. The last 15 years have ushered in an era of "team science" as research funding in the U.S., Great Britain and other European countries, as well as Canada and Australia, stagnated. The number of authors has also grown over time. For example, in 2000 only two percent of the research papers the new study looked include 21 or more authors -- a number that increased to 12.5 percent in 2015. The new findings, published in JCI Insight by a team of University of Michigan researchers, come at a critical time for the debate over the future of U.S. federal research funding. The study is based on a careful analysis of original research papers published in six top-tier and four mid-tier journals from 2000 to 2015, in addition to data on R&D investment from those same years. The study builds on other work that has also warned of America's slipping status in the world of science and medical research, and the resulting impact on the next generation of aspiring scientists. advertisement "It's time for U.S. policy-makers to reflect and decide whether the year-to-year uncertainty in National Institutes of Health budget and the proposed cuts are in our societal and national best interest," says Bishr Omary, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the new data-supported opinion piece and chief scientific officer of Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center. "If we continue on the path we're on, it will be harder to maintain our lead and, even more importantly, we could be disenchanting the next generation of bright and passionate biomedical scientists who see a limited future in pursuing a scientist or physician-investigator career." The analysis charts South Korea's entry into the top 10 countries for publications, as well as China's leap from outside the top 10 in 2000 to fourth place in 2015. They also track the major increases in support for research in South Korea and Singapore since the start of the 21st Century. Meticulous tracking First author of the study, U-M informationist Marisa Conte, and Omary co-led a team that looked carefully at the currency of modern science: peer-reviewed basic science and clinical research papers describing new findings, published in journals with long histories of accepting among the world's most significant discoveries. They reviewed every issue of six top-tier international journals (JAMA, Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, Cell, Nature and Science), and four mid-ranking journals (British Medical Journal, JAMA Internal Medicine, Journal of Cell Science, FASEB Journal), chosen to represent the clinical and basic science aspects of research. advertisement The analysis included only papers that reported new results from basic research experiments, translational studies, clinical trials, metanalyses, and studies of disease outcomes. Author affiliations for corresponding authors and all other authors were recorded by country. The rise in global cooperation is striking. In 2000, 25 percent of papers in the six top-tier journals were by teams that included researchers from at least two countries. In 2015, that figure was closer to 50 percent. The increasing need for multidisciplinary approaches to make major advances, coupled with the advances of Internet-based collaboration tools, likely have something to do with this, Omary says. The authors, who also include Santiago Schnell, Ph.D. and Jing Liu, Ph.D., note that part of their group's interest in doing the study sprang from their hypothesis that a flat NIH budget is likely to have negative consequences but they wanted to gather data to test their hypothesis. They also observed what appears to be an increasing number of Chinese-born scientists who had trained in the U.S. going back to China after their training, where once most of them would have sought to stay in the U.S. In addition, Singapore has been able to recruit several top notch U.S. and other international scientists due to their marked increase in R&D investments. The same trends appear to be happening in Great Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and other countries the authors studied -- where research investing has stayed consistent when measured as a percentage of the U.S. total over the last 15 years. The authors note that their study is based on data up to 2015, and that in the current 2017 federal fiscal year, funding for NIH has increased thanks to bipartisan Congressional appropriations. The NIH contributes to most of the federal support for medical and basic biomedical research in the U.S. But discussion of cuts to research funding that hinders many federal agencies is in the air during the current debates for the 2018 budget. Meanwhile, the Chinese R&D spending is projected to surpass the U.S. total by 2022. "Our analysis, albeit limited to a small number of representative journals, supports the importance of financial investment in research," Omary says. "I would still strongly encourage any child interested in science to pursue their dream and passion, but I hope that our current and future investment in NIH and other federal research support agencies will rise above any branch of government to help our next generation reach their potential and dreams." In a landmark study, Chinese scientists report the successful transmission of entangled photons between suborbital space and Earth. Furthermore, whereas the previous record for successful entanglement distribution was about 100 kilometers (km), here, transmission over a distance of more than 1,200 km was achieved. The distribution of quantum entanglement, especially across vast distances, holds important implications for quantum teleportation and communication networks. Yet, efforts to entangle quantum particles, essentially "linking" them together over long distances, have been limited to 100 km or fewer, mostly because the entanglement is lost as they are transmitted along optical fibers, or through open space on land. One way to overcome this issue is to break the line of transmission into smaller segments and repeatedly swap, purify and store quantum information along the optical fiber. Another approach to achieving global-scale quantum networks is making use of lasers and satellite-based technologies. Using the Chinese satellite Micius, launched last year and equipped with specialized quantum tools, Juan Yin et al. demonstrate the latter feat. The Micius satellite was used to communicate with three ground stations across China, each up to around 1,200 km apart. The separation between the orbiting satellite and these ground stations varied from 500 to 2,000 km. A laser beam on the satellite was subjected to a beam splitter, which gave the beam two distinct polarized states. One of the spilt beams was used for transmission of entangled photons, while the other was used for photon receipt. In this way, entangled photons were received at the separate ground stations, more than 1,000 km apart. Great American Total Solar Eclipses ew York Public Library On Aug. 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse will cross the continental United States from coast to coast, in an event that's been dubbed the Great American Solar Eclipse. While it is certainly rare for a total solar eclipse to be visible to such a large portion of the American population, it's not the first time it's happened in the country's history. There have been a handful of total solar eclipses that have crossed large swaths of the United States during its history. For example, the total solar eclipse of 1878 crossed a large portion of Alaska, and then went south and made a diagonal pass from the eastern tip of Washington state to the southwest corner of Louisiana. The book "American Eclipse," (Liveright, 2017) by David Baron, describes how this eclipse impacted the American astronomy community at the time. Shown here is a painting of that eclipse by E. L. Trouvelot, an artist who did astronomical drawings for the Harvard College Observatory. Click forward to see a list of other great American solar eclipses. 1806: An eclipse for a young nation Shutterstock In 1806, American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were on their way home from their historic journey through the Pacific northwest. On June 16, the travelers would have witnessed a partial solar eclipse (when the moon covers only part of the sun) from their location. This painting by Frederic Remington depicts Lewis and Clark on the Columbia River. Behind them are Sacajawea, with her baby on her back, and her husband. But other citizens of the U.S. and nearby territories would have witnessed a total solar eclipse (when the sun completely blocks the disk of the sun in the sky) that day. The eclipse went from what is now Arizona, up through the Midwest, and through southern New York state, northern Pennsylvania and lower New England, including Boston, one of the still-young nation's largest cities. 1834: Astronomical highlights Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich von Madler On Nov. 30, 1834, a total solar eclipse crossed the U.S. territories from Montana to South Carolina, swooping through parts of the American heartland and the South. Another triumph for astronomy came that year, when Johann Heinrich von Madler and Wilhelm Beer published Mappa Selenographica, which was the most complete map of the moon at that time. A portion of that moon map is shown here, and you can see that entire publication here. 1869: A photo finish Harper's Weekly In 1869, Harper's Weekly published an article about the total solar eclipse that crossed the U.S. from Montana to North Carolina. This celestial event was visible from many Midwestern states. The article in Harper's included photographs of the moon as it crept across the face of the sun, eventually blocking the entire solar disk, and revealing the white, spikey crown of the sun's atmosphere. 1918: Einstein's shining moment NASA Following the eclipse of 1878, the next total solar eclipse that was visible from a large portion of the U.S. occurred in 1918. The dark shadow of the moon crossed the country from coast to coast, traveling from Washington state to Florida. The eclipse was particularly significant for scientists. Observations of the eclipse were used to test Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. The theory stood up to the experimental scrutiny, and "Einstein" soon became a household name. This event, which occurred more than a century ago, was the most recent total solar eclipse to cross the continental U.S. from coast to coast. Be sure to catch the next one on Aug. 21, 2017! Next: 2017's Great American Solar Eclipse 2017: Great American Solar Eclipse NASA/Goddard/SVS/Ernie Wright That brings us to 2017, where the total solar eclipse of Aug. 21 will cross the continental United States for the first time in 99 years. The event will likely be the most observed and most photographed solar eclipse in history as it will be visible across a long swath of the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina. Millions of people live or can travel to an observing spot within the totality path, and it may be one for the record books! So get ready for what promises to be an amazing eclipse experience and visit Space.com for complete coverage of the 2017 total solar eclipse! Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. It may not be sweet, but it sure is mini! A rare Strawberry "Minimoon" gave night-sky photographers a treat last week. The full moon of June, also known as the Strawberry Moon, coincided with the "smallest" moon of the year. Of course, the moon is always the same size. However, its elliptical orbit brings it closer and farther from Earth, making it appear bigger and smaller in the sky. This infographic by astrophotographer Tony Surma-Hawes shows the apparent size difference between the "supermoon" of Nov. 14, 2016, and the "minimoon" on June 9, 2017. During a supermoon, the moon looks bigger because it is closer to Earth. A minimoon appears smaller because the moon is at its apogee, or the most distant point in its orbit. (Image credit: Tony Surma-Hawes) On Friday (June 9), the moon reached its peak full phase about 15 hours after it reached apogee, or the farthest point to Earth in its orbit. [10 Surprising Lunar Facts] In Esterhj, Denmark, photographer and videographer Adrien Mauduit captured a time-lapse video of the Strawberry Moon rising over Esterhj, Denmark on June 10. Bad weather delayed his photo shoot by a day, so the moon is actually 99 percent waning gibbous in the photo. Adrien Mauduit captured this photo of the waning gibbous moon over Esterhj, Denmark, on June 10, one day after the Strawberry Moon was at its fullest. (Image credit: Adrian Mauduit Photography & Film Other photographers juxtaposed the moon with cityscapes of New York. Stan Honda set up his camera at the Eagle Rock Reservation in New Jersey, about 13 miles (21 kilometers) from the city, and captured an airplane descending toward Newark Liberty International Airport with the World Trade Center and the Strawberry Moon in the background. But the minimoon looks more like a supermoon in Honda's photo. It's not a composite, but rather a photography trick. "The lens focal length and the distance from NYC allows the moon to be large in relation to the skyline," Honda told Space.com in an email. [Supermoon vs. Minimoon: Sizing Up Earth's Satellite] As the Strawberry Minimoon rises over New York City, a British Airways plane descends toward Newark Liberty International Airport in this photo taken by Stan Honda on June 9. (Image credit: Stan Honda Another photographer from New York captured the minimoon looking more appropriately miniature. Gowrishankar L. watched the moon rise over the Brooklyn Bridge. With a Canon 5D Mark III camera, he created a composite image of the moon with 14 shots taken in 3-minute intervals between 9 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. local time on June 9, he told Space.com in an email. Using a tool called The Photographer's Ephemeris, he set up the shot so that the moon would be on top of the bridge. The Strawberry Minimoon rises over New York's Brooklyn Bridge in this composite by astrophotographer Gowrishankar L. on June 9. (Image credit: Gowrishankar L.) Another photo from New York City taken by astrophotographer John Entwistle shows a time-lapse of the moon rising over the World Trade Center. By stacking six images taken 125 seconds apart, Entwistle was able to capture the moon as it moved by one full diameter with each shot. "You can also see how the color of the moon changing as it rises from the horizon," he told Space.com in an email. The full Strawberry Moon rises over Manhattan in this photo taken by John Entwistle on June 9. (Image credit: John Entwistle) Editor's note: If you capture an amazing photo of the next full moon and want to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, please send images and comments to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com. Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com . New York, June 14, 2017 (SPS) - The Frente POLISARIO invited the Decolonization Committee, through its representative in United Nations, Mr. Bujari Ahmed, to visit the territory to be able to know the reality on the ground, stating in the same time the POLISARIO's willingness to cooperate with all the missions they want to visit. Bujari Ahmed, on the other hand, emphasized the great work of the Fourth Committee, which is in charge of following the resolutions of the General Assembly on the Western Sahara, while reminding that to be able to carry out its work, it is pertinent to visit the territory since the last visit made by this organ was in the year 1975. The Saharawi diplomat clarified in his speech that it is important to assign a date for the already agreed meeting on Western Sahara, which according to Bujari would remove the cause of forgetfulness and media blockade, adding that it is a historical, legal and ethical responsibility of the international system on Western Sahara. In the same regard, Bujari Ahmed, urged the international organization to take action against Morocco's plundering of Saharawi natural resources such as phosphate and fishing, noting that such looting supposes more than five billion dollars for the Moroccan State , Which ends up imposing the rejected status quo. The Saharawi representative recalled that the POLISARIO took legal action against companies involved in the plunder, and that the European Union is expected to respect the judicial decision last year, which ruled that Western Sahara and Morocco are two different territories, Therefore, Saharawi natural resources cannot be included in bilateral agreements originating from Western Sahara.SPS 125/090/TRA Countries & Areas Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe This page may have been moved, deleted, or is otherwise unavailable. To help you find what you are looking for: Enter Search Term(s): Still cant find what youre looking for? Send us a message using our contact us form. To report a broken link or other problems with the website, please include the URL. Thank you for visiting state.gov. Three years of Boko Haram violence were mostly in northeastern Borno State. The scale of the destruction was enormous. Since 2009 Boko Haram violence got worse year by year and over 20,000 died. But the property destruction was even more extensive as people could flee but structures could not. Some 30 percent of the housing (over 150,000 dwellings) was destroyed and the federal government has pledged cash, equipment and building materials to help with the rebuilding that was to begin during 2017. Boko Haram violence peaked from 2014-2016 and has been declining. Yet not a lot of the promised help is reaching the areas where it is needed. An even larger portion of schools were destroyed and these are not being rebuilt very quickly either. The pervasive corruption in the north was one of the primary reasons Boko Haram was formed and got radicalized. Local politicians tend to react violently to groups that threaten their wealth (corrupt practices like stealing any government funds they have access to). Local corruption is as bad as ever but nationwide there has been some progress exposing the extent that oil income has been stolen and real efforts are being made to halt that and recover some of the lost billions. It has not been easy. But that effort is apparently one reason why the economy is recovering from the sharp, and apparently permanent, fall in oil prices. Competition Keeps The Hate Alive One thing keeping Boko Haram going is rivalry. There are now two major factions and no longer any central control at all. The two faction leaders spend most of their time staying out of view while trying to rebuild and organize terror attacks designed to attract the most media coverage. Thus since March Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has released only two videos and both were mainly to boast that he was still alive and operating in the northeast. Security forces have claimed Shekau was dead at least five times since 2011 but so far have always been wrong. In late 2016 there was hope that a recent split in Boko Haram might lead to Shekau getting killed by other Islamic terrorists but that hasnt happened either and the two main factions appear to have achieved some kind of truce with each other and continue to operate independently. The intelligence agencies believe the two factions are pursuing different goals because one faction is international while the original one was strictly about Nigeria. This is a common patter with Islamic terrorists groups in Africa. The Boko Haram split began in August 2016 when ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) announced that it was replacing Shekau, who was accused of mismanagement, with Abu Musab al Barnawi. ISIL believed Shekau devoted too much effort to killing fellow Moslems (especially civilians) rather than the real enemies of ISIL (local security forces and non-Moslems in general). ISIL leadership was also unhappy with the Boko Haram use of children and women as suicide bombers. That has become an issue in Nigeria because the use of children as suicide bombers has tripled this year (27 in the first three months of 2017 compared to nine in 2016). While the new Boko Haram leader has concentrated attacks on the security forces and non-Moslems he has also used children, especially females, as suicide bombers. Barnawi is a son of Mohammed Yusuf, one of the ISIL founders. Barnawi was appointed chief Boko Haram spokesman in January 2015. Although Barnawi has developed a following in Boko Haram Shekau refused to accept the ISIL decision. Boko Haram is now split into competing factions which is nothing new as there have always been some factions, but not to this extent. At this point many Boko Haram loyalists regret the 2015 decision to become part of ISIL, which was believed to be an effort to avoid a split in Boko Haram as more radical members declared themselves followers of ISIL or even tried to go to Syria to join ISIL. Few African Islamic terrorists have done that, largely because of the cost and difficulty travelling from Africa to areas where ISIL is (or was) dominant. But in many parts of the world older Islamic terror organizations are fracturing because their more enthusiastic members prefer the ISIL style of ultra-violence. By the time Boko Haram joined ISIL was already on the defensive in the Middle East and by mid-2017 ISIL was facing the loss of its primary sanctuary in Syria and Iraq. Barnawi is in his 20s and similar to his father, Mohammed Yusuf, who was well educated, an Islamic conservative and murdered by police in 2009 just before he turned 40. That murder was one of the reasons Boko Haram turned to widespread and ruthless violence rather than just depending on agitation and education. Barnawi said he was going to serve fellow Moslems, especially those loyal (or at least tolerant) of ISIL. This has worked to a certain extent as in some parts of Borno State ISIL tells villagers they will not be attacked if they do not actively work against ISIL. In many rural areas the locals are fine with that. But Boko Haram men have to eat and the new less violent approach does not always work when the locals are going hungry and Boko Haram has to steal from these hungry civilians or starve. Barnawi has made good on his pledge to concentrate on killing non-Moslems, especially Nigerian Christians and his faction is believed responsible for several recent attacks on Christians in the northeast. It is still unclear who is winning the power struggle within Boko Haram but both factions appear to be operational and avoiding fights with each other. Shekau is getting most of the security forces attention at the moment because of his publicity seeking and continued reliance on lots of violence against everyone. Since March the army has been sending troops to areas throughout the northeast to revisit former Boko Haram base areas to see if there were signs that Shekau men were in the vicinity. There are still large areas of Kano and Borno State that are deserted, with the civilians reluctant to return until order is restored. Vigilantes To The Rescue In many parts of the northeast (mainly Borno state) ravaged by Boko Haram violence local civilian militias have been the key element keeping the Islamic terrorists from winning or, at this point, rebuilding. The pro-government militias and local defense forces in the northeast are seen by the Islamic terrorists as their most formidable foe. By late 2014 Boko Haram was regularly attacking towns or villages which had a lot of these volunteers. That led more civilians joining these groups. Officially called the Civilian JTF (Joint Task Force or CJTF). There are about 30,000 CJTF volunteers and most are now armed. About two percent of those who joined CJTF have been killed and many more have been wounded or injured while on duty. In effect, about ten percent of the CJTF men have been injured. But the soldiers respect them, the local civilians depend on and support them while Boko Haram has come to fear them. Volunteers initially received little material support from the government. But in early 2013 Boko Haram began to notice that in Borno and Yobe states thousands of Moslem and Christian young men were enthusiastically joining the CJTF to provide security from Boko Haram violence and provide information to the security forces about who Boko Haram members were and where they were living. That trend continues and now the CJTF and self-defense groups in general have become the greatest threat to Boko Haram in rural areas as well as the cities. The CJTF frequently patrol remote areas and operate a growing network of trusted informants who can quickly phone in details on local Boko Haram activity. By the end of 2013 Boko Haram had openly declared war on CJTF and threatened to kill any of them they could find. That state of war continues but now it is Boko Haram that is on the defensive. The CJTF often operates with heavily armed police or soldiers nearby (ready to move in arrest Boko Haram suspects the vigilantes identify or help fight back if Boko Haram attack). By early 2014 the army was regularly using the volunteers to replace troops at checkpoints. This policy enabled more checkpoints to be set up and more through searches of vehicles to be conducted. This made it more difficult for Boko Haram to move around, plan and carry out attacks or to resupply the few men they still had in the cities. Boko Haram responded by attacking checkpoints more frequently and that led to many volunteers getting weapons, officially or otherwise (sometimes with the help of soldiers or police). The checkpoints have become a major problem for Boko Haram and now the growing use of CJTF patrols and informants are even more of a problem. By the end of 2014 some CJTF groups were launching attacks on Boko Haram, and usually winning because they knew the area and people better and often were able to launch a surprise attack at night. A major factor in this was that in the more remote areas, like near the Sambisa Forest, the CJTF groups contained a lot of local hunters. These men are professional hunters who thrive in rural areas where there is a lot more game than people. CJTF first demonstrated to the army the skills of local hunters who tracked game for a living. The army noted that the success of CJTF attack units was largely the result of local hunters. Soon the army began to hire some of the hunters who were exceptional trackers as well as offering bounties if they could track down certain Boko Haram men or groups. At first Boko Haram fought back and attacked trackers or their families. That backfired because the CJTF have better information about their home areas which made it difficult for Boko Haram to make revenge attacks. The attacks are made anyway and fail so often that most Boko Haram are advised by their leaders to stay away from CJTF, especially those groups with professional hunters. The military doesnt like to publicize how important the CJTF, and civilian support in general, was to the defeat of Boko Haram but the truth gets out anyway and the civilian volunteers are getting more credit for their contribution. This is particularly true now as CJTF has become essential in spotting families of Boko Haram men who try to pass themselves off as refugees from Boko Haram. The situation is so dire for the remaining Boko Haram that they are sending their families (usually just wives and children) away because of food shortages and the increasing frequency of air or ground attacks. This media attention also revealed that the military had recruited over a hundred of the most effective CJTF informants into a special unit where these men work full time for the military as plain clothes agents who are sent to any area where Boko Haram is believed to be active (or trying to be) and collect information. June 12, 2017: In the northeast (Borno State) a group of Boko Haram ambushed an army patrol but were repulsed by the soldiers and CJTF militiamen. The civilians familiar with the area made it possible to track the fleeing Islamic terrorists to their camp where they killed several more Islamic terrorists and freed nine children that had been kidnapped and were being trained to fight for Boko Haram. One of the dead Islamic terrorists turned out to be a known and much wanted local Boko Haram leader. In the south (Edo State) local tribal leaders reported that Fulani herders in the area were acting suspiciously and that led to the army arresting 24 of the Fulani for being members of Boko Haram and trying to establish a base in the south. For centuries the Fulani have been feuding with farmers over land use and in the last few years some of the younger Fulani have turned to groups like al Qaeda and ISIL. June 11, 2017: In the northeast (Borno State) two different groups of Boko Haram raided two villages in the southern area of the state killing five civilians and wounding at least ten. Six women were kidnapped and the Islamic terrorists grabbed all the food and other portable loot they could find before burning down most of the two villages. Meanwhile in the north, near the Sambisa Forest another Boko Haram group ambushed a CJTF patrol killing five of the armed civilians. Some of the attackers were recognized as members of a Boko Haram group that local CJTF had recently clashed with and killed six of them. June 7, 2017: In the northeast (Borno state) three Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked in the state capital Maiduguri while on the outskirts another Boko Haram group opened fire with heavy machine-guns. These attacks left 14 dead and was the largest Boko Haram attack on the city since 2015. Nevertheless life went on in the city, including the arrival of the vice president for a scheduled visit. This attack was claimed by the traditional faction (non-ISIL and led by Abubakar Shekau) of Boko Haram. May 21, 2017: In the northeast (Borno state) troops and CJTF investigating reports of Boko Haram taking over three remote villages near the Cameroon border found the Islamic terrorists were there and after one brief clash the Boko Haram men fled to Cameroon, carrying their casualties with them. They found that about a thousand civilians were being held captive in the three villages. Boko Haram left a lot of equipment behind and Cameroon forces on the other side of the border were alerted about what had happened. SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A court security officer handcuffed a reporter for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard this morning after the reporter took pictures of an arrest in the hallway of the Onondaga County Courthouse. The New York state court officer ordered the reporter, Douglass Dowty, to turn over his cell phone then handcuffed him about 10:45 a.m. Dowty's hands were cuffed behind his back for about five minutes and he remained in police custody for 10 minutes before other court officers released him. Dowty was not charged. The state's top court security official, Chief Michael Magliano, was quickly notified about the incident, according to a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration in New York City. "We're aware of it and it's being investigated," said Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for OCA. "We told them we want everything by the end of the day. Whatever action is taken depends on what transpired." Chalfen did not have the officer's name or other details. "They're supposed to be professional," he said of court officers. Douglass Dowty, reporter for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard, was handcuffed by a court security officer Tuesday morning after taking this photo of officers arresting a man following a brawl on the third floor of the Onondaga County Courthouse. Journalists have long been allowed to take photos and videos in the courthouse's hallways. About a year ago, signs were posted warning the public not to take pictures in the hallways. Court administrators, however, said journalists could continue to film and shoot pictures. Dowty, 33, the courts reporter with Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard for 3 1/2 years, was covering courts this morning when a fight broke out outside the trial of a man accused of murder. Court security officers had surrounded a man who was pressed against a window, Dowty said. One of the officers told the man repeatedly to relax, but he appeared agitated and told them he wasn't resisting, Dowty said. Dowty took a photo of papers strewn on the ground then crossed at a safe distance between the man and a courtroom door, he said. He then took two more photos of the officers surrounding the man. As the officers led the man away, Dowty took two more photos, he said. "As I was doing that, an officer came running at me," Dowty said. He'd seen the officer at the courthouse before, but didn't know his name. The officer ordered him to surrender his cell phone, which Dowty did. The officer told Dowty to turn around. "I'm going to cuff you," the officer said. Dowty complied, and the officer applied the handcuffs. Here's what happened next, according to Dowty: Other officers arrived and asked what was going on. The officer told them Dowty had been videotaping the incident. "Was he told not to?" one of the other officers asked. "It was in the courthouse," the first officer said. Two officers led Dowty to an elevator. The officers carried his company backpack and phone. They assured him the situation would be worked out. The officers had Dowty sit at a desk behind a security counter, where they immediately removed the handcuffs. The two officers expressed bewilderment about what had happened. About five minutes later, the officers told Dowty he was free to go. They returned his backpack and phone. The phone did not appear to have been accessed. Dowty headed back to a courtroom where he'd been covering a trial. On his way, he saw the officer who'd detained him. Dowty said the man patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you." The area's administrative judge, James Tormey, did not respond to a request for interviews. A court administrator, Gerald Neri, said he and Tormey could not comment until the Office of Court Administration finished its investigation. Advance Media New York, which runs Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard, sent a letter about the incident to Tormey and the state's chief administrative judge, Lawrence Marks. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. owns and leases freight railroads. It operates through three segments: North American Operations, Australian Operations, and U.K./European Operations. The company transports various commodities, including agricultural products, autos and auto parts, chemicals and plastics, coal and coke, food and kindred products, lumber and forest products, metallic ores, metals, minerals and stone, petroleum products, pulp and paper, waste, and other commodities. It owns or leases 122 freight railroads, including 105 short line railroads and 2 regional freight railroads located in the United States, 8 short line railroads located in Canada, 3 railroads located in Australia, 1 railroad located in the United Kingdom, 1 railroad in Poland and Germany, and 2 railroads in the Netherlands with a total of approximately 16,200 miles of track. The company also operates 6,200 additional miles of track that is owned or leased by others. In addition, it operates deep sea maritime containers and provides bulk haulage, including coal, aggregates, cement, and infrastructure services. Further, the company provides rail service at approximately 40 ports; rail-ferry service in North America, Australia, and Europe; and contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Darien, Connecticut. Greenhill & Co., Inc., an independent investment bank, provides financial and strategic advisory services to corporations, partnerships, institutional investors, and governments worldwide. The company offers advisory services related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, financings, private capital raising, and other similar transactions. It also advises clients on strategic matters, including activist shareholder defense, special committee projects, licensing deals, and joint ventures; and valuation, negotiation tactics, industry dynamics, structuring alternatives, and timing and pricing of transactions, as well as financing alternatives. In addition, the company provides restructuring advisory services to debtors, creditors, governments, and other stakeholders, and acquirers of distressed companies and assets; and advice on restructuring alternatives, capital structures, and sales or recapitalizations. Further, it assists clients in identifying and capitalizing on incremental sources of value; and on court-assisted reorganizations by developing and seeking approval for plans of reorganization, as well as the implementation of such plans. Additionally, the company advises on private placements of debt and structured equity, refinancing of existing debt facilities, negotiating the modification, and amendment of covenants, as well as acts as an independent advisor. It also offers financial advisory services to pension funds, endowments, and other institutional investors on transactions involving alternative assets; and advice to alternative asset fund sponsors for private capital raising, financing, restructuring, liquidity options, valuation, and related services. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in New York, New York. Nabors Industries Ltd. provides drilling and drilling-related services for land-based and offshore oil and natural gas wells. The company operates through five segments: U.S. Drilling, Canada Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. It provides tubular running, wellbore placement, directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling (MWD), equipment manufacturing, and rig instrumentation services; and logging-while-drilling systems and services, as well as drilling optimization software. The company also offers REVit, an automated real time stick-slip mitigation system; ROCKit, a directional steering control system; SmartNAV, a collaborative guidance and advisory platform; SmartSLIDE, an advanced directional steering control system; and RigCLOUD, which provides the tools and infrastructure to integrate applications to deliver real-time insight into operations across the rig fleet. In addition, it manufactures and sells top drives, catwalks, wrenches, drawworks, and other drilling related equipment, such as robotic systems and downhole tools; and provides aftermarket sales and services for the installed base of its equipment. As of December 31, 2021, the company marketed approximately 301 rigs for land-based drilling operations in the United States, Canada, and in 20 other countries worldwide; and 29 rigs for offshore platform drilling operations in the United States and internationally. Nabors Industries Ltd. was founded in 1952 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. New Jersey Resources Corporation, an energy services holding company, provides regulated gas distribution, and retail and wholesale energy services. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Distribution, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Services, and Storage and Transportation. The Natural Gas Distribution segment offers regulated natural gas utility services to approximately 564,000 residential and commercial customers throughout Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, and Sussex counties in New Jersey; provides capacity and storage management services; and participates in the off-system sales and capacity release markets. The Clean Energy Ventures segment invests in, owns, and operates commercial and residential solar projects situated in New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. The Energy Services segment offers unregulated wholesale energy management services to other energy companies and natural gas producers, as well as maintains and transacts a portfolio of physical assets consisting of natural gas storage and transportation contracts in the United States and Canada. The Storage and Transportation segment invests in natural gas transportation and storage facilities. It provides heating, ventilation, and cooling services; holds commercial real estate properties; and offers solar equipment installation, and plumbing repair and installation services, as well as engages in the water appliance sale, installation, and servicing activities. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Wall, New Jersey. Demonstrators carry rainbow flags past the White House during the Equality March for Unity and Peace. Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images Besides revoking President Obamas guidelines that protected transgender students from discrimination in public schools, the Trump administration hasnt made many adjustments to LGBTQ policy. Despite fears that the president would sign a religious liberty order essentially legalizing discrimination, he ended up signing a largely symbolic order to appease the Christian right. And with Ivanka and Jareds prodding, he reaffirmed an Obama-era order that bans LGBTQ workplace discrimination. But the White House has undercut LGBTQ rights in other, more subtle ways by appointing and confirming a cabinet of administration officials who oppose LGBTQ rights, for example, and by failing to include any mention of the LGBTQ community on its updated website. And on Thursday, BuzzFeed News reported a similar slight: In its new equal-opportunity employment statement, the Department of Commerce has removed sexual orientation and gender identity from its list of protected categories in its department. According to BuzzFeed, the statement now reads, The Department of Commerce does not tolerate behavior, harassment, discrimination or prejudice based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. But statements in 2016 and 2014 included a wider variety of protections, and even the 2010 statement read: The Department of Commerce does not tolerate discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age (40 years of age and over), genetic information or disability (physical or mental), including the provision of reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. The statements exclusion of both phrases doesnt necessarily carry concrete consequences; if an LGBTQ employee at the commerce department were to be discriminated against at work, theyd still be protected under Obamas executive order, which keeps LGBTQ workers from discrimination by companies that do business with the federal government. But it signals that this administration does not value them, said David Stacy, the government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign. Whats more, according to the National Center for Transgender Equalitys Mara Keisling, it could lead to confusion. If I were a manager, Id be really afraid that other managers are going to look at this and think that these are not protected people, she said. As of now, its still unclear whether the exclusion means the White House plans to remove LGBTQ Americans from its list of groups officially protected from discrimination, or if the shortened statement is just catering to the tastes of the president, whos all about simplicity. When asked, neither the White House nor the Department of Commerce offered an explanation. It took 71 years for Joe Lincoln to receive his high school diploma, but he finally has it. Lincoln received his high school diploma during a ceremony conducted by the Tomah Area School District Wednesday at the McDonalds restaurant in Tomah. While the date on Joe Lincolns Tomah High School diploma says 1946, it wasnt until Wednesday that he actually held the diploma in his hands. It was presented complete with a cap, gown and military honor cords by TASD superintendent Cindy Zahrte and THS principal Robert Joyce. Lincoln accepted the diploma surrounded by his friends and family. It was World War II that came between Lincoln and his diploma. He enlisted in the Navy in 1946 and was stationed in the Pacific front for a year and a half. It feels amazing to have finally graduated, Lincoln said. Its awesome, it really is, he said. I dont need it, but its sure nice to have it real nice to have it. Its so amazing. Its unbelievable. Lincolns daughter Doreen Ebert agrees. Its wonderful, she said. He always made sure we all went to school and we all got our diploma that was really important to him. So its really nice to see him finally get his. It was a big sacrifice to quit school just to go in the service. It was really important to him to serve his county, so its nice to see this happen. Ebert is proud of her father. Hes a good dad, and hes always there for us, she said. We lost our mom in 96, so he has been there for us through everything, and now were here for him. Thats pretty exciting, Im pretty happy for him. Pete Peterson, a friend of Lincoln, was also pleased to see him get his diploma. This is great, Im as happy as he is, he said. Im so happy to see this crowd ... Im really pleased at how this turned out. What makes me so happy was it was relatively easy once I broke the code. Its a deserving honor for a deserving person. A diploma is something every World War II veteran should receive, Peterson said. I think if you were in World War II and you joined the military, you should get a diploma, he said. I think thats the proper attitude. Planning has been in the works for a while, Peterson said, and he was pleased that Lincoln was surprised by everything. Four members of the Army 106 Aviation from Peoria, Illinois Jake Beekman, Kayla Smith, Cassie Kiebler and Alex Morgan crashed the ceremony and congratulated Lincoln. They were in Tomah for training at Fort McCoy. Its awesome that he got his diploma, Morgan said. It melts your heart because it just gives them so much pride, he said. Kiebler agrees. Its one of those stories that you see on the news, she said. I think its awesome; it really is. Home Capital Group Inc. and three former executives agreed to pay more than $30 million to reach settlements with regulators and investors over allegations the Canadian lender misled shareholders about mortgage fraud. The stock posted its biggest gain in five weeks. Home Capital and the executives will pay $12 million and cover $500,000 in costs to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), the Toronto-based lender said in a statement after market hours Wednesday. The firm is also making a $29.5-million payment to settle a class-action lawsuit filed after the shares plunged, which includes $11 million paid in the proposed OSC deal, according to the statement. Home Capital expects to fund almost all of this through available liability insurance. As part of the settlement, founder and former chief executive officer Gerald Soloway is barred from acting as a company director for four years and will pay a penalty of $1 million. Former executives Martin Reid and Robert Morton will pay $500,000 each to the commission and are barred from being directors for two years. Read more: CIBC trims Home Capital stake with stock rebound Federal housing agency boosting its ability to detect mortgage fraud, CEO says Former Home Capital brokers penalized by Ontario regulator These settlements will enable us to move forward with regaining the confidence of our depositors and shareholders and creating value for all our stakeholders, said chair Brenda Eprile. Home Capital will accept full responsibility for failing to meet its disclosure obligations to the marketplace and appreciates the importance of the serious concerns raised by the commission with respect to continuous and timely disclosure. The settlements remove a legal cloud that has hung over the embattled company for almost two months. Home Capital shares plunged in April after the OSC alleged the company misled investors over the extent of fraudulent mortgage applications brought in by outside brokers. The lender since then has been in a fight for its life as clients pulled cash from savings accounts, brokers cut ties and analysts issued a series of downgrades and revised profit forecasts. Home Capital surged as much as 19 per cent in Toronto on Thursday, its biggest intraday gain since May 11. The stock has almost tripled from its lows last month, though is still down 56 per cent this year. The OSC, which issued a separate statement about 30 minutes after Home Capital, scheduled a hearing to approve the settlement on Aug. 9 in Toronto. Staff received approval to make the terms of the proposed settlement public before the hearing to prevent speculation in the market, according to OSC spokesperson Kristen Rose. Allegations from the regulator in April included that Home Capital and its executives had failed to satisfy disclosure requirements, made materially misleading statements and failed to comply with other securities rules. This settlement has been carefully calibrated by both the company and the regulator to avoid criticism, Alistair Crawley, a securities litigator and partner at Crawley MacKewn Brush, said by phone from Toronto. He is not involved. The numbers and the bans are such that no one could reasonably say that its not an appropriate settlement. RBC Capital Markets analyst Geoffrey Kwan on Thursday upgraded Home Capital to sector perform from underperform and raised the target price to $14 from $8. The target is 18 per cent above the consensus average of $11.89. This removes a huge stumbling block to the company, said David Taylor, chief investment officer of Taylor Asset Management, who holds about 4 million Home Capital shares. Banks wanted to see this go away. There were too many unknowns. Taylor said hes expecting the lender will receive a credit line to replace a punitive $2-billion loan from Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. The alternative mortgage lender, which primarily lends to borrowers turned away from the traditional banks, is in talks with banks for a loan to replace the credit line from HOOPP. Royal Bank of Canada and Credit Suisse Group AG are among the firms interested in lending, according to people familiar with the discussions who declined to be identified describing confidential information. Home Capital reiterated it is pursuing additional financing and strategic options while declining to comment further in a statement on Thursday. The regulator declined further comment. This is one step forward in the right direction, but the company still has a lot of issues to address, including their long-term strategy, Marc Charbin, an analyst at Laurentian Bank Securities Inc., said by phone. They need to see inflows into guaranteed investment certificate deposits and appoint a permanent CEO, he said. SHARE: Numerous historians long ago agreed that rock n roll emerged from Ike Turners Rocket 88, but who invented the rock on hand gesture so associated with the genre? Thats the hand signal fans and rockers alike hold up during shows, in which the index and pinky fingers are extended, the middle and ring finger are curled into the palm, and the thumb either sticks out from the hand like an errant branch from a tree or is also curled into the palm. And Gene Simmons, the co-founder of Kiss, claims he used it first. Simmons recently filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, seeking to trademark the hand gesture. He claimed on the application that the gesture was first used commercially, by him, on Nov. 14, 1974, which would have been during Kisss Hotter Than Hell tour. For his request to be accepted, of course, an examiner would consider the likelihood of confusion and, possibly, whether its too generic to be associated with Simmons, according to the Hollywood Reporter. While there is documented evidence Simmons liked to rock n roll all night and party every day, he may have a bumpy road arguing he was the first to use or popularize the gesture thats become ubiquitous among fans of loud guitar riffs and pounding drums. Similar gestures if not the exact same one can be found in the world of music predating Kiss touring on its debut, eponymous record in 1974. Consider, for example, John Lennons hand on the cover of the Beatles single Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby, which was released in 1966 a full seven years before Kiss was even formed. Then in 1969, psychedelic rock band Coven released an EP with not one but two members flashing the sign. This variation, though, does pull the thumb in, which is the more popular version of the gesture in rock music. Many credit the popularization of the hand gesture not to Simmons but to Ronnie James Dio, the heavy metal rocker who in 1979 replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. As the Florida Times-Union reported: Ozzys big gimmick on stage was flashing double peace signs. It had become such a Black Sabbath ritual that when Dio took over, he felt the band wouldnt be the same unless he used a symbol as well, a former publicity agent told the Wall Street Journal. But he didnt want to be an Ozzy copycat. Setting himself apart from Ozzy, Dio adopted what has become the rock music salute. The gesture both with thumb curled in and sticking out enjoyed a long history before anyone ever plugged in an electric guitar, though. Fans of the University of Texas at Austin have been using the hand gesture (thumb in), which they call the Hook Em Horns symbol, to cheer on their beloved Longhorns on the gridiron or court ever since a group of students came up with the symbol in 1955, according to the Texas State Historical Association. Meanwhile, superstitious Italians have used the gesture for many years to ward off the devil. Dio told Metal Rules online magazine he originally got it from his grandmother. I doubt very much if I would be the first one who ever did that. Thats like saying I invented the wheel, Im sure someone did that at some other point, Dio said. Its an Italian thing I got from my grandmother . . . Its to ward off the Evil Eye or to give the Evil Eye, depending on which way you do it. It even appeared in this context in Bram Strokers 1897 novel Dracula. Indeed, the BBC reported it is a common gesture in Italy, and has a double meaning. One might use it in a vulgar manner, flash it to a man whose wife is rumoured to be cheating on him. Here in the states, meanwhile, the gesture is known for a few reasons outside of music. The more frivolous one is that Spider-Man makes it when he shoots sticky webs from his wrists. More importantly, though, its the American Sign Language symbol for love. Simmons sure seems to have a long road ahead of him, but claiming a hand gesture isnt completely unprecedented. Dallas Page, a professional wrestler known to fans as Diamond Dallas Page, long touched his index fingers and thumbs together to create a diamond as a sort of calling card. He was able to trademark it. Meanwhile, 3OH!3, a Colorado electronic band, made a similar hand gesture in a photo shoot. Theirs was rounder, though, creating more of a circle than a diamond. Page sued the band in district court and the parties eventually settled. SHARE: John Lennons 1971 song Imagine is considered one of his masterpieces. Rolling Stone once called it his greatest musical gift to the world. It was also undeniably inspired by Lennons wife, Yoko Ono. Indeed, Lennon drew portions of the lyrics in Imagine from Onos 1964 poetry book, Grapefruit. And in a 1980 video interview, Lennon said the song should be credited as a Lennon-Ono song because a lot of it the lyric and the concept came from Yoko. Soon, more than four decades after the songs release, 84-year-old Ono is likely to receive the songwriting credit Lennon said was always due her. On Wednesday, the chief executive of the National Music Publishers Association announced that the process is underway to add Ono to the song as a co-writer, Variety reported. David Israelite, the CEO, shared the news at the organizations annual meeting in New York, where Imagine received the Centennial Song award. Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, accepted the award onstage, where Ono proclaimed this is the best time of my life, Variety said. Ono who is currently fighting a flulike sickness and had to be pushed onstage in a wheelchair said her current illness has made her appreciate the song even more. Patti Smith then performed what many described as a poignant rendition of the song. Yoko Ono, centre, at New York's Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on Jan. 21, 2017 for the Women's March. Sean Lennon later wrote about the award ceremony on his Instagram, calling it the proudest day of my life. Cut to: my mother welling up in tears, Sean Lennon wrote. Patience is a virtue! And on Thursday morning, Ono tweeted a portion of an interview recording in which Lennon said Imagine was inspired by Yokos Grapefruit. Theres a lot of pieces in it saying imagine this or imagine that, Lennon said. I know she helped on a lot of the lyrics but I wasnt man enough to let her have credit for it. I was still selfish enough and unaware enough to take that contribution without acknowledging it. I was still full of wanting my own space after being in the room with four guys and always having to share everything, he continued. The song, he said, expresses what I learned through being with Yoko and my own feelings on it. Downtown Music Publishing, which manages Onos and Lennons solo work, tweeted that the award - bestowed to both its songwriters - was an incredible honor for us. Adding Ono to the credits of Imagine is significant in part because it would extend the amount of time the song would be able to reap income for its creators, as Variety pointed out. A song enters the public domain 70 years after the death of its last songwriter. Lennon died after being gunned down in New York on Dec. 8, 1980, by Mark David Chapman. The decision would also be a highly controversial one among a segment of die-hard Beatles fans, some of whom still blame Ono for breaking up the band in 1970 by creating tensions and divisions between Lennon and the other band members. As Delia Lloyd wrote in The Washington Post in 2012, many Beatles fans have formed the impression that Ono was this new-agey, avant-garde, exotic Japanese freak show who forever spoiled the rough, working class sensibilities of the sometimes-truculent, creative musical genius from the streets of Liverpool. Theres no doubt that after meeting Ono, Lennon moved in a decidedly different creative direction, she added. But Paul McCartney tried to dispel that mind-set in a 2012 interview with David Frost, announcing that Ono was not responsible for the disbanding. She certainly didnt break the group up, the group was breaking up, McCartney said. He added that without Onos influence, songs such as Imagine would never have been written: I dont think he would have done that without Yoko, so I dont think you can blame her for anything. SHARE: There are only 48 children in the Dorion Public School. Situated off the Trans Canada Highway in eastern Ontario, the primary school is surrounded by trees and bushes: no stores, no traffic, and no people. In this small rural school, sexual violence seems to be of little concern. Still, Liam Stenlund, one of six people in Grade 7, believes that the school should talk about it. In Nov. 2016, Stenlund became a participant in Campaign Messengers: Taking a Stand! a pilot project created by the youth-focused not-for-profit organization Ophea that was formed to support the Ontario governments Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan. We thought that starting at an elementary school age will help prevent it very fast, said Stenlund. We thought wed eliminate the gender stereotypes before they become a big issue in our school, said his classmate Allison Landry also in Grade 7. Funded jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Status of Women, Ophea partnered with Egale Canada, the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres and White Ribbon to address the root causes of sexual violence and harassment through the promotion of healthy relationships, consent and social norms within the education sector. We strongly believe in student voice and student leadership, said Sarah Christie, projects leader at Ophea, and saw this as an opportunity to switch it around a bit and, as opposed to a top down curriculum approach, really build the capacity of students to be messengers of this issue in their school communities. According to 2013 statistics, female youth ages 12-17 years old are eight times more likely as male youth to be the victim of sexual assault or other sexual offences, and twice as likely to be victims of violence as adult women. And, 39 per cent of women have reported having experienced at least one incidence of sexual assault since the age of 16. In November, Ophea hosted a one-and-a half day training session for 100 educators and students from 26 schools from all over Ontario: Dryden, Red Rock, Wawa, and Windsor. Students were taught the ideas of respect, listen, understand and communicate what Ophea and the students now recognize as the four pillars which they then took back to share with their schools in the form of activities and discussions. Every school took a really sensitive and thoughtful approach to where their school was at, said Christie, and what activities would work best in their school community. The most tackled topics in the campaign action plans the students created were consent, safe space/the four pillars and gender norms. For Coral Joy, a Grade 11 student from North Bay, Ont., the biggest challenge was to accommodate the maturity levels of all students involved. Something like this can be a joke to one student but it can ruin another students life, she said, and I think thats the hardest part. When Stenlund and Landry went back to Dorion, they initiated the Everybody Matters week to educate their school about safe spaces. They started with a compliment creator to give students a chance to write positive things about one another, so that they can feel good, according to Landry. Other activities, included an Easter Egg hunt, where each egg held an unknown fact about a classmate to encourage better understanding; a colouring exercise with instructions, which required them to listen closely. So often when its solely curricular, students think this is what we have to learn and then well be evaluated on it, said Liana Williams, a high school teacher who participated in the campaign. Thats why some students created an unlearn list or a Dear Teacher, I wish I had learned video. I think students would rather follow an example of a peer than listen to someone older than them preach about something, said Joy. In the process, kids like Maggie Shi, a Grade 11 student from Markham, Ont., learned to become more open. I realized you dont have to be afraid of talking about these topics. SHARE: Middle Ridge is a long way from Pittsburgh, and no one knows that better than Kate Stapleton. She and her husband, Casey, who perform as a musical duo called The Stapletons, will give a free concert at the Ridge History Park on Tuesday, June 20 the longest day of the year. On June 18, theyll also give a concert at Driftless Books and Music in Viroqua. The Stapletons are hoping for clear skies on Tuesday so those in attendance can experience one of those stunning ridgetop sunsets. In June, that ridgetop is pretty much the most beautiful place on Earth, Kate said. The oldest of nine children, Kate grew up on a Middle Ridge farm and attended high school in La Crosse and Viroqua. She now lives in Pittsburgh with Casey and their three children. For the last two years, Casey and Kate have been playing music together, and theyll release their first album this September. Although husband-and-wife duos are not all that unusual in the music world, the Stapletons instrumentation might be truly unique. Its probably a safe bet that no one else is combining Celtic harp with Mexican guitar. We know of one couple on the West Coast (who perform with harp and guitar), but their music is classical, Kate said. We havent heard of anyone who does quite what we do. Our style is different. It has some blues, some mariachi and some rock and roll. Although the Stapletons were married in Middle Ridge, Casey actually grew up in Los Angeles, where his dad was a ship captain. Its like we grew up in two different worlds, Kate said of the cultural differences between Middle Ridge and Los Angeles. Casey played in a mariachi band in Los Angeles, but that was far from his only musical interest. In fact, the reason he eventually moved across the country to Pittsburgh was because he loved the blues scene there. Meanwhile, Kates brother was telling her she needed to meet this tall guitar player (Casey is 6 feet 5 inches and Kate is 6 feet) from Los Angeles who talked music all the time. I was in North Carolina at the time and hed just moved to Pittsburgh, Kate said. So we had a long distance relationship until we got married. That marriage took place in Middle Ridge eight years ago, and although music was one of the things that brought them together in the first place, the demands of raising a family quickly put musical ambitions on hold. Still, Kate would occasionally take her kids along to nursing homes so they could dance while she played the harp for residents. All that changed in the familys kitchen one morning. I pulled out the harp and Casey started playing along, Kate said. We thought Wow, this really sounds good! It was an amazing sound. Two years later their debut album is completely recorded and is being mixed and mastered this summer for September release. Its been a total collaboration, Kate said. We both write words and music. All the songs are original, with the exception of Battle Hymn of the Republic Kate noted that their version has a completely different musical arrangement. Casey wrote a new version, and I thought it sounded really great, she said. In a way, its apt that the Middle Ridge concert will be held at the history park. Many of the couples songs are inspired by history. In Pittsburgh, they live across the street from the site of the greatest civilian catastrophe of the Civil War. On Sept. 17, 1862, at least 78 people died in the explosion of the Allegheny Arsenal. Many of the victims were young women whod just emigrated from Ireland. In researching the history Kate discovered that two of the victims were named Slattery (her maiden name). That inspired her to write The Ballad of the Arsenal Girls, one of the songs sure to be played during their trip to Wisconsin. When school lets out this month the Stapletons will load up their three kids in the car and head west. Im super excited to be coming home, Kate said. Its such a beautiful time of the yearI cant think of anything Id rather be doing. She hopes the prospect of seeing a spectacular solstice sunset and hearing some original music will entice a few folks from La Crosse and other areas to take a scenic drive up to Middle Ridge on the evening of the June 20. On their way west to Wisconsin, the Stapletons have scheduled gigs in Ann Arbor and Chicago, as well as several house concerts in Michigan. Kate sees touring as a way to bring the family closer together. She says shes always been impressed with how farmers and their families work together for the good of all. I see our music project as another way to work out a family farm ethic, Kate said. Its everybody working together whether you like it or not to create something beautiful. Emboldened by a recent Superior Court decision strongly condemning Canadas practice of indefinite immigration detention, lawyers representing a West African man who has spent nearly four-and-a-half years in maximum-security jail waiting to be deported will demand his release Thursday at a hearing in Etobicoke. His ongoing detention is unconstitutional because its both arbitrary and indefinite, said Jared Will, an immigration lawyer who recently took up the case of Ebrahim Toure, a 46-year-old failed refugee claimant who is not charged with a crime but has been in jail since February 2013. They say theyre detaining him for removal but they have no means of removing him. Theres no end point to his detention and its disconnected from its purpose. Toure, who was profiled earlier this year as part of a Star investigation into immigration detention, is the longest-serving immigration detainee in detention. He says he was born in The Gambia and raised partly in Guinea. But he cant prove his citizenship to either country so neither will take him back. Canadas border police accuse him of not co-operating with his deportation, but he insists he is willing to be deported and has given them all the information he has. Their position is that its his lack of co-operation that is the impediment to the removal, said Will, who recently won the release of another immigration detainee who had been locked up for more than seven years. But they have nothing concrete to demonstrate that theres anything that he can actually do to facilitate the deportation. Toures case is just the latest to draw scrutiny upon Canadas immigration detention system, which is facing a potential overhaul in light of recent court challenges. Will was the lead lawyer in those cases as well. Last month he argued in Federal Court that the entire immigration detention regime violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and should be struck down or dramatically altered. A decision is expected sometime this summer. In April he successfully persuaded Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer to order the immediate release of Kashif Ali, who had spent more than seven years in immigration detention. In a firm reprimand to Canadas border police, Nordheimer called Alis situation unacceptable and said the government could not justify jailing someone indefinitely even in cases where they were not co-operating with their removal. Will is now threatening to take the government to court if they dont release Toure. About a month ago he sent a letter to Canadian border officials asking them to outline how Toure has been unco-operative and what specifically they want from him to assist in his removal. Weve asked for a list of exactly the steps that they want him to take and they have failed to provide that list, Will said. If they cant say what it is that they need from him its difficult, I think, to maintain the allegation that hes the one who is not co-operating. Meanwhile, the Liberal government is in the midst of a review of immigration detention, having recently wrapped up a public consultation on potential policy changes. Last summer they announced a $138-million investment to upgrade immigration detention facilities and expand alternatives to detention. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has said his government is aiming to reduce the number of long-term detentions and the use of maximum-security jails. But changes may soon be forced on the Liberals. Among those being considered by the Federal Court is a six-month limit on immigration detention something that is already in place in some countries. Currently, Canadas border police can indefinitely detain non-citizens they consider a danger to the public, are unlikely to appear for their deportation, or if their identity is in doubt. The average length of detention is about three weeks, but some cases drag on for months or years. Although immigration detainees have not been criminally charged, many of them end up in maximum-security jails and are treated the same as sentenced criminals or those awaiting trial. Toures case on Thursday will be heard by the quasi-judicial Immigration and Refugee Board, an arms-length administrative tribunal that reviews detentions every 30 days. Lawyers often do not attend the detention reviews because they find them procedurally unfair and stacked in the governments favour. Will, for instance, does not typically attend detention reviews because he has found them to be little more than a rubber stamp. But given the Superior Courts decision in Alis case, he is hoping he can convince the board member that, just as it was with Ali, there is no reasonable prospect that Toure will be deported, so his continued detention is indefinite and disconnected from its purpose, which is a violation of the charter. Immigration officials have refused to discuss Toures case with the Star. In his detention reviews they have pointed to his past use of aliases to assail his credibility and suggested his current identity is also false. Toure is not considered a danger to the public and he has never been charged with a crime in Canada. He did plead guilty in 2004 to selling counterfeit CDs and DVDs in Atlanta, Ga., where he was living under a false identity at the time. That conviction, for which he served no jail time, is the basis for the governments decision to place Toure in a maximum-security jail rather than the less-restrictive Immigration Holding Centre. SHARE: OTTAWAA group of senators slammed the Supreme Court of Canada for being out of step with reality and careening off a cliff in its attempt to curb trial delays by setting rigid deadlines the justice system cant currently realistically meet. The Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs released a report Wednesday that makes 50 recommendations to speed up criminal trials, saying whats needed is a complete rethink of the Canadian criminal justice system, not drop-dead timelines. Sen. George Baker warned tens of thousands of criminal charges risk being tossed next year as a result of the Supreme Courts ruling last July in a drug case called Jordan, which set 18-month deadlines for trials in provincial courts, and 30-month ceilings on trials in superior courts. Read more: Judge rejects attempt to have Brantford sex assault case tossed due to delay How an invented Supreme Court ruling has rocked the Canadian justice system Provinces urge Supreme Court to relax tough new deadlines END Baker, an independent appointed by a previous Liberal government, and Conservative Sen. Bob Runciman said the Supreme Court did not have enough data last year about the potential impact of its Jordan ruling before it stepped off a cliff and imposed the new trial timelines. Yet the senate committee report says it is not the high courts fault that despite rulings in 1990 and 1992 intended to curb delays, trial delays have become an endemic part of the system. Legislative solutions can take you only so far, Runciman said. Its the legal culture we need to change. Delay is regarded as the norm. Cases are adjourned routinely for no good reasons. The report even used the language of the Supreme Court, and laid blame for the culture of complacency at the feet of all players, especially successive federal governments for failing to legislate reasonable trial timelines, failing to swiftly fill judicial vacancies and for leaving too much of the administration of justice which is a provincial responsibility to the provinces alone. It said Ottawa can do a lot to prompt change by properly funding provincial legal aid programs to cover self-represented litigants whose inability to navigate the system contributes to delay, to increase pay for defence counsel to a nationally standardized rate and to increase spending on RCMP forensic testing labs which cannot keep up with demand. The report recommends that Ottawa legislate other remedies that judges can impose when trials run too long. Instead of using a sledgehammer ordering a halt to proceedings when the Charter right to a speedy trial is violated it said judges should have the ability to hand out lower sentences or order the Crown to pay the legal costs of a defendant whose rights were violated. Lawyer Frank Addario, former president of the Criminal Lawyers Association of Ontario, said the senators report is smart and thoughtful. Their suggestions would improve the delay problem. But its a fatal miscalculation to think government will continue to worry about justice delay if drastic remedies are eliminated. If the crisis conditions lift, the benign neglect will return. The committee wants the federal government to do a thorough review of the impact of mandatory minimum sentences on trial delays, something the Liberal government is already undertaking. Runciman admitted in an interview that mandatory minimum penalties, which he supported when the previous Conservative government expanded them, may deter defendants from pleading guilty and so contribute to trial delays a significant concession from the former provincial public safety minister and a Conservative appointee to the senate. The report called on federal and provincial governments to lay out a national strategy for immediate action and a funding plan to modernize justice systems, including better use of computer technology and video-conferencing to manage cases, and better data collection to make evidence-based reforms. The lack of robust case management by the judiciary is the most important factor contributing to delays and the culture of complacency the Supreme Court identified in Jordan, the senators concluded. Runciman told how in Alberta, senators sat in on a hearing where the defence asked for an adjournment, and the prosecutor said the case had already been adjourned 19 times. The judges response was, Well give you one more. Runciman added when he asked an unnamed chief judge in Alberta about cracking down on judges who grant unnecessary adjournments, he was told: Theyre my colleagues; that wouldnt be appropriate. Clear statistics are hard to come by, but the report says that the rate of serious crime is down, but delays are increasing. The number of cases that were disposed of in criminal courts has decreased 19 per cent in the last five years, said Runciman. The report recommends longer sitting hours, including summer trials, the diversion of mentally ill offenders including those suffering from drug and alcohol addictions to health services, more staff to support Indigenous persons in the justice system, an end to overcharging and ways to shift administration of justice offences (such as breaching bail and probation conditions) out of criminal courts. It called on Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to design a national strategy for immediate actions that will ensure victims and defendants are fairly treated. It said she should develop a funding plan to modernize computer technology to manage cases and ensure better data collection to make evidence-based reforms. But the senators said they could not put a price tag on what all their recommendations could cost. The report supported calls for a legislated end to preliminary inquiries in criminal cases because, as Runciman said, they are often used by defence counsel to test the Crowns case, when in fact the Supreme Court has already ruled Crown attorneys are required to disclose pretrial all relevant evidence to the defence. Yet Runciman acknowledged its not a big factor as preliminary hearings are held in less than five per cent of cases, he said. Representatives of prosecutors and defence counsel across Canada welcomed the breadth of the reports recommendations, even though all said they might disagree with certain proposals. Its a reinvention of the criminal justice system, that doesnt take a silo approach, said Bill Trudell, chair of the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers. When they talk about too many people in custody, proper funding for Indigenous court workers, a properly funded legal aid plan, getting rid of mandatory minimums, discretion, the administration of justice offences . . . Its really comprehensive. Rick Woodburn, president of the Canadian Association of Crown Counsel, said the report isnt alarmist but realist. Whats important for people to know is (the ruling in) Jordan didnt start this, he said. The crisis started long before Jordancame out. Woodburn said he absolutely welcomed the proposal that judges have a range of options other than tossing out cases that drag on too long, as well as the recommendations to quickly name judges to fill gaps, fund legal aid, support Indigenous defendants and especially the call to increase money for RCMP forensic labs. Woodburn said a huge part of delays in serious cases such as murder and sex assault is due to closures of RCMP forensic labs and the inability of those which remain to process all the evidence that is sent. NDP leader Thomas Mulcair agreed with the call to swiftly name judges, blaming the Trudeau government for failing to heed the Supreme Courts warnings. Theyre just not a very competent government. Theyre not good at governing . . . they should have proceeded with those nominations rapidly, and theyre still not acting. And thats part of this tragedy because Im as frustrated as anybody in Canadian society when I see a murderer or a rapist being let go because they havent had their trial on time. The Supreme Court of Canada ruling in Jordan could be clarified Friday when the high court releases another judgment in a Newfoundland drug trafficking case known as Cody. The high court last July set a ceiling for trials, which said delays caused by or waived by the defence do not count toward the calculation of the time a trial takes. SHARE: VANCOUVERCanada ranks 37th on a list of 41 rich countries for children having access to enough nutritious food, and higher-than-average rates of child homicide and teen suicide also point to a need for action, a UNICEF report says. More than 22 per cent of Canadian children live in poverty and most issues related to kids showed no improvement or worsened during the last decade, said the 14th report from UNICEF on childrens well-being amongst wealthy countries. The mental health of Canadian teens has been declining, with 22 per cent of adolescents reporting symptoms more than once a week, said the report release Wednesday. Canada ranked 31st for the teen suicide rate, it said. The report ranked countries in the European Union and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and put Canada in 25th place overall on childrens well-being. Norway topped the list from the UN Childrens Fund. Romania, Bulgaria and Chile were at the bottom of the list based on 27 indicators. Canada has data to report on 21 indicators, including food security, unhealthy weight and bullying. We placed 17th in 2013 and 23rd in 2016 (overall) on similar indexes measuring how Canadas kids are doing compared with other rich countries, UNICEF Canada said in a companion report. The main report is based on so-called sustainable development goals set in September 2015 by 193 countries that aimed to end extreme poverty and hunger, provide education, protect children from violence and fight climate change. David Morley, president of UNICEF Canada, said countries that moved up in the rankings invested more in early child development including daycare. When you invest in the poorest children the payoff is greater. When the safety net is stronger, families can be stronger, he said. It is too early to say if Canadas tax-free child benefit, introduced last year, will make an impact, he said. While many Indigenous children live in poverty, they represent only about 6 per cent of kids in Canada, suggesting all kids need stronger policies, Morley said. Its a myth that Canada is the best place in the world to grow up and that the country has great air quality, the report said. Air quality has been improving over the past 10 years in almost all rich countries except for Canada and Turkey, the report said. Children are more vulnerable to the negative effects of air pollution because they breathe in more air per unit of body weight than adults, it said. Canada is, in the minds of many, a big, clean, safe and healthy nation. But the data in this report card suggest it is not so very clean, safe or healthy for its children and youth. Canada ranked 29th of 41 countries on unhealthy weight of children. Nearly 25 per cent of young people are obese, above the average of 15 per cent, the main report said. Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, said the country has failed to meet the needs of many of the most vulnerable children living on reserves. You cant give these kids less money for education, less money for health care, less money for early childhood and deny them even basics like clean water and expect them to be doing OK, she said from Ottawa. She noted the federal government has yet to follow repeated compliance orders issued as late as last month by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which ruled in 2016 that Ottawa racially discriminated against youth in its delivery of child welfare services on reserves. Blackstock, whose group fought the government on the issue, said the need for equitable education and health care for First Nations children has been ignored for years. No political party in this country in 2017 should be able to racially discriminate against 165,000 children, said Blackstock, a member of the Gitxsan First Nation in B.C. I think the government has so normalized this racial discrimination against First Nations children that its really in the DNA of the government, said Blackstock, who is also a professor at the school of social work at McGill University in Montreal. Read more about: SHARE: OTTAWAA Liberal bill that would make it easier for people to become Canadian citizens has passed the Senate, after over a year of back-and-forth in Parliament. Bill C-6 was designed to repeal many of the previous Conservative governments changes to how people become citizens and how they can lose that status. Among other things, the legislation repeals a provision that strips dual citizens of their Canadian status if convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage. But far more people lose their citizenship because it was obtained fraudulently and current law gives them no right to appeal, something not addressed in the Liberals original bill. The Senate proposed adding such an appeal and the Liberals agreed to that and several other amendments late last week. The bill went back to the Senate and after a brief debate, passed by a vote of 51-29. Former immigration minister John McCallum introduced the bill in 2016, following through on a Liberal campaign promise that had in part spawned Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus famous A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian line during the heated debates of the 2015 election. The issue was the Conservatives citizenship law, which allowed for stripping citizenship from dual nationals convicted of certain serious crimes. It has been applied to one person: Zakaria Amara, convicted for his role in a 2006 terror plot in Toronto and his citizenship is now likely to be reinstated. The Liberals original bill makes two other changes: restoring the age range for language and knowledge requirements for citizenship to 18 to 54 from 14 to 64. One of the Senate amendments had sought to raise the upper age to 59 but the Liberals did not accept that. The other change in the bill repeals a Conservative provision that required people to say they intended to reside in Canada as part of their citizenship application. Among the notable Senate amendments was one allowing people a right to appeal if their citizenship were to be revoked because of fraud. The Liberals accepted it, though their hand was forced a bit after a recent Federal Court ruling saying citizens deserved an independent hearing before their status was revoked. The Opposition Conservatives have condemned that move, saying it risks encouraging people to lie on their application, because of the lengthy appeals process. They say their process which left decisions on revocation in the hands of the bureaucrats was more efficient, and court appeals were still possible if the law was wrongly applied. SHARE: OTTAWAAn increase in asylum claims in Canada could eventually mean a staggering 11-year wait for a hearing and $2.97 billion in social supports for claimants in the meantime, an internal government analysis has concluded. The Immigration and Refugee Board has been trying to whittle down the current backlog, but received no new money in the latest federal budget. With 2017 application numbers expected to far exceed earlier projections, the board simply cant keep up, says the memo, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. That puts the entire asylum system at risk, opposition MPs warned Thursday as they urged the Liberal government to do more than simply study the issue and then leave it to the board to find efficiencies to handle the problem. Ensuring the right processes are in place to support government policy on immigration is essential, said Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel. She said the situation could erode public support for Canadas policy of welcoming refugees. When the government ignores that, you start getting politicized rhetoric thats polarized on the right and the left, instead of being compassionate about people, Rempel said. And thats the governments fault. The Immigration Department memorandum was drawn up this spring as a flood of people illegally crossed into Canada from the U.S. to claim asylum, dominating headlines and raising pointed House of Commons questions about the integrity of the borders and the immigration system. Read more: Could Canadas border crossers prompt a political shift on immigration? Study shows Canadian immigration systems shift toward migrant workers The department was asked to explore estimated backlogs at the Immigration and Refugee Board and the associated wait times under different scenarios, following a meeting about the U.S. border-crosser issue in March. Since January, at least 2,700 people have been intercepted by the RCMP between legal border points; most went on to file claims. The memo does not directly address the impact of the border crossers, though certain sections were redacted. But those numbers are only part of the mix. Asylum claims have been steadily rising since 2015; that year, there were 16,115, and in 2016 there were 23,895. As of April this year, the last month for which data is publicly available, there were already 12,040 claims in the system. The memo projects that claim levels will hit 36,000 this year and one scenario looks at what happens if they reach that level and continue to rise by 20 per cent a year after that. This scenario best reflects current concerns around increased volumes of claimants observed to date in 2017 and takes into account overall increases in asylum intake from 2015 to 2016, it says. The memo goes on to say that by the end of 2021, the new system inventory would grow to approximately 192,700 claims, equivalent to 133 months worth of output from the board, or a wait time of approximately 11 years. Immigration lawyer Chantal Desloges called that timeline a doomsday prediction There is no evidence that 20 per cent increase will happen, its just a theoretical scenario, she said, adding it also assumes nothing will change in the way the IRB does business, or its lack of funding. The social support costs for claimants education, social assistance and health care were $600 a month each in 2016-17, the memo said. At that claim volume, those costs could climb to $2.97 billion from 2017 through 2021. Those numbers should be read with caution, said Janet Dench, executive director for the Canadian Council for Refugees. Refugee claimants pay taxes, yet cant access many of the same benefits Canadians do, she noted. To provide a figure for total costs without factoring in taxes paid makes no more sense than if we were to calculate the average use of services by a Canadian over a lifetime and say that is the cost to Canada of each baby that is born, Dench said. Two other scenarios were examined: intake for 2017 remaining at the originally projected number of 28,000 claims and claims rising to 36,000 with no growth after that. In the first scenario, wait times would be between four to five years; in the second, around six years. The IRB has been sounding the alarm for months over its ability to keep pace with the rising numbers, citing a number of factors including vacancies for decision-maker positions and the legislative requirement for hearings to be scheduled within certain timelines. A backlog has arisen, the note explains, because hearings need to be scheduled as soon as the claims are filed, and the board simply cant keep up with the pace. The board has tried to deal with the backlog on its own by, among other things, redeploying half its capacity to address backlogged claims and has repeatedly asked for more money. Thats understandable, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said Thursday, but there needs to be a broader look at the issue. As part of that conversation we have tasked a third-party review of not only the resource issue, but also their mechanisms and how they can find even more efficiencies, Hussen said. That review was announced late last week and will not conclude until 2018. A study wont cut it, said NDP Immigration critic Jenny Kwan. He cant just say Im going to study this year again and hope the problem will go away, she said. It will not go away until they take real action and the need to resource the IRB properly. SHARE: The man found not criminally responsible for killing a Toronto police officer in 2011 was released from a psychiatric hospital in mid-April and has been living in supportive housing in Durham Region with daily visits from mental-health workers. Richard Kachkar was in the midst of a psychotic episode when he stole a snowplow and ran over Sgt. Ryan Russell as the officer attempted to stop him. A jury found him not criminally responsible in March 2013, and he was sent to the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences in Whitby. In June 2015 the Ontario Review Board allowed Kachkar to be moved to a lower-security unit at the hospital and permitted him to get passes to go into Durham Region for up to 10 hours accompanied by another person. After his next annual hearing in June 2016, the board approved a plan by the hospital to gradually transition Kachkar into living in the community with supervision and support. While Kachkar continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, a risk assessment showed he represents a low risk to act out in a violent fashion, the boards decision stated. In the view of the Board, the safety of the public is fully protected by the supervision which will be put in place to assist Mr. Kachkar and monitor his behaviour. The officers widow, Christine Russell, first learned Kachkar is now living in an apartment from the provinces Victim/Witness Assistance Program ahead of Kachkars next annual hearing before the Ontario Review Board on Thursday. I assumed I would have been notified before such a thing would happen or I had the right to be informed about this, she said. I think it would be a decent, human thing to do to inform the family, let us know what area of the neighborhood you are in. What if I see you at Tim Hortons? Russell has attended every annual hearing and reads a victim-impact statement because she doesnt want what Kachkar did to ever be forgotten. Hes going to walk away, out the door and no one is going to remember, she said. He killed somebody. Its not a light matter and I know (the board members) are very careful with their decision-making but I dont think any of them have had to walk in our shoes and know the hell weve gone throughThere are no guarantees this could not happen again. She added that she also goes because my husband isnt here to speak for himself and I want my son to know his mom did everything she could. I didnt run away from it and ignore it. I did everything I was allowed to do. I want him to know I did my best to do proud by his dad. While the boards decisions note Kachkar harbours intense feelings of guilt and shame for his actions and the impact they have had on the police officers family, Russell says he has never apologized to her or the family directly. I dont believe it, she said quietly. I have never received any kind of apology. Not even an acknowledgment. According to the email Russell received from the Victim/Witness Assistance Program, Kachkar is being supervised/supported by CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association) who visit him twice daily Monday to Friday and once daily on weekends. He is also visited by a transitional housing rehabilitation program manager. On Thursday he will be seeking permission to travel within 150 kilometres of Ontario Shores for 72 hours so he can visit his daughter. The boards 2016 decision noted Kachkar had been a model patient with no active symptoms or instability, and that he has committed to life-long treatment for schizophrenia. A primary concern for the board and the hospital was Kachkars ability to deal with stressful situations. A re-offence scenario would likely involve a discontinuance of medications as well as cumulative stressors, Kachkars psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Pytyck told the board, according to the decision. She said Kachkar would have ongoing oversight while living in the community so hopefully any signs of his mental state deteriorating would be caught early. Concerns were also raised about how Kachkar would respond if he was recognized. Pytyck said he would likely retreat and not act out and that he would seek help from the hospital, according to the decision. At the end of the hearing, the Crown lawyer agreed with the recommendations of the hospital. SHARE: Gideon Scanlon almost got mugged. Then he wrote a thank you letter. Not to his attackers but to the residents of a Toronto street who he says lifted his faith in humanity. On a night that showed me the worst of human behaviour, your neighbourhood showed me the best, reads his letter, hanging on a lamp post on Howland Ave. Scanlon and his friend had been walking home early Monday morning, after an evening of celebratory drinks. They were lost in conversation on the tree-lined residential road near Bathurst St. and Dupont St., when Scanlon heard footsteps from behind. Before he knew it, he said his friend was in a headlock. Scanlon began running down the street, yelling for help as loudly as he could while two men chased behind him. They had stolen his friends wallet at knifepoint, but Scanlon escaped unscathed he said the wretched knaves were scared off by a dogs loud barking. His friend ran after the attackers to get his wallet back, he said, but they hopped in a car and drove away. Shocked and shaken, Scanlon sat down on the street. A woman immediately came outside with the barking dog to see if he was all right. I didnt expect to get such a warm and comforting reaction from people, said Scanlon, 26. They were very friendly about the fact that we ruined their Monday night. Scanlon said he was touched by how many other people talked to him kindly out their window, asking if he was okay and calling the police. Feeling exceptionally grateful, Scanlon wasnt sure how to thank the neighbourhood. He felt uncomfortable just knocking on doors, but he also wanted people to know everything was okay he doesnt like leaving stories unfinished. So the next day he decided to type up a thank you letter that began: Dear Howlanders. On Wednesday morning, residents of the quiet road stopped to read the letter with surprise and delight. I love it. Its totally unexpected, said Leigh Godbold. She was one of the people who called 911 that night, although somebody else had already called first. I think people genuinely care for others. And thats why its so nice that he took the time to write that letter because people dont usually do that. In the note, Scanlon said he was particularly grateful for the woman who immediately came outside and talked to him on the street and to her barking dog for dissuading his pursuers. If this office is not yet occupied, I would move for this brave hound to be named Howlands Howler in Chief, he wrote in his letter. This brave hound is Fynn, a floppy, nine-month old Aussiedoodle who greets you with a lick and a wagging tail. Fynns owner Martha Randall says opening her door to Scanlons screaming was a natural response he sounded like someone in need. The thank you letter was a little over the top, she said, but it a sweet gesture. Obviously he felt very supportive, which is nice in a big city like this, she said. Its closing the loop, rather than leaving us wondering how he is. Neighbours say this stretch of Howland Ave., nestled north of the railway tracks and south of Davenport Rd., is a wonderful, tight-knit community. They have an annual street party and used to share a communal snow blower. Nobody is surprised that people responded to cries for help. Its not a come home from work and shut your doors kind of street, said Gillian Talacko, whos lived here for 20 years. Scanlon said he was surprised that his letter attracted so much attention online, but hes happy he was able to express his gratitude. Its a nice lesson, he said. Theres some horrible apples out there, but most people will do whats needed when theyre called on. Police say their investigation is continuing. SHARE: Another day, another ethics investigation in Vaughan. In her second probe into former councillor Michael Di Biase in as many months, the citys integrity commissioner Suzanne Craig, found the veteran politician used his position to improperly influence the decisions of city officials and those with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to assist a local landowner in getting approvals to develop on environmentally sensitive lands. Di Biase, who stepped down last month after decades in office, held a seat at the city, at the Region of York and was the vice-chair of the TRCA, an agency responsible for advising municipalities on the protection of lands. Craigs findings allege that Di Biase contravened the citys code of conduct around the improper use of influence after he gave inaccurate information to decision-makers on each board that led to an outcome in favour of development at 230 Grand Trunk Ave. in Maple. My preliminary findings point to the respondent having attempted to improperly influence the decision of the council of the City of Vaughan by inaccurately conveying the position of the TRCA and suggesting that the TRCA had withdrawn its objection to the development when it had not, said Craig in an interim report posted online Tuesday, which will be brought to council next week. My preliminary findings further point to the respondents subsequent attempt to improperly influence the TRCA Board, she said. Contacted Wednesday, Di Biase said he delivered his response to Craig on Tuesday, and will make it available after Craigs final report is published. He said he did not want to comment until then. In the report, Di Biase said that while disagreement between members of the (TRCA) board may occur on occasion it does not mean they were misled in any way. Last month, the veteran politician resigned after an unrelated ethics probe by Craig found he had sexually harassed a city worker. Di Biase has maintained his innocence throughout. The Star has reported on the controversy around the lands at 230 Grand Trunk Ave., which had long been considered to be environmentally sensitive by the city and region. The previous landowner, Eugenio Iacobelli, had even been required to pay a fine to the Region of York after he chopped down a woodlot on the lands, frustrated with his inability to develop the lands. After Iacobelli died, the property was bought by developer Cam Milani. Soon after, the city told residents that an Ontario Municipal Board settlement had been reached to allow for part of the land to be developed. Milani has not been named in Craigs report, and there is no evidence of wrongdoing. After years of support from the municipality, residents wondered how the land, which had been considered off-limits for decades, managed to get a stamp of approval from the TRCA and the City of Vaughan. The unidentified complaint alleges Di Biase, who was vice-chair of the TRCA at the time, improperly used his influence to convince fellow councillors during a June 2015 closed-session meeting that the TRCA had no outstanding concerns about the proposed development of 230 Grand Trunk Ave. The complaint alleges that Di Biase then inaccurately suggested to them the TRCA was likely going to withdraw from a pending OMB hearing. Craigs investigation, which included interviews with 15 people from the city, York Region and TRCA, as well as audio recordings, documents and emails, sheds some light as to what took place behind closed doors. According to Craig, the TRCA told residents that it opposed the developers appeal but that it was working towards a settlement that would address the outstanding environmental concerns. But on the day of the settlement, the TRCA said it was placed in the unique situation of attending an OMB hearing without any support from the city, municipality or regional partners. Thus, as a member of the city and region councils and the TRCA, Di Biase, the investigation alleges, said inaccurate and misleading things about what the municipality could do, or planned to do, in order to influence the outcome of the OMB decision. Despite the respondents attempts to persuade the TRCA to withdraw from the proceeding, the TRCA board continued to oppose the appeal, Craig wrote. At the same time, Di Biase told residents the citys hands were tied, suggesting that the city had no say or influence in the settlement deal, which was not true. Di Biase was also in the unique position of being able to vote on a decision to enter into a settlement agreement with the landowner of the proposed development, and being on the agency that had responsibility for advising municipalities on what lands should be protected, she said. Because Di Biase is no longer a sitting member of council, Craig is unable to recommend a sanction. The report will come to council next week. Despite his resignation after the sexual harassment allegations, Di Biase is still entitled to severance, the city has confirmed. It has not yet said how much he will be getting in the payout. This is not the first time Di Biases actions have come into question. Two years ago, another probe by Craig found he used intimidation and abusive language to pressure city staff who opposed his interference in the citys tendering process and his efforts to secure municipal projects for a local contracting company. Read more about: SHARE: In the wake of a striking new review of Canadas military, and promises of a 20-year vision for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the Department of National Defence has confirmed a new, high-tech, painstakingly engineered form of transportation for soldiers in the field. After years of niggling displeasure, CAF members can anticipate a sigh of relief. The department is buying new boots. Were aiming to get the solicitation on the streets by the end of August, Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon Edwards, director of soldier systems program management for the CAF, confirmed to The Star. Its been just three years since the government signed on to $11.7 million in contracts for their current footwear. The Land Operation Temperate Boot doesnt seem to have met the needs of the soldiers the way we hoped that it would, Lt.-Col. Edwards admitted. The new boots have elicited a range of complaints, from material breaking down to zippers breaking apart in harsh weather. While the army conducted a user trial prior to purchase which is probably one of the first times I think weve done it for boots, Lt.-Col. Edwards added the then-positive results havent held up. Theres no test that can be as good as wearing those boots in operation for one year, or nine months, Major Patrick Lottinville, the director of Land Requirements 5-4/DLR 5, noted. The boots havent presented an issue so severe that an immediate switch was required, but Lt.-Col. Edwards ceded that there have been lots of emails and discussions dedicated to the topic. Boots, as it happens, have a complex history in the Forces. Prior to the new contract in 2013, the DND sought to remedy boot-related issues that emerged primarily in Afghanistan. Though the DND supports more than 50 types of footwear for its 160,000 regular and reserve military members, as well as department civilians, Lt.-Col. Edwards says its still tricky to cover the needs of every individual unit. Some users might say, I want the lightest possible boots I can have, which is good for my job, Maj. Lottinville said. But when you put those boots on a soldier in Afghanistan, with 20 pounds of backpack and ammo and everything? It hurts their feet. The new contract gave CAF members a choice between two pairs of brown boots, which had favourable results in camouflage testing. The lightweight material was intended to improve breathability, compared to the previously used full-leather black boots. When the new deliveries came, however, early issues arose with manufacturing quality to the extent that swaths of boots needed to be replaced in 2015. According to Lt.-Col. Edwards, the issue was resolved, but gathering data from the field when issues arise takes a little while. Often, complaints arent formally communicated. In the army, a briefing note can be passed along through the chain of command to address issues, but other issues remain informal chatter within a given unit. The older designed General Purpose Boot is fully-leather, black, and laced-up rather than zipped. The height of the boot has been raised from the current 6-7 inches to 9 inches to protect the leg. The department is aiming to deliver 40,000 pairs by August 2018. At the time of publication, DND was unable to provide comment on how much the new boot contract will cost. SHARE: The furniture giant IKEA is trying its hand at a pop-up cafe in downtown Toronto this month to show off its famous meatballs and frozen yogurt with no assembly required. The IKEA Play Cafe is opening Friday at 336 Queen St. W., and will combine shopping, playing and eating in the almost 8,000 square foot space through June 27. It wont be a typical cafe, however. Instead of lattes, croissants and sandwiches, it will offer frozen yogurt and Swedish meatballs, chicken balls and veggie balls, which visitors can top with different sauces and waffles, fried onions, chips, pickles or biscuits. For us its really about defying the conventions, said corporate press officer Stephanie Harnett. For the past two years weve had a really big focus on food, so life in and around the kitchen the growing, the cooking, the storing and the entertaining, from a food perspective. IKEA, which has stores in Vaughan, Etobicoke and North York, has yet to open a downtown Toronto location. The company also has six pick-up-and-order points around the country that let shoppers buy items online and have them shipped to the location, which also carries some products for sale. Last year, IKEA hosted a pop-up on King St. W., which focused on healthy, fun and affordable food. This years pop-up will also carry 50 houseware items that wont need an Allen key, from pillows and artificial plants to teacups and cutting boards. It starts with the food, said head of marketing Lauren MacDonald. All of the products you see are geared towards cooking, eating, entertaining and serving. There are also games like tic-tac-toe and a giant pinball machine made from the retailers kitchen items. Eager passersby have been coming up to the popup since the big IKEA sign went up, trying to get in, said MacDonald. But not everyone is thrilled about the pop up. It certainly doesnt help encourage landlords to find longstanding, permanent retailers to populate that store, said Shamez Amlani, the head of the Queen St. West BIA. The popup doesntcontribute to the culture of the street. It doesnt contribute to the city in any way. Amlani also expressed concern for unique mom and pop-owned stores and designer places, which could get overtaken by monoculture. Its about fostering creativity and individuality to me is always more important than celebrating the mundane, he said. Douglas Fisher, the president of Toronto food service consultancy FHG International Inc., called the pop-up a marketing gimmick. Their food is quite good actually and offers a strong value proposition, Fisher said in an email. But really, it is just a way of putting their name into the downtown core without a serious investment. It will remind the downtown crowd that they can find good quality in the burbs. Still, IKEA is confident in its latest Toronto pop-up, and although it doesnt have plans to open a permanent cafe, MacDonald said, We wont rule anything out. The store will be open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. SHARE: An independent study examining the impact of police officers in Peel high schools has found their presence reduces student stress, risks of bullying and harm, improves attendance and makes teens feel safer and better able to learn. Results of the study assessing the value of a Peel Regional Police program that places neighbourhood officers in schools found it is overwhelmingly positive for student well-being, says lead researcher Linda Duxbury, a professor at Carleton Universitys Sprott School of Business who specializes in workplace issues. But opponents of police officers in Toronto schools say they have enough data of their own in the lived experiences of youth who dont feel safe or able to speak publicly and who say they feel undermined by the program. Duxbury could not release details of the new Peel research, to be released in a major report this fall and funded through a federal research grant. It is based on feedback from 1,300 Grade 9 and 10 students at five diverse public and Catholic high schools, the eight Peel officers who work in them, and dozens of school staff and members of the community, she said in an interview Wednesday. Share Your Thoughts! The Peel report is wrapping up just as Toronto police are about to decide the fate of their nine-year-old School Resource Officer (SRO) program, which includes 36 uniformed police working in 75 schools. Read more: Do armed, uniformed cops belong in Toronto high schools? The Toronto Police Services Board will address the controversial issue at a meeting Thursday, amid growing calls from community groups and educators demanding an end to the program, which they say leaves the most vulnerable and marginalized students feeling targeted and surveilled. Black Lives Matter, Education Not Incarceration, Latinx and Afro-Latin-America Abya Yala Education Network (LAEN) are among those calling for the program to be immediately abolished in letters to police and school boards, an online petition that has garnered more than 800 supporters and a social media campaign. They argue that police in school hallways leave many racialized youth feeling unsafe. And they say undocumented students who have a legal right to education have described feeling at risk of being reported or questioned about their citizenship. But heated debate over whether police presence is perceived as a form of relationship and community-building which its supporters claim or intimidation and enforcement has also highlighted the lack of an independent review of the program. Chief Mark Saunders told the board last month he was in the process of setting up a review, potentially by researchers at Ryerson University. Duxbury says arguments against cops in schools are too often based on anecdotal evidence, but the Peel study will show that overall, students and school safety benefit. I think that if Toronto Police Services takes the officers out of schools, theyre going completely in the wrong direction in terms of building relationships with the community and actually doing something of value, she said. But her data wont influence opponents like LAEN co-chair Andrea Vasquez Jimenez. The Peel report will be interesting to see, she said, but the bottom line is the lived experience of those students and youth who have advised us of their experiences and provided us with their stories of how they have been negatively impacted by having police in schools. We still advocate for full removal of the program, she said, adding that her organization is compiling its own research, in the form of firsthand stories from students. Gita Rao Madan, who studied the SRO program as part of her recent masters degree at the University of Torontos Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), said she doesnt believe more studies are necessary. She cited many groups expected to oppose the program at Thursdays board meeting and the hundreds who have signed the petition as evidence that the program is detrimental to many students. The voices of marginalized youth who may be too afraid or unable to speak out publicly but are coming forward through community organizations like Education Not Incarceration are crucial to consider, she added. I think its really important to think about what kind of data we consider to be valid, said Madan. For me, success is ensuring that all students are supported, so if some students are saying theyre not supported by a program like this then its our responsibility to listen to those students. But Duxbury hopes her research will provide an important missing piece for police and communities to consider. She noted one significant difference between the two programs is that Peel has officers in all high schools, so specific schools dont feel stigmatized an issue that has been raised in Toronto. The Peel study found the presence of an officer significantly increases the likelihood that students feel safe in school, which is paramount because research shows that leads to better learning and improves prospects of staying in school, she said. The impact is most significant for young females and students whove been bullied. SHARE: Kathleen Wynne changed her mind about Donald Trump the night he won the presidency. Up until the vote, shed written him off. But as the results rolled in, Wynne realized how much she had underestimated Trump not just his unexpected hold on power, but his unlikely path to power. Like Rob Ford before him, Trump had tapped into a powerful protest movement that conventional politicians had tuned out. Still shocked by the political earthquake in America, Wynnes first impulse was to warn her top aides about aftershocks closer to home. Would Trumps anti-government message find fertile ground beyond Ohio in Ontario? The premier told aides it was a deep-seated response by people who felt that decisions were being made about their lives by other people who knew nothing about their lives, Wynne said in an interview this week. She recalls her deep realization that the anger that was being expressed during the campaign . . . could be very, very destructive. Destructive for government. And fatal for politicians in power who, like Wynne, face re-election. Which leads to the premiers paradox: The more she heeds peoples pocketbook concerns ruling out road tolls, expanding rent controls, easing hydro bills the more she plays politics like a conventional politician. Which means she may continue to disappoint some of her early supporters who imagined her as a leader who would do politics differently, but now see her in a different light. Politicians must walk a fine line between listening and leading. Now, with an election looming, Wynne is trying to reposition her politics. We have to understand what the role of government is, she said in her Queens Park office. Im one who believes that government has a more important role to play right now than 30 years ago. But to get there, she first needs to persuade people shes on their side. The question is, which side? Some Ontarians are convinced she just cant feel their pain on hydro rates, for example. Others think shes too quick to appease or pander by buying off voters with their own money (or borrowed money to lower those electricity bills). Wynne said she is seeking her own third way: Not only using the governments taxing power to help people, but using its regulatory power to empower people. She rattled off a list of do-good government: free tuition for eligible college students; 100,000 new child-care spots; pharmacare for those up to age 25; a hydro discount of 25 per cent. Beyond that, she pointed to new measures that arent bankrolled by the provincial treasury but will leave more money in peoples pockets (albeit at the expense of business): broader rent controls; a $15 minimum wage by 2019; fair pay for part-time workers. But when asked about the perception that she is out of touch, the mere question left the premier looking and sounding wounded. Despite aides urging her to give up constituency work after becoming premier in 2013 Wynne gets extra staff to deal with routine duties she heeded the advice of former PM Jean Chretien to continue calling and meeting voters in her riding personally. I said to my staff, Well, if Jean Chretien can do it, then I can do it. So it has always been critical to me that I stay in touch with people and that I listen to them. It pains me that there are people who dont know that. Beyond being out of touch, theres another view of Wynne that she wrestles with. According to internal Liberal research, many early supporters thought Ontarios first woman premier would be unlike any other more consensual, less partisan, and consequently not as competitive as her male predecessors. Hence her honeymoon, which propelled Wynne to an unexpected majority government in 2014. But the more that voters saw Wynne mixing it up with her opponents, the more they viewed her as just another politician. Which, of course, she is except that she is being held to a higher standard, or a double standard, Wynne counters. Beyond the haters (my mailbox overflows with people calling the premier bitch), even her own supporters are perhaps conflating gender with generosity and collegiality in unrealistic ways. Was there something that was expected of a female, a woman as the premier, that wasnt expected of men? she asked. Its an interesting question for young girls . . . . Was there something going on in their perception of a woman and how she would behave? Wynne nods her head as she is reminded of that research showing people expected her to be more consensual. And not as competitive. It is perhaps an unexpected and unrealistic expectation in the world of politics, where nice guys (and women) finish last. Winning requires competing, for which Wynne makes no apologies. Yeah, Ive been running in races my whole life. I started competing in track when I was 12. I love crossing the finish line first, she said, growing animated in her chair as she described the track meets she aced as a teenager. It is a great feeling the ribbon on your jersey is a great feeling. As is winning elections. If there are any more for her to win in the era of post-Trump protest votes. Martin Regg Cohns political column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. mcohn@thestar.ca , Twitter: @reggcohn Read more about: SHARE: WASHINGTONA wealthy Republican donor and fundraiser has been selected as ambassador to Canada. U.S. President Donald Trump formally announced his choice of Kentucky rainmaker Kelly Knight Craft in a statement Wednesday night. News outlets first reported the pick in March. If Craft is approved by the U.S. Senate, she will be the first woman to hold the ambassadorship. The Ottawa posting has long been given to a rich supporter of the president rather than a career diplomat. Craft, who owns a business advisory firm, donated $265,000 to a committee supporting Trumps 2016 campaign, and she served as a finance vice-chair for Trumps inaugural committee. She is married to billionaire coal businessman Joe Craft, chief executive of Alliance Resource Partners, who donated $165,000 to the campaign committee. The Crafts hosted a $1,000-per-person Kentucky fundraiser for Trump in Lexington, Ky., in July. Kelly Knight Craft, who became an active party fundraiser in 2004, has also raised money for the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney. Craft does have some diplomatic experience. She was appointed by Bush in 2007 as a non-voting delegate to the U.S. contingent at the United Nations. She is very well thought of in Washington, D.C, Bushs deputy political director said at the time. Craft serves on the board of the University of Kentucky and other organizations in the state. She has close ties with a Kentucky man who is one of the most powerful people in Washington, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. When Craft and her husband met with Trump during the campaign, they asked him to provide assurances that he would not try to oust McConnell, Bloomberg News reported. Craft succeeds former Goldman Sachs executive Bruce Heyman, a top fundraiser for Barack Obama. The post has been vacant since Heyman resigned when Trump took office in January, as is customary when administrations change. SHARE: MARAWI, PHILIPPINESAn Australian journalist said he was fine after being hit by a bullet in his neck Thursday while covering the Philippine militarys assault against militants aligned with Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL) in a southern city. A tweeted video showed ABC journalist Adam Harvey wearing a neck brace and putting on his helmet after receiving treatment Thursday in Marawi. He told reporters he was fine and that he was to get an X-ray. ABCs Southeast Asia correspondent who is based in Indonesia was hit at the provincial capitol building in Marawi, where government officials have given statements to the media about the progress against the militants whove laid siege to Marawi since last month. Thanks everyone Im okay. Bullet is still in my neck, but it missed everything important, Harvey tweeted. He later tweeted a photo of the X-ray showing the bullet stuck in his neck with the caption saying, Lucky. Read more: Philippine flag raised on Independence Day in war-torn Marawi U.S. joins battle against Daesh-linked militants in Marawi as Philippines lose 13 marines Video shows Islamic militants in Philippine siege attack Dr. Jose Eric Laya said the bullet was lodged below Harveys left ear. Also Thursday, a suspected militant bomber was arrested in Cagayan de Oro City, about 100 kilometres from Marawi. Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay says the suspect, Mohammad Noaim Maute, was under investigation. The 24-day siege of the southern city has left 202 gunmen, 58 soldiers and policemen and 26 civilians dead. The most serious attack in Southeast Asia so far by Daesh-aligned militants has displaced most of the more than 200,000 residents of Marawi, the bastion of Islamic faith in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. More than 1,600 residents have been rescued from the scenes of heavy fighting, many of them still shell-shocked and starving while some were wounded. Tales of love and heroism have emerged, including a group of trapped Muslim policemen who helped several Christian workers escape with them from the intense fighting. Villager Saipoding Mariga waited in tear for days to be allowed to rescue his wife, Geraldine, who was trapped in a heavily bombarded neighbourhood, but was not allowed by troops because of the grave danger. Facing TV cameras, he pleaded to be allowed to enter the conflict zone to save his wife. Mariga eventually met his wife in a tearful reunion at Marawis newly reopened Amai Pakpak hospital, where she was brought with a gunshot wound in her leg and shrapnel injuries on her body, ABS-CBN TV network reported Thursday. I hope you understand me. Whats important is you recognize me and we saw each other again, Mariga told his wounded wife at the hospitals emergency ward. Thats what I need and thats what you need. SHARE: LONDONNo one has said exactly where the fire started but experts suspect recent renovations at the Grenfell Tower, including newly installed external cladding, played a tragic role in spreading the fire so quickly. A look at the photos and video of the inferno that claimed at least 17 lives shows why the cladding is a possible culprit: The flames can be seen climbing up the sides of the public housing building at an alarming pace, overwhelming efforts to limit the destruction. The exterior cladding and the insulation squeezed between its panels were added as part of an extensive renovation completed last year. Matt Wrack, leader of the Fire Brigades Union, told The Associated Press that changes made during the refurbishment project seem to have left the building vulnerable to a catastrophic blaze. No one knows if its cladding or one of the other alterations, he said. Something clearly affected the fire protection. Cladding is clearly one of the things that has to be looked at. We need to look at what happened to cause such a major failure. How can this happen in the U.K. in 2017? Its staggering. It looks to me it could have been prevented. Many people at Grenfell Tower remained unaccounted for Thursday, and officials werent sure exactly how many were missing. But they expected the death toll to rise significantly. In addition to those killed, 74 people were taken to hospitals. Thirty were still hospitalized on Thursday, with 15 in critical condition. Wrack said the public has a right to know the cause of the fire. Giving urgency to the quest for answers is the fact that other buildings in Britain and throughout the world use similar materials. Britain has ordered checks at tower blocks that have had comparable renovations or are being renovated now with similar methods. On Thursday, London Police said an investigation had been launched to determine whether the blaze involved any crimes, and Prime Minister Theresa May announced a public inquiry, a type of probe thats used to investigate issues of major public concern. Grenfell Towers residents were operating under stay put guidance in case of a fire under the assumption that modern fire doors would protect them in their apartments until the fire department could safely get them out. But the blaze spread too quickly up the sides of the building for that plan to work. Wrack said the stay put policy is sensible unless the integrity of the fire doors, ceilings and fire-resistant walls fail. If its compromised, something else has to be done, he said. When the renovation was carried out, thin cladding was placed outside the towers existing exterior, which was made of pre-cast concrete. Architects plans called for the use of aluminum composite cladding, with insulation sandwiched between two panels of aluminum. The architecture firm involved in the renovation, Studio E, said in a statement that it would be inappropriate to comment on Grenfell Tower but the firm was co-operating with authorities. The company that handled the rehab project, Rydon, said in a statement that it had satisfied all required building regulations. Cladding is often used because it is attractive and can be easy to clean. It gave Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey mid-1970s structure, a more modern look. But it is also suspected that it made the fire harder to contain in the crucial first hour. Cladding has played a contributing role in numerous fires worldwide, including the New Years Eve fire at a 63-story luxury hotel in Dubai, and other severe fires in the United Arab Emirates. Experts also cited cladding as a factor in similar fires in which flames raced along the sides of buildings, including a highrise fire in Shanghai in 2010 that killed at least 58 people, a 2015 apartment fire in Azerbaijan that left 16 people dead, and a 2009 fire at Beijings TV Cultural Centre that killed a firefighter. The aluminum panels dont cause the fires, but if they are made of flammable material the insulation is often suspected of playing a role it can serve to spread the flames. The risk can be reduced if less flammable material is used or if the panels are installed with fire breaks separating them at each floor. When the panels are installed in a continuous row without fire breaks, it can provide an air space that acts like a chimney linking the bottom floors to the top. This can allow a blaze to engulf a building quickly. The safety of cladding has been a concern in Britain since at least 2000, when a parliamentary report investigated the 1999 death of a man in a 14-storey apartment block in Irvine, Scotland. The report recommended the use of noncombustible cladding or cladding that did not pose an unacceptable risk to tenants. Residents at Grenfell Tower had also complained about a number of other possible fire hazards in the months leading up to the fire. There were worries about exposed gas pipes in recent weeks, and also concerns about rubbish posing a fire risk and the placement of boilers and heaters. Read more: Someone is jumping! Someone is jumping! Witnesses describe desperation at London highrise inferno All our warnings fell on deaf ears: Could the horrific London highrise fire have been prevented? SHARE: WASHINGTONA clear majority of Americans believe U.S. President Donald Trump has tried to interfere with the investigation into whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election and possible Trump campaign collusion, a new poll shows. Just one in five support his decision to oust James Comey from the FBI. Following Comeys blockbuster appearance before Congress, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows 68 per cent of Americans are at least moderately concerned about the possibility that Trump or his campaign associates had inappropriate ties to Russia. Almost half of Americans say theyre very concerned. Only 3 in 10 say theyre not that concerned. Americans largely view the issue along partisan lines. Sixty-two per cent of Republicans say theyre not very concerned or not at all concerned about any Russia ties. Though just over half of Americans say they disapprove of Trumps firing of Comey, the number grows to 79 per cent among Democrats. Overall, only 22 per cent of Americans support Comeys dismissal. For Sandra Younger, a 50-year-old from San Diego, Comeys exit reinforced her suspicion something fishy was going on with the president and Russia. She said it was inappropriate to fire Comey given that he was overseeing the Russia investigation. If I had nothing to hide and someone wanted to investigate, I would say, Go ahead, do your thing, I dont care, because you wont find anything, said Younger, a Democrat who imports jewelry supplies. She added of Trump: He seems to be buddy-buddy with these epic creeps. But William Shepherd, a maintenance worker from Anderson, Ind., felt it was the presidents prerogative to choose his FBI director. He said he was untroubled by claims Trump tried to persuade Comey to back off the investigation, saying those revelations only emerged after Comey was fired and wanted to defend himself. These headlines dont really concern me, although they are attention-grabbers, said Shepherd, a 40-year-old Republican. Of the six in 10 Americans who think Trump tried to obstruct or impede the investigation, most are Democrats and independents. Only a quarter of Republicans feel Trump meddled in the probe. The poll began the day before Comey testified publicly before the Senate intelligence committee and continued through Sunday. Three per cent of interviews were conducted before the hearing. For many Democrats, theres some irony in coming to Comeys defence and embracing his concerns about Trump. Last year, Democrats aggressively attacked Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, with many calling for his firing. Now that Trump is president and Comey has emerged as a top Trump antagonist, some former Comey critics see his willingness to go after the leaders of both political parties as proof of his independence. Ive not ever been a particular fan of Mr. Comeys, said James Shaw, 53, of Olney, Ill., pointing to the Clinton saga as a key reason. But hes an honest broker. I dont think hes politically motivated. I dont think hes partisan. Trumps reference to the Russia probe as a reason for firing Comey bothers Linda Richardson, 62 but not enough to second-guess his decision. Richardson, who said shes a registered Democrat but has voted Republican for years, said Trump might have had other reasons, too. I guess you feel like you just need to trust your president, said Richardson, a retiree from Meade County, Ky. He just knows more about it than I do. Americans are mixed on whether the Justice Department investigation, now led by Robert Mueller, can be fair and impartial. Twenty-six per cent are very or extremely confident it can be. Thirty-six per cent are moderately confident and an equal share of Americans arent very confident or are not at all so. Mueller, the former FBI director, was put in charge of the investigation after Trump fired Comey and public pressure mounted for a special counsel to take over. Comey later testified that hed authorized a friend to disclose to the media his notes on conversations with Trump about the investigation, in hopes that it would lead the Justice Department to name a special counsel. The poll shows the public relatively unsympathetic to those leaking information about the investigation. Fifty-four per cent say theyre doing more harm than good by potentially damaging national security. Forty-two per cent think theyre doing more good by giving the public necessary information. In general, 29 per cent of Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in the people running the FBI. Fifty-two per cent have a moderate amount of confidence and 18 per cent have hardly any confidence. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they have a great deal of confidence in the FBI, 38 per cent to 24 per cent. The AP-NORC poll of 1,068 adults was conducted June 8-11 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone. SHARE: FLINT, MICH.Robert Skidmore was born in Flint, raised a family there and lived his entire life in and around the blue collar town that next to Detroit was synonymous with manufacturing of cars and trucks. Now his December 2015 death has been blamed on Legionnaires disease and linked to the citys tainted water crisis that on Wednesday led to involuntary manslaughter and other charges against five officials, including the director of Michigans Health and Human Services department. Skidmore, 85, was one of 12 people to die from the disease and nearly 100 cases of people being sickened from it. Read more: Michigans health chief Nick Lyon, 4 others charged in Flint water crisis Judge says part of lawsuit in Flint water crisis can proceed Flint residents were poisoned. Now, they're being billed for it Everybody was pretty upset, rightfully, finding out this could be the reason that he died, grandson Craig Skidmore said of the Legionnaires revelations. It definitely didnt set well with us. Wednesdays charges are part of the criminal investigation into how Flints water system became poisoned after officials tapped the Flint River in 2014. Nick Lyon, 48, is accused of failing to alert the majority-black population about an outbreak of Legionnaires disease in the Flint area, which has been linked by some experts to poor water quality in 2014-15. An involuntary manslaughter conviction carries up to 15 years in prison. Lyon also is charged with misconduct in office for allegedly obstructing university researchers who are studying if the surge in cases was linked to the Flint River. The others charged with involuntary manslaughter were already facing other accusations. They are: Darnell Earley, who was Flints emergency manager when the city used the river; Howard Croft, who ran Flints public works department; Liane Shekter Smith; and Stephen Busch. Shekter Smith and Busch were state environmental regulators. Prosecutors also brought charges against the states chief medical officer, Dr. Eden Wells, 54, who is accused of obstruction of justice and lying to an investigator. Flint began using water from the Flint River while under state emergency management, but did not treat it to reduce corrosion. Toxic lead from old plumbing leached into the water system, causing elevated levels in children and leaving residents to drink and bathe with bottled or filtered water. Some experts also have linked the water to Legionnaires disease, a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria that thrive in warm water and infect the lungs. People can get sick if they inhale mist or vapour, typically from cooling systems. Robert Skidmore was admitted to a hospital in June 2015 with symptoms consistent with pneumonia. He died at home six months later. Flints failing economy, the water crisis and other problems troubled Robert Skidmore, an avid hunter, according to Craig Skidmore, 29, who lives in nearby Burton. His grandfather would bemoan how Flint changed for the worst from when he was growing up and raising his family, Craig Skidmore told The Associated Press. Robert Skidmore retired in 1987 after 37 years at General Motors Fisher Body plant. He would spend much of his free time at the familys cabin up north in the tiny community of Lake George in Clare County. I think if he had his way they would have moved up north, but my grandma was a people person and everyone was in Flint. He didnt want to take her away from that. Craig Skidmore said the family would have dinner at his grandparents home almost every Sunday until his grandmother died in June 2015. Defence attorneys for the six officials spoke out against the charges. The true facts simply do not support the prosecutions claims, said Chip Chamberlain and Larry Willey who are representing Lyon. Convincing a jury that the officials failure to disclose the risk of Legionnaires disease caused a death would be difficult, Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning said. This case is going to become a battle of the experts, something we dont usually see in a homicide or manslaughter prosecution, Henning said. This is a tough case for the attorney general. They can get a conviction but its not going to be easy. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission issued a report in February blaming systemic racism going back decades for the problems that caused the water crisis in Flint. SHARE: WASHINGTONTwo Toronto men have been charged in the beating of peaceful protesters outside the Washington, D.C. residence of the Turkish ambassador to the United States. Ahmet Dereci and Mahmut Sami Ellialti, devoted supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are wanted on assault charges for allegedly joining Erdogans security team in a May 16 attack that sent nine protesters to the hospital and became an international incident. Dereci, who owns an electrical contracting firm in North York, was seen on videos of the incident allegedly punching a protester and then kicking him twice as he lay defenceless on the ground. Dereci was charged with two offences: felony assault causing significant bodily injury, and misdemeanour assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner. Ellialti was charged with felony aggravated assault, and felony assault causing significant bodily injury. People by the names Ahmet Dereci and Mahmut Sami Ellialti attended a pro-Erdogan rally at Torontos Turkish consulate last year, telling CBC that they were friends. People by the same names own homes across the street from each other in North York. Dereci and Ellialti are among 16 people facing assault charges that were announced by the Washington police Wednesday and Thursday. Two others were charged in May. Twelve of the people charged this week are Turkish security officers, and Erdogan is exceedingly unlikely to have them extradited to the U.S. The civilians involved enjoy no such political protection. Dereci did not respond to requests for comment. Ellialti could not be reached for comment. Toronto Police, which regularly arrests people wanted by other forces, has had no involvement, spokesperson Mark Pugash said. The charges pose a test for the strategically important Turkey-U.S. relationship. Erdogans government responded angrily to the news of the charges, summoning the U.S. ambassador Thursday to deliver a message. It has been conveyed to the ambassador that this decision taken by U.S. authorities is wrong, biased and lacks legal basis, the foreign ministry said in a statement, claiming Erdogans team was forced to act because the local police did not do enough to protect the area from the protesters. What kind of a law is this? Erdogan said at an Ankara dinner, according to The Associated Press. If they are not going to protect me, why would I bring them with me to America? Dereci and Ellialti were part of a group that travelled from Canada to Washington for Erdogans visit, a Turkish news agency reported in May. Also part of the group was Torontos Alpkenan Dereci, who was seen on video punching and shoving a protester. He has not been charged with any offence. Alpkenan Dereci, whom The New York Times identified as Ahmet Derecis cousin, said members of the group had previously travelled to Cuba to greet Erdogan, a man he said they love. Both Derecis Facebook pages feature a photo of them posing with Erdogan. Recep Tayyip Erdogan was chosen by the Turkish people. We voted for him and we want him to be our president, Ahmet Dereci told CBC in July 2016 during a pro-Erdogan rally at Torontos Turkish consulate in response to an anti-Erdogan coup attempt. We are in Canada but our heart beats with Turkey, Ellialti told CBC. As Turkish citizens, we came to support our democratic country. A wanted poster displayed by Washington police identified the two as Canadian citizens, but the force later clarified that it is not certain of their citizenship status. Dereci made an unsuccessful refugee claim in Canada about 15 years ago, Macleans reported, but it is not clear what happened next. U.S. lawmakers were infuriated by the audacity of the Erdogan bodyguards behaviour in the U.S. capital. Armed men dressed in dark suits punched, kicked and choked unarmed men and women on a sunny afternoon on a quiet Washington street on the same day President Donald Trump met Erdogan at the White House, just 15 minutes away. Senior Republicans and Democrats demanded that Erdogans team be condemned and charged. But Trump declined to say anything about the attack, and the State Department was cautious in its public statements. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser described the attack Thursday as vicious and a clear assault on Americans free speech rights. Chief Peter Newsham said the offences were extreme in nature given that peaceful protesters were attacked for no reason. Bowser said they identified the suspects by matching video clips to photos from passports and visas. Newsham said more charges will be laid when police identify more people. One mystery that may never be solved is Erdogans role in the attack. His bodyguards began chasing protesters just moments after a member of the security team spoke briefly with someone in the presidents Mercedes. Erdogan bodyguards were known for combativeness abroad even before he responded to the failed coup with a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent. They were involved in a 2011 brawl with United Nations security officers, and they were accused of harassing a journalist and a scholar at a Washington think tank in 2016. Read more about: SHARE: The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russias role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said. The move by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Trumps own conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said. Read more: U.S. Senate confronts Russia for interfering in election, approves sanctions bill U.S. deputy attorney general says there is no reason to fire head of Trump-Russia investigation Trump had received private assurances from former FBI Director James Comey starting in January that he was not personally under investigation. Officials say that changed shortly after Comeys firing. Five people briefed on the requests, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Adm. Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Muellers investigators as early as this week. The investigation has been cloaked in secrecy and its unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI. The NSA said in statement that it will fully cooperate with the special counsel, and declined to comment further. The office of Director of National Intelligence and Ledgett declined to comment. The White House now refers all questions about the Russia investigation to Trumps personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz. The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal, said Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Kasowitz. The officials said Coats, Rogers and Ledgett WOULD appear voluntarily, though it remains unclear whether they will describe in full their conversations with Trump and other top officials, or will be directed by the White House to invoke executive privilege. It is doubtful the White House could ultimately use executive privilege to try to block them from speaking to Muellers investigators. Experts point out that the Supreme Court ruled during the Watergate scandal that officials cannot use privilege to withhold evidence in criminal prosecutions. The obstruction of justice investigation into the president began days after Comey was fired on May 9, according to people familiar with the matter. Muellers office has now taken up that work, and the preliminary interviews scheduled with intelligence officials indicate his team is actively pursuing potential witnesses inside and outside the government. The interviews suggest Mueller sees the attempted obstruction of justice question as more than just a he said, he said dispute between the president and the fired FBI director, an official said. President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to offer his first comments on the news that he is being examined for possible obstruction of justice - an investigation he dismissed as part of the phony accusations of collusion between his campaign and Russia last year. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story, Trump said in a tweet shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday. Nice, he added. Probing the president for possible crimes is a complicated affair, even if convincing evidence of a crime is found. The Justice Department has long held that it would not be appropriate to indict a sitting president. Instead, experts say the onus would be on Congress to review any findings of criminal misconduct and then decide whether to initiate impeachment proceedings. Comey confirmed publicly in congressional testimony on March 20 that the bureau was investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Comeys statement before the House Intelligence Committee upset Trump, who has repeatedly denied that any coordination with the Russians took place. Trump had wanted Comey to disclose publicly that he wasnt personally under investigation but the FBI director refused to do so. Soon after, Trump spoke to Coats and Rogers about the Russia investigation. Officials said one of the exchanges of potential interest to Mueller took place on March 22, less than a week after Coats was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the nations top intelligence official. Coats was attending a briefing at the White House together with officials from several other government agencies. When the briefing ended, as The Post previously reported, Trump asked everyone to leave the room except for Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Coats told associates that Trump had asked him if he could intervene with Comey to get the bureau to back off its focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its Russia probe, according to officials. Coats later told lawmakers that he never felt pressured to intervene. A day or two after the March 22 meeting, Trump telephoned Coats and Rogers to separately ask them to issue public statements denying the existence of any evidence of coordination between his campaign and the Russian government. Coats and Rogers refused to comply with the presidents requests, officials said. It is unclear whether Ledgett had direct contact with Trump or other top officials about the Russia probe, but he wrote an internal NSA memo documenting the presidents phone call with Rogers, according to officials. As part of the probe, the special counsel has also gathered Comeys written accounts of his conversations with Trump. The president has accused Comey of lying about those encounters. Mueller is overseeing a host of investigations involving people who are or were in Trumps orbit, people familiar with the probe said. The investigation is examining possible contacts with Russian operatives as well as any suspicious financial activity related to those individuals. Last week, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he had informed Trump that there was no investigation of the presidents personal conduct, at least while he was leading the FBI. Comeys carefully worded comments, and those of Andrew McCabe, who took over as acting FBI director, suggested to some officials that a probe of Trump for attempted obstruction may have been launched after Comeys departure, particularly in light of Trumps alleged statements regarding Flynn. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but thats a conclusion Im sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether thats an offense, Comey testified last week. Mueller has not publicly discussed his work, and a spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment. Accounts by Comey and other officials of their conversations with the president could become central pieces of evidence if Mueller decides to pursue an obstruction case. Investigators will also look for any statements the president may have made publicly and privately to people outside the government about his reasons for firing Comey and his concerns about the Russia probe and other related investigations, people familiar with the matter said. Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that he was certain his firing was due to the presidents concerns about the Russia probe, rather than over his handling of a now-closed FBI investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server as secretary of state, as the White House had initially asserted. Its my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation, Comey said. I was fired, in some way, to changeor the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. The fired FBI director said ultimately it was up to Mueller to make a determination whether the president crossed a legal line. In addition to describing his interactions with the president, Comey told the intelligence committee that while he was FBI director he told Trump on three separate occasions that he was not under investigation as part of a counter-intelligence probe involving Russian meddling in the election. Republican lawmakers seized on Comeys testimony to point out Trump wasnt in the FBIs crosshairs when Comey led the FBI. After Comeys testimony in which he acknowledged telling Trump that he was not under investigation, Trump tweeted that he felt total and complete vindication. It is unclear if McCabe, Comeys successor, has informed Trump of the change in the scope of the probe. SHARE: WASHINGTONA frequently polarized Senate found common ground Thursday as Republicans and Democrats joined forces to approve a sweeping sanctions bill that punishes longtime adversaries Iran and Russia with an array of financial penalties. The bipartisan legislation passed overwhelmingly Thursday, 98-2, more than five months after U.S. intelligence agencies determined Moscow had deliberately interfered in the 2016 presidential campaign. Lawmakers have long sought to hit Iran with more sanctions in order to check its ballistic missile program and rebuke Tehrans continued support for terrorist groups. The decisive bipartisan vote could put the Trump administration in a bind. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has offered only tepid support for the Russia sanctions package. Yet those penalties are melded with the Iran punishments. So the White House would have to reject stricter punishments against Iran, which it favours, in order to derail the Russia penalties. Read more: Majority of Americans think Trump meddled in Russia probe, poll finds Putin likens Comey to Snowden, jokingly offers him political asylum in Russia The legislation, which now moves to the House, also gives Capitol Hill a much stronger hand in determining Russia sanctions policy. The bill would require a congressional review if U.S. President Donald Trump attempts to ease or end penalties against Moscow. The review mechanism was styled after 2015 legislation pushed by Republicans and approved overwhelmingly in the Senate that gave Congress a vote on whether former president Barack Obama could lift sanctions against Iran. That measure reflected Republican complaints that Obama had overstepped the power of the presidency and needed to be checked by Congress. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, said it cost Russia very little to cause chaos by meddling in the elections of other countries, including the United States, France and the Netherlands. You add up, without firing a shot or shooting a missile, the amount of disruption the Russians have caused in Western societies at large all that for less than 5 per cent of the cost of a new aircraft carrier, Warner said. Pretty good rate of return. Senators insisted the new Iran sanctions wont undermine or impede enforcement of the landmark nuclear deal that Obama and other countries reached with Tehran two years ago. Obamas former secretary of state, John Kerry, had raised that prospect on the eve of the Foreign Relations Committees vote on the bill last month. In a series of tweets, Kerry urged lawmakers to tread carefully in pushing ahead with new Iran sanctions in the wake of President Hassan Rouhanis re-election to another four-year term. Rouhani is a political moderate who defeated a hard-line opponent. The Senate bill imposes mandatory sanctions on people involved in Irans ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them. The measure also would apply terrorism sanctions to the countrys Revolutionary Guards and enforce an arms embargo. Russias interference in the 2016 campaign has rocked Washington and led to multiple investigations, including special counsel Robert Muellers inquiry into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Yet Trump hasnt sought to rebuke Moscow. Hes instead castigated his own intelligence community and rejected its assessment that Russias hacking and disinformation campaign was intended to aid his candidacy. The measure calls for strengthening current sanctions and imposing new ones on a broad range of people, including Russians engaged in corruption, individuals responsible for human rights abuses and anyone supplying weapons to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Broad new sanctions would be imposed on Russias mining, metals, shipping and railways sectors. The measure would punish individuals who conduct what the senators described as malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government. Also covered by the sanctions are people doing business with Russian intelligence and defence agencies. The Senate bill also would cement in law a series of executive orders signed by Obama and aimed at punishing Russia for aggressive behaviour, including its 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for separatist rebels in Ukraines east. Sen. Mike Crapo, the chairman of the Banking Committee, said the legislation expands the Ukraine-related sanctions to ban Western companies from being involved in Russian energy exploration projects in the Arctic and elsewhere. The energy-specific sanctions generated sharp criticism from Germany and Austria, which said the penalties could affect European businesses involved in piping in Russian natural gas. In a joint statement, Austrias Chancellor Christian Kern and Germanys Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel cited a section of the sanctions bill that calls for the United States to continue to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Russian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea. However, we cant accept the threat of illegal and extraterritorial sanctions against European companies, they said. Half of the cost of the new pipeline is being paid for by Russian gas giant Gazprom, while the other half is being shouldered by a group including Anglo-Dutch group Royal Dutch Shell, French provider Engie, OMV of Austria and Germanys Uniper and Wintershall. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul voted against the sanctions package. Read more about: SHARE: The new Wonder Woman film has evoked fulsome acclamations from many American and British women writers: Wonder Woman is a masterpiece of subversive feminism, Wonder Woman is the feminist hero weve been waiting for, This is revolutionary, I cried through the fight scenes in Wonder Woman. In this flurry of rhapsodizing, actress Gal Gadots support for Israels violence against the women, children, and men of Palestine has received minimal attention as a matter for feminist concern even as other hairy issues, like whether Gadot should have left her armpits unshaved for the part, have generated significant debate and controversy. In July 2014, while Israel was pummelling Gaza in Operation Protective Edge (its third major military offensive on the Strip since 2008), newly anointed Wonder Woman Gadot posted a message of encouragement to the Israel Defence Forces on her Facebook page: I am sending my love and prayers to my fellow Israeli citizens. Especially to all the boys and girls who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like cowards behind women and children ... We shall overcome!!! Shabbat Shalom! #weareright #freegazafromhamas #stopterror #coexistence #iloveidf. The assault on Gaza that Gadot expressed such enthusiasm for killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom were civilians; 299 of the dead were women and 551 were children. (Palestinian forces killed sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six Israeli civilians.) This bellicose exercise in #coexistence injured 11,000 Gazans and destroyed 18,000 homes, displacing 20,000 families. It demolished schools, hospitals, water and sanitation systems, farms, and Gazas only power plant devastation that remains in large part unrepaired because of Israels decade-long illegal blockade of Gaza, which restricts basic construction items, such as wooden planks, asphalt, bricks, and pipes from entering the territory. Israeli forces brazenly flouted the laws of war by carrying out a series of attacks on civilian homes, displaying callous indifference to the carnage caused, said Philip Luther, director of Amnesty Internationals Middle East and North Africa Programme. Gadots assertion that Hamas was hiding like cowards behind women and children attempted to shift the blame for this carnage onto the shoulders of its Palestinian victims. Accusing the enemy of using human shields helps validate the claim that the death of untargeted civilians is merely collateral damage, write professors of international law Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini. When all civilians are potential human shields ... then all enemy civilians become killable. Never mind that many of Protective Edges civilian casualties were not in fact providing cover to any legitimate military target (according to Human Rights Watch), that international law prohibits disproportionate attacks on civilians, even if they are being used to shield military objects, and that Israel itself has a history of forcing Palestinians to act as human shields (as documented by Israeli human rights organization BTselem). Gadot, like the Israeli military, tried to deflect the responsibility for Israels atrocities onto Palestinians cowardly willingness to supposedly sacrifice their own women and children. This is, in some ways, an echo of the hypocritical logic communicated by the character Gadot portrays onscreen: Wonder Woman condemns the militarism of others, while liberally employing violence herself in the name of countering the barbarisms of those cast as the bad guys. The reaction to Wonder Woman highlights the perversity and partiality of a feminism that celebrates the cinematic representation of a fictional, purportedly anti-war female superhero, but ignores the non-fictional women (and men) who experience the real brutalities of war and occupation. Such a feminism is neither truly subversive nor revolutionary. It claims the mantle of speaking for the rights of all women, but champions primarily the interests and perspectives of the relatively privileged. It sheds solipsistic tears of joy to see a Hollywood actress do fight scenes in a multimillion-dollar blockbuster movie, but does not grieve for the thousands of women suffering the effects of military aggression justified by that same actress: the women of Gaza who have lost family and homes, who live with severe water shortages and daily electricity outages, who care for children injured and traumatized by war while being injured and traumatized themselves. These women are not waiting for Gadots Wonder Woman to save them. They are already engaged in superheroic resistance to forces of militarism, with or without adulation from feminists in the West. Azeezah Kanji is a legal analyst based in Toronto. She writes in the Star every other Thursday. Read more about: SHARE: Its no secret that media organizations in Canada as in many other countries are in turmoil. A new report from a parliamentary committee argues that the stakes are bigger than the fate of one industry: a healthy democratic culture is also at risk. The question for policy-makers is whether the crisis in media must simply be left to run its course, regardless of the consequences for the flow of public information and the traditional watchdog role of the press. Or whether government has any useful role to play in easing the transition to the new age of digital media. The majority of MPs on the House of Commons heritage committee (leaving aside the Conservative members) came up with their answer on Thursday. They set out a series of constructive measures that Ottawa could take to ensure the public interest is not swept aside by the upheaval shaking the news media. That upheaval is driven by powerful forces of technology and demographics, leading the Conservatives on the committee to argue that there is nothing to be done. They issued a minority report claiming that the rest of the committee just wants to turn back the clock to what they derided as the good ole days of TV news and newspapers. In fact, the key recommendations of the committees Liberal and NDP members are hardly driven by nostalgia. They come out of a concern that free, independent information, especially in local communities, is withering away as the financial model that supported it breaks down. Theres no evidence so far that standing back and letting it collapse entirely will do anything but damage democratic culture even more. Theres always skepticism about government involvement in anything to do with the news media, but as Torstar Chair John Honderich noted at a public forum last week various forms of subsidy have been around since Confederation. Its hardly a radical or brand-new idea in Canada, as he pointed out. Some of the key measures proposed by the heritage committee would simply level the playing field for Canadian news organizations. At present, perversely, foreign-owned news aggregators like Google and Facebook that profit from Canadian content dont face the same tax burdens as Canadian organizations. Yet at the moment the aggregators are scooping up two-thirds or more of online advertising dollars in Canada. The committee suggests they should be subject to the same tax obligations as Canadian providers, which would direct more advertising dollars to home-grown operations. No government money would be involved. Similarly, the committee suggests that the Income Tax Act be amended so that Canadian companies could not claim tax deductions for advertising on foreign-owned websites. Such a law has long been in place for print outlets, so including digital would not be a dramatic change. A report earlier this year by the independent Public Policy Forum estimated that such a move could shift about $300 million to $400 million in digital revenue to Canadian media outfits, whether mainstream or new startups. Its a common-sense step the government should take. The committee also proposes a tax credit to compensate print media companies for part of their investment in digital media. This would be more controversial, since it involves giving up tax dollars, but it would be well worth a five-year transitional experiment, as the MPs suggest. The heritage committee has a host of other proposals, including ending advertising on the CBCs online sites and expanding the current 5-per-cent fee on cable and satellite TV services to include broadband. The extra money would go to a fund to support development of Canadian media, but the government quickly poured cold water on that idea. The government should study all these suggested measures seriously. It may be reluctant to get involved in such a controversial area, but it should weigh the cost of action against the damage caused to a functioning, healthy democracy when independent news sources fall silent. SHARE: Re: Canada puffs out its war chest, June 8 Canada puffs out its war chest, June 8 Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has announced that the federal government will spend $63 billion on defence over the next 20 years. To begin with, Justin Trudeaus Liberal government has no mandate to allocate such an extraordinary sum towards war-making instruments. And it is unconscionable that we are following the doctrine of (U.S. President Donald Trump) a misogynist bigot who makes false statements by the hour. As Canadians, we are better than this. There is no justification for purchasing jet fighters that have no other role other than in direct combat with an enemy; an enemy that today battles with IEDs, box cutters and suicide vests. Moreover this is not an investment as it might be characterized by others, this money goes toward nothing constructive at all and represents no significant return at all. For many other reasons, this an outrageous expenditure of taxes drawn from all Canadians. I am profoundly disappointed that such an undertaking would even be considered. This sounds very much like something the Conservatives would have considered under Stephen Harper, and they were voted out, in part, because they were not in tune with the current attitudes of Canadians. Ronald J. MacPherson, Port Colborne, Ont. SHARE: Re: Pride flag removed from Mount Forest school, June 13 Pride flag removed from Mount Forest school, June 13 I was extremely disappointed when I read about Wellington Heights Secondary School (WHSS) in Mount Forest removing the Pride flag from the schools flagpole. Put yourself in the shoes of a young LGBTQ person attending the school. During Pride Month, a flag celebrating the struggles and accomplishments of the gay-rights movement is summarily removed, based on complaints centred around federal flag protocol, reinforcing the idea that your identity is somehow less worthy of respect and celebration. For LGBTQ-identifying teens, the idea of merely accepting ones self let alone being proud can be wrenching. LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Rates of self-harm and mental illness are significantly higher among gay youth. In Toronto, it is estimated that one in five homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, twice the rate of all age groups. These appalling facts should give us all pause. Meanwhile, the Pride flag flies high on Parliament Hill, Queens Park and countless other city halls, schools and public places across the country. This schools motto is: Pride, Respect, Friendship. When I graduated from WHSS just 11 years ago, the existence of a social-equity group would not have been contemplated, and I did not appreciate what Pride would eventually come to symbolize for me. As a WHSS alumnus and gay person, I am proud of all that has been accomplished since I walked the halls. But we clearly have a long way to go. The Upper Grand District School Board would be wise to immediately reverse course and apologize in a strong statement of solidarity with LGBTQ students, staff and allies who have so clearly articulated what seems to escape some at the board and in the community. Our efforts in raising a Pride flag cannot go unnoticed, said 17-year-old WHSS student Georgia Mills. I assure you, they have not. Scott Cherry, 2006 WHSS Grad, Toronto I am deeply disappointed that a complaint, and ultimately the cowardice of the Upper Grand District School Board to stand up for what is right and reasonable, will translate into a manifestation of intolerance and homophobia in our community. Perhaps those who complained got what they wanted through a technicality. But they are not going to stop our small-town community from living in the 21st century. We will stand up for inclusiveness, as our students surely have shown. James Craig, 2007 WHSS grad, Wellington North, Ont. SHARE: Dear reader, we're asking for your help to keep local reporting available for all. Your financial support keeps stories like this one free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. Start your day with LAist Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings. Subscribe L.A.'s homelessness crisis has shown no signs of abating, with a recent count estimating that the county's homeless population had risen by 23% over the past year. In March, L.A. voters approved Measure H, a quarter-cent sales tax to fund homeless services, and on Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a spending package that outlines how exactly that billion dollars in funding will be spent over the next three years. The funding plan approved by the Board was based on a series of recommendations developed with input from a group of 50 public and private stakeholders, including the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing. The Board accepted the vast majority of the stakeholders' recommendations, the LA Times reports. The Board-approved plan is an ambitious one, aiming to help find shelter for 45,000 of the roughly 57,794 individuals and families currently experiencing homelessness in L.A. Countyand enable 30,000 others to stay housed through homelessness prevention initiatives. The plan dedicates nearly $259 million to combat homelessness over the next fiscal year beginning July 1, and earmarks more than $1 billion over the next three fiscal years, according to a statement from the County. Specific initiatives detailed in the funding plan include childcare for homeless families, assistance for homeless college students, the creation of a women's crisis housing program and rental subsidies for newly-housed tenants, as well as increased funding for case management and mental health care. Additionally, the Board approved Supervisor Hilda Solis's motion to use data from LAHSA's 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count to distribute the funding, in order to better assess just how many people are actually experiencing homelessnesssheltered and unsheltered in L.A. County. "Many people suffering from homelessness are men, women, and children of color, especially Latinos, who are not being counted and therefore the County is failing to provide them the resources they need to get back on their feet," Solis said in a statement on Tuesday, adding, "There is an entire segment of the homeless population who arent sleeping in encampments on the street, but are sleeping on a family members couch now and then, or in a car, or move from motel to motel - they go uncounted, but they also need these funds. After blitzing through Ohio's wetlands, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) is once again facing a problem of its own making: pipeline construction delays. Until recently, the company's subsidiary Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) has defied long odds and analyst expectations in its rush to complete its new giant, Rover, a $4 billion, 713-mile natural gas pipeline designed to deliver natural gas from the Marcellus Shale to markets in the northeast. But the storyline shifted in April after the company spilled 2 million gallons of drilling fluid near the Tuscarawas River. Following the spill, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission halted new horizontal drilling on the project. FERC then opened an investigation into the spill in June after diesel was detected in samples collected from the spill site. The halt in horizontal drilling, a type of drilling that is necessary for the project to be completed, turns into a near-impossibility the longshot bid to complete the project on time and raises questions about whether Energy Transfer's checkered environmental record should be of concern to the company's shareholders. The parent company's share price is down 11% since FERC's halt order. ALPS Alerian MLP (AMLP) - Get Free Report , an exchange-traded fund that includes substantial holdings of Energy Transfer as well as other MLPs, fell only 4% in the same period. While the Rover pipeline will carry natural gas, not hazardous liquids -- and the drilling fluid that leaked April 13 is considered non-toxic -- Energy Transfer stands out among its peers for both the frequency and amount of its hazardous liquid leaks, a metric for pipeline safety. According to TheStreet's analysis of government data compiled by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Energy Transfer has spilled hazardous liquids near water crossings more than twice as frequently as any other pipeline company in the country this decade. The company has spilled hazardous liquids five times near water crossings since 2010 when PHMSA started collecting detailed data. The company's spills account for almost 20% of all hazardous liquid spills near water crossings since 2010, primarily because of a 55,000-gallon gasoline spill in 2016 near the Susquehanna River in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. TheStreet only included onshore spills in its analysis, and included subsidiary companies. Since 2010, the company has spilled hazardous liquids 204 times in all, ranking only behind Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) - Get Free Report and Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP) - Get Free Report , according to TheStreet's tally. "Energy Transfer seems to have an approach where they stick to the minimum requirements instead of exceeding them," Genscape natural gas analyst Colette Breshears said. "It's the culture of how these projects are being done." Alexis Daniel, an Energy Transfer spokesperson, said in an email that Breshear's claim was "incorrect information." "Not only does Energy Transfer Partners adhere to the approved regulatory standards, but it is always Energy Transfer Partners' priority to go above and beyond when building pipelines and is a common practice on all projects," she said. "For example on Rover, the pipeline route will be flown every ten days, weather permitting, versus every 14 days which is the current requirement, for visual inspection of the pipeline." Rover has said there is no evidence that the diesel found at the April 13 spill is related to Rover's drilling activities, and the Ohio EPA has said the spill does not present an imminent threat to human safety or the environment. Pipelines are considered by experts to be the safest way to transport natural gas. "It is important to note this is a common and normal component of executing directional drilling operations," ETE said in a statement following the April 13 spill. The company added that bentonite is a common ingredient in household products such as sugar, honey, baby powder, laundry detergents and hand soap. In any case, ETE is now in a precarious position. Breshears said that new horizontal drilling on the project could take six to eight weeks to complete once FERC allows the company to proceed. On May 25, FERC denied Rover's request to re-open two drill sites -- including Captina Creek in southeastern Ohio, which will be essential for the project's completion. Lined up behind Energy Transfer are two other major pipelines seeking to deliver to the same market. DTE Energy (DTE) - Get Free Report and Enbridge (ENB) - Get Free Report have submitted a proposal to FERC to build a 255-mile natural gas pipeline called Nexus that would run almost parallel to Rover, while TransCanada (TRP) - Get Free Report has proposed lowering its rates into the Northeast to remain competitive. Michael Weinstein, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said that some people believe there is not enough demand for all 3 pipelines -- there is doubt about whether there will be enough demand for 2 -- but added that he thought it was likely that TransCanada, which is sourcing its gas from thousands of miles away, would bear the brunt of a demand shortage. Though ETE's spokesperson said Wednesday, June 14 that the company is sticking to its July deadline to begin service, Breshears said it's unlikely the company will be able to commence full service until September, burdening the company with serious delay in a competitive market. Genscape has been flying over the pipeline's path each month to photograph the route and chart Rover's progress. The company, which boasts one of the most widely held stocks in the U.S., has a history of attracting negative headlines for its projects. Its share price fell almost 30% last year as protesters threatened to delay construction of the controversial Bakken oil play pipeline in North Dakota, also known as the Dakota Access Pipeline. That saga hasn't ended either. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered further environmental review of the project, which may suspend its operations. The surprise election of President Donald Trump sent the company's share price to new highs, peaking March 31, when the company met its federally mandated deadline for tree removal on the Rover project. Since then, however, the stock has slid more than 15% amid the construction delay and a proposed fine from the Ohio EPA of almost $1 million. Alerian, the MLP fund, fell 6% in the same period. To be sure, a $1 million fine or a delay of several months would be a drop in the bucket for a company with a $17 billion market capitalization and $370 million in cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet as of March 31. But the company continues to face headline-risk, unlimited potential liability for serious environmental issues and competitors who can build while avoiding the same hazards. After all, the construction problems Energy Transfer has faced haven't challenged other Ohio pipeline builders to the same degree. "Other pipelines in Ohio are not having similar environmental issues," Ohio EPA spokesman James Lee said. Lee said that TransCanada unit Columbia Pipeline Group's Leach Xpress, a smaller pipeline under construction in Ohio that faces similar technical constraints to Rover, has not run into major environmental issues. In an email, Lee said he knew of two spills -- of 5 and 10 gallons -- that were "cleaned up with a vacuum and shovel." In comparison, Rover has had seven spills, including four that were at least 1,000 gallons. Credit Suisse's Weinstein said the Nexus pipeline proposed by DTE and Enbridge is unlikely to have environmental challenges similar to Rover's. After Rover's April spill, he said he asked DTE and Enbridge if they were at risk of a similar spill. The companies told him they believed they were in "no danger" of a similar incident because they used different techniques, he said. A spokesperson for Enbridge said in an email that the company is "committed to a strict program of environmental compliance with our project plans, permits, and regulatory requirements." Nexus and Rover both require horizontal drilling. FERC spokeswoman Tamara Young-Allen said in an email that an exact comparison between the two pipelines was impossible, noting that the pipelines are "distinct and different projects that cross different resources and in differing locations." She declined to comment on the status of the investigation into the April 13 spill. A spokesperson from Energy Transfer said she could not comment on Nexus's construction techniques, but that "the techniques we are using are industry best practices for the construction." In filings with the SEC, the company has said it has financial reserves in place to cover costs related to environmental liabilities. "Historically, our environmental compliance costs have not had a material adverse effect on our results of operations, but there can be no assurance that such costs will not be material in the future," the company wrote. --This story was originally published June 15. Installed Building Products, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the installation of insulation, waterproofing, fire-stopping, fireproofing, garage doors, rain gutters, window blinds, shower doors, closet shelving and mirrors, and other products in the continental United States. The company offers a range of insulation materials, such as fiberglass and cellulose, and spray foam insulation materials. It is also involved in the installation of insulation and sealant materials in various areas of a structure, which includes basement and crawl space, building envelope, attic, and acoustical applications. In addition, the company installs a range of caulk and sealant products that control air infiltration in residential and commercial buildings; and waterproofing options, including sheet and hot applied waterproofing membranes, as well as deck coating, bentonite, and air and vapor systems. It serves homebuilders, multi-family and commercial construction firms, individual homeowners, and repair and remodeling contractors through a network of approximately 210 branch locations. The company was formerly known as CCIB Holdco, Inc. Installed Building Products, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is based in Columbus, Ohio. Audi Middle East, a unit of the leading automotive company, has appointed Balbir Dhillon as its sales director in the region. In his new role, he will directly head the companys sales business for 11 Middle East markets, said a statement from Audi. With over 21 years of experience in the automotive industry, he joins the subsidiary following 10 years in India for the Audi and Porsche brands. Dhillon began his professional career in 1995 and has worked for Honda Cars, TAFE, New Holland and L&T in India. He joined Audi in 2007 as a regional sales manager, where he was part of the start-up team to establish the brand with four rings in India. In 2012, he was promoted to head the sales division of Porsche, responsible for establishing their sales operations in India. Dhillon holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Punjab University, Chandigarh, India. Speaking on his appointment, Dhillon said: I am very much looking forward to my new role after my successful experience in India. The Middle East is a vibrant place for automotive industry, which motivates me to succeed here. Globally, the automotive business is a fast changing environment; digitalisation, vehicle ownership, mobility solutions, electrification and customer relations are at the core of this dynamic, he said. Our company is a progressive brand with a fantastic range of cars and has a loyal, dedicated dealer network here in the Middle East. My focus is to continue to support our well trained sales and after sales teams who are committed to take care of our customers, he added. TradeArabia News Service When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. - The Independent Electoral and Boundaries commission has been under serious claims by opposition out NASA - The commission has been accused of being in collaboration with some Jubilee leaders regarding the tender to Al Ghurair Printing - NASA, who did not stop there, made a detailed statement on the issue through their co-principals Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula - Following the hullabaloo, the IEBC has now called a meeting with the two key players in the conflict The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has called a crucial meeting to the Presidential candidates after serious accusations were shot their way by opposition outfit NASA. Reports reaching TUKO.co.ke indicate that the commission has called a meeting to all presidential candidates in order to tackle outstanding issues. This latest development follows massive accusations from the National Super Alliance, where they are accusing the commission of being in collaboration with the Jubilee government and President Uhuru Kenyatta in particular. Wafula Chebukati READ ALSO: NASA brigade hits out at Uhuruto for claiming Raila will open ICC cases As TUKO.co.ke earlier reported, The National Super Alliance (NASA) has tabled damning claims of intricate links between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Jubilee administration and a Dubai-based company that the IEBC has awarded a tender to print ballot papers for the August 8 polls. In a statement released Wednesday, June 14, the opposition coalition detailed how Uhuru, his close allies, the IEBC and the Al Ghurair firm are colluding to rig the election in favour of the incumbent. READ ALSO: Kenyan police officers shoot dead al-Shabaab militant planting bomb, 5 arrested The NASA are now strongly calling for the backing down of IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba and his Chairperson Wafula Chebukati to pave way for their investigations. Chebukati, while calling for the meeting with presidential aspirants, is now asking any critics to address issues directly with the commission before going to the media. Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke Watch Kabogo speaking on politics and witchcraft: Source: TUKO.co.ke - Deputy President William Ruto has fired back harshly at the opposition over their claims over IEBC ballot printing tender row - He said the opposition is far from ready for the polls which are less than two months away - The deputy president even said that Musalia Mudavadi should head IEBC, if that will make Raila happy Deputy President William Ruto has come out firing against opposition for linking the IEBC Al Ghurair tender to the Jubilee government. According to Ruto, the opposition has panicked because its ill-prepared for the August polls which take place in less than two months. Speaking during a rally in Kericho on Thursday, June 15, Ruto faulted NASA, while jibing that they were creating excuses to postpone the polls. Uhuru and Ruto in Kericho READ ALSO: Raila needs to grow up and accept defeat- Tuju "It is clear they are not ready for the August polls. All these claims are just excuses because they are not ready for the polls He remarked. He went on to say that the Jubilee government were ready for the polls, regardless of where the ballot tender will be allocated. READ ALSO: Joho forced to 'abandon' NASA rallies "If their problem is the company printing the ballot papers, let them look for a printing company. As Jubilee we have no problem. Even Musalia Mudavadi has the ability to print the ballot papers." He added. Install TUKO App To Read News For FREE Rutos sentiments come just as the IEBC is meeting with Presidential aspirants to iron out any outstanding issues, including the contentious ballot paper tender. Reports reaching TUKO.co.ke indicate that the IEBC have strongly justified their stance, saying that the elections will take place as planned, despite the massive criticism from opposition. READ ALSO: IEBC sends Raila disheartening message over ballot paper tender Incidentally, President Uhuru Kenyatta missed the sitting as he was addressing a campaign rally in Kericho. Uhuru, in a Facebook post, also echoed his deputy's sentiments by urging opposition to quit 'delaying tactics'. "Those we are competing with should have adequately prepared themselves because it was known from the word go that the 2017 General Elections will be held on August 8." He wrote on Facebook. Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke Watch Kabogo speaking on politics and witchcraft below: Source: TUKO.co.ke The national day of Ukraine is held in Kazakhstan at Astana Expo-2017, the international exhibition on alternative energy, as well as the Ukrainian-Kazakh business forum, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The opening ceremony was attended by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Hennadiy Zubko, who is also the Commissioner of Ukraine at the exhibition, Chairman of the State Energy Efficiency Agency Serhiy Savchuk, the Charge d'affaires of Ukraine to Kazakhstan Volodymyr Dzhydzhora, Deputy Energy and Coal Industry Minister Natalia Boyko. Ukraine is a united and unitary state that is struggling for its independence. Ukraine urges partners to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution. Ukraine is also struggling for its energy independence so that to build its future. And thats why Ukraine is carrying out reforms, Said Zubko. He also noted the investment market in Ukraine is estimated at $ 40 billion. iy Ukraines Energy and Coal Industry Minister Ihor Nasalik will soon travel to the United States to hold talks on the supplies of American anthracite coal to Ukraine. Acting Head of the National Energy Company Ukrenergo, Vsevolod Kovalchuk, stated this at a press conference, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. We hope that anthracite coal will be supplied from the United States, our minister is expected to pay a visit there in the near future. Im sure that these negotiations will be effective. And we should understand that the launch of coal production at inactive mines and its logistics will take several months, Kovalchuk said. As Ukrinform earlier reported, Ukraine expects to import 2.5-3 million tons of anthracite coal from the US. iy The Ukrainian side is ready to consider proposals of the United States to create a wider format of negotiations with more active participation of Washington to stop the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy said this to journalists in Washington on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. "Ukraine is interested in more active involvement of the U.S. into any format that would relate to the liberation of the Ukrainian territory from the Russian occupation forces," the head of the Ukrainian parliament said. He noted that the United States actively supported the Normandy format, "but if it offers another format that may be more effective in order to liberate Ukrainian territories, of course, the Ukrainian side will consider it." Parubiy said that during his meetings in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday with representatives of the U.S. administration, the secure format, namely a comprehensive and long-term ceasefire, was discussed in detail. "We also discussed the issue on withdrawal of Russian troops and restoration of the border control," the speaker said. ish President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a meeting with Foreign Minister of Lithuania Mr. Linas Linkevicius and Foreign Minister of Sweden Ms. Margot Wallstrom. This has been reported by the press service of the Head of State. The President expressed gratitude to the ministers for their active political stance as regards support for Ukraines territorial integrity and independence. Poroshenko also thanked for a significant practical aid in countering Russian aggression and overcoming its consequences. The parties paid attention to the ongoing brutal violation of the Minsk agreements by the Kremlin, which causes further complication of the security and humanitarian situation in Donbas. The ministers congratulated Ukraine on the visa-free regime with the EU and noted significant reform efforts of Ukraine aimed to ensure such result. The parties agreed to consolidate international assistance for Ukraine to ensure further progress on the track of European reforms. Special attention was paid to the issue of countering the implementation of the anti-European project Nord Stream 2. ish Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko has stated about the return to Ukraine of over $500 thousand that were withdrawn by the former leadership of the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych. "Today the department for international legal cooperation of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice ensured the return to Ukraine of more than $500,000. These are the funds that were embezzled by the former leadership of the Justice Ministry during the presidency of Yanukovych and withdrawn from Ukraine by signing of a fictitious agreement on provision of services with one of U.S. firms," Yuriy Lutsenko wrote on his Facebook page. He added that the PGO continues to carry out a pre-trial investigation within the criminal proceedings regarding the crimes under Part 1 of Article 366, Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. iy Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy has stated about the importance of accelerating Ukraines integration into NATO amid Russian military aggression in Donbas. He said this at a press conference US-UA Working Group Yearly Summit V: Providing Ukraine with an Annual Report Card in the USA, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. During this period, international support is especially important for Ukraine. But in my opinion, the most topical in this international support is the acceleration of Ukraine's integration into the North Atlantic Alliance as the most effective global security system," he said The speaker stressed that Russia is a global threat to the entire civilized world. As reported, the Verkhovna Rada on June 8 passed the law on Ukraines course towards NATO. Speaker Andriy Parubiy is on a working visit to the USA on June 12-16. iy 06/15/2017 Media contacts: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu LOWELL, Mass. More than 300 people came to UMass Lowell this week to further the role that educational institutions play in training the next generation of entrepreneurs to fuel the economy here and abroad. An estimated 27 million Americans are starting or running new businesses and the Deshpande Symposium for Innovation and Entrepreneurship was launched by UMass Lowell and the Deshpande Foundation to support efforts to train the next generation of entrepreneurs and help startups survive and thrive. Now in its sixth year, the symposium attracted educators from across North America and as far away as India to UMass Lowell to participate in more than two dozen sessions across four tracks ecosystems, curriculum, commercialization and trends and to hear from speakers including Deshpande Foundation co-founder and tech entrepreneur Gururaj Desh Deshpande and UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney, along with Silicon Valley veteran and University of California at Berkeley Lester Center for Entrepreneurship founder Jerry Engel, Worcester Polytechnic Institute President and former NASA executive Laurie Leshin and 3Com founder and University of Texas at Austin Professor of Innovation Bob Metcalfe. Other highlights of the three-day conference, which wraps up today, include the presentation of the annual Deshpande Symposium Awards, which were presented to four institutions and one individual in recognition of their exceptional work to advance entrepreneurial education. The panel of judges for the awards consisted of Carnegie Mellon University President Subra Suresh; Arizona State University President Michael Crow; Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun; Raj Melville, executive director of the Deshpande Foundation; and Deshpande and Moloney. The Deshpande Symposium, a joint effort of UMass Lowell and the Deshpande Foundation, is the place where educators and others invested in the future of entrepreneurship join forces to ensure that we are doing all we can to prepare students and assist startups for success in this important component of the global economy, said UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney, who co-founded the symposium. It is gratifying to see that so many institutions are engaged in these efforts and to recognize those who are leading the way with the Deshpande Symposium Awards. This years Deshpande Symposium attracted thought leaders and organizations from across the country and Canada to examine how higher education can best organize to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, said Steven Tello, UMass Lowells senior associate vice chancellor for entrepreneurship and economic development. Our keynote speakers challenged participants to increase their engagement with students and their communities in an effort to ensure our entrepreneurial efforts support regional development. UMass Lowell is honored to host the symposium and is grateful to our partners, our sponsors and the many faculty, staff and entrepreneurs who help make the Deshpande Symposium such a success. The Deshpande Symposium Awards have quickly become recognized by peer institutions for highlighting excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education, said Melville, who oversees the awards program, which this year drew a record number of applicants from the United States, Canada and India. The honorees represent some of the finest examples of programs, institutions and individuals that have contributed to advancing the field of entrepreneurship in higher education. The Excellence in Curriculum Innovation in Entrepreneurship Award, which honors an institution offering innovative educational courses and programs to foster entrepreneurship education, was presented to Purdue University. It is a great honor to be recognized as a leader in entrepreneurship education and wonderful that the Deshpande Symposium specifically recognizes the value of cross-campus initiatives with this prize. In 2005, we felt like pioneers in this movement, which today has gone mainstream, said Nathalie Duval-Couetil, associate professor in technology leadership and innovation and associate director of Purdues Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. Curriculum is one component, but you need an amazing team of entrepreneurial faculty, staff and students who are focused on creating value every day to achieve the scale that we have, said Duval-Couetil, who accepted the award on behalf of Purdue. The Excellence in Student Engagement in Entrepreneurship Award which recognizes an institution that encourages student leadership and engagement and supports the development of entrepreneurial awareness, skills and practice was presented to Ohio University. Teaching an entrepreneurial mindset to students, while also providing them with the skills and real-world experiences necessary for future success, is vital to Ohio Universitys core educational mission, said Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis. We are very proud to be recognized by this award. The Exemplary Practice in Technology Commercialization Award, which recognizes an institution for comprehensive programs that accelerate innovative research into commercialization, went to the Georgia Research Alliance. The Georgia Research Alliance is honored to be recognized by the Deshpande Symposium for our strong commitment to building programs at multiple universities aimed at accelerating innovations from laboratories and helping to bring them to market, said C. Michael Cassidy, president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance. We are very proud to be selected alongside many of the nations most reputable programs for growing entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education. The Outstanding Contributions to Advancing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education Award, which goes to the individual who has demonstrated extraordinary achievements in entrepreneurship in higher education, was presented to Barry Rosenbaum, senior fellow with the University of Akron Research Foundation. Its been a pleasure and my honor to work with The University of Akron Research Foundation and all my friends at The University of Akron to support faculty and students in their innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, said Rosenbaum. I am especially pleased with the progress we have made in our I-Corps programs both at the university site level with Elyse Ball and Dan Hampu and at the state level with the sponsorship of the Ohio Board of Higher Education for I-Corps@Ohio, the only statewide I-Corps program in the nation. I share this award with the entire entrepreneurship and innovation community at the University of Akron and its research foundation. The Entrepreneurial University recognizes an institution that demonstrates overall excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship. Ryerson University of Toronto, Canada was presented with this award. We've spent the last few days being stimulated, educated and encouraged by the incredible attendees at the Deshpande Symposium and are honored to receive The Entrepreneurial University award. Ryerson University integrates curricular and co-curricular programs to develop entrepreneurship across the institution and in our wider community. From the work of our business school, our research organizations, student groups, the DMZ and our Zone Learning network of nine other incubators, this award is the product of our dedicated faculty, staff and students, said Ryerson University Director of Zone Learning Richard Lachman. It's energizing to receive this recognition and we will continue, with our peer institutions here at the symposium, to create inclusive, transformative entrepreneurial experiences for our students. In addition to the Deshpande Foundation and UMass Lowell, the steering committee for this years symposium also included representatives of Arizona State University, the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Houston Community College, Middlesex Community College, Queens University, Rice University, University of Akron, University of North Carolina, VentureWell and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. More information about the Deshpande Symposium, including a full list of the workshops and other programs offered, is available at www.deshpandesymposium.org. UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,750 students bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu UNICEF Executive Board The Executive Board is the governing body of UNICEF, providing intergovernmental support and oversight to the organization, in accordance with the overall policy guidance of the United Nations General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. Cambodias local commune elections held earlier this month saw a nearly 90 percent turnout of registered voters, an increase on previous years that was noted by speakers at a recent forum held in Washington organized by the Stimson Center. The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party won more than 400 seats out of 1,646, from only 40 in the 2012 elections. Brian Eyler, the Stimson Centers Southeast Asia program director, said it was rare to see such a high turnout in a democracy, which showed that Cambodians were eager to exercise their democratic rights. I think the result of this commune election shows that change could come in Cambodia in 2018, whether its a change in the CPP platform to address economic development more robustly, or whether its a change in regime, he said. Sophal Ear, associate professor at Occidental College, California, told the meeting via Skype that in terms of fairness, the recent election could still not be compared with the UN-organized vote in 1993, pointing to the arrests of opposition members, activists and rights workers. Sebastian Strangio, a journalist and author of Hun Sens Cambodia, said that corruption, land grabs and environmental concerns coupled with high unemployment had led to the high turnout. He added that he believed Prime Minister Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party would do whatever it could to remain in power. "It would take a lot to remove Hun Sen from power. He has shown and he said himself, he is willing to do what ever is necessary to hold on to power, because he sees himself falling from power as being an equivalence a return to civil war and chaos. And I think he sees himself as an indispensable leader and Cambodia's only hope," he said. Courtney Weatherby, a research analyst at the Stimson Center, said environmental destruction caused by large-scale development projects such as the plans for an Areng Valley hydropower dam had increased support for the opposition. So the CNRP has stood for the last few years to identify these areas where they have a better reputation and have criticized a specific project, she said. Fierce competition among car manufacturers requires constant search for ways to cut expenses without compromising safety and other standards. One of the areas with room for improvement is in manufacturing of car bodies, which could be made lighter but still strong enough to protect passengers. VOAs George Putic visited the National Institute for Science and Technology, NIST, outside Washington, where everything starts with new ways of testing sheet metal. An American college student released by North Korea after 17 months in detention suffered a "severe neurological injury," a hospital spokeswoman said Thursday. After returning home from North Korea, 22-year-old Otto Warmbier was immediately transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center hospital, where he is in stable condition. Warch: Ohio Town Marks North Korean Captive's 'Bittersweet' Return According to doctors, Warmbier suffered severe damage to all parts of his brain. He shows no signs of understanding language, responding to verbal commands, or awareness of his surroundings. He has not spoken, he has not engaged in any purposeful movements or behaviors," Dr. Daniel Kanter, who treated Warmbier, told a news conference Thursday. Kanter and his colleagues added that they have no verifiable information about what happened to Warmbier before he left North Korea, and that, at his family's request, further information about his prognosis and prospects for improvement will remain confidential. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, attending a conference on Central America in Miami on Thursday, said, We are glad hes home rejoined with his family. We are not commenting on any of his health circumstances, its a private matter thats up to him and the family. Nor are we going to comment on the circumstances of his condition and how he might have come to be in that condition. So I have nothing further to say on that. Warmbier's parents said their son has been in a coma for more than a year, and they described his release as a medical evacuation. At an earlier news conference Thursday, Fred Warmbier, Otto's father, said he does not believe what North Korea said was the cause of their son's condition. "Even if you believe their explanation of botulism and a sleeping pill causing the coma, and we don't, there is no excuse for any civilized nation to have kept his condition secret and denied him top-notch medical care for so long," he said. Fred Warmbier went on to say that the Trump administration has been more helpful in communicating with the family and facilitating the return of their son. The question is, do I think the past administration could have done more," Fred Warmbier said. "I think the results speak for themselves. WATCH: Fred Warmbier on son's condition after release North Korea sentenced Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, to a 15-year prison term for attempting to steal a propaganda poster. Fred and Cindy Warmbier said they were told their son was given a sleeping pill shortly after his trial last March, and that he never woke up. State Department officials refused to comment on Warmbiers health, citing department guidelines, but said the last time the U.S. had any access to Warmbier, through the Swedish Embassy, was March of last year. VOA's State Department correspondent Nike Ching contributed to this report. Amnesty International criticized Nigeria's military Thursday for dropping an investigation into senior officers accused of war crimes in the northeast during the conflict with Islamist Boko Haram insurgents. The eight-year battle with the militant group, which seeks to carve out a "caliphate" in the northeast, has been rife with human rights violations by the parties involved, including the military, Boko Haram and vigilante organizations, aid groups say. Those include extrajudicial killings, rape, the use of child soldiers and detentions of people without charge. Late Wednesday, a Nigerian military panel issued a report on the findings of its investigation that said there was insufficient evidence to charge the officers, some of whom are now retired, for any abuses. The military killed, starved, suffocated and tortured 8,000 people under the watch of certain senior officers, Amnesty International said in its 2015 report alleging the war crimes. "We stand by the findings of our research and our call for an investigation that is independent, impartial and thorough," Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said Thursday. The military panel did find that delays of trials of suspected Boko Haram members that resulted in death or denial of legal representation were unacceptable. Both the panel and Amnesty International recommended that Nigeria set up a presidential commission to investigate any accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. A bid by Iraqi Kurds to achieve independence could threaten a partnership with neighboring Turkey. "The [referendum] decision by the northern Iraqi authority deeply saddened us," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his ruling AKP lawmakers this past Tuesday. "A step toward the independence of northern Iraq is a threat to the territorial integrity of Iraq, and it is wrong," he added. Erdogan has built a close, if not unlikely, relationship with Masoud Barzani, president of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional government, or KRG. In past years, Erdogan dismissed Barzani as nothing more than a bandit, but the two men have developed an increasingly powerful alliance based on shared economic and regional interests. Erdogan's criticism of Barzani is not necessarily what it seems. "Compared with his [Erdogan's] usual style, his reaction to Iraqi Kurdistan declaration to hold a referendum for independence cannot be qualified as harsh," said former Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who founded Turkey's consul in the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Irbil. "And the frequency of the comments suggests this is not one of the main concerns of Ankara at this moment. Rhetoric is something and action is something else." Ankara has the means to quickly bring the KRG under its influence, as it depends on Turkey to pipe its oil to international markets through the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. "The significance of oil and potentially gas exports in terms of budget revenues and the dependence of the KRG on Turkey for export of its oil, Turkey does have leverage on the KRG," said Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe in Brussels. Ankara has so far not hinted at threatening to turn off the spigot. "It will depend on what the next steps will be. Just holding the referendum, which is not binding, will in itself not change the nature of this relationship," said Ulgen. "But if the KRG decides to take more formal steps to achieve this aim, then certainly this will have a much more durable effect on this relationship." Ankara has also expressed concerns on the scope of the planned referendum scheduled for September 25. The inclusion of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in the vote has provoked alarm. "What really concerned us was that Kurdish leaders want to include Kirkuk in this process while, according to the Iraqi constitution, Kirkuk is an Iraqi city and is not within Kurdish boundaries," Ibrahim Kalin, spokesperson for the Turkish presidency, said at a press conference Wednesday. "If any attempts will be made to forcefully include Kirkuk in the referendum question, problems will be made for Kirkuk and its surrounding areas." Kirkuk is claimed by the Iraqi Kurds as their capital, but Turkmen also have claims over the city. Ankara's concerns over Kirkuk may be more about domestic considerations. "This is for internal political reasons Mr. Erdogan is continuing to stick to the consolidating of nationalist support inside Turkey," said former Turkish diplomat Selcen. "So this is the reason we are going through the motions in this case." Kirkuk, and the fate of regional ethnic Turks, are symbolically important for Turkish nationalists. Ankara, however, appears to be turning more than a blind eye to Iraqi Kurds' ongoing control of the city after its forces captured it from Islamic State. "The oil continues to flow not only from Iraqi Kurdistan previously produced oil fields, but also from recently acquired Kirkuk oil fields which flow through the Turkish pipeline market through to Ceyhan," said Selcen. Oil exports from the Iraqi Kurdish region, through Turkey, have become part of an extremely lucrative partnership. "It's a relationship that has blossomed since 2008, that has now taken the form that the KRG has almost become Turkey's economic hinterland and a number of potentially important oil and gas deals are in the pipeline," noted analyst Ulgen. "And Barzani is the person who has delivered this." Barzani's public support of Erdogan is also seen as important for the Turkish president in his bid to maintain legitimacy among Turkey's Kurdish minority, with an ongoing crackdown on the Kurdish rights movement. Barzani, however, has been facing growing internal pressure as the referendum call is seen as an attempt to help consolidate his position. "KDP [Barzani's party] needed this referendum call to strengthen its position to be able to keep its base," said Selcen, adding that Ankara's restrained reaction to the planned vote underlines the importance it attaches to its key ally. "The relation with the KDP is one of the most important assets for Ankara in the region." A new report by the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) finds child poverty and hunger are widespread in 41 of the worlds richest countries. The report says one in five children in rich countries lives in poverty, while one in eight often do not have enough to eat. The report finds high income does not necessarily lead to a good outcome for children and often serves to widen the gap between rich and poor. UN Childrens Fund Chief of Social Policy and Economic Analysis, Jose Cuesta says all 41 countries surveyed, in one way or another, are failing to protect the well-being of their children. If I were to grade all countries, no one will get an A," he said. "There is good news, of course, in quite a number of targets and areas. For instance, childhood learning or reductions in neonatal mortality rates. But, there are also substantive gaps in some targets. For instance, poverty reduction of children, increasing inequality, increasing obesity and worsening mental health. The seven top ranked countries in UNICEFs League Table of 41 countries includes all the Nordic countries Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, as well as Germany and Switzerland. The seven countries holding up the bottom are Chili, Mexico, the United States, Bulgaria, Romania, Israel and Turkey. Cuesta tells VOA the United States, which ranks 37th does not perform well in areas such as poverty, hunger, good health and well-being, and quality education. Actually, it is a surprise and it is not a surprise at the same time because consistently the U.S. is doing poorly across these key indicators. So, it is not really one indicator driving the results here, he said. The report notes wealth and economic growth alone are not enough to ensure the well-being of children. UNICEF is urging rich countries to put childrens needs at the heart of their policy agenda. The Chinese travel company that arranged a tour to North Korea for an American student who was jailed and injured there specializes in destinations your mother would rather you stay away from, according to its website. Young Pioneer Tours, based in Xi'an, China, describes itself as safe and fun. Photos from the tour companys website and Facebook page show selfies of happy, smiling, young Westerners in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Fred Warmbier, the father of Otto Warmbier, 22, who is in a coma after suffering neurological damage while being detained in North Korea, excoriated the tour company in a press conference Thursday. They advertise it as the safest trip ever, but what they do is they provide fodder for the North Koreans, Fred Warmbier told reporters gathered at Wyoming High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. The tour company encourages North Americans to visit countries that should be considered dangerous, he said, adding that detained North Americans can be used by North Korea as political leverage. North Korea trips Young Pioneer Tours boasts on its website: Tourism is very welcomed in North Korea, thus tourists are cherished and well-taken care of. We have never felt suspicious or threatened at any time." Otto Warmbier was detained in January 2016 while on a Young Pioneers budget tour. He was accused and convicted of trying to steal a propaganda banner, and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in a North Korean prison. Upon Otto Warmbier's release earlier this week, his parents said that they were told he had been in a coma for much of his 17-month detention. He arrived in Ohio late Tuesday, and is listed in stable condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Fred Warmbier said his son was terrorized and brutalized by the North Korean government, who said Otto Warmbier slipped into a coma the day after his arrest. Warmbier said his son is a thrill-seeking good kid who convinced them to let him go when he told them his friends had taken a tour to North Korea. In addition to Pyongyang, Young Pioneer Tours offers tours to Antarctica; Chernobyl, Ukraine; Afghanistan, and Eritrea. The U.S. government has issued travel warnings to the last three locations. On their website, Young Pioneer Tours assures prospective tourists that they will be completely safe during their travels through North Korea, or the DPRK. Despite what you may hear, North Korea is probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit, the website says. Tour company history The tour company receives five-star ratings on their Facebook page and review sites, such as TripAdvisor. But a few reported uncomfortable experiences. One user said that she and her husband had a horrible experience. She said a friend of a Young Pioneers Tour guide withheld her husbands passport as a joke while the group rode a train from Pyongyang to Beijing. When the couple was unable to produce travel documents, DPRK soldiers separated and interrogated the couple. The soldiers took it very seriously and gave us a very hard time, speaking sternly to us about our missing travel document, she wrote in the review. They proceeded to segregate my husband, prohibit me to approach or even to talk to him. Others on Young Pioneers tours reported similar disorganization and confusion. During one trip to Trans-Dniester, a breakaway portion of Moldova between the Dniester River and Ukraine, tour group members said they had to crawl through narrow tunnels littered with human waste and to walk 30 minutes through subzero temperatures. Despite my low expectations, this trip was incredibly disappointing and frustrating, the user wrote. And the problems with the trip were not attributable to the location. They were entirely due to the tour company and tour leader. VOA made numerous attempts by phone to contact Young Pioneers Tours in China and emailed their offices in Cuba, Kazhakstan and Senegal. An automatically generated email returned from Matt Kulesza said he was "currently on tour with limited access to the Internet. I'll be returning to Beijing on Tuesday, June 27th and will respond to your email upon my return." Colombia's foreign minister said Thursday that the implementation of last year's peace agreement with leftist rebels, ending one of the world's bloodiest and longest-running armed conflicts, "has been more difficult" than expected. Maria Angela Holguin reiterated in Oslo, Norway, that the government in Bogota is "deeply committed." Almost since the accord was signed in November, the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has complained about foot-dragging in passing implementation legislation, freeing jailed rebels amnestied under the accord and investigating murders of leftist activists in areas they once dominated. FARC had agreed to turn over 30 percent of its weapons and explosives. Holguin was taking part in the Oslo Forum panel discussion hosted by Norway's Foreign Ministry with Rodrigo Londono, top commander of the FARC. "There is no way back now," Londono said through an interpreter. It was his first known trip outside Latin America in years. He and the rest of the FARC leadership have faced a U.S. arrest warrant for over a decade for allegedly running the world's largest drug cartel. Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende, who hosted the event, called the meeting of Holguin and Londono an historic moment because it was the first time they had met outside Colombia. The agreement earned Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Norway and Cuba co-sponsored the peace talks. Former Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti said on Thursday she is willing to face down criminal charges in the United States, a week after U.S. prosecutors sought her extradition for alleged drug trafficking and other offenses. "I'm going to show my face in the United States, and am prepared to present myself to resolve my situation," Baldetti told a hearing addressing the U.S. extradition request via video link. At the hearing, Baldetti, who is already in prison in Guatemala, where she is being tried for crimes including money laundering and illicit enrichment, denied U.S. prosecutors' charges of criminal association and conspiracy to traffic drugs. She was arrested in 2015 along with former President Otto Perez in one of the biggest corruption scandals in Guatemala's history. She and Perez have denied wrongdoing. In spite of the extradition request, prosecutors in Guatemala said last week, Baldetti must first face justice in Guatemala before she can be put on trial in the United States. A Senior United Nations official says intense fighting in Syria and bureaucratic red tape are impeding the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of people trapped in besieged areas. U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Jan Egeland says the United Nations has been unable to deliver food, medicine and other essential items to some 600,000 people in 12 besieged areas for the past 40 days. He says it also is extremely difficult to reach millions of others in so-called hard-to-reach areas. He says the situation is being made even more difficult due to three very worrying developments connected to war. He says tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in Raqqa, where a ferocious battle to retake the city from Islamic State militants is being waged. The attacking forces are now closing in on Raqqa city," he said. "There is intense bombardment from the air and it is very hard for civilians to get out of Raqqa. There are reports that air attacks cause civilian casualties and that it has made it hard for civilians to flee. Egeland adds that ruthless tactics by IS militants also are preventing civilians from leaving. At the same time, he says increased airstrikes on the southern city of Daara are preventing aid from reaching civilians there. Another obstacle to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, he says, is a dangerous outbreak of polio in the city of Deir Ezzor, which is surrounded by IS fighters. He says efforts are underway to bring polio vaccines into the city so that a mass immunization campaign to stop the spread of the crippling disease can begin. Egeland says the U.N. has trucks ready, warehouses full of relief items, and courageous humanitarian workers ready to deliver aid to women, children and men. Unfortunately, he says bureaucratic impediments, lack of permits, and infighting among groups are preventing the aid operation from going ahead. A new satellite forecast tool could more than double the warning time for desert locust invasions, allowing vulnerable nations to prepare better against the crop-eating grasshoppers, the United Nations and European Space Agency (ESA) said Wednesday. Desert locusts, found mainly in the Sahara, across the Arabian Peninsula and in India, pose a major threat to agricultural production when migrating in swarms, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says. A one-kilometer-square swarm of about 40 million locusts can eat the same amount of food as 35,000 people in a day, according to the agency. FAO and ESA said they have developed a new remote sensing system that by processing satellite data on soil moisture and vegetation can predict the formation of swarms up to three months in advance. "Longer warning periods give countries more time to act swiftly to control a potential outbreak and prevent massive food losses," said Keith Cressman, FAO's senior locust forecasting officer. The tool is the latest in a series to apply satellite data to agricultural purposes. For pest prevention teams, it is key to find locust breeding areas early in order to apply pesticides before grasshoppers grow wings and start migrating, Cressman said. "Then you are chasing a moving target," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Best breeding conditions Locusts breed in large numbers when good rains and rapid vegetation growth follow a period of drought. Soil moisture data help authorities locate areas where the ground is wet enough for the locusts to lay eggs and to monitor them for signs of swarming. Trials on data from a locust invasion in Mauritania in 2016 allowed ESA and FAO experts to identify hatching areas 70 days before the outbreak occurred. That significantly improved upon current forecast systems based on satellite information of green vegetation that give a maximum notice of one month and sometimes give authorities just a few days to reach remote breeding locations, Cressman said. "Often they are too late," he said. Up to 100 percent of cereals and 90 percent of legumes were destroyed in West Africa in a 2003-05 plague that affected 8 million people and took 13 million liters of pesticide to be reined in, the FAO said. Cressman said FAO is hoping to make the new tool available to all countries at risk by the end of the year. Greece's European lenders agreed Thursday to release another $9.5 billion of a desperately needed bailout installment, while holding out the hope of debt relief. All sides reached a deal in Luxembourg Thursday after months of often bitter negotiations. The European Union's top economy official, France's Pierre Moscovici, said Greece has respected its commitments for economic reforms and that it is now time for its creditors to take theirs. Bankruptcy looming The Greek people need to see the light at the end of the tunnel of austerity, Moscovici said. Greece has implemented more tough spending cuts and tax hikes in exchange for the bailout installment. Without it, the country would have been facing possible bankruptcy next month. Greece has been demanding debt relief from its creditors, saying it can never get its economy growing again without some help. Germany, Greece's biggest lender, has opposed restructuring the Greek debt, insisting on more austerity. But as part of the compromise with Greece, eurozone ministers agreed to provide debt relief when the current bailout program ends next year. Support from IMF In a surprise move Thursday, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde announced she will recommend that the IMF join the Greek bailout. The IMF was part of the first two bailouts, but refused to be a part of the third until there was some kind of debt relief. Human rights groups have disputed Russian claims that Aleppo has been liberated from Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Qaida) terrorists and affiliated extremists, accusing Russian and Syrian forces of having bombed Syria's second largest city into submission. In commemoration of six months after what they called the liberation of Aleppo, the Russian mission hosted a side event Wednesday at the United Nations Human Rights Council called Aleppo: A City Free from Terror, New Life, New Hopes to give its version about what took place in the city before, during and after that event. Moscow has come under international criticism for its support of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its alliance with the Syrian air force in the relentless bombing of eastern Aleppo, which drove the rebels out of the city. Countless numbers of civilians were killed and wounded during this military action. Russian ambassador says life changing in Aleppo In kicking off the conference, Russian Ambassador Alexey Borodavkin said it is important that the world know the truth about these events and was made aware of how life is changing in Aleppo. We all understand and we all recall that when eastern Aleppo was being set free from al-Nusra and other radical groups, some of the world mass media, with the help of terrorist supporters, disseminated fake news online on the situation. A whole number of states and international organizations echoed and disseminated this fake news, Borodavkin said. To highlight the alleged duplicity of the Western media, the conference projected a live video from Aleppo of Omran Daqneesh, the young Syrian boy who became a worldwide symbol of the conflict in Syria when a photograph of his face covered in ash was flashed around the world. On the video, a happy, healthy-looking Omran is seen sitting on the lap of his father, who criticized the media and said, I want my son to become a symbol of peace. Among those participating in this event were several Russian military officials, who spoke at great length about the humanitarian work the Russian military was engaged in, such as setting up food kitchens, setting up field hospitals and providing medical services to the people of Aleppo. They spoke about the work they were doing in revitalizing and rehabilitating the city and making it safe for displaced people to return to the homes they had fled during the conflict. These military men never spoke about their role in the conflict. They portrayed themselves as peacemakers, as humanitarians and as liberators of Aleppo. HRW official isn't persuaded The Human Rights Watch communications director for the Middle East, Ahmed Benchemsi, was not persuaded by this argument. He told VOA that the word liberation was politically loaded and that he was not sure he knew what it meant. That word does not sound right when thousands of civilians are bombed or starved to death by their so-called liberators, said Benchemsi. I mean, east Aleppo was controlled by opposition armed groups for four years and in retaliation, the Syrian government has bombed civilian neighbors, including schools and hospitals using indiscriminate weapons, and then the Russian air force joined as well. The Russians targeted civilians in indiscriminate strikes. So, these things are called violations of the laws of war, if not war crimes not liberation. Terrorists blamed The participants at the conference blamed the destruction, deaths and injuries in Aleppo on the terrorists. No one even mentioned the airstrikes conducted by Syria and its Russian ally except for Marinella Corregia, a peace activist and researcher at No-War Network in Rome, who condemned local non-governmental organizations for feeding lies about Russia and Syria to the Western media and international non-governmental organizations. The allegations, which went on for years, not only months, about Syria and Russia bombing hospitals deliberately. There were also lots of allegations about bombing bakeries. Why? Why someone should bomb a bakery to get the population against the government?" Corregia said it was time to break this vicious circle of lies. Proof of targeting medical facilities Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the High Commissioner for human rights, told VOA that there was credible proof that hospitals and other medical facilities have been deliberately targeted. We have seen an unprecedented number of attacks on medical facilities even ad hoc medical facilities and even the targeting of medical professionals who are seen to be treating people from the other side; whether they are treating people presumed to be of the opposition or people presumed to be cooperating with the Syrian forces. We have seen a lot of attacks, she said. And, yes, there is an obligation under international humanitarian law that hospitals and medical facilities have a special protected status. And attacking these hospitals or using them as military facilities, does constitute a war crime," she said. Hungarys tough asylum system has helped cause a bottleneck for up to 7,000 migrants who are now stuck in limbo in Serbia, the Council of Europe Special Representative on migration and refugees said Wednesday. After visiting two camps built from shipping containers and surrounded by a barbed-wire fence on Hungarys border with Serbia, Ambassador Tomas Bocek also told Reuters that the migrants were effectively being deprived of their liberty. The migrants, most of whom hope to reach wealthy western Europe, can only leave the tightly guarded camps by returning south into Serbia, and cannot move freely between the different sections inside the designated area, unless they want to see a doctor. Deprivation of liberty In the summer heat, with temperatures around 30 degrees in the scorching sun, the containers heat up and largely have no air-conditioning, he said. Lets say they call it camps but I would say that according to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, this is rather deprivation of liberty, Bocek said in an interview outside the camp at the Tompa crossing point. They dont understand why they are there, why they are in a closed camp, or they call it prison ... and the question that everybody asked me is: when will we get out? The container camps currently house about 400 people, mostly fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Tough new laws Hungary, a member of the European Union, was a major crossing point for hundreds of thousands of people at the height of Europes migrant crisis in 2015, heading via Turkey, Greece and the Balkans for western Europe. Prime Minister Viktor Orbans right-wing government built a border fence and approved new laws which, along with an EU repatriation agreement clinched with Turkey, helped to sharply cut the number of arrivals, though some still get through. Orban has called mass immigration from the Middle East and Africa an existential threat to the European way of life. Under legislation passed earlier this year, all migrants trying to enter Hungary, including children, are held in two camps at the Roszke and Tompa crossings on the border with non-EU Serbia until their asylum requests have been processed. Very few applications are successful. Criticized by UN, rights groups Budapest denies the camps amount to detention centers as migrants are free to return to Serbia, but its policy has been criticized by the United Nations and human rights groups. Bocek said the Hungarian system for handling asylum was too restrictive as it allows only five people a day to submit requests at each of the two transit zones. As a result thousands of migrants without any status are stuck in Serbia. This category is quite huge, and I think we should really reflect reality and address this issue, he said. They have some basic human rights and these human rights should be respected. The Council of Europe, based in the French city of Strasbourg, aims to uphold human rights and democracy across the continent. An Iranian military vessel trained a laser on an American helicopter that was accompanying three U.S. military ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Navy officials said Wednesday. Commander Bill Urban, spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, said the Iranian vessel, which came within 730 meters of the USS Baatan assault ship, acted in an "unsafe and unprofessional" manner late Tuesday. "The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, guided missile destroyer USS Cole and dry cargo ship USNS Washington Chambers were transiting the Strait when the Iranian vessel paralleled the U.S. formation, shining a spotlight on Cole," Urban said. He said the Iranian vessel later trained a laser on a CH-53E helicopter and turned its spotlight on the USS Bataan before leaving the area. Urban explained that illuminating helicopters with lasers at night is dangerous because it creates a navigational hazard that can impair vision and disorient pilots who are using night-vision goggles. A federal judge Wednesday ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its environmental review of the Dakota Access Pipeline, opening up the possibility that the line could be shut at a later date. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington said that the Army Corps did not adequately consider the effects of a possible oil spill on the fishing and hunting rights of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Operations of Energy Transfer Partners LPs pipeline have not been suspended but that be considered at a later date, the order said. The $3.8 billion line began interstate crude oil delivery in May. Future steps The parties are expected to meet with Boasberg next Wednesday to discuss future steps; the Standing Rock Sioux are expected to argue that pipeline operations should be halted. The judge said in a 91-page decision that while the Army Corps substantially complied with the National Environmental Policy Act, federal permits issued for the pipeline violated the law in some respects, saying in a court order the Corps did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice. To remedy those violations, the Corps will have to reconsider those sections of its environmental analysis upon remand by the Court, the judge said. The tribe had sued the Army Corps over its approval of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, arguing the line could contaminate their water source, the Missouri River. We applaud the courts for protecting our laws and regulations from undue political influence, and will ask the Court to shut down pipeline operations immediately, said Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault, in a statement. ETP was not immediately available for comment. Pipeline complete, running In February, the Army Corps of Engineers granted the final easement needed to finish the controversial pipeline, which had been delayed for several months after protests led by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and climate activists. The controversial pipeline needed a final permit to tunnel under Lake Oahe, a reservoir that is part of the Missouri River. Two previous arguments by the Standing Rock tribe that the construction threatened sacred sites, and that the presence of oil in the pipeline would damage sacred waters had been rejected by the court. President Donald Trump, days after being sworn in, issued an executive order directing the Army Corps to smooth the path to finishing the line, prompting complaints by the tribe and environmental groups that it had not done an adequate environmental review. 3 A school girl writes a message of support on a wall for the victims and those affected by the massive fire at Grenfell Tower in London. The real estate firm owned by the family of Jared Kushner has withdrawn a request for a big tax break for one its buildings in Jersey City, New Jersey, the latest setback for the company in the area. The Kushner Cos. sent a letter withdrawing its application for a 30-year break from city taxes for a planned two-tower project in the struggling Journal Square section of the city, Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said Wednesday. Opponents of the tax breaks marched downtown earlier this year and the citys mayor recently came out against the Kushner request. Jared Kushner was CEO of the family company before stepping down to become a senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump. Committed to area Kushner Cos. spokesman James Yolles said the company is committed to the much-needed investment in that area of the city. The loss of the tax break is the latest blow for the company in a city where it is major real estate developer. The 79-story building, One Journal Square, gained attention last month after Jared Kushners sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, mentioned her brother in a presentation in Beijing where she had hoped to attract Chinese investors in the building. Marketing material noted the celebrity status of her family. Government ethics experts blasted the family for what they said was an attempt to profit off Jared Kushners position in Washington, and the Kushner Cos. canceled upcoming investor presentations in the country. The company said Meyer wasnt trying to use her White House ties to attract investors. EB-5 visa program The Kushner family is seeking 300 wealthy Chinese to invest a total of $150 million in One Journal Square. The family was trying to raise money through the EB-5 visa program that grants temporary U.S. residency to wealthy foreigners in exchange for investments of at least $500,000 in certain U.S. projects The company also is in danger of losing another tax break for the building. The shared office space firm WeWork recently pulled out as anchor tenant. That has put in doubt a state tax break tied to WeWork. Another project is off, too. The Kushner Cos. once considered bidding to develop a 95-acre industrial site along the Hackensack River in the city for housing, called Bayfront. Last month, it was revealed the family had withdrawn from those plans last year. The Kusnher Cos. has said politics had nothing to do with its decision to withdraw from Bayfront, and that economics of the deal drove the move. As for One Journal Square, company spokesman Yolles said the project will provide 4,000 construction jobs and $180 million in tax revenue for the city over 30 years. Tax breaks an issue Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat, is running for re-election this fall, and tax breaks to developers have become a major issue. Unlike neighboring Hoboken, Jersey City has granted dozens of tax breaks in recent years. Fulop had campaigned to reform the practice, but critics say he has done little. Another Kushner property in the city overlooking the Hudson River got a five-year tax break soon after Fulop was elected mayor. That 50-story building has licensed the Trump name and is called Trump Bay Street. The building was also partly financed with EB-5 visa money from abroad. The Kushner family owns or manages 20,000 apartments, 13 million square feet of office space and industrial properties in several states, including New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois. Residents of northern Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve, an area of lush jungle and historical ruins, are far better at protecting the forest from fires when they have formal land rights, researchers said Thursday. The 2.1 million-hectare (5.2 million-acre) nature reserve in northern Guatemala is under threat from forest fires, drug traffickers and cattle barons, researchers said in a study. Using satellite images, researchers analyzed the severity of this year's forest fires on reserve land, comparing areas of the park where local communities have formal land rights with areas where residents lack them. Climate change is leading to an increase in the frequency and severity of forest fires in much of the world, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a U.S.-based advocacy group. Researchers said Thursday's study showed that land rights for local people in nature reserves help nations respond to the increased danger from fires. Livelihoods at stake "Communities with land rights are better organized their livelihoods are intertwined with the forests," said Andrew Davis, a researcher with the PRISMA Foundation, the El Salvador-based think tank that produced the study. About 14,000 residents have formal rights covering 400,000 hectares (988,000 acres) of the reserve, he said. These rights allow them to use, manage and patrol reserve land, but they cannot buy or sell it. Only 1 percent of the 8,000 forest fires in the reserve tracked this year by researchers happened inside land formally controlled by local communities, Davis said. "In the community concessions people have to follow strict guidelines to prevent fires," Davis told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that communities who formally control the land are also better able to patrol the territory to keep intruders out. Foreign observers backed the study's findings. "I have traveled through the community concessions, and I have been struck by the deep commitment of communities to conserving their forests," Stefano Gatto, the European Union's ambassador to Guatemala, said in a statement. "By giving these communities concessions over their lands, the government has given them the reason and motivation to fight the destruction." Aspiring Australian citizens will have to make a pledge to share Australian values under proposed new laws introduced to Parliament on Thursday. The law would give Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton power to write and revise an Australian Values Statement and it would reduce avenues to appeal his decisions on citizenship cases. The bill does not spell out what Australian values are and critics argue that getting Australians to agree on what values they share is difficult. Dutton said citizenship laws had to be reinforced to maintain public support for immigration and the value of citizenship during an increasingly challenging security environment. The Australian community expects that aspiring citizens demonstrate their allegiance to our country and commitment to live in accordance with Australian laws and values and be willing to integrate into and become contributing members of the Australian community, Dutton told Parliament. Dutton said the values statement would cover respect for religious freedom and gender equality as well as commitment to the rule of law and Australia's parliamentary democracy. There would also be values-based questions included in a citizenship test. The bill would also raise the bar on English-language skills for prospective citizens and extends the time that an applicant must be an Australian permanent resident from one to four years. Kim Rubenstein, a professor in the College of Law and a Public Policy Fellow at the Australian National University, said aspects of the bill were draconian and exclusive, shifting the balance of citizenship in Australia and giving the government unprecedented power. One of the most fundamental Australian values is a commitment to the rule of law and Western democratic liberal principles, but this act really shows a lack of appreciation of these core Australian values, said Rubenstein, author of Australian Citizenship Law in Context. By introducing this bill, they're failing their own citizenship test, if Australian values are so fundamental, she added. Activist group GetUp! said the law would create an underclass of migrants prevented from attaining citizenship and from equality with the rest of society. Law Council of Australia President Fiona McLeod, a leading advocate for the legal profession, said the law overreached by giving Dutton power to overturn citizenship rulings made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, a court that hears public complaints about government decisions. The conservative coalition government does not hold a majority of seats in the Senate and will need the support of the opposition Labor Party or a diverse collection of minor parties and independent senators to pass the bill into law. Opposition leader Bill Shorten has said Labor would consider the changes. It is not clear whether Dutton would pen the values statement before or after the bill became law. Australia introduced a formal citizenship test in 2007. Before then, a government official would informally question an applicant about his or her knowledge of a citizen's responsibilities and privileges in an oral test. Rubenstein was part of a review team in 2008 that recommended shifting the 2007 citizenship test focus from general knowledge about Australia to the responsibilities and rights of citizens. She said the proposed new approach reminded her of the system in the early 20th century when applicants who wanted to migrate to Australia could be asked to take a dictation test in any European language that an official chose. The test was designed to exclude Asian and black immigrants. It does smack of that earlier xenophobic approach to who is in and who is out and I think it creates tension with the very vibrant, affirming and cohesive multicultural society that we have. This is a real step away from that, Rubenstein said. Lesothos incoming prime minister will take office Friday with a heavy heart, his spokesman says, after his estranged wife was shot dead Wednesday outside the capital of the tiny southern African nation. Lipolelo Thabanes killing has sparked fears that Lesothos violent political history may be returning. Thomas Thabane is taking a second stab at being prime minister after his last term ended suddenly in 2014, when he fled to neighboring South Africa because he said the army was trying to kill him. The couple separated in 2012 but had not divorced. Thabane recently returned his All Basotho Convention party to power in a snap poll earlier this month. It was the third election in five years, after bitter infighting brought down the previous two coalition governments. Moeketsi Majoro, the spokesman for Thabanes party, told VOA the police have yet to name a suspect and the party is trying to not speculate on what may have happened. Thabane died on the scene from her wounds. A friend who was travelling with her is being treated at a hospital. Its when a death like this occurs that it raises a lot of ire and a lot of speculation, he said. And of course its our responsibility as the incoming government that we endure, that we dont speculate, and we let the law enforcement agencies take the lead in investigating this death. Call for calm Majoro, who is one of the partys 48 new lawmakers recently voted into power, urged Lesotho citizens to try to remain calm even if they, like him, are rattled. You know, up to the reporting of this death, I was, I thought things were going to be reasonably smooth, but this tells me that nothing should be taken for granted going forward, he said. It sends signals that we are back to 2014 again, when it was not easy to govern. Lesotho's military has long been tightly entwined with this nations political woes. The army led a 1986 coup to push out a long-serving government and has been involved in a number of political actions, including the action that ended Thabanes last term just two years in. On election day, there were worrying signs violence is still on the horizon, when soldiers armed with automatic rifles lurked outside many opposition-leaning polling places in the capital. The situation provoked alarm from the opposition, the electoral commission, and observers. One of Thabanes strongest campaign promises was that he could embark on a set of serious reforms to bring the nations security forces into line and keep them from interfering in political matters. Macedonia asked Greece on Wednesday to help its bid to join NATO and the European Union, efforts frozen by a decades-long dispute over the ex-Yugoslav republic's name. Greece, a member of both groups, says Macedonia's use of the name could imply territorial claims on Greece's most northerly province of the same name. It is withholding support for Macedonia's further integration until it agrees to change it and has managed to get many international bodies, including the United Nations, to formally refer to it as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM. "I'm here to ask for your support," Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov, at one point Skopje's negotiator with Greece over the name, said in Athens. "I'm convinced that you have the leverage in your hands and this leverage can help towards closing the way for the one open issue," Dimitrov said through an interpreter. Athens would support Macedonia's integration "in every way, once the name issue has been resolved," Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said during a joint news conference. "That is a the prerequisite and I believe we must, and can, work towards a good compromise benefiting both sides," Kotzias said. Compound name The Macedonia name dispute has dragged on for almost 26 years with no clear progress. Athens has previously insisted that Skopje use a compound name such as "New" or "Upper" Macedonia. It also blockaded Macedonia's southern border in the early 1990s, at least in part leading to a change in Macedonia's first flag, which depicted the Vergina Sun, a symbol from the gravesite of the ancient kings of Macedon, which is in Greece. Macedonia's former prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, built his nine-year rule on nationalism and a rejection of Greek demands. But the new administration of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, in coalition with parties representing the country's ethnic Albanians, has pledged to speed up the country's bid to join the EU and NATO. Dimitrov will oversee the U.N.-sponsored negotiations with Greece that have been stalled for several years because of the political and debt crises affecting the two countries. "In this region ... we rise or fall together," he said, switching to English. "As we are on our way up, we need help and I am sure at some point there will be an overwhelming realization that that's a good thing for your country ... that's a good thing for the region and that's a good thing for Europe." Campaigning is under way in Kenya for the much anticipated August elections. On the sidewalk near Nairobi City Hall, you can find the Bunge la Wazalendo, or People's Parliament, meeting morning, noon and night. This group is one of a few that meet in Nairobi's city center. They discuss a variety of important issues and, of course, the upcoming elections. "Actually, we talk about the high cost of living, and we also talk about our top leadership," said Margaret Anyango Wayona, a social justice activist. "Yeah, we discuss about almost everything around this area." And the high cost of living is a big concern among Kenyan voters, says Gabriel Mayeye, chairman of the People's Parliament. "You cannot get water, even if you want to get water," he said, "you cannot get the ambulance for you to be in hospital, you cannot get free health care, you cannot get food." At the People's Parliament, the regulars take turns speaking. People walking by often stop and take the floor themselves. While it is mostly men, there are a few women. Margaret Nganyi says she is fed up with corruption, and that will guide her vote for president in August. "We are going to vote this man out because he is a thief, he has stolen from us, he is just taking us for a ride," she said of President Uhuru Kenyatta. "He is not taking care of us and we are taxpayers. We are paying taxes. Even if we are going without food, we are paying taxes." But others support Kenyatta, often citing his infrastructure projects as proof of success. "He has done a good job," said one voter, "and he still has a very long journey to do to take Kenyans to the final part of the journey." Other Kenyans remain skeptical that either the ruling party or the opposition will bring positive change to the country. Stephen Owoko attempted to run as an independent candidate in the presidential elections, before the electoral commission denied his application. "For now, it is just a question, a matter of saying, 'Which one is a better devil?'" Owoko said. "Which one is a better devil? When the time comes, I will decide." But there is one thing most Kenyans agree on: The overarching role of politics. "By the way, politics is everything because when you look at what is going on in this country, the [biggest] contributor to what is going on in this country is politics," Wayona said. Kenya's elections are slated for August 8, and members of the People's Parliament will be watching closely. Its one of the most contentious debates in anthropology today: Where did Americas first peoples come from and when? The general scientific consensus is that a single wave of people crossed a long-vanished land bridge from Siberia into Alaska around 13,000 years ago. But some Native Americans are irked by the theory, which they say is simplistic and culturally biased. The first European explorers to reach the Americas looked to the Bible to explain the origins of the people they encountered and misnamed Indians. Biblical tradition holds that humans were created some 4,000 years ago and that all men descend from Adam including indigenous peoples whom Europeans regarded as primitive. Dominant science believed in a concept of superiority, said Alexander Ewen, a member of the Purepecha Nation and author of the Encyclopedia of the American Indian in the Twentieth Century. And that created an idea that either people were genetically inferior or that there were stages of civilization, and Indians were at a lower stage, he said. Since primitives werent sophisticated enough to have sailed the oceans, early scientists concluded Indians had reached North America by some unknown land route. They found their answer in the Bering Strait. Ewen says that theory cemented into dogma and persists to this day, even in the face of new discoveries and technology that suggests Indians arrived much earlier and by different routes. In the first place, its simplistic, said Ewen. The people in this hemisphere were -- and are -- extremely diverse, more than any other place in the world. Chipping away at a theory In the 1930s, scientists examined a pile of mammoth bones in Clovis, N.M., where they found distinctive spear points. Since then, tens of thousands of Clovis points have been found across North America and as far south as Venezuela. Scientists decided the Clovis people must have been Americas first peoples, arriving 13,000 years ago. Excavations in the 1970s pushed the date even further back, to as much as 16,000 years ago. Archaeologist James Adovasio dated artifacts found at Pennsylvanias Meadowcroft Rockshelter to be up to 16,000 years old, to harsh criticism. Other branches of science have weighed in: In 1998, University of California-Berkeley linguist Johanna Nichols argued that it would have taken up to 50,000 years for a single language to diversify into the many languages spoken by modern Native American groups. That meant ancient Indians would have to have arrived 19,000 years ago. Geologists have complicated matters by suggesting that the Bering Strait wasnt passable until 10 or 12,000 years ago. This gave way to theories that early humans might have sailed down the Pacific coast into the New World. Meanwhile, in 2015, Harvard University geneticist Pontus Skoglund discovered DNA links between Amazon Indians and the indigenous peoples in Australia and New Guinea. In the past decade, Smithsonian Institution anthropologist Dennis Stanford met scathing criticism for suggesting Stone Age Europeans paddled across the Atlantic thousands of years before Columbus. In April of this year, researchers in California analyzed crushed mastodon bones they said were butchered by humans 130,000 years ago, a theory the bulk of scientists, including Adavasio, rejects not because its not possible, he stipulates, but because the data isnt conclusive. Native American accounts Should science consider the origin beliefs of tribes themselves? Montanas Blackfoot tradition holds that the first Indians lived on the other side of the ocean, but their creator decided to take them to a better place. So he brought them over the ice to the far north, the account reads. The Hopi people of Arizona say their ancestors had to travel through three worlds, finally crossing the ocean eastward to a new and final new world. And Oklahomas Tuskagee people believe the Great Spirit chose them to be the first people to live on the earth. Stories like these arent given much weight by science, said Joe Watkins, supervisory anthropologist at the National Park Service and a member of the Choctaw Nation. They are generally believed to be anecdotal, he said. The deep time depth and the possibility of multiple interpretations seem to make scientists uncomfortable. That isnt to say Watkins believes every tribal tradition is true. But I do believe most of them carry within them kernels of truth of use to researchers. It seems imprudent to dismiss any possible line of evidence," he said. Among the people socializing in a tavern in Alexandra township in Johannesburg is Karabo Sathekge, who asked that VOA not give her real name. She is a slight, attractive 19-year-old in a veil of an orange dress, defying the winter chill. Sathekge often meets one of her partners here. He is more than twice her age. Sathekge explains that sex with older men is sometimes "rough," and always without a condom. South Africa has almost 7 million people living with HIV and manages the globe's largest antiretroviral program, keeping about 4 million people alive with the drugs. At the South African National AIDS Conference in Durban this week, specialists voiced their concern about the spiking rates of infections among young women, a trend reflected throughout the continent. "What does it tell you about the lack of knowledge about HIV, 20, 30 years into the HIV epidemic?" said Mark Heywood, the director of the Section 27 social justice movement. "We have seen, shockingly, a decline in knowledge of HIV amongst young people. It is like we have taken our foot off the accelerator, in certain respects." Heywood says more than 200 young women, ages 15 to 24, are infected with HIV each day in South Africa. In 2015, that demographic accounted for the largest segment of new HIV infections in South Africa and a disproportionate number of new cases in the region. Adolescent and young women made up a quarter of the new cases in sub-Saharan Africa, according to UNAIDS most recent global report. UNAIDS says adolescent and young women in Africa are at "particularly high risk" for a variety of reasons, such as poverty, lack of education and violence. Like Sathekge, many poor young women in South Africa have "transactional" sexual relationships with older men who have jobs and money. The men buy them food, clothes and gifts. Health care workers in South Africa say transactional sex is a key driver of the new infections among young women in the country. Heywood is at the forefront of protests to demand the government make a new weapon against HIV infection available to young women. That weapon is a combination of antiretroviral drugs called "pre-exposure prophylaxis," or Prep. Taken correctly, the pill can prevent people from getting HIV. Heywood says the state could afford to give the drugs to young women for free. "If you have literally tens of billions of rand being stolen every year out of different government departments, that is money that could be generating programs that reduce the vulnerability of young women," he said. "But there has to be a [political] will." South Africa's health minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, says he plans to provide Prep to young women in about two to three years, after educating them about the pill. It must be taken at about the same time every day, and ideally is used with condoms. However, Heywood says Motsoaledi's "innovative" policies to prevent new HIV infections are likely to stall, as Motsoaledi has been politically isolated after publicly opposing President Jacob Zuma over Zuma's alleged corruption. Otto Warmbiers release from a North Korean prison camp in a critical comatose state this week was barely acknowledged by advocates for engagement at a Doing Business in North Korea conference Wednesday in Seoul. Warmbier is an American university student who was arrested for trying to steal a propaganda poster in January 2016 while on an excursion trip to North Korea. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for hostile acts against the state. Cautionary tale It is unclear what happened to Warmbier in captivity. North Korean officials reportedly told American envoys that he was given a sleeping pill after contracting botulism 15 months ago, and then fell into a coma from which he has not recovered. The gravely ill 22-year-old University of Virginia student was medically evacuated Tuesday and is being treated at a hospital in Cincinnati near his parents home in Ohio. Medical experts say chances are very low that a person in a vegetative state for so long will make a full recovery. Warmbiers experience is a tragic and cautionary tale, but one that should guide rather than prohibit international efforts to engage North Korea through economic development and tourism, said Andray Abrahamian, an honorary fellow at Macquarie University in Sydney, who has facilitated business training programs in North Korea. There are clearly benefits to it, to engaging as I see it. You have to realize though that it is a difficult place, and a place with a lot of rules that are extremely outside the norms that most of us are used to. And as such, a degree of sensitivity and caution is required when you visit, Abrahamian said on the sidelines of the conference. Ongoing atrocities However, rather than downplaying Warmbiers debilitating treatment, Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, called North Korea a human rights black hole in a statement Tuesday, and said the international community should prioritize security and human rights concerns when dealing with Pyongyang. North Korea continues to hold three other American citizens. Robertson said Pyongyang has a rights abusing history of seizing foreign nationals for political purposes, to influence public opinion or to extract concessions. The Kim Jong Un government also stands accused of ongoing atrocities comparable to those committed by Nazi Germany. These charges were made in a U.N. Commission of Inquiry report in 2014 that documented a network of political prisons in the country incarcerating nearly 120,000 men, women and children, as well as widespread and systematic abuses that include torture, enslavement, rape and murder. The U.N. General Assembly subsequently passed a resolution to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. But the measure has since been stalled in the Security Council, where the Norths allies, China and Russia, are believed to be preventing any further action on this measure. Ineffective sanctions At the North Korea business conference in Seoul, few would discuss Warmbiers treatment on the record. Journalists were also prohibited from recoding any of the sessions. Some participants said North Korean officials have severed business ties with individuals in the past who were quoted in perceived negative reports. Conference participants who have organized business missions to North Korea say sanctions have slowed but not stopped economic growth and outside investment continues, mostly from China. There are real but unacknowledged market reforms in this self-proclaimed socialist state that are driving modernization and technological progress, and the development of new domestic products from kimchi chips to solar powered vehicles. And while there is a wide gap between affluent Pyongyang and modest rural areas, cities like Wonson are also growing with new infrastructure projects and shops currently under construction. Many participants like Abrahamian believe more outreach rather than increased economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure is needed to persuade North Korea to live up to international norms on human rights, and to eventually give up its nuclear weapons program. However Pyongyangs continued provocative missile tests and its inhumane treatment of people like Warmbier make engagement difficult to justify. Its tricky right, because engagement is in the long term the only way I think to help and encourage the North Koreans to move in a positive direction, in terms of how they run their own society. But it does butt heads with the nuclear issue and with sanctions. Its a tricky time, he said. Youmi Kim contributed to this report. Fifth grade students at High Peaks Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado began exchanging letters several months ago with students at a primary school in Kenyas Dadaab refugee camp. They are participating in a pen pal program facilitated by the U.S.-based humanitarian group CARE. The students have also exchanged drawings and even challenged each other to a dance-off, sending each other recorded videos. You know, honestly, I tend to think that of all the math and science and language arts and everything we have done, this is probably the project that will stick with them longer than any other, and hopefully for life, said Zachary Fink, fifth grade teacher at High Peaks. Dadaab Primary School teacher Victor Ochieng Odera says that the letter writing project is providing a valuable cross-cultural exchange. "Most of the letters are telling that, we want to see you in the future, what do you want us to do for you, how can you help us in learning English, and can you help us in learning about different cultures? And others are saying that they want to learn Swahili and ours are saying, yes, come, we will teach you how to do it, said Odera. CARE started Letters of Hope last year. It has also helped middle school students in New York correspond with Afghan refugees in Greece and displaced families in Yemen, and elementary school students in Atlanta to exchange letters with South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Now too with the numbers of refugees and displaced people just continuing to go up every year, there also seems to be a sense of fear around the world and what we wanted to do with this project, this Letters of Hope project, is really connect people around the world, and show the common humanity that exists, and we think, what better way to do that than to connect children, said CARE emergency communications manager Holly Frew. A sentiment with which Fink agrees. "I hope the kids learned that regardless of what the situation is, that you can do something, that you can have a voice, he said. According to U.N. data as of May 2017, the total number of registered refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya is almost half-a-million people, with more than 246,000 of them living in Dadaab. U.S. troops are on the ground near Marawi City in the southern Philippines but are not involved in fighting Islamist militants who have held parts of the city for more than three weeks, a Philippines military spokesman said Wednesday. The Philippines military had previously said the United States was providing technical assistance to end the occupation of parts of Marawi City by fighters allied to the Islamic State group but had no boots on the ground. "There are some U.S. personnel who are operating equipment to provide information on situation awareness to our troops," Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said at a news conference. "I do not know the exact number and the specific mission. They are allowed to carry rifles for self-defense. But they are not allowed to fight; they only provide support," he said. It was not clear how close to the battle zone the U.S. troops were. They were from a contingent of Special Forces based in the southern city of Zamboanga, the Philippines military has said previously. The U.S. Embassy in Manila did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement similar to previous ones, the Pentagon said U.S. special operations forces were assisting the Philippines military in Marawi. Surveillance plane A U.S. official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was providing a P-3 surveillance plane as well as intelligence gathering from a drone. That drone, however, crashed Saturday after it lost communication links with its operator, the official said. On Wednesday, government forces attacked rebel positions in Marawi with bombs, tank fire and helicopter gunships, and plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the battered city. Some sniper shots could be heard. Fighting died down in the afternoon when heavy rain fell. It was the 23rd day of fighting in Marawi, and there was no sign that it would end anytime soon. "There will be no more deadlines," said Padilla, referring to a promise by the military to clear the city by June 12, the country's independence day. "It may take some time." In Washington, a security official who is familiar with the region said the battle in Marawi appeared to be locked in a stalemate. "At the very least, it is not at all clear that government forces are presently winning or even gaining significant ground," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Islamic State demonstrated significant determination and success in capturing and holding Mosul in Iraq, and their effort in Marawi is of a similar notable quality." High-rise buildings The seizure of Marawi has alarmed Southeast Asian nations which fear Islamic State, which is faltering in Iraq and Syria, is trying to set up a stronghold on Mindanao island that could threaten their region. Another Philippines military spokesman said troops had gained a significant advantage by taking control of eight high-rise buildings in the battle zone where the militants had set up snipers and machine-gun posts. "This is very important," Colonel Edgard Arevalo told reporters. "We are in the final stage of our operation in Marawi. But we have to be very careful with our actions because there are still civilians in the area, they still have hostages and there are still people trapped in the firefight." The military said 290 people had been killed, including 206 militants, 58 soldiers and 26 civilians. About 100 militants are in the besieged area, the military has said. There are also an estimated 300 to 600 civilians trapped or being held hostage in the city. Islamic State's news agency, Amaq, said its fighters controlled two-thirds of the city. Smaller estimate Responding to the report, Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez, head of military command in Western Mindanao, told Reuters the militants controlled 20 percent of the town. "The truth is probably somewhere in between," said the U.S. security official. The Philippines has been fighting twin insurgencies from Maoist-led rebels and Muslim separatists in the south for nearly 50 years. Critics say military action is not enough to bring peace to a region that has long suffered from political neglect and poverty. About 100 bodies of civilians and Islamic militants remain uncollected in the rubble of a southern Philippine city because of continuing fighting between troops and gunmen aligned with the Islamic State group, an official said Thursday. Provincial government crisis committee spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong said the estimate was based on accounts by residents who have escaped from areas of Marawi city that are still mired in clashes, and aid volunteers who entered a combat zone during a four-day lull in the fighting last week. Retrieval teams have been organized, although it remains unclear when the siege by the remaining militants, estimated to number more than 100, can be quelled by troops, Adiong said. The stench of death has been reported by witnesses in still-inaccessible areas since militants launched their attack on May 23. We need to expect the worst and to be ready to transition from a crisis mode to a recovery mode, Adiong told The Associated Press by telephone. The violence in the lakeside city has left 202 gunmen, 58 soldiers and policemen and 26 civilians dead, officials say. The most serious attack in Southeast Asia so far by IS-aligned militants has displaced most of the more than 200,000 residents of Marawi, the bastion of Islamic faith in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. Many of the militants reportedly killed in the clashes have not been recovered. While the remaining gunmen have been isolated in four areas, sporadic gunfire has been reported in other places. An Australian journalist was hit by a bullet in his neck on Thursday while covering the Marawi crisis. ABC journalist Adam Harvey, who was wearing a neck brace, told reporters he was fine as he walked out of a hospital. Harvey, ABC's Jakarta-based Southeast Asia correspondent, was hit at a provincial government compound in Marawi while interviewing children from families displaced by the fighting. The sprawling compound near an army brigade has served as a venue for daily news conferences by government and military officials and is regarded as a relatively safe area. Thanks everyone - I'm okay. Bullet is still in my neck, but it missed everything important, Harvey tweeted. Also Thursday, a suspected militant bomber was arrested in Cagayan de Oro City, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Marawi, according to police. More than 1,600 residents have been rescued from areas of heavy fighting in Marawi, many of them still shell-shocked and hungry and some wounded. Tales of love and heroism have emerged, including a group of trapped Muslim policemen who helped several Christian workers escape with them from the intense fighting. Villager Saipoding Mariga waited in tear for days to be allowed to rescue his wife, Geraldine, who was trapped in a heavily bombarded neighborhood, but was not allowed by troops because of the grave danger. Facing TV cameras, he pleaded to be allowed to enter the conflict zone to save his wife. Mariga eventually met his wife in a tearful reunion at Marawi's newly reopened Amai Pakpak hospital, where she was brought with a gunshot wound in her leg and shrapnel injuries on her body, the ABS-CBN TV network reported Thursday. What's important is you recognize me and we saw each other again, Mariga told his wounded wife at the hospital's emergency ward. A phone app is helping doctors have difficult conversations with patients about lowering doses of opioids. Primary care doctors prescribe nearly half the opioids dispensed in the U.S. They're increasingly being called upon to stem the flow of the highly addictive pills into medicine cabinets. That means writing lower-dose or shorter-term prescriptions for some patients, helping others taper off high doses and refusing opioids entirely to others. The shift enrages some patients. "People will blow up. We have to call security. They can get very mean," said Dr. Ashley Ruby, a Philadelphia family physician. U.S. public health officials developed an app to help doctors practice a technique called motivational interviewing. It's part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's opioid guidelines app, which also has a dosage calculator and a copy of the first national prescribing guidelines. The app, released in December, includes these tips for doctors: Ask open-ended questions. This increases the patient's involvement in the discussion and allows for more meaningful conversation. For example: "What are some of your goals as we manage your pain?" Reflect. Reflective listening helps the patient feel understood. For example: "It sounds like you miss being able to play with your grandchildren." Express empathy. "A lot of people are concerned about managing their pain if the amount of opioids is decreased." Evoke "change talk." "What would you like to see different about your life right now?" Develop discrepancies. Help patients see the difference between their current behavior and their goals. "You've told me that exercise helps you have more energy and reduces stiffness. Why do you think it's been hard for you to get more active?" Provide affirmation. "I am glad to see your endurance is improving with physical therapy. Keep it up!" In the app, doctors can try a hypothetical conversation with a virtual patient. Red messages (which indicate the doctor should "try again") or green messages (which indicate a correct response) pop up after the doctor picks what to say next. Eighteen people linked to an attack on protesters last month including bodyguards to Turkey's president face assault charges in Washington, D.C., city officials said Thursday. Four have been arrested; the remainder are at large. Watch: Police in Washington Seek Arrest of 16 More in Attack on Anti-Erdogan Protesters The announcement at a news conference by the city's mayor and police chief follows a nearly monthlong investigation in which police scrutinized video of protesters being kicked and hit near the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sitting in a car nearby when the incident occurred. However, the city's police chief said investigators had insufficient evidence to charge Erdogan in what he characterized as a "pretty brutal" attack. "We don't have any information to suggest that the president committed any crime," Peter Newsham, Washington, D.C.'s police chief, told VOA. WATCH: DC Mayor on arrests, charges The Turkish leader said Thursday that he will launch a "political" and "legal" fight over the arrest warrants, according to a report by CNN Turk. Nine people were injured in the skirmish. Two suspects were arrested May 16, the day of the incident. U.S. Marshals detained two more on June 14 one in Virginia and one in New Jersey. Twelve of the remaining suspects are Turkish citizens and have not been detained. Two more are Canadian, the D.C. police chief said. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters that police compared screen captures from video of the assaults to visa and passport photos to identify the suspects. "As Americans, the First Amendment grants us the right to assemble and protest peacefully, and here in D.C., we are committed to safeguarding and protecting that right," Bowser said. Washington police are leading the investigation, in cooperation with federal law enforcement and the U.S. State Department. Most of the suspects face both felony and misdemeanor assault charges. "If they attempt to enter the United States, they will be arrested," Newsham said. He repeatedly urged those with an outstanding warrant to turn themselves over to U.S. officials. "This is the type of offense that is extreme in nature. When you have folks that are peacefully protesting here in Washington, D.C., which is a place where we welcome peaceful protests, and they're attacked for no reason, we think it's extremely important," the police chief said. Protest turns violent No Turkish embassy staff were implicated in the scuffle, he added. The brawl took place outside the residence of Turkey's ambassador to Washington shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Erdogan at the White House. Video of the protest recorded by VOA's Turkish service shows what appear to be security guards and some Erdogan supporters attacking a small group of protesters. WATCH: VOA Turkish service video of the incident Men in dark suits and others were recorded repeatedly kicking one woman as she lay curled up on a sidewalk. Another wrenched a woman's neck and threw her to the ground. A man with a bullhorn was repeatedly kicked in the face. After police officers struggled to protect the protesters and ordered the attackers to retreat, several suspects dodged the officers and continued the attacks. The Turkish Embassy claimed without evidence that Erdogan's bodyguards were acting in "self-defense" during the incident, and that the protesters were affiliated with the PKK (left-wing Kurdistan Workers' Party). "In Washington, D.C., we do not care particularly what your views are, what you support, or what you do not support," Newsham told reporters Thursday, when asked about the demonstrators' affiliation. "Our role is to make sure you can do so safely." Some suspects have not been identified. Washington police plan to release images from the scene to help find out who the alleged attackers are. Last week, police in Mozambique warned bald men in the country to be vigilant, after at least two such men were killed for the use of their body parts in witchcraft rituals. According to local experts, widespread poverty is as much to blame for the killings as mystical belief. Sociologist Book Sambo, who lectures at Mozambique's Eduardo Mondlane University, said the attacks must be seen in a context where people are desperate to improve their lives, and willing to use "magic" in hopes of changing their luck. "This should not be seen as isolated from our social problems the low level of education, people with socio-economic difficulties ... the difficulty of getting a job," he said in an interview with VOA's Portuguese to Africa Service. Police issued their warning after arresting two suspects in connection with the deaths of two bald men in Zambezia province. One of the victims was decapitated and both were mutilated. According to police, the suspects said they killed the men so traditional healers critics call them witch doctors could use their organs for rituals that supposedly bring prosperity to the healers' clients. "Their motivations come from superstition and culture as the local community thinks bald men are rich and that their parts can be used to enrich others," said police spokesman Inacio Dina. Three other bald men were reportedly killed this month in the Morrumbala district of Zambezia, although police have yet to directly link those deaths to witchcraft. Healers association denies involvement The leader of an association of traditional healers, Fernando Mate, told VOA Portuguese that members of his organization do not kill bald men in order to perform rituals. But Mate said he could not guarantee others might take such action. "People take chances to gain some money," he said. Until recently, albinos were the primary group targeted by hunters hoping to profit from witchcraft or, more accurately, the widespread belief in it. A United Nations expert said last year that local activists had recorded more than 100 attacks on albinos in Mozambique since 2014, and that the real number was likely higher. People lacking pigment in their skin, eyes and hair are often attacked in Tanzania, Malawi and other African countries for the same reason. Groups such as Human Rights Watch have pressured governments in the region to crack down on crime rings and witch doctors believed to be behind the killings. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he does not believe his country and the United States are enemies and downplayed fresh sanctions levied against his country by the American lawmakers. During his annual nationwide call-in show Thursday, Putin said Russia and the United States had fought beside each other during two world wars and the Russian empire was key in securing U.S. independence. "I know the mood of our people, we do not believe America is our enemy. ... There is hysteria in the media and it affects the mood, but many people in Russia admire the achievements of the American people, and I hope relations will normalize, he said. New US sanctions Putins comments came a day after the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to strengthen sanctions against Russia as punishment for its campaign to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The new sanctions passed Wednesday target Russians involved in serious human rights abuses, supplying weapons to the Syrian government, carrying out malicious cyber activities and doing business with Russian intelligence and defense. Putin downplayed the effectiveness of the sanctions and blamed U.S. domestic issues as the reason for their imposition. "We have always lived under sanctions, Putin said. Whenever Russia grew stronger there would always be sanctions, throughout history. There is a U.S. bill to toughen sanctions, why? Nothing has changed, why are they talking about sanctions. It's evidence of domestic political problems in the U.S." Clinton's emails U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian hackers stole and released thousands of emails from a top Hillary Clinton campaign aide, though no evidence has been released linking Russians to the hacking, as Putin pointed out Thursday. [Former FBI Director James Comey] thinks there was Russias interference in the electoral process, but does not provide any proof again, Putin said. He then jokingly offered political asylum to embattled former FBI Director, who had been leading the investigation into Russian election meddling until he was fired last month by U.S. President Donald Trump. It sounds very strange when the head of the security services writes down a conversation with the commander-in-chief and then leaks it to the media through his friend, Putin said. Putin compared Comey to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has been given political asylum in Russia, and implied there was no difference between the actions of Snowden and those of Comey. That means he is not the leader of the security services, but a human rights defender. And if he faces pressure, then we are happy to offer him political asylum too, Putin said. The sanctions imposed by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states on Qatar have been a blessing for Mohammed Kuwari and his al-Rawa brand of yoghurt. With competing Saudi products off the shelves, his business is booming. Our sales doubled! There's lots of production as you can see and we have a big share in the market now, said the 30-year-old dairy factory owner. Previously he struggled to compete against products trucked in from Saudi firms like the Middle East's biggest dairy, Almarai. But last week Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain imposed an economic and diplomatic boycott on Qatar, accusing the small Gulf state of funding terrorism and cosying up to their enemy Iran, which Qatar denies. The measures have disrupted imports in Qatar, which buys most of its food from the neighbors that have ostracized it. Change in trading patterns? Qatar's own mostly small consumer businesses say they are finding new suppliers, which could alter established trading patterns in the Gulf. Plastic and cardboard that Kuwari's company uses to make packaging are stuck in containers in Dubai, he said. We were stunned at first. Our supply of raw materials was completely cut off, said Kuwari. But we took action. Kuwari says he will terminate contracts for raw materials from the Dubai-based conglomerate JRD international worth 30 million riyals ($8.21 million) a year. Instead he is forging deals with Turkish, Indian and Chinese companies to secure future supplies that will be shipped to Qatar via ports in Oman and Kuwait. Pulling plug on contracts Qatar typically imports perishable goods through its land link with Saudi Arabia. Millions of dollars of other goods and materials also come every month via Dubai's Jebel Ali port which serves as a major re-export hub for the Gulf. Businesses in Qatar say they are pulling the plug on UAE and Saudi contracts, and don't expect to resume them even if the diplomatic storm blows over. We are not working with them again. They didn't honor their agreements. Our products are being held up there, said Ahmed al-Khalaf, chairman of International Projects Development Co. and owner of a Qatari meat processing plant that imports materials from the UAE. We may not have many factories in Qatar but we have the money to buy from other sources. Richest country Qatar is the world's richest country per capita, with just 2.7 million residents and income from the world's biggest exports of liquefied natural gas. Nearly 90 percent of its population are foreign guest workers, mostly from South Asia or poorer countries in the Middle East. Dubai offers lower costs and shorter shipping times than many other ports in the Middle East. But Oman's Sohar port has been trying to compete by expanding its capacity. Business from Qatar could help that effort. On Monday, Qatar launched two new shipping services to Omani ports as the gas-rich country seeks to secure food supplies closed off by the Saudi-led boycott. U.S. President Donald Trump is being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for possible obstruction of justice, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified officials. Mueller is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Former FBI Director James Comey told Congress last week he believes he was fired by Trump to undermine the agency's Russia probe. The Washington Post, citing five people briefed on the requests who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, and Richard Ledgett, the former deputy director at the NSA, had agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's investigators as early as this week. The obstruction of justice investigation into Trump began days after Comey was fired on May 9, according to people familiar with the matter, the Post said. Trump's legal team quickly denounced the report on Wednesday. "The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal," a spokesman for Trump's legal team, Mark Corallo, said. A spokesman for Mueller's team declined to comment. Several legal experts told Reuters that Comey's testimony last week that Trump expected loyalty and told Comey he hoped he could drop an investigation of a former top aide could bolster obstruction of justice allegations against Trump. Comey would not say in his testimony last week whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice, but added it would be up to special counsel Mueller "to sort that out." After Comey's testimony, Trump said he had been vindicated because his former FBI director confirmed telling Trump on three occasions that he was not under investigation. While a sitting president is unlikely to face criminal prosecution, obstruction of justice could form the basis for impeachment. Any such step would face a steep hurdle as it would require approval by the U.S. House of Representatives, which is controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans. The special counsel investigating Russia's influence on last year's U.S. elections and possible links to the campaign of President Donald Trump has expanded to include looking at whether the president has obstructed justice. The revelation came late Wednesday in articles published by the Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal, based on accounts of people familiar with the investigation. The newspapers said special counsel Robert Mueller plans to interview Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers and former NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett. NSA deputy director's memo details Trump call According to the Post and Wall Street Journal reports, Ledgett wrote a memo describing a phone call Trump made to Coats in which the president asked Coats to publicly say his campaign did not collude with Russia. The Post further said Trump made a similar request in a phone call to Rogers. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's personal attorney said, "The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, criticized the Post story as an "unfounded accusation." "There's still no evidence of obstruction, and current and former leaders in the intelligence community have repeatedly said there's been no effort to impede the investigation in any way," she said in a statement. Comey's firing leads to Special Counsel appointment In May, Trump fired Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, saying "this Russia thing" was on his mind when he made the decision to oust the nation's top law enforcement official while Comey was leading the FBI's probe into Russia's meddling. About a week later, Mueller was appointed as special counsel to lead his own probe. Comey testified before a Senate panel last week that Trump spoke privately with him several times, including by telephone and at a meeting in Trump's office in the White House. Comey said he believed Trump was trying to get him to drop an investigation of the president's former national security adviser, and that White House officials spread "lies, plain and simple" to cover up the reason for his dismissal. "I know that I was fired because something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was putting pressure" on Trump, Comey testified. The president's personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, told reporters immediately after the Senate hearing that Trump "never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone." A Saudi-led coalition says rebels in Yemen have fired a missile at an Emirati ship, causing no damage but wounding one sailor. A statement early Thursday carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said rebels fired on the ship as it left Mokha, a strategic Red Sea port. Saudi-led forces began their war in Yemen in March 2015, battling Shiite rebels known as Houthis who hold the capital, Sanaa, with their allies. Emirati ships have been targeted before in the conflict. The attack Wednesday also comes after an international naval coalition said it would increase its patrols of waters off Yemen over concerns about attacks on ships there. The Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb off Yemen are two crucial areas for shippers transiting the Suez Canal. The Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday formally condemned the political movement known as the "alt-right'' during a national meeting in Phoenix, amid an uproar over the denomination's commitment to confronting prejudice. Leaders of the faith group had initially refused to take up a proposal that they repudiate the political group, which emerged dramatically during the U.S. presidential election and mixes racism, white nationalism and populism. Barrett Duke, a Southern Baptist leader who led a committee that decided which resolutions should be considered for votes, said the resolution as originally written contained inflammatory and broad language "potentially implicating" conservatives who do not support the "alt-right" movement. But that decision caused a backlash online and at the gathering in Phoenix from Southern Baptists and other Christians, especially African-American evangelicals. Thabiti Anyabwile, a black Southern Baptist pastor, had tweeted that "any 'church' that cannot denounce white supremacy without hesitancy and equivocation is a dead, Jesus denying assembly. No 2 ways about it." Change of plans Southern Baptist leaders responded late Tuesday night with a dramatic call for attendees to return to the assembly hall, then announced they would take up the proposal after all on Wednesday. The resolution as approved decries every form of racism, including what the denomination called "alt-right white supremacy,'' as antithetical to the Gospel. The turnabout was a highly unusual move for the denomination's tightly choreographed conventions, underscoring the sensitivity of the issue and the alarm among leaders that their initial rejection of the proposal would be viewed as an unwillingness to fight racism. The denomination has been striving to overcome its founding in the 19th century in defense of slaveholders. In encouraging the meeting to reconsider, Steve Gaines, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said he wanted to send the message that "we love everybody on this planet." The initial proposed resolution came from a prominent black Southern Baptist pastor, the Reverend Dwight McKissic, who had submitted the suggested statement to Duke's committee before this week's gathering. 'Social disease' When the proposal was not presented Tuesday, McKissic made a direct, unsuccessful plea for reconsideration from the floor of the Phoenix meeting. He called the "alt-right" a symptom of "social disease," "deceptive" and "antithetical to what we believe." His resolution condemned Christians who attempted to use biblical teachings to justify white supremacy. The Southern Baptist Convention, based in Nashville, has 15.2 million members and is the largest Protestant group in the country. Leaders have repeatedly condemned racism in formal resolutions from past meetings and built new relationships with black Baptists. Billy Levengood, 32, a convention attendee from Oxford, Pennsylvania, said before the vote that he would back the resolution, in part to help the denomination move beyond its origins. "We can't undo the slavery aspect, but we can do all we can to engage every person," Levengood said. "The Gospel is true for all of them." Ed Stetzer, a Southern Baptist speaker and executive director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College in Illinois, wrote in Wednesday's issue of the evangelical magazine Christianity Today that "Southern Baptists need to speak to this issue" and "get on the correct side of the rising tide of racism." Airstrikes carried out by a U.S.-led coalition have killed a "staggering" number of civilians in Raqqa, Syria, a United Nations investigator said Wednesday. With the help of coalition airstrikes, U.S.-backed ground forces entered the city, Islamic State's stronghold in Syria, last week. We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced, Paulo Pinheiro, the chairman of the U.N. commission of inquiry, told the human rights council in Geneva. Karen Abuzayd, an American commissioner on the independent panel, later said investigators had documented about 300 civilian deaths caused by the airstrikes since March of this year. Islamic State is known for killing civilians who attempt to flee their strongholds, and also for using civilians as human shields, which is a war crime. U.S.-backed Syrian forces stormed into Islamic State's de facto capital of Raqqa on Tuesday, triggering intense combat and signaling the start of what the U.S.-led coalition says will ultimately be the end of IS control in the besieged city. Raqqa was captured by IS in January 2014 and has since become the base for the group's hierarchy. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have advanced for months steadily southward toward Raqqa, clearing out IS along the way with the help of U.S. bombing efforts. Carrying suitcases, shopping bags and toddlers, thousands of refugees walked back home into Syria from Turkey on Thursday ahead of the Eid festival that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Turkey has taken in some 3 million Syrian migrants since the start of civil war in 2011, making it home to the world's largest refugee population. Now Ankara is giving Syrian refugees the right to return to Turkey within a month if they want to go home to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Some said they wanted to start again in their homeland, and would return within the month if it did not work out, while others said they wanted to return to Syria for good, citing the difficulty of finding employment in Turkey. "One day you can find a job, the other day you can't," said Sevsen Um Mustafa as she walked toward the border crossing with two daughters in tow. "Sometimes they make you work but they don't pay. Even if they do, it's not enough." "Even smelling the soil of Aleppo is better than here," said the former Aleppo resident. "I'd rather die there because of war than here because of starvation." The majority of Syrian refugees in Turkey live outside the government-built camps and struggle to make ends meet as the cost of food, rent and clothing usually exceeds their incomes. The government, which tightened its border security after a 2016 deal with the European Union to stem illegal migration, estimates it has spent some $25 billion on housing the refugees. Border crossing Authorities did not give any figures on how many Syrians have returned so far. A Reuters witness said at least 3,000 people crossed on foot through the dusty Cilvegozu border crossing into Syria during several hours on Thursday. Ankara introduced work permits for Syrians in 2016 but many, like 22-year-old Muhammed Ali, said opportunities are scarce. "Even if I worked for the whole month, I'd have 200-300 liras [$57-$85] left over after paying the rent," said Ali, who was heading back to his hometown of Afrin, in northwest Syria after four years of working as a textile laborer in Istanbul. "I had no rights of leave, no insurance. I was miserable." The offer to return applies to Syrian nationals with valid travel documents who cross through the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates, authorities said. The Eid al-Fitr holiday begins on June 25. Those who wish to return can do so until July 14. Anyone who comes back after that will be treated as new arrival and subject to the regular immigration process, a local official at the Hatay governor's office said. Facing criticism from Western allies that it was too slow to stop the flow jihadis from Syria, Turkey has fortified its 900 km (560 miles) border with fences, minefields, ditches and a wall. In August 2016 it launched a military campaign in Syria and drove Islamic State militants from its border. Authorities say thousands of Syrians have since returned to Syrian towns freed from Islamic State. Still, Turkey's biggest cities and border provinces still host hundreds of thousands of refugees. Images from Turkey's state-run broadcaster TRT also showed hundreds of refugees waiting near Oncupinar border crossing in the southeastern Turkish province of Kilis. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this week defended the administration's proposed budget cuts for U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid. He said the administration's foreign policy goals can be accomplished with prudent spending. Lawmakers questioned the wisdom of increasing military spending at the expense of aid, development and diplomacy. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports. U.S. President Donald Trump has taken to his favorite social media platform to assail reports that a special counsel is investigating whether he tried to obstruct justice. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice. That was the message Trump wrote sarcastically Thursday morning on his Twitter account. In a second tweet, Trump said, You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! At an off-camera briefing for reporters, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred questions about the presidents latest tweets to Trumps personal attorney. Legal peril The tweets potentially could put the president into deeper legal peril. Watch: Trump Lashes Out at Reports of Possible Obstruction of Justice Inquiry It looks grossly inappropriate for the president to be bad-mouthing a special counsel investigation looking into his actions and that was created by his own deputy attorney general, said Bradley Moss, a lawyer specializing in litigation relating to national security, federal employment and security clearance law. Special Counsel Robert Mueller likely will be archiving these various Twitter rants as supplemental evidence for the obstruction investigation, Moss, who also is deputy executive director of the James Madison Project, told VOA. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trumps personal attorney Marc Kasowitz, reacting to the news stories that prompted the Trump tweets, blamed the FBI for leaking information regarding the president, which he called outrageous, inexcusable and illegal. Several news reports said Mueller plans to interview key U.S. national security officials about Trumps comments seeking an end to the investigation of contacts his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had with Russias ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak. Based on accounts of people familiar with the investigation, the reports say Mueller plans to interview Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Michael Rogers and former NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett. The reports say one focus of Muellers investigation is presidential conversations with Coats and Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo in late March, in which Trump reportedly asked them to intervene with then-FBI Director James Comey to ask him to halt his probe of Flynn. A day or two later, Trump reportedly called Coats and Rogers to ask them to publicly deny the existence of any evidence that Trump aides had illegally colluded with Russian officials to help Trump win the election. According to the news accounts, neither Coats nor Rogers complied with Trumps requests. It was not known whether Ledgett talked with Trump, but he wrote an internal NSA document recounting Trumps request to Rogers. Coats and Rogers told a Senate panel a week ago they did not feel pressured by Trump to intervene in the case, but declined to say what Trump asked them to do. The Washington Post is reporting that officials say Mueller also is investigating the finances and business deals of Trumps son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner. Previous Post articles spoke of Kushners meetings with the head of a Russian state-owned development bank. Kushners lawyers say he will cooperate with investigators. The former director of the Department of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, is scheduled to appear June 21 in an open session before the House of Representatives intelligence committee, which is looking into Russian activity during the 2016 U.S. election campaign. The Senate Intelligence Committee has interviewed Johnson about the matter. The president fired Flynn in February, after just 24 days on the job, when he learned that the former Marine lieutenant general lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Kislyak. Trump fired Comey last month, saying this Russia thing was on his mind when he made the decision to oust the nations top law enforcement official while Comey was leading the FBIs probe into Russias meddling. About a week later, Mueller, a former FBI director, was appointed, over Trumps opposition, as special counsel to lead the criminal probe. The White House confirmed Thursday that Mueller was interviewed, presumably about again running the FBI, the day before he was named as special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in last years presidential election. News accounts this week said Trump was considering firing Mueller from his special counsel role, but the White House eventually said he does not plan to. Watch: Comey Wrote Memos Because Trump Might Lie About The Nature of Our Meeting Comey testified before a Senate panel last week that Trump spoke privately with him several times, including by telephone and at White House meetings. Comey said he believed Trump was trying to get him to drop an investigation of the presidents former national security adviser, and that White House officials spread lies, plain and simple to cover up the reason for his dismissal. As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to undo parts of a historic U.S.-Cuba agreement to re-engage after more than 50 years. He said the 2014 deal forged by Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro was "one-sided," favoring the communist government. Now that he occupies the White House, Trump is expected to set new demands for Havana likely on a visit to Miami planned for Friday. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson indicated Tuesday that the Trump administration plans to restore "pressure on the regime" by tightening some of the trade and travel loosened under Obama. Watch: Trump Expected to Tighten US Cuba Policy Speaking at a Senate hearing on his departments proposed budget, Tillerson said "the general approach is to allow as much of this continued commercial and engagement activity to go on as possible." Tillerson noted benefits to Cubas 11 million residents, with some capitalizing on U.S. business investments and a tripling of U.S. visitors to the island last year. That came after the United States in 2015 removed Cuba from the list of terrorist sponsors, reopened its embassy in Havana, and eased restrictions on trade and travel. Nonetheless, Tillerson said, "We think we have achieved very little in terms of changing the behavior of the regime in Cuba and its treatment of people, and it has little incentive today to change that." Likely revisions could include prohibiting American companies from doing business with Cuban enterprises linked to the military which controls much of the communist-run islands economy and restricting Americans travel to Cuba, sources familiar with the policy review said. The administrations demands for Havana also could include broader internet access and the release of prisoners, the Associated Press reported. Obama relaxed the Cuban economic embargo through executive orders, which Trump can easily reverse. Only Congress can formally rescind the embargo enacted in 1962. Pushing tougher conditions Two Cuban-American Republican lawmakers from Florida home to a large Cuban-American exile community are pressing for harsher terms with Havana: Senator Marco Rubio serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 election; Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart serves on the House Appropriations Committee. Both are expected to join the president in Miami for his announcement. "Weve been walking through all these issues with the president and his team," Rubio told El Nuevo Herald in April. " I am confident that President Trump will treat Cuba like the dictatorship it is and that our policy going forward will reflect the fact that it is not in the national interest of the United States for us to be doing business with the Cuban military." Diaz-Balart told VOA earlier this month that he has had "several conversations" with the president, who "wants to enforce respect for human rights, the security of the country and certainly also the rule of law." The congressman purportedly backed House Republicans legislation on health care in March in exchange for Trumps tougher stance on Cuba, The New York Times and other news media have reported. The congressmans office did not respond to VOAs phone and email requests for comment. Bipartisan support U.S. Senator Bob Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he understood arguments for and against stronger ties with Cuba. Interviewed last week by VOA, he described himself as "someone who would like to see progress there." Corker mentioned a visit last year to the island, where "about 25 percent of the country now is engaged in some kind of private-sector activity, which is certainly growth." He also acknowledged frustration with Cuban officials hed met: "If they would just be willing to show some evolution, you know, a momentum could be gained. But its almost as if because America wants them to go in that direction, theyre going to defy." Most Republicans endorse Cuba trade and travel, which has strong bipartisan support in Congress and with the public overall. Last week, seven GOP lawmakers wrote a letter to the president, warning that restrictions would "further incentivize Cuba to depend on countries like Russia and China," Reuters news service reported. A new poll conducted on behalf of Engage Cuba, a nonpartisan coalition favoring broader commercial and diplomatic relations with the island, showed almost 64 percent of Republicans want to continue the rapprochement with Cuba. Earlier this month, Engage Cuba released a study estimating that rolling back trade and travel measures could cost the United States more than $6 billion and would eliminate 12,000 jobs in Trumps first term. U.S. airlines, Airbnb and other travel-related interests also have urged the Trump administration government not to reverse the new openness. Tech giant Google joined the chorus on Monday, with Google Cuba official Brett Perlmutter publicly appealing to maintain a U.S. policy "that allows telecommunications firms [to] work in Cuba," the Associated Press reported. Google servers went online in Cuba in April, enabling quicker and potentially cheaper communication. International Telecommunication Union data show that just 37 percent of Cubans routinely used the internet as of 2015 but that the user base was growing rapidly. Dissidents discuss human rights The biggest sticking point is Cubas poor record on human rights. The international watchdog group Human Rights Watch, in its most recent annual update, said, "The Cuban government continues to repress dissent and punish public criticism," using beatings and job termination to try to silence its critics. Dissidents in Cuba have differing views on the renewed ties impact. Rapprochement has brought the island "an increase of repression, of death threats to the opposition and to the Cuban people," psychologist and journalist Guillermo Farinas said he told Obama in the second of their two meetings. Farinas, who has conducted more than 20 hunger strikes to protest the regimes actions, told VOA that "negotiating with the Cuban government and asking them nothing in return was a mistake." "Alleged improvements, like the implementation of Wi-Fi zones on the island, have only served to enrich the monopoly the military has over the countrys economy," Farinas added. He said the state-owned telecommunications company ETECSA controls "all communications inside and outside the country" and is run by the military. Reinaldo Escobar, editor of the independent digital news outlet 14ymedio, told VOA more openness is "very positive for Cuba," because it improves contact between Cubans and their relatives and friends in the U.S., and because it reduces diplomatic "threats, retaliation and misunderstandings." But he said economic benefits "havent really reached" most Cubans. VOA Spanish Branch reporter Gioconda Tapia Reynolds,Gesell Tobias, Jesenia DeMoya-C., Capitol Hill corresondent Michael Bowman, and reporter Carol Guensburg contributed to this report. The Trump administration on Wednesday moved to amend the starting date of its proposed 90-day travel ban on people entering the United States from six Muslim-majority countries in a bid to keep its legal battle alive. The amendment appears intended to avoid the administration's legal case at the U.S. Supreme Court becoming moot on grounds that parts of the executive order have expired. Challengers to the ban have said in court papers that it should expire on Wednesday, 90 days after the executive order was due to take effect on March 16. A memo issued by the White House, as the Supreme Court considered two challenges to the ban, said parts of the order put on hold would not expire before they can go into effect, and the start date would be when court injunctions were lifted. The move is part of administration efforts to have the high court rule that the controversial ban should immediately go into effect after Trump's first attempts to impose travel restrictions were blocked by lower courts. Lawsuits by Hawaii and Maryland challengers argued the order violated federal immigration law and a section of the Constitution's First Amendment, which prohibits the government favoring or disfavoring any particular religion. The Trump administration has said it is needed to protect national security. Soon after the memo was issued, Acting Solicitor General Jeff Wall filed court papers saying that it resolved "any doubt" about the effective date of the order. If the case was moot, the nine justices would have no reason to rule on it and lower court rulings against the administration would remain in place. The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the Trump administration more time to file papers responding to an appeals court ruling on Monday that upheld a block on the travel ban. The court's action likely delayed any decision on administration requests for the ban to go into effect until at least next week. Federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii blocked Trump's 90-day ban on travelers from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The Hawaii judge also blocked a 120-day ban on refugees entering the United States. The 9th Circuit largely upheld the Hawaii injunction on Monday. In the second case, the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, on May 25 upheld the Maryland judge's ruling. President Donald Trump visited the Supreme Court on Thursday for the first time since taking office to attend a ceremony for Neil Gorsuch, the justice he appointed, as the court mulls what to do with his blocked ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. The president and first lady Melania Trump were present in the marble-clad courthouse for an investiture ceremony formally welcoming Gorsuch to the top U.S. court. Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as a justice in April and authored his first ruling last week in a debt-collection case. Trump sat near the front of the ornate, burgundy-draped courtroom as Chief Justice John Roberts offered him and the first lady a "warm welcome" in opening remarks. The president sat quietly as Roberts administered the judicial oath to Gorsuch and joined the crowd in applauding Gorsuch, smiling broadly. In appointing Gorsuch, Trump restored the court's 5-4 conservative majority. Trump did not speak at the event. Other notable figures at the ceremony included several members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and attorneys general during George W. Bush's presidency, including John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales. Also attending was Kenneth Starr, the former independent counsel who investigated Bill Clinton during his presidency. A special counsel examining whether Trump's presidential campaign team colluded with Russia in the 2016 election is now investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice. Trump's travel ban is now before the justices after being blocked by lower courts. In deciding whether to allow the travel ban to go into effect, the justices are set to weigh whether Trump's election campaign rhetoric can be used as evidence that the March 6 order was intended to discriminate against Muslims in violation of the Constitution. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." The court is currently considering an emergency request from Trump's administration seeking to put the travel ban into effect while litigation continues. Federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii blocked Trump's 90-day ban on travelers from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The Hawaii judge also blocked a 120-day ban on refugees entering the United States. The injunctions blocking the ban were upheld on appeal. Trump was able to make the appointment of Gorsuch only because the Republican-led Senate last year refused to consider former President Barack Obama's nominee to the court, Merrick Garland. Turkey's main opposition party has started a 400-km (250-mile) march from the capital to an Istanbul prison to protest the imprisonment of one of its lawmakers. The leader of the pro-secular Republican People's Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said Thursday he is seeking justice. He called the march after parliamentarian Enis Berberoglu was convicted to 25 years in prison for revealing state secrets. With thousands gathered in protest, Kilicdaroglu said: Everyone needs to defend the independence of the judiciary and justice in this country. The guilty verdict for Berberoglu is part of a case that stems from a 2015 story by the Cumhuriyet newspaper suggesting Turkey's intelligence service had smuggled weapons to Islamist rebels in Syria. A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a crowded Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Afghanistan's capital late Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding many others. Islamic State, through its global mouthpiece the Amal News Agency, claimed responsibility for the bombing. Witnesses at Kabul's Al Zahra mosque reported that police guards identified and tried to intercept the bomber, but he opened fire at them and forced his way into the worship place. Relatives and friends confirmed that a prominent trader and leader of the minority Hazara community, Ramzan Hussainzada, was among the dead. An Afghan Interior ministry spokesman condemned the blast as a "terrorist attack." It occurred when all mosques around the city were crowded as Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan. Kabul's Shi'ite community has been the target of suicide attacks in the past, including an attack on a mosque in November that killed more than 30 people. A Taliban spokesman denied its involvement, saying the insurgents do not attack mosques. Loyalists of Islamic State have taken credit for some of the recent terrorist attacks in Kabul. Authorities evacuated a terminal at the Port of Charleston in South Carolina to investigate a potential threat in a container ship, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The all-clear was sounded a few hours later after four containers were cleared by authorities. Maersk Line, the worlds biggest container shipping company, said in a statement Thursday the U.S. Coast Guard had informed it of a threat of a dirty bomb aboard one of its vessels, the Memphis. It said all crew members were safe and ashore. Coast Guard officials described the threat as a possible dirty bomb on the Maersk Memphis ship docked in the Wando Terminal, where hazardous materials crews and rescue workers were seen working, an NBC affiliate in South Carolina reported. The Coast Guard said the threat was active and ongoing, via Twitter at 2 a.m., but an hour later tweeted that four containers had been scanned and cleared and that the Unified Command determined there was no threat to the port. The U.S. Coast Guard said authorities were made aware of the potential threat in a container aboard the vessel about 8 p.m. Wednesday (midnight GMT) and the terminal had been evacuated. The source of the threat in the port has been detained, the Coast Guard said via Twitter. The Maersk Memphis, a 300-meter vessel, was in New York before arriving in South Carolina about 7:30 p.m, according to Reuters data. The U.S. Senate voted 98-2 Thursday to approve sweeping sanctions against Russia and make it harder for President Donald Trump to ease punitive measures against Moscow. We have no time to waste, said Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. The United States of America needs to send a strong message to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and any other aggressor that we will not tolerate attacks on our democracy. We must not allow this kind of interference in our elections become a normal process, said Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Adopted overwhelmingly as an amendment to an Iran sanctions bill, the measure targets Russias cyber espionage entities, energy sector, financial interests, and the flow of Russian weaponry to war zones like Syria. It expands the list of where sanctions can apply to the energy projects and foreign financial institutions, said Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It provides for actors undermining cyber security being subject to sanctions. It provides sanctions against suppliers of Russian arms to Syria. Its comprehensive. The measure also asserts a role for Congress if the White House opts to ease any sanctions against Moscow. The president cant remove a sanction until hes given Congress notice and an opportunity to review, Cardin said. We can have congressional hearings, we can put a spotlight on it. And then we have an expedited process where we could reject the presidents decision to give relief. And all during that process, the sanctions remain in place. The Trump administration reportedly is weighing the return of Russian compounds on U.S. soil seized by the Obama administration, and the president has repeatedly expressed a desire for better relations with Moscow while downplaying the impact of Russias cyber activities. Its particularly significant that a bipartisan coalition is seeking to reestablish Congress, not the president, as the final arbiter of sanctions relief, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat. McCain described existing punitive measures against Russia as modest and reversible at the discretion of the president. We must take our own side in this fight, not as Republicans, not as Democrats, but as Americans, McCain said. The White House has not said if Trump would sign or veto the legislation, which would have to be passed by the House of Representatives before it could go to the presidents desk. Testifying this week on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged the need to take action against Russia but warned against measures that would cut off dialogue with Moscow. We would ask for the flexibility to turn the heat up when we need to, but also to ensure that we have the ability to maintain a constructive dialogue, Tillerson said. The underlying bill imposed new sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program and support for international terrorism. Lawmakers of both parties stressed the measures in no way target Irans nuclear program or the landmark international nuclear accord with Tehran. We see destabilizing act after destabilizing act [by Iran], from missile launches to arms transfers to terrorist training to illicit financial activities to targeting Navy ships and detaining American citizens, said the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee. Its past time for us to take steps to protect the interests of the United States and our allies. This bill is the first time Congress has come together since the JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal, to do just that, Corker added. This bill will impose sanctions on Iran for its non-nuclear violations, Cardin said. The debate we have here is on the non-nuclear activities of Iran that violate international norms and international agreements. Vice President Mike Pence is urging Central American nations to help stop "illegal and dangerous migration," defeat gangs and transnational drug cartels, and end corruption. "This must end," said Pence on Thursday, "and this will end." Pence plans to travel to Central and South America later this year as part of continuing U.S. outreach to the region. "Be assured, the United States is proud of our strong partnership with nations in the Northern Triangle. We are committed to strengthening that partnership so that we can continue to address the significant problems facing our neighborhood," Pence added. Watch: US Hopes for 'Shared Partnership' With Central America to Halt Illegal Immigration Top U.S. officials said what happens in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala directly affects the security and economic interests of the U.S. and other countries in the region. "In order to boost economic prosperity, it is imperative that we work together to strengthen the formal economy and diminish the economic drivers of illegal migration and other illicit activities," said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The top U.S. diplomat reaffirmed Washington's pledge to the region, despite a 2018 budget that proposes a significant cut in aid to those countries. "This is no way an indication that somehow our interest is diminished in the region," said Tillerson, adding that even with the cut, "there is substantial money in the budget to continue our commitment" to support our joint security and law enforcement. "A convulsing Central America, faced with a lack of opportunities and with violence, is a power risk for the United States, Mexico and the region," said Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Cabinet members from President Donald Trump's administration, senior officials from Mexico, presidents from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, along with senior delegates from Latin America gathered in Miami for the Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America. The conference is seen as the result of the close work done by the U.S. and Mexico in recent months. But critics warned that both countries are turning a "blind eye" to the root cause of Central America's humanitarian crisis. "Given the extraordinarily high violence at the root of the problem, there should be attention to the emergency needs of people forced from their homes," said Jason Cone, Doctors Without Borders USA Executive Director. Every year, it is estimated that 500,000 people flee the Northern Triangle nations. The high level of violence in the Northern Triangle ranks alongside the world's deadliest war zones and is the main driver of migration from this region, according to Doctors Without Borders. A three-pronged approach is recommended by some experts to address the root cause, with a focus on sustainable economic development, strengthening the rule of law and improving security. "Our approach should focus on a shared partnership," said Jason Marczak, who heads the Atlantic Council's Latin America Economic Growth Initiative. "One of the big challenges that we see in the Northern Triangle is a fact that the judiciaries are weak, impunity rates are incredibly high, cases are not prosecuted," said Marczak, adding that the rampant corruption has a negative impact on people's trust in government and foreign businesses eyeing investment in the region. Some analysts cautioned the Trump administration not to make a further shift in policy, from aid-based efforts to a more military-focused approach. The conference comes at a time when the Trump administration has proposed a significant cut more than 30 percent in U.S. assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, raising questions about how Washington can accomplish an ambitious agenda in Central America. "With a reduced foreign assistance budget, it is clear the U.S. is putting a greater emphasis on private-sector actors in spurring economic development," the Center for Economic and Policy Research's Jake Johnston told VOA on Thursday. "Just as much of this conference will be held behind closed doors, so too is U.S. assistance to Central America incredibly opaque," he added. On Friday, the conference moves to the U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Florida, where U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security John Kelly, who previously served as SOUTHCOM commander, will host talks on regional security. "While the United States is indeed the magnet that feeds drug smuggling through Central and South America, it is mostly our friends in Mexico and to the south that feel the brunt of the violence and the crime," Kelly said last month. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Wednesday called for the arrest and surrender of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who is wanted on war crimes charges for allegedly suppressing opposition to the rule of his father, former Libya ruler Moammar Gadhafi. On Sunday, Saif al-Islam's lawyer said his client had been released under an amnesty law passed by parliament from prison in the eastern Libyan town of Zintan, where he had been held since 2011. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement that her office was trying to verify Gaddafi's release. "I call on Libya and all other States, if in a position to do so, to immediately arrest and surrender Mr. Gadhafi to the ICC," she said. Saif, whose whereabouts are not known, was last seen by an independent international observer in June 2014. Saif, 44, is the most prominent of the late leader's children, and was touted by some as a reformist successor before the uprising six years ago in which Moammar Gadhafi was toppled and killed. On Sunday, Saif's lawyer Zaidi told Reuters Saif could play an important part in national reconciliation efforts and he would not be turning himself in to the ICC in The Hague. Libya slid into turmoil after Moammar Gadhafi's overthrow, with rival governments and armed alliances competing for power. A U.N.-backed government in Tripoli has struggled to impose its authority and has been rejected by factions in the east. A Tripoli court sentenced Saif to death in absentia in 2015 for war crimes, including killing protesters during the revolution. A statement posted by the attorney general's office in Tripoli on Sunday said he was still wanted under that conviction. The ICC has said that trial did not meet international standards. Zintan, about 145 km (90 miles) southwest of Tripoli, has its own divisions but has been broadly aligned with the government and armed forces based in eastern Libya. Zambia's parliament has suspended 48 opposition lawmakers for boycotting a speech by President Edgar Lungu earlier this year, a sign of mounting tensions as the jailed opposition leader awaits trial on a treason charge. For the next 30 days, the 48 opposition lawmakers will not be allowed to attend parliamentary sessions. The move will effectively kneecap many parliamentary committees, which will no longer form a quorum since 48 of the nation's 166 lawmakers will be out of commission. And politically, it will only further deepen the widening chasm between the increasingly entrenched ruling party and an increasingly angry opposition. MPs banned On Tuesday, Parliament speaker Patrick Matibini said the 48 members all of them from the largest opposition party had committed "gross misconduct" by boycotting the president's speech before parliament in March. Opposition spokesman Charles Kakoma disagrees. He says Zambian lawmakers have frequently expressed their dissatisfaction by using similar tactics with no consequences. "Under our constitution, the members of parliament enjoy freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and that expression includes remaining silent, or indeed walking out, or deciding not to attend the parliament as a way of protest," he told VOA. "So they are within their constitutional rights to do so." Trouble brewing This latest protest comes in the middle of an ever-deepening political standoff that has been brewing for months. The trouble dates back to last year's election, in which opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema challenged Lungu at the polls, and then challenged the legitimacy of Lungu's win. In April, Lungu's motorcade crossed paths with Hichilema's convoy on a country road in western Zambia. Hichilema's drivers refused to give way on the narrow road, prompting police to later raid Hichilema's home, arrest him and charge him with treason. Hichilema, who leads the United Party for National Development, has been jailed for more than six weeks now over charges that rights groups say are politically motivated. His court appearances have been slow and often delayed, leading his supporters to cry foul. He remains in a high-security facility, Kakoma says, among convicted criminals who are awaiting the death sentence. "I visited him yesterday and it is terrible," he told VOA. "The conditions in which he is being kept are dehumanizing, they are below standard for any human being to be kept there." 'Slipping towards dictatorship' Kakoma said the party is still planning how to react to the MPs suspension, and likely will challenge it in in court. Ten members of the United Party for National Development were not suspended, as their absences had been excused in advance of the speech. On Wednesday, Zambia's Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement that the nation which had been proud of its long and peaceful history "is slipping towards dictatorship." Rights groups like Amnesty International also have condemned recent events in Zambia, but representatives said Wednesday they were still researching the legality of the lawmakers' suspension. It could happen to any of us: accidentally grabbing the wrong laptop off the security conveyor belt at the airport. For the hero of Joseph Finders propulsive novel The Switch, this innocent mishap puts him in the middle of a dangerous scenario involving lies, leaks and threats to our liberties. Sound familiar? The Switch, by Joseph Finder (Dutton) Michael Tanner, the owner of a specialty coffee company in Boston, is on his way home from a business trip when he ends up with an unsecured laptop belonging to someone named S. Robbins. Thats Susan Robbins of Illinois, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The computer contains top-secret documents about an enhanced surveillance program that would make personal privacy a thing of the past. (Finder has said that Hillary Clintons private server problems inspired this story, as did WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden and the surveillance-saturated post-9/11 world.) Tanner has every intention of returning the laptop, but when he gets a call from someone claiming to be Sam Robbins, the laptops owner, Tanner intuits theres something funky going on. When a reporter that he turns to for advice turns up dead, Tanner has every reason to be paranoid. [Don Winslows The Force is ready-made for Hollywood] Several of the characters here feel ripped from the headlines or House of Cards. Robbins, for one, embodies every sleazy trait fairly or unfairly attributed to our elected representatives. She is more concerned for her own neck then the stolen documents. If this guy . . . this Tanner fellow . . . got into my laptop and tells, you know, CNN what he found . . . well, its a shark in the water, she types on her BlackBerry. Its all her smarmy chief of staff, Will Abbott, needs to hear hes a lot like Frank Underwoods creepy dogsbody Doug Stamper. The dangerously ambitious Abbott, too, feeds the myth of the D.C. swamp monster. Preserving his felonious bosss reputation is his lifes work. Shed be the senator who stole classified information and put it on a laptop and lost it. She would be accused of mishandling classified information what if the Russians got it? or the Chinese? but worse, shed be ridiculed. Her career would be over, he worries. All this because Robbins was too lazy to read the documents in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) as required by law. Abbott sends a mob-linked thug to Boston to retrieve the laptop, but Tanners lizard-sense kicks in and he does what he needs to survive. Soon, the National Security Agency is trying to locate the off-the-grid Tanner, as are the Russians who want to turn over the documents to WikiLeaks. The author Joseph Finder (Joel W. Benjamin) Finders innocent-man-on-the run tale is the literary equivalent of a popcorn movie. It sometimes feels over-the-top crazy, but it hits the mark regarding life in the 21st century. An attorney Tanner wants to hire reminds him that the United States is a surveillance state. Dont tell me youre disillusioned now. This is the way it is. This is the way the world works now. Thriller writers face enormous challenges in our political climate. News stories about corruption, conspiracies and back channels rattle our nerves daily. How do writers top the shock and awe of the Comey hearings and the Russia scandal without challenging the readers suspension of disbelief? Or do readers prefer escapist fiction with no links to the real world? Finder, whose books include The Fixer and Killer Instinct, strikes the right tone. By the end of The Switch we all buy into the premise that Michael Tanner embodies all of us, and everyone is being watched. If you feel the urge to place black tape over the camera lens on your computer, dont fight it. I did that years ago. Carol Memmott is a freelance writer living in Northern Virginia. Hedwig (Euan Morton) in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which is about a rocker in drag who was born a boy but, because of a botched operation, has been cast into gender limbo. (Joan Marcus) John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask were just starting to figure out who Hedwig Schmidt was back in 1997, when, in a clubby little space in the West Village, I had the first of many encounters with Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Twenty years on, Im amazed at how audiences are still discovering her, still seeing the boldness and freshness in one of the most outrageous characters ever to headline in musical theater. Its a longevity no one could have predicted, certainly not Mitchell and Trask, the book writer/original star and the composer of the intellectually ambitious punk-rock musical that introduced the world to a brooding, internationally ignored song stylist doomed to fame and fortunes discard folder. Hedwig, now ensconced at the Kennedy Center, featuring Euan Morton in the title role, tells the story of an emigre glam rocker in drag, born a boy in then-East Berlin but by virtue of a botched sex-change operation has been cast into a kind of gender limbo (giving special meaning to the title of the band that backs her up, the Angry Inch). Since its off-Broadway debut in 1998, the irreverent concert-style show has been produced countless times around the world: In Seoul, a production has been running for 12 years. But not until it finally reached Broadway in 2014, in a version that won four Tony awards, including one for its star, Neil Patrick Harris, did Hedwig provide any serious financial return to its creators a sign of how precarious and marginally profitable sitting out on the cutting edge can be. There was never any real money in it until Broadway, Mitchell says by phone from Los Angeles, where hes in the midst of meetings, pitching a musical-themed project for television. Stephen and I were never fully accepted when it first came out. There was a kind of uptown disdain for it. Even the film [released in 2001, with Mitchell as Hedwig, and Miriam Shor, reprising her role as sidekick Yitzhak] was a flop at first. Like the character, we had to claw our way to respectability. The long road to respectability could actually be considered a badge of integrity for this funny, salacious, shabby-chic 90-minute show, embroidered by Trasks heart-melting Top-40 pop ballads (Wig in a Box, Wicked Little Town, Midnight Radio) and acid-rock numbers (Angry Inch). That awkward climb is an indication, too, of just how ahead of its time Hedwig was. Before some of the complexities of gender identity became a fascination for the media, or the fight for the rights of transgender people and others on the fringe began to be taken seriously by the political mainstream, there was Hedwig. The show came into being as a satire of popular culture and a poignant contemplation of the human need to define ones place in the world. Riffing on a Platonic notion of self, the musical revealed how anguishing the quest for self could be, exposing us through song and metaphor to all the contradictions in Hedwigs tormented psyche. A connection is drawn, for example, between the ambiguities in Hedwigs sexual identity and the partition of the country of his/her birth. The musical suggests that the coexistence of communist East Germany, where Hedwig was born to a German woman and an American G.I., and democratic West Germany, is a link to unraveling another mystery: the metaphysical tie between Hedwig and a young rocker shes mentored, Tommy Gnosis, whos unseen in the stage version and who has found the fame and acclaim that embittered Hedwig never does. I was learning from the gender-bending queens of the club [scene], just watching in awe and wondering why they werent stars, Mitchell says, describing the inspiration for the character he wrote for himself. It intrigued him, how drag performers remained so marginalized in New York when in other countries Britain, Australia, Japan cross-gender performance is an ancient tradition. Here, he adds, they were sort of third-class citizens. Their lives were already punk rock. Trask, whos now based in Lexington, Ky., and regularly composes movie scores (The Savages, Little Fockers,), says the re-injection of Hedwig into the culture, first via Broadway and then the national tour that ends at the Kennedy Center, occurred after he and Mitchell performed together in 2007 in Seoul, for a concert that reunited 10 actors who played Hedwig there. We had such a good time, we felt reconnected, Trask says, in an interview in a studio in Manhattan hes using to work on his latest project, a musical about the Studio 54 nightlife culture of the late 1970s and early 80s called This Aint No Disco, that is to be produced by New Yorks Atlantic Theater Company. The composer had the idea of recruiting Harris for a revival of Hedwig. My first harassing email was in 2008 or 09, he says, adding that he later told the actor, known mostly for his television work, If this role was written for anyone but John, it was written for you. Although it would take half a decade for the Broadway incarnation to come into being, under the direction of Michael Mayer, the material held up and still felt a little dangerous. It was Neil bringing his star power and ambassadorship, telling people it wasnt going to scare them, Mitchell says. You get the firm feeling, recalling the electric impression Mitchell himself made in the role, how influential Hedwig truly has been. The show helped give license to composers and librettists to bring to center stage all manner of rebels and iconoclasts and oddballs and damaged types, from the sexually repressed teenagers of Steven Sater and Duncan Sheiks Spring Awakening (2006) to the mentally ill mom of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkeys Next to Normal (2008) to the anxiety-ridden antihero of Dear Evan Hansen (2016). Everyone I care about, I met because of it, Mitchell says. It even allowed me to pay for my moms Alzheimers care. All triggered by a desire he and Trask had, to take a flamboyant character wherever she needed to go. I just thought, Mitchell recalls, Damn, a musical can be anything. Rahsaan Williams, 38, is not afraid to talk about his biological clock. (D.A. Peterson/For The Washington Post) After his goddaughter was born, he realized he was ready to be a dad, only he hasnt met the right woman yet. (Sound familiar?) (D.A. Peterson/For The Washington Post) When Rahsaan Williams was buying his last car four years ago, he asked a lot of questions at the dealership about whether each model he looked at was kid-friendly. How easily could a car seat be installed? Were the seat belts adjustable so they wouldnt choke a child once she was big enough to ride without a car seat? I think that they assumed there was a baby on the way, Williams, who works for the federal government, told me recently. He doesnt have kids, but he does have a goddaughter, Anabel, with whom he spends a lot of time. (Hence all the car seat questions.) He also wants children of his own. At age 38, he thought hed be a father by now, or at least heading in that direction with a wife or girlfriend. Instead, he finds himself single with a growing sense that time is running out to have a child with someone. His eagerness to be a dad began as a low hum nearly a decade ago, when Anabel whose mother is a close childhood friend was a newborn, curled into a ball and asleep against his chest. It grew stronger about a year ago when he realized he wanted to be part of taking care of a child. Or part of something bigger than just me. Commentators have long pointed to the famous examples of elderly fatherhood Charlie Chaplin fathered a child at age 73! Pablo Picasso at 68! Clint Eastwood at 66! as evidence that men dont have biological clocks. Even our current president is part of the old-dads club: Donald Trump first became a father at age 31, and his fifth child, Barron, was born when Trump was 59. When the term biological clock as it applies to fertility was coined in The Washington Post, it was applied exclusively to women. This is where liberation ends, Richard Cohen wrote in a 1978 column. There are some things [men] never had to worry about. Like the ticking of the biological clock. (Its just a biological fact, Cohen said when I asked him about it last year. I didnt invent it.) But nearly 40 years after that column was published, men arguably have more reasons than ever before to pay attention to their own biological clocks. One factor is that couples are getting married later. (Most births still take place within marriage.) In 1960, the median age for a first marriage in the United States was 20 for women and 23 for men; today, its 27 for women and 29 for men. And for the first time in U.S. history, women in their 30s are now having more babies than younger women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month. That shorter window of post-marriage fertility obviously affects their husbands chances of having kids, too. (D.A. Peterson/For The Washington Post) This is especially true in a workaholic, focus-on-your-career-in-your-20s place like Washington, D.C., where people marry even later. Plus, there is virtually no marriage age gap in Washington between women and men: According to 2015 U.S. Census data, the median age for first marriage here is 30.6 for women and 30.7 for men. That suggests womens and mens biological clocks are or should be in very close sync. Travis Pittman, a 34-year-old lawyer who lives in Kensington, Md., whom I spoke to in March when his wife was pregnant, recognizes that he was watching his wifes biological clock for her, but definitely not talking about it out loud, because I didnt want her to feel like I was asking her to not go to grad school or something like that. (Shes also in her early 30s. Their daughter was born in April.) But I realized, he says, if we wait until shes in her late 30s or early 40s, this is going to be a lot harder, potentially a lot more expensive. Pittman has seen examples of what its like to have kids as an older father: His dad remarried and had another son in his 50s. My dad was like 70 at my little brothers high school graduation, Pittman says. I kind of wanted to be in my 50s when my kid was graduating from high school. Many of todays men want and are expected to be more involved than fathers were in the 1970s or 80s. Which means they need to worry about keeping up with their kids if they become fathers too late. Its not necessarily whether or not my sperm will be viable, its whether I will be viable as a human, able to walk and play with that kid, says Nikhil Baviskar, a 30-year-old single health IT worker from Washington who wants to be a father someday. (Baviskar and Williams recently spoke about biological clocks on the podcast Why Oh Why.) As a teenager, Baviskar says, he once questioned his dad over waiting till his 30s to have kids: I had a minor crisis when I was 16 and my dad turned 50. First off, 50 sounded extremely old when I was 16. At 16, I was like: Who is this old man, and why is he my dad? And then I got mad at him, asking: Why did you wait until you were 34 to have me? This isnt normal. Which is hilarious, because Im basically on my way to having a child at 34. Men are not trained by the medical establishment, or by their bodies rhythms, to be constantly thinking about fertility. Still, the recent focus on mens health in general may have increased their interest in their own reproductive health. Paul Shin, a urologist at Shady Grove Fertility, says he sees about one or two male patients a week who come to check their sperm count and motility sometimes before theres even a partner in the picture, or before theres any sign of a problem. I see a lot of guys who come in who are recently married or who just want to know what their fertility numbers are, because this generation kind of gets it. They take their health care seriously. They look at fertility and family-building as it should be looked at as a joint effort as opposed to on the shoulders of women only. Thats a marked cultural shift that Ive seen since Ive been in practice, says Shin, who started out 13 years ago. Theres a lot more men that just want to know where they stand, because they understand that men can be the problem. But even as men have plenty of reasons to listen to their biological clocks, they also have new reasons to forgo acknowledging it to themselves or others. The culprit: the Can I have it all? complex that women have become all too familiar with. There is so much pressure on men to have achieved something, to have crossed a certain threshold in terms of finances or job security or the right house or all of these things before theyre willing to say, Were ready for these fictional children, says Stacy Notaras Murphy, a psychotherapist in Washington. That really shows up in couples therapy as Im not interested in this, when they really are interested in kids. This is markedly different from earlier generations, who expected to struggle as they raised a family. Now, we just have this belief that were supposed to have it all together, Notaras Murphy says. The men Ive worked with tend to have a pass-fail mentality: Im either going to do this totally right or totally wrong. That pass-fail mentality could be partially due to the fact that there are far more absent fathers than absent mothers. As Stephen Marche writes in The Unmade Bed: The Messy Truth About Men and Women in the 21st Century: Men want to be fathers more than ever before. They also fail at fatherhood more than ever before. The increased symbolic value of fatherhood has arrived in the middle of an accelerating crisis of fatherlessness. The number of American families without fathers has grown from 10.3 percent in 1970 to 24.6 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, for men who want kids but dont end up having them, the risks could be substantial. While there is little research on the desire for fatherhood, a 2013 study in Britain found that men and women had similar levels of yearning for children. However, when they remain child-free, the report concluded, men experience higher levels of anger, depression, sadness, jealousy and isolation than women do. Williams has nieces and nephews, but it was his consistent relationship with Anabel, now 9, that made him realize the kind of joy having a child could bring to his life. Youre spoiling her, Chhouky Ang, Anabels mother, says to Williams on a recent Saturday morning as they meet for breakfast at a pancake house in Falls Church. As usual, Williams has come bearing gifts: a sketchbook, colored pencils and a kids sewing kit that Ang says will have to wait until their next visit. Anabel works on her newest masterpiece a page full of animals, flowers and crayon-drawn emoji as she waits for her Nutella crepe to arrive. Have you started on any of those Choose Your Own Adventure books I brought you? Williams asks Anabel as breakfast is winding down. No, she answers. She didnt understand them, she says, what with the stories jumping all over the place. Well go through one when I get back from vacation, he tells her. I have a play date with my best friend! Anabel exclaims. Since you told me last night that Im your best friend, that hurts me, Williams says, sticking his lips out in an exaggerated pout. I meant my best friend at my school, Anabel qualifies. You know this is going to get hung up in my office like the last one, Williams says, changing the subject to her drawing. When Williams was Anabels age, hanging out with Ang just a few blocks from the pancake house in the neighborhood where they grew up, he probably didnt foresee this development in the story of his life. The Tinder plot twist means that there are endless possibilities to meet someone, and yet, with each swipe, his standards for a good partner inch ever higher. He can see a near future, perhaps five years or so from now, if he is still single, in which he adopts a child on his own. He doesnt want to wait forever, as if his dating life is a Choose Your Own Adventure book that never ends. (D.A. Peterson/For The Washington Post) For more articles, as well as features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit The Washington Post Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Sgt. Paul Basso, sergeant of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. (Andre Chung/For The Washington Post) Paul Basso, 37, is a sergeant first class in the U.S. Army and sergeant of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. He lives with his wife in Northern Virginia. How long have you had this job? Ive been in charge of soldiers who guard the tomb for about 18 months. I served here over 17 years ago as a young soldier. I served for about 32 months. And now Ive come back all these years later. Is it different this time? This place hasnt changed, its timeless. But Ive changed. As a young soldier this was a duty that was important, it was honorable I loved it. But I dont think that I fully understood it. All these years later, after being deployed and serving overseas, Ive come back, and I sort of see myself in all of these young soldiers. Were you in Iraq or Afghanistan? Yes, sir, both. How did that experience make you think about what youre doing here at the tomb? It gave me a greater appreciation for what this place is. The purpose of this place for every American is probably different when you ask them. For me, everything that we do is to honor the dead. Whats the most emotional moment youve had while guarding the tomb? I havent had too many emotional moments while guarding the tomb. But I can remember being in the barracks in 2000 watching TV, and they were interviewing people who were 100 years old. And a woman was on the TV. She graduated in 1915 from high school, married her boyfriend and they had a kid. In 1918 her husband got drafted, and she gave him a hug and a kiss, and he got on the bus. She held up a picture of him in his uniform, and she said she had waited [decades] for him to come home. I was a guard at the time, and when she said that it really hit me. Thats the purpose of the unknown soldiers tomb. The only way we can honor the dead is to tell their story. On YouTube you can find a lot of clips of the guards having to verbally discipline or warn visitors. Is that an issue? Its not a huge issue, but it does happen occasionally with large crowds or in the summer. This is a place where respect is not required, but silence is so as to not disturb other people who are visiting. If theres a disrespectful or disturbing atmosphere or someone tries to violate the post by climbing over the chains, the guard will stop and issue a verbal warning. And almost always that works. And thats what you see recorded. It has always happened throughout time, but with technology more people see it. What do you want people to think about when they approach the tomb? I think any noble cause that moves people when they come up here is okay. The general public comes up here and appreciates all veterans and all sacrifices the military has made for their freedoms. And we hope that they see that. We hope that they see this tomb guard and look beyond him to the tomb. Thats the reason we do the things we do, the composure we have. Were the sort of nameless faces. We are the symbolic salute from the people of the United States to the unknown soldier. Is there anything about your job that would never occur to the public? Maybe the soldiers mind if they could read the soldiers mind and realize how busy it is. A lot of people say, Man, it must be boring just staring out into space all day. It can be challenging for soldiers who have been doing it for a while, but for the first year or two, your mind is very occupied. Youre counting 21 seconds, 21 steps. Youre making sure that your weapon angle and your uniform are as perfect as possible. Explain the significance of 21. So the 21 seconds and 21 steps and everything that we can do in increments of 21 is symbolic of highest military honors, which is a 21-gun salute. Everything that we do is to honor the unknown soldier. More Just Asking For stories, features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit WP Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com. This is excerpted from Genes speech on June 13 accepting induction into the Hall of Fame of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. When I was first told I had been given this honor, I confess I was momentarily disappointed. In my experience, Hall of Fame inductions, when not in the arena of sports, tend to fall into the same category as lifetime achievement awards, which tend to be given compassionately, as a final sop to dentured Americans whose most recent work betrays the onset of chronic spongiform encephalopathy. But then I read the names of some of the previous winners giants of our profession like Ben Bradlee, David Brinkley, David Broder and Art Buchwald, which is when I realized something amazing. Their names all began with the letter B! Which was just weird. Fortunately, I then read further it turns out the list was alphabetized! and saw it also included Mary McGrory and Robert Novak and James Reston and William Safire and Helen Thomas, which is when I got my slap-to-the-forehead revelation. All these people all of them are currently dead. So that was really scary. But gradually I came to understand that this is a great honor, bestowed on serious professionals who have done so much to advance and distinguish our craft, which is why I need to ask the SPJ officers here: ARE YOU PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR MINDS? Do you realize what it is that I do? A casual Google search of my name and the word poop reveals 15,400 hits. I once did an entire piece based on the fact that there was a gynecologist in Virginia named Harry Beaver. To sum up, Im honored, but I feel bad for my co-inductees, Martha Raddatz and Alexis Simendinger, whose names will forever be yoked to mine like hall of famers Tinker and Evers and Chance. Moving along. I suspect were all supposed to talk about the challenges facing an independent media in this particularly difficult time for the Washington press corps, and by particularly difficult time I am using the agreed-upon euphemism for a time when everyone is half-expecting that at any moment the president of the United States will issue federal regulations for the proper administration, to journalists, of hot-lead enemas. My message to you today is that this, too, shall pass, like gas and afterward we will similarly know relief, possibly in the boomerang election of a president as unlike the current president as possible someone knowledgeable and wise and kind, like Mr. Peabody. In the meantime, our work is cut out for us. It remains our job to speak truth to power, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and so forth. And while I dont mean to take anything away from the astonishing job done so far by the media in general and, in particular The Washington Post and the New York Times it should be pointed out that there do seem to be a number of highly disgruntled administration officials who are leaking like a bathysphere with a doggy door, or, alternatively, like a 20-year-old cat with a urinary tract infection. I am reliably informed that to make his days manageable, David Fahrenthold has instituted a lottery system for his sources to get a phone call through to him. In light of this, and in closing, Id like to issue a warning to us all. Dont let our investigative zeal taint our judgment and make us reckless. Remember always an important truth. (Holds up a Bic pen and a four-foot broadsword.) The sword is mightier. Lets be careful out there. For stories, features such as Date Lab, @Work Advice and more, visit WP Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com. Frankie Sanders Munoz, second from right, works with Linda Flick, left, a volunteer for Foundry United Methodist Churchs I.D. Ministry. Scores of low-income Washingtonians face an often months-long road toward gaining or regaining their government identification. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post) Patricia Brown couldnt prove her identity. On a Saturday morning in May last year, she rushed into the basement of Washingtons Foundry United Methodist Church, frantic that she would miss its I.D. Ministry hours. She took deep breaths as she reached the bright-yellow room crowded with narrow tables, where people sat poring over papers. Without valid identification, she couldnt get housing or work, her food stamps or medication. She sat in a metal chair beside me, wiping away sweat from her forehead. The volunteer across from us looked concerned as Brown reviewed an intake checklist: Social Security card? No. Birth certificate? No. ID? Expired. So, we dont have anything? the volunteer asked. No. Nothing. Id seen situations like Browns many times. I volunteered at the I.D. Ministry from January 2015 to March 2016. Two Saturday mornings a month, I would help the ministrys poor or homeless clients navigate the bureaucracy of acquiring government identification. For most people, replacing a lost drivers license or other ID is an inconvenience but not an ordeal. For Foundrys clients, however, the path to an ID is more like a high-stakes test of endurance and resourcefulness. Brown, 61, a former receptionist, had taken three buses from Northeast Washington to the church at 16th and P streets NW, but it was clear she had been on a longer journey. After her mothers death in April 2014, Brown lost the apartment they had shared. She returned from the grocery store one day to find her belongings on the sidewalk. She had been evicted. I tried to ... salvage what I could, but I was by myself, she said. Her Social Security card and birth certificate were among the things lost that day. Since then, she had been floating from couch to couch among acquaintances, paying her hosts what she could and trying not to overstay her welcome. When I asked about her current housing, she said only, Its not a good situation. Brown had spent a month visiting D.C. government agencies, looking for guidance on how to regain her identification without success. A nonprofit steered her to Foundry, where she hoped to secure the trinity of documents she needed: her birth certificate, a Social Security card and a valid, government-issued photo ID. Like many of the other people who visit Foundry, she was, by the time she arrived, frustrated and desperate. Washington isnt the only place where acquiring identification can be difficult. As of 2006, according to New York Universitys Brennan Center for Justice, up to 11 percent of U.S. adults had no government-provided photo ID. Since then, federal requirements for IDs have grown tougher, contributing to a loop that can help keep people trapped in poverty. For poor Americans, IDs are a lifeline a key to unlocking services and opportunities, from housing to jobs to education. And in states with strict voter ID laws, the lack of an ID can hinder voting. This is a huge issue for people who are homeless and poor in general, says Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. Without an ID, basically you dont exist. The Rev. Ben Roberts, Foundrys director of social justice ministries, oversees its ID operation. When he took over the nearly two-decades-old program in 2013, he renamed it Imago Dei, Latin for image of God. Tall and bearded, the 31-year-old has a skepticism of government efficiency thats rooted in experience. Without obstacles, the ID process could take about two weeks, but for many clients, he says, it lasts two to three months. It mostly has to do with finding the time, energy and motivation to go to places and be told, No, constantly, he explains. For Roberts, identification is a moral and religious issue. If youre not allowed to have a job because you dont have an ID, then thats a serious theological problem, he argues. Youve said not only do they not exist on paper, youre denying them their piece of the image of God. Roberts and I have been friends for several years. He led me and my wife through I.D. Ministry volunteer training in 2015, when because of sharply rising demand the outreach program increased its hours. (Full disclosure: Im communications director for Meals on Wheels America, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works with vulnerable populations. I wrote this story in my other professional capacity, as an independent journalist.) My fellow volunteers consisted of retirees and young professionals capable, enthusiastic people operating with limited resources. Computers are scarce, so volunteers work mostly with pen and paper, a spotty filing system of folders and plastic bins, and binders thick with identification procedures for each U.S. state and Washington, D.C. To raise money, volunteers collect donations after Sunday services once a month. Each month, Foundry assists about 130 people. Aside from providing instructions on what to do, offering encouragement was perhaps my second-most-important task and the hardest. Many clients arrive needing their IDs immediately, for a job or housing opportunity that expires within days. They are largely unaware of the timeline they may face, instead believing they can get documents on the spot. Many leave so discouraged that they abandon the effort. Theyre trying to do the right thing, and they cant, Roberts says. A woman, who did not want to be named, waits to start the process of securing a birth certificate for her toddler daughter. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post) Families with infants come in, and so do couples who need IDs to get married. Last year, 66 mothers sought help for themselves and, in total, 90 children. Without a way to prove kinship, parents cant enroll their kids in child care or school, or apply for housing, nutrition assistance or health care. Some fear, wrongly, that they will be arrested on the street without proper identification. While working on this article, I interviewed dozens of people trying to get their nondriver ID, or walking ID, as many call it. The poor and marginalized can easily disappear, and they often do. Phones get disconnected; people move unexpectedly, leaving no forwarding address, or they become homeless altogether; often, theyre swallowed up by the criminal justice system. Roberts recently received a returned Foundry check with a letter from the daughter of an elderly client who died before he could recover his identification. The church regularly destroys unclaimed documents of individuals who go silent. I didnt know it then, but Patricia Brown would become one of the disappeared. That Saturday, though, she listened as the volunteer described what the District would require for an ID. First, a person like Brown who had no documents would need a physical exam and a signed medical record. (There was a free clinic in Adams Morgan.) The signed medical record would allow her to get a Social Security card, which would be mailed to her within two weeks. She would then have to take the card and a Foundry check for $23 to the Districts Vital Records office to get her birth certificate. Vital Records could issue it based on the card alone, but the office reserves the right for its staff to request more documents to establish identity. Without a valid photo ID, the office recommends three original documents, among them: census records, probation papers, voter registration and an employee ID. Once she had the Social Security card and birth certificate, then she could go to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The DMV requires proof of residency. Utility bills, leases and mortgages count among the qualifying documents. Without one in her name, Brown would need her host to supply a document to the DMV, with a photocopy of a valid ID and a signed form allowing Brown to claim the address. Otherwise, Brown would have to visit one of a handful of approved nonprofits or the D.C. Department of Human Services to be certified as homeless. Only then could she get her ID, which costs $20, and which Foundry also covers. Brown rested her head on her fist. I remember a time when it was real easy to do this, she said. The volunteer nodded in commiseration and handed Brown a proof-of-residency form. Brown said, her voice trembling, Youll probably have to go through the homeless verification process. She left with two envelopes full of instructions, forms and checks. Later, when I called the number where Brown said she was staying, another woman answered. She had no idea where Brown had gone, she told me and, furthermore, didnt care. Foundry receives client referrals from case managers at nearly 100 social-service groups, including D.C. agencies such as Vital Records, the DMV and the Mayors Office on Returning Citizens Affairs (MORCA), which helps ex-inmates resettle. The MORCA referrals especially frustrate Roberts. You would think that government agencies would have a way to do this themselves, since they are the ones issuing the documents in the first place, he says. The official steps Foundry clients must take to obtain identification are only the half of it, he explains. Paying for child care or public transportation, or taking time off from an hourly wage job, can prolong the process or stop it altogether. Roberts wants more coordination among city offices and notes, as an example, Virginias practice of including birth certificate services at its DMV locations. At this point, youre getting your identity verified at three, maybe four different places, one of which is a doctors office, he says. How in the hell is a doctor supposed to know? The office of D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) says that the DMV and the Health Department are coordinating to expand options for electronic birth certificates which presumably would make access to birth certificates easier but security and system requirements are delaying the changes. Last year, D.C. Council members David Grosso and Yvette M. Alexander introduced a bill to waive birth certificate and DMV fees for those eligible for Medicaid and food stamps. It passed unanimously. The mayors fiscal 2018 budget doesnt include a line item to fund it, but Bowsers office told me that existing resources will cover the implementation. I met Darryl Lawrence at Foundry last summer. A volunteer with whom he had worked showed me an envelope thick as a novel addressed to New York Citys health department. The citys vital records division has some of the nations strictest policies. That day, Lawrence and Foundry were filing a petition to New York for his birth certificate. It would later be denied for lacking the right documentation. When I saw Lawrence this past February, they were filing a second petition. That one also failed. The third was filed in March with Lawrences mothers maiden name, Miles, and a letter from Roberts with his own ID. Born in Manhattan but raised in the District, Lawrence served with the Arlington County Fire Department for eight years until he suffered a severe brain injury while off duty. He spent time convalescing in a rehabilitation program with former Reagan press secretary James Brady. Lawrences memory can be foggy and his speech somewhat labored. Hes 63 and staying at his sisters place in Northwest Washington after intermittent bouts of homelessness. He hasnt had an ID for years, he says, since a visit to the DMV when the attendant told Lawrence his ID was expired and destroyed it. That incident still angers him, and he believes the DMV should be able to fix it. They can prove it, he insists. Its right there in the files. The only ID Ive ever had was a D.C. license. Ever. Hes never seen his New York City birth certificate, he says. (He later points out that hes even been arrested and fingerprinted for minor infractions making the governments inability to give him an ID all the more frustrating.) Foundry clients who apply for an out-of-state birth certificate by mail should expect a six- to eight-week wait, Roberts says, and thats barring any complications. Clients born in Pennsylvania have experienced such dramatic delays that Roberts resorted to calling members of the states Senate. In one instance, Senate staffers eventually went to the relevant office to demand the documents, then sent Foundry the paperwork. While he waits, Lawrence gets by on Social Security and the money he makes mowing lawns. A check-cashing store in Maryland gives him a pass on required identification. Hes enrolled in a program to learn how to service heating and air conditioning units. To land a job, though, hell need his ID. Patricia Brown was right: Proving your identity in the District used to be simpler. It required one original primary document or two original secondary documents. The list of primaries included items such as a state-issued birth certificate, or even an expired drivers license or nondriver ID, as long as it was not more than 180 days out of date. Secondary documents included high school or college records or an insurance card with a name and date of birth. The current, tighter restrictions have their origins in the 2005 REAL ID Act, authored by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.). Congress passed the legislation in response to security concerns after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Hijackers were able to obtain IDs and use them to rent cars and apartments, as well as open bank accounts. (Of the 19 hijackers, seven got documents in Virginia, including drivers licenses.) The REAL ID law standardized the requirements for state IDs a step recommended by the 9/11 Commission. Through phased implementation starting in 2014, it requires that citizens provide their local DMV with confirmation of their birth date (for those who are poor, this often means a birth certificate), proof of a Social Security number (often a Social Security card) and documentation of residency. As Brown learned, D.C. requires two items to establish residency. A lease, mortgage, recent utility bill, credit card or car loan statement (of the past 60 days) are all possibilities an approach advocates say is biased toward those with wealth. (The District does allow letters with the envelope and dated within the past 60 days from any government agency except the DMV. Homeless certification is also accepted.) The D.C. DMV says that its working to expand the list of documents that can be used to prove residency. DMV Director Lucinda Babers also told me via email that her office uses its requirements to prevent residency fraud, a department priority. After REAL IDs implementation in the District in 2014, Foundrys rate of checks cashed by the D.C. treasurer dropped from about 75 percent to 30 percent, as clients failed to meet the laws requirements though Roberts says the numbers are creeping back up. Within a year, local nonprofit Bread for the City received 1,000 client inquiries about IDs, prompting it to hire a full-time attorney for the issue. Before REAL ID was implemented, Bread did not experience a large number of inquiries regarding IDs, says Danielle Moise, Breads attorney on its Accessing Identifying Documents Project. Anecdotally, she says, the nonprofit saw a decline from that 1,000 in 2015 (2016 totals are not in yet). Its unclear what the reason for this has been. I imagine a number of people have simply given up on this effort as getting an ID seems insurmountable, she explains. Our social workers tell me, however, that although the numbers have declined, IDs still seem to be the second-most- requested service, after requests for affordable housing. For his part, Sensenbrenner argues that there is no undue burden on the poor for ID access. A statement from his office said, With many states and jurisdictions offering identification cards free of charge, the small number of citizens facing challenges securing these items can be assisted on the local level efficiently and at little or no cost. Darryl Lawrence frets about the challenges of getting identification in the District of Columbia. His situation is complicated by the fact that he was born in New York City, where hes been trying for months to get a copy of his birth certificate. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post) At 7:30 a.m. on a Friday in March 2016, cars and buses rounded Chevy Chase Circle toward the District. Just off the circles manicured lawns, several people waited in the parking lot of Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church. A woman dragged a red suitcase; a man draped copies of Street Sense, the homeless newspaper, over his arm; a young man sat on a curb, his head in his hands. Inside, Rebecca Kahlenberg prepared to open the churchs Transition Assistance Program, or TAP. Like Foundrys I.D. Ministry, TAP helps people secure identity documents. It takes 15 walk-in clients a day, three days a week, on a first-come, first-served basis. Lines form between 6 and 7 a.m. for when the doors open at 8 a.m. Clients have recounted to Kahlenberg and me how theyve walked for hours through the night to arrive by daybreak. With 20 volunteers serving ID clients, capacity isnt what limits TAP; its cost. For clients born outside the District, birth certificates can range from $25 in California to $12 in South Carolina. And fees rise quickly when assisting an entire family. In 2016, TAP paid more than $47,500 to the D.C. treasurer and out-of-state agencies, more than double its 2011 totals, and up more than 50 percent from 2012. Operating nearly a third fewer days each year, Foundry still spends $25,000 annually. TAPs funds come from congregation donations and small grants. Sometimes the DMV will send people here, Kahlenberg says. Were tiny potatoes compared to a government organization. Across the country, churches bear similar costs. Memphiss First Presbyterian Church spends about $7,000 a year on its ID and birth certificate assistance. The Stewpot at Dallass First Presbyterian Church budgets $50,000 annually and spent more than $60,000 in 2016. In Minneapolis, the Basilica of St. Marys St. Vincent de Paul Ministries spent nearly $70,000 in 2016. The basilica sends so much money to Hennepin County that the local government instituted a voucher system and directly bills the church. My calls to a Las Vegas program went to voice mail, where the greeting said the operation was out of funds. Meanwhile, D.C. agencies continue to send clients to nonprofits including residents who have spent time in jail. County jails from Montgomery to Baltimore regularly destroy inmates personal property if unclaimed 30 days after intake. The D.C. jails procedures call for corrections staff to shred personal identification documents a year after entry to prevent identity theft. Once released, former inmates can use their prison IDs and parole documents to get a temporary ID from the DMV. But many still end up at places such as Foundry for help. Roberts doesnt begrudge former inmates seeking aid from the I.D. Ministry. Its the bureaucracy that frustrates him. In February, Roberts temporarily blocked the Mayors Office on Returning Citizens Affairs from Foundrys online appointment portal. They would book every last slot, and we wouldnt be able to see clients from any other organizations, he says. He contacted the mayors office and offered to train its staff on District ID procedures. He got no response, he says. Brian Ferguson, who became MORCA director in September, says hes unaware of Robertss offer of training, but he notes his office now includes three staffers trained in ID recovery. In the mayors 2018 budget, he says, $2.3 million has been set aside to develop a central location for returning residents, where departments such as DMV, DHS and Vital Records will be represented. Included in the funding is $50,000 for drivers licenses and IDs. The mayor recognizes how important identification is in being able to apply for jobs and other services in the District, he says. Darryl Lawrence and I have stayed in touch. I visited him at his sisters home in Northwest Washington, where I found him and a friend playing chess on the porch. When we spoke on the phone in April, he told me New York had denied his third request for his birth certificate. The city recommended he work through the court system, he told me. Another suggestion included changing his name to his mothers maiden name, Miles which he now believes is his name on his birth certificate, something he had not known. You cant get the birth certificate without an ID. Cant get the ID without a birth certificate. So, what are they telling me? Lawrence says. The name on a birth certificate must match a current photo ID, says a New York City Health Department spokesperson. Attorneys can be enlisted in some cases. We suggest that the advocate working on Mr. Lawrences behalf use this option, the spokesperson says. Roberts says the name situation is a common problem thats not easily solved, but Foundry is still pursuing the case. So is Onoise Osunbor. Hes a community-support worker with Contemporary Family Services, a private company that contracts with the Districts Department of Behavioral Health to advocate for those with mental challenges. Hes been helping Lawrence for about a year. It was Osunbor who steered Lawrence to Foundry. Its a paradox, an irony, Osunbor says. Because of the global trend of terrorism, now hes caught in a very odd situation. Osunbor believes Lawrence could have had his own housing if he had identification. Earlier this year, he went with Lawrence and several other clients to get city housing vouchers. One man is now in an apartment, and the other is getting one soon. Lawrence, however, didnt have proper identification. He got to the gates of heaven and he couldnt get in because he didnt have ID, Osunbor says. With the help of a cousin in New York, Lawrence and Osunbor are pursuing options including having a judge rule on his identity. But the outcome remains unclear. Meanwhile, in our last phone call, Lawrence casually tells me that his sister is losing her home. Its getting warmer now, he says. I can sleep anywhere. Patrick Marion Bradley is a writer in Washington. Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com. For more articles, as well as features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit The Washington Post Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Clarification: A portion of this article was inadvertently omitted in the original posting. The article has been updated. Vietnam is among the trip offerings from Intrepid Travel, which will pair soloists with roommates at no cost. (Courtesy of Intrepid Travel / ) Its no secret that many cruise lines, tour operators, all-inclusive resorts and even hotels charge considerably lower prices to those who travel in twos. And even if a single traveler is willing to take a chance and bunk with a stranger, most travel companies dont offer any help in finding a partner. But the scene is changing as more travel companies try to tap into the growing single-traveler market. Solo travelers made up 24 percent of travelers in 2015, up from 15 percent in 2013, according to the 2015 Visa Global Intentions Study of 13,603 travelers across 25 countries. Responding to the increased demand, more tour operators are playing roommate matchmaker, cruise lines are adding one-person accommodations and all-inclusives are touting special single deals. This sampling of travel companies offering incentives to those going it alone is not exhaustive. Even for those companies that dont advertise any deals for singles, its never a bad idea to pick up the phone and ask: Prices can often be negotiated, especially for trips outside of high season. [The travel industry is finally ending discrimination against solo travelers. Or is it?] Intrepid Travel handles more than 100,000 vacationers each year, more than half of whom are going it alone. (Courtesy of Intrepid Travel / ) Solo women: Serendipity Traveler, with trips including the Best of South Africa to Historic Charleston and Savannah, offers private rooms with no additional fees. Info: 800-975-2357, serendipitytraveler.com. The Womens Travel Group, whose motto is Smart Tours for Women/Savings for Solo Travelers, offers several tours and cruises each year featuring guaranteed shares, meaning that it promises to match you with a roommate or, if unsuccessful, cover the supplement. This years offerings include an October visit to New York City and a holiday river cruise in Europe. Info: 646-309-5607, thewomenstravelgroup.com. Gutsy Women Travel, with trips around the globe, has no single supplement for solo travelers on its land tours. If single accommodations are sold out, the company offers to match solo travelers with a roommate and will provide an additional $100 savings to those who are willing to share. Info: 866-464-8879, gutsywomentravel.com. Young singles: Travendly organizes trips for young professionals who live in the same city. You have to apply to score a spot on each trip. And, while applicants are permitted to travel with one friend, they usually come alone. Prices are based on double occupancy, but the company pairs roommates based on applications and a pre-trip get-together. If there are an odd number of participants, a single supplement option is offered. If no one takes it, a random person is chosen for a single room at no charge. Trips include a four-night trip to Cuba and 11 days in Patagonia. Info: 800-646-9741, travendly.com. Contiki offers tours for travelers ages 18 to 35, and markets to the solo traveler. The company pairs roommates to avoid the single supplement, and there is no fee if it cant find a match. Trips go to Asia, North America, Europe, Central America, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Info: 866-266-8454, contiki.com. Trek America is an adventure-travel company based in London catering to travelers ages 18 to 38. More than 75 percent of its participants go solo, and single travelers are paired with roommates; no single supplement is charged, even if they cant pair travelers. The company offers a large assortment of U.S. trips, but also covers Central America, Canada and South America. Info: 888-392-8357, trekamerica.com. [Ready to go it alone? Tips for easing into solo travel.] Seniors: Overseas Adventure Travel, which has seen its single traveler percentages grow from 27 percent in 2010 to 40 percent today, has free single supplements on all its land tours and either free or low-cost single supplements on its small-ship adventures. Solo space is allocated on all departures. The company operates in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, the Middle East, Cuba, Australia and New Zealand. Info: 800-955-1925, oattravel.com. ElderTreks, which specializes in exotic adventures for those 50 and older, offers trips worldwide. The company will match single travelers with roommates on most of its trips, and doesnt charge if a match cant be arranged. Info: 800-741-7956, eldertreks.com. Road Scholar, which specializes in learning adventures, has designated trips that offer the same price for solo travelers as for those traveling in pairs. Destinations cover North America, Europe, Bhutan, South America and Central America, and range from hiking in Wyoming and Montanas Beartooth Mountains to exploring the Scottish Highlands. Info: 800-454-5768, roadscholar.org. General tour operators: Intrepid Travel handles more than 100,000 travelers each year, sending them to more than 100 countries. More than half of them travel solo. The adventure-tour operator has four itineraries in 2018 Beautiful Bali, Best of Morocco, Golden Triangle and Vietnam Express Southbound earmarked just for solo travelers. They are paired with roommates at no cost on all trips, and those who cant be paired are not charged a single supplement. Info: 800-970-7299, intrepidtravel.com. G Adventures offers more than 700 tours around the globe that cover a variety of styles, including family vacations, rail trips and active adventures; more than 40 percent of its customers travel solo. Single travelers can opt to be matched with a roommate to avoid any single supplement, and no supplement is charged if a share cant be arranged. The company also offers the My Own Room option on most tours, which guarantees participants that amenity for a modest additional fee. Info: 888-800-4100, gadventures.com. Wendy Wu Tours, a London-based company that specializes in travel to Asia, recently announced that it will waive single-supplement charges on select Classic and Discovery escorted tours that are booked directly with the company for travel through Dec. 31. The company also always offers a willing to share policy that promises to pair you with another member of your tour group of the same gender and even if were unable to match you up, you wont be charged a single supplement. Premium tours are excluded. Info: 877-993-6399, wendywutours.com. [Traveling alone isnt for everyone but for these adventurers, its the way to go] Cruise lines: Vantage Deluxe World Travels river ships include between six and eight cabins built for solo travelers. It also offers at least one free single supplement on a double cabin for each cruise departure. Info: 888-514-1845, vantagetravel.com. Norwegian Cruise Line was the first oceangoing cruise line to offer dedicated cabins for single passengers. The approximately 100-square-foot cabins are now offered on Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Escape and Pride of America, with cruises to the Caribbean, Europe and Hawaii. Norwegian Bliss, Norwegians newest ship, will also offer studio staterooms when the ship debuts in summer 2018; it will sail weekly, from Seattle, on Alaska cruises. Solo accommodations include access to the Studio Lounge, a shared private area with complimentary coffee, espresso and snacks, and a big-screen TV. Studio cabin rates are more expensive than double occupancy, but cheaper than booking a double cabin as a singleton; expect to save about $400 on an average week-long Caribbean cruise. Info: 888-625-2784, ncl.com. Royal Caribbean has studio cabins on 10 ships, with its Quantum class vessels Anthem of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas offering at least 26 studios each. The staterooms for singles range in size from 101 to 119 square feet. There are several classes of studios, including inside, virtual balcony and oceanview with balcony. Expect to pay about $400 less on an average week-long Bahamas cruise as a single in a studio cabin than the price of booking a regular cabin as a single. Info: 866-562-7625, royalcaribbean.com. All-inclusive resorts: AMResorts, the parent company for Zoetry, Secrets, Dreams, Now, Sunscape and Breathless resorts in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, offers frequent sales that waive the single supplement. All but Zoetry are waiving the supplement for singles for travel Aug. 19 till Dec. 22. Also, Breathless resorts offer a Single and Ready to Mingle package that includes communal tables, pop-up parties and other activities for singles. Info: amresorts.com. Club Med, one of the first resorts to market to single travelers, often offers promotions aimed at solo travelers. For example, book by June 21 and the single supplement is waived for stays through Dec. 22 at select resorts, including its adult-only properties in the Bahamas, Martinique and Turks & Caicos. Info: 888-932-2582, clubmed.com. BodyHoliday St. Lucia offers 29 single garden rooms with no single supplement, one of the few Caribbean resorts that have dedicated lodging for solo travelers. The property offers designated hosted communal tables at every dining venue, for solo travelers to mingle with other guests. It also has a September Solos themed month: From Aug. 27 through Sept. 30, the adults-only resort offers each single guest a personalized schedule of daily spa treatments, fitness classes and sports, and also organizes hosted group activities that range from cocktail and dinner parties to sunset cruises. Info: 800-544-2883, thebodyholiday.com. Other resources: Singles Travel International (877-765-6874, singlestravelintl.com) is a travel agency that specializes in vacations for solo travelers, including cruises and land tours. Most of its customers are ages 48 to 65. The Washington D.C. Adventure Travel Club (meetup.com/The-Washington-DC-Adventure-Travel-Club) is a Meet Up group of people who want to make friends and travel the world. Recently planned trips included Croatia, Costa Rica and Japan. Singles are welcome. Solo Traveler (solotravelerworld.com) offers solo travel tips, destinations and stories, and also publishes a monthly list of solo travel deals. Travbuddy.com, TravelFriend.us and TravelersMeeting.com are free services allowing travelers to find others heading to the same destination. Cruise Critic offers a host of information on solo cruising, including a recent article about solo cabins. Info: www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1989. Sottili is a former Washington Post travel writer, specializing in travel deals. Follow her on Twitter: @carolsottili. If you travel alone, you already know this: You pay more. Hotel rates, cruise-ticket prices and tours quote rates based on double occupancy. Go alone and youll pay a single supplement that can double the cost of your vacation. Understandable? Sure, considering that most rooms accommodate two or more people. Unfair? Yes. Janet Campbell has faced that kind of price discrimination many times. A retired librarian from West Wareham, Mass., she routinely sees her cruise fares double because shes traveling alone, not to mention the surcharges often as much as $100 per day that tour operators impose on travelers like her. Every company I looked at charged extra, she says. But thats slowly changing. Campbell recently discovered a tour operator, Overseas Adventure Travel, that doesnt charge a single supplement. She also stumbled upon Holland America Cruises, which only increases the regular fare by 60 percent. I felt that was fairer, she says. The industry appears to be gradually ending its discrimination against the lone traveler. Why? Because more people are going it alone. [I finally went on the honeymoon Id always dreamed of alone] A recent survey by special-interest travel site BookYogaRetreats.com identified solo travel as a top trend for 2017. Roughly half the respondents said that they would take their next vacation on their own. If the same is true of the population at large, it would make the solo travel market a niche that the industry cant ignore. The travel industry is waking up to the fact that [there are] more and more solo travelers, says Soumya Nambiar, a project manager from Bangalore, India, who writes the solo traveler blog Travel, Books & Food. And they are adjusting to this as well. Yet parts of the industry remain firmly stuck in a more traditional model, which heavily favors couples. If youre thinking of heading somewhere by your lonesome, there are few standout solo-friendly companies but, as always, you need to read the fine print. While single supplements are a hot-button issue, they make sense on several levels, says Greg Geronemus, co-chief executive of SmarTours, a New York tour operator. These fees are simply the reality of what happens when the cost of hotel rooms are not split across two people. Think about when youve reserved a hotel room for just yourself you incur the full cost of that room as opposed to splitting it with someone else, he says. In order to remedy that without taking a loss, some travel companies are raising the prices for double-occupancy travelers so that they are, in effect, subsidizing the cost of the single travelers unless, of course, they have single-occupancy rooms or cabins. In such cases, Geronemus says, doing away with the single supplement is a mere marketing ploy. Solo travelers shouldnt shop for a cruise, hotel room or tour based strictly on the elimination of single supplements. They should compare rates as they normally would. Also, people traveling in pairs might want to pay closer attention to their rates, especially with companies that promise no single supplements; they may be underwriting the cost of someone elses vacation. [Ready to go it alone? Tips for easing into solo travel.] There are legitimate single-friendly options, of course. Norwegian Cruise Lines, for example, offers solo staterooms and common areas specifically for the single cruisers on the NCL Epic, Sky and Getaway, according to the company. Celebrity Cruises new ship, the Celebrity Edge, which sets sail in 2018, has single staterooms with all the amenities of double cabins and generous verandas. But cruise lines are dipping their toes into the water, at best. For example, the Celebrity Edge has 900 staterooms; only 16 of them are for singles. The NCL Epic, which accommodates 4,100 passengers, has 128 solo cabins. Companies such as Contiki, which specializes in tours for travelers ages 18 to 35, focus on experience rather than price. More than half of its clients are single, so Contiki matches those singles with same-sex roommates at no additional cost. Single rooms are still available, but they cost a lot more. A seven-day tour of Thailand for October, for example, is $865 for a single willing to share; the price jumps to $1,484 for a solo traveler without a roommate. At our core, Contiki is a social travel experience, says Contiki President Melissa da Silva. Our travelers choose to experience new destinations and cultures with a group of similarly aged, like-minded explorers. So no matter what country they visit, or what travel style they choose, they will always make new travel mates. [How solo travelers can beat the high cost of going it alone] Becoming solo-friendly has its risks. Ben Julius, who runs the tour operator Tourist Israel, has adopted an approach similar to that of Contiki, trying to match tourists who dont want to pay a single supplement. But he notes that its something of a zero-sum game, from the operators perspective. Single supplements make us, as operators, no extra profit and increase our workload, he says. Matching people up is also problematic. In around five percent of cases, the traveler holds us as the operator responsible for the behavior of the person a room is being shared with. In other words, creating a real, singles-friendly tour is often more trouble than its worth. No surprise, then, that finding a legitimately solo-friendly travel company is a challenge. Its not easy, admits Aaron Boltman, who owns Superb Vacations, a full-service travel agency in Richmond, Tex. But if you search hard enough you can find them. Elliott is a consumer advocate, journalist and co-founder of the advocacy group Travelers United. Email him at chris@elliott.org. Garbage, mostly wet wipes, at the sewage pumping station on O Street Southeast near the baseball stadium, June 2017. (Courtesy of DC Water) For years, Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Districts nonvoting member of Congress, has complained that the discourse on Capitol Hill is in the toilet. This time, shes right. The nonwoven fabrics industry is lobbying Congress to reverse a D.C. law that regulates wet wipes the moist, disposable towelettes that have found an emerging market among adults for whom toilet tissue wont do. The law says wet wipes are Kryptonite to the citys sewer system, wrapping and tangling themselves around pumps and screens and clumping together to form monster clogs that disrupt service and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to clear. Starting next year, companies that make wet wipes sold in the District must prove that products labeled flushable wont damage the pipes. Otherwise, the package must make it clear that flushing the wipes is a no-no. (Claritza Jimenez,Dani Player/The Washington Post) At least six states including Maryland have proposed similar legislation, and only the District has successfully passed a law. But in the same way that Congress has tried to stymie D.C. laws over subsidized abortion for low-income women, assisted suicide and marijuana distribution, a lawmaker could attach a rider to an appropriations bill and override the D.C. Council. This is a sneaky little backdoor way for these companies to frustrate the local decision by the people of the District of Columbia, said council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), the bills author. They do it, which is really gross, at the behest of industry representatives. The D.C. law says a wipe is only flushable it if breaks apart quickly, sinks and is free of plastic. U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), a frequent D.C. antagonist who was visited by an industry lobbyist last month, said he is reviewing the issue and considering ways to block the legislation. He said it amounts to a ban because companies are unlikely to produce special nonflushable packaging to be sold in the District alone. Since Congress has the ultimate say over what goes on in Washington, D.C., its possible we would deal with this through an appropriations measure that makes D.C. think twice about banning a product thats helpful flushable wipes, said Harris, who is Marylands only Republican member of Congress and sits on the House Appropriations Committee. He opposes the D.C. law because he said it sets a flushability standard that no company could meet and would force products off the shelves. Without wipes to use in the bathroom, he said, people could turn to whatevers available, such as baby wipes,flush them anyway and make the sewer problem worse. Wet wipes and other trash that is flushed down toilets in the city threaten to clog pipes at DC Water's main pumping station near Nationals ballpark, showing how many wet wipes find their ways into the DC sewer system. (Courtesy of DC Water) As a father of five who lives on a property with a septic tank, Harris chuckled and said, Im very attuned to what you can flush down into a sewer. Norton said if Harris or others tried to block the Districts wipes law, she would try to shame them into abandoning the effort by asking whether their constituents thousands of miles away worry about what goes down the drain in Washington. This is a serious issue, she said, but its hard not to laugh when a lobbyist group is trying to keep the Congress from taking action that would keep its own sewers and the sewers of the District of Columbia from being stopped up. The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, which represents the makers of wet wipes, declined to make a representative available for an interview. In response to written questions, the association said it thinks that the wipes are compatible with wastewater systems and noted that much of what is found there isnt meant to be flushed. The industry just wrapped up its international conference, billed as a four-day full immersion in the World of Wipes including a panel called Flushability News, Views and Fake News. City officials insist they are not anti-wipe, they just want them disposed of properly in the trash. They can clog pipes in homes and businesses as well as city systems. We have seen them at all stages of the treatment process, said George S. Hawkins, the general manager of D.C. Water. Its like a gluing agent that can capture other things and cause backups. Cynthia Finley, of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, said lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to regulate wipes in Maine, California, New Jersey and, more recently, Maryland, Minnesota and New York. In the absence of state or federal standards for flushability, the industry uses a slosh box test that she said sends the wipe on the equivalent of a whitewater rafting trip, causing it to break down, while wipes in sewer systems take more of a lazy river cruise. There are several wipes made by Japanese companies the toilet technology experts that meet the citys definition of flushable, she said. Before the bill passed last year, an industry lobbyist visited Cheh in her office to explain how his clients wet wipes were flushable. She tested his theory and submerged a wipe in a bowl of water. Nothing happened. He even poked it around with his pen, she said. Left soaking overnight, the wipe remained intact and, she said, I never heard from him again. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who for much of the past two years kept his distance from his fellow Republicans, sounded like the partys cheerleader at its annual Red, White and Blue dinner Wednesday night. Despite Democrats earlier predictions of the state GOPs demise, Hogan told the crowd at the BWI Airport Marriott in Linthicum that the Maryland Republican Party continues to be better, stronger and more relevant than it ever has been. Hogan, looking to shore up the base for his own reelection and for down-ballot races in 2018, rattled off the increased number of Republicans in local and state offices since 2014: 50 state delegates, 14 state senators and, for the first time in Maryland history, five county executives. He said Republicans control a strong majority in 16 of 23 county governments. Were just getting started. You aint seen nothing yet, the popular governor told attendees at the partys biggest fundraiser of the year. Just imagine what were going to get done together over the next six years especially after next year when we sweep elections all across the state. Hogan kept to his usual pattern of avoiding controversial social issues in public remarks and steered clear of mentioning President Trump, whose high disapproval ratings in Maryland could drive a Democratic comeback next year, according to analysts. He did not repeat a controversial allegation he made in a recent fundraising letter, when he accused Democrats of trying to make our state a safe haven for criminals here illegally. He opened the 20-minute speech asking for prayers for U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and the other victims of Wednesday mornings shooting at an Alexandria baseball field. This is a time of great political division in our country, but we have to find a way to bring our country together, Hogan said. This isnt just about the differences between the right and the left. This is about the differences between right and wrong. This is a Republican dinner, but before we are Republicans or Democrats, we must always be Americans first. Hogan said the country will be stronger when we put the anger and the partisanship aside and when we find a way to all work together to achieve real, bipartisan solutions to the serious problems that face us. Wednesday night was Hogans first appearance at the GOP annual dinner since taking office in 2015. Tickets were $250 a person, and the party raised about $300,000. Two years ago, the keynote speaker was Trump, then a candidate in a crowded Republican primary field. The dinner took place a week after the governor announced he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Last year, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) was the headliner, and dozens of union activists came to protest. Hogans office said he could not attend because of a scheduling conflict. To the chagrin of some party loyalists, Hogan over the past two years mostly has opted out of big fundraisers, endorsing only a few candidates in the 2016 elections and taking a hands-off approach in the selection of state party leaders. Political analysts say his strategy was smart, given that Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin in Maryland and that Hogans popularity and appeal so far have stretched across party lines. But as the 2018 campaigns begin to take shape, and as Hogan gears up for his own reelection bid, the governor is making moves to help the state party break the Democrats supermajority in the Senate. Last week, Hogan endorsed a young Republican delegate from Baltimore County who is vying for one of the Senate seats that the party has targeted. Ernestina Herrera de Noble, who transformed her late husbands newspaper from a struggling political project into Argentinas most powerful media organization, a telecommunications giant whose size allowed her to tangle with presidents and quietly shape national politics to her advantage, died June 14. She was 92. Grupo Clarin, the Argentine conglomerate that she formed in 1999, announced her death but did not provide additional details. With annual revenue of more than 11 billion pesos ($700 million), the company is among the largest telecom businesses in Latin America. Its flagship paper, the Buenos Aires-based tabloid Clarin, claims to have one of the highest circulations in the Spanish-speaking world. Mrs. Herrera de Noble, a former flamenco dancer, had neither business experience nor a college education when she took the reins of Clarin in 1969 following the death of her husband, Roberto Noble. A wealthy rancher with a reputation as a charismatic womanizer, Noble had served as a conservative-aligned minister in Buenos Aires Province before founding Clarin in 1945. The paper its name means bugle in Spanish at first distinguished itself with striking, photo-filled front pages that were designed to capture a working-class audience. Yet by the time of Nobles death, it had fallen into debt and had acquired a reputation as a pro-development political organ, limiting its mass appeal. I was distressed, but at the same time I arrived with a tremendous determination, Mrs. Herrera de Noble later recalled of her first days running Clarin. I had to continue the work of Noble, not imitating it, because people are irreplaceable and each one has his own style. She soon set about broadening the papers scope and surrounding herself with talented advisers, including accountant Hector Magnetto, Grupo Clarins current chief executive. Within a decade, according to journalist and Clarin historian Graciela Mochkofsky, Mrs. Herrera de Noble had pulled the paper out of debt and set it on a path to become Argentinas most widely read publication. She went on to grow her company into a political heavyweight, ignoring critics who accused her of seeking a media monopoly through investments in provincial broadsheets, local radio stations, websites, film productions, printing plants, a wireless carrier and the countrys largest cable and Internet business, Cablevision. The companys growth was driven in part by favorable relations with strongmen and presidents who regarded Mrs. Herrera de Noble as a kingmaker, a backroom operator capable of cutting deals or skewering her opponents with negative press coverage. She and Clarin were always a power player, Mochkofsky said, from the era of military rule that began in 1976 and on through the return of democracy in 1983. The company, she said, was opportunistic . . . always negotiating behind closed doors, with every government from the dictatorship on, to obtain licenses for cable television or support for their business growth. Mrs. Herrera de Nobles dealings with the government remained largely out of view until 2008, when a spat with then-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner began dominating headlines. Kirchners husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, had been championed by Grupo Clarin, and the president signed off on the companys acquisition of Cablevision during his final days in office. Yet Cristina Kirchner, a left-wing populist, felt antagonized by Mrs. Herrera de Nobles media outlets shortly after being elected. Clarin papers and stations criticized the president for raising taxes on agricultural exports and for her subsequent, aggressive handling of farmers who were protesting the tax measure. In response, Kirchner helped direct investigations into links between Mrs. Herrera de Noble and atrocities committed during the Dirty War of the 1970s and early 80s. It was during those years that Mrs. Herrera de Noble joined with several rival papers to purchase the countrys sole newsprint manufacturer, Papel Prensa. Ownership of the plant helped fuel Clarins growth in the coming decades, ending its reliance on imported paper that could be heavily taxed or outlawed by disgruntled government officials. Kirchner and her allies charged that the purchase was facilitated by the junta, to take the plant away from owners who were sympathetic to the leftist Montoneros guerrilla group. Mrs. Herrera de Noble, they said, was complicit in the sale and in the subsequent torture and murder of associates of the plants former owners. Her two children, whom she said she adopted in 1976, also were alleged to have been stolen from mothers who were abducted as political prisoners during the Dirty War. An estimated 30,000 people were killed or disappeared by the military during the conflict, while Clarin and other Argentine papers avoided coverage of the incidents, largely threatened into silence. Mrs. Herrera de Noble insisted that she had done nothing wrong in adopting her son and daughter, and at one point testified that she adopted her daughter after finding her sitting inside a cardboard box outside her door. In 2011, DNA tests found that her children were not part of a group of 55 families whose children had been abducted. Ernestina Laura Herrera was born in Buenos Aires on June 7, 1925, the youngest of six children. Her father was a humanities professor and her mother was a pianist from Valencia, Spain. She once said that she met her future husband, who was 23 years her senior, during a 1946 cruise down the Parana River. They saw each other intermittently and married in 1967, by which time Noble had divorced another woman. Following Nobles death, Mrs. Herrera de Noble vied for control of the paper with a daughter from Nobles earlier marriage. They eventually settled in court, with Mrs. Herrera de Noble taking control of Clarin. Survivors include her adopted children, Marcela and Felipe, and three grandchildren. The election of Cristina Kirchners successor, former engineer Mauricio Macri, helped Grupo Clarin expand further as telecommunications regulations began to be rolled back. In August, the company announced a plan to convert Cablevision into an independent business, allowing it to compete directly against Argentine phone carriers. Mrs. Herrera de Noble remained tight-lipped about her plans, as well as her own life. She seemed to follow the advice of her late husband, adopting his motto as her own, according to an obituary in Clarin. Those who make a newspaper, she liked to say, do not have to be news. Obituaries of residents from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Lewis Gulick, journalist, Hill staffer Lewis Gulick, 93, who covered the State Department for the Associated Press from 1953 to 1973 and then served as senior staff consultant to the House Foreign Affairs Committee from 1973 to 1986, died May 20 at a senior residential center in Falls Church, Va. The cause was heart ailments, said a daughter, Spencer Baker. Mr. Gulick, an Arlington resident, was born in Karuizawa, Japan, to American missionary parents. After leaving the Foreign Affairs Committee, he did consulting, then from 1988 to 1992 was Washington representative of the American Great Lakes Ports Association. Wren Cooper, teacher, costume creator Wren Cooper, 90, a teacher at the private St. Albans School in Washington and a designer and creator of costumes for dramatic productions of Washington National Cathedral and St. Albans schools, died May 6 at a hospice center in Washington. The cause was cancer, said a daughter, Kate Cooper. Mrs. Cooper, a District resident, was born Wren Davie in San Francisco and had lived in the Washington area since 1961. She was a designer and creator of costumes at St. Albans and Washington National Cathedral from 1967 to 1989, for summer festivals and St. Albans Repertory Theatre productions. She also taught drama at St. Albans. Carmel Cassidy, FEMA officer Carmel Cassidy, 82, a former officer of the Federal Emergency Management Agency whose work included designing training seminars and workshops, preparation for Y2K contingencies, and participation by civil agencies in global war games, died April 19 at a rehabilitation facility in Alexandria, Va. The cause was adenocarcinoma, said a daughter, Martha Cassidy. Mrs. Cassidy, a resident of Arlington, Va., was born Carmel Jones in New York City and had lived in the Washington area since 1950. She was a FEMA employee from 1981 to 2000, then became an independent consultant. Jack Golodner, AFL-CIO officer Jack Golodner, 85, former director of the AFL-CIOs department for professional employees, died May 13 at a hospice center in Washington. The cause was congestive heart failure, said a son, Dan Golodner. Mr. Golodner, a District resident, was born in New York City and came to Washington in 1958. He joined the AFL-CIO staff in 1967 and retired in 2001 as chief of the department that represents white-collar employees, such as teachers, musicians and journalists. Earlier in his career, he managed his own law firm specializing in arbitrations. He was a past board member of the National Theatre in Washington. Lloyd Hal Woodward, business owner Lloyd Hal Woodward, 72, a former project manager for the computer software company Inco who became owner of Redi Programs, a business that sold automated federal regulations to federal agencies, died May 19 at his home in Denver, N.C. The cause was congestive heart failure, said his wife, Sheila Woodward. Mr. Woodward, a native Washingtonian, left Inco in the early 1980s to become a project manager at Redi Programs; he became owner and sold the business in the early 1990s. In the mid-2000s, he was involved in an effort to build a battery-operated car. Doris Froman, union official Doris Froman, 95, a former purchasing director at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union, died May 25 at an assisted living center in Solomons, Md. The cause was congestive heart failure, said a niece, Lynn Kuhn. Ms. Froman, a resident of Silver Spring, Md., was born in Washington. She worked for the union from 1942 to 1983. She was a past member of St. Thomas Apostle Catholic Church in Washington. Charles Brock Jr., investment adviser Charles Brock Jr., 96, an investment adviser who worked for Johnston, Lemon & Co. from the early 1970s to 1990, among other firms, died May 6 at a health center in Gainesville, Va. The cause was dementia, said a son, Charles Brock III. Mr. Brock, a resident of Broad Run, Va., was born in Harrisonburg, Va. In the mid-1950s, he began his career in sales working with U.S. Gypsum and Georgia-Pacific before turning to investment advising. Suzanna Senda, craftswoman Suzanna Senda, 87, a craftswoman who made elaborate gingerbread houses and decorative baskets, died May 11 at a health-care center in Derwood, Md. The cause was breast cancer, said a daughter, Susan Senda. Mrs. Senda, a resident of Germantown, Md., was born Suzanna Pitek in Denbo, Pa., and moved to the Washington area in 1963. Her gingerbread houses often resembled ski chalets or mansions with fine detail, and they had been displayed at foreign embassies. Her decorative baskets were made from recycled cardboard and were festooned with ribbons. Stanley Hamilton, DOT public affairs director Stanley Hamilton, 83, who directed public affairs for the U.S. Transportation Department from 1986 to 2001, died May 26 at a hospital in Lawrence, Kan. The cause was multiple organ failure, said a son, Arthur Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton was born in Grand Island, Neb., and came to the Washington area in 1957 for the old Traffic World magazine, where he worked as an associate editor until 1968. For the next 33 years, he worked in public affairs for various transportation organizations. In 2003, he published Machine Gun Kellys Last Stand, about the gangster. He was a past board member of the National Press Club. He moved to Lawrence from Alexandria, Va., in 2002. Eli Flam, USIA officer Eli Flam, 83, a U.S. Information Agency officer who served in public affairs, cultural affairs and press assignments before retiring in 1988, died May 19 at a hospital in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. The cause was complications from colon cancer surgery, said his wife, Ludmila Obolensky-Flam. Mr. Flam, a native of New York City, served in the USIA for 24 years, including assignments in Buenos Aires, Moscow and Madrid. His last assignment was deputy director of the worldwide program of book reading and the teaching of English. In retirement. he did freelance writing. He moved to New Smyrna Beach from Greenbelt, Md., in 2016. Philip Dorman, USIA officer Philip Dorman, 99, a public affairs officer of the U.S. Information Agency who served as chief of his agencys missions in Zambia and Sudan in addition to assignments in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, died April 8 at his home in Washington. The cause was a heart attack, said a son, Tim Dorman. Mr. Dorman, a native of Racine, Wis., joined the State Department in 1948, then moved to USIA after it was established in 1953. He returned to the State Department in 1971 and retired in 1976. In retirement, he served as a member of the Foreign Service Grievance Board. D. Jeffrey Lenn, GWU professor D. Jeffrey Lenn, 76, an emeritus professor of strategic management and public policy at George Washington University, where he had served 34 years on the faculty, died May 4 at a hospital in Alexandria, Va. The cause was complications following heart surgery, said a daughter, Rebecca Lenn. Dr. Lenn, an Alexandria resident, was born in Kansas City, Kan. He taught at schools in New England before joining the GWU faculty in 1982. He had served as associate vice president for academic operations from 2008 to 2011 at GWU and as senior associate dean of the business school from 1998 to 2004. James Feldman, USIA employee James Feldman, 92, an information officer with the U.S. Information Agency who retired in 1983 and became a part-time document reviewer at the State Department for more than a decade, died May 26 at his home in Silver Spring, Md. The cause was bile duct cancer, said a daughter, Regina Koch. Mr. Feldman, a Chicago native, spent 21 years with USIA. He was a past head of the retirement advisory council at the Riderwood Village retirement community in Silver Spring, and his memberships included the American Foreign Service Association and the Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired. Marlene Leon, officer manager Marlene Leon, 74, who managed husband Barry Leons dental practice in Annandale, Va., from 1986 to 2002 and then worked as a part-time receptionist for OB/GYN John Doppelheuer in McLean, Va., until 2016, died May 23 at a hospital in Falls Church, Va. The cause was a hemorrhagic stroke, said a daughter, Mindy Leon. Mrs. Leon, a resident of Annandale, was born Marlene Himmelfarb in Washington. She was a former volunteer at Wakefield Forest Elementary School in Fairfax County, Va., a former volunteer usher at Arena Stage in Washington and a former volunteer at the Friends of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, an organization supporting children involved in the court system. Richard Skinner, magazine editor Richard Skinner, 92, former managing editor and associate publisher of Air Force Magazine, the monthly publication of the Air Force Association, died May 6 at his home in Silver Spring, Md. The cause was vascular dementia, said a daughter, Anna Skinner. Mr. Skinner, a native of Princeton, Ill., served in the Army Air Forces in the Pacific during World War II and joined the staff of Air Force Magazine as a civilian in 1951. He retired in 1989 as managing editor and associate publisher. He also had been managing editor of Space Digest and executive editor of Aerospace International, a sister publication, and he had edited several anthologies. Gustavo Jimenez, maitre dhotel Gustavo Jimenez, 87, who worked at the Hotel Washington for 42 years and rose to maitre dhotel before retiring in the mid-1990s, died May 9 at a hospital in Cheverly, Md. The cause was a stroke, said a daughter, Susie Jimenez. Mr. Jimenez, a resident of Hyattsville, Md., was born in Toluca, Mexico, before settling in the Washington area in the mid-1950s. He began as a waiter and later, as maitre dhotel, presided over the hotels Independence Day celebrations for decades. Robert Barton Jr., bank president Robert Barton Jr., 83, who served as president at the old Interstate Federal Savings and Loan Association in Washington and later was an executive with the Business Bank in Vienna, Va., died May 27 at a hospice center in Aldie, Va. The cause was congestive heart failure, said a son, Scott Barton. Mr. Barton, a Washington native, joined Interstate Federal in 1955 as a teller. He was an assistant vice president in 1963 when he and a colleague ran after a thief who had robbed the banks main office and detained him for the police. Perpetual Savings Bank acquired Interstate Federal in 1983, and Mr. Barton was a senior vice president around the time Perpetual collapsed in 1992 amid massive losses on real estate loans, The Washington Post reported. He was a financial consultant during the 1990s. He then spent 14 years as a vice president and commercial loan officer at the Business Bank until retiring in 2014, when the bank merged with Cardinal Financial. He was a resident of Vienna and a former member of Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md. Jerene Thomas, program manager Jerene Thomas, 96, who coordinated study abroad family placements as a volunteer American Field Service program manager from 1959 until the early 2010s, died May 11 at a family home in Ashburn, Va. The cause was cardiac arrest, said a daughter, Sherry Watkins. Mrs. Thomas, a resident of Great Falls, Va., was born Jerene Snuffer in Amity, Mo. She settled in the Washington area in 1955 and was a past president of the Great Falls Womans Club. Eric Bibby, IT executive Eric Bibby, 46, who formed and ran an information technology company, Amaryllis Technology, died May 20 at his home in Washington. A spokeswoman for the D.C. medical examiners office said determination of the cause is pending further tests. Mr. Bibby was born in Moline, Ill., and had lived in Washington for 20 years. He ran another information technology company, Avatar International, before forming Amaryllis a decade ago. Carl Rochelle, journalist Carl Rochelle, 79, a former broadcast journalist with CNN who became a narrator of political commercials and public service announcements through a self-titled company he started in 2007, died May 20 at a hospital in Arlington, Va. The cause was non-Hodgkins lymphoma, said a former wife, Christy Carter. Mr. Rochelle, an Arlington resident, was born in Washington, N.C. He came to the Washington area in the mid-1960s and was a radio and television journalist for ABC, NBC and MSNBC at various times. He spent 20 years with CNN covering wars in the Middle East, aviation and transportation issues, and national security, among other topics before leaving in 2001 amid staff cutting. From staff reports A poster put up at a Thursday news conference shows four members of Turkish President Recep Tayyip's Erdogan's security detail who have been criminally charged in a May incident in which they allegedly attacked protesters in the District. ( D.C. police) A dozen security guards for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are now wanted by D.C. police, who on Thursday declared them criminal suspects and accused them of attacking peaceful protesters during a visit to Washington last month. Jumping into an international thicket while sidestepping questions over diplomatic immunity, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) called the May 16 melee outside the ambassadors residence on Sheridan Circle a vicious attack and an affront to our values. D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said dignitaries and protesters take to District streets nearly every day, but rarely have I seen in 28 years of policing the type of thing I saw in Sheridan Circle, he said. . . . We all saw the violence that was perpetrated against peaceful protesters, and its not something that were going to tolerate. Newsham read the names of each suspect to a room packed with media. Around him were placards with the word WANTED in red and photographs of the suspects. The men were identified, with the help of the State Department, by matching surveillance video from the fight to entry visas and passports. All are charged with various degrees of assault. [Turkish guards attack protesters at Sheridan Circle] Erdogan, speaking in Ankara on Thursday, blasted the D.C. police. They have issued arrest warrants for 12 of my bodyguards. What kind of law is this? the president said, according to the semiofficial Anadolu news agency. If my bodyguards cannot protect me then why am I bringing them to America with me? The president accused the demonstrators of being affiliated with a terrorist group, a charge they deny. He said they got too close to the residence and to him. And the American police are not doing anything, Erdogan said. They are not touching them. Could you imagine what the attitude would be if something similar happened in Turkey? The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador after the charges were announced and said in a statement that the decision lacks legal basis. It remains uncertain whether any of the suspects members of the presidents formal security force, guards and Turkish police officers will ever stand trial in the United States. Some of them had holstered handguns as they fought with demonstrators. All returned to Turkey in the days after the visit, and Newsham referred questions about immunity and extradition to the State Department. The chief said he did know whether the United States has made a formal request for the guards to surrender, but he urged that they do so voluntarily. Newsham said the guards would be arrested if they attempt to enter the United States. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement the charges send a clear message that the United States does not tolerate individuals who use intimidation and violence to stifle freedom of speech and legitimate political expression. (VOA Turkish/Twitter) The statement says officials will work with police and determine if any additional steps will need to be taken. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert would not say whether that meant the United States would seek extradition. Our actions will be responsive and proportional to the charges, she said, while promising that the suspects will be held accountable. The demonstrations occurred during Erdogans visit to the White House and started on Pennsylvania Avenue, where a minor skirmish forced the Secret Service to separate Erdogan supporters and detractors. The group then moved to Sheridan Circle on Massachusetts Avenue, outside the ambassadors residence in Northwest Washington. An arrest warrant says the attack came in two waves, the first just as Erdogan arrived at the residence in his motorcade. Police said Erdogan supporters rushed demonstrators upset over the president for consolidating power and jailing opponents. Punches were thrown, and police said an anti-Erdogan demonstrator was hit in the face with a flag. [Experts say its unlikely that Turkish guards will stand trial in U.S.] Police separated the groups, but several minutes later, police said in court documents, Turkish security personnel in suits pushed through the police cordon and commenced a second assault. . . . The pro Erdogan group appeared to rush across the street in a nearly simultaneous coordinated throng. Several videos captured brutal assaults in which demonstrators were stomped in the head and punched as police officers struggled to restore order. Some people were seen walking around dazed and bloodied; one man was knocked unconscious. The court document notes that security guards were seen speaking into their communication devices seconds before the attack. One video shows a man lean into a car in which Erdogan was sitting outside the residence, then signal to another man. The second man then heads toward the protesters. Things quickly become chaotic, and at one point Erdogan emerges from the car and watches the scene. Newsham would not say whether Erdogan was investigated. We dont have any information right now to suggest we have probable cause to arrest the president, he said. In addition to the security guards, police filed warrants against four other people, two of them U.S. citizens from Virginia and New Jersey and two from Canada. The two Americans were arrested Wednesday. The New Jersey resident is awaiting extradition to the District; the Virginia man appeared Thursday in D.C. Superior Court, where a judge ordered him detained until a hearing Friday on charges that include felony aggravated assault. Court documents allege Sinan Narin, joined by security guards and other pro-Erdogan civilians, beat a female demonstrator unconscious. His attorney argued that evidence was lacking, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonali D. Patel referenced video footage. One victim, Ceren Borazan, a 26-year-old immigrant from Turkey who studies in New Jersey, said one of Erdogans security guards put her in a chokehold that popped a blood vessel in her left eye. Borazan whose account is mirrored in the arrest warrant, which names the guard who allegedly attacked her said she did not expect charges to be filed. This tells the Turkish government and other governments that their behavior will not be tolerated on American soil, she said. Dana Hedgpeth, Carol Morello, Anne Gearan, Keith L. Alexander and Perry Stein in Washington and Kareem Fahim in Istanbul contributed to this report. Heavy equipment is seen at a site where sections of the Dakota Access pipeline are buried in North Dakota in October. (Tom Stromme/Bismarck Tribune via Associated Press) A federal judge in Washington on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to conduct further environmental reviews of the Dakota Access pipeline but stopped short of halting oil-pumping operations pending further hearings beginning June 21. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg handed a limited victory to Native American tribes in North Dakota that had challenged the administrations effort to speed the project, and his dense, 91-page opinion directed both sides to appear before him next Wednesday to decide next legal steps. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers substantially complied with federal environmental laws, Boasberg wrote, it did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipelines effects are likely to be highly controversial. Boasbergs decision comes just weeks after Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners had begun pumping crude oil through the 1,170-mile line carrying North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a distribution point in Illinois. Whether Dakota Access must cease pipeline operations while the additional reviews are done presents a separate question of the appropriate remedy, which will be the subject of further briefing, Boasberg ruled. David Debold, an attorney for Dakota Access, and Daryl Owen, a lobbyist representing Energy Transfer Partners, did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Four Sioux tribes in the Dakotas have asked the court to shut down oil-pumping operations. Boasberg in February rejected emergency requests by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes grounded in cultural preservation and religious freedom claims, the latter of which was based on the tribes argument that the pipeline would desecrate the Missouri River and Lake Oahe, integral parts of their religious practices. [Federal judge rejects request to block Dakota Access pipeline for now] The newest battle was triggered by one of President Trumps early executive orders, directing the corps to expedite approval. The tribes and environmental groups said the administrations actions violate administrative procedure and treaty obligations. Jan Hasselman, an attorney with the environmental group Earthjustice and lawyer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, called the ruling a significant vindication of the tribes position, recalling how Trump in a speech last week in Cincinnati took credit for the projects opening, saying, Nobody thought any politician would have the guts to approve that final leg. I just closed my eyes, and I said, Do it. Hasselman said, That is a perfect metaphor for this president and this project: They have closed their eyes to the impact of oil spills on some of the poorest people in the nation. It wasnt right, and now we know it wasnt lawful. However, he acknowledged that what the judge decides to do about it remains to be seen. I was hoping for something with teeth, said Chase Iron Eyes, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and lead counsel in a group defending Lakota rights. Its a victory in a sense that the law should be followed in other pipeline projects. ... For now well keep hoping for something that prevents the flow of oil. The pipeline has been the focus of legal maneuvering and protests for months. Authorities reported 761 arrests resulting from protests before the pipeline began commercial operations June 1. Opponents, who say the pipeline endangers their water supplies, said leaks began even earlier. As preparations for service began, the pipeline and a feeder line leaked more than 100 gallons of oil in western North Dakota in separate incidents in March, and the Dakota Access line leaked 84 gallons of oil in northern South Dakota in April. Tribal leaders say their environmental concerns have grown more urgent now that the pipeline is operational. Boasbergs opinion focused on tribes call for the courts to declare the administrations actions illegal, arbitrary and capricious. In late 2016, President Barack Obama ordered the Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the river and lake, to ask Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline company, to submit environmental impact statements on alternative routes. But Trump on Jan. 24 ordered the engineers to speedily issue the final easement the company needed to finish construction in the national interest. On Feb. 8, the Army said it no longer needed an environmental-impact statement and issued the easement. Boasberg said that while federal law typically allows a court to order a halt to operations, such a move in the Dakota pipeline case would carry serious consequences that a court should not lightly impose. In such cases, he wrote, courts have discretion to depart from that presumptive remedy, calling for further legal arguments. Its an argument attorneys are making across the country: Only the worst of juvenile offenders those deemed irreparably corrupt dont deserve a chance at release from prison. And on Thursday, the argument came to a case that terrorized the Washington region 15 years ago: the sniper attacks. Youth is a mitigator, an attorney for sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, said in a Rockville courtroom. No matter how serious the offense, no matter how heinous, no matter the impact on the community, the individual being sentenced, the question is: Can that person plausibly, possibly be rehabilitated even if were speaking about a remote possibility far down the line? The attorney, James Johnston, said Malvo deserved such a chance and asked that Malvos original Maryland sentence from the 2002 shootings six consecutive sentences of life in prison with no chance of parole be vacated and a new sentencing hearing be held. Montgomery Circuit Judge Robert Greenberg did not rule from the bench after the hour-long hearing and indicated he would issue an written opinion later. Greenberg also heard from prosecutors, who said the original sentence for Malvo should stand. In the fall of 2002 some four months before his 18th birthday Malvo and John Allen Muhammad spent three weeks driving around the Washington area, shooting people who were merely going about everyday routines: filling cars with gas, walking up to stores, mowing grass. Ten people were killed six in Maryland, three in Virginia and one in Washington, D.C. The historic and unprecedented nature of the criminal conduct in this case places the 17-year-old Lee Malvo in a separate category from almost every other juvenile defendant, Brian Kleinbord, a Montgomery County assistant states attorney, wrote in court filings points he emphasized during Thursdays hearing. Malvo knowingly, willingly and voluntarily participated in the cowardly murders of innocent, defenseless human beings, Kleinbord said in court. Malvo, now 32, is being held in the maximum security Red Onion State Prison in southwestern Virginia. Muhammad was sentenced to death for a slaying in Prince William County and in 2009 was executed in Virginia. [Muhammad is executed for sniper killing] Malvo has already made a similar sentencing argument regarding his Virginia life terms. In May, U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson vacated those sentences and ordered resentencings. Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring then filed notice that he would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. That process will probably delay any potential resentencing by about a year. [Federal judges tosses life sentences for convicted Beltway sniper Malvo] While Thursdays hearing in Maryland addressed important constitutional issues, it almost certainly will have no bearing on the chances of Malvos being freed. Should Malvo ever be released in Virginia, he would be moved to Maryland to begin serving time for six murders. His Maryland sentence the subject of Thursdays hearing was originally imposed as six consecutive terms of life with no chance at parole. One possible outcome in the case: His terms for the Maryland murders could ultimately be converted to six consecutive terms of life with the chance of parole. Given the specifics of Maryland law, he probably would have to serve at least 20 years for each count before becoming eligible for parole, according to Johnston, which means a total of more than 120 years. The 20 years per count would be higher than many other murder cases in Maryland, Johnston notes, owing to prosecutors continued assertion that Malvo deserves life-without-parole sentences. [Malvo, 10 years after shootings: I was a monster.] For offenders like Malvo, who are subject to staggeringly long prison sentences, the original sentences deserve to be addressed, Johnston said, because of the fundamental issues of the environment in which kids are raised, how brains develop and how young people are generally more capable of rehabilitation. The Supreme Court has recognized that juveniles are fundamentally different than adults in the context of criminal sentences, said Johnston, director of the Youth Resentencing Project at the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. A young person is uniquely capable of change. He said that across Maryland, there are 13 inmates serving life-without-parole sentences for convictions in homicides dating to when they were juveniles. More than 200, he said, are serving straight life sentences for homicide convictions. Johnston said that in Maryland, the two types of life sentences amount to the same thing because the governor must approve any parole release for both classes of inmates and rarely if ever does so. Johnston said the ultimate solution would require broader changes. On Jan. 12, he filed his motion on behalf of Malvo, asking the Montgomery County Circuit Court to correct an illegal sentence and hold a new hearing. Citing the Supreme Court opinion, Johnston wrote that sentencing courts should decide whether the juvenile offender before it is a child whose crimes reflect transient immaturity or is one of those rare children whose crimes reflect irreparable corruption for whom a life without parole sentence may be appropriate. National legal trends, Johnston added, make it clear that no child may serve a life without parole penalty even for the most heinous offense without an informed sentencing decision in which the mitigating role of youth takes center stage. In response, prosecutors described the terrifying circumstances in which Malvo and Muhammad killed six people in Montgomery County. The prosecutors also wrote about the original sentence and what family members of the victims had to say about Malvo. The court, after considering Malvos age, the willfulness and brutality of the crimes and Malvos role in it, Malvos background, and the likelihood that he could be rehabilitated, determined that the appropriate sentence was life without the possibility of parole. . . . Among the family members that spoke at sentencing, perhaps the most powerful voice was that of Victoria Buchanan Snyder, the sister of James Sonny Buchanan, who emphasized the willfulness of Malvos acts: I have watched Lee Boyd Malvo express enjoyment of killing to feeling bad about it; to admitting to killing my brother, Sonny, to denying it. Muhammad and Malvo, both cowards and murderers, both shot innocent people going about their daily lives. You hunted them down and shot them, in Sonnys case, in the back. I say to you, Mr. Malvo, you were old enough to know right from wrong. Marylands top lawyer on Thursday waded into the controversy over topless sunbathing at the beach, telling state and local officials that they probably are on solid legal ground if they want to ban women from baring their breasts in public. The office of Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) said that prohibiting women from exposing their breast in public while allowing men to do so under the same circumstances does not violate the federal or state Constitution. The brief opinion comes less than a week after the Ocean City Council held an emergency meeting to pass a public nudity ban. The family-friendly beach has never been a destination for topless sunbathing. But the popular vacation spot was thrust into a debate about gender equity after a local female resident lobbied officials to go shirtless. Chelsea Covington, a self-described topfreedom advocate, had argued for equality under the law in a legal brief submitted to state and city officials that said if men can go bare-chested in public, women can, too. She argued that allowing women to be bare-breasted in public is not indecent or lewd. Covington called the letter from Froshs office pathetically noncommittal and said it read like a book report written on the bus the morning it is due by a student who didnt actually read the book. She said plans to continue her battle in court. The Attorney General stalled for a year, created unnecessary drama and contention between the parties, wrote a wildly incomplete analysis that clarifies nothing and will ultimately cost Ocean City a lot of money to defend an unconstitutional ordinance, Covington said in a statement. Bravo. [Ocean City acts to keep women from going topless at beach] Last August, Worcester County States Attorney Beau Oglesby asked the attorney generals office for guidance on the states indecent-exposure laws and how the rules would apply to women who want to go topless in public. Ocean City officials said they were delighted by the legal advice from the attorney generals office, which will have statewide implications. We have a responsibility to protect the rights of thousands of families who visit our beach and boardwalk each summer season, and the letter of advice agreed with our position, Mayor Rick Meehan said. Maryland law is not entirely clear on whether women are expressly prohibited from bearing their breasts in public, saying only that a person convicted of indecent exposure is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both. No Maryland appellate court has addressed the specific issue of toplessness. State and local indecent-exposure laws do not apply to breast-feeding women, who have a right to do so in public. While Ocean City officials waited for word from the attorney generals office this month, they directed the beach patrol not to confront bare-chested women or ask them to cover up. Beach patrol employees were told to document complaints about topless bathers by filling out minor incident forms, but were specifically told not to approach the topless woman, even if requested to do so by the complainant or other beach patrons. In response to public concern, however, Ocean City officials took action last Saturday to make clear the local beach was not going topless. In the emergency meeting, the council approved an ordinance that makes public nudity a municipal infraction punishable by a fine of $1,000 and again enforceable by the local beach patrol. [In Ocean City, Hooters, thongs and horror over topless women on the beach] The legal opinion, written by Sandra Benson Brantley and Adam D. Snyder, says a clear majority of cases from other jurisdictions including from the Richmond-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit have upheld the constitutionality of regulations that prohibit women, but not men, from being topless in public. The memo also quotes from a Maryland Court of Appeals decision that says it is not a violation of equal rights laws to treat men and women differently on account of physical characteristics unique to one sex. Things which are different in fact dont necessarily need to be treated in law as though they were the same, the letter said. Covington said the letter relied on an obscure case and ignored recent case law that supported gender equality and topfreedom. Drawing a meaningful gender line between male and female regarding breast tissue is difficult if not impossible, Covington wrote in her original brief, and attempting to enforce such a law will result in illegal arrests and harassment charges against police, as well as cement the societal stigma of being born into a female body. The attorney generals brief cited a federal judges opinion that said breasts are considered erogenous zones to some and should not be displayed willy-nilly to protect the moral sensibilities. But the brief also left the issue open-ended, saying that While we conclude that the Court of Appeals would uphold the application of Marylands indecency laws against female toplessness, we also know that public morals are not static in this realm. A noose was found hanging from a tree in Montgomery County on Thursday, police said. Around 9:10 a.m., officers responded to the Herons Cove Condominium neighborhood in the 18900 block of Mills Choice Road in Montgomery Village for the report of the noose, Montgomery County police said in a statement. The noose, made of synthetic rope, was found in a tree in a common area near a parking lot around 8 a.m., the statement said, and there was no indication it was directed toward a specific person. It was removed by police, according to the statement. [Noose found at exhibit in African American Smithsonian museum] A number of nooses have been found in the D.C. region in recent weeks, including two at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the Mall and one in Southeast Washington. Police asked anyone with information about the noose to contact them at 301-279-8000. Two Maryland state troopers were injured after they struck each others patrol cars. Both were trying to stop a suspected drunk driver in Upper Marlboro. The incident happened about midnight Wednesday along MD 4, also known as Pennsylvania Avenue. The troopers were responding to a call about a driver who appeared to be intoxicated and heading the wrong way in northbound lanes. The troopers followed each other, and one hit the rear of the others car near Green Landing Road, sending it across the median and down an embankment, officials said. No other vehicles were involved in the accident. An officer with the Maryland Natural Resources Police was later able to stop the driver, who was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. His name was not immediately released, and officials said the investigation is ongoing. A federal judge signaled Thursday that he wont allow construction on Marylands Purple Line to begin while a lawsuit seeking to block the project is pending, saying any costs the state might incur for further delays would be self-inflicted. At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon castigated Maryland officials for signing a $5.6 billion contract for the project in April 2016, before he had decided the case, and without a financial escape clause in case the state lost the lawsuit. Maryland officials have said legal delays are costing the state more than $13 million a month and could leave taxpayers with $800 million in costs and contract fees if the project is eventually canceled. Leon showed more disbelief than sympathy. State officials took the risk to the state of Maryland and the taxpayers of Maryland without an escape clause if the litigation didnt go the way it thought, Leon told Albert Ferlo, an attorney for Perkins Coie, who represented the Maryland Transit Administration. Why should the court . . . bail you out of a gamble that you took? [Judge dismisses most of Purple Line case, but ridership must be recalculated] Leon noted that the team of companies contracted to build and operate the 16-mile light-rail line, Purple Line Transit Partners, ensured it would still get paid if the project was significantly delayed or canceled. Maryland officials, he said, had rolled the dice by committing millions in state money before seeing whether he would dismiss the lawsuit. Leon said he would issue a written opinion in coming days on the states motion asking that he restore the projects environmental approval while it appeals his earlier ruling that its environmental study was insufficient. The state needs a judge to reinstate that approval before it can begin construction and, more important, try to secure $900 million in federal grants. Leon revoked that approval in August when he ordered the state to redo the Purple Lines ridership projections to account for Metros falling ridership and safety problems. Leon said the state should not get access to the federal funding until the environmental impact study is redone, because it might show that a less-expensive project would serve the states desire for better east-west transit in the Washington suburbs. Perhaps under a more modest approach, based on the Metro situation, it would be $400 million or $500 million, which would protect federal taxpayers, Leon said. If Leon rejects the states motion, the state is expected to ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reinstate the environmental approval while it considers the states appeal. The judge said Maryland had caused its own delays by continuing to fight his ruling to update the ridership projections rather than simply do it. It might have been done by now, Leon said, but instead you chose the litigation strategy. Ferlo, the attorney for the state, said the federal law at the center of the lawsuit requires the government to take a hard look at a projects potential environmental impacts, but does not regulate how much money should be allotted to it. He said the state would soon run out of money to continue paying for pre-construction work in anticipation of being reimbursed with the federal funds. Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn recently scaled back work on the project, saying the state needed to cut costs while the legal case continues. Theres little money left for the state to continue on doing what its been doing, Ferlo told the judge. [State suspends key elements of Purple Line pre-construction work] Ferlo argued again that the Federal Transit Administration had already determined that Purple Line ridership would be more than robust and worth a light-rail line, even if no Metro riders used the Purple Line. Metro passengers are expected to make up 27 percent of the Purple Lines ridership. Even so, he said, federal law requires agencies to consider only reasonable or foreseeable impacts. Even if Metros ridership decline continues, Ferlo told Leon, Metro going away is not going to happen. Eric Glitzenstein, an attorney for Purple Line opponents who filed the 2014 lawsuit, said the state shouldnt be allowed to begin cutting trees and destroying wildlife habitat until it completes the court-ordered ridership analysis. He told Leon that Maryland allowed its contractor to start pre-construction work on the line two days after the judge raised concerns about Metro ridership during a court hearing last June. They still went ahead and decided to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a project that the court had already said had serious legal problems, Glitzenstein said. Erin Henson, spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Transportation, said that the state disagreed with the judge. We dont believe Judge Leon will have the last word on this incredibly important project for the Washington region and the State of Maryland, Henson said in an email. Washington-area governments on Wednesday endorsed the goal of dedicated funding for Metro but could not agree on key questions, including how much money the agency needs or how to raise it. The board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) unanimously agreed on a statement of principles to guide the region as it wrestles with what Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld says is the increasingly urgent need to rescue the transit systems finances. But internal disputes led the board to balk at endorsing specific recommendations from a COG technical panel in April that called for a uniform 1 percent regional sales tax to raise $650 million a year to cover capital and maintenance costs at the transit agency. The resolution called dedicated funding, a bondable funding stream that would significantly enhance Metros long-term borrowing abilities, the optimal way to fulfill the systems capital needs. It also embraced elements of Wiedefelds proposal including capping at 3 percent the annual increase in subsidies from the jurisdictions that fund Metro and retooling the agency without rewriting its governing compact. Loudoun County Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles), who is COGs vice chairman, fought successfully to include language in the resolution that would leave the door open for reopening the compact. Wiedefeld, who presented his financial road map for the system in April, has called for $15.5 billion over 10 years for capital needs including $500 million in new, annual dedicated funding and a slew of concessions from Metros unions. [Metro GM proposes new business model and $500 million a year in extra funding to save D.C.-area transit agency] Wiedefeld, who attended Wednesdays meeting, hailed the resolution as a sign of progress but acknowledged the significant hurdles his plan faces. He has asked that dedicated funding be in place by July 1, 2018 in time for the 2019 fiscal year. I mean, I think across the board . . . people are coming to the table and saying that weve got to deal with this, Wiedefeld said. My only concern is . . . that we have to move and we have to move fairly quickly on this, or we will be in a pretty difficult situation going into the [2019 fiscal] budget. Wednesdays resolution made clear that the regions officials are not ready to accept Wiedefelds financial recommendations at face value. Besides the COG analysis and Wiedefelds plan, a study from a panel headed by former U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood is forthcoming. The LaHood panel, convened by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), is expected to lay out Metros long-term governance and financial needs. A COG strategy group headed by Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova (D) has been engaged in conversations with LaHood ahead of the study and is expected to make more concrete recommendations in the coming months. Despite the limitations of the endorsement, Bulova said, Wednesdays resolution was a step in the right direction. I think an important part of what was passed is that additional funding is needed and that it needs to be bondable, and it doesnt have to be a sales tax, although it could be a sales tax, or it could be a blending of other revenues, Bulova said. But the important thing is whatever color the money is, it needs to be predictable, it needs to be bondable, and it needs to pass muster, essentially, with the [bond] rating agencies. Metro, funded through a combination of jurisdictional subsidies and federal grants, stands alone among the nations major subways in its lack of a significant source of dedicated funding. D.C. officials have called for a regionwide sales tax, but the proposal is a nonstarter for some Northern Virginia Republicans. And last week, a rift became evident in suburban Maryland when the Prince Georges Countys representative to the Metro board declined to endorse Wiedefelds plan, saying it required more study, and raised particular concerns over the impact on the labor force. [Prince Georges wary of Metro dedicated funding proposal, presenting additional hurdle to Wiedefeld plan] COGs resolution was similar to one approved by the Metro board last week and another approved by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission both endorsing the spirit of Wiedefelds proposal. The heavy lifting hasnt begun, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said after Wednesdays vote. Its going to have to begin soon. Though officials have not explicitly endorsed the specifics of his plan nearly two months after its unveiling, Wiedefeld said the discussion has advanced significantly. Think of where we were a year ago; this was not part of the public discussion, Wiedefeld said. We did not have detailed thoughts out there from a number of groups. None of that was in existence. It was more about the organization itself. I think were moving beyond that and were focusing on the real issues, and Im very encouraged by that. [How best to pay for Metros needs? A regionwide sales tax, say local officials in major report.] Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans was realistic about the implications of the COG resolution. Theres not a lot of profile in courage in this statement, Evans said before the vote. He said he was puzzled by the decision to omit a dollar figure needed for the agency, considering the analysis by COGs technical panel. On the other hand, he said, he was pleased to see that COG was endorsing a proposal that included the words dedicated funding source. I think thats a huge achievement, said Evans, who also is a member of the D.C. Council. Maryland Del. Marc A. Korman (D) was optimistic about the trajectory of the funding discussion in light of Wednesdays vote but said significant work remains. I hope were on a road to dedicated funding by this time next year. But I also think dedicated funding alone is not the answer, he said. The problem with Metro is not just funding. Money helps. I want them to have dedicated funding, but there are other issues there with the management, with the governance, that need to be addressed. Robert McCartney contributed to this report. Jim Plowman says that seeing the clemency attempt will reveal the full scope of errors. (Courtesy of James E. Jim Plowman/Courtesy of James E. Jim Plowman) Gov. Terry McAuliffe has agreed, under a civil settlement with a state prosecutor, to turn over a list of 206,000 convicted felons whose voting rights he restored last year under a now-defunct executive order. Loudoun County Commonwealths Attorney Jim Plowman (R) had been seeking the list since McAuliffe (D) restored voting and other civil rights to felons in a sweeping executive order in April 2016. Plowman filed a Freedom of Information Act request soon afterward, but the administration denied it, saying the names fell under an exemption covering the governors working papers. Plowman then sued the McAuliffe administration, which resulted in the settlement, dated Monday, that requires the governor to turn over the list and pay $1,200 to Plowmans attorney, Matthew D. Hardin. Theyre giving me everything I asked for a year ago. They just dragged it out, Plowman said in an interview Thursday. It seems a bit unreasonable that you have to actually file a lawsuit to get something that people should have everyday public access to. [Prosecutor sues Virginia Gov. McAuliffe for list of restored felons] McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy suggested that the list is meaningless because the state Supreme Court invalidated the original order and the governor has since come up with a different method for restoring rights. We are pleased to put Mr. Plowmans needless, wasteful and currently moot lawsuit to rest, Coy said in an email. Nothing about the old database relates to the governors current individualized process, which the Virginia Supreme Court has upheld, and which has successfully restored over 156,000 ex-felons rights. The governor remains committed to restoration of civil rights and hopes that Republicans will finally accept that giving people who have served their time a voice in their society is the right thing to do. [Its been beautiful, says 79-year-old felon who votes again after 40 years] Virginia is one of a handful of states that permanently disenfranchises felons. The Virginia Constitution, however, gives the governor authority to restore the right to vote, serve on a jury and run for public office. McAuliffes predecessor, Robert F. McDonnell (R), simplified and sped up that process, but McAuliffe took it to a new level. With great fanfare on the steps of the state Capitol last year, McAuliffe announced that he had restored rights to 206,000. He heralded his action as a way for Virginia to move past the Jim Crow era, noting that African Americans have been disproportionately affected by felon disenfranchisement. [McAuliffe vows to restore voting rights] Republicans were furious because the order included violent felons and those who had not paid court costs or made restitution to their victims. They filed two lawsuits against what they called an unconstitutional and sloppy order. One, filed by GOP legislators, contended that the governor exceeded his clemency powers because he restored rights en masse instead of individually. The other, from Plowman, sought the list of felons, which was of interest after a number of errors surfaced. McAuliffe had intended his order to cover only felons who had served their time and completed parole, but he mistakenly restored rights to 132 sex offenders still in custody as well as to several convicted killers on probation in other states. This troubled Plowman and some fellow prosecutors, because the governors order not only restored voting rights but also the right to serve on juries. It also was a steppingstone toward the restoration of gun rights. [Virginia court invalidates Gov. Terry McAuliffes order restoring felon voting rights] In July, the legislators suit prevailed with the Supreme Court of Virginia, which threw out McAuliffes blanket clemency order. Since then, the governor has used a fast-track but individualized approach to restore rights to 156,000 felons a process that passed muster with the Supreme Court. Governors typically report the names of felons whose rights they restore to the General Assembly, but unlike other forms of clemency, reporting is not required. McAuliffe reported the names of felons whose restorations were not undone by the Supreme Court, but not the original list. But Plowman, with his suit, still sought the names of the 206,000 covered by the original order. He said it will reveal the full scope of errors related to the governors sweeping clemency attempt and make the case for vetting felons before restoring their rights. I think the public has a right to know . . . whats fallen through the cracks here, he said. We didnt create all these people that were violent and in mental hospitals and non-citizens. They were there and he chose to take action and intended to take action on all of them, and would have if we hadnt called him out on it. Thursday, JUNE 15 African American music appreciation dance party Ages 13-18 can dance to hip-hop and R&B. 3 p.m. Glenarden Library, 8724 Glenarden Pkwy. 301-772-5477. pgcmls.info. Free. Family game night Bring board games or play one of the librarys. 5 p.m. Bladensburg Library, 4820 Annapolis Rd., Bladensburg. 301-927-4916. pgcmls.info. Free. Thirsty (for Business) Thursday A networking event to meet local businesspeople. 5:30-7 p.m. Fishnet Restaurant, 5010 Berwyn Rd., College Park. 301-583-4650. pgcedc.com/events. Free; RSVP required. Luther Goldman bird walk The Prince Georges Audubon Society leads this walk through open water, wetlands, wood edge, riparian forest, paved trails and other outdoor habitats. 6 p.m. Luther Goldman Birding Trail, Lake Artemesia Natural Area, Ruatan Street and Berwyn Road, Berwyn Heights. 301-509-5122. pgaudubon.org. Free. Friday, JUNE 16 College Park Needle Arts Society Crafters can work on quilting, knitting, embroidery and counted cross-stitch projects. 9:30-11:30 a.m. Berwyn Heights Town Hall, 5700 Berwyn Rd. 301-474-5000. berwynheightsmd.gov. Free. The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne A film about a notorious jewel thief. Screening for ages 60 and older. 11 a.m. Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly. 301-277-1710. arts.pgparks.com. $2. STEM-tastic Learn about dinosaurs found in the Mesozoic Era and make your own out of clay. For ages 5-12. 3 p.m. Laurel Library, 507 Seventh St., Laurel. 301-776-6790. pgcmls.info. Free. Campfire talk Rangers discuss the history of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. 8 p.m. Greenbelt Park, 6565 Greenbelt Rd. 301-344-3944. nps.gov/gree. Free. Saturday, JUNE 17 Berwyn Heights community yard sale Shop new and used household items, clothes, toys and more. 8 a.m. Berwyn Heights Community Center, 6200 Pontiac St., and Town Hall, 5700 Berwyn Rd. 301-474-5000. berwynheightsmd.gov. Free. Explore the fern plants Botanist Bill Harms discusses the centers fern population. 9 a.m.-noon. Patuxent Research Refuge, North Tract, 230 Bald Eagle Dr., Laurel. 301-497-5887. Free; registration required. Donations welcome. Fishing at Blue Heron pond A bus trip for all ages. 9 a.m.-noon. Patuxent Research Refuge, North Tract, 230 Bald Eagle Dr., Laurel. 301-497-5887. Free; registration required. Donations welcome. Wildlife loop adventure scavenger hunt Use clues to search trails for plants and animals, sculptured stones and other mystery items at this family program. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Patuxent Research Refuge, North Tract, 230 Bald Eagle Dr., Laurel. 301-497-5887. Free; registration required. Donations welcome. Childrens arts drop-in A local art specialist leads this class for ages 3-8 to make bead and bean mosaics. 10 a.m.-noon. College Park Community Center, 5051 Pierce Ave., College Park. 301-927-3013. cpae.org. Free. Miller Farms farmers market Shop fresh produce, baked goods, flowers and seasonal displays from the Clinton farm. Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. National Harbor, 137 National Plaza, National Harbor. 877-628-5427. nationalharbor.com. Free. Writers group Adults are invited to bring a writing sample and get critiqued. 11 a.m. Laurel Library, 507 Seventh St., Laurel. 301-776-6790. pgcmls.info. Free. Daddy & me Paint and sip hot tea and other snacks with dad. 11 a.m. Largo-Kettering Library, 9601 Capital Lane, Largo. 301-336-4044. pgcmls.info. Free. Fireside Antiques Meet Matt, the fan man, and tour the display of radios and fans over 100 years old. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Fireside Antiques, 13010 9th St., Bowie. 301-464-2999. Free. Lowrider day A display of exotic lowrider bicycles and other custom-made bikes. 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. A & M Cycle, 13002 9th St., Bowie. 301-262-4343. Free. Juneteenth Celebrate the African American tradition with poetry, songs, dance and dramatic presentations. Noon. Spauldings Library, 5811 Old Silver Hill Rd., District Heights. 301-817-3750. pgcmls.info. Free. iLead tutoring and mentoring Students in grades 6-8 can receive help with homework. Noon. Beltsville Library, 4319 Sellman Rd., Beltsville. 301-937-0294. ileadsuccess.org. Free. Needleless HIV testing Results in 20 minutes. Clinic held every third Saturday of the month from 1-3 p.m. First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville, 6201 Belcrest Rd., Hyattsville. 301-927-6133. Free. Laurel chess club Learn to play or improve skills. 1:30 p.m. Laurel Library, 507 Seventh St., Laurel. 301-776-6790. pgcmls.info. Free. STEM family night Participate in hands-on experiments and activities in science, technology, engineering and math. 2 p.m. Accokeek Library, 16200 Livingston Rd., Accokeek. 301-283-2521. Free. Tail Waggin Tutors Children ages 6-12 can take a favorite book or choose one from the stacks to read to a trained therapy dog. 2 p.m. Beltsville Library, 4319 Sellman Rd., Beltsville. 301-937-0294. pgcmls.info. Free. Read to Rover Ages 5-12 are invited to practice skills by taking a favorite book or choosing one from the stacks and reading to a trained therapy dog. 2 p.m. Greenbelt Library, 11 Crescent Rd. 301-345-5800. pgcmls.info. Free. Grey Dog Band An outdoor concert of classic rock music. 7-9 p.m., concerts through Sept. 30. Bowie Town Center, Food Court, 15606 Emerald Way. 301-860-1401. bowietowncenter.com. Free. Shenandoah Run and Magpie The duo teams up for a folk music celebration. 7:30 p.m. Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St., Annapolis. 410-263-5544. marylandhall.org. $15-$20. Adult line dance social Age 18 and older can keep fit while having fun during this class. 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Potomac Landing Community Center, 12500 Fort Washington, Rd., Fort Washington. 301-292-9191. pgparks.com. $10-$19. Sunday, JUNE 18 Yoga & mimosas An outdoor yoga session, followed by drinks in keepsake glass. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Theater in the Woods, 2001 Bryan Point Rd., Accokeek. 240-766-8830. hbplayers.org. $35. Fathers Day beer tasting & tours A 19th-century tavern-style beer tasting for dad and the family. 12:15-3:15 p.m. Riversdale House Museum, 4811 Riverdale Rd., Riverdale Park. 301-864-0420. pgparks.com. Free-$5. Monday, JUNE 19 Echoes of nature Ages 5-12 will meet live animals that have relatives on the endangered list. 10 a.m. Mount Rainier Library, 3409 Rhode Island Ave., Mount Rainier. 301-864-8937. pgcmls.info. Free. Read for health Stories and activities that explore healthful eating, exercise and environmental awareness. 11 a.m. Oxon Hill Library, 6200 Oxon Hill Rd. 301-839-2400. pgcmls.info. Free. Spider Web Wonders Ages 5-12 can learn how spiders weave their webs. 6:30 p.m. Laurel Library, 507 Seventh St., Laurel. 301-776-6790. pgcmls.info. Free. Family Zumba A dance fitness class for age 5 and older. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Sasscer Field, 14201 School Lane, Upper Marlboro. 301-446-6800. pgparks.com. Free. My Reptile Guys An interactive program for ages 5-12 to learn about reptiles. 7 p.m. Glenarden Library, 8724 Glenarden Pkwy., Glenarden. 301-772-5477. pgcmls.info. Free. Symbiosis/Double Vision A showcase of 35 prints from artists at Seacourt Print Workshop. Closes MondayJune 19. Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, 4318 Gallatin Street Hyattsville. 301-608-9101. pyramidatlanticartcenter.org. Free. Tuesday, JUNE 20 Senior leadership forum Health and wellness speakers, computer literacy program and more for senior citizens. 11 a.m. Hillcrest Heights Library, 2398 Iverson St., Hillcrest Heights. 301-630-4900. pgcmls.info. Free. S ummer reading program kickoff Games, crafts, prizes and a scavenger hunt for ages 5-12. 2:30 p.m. Hillcrest Heights Library, 2398 Iverson St., Hillcrest Heights. 301-630-4900. pgcmls.info. Free. Black voices community-led book discussion Adults can discuss Al Rokers memoir, Been There, Done That: Family Wisdom for Modern Times. 6:30 p.m. Surratts-Clinton Library, 9400 Piscataway Rd., Clinton. 301-868-9200. pgcmls.info. Free. Joint public hearing A planning board hearing to discuss the Preliminary East Riverdale-Beacon Heights Plan. 7 p.m. County Administration Building, first-floor hearing room, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro. 301-952-3972. pgplanning.org. Free; must register in advance to testify. College Park book club An informal book club to discuss nonfiction works by women. This month, discuss The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of Americas National Parks, by Terry Tempest Williams. 7-8:30 p.m. College Park Community Library, Church of the Nazarene, 9704 Rhode Island Ave., College Park. 301-927-3013. cpae.org. Free. Wednesday, JUNE 21 TechBreakfast in Prince Georges County Speakers, networking, investment opportunities and more for local businesspeople and tech professionals. 8-10 a.m. Spartan Technologies, 161 National Plaza, Oxon Hill. 301-583-4650. pgcedc.com/events. Free; registration required. Do You See What I See? Ages 5-12 can build their own optical illusion. 2 p.m. Largo-Kettering Library, 9601 Capital Lane, Largo. 301-336-4044. pgcmls.info. Free. Blue Sky Puppets The local puppeteer presents The Three Green Pigs. For ages 5-12. 3 p.m. Oxon Hill Library, 6200 Oxon Hill Rd. 301-839-2400. pgcmls.info. Free. Readers Theater A program for children ages 8-12 to perform skits, monologues, tongue twisters and poetry. 4 p.m. Greenbelt Library, 11 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt. 301-345-5800. pgcmls.info. Free. STEM-tastic Hands-on scientific experiments for ages 5-12. 4:30 p.m. Glenarden Library, 8724 Glenarden Pkwy., Glenarden. 301-772-5477. pgcmls.info. Free. Barbara Simon A memorial exhibit of works by the late Greenbelt artist, teacher and community organizer. Through June 30. Greenbelt Arts Center, 123 Centerway, Greenbelt. 301-441-8770. greenbeltartscenter.org. Free. Compiled by Jillian S. Jarrett TO SUBMIT AN EVENT Email: pgliving@washpost.com Fax: 301-618-1780 Mail: Community Calendar, Local Living, The Washington Post, 9500 Arena Dr., Suite 400, Largo, Md. 20774 Details: Announcements are accepted on a space-available basis from public and nonprofit organizations only and must be submitted at least 14 days before the Thursday publication date. Include event name, dates, times, exact address, prices and a publishable contact phone number. Erendira Wallenda waves to the crowd while performing an acrobatic maneuver one of several that included hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on Thursday. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (Bill Wippert/Associated Press) GEORGIA Inmates captured days after escape, 2 killings The two inmates who authorities say escaped from a Georgia corrections bus after killing two guards were captured Thursday night in Tennessee after a three-day manhunt. Police in Shelbyville, Tenn., received information that the fugitives, Ricky Dubose and Donnie Russell Rowe, were involved in the home invasion of an elderly couple nearby, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) spokeswoman Nelly Miles told The Washington Post. The two men held the elderly couple captive, stole their vehicle and fled the area. Police began chasing the two men, closing in on them after their vehicle crashed. Authorities took Dubose and Rowe into custody in Christiana, Tenn. The capture happened the way we thought it would, GBI Director Vernan Keenan told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They would do a crime and it would escalate. Keenan added that shots were fired but no one was wounded. Dubose and Rowe were being transported on a corrections bus in Putnam County, Ga., early Tuesday when authorities say they overpowered the drivers and killed them, prompting a manhunt that lasted days and put the region on edge. A reward for information about the two fugitives rose to at least $130,000. Samantha Schmidt SOUTH DAKOTA Fugitive polygamist Lyle Jeffs captured Polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs has been captured in South Dakota while apparently living out of his pickup truck after nearly a year on the run, authorities said Thursday. Jeffs was alone near a lakeside marina and hours away from a compound run by the polygamous group when an off-duty police detective spotted the truck Thursday that a tipster told police days earlier that Jeffs was driving, said Eric Barnhart, FBI special agent in charge for the Salt Lake City Division. Jeffs complied with officers when he was arrested near the small town of Yankton in the southeastern corner of South Dakota, Barnhart said. Authorities said he had been in that area the past two weeks. Authorities had been hunting for Jeffs since he escaped home confinement in Utah on June 18, 2016, ahead of his trial in an alleged multimillion-dollar food stamp fraud scheme. The FBI had issued a $50,000 reward and a wanted poster with bold red lettering saying Jeffs should be considered armed and dangerous. It came a decade after his brother Warren Jeffs was featured on a similar poster. Warren Jeffs is now serving a life sentence in a Texas prison. Jeffss group, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is based in a small community on the Utah-Arizona border. Members of the sect believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. The group is an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, which disavowed polygamy more than 100 years ago. Associated Press MICHIGAN Man free after 41-year conviction overturned A Detroit man who spent four decades in prison was freed on Thursday after prosecutors agreed that his 1976 murder conviction hinged on the flimsiest of evidence: a single hair. Ledura Watkins, 61, walked out of the Wayne County Jail in downtown Detroit after a court hearing in which his conviction was overturned. Watkins was 20 years old when he was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1975 shooting death of 25-year-old Yvette Ingram during a robbery at her home. Police lab analysts tied Watkins to the crime based on a single hair found at the scene, according to the Innocence Project at the Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School, which took up Watkinss case and asked a court in January to set aside the conviction. Watkins is the second Michigan inmate to be released in recent weeks after having a decades-old conviction thrown out. Desmond Ricks was freed in late May after having served 25 years in the killing of a friend outside a Detroit restaurant. Associated Press CALIFORNIA 3 killed, 2 injured in shooting at UPS facility A UPS employee opened fire at a San Francisco package delivery facility on Wednesday, killing three employees and then himself as officers closed in, police said. San Francisco assistant police chief Toney Chaplin said two other employees were wounded in the shooting that prompted a massive police response in downtown San Francisco. Police have not determined a motive. Chaplin said that the shooter was armed with an assault pistol and put the weapon to his head and pulled the trigger when police found him. UPS spokesman Steve Gaut said the shooter was an employee who opened fire inside the facility before the drivers were sent out to do their normal daily deliveries. Associated Press ARKANSAS 18-year-old charged with capital murder An 18-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a decorated Arkansas police officer. Arkansas State Police said Tyler Calamese shot Newport Police Lt. Patrick Weatherford Monday as he investigated a vehicle break-in in Newport, about 90 miles northeast of Little Rock. Weatherford died at a hospital that night. Police said Calamese fled the scene when officers arrived, who then pursued him on foot. Calamese allegedly turned and fired shots during the pursuit, striking Weatherford. Calamese appeared in Newport district court Wednesday morning. His family maintains that he is innocent. His grandmother, Janet Reynolds, told KATV-TV Tuesday that her grandson turned himself in to police to clear his name. Calameses next court appearance is scheduled for June 20 and he has been assigned two public defenders. Weatherford, 41, had served with the Newport police for 15 years and was honored last year as the Jackson County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Associated Press Small plane enters restricted airspace during Trump visit: The pilot of a small airplane got a military escort from F-16 fighter jets for apparently flying into presidential airspace over Wisconsin. Two F-16s intercepted the small Cessna on Tuesday and escorted it to Dodge County Airport, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. The airport is about 40 miles northwest of Pewaukee, where President Trump was touring Waukesha County Technical College. The pilot lives in Burlington, about 30 miles south of Pewaukee, and was unaware of the airspace restriction, officials said. Associated Press SOMALIA 17 slain, hostages held in restaurant attack Gunmen posing as military forces were holding an unknown number of hostages inside a popular restaurant in Somalias capital in an attack that began Wednesday night when a car bomb exploded at the gate, police and a witness said. At least 17 people, including foreigners, were reported dead. The Islamist group al-Shabab asserted responsibility. Two gunmen were shot dead and 10 hostages were rescued, but five attackers were thought to remain inside the Pizza House in Mogadishu, cutting off electricity to hinder security forces efforts to end the siege, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein. He said heavy gunfire was heard. An ambulance driver said early Thursday that his service had carried 17 bodies. Police said the dead included a Syrian man. Most of the victims were young men who had been entering the Pizza House when the car bomb exploded, Hussein said. Al-Shabab claimed to have attacked the neighboring Posh Treats restaurant, which is frequented by the citys elite, but security officials said the Pizza House was struck instead. Associated Press QATAR Troops pulled from Djibouti-Eritrea line Qatar said Wednesday it has pulled all of its troops from the border of Djibouti and Eritrea, East African nations that have a long-running territorial dispute that Doha had been helping to mediate. Qatar offered no explanation for the move, though it comes amid a diplomatic dispute with other Arab nations that have cut diplomatic ties and now are trying to isolate Qatar from the rest of the world. While the dispute hasnt escalated to a military confrontation, Qatars military is dwarfed by those of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of its biggest opponents in the crisis. Eritrean forces moved into a mountainous border crossing after 450 Qatari troops departed. Eritreas top diplomat to the African Union, Araya Desta, said the move came after Eritrea cut diplomatic ties to Qatar. However, Desta said his country wanted no confrontation with Djibouti. Associated Press ISIS tries to capture bin Ladens former Afghan compound: An Afghan official says Islamic State fighters have captured some territory around Tora Bora, the former stronghold of Osama bin Laden in the eastern province of Nangahar. The push and capture of the giant cave complex that once housed al-Qaedas chief would be a major scoop for the Islamic State in its rivalry with the Afghan Taliban. Attahullah Khogyani, a spokesman in Nangahar, said the Islamic State began its attacks late Tuesday and continued into Wednesday, with its militants battling the Taliban and some local villagers. Egyptian lawmakers endorse deal to give islands to Saudis: Egypts parliament backed plans to hand over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia under an accord that has drawn widespread criticism among the Egyptian public. Many Egyptians say their countrys sovereignty over the islands dates to a treaty in 1906, before Saudi Arabia was founded. House Speaker Ali Abdelaal said the required majority had voted for the accord which the government signed last year despite a courts striking it down in March. Critics denounce Polish leaders speech atAuschwitz: Critics denounced Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo for comments she made during a memorial observance at the former Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz, saying her words were inappropriate given the location. Szydlo said that in todays restless times, Auschwitz is a great lesson showing that everything must be done to protect the safety and life of ones citizens. The remark was widely understood as a defense of her governments refusal to accept refugees as part of a European Union resettlement plan. A government spokesman said the entirety of the speech made clear no ill will was intended. Turkish opposition lawmaker convicted: A Turkish court sentenced a prominent opposition lawmaker to 25 years in prison on espionage charges, prompting an outcry from his party. Enis Berberoglu of the pro-secular Republican Peoples Party was convicted of revealing state secrets in a case stemming from a May 2015 report in the Cumhuriyet newspaper that suggested Turkeys intelligence service had smuggled arms to Islamist rebels in Syria, which the government denied. Berberoglu was accused of providing images for the report. From news services Workers sit next to bags containing sugar in the town of Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico, on Feb. 18, 2011. (Stringer Mexico/Reuters) The June 12 editorial A deal with a bad aftertaste said that Americans would be better off if there were global free trade in sugar. U.S. sugar producers agree. But we were surprised the editorial board failed to mention that the U.S. government found Mexico guilty of violating U.S. trade law. Were more efficient than most of our global competitors and would thrive in a subsidy-free, free-trade environment in which everyone follows the rules. Thats why weve publicly endorsed a plan before Congress to target foreign subsidies and eliminate U.S. sugar policy once a free market forms. Unfortunately, other nations continue to cheat the system. Countries such as Brazil and India still subsidize their industries. Meanwhile, Mexico broke the law and dumped subsidized sugar on the United States, harming our farmers and sending Americans to the unemployment line. And for years, Mexico refused to comply with the law, until the Trump administration made it. The Commerce Departments recent deal with Mexico is not perfect, but it goes a long way toward holding Mexico accountable for its predatory trade practices, and it will help preserve U.S. farms and jobs. Thats good news for consumers, who will continue to have access to high-quality, homegrown sugar at affordable prices. Jack Pettus, Arlington The writer is chairman of the American Sugar Alliance. Andrei Lankov is a professor of Korean history at Kookmin University in Seoul and director of korearisk.com. North Korea is big nowadays: President Trump has made it clear that he plans to finally solve the North Korean problem that is, hell get North Korea to denuclearize itself. This is nothing very special for the past 25 years, every new U.S. president has promised to do something about North Koreas nuclear ambitions. Some have tried negotiations, others have emphasized pressure. Neither approach has worked so far. The Trump administration, which seems to rank North Korea high among its foreign policy problems, is choosing the hard line, but with a twist: Trump hopes to cajole China into joining him in a really tough sanctions regime. The issue was discussed during the Trump-Xi Jinping summit in April: The administration has apparently indicated its willingness to reconsider some of the United States anti-Chinese policies including on difficult trade issues if China fully cooperates in getting tough on North Korea. The administrations assumption is that Chinese sanctions would push North Korea to the brink of an economic disaster and thus prompt the leaders in Pyongyang to reconsider their nuclear ambitions. Given that China controls about 90 percent of North Koreas foreign trade and also provides the country with vital aid, including shipments of subsidized fuel, the expectations seem reasonable. The problem is, however, that Beijing has valid reasons not to be too harsh on Pyongyang. While Chinese leaders do not like North Koreas nuclear program, they are afraid that truly comprehensive sanctions might, indeed, push North Korea to the brink of economic collapse, which would be followed by political disintegration. From their point of view, North Korea in a state of civil war would be a greater threat than the nuclear-armed but relatively stable North Korea that exists now. Even worse, a crisis in North Korea might result in a German-style reunification of the country under Seouls control that is, the emergence of a united, democratic and nationalistic Korean state that would probably be an ally of the United States. This is not an outcome that would be welcomed in Beijing. Apart from this, the Chinese experts know that North Korea sees nuclear weapons as the only guarantee of the regimes survival and thus will not surrender its nukes even under the greatest pressure imaginable. Thus, a Chinese boycott of North Korea something the Trump administration would like to see would be highly unlikely to produce the desirable result of denuclearization but much more likely to provoke the kind of crisis that China fears. So the expectations of the Trump administration are misplaced. Beijing would rather deal with consequences of a trade war with Washington than with those of a real war nearby even though it is no hurry to advertise this position. But should we worry about it? Should we regret that the pursuit of Trumps Chinese dream will probably last for another few months? Perhaps not, because the alternatives are much worse. The first alternative would be negotiation but that will not work either. Kim Jong Un believes that before he negotiates he needs to develop and deploy an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the continental United States. His engineers are working on this project with remarkable speed and are likely to achieve success in matter of years, if not months even though Trump tweeted in January that such an ICBM wont happen. So, once it becomes clear once again that neither sanctions not negotiations are effective, and North Korea gets close to becoming the worlds third country theoretically capable of obliterating San Francisco, how will the president react? A military strike might be considered an option at least, this is what some key people in the administration have indicated many times. However, North Korea is capable of striking back if attacked and is likely to do so perhaps by launching a massive artillery barrage against Seoul, the huge capital located very close to the North-South border. If that happens, the South Koreans will shoot back, and in no time, the United States will find itself fighting a land war in Asia. So perhaps one should be thankful that the Chinese are now considering cooperation on sanctions, buying time while extracting concessions from the United States on other issues. A war would be much worse. One perhaps should also hope that belief in a Chinese miracle will survive long enough for Trump to learn the lesson his predecessors had to grudgingly accept: The North Korean nuclear problem has no easy solution. In the past it has usually taken a year or two before a new administration came to accept this inconvenient truth. PROTESTS IN Russia on Monday confirmed a trend that was seen in demonstrations in March the appearance of a large number of angry young people, including teenagers. Most of them have grown up in a Russia ruled by only one person, President Vladimir Putin, and his placeholder pal, Dmitry Medvedev, who have together been in power 17 years. The youthful demonstrators said they were fed up with the stagnant authoritarianism that Mr. Putin has come to represent. Nikita Orlov, 18, told the New York Times, I came here because we have no democracy, our Parliament is not real, our politicians are not real and our mass media is not real. Mr. Putin likes to paint a picture of stability. He has squeezed out all serious competition to his rule and is frequently presented to the public as the embodiment of the Russian state and a leader of unchallenged popularity. That is precisely why the demonstrations matter. Thousands turned out in Moscow, St. Petersburg and dozens of other Russian cities, summoned to the streets by the anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, who was promptly detained and sentenced to 30 days in jail. More than 1,000 people were also arrested in Moscow and St. Petersburg. While many came out to support Mr. Navalnys campaign against corruption, in Moscow they were also protesting the citys demolition of old apartment blocks, among other things. The crowds are a reminder that, despite Mr. Putins authoritarianism, some Russians want a more democratic and open system and are willing to stand up for their beliefs. Mr. Putin has little use for democracy anywhere either at home or abroad. In his mind, the West has long interfered in Russias affairs by preaching the values of freedom and liberty. He appears to have relished a chance at payback in 2016 through interference with the U.S. election. Of course, he is wrong: In Russia, the West sought to support best practices of democracy and institution-building, not put a thumb on the scale. Multiple investigations are already probing Mr. Putins meddling, including the attempt to harm Hillary Clintons campaign through malicious hacking. This week, Bloomberg News reported that Russias cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed and included probes into voter databases and software systems in nearly twice as many states as was previously reported. President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia in December in response to the electoral intrusions, and a bipartisan group of senators are pressing ahead with new legislation that would give Congress a stronger hand in keeping sanctions in place and would expand them. Sanctions are in general a crude instrument, but this legislation , which the Senate voted Wednesday to advance, promises to send a message to Mr. Putin that such interference in the U.S. election is intolerable. It could also deter the Trump administration from lifting sanctions too quickly or in the absence of reciprocal concessions by Moscow. If Mr. Putin is really so sure about his popularity, he should release Mr. Navalny from prison and permit a free and open presidential campaign leading up to the scheduled vote in 2018 in which Mr. Navalny is allowed to run. Russians shouldnt have to risk arrest and worse in the streets in order to support a political change. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch walks away with wife Louise at the Supreme Court following an investiture ceremony Thursday. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) Neil M. Gorsuch was officially officially sworn in as the Supreme Courts newest justice Thursday, with President Trump and first lady Melania Trump visiting the court for the first time to witness the investiture of the presidents nominee. Gorsuch joined the court on April 10, and he took oaths at the court and at the White House. But the short and formal investiture follows a historic script, comes before a courtroom filled with family, friends and supporters, and culminates in the public debut of the new justice on the Supreme Courts marble steps. [Neil Gorsuch sworn in as 113th Supreme Court justice] At the ceremony, the president is seen but not heard, and Trump followed that tradition. The Trumps sat with 97-year-old retired justice John Paul Stevens. But they also met privately with the justices beforehand and signed the courts visitor book. The swearing-in happened to come as the Supreme Court is considering whether to revive Trumps executive order halting immigrants from six mostly Muslim countries. As soon as the ceremony ended, acting solicitor general Jeffrey B. Wall submitted a brief explaining why two appeals courts were wrong to stop the order before it took effect. The court was also filled with White House and Justice Department officials, Republican former attorneys general and GOP senators who played a role in Gorsuchs confirmation. No business was conducted during the six-minute ceremony. I want to extend to you and the first lady a warm welcome, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. told the Trumps from the bench. As has each new justice since 1972, Gorsuch sat in a mahogany and leather chair used by Chief Justice John Marshall from 1819 to 1835. When he was called forward to the bench, the 49-year-old Coloradan shook hands with each of his now-familiar colleagues. Earlier this week, he delivered his first Supreme Court opinion. The oath, by now, is also familiar to Gorsuch, and he ended with an emphatic So. Help. Me. God. Then, about the time Trump was arriving back at the White House, Gorsuch and Roberts descended the Supreme Court steps to a waiting group of photographers and tourists gathered on the sidewalk. Gorsuch, wearing a blue suit and rust-colored tie, posed with Roberts, and then was joined by his wife, Louise Gorsuch, who wore bright red and delivered a chaste kiss. The Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would step up sanctions against Iran and Russia, in the process delivering a rebuke to President Trumps policies toward Russia and Europe with a veto-proof majority. The measure, which senators passed by a vote of 98 to 2, includes new sanctions against Moscow over its continued involvement in the wars in Ukraine and Syria and for its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Senators struck a deal this week to include the language stiffening measures against Russias intelligence, defense, energy, metals, mining and railway sectors in an underlying bill introducing new measures to punish Tehran for ballistic missile tests and the engagements of the countrys Islamic Revolution Guard Corps. Critically, the Russia language also included provisions codifying all existing sanctions against Russia and giving Congress the power to block the president if he tries to scale back existing ones. [Senate votes to curtail Trumps power to ease Russia sanctions] That includes preventing the president from giving the Kremlin control over two properties on U.S. soil that the government seized late last year, accusing Russia of using them for intelligence-gathering purposes, while expelling 35 Russian operatives from the country. The Washington Post has reported that the Trump administration was considering giving the compounds back to Russia. On Thursday, the Senate added one more tacit criticism of Trumps foreign policy to the bill: an amendment reaffirming the commitment of the United States to NATO and its mutual defense obligations to other countries in the alliance. The measure, drafted by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), stands in sharp contrast to the recent posture of Trump, who attended a NATO summit last month as part of his first foreign trip and did not reaffirm the United States commitment to NATOs mutual defense pact in his remarks. The amendment passed the Senate by a vote of 100 to zero. The strong bipartisan vote for sanctions reflects lawmakers common frustration with aggressive activities by Iran and Russia. It also is unique because it is the first major piece of foreign policy legislation the Senate has considered this year to command so much support from both sides of the aisle. The underlying bill outlining new sanctions against Iran came about after months of negotiations, much of it playing out between Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), ranking Democrat Benjamin L. Cardin (Md.) and senior member Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). It took the better part of a year for senators to iron out their differences and produce a compromise bill. Similarly, senators tussled over Russia sanctions for several months as lawmakers filed competing measures while others wondered whether Congress should be stepping ahead of a new president with unorthodox ideas about how to engage with Moscow. Corker was one of those senators who wanted to give the administration a chance, but only to a point. Late last month, he said he would give Secretary of State Rex Tillerson one more chance to convince him that the administration was making enough progress in cooperating with Russia over Syria that it was worth holding back on sanctions. Tillerson did not, and thus Corker declared himself ready to move ahead with a sanctions bill, entering final negotiations with Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and ranking Democrat Sherrod Brown (Ohio); as well as Cardin and Menendez; Foreign Relations Committee members Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.); Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and members Graham and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.); and others. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) also were involved in the multiparty negotiations to draft Russia sanctions that could secure a commanding majority of the Senate. Tillerson warned Wednesday against passing anything that might tie the administrations hands. But support for the bill is easily enough to overcome a presidential veto. The House has yet to take up the legislation or attempt to draft similar sanctions on its own. Read more at PowerPost Even as British Prime Minister Theresa May shot down the idea of a change of heart on Brexit ahead of talks starting soon, European leaders suggested they remained open to the possibility. (Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images) European leaders have a message for Britons reeling from a shock election result: All is forgiven if London wants to abandon its divorce from the European Union. The sentiment, voiced by Frances president, Germanys finance minister and a host of Brussels diplomats, comes after British voters quashed Prime Minister Theresa Mays dreams of a commanding majority and a firmer hand as she led her nation into Brexit talks. Instead, her Conservative Party lost its majority, and politicians in favor of closer ties to Europe appear ascendant just days before divorce negotiations are set to begin Monday. May has already rejected the idea of an exit from Brexit, and there is little chance London will actually reverse course. But many British politicians see the results of the June 8 election as a signal that voters do not want the full split that May once proposed, but rather a gentler breakup that could leave strong trade ties in place. Most European leaders would welcome as close a relationship with Britain as possible, but they remain adamant that the more benefits Britain wants from the E.U., the more sovereignty it will have to leave in the hands of Brussels. Meanwhile, they say that the British election has wasted precious time needed for negotiations, which by treaty are limited to two years before Britain is unceremoniously kicked out without any deal at all. Of course, the door remains open, always open, until the Brexit negotiations come to an end, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Paris on Tuesday, speaking alongside May after a meeting focused on counterterrorism. But let us be clear and organized. And once negotiations have started, we should be well aware that it will be more and more difficult to move backward. The cautiously friendly French comments came hours after Germanys influential finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, raised the possibility of an all-is-forgiven reconciliation. The British government has said, We will stay to the Brexit. We take the decision as a matter of fact, as a matter of respect. But if they would want to change their decision, of course, they would find open doors, he told Bloomberg News, speaking in English. But May, in Paris, quickly shot down the possibility of a British reversal. We stand at a critical time, with those Brexit negotiations starting only next week, May said. Diplomats in Brussels say they would be delighted if Britain softens its aims and opts for a status similar to that of Norway, which is not a member of the European Union but takes part in many of its trade and migration agreements. One option might be for Britain to remain in Europes customs union, which would mean that London would leave its power to negotiate trade deals to Brussels but would also maintain full access to duty-free trade with the European Union. That would eliminate the need for a significantly stronger border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, a step that many leaders on that island have worried could spark new violence in a dormant conflict. But it would still leave large portions of the British economy outside the E.U. sphere. The finance sector and other services 78 percent of Britains economy are not covered by the customs union. A different possibility would be for Britain to remain inside Europes single market, which would leave the economic relationship with the E.U. largely untouched. That would be a Norway-style step, but many observers argue that it is unlikely because it would force Britain to keep its doors open to E.U. workers. Ending that requirement was the core driver of last years successful Brexit campaign. European leaders biggest concern, however, is that Britains political chaos is wasting time that could be used to negotiate. May triggered the two-year clock in March. In April, she was tempted by opinion polls that put her Conservative Party 20 points ahead of its Labour rival, and she called the snap election. But she squandered the lead in what was criticized even by her allies as a bumbling and wooden campaign. The E.U.s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said this week that he was anxious for May to get her house in order. My preoccupation is that time is passing its passing quicker than anyone believes because the subjects we need to deal with are extraordinarily complex from a technical, judicial and financial point of view. Thats why were ready to start very quickly. I cant negotiate with myself, he said in an interview with several European newspapers. But European leaders also believe that time is on their side, giving them little reason to compromise early in the negotiations. Britains economy will be churned into crippling turmoil if there is a sharp, sudden split, with trade barriers suddenly snapping back to their high, default levels. The remaining 27 nations of the European Union would suffer, but not nearly so much, European leaders say. They think Britain is being somewhat in denial of reality at the moment, said Pierre Vimont, a former high-ranking French diplomat who is now a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, a Brussels-based think tank. And they hope that at some stage Britain will come back to a somewhat more realistic state of mind. That means that European leaders have remained firmly united on what their red lines are, even as attitudes appear to be softening on the British side. There has been no willingness to allow Britain full access to Europes single market unless it allows European workers access to Britain, for example. Even those on the E.U. side who are ready to be more accommodating are not willing to deviate from some of the red lines, said Janis Emmanouilidis, director of studies at the European Policy Center, another Brussels-based think tank. If you play by the rules, then we can find a compromise. If we cant, then time is ticking. Even though most people in Europe hope that Britain will remain as close as possible to the E.U., Emmanouilidis said, few were taking pleasure in Mays troubles. Everyone is feeling that this is a mess, he said. If May had a big majority, then there would be a degree of clarity. Now there is none. Read more Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Russian President Vladimir Putin walks along the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin on Monday to take part in a holiday reception in Moscow. (Pool photo by Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik via AP) Facing a wave of popular unrest not seen in years, Russian President Vladimir Putin took to the nations airwaves Thursday to assure citizens that their lives will be getting better. Judging from the questions the Kremlin leader fielded over four long hours, Russians arent feeling it. Just three days after tens of thousands of people turned out in more than 180 cities across Russia to express their dissatisfaction with the government, Putin used his annual Direct Line with the President call-in show to say that the Russian economy is showing signs of growth after a long recession and that in general things will start moving to where people feel a change for the better. [Thousands rally in anti-corruption protests across Russia] The questions that came in from viewers across the country reflected little of that. A Siberian teacher asked him how she is supposed to live on $280 a month. The residents of a Moscow suburb complained about a giant pile of garbage that they said is visible from space. A 24-year-old cancer patient from a far-northern mining town demanded to know why health care is in a shambles. Please do not lose hope. I will see how to help, including you personally, Putin told her. We will work on your problem and on the hospital in your town. I promise! Putin also touched on the political turmoil in the United States over Russian meddling in the 2016 elections. Commenting on the testimony of former FBI director James B. Comey, Putin said: It sounds and looks very strange for the head of a special service to record a conversation with the commander in chief and then pass it to the media through his friend. And how is the FBI director different from Mr. Snowden then? That was a reference to Edward Snowden, the U.S. National Security Agency leaker who took refuge in Russia in 2013. If some persecution is launched against [Comey] in this context, we will be ready to grant him political asylum in Russia as well, Putin deadpanned. The carefully choreographed show has traditionally been a showcase for Putin to show he understands his peoples problems and how he will get to the bottom of them. But unedited texts from viewers that popped up on the bottom of the screen revealed the anger and frustration some Russians feel about their leader and the system he has created. Putin, do you really think people believe in all this circus with staged questions? read one. All Russia believes you have sat on the throne too long, read another. (Sarah Parnass,David Filipov,Andrew Roth/The Washington Post) Another asked when Putin would get around to firing officials who have faced corruption allegations, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. [Russia dismisses widespread allegations against Medvedev] If Putin saw these comments he said he was watching them he did not react. When a young man in the Moscow studio where Putin sat asked a sharply worded question about official corruption, the Russian leader shot back, Did you prepare that yourself or did someone suggest it to you? Life prepared me for it, the man responded. More than 1,700 people were arrested in protests Monday, the most widespread in Russia since Putin returned to the presidency in 2012. The nationwide rallies were spearheaded by anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny, who was jailed for moving a Moscow demonstration from its designated venue to a central street, where it disrupted official Russia Day festivities. Answering a reporters question about Navalny at a nationally televised meeting with the press after the show, Putin, as he always does, avoided mentioning the opposition leaders name and instead said, Those who violate the law have to answer for it. Another reporter asked Putin how he feels when protesters chant Putin must go. When I hear that, I look at what happens in other countries, Putin said. Its normal. In recent months, Russia has seen rallies by long-distance truckers angry about road tolls and by apartment owners angry about a plan to relocate as many as 1.6 million Muscovites. An earlier, huge anti-corruption demonstration took place in March. This mood of defiance is not likely to prevent Putin, whose approval rating has not been below 80 percent in three years, from winning reelection next March, but pollsters say Russians feel that their leaders are unaccountable. And the Kremlin agrees. As always, unfortunately, people often say that it can be easier to get through to the president than to the leaders of their own regions, Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, acknowledged in remarks to reporters Wednesday. Putin did not say Thursday whether he plans to run for a new, six-year term in March. He also deferred an answer to a viewers question about whether he had chosen a successor. First of all, Im still working, Putin said. Secondly, the electorate should decide that, the Russian people. Answering questions about U.S. and European sanctions imposed over Russias intervention in Ukraine, Putin said the West has been trying to isolate Russia for centuries. A farmer praised him for counter-sanctions, thanks to which Russian agriculture has never had it so good. [Putin ridicules allegations of collusion between Trump aides and Russian officials] Nearly 2 million Russians submitted questions, and Putin answered about 70 of them, some of which were true softballs: What was the biggest fish youve caught? Some, though they broke news Putin has a new grandson did little to move the needle on public affairs. Others appeared to get immediate action. Shortly after a woman called to complain to Putin that victims of a flood in the southern Stavropol region had failed to receive promised compensation, the regional governor reportedly submitted his resignation. The governors press service later denied the report, but Russias prosecutor general opened an investigation into the situation. As he did in his 14 previous Direct Lines, Putin appeared to be taking the side of ordinary citizens against an unfeeling and ineffective bureaucracy. To the impoverished Siberian teacher who asked how she is supposed to survive on $280 a month, Putin responded, I also dont see how! When someone asked whether he knows how ordinary people live, Putin told a story about how his father had to count each kopeck he spent on electricity. And when a video call from a remote northern region broke off, Putin quipped, Even the equipment cannot stand it. State-run media fawned over Putins performance. Were always amazed at how many statistics Putin knows by heart, tweeted the NTV national television network. Wrapping up the show, Putin remarked that clearly people were less upset about corruption than in previous years, judging by the questions people are asking, apparently ignoring the angry texts popping up on the screen. He said he read a text in which the sender wrote that everything will be okay. Ill say it to you, then, Putin said with a smile. Everything is going to be okay. I can confirm this. Natalya Abbakumova contributed to this report. Read more: Putins remarks raise fears of future moves against Ukraine Vladimir Putin, Russias fixer in chief Plan to relocate 1.6 million Muscovites has made protesters out of Russias middle class Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Residents vented their anger Thursday over a fire that raced through a London high-rise and claimed 17 lives, as concern grew that the blaze will not be the last such tragedy without dramatic changes to Britains public housing towers. As firefighters continued to search the burned-out hull of the 24-story Grenfell Tower where flames were still visible Thursday afternoon, nearly two days after the first panicked emergency calls displaced residents on the streets below demanded that public officials provide answers about a disaster they say was preventable. Someone needs to be held accountable! people shouted as London Mayor Sadiq Khan visited to pay his respects. As others shouted for legislation requiring that Britains aging public high-rises be retrofitted with sprinkler systems and multiple stairwells which were lacking at Grenfell Tower Khan said he shared their frustration and called for a government inquiry into the blaze to publish its initial findings by the end of the summer. We can't afford to wait many years for those answers, he said. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, in the group at left, arrives at Grenfield Tower in London on June 15 after a deadly fire in the apartment block. (Frank Augstein/AP) The outcry came as police raised their estimate of the death toll from 12 to 17, acknowledging that it could go far higher as search crews work through the wreckage of the 120-unit building that remains hazardous. Authorities said they did not expect to find more survivors, and that the number of people who are unaccounted for is unknown. But the posters bearing photos of children in bike helmets, young mothers and entire families testified to the fact that many remain missing. I really hope the number of fatalities does not reach triple figures, said London Police Cmdr. Stuart Cundy. Cundy said the recovery of bodies, assisted by sniffer dogs, may not be completed for weeks. As of late Thursday, 30 people remained hospitalized, 15 of them in critical condition. Grenfell Tower had been home to 500 people, among them the disabled, the poor and others seeking an affordable place to live in a city thats increasingly unaffordable for all but the wealthiest. British Prime Minister Theresa May visited the scene of the blaze and spoke to firefighters who had been working round-the-clock. She later ordered a full public inquiry. to ensure that this terrible tragedy is properly investigated. 1 of 45 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad The scene after flames engulfed a high-rise in London View Photos At least 12 people were killed and dozens were injured in a fire that ripped through an apartment building. Caption At least 12 people were killed and dozens were injured in a fire that ripped through an apartment building. June 14, 2017 Police gather at the scene as a huge fire engulfs Grenfell Tower in London. The massive fire ripped through the 24-story building and forced hundreds of people to evacuate quickly. At least six people are reported dead. Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue. We need to have an explanation for this, she said. We owe that to the families. But she was criticized for not meeting with relatives or survivors, as did her rival, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn said afterward that he was very angry that so many lives have been lost when the system didnt work. Grenfell Tower residents had complained for years to the management organization and to the borough council that they feared that their building was unsafe. The cause of the fire remains unknown. But attention among experts has focused on a 2016 refurbishment that could have contributed to the fire spreading so quickly. Witnesses said the blaze tore through the high-rises exterior cladding within minutes and seemed to offer a path for it to leap from floor to floor. Bart Kavanagh, associate director at Probyn Miers, a forensic architecture firm that examines design defects, said the focus of the investigation may turn to how the cladding was installed. He said that there are strict requirements in Britain on materials used in cladding, and that there was no evidence that those rules had been flouted. But it isnt only just the materials that matter its the way they are put together, he said. The contractors involved in the renovation have said they believe their work was up to code, and the management organization has said it complied with Britains strict fire safety rules. But Khan said that there were critical concerns about a number of other tower blocks in the British capital that were refurbished in a similar fashion. There are pressing questions which demand urgent answers, he said. David Lammy, a Labour Party lawmaker, went further, calling the disaster corporate manslaughter. This is the richest borough in our country treating its citizens in this way, he told the BBC. There should be arrests made, frankly. He said that his friend, Khadija Saye, a 24-year-old photographer, is among those reported missing. She lived on the 20th floor with her mother. We grow more sad and bleak at every second, he said. As of late Thursday, more than $1.2 million had been raised to help those affected by the tragedy, while displaced residents were welcomed at area churches and mosques. Clothes, food and blankets continued to be brought to local collection points, with some overwhelmed by the generosity. A cardboard sign outside of one read: No more donations please. Maybe in a few days. [Could the catastrophic London high-rise fire have been prevented?] Just around the corner from the tower, a makeshift wall of condolences expressed peoples grief and defiance. Bonds formed in fire are difficult to break, read one message. Read more: What the Grenfell Tower fire tells us about Londons housing crisis Proud to be a Londoner: Acts of kindness after the deadly Grenfell Tower fire In 20 years, British politics went from being about class to being about age Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Afghan police secure the scene after suspected militants attacked a Shiite mosque in Kabul on Thursday. According to reports, at least two people were killed in a suicide bombing at the mosque. (Hedayatullah Amid/European Pressphoto Agency) A suicide attack outside a mosque filled with worshipers in the Afghan capital Thursday killed at least two people, officials reported, in the latest attack of its kind against Shiite Muslims. The attack, part of wave of deadly strikes in Kabul in recent weeks, puts further pressure on President Ashraf Ghanis U.S.-backed government, which is under rising public criticism for failing to prevent the increasing violence. It took place as worshipers had gathered for special late-evening Ramadan prayers the al-Zahra mosque in the mostly Shiite-dominated area of Dashte Barche, in southwestern Kabul, officials said. There were conflicting accounts as to what happened residents said the blast was triggered by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle outside the mosque, while police said it took place inside the structures kitchen. Residents said gunfire could be heard from inside the mosque, possibly a sign that other attackers may have entered the complex to kill survivors after the blast. Several hundred worshipers usually throng the al-Zahra mosque during observances, residents said. An Interior Ministry spokesman, Najib Danesh, said one police officer and one civilian were killed in the explosion. But residents said the toll could be as high as 15. No group immediately asserted responsibility for the assault, but affiliates of the Islamic State in Afghanistan claimed attacks against Shiites in Kabul last year, including two similar ones at a mosque and a shrine. The Taliban insurgents who fight the government and U.S.-led troops denied that they were behind it, saying they never launch [attacks] against mosques or any sect. Reacting to the attack, Afghans echoed a long-held perception that it was aimed at fanning sectarian violence in Afghanistan, which has suffered from decades of foreign interventions and civil war. The attack against al-Zahra mosque is another weapon of the enemy to create discord among [Shiites] and Sunnis, said Sami Sharaf, a former journalist. It also showed that the conflict is getting nastier. Mosques are supposed to be the safest place on the earth, but the coward enemy is killing us in the place of worship, Modaser Islami, a social activist, wrote in a tweet. It cant get any worse. The Interior Ministry said it dispatched an elite police force to battle several gunmen thought to have made their way inside the mosque after the initial blast. Read more: Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is investigating the finances and business dealings of Jared Kushner, President Trumps son-in-law and adviser, as part of the investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. FBI agents and federal prosecutors have also been examining the financial dealings of other Trump associates, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Carter Page, who was listed as a foreign-policy adviser for the campaign. The Washington Post previously reported that investigators were scrutinizing meetings that Kushner held with Russians in December first with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and then with Sergey Gorkov, the head of a state-owned Russian development bank. At the time of that report, it was not clear that the FBI was investigating Kushners business dealings. The officials who described the financial focus of the investigation spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. At the December meeting with Kislyak, Kushner suggested establishing a secure communications line between Trump officials and the Kremlin at a Russian diplomatic facility, according to U.S. officials who reviewed intelligence reports describing Kislyaks account. The White House has said that the subsequent meeting with the banker was a pre-inauguration diplomatic encounter, unrelated to business matters. The Russian bank, Vnesheconombank, which has been the subject of U.S. sanctions following Russias annexation of Crimea, has said the session was held for business reasons because of Kushners role as head of his familys real estate company. The meeting occurred as Kushners company was seeking financing for its troubled $1.8 billion purchase of an office building on Fifth Avenue in New York, and it could raise questions about whether Kushners personal financial interests were colliding with his impending role as a public official. Muellers investigation is in a relatively early phase, and it is unclear whether criminal charges will be brought when it is complete. We do not know what this report refers to, Jamie Gorelick, an attorney for Kushner, said in an email. It would be standard practice for the Special Counsel to examine financial records to look for anything related to Russia. Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about Russia-related matters. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry. Kushner has agreed to discuss his Russian contacts with the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is conducting one of several investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Kushner rarely speaks publicly about his role in the White House, but he has become a major figure in the administration with a sprawling list of policy responsibilities that includes Canada and Mexico, China, and peace in the Middle East. Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment for this article but said that the Special Counsels Office has undertaken stringent controls to prohibit unauthorized disclosures and will deal severely with any member who engages in this conduct. [Special counsel is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice] (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post) Mueller, who was appointed as special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein on May 17, is investigating possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters. The inquiry has expanded to include an examination of whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice, The Post reported Wednesday. Trump on Thursday tweeted that the investigation was the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history led by some very bad and conflicted people! Trump compared his position with the investigation of Hillary Clintons use of a private email server in another tweet. Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, bleached emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared & they talk about obstruction? he wrote. After Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey, Trump said that Comey had told him three times that he was not under investigation. Comey confirmed that in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week. The first time he told Trump was in his first meeting with the then-president-elect before the inauguration, on Jan. 6. Before he met with Trump, Comey gathered his leadership team at the FBI to discuss whether he should be prepared to assure the president-elect that the FBI was not investigating him personally. Comey testified that not everyone on his team agreed he should. Comey did not name the dissenter, but The Post has learned it was FBI general counsel James A. Baker. Comey testified that the member of his leadership team said that although it was true at the moment that Trump was not under investigation, it was possible that could change. His concern was, because were looking at the potential again, thats the subject of the investigation coordination between the campaign and Russia, because it was President Trump President-elect Trumps campaign, this persons view was, inevitably, his behavior, his conduct will fall within the scope of that work, Comey said. And so he was reluctant to make the statement that I made, Comey said. Bakers views did not change, even as Comey told Trump a second and third time that he was not being investigated. His view was still that it . . . could be misleading, because the nature of the investigation was such that it might well touch obviously, it would touch the campaign, and the person at the head of the campaign would be the candidate. And so that was his view throughout, Comey said. Baker declined to comment. In the days following Trumps firing of Comey on May 9 and before Muellers appointment, the obstruction-of-justice investigation of the president began, according to people familiar with the matter. Discussing the firing of Comey, Trump said in an interview with NBC, In fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. Its an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won. Comey took notes after each of his nine meetings or phone calls with Trump, including one alone with the president in the Oval Office on Feb. 14, the day after Flynn was forced to resign. Comey testified that Trump said to him, I hope you can let this go. The president has denied that he told Comey to drop the Flynn investigation. Comey told lawmakers he gave his notes to Mueller. Two senior intelligence officials, Daniel Coats, the director of national intelligence, and Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, agreed to be interviewed by Mueller as early as this week. Trump spoke to Coats and Rogers about the Russia investigation, according to officials. Coats told associates that Trump asked him whether he could intervene with Comey to get the FBI to back off its focus on Flynn, the officials said. Coats later told lawmakers he did not feel pressured to intervene. Trump asked intelligence chiefs to push back against FBI collusion probe after Comey revealed its existence] Trump later telephoned Coats and Rogers to separately ask them to issue public statements denying that there was evidence of coordination between Trumps campaign and Russian officials. Coats and Rogers refused to comply with the presidents requests, officials said. Ellen Nakashima contributed to this report. As President Trumps national security team worked over the past several weeks on a promised new Cuba policy designed to roll back the Obama administrations diplomatic and economic openings to the island, a steady stream of lawmakers, business leaders and Cuba experts rushed to offer guidance to the White House. With few exceptions, their advice was: Dont do it. Farm state Republicans have appealed to Trump to help them expand Cuban markets rather than close them. A newly introduced Senate bill to lift remaining travel restrictions has attracted 54 co-sponsors, including 10 Republicans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers have called for expanding relations with the island. Major travel and agricultural companies and associations have publicly warned that a reversal would cost American jobs. U.S. and international human rights organizations, while condemning ongoing Cuban government repression, say that tightening the screws will only bolster government hard-liners, putting even more pressure on the islands nascent civil society and private sector. The Commerce and Treasury departments, which administer many Cuba regulations regarding travel and commercial activity, have explained the difficulty of a rollback after two years of business expansion and contracts. Trumps agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, told Congress last month he favored opening U.S. credit markets for Cuban agricultural imports, barred by U.S. law. On Friday, Trump plans to travel to Miami to announce a decision that senior administration officials said as recently as Wednesday had not yet been finalized. According to the Miami Herald, his speech will be delivered at the Manuel Artime Theater in Little Havana, a highly symbolic venue named after a leader of the Bay of Pigs exile invasion of Cuba in 1961, a failed U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro. Trumps rhetoric will probably be very, very tough, said Mark Feierstein, the senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs in former president Barack Obamas National Security Council, who helped implement the December 2014 Obama opening that Trump has called a bad deal. But the administrations changes are likely to leave in place the basic components of the Obama opening diplomatic relations, along with conditioned trade and travel while tightening each in ways that will complicate but not undo them, according to senior administration officials and several people who have lobbied them from Capitol Hill and the U.S. business community, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity about the emerging policy. The U.S. Embassy in Havana is expected to remain open but will continue without an ambassador. Existing restrictions on business dealings with the Cuban government, and especially its economically powerful military, will be made more legally explicit, and at least some planned expansions of commercial activity will be frozen. Some restrictions on American travel may be reimposed, along with limits on how often Cuban Americans can travel and send money. We are supportive of continued economic development, as long as it is done in full compliance with our existing statutes not to provide financial support to the regime, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Congress on Tuesday. The general approach, Tillerson said, is to allow as much of this continued commercial and engagement activity to go on as possible, because we do see the sunny side of benefits to the Cuban people. The main supporters of an extensive reversal have been Cuban Americans in Congress, led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), both of whom are expected to be with Trump in Miami. Rubio, a onetime presidential candidate who clashed repeatedly with Trump during the campaign, was noticeably helpful to the White House during last weeks Senate Intelligence Committee testimony by former FBI director James B. Comey. After a long line of questions about Trumps private conversations with Comey, Rubio quickly changed the subject to the problem of leaks to the media. In an interview this week with TV Marti, the U.S. government-funded broadcaster to Cuba, Diaz-Balart said he was sure Trump would announce a real change in relations. The Cuban government headed by Raul Castro, the late Fidel Castros brother, he said, is a narco-terrorist tyranny, and we know President Trump understands this. The government in Havana has remained quiet about the possible changes, although a high-ranking Cuban official told CNN this week that Raul Castro is willing to negotiate a new deal with Trump. At the core of the Cuba policy debate is a clash over the most effective way to hasten a transition to democracy on the island. Obama argued that five decades of U.S. trade sanctions had failed to achieve that goal or dislodge the Castros from power. By normalizing relations and facilitating trade and travel between Americans and Cubans, he asserted, the United States would spread democratic ideals on the island, while American diplomats could nudge the government toward greater openness in a post-Castro era. The results have been uneven. Cubas authoritarian one-party system remains largely unchanged, and dissidents say government repression has increased over the past two years. Jose Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), the islands largest dissident group, called this month in a letter to Trump for maximum reversal of some policies that only benefit the Castro regime. But supporters of engagement say its unrealistic to expect liberal democracy to bloom in two years, especially with the larger U.S. trade embargo still in force. The strategy needs more time, they argue, and policymakers should trust in the power of markets and free information to deliver desired change. Cuban authorities have acceded to some American conditions, including allowing a dramatic expansion of Internet access on the island that has shattered the information monopoly once enjoyed by Cubas state-run media. An increase in tourism and hotel construction has been one of the few bright spots in the Cuban economy. The number of U.S. visitors who are non-Cuban American increased by 74 percent in 2016, facilitated by the restoration of commercial flights between the two countries. Among more than 4 million visitors last year, a record, 615,000 came from the United States, more than half of them Cuban Americans. More than a quarter of the Cuban labor force no longer works for the communist government, from software programmers to nail salon owners, private taxi drivers and restaurant owners. Those Cubans would take a direct hit from a policy reversal. More than half my customers are Americans . . . the best tippers, said Dionys Diaz, 33, waiting for tourists outside Havanas iconic Hotel Nacional in a pink 1954 Chevy convertible. Diaz and his relatives including a brother-in-law in Florida had pooled their money to buy the vehicle and restore it, and he charges tourists $25 for rides along the Malecon esplanade. Any reversal of the opening could backfire politically, said Carlos Alzugaray, a retired Cuban diplomat in Havana, who favors U.S. engagement. The hard-liners are going to have a field day. A major rollback, he said, would take us back to the idea that if you punish the Cuban people, they will overthrow the government, and thats not going to happen. Miroff reported from Havana. Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified former Obama administration official Mark Feierstein. He helped implement the Obama policy, but did not help negotiate it. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, shakes hands with the President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez during a conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America in Miami. (Wilfredo Lee/AP) Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday that it serves the security interests of the United States to help foster economic development in Central America, a region vexed by problems that have propelled illegal immigration northward. As part of the presidents agenda, we seek to bolster U.S. national security, secure our borders and advance U.S. economic interest, said Tillerson at the start of a two-day conference in Miami focusing on the regions pressing economic and security needs at a time when the White House wants to slash the foreign aid budget. Promoting prosperity in Central America is a key component of this effort, as our prosperity and security interests are tightly linked through the movement of ideas, people and goods. Tillerson came to Miami with two other Cabinet secretaries and Vice President Pence to discuss ways to tackle the poverty, violence and corruption that are helping drive migrants to flee Central America. Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also attended. The two-day Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America, which is being co-hosted by the United States and Mexico, reflects the Trump administrations shift away from the Obama administrations focus on fixing social problems to more immediate law enforcement issues, such as illegal immigration and drug trafficking. [Foreign aid under the ax in State Department budget proposal] Like Tillerson, Pence spoke of security and prosperity of both the United States and Central America being intertwined. Were in this together , he declared. As we all know, Central America has been plagued, as well, by vicious gangs and vast criminal organizations that drive illegal immigration and carry illegal drugs on northward their journey to the United States, he said. These criminal syndicates wreak havoc everywhere their tentacles spread. But Pence also devoted a large part of his speech at a luncheon with the presidents to the fight against drug trafficking, crime and corruption and their impact on the United States. The American people are reminded of the terrible cost of drug trafficking, violence and illegal immigration every day, said Pence, acknowledging the trade in illegal narcotics is propelled by high demand in the United States. He singled out for special praise U.S. help in training police and attorneys general in Central America. And we cannot overestimate the importance of strong borders, he added. Under President Donald Trump the United States borders will be strong. But the borders of the United States will always be open to legal immigrants and the lawful flow of commerce. But we will make sure our borders are closed to those who would do us harm and it will be impassable to the drugs that are besetting our families and communities. The U.S. officials were expected to face skepticism from the presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the three beleaguered countries that make up Central America's Northern Triangle. But Tillerson said the anticipated reductions in foreign aid was hardly mentioned. Instead, he said, the Central American officials sought advice in how to improve their business climate to attract more investment, how to introduce government reforms and overhaul regulations. The substance of our discussions throughout the day has been, How do we act? What do we do? Tillerson said. No one came to our meetings with their hand out. No one came with any great concern over where our budget will ultimately land when the U.S. Congress completes its own deliberations. The White House has proposed deep cuts in foreign aid next year, particularly for programs involving economic development whose benefits are typically years or even decades in the future. While State Department officials say one primary goal of the conference is to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to the Northern Triangle, the Trump administration has requested $460 million for the region, a 39 percent cut from the current years funding. Many of the cuts are to programs that support violence prevention, economic development and job creation, as well as those directed at strengthening law enforcement and the judiciary. It sends a contradictory message, said Adriana Beltran, a Central America expert with the Washington Office on Latin America, a nongovernmental human rights advocacy organization. They want to express continued support, and at the same time they want to cut programs that go to the heart of the security and economic challenges. Central American countries have been plagued by a number of intractable problems, including drug trafficking and gang violence that has been exacerbated by deportations from the United States. In the past three years alone, more than 50,000 people have been killed in the three Northern Triangle nations. In addition, many of the countries are burdened by widespread corruption in the police, government and courts, as well as a lack of economic development and high unemployment. Central Americans are in desperate need of assistance, said William LeoGrande, a Latin America analyst at American University. And all the declarations of solidarity dont make up for the fact that were in effect backing out of promises we made to them for a longer-term partnership to bolster security. Add to that the domestic rhetoric the president engaged in the campaign, that in effect demonizes a lot of people his administration is now trying to gain cooperation from. It fuels anti-American rhetoric politics in those countries, and makes it harder for politicians to cooperate with the U.S. because it hurts them politically at home. In some ways, the message and dynamic are similar to the tone at last months meeting of NATO in Brussels, where President Trump privately and publicly urged leaders to spend more money on their own defense. State Department officials say the United States wants other countries impacted by narcotics flowing from Central America and Mexico possibly Canada and countries in Europe and Asia to make up at least some of the shortfall in U.S. foreign aid to the region. Tillerson in particular will be facing a double dose of reaction to the proposed foreign aid cuts. On Tuesday and Wednesday, while testifying at Senate and House committees that control the purse strings for State Department spending, he sat patiently while Republican and Democrats alike criticized the administration for what they called an unwise and possibly dangerous desire to pare back development and humanitarian spending that theoretically can prevent future conflicts and mass migrations. It was March 2020, and the world was closing down as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. At first, the news of... The following companies are subsidiares of Caterpillar: Advanced Tri-Gen Power Systems LLC, Anchor Coupling Inc., Asia Power Systems (Tianjin) Ltd., AsiaTrak (Tianjin) Ltd., Banco Caterpillar S.A., Berg Propulsion International Pte Ltd., Bucyrus, Bucyrus Australia Surface Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Holdings Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Limited, Bucyrus International (Chile) Limitada, Bucyrus International (Peru) S.A., Bucyrus Mining Australia Pty. 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This is the stark conclusion reached by the independent international commission of inquiry established by the United Nations in 2011 to investigate human rights violations stemming from the protracted US-backed war for regime change in Syria. The Pentagons relentless bombing campaign in and around the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the so-called capital of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has inflicted a staggering loss of civilian life, while forcing over 160,000 civilians to flee their homes, Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the UNs commission of inquiry, said on Wednesday. US warplanes have dropped tens of thousands of munitions on Raqqa and the surrounding area, killing and maiming thousands of Syrian men, women and children. US Marines units, which have steadily swelled the ground forces illegally deployed on Syrian soil, have unleashed further lethal firepower, firing 155mm howitzers into crowded urban neighborhoods and flying Apache attack helicopters to provide close air support to the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces. This proxy force of Washington is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia and advised by US Special Operations troops. The bloody siege of Raqqa is unfolding even as the Pentagon is carrying out a similar slaughter, begun last October, in Mosul, an Iraqi city 232 miles to the east that once boasted a population of over 2 million. Most of Mosul has been pulverized by US bombs, rockets and shells. Thousands have been killed and wounded, while many remain still buried under the rubble. The scope of the war crimes being carried out by the Pentagon comes more sharply into focus with the verified reports that US artillery units are firing white phosphorus shells into both Raqqa and Mosul. These incendiary chemical weapons, banned under international law for use in populated areas, ignite human flesh on contact, burning it to the bone, while those who breathe the gases released by the shells suffocate and burn from the inside out. The horrific wounds caused by these weapons reopen when exposed to air. White phosphorus is used to strike terror among those under attack. Another murderous weapon being employed against the populations of Raqqa and Mosul is the MGM-140B rocket. Fired from a mobile rocket launcher, the weapon detonates in midair, scattering some 274 anti-personnel grenades, each of which is capable of killing anyone within a 15-meter radius. Last month, US Defense Secretary James Mattis told the media that the Pentagon was adopting annihilation tactics in its anti-ISIS campaign, adding, Civilian casualties are a fact of life in this sort of situation. Mattis, a recently retired Marine general whom the military nicknamed Mad Dog, knows whereof he speaks. In 2004, he led the two murderous sieges of Fallujah that claimed the lives of thousands of Iraqis, and, as in the latest US atrocities, made use of white phosphorus shells against a civilian population. The US military interventions in Iraq and Syria are not aimed at annihilating ISIS, itself the product of the 2003 US invasion and occupation of Iraq, followed by Washingtons utilization of Islamist fighters as proxy ground forces in the regime-change wars in both Libya and Syria. While Raqqa has been surrounded by US-backed forces from the north, east and west, an escape route for ISIS fighters has been opened up to the southeast in order to funnel them into the province of Deir al-Zour, so they can fight the Syrian army there. Similarly, large numbers of ISIS fighters were allowed to flee Mosul, crossing the border into Syria for the same purpose. Washingtons strategic objectives in Iraq and Syria are not those of fighting terrorism, but rather consolidating US hegemony over the oil-rich Middle East and preparing for war against the principal obstacles to this objective, Iran and Russia. For US imperialism, undisputed control over both the Persian Gulf and Central Asia would provide the means to cut off energy supplies to its global rival, China. These predatory aims are the source of war crimes, and not only in Iraq and Syria. In Yemen, Washington is backing a near-genocidal war led by the Saudi monarchy with the objective of weakening Irans influence in the Persian Gulf. During his visit to Riyadh last month, President Donald Trump announced a $110 billion arms deal with the kingdom, which will, in the first instance, replenish the bombs and missiles it is raining on the population of the most impoverished nation in the Arab world. This arms package follows similar deals signed by the Obama administration, which also supplied the Saudis with logistical and intelligence aid for the Yemen war, including mid-air refueling for its warplanes and US naval backing for a blockade that is starving the population and denying it medical supplies. In addition to killing 12,000 people outright, the US-Saudi war has left at least 7 million Yemenis on the brink of famine, while cholera is threatening to kill thousands more. Save the Children reports that, on average, one Yemeni child is contracting the disease every 35 seconds. Meanwhile, Washington is preparing to once again escalate the protracted slaughter in Afghanistan. US officials reported Tuesday that Trump has authorized Mattis to set troop levels in the country, which the US has occupied since 2001. Thousands more soldiers are expected to be deployed, with the aim of carrying out the annihilation tactics favored by the defense secretary. A taste of what is to come was seen Monday when US troops whose convoy hit a roadside bomb opened fire indiscriminately on civilians, killing a brick kiln laborer and his two sons, ages eight and 10. As these atrocities play out across an ever-expanding global battlefield, what is striking is the absence of any organized opposition to US war crimes. The continuous wars are not even a subject of debate in Congress and are supported by both Democrats and Republicans. The media, a faithful propaganda arm of the Pentagon and the CIA, has shown a complete disinterest in US war crimes, paying attention only when allegations are made against Russia or the Syrian government. Moreover, while masses of working people in the US and around the world are opposed to war, the pseudo-left groups that got their start in the middle class antiwar protests of the 1960s and 1970s have abandoned even verbal opposition to US military aggression. Reflecting the interests of privileged middle-class layers, groups like the International Socialist Organization in the US, the Left Party in Germany and the New Anti-capitalist Party in France have articulated the politics of this new constituency for imperialism, justifying neo-colonial interventions in the name of human rights and portraying CIA regime-change operations as in Libya and Syria as revolutions. The emergence of a genuine antiwar movement is today a matter of life and death, as the war crimes being carried out by Washington across the globe threaten to coalesce into a global conflict involving the major nuclear powers. Such a movement can be built only in the fight to mobilize the working class independently on the basis of a socialist program to put an end to capitalism, the source of war. It took just a half hour to sink but a century to be found. The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Tuesday (June 13) that it had located the sunken remains of the McCulloch, 100 years after the ship was lost off the coast of Southern California. When the McCulloch launched in 1896, it was the largest cruising cutter built at the time, at 219 feet (67 meters) long, with a capacity to hold 130 crewmembers during wartime. The vessel saw action in the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, during the Spanish-American War. Afterward, it was used to run patrols up and down the U.S. Pacific coast, and it operated in the Bering Sea Patrol, serving as a floating courtroom for remote Alaskan towns and as a base for officers to enforce fur seal regulations. When the U.S. got involved in World War I, in April 1917, the McCulloch was put under the command of the U.S. Navy for patrol duties. During a fateful trip from San Pedro to San Francisco on June 13, 1917, the McCulloch encountered the SS Governor, a passenger steamship, traveling in the opposite direction. [See Photos of the Sunken McCulloch Shipwreck] The McCulloch had a 20-year career that included battles in the Spanish-American war and patrols along the Alaskan coast. Mare Island Museum The ships collided in the thick fog. Just a half hour later, the McCulloch upended and sank, off Point Conception, California. All of the crew were taken onboard the SS Governor alive, though John Arvid Johansson, the water tender who managed the boilers in the engine room, had been badly injured in the wreckage and died a few days later. "As the 100th anniversary was approaching, we decided it would be a fitting tribute to the ship and her crew to wait and make the announcement June 13," Dan Dewell, a public affairs officer with the 11th Coast Guard District in California, told Live Science. Previous underwater surveys in the area had identified a possible shipwreck site, Dewell said. And in October 2016, a joint training mission by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Coast Guard set out to further investigate. Story continues A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that was designed to look for historic shipwrecks was deployed from the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary's research vessel Shearwater, and it caught footage of the sunken vessel's steel skeleton, draped with anemones. Though the ship's hull and decks had been destroyed by wood-boring organisms, the McCulloch still retained some of its giveaway details. Using historic photos and records of the vessel, the researchers were able to match its 11-foot (3 m) bronze propeller, the 15-inch (38 centimeters) torpedo tube set in the bow stem, the steam engine and boilers, among other features. Dewell said the Coast Guard has not yet made plans for further research, but the site is protected under the U.S. Sunken Military Craft Act of 2004, which means that no part of the vessel can be disturbed or removed. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations The world is full of beautiful places, but not all of them will stay that way. This week, UNESCO released its annual state of conservation reports, which outline which of its famous designated World Heritage Sites are in danger of losing the historic, cultural or natural characteristics that made them World Heritage Sites in the first place. Places on the Danger List face threats like soil erosion, lack of water and poor land management, to name a few. The World Heritage Committee prepares conservation reports for these places so it can discuss ways to better protect and conserve them if needed. Tourism can harm the worlds wonders, but it can also help them when done responsibly. Below, find 19 places from UNESCOs conservation reports that warrant a responsible visit. To compile this list, we pulled spots that appear on the Danger List, omitting any that come with travel warnings form the U.S. State Department. While such places are no less important, its not recommended that you visit them now, typically because of war, crime, or other dangers. Peruse the options below, pack your bags, and check out UNESCOs reports for more information on why these places are endangered and how you can help. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania These wide-open plains are an important migratory hangout for animals like zebra and wildebeest. They're also home to the world's largest caldera. Under threat due to: crop production; governance; ground transport infrastructure; social cohesion and more Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery, Georgia These historic buildings are prime examples of medieval architecture, UNESCO says. Keep an eye out for exquisite mosaics and wall paintings in the monastery complex, some of whose structures date back to the 12th century. Under threat due to: interpretative and visitation facilities; management activities Everglades National Park, U.S. These subtropical wetlands came into being at the end of the last Ice Age. They're a wonderland of mangrove trees, and birds and reptiles hang out in the marshes and bays. Under threat due to: housing; invasive/alien freshwater species; storms; surface water pollution; water infrastructure Medieval monuments in Kosovo This charming site comprises two monasteries and two churches known for their paintings and frescoes, which are excellent examples of a uniquely Balkan style of art, UNESCO says. Under threat due to: civil unrest; legal framework; management systems/management plan Comoe National Park, Cote d'Ivoire One of the largest protected areas in West Africa, this wonderland of savannas and forests hosts a stunning array of plant life thanks to water from the Komoe River. Under threat due to: civil unrest; fire; illegal activities; land conversion; livestock farming/grazing of domesticated animals; management systems/management plan Historic center of Shakhrisyabz, Uzbekistan This stop on the ancient Silk Road was a cultural hotspot in the 14th and 15th centuries. Today, you can visit its vast burial complex and the remains of Ak-Sarai Palace. Under threat due to: financial resources; housing; human resources; legal framework; management activities; management systems/management plan Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi, Uganda This royal burial ground features a main building with four tombs, which UNESCO praises for "its intangible values of belief, spirituality, continuity and identity." Under threat due to: ground transport infrastructure; management activities; management systems/management plan; fire Liverpool-Maritime Mercantile City, U.K. This cluster of buildings and docks in Liverpool was a massive trade center during the 18th and 19th centuries, thanks to its innovative dock technology. Under threat due to: commercial development; governance; high impact research/monitoring activities; housing; interpretative and visitation facilities and more Chan Chan Archaeological Zone, Peru The massive Peruvian city of Chan Chan is divided into nine individual "citadels" whose intricate remnants still stand. You can tour former temples, homes, storehouses, reservoirs and more. Under threat due to: identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community; illegal activities; management systems/management plan; water Also on HuffPost Archaeological Site of Ani, Turkey Also known as the "City of 1,001 Churches," Ani was a once-thriving medieval city that was devastated by an earthquake in 1319. The Ahwar of Southern Iraq The Ahwar is made up of seven sites: the remains of Mesopotamian Cities cities of Uruk, Ur and Tell Eridu and four wetland marshes. These sites are some of the world's largest inland delta systems that exist in an extremely hot and arid environment. Antigua Naval Dockyard, Antigua and Barbuda This harbor is made of Georgian-style structures tucked away in a narrow bay on Antigua island. The highlands surrounding the narrow bay offered protection from hurricanes. Antequera Dolmens, Spain This site consists of three megalithic tombs -- the Menga and Viera dolmens and the Tolos of El Romeral -- and two natural monuments known as the Pena de los Enamorados and El Torcal mountainous formations. As UNESCO notes, these dolmens are "one of the most remarkable architectural works of European prehistory." Archaeological Site of Philippi, Greece This walled city, founded in 356 BC by the Macedonian King Philip II, was developed as a "small Rome" and later became a center of the Christian faith following the visit of the Apostle Paul in 49-50 CE. The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, Various Locations Architect Le Corbusier was a pioneer of modern design. The 17 sites chosen by the World Heritage committee were built over a half-century. His work reflects "the solutions that the Modern Movement sought to apply during the 20th century to the challenges of inventing new architectural techniques to respond to the needs of society." The Persian Qanat, Iran This ancient qanat system consists of 11 underground tunnels used to carry water from the heads of valleys to rest areas or water reservoirs in the arid regions of Iran. Gorham's Cave Complex, U.K. There are four caves tucked away inside the Rock of Gibraltar which have provided evidence of Neanderthal occupation over a span of more than 125,000 years. These caves have allowed researchers to better understand Neanderthals and their cultural traditions. Nan Madol, Micronesia This site consists of 99 artificial islets constructed by humans off the coast of Pohnpei between 1200 and 1500 CE. Now, these islets contain the remains of stone palaces, temples, tombs and residential areas -- but are also listed by UNESCO as "in danger" due to climate change and coastal erosion. Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art, China There are dozens of examples of rock art on the steep cliffs in southwest China, and they are the only remains left in the world that reveal what life was like for the Luoye people, who date back to around the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. These drawings have been interpreted as portraying south China's once-prevalent bronze drum culture. Nalanda Mahavihara, India This ancient university, comprised of a monastic and scholastic institution, dates back from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. Now, there are only remnants of stupas, shrines, vicars and art made of stucco, stone and medal. Western Tien-Shan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan One of the largest mountain ranges in the world, Western Tien-Shan, reaches altitudes of more than 14,700 feet and includes exceptionally rich biodiversity. Stecci Medieval Graveyards, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia This listing combines some 30 sites across several countries all containing these distinctive medieval tombstones known as stecci. These cemeteries date back to the 1100s are are mostly carved from limestone. Pampulha Modern Ensemble, Brazil This quirky cultural center, built in 1940 around an artificial lake, was designed by renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer in collaboration with other artists.The space includes a casino, ballroom, Golf Yacht Club and the Sao Francisco de Assis church. Archipielago de Revillagigedo, Mexico These four remote islands are part of a submerged mountain range, with each peak representing the peaks of volcanoes emerging from the sea. They're a critical habitat for seabirds and marine life, with an abundance or large pelagic species including manta rays, whales and sharks. Lut Desert, Iran Between June and October, this arid subtropical area is swept by strong winds, which transport sediment and cause aeolian erosion on a colossal scale. Consequently, the site presents some of the most spectacular examples of aeolian yardang landforms. Mistaken Point, Canada These rugged sea cliffs are named after the frequent fog that blankets the rocky coast, blinding sailors from the hazards near the shore. This shoreline also contains some of the oldest known assemblages of large fossils in the world, with some dating back to 560 million years ago. Hubei Shennongjia, China These two sites protect ancient forests in central-eastern China and is home to some of the country's rarest animal species, including the Chinese Giant Salamander, the Golden or Snub-nosed Monkey, the Clouded Leopard and the Asian Black bear. Khangchendzonga National Park, India A collection of valleys, lakes, glaciers and snow-capped mountains are tucked away in the heart of the Himalayan range in northern India. These incredible features also include the world's third largest peak, Mount Khangchendzonga, which comes with its own set of caves, rivers and lakes, which are worshipped by the area's indigenous people. Sanganeb Marine National Park and Dungonab Bay, Sudan This entry includes two separate sites: Sanganeb, an isolated and vibrant coral reef in the central Red Sea, and the area including Mukkawar Island and Dungonab Bay. Seabirds, marine mammals, turtles and sharks call this protected area home. Ennedi Massif's Natural and Cultural Landscape, Chad Years and years of water and wind erosion have sculpted this sandstone into stunning canyons, valleys, natural arches and pitons. Thousands of images have been painted and carved into the rock surface of caves, canyons and shelters, presenting one of the largest ensembles of rock art in the Sahara. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Four employees at a day care center in West Memphis, Arkansas, were fired Wednesday following the death of a five-year-old boy who was left unattended inside a van all day. Christopher Gardner, Jr. was found dead inside a van at the Ascent Children's Health Services facility, West Memphis Police Department said Monday. The Ascent Children's Health Services facility serves children with developmental disabilities and has its centers all across the state. Read: Amanda Hawkins, Texas Mother Charged In Deaths Of 2 Toddlers After Leaving Them In Hot Car For 15 Hours On the day of the incident, the facilitys van picked up Christopher early morning from his home. However, the staff did not take him out of the van after reaching the facility. Speaking with WMC Action News 5, the victims mother said the van picked up her son Monday morning and that he was discovered dead eight hours later. The victims great grandmother Carrie Smith said, "You can see that my great grandbaby suffered in that van. That wasn't right," the report stated. Referring to Christopher, Smith said he would get off the van every afternoon and ask for cookies. When he got off the van he'd say, 'Granny, have you got me a cookie today,' Smith said. They didn't get off their, excuse my language, off their a** and look. I'm very upset about it. They didn't look, and they can't tell me they looked. They didn't, Smith said about the negligence by the facilitys staff. Christophers family said he had been going to Ascent since he was a year old. He had undergone two heart surgeries, and therefore, had been visiting the facility for development issues. The facility which describes itself as a Child Health Management Services provider, which means it offers services for children with complex health needs in addition to day care refused to comment on the incident. However, the CEO of the facility issued a statement of apology. Story continues The staff at the day care center did not follow the company policies and procedures. Had they followed the protocol, this tragedy would not have occurred, Ascent Children's Health Services CEO Dan Sullivan said in a statement, CNN reported. There are simply no words to express the overwhelming sadness we feel at the death of this child. We are heartbroken and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family. Ascent will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities and state agencies as they investigate this tragic incident, Sullivan added. The daycare center has been shut following the incident. Hot car deaths are quite common in the U.S. On June 8, two toddlers died in San Antonio after their mother intentionally left them in a car for more than 15 hours, while she visited her friends in Texas. The incident took place June 6 in Kerrville around 65 miles northwest of San Antonio. Related Articles Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga spoke to University of Texas System chancellor Adm. William McRaven on the future of the U.S. effort in Afghanistan, President Trumps reaction to the Russia investigation and U.S.-Russia relations. Adm. William McRaven says the Russians may be giggling a little bit at the U.S. Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga spoke to University of Texas System chancellor Adm. William McRaven about how the Russians view their role in international affairs. He said, From Russias standpoint, every time they intervene in international affairs that puts them in a position to be a power player, well then, they are winning. On whether Vladimir Putin and the Russians are laughing at the U.S., he said, They may be giggling a little bit. Adm. William McRaven disagrees with Trumps tweets about Russia investigation Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga spoke to University of Texas System chancellor Adm. William McRaven about the Russia investigation. McRaven disagreed with President Trumps tweet in which the president said the investigation is led by some very bad and conflicted people! On the potential evidence of obstruction of justice by Trump, McRaven said, Its significant for us as Americans. He also said theres a need for civility surrounding the investigation. Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga spoke to University of Texas System chancellor Adm. William McRaven about the Russia investigation. McRaven disagreed with President Trumps tweet in which the president said the investigation is led by some very bad and conflicted people! On the potential evidence of obstruction of justice by Trump, McRaven said, Its significant for us as Americans. He also said theres a need for civility surrounding the investigation. Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga spoke to University of Texas System chancellor Adm. William McRaven about how the Russians view their role in international affairs. He said, From Russias standpoint, every time they intervene in international affairs that puts them in a position to be a power player, well then, they are winning. On whether Vladimir Putin and the Russians are laughing at the U.S., he said, They may be giggling a little bit. Like the characters they portrayed, Adam West and Burt Ward had a rock-solid friendship one that lasted more than 50 years. I loved him," Ward told Inside Edition as he remembered his Batman co-star and friend, the late Adam West. "We had the best time. We could talk about any subject. All we did was laugh." Read: Adam West, Star of TV's 'Batman,' Dies at 88: 'He Was and Always Will Be Our Hero' Ward, who portrayed Robin opposite Wests Batman in the 1960's series about the Caped Crusader, is opening up about his former co-star, who died over the weekend after a short battle with leukemia. West was 88. Ward said that he was stunned to learn the severity of his friend's condition. I wasn't aware he was dealing with an illness neither was he," Ward said. "He thought he was dealing with altitude sickness. They found out he had leukemia. I was surprised. Ward is now 71. He and his wife, Tracy, run the Gentle Giants Dog Rescue out of their home in Norco, Calif. Read: Some Kind of 'Wonder'-Ful: 'Wonder Woman' Shatters Box Office Record in Opening Weekend Ward laughs as he recalled how West performed Batman's infamous dance, "The Batusi." He was so funny the way he did it," he said. "You can't even put it in a box because it was so wild and crazy. He was wild and crazy. Watch: Funeral for a Super Boy: Mourners Don Superhero Costumes to Honor Boy Killed in School Shooting Related Articles: A highly combustible form of energy locked deep in the ocean finally can be harvested using a new technique, but deploying that technique on a broad scale could spell trouble for the climate, experts say. The solid material, called methane hydrate, is a form of the hydrocarbon methane that is locked in cages of ice called clathrates. Though billions of tons of this form of methane may be locked deep beneath the ocean floor, scientists had no safe or simple way to extract the material and convert it into a form that could be used. But in a new demonstration, Chinese scientists say they have converted methane hydrate directly into usable natural gas on a floating platform in the South China Sea, the South China Morning Post reported. However, even if this resource could be extracted safely, it would be bad for the climate because it would release greenhouse gases on a large scale, several experts said. Untapped reservoirs Methane hydrate is one of the largest untapped reservoirs of energy on the planet, according to the 2012 Global Energy Assessment. What's more, methane-hydrate reserves dot the coastlines of every continent on the planet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). [The Reality of Climate Change: 10 Myths Busted] The United States has many other, more easily accessible sources of energy, including natural gas. But many countries, such as Japan and India, lack such resources. "If they had a domestic source of natural gas, that could be a real boon," said Carolyn Ruppel, a USGS scientist who has studied the impact of methane-hydrate leaks in the ocean. "Not everyone has the resource panorama that we have here in North America." However, accessing the power of this flammable ice has been difficult, for two reasons. First, these reserves are often distributed over a large area rather than concentrated in one spot as oil or natural gas reserves often are. That means collecting them is like "picking strawberries in a field," Yifeng Chen, associate researcher with the Key Laboratory of Marginal Sea Geology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou, told the South China Morning Post. Story continues The bigger problem, however, is that, true to their moniker as flammable ice, methane hydrates are unstable and potentially explosive. Drilling into the seafloor could destabilize the methane ice crystals and cause explosions, spewing vast troves of methane into the atmosphere, where it is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO2), several experts told Live Science. In 2013, Japan demonstrated a production test showing it was possible to mine such methane-hydrate resources without massive leakage. So far, however, nobody has figured out how to use the technology on a large scale. [500 'Champagne' Methane Seeps Discovered Off the Pacific Northwest Coast] Bad for climate Regardless of whether the China demonstration can be scaled up, "any significantly increased use of hydrate-derived natural gas (or any other fossil fuel) would lead to continuing unabated fossil-fuel greenhouse-gas emissions not to mention prolonged dependence on fossil fuels," said Pushker Kharecha, an Earth scientist at Columbia University who was not involved in the work. "In order to mitigate the climate crisis, rather than harvesting more fossil fuels, we must instead scale up clean energy sources like renewables and nuclear as rapidly as possible, by as much as possible," Kharecha told Live Science in an email. Other experts agreed. "Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas about a factor of 30 times more potent per molecule than carbon dioxide, but [methane gases']average lifetime is only about 10 years," Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, told Live Science in an email. "They end up being oxidized (burnt) and end up as carbon dioxide." Some have argued that replacing dirty, carbon-intensive energy sources such as coal with slightly less carbon-intensive sources such as natural gas could reduce total emissions. But reducing carbon emissions to levels to avoid runaway warming requires a more fundamental paradigm shift, said Michael Mann, a climate researcher at Pennsylvania State University. "Fundamentally, it [methane] is still a fossil fuel, and when you burn it for energy, you still produce CO2," Mann told Live Science in an email. "A fossil fuel, fundamentally, cannot be the solution to a problem that is caused by fossil fuels." Still, the worst-case possibility of vast methane leaks going straight into the atmosphere may not be as likely as people have assumed, Ruppel said. "Even after the Deepwater Horizon incident, which released a lot of methane in the ocean, studies showed a lot of the methane was consumed by microbes, and turned into CO2," Ruppel told Live Science, referring to the 2010 disaster involving a huge oil spill. "It's not like this methane is on a freight train to the atmosphere." However, even if there's a safe way to extract methane from the ocean, methane is a natural gas, so it warms the climate, several experts said. If methane displaces other, dirtier carbon-based fuels, such as coal, there is also a possibility that methane could serve as a transitional fuel before less-carbon-producing fuels expand, Ruppel said. Originally published on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Analysis: In his Senate testimony on Russia, the attorney generals default position was cant recall and vagueness was the order of the day He started with a declaration well suited to old-school newspaper headlines, insisting that the claim he was involved in collusion with Russia was an appalling and detestable lie. But Jeff Sessions testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday will be better remembered for a moment geared to 21st-century memes. Peppered with questions by the California Democrat Kamala Harris, Sessions, the former senator from Alabama with a troubled civil rights record, said: Im not able to be rushed this fast. It makes me nervous. Was it because Harris is black, or a woman, or a former prosecutor, or all of the above? The Twittersphere will decide. But the incident illustrated how Sessions attempt at Trump-like bombast and bravado Donald in a Dixie cup, as the New York Times columnist Frank Bruni called him last week had crumbled under fire. The attorney general managed to avoid inflicting significant damage on his boss but, having got his soundbite out, failed to answer the most important questions during a teeth-grindingly frustrating afternoon. Cant comment or cant recall were his default positions. It was a filibuster without charm. The evasive Sessions said he could not reveal whether he had spoken with Trump about the Russia investigation. He refused to say whether Trump ordered him out of the room so that the president could tell the then FBI director, James Comey, to go easy on Michael Flynn. He declined to say whether there was any discussion of a potential pardon for Flynn. Although Comey also kept some cards close to his chest before the Senate intelligence committee last week, there was a stark contrast in tone. It would have been unthinkable for Comey to say the questioning made him nervous, or to become agitated and tetchy as Sessions did under cross-examination by the Democratic senator Ron Wyden, of Oregon. Story continues Wyden pressed Sessions on why he had recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference, asking about issues Comey had said he was unable to address. The attorney general snapped angrily: Why dont you tell me? There are none, Senator Wyden, there are none. I can tell you that for absolute certainty. This is a secret innuendo being leaked out there. Wyden said the answer doesnt pass the smell test. A couple of senators pushed Sessions hard on his basis for refusing to answer. First he claimed that consistent with longstanding Department of Justice practice, I cannot and will not violate my duty to protect confidential communications with the president. Then he said that though Trump had not invoked executive privilege, he may choose to do so in the future. It would be premature for me to deny the president a full and intelligent choice about executive privilege, he said. Few seemed satisfied with that. On Russia, vagueness was the order of the day. Yes, Sessions was at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, but no, he did not have a formal meeting with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. If any brief interaction occurred in passing with the Russian ambassador during that reception, I do not remember it. Like Trump, Sessions had betrayed a deep lack of curiosity about Russias interference in the presidential election, admitting he had never received an official briefing on it. Asked if Russia interfered, he replied: It appears so. Later, he mourned that its really a tragic strategic event that the US and Russia did not get along better. The only figure more divisive than Sessions was the Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who made bizarre references to John le Carre books and James Bond and Jason Bourne films and argued the Russia allegations were the stuff of spy fiction. Sessions smiled: Thank you for saying that, Senator Cotton. Its just like Through the Looking Glass. I mean, what is this? Washington had not seen such a display of sycophancy since Trumps cabinet meeting, an entire 24 hours earlier. ERIN, Wisconsin A blimp flying over the U.S. Open went down Thursday just beyond a rim of trees surrounding Erin Hills. The pilot, the blimps only occupant, was airlifted from the scene of the crash but was reported as alert and conscious, according to police. Fan video caught the deflated blimp as it floated to the ground around 11:30 a.m. CT: Moments before, the blimp was flying low, just above the treeline. It then ascended. But just a few minutes later, a huge cloud of black smoke could be seen just beyond the grounds of Erin Hills in suburban Milwaukee. Emergency services personnel attend to an injured victim of the blimp crash. (Yahoo Sports) The blimp crashed in a farms field a quarter-mile off County Road 83. At the scene of the crash, one individual was being treated for injuries by local emergency services personnel. Equipment on-site included three fire trucks, an ambulance and a Flight-For-Life helicopter. Remnants of a blimp that crashed near Erin Hills, site of the U.S. Open, can be seen in the distance. (Yahoo Sports) Police reported that there was one individual on board the blimp, and that individual was alert and conscious following the crash. He was evacuated from the crash site in the back of a pick-up truck before being transported into an emergency helicopter. The blimp was operated by AirSign, an aerial advertising operation. Thanks to everyone for your concerns, AirSign tweeted. The blimp pilot is being taken to the hospital but is expected to be OK. A later tweet explained that propane takes exploded after [the pilot] was safe. A witness said the blimp was a couple hundred feet in the air when it deflated and began descending just east of the course. The blimp ended up crashing about a hundred yards away from the airstrip where it had taken off from earlier in the morning. Wed seen the blimp from a ways away, so we decided to get close and see if we could get some pictures, said Hunter Guetzke, 16, a local resident. Right when we got past the trees I could see it and it was deflating and starting to go down. It basically just dropped straight down to the ground and when it hit the ground it exploded. There were three fireballs and you could hear the explosion. More U.S. Open coverage from Yahoo Sports: Viewers guide: Erin Hills breakdown, TV times, picks and more! Power rankings: Top 10 expert picks for Erin Hills Watch: Who wins at tough Erin Hills? Johnson ready for Open after birth of baby It turns out Amazon is an amazing resource for wigs. (Photo: Quinn Lemmers for Yahoo Beauty) After always having fairly long and healthy relaxed hair, I was the one person who never wanted to go natural. It wasnt until I moved to New York City that the condition of my locks started to change. In 2015, I began experiencing severe scalp inflammation. I went to a dermatologist, who diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis and suggested I take a break from getting relaxers until my scalp was under control. After using a variety of medicated shampoos and receiving cortisone injections into my scalp, it was time to stop chemically straightening my hair and begin transitioning to natural. Everyones natural hair journey is different. Some people just go for it with the big chop cutting all their relaxed hair off and starting over. As for myself, I decided to braid my hair and wear wigs. Wearing wigs is a great way to protect your hair from heat during the long transition process or even if you just want a new look. I have a few custom-made wigs, but if I were to buy a new one every time I wanted to change my hairstyle, I could probably have a few pairs of Manolos in my closet. The wig game changed for me when I discovered Amazon as the ultimate resource. But I know what youre probably thinking: Amazon for wigs? Trust me, Amazon is the hair extensions plug, and here are three reasons why: 1. Ready-to-wear Simply slip on this wig and youre ready to go! (Photo: Quinn Lemmers for Yahoo Beauty) When youre ready to hit the town and have limited time to do your hair, just pull this Bobbi Boss wig ($30) right out of the box and youre good to go. Dont worry, as you wont have to spend hours straightening this wig, because its styled super sleek! Tucked inside this blunt bob unit are adjustable straps that allow you to tailor the wig to fit properly onto your head. Theres no need to figure out your head measurements; youll get the custom wig without the custom high price. 2. Low price, luxe look New hair color without actually dying your hair? No problem with this wig. (Photo: Quinn Lemmers for Yahoo Beauty) When searching for a new wig to purchase, synthetic hair was initially not an option for me I always thought it looked too cheap. But I was definitely wrong, because the hair industry has evolved. The majority of the wigs on Amazon are synthetic, which means they are not human hair and will only cost you between $20 and $40. Story continues Although these wigs are not real hair, they definitely have a lavish look and still can be curled (at a low heat setting) and styled. One of my favorite luxe wigs is from Freetress Equal ($24), which I wear when I want to channel my inner Real Housewives of Atlanta star. 3. Low maintenance If you want luscious curls without a curling iron, 5i Beauty ($27) has the perfect unit for you. The best thing about this wig is you dont have to risk getting heat damage for this playful look. Natural-looking curls are a breeze with this wig style. (Photo: Quinn Lemmers for Yahoo Beauty) These curls will continue to bounce no matter how windy or humid it is outside. Just make sure to run your fingers through the wig each day and separate the curls to prevent tangling. Synthetic hair doesnt last very long, so youll get at least a full month of wear, and then on to your next look! Amazon houses many wig vendors, so when looking for the ideal wig, make sure to read the reviews and do your research. No matter if youre transitioning or natural, or you want a different hair color or some added length, have some fun and try something new. To maintain your wig, keep these four tips in mind: Invest in a wig stand. This should cost you no more than six bucks, and it will help to maintain the overall shape of your extensions. Use a plastic bristle brush (preferably with loop bristles) to detangle and add volume to wigs with straighter textures. Avoid applying hair products to synthetic wigs, as the fibers wont absorb the formulas like human hair, and this can only lead to knots or, even worse, matted locks. Dont submerge your wig in water, because this can alter the overall texture. Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and@YahooBeauty. Islamic State fighters have captured Tora Bora, a mountain cave complex in eastern Afghanistan that was once the hideout of Osama bin Laden, officials said Thursday, despite pressure on the jihadists from US-led forces. The militants seized the territory from the Taliban this week, in a strategic and symbolic victory just two months after the US military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb ever used on a nearby IS stronghold. The fall of Tora Bora after days of heavy fighting, which forced hundreds of residents to flee, marks a setback to the US military which has vowed to defeat IS's local affiliate this year as they make inroads into Afghanistan. "Tora Bora has fallen into the hands of IS fighters," government spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP. "Afghan troops last night launched an operation to take it back from IS." Tora Bora in eastern Nangarhar province was the site of a major US military offensive in late 2001, when Al-Qaeda chief bin Laden was believed to be hiding there. He later crossed into neighbouring Pakistan, where he was killed in a US raid in 2011. Government forces and the NATO coalition had lately engaged in little fighting against Taliban insurgents who dominated Tora Bora, supported by local tribes along the mountainous border with Pakistan. Local tribesmen confirmed to AFP that the Taliban had retreated from large parts of Tora Bora. "When Daesh (IS) fighters launched their operation to seize Tora Bora, the Taliban fled and left us alone to protect our women and children," said Juma Khan, a tribesman who escaped with hundreds of other residents. First emerging in 2015, IS's local affiliate has made steady inroads into Afghanistan, overrunning large parts of Nangarhar and Kunar provinces and challenging the bigger Taliban militant movement on their own turf. The fresh IS assault and capture of Tora Bora comes despite a heavy US-backed Afghan offensive against the militants. Story continues General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, has pledged to defeat the local IS affiliate this year. The deployment in April of the US military's so-called Mother Of All Bombs (MOAB) on another tunnel-and-cave complex in nearby Achin district killed dozens of jihadists, but fighting in the area has continued unabated. The fall of the Tora Bora has also prompted heated discussion in the Afghan parliament, with lawmakers warning the government of growing IS activity in eastern Afghanistan. "Is this government unaware of the problem? Is this government here to kill us?" asked Hazrat Ali, a lawmaker from Nangarhar. Ali was joined by other MPs who suggested the IS offensive on Tora Bora had been prompted by the American decision to deploy the MOAB. str-mam-us-ac/ds Washington (AFP) - Doctors treating Otto Warmbier, the comatose US student released from North Korean detention this week, said Thursday the 22-year-old had suffered extensive brain damage, the cause of which remains unknown. Neurologist Daniel Kanter told a news conference in Warmbier's home city of Cincinnati, Ohio that his neurological condition was best described "as a state of unresponsive wakefulness." "He has spontaneous eye opening and blinking. However, he shows no signs of understanding language, responding to verbal commands or awareness of his surroundings," he said. An MRI scan revealed "extensive loss of brain tissue in all regions of the brain," Kanter said. Warmbier's medical team said they had found no evidence of botulism, the explanation given by the North Korean regime for how the young man fell into a coma shortly after being sentenced in March 2016 for stealing a political poster from a hotel. "We have no certain or verifiable knowledge of the cause or circumstances of his neurological injury," Kanter said. The doctors said Warmbier's severe brain injury was most likely -- given his young age -- to have been caused by cardiopulmonary arrest cutting the blood supply to the brain. Kanter said his team had received copies of brain MRI images from North Korean medical personnel, the earliest of which were dated April 2016. "Based upon our analysis of those images, the brain injury likely occurred in the preceding weeks," he said. Kanter added that body scans had revealed no evidence of acute or healing fractures to the chest, abdomen or skull. Warmbier's father Fred lashed out earlier Thursday at the North Korean regime, saying he did not believe its claim that his son contracted botulism and fell into a coma shortly after being arrested last year. The university student, who had been on a tourist trip, was sentenced to 15 years hard labor, a punishment the US decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime, accusing the North of using him as a political pawn. Beijing (AFP) - The chairman of a Chinese insurance group which sought a business deal with the family of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law has stepped aside following a report that he was taken away by authorities. Officials from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission notified the Anbang group that Wu Xiaohui was "taken away" on Friday but did not explain why, according to Caijing, a Chinese magazine. Caijing's report appeared online on Tuesday but has since been taken down. Anbang said in a statement on Wednesday that Wu was "temporarily unable to perform his duties for personal reasons" but did not mention his apparent detention. Phone calls to the regulatory commission went unanswered on Wednesday. Chinese authorities are engaged in a battle against corruption in their ranks and in the business world, a campaign launched by President Xi Jinping in 2012 to eradicate rampant graft. Financial regulators are also scrambling to ease fears of a looming debt crisis, with measures to rein in risky lending and acquisitions of real estate. Official heads have rolled too, including China's insurance regulator Xiang Junbo, who was sacked in April and faces an investigation. His tenure coincided with a surge in speculative investments by Chinese insurers. Caijing, citing an unidentified source in the financial world, said regulators may be investigating Anbang's compliance with insurance products or insurance fund investments. In May the Insurance Regulatory Commission accused Anbang of violating certain provisions and banned the group from filing applications for new insurance products for three months. Anbang held controversial negotiations with the company owned by Trump's White House adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, for an investment in an office tower on New York's famous Fifth Avenue. But the talks were broken off in March after critics of the Trump administration warned of a potential conflict of interest. Story continues Established just 13 years ago, Anbang has grown from a domestic seller of property insurance into a financial services powerhouse, making a name for itself abroad by buying New York's historic Waldorf Astoria hotel for a record $1.95 billion in 2014. But in April US insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life turned down a $1.6 billion acquisition bid by Anbang. While Wu has stepped aside, Anbang said in its statement that business continues "as usual". - Billionaires under the gun - If his detention is confirmed, Wu, who is married to a granddaughter of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, would be the latest billionaire to run afoul of the authorities. Guo Wengui, a real estate tycoon, left China in 2014 and authorities are seeking his arrest. From his luxurious New York City apartment, Guo has used social media to lob allegations of corruption against some of China's most powerful people. Financier Xiao Jianhua vanished from his Hong Kong apartment earlier this year and reports suggest he was abducted by mainland security agents. He was reportedly under investigation in connection with China's 2015 stocks crash. The country is in the middle of an important year politically, with the Communist Party holding a major congress in a few months that is expected to consolidate Xi's power and lead to a reshuffle of top leadership posts. Take it straight from a major fossil fuel supplier: The world's energy mix is changing, and it's shifting toward lower-carbon fuels. BP, the British oil and gas giant, said global efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions and boost efficiency are having a tangible effect on global energy markets, with two main narratives playing out: the decline of coal, and the rapid rise of wind and solar power. SEE ALSO: Apple is investing $1 billion in clean energy with this unique approach This week, BP released its Statistical Review of World Energy on 2016 data. For 66 years, this annual report has served as an energy industry statistical bible of sorts, painting the broad picture of global energy development. In an opening letter, BP CEO Bob Dudley stressed the need to "keep our focus and efforts on reducing carbon emissions." He also voiced support for the Paris Climate Agreement, an international pact that commits nearly all countries to fighting global warming. This puts BP in opposition to President Donald Trump, who on June 1 announced he would withdraw the U.S. from the agreement. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from BP's annual report: Renewable energy is the "leading light of the energy transition" Image: BP statistical review of world energy Renewable power generation grew by 14.1 percent last year, according to BP, which doesn't include hydropower in this group. While that's slightly below the 10-year average, it's the still the largest annual addition yet. Solar power in particular jumped 29.6 percent, while wind power grew by 15.6 percent. Renewables' share of the global energy mix is still fairly small about 3.2 percent but last year's strong growth meant that solar, wind, and other sources accounted for nearly one-third of the increase in energy supplies. Image: BP statistical review of world energy China was the biggest force in this sector. The world's most populous country and top greenhouse gas emitter contributed more than 40 percent of global renewable energy growth in 2016, which helped it surpass the United States as the largest renewable power producer. Story continues The U.S. isn't likely to reclaim the top spot anytime soon. China is vowing to invest $361 billion in renewables by 2020, yet the Trump administration is doubling down on fossil fuel production, all while criticizing China for not doing enough to control its emissions. Coal's fortunes have taken "a decisive break from the past" Image: BP Statistical Review of World Energy As these charts show, coal has hardly disappeared, and it won't anytime soon. But the coal industry is facing pressure from many sides that are contributing to its long-term decline, BP said. Natural gas and, to a lesser extent, renewables are replacing coal in the power sector as both become more widely available and cost-competitive. Stronger government limits on carbon emissions in many countries, as well as air and water pollution rules, are also fueling the broader shift away from coal. However, the biggest near-term factor is, once again, China. The country last year said it would cancel or postpone plans for 200 coal power plants, and it restricted the number of days that coal mines can operate. The measures are meant to not only reduce toxic urban air pollution and carbon emissions, but also shrink excess capacity in China's coal sector. Image: BP Statistical Review of World Energy In 2016, Chinese coal production fell by 7.9 percent a record drop while coal consumption declined for the third consecutive year, falling 1.6 percent. Coal prices shot up in response, by 60 percent for thermal coal (the kind used in power plants). As China is the world's largest coal user, these dynamics spilled over into the global market. Higher global coal prices further depressed coal demand in the power sector, to the benefit of natural gas and renewables. Global coal consumption slipped by 1.7 percent while production fell by a "whopping" 6.2 percent, BP said. In the U.K., coal supply and demand plummeted to levels not seen since the start of the Industrial Revolution, nearly 200 years ago. Carbon emissions, and energy demand, are essentially flat Image: BP statistical review of world energy We're becoming more efficient in using energy. Global energy markets saw weak growth for the third consecutive year, with energy demand notching up by just 1 percent in 2016. BP credited the "relentless drive to improve energy efficiency" for the deceleration. Relatively slow economic growth was another factor, including a slowdown in industrial production. All this meant that carbon emissions were essentially flat in 2016, BP said. It's the third consecutive year in which carbon emissions have barely budged from the previous year. BP's economists said it's unclear whether the past three years signal a "decisive break from the past" that means we're on track to limit global warming or if the flat emissions are largely driven by cyclical factors that could unwind over time, putting our climate at an even higher risk. A former aide to President Donald Trump got schooled live on CNN after his sexist dismissal of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Jason Miller, now one of Trumps in-house surrogates at the network, accused Harris of hysteria for her dogged line of questioning during Tuesdays testimony from Attorney General Jeff Sessions before the Senate Intelligence Committee. CNN political analyst Kirsten Powers wouldnt let him get away with it. How was Sen. Harris hysterical? she asked on Anderson Cooper 360 on Tuesday night. I dont really understand that. I mean, she was asking some tough questions. Miller claimed Harris questions amounted to a completely partisan screed. POWERS: But how was that hysterical? MILLER: From my perspective my, I would say, objective perspective I mean it was ... it didnt seem like there was any effort to try to get to a real question or get to the bottom of it. POWERS: I think she asked a lot of questions, actually. She was very dogged, theres no question, but I wouldnt say she was any more dogged than Ron Wyden [D-Ore.] was, would you? Would you say that? MILLER: Look, I have my opinion on that. I think she was hysterical. I dont think that Sen. Wyden was really trying to get to the bottom of answers either. POWERS: But he wasnt hysterical and she was. OK, I just wanted to clear that up. Got it. Another CNN Trump surrogate, Jeffrey Lord, eventually jumped in to claim that hysteria is a neutral quality. Powers wasnt having any of that, either. And yet its just women that usually are called hysterical, she said. Hysteria has historically been used to dismiss women going back to the words Greek root, which means uterus. See the full exchange, posted online by Media Matters, above. Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. In a pair of tweets Thursday, President Trump decried the investigation into his campaigns ties to Russia and complained he was the subject of disproportionate scrutiny compared to his election foe from last year, Hillary Clinton. The latest target of his Twitter ire: A Washington Post report the day before that said the Justice Department special counsel is looking into whether he obstructed justice by firing FBI Director James Comey to interfere with the bureaus Russia probe. But Trump suggested that Clintons family and Democrats generally have had shady interactions with Russia, while he has had none. Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 Trump didnt elaborate on what dealings he was referring to, but the president has previously attacked Clinton for a deal approved by her State Department and other U.S. agencies that allowed Russias state-owned atomic agency to get an ownership stake of a Canadian company that owns uranium mines in the U.S. I didnt do anything for Russia. Ive done nothing for Russia. Hillary Clinton gave them 20 percent of our uranium. Hillary Clinton did a reset, remember? With the stupid plastic button that made us all look like a bunch of jerks, Trump said in February of this year, several months after defeating Clinton in the election. On Thursday (even more months after that), Trump also went after Clinton for her campaign-era email scandal. Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 The tweets were a continuation of an early-morning Twitter burst in which the commander in chief derided the investigation as the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history led by some very bad and conflicted people! Story continues They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 Trump has repeatedly dismissed allegations that his campaign colluded with the Kremlin in the presidential election as a hoax and a witch hunt. After firing Comey, who was at that time overseeing the investigation, however, he told Russian diplomats in the Oval Office that great pressure had been relieved. Read more from Yahoo News: Dads dont get equal treatment when it comes to parental leave. (Photo: Getty Images) Derek Rotondo has been a fraud investigator with J.P. Morgan Chase since 2010. But when he first became a father in 2015, he was shocked to learn that the financial behemoth had different paid family leave policies for men and women. Now those differences have led him to join with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to file a discrimination lawsuit against his employer. In his complaint, Rotondo, 32, alleges that following the births of his children he and his wife had a second son this month he has been limited in the amount of paid parental leave he has been eligible for solely because of his sex. The ACLU of Ohio and the employment law firm of Outten & Golden LLP have also joined the fathers lawsuit. Equality in general is important thats an easy one, Rotondo, of Columbus, Ohio, tells Yahoo Beauty. And for me, specifically, the first couple of weeks and months are really important for that bonding time with a new baby. That time is irreplaceable. It shouldnt be only women who are allowed to stay home and take care of their babies. Dads can do it too, and should be able to stay home if they want. Its their choice and not something an employer should dictate. J.P. Morgan Chase did not immediately respond to Yahoo Beautys request for comment. According to other reports, though, the company has only stated that it has received the complaint and is reviewing it. When Rotondos first son was born in 2015, the company provided fathers with just one week of paid parental leave; mothers were were given slightly more time. At that time, Rotondo took his week of paid leave, plus an additional week off using paid days he had accrued. J.P. Morgan Chases current paid parental leave policy, according to the suit, allows 16 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers and two weeks of paid parental leave for nonprimary caregivers. The hitch, however, is that the company also presumes that biological mothers are the primary caregivers; fathers can be considered the primary caregiver only if their spouses are returning to the workforce or have been deemed medically incapable of caring for their child. Women, however, are awarded primary status by default at the company. Story continues This May 15, in anticipation of his second childs birth, Rotondo contacted J.P. Morgan Chases disability management services and requested that the 16 weeks of paid parental leave be given to him as the primary caregiver. But because Rotondos wife is a schoolteacher, she was home for the summer break, and he was unable to prove she had already gone back to work. And because she had had a normal, healthy delivery the first time, he was unable to prove that she would be incapable of caring for their new baby herself. Rotondos request was denied. If I were a female employee of [J.P. Morgan Chase], I would be presumptively eligible to receive 16 weeks of paid parental leave automatically as a primary caregiver regardless of whether my spouse had returned to work or was medically capable of providing care for our child, he says in his complaint. Because only men are required to meet these criteria to qualify as a childs primary caregiver for the more generous paid family leave, Rotondo is claiming sex-based discrimination under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, as well as Ohios Fair Employment Practices Act. Rotondo is not alone in his experience, unfortunately. According to a report just released by the nonprofit Paid Leave for the United States (PL+US), the majority of top companies in the U.S. including CVS, Staples, Amazon, and Starbucks give little or no paid parental leave to dads (and adoptive parents). And if they give any leave at all, its usually much less than what is provided for birth mothers. Modern companies understand that all parents need equal time to bond with their new children, and parental leave policies must reflect that, PL+US executive director Katie Bethell said in a statement. Leave for the U.S. Companies like JP Morgan and Starbucks that have discriminatory parental leave policies sends a strong signal that executives at those companies believe parenting should primarily be a womans job. A policy brief issued by the Obama administrations Labor Department last year found that while nine out of 10 fathers in the U.S. take some time off work for the birth of a child, 70 percent are allotted paid time off of 10 days or less. Furthermore, 88 percent of Americans workers across the board have no access to paid leave at all, and fathers regularly are offered less paid parental leave than mothers. Peter Romer-Friedman, a civil rights attorney with Outten & Golden, tells Yahoo Beauty that the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that while it is appropriate to have a disparity in paid leave provided to men and women if it reflects recovery time for birth mothers generally thought to be six weeks for vaginal births any time beyond it that is different is unlawful, and reflects a sex stereotype that violates Title VII. We have a federal law that provides millions of workers with unpaid leave, but studies show that most workers cant afford to utilize FMLA because they dont receive any pay, Romer-Friedman emphasizes. Most ordinary workers and families cant afford to go eight, 12 weeks without pay. Paid family leave gives workers the right to use their federal right to take leave, bond with their children, and care for their loved ones. Its not just a benefit people like and want, but a benefit people need. As for Rotondo, he says, I dont think that this is a novel idea to most people. I think every man out there would like to see a world in which families can decide for themselves how things are going to be. There are so many different kinds of families that all have different situations. Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty. A soldier stands near wreakage A Somali soldier stands near the wreckage from a car bomb blast and gun battle targeting a restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday, June 15, 2017. (Photo: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP) Islamic extremists attacked a popular Somalia restaurant in an overnight siege and killed dozens of people many at point-blank range before they were slain by security forces, police said Thursday. Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as the five gunmen hunted for victims in the darkened Pizza House restaurant. Nearly 40 people were wounded. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, which began Wednesday evening with a car bomb exploding at the gate to the restaurant and ended when troops secured the site after dawn, said senior police Capt. Mohamed Hussein. I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again. They were killing people on sight, university student Saida Hussein told The Associated Press. She said she survived by hiding behind a large table. Soldiers in gun-mounted vehicles surrounded the building, and troops later entered the ground floor as al-Shabab snipers defended their positions upstairs. The battle to end the siege was hampered by darkness, Hussein said. The bodies of five girls believed to have been killed by the extremists were found in the restaurant, police said. The body of a Syrian man who worked as a chef lay near a blood-spattered and bullet-marked wall. The car bomb that began the attack blew the roofs off the restaurant and other nearby buildings. Many of the first victims were young men who had been entering the Pizza House when the bomb went off, Hussein said. The extremists, appearing to pose as security forces, then rushed inside the restaurant. (AP) See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Twitter and Tumblr. Photo credit: Facebook From Woman's Day One year ago, Lane Graves was tragically killed by an alligator while playing near the Seven Seas Lagoon at the Walt Disney World resort. Today, his family continues to honor the 2-year-old boy, and Disney wants to help keep the memory of Lane alive, as well. Walt Disney World Resort has announced that it is planning to build a lighthouse on the property in Lane's memory, Orlando Sentinel reports. The lighthouse is a symbol representing the Lane Thomas Foundation, which was created by the toddler's parents, Matt and Melissa, as a "beacon of hope" for families in crisis. "To provide continued awareness of the foundation and its mission, we've commissioned an original sculpture of the lighthouse the foundation uses as a symbol of love and hope, to be installed on our property this summer," George A. Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement to the Sentinel this week. On June 14, 2016, Lane was visiting Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Bay Lake, Florida with his family when an alligator dragged the little boy under the water at the Seven Seas Lagoon. His parents immediately attempted to save him, but sadly, the toddler was drowned by the gator. Lane's father released a statement two weeks ago, explaining that the family lives "quietly and still do not want to talk publicly about that day," the Sentinel reports. Melissa and Matt last publicly spoke about their son in September 2016, when their foundation celebrated what would have been Lane's third birthday. "Anyone who knows me knows I don't like to speak but, my baby, I owe it to him to honor him," Melissa Graves told the crowd gathered on September 3. "So his mommy needed to say, 'Happy birthday Laney. [] You'll always be Mommy's loving, sweet baby boy." (h/t People) Follow Woman's Day on Instagram. You Might Also Like The Australian Prime Minister has performed a skit on stage ridiculing Donald Trump's mannerisms and poking fun at him over fake polls and Russia. Malcolm Turnbull gave the light-hearted speech behind closed doors to a room full of journalists in Canberra at the Australian Parliaments annual mid-winter ball. Traditionally remarks from the event are not reported upon, but a recording of the premier's routine leaked online and has now been shared around the world. In it Mr Turnbull, who leads the Australian Liberal Party, can be heard impersonating the President, who he met for the first time in New York last month. It was beautiful. It was the most beautiful putting-me-at-ease ever, he joked. The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls. We are winning so much, we are winning, we are winning in ways we have never won before." He then alludes to the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaigns links with Russia, adding: I have this Russian guy Believe me, its true, it is true. Journalist Laurie Oakes, political editor of the Nine Network, leaked details of the speech because he did not attend the event himself and therefore does not believe he should be bound by offthe-record rules. Mr Turnbull has yet to comment on the leaked recording. The relationship between the President and the Australian PM did not get off to the best of starts when Mr Trump reportedly told Mr Turnbull he had spoken with four other leaders - including Russian President Vladimir Putin and that this was the worst call by far. Mr Trump, however, derided reports of a stormy phone conversation between the two as fake news. They said we had a rough phone call we didnt really have a rough phone call. It got a little bit testy. But thats okay. Story continues The President then kept Mr Turnbull waiting for three hours before the pair met in New York. Mr Trump said after that meeting the US had a fantastic relationship with Australia. I love Australia. I always have, he said, before stating hew would absolutely visit the country as President. That will happen. One of the great, great places. One of the most beautiful places on earth, he said. The US President suggested he is the victim of the single greatest witch hunt in American political history: Reuters Donald Trump has hit out at reports he is being investigated for possible obstruction of justice as part of the investigation into his campaign teams links to Russia. The US President, who faces allegations of obstructing the investigation for firing former FBI director James Comey, is reportedly the subject of a probe by the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, looking into possible collusion between his campaign and Moscow. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history led by some very bad and conflicted people! he added. According to The Washington Post, since Mr Comeys firing on 9 May, Mr Mueller, the special prosecutor, has started to look at Mr Trumps actions as part of the wider investigation into alleged Russia interference in the 2016 US presidential election. The move would mark a dramatic shift in the course of the investigation, which Mr Trump has so far sought to dismiss and brush away. The Post reported that five officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said the possible obstruction-of-justice investigation of the New York tycoon began days after Mr Trump fired Mr Comey. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, and Richard Ledgett, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency (NSA), had agreed to be interviewed by Mr Muellers investigators as early as this week, said the newspaper. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Mr Trumps legal team, on Wednesday denounced the report, saying: The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal. A spokesman for Mr Muellers team declined to comment. Story continues The NSA said in a statement that it would fully cooperate with the special counsel and declined to comment further. Last week, Mr Comey testified in a Senate hearing that he believed he was fired because of the Russia investigation. Mr Comey also said he had told Mr Trump he was not under investigation. I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him, and he decided to fire me because of that, he said. Mr Trump had previously told a television reporter that one of the reasons he had fired the 56-year-old was because of the ongoing probe into possible collusion with Russia something the President said was nothing more than fake news being generated by those angry about his election victory. When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, its an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they shouldve won, Mr Trump told NBC. Mr Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he believed Mr Trump had directed him in February to drop an FBI probe into former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, that was part of the broader Russia investigation. Mr Comey would not say in his testimony whether he thought the President sought to obstruct justice, but added it would be up to special counsel Mr Mueller to sort that out. The administration initially gave differing reasons for his dismissal, including that he had lost the confidence of the FBI, before Mr Trump cited the Russia issue. Clearly still having the issue on his mind, Mr Trump tweeted again hours after his first outburst, suggesting that Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the election, should be under investigation instead of him. Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?" the President tweeted, adding in a second missive, "Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?" Several US congressional committees are also looking into the question of Russian election interference and possible Trump campaign collusion. On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence's office said he had hired a lawyer known for defending government officials in high-profile investigations to help Mr Pence through the various probes Mr Pence chose Richard Cullen, chairman of law firm McGuireWoods, a former US federal prosecutor who has long ties to former former FBI director Mr Comey Mr Cullen represents former FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the corruption probe into world soccer's governing body. He represented Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican and former majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, during the investigation into corrupt Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Mr DeLay was not charged. Mr Pence had been looking at hiring his own counsel for several weeks, and made his decision earlier this week after interviewing several candidates, his office said. "The vice president is focused entirely on his duties and promoting the president's agenda and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter," Pence spokesman Jarrod Agen said in a statement. As for Mr Trump, while a sitting president is unlikely to face criminal prosecution, obstruction of justice could form the basis for impeachment. Any such step would face a steep hurdle as it would require approval by the US House of Representatives, which is controlled by Mr Trumps fellow Republicans. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence Committee one of the bodies looking at the issue of Russian meddling said he would not comment on whether Mr Mueller was looking at possible obstruction of justice by Mr Trump but said Congress certainly needs to get to the bottom of the issue. Separately, the House committee said former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson would appear at a public hearing on the Russia probe on 21 June. Federal investigation into Trump campaigns ties to Russia has expanded to include whether the president tried to thwart it, the Washington Post reports Donald Trump is reportedly being investigated for potential obstruction of justice by the special counsel looking into Russias interference in the 2016 presidential election. This marks the first time that the investigation, which has hung over Trump since his inauguration, has potentially implicated the president himself. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday night that the federal investigation into the Trump campaigns ties with Russia during the 2016 campaign, being overseen by Robert Mueller, has now expanded into whether the president attempted to thwart that investigation. Trump tweeted early on Thursday morning: They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice. He later repeated his claims that such investigations were a WITCH HUNT. The allegations of obstruction of justice apparently center on Trumps efforts to encourage former FBI director James Comey to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Comey testified under oath to Congress last week that Trump told him in a private meeting, I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. Trump has since said Comey said things that werent true while under oath and that he was 100% willing to testify before Congress. Flynn, who resigned as national security adviser in February after serving in that position for less than a month, had come under scrutiny for undisclosed conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and then misleading vice-president Mike Pence about the nature of his contacts with Kislyak. Comey was fired in May by Trump and the president cited this Russia thing as a reason for the FBI directors sacking in an interview with NBC News. The White House had initially claimed Comeys handling of the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server was the reason for his firing before Trump contradicted his staffs statements on the topic. Story continues In addition to his alleged attempts to influence Comey, Trump reportedly intervened with Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, in an attempt to ask him to persuade Comey to back off the FBI investigation of Flynn, a close Trump ally. In addition, Trump allegedly asked both Coats and Adm Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, to issue statements denying evidence that his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 campaign. Both men reportedly declined to do so. The Post and the New York Times are reporting that Mueller is seeking to interview Coats, Rogers and Richard Ledgett, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency, in an attempt to gain more information about potential efforts by Trump to obstruct justice. The reported expansion of the investigation comes only days after speculation mounted that the president might fire Mueller, stoked by a television appearance by Trump confidante Chris Ruddy, who said terminating the special counsel was under consideration. Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who would be responsible for making such a decision, told senators on Tuesday that there was no secret plan to sack Mueller. However, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters late Tuesday: While the president has the right to [fire Mueller], he has no intention to do so. The White House referred a request for comment on Wednesday to Marc Kasowitz, Trumps personal attorney. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Kasowitz, told the Guardian: The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal. In response to a follow up question about whether anything in the Washington Post story was inaccurate, Corallo simply reiterated his previous statement. The FBIs press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Snapping their heads from side to side, marching into the roads in close-fitting blue uniforms and black heels, the "traffic ladies" who marshal vehicles at the intersections of Pyongyang are an emblematic image of the North Korean capital. Officially known as traffic security officers but universally referred to as traffic ladies, they are chosen for their looks in a society that remains traditionalist in many respects. They must leave the role if they marry, and have a finite shelf-life, with compulsory retirement looming at just 26. The 300-odd ladies are unique to Pyongyang, which North Korean authorities are always keen to present in the best possible light despite their nuclear-armed country's impoverished status, and ensure a steady supply of photogenic young women who are the favourite subject of visiting tourists and journalists. They are representing the capital city, explained a senior officer of the ministry of public security, which supervises traffic regulation. That's why they are selected based on their appearance and physique. No age limit applies to their roughly 400 male counterparts who tend to be stationed at roundabouts. The rules were because normally, the women in our country marry at the age of 26 or 27, explained the officer, who did not want to be named. Because the role is tough and difficult, they can only do the job when they are single. - Tough training - The traffic ladies were originally introduced in the 1980s, when vehicles were a rarity on the streets of Pyongyang and remained so for decades, giving rise to the surreal sight of them directing with precision and energy - non-existent cars on wide but deserted boulevards. As part of North Korea's security forces they hold officer ranks, and Senior Captain Ri Myong-Sim, 24, said: I have to carry out each and every action with discipline and spirit. A seven-year veteran, she cuts an imposing presence in her high-peaked cap and white gloves. Story continues Her tough training had involved exhausting repetition of the moves, she told AFP. But every time I felt that, the thing that kept me going and drove me was the thought that our leader, who cares for only the happiness of our people all year long, was watching us work, she said, standing ramrod-straight at the Changjon crossroads in central Pyongyang. So I could practice throughout the night and keep going on the next day without feeling tired at all. Ordinary North Koreans normally only express officially approved sentiments when questioned by foreign media. An obelisk down the road proclaimed: The Great President Kim Il-Sung and the Great Leader Kim Jong-Il will always be with us. - Great love - Vehicle numbers have increased in the capital in recent years as authorities quietly liberalise the economy, leading to growth despite United Nations sanctions imposed over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes, although the North keeps most statistics secret and precise figures are not available. Traffic lights have been introduced at most intersections, but the ladies who say they work an hour on, an hour off, although their feet can still get sore have no fear of their blue uniforms being replaced by red, amber and green. The lights help the humans do their jobs more easily, said Ri. Their kit includes thick cotton coats for winter when their breath condenses instantly in the bitter cold - flashing orange halters for night work, and sunscreen. The great leader shows them endless care and love, the ministry officer said. That's why they do their best in their efforts, to repay the great love of the great presidents and dear Respected Marshal Kim Jong-Un. - Second to none - The traffic ladies are second to none as a photo subject for tourists visiting Pyongyang, said Simon Cockerell, general manager of specialist travel agency Koryo Tours, who has been leading trips to North Korea for more than 15 years. They appear to have the dual function of directing traffic and brightening up the streets of the capital," he said. I dont believe there has been a tourist who has visited Pyongyang and not taken a photo of a traffic lady. I think it would be no exaggeration to call them iconic," he added - although they were somewhat objectified by visitors. With retirement ahead Senior Captain Ri is taking a training course to become a teacher. But she let the facade of discipline slip when asked if the focus was annoying. We are so concentrated on doing our jobs we rarely notice the attention, she giggled. Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has announced plans to reset two regulations that were recently put in place to hold for-profit colleges more accountable and prevent students at these schools from being left with nothing but debt if their college collapses. The two regulationsthe Gainful Employment Rule and the Borrower Defense Rulewere created during the previous administration amid multiple high-profile for-profit campus closures, and fraud allegations against some of the nations largest for-profit educators. The Gainful Employment rule, which requires that for-profit educators demonstrate their former students are making a living wage after they graduate, has already been enacted. Borrower Defense, which protects students at schools with deceptive practices, had been set to take effect July 1 but has now been delayed. Today, DeVos revealed her intention to establish rulemaking committees starting a process to reset the rules, claiming the Dept. intends to develop fair, effective and improved regulations to protect individual borrowers from fraud, ensure accountability across institutions of higher education and protect taxpayers. According to the Secretary, who called for a regulatory reset, the previous rulemaking process missed an opportunity to get it right, resulting in a muddled process thats unfair to students and schools, and puts taxpayers on the hook for significant costs. Reaction From Both Sides Consumer advocates responded quickly to this mornings announcement, expressed their frustration and calling the renegotiation unnecessary, as the rules have been vetted and were created after years of input and work from industry groups, advocates, students, and other stakeholders. These rules were painstakingly negotiated, with input from all sides, to provide some modicum of relief to defrauded students and hold bad for-profit colleges accountable for abuse, Suzanne Martindale, staff attorney for our colleagues at Consumers Union, tells Consumerist. It is troubling that the Department would reopen them so quickly. Whatever the outcome of these new rounds of negotiation, it is crucial that the Department maintain sensible standards that protect students and taxpayers from another Corinthian or ITT. Story continues The National Consumer Law Center echoed these sentiments, adding that the two rules work together to provide important safeguards for students and taxpayers. These rules were created through robust negotiation processes, Persis Yu, director of the National Consumer Law Centers Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, said in a statement. Starting over wastes taxpayer money and creates uncertainty for students who are wondering how to protect themselves from being ripped off by predatory schools. Ben Miller, senior director for postsecondary education at Center for American Progress, points out that Gainful Employment is still a legal regulation on the books and we will be watching closely to ensure the administration follows the law. On the other side of the issue, the Career Education Colleges and Universities commended DeVos decision today, noting that it will begin conversations to help protect students. Our sector has consistently supported this premise. Unfortunately, the Obama Department of Education chose to use this basic concept as a vehicle to continue their ideological assault on our sectors very existence, said Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of CECU. Now we can correct that with a clean Borrower Defense regulation that protects both students from academic fraud and their schools from ideological efforts geared to destroy postsecondary career education. Gunderson argues that the current Gainful Employment rule hurts students by defining success in different terms depending on the location of a school. Consumerist has reached out to attorneys representing the for-profit industry in its ongoing legal challenge to Borrower Defense to see how todays announcement might influence that lawsuit. Weve not yet received a response but will update if we do. And now, for a little rule refresher on these rules: Gainful Employment Back in 2011, the Obama Administration began the process of trying to rein in for-profit colleges that benefit from financial aid to students without providing them the education needed to find gainful employment after graduation. For-profit colleges, which at the time received about 90% of their funding from student aid, have continually come under scrutiny for failing to demonstrate that students could find gainful employment in the fields in which they had been trained. The schools have been criticized for failing to provide sufficient education and guidance to students who are then stuck without jobs and without the ability to pay back student loans. In fact, a 2012 Dept. of Education report found that more than 1-in-5 for-profit college graduates default on their student loans. The Gainful Employment rules, first proposed in June 2011, were meant to fix this, but spent years being written, lobbied against, scuttled and rewritten, finalized in Oct. 2014, then repeatedly battled over in court before finally going into effect in July 2015. The finalized rules [PDF] set standards for career collegesthose schools that offer specialized training programs in recognized occupationsto do a better job of preparing students for gainful employment, or risk losing access to taxpayer-funded federal student aid. Under the rules, for-profit educators are required to demonstrate that their graduates are actually going on to jobs that can pay the bills. For-profit colleges are at risk of losing their federal aid should a typical graduates annual loan repayments exceed 20% of their discretionary income, or 8% of their total earnings. Discretionary income is defined as above 150% of the poverty line and applies to what can be put towards non-necessities. So for example, say the typical recent graduate of a career education program earns $25,000. That student would need to average annual student loan payments less than $2,000, or the school would be at risk for losing federal financial aid. Additionally, institutions must publicly disclose information about the program costs, debt, and performance of their career education programs so that students can make informed decisions. Borrower Defense While the Gainful Employment rules aim to ensure college students are getting the education they pay for, the Borrower Defense Rules aim to protect students if their schools fail. The rule, set to take effect July 1, is now on an indefinite hold, according to the Education Department. The Department of Education revealed plans to overhaul the Borrower Defense rules following the collapse of Corinthian Colleges, the operator of Heald College, Everest University, and WyoTech The previously seldom-used regulations provide a number of specific benchmarks for situations in which Borrower Defense process would be available to students. The Departments intention was to draft a new process that would make it easier for students to have their federal loans discharged if the school they attended was found to have used illegal or deceptive tactics to persuade them to borrow funds to finance their education. The retooled rules were unveiled in June 2016 and finalized in Oct. 2016, aiming to hold schools accountable in a court of law when they screw over students. The 927-page rule touched on everything from how and when a student should be reimbursed for loans when their school unexpectedly closes to how schools can employ anti-lawsuit arbitration clauses. Under the rules, schools that want federal aid would be prohibited from using mandatory arbitration clauses that prevent students from filing lawsuits in court and ban class actions altogether. In the education field, forced arbitration is almost exclusively used by for-profit schools. This would allow students to choose arbitration for resolving disputes but they could no longer be forced into giving up their right to sue. In an effort to add more transparency to the process, schools would also be required to tell the Secretary of Education each time arbitration or judicial claimed were filed against it. Additionally, the schools would have to share information about whatever comes out of those disputes, regardless of whether they happen in the courtroom or in arbitration. As for students who attend a school that closes, the regulations provide a number of specific benchmarks for situations in which the previously seldom-used Borrower Defense process would be available to students. For instance, in order for students to be eligible for relief, there would have to have been a breach of contractual promises between the school and the student; a state or federal court would have had to rule against the school regarding the educational services for which the loan was made; and the school would have had to make a substantial misrepresentation about the nature of its educational program. The rules opened the door for the consideration of a group-wide discharge in cases where a school shuts its doors and borrowers claims are similar. Additionally, schools would be monitored for a number of early warning signs of closure or fraudulent activity: Lawsuits from a state attorney general, the Federal Trade Commission, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Schools defaulting on their debt obligations; A substantial number of Borrower Defense claims brought against the school; Schools that receive more than 90% of their revenue from federal aid; Schools where more than half of its eligible graduates are not meeting federal Gainful Employment standards; The schools accrediting body takes an action that could result in the loss of accreditation. The rules have come under pressure recently from the for-profit college industry. Last month, the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools, a trade group representing for-profit and private colleges in the state, filed a lawsuit [PDF] against the Dept. of Education and Secretary DeVos seeking a court order to stop the planned July 1 implementation of so-called Borrower Defense rules. Evidence of Need Consumer groups noted prior to the Gainful Employment effective date that the rules had already had a positive impact on higher education, propelling many career education programs to disclose e basic information regarding their cost, debt levels, and completion or job placement rates. Still, a long string of for-profit college closures, investigations, and delayed relief for former students, suggests the Gainful Employment and Borrower Defense rules could work in tandem to protect students. In fact, in just the year since the Borrower Defense proposal was made, the for-profit college industry has seen even more problems (note: this is not a full list): More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Copyright 2006-2017 Consumer Reports, Inc. Retired four-star Adm. William McRaven said Thursday that a report of a possible obstruction of justice probe into President Trump is significant for us as Americans. In an interview with Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga, McRaven also praised special counsel Robert Mueller and explained his vision of a U.S. victory in Afghanistan. Im confident that between committees and [former FBI] Director Mueller, they will get to the bottom of this one way or the other, McRaven said. He noted that he knows Mueller well, calling him a remarkable individual [with] incredible character and integrity. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Mueller was investigating whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice by firing FBI Director James Comey as the bureau was investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. McRaven also said that Russia may be giggling a little bit when asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putins offer of political asylum to Comey meant that Russia was laughing at the expense of the U.S. I think the Russians feel anytime they are in a position of power, whether in Syria, whether its, you know, helping out or worsening the situation between Qatar and Saudi and Iran, McRaven said, this puts them in a position where they want to be. So anytime they can have the upper hand, I think it plays to their strategic approach to international affairs. McRaven recently criticized Trump for his proposed cuts to the State Department and U.S. development aid, and in the past has blasted the president for his travel ban and his tirades against the media. McRaven, who orchestrated and oversaw the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, also described what a U.S. victory in Afghanistan would look like. Were not winning in Afghanistan, he said, echoing Defense Secretary James Mattis exact comments on the matter earlier this week. The 16-year war is currently under review by the Trump administration, though the administration has not yet produced a clear strategy. Story continues McRaven defined victory as when the central government in Kabul was not under an existential threat from the Taliban or from al-Qaida or from, now, ISIS. The Taliban will always exist in some shape or form, but you want to make sure that they are not conducting bombings daily making sure population centers are well protected, McRaven said. And that, again, that the central government is not under existential threat. When you get to that point and you know you can sustain it, then were probably winning in Afghanistan. With about 8,400 Americans already serving in Afghanistan, current commander Gen. John Nicholson recently requested a few thousand more troops, perhaps augmented by allied forces. Trump recently gave Mattis control over those troop levels. We in the military always felt that we shouldnt probably bring it down to about where it is now, about 9,000, McRaven said. Theres a tipping point there somewhere, and at 9,000 weve been able to kind of hold our own. Read more from Yahoo News: A manhunt is underway in Georgia after two inmates killed two corrections officers before fleeing from a transport bus, authorities said. Inmates Donnie Russell Rowe, 43, and Ricky Dubose, 24, were reportedly being transported with 31 other inmates to Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison on Tuesday morning when they made their escape. In a press conference, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said the prisoners managed to get out of the bus cage and into the drivers compartment. Rowe and Dubose then managed to overpower two Baldwin State Prison transfer sergeants, taking their guns and fatally shooting them, according to Sills. I saw two brutally murdered corrections officers, Sills said at a press conference. I have their blood on my shoes. The inmates then escaped in a carjacked 2004 green four-door Honda Civic with Georgia license plate RBJ6601, authorities said in a press release. Officials believe the men are armed and dangerous and say that no other inmates attempted to flee. The victims were officers Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, authorities said. Monica, 42, began working for the Department of Corrections in 2009 and was promoted to sergeant in 2012. Billue, 58, joined the department in 2007 and accepted a position as a transporter in 2013. Both officers were known for their unwavering commitment to their job and their love of family, DOC Commissioner Gregory Dozier said in a statement. Story continues Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) has vowed to apprehend the convicts. Today, two families lost everything in a heinous and senseless act of violence perpetrated at the hands of cowards, Deal stated. Words do not adequately express our sorrow in losing Sergeant Christopher Monica and Sergeant Curtis Billue in the line of duty. The selflessness and courage of these two brave souls will not be forgotten, nor will their sacrifice and service. Authorities describe Rowe as a 6-foot-1-inch white male with blue eyes and brown hair. He was sentenced to life without parole for an armed robbery charge. Dubose is also a 6-foot-1-inch white male with blue eyes and brown hair. He was serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery. Our heartbreak is matched only in our resolve to bring their murderers to justice, Deal said in the statement. No effort will be spared in pursuit of the killers, and no state resources required in this endeavor will be spared. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. UPDATE: 10:53 a.m. EDT The Georgia Department of Corrections released the names of both correctional officers killed by two inmates Tuesday. Baldwin State Prison officers Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue both died after two prisoners overpowered them and shot them before escaping from a transport bus. Monica had been with the department since 2009 and Billue had been with the department since 2007. The inmates, Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubois, remained on the loose Tuesday as authorities continued their search. UPDATE: 10:16 a.m. EDT Two Georgia inmates who escaped from a prison bus Tuesday were able to get away by carjacking another driver, according to the Putnam County Sheriffs Office. Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose overpowered two correctional officers on the bus, killing both of them. The pair stole the officers' .40 caliber Glock pistols before escaping and were considered armed and very dangerous. Authorities issued a warning for a green Honda Civic with Georgia license plates reading RBJ6601, thought to be the car the pair had hijacked. UPDATE: 10:00 a.m. EDT Two prisoners who killed a pair of guards and escaped from custody remained on the run as authorities continued to search for them Tuesday morning. Donnie Rowe, 43, and Ricky Dubose, 24, were convicted of aggravated assault and armed robbery, according to WSB-TV. Rowe was sentenced to life without parole. The men were both considered armed and very dangerous and authorities issued a lookout warning for a green Honda Civic with Georgia license plates reading RBJ6601. Original Story: A pair of inmates killed two prison guards Tuesday morning as they escaped from custody in Georgia. The men were reportedly on work duty while traveling on a prison bus when they overtook two guards and killed them before running, according to WXIA-TV. Story continues The inmates were identified by the Georgia Department of Corrections in Putnam County as Donnie Russel Rowe and Ricky Dubose. It was unclear what they were in custody for. The incident occurred about 7:23 a.m. on Georgias Highway 16 southeast of Atlanta, according to Putnam County Sheriffs Office spokeswoman Teresa Slade. At least one witness said the men escaped the scene in a dark green Honda, according to WDRB-TV. A search was underway Tuesday morning for the two men. The United States Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force was assisting local authorities. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Related Articles Two Georgia inmates who shot and killed a pair of correctional officers before escaping a prison transport bus remain on the run Wednesday. Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose overpowered the guards on the bus traveling on Highway 16 southeast of Atlanta Tuesday morning. Rowe and Dubose stole the guards' guns and shot them before hijacking a passing car they used to flee. Local authorities, the United States Marshals Southeast Task Force, the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation joined forces to search for the two men. Read: Inmates Kill 2 Prison Guards In Putnam County, Georgia Before Escaping We have no idea where they are, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said during a press conference Tuesday. We are searching everywhere in America. They could be anywhere. It remains unclear just how the prisoners were able to overpower the guards on the bus. A total of 33 inmates were on board the bus and the correctional officers were separated by a gate. I cant tell you how they got through the gate, said Sills. I still have their blood on my shoes. The officers killed were identified as Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, both long-standing members of the department. After killing the officers, Rowe and Dubose stole a car from a man who had stopped to provide assistance to what he thought was a stranded bus. Police said the two men robbed the driver at gunpoint before fleeing in his car. The inmates reportedly broke into a home in Morgan County, Georgia, later Tuesday. Rowe and Dubose stole food and clothes and changed out of their prison garments, which they left inside the home. According to the City of Madison [Police Department], the inmates broke into a residence there and got clothes, left their prison whites and made their escape from there, the Oconee County Sheriffs Office said Tuesday night. The inmates and their vehicle have not been recovered. Story continues Another tip led authorities to a Family Dollar store in Madison where witnesses said they saw the pair. We do have confirmation that they were in the Family Dollar earlier [Tuesday] afternoon, said Sills, noting that authorities were doing a grid search to the north and south of the area. Authorities upped the reward for information leading to the capture of the inmates from $60,000 to $70,000 Wednesday, though they said that amount could increase as more organizations become involved. We may add more resources if this is a protracted manhunt, said FBI spokesperson Steve Emmett, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. These two individuals have proven themselves to be extremely dangerous and with the murder of two correctional officers they are on the radar of all law enforcement in Georgia. Dubose and Rowe are thought to be armed with the Glocks they stole from the slain officers. My biggest concern is that theyre going to kill someone else, said Sills. Rowe, 43, was convicted of armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime and aggravated assault in 2001 and was serving a life sentence without parole. Read: Inmate Hanged In Cell Dead For 10 Hours While Guards Watched Netflix Dubose, 24, was convicted of financial identity fraud, credit card fraud, burglary by forced entry, theft by taking and entering a vehicle, aggravated assault, armed robbery and theft in 2010 and 2014 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. At one point, he also took $100 from an acquaintance at gunpoint before shooting him in the hand, according to Elbert Sheriffs Office Captain Darren Scarborough. Dubose was known to be in an Aryan prison gang called the Ghostface Gangsters. Hes off the chain, said Scarborough. Hes just a loose cannon. Hes well known to us. Hes very dangerous and he has nothing to lose and I think he will go down in a blaze of glory. And thats sad because some officer will have to answer for shooting him. Related Articles Immigration officials arrested more than 200 Iraqi nationals over the weekend Iraqi Christians have been persecuted by Islamic State and other groups One hundred and fourteen people were detained in Detroit alone, most of whom are members of Iraqs Chaldean minority. Photograph: Todd McInturf/AP Iraqis are being swept up in immigration raids across the US and targeted for deportation by the Trump administration, in a crackdown attorneys and advocates described as a death sentence for members of Iraqs Christian minority. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) arrested more than 200 Iraqi nationals over the weekend who have been the subject of deportation orders following criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. One hundred and fourteen people were detained in Detroit alone, most of whom are members of Iraqs Chaldean minority which, like other Christian groups, has been targeted for persecution by Islamic State and other jihadist groups. Najah Konja, 55, who was arrested in Detroit on Sunday morning, immigrated to the US with his family in 1977. No other relatives remain in Iraq, according to his brother, Shoki Steve Konja. What is he going to do there? Steve Konja, a US citizen, told the Guardian. Basically, they are sentencing him to death. Konja said his brother does not speak Arabic, and that the last member of their family to leave Iraq was kidnapped twice and held for ransom because of his relatives in the US. The government of Iraq cannot protect and defend its own citizens let alone a bunch of Christians coming from the US, Konja said. These concerns were echoed by advocates including the Minority Humanitarian Foundation (MHF), which provides aid to Iraqi minorities. MHF planned to file a lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union to stop the deportation of Chaldeans to Iraq. Donald Trump has essentially given these Christians a death sentence, said MHF founder and president, Mark Arabo. Last year, then US secretary of state John Kerry said a genocide was occurring against Christians in Iraq, though international courts have not officially given the violence there that designation. Story continues Ice spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said an overwhelming majority of those arrested were convicted for crimes including homicide, rape, aggravated assault, kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking, robbery, sex assault, weapons violations and other offenses. In Detroit, Christensen said the operation was specifically conducted to address the very real public safety threat represented by the criminal aliens arrested. But community advocates scoffed at that claim, arguing many of the charges were handed down decades ago and those convicted had served their sentences for the crimes. Konja served 23 years in prison for drug charges and was released in 2009. In prison, he pursued his GED and helped teach other inmates, his brother said. For the past eight years, he has worked at a large chain store where he was a director of operations, overseeing 400 employees. He completely turned his life around, his brother said. Steve Konaj said the arrest has left him disillusioned with the country he considers his home. This is not United States, he said. Ive been here 40 years. I believe in the dream, I believe in the constitution. I love it to death. Im willing to sacrifice myself if needed, but to tell these people: You committed a crime 30 years ago, when you were 19, 20 now you have to pay again for that mistake. Iraq had previously not cooperated with US deportation efforts but the two countries negotiated a new policy in March after Trump issued a travel ban for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries including Iraq. The ban was revised after it was struck down in a federal court; the new ban which is also the subject of a legal challenge no longer includes Iraq and removes language that prioritized entry for religious minorities, including Christians, from these countries. The executive order said the rules for Iraq had changed because the Iraqi government has expressly undertaken steps to enhance travel documentation, information sharing, and the return of Iraqi nationals subject to final orders of removal. Another focus of the recent sweep was Nashville, Tennessee, where at least 30 Iraqis were arrested, said local immigration attorney Andrew Free. Unlike Detroit, Ice raids there have hit Kurds, members of the largest ethnic minority in Iraq, who have been fighting Isis alongside US soldiers in Syria. Nashville has the largest population of Kurds in the US. Attorneys and advocates there said the Ice raids began by targeting people with criminal histories early last week. Then Ice conducted sweeps of predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods, going door-to-door starting at 6am. In response, Drost Kokoye, who is Kurdish and a founder of the American Muslim Advisory Council, helped set up a hotline for people to call when Ice knocks on their door. She said the hotline has been buzzing every day from 6-9am since last week. The sweep has had a chilling effect on the community. Kokoye said that at Nashvilles Kurdish mosque the daily breaking of the fast, iftar, the crowd is about a quarter of what it was at the beginning of Ramadan, which started before the Ice raids. She said: People are terrified, people are rattled, people dont feel safe in their homes. Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman ever to have won an Academy Award for Best Director. Naturally, theres lots of anticipation for Detroit, her third consecutive based-on-real-events political drama following 2009s Oscar-feted The Hurt Locker and 2012s Zero Dark Thirty. Unlike those military sagas, however, Bigelows latest will focus on a conflict in a U.S. city specifically, the 1967 Detroit riots. Judging by the films new trailer (watch it above), itll be one of the summers most explosive releases. Bigelows film will be a fictionalized retelling of the Algiers Motel incident, in which three black men were killed and nine other people (seven black men, two white women) were injured during a violent run-in with cops amidst the ongoing 12th Street Riot. Itll star John Boyega as a security guard stationed in the area, and who on the basis of the above trailer walks into a racially charged nightmare involving murderous police officers, innocent victims, and a mounting city-wide conflagration. With scenes of large-scale street demonstrations, corrupt officials, and carefully covered up crimes, it looks the type of heavyweight work for which Bigelow has become known, and should be one of the summers bleakest and most dramatically weighty releases. Co-starring Will Poulter, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Anthony Mackie, and John Krasinski, Detroit will aim to make some serious political noise when it arrives in theaters on August 4. Kathryn Bigelow Flashback: Watch the Cellphone Scene from The Hurt Locker With Commentary From Her and Writer Mark Boal: Read more from Yahoo Movies: Astana (Kazakhstan) (AFP) - A Kazakh man died and another was hospitalised after they were caught in a fire on the steppes triggered by falling debris from a Russian space launch, Russian and Kazakh authorities said Thursday. The blaze, reaching 15 kilometres (9.5 miles) across, was unleashed by parts of a rocket that fell to earth on Wednesday after a launch from the nearby Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan's emergency situations committee spokesman Ruslan Imankulov told AFP. The rocket had been used to successfully launch a supply ship destined for the International Space Station (ISS), according to Russia's space agency Roscosmos. Both men were employed clearing up debris from the launch by NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a major Russian rocket company. The company blamed "difficult meteorological conditions" for the blaze including a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius and winds with gusts of up to 15 metres per second, in a statement released Thursday. The company said in a statement that the truck the deceased man was driving was smothered by flames "after a particularly strong gust of wind". NPO Mashinostroyeniya identified the dead man as Yuri Khatyushin, and his colleague receiving hospital treatment in the Kazakh steppe town of Zhezkazgan was named as Vyacheslav Tyts. The company "will provide all necessary assistance to the families of the deceased and the (injured) victim," the statement read. Imankulov told AFP the local fire service had been notified by a citizen that a "dry grass fire" was raging around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Zhezkazgan at around 1325 GMT on Wednesday. The fire broke out in the "planned fallout zone" for the Soyuz 2.1a rocket, which blasted off from Baikonur at 0920 GMT (3:20 pm local time), according to Imankulov. It was extinguished by around 2100 GMT on Wednesday, he said. The Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is the main hub for launches to the ISS. Zhezkazgan is the closest major town to the site, where astronauts currently land on their return from the ISS. The Wisconsin Assembly votes Wednesday on whether to call for a convention to change the U.S. Constitution. While that in itself is surprising the American people have never exercised their legally enshrined right to convene a new Constitutional convention whats more surprising is that pro-business groups with ties to the Koch brothers have pushed for similar legislation in more than 30 states, and theyve been remarkably successful: A dozen states have passed bills calling for a convention that would produce an altered Constitution that would likely limit federal spending and power. According to Article V of the Constitution, just two thirds (34) of the 50 state legislatures need to call for a convention for the purposes of proposing constitutional amendments (no governors signature is required). Those amendments would then need to be ratified by three quarters of the states, currently 38, to become law. But beyond those very basic requirements, nobody knows what the rules for a convention would be, since one hasnt occurred since the original in 1787. That single instance, Constitutional law experts warn, provides a harrowing precedent: Delegates tore up the Articles of Confederation they had convened to improve, and produced a whole new governing document. Read: Why Is This Mega-Donor Spending Millions To Defeat Tammy Baldwin? The Wisconsin legislation, which is supported by Gov. Scott Walker, was introduced by Republican Sen. Chris Kapenga, who introduced similar legislation in January 2014 as a member of the Assembly. His bill would call a convention to pass constitutional amendments that would require the federal government to balance the budget, something that Congress will simply never do on its own, Kapenga told International Business Times. For the country to continue spending at this rate, where revenues are exceeding expenditures consistently, is not sustainable, Kapenga said. Whether its Democrats or Republicans in charge in Washington, its not getting fixed, and no solutions are being proposed to deal with it...I think this is the only option left. Story continues But while proponents of this kind of legislation say that Congress is incapable of reining in a nearly $20 trillion national debt, opponents believe that the Article V movement is an astroturf effort backed by corporate interests that would eliminate environmental and labor regulatory bodies and slash taxes and spending by forcing the federal government to drastically reduce its reach. Its not just about a balanced budget, said Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Chris Taylor. Mostly I think they are going at the social safety net, they are going to go after Social Security and Medicare because its so unpopular to cut those programs, and this is how they do it. One of the two main groups pushing an Article V convention is the Convention of States, a project by Citizens for Self-Government, a nonprofit that doesnt disclose its donors and has a variety of connections to David and Charles Koch, the billionaire industrialist brothers whose eponymous company is one of the countrys worst polluters and who have become synonymous with both overt and covert political spending in pursuit of limited government. Another nonprofit supporting the movement is the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, an organization dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism that brings corporations and lawmakers together to draft model legislation that is then introduced in the states. ALEC doesnt disclose its members, although the groups opposition to climate change measures, gun control and voting rights has led to a recent exodus of member corporations and lawmakers. Another anonymous-donor group called the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force is calling specifically for a balanced budget amendment, as its name would suggest. That group says it has 27 states on board, based on previous calls going back decades for a balanced budget amendment, starting with Indiana in 1957. ALEC has drafted model Article V legislation and nearly identical legislation passed the state legislature in Missouri at the end of May; it called for a convention to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress. Texas also passed Article V legislation last month, but the bills language, like the Wisconsin bill, more narrowly limits convention delegates to voting on amendments that would balance the budget. We need to make sure its crystal clear that we have no legal authority outside of that discussion point, Kapenga told IBT. The senator said the bill was not inspired by ALEC or other corporate interests and that his bill differed from ALECs model legislation. "Just because somebody is pushing the same interest as me, doesnt mean they are driving me, Kapenga said. Taylor attended ALECs 2013 conference in Chicago where Citizens for Self-Governance pitched the Article V convention to lawmakers. She told IBT she saw the same presentation that inspired Kapanga to author his bill. I cant emphasize this enough: This was a call-to-action workshop, Taylor told IBT. This was a workshop where the legislators were told if you don't do this, if you don't lead this effort, if you don't go home and push this amendment, then you will be failing the Republic. It was like a church revival... Im sitting back there thinking oh my god this is wacky. I was sitting several rows behind the lead author of the bill, Chris Kapanga, Taylor said. Hes trying to present this as his own idea. Its really kind of laughable. I was there. I said to myself I will see this bill in six months. Sure enough, I saw the bill in January. RTR1S9Q5 Photo: Reuters Trump is not the solution Convention of the States is populated by Tea Party veterans. It was co-founded by Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, and is chaired by Eric OKeefe, veteran political operative and longtime Koch brothers ally who worked on David Kochs 1980 presidential campaign, chaired the now-defunct Sam Adams Alliance, which trained tea party activists, co-founded the Campaign for Primary Accountability, a super PAC that supported primary challenges to incumbent lawmakers of both parties, and directs the Wisconsin Club For Growth. On Monday, the Convention of States announced that former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, R-SC, who was one of the first elected officials to embrace the Tea Party movement and was recently ousted as the head of the Heritage Foundation, had joined the group. I tried to rein in Washington from inside the House and Senate, then by starting the Senate Conservatives Fund to elect good conservatives, and finally as president of the Heritage Foundation, creating and promoting good, conservative policy, Demit said in a statement. But once I realized that Washington will never willingly return decision-making power back to the American people and the states, I began to search for another way to restrain the federal government. RTXUOC1 Photo: Reuters According to the Center for Media and Democracy, Koch-linked groups have donated nearly $5.4 million to Citizens for Self-Government between 2011, when the group was founded, until 2015, the last year tax records are available. IRS filings show Citizens for Self-Government funding increased from $1.8 million to $5.7 million over that period. The American people are fed up. Trump is not the solution. Hes a symptom of that frustration, Meckler told USA Today earlier this week.The American people are seeing that didnt solve the problem, so now what? Eventually, they will come to this solution. RTXU57Q Photo: Reuters A Very Real Threat Even though such a convention would be unprecedented, with no clear rules on how it would work, Constitutional law experts admit it could happen. I think it is very possible, David Super, a law professor at Georgetown Law, told IBT. Its a very real threat. By using what Super calls fuzzy math, advocates of the effort say they are actually on the cusp of success. Article V advocates note that many states have called for conventions in decades and even centuries past. When counting those states, the total number of states calling for a constitutional convention is at 27. As Super points out, given that Republicans control Congress, the Executive and the legislatures in 32 states, its not hard to imagine a scenario where the fuzzy math is enough. If that happens and a convention is convened, Super warns, there would be no enforceable mechanism that would ensure delegates stick to the amendments they were called upon to consider, making a runaway convention possible. Theres nothing in the Constitution that provides for a limited purpose convention, Super told IBT. There is precedent that suggests officials selected by the states become federal officials once they take office, and cant be recalled by the states if they deviate from their stated objective, as convention proponents have argued. And, Super argued, the Supreme Court has largely established that it rules within the confines of the Constitution, so a convention would be outside of its jurisdiction. There is absolutely no referee, Super said. This could open up the convention to a flood of special interest money. And there is no rule stating the convention would have to be open to the public. We wouldnt know if everybody with big money was working over the delegates There are absolutely no rules at all. But the one rule that is clear in the current Constitution, a rule which some warn could be rewritten at a convention, is that 38 states, or three-quarters of the states, would have to ratify whatever came out of the convention. There is a risk of a runaway convention, Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the UNC School of Law told IBT. However, he said, you could come up in theory with a relatively bizarre amendment, but you would need three-quarters of the states to ratify. Thats the presumed protection against a rogue amendment. But theres no time limit for ratification. As the 27th Amendments 200-year wait for ratification shows, over time, state legislatures could change hands and a climb to 38 could be possible. (Congress has at times put time limits on ratification for several Constitutional amendments it sent to the states.) Part of the reason there has not been a constitutional convention is because lawmakers generally react to whatever movement has caused momentum for a convention to build. In the 1970s and 80s, calls for a convention to enact a balanced budget amendment spurred Congress to act to reduce the deficit. Constitutional amendments have never been originated in the states because whenever there are calls in the states, Congress gets ahead of it, Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow of constitutional studies at the Cato Institute told the Washington Post in 2015. Congress will see the writing on the wall. Rescinding Outstanding Convention Calls Still, the possibility of a convention is real enough that in the last few months lawmakers opposed to the idea in Nevada, New Mexico and Maryland have quietly combed through their legislative records to identify, and rescind, all previous calls for a convention so as not to have their states counted toward the 34-state threshold. In 2014, Vermont called for a constitutional convention to overturn Citizens United, but the states legislature recently rescinded that call in response to the growing Article V movement. In Maryland, William Frick, the Democratic majority leader of the states House of Delegates, introduced legislation that rescinded at least four previous calls for a constitutional convention that had to do with prayer in schools and repealing income taxes, among other issues. We had a sense that there are groups out there looking to make radical changes to the Constitution through this convention process and we didnt want Maryland to be contributing to that, regardless of what the ostensible subject matter was, Frick told IBT. A balanced budget amendment could wreak havoc on the Maryland economy, which is heavily dependent on federal jobs in nearby Washington, D.C. But experts warn the damage wouldnt be limited to the beltway. While ALEC told IBT that exceptions to the balanced budget rules would exist for cases of war or an emergency, the natural economic cycle of recession and recovery could be exacerbated by a requirement the federal government balance its books. In January, the Center on Budget and Politics Priorities said balanced budget amendment would launch a vicious spiral of bad economic and fiscal policy: a weaker economy would lead to higher deficits, which would force policymakers to cut spending or raise taxes more, which would weaken the economy further. While nearly all states are legally required to have balanced budgets, the federal government is often there to fill the gaps and provide needed funding in the event of a recession. If the federal government were required to have balanced budgets, opponents argue, recessions would be longer and deeper, because when tax revenues fall, the government would have less money to spend on things like food stamps, unemployment insurance and investment in projects that could spur growth. Essentially, the government would be unable to use Keynesian economic tools. For proponents, of course, this temporary pain would be an acceptable side effect for the benefits of ending the federal deficit. A Convention Dress Rehearsal While experts maintain there is simply no way to know what a convention would look like, what the rules are, or even who would make the rules, some groups have taken steps to turn the abstract concept of a modern constitutional convention into a concrete process. The Assembly of State Legislatures is, as the name implies, a group of state lawmakers who are developing a set of rules that could be used at a constitutional convention. The group is led by Kapanga and Missouri Democratic Sen. Jason Holsman, who introduced legislation in Missouri calling for a constitutional convention in order to implement free and fair elections, mirroring efforts by some on the left to use the Article V process to overturn the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Similar rules were developed and used at the Convention of States simulated convention in Williamsburg, Virginia, in September. Both sets of rules mandated that each state receive one vote, which means that Wyoming would have the same power at a convention as California. This would drastically tilt the balance of power at a convention toward Republicans. For example, while Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in last years election, she won just 20 states and the District of Columbia. Champions of the Article V push say the simulated convention shows the process would work and wouldnt become a free for all. It demonstrates the convention is not going to run away, Karla Jones, the director of ALECs federalism task force, told IBT. We believe that the runaway convention is myth. Given that there was nothing at stake, and no special interests greasing delegate palms, its perhaps not surprising the simulated convention didnt get out of hand. But the amendments the simulated convention did pass would be seen by many as radical changes to the system of American government. The amendments passed would: Require a vote of two-thirds in both houses of Congress to increase the public debt for one year. Restrict Congress powers to regulate goods to only the sale, shipment, transportation, or other movement of goods, articles or persons across state lines. Congress would not have the power to regulate or prohibit any activity that is confined within a single state regardless of its effects outside the state. Limit members of the House to six terms and senators to two terms. Give the collective states the power to void any law, statute, executive order, or regulatory rule issued by Congress, the president or regulatory agencies if three-fifths of the states vote against the federal action. Repeal the 16th Amendment and require a three-fifths vote by the House and Senate to increase or implement new taxes. Implement a mechanism that would allow a quarter of the House to declare opposition to any federal regulation. If that happened, it would trigger a congressional vote on the regulation and would require a majority of the House and Senate to affirm the regulation. Its hard to begin to untangle the myriad consequences of those amendments, but whats clear is they would drastically reduce the power and scope of the federal government and radically realign the federalist system. This is very much abandoning everything our country has been, Super told IBT. This is not tweaking or improving this is abandoning it. Related Articles Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. One day last May, an 87-year-old woman named Edith was rushed to the hospital in a small Texas town after she was found slumped over and unresponsive at the home where she lived with her son and daughter-in-law. The woman, who suffered from dementia, had eaten two liquid laundry detergent packets. She died two days later. Ediths is one of eight deaths related to ingesting liquid laundry packets in the U.S. between 2012 and early 2017 that have been reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Two of the cases were young children and six were adults with dementia. Caregivers and children of seniors should be aware that ingestion of the contents of certain liquid laundry packets has led to serious and even tragic incidents, says Patty Davis, press secretary for the CPSC. Water, wet hands, and even saliva can dissolve the packets and release the highly concentrated liquid. Liquid laundry detergent packets are squishy like playthings and colorful like candy, which helps explain why children can be drawn to them. Not long after Tide Pods debuted in a television commercial during the Academy Awards in 2012, promoting a new product category, Consumer Reports began calling on manufacturers to make liquid packets safer. CRs advice to consumers has been to keep laundry packets out of households where children under 6 years old may be present. And although some manufacturers have made some changes to the packaging and the product itself, pods continue to pose serious health risks. Now its clear that kids arent the only vulnerable population. Consumer Reports learned about the pod-related deaths through a Freedom of Information Act request that we filed earlier this year with the CPSC. (CR discovered Edith's name through further reporting but chose to withhold her last name in the interest of her familys privacy.) According to the information we received from the CPSC, Edith had seemed fine during lunch, just a few hours before she was found. The first clues as to what happened came when her daughter-in-law returned home from the hospital to collect a few things. She found that the pungent smell of laundry detergent filled Ediths bedroom, and a new container of liquid laundry detergent packets had been opened. Several of the pink pods were missing. Edith, who had been known to mistake objects for candy, had eaten them. The medical examiner ruled her death an accident; ingestion of laundry detergent was listed as the cause. Six of the eight deaths, including Edith's, involved pods manufactured by Procter & Gamble, according to the CPSC reports. P&Gs laundry packets are the industry's biggest sellers, with its Tide Pods and sibling brands representing 79 percent of the market, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm. We are aware of accidental ingestions related to our liquid laundry pacs among adults with previously diagnosed dementia, Elizabeth Kinney, P&Gs senior communications manager for North America fabric care, told CR. We are deeply saddened by this and have taken action to understand and help prevent these types of incidents. Sales of laundry pods totaled $1.2 billion over a recent 12-month period, according to IRI, and accounted for 17 percent of all laundry detergent sales. Reported Cases The details CR received from the CPSC provide a grim glimpse into preventable tragedies: A 15-month-old boy visiting his grandmother in New Jersey managed to reach a container of laundry packets on top of the washer and ate one. He died of poisoning three days later. In Ohio, a new pouch of laundry pods was left on a kitchen counter, where a 67-year-old man with dementia discovered it. He opened the ziplock-style package, chewed on five pods, and died the same day. A 78-year-old woman with advanced Alzheimers living with her son in Tennessee ate laundry packets one day in 2012. She died several weeks later of respiratory failure and chemical pneumonia, among other medical conditions. In all six of the adult deaths, the victims suffered from dementia. As a result of this new data from the CPSC highlighting the potential risks of laundry detergent pods to adults with dementia, we are amending our advice and recommending that family members caring for anyone who is cognitively impaired not keep pods in the home, says James Dickerson, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Consumer Reports. We also continue to believe that manufacturers should modify the appearance of laundry packets, so they do not look like candy. How This Can Happen to Adults Dementia comes in many forms. The most common type is Alzheimers disease, which affects an estimated 5.4 million adults in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People with moderate to severe dementia may mistakenly try to eat items that arent food. A hungry person with dementia foraging in a kitchen may misidentify a box of powdered detergent as cereal and still know to pour it in a bowl and mix it with milk from the refrigerator, says Lon S. Schneider, M.D., director of the California Alzheimers Disease Center at the University of Southern California. Such streaks of confusion are a hallmark of dementia, and the colorful appearance of liquid detergent packets cant help. But theres another risk factor for people with a certain form of dementia, in which they may become increasingly interested in putting things in their mouth. The reasons for these behaviors are not entirely known, says Gregory S. Day, M.D., a neurologist specializing in diagnosis and management of dementia at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. It likely reflects loss of function in brain areas that regulate or restrict such behaviors, returning the patient to a more primitive, child or baby-like state, where such behavior is common. According to the Alzheimers Association, P&G has been working with the nonprofit group over the past year to develop a checklist caregivers can use to make homes safer for adults with dementia. The advice includes tips on the safe storage of cleaning products. A printed version of the checklist is expected to be available this summer and will later appear on the associations website. Working to Reduce the Risk Laundry pods are convenient, single-load packets designed to dissolve in the wash and release highly concentrated liquid detergent. Branded variously as Pods, Mighty Pacs, Power Pacs, Power-Caps, PowerBlasts, PowerCore Pacs, and Flings, their concentrated formulation poses a greater risk than conventional detergent, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC). Gary A. Smith, M.D., Dr.P.H., and president of the Child Injury Prevention Alliance, agrees that pods pose a greater risk, but hes not sure why that is. The chemical composition specifics are proprietary information, making it difficult to answer this question, he says. Smiths analysis of calls made to poison-control centers in 2013 and 2014 was published last year in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics. The study found that children exposed to laundry detergent packets were significantly more likely to be admitted to a healthcare facility than those exposed to other types of detergent. They were also more likely to have serious clinical effects, says Smith. Coma, pulmonary edema, respiratory arrest, and death were only observed among children exposed to laundry detergent packets. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report saying that for children under 6, exposure to the detergent in pods is an emerging public health hazard. Between 2012 and 2015, the AAPCC received reports of 38,021 people suffering exposure to the liquid detergent in the packets in some way: ingesting or inhaling it, getting it in their eyes, or absorbing it through their skin. Children under age 6 account for 91 percent of the reported incidents. The AAPCC doesnt release incidents related to adults with dementia, apart from a few anecdotes, in its annual report. The most recent data CR has for all ages from the AAPCC is from 2015. Of the 24,887 laundry detergentrelated calls to poison-control centers that year, 55 percent (13,619) involved liquid packets, compared with 29 percent (7,158) for conventional liquid detergents. More people required medical treatment when the call was related to pods (23 percent) compared with liquid detergents (5 percent). And if you look at all laundry detergentrelated calls that required medical treatment, youll see that 74 percent were related to pods (see chart, above). We very much hope that the steps manufacturers are taking will prevent deaths and injuries associated with these products, says William Wallace, policy analyst for Consumers Union, the policy and mobilization arm of Consumer Reports. But if we dont see a meaningful decline in the number of incidents, we will press for further actionincluding for lawmakers to put mandatory standards in place. How to Make Your Home Safer To keep children and adults who suffer from cognitive impairment safe from household cleaners, follow these tips from the medical experts we interviewed: Remove cleaning products that may resemble food from the home. Limit the use of toxic home-cleaning products. Keep cleaning products in their original containers and choose products with latches intended to keep kids out, when possible. Never transfer cleaning products into a generic, unlabeled container. Store cleaning products in a separate place from food, and lock the cabinet. This is especially important when it comes to sweet-smelling liquid cleaners and bright blue glass cleaners, such as Windex, which could be mistaken for bottles of juice. Monitor the behavior of a person with dementia, watching for impulsivity and increasing interest in placing items in the mouth. If you observe these behaviors, remove choking hazards and items that could be fatal if ingested, including cleaners, medications, certain plants, and batteries. More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Copyright 2006-2017 Consumer Reports, Inc. The poll follows the blockbuster testimony from former FBI Director James Comey: Getty Images A majority of Americans are concerned that President Donald Trump tried to interfere with the investigation into possible collusion between his 2016 campaign and Russias interference in the election. Following a blockbuster Senate testimony from former FBI Director James Comey last week whom Mr Trump fired an Associated Press-NORC poll shows that 68 percent of Americans are very or moderately concerned the President or his campaign staff had inappropriate connexions with Russian officials last year. Nearly half of Americans say theyre very concerned, and just three in 10 say theyre not concerned. Mr Trump fired Mr Comey last month, citing the intelligence chiefs decision to announce last year that Hillary Clinton was no longer under investigation. That rationale, though, was quickly undercut by the President himself during a nationally televised broadcast in which he said that the Russia investigation had played a part in his decision. That disclosure was enough to get some wondering if that constituted efforts to undermine the investigation, and a series of reports since then have added to the intrigue. Memos written contemporaneously by Mr Comey after several interactions with the President say that Mr Trump urged him to drop the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn in a private dinner just a day after Mr Flynn was forced to resign and that the President urged Mr Comey repeatedly to announce publicly that Mr Trump was not personally under investigation. Mr Flynn resigned less than a month into the Trump presidency after it was discovered he had misled Vice President Mike Pence by saying he had not discussed Russian sanctions with Kremlin officials during the presidential transition period. He had done so. The White House knew about the allegations for weeks before Mr Flynns ultimate downfall. The new poll also indicates that Americans dont approve of the Presidents decision to fire Mr Comey in the first place. Just 22 percent of voters overall say they thought it was a good idea, and just over half say they disapprove of the firing. (Getty Images) Missouri defensive end Nate Howard was arrested by campus police Wednesday night on three charges. According to the Boone County Sheriffs booking listing, Howard was arrested for marijuana possession, possession of a controlled substance and lack of vehicle registration. A spokesperson for the team said Howard has been suspended indefinitely after his arrest. Bail for the marijuana and vehicle registration charges was set at $500 each. The controlled substance charge bail was at $4,500. [Follow Dr. Saturday on social media: Twitter | Facebook ] Howard is a possible starter on Missouris defensive line in 2017 and could be yet another Missouri lineman to head to the NFL. The Tigers defensive line has been one of the most prolific in the country over the last 10 years and Charles Harris was a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in May. Howard appeared in four games in 2016 as a sophomore and had three tackles and a half sack. The St. Louis native was a three-star recruit in the class of 2015 and had 12 tackles as a freshman. More college football on Yahoo Sports: Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! ERIN, Wisconsin Phil Mickelson is now officially out of the U.S. Open. Mickelson formally withdrew Thursday morning. With no rain in the forecast at Erin Hills, the weather delay he needed to make it from his daughters high school graduation in San Diego to suburban Milwaukee in time for his scheduled 2:20 p.m. (CT) tee time was not going to happen. Roberto Diaz, a 30-year-old from Mexico, will take his place. Phil Mickelson wont be chasing the U.S. Open this year. (Getty) Mickelson announced last week that his daughters high school graduation was scheduled for 10 a.m. (PT) Thursday morning, which created an immediate and obvious conflict for him in regards to playing in the U.S. Open. Though its the one major hes never won, Mickelson said he could not miss the graduation, where his daughter Amanda will give the commencement address. The hope for Mickelson was to attend the graduation, hop on a private jet and pray for rain. He estimated the need for a 4-hour delay. His caddie, Jim Bones Mackay, was on site here at Erin Hills, preparing as if the two would tee it up. The USGA didnt require Mickelson to make any formal announcement. He could have waited until his scheduled tee time, not shown up, and Diaz, who has been practicing at Erin Hills, would have stepped into his spot. But when morning broke Thursday, the sun out, no rain in sight, Mickelson made the call to formally withdraw. Mickelson had played in 23 consecutive U.S. Opens, in which hes been a runner-up six times. More U.S. Open coverage from Yahoo Sports: Viewers guide: Erin Hills breakdown, TV times, picks and more! Power rankings: Top 10 expert picks for Erin Hills Watch: Who wins at tough Erin Hills? Johnson ready for Open after birth of baby Dont start stitching that 51st star on the American flag just yet. Although 97 percent of voters in a Puerto Rico referendum on June 11 voted to start down the path of statehood, the chance of the island becoming a state is still, at best, a long shot. Optimism was the word of the day among supporters of Puerto Rico statehood after this most recent victory, in this high-profile plebiscite. Among revelers waving American flags Sunday night, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossellothe leader of the pro-statehood New Progressive Partyechoed sentiments that the referendums message was clear. The United States of America will have to obey the will of our people!, he told the crowd. On the mainland, the jubilation continued to reverberate. In a statement on Monday, Congressman Jose E. Serrano, who was born in Puerto Rico, celebrated the results of the plebiscite and claimed it as final proof that Congress has a duty to listen and act upon these results so that Puerto Rico can be decolonized once and for all. That same day, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer acknowledged the vote as a first step, saying now that the people have spoken in Puerto Rico, this is something that Congress has to address. To that end, Puerto Ricos nonvoting Resident Commissioner in the House of Representatives, Jenniffer Gonzalez, is drafting a statehood bill, and statehood advocates have been making the rounds on the Hill this week imploring Congress to move the matter forward. Recommended: The Questions Sessions Left Unanswered All that enthusiasm is probably for naught. In reality, Sundays vote didnt actually signal imminent statehood for Puerto Rico, in spite of the huge margin of victory and insistences from proponents that it would force the issue in Congress. In fact, some observers think the resounding victory of statehood might have actually hurt the long-term prospects of the legislative body finally allowing Puerto Rico fully into the Union. To make a long story short, the prospects are between zero and negative-10 percent, says Carlos Ivan Gorrin Peralta, a professor at the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico and a territorial-law scholar. Story continues At the end of the day, its the cynical calculations of politics in Washington that will determine Puerto Ricos status. Although proponents of statehood sometimes cast the referendum as an automatic trigger for congressional review, the facts are that Congress is not bound by any aspect of the referendum vote on Sunday, and that Puerto Ricos right to self-determinationwhile an important theoretical international legal concept and germane to its own territorial constitutionsimply does not exist in federal legislative terms. Puerto Rico occupies an uncertain political status, one different from the 37 states added to the original 13 United States by Congress. All 37 [entry] processes have followed the scheme set out way back in 1787 in the Northwest Ordinance, says Gorrin. They were all annexed as part of the United States, designated from that moment to become states eventually. The landmass of the continental United States, as well as the archipelago of Hawaii and the territory of Alaska, were all added to the U.S. with the legal understanding that they would be eligible to become states, which meant that Congress had clear pathwaysincluding the use of referenda and self-determinationfor declaring and granting statehood. Recommended: Live Results From the Virginia Governor Primary Elections But Puerto Rico and the current U.S. territories have no such future statehood understanding. When Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were added to the country after the 1898 Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War, their status was as colonial possessions, not as future states. In a series of racialist decisions in the Supreme Court known as the Insular Cases, the Court distinguished the Caribbean possessions as unincorporated territories that would first have to be incorporated in order to be eligible for statehood. And that itself would require an express determination from Congress. If that determination were made at some point in the future, Congress might still abide by a slow process of statehood. Traditionally, Congress has used three political criteria to decide to finally admit a territory, says Gorrin. Those three criteria are the number of people in the territory who want statehood, the embrace of the fundamental values of American democracy among the territorys population, and the territorys solvency. Although the 97 percent pro-statehood vote has been touted as near-unanimous support, turnout for the Puerto Rico referendum was abysmal. Fewer than a quarter of all voters voted at all, after a controversy regarding Department of Justice certification of the ballot questions led to charges of corruption and a mass boycott among opposition parties. As a result, though the margin of victory for statehood was the highest ever, the total number of people who indicated support for the movesomewhere around 500,000 votersis much lower than previous referenda, where statehood hit a high of 800,000 supporters in 2012. Add Puerto Ricos well-documented financial woes to this ambiguity about the popular support of statehood and the concerns about the validity of the ballot, and its clear that Sundays referendum actually displayed mixed results for the criteria used to initiate statehood. Recommended: Why Did Jeff Sessions Really Meet With Sergey Kislyak? Still, the final hurdle to Puerto Rico statehood is the fact that Congress simply doesnt have to take up the matter at all, even with a referendum in hand. In todays political climate, the Republican-dominated body wont feel any pressure to add an island of millions of likely Democrats to the electorate. Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat whose parents migrated to Chicago from Puerto Rico, outlined this dilemma in the language of realpolitik in a statement before the plebiscite. The supporters of statehood are selling a fantasy that a Latino, Caribbean nation will be admitted as a state during the era of Donald Trump, wrote Gutierrez. [Also] that states, many of which supported Trump, will accept a Spanish-speaking state that will receive just as many Senators and maybe even more House seats than they currently have. At the end of the day, its the cynical calculations of politics in Washington that will determine Puerto Ricos status. And it doesnt appear Sundays plebiscite changed those much. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin condemned the latest sanctions imposed by the United States Senate, insisting the latest restrictions make Russia stronger and blamed them on domestic political problems in America. The Senate voted Wednesday 97 to 2 in favor of imposing stricter sanctions over accusations by the intelligence community of meddling in the 2016 election. "We have always lived under sanctions, whenever Russia grew stronger there would always be sanctions, throughout history," Putin said Thursday at a nationally televised call-in show, according to a report by NBC News. "There is a U.S. bill to toughen sanctions why? Nothing has changed why are they talking about sanctions it's evidence of domestic political problems in the U.S." These statements came as Russian-U.S. relations have become increasingly tenser as the Senate, Congress, and special counsel Robert Mueller probes alleged links between the Trump Administration and the Russian government during the 2016 election. "America is not our enemy," Putin also said Thursday while noting the long history of relations between the countries during wartime. "I know the mood of our people, we don't believe America is our enemy ... There is hysteria in the media and it affects the mood, but many people in Russia admire the achievements if the American people, and I hope relations will normalize." He continued: "We have been through two wars together. The Russian Empire was key in securing U.S. independence." NEW: Senators Reach Deal To Restrain Trump From Lifting Russia Sanctions, Impose More For Election Meddling The new sanctions were added on the Senate floor to a bill imposing sanctions on Iran. The deal is a rare show of bipartisan support between Republican and Democratic heads of the Senate Foreign Relations and Banking committees. Putin said the sanctions by the West have made Russia stronger by forcing the country to "switch on [their] brains" to reduce its dependence on energy exports, the Associated Press reported Thursday. In December, the administration of former President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats as punishment for their role in hacking the Democratic National Committee during the election cycle. In 2014, both the E.U. and the U.S. imposed sanctions for Russia's annexing of Crimea in Ukraine. Story continues Earlier this month it was reported that the Trump administration was considering lifting those sanctions imposed by the Obama administration in exchange for permission to continue the construction of a U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg. NEW: Trump Considers Lifting Sanctions On Russia Amid Investigation: Report The Russian president also weighed in on the scandal involving former FBI Director James Comey, saying that Russia would offer political asylum to Comey in the event that he was prosecuted in the United States. He compared the leaks by the former FBI Director to those by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. "What's the difference between him and Mr. [Edward] Snowden then? Hes a human rights activist then, not an intelligence chief," Putin said, according to RT, an international television network funded by the Russian government. "At any rate, if this entails some kind of prosecutions against him [Comey], we are ready to grant him asylum in Russia. He should be aware of that." President Donald Trump tweeted again Thursday that the investigation between members of his administration and Russia was a "witch hunt." GettyImages-683141080 Photo: (Lintao Zhang/Pool/Getty Image) Related Articles The Qatar crisis has expanded to include Libya and now involves Glencore Plc, one of the world's largest traders of natural resources, in a conflict over export sales of crude oil, according to Bloomberg Markets on Wednesday. The dispute involved groups competing to control Libya's crude oil exports. Eastern Libya military commander Khalifa Haftar has been supported by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, three of the countries attempting to isolate Qatar. For three years, Libya has been torn between competing governments in regards to its oil. Groups in the East have tried to sell oil through Benghazi, despite the U.N. Security Council resolutions that acknowledge the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Libya as the only official oil exporter. Read: Qatar Crisis Explained: What You Need To Know About Tensions In The Gulf Mustafa Sanalla, the chairman of the NOC administration in the city of Tripoli, has denied allegations that Qatar has control over Glencores operations. According to him, the NOC offered an agreement with Glencore to sell all excess amounts of Mesla and Sarir crude blends. qatar Photo: Getty Images The deal, originally signed in 2015 and renewed in December 2016, will last through the end of the year, Sanalla said Sunday in a letter to Libyan legislator Yousef al-Akouri. The letter was given to Bloomberg. The National Oil Corp. succeeded in selling all the available production from Mesla and Sarir thanks to its contract with Glencore. This contract allowed Libya to earn regular foreign currency inflows," Sanalla wrote. Qatar is the largest producer of liquefied natural gas. It is currently faced with economic isolation after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with it last week. This move puts Libya at risk of an increase in instability, as it has been struggling to repair oil output and exports after the country collapsed following a 2011 uprising. Story continues oil Photo: Getty Images The chairman of the Eastern NOC, Nagi Maghrabi, accused Qatar of using Glencores sales of Libyas crude oil to finance terrorists, he said on Friday to the Cairo-based Youm7 newspaper. According to Maghrabi, Qatar controls Glencore through shareholding. Read: Oil Prices, Production And 5 More Things To Know About OPEC The Qatar Investment Authority has control of less than 9 percent in the company and it has no representatives sitting on its board. It has no operational control over Glencore, Sanalla said in his letter. Related Articles Qatar on Wednesday signed a $12 billion deal with the U.S. to buy 36 Boeing F-15 fighter jets amid a blockade from its Gulf neighbors Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The move came after President Donald Trump denounced Doha for supporting terrorism. However, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Riyadh to ease the blockade. "The $12-billion sale will give Qatar a state-of-the-art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar," the Pentagon said in a statement. Read: Russia Planted Fake News About Qatar, Probably To Divide US, Allies, Report Says Meanwhile, the Qatar defense ministry said the deal would create 60,000 jobs in the U.S., Bloomberg reported. It will also result in closer strategic collaboration in our fight to counter violent extremism and promote peace and stability in our region and beyond, according to the ministry. Qatar is strategically significant for the U.S. as the latter has a military base in the southwest of Doha. Former POTUS Barack Obama had approved the sale of 72 F-15s for $21 billion during his presidency. However, following the ongoing crisis in the Gulf, the deal sale was reduced to 36 F-15 fighter jets. Problems for Doha began May 23 when the countrys state-run Qatar News Agency published a report questioning Trumps presidency, supporting Iran and Palestinian militant group, Hamas. While the tiny peninsular country maintained it was a victim of hacking and the news was fake, its neighbors severed diplomatic ties with the country. So far, nine countries including Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, the Maldives, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen and the U.N.-backed government of Libya have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. Read: Qatar Airways Grounds Flights After Diplomatic Concerns Over Fake News, Terrorism The F-15 deal between Doha and Washington highlighted confusion in the Trump administration. From the time the crisis began, Trump has supported the Gulf countries move to cut ties with Qatar. However, Tillerson distanced away from Trumps opinion on the matter. Story continues During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look! So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding . extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump tweeted June 6. However, Tillerson said the blockade has humanitarian consequences and urged all parties to have a "calm and thoughtful dialogue," and seek "mutual understanding." "There are humanitarian consequences to this blockade," Tillerson said June 9. "The blockade is also impairing U.S. and other international business activities in the region and has created a hardship on the people of Qatar and the peoples whose livelihoods depend on commerce with Qatar. The blockade is hindering U.S. military actions in the region and the campaign against ISIS." Hours later, Trump appeared to ignore Tillersons statement and stood by his stand. The nation of Qatar has unfortunately been a funder of terrorism, and at a very high level, Trump said adding,I've decided, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, our great generals, and military people, the time has come to call on Qatar to end its funding. Related Articles The identity of Leonardo da Vinci's mother has eluded historians for years, but now one scholar said he's found the woman behind the Renaissance man. After digging through overlooked records in Italy, Martin Kemp, a leading Leonardo expert, claimed that the artist was born to Caterina di Meo Lippi, a 15-year-old orphan, on April 15, 1452. From existing documents, historians already knew that Leonardo was mostly raised by his father, a lawyer named Ser Piero da Vinci. Scholars also knew that Ser Piero was not married to Leonardo's mother, and there was some indication that her name was Caterina. [ In Photos: Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' ] The gaps in knowledge among these details have led to a somewhat obsessive speculation about Caterina's identity. Sigmund Freud even weighed in with a psychoanalytical interpretation of Leonard's childhood. Freud claimed that the enigmatic smile in the 'Mona Lisa' must have reminded Leonardo of (you guessed it) his mother, which is why the painting captures both "the promise of unlimited tenderness and sinister threat." More recent investigations have stuck to the biographical details, with some scholars claiming Leonardo's mother was a slave from North Africa or Turkey. Caterina was a common name for slaves at the time, and one analysis claimed a Leonardo fingerprint had features common to people of Middle Eastern origin. But Kemp, an emeritus professor of art history at Oxford University, painted Caterina as a local girl. He told The Guardian that her life "was a real sob story." His research in the archives of Vinci and Florence suggested that Caterina and her brother, Papo, were orphaned and lived in a derelict farmhouse with their grandmother, just outside of Vinci. Meanwhile, Ser Piero da Vinci was on his way to becoming a successful lawyer in Florence and was due to be married. But during a visit to his hometown in July 1451, Ser Piero must have met Caterina, and gotten her pregnant. Then, his family probably gave her a dowry so that she could be married off to someone else. Story continues Kemp established most of these links through property-tax records, and according to The Guardian, he also found that Ser Piero conducted a minor legal transaction for Caterina's husband, another connection linking the artists' parents. Kemp outlined his ideas about Caterina in the new book "Mona Lisa: The People and the Painting" (Oxford University Press, 2017), which he wrote with Giuseppe Pallanti, an economics teacher in Florence. The book claims to be the first to shed light on Leonardo's maternal family tree. Last year, Italian researchers used historic records to identify 35 living descendants of Leonardo but only on his father's side. Those living relatives included Oscar-nominated Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who is perhaps most famous for his 1968 film adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet." As the title of Kemp's book suggests, the publication also offers new details on the life of Lisa del Giocondo, the subject of Leonardo's most famous painting, the "Mona Lisa." Much more so than Leonardo's mother, Lisa del Giocondo has attracted wildly imaginative theories. These have concerned her identity and the secret religious symbols that might be imbued within the painting. Kemp took a more sober view of the mundane, middle-class life Lisa would have led while her husband traded in sugar, leather and slaves. "Leonardo was doing extraordinary things, but the context that gave rise to the portrait was no less embedded in the daily business of life in Renaissance Florence than when Lisa's husband, Francesco del Giocondo, imported leather from Ireland," Kemp said in a statement. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Beirut (AFP) - The Human Rights Watch organisation on Wednesday urged the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq to protect civilians from the effects of white phosphorus. The statement comes after several instances in which the US-led coalition has deployed the munition in the fight against IS in Iraq's Mosul and Syria's Raqa city. "No matter how white phosphorus is used, it poses a high risk of horrific and long-lasting harm in crowded cities," said HRW arms director Steve Goose. "US-led forces should take all feasible precautions to minimise civilian harm when using white phosphorus in Iraq and Syria." White phosphorus can be used to create a smoke screen or as a battlefield marker, but it can also be deployed as a deadly incendiary weapon, a use prohibited under international law. Last week striking images shared by activists and the Islamic State group showed white phosphorus being used over Raqa city, where a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters is battling to oust the jihadists. Asked about the incident, coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon declined to "discuss every detailed use of munition or capability available across our formations." But he added that white phosphorus was used "in accordance with the law of armed conflict" and "in a way that fully considers the possible incidental effects on civilians and civilian infrastructure." HRW said it had not been able to independently verify any civilian casualties resulting from the use of white phosphorus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said 23 civilians had been killed by white phosphorus used in Raqa on June 8. The Britain-based group said the US-led coalition had dropped the munition from planes. But HRW said the images from Raqa were characteristic of ground-fire artillery projectiles containing white phosphorus. Former FBI Director James Comey had assured President Donald Trump that he was not personally under investigation when the former was in charge of the probe into possible collusions between the Trump administrations and Russian officials. However, things took a different direction after the president fired Comey. Special counsel Robert Mueller, who took over the responsibility of supervising FBIs Russian investigation, will be interviewing intelligence officials looking for any evidence that Trump might have committed obstruction of justice, according to the latest report. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers and retired Deputy NSA Director Richard Ledgett, will be summoned to testify in front of Mueller this week, as the special counsels line of investigation digresses from Russian officials colluding with members of Trumps campaign and is directed toward possibilities that the president might have tried to obstruct justice in the recent past, the Washington Post reported, Wednesday. The special counsel's redirection of efforts came after Comey revealed during his testimony last Thursday that he had deliberately handed over his memos, detailing every interaction that he had with Trump, over to Mueller, his friend of 15 years, because he believed that Mueller would launch an investigation into whether Trump indeed obstructed justice by encouraging Comey to not investigate former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn any further. Read: Donald Trump May Fire Robert Mueller, Russia Collusion Investigator, Citing Conflict Of Interest Robert Mueller Photo: Getty Images/Alex Wong "I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the President was an effort to obstruct," Comey said in his testimony, Vox reported. "I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but that's a conclusion I'm sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether that's an offense," he added Story continues Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has maintained that it would not be appropriate to indict a sitting president. Hence, if the special counsel can prove that Trump was involved in criminal misconduct, the case would be forwarded to the United States Congress, who would have the final say on whether to impeach the president or not. According to Columbia University law professor John Coffee: "It's generally believed that you cannot indict a sitting president because that would paralyze the government. And because impeachment is the constitutional procedure created to remove a president, CNBC reported. Read: Special Counsel Robert Mueller Could Object To James Comey's Public Testimony Before Intelligence Committee Philip Rucker, the Washington Posts Chief of the White House Bureau, tweeted shortly after the Post published the report about Mueller investigating Trump for obstruction of justice that the Trump administration would be looking to discredit the report by any means necessary. Some of the talking points to be included in the White Houses attempt to defend the president in this instance would be reiterating that there is no case for obstruction of justice, that information leaks coming out of the FBI and the special counsels office is disgraceful, why former Attorney General Loretta Elizabeth Lynch is not being investigated for obstruction of justice where former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons leaked emails were concerned and so on. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, has already condemned the Post report. "The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal," Corallo told CNN, Wednesday. Trump can invoke executive privilege to block the intelligence officials from speaking to Mueller about any matters related to the president but rights to that privilege can be taken away by the Supreme Court if the circumstances imply criminal conduct by the POTUS. During former President Richard Nixons Watergate scandal, the Supreme Court had ruled that no government officials can withhold information citing executive privilege. Related Articles The Hague (AFP) - A former Congolese rebel commander told war crimes judges Wednesday the "horrific events" he saw during Rwanda's 1994 genocide shaped him to vow to do everything he could to prevent "it happening again". Almost two years after his trial opened, Bosco Ntaganda took the stand for the first time expected to talk about events in 2002 and 2003, when his rebel forces rampaged through neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo's gold-rich Ituri province, murdering and raping civilians and plundering their possessions. Instead, the man once dubbed "The Terminator" told the International Criminal Court about his time as a young soldier in the Ugandan-backed Rwandan army during that country's genocide in which some 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis, were murdered. "I was young, but I was already in the army and was a soldier," said Rwandan-born Ntaganda, who is now accused of playing a major role in the unrest in the eastern DRC in 2002-03. "I witnessed horrific events," he told the Hague-based ICC, adding "I lost many members of my family during the genocide against the Tutsis." "Our superiors had told us what we have just seen as soldiers -- if possible we had to do everything to prevent this from happening in Africa again," the soft-spoken Ntaganda said, speaking in Swahili. "This was in my mind wherever I went. I do not wish to see any other community experience what my community went through," said Ntaganda, who was smartly dressed in a dark blue suit, light shirt and blue tie. - Savage ethnic attacks - Ntaganda, 43, denies 13 charges of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity committed by his Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), a militia drawn from the Hema ethnic group which prosecutors say targeted the Lendu and other non-Hema groups. Fighting in Ituri has left some 60,000 dead since 1999 according to rights groups, in a conflict exacerbated by the wealth of regional resources including gold and other minerals used in electronic products. Story continues Ntaganda has been charged with ordering hundreds of deaths through savage ethnic attacks by the FPLC, which was then the armed wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots. During the prosecution's case, which took 64 days to complete, a witness told the tribunal in The Hague of seeing "tied-up bodies" left in their underwear, "their heads crushed." Ntaganda "was one of the most important commanders" involved in the savage ethnic attacks carried out by the FPLC, ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said at the opening of the trial in September 2015. - 'Not The Terminator' - The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been mired for two decades in ethnically-charged wars, as rebels battle for control of mineral resources. The unrest spiralled to encompass armies from at least six African nations, claiming hundreds-of-thousands of lives in one of the world's most deadly recent conflicts. At the start of his trial Ntaganda, known for his trademark pencil moustache and his penchant for cowboy hats and fine dining, told the judges he rejected being called "The Terminator". The ICC issued two arrest warrants against Ntaganda who evaded capture until unexpectedly walking into the US embassy in Kigali in 2013 and turning himself in. Ntaganda's defence team plans to call 109 witnesses and four experts, seeking to overturn his image as a merciless warlord. The former rebel went on a two-week hunger strike last year after judges slapped tight restrictions on him when prosecutors accused him of bribing witnesses. If convicted he could face up to 30 years behind bars, or life if such a sentence is "justified by the extreme gravity of the crime," under ICC rules. Ntaganda's case follows that of his former boss, warlord Thomas Lubanga, who was sentenced to 14 years in jail in 2012 on similar charges, the court's first conviction since it opened in 2002. The Rikers Island jail facility is New York Citys most infamous prison. Its been plagued for years by accusations of inmate abuse and neglect and has been referred to in the media as one of the most dangerous places to work. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to shut Rikers down. Photo: TBS On Full Frontal, Samantha Bee visited the prison to find out about special programs they offer to inmates, such as horticulture, art therapy, acting classes, and even debate. Bee sat down with Jim Walsh, deputy commissioner of adult programming, to ask him some questions. I can tell you that many of the men and women from the debate class go back to their housing unit and practice, Walsh said, prompting Bee to conclude that being in the debate club there is considered cool. Bee got to see one of the debates in action, which was on the topic of whether or not Donald Trumps immigration ban on Muslim countries is unjust. A topic like this was right up the politically charged hosts alley, and she looked on thoughtfully as both debaters came out swinging, although this time the prison fight was verbal, not physical. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee airs Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. on TBS. Watch: Samantha Bee Slams Fox & Friends for Islamophobia: Read more at Yahoo TV: Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will be called the Galaxy Note FE or the Galaxy Note 7R when it releases to the market for the third time as a refurbished device. However, its color option availability is expected to be the same as the original device, according to iNews. The formerly ill-fated smartphone will be available Black Onyx, Blue Coral, Gold Platinum, and Silver Titanium color options, and it will include an R symbol on its back panel, designating it as a refurbished Galaxy Note 7 model. Read More: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Refurbished Price Rumored As Leaks Surface Reports indicate the Galaxy Note FE will launch July 7 in Korea and may also soon be available to Latin American and European markets, according to a recent FCC certification. With the Galaxy Note 8 launch on the horizon, the Galaxy Note FE will not be available in the U.S. The Galaxy Note FE will sell for KRW 700,000 ($618) once back on the market. Samsung is planning to introduce its AI assistant feature, Bixby Home to the device as a special feature. Much like the Galaxy S8 in several other markets, more advanced Bixby features, such as Bixby Voice wont yet be available on the Galaxy FE. The smartphone is expected to have all of the same features included in the original Galaxy Note 7, with the exception of a smaller battery. The Galaxy Note FE will likely feature a 3,200mAh battery, as opposed to a 3,500mAh battery. Other specs include an Exynos 8890 chip, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage a 12-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera. There is no word on what operating system the Galaxy Note FE will run. The Galaxy Note 7 launched running Android Marshmallow, but Android Nougat is a good possibility for the refurbished device. Read More: Samsung Galaxy S8: No Handset Has Exploded In First 50 Days Of Availability Reports indicate that there are least 76,000 original Galaxy Note 7 models still in use in the U.S. Several dedicated users have found ways to bypass the life-ending software updates sent out by Samsung and U.S. mobile carriers. These Galaxy Note 7 fans cite being unable to find a suitable replacement smartphone as a primary reason for holding onto the Galaxy Note 7, despite safety issues. Story continues Samsung announced its eight-point safety check system and the establishment of its safety board after the final recall of the original Galaxy Note 7. Every handset after the Galaxy Note 7 will be subject to rigorous safety tests and certifications before being deemed suitable for sale. The Galaxy S8 was the first device released under this protocol and there have been no reported explosions of Galaxy S8 handsets during its first 50 days on the market. Related Articles Amendment imposes new sanctions against Moscow and also establishes a process for Congress to review any attempt by Trump to relax or end sanctions The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, speaks at a press conference. The Senate has approved new sanctions against Russia. Photograph: Zach Gibson/Getty Images The Senate has approved new sanctions against Russia, as punishment after it was found to have meddled in the 2016 presidential election. The legislation also restricts the White House from easing sanctions without congressional approval. The amendment on Russia, which passed in a 97-2 vote on Wednesday, was attached to a bill to strengthen sanctions on Iran. It codifies existing sanctions against Russia established by Barack Obamas executive orders and imposes new sanctions against Moscow for its interference in the 2016 elections, aggression in Ukraine and support for the Syrian government. The agreement establishes a process for Congress to review any attempt by Donald Trump to relax, suspend or terminate the sanctions. Under the amendment, sanctions will be imposed on Russians who have been found guilty of human rights abuses, have supplied weapons to the Assad regime or have conducted cyber-attacks on behalf of the Russian government, among other categories. The measures target key sectors of the Russian economy, including mining, metals, shipping and railways. In December, the Obama administration responded to Russias provocations with a slate of measures that included the expulsion of intelligence operatives and sanctions on Russias central intelligence services. Trump has repeatedly downplayed and denied the conclusion by the intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the US election to benefit his campaign. Wednesdays vote offered a rare display of bipartisanship in Congress, which remains bitterly divided over how to proceed on healthcare, tax reform and the budget. The amendment was negotiated by Senate leaders from both parties on the foreign and banking committees amid intense scrutiny of Russias role in the US presidential election. The steps come as special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating any links or collusion between the presidents associates and Russian officials. Story continues Multiple congressional committees are investigating whether associates of Trump were in touch with Moscow as it interfered in the election. In a fractious evidence session on Tuesday, attorney general Jeff Sessions claimed he was the victim of scurrilous and false allegations as he faced questions about three occasions when he met with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Sessions was unwilling to answer questions about his conversations with Trump, and repeatedly claimed he could not recall details of contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. The countrys top justice official said he had not received or ever requested a briefing on Russian intervention in the 2016 presidential election. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday the sanctions bill would send a powerful signal to President Trump and the White House that the concern that he might weaken or lift sanctions against Putin is a bipartisan concern, one that the Senate is not going to ignore. Asked about the sanctions during a Senate foreign relations committee hearing on Tuesday, Secretary of state Rex Tillerson called the amendment ill-timed and said the administration would like to have the flexibility to turn that heat up on Russia. We have some channels that are open where were starting to talk, Tillerson said. I think what I wouldnt want to do is to close the channels off with something new thats ill-timed. Tillerson went further in an appearance at the House foreign relations committee on Wednesday, questioning the effectiveness of unilateral sanctions, arguing they will be somewhat hollow and Putin will know they are hollow. He also departed from previous state department policy by suggesting that Russia would not necessarily have to comply with the Minsk agreement for resolving the Ukraine conflict, in order to have Ukraine-related sanctions lifted. It is very possible that the government of Ukraine and the government of Russia could come to a satisfactory resolution through some structure other than Minsk, but which would achieve the objectives of Minsk, which we are committed to, the secretary of state said. So my caution is: I wouldnt want to have ourselves handcuffed to Minsk if it turns out the parties decide to settle this through a different agreement. Amid the uncertainty over administration policy on sanctions, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko is reported to be planning to visit Washington to meet Trump as early as next week. South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham has predicted that Trump will ultimately sign the bill and warned that if he does not, Congress would override his veto. Any member of the Congress who doesnt want to punish Russia for what theyve done is betraying democracy, Graham said on CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday. And if the president doesnt sign this bill to punish Russia, he would be betraying democracy. A big solar event is taking place across North America in August and to prepare for the big blackout (a whole two minutes in some places) Google and UC Berkeley teamed up to show what the total solar eclipse will look like based on where you are. SEE ALSO: Solar eclipse stamp changes when you touch it They've launched a special simulator, part of the broader Eclipse Megamovie Project, which will give a glimpse of what to expect on August 21. Anyone on the path of the solar eclipse like Carbondale, Illinois where the max totality is 2 minutes and 40 seconds is in for a rare show. For those off the path, it's going to be a bit underwhelming. To get a sense of what it'll look like when the moon gets between the sun and the earth in the first total solar eclipse to cross the U.S. in almost 100 years, you just plug in your address or city and watch the simulation. Experience the eclipse from the best spots. Image: screengrab/megamovie project The project is stitching together thousands of images from citizens along the path to put together a video of the total solar eclipse. If anyone wants to get involved in the project they can you just sign up with your Google account and upload materials. Before you attempt to film the sun, though, the team has some safety guidelines to read. We'd recommend following those. Before Aug. 21 rolls around the Megamovie Project has plenty of resources and NASA explainers to become a solar eclipse expert. The next one like this isn't until 2045 so the time to get involved is now. In a nearly unanimous vote, Southern Baptist Convention condemned Wednesday the alt-right movement and passed a resolution affirming the denominations opposition to white supremacy. The vote took place on the second the day of the annual convention in Phoenix, a day after the proposal to condemn "alt-right, a movement that advocates white supremacy, divided convention leaders and triggered backlash on social media. The convention voted to "decry every form of racism, including alt-right white supremacy as antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ" and "denounce and repudiate white supremacy and every form of racial and ethnic hatred as a scheme of the devil." High drama ensued Tuesday, the first day of the convention, as the evangelical denomination initially decided not to move the proposal submitted by prominent African-American pastor Dwight McKissic. According to reports, the leaders were initially skeptical about using phrases such as "toxic menace," "xenophobic biases" and "racial bigotries, in the proposal to refer to the "alt-right movement. The failure to bring the resolution on the floor was followed by a backlash from black and white Southern Baptists and other evangelical Christians. After the resolution was passed Wednesday, McKissic expressed his gratitude. However, he also pointed out that it took nearly 24 hours for the convention to reach an agreement. Nine resolutions, including the resolution denouncing Planned Parenthood, were passed by the convention on Tuesday. Read: Alt-Right Conference In Washington, DC, Draws Criticism "I think that today's vote will help to mitigate some of the hurt and some of the pain," he said, according to a statement on the Convention's website, "because it's painful to watch people who tout biblical inerrancy and who tout the centrality of the Gospel have to deliberate over denouncing white supremacy." Story continues McKissic had published a draft of the resolution on a Baptist blog, "SBC Voices," about two weeks before the meeting. He said many alt-right members claim to be Southern Baptists. However, he added he was encouraged "to see so many Southern Baptists take a courageous stand" and for a generation of them to say: "We will not take this sitting down." Resolutions committee chairman Barrett Duke offered an apology on behalf of the panel for the delay in passing the resolution. "We regret and apologize for the pain and the confusion that we created for you and a watching world when we decided not to report out a resolution on alt-right racism," he said. "Please know it wasn't because we don't share your abhorrence of racism and especially, particularly the vicious form of racism that has manifested itself in the alt-right movement. We do share your abhorrence." Speaking about the resolution from the floor, Southern Baptist ethics leader Russell Moore, said: "Southern Baptists were right to speak clearly and definitely that 'alt-right' white nationalism is not just a sociological movement but a work of the devil. Racism and white supremacy are not merely social issues, but they attack the Gospel itself and the person of our Lord Jesus Christ." The new resolution was given a standing ovation in an overcrowded room of about 5,000 members, reports said. Related Articles Robert Mueller is investigating alleged Russia interference in the presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign: AFP The Special Counsel overseeing the probe into possible collusion between Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow is said to now be investigating the President himself for possibly obstructing justice over the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. When Mr Comey appeared before a Senate committee last week, he confirmed that he had told Mr Trump on several instances that he was personally not under investigation. However, according to the Washington Post, since Mr Comeys firing, Mr Mueller, the special prosecutor, has started to look at Mr Trumps actions as part of the wider investigation into alleged Russia interference in the 2016 US presidential election. If confirmed, the news would mark a dramatic shift in the course of the investigation, which Mr Trump has so far sought to dismiss and brush away. The Post reported that five sources had said the possible obstruction-of-justice investigation of the New York tycoon began days after Mr Trump fired Mr Comey last month. Mr Trump told a television reporter that one of the reasons he had fired the 56-year-old was because of the ongoing probe into possible collusion with Russia, something the President said was nothing more than fake news being generated by those angry about his election victory. When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, its an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they shouldve won, Mr Trump told NBC. When he appeared on Capitol Hill, Mr Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee he too believed he had been fired by Mr Trump over Russia, because the President wanted to interfere with the FBI probe. Story continues I take the President's words. I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him, and he decided to fire me because of that, he said. The Post said Mr Mueller believes the issue he is examining was more than just a he said, he said dispute between the President and Mr Comey. It said Mr Mueller, himself a former FBI Director, had now scheduled preliminary interviews with several intelligence officials on the issue. Those officials - Daniel Coats, the director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Mr Rogerss recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett - had agreed to be interviewed by Mr Muellers investigators as early as this week, it said. It is unclear if the officials will describe in full their conversations with Mr Trump and other top officials or will be directed by the White House to invoke executive privilege. The NSA said in statement that it would fully cooperate with the special counsel and declined to comment further. The office of the director of national intelligence and Mr Ledgett declined to comment, the Post said. Mr Trumps legal team has denied the report. The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal, said Mark Corallo, a spokesman for the Presidents legal team. A spokesman for Mr Muellers team declined to comment. Reuters said that several legal experts said Mr Comeys testimony last week that Mr Trump expected loyalty and had told him he hoped he could drop an investigation of a former top aide could bolster obstruction of justice allegations against the President. Mr Comey would not say in his testimony last week whether he thought the President sought to obstruct justice, but added it would be up to special counsel Mr Mueller to sort that out. While a sitting president is unlikely to face criminal prosecution, obstruction of justice could form the basis for impeachment. Any such step would face a steep hurdle as it would require approval by the US House of Representatives, which is controlled by Mr Trumps fellow Republicans. According to the Orlando Business Journal, Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe on the West Side of Disney Springs will be closing in early August. The companys lease with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is ending so the restaurant plans to close. Owned by Levy Restaurants, employees are able to apply for positions in the Orlando area. On May 30th, the Disney Parks Blog announced several new dining location in Disney Springs including a new Wolfgang Puck concept in Town Center. Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, will modernize the traditional bar and grill concept in a setting inspired by traditional farmhouses with a touch of elegance. Levy Restaurants is not involved in this new Puck location. The Journal reports that Bongos Cuban Cafe may also be closing soon. Post a Comment Our live stream of the 2017 Firefly Festival from Dover, Delaware, has come to an end but you can catch video highlights right here from Muse, twenty one pilots, AFI, Busta Rhymes, T-Pain, Banks, Bleachers, Flume, the Shins, OK Go, Rozes, and more. And click here to check out our recaps, photos, and news from the festival. See you in Dover next year! Heres a taste of what you missed last year: As the Firefly Music Festival got underway Friday at the Woodlands International Speedway in Dover, Del., OK Go hit the Lawn Stage and quickly reminded all onlookers that they are much more than just a novelty act famous for their Here It Goes Again treadmill choreography, This Too Shall Pass Rube Goldberg machinations, and slow-mo explosions in The One Moment. So, how did the band that once danced with dogs in White Knuckles showcase their actual musical chops? By covering Black Dog, by a little band from England, Led Zeppelin. OK Gos Zep jam session was surprisingly legitimate treadmill-free, but a real rock n roll workout in its own way, muscular, lean, and mean. The Chicago powerpoppers, for better or worse, may always be best known for their creative viral videos (their two YouTube channels have racked up a combined 347 million views), but their simple and effervescent Firefly set featuring Cheap Trick/Cars-reminiscent toe-tappers like Youre So Damn Hot, Get Over It, and Do What You Want; nearly constant confetti showers; and cocksure frontman Damian Kulashs SNL-worthy cowbell solos proved OK Go are as entertaining onstage as they are onscreen. Dar es Salaam (AFP) - Tanzania has agreed to negotiations with Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold which it accuses of operating illegally and evading taxes, a government statement said Wednesday. Barrick is the majority shareholder in London-listed Acacia Mining which a presidential commission report said this week was not registered to operate in Tanzania and had failed to pay taxes worth billions of dollars. Barrick refuted the allegations. On Wednesday, its executive chairman John Thornton flew to Tanzania to meet with President John Magufuli after news of the allegations caused the company's share price to fall. Barrick "is ready to discuss with the Tanzanian government the reimbursement of money lost by Tanzania as a result of the company's operations in the country," the presidency said in a statement, without giving further details. Barrick released a statement describing the meeting as "constructive and open". It said the parties agreed "to enter into negotiations to seek a resolution that is in the best interests of all stakeholders, including Tanzania, Barrick, and Acacia." Barrick Gold shares listed in New York rose 0.3 percent in midday trading to $16.38. Magufuli had accused the company of "stealing from us" in a live televised address this week, but welcomed the proposed discussions. He said a special committee would be appointed aimed at reaching an agreement for reimbursement. On Monday, a government commission said fraud in the mining sector had cost Tanzania $84 billion (75 billion euros) over 19 years and blamed foreign companies for failing to declare revenues. Tanzania is rich in minerals and ranks fourth among gold producers on the continent. Gold is the country's leading mineral export and one of its primary sources of revenue. It also exports copper, nickel, silver, diamonds and other precious stones such as tanzanite. In March, Tanzania said it was banning exports of non-processed ore in a bid to promote the development of the mineral processing sector, create new jobs locally and increase revenues generated by the sector. The presidency statement on Wednesday also said Thornton had agreed that Barrick would "cooperate" in the construction of a smelter in Tanzania. Last month, Magufuli dismissed the country's mines minister after receiving a report from geologists that said mining companies had underestimated their mineral exports in order to pay lower taxes. Wendys is known for its clever comebacks on social media, and now one location is taking them to the streets. About a month ago, Pure Water Ice & Tea Company in Lubbock, Texas used its marquee board to call out the Wendys across the road, local news outlet KCBD reported. Wendys clapped back. Since then, the two businesses have engaged in a searing sign war, with each changing its slogan in response to the other. The current comments are as hot as a fresh-cooked beef patty. Heres a closer look. (Photo: Twitter/Dylan Bruton) (Photo: Twitter/Dylan Bruton) Twitter users are documenting the sign war, which is completely good-humored, according to Pure Water server Brad Luzietti. He says his shop has posted six or seven signs so far, with no plans to stop. We put up a new sign whenever we get an idea. If [Wendys changes] their sign, well start thinking hardcore about ours, he told HuffPost. Some people drive by to look, and some have come in to ask about it. Past sign volleys include tea puns, beef puns and jabs at the war itself. Battle of 4th and Frankford cracks me up lol. Pure Water said "hey Wendy's that sign looks familiar" before this @Wendys vs @PureWaterIce pic.twitter.com/rT7cRaFpRs Riley Lookingbill (@rileylookingbil) May 22, 2017 We cant wait to see what comes next. Story continues Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. Also on HuffPost @LacedlLouie Get one of your 51 followers to roast you. Wendy's (@Wendys) January 3, 2017 @HBnotHP They don't call it a battle when it's one sided though Wendy's (@Wendys) January 5, 2017 @Ethan4Lax We rock the pigtails, we diss the big fails, delivering sick roasts through express mail Wendy's (@Wendys) January 5, 2017 @niazisababe Check your work. This math is wrong. Wendy's (@Wendys) January 4, 2017 @getsomeual This is your mother. Stop messing around on the internet and make your bed. Wendy's (@Wendys) January 4, 2017 @TinyGrande19 Even in the worst places, it's nice for people to have hope. Wendy's (@Wendys) January 4, 2017 @jwhende It's fried potato covered in cheese. We don't try to claim it's healthy. Wendy's (@Wendys) January 4, 2017 This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Tiffany Trump posed with her father, President Trump, at his birthday celebration on Wednesday night. (Photo: Tiffany Trump/Instagram) Members of the Trump family gathered at the White House on Wednesday to celebrate the presidents 71st birthday. For the occasion, Tiffany Trump wore a black and white dress and styled her hair with a black headband. She shared a picture with her father, both of them beaming, and attached a message in the caption. Happy Birthday dad @realdonaldtrump. I love you! ???? A post shared by Tiffany Ariana Trump (@tiffanytrump) on Jun 14, 2017 at 8:12pm PDT Happy Birthday dad @realdonaldtrump. I love you! she wrote. Many followers of the Presidents younger daughter wished him a happy birthday in the comments as well. Tiffanys older sister, Ivanka, also uploaded a family portrait with two of her three children and her husband, Jared Kushner, while visiting the White House for the birthday dinner. Great being with family tonight for a lovely birthday dinner hosted by @flotus for @realdonaldtrump pic.twitter.com/zam5YSDPiT Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 15, 2017 Great being with family tonight for a lovely birthday dinner hosted by @ flotus for @ realdonaldtrump, she wrote alongside the sweet family snap. She picked a simple black and white dress from Escadas fall 2017 collection for the event. Hours earlier she posted a throwback photo, wishing her father a happy birthday. Happy Birthday to my incredible father @realdonaldtrump. I hope that the year to come is your best yet! #HappyBirthday #POTUS A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Jun 14, 2017 at 5:08am PDT Happy Birthday to my incredible father @realdonaldtrump. I hope that the year to come is your best yet! #HappyBirthday #POTUS, she wrote. The first lady also posted a birthday message on both her Instagram and Twitter accounts. ???????? A post shared by First Lady Melania Trump (@flotus) on Jun 14, 2017 at 7:19pm PDT Alongside a photo of the message, Happy Birthday Mr. President, she attached a few heart emojis and an American flag emoji. Story continues Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty. On a day like today, we're especially grateful to have Trevor Noah on #LSSC to help put things into perspective. #LSSC @TrevorNoah pic.twitter.com/fWxiJbjD5A The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) June 15, 2017 Following Wednesdays shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, in which six people were injured, including two members of Congress, Daily Show host Trevor Noah called for Americans to unite. Noah appeared on The Late Show Wednesday evening and praised how politicians had set aside partisan politics to deal with the attack. It was great to see people from both sides seeing this and uniting under the banner of human, and American, before anything else, Noah told host Stephen Colbert. Thats one of the things that were seeing less and less of in society today it feels like. The South African comic also pointed out that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) was actually friendly with Attorney General Jeff Sessions when he served in the Senate. I think thats something thats lacking in American politics, is politicians showing from both sides of the aisle that they are friends, Noah said. Its almost become like wrestling where the fans dont realize that those people get along. Noah even praised House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for their show of unity, but urged them to do more. I feel like they could do a better job of saying that to Americans, is going like, Hey, we fight, you can fight, but dont forget: At your core, you are Americans, Noah said. Also on HuffPost Police investigate a shooting scene after a gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress during a baseball practice near Washington in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 14, 2017. Investigators gather at Eugene Simpson Field. Police investigate the shooting scene. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) briefs members of the media near Eugene Simpson Stadium Park. A police officer mans a shooting scene. Police make way for an ambulance. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), center, and his sons, board the Rayburn subway in the basement of the Capitol. U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) talks to reporters. People gather near the scene of the shooting. A member of the Alexandria Police runs up the street near the scene. Police investigate after the shooting. A police officer stands near a damaged vehicle. Police tape cordons off the scene. Investigators gather near the scene. Police investigate the scene. Alexandria police gather near the crime scene. Investigators and emergency personnel gather adjacent to Eugene Simpson Field. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Trevor Noah is used to roasting President Donald Trump nightly on The Daily Show. But on Tuesdays episode, he turned his attention to Trumps so-called enemy the mainstream media. Noah took issue with reports claiming the president was considering firing Robert Mueller, the former FBI director the Department of Justice appointed to lead the investigation on the Trump campaigns ties to Russia. The host said that he understands why the media would want to cover that story because its fun to gossip which, if were honest, is at this point all the story really is. The reports were based on a PBS NewsHour interview with Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, a friend of Trump, in which he suggested that the president is considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. Such a decision would, as NBC News Kristen Welker pointed out in a clip that Noah replayed, amount to political suicide for Trump. Look, I know its exciting to think about Trump sabotaging his presidency but this is a rumor no more, no less, Noah said. Why waste energy on speculative crazy when theres so much actual crazy to focus on? There is more pressing crazy news that deserves the the medias attention, according to Noah. Like House Republicans voting to pass a bill last week that would roll back strict regulations placed on banks after the 2008 financial crisis. Yes, finally, Republicans standing up for the white working class banks, Noah said. Watch the full Daily Show segment in the video above. Also on HuffPost Great Pyramids of Giza - Egypt Terracotta Army - China Christ The Redeemer - Brazil Taj Mahal - India Stonehenge - England Easter Island - Chile Pompeii - Italy Machu Picchu - Peru Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. President likely to announce a reset in US-Cuba relations, and young Cuban Americans say such a move would squander years of progress A car with a Cuban flag near the capitol in Havana. The president is widely expected to follow a harder line against Havana than his predecessor. Photograph: Enrique de la Osa/Reuters It has been 60 years since Alexa Ferrers grandparents fell in love on Havanas famous seafront esplanade, the Malecon but only three weeks since the third-generation Cuban American was finally able to visit her familys homeland and retrace their first romantic footsteps. Taking advantage of Barack Obamas relaxation of a half-century of travel restrictions, Ferrer, a student from Miami, spent 10 days in Cuba fulfilling her childhood dream, in an emotionally charged journey across the country that until recently would have been unthinkable. On Friday, however, if Donald Trump fulfils expectations by announcing a reversal of at least some of his predecessors conciliatory policies, the shutters could be closing once more. To Ferrer, in her fourth year of Latin American studies at the University of Florida, such a move would squander years of progress towards a normalisation of relations between the countries and rob many Cubans on the island their chance to rise above poverty. I realise this trip might no longer be possible for those like me, but its not about our selfish interest to travel, its more about the opportunity weve opened, said Ferrer, 21, who visited in May on a trip organised by Discover Cuba, the travel wing of Roots of Hope, a Miami-based advocacy group linking young Cuban Americans with Cubans on the island. Id be heartbroken if Im not allowed to travel but Id be way more heartbroken that someone whos been operating a casa particular or paladar would be shut out of business, she said, referring to the private bed and breakfasts and home restaurants that have flourished in recent years. These people are the rich ones now on the island. Our tourism has created a middle class that has not existed the way it is now, with the people that own casas particulares, paladars, or operate a taxi realising this is the avenue to make money. Story continues Ive just met all these incredible Cubans that are seeing success in their lives for the first time. Imagine how nervous they are. They dont deserve it. The White House has not yet released details of Trumps recalibration of US policy towards Cuba, but the president is widely expected to fulfil a pledge made on a campaign visit to Miami in September to follow a harder line to put pressure on Havana over human rights. Floridas Cuban American politicians, including Senator Marco Rubio and the US congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, have worked with the administration to help shape the new direction. As well as rolling back Obamas relaxation of travel restrictions, which allowed American cruise ships and airlines to resume scheduled services to Cuba last year for the first time in more than 50 years, Trump is reported to also be considering moves to limit business opportunities for US companies. John Kavulich, president of the independent US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, warned that almost all US business in Cuba would be shut down if Trump imposed a ban on dealings with Gaesa, the economic wing of the countrys military government, which controls 60% of the islands economy, including state-owned hotels, restaurants, banks and gas stations. Such a move would place existing or planned deals with several major American hotel chains in immediate jeopardy. Trump is expected to make his announcement at Little Havanas Manuel Artime Theatre, a symbolically important venue named for the political leader of the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion in which Cuban exiles attempted to overthrow the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. The embassies in Havana and Washington DC that reopened in 2015 are expected to be unaffected by Trumps policy shift, but his tightening of the relationship and reinforcing of the 50-year US-Cuba trade embargo will please many among Miamis hardline Cuban exile community who helped him win Florida and consequently the White House in Novembers presidential election. Various business and advocacy groups, however, including Human Rights Watch, remain opposed to any reining back. The previous administration was right to reject a policy that hurt ordinary Cubans and did nothing to advance human rights, said Daniel Wilkinson, HRWs managing director for the Americas. The fact that Obamas approach hasnt led to political reform in Cuba after just a few years isnt reason to return to a policy that proved a costly failure over many decades. Ferrer, meanwhile, said she understood the position of the hardliners. My grandfather trained for Bay of Pigs, his cousin served seven years as a political prisoner, and I come from a family where some members feel like they cant go back, she said. But you also have people like me, the third generations who are going back, and the people on the island, so excited and loving, the most generous people I ever met. People see what its like to have a middle class, to work for your money and become an entrepreneur. As soon as we build that wall back up, its going to weaken the private sector and open up the space for the state to take control again. Author Stephen King said Tuesday President Donald Trump had blocked him on Twitter. The move came after King posted a critical tweet about White House senior adviser and Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump. In an interview with Fox & Friends on Monday, Ivanka criticized "the level of viciousness" her father had to face. "My father and this administration intends to be transformative, and we want to do big, bold things," Ivanka said during the interview. "With all the noise, with all the intensity of the media coverage... ultimately, we're really focused on why the American people elected Donald Trump as their president," she added. Read: Stephen King Trolls Trump Over Wiretap Allegation Tweets In response to Ivanka's statement during the interview, King posted a tweet Tuesday condemning her comments. "If Ivanka Trump had grown up in a farm country, like some of us, shed know her father is reaping exactly what he sowed, "he wrote. A few hours later, King tweeted informing his followers Trump blocked me from reading his tweets. I may have to kill myself. Following this, British author J.K. Rowling who is also critical of Trump administration tweeted to the 69-year-old saying she would message him Trumps tweets. I still have access. I'll DM them to you, she tweeted. Before being blocked by Trump, King posted another tweet criticizing the president's cabinet. Trump's cabinet offers a postgraduate-level course in a-- -kissing, he wrote. Much like other Trump critics, King takes to Twitter to condemn Trump and his policies. Last month, he said the fact that Trump has control of the nuclear arsenal in the country is "worse than any horror story I ever wrote." In past, he called Trump a nasty man, sulky baby, and Cthulu. Read: Trump's Twitter Use Is Hated By The Majority Of Voters This is not the first time the 71-year-old president has blocked someone on Twitter. On Tuesday, VoteVets, an organization representing military veterans and their families, said Trump blocked them on Twitter because they did not agree with their proposed Middle Eastern travel ban. The Commander in Chief can block @VoteVets, the voice of 500k military veterans and families, but we will NOT be silenced, the organization tweeted. Story continues On June 6, lawyers for two Twitter users, Holly O'Reilly and Joe Papp, sent a letter to the White House asking Trump to unblock them on Twitter, the Associated Press reported. OReilly and Papp claimed the president violated the First Amendment governing freedom of speech by blocking them on Twitter. Before being blocked, OReilly had posted a video of Pope Francis giving a sidelong look at Trump and had captioned it saying this was how the whole world sees you. On the other hand, Papp had responded to Trumps weekly address by asking why he did not attend a rally by supporters and adding, with a hashtag, fake leader. The viewpoint-based blocking of our clients is unconstitutional, attorneys of OReilly and Papp said at the time. Following are some reactions from Twitterati over Trump blocking King on the microblogging site: Related Articles Despite labeling CNN "fake news," President Donald Trump used a report by the network as reason to reach out to Tangier Island Mayor James "Ooker" Eskridge an island community in Virginia whose small island was the subject of a CNN segment about the effects of climate change. Trump called Eskridge on Monday after seeing a CNN report about the weather's detrimental effect on the shrinking island. The president reportedly introduced himself and then said to the mayor "youve got one heck of an island there" before telling him not to worry about the rising tides. "He said we shouldnt worry about rising sea levels," Eskridge said, according to a Wednesday report from the Washington Post. "He said that 'your island has been there for hundreds of years, and I believe your island will be there for hundreds more.'" GettyImages-691361266 Photo: (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images) The mayor of the small community was flabbergasted, calling the phone call "unreal," according to a Tuesday report by Delmarva Daily Times, a local USA Today syndicate. He explained that the administration reached out to the Tangier Oyster Co. first, looking for a way to contact him. Eskridge got notice of the call while he was in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, crabbing, prompting him to rush home to wait by the phone. READ: Trump Calls Comey A 'Leaker,' Says He Is Open To Testifying Under Oath Against Him "So I came in from crabbing and they said I got a call I said, 'That's not real.' Anyway, I hung around. I left for a short time to go to my crab house, and then came back and I got this call and the lady says, 'I'm with the president's office. The president would like to know if he could speak to you. I said, 'Yes, he sure can,'" Eskridge continued. Story continues The island community voted overwhelmingly for Trump in November 87 percent and Eskridge is an ardent supporter of the president, saying that he views Trump like family. "Donald Trump, if you see this, whatever you can do, we welcome any help you can give us," Eskridge said in the CNN piece. "I love Trump as much as any family member I got." READ: CNN Ousted 'Believer' Host Reza Aslan For Calling Trump 'A Piece Of S--T' In A Tweet The CNN piece outlined the dangers that the rising tide poses to the island, saying that the coastline of Tangier Island, with an estimated population of 450, is losing roughly 15 feet every year. The island is now only 1.3 square miles and shrinking more every day. This is not the first time that Trump has reacted to reports from the mainstream media, which the president frequently dubs "fake news" on Twitter. Some of his more controversial tweets coming out directly after reports are made by Fox News. For example, in January, CNN's Brian Stelter noted that Trump's tweet about Chelsea Manning being "an ungrateful traitor" came just 14 minutes after "Fox and Friends" ran a segment with the same characterization for Manning. 14 minutes apart: Fox says "ungrateful traitor," Trump says "ungrateful traitor," Fox says "weak leader," Trump says "weak leader." pic.twitter.com/f7urTOUG1L Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 26, 2017 Using CNN as a source is surprising for Trump given the hostile nature of the president's relationship to the network, with him branding them as the "Clinton News Network" during the election season and more recently calling it "Fake News." GettyImages-633017898 Photo: (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Related Articles Wednesday, June 14, 2017 Manus Island regional processing facility, photo via Global Panorama Australia has "strongly denied" allegations that would-be asylum seekers held oversees at Manus Island suffered harm during their detention on Papua New Guinea. Nevertheless, as the BBC reports today, the country has settled a lawsuit brought by detainees for a whopping $70m. Note - this is the same facility that the PNG Supreme Court declared unconstitutional last year. Australia's overseas detention of asylum seekers at another overseas facility - Nauru - has also be subject to abuse allegations. (here, here). The Obama administration had reached an agreement with Australia to take some of the detainees held at both locations. It was dubbed by President Trump "the worst deal ever," and reportedly caused great tension during his first official phone call with the PM of Australia. But, two months later, Pence confirmed that Trump "intends to honor the agreement" and will resettle some of those who sought asylum in Australia in the United States. For now, Australia is standing by both its policy of detaining asylum seekers abroad (a "powerful deterrent" to asylum seekers) and its settlement of the suit (a "prudent" measure in the face of an "unknown outcome" at trial). It's also standing by its position that those detained Manus or Nauru "are not coming to Australia" for resettlement. -KitJ https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2017/06/australia-settles-with-manus-island-detainees-will-pay-70m-.html On Thursday, President Trump denounced via Twitter a Washington Post report about an investigation into his possible obstruction of justice. After Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who was leading the investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, the Justice Department appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel for the investigation. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich lashed out against Mueller for the new investigation into Trumps possible obstruction of justice. Donald Trump told his staff, visitors and advisers he was convinced Robert Mueller was a part of witch hunt against him and contemplated on firing the special counsel, the New York Times reported Tuesday. However, the president refrained from doing so after his senior aides advised against it, the report added. Trump was also bothered by reports from conservative news outlets that said Mueller was close to ex-FBI Director James Comey, sources told the Times. The president thought because of Muellers closeness to Comey who was fired by Trump on May 9 the special counsel would be partial in his supervision of the investigation into Trump campaigns ties to Russia. Mueller served as FBI director prior to Comey was appointed to that position in September 2013. Read: What Robert Mueller Will Actually Investigate However, Trumps staff talked him out of firing Mueller a decision they believed would have been bad for his administration, the sources told the Times. However, people close to the president said he may not change his mind if he comes to know the Russia investigation was compromised. CEO of Newsmax Media, Chris Ruddy, a longtime friend of Trump first told PBS Monday that Trump was thinking of dismissing Mueller. I think hes considering perhaps terminating the special counsel, Chris Ruddy told PBS NewsHour on Monday. I think hes weighing that option. Ruddy maintained he thinks in case the president makes such a decision, it would be unwise of him especially after Comeys firing got him lot of criticism. I personally think it would be a very significant mistake, Ruddy said. Ruddy also said the president would be within his right to dismiss the special counsel because of the twos history. The special counsels law firm WilmerHale represented Trump's former campaign manager and some Trump family members. He also interviewed Mueller for the role of FBI director before he was appointed special counsel. Story continues Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House of Representatives tweeted Monday that he would not believe Mueller would handle the Russian investigation in an impartial way. Read: Lawmakers React To Robert Mueller's Appointment To Oversee Russia Probe Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.check fec reports. Time to rethink, Gingrich tweeted. However, Adam Schiff, a Democrat member of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff, said the House would not tolerate Trump firing Mueller. "If President fired Bob Mueller, Congress would immediately re-establish independent counsel and appoint Bob Mueller. Don't waste our time," Schiff tweeted Monday. However, on Tuesday night White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump is not considering to fire Mueller While the president has the right to, he has no intention to do so, Sanders said. Related Articles President Trump on Thursday dismissed a bombshell Washington Post report that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating him for obstruction of justice. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story, the president tweeted. Nice. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history led by some very bad and conflicted people! Trump added in an apparent jab at Mueller. #MAGA. You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 The tweets appeared to be a reaction to a Fox & Friends segment on the Posts report. In recent days, Trump allies, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have argued that Mueller is too close to former FBI Director James Comey to investigate Trumps firing of him. (A White House official said Tuesday that Trump interviewed Mueller as a potential replacement for Comey the day before he was tapped as special counsel.) On Wednesday night, the newspaper reported that Mueller, who is overseeing the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice. According to the paper, National Intelligence Director Daniel Coats, National Security Director Mike Rogers and ex-Deputy National Security Director Richard Ledgett have agreed to be interviewed by Muellers investigators. Story continues Trump speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden last week. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The story cited as sources five people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The White House has been referring all questions about the Russia investigation to Trumps personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, who responded to the report by condemning the FBI leak. The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal, a spokesman for Kasowitz told the Post. The newspaper did not report receiving information from the FBI. Related: Coats sidesteps questions on Trump, Russians The obstruction probe was launched by Mueller shortly after Trump fired Comey, the Post reported. Last week, Comey testified before the Senate intelligence committee that he believed the president fired him because of the Russia investigation. Earlier this week, a pair of Trumps closest confidants Gingrich and Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said they believed the president was considering firing Mueller. I think hes considering perhaps terminating the special counsel, Ruddy, a longtime friend of the president, told PBS Judy Woodruff. I think hes weighing that option. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller. (Photo: Susan Walsh/AP) The speculation sparked a mini-firestorm in Washington, with some Republicans warning the president not to dismiss Mueller. It would be a disaster, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Monday night. Theres no reason to fire Mueller. Whats he done to be fired? Related slideshow:James Comey testifies at Senate hearing Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said that if Trump booted Mueller, it would certainly be an extraordinarily unwise move. Gingrich, who initially called Muellers hiring a superb choice, tweeted Thursday that the special counsel is now clearly the [tip] of the deep state spear aimed at destroying or at a minimum undermining and crippling the Trump presidency. Muelleris now clearly the ti[p of the deep state spear aimed at destroying or at a minimum undermining and crippling the Trump presidency. Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) June 15, 2017 White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters late Tuesday that while the president has the right to fire Mueller, he has no intention to do so. But the New York Times reported Wednesday that Trump has been privately entertaining the idea of firing Mr. Mueller even as his staff tried to discourage him from something they believed would turn a bad situation into a catastrophe. For now, the staff has prevailed, the Times said. But people close to Mr. Trump say he is so volatile they cannot be sure that he will not change his mind about Mr. Mueller. Late Thursday afternoon, Trump took to Twitter again to rip the Post report which was corroborated by NBC News earlier in the day. Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are? the president tweeted. Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, bleached emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared & they talk about obstruction? Read more from Yahoo News: Ankara (AFP) - Thousands of supporters from Turkey's main opposition party took to the streets of Ankara on Thursday to protest the jailing of one of its MPs, vowing to march to his jail in Istanbul. Former journalist turned Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Enis Berberoglu was sentenced to 25 years' jail on Wednesday for handing secret information to a newspaper. A dozen lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) -- the third largest party in parliament -- have been arrested under the state of emergency that followed last year's failed coup. But this is the first time a deputy from the CHP -- the main secular opposition founded by Turkey's first president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk -- has been held. The CHP is the second largest party in parliament after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who has been accused by critics in the past of not taking a sufficiently tough line against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, joined the protest brandishing a sign saying "justice". He vowed that he and his supporters would march all the way to Maltepe, on the outskirts of Istanbul, where Berberoglu is being held in jail. "If there is a price to pay then I will be the first to pay it," said Kilicdaroglu. "I am going to walk and I am going to walk all the way to Istanbul. And we will continue this march until there is justice in Turkey." Istanbul is by road some 450 kilometres (280 miles) west of the capital. Protesters chanted "shoulder to shoulder against fascism" while others held placards urging "justice for arrested MPs". Hundreds also held a protest at Istanbul's Macka Park on the European side of the city, chanting "we will win through resistance". Kilicdaroglu and the CHP expressed solidarity with Erdogan in the wake of the July 15, 2016 failed coup against his rule, even meeting the president at his palace. But tensions have risen since the April 16, 2017 referendum on expanding Erdogan's powers which the president narrowly won but the opposition says was marred by violations. Sinan Narin of Virginia and Eyup Yildirim of New Jersey have been arrested in connection with a May 17 attack against peaceful protesters outside of the Turkish Embassy in Washington. D.C. Metro police told Foreign Policy that Narin is charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner. Yildirim is accused of felony assault with significant bodily injury, felony aggravated assault, and misdemeanor assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner. According to the Washington Hatti, a Turkish news site based in D.C., Yildirim is the owner of a construction company in New Jersey. The publication also identified him as one of the more visible figures seen in recorded footage of the scuffle. At least 11 people were hurt in the ruckus, which involved Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans bodyguards charging toward protesters and then kicking, stomping, and punching those gathered. Erdogan, who was returning from a meeting with President Donald Trump, watched the attack from the back of his vehicle outside the Turkish Embassy. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill condemning the Turkish government over the brawl. The U.S. ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs over what it called aggressive and unprofessional actions by U.S. law enforcement personnel against Turkish bodyguards in Washington. The Turkish Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Photo credit: Getty Images Air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition on Raqqa in northern Syria have killed at least 300 since March, United Nations investigators said. As the operation is gaining pace very rapidly, civilians are caught up in the city under the oppressive rule of ISIL, while facing extreme danger associated with movement due to excessive air strikes, said Paulo Pinheiro, who leads the U.N. Commission of Inquiry, according to Reuters. Pinheiro called the loss of civilian life staggering. Civilians havent just been killed some 160,000 civilians have also had to leave their homes due to air strikes. Separately but relatedly, it appears that U.S. forces are using white phosphorous in areas in Iraq and Syria including Raqqa, a stronghold of Islamist extremists, but one still populated with civilians. White phosphorous is not technically banned as a chemical weapon, but can cause burns and start fires. No matter how white phosphorus is used, it poses a high risk of horrific and long-lasting harm in crowded cities like Raqqa and Mosul and any other areas with concentrations of civilians, Human Rights Watch arms director Steve Goose said. U.S.-led forces should take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian harm when using white phosphorus in Iraq and Syria. The apparent uptick in civilian casualties in U.S. counterterror operations in Iraq and Syria this year is fruit of a more aggressive approach to tackling the Islamic State and rooting it out of its last urban strongholds. In May, the Pentagon admitted a strike in March in Mosul killed 105 civilians. Other outside forces engaging in Syria have also wrought hell on civilians. Russian airstrikes and support for Syrian regime forces, especially in the retaking of Aleppo, came with an appalling loss of life, including one attack on a U.N. aid convoy. In Geneva at a forum, U.S. diplomat Jason Mack referenced neither Raqqa nor airstrikes, and said Syria is the primary perpetrator of human rights violations in the country. Story continues Meanwhile, Syrias diplomat at the U.N. at the Geneva forum, Hussam Edin Aaala, criticized acts committed by the unlawful U.S.-led coalition which targets infrastructure, killing hundreds of civilians, including the deaths of 30 civilians in Deir al-Zor. The U.N. didnt only have criticism for the U.S. coalitions impact on civilians. Washington has also knocked heads together to get Kurdish fighters and Arab forces to work together to storm Raqqa; the Pentagon views the Kurds as the best fighters they have on the ground, even though Turkey is loath to let Kurdish forces take any more territory, even temporarily. Pinheiro noted that the coalitions support for Kurdish and Arab allied forces could well free civilians trapped behind Islamic State lines in Raqqa, including religious minority women and girls whom the group has kept sexually enslaved for almost three years as part of an ongoing and unaddressed genocide. Photo credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images Washington (AFP) - An Iranian navy vessel conducted an "unsafe and unprofessional" interaction with US ships by pointing a laser at an accompanying Marine Corps helicopter, the US Navy said Wednesday. The incident occurred June 13 as amphibious assault ship the USS Bataan, the USS Cole destroyer and another American ship were sailing in formation in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz. "The Iranian vessel paralleled the US formation, shining a spotlight on Cole," Commander Bill Urban, a spokesman for the navy's Fifth Fleet, said in a statement. "Shortly thereafter, the Iranian vessel trained a laser on a CH-53E helicopter that accompanied the formation." The Iranian vessel then shined a spotlight on the Bataan, scanning the ship from bow to stern before heading away. "During the interaction, the Iranian vessel came within 800 yards (meters) of Bataan," Urban said. Naval Forces Central Command said the interaction was unsafe and unprofessional because of the laser. "Illuminating helicopters with lasers at night is dangerous as it creates a navigational hazard that can impair vision and can be disorienting to pilots using night vision goggles," Urban said. The Pentagon periodically voices concern over incidents in waters off Iran, accusing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and naval ships of conducting risky maneuvers around US vessels. Iran has counter claimed that US ships act provocatively. Intellectually evolved ape Caesar (Andy Serkis) leads his tribe of simian rebels into battle against mankind in War for the Planet of the Apes, the third and presumably final chapter in Foxs successful prequel-reboot trilogy. This time around, however, Caesar wont just be facing off against a new band of hostile humans (led by Woody Harrelsons Marlon Brando-esque Colonel); hell also be encountering new apes, including one whose first meeting with the wartime leader can be seen in the new extended preview clip above. Here, Caesar and his mates (including Amiah Millers human girl Nova) makes initial contact with Steve Zahns Bad Ape, a name hes adopted because its what he was constantly called by the people who ran the zoo where he once resided. As Zahns loner explains, his zookeeper masters got sick and, in response to their illness and apes mounting cognitive skills, began exterminating their animal charges; Bad Ape managed to escape and survive on his own. And while Caesar seems wary of this stranger, he discovers that Bad Ape may have information vital to his cause even if the recluse has no desire to get involved in their fight. Directed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Matt Reeves, War for the Planet of the Apes arrives in theaters on July 14. War For The Planet Of The Apes: Watch the Meeting Nova Trailer: Read more from Yahoo Movies: Photo credit: EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images From Town & Country President Trump has been sued at least 135 times since taking office. The most recent lawsuit was filed by Twitter users blocked by the president. Many of the lawsuits pertain to his presidency, with cases regarding the Emoluments Clause, the travel bans, and his executive order threatening sanctuary cities. Others, including the litigation over Trump University and a libel suit brought by a former contestant on The Apprentice, stem from Trump's behavior as a private citizen before taking office. Don't let anyone tell you the Trump administration isn't setting records. The president has been sued more than 100 times in federal court since his inauguration. This week, a group of Twitter users filed a lawsuit against the president after he blocked them on the social media platform. The legal complaint is just the most recent in a dizzying array of lawsuits that have been brought against the president since he took office on January 20, 2017. While it's not uncommon for a president to accumulate some lawsuits over the course of his administration, what is happening now is unlike anything we've seen in recent history. According to the Boston Globe, by May 5, President Trump had been sued a remarkable 134 times in federal court since his inauguration. To put things in perspective, Obama had acquired 26 suits against him at that point in his presidency per the Globe; George W. Bush, seven. "Trump is facing a different situation," conservative lawyer Jonathan Turley told the newspaper. "Its death by a thousand paper cuts. Every group, every aggrieved person, is filing lawsuits." If every aggrieved person is indeed filing suit, then the president can expect a good deal more. For now, 69 of those aforementioned 134 suits have already been thrown out, but that still leaves 65 pieces of litigation against the president. Here, a field guide to all the different ways Trump is being taken to court: Story continues Twitter Throughout his presidency Donald Trump has used his Twitter account as a way to "bypass" traditional media a speak directly to his constituents. Now, several Twitter users who were blocked by the president's @realDonaldTrump handle are suing. Represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the plaintiffs argue that Trump is infringing on their First Amendment rights by cutting them off from a public forum (his Twitter feed) due to their expressing opinions he does not like. According to the New York Times, these plaintiffs claim that "his account amounts to a public forum that he, as a government official, cannot bar people from." "The @realDonaldTrump account is a kind of digital town hall in which the president and his aides use the tweet function to communicate news and information to the public, and members of the public use the reply function to respond to the president and his aides and exchange views with one another," reads the lawsuit said, which was filed in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Twitter users are also suing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Dan Scavino, who serves as Trump's director of social media. The Emoluments Clause Photo credit: Getty Within the Constitution, there is a relatively obscure mandate known as the foreign Emoluments Clause. The provision, which lies in Article I, reads: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. This is widely interpreted to mean that one cannot profit from the presidency. Prior to Trump's election, the Emoluments Clause rarely made waves; but given the president's stake in international businesses, and his reluctance to completely divest himself of his assets, the clause has not only become a buzz-worthy topic on cable news, but also the foundation for multiple lawsuits. In June, the Washington Post reported that 196 Democratic members of Congress plan to file a lawsuit against President Trump alleging that by "retaining interests in a global business empire he has violated constitutional restrictions on taking gifts and benefits from foreign leaders." Right now, all of the plaintiffs in the legal action are Democrats, lead by Richard Blumenthal in Senate and John Conyers Jr. in the House, but Republicans will reportedly be invited to join the complaint, should they so choose. Even if no Republicans join the lawsuit, it will still set a record for the most congressional plaintiffs in a legal action taken against a president. Remarkably, it's not the only unprecedented lawsuit against the president this week. According to the New York Times, the state of Maryland and Washington D.C. filed a lawsuit Monday, "alleging that [Trump's] failure to shed his private businesses has undermined public trust and violated constitutional bans against self-dealing," and arguing that "businesses owned by Mr. Trump divert customers away from businesses the District of Columbia and Maryland either own, license or tax, harming those governments financially." This is the first time in history that a state has sued the president over the Emoluments Clause. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) initially filed a lawsuit against Trump regarding the Emoluments Clause on January 23. In particular, they questioning Trump Organization hotels, and whether foreign officials are opting to stay at Trump properties in order to curry political favor. Following their initial filing, CREW has sought out additional plaintiffs, including high-end hotelier Eric Goode, the union Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, and event-booker Jill Phaneuf. According to the New York Times, Trump Organization lawyer Sheri Dillon, "has disputed that the Emoluments Clause applies to hotel rooms being rented by representatives of foreign governments, arguing that payments based on market rates for services do not represent an emolument." Dillon also said that the hotels would donate any profits that resulted from foreign leaders staying in the hotels to the Treasury. However, Laurence H. Tribe, a Harvard Law School professor of constitutional law and one of CREW's lawyers, said that Goode's involvement in the case has ensured that it will be taken seriously. "It makes it inconceivable that this lawsuit would be tossed out," he told the Times. "As a hotel and restaurant owner, Mr. Goode will be harmed due to a loss of revenue by defendants ongoing financial interest in businesses which receive payments from foreign states, the United States, or state or local government." Washington's Cork Wine Bar has also filed a similar lawsuit against Trump. They claim to be losing business to Trump's D.C. hotel, and while they are not seeking damages, they would like for him to divest from the Trump Organization wholly (or to close the hotel). Trump University In late March of 2017, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel approved a $25 million deal under which President Trump settled multiple lengthy lawsuits. While Trump did not admit to wrongdoing, he did agree to pay roughly 3,730 students of the now-defunct Trump University who believe they were defrauded by the for-profit real estate seminar program and its misleading claims. While Trump had previously vowed never to settle, after the election, he reportedly determined he didn't not have time for a trial. The court finds that the amount offered in settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable, and accordingly concludes that this factor weighs in favor of final approval, wrote Judge Curiel. It is possible that the cases could be appealed. Sanctuary Cities On January 31, San Francisco became the first city to file a lawsuit against the president. Their case took issue with his executive order targeting sanctuary cities (municipalities which have vowed to limit their cooperation with federal immigration policies) and his threat to withhold federal funding from them. In April of 2017, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III blocked the administration from enforcing the executive order. He wrote, "Federal funding that bears no meaningful relationship to immigration enforcement cannot be threatened merely because a jurisdiction chooses an immigration-enforcement strategy of which the president disapproves." The Muslim Ban Photo credit: Getty Following each of Trump's executive orders on immigration - better known as travel bans - the president has faced a deluge of litigation from individuals, civil rights organizations such as the ACLU, and individual states. Both bans have been halted, at least for now. On Monday, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco upheld the injunction against the second iteration of the ban. The injunction was initially put in place by the federal district court that heard the State of Hawaii; Ismail Elshikh vs. Donald J. Trump, in his official capacity as President of the United States. Other appellants included John F. Kelly, in his official capacity as Secretary of Homeland Security and Rex W. Tillerson, in his official capacity as Secretary of State. "We conclude that the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress," reads the courts unanimous decision. Earlier this year, a court in the Fourth Circuit also upheld an injunction against the travel ban. According to the New York Times, the administration is seeking to appeal that case to the Supreme Court. Back in February, the Ninth Circuit blocked Trump's original travel ban, which was much broader in scope. Libel Just days before Trump's inauguration, former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos sued the then President-elect for defamation. Zervos said that Trump kissed and groped her, claims which Trump publicly denied. He said the allegations were "100% fabricated and made-up charges," "totally false," and "totally made up nonsense," which prompted Zervos's lawyers to ask for an apology. When she didn't get it, she sued. Litigation is still pending. You Might Also Like Samsungs Galaxy S8 was released back in April of this year, but its arguably still the best Android smartphone on the planet. Power and performance are still top-notch despite the fact that a few newer flagship phones have debuted since the S8 was released. And the design Samsung whipped up for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ is hands down the sleekest and most stunning smartphone design the world has ever seen at this point. In fact, if rumors pan out and Apple indeed releases an iPhone 8 with that hideous cutout at the top of the display, the Galaxy S8 could very well be the best-designed phone of 2017 when all is said and done. Of course, visual design is one thing but technical design is another. While the S8 indeed features the best looks weve seen so far, the glass front and back also make it one of the most fragile flagship phones ever. In fact, no smartphone has ever performed worse in SquareTrades drop tests. A new leak reaffirms that theres a new version of Samsungs Galaxy S8 thats about to launch, and it addresses the current models biggest problem. Don't Miss: Behold the Google Pixel 2 of your dreams As recently as a few years ago, Samsung had a bizarre strategy for its flagship phones that involved releasing as many as a dozen different versions of the same smartphone. Thankfully that craziness has been reined in, but theres one alternate version of the companys flagship phones that has survived. Thats right, were talking about the Galaxy S7 Active, a ruggedized version of last years flagship Galaxy S phone. And in 2017, the S7 Active will get a successor. Rumors surrounding Samsungs Galaxy S8 Active have been floating around for a while now, but it looks like the phone is almost ready for primetime. An image of the new Galaxy S8 Active leaked late last month for the first time, and now performance test results have been spotted online. Via Slashleaks, we find Geekbench 4 benchmarks on the Primate Labs website. Beyond the fact that they reveal impressive performance that even outshines some test results weve seen for the original Galaxy S8, the appearance of these benchmarks could mean that the phone is being tested by people outside of Samsung ahead of its release. Story continues Its still unclear when the Galaxy S8 Active will be released, but it should be very soon. Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com Thursday, June 15, 2017 Burundian refugee family outside their home in Boise, Idaho. (Photo: Giuseppe Saitta/IRC) Spotlight from the Migration Information Source: Refugees and Asylees in the United States The United States has historically led the world on refugee resettlement, and today remains the top country, having resettled approximately 85,000 refugees in fiscal 2016. It also granted asylum status to more than 26,000 individuals in FY 2015. This article examines characteristics of U.S. refugee and asylee populations, including top countries of origin, states of resettlement, age and gender, and more. Fewer than 1 percent of formally recognized refugees worldwide are resettled annually, with about 125,600 individuals departing to resettlement countries in 2016. The United States has historically led the world in terms of refugee resettlement, and today remains the top resettlement country. In fiscal year (FY) 2016, the United States resettled 84,994 refugees. Beyond accepting refugees for resettlement from countries of first asylum, the United States also grants humanitarian protection to asylum seekers who present themselves at U.S. ports of entry or claim asylum from within the country; in FY 2015 (the most recent data available), the United States granted asylum to 26,124 individuals. Global mass displacement reached a record high of 65.3 million people by the end of 2015, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Approximately 21.3 million of these individuals were refugees, 40.8 million were internally displaced persons (IDPs), and 3.2 million were asylum seekers. The ongoing civil war in Syria alone has led 4.9 million Syrians to seek refuge in neighboring countries, most notably Turkey and Lebanon, and caused 6.6 million to be internally displaced. KJ https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2017/06/refugees-and-asylees-in-the-united-states.html Samsung may soon release a new Galaxy Note handset, a device thats supposed to make everyone forget about last years Galaxy Note 7 debacle. Reports say the Galaxy Note 8 will be launched as soon as late August, and that itll basically be a bigger Galaxy S8 version thatll offer a few extra tricks, including a stylus and a dual lens camera on the back. The same reports say that Samsungs upcoming flagship wont have the one feature thatll probably turn out to be the iPhone 8s signature trick this year, a fingerprint sensor packed into the display. Don't Miss: OnePlus 5 shown from every angle in new series of leaks Considering what Samsung did with the Galaxy S8 this year, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the Galaxy Note 8. And thanks to the folks over at TechnoBuffalo, we now have renders of what that predictable Galaxy Note 8 may look like. These renders are based on rumors, the site notes, and theyre created by Benjamin Geskin. We actually have two sets of images, one that shows a Galaxy Note 8 featuring a dual-lens camera and a fingerprint sensor on the back: The more exciting version that has the fingerprint sensor built into the display, even if it the design seems unlikely right now: The colors used in these images are the same colors Samsung employed in past devices, but that doesnt mean these will be the Galaxy Note 8 colors at launch. The most recent rumors say Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 8 before the IFA show that takes place in early September in Germany. Samsung, meanwhile, has not announced any details about a future Unpacked event. 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Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe The second International Conference on the Emergence of Africa (ICEA) was held in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, in March 2017. Since the first conference in 2015 - at a time of robust economic growth on the continent - hopes for economic progress have dimmed because of a crash in the price of commodities, volatile global financial markets and a slowdown in global growth. MATTHIAS ZIEGLER VIA 123RF Before departing New York to attend the second ICEA conference, jointly organised by the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), assistant secretary-general of the UN and head of UNDPs Regional Bureau for Africa, Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, sat down for an interview with Africa Renewals Kingsley Ighobor to talk about Africas economic development opportunities and challenges. Why have you organised the International Conference on the Emergence of Africa? Dieye: In 2015, when the first conference took place in Abidjan, Africas GDP was growing at around 5% since 2000. The Economist in 2000 had called Africa the hopeless continent. Ten years later it apologetically referred to Africa as the rising continent. Then the [economic indicators] were changing in terms of growth rate, poverty reduction and human development. I had a discussion with President Alassane Ouattara of Cote dIvoire, and we agreed to capitalise on the emerging new spirit and organise a conference to study the reality of the narrative. How do we consolidate and sustain that emerging trajectory? That was the rationale behind the conference. Given current economic headwinds, triggered mainly by the crash in commodity prices, can you still say Africa is emerging? Dieye: Yes. The analysis shows that one-third of the 5% growth was triggered by the emerging middle class and one-third by better economic and political governance. Only one-third is explained by the rise in commodity prices. The average growth rate from 2000 to 2015 was 5% in real GDP terms. Now it is between 2% and 3%. Dont be fooled by the tyranny of the average. Some countries are still growing at more than 5%, for example Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Cote dIvoire and Uganda. Some have been badly affected by the commodity prices, especially those producing oil, for example Nigeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Angola. Those are the ones whose growth rates have decelerated substantially, particularly Equatorial Guinea. Countries in conflict such as South Sudan and the Central African Republic also contributed to the continental economic growth downturn. But some countries are continuing on the path of emergence. Cote dIvoire is almost growing at double digits. Rwanda and Senegal are growing at more than 6%. Therefore, the narrative is still right, but you have different situations in the growth path. How do you achieve the equilibrium when countries with varying growth rates sit to discuss common economic issues? Dieye: They have some commonalities. Even countries like Ethiopia, Cote dIvoire and Senegal that have high growth rates still see areas for more investment to sustain growth. Such as? Dieye: Such as structural economic transformations. For instance, the cocoa value chain has an average of 15% retained in the continent, while 85% is outside the continent. You cant sustain development on that path. So how do you improve transformation of raw materials in the country before export? And you cannot do structural transformation without an increase in productivity. The centre of global economic gravity is tilting slowly but surely towards Africa. Many conferences take place on the continent. Critics call them talk shops. How is this one different? Dieye: In Abidjan [in 2015] we wanted to test the model that we offered: a developmental state that helps change the pattern of production and consumption but also impacts human development. We have done some calculations on elasticity. The Abidjan One - I call it the Abidjan One model - seeks to enforce a developmental state through a wider fiscal space to drive development and to rely on internal resources, instead of ODA [official development assistance]. You cannot sustain a development path if you dont consume what you produce locally, if you do not expand the value you retain internally, and if growth is not impacting human development. You need regional cooperation because our economies are extremely narrow in size. In the longer term you need to have inclusive dialogue. In Africa, whenever you have a change in leadership, theres a change in plan. These are the main messages sought to pass across to top-level policymakers in Africa, in addition to bringing experts from all over the world to share experiences on how to consolidate and sustain emergence. Do you believe in what some experts refer to as sophisticated protectionism, which is basically formulating policies that protect local industries? Dieye: I dont think so. Protectionism is in the past. I believe in economic patriotism, which is completely different. How do you ensure economic patriotism, which I presume is patronising locally produced goods and services, if the local population prefers imported items? Dieye: The government should start economic patriotism. I am mystified that some ministries in Africa import furniture from Germany, France or the UK. We have to use our local enterprises. Where has economic patriotism worked? Dieye: Nigeria and Kenya have local content policies, both in the procurement of goods and in giving preference to local entrepreneurship. How can there be enhanced levels of regional cooperation when intra-Africa trade is only about 11%? Dieye: Some regions are doing better, like ECOWAS [the Economic Community of West African States]. SADC [the Southern African Development Community] is getting better lately. There are barriers you have to deal with, including in infrastructure. The market is booming between Ghana and Togo in West Africa, although the facilitation is not there. The people are yearning for integration but the states and governments are lagging behind. Where we have a better climate of peace and security, the people trade and cooperate with one another more than in situations where you have insecurity, like in the central African region. Does Africa have enough domestic resources to mobilise for development? If so, which ones? Dieye: Absolutely! Most of Africas developing economies were funded in the past by ODA. Today even the remittances are trumping ODA. ODA in Africa is below $60 billion per year and remittances are up from $62 billion to $65 billion. We have a study by former South African President Thabo Mbekis group [the African Unions High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa] that shows that the continent is losing yearly between $50 billion and $60 billion due to illicit financial flows. That is 3% of GDP lost. Now, if we enhance good governance, stronger control of corruption, we will retain that amount. What is the impact of climate change on African economies? Dieye: There is a huge impact. Africa is the least polluting region, but we are bearing the pollution burden. Africa deserves more resources for adaptation. Im glad that African countries have identified their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). UNDP is supporting countries to implement INDCs and plans for adaptation that came out after the Paris Agreement. Most African countries are also candidates for the green climate fund. How do you convince a government dealing with acute poverty to spend money on climate change? Dieye: Climate change is a global public good. It means everyone has to foot the bill. And the greatest polluters have to spend more, including the US, China and others. A lack of financial inclusion disproportionately affects African women, experts say. Whats the solution? Dieye: Our latest Africa Human Development Report shows that by not including women in the development process, Africa lost an annual average of $95 billion, peaking at $104 billion in 2014. Thats 6% of GDP. The paradox is that our banks have money. We are not using it. UNDP and the AfDB are advocating for countries to invest in women to cure this syndrome of exclusion, which is also bad economics. Investments in women easily double GDP growth rates and improve the wellbeing of the society at large. There is a sociocultural subtext, including barriers associated with patriarchy. How do you break such barriers? Dieye: Economic policy can only work when you get the political economy right. And youre correct to say that in Africa we have some cultural norms that are barriers to womens development. In some countries, women cannot access or possess land to use as collateral for loans. So we need to work with community leaders, civil society and others to break these cultural barriers. Is there a country where womens empowerment has led to economic development? Dieye: Seychelles, Rwanda and Senegal are some examples. In these countries you see improving economic development. How is UNDP supporting Africas development? Dieye: Africa is the heart of opportunity and home to about 60% of our investments [UNDP invests about $5 billion a year in Africa] and my greatest pride is that when we were preparing for Agenda 2030, [the UNs development framework], UNDP supported the African Union Commission in formulating the African Common Position. Africas Agenda 2063 [the AUs regional development blueprint] is 90% in congruence with the Agenda 2030. I would recognise a modest credit to UNDP for supporting the African Common Position. Whats your vision for the African economy? Dieye: The centre of global economic gravity is tilting slowly but surely towards Africa. Countries like China, India and Turkey and others sense that Africa is the future of the world, where you can get the highest returns on investment. I bet that if we manage to deal with insecurity in the Sahel, in the Great Lakes, in the Horn of Africa, Africa will be the new El Dorado. Source: Africa Renewal. The Chinese insurer that owns New York Citys Waldorf Astoria Hotel said yesterday its chairman has turned over his duties to other executives following a report he was detained by regulators amid accusations of possible financial misconduct. Anbang Insurance Group Ltd. Chairman Wu Xiaohui was temporarily unable to perform his duties due to personal reasons, said a one-sentence statement on the company website. It said Wu had authorized other executives to do his work and gave no other details. Earlier this week, the magazine Caijing reported that Wu, who founded Anbang in 2004 and built it into one of Chinas biggest insurers, was detained last week by insurance regulators. Citing unidentified sources, it said authorities told the company about the detention but gave no reason. Spokespeople for Anbang did not respond to phone calls or emails. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission did not respond to questions sent by fax. Anbang has been under scrutiny since a multibillion-dollar global string of asset purchases, including buying the Waldorf for USD2 billion, raised questions about how it was paying for its buying spree. The privately held company said the money was raised from shareholders. It denied a report by another magazine, Caixin, in April that Anbang improperly used payments from policyholders to increase its capital base. More recently, the company has suffered setbacks including failing to complete several foreign takeovers. That included the proposed purchase of U.S.-based Fidelity & Guaranty Life for $1.6 billion. In May, Anbang was ordered to stop selling two financial products that regulators said violated industry rules. Other Chinese insurers also have been investigated following complaints of reckless speculation in stocks and real estate. The chairman of the Chinese insurance regulator is under investigation by the national anti-corruption agency. Regulators say reducing financial risks in the Chinese economy is a priority this year. Rising Chinese debt levels have prompted concern about the stability of the countrys financial system. Anbang has a reputation for unusually aggressive expansion in a Chinese insurance industry dominated by state-owned companies. Earlier, the company discussed possibly investing in a Manhattan skyscraper owned by the family of Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trumps son- in-law and adviser. Those talks ended in March without a deal. Wu rarely talks to reporters or appears in public, but Caijing said he attended a series of public events in recent weeks. That included a May 12 meeting called by the insurance regulator to study a speech by President Xi Jinping about financial regulation. Anbang said it raised 50 billion yuan ($8 billion) from investors in 2014. That increased its registered capital fivefold to 62 billion yuan ($9.5 billion), the biggest among Chinese insurers. AP The Australian government has reached a settlement of around 90 million Australian dollars (USD68 million) with more than 1,900 asylum seekers who sued over their treatment at an immigration camp in Papua New Guinea, a minister and lawyers said yesterday. Australia refuses to resettle asylum seekers who arrive by boat and pays the impoverished Pacific island nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru to keep hundreds of them from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. A trial by 1,905 asylum seekers currently or formerly kept at camp at Manus Island in Papua New Guinea began yesterday in the Victoria state Supreme Court and is scheduled to take six months. The asylum seekers were seeking damages for alleged physical and psychological injuries they say they suffered as a result of the conditions on Manus Island, as well as for false imprisonment following a Papua New Guinea court ruling that their detention was unconstitutional. The camps on Manus and Nauru were once detention centers, but asylum seekers are now allowed outside the fences. Their lawyer David Curtain told the court they reached a settlement with the Australian government and the operators of the male-only Manus Island camp, G4S Australia and Broadspectrum. The government and operators deny liability as part of the settlement and agreed to pay AUD70 million plus the cost of three years of legal work behind the case, asylum seeker lawyer Rory Walsh said. Walsh said he did not know how much the government would pay. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said he expected the asylum seekers costs would add another AUD20 million to the governments bill. An anticipated six-month legal battle for this case would have cost tens of millions of dollars in legal fees alone with an unknown outcome, Dutton said in a statement. In such circumstances, a settlement was considered a prudent outcome for Australian taxpayers. Sudanese asylum seeker Abdul Aziz Muhamat told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Port Moresby, where hes receiving medical treatment, that hes really happy with the outcome. One thing that today I found out is, there are some people really down there in Australia, they care about us, he said. Asylum seeker lawyer Andrew Baker said the money would be distributed according to how long asylum seekers had spent on Manus and what they had endured. This settlement is an important step toward recognizing the extremely hostile conditions the detainees endured at Manus Island, Baker said. He said no amount of money will be able to fully recognize the terrible conditions these detainees have had to endure. Baker said Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati was killed and another 69 asylum seekers injured during a riot in the Manus camp in 2014 involving staff, police and Manus locals. Another two asylum seekers had died from medical complications and at least one of those would have survived with appropriate and timely treatment, Baker said. The United States is considering resettling up to 1,250 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru under a deal Australia struck with the U.S. when Barack Obama was president. The Manus camp was scheduled to close by October, Baker said. AP Chinas push to woo Taiwans remaining friends seen again with Beijings move to establish ties with Panama will probably have a greater impact on President Tsai Ing-wens political standing than the islands economy. The long-anticipated defection, which Chinese and Panamanian officials celebrated with champagne this week, left Taiwan with just 20 diplomatic partners and underscored how far relations between Beijing and Taipei have deteriorated since Tsais election last year. Still, the financial impact was expected to be limited: Panama represented just 0.03 percent of the islands total trade in 2016. The switch was politically and diplomatically rather significant, but economically insignificant, said Jonathan Sullivan, director of the University of Nottinghams China Policy Institute, whos currently conducting research in Taiwan. It may bring pressure to bear on Tsais China policy. Certainly, that is Beijings short-term motivation for going after Taiwans allies. China has been ramping up pressure on Taiwan in recent months over Tsais refusal to accept that both sides belong to one country the framework that underpinned talks with her predecessor. In addition to taking away three diplomatic allies, China has curbed tourist trips to Taiwan, pushed foreign countries to deport Taiwanese criminal suspects to the mainland and blocked the island from participating in international bodies. Still, China could do much more if it really wanted to hurt the islands economy. Taiwan exported USD112 billion across the strait last year, it has more than 100 economic and cultural missions overseas, its citizens travel on Republic of China passports, it has trade agreements with other nations and its companies have operations on both the island and the mainland. Beijing hopes that the diplomatic isolation will eat away at Tsais political support and push voters back to the opposition Kuomintang, which favors better relations with China. Tsais approval rating fell to 39.4 percent in May, down from almost 70 percent a year ago, according to the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation. The moves show the Communist Partys balancing act with Taiwan, which it considers a province to be reunited with the mainland. While Chinas leaders might want to force a change in Taipei, they dont want to further alienate Taiwans 23.5 million residents, who swept Tsais pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party into power by a hefty margin. Oppression and threats are not going to help in cross-strait relations, Tsai said Tuesday. I can represent all 23 million people when I say, we will not compromise or yield under threat. Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office, rejected questions at a Beijing news briefing Wednesday about whether Panama was lured away with money, saying that there was no exchange of business interests whatsoever. Taiwan avoided Panamas defection in 2009 in what was seen as a favor by China to the islands then-president, Ma Ying-jeou. Investors shrugged at the Panama news: The local TAIEX gauge rose 0.2 percent on Tuesday. The economy is expected to expand 2 percent this year, according to a Bloomberg survey the fastest pace since 2014. The Panama incident is unlikely to produce immediate impact on Taiwans stock market or economy, said Liu Tsung-sheng, president of Yuanta Securities Investment Trust Co., the islands biggest fund with about $12 billion assets under management. In the longer term, however, Tsais administration needs to assess any chain reaction to foreign allies. The loss of Panama one of Taiwans oldest diplomatic partners carries symbolic weight and could encourage others such as the Vatican or Paraguay to switch. Chinas economic might has grown considerably since 2008, when Taiwans election of the more Beijing-friendly Ma prompted an eight-year diplomatic truce. While losing more allies would concern the Taiwanese people, it was unclear how long China could sustain the approach, said Paul Haenle, a former China director on the U.S. National Security Council who now heads the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing. Use of coercion has proven ineffective in the past in enticing Taiwan to stop moving away from it, Haenle said. In fact, it has done just the opposite the identity foundation for unification has evaporated in Taiwan in recent decades. Tsais history with the pro-independence camp makes her unlikely to move further toward Beijing even if it moves to shut down the informal channels Taiwan uses to conduct commerce with the world, said Chang Ling-chen, a professor of political science at National Taiwan University. In January, Nigeria ordered Taiwan to move its trade mission from the capital, Abuja, to Lagos, after China pledged to invest $40 billion in infrastructure in the African nation. In May, the Pacific island state of Fiji closed its representative office in Taipei. Even if Taiwans remaining allies are down to zero, and they all switch to Beijing one after another, its very unlikely for Tsai to change its cross-strait policy, Chang said. Thatd be unacceptable for her because thatd run counter to her beliefs. Ting Shi, Bloomberg The government has signed an agreement with the water supply company in order to allow the latter to increase the water bill by 5.9 percent, on average, per year. In 2017, the water fare will increase by MOP0.33 per degree to MOP5.45 per degree, and it will grow another MOP0.32 per degree next year. In 2019, the fare will increase to MOP0.31, by which time the water fare will be MOP6.08 per degree. Previously, the water supply company had suggested an average increase of 6.2 percent to the water fare. Communities preserve Ilha Verde hill Communities living in the vicinity of Ilha Verde took the initiative to ask the companies occupying the area to clean up the hills. Neighborhood associations from Ilha Verde have recently expressed their willingness to preserve the place. The neighborhood is expecting the government to strengthen communications with the hills proprietors in order to conduct studies related to the conservation, as well as to restore the monuments located on the hill. Currently, the communities are trying to put up fences around the hill to prevent it from being damaged by third parties. Teenager thought to have committed suicide A 14-year-old middle-school boy was found dead in the water near Fai Chi Kei. The Judiciary Police (PJ) believes that the boy committed suicide. The corpse was found last Friday afternoon, and the PJ have confirmed that the deceased was a Macau resident. According to the parents, their son, who was attending the first grade of middle-school, was addicted to online games, and had difficulties studying in school, in addition to suffering from health problems. The PJ is still investigating the possible causes for the suicide. 19 venues for electoral campaign A total of 19 venues will be arranged for election teams to conduct electioneering events, compared to the 17 venues used during the 2013 election. The two new venues are Sai Van Lake Square and Carmos Fair, election watchdog chairman Tong Hio Fong told reporters after yesterdays Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) meeting. Of the 19 electioneering venues available in the official run up to this years election on September 17, a total of 13 are on Macaus peninsula, five are in Taipa and one is in Coloane. Tong additionally said the Commission had approved as of yesterday six applications for the nomination committees legal status, from 21 applications submitted so far. Man arrested for abusing granddaughter A 69-year-old local man has been arrested for sexually harassing his seven-year-old granddaughter. The suspect lived with his granddaughter and a few other family members in a public housing unit in Coloane. In the past two years, the man reportedly abused his granddaughter on several occasions. Only until recently, the victim, after learning about sex education at school, realized that her grandpas behavior was abnormal, whereby she forwarded the information to her mother. The suspect escaped from police investigations until last Saturday, when he turned himself in to the police. The suspect admitted to his crimes and is charged with aggravated sexual harassment of children. CE lists guidelines on how to educate students The University of Macau (UM) held its Joint Meeting of the University Assembly (UA) and University Council (UC) for the 2016/2017 academic year in its Ho Yin Conference Hall this week. Chief Executive, Chui Sai On, who is chancellor of UM and chair of the UA, presided over the meeting. According to a statement issued by UM, during the meeting, Chui noted that, it is very important that everyone earnestly studies and understands the messages of the important speeches made by President Xi Jinping and National Peoples Congress Standing Committee Chairman Zhang Dejiang during their visits to Macau. The CE added that these messages should serve as UMs new guidelines on how to educate students. Hong Kongs transport minister expressed his view that new car- hailing services should run like existing taxi firms, which would involve changing their business models for a chance at being legalized. Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing Leung announced a report on the long-term development of public transport that featured 14 new measures which would likely hamper Ubers hope of fitting into a regulatory regime. Although the report did not specifically mention Uber, the Hong Kong government maintains a strong stance against such car-hailing services, evidenced by its police arresting 22 partner-drivers last month on suspicion of picking up passengers. The company that you mentioned [] can run its businesses like how existing taxi companies do now, Cheung said when asked about Uber, as cited in a report issued by South China Morning Post. Some companies are just not willing to be regulated under established mechanisms. They hope they can run their businesses and not come under any regulations. I believe that no country and no government would allow that. Although the minister acknowledged that the public recently has preferred to hail taxis over the internet, he noted that premium taxis can provide the exact same service. According to the media outlet, Uber said it was pleased to see that the government had recognized the need to improve point-to-point transport services. Meanwhile Uber Macau is also still hoping for service legalization. In July last year, Uber Macau hand-delivered copies of around 3,000 e-mails to the Office of the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosario, appealing to him to regulate the ride-sharing sector. However, the firm stated early this year that there were still no concrete dialogues that were established with the government. While the company awaits its permission to legally run in the territory, the MSAR has granted an eight-year license to Radio Taxi Service Company operators of the regions special taxis that can only be hailed through the phone or its mobile application. The CSI Group Limited has signed a contract with the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) for the concession of operation and management of the commercial areas at the Taipa Maritime Terminal (TMPT). The concession starts from July 1 this year and will last for three years. The DSAMA issued a statement yesterday indicating that the company has the duty to provide services to citizens and tourists as quickly as possible. The signing of this agreement yesterday includes the placing of vending machines for food/beverages/products, as well as the installation of travel agency counters, hotel reception counters, money exchange offices and bakeries. Restaurants and duty-free shops will enter into operation gradually at a later stage. In the statement, DSAMA tries to explain the delay in the process of opening the restaurants and shops in the new ferry terminal. The bureau stated that it received responsibilities over the TMPT in July last year. One month later it initiated the public tenders for the provision of services such as cleaning, security and maintenance. Many of those services have already been allocated. Regarding the shops and restaurants, DSAMA stated that, given the fact that the concession is granted in an exclusivity regime and due to one of the competitors withdrawing, the process took a longer time. This week the region suffered the influence of the Tropical Storm Merbok and several users of the Ferry Terminal, as heard by TDM, complained that due to the suspension of the ferry services they were stranded, in some cases for periods of over 10 hours, without access to any kind of support services such as restaurants and convenience stores. The CSI group background According to the commercial registry documents consulted by the Times yesterday, the CSI Group Limited have been active since May 2003. The company is owned by Cheang Chi Kam and opened with MOP25,000 capital to conduct business related activities for the real estate and import-export industries. In December 2016, the company changed its profile, adding retail to its operations. Speaking to Macao Daily News in May, Cheang said that the CSI Group is confident that the Taipa Ferry Terminal will be a large-scale, international, top-of-the-line venue. Before the contract was formalized, Cheang also said that the group intended to introduce high quality brands and services to provide quality service at the terminal. A small group from Macaus Philippine community celebrated the 119th anniversary of Philippines National Day with traditional folk dances in colorful attire this week. At the event, Philippine Consul General Lilybeth Deapera paid tribute to her presidents social and economic policies and said that her countrys new foreign policy direction was heralding closer ties between China and the Philippines. Deapera also said that the economic initiatives introduced by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, who was formally inaugurated one year ago, have the aim of improving the living conditions of overseas workers and creating the employment conditions for them to return to the Philippines in the future. Its very relevant because the new administration, which is celebrating its first year, [has the aim of] economic development for everyone so that Filipinos will have a better life, and those who are working abroad will be able to go back home and [find] employment in the Philippines, she said at the event, as cited by public broadcaster TDM. All of our programs and plans of the government are [toward] achieving this objective of economic development; eliminating poverty, eliminating drugs and making the country a peaceful place. In its ascendance to membership of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, the Philippines is hoping to attract Chinese investment for its economic development. This was a point stressed by Deapera during this weeks celebration and reinforced by Macaus Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan. President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged during his meeting with President Xi Jinping last month that the Belt and Road Initiative will effectively promote the connectivity and economic growth in Asia and will also bring job opportunities and prosperity to the Philippines, she said, according to a statement published on the Government Information Bureaus platform. It is envisioned that the Philippine Governments decision to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative will enable the country to sustain its growth momentum, added Chan. Regarding Macaus role in economic cooperation between the two countries, Chan said that the MSAR would grasp the upcoming opportunities to advance social, economic and cultural cooperation with the Philippines on a regional level. This year on June 12, the Philippines commemorated 119 years of independence from Spain. The proclamation of Philippine independence was made in 1898 at the home of revolutionary general Emilio Aguinaldo, when the flag of the First Philippine Republic made by Filipino patriots in Hong Kong was unveiled. The delegation of The 8th Experience Macau Tour, formed by representatives of travel trade partners and key members of the media from the mainland, is in Macau for a four-day familiarization trip. Their itinerary includes visiting World Heritage sites, facilities and opportunities to learn more about tourism products targeted for family travel. According to the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), the familiarization trip, themed as Experience Macao Your Own Style Parents and Kids Having Fun in Town, attracted over 200 delegates, which represent various tourism institutions and key media from the mainland. The delegation arrived in Macau on Sunday Kong Shanna, deputy editor of Chinese Satellite TV, has joined the tour for the second time. She stated that the tourism facilities and products in Macau have become more diversified, in turn alluring a wider variety of tourists to visit the city. Another participant, General Manager of China Travel Service Fujian, Zeng Xu, claimed that family travel in Macau holds a certain attractiveness for the mainland population. The company is hoping to develop more family-friendly tourism products and tour itineraries to Macau after this tour. The Urban Renewal Committee has reached a consensus over the regulation of the ratio for the number of owners required to agree in order to move forward with a building renovation by creating a gradated criteria according to the buildings age. The third specialized commission presented a proposal that was debated and we reached a consensus, at least partially That all buildings with 30 years or less to be renewed or demolished need the agreement of 100 percent of the owners. As for the buildings in between 30 and 40 [years old, they need the agreement of] 90 percent of the owners and for the ones with over 40 years old it requires 85 percent of the owners to agree [with the decision to renovate or demolish it], the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosario, said yesterday at the end of the committees meeting. Currently the law states that a buildings major renovation or demolishment requires full agreement of all building owners. This was reportedly one of the biggest obstacles for the renovation and transformation of industrial buildings into buildings designed for other purposes. Rosario also mentioned that although such a proposal still needs to go to the plenary meeting to be approved after small adjustments, the consensus was made clear during yesterdays meeting. As for the other topics in discussion with the different commissions, the Secretary told the media that they are all still being debated, but no conclusions have been reached yet. Nevertheless, Paulo Tse, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Companhia de Electricidade de Macau (CEM), who is coordinating the first special commission, told the media on the sidelines of the meeting that providing temporary housing to the residents of the housing units during the renewal or rebuilding period, was not a possibility. The resort to some housing units of the public housing building is totally out of question. There was a proposal to reclassify some of the units from public housing building as temporary housing [to serve such a purpose]. However, this idea was not well received by some of the members and also not well received by the Housing Bureau (IH) which is the [body that is] overall responsible for social housing, Tse said. He remarkied that the main reason for this non-agreement has to do with the fact that they did not want to lengthen the waiting period of the Macau residents that have been waiting for social and economic housing. Tse also added, we have to wait for the government to designate plots of land for this specific purpose, adding, in the mean time there will be other measures [that will pass through] subsidized for the residents who will be leaving their present accommodation. This is a decision that Tse mentioned has been agreed in principle by the Urban Renewal Committee and that will be submitted to the government to further considerations. Questioned on the difficulties for the committee to reach agreements, Tse said, there have been some robust discussions from all quarters because all the members are taking a very serious approach to urban renewal. Tse concluded by saying that this topic is never an easy one anywhere in the world because it affects the livelihood of people directly. PHILIPPINES The government learned days in advance of a plan by militants aligned with the Islamic State group to lay siege to a southern city and staged an army raid on a militant hideout that prevented a bigger and deadlier attack, officials said. They said the assault forced the gunmen to prematurely start their attack aimed at occupying the Islamic city of more than 200,000 people. INDONESIA Dozens of inmates escaped yesterday from an overcrowded prison in western Indonesia after floods caused a wall to collapse. The head of the provincial Law and Human Rights Ministry said at least 21 prisoners had been recaptured and about 30 others were still at large. JAPAN Crown Prince Naruhito has pledged to devote himself to the role of emperor, like his father, when he assumes the Chrysanthemum Throne. I will devote myself body and soul to every single duty, Naruhito said. AUSTRALIA The Australian government has reached a settlement of around 90 million Australian dollars (USD68 million) with more than 1,900 asylum seekers who sued over their treatment at an immigration camp in Papua New Guinea, a minister and lawyers said yesterday. QATAR said yesterday it has pulled all of its troops from the border of Djibouti and Eritrea, east African nations that have a long-running territorial dispute which Doha had helped mediate. LEBANON The Cabinet has approved a new elections law and referred it to parliament for ratification, paving the way for parliamentary elections postponed twice over the past year. TURKEY A Turkish court has convicted a prominent lawmaker from the main opposition party of revealing state secrets and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. BRITAIN A deadly overnight fire raced through a 24-story apartment tower in London yesterday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 74 others, police said. The inferno lit up the night sky and spewed black smoke from the windows of the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, where more than 200 firefighters battled the blaze. BRAZIL The former governor of Rio de Janeiro state has been sentenced to 14 years and two months in prison for corruption and money laundering. GUATEMALA A magnitude 6.9 earthquake in western Guatemala near the border with Mexico caused moderate damage to homes, triggered some landslides across highways and injured at least one person. In 2001, just four years after Albania had plunged into anarchy and a near civil war, a team of University of Cincinnati archaeologists touched down in Durres, a port city along the Adriatic Sea in the western part of the former communist enclave. Co-directed by Jack Davis, UCs Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology, the international teams goal was to pinpoint and preserve important historical sites before they became lost to the wave of rapid development and commercialism transforming Albania after its emergence from almost a half century behind the Iron Curtain. Within days, the archaeological rescue mission unearthed previously undiscovered ancient graves. A year later, the team struck archaeological gold with the discovery of artifacts in a site that would later be revealed as one of earliest Greek temples in the Adriatic Sea region. Albanian President Bujar Nishani honored Davis on June 9 with the countrys honorary title of Special Civil Merits for his work in advancing and promoting cultural and historical discoveries important to Albanian history and heritage. Nishani also praised Daviss work in training Albanian students in cultural heritage management both in Albania and at UC in the ceremony held at the presidential palace in the Albanian capital city of Tirana. TWIN FALLS About 200 industry representatives, elected officials and legislative guests flooded into Twin Falls this week to discuss their priorities for legislation. Topping the list: workforce development and wastewater discharge permits. These were a part of discussions held by the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry during its annual conference. The purpose of the conference which rotates between Coeur dAlene, Sun Valley and Twin Falls is to learn the priorities of the business community and to work directly with elected officials. Workforce is going to be a very important issue, IACI President Alex LaBeau told the Times-News after the conference ended. It will illicit the most discussion than anything weve talked about in 11 years. Concerns appear to be centered around making training programs easier to get up and going, and easier to connect to employers. Theres nobody directing traffic in a way the employers are satisfied with, LaBeau said. There is a need to modernize how programs are set up, and speed up the process, he said. Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, said one question considered at the conference was whether Idaho should consolidate or coordinate its workforce development programs. Many businesses, he said, wanted these programs to be consolidated. Clow said he thinks the educational institutions need to identify what the workplace needs are, and address those in the classroom. Another evident priority was ongoing work to put treated wastewater discharge permits into the states hands versus the federal government. The states have a lot more flexibility in terms of how they can establish their permits, LaBeau said. IACI pushed for the change to happen, and the state will begin issuing permits next year. About half of the permits will go to municipalities, he said. Clark Kauffman, R-Filer, thought tax relief didnt seem to be as high a priority among the business community at the conference, which surprised him. He said hed like to put more money into public infrastructure instead of issuing a tax break. And Kauffman would also like the state to develop a 5-year plan on tax reform. The biggest thing local legislators personally got out of the conference: an opportunity to re-establish relationships with the business community. I always enjoy meeting with different groups and hearing their perspectives about what their priorities are, Clow said. Police: Accidental shooting injures 2 men in Idaho MERIDIAN (AP) Police in southwest Idaho say theyre investigating an apparent accidental shooting on Wednesday that injured two men. Police responded at about 2:15 p.m. to a home in Meridian where one man was shot in the hand and the other in the abdomen. Police say the injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. Authorities say its not clear what led to the shooting, but preliminary information suggests it wasnt intentional. Oregon man pleads guilty to possessing child porn BOISE (AP) An Oregon man has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography in Idahos U.S. District Court. Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael Gonzalez said in a prepared statement that 27-year-old Nickolas James Parnell entered the guilty plea on Tuesday as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. Parnell lived in Boise, Idaho in May of 2016 when FBI agents searched his home and seized laptop computers and DVDs. Investigators said they found more than 5,000 photos and more than a dozen videos containing child pornography. Parnell later moved to Medford, Oregon. Parnell faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 1. Idaho man sentenced to jail for causing death of driver NAMPA (AP) An Idaho man was sentenced to one year in jail after he was found guilty of causing a crash that killed a 64-year-old driver. The Idaho Press-Tribune reports 22-year-old Tyler Callahan of Weiser received his sentence Tuesday for one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. A judge says Callahans jail sentence could be modified during a review hearing in September. According the report, Callahan crashed into John Pews car after he lost control of his vehicle. Callahan drove off the roads left shoulder and then off the freeway before landing on Pews pickup below. Callahan claims he fell asleep while behind the wheel. Prosecutors say it is unclear whether Callahan was driving impaired. Callahan is scheduled to appear in court later this month for sentencing on a probation violation. Wyoming coalition seeks ban on cyanide traps to kill coyotes CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) A coalition of environmental groups has petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking for a Wyoming statewide ban on cyanide traps being used to kill coyotes. The animal rights and conservation groups petitioned Tuesday amid recent incidents where dogs in Wyoming and Idaho were killed by the traps. A coalition of some of the same groups filed a similar petition in March in Idaho, which prompted a statewide ban on private, state and federal land. Trappers in Wyoming began using the trap, M-44s, in 1975. The traps kill by injecting sodium cyanide powder into an animals mouth that releases hydrogen cyanide gas when mixed with saliva. Because the poison is metabolized instantly, M-44s are seen as a less hazardous way to kill predators than poisons. North Carolina man fell into Yellowstone hot spring, burned MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. (AP) A 21-year-old North Carolina man suffered severe burns after falling into a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. Park officials say Gervais Dylan Gatete of Raleigh, an employee of park concessionaire Xanterra Parks and Resorts, fell into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin just north of Old Faithful late Tuesday. Gatete was with seven other people when he fell. The group flagged down a ranger, Gatete was taken by ambulance to the airport in West Yellowstone, Montana, and he was flown a Salt Lake City burn hospital. Park spokeswoman Morgan Warthin says the incident is still under investigation. She did not know Gatetes medical condition. This is the first serious injury in a thermal area in Yellowstone this year. Last June, a man left the boardwalk and died after falling into a hot spring in the Norris Geyser Basin. Yellowstone sees drop in visitation partly because of storms YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) Partly because of late spring snowstorms, fewer people visited Yellowstone National Park in May when compared with a year ago. But it was still the second busiest May on record at the worlds first national park. Yellowstone hosted more than 419,600 visits during May, down 5.6 percent from May 2016s 444,600 visits. Park managers noted that snow closed roads in the park last month, although they say many factors could also be involved. So far this year, the park has counted more than 550,000 visitors, down 7.3 percent from the same period in 2016, which was the National Park Service centennial year. BOISE Proponents of a lawsuit challenging Gov. C.L. Butch Otters veto of a contentious grocery tax repeal bill will present arguments in front of the Idaho Supreme Court on Thursday. State GOP Reps. Ron Nate and Bryan Zollinger, both from eastern Idaho, spearheaded a lawsuit in April arguing that the Idaho Constitution says a governor has 10 days to veto a bill immediately after the Legislature adjourns. In 1978, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled a governor has 10 days to veto or approve a bill starting when it lands on his desk. However, 30 lawmakers have signed on with Nate and Zollinger urging the court to overturn its previous decision a request rarely granted by courts due to a preference to follow prior judicial precedent. The lawsuit has attracted the support of House Assistant Majority Leader Brent Crane and House Majority Caucus Chairman John Vander Woude and House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee Chairman Lynn Luker in the lawsuit. Also named in the petition is GOP Rep. Heather Scott of Blanchard, who helped lead an organized movement to disrupt progress inside the Statehouse this year to protest legislative leadership. Other legislators include Sen. Cliff Bayer of Meridian, who was the original sponsor of the grocery tax repeal bill this year. Idahos top lawmakers are countering that the lawsuit is unnecessary because the court has already ruled that the deadline kicks in when the governor receives the bill. Secretary of State Lawerence Denney has also warned that if the court overturned the nearly 40-year-old ruling, it is unknown how many other post-legislative adjournment vetoes would be affected. The lawsuit was filed after Otter vetoed legislation that would have repealed the states 6 percent sales tax on groceries. The bill was a defining accomplishment during the 2017 session, but supporters have agreed the proposal largely passed because many lawmakers voted in favor of it while correctly assumed it would be vetoed. Lawmakers went home for the year on March 29. Otter received the grocery tax repeal bill on March 31. Otter then issued his veto on April 11 11 days after adjournment. Last month, the justices decided a section of Otters original arguments disputing the constitutionality of the repeal bill was not ripe and forbid the Republican governors office from making that point in court on Thursday. Volunteers Interlink Volunteer Caregivers is a nonprofit organization providing volunteers to elderly, disabled and chronically ill people assisting with non-medical routine tasks so they can remain independent. Volunteers are needed in all eight counties of Magic Valley to help with transportation, light housekeeping and simple home repairs. Volunteers are especially needed for transportation in the Wendell and Gooding area. Volunteers are reimbursed for mileage monthly and covered with excess auto liability insurance. Commitment is flexible with no minimum hours required. Information: Edie, 208-733-6333 or email ivcofmv@gmail.com. Drivers The Twin Falls Senior Center needs drivers to deliver meals to homebound seniors in Twin Falls Monday through Friday. The routes take an hour or less to complete. Commitment is based on your availability. Volunteers must be 18 years of age with their own car, and have proof of liability insurance and a background check. Drivers receive 53.5 cents a mile fuel reimbursement. Information: 208-734-5084. Volunteers Idaho Home Health and Hospice needs volunteers who will bring compassion, support and dignity to those facing a serious, life-limiting illness and their families. Volunteers can choose between offering respite to family caregivers or provide support with administrative tasks. Information: Heidi Walker, 208-734-4064 or Heidi.Walker@LHCgroup.com. Volunteers Horizon Home Health and Hospice is looking for volunteers to join their team to provide quality compassionate care to patients through the following activities: companionship, socialization, respite, and support for patients and families and much more. Information: Cynthia Nixon, 208-800-8085 or cnixon@horizonhh.com. Drivers The American Cancer Society is looking for volunteer drivers for its Road to Recovery program. Volunteers are needed to drive cancer patients to and from medical treatment facilities, especially for appointments in Twin Falls. The Cancer Society trains volunteer drivers and schedules rides for patients for free. Drivers must have a current and valid drivers license, a good driving record, a safe and reliable car, and proof of car insurance. Volunteer drivers donate their time and the use of their vehicles. The program is flexible for volunteers to provide as many rides as they want. Information: 1-800-227-2345. Volunteers The Jerome County Historical Society is looking for volunteers to help at the Depot Museum and at the Idaho Farm and Ranch Museum. Volunteers will receive training on duties at either museum. The in-town Depot Museum duties will include answering the phone, some filing, and showing visitors the artifacts. The IFARM Museum duties will mostly be outdoors helping to clean the grounds and repairing buildings, but also cleaning inside the buildings. Some machinery and building repairing may be included. Closed Sundays and Mondays. To volunteer, call 208-324-5641 from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Volunteers St Lukes Home Health and Hospice is looking for new volunteers to join its team to share compassion and care and increase the quality of life for patients and their families. This program is designed to offer companionship and socialization to the patients as well as respite and support for the caregivers. Information: Marie Sharp, 208-814-7603 or sharpm@slhs.org. Volunteers The Twin Falls County Historical Society is seeking volunteers for various programs and general support. Volunteers are needed to paint, clean or work on docent projects and fundraising. No minimum amount of hours, commitment is flexible. Fill out an application at the Twin Falls County Historical Museum (Union School at Curry), open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Information: 208-736-4675. Volunteers St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center has opened some new areas to volunteer. The new Cuddler and Patient Comfort programs need volunteers immediately. St. Lukes has several other volunteer positions with opportunities to serve others and meet new people. By being a volunteer at St. Lukes Magic Valley, you are also a part of the auxiliary. For an application packet or information: Kim Patterson, 208-814-0861. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy BOISE Former state Sen. Russ Fulcher announced Thursday he is dropping out of the 2018 gubernatorial race to run for Idahos open 1st Congressional District seat. The surprise decision came just weeks after U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador announced he would run for governor rather than seek re-election in his conservative-dominant congressional district. Fulcher, a Republican who launched his gubernatorial campaign late last year, said he decided to switch campaigns because he and Labrador should serve in complimentary roles. Fulcher had previously rebuffed suggestions he should run for another office rather than run against Labrador, who has similar political leanings but is believed to have stronger name recognition and more campaign resources in the states top competitive race. I believe that government exists to serve the people, not the other way around. Raul and I have worked together for a long time to promote Idaho families and encourage government to act within its proper Constitutional role, Fulcher said in a prepared statement. Labrador said he endorses Fulchers decision and urged conservatives to support his bid for governor. I am convinced that this is the best move for Republican party unity and also the best move to change the direction of our state and country, Labrador said. Fulcher narrowly lost to Gov. C.L. Butch Otter in 2014 despite winning all three of Idahos most populated counties all of which are in the 1st Congressional District. Fulcher joined the race just several months before the primary election and after Labrador decided not to run for the seat. The two served together in the Idaho Legislature and were then known as among the more far-right leaning members in the Senate and House, with strong support from Idahos most conservative voters. The only other Republican running for the congressional seat is former Idaho Attorney General David Leroy, who characterizes himself as conservative but says he is not as far to the right as Labrador. Leroy criticized Fulchers decision to switch races, saying he was sorry Russells first choice race became too crowded, but we welcome him into the race for Idahos First Congressional District. Idaho needs leaders who are willing to stand and fight no matter the circumstances not fold at the first sign of turbulence. Besides Labrador, former Lt. Gov. Brad Little and Boise businessman Tommy Ahlquist are running in the GOP race for governor. BOISE Proponents of lawsuit claiming Gov. C.L. Butch Otter took too long to veto a contentious grocery tax repeal bill argue the Idaho Supreme Court should look at the plain language in the state Constitution. Idaho Falls attorney Bryan Smith, representing 30 state lawmakers challenging Otters veto, presented his argument in front of the states highest court Thursday. According to Smith, previous justices made the wrong decision nearly 40-years-ago when ruling how long a governor has to quash legislation. Dont think there wasnt a political risk for these 30 lawmakers to file this petition, Smith said. If we do not reward pioneers who defend the constitution, then unfortunately there will be a discouragement to bring cases such as this to this court. The lawsuit was filed in April after Otter vetoed legislation that would have repealed the states 6 percent sales tax on groceries. A handful of lawmakers have pushed for years to remove the tax on food and beverages, but faced resistance from legislative leaders. Lawmakers managed to work around leadership this year by completely rewriting a separate proposal during an amending session and securing enough supporters in both the House and Senate. Otter had alerted lawmakers of his opposition before the bill was at his desk, arguing that the bills estimated $80 million cut to the general fund could negatively impact Idahos public school budget. However, GOP lawmakers pushed the bill through anyway, making it a defining accomplishment during the 2017 session. Otter then received the grocery tax repeal bill on March 31, but issued his veto on April 11 11 days after adjournment. In 1978, court justices issued a 3-2 ruling that a governor has 10 days to veto or approve a bill starting only after it lands on his desk. However, lawmakers upset with Otters veto decision have countered the Idaho Constitution plainly says the deadline kicks in after the Legislature adjourns. Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane, representing the state, told the justices that Otter vetoed the bill and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney verified the governors decision because they were following the courts prior decision. Kane warned that if the court overturns that decision, state leaders will be punished for following the law. State actors, like the governor and secretary of state, will be forced to ask Did the court really mean what it said? Kane said. The Idaho Constitution states that a governor has five days to veto or approve legislation when the Idaho Legislature is in session. It goes on to say that governors deadline is extended if the legislature shall, by adjournment, prevent its return, allowing a governor to veto a bill within 10 days after such adjournment (Sundays excepted) or become law. This language prompted Justice Joel Horton to say Im having a great deal of trouble finding ambiguity within the phrase 10 days after adjournment. The court is expected to issue a ruling within the next few weeks. Was a Twin Falls doctor shot at the border during the Mexican Revolution because he was mistaken for a national military hero? Dr. H.W. Wilson, captain of the medical corps of the Second Idaho regiment stationed at Nogales, Ariz., was the first American military officer shot from across a U.S. border. Wilson was shot in the left thigh while boarding a train back to Idaho. The Twin Falls News reported in its Oct. 5, 1916, edition that the shooter thought he was aiming at Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston, who commanded troops at the Mexican border during the revolution. Wilson was in uniform on Oct. 1, 1916, when he was shot by a sniper from the Carrancistas faction in Mexico. According to the Oct. 12, 1916, edition of the Twin Falls Weekly Times, eyewitnesses saw the shooter take deliberate aim at Wilson. He then handed his rifle to a Mexican customs agent and ran off into the crowd. Members of the medical corps gave Wilson first aid, then took him to the regiment hospital. Wilson returned to Twin Falls several weeks later, not able to put weight on the leg. Wilson was said to be a dead ringer for Funston, who was in command of the Presidio in San Francisco when the great earthquake of 1906 nearly destroyed the city. Funston reestablished order after the quake, earning the title the man who saved San Francisco. As a brigadier general, Funston led 5,000 troops into Mexico in 1914, earning a promotion to major general. He then supervised Brig. Gen. John J. Pershings 1916 Punitive Expedition of Pancho Villa. I had put on a new pair of shining military boots that morning, Wilson told a Twin Falls Times reporter when he returned home. The boots looked conspicuous and I felt conspicuous in them, so I think that the Mexican saw me and the thought flashed into his mind that there was some high officer and he would shoot him, so he fired. I believe my shining boots were what attracted his attention. TWIN FALLS Mary Alice Park on Main Avenue North the pride and joy of Art & Soul of the Magic Valley founder Art Hoag was burglarized early this week. Someone cut the chain link fence Monday night, then broke into the office and stole Hoags sound system. They probably did more damage than the sound system was worth, he said. While Hoag is taking the crime in stride, others are plenty disappointed. The small neighborhood park that Hoag and his first wife, Mary, started 11 years ago and donated to the Magic Valley Art Guild, has become a favorite in the community. For some coward to do something like this is simply awful, said Ryan Horsley, general manager of Reds Trading Post in Twin Falls. This is very sad because Art has dedicated so much of himself to this park. It has been his passion and hes shared it with the community. The Hoags set out to create a peaceful, natural setting for public arts and music. The park has matured from an empty lot to a lush park with a piano, giant chess and checker games, inspirational sculptures and stuff to ignite a kids imagination scattered about. A labyrinth winds through the park and a large mural painted by Twin Falls artist George Krachunov from a 1918 photo of City Park graces a neighboring wall. Hoag always intended the park be a memorial to his wife, who died in 2008. We liked downtown, he said. We liked the arts. When he and Mary first came to town, they found a place on the map called Mary Alice Lake near the Twin Falls LDS temple. Mary Alice had a nice ring to it and Mary Alice just so happened to be his wifes name. And thats how the park was named, Hoag said. Horsley remembers when Hoag first brought the idea to the Twin Falls City Planning and Zoning Commission, of which he was the chairman. I was taken aback by the fact that he was doing something like this not for profit, not for recognition, he said, but just to bring something beautiful to downtown. Hoag founded Art & Soul, a community art festival and competition, in 2011. He turned the reins over to the Magic Valley Arts Council two years later. Leon Smith, an artist and former state legislator from Twin Falls, called the theft a violation against the arts community, as well as Hoag and his second wife, Bonnie, who supports the arts alongside her husband. Its a charming little park, Smith said. Art is an accomplished woodworker and gives heavily to the community. TWIN FALLS Four youths gave rescue workers a scare late Wednesday afternoon when they jumped over a rock wall in search of a skateboard in the Snake River Canyon. "One of the boys dropped his skateboard over the edge," said Lori Stewart, spokeswoman for the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office. "Two made it all the way to the bottom of the canyon and a boat has picked them up." Two other teens who were in contact with the Sheriff's Office by phone were told to return to the canyon rim. One of the youths' fathers followed them into the canyon but turned back. "Nobody was hurt," Stewart said. The rescue was called off at about 5 p.m. The administrations plan to roll back policy initiatives between the United States and Cuba is a missed opportunity for the country and a substantive blow to potentially lucrative markets here in Idaho. What you may have missed from the news reporting on this issue is that bipartisan support for improved trade relations with Cuba is alive and well. It is our opinion that together, Idaho Democrats and Republicans can cultivate a healthy economic relationship with Cuba that will prove fruitful to all Idahoans. Thats why we are working to advance this critical issue. For context, the United States has restricted trade with Cuba dating back to the Eisenhower administration, when an arms embargo was implemented. As a result, Cuba began to purchase arms from Russia. Diplomatic tension and the threat of nuclear war escalated into the Kennedy administration and the embargo was expanded to cover commodities. The sale of agricultural goods for humanitarian efforts highlighted the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, a trade exception that allows for limited exports to Cuba. The opportunities that exist in Cuba for Idaho businesses are significant. Consider the fact that presently, Cuba imports 60 to 80 percent of its food, a market estimated at $2 billion. That means that farmers and suppliers of fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy goods and countless other necessities currently enjoy access to this large and sustainable market. The problem is, virtually none of our American farmers are profiting from that due to the restrictive nature of the current U.S. trade embargo with Cuba. Clearly, if theres one thing that Idahoans know, its agriculture. Imagine the possibilities for our state to expand its global reach and serve as a leader in exports of our high-quality goods to the island. Again, that market figure is $2 billion. To capture just a slice of that pie would produce strong returns for our state and put more people to work. However, federal government barriers continue to hinder our ability to capitalize on this opportunity. In fact, while Cuban imports have continued to trend upward over the last decade, U.S. exports to Cuba have declined each year since 2009. This is due to several restrictions in the embargo. One requires U.S. businesses to accept only cash when operating in Cuba. Another bars Cuban veterinarians from inspecting meat on our land prior to export, which is a procedure required by their laws. Its time the U.S. end its outdated trade policy on Cuba. The embargo was conceived in an era of great fear and international military posturing. Indeed, the U.S. approached the brink of war with Cuba during the Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis, but avoided full-scale conflict. And yet, weve managed to normalize to varying degrees the diplomatic and trade relationships with nations like Vietnam and China former enemies that now contribute billions of dollars to our countrys economy and tens of millions of dollars to Idahos bottom line. We need relations with Cuba, especially in trade, to advance, not regress. We recognize that, and so do many other influential Idaho politicians, businesses, religious groups, universities and others who comprise the Idaho State Council of Engage Cuba. This group is a coalition chaired by Gov. Butch Otter that is actively lobbying Congress to lift the trade embargo. Regardless of affiliation, profession or background, we all share the same interest in serving Idahoans as best we can. In this case, we wholeheartedly believe that working with Cuba, rather than shutting them out, is the right thing to do. Agriculture isnt the only arena in which Idahoans can benefit. The technology and communications sector is able to invest in Cuba today thanks to a policy exception called Support for the Cuban People. This exception allows companies to provide Cubans with phones and tablets, as well as internet access, infrastructure and other related services critical to business and communication needs. Imagine the opportunities for Idahos blossoming tech sector, led by Micron and HP and startups such as Cradlepoint, Kount, or Because International and others. Helping to construct a communications grid in a developing nation is no easy task, but Idaho tech companies and professionals possess the knowledge, experience and solutions to get the job done. Doing whats right for each other is what Idahoans do, and doing whats right for Idaho is what we and the coalition aim to do. Together, we can continue to position our state as a leader in the evolving global economy. King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron, who started a friendship and working visit to Morocco Wednesday (June 14), examined the ongoing Gulf crisis at the meeting they held shortly after the French Presidents arrival in Rabat. It was natural that the talks covered the Gulf crisis as both leaders hope to unite their mediation efforts and seek to avoid escalation. At a news conference he held after his talks with the Moroccan Monarch, the French President welcomed the convergence of views between Rabat and Paris on this issue. The king of Morocco shares our concern: France wishes that countries will talk again and that the Gulf remains stable, also because these states are stakeholders in the Syrian and Libyan crises , Macron said. The King of Morocco has spoken with several protagonists. I myself spoke with all the leaders of the region, said the French president, who chose Morocco for his first trip to the Maghreb. Since the outbreak of the crisis, King Mohammed VI has maintained close and continuous contact with the different parties involved in the crisis and offered Moroccos good offices to reach a calm, franc and comprehensive dialog. Part of his efforts to help ease the current tension between Qatar and its neighbors, the King dispatched Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita as his special envoy to several Gulf countries. The French Presidency had announced that President Macron held talks over the phone with all the heads of state in the region and called for appeasement. These efforts are convergent with the role of mediation that Morocco wants to play, the Elysee said, adding that both leaders are eager to coordinate their actions to be as efficient as possible. The Elysee also announced that President Macron would be receiving before the end of the current month the Emir of Qatar and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. There is a great convergence of views (between France and Morocco) on this Qatari issue. The priority is to help resolve the crisis, a French diplomatic source was quoted by AFP as saying. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt broke off diplomatic ties on June 5 with Qatar, for the Emirates alleged support of terrorism and for moving closer to Shiite Iran, the regional archrival of the Sunni Gulf rulers. They banned their airspace and imposed restrictions on trade and movement of persons, with Saudi Arabia closing its land border with Qatar. Talks between King Mohammed VI and President Macron also covered, besides bilateral partnership, the Libyan crisis, as Morocco is very involved in monitoring the situation, and as France wants to push its diplomatic efforts in the coming months. At his news conference, President Macron said that Paris and Rabat have a shared resolve to find means to stabilize Libya. The fight against radicalization and terrorism featured high in the talks in addition to the situation in the Sahel, where France is seen as a stabilizing player. The two leaders also reviewed their countries policies in Africa and President Macron hailed in this regards Moroccos growing role in the continent. The Egyptian parliament has approved the transfer of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia after its endorsement by the legislative and constitutional affairs committee on Tuesday and by the national security and defense committee on Wednesday. The controversial agreement described by the opposition as a sale of Egyptian territory to Saudi Arabia had prompted public outcry since April 2016 when it was first announced. Some MPs claimed that the procedures were accelerated and sufficient time was not given to the parliamentarians to debate the matter. MP Anissa Hassouna said the Speaker of Parliament suddenly ended the discussion and announced it had been approved despite protests from numerous members. Egyptian courts have ruled the agreement as unconstitutional and void while the Supreme Constitutional Court, Egypts highest tribunal, is yet to rule on whether the said courts of law had jurisdiction to rule on the agreement. Parliament Speaker had said on Sunday that he has nothing to do with the ruling of any court of law and that these rulings are the concern of the judiciary and they amount to nil. Critics say the transfer agreement is a compensation for Saudi investments, grants and aid to the Sisi administration. Riyadh has channeled around $25 billion to Cairo since 2014. David Butter, an Egypt specialist at Londons Chatham House think tank said the giving away of territory, the lack of an argument to the public, the executive acting despite the judiciary were seen as symptomatic by important sectors of the population that their rulers are acting in an arbitrary way and giving up sovereignty. Saudi had given assurances that it will honor the agreements signed with Egypt with regards to the two islands during its custodianship; amongst which is the freedom of navigation in the straits to Israel. Mass protests are expected in Egypt on Friday after the Friday prayers as the decision is termed as the most controversial one since Sisis ascension to power. Qatar and the US finalized Wednesday a $12 billion military deal for procurement of F-15 fighters by Qatar amid the Gulf Crisis opposing the tiny Arab state to its regional neighbors led by Saudi Arabia. The deal, signed by US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and his Qatari counterpart Khalid al-Attiyah, is part of an agreement on the sale of 72 US-manufactured F-15 to Qatar, approved by the State Department last year. Details of the Wednesday deal have not been disclosed but Bloomberg reported that it could include 236 jets. The agreement signed in November gave way to $21.1 contract to be executed by Boeing Co. Qatar hosts the US largest military base in the Middle East. Over 11,000 international forces, including US forces, are stationed on the base used by the international coalition in the fight against terrorism in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. More than 100 aircrafts operate from the base. In separate development, the Qatari state news agency QNA and Doha-based Al Jazeera report that two US vessels, namely the USS Chinook, a coastal patrol ship, and US Coast Guard Cutter Baranof arrived Wednesday in Qatar for military drill with the Qatari navy. The signing of the deal takes place at a time the Gulf gas-rich Emirate is at loggerheads with its neighbors and several Arab-Muslim countries led by Saudi Arabia. The bloc accuses Qatar for funding terrorism. The Saudi Arabia-led bloc has severed ties with Qatar and has imposed air and sea blockades. President Trump took the Saudi side a position quickly countered by the Pentagon, which has praised Qatar for hosting the US airbase and for its enduring commitment to regional security. Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank. Macrophages are attracted to wound sites, including coronary artery vessels bearing tiny scars or tears wrought by, say, high blood pressure. Weyands earlier study demonstrated that while macrophages dwelling in arterial plaque may have good intentions, if theyre predisposed to glucose gluttony they can go off-task, become inappropriately inflammatory and exacerbate the problem. The inflammatory macrophages both accelerate plaque buildup in coronary arteries and render that plaque brittle. Its when a chunk of labile plaque breaks off, suddenly blocking blood flow, that a heart attack is born. Coronary artery disease accounts for half of all deaths in the United States. Blocking PD1/PD-L1 interaction is the object of a whole new wave of cancer-therapeutic interventions. Macrophages also initiate helpful immune responses. The term macrophage derives from the Greek words for big eater. These cells routinely gnaw on any pathogen they encounter, displaying bits of the ingested microbe on their surface for inspection by other immune cells called T cells, which can spearhead a targeted assault on the pathogen. But, the new study showed, glucose-addicted macrophages that abound in atherosclerotic lesions are beyond incompetent at spurring T cells antiviral activity. The aberrant macrophages actively discourage it. So do tumor cells. Cancer-cell surfaces frequently manifest abundant amounts of a surface molecule, PD-L1, whose corresponding receptor, PD1, appears on T cells. The binding of PD1 to PD-L1 sets off a biochemical cascade inside a T cell, short-circuiting the fury it would otherwise mount on contact. Recent medical progress in understanding and exploiting this immune checkpoint mechanism has revolutionized cancer therapy. Blocking PD1/PD-L1 interaction is the object of a whole new wave of cancer-therapeutic interventions, said Weyand. Many hundreds of clinical trials of this approach, which unleashes cancer patients immune response to their cancer cells and unlike chemotherapy is not toxic to other cells, are underway. Experiments by Weyand and her colleagues drew on the knowledge that macrophages, too, express PD-L1 on their surfaces. Immune response restored The investigators obtained blood and tissue samples from 113 patients with coronary artery disease who had sustained at least one heart attack and from 109 demographically matched healthy control subjects. From participants blood samples, the scientists extracted cells called monocytes that begin life in the bone marrow, circulate in blood and, on taking up residence in a tissue, mature into full-blown macrophages. The scientists induced this maturation in culture. Your T cells ability to stave off shingles is a good proxy for your overall ability to fight off new pathogens, the re-emergence of old ones or cancer, said Weyand. T cells targeting varicella zoster get aroused on contact with macrophages displaying pieces of this virus on their surfaces. So, the researchers fed viral bits to monocyte-derived macrophages from either the patients or the control subjects, and then gauged reactions of T cells incubated in a dish with these cells. One-third as many T cells exposed to virus-displaying macrophages from the patients mounted a reaction compared with T cells exposed to macrophages from the age-matched control subjects. Your T cells ability to stave off shingles is a good proxy for your overall ability to fight off new pathogens. Antibodies that interfere with the PD1/PD-L1 checkpoint happen to be easy for researchers to come by, as these antibodies are in wide use today as cancer treatments. Adding such antibodies to the mix substantially restored T cells erstwhile-diminished responsiveness to the patients shingles-virus-primed macrophages. Disabling the ability of the patients macrophages to metabolize sugar likewise restored their capacity to incite T cell action. In particular, a small-molecule compound called ML265, which is now in clinical cancer trials, largely reversed PD-L1 overexpression on the surface of patients macrophages. ML265 works by maintaining the appropriate configuration of an enzyme involved in glucose metabolism. In the presence of too much glucose-breakdown activity, Weyands lab has previously shown, this enzyme suffers a breakdown of its own, initiating the chain reaction that causes macrophages to start spewing out pro-inflammatory chemicals. In the new study, the scientists demonstrated that the enzymes glucose-induced malfunction also sets off a different complicated biochemical cascade involving overproduction of a substance called BMP4. This, in turn, raises PD-L1 expression on macrophages surfaces. Just what makes macrophages go crazy for sugar in the first place is still an open question, Weyand said. But, she noted, the defect shows up in monocytes before they take up residence in tissues and mature into macrophages. Finding out why this happens is the next frontier, she said. But the new findings of the current study could lead to earlier detection and treatment of coronary artery disease. Other Stanford study co-authors are postdoctoral scholars Hong Namkoong, PhD, and Hui Zhang, MD; medical student Benedikt Schaefgen; Gerald Berry, MD, professor of pathology; Jennifer Tremmel, MD, assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine; John Giacomini, MD, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System; and Jorg Goronzy, MD, professor of immunology and rheumatology. Scientists from Vanderbilt University also helped carry out the study. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (grants AR042547, AI08906, HL117913, HL129941, AI108891, AG045779 and BX 001669) and the Cahill Discovery Fund. Stanfords Department of Medicine also supported the work. The Moroccan cement giant Ciments de lAfrique group (CIMAF) has officially inaugurated a new cement plant in Chad this week as the group, led by the Moroccan Businessman Anas Sefrioui, continues its expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa. This new unit, located in the Lamadji district at the northern exit of the Chadian capital Ndjamena, will start with a production capacity of 500,000 tons per year, expandable to one million tons. The Chad unit, which required a 39 million investment (23 billion CFA francs), will produce cement using local resources, mainly the quarries located in the Mayo Kebbi region in the south of the country, it said. The plant will create about 200 direct jobs and will be managed by Chadians trained by the Moroccan group in the North African Kingdom. Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, who attended the dedication ceremony praised the contribution of King Mohammed VI in promoting African cooperation. He said the installation of the cement plant by Moroccans in Chad proves that Africans are able to embark on a regional cooperation that is beneficial to their peoples. President of CIMAF Anas Sefrioui said his group would produce enough quantities of high quality cement enabling the Central African nation to meet internal demand. He also promised that an effort would be made to ensure that the price of cement produced in the CIMAF Chad plant is accessible to Chadians. CIMAF is operating plants in several other African countries, such as Angola, Tanzania, Cote dIvoire and Senegal. Other plants are under construction. The speaker of the Zambian parliament, Patrick Matibini, on Tuesday suspended all the lawmakers of the United Party for National Development (UPND) for a 30-day period, because of their disobedience to President Edgar Lungu According to the speaker, the suspension was decided as the 48 members of the UPND, the main opposition party in the country, boycotted the presidents address to the parliament in March this year. The speaker said the ban takes effect immediately, arguing that if the lawmakers have issues with the legitimacy of the government, they should quit their office. I therefore challenge the UPND members that if they still maintain that they do not recognize the president, they should resign on moral grounds, Patrick Matibini said. Hakainde Hichilema, Zambias main opposition chief has been charged with treason for allegedly obstructing President Edgar Lungus motorcade on a main road, according to police. He has been transferred to a maximum security prison ahead of his trial for treason last weekend. A Magistrate last Thursday ruled that the economist and successful businessman and five others should be tried by a High Court on charges of treason. In Zambia, treason is punishable with a minimum jail term of 15 years and a maximum sentence of the death penalty. The News in Brief European Liberals Condemn Alleged Abduction of Azerbaijani Journalist in Georgia Members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), meeting at the Party Council in Ljubljana on June 3, strongly condemned the abduction of independent journalist and human rights defender Afgan Mukhtarli, who had found refuge from persecution of the Azerbaijani government in Georgia, but was kidnapped from Tbilisi and brought to Azerbaijan on May 29. The ALDE Party reiterated its full support to Musavat, ALDEs member party in Azerbaijan, as well as its leader Arif Hajili, that operates under the most difficult circumstances and bravely fights against a harsh authoritarian system to uphold liberal values in one of Europes most oppressive regimes. The Free Democrats and the Republican Party, ALDEs member parties in Georgia, voiced concerns in their joint address to the Party Council over the role of Georgian authorities in this abduction from Georgian territory and demanded prompt investigation. Commenting on the statement, ALDE Party President MEP Hans van Baalen said: European Liberals support their members in Georgia to demand full clarity over the circumstances of this kidnapping and continue to stand by Liberals in Azerbaijan and ask the European Union to exercise pressure upon the Azeri regime to immediately release Afgan Mukhtarli and other political prisoners. The Republican Party and the Free Democrats issued a joint statement on May 31 as well, saying the strategic partnership [with Azerbaijan] cannot and should not be the reason and an excuse for violating the fundamental freedoms of any person concerned. We are alarmed and deeply concerned by the developments concerning the Azerbaijani journalist and Turkish teacher, as we are witnessing either the high incompetence or the unlawful indifference by the Georgian officials, or deliberate actions that can only be assessed as systemic wrongdoing, the statement reads. The two parties called on the authorities to explain how an Azerbaijani Journalist living in Tbilisi ended up in Baku without his passport and the ID, and on the Prime Minister to personally verify the allegations of Afgan Mukhtarlis lawyer and his family, and if the involvement of the Georgian special forces are confirmed, implement relevant actions to dismiss and arrest those involved. The Republican Party (since 2007) and the Free Democrats (since 2012) are full members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party, a liberal-democratic political family in Europe. The parties announced recently that they will run on a joint ticket for the upcoming municipal elections in October. (Civil.ge) Rustavi 2 TV anchor confirms he was offered to be presented as candidate mayor of Tbilisi by National Movement Director General of Rustavi 2 TV and anchor Zaal Udumashvili confirms that the United National Movement party proposed that he be their candidate for the Tbilisi Mayoral Elections. As Udumashvili told reporters, he has not made any decision yet. Reportedly, he has recently visited Kiev, where he met with party leaders including ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili. I will announce my decision over the following days, Udumashvili said. (IPN) Archaeologists discover New Stone Age items in Khelvachauri, western Georgia Archaeologists have discovered some New Stone Age items in Khelvachauris village of Makhvilauri, Adjara. As Amiran Kakhidze, the Director of the Batumi Archaeological Museum, has told IPN, ancient clay vessels have been found, as well as weapons and fishing equipment. According to him, the territory has been excavated since the 1970s. The discovered items they will be placed in the museum. (ipn) Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a Republican candidate for governor, said Wednesday he remains troubled by HB 7069, the controversial expansion of charter schools that's awaiting action by Gov. Rick Scott, possibly on Thursday. "It was formed and created at the very end of the session without a lot of sunshine or input, and that's concerning," Putnam said. "But there are certainly some things in there that are positive and some things in there that are less so, so he (Scott) has got a big decision to make." Asked about Putnam's comments Wednesday, Scott said: "I'm going to be careful in reviewing the bill and I'm going to act in the best interest of all the students and the parents in our state." Putnam told the Associated Press last month that Scott "ought to take a hard look at vetoing" the bill. The prime architect of HB 7069 is House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, who's considering running for governor in 2018. Gov. Rick Scott is considering appointing Public Service Commissioner Jimmy Patronis to be Florida's next chief financial officer, the Herald/Times has learned. CFO Jeff Atwater will resign June 30, so the governor must fill the powerful elected Cabinet post within 15 days. Patronis, 45, of Panama City, is a former Republican state House member who was one of Scott's earliest and most loyal supporters, and he already has been richly rewarded by Scott for his support. The governor appointed Patronis to the five-member PSC in January 2015 and to the Constitution Revision Commission in March. Atwater's successor will serve through the 2018 election when voters will elect a CFO for a four-year term. Patronis has never run statewide but has a gregarious personality and would benefit from Scott's extensive network of supporters and is known as a fiercely proud alumnus of Florida State University, where he received a political science degree. He hails from a prominent Bay County family that owns a dining landmark, Captain Anderson's restaurant in Panama City. The venue was the scene of a Scott re-election rally in 2014 featuring New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. When Scott was an unknown outsider running for governor in 2010, Patronis opened doors for him in Northwest Florida, and several Scott campaign events took place at the restaurant. As a lawmaker, Patronis was a reliable vote in support of business and he angered environmentalists with his support of bills they viewed as hostile to the environment, such as a 2013 measure that streamlined permitting for Florida natural gas pipelines that originate in other states. Patronis did not respond to three requests for comment. The Times/Herald asked Scott's office to refute this story if it was inaccurate, and Scott's communications director, John Tupps, provided this statement: "No decisions have been made. We will have an announcement soon." Atwater's departure for a high-level post at Florida Atlantic University gives Scott a rare opportunity to appoint a loyal ally to a powerful post. Scott's search has been unusually quiet. Two others mentioned in speculation are Rep. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, and former Sen. Pat Neal, a prominent Bradenton-area real estate developer. Former Democratic Sen. Jeremy Ring of Parkland is the only candidate running for CFO in 2018. @PatriciaMazzei Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart sat in the Oval Office last month, surrounded by two Cabinet secretaries, the national security adviser and an array of top White House staff, and asked President Donald Trump to put his power behind their plans for Cuba. The Miami Republican lawmakers had been pressing Trump for months to unwind former President Barack Obamas policies, bringing up Cuba at every opportunity: Diaz-Balart when he and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen met in private with their former House colleague, Vice President Mike Pence, in February; Rubio when he and his wife joined the president and first lady for an intimate dinner two days later, and again when the senator flew aboard Air Force One to Florida in March. The administration had been waiting for deputies across Cabinet agencies to review existing Cuba regulations. By the May 3 Oval Office meeting, their recommendation was in: Keep Obamas push to normalize U.S. relations with the regime of Cuban leader Raul Castro. Thats not what Trump wanted. As a candidate, hed promised change to South Floridas Cuban-American hardliners, including Bay of Pigs veterans who endorsed him, a gesture that stuck with Trump and that he repeatedly mentioned as president. The president said, Look, I want to do this, Rubio said. More here. Photo credit: Rainier Ehrhardt, Associated Press @MichaelAuslen Gov. Rick Scott has signed into law tough, new minimum mandatory prison sentences for people cought with more than 4 grams of deadly fentanyl or carfentanil. The measure (HB 477), which passed in the final days of the legislative session, is meant to target drug traffickers and curb the opioid epidemic that is sweeping through parts of the state. It was one of 28 bills Scott signed Wednesday. This legislation was my top priority this session because it gives law enforcement and prosecutors the tools we need to combat the trafficking of fentanyl and save lives," Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. Beginning this October, judges will be bound to sentence people posessing 4 grams of fentanyl to three years in prison, 14 grams to 15 years in prison and 28 grams to 25 years in prison. These minimum sentences are meant to criminalize traffickers of fentanyl, which in recent years has grown to be one of the most prominent opioid killers in Florida. In the first half of 2016 alone, fentanyl and potent analogs like carfentanyl killed 853 poeple in Florida and contributed to 135 more deaths, according to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission. The bill Scott signed drew some controversy, however, because it institutes mandatory minimums. Opponents in the Legislature wanted to give judges more discretion in extreme cases when it appeared someone may not realize how much fentanyl they had or even that they had it at all. Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, warned that the way the bill was written, a few grams of carfentanil mixed in a water bottle could put someone behind bars for 25 years. Someone thinking they just had a few grams would be facing signficant time in prison unknowingly he argued. Addicts have no idea what they are buying, he said. The other 27 bills Scott signed late Wednesday were as follows (descriptions courtesy of Scott's office): @ByKristenMClark and @KyraGurney Gov. Rick Scott announced that he will sign a charter-school-friendly, $419 million K-12 public schools bill that has incited a groundswell of criticism and opposition statewide, rejecting arguments from traditional public school advocates. The governor will sign the bill Thursday afternoon at Morning Star Catholic School in Orlando, where he will be accompanied by House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land OLakes, and Hialeah Republican Rep. Manny Diaz Jr., who championed the legislation. The bill will make it easier for privately managed charter schools to further expand in Florida and to receive additional taxpayer funding to boost their operations. It also includes a wide range of other provisions including daily school recess for most elementary school students and $30 million in extra funding to expand a voucher program that helps kids with disabilities. The bill received broad support from House Republicans, school choice proponents including charter school operators, whose companies would directly benefit from the legislation and conservative political groups, such as two affiliated with the industrialist Koch Brothers. Read more here. @alextdaugherty President Donald Trump will tap Sharon Day, a former Republican National Committee co-chairwoman from Fort Lauderdale, to be his ambassador to Costa Rica, a senior administration official told the Miami Herald. Day, a longtime leader in Florida Republican circles, was slated to join the White House in an undetermined role after former RNC chairman Reince Priebus was named Trumps chief of staff in December 2016. During the 2016 Republican National Convention, Day was among the list of high-profile speakers in Cleveland. She was also a fixture at Florida campaign events for Trump, where she gave a fiery speech just before election day that ripped the media for portraying the GOP convention in Cleveland as one that preyed on fears of terrorism and offered no optimism. Instead, she said, it was filled with positive energy. We were united. Day recounted Bill Clintons sex scandals and urged voters to close that chapter of perversion. Lock her up! Lock her up! the crowd shouted. No, Day pleaded. Defeat her. Day will oversee diplomatic relations with the Central American country that historically has a close relationship with the United States and is one of South Floridas largest trading partners. Read more here. The setting chosen by Gov. Rick Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran to sign the controversial HB 7069 school reform bill today is a telling example of how it doesn't matter how you get there in Tallahassee if in the end you can claim credit. The media advisory announcing the event highlighted the fact that the bill will be signed at 3:45 p.m., at "Morning Star Catholic School in Orlando, which serves many children who recieve the Gardiner Scholarship." (We assume the misspelling of "receive" was a mistake.) HB 7069 allocates $30 million to expand the Gardiner Scholarship, a voucher program named after former Senate President Andy Gardiner that helps students with disabilities pay for alternative education options. The program provides tuition, therapy and other services to roughly 8,000 disabled students and has grown so quickly that organizers say they need more money to fill the need. But while Corcoran and Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, will be in attendance to take credit for including the program in the bill, expansion of the Gardiner Scholarship was not included in the House's original version of HB 7069 or in its original budget. The Senate did include $100 million in its budget for the program. It was only during budget negotiations with the House did the House agree to finance the program -- but at the lower $30 million level -- and while they authorized the expansion in HB 15, House leaders wove the funding into the controversial HB 7069 and touted it as an essential component. Opponents blasted the strategy as an attempt to use vulnerable children as "pawns" to gain support for the controversial legislation. "Once again, the legislature is playing upon public sympathies by using the Gardiner scholarship as a pawn to ensure the controversial expansion of charter schools via the Schools of Hope,'' wrote Suzette Lopez, the mother of a special needs child in Miami on the blog, Accountabaloney. "Legislators preyed upon the vulnerabilities of families and students with disabilities to provide support for questionable policy." She urged a veto of HB 7069. By the end of session, Diaz had taken ownership of the idea to fund the scholarship program but only as part of the overall package of reforms included in HB 7069. In an opinion piece with Rep. Michael Bileca, R-Miami, they wrote that expansion of the Gardiner scholarship is important "to ensure every child with special needs receiving a Gardiner scholarship will continue to receive that scholarship and achieve their full potential in life." Photo: Morning Star School of Tampa, Tampa Bay Times. For picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts Page Kevin Ginoff plans to work 50 hours a week or so this summer. Ginoff, a pharmacy student at the University of Montana, worked a lot even before summer, 27 hours a week earlier in the month of May. He worked at The Huckleberry People on Saturdays, and some Mondays and Tuesdays. The family-owned business makes jam and chocolate using huckleberries. Ginoff also worked every weekday at a lab on campus for a few years. "Before my car broke down, I was getting 32 to 36 hours a week," he said. So roughly full time, but he can't work as much without a car. At the same time, he was going to school full time, and taking more than a full load, some 20 credits. Like many students, the Frenchtown man will take more than four years to get the degree he wants because he took some detours on his path to a major. After graduating from high school in 2005, he went to Denver to study art, but the school was too expensive. He worked for awhile, and in 2011, he went to X-ray school and finished in 2014. Then, he enrolled at the University of Montana, initially as a pre-medical student. One day, though, a professor said the pharmacy program was having an open house, and Ginoff decided to check it out. He'd already been thinking that medical school was a long commitment, and he ended up liking the faculty in pharmacy. "They made me feel very welcome," he said. His comfort with the faculty, and interest in the way drugs act on bacteria, led him to switch majors. Now, he's in his sixth year of school, and he's maxed out the financial aid loans he can get, so he's working as much as he can to make up the difference. Like many other students, he economizes as best as possible, especially when it comes to costly textbooks, sharing them at times. "I try not to even buy the books unless it's one that's absolutely needed, which (in) a lot of classes, I feel like they're not," he said. His grades were a little lower in the most recent school year, right around a C average, he said. Usually, he has a 3.75 grade point average, but even that achievement hasn't been enough to help with scholarships. "I'm fairly competitive in that region, but there's people with 4.0's there who are going to get preference over me, most likely," Ginoff said. Neither one of his parents has a college degree, but his mom and dad encouraged him and his brother to go, and they're proud of their sons. Ginoff's brother graduated from the pharmacy program this year. Ginoff wishes more financial aid was available, and he also wishes people would be more patient with students who have to work as much as he does. He can't always meet for a group project, and he studies when he can squeeze in the time. Toward the end of the semester, he regularly studied Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, and then also between classes and work. "It's not always easy," Ginoff said. At the same time, he's never contemplated quitting. Granite County Sheriff Scott Dunkerson has identified 22-year-old Deborah Alteneder and 22-year-old Joshua Creel as the pair killed in a crash Tuesday morning on Interstate 90 east of Missoula. The sheriff said Alteneder, the driver, is from Missoula and Creel is from Liberty, Indiana. The pair were declared dead at the scene. The crash took place around 10 a.m. Tuesday near the Bearmouth Interchange at mile marker 135. Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Tyler Swartz said while the incident remains under investigation, it appears the eastbound passenger car Alteneder and Creel were in lost control, went across the median and hit a westbound semi-truck. The semi driver was not seriously injured. Swartz said weather likely was a factor in the crash. Missoulian reporter Kim Briggeman contributed to this story. The "Freshman 15" used to refer to the extra pounds new college students wanted to avoid from the cafeteria. In 2011, though, Montana State UniversityBozeman launched a campaign called the "Freshman 15," and President Waded Cruzado encouraged students to put on weight "academic weight." "It gets a big laugh every time the president talks about it," said MSU spokesman Tracy Ellig. But it's serious business. As students, families and higher education officials talk about how to make college more affordable, the time it takes to graduate has emerged as a major factor. If students take 15 credits each semester, and they take the right ones, they can graduate in four years. Since the total cost of one year at a flagship for tuition and living expenses is roughly $20,000 for a resident, give or take, there's a substantial savings to getting out in four years rather than five or six. "A Montana resident student who takes six years to graduate will accumulate roughly $40,000 in additional cost ... due to those extra two years," Ellig said. The scenario campuses want to avoid is enrolling a freshman and having the student drop out before graduating and with a couple of years worth of debt. But it happens, especially for students with lower incomes in the first place. Just 67 percent of students with lower incomes stay in one of the state's four-year schools after their freshman year, according to data from the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. *** The math behind the "Freshman 15" campaign is that MSU and other Montana University System schools, including the University of Montana charges tuition for the first 12 credits each semester for residents and nonresidents. If students take 12, they get charged for 12. If they take 15 or 18 or 21, they still get charged for 12. President Cruzado saw that students and families weren't aware of that deal, and she also noticed that MSU's own faculty and staff were advising students to "take it easy" their first year and take just 12 credits a semester, Ellig said. "Unwittingly, we were instantly ... increasing the likelihood the student could not graduate in four years," Ellig said. The "Freshman 15" was launched, and MSU is moving the dial on graduating students in four years and increasing the number of freshman and all students taking 15 credits, Ellig said. In 2011, he said, just 50 percent of freshmen took 15 credits. Five years later, that number leaped to 70 percent. The deal has become ingrained in MSU's campus culture, he said, and all undergraduates are taking more credits. In 2011, some 46 percent of all undergraduates took 15 credits, and in 2016, 57 percent did. More students are graduating within four years, too, he said. According to data from MSU, the campus has pushed the number of students graduating within four years by more than 5 percentage points since the 2008 incoming class, whose members enrolled before the "Freshman 15." Some 19.6 percent of those students graduated in four years, according to data from MSU. The incoming classes in 2011 and 2012 did even better, with 23.5 percent graduating in four years and 24.8 graduating in the same time, respectively. "We have worked very hard to move these numbers and are very proud of the progress," Ellig said. "This increase in the percentage of students graduating in four years represents huge savings for the students and families involved." At the same time, MSU has fallen behind when it comes to students who are considered under-represented, Pell students with lower incomes, Native Americans, veterans, and non-traditional students, those ages 25 and older. According to the most recent data from the Commissioner's Office, MSU awarded 7 percent fewer undergraduate degrees to under-represented students in 2015-2016 compared to its three-year average even as it increased the overall number of degrees granted by 7 percent. Ellig, though, said MSU's longer history demonstrates "major gains" in degrees awarded to under-represented groups. He said campus officials remain optimistic that an upward trend in retention for under-represented students will lead to higher graduation rates again too. "Given the recruitment and retention increases over the last few years, wed expect this is a short-term dip on a long term positive trend," Ellig said. *** Some students say they can't take 15 credits because they need to work to pay for school instead, Ellig said. In fact, he said, a loan can be a better deal for students who are earning small paychecks. "We have heard that and our response is, 'Well, don't make that decision from your gut. Pencil it out,'" Ellig said. Unless a student has a pretty high wage, he said, it might make more sense to take out a loan instead, get done in four years, and pay back the loan then. My wife and I are extremely disappointed in the editorial staff. June 6 was the anniversary of D Day, one of the most significant events of the 20th century. It is a sad commentary on your publication that there was no mention whatsoever of the sacrifice made by those young men, boys really, in 1944. They crossed an ocean, leaving home and family, to protect strangers (and all U.S. citizens) from a maniacal tyrant. How different our world would be today had they not gone and not been victorious. In Normandy we saw just how difficult the task must have been on D Day, and at the cemetery we realized how dear was the cost of freedom we in the U.S. take for granted. Many, many times we heard the French express their gratitude for the sacrifice of our boys. But on June 6 the Missoulian didn't mention it, not once. George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." We must keep the memory of D Day alive so that we are able to maintain our freedom. Your editorial staff should be ashamed of choosing not to remember. Del Hiesterman, Shawn Rosscup, Missoula I am upset by our presidents unequivocal support of Saudi Arabia. In his recent visit, he boasted about making an obscene deal with the Saudis promising a $110 billion arms sale one that, if carried through, would be the equivalent of providing each citizen of that country with $3,500 worth of weapons. Saudi Arabia is home of Wahhabi Islam, perhaps the most radical branch of that religion. Through its sponsorship of schools and mosques from Africa to Indonesia, the fundamentalist message of Wahhabi-ism is spreading, and providing a fertile environment for the growth of terrorist groups like al-Qaida and the Islamic State. If the Saudis do find the money (U.S. dollars spent for petroleum) to close this deal, their action will not be to suppress the terrorist organizations that are causing discomfort in the Western world, but rather to prosecute the inhuman war in Yemen, and to promote their rivalry with Iran. In what way does the United States profit from the alliance that Donald Trump is establishing? We strengthen the fundamentalist Islamic terrorism that we profess to be fighting, and we become complicit in acts of inhumanity. Oh yes, we get some jobs. Samuel Neff, Whitefish Police reports FELONY ASSAULT A Butte man faces a felony assault with a weapon a chair and misdemeanor simple assault and criminal contempt charges following an incident Tuesday evening at a home on Carter Street. Police found Jesse Gulbro, 39, of Butte at a local motel at about 7 p.m. Wednesday. According to police, Gulbro hit a family member with a chair and pushed that person down a set of stairs. A friend heard the commotion and entered the house to try to intervene. Gulbro hit the family friend in the chest, knocking that person backwards, according to police. When the police were called, Gulbro fled out the back door, and police could not locate him until Wednesday at the motel. He remained in the Butte jail as of Thursday afternoon. K-9 UNIT FINDS HEROIN Butte-Silver Bow Police were called in to assist probation and parole services to search a residence, and during the search, a K-9 unit located several grams of heroin, drug paraphernalia, and prescription pills. Police arrested Butte residents Jill Ridders, 40, and Adam Price, 20, at about 10:15 a.m. Wednesday in the 2800 block of St. Ann Street. Ridders was charged with possession of dangerous drugs, a felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. Price was charged with possession of dangerous drugs, a felony, and three criminal contempt warrants, all misdemeanors. Both remained in the Butte jail Thursday afternoon. HOMELESS MAN RUNS Police spotted Ricky Cooley, 26, on the 1700 block of Thornton Ave. at about 11 a.m. Wednesday breaking into a garage. When Cooley saw police, he ran. Police apprehended him on the 1700 block of Adams Street. Police did not find anything on Cooley, who police say is homeless. Cooley was charged with obstructing a peace officer, a misdemeanor. DRIVING WHILE ANGRY Christopher Zachow, 25, from Butte was driving in the area of Excelsior and Broadway at about 2 p.m. Wednesday when he spotted a man he said he didnt like, followed that car, and raised a gun, though did not point the gun at the other man, according to police. The victim, who had a passenger with him, called police. Police stopped Zachow at Montana and Josette and found both a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun. Police charged him with two counts of simple assault, both misdemeanors. DUI DRIVER PURSUED Police said Angela Pomroy, 39, of Butte struck a stop sign, nearly hit a moving vehicle, and then parked in an alley between A and B Streets at about 12:30 a.m. Thursday. The driver of the vehicle that was nearly struck followed Pomroy to the alley and called police. Police found Pomroy sitting in her car with the keys in the ignition and damage to her vehicle. When police asked her to get out of her car and tried to handcuff her, she resisted. She was charged with a felony DUI because it was her third DUI; resisting arrest, a misdemeanor; driving on a suspended license; and hit-and-run to highway fixtures, a misdemeanor. MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. A kayak guide in his first season on the job in Yellowstone National Park has died while trying to rescue a park visitor who capsized on Yellowstone Lake. Timothy Hayden Ryan Conant, 23, of Salt Lake City died Wednesday in the West Thumb area of the lake, according to the National Park Service. Conant was among three guides on a kayaking excursion with a group of nine tourists. Park rangers found Conant in the water and worked to revive him, but he was pronounced dead before he could be transported by helicopter to a hospital. Park officials say the client whom Conant attempted to save was rescued by other guides in the group and was treated for hypothermia at a park clinic. The incident is under investigation. Yellowstone spokeswoman Morgan Warthin said the incident occurred about 400 yards off the west shore of the lake. There was no unusual weather at the time of the incident, which occurred in the late afternoon when the lake often can become rough because of wind, Warthin said. Warthin said the average year-round temperature of the lake is 43 degrees. It's likely cooler now because Yellowstone has just come out of its winter season. Some areas of the park received snow earlier this week. The National Park Service was not releasing the name of the tourist involved, she said. Conant worked for O.A.R.S., a company based out of Angels Camp, California, that has offered non-motorized boat tours in Yellowstone under a permit since 1996. The company issued a statement late Thursday saying that Conant will be remembered as a hero by trying to save a 62-year-old client. It said Conant's kayak overturned during the rescue and he "spent a considerable amount of time in the cold water." Steve Markle, a spokesman for the company, said he understood that this was Conant's first season working as a kayak guide after working at Utah ski resorts over the previous few years. Conant was originally from Anchorage, Alaska, and had moved to Utah to attend college, he said. Markle declined to comment about the incident because it was under investigation. But he said the company was devastated by Conant's death and suspended its daily kayaking trips in Yellowstone through the weekend. "Right now all of our efforts are really focused on making sure we assist Tim's family and friends in any way we can," Markle said. Max Pelosi, director of the Jackson Hole Kayak School in Jackson, said any rescue 400 yards from shore in Yellowstone Lake would require a deep water rescue technique where the guide would dump water out of the capsized boat and help the client back in. The guide typically does not get out of his or her boat during a deep water rescue, Pelosi, whose company conducts kayak tours in Yellowstone Lake, said. "As a guide I'm trying almost to never be out of my boat unless I'm on land," he said. Since 1894, there have been 41 deaths in Yellowstone Lake. The most recent was in 1997 when two people died while canoeing. It was the second death in Yellowstone, the world's first national park, this month. An Illinois man was found dead June 9 from an apparent fall. A female was taken to the Butte hospital with minor injuries after she fell off her four-wheeler around 3 p.m. Wednesday west of Whitehall. The driver, who wasn't identified, was pulling out of a loading area near the Pipestone interchange, off Interstate 90, near Delmoe Lake Road, when the accident occurred. Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Ken Klapan said the driver hit the accelerator instead of the brake and landed in a ditch, where she fell off the four-wheeler. The rig continued up a hill before coming back to rest in the ditch. No one else was injured in the incident. A recent shooting at the Hickory, North Carolina, residence of GOP congressional candidate Pat Harrigans parents and young children caused no injuries but has placed tremendous stress on the family in the final weeks of his campaign, Harrigans mother said. The firearms manufacturer and U.S. Army Special Forces veteran is running against Democratic state Sen. Jeff Jackson for an open U.S. House seat in North Carolinas new 14th District based in western Charlotte. A Hickory Police Department spokesperson said the department has not made arrests related to the incident and that the investigation is ongoing. MUGSHOTS.COM ** FUGITIVE MANHUNT - BOLO **: DOMINIQUE KNIGHTWISCONSIN MAN WANTED FOR MURDER FOR SHOOTING MAN IN THE HEAD ON HIS FRONT PORCH Mugshots.com Writing Staff. Racine, WI Dominique Knight is wanted by the Racine Police Department in Wisconsin for Murder. In addition, the U.S. Marshals Service is also hunting for the fugitive. The police department is asking for the publics help in locating him. According to investigators, Knight fatally shot 20-year old Harry Canady, Jr. on May 7, 2017. The two reportedly got into an argument on the victims front porch, and Knight ended up shooting him in the head. Police are surprised by the shooting because Knight reportedly does not have violent criminal history. Its kind of one of our rare occasions. Its a guy that didnt really have a large criminal history. He had some bail jumpings from some small drug cases in the past. All of a sudden this homicide happened. This is a large leap from what his criminal history has been, according to the agent on the case. Knight is described as a 25-year old black male. He is 511 tall and weighs approximately 240 pounds. He is known to have tattoos on his left and right arms. The words Sherry, Londyn, and Money are tattooed on his left forearm. And on his right arm, he has the words Desire, Son, and Get on his right forearm. He is known to go by the alias D-Knight. Investigators report that he has an extensive network of family who may be hiding him. Authorities warn that he should be Considered Armed and Dangerous. Do not attempt to capture him if spotted. If you spot him or have any information about Dominique Knight or his whereabouts, you are urged to contact the Racine Police Department Investigations Unit at 262-635-7756 or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Your name: Your e-mail (optional): Url: Description: Mugshots.com : 154757440 All are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Published mugshots and/or arrest records are previously published public records of: an arrest, an indictment, a registration, supervision or probation, the deprivation of liberty or a detention. The mugshots and/or arrest records published on mugshots.com are in no way an indication of guilt and they are not evidence that an actual crime has been committed. Arrest does not imply guilt, and criminal charges are merely accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty and convicted. For latest case status, contact the official Law Enforcement Agency which originally released the information. The following Official Record of MUGSHOTS.COM ** FUGITIVE MANHUNT - BOLO ** is being redistributed by Mugshots.com and is protected by constitutional, publishing, and other legal rights. This Official Record was collected on 6/15/2017. Last updated on 6/15/2017 unconstitutional mugshot laws, exonerations, arrest records, FBI most wanted, editorials, opinion Jackson Crosskno(CANTON, Ga.) -- This innovative Georgia teen is definitely going to be the coolest kid in the neighborhood this summer. Jackson Crosskno, 19, of Canton, built a custom roller coaster in his backyard over the course of five years. Ive always been into roller coasters, and I used to go on YouTube all the time and I came across some people who had built some in their backyard. But they were all really small and didnt have a theme to them, so I went and tried it, Crosskno told ABC News of how the project began. My dad helped me a little bit back in 2012. I got the main platform and the drop built, and I got kind of distracted for a few years and then I came back to it. His elaborate White Mountain Railroad even has a complex backstory, which Crosskno said he created to mimic the Walt Disney Imagineering process. The way Imagineering approaches things, everything is story-driven, he said. Id like to get into that, so I wrote a whole backstory around a logging company thats been turned into a tourist attraction. Everything about the ride was driven to that. The trains are actual steam engines, the front ends of them. Its a whole story-driven experience. Thats how the best theme park attractions are built. It immerses you in the whole experience." Crosskno described the unique story behind his White Mountain Railroad on his YouTube video, which featured the completed ride in all its glory. The story of White Mountain Railroad begins in the late 1800s with the White Mountain Logging Co., which operated until the 1940s, he said. The rail lines had been built without blasting through the mountain to create tunnels, as it was cheaper for the money-hoarding management. Two tracks were created, one was the longer but slower route, and the other was a faster, more direct route to the bottom. As the years went by, the operation began to decline, and the mill closed sometime in the 1940s. The management decided to leave everything where it was since most of the equipment was too outdated to be sold and it was cheaper to leave the rotting railroad tracks than to remove them, he said. The operation sat abandoned for many years until a couple of urban explorers caught wind of the railroad and decided to have a look for themselves. What they found was a railroad that resembled the twists and drops of a roller coaster, and a light bulb went off. About a year later, the White Mountain Switchback Railroad officially opened, allowing riders to ride along the slower and more scenic route of the railroad. The ride is a pride point for the Georgia State University sophomore, who said he had never taken an engineering class until he entered college. Not one engineering class, Crosskno said. Theres a little bit of math involved, like the width of the track ties, but most of it was trial and error. I approach things like, Just go out there and do it. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Spain celebrates 40 years since the first democratic election after Franco ARCHIVED ARTICLE The embryonic PP party received fewer votes than the Spanish Communists in 1977 This Thursday 15th June marks a historic anniversary in Spain, as it is 40 years to the day since the first democratic general election was held in this country since the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975. It is sometimes hard to remember that democracy in Spain is so young, but a large percentage of the population still remember the excitement of the transitional period between dictatorship and democracy, as well as the nerves and uncertainty which surrounded the campaigning and the election. These are highlighted in the turn-out rate of almost 80 per cent, a figure which was probably kept down by some people genuinely believing that they could still suffer the consequences if they supported a non-Francoist candidate after four decades of the Generalisimos regime. Spains legislators and politicians were still very much feeling their way in 1977 - the Constitution was not signed until the following year and when stand-in President of the government Adolfo Suarez called the first election since February 1936 it was hard to imagine which groups might attract most support. However, in the end Sr Suarezs UCD party won the most seats (165 out of the 350 in Congress) and he went on to become the first democratically elected President of the government after Franco as head of a minority government which was to last until 1982, surviving another election in 1979. The rest of the results make for interesting reading 40 years on: the second largest party was Felipe Gonzalezs PSOE, with 118 seats, while third was the Spanish Communist Party with 20 representatives in Congress! As for the fledgling AP party led by former Francoist minister Manuel Fraga, the group received only 8.3% of the votes cast, winning just 16 seats. This party later evolved into the PP, which currently governs in Spain with a parliamentary minority. But whereas in the last two years it has proved extremely difficult to form a minority government, for Adolfo Suarez it was surprisingly easy in 1977, as almost all of the candidates agreed on the need to press forward with democratic reforms and the scripting of the Constitution. There was an enthusiasm for democracy which is barely imaginable today, with 80 parties competing for parliamentary seats (although only twelve were eventually represented). Another sign of the changing times is that in 1977 only 21 of the 350 MPs elected were women, whereas in 2017 there are 138. Image: Adolfo Suarez (left) in August 1977, with Dutch Prime Minister Joop Den Uyl. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Louisa County officials have not taken any action against an on-going construction project at a turkey production building outside of Wapello, even though a building permit has not been issued for the work, supervisor Brad Quigley told his fellow Louisa County Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Last week, Zoning Administrator Julian West told the board about the continuing work on the Gentle Ben's Farms building, which was damaged by a fire several months ago. West said the owners had been told they needed a permit, but rejected that opinion, explaining the facility was an agricultural use that was exempt from county permitting requirements. West had indicated he would contact Louisa County Attorney Adam Parsons and request action be taken against the company. Quigley said several neighbors had contacted him since then to report work was continuing. He said he would contact Parsons, and asked the issue be placed on the June 20 agenda. In other action, the supervisors heard monthly update reports from department heads. Veterans Affairs Service Officer Andy Beaver said he continues to scale back his activities in preparation of retirement, while new assistant officer Adam Caudle receives more training and experience. Caudle is working 15 hours a week, Beaver said, and they are splitting office time during the week. If it works, I think well keep going that way, he told the board. Beaver may remain available to help Caudle through the end of 2018. Beaver also reported plans to recognize area Vietnam War veterans during the Grandview July 4 parade were progressing. The event will be part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the war. Conservation Board Executive Director Katie Hammond reported she had been working with water system consultant Tim McCleary to update a contract that covers the water system at the Louisa County Complex. Public Health Service Interim Director Roxanne Smith and Office Manager Heidi Pallister provided public health and environmental health reports. Smith said surplus grant funding had been used to purchase two automated external defibrillators for the courthouse and the annex building. Pallister said requests for environmental health permits and inspections were up in May. She indicated an increased number of cabin sales at Lake Odessa sparked some of the applications. MUSCATINE For the last four years, agriculture teacher Adam Crews belonged to two districts. He spent his mornings teaching at Muscatine High School and his afternoons at Louisa-Muscatine High School. Crews landed the position straight out of college, and the prospect of working in two districts made him nervous at first. He wasnt sure how to deal with different school policies, FFA clubs, and schedules. Each district has its own calendar, and professional development days, spring breaks, late starts and early outs dont necessarily align. He made it work, arriving at L-M early in the morning to prepare materials for the afternoon, and asking his colleagues in Muscatine to help when needed. But there was an advantage to the arrangement. At Muscatine, Crews was one of several agriculture teachers; at L-M, he was the only one. He said Muscatines teachers helped him learn skills he would not have learned on his own. It was nice to have (the Muscatine teachers) to create ideas for what to do in the classroom and classroom management and I relied on those teachers a lot to kind of build my skills and develop curriculums, he said. It was really nice to have that group, if I was just solely at L-M, I wouldnt have had that. Crews is one of more than 500 Iowa teachers whose position was split between two districts last year. L-M and Muscatine schools also shared consumer science and industrial tech teachers, and a school counselor. Balancing budgets and needs The Iowa Department of Education encourages districts to share staff, by giving them funds to give teachers who share positions more money in the year after theyve worked the split. L-M, for example, will receive approximately $50,000 next year for positions it shares with Muscatine and other school districts. The finances of a district come into play, but also the need within a particular district, said L-M Superintendent Mike Van Sickle. And that need can shift. When you look into high school and theres an element of student choice, if you have some programs that the classes arent as full as youd like, then you think, well, we could probably do with a half-time position and have bigger classes and then share that position with somebody else. The opposite can also happen. When more students are interested in a particular elective, school districts can convert part-time shared positions into full-time positions, as was the case with Crews. Part-time to full-time and back again Last year, there was a surge of interest in agriculture at L-M High School. With Crews' half-time position, the district could only accommodate half the students who wanted to those courses. So in January, the L-M board of education voted to bring Crews on full-time. Crews said he is excited to be in one district full-time. Though hed made his shared position work, there were some things he couldnt do, like help L-M students with their FFA projects in the mornings, when he needed to be at Muscatine. Mornings, he said, are prime time for projects because most students have afternoon activities. Van Sickle said the sharing option allows the district to remain flexible as student needs change. It also allows the district to offer subjects for which there are not enough teachers, such as consumer science, industrial technology and agriculture. Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi [] Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] Here are some of the stories making global headlines today. How To Buy Bitcoin or Ethereum in Kenya and Make Money Easy It is the biggest thing in the world right now, but Kenyans are sadly missing out. Unlike the many get rich schemes people keep falling for, Cryptocurrency is the future of finance, and as more people get into it, their value is growing exponentially. Everyone knows Bitcoin. You probably heard Kenyans Never Learn: Watch This Guy Promote Public Likes Scam in a Matatu Its happening.. Everybody stay calm. Kenyans are about to lose their money BIG. We told you about the pyramid scheme called Public Likes that is gaining new followers every day. Read: Public Likes.. The Big Pyramid Scam Infecting Kenyans Right Now Briefly, Public Likes is paying people to Ciku Muiruri: Why I Support Julie Gichuru and Caroline Mutoko for Endorsing Uhuru Kenyatta Media personality Ciku Muiruri has voiced her opinion in support of fellow media personalities Julie Gichuru and Caroline Mutoko for endorsing President Uhuru Kenyatta for a second term. Together with fellow media girl Caroline Mutoko, Julie was the MC last Friday night during a fundraising dinne Doctors Remove 13Kg of Faeces from Man Constipated Since Birth Surgeons have removed 13kgs of feces from the bowels of a man was constipated since birth. The unnamed 22 year old underwent the procedure at Tenth Peoples Hospital of Shanghai in China. He had a grossly enlarged bowel. According to reports, the man might have had the rare Hirschsprungs dise Huge inferno at West London tower block The blaze engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road in White City on Wednesday morning Horrifying pictures emerged on social media showing massive flames licking up the side of the block Desperate residents trapped high in the enormous residential tower were heard screaming for help Police are evacuating panicked residents and two people are already being treated for smoke inhalation Several people have been confirmed dead after a huge inferno broke out at a residential tower block in West London. Residents give horrific eyewitness accounts of London tower fire Massive blaze engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road in White City in early hours this morning Horrifying pictures show massive flames licking up the side of the 27-storey block and burning debris falling Desperate residents trapped in residential tower have been heard screaming fatalities have been confirmed Horrific eyewitness accounts from devastated residents have begun to emerge from the scene today Are you at the scene of the fire or a resident at the building? No sprinklers or fire alarm and residents told to stay INSIDE Residents claim there was no central fire alarm working and sprinklers failed People were only saved by neighbours banging on doors or by panicked calls 7th floor resident Paul Munakr said: The fire alarms didnt go off in the building Sprinkler systems also reportedly not working or may not have Dramatic moment hero Grenfell firefighter showered by burning debris Social media videos show Grenfell Tower, in White City, on the brink of collapse after a huge fire which has killed several people It broke out overnight and tore through the tower block, with fatalities confirmed Videos show the flames engulfing the 24-storey building which is home to around 500 people Trapped residents could be seen waving clothes out of their windows to get the attention of the emergency services Videos posted to social media have shown the horror in North Kensington as a blaze rips through a 24-storey block of flats. Action group raised concerns over fire four years ago The blaze engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road in White City on Wednesday morning Horrifying pictures emerged on social media showing massive flames licking up the side of the block Desperate residents trapped high in the enormous residential tower block were heard screaming for help Police are evacuating London fire live updates: Blaze engulfs apartment block Hundreds of firefighters are battling a huge blaze at a 27-story apartment block in West London. See here for live updates. Man freed after lookalike becomes suspect Thats what happened to Richard Jones in 1999. But Jones was released from prison June 8 after a team from the University of Kansas Project for Innocence found his doppelganger. His lawyers say in 1999, a man named Rick was picked up at a home by a trio of crack smokers looking for drugs in Kansas City, Kansas. Londons Borough Market reopens after terror attack The normally bustling marketplace, packed with stalls peddling everything from artisan breads to aromatic curries and British charcuterie, has been boarded up since a vehicle and knife attack on June 3 left eight people dead. Just days earlier, bullet holes were still visible in the shutters of some stall where police fired on three knife-wielding assailants as they stormed nearby restaurants and pubs. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick takes leave of absence Travis Kalanick, the CEO and cofounder of Uber, told staff Tuesday he will take time off in order to grieve for his mother, who recently died in a tragic boating accident. Its hard to put a timeline on this it may be shorter or longer than we might expect, Kalanick wrote in a company-wide memo. Syrian artist depicts Trump and other leaders as refugees Abdalla Al Omari, who has refugee status in Belgium, says his own experience with displacement prompted him to create The Vulnerability Series. Being a refugee is like having a new lump in your body that you had nothing to do with, and it will stay until the last day, so you better deal with it, Al Omari told CNN. Is this the worlds toughest bike race? Welcome to Race Across America ( RAAM) 12 days of hell spent peddling from the west coast to the east. The route stretches 3,000 miles across 12 states, taking in the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, Monument Valley as well as the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, and demands 170,000 feet worth of vertical climbs. This man carves fruit and vegetables into spectacular works of art They say you cant have your cake and eat it, but its more than possible to have your avocado and carve it. Half of it, anyway. Food sculptor and artist Daniele Barresi has proved it. That finely sculpted avocado, which has been widely shared on social media over the last few days, isnt Barresis first foray into the fairly niche world of food sculpting. Seinfelds refusal to hug Kesha has become a spectacular piece of art Jerry Seinfelds totally awkward refusal to hug Kesha has been turned into a mural in Melbourne, Australia, and its pretty awesome. Australian artist Lush created the mural, and posted it to Instagram with a simple caption: No thanks. It perfectly captures the awkward moment during Seinfelds interview Monday when he unceremoniously turned the pop star down. Were not making this up: KFC is launching a sandwich to the edge of space This isnt what President Kennedy had in mind when he ushered in the space age. In a move that could probably be fairly described as peak capitalism, KFC and the private spaceflight company World View are teaming up to send a chicken sandwich to the edge of space for a four-day trip into the stratosphere, at about 7 to 30 miles off the ground. Soz Justin Trudeau, Tommy Corbyn is the new internet bae Young politicians are a thing since the rise of Justin Trudeau as the internets favourite bae, and his bromance with the newly appointed president of France. But what about politicians sons? Enter Tommy, the 23-year-old son of Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader who surprisingly led his party to an outstanding result at the UK general election. Female university students in the Rift Valley region will have to find other means of self-pleasure after the Kenya Revenue Authority intercepted and destroyed s*x toys worth Ksh300, 000 in Eldoret town in Uasin Gishu County on Wednesday. KRA North Rift coordinator, Florence Otori, said the self-pleasure toys were meant for sale to women and female university students in the area. The intercepted sex toys included items such as dildos, vibrators, and interestingly, quite a number of butt plugs from Loveplugs.ca It is unfortunate and disheartening to see businessmen and businesswomen import such gadgets into the country and resort to selling them in towns in Rift Valley. As KRA, we cannot allow the furthering of moral decadence by greedy businessmen and businesswomen who are only out to make money, forgetting the negative impact such gadgets can have on children, who may be tempted to try them out. As KRA we wont allow the importation of such gadgets into the country, said Ms Otori. It is shocking that women, who we look up to in society, are the ones buying such gadgets. Women should be epitomes of moral direction in society, added Ms Otori. Read: Nairobi Diaries Star Pendo Admits Ordering S*X Toy, Vows Not to Pay a Dime KRA also seized substandard goods worth more than Sh1 million at Eldoret International Airport and markets in the region. The KRA North Rift boss said other items destroyed included cigarettes, medicines, pornographic material and fake seeds. Some of the goods we destroyed are very harmful to healththe public must be made aware, she said. She, however, did not reveal the owners of the s*x gadgets. A man on Wednesday afternoon stabbed the mother of his daughter to death before committing suicide in their rented single roomed house in Botore, Kisii County. Geoffrey Aroni, 24, a bodaboda rider was in an incestuous relationship with his cousin Christine Nyananga. A relative, Mr Ben Ogango, said Mr Aroni called him and asked him to take care of his daughter. The man called me and told me to take care of his daughter. I am shocked and cant believe he had to do this, he said. He said the two had been warned against the affair and had been having an on-off affair for years. Neighbors who heard commotion in the house reported to the community policing chairman in the area, Mr Paul Matoya. Mr Matoya said he immediately rushed to the scene and found the two lifeless bodies lying on the floor. I immediately called the police who rushed to the scene, he said. Confirming the incident, Kisii County police commissioner Agnes Mudambi said that the police have begun investigations. Thebodies were rushed to the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital with police rummaging through the house to establish the motive for the killings. Its fake news season in fake news country. There are 2 sides in this equation. The political party sponsored fake news, and the money motivated fake news. Both Nasa and Jubilee have their own online warriors running multiple blogs, and Twitter accounts. Their purpose is to highlight any misstep by the other side, often adding great exaggeration, or even posting outright lies. When a section of a crowd boos, it will be top news on the respective party sponsored blogs and social media accounts, twisted for maximum impact. On the other hand, there are bloggers who are just out to make money, and have mastered the art of evoking emotions through headlines. The more viral an article is, the more they earn. Right now the line is blurred and you cannot say with certainty where particular bloggers lie. And speaking of fake news, the one that has gone viral and caught our eyes is by perennial fake news propagator a blog by the name FP-News. The name itself is supposed to make people think this the real Foreign Policy. Some time back, they published an article under the title, Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta Will Win by 58%, Western Think Tanks Predict. Also Read: Raila Leads by 53%, Uhuru at 41% ODM Releases Fake Ipsos Poll First paragraph reads, International and local pollsters project 55year President Uhuru Kenyatta will be reelected with a landslide during the August general elections. Little known pollster Elections Pollster which predicted a Macron win in France projects Mr. Kenyatta will win 58% of the vote against Mr. Odingas 38%. The blog goes on to write, Western Think Tanks Predicts Kenyatta will get slightly over 10.5 million votes out of the slightly over 16million verified voters leaving Mr Odinga with less than 5million votes. The West warns that Mr Odingas slogan of 10million win is a ploy to hoodwink Kenyans to believe he will win. Odingas 10million votes win is a lie derived from our projections that President Kenyatta will win the election with over 10.5million votes in August, Claims a Western official. [showad block=6] To give the fake article even further credibility, the author of the article invented people and titles. According to Emma Gordon, Senior Analyst at Bath, England based risk consultancy, the opposition support is completely disillusioned this time and its impossible to determine actual political preference of the entire block. According to Ahmed Salim, Senior Analyst at Teneo Strategy, a Dubai based firm, President Kenyatta would have enjoyed a landslide win were it not for the discontent about cost of living and the narrative about corruption which has been manufactured by the opposition. If he can be able to turn these two issues around to his advantage in 2 months, he will win the 1st round with over 60%. The author even published made-up Angela Merkel quotes. In only one hour, I realized why Kenyan opposition is bitter with President Kenyatta. If he was my opponent, I would also be scared of him; this man is a great debater and a diplomat. If I was running against him, I wouldnt have any hope of being reelected because his eloquence alone would deny me another term German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. The fake news would have been ignore, like it should be, until Majority Leader Aden Duale, fell for it and posted a link on his Facebook page. But Im not completely sure he really fell for it, because the lies are so obvious. Perhaps he knowingly fed his supporters fake news? Be vigilant. Its fake news season. Pacific Union College in Angwin will host its commencement exercises Friday through Sunday. The college will award 418 associate, bachelor, and masters degrees to 392 graduates. The largest departmental groups are nursing and health sciences (223), business administration (36), communication (31), biology (19), and psychology and social work (18). Founded in 1882, Pacific Union College is a fully accredited liberal arts college serving more than 1,400 students. The school is affiliated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Students, their family, and residents are welcome to attend the ceremony, which for the first time will be held at Maxwell Commons, located between the Pacific Union College Church and Paulin Hall. The new commencement site was named in memory of D. Malcolm Maxwell, the 19th president of PUC. He was the first PUC alumnus to serve as president, and he had the longest tenure 18 years of any president of the college. Rebekah Wang-Cheng, medical director for care coordination at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa, Arizona, will speak at the Consecration service on Friday at 8 p.m. The Baccalaureate service begins at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday. Niels-Erik Andreasen, recently retired president of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, will give the address. Co-nursing director for the University of California San Francisco Medical Center Lourdes Moldre will address both A.S. and B.S.N. students at the Nursing Graduate Recognition service on Saturday at 4 p.m. The commencement service begins at 9 a.m. Sunday. Sgt. Major Juan Hidalgo Jr., who served in the United States Marine Corps for 31 years, will give the commencement address. His son, Juan Hidalgo 3rd, is senior class president and will be giving the valedictory speech, making this a special Fathers Day occasion. The service will also be livestreamed via the PUC website at puc.edu starting at 9 a.m. Details of the commencement weekend and schedule are available at puc.edu/graduation. For more information, contact the colleges public relations office at 707-965-6303 or pr@puc.edu. Senior rabbi named for Congregation Beth Shalom Congregation Beth Shalom announced the appointment of Niles Elliot Goldstein as its full-time rabbi. He will be taking up his post in Napa on July 1. Rabbi Goldstein, who comes to Napa from the Chicago area, is author of books on spiritual matters, has contributed op-ed pieces to national publications, was a founding rabbi of a congregation and has a history involvement in social action and interfaith relations. I believe in a big tent approach to Judaism that is inclusive, egalitarian, accessible, relevant, stimulating and celebratory, Goldstein said in Beth Shaloms news release. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor of arts with honors in philosophy and English, he went on to Hebrew Union College and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to earn a masters of arts in Hebrew Letters. He was ordained in 1994. He founded The New Shul in New York, and served as the senior rabbi there for 10 years. He has served on numerous boards and faculties including New York University, Loyola University Chicago as well as Harvard, Duke and Johns Hopkins universities. He is the award-winning author of 10 books, including God at the Edge: Searching for the Divine in Uncomfortable and Unexpected Places and Gonzo Judaism. Goldstein is a frequent contributor to national media op-eds such as the Huffington Post, Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times. He was also the voice behind Microsofts Ask the Rabbi. He has created and led humanitarian missions to Central Asia and the Caucases and will bring his sense of community and social involvement with him to Napa, Beth Shalom said in a news release. Goldstein looks forward to joining the Interfaith Council, working with his colleagues to effect positive change in Napa, the release said. Sandra Fitzpatrick, the executive director of the California Commission on Aging, will speak at the Napa County Commission on Aging meeting on June 26. Her talk, Reframing Aging in Times of Transition, will focus on the politics of aging and provide ways to effectively advocate for seniors. She will discuss some proposed federal budget cuts that are a threat to programs for older adults. In addition, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley will talk on the issue of elder abuse. A video featuring Senator Bill Dodd will also focus on this issue in recognition of Elder Abuse Month. The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at the Napa Senior Center Annex, 1500 Jefferson St., Napa. Meetings are open to the public and public comment is welcome. Learn more about the Commission at www.countyofnapa.org/coa. Pam Simpson, who has been the CEO/President of the St. Helena Chamber of Commerce for the past six years, will leave on Aug. 31. In a short email sent Wednesday afternoon, Simpson said she chose not to renew her contract for the upcoming year; instead she signed a short-term contract to help with the transition of a new CEO/President. It has been a privilege to represent the greater St. Helena business community for the last six years, said Simpson. The best part of this position is working with smart, progressive visionaries who are on the cutting edge of what they do. Being a part of their overall innovation, whether in business, marketing, winemaking, food or life enhancing experiences has been truly rewarding. Simpson has headed the Chamber since May 2011, after selling Chase Cellars, a St. Helena winery she owned and operated for 12 years. She writes, I have lived in and around St. Helena for over 27 years and the Chamber position was perfect for me while my children were in school. With them now in college, I am ready to join the private sector again and am excited to look for new opportunities. On Tuesday, the St. Helena City Council approved a one-year $210,000 marketing contract with the Chamber, with $30,000 of that amount to be spent on community events. The council is split on the proposed Property Based Improvement District (PBID) that Simpson and other Chamber officials have been promoting. Simpson writes that under her direction, the Chamber moved its Welcome Center to a more prominent location on South Main Street; implemented a strategic marketing effort to keep St. Helena in the minds of Napa Valley visitors; and secured grants from the St. Helena Tourist Improvement District, Visit Napa Valley and the St. Helena City Council for its marketing efforts. According to Marcus Marquez, president of the Chamber board of directors, There isnt one quote that could describe the impact Pam Simpson had on St. Helena. Beginning from her involvement when she was starting a family to now that they are in college. Someone with so much passion and education would not be so vocal if they didnt have St. Helena, as a community in their best interest. Pams work will be felt 20-30 years out, Marquez added. I can not thank her enough for keeping the ball rolling during the most difficult times St. Helena has seen. I know I am not speaking alone when I say she will be missed. I hope we can make her proud when we take the Chamber and the community events to the next level. Is it to soon to ask for a Pam Simpson Day? According to the Chambers website, it concentrates its efforts into three strategic committees, marketing, advocacy and community relations. The Chamber also administers the St. Helena Renaissance Foundation, which created a Streetscape Improvement Plan for Main Street; spearheaded the planning for new public restrooms for downtown before the city took over the project; offers Musical Picnics in Lyman Park on the second and fourth Thursdays of June, July and August; helps coordinate the Hometown Harvest Festival & Pet Parade in October; and coordinates the sidewalk sales downtown, which are held the first Friday through Sunday in May and October. For the last several years, the Chamber also has dedicated efforts to holiday decorations on Main Street. Additionally, in partnership with Upper Valley Disposal and Umpqua Bank, the Chamber has hosted Earth Day events in April as it has for the past 30 years. Since 1971, St. Helena has honored its Citizen, Business, Employee and Nonprofit of the Year at Celebrate St. Helena. This year, they were honored in March at a luncheon and reception at Hall Wines in St. Helena. The Chamber is an important and vital voice in and for the community, said Simpson. My hope for the next CEO/President is to continue to proudly represent the business community as St. Helena answers its economic sustainability issues and finds the balance between economic success and maintaining our quality of life in St. Helena. (Natural News) One of the milestones in a young adults life is learning how to drive. Driving serves as a rite of passage for many teens because it paves the path to adulthood. Add the fact that being behind the wheel always brings a certain kind of thrill. However, with the proliferation of self-driving cars, babies born today may never experience the joy of driving a car. Self-driving cars can take over the roads in the next 20 years. A study by the Boston Consulting Group predicted that about 12 million fully-autonomous vehicles will be sold each year by 2035. The comprehensive study also estimated 18 million of partially-autonomous vehicles would be sold annually worldwide. The technology behind cars that can drive themselves is developing at such an impressive rate that U.K. roads will filled with autonomous cars as early as 2032. Babies born today may never have to take a driving test, said Amanda Blanc, chief executive at AXA UK. She also added that the insurance sector must keep up with the evolution since self-driving cars have the potential to eliminate human-related accidents. The scenario presents two possibilities for car insurers: an opportunity to improve their business or a challenge that may lead to their demise. For the longest time, car insurance has been a very lucrative business, generating billions in annual revenue and providing thousands of jobs to people. The change that vehicle autonomy could bring might disrupt the current business model, and that poses a serious concern. The main challenge here is that human error accounts for 90 percent of road accidents. Autonomous cars are designed to make driving a lot safer. By improving road safety and lowering the probability of accidents, self-driving cars may push insurance premiums to go down. A report by accounting firm KPMG said that the personal auto insurance sector could reduce its current size by 40 percent in the next 25 years when cars become a lot safer to use. By 2035, car crashes are expected to go down by 80 percent as a result of self-driving vehicles. Lower accident rates will drive insurance costs to fall. This gives insurers an opportunity to play a key role in creating a new framework for the future. Some companies are already taking steps. Ever since it installed Autopilot in 2015, Tesla vehicle crash rates went down by 40 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Administration. This means the insurance premium needed to be adjusted. Tesla plans to include insurance in its final price. Volvo is also a supporter. In fact, it is so confident about its technology that its CEO Hakan Samuelsson is willing to accept liabilities for its self-driving cars when in autonomous mode. In the U.K., one possible solution is for insurance companies to offer two types of protection: one for when the car is driving itself and one when a human is behind the wheel. There are other factors to consider as well, such as protection against cyberattacks. Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.4 million vehicles in 2015 after researchers successfully remotely controlled a vehicle driving down the highway. The potential for cars to be compromised is a genuine concern and should be heavily considered. The future of car technology offers safety and convenience that most drivers and passengers would enjoy. And once the important stuff is covered, like insurance, theres nothing else to be worried about, right? But what about the exhilarating thrill you get from driving? Does it even matter anymore? Sources include: Independent.co.uk Betanews.com BCG.com Assets.kpmg.com (Natural News) Climate change magnate and multi-millionaire Al Gore seems to have emerged from the woodwork of his $9 million mansion with a new message for the world: Global warming is already here! He apparently saw it personally during a recent trip to Miami, where an unusual tide event brought water and fish into the streets in a few areas of the city along the coast on a sunny day, no less. The National Weather Service (NWS) says a super moon and particularly aggressive easterly winds are to blame for this otherwise non-event. But Gore claims to know better, insisting during an interview on an episode of The New York Times DealB%k show that melting ice has clearly raised sea levels all around the world, and that quite a number of coastal cities are now being affected. Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia, currently the worlds largest naval base, is also in trouble, according to Gore. Though nothing has changed there as far as water levels are concerned, Gore says the entire base is going to have to be relocated to escape being inundated with water in the same way as Miami though he provided no insights as to when the nation should expect this to occur. As Gore was trying to spread fear and climate hysteria, the NWS was quick to explain that the water and fish incident in Miami was caused primarily by a combination of the new moon and blustery winds neither of which are global warming. But why miss an opportunity to spread climate myths, especially when your entire lifes work centers around them? Watch the video and see for yourself as Gore bumbles through his tall tale expressing feigned concern over its supposed ramifications. Al Gore is going to need a new hobby and income stream once every last climate lie has been exposed and debunked As you may recall, Al Gore is the same climate conspiracy theorist who released a documentary back in 2006 entitled An Inconvenient Truth that made all sorts of wild claims about where the world was headed due to global warming. In the film, Gore claimed that by the year 2016, the world would reach a point of no return, which clearly hasnt happened. Just a few days ago, Fox News Chris Wallace took Gore to the woodshed over his crazy past claims that never claim true. Wallace asked Gore point blank, Werent you wrong? Gore would have been smart to fess up and just admit that climate lies are the bread and butter of his existence, and that it was all just a big politically-motivated fraud. Instead, he answered with a no, adding: Well we have seen a decline in emissions on a global basis. For the first time theyve stabilized and started to decline. So some of the responses for the last 10 years have helped, but unfortunately and regrettably a lot of serious damage has been done. Wait, so global warming is a serious problem because fish and water are flooding the streets of Miami. But now that we know this isnt actually true, the story has morphed into, well, emissions have dropped and theres no more global warming. Gore just cant seem to keep his story straight, but who really cares when youve already made your millions, right? Al Gore isnt concerned with saving the planet; hes concerned with lining his pocketbook and his maintaining his livelihood. Hes made millions of dollars spreading climate lies, which means he has to keep the jig going or else face losing his one, and probably only, source of income: Spreading delusions about climate change. Sources: TheFederalistPapers.org PalmBeachPost.com TheRightScoop.com (Natural News) Weve all heard about how rising levels of carbon dioxide will bring about the end of the Earth as we know it, but what if that wasnt actually true? What if carbon dioxide was actually responsible for making the Earth greener and more lush, rather than turning it into the dessert-like, barren landscape weve seen in dystopian fiction movies? Well, empirical data has already shown that the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) has made our planet greener over the last 35 years. In fact, Earth is so much greener, the increased leaf coverage could cover the continental United States twice over. If youve ever traveled across the US, you know thats no small feat. Data research led by 32 researchers from 24 different institutions spanning eight countries has found that about 70 percent of these gains in green space are due to the rise in CO2 levels. In spite of these obvious facts, many climate change activists continue to rely on hypothetical scenarios rather than the raw, real-world data sitting right in front of them. As Mike Adams reports, right now the global CO2 level is actually at a record low of about 400 parts per million. In the not-so-distant past, Earths CO2 level was as high as 7,000 parts per million. Adams explains further that the motives behind the forces driving supposed climate change activism are not as pure as the mainstream media purports them to be. As Adams writes, Much like everything else pushed by scientifically illiterate bureaucrats and globalists, climate change is a global narrative of the destruction of life. If the climate change terrorists achieve their goals, they will DESTROY the planetary food chain and plunge all life on Earth including human life into a mass die-off. Reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is not the way to save the planet, especially given that it has contributed to the increased green space across the planet more than any other factor. The second highest contributor, nitrogen, is only estimated to be responsible for about nine percent of plant growth which pales in comparison to CO2s 70 percent. Without CO2, food crops collapse, leading to mass starvation. A wetter, greener planet means one thing: More plants, more biodiversity, and most importantly, an increased ability to sustain life for both humans and other animals. In other words, more CO2 could actually help to solve many of the problems plaguing nations across the globe. As Popular Technology explains, many people are confounding carbon dioxide with carbon monoxide and other types of air pollutants that come from factory fumes and car exhaust. Real air pollution may be a problem, but regulating and reducing CO2 will not offer relief from this issue. Adams is not alone is his conclusion that CO2 is essential to plant life and subsequently, human survival. Roy Spencer, who holds a PhD in Meteorology and is a Former Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA commented, It turns out that most vegetation is somewhat starved for carbon dioxide, as experiments have shown that a wide variety of plants grow faster, and are more drought tolerant, in the presence of doubled carbon dioxide concentrations. Fertilization of the global atmosphere with the extra CO2 that mankinds activities have emitted in the last century is believed to have helped increase agricultural productivity. In short, carbon dioxide is a natural part of our environment, necessary for life, both as food and as a by-product. As you may have already guessed, saving the planet is likely just a ruse to encourage global cooperation, but the truth is that reducing carbon dioxide in the environment will have disastrous effects for the average human. But for tyrannical, power-hungry globalists, reducing CO2 levels is integral: After all, he who controls the food supply, controls the people. Reducing the food supply is a sure-fire way to get people to bow down and accept the New World Order. Sources: NaturalNews.com BBC.com PopularTechnology.net COCOA BEACH, Florida It wont be a good week to go swimming, fishing, or surfing off of Cocoa Beach, Florida on Sunday or Monday due to gusty winds coming from the north. According to the National Weather Service in Melbourne, winds will become less than 10 mph throughout the rest of the week starting on Tuesday. SHARKS Small Bonnethead sharks (also known as Shovelhead sharks) 2 to 3-feet-long that resemble Hammerhead sharks are present in the surf zone. Spinner sharks 2 to 4-feet-long are present off of Cocoa Beach, primarily around, and just beyond, the wave break. Spinner sharks (Carcharhinus brevipinna) can grow up to 9 feet long and have a unique feeding technique of leaping into the air while spinning. Blacktip sharks 2 to 4-feet-long are also present in the surf zone and shallow waters. Blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) are the number one species responsible for biting humans along the U.S. East Coast. The shark has black tips on its pectoral fins and grows to no more than about six feet. Blacktip sharks can swim in just inches of water where toddlers often play. JELLYFISH Recent winds have been blowing jellyfish and Portuguese Man-of-War (technically, Portuguese Man-of-War arent jellyfish but are instead a colony of small organisms called Siphonophorae) away from the popular tourist beaches. Seaweed A small amount of blackened Sargassum seaweed is present along Brevard County beaches and in the surf zone during high tide. "Pakistan welcomes Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said. Zakaria said there was a growing realization among countries in the region and the UN that India's "unprovoked hostility" along the Jammu and Kashmir border threatened peace. --IANS ahm/mr/rn ( 83 Words) 2017-06-15-17:32:32 (IANS) The BRICS Sherpas on Thursday agreed to further strengthen the BRICS partnership, deepen practical cooperation and jointly usher in a second "golden decade" of BRICS cooperation. The pledge came as the second BRICS Sherpa meeting was held on Wednesday and on Thursday in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province, Xinhua news agency reported. Participants in the meeting reviewed the progress of the BRICS cooperation in key areas such as political, security, economy, people-to-people and cultural exchanges and focused on the outcome of the upcoming 2017 BRICS Summit due September 3-5 in Xiamen city. Indian Deputy Sherpa Alok Dimris said the priority of the BRICS was the economic and financial market forum, which focuses on the reform of the economic and global governance system. "There are multiple dimensions and initiatives on which BRICS is working together. We have the New Development Bank (NDB), which works on infrastructure, and lots of initiatives in the fields of finance and people-to-people exchanges," he said. Brazilian Sherpa Georges Lamaziere said: "The five countries are not together by chance. The consensus building is very easy among us. We think very similarly on most issues such as international relations, foreign policy and the importance of the multilateral system. We are all in favor of openness in the economy, free trade and climate change agreement, and I think that's the most important message that BRICS is sending to the world." The NDB was established by the BRICS in 2014. BRICS brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. "The bank can be seen as a platform for the BRICS as a whole to reach out to other countries. One of its central aspects is to support the financing of infrastructure in member countries. So it will be able to assist the Belt and Road Initiative," said Paulo Batista, Vice President of the NDB. "BRICS represents over 40 percent of the global population. When the five leaders meet for the summit in Xiamen, it's not just the five leaders' meeting. We are looking forward to a fruitful summit," said Anil Sooklal, the Sherpa from South Africa. --IANS ahm/mr ( 362 Words) 2017-06-15-20:56:21 (IANS) The Congress on Thursday slammed the government decision to remove import duty on wheat, saying the union ministers "need education". "There was no justification to remove the import duty on wheat from 25 per cent to 0 per cent. Our farmers are not getting access to the international market during this government's time," said senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma. Sharma said the height of insensitivity of the government towards the farmers is evident in the official statement justifying its decision to remove the import duty. "One of the reasons given by the government is that Indian wheat has gluten and allergens whereas the wheat from Canada and Australia has no gluten. This is an illiterate statement... They should withdraw the statement with an apology." "Wheat contains gluten irrespective of where it is produced. Only millets, bajra and quinoa are gluten-free. This government's ministers need education about what is gluten-free. We will be very happy to educate them," added Sharma. --IANS sid/him/rn ( 174 Words) 2017-06-15-21:00:32 (IANS) "I'm not sure how I'll feel about acting going forward. I'm doing just a teensy little bit here and there when I have time, but I am loving running my business," she told Extra, reports dailymail.co.uk. The 44-year-old, who has children Apple, 13, and Moses, 11, with her ex-husband Chris Martin, admitted she is instead relishing the challenge of building her own company. "You know, my life has been skewing far more heavily towards my business, and it has to right now that we have so much going on," she said. "We're growing so fast (at my company), and it's such an exciting time to be doing what I'm doing." --IANS nn/rb ( 143 Words) 2017-06-15-06:26:13 (IANS) For his "Miss Lovely" -- a film exploring the world of C-grade cinema -- the censors had initially ordered 157 cuts. Now his upcoming drama "Daddy" delves in to the life of the Big Daddy of Mumbai mafia Arun Gawli. Director Ashim Ahluwalia says safe films are just not his calling. "There are always risks in the kinds of films I like to make. I don't enjoy safe movies," Ahluwalia, a National Award winning filmmaker, told IANS. "Daddy" features Arjun Rampal sinking his teeth like never before in a role of a man who was for a long time associated with major kidnappings, extortions, contract killings and other major crimes in Mumbai. Always seen with a Gandhi cap, Gawli was elected legislator in the 2004 assembly elections and continued to be one till 2009. In 2008, he was nabbed for Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar's murder along with over a dozen associates. The film's newly launched trailer gives a dekko into the gangster-turned-politician Gawli's dark world. "Arjun approached me to make the film, rather than the other way around. He had the rights to the Gawli story and asked if I was interested. I just had an intuition that he would be terrific if I was allowed to direct freely, which is what happened," Ahluwalia said. The "Daddy" trailer, which came out on Tuesday night, had got over 1,705,000 views by Thursday morning. Ahluwalia is ecstatic. "It's been incredible to get such a warm reception to our trailer for 'Daddy'. It's a very different film to anything that's been made and I'm happy that audiences have been open to that," he added. Of late, the censor board has been creating a fuss over films featuring stories of real life people, urging filmmakers to seek their permission. So is everything on that aspect sorted out? "Yes, we have Arun Gawli and the family's permission to make the film. We had worked on these permissions for over two years. It wasn't easy but we wanted to make a true life story, unlike any other gangster film made in India." --IANS rb/bg ( 357 Words) 2017-06-15-12:24:10 (IANS) To reduce the adverse reactions of cardiovascular drugs in women, a team of researchers has recommended to develop sex-specific dosages to protect greater proportion of women dying from heart diseases. According to the study, Aspirin has a higher protective effect against stroke in women and against heart attack in men. Aspirin is more active in male platelets, and aspirin resistance is more frequent in women. The findings indicated that women have a 1.5 to 1.7-fold greater incidence of adverse reactions to cardiovascular drugs and they tend to be more severe than in men, more often needing hospital admission. According to researchers, adverse drug reactions are more severe and more common in women than men. Lead author Juan Tamargo from Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain said that cardiovascular diseases kill a greater proportion of women than men in Europe and they kill twice as many women as all cancers combined. Tamargo added that women have more adverse reactions from current dosages and may stop taking preventive medication, leaving them unprotected despite their higher risk. Women have more adverse reactions because for many drugs the same dose is recommended for everyone irrespective of body weight and this can lead to higher plasma levels and overdoses in women, Tamargo explained. Cardiovascular drug recommendations are based on clinical trials in middle-aged men. The study highlights the differences between women and men with respect to cardiovascular medications and gives recommendations on how to improve treatment in women. Tamargo noted that male physicians less often prescribe recommended medications for female patients. Some doctors think cardiovascular disease is not a real issue for women because they are protected by sex hormones, forgetting that this disappears with age and women live longer than men. There are sex-related differences in the pharmacokinetics (the way a drug is absorbed, distributed, biotransformed and excreted) of some widely used cardiovascular drugs. Tamargo noted that sex-related recommendations for drug dosages are not included on labels, even for drugs with a greater than 40 percent difference in pharmacokinetics between men and women. The researchers suggested that to include sex-specific dosages on cardiovascular drug labels and doctors should be educated about sex differences in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of cardiovascular drugs. The most effective way to minimise adverse drug reactions in women is to develop and implement sex-specific guidelines for cardiovascular drugs, the authors concluded. The study is published in European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy. (ANI) Lashing out at the Home Ministry over an incorrect image published in its annual report, the Congress Party on Thursday said it is time for the Centre to end their 'Photoshop business', while accusing them of practicing 'jumlaraj'. "Photoshop is the habit of this government that is practicing 'jumlaraj'. With such an error being made, it is time for them to end their Photoshop business. Printing errors have occurred in the past, but this is a completely different situation, which the government will never accept," Congress leader Tom Vadakkan told ANI. The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday ordered an internal investigation to find out how the picture of Spain-Morocco border was used in its annual report to show floodlights along the India-Pakistan border. The picture of the Spain-Morocco border is printed on page 40 of the annual report. The annual report of last year was tabled during the Budget Session of Parliament in April. According to reports, Spain and Morocco have a sea between them but there are Spanish conclaves on the north coast of Africa that have a fenced and floodlit border with Morocco. (ANI) In the editorial titled 'This is not right,' Saamna outlined the tense situation that has engulfed the Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh. The Shiv Sena asserted that something like Mandsaur, if happens in Maharashtra, the State Government may face drastic consequences. "If something like Mandsaur happens in Maharshtra, the state government may face the drastic consequences, because the Shiv Sena fully supports the farmers,' the article reads. The Shiv Sena also supported Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Gujarat's Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel's visit to Mandsaur, both of who were later detained. "In a democratic nation, a man is allowed to visit any affected area to meet the victim's family and express concern," the article adds. In an earlier editorial titled 'First bullet, then fast,' Saamna had said, "Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister is following the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi. Shivraj ji was deemed as the idle chief minister. Despite of welfare policies for farmers, women and common people, the farmers staged protest and five lost their lives." Mandsaur became the epicenter of a farmers' agitation over the demand for loan waivers and better prices for their produce. During the agitation, six farmers were gunned down by the police, thereby drawing criticism from political parties. The situation forced the district officials to impose Section 144, and restricted prominent personalities from visiting the violence-hit district. A number of political leaders and social activists tried to visit Mandsaur but the police didn't let them enter the area. Section 144 was later removed ahead of MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's visit to the families of the deceased farmers. Meanwhile, the state government has issued a notification for the judicial probe of the Mandsaur violence. (ANI) The 19th Ramadan 'juloos' (procession), which marks the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali, was taken out through several areas of Old City of the state capital this morning. It started at the dawn from Masjid-e-Kufa in Rauza-e-Kazmain Sahadatganj, traversed through Girdhari Singh Inter College, Asharfabad, Tudiyaganj, Nakkhas tricrossing, Shia College and culminated at Imambara of Maulana Hakim Mohammad Taqui Zaidi near Patanala where a sea of devotees were addressed by Maulana Meesam Zaidi. As per the tradition, the procession was handed over to the women. As per Shia Muslim belief, Abdul Rehman Ibne Muljim struck Hazrat Ali with a poisoned sword as the latter was offering morning prayers at a masjid in Iraq on 19th Ramzan 41 Hijri (661 AD). After battling for his life, Hazrat Ali succumbed to injuries on 21st Ramadan.According to Shia cleric Maulana Syed Meesum Zaidi, the19th Ramzan 'juloos' marks the three-day mourning for the martyrdom of the first Imam, 'Ali Ibn Abu Talib. This procession is also known as 'Gileem ka Juloos' as it includes a 'taboot' (Coffin) covered with blanket. It traces its orgin to 1929-30 when Hakeem Mohammad Taqi started it for the first time.District administration deployed 3,500 police personnel and officials in the Old City for the mourning procession.The district police and administrative officials, equipped with drone and CCTV cameras, were also keeping vigil at strategic points all along the procession route. District administration also arranged special social media surveillance teams to avert any trouble.Two drone cameras have also been deployed for surveillance of the procession, while 16 CCTV cameras were installed on the route.UNI MB SV ADG 1033 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-935141.Xml Senior leader of Communist Party of India (CPI) and former legislator Bodduappli Ramasharma passed away at NIMS after a prolonged illness, here early today. He was 89. He was a member of the undivided Andhra Pradesh Assembly from Devarakonda Assembly constituency in Nalgonda district. The body will be kept at Makhdoom Bhavan, party office, tomorrow for public darshan and funeral will be held on saturday at his native Kandukuru village, CPI Telangana Unit said in a release here. Party leaders Chanda Venkat Reddy, N Balamallesh, Palla Venkat Reddy and leaders of other parties paid tributes to Ramasharma and expressed their deep condolence to the family members of the departed leader.UNI KNR CS 1152 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-935227.Xml Former Union Minister and Senior Congress leader Mallipudi Mangapati Pallam Raju today described the three years of BJP government's rule led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the centre as 'sub ka Vinas' but not Vikas as it was a total failure on all fronts. Addressing a press conference here, Mr Pallam Raju said there was no progress on any front as claimed by the BJP except failures and to cover up the inefficiency it was making tall claims full of lies. 'In fact the GDP has come down from 11.7 percent to 9 percent. The investments also have come down drastically. Of the much promised and publicized two crore jobs only 1.3 lakh were provided, he said. The BJP could win the Assembly election in UP by spreading canards and misleading the people with tall claims of achievements and total lies covering up its inefficient rule and failures, he added. Pointing out that even in foreign policy also the BJP government proved a failure, he said it was clearly evident with Russia started supplying arms to Pakistan, Nepal slowly tilting its balance towards China, Sri Lanka also getting distanced from India fast changing sides and America creating a fear psychosis and a feeling of uncertainty among the Indian employed there. Even the demonetization, the former Union Minister said, proved disastrous failing to serve the purpose. The black money was not unearthed, the counterfeit currency circulation was not curbed and the money inflow to terrorists was not stopped. He alleged that the government had failed to curb unrest and continued turbulence in Jammu and Kashmir and instead of improvement, the situation has turned from bad to worse with the armed forces getting attacked by civilians in the streets day in and day out. Mr Pallam Raju said that the BJP and TDP had cheated the Andhra Pradesh people on granting Special Category Status (SCS). He wanted the TDP to prove its sincerity by putting a condition that it would support the NDA candidate for Presidential election only when SCS was accorded to Andhra Pradesh. District Congress President Pantham Nanaji, PCC Secretary Nurukurti Venkateswera Rao were among those attended .UNI XC KNR CS 1234 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-935283.Xml Three frontal organizations of the Left in Tripura will organise road and rail blockade tomorrow in protestagainst the killing of farmers at Mandasore of Madhya Pradesh. The activists of Tripura Upajati GanamuktiParishad, Tripura Kshet Majur Union and Kishan Sabha will burn effigy of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi after holding protest rallies across the state as partof their national program. They strongly condemned the murder of farmers bythe firing of police. President of Kishan Sabha Narayan Kar allegednationalized banks have outstanding loan of lakhs of crore rupees to thecorporate sector, the government is not waiving loan of farmers. The farmers are not getting minimum support priceof crops from the government. The government is not keeping words afterassurance. So movement of farmers is getting momentum in protest of all injustice and leftists formally to come on street through this agitation program.UNI BB KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-935363.Xml The situation in Darjeeling Hills today turned for the worse and life virtually plunged into uncertainty following total shutdown coupled with demonstration by the GJM women wing to protest the police raid in Bimal Gurung's office at Patlebas, where a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered. Official sources here said the pro-Gorkhaland supporters allegedly torched a police outpost at Pedong, where one GJM activist, Benod Pradhan,was arrested. To protest the arrest the GJM women wing gheraoed the Pedong police station demanding immediate release. SP Darjeeling Akhilesh Chaturvedi told reporters that following a specific information of stockpiling of arms and ammunition at Patlebas, police swooped down on the office this morning and recovered a huge cache of arms, including bows, arrows, swords, hammer, one shorter revolver, besidesa bagful of Indian currencies of Rs 2000, Rs 500, and Rs 100. Mr Chaturvedi said they had information that these weapons might be used during today's GJM rally. The GJM office, which was used by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung, has been sealed. During the raid two senior IPS officers Javed Shamim and Siddinath Gupta were present. Mr Gurung's whereabout was not immediately known when this report came in. GJM general secretary Roshan Giri describing the police raid at Patlebas as "highhandedness" said, '' Police are falsifying regarding recovery of arms and ammunition. Bow and arrows are kept for archery competition for schools students. '' " These are tribal traditional weapons and used for archery, '' Mr Giri reiterated. The GJM called total strike across the hills with immediateeffect to protest the raid, Mr Giri added. Immediately after calling total strike, the women wing took to the streetsand held demonstrations across the hills to protest the raid at Patlebas. GJM leader Binoy Tamang said since the police raided the house oftheir supreme leader, the GJM called anindefinite strike across the hills with immediate effect. A report from Kalimpong said GJM Nari Morcha leader Karuna Gurung was also today arrested. The para-military forces were also launching search operation inKurserong and Kalimpong. Meanwhile, the GJM-sponsored indefinite shutdown of all government offices demanding statehood for Gorkhas in West Bengal entered the fourth day today. Eds : Pls pick up suitably from earlier series.UNI XC-PC SJC -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-935398.Xml Real estate major Shriram Properties today announced major growth plans for the coming year with expansion across key cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. The Company has enlisted top talent from Real Estate companies, like Brigade Group, Lodha Group and Embassy to achieve the ambitious growth plans set out by the company. The recent hiring includes, appointment of Arun Anand, former Product Strategy Head at Embassy and Vyoma Pandit, former Marketing Head at Brigade, as Joint CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) of Shriram Properties. ''Both are MBAs from top B-schools, who started their real estate careers at Lodha Group in Mumbai'', a company release here said. ''Over 25 other mid-senior level professionals from companies like Lodha, Mantri, Assetz, including young talent from the IT and Startup industry have also come on board over the last few months'', the release added. With a slew of pro-industry initiatives by the government, which include RERA and GST, the company was confident to achieve significant growth in the coming few years. The company would launch five new projects in Bangalore this fiscal, and also announce the launch of residences in Chennai's first truly integrated enclave. The company would also be adding a new phase to the existing project in Vishakhapatnam and launch a new phase in Kolkata at Shriram Grand City, the most successful launch in Kolkata last year. This was a build-up to their recent announcement of them investing Rs 15,000 crore over the next 7-8 years for the development of around 30 ongoing projects, largely residential, across six major cities. This fiscal, company is targeting doubling in sales numbers from the last fiscal, the release said. Speaking on this fresh phase of growth, Shriram Properties Managing Director M Murali said thecompany was at the cusp of a new phase of growth. ''To meet our ambitious business plans we have brought in many young, dynamic professionals from the industry and given them an open playing field to bring about the transformation in the company'', he added. Shriram Properties recently signed a USD 350 million deal with Xander Group, making it the largest private equity deal in the real estate space. Their key investors include Walton Street, Starwood capital, TPG Capital, Tata Opportunities Fund, ASK, Motilal Oswal, Amplus and ICICI Prudential. Today Shriram Properties holds close to two per cent of the FDI in India, the largest by a single developer. Shriram Properties has a land bank of 1,200 acres for future development.UNI GV CS 1359 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-935417.Xml He alleged that the statements provoking communal hatred were made during the convention and the state government had been a party to the entire programme by maintaining silence and allowing it to continue. He pointed out that Sadhvi Saraswati, who had been called from Madhya Pradesh to participate in the convention, had openly asked the Union government to hang those people who ate beef. "Does she mean that the Narendra Modi led government should hang Christians and people from other communities who have been traditionally eating beef? Mr Chodankar questioned. Mr Chodankar also questioned the logic behind raising the issue of Hindu nation by holding convention in Goa when the state had the world's best communal harmony record and had been home to all religions, including Christianity. The Congress leader also questioned Goa Forward Party (GFP) leader and Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai over his silence on the issue. "Why is he silent over the statement of Sadhvi promoting violence? he questioned. Mr Chodankar said the state government should have taken suo motu cognisance of the speeches and filed FIR for hate speech against Sadhvi. ''This is definitely not Goenkarpon. Goenkar has taught everyone how to live in harmony by respecting each other's religion, culture, including food culture, and celebrate each other's festival,'' Mr Chodankar said.UNI AKM NV AD RSA -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-935404.Xml Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani today said that her ministry had been making efforts for the welfare of weavers in the country through various schemes. Addressing a press conference here she said, ''One of the biggest challenges in the country before theweavers are that when their looms get old, they have to pay hefty fee to get a new one." "Under the Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata Scheme, the Government of India gives soft skill to weavers, including packaging and international design concept. Once their whole training is through we also ensure that the weaver can pick any loom of their choice from standard looms which are available in the market and Government of India pays 90 per cent of the money for that loom so that the weaver pays only ten per cent and that too after he is satisfied with the quality of the loom,'' she added. She said in the 2009-10 census it was found that only one per cent of weaver's families, especially children, were clearing higher education as they had barely any money to make both ends meet. ''They wanted to educate their children but had no financial support to do so. Now from 2017, we have ensured that upto 75 per cent of the fees of weaver's children, especially those belonging to marginalised categories, divyang, women, Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, are paid by NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) and IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University) by the Government. "If weavers seek subsidy on getting their thread from the development corporation, we have weaver's helpline that works seven days a week,'' she said, adding the government had attached weavers to Mudra Yojana also.UNI AKM NV AD RSA 1425 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-935447.Xml Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today appealed to all people to practise yoga on the International Yoga Day on June 21 with making it a peoples movement and claimed that yoga not only gives a person a good health but it also makes an individual sound in spiritual values. The Chief Minister, who inaugurated a yoga camp at the Gorakhshnath temple here, just hours before his Bihar tour, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be thanked for his approach to make yoga a global phenomenon. "Now more than 200 countries observe the International Yoga Day which shows how yoga is helpful for the mankind," he added. Mr Adityanath said though in India, people are still not so much enthused about yoga, but in foreign countries people are running after it. "We can achieve our goal even through yoga and it has been proved by our spiritual and religious gurus," he added. He also asked the people to join the International Yoga Day by doing yoga between 0630 hrs and 0800 hrs anywhere in the state. "In Lucknow, more than 55,000 people would join with the Prime Minister to do yoga," he said. The Chief Minister added that how 15 minutes of Pranayam can benefit the people. He said on June 21 all the UP ministers would be in the districts to join the people in yoga and in Gorakhpur too all parks and fields should be filled with people doing yoga. Earlier, the Chief Minister worshiped at the Gorakshnath temple and even met the people to hear their problems. Later, he left for Darbhanaga in Bihar, where he is slated to address a public meeting and inaugurate the Modi Fest on the completion of three years rule of the NDA government.UNI MB SW ADG 2007 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-935374.Xml SP Sanjiv Gandhi told UNI that more than 30 people were injured in the accident, around 200 km from the state capital. They have been admitted to hospitals in Dehra and Tanda towns. The pilgrims were on their way to the popular Hindu shrine Jwalamukhi when the bus met with an accident near Dhaliara town, some 65 km from Dharamsala district headquarters. The pilgrims, mostly traders, earlier paid obeisance at the Chintpurni temple in the hill state. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed grief over the incident. In May last year, a bus accident had occurred near this site in which seven people, all from Amritsar, lost their lives. They were returning home after paying obeisance at the Jwalamukhi temple.UNI ML SW RSA 1502 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-935506.Xml Ranking Angola to be among the top fiveeconomies in the Sub-Saharan Africa, Dr Abrahao Gourgel, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Angola, today welcomed Indian investments in five key sectors. The sectors included Commercial Agriculture, livestock and fishing, tourism, industry and agro industry, geology and mining, transport and logistics. The Minister also foresaw enormous potential in industries such as housing, healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Speaking at a road show organised by the FICCI Tamil Nadu State Council here, he said Oil was contributing to less than a third of the economy and the non-oil growth rate had been steadily climbing to minimize the dependence on oil as a key contributor to the economy. ''India is a strategic partner to the economic development of Angola. India is ranked as the second largest trading partner with a contribution of about 11 per cent. The top five sectors contributing to exports into India included petroleum crude, cast iron and steel, granite and other stones, wood and copper waste', he added. Dr Abrahao Gourgel said "only 3.5 per cent of arable land is currently being utilized. About 90 per cent of the land currently features forests, meadows and pastures. Hence climate variety and rich soil allow for developing of several agricultural species.'' Stating that about 36 per cent of the global exports in areas such as coffee, sugar, cotton, fruits and vegetables come from sub-Saharan Africa and immense possibilities exist for further growth in these sectors, he said while domestic production of meat has been growing steadily, it still falls dramatically short of domestic consumption of meat and meat products. Besides, several opportunities abound in the transport and logistics sectors, he added. He said development of Luanda's new international air terminal, conversion of several ports into deep water ports, development of three new terminals in key locations and expansion and rehabilitation of railway network were among the most interesting opportunities in the transport sector" Dr Abrahao Gourgel said. Speaking about the great warmth and strong relationships between the business communities of the two countries, he hoped that it would rise to new heights. Earlier, Mr Ar M Arun, Chairman, FICCI Tamil Nadu State Council, welcomed the Minister and the Angola business delegation to Chennai and hoped for warm business ties to be continued in the future.UNI GV CS 1526 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-935565.Xml "A police constable of J&K Police went missing when an official vehicle he was driving got plunged into a gorge along the banks of River Chenab this afternoon in Seri area of Ramban," police said. Rescue operation was launched and a manhunt is in progress to trace the missing cop. In the other incident, one mini bus met with an accident near Smailpur in Bari Brahmana area of Samba. Eight people got injured in the mishap, three of them critically. "The injured were identified as Babu Ram,32, Deep kumar,33, and Rakesh Kumar,32 and have been hospitalised" police said. An elderly woman was crushed to death by a speeding truck in Kishtwar district. "The truck driver has been arrested, the victim identified as Somi Devi (60), wife of Puran Chand was faced death near Sanghrambhata," the police said, adding that, "the mishap took place when she was out for a morning walk."UNI VBH RSA 1600 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0431-935604.Xml The Congress Party on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is insensitive, as till now, no case has been registered in connection with the Mandsaur violence. "In relation to farmers, it is a matter of concern. This government is insensitive. An unannounced curfew has been imposed in Mandsaur. Other political parties has not been allowed to enter the area. Till now, no case has been registered in this matter," Congress leader Anand Sharma said during a media briefing at the party headquarters. On June 1, the farmers' began their protest, over various demands, including loan waiver and better prices for their produce. However, on June 6, it took a violent turn when five of them were allegedly killed in police firing at Mandsaur. One later succumbed to his injuries. In continuing to this, the grand old party advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi to better concentrate on the betterment of the society. Sharma also said that BJP president Amit Shah failed to provide employment as promised in his party's manifestos during the election campaigning. "Prime Minister has fooled the nation. They decided to hold a meeting with the NITI Ayog to discuss the opportunities of employment. Amit Shah had said that they never promised to provide jobs. Prime Minister must answer whether Amit Shah is right or wrong?" Sharma said. (ANI) While, Intellis Engineering Services Pvt Ltd and Androcid were the first runner-up and second runner-up respectively in the competition. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar handed over prizes to the winners of competition in a prize distribution function organized at Nalanda Hall of EDC in the city today. The Start-up initiative commenced in the year 2015. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said the start-up concept was initiated by the government to encourage entrepreneurship among Goan youth and specially among women and those who intended to start business venture in rural areas. Congratulating the winners of the competition, he appealed the participants of the competition to work out mechanism to convert Goa into garbage-free and clean state. Former MLA and chairman of EDC, Siddharth Kuncalienkar, said EDC strove to take ahead industrial scenario of the state and the IT policy of the government was focused on start-up business. Jose Noronha, in-charge of Goa State Innovative Council, Father Kinley D'cruz, director, Don Bosco School of Engineering, Surendra Vernekar, managing director, EDC, judges of the competition, participants, staff of EDC were among those who attended the function.UNI AKM SS SM1725 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-935890.Xml The Uttar Pradesh Congress unit today launched an agitation against the BJP government at the Centre and the state for its alleged anti-farmer and anti-youth policies. The agitation comes in the wake of the Mandsaur farmer issue. Party's state president Raj Babbar had called on all the district presidents to be prepared for a massive and decisive agitation against the Yogi Adityanath government in UP on its failure to provide any benefit to the farmers and youths.In its first such agitation here, Mr Babbar interacted with the farmers and youths and enquired if the BJP government had dealt with their issues, to which they replied in negative. He said that percentage of unemployment which was around 3.5 per cent during the UPA regime, has crossed 5 per cent under the NDA government, and added that the Narendra Modi government's approach is completely anti-farmer. "The farmers are agitating and holding protest against the governments as they feel the pinch due to the anti-farmer approach, while the government was busy making fake promises to provide relief on their farm loan or other sops," Mr Babbar said. He said when the farmers are raising genuine demand, the BJP governments are crushing them "with bullets which is barbaric." The agitation was successful in Lucknow where farmers came in large numbers to register their grievances, a party spokesperson said.Before the assembly elections last year, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi organised 'Khat Sabhas' to raise the issues of the farmers, which got good response, but later the party allied with the Samajwadi Party and faced a humiliating defeat in the elections. With the launch of the agitation in Aligarh, Mr Babbar will hold similar agitation programme in Agra tomorrow, in Ghaziabad on Saturday, Lucknow on June 19, Unnao on June 20 and Barabanki on June 21.UNI MB AD RSA 1730 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-935741.Xml Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed deep grief over death of 10 pilgrims from Punjab in a bus accident near Dhaliara in Kangra district today.The Governor expressed sympathies with the bereaved family members and prayed for the peace to the departed souls.Mr Singh also expressed deepest condolences with the families, who lost their near land dear ones in the accident and wished speedy recovery of the injured. He also directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the injured.The district administration shifted all the injured to the Tanda medical college and hospital and Rs 10,000 each were provided to them as immediate relief. The arrangements have been made by the administration to shift the bodies after identification.UNI ML SW 1738 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-935817.Xml Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today assured the State Assembly of a detailed probe into the alleged diversion of the Post Matric Scholarship scheme funds. Intervening during the Question Hour, the Chief Minister, while responding to a question, has assured the House that the entire matter would be thoroughly examined to fix the accountability and identify lapses, if any. Strict action would be taken against anyone found guilty of such lapses, he said. Earlier, MLA Raj Kumar Chabbewal raised the issue of diversion of funds and inordinate delay on the part of the Centre in releasing funds for disbursement of scholarships to the eligible students under Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs. Meanwhile, Minister for SC/BC welfare Sadhu Singh Dharamsot informed the House that the Chief Minister had already taken up the issue with the Union Government for immediate release of pending funds. He also revealed that he along with State Chief Secretary had gone to Delhi to pursue the matter and get the release of funds expedited.UNI DB AD RSA 1747 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-935891.Xml The SAD-BJP today asked Assembly Speaker Rana KP Singh to accept adjournment motion on complete farm loan waiver for farmers and labourers and urged him to allow this motion in the interest of Punjab and Punjabis. Stating that farmers were passing through a crisis in Punjab due to the inability of the Congress government to provide succor in the form of a complete farm loan waiver as promised, the SAD said this issue was of ultimate importance and that all other issues should be kept aside to debate it. Senior SAD leader Ajit Singh Kohar wrote to the Speaker asking him to reconsider the motion, which was resubmitted to his office today, saying farmers were losing their lives every day with as many as 75 suicides occurring in the State ever since the Congress took over the reins of the state. He said increasing suicides as well as failure of the government to implement the loan waiver promise could lead to a dangerous situation. "We must resolve this problem before this happens," he said while urging the Speaker to list the adjournment motion for debate tomorrow. The adjournment motion was re-submitted to the Speakers office under the signatures of Gurpartap Singh Wadala and Baldev Singh Khara of the SAD and Arun Narang of the BJP. The legislators said urged the Speaker to accept it forthwith so that the voice of farmers and labourers could be heard in the Vidhan Sabha. Meanwhile, the SAD-BJP also wrote to the Speaker formally to bring the abusive and derogatory behavior of Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to his notice. The letter by senior SAD leader Ajit Singh Kohar and Som Prakash of the BJP said contrary to what was being claimed by Sidhu, the minister had used abusive words in the august house and should be punished for the same. The SAD-BJP asked the Speaker to form a house committee to look into the matter. It also asked the Speaker to provide a recording of Sidhu's speech to the Committee so that it could recommend appropriate action against him. It also asked to Speaker to direct Sidhu not to attend the Vidhan Sabha till the complaint against him was not adjudicated upon.UNI DB AD1821 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-935871.Xml Ten pilgrims, including two women, from Amritsar were killed and 70 others injured when a private bus, carrying them from Chintpurni to Jawalamukhi rolled down into a gorge near Dhaliara in Dehra subdivision of this district today. Kangra Sub-Divisional Police Officer Surinder Sharma, who was supervising the arrival of injured by ambulances at Dr Rajinder Prasad Government Medical College at Tanda told UNI that ten pilgrims died in the accident and 70 were injured. He said the dead included two women pilgrims all from Amritsar. He said among the 70 injured, 65 were rushed to DRPGMC at Tanda for their medical treatment. Dozens of ambulances were pressed in to service to carry injured to Tanda medical college.Police registered a case under section 337, 279, 338 and 304A IPC and the investigation was in progress. The pilgrims had left for pilgrimage at 2230 hrs last night from Amritsar and the ill fated bus, operated upon by New Malwa bus service, rolled down into gorge at Dhaliara near Dehra at 1130 hrs today. Earlier, the pilgrims had visited the Chintpurni temple and paid obesiance. DRPG Medical College principal Dr Ramesh Bharti said in total 65 injured passengers were admitted in Tanda Medical college till late this afternoon which included 27 women, 20 men and 18 children. He said five other injured pilgrims were serious. Those injured included 25 who had major fractures and were under treatment of orthopedic surgeons rest were being looked after by the department of surgery. The injured said the driver failed to negotiate the curve which resulted in the accident. Police is investigating the matter. UNI XC DB SW 1842 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-936065.Xml Punjab Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi today said the atrocities against the Dalits, downtrodden and oppressed people of the state would not be tolerated.The Minister expressed these views while visiting PGI to inquire about the health of the members of a Dalit family of village Barre of district Mansa, who were recently attacked by Shagandeep Singh and Binder Singh of the same village. The member of the victim Dalit family told Mr Channi that the accused were eve teasing and molestating their daughters on the way and when they objected, the accused attacked the father of daughters with iron rods and sharp edged weapons. They told that when the mother tried to rescue her husband and daughters the accused attacked her and broke her leg for which she is under treatment in a hospital at Mansa. They also said that the attackers also used castiest and abusive language.The Dalit family members also told the Minister that police is not taking action against the culprits.Mr Channi immediately called Mansa SSP on phone to take strict action against the accused. It is pertinent to mention that in this attack, the mother's arms were broken and the elderly father of the two daughters was wounded badly with sharp edged weapons and Iron rods on the head and eyes.The Minister said that in this murderous attack, old man has completely lost his eye sight of one eye. He assured the family that the state government is fully committed to safeguard the lives of dalits and poor sections and stands with the victim's family.He assured the victims that strict action would definitely be taken against the attackers.UNI DB SNU 2158 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-936157.Xml With less than a fortnight left for the commencement of the annual Amarnath Yatra, tracks to holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalaya are almost clear except few spots which still have several feet of snow accumulated, officials said here today.They said Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Sham Lal Choudhary today visited the Yatra base camps at Nunwan and Chandanwari and reviewed the arrangements for smooth conduct of the annual pilgrimage to holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalaya."The Minister went round the camps at Nunwan and Chandanwari and inspected potable water supply arrangements, medical facility, sanitation and langar facilities. He also enquired about the security arrangements," they said.At Pahalgam, the Minister also chaired a meeting to review the preparations made for the smooth conduct of the Amarnath Yatra, 2017, they said.They said that the track is almost clear except few spots with heavy snow.They said that the crate protection and the work of putting safety railing are underway and soon will be completed.They also said that widening of track is being done to provide ample space to walk easily. Re-erection of pre fabricated huts at all important location is also undergoing.Officials said that around 48 Disaster Management centres will be established to cope with any kind of natural and mankind calamity."Public Health Engineering (PHE) department has been doing the job of providing potable water at the camps and en-route the holy cave. Works on constructing a water reservoir at Panjtarni to deal with fire emergency is underway," they said. Relating to health care facilities, he said that capacity of 30 bed hospital will be functional at Chandanwari and 51 medical aid centres will be established throughout the 32 kms of track."These centres will have adequate stock of essential drugs with portable oxygen cylinders," they said.In addition to this, he said the building of Yatri Niwas at Pahalgam will be handed over to health department for creating health infra. One Critical Care ambulance will also be placed at Pahalgam.About PDD related arrangements, he said that the department is in the process of procuring Gensets for the Yatra and that the High Mast Lamps shall be replaced by the LED lamps within days.UNI ABS ASM SNU 2138 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-936144.Xml A constable of Jammu and Kashmir Police was killed and another injured when militants attacked a police party at Hyderpora in city outskirts tonight, official sources said here.This was the second such incident as one cop was shot dead by militants in south Kashmir this afternoon.They said militants, reportedly traveling in a vehicle, attacked a police party near J&K Bank in Hyderpora in Srinagar outskirts. The attack injured two policemen.The injured were rushed to a hospital where one of them has succumbed.Security forces have been rushed to the area and a search operation has been launched to nab the militants.Earlier, a policeman was shot dead by militants in south Kashmir district of Kulgam today afternoon.UNI BAS SNU 2321 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-936479.Xml "I would urge Congress to ensure any legislation that allows the president to have the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation," Xinhua quoted Tillerson as saying. While acknowledging the necessity to hold Russia accountable for its alleged meddling in US elections, Tillerson also emphasised the importance of a "constructive dialogue" with Russia. Tillerson's urge came on the same day as the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan package of new Russia sanctions. The new package of Russia sanctions, passed by a 97-2 vote in the Senate, was so far one of the strongest US responses to alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. The new sanctions will target among others "those conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government" and "those doing business with the Russian intelligence and defence sectors," according to a press release by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. The new package also requires the White House to get a congressional review if it attempts to relax, suspend or terminate Russia sanctions. --IANS sku/ ( 222 Words) 2017-06-15-04:26:25 (IANS) In the aftermath of the heavy fire that broke out at the Grenfell House tower block on Wednesday, the Government led by Prime Minister Theresa May is receiving flak for not paying heed to the fire safety warnings that were issued. The Prime Minister's new chief of staff Gavin Barwell had allegedly failed to review the safety during his tenure as housing minister, despite it already having been delayed for years. His predecessor, Brandon Lewis declined to bring in regulation forcing developers to fit sprinklers because he said it was not the Government's responsibility, reports The Independent. Pressure continued to mount with the leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn preparing to attack the ministers with all guns blazing. Suggesting spending cuts may also have a role to play, he said: "If you deny local authorities the funding they need, then there is a price that's paid." "A review took place after the fire in Camberwell and the Government has that review. I believe we need to ask questions about what facilities and resources have been given to local authorities that have tower blocs in the area and, frankly, most do. We need to deal with this; we need people to be safe living in high rise buildings," Corbyn said. With regards to the involvement of any current serving frontbench politicians, Corbyn asserted that although the focus at this point is on saving the locals, all ministers in their tenure must be interrogated. Following an explosion which took place in 2009 at Lakanal House in Camberwell, which claimed six lives and injured over 20, the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group recommended a review into the situation in 2013. However, the group's honorary administrative secretary, Ronnie King, said successive ministers had failed to carry out the review that the group's report called for. "Our group recommended that due to the speed that the fire spread in Lakanal House, that building regulations should be reviewed. It's nearly 11 years since it has been reviewed," he said, adding that over 4,000 building had no fire sprinklers fitted. The coroner's report into the Lakanal House had recommended an update on regulations, and called for developers refurbishing high-rise blocks to be encouraged to install sprinkler systems. However, Lewis, the then immigration minister washed his hands off the matter, claiming that it was the responsibility of the fire industry, and not the Government to encourage the installation of sprinklers. "The cost of fitting a fire sprinkler system may affect house building - something we want to encourage - so we must wait to see what impact that regulation has," he added. At least six persons were confirmed as dead following Wednesday's heavy fire that engulfed a tower block in west London. Commander Stuart Cundy, from the Metropolitan Police, said: "Our thoughts are with everyone involved in this truly shocking fire at Grenfell Tower. I can confirm six fatalities at this time, but this figure is likely to rise during what will be a complex recovery operation over a number of days. Many others are receiving medical care." Hundreds of firefighters battled to rescue residents from their flats after the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road, near Notting Hill as the blaze rapidly engulfed the full height of the 27-storey block. The London Ambulance Service Assistant Director of Operations Stuart Crichton confirmed in a statement that over 50 patients were admitted to five hospitals across London following the incident at the Grenfell Tower. "Over 100 of our medics are working hard to respond to this incident, including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, advanced trauma teams from London's Air Ambulance and those staff managing the incident in our special operations centre. In addition, our hazardous area response teams are also on scene," the statement added. While the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, residents in the vicinity had reportedly raised an alarm regarding the possibility of a calamity, which was allegedly not tendered to. They also claimed that due to renovation activities in the block, there was one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower, which created a hassle in the evacuation procedures. (ANI) In a beautiful gesture symbolic of accommodating religious sentiments, a professor at the University of Washington offered to conduct examinations after sunset for his Muslim students, who are fasting during the holy month of Ramzan. This decision was taken Bryan White, a biology professor at the aforementioned university after learning of a student's dip in concentration due to the lack of food intake. Owing to religious norms, the student, who has been fasting, was not able to concentrate on her studies, and therefore saw a dip in her grades. Upon confrontation, her professor, Dr. White, decided to conduct the examination in two batches-one in the morning for his regular students and the second one post sunset, thus giving his Muslim students a chance to have a meal before appearing for their examination. "To me, this was a very simple thing. It's not uncommon for me to be at work until midnight anyway. I want them (the students) to think, 'this class really cares about each other," The Independent quoted Dr. White saying to the Seattle Times. This move has been largely lauded by the Muslim students, as it is believed to have instilled a greater sense of confidence in them. Following this move, two other professors have the university have also offered to conduct two separate sessions. (ANI) In a statement to the Dail Eireann, lower house of Irish parliament, Varadkar confirmed Frances Fitzgerald remains as deputy prime minister and becomes minister for enterprise and innovation, Xinhua reported. The departments of finance and public expenditure and reform will be combined into a super government department, with Paschal Donohoe assuming the ministerial role there. Varadkar's rival for the leadership of Fine Gael (United Ireland Party), Simon Coveney, is named as minister for foreign affairs with special responsibility for Brexit, with Charlie Flanagan moving to the Department of Justice and Equality. Earlier in the day, the Dail Eireann voted to elect Varadkar as prime minister, making him the youngest prime minister in the history of the country at just 38 years of age. Varadkar was nominated for the position of prime minister after his predecessor Enda Kenny formally resigned on Monday. After Varadkar was elected by parliament, Irish President Michael D Higgins appointed him as prime minister by signing the warrant of appointment. --IANS sku/ ( 197 Words) 2017-06-15-07:20:29 (IANS) The Taiwanese diplomatic delegation lowered the flag of its embassy in Panama after the diplomatic relations between both countries were severed when Panama announced new ties with China, and held a private farewell ceremony. Held on the rooftop of the building in the capital's financial district where the embassy is located, Wednesday's event was not open to the media and was attended only by the diplomatic delegation and several Taiwanese citizens based in Panama, reports Efe news. The Taiwanese government, which described Panama's decision as an unfair act, said on Tuesday that it will withdraw all staff from its embassy as well as its technical mission in Panama and will suspend all assistance and bilateral cooperation programs, although the dates have not been specified. Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela announced on Monday night the establishment of diplomatic relations with China and the breakdown of ties with Taiwan. Varela said that a responsible President could not keep turning his back on China, as the Asian giant is the second most important user of the Panama Canal as well as the top supplier of the Colon Free Trade Zone (ZLC), the largest in the hemisphere. An hour after Varela's announcement, Panama and China's foreign ministers, Isabel de Saint Malo and Wang Yi, signed a joint communique on establishing new diplomatic relations in Beijing and agreed to start working on the first bilateral agreements in sectors such as tourism, agriculture, maritime affairs and education. The Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP), which represents more than 1,600 companies from 15 economic sectors, said on Tuesday that it hopes that a common strategy will be developed with Taiwan to stabilise trade and investment relations in the future. The CCIAP was also confident that the establishment of diplomatic ties between Panama and China will bring "benefits" to the country in terms of trade and investment in areas such as technology and logistics. Panama's breakdown of relations with Taiwan leaves the Asian nation with only 20 diplomatic allies in the world, 11 of which are in Latin America. --IANS ksk ( 359 Words) 2017-06-15-08:24:18 (IANS) The US has agreed to sell $12 billion worth of American F-15 fighters to Qatar amid an ongoing diplomatic crisis between Doha and the neighbouring Gulf countries, the media reported. "Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis met today (Wednesday) with Qatari Minister of State for Defence Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah to discuss concluding steps in finalising the Foreign Military Sales purchase of US-manufactured F-15 fighter aircraft by the State of Qatar," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Roger Cabiness told CNN. "The $12 billion sale will give Qatar a state of the art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the US and Qatar." "The secretary and the minister also discussed mutual security interests, including the current status of operations against IS (Islamic State), and the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the Gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals," Cabiness added. The Qatari defence ministry issued a statement Wednesday hailing the F-15 deal. "This agreement underscores the longstanding commitment of the State of Qatar in jointly working with our friends and allies in the US," CNN quoted al-Attiyah as saying in the statement. He also praised the US-Qatar relationship, saying the two countries had "solidified their military cooperation by having fought together side by side for many years now in an effort to eradicate terrorism." The announcement comes after a week three Gulf countries -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates -- along with Egypt moved to cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, host to the one of the Pentagon's largest military bases in the Middle East, after claiming that Doha funds terrorist groups. More Arab and Muslim-majority African countries later joined the diplomatic blockade, even as several powers have called for resolving the crisis. US officials Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have called for the crisis to be de-escalated and on Wednesday while appearing before the House foreign affairs committee, reports CNN. Speaking to the House armed services committee Monday, Mattis called the diplomatic situation "very complex", acknowledging the large US military presence and close US-Qatar military relationship. --IANS ksk ( 355 Words) 2017-06-15-09:52:34 (IANS) New South Wales (NSW) Police said the arrest was was part of an ongoing investigation and there was no impending threat to the public, reports the BBC. The police shared a picture on Twitter showing two plainclothes officers outside the terminal leading the man in handcuffs. He was known to police for minor matters and had been under surveillance in the five months leading up to his arrest. NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson said the man was expected to be charged with preparations for incursion into a foreign territory to commit acts of violence. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. "It appears he was radicalised online," Hudson said. "We will allege that this 22-year-old man was going to leave Australia this morning in an attempt to get to Syria to fight for Islamic State(IS)." It is a crime for Australian citizens to travel to parts of Syria. --IANS ksk ( 186 Words) 2017-06-15-10:22:18 (IANS) Tim Mosenfelder/Getty ImagesNeil Young has hosted the Bridge School Benefit Concert for the past 30 years, to support the school for students with severe physical and speech impairments founded by his ex-wife Pegi, who was looking for a proper educational environment for the couple's son, Ben. But Neil Young has announced that he will no longer be hosting the concert, and at least for this year, for the first time since 1987, the all-star, acoustic fundraiser is off. In separate letters from Neil and Pegi, who split in 2014 when Neil filed for divorce, posted to The Bridge School's website, Neil writes, "Although I will continue in fund raising efforts, for personal reasons beginning this year I will no longer be hosting The Bridge School Concert." He adds that the school is financially stable, thanks in part to the millions raised by the concerts over the years, and will be able to go forward without the concerts. He also has kind words for the students "because the light in their eyes tells me we have been doing the right thing for the last thirty years"; his son Ben, "for being there at my side throughout these many Bridge School years"; and his ex-wife, "for coming up with the idea and pursuing it with such great dedication." In her letter, Pegi -- who is president of the school's Board of Directors -- doesn't explicitly dismiss the idea of Bridge School Benefit Concerts in the future but announces that there will be no concert this year. "Because our mission is of such great importance to so many, we proceed onward with optimism into the future. Stay tuned for updates as we begin to shape what the next steps will be in reaching our endowment goals," she writes, offering "great appreciation" to all involved with the concerts over the years including her ex. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Tolo News quoted a Ministry of Interior (MoI) statement, as saying that the air strike took place during the night in Marja district of the province. "Key Taliban members are also among the dead," the MoI said, adding that a number of weapons belonging to the insurgents were also destroyed. The Taliban have not yet commented on the air strike. (ANI) South Korea's Naver Corp plans to open a startup incubator in the new Paris mega-campus for start-ups 'Station F' that has been funded by billionaire Xavier Niel, said Fleur Pellerin, founder of venture capital investor Korelya Capital.Dubbed "Space Green", the incubator is slated to welcome about 10 early-stage European companies in a 300 square-meter space with 80 desks."There's a wish to contribute to the European ecosystem, because there's a belief that big tech champions can emerge in Europe," said Pellerin, a former French digital economy minister.The campus was built with 250 million euros ($281 million) in funds from Niel and is located in the southeastern part of the French capital. It aims to be the world's biggest startup campus with 34,000 square meters of space and more than 3,000 desks.Naver, which operates South Korea's biggest search engine, and Japanese subsidiary Line Corp, a popular messaging app in southeast Asia, each invested 50 million euros last year in K-Fund 1, a venture fund steered by Korelya Capital.REUTERS JW1232 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-935280.Xml Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to defend Crimea with all available means, in case of a threat to it."After Crimea became a fully-fledged part of the Russian Federation, our attitude to this territory radically changed. And if we see a threat to our territory and the Crimea is our territory we, like any state, will defend our territory with all means available to us," Putin told US filmmaker Oliver Stone in the third part of an interview broadcast by the Showtime television network yesterday.Putin also refused to draw parallels between the 1962 Cuban missile crisis and a 2014 incident in which a US destroyer got within the strike range of Russian missiles after sailing close to the Crimean shore.The Aegis-equipped USS Donald Cook was dispatched to a Black Sea area off Crimea shortly after the Russian-majority peninsula voted in March 2014 to reunite with Russia. The warship left for the Bosporus Strait after it was detected and caught into cross-hairs by Russia's coast guard."I wouldn't compare this with the Caribbean crisis. At that time, the world stood on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. Thank god, we did not let that situation slip into it, even though we sent our advanced Bastion coast defense weapons to Crimea," Putin said. "We are allowed to use any means at our disposal to protect Russia. What was the Donald Cook doing close to our territory? Who provoked whom? We plan to defend our territory," he said.UNI XC PS 1404 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-935409.Xml One man has died from burns in a wildfire caused by a discarded part of the Russian booster rocket launched today from the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan's emergency situations committee said.Another man, who along with the dead man had been collecting the rocket debris on the steppe in central Kazakhstan, has been hospitalised after also suffering burns, it said in a statement on Thursday, without naming the men.An uncrewed Russian Progress cargo ship blasted off towards the International Space Station on Wednesday. During the launch, parts - or stages - of the booster rocket separate and fall, with some landing in Kazakhstan, where Baikonur itself is located.Russia leases the launch facility from the Central Asian ex-Soviet republic.REUTERS SDR 1523 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-935566.Xml Talks between British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party and Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to secure support for a minority government are to continue in London today, a DUP spokesman said today.Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds is leading the DUP delegation to London as party leader Arlene Foster has returned to Northern Ireland, the spokesman said.Dodds will meet May at Downing Street today afternoon for one of a series of meetings May is having with the leaders of Northern Ireland parties in an effort to reach agreement on setting up a new power-sharing government for the region, he said.REUTERS SDR 1533 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-935585.Xml British Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a full public inquiry into the London tower block fire that killed at least 17 people."Right now, people want answers and it's absolutely right and that's why I am today ordering a full public inquiry into this disaster. We need to know what happened, we need to have an explanation of this," she said today."People deserve answers, the inquiry will give them."REUTERS SDR 1754 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-935947.Xml President Vladimir Putin said today Russia was ready for a constructive dialogue with the United States."We do not view USA as our enemy," Putin said during his annual question-and-answer session with Russian citizens. Moscow and Washington can cooperate on issues including the non-proliferation of weapons and the Syria crisis, he added. REUTERS SDR 1714 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-935839.Xml Taking initiative to resolve the Gulf crisis Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has landed in Doha in a first leg to his Gulf tour to mend Qatar's ties with Arab states and said the crisis should be resolved "through peace and dialogue". "The efforts by Turkey so far and the future steps to be taken were discussed during his meetings with several top Qatari officials," Anadolu quoted Cavusoglu as saying. Accompanied by Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Cavusoglu met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Economy and Trade Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani. "The situation we have been going through in this holy month of Ramadan is a really undesired one. There is such a crisis between sister countries and there are some steps that directly affect people. We must absolutely overcome it. We need to overcome it through peace and dialogue," Cavusoglu said, underlining that Turkey was contributing to the peace process. "We do not want any differences between our brothers in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, and it is not enough to say that there is a problem without trying to resolve it," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. Cavusoglu also said he would visit Kuwait later on Wednesday and meet Saudi Arabian King Salman Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on Friday in Mecca to resolve the Gulf crisis. Qatar termed the actions by Gulf member countries of isolating it diplomatically as "unjustified". Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain, along with Egypt had snapped diplomatic ties with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Qatar earlier this month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also promised to continue supporting Qatar amid a diplomatic row engulfing that Gulf state. Erdogan said he had never witnessed Doha supporting terrorism, adding Turkey "will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar." The Turkish leader has urged Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions and lift sanctions. However, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the U.A.E. in a collective statement has accused 59 individuals and 12 charity organisations in Qatar of being "linked to terror." This situation is a repeat of 2014, when several Gulf countries recalled their Ambassadors from Doha over its support for Muslim Brotherhood.(ANI) Russian joint economic activity with Japan is possible on the disputed Kurile islands in the Pacific, President Vladimir Putin told reporters today."We don't know yet which shape this work will take," Putin said.REUTERS SDR 1901 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-936131.Xml In a statement, the RMAF said the Hawk 108 plane had taken off from the Kuantan air force base at 11 a.m., and lost contact half an hour later, reports The Star daily. The remains of Hasri Zahari, 31, and Yazmin Mohamed, 39, were found with their parachutes in a marshy region in Cukai, in Terengganu state, according to Bernama agency. An investigation has been instituted to determine the cause of the accident. The Hawk 108 is an export version of the Hawk 100, a two-seat advanced weapons trainer with additional avionics, optional forward-looking infrared, a redesigned wing and hands-on throttle-and-stick. The aircraft is fitted with a Sky Guardian Radar warning receiver and wingtip air-to-air missile rails. --IANS ksk/vt ( 158 Words) 2017-06-15-16:02:19 (IANS) French President Emmanuel Macron has hailed the growing role of Morocco in Africa, stressing that Rabat and Paris have a common policy in the continent. "This policy will consist in developing, with the help of private entrepreneurs and educational and cultural milieus, a model aimed at rethinking a balanced relationship in Africa by relying on civil society," the French President said at a press conference, held as part of his two-day friendship and working visit to Morocco at the invitation of King Mohammed VI, MAP news agency reported. In response to a question on Morocco's particular interest in Africa, through win-win partnerships and France's desire to develop a new tripartite partnership between Europe, the Maghreb and Africa, the French President noted that the two countries shall combine their African policies and further work in a partnership way. "It is a mutual chance," he underlined. The two countries are driven by the same desire for the continent's development and growth, he said, adding that Morocco's accession to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will contribute in this endeavour. Regarding the Gulf crisis, Macron stressed that he held, like King Mohammed VI, several talks with the leaders of the countries concerned to try to defuse the crisis. "Our hope is to facilitate dialogue and clarify all the links and funding of terrorist groups from wherever they come from," he said. The Gulf region should remain stable, he said, pointing out that he will meet again in the near future with officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. King Mohammed VI also offered an iftar in honour of French President Macron and his spouse Brigitte. --IANS rn ( 290 Words) 2017-06-15-21:16:12 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a satire remark on fired FBI director saying he is following the footsteps of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and therefore James Comey is welcome to seek asylum in Russia. "It was "very strange" that the FBI official had leaked details of conversations with Donald Trump, and likened his actions to those of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden."If there is some kind of persecution, we would be ready to offer political asylum to Comey if he is persecuted in the U.S.", The Independent quoted Putin as saying. Putin said there is a similarity between Comey and Snowden as the former FBI director's decision to leak details of his conversations with Trump to the media had placed him in a vulnerable position and meant he had behaved more like an activist than an FBI chief. Therefore, if Comey is persecuted in United States that we would be ready to offer political asylum to former FBI Director. The former FBI director was sacked by Donald Trump last month over what the U.S. President said were issues relating to the investigation over alleged Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. Comey stated in his testimony before a congressional panel that President Donald Trump fired him in an attempt to undermine the investigations into possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign team and Russia. Comey further said that Trump administration had told lies and defamed him and the FBI after the president dismissed him on May 9. The President dismissed Comey as "a showboat," "a grandstander" and a "nut job." He told Russian diplomats the next day that Comey's exit had relieved "great pressure Comey has claimed Trump had suggested to drop an investigation into alleged links between Russia and Michael Flynn, the President's former national security adviser who was forced to resign for misleading senior officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, over his talks with Russian envoy .(ANI) Britain's Brexit minister David Davis and the European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier will start talks over Britain's departure from the EU on Monday, Britain's Department for Exiting the European Union said today."David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and Michel Barnier, the European Commission's Chief Negotiator, agreed today to launch Article 50 negotiations on Monday, 19 June," the department said in a statement.REUTERS SDR 2114 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-936379.Xml India has slammed Pakistan for raking up Jammu and Kashmir at United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva for propagandist purposes while Islamabad conveniently forgets its own obligation under these resolutions to first vacate the illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Exercising India's fourth right of reply, India said, "Islamabad has had territorial ambitions over the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1947 and it has ben using this forum to rake up Jammu and Kashmir issue while it has a poor record in human rights in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir , in other parts of Pakistan , including Balochistan which is adversely affecting the stability of the entire region. Pakistan's continued mistreatment of large parts of its own population has created a cauldron of tumult that has begun to jeopardize the safety and security of its neighbouring countries," India said at the UN Human Rights Council. India raised the issue of Balochistan again and urged the UNHRC to take a "clear-cut stance" against state-sponsored terrorism. "The fundamental reason for disturbances in Kashmir is cross-border terrorism promoted by Paldstan. Active support since 1989 to separatist groups in Kashmir and terrorist elements from different parts of the world including from territory under Pakistan's control has become a central element of Pakistan's state policy," the statement added. India has urged the Council to call upon Pakistan to end cross border infiltration, dismantle the infrastructure of support to terrorism and to stop acting as an epicentre of international terrorism. Pointing to the atrocities being done by the Pakistani authorities on the Balochis, India said, "The people of Balochistan , amongst other provhices, have been waging for decades a bitter and brave struggle against their daily abuse and torture. Religious and sectarian miniorities such as Hindus ,Christians, Sunnis, Ahmadiyas, Ismail. and others conthme to face discrimination, persecution and targeted attacks in Pakistan. Places of worship belonging to minorities have been destroyed and vandalised.Blasphemy laws remain in force and are disproportionately used against religious minorities." Various international organizations have documented how enforced disappearances continue with impunity, particularly in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh where members of the Muttahida Quami movement are routinely abducted and unlawfully killed. More than a million people remain displaced as a result of the current and past armed conflicts in the northwest of Palcistan. Given this state of affairs, Pakistan will be well-advised to focus energies on setting its own house in order and acting against the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on its neighbours instead of ritually raking up alleged human rights violations elsewhere.(ANI) Russia said that the U.S. military has moved its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) from Jordan into southern Syria for the first time, positioning it near the U.S.-Coalition training base at At Tanf and the hardware could be used against Bashar Assad forces. The Russian military stated that the combat range of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) "can't support the U.S.-controlled units of the Syrian Democratic Forces in Raqqa." Moscow is closely monitoring the situation on the border between Syria and Jordan as U.S. air forces have struck pro-government forces in Syria on three occasions in the last couple of weeks, saying that it was a "response to threats posed to coalition forces operating out of At Tanf." The moves drew serious condemnation from the Syrian government. At the same time, the forces of the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition have on several occasions hit Syrian government troops who are fighting against Islamic State Therefore, it's not hard to imagine that such strikes on the Syrian military may be continued in the future, but this time with the use of HIMARS," Russian Today quoted the statement. Last week, a U.S. F-15E jet shot down an Iranian-made pro-regime Shahed 129 drone that had dropped a "dud" munitions near coalition forces patrolling near At Tanf, according to US officials. The Defence Ministry said "The deployment of any type of foreign weaponry on Syrian territory, especially such as reactive multiple launch systems, must be agreed upon with the government of the sovereign country."(ANI) An American university student who was detained for 17 months in North Korea and suffered a serious neurological injury was "brutalised" while in custody, his father said today.Despite the "severe" injury, Otto Warmbier, 22, is stable and receiving treatment at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, center spokeswoman Kelly Martin said at a news briefing at Warmbier's high school in Wyoming, Ohio.Doctors will provide further details about Warmbier's condition this afternoon.Warmbier has been in a coma since March 2016, shortly after he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour in North Korea, the family said on Tuesday after he was released.He was arrested for trying to steal an item with a propaganda slogan, according to North Korean media.The University of Virginia student was "brutalised and terrorised" by the North Korean regime, his father Fred Warmbier said at the news conference, two days after his son arrived in Ohio on a medical evacuation flight.North Korea's official KCNA news agency said in a one-line report on Thursday the student was "sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK."Fred Warmbier said the family did not believe North Korea's story, that his son had fallen into a coma after contracting botulism and being given a sleeping pill."We don't believe anything they (North Korea) say," said Fred Warmbier, who was wearing a sport coat Otto Warmbier had worn during a broadcast confession of his crimes last year in North Korea.He said his wife, Cindy, had not left their son's side since his return to the United States.'STUNNED'Fred Warmbier said he was stunned when told of his son's condition one week ago."I don't know what being in shock is, but I'm pretty sure I was," he said, referring to being informed Otto Warmbier was in a coma.The New York Times previously cited a senior US official as saying Washington had received intelligence reports Warmbier was repeatedly beaten while held captive in North Korea.Fred Warmbier said of his son's release by the regime: "They did not do this out of the kindness of their hearts."Ohio Senator Rob Portman described the North Korean government's handling of Warmbier as "abhorrent" in an interview with Fox News. "Now we know why they wouldn't allow consular access," he said.US President Donald Trump spoke to Fred Warmbier last night, Warmbier said. Trump discussed how US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Joseph Yun, the US State Department's special envoy on North Korea, worked together to help secure Otto's release, Warmbier said. REUTERS RJ -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0098-936482.Xml Existing sanctions against Russia are already effective, the White House said today, after the US Senate voted nearly unanimously for legislation to impose new sanctions on Moscow.REUTERS RJ 2342 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0098-936492.Xml Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-14 21:35:34|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close LONDON, Jun 14 (Xinhua) -- The first ever national kidney biobank in Britain aimed at helping researchers explore treatments for kidney diseases was announced Wednesday. A five-year program will see biological samples from 3,000 patients with chronic kidney disease and up to 800 patients with nephrotic syndrome, collected and stored in a new biobank. It will provide a strategic resource for fundamental research. Moderate to severe chronic kidney disease, known as the "silent killer" is thought to affect around three million people in Britain. It often has no symptoms, with up to one million people unaware they have the condition. In addition to the samples of plasma, serum, urine, DNA and tissue that will be stored, the repository will also have a considerable advantage of containing associated linked clinical data, through the UK Renal Registry. The samples will be obtained through 13 NHS Trusts across England, Scotland and Wales, with patients followed up at specific intervals. From mid-2018, all researchers will be able to apply for access to samples stored in the biobank for future studies. Experts from the universities of Bristol and Nottingham will form the core academic team overseeing the operational delivery of the biobank. Meanwhile, tissue analysis will take place at the University of Birmingham, while biomarker analysis will take place at the University of Geneva. The program has been named NURTuRE (the National Unified Renal Translational Research Enterprise). Dr Jane Steele, Director of the Advanced Therapies Facility at the University of Birmingham, said: "We are very proud to be part of a collaboration of world-leading UK and European experts working together with pharmaceutical industry partners and the UK Renal Registry to deliver this high quality resource for renal research. "This resource opens up a wealth of new opportunities for researchers and industry to accelerate new advances that will benefit kidney patients and their treatment and care. "The data contained within the NURTuRE biobank has the potential to unlock answers to some of the biggest questions about kidney diseases." Elaine Davies from Kidney Research UK said: "The cross analysis of biological samples alongside clinical data will enable us to develop new biomarkers. This will lead to a greater ability to identify patients who will benefit from better, earlier diagnosis and person-specific new treatments, leading to better health outcomes." Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-14 22:26:23|Editor: xuxin Egyptian parliament members attend a voting session in Cairo, Egypt, on June 14, 2017. The Egyptian parliament approved in a final vote on Wednesday a controversial deal under which Egypt is to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, the Egyptian state TV reported. The approval came during a general session that was held earlier in the day following the approval of the parliament's defense and national security committee. The parliament's legislative committee passed it on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian parliament approved in a final vote on Wednesday a controversial deal under which Egypt is to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, the Egyptian state TV reported. The approval came during a general session that was held earlier in the day following the approval of the parliament's defense and national security committee. The parliament's legislative committee passed it on Tuesday. The Egyptian parliament is divided over a maritime demarcation deal signed last year, according to which Egypt will hand over the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. The majority of members are in favor of the deal. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his administration see that the two islands originally belonged to Saudi Arabia and it is time to return them to their rightful owners, while opposers of the deal believe that the islands are Egyptian and giving them up will be sacrificing national soil for temporary interests. Egyptian courts have previously nullified the agreement that was signed in April 2016 during a rare visit of Saudi King Salman to Egypt. Saudi Arabia led Gulf support to Sisi's government with billions of U.S. dollars and tons of oil supplies following the Sisi-led removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 following mass protests. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 00:37:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close DHAKA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The death toll has risen to 146, after two days of searching turned up more bodies following early Tuesday's massive landslides in southeastern Bangladesh hilly districts. The landslides claimed over 100 lives alone in Rangamati district, some 391 km from capital Dhaka. Apart from them, at least 29 bodies were recovered in Chittagong and seven in Bandarban, two in Cox's Bazar and one in Khagrachhari until Wednesday night. Mohammad Manzarul Mannan, Rangamati district administration chief, told Xinhua Wednesday night that the bodies of 105 people had been recovered, many of them children. He said 82 people were hurt and some people including a soldier still remained missing. The Rangamati death toll included four members of Bangladesh Army including two of its officers. Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) of Bangladesh Army said 10 more army personnel were also injured in the incident while another one remained missing. Lieutenant Colonel Md Rashidul Hasan, director of ISPR, told Xinhua that army personnel died while they were working to clear a road in a worst landslide hit area in Rangamati district. Rangamati Police Chief Sayeed Tarikul Hassan had earlier told Xinhua that rescue operation will continue untill they find the last missing person. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced after unusually heavy rain on Monday triggered a string of mudslides. Landslides are frequent in Bangladesh's hilly areas during the heavy monsoon that usually runs from June to September as land has been heavily deforested to grow crops and build new houses. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 00:47:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday criticized the U.S. drone strike in the country and described the strike as "counterproductive." General Bajwa's comments came a day after a U.S. drone strike reportedly killed a militant commander in Pakistan's northwestern Hangu district. U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal regions have been substantially decreased following the Pakistani forces' operations to clear the areas from the local and foreign militants. "Unilateral actions like drone strike are counterproductive and against spirit of ongoing cooperation and intelligence sharing being diligently undertaken by Pakistan," Bajwa said during his visit to Peshawar, according to the Pakistani military. "Pakistan Army is capable of taking effective measure if actionable intelligence is shared," the army chief added. Pakistan had long been critical at the U.S. strikes as the country terms such action as against the country's sovereignty. However, the United States has always ignored Pakistan's criticism at the drone strikes. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 01:18:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIGA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- After lengthy debates for months, Latvia's government coalition on Wednesday decided to provide necessary financing for the underfunded health sector by raising social tax. This means that the rate of mandatory social contributions will be raised by one percentage point, Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis told reporters after a meeting with coalition partners. At present, the rate on the social tax paid by employees is 23.59 and the rate on contributions paid by employees is 10.5 percent. The government coalition expects the tax measure to provide additional 70-80 million euros. Another 120 million euros will be provided by increasing the budget deficit, as dealing with the current crisis in the health sector is expected to cost 200 million euros. As the government prepares to raise the social tax rate, it also plans to tie the availability of government-funded health care services to patients' payments. General practitioners will be able to use a database containing information on each patients' tax payments to decide whether they are entitled to government-funded examination, tests or treatment. Those patients who do not pay taxes will only be provided basic and emergency medical services. Kucinskis said that the tax burden will not increase for dutiful taxpayers as the personal income tax rate will be reduced to 20 percent from 23 percent. Those who do not pay social tax will be able to make fixed monthly payments the size of which has yet to be decided, the prime minister said. These payments are expected to bring additional 20 million euros into the health budget. Additional 500 to 600 million euros will be needed to fund Latvia's cash-strapped health sector during the next four years, but the tax reform which was agreed by the government in May does not provide a funding source for this purpose. The government then agreed to tackle the issue separately. The solutions offered by a governmental workgroup included raising VAT to 22 percent from 21 percent or introducing a new health tax, but none of these proposals received the coalition's unanimous support. (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollars) Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 01:53:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BUCHAREST, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), announced on Wednesday that his party has voted to withdraw political support for Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, saying that the four ALDE ministers are ready to resign. "We voted today to withdraw political support for the government headed by Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu. Moreover, my colleagues who are members of the Executive have informed me that they have their resignations at hand," said Tariceanu after a Central Political Bureau meeting of the minor ruling party. According to him, the cabinet led by Grindeanu is poor in implementing the governing program. "In quantitative terms, out of a total of over 390 measures, 260 are not implemented," he explained, stressing that "the qualitative side is far more important. There are important projects that should have been launched but weren't at all." The prime minister has a tense relationship with main leaders of the major ruling Social Democratic Party recently and refused to take the initiative to resign. Party leader Liviu Dragnea called a meeting of the National Executive Committee late Wednesday to "analyze the implementation of the governing program and the measures required to recover the delays in the program." According to sources participating in the ongoing meeting, Grindeanu told the meeting that he will not resign. Furthermore, the prime minister came to the meeting with his own analysis of the governmental activity, in which he underlined that in the first two trimesters of this year, the Social Democratic Party has sent to the ministries 97 measures from the governing program, and of them only nine were not fulfilled. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 01:53:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TIRANA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Six candidates who will be part of the Ad-Hoc Appeals Chamber, one of the three institutions to conduct the vetting process of Albanian judges and prosecutors, were selected Wednesday through an electronic process, local media reported. Ardian Hajdari, Natasha Mulaj, Sokol Como, Ina Rama, Luan Daci and Albana Shtylla are the members of this important body. Present during the electronic voting procedures were also European Union and U.S. ambassador, Romana Vlahutin and Donald Lu respectively, as well as representatives of international missions. The European Union mission in Albania said via a post on social networks that by selecting the members of the Appeals Chamber, Albania took one step closer to full implementation of the Vetting law. The implementation of the justice reform, and in particular the vetting law which will scan around 800 judges and prosecutors of Albanian justice system, are deemed as essential for the opening of the accession negotiations with Albania. The candidates are expected to go through the parliament within 10 days. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 02:19:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources announced on Wednesday that the fall armyworm has spread to 6 major maize harvesting regions in the country, partially-damaging over 145,000 hectares of maize production. The fall armyworm was first spotted in Ethiopia in late February 2017. Since then, the insect has stretched its presence to 6 major maize harvesting regions in the east African country, Woldehawariat Asefa, Plant Health Regulatory Director General at the Ministry told reporters on Wednesday. According to Asefa, the fall armyworm has been rapidly expanding its presence over the past three months, hitting maize production on 146,320 hectares of land in 35 zones of Ethiopia. The Director-General, however, stated that the areas stated are not fully ravaged by the pest yet and swift response from the public and stakeholders is needed so as to tackle the impact of the devastating insect. Agricultural crops such maize, soya beans, groundnuts, and potatoes are amongst of over 100 crops that are said to be highly vulnerable to the growing presence of the fall armyworm in the country. Fall Armyworm, the larva of night-flying moth, is a pest indigenous to the Americas. It was first detected in Africa in 2016 in Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Benin, and recently in Togo. After it was detected in Africa, it was intercepted on a few hectares of irrigated maize fields in southern Ethiopia in the last week of February 2017. Experts at the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources further asserted that the impact of the insect may be devastating, unless strict measures are taken by all stakeholders and the general public. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 02:19:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close SKOPJE, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The European Parliament (EP) members voted Wednesday to adopt a European Commission's resolution on 2016 progress report for Macedonia. With 503 votes in favor, 113 votes against and 45 abstentions, the European Parliament approved the resolution which has actually been delayed several times due to the political crisis in Macedonia, EP press office said. The European Parliament said in the resolution published on EP official website that it welcomed the formation of a new government in Macedonia on May 31 and urged it, together with all political parties, to restore confidence in the country and its institutions, Macedonian Information Agency reported from Brussels. According to MEPs, Macedonia's new government has to maintain efforts towards EU integration and fully commit to robust reforms in the areas of rule of law, justice, fundamental rights, home affairs and good neighborly relations. On the other hand, EP noted in the resolution that once there was tangible progress in implementing the 2015 Przino agreement and on urgent reform priorities, it would support opening accession negotiations into the EU. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 02:39:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VIENNA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Over 300 Austrian imams convened in Vienna on Wednesday to sign a joint declaration against extremism and terror, local media reported. The declaration, titled "Declaration of Imams in Austria against extremism, violence, and terror," also calls on Muslims in Austria to be active in ensuring peace and safety for the country and the people living in it. Other key points of the document are a denouncement of the activities of the Islamic State as a misuse of the Islamic religion, the need for Muslims to integrate, an acknowledgement of the constitutional principles of Austria, and the need for prevention and deradicalization efforts particularly for youths. The Imams also spoke against the stigmatization of Muslims and related racism, stressing a need for differentiating between who is committing what acts, and also warning against populist groups stirring hatred. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 02:44:24|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close LONDON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Times Higher Education (THE) on Wednesday publishes its World Reputation Rankings, the list of the world's most prestigious universities compiled from research insight from leading global academics. Harvard University takes the top spot for the seventh year in a row. With 42 institutions in the top 100, the United States continues to dominate. Chinese universities also enjoyed good performance in this year's rankings. Tsinghua University is the highest ranking Chinese university, placing 14th and is the second most prestigious Asia-Pacific university. The third is Peking University which is 17th overall. Both have gained four places on last year's index. Zhejiang University has performed very well, rising 30 places to the joint 51-60 bracket. It overtook both Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University which are both found in the 81-90 band. Nanjing University breaks into the top 100 for the first time and is ranked 91-100. The University of Hong Kong features in the top 40 for the first time in five years after climbing six places to joint 39th. The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology are found in the 71-80 band. In total, the Asia Pacific has 28 institutions in the ranking, with Japan's University of Tokyo the highest placed in the region in 11th place. Phil Baty, Times Higher Education rankings editor, spoke highly of Chinese universities' performance this year,"A striking feature of the THE World Reputation Rankings is the continued rise of China. " According to THE, its World Reputation Rankings are created using the world's largest invitation-only academic opinion survey -- a unique piece of research. The Academic Reputation Survey, available in 15 languages, uses United Nations data as a guide to ensure that the response coverage is as representative of world scholarship as possible. It is also evenly spread across academic disciplines. The questionnaire, which is administered on behalf of THE by Elsevier, targets only experienced, published scholars, who offer their views on excellence in research and teaching within their disciplines and at institutions with which they are familiar. The 2017 rankings are based on a survey carried out between January 2017 and March 2017, which received a total of 10,566 responses. Times Higher Education is one of the world's most authoritative source of information about higher education. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 02:59:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, on Wednesday called for immediate arrest of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. "To this end, I call on the authorities of Libya, the United Nations Security Council, all States Parties to the Rome Statute, and all other States and relevant entities, to provide my Office with any relevant information in their possession," Bensouda said in a statement. Gaddafi's lawyer on Sunday said his client was freed under an amnesty law issued by parliament from a prison in the city of Zintan, 180 km southwest the capital Tripoli, where he had been imprisoned since 2011. Bensouda also called for the arrest of Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, the former head of the internal security service. "Mr Al-Tuhamy must be arrested and surrendered to the ICC without further delay." The eastern-based Libyan parliament passed a general amnesty law in 2015 on all Libyans since February 15, 2011, until the date of the declaration of the law, which was later announced to include Saif al-Islam. Saif al-Islam was sentenced to death in absentia in July 2015 by the Tripoli appeal court for genocide, recruiting of mercenaries and forming armed groups during the 2011 uprising that overthrew his father's regime. Libyan Attorney General in-charge, Ibrahim Masoud Ali, objected the release of Gaddafi, stressing that the Public Prosecutor's Office has started investigating those involved in the release. Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) MOSCOW, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Kremlin said Wednesday that Moscow seeks to avoid a new sanction standoff with the West amid rising speculations that the United States will escalate sanctions against Russia. "As for the new sanction aspirations of our partners, we wouldn't like to go into this sanction dive once again. But that's not our choice," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. U.S. Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed late Monday on imposing new Russian sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy, including mining, metals, shipping and railways manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, and stepping up efforts to punish the country for ongoing crises in Ukraine and Syria as well as its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. A procedural vote on the new sanctions, which will require congressional reviews if President Donald Trump attempts to ease, suspend or terminate them, is scheduled for Wednesday. Given Monday's agreement, the new package is largely expected to get bipartisan support. "Let us evaluate what has become reality, because so many plans and aspirations have recently been declared in Washington that one cannot keep up with everything," Peskov said. The Kremlin, he added, is closely following the new sanctions and takes a negative view on them. Warning that the United States' relationship with Russia is at an all-time low, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cautioned Tuesday while testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that imposing more sanctions could lead to Russia curtailing talks on Syria, which he said were progressing. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 03:24:45|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close GENEVA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- A UN sponsored commission on Wednesday said that the de-escalation zones agreed upon by the Russian Federation, Iran and Turkey during the Astana talks had resulted in a discernible reduction in levels of violence in the zones around Idlib and western Aleppo. The remarks were made during an interactive dialogue with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic by the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Chairperson of the Commission, also said that the establishment of de-escalation zones was a step in the right direction and could help the more comprehensive political discussions within the Geneva framework led by UN Special Envoy Staffan De Mistura. Nevertheless, he added, hostilities continued unabated in the zones around Homs, Damascus and southern Dara'a. "Violence continued to be directed against civilians through the unrestrained use of airstrikes against residential neighbourhoods, attacks on doctors and hospitals, or the use of suicide bombers that deliberately targeted civilians," the UN official said. Pinheiro also called on all States involved in the conflict to become parties to the Arms Trade Treaty of 2014. Carla del Ponte, a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, told the audience that the Commission of Inquiry was ready to fully cooperate with the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism on international crimes committed in the Syria. During Wednesday discussion, a Chinese representative said that the international community should support the United Nations as the main channel of mediation. "China was of the view that in discussing the human rights situation in Syria, the country's territorial integrity was key, and China stood ready to play a constructive role toward a comprehensive political solution to the conflict," the Chinese diplomat said. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 03:24:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BUCHAREST, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The major ruling Social Democratic Party announced late Wednesday to withdraw its political support for Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, who has a tense relationship with the party's main leaders recently and refused to take the initiative to resign. The Social Democrats made the decision by voting at the end of a meeting of the National Executive Committee that lasted more than five hours. The meeting was called by party leader Liviu Dragnea to "analyze the implementation of the governing program and the measures required to recover the delays in the program." According to sources participating in the meeting, Grindeanu told the meeting that he will not resign. Grindeanu unexpectedly left the meeting after refuting the assessment of his government's ineffectiveness and insisting on not resigning. Earlier, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), junior in ruling coalition, announced on Wednesday that his party has voted to withdraw political support for the prime minister, saying that the four ALDE ministers in the cabinet are ready to resign. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 03:29:51|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Photo taken on June 15, 2017 shows the explosion site in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia. Gunmen attacked two restaurants in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu on Wednesday night, killing at least 18 people, a government spokesman said. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse) MOGADISHU, June 14 (Xinhua) -- A deadly explosion rocked Post restaurant in the restive Somalia capital, Mogadishu on Wednesday evening, police and witnesses said. Witnesses said attackers blew up a car laden with explosives near Benadir junction in Mogadishu's Hodon district at the main entrance of the restaurant. Unconfirmed reports say at least eight people were killed and several others injured in the incident. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 03:44:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close WARSAW, June 14 (Xinhua) -- NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC-NE) has completed its participation in "Saber Strike 2017" exercise and was certified as High-Readiness Force Headquarters on Wednesday, in Szczecin, northwest Poland. With this step, the Corps has ultimately assumed the overall responsibility for conducting ground operations in NATO's eastern part. According to the MNC-NE official website, "Saber Strike 2017" has been a crucial exercise for the Corps to transform into a fully capable High-Readiness Force Headquarters and take the lead in combat operations across the northeastern flank of NATO as a Land Component Command. MNC-NE Commander, Lieutenant General Manfred Hofmann, emphasized that it was an important contribution to increasing the security level of this region. "Saber Strike" is a multinational combined forces exercise which helps to facilitate cooperation among NATO allies and partner nation focusing on promoting interoperability, and improving joint operational capability. It took place in multiple locations throughout Poland and Baltic countries from May 28 to June 24. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 04:35:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close CARACAS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Twenty three people had been arrested on suspicions of taking part in violent acts in the municipality of Libertador, near Caracas, on Tuesday night, a Venezuelan government official said. The Venezuelan Minister for Internal Relations, Justice and Peace, Nestor Reverol, said on his Twitter that 23 terrorists were arrested "after an intervention in the El Paraiso Residences." He added that the suspects wounded four security officials as they erected a barricade across a road in the community, west of the capital. During the operation, fire arms and homemade explosives were seized. Venezuela is in its third month of protests by the opposition, which have left at least 67 people dead across the country. The opposition party has blamed President Nicolas Maduro for the country's political and economic crisis, and demanded that fresh elections be called and an attempt to rewrite the Constitution be scrapped. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 05:16:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ROME, June 14 (Xinhua) -- A prominent member of the populist, euro-skeptic Five Star Movement said Wednesday the European Union (EU) must "prove itself useful to Italy" on immigration, which is wreaking "chaos" in the central Mediterranean country. Five Star politician Luigi Di Maio, who is the deputy speaker of the Lower House of parliament, made the remarks after meeting with 27 EU ambassadors in Rome. The Five Star Movement is still reeling from its disastrous showing in last Sunday's local elections, which saw strong advances by center-right coalitions led by the anti-immigrant, anti-EU Northern League party. "We want other European countries to know that Italy will be in the European Union as soon as the European Union becomes useful to Italians," Di Maio told reporters in televised comments after meeting with the EU ambassadors. "The issue of immigration is the issue of the European Union," Di Maio said. "If we don't solve this, Italian citizens will be more and more convinced the European Union doesn't serve any purpose." Di Maio mentioned the fact that some EU countries are refusing to take in refugees from Italy and Greece under the EU Refugee Relocation and Resettlement Program. He added that "the real problem is repatriations" of migrants whose claims for political asylum get turned down. "Italy doesn't repatriate anyone because immigration is a business...and this is generating chaos," Di Maio said. Di Maio's words led to speculation that the Movement, which prides itself on being an alternative to what it says are Italy's corrupt traditional parties, is courting Northern League votes and even contemplating an alliance with the right-wing party led by Matteo Salvini. This was borne out by an interview with La Stampa newspaper out Wednesday, in which Five Star MP Carlo Sibilia said "there could be a convergence with the Northern League" on immigration. "We are closer to the (Northern League) than to the (ruling) Democratic Party, which I hear wants to repopulate Italy's deserted villages with migrants," Sibilia told La Stampa. Five Star founder and leader Beppe Grillo, however, gave the idea of working with other parties a thumbs down. "The Five Star Movement does not enter into alliances," the comedian wrote on his blog, where the Movement conducts its political business. He invited those who disagree to leave the Movement and "look for another party willing to field them as candidates". U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attends a joint press conference in Moscow, Russia, on April 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi) WASHINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday called on lawmakers to grant "flexibility" to the White House in dealing with Russia as U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed new Russia sanction bill. "I would urge Congress to ensure any legislation that allows the president to have the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation," said Tillerson at a congressional hearing. While acknowledging the necessity to hold Russia accountable for its alleged meddling in U.S. elections, Tillerson also emphasized the importance of a "constructive dialogue" with Russia. Tillerson's urge came on the same day as the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan package of new Russia sanctions. The new package of Russia sanctions, passed by a 97-2 vote in the Senate, was so far one of the strongest U.S. responses to alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The new sanctions will target among others "those conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government" and "those doing business with the Russian intelligence and defense sectors," according to a press release by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. The new package also requires the White House to get a congressional review if it attempts to relax, suspend or terminate Russia sanctions. To make it even harder for U.S. President Donald Trump, who had been seeking rapprochement with Russia for months, to reject the new Russia sanctions, the Senate also attached the new Russia sanctions to a bill imposing sanctions on Iran. As a result, Trump would have to reject new sanctions against Iran, which he supports, to derail the latest congressional effort to punish Russia. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 08:52:34|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close CANBERRA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- An Australian senator has said a deadly fire which gutted a 24-storey apartment tower and killed at least 12 in west London should be used as a "wake-up call" for Australia's building standards, after low-quality, flammable cladding was blamed for the severity of the deadly blaze. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has called for an audit of Australian apartment blocks, claiming that non-compliant building materials could have been used as a cheap alternative, meaning Australian dwellings could face the same risk as the Grenfell Tower in London. Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, Xenophon said the thought of an apartment fire which gets out of control due to non-compliant, flammable cladding and other poor quality materials was "disturbing." "When you have firefighters saying 'this stuff makes our job almost impossible to do', that is very disturbing," Xenophon said. "Firefighters say this external cladding is flammable, non-conforming; stuff that shouldn't be on buildings and poses an enormous risk on residents and to firefighters." He later told the Nine Network that an audit to determine which buildings have been fitted with materials that are not up to "Australian standards" should be ordered to protect residents' safety. "We just need to know what is being used on apartment buildings, including those being retrofitted are fire retardant and meet Australian standards," the Senator said. "Some of this cladding is okay to use on a single-storey build, but not for multi-storey buildings and the problem is we just don't know the extent of it." The Australian city of Melbourne has previously had a minor incident involving flammable cladding; in 2015, an apartment building engulfed in flames, with a report from the fire department declaring that cheaply-imported cladding was to blame for the severity of the blaze. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 09:12:43|Editor: xuxin Caterpillar Group President of Construction Industries Bob De Lange is interviewed with Xinhua at Caterpillar's facility in Peoria, Illinois, the United States, on May 25, 2017. "We look forward to a long and prosperous future in China," said Caterpillar Group President of Construction Industries Bob De Lange in an exclusive interview with Xinhua. Caterpillar has made a long-term commitment to China. It now has more than 10,000 employees in China, and Caterpillar dealers in China have another more than 5,000 employees. The U.S. manufacturing giant has so far opened 28 manufacturing facilities in China, three R&D centers and three logistics centers. (Xinhua/Wang Qiang) nt." by Xinhua writers Xu Jing, Wang Qiang CHICAGO, June 14 (Xinhua) -- "We look forward to a long and prosperous future in China," said Caterpillar Group President of Construction Industries Bob De Lange in an exclusive interview with Xinhua. China is "one of our biggest growth markets" outside North America, and "we are making a very strong commitment to China," De Lange said. Caterpillar's commitment includes developing local leadership, manufacturing base, supply base, and its own business model in China. "We want to be a good local citizen in China, because we are very committed to being a market leader in our equipment in China," he said, adding that Caterpillar supports China and its growth. De Lange said he was especially optimistic about the Chinese market, explaining that Chinese market, with all the investment in infrastructure and housing, is actually one of the bright spots in the world. De Lange speaks highly of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, which includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. "We are very strong supporters of the Belt and Road initiative," De Lange told Xinhua. "We are aligned in our objectives, the Chinese government and Caterpillar, because it is about building connectivity, improving infrastructure, improving the standards of living of people around the world, exactly what we want to do as well." He said he believes that caterpillar is very well placed to support the Belt and Road Initiative, "we have ample products around the world, but especially we have very strong dealer network that can help Chinese enterprises as they go there and work on those belt and road initiatives, and to continue to further that collaboration." Being a global leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives, Caterpillar ranked the 194th on the Global Fortune 500 list in 2016. Caterpillar clinched its first 3.8-million-dollar worth deal to sell 38 pipe-layers to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in 1975. "We initially started with selling products, engines, and machines, and then in the early 1990s, we started manufacturing in China," said De Lange. Caterpillar has made a long-term commitment to China. It now has more than 10,000 employees in China, and Caterpillar dealers in China have another more than 5,000 employees. The U.S. manufacturing giant has so far opened 28 manufacturing facilities in China, three R&D centers and three logistics centers. "We're really trying not just to go to China to build equipment but to develop our full business model," De Lange told Xinhua. He attended the China Development Forum early this year. He told Xinhua that it is very positive for China to go for more sustainable growth that can be maintained in the long term, and to strengthen the image of desiring blue skies, green mountains, and clear water. "In the short term, it might mean slightly slower growth, but if it means sustainable long-term growth, I think that is positive... we want to make a long-term commitment and have long-term success in China," De Lange said. Caterpillar is in favor of constructive relationship between China and the United States, De Lange said, saying it may help create an environment that allows free trade. "What we are advocating together with many other companies is to create an environment of free trade with limited restrictions," which De Lange said he believed is good not only for both U.S. and China, but also for the world. De Lange said that the best role the global companies can play is to show the importance of free trade, as it can not only improve growth in a country but will also help create global growth and therefore allow all economies in the world to prosper and grow at the same time. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 10:23:39|Editor: Mengjie Kevin Rudd (R), president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, delivers a speech at the High-level Dialogue on U.S.-China Economic Relations in New York, the United States, on June 14, 2017. More than 30 scholars from leading think-tanks in both China and the United States gathered here on Wednesday to discuss the bilateral economic and trade relationship between the world's two largest economies. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) NEW YORK, June 14 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States, as the world's top two economies, need to enhance communication on the Belt and Road Initiative, which can benefit both countries and the whole world, said participants of a high-level think-tank dialogue here on Wednesday. Kevin Rudd, president of Asia Society Policy Institute, said the China-proposed initiative covers the continent of Euro-Asia, a vast and complex part of the world. Taking into account such factors as geopolitics and geoeconomics in the region, Rudd said China needs to explain how investment will be made in order to involve more participants in business. Rudd made the remarks at the High-level Dialogue on U.S.-China Economic Relations, which gathered scholars from leading think-tanks in both China and the United States to discuss bilateral economic and trade ties. Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to the United States, said on the same occasion how the two countries manage their economic relations would affect the prospects of global economic growth. "China and the United States should work together and make all the right choices and show the way forward to the world," he said. Cui said the choice is between openness and isolation, between connectivity and separation, between win-win and zero-sum games. China stands for openness, connectivity and win-win approaches as manifested by the Belt and Road Initiative, he noted. The Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road through concerted efforts of all related countries, was first put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. It advocates policy coordination, connectivity of infrastructure and facilities, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and closer people-to-people ties through extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, with an aim to benefit all. "This connectivity will make it possible to build stronger bonds among nations and really join hands to respond to the growing global challenges that transcend national boundaries," said Cui. Michael Bloomberg, former New York City mayor, said history has shown that investing in infrastructure is one of the best ways to spur economic growth and that "China is putting that lesson to very good use." He said that the ambitious initiative which calls for major investment in new infrastructure will create great opportunities for global investors. He also noted that China and the United States share a more inter-connected economic relationship than ever before and they have a stake in each other's success. "Growth in China helps to fuel growth here in the United States and that is why it's been very encouraging to see the important steps that China has taken to open up its market to global investors," he said. On infrastructure development, Josette Sheeran, president and CEO of the Asia Society, said infrastructure gap is not just about roads, but about quality of human lives and the ability of societies to reduce poverty. She called infrastructure development a "natural place" where China and the United States can work together, as both countries have advantages in it. She called on thinkers to work out how to unite the world and use infrastructure to unlock the potential of economic growth. The one-day event featured prominent keynote speakers including Tung Chee-hwa, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Zhao Qizheng, former minister of China's State Council Information Office. It was jointly hosted by the New York City-based Asia Society Policy Institute and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, with the participation of more than 30 scholars from leading think-tanks in both China and the United States. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 10:43:49|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close LONDON, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A delegation from China's southern province of Guangdong on Wednesday wrapped up a four-day visit to Britain, where they expressed a strong interest in furthering economic and trade cooperation with the country. The delegation was led by Hu Chunhua, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the Guangdong Provincial CPC Committee. Guangdong has been known for its various pilot projects and the vitality of its economy as China gradually opened up and carried out reforms over the past decades. It had a gross domestic product (GDP) of about 1.16 trillion U.S. dollars in 2016, accounting for 10.69 percent of China's total GDP and over 28 percent of China's international trade. The delegation attended the China (Guangdong) - UK Economic and Trade Conference and signed 26 cooperation projects on Wednesday morning with a contract value of about 1.831 billion dollars. In a speech at the conference, Hu said that all parties built a broad consensus on common development at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held last month in Beijing. He said the economic and trade exchanges between Guangdong and Britain have a long history, and that he hoped the two sides will work together to expand the exchanges, deepen the friendly and cooperative relations while promoting the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. Both sides should also increase two-way investment and strengthen pragmatic cooperation in scientific and technological innovation, finance, education and other fields, he said. During the visit, Hu met with British Princess Anne, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and heads of the local governments of London, Birmingham and Scotland. Britain is the last leg of the Guangdong delegation's three-nation tour, which has taken it to Israel and Ireland. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 10:53:55|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close CANBERRA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Small food businesses in Australia have raised concerns that the introduction of new food labeling laws could send them broke, with some saying the mandatory repackaging associated could cost "millions of dollars." Following an outbreak of hepatitis-A from foreign-sourced berries in 2014, the federal government announced plans to introduce a law requiring food packaging to clearly show the origin of ingredients and the proportion of Australian ingredients, meaning businesses would need to repackage their products. The laws are due to be enforced next year, but those within the industry have raised concerns that it could cost too much to do so, with some saying it could send businesses broke. Brookfarm Muesli's Pam Brook told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Thursday that her 70 products would all require repackaging, something she said could cost up to 500,000 Australian dollars (378,000 U.S. dollars). "The idea is great. I completely agree with the idea that people want to know where their food comes from, but the execution is terrible," Brook said. She said that it was unfair that small producers are slugged, while mass producers of "junk food" are exempt from the laws, as the government said consumers were not concerned with the origin of the ingredients of junk food. "The execution isn't transparent to consumers. It places an unfair burden on small and medium manufacturers and it lets importers and producers of junk foods off scot-free," Brook said. Meanwhile Food South Australia's CEO, Catherine Sayer, said the laws would not only harm industry bottom lines due to once-off repackaging, but sometimes seasonal foods required ingredients sourced from elsewhere, meaning the proportion would differ throughout the year. She said as a result, some businesses, especially "value"-based food producers, would struggle to make money as they would spend it on complying with the new rules. "Sometimes there is a lot of butter in Australia and sometimes there is not, so companies have to look overseas to purchase some of their ingredients," Sayer told the ABC. "That is fine, but the country of origin labeling will not take that into account and you have to lower the average of Australian content overall, which then makes the product look like it is not from Australia." "It just gets a lot harder for the industry, a lot more expensive, the further up the value chain you go," she added. Businesses will be required to comply with the new laws by July 1, 2018. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 11:14:13|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MINSK, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Belarusian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said the new U.S. administration's policy toward Belarus maintains an obsolete biased stereotype. Commenting on the U.S. extension of sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and several officials for another year, Maria Vanshina, deputy head of the foreign ministry's information office, said the U.S. decision repeats similar ones made in previous years. Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump extended for another year the sanctions against Lukashenko, several Belarusian officials and their families. The sanctions were introduced by former U.S. President George W. Bush to denounce presidential elections in Belarus that Washington called undemocratic. Vanshina said Washington's allegation that Belarus poses a threat to it is absolutely unacceptable. The foreign ministry official said Belarus is committed to continuing constructive dialogues with the United States and to mutually beneficial cooperation, in the belief that such bilateral cooperation will contribute to positive changes in the U.S. foreign policy. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 11:14:15|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BANJUL, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Gambia's former ruling party condemned Wednesday the freezing of its former leader Yahya Jammeh's assets, calling it "unconstitutional." Fabakary Tombong Jatta, current leader of the Alliance for Patriotic Re-Orientation and Construction (APRC), said the party and its supporters are "deeply worried and concerned about the path the government is taking by freezing the assets of the former president without following due process." On May 22, Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou announced a court order to seize 86 bank accounts and 131 properties linked to Jammeh, as the new government accused him of stealing state money worth at least 50 million U.S. dollars. Jatta called the seizure "unlawful and unconstitutional" and describing it as a witch hunt. Jammeh fled to Equatorial Guinea on Jan. 21 after being defeated in election, ending his 22-year rule. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 11:19:18|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LONDON, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The deadly blaze in a London tower block has killed at least 12 people, raising questions about how such a calamity could have happened and prompting fears over the safety of other similar blocks across the country. The blaze broke out in the 24-story tower block in the West London district of North Kensington, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The flames spread quickly, according to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), which deployed 40 fire engines and more than 200 firefighters. More than 16 hours after the fire started, crews were still trying to put out flames as they sought to reach the top floors. INVESTIGATION PROMISED British Prime Minister Theresa May promised there would be a proper investigation into the disaster, and at the moment the government would focus on providing support to those who lost their homes and everything. "In due course, when the scene is secure, when it's possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken." London Metropolitan Police confirmed there have been 12 deaths, and said they expect the fatality figure to rise further. Fire crews have so far rescued 65 people from the building. The fire affected all floors of the 24-story building, from the second floor up, said the LFB. The LFB said a cordon was in place around the building and around 30 flats adjacent to the tower block had been evacuated by police, and people are advised to avoid the area. "Crews wearing breathing apparatus have been working tirelessly in extremely difficult conditions to rescue people and to bring this major fire under control," said London Fire Commissioner Danny Cotton. "London Ambulance Service has confirmed 68 people have been taken to six hospitals and a further 10 people have self-presented," he added. A total of six hospitals across London were looking after the injured, who included 18 in critical conditions. Cotton said the cause of the fire was not known. "There will be an investigation but at this stage I do not want to speculate about the cause of the fire or what has caused it to spread in the way that it did. We will be working with all agencies, including the local authority to support all of those affected by this incident," said Cotton. PREVIOUS CONCERNS IGNORED The BBC reported harrowing eyewitness accounts of the blaze. "It's unbelievable," said one woman. "I saw people jumping out of windows. I heard their screams," the BBC reported. Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization Limited (KCTMO) is responsible for the management of nearly 10,000 properties on behalf of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the municipal authority, including the Grenfell tower block where the blaze took place. The residents of the Grenfell block had raised concerns about the placement of boilers and gas pipes, the absence of a building-wide fire alarm or sprinkler system, and piles of rubbish being dumped and causing a fire risk. In a statement posted on the Grenfell Action Group (GAG) website in November last year, the GAG said:" It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believes that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders." The GAG added:" It is our conviction that a serious fire in a tower block or similar high density residential property is the most likely reason that those who wield power at the KCTMO will be found out." The KCTMO said in a statement reported by local media: "We are aware that concerns have been raised historically by residents. We always take all concerns seriously and these will form part of our forthcoming investigations. While these investigations continue with our cooperation, our core priority at the moment is our residents." There are suggestions that the rapid spread of the fire may have something to do with a renovation done last year, with many claiming that the external cladding added then to the building appeared to be not up to standard in terms of fire-resistance. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he would be demanding answers as to how the massive fire happened. "Across London we have many, many tower blocks and what we can't have is a situation where people's safety is put at risk because of bad advice being given or if it is the case, as has been alleged, of tower blocks not being properly serviced or maintained," he said. A similar blaze in 2009 in a block of flats in the south London district of Camberwell claimed six lives, and the fire prompted an inquiry and a report from the Houses of Parliament. MANILA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday the continuing clashes to retake the besieged southern Philippine city of Marawi "will likely prolong." "The continuing clashes, and its damage on infrastructures in the city, will likely prolong the displacement of Marawi residents. Their needs are immense and growing by the day," the ICRC said in a recent report released on Thursday. The fighting between government forces and militants allied with Islamic State in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province has entered its fourth week from May 23. The ICRC said the affected residents who are likely to face prolonged displacement due to the impact of the fighting on their homes will need help to get back on their feet. While evacuation efforts are ongoing, the ICRC said an estimated 300-500 people remain trapped in the city. "Circumstances are dire for those who are left behind in Marawi City. Their lives remain in danger with the fighting zone, and it's impossible for humanitarian organizations to provide them with much needed assistance due to access and security issues," the ICRC said. The aid agency said efforts to secure a humanitarian corridor should continue to ensure the safe evacuation of the trapped civilians. "The rainy season has started, and thousands are still scattered in evacuation centers, while many families have sought shelter with relatives," the ICRC said. ICRC has expressed concerns over reports of civilians who were killed or deliberately targeted, and those who are being held against their will. "Civilians are not part of the fighting and should be protected," the ICRC said. The ICRC said that the onset of raining season poses increased health risks to displaced residents, especially children and elderly staying in the evacuation centers. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 12:35:13|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BISHKEK, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative China proposed in 2013 is a unique project that benefits the economic development of all countries involved, said deputy chairman of Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for Industry, Energy and Mining on Wednesday. Ulanbek Ryskulov participated in the Silk Road International Exposition, or the 21st Investment and Trade Forum for Cooperation between East and West China, held in Xi'an, China on June 3-7. "Event those countries, which are located far away from the Silk Road, are interested in participating in this project," he said. Comprising the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build an infrastructure and trade network connecting countries in Asia, Europe and Africa to seek common development and prosperity. Ryskulov noted that China is currently a major investor in Kyrgyzstan. "Now big Chinese state-run companies become our investors. And this means a new level in our relations and we need to support them," he said. Ryskulov said the Belt and Road Initiative can help Kyrgyzstan develop its economy as construction of railways is needed by the landlocked Central Asian country. Ryskulov also expects a leap in the development of the country's mining industry. "There are many coal fields in Kyrgyzstan, but there is a problem with transport. Railway construction within the framework of Belt and Road Initiative will be helpful to our country," he told Xinhua. Ryskulov also believes the hydropower industry is another sector with great potential for cooperation with China. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 12:55:21|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MOGADISHU, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen attacked two restaurants in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu on Wednesday night, killing at least 17 people and injuring 26 others, with an unknown number of hostages being held by the attackers, rescuers said. An emergency team Aamin Ambulance said Thursday on Twitter that it has found 17 bodies and evacuated 26 people who were wounded, but has to "stop rescue work as the area became too dark while bombings are still going on." An earlier report quoting police officer Mohamed Nur said eight people were killed in the attacks. A suicide bomber drove a car loaded with explosives into the Posh restaurant in Hodan district and detonated it, Nur told Xinhua. A group of gunmen then bombed the Pizza House, a restaurant near Posh, and clashed with security personnel, he added.8 The two restaurants are frequented by government officials and young people. A witness said the explosion was huge and could be felt from a distance. "We heard a huge explosion which hit Pizza House and Posh House. We understand some people have been killed," Abdullah Yasin told Xinhua. Heavy gunfire could be heard inside the Pizza House where an unknown number of hostages were held, police said. Somalia-based al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility. The al-Qaida-affiliated group has launched frequent attacks on targets including civilians and government institutions in the Horn of Africa country since the militants were forced out of Mogadishu by African Union (AU) troops in 2011. Somali President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed in April declared war against the extremists, offering amnesty to militants who surrendered within 60 days and warning the rest would "face the consequences." Somalia's special forces destroyed a key al-Shabaab command and supply hub on Sunday in the country's southern regions. "We have long suffered at the hands of Al-Shabaab which is supported by global terror networks. We and our international partners will take every possible precaution to protect our civilian population from harm during these operations while targeting terrorists," the president said Sunday. The U.S. military also confirmed its special forces killed eight al-Shabaab fighters in an airstrike conducted in southern Somalia on Sunday. In a statement issued on Sunday night, the U.S. Africa Command (Africom) vowed to intensify attacks against al-Shabaab militants in order to protect people, saying the militants have taken advantage of the safe haven to kill and maim people. According to Africom, al-Shabaab has overrun three bases of the African Union Mission to Somalia, a peacekeeping mission operated by the AU, by amassing large numbers of fighters and attacking in overwhelming numbers in the last eight months. It said al-Shabaab has also increased its combat capability by seizing heavy weaponry, armored vehicles, explosives, small arms, ammunition, and other miscellaneous supplies. The terrorist group has cemented its control in southern and central Somalia and has used this area to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, and to shelter other radical terrorists. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 13:05:25|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close TRIPOLI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Few people expected Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to return to the spotlight after six years in prison on charges of alleged genocide and suppression of demonstrators during the unrest in 2011. Before the political turmoil, he was once widely considered as heir of his father, the late deposed Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, but was captured by a militia group in Zintan, a town located the southwest of the capital Tripoli. Observers said his release was politically motivated and endangers reconciliation in the country that remains divided after six years of conflicts. HUGE CONTROVERSY Saif Gaddafi has not appeared in public since he was released on Friday. His current whereabouts remain unknown. His lawyer said Sunday his client was freed under an amnesty law issued by the parliament. The eastern-based Libyan parliament passed a general amnesty law in 2015 on all Libyans, including Saif Gaddafi, who committed crimes in the north African country since Feb. 15, 2011. However, the International Criminal Court (ICC) still demands that Saif be extradited for crimes against humanity. Libya's acting Attorney General Ibrahim Masoud Ali has revealed public prosecution had begun investigating those involved in the release of Saif Gaddafi. "Based on the information regarding the release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who has been sentenced in absentia, he is wanted under the court order, so that he will be tried in accordance with the requirements of a fair trial," Ali said in a statement. "The amnesty he needs to be released required a legal waiver from the families of the victims," he added. Saif Gaddafi was sentenced to death along with some other officials in absentia by the Tripoli Court of Appeal for alleged genocide and mercenaries he committed during the 2011 turmoil that overthrew his father's regime. "The issue of Saif al-Islam is a matter of national judiciary. No one can make any decision about his freedom except through the public prosecution and court. Therefore, if he was actually released, those responsible for his release have exceeded their powers," said Jalal al-Fitouri, a law professor in Libya. Zintan's military and city councils on Sunday stated their opposition to Saif Gaddafi's release, saying it was a "collusion and betrayal to the martyrs and a stab to the military establishment that they claim to belong to." ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on Wednesday called for assistance in the immediate arrest of Saif Gaddafi. POLITICAL CHAOS The controversy on the release of Saif Gaddafi was called "the black box of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi," by the opponents who expressed concerns that he would restore his family's power after the 2011 unrest put an end to his father's more than four decades of ruling. Gaddafi's release at this time raises concerns that domestic and international parties intend to involve him in the reconciliation process, given the relations and prestige he has with major tribes, as well as the funds he owns abroad, Al-Fitouri said. Ibrahim al-Dabbashi, Libya's former ambassador to the United Nations, said the release of Saif Gaddafi was a result of "a tribal alliance." "Many Libyans will consider the release as a betrayal of the nation, especially since the image of Saif al-Islam threatening the Libyans did not disappear," he said. Libya remains politically divided after six years of conflicts with two competing parliaments and governments, one based in Tripoli and the other in the eastern port city of Tobruk. "I think Saif is an influential party in the political scene, especially since he has supporters and a popular base. However, it is impossible to predict what he wants: does he want confrontation and to restore the regime of his father, Muammar Gaddafi, or does he want to reconcile with the current regime and end the past disagreement? All of this dependents on him in the first place. The future will reveal his motives," said Ali al-Suweih, a member of the Supreme Council of State, an advisory body in the country. "If he is released from prison, it would make the chaotic situation more complicated," al-Suweih added. With mediation efforts of the international community, political rivals signed a U.N.-sponsored peace agreement in December 2015 which led to the establishment of the Government of National Accord headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and based in Tripoli. However, the Tobruk-based parliament, which is recognized by the international community, has refused to endorse the government. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 13:10:27|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close TIRANA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Albanian Ministry of Economic Development held a meeting Wednesday with the state agencies related to the sector of tourism as well as tour operators to discuss measures for the summer season. The ministry has set up a task force on tourism which will deal with preparations for a better performance in this important sector for Albanian economy. Ardit Collaku, head of the National Agency for Tourism, said local government authorities, organizations, central and local institutions should coordinate different events with an aim to promote tourism. He also told reporters that many new info points were opened in a handful of tourist cities such as Vlora, Saranda, Durresi and so on. Representatives of the State Environment Inspectorate present at the meeting said they had started inspections at all waste disposal locations. State police have formed a group to guarantee public order in tourist areas. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 13:40:38|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SEOUL, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Revenue of South Korean manufacturers rose for the first time in three years, boosting expectations for economic recovery, central bank data showed Thursday. Sales for all domestic companies gained 7.9 percent in the January-March quarter compared with a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It was much faster than a 0.8 percent increase in the previous quarter. Revenue for manufacturers jumped 9.3 percent in the quarter, marking the first growth in three years. The revenue growth rate among services companies was 5.9 percent in the first quarter, up from 2.4 percent in the prior quarter. The improved sales were attributable to higher crude oil prices and exports recovery. Revenue of oil refiners and chemical firms surged 21.2 percent thanks to expensive crude oil, with those for metal products prodders expanding 14.4 percent. The figure for machinery and electronics maker posted a double-digit increase. Sales of semiconductor makers soared 47.1 percent as the chipmakers led the country's exports recovery in recent months. Corporate profitability was enhanced. The ratio of operating profit to revenue stood at 7.0 percent in the quarter, up 1.8 percentage points from the previous quarter. The first-quarter number was the highest in six and a half years. The ratio for manufacturers came in at 8.5 percent, higher than 4.9 percent for non-manufacturers. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 13:40:39|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close by Raimundo Urrechaga HAVANA, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Any shift in Washington's policy on its relations with Cuba would come to a dead end and have a direct impact on the progress made towards normalizing bilateral ties, a Cuban expert said Wednesday. "Various areas of cooperation and scientific collaboration could be damaged by a rollback in current Cuba policy. U.S. companies' economic interest in investing in Cuba would also be limited," Esteban Morales, a professor at the University of Havana, told Xinhua. Uncertainties reign in Cuba over a possible about-face in policy towards the island and the scope of these new measures which U.S. President Donald Trump is to announce Friday. U.S. media have speculated the White House will try to roll back the thaw in diplomatic ties that was spearheaded by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, especially as the announcement will be made in Miami, Florida, home to the largely anti-Castro Cuban exile community. While no one expects Trump to sever recently restored diplomatic ties between the former Cold War foes, or re-close the U.S. embassy in Havana, his administration has been discussing policy changes that include barring business transactions with companies associated with the Cuban military. The White House may also clamp down on travels to Cuba by U.S. citizens, which have more than tripled since Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced their agreement to normalize ties in 2014. A return to the past could characterize Trump's announcement that fulfills a promise he made in his election campaign last year. "The extremist Miami exile sectors are interested in returning to that old policy because those groups lived off that confrontation for more than 50 years and it was the American taxpayers who financed that failed policy," Morales said. During a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington would continue trade and ties with Cuba only if the Cuban government meets U.S. demands in the area of human rights. "Cuba is ready to negotiate with the United States on equal terms about human rights on the island, but the human rights situation in the United States must also be addressed at the negotiating table, because we also have concerns about that issue," said Morales. On the economic and financial front, he believes that the White House is unlikely to set new limits on trade or investment since they would be very unpopular among U.S. business sectors that advocate for closer ties between the two economies. Before the end of his term, Obama relaxed certain restrictions on Cuba. U.S. tech giant Google installed servers in Cuba; international hotel operators rushed to open five-star hotels in Havana and Cuba's resorts; airlines eagerly launched regular commercial flights to different cities in the country; and cruise lines put Havana and Cuban resorts on their itineraries. Even Airbnb, an online accommodation booking behemoth, lets Americans arrange stays in private homes in Cuba. "It would be very hard to reverse (the resumption of) commercial flights, cruise ships, U.S. visitors to Cuba and other businesses because major financial sectors would complain about such a move," Morales said. While U.S. citizens are not free to vacation in Cuba, Obama did relax travel restrictions. In the first five months of this year, 284,565 U.S. citizens took advantage of that change in policy, which allows travel to Cuba for educational, religious or cultural purposes, among others. The figure, reported Tuesday by Cuba's ambassador to Washington, Jose Ramon Cabanas, is equal to the total U.S. visitor arrivals in all of 2016. "If Trump is interested in making it harder for Americans to come to Cuba through special permits or new categories, I think it's going to fail. It would be a measure that couldn't be sustained over time," Morales said. In December 2014, in the most sweeping change in U.S.-Cuba relations in five decades, Obama and Raul Castro jointly announced plans to normalize ties, in a move that quickly sparked much controversy in the United States. Since then, improvements have been made in U.S.-Cuba diplomatic and trade ties, and the island has experienced an international tourism "boom" receiving a record 4.1 million visitors in 2016. A recent poll by U.S. travel agency Insight Cuba indicates that six out of 10 Americans plan to visit the island in the next two years, a figure that could increase U.S. visitors to almost 2 million annually. "Trump might be able to implement a new policy towards Cuba, and if he does, he will most likely end up, like the other presidents who wanted to follow that path, with a total failure," said Morales. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 13:45:42|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, June 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will host the second annual meeting of the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) this week. The AIIB annual meeting of the board of governors will continue for two days from Friday at the International Convention Center in the country's southern resort island of Jeju. The first annual meeting was held in Beijing last year. Officially opened in January in 2016, the Beijing-based AIIB is a multilateral development bank initiated by China and supported by a wide rage of countries and regions, which will provide financing for infrastructure improvement in Asia. About 2,000 government officials and journalists, including delegations of the AIIB members and international agency chiefs as well as financiers and businessmen will attend the meeting. The second AIIB annual meeting will be held under the theme of "Sustainable Infrastructure," seeking strategic directions of the international infrastructure bank and making major decisions on the bank's management. The hosting of the AIIB annual meeting will have a significant meaning to South Korea as it would be the first international event hosted by the new government, which was launched on May 10. The finance ministry said the hosting would provide an opportunity for South Korea to promote its new economic policy and strengthen economic cooperation with major countries. The ministry said South Korea planned to express its will at the meeting to actively contribute to Asia's economic development by sharing the country's development experience with AIIB members. South Korea became Asia's No.4 economy from a war-torn country after the three-year Korean War ended in an armistice 1953. South Korea is the world's single country that successfully turned from official development assistance (ODA) receiver to ODA provider. The opening session is scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Friday. Before the session, the seminar of the AIIB governors will be held along with a briefing on the AIIB strategy. The session of governors' meeting, the AIIB's supreme decision-making body in which chief delegates of members participate, is slated to be held twice on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. A variety of bilateral meetings between chief delegates will be held on the sidelines of the official sessions. For businessmen and financiers, various events are arranged such as the one-on-one meeting for businessmen, the investment forum for developing countries and the briefing session on South Korean companies relevant to infrastructure development. Four seminars will be held, with experts on infrastructure investment and development in attendance. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 13:55:46|Editor: Mengjie A Long March-4B rocket carrying X-ray space telescope to observe black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts blasts off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert, June 15, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhen Zhe) JIUQUAN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China launched its first X-ray space telescope to observe black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts, via a Long March-4B rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert at 11 a.m. Thursday. The 2.5-tonne Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), dubbed Insight, was sent into an orbit of 550 kilometers above the earth to help scientists better understand the evolution of black holes, and the strong magnetic fields and the interiors of pulsars. Through the telescope, scientists will also study how to use pulsars for spacecraft navigation, and search for gamma-ray bursts corresponding to gravitational waves. The result of the wisdom and efforts of several generations of Chinese scientists, Insight is expected to push forward the development of space astronomy and improve space X-ray detection technology in China. Insight can be regarded as a small observatory in space, as it carries a trio of detectors -- the high energy X-ray telescope (HE), the medium energy X-ray telescope (ME) and the low energy X-ray telescope (LE) -- that cover a broad energy band from 1 keV to 250 keV, said Lu Fangjun, chief designer of the payload. Based on the demodulation technique first proposed by Li Tipei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in 1993, the HE has a total detection area of more than 5,000 square centimeters, the world's largest in its energy band. "Given it has a larger detection area than other X-ray probes, HXMT can identify more features of known sources," said Xiong Shaolin, a scientist at the Institute of High Energy Physics of the CAS. Chen Yong, chief designer of the LE, said X-rays of lower energy usually have more photons, so a telescope based on a focusing technique is not suitable for observing very bright objects emitting soft X-rays, as too many photons at a time will result in over-exposure. But HXMT won't have that problem, as its collimators diffuse photons instead of focusing them. "No matter how bright the sources are, our telescope won't be blinded," said Chen. According to Zhang Shuangnan, HXMT lead scientist, the satellite's developers found that a set of HXMT high-energy detectors, originally designed to shield background noises caused by unwanted particles, could be adjusted to observe gamma-ray bursts. The creative new function pushes the satellite's observation band up to 3 MeV and a very good energy spectrum, Zhang said. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 14:05:51|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SEOUL, June 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea posted a trade surplus at 5.7 billion U.S. dollars in May thanks to exports growth, customs data showed Thursday. Revised figure for trade surplus was 5.7 billion dollars as exports, which account for about half of the economy, logged a double-digit growth for five straight months, according to Korea Customs Service. Exports increased 13.3 percent from a year earlier to 45 billion dollars in May, while imports gained 19.1 percent to 39.3 billion dollars. Semiconductor exports surged 56.2 percent, leading the exports recovery for the first five months of this year. Auto exports added 4.2 percent, with oil product shipments jumping 30.2 percent on the back of higher oil prices. Shipments of auto parts and telecommunication devices, including smartphones, logged a double-digit decline. Exports to China, the European Union, Vietnam and Japan grew last month, but those to the United States and the Middle East countries declined 1.8 percent and 2.9 percent respectively. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 14:20:57|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close by Le Yanna, Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan HANOI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Wearing pajamas and lying on her bed at her home in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, 19-year-old Nguyen Nhu Van wasn't planning to sleep anytime soon on Wednesday, despite it being midnight. Instead, her eyes glued to the laptop screen, she repeatedly pressed the F5 key. Van was waiting for the new episode of the ongoing Chinese drama Princess Agents to be uploaded on a local video website with Vietnamese subtitles. "I can't wait until tomorrow to watch it. My eagerness is killing me right now," Van said reluctantly. Van is among thousands of Vietnamese youngsters making a habit of updating any newly-released Chinese dramas at midnight. Series such as the Journey of Flowers or Ten miles of Peach Blossoms have ended, but now more are on the way to serve audiences this summer. Thanks to the large number of translating teams nationwide, any new episode will be packed with Vietnamese subs within an hour of the original Chinese one being released. In the meantime, translator Tan Thi Ngoc Anh was urgently finishing her part to send to the sub settlers of her team. "We normally divide each episode into three parts, each translator is responsible for some 15 minutes," the young translator told Xinhua, explaining that partial posts would save waiting time. Anh's subtitle team, with a total of 15 members, completes tasks from translating, setting subtitles, working with websites to upload the subbed video and fixing errors if they occur. As it is a multi-stage process, all members must not miss their personal deadlines, or else the whole process would be ruined, since the episode won't be able to be released on time. "Jumping out of bed every midnight is not a joke at all. I sometimes feel it is overwhelming," said Anh, "but thinking of so many youngsters stuck to their screens waiting for our subbed films, I slap my face to better concentrate on the translation." Besides Chinese films, Anh's teams also do subtitles for English, Japanese and Korean works. However, the Chinese segment is the largest one, attracting a lot of youngsters watching online. Topics about romantic love, youth and modern life are great hits with the audiences, according to Anh. The hard work at night brought new light to Anh's daytime, since she is now receiving more and more friends coming to chat about their film favorites. "Many of them learn the dialogue by heart and imitate the characters' words. That's funny and adorable," Anh said with a bright smile. Asking for her recommendations, Anh's friends are now excited to register for Chinese courses. Hanoi's crowded Chua Lang Street, where at least three universities are situated nearby, includes a small-size language teaching Chinese Communication Center (3C). Nghiem Thuy Trang, 30, owner of 3C, told Xinhua that it is the second branch she had opened, after the first one's debut last year. Due to increasing demand of Vietnamese people wanting to learn Chinese, her new facility in Chua Lang Street welcomes some 30 new students per month, which is a stable rise amid rampant online promotions of other centers. Feeling imparted by the films and their idols are among the greatest hooks luring youngsters to Chinese studying places. "Young people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s come to us because they are fond of Chinese dramas and movies. They want to see the films without waiting for the subtitles and dream one day they can talk to their Chinese idols," Trang explained. Even Trang herself said she shared a love for the China's Princess Returning Pearl, which is a phenomenally popular childhood series of any Vietnamese girls of Trang's generation. "It means a lot to me, enough to send me to China to study and become a Chinese teacher as I've become now," she expressed. Not only preparing books, Trang equips the 3C places with samples representing Chinese culture such as Zithers, paper-cutting and engages her students in tea ceremonies. "Passions for one type of culture, films for instance, will stimulate demand for further explorations," Trang said of her own experience, which she applied to her teaching work. Apart from the online uploads that enrapture Vietnamese youngsters, the screening of Chinese films on television channels are also witnessing improved influence. According to an unnamed representative from the Saigon Tourist Cable Television (SCTV), purchases of Chinese films by Vietnamese companies have increased in the past years. More channels launched recently amid limited production capacity of local agents, makes Chinese films an economic choice for local TV companies, said the representative. "Chinese films are offered at better prices than Korean ones. Many genres like dramas, historical or real life investigations, are familiar to Vietnamese due to cultural similarities," he told Xinhua. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 14:26:03|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, June 15 (Xinhua) -- As the rivalry has been widening between Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) group in Afghanistan, the former has captured five militants loyal to the later in the northern Jawzjan province with Shiberghan as its capital, provincial police chief Rahmatullah Turkistani said Thursday. "A five-member delegation of IS group under Sayed Jalal was visiting Darzab district to organize its fighters when the Taliban militants on the way back captured them as captive on Monday night," Turkistani told Xinhua. Neither Taliban nor IS group has made comments on the report. Both the Taliban and IS fighters have been vying in Darzab district and adjoining areas to expand their footholds. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 14:36:08|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close CANBERRA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Historically known as being self-reliant, stoic figures who are happy to "do it tough," Australia's farmers are their own worst enemy in regards to addressing potential mental health issues, according to a study published on Thursday. The effects of poor mental health have been widely advertised in modern times, but the recent push toward society being more accepting of mental health issues may have leave farmers behind, according to the University of South Australia's Melissa Hull, who believes many feel unable to share their feelings due to "culturally entrenched" attitudes of stoicism. Hull, co-author of a study into the preconceived ideas about farmers and their mental health battles, told Xinhua that farmers in Australia in particular have always been considered strong characters who don't speak about their feelings. But with farmer suicide rates at higher levels than the general population, she said it was time for farmers and medical professionals to begin to break down those cultural barriers preventing those who live on the land from speaking up about mental health. "These are attitudes that tend to be passed down throughout generations and reflect on historical times when farmers often had no one else to rely on or could not easily access help," Hull said. "Thus attitudes of self-reliance, being stoic and carrying on despite setbacks became quite common." According to Hull's research, 35.6 percent of farmers said they "don't know how to talk" about mental health issues with their doctor compared to just 16.7 percent of the general population, while a quarter said they found it difficult to understand their doctors compared to 15 percent throughout Australia. Hull said the stereotypes are inter-generational, adding that the attitude of stoicism not only reduces the likelihood of a farmer approaching a medical professional for assistance, but, if one did seek help, they might not explain the extent of their issues, meaning their problems may not be fully diagnosed. She said the onus was not only on sufferers, but also on medical professionals to do more to help farmers open up about the struggles they may face in their work and everyday life, calling for a greater understanding of farming life as one way to bridge the gap. "Rather than a shift in attitude from the farmers themselves, this (study) might point to the fact that the health professionals may need to adapt how they interact and communicate with farmers," Hull said. "This may reflect in how they frame questions about symptoms, or even reflecting a stronger understanding of farming life during general consultation time." While the data paints a bleak picture for farmers and associated mental health issues, Hull said that younger farmers were more likely to feel confident in seeking out help compared with their "old-school" counterparts. "Previous research from the broader population has shown that younger people tend to be more open to experiences than older people. So our finding is consistent with that," Hull said. "In this population we also expect that values of stoicism and similar attitudes are less entrenched in younger farmers, making it easier for them to ask for and seek help." Through her research, Hull has called on law-makers to help cut through the "culturally entrenched" and "inter-generational" problem by addressing the shortages in mental health services, claiming they need to be proactive to reduce the vulnerability within the farming community. An aerial view of the Khorgos Frontier International Cooperation Center URUMQI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Marina has to cross border every day for work, but the one hour drive from her home in Yarkent, Kazakhstan to China's border town Khorgos is nothing compared to the monthly payment of 2,700 yuan (about 400 U.S. dollars), an income above the average in her hometown. As the day breaks, Marina gets out of bed, takes breakfast and hops on a cab to start a day of busy work at the China-Kazakhstan Khorgos Frontier International Cooperation Center. She began to work as an interpreter at a Chinese trade firm there a month ago. Marina (L) at work. Marina helps receive foreign clients and coordinate with relevant government departments of Kazakhstan. Before working there, she studied Chinese for a year in Ili of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. Marina is not the only one who shuttles every day between the two countries to secure a decent job as border trade booms in Khorgos, an ancient town on the Silk Road, thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China to promote economic cooperation. Hundreds of interpreters from China, Kazakhstan and other countries work at the Khorgos center. In addition to the salary, they can sometimes get a bonus. "Back in my hometown, I can earn only half of the money here," says Marina. The Golden Eagle Square in the Khorgos Frontier International Cooperation Center The Khorgos Frontier International Cooperation Center straddles the border between China and Kazakhstan. It occupies a total area of 5.28 square km, with 3.43 sq km in China and 1.85 sq km in Kazakhstan. It's the first trans-border international free trade zone in the world, and also China's first unique economic zone "within the country, but out of the jurisdiction of its customs." Official operations of the center started in April 2012. The movements of personnel, vehicles and goods are unrestricted on its premises, and stores within and visitors to the center are entitled to preferential policies including those on taxation. Up to now, there are over 4,000 stores including 40 duty-free shops in the center, with a staff of 6,000. Lazarti comes from Xinjiang's Tekes County. The 22-year-old ethnic Kazakh man found a job as an interpreter and salesman at the center after graduation from college. Lazarti also helps sell imported Kazakhstan snacks like candies and cookies, mainly to Chinese customers. He speaks Chinese putonghua, or mandarin, Kazakh, and the Uygur language. "The work offers me an opportunity to meet people from other countries and broaden my horizons. These are helpful experiences for me to start a business in the future," says Lazarti. A new building under construction at the Khorgos Frontier International Cooperation Center At 6 pm, the bustling trade center is in peace. Marina, after a day's work, jumps into a cab back to Yarkent. Lazarti, bidding her farewell, walks towards his rented apartment on the Chinese side of the border. (All photos by Zhang Xiaolong) Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 14:51:12|Editor: Liu A Long March-4B rocket carrying X-ray space telescope to observe black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts blasts off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert, June 15, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhen Zhe) by Xinhua writers Yu Fei, Quan Xiaoshu and Qu Ting JIUQUAN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China launched its first X-ray space telescope to observe black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts, via a Long March-4B rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert at 11 a.m. Thursday. The 2.5-tonne Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), dubbed Insight, was sent into an orbit of 550 kilometers above the earth to help scientists better understand the evolution of black holes, and the strong magnetic fields and the interiors of pulsars. Through the telescope, scientists will also study how to use pulsars for spacecraft navigation, and search for gamma-ray bursts corresponding to gravitational waves. The result of the wisdom and efforts of several generations of Chinese scientists, Insight is expected to push forward the development of space astronomy and improve space X-ray detection technology in China. OBSERVATORY IN SPACE Insight can be regarded as a small observatory in space, as it carries a trio of detectors -- the high energy X-ray telescope (HE), the medium energy X-ray telescope (ME) and the low energy X-ray telescope (LE) -- that cover a broad energy band from 1 keV to 250 keV, said Lu Fangjun, chief designer of the payload. Based on the demodulation technique first proposed by Li Tipei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in 1993, the HE has a total detection area of more than 5,000 square centimeters, the world's largest in its energy band. "Given it has a larger detection area than other X-ray probes, HXMT can identify more features of known sources," said Xiong Shaolin, a scientist at the Institute of High Energy Physics of the CAS. Chen Yong, chief designer of the LE, said X-rays of lower energy usually have more photons, so a telescope based on a focusing technique is not suitable for observing very bright objects emitting soft X-rays, as too many photons at a time will result in over-exposure. But HXMT won't have that problem, as its collimators diffuse photons instead of focusing them. "No matter how bright the sources are, our telescope won't be blinded," said Chen. According to Zhang Shuangnan, HXMT lead scientist, the satellite's developers found that a set of HXMT high-energy detectors, originally designed to shield background noises caused by unwanted X-ray photons, especially those from behind the telescope, could be adjusted to observe gamma-ray bursts. The creative new function pushes the satellite's observation band up to 3 MeV and will get a very good energy spectrum, Zhang said. BLACK HOLES, PULSARS "We are looking forward to discovering new activities of black holes and studying the state of neutron stars under extreme gravity and density conditions, and physical laws under extreme magnetic fields. These studies are expected to bring new breakthroughs in physics," said Zhang. Compared with X-ray astronomical satellites of other countries, HXMT has a larger detection area, broader energy range and wider field of view. These give it advantages in observing black holes and neutron stars emitting bright X-rays, and it can more efficiently scan the galaxy, Zhang said. Other satellites have conducted sky surveys and found many celestial sources of X-rays. However, the sources are often variable, and occasional intense flares can be missed in just one or two surveys, according to Zhang. New surveys can discover either new X-ray sources or new activities in known sources. So HXMT will repeatedly scan the Milky Way for active and variable celestial bodies emitting X-rays. "There are so many black holes and neutron stars in the universe, but we don't have a thorough understanding of any of them. So we need new satellites to observe more," Zhang said. Black holes remain a mystery. One of their many secrets is why they get "angry." "Black holes will be the focus of our observation since they are very interesting, and can generate various types of radiation, including X-rays and high energy cosmic rays, as well as strong jets," said Zhang. So far about 20 black holes have been found in our galaxy. "We hope our telescope can discover more black holes. We also hope to better observe the black holes already discovered." If a black hole does nothing, it cannot be found. But if matter falls into a black hole, it is accelerated and heated during the process, emitting X-rays. Scientists might learn more about the characteristics of black holes from the X-rays. Some times a black hole is calm, but other times it's very "bad tempered." When a black hole gets "angry," it generates very strong X-rays or gamma ray bursts or jet-flows, Zhang explained. Other countries have sent several X-ray satellites into orbit, but most are suitable for observing only relatively calm black holes. However, HXMT is suitable for observing angry black holes and neutron stars. "We are still not clear why some black holes suddenly get angry, since we haven't observed them for long enough," he said. "We plan to make a thorough survey of black holes and neutron stars in the galaxy." A neutron star, or a pulsar, is so strange that when the first one was discovered, it was mistaken for signals from aliens. There are still many mysteries about this kind of star. "We are still not clear about the interiors of pulsars. Current physical laws cannot describe the substances in the state of a pulsar well, since no lab on Earth can create a density as high as a pulsar. So we have to conduct more observations of pulsars," Zhang said. With their super strong gravitational and electromagnetic fields and high density, pulsars are regarded as natural laboratories of extreme physical conditions. Scientists could study many phenomena that they cannot replicate on Earth by observing neutron stars. EXPECTING SURPRISES Since the detection of gravitational waves, scientists have been eager to find electromagnetic signals corresponding to the gravitational waves. This will be an important task for Insight. Xiong said the position accuracy of all the gravitational wave events detected so far is still very poor. If scientists can find electromagnetic signals happening at similar positions and times of gravitational wave events, it would increase the reliability of the detection. Combined analysis of gravitational wave and electromagnetic signals will help reveal more about the celestial bodies emitting gravitational waves, said Xiong. Some scientists suspect that mysterious gamma-ray bursts could be electromagnetic signals corresponding to gravitational waves. "Since gravitational waves were detected, the study of gamma-ray bursts has become more important. In astrophysics, it's insufficient to study just the gravitational wave signals. We need to use the corresponding electromagnetic signals, which are more familiar to astronomers, to facilitate the research on gravitational waves," Zhang said. HXMT's effective detection area for monitoring gamma-ray bursts is 10 times that of the US Fermi space telescope. Scientists estimate that HXMT could detect almost 200 gamma-ray burst events a year. "HXMT can play a vital role in searching for electromagnetic signals corresponding to gravitational waves," said Zhang. "If HXMT can detect electromagnetic signals corresponding to gravitational waves, it would be its most wonderful scientific finding." "Our telescope may discover new phenomena, or even new celestial bodies. We are looking forward to new findings that nobody can predict. I hope my predictions are wrong since the most interesting astronomical discoveries are all out of expectations." CHINA'S SPACE SCIENCE CAS academician Gu Yidong said China still lags behind advanced levels in space science. "We should have a sense of urgency. It will take efforts to upgrade China's space science to advanced levels within two decades." Arvind Parmar, head of the Scientific Support Office in the Science Directorate of European Space Agency (ESA), said HXMT will study X-rays from objects such as black holes, neutron stars and the remains of exploded stars. These are exciting topics for scientists all over the world. HMXT will join X-ray satellites already in operation. Each mission has its own strengths. He said the ESA has a long history of collaborating with China on scientific missions. Once HXMT is launched and starts making observations, there is great potential for joint investigations with some ESA missions. Many scientific investigations benefit from data from more than one satellite. "I am really impressed with how China is developing its scientific space program. The recent launches of the Dark Matter Particle Explorer and the Quantum Experiments at Space Scale missions highlight China's capabilities and commitment to science as does the range of missions under study for future launch opportunities," said Parmar. Paolo Giommi, a senior scientist at the Italian Space Agency, said China's space science program foresees several satellites of increasing complexity and competitiveness. Together with the construction of large ground-based facilities, this will make China one of the major definitive producers of knowledge in space science. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 15:11:43|Editor: An Video Player Close LONDON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- British pharmaceutical company GSK announced on Wednesday it will form a strategic partnership with Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases (GIRD). The strategic collaboration will focus on respiratory disease management system, including athma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), said GSK. According to the company, a health big data system will be developed through information sharing and covering different levels of healthcare organizations and reimbursement systems. Real world evidence (RWE) and payment evidence will be generated and provided to relative authorities for the support of health and reimbursement policy making, streamlining of clinical path management, and effective development of hierarchical medical system, said the company. The strategic collaboration includes a prospective COPD registry study and "New Breath, Constant Care" China Asthma Patient Management Project. The COPD registry study will cover 5,000 patients and establish an in-depth understanding of COPD disease characteristics, disease evolution, disease management, as well as evolvement of the treatment paradigm. The registry will also be able to measure COPD disease burden, and predict disease outcome in China. This could further help inform the future COPD disease management strategy in China. "New Breath, Constant Care" China Asthma Patient Management Project will lead hospitals of different levels across China to set up a national asthma management collaboration network and build a digital asthma management platform, a patient database and management tools based upon APPs. The project aims at establishing and improving asthma disease management result through more standardized clinic information and pathways, better doctor/patient communication and long-term big data analysis. It is estimated that the project will cover at least 60,000 asthma patients in regular management in three years. Prof Rongchang Chen, head of GIRD, said that through partnership with leading multi-national pharma companies like GSK, "we would fully leverage the new study concept and transformation of medical science to change the traditional model of diagnosis and treatment." "The grassroots patients will benefit from advanced options of diagnosis and treatment, and academic evidence will be provided to support the policies of health and reimbursement, as well as personalized treatment strategies which will fit grassroots healthcare," said Chen. Thomas Willemsen, general manager of GSK China Pharma and Vaccines, said:" Through this partnership with GIRD we hope to help generate valuable data to improve patients' health across all regions of China. Importantly, we hope it can make a contribution to the process of improving grassroots health capabilities and a tiered-healthcare system." "Furthermore as a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in the U.K., we hope this project can be an important highlight in UK-China people-to-people cooperation promoting joint scientific collaboration," Willemsen added. Respiratory diseases are recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the four major diseases affecting people's health. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 15:11:45|Editor: An Video Player Close JIUQUAN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday launched its first X-ray space telescope, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), to study X-rays from mysterious sources, such as black holes and neutron stars. Here are 10 facts about the telescope to help you understand its origins and strengths. -- What are hard X-rays? We're all familiar with routine applications of X-rays on Earth, such as body scanning, airport security and so on. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometers, much shorter than that of visible light, which is why we cannot see X-rays. Scientists divide X-rays into different energy bands, resulting in different observation methods. X-rays above 20 keV are called hard, and X-rays below 10 keV soft. X-rays between 10 keV and 20 keV are comparatively less observed in astronomy. -- How do you detect hard X-rays? X-rays are absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so scientists have to send detectors to high altitude by balloon, sounding rocket and satellite. But with such a small wavelength, X-rays are so energetic that they tend to pass through mirrors directly instead of reflecting off them. As a traditional optical telescope won't work for X-ray observation, Western scientists developed the coded mask technique and a special focusing technique called "grazing incidence." Both are very complicated and costly, and the focusing technique requires extremely flat mirrors, which China cannot yet manufacture. -- What method did Chinese scientists develop? Chinese scientists had to find a new way of imaging X-rays. Li Tipei, a senior astrophysicist with the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and his colleague Wu Mei came up with the direct demodulation method in the 1990s. It can help reconstruct the image of X-ray sources by using data from relatively simple non-imaging detectors, such as a telescope with "collimators" that collects and records X-ray photons parallel to a specified direction. In other words, it doesn't need mirrors. -- Is HXMT only for hard X-rays? It should be noted that HXMT, although by name a "hard X-ray" telescope, was expanded to medium and low band with two sets of detectors around 2006. Now it covers a broad energy band from 1 keV to 250 keV. Li Tipei first proposed making a space telescope based on his demodulation technique in 1993. "At that time, it was a pioneering idea. But for many reasons, it failed to get official approval until 2011, and X-ray astrophysics had moved far ahead in the interim. So we added new scientific instruments to the satellite," said Zhang Shuangnan, lead scientist of HXMT and director of the Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics at the CAS. -- What's the structure of HXMT? The 2.5-tonne telescope carries a trio of detectors, with the high energy X-ray telescope (HE) covering an energy band from 20 keV to 250 keV, the medium energy X-ray telescope (ME) from 5 keV to 30 keV and the low energy X-ray telescope (LE) from 1 keV to 15 keV. Though different in many aspects, the three types of telescopes are basically composed of collimators, detectors and readout electronics. Collimators help shield the photons outside the field of view, detectors generate signals containing the energy and arrival information of each photon they "catch," and readout electronics convert the signals into digital ones that can be recorded and stored. -- Why the larger detection area, the better? HE has a total detection area of more than 5,000 square centimeters, the world's largest in its energy band, ME 952 square centimeters and LE 384 square centimeters. The larger the detection area, the more photons and signals the telescope will collect. For example, it's easier for scientists to draw patterns out of signal curves from a detector that can "see" 100 photons per second than one that can "see" only 10 photons per second. "Given it has a larger detection area than other X-ray probes, HXMT can find more features of known sources," said Xiong Shaolin, a scientist with IHEP. -- Why the broader field of view, the better? The special focusing technique developed for X-ray observation enhances the detection sensitivity of mirror telescopes, but usually results in a narrow field of view. HXMT, on the other hand, has a very broad field of view and can finish scanning the galactic plane in about two days. "It's easier to spot transient sources by scanning across large sky areas, which might bring new scientific discoveries," Xiong said. -- Is HXMT averse to very bright sources? X-rays of lower energy usually have more photons. Therefore a telescope based on the focusing technique is not fit for observing very bright objects emitting soft X-rays, as too many photons at a time will result in over-exposure. But HXMT won't have that problem, as its collimators diffuse photons instead of focusing them. "No matter how bright the sources are, our telescope won't be blinded," said Chen Yong, chief designer of LE. -- How will an X-ray telescope detect gamma-ray bursts? According to Zhang Shuangnan, scientists found that a set of HXMT high-energy detectors, originally to shield background noises caused by unwanted X-ray photons, especially those from behind the telescope, can be adjusted for the observation of gamma-ray bursts. The creative new function pushes the satellite's observation band up to 3 MeV and will get a very good energy spectrum, Zhang said. -- Why does HXMT have a sunshade? Engineers from China Academy of Space Technology made a sunshade for HXMT low and medium energy telescopes when installing the payloads on the satellite, the first of its kind ever aboard a domestic probe. "HE works at around 18 degrees Celsius, while ME and LE require very low temperatures, respectively down to 80 degrees below zero and 40 degrees below zero. Therefore, the satellite, just like a coat that can support a person to survive at both the equator and polar regions, needs a sophisticated temperature control system. Our solution is to cool ME and LE with the sunshade, to heat HE and insulate ME and LE from HE," said Zhou Yupeng, deputy chief designer in charge of the satellite temperature control. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 15:31:59|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close RIO DE JANEIRO, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian Senator Aecio Neves, who was suspended from office for being under investigation for corruption, will manage to retain part of his salary, Senate President Eunicio Oliveira said on Wednesday. According to Oliveira, Neves will still receive his paycheck, but discounted for every voting session he misses. Senators in Brazil earn 33,700 reals (10,274 U.S. dollars) per month, about 36 times of Brazilian minimum wages. Neves had his use of an official Senate car suspended and his quota of parliamentary resources like plane tickets and telephone expenses was blocked as well. Neves has been under investigation after being caught on tape calling for a 2-million-real (610,000 U.S. dollars) bribe from Joesley Batista, director of meatpacking company JBS. According to Batista, Neves asked his cousin to get the bribe money in a briefcase for him. Though not attending Senate sessions since mid-May, Neves is still participating in political meetings of the government with an official capacity. This prompted the Supreme Court, which ordered his suspension in the first place, to put pressure on the Senate to enforce the order. Neves ran for president in 2014 and was defeated by opponent Dilma Rousseff. Last year, Neves and his Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) worked with Brazil's then vice president Michel Temer to take down Rousseff, who was eventually impeached with Temer taking her place in the office. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 15:47:03|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close RIYADH, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Saudi interior ministry announced on Thursday that a soldier was injured in a shooting by anonymous in the eastern disturbed region Qatif, Saudi Press Agency reported. The ministry spokesperson said that the incident took place at 11:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday (2015 GMT) after the victim stepped out of a security patrol. The soldier was transferred to hospital, while the ministry launched an investigation into the case and described his condition as stable. Attacking police and military personnel is common in the region by violent youths who are members of minority Shiite community in the Sunni conservative state. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 15:47:06|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close MANILA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government lifted Thursday the moratorium on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Qatar. Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said the decision was reached following consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs and upon recommendation of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO). "This decision was arrived at on the advice of Foreign Affairs Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano and upon the recommendation of Qatar POLO following their assessment of the situation in the Gulf state," he said. Bello said he was told that the situation in Qatar has normalized after some Arab states cut ties with the Gulf state for allegedly supporting terrorists. Qatar, however, denied the accusation. The Labor chief said the Qatari authorities guaranteed the safety of around 240,000 Filipinos there and affirmed that they have the ability to withstand any possible economic shocks out of the diplomatic impasse with its neighboring Arab countries. Bello ordered the temporary suspension in the deployment of Filipino workers to Qatar last week to secure the OFWs' welfare and security in case of any eventuality after some neighboring Arab states cut diplomatic ties with the Gulf state. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 16:22:28|Editor: An Video Player Close BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China is poised to pilot green financing reform in its latest effort to honor commitments on addressing climate change, as decided at the Wednesday executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. While in Europe earlier this month, Li reaffirmed that China would stand by its commitments made to the Paris Agreement and join forces with other parties to address the challenges of climate change. "China is among the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement, and you can bank on it that we will stick to our commitments," Li said in Berlin on June 1 at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This is a global call and the consensus is there. Doing what is commensurate with China's role as the largest developing country is not only an international responsibility, but also a true calling for China in our path forward, the premier said. "China always stands by its words and sees them through. Our efforts in energy conservation and emission control will only be strengthened, not weakened," he said. China's CO2 emission per unit of GDP dropped by 26.2 percent from 2011 to 2016 and the country is on course to cut emission intensity down to 40-45 percent below 2005 level by 2020, and further to 60-65 percent lower than 2005 by 2030, when overall carbon emission of China peaks. To ensure that the country will meet its target, the Chinese government has taken a host of measures, the most recent being the green financing pilot program. Ma Jun, chief economist with the research bureau of the People's Bank of China, said last September that China's pledges to bring carbon emissions to a peak by around 2030 would need investment of 3-4 trillion yuan each year. Ma said the government is to cover around 15 percent of the total, which means that social capital would have to be mobilized on a massive scale. "There has been a high consensus ranging from the top decision-making level to the government departments related to support the country's green financing and investment and to speed up the transformation of the economy to a greener way of development," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 17:38:22|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The China-initiated Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on Thursday approved its first equity investment and two loans totaling 324 million U.S. dollars. The AIIB's board of directors approved the bank's first equity investment of 150 million dollars that will be used to help attract the much needed private investment capital for infrastructure projects in India, according to the press release by the AIIB. The two loans of 174 million dollars will support transport and power projects in Georgia and Tajikistan. "Approving our first equity investment is another milestone for the Bank and will enhance our potential to source and fund high quality, private sector projects," said D.J. Pandian, vice president and chief investment officer of the AIIB. South Korea will host the second annual meeting of the AIIB's board of governors for two days from Friday at the country's southern resort island of Jeju. The board of directors meeting was held before the annual meeting of governors. The first annual meeting of the board of governors was held in Beijing last year. Officially launched in January 2016, the Beijing-based AIIB is a multilateral development bank initiated by China and supported by a wide range of countries and regions, which will provide financing for the infrastructure improvement in Asia. Catalyzing private capital was broadly acknowledged as a critical component to addressing the infrastructure gap in Asia. The three investments, approved on Thursday, aligned with the AIIB's priorities to support sustainable infrastructure, improve cross-border connectivity and mobilize private capital. A cargo vessel to Spain leaves the container terminal of Chuanshan Port in Ningbo City, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 9, 2017. Located in the middle of China's long coastline, Ningbo possesses rare geographical advantages and serves as a unique port. It was a significant trading port on the thriving Maritime Silk Road in ancient China. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng) Hi, here's what you need to know about China for the past 24 hours. BEIJING -- China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 6.5 percent year on year in May, flat with April, official data showed Wednesday. The 6.5 percent increase accelerated from the 6 percent increase in the same month last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. In the first five months, industrial output rose 6.7 percent year on year. - - - - BEIJING -- The State Council, China's cabinet, Wednesday announced its decision to set up pilot zones for green finance to support its industrial upgrading and to further cut red tape. The pilot zones will be in Guangdong, Guizhou, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. - - - - JIUQUAN -- China launched its first X-ray space telescope to observe black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts, via a Long March-4B rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert at 11 a.m. Thursday. The 2.5-tonne Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), dubbed Insight, was sent into an orbit of 550 kilometers above the earth to help scientists better understand the evolution of black holes, and the strong magnetic fields and the interiors of pulsars. - - - - NEW YORK -- China and the United States, as the world's top two economies, need to enhance communication on the Belt and Road Initiative, which can benefit both countries and the whole world, said participants of a high-level think-tank dialogue here on Wednesday. Kevin Rudd, president of Asia Society Policy Institute, said the China-proposed initiative covers the continent of Euro-Asia, a vast and complex part of the world. - - - - BEIJING -- China aims to further open up its booming service sector to expand engagement in the global industrial chain and boost competitiveness. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 18:34:22|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close BUJUMBURA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Burundian authorities said Thursday they have suspended three petrol stations in the capital Bujumbura for failing to respect rules amid the oil crisis. Energy minister Come Manirakiza said in a statement that the petrol stations were caught serving fuel products in "jerry cans without an authorization." For about two months, the East African nation has been suffering a fuel crisis, but the situation began to improve last week. Manirakiza this month told lawmakers at the National Assembly, the country's parliamentary lower chamber, that the oil shortage was due to the "failure" by the Burundian government to "have enough" hard currency. In May, Burundian First Vice-President Gaston Sindimwo described the country's fuel crisis as a "national" concern. Burundi has been facing a political and economic crisis following the controversial third term bid of President Pierre Nkurunziza in April 2015. Several partners of Burundi including the European Union (EU) have frozen their financial aid towards the Burundian government. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 18:39:24|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close SEOUL, June 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday proposed an unconditional dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) if Pyongyang stops any nuclear and missile provocations. Moon made the remarks at the 17th anniversary event to celebrate the June 15th North-South Joint Declaration, which was made when late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and late DPRK leader Kim Jong Il held the first inter-Korean summit meeting in Pyongyang. The DPRK's determination to give up its nuclear program would become an evidence of its will to implement the inter-Korean agreement, and if Pyongyang makes the determination, South Korea will actively help, Moon said. The South Korean leader said his government will be able to comprehensively discuss various issues, ranging from the DPRK's complete denuclearization, the building of peace regime on the Korean Peninsula and the normalized diplomatic relations between the DPRK and the United States. It marked the first time that Moon mentioned the three issues, though he set a precondition of no provocations, since he took office on May 10. Moon said that though the DPRK urged the implementation of the June 15th declaration and the Oct. 4th North-South Declaration, Pyongyang advanced its nuclear and missile capability and broke what it urged. The Oct. 4th declaration was made at the second inter-Korean summit meeting, which was held in Pyongyang in 2007 between late South Korean leader Roh Moo-hyun and late DPRK leader Kim Jong Il. Though South Korea will make its own efforts, the DPRK should do its own, Moon noted. Referring to the July 4th Joint Statement in 1972 and the 1991 Basic Agreement as well as the two declarations, Moon said a series of the previous inter-Korean agreements would become a grand principle in improving inter-Korean relations under his government. The president urged Pyongyang to give up its nuclear development, adding that the DPRK's nuclear and missile developments posted a serious threat to peace and stability in the region and the world. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 18:49:30|Editor: An Video Player Close SHANGHAI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese company Thursday announced plans to build an icebreaker, which will be China's first privately owned polar research vessel. The icebreaker "Hadal X" will be built by Dutch shipyard Damen Group and owned and operated by Shanghai-based Rainbowfish Ocean Technology. Construction will start in 2018 and the icebreaker will be put into operation in 2021. The vessel will be 95 meters long and 17 meters wide, with a displacement of 5,000 tonnes, according to the preliminary design. The icebreaker, which will be operated by a crew of 75, will have a cruising radius of 8,000 nautical miles (about 15,000 km) and will carry a helicopter and submersibles. "Xuelong", or Dragon Snow, is currently China's only polar icebreaker. It was bought from a Ukrainian company in 1993. The government began construction of its first Chinese-made polar icebreaker in 2016. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 19:29:57|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close LONDON, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A soldier has been killed after sustaining injury in an incident at Castlemartin Ranges in Wales, the British Ministry of Defense said on Thursday. The soldier was from the Royal Tank Regiment, and three other soldiers were wounded in the incident, according to the ministry. "The safety of our personnel is our absolute priority and a full investigation is underway to understand the details of this tragic incident," Minister for People and Veterans, Tobias Ellwood said. The regiment is preparing for a live fire exercise at Castlemartin in Wales, according to information posted on the Army's website. Opened by the War Office in 1938, the range covers 5,900 acres on the south Pembrokeshire coast. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 19:34:59|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close ISTANBUL, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people on Thursday rallied against the conviction of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Enis Berberoglu in central Istanbul for leaking information on alleged delivery of weaponry to Syria by Turkey's intelligence unit. The crowds gathering at Macka Park were protesting against what they called "anti-democratic and unfair regulations" imposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party in the wake of a failed coup in July last year. "Justice!" read a black banner carried by the demonstrators. "We will win by resisting!" the crowd shouted. "We shall fight shoulder to shoulder against fascism." In the meantime, CHP Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu started his march from Ankara, the national capital, to Istanbul in protest against the conviction. Berberoglu was sentenced to 25 years in jail on Wednesday by an Istanbul court for providing a Turkish daily with video purporting to show Turkey's intelligence agency trucking weapons to Syria in early 2014. He is the first CHP lawmaker to be handed prison time. The protest in Macka Park is expected to continue till the arrival of Kilicdaroglu and his followers, who are planning to finish their 450-km-long march in 28 days. The investigation and crackdown are continuing in the aftermath of the coup attempt, in which nearly 250 people were killed, with tens of thousands already detained or dismissed from their posts over alleged links to terror organizations. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 19:40:06|Editor: An Video Player Close CHANGSHA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- At 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Hu Piyu woke up and made himself a bowl of instant noodles for breakfast. As the leader of an anti-poverty work group stationed in Hangka Village in central China's Hunan Province, he had a full day ahead. In addition to his typical routine of visiting some low-income households, he planned to check on infrastructure projects and a new farm in the village and to discuss poverty reduction policies with village cadres. Hangka is one of the poorest villages in the area, with an annual per capita income of less than 2,000 yuan (290 U.S. dollars) and nearly 40 percent of its 1,100 residents still living below the poverty line as of the end of 2014. Five years ago on June 14, the Chinese central government targeted 14 extremely poor regions across China that would become the country's main battlefields in its war on poverty. More than 500,000 officials at almost all levels have since been sent to live in villages, fighting poverty alongside villagers. There are 6,924 villages in Hunan alone that urgently need poverty relief assistance. A work team of three to five officials is assigned to a village, and each villager is assigned an official to help them eliminate poverty. A VILLAGE TRANSFORMED Before assuming his post in January 2015, Hu was deputy director in charge of government receptions in the city, and had no experience in poverty relief. In order to win the trust of the local people, he has visited them repeatedly to learn about their needs and wishes. He also applied for poverty alleviation funds to improve village infrastructure. Villagers' incomes have been boosted by an agricultural cluster for cultivating pepper, kiwi fruit, yellow peaches and tobacco and raising black swine. Thanks to the funds Hu has raised, the village now has a photovoltaic power plant, new irrigation system, tap water, street lighting and Internet access, greatly improving local living standards. About 150 villagers from 35 households in the remotest parts of the village moved into new homes in the beginning of the year. The village is not the only thing that has been transformed. Hu said he has lost weight -- dropping from 90 kg two years ago to 75 kg today -- as he has spent an average of 24 days a month working in the village. BLENDING IN By noon, Song Min and his team members had already visited four low-income families in Ranglie Village, a Miao ethnic village not far from Hangka. In his notebook, Song scribbled down suggestions from local villagers and his own thoughts. "This is my fourth notebook since I became an anti-poverty official here," he said. The Miao people have a strong sense of their culture and land, which has sometimes made his job difficult. After eight months of trying, Song's team was unable to acquire land for a multi-purpose venue for the village. To help blend in, Song brings a bottle of local liquor and a kilogram of salted pork to local villagers' houses almost every night. "Villagers here are fond of drinking. If you don't drink a glass or two in their home, they will think you are not sincere enough," he said. After two months, local people began to accept the provincial official as one of their own. Even the most senior villagers warmly greet him in the Miao language whenever they meet. "Every decision is made after full discussion with villagers, taking their advice into consideration. When they feel assured that we are doing things for them with all our heart, they will accept us unconditionally," Song said. His efforts to get to know the villagers have paid off. Last year, it took just a month for Song's team to acquire land for a photovoltaic power plant. "The village's industrial park is being built. All infrastructure projects have been completed. My priority now is to train village cadres well before I go back, leaving an anti-poverty work team that never quits," said Song, who was tanned from the sun and wearing ethnic dress, just like his fellow villagers. BUILDING TRUST As dusk approached, Xiao Shijun finished a day's work of visiting households in Shuiyuan Village in another poor part of Hunan, where he leads anti-poverty work. As soon as he got some rest, he began typing briefs for the day and work plans for the next day on his cellphone. Saved on his phone was a to-do list with hundreds of entries: "Huang Qiusheng has weak eyesight and lives by himself across the river, please visit him every day; Zhou Wanhua suffers from an acute cerebral hemorrhage and receives treatment in a city hospital, please raise medical fees for him...." Xiao's eyesight has suffered due to habitual cellphone use during twisting, bumpy car rides along mountain roads. He closed his eyes for a moment of rest as he felt dizzy. But in his mind, he was still worried about a local villager who had just been diagnosed with cancer. "Many villagers have slipped into poverty again due to disease or natural disasters. I was born and raised a village boy, and came into contact with poor people after I worked in a government petition office. I can feel their pain and worries," Xiao said. Thanks to the hard work of Hu, Song, Xiao and hundreds of thousands of officials like them, more than 10 million rural residents succeeded in pulling themselves out of poverty every year from 2013 to 2016. After supper, Xiao walked to the village secretary's home for a casual talk, mainly about poor households. "Pressure used to come from the distrust of fellow villagers. Now it comes from their total trust in us," he said. He cannot let them down. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 19:50:11|Editor: An Video Player Close BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- As of May 31, China had a total of 2,914 qualified institutions of higher education, according to a list released by the Ministry of Education (MOE) Thursday. Among the institutions, 2,631 are colleges and universities, 265 of which are independent colleges, while 283 are adult higher education schools. The list came at a time when high school graduates are completing their college applications after this year's national college entrance exam, which took place on June 7 and 8. The MOE also warned students of fake colleges that have been popping up across China in recent years. These colleges and institutions do not have the official qualifications to enroll students or run schools, and some of them are involved in online fraud. The low cost and high benefit of setting up and running fake colleges has made them difficult to eradicate. The MOE has called on students and their families to stick to the official list of qualified institutions of higher education. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 20:00:17|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China's service sector is expected to play a bigger role in powering the world's second largest economy as increasingly affluent Chinese consumers crave more diverse and better-quality services. A slew of economic indicators released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Wednesday showed that the Chinese economy expanded steadily in the first five months, with the service sector being a major bright spot. Official data showed that China's service sector continued to expand in May, with the Index of Services Production maintaining rapid growth of 8.1 percent year on year, while business activities expanded faster than April to reach 53.5 percent. Meanwhile, investment in the service industry jumped 11.6 percent year on year in the first five months, 3 percentage points higher than overall investment growth. Despite rapid growth, China's service sector still holds much potential for growth, with per capita GDP for Chinese exceeding 8,000 U.S. dollars. The service sector's added value accounted for 51.6 percent of China's total GDP last year, well below the average of 57 percent among middle-income economies, let alone the 74 percent for developed countries, according to Meng Wei, spokesperson with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). "The supply of the service sector still has to catch up with upgrading demand, and China's service sector is now at the middle-and-lower parts of global industrial value chain with a rather big deficit in service trade" Meng said. The top economic planner in China released a blueprint for the sector's development from 2017 to 2025, which highlights reform efforts to unleash the sector's vitality, including streamlining regulation, encouraging market competition and improving standardization. China will further open up its booming service sector to expand engagement in the global industrial chain and boost competitiveness, according to the blueprint. The service sector is a priority in China's opening-up progress, and the government will keep opening up the market while guarding against risks to national security, it added. Efforts will be made to improve the professional quality of service sectors, including information technology, finance, human resources and energy conservation, while expanding the supply of services in education, sports, elderly care and health care. China will integrate the development of the service and manufacturing sectors to increase the service sector share of total GDP to 60 percent by 2025. The service sector will provide 55 percent of the country's employment by that time, according to the blueprint. Meanwhile, China aims to develop service city hubs and brands with global influence by 2025, with enhanced competitiveness in service trade. "The service sector is closely related to people's livelihood. The stronger the service sector grows, the steadier the economy expands," said Liu Aihua, NBS spokesperson. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 20:41:00|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close MANILA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Remittances sent by Overseas Filipino Workers fell in April due to the depreciation of the major host countries' currencies vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar, the Central Bank of the Philippines said Thursday. Personal remittances dropped by 5.2 percent year-on-year to 2.3 billion U.S. dollars in April, said Central Bank Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. From January to April, personal remittances, however, increased to 10 billion U.S. dollars, a 4.7 percent year-on-year growth. Cash remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers coursed through banks, meanwhile, also plunged to 2.1 billion U.S. dollars in April, 5.9 percent lower than a year ago. This was attributed to the 7.6-percent drop in cash remittances from land-based workers which offset the marginal increase of 0.3 percent in transfers from sea-based workers, Tetangco said. Saudi Arabia, where most Overseas Filipino Workers are located, was one of the countries that registered the drop in remittances, partly as a result of repatriation of workers under its amnesty program. Other countries that posted declines in cash remittances were Singapore, Australia, and Britain. About 80 percent of the total cash remittances, which amounted to 9 billion U.S. dollars from January to April, came from the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, Britain, Qatar, Kuwait, China's Hong Kong, and Canada. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 20:56:21|Editor: An Video Player Close DUBAI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Emirates Airline said Wednesday it would "never compromise on the safety of our passengers and crew." A spokesperson of the Dubai's government-controlled airline made the remarks in a statement after China suspended Emirates from adding new destinations and aircraft in China over the next six months, due to two of its flights had unsafe operations. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has imposed a fine of 29,000 yuan (about 4,270 U.S. dollars) on the airline. "Safety is our number one priority at all times. Emirates fully complies with the CAAC's requirements on all our flight operations to China," the Emirates spokesperson said . The two incidents occurred on April 17 and May 18 in the airspace of the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The first incident involved an Emirates plane flying at a wrong height, and in the second incident, its aircraft temporarily lost contact with air traffic control. The CAAC has held Emirates crew members responsible for both incidents, and summoned senior officials of the airline, but did not provide further information. "Regarding the specific incidents on April 17 and May 18, Emirates will cooperate fully with the CAAC and complete all actions recommended by the authority," said the Emirates spokesperson. Emirates flies to five destinations in China, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou. Emirates Chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said on April 25 at the annual tourism fair Arabian Travel Market in Dubai that the biggest carrier in the Middle East was keen on expanding its route network in China. China is an important source and growth market for tourism in the UAE and for Dubai in particular. In 2016, approximately 540,000 Chinese visitors flocked to Dubai, a 20-percent increase year on year, according to Dubai's official tourism authority DTCM. In the first quarter of 2017, 230,000 overnight visitors from China came to the emirate, up 64 percent year on year. Since the end of 2016, Chinese nationals do not need to apply for a UAE tourism visa, as they are granted a visa-on-arrival at UAE international airports. China has also been the biggest trade partner of the Gulf Arab sheikhdom since 2014. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 21:01:24|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close TEHRAN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran is interested in the expansion of ties with India in the fields of Information Technology (IT) and communications, said Iranian Labor Minister Ali Rabiei, according to a report by semi-official Fars news agency on Thursday. Rabiei made the remarks in a meeting with Indian Minister of Labor and Employment, Bandaru Dattatreya, on the sidelines of the recent International Labor Organization meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. A draft memorandum of understanding has been prepared to be signed with India in near future, he said. For his part, Dattatreya referred to common grounds for cooperation with Iran, saying that his country is ready to transfer its experiences in the fields of rural employment, IT and ICT to Iran. On Wednesday, Iranian Communications and Information Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi said that his country's policy is based on boosting cooperation with the world in specialized areas. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 21:01:26|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, presides over a chairpersons' meeting in Beijing, capital of China, June 15, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo) BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature will convene its bi-monthly session from June 22 to 27, according to a statement issued after a chairpersons' meeting Thursday. Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presided over the meeting. Thursday's meeting suggested that legislators at the upcoming bi-monthly session will deliberate on the draft law on national intelligence, draft amendments to the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and draft revisions to the Law of Promoting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Legislators will deliberate on bills, including those to review the draft laws on national anthem, soil pollution prevention and control, and public libraries, and draft amendments to the laws on administrative procedure and civil procedure, among others. Other bills, including those to review and ratify extradition treaties between China and Argentina, and that between China and Ethiopia, will be also deliberated at the session. Moreover, lawmakers will consider a number of reports, including a report by the State Council on the central government's final accounts in 2016 which is expected to be reviewed. The session will review some official appointments and dismissals, according to the statement. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 21:06:31|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close RABAT, June 15 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron called late on Wednesday for stronger cooperation with Morocco to boost development in Africa. Macron told reporters following talks with Moroccan King Mohammed VI that France and Morocco are both concerned with maintaining stability in the region, and addressing development challenges on the continent. Macron underlined that France aims at boosting growth in Africa through "concrete actions." Regarding the Qatar-Gulf rift, Macron said that France and Morocco are both interested in defusing tension and avoiding escalation. In this regards, he said that he will be receiving the Emir of Qatar next week in Paris to "clarify positions." As for bilateral ties, Macron said Morocco is "a friendly country and a strategic partner," underlining that his visit shows France's "willingness to bring support to the ambitious reforms led by the king, especially in terms of the modernization of institutions and economic development." The visit to Morocco is Macron's fist in the Maghreb region and the second to an African country after Mali. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 21:06:36|Editor: An Video Player Close BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China Thursday promised to assist Panamanian students in Taiwan affected by the breaking off of diplomatic relations between Panama and Taiwan. Panama established relations with China Tuesday, ending relations with Taiwan. "China will enhance educational and cultural exchanges with Panama," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a regular news briefing Thursday. "We are aware some Panamanian students who have received scholarships from Taiwan may experience difficulties. We welcome them to study in the Chinese mainland and are willing to offer timely and necessary assistance," Lu said. Lu also promised assistance for other Panamanian students in Taiwan while respecting their own decisions. In the future, China will provide annual scholarships for students from Panama, according to Lu. Recent media reports said that Taiwan missions in some countries are under pressure from China to change names and use Taipei rather than the Republic of China or Taiwan in their names. In response to questions about such reports, Lu said the Chinese government highly appreciates relevant countries dealing with Taiwan-related issues in line with the one-China policy. Adhering to the one-China policy is the general trend within the international community and is a precondition and political foundation for China to develop diplomatic relations and friendly cooperation with other countries, Lu said. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 21:16:39|Editor: Liangyu Romania's Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu attends a news conference in Bucharest, Romania, June 15, 2017. Romania's major ruling Social Democratic Party decided Thursday to submit a censure motion against its own government to topple Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu who refuses to resign. (Xinhua/Cristian Cristel) BUCHAREST, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Romania's major ruling Social Democratic Party decided Thursday to submit a censure motion against its own government to topple Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu who refuses to resign. The Social Democrat leadership made the move at a meeting of the National Executive Committee by unanimous votes. The Executive Committee also voted, unanimously, to expel Grindeanu from the party. Party leader Liviu Dragnea announced late Wednesday to call the meeting to nominate a new prime minister after the party decided to withdraw its political support for Grindeanu. Grindeanu has a tense relationship with the party's main leaders recently and refused to take the initiative to resign. Grindeanu reiterated his position of not resigning even after extreme measures taken by his party against him. Under the Constitution, the only feasible means to make the prime minister to step down is a vote of no confidence in the parliament. Yet, the Thursday move of the Social Democrats set a historical precedent in the country that the parliament majority impeaches its own government. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 21:16:41|Editor: An Video Player Close NANJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people have died and 66 were injured after an explosion near a kindergarten in Fengxian County in east China's Jiangsu Province Thursday afternoon, local authorities said. The blast occurred around 4:50 p.m. at the gate of the kindergarten, as the children were leaving. Two people died at the scene, and another five died later in hospital. Among the injured, nine remained in critical condition as of 7:45 p.m., the county government said. The number of children among the casualties has not been confirmed. The cause of the blast is being investigated. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 21:51:55|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close by Denis Elamu JUBA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- African envoys in South Sudan on Thursday lauded a resolution by regional body Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to revive peace deal in the war-torn country. The envoys who met the South Sudanese First Vice President Taban Deng Gai in Juba said they agreed to relentlessly pursue the path of peaceful settlement to the more than three years of violent conflict that has caused massive refugee crises in the region amid huge humanitarian suffering. "We had a very fruitful exchange and we welcomed the communique, we look forward all that was agreed will be implemented in the letter and spirit in the interest of South Sudan and also in the interest of Africa and the world," said Ambassador Joram Biswaro, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission in Juba. He added that they also agreed on further regular meetings with the South Sudanese officials in pursuit of solutions to end the violence that has left some 1 million South Sudanese on brink of famine, amid intermittent clashes, despite the IGAD leaders backing fresh dialogue with all opposition groups. Meanwhile, the minister of petroleum in the transitional unity government Ezekiel Gatkuoth said Deng briefed the African envoys on especially the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement mediated by IGAD to end fighting. The IGAD leaders in their recent communique also urged for the restoration of the permanent ceasefire, a return to inclusive implementation, a revised realistic timeline and implementation schedule towards democratic elections at the end of the transitional period in 2018. South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar led to fighting between mostly Dinka ethnic soldiers loyal to Kiir against Machar's Nuer ethnic group. The 2015 peace agreement to end the violence was again violated in July 2016 when the rival factions resumed fighting in the capital forcing Machar to flee into exile. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions of others. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 22:07:06|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close THE HAGUE, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A Panda Gala held at the Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen raised a total of 470,888.88 euros (520,140 U.S. dollars) for the conservation of giant pandas in the wild, the zoo announced on Thursday. To celebrate the arrival of giant pandas Xing Ya and Wu Wen in the Netherlands, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Ouwehands Zoo last Friday organized a gala event at Pandasia, the new enclosure of the giant pandas at the zoo. The total sum of money raised will be used for a project in China that aims at preserving the giant pandas and their habitats in the wild. This fieldwork project focuses on the improvement, restoration and connection of the natural habitats of giant pandas in the province of Sichuan in China. In addition, the behavior and distribution of pandas is researched. Giant panda, a vulnerable species native to Southwest China, counts only 1864 individuals. Outside China, there are pandas living in 19 zoos in 14 different countries. Xing Ya, the male giant panda, and Wu Wen, the female, arrived at Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen on April 12 as a symbolical gift to the Netherlands by China. After six weeks in quarantine, they were seen by the public for the first time on May 30. Both three-and-a-half-year-old, they will stay at Ouwehands for 15 years. Ouwehands Zoo saw its dream of hosting giant panda come true after 16 years of consultations and preparations. In October 2015 a Dutch-Chinese agreement was signed in October 2015 during the state visit of the Dutch Royal Couple to China. The Netherlands is the seventh European country that hosts this endangered animal. At their new home, designed like a Chinese traditional palace, Xing Ya and Wu Wen have separate indoor enclosure and outdoor enclosures totaling some 9,000 square meters. A nursery is on standby -- during the precious three days of mating time every year, they will be invited to "get together" if they like each other. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 22:07:08|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close KHARTOUM, June 15 (Xinhua) -- In preparation to face the rainy season, the Sudanese health authorities established well-equipped emergency rooms to combat epidemics, and distributed health equipment for all Sudan states to combat autumn-related diseases. Sudanese First Vice-President and Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Saleh on Thursday attended a ceremony for handing over the shares of Sudan States of materials and health equipment for combating the autumn-related diseases. The Sudanese Health Ministry hopes that the emergency rooms would facilitate rapid interventions in case of any health disaster or epidemic across Sudan during the rainy season which usually begins on June and continues until mid of October each year. Sudan's federal health ministry confirmed the decline of infection rates with watery diarrhea which earlier spread in 11 states of the country, but expressed concern that the rain water would constitute a hosting environment for watery diarrhea virus. "The State, at its top levels, is concerned with combating watery diarrhea, and the efforts have resulted in the decline of the disease. However, we are concerned over a new wave of infections during the rainy season," said Sudan's Health Minister Bahar Idriss Abu Garada when addressing the ceremony. "The distribution of these equipment is likely to help the health authorities in the states to combat watery diarrhea and other autumn-related diseases," he noted. Hamid Manan Mohamed al-Merghani, Sudan's Interior Minister and head of the supreme council for civil defence, speaking at the ceremony, said that "our motto for this year is: (Autumn without health threats) which requires coordination among all concerned ministries and authorities to face autumn-related diseases." "We were keen to provide all the necessary health equipment and tools that are likely to make our plan successful in confronting the health disasters, improving the health environment and combating diseases," he noted. He stressed the importance of joining the official and social efforts, adopting early warning measures, promoting health education, uniting the communication channels, and providing necessary support for the affected people. The cost of the equipment and materials, which were distributed to Sudan States, is estimated at about 48 million Sudanese pounds, including primary health care medicines, emergency medicines, full packages for treatment of watery diarrhea and full packages for treatment of children diseases to cover 5 million people. In early June, Sudanese Health Ministry statistics indicated that watery diarrhea has killed 265 people and infected 16,121 others in 11 states of Sudan since August 2016 until now. According to a report by the health minister then, Sudan's White Nile State registered the highest rate of infection with the disease that reached 4,512 cases, attributing that to the fact that the state is neighboring South Sudan. Blue Nile State comes second with 4,471 infections and 12 deaths, followed by Sinnar State with 2,401 infections and 14 deaths, according to the report. Khartoum State has registered 19 death cases and 878 infections within 10 months, it said. The Red Sea State registered 1,137 infections and 19 death cases, while the Gezira State registered 55 deaths and 982 infections. Contaminated drinking water is responsible for the spread of the disease which appears every now and then in many areas in Sudan. During August and September 2016, watery diarrhea hit Sudan's Blue Nile and other states, leaving more than 55 dead with 2,619 infection cases. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 22:12:12|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close COLOMBO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's national airline, which has been suffering huge financial losses, said on Thursday said that its losses have begun to reduce. The Sri lankan Airlines said that since the new government was formed in January 2015, the airline's losses have dramatically reduced. The airline said a fuel price reduction in 2015 saw a drop in ticket prices that did not recover when fuel prices increased again. The effect of this, coupled with the acceptance of several new and expensive aircraft, a depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee and other currencies against the U.S. dollar saw a weakening of the balance sheet of the airline. It also said that a re-surfacing project of the runway at Sri Lanka's main international airport also forced the national carrier to cancel over 600 flights, equivalent to two entire weeks of scheduled services, in the first three months of 2017. "These factors combined to worsen the performance of what could have been a successful financial year in 2016/17," the airline said. The airline expressed confidence that its financial recovery will continue and the positive trend will be further improved. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 22:22:15|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao Video Player Close by Peter Mutai NAIROBI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is in the process of fast tracking the enactment of a new policy and legislative instruments to shield older citizens from abuse, an official said Thursday. Susan Mochache, Principal Secretary for Labour and Society Services, said that psychological and physical violence that the elderly people go through will henceforth stop. "The guidelines are being drafted in line with local and global statutes that guide the elderly people," she said during the celebrations marking the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Mochache said that the regulations will help tame cases of elderly abuse that are often underestimated in the country. She noted that often elderly people's abuse is hidden, underestimated and ignored, considered a private matter between relatives hence widely underreported. "Elders' abuse is an enormous problem for older people around the world and makes them feel humiliated, devalued and dehumanized," Jemma Stovell, Campaigns Manager at HelpAge International. Prafulla Mishra, Regional Director of HelpAge International, Age Demands Action (ADA), a campaign platform for older people, has been formed to help challenge assumptions and prejudices. "This is the platform that they use to push for policy changes that promote their rights and protect them from all forms of violence and abuse," Mishra said. The UN has also formed Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWG) to find ways to better protect older people's rights, including the possibility of an internationally-binding convention to protect the rights of older people. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 23:07:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close MOSCOW, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia is willing to grant asylum to former chief of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) James Comey in case he is persecuted in the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. Comey, sacked by the Trump administration last month, acted like U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden, said the Russian leader during an annual televised call-in known as "Direct Line with Vladimir Putin." "When a special service head records a conversation with the commander-in-chief and gives it to the media through one of his friends ... he is then not a special service head but a human rights advocate who defends a certain position," said Putin. Snowden, a computer professional who had done contractual work for the U.S. National Security Agency, is now living under asylum in Russia. He fled to Russia in 2013 after revealing thousands of classified documents to the press. "If there is persecution against Comey, we will be ready to grant him political asylum as well," said Putin. According to the Trump administration, Comey was fired because of his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. But the former FBI director believed that he was sacked due to his investigation into Russian ties to the Trump campaign. As for Comey's investigation into Russian interference in the presidential elections, Putin said that Comey provided no evidence. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 23:07:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close by Hummam Sheikh Ali DAMASCUS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Syrians in the capital Damascus are enjoying the holy month of Ramadan for the first time in the over six-year-old conflict, as the situation in the capital is leaning toward relative calm. Throughout the last six years, all aspects of life for the Damascenes have been impacted negatively, and Ramadan was no exception. Before the war, the markets and bazaars in Damascus used to be bustling with people and shoppers until late night hours, with coffeeshops jam-packed with people sipping different kinds of cold and hot beverages, while most of them puffing white clouds of smoke from their shishas. For Muslims, Ramadan is the best month in the Islamic calendar, where Muslim abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn to dusk as a form of purification. It was a month for families to get together and celebrate the holy month while reviving old traditions. But the Syrian crisis has stolen all of Ramadan's glamour, sending people cowering in their homes, with the worship and the spiritual side largely eclipsed by the woes and bitterness of war. The late nightlife of Ramadan disappeared during the long years of crisis, but the situation has apparently changed. Following the implementation of the internationally-backed de-escalation zones' deal, which saw a cease-fire in several Syrian areas, including the capital Damascus last May, the Damascenes have started sensing a kind of normalcy again with the absence of the explosion and shelling sounds. With the calm that has been coupled with the deal, life started returning to normal, in the sense of security at least, and such tranquility has positively reflected on the attitudes of the Damascenes in Ramadan, as the late night getaways and events started taking place again. In the old city of Damascus, in front of the time-honored Grand Umayyad Mosque, people started returning to their late night prayers and events. Just outside the mosque, Sufi dancers held their first event in years, whirling with their white robes and entertaining tens of people gathering to enjoy the show. "I have come here because the situation is now secure and we have missed such events for a long time particularly that in previous Ramadan during the crisis, the night events were nonexistent," Sahar, an 18-year-old girl, told Xinhua as she was excitedly watching the performance of the Sufi dancers in old Damascus. "Now you can see people, you can see movement and more people, something we haven't seen in a long time," she said. Other people also shared the same optimism, loving the scenes of happiness they were watching as if their eyes were longing to see happiness, either in the eyes of the children who were playing in a water fountain or the beautiful light show in the Umayyad Mosque. Layla, another student, of those who spend large chunk of their lives in the crisis, told Xinhua that such scenes instill hope that this crisis will come to an end, hopefully soon. "I feel that this year is the year of hope for us by God's will ... the atmosphere is so good and I came here to enjoy the show and to buy my two-month-old daughter new clothes and I hope the situation could remain calm," she said. As for the teenage boys, the calm situation in the capital played largely in their hands, as their families used to prevent them from going out late during the crisis. Khamis was only 10 when the crisis began, so he technically missed out on most of his teenage out of his parent's justified fears. Now, he is hopeful than ever that he could live as a normal teenage now that the situation has become better. "Throughout the last years, my parents were so strict with me because they feared for me due to the mortar shells and frequent explosions, but now I think the crisis is over and our country is fine," he said. A man carries a big fish to the fish market in the Xamar Weyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia, March 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo) MOGADISHU, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said it would help stabilize and boost security in Somalia despite increased terror attacks from Al-Shabaab militants. The Special Representative of the AU Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia, Francisco Madeira, lauded Somali national security forces for swift response to the terrorist attack on a hotel and a restaurant in Mogadishu on Wednesday. "The act of bravery exhibited by the security forces must be commended and is proof that the reforms being undertaken by the government under the new National Security Architecture Agreement are taking shape and beginning to show positive results," Madeira said in a statement. The attack on Pizza House restaurant and Posh hotel left at least 18 people dead and 19 others injured. Al-Shabaab militants have claimed responsibility for the attack, which was triggered by a suicide car bomber and targeted customers who frequent the restaurant and adjacent hotel. Six militants who seized control of the restaurant including a suicide bomber were subsequently killed by Somali security forces. Madeira said the attack on civilians on Wednesday night was a desperate attempt by the terrorists seeking public attention, after having suffered serious losses from recent operations by Somali government forces. The AU envoy said the ongoing security operation under the stabilization campaign in Mogadishu and others targeting Al-Shabaab camps have left the militants severely weakened. "AMISOM commends the government forces for their courage and pledges its continued support towards ensuring total pacification of Somalia," said Madeira. He commended the Somali government for the ongoing operations to seize illegal firearms in Mogadishu and other major towns to help secure the country. "The unity and resilience of the people of Somalia shall win over those that seek to spread terror by disregarding the sanctity of human life," Madeira said. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 23:12:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close MOSUL, Iraq, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi government forces, battling Islamic State (IS) militants recaptured on Thursday a neighborhood at the north edge of Mosul's old city center, while the troops fighting clearing areas from IS militants infiltrated the day before in the south of the old city, the Iraqi military said. The Iraqi soldiers liberated Bab Sinjar neighborhood and initiated a new progress into the adjacent al-Farouq area deeper into the major IS redoubt in the old city center in the western side of Mosul, Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a brief statement. The latest progress is the first penetration for the security forces in the north edge of the old city, as the troops are still fighting back and forth street-to-street battles for more than two weeks in the neighborhood of al-Shifaa just north of the old city, due to the stiff resistance of the extremist militants and the presence of civilians, who were used by IS militants as human shields. Iraqi forces, backed by international coalition, are fighting to drive out IS militant from the western side of Mosul, locally known as the right bank of Tigris River, but al-Shifaa neighborhood and most of the densely-populated old city center, are still under control of the extremist militants. Meanwhile, the federal police and the interior ministry special forces, known as Rapid Response, are carrying out search operation in the neighborhoods of al-Taiyran, al-Danadan and al-Jawsaq in south of the old city center, looking for IS militants who infiltrated the day before in the three neighborhoods, Major General Thamir al-Husseini, commander of the Rapid Response forces told Xinhua. In the early hours of Wednesday, dozens of IS militants, many of them wearing suicide vests, penetrated the federal police lines at the south edge of Mosul's old city center, after blowing up seven car bombs, while dozens others of extremist militants sneaked down the Tigris River and attacked the forces from behind, another security source anonymously told Xinhua. The attackers on Wednesday seized parts of the three neighborhoods, but the troops fought them back and retook control of the areas after killing more than 50 militants, according to Husseini. "Heavy sporadic clashes (are) still underway as our troops are surrounding some IS pockets in the three neighborhoods. It is a matter of hours for the troops to eliminate the terrorist," Husseini added. According to the Iraqi military, over 95 percent of the city has been retaken from IS in the ongoing major offensive launched in October last year. Mosul, 400 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. Enditem Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters walk on the rubble of a damaged street in the Raqqa's al-Sanaa industrial neighbourhood, Syria June 14, 2017. Picture taken June 14, 2017. (REUTERS photo) DAMASCUS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have taken control of 30 percent of Syria's northern city of Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the Islamic State (IS) group, a monitor group reported on Thursday. Intense battles have raged in Raqqa between the SDF and IS, following the collapse of a deal between the leaders of the local tribesmen and the IS, which was designed for allowing the IS fighters to leave Raqqa with their light weapons, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The London-based watchdog group said the deal to evacuate IS fighters from Raqqa collapsed due to the rejection of a group of IS fighters. Activists said that 4,000 fighters of the tribesmen are fighting with the SDF against IS. A week into the battles for capturing Raqqa from IS, the SDF captured several neighborhoods in the eastern and western parts of Raqqa. Activists said the SDF and allied fighters are fighting to lay a siege on Raqqa from its southern rim. The recent battles are being fought south of Raqqa toward the New Raqqa Bridge and Cornish Street, as part of the SDF plan to besiege Raqqa from its southern gates, activists said. As for the Syrian army, the Observatory said the Syrian government forces are advancing against the IS militants in the western countryside of Raqqa. The Syrian forces captured on Wednesday the Sufyan oilfield west of Raqqa, closing to the areas under the SDF control in Raqqa from the direction of the Tabqa city. The aim of the Syrian army battles in Raqqa countryside is to isolate the IS militants in the southern countryside of Aleppo province as a prelude to dislodge them out of that province. A source told Xinhua that there is no direct coordination between the SDF and the Syrian army, adding that there seems to be a plan between the U.S. and Russia regarding the roles of each force in the battle for Raqqa. The U.S. has been backing the SDF, which is a group of Kurd, Arab and Assyrian fighters led by the Kurdish YPG, which resulted in the falling of civilian casualties in Raqqa. A day earlier, the UN Commission of Inquiry said that intensified coalition air strikes have killed at least 300 civilians in Raqqa since March. The SDF announced their campaign to liberate Raqqa under the title of "Euphrates Wrath" in November last year, and declared their fourth stage of the attack to storm the Raqqa city last Tuesday, after months of battles at outskirts and countryside of the city. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 23:23:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close CAIRO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met on Thursday with director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Mike Pompeo and hailed the Egyptian-U.S. ties as strategic and long-standing, the Egyptian presidential spokesman said in a statement. "Sisi lauded the strength of security and military relations binding Egypt and the United States, saying they contributed to laying down the foundations of peace and stability in the region and addressing regional and international challenges," said presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef in the statement. For his part, the CIA chief praised strategic relations with Egypt and stressed U.S. keenness on enhancing relations with Egypt in all fields, especially in the security domain. Pompeo also commended Egypt's leading role in fighting terrorism. Talks between Sisi and the CIA director tackled several regional and international issues including the crisis with Qatar, the counter-terrorism efforts and other regional developments. "President Sisi underlined the importance of adopting a standard approach while confronting terrorist organizations, firmly facing terror-sponsoring countries and addressing radical ideas feeding terrorism," said the Egyptian presidential spokesman. Egypt-U.S. ties suffered years of rift under former U.S. President Barack Obama, whose administration suspended the annual 1.3-billion-dollar military aid to Egypt after the military overthrow of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 and the later heavy crackdown on his loyalists and now-blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group. Sisi started his first official visit to Washington earlier in April at the invitation of his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. The two exchanged remarks of praise and expressed willingness to engage in partnership in the global fight against terrorism. Experts believe that the war on terror, the turmoil in the Middle East region and the Russian regional expansion are all behind the current progress in the Egyptian-American relations under Sisi and Trump. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 23:23:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close GUANGZHOU, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Police in south China's Guangdong Province Thursday announced the capture of 180 people involved in campus loan scams, to which more than 350 students have fallen victim. Touting Internet finance, the suspects sent mobile phone ads about low-interest loans as bait to lure students into borrowing. Some borrowers were then required to pay fees. After they paid the money online, the fake lenders stopped contacting them. Others demanded students hand over photos, videos or contact details of their relatives as collateral. When students failed to repay their loans, the lenders made personal threats. Police were alerted in March when a student in the city of Guangzhou reported that he was cheated out 3,000 yuan (441 U.S. dollars) by one of the online campus loan platforms. Police received subsequent reports from other students in Guangzhou and Foshan. A special task-force was formed. In May, police raided 20 locations and arrested 180 suspects belonging to different crime groups. They confiscated computers, phones, bank cards, sim cards and account books. Police discovered students in several provinces outside Guangdong had also been targeted. Campus loan sharks caught the public's attention last year when a college student committed suicide due to the pressure of exorbitant interest. It was also reported that some loan sharks held nude pictures of female college students as a collateral for their debt. Life on Chinese college campuses is not expensive as students generally have access to subsidized tuition fees and boarding. But college students are increasingly tempted with more excessive lifestyles -- owning fancy handbags and phones, eating out, or getting plastic surgery. Guangdong police said they will continue the crackdown on campus loan scams, which have caused great psychological trauma to students, resulting in drop-outs or suicides. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-15 23:33:07|Editor: MJ Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (C), Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) attend a press conference in Thessaloniki, Greece, on June 15, 2017. Greece, Cyprus and Israel have agreed to step up cooperation in particular in the energy sector to benefit the wider region, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Thursday. (Xinhua/Vasili Ververidi) ATHENS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Greece, Cyprus and Israel have agreed to step up cooperation in particular in the energy sector to benefit the wider region, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Thursday. He made the statement after the third Greece-Cyprus-Israel trilateral summit in the northern Greece city of Thessaloniki. During talks with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the three sides decided to "speed up joint action for the construction of a major eastern Mediterranean pipeline project", Tsipras said. The East Med pipeline investment project of up to 6 billion euros (6.7 billion U.S. dollars) worth with a capacity of 10-16 billion cubic meters of gas annually is designed to transfer the rich energy reserves that have been discovered in the eastern Mediterranean region to Europe. The project has become one of the most important pillars of their strategic trilateral cooperation and one with great potential given the geopolitical positions of the three countries, AMNA news agency noted. On the agenda of discussions on Thursday was also the Euro Asia Interconnector, a 3-billion-euro cable connecting the electricity grids of Greece, Cyprus and Israel. The Greek side reiterated its proposal to accept both the cable and fiber optic with an additional cost of 10 percent in order to safeguard benefits in the telecommunications sector, the Greek prime minister said. In both cases the three sides did not elaborate on detailed timetables regarding the implementation of the projects. "With Greece's strategy to become an energy hub and the possibility of new natural gas fields in the exclusive economic zones of Cyprus, Israel and Greece, the prospects of cooperation between the three countries became highly interesting, not only for the countries themselves, but also for the broader southeastern Mediterranean region," Tsipras stressed in a joint press conference with Anastasiades and Netanyahu. Israeli PM Netanyahu focused on collaboration in technological innovation and student exchanges to support the culture of change and progress. Anastasiades said he briefed the two leaders on the latest developments concerning the ongoing UN-mediated dialogue to resolve the Cyprus issue. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 00:08:27|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close CHANGSHA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has required increased publicity work in preparation for the 19th CPC National Congress scheduled for later this year. Liu Qibao, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks during an inspection tour from Tuesday to Thursday in central China's Hunan Province. He said the publicity work should show the progress made by the Party and the country as well as the improvements to people's livelihoods to inspire people's love for the country, the CPC, and socialism. He called for greater efforts to promote socialist core values and make such values more tangible and accessible to the public. Liu pledged more support for creative work in literature and art to encourage more original creations in these regards, stressing that effective measures should be taken to protect intellectual property rights. Literary and artistic workers should be encouraged to pay more attention to the country's reform and opening up, scientific and technological innovations as well as urban development, new countryside construction, and national defense, he said. Also, he required high standards in the operation of radio and TV stations to better promote the voices of the Party and government, society's mainstream values, and "positive energy." Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 02:04:16|Editor: Yamei A customer watches TV as Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a televised event at a shop in Moscow, Russia, on June 15, 2017. Western sanctions on Russia have had only a limited effect and the country's economy has even partly benefited from them, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. (Xinhua/Oleg Brusnikin) MOSCOW, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he hopes the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative will start a new stage of cooperation in Eurasia and beyond. This initiative is unique and successful, said Putin when answering a question raised by Xinhua after his annual "direct line" call-in session. "The main thing that we must do is to unite our efforts within the frameworks of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Belt and Road Initiative," said Putin. The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013 consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. It aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes. The EAEU comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, with an aim to encourage regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services and people within the union. Putin expressed confidence that the two development plans will be connected as Russia and China "have many overlapping goals and complementary opportunities." "I have no doubt that we will work together and this work will be effective and beneficial for the Chinese and Russian people as well as the global economy," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 02:04:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi government forces on Monday recaptured a vast open area in the west of the city of Mosul and dislodged Islamic State (IS) militants from five villages in the area, the Iraqi military said. The army's 15th Infantry Division advanced in the rugged area in the north of the IS-held town of Mahlabiyah, some 35 km west of Mosul, and recaptured the villages of al-Buweir, al-Zanazil, al-Salam and al-Mansour, along with the nearby abandoned Mansour industry compound and water facility, Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command, said in a brief statement. The army's liberation of the villages is part of an operation launched on Saturday west of Mosul. The troops are expected to advance to recapture the predominantly Turkoman town of Mahlabiyah before heading to the IS-held town of Tal Afar, about 70 km west of Mosul. Earlier, the paramilitary units of Hashd Shaabi advanced to the area, but avoided entering the two towns of Tal Afar and Mahlabiyah, which are both inhabited by majority of Turkoman people, as well as other minorities of Kurds and Arabs. The advance of the predominantly Shiite paramilitary units in the ethnically mixed region, where Sunni Muslims form a majority, could spark sectarian tension with Sunni Arabs and neighboring Sunni state of Turkey. The operation came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul. Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to control parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. iStock/Thinkstock(LINCOLN, Neb.) -- A social media dance-off is growing among police departments, thanks to a Twitter showdown that was started on National Best Friends Day on June 8. The friendly competition started last week when the National Sheriffs' Association tweeted about National Best Friends Day and tagged a few police departments across the country. Angela Sands, public information officer for the Lincoln Police Department in Lincoln, Nebraska, noticed that her department was not included and replied on Twitter. My reply was, You guys didnt invite us to Best Friends Day, Sands told ABC News. Sands tweet started a thread among the police departments, to which she later posted a GIF of people dancing. When that GIF was poked fun at, Sands replied that the police departments should post videos of their own officers dancing. Bellevue Police Department, in nearby Bellevue, Nebraska, was specifically given a deadline of June 9 to post a video. Meanwhile, Sands recruited one of her fellow Lincoln officers, Courtney Leaver, to show off her own dancing skills. Leaver came in on her day off to film a short dance to "No Boys Allowed" by Keri Hilson Buyou that was shared on Twitter. When Bellevue went past their deadline to post a video, Sands again took to Twitter to egg them on. @PapillionPD can you do a welfare check on @BellevuePolice they're ignoring the whole internet Lincoln Police (@Lincoln_Police) June 9, 2017 The Bellevue Police Department, which did not reply to ABC News' request for comment, delivered their own video on Monday to Missy Elliott's "Pep Rally." Worth the wait!! @BellevuePolice pulled it off & rocked it! Respect from #LPD for accepting the cop dance off challenge! https://t.co/940i9KM4zL Lincoln Police (@Lincoln_Police) June 13, 2017 Sands said her officers found the challenge "hilarious." Leaver has been recognized and stopped in the street for her dance moves, while other officers have texted Sands that they want to do a Beyonce-style video next. "One of my goals was to help humanize cops because we do witness traumatic events and its a very stressful job," Sands said. "I think, for our own mental and physical safety, we become very guarded, and I think the public needs to see this side of us that we rarely get to show." Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. A displaced Iraqi woman from Mosul walks towards her family's tent for their Iftar, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a refugee camp al-Khazir in the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq June 10, 2017. Picture taken June 10, 2017. (REUTERS Photo) BAGHDAD, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi government forces on Monday recaptured a vast open area in the west of the city of Mosul and dislodged Islamic State (IS) militants from five villages in the area, the Iraqi military said. The army's 15th Infantry Division advanced in the rugged area in the north of the IS-held town of Mahlabiyah, some 35 km west of Mosul, and recaptured the villages of al-Buweir, al-Zanazil, al-Salam and al-Mansour, along with the nearby abandoned Mansour industry compound and water facility, Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command, said in a brief statement. The army's liberation of the villages is part of an operation launched on Saturday west of Mosul. The troops are expected to advance to recapture the predominantly Turkoman town of Mahlabiyah before heading to the IS-held town of Tal Afar, about 70 km west of Mosul. Earlier, the paramilitary units of Hashd Shaabi advanced to the area, but avoided entering the two towns of Tal Afar and Mahlabiyah, which are both inhabited by majority of Turkoman people, as well as other minorities of Kurds and Arabs. The advance of the predominantly Shiite paramilitary units in the ethnically mixed region, where Sunni Muslims form a majority, could spark sectarian tension with Sunni Arabs and neighboring Sunni state of Turkey. The operation came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul. Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to control parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 03:00:00|Editor: Mengjie Forensic experts work at the site of the explosion near a kindergarten in Fengxian County in east China's Jiangsu Province, June 16, 2017. At least eight people have died and 65 people were injured after an explosion near a kindergarten in Fengxian County. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) NANJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people have died after an explosion near a kindergarten in Fengxian County in east China's Jiangsu Province Thursday afternoon, local authorities said. The blast occurred around 4:48 p.m. at the gate of the kindergarten. Two people died at the scene, and another six died later in hospital, according to the county government. The police have preliminarily identified the blast as a criminal offense and have targeted the suspect. As of 11 p.m., 65 people were injured in the blast and eight of them remained in critical condition. More than 10 senior doctors from Nanjing and Wuxi cities of Jiangsu have rushed to the site of the blast. No children or teachers were among the casualties. A working team led by Huang Ming, deputy minister of public security, has been sent to investigate the blast. The provincial government has ordered checks of possible safety risks at production sites. Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) MOSCOW, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he hopes the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative will start a new stage of cooperation in Eurasia and beyond. This initiative is unique and successful, said Putin when answering a question raised by Xinhua after his annual "direct line" call-in session. "The main thing that we must do is to unite our efforts within the frameworks of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Belt and Road Initiative," said Putin. The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013 consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. It aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes. The EAEU comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, with an aim to encourage regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services and people within the union. Putin expressed confidence that the two development plans will be connected as Russia and China "have many overlapping goals and complementary opportunities." "I have no doubt that we will work together and this work will be effective and beneficial for the Chinese and Russian people as well as the global economy," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 04:40:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAPE TOWN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The South African government on Thursday called for calm in Lesotho following the killing of Lipolelo Thabane, wife of Prime Mister-elect Tom Thabane. "South Africa calls on law enforcement authorities to expeditiously investigate the crime and bring the perpetrator/s to justice," said Nelson Kgwete, spokesperson of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. Lipolelo was killed on Wednesday night just two days before the inauguration of her husband. The motive for the killing remains unknown. "The South African government conveys its deepest condolences to the Thabane family during this difficult time of mourning," Kgwete said. Lipolelo's killing has raised fears of continued political instability in Lesotho. Thabane, who won the general elections on June 3, will replace outgoing Prime Minister Pakalithi Mosisili who took power following a failed coup attempt in 2014. The elections, declared as largely peaceful and democratic by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU), were more than three years ahead of schedule due to a successful vote of no confidence against Mosisili. The coalition government, led by Mosisili of the Democratic Congress (DC) party, has recently fragmented, and Parliament in March voted in favor of replacing Mosisili with Monyane Moleleki, whose Alliance of Democrats party split from the DC last year. Also on Thursday, South Africa's Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also a SADC facilitator, reiterated his view that the holding of democratic elections in Lesotho underlines the determination of the people of the region and the continent to ensure good political and economic governance. Ramaphosa will pay an official visit to Maseru on June 16 to join regional and international leaders in the inauguration of Thabane. Ramaphosa has been mandated by the SADC to convene a multi-stakeholder dialogue forum to build consensus for the implementation of SADC decisions, including the constitutional and security sector reforms in Lesotho. Lesotho, completely landlocked by South Africa, is one of the world's poorest countries and its economy is heavily dependent on its neighbour, to where it exports water and hydroelectric power. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 05:00:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ALGIERS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel on Thursday held talks with Advisor at the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Fares al-Mazrouei, as the developments of the Gulf crisis was in the agenda. According to a statement of the Algerian Foreign Ministry, "the UAE minister on this occasion assessed the latest developments in the Gulf region," while Messahel reiterated "the Algerian position expressed since the outbreak of this crisis, urging for settling differences and conflicts through dialogue." Earlier on Thursday, Mesahel held talks with visiting Qatar's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi. Al-Muraikhi described the Algerian position on the crisis as "honorable, as being the first country to issue a statement calling for dialogue." On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen announced cutting relations with Qatar for national security causes, as they accuse Doha of supporting terrorism. Qatar, for its part, said such steps are "unjustified." Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 05:21:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BUDAPEST, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Hungarys' Szeged appeals court dismissed on Thursday the first-instance ruling against a Syrian man named Ahmed H. who involved in clashes between migrants and police at the Roszke border crossing with Serbia on Sept. 16, 2015. The court in southern Hungary has ordered a retrial, citing inconsistent evidence in the original trial. Judge Erik Mezolaki said that the first-level court had a legal responsibility to consider all evidence. The evidence and arguments were not made clear, he added. Prior to the announcement of the sentence, Ahmed H. rejected the charge of terrorist acts. He said that he just planned to help his family get away from war. The Syrian man was arrested in Hungary in September of 2015 following the clashes. He was accused by state prosecutors of committing acts of terrorism. The prosecutors also claimed that Ahmed H. had thrown rocks at police, and given police an ultimatum. Last November he was convicted by a Szeged court and sentenced to ten years in prison. The defence appealed for a dismissal of the terrorism charge and a reduced sentence, while the prosecution appealed for a longer prison term. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on May 29 that the Hungarian government would turn to international organizations over a European Parliament (EP) resolution, which condemns Hungary while exculpating Ahmed H. convicted of attacking Hungary. According to the minister, the EP resolution on May 17 took stand by Ahmed H., an aggressor threw stones, block of concretes and bottles at the policemen, rather than the Hungarian government. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 05:26:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close by Ronald Ssekandi, Yuan Qing KIRYANDONGO, Uganda, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Over 260 km north of the capital Kampala is a huge Chinese multi-million-U.S.-dollar project, one of the largest in Uganda's history. It is day break and Chinese engineers work along with their local counterparts to construct this almost 1.7-billion-dollar hydro power plant. Heavy load trucks and cranes hover around the construction site dropping materials. It is a beehive of activities at this underground power plant, the first of its kind in Africa. The plant constructed by Sino Hydro, a Chinese state owned company, is designed to generate over 600MW of electricity. Hamis Kalonde is one of the workers at the site. He told Xinhua in an interview on Wednesday that it took him close to two years to get a job. In a country that has over 60 percent of its population being youths and over 70 percent of that youthful population unemployed, according to official figures, getting a job is no easy task. "It was stressing especially when you see the friends you went with to college are employed. It is stressing, you feel like you are left out," said Kalonde. Getting a job at Sino Hydro, was a blessing to Kalonde. Over the years he has risen through the ranks from a driver to assistant human resource officer. And for the years he has been employed by the Chinese, he has something to show. Besides material things like having a plot of land, Kalonde argues that he has now gotten international exposure which will propel him to greater heights. Thomas Okello is another employee at this construction site. A few years ago, he was involved in a nasty road accident which incapacitated him from doing his work at the ministry of works and transport. When he was retired from public service, he headed back home to his village house. When Karuma was chosen as the construction site, Chinese engineers and administrators started work. For the first three months they stayed at a nearby luxury hotel located on the boundaries of the Murchison Falls National Park. When the hotel bills went high, the Chinese engineers and administrators decided to renovate Okello's house and rented it as a hotel. The move changed Okello's life forever. Apart from renting his house, Okello was employed at the construction site to do administration work. The local leadership are appreciative of the investment by the Chinese noting that many youths in the area have gained jobs. Over 4,600 youths, skilled and semi-skilled from different parts of Uganda are employed at the site. Severino Opio, the local council chairperson, argues that even after the project is long gone, the youths can apply the skills gained somewhere else to better their lives. Just outside the construction site, a big trading center is springing up just from a roadside truck stop. There is a supermarket, a casino, and a stretch of commercial buildings coming up, all as a result of the construction of the power plant, according to Opio. According to the Uganda Investment Authority, a state run investment agency, China ranks among the top sources of Foreign Direct Investment in Uganda. Figures from the Chinese embassy here show that China's investments in Uganda reached over 3 billion dollars at the end of 2016. The main investment is in the country's oil and gas sector amounting to 1.9 billion dollars. Other investments range from transport and energy infrastructure to Information Communication and Technology. Uganda argues that the projects have not only created employment opportunities for Ugandans, but also increased the country's national income as well as enabled the flow of China's capital and technology to Uganda. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 05:56:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close CARACAS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's prosecutor-general announced Thursday the death of Luis Enrique Vera, 20, who was crushed to death during a protest in the city of Maracaibo, in the western state of Zulia. Posted on Twitter, the statement said that a prosecutor in Zulia had been appointed to investigate the death of Vera. The mayor of Maracaibo, Eveling de Rosales, also wrote on Twitter that Vera had been crushed "by the intolerance and the hatred that reigns in our country today." She demanded "the full weight of the law for the person responsible." According to local media reports, Vera was protesting outside the Rafael Belloso Chacin University in Maracaibo when he was crushed by a cargo truck. The driver was arrested by state police and the vehicle was later burned by protesters. Venezuela is currently facing its third month of protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, which have left at least 72 dead. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 06:01:34|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close KHARTOUM, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Two rebel movements in Sudan's Darfur region urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to keep the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in the region, Sudan Tribune reported Thursday. "UNAMID is considered the conclusive guarantee for the protection of civilians in Darfur, particularly that the government of Sudan renews its attacks in the region," Jibril Ibrahim, leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and Minni Arko Minnawi, leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), were quoted as saying in a message to the UNSC . "Despite the conformations that there was a decline in the direct military confrontations in Darfur, this does not mean the conflict has ended or that the conflict would not escalate again. This is evident in the clashes which took place in May in North and East Darfur," they noted. The two rebel leaders also explained that UNAMID's presence in Darfur would help protect the civilians and achieve peace and justice for the victims of violence. "The government's calls for the withdrawal of the mission from the region is an attempt to remove the main international entity operating on the ground to monitor and resolve the standing conflict, and therefore, we hope the UNSC would continue its strong support for the mission in Darfur and also mandate it to take all necessary measures to fulfill its mandate in field of peacekeeping," they said. On Wednesday, the UNSC discussed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' report on Darfur which endorsed two-phase reduction of the mission's military components in the region. Guterres suggested withdrawal of 8 military battalions out of 16 in the first 6-month phase, with the withdrawal of the remaining battalions discussed by the beginning of next year. UNAMID took over the peacekeeping task in Darfur from the African Union Mission in Sudan on Dec. 31, 2007. The UNAMID is considered the second biggest peacekeeping mission in the world, after the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It consists of more than 20,000 military, police and civilian personnel, with a budget of 1.4 million U.S. dollars in 2013. Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 06:01:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BERLIN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- William de Asevedo Furtado has joined Wolfsburg from Brazilian second division side Sport Club Internacional, the "Wolves" announced in an official statement on Thursday. Wolfsburg reinforced their defence with the transfer of the 22-year-old defender, who inked a five-year deal, which keeps him with the "Wolves" until June 2022. "We have intensively scouted William over a long period of time. He is a young player with a lot of potential. We are happy that we were able to bind him on a long-term deal," Wolfsburg's sporting director Olaf Rebbe said. William started his professional career at Internacional where he made 60 appearances since his senior debut in March 2015. The right-back helped Brazil to clinch the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. "I am looking forward to Wolfsburg. It is a very well known club in Brazil. Many players like Grafite, Josue, Diego or Naldo where very successful with Wolfsburg," the new arrival told the club's official homepage. William is the third summer transfer for the "Wolves" after John Anthony Brooks and Marvin Stefaniak. Clico chairmans term ends July The board of directors terms are a year... That is standard. After a couple of years of yeomans service, Wendy Ho Sing is leaving but she has done some great work over the years. Shes leaving on July 5, so we are working on the transitional arrangements. Hilaire was responding on Tuesday to Dacons claims that Ho Sing and two directors recently submitted letters of resignation following instructions from the ministry to dispose of assets, namely Home Construction Ltd shares, pledged to the Clico policyholders statutory fund without actuarial valuations. Last Sunday, Dacon told Newsday, Under our laws and regulations, assets pledged to the policyholders statutory fund cannot be removed without first obtaining an actuarial valuation that says the fund will still be in surplus after the removal. He questioned the legality of such instructions to the Central Bank appointees to the board, adding that this is what has triggered the reported resignations. If there is gross negligence in the performance of their (the governments) duty, or what lawyers call malfeasance, people appointed (to Clico board) could be held personally liable for damages. He argued this is a criminal issue to which Newsday asked Dacon if Duprey intends to take legal action. Ultimately that will come but the first action is to re-take control of CL Financial; the holding company that owns 51 per cent of Clico, Dacon replied. Regarding this, Newsday asked Hilaire if the Central Bank was worried about Duprey taking legal action in the future. The governor said, We do our job. We do our job on the Clico side to ensure a clean resolution. We are not worried. Newsday also asked if Duprey was considered a fit and proper person, according to Central Bank criteria. If it comes up, we will have our views based on past information and what may have transpired before. In that sense, we will act accordingly. Hilaire spoke with Newsday after the presentation of 2016 Financial Stability Report at the Central Bank, Eric Williams Financial Complex, Port-of- Spain. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, responding to Newsdays questions via email on Monday evening, said, the term of office of the present Clico board, appointed under the tenure of the previous administration, is coming to an end. That is all. Boards do not continue forever. They have an expiry date. I am advised that a new board will be put in place by the Central Bank shortly, Imbert stated. Gas find must not lead to complacency The gas will begin to be monetised by the year 2020 or 2021, and is likely to translate into major social s for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. However, while we welcome news of the find, which unlocks approximately two trillion cubic feet of gas from the Savannah and Macadamia exploration wells, the country should guard against being lulled into complacency as a result of these discoveries. Although the prospects are quite favourable, with improvements in our gas supply, it ought not be interpreted as the immediate end to the revenue generating challenge our country is currently experiencing. For decades, Trinidad and Tobago has remained a single-commodity economy, despite numerous proposals, promises and plans to achieve greater diversification. It certainly appears that each attempt to set this diversification process in train was truncated by some new and exciting development in the energy sector. Short-term successes which provide fleeting instances of relief tend to be a distraction for many of us, whether we are in business, government or the labour movement. The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce (TT Chamber) is of the firm view that on this occasion - and as we look to the future - nothing must detract from our long-term commitment to a transformed economy. It is a well-known fact that our oil and gas reserves are depleting and the end may be closer than we think. Added to this, we remain quite vulnerable to external shocks that are brought about by geo-political events as demonstrated by the current downturn which was precipitated by declining global energy prices. Considering all this, the need for economic diversification is becoming even more critical with each passing year. Since it is not going to happen overnight, we must continue to aggressively pursue our stated goals and milestones as outlined in our National Development Strategy. The TT Chamber - through its enhanced engagement strategy has determined that diversification must be placed at the centre of national discourse and action. We have already hosted the first in a three-part series on Economic Transformation, in collaboration with the IDB and the Economic Development Advisory Board. We are committed to doing even more. Identifying, exploring and monetising new sectors and industries takes vision, innovativeness, creativity and responsiveness - attributes and aptitudes we can further unlock in our people through astute leadership and the political will to do what is required. The TT Chamber views itself as a facilitator and an enabler, working in collaboration with all of our key stakeholders and Strategic Partners, to leverage our experience in business for the benefit of all of TT. There is a great deal more to be done and we at the TT Chamber hope that soon we will be celebrating significant advances along the road to economic transformation and diversification. Thinking time Last week I wrote on the zombification of our daily lives, where we fill any and every spare minute with our mobile phones. Todays article simply continues to build on this discussion. Admittedly, I have fallen into this category on many occasions, as the pace of life simply seems to have become so fast that we try to afford ourselves options to adapt. The result of the rapidity of our daily lives, coupled with the increasing time requirements of our various individual activities, that concept of family time is quickly becoming one week that can be squeezed in somewhere within a year, to accommodate the family vacation. Where sometimes even on the family vacation, many of us are still connected. This is in no way designed to judge, based on the use of electronic devices, but to remind that communication between and among people, in person, provides value that can never be replaced by electronic interaction. One may proffer that it is easier said than done, and perhaps this may be true. But we must at some point recognise that we need to ensure we connect to people, particularly those with whom we are closely related, to maintain and continue to develop strong bonds, and even simply to know whats taking place in their daily lives. I spoke about the very fast pace of daily life and its impact on encouraging family time, and while I do appreciate how challenging it has become to share our time, we must also recognise that time is the most expensive commodity, therefore how and with whom we invest it requires very careful consideration. Time invested in and with your family, your children, your friends and others of significance makes the difference in our daily lives, and has become something we almost have to think about to ensure it becomes written into our schedules. I have fallen prey to this fallacy of not having time on so many occasions while attempting to do everything I felt needed to be done to save the world. While in this process, many times I myself became either one of the mobile zombies, or very detached with what and who may be right in front of you. What do we do? The first thing is to recognise that time is something we generally do not get back, therefore invest it wisely. Planning and embarking on outof- country vacations may not be easily manageable, so, a staycation is certainly something to consider. As a pre-teen, I recall some of the best times in my vacation period was spent by relatives in the southern part of Trinidad, where we spent 20 of 24 hours outdoors, playing in the rain, climbing trees, picking fruit, running from dogs and the many things children just do not experience as fully as they should. While an out-of-country vacation to an exciting destination is always wonderful, our country has been blessed with some of the most intriguing sights and sounds that can more than fill two months of vacation time, most without spending exorbitant figures. Sometimes, time investment with the family can be as simple as making it a mission to have breakfast, lunch or dinner together, and chat about everyones day, including attending religious services. Once the commitment has been made to dine together as a family, the commitment should be followed with a ban of electronics for that specific period, where all attention and interest is placed on the people around. These are my sons favourite times, and the cost only time. Bandit shot dead after robbery The other bandits escaped in bushes and were being pursued by officers of the Northern Division. About 5.40 am, Alicia Hingeton, 42, was at her Wallerfield home with her daughter Makela and her brother Mical. Makela went to her mothers car and was confronted by three men, two armed with guns. They ordered her inside the house and demanded cash, jewelry and other valuables from the occupants. They also took the keys for two vehicles, a Corolla and a Mazda. Alicia, Mical and Makela were tied up by the bandits who threatened to kill them if they reported the matter to the police. After the bandits fled in the two vehicles the victims were able to untie themselves and alerted the police. Northern Division Task Force offiers led by Sgt Matthew Haywood and officers of the Northern Division CID under Inspector Birch responded and the stolen vehicles were spotted in the Carapo area. The bandits reportedly shot at the police, who returned fire, striking one of the bandits. The two others escaped in nearby bushes. The wounded bandit was taken to the Arima hospital where he died. Police said the man had no form of identification on him but that he was in his early 20s. Officers are hoping to match fingerprints taken from the man with prints in the police system. Head of the Northern Division, Senior Supt Mc Donald Jacob, issued a warning later to bandits: Do not come in Northern Division and commit crimes because you will be found and flushed out. He said the division has an effective network where officers can now respond immediately to any report. He also commended officers for their teamwork yesterday. Jacob said the arrest of the two bandits who escaped is imminent. Hingeton told police the bandits were very disrespectful and laughed at them when they were tied up. One of them even went to the refrigerator and drank from a carton of juice. She said her family remained traumatised, especially her teenage daughter who had to be comforted all of yesterday. Chinese couple robbed, cops nab bandits At about 11.30 am, Francis Lee Lon and his wife Sylvie were at their Fourth Street, Barataria, home when they were confronted by three men, one armed with a knife. The men ordered Sylvie and Francis to hand over cash and jewelry, said to be valued at $13,530. The frightened couple pleaded with the bandits not to harm them. They were tied up and the bandits fled. However, the victims were able to quickly untie themselves and alerted the police. North Eastern Division Task Force officers led by Sgt Guelmo, who were in the area, responded within minutes and apprehended the three bandits and the driver of the getaway car. All the stolen items were recovered and the four suspects, ages 19 to 43, from the Toco and Tunapuna areas, are expected to be placed on identification parades. Assistant Commissioner of Police Surujdeen Persad and Snr Supt Surindra Sagramsingh yesterday commended the officers for their quick response. Persad said with the arrest of the four they may be able to make a breakthrough in a series of robberies in the North Eastern Division and other areas of the country. Accused cheese thief gets bail Bobby Sookram, of Dumfries Road in Rambert Village, first appeared on Tuesday before the magistrate who remanded him into custody for tracing. Yesterday when he reappeared, court prosecutor Sgt Chanardath Jhilmit informed the magistrate that the tracing was unavailable. Sookram was unrepresented by counsel and said he had no previous convictions nor pending matters. Standing before Diop, in the Second Court, Sookram added that he lives alone and has an adult son. The charge against Sookram alleged that on Friday, he stole six blocks of Anchor Cheddar Cheese valued $300 from Anand Low Price Supermarket at South Trunk Road, La Romaine. Estate Constable Diaz of Travtech Security Services Ltd laid the charge. Diaz walked into the courtroom yesterday with the cheese in a plastic bag. Diop granted the $10,000 own bail and as a condition to the bond, ordered that he reports to the San Fernando Police Station on Wednesdays anytime between 6 am to 7 pm. He is to reappear in court tomorrow. 15 years for killing boy, 14 Now 24, Matthews will spend the next five years, 11 months and four days in prison with heavy manual work as his punishment. Matthews was yesterday sentenced to a total of 15 years hard labour by Justice Carla Brown-Antoine, who also suggested that the prisoner undergo anger management since his prison bio-social report showed he had a number of breaches in prison. The judge said while Matthews was intelligent, he had a problem managing his anger and the courts sentence was aimed at not only deterring him from acting out on his anger but others as well. Justice Brown-Antoine also recognised that Pierre would no longer be going home to his parents and the punishment of the court was also in recognition of the life taken by Matthews. Matthews had spent almost nine years awaiting trial and that was deducted from the 15-year jail term imposed by the judge. He was before Justice Brown-Antoine in the Second Criminal Court where he was found guilty of manslaughter. Matthews was on a murder indictment, but the jury returned with the verdict of notguilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. Pierre was stabbed four times to the chest by Matthews at about 7.35 am on May 15, 2008, on St Joseph Road, Arima. Alonzo at the time was on his way to school. The incident occurred following an altercation. Pierre, a Form Four student of Barataria Senior Comprehensive School, succumbed to his injury while being taken to the Arima District Health Facility. At his trial, Matthew claimed he acted in self defence. The jury rejected this defence but did find that provocation was an element in the killing. Pierre, dressed in his cream and blue school uniform, was walking along St Joseph Road with two friends on his way to get transport to go to school. He saw a boy from another school, walked up to him and slapped him. Pierre hit the boy because the boy had slapped his friend two weeks prior. Matthews then pulled out a knife and stabbed Pierre in the chest. As he slumped to the ground bleeding, his friends raised an alarm and Pierre was taken by passers-by to the Arima District Health Facility but he had died by the time they arrived. State attorneys Nigel Pilgrim and Giselle Heller-Ferguson prosecuted Matthews who was represented by defence attorneys Selwyn Mohammed and Kinda Jacob. Pay back $147,000 The NIB said they discovered he was a PriceSmart employee for those six years, making him ineligible for the benefit. The man confirmed that he did work at PriceSmart, but only for two months. And that was six years ago. Last September, Merrill Auguste, 42, of Guapo Main Road, Fyzabad noticed the invalidity benefit he was receiving since 2010 was not give to him that month. He queried the non-payment at NIBs Siparia branch many times but did not receive an explanation until he was asked to visit the branch in November. Looking at the screen, the clerk said she did not know I was still working PriceSmart, said a still bemused Auguste. Auguste said the clerk explained she was seeing NIS payments from Pricesmart between 2010 and 2016. This meant he was working and, therefore, ineligible for the benefit. Overwhelmed by the news, Auguste left the office and returned to collect the official letter. The letter, dated November 15, 2016 and undersigned by the manager of the Siparia Service Centre of the NIB (without an accompanying print of the name), read, After reviewing your claim for the invalidity benefit, it was discovered that you were overpaid the benefit in the sum of one hundred and forty-seven thousand, eight hundred and thirty-six dollars and seventy-five cents for the period 12/04/2016 to 11/09/2016. The letter asked Auguste to visit the Siparia Service Centre to discuss a repayment method. Auguste said he tried many times to explain that there must have been an error in the system. He did work at PriceSmart, but only for two months. He even provided the NIB with a payroll summary from Pricesmart as proof, but again to no avail. Auguste provided Newsday with a copy of the payroll summary which showed him being paid on a weekly basis between April 18, 2010 and June 6, 2010, NIS contributions and all. Auguste lost his left leg in a car accident on July 6, 2007 while on his way to work as a helicopter operator at Transocean Ltd. Because the accident occurred on his way to work, his company agreed to pay him the land rate of his salary for the 16 months remaining on his three-year contract. When these payments stopped in 2010, Auguste applied for, and successfully qualified to receive an invalidity benefit from the NIB. Though he qualified, Auguste did not start receiving the payment until several months after. Unable to wait for the benefit to support his 16 and 10-year-old sons and his 15-year-old daughter, Auguste applied to work at PriceSmart and did so as a loss prevention officer for two months before leaving as he had not adjusted to his prosthetic leg. When the paperwork at the NIB finally went through, he was first paid an $18,000 lump sum for the months between his qualifying for the benefit and when it started being paid. From then, Auguste said he worked magic to provide for his children with the $1,500 monthly benefit. Only 32, at the time of the accident, Augustes life was changed forever. And the $147,836.75 claim hanging over his head has been a further blow. Auguste said his wife of seven years left him mere days after he lost his leg, and he has had to raise his three children as a single father. He did so proudly, often relying on them for much needed emotional support. I refer to them as my angels, said Auguste, because if wasnt for my children standing at my side after my accident, I dont know what I would have done. When he stopped receiving the benefit last September, he was forced to give his children back to his former wife. Auguste wants justice and not pity, although he said the last ten years of his life have been like a nightmare that is never ending. He has turned to writing poetry to cope. Maha Sabha writes AG In a pre-action protocol letter, dated June 13, attorney Asaf Hosein asked for certain information from the Office of the Attorney General (AG) relative to the passage of the legislation. On Friday, 35 Government and Opposition MPs voted in favour of the legislation which first went to Parliament last December and has been the focus of extensive debate. Hosein has asked for copies of any or all policy statements of Cabinet and the Ministry of the AG and Ministry of Gender and Youth Affairs; copies of all documents or opinions which were provided to the Office of the AG, during the public consultation with stakeholders. These include: copies of legal advice received in relation to the constitutionality and lawfulness of the bill; copies of all opinions which the AG relied on to remove the threefifths majority clause from the bill; copies of the most detailed breakdown of any statistics concerning marriages of any person under the age of 18 years during the past 25 years. copies of the full texts of each speech made before any group, including radio and television interviews, concerning marriage of any person under the age of 18. copies of any study prepared or issued by any source, inclusive of the Childrens Authority, any executive, judicial, legislative or other governmental agency or any private foundation or other private individual or organisation. copies of any statement written or delivered by any member of the public favouring, opposing or in any way commenting on the bill. My client has been very vocal on your Governments position take in relation to the subject bill and this is well known to you, Hosein wrote. My client has criticised the purported consultation process and the lack of candour in the debate in the Parliament. You have also been vociferous in your disagreement with my client. However, you must appreciate that this issue is bigger than personalities and paramount importance must be placed on the nations youth. Hosein has not given the AG a date by which to provide the information but asked for an early response to his request. Secretary General of the Maha Sabha Sat Maharaj has publicly challenged the amendment to the Marriage Bill, saying the new law was a travesty which destroys family life. He claimed politicians were inviting themselves into citizens bedrooms by deciding at what age to get married and have sex. Empty buildings cost Govt $65.3M During the Public Accounts Committee meeting at Parliament Ali said a total of $65.3 million was paid for the rental of four unoccupied properties by ministries and departments over a period of time. He said one of the ministries paid $53.5 million from December 2012 to July 2016. He said those payments have since ceased. Public funds were not and are still not utilised in the most efficient way, he said. Ali said it takes too long for these ministries to get into the agreement to occupy these properties. The process of getting it equipped and getting Cabinet approval is a long period of time, he said, That is why they have payments being made to this amount for these properties. He said in the case where $53.5 million was spent, the ministry was paying for a shell as the building needed to be outfitted to their specification. The process was taking a bit long. They had to obtain the necessary partitions and all the furniture and fixtures and each time they had to go back to Parliament to get approvals while the rent is being paid for that shell, Ali said. Deputy Auditor General Lorelly Pujadas explained the process that ministries go through when acquiring a rental property. It involves the Property Real Estate Division who works with the Valuation Division. She said the entire process can be lengthy and time consuming and that could account for some of the delays and issues they have seen arising. Committee chairman Dr Bhoe Tewarie asked if a simpler adjustment could be made so the contract is organised for rent to be paid from the time the building is outfitted according to specifications. Pujadas said in response to Tewarie, I agree with you that the process needs to be evaluated and reviewed. There needs to be a look at it holistically, map out the entire process, identify the key weakness points. It needs to be a coordinated effort between all the parties concerned to develop a system that would be more in keeping with up-to-date trends and account for things happening in a more efficient manner. Sando mayor: Feed homeless at shelters Regrello observed yesterday that none of 12 homeless people he met to discuss the status of a shelter were from the southern city but from such areas as Princes Town, Chaguanas, Point Fortin and Tunapuna. They had moved to San Fernando because they were being fed, he said. San Fernando is a resourceful place and then you have many successful businesspersons and citizens who usually feed them on the street. And I keep saying to the public, stop the feeding because you are encouraging homeless persons to come here, he said. The mayor said even families gathered for free food. There are families who have homes elsewhere and leave their homes and assemble on the (Harris) Promenade on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday for free food. People pull up in their high-end vehicle or SUV and open their trunk and distribute food as a means of charity, which is not a bad gesture but if you have food to distribute, give it to the centre, give it to the Court Shamrock and the homeless shelter and let them distribute, he advised. It would then allow the people to go there for the food and then they can sit in a decent environment, around a table and have a meal as opposed to sitting on the street, Regrello said, adding, cars passing there, there are fumes in the air, there is carbon dioxide in the air and you eating at the side of the street is not healthy. Regarding his meeting with the homeless, Regrello said they raised concerns about the shelter under construction at the old Revival Time Assembly building at Kings Wharf given the start of the rainy season. He said the facility was not designed as an overnight shelter but as one where the homeless would receive three meals and have use of the toilets and bathrooms. Regrello also promised to raise the groups concerns about security at Court Shamrock Centre for the Socially Displaced on Rushworth Street, saying the corporation was also willing to assist the centre. Camp Cumuto probe continues Senior Superintendent Lloyd McAlpin, head of the Organised Crime Narcotics and Firearms Bureau, is in charge of the investigation. Sources confirmed the interviews, however the lead investigator is out of the country and could not be reached for comment. On March 27, 2016, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawis teenaged son and daughter accompanied him and Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young to Camp Cumuto for training at the shooting range. Photographs were taken of the teenagers holding high-powered weapons which were outfitted with live ammunition. The photographs were then made public in Parliament by Oropouche East MP Roodal Moonilal last October. The Defence Force carried out its own enquiry while the police undertook a separate investigation. Recently, the Defence Force ended its probe and cleared the Attorney General of any wrong-doing. Former Chief of Defence Staff Kenrick Maharaj was named in the report as the person who invited the Attorney General and his children to Camp Cumuto. Maharaj has denied the claim and has applied for a copy of the Report of Proceedings of the Board of Inquiry. The information was expected to be made available in 20 days for the date of his application, last Monday. Maharaj has said he will take legal action AG: Uber not legal in TT I am certain that they are not legal because our laws prohibit that, that has been spoken to about by our Minister of Transport, he told Newsday yesterday. Al-Rawi said the question of insurance coverage for passengers remains an issue on Uber transportation, which offers ride sharing as it does for private for hire (PH) taxis. One provision that takes care of one of the main obstacles, which stood in the way of PH regulation, and that is the provision of insurance. That allows a new conversation to happen in the sector which involves public transportation which would be ride sharing, PH drivers, taxis or maxis because it is a fairly large industry in our jurisdiction, Al-Rawi said. Uber Technologies Inc, an American worldwide online transportation network company head-quartered in San Francisco, California, operates the Uber app, which allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request, which the software programme then automatically sends to the Uber driver nearest to the consumer, alerting the driver to the location of the customer. However, local drivers, taxis, maxi taxis and PH operators protested against the move saying this would take away from their business. The question was again raised about the legality of their operations, and whether they were still actually functioning. The AG said he could not say whether Uber was operating or not. But, what I can tell you is that the AGs Office is certainly looking at the concept of their decision to treat with on their ride sharing arrangements, he said. Al-Rawi said it was a process that would require consultation since there was obviously an unregulated practice of PH drivers in the country which could probably prompt a call out for equal treatment and a conversation with established taxis and maxi taxis. There is a very necessary articulation on a matter such as this. There may be the cry that persons who bothered to go and be licensed for hire cars (taxis) are subjected to higher financial burdens than persons who may be ride sharing or informal sharing such as PH drivers, he said. However, a message from a spokesperson from Uber, yesterday, stated, Uber is a legally established entity in Trinidad and Tobago. We have been and will continue to work with the Government to progress a framework. Several attempts to reach acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan went unanswered yesterday. AG: Backlog of 100,000 traffic cases The average person in Trinidad and Tobago now says, Well what have I got to show for efficiency for that kind of expenditure? he said. Al-Rawi spoke in the House of Representatives as he presented the Bill to amend the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act to decriminalise a number of road traffic offences to violations, implement a red light camera system, implement a demerit points system, and reform the fixed penalty system and related matters. Noting that TT has been wrestling with a crime situation for some years, he said, over the past seven years, some main ministries spent $26 billion alone. From 2010 to 2015 the sum spent across five ministries was also $26 billion. When you add the cost of the TTPS spent for seven years, you are looking at close to $15 billion, he said. Speaking of the bill which was recently passed in the Senate, Al-Rawi said,it proposes to decriminalise an annual 100,000 traffic cases in the magistracy and convert them to violations. Converting the categories of over 40 offences to traffic violations, he said, does not include serious offences such as causing death by dangerous driving, dangerous driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol among others. He noted that while TT was using breathalysers, the United Kingdom has moved on to the use of drugalysers. In addition, the bill will create three new clauses to provide for the use of technology to monitor traffic and to pay fines. An improved system to manage the traffic violations, he said, would be done by applying the use of technology, electronic payments, removing the restriction of boundaries for charges among other measures. The magistracy, he said, is comprised of a very limited pool of resources. We have 48 sitting magistrates, 38 of whom sits in the criminal courts, nine judges sitting in the criminal High Court and a total of 30 judges at the level of the High Court level, and 11 justices of appeal, he said. There are 14 main magisterial courts. In general, he said, On average there is anywhere between 126,000 cases a year up to a higher amount of 140,000 a year passing through the magistracy. Statistics show that preliminary inquiries and indictable offences, he said, particularly on the criminal side, only six per cent of the people who are charged on a yearly basis are in fact given a verdict by the court. The other 94 per cent, he said, are subject of charges that go into the backlog. Excluding San Fernando and Tobago, he said, there are currently 67,925 traffic matters, but the statistics for San Fernando and Tobago will take it up to 100,000 matters. The reason why these matters are in arrears, he said, is because the current system of law converts offences into crimes. The administering of traffic offences including the use of attorneys, issuing warrants and hearing of cases, Al-Rawi said, take up hundreds of thousands of man hours that could be better used elsewhere. He was told by the Judiciary, that of the 68,000 cases, excluding San Fernando and Tobago, some have been outstanding for more than 11 years. Fines for traffic offences collected between 2010 to 2015 were $250 million. Mark: Well boycott JSC on Vision 2030 Arguing against a governmental motion to set up a JSC on Vision 2030, Mark vowed the Opposition would be no part of any such committee if ever formed . Take this motion back to Balisier House! he stormed at House Leader Franklin Khan who is also Peoples National Movement (PNM) chairman . You want us to help you remain in power, when our objective is to get you out of power . The Leader of Government Business is smiling because he understands the trick involved, but we will not buy that bag of tricks from him. Recalling Khans earlier lament of once having to drive his van to save a pile of documents of the predecessor Vision 2020 from being dumped from a ministry, Mark teased of Vision 2030, I think you will have to get a new truck. Dont ask us for any nominees. Well not be taking part in that (JSC). Mark, a former Speaker, said Parliament is not responsible for drafting policy to give direction to the Government . That is the business of Cabinet, not Parliament. He accused Government of unnecessarily trying to impose another JSC on the backs of parliamentarians, whom together with Parliament staff, are already overworked . Is the Government trying to undermine the Parliament by creating new JSCs duplicating the work and causing chaos? Accusing Government of haphazardly setting up ad hoc committees on a whim and without consultation and without staff, Mark said this is undermining the life and work of Parliament. We are going to give the people of TT an alternative vision, so how can we be part of this (JSC)? Asking if Khan wanted to rope in the Opposition as part of a one-party communist State, Mark said, How can the minister ask us to be a part of a JSC to draw up a literal manifesto for the PNM for the next general election? Earlier, Khan made the case for a Vision 2030 JSC by saying governance needs continuity of policy across regimes especially in energy, national security and foreign affairs. He listed several countries which have Vision 2020 or Vision 2030 policies including India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Rwanda, Kenya and Namibia . He urged Parliament to review the document, suggest changes and help formulate public policy . Scoffing at former Peoples Partnership (PP) proposals such as the blue economy and silver economy, Khan in a reference to Opposition party-colours hit, The only plan they gave us was the yellow economy waste, mismanagement and corruption. The motion was eventually passed by the Senate with all but two Independent Senators backing the Government and the Opposition voting against . The vote was 21 for the motion to set up the JSC, six against and two abstentions coming from Independent Senators Melissa Ramkissoon and Stephen Crease . Share Development in the 5G and next generation communications space has been proceeding steadily for the last several months now, and we're seeing new signs of life starting up worldwide. One of the most recent bursts on this growing frontier is New Zealand, where Spark and Nokia (News - Alert) have gotten together in a new arrangement that turns Spark into a flare as next generation communications companies go. The new partnership calls for Spark to upgrade its network drawing on Nokia's toolset and systems to carry out the upgrade. It's a three-year strategic partnership, and will include the use of such systems as Nokia's 7250 Interconnect Router R6 (IXR-R6) to augment both the core and backhaul systems at Spark. The IXR-R6 itself, meanwhile, boasts several exciting facets to its operation; it offers a complete slate of interconnectivity options, allowing legacy systems to work with the device every bit as well as the latest in latency-sensitive Ethernet capability. It will also work with more intermittent or bursty traffic, which makes it well-suited to Internet of Things (IoT) systems. With this new arrangement, Spark has effectively committed to putting New Zealand near the tip of the spear on 5G upgrades. Since Spark has previously worked with Nokia in the construction of an IP / MPLS network, there are few issues expected to crop up as a result of the operation. Spark's general manager of partnering, procurement and vendor management Rajesh Singh commented, This strategic partnership is a key step for us to realize our vision of a data-driven future for New Zealand. Nokia is helping us to achieve worldwide leadership in preparing for 5G. It will allow us to offer our customers the most advanced mobile and fixed broadband services anywhere, efficiently and securely. The development of 5G systems is increasingly vital, particularly as this system is expected to do quite a bit for the future of next generation communications. Expected to be a vital boost for the IoT market, as well as solving the rural connectivity gap problem that's plagued nations since dial-up stopped really being a thing, there's a lot riding on 5G, and that's before the urbanites discover how much faster video streams on their phones with it. Nokia and Spark's latest partnership effort should go a long way toward giving New Zealand the new high-speed connectivity it needs to carry on in the changing world. It's already done quite well at staying near the forefront of new technology, and this latest move should only help. Edited by Alicia Young Share Romania has been getting a lot of attention lately. Last week President Trump hosted a visit with the president of Romania at the White House. And this week Ericsson (News - Alert) and Telekom Romania were talking about their work on 5G cellular technology in Bucharest. Ericsson and Telekom Romania have demonstrated five use cases of 5G. The effort showed the kinds of speeds 5G can deliver. And it illustrated that 5G networks can support such applications and implementations as cloud robotics and smart city. In the Romanian 5G testbed, Ericsson and Telekom Romania were able to achieve aggregate speeds of up to 24 gigabits per second over 5G connections. That's more than 60 times what 4G can deliver, as reported by a story on Business Review. Todays demonstration, the first of its kind in South Eastern Europe, provides a glimpse into the future and how 5G will enable people, industries and things to connect on an unprecedented scale, bringing with it a whole new world of devices and services, commented Arun Bansal, senior vice president and head of Ericsson in Europe and Latin America, as reported by Business Review. It is also a key milestone in the extensive collaboration between Telekom Romania and Ericsson to ensure Romanian people and industries can soon enjoy the benefits of 5G. 5G is a new breed of cellular networking technology. It will allow for gigabit-level speeds, is expected to scale to support the quickly growing Internet of Things, and promises ultra-reliable low latency communications to support applications like connected car and robotic surgery. Ericsson recently came out with the results of its 5G Readiness Survey, which sought input on 5G from 50 executives at 29 global operators that have announced their intentions for 5G. While the traditional focus has been on the consumer, the vast majority of those interviewed agreed that to monetize 5G, operators will also need to provide industry-specific services and find new revenue-sharing models, according to the report. High-potential revenue growth areas are third-party collaboration and the Internet of Things. Edited by Alicia Young We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron started a friendship and working visit to Morocco on June 14 in response to an invitation from King Mohammed VI. Macron landed in Rabat airport accompanied by his spouse Brigitte. He afterwards held a press conference following talks with King Mohammed VI on a range of issues of mutual concern, notably bilateral cooperation, the situation in the Rif region, joint efforts in Africa and the latest developments in the Gulf. Morocco is a friendly country and a strategic partner, Macron told reporters, saying that his visit has a special character as it shows Frances willingness to bring support to the ambitious reforms led by the King, especially in terms of the modernization of institutions and economic development. He also expressed Frances interest in reinforcing cooperation with Morocco to address territorial disparities and the promotion of the Advanced Regionalization Plan. Macron added that France and Morocco are working together to promote entrepreneurship as well as cultural and educational cooperation with a view to promote the role of the civil society. The French President commended Moroccos increasing role and active diplomacy in Africa, noting that Morocco and France are both concerned with maintaining stability in the Sahel and addressing development challenges on the continent. President Macron who underlined that France is a stabilizing actor in the Sahel said that his country aims at boosting growth in Africa through concrete actions. On the Qatar-Gulf rift, Macron said that France and Morocco are both interested in defusing tension and avoiding escalation. In this regards, he said that he will be receiving the Emir of Qatar next week in Paris to clarify positions. Concerning the latest development in the Rif, Macron said that the King is closely following the development in the region and considers protests legitimate. King Mohammed VI is looking forward to meeting the demands of protesters to appease tension, he said. Macrons visit to Morocco is his first trip to the Maghreb region after taking office. The visit mirrors the excellent political, economic, and cultural ties binding the two countries and evidences the continuity marking French-Moroccan partnership. Macrons visit to Morocco, his first to the region, one month after his election to Frances presidency reflects the depth of bilateral relations based on a strong partnership, and the common will to consolidate the multidimensional links between the two countries, said the Ministry of the Royal House, Protocol and Chancellery in a statement announcing the visit. In his congratulations message to Emmanuel Macron on his election, Mohammed VI highlighted the longstanding ties of friendship existing between his country and France as a strategic choice and voiced confidence that under Macrons presidency French-Moroccan partnership will gain in depth and intensity. The visit also materializes some of the electoral promises made by Macron who ambitions to further foster his countrys relations with the Maghreb and with Africa. During his campaign, Macron had said that Morocco was on top of the countries that he would visit as soon as he wins elections and his diplomatic adviser Aurelien Lechevallier had pointed out that Macron considers Morocco a key player in his Mediterranean and Africa strategy. In view of Moroccos activism, its growing economic, political and security presence in the Sahel and more generally in Francophone Africa, particularly since it returned to the African Union, and in view of Frances resolve to boost its economic and security cooperation with Africa, Macrons visit is taking place at the right time to bolster the two countries excellent and strategic partnership and to boost a triangular cooperation with the African continent. Lebanese former minister of Culture and current Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs is seemingly the future head of the UNSMIL as current German veteran diplomat Martin Kobler is stepping down at the end of this month, Libya Herald reports citing diplomatic sources. The 66-year old Lebanese man according to Libyan diplomatic sources apparently enjoys consensus from all Libyan feuding sides. Even though other names may be vying the position, Salame heads the list of potential successors to Martin Kobler. Twenty eight other people have been consulted for the tough job but no one wanted to take it, another diplomat told Libya Herald. They see it as an impossible task, the diplomat is quoted as saying. UN-backed Prime Minister Faiez Serraj reportedly also put his thumb up for the choice of the Lebanese scholar, Libya Herald reports. Salame was Lebanese minister of culture from 2000 to 2003. He was Senior Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General (20032006) and Political Advisor to the UN Mission in Iraq (2003). He is currently board member of several international organizations including the International Crisis Group, the International Peace Institute, the Open Society Foundations and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. His appointment may come as early as this week, Libyan media notes. Martin Kobler is set to step down end of this month. The German diplomat announced the end of his tenure during an apparent last trip to Tripoli on Tuesday. The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda has reacted to the release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in Libya by stressing that the arrest warrant issued in 2011 by the ICC remains valid and Libya is obliged to immediately arrest and surrender him regardless of any purported amnesty law in Libya. Saif has reportedly been released in Zintan, where he was held since November 2011. His lawyer Khaled al-Zaidi confirmed his release but declined to reveal his whereabouts. Fatou Bensouda is counting on the support of other countries to provide her office with any relevant information that would help to bring Saif to The Hague. She also underlined the need to apprehend former Security Chief Al Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled. Saif is also wanted by Tripoli where he was sentenced to death in absentia in 2015 for his role in killing protesters during the 2011 uprising. Zintan refused to hand him over to any other authority when he was in their custody and his lawyer Khaled also rejected calls to hand him over the ICC after his release. Saif was freed by the Abubaker Sadiq Brigade after an amnesty law passed by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives. The Prosecutor Generals office in Tripoli has warned that the amnesty cannot be upheld because of the veracity of the charges and crimes against Gaddafis son. There are reports that the Abubaker Sadiq Brigade is being disbanded by the Western Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Colonel Idiris Madi. Its members will be incorporated into units of the LNA. It is still unclear if the decision is linked to the release of Gadhafis son. Meanwhile, State Council member Amna Emtair has claimed that Saifs release was ordered by the LNA to divert attention from what she claimed was the arrival of Egyptian forces in the country. A South African court ruled on June 15 to maintain the seizure of Cherry Blossom, a ship carrying 55,000 tons of Moroccan Sahara phosphates bound for New Zealand, in a hostile action reflecting the use of the justice system in South Africa by the separatists to settle political matters with Morocco. The court decided that the ship should remain held in Port Elizabeth pending a full trial on the matter after the Polisario challenged the legality of the transaction in a bid to use the justice system of its South African ally to undermine Moroccos economic interests. Moroccos state-owned Phosphates Company expressed in a statement its outrage at the unlawful actions taken by South African maritime authorities, condemning the seizure of the cargo as a political matter disguised as a legal claim. The OCP added that the South African court decision is in breach of well-established principles under international law. The OCP deplores the fact that a local court is being used by the applicants as a forum for settling a political matter, which falls squarely under the purview of the UN Security Council, the statement said. It added that the OCP categorically contests the decision of the South African court, which has no jurisdiction to rule on the applicability of Moroccan laws relating to the exploitation of natural resources in the region. Last Month, a court in Panama dismissed a similar attempt by the Polisario to block a cargo of Moroccan phosphates heading to Canada. The Panama court made it clear that a local court was not the appropriate venue to resolve international disputes and that the phosphates cargo did not belong to the Polisario. The Polisario, a separatist entity based in the authoritarian Algerian state, is not eligible to plea or claim to represent the population in the Sahara who have their own legitimate elected bodies. This has been stressed by a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that stressed that the Polisario is unqualified to challenge the Moroccan-EU agricultural agreement and that the agreements do not concern the Polisario Front. Holding Moroccan phosphates cargos in international ports in response to complaints filed by a separatist entity that is not recognized by the UN is in itself a violation of international law. The Polisario is not recognized by the International community as a representative of the commercial interests of the population of the Sahara, although it is considered as a party in the political process to find a solution to the Sahara conflict. The Polisarios vain attempt to use the justice system of its allies to hinder the flow of Saharan phosphates to international destinations is a vicious attempt to undermine Moroccos economic interests. Phosphates production and related industries, an area of excellence for Morocco, has been key in the Kingdoms African foreign policy. The state-owned phosphate company has been investing in African states and signed two landmark agreements with Nigeria and Ethiopia, Africas most populous countries, to build fertilizer production plants. Phosphate revenues have also contributed to the development of the southern provinces where Morocco spends seven times more than the revenues reaped from the region. French press showed vivid interest in the friendship and working trip by President Emmanuel Macron to Morocco on June 14-15 upon an invitation from King Mohammed VI, saying the warm visit reflects the strength of bilateral relations. Strengthening a special partnership bond, showing convergence of ideas on multiple international issues and ushering a new era of bilateral cooperation were all conclusions drawn by the French Press from the visit to Rabat by Macron and his spouse Brigitte. I would like to thank the King for his warm welcome. I am so touched by his mark of friendship and the personal character of the relation that has been established between us, Macron was quoted by the AFP as saying. I reaffirmed Frances wish to support the reforms led by the King in the fields of modernizing institutions, social and territorial development, the fight against territorial disparities and Moroccos integration in globalization, he said. French Le Monde daily for its part shed light on the press conference given by Macron following talks with King Mohammed VI. The paper highlighted that the protests in northern Morocco were discussed by the two leaders and that the King considers as legitimate the protests that are guaranteed by the constitution. Le Parisien, for its part, was more interested in the personal character of the visit. The paper gave details of the Iftar ceremony hosted by King Mohammed VI in honor of his French guests. In the same vein, Le Figaro discussed the significance of the trip to Morocco, the first country in the Maghreb Macron visits after taking office. In doing so, Macron breaks with a tradition installed by previous French Presidents who used to dedicate the first trip in the southern Mediterranean to Algeria, the paper noted. Le Figaro added that the visit puts French-Moroccan relations on the right track of further cooperation. The paper highlighted the importance of cooperation with Morocco in the security arena noting that Morocco plays a key role in counterterrorism. The same paper wrote that Macron represents a new generation of French leaders and that he appreciates Moroccos contributions to counterterrorism efforts. Morocco is well-informed on Jihadists in the Sahel and extremist groups that operate in the Maghreb and Europe, said Le Figaro. During the press briefing in Rabat, Macron said the talks with King Mohammed VI mirrored a convergence of views concerning the Gulf crisis. He voiced hope to see the crisis resolved and said that he will receive the Emir of Qatar next week in Paris. On Africa, Macron lauded Moroccos efforts in favour of development in the continent and congratulated Morocco for returning to the African Union. He commended Moroccos increasing role and active diplomacy in Africa, noting that Morocco and France are both concerned with maintaining stability in the Sahel and addressing development challenges on the continent. Since resolving the diplomatic crisis that had shaken diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2014, Morocco and France have strengthened their cooperation notably in fields relating to security, economy, education, culture and climate change. On the sidelines of the visit, Princess Lalla Salma and Brigitte Macron visited the Picasso exhibition at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Arts in Rabat. The exhibition displays more than a hundred works (paintings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs, drawings and prints) from the collections of the National Picasso Museum -Paris. Alberto Pezzali/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images(LONDON) -- Rescue workers continued to search for survivors on Thursday a day after a deadly fire swept through a London high-rise, but officials admitted it would be a "miracle" if more people were found alive as the death toll rose to 17. "Tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive," London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton told Sky News early Thursday. "The severity and the heat of the fire will mean that it will be an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive." As the search operations continued, authorities braced for the death toll to increase. In addition to the deceased, nearly 80 others were injured at the inferno at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, which erupted early Wednesday morning. Of the injured, 18 people were listed in critical condition. Cotton confirmed that there was still "unknown numbers" of people in the still-smoldering wreckage as of early Thursday morning. "Due to the severity of the fire and the way things are, it will take a long time for us to be able to do that search to properly identify anyone who is left in the building, but we will do that as soon as we can in conjunction with the police," Cotton said. "There are, as we believe, still unknown numbers of people in the building." Cotton commended rescue workers for doing "absolutely sterling work" and said her team hoped to conduct a fingertip search of the building once its edges were deemed secure. The fire reportedly started at around 1 a.m. local time Wednesday on the fourth floor of the 24-story residential building. The cause of the fire is still unknown, but U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, who visited the site on Thursday morning, promised a "proper investigation" into the incident. Some tenants had previously complained about the upkeep of the tower, specifically warning about the fire risk. In November, a residents' group, Grenfell Action Group, said that only a "catastrophic event" would expose the concerns it had about the building's landlord, according to a blog post from the group. It was not clear exactly how many residents were in the building, but the tower, built in 1974, contained 120 apartments, according to its management company, Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation. Family and friends of residents have posted missing persons bulletins all throughout the North London area, while others have shared images of loved ones who are unaccounted for. London Ambulance Service said that as of Thursday morning, 68 people had been taken to local hospitals and another 10 people had self-reported and been accounted for. Other survivors have been asked to self-report at Portobello Rugby Club in London and "make themselves known." Fire officials said it took nearly two hours to gain control of the massive fire. The London Fire Brigade dispatched at least 40 fire engines, 20 ambulance crews and more than 200 firefighters in an effort to battle the conflagration. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. So far, the GOP candidate in a red-hot Georgia special election isnt tying her opponents to the Alexandria shooter. Thats so far. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call,Inc. Unsurprisingly, the passions and vast investment of resources involved in next weeks special election for the sixth district of Georgias U.S. House seat have made the contest ripe for collateral damage from the atrocity apparently perpetrated by James Hodgkinson against Republican members of Congress and staffers yesterday. Personally, Ive been wondering if the national Republican groups that have been spending millions of dollars on ads depicting Democrat Jon Ossoff as a blood brother to extremist liberals like Kathy Griffin and random anarchists smashing windows might go over the brink to add Hodgkinson to the list of demons associated with the mild-mannered centrist. But in the meantime, just as news has circulated that among his vast social-media targets Hodgkinson referred to Ossoffs opponent Karen Handel as a Republican bitch, mysterious, abusive letters have popped up in the mailboxes of the Handel family and their immediate neighbors in the quiet suburb of Roswell. They contained a suspicious white powder, though one person exposed to it has suffered no ills. Notwithstanding the legitimate fears of the recipients of these evil little hate bombs, whoever prepared and planted them would seem to be either an agent provocateur or just a really stupid teenager: Here is content of letter neighbors say went out in Handel's neighborhood. "Several" went out, says a woman in hoodhttps://t.co/frQGdICBip pic.twitter.com/B0BWku7eEU Brent Scher (@BrentScher) June 15, 2017 So far, Handel has been admirably restrained in dealing with both the Hodgkinson slurs and the mailbox threats. But I cant help but believe she is surrounded by people looking at the polls showing her in danger of losing this Republican House seat and telling her to double down on her allies smears of her opponent as one of them. Photo: DAVE CLARK/AFP/Getty Images Among the last things Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan did during his May visit to the United States was calmly watch as around two dozen men many of them members of his security detail beat the hell out of a group of people demonstrating against him on D.C.s Embassy Row. Videos of the incident show Erdogans uniformed bodyguards pushing past a line of police officers in order to brutally punch and kick the peaceful protesters, at least nine of whom had to be hospitalized. Despite the severity of the assault, cops made few arrests on the scene, likely because of concerns about harming relations with Turkey. (According to the Washington Post, The U.S. State Department ordered a federal police agency to release two presidential guards taken into custody, saying they had diplomatic immunity.) Now, a month later, American law enforcement is ready to charge the attackers, though most of them probably wont face justice anytime soon. The New York Times reports that two suspects have been arrested: Sinan Narin of Virginia and Eyup Yildiri of New Jersey. Both of the men, who appear to be civilian Erdogan supporters, have been accused of felony assault. (Two unnamed Canadians have also been charged over their alleged participation in the violence.) Officials will also announce a variety of misdemeanor and felony charges against 12 of Erdogans guards all of whom returned to Turkey hours after the brawl. Turkey, which has claimed that the demonstrators provoked the fight, almost certainly wont extradite the men, but they could be arrested should they return to the United States. Farron visibly struggled during the recent U.K. election campaign over conflicts between his political views and his conservative evangelical faith. Other Christians, including the prime minister, did not seem to have that problem. Photo: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images One of the central arguments of the Christian right (and their secular conservative allies) is that political liberalism is incompatible with Christian belief. An associated argument is that political liberals despise and will not tolerate Christian believers. Making these arguments in the American political context is not that easy. The national Democratic ticket of 2016, after all, included two religiously observant candidates, one Protestant, one Catholic. But the Christian right just received a big gift from across the sea, when Liberal Democratic Party leader Tim Farron resigned his position while complaining that he had found myself torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader. Farron is an evangelical Protestant, apparently of the sort that views the Bible as providing clear and unchanging norms for behavior, especially sexual behavior. In the very recent past, including the election campaign, he constantly professed to see no conflict between his religion and his political positions, though he visibly struggled with the question of whether homosexuality is a sin. It seems now that he never quite meant it. To be a political leader especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bibles teaching, has felt impossible for me. And he appears to believe he was treated intolerantly, if not persecuted, for his beliefs. I seem to be the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in. In which case we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society. This was music to the ears of conservative Catholic commentator Michael Brendan Dougherty, writing for National Review, because it confirmed his view that Christianity and progressive politics have now become impossible to reconcile. Poor Farron, he suggests, now knows that: The entire elite culture and much of the popular culture is secular in a quite specific way. It is not a secularism that encourages public neutrality while maintaining a generous social pluralism. Its a secularism that demands the humiliation of religion, specifically Christianity. Dougherty gives the argument a particularly nasty twist: If Tim Farron wanted his religion to be unreservedly praised in the British media, we all know what he had to do: Convert to Islam and blow up a few teenage girls. 2017 is the year we learned every Farron interview inspires people to kick Christianity and every terrorist attack starts a wave of public proclamations about the beauty of true Islam. Now Dougherty may have a point in suggesting that Farrons views on homosexuality would not have been of as much interest to the media had he been something other than a conservative evangelical. Prime Minister Theresa May, after all, is the daughter of a Church of England vicar who seems to be religiously observant. She and her Conservative Party are firmly in favor of marriage equality and legalized abortion. But the C of E (despite its recent divisions over same-sex marriage, much of it attributable to the fear of offending conservative Asians and Africans who numerically dominate the worldwide Anglican Communion it leads) doesnt place rules about sex at the center of its take on the world, and doesnt tend to view the Bible as some sort of prescriptive handbook of dos and donts. The point is: Identifying Tim Farron with Christianity as a whole, or even with evangelical Protestants as a whole, is simply wrong. Making Tim Farron the epitome of persecuted Christians in Britain and America alike without examining who that excludes is an act of bad faith. In any event, the idea that Tim Farron was driven from the leadership of his party for his religious beliefs runs up against the rather massive alternative explanation that he wasnt a very effective leader, as evidenced by the disastrous LibDem showing in the recent elections. Yes, the LibDems picked up a few parliamentary seats, but its share of the popular vote (7.3 percent) was its worst ever. The LibDems seemed, moreover, to miss a historic opportunity to recover from their calamitous performance in the 2015 elections. The LD was the only squarely anti-Brexit party in a country evenly divided over that lurch into peril, and it should have also benefited from serious public misgivings about the Tory and Labour leaders. A lot of this was not Farrons fault; the most common explanation for the LibDems problems was lingering anger at its facilitation of Tory austerity policies as part of David Camerons governing coalition. But as martyrdoms go, the case for Farrons is exceptionally weak. Besides, its not like Tim Farrons religious views were a secret when he was chosen to succeed former leader Nick Clegg an avowed atheist, as it happens, like many prominent figures in British politics less than two years ago. Did progressive secularists just forget to persecute him then? Michael Brendan Dougherty doesnt say. Coldhearted. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images Donald Trump once ran a university that sold fraudulent master classes in real-estate investing to his most devoted, cash-strapped fans. That school instructed its recruiters to target a single parent of three children that may need money for food and to encourage such working-poor people to finance their educations with massive credit-card debt. If a prospective student expressed anxiety about maxing out his or her credit cards, recruiters were instructed to reply, Do you enjoy seeing everyone else but yourself in their dream houses and driving their dreams cars with huge checking accounts? Those people saw an opportunity, and didnt make excuses, like what youre doing now. In 2009, the mogul started a multilevel marketing scheme that promised to let down-on-their-luck Americans opt-out of the recession. The man used his charitable foundation to rebrand other peoples donations, pay off legal settlements, and purchase a painting of himself. Throughout his business career, Trump made a regular practice of paying his contractors less than he had promised. Trump betrayed his wives in spectacular fashion and neglected his children. He adopted Roy Cohn as a mentor and father figure, and wrote this tribute to Joseph McCarthys chief counsel in the Art of the Deal. What I liked most about Roy Cohn was that he would do just the opposite. Roy was the kind of guy whod be there at your hospital bed long after everyone else had bailed out, literally standing by you to the death. When Cohn was diagnosed with AIDS, Trump did not stand by his hospital bed. In the words of Cohns longtime secretary, Donald found out about it and just dropped him like a hot potato. I cant believe hes doing this to me, Cohn reportedly said of Trumps behavior. Donald pisses ice water. None of this should be news to the congressional GOP. A little over a year ago, many of their partys leading lights were shouting that Trump was a fraud and a con artist at the top of their lungs. But, apparently, House Republicans thought that with them, Donald would be different. Last month, the president begged vulnerable GOP representatives to vote for his unpopular, draconian health-care bill. Fourteen Republicans from districts Clinton won backed the legislation. Trump threw them a party to celebrate its passage. And then, after Trump burned through the popularity boost that legislation provided, the president went and told Senate Republicans that the House bill was mean and coldhearted effectively endorsing the central claim of every Democratic congressional candidates 2018 campaign. House Republicans cant believe what Trump is doing to them: In the House Ways & Means Committee markup today, there was discussion among a couple of Dems and Republican members, with a Democrat saying: See, we told you your health care bill was mean. Now the president agrees with us.A number of members of Congress have told Axios that Trump and Pence lobbied the bill like nothing theyd ever seen, using superlatives such as calling it a great bill. Members who Trump urged to take a risk and pass the bill are now seeing him turn his back on them. One member said Trump was on the phone urging people to support it, and for him to turn around and do this, its stunning. I cant believe it. The president pisses ice water. Rush Limbaugh and many other conservative opinion-leaders do not share the unity spirit on Capitol Hill. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images The bipartisan agreement in Congress to put aside partisan rancor in discussing yesterdays horrific shooting in Alexandria was observed pretty broadly, with some exceptions. One was Chris Collins of New York: I can only hope that the Democrats do tone down the rhetoric, Collins told WBEN. The rhetoric has been outrageous the finger-pointing, just the tone and the angst and the anger directed at Donald Trump, his supporters. Collins said that it was inevitable someone was going to act based on the rhetoric toward President Trump and the GOP. You know, some people react to things like that. They get angry as well. And then you fuel the fires, said Collins, who is among the most vocal Trump backers on Capitol Hill. Illinois Representative Rodney Davis seemed to agree, saying: This could be the first political rhetorical terrorist attack. Beyond Capitol Hill, the spirit of at least momentary partisan detente was observed among most conventionally conservative voices. But practically from the moment the shots rang out, some of the louder voices on the right rushed to blame the left. Perhaps the earliest was from conservative media personality Harlan Hill: Events like today are EXACTLY why we took issue with NY elites glorifying the assassination of our President Harlan Z. Hill (@Harlan) June 14, 2017 This is an allusion to the recent brouhaha over a production of Julius Caesar in which the assassinated Roman leader is trucked up to look like Donald Trump. Donald Trump, Jr., retweeted Hills attack with the endorsement: This. Newt Gingrich trotted out another recent conservative grievance to blame the left for the shooting: the universally denounced video by comedian Kathy Griffin showing her holding up what appears to be the severed head of the president. (National Republican groups have already been using the Griffin video to smear Democratic congressional candidate Jon Ossoff in Georgia). Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter quickly drew attention on social media to the political background of the shooter as soon as it was revealed. Radio gabber Michael Savage resorted to all caps: I WARNED AMERICA THE DEMS CONSTANT DRUMBEAT OF HATRED WOULD LEAD TO VIOLENCE!... https://t.co/uxan4HvkpW Michael Savage (@ASavageNation) June 14, 2017 After what might be interpreted as a decent interval, articles have now begun appearing at the websites of such mainstream conservative publications as the Daily Caller, National Review, and City Journal all more or less attributing the shooting to anti-Trump political activity and rhetoric. The front page of Breitbart News this morning is a buffet of efforts to link the atrocity to the left, with a particular emphasis on celebrations of the shooting by random people on Twitter. Sorting through all these reactions, it is clear the more partisan right-wing voices are itching to string together a whole series of left-wing outrages the Griffin video, Julius Caesar, anarchist violence in Berkeley, intolerance of provocative conservative speakers on college campuses, the militant language of Democratic resistance to Trump, and investigations of the president that they deem an effort to overturn the 2016 election as naturally culminating in the shooting of Republican members of Congress. But two of the most prominent figures in the right-wing media world went a subtle step further than just linking the shooting to a climate of hate against Trump or Republicans, suggesting that James Hodgkinson was a normal person radicalized by lefty rhetoric, and an all but passive vehicle for a leftist conspiracy. Alex Joness site Infowars did not mince words: We have been warning for months that the mainstream medias hysterical anti-Trump narrative and the lefts insistence that Trump is illegitimate will radicalize demented social justice warriors and prompt them to lash out with violence It looks like thats exactly what happened today. The blood is on their hands. And Rush Limbaugh was even more lurid, describing the shooter as epitomizing the deranged base of the Democratic Party, deliberately pushed by that partys leaders toward violence: I could go back and show you tweets, I could read you tweets. I could read you statements made by elected Democrats and others promoting just this kind of behavior, just this kind of behavior. You can find it. If you look at the TV programs and the media personalities that this guy, Hodgkinson, was devoted to, youll find out how radicalized he was by left-wing TV and comedy. The use of the word radicalized is revealing, insofar as the term typically arises in discussions of the process whereby previously innocent Muslims are drawn into jihadi terrorist circles. As the post-shooting unity spirit inevitably wears off in Washington, this sort of talk may well spread into more respectable conservative and Republican venues especially if, as seems likely, the president becomes ever more embattled on the investigatory front. Indeed, despite the presidents admirable restraint immediately after the Alexandria shooting, it would not be too surprising to hear blame the left narratives from the White House. Trump is already treating James Comeys testimony, Robert Muellers obstruction-of-justice inquiry, and the whole subject of his campaigns complex interactions with Russia as a WITCH HUNT. It will be tempting for him to succumb to the same reasoning some of his most fervent supporters have already embraced by identifying all his tormentors with the violence against Republican congressmen yesterday. Let us profoundly hope he does not go there. In the meantime, it would be helpful if conservatives who are legitimately worried about extremism on the left would open a dialogue with left-of-center folk who dont really think they should be held responsible for random outrages that have little or nothing to do with real-life politics any more than your average GOP congressman should be held responsible for the ravings of Alex Jones. Pence. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images Following the lead of President Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence has hired a personal lawyer to guide him through the ongoing investigations into Russian meddling in the election and the Trump campaigns possible collusion with the Kremlin. The Washington Post says the lawyer is Richard Cullen, former attorney general of Virginia, onetime U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, and a veteran of George W. Bushs legal team during the 2000 Florida recount. I can confirm that the Vice President has retained Richard Cullen of McGuire Woods to assist him in responding to inquiries by the special counsel, said Jarrod Agen, a Pence spokesman, in an email statement. The Vice President is focused entirely on his duties and promoting the Presidents agenda and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter. Pences hiring of Cullen comes after Marc Kasowitz, the lawyer Trump has retained to help with the Russia probes being carried out by Congress and Robert Mueller, reportedly told White House aides that they dont need their own lawyers. But like Trump, Pence has apparently decided that he cannot continue to rely on government lawyers, who could be called upon to testify about their conversations with him. He doesnt recall. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Richard Burt, an American lobbyist who worked last year on behalf of Russian interests, attended two dinners with Jeff Sessions, now the attorney general, during the campaign, he told The Guardian Thursday. Burts claim directly contradicts an answer from Sessions during his Senate testimony Tuesday. Near the end of the hearing, Senator John McCain asked Sessions if hed had any contacts with any representative, including any American lobbyist or agent of any Russian company during the presidential campaign. Sessions, who said some version of I dont recall at least 25 times Tuesday, answered slightly more authoritatively. I dont believe so, he said. Jeff Sessions claimed under oath he hadn't met with any lobbyists for Russia. But he did: https://t.co/eh4J3Yx8nm pic.twitter.com/F6bY0rJ270 American Bridge (@American_Bridge) June 15, 2017 Could Sessions have been unaware of Burts ties to Russian entities? Its unlikely. Back in September, The New Yorker reported on Burts role helping write President Trumps first major foreign-policy speech. A couple weeks later, Politico added details about Burt attending two dinners hosted by Sessions. He was reportedly invited to discuss issues of national security and foreign policy. Politico also identified Burt as a lobbyist for Russian interests and said he spent 2016 working to promote one of Vladimir Putins top geopolitical priorities. This is not the first time Sessions has been caught making false statements under oath about meetings with representatives of Russia. Last time, it took him nearly two months to correct the record. Make America Underwhelmed Again. Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images Donald Trumps election has been bad for a lot of people. Undocumented immigrants have been subjected to a heightened risk of deportation; Medicaid recipients have seen their access to health care come under attack; feminists have had to stomach the sight of a self-avowed sex offender occupying our nations highest office; nonwhite children have been bullied more than they used to be; civilians have been slaughtered by American munitions in Iraq and Syria in much higher numbers; and humanity, as a whole, has seen its prospects for averting catastrophic climate change take a turn for the worse. But, hey: Elections have winners and losers and at least the Fox News grandpas, Duck Dynasty DVD-box-set owners, social Darwinist socialites, and literal white supremacists who make up the Republican base are feeling less alienated by, and more satisfied with, the direction their country is moving in. Or, at least, they were feeling that way, for a little while there. A new Gallup survey finds that GOP voters satisfaction with the direction America is moving in has fallen sharply over the last month. In early May, shortly after the House passed a bill to throw millions of poor people off their health insurance for the sake of increasing income inequality, 58 percent of Republicans told the pollster they felt good about the way things were going. In early June, shortly after an extremely tall cop told the Senate that the president is a creepy liar who doesnt respect the independence of federal law enforcement, just 41 percent said the same. Meanwhile, Democrats remain nearly universally dissatisfied. For Team Blue, that discontent appears to be translating into political mobilization, with Democrats outperforming expectations in a series of special elections. But Republican dissatisfaction is likely to be rooted less in their partys lack of political power, than frustration with how the Trump presidency is unfolding. And thats the kind of discontent that makes GOP operatives sweat. Now, the fact that Republican satisfaction reached a peak last month suggests the current dip is largely a product of the metastasizing Russia scandal (as opposed to disappointment with Trumps right-wing turn on economics or his increasingly undeniable incompetence). Which is to say: A healthy portion of these voters likely blame the deep state and fake news media for their dissatisfaction, not the commander-in-chief. That said, a good number do seem to be souring on the president himself. As Nate Silver writes: Theres been a considerable decline in the number of Americans who strongly approve of Trump, from a peak of around 30 percent in February to just 21 or 22 percent of the electorate now. (The decline in Trumps strong approval ratings is larger than the overall decline in his approval ratings, in fact.) Far from having unconditional love from his base, Trump has already lost almost a third of his strong support. And voters who strongly disapprove of Trump outnumber those who strongly approve of him by about a 2-to-1 ratio, which could presage an enthusiasm gap that works against Trump at the midterms. The data suggests, in particular, that the GOPs initial attempt (and failure) in March to pass its unpopular health care bill may have cost Trump with his core supporters. That last point could prove significant. Remember: Republicans satisfaction hit an all-time high right after the passage of that unpopular health-care bill in May. Liberals have hoped that fear of a big blue wave might prevent GOP lawmakers from repealing Obamacare. But in truth, the growing enthusiasm gap may actually make moderate Republicans feel even more pressure to bite the bullet, and vote for far-right legislation. As the Washington Post reported in the wake of last months House vote: As GOP leaders scrambled to bring the last holdouts aboard in recent days, they made the argument that the liberal base is already on fire, anxious to take back control of the House in next years midterm elections. That means Republicans could ill afford to fall short on their health-care promise and risk depressing their own turnout. The Republican Partys electoral prospects are collapsing and they may bring our health-care system down with them. Hunted. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images On March 20, James Comey publicly confirmed the existence of a federal investigation into the Trump campaign. The following day, the White House leaked classified material to the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, in a bid to turn the panels Russia probe into an investigation of illicit surveillance by the Obama administration. The day after that, the president (reportedly) asked the director of national intelligence to tell the FBI director to lay off Michael Flynn. Less than two months later, Trump fired Comey for being a showboat who pushed a phony Russia investigation that placed great pressure on the president. Or so says the president, anyway. On Wednesday night, special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of Trump for obstruction of justice became public knowledge. The New York Times and Washington Post both reported that Mueller is seeking interviews with senior intelligence officials, as part of an inquiry into whether the presidents conduct toward Comey constituted a federal crime. The papers also reported that Mueller is looking into the possibility that Trump associates engaged in money laundering or other financial crimes with Russian officials as their co-conspirators. Now, Muellers job (and/or rule of law in the United States) may be in jeopardy. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 There are a few things worth noting about these tweets: (1) Somehow, Nice is far sadder than Sad! ever was. (2) It is illegal to obstruct an investigation, even if the allegations that launched that investigation prove to be untrue. (3) Bad and conflicted people is an ominous phrase. Here, Trump appears to be directly referring to arguments for firing Mueller from Newt Gingrich and other right-wing infotainers. Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.check fec reports. Time to rethink. Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) June 12, 2017 Gingrichs charge is that Mueller, though himself a Republican, has hired multiple investigators who have donated to Democratic politicians (something they have in common with Donald J. Trump). Earlier this week, the Washington Examiner suggested that Muellers close working relationship with Comey rendered him unfit to lead his investigation in an impartial manner. Earlier this week, Newsmax founder and Trump confidant Chris Ruddy said that the president was thinking of firing Mueller. Melania and chief-of-staff Reince Priebus talked Trump out of that move, according to the New York Times. A GOP operative who spoke with Axios believes it isnt a coincidence that word of the obstruction investigation leaked days after Muellers termination was floated. Leak was probably a response to stories about POTUS firing Mueller, the source texted reporter Jonathan Swan. Cant fire him now. But then, one might have said the same thing about Comey after he revealed the existence of the FBIs investigation into the Trump campaign. The truth is, Trump very much can fire Mueller, in that he can do virtually anything the GOP lets him. Granted, obstructing an investigation into ones alleged attempts to obstruct investigations isnt a great look. But neither is saying that you fired the FBI director because he was investigating your associates on national television or, for that matter, saying how much you love nonconsensually grabbing women by their genitalia into a live microphone. But the Republican Party has proven willing to look past those things. Given that fact, it may actually be rational for Trump to can Mueller depending on what the president has to hide. The obstruction case against Trump appears to be strong. We have little insight into his broader liabilities. But if he or his son-in-law got into a little money laundering, it might make sense to test the congressional GOPs appetite for debasing itself and our republic. Wink, wink. Photo: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images Now that the Washington Post has reported, and President Trump himself confirmed, that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Trump for obstruction of justice, Trumps defense has begun to emphasize the unfairness of the process. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story, tweeted the president. The supposed lack of evidence for any underlying crime for Trump to obstruct has become an article of faith on the right. Andrew McCarthys column in the Journal of American Greatness, large portions of which are italicized for emphasis, sarcastically notes, All that was lacking waswait for itactual evidence of collusion. What, you might wonder, would count as evidence of Trump colluding with Russian election interference? How about one of his campaign advisers having advance knowledge of the Russian hacking operation? Because that exists. If thats not enough to count as evidence, what if I told you Donald Trump asked Russia to hack his opponents email system and publicize the results in order to help Trump, and it was on video? Because that exists, too. Watch: All of the times Donald Trump has shown hes his own worst enemy. So the evidence for collusion in the email hacking lies right out in the open just like evidence that Trump fired James Comey to obstruct the Russia investigation, which the president confessed to in an NBC News interview. (Sometimes it seems like this investigation doesnt even need a special counsel, just a video-montage editor.) But the collusion is almost surely not limited to the planning of the email hack. It seems to run much deeper, into a web of financial ties between Vladimir Putins regime and Trump and his closest advisers. Last July, Franklin Foer first sketched the outline of what looked like Vladimir Putins plan to influence American politics through the Trump campaign. Foer described a deep pattern of Russian intervention in other elections in countries like Italy, France, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Ukraine. (The last was a political-influence operation run by Paul Manafort, who went on to run Trumps campaign.) A crucial aspect of Putins method was covert financial ties. Not only did he give political support to friendly parties, he made the politicians themselves rich. Trump was highly susceptible to such inducements. His bankruptcies, and habit of refusing to pay his contractors, had made him untouchable by American banks. Trump had grown deeply reliant on shady foreign dictators in general, and Russia in particular, for capital. Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, Donald Trump Jr. said in 2008. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia. Trump has worked closely with shadowy Russian mob figures. Foer expressed his suspicion that Russia had a hand in the still-nascent email hacks, but he described Putins intervention primarily through the channel of corruption. Mercantilist motives likely undergird Trumps ornate praise of Putin, he wrote. [I]t was at just the moment [Trump] came to depend heavily on shadowy investment from Russia that his praise for Putin kicked into high gear. Foer also drilled down into the financial ties between Putin and Manafort. Since then, financial ties between Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner and the Russian state have also come to light. The reporting from last night emphasizes the obstruction of justice revelation, but also underscores the continued probe into the underlying offense. The investigation is examining possible contacts with Russian operatives as well as any suspicious financial activity related to those individuals reports the Post. The New York Times reporting is even more ominous. A former senior official said Mr. Muellers investigation was looking at money laundering by Trump associates, the article reports, in a final-paragraph note many readers may have missed. The suspicion is that any cooperation with Russian officials would most likely have been in exchange for some kind of financial payoff, and that there would have been an effort to hide the payments, probably by routing them through offshore banking centers. On the surface, the pattern of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign closely matches the collusion between Russia and other proxy campaigns overseas. To be sure, we might know more about Trumps personal financial ties if his tax returns had been made public. Alas, Republicans in Congress have blocked bills to compel the release of those returns, which conveniently makes it easier for them to insist theres no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia. Karl Rove today argues that Muellers investigation of obstruction of justice is unfair to Trump, who had nothing corrupt to hide: There is no evidence Mr. Trump acted with criminal purposefor example, that he was bribed to shut down the Flynn investigation, or that he was trying to hide some personal financial interest in Mr. Flynns foreign lobbying. But that seems like just the kind of evidence Muellers probe might just turn up. We know to a near certainty that Putin tried to corrupt the American political system. What the investigations will reveal is not whether but how thoroughly he succeeded through the Trump campaign. Qatar Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Photo: Jonathan Ernst/AFP/Getty Images Last week, President Donald Trump called Qatar a funder of terrorism at a very high level and said it was time for the Gulf state to end that funding. Trump claimed he decided this along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his great generals and military people, which did not seem at all likely, given that Tillerson was still trying to work damage control from Trumps tweets earlier that week, which appeared to have him siding with the Saudi-led coalition in the blockade of a country that hosts the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command, a base that makes possible U.S. regional operations in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. So its eyebrow-raising that the Trump administration is now suddenly selling this funder of terror at a very high level many billions of dollars worth of arms. According to CBS News, Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah and Secretary of Defense James Mattis met Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to sign a letter of authorization to let the Qataris purchase $12 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets. This deal is part of larger more than $21 billion agreement reached between the U.S. and the Qataris in November 2016 at the end of Obamas term. The Qatari defense ministers trip had reportedly been in the works before the escalation of tensions between the Saudi-led coalition and Qatar, but the timing of the signing is definitely a nice score of U.S. support for Qatar and its emir in their current standoff with Saudi Arabia especially since Trump trumpeted his alleged $110 billion arms deal with Riyadh during his trip abroad. On Twitter, the Qatari ambassador to the United States touted the job creation brought on by the bill, or what Trump would call, JOBS, JOBS, JOBS. Qatar signs LOA for the purchase of the F-15QA fighter jets creating 60,000 new jobs in 42 states across the United States pic.twitter.com/tnOAC3KGma Meshal Hamad AlThani (@Amb_AlThani) June 14, 2017 In a statement announcing the deal, Attiyah said the agreement will propel Qatars ability to provide for its own security, and rather pointedly added that it would also reduce the burden placed upon the United States military in conducting operations against violent extremism. The State Department and the Pentagon confirmed the deal, which a Defense Department spokesman said would increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar. Photo: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images The United Nations says that United Statesled air strikes on and around Raqqa, Syria, have killed at least 300 civilians and displaced 160,000 others since March. The bombings have recently increased as U.S.-backed militias (collectively referred to as the Syrian Democratic Forces) prepared for an assault on the ISIS stronghold, with fighters entering the city last week. Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the U.N. panel monitoring Syria, called the civilian deaths so far staggering, adding, As the operation is gaining pace very rapidly, civilians are caught up in the city under the oppressive rule of ISIS, while facing extreme danger associated with movement due to excessive air strikes. According to the Pentagon, there are currently around 4,000 ISIS members in Raqqa, and taking the city is seen as crucial to weakening the terrorist group and freeing the thousands of civilians currently under its rule. But, Pinheiro said, The imperative to fight terrorism must not, however, be undertaken at the expense of civilians who unwillingly find themselves living in areas where ISIS is present. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch expressed concern about U.S.-led forces reported deployment of white phosphorus in Raqqa and the ISIS-held Iraqi city of Mosul. Per the organization, white phosphorus can be used as an obscurant or smoke screen, for signaling and marking, and as an incendiary weapon. Its legal for militaries to bring the chemical into battle, but its use is prohibited in civilian areas, as it can cause fires and severe burns. Without confirming its use in Raqqa and Mosul, U.S. officials told reporters that in accordance with the law of armed conflict, white phosphorus rounds are used in a way that fully considers the possible incidental effects on civilians and civilian structures. Definitely not cuddly. Photo: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images On Tuesday, at an internal, all-hands meeting, a parade of Uber executives and directors announced a set of sweeping changes to company policy stemming from an investigation into what had become a rotten internal culture. Maybe unsurprisingly, Uber leadership wasnt able to make it through the meeting without a major unforced error David Bonderman, a board member, suggested that the presence of Arianna Huffington, the boards only female member, had produced more talking at its meetings but the recommendations themselves seemed reasonable and thoughtful, from the small-scale weekly free dinner would now be served at seven, rather than eight, to better accommodate Uber employees with families to the company-wide Travis Kalanick, the founder and CEO to whom many of Ubers cultural problems have been attributed, would be taking a leave of absence. Though it didnt get as much attention as Kalanicks leave of absence, one notable consequence was that a few of Ubers infamous 14 company values, some of which one former employee told me people used as an excuse to just be assholes, would be changed or scrapped altogether. You know the cultural value about Working smarter, longer, and harder? Huffington told the assembled employees. Well, longer is gone, because Uber is a data-driven company, and the data shows unequivocally that when you work longer, youre not working smarter. That those values would be ditched or adjusted is important because they reflect a recognition that in many cases the same institutional values that enabled a toxic corporate culture have also forged a foundation for Ubers business. Take, for instance, Huffingtons declaration about working shorter hours an admirable shift in the companys attitude thats apparently not an ethos its willing to apply more broadly to its drivers. Last month, Uber responded to a Massachusetts proposal to cap driver hours at 70 in a given week, for safety reasons, by arguing that, many individuals in many different industries work 70 hours in a seven-day period. Uber refuses to consider its drivers employees who could receive benefits or a minimum wage, despite the fact that half of all Uber rides, and half of the companys revenue, are provided by full-time drivers. A good nights sleep apparently doesnt apply to Ubers drivers. Other Uber values getting cut include toe-stepping, hustling, and principled confrontation ideas that manifest themselves not just in an uncomfortable workplace environment but in Ubers insistent refusal to agree to even the most basic restrictions on its business practices in the name of safety, privacy, or the common good. Kalanick in particular has long embodied and pushed the companys hard-charging ethos and wholesale rejection of compromise. Hes an ideologue, one person close to Kalanick told me. Not a political ideologue, but if he believes something is right, thats it. Several Uber employees pointed me to the companys refusal to go along with calls for stricter background checks for drivers as emblematic of the companys approach. While many on Ubers public-policy team pushed to make that relatively simple concession, Kalanick and others on the business side of the company argued that it would slow the companys growth. According to one person, Kalanick pointed to data showing that prior convictions do not necessarily predict future criminal behavior, and that he had no interest in agreeing to a regulation simply for show. Let builders build, another value being left behind, had become a complete unwillingness to compromise. There were some moments when 80 percent of what we wanted was on the table, but anything less than 100 percent was unacceptable, one former member of the public-policy team said. Such regulations led the company to leave Austin, Texas, and most of New York state, choosing instead to bide its time and expend considerable time and money pushing for friendlier regulations. (Austin has gotten along perfectly fine thanks to several local operators willing to abide by the stricter regulations, including one that operates as a nonprofit.) A year after leaving Austin, and after successfully lobbying the Texas state legislature to supersede the citys regulations, Uber came back last month. In a few weeks, it will expand to the rest of New York, having spent more than $9 million on lobbying in the state last year. (It was recently fined by the state for underreporting that figure by $6 million.) In Nevada, Uber and Lyft collectively spent more on lobbying than the entire gambling industry. When money isnt enough, Uber has sometimes resorted to deliberately deceiving regulators and law-enforcement officials. One way of thinking about all this that might be comforting to Ubers investors is that Kalanicks aggressive style was necessary in the companys early days, and is no longer needed now that the company is established. But many transit experts point out that regulation tends to go in waves, and that issues Uber may think it has solved the employment status of its drivers, whether it should be regulated as a technology company or a transportation provider will likely continue to come up. On Tuesday, as the company released its internal recommendations, news reports relayed a New York state judges ruling that a group of Uber drivers should be considered employees for purpose of receiving unemployment benefits. (Uber has appealed the decision.) Recode reported yesterday that the Federal Trade Commission is probing the companys privacy practices. One New York lawyer told me he currently has lawsuits representing drivers in ten different states. Multiply all those challenges by 75 the number of countries in which Uber currently operates and you can begin to understand the legal challenges the company will continue to face. Up to now, Uber has represented itself as a sort of David launching attacks at various entrenched transportation Goliaths. But its sling was always loaded with billions in venture capital, and its ability to topple giants was entwined with its willingness to fight dirty. Can a cuddlier version of the company still pursue world domination with the same aggressive zeal? And if it cant, what will that mean for its future? The scary prospect for investors and employees is not that Uber was uniquely toxic, but that it was necessarily so. If we cant stomach how Uber treats employees, we may not be able to stomach how it treats contractors, cities, and regulations, either. 1 year closer to death Reply Thread Link From your lips to God's ears Reply Parent Thread Link I just want him to go to prison first. Reply Parent Thread Link ...any day now would be swell Reply Parent Thread Link Satan should've come to collect his shepherd years ago Reply Parent Thread Link Satan is still behind on Woody Allen, Bill Cosby and Roman Polanksi... Reply Parent Thread Link the outrage in the shooting post about not giving a shit if evil republicans die is hilarious since we wish death upon them all in every single one of these posts Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Lmao bitch I love that you give no fucks <3 Reply Parent Thread Link Watch him turn out like Keith Richards, living longer than anyone thought possible Reply Parent Thread Link lmao. perfect first comment. Reply Parent Thread Link dangerbuffalo Love youfor being awesome! Reply Thread Link ty to both of you Reply Parent Thread Link ty for taking time off the Comey coaster to make this post. Reply Parent Thread Link #ComeyCoaster is still ongoing. This new news is just part of it. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Fuck Trump Reply Thread Link AMERICA, YOUR PRESIDENT IS OFFICIALLY UNDER FBI INVESTIGATION. pic.twitter.com/UBs1dR7m3G Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) June 14, 2017 A HAPPY POLITICS POST! Reply Thread Link he's so aggressively ugly, like a left over shit of cheetos Reply Parent Thread Link lol this guy is in my city atm, he went to a gig my friend played and went home w/ 4 girls Reply Parent Thread Expand Link His lawyer responded and didn't deny the investigation, only complained about the info being leaked. It's like a birthday gift for us all. Reply Parent Thread Link :D Happy birthday, Donald, you fat piece of shit! Reply Parent Thread Link or year Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Its like someone started airbrushing color on this face and got tired and quit. Reply Parent Thread Link he's so damn ugly. My mom works for DoD and she said that's his presidential picture, every time she walks by it she just laughs because of how ugly he is. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link YAS FINALLY!!! like comey basically said this last week idky, lol, trump cult didnt hear this Reply Parent Thread Link wait. what did i miss? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Like... is he smiling Why is this his expression for a presidential portrait Reply Parent Thread Link What a beautiful birthday gift to America. Reply Parent Thread Link Edited at 2017-06-15 12:29 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link The best is that when he inevitably rage-tweets about this, his profile will still be covered in balloons and whatnot. pic.twitter.com/2fHSbkcPR7 Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) June 14, 2017 Reply Thread Link DID YOU READ THE POST?! NOT THE REACTIONS! THERE IS FUCKING HAPPY NEWS IN THIS POST!!!! Reply Parent Thread Link Choke on your 2 scoops of ice cream, bitch! 'Trump is now personally under investigation. There is also evidence of financial crime among Trump associates'Choke on your 2 scoops of ice cream, bitch! Reply Thread Link I love this person. Reply Parent Thread Link Lmao <3 Reply Parent Thread Link lolol this gif is still hilarious to me Reply Parent Thread Link "Kiss it Better" writing court jester. yessss. Reply Parent Thread Link So Trump can't fire Mueller now that he is officially being investigated, right? Reply Thread Link he can, and now it'll be even more disastrous if he does it with this news coming out Reply Parent Thread Link eh, he wouldn't care and would probably do it anyways. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Read different things. Democrats said they could just hire him back. Trump lawyers and aides tell him nkt to do it. It would make things worse. But he never listens so.. Reply Parent Thread Link wtf is this tweet Reply Parent Thread Link it is the Army's bday though. This is a fairly normal tweet. Reply Parent Thread Link didn't he block vets account tho? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link What kind of sad Subway sandwich/ghost-lady-in-the-doorway realness. Reply Parent Thread Link so does this mean we're getting closer to ending trumps presidency ? Reply Thread Link nope Reply Parent Thread Link what does this all mean tho Reply Parent Thread Expand Link In the sense that every day is a day closer to 2020, yes. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Probably not, but I'm gonna be happy for now at the thought that I could be wrong. Reply Parent Thread Link Trump legal team pushes back at report Special Counsel Mueller looking at evidence of possible obstruction against @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/lNdUqMCbAr Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) June 14, 2017 LOL!!! Reply Thread Link lmfao didnt deny it Reply Parent Thread Link Tucker Carlson is currently frothing at the mouth about it in the next room. *Sigh* I hate it that my mom watches FOX. Reply Parent Thread Link mueller dropping that hot birthday present. bless him. also lol'ing at propaganda fox finally dropping their 'fair and balanced' shit Reply Thread Link I wanna see young Comey pics, like what did that beautiful bird look like in his youth? Reply Parent Thread Link https://theoutline.com/post/1701/exclusive-leaked-james-comey-high-school-yearbook-photo?utm_source=TW He was pretty cute. And went by "ya Richard" in high school? Idk. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Eat shit Don Reply Thread Link how does magazines like ok, star come up with such bullshit stories ? do they look through twitter or google search or simple just make it up and same for the source and the editor just agrees with it? Reply Thread Link they read ontd, obviously. Reply Parent Thread Link i think most of the times our posts are a little better :D Reply Parent Thread Link That lasagna looks amazing. Reply Thread Link So does the cake. I want both so badly right now even though I already ate supper. Reply Parent Thread Link Yaes, Flip or Flop! The previews for their new episodes are airing on HGTV now and they look like they barely like each other; how can they be business partners after all this mess? Cancel the show; Flip or Flop Vegas is better anyway! It might be mean, but after the way she treated her husband's first wife I hope that Julia Roberts story is true. How you get them is how you lose them, girl. Reply Thread Link I was debating whether to urbandictionary "GAY FUNG" or not (did I really want to know the meaning?) when I realized it says FLING. Reply Thread Link Is Gay Fung like Gay Fung Shui? Maybe Gay Fungus. Like only gays can eat this fungus!! Reply Parent Thread Link I rlly want some Racist Keebler Elf gifs of him going 'I don't recall' I see Snake has found 'The One' again! Congrats, Snake!! Reply Thread Link Much as I love celeb gossip, I really hate when its geared towards me. Which is my clever way o go slightly o/t cuz I need to vent. I was talking/kinda dating a co-worker a while back and we kept it hush-hush but it didn't entirely stop some people from gossiping. Well their gossiping made it up to the president of the company. And now I'm wondering if someone higher up in the company told him to stop talking to me because we don't talk anymore and barely act like co-workers (mostly on his part - it's a good thing we're in different offices). And I'm just frustrated by the whole situation because I have no clue why things went wrong and I can't seem to get him to tell me. Which should just tell me he's a a jerk, but my mind keeps stupidly wanting things to work out, or at least be okay. We had a really good connection. Ughh. Reply Thread Link yeah I learned the hard way Reply Parent Thread Link Learning that the hard way Reply Parent Thread Link make me that lasagne nowwwwwwww Reply Thread Link i love your posts OP! thank you for all the meal inspiration :) jesus these titles are .... do they just go on tumblr take pics and shit like that and make their covers?? Reply Thread Link The Enquirer headline "Richard Simmons comes out of hiding WEARING A BOX ON HIS HEAD!" is work of art. Reply Thread Link omg i missed that on first scroll - bless you for pointing it out. Reply Parent Thread Link i can't believe they didn't include a picture Reply Parent Thread Link National Enquirer and the Kevin Costner story. Sad! Yum that cake looks good. Reply Thread Link I had to read that Enquirer headline twice to be sure it didn't say "CORONER STEALS TRAVOLTA'S WIFE" and I was like "WAIT WHAT WHEN DID SHE DIE." Reply Thread Link sean penn and robin wright??? is this 10 years ago? Reply Thread Link Travolta fucking wishes! Reply Thread Link I feel bad about Jessica's wedding pictures, she said they went in a no fly zone or whatever Also Sandra is sooo beautiful. She was one of my first crushes lol Reply Thread Link I don't know if there were ever any photos taken of Princess Diana's crash, or if there is just a fake one going around, but I was in the grocery line yesterday and glanced over at the magazines and saw a tab with a headline about her death being a murder and it had a blurred out photo with enough blonde hair that it's clearly meant to be her, and if it's blurred I'd assume it's supposed to be a death photo. It looked an awful lot like a crash photo from just glancing at it. I'm assuming it's fake, or maybe a perfectly normal photo of her that's blurred/dark for effect, but I don't know if that makes it better or worse. I just kept thinking of how her sons would feel to see their mother's death played out on a magazine cover. You're just doing your thing and glance over to see the worst moment of your childhood played out for entertainment. I don't know what I'm trying to get at, I just needed to tell someone because this really upset me after I saw it. It made me think of how we treat traumatic deaths and strangers' responses to it and true crime as a genre and the family that have to see it splashed all over things when it goes viral or is someone "important". My mom watches all those unsolved crime shows and I've heard some stories in passing that hooked me and I watched to find out more, but I felt so weird about it afterward. Seeing a photo that looked so wrong somewhere neutral like the grocery store was jarring. Reply Thread Link Completely understand, my friend's brother was killed in a motorcycle accident and photos of it were all over our local papers and their websites. I wish the editors had thought more about the pictures they took and how much it hurt my friend's family. Reply Parent Thread Link Even the fake photos national enquirer or whomever has death photos all the time is in really bad taste. Re-creating death photos is so low. Reply Parent Thread Link this is my future, isn't it? Reply Thread Link yeah, the bullet points are like, damn :( lol Reply Parent Thread Link You don't publicly support child molesters, though, so you shouldn't worry about ending up like her Reply Parent Thread Link OHHHHHH lmao thanks bb. i didn't know. Reply Parent Thread Link same Reply Parent Thread Link same. I just had a moment of realization Reply Parent Thread Link Stop doing woody allen movies and I will pretend to care Reply Thread Link Wasn't she *just* seen hanging out with him and his daughter-wife literally this week tho? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link You know I mean doing his movies or associating with him as a person. It's all despicable. She knows better and doesn't care. Reply Parent Thread Link high five Diane. me too. Reply Thread Link Yep, exactly. I remember that open letter in the New York Times that his daughter Dylan wrote a few years ago about having been molested by him, and she singled out Diane and other celebs who support him: What if it had been your child, Cate Blanchett? Louis C.K.? Alec Baldwin? What if it had been you, Emma Stone? Or you, Scarlett Johansson? You knew me when I was a little girl, Diane Keaton. Have you forgotten me? Reply Parent Thread Link daaaaamn, dude need to get the fuck out of the planet immediately Reply Parent Thread Link I remember Scarlett Johansson complaining about Google alerts, she'll always be a trash human being for that. Reply Parent Thread Link I was hoping for this gif lol! Reply Parent Thread Link what is she drinking in this gif Reply Parent Thread Link Looks like a watermelon Arizona tea. Reply Parent Thread Link That's Karma for constantly defending Woody Allen, Diane. Remember this: "I have nothing to say about that. Except: I believe my friend." Edited at 2017-06-15 12:52 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link bitch I thought you didn't have any friends? smh! Reply Parent Thread Link Lol Reply Parent Thread Link her story just falls apart at the seams! Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah, so which is it? Reply Parent Thread Link Maybe she means famous friends. Either way, she doesn't seem unhappy about her life. Some people (such as myself) are happy loners. Reply Thread Link I think people put way too much emphasis on how many friends is an acceptable number for a certain age. It's like that annoying girl who claims to have 10 best friends but I doubt anyone is that close to 10 people to consider them all best friends. Reply Parent Thread Link Omg that sounds exhausting Reply Parent Thread Link My dream is to be like that Maine hermit. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/north-pond-hermit-maine-knight-stranger-woods-finkel/ If you're happy, more power to you to have no friends and be single.My dream is to be like that Maine hermit. Reply Thread Link i just read this book and t makes for great conversation topic at parties where you know no one Reply Parent Thread Link Why would you want to be like that loser ? All he did was break into people's houses & steal their shit, even after they left notes saying "Please don't steal from us. Here's a bag of things for you." Stealing from the special needs camp was absolutely scummy. Reply Parent Thread Link I was certain this was going to be about some exclusive-to-Maine hermit crab... Reply Parent Thread Link ONTD, are you friendless and single? yep! I watched The First Wives Club and she was such a good Annie. Are the three of them still doing a show for Netflix? Reply Thread Link Wow it must have been result bad if Goldie would pass on it but do snatched Reply Parent Thread Link ...goldie said they all hated the script when she was doing Snatched promo But Goldie liked the Snatched script, so who trusts her taste? Reply Parent Thread Link It feels like it's becoming more and more common for people to not have a friend group. People hang out with their families on holidays and special events and don't see them again until the next holiday or special event. And for the rest of the time they hang with their SOs. But single people without friends are becoming so common, too. Honestly, I get it. People in this day and age suck. No one wants to be friends with anyone except their pets. Reply Thread Link Exactly. People suck, why be bothered. At least on the internet I can turn them off. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This mentality makes me sad. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Damn Reply Parent Thread Link This is me. Reply Parent Thread Link I feel as if the internet just allows us to feed into our selfish desires to not even try to understand one another. And before anybody jumps to a crazy extreme, I'm talking about on even the most basic level. I see some people (and, okay, I've been one of them and have had to unlearn that behavior) drop people for stupid disagreements that have nothing to do with big topics like racism or the like. I'm talking, "She thinks GoT is boring. Whatfuckingever. Who does she think she is to say it's boring? Fuck her. All my online friends like it." Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Hehehee. Yes. But! It seems sometimes harder to turn off internet people because it's easier to voice an opinion, that could lead to an argument, online than irl because it's so easy to close a window and go somewhere else online. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I've never been able to make good friends outside of the internet. Whenever I meet someone irl I'm always quick to pick something out that drives me crazy and I just can't maintain a relationship with them. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Sounds about right Reply Parent Thread Expand Link that sounds so depressing. am an introvert, so i dont go out much or make friends easily, but having no friends seems really sad Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think it's because connecting with people on the internet, or finding groups online you can assimilate with, is easier than maintaining real life relationships. I have groups of friends whom I love, but because of depression I withdrew from them for years while also going without making any new friendships. It was isolating and if I needed momentary refuge the internet was always there, and it was much easier than facing my own problems and owning up to any hurt I may have caused others. Before all this existed, people didn't have much choice other than eventually reach out, but now we can stay within the relative safety and comfort of internet friendships (which can be sincere, don't get me wrong). Nowadays I maintain my friendships, and that takes work because my first instinct is to not hang out. So I have to constantly make an effort, and at times that can be hard or impossible for some people. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i think it's just a lot harder to meet people once you get older and move to a new city and don't have the bridge of school. the task of having to make new friends all over again is so daunting/exhausting. i honestly can't fault the ppl who stay in the same city all their lives bc at least it's familiar. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I'm feeling like it's a trend lately too...more people are staying home the weekends. Not partying or going to clubs or bars as much. People have become loners. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link yikes. thank god i have awesome friends tbh Reply Parent Thread Expand Link If this is what you have to tell yourselves. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link It's hard making friends past college. I'm semi-friends with some co-workers, but there's some stuff you can't let your co-workers see, but when I first started most were at least 20 years older. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link People are awful. Their loyalty is almost non-existent. Happy to get invited to things but never initiate themselves. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i find it hard to give enough of my time and presence to friends. I have been critised and lost friendships over not seeing them at least once a week. like... i just dont have the energy for that Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I don't think this is true at all. Maybe some people are becoming more comfortable with the idea of not needing others/friends, but it's not common for that to be the situation find themselves in. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah, I have plenty of friends, but they're all from different groups, and I'm not in touch with them, and I've never coordinated things with more than two people at a time. All the guys I've managed to get involved with, their social circles are wide with GROUPS. So that can definitely contribute to the asymmetry in how much we think about each other. Reply Parent Thread Link Um no wtf Reply Parent Thread Expand Link this sounds exclusively american tbh Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I withdrew socially about a year ago because of my depression and anxiety. I've started venturing back out again in some brief social situations but overall, I've found that I don't really like most of my old friends. They're just too draining to be around. I know I'm still recovering but I can't deal with their shit on top of my own shit. I joke that I don't have friends and then there's always someone who pops up saying "omg I'm your friend!" but I mean a friend who would actually meet me for a beer or something. I interact with people online just fine. People IRL are either too much or not available. Reply Parent Thread Link Well, the older you get the harder is to make friends because people start building families and most of us work on top of that. I think that is something that has always happened and it's the reason people at 60 still have that one friend they went to college with. On the other hand it really depends where you live and what industry you're in. Some jobs make you network forcefully and go out to dinner, and bars because you HAVE to impress someone. I find that a lot of people in certain jobs have a very active social life because if they didn't, they wouldn't look good, period. They also take great care in their appearance and spend a lot on clothes and makeup. Other people in more blue collar situations do seem to stick to smaller circles and family. Counting their coins and pregaming, that sort of thing. Social media also cuts out the expense part of going out with friends and coordinating parties. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think it's just hard to meet people. I had a fairly large friend group in middle/high school but then we all parted ways and I lost touch with them. People seem to lose touch after college as well. I'm introverted, so I've always struggled to really make friends. I did join a book group (which is every other week, that I went to tonight) about a year ago, so I see those people on a fairly frequent basis and we sometimes do something else like see a movie as well but I'm just not really outgoing enough to invite anyone to do anything. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link People in this day and age suck. I think some of us want people to suck because it means that we don't have to put forth an effort or make themselves vulnerable. It's easier to remember the negative things and generalize. Case in point: the other day, I saw a pedestrian stop on her way to wherever she was going, and a man pull over in his car because both had seen a cat get hit by a vehicle. The woman sat down on the sidewalk and gently stroked the cat and talked softly to it, while the man was on the phone frantically calling a vet and asking what they should do. Today, I watched a stranger verbally put someone else in his place because the person was being absolutely nasty to the cashier. These are just two examples that I've seen recently. I'm also trying to be the kind of person I wish others would be, and have started noticing those types more ever since. It's easy to complain. It's easy to give up on others. But I think that makes one part of the problem. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link this rings so true. This whole introvert culture is weird to me. people freak out about talking on the phone. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link essentially me, i used to feel really bad about it but now i'm ok with this. i do have friends, but their either 1) far away (moved coasts), 2) with SOs, or 3) specific category friends/not as good as friends as i'd like. specific category friends are like friends that i have for specific settings, like work friends or fandom friends. i don't have a best friend, which annoys the shit out of me. it's hard to be best friends with others because now i'm all old and everyone already has best friends for years. Reply Parent Thread Link I just wanna vent for a bit. so many of my friends have moved in the last 18 months and i'm seriously and literally becoming friendless. I live in sydney and all the people I was closest to two years ago live in vancouver, san francisco, brisbane, london, auckland and berlin. it depresses me. I feel stagnant and like i'm getting left behind in life lol. :( Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I don't have a friend group. I have friends but none of them are friends with each other so I always just end up hanging out with them individually. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think people need to learn to be on their own sometimes. And finding genuine friends is difficult, especially when they don't live nearby. Reply Parent Thread Link It's hard to find friends. I always got jealous when I saw people with close friends/family (even tho I know not everything is as it seems but still..) I think people should love themselves and learn how to have fun alone but also have some (2,3..whatever) intimate connections with other. it's important Edited at 2017-06-15 02:16 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link A lot of my friends have moved away and the ones left are kind of boring that I only see them like once a month. Reply Thread Link I can relate to this, especially to the ones moving away :( I'm excited I'll get to travel to see them but still... Reply Parent Thread Link i can kinda relate. i have friends but the ones i value most still live in sydney where I used to live Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah I can totoally relate to friends moving away Reply Parent Thread Link That was basically my situation last year, before I moved. They're all in SoCal and don't plan on coming back. Reply Parent Thread Link I wish I had the balls to move, I'm highly pessimistic when it comes to my financials and life and just cant bring myself to do it. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link this is my exact situation rn. it keeps me up at night lol. Reply Parent Thread Link same Reply Thread Link #notallmenshutthefucup I hate men. I. Fucking. hate. Men. Reply Thread Link I feel the same. Reply Parent Thread Link You don't need the qualifier all men are trash Reply Parent Thread Link Yup. I absolutely loathe them. Reply Parent Thread Link Same Reply Parent Thread Link I got lectured by a Not All Men-er in that pedo youtuber post about an hour ago. It made me hate men more, tbh Reply Parent Thread Link Same. They're truly the lesser sex Reply Parent Thread Link Lafayette: You are the WORST, Burr... Reply Parent Thread Link all that needs to be said Reply Parent Thread Link mte Reply Parent Thread Link If he didn't before, he's officially lost it. Imagine if Nixon had a twitter when the noose was tightening? Reply Parent Thread Link You would think that after at least one court had given his tweets serious weight in coming to judgment and interpretation of other official actions, somebody would have confiscated his phone Reply Parent Thread Link Nick Offerman <3 Reply Parent Thread Link Where's that cartoon of all the witches hunting Trump Lol? Reply Parent Thread Link Re DumpsterFire: BENGHAZI. Reply Parent Thread Link Sorry to hear that Erika. What part did you live in? Reply Parent Thread Link Agreed, although I left before I got the chance to vote for this queen. Here's hoping I can rectify that in 2020. Reply Parent Thread Link when will satan come to collect mccain, hes ready Reply Thread Link he really needs to come back from vacay, his list is a mile long right now Reply Parent Thread Link hell is empty, all the devils are here \_()_/ Reply Parent Thread Link u right :( Reply Parent Thread Link The worst people always live the longest for whatever reason. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Sometimes he calls people out and I'm like okay good for standing up against your party, and then he's a dickwad again and I go back to hating him with a fire that was never quenched from the days he was a dickwad to Obama Reply Parent Thread Link It's so gross that this happened to her twice in a week's time, and who knows how many times throughout her life. Glad she's my senator. I have to watch the little PSA on how to say her name every once in awhile bc I always want to put the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble. It seems easy enough once I watch but I still fuck it up. :/ Kah MAHL ah, it shouldn't be hard!! Reply Thread Link Oh I'm a flop, I've been saying it Kahmalah smh Reply Parent Thread Link People pronounce my name many different ways. Let #KidsForKamala show you how its done. pic.twitter.com/7QoQGN0B4k Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 24, 2016 It's like I have a brain block on how to say it properly: Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Like even my phonetic spelling is wrong, you are probably right, my brain is broken :( Reply Parent Thread Link i suck, i've definitely been pronouncing it kaMAHluh (rhyming with impala). Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I was saying it wrong until I saw her at the Pod Save America show in SF lol. I have to remind myself now. Reply Parent Thread Link Thanks, I was mispronouncing her name! Reply Parent Thread Link Men are weak. Reply Thread Link McCain needs to retire. I'm ready for the moderate-Democrat takeover of Arizona. Reply Parent Thread Link was gabby gifford from arizona? I forget if she was a rep or a senator tho Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i don't even know what exactly happened and i agree with this comment Reply Parent Thread Link a guy i once dated wouldn't watch a single episode of Orange is the New Black because it was mostly a female led show and therefore only women can watch it. it's unreal because women have been expected for ALL MOVIE/TV HISTORY to deal with watching male-led shows Reply Parent Thread Link I'm glad you're using the past tense in regards to him, he sounds like a piece of work. I know a lot of men who are like this about video games too. They're visibly uncomfortable when there's no male player character option for them, and feel like they suddenly won't be able to relate to the narrative AT ALL because they're playing a woman. Reply Parent Thread Link was he like pornstache? Reply Parent Thread Link It rarely ever is, so I can almost understand their confusion. Reply Parent Thread Link lol, I lost two male facebook friends yesterday--- they couldn't handle my criticism about how it seems to be ONLY men who are mass shooters and how they should all have their guns taken away. I believe the exact reaction was "how f'n stupid and ignorant. unfriended." I was like "peace out bruh." Reply Parent Thread Link Ugh. That's the worst. They'll mock and degrade anything meant for women and girls, yet at the same time, are all about taking over and sexualizing media actually made for young girls. What is wrong with men? Reply Parent Thread Link lol everything that isn't for the "18-35 yrs old white male" demographic is forever a niche market to them and nothing at all like what the majority of people on this planet would actually be interested in consuming. Reply Parent Thread Link Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 When will he learn he can't pin anything on Clinton anymore? When will he learn he can't pin anything on Clinton anymore? Reply Thread Link I hope he continues to scream into the void while he self-incrimates and then croaks Reply Parent Thread Link His go to will always be blame Hillary or Obama its insane Reply Parent Thread Link wtf, these tweets are from TODAY and he is still going on about her??!??!?!?!?! Reply Parent Thread Link Sometimes he reminds me of those super bitter exes who still bitch and blame their issues on their ex spouses from 10+ years ago because they haven't fully moved on. Reply Parent Thread Link i LOVE how bitter he is about the popular vote. he knows his ass is guilty so he's trying to bring all the attention back on Hillary. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link he's so desperate and pathetic Reply Parent Thread Link Get off her clit already. jfc. He can't keep bringing her up as a smoke screen to hide his shit anymore like he did during the election. You will deal with your consequences (hopefully), you orange cheeto looking motherfucker. Reply Parent Thread Link I just imagined Hillary Clinton destroying phones with a hammer and lolled. Reply Parent Thread Link He's such trash. Reply Parent Thread Link this demon will never learn Reply Parent Thread Link I mean, let's assume the very worst things he claims about her are true. Does he think the FBI is just gonna go, "well, you got us there" and cancel his investigation? Like he should get a free pass just because someone else may have done something wrong? Reply Parent Thread Link LMAO did he just confirm that he is being investigated for his connections with Russia? Reply Parent Thread Link As good a time as any to use my meme Reply Parent Thread Expand Link oh my god I hate him like it's a truly burning hatred Reply Parent Thread Link Is he still talking about bleaching? lmao. That bitch really does think she took a bottle of bleach to work one day and got rid of evidence. Reply Parent Thread Link He is such a fucking whiny piece of shit He's so obviously guilty trying to push shit off on someone else. It's what guilty people do when they're trying to divert suspicion away from themselves. FRY YOU FAT ASS FUCKING COCK SUCKER! Edited at 2017-06-15 08:57 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link When will Hillary be investigated for colluding with the Russians to ruin her own campaign. Trump shedding a light on the real issues we should be focusing on. Oh lordy Reply Parent Thread Link oh my god. he's such a sad and pathetic little man. it would be funny if he wasn't the president of the united states.. atm its just terrifying. Reply Parent Thread Link He is a textbook case of someone who craves power but shuns responsibility Reply Parent Thread Link I just keep thinking about how, had trump dropped out, half of this shit most likely would've never come to light but instead he's at the center of the world's stage. Couldn't happen to a more rancid excuse for a human, honestly, truly. Reply Thread Link lmao that RuPaul tweet. Sam Bee also covered this: Skip to 3:10 or watch the whole thing (which you should because it's good). Reply Thread Link holy shit, i didn't watch the sessions hearing but fuck i hate men so much Reply Parent Thread Link I loved this. Her whole episode last night was great. Reply Parent Thread Link hoooooly fucking shit. I AM SO MAD. Reply Parent Thread Link She's great! I'm so happy I voted for her long ago. I was so frustrated listening to that hearing. Reply Thread Link It's actually a little painful to see her get built up like this--- we have to change our political climate quite a bit if y'all want her to be a contender in 2020. Reply Thread Link No way in hell will she be a contender in 2020. Rural white America is not going to vote for a WOC. Reply Parent Thread Link Mte like we're going to need the whitest most wonder bread looking white man to get Dems back into the white house Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Rural white America is hardly the issue compared to the way the right would attack her over her relationship with Willie Brown and how the left already has notorious disdain for her because she didn't prosecute police brutality or fraudulent bankers/brokers as AG. She's progressive enough, but once her record gets put in the spotlight, it's be like Bernie's vote against the Brady bill x63844615318465213546 Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Dont stop at rural. The brogressives are already trying to come for her as we speak Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think people are being too optimistic with her. People will probably be tired of the GOP but not enough to vote for a POC woman. Maybe a POC but not a woman and anyone telling themselves differently is lying to themselves. Reply Parent Thread Link WTF. That mentality is what hold back progress and made Hillary choose snoozefest Tim Kaine (a nice inoffensive white man) to be her running mate, one of her disastrous campaign decisions. I'm sick and tired of trying to appeal to people who will never vote for us, anyway. We're not trying to win over Trump supporters. The same people who voted Barack Obama into office in '08 and '12 will vote a WOC into office as long as they believe in her message. The people who didn't turn out this last election because of disillusionment and dissatisfaction will vote for a WOC if we give them a reason to. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link seriously, like this country aint ready. and it sucks saying this as a black woman but for 2020 we NEED to run like 40-50 year old white guy. basically a dude like martin o malley (looks-wise and general feeling idk what he stands for so whoops lol) like i wish dnc woulda ran forward with him cause people hated hillary too much, like dems did. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link ur comments in this thread have been really great n informative, thank u! ia w/ u. Reply Parent Thread Link smh @ some of these comments. "It sucks, but we can't have women running if we want to win. :-(" Nah, fuck that misogynist, racist mentality. Reply Parent Thread Link we all know why they did. Reply Thread Link The Book Thief by Markus Zusak : Its just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusaks groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she cant resistbooks. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson : "Speak up for yourself--we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication. In Laurie Halse Anderson's powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.Speak was a 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger : The hero-narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield. Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days. The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it. There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices-but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all. Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure. However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares : Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didnt look all that great: they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. But Tibby says theyre great. She'd love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think theyre fabulous. Lena decides that they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them. Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Even Carmen (who never thinks she looks good in anything) thinks she looks good in the pants. Over a few bags of cheese puffs, they decide to form a sisterhood and take the vow of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . . . the next morning, they say good-bye. And then the journey of the pants and the most memorable summer of their lives begins. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling : Orphan Harry learns he is a wizard on his 11th birthday when Hagrid escorts him to magic-teaching Hogwarts School. As a baby, his mother's love protected him and vanquished the villain Voldemort, leaving the child famous as "The Boy who Lived". With his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry has to defeat the returned "One Who Must Not Be Named". Book Post?? The clean energy revolution is unfolding even faster than previously thought, which will have massive ramifications not just for the solar and wind industry, but also for the fading fortunes of old King Coal. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) published its New Energy Outlook (NEO), with renewable energy forecasts through 2040. BNEF says that the costs of wind and solar are falling rapidly, and the transition to cleaner energy will be more significant than expected. This years report suggests that the greening of the worlds electricity system is unstoppable, thanks to rapidly falling costs for solar and wind power, and a growing role for batteries, including those in electric vehicles, in balancing supply and demand, said Seb Henbest, BNEFs lead author of the NEO 2017. Solar is already cost-competitive with coal and natural gas in parts of Europe and the U.S., and solar will become cheaper than fossil fuels even in China, India, Brazil and Mexico by 2021. These tipping points are all happening earlier and we just cant deny that this technology is getting cheaper than we previously thought, said Henbest. Between now and 2040, the world will invest $10.2 trillion in new electricity generation and renewables will capture three-quarters of that total. As a result, by 2040, wind and solar will account for 48 percent of the total installed electricity capacity around the world, up from 12 percent now. Batteries become dramatically cheaper, making residential and utility-scale energy storage mainstream. Electric vehicles will also become widespread, helping to balance the grid from intermittent sources of generation from wind and solar. Related: Record Breaking U.S. Exports Could Hurt Oil Markets Costs for solar have fallen by 75 percent over the past decade, and will fall by another 66 percent over the next 25 years. These projections even take into account the assumption that current subsidies for renewables expire. Ultimately, the problems for coal look insurmountable. Solar is already cost-competitive with coal in many markets, and the onslaught against coal will only accelerate. By 2040, coal consumption in Europe will fall by 87 percent; decline by 45 percent in the U.S.; and fall by 15 percent globally. BNEF expects 369 gigawatts of coal-fired electricity to be scrapped by 2040. The greening of the grid means that global greenhouse gas emissions from electricity reach a peak in 2026 and then start to decline. Still, that falls short of the 2-degree warming threshold laid out by the Paris Climate accord. In order to reach that target, investment in clean energy would have to increase by an additional $5.3 trillion. The magnitude of this shift is hard to overstate. Still, they could also be too conservative. Coals fortunes are already falling apart, regardless of the Trump administrations efforts to prop up the dying industry. "I think the train has left the station." Gerry Anderson, CEO of Detroit-based utility DTE Energy Co., told Bloomberg. "The administration cant turn a 70-year-old coal plant into a 20-year-old coal plant." Related: The Downturn Is Over, But U.S. Oil Companies Face A Huge Problem Global coal production fell by a record amount in 2016 a decline of more than 6 percent and consumption dropped by 1.7 percent. These arent just the conclusions of some analysts and environmental groups. Even fossil fuel companies are very bullish on clean energy. The fortunes of coal appear to have taken a decisive break from the past, BPs Chief Economist Spencer Dale said at a briefing. At the heart of this shift are structural, long-term factors. BP also said that greenhouse gas emissions were essentially flat for the third year in a row in 2016. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the world sees emissions peak well before BNEFs forecast of 2026. One major question is what role natural gas plays in the evolving energy mix. Several oil majors are betting their future on natural gas, realizing that it could take large chunks of market share away from coal as governments try to clean up their electricity sectors. They view natural gas as probably the most dominant form of energy for decades to come. But the BNEF report has some striking conclusions on that as well. In the U.S., natural gas still plays a central role, but elsewhere around the world it will be more of a supporting actor. Over the long-term the world will use gas as a flexible source to help meet peaks and provide system stability in an age of rising renewable generation, rather than as a replacement for baseload coal, BNEF says. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: While China is being applauded as the worlds leading market for battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales, automakers are becoming frustrated over how to actually carry out a profitable long-term strategy for that market. A new draft proposal, posted this week on the website of the Legislative Affairs Office for China's cabinet, mandates automakers to sell a high level of plug-in electrified vehicles (called new energy vehicles in China). That would equate to each automaker building credits equivalent to 8 percent of sales by 2018, 10 percent by 2019, and 12 percent by 2020. Sales figures report that more than 28 million new vehicles were sold in China last year. About 351,000 were new energy vehicles, making for only 1.25 percent of the total. Holding onto these high-level clashes with a compromise between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel made earlier this month. China was going to back down from these mandates and extend the timing. Sources told Reuters that the two leaders had agreed to delay the 8 percent requirement to 2019, and allow automakers that missed the quota in early years to make up for it later on. Another meeting has been setting the tone for these government decisions. Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown visited Chinese officials to encourage them to follow Californias zero emission vehicle mandate requiring automakers hit targets for selling electric vehicles in the state. Brown is also encouraging China to adopt the ZEV policys credit trading scheme, where automakers who dont sell enough clean vehicles can purchase credits from companies like Tesla that have accumulated excess credits. The latest draft by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is largely unchanged from one issued in September that drew criticism from global automakers. China has not changed its stance since last year, said Dominik Declercq, China representative for the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. "That's what it looks like: no compromise, no concession," Declercq told Reuters. "It seems that the political leadership has understood that this is a problem but there seems to be a disconnect between them and the working level at MIIT," said German Ambassador to China Michael Clauss. Related: Canada Pushes For Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy China registered about 351,000 new electric vehicles in 2016, compared to only 159,000 cars registered in the U.S. during the same time period (more than half of which were in California). Questions have been raised about how accurate those China sales figures are. Last year in September, the Chinese government fined five automakers for defrauding it of one billion-yuan ($145 million) worth of green-car subsidies. Four auto makers inflated their sales numbers, while one did not manufacture any electric cars. The government plans to tighten up the generous subsidies paid to automakers this year. That will include tightening up eligibility requirements, setting caps for central and local government subsidies, and reducing subsidies for electric buses. Subsidies paid to car buyers are also scheduled to come down starting this year. Theres also concern about how serious Chinese car buyers are about purchasing new energy vehicles beyond generous government subsidies. Consumers have yet to show clear indications over what types of electric vehicles they prefer and why theyre buying them. It may be that getting a good deal on the electric car is the key driver, which could mean softening demand if the government continues to cut back on subsidies and switches over to mandates automakers must meet. China continues to be seen as the growing market for plug-in vehicles, which should be supported by California Gov. Jerry Brown's trip collaborating on zero emission vehicles. But there are many questions coming up - such as what electric cars are Chinese consumers interested in buying beyond generous subsidies? There's concern over China's sales numbers being inflated and deceptive practices by automakers. Major automakers like Daimler would like to see China back off mandating stringent sales targets for ZEVs, which appears to be happening. By Jon LeSage for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Bab al-Mandan strait, which facilitates the transfer of 4 million barrels of oil to Middle Eastern markets everyday, has become increasingly contentious over the past few weeks as an international navel coalition grows its presence in the area. "Recent attacks against merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Bab Al Mandeb have highlighted that there are still risks associated with transits through these waters, the leadership of the Combined Maritime Forces, which boasts vessels from 31 nations, said on Monday. The U.S.-led group is based in Bahrain and guards the Gulf of Aden. In early June, unidentified forces attacked a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker from a vessel disguised as a fishing boat. Three grenades later, no member of the tankers crew suffered any injuries and it continued its voyage into the Red Sea. In January, Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, attacked a Saudi frigate in waters near Yemen. Two people died in what the KSA said was a suicide attack. Other waters near Yemen have seen attacks. Last night, Saudi Arabias state-run news agency reported that Houthis targeted an Emirati vessel as it departed from the Red Sea port of Mokha. The incident did not damage the ship, but one sailor suffered wounds. Sanaa-based Al-Masdar news said the incident involved the Yemeni navy attacking a Saudi vessel carrying ammunition to its allied forces, but this claim appears erroneous. Death to America, death to Israel! can be heard in the background of a video of the attack posted by the same site, which editorially favors the Houthis. Related: OPEC Members Pursue Own Agenda As Glut Persists Vessels in the Gulf of Aden have also had a few close calls on pirate attacks, which were ultimately thwarted by CMF ships nearby. The total number of incidents is still far below figures from 2011, a period in which Somali pirates carried out 237 attacks and took hundreds of people hostage. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen worsens as the proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia rages on, and control over the Bab al-Mandab strait is the grand prize for the victor of the Yemeni civil war. The narrow waterway sees the passage of billions of dollars worth of crude supplies and other goods every year, including aid to Yemen, whose entire health system is on the brink of collapse in the wake of a cholera outbreak, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. For Iran and Saudi Arabia, tight control over the strait equates to domination of African energy markets, which expect to see exponential growth in oil and natural gas demand in the next decade. Back in the United States, congressional leadership has failed to garner enough votes to block President Donald Trumps planned sale of $500 million in weapons to Saudi Arabia. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and Republican Senator Rand Paul had been campaigning to get the bill passed for several days, but the initiative failed with a 47-53 vote. Still, the lawmakers believe the bill serves as a warning for Riyadh. Related: Shale Efficiency Has Peaked For Now This is an important message to the Saudis that we are all watching, Murphy said after the vote. And if they continue to target civilians and they continue to stop humanitarian aid from getting into Yemen, this vote will continue to go in the wrong direction for them. Paul tweeted: We cant make them be like us, but we don have to encourage their behavior by giving them weapons that may fall into the hands of enemies. Trade routes surrounding the Suez Canal are already geopolitically tense from the Gulf spat between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. New attacks on vessels crossing the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea add fuel to the fire, as American and European leaders take a hands-off approach to the Yemen crisis. By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Iraq has been Indias largest supplier of crude oil for the last three months, shipping data from Bloomberg has revealed. This means that OPECs number-two has dethroned the cartels leaderSaudi Arabiawhich has been the top supplier in the worlds fastest-growing market in terms of oil consumption. Iraq produced almost a quarter of the oil India imported last month, or 23 percent, exporting at a daily rate of 1 million barrels. That is compared to a monthly average export market share of 19 percent for the prior four months. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, supplied 17 percent of the crude India bought in May. Iraq has consistently shown signs of an expansion strategy for its oil industry, despite its participation in the OPEC agreement for oil output reduction. While Iraq has not been fully compliant to the production caps, Saudi Arabia has been over-complianta fact that contributed to Saudi Arabia losing coveted market share in India. Regardless of the OPEC agreement, Iraq has been exporting crude oil at a breakneck pace, and in May, its crude oil exports hit the highest rate of the last six months at 101.13 million barrels, or an average 3.26 million bpd daily. India absorbed close to a third of that total. Related: Putins Newest Oil Play: Russia Gains Foothold In Iraqi Oil Patch But the flurry of crude oil leaving Iraq doesnt stop there. Earlier this month, a deputy Iraqi oil minister told media that the Basra Oil Company is working on expanding the daily capacity of the Amaya oil export terminal in Basra to one million barrels. Amayas current capacity is 250,000 bpd. In addition, the minister, Karim Hattab, said that the Basra Oil Company will increase output from its Leheis oil field, one of the longest-producing in Iraq, to 120,000 bpd, an increase from its current output of 100,000 bpd. In its latest Oil Market Report, the International Energy Agency noted that Iraq has managed only a 55-percent compliance rate with the OPEC output reduction agreement, which required that it shave 210,000 barrels from its daily production. The failure of Iraq to adhere to the agreement set out in November and extended in May did not come as a huge surprise, given Iraqs overwhelming dependence on oil revenues. As for Saudi Arabia, which according to OPEC figures is adhering to the agreement whole heartedly, there are additional reasons why it is losing its top spot as oil supplier to the worlds next economic hothouse to its rogue OPEC partner-slash-competitor: energy industry insiders from India told Bloomberg that local Indian refineries have been undergoing upgrades that now allow them to process crude oil with higher sulfur content, such as Iraqi crude. Prices for Iraqi crude are also attractive, according to one of these insiders, the chairman of Hindustan Petroleum Corp. India is not the only promising destination for Iraqi oil. Tanker tracking data suggests that Iraq is also exporting more oil to the United Statesagain besting Saudi Arabia, which pledged to cut exports to its North American client to draw down crude oil inventories in the United States. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Iraq loaded 12 million barrels of crude to be shipped to the U.S. in just the first 13 days of June. This is twice as much as what Iraq shipped to the worlds number-two consumer during the comparable periods of April and May. Iraqs focus on India appears logical, even though India has ambitious renewable energy plans aimed at reducing pollution levels and its dependence on oil imports. India is so ambitious, in fact, that it has plans to ban the sales of non-electric cars after 2030. While this will certainly reduce its oil demand, it wont eliminate it. As the countrys oil minister told the FT, Oil will remain an important component of our energy usage but our capital expenditure is moving into alternatives gas, renewables and technologies such as electric cars. As oil prices continue to dip and high crude oil inventories linger, competition among foreign suppliers will only intensify. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Theres no end in sight to slumping oil prices - good news for consumers but a dire development for major oil producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia. And now, rising U.S. oil production and exports are contributing to the slump. Last week, oil prices reached new lows for 2017, with Brent crude dipping below $48 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dipping belo w $46. The drop has been attributed to an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories, which rose by 3.3 million barrels last week (according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration), despite expectations that it would drop by 3.5 million barrels. The rise in production is compounded by rising U.S. oil exports, since the U.S. lifted a 40-year ban on these exports in 2015. This led to modest increases in oil exports in 2016 but substantial increases so far in 2017. This is a key reason prices will remain low in the long term. Ebbs and Flows in U.S. Exports It is worth remembering why the United States banned oil exports in 1975 (exceptions were allowed at the discretion of the president). 1970 set a record for the highest crude oil production in the U.S., though this record will likely be broken in the next two years. The U.S. was producing a lot, but it was also consuming a lot, forcing it to import more from OPEC states, which produced about 55 percent of the worlds oil in 1973. This meant that OPEC could essentially control prices. And after the U.S. backed Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, OPEC retaliated by raising oil prices. This created a fourfold jump in prices and a global oil shock. One of the many ways the U.S. responded was the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act. This was designed to decrease its reliance on imports by banning oil exports, ensuring U.S.-produced oil would only be consumed domestically. (Click to enlarge) Fast-forward to today, and supply is no longer as big a concern. The U.S. has weaned itself off foreign oil, partly through technologies like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. In 2013, the US started producing more oil than it imported, and it hasnt looked back. U.S. crude oil production has almost doubled since 2010 and is already surpassing forecasts for 2017. In late 2016, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that the United States would produce 8.7 million barrels per day on average in 2017. New estimates suggest it will produce 9.2 million barrels per day in 2017 and up to 10 million barrels per day in 2018. (Click to enlarge) But its not just the U.S. production numbers that are making waves: Its the spike in U.S. crude oil exports. The U.S. exported 830,000 barrels of crude per day in March, a whopping 64.2 percent increase year over year. In February, it exported 1.1 million barrels per day, a nearly 200 percent increase year over year. According to The Wall Street Journal, the February numbers are closer to the new norm, as it expects the U.S. to export, on average, roughly 1 million barrels per day in 2017. A Disaster for Oil Producers This is a huge challenge for major oil producers, especially Saudi Arabia and Russia. In December 2016, OPEC and its oil-producing partners agreed to cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day, or roughly 1.5 percent of global crude production at the time. OPEC, led by the Saudis, has largely made good on this pledge, reducing production by 1.1 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2017. The Russians have played with the numbers cutting production compared with December 2016 levels but not in year-over-year terms. The OPEC deal managed to stabilize oil prices around $50 per barrel, and last month the cuts were extended for another nine months. If it were still 1973, that might have caused a jump in oil prices. But in 2017, OPEC produces only about 40 percent of the global supply, and the U.S. is among the top three producers in the world. The price of Brent crude spiked to $54.15 per barrel after the cuts were extended but has since dropped almost 12 percent and may continue to fall. Related: The Downturn Is Over, But U.S. Oil Companies Face A Huge Problem (Click to enlarge) This means that even the combined forces of OPEC and non-OPEC producers cant prop up oil prices unless they are willing to slash production more severely. It also means that there is enough oil on the market, partly from the U.S., to satisfy demand, even when major producers limit their supply. Maintaining prices at current levels is the best outcome these producers can hope for. But even this comes with the downside of losing market share to competitors, without getting oil prices back to the levels that Russia and Saudi Arabia would need to stabilize their economies. (Click to enlarge) When we discuss U.S. power in the world, we often trot out a few key points: The U.S. economy accounts for just under a quarter of global gross domestic product; it has a military force without peer in the world; and its economy is not dependent on exports. We can now add the following points to this list: The U.S. is the third-largest oil producer in the world; it is less dependent on oil imports than at any point in the last 40 years; and it is stealing customers from Russia and Saudi Arabia even with prices as low as $50 per barrel. Even a few years ago, U.S. shale producers would have found it hard to make a profit at that price, but they are succeeding at that now. Oil prices are going down, U.S. oil exports are going up, and the ramifications will be global. By Zero Hedge More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has put up for lease 195,732 acres of public land in Nevada for oil and gas development, sparking anger among environmentalists who had been protesting the plans for a while. The lease sale, according to the BLM, resulted in competitive bids for 5,760 of the 195,000 acres, bringing in $38,650. According to the website, BLM Nevada holds oil and gas lease sales four times per year, as required by the Mineral Leasing Act, when eligible lands are available for leasing. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the BLM had ignored the protests against the opening up of the public land in Nevada to fracking, and its decision will now start a 30-day process during which conservation groups can appeal it at the Interior Board of Land Appeals. The Center said in a press release about the auction that leasing the land to oil and gas companies will be particularly risky for aquifers in northern Nevada, where the land to be leased is for wildlifeparticularly the sage grousethat depends on those aquifers. The CBD also claims that the resource management plan for the Battle Mountain District in northern Nevada is outdated, preceding the fracking revolution, and needed to be updated. Conservation groups are accusing the BLM of not addressing these potential risks adequately and not having sufficiently stringent requirements for oil and gas companies. The CBD also quoted the chairman of a local chapter of the Sierra Club as saying that Nevada had no future as an oil and gas producing state. Oil and gas leasing in Nevada is nearly a futile exercise. With miniscule production in the past and even today, Nevada has no sizable oil and gas industry, David von Seggern. Nevada is indeed a minor oil producerfor nowwith a daily rate of 23,000 bpd as of March this year, but it could very well contain significant reserves, according to at least one geologist. Nevada oil and gas leases encompassed 1.1 million acres in 2016, but there were only 29 leases on Nevada federal lands that were producing last year, and no wells were spud during 2016, according to data from the BLM. According to geologist Alan Chamberlain, Nevada could be home to more than a billion barrels of oil contained in the eastern Great basin, which it shares with Utah. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Mexican state oil firm Pemex expects to restart on Thursday its Salina Cruz refinery, Mexicos biggest, once a massive fire that killed one person and injured 9 others is fully extinguished, a spokesperson for Pemex told Reuters today. Pemex said on Wednesday that due to the torrential rain in the area caused by tropical storm Calvin, various areas of the Salina Cruz 330,000-bpd refinery in Mexicos southern state of Oaxaca were flooded. The company initiated operations for the safe shutdown of the refinery. Later in the day the flooding caused wastewater dams to overflow and created an oil spill. Preliminary findings show that this product reached ignition point due to the flooding, causing a fire to break out, Pemex said, adding that it is fighting to put out the fire. On Thursday morning, Pemex said that the fire is contained and under control with a low intensity fire. The company confirmed that one person, part of the Pemex fire brigade, was killed in the fire. This is the second major accident at a Pemex refinery this year. In March, an explosion at the Salamanca dispatch terminal killed eight people. In November last year, Pemex was said to have hired Bank of America to help it with its search for partners to improve operations and revamp and refit its ageing refineries, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. According to Carlos Murrieta, Director of Industrial Transformation, Pemex had hired an investment bank to help it find potential partners for joint ventures with private companies to revamp the refineries at Tula, Salamanca, and Salina Cruz. It was a process that started with about 12 banks involved, and in the end, one was selected, Murrieta told Bloomberg in an interview without naming the investment bank. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Nostalgia hung heavy at the re-launch of the once-ubiquitous Nokia 3310 in May. With many new features and marketed by a different company, HMD Global Oy, it was not quite the same model that had taken the country by storm in the early 2000s, but the look and feel were similar, and that was all that mattered. "It is not a comeback as Nokia never left India," says Arto Nummela, CEO, HMD Global. "Nokia branded feature phones have been selling in India all the while, but now we will be scripting a new chapter." Nummela may be factually correct but in fact, given the upheavals Nokia underwent in the last few years, its products had practically disappeared in India. It was a sorry comedown for a company whose handsets were used to make the first-ever mobile phone call in the country on July 31, 1995, and which, as late as 2007, held 60 per cent market share. Nokia suffered as its smartphone forays, using the Symbian 3 and Meego operating system and later Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, could not keep pace with Apple and Samsung. With market share dwindling worldwide, it sold its devices and services business to Microsoft in late 2013, but even Microsoft - which dropped the Nokia brand and rechristened the phones Microsoft Lumia - could do nothing with it. It is rumoured that Nokia - whose telecom infrastructure business continued to thrive - never reconciled to the disappearance of its brand and from the day it was sold set about working on a new company to revive it. The terms of the sale restricted Nokia from selling smartphones for the next two years, but soon after the period expired, HMD Global - owned by former Nokia employees and nurtured by the company itself, though without any financial investment - was born. (Nummela himself spent 17 years with Nokia.) As it happened, Microsoft, disillusioned with the Lumia's failure, was soon ready to sell off its feature phones business, and in May 2016, HMD Global - along with Taiwan's Foxconn - snapped it up. A strategic agreement gives HMD Global exclusive rights to develop and market Nokia branded feature phones, smartphones and tablets till 2024 against royalty payments to Nokia, while the manufacturing will be carried out by Foxconn. The smartphones and tablets will use Google's Android operating system. Already the duo has launched two feature phones (including the Nokia 3310) and three smartphones, one of which, Nokia 3, will be available in India starting June 16, while the other two, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6, are scheduled to hit the market in July. "Our ambition is to launch Nokia Android smartphones and create a fresh portfolio of feature phones," says Ajey Mehta, Vice President, India, HMD Global. Three Pillars HMD Global executives say the new Nokia phones stand on three pillars - premium design and quality of manufacturing, improved life experience and pure Android OS. Some use the premium Corning Gorilla Glass and quality aluminium of the 6000 Series. Unlike with many other phones, customers will not have to choose between a second SIM card slot and a memory card - slots for both have been made available. The phones have a long battery life and the OS is pure Android with regular updates, not the custom user interface that many rivals provide. "We've partnered with the best," says Nummela. "We have Nokia for the brand, Foxconn for engineering and manufacturing, Qualcomm for chipsets and Google for Android." The smartphones are being launched almost simultaneously in 120 countries. "But India will be the most important market for us in the short to mid-term," says Nummela. The company still has a network of 400-odd exclusive distributors. "Most have worked with us for years," says Mehta. "They enable us to reach 80,000 retail outlets across the country. We have also roped in HCL to help us manage other channels such as online sales and organised retail chains like Croma and Reliance." Nokia 6 will be available exclusively through Amazon India. "We've been working closely with HMD," says Manish Tiwary, Vice President, Category Management, Amazon India. "Most people remember Nokia for its robust phones. There is a lot of anticipation for the Nokia Android smartphone." The 3 has been priced at Rs9,499, the 5 at Rs12,899 and the 6 at Rs 14,999. Nokia 6 will be available exclusively through Amazon India. The phones meant for India will all be assembled at Foxconn's facility at Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. HMD is also setting up Nokia Mobile Care outlets, with trained staff, across 300 cities and towns to provide after sales service. It will provide pick up and drop services for phones at another 100 urban centres. "Offline retailers will welcome this additional brand, though there will be pressure to ensure high margins and marketing development funding," says Rushabh Doshi, analyst at global technology market research firm, Canalys. "Maintaining the balance between online and offline retail will be critical. Managing price parity will also be important." Challenges Ahead Nokia emerged as India's most trusted brand in the mobile phone category in 2017 in a recent study by TRA Research. But will it attract the millennial generation? "Nokia's acid test in India will be whether it can win the millennial customer," says Doshi. "While its residual brand equity will have its devices flying off the shelf in the first few quarters, sustaining interest will need strong marketing, a well-designed product portfolio and a sound channel strategy." The marketing has already begun, with HMD Global setting in motion a high powered $500 million global campaign for three years. A good product portfolio will also require sequential launches of the kind Samsung and Xiaomi have excelled at. Samsung is the leader in the Indian smartphone market, but a number of Chinese competitors like Xiaomi and Lenovo are nipping at its heels. "Nokia must establish its USP quickly to stand out," says Doshi. The company claims that 37 per cent registrations for the phones, and 30 per cent of all traffic on its website, has been from India. But Indians are getting a little impatient. "HMD Global announced the phones in February and people have already waited a long time," says Manish Khatri, Partner, Mahesh Telecom, a Mumbai retailer. "Some are losing interest. But once all the devices are launched and if there is enough stock, Nokia might have an edge" @nidhisingal Nawaz Sharif to appear today before JIT ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif is set to appear today before the joint investigation team (JIT) probing allegations of money-laundering against his family, the first sitting prime minister to be directly questioned by investigators. The JIT had prepared the questionnaire for the prime minister and his children last month. It questioned Hussain Nawaz, the PMs elder son, on May 28. The investigation team has also grilled his younger son, Hassan. According to the notice issued to the PM, he has been called as a witness, not as an accused party. However, sources privy to the development say the JIT would ask him how he and his children acquired properties and set up various businesses in different parts of the world. Investigators may also ask the PM about the factual variations in speeches he delivered on different forums after the Panama Papers surfaced, including his address to the nation, his speech in the National Assembly and his statement before the Supreme Court. Sources said investigators may put questions developed in the light of the statements of his cousin Tariq Shafi and other witnesses. Security around the Federal Judicial Academy, the place where the JIT has its offices, has been tightened ahead of the prime ministers visit, and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz activists and leaders have displayed banners and posters welcoming their leader on most adjacent roads. The JIT has also summoned Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in connection with the probe, while Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani, the author of the Qatari letter, has reportedly offered investigators the opportunity to come to Qatar to record his statement. The son-in-law of the prime minister retired Captain Mohammad Safdar has also been summoned by the JIT on June 25. Supreme Court But on the eve of the PMs scheduled appearance before the JIT, the Supreme Court reserved its ruling on whether video recording of witnesses should be allowed during interrogation. The judgement was reserved in the wake of a rejoinder filed by Hussain Nawaz, disputing the JITs reply on the photo leak and seeking directions for immediate cessation of video recording of testimony. His counsel, Khawaja Haris Ahmad, said that recording impeded the freedom of witnesses to say whatever they wanted to before investigators. But Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, who heads the three-judge implementation bench, made it clear that the JITs video recording could not be treated as substantive evidence in a court and couldnt be used for corroboration. They are only an aid to ensure accuracy; in the end, the court will decide the scope of such recordings, he said. The court regretted the way judges were being criticised by people, including the media persons, who had not even read the judgement in the Panama Papers case. We know about this campaign. but we have charted a course under the law and do not care what the people say. No threat can thwart us, Justice Khan said. Any impediment in the JITs work amounted to subverting the order of the Supreme Court, he observed. When PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry told the court about his petition seeking an end to the governments alleged smear campaign against the JIT, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, pointing towards Attorney General (AG) Ashtar Ausaf, reminded Mr Chaudhry that his offer for a gag order in this regard was still on the table. But when Justice Saeed asked the AG why he didnt advise his government to refrain from its smear campaign against the judiciary, Mr Ausaf said the campaign was across the board, holding both sides equally responsible. The AG also supported Khawaja Haris point of view, arguing that the JIT had devised its own method of recording interrogations, which was against jurisprudence developed over the years. Allowing such recordings would require legislation, which was not a function of the court, AG argued. Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, however, described the objections as an attempt to hamper the JIT, saying such reservations should have been expressed during the trial. Referring to Hussains leaked photograph, Justice Ahsan wondered what was the harm in the picture, when the gentleman was seen respectfully sitting on a chair. Australia or Germany: two ways to develop RES While Australia limits the share of c sources in its market, the most powerful economics of the European Union acts in the opposite way. Lately, Germany has increased the power of its solar wind and hydropower stations by half, thus, having created an economic power center. At the same time, Australian authorities act more cautiously. According to the agreement, concluded by the parliamentary coalition and the Labor Party, and passed through the Senate, the share of RES electricity by 2020 is to reach 33,000 gigawatts instead of the planned 41,000 gigawatts. All this happens against the background of an increase in the share of RES in Germany. Last year, the share of alternative sources of energy, such as: wind, solar power and small hydro power plants, accounted for 27.8% of the total energy generation. But the government plans to increase this ratio to 40% - 45% by 2020 and up to 80% by 2050. Does this mean that Australia has decided to lose its pioneering lead in this industry or has the German government made a risky bet on new technologies, designed to increase the competitiveness of its industry and increase exports? Australian fears are based more on the fact that the national energy market has been supplied with cheap coal for a long time, and the cost of reduction of the level of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere in a resource-dependent economy is very high. The German policy is based on desire for a phased reduction of the operating power units during the next decade. In addition, coal reserves of the country mainly consist of brown coal and depend on imports of bituminous coals. Energy Program Director at the Grattan Institute, Tony Wood, supposes that the cardinal differences in the policies of Australia and Germany do not indicate the correctness of one and the incorrectness of the other, equally meeting international agreements to reduce the level of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The question is, which of the ways to solve the problem will be more efficient. If Australia achieves its goals, reducing the share of RES, this will be a good solution. At the same time, Mr. Wood notes, that Germany can benefit by accelerating the development of technologies, that can simultaneously provide both the increase of electricity generation and the reduction in emissions to the atmosphere. Australia is more like a technology buyer. "When solar energy is cheap, we will take care of it," the Australian government says. But John Connor, the head of the Institute for Climate Studies, draws attention to the fact that Australia is the only country that reduces the share of RES. The arguments of each of the parties will be considered in the most detailed way at the conference on climate change, which is to be held in December this year in Paris, but now we can say that reducing requirements can be fatal both for the Australian economy and its climate. For this reason the Australian government is already observing strong diplomatic pressure from the governments of EU countries. For example, the French government has already claimed that Tony Abbott is making problems in the negotiations on this issue, while German officials speak of him as a "black sheep". This criticism can be both relaxed and strengthened, depending on what statement the Australian government will make next month. Simultaneously, there is a stormy debate about the future use of coal in both countries, which is still a key source of energy in generating electricity. In particular, the share of coal in the German energy market is 40%, and in the energy market of Australia - 70%. At the same time, the number of German coal-fired power plants has increased significantly over the past seven years. The last of them, with a capacity of 800 megawatts, was opened in March of this year near the city of Hamburg. The result was an increase in the level of carbon dioxide emissions by 7 percent between 2008 and 2013. It is noteworthy, that the ambitious plans of the German government to cut emissions by 22 million tons gave rise to criticism of trade unions concerned about the possible shortening jobs. Another problem is backing by the German energy sector. The support for the green tariff here takes more than 20 billion euros per year, and the instability of alternative energy sources requires additional costs for network modernization. In response, the supporters of the renewable energy are paying attention to reducing the cost of electricity. For example, one kilowatt produced on wind farms decreased in price by 3 euro cents, and solar power plants reduced prices from 56 euro cents per kilowatt / hour to 11 euro cents. As we see, Germany and Australia proceeded from the same prerequisites, which led to different methods of solution. Both countries have tried to reduce energy costs and improve the environment. Unfortunately, such factors as the general increase of electricity in the cost, as well as the decrease of energy consumption werent taken into account, which led to massive closure of aluminum plants in Australia and the spread of individual PV systems. Thus, RES has given the rise to an increase in generation in the market with excessive supply, and whereas Germany can export surplus, now Australia does not have such an opportunity. Austrian market is fully supplied with biodiesel of domestic manufacture Such facts were published by ARGE, that unites six Austrian biodiesel manufacturers. As the facts indicate, it was produced 269 000 tones of biodiesel in 2014. In comparison with the last year the dimension of manufacture grew by 15% (35000 tones). Also 172000 tones were put to domestic market, but 97000 tones were put to export. It should be noted, that Austrian biodiesel industry is developing invariably, contributing not only to climate but also creating new jobs. At the same time, special attention is paid to strict compliance with the requirements of the European legislation. In particular, raw material, used for manufacture, is produced in the European countries by 100% and its manufacturers have the appropriate certificates. Besides, the process of manufacture is under constant control of the environmental agency and the auditors, who audit the certification schemes, adopted by the European Commission. Vegetable oils (73%), used cooking oils (17%) and animal fats (9%) are used for biodiesel production in Austria. Thus, a quarter of the Austrian biodiesel is produced from waste. On the whole, the manufacturers completely abandoned the use of palm oil. Such situation is a general European trend of biodiesel production from waste and renewable sources of raw materials. At the same time, Austria is often a pioneer, that often requires special norms of investment, especially for the first-generation fuel production facilities. ARGE: ARGE was established in 2006 and represents a certain concern of Austrian manufacturers of biodiesel, bioethanol and oil companies. The main task of ARGE is to coordinate the interests of manufacturers in relations with the state structures, the public and also public organizations of the appropriate profile. The Public Sector Pension Investment Board earned a 16.1 per cent return (gross, not net) in its 2017 fiscal year, bringing its net assets under management to $135.6 billion. Thats a significant increase from last year, when it earned a one per cent return, and closer to its 14.5 per cent result in 2015. Private debt and natural resources saw the strongest returns, at 27.5 per cent and 19.5 per cent, respectively. Public markets posted a 16 per cent return, with infrastructure at 14.4 per cent and real estate at 10.8 per cent. Private equity was the only asset class that saw a negative return, at minus 3.4 per cent . While substantial volatility and international uncertainty remain, we continue to pursue our objective of navigating market fluctuations with a long-term investment horizon and well-diversified global footprint, Andre Bourbonnais, president and chief executive officer at PSP Investments, said in a statement . Significant real estate investments during the 2017 fiscal year included seniors properties in Canada, the United States and Britain. The pension fund also invested in student housing and a large office project in Britain, as well as new developments in Mexico, Colombia and China. In terms of private equity, PSP Investments acquired significant interests in the U.S. physician services organization Team Health, global advisory firm AlixPartners, animal intelligence technology company Allflex Group, and Keter Group, which makes resin consumer products. The pension fund has also committed to acquiring Cerba Healthcare, which operates clinical pathology laboratories in Europe, before the new fiscal year ends. Natural resources activities include new projects in Australia and the United States and expanding four existing agricultural investments. On the infrastructure side, major investments include hydroelectric assets in New England, larger stakes in the renewable energy platform Cubico, as well as ROADIS, which owns 1,644 kilometres of roads in Brazil, Mexico, India, Spain and the United States. When it comes to public markets, PSP Investments created an internal global equity research and investment platform that will provide sector and company-specific information . In the past year, the pension fund also opened a European hub in London, England, and completed staffing its New York office to focus on private debt and private investment opportunities. It also created a responsible investment group and total fund portfolios to better identify opportunities and deploy capital. One-year total portfolio net return of 12.8% generated $15.2 billion of net income, net of all PSP Investments costs. Five-year annualized net return of 10.6%, which is 1.2% above the policy portfolio benchmark return. Ten-year net annualized return of 6.0% generated $13.7 billion of cumulative net investment gains over the return objective. The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) announced today that its net assets under management reached $135.6 billion at the end of fiscal year 2017 , compared to $116.8 billion the previous year, an increase of 16.1%. The one-year total portfolio net return of 12.8% created $15.2 billion of net income, net of all PSP Investments costs. This return continues to outperform the policy portfolio benchmark which generated 11.9% return. On a gross basis, the portfolio delivered a 13.2% return, compared to a 1.0% return in 2016. "We couldn't be prouder of our team's accomplishments in bringing back double-digit returns and contributing to delivering the pension promises to the contributors and beneficiaries who dedicated their active lives to serving Canada," said Andre Bourbonnais, President and Chief Executive Officer at PSP Investments. "While substantial volatility and international uncertainty remain, we continue to pursue our objective of navigating market fluctuations with a long-term investment horizon and well-diversified global footprint." Net assets increased by $18.8 billion in fiscal year 2017, attributable to net income, net of all PSP Investments costs of $15.2 billion and net contributions of $3.6 billion . All asset classes saw strong returns, with the exception of Private Equity. Asset Class Performance Highlights (click on image) As of March 31, 2017: Public Markets had net assets of $77.2 billion , an increase of $8.6 billion from fiscal year 2016, for a one-year return of 16.0%, compared to a benchmark of 14.9% . Despite political and economic uncertainty, gains in public equities were the strongest contributor to our absolute and relative rate of return during fiscal 2017. The largest contributor to overall performance came from the absolute return portfolio (internally and externally managed), which added close to $700 million . Going forward, PSP Investments and Public Markets will benefit from the newly created internal Global Equity Research and Investment platform , which will provide sector and company-specific research. The group also created a new absolute return strategy within Public Markets . Through the Global Investment Partnerships Portfolio, the group aims to establish itself as a key partner for all co-investments, structured and opportunistic transactions in both traditional public markets and non-traditional space between public and private markets . had , an increase of $8.6 billion from fiscal year 2016, for a . Despite political and economic uncertainty, gains in public equities were the strongest contributor to our absolute and relative rate of return during fiscal 2017. . Going forward, PSP Investments and Public Markets will benefit from the newly created internal , which will provide sector and company-specific research. . Through the Global Investment Partnerships Portfolio, . Real Estate had $20.6 billion in net assets , up by $0.2 billion from the previous fiscal year, resulting in a 10.8% one-year return versus 6.2% for the benchmark . In fiscal year 2017, the group completed new acquisitions in multi-residential properties in Canada and in industrial and retail assets in the U.S., while it disposed of non-strategic properties in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Australia . Real Estate continued to position Revera Inc., our seniors' retirement and healthcare platform, as a major operator of seniors' communities in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. Real Estate expanded the London Student Housing portfolio with Greystar UK and continued to grow our pan-European platform, SEGRO European Logistics Partnership (SELP) , increasing the portfolio from 124 to 135 buildings through the acquisition of 14 assets for a purchase price of 265 million (CAD389 million), and the completion of eight developments at a further cost of 49 million (CAD72 million). SELP also successfully issued a 500 million (CAD720 million) unsecured bond listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. Real Estate also funded large, ongoing mixed-use and multi-family developments in the U.S., a large office development at 22 Bishopgate in London, as well as ongoing and new developments in Mexico, Colombia and China . The group established representation at our London office in order to better manage its total European portfolio of CAD$5.92 billion of net assets, build new relationships and originate new investment opportunities. had , up by $0.2 billion from the previous fiscal year, resulting in a . In fiscal year 2017, the group completed new acquisitions in multi-residential properties in Canada and in industrial and retail assets in the U.S., . Real Estate continued to position Revera Inc., our seniors' retirement and healthcare platform, as a major operator of seniors' communities in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. Real Estate expanded the London Student Housing portfolio with Greystar UK and , increasing the portfolio from 124 to 135 buildings through the acquisition of 14 assets for a purchase price of 265 million (CAD389 million), and the completion of eight developments at a further cost of 49 million (CAD72 million). SELP also successfully listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. . The group established representation at our London office in order to better manage its total European portfolio of CAD$5.92 billion of net assets, build new relationships and originate new investment opportunities. Private Equity had net assets of $15.9 billion , $3.4 billion more than in fiscal year 2016, for a one-year return of (3.4) %, compared to a benchmark return of 9.3% . The group significantly expanded its global network of investment partnerships with like-minded investors, including traditional private equity funds. Private Equity also made new direct investments in the consumer and healthcare sectors , including the acquisition of significant interests in Team Health, a leading U.S. physician services organization; global advisory firm AlixPartners; Allflex Group, a global leader in animal intelligence and monitoring technologies for livestock, pets, fish and other species; and Keter Group, the world's largest maker of quality resin consumer products. The group also committed prior to year-end to acquire Cerba Healthcare, a leading European operator of clinical pathology laboratories and continued to build its presence in London with the hiring of a team of experienced and dedicated investment professionals. had , $3.4 billion more than in fiscal year 2016, for a . The group significantly expanded its global network of investment partnerships with like-minded investors, including traditional private equity funds. , including the acquisition of significant interests in Team Health, a leading U.S. physician services organization; global advisory firm AlixPartners; Allflex Group, a global leader in animal intelligence and monitoring technologies for livestock, pets, fish and other species; and Keter Group, the world's largest maker of quality resin consumer products. The group also committed prior to year-end to acquire Cerba Healthcare, a leading European operator of clinical pathology laboratories and continued to build its presence in London with the hiring of a team of experienced and dedicated investment professionals. Infrastructure had $11.1 billion in net assets , a $2.4 billion increase from the prior fiscal year, leading to a 14.4% one-year return, relative to the benchmark return of 5.2% . Our Infrastructure group deployed $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2017, including the acquisition of a portfolio of hydroelectric assets in New England, an additional interest in our Cubico renewable energy platform and 33% of Vantage Data Centers, in collaboration with external partners and also with our CIO group, and Private Equity and Real Estate asset classes. Moreover, with the completion of the split of Isolux Infrastructure Netherlands B.V. and Grupo Isolux Corsan, PSP Investments is now the sole shareholder of Isolux Infrastructure . Renamed ROADIS, it has a portfolio of 1,644 km of roads across nine concessions located in Brazil, India, Mexico, Spain and the U.S. and will serve as our new global road investment platform. Infrastructure also committed to four funds which invest in a wide variety of sectors and niche markets . The group established senior representation at PSP Investments' London office in order to extend our global reach for asset management, managing partner relationships and developing investment opportunities. had , a $2.4 billion increase from the prior fiscal year, leading to . Our Infrastructure group deployed $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2017, including the acquisition of a portfolio of hydroelectric assets in New England, an additional interest in our Cubico renewable energy platform and 33% of Vantage Data Centers, Moreover, with the completion of the split of Isolux Infrastructure Netherlands B.V. and Grupo Isolux Corsan, . Renamed ROADIS, it has a portfolio of 1,644 km of roads across nine concessions located in Brazil, India, Mexico, Spain and the U.S. and will serve as our new global road investment platform. . The group established senior representation at PSP Investments' London office in order to extend our global reach for asset management, managing partner relationships and developing investment opportunities. Natural Resources had net assets of $3.7 billion , an increase of $1.2 billion from the previous fiscal year, for a one-year return of 19.5% versus the 5.3% benchmark . Income was driven by strong cash flows and valuation gains, primarily in timber and agriculture. Natural Resources also made five new investments in the U.S. and Australia and expanded four existing agricultural platforms. Net assets under management grew by $1.2 billion on a year-over-year basis, resulting primarily from $729 million in net deployments and valuation gains. Long-standing investments in timber continued to account for most investment income and assets under management . had , an increase of $1.2 billion from the previous fiscal year, for . Income was driven by strong cash flows and valuation gains, primarily in timber and agriculture. Natural Resources also made five new investments in the U.S. and Australia and expanded four existing agricultural platforms. Net assets under management grew by $1.2 billion on a year-over-year basis, resulting primarily from $729 million in net deployments and valuation gains. . Private Debt funded net assets of $4.4 billion, up from $640 million the previous year , resulting in a 27.5% one-year return, compared to a benchmark of 12.4% . In fiscal year 2017, Private Debt committed across 30 transactions, including investments in first and second lien term loans, unitranche term loans, secured and unsecured bonds and a credit fund. Among them was a US$125 million (CAD 163 million) commitment to a Unitranche Term Loan in support of Advent's acquisition of Quala, North America's largest independent provider of tank trailer cleaning, ISO container depot services and IBC cleaning, testing and reconditioning services . Private Debt also facilitated our CIO group's commitment to a senior equity investment in Information Resources, Inc., a point-of-sale and marketing data aggregator for consumer packaged goods, over-the-counter healthcare companies and retailers in the U.S. and internationally. Private Debt portfolio diversification continued to improve in terms of geography, industry, equity sponsors and asset type. The group committed to the international expansion of PSP Investments by hiring four investment professionals in our London office. PSP Investments' total cost ratio was 70.5 cents per $100 of average net investment assets in fiscal year 2017, compared to 63.0 cents in fiscal year 2016. The higher total cost ratio is part of our Vision 2021, to deliver better sustainable investment returns for our sponsors. It was due to higher operating expensesmainly attributable to increased headcount required to deliver on our strategic plan objectives and the opening of two international offices and a rise in management fees . Other Corporate Highlights Additional accomplishments during fiscal 2017: Created a dedicated Responsible Investment group and expanded our in-house capacity to identify and monitor environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decision-making. Our inaugural Responsible Investment Report can be consulted here. and expanded our in-house capacity to identify and monitor environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decision-making. Our inaugural Responsible Investment Report can be consulted here. Expanded our global footprint and reinforced the One PSP investment approach by completing the staffing of our New York office and opening a European hub in London. These new offices will pursue private investment and private debt opportunities and improve access to local knowledge and market insights . by completing the staffing of our New York office and opening a European hub in London. . Increased operational agility. Through its Public Markets group, PSP Investments created a centralized equity research platform to perform sector and stock analysis on a global basis. It directly feeds all internal active public equity mandates and provides sector expertise and support to all asset classes . Through its Public Markets group, PSP Investments created a centralized equity research platform to perform sector and stock analysis on a global basis. . Continued the implementation of a flexible total fund approach that allows investment teams to take advantage of opportunities that do not fit current asset classes . With the oversight of the Investment Committee, we created our Total Fund portfolios, which help optimize our ability to identify opportunities, deploy capital and improve the risk-return profile of the total fund. We also established a CIO group to seek greater total fund perspective and implemented a new compensation system aligned with total fund views . that allows investment teams . With the oversight of the Investment Committee, we created our Total Fund portfolios, which help optimize our ability to identify opportunities, deploy capital and improve the risk-return profile of the total fund. . Consolidated our approach to diversity and inclusion practices. We see diversity as a key success factor and we are enabling our increasingly diverse workforce to reach their full potential and, as a team, to successfully deliver on PSP Investments' corporate business strategy, Vision 2021. The number of women in senior roles increased from 18.2% in 2015 to 30% in 2016, compared to a national availability rate of 27.4%. As a percentage of our workforce, members of visible minority groups increased from 15.4% in 2015 to 16.6% in 2016. Representation of group members within PSP Investments is consistent with the market availability rate of 14.8%. "We believe that attracting a talented, high-performing workforce and building relationships with the strongest institutional partners worldwide is translating directly into results in our investments," Mr. Bourbonnais said. "Our vision is to be a leading global institutional investor that puts the interests of the contributors and beneficiaries at the heart of everything we do. I am proud of the progress that our employees and partners have made to bring this vision to life." For more information on PSP Investments' fiscal year 2017 performance, visit http://www.investpsp.com/en/index.html. About PSP Investments The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is one of Canada's largest pension investment managers with $135.6 billion of net assets under management as of March 31, 2017. It manages a diversified global portfolio composed of investments in public financial markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and private debt. Established in 1999, PSP Investments manages net contributions to the pension funds of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montreal and offices in New York and London, their European hub. For more information, visit www.investpsp.com or follow us on Twitter @InvestPSP. Senior Vice President, Head of Principal Debt and Credit Investments, out of PSP's New York office, this group has been very busy deploying capital in high yield, leverage loans, and direct lending. Andre Bourbonnais said pensions and other institutional investors are under-estimating the risks of infrastructure investments, seeing them as a substitute for bonds, but neglecting the high valuations and regulatory risks of these investments. He also noted that following Brexit, PSP slowed its activities in infrastructure and real estate in the UK, and even sold some assets (real estate) but it remains committed to investing in that country and recently opened a London office and sees it as its European growth hub. Still, looking at the results above, both Real Estate and Infrasructure delivered great returns and both handily beat their benchmark, adding significant net income to PSP's overall portfolio. In past years, I would scutinize the benchmarks in all asset classes, but suffice it to say that even if the benchmarks in Private Debt, Real Estate and Infrastructure were much tougher to beat, the results are still very impressive in these asset classes and they would likely still beat tougher benchmarks. In Public Markets, where it's a lot tougher beating benchmarks , the results are equally impressive for fiscal year 2017, gaining 110 basis points over the benchmark (16% vs 14.9%). The press release states the Benefits Canada reports, PSP Investments posts 16.1% return PSP Investments put out a press release announcing its results, PSP Investments posts strong performance for fiscal year 2017 - Net return of 12.8% brings net assets to $135.6 billion (added emphasis is mine):Let me begin by thanking my contact in Ottawa for bringing PSP's results to my attention early Wednesday morning. In past years, PSP typically released its results to the public a month after they were tabled at Parliament, so I wasn't expecting them to be available so soon.Anyway, let me delve right into my analysis and begin by stating these are impressive results. It's not just the headline figure, what most impressed me wasasset class, and of course the results this group delivered in such a short amount of time (operations began in late 2015).At a CFA luncheon earlier this year , PSP's President and CEO, Andre Bourbonnais, stated that PSP is trailing its peers in Private Debt and is a late comer to this asset class. Well, I think it's safe to say that certainly isn't the case any longer.Led by David Scudellari,In London, PSP seeded a credit platform late last year which I'm sure has ramped up its operations. The platform, created by David Allens AlbaCore Capital, will focus on private and public credit markets where there are inefficiencies in pricing, including high yield, leveraged loans and direct lending. At the time, PSP said it may deploy more capital in partnership with AlbaCore for specific deal opportunities.Now, I don't know if Private Debt can continue to deliver an exceptional performance of 27% ++ every single year. In fact, I think it's wise to temper our enthusiasm on credit markets and private debt going forward, but clearly this is a great asset class which will grow over time and offer PSP a significant source of value added for many more years.How did PSP ramp up its operations in Private Debt so quickly? It has the right governance which allows it to compensate people appropriately and it created these credit platforms to deploy significant capital very quickly, paying fewer fees than farming it out to traditional private equity funds that are active in this space.As stated above, all asset classes had strong returns with exception of Private Equity. I have long warned investors these are treacherous times for private equity . If you look at results from various large US and Canadian pensions in the last year, you will see returns on private equity have come down considerably.Still, large Canadian pensions are doing better than their US counterparts in private equity and as you will read below, there are legacy issues which explain why PSP's Private Equity team underperformed its benchmark in fiscal 2017.There are a lot of structural factors that explain why times are tough in private equity. A wall of capital from all over the world is chasing private equity, deals are pricey, the cost of capital is cheap, strategics are flush with cash and they are competing directly with private equity firms.In fact, you can say the same thing is happening in other private markets like infrastructure and even real estate. As more and more global funds increase their allocation to private markets, deals are getting pricier and the risk premium over public markets is coming down.At the International Pension Confrence of Montreal on Monday,largest contributor to overall performance came from the absolute return portfolio (internally and externally managed), which added close to $700 million.It is worth noting that PSP allocates to a handful of top hedge funds (like Bridgewater and company) and it has also developed a significant internal alpha team covering bonds, stocks, commodities, and currencies and anything in between (like PIPEs, etc.).This internal alpha team also co-invests with external partners on transactions where it can take bigger opportunistic positions internally. This is basically piggybacking off of external managers when they see a great idea worth taking a risk on. This is on top of generating their own alpha ideas internally ( a smart way of leveraging their public market partnerships).Anyway, fiscal year 2017 was a great year for PSP Investments. Just look at the financial highlights which speak for themselves (click on image): Since then, with the help of organizations like The Foundling, New York's Administration for Children's Services has achieved dramatic improvements leading child care professionals around the world to take notice. In New York, a cohesive family foster care model called Child Success NYC has reduced the number of children in foster care by nearly 50 percent over ten years. In partnership with five participating foster care agencies, the program uses evidence-based models to provide care for children and families (e.g., Keeping Foster Parents Supported and Parenting Through Change [KEEP]). Child Success NYC operates under the philosophy that families possess unique strengths that can be built on to keep their children at home. As a result of the program, the number of children in out-of-home care has dropped to 9,000, a ratio of 4.9 per 1,000, while the average length of time a child stays in care has been reduced to less than two years. New South Wales' child welfare system closely resembles New York's a decade ago. In New South Wales, the number of children entering foster care has doubled over the past five years; today there are approximately 16,000 children in foster, kinship, or residential care there at any given time about 8.1 children per 1,000. By comparison, the foster care population in New York City in 2007 totaled 16,911, with a ratio of 8.9 children per 1,000 . Evidence-based practices geared toward preventing foster care placements, reducing disruptions to children already in a foster home, shortening the length of stays, and reunifying families are saving many of New York City's most vulnerable children and have the potential to reduce out-of-home-care populations elsewhere. Indeed, the successful track record of one of New York City's oldest and largest child welfare organizations, The New York Foundling , has prompted it to offer its experience and expertise to governments overseas, even as far away as New South Wales, Australia. It's this success that persuaded the State of New South Wales to launch a similar initiative with the help of The Foundling's Implementation Support Center (ISC). The center supports providers by training government and non-government agency leaders in the methodology and practical implementation of evidenced-based practices, as well as how to sustain them over time. While years of extensive research and clinical trials have demonstrated the success of evidence-based practices, agencies across the world have struggled to implement them effectively due to systemic barriers, on-the-ground challenges, and organizational resistance to change. A core piece of what The Foundling does is work with other agencies to overcome these difficulties. Because proven evidence-based models produce the best outcomes, it is our goal to increase the number of children and families who receive them. In New South Wales, The Foundling is working directly with the government's Ministry of Family & Community Services to show it what implementation looks like and prepare local agencies to pilot their own evidence-based programs. When the Ministry of Family & Community Service issued an RFP and $90 million-dollar bid earlier this year, The Foundling met with thirteen Aboriginal-owned and -operated non-government agencies, hoping to convince at least two or three to apply. The response to the RFP was enormous. Word of the initiative spread and over seventy agencies applied. In April, the ministry awarded contracts to eleven agencies, with the goal of serving nine hundred families. In addition, The Foundling is mentoring OzChild, an agency that serves high-risk children in Victoria, Australia. International interest in evidence-based practices is not limited to Australia. The Foundling is meeting with child welfare leaders in the UK who are considering launching evidence-based program initiatives of their own. While we are incredibly proud to be a part of the ongoing transformation of the child welfare system in New York City, we are thrilled by the promise of sharing this work overseas and moving one step closer to ensuring strong outcomes for youth placed in out-of-home care worldwide. Child welfare professionals and policy makers in other jurisdictions should take note of the work being done in communities as disparate as the Bronx and New South Wales and consider the implications for their own populations as they strive to provide children and their families with effective services in an era of limited resources. Bill Baccaglini is president and CEO of the New York Foundling and Sylvia Rowlands is the organization's senior vice president for evidence-based programs. Opening day of bass season used to be something of a holiday for sportsmen and women in New York, with bass boats zooming around our better bass waters when the sun rose. The state's decision a decade or so ago to create a catch-and-release season for bass before the mid-June opener changed things dramatically, as those who want to fish for bass can do so all spring, as long as they put them back. Some worried this would have an impact on bass spawning, as fish lured off spawning beds may not return to protect their eggs. That doesn't seem to have occurred, as by virtually all accounts, bass fishing around here is as good as ever. Lake George, Lake Champlain, Saratoga Lake, Brant Lake and the lower Hudson River -- among many others -- still give up lots of lunker largemouths and smallmouths. This year those hitting the water for Saturday's opener will find surface water is cooler than normal, thanks to our dreary, rainy spring. Recent heat has helped a bit, but bass should still be fairly shallow. Weekends on some of our more renowned bass waters can lead to plenty of angling company, but there are many, many smaller lakes and ponds where bass are plentiful. Cossayuna Lake, Glen Lake, Lake Adirondack and Hadlock Pond are underrated bass waters that don't draw the attention that bigger waters do. -- Don Lehman Shantall Smith, 23, of Brooklyn, was charged with third-degree grand larceny, a felony, for the use of stolen credit card numbers to purchase thousands of dollars in gift cards at local stores in March, police said. State Police believe she used the numbers, which were used to create fraudulent credit cards, at stores around upstate New York. She was arrested in Amsterdam in March for using a fake card to buy $15,000 in gift cards, and has been jailed in Montgomery County since then as police investigated other similar reports. LAKE GEORGE The Town Board has agreed in principle to allocate $2,000 for having a paid staff person at the towns Teen Center, which just wrapped up its inaugural year. The center was launched in September to provide a place for local teenagers to go after school two days a week. It is housed in a room in the towns senior citizen building and contains a pool table, television and other amenities. The initiative started about 14 months ago as part of a partnership between Sacred Heart Parish, St. James Church, Caldwell Presbyterian Church and Lake George High School and many community members also not affiliated with the churches and school. The group surveyed the entire high school last May and June, according to Lake George Junior-Senior High School Principal Francis Cocozza. The students responded overwhelmingly with what they wanted. They wanted a place to go. It was our job to figure out the how, he said. In January, the centers organizers had sent a letter to the town seeking funding for a six-hour weekly staff position from September to May and a $10 per week supply budget to buy snacks, drinks and games. Cocozza spoke before the board on Monday, reiterating its request and providing an update on the operations. Cocozza is the principal of Lake George Junior-Senior High School but he was not speaking for the district, but as a member of the community who is a part of this effort. The center was open 68 times during the last nine months, according to Cocozza. There were an average of seven students and as many as 13. He said he believes the numbers were good for it being just the first year. I think we can grow from here, he said. Among some of the activities was an expert presenting animals, such as raptors and owls, and a guest chef cooking meals for the students. They also have held themed parties for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day and a pizza party for the end of the school year. Cocozza said the community has been very generous in donating items such as a Nintendo Wii, televisions, board games, food, supplies and games. The Lake George Steamboat Company has donated a full charter cruise on Oct. 15 to raise funds for the Teen Center and Nicos House, a nonprofit organization that helps youths battling addiction. Organizers want to build upon this first year, according to Cocozza. The momentum is there and what were looking for the town is a mechanism to keep this momentum going forward, he said. That is why organizers are seeking a staff person that that would receive a stipend for working four to six hours a week. The person would coordinate the volunteers, oversee programming and provide a face that the teens associate with the center, according to Cocozza. Without the support of some sort of person, Im not sure the long-term viability and sustainability of the teen center, he said. The board was receptive to the request. Supervisor Dennis Dickinson said the town is very appreciative of the effort put in by the volunteers. Its a great thing for the community, he said. Town Board member Marisa Muratori said the role of the Youth Commission needs to be part of the discussion. Youth Commission used to be a lot smaller, she said. Its really gained in girth over the years. Its a large function of the town now. Deputy Supervisor Vincent Crocitto said the town has to balance various interests in the town. It spends about $95,000 on the Youth Commission compared with about $40,000 on the Senior Center. We always have them asking for stuff, he said. The town wants to participate but it does not want to take on the whole burden, he added Dan Barusch, the towns director of planning and zoning, said he believes that the town could find savings by switching to more energy-efficient lighting in the senior center. Board member Nancy Stannard asked whether the school district could provide funding. Superintendent Lynne Rutnik said the district could look into it, but it has not had those discussions. Dickinson also said maybe the village should get involved as well. Dickinson said it may be better having a town employee run the center. The board said it would be good have the center come under the umbrella of the Youth Commission. The board agreed to fund about $2,000 and is going to have a discussion with the Youth Commission about the issue. Area residents and tourists on June 29 will finally be able to Uber a ride or catch a Lyft after state legislators last month approved a bill allowing the ride-sharing services to migrate upstate from New York City. For Jesse Park and Ammie Lin, who were strolling on sunny Canada Street on Wednesday in Lake George, the news is welcomed. Park, from Albany, and Lin, from New York City, both said they have used Uber before and prefer it to cabs. In Albany, theres no competition and cabs are expensive and not very good, said Park, who has the Uber app on his phone. Lin said if she needs a cab in New York, shes more apt to call an Uber driver these days. They should be worried, she said of area cab companies. But officials at Glens Falls and Saratoga cab companies dont seem all that worried. Bob Clark, manager of Park Avenue Taxi in Glens Falls, said city fares are already very low and Uber fares fluctuate. He also said he believes that Uber drivers in their own vehicles may balk at picking up members of the area party crowd who at times arent too kind to the cabs. Time will tell, Clark said. Itll give us some competition in Saratoga and Lake George, but Im not worried too much about it. Clark also questioned Ubers insurance, saying he understands the company is kinda skirting around it. That was a point the owner of Saratogas Value Van Taxi & Car Service also stressed, saying he spends an average of $4,000 a year per car in commercial liability insurance and said Uber doesnt have that commercial liability insurance. Their drivers dont know what theyre getting into, said James Graczyk. Though he said he doesnt believe Uber or Lyft will hurt his business much because he has large vehicles, a strong client list and makes numerous trips to the airport, his websites homepage is dominated by a video entitled Four Things About Uber You Wish You Never Knew. Its a polished compilation of testimonials about Uber horrors including an alleged sexual assault. He said the intent of the video is essentially to let people know more about the other side of Uber and that despite being hailed as a ride-sharing service, its a taxi service that gets to operate under different rules, he said. Graczyk said he believes more traditional taxi companies like Saratoga Taxi are likely to be hurt more by Ubers arrival. Saratoga Taxi owner Larry Cooper chose not to comment when reached via telephone Wednesday. Uber spokesperson Alix Anfang, based in New York City, said Graczyks claims about Ubers lack of commercial insurance is absolutely incorrect. She said every ride is covered by up to $1.25 million in commercial insurance which is up to 20 times higher than taxis are required to have in the state. And they are covered from when the app is turned on until the app is turned off, she said. Our drivers dont have to buy any other insurance, she said, adding that New York also has a unique 2.5 percent fee that goes into a Black Car Fund, essentially a workers compensation fund. Anfang chose not to respond to the negativity on Graczyks website. She also said Uber considers car owners as the competition not taxis. Once we arrive, youll see we can all work together to solve transportation needs, she said, adding that Uber is thrilled to soon be operating in what amounts to ride-sharings final frontier. Asked how she felt about the arrival of Uber and Lyft, Maria Trapkevic reached her hands up to the blue sky above Lake George on Wednesday and said yaaaaaay! The Lithuanian resident working at the Tiki Resort for the summer said she got exposed to the service last year in Rhode Island and loved it. John Mangino, from Virginia, said he has the app, but has never used it. But its cool, said Mangino, who was vacationing with his wife and daughter. People at work use it all the time. And its great if youve been drinking. Two elderly couples in Lake George Wednesday, however, were less enthused saying they either didnt know about Uber or didnt really care. And Bobby Breath, a longtime Hudson Falls resident who recently moved to South Glens Falls, had mixed feelings. She said shes concerned by the negative things she is reading and hearing about Uber drivers in the news. I dont know what their vetting system is for the drivers, so I might be apprehensive getting into a car not knowing the driver or the car, she said. Would I ever try one? I probably would if my husband was with me, or my dog. Mark Mulholland, a television news reporter from The Post-Stars news partner WNYT-TV NewsChannel13, is one of more than 50,000 upstate New Yorkers going through the process of becoming an Uber driver. Hes doing it primarily for an upcoming news story about the experience of applying to be a driver. Mulholland said he had to forward copies of his license, social security card, car insurance, registration and tell them the make and model of his car. A few days later he received a report from a company called Checkr, out of California, detailing the results from his background check that cleared him after various searches in categories including sex offender, global watchlist, national criminal, federal criminal, county criminal and motor vehicle. Im doing a story on what it takes to become a driver, Mulholland said of the process he is going through. But as I told my kids, with college coming, Im not opposed to driving. FORT EDWARD The Washington County jury hearing the Matthew Slocum triple-murder retrial heard forensic testimony from Slocums first trial on Thursday and about a letter of apology Slocum wrote to his brother. Daniel Slocum Jr. told the panel that he received a letter from Matthew Slocum from jail in late 2011, in which Matthew Slocum apologized and asked for forgiveness, but did not say what he was apologizing for. Matthew Slocum is alleged to have killed their mother among his three victims. I dont really know or remember what happened, he wrote. The panel heard hours of complex scientific testimony Thursday about DNA tests done on blood recovered from clothes worn by Matthew Slocum and his then-girlfriend Loretta Colegrove, with conclusions that Slocums DNA was on a cellphone that belonged to victim Josh OBrien, while blood consistent with victim Lisa Harringtons DNA was on a shotgun and clothes that were worn by Slocum and Colegrove the day of the killings. Lead defense counsel Michael Mercure, the Washington County public defender, spent much of his time focusing on DNA consistent with being from Lisa Harringtons blood being on Colegroves tank top, as the defense has blamed her for the slayings. Forensic scientist Dan Myers also testified that DNA found on the shotgun that was believed to have been used to kill the three victims belonged to Lisa Harrington, but that an unknown donors DNA was also found on parts of the gun. A portion of that DNA profile matched Slocums profile, Myers said. But he said Slocum could not be excluded or included as the donor. Earlier in the day, the panel heard nearly two hours of testimony from a former State Police laboratory scientist read into the record of his trial, because the witness is critically ill and unable to testify during the retrial. So prosecutor Linda Griggs and defense counsel Michael Mercure read questions and testimony from Slocums 2012 trial instead. The scientist testimony focused on tests for blood on items seized from Slocum, the vehicle he drove, his girlfriend and items he handled after the July 13, 2011 shootings of his mother, stepfather and stepbrother. The jury heard that blood was found on clothes of Slocum and his then-girlfriend, Loretta Colegrove, but the testimony did not specify from whom the blood came. Myers did DNA tests on the blood. The jury also heard Thursday morning from a retired State Police gun expert, who testified he could not determine whether the guns seized in the case were used in the shootings. Police found more than a dozen long guns in a vehicle and abandoned along a road that had belonged to victim Dan Harrington. The jury is also expected to hear some of the 2012 testimony of the late Washington County sheriffs Senior Investigator Bruce Hamilton later in the trial. He was lead investigator in the case, but died in 2014. Slocum, 29, of White Creek, faces murder, arson and lesser counts in the killings of Lisa Harrington, Dan Harrington and Joshua OBrien in their Turnpike Road, Eagle Bridge home. He is accused of torching their home after killing them. He was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 88-years-to-life, but the convictions were overturned because appeals courts found he was denied his right to counsel when questioned. He confessed during that questioning, but that confession is off-limits in this trial, unless the defense opens the door to it. Colegrove was not charged but testified against Slocum in both trials. The jury has heard from 27 witnesses so far in the four days of testimony in the case. Testimony is to continue Friday, with the prosecution expected to wrap up its case and the defense expected to call witnesses. A nursing home that expanded rapidly into Moreau, Wilton and Malta is not tax-exempt, a judge has ruled. The Home of the Good Shepherd tried to argue that it was a religious organization running nursing homes as a charitable activity. Saratoga County Supreme Court Justice Robert Chauvin rejected that entirely. The court finds that the evidence presented actually establishes that such facilities are not operated for a religious or charitable purpose, he wrote in his decision. The managers contract said she received a bonus whenever she finished a year with a profit, which makes the property not tax-exempt, he noted, quoting from real property tax law. The law says that religious property is not tax-exempt if any officer or member or employee receives a profit. Owners said they ran the nursing homes at a significant discount from other homes, charging far less. While running a nursing home is not inherently a tax-exempt use, Chauvin said they would have a strong argument if they could prove they were providing services below market rates. But, he said, the owners witness was not credible. She could not provide any sources for the rates she said were offered at other nursing homes and mostly cited nursing homes outside the area, Chauvin wrote in his decision. The owners also argued that they offered subsidies to those who could not pay, and they would not kick out anyone if they ran out of money. But Chauvin wrote that the evidence showed they offered a lower rate to a miniscule number of residents, and their contract said they could kick out those who could no longer pay. Residents also had to prove they had enough assets to live there for at least two years, and the average stay was less than two years, Chauvin wrote. Wilton took the case to court with the towns real property attorney, Dan Vincelette of Albany. Moreau, Malta, and the school districts of Saratoga Springs and South Glens Falls, also joined the case, but Malta settled before the case was decided. Wiltons town attorney was pleased that the others took the case all the way to trial. Many towns just automatically settle real property proceedings and thats an unfortunate mindset, said attorney Mark Schachner. They were right not to. The judge held a four-day trial to examine the situation, Vincelette said. And although the judge found that the nursing homes were affiliated with the Bethesda Episcopal Church of Saratoga Springs, it didnt mean the nursing homes were tax-exempt. Its not used for religious purposes, its used as a nursing home, Vincelette said. Just because youre providing housing is not charity. However, the organization has appealed the case. We are appealing on the grounds that we give charity and were a lot less cost for our services than any home in the area, said CEO Denise Cote. No one is ever asked to leave if they run out of money. QUEENSBURY Warren Countys discussion of a plastic bag ban drew a sizable crowd to the Board of Supervisors special night meeting Wednesday, and the board responded by holding off on reaching out to state legislators to call for a state law to discourage use of them. A dozen people spoke during a public hearing on the countys proposal to address environmental issues related to single-use plastic bags, with the majority of the speakers in favor of action to lessen or ban the use of the bags at stores. Several, though, spoke in favor of the county taking no action, urging supervisors to let residents make their own choices, and questioning the science that led to the conclusions that they are environmentally worse than other choices. The Board of Supervisors, missing four members, responded by voting down a resolution that would request legislative action by the state Legislature, promote use of reusable bags over single-use plastic bags and discourage use of single-use plastic bags by retailers. Nine of 16 supervisors present voted for the resolution, but it fell short of the weighted votes needed to pass. The topic was a hot one among supervisors and residents, with board Chairman Ronald Conover, the supervisor from Bolton, having to remind commenters that the meeting was not a debate on the issue. Some pointed out success that other communities and states have had banning the bags, with use cut by 85 percent in California after a ban was enacted. Others pointed to finding plastic bags in the woods and other remote areas, the pollution they cause on land and in the ocean and the impact on marine life that ingest plastics. Glens Falls resident Dana Stimpson said she had lived in Seattle, where a ban was successfully enacted. It worked. People adapted, she said. We are going to run out of fossil fuels one day, Warren County resident Diane Collins told supervisors. Take a stand for our environment. Glens Falls resident Robin Barkenhagen said he represented the Green Party, which he said advocates for a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. Others, though, questioned the need for a ban. Queensbury resident Bob Benway said the environmental impact of bags in a county like Warren County, where trash is burned, is negligible, since they dont wind up in landfills. He also questioned who would enforce a ban. I like the idea that people have a choice. They can use paper, plastic or cloth, local car dealership owner Sean Garvey told supervisors. The supervisors on hand were split on the issue, with Glens Falls 2nd Ward Supervisor Peter McDevitt pointing out the board resolution simply asked for state legislative action. Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Doug Beaty said the resolution was basically giving our endorsement to the state for a ban. Lake George Supervisor Dennis Dickinson, a land surveyor, said he has found bags in trees and in even the most remote woodlands he has surveyed, and he advocated for action to cut their use. Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Matt Sokol said he believed the issue needed more discussion by supervisors before the board moved forward. Stony Creek Superivsor Frank Thomas, the countys budget officer, said the pollution issue came down to personal responsibility. We cant teach our people to not be pigs and throw stuff on the side of the road, he said. Lets ban litter on the side of the road. France was first put into a state of emergency on November 13, 2015 , after an attack in Paris killed 130 people . French activists and lawyers are warning that a new bill will make the country stay in a permanent state of emergency, effectively making all of the measures that are put in place during a state of emergency the permanent law of the land. The bill will turn warrant-less property searches as well as house arrests into everyday life. Protest marches are to be banned, under the bill; places of worship that are suspected of sharing extremist views along with electronic tagging for surveillance purposes are also on the docket. The power shift would be absolutely absurd and would effectively turn France into a pseudo-police state. Perhaps globalists are using the threat of Islam to consolidate their power through new police freedoms that limit their citizens powers. French President Emmanuel Macron wants to end Frances 19-month state of emergency by effectively turning it into a permanent reality. They tell us were ending the state of emergency, but they are actually making it eternal. Its an intellectual scam, Marie-Jane Ody, vice president of a union representing judges, told French newspaper Le Figaro in a June 8 article. Imagine a fascist-like group rises to power. All the legal instruments would be in place to commit abuse. Five people were killed and seven injured by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Wednesday in western Guatemala near the border with Mexico , Guatemala's national emergency coordination agency reported. The fatalities included a woman in the city of San Marcos who was killed by a falling wall and a homeless man in the town of San Sebastian Retalhueleu who was struck by the collapse of part of a church. Both locales were close to the epicenter. Three women in different departments, or states, died from heart attacks attributed to fright caused by the pre-dawn quake. Authorities reported moderate damage to homes, some landslides that blocked highways and at least seven people hurt. "We greatly mourn the loss of lives," President Jimmy Morales said. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the earthquake was centered 8 kilometers (5 miles) southwest of Tajumulco, Guatemala, at a depth of about 111 kilometers (69 miles). The emergency coordination agency said the quake struck at 1:29 a.m. local time (3:29 EDT) and was felt throughout the country. Authorities reported power was knocked out in several departments. San Marcos, which is home to about 25,000 people, lies 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the epicenter. The mountainous region is sparsely populated with communities scattered around the base of the dormant Tajumulco volcano. Most residents are small-scale farmers or run small businesses. Officials said classes in the area would be canceled Wednesday to allow school buildings to be inspected. The earthquake also rattled the Guatemalan capital, waking residents but without causing damage there. Across the border in Mexico, Gov. Manuel Velasco of the southern state of Chiapas said via Twitter that there were reports of cracked walls and shattered windows in Huixtla, but so far no injuries. Local Civil Protection authorities said the quake was felt throughout the state. There was no tsunami warning. In the story over at the Big Wobble recently emailed to ANP by one of our readers they reported the 2nd week of June has seen more mass die offs of fish, birds and animals around the planet with 16 new 'mass death events' in the first 12 days of June alone according to the End Times Prophecy Blog . Just the lastest 'mass animal death events' that now number in the 'thousands of events' since 2011, in the first video below, Evangelist Joey Bellmore warns us why these 'mass animal death events' could be something straight out of Biblical End Times Prophecy. As Bellmore tells us, so far there have been 249 known 'mass animal death events' in 2017 alone spread across 59 different countries and he looks at these 'mass death events' through the viewpoint of Hosea and Zephaniah while warning that what we're witnessing now could be seen as warnings of events still to come. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: MUSCATINE Lawyers for former mayor Diana Broderson and the Muscatine City Council appeared in Muscatine County District Court Wednesday afternoon, arguing whether a stay should be issued that would allow Broderson to return to office while her case is heard. District Judge Mark Smith did not rule at the hearing, but set July 17 as the next hearing date to review the merits of the case. Broderson was not present. Broderson's attorney William Sueppel argued the City Council's process for removing the mayor was a violation of due process because the council acted as investigator, prosecutor, judge and jury. As a result, he said, its decision was not fair or legal. Sueppel also said if Broderson is not allowed to run for re-election in the fall because of the court proceedings, she will never be able to make up for the time she would have served as mayor. Attorney for the city Amy Reasner argued the city council was within its rights by presiding over the hearings in March and April. She said the council's "methodologies" were justified under Iowa Code. She argued the removal of a mayor is a self-executing order that should not be undone by the issuance of a Stay. Reasner began her argument by stating "there is nothing to say," because the mayor has already been removed from office. After the oral arguments, Judge Smith questioned Reasner on two main issues: whether there was a conflict of interest in the city council determining Broderson's removal, and whether it was appropriate for the city to appoint special counsel, prosecutor John Nahra, during the hearings. Conflict of interest The judge said, upon reviewing the evidence, he found 17 allegations in which Broderson accused city council members of inappropriate behavior or actions. Broderson also made allegations at the state level regarding council members' conduct. Smith asked Reasner if there was a conflict of interest because the council was directly involved in the allegations, because it would likely be "in their personal interest to have her removed." Reasner argued the council did not have personal interest, and anyone who deals with city staff would be personally affected in some way. Smith said the council could be found to have had a conflict of interest based on precedent found in Burke v. City Council of City of Lansing. After the Lansing City Council voted to remove Alderman William Burke, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled this year "a City Council that is involved in prosecuting, investigating, and deciding a removal case is an example of a clear intermingling of functions" and amounts to a violation under due process laws. "Comparing it to Lansing, the likelihood of success is pretty good on this case in terms of the plaintiff's (Broderson's) success," Smith said. If it is decided there was a violation of due process, the entire case will have to "be tried anew," he added. Special prosecutor Smith questioned Reasner about when the city decided to hire Nahra to represent the council. Reasner said he was hired in January, around the same time charges against the mayor were filed by City Attorney Matt Brick. Smith said Iowa Code does not specify whether a city council is allowed to hire special counsel for a removal procedure. Reasner said it also is not prohibited by the code. The Clinton County Sheriffs Office Thursday night released the names of a husband and wife who were found dead in a DeWitt home Tuesday. The cause and manner of death of Brian Paul Glasz, 51, and Michelle Renee Glasz, 54, both of 3750 U.S. 30, will be released Friday, Sheriff Rick Lincoln said in a news release. Deputies were dispatched to the Glaszes home, located near Low Moor, on Tuesday morning, to conduct a welfare check. Deputies gained entry to the residence and found the couple. Deputies were assisted on scene by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the division's Crime Scene Lab. Also on scene were Clinton County Medical Examiner, Clinton County Attorneys Office, DeWitt Police Department, Clinton Police Department, Clinton County Communications and the Clinton County Building Maintenance. The Davenport Community School District (DCSD) is hosting a job fair from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, June 29, at the IowaWORKS Center, 902 W. Kimberly Road, Davenport. The District is hiring for a wide range of positions, including clerical, food service, janitorial, para-educators, and teachers. DCSD Human Resources staff members will be on site to answer any questions. For more information, call 563-445-3200, ext. 2, to schedule an interview. Facing a steep budget shortfall caused by the ongoing Illinois budget impasse, Western Illinois University officials on Wednesday vowed to act more like a private college, at least in terms of fundraising. College President Jack Thomas and Joe Rives, vice president of the university's Quad-City Riverfront campus in Moline, held a news conference to discuss strategic plan updates. One, the Strategic Plan Supplement, lists goals for 2017-18, including to stabilize the total WIU enrollment at 10,000, as well as four other goals focused on fundraising. The second, the President's Executive Institute, has three goals: enrollment efforts, as well as community and economic development initiatives. Thomas brought up the college mascot, the Leathernecks, and said the school will follow strong traditions established over the 118 years it has existed. The goals will position WIU "for a strong, viable future," Thomas said. The university already has instituted program reductions, employee furloughs and layoffs, the president said. While Western is hoping for state funding in the near future, it is planning in case the state budget impasse could continue into a third year. Future changes include: Enrollment, with new recruitment and retention policies; plans to help students graduate in four years; and academic offerings online, such as a new major in anthropology. Western Illinois would be the only Illinois university offering anthropology online, Thomas said, and one of the few to do so in the United States. New programs to start this fall include one on cybersecurity, linked to Western's computer science program. In addition, the university has hired Becky Paulson to focus on corporate fundraising, reaching out to companies such as Deere & Co., Archer Daniels Midland food processors and Nestle, Thomas said. The final phase of Veterans Memorial Parkway will begin in July after the Davenport City Council awarded the bid for its construction to Rock Island-based Valley Construction Co. Valley Construction's bid of a little less than $6.1 million beat out three other bidders for the project, which will complete the section of Veterans Memorial Parkway from Jersey Ridge Road to 500 feet east of Elmore Avenue. This phase of Veterans Memorial Parkway is anticipated to be completed by the fall, and for members of the City Council, the project's completion is a long time coming. "When I first got on the council, we discussed extending the bridge over 46th Street into Windsor Crest, and we didn't do that because I thought it was more important to get out to Veterans Memorial Parkway to get that traffic off of 53rd Street," Alderman Jeff Justin, 6th Ward, said. "It's great that it is moving forward. That's going to be an area of development out there, and it's been a long process." More than 12 years ago, the Davenport City Council gave the authorization for the project, which has been amended and rebranded several times. The City Council originally voted 7-3 to build what was known as the 65th-67th Street corridor in order to settle a lawsuit by Eastern Avenue Commercial Developers over a contractual promise to create a thoroughfare linking Brady Street and Eastern Avenue. At the suggestion of current 7th Ward alderman Mike Matson, who was the 8th Ward alderman at the time, and former at-large Alderman Ian Frink, the City Council renamed the project Veterans Memorial Parkway in 2009. More changes would be made over time, including the decision to extend the parkway to Utica Ridge Road in 2015. The city would encounter more hurdles having to secure state and federal funding for the project as well as having the parkway loop around Glen Moeller's barn, which was registered as a historic landmark. The project will be funded primarily through state and federal grants. The city has received a surface transportation grant from Federal Highway Administration for more than $3.1 million as well as a $2.97 million grant through Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy, or RISE. This portion of the project will be split into three phases and includes a new traffic signal at the intersection of the parkway and Elmore Avenue as well as a roundabout at the intersection of the parkway and Jersey Ridge Road. Phase one of construction encompasses the area from I-74 to Elmore Avenue. Phase two will stretch from Elmore Avenue to just before the intersection of Jersey Ridge Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway, and phase three will complete the project near the intersection of Jersey Ridge Road and the parkway. In a separate, but related matter, the City Council has also approved a contract for $147,580 with Veenstra and Kimm to oversee the construction inspection reporting for the same phase of Veterans Memorial Parkway. Project administration will be completed by the city's engineering division. In a rarity, the governors of Iowa and Illinois will be in the Quad-Cities this month for a joint event to kick off construction of the new Interstate 74 bridge. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner will be in the Quad-Cities for the June 26 groundbreaking, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. Details of the 2 p.m. event, which also is expected to include local officials, are still being completed, and an official announcement is expected next week. The joint appearance of the state's two chief executives would be the first in memory here. There have been attempts at the Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce to try to get the state's governors here for a joint meeting, but they have not been successful. However, replacement of the bridge is the biggest public works project in the area in decades and the groundbreaking will acknowledge the work that is set to begin. Last month, the Iowa DOT awarded a $322 million contract to Wisconsin-based Lunda Construction to build the bridge, which is actually two spans, each 3,400 feet in length with two 795-foot basket handle arches. The contract is the largest in Iowa DOT history. Sam Shea, an Iowa DOT planner, said mobilization and staging are expected to take place this month and construction should be under way by the beginning of July. The onset of work comes amid Illinois' budget impasse, and the state's DOT warned this week, as it did last year, that work on road construction projects will stop June 30 if there is no resolution. The state's fiscal year begins July 1. Rauner announced Thursday he was calling lawmakers back into special session to try to strike a deal. The state DOT's warning doesn't appear to stand in the in the way of the I-74 bridge construction. The Iowa DOT said it is moving ahead, although there could be some operational hiccups. The two states have agreed that Iowa will pay the Lunda contract costs, with Illinois to make reimbursement to Iowa for its share. The states are roughly splitting the costs. Andrea Henry, director of strategic communications for the Iowa DOT, said Thursday there have been discussions between the two states and Illinois is hopeful there won't be any effect on reimbursements. If there are, however, "Iowa is able to carry that construction for a short period of time," she said. At this stage, she noted, costs are relatively small. Meanwhile, Illinois is going ahead with a bid-letting Friday for the part of the I-74 project going from the river bank in Moline to 7th Avenue. "IDOT intends to proceed with its current lettings that include Illinois portion of the I-74 bridge project, but awards are subject to passage of a budget," said Kelsea Gurski, an Illinois DOT spokeswoman. It typically takes 30 to 45 days to award contracts after a letting. This part of the project, estimated to cost $120 million, will include a viaduct over downtown Moline and street improvements to accommodate interchanges. Illinois also is planning on a separate letting, probably in September, when bids will be accepted for work on the interstate from 7th Avenue to Avenue of the Cities. That part of the project is estimated at $128 million. Monday was the first anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando that left 49 dead. Saturday will be the second anniversary of the church shooting in Charleston, S.C., where nine were murdered at Bible study. In between these two somber remembrances, House Republicans will be commemorating the occasion in their own way: They will begin work relaxing restrictions on firearm silencers -- thereby making it easier for shooters to shoot without being noticed. Classy. To this injury, the legislators add insult with the bill's name: a provision of the "Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act" called the "Hearing Protection Act" -- as if it were subsidizing earplugs. That's like calling legislation that expands the availability of machine guns the "Carpal Tunnel Protection Act" because it spares would-be shooters the repetitive motion of trigger pulling. With all the hullabaloo over Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Russia scandal and President Trump's latest tweets, few are likely to notice when the bill gets a hearing Wednesday before a House natural resources subcommittee. And that's the point. Trump, as candidate and president, has been a weapon of mass distraction. Admittedly, nobody would wish on himself the kind of distractions Trump has been generating lately. The inquiries into his and his aides' Russia ties and his firing of FBI Director James Comey could ultimately end his presidency. But though these are consequential and necessary matters -- and though there's no way to avoid attention going to the many other bizarre happenings in Trump world -- these inevitably distract from serious matters that, in any normal time, would dominate headlines. As the Comey craze and Sessions obsession entertain the nation, Senate Republican leaders have used the diversion to advance Trumpcare legislation in the shadows. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) invoked "Rule XIV," a procedure that allows legislation to skip committees and go directly to the floor. McConnell is hoping to rush the health-care bill to a vote before the July 4 recess, and GOP senators working on the Senate legislation aren't even sharing the specifics with their Republican colleagues. The news outlet Axios this week reported that Senate Republicans don't plan to divulge the details of their legislation publicly. "We aren't stupid," one senior GOP aide told Axios. No, they aren't. And their subterfuge is working. Unnoticed by most, Senate Republicans believe they have cobbled together the 50 votes necessary to repeal Obamacare. On the very day that Comey testified before the Senate, the House passed legislation largely repealing the Dodd-Frank financial reforms implemented after the 2008 crash. The bill would, among other things, remove the requirement that retirement advisers put their customers' interests before their own. The House on Tuesday afternoon took up another controversial matter under cover of the Sessions distraction: As the attorney general testified in the Senate, the House voted along party lines to require a Social Security number for people to get Obamacare benefits. It is meant to block illegal immigrants from accessing health-care benefits. Opponents say it would also deny medical care for many newborn babies who are citizens. The Comey contretemps has also obscured splits between mainstream and conservative Republicans that have made a budget resolution unlikely. House Republicans are moving on with appropriations legislation for 2018 without a budget. This split could jeopardize tax reform and increase the likelihood of a government shutdown or default later this year. It's difficult to focus on budget nuances, though, when Trump has turned the White House into a circus. In addition to the Comey and Sessions performances, there is also the clown show: At this week's Cabinet meeting, nearly all of Trump's Cabinet members offered praise for their boss. There were, in all, 46 occurrences of "thank you," 32 of "great," 15 of "honor" and seven of "privilege" as they extolled Trump and his virtues: "Just the greatest privilege of my life. ... My hat's off to you. ... What an incredible honor. Thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that you've given us to serve your agenda." As we gape in astonishment at a president receiving tributes from his coterie -- like a strongman from his junta -- Americans might find it difficult to concentrate on an equally astonishing thing happening this week: that House "hearing protection" bill, which would end nearly a century of strict regulation of silencers and thwart the new gunfire-detection technology cities use to fight crime. It's no small irony that those trying to make silencers more available are relying on noise -- the din of Trump's antics and the clatter of the Russia probes -- so that most Americans don't hear what's happening until it's too late. As a Rock Island County elected official, I am concerned about the direction of our state government in Springfield. With the state drowning in debt, and the governor and legislative leaders unable to sign a budget, Illinois needs new leadership. I met Chris Kennedy at Milltown Coffee in Moline on the day he announced for governor in February 2017. He spoke passionately about how the American Dream is slipping away from too many people in the Quad-Cities and in western Illinois. He spoke with facts and figures about Western Illinois University-Quad-Cities and what an economic engine that is to this region. Chris Kennedy is one of eight children of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy. His values, and his familys values, have been leading the Democratic Party for decades. Chris, who moved to Illinois 30 years ago to work in Decatur, Illinois for Archer Daniels Midland, has a strong agricultural background. Kennedy wants to overhaul property taxes, keeping families from leaving Illinois. He wants the state to live up to its constitutional responsibility to fund a greater share of grade school, middle school and high school investments. As head of Merchandise Mart in Chicago and through his family investments, he has hired union labor every step of the way and supports a capital bill to spur new infrastructure investments. Illinois needs a new governor who has the professional abilities to lead and inspire. Kelly Fisher Rock Island Editors note: Fisher is the recorder of deeds, Rock Island County DES MOINES In a rare move, members of the Iowa Department of Human Services oversight council voted 4-1 Wednesday to reject proposed agency rules that would guide a new state family planning program. That program is eligible only for womens health care clinics that do not offer abortions as part of their service menu, effective July 1. During the 2017 legislative session, majority Republicans passed legislation to set aside $3 million in state money to fund womens health care clinics that do not offer abortions. The money would pay for contraceptives, exams and other reproductive health services for Medicaid patients. Republican lawmakers declined federal dollars to avoid funding services at Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa. On Wednesday, Human Services officials presented a proposed rule to its oversight council, the Iowa Council on Human Services, that spells out parameters for operating essentially the same program as before, with the exception that it would not be available to Planned Parenthood clinics, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and UnityPoint Health. Human Services staffer Wendy Rickman said the agency was notifying eligible family planning clinics of the new arrangement for services currently provided to 12,000 recipients monthly on a fee-for-service basis. Rickman said the state-run program has adequate funding but told council members there are many questions whether there are new entities ready to jump into this or not. She said the agency hopes to make the process as seamless as possible for recipients and providers and report back to lawmakers next January regarding access and other benchmarks as the program progresses. Board Chairman Mark Anderson of Dubuque raised concerns that women seeking birth control who were not legal residents of Iowa or were visiting clinics in border communities would be denied services under the rules. But Human Services official Nancy Freudenberg said those provisions were unchanged from current rules governing the federally funded program. After the board rejected the family planning waiver rules, Freudenberg said she planned to consult with the agencys lawyers and expected the new program would go forward July 1 as planned. I believe since its a state law, we move forward, but well have to check with our legal counsel, she said. Well bring rules back. Theyll come back every month until they approve them. Weve had this happen before. It will be on the agenda every month. Later on Wednesday, Human Services spokeswoman Amy McCoy said Anderson requested the council meet on a teleconference Friday to discuss the same rule that was rejected on Wednesday. The councils role is to approve the rules that help us develop the framework for operating it, McCoy said. I think some of the issues that they took with the rules today were really pieces that were parts of the legislation, and to be able to change those would really have to go back to the Legislature for changes to the actual law. Earlier at Wednesdays meeting, council members voted 3-2 to approve rules to implement Medicaid cost-containment changes. After the vote, the council agreed unanimously to send a letter to lawmakers expressing concern that the changes appeared to be a cost shift to providers, hospitals and taxpayers. McCoy said the council may decide to draft a similar letter expressing concerns over the family-planning waiver change when they reconvene Friday. When you have the law in place thats directing us to implement the program, if you dont have your rules approved, thats certainly not an ideal position to be in for the department, McCoy said. Last month Planned Parenthood of the Heartland announced plans to close one-third of its Iowa clinics at the end of June, affecting more than 14,600 people. The womens health provider said the clinic closures come after the states Republican legislators worked to redirect Medicaid family planning dollars away from abortion providers starting July 1. Planned Parenthood, which operates 12 clinics in Iowa, will close clinics in Bettendorf, Sioux City, Burlington and Keokuk. All services immediately will stop on June 30 at the Sioux City, Burlington and Keokuk health centers, while abortion services will continue at the Bettendorf health center until the building is sold, the organization said. He never made it to the moon, but somehow, Richard Dabney landed here. Meet the rocket scientist who brought rock n roll back to Chadron: a guy who grew so frustrated with the straight-lined logic and pencil-pushing bosses at NASA, he gave up a career as an aerospace engineer and moved a thousand miles to the Nebraska Pandhandle to start a radio station. This college town in the middle of ranching country draws many artists and academics from far-flung places. Im the only one who came here to do radio, Dabney says. He grew up in Kentucky and had never visited Nebraska before he learned a slice of FM signal across this semi-arid expanse of the Great Plains was among 288 permits being auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission in 2004. Chadron boasted a low cost of living, little crime, a college, an airport and most importantly no rock on the airwaves since KPNY went Christian. So Dabney paid $3,500 for the FCC permit, $50,000 for equipment and another $35,000 to build a 199-foot tower in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, before transmitting his first tune he thinks it was Three Dog Nights Joy to the World on 93.7 KVAR in 2008. The Alleycat now broadcasts commercial-free rock from east of Gordon along U.S. 20 to Harrison in the west, as far south as Alliance and as far north as Hermosa, South Dakota, and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Repeaters carry the same songs with a bit more clarity on 88.7 in Chadron and 88.1 in Crawford. And Dabney, 57, haunts the bar at the historic Old Main Street Inn, sipping glass mugs of beer and hunting for ghosts using an iPad app that converts magnetic fields into words. Hes a quirky figure in this city of less than 6,000: a pilot, patron of the local music scene and a proud promoter of a place hed never heard of until 12 years ago. I dont know how you can miss him, says close friend Ed Hughes, a local author who writes under the name Poe Ballantine. Dabney is tall, with long, curly, gray hair, aviator-framed glasses, and a collection of brightly colored shirts and several leather jackets. His conversations even with strangers tend to veer quickly and wildly off course. The listener nevertheless might be spellbound, and might find himself two hours later walking dazed into the sunlight and wondering if it was all true, Hughes says. The night he met with a reporter, Dabneys obsession was his ghost app. Hes found that hunting for paranormal phenomena provides a unique window into the histories of Chadron and surrounding towns, revealing intimate stories about the fur traders, soldiers and other folks who once settled these parts. Chadron, you know, has a Wild West history, and so we think maybe that is part of why there are such interesting things and places and buildings, says Rossella Tesch, director at the local library, who hosts a pair of haunted walks with Dabney every July during Fur Trade Days. Shes also an Alleycat listener, tuning in most days on her way home to Gordon. Its good rock old rock. Something to keep me alert. Most days, Dabneys station plays anything from The Kinks to Death Cab for Cutie on random rotation, with occasional live shows broadcast from the Bean Broker coffee shop or other venues around town. For a while, Chadron State College students could DJ from campus, but the studio went dark after an instructor left the school. So theres no DJ, although sometimes, you can catch the owners recorded voice during station identification. And the random shuffle has a perk: It introduces people to tunes they might never hear on their curated smartphone playlists or the algorithm-chosen rhythms on Pandora or Spotify radio. They change their view of the world, their view of themselves, their view of life. Dabney joined NASA for the paycheck. Radio was his first love, and remains his truest passion: It still seems like magic. His mother bought him his first radio when he was 5. Now he keeps 200 antique radios in his cluttered home, along with nearly 5,000 vinyl records and 1,500 CDs. Theres magic in music, and theres magic in the way it comes through the airwaves, he said. If theres no magic in the music, we dont play it. Thats a way of adding a little bit of something to western civilization. Protesters will converge on Rushmore Plaza Civic Center tonight, some to decry and others to defend a group of speakers inside who will discuss the threat of the global Islamic movement. Supporters of the event say it is intended to educate the community about the threat of terrorism. Critics say it is anti-Muslim in nature. The event is being sponsored by the Pennington County Republicans. A representative of the local party declined to comment. The group of presenters is called Understanding the Threat, a consulting company founded by former FBI agent John Guandolo, who will speak in the Rushmore Room along with his colleague, Chris Gaubatz, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Guandolo and Gaubatz were invited to speak by the South Dakota chapter of ACT for America, a conservative national security educational organization. The Southern Poverty Law Center has classified ACT for America as the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in America. This is the second event to attract controversy that ACT for American has hosted in Rapid City in recent months. Amy Wilson, spokeswoman for the South Dakota chapter of ACT for America, declined to comment to the Journal beyond saying that this evenings event is about educating the public on terrorist organizations in America. According to the event description on the civic centers website, the presentation will review the threat and the jihadi network in the U.S. and South Dakota but will focus on the cooperation between the hard-left/Marxist movement and the Jihadi movement in the U.S. and practical actions citizens can take to defend their communities and take back ground. Also among the events sponsors are the Family Heritage Alliance, Big Horn Canyon Community Church and First Assembly of God. All Im going to tell you is that its about understanding the threat of terrorism in America, said Ed Randazzo with the Family Heritage Alliance, who added that in his view, it is not anti any particular group. Guandolo, the main speaker at this evenings event, is a former FBI counterterrorism agent who resigned in 2008 following the discovery that he had had affairs with multiple female agents and participated in a sexual relationship with a government informant, according to court documents. Since then, he has traveled the country offering Islam-specific counterterrorism training to local law enforcement agencies. He has reportedly extended a preliminary offer for such training to the Pennington County Sheriffs Office, as well as the Rapid City Police Department, but so far, both Sheriff Kevin Thom and Police Chief Karl Jegeris have expressed no desire to take part. We havent asked for any training or committed to anything, said Rapid City Police Lt. Mark Eisenbraun on behalf of Jegeris. At past speaking engagements, Guandolo has claimed that every major Islamic center and organization in the U.S. is part of a massive terrorist network, and that growth in Muslim communities is evidence of preparation for a jihad on U.S. soil. When they build a mosque theyre claiming territory, now all they have to do is occupy it, Guandolo said at a conference in Colorado last August. So theyre calling Muslims to occupy the land. So when we look at the level of penetration that theyve made from a military perspective, he added, this is an insurgency. The idea that all major Muslim organizations in the U.S. are part of an extremist conspiracy to destroy America is an example of getting a little carried away, said local developer Hani Shafai. Shafai, who was born in Palestine and is a practicing Muslim, has lived in Rapid City for about 35 years. I love the people, I love the area, Shafai said. This is home. Ill defend it against anybody, I dont care if they're Muslim, Jewish or Christians." Every religion and every society has its bad apples and its radicals, he added. But there are a lot of good people in every society. There might be some radicals, but most Muslims, if not the majority of them, are just hardworking people who believe in God and believe in the books that God has sent. State Rep. Tim Goodwin, R-Rapid City, is a member of the Pennington County Republicans. He agrees with Shafai. I think theres peace-loving Muslims, just like theres peace-loving Christians. You cant say theyre all radicalized, Goodwin said. To say the Republicans, or ACT for America, are a hate group, it would be the same as saying all Muslims are radicalized. I think those are both overzealous statements. According to Eisenbraun, Rapid City police have issued two protest permits for the event. The local chapter of Indivisible, a national grassroots progressive movement formed in the wake of the election of President Donald Trump, is the organizer of the main protest, which will be staged on the Fifth Street side of the civic center. A counterprotest will take place nearby. Those interested in attending the event can register for free at familyheritagealliance.org MOSCOW, June 15 (RAPSI) - The Kirovles timber company has filed a claim seeking more than 16 million rubles in damages (about $280,000) from opposition politician Alexey Navalny and two other defendants earlier convicted in embezzlement case, spokesperson for Moscows Nikulinsky District Court Alyona Samokhodkina. Two other defendants in the lawsuit are Pyotr Ofitserov, ex-director of Vyatka Timber Company, and Kirovles ex-CEO Vyacheslav Opalyov. A conference on the claim has been scheduled for June 29. On February 8, Navalny was convicted of organizing embezzlement of 16 million rubles at the Kirovles timber company for the second time and received a 5-year suspended sentence, while another defendant in the case, Pyotr Ofitserov, received a 4-year suspended sentence. Additionally, they were fined 500,000 rubles ($8,500) each. According to investigators, while serving on a voluntary basis as an adviser to the Kirov Region governor Navalny organized the theft of over 10,000 cubic meters of timber from Kirovles company between May and September 2009. Investigators claimed that Pyotr Ofitserov, then Director of Vyatka Timber Company, and Kirovles CEO Vyacheslav Opalyov were involved in the scheme. Proceedings against Opalyov were treated as a separated criminal case after he had admitted his guilt. Navalny was given a five-year suspended sentence for embezzlement at the Kirovles timber company in July 2013. Later, Moscow's Lyublinsky District Court increased a probation period for him to 5.5 years. Ofitserov received a four-year suspended sentence. In February 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held that the applicants right to a fair trial had been violated and ordered Russian authorities to compensate Navalny with 48,000 of legal costs and Ofitserov with 22,000. Additionally, Russia was obliged by court to pay 8,000 euro each in damages. In November 2016, the Supreme Court overturned sentences against Navalny and Ofitserov in Kirovles embezzlement case and sent it for retrial. The court delivered the ruling taking into consideration the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Refusal to recover $1.4 mln from Potanins ex-wife in favor of Eco Invest upheld MOSCOW, June 15 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) The Moscow City Court has upheld a lower courts refusal to collect over 78 million rubles ($1.4 million at the current exchange rate) in damages from Natalia Potanina, the ex-wife of billionaire Vladimir Potanin, in favor of Eco Invest company, the courts press office told RAPSI on Thursday. The case was reconsidered. In 2015, Moscow's Presnensky District Court ruled ordered Potanins ex-wife to reimburse Eco Invest controlled by the businessman over its failure to sell a house in the village of Nemchinovo, Moscow Region. Later, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling and ordered a retrial. During the review of the case, the companys lawsuit was dismissed. Potanin was granted a divorce from his wife in February 2014. In July 2015, the Presnensky court issued a ruling in a case on dividing the assets of the former spouses. According to the court ruling, Potanin reserved the ownership right to a 406.9 square meter luxury apartment on Skatertny Pereulok (central Moscow) and a church, St. Blessed Tamara in the village of Anosino, in the Moscow Region. Natalya Potanina received 380 million rubles ($6.8 million) in compensation for her share in the apartment as well as three plots of land in the Moscow Region. In the fall of 2015, the court dismissed Potaninas claim for ownership of 50 percent of her ex-husbands stake in Norilsk Nickel and half of Interros International, which holds their other assets. She has appealed the ruling, only for the Moscow District Court to uphold it on January 22, 2016. In May 2017, one more lawsuit lodged by Natalia Potanina against her ex-husband was dismissed. She asked the court to divide the property acquired during their marriage by recovering financial compensation for shares of KM Invest company amounting to 215 billion rubles (about $4 billion at the current exchange rate). 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In March 2014, the Council of Europe imposed sanctions against Kiselev with the official reason him being a central figure of the government propaganda supporting the deployment of Russian forces in Ukraine. The measures against him include freezing of assets and other economic restrictions, as constituted by the Councils decision. According to the court ruling, Kiselev challenged repeated extension of the restrictive measures application in March 2015, September 2015 and March 2016, and argued that the Councils decisions were made in violation of law. In particular, he claimed that these decisions, among other violations, constitute infringement of the right to freedom of expression and manifest an error of assessment with regard to the application of the criterion at issue to Kiselevs situation. The court ruled that the imposed restrictive measures were lawful. Regarding the alleged infringement of freedom of the right to freedom of expression it noted that this right may be limited in certain circumstances. The court further argues that the limitations in this case are necessary and proportionate because Kiselev allegedly engages in propaganda in support of the actions and policies of the Russian government destabilizing Ukraine. In similar fashion, the court dismissed other pleas made by the plaintiff, including failure to provide clear reasons for extension of sanctions, infringement of the right to effective judicial protection and the breach of the Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Russian Federation. Regarding the latter, the court noted that while the agreement ensures free movement of capital between the EU and Russia, exceptions may be invoked unilaterally, in particular in time of war or serious international tension stating that alleged actions of Russia in Ukraine do constitute war or serious international tension constituting threat of war. Russian activist Dadin fined for unlawful action on Red Square MOSCOW, June 15 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow has fined Russian activist Ildar Dadin 20,000 rubles ($348) for public reading of the Constitution on Red Square, the courts press office told RAPSI on Thursday. The activist was found guilty of violating the procedure of organizing or holding a meeting. Dadin was arrested along with several other activists in central Moscow on May 12. According to case papers, they were holding a meeting at the place not intended for public actions. Earlier, a court in the Moscow Region ordered Russias Finance Ministry to pay Dadin 2.2 million rubles (about $38,300) for unlawful prosecution. The court granted the activists lawsuit in part. Dadin, who was convicted and later acquitted of numerous violations of protest laws, sought a 5 million-ruble (about $87,000 at the current exchange rate) compensation for moral damages inflicted by unlawful prosecution as well as staying in detention and under house arrest for two years. Dadin was sentenced on December 7, 2015. Initially he received a 3-year prison term. The Moscow City Court later reduced the sentence to 2.5 years. He was acquitted on February 22, 2017, when the Supreme Courts Presidium overturned his 2.5-year prison sentence and ruled to release him. The court held that criminal proceedings against Dadin should be dismissed because of the absence of elements of a crime in his actions. The Supreme Court explained that the article of the Russian Criminal Code prohibiting violations of protest laws excludes possibility of criminal prosecution if at the time of crime there were no active court rulings regarding administrative liability of a defendant. These rulings must be issued at least three times in the period of 180 days. Russian judicial system requires improvement Putin MOSCOW, June 15 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) President Vladimir Putin said during the annual Q&A session with Russian citizens on Thursday that judicial system, although in need of improvement, should be trusted in matters of choosing punishment for criminals. While answering the question about corruption from an audience member, Putin noted that recently former head of Russias Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Alexander Reimer was sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzlement. A man formerly in charge of penitentiary violated the law himself. Eight years is a serious punishment. Lets trust the judicial system in this matter, although it also requires improvement. Between 2010 and 2012, Reimer and his accomplices stole money allocated for the purchase of ankle bracelets for persons placed under house arrest. The procurement was pursued at an enormously overvalued price. Damage allegedly caused to the state budget was estimated at no less than 2.7 billion rubles ($47.3 million at the current exchange rate). On June 14, Reimer was found guilty of embezzlement, fined 800,000 rubles ($14,000) and stripped of his General rank. Comments and links to reports on science, and its applications. Kathmandu, Nepal: the government decision to postpone the date of local level elections in province number 2 is protested from different quarters. The Main opposition CPN-UML, fringe opposition parties and the people in general have also condemned the government decision to postpone the elections. The UML has suspected that the governments decision to defer elections in Province-2 would weaken the national unity by boosting the morale of the separatists. Kathmandu, Nepal: The urge of the leaders of the government allies to postpone the date of the scheduled second phase of local elections is rejected by the officials of the Election Commission (EC). A meeting held on Thursday morning between the leaders of the government allies including the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the office bearers of the EC ended inconclusively after EC officials rejected the urge to postpone the date for the elections. The Election officials have made clear to the government allies that the date would not be postponed at any cost. As all the necessary preparations are completed and the date would not be postponed again, the EC officials had made clear. Constitutionally, the government deserves the right to fix and postpone the date for the elections. Kathmandu, Nepal: The ruling allies and the agitating Rastirya Janta Party-Nepal (RJP-N) agreed to postpone the local level election in Province 2 by three months. Though the government has not made any official decisions the leaders of the government allies and the agitating RJPN agreed to postpone the scheduled June 28 election for September 18, claims a leaders preferring anonymity. Following a meeting with the officials of the election Commission (EC), the government allies organized a meeting with agitating RJPN at Singha Durbar with the aim to reach on consensus over the issue of differing the date for the elections. The government allies proposal to postpone the elections date was rejected by the EC officials. The leaders of main opposition party CPN-UML were invited in the meeting. But no leaders were present in the meeting claiming that standing committee meeting was being held at Chairman KP Sharma Olis residence in Balkot, Bhaktapur. WARNING for European visitors European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies. The Indian Express - June 14, 2017 Seventy years on, Punjabis on both sides of the Radcliffe Line continue to use words like abatwaraa or avanda, the word for division, which overtook the euphoria of aindependencea and aazaadia Written by Yaqoob Khan Bangash While a lot of water has flowed down the Ravi and in the Yamuna since those dramatic days in 1947 and the generation of Indians and Pakistanis from that era is fading, the scars and memories remain. aWhy do you guys use the word apartitiona instead of aindependencea?a a friend once accosted me. For someone who uses the words interchangeably, I hadnat dwelt on this much. He was right, I realised. People in Punjab, on both sides of the Radcliffe Line, commonly use words like apartition,a abatwara,a or avanda (the same word in Urdu and Punjabi respectively). It is only when one moves beyond the Radcliffe line that words like aindependencea or aazaadia emerge. This difference, of course, is because Punjab and Bengal were the only provinces that were partitioned during the Transfer of Power in 1947. While Bengal also suffered large-scale violence, the extent of the holocaust in the Punjab was dramatic, as were its lasting effects. For most people in these provinces, the apartition momenta overtook the euphoria of independence. After all, what would independence mean to a person who has lost her home, seen the massacre of loved ones, and barely made it to an alien land? The joy of independence must be something different for her. Over 10 million people crossed the Radcliffe line after it was drawn that Indian summer 70 years ago; nearly a million people died, or were injured and numerous displaced. While the bulk of the population movement was between the two wings of the Punjab and Bengal, there were others too who migrated to the other side. The big difference, of course, was that the migrations from other provinces, say from the erstwhile United Provinces, were ideological in nature. For them, Pakistan was the land of amilk and honey.a In Punjab, though, most peopleaHindu, Muslims and Sikhs a didnat want to leave the land of their ancestors. There are scores of stories of people giving their house keys to their neighbours, saying they would be back once the violence had abated. But for them the moment of return never came. For them, partition has never really ended. In Pakistan, the city which never really recovered from partition, is the city I was born and raised inaLahore. I sometimes wondered why place names were such a casualty in other parts of the subcontinent. Ever tried finding Curzon Road in New Delhi or Elphinstone Road in Karachi? One would have to go round and round in circles till someone old enough to remember took pity on you. In Lahore, on the other hand, try looking for Faisal Chowk or Shahrah-e-Bin Badees and youare bound to get a quizzical look in return. Charing Cross or Empress Road? Here are exact directions ! I had thought that this was because Lahoris took their history very seriously. But what then prevented Karachities or Delhities from taking theirs? Perhaps another explanation is due, which is that these names persist in Lahore because Lahore never really recovered from its partition moment. Latching on to old place and road names is a reminder of the once envious position the city once had, of being the heart of the subcontinent. Lahore in 1947 was certainly a city proud of its multi-religious and cultural heritage. It had a large number of Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims, was the hub of excellent educational institutions, including undivided Indiaas fourth largest University a the Panjab University. Its writers and poets were world famous and its radio and film stars were already legendary. But in 1947 it lost everything. Over half the cityas population left, and Lahore never recovered from its loss. Whereas Sikhs and Hindus from Lahore supplanted the exodus of the Muslim elite in Delhi, and UP Muslims replaced the exiting Hindus in Karachi, in Lahore no such replacement took place. The artisan classes from East Punjab took the place of Lahoreas Hindu and Sikh elite, and while they assimilated easily, they couldnat recreate that unique mix which gave Lahore its pre-eminent position in undivided India. A gaping hole was left in the heart of Lahore. Names like Krishan Nagar, Lakshmi Chowk, Qila Gujjar Singh, etc., are still cherished as reminders of the past the city once thrived in. In a way, the denuded Lahore stands as the lasting, and perhaps haunting, memory of the partition it never moved beyond. In a few weeks, both India and Pakistan will celebrate 70 years of their existence. Two brand new nations were born and continue to be raised. While a lot of water has flowed down the Ravi and in the Yamuna since those dramatic days in 1947 and the generation of Indians and Pakistanis from that era is fading, the scars and memories remain. Only Lahore, with its myriad existential crises, neighbourhood problems, and a contested identity remains in that partition moment. Our ancestors say in Punjabi, aJise Lahore nai vekhya, o jamya nahiaa The person who hasnat seen Lahore may as well not have been born. But that isnat true anymore. Lahore remains incapable of overcoming the body blow that was dealt to it in the fires that ravaged the city, both physically and in the mind. Sometimes I wonder how many more decades it will take. Yaqoob Bangash teaches history at IT University in Lahore and is the author of aA Princely Affair: The Accession and Integration of the Princely States of Pakistan, 1947-55 Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. In the aftermath of Jaws, many cinematic imitators swam into shore, but few could compare to Orca. Steven Spielberg's first blockbuster benefited from terrific advance publicity. Peter Benchley's novel, first published in February 1974, became an instant bestseller, casting a large shadow on the forthcoming film, which began production three months later. According to Wikipedia. Orca was born from the mind of producer Dino de Laurentiis. Supposedly, late one night in 1975 -- perhaps unable to sleep because of his own, ill-fated production of King Kong that would be unleashed the following year -- he called fellow producer Luciano Vincenzoni and told him to "find a fish tougher and more terrible than the great white" shark portrayed in Jaws. Luciano's brother Adriano had an interest in zoology and reportedly pointed toward the killer whale. Luciana Vincenzoni and Sergio Donati were credited for the original story and screenplay. That's one version, anyway. Arthur Herzog published a novel titled Orca in September 1976, that supposedly inspired the film, though it's not credited at all. Was it a novelization? A few years later, Herzog told his new wife that he'd had the idea before Jaws and that Orca was based on his novel. After spending a couple hours researching this point, I gave up. Someone knows positively, I'm sure, which story is accurate. Reportedly, famed 'ghost writer' Robert Towne did ... something ... with the script as well in an uncredited capacity. A 1988 article in Washington Post referred to this as a known fact while suggesting that Towne himself didn't want to talk about it. My own memory of Orca is confined to the trailer; for reasons I can't recall, I was never sufficiently motivated to see it in a theater when it was originally released in July 1977. Was it the bad reviews? The review in my hometown Los Angeles Times is not available, but The New York Times was scathing: "If it were medically possible to overdose on claptrap, Orca, which opened yesterday at the Criterion and other theaters, would be compelled to carry a warning from the Surgeon General." The uncredited reviewer for the trade publication Variety had a similar opinion:"Orca is man-vs-beast nonsense. Some fine special effects and underwater camera work are plowed under in dumb storytelling." When the film was eventually released on DVD about 15 years ago, reviews were mostly dismissive. Prompted by the imminent release of 47 Meters Down, another killer shark movie, I sought out something for comparison's sake, and Orca was the only title available to me for rental (online legally at Amazon and Vudu and others). Having recently rewatched Logan's Run cinched it for me; Orca was the followup film by director Michael Anderson. Like Logan's Run before it, Orca is a film that was ahead of its time as far as visual effects are concerned. Much more appalling, though, is the premise that a killer whale, a misnomer of a name if ever there was one, would stalk a human so as to take revenge. In the wild, killer whales simply do not intentionally attack humans. (In captivity, of course, that's a different story; see the documentary Blackfish.) Compromising the film further, the presence of whale experts Rachel Bedford (Charlotte Rampling) and Umilak (Will Sampson) bring diversity to the cast, but both are limited to delivering arguments that are contradictory and confusing. What saves the film, at least in my mind, is Richard Harris. He's Captain Nolan, a salty Irish sea wolf who moved to Canada in his youth but now longs to return home. First, though, he must pay off the mortgage on his boat, and so he's been searching for a great white shark to capture and sell to a marine park. He finds one, but before he can capture the beast, it's killed by a killer whale, prompting Nolan to switch his focus. Things do not go as planned, Nolan accidentally captures Mr. Orca's wife, Mrs. Orca, who doesn't want to be captured, and then to the surprise of everyone ... Well, it's a spoiler, but it's pretty gnarly and unpleasant to see, and it results in Mr. Orca fixing one good eye on Captain Nolan and vowing revenge until they can go mano a man -- er, make that mano a shark -- and settle things in the water, once and for all. The film runs a fleet 92 minutes, which is theoretically perfect for the story that unfolds, and director Michael Anderson definitely works hard to orchestrate a solid thriller with an unusual setting. It's easy enough to overlook the limitations of fake killer whales and footage filmed in captivity that strains to fit into the fictional narrative, and the often overheated and irresolute characterizations continually get swamped with one more set piece that moves the narrative along neatly. Richard Harris was still on a good, busy run as a leading man; Orca fits neatly somewhere between The Return of a Man Called Horse and The Wild Geese as far as his performance is concerned. He's fooling himself, and no one else quite believes him, yet he's also haunted by his own demons. He knows what he's done and eventually is forced to realize that he must face up to his own sins. Harris, aged 46 during production, performed his own stunts. He continued giving fiery performances until his death in 2002, becoming beloved by millions for playing Professor Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter installments. Rampling remains a wonder. She followed this up with Stardust Memories and The Verdict. Will Sampson continued dispensing Native American wisdom to stupid white people until he died too young in 1987. Bo Derek made her first film appearance as Bo Derek -- she made one prior film as Kathleen Collins, Fantasies, which wasn't released until 1981 -- before shooting to stardom in 10 two years later. Ultimately beached by its own ambitions, Orca plays best as the tale of one man who must confront his own mortality in the form of a killer whale. 70s Rewind is a feature that allows the writer to relive his past through his favorite film decade. Joe McClean's film, The Drama Club, was made available on VOD yesterday from Leomark Studios. ScreenAnarchy has been given an exclusive clip to share with you per chance it entice you to check out the drama for yourself. We have also included the trailer below. Its been twenty years since they met in their high school drama club, but the teenage romances, egos, and quarrels are lying just beneath the surface waiting to prove themselves once again. Touching on topics from male/female double standards, to politics, to LGBTQ and race relations, the group grows more this weekend than in the last two decades. In a twisted maze of ex-lovers, old grudges, and new spouses, the friends are thrown down a rabbit hole of alcohol-fueled bad decisions. Strap in, European genre film fans, because the 2017 edition of the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival have announced their complete lineup and it is a doozy. There is absolutely loads to dive into here - everything from a Miike retrospective with the director in attendence to the latest in European genre titles - so get straight to it! Head on over to the official festival website here and dive in to the selection! You're looking at 94 feature films and 59 shorts from 43 countries so there is TONS to love here! Russian director Egor Abramenko has long been a favorite in these parts - a quick search of our archive will turn up a number of his previous works - but has largely been out of our view in recent days. The helmer recently handled second unit duties on Fedor Bondarchuk's huge budget local scifi hit Attraction but he's back calling the shots for himself now with his new scifi short The Passenger. Set against the backgrop of 1970 Moscow and the Soviet space program at the height of the Cold War, this is an impressive piece of work that showcases the tight control and impressive production value that we've come to expect from Abramenko with a nice little jolt to wrap things up. It's very quality stuff that hopefully signals a return to developing his own material. Check it out below! Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon and Michael Winterbottom reunite for another culinary excursion through the male psyche and a metric tonne of celebrity impressions with The Trip To Spain - the third installment of what may be the world's least likely big screen franchise ever. For the unfamiliar, the premise is simple. British comics Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play slightly exagerrated versions of themselves as they travel to exotic locales (other than the first season where the destination was the not-particularly-exotic north of England) and eat exotic food while shooting the shit and trying to amuse one another. Which sounds like not much to hang the run time on but with performers this strong and a director this able to lead them to areas of surprising depth and honesty amidst the silliness, well, the franchise may be unexpected but the success is well deserved. So, the duo are off to Spain this time and with the North American release drawing nigh a proper trailer has arrived for those whose appetites were whetted by the previous clips. It's all very good fun, check it out below! Thailand: Police raided massive click farms, the agents have seized nearly half a million SIM cards and hundreds of iPhones used to promote products online. Police and army troops in Thailand has raided a massive click-fraud farm, the agents have seized nearly half a million SIM cards and hundreds of iPhones used to promote products online. The authorities have raided to rented houses in Ban Mai Nong Sai in the Aranyaprathet District arresting three Chinese people, Wang Dong, 33, Niu Bang, 25, and Ni Wenjin, 32. Tha amount of goods seized by the police is amazing, troop seized 474 5s, 5c and 4s iPhones and 347,200 SIM cards, as well as many electronic devices and computers. The information obtained in the first raid allowed investigators to make a second raid that resulted in the seizure of another 100,000 SIM cards in a local house. In the first home, the police found 112,200 SIM cards from Advanced Info Service, 131,000 from True Move and 104,000 from Total Access Communication (DTAC) telco companies. Police are investigating how almost half a million unused Thai SIM cards got into the hands of three Chinese people allegedly operating in Thailand the business of generating fake page views and engagement online states the Bangkokpost. Police found about 100,000 SIM cards, many computers and other electronic equipment at a shophouse in Ratchata Withi Road in Muang Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo Monday afternoon. They searched the place following the statement of the three men arrested in the northeastern province on Sunday, allegedly for operating an illicit business. According to Benjaphol Rodsawasdi, immigration chief of Sa Kaeo, the three suspects admitted they were being paid 150,000 baht (US$4,423/3,473) a month by a company in China to promote products in the Middle Kingdom, they didnt reveal the name of the business. They were tasked to ramp up sellers online ratings by giving them positive feedback on product listings. With this technique, they were able to increase the reputation of the sellers and gear up search result rankings, with a significant effect on the sales. The suspects were hired to spam the Chinese social media platform WeChat with bogus page views, ratings, likes and shares. The choice of the Thailand is not casual, over there mobile charges are very low compared to other countries, including China. It is still unclear how the men have obtained a so large number of SIM cards without raising suspicion of telco companies. The authorities are still investigating searching for other click farms established in the country. The suspects were charged with working illegally Thailand and illegitimately importing the electronic devices. Similar techniques are also used by threat actors in the wild to pump out fake news in disinformation campaigns. Pierluigi Paganini (Security Affairs cybercrime, click farms) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Email Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). A male suspect seemingly stabbed a man without provocation in the Mission this week, and is still on the loose as of Thursday morning. The San Francisco Police Department says the attack happened at 9:54 p.m. Tuesday, at the bustling Mission intersection of 24th Street and South Van Ness Avenue. Police say that the victim, a 33-year-old man, arrived at the corner the same time as the unknown male suspect. "No words were exchanged between" the two, police say, then the suspect stabbed the victim with a knife. The injured man was transported to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment of his injuries, which police say are not life-threatening. The suspect, who was last seen walking west on 24th Street, remains at large. Food people in the know are going to tell you that if you want the best Chinese food in the Bay Area, these days you have to leave the city. This may be true in the broadest strokes, and there are big fan bases for Young Can Wok in Burlingame and China Village in Albany. (Michael Bauer also recently gave his stamp of approval to Royal Feast in Millbrae.) For this list, we're only going as far as Daly City, but that being said, there's still great Chinese food here! And just in the last year we're seeing a potential renaissance in Chinatown itself with the openings of Mister Jiu's and China Live. So, whether you want dim sum or a full banquet, this list should have you covered. (See also our list of the best places for soup dumplings, a.k.a. xiao long bao). Jay Barmann China Live The newest entry on this list is George Chen's big, bustling Market Restaurant at his multi-floor China Live complex. The more upscale Eight Tables on the second floor hasn't opened yet as of this writing, but the main floor restaurant is a fun experience in and of itself, if not necessarily one that's bent on authenticity. You'll find Peking Duck reimagined here as a few petit buns with tender meat inside, and chicken wings made with shrimp paste and dubbed "Chicken of the Sea" wings. You shouldn't miss the Three Treasure claypot rice or any of the dim sum options, and the place also has a great bar with mixed drinks and excellent wines to pair with the food. Jay Barmann 644 Broadway between Grant and Stockton Eric's Restaurant Still doing its humble best in Noe Valley is 26-year-old Eric's, which specializes in Hunan and Mandarin classics like sesame beef, Mongolian beef, and mango chicken. For milder, less adventurous palates, this place is always going to be an easy winner, and those in their delivery vicinity probably already know this. Jay Barmann 1500 Church Street at 27th Hong Kong Lounge II. (Yelp's May A.) Hong Kong Lounge II As in the case of the Godfather and Mighty Ducks movies, sometimes the sequel is better than the original. Hong Kong Lounge II is a classic dim sum spot in Laurel Heights that the Chronicle's Michael Bauer awarded with three of his stars. Just about everything on the menu is pretty darn fabulous but we especially love the steamed pork buns ('a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips') and the xiao long bao (aka: Shanghai Dumplings.) The interior of this Geary Blvd. spot is surprisingly lovely and diners can expect warm, welcoming service. Beth Spotswood 3300 Geary Boulevard, SF Photo of the splendiferous Koi Palace, by Koi Palace Koi Palace The first time you take someone to Koi Palace expect them to be nonplussed: "Are we going to Target? Why are we in this strip mall parking lot? Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?" But then you step into the Vegas-y splendor of the restaurant, and all is forgotten. The system of colored jackets on the staff! The (duh) koi! The occasional dragon! Koi Palace is an experience as much as it is a meal, a spectacle as much as it is a feast. And as befits a palace, they have a number of menus, all of which change at the drop of a hat, so call in advance if you're hankering for a specific dish (650-992-9000) to make sure they'll be serving it. Eve Batey 365 Gellert Blvd, Daly City Photo: Jen B./Yelp Mama Ji's Word has gotten out around Diamond Heights, Eureka Valley, and the Castro that this small spot on 18th Street is where it's at for dim sum. But the menu of Sichuan delicacies inspired by owner Lily Ji's favorite family recipes including things like Fish Fragrant Eggplant, stir-fried pickled long beans with ground pork and chiles, and Mama Chen's Bean Curd is a standout that compares with some of the best in the Bay Area. As Ji told the Chronicle recently, she had no formal training, but spent a month back in China with her mother learning all her techniques before opening Mama Ji's, and her mom, now 80, still serves as unofficial consulting chef. Jay Barmann 4416 18th Street between Douglass and Eureka Image: Alison Y. via Yelp Mission Chinese Food The hipster hole-in-the-wall that is Mission Chinese Food is probably somewhat responsible for the San Franciscans like to stand in line meme, as wait times on busy nights can still approach the two-hour mark. (They do, in fact, take reservations now, though). The dilapidated and outdated yellow awning out front that still calls the place Lung Shan (which actually gave up and turned the place over to this former pop-up several years ago), and it belies an ambient-lit interior, non-ironically packed with low-budget Chinese New Year decorations galore. And the influence of celebrated founding chef Danny Bowien can still be seen in creative dishes like kung pao pastrami, stir-fried pumpkin, and salt cod rice. The place not be as consistently great as it was in its beginnings, but style points go to Mission Chinese for putting shakers of MSG on the tables. Joe Kukura 2234 Mission Street between 19th Street and 18th Street Photo: Facebook Mister Jiu's Chef Brandon Jew's homecoming in his hometown's Chinatown, Mister Jiu's, has gotten plenty of accolades and attention since its 2016 debut, including a Michelin star. But honestly, there's no prettier dining room anywhere in the neighborhood, and Jew's food sparkles with imagination. Dishes like the hot and sour soup (with Maine lobster) and the steak fried rice (made with wagyu skirt steak trimmings) show off Jew's talent for elevating the humble, while large-format dishes like the salt-baked whole trout and the Peking-style roast Liberty duck are stone-cold stunners. Jay Barmann 28 Waverly Place (Photo: Daniel Chodusov ) New Sun Hong Kong This spot on the edge of North Beach always makes SFist's lists of best late-night spots, and though you might be able to go wrong on their sprawling, Hong Kong-ese menu, there is a ton of great, yummy stuff to choose from like their excellent "special black-pepper pork chop," and crab fried rice. Service is brusque imagine waiting on the North Beach hordes every weekend at 3 a.m. but you're not going to leave here hungry. Jay Barmann 606 Broadway (at Columbus) Chicken with Hot Peppers at the Old Mandarin Islamic. (Yelp's Jando S.) Old Mandarin Islamic Best described as out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere at Vicente and 42nd Street, Old Mandarin Islamic Restaurant is a coveted "best kept secret" of many San Franciscans. No pork is served here but the lamb dishes are really what you should order anyway particularly the cumin lamb. We are also slightly obsessed with the chive pancake. This ultra-casual spot is cash only and seating is mostly communal, but we don't go there for the glitz. We go there for the gourmet. - Beth Spotswood 3132 Vicente Street, SF Salt and pepper crab at the R&G Lounge. (Image: Yelp's Sammi L.) R&G Lounge Come to R&G Lounge for authentic Cantonese-style food in the heart of Chinatown. You'll rub elbows with the FiDi crowd over duck tongue, black cod, and anything with crab. (The salt and pepper crab is on SFist's list of the city's must-have classic dishes.) The casual dining room is downstairs (a la Cheers), so unless you're holding a formal banquet, that's where to head. According to their Instagram, the Warriors' own David West AND Julie Newmar recently dined at the R&G Lounge. Make of that what you will. - Beth Spotswood Dry fried chicken wings at San Tung (Photo: Lei B./Yelp) San Tung What, you haven't heard of the dynamite dry fried wings at San Tung, where there's some sort of caramelized miracle occurring in every bite? And if you're not a fowl fan, their affordable and delicious soup dumplings also get raves, as do their seafood options. Vegetarians are OK, here, too: Last time my family visited, I took the entire meatless clan there, where they were treated (and fed) like kings. Brace for long lines at their #1 location, or just duck into their #2, which is right next door. Eve Batey 1031 Irving Street (between 11th and 12th Avenues) Spices It used to be there was Spices and Spices 2, and people always seemed to say that the sequel was better than the original (the same is true with Hong Kong Lounge II), so then Spices closed and basically moved into the Spices 2 location, so now there's just the one. Chefs love this place, including Mission Chinese Food's Danny Bowien and Mister Jiu's Brandon Jew, who took the crew from Vice Munchies there in 2012, and Chris Cosentino who took Andrew Zimmern there for an episode of Bizarre Foods in 2014. You should take the name to heart, as this place specializes in spicy, with a fusion of Taiwanese street food and Sichuan cuisine, and Cosentino recommends the stinky tofu and the beef tendon. You also can't go wrong with the wontons or any of the spicy fish dishes. Jay Barmann 291 6th Avenue at Clement Ton Kiang/foodspotting Ton Kiang Does this Geary Boulevard gem serve the absolute best dim sum you'll eat in your time on earth? Nope, but it rates inclusion on this list as both very good while remaining cross-culturally accessible as in, when you want to introduce your buddy who just moved here from the Midwest to dim sum, this is where you go. When it comes to dim sum, there's a sliding scale of authenticity versus palatability to an American audience, and Ton Kiang is the kind of spot you can bring the uninitiated for excellently prepared dim sum hits like pork buns, shrimp dumplings, and sesame balls, while skipping the chicken feet and other more adventurous items (if you so desire). It's a smallish space (compared to those giant dim sum emporiums) that still sees lines out the door on a weekend, so if you're making the trip, aim for an early weekday lunch and if you're headed there for a Christmas Day dinner (as my friends and I have since we moved here from the Midwest 20 years ago), bring a book because you'll be there a while. Eve Batey 5821 Geary Boulevard between 22nd and 23rd Avenues 631 Kearny Street, SF Image: Wanugee N. via Yelp Yank Sing Both the Rincon Center and Stevenson Street Yank Sing locations are celebrated among the dim sum set, with a impeccable, upscale experience and the classic wandering carts serving style. (OK, so Yank Sing has engaged in a little racial profiling and stiffing their employees out of paychecks). But they offer a very inspired and exceptional range of meat and seafood dumping options, and their Shanghai soup dumplings (xiao long bao) are considered one of San Franciscos must-have dishes. Joe Kukura 101 Spear Street between Mission Street and Howard Street 49 Stevenson Street between First Street and Second Street Image: Z & Y Restaurant Z&Y Restaurant Oh yes, that is your former president Barack Obama, shaking hands and allowing for selfies during his 2012 visit to Z&Y Restaurant. This Chinatown establishment fills that celebrities and heads of state have eaten here hole left by the 2014 closure of Empress of China, and has earned itself a Michelin Bib Gourmand for the last several years running. The interior is a simple and nicely kept contrast to the tacky storefront, and the little red pepper icons next to half of the menu items at Z&Y makes this place perfect for sticklers for the spicy hot. Joe Kukura 649 Jackson Street between Kearny Street and Grant Avenue Honorable Mentions: Cheung Hing (for BBQ duck!) - 2339 Noriega at 31st Avenue Fang - 660 Howard Street Great Eastern (for dim sum!) - 649 Jackson Street Henry's Hunan - multiple locations Tung Sing - 4015 24th Street between Noe and Castro Yuet Lee - 1300 Stockton (at Broadway) Well this is some sad news for fans of live music and children. Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit Concert has reportedly been sent out to pasture. The 30-year-old, always star-heavy acoustic concert usually took place every October at the Shoreline Amphitheater. It was also mentioned ad nauseam on KFOG, and fussed over by legions of Bay Area Baby Boomers. The Bridge School was founded by Young and ex-wife Pegi to provide special education for students with severe speech and physical impairments. It's world-renowned for its use of augmentative and alternative communication, and technology. The Youngs' own son Ben, now an adult, is quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, and they started the school in 1986 to help him and students like him. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, benefit founder Neil and Pegi won't do the concert this year and don't plan to do it again. In an online post made public yesterday, Young announced: "Although I will continue in fundraising efforts, for personal reasons beginning this year I will no longer be hosting the Bridge School concert. I wish everyone the best as the school heads into the future. My heart is with each and every child we have had the honor to serve and those we will continue to serve, and your parents, siblings, and extended families." Pegi Young hinted to the Chronicle that the concerts couldn't go on forever, saying, "We know we can't do this forever. We are mere mortals. We really need to look at ways the school can continue to go on after the concerts." The concert's end might be due in part to Neil Young's mystery illness that forced him to pull out of an April 7 appearance inducting Pearl Jam into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The undisclosed illness was described to Pitchfork as "nothing major," so who knows. It's none of our business. We wish Neil Young the best. He seems nice. The Bridge School Benefit has been host to some incredible performances over the years, from the likes of David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Green Day, The Dixie Chicks, Brian Wilson, Pearl Jam, and Metallica, as well as semi-regular reunions of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (the last in 2013). The musicians would often do covers or team up for duets. Attendees could count on extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime performances at this annual event. Also, and this can't be said enough, KFOG lived and breathed the Bridge School Benefit. Who knows? Maybe someone will take the helm and keep the concert going. It seems like a good project for Eddie Vedder. Related: Video: The Dixie Chicks Cover Lana Del Rey's 'Video Games' At The Bridge School Benefit The man who has been identified by witnesses, fellow UPS employees, and now by police as the sole suspect in Wednesday morning's mass shooting on Potrero Hill, Jimmy Lam, is being described by coworkers and neighbors as a "loner" who never exhibited much of a temper. The 38-year-old Lam had worked for UPS for 18 years, since 1999, had filed a grievance with his union about excessive overtime in March, and at least one other UPS employee told ABC 7 on Wednesday that he "had it out for a manager," though Lam's exact motives in the killings of three fellow employees remain under investigation. Lam's three victims have been identified as 56-year-old Wayne Chan of San Francisco, 46-year-old Michael Lefiti of Hercules, and 50-year-old Benson Louie of San Francisco. Speaking to CBS 5, Joseph Cilia, secretary treasurer of Teamsters Local 2785, described the scene of the shooting as a regular morning meeting called a pre-communication meeting or PCM, attended by 30 to 60 drivers. "When the meeting started [Lam] walked up to Wayne, then Benson and shot them," Cilia tells the station, explaining that Lefiti, known by many as "Big Mike," ran out of the building and Lam chased him and killed him outside. Two other drivers were hurt by bullets, but both may have only been hit by ricochets, and both have been released from the hospital. As many as 350 people work at this UPS sorting facility, and dozens ran for cover as the shooting unfolded, some jumping aboard a passing Muni bus and screaming "Go, go, go!" to the driver as they ducked for cover, per the Associated Press. Cilia tells the AP that Lam didn't seem angry, and that such grievances were fairly common with drivers, complaining of working more than nine and a half hours three times in one week. "The overtime has increased over the years," Cilia tells NBC Bay Area, explaining that it's typically common at Christmas but that there has been an uptick in grievances overall in recent years perhaps as more and more consumers rely on Amazon and the like for their shopping. Cilia further tells CBS 5 that in all the 18 years he'd known Jimmy he'd never even seen him exhibit a temper. "Maybe something bottled up," says Cilia. "Senseless." Lam had a criminal history involving two DUIs, in 2010 and 2013, but otherwise neighbors tell CBS 5 he "usually kept to himself" and they would sometimes see him smoking out of the window of his Richmond District apartment, where he apparently lived alone. He was reportedly estranged from his wife and was the father of children. Next-door neighbor Jennifer Plog tells the Chronicle, "Im a little creeped out. Its creepy knowing that people next door have the ability to have guns and shoot people they work with. It makes me feel unsafe. On Wednesday, the SFPD towed Lam's BMW from where it was parked near the UPS facility, and conducted a search of his apartment, removing a computer and multiple bags of evidence. Per the Chronicle, it remains unclear whether the two guns recovered at the scene of the shooting were purchased legally. A retired UPS employee tells CBS 5 that all he remembers of Lam was that he occasionally had "friction" with management. Mack Toia heard the shooting at the SF UPS facility that killed his cousin, Mike Lefiti, who he ran to as police tried to resuscitate him pic.twitter.com/aEmwb9RMxq Kate Larsen (@KateABC7) June 15, 2017 Mack Toia speaks to me about his cousin, Mike Lefiti, a 46 yr old father of 5, shot and killed today at the San Francisco UPS facility... pic.twitter.com/ZDeU6STmjP Kate Larsen (@KateABC7) June 14, 2017 Meanwhile, UPS customers in the Diamond Heights neighborhood of San Francisco began mourning the UPS delivery man they've known for years, who took his breaks in the Safeway parking lot there. Big Mike Lefiti's regular route was in Diamond Heights, and as CBS 5 reports, the Safeway nearly sold out of flowers Wednesday as the community created a makeshift memorial for the man outside the store, describing him as a "gentle giant with a big smile." Lefiti, a father of five, had just celebrated his seven-year wedding anniversary, and had worked for UPS for 17 years nearly as long as Lam. Multiple members of Lefiti's extended family gathered at SF General to mourn their loss on Wednesday. Cousin Mack Toia, who arrived to pick up Lefiti from work Wednesday morning just as the shooting occurred, explains to ABC 7 that they come from a tight-knit San Francisco family. Potrero Hill resident Mike McDonald was the last person to speak to Lefiti as he bled out on the pavement. He came upon him as the shooting was still in progress, and says that paramedics could not approach because the police were still trying to secure the area. McDonald tells CBS 5, "He didnt understand why the guy shot him... He knew who he was. He said he was a driver and he said he had no bad blood with him." McDonald says that Lefiti wanted to him to relay a message to his family and kids, "He just wanted to tell them that he loves them and everything like that." Friends are setting up a makeshift memorial for Mike Lefiti at the Safeway where the slain driver used to park his truck. pic.twitter.com/VmXAds4qPb Michael Bodley (@michael_bodley) June 14, 2017 #UPS workers say driver Mike Lefiti was a "big teddy bear" with a loud voice, infectious smile & giant heart. He leaves behind 6 kids #KTVU pic.twitter.com/kIcOeHmR9d taramoriarty (@taramoriarty1) June 14, 2017 Previously: UPS Shooter Identified As Richmond District Father; Primary Target Was Allegedly Manager In a little more than a week, Twin Peaks will again be home to the Pink Triangle of San Francisco, the Pride commemoration, the icon's website reads, "of the gay victims who were persecuted and killed in concentration camps in Nazi Germany starting in 1933 through the end of WWII." Installed for each Pride weekend since 1996, the triangle is the brainchild of area residents Thomas Tremblay, Michael Brown, and Patrick Carney, Curbed SF reports. "My friends and I were sitting in a restaurant on Market Street, wondering how we could spread the weekend's festivities to other parts of the city," Carney says. "We noticed a huge blank canvas right outside the window: Twin Peaks. Just a few weeks later the pink triangle of Twin Peaks was born." The icon is almost 200 feet across, nearly an acre in size, and can be seen for 20 miles, they say on their website. But before it can be installed as it will be on Saturday, June 24th, from 7-10 a.m. (you can volunteer to help with the installation here) the area needs a little (genderfluid)scaping...and that's where the goats come in. You know these goats! They're staffers of City Grazing, the SF-based landscaping company whose landscapers eat the undergrowth, as seen on Russian Hill, declining your Christmas tree, and making a break for it in the Bayview. But right now, per San Francisco's Department of Public Works, the goats have been charged with prepping the Twin Peaks hillside for Saturday's Pink Triangle event. Which means that this week, a bunch of goats have a better view and arguably healthier snacks that the rest of us working stiffs. Related: Video: Herding Goats In The Berkeley Hills Consumption of cosmetics products strongly increases amongst the middle income consumers, forecast to reach 33 million customers by 2020. In related news, nearly 200 businesses from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and India will attend Mekong Beauty Show 2017 at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, District 7, HCMC from June 15-17. At the event, they will seek importers and trading opportunities in the potential cosmetic market of Vietnam. By GIA HAN Translated by Hai Mien Last year, total aquaculture output of Vietnam reached at more than 6.7 million tons, including nearly 3.1 million tons for exploitation and over 3.6 million tons for cultivation. Its export turnover was around US$ 7 billion.The sector is considered as one of Vietnams key economic ones which creating around 9 million jobs for local workers. However, around 80 percent of employees have not had enough high-tech skills.Amid to the challenge, the VCCI collaborated with the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise to open many training courses to improve the quality of human resources in this field.Under the cooperation, NHO will strengthen connection with the VCCI, professional vocational training centers and enterprises to train 500 employees in the Mekong Delta and South- central region.Earlier, model of vocational education was expanded in the fields of restaurant & hotel, garment and textile, wood processing and handicrafts.Deputy Head of Mission of the Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam Ms Kari Eken Wollebk attended the event. BY DUONG LOAN- Translated by Huyen Huong SIOUX CITY | A mother and her three young children were rushed to the hospital Wednesday after their vehicle flipped multiple times on Interstate 29. The wreck took place around 7 p.m. in the northbound lane of I-29 between Sergeant Bluff and the Singing Hills exit in Sioux City. Sioux City Police Sgt. Jay Hoogendyk said the unidentified woman and children were traveling north on the interstate when the accident occurred. Witnesses say she made an "erratic lane change" that caused her to go into the dirt median, over-correct and roll multiple times. The car eventually landed on its roof on the interstate. Hoogendyk said the mother and one of the three young children have serious injuries. He did not know their current conditions. The interstate was backed up for about an hour while multiple agencies tended to the crash. The wreck remains under investigation. STORM LAKE, Iowa | A 26-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday after officers say they smelled marijuana coming from her vehicle in the Storm Lake Police Department parking lot. The department said Kristen Price, of Ida Grove, was brought to the station in regards to a separate investigation Wednesday morning. Police allege while speaking with Price, they smelled marijuana coming from her vehicle. Price consented to a search and 80 grams of marijuana was found inside the car. Price was arrested and charged with intent to deliver marijuana and failure to affix a drug tax stamp, a class D felony. She was booked into the Buena Vista County Jail on a $5,000 bond. SIOUX CITY | Since its inception in 2000, Awesome Biker Nights has given away more than $1,000,000 to charitable causes in Siouxland. This year's motorcycle rally begins Thursday night and runs through Saturday in the Historic Fourth District. The St. Florian Fire and Burn Foundation, one of seven designated charities for 2017, was one of the earliest beneficiaries of funds generated by the rally, which annually draws thousands of people to downtown Sioux City. St. Florian, a nonprofit group, supports area burn victims and hosts a yearly Miracle Burn Camp for burn survivors between ages eight and 18. "In all honesty, they have really been the funding source that has sustained our foundation," Stacey Loen, president of St. Florian, said of Awesome Bikers Night. "We have a real small organization, it's all volunteer-run, and we have been able to support our portion of Miracle Burn Camp for the last 20 years essentially with the funding they have given us." In the first few years of Awesome Biker Nights, Loen said St. Florian was among the only recipient. The rally later branched out to give money to other groups. Each year, St. Florian has received an average of about $20,000. "As far as major donors, they are our major donor," she said. At the Community Action Agency of Siouxland, Awesome Biker Nights money has helped the group obtain matching federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which was used at the agency's Crossroads Shelter for Homeless Women and Children. Crossroads provides shelter for women and their children, who can stay in the program for as long as two years, as they try to obtain housing, employment and even education. Many of the women come from abusive circumstances or have had substance problems in their lives. The group, which has received donations from Awesome Biker Nights for several years, collected around $6,000 last year. Jean Logan, executive director of the Community Action Agency, said the money was doubly useful, since it helped the group obtain federal dollars. "The federal government will give you a certain amount of money if you can demonstrate that you have community support and involvement, and in order to do that you have to raise funds locally," Logan said. "So this allows us to meet that requirement that we have local money going into this project." Having a relationship with local charities can be beneficial to both parties as well. STARS (Special Troopers Adaptive Riding School), one of the charities to receive Awesome Biker Nights funds, will provide about 20 volunteer Friday and Saturday night for the event. Julie Dorn, the program director at STARS, said that her organization uses donations from the rally to help lower the fees for people who receive the group's services. STARS provides animal therapies for dozens of area individuals with a variety of disabilities, ranging in age from two to 95 years old. The fees participants are charged are only 25 percent of actuals cost, with the remainder subsidized with funds from other sources, like Awesome Biker Nights donations. "The funding that we have received from them really helps with our operational expenses," Dorn said. SIOUX CITY | Rogelio Morales showed little emotion Thursday as a judge read a verdict that spared the 29-year-old from a lifetime in prison. After more than 11 hours of deliberation, a Woodbury County jury found Morales guilty of second-degree murder in the strangulation death of his estranged wife two years ago. If he had been found guilty of first-degree murder, he would have faced a mandatory life sentence without parole. The second-degree murder conviction carries a 50-year sentence. District Court Judge Poulson set July 21 for a hearing for Morales' attorneys to file a motion for a new trial or an arrest of judgement in the case. Morales will undergo a pre-sentence investigation before his sentencing, which will be held at a later date. Morales, of Hubbard, Nebraska, was charged with first-degree murder for the April 19, 2015, death of his wife, Margarita Morales, 21. He strangled her in his car while parked in the 2200 block of Floyd Boulevard, according to court documents. Margarita Morales' sister, Monica Terriquez, said that she was pleased with the verdict. Terriquez said the trial was difficult for the family as it forced them once again to confront the events leading to Margarita's untimely death. "But, us as a family, you know, we've come to terms with what happened to my sister," Terriquez said at an impromptu news conference after the verdict. Terriquez noted she and her husband, Juan, adopted Morales' now three-year-old son a year ago. Terriquez described her former brother-in-law as "the most selfish person that I have ever met in my life." During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that before her death, Margarita Morales told her husband she wanted to to leave him. Jurors heard Margarita Morales' former co-workers at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino testify about how their friend described her husband as jealous and controlling, someone who appeared to be angry if his wife went out with her friends after work rather than being at home. Morales had already assaulted his wife two weeks before her death, causing her to move in with her sister, the prosecution said. In closing arguments Wednesday, defense attorney Mike Williams said that after the domestic abuse incident, Rogelio Morales, a U.S. Marine veteran who had recently been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, sought help from the Veterans Administration and had begun counseling. There had been no evidence showing he had previously threatened her, Williams said. After hearing that she was leaving him on the night of April 19, 2015, Morales told investigators the next thing he remembered was that his wife was not breathing and she may have been dead, court documents said. He then took her to his sister's house, where they called 911. The jury received the case after noon Wednesday, adjourned for the evening, and then resumed deliberations Thursday morning. Journal staff writer Nick Hytrek contributed to this story. WASHINGTON -- Britain's election was a catastrophe for Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May and a personal vindication for Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party's left-wing leader. It was also the revenge of the young, whose voices go unheard because their turnout is usually low. Britain's new generation taught a lesson to their counterparts around the world: Voting confers power. But the unexpected outcome could produce new forms of conventional wisdom as misleading as the flawed punditry that enticed May to call the election in the first place. It didn't need to happen since May had three years left in her term. Voters clearly resented being called to the polls for opportunistic reasons. May thought that because Corbyn was so unpopular and seemingly out of the mainstream, she could turn a relatively small Conservative Party majority into an overwhelming advantage in Parliament. She also thought she could marshal the nationalism reflected in Britain's vote to leave the European Union by adding the far-right votes of the UK Independence Party to Conservative totals. May forgot that 48 percent of British voters rejected Brexit and were still not happy about the outcome. They were looking for ways to strike back, and they did. She and just about everyone else also underestimated how skilled a campaigner Corbyn would be. For example, Chuka Umunna, one of Corbyn's critics among moderate Labour parliamentarians, acknowledged that Corbyn ran a "positive and dynamic campaign" that emphasized hope. The Economist, no friend of Corbyn's, conceded that he "fought a strong campaign against all expectations." Lord Stewart Wood, who was a top adviser to former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, saw Corbyn's strong showing as the definitive end of "Blairism," the middle-of-the-road Labour politics associated with former Prime Minister Tony Blair. In a telephone interview, Wood noted that Corbyn rode "a tide turning against austerity" after years of Conservative budget cuts. Like Bernie Sanders in 2016, he said Corbyn had mobilized an energetic grass-roots campaign and sophisticated social media network. And far from working politically in favor of the Conservatives as the traditional party of order, the terrorist attacks before the election hurt May. Corbyn's criticisms of May's cutbacks in the police forces, Wood believes, were particularly resonant because they linked the Labour leader's argument against austerity to the issue of security. He added that many voters he encountered while campaigning door to door were "absolutely furious" over President Trump's verbal assault on Mayor Sadiq Khan after the London Bridge attack. Matt Browne, who was an aide to Blair and is now at the Center for American Progress in Washington, agreed Corbyn's showing meant that for the "foreseeable future, centrist progressivism is on hold." The more moderate left, he told me from London, needed to learn from "what Corbyn accomplished, especially in mobilizing the young." But given May's unpopularity, Browne argued, "this is an election we could have won, and could have won handsomely." There is some evidence, particularly in anti-Brexit London, that more moderate Labour candidates such as Umunna ran ahead of the national swing. Thus the twin caveats to sweeping conclusions on the left: Its more moderate wing needs to acknowledge the mobilizing power of a clear and principled egalitarian politics and the increasingly progressive tilt of younger voters. But fans of Corbyn's approach to politics need to come to terms with the fact that while he outran expectations, he lost the election. Labour still needs a strategy for winning dozens of additional seats. Britain also defied trends in other Western countries toward the fragmentation of older party systems. Corbyn boosted the Labour Party vote to 40 percent, 9.5 points higher than it was two years ago. And even though the election was a disaster for May, the Conservative vote rose to 42.4 percent, a 5.5-point increase. It was the highest Labour share since 2001 and the highest Conservative share since 1983. The sharp decline of the Scottish Nationalists -- they lost more than a third of their seats -- further signaled a return to an earlier political era. In other words, claims that everything has gone haywire in Western politics since Brexit and Trump's election are exaggerated, as we are also likely to see in the German election this fall. And backlashes to Trump continue to push electorates in Europe toward the center or left. Indeed, May sought to recast contemporary conservatism in a moderately nationalist way, hoping to hold the metropolitan professionals while expanding her coalition to a restive working class far from the centers of power. It was a bold bet. But it failed. ELK POINT | The ABC News correspondent whose reporting prompted a multi-billion dollar defamation lawsuit from a South Dakota beef company defended his reporting in a video deposition played at the trial Wednesday. I had come to the conclusion that there was a story to do, national correspondent Jim Avila said in the taped interview. Avila sat among the broadcast company's lawyers in the basement courtroom in Elk Point as his video deposition played for jurors. In the video, Beef Products Inc. attorney Dan Webb questioned Avila about the credibility of his USDA sources and statements hed made in emails to coworkers. Avilas reporting on BPI's Lean Finely Textured Beef aired on World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer. Sawyer had been a defendant, but was dismissed before trial. The news report featured interviews from two former USDA scientists who objected to BPIs product being placed in ground beef and took their complaints to their superiors. Two very distinguished scientists looked at this product and said it doesnt belong in ground beef, Avila said in the deposition. Webb asked Avila if he found the statements the men made to be credible. Avila said scientists provided the same information The New York Times and The Daily with no retractions or corrections ever surfacing. Avila said he had no reason to believe his sources werent credible and interviewed them before pitching the story. Webb also turned the jurys attention to internal emails between Avila and producers at ABC News and posts on his Twitter account in an attempt to portray him as biased. The emails revealed that ABC personnel made unflattering comments about Lean Finely Textured Beef among themselves. Webb repeatedly asked Avila if he was biased towards BPIs product. No, Avila responded to the questions. Avila was also questioned on his decision to use the term pink slime instead of Lean Finely Textured Beef. Webb, in the video, asked Avila read the definition of the word slime in court: a moist, soft, and slippery substance, typically regarded as repulsive. Avila was shown photos of Lean Finely Textured Beef provided by BPI and asked if thought it looked like slime. It looks frozen, Avila replied. Avila and the network could be on the hook for as a much as $5.7 billion due to a 1994 South Dakota law that makes it illegal to knowingly disparage agriculture products with falsehoods. The proceedings will continue on Thursday. We want to know what you think about the movies. You can Tweet us your reviews @scweekender or share them on Facebook, facebook.com/siouxcityweekender. We'll pick the best comments on Monday before the next Weekender. Here are this week's movies: The Mummy Starring: Tom Cruise (sadly, no Brendan Fraser) Story: An ancient princess is awakened, bringing with her a terrifying force and other horrors to conquer the human race. Rated: PG-13 for violence, action and scary images, and for some suggestive content and partial nudity Verdict: The Mummy is pretty crummy - unraveling in the 2nd act after a promising start. Lacks the levity of the Brendan Fraser films. -@sizynski Megan Leavey Starring: Kate Mara, Tom Felton Story: A Marine corporal develops a bond with her military combat dog that saves many lives during an deployment in Iraq. Rated: PG-13 for war violence, language, suggestive material, and thematic elements Verdict: Your movie review could go here. Tweet us @scweekender It Comes at Night Starring: Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott Story: Secured inside their desolate home from an unknown world threat, a family tackles fear and paranoia when another couple seeks refuge. Rated: R violence, disturbing images, and language Verdict: Your movie review could go here. Tweet us @scweekender Wonder Woman Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine Story: Diana, princess of the Amazons, feels called upon to leave her homeland defend a raging war in the outside world. Rated: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive content Verdict: Your movie review could go here. Tweet us @scweekender Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Starring: Kevin Hart, Ed Helms Story: The overly imaginative George and Harold have hypnotized their principal into thinking he's a underwear-clad superhero, the subject of their comics. Rated: PG for mild rude humor throughout Verdict: Your movie review could go here. Tweet us @scweekender Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No tales Starring: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem Story: Captain Jack Sparrow searches for the trident of Poseidon while simultaneously being tracked down by a vengeful undead pirate hunter. Rated: PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence, and some suggestive content Verdict: Your movie review could go here. Tweet us @scweekender Baywatch Starring: Zac Efron, Dwayne Johnson Story: A devoted lifeguard butts heads with a new recruit and they must both work together to uncover a criminal plot that threatens their beach. Rated: R for language throughout, crude sexual content, and graphic nudity Verdict: Your movie review could go here. Tweet us @scweekender Alien: Covenant Starring: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston Story: A space crew colonize a remote planet but discover an unknown terror is waiting to reveal itself in horrific fashion. Rated: R for sci-fi violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality/nudity Verdict: #AlienCovenant mixes musings on creation & sci-fi horror. Falls short of potential - many questions from Prometheus unanswered. -@sizynski Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul Starring: Some wimpy kid Story: While on a road trip to grandma's house, the Heffley family's vacation is taken off course. Rated: PG for some rude humor Verdict: Your movie review could go here. Tweet us @scweekender King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Starring: Charlie Hunham, Jude Law Story: Arthur is denied his royal birthright and destiny before being thrust back into it after unsheathing a sacred sword. Rated: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some suggestive content and brief strong language Verdict: Your movie review could go here. Tweet us @scweekender DNR arrests two tree thieves PISGAH, Iowa | More like lumberjacker, amrite? Two Iowa men have been charged with felony theft after authorities say they cut down walnut trees in a state-owned park and sold them for a profit. Bradley Hagerman, 38, of Pisgah, and Eric Freihage, 30, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, face second-degree theft and two timber buying violations, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said. According to a press release, the agency accuses the two of cutting down nine walnut trees at Loess Hills State Forest, a state-owned and DNR-managed park, in late January. The trees were then sold to Midwest Walnut in Council Bluffs for a profit of $4,713. The appraised value of the trees is more than $7,500, the release said. On May 25, the department charged the men with the crimes and they turned themselves in after learning about their arrest warrants. The release said both Hagerman and Freihage admitted to a DNR conservation officer that they transported and sold the trees. Second-degree theft is a class-D felony and the timber buying violations are serious misdemeanors. 2 picked up with large amount of drugs IDA GROVE, Iowa | How did all that fit in a suitcase? A man and woman from California were arrested following a June 5 traffic stop in Ida County for allegedly having a lot of drugs inside their car. The sheriff's office accuses Seth Hite, 28, of Santa Rosa, and Tiffany Mccurdy, 26, of Vacaville, for having eight pounds of marijuana, 180 grams of ecstasy and seven grams of meth. They both face intent to deliver charges for each drug and failure to affix drug tax stamps and possession of drug paraphernalia. Both were transferred to the Ida County Jail and had a bond amount of $100,000. The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless. The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well. By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism. FORT LESLEY J. McNAIR, D.C. (June 14, 2017)The Joint Force HeadquartersNational Capital Region, in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration and multiple interagency partners, will conduct a military training exercise, Monday, June 19 in the Washington, D.C. area. As part of this military training exercise, the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force will conduct multiple flights with UH-60L "Black Hawk" and UH-1 "Huey" aircrafts operating between 2001,000 feet above ground level throughout the day. The exercise is intended to continue the collaboration efforts between DOD and interagency partners, promote emergency preparedness and will refine and improve the military's ability to respond to natural and manmade disasters. Organizers say the training flights have been carefully planned and will be closely controlled. They added that no ordinance of any kind will be employed during this exercise. Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region, based at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. plans, partners, maintains situational awareness, and as directed, employs forces as a Joint Task Force conducting homeland defense and civil support operations to defend and secure the National Capital Region. (SS) Floridas politicians produced a torrent of words speeches, tweets, official statements and proclamations to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre. Missing from some of the commemorations was a central element, that the attack was against patrons of Latin night at an LGBT club in Orlando. Thats a major omission, said Mayor Gary Resnick of Wilton Manors, the unofficial capital of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community in South Florida. To the LGBTQ community, Pulse is like our 9/11. There is pre-Pulse and an after-Pulse, and we know exactly where we were when we learned about it, he said. Its a little hypocritical of them to be putting out those types of messages and not putting out any type of support for the LGBT community. Statements from two of the states top elected Republicans made no reference to the LGBT community. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who is seeking the 2018 Republican nomination for governor, issued a statement and tweeted about the first anniversary of the June 12, 2016, attack the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history. Putnam offered prayers for the family friends and loved ones of those who were killed and praised first responders but said nothing about the LGBT community. Likewise, Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land OLakes, tweeted that Monday was a day to remember the loved & lost in the terror attack at the Pulse nightclub. No mention of the LGBT community. Corcoran is a possible candidate for governor. Fred Fejes, a professor of communication and multimedia studies at Florida Atlantic University, said the omissions by those who didnt mention the LGBT or Hispanic elements of the attack are very telling. For some public officials, acknowledging the existence of the LGBT community and somehow including them into American society, theyre not very comfortable with that. A lot of that discomfort has to do with political reasons. They dont want to identify in any way with the LGBT community, he said. Fejes, the author of Gay Rights and Moral Panic: The Origins of Americas Debate on Homosexuality and co-editor of The Ideology of the Information Age, said its not simply a matter of words. Its a way of minimizing the existence and the legitimacy of the LGBT community. Miik Martorell, president of Pride Fort Lauderdale, said not referring to the LGBT community avoids the full story about what happened that night. It happened specifically in an LGBTQ night club that was hosting a Latin night, Martorell said. I dont understand why someone cant just get over it and say it. Its not just a massacre. Its a massacre in our community, the LGBTQ community. Sandy Steen, a Broward Republican Party committeewoman, said she thinks failing to mention the LGBT community is wrong and is bad politics. We need to reach out to everyone. Everyone votes, said Steen, who is straight and the vice president of the Broward Log Cabin Republicans, a mostly LGBT political club. They need to grow up, she said, and if they want to be elected to higher office, they need to reach out to everyone. Democratic LGBT activists were strongly critical. Activist Michael Rajner of Wilton Manors called Putnam pathetic on Twitter. Nadine Smith, CEO of the statewide LGBT rights organization Equality Florida, tweeted that Putnams omission was Insulting. Unacceptable. Inexcusable. Putnams spokeswoman said the campaign didnt have anything to say beyond his Pulse statement and tweets. Smith also called out President Donald Trump on Twitter for his Pulse tweet that didnt mention the LGBT community. Saying Pulse isn't the same as naming the LGBT community targeted by hate. You've already forgotten the victims, she wrote. Republican Gov. Rick Scott, in an anniversary statement, called the Pulse massacre an attack on Orlando, our state, the Hispanic community and on the LGBTQ community. His official proclamation designating Monday Pulse Remembrance Day declared that the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities were viciously attacked during this senseless tragedy. Scott cant run for re-election next year because of term limits. Hes widely expected to challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio referred several times to the LGBT community and the clubs Latin night during a Pulse anniversary speech on the Senate floor. In one of several tweets on the massacre, Rubio said it was an attack on the LGBT community, Florida, America, and our very way of life. South Florida Republicans in Congress took different approaches. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami-Dade County Republican who has a transgender son, brought up the Pulse massacre during a floor speech on LGBT pride month. Ros-Lehtinen wrote on Twitter that During #LGBTPrideMonth we should remember #PulseNightclub attack = stand against anti-#LGBT violence. U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican who represents northern Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties, tweeted a picture of the list of Pulse victims names and said they should be remembered but didnt refer to the LGBT community. Most, but not all Democrats, referred to the LGBT community in their Pulse commemorations. We stand with all our LGBTQ brothers and sisters as we still grieve over this unspeakable tragedy, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Broward/Miami-Dade County Democrat, said in a statement. U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, a Broward/Palm Beach County Democrat said Pulse was an act of anti-LGBT terrorism. Another city in Palm Beach County has moved one step closer to banning conversion therapy for minors. Wellington voted 4-1 Tuesday to move forward. A second vote will take place later this month. This has become a theme of sorts in the county this year where city after city has banned the controversial practice. Those other places include West Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Riviera Beach. The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has been the driving force behind each of those bans. On Tuesday, June 14 the Wellington Village council met to hear PBCHRCs argument as to why conversion therapy also known as reparative therapy, the process of eradicating unwanted same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria in LGBT youth is ineffective and harmful to children. A ban on conversion therapy on unwanted homosexual feelings or gender dysphoria would in fact be child abuse, David Pickup, a licensed reparative therapist who practices in Texas and California told the Wellington Village Council. How can you take away the rights of children and their parents to their freedom of speech? Pickup shared his experiences receiving and administering what he called authentic reparative therapy, claiming that the arguments made by PBCHRC were biased and lacked supporting research. Pickup was not the only one to plead with the commission to vote no on the ban. Dr. Julia Harren Hamilton warned the the council that if the ordinance was enacted it would prohibit distressed children from getting help with their homosexual attractions and feelings. Dr. Hamilton is intentionally trying to mislead the Village Council, retired Judge Rand Hoch, the president and founder of PBCHRC said. Nothing in the ordinance will prevent minors from seeking help regarding same-sex attractions, or gender identity or expression. Dr. Hamilton served as the president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) for years. NARTH was a small yet well-funded for-profit organization of therapists who purported that LGBT individuals had mental disorders, according to PBCHRC. The organization encouraged anti-LGBT therapy for children as young as three years old. NARTH had its tax-exempt status revoked by the Internal Revenue Service in 2012. Pickup and Hamilton were not the only dissenters many Wellington citizens and parents expressed concerns that their rights would be infringed on. Elected officials at the local, state and federal levels have a compelling interest in protecting children, Hoch said in response to parental concerns. Courts across our nation have repeatedly ruled that the fundamental rights of parents do not include the right to choose medical or mental health treatment for their children that has been determined to be harmful. Whether or not conversion therapy is harmful was the question of the Wellington Village Council meeting. PBCHRC psychologist Dr. Rachel Needle went back-and-forth debate style with Pickup and Hamilton over the research and arguments available that would prove (or disprove) how harmful the practice of conversion therapy really is on LGBT youth. Dr. Needle asserted that conversion therapy is based on two false premises and can lead to number of potential risks such as shame, depression, social withdrawal, issues with sexual intimacy, substance abuse and suicidal ideation. First, [conversion therapy] is based on the falsehood that being gay, lesbian or transgender is a mental disorder or defect that needs to be cured, Needle said. And second, it is based on the presumption that being LGBTQ is something that can actually be changed through therapy. Needle continued, Any ethical mental health practitioner should not attempt to cure or repair gender identity or sexual orientation through these scientifically invalid techniques. Attempting to change someones sexual orientation or gender identity can have a devastating impact on a minor. The American Psychological Association has linked conversion therapy to multiple negative effects including depression and suicide. In 2009, the Association adopted the Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts, which stated that reparative treatment relied on anti-LGBTQ bigotry and a clear distortion of scientific data, according to PBCHRC. After hearing both sides, the council voted four to one to ban conversion therapy for minors. Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig opposed the measure. Wellington is a diverse, inclusive, safe community that strives to provide the best quality of life for its residents most of all its children, Wellington Vice Mayor John McGovern said. Allowing any child to be exposed to the critical health risks associated with sexual orientation change efforts, without any clear evidence that such change is even possible, is inconsistent with our community. M Barclay is transgender, queer, and uses they/them pronouns. They have also just been appointed as a deacon for the Northern Illinois conference last week. A visibly trans person who is an extension of the church queer and trans people need to see that, Barclay said. They need to see themselves reflected in the life of faith. The United Methodist Church has appointed transgender leadership before, but the church has never had a genderqueer individual in a leadership position. Barclay had a rough path to becoming deacon. After years of struggling with the question of pursuing a leadership position within the church, Barclay finally recognized that they were being called into ministry, and worked toward becoming the deacon they are today. I really struggled about whether I was going to stay at the church at all Barclay said. My faith was still there. It was just really hard to imagine the church living out what I think God is trying to do in the world right now. I understand the rules of the church, Barclay continued. But heres the truth: Im queer, and Im called to this. I tried to walk away. Barclay started their journey into a leadership position in 2012, when they were living in Texas and identified as female. They were also in a same-sex relationship. There was a conversation of 400 clergy in Texas about whether or not they could prove I was having sex, Barclay said, according to the Panama City News Herald. It was terrible. It was terrible. According to the United Methodist Church website, The United Methodist Church has no official position on the ordination of transgender individuals. The Book of Discipline, the denominations governing document, declares all people are of sacred worth but states that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Barclay made it through the first round of interviews with the church, but the second board initially refused to even give them an audience, sparking a public debate. After eventually being granted a second round of interviews, Barclay was still rejected for the position. Instead of giving up, Barclay moved to Chicago for a position with the Reconciling Ministries Network. Now, five years later, Barclay has been ordained as a provisional deacon of the Northern Illinois Conference along with four other individuals on June 4th. While Ms journey over the last few years has included gender identity, all of those who were commissioned or ordained on Sunday have been on some kind of journey that has brought them to new places of faith, life and relationships, Bishop Sally Dyck said after the ordination ceremony. Likewise, she continued. I hope the church will find itself at a new place in the near future when it comes to full inclusion. That said, M and the other candidates for commissioning and ordination are all a part of the churchs witness and outreach to people who need the good news of Jesus Christ. Barclay will continue to preach in churches and be a voice of advocacy for LGBT people of faith. Barclay told the Huffington Post that, to navigate the world as trans, queer and a pastor means a great deal to me because I know personally how much religion has been and continues to be used for harm against LGBTQ and other marginalized populations. Its important for me to have the opportunity as a pastor to condemn such spiritual abuse and to offer pastoral care, preaching and theology that encourages wholeness, liberation, justice and compassion, especially to those who are struggling to recognize themselves as beloved, Barclay added. Confirmed by a majority vote, Leo Varadkar, a gay man, has taken office as Taoiseach the prime minister of Ireland. Last month, Varadkar became the leader of governing political party Fine Gael, then submitted to become the next prime minister. The lower house of Parliament, the Dail Eireann, approved his nomination 57-50, with 45 abstaining. According to The Independent, the main opposition party Fianna Fail was the main abstention. If my election has shown anything, it is that prejudice has no hold in this Republic, he said in his victory speech reported by PinkNews. Friends, today Im honoured to have been elected as leader of the party. I accept it with humility, and am also aware of the challenges ahead. I want to thank everyone who engaged in this democratic process. To you who supported me, I give you my heartfelt thanks, and wont let you down. To those who did not, I hope I can gain your trust and confidence in the years ahead. He also said his father, who is an immigrant from India, would be proud that he could be judged by his actions, not his origins or identity. According to CNN, former party leader Enda Kenny stepped down after being Taoiseach since 2002. He is the fourth openly gay head of government in world history. Currently the other gay leader in office is Xavier Bettel, Luxembourgs prime minister. Varadkar is also the European Unions youngest leader at 38. For Fred Erick, a gay man in New York, the life threatening crisis facing gay men in Chechnya was personal. "I was born in the Ukraine," he said in a telephone interview. "My family were Jewish refugees in 1987, so what's happening in Chechnya hits close to home--that could have been me." According to numerous news reports gay men in Chechnya are being thrown into concentrations camps where many are beaten, tortured and murdered. On May 26 Huffington Post reported on the passage of House Resolution 351, a bipartisan action by US lawmakers which calls upon Russia to step in and put an end to these anti-gay abuses. Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation. Russia's Foreign Minister has claimed that the reports of the anti-gay purges are "not based on fact", according to a story published the UK Independent. Many photographs and witness testimony tell a different story. "I couldn't stop thinking about it," Erick, a 33 year old attorney, said. "It was frustrating and scary--it makes you angry because you can't do anything." Part of Erick's frustration came from the silence of President Donald Trump. "Our envoy to the UN denounced the purges but that was about it," Erick said. Erick took it upon himself to help. On April 22 he launched Helping Gay Men Flee Chechnya, a Facebook fundraising page. Erick said that he was astonished by the response he got. "I did not expect to hit one thousand dollars," he said. "I hit over $250,00, all because of the Facebook donate button." Erick added that he was astonished by the attention he attracted. Almost 6,000 people donated, while 7,300 thousand shared the campaign's page. "I saw that George Takei posted about it and that helped a lot," Erick said. "I was also covered by the Gay Times in London--even friends with whom I had a falling out posted about the campaign." The monies raised were sent to Rainbow Railroad, a small non-profit which offers help to LGBT people around the world who are facing persecution. Rainbow Railroad is actively involved in the movement to help gay men flee Chechnya, though for some, its too late. "The gay death toll in Chechnya is around 100," Erick said. "You have to focus on those you can save. Silence equals death." Erick has since ended his campaign, citing a full time career and a boyfriend he needed to get back to, but he hopes others will launch campaigns of their own. Though the U.S. is declining to accept Chechnyan refugees, many European countries, as well as Canada, are opening their doors. "My dad said that I should feel real good about this," Erick said. "What I'm most proud of is bringing our community together." You can help by visiting Rainbow Railroad: www.RainbowRailroad.ca Stars Are Born In Pairs UC Berkeley Did our sun have a twin when it was born 4.5 billion years ago? Almost certainly yes though not an identical twin. And so did every other sunlike star in the universe, according to a new analysis by a theoretical physicist from the University of California, Berkeley, and a radio astronomer from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory at Harvard University. Many stars have companions, including our nearest neighbor, Alpha Centauri, a triplet system. Astronomers have long sought an explanation. Are binary and triplet star systems born that way? Did one star capture another? Do binary stars sometimes split up and become single stars? Astronomers have even searched for a companion to our sun, a star dubbed Nemesis because it was supposed to have kicked an asteroid into Earths orbit that collided with our planet and exterminated the dinosaurs. It has never been found. The new assertion is based on a radio survey of a giant molecular cloud filled with recently formed stars in the constellation Perseus, and a mathematical model that can explain the Perseus observations only if all sunlike stars are born with a companion. We are saying, yes, there probably was a Nemesis, a long time ago, said co-author Steven Stahler, a UC Berkeley research astronomer. We ran a series of statistical models to see if we could account for the relative populations of young single stars and binaries of all separations in the Perseus molecular cloud, and the only model that could reproduce the data was one in which all stars form initially as wide binaries. These systems then either shrink or break apart within a million years. In this study, wide means that the two stars are separated by more than 500 astronomical units, or AU, where one astronomical unit is the average distance between the sun and Earth. A wide binary companion to our sun would have been 17 times farther from the sun than its most distant planet today, Neptune. Based on this model, the suns sibling most likely escaped and mixed with all the other stars in our region of the Milky Way galaxy, never to be seen again. The idea that many stars form with a companion has been suggested before, but the question is: how many? said first author Sarah Sadavoy, a NASA Hubble fellow at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Based on our simple model, we say that nearly all stars form with a companion. The Perseus cloud is generally considered a typical low-mass star-forming region, but our model needs to be checked in other clouds. The idea that all stars are born in a litter has implications beyond star formation, including the very origins of galaxies, Stahler said. Stahler and Sadavoy posted their findings in April on the arXiv server. Their paper has been accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Stars birthed in dense cores Astronomers have speculated about the origins of binary and multiple star systems for hundreds of years, and in recent years have created computer simulations of collapsing masses of gas to understand how they condense under gravity into stars. They have also simulated the interaction of many young stars recently freed from their gas clouds. Several years ago, one such computer simulation by Pavel Kroupa of the University of Bonn led him to conclude that all stars are born as binaries. Yet direct evidence from observations has been scarce. As astronomers look at younger and younger stars, they find a greater proportion of binaries, but why is still a mystery. The key here is that no one looked before in a systematic way at the relation of real young stars to the clouds that spawn them, Stahler said. Our work is a step forward in understanding both how binaries form and also the role that binaries play in early stellar evolution. We now believe that most stars, which are quite similar to our own sun, form as binaries. I think we have the strongest evidence to date for such an assertion. According to Stahler, astronomers have known for several decades that stars are born inside egg-shaped cocoons called dense cores, which are sprinkled throughout immense clouds of cold, molecular hydrogen that are the nurseries for young stars. Through an optical telescope, these clouds look like holes in the starry sky, because the dust accompanying the gas blocks light from both the stars forming inside and the stars behind. The clouds can, however, be probed by radio telescopes, since the cold dust grains in them emit at these radio wavelengths, and radio waves are not blocked by the dust. The Perseus molecular cloud is one such stellar nursery, about 600 light-years from Earth and about 50 light-years long. Last year, a team of astronomers completed a survey that used the Very Large Array, a collection of radio dishes in New Mexico, to look at star formation inside the cloud. Called VANDAM, it was the first complete survey of all young stars in a molecular cloud, that is, stars less than about 4 million years old, including both single and multiple stars down to separations of about 15 astronomical units. This captured all multiple stars with a separation of more than about the radius of Uranus orbit 19 AU in our solar system. Stahler heard about the survey after approaching Sadavoy, a member of the VANDAM team, and asking for her help in observing young stars inside dense cores. The VANDAM survey produced a census of all Class 0 stars those less than about 500,000 years old and Class I stars those between about 500,000 and 1 million years old. Both types of stars are so young that they are not yet burning hydrogen to produce energy. Sadavoy took the results from VANDAM and combined them with additional observations that reveal the egg-shaped cocoons around the young stars. These additional observations come from the Gould Belt Survey with SCUBA-2 on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii. By combining these two data sets, Sadavoy was able to produce a robust census of the binary and single-star populations in Perseus, turning up 55 young stars in 24 multiple-star systems, all but five of them binary, and 45 single-star systems. Using these data, Sadavoy and Stahler discovered that all of the widely separated binary systems those with stars separated by more than 500 AU were very young systems, containing two Class 0 stars. These systems also tended to be aligned with the long axis of the egg-shaped dense core. The slightly older Class I binary stars were closer together, many separated by about 200 AU, and showed no tendency to align along the eggs axis. This has not been seen before or tested, and is super interesting, Sadavoy said. We dont yet know quite what it means, but it isnt random and must say something about the way wide binaries form. Egg-shaped cores collapse into two centers Stahler and Sadavoy mathematically modeled various scenarios to explain this distribution of stars, assuming typical formation, breakup and orbital shrinking times. They concluded that the only way to explain the observations is to assume that all stars of masses around that of the sun start off as wide Class 0 binaries in egg-shaped dense cores, after which some 60 percent split up over time. The rest shrink to form tight binaries. As the egg contracts, the densest part of the egg will be toward the middle, and that forms two concentrations of density along the middle axis, he said. These centers of higher density at some point collapse in on themselves because of their self-gravity to form Class 0 stars. Within our picture, single low-mass, sunlike stars are not primordial, Stahler added. They are the result of the breakup of binaries. Their theory implies that each dense core, which typically comprises a few solar masses, converts twice as much material into stars as was previously thought. Stahler said that he has been asking radio astronomers to compare dense cores with their embedded young stars for more than 20 years, in order to test theories of binary star formation. The new data and model are a start, he says, but more work needs to be done to understand the physics behind the rule. Such studies may come along soon, because the capabilities of a now-upgraded VLA and the ALMA telescope in Chile, plus the SCUBA-2 survey in Hawaii, are finally giving us the data and statistics we need. This is going to change our understanding of dense cores and the embedded stars within them, Sadavoy said. The Progress 67 cargo craft rests atop the Progress MS-06 rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos. NASA Russias Progress 67 (67P) cargo craft stands at its launch pad in Kazakhstan ready for liftoff Wednesday at 5:20 a.m. EDT. NASA TV will broadcast the launch live from the Baikonur Cosmodrome including the docking of the 67P Friday at 7:42 a.m. to the Zvezda service module. Two external experiments have been extracted from the trunk of the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship and attached to the outside of the International Space Station. Ground controllers commanded the Canadarm2 to reach inside Dragon, grapple both experiments and install them on EXPRESS logistics carriers. The first experiment, MUSES, or Multiple User System for Earth Sensing, was removed June 6 the day after Dragons arrival. It was installed two days later on the starboard side of the stations truss structure. MUSES is an Earth-imaging platform that may improve navigation, agriculture and benefit emergency responders and the petroleum industry. NICER, or Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer, was extracted Sunday afternoon and will be installed this evening. It will search for new insights into the physics of neutron stars and help scientists develop a pulsar-based, space navigation system. A third experiment will be extracted June 17 to test a new advanced solar array. The roll-out solar array, or ROSA, rolls out like a tape measure with solar cells on a flexible blanket. The ROSA, which could power future NASA spaceships and communication satellites, will be stowed back inside Dragons trunk after seven days of data collection while attached to the stations robotic arm. On-Orbit Status Report Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF): The crew replaced the Sample Cartridge and the stuck Sample Holder in the ELF with a new type of Sample Holder and a Sample Cartridge. The ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate, melt and solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the Electrostatic Levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of high temperature melts can be measured, and solidification from deeply undercooled melts can be achieved. NeuroMapping: The crew set up the Neuromapping hardware and executed testing in both a strapped in and free floating body configuration. During the test, the crewmember performed three Behavioral Assessments: mental rotation, sensorimotor adaptation, and motor-cognitive dual tasking. The NeuroMapping investigation studies whether long-duration spaceflight causes changes to brain structure and function, motor control, or multi-tasking abilities. It also measures how long it would take for the brain and body to recover from possible changes. Previous research and anecdotal evidence from astronauts suggests movement control and cognition can be affected in microgravity. The NeuroMapping investigation performs structural and functional magnetic resonance brain imaging (MRI and fMRI) to assess any changes that occur after spending months on the ISS. Habitability Walk-through: The crew recorded and submitted a walk-through videoim documenting observations of life onboard ISS and providing insights related to human factors and habitability. The Habitability investigation collects observations about the relationship between crew members and their environment on the ISS. These observations can help spacecraft designers understand habitable volume requirements and whether a missions duration impacts how much space crewmembers need or not. ISS Medical Accessory Kit (IMAK) Unpack: The crew unpacked resupply kits delivered on SpX-11 and replaced expired items with new ones. They also packed items designated for return to ground. Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations in Support of NICER: Overnight, Robotics Ground Controllers walked the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) off the Node2 Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) onto Mobile Base System (MBS) PDGF1. They then translated the Mobile Transporter (MT) with the Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) Payload from Worksite 6 (WS6) to WS2. Finally, Controllers unstowed the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) from MBS PDGF2. These activities were to set up for tonights NICER installation onto ELC2. Todays Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Crew Earth Observation Shutter Close On MCC Go Regeneration of Micropurification Unit (???) ?2 Cartridge (start) Combustion Integrated Rack Alignment Guide Install XF305 Camcorder Setup Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) sample Cartridge Retrieval JEM Microbe Sensor Troubleshoot Pressurization of Elektron-VM Liquid Unit before Activation Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) Sample Holder Reset Preparing for Troubleshooting FGB Power Supply System and ???? devices, ODF and R/G review. Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) Sample Holder Exchange Habitability Walk-through Video Subject Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) sample Cartridge Installation Strata Payload Stow Cargo Transfer to Dragon Adjusting Minimum Tension On Treadmill ??-2 & Taping Up the Belt. GIS Data Downlink TOCA Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis Miniaturized Particle Telescope Cargo Transfer to Dragon Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Combustion Chamber (CC) Valve 2 Operation HRF2 Supply Kit Resupply ??? Maintenance ISS HAM Video Operations Video Recording of Greetings Sprint Portable Pulmonary Function System Setup Partial NeuroMapping Experiment Neurocognitive Test Subject Combustion Integrated Rack Hardware Gather IMS Update Dragon Cargo Operations Conference TOCA Sample Data Record Rodent Research Habitat 2 Water Check On MCC Go Regeneration Micropurification Unit (???) ?2 Absorption Cartridge (end) Completed Task List Items None Ground Activities All activities are on schedule unless otherwise noted. NICER Installation onto ELC2 Three-Day Look Ahead: Wednesday, 06/14: 67P launch, Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus Hardware Replacement, Rodent Research Habitat Restock, Environmental Health System (EHS) Microbial, Coliform, and Potable Water Samples. Thursday, 06/15: Rodent Research Habitat Restock, Cardiac Stem Cell ops, Sprint VO2 Max, Progress 66P OBT Friday, 06/16: 67P dock, JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (SSOD) Install Super automatic espresso machines and specialty coffee: never the twain shall meet Or so we thought until experiencing the Eversys eBarista System at World of Coffee Budapest 2017. It helped, too, that our guide was Eversys brand ambassador Matt Perger, the multi-title-holding coffee champ and Barista Hustle founder from Melbourne. Perger told Sprudge all about how a Swiss-engineered bean-to-cup modular machine can produce something really superthat is, specialty coffee barista-level espresso. Demonstrations in Budapest were on a two-group e4m, one of eight Eversys models currently available, which can handle 350 23-second espressos per hour and has an in-built milk heating and frothing module. The proof was in the pushing, and the use of two Cup of Excellence coffees from April Coffee Roasters (roasted by the capsule-friendly Patrick Rolf) also helped pull in crowds and buzz throughout the week in Hungary. A new, sleeker model that Perger has been helping develop debuts at HostMilano in October. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Tell us about your role as brand ambassador. One part of that is the marketing side, which is helping specialty coffee and Eversys be introduced to each other because theyre in pretty separate worlds right now and helping coffee people understand that its not the bogeyman: its just a machine that will help you do things differently than you have been before. The other side of that coin is that Im also helping them with the development of the machine itself: their software, the user interfacelike, how would a specialty-coffee person want to interact with the machine? How does Eversys make tastier coffee than other super automatics? A lot of the super automatic machines that are out, the primary aim of them is to make the machine as cheap as possible. It is a margins game that those companies are playing because theyre working with resellers and theyre selling to the likes of global corporate 10,000-shop sort of accounts, so every dollar really matters, and that means that theyve made sacrifices in the quality of how the coffee is made. Secondly, the coffee that theyre using to test those machines and that they always use in those machines is so rubbish, that you wouldnt even know if youre making it badly because its just bad. So Eversys started to look at how the best coffee is made and then sort of reverse-engineer that, reduced it down stillyou know, we cant literally have a monkey in a closet making coffee the way a barista does. But there are certain things that you cant compromise on, like the grinder has to work just like a really good grinder would work. The brewing chamber has to work just like a regular espresso machine would work. It has to know how much coffee is in there, not just: theres some coffee in there. It has to measure everything just like a barista would and it has to act throughout the day to counter for changes in an agricultural product like coffee. Once you add all of that together, you end up with a pretty robust machine that makes as many decisions as 99 percent of baristas would. So the machine operator needs to push buttonswhat else? Pour beans in the top and fill up the milk. If you want to do latte art, then you can have the milk and the coffee come out separately and then pour your latte art onto the drink. It steams milk just as well as a barista can. What about settings? You can choose how much coffee goes in, you can choose how much coffee comes out. You choose the time for the shot, so its just the decisions that you would make as a barista anyway except it will then monitor that throughout the day and make sure that it stays the same. So its really just doing what a barista does. Whom would you recommend this for? Not for the highest-end specialty bars, at the moment. Eversys is aiming at businesses like offices, corporate offices, large hospitality chains (like groups), and businesses where training staff to make high-quality coffee just isnt feasible, businesses that might have large turnover of staff, businesses that cant afford to invest in the same level of quality that a high-quality espresso bar would. And thats now Very soon theyre going to be creating machines that look and feel and act as though they should be in that specialty-quality space as well. But the interesting thing is that thats just a cosmetic change. The machine makes perfectly good coffeeas well as any barista can; it just doesnt look like it does. Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more Karina Hof on Sprudge The publicity department for the Grand Circuit has sent out its weekly recap and preview of Grand Circuit races. This Week: North America Cup, Fan Hanover, Roses Are Red, Armbro Flight and Goodtimes finals, Mohawk Racetrack, Campbellville, Ont. Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit spotlight will be on Mohawk Racetrack this weekend as the Ontario oval hosts five lucrative stakes finals on Saturday night (June 17) led by the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup for three-year-old pacers. Also on the card will be the $440,000 Fan Hanover for three-year-old filly pacers, the $365,000 Roses Are Red for older mare pacers, the $253,000 Armbro Flight for older mare trotters and the $251,000 Goodtimes for three-year-old colt trotters. Last time: On an absolutely picturesque evening at Eldorado Scioto Downs, Crazy Wow and Chris Page assumed command upon their departure from the gate and did not experience a truly tense moment en route to a powerful 1:52 track record score in the $200,000 Charlie Hill Memorial in front of a standing-room only crowd on Saturday (June 10). Defending older trotting champion Obrigado (Mark MacDonald) was second, with Canadian invader Musical Rhythm (Peter Wrenn) third. Commencing his journey from Post 8 did not seem to hamper Crazy Wows need to display his speed. Conditioned by Ron Burke and owned by Our Horse Cents Stables, Stable 45, J&T Silva Stables and Deo Volente Farms, the five-year-old horse, fresh off his first victory in nearly a year in the $150,000 Maxie Lee Invitational on May 28 at Harrahs Philadelphia, laid down a very swift first split of :26.2 with Obrigado in hot pursuit in the field of nine with the scratch of Homicide Hunter. In essence it was reduced to eight competitors after 2015 Dan Patch Award winner and world champion JL Cruze broke strode going into the first turn. As Crazy Wow and Page went past the half-mile marker in :55.1, Obrigado was hemmed in and slightly shuffled back to third as Hemi Seelster (Brett Holland) moved aggressively, intent on not allowing his top two rivals to stray too far. After Crazy Wow passed the three-quarter marker in 1:23.1, the rest of the field began their bids to overtake him in their quest for the wire. Both Centurion ATM (Aaron Merriman) and Musical Rhythm made their moves from sixth and fifth, respectively, as Hemi Seelster tired from his earlier efforts to drop back to fourth entering the top of the stretch. This transition of positions provided Obrigado, who was making his 2017 debut, with a desperately needed seam and he and MacDonald pulled to the outside in an attempt to chase down Crazy Wow. Their efforts, however, were in vain, as Crazy Wow appeared to lengthen his stride with each hoof he placed upon the Columbus oval and he maintained a comfortable one and three-quarter-length advantage right to the wire. Musical Rhythm spurted up the rail after Obrigado vacated that area to finish third. Collecting his second consecutive triumph and propelling his 2017 record to 5-2-3-0, with his career resume now at 47-17-10-3, Crazy Wow has now earned more than $1.7 million. Sent off the as the second selection at 3-1, the horse paid a generous $8.20 for his victory. Grand Circuit Standings: In 2017, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2017 Grand Circuit awards. Here are the leaders through and including the races on June 10. Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras 211; 2. Jason Bartlett 148; 3. Jordan Stratton 136; 4. David Miller 129; 5. Matt Kakaley 128. Trainers: 1. Ron Burke 238; 2. Peter Tritton 132; 3. Rene Allard 99; 4. Richard Banca 86; 5. Noel Daley - 67. Owners: 1. Harry von Knoblauch Stable 103.5; 2. Burke Racing Stable 53; 3. Weaver Bruscemi 44.2; 4. J&T Silva Stables 43.2; 5. Determination 37. Looking ahead: Next weekend will see Grand Circuit action taking place at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with eliminations for the Ben Franklin (older pacers), Earl Beal Memorial (three-year-old colt trotters), Max Hempt Memorial (three-year-old colt pacers) and James Lynch (three-year-old filly pacers) on Saturday (June 24). (Grand Circuit) Standardbred racehorse owner Doug W. Brown, 75, of Oakwood, Ont. passed away Saturday morning (June 10) following a courageous battle with cancer. Brown owned racehorses for many years, and the last few horses he owned were in partnership with Brad Rae. Brown was operated on in Kingston, Ont. for a brain tumor, and went steadily down hill. He passed away while in Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Ont. Visitation and funeral took place at Mackay Funeral Home in Lindsay on Wednesday, June 14. While Brown was in partnership with Rae, he came to the farm every day to clean stalls and help, and also groomed his horses on race nights at Kawartha Downs. Brown had the greatest sense of humour, dry humour, and will be sadly missed. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Doug W. Brown. Let me encourage you to begin to use a Life Journal in your daily Bible study. This simple tool utilizes a Bible reading plan (I use Online Devotions found at http://enewhope.org/bible/) together with a journal and a straightforward and very simple way of recording what you sense the Lord is teaching through daily readings. Each day I take a Scripture from that days reading, then I write an Observation about it, then I decide on an Application, and then I write a simple Prayer to pray what I have learned back to God. S.O.A.P. I learned to use this method from hearing Pastor Wayne Cordeiro talk about how important this wonderful habit is in his life. This life journal blog has helped me tremendously in my spiritual journey. If you start a life journal and you are writing it on a blog please let me know. I would love to take a minute to read your blog too. And I would love to add you to my list of Life Journalers! Measures to allow such shops in El Segundo, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach are all on their way to failing, based on semi-official election results IANS Global professional service company Accenture will achieve by 2025 a gender-balanced workforce, with 50 percent male and 50 percent female employees, the company said on Wednesday. "Diversity makes our business stronger and more innovative and, most important, it makes the world a better place. With this new goal, we are sending an important message to our people and our clients confirming our commitment to a gender-balanced workforce," said Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme in a statement. Accenture currently has 150,000 women, nearly 40 percent of its global workforce. The company aims to grow its percentage of women managing directors to 25 per cent globally by 2020. "As we work toward '50 by 25', our ultimate goal is to create a truly human environment where people have a real sense of belonging, where they can show up every day, be who they are and be their best, both professionally and personally," at Ellyn Shook, Human Resources Officer at Accenture. Approximately 80 per cent of the women in the global executive leadership programme have been promoted or have significantly expanded their areas of responsibility, the company said. In 2016, Microsoft had released a report on gender equality in workforce. It was found that women constituted 25.8 percent of workforce. Companies like Microsoft, Facebook and Google were suffering from gender diversity. IANS Banks which have lent to telecom companies are worried about the financial health of the sector which is under debt stress. Many of them feel there may be defaults in the future. "The bankers are worried. They feel one might see defaults in future unless some solution is found soon," said an official. Four banks - State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank - on Wednesday met the members of the inter-ministerial group (IMG) formed to look into the health of the telecom firms. The telecom sector's debt is estimated to be over Rs 4.6 lakh crore. None of the officials or the bankers were ready to provide detailed information on what was discussed during the two-hour meeting. Punjab National Bank officials, coming out of the meeting, admitted that there was stress in the sector and that there was an urgent need to find a solution. They were not willing to come on record since they were not authorised to talk to the press. The officials said that revenues in the sector were coming down and this may further worsen the situation. SBI's exposure alone to the telecom sector is around Rs 70,000 crore. The bankers may meet the IMG, composed of officials from the finance and communications ministry, again soon. Axis Bank officials said liquidity has to increase in the telecom sector, otherwise, the situation will deteriorate. This is the third meeting of the group in the series of stock-taking meetings. The officials met four telecom firms - Reliance Jio, Reliance Communications, Aircel and Tata Teleservices - on Monday. A meeting with BSNL and MTNL was held on Tuesday. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India are scheduled to meet the group on Friday. Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. A worker repairs the shipping containers at Port of Dalian on Sept 10, 2013 in Dalian of Liaoning province.[Photo/VCG] A unified port operating platform will be established in Northeast China's Liaoning province, unveiling a new round of port resource integration, Shanghai Securities News reports. Trading in shares of Dalian Port, Yingkou Port and Jinzhou Port was suspended on Monday morning. Later, the three companies all issued similar statements, saying Liaoning provincial government and China Merchants Group have signed port cooperation framework agreement. According to the agreement signed on Saturday, Liaoning provincial government and China Merchants Group will join hands to build a unified port operating platform. Based on Dalian Port Co Ltd and Yingkou Port Group Corp, a new Liaoning Port Group will be set up to realize integrated operation of coastal ports in Northeast China's Liaoning province. The two sides plan to complete the establishment of Liaoning Port Group and mixed ownership reform by the end of this year, as well as integration of other ports' business entity by the end of 2018. Media earlier reported that Liaoning province has put effort to build a port cluster which put Dalian port in the center, Yingkou, Dandong, Jinzhou and Huludao ports on the wings to realize cooperation meanwhile complement each other with advantages. Zheshang Securities analyst Han Jun told the newspaper that port resource integration will be a big event this year. The Ministry of Transport Spokesman Wu Chungeng said at a press conference in March that the ministry plans to boost port supply-side reform by optimizing port layout and promoting resource integration. Dalian port, a major container port in Northeast China, owns more than 100 container trade lines in the country and overseas. Last year, cargo throughput of Dalian Port reached 355 million tons, up 5.5 percent from a year ago. tech2 News Staff Facebook has announced a number of updates to its Safety Check feature. The company announced that it will add Fundraisers to the feature to make it easier for people to raise relief money after any disaster or calamity. The feature will start rolling out in the US in coming weeks. The company has not announced any details about the international rollout of the feature. According to a blog post by Facebook, it is also expanding the Community help feature for the desktop along with all types of crisis defined by the company. The community will be able to help as soon as the Safety Switch is enabled. One small but important feature addition to this feature is the ability for the users to add a personal note to the Safety Check so that users marking themselves as safe or donating for the cause know the context of the problem or calamity. Last but not the least, the company has added a Crisis description to the Safety Check, where users can add the description of the crisis from NC4. The company details that NC4 is a trusted third party global crisis agency. Naomi Gleit, VP Social Good at Facebook pointed out that the feature was activated about 600 times in two years. This comes right after user backlash at Facebooks decision to activate Safety Check during the Grenfell Tower fire in London, as reported by Mashable. Most users had a problem with Facebook seemingly promoting itself by activating the check for people even 4-5 miles away from the actual disaster site. They claimed that Facebook is using stress and fear to drive up engagement on its platform. tech2 News Staff Tim Cook recently confirmed that Apple is developing automated systems for self driving cars. Apple's entry into the space is late, considering Waymo and Tesla already have a leg up. Apple does not make the core technologies for autonomous vehicles such as Delphi or MobilEye. Apple does not make the hardware to power the AI algorithms on self driving cars such as Intel or NVIDIA. Apple does not have an auto manufacturing heritage such as BMW, Ford or Toyota. Apple is clearly at a disadvantage here. One of the most crucial components that make self driving cars possible, is voluminous amounts of data. BMW is collecting the data needed for its autonomous vehicles through a partnership with MobilEye. Toyota, Stanford and MIT are together creating a blockchain based solution for easy sharing of data between self driving car companies and component manufacturers. Volvo is conducting drive tests in Sweden to collect the much needed Data. Apple will need to address the pain point of data collection to meet its self-driving car goals. One of the ways Apple can do this, says the analyst, is through negotiating a deal with Tesla, which has been collecting data since 2003. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas told Business Insider that buying out or partnering with Tesla is one of the solutions available to Apple. Partnering with one of the most mature self-driving car companies in the market will give Apple the leg up it needs. tech2 News Staff In the month of April, while Reliance Jio lead the race in terms of customer acquisition, it has had a slow growth for active subscribers. As per TRAI's (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) monthly subscriber report,the number of telephone subscribers has increased by 4.31 million from the end of March to the end of April, this year. The number of wireless subscribers increased from 1,170.18 million in March to 1,174.60 million in April. According to PTI, Reliance Jio which was the hotbed for new subscriber connections since September saw its net subscriber addition decrease this month to 3.73 million. This is, unlike the month of December, last year, where the customer base had peaked to 20.2 million. Meanwhile, Airtel has added 2.85 million with BSNL adding 0.81 million, followed by Vodafone at 0.75 million and Idea at 0.68 million. Losing to 1.46 million users, TATA Teleservices saw the biggest loss, followed by Reliance Communications who lost 1.32 million subscribers. Aircel lost 0.33 million. According to a recent Open Signal 'State of LTE' global report, Jios rising subscriber base has amplified the growth of 4G in India. Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. Handset maker Samsung will expand its mobile payments service, Samsung Pay, to more affordable devices in its portfolio in India over the next few weeks. The service, which was launched in March this year in India, allows users to just tap and pay using the debit or credit cards and wallets stored on their mobile devices. Samsung Pay is available for users of flagship devices like Samsung S8, Samsung S7 Edge, S7 and S6 Edge Plus among others. The company today launched two new devices, J7 Max and Pro, priced at Rs 17,900 and Rs 20,900, respectively that feature Samsung Pay. "Since its launch in India, we have received a tremendous response to Samsung Pay and we remain committed to taking it to a maximum number of consumers. Over the next few weeks, we plan to extend Samsung Mini as an update to some existing users of devices like J7 Prime," Samsung India Senior Vice President Mobile Business, Asim Warsi told PTI. The J7 Pro is equipped with Samsung Pay, while J7 Max comes loaded with Samsung Pay Mini. Designed to work on mid-range smartphones, Samsung Pay Mini comes with UPI and mobile wallet integration. However, it does not support tap and pay using credit and debit cards like the main app. "Samsung Pay Mini is designed to cater to requirements of mid-segment consumers. While J7 Max is the first device to get Mini, it will be made available on select existing J-series devices shortly," he said. The J series, which now has 10 devices after J7 Pro and J7 Max, accounts for a huge chunk of Samsung India's sales. The J7 Max features a 5.7-inch display, 1.6 GHz Octa-core processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB internal memory (expandable up to 256GB), 13MP front and rear camera and 3,300 mAH battery. It will be available in stores from June 20. The Galaxy J7 Pro has a 5.5-inch display, 3GB RAM, 64GB internal memory (expandable up to 128GB) and 3,600 mAH battery. The device will hit the stores mid-July onwards. Both the devices feature a social camera that allows consumers to add filters or stickers on-the-go and share the picture instantly on social media apps. The instant discovery feature through the augmented reality camera allows users to discover their surroundings for popular photography spots, restaurants, and shopping areas. Egypt`s parliament approves Red Sea islands transfer to Saudi Arabia An aerial view of the coast of the Red Sea. Reuters , Cairo : Egypt's parliament on Wednesday backed plans to hand over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia under an agreement that has attracted widespread public criticism. House of Representatives Speaker Ali Abdelaal said the required majority of lawmakers had voted for the agreement, which the government signed last year, despite a court striking it down in March. "I announce the House's final approval of the maritime demarcation agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed on April 8, 2016," Abdelaal said before adjourning the session. The treaty must now be ratified by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, which is a formality. The vote came very swiftly. The House Committee on Defence and National Security unanimously backed the plan earlier on Wednesday and referred it to the House for a final vote. A majority approved it less than four hours later. Those opposed to the measure stood up in protest and chanted "Egyptian, Egyptian" in reference to the islands. "Today is a terrible day for the Egyptian people, one in which the nation has lost part of its land," said lawmaker Haitham al-Hariri. Several legislators opposed to the deal threatened to hold an open-ended sit-in. Some said they were considering resigning in protest. Sisi's government last year announced the maritime demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia, which has given billions of dollars of aid to Egypt, ceding control of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir. The plan triggered street protests last year from many Egyptians, who say their country's sovereignty over the islands dates back to a treaty from 1906, before Saudi Arabia was founded. Security blanket during Eid vacation: RAB Staff Reporter : The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General Benazir Ahmed on Thursday said that the elite force has taken all out security measures alongside other law enforcing agencies so that people to celebrate the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr without troubles. A several teams the special force are now on the alert in the railway stations, bus terminals, launch docs, airports and any public places to make sure Eid celebrations peacefully. The RAB DG made the comment to the reporters at a press briefing after inspecting the security measures at Kamalapur Railway Station on Thursday afternoon. Around 11,000 RAB personnel ready to ensure security to the countrymen to celebrate the festivities with their loved ones in the city and other parts of the country, the police official said. "We have taken all-out security measures so that the home-bound people can reach their destinations as well as return to Dhaka safely," said Benazir. He also said temporary camps of RAB have been set up in the bus stands, railway stations and launch terminals outside Dhaka for security of passengers. UN assures support, expresses solidarity with victims UNB, Dhaka : The United Nations has assured the government of Bangladesh that the UN System will continue to support ongoing efforts aimed at restoring services and providing emergency supplies to those affected by landslides. The UN said, it remains "concerned" about the loss of lives, livelihoods and damage to homes and infrastructure in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Chittagong and Cox's Bazar. Mudslides triggered by torrential monsoon rains have killed over 150 people across five districts. The UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Robert D Watkins expressed solidarity with the people and families affected by the landslides. This disaster occurs on the heels of cyclone Mora which left nine people dead and caused significant damage across the region, said an UN media release on Thursday. The mudslides are reported to be amongst the most lethal in Bangladesh's recent history, and are widely attributed to the combination of the heavy rainfall and environmental degradation caused by unregulated deforestation and a burgeoning population. Hundreds of homes were buried in mud and rubble, and residents are facing acute fuel, electricity and water shortages. Families are taking refuge in emergency shelters, including schools and public buildings. Meanwhile, local authorities are providing support to the affected residents, and have pledged to continue their support until families can safely return home. The blockage of road links within the affected areas and the disruption in telephone communications are hampering the relief response, but the World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the National Crisis Management Centre to assess the health aspects of the disaster. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), both present and with ongoing development projects in the Chittagong Hill Tract region, are also undertaking assessments and helping with the response. More detailed and long-term rehabilitation plans are being drawn up in collaboration with the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry, the release added. 3 more bodies found Food, fuel, power crises hit affected people Staff Reporter : The death toll in the massive landslides that struck three hill districts-- Rangamati, Bandarban and Chittagong early Tuesday rose to 152 on Thursday. The bodies of three more landslide victims, including a missing army man, were recovered from different parts of the Rangamati district on Thursday. Army personnel and fire service men are carrying out rescue operations in different parts of the district. Officials feared the death toll could rise as rescuers could not reach the remote parts of the region where telephone and transport links had been cut. Mohamamd Shahidullah, Additional Superintendent of Rangamati (Sadar), said army personnel and fire fighters carried out rescue operation for the 3rd consecutive day on Thursday. "Later they recovered the body of Azizul, a army man, near the Manikchhari army camp while the bodies of a woman and a man near Rangamati Circuit House and Bhedbhedi BADC Post office area respectively," he told local journalists. Meanwhile, the residents of the hilly region, worst hit by the recent landslides, have been passing their days amid an acute shortage of water and power crisis for the last four days. Besides, the sudden price hike of essentials and fuel crisis in the local market have intensified the miseries of the residents. Power supply in the district town remained snapped for the last four days, putting the residents into darkness. The refueling stations and the retail shops of fuel were closed in the district town creating an acute fuel crisis. Besides, the road communications of the district with other parts of the region are yet to be restored. However, army personnel started working to clear the roads. Meanwhile, the local administration has formed three committees to ascertain the losses caused by the hillslides in the district. The government has announced to provide Tk 50 lakh in cash and 100 tonnes of rice among the victims. Trump `probed for obstruction of justice` BBC Online : President Donald Trump is being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for possible obstruction of justice, US media reports say. They say senior intelligence officials will be interviewed on whether Mr Trump tried to end an inquiry into his sacked national security adviser, and about the firing of FBI chief James Comey. Mr Trump tweeted that the move was the latest action in a "phony story". Mr Mueller is leading an FBI inquiry into Russian meddling in the election. President Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia. On Thursday, he described the ongoing inquiry as a "witch hunt" that was "led by some very bad and conflicted people". The latest development was first carried in the Washington Post. Later the New York Times and Wall St Journal reported the story, citing their own sources. The Washington Post says the decision by Mr Mueller to investigate President Trump's own conduct is a major turning point in the investigation, which until recently focused on the Russian angle. Russian President Vladimir Putin has joked about Mr Comey's testimony, saying the fact that he had admitted leaking details of his conversations with President Trump to the media put him in the same category as US whistleblower Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum in Russia. "What's the difference between the FBI head and Mr Snowden then?" Mr Putin asked during a live phone-in with the Russian public in Moscow, adding, "By the way, if he is persecuted in this respect, we will be ready to give him political asylum in Russia too." The latest media reports say the obstruction of justice investigation began just days after President Trump fired Mr Comey on 9 May. Mr Comey, who had been leading one of several Russia inquiries, testified to Congress last week that Mr Trump had pressurised him to drop the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Mr Flynn was sacked in February for failing to reveal the extent of his contacts with Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to Washington. Mr Comey testified under oath that Mr Trump had told him during a private meeting: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." The White House has said the president "has never asked Mr Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn". Mr Comey had testified he was "sure" Mr Mueller was looking at whether Mr Trump had obstructed justice. But Mr Comey also testified that, to his knowledge, the president had not tried to stop the Russia investigation. However, the Wall St Journal quoted a source as saying that Mr Mueller would examine whether Mr Comey's sacking was an attempt by the president to alter the course of the investigation. President Trump said in a TV interview that he had fired the FBI chief because of the "Russia thing". Mr Trump reportedly told Russian officials at an Oval Office meeting a day after sacking Mr Comey that his position had now eased. "I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off," Mr Trump said, according to a US official quoted by the New York Times. The latest reports also speak of an investigation into possible money laundering among Trump associates. A former senior official told the New York Times that any collusion between the Trump team and Russian officials would have involved a pay-off, and that there may have been attempts to hide the route of the payments by using offshore banking. The three names being mentioned in US media are Daniel Coats, the director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, and Richard Ledgett, until recently Mr Rogers's deputy. At a Senate panel last week, Mr Coats and Admiral Rogers said they had never felt pressured to interfere in investigations. The three were not involved in the Trump campaign but may be asked whether Mr Trump sought their help to end the Flynn inquiry. A separate Washington Post report has said that Mr Coats told associates in March that the president had asked him to try to get the FBI to back off. However, the Times points out that the latest questioning does not mean a criminal case is being built against the president, simply that information is being gathered by the FBI. It will be passed to prosecutors who will then have to decide. He tweeted early on Thursday morning, saying: "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice." His legal team responded angrily on Wednesday evening about the leaked information. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Mr Trump's lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, said: "The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." Mr Trump has repeatedly railed against leaks from the FBI, saying this is the important story, not alleged collusion with Russia, which he has dismissed as "fake news". The New York Times reports that Mr Trump has considered firing Mr Mueller in recent days but has been talked out of it by aides. James Comey hinted at it. Washington insiders suspected it. Now US media are reporting it (through anonymous sources, of course). Donald Trump himself is under direct investigation for obstruction of justice by the special counsel's office. Take all those previous assertions by the president that he's not the target of law enforcement efforts, and throw them out the window. Mr Trump will surely insist that the inquiry into whether his campaign had ties to Russia is still a hoax perpetrated by Democrats and a hostile media, and that the obstruction allegations are built on that empty foundation. That may not matter. "It's not the crime; it's the cover-up," may be a hackneyed political saying, but that doesn't mean it lacks a kernel of truth. There's still an open question as to what, exactly, could happen if Mr Mueller does find the president violated the law in acting to disrupt an ongoing investigation. It's all uncharted legal terrain. If the latest media reports are correct, however, Mr Mueller may be charting a course for the darkness. Paris, TX (75460) Today Mostly cloudy skies early then periods of showers late. Low 52F. SE winds shifting to NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early then periods of showers late. Low 52F. SE winds shifting to NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. There was some consternation when it was revealed that one of the scum who was shot dead after the Jihadist attack in London had an Irish identity card.Oh, how did he come to have that, people wondered. Pretty obvious really. And the reasons for the promiscuous tolerance of these people coming here and being allowed on the most absurd grounds to stay is one of the reasons why IS has not so far committed the sort of atrocities it has in most other western democracies.Truth be told, Ireland is seen as the soft underbelly of western Europe. Not yet a target; more a place where almost anyone can come and go, claim asylum, acquire citizenship. And where Islamists have a safe home.Ireland is the base for the Muslim Brotherhood who control the mosque in Clonskeagh. These people support jihadism, the eradication of Jews, the torture and murder of gay people and the sexual mutilation of infant girls. Among other things.They were in the process of implementing all of this when they were overthrown by a combination of a popular uprising supported by the Egyptian left, and a military coup. Among those arrested was the Clonskeagh Imams son.He is currently the focus of much angst on the Pollyanna left. The default whine seems to be If his name was Murphy would the Irish government be silent? Well firstly if his name was Murphy he would hardly be supporting an Islamist coup. Secondly, the Irish government has paid far too much attention to him. Thirdly, if he was a Kowalski from Warsaw who had gone home to support a fascist coup, he would hardly be leftie poster boy of the month.Among other reasons the jihadists have thus far left us alone are the use of Irish banks for Islamic State funding. One of those arrested for that was a Moroccan national who was released without charge. At least one of those involved in the London atrocity was Moroccan, including the one holding the Irish identity card. One less, as they say.In 2015 one of the main financial and logistics organisers for IS in Europe was allowed stay here when he contested a deportation order. His Care Bear defence team argued that it would be beastly to send him home as he might be tortured. Anyway, he won his appeal on the basis that one of his offspring had been born here before the 2004 Citizenship referendum.So, we remain safe for the time being. Like the Hobbits, until we annoy the dark lords. Hurricane Update: Fears arise that Gov. Ron DeSantis may reroute Hurricane Ian from Florida coast to Martha's Vineyard Study: People who define themselves by what they stand against, are usually afraid to tell people what they stand for Liz Cheney: Voters need to ask themselves, why they are so out of touch with their politicians White House: IRS toy guns for children are now politically correct, mandatory BREAKING: Biden's economic sanctions on the U.S. to be partially lifted prior to November election GOP's new slogan for midterms: Make Dissent Patriotic Again PSA: Due to high gas prices police departments will now be responding and making arrests via Zoom. NYT: Roe vs Wade to be renamed the "Don't Say Fetus" law Democrats insist on carrying unwanted presidency to term Elon Musk went to bed thinking he owns Twitter. Then the mail-in ballots arrived at 2am... Obama: "If you like your information you can keep your information" Fact checkers reveal Biden handler not a real Easter bunny Biden 2021: you'll save $0.16 on 4th of July BBQ! Biden 2022: you'll save a ton of $$ if you don't eat this 4th of July! Disney to buy Epstein Island for new theme park The Biology Underground is like the Weather Underground, except they are real biologists and they've had to go underground "Psssst. Hey you, kid. Ya wanna watch a Disney movie with me?" "I am not suicidal," says COVID-19 after being contracted by Hillary Clinton Trans-swimmer Lia Thomas's trophy is smaller than for male swimmers, and only 73% gold Sources: U.S. now considers majority of U.S. citizens a threat to U.S. BREAKING: Russian General claims he was beaten up outside Ukrainian bio lab by two Nazis who poured vodka and caviar over him and yelled "This is NATO Country!" Global warming news: 100,000 Russian migrants fleeing climate change about to march into Ukraine Future headline: Donald Trump to buy CNN for one dollar Georgia Governor Stacy Abrams feels honored to be the new Supreme Court justice President Biden: 'Vote for me or I'll shoot this foot' Fact checkers give Pinocchio's speech four Bidens Fauci: The only thing we have to fear, is a lack of fear itself! Study: Most people have had sex more violent than January 6th Facebook permanently bans Facebook from Facebook for violating Facebook community standards New remake of the 1950's horror movie Them to be titled Them/They Teachers Union: Idea that CRT is being taught in K-12 just a conspiracy theory by white supremacists trying to maintain their systemically racist police state Xze/She/He who controls the past controls the future; Xze/She/He who controls the present controls the past S ocialists vow to fight against Critical Socialism Theory A more perfect Soviet Union: the Party pretends it unites us, and we pretend we are united Biden solves border crisis with free direct flights from Central America to major metropolitan areas Critical race theory: destroy the world of systemic racism, build a world of systemic race-baiting In the future everyone will get canceled for fifteen minutes Biden proposes bill to spend two trillion dollars on more money printing factories Social unity: They pretend to hold elections and we pretend we voted Immigrants to Texas and Florida from New York and California break down and cry when they realize all their sacrifices for a better tomorrow were based on lies China anal swabs detect new 'silent but deadly' transmission of covid-19 variant Social science breakthrough: 'White' is the new way of saying 'Bourgeois' Biden administration swat teams make sweeping arrests of underground female-only track meets 'Green energy' to be renamed 'blackout energy' for easier comprehension of climate complexities New children's game: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Science Texas: Biden administration sends emergency wind turbines to help fight the blackouts BREAKING: Biden signs executive order canceling the number 45 ATTENTION: It is your duty to report anyone who says this is no longer a free country. Fact-checking commissars are monitoring all state-approved social media platforms for your convenience OUT: If you don't vote, you can't complain! IN: If you didn't vote Democrat, you can't complain! Social media justice: followers removed from pro-Trump accounts will be added to Biden's Twitter account Fact check: a democratic election is the one in which votes are counted until Democrats win JUST IN: China bans Twitter for being too totalitarian Pelosi introduces new House rule to replace 'gender' terms like mother, daughter, father, son with the word 'comrade'; the only acceptable pronoun will also be 'comrade' Sources: Biden transition team demands access to White House basement to begin renovations BREAKING: President Trump pardons America for its past Prime Minister Modi: to avoid accusations of racism India will change its name to Cleveland Biden creates Antifascist Librarian Justice Committee; the first book scheduled for burning is Fahrenheit 451 Media study: 148% of Americans believe voter fraud doesn't exist 2020 Election forecast: if Joe Biden emerges from the basement on Election Day and sees his shadow, expect four more years of Trump BREAKING: President Trump pardons Corn Pop Toobin, though on administrative leave, is still pulling for Biden Chinese whistleblower: Biden-20 was genetically engineered in a Wuhan lab Nancy Pelosi sponsors a bill to create the office of removal of the President New college humanities major: Critical Trump Studies Opinion: Joe Biden is just an idea CNN: Biden took a solid second place in the debate, while Trump only came next to last Having ordered that all Californians switch to electric cars by 2035, Gov. Gavin Newsom follows up by mandating them to have electricity by 2035 Election 2020: Joe Biden pledges to a peaceful post-election transfer of power to George Soros Out: Flatten the curve. In: Flatten the country. Breaking: the Democrat Party has finished transitioning from being the party of JFK to being the party of Lee Harvey Oswald Paradigm shift in Chromatics: Study shows Indigo (#3F00FF) mixed with Jamaic (#C0FF01) yields Black (#000000) Study: the trouble with wokeism is eventually you run out of victims Stacey Abrams refuses to concede to Harris; declares herself Biden's VP Election 2020: Spunky former presidential candidate wins VP slot by a head Churches in many states to hold services in opened up pubs and bars Election 2020: Xi Jinping still undecided on vice president for Joe Biden Reports: Republicans pounce on 'Republicans pounce' reports Minneapolis launches online looting app to combat Covid-19 DNC study finds lockdowns no longer necessary as the economy is now being destroyed more effectively by looters and rioters With America in lockdown, China offers to host Democrat primary Bernie Sanders tests negative for President In related news, Joe Biden follows other candidates in withdrawing from race and endorsing Joe Biden New York Governor Cuomo shuts down all 'non-essential' business, surprised to find himself out of a job Biden commits to picking a woman as running mate as long as she passes his sniff test Joe Biden's coronavirus prevention tips: always rub hand sanitizer on young girls before sniffing and fondling them Russian lawmakers warned that the American Democrats are meddling to re-elect Putin Joe Biden promises lucrative board member jobs as door prizes to get people to his rallies Democrats now worried they might even lose the illegal alien vote Soleimani's remains FedExed back to Iran and now no one knows what happened to the box BREAKING: massive search underway in Iran after Soleimani's boxed FedEx'd remains stolen off front porch Liz Warren harshly critical of Biden's suggestion to coal miners that they should learn to code, offers to have them trained as romance novelists instead Pelosi: "First we have to impeach Donald Trump before we can find out why we impeached him." Schiff calls his Amazon Alexa to testify: 'She knows absolutely everything' Iran answers to new Reagan statue in Berlin by erecting Obama statue at Tehran airport where he delivered pallets of cash California accepts award for most progressive environmental policies; further progressive developments to be announced as blackouts permit BREAKING: Romney DNA test reveals he is 1/1024th Republican California Governor Gavin Newsom blames electricity blackouts on Ukrainian kulaks, vows revenge Rat falling from White House ceiling fears for his life, begs reporters for protection, offers a tell-all memoir Latest UN climate report shows this month so far has seen the scariest climate pronouncements on record Climate science: there's no need for climate protests in China because China is already communist Islamic clerics split on whether Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib should be traveling around the world without an accompanying male relative Dem candidates call for the Beatles' song 'Get Back' and the 'White Album' to be banned; surviving two white guys of the group must pay reparations Bond's number is up: next 007 will be a black woman, played by Barack Obama NYT: moon landing was one small step for Man, one giant leap for White Male Supremacy HURRICANE WATCH: Tropical storm Barry has records sealed, once offshore expected to change name to Barack Trump politicizes the 4th of July, declares it henceforth to be called the 45th of July, or July the Trumpth Barack Obama critical of Trump for failing to insert 'I, me, my' into his 4th of July speech: "very unpresidential!" Congressional Democrats: John Dean's testimony proves Trump is Nixon in disguise and must be impeached Bernie Sanders admits to being a millionaire, promises to eat himself if nominated International Women's Day observed, women only paid 73% of attention afforded to men Democrats: anti-Semitism means never having to say you're sorry AOC: aborting babies helps preserve the planet for the next generation Bernie Sanders launches presidential campaign, promises to "build a great big beautiful Iron Curtain" around America if elected West Virginia renames itself Eastern Kentucky to avoid further embarrassment from Virginia BREAKING: Justice Ginsburg released from hospital after breaking 3 ribs at late night bar brawl in Adams Morgan DNA news: Senator Warren tanking in latest totem polls Orwell studies: 84% of academics believe problems raised in 1984 can be fixed with solutions from Animal Farm Progress in gender justice: online dating industry issues recommendations for men to wear body cameras, bring attorneys as chaperones Study: the only people who don't know what socialism is are the socialists Poll: 1 in 3 #FightFor15 activists believe movement is related to lowering the age of consent across America CNN expert: Kavanaugh confirmation will increase global warming by 3 degrees Harry Reid comes forth to say Judge Kavanaugh didn't pay any taxes in high school Hollywood to America: If you've got a flag on the Moon, you didn't plant that; some other country made that happen Protest march in straight jackets against Trump ends in chaos as participants try but fail to free themselves HEADLINES YOU WILL NEVER SEE: California Gov. Jerry Brown single-handedly stops wildfires in his state by issuing an immediate statewide ban on wildfires San Francisco closes all Planned Parenthood clinics after sting operation catches employees using plastic straws Vegan mother undergoes experimental surgery to force her breasts to produce almond milk With none of his emails answered, frustrated Nigerian man commits suicide and leaves $100bn fortune to charity California gives new meaning to strawman argument as caped Strawman battles supervillains in restaurants, bars, and fast food joints Violence increases in Mexico as cartels switch from smuggling drugs to plastic straws to San Francisco Obama proposes a Paris Economic Change agreement among nations to address how world will cope with future runaway economic warming Stormy Daniels plans border visit to give migrant children freebies San Francisco: man dumping off 20 lbs of human waste in plastic bag on street corner cited for using non-biodegradable plastic bag BREAKING: ICE renamed Planned Citizenship, immediately absolving it of all criticism Senate Democrats demand Supreme Court nominee not be unduly influenced by U.S. Constitution BREAKING: In 2018, Obama and Biden can finally celebrate Recovery Summer IG Report: the FBI broke the law, but since there was no criminal intent, no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case Pelosi on Trump's MS-13 "animals" comments: "Four legs good, two legs bad" Iran nuclear talks set to resume between the United States and John Kerry Report: The Mueller investigation has finally determined that the lyrics to Louie Louie are not about Trump and Russian collusion MARKETS: Demand for carbon credits spikes as Hamas seeks to undo damage to Earth's atmosphere caused by burning 10,000 tires on Gaza border BREAKING: After state reassignment surgery Pennsylvania will henceforth be known as Transylvania Experts: If we don't act now, unicorns will be extinct in just ten years. Children will ask, "Mommy, what's a unicorn?" Women and minorities will be forced to seek alternative hallucinations Korean war must continue: Hawaiian federal judge declares Trump's peace effort unconstitutional New York: feminists march on Broadway, demand the street be given new, non-misogynistic name Experts: California's planned transition of all state jobs from citizens to illegal aliens by 2020 will help to avoid bankruptcy and save money for social programs for illegal aliens Putin: If I didn't want Hillary to be president she would be dead Doritos maker PepsiCo to introduce snack line for women; new Doritas chips will be 77% as big as Doritos and won't make any scary 'crunchy noises' TMZ: Tooth Fairy accused of sexually assaulting millions of children, outs self as Transgendered Tooth Recovery Specialist RUSSIA COLLUSION: Trump offers Putin to trade Rep. Maxine Waters for two unnamed members of the State Duma Ikea founder dead at 91; his coffin arrived in a box with confusing instructions and took 3 hours to assemble This Thanksgiving ex-president Obama continues with his tradition of apologizing to turkeys everywhere for the injustice they suffered since America's founding Oslo, Norway: 2017 Nobel Peace Prize goes to advocacy group about which you'll forget immediately after reading this headline Cambridge, MA, library to replace racist 'Cat in the Hat' with inclusive 'Che in a Beret' Millions of men worldwide eagerly await broadcast of Hugh Hefner's funeral, solely for the articles Bill Gates offers to pay for Trump's wall on condition he gets to install Windows Bernie Sanders introduces single-payer public transportation bill to end America's unequal, unfair, and expensive private transportation system DNC embroiled in controversy after official Twitter account accidentally 'likes' pictures of US Constitution and Bill of Rights Hurricane Irma hits Cuba, causes millions of dollars worth of improvements to property and infrastructure Climate study: extreme weather may be caused by unlicensed witches casting wrong spells in well-meaning effort to destroy Trump Ex-president Obama declares Irma "Hurricane of Peace," urges not to jump to conclusions and succumb to stormophobia CNN: Trump reverses Obama's executive order banning hurricanes ISIS claims responsibility for a total solar eclipse over the lands of American crusaders and nonbelievers When asked if they could point to North Korea on a map many college students didn't know what a map was CNN: We must bring America into the 21st century by replacing the 18th century Constitution with 19th century poetry Pelosi: 'We have to impeach the president in order to find out what we impeached him for' BREAKING: As of Saturday July 8, 2017, all of Earth's ecosystems have shut down as per Prince Charles's super scientific pronouncement made 96 months ago. Everything is dead. All is lost. Life on Earth is no more. DNC to pick new election slogan out of four finalists: 'Give us more government or everyone dies,' 'Vote for Democrats or everyone dies,' 'Impeach Trump or everyone dies,' 'Stop the fearmongering or everyone dies' Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" is humanity's last chance to save the Earth before it ends five years ago Experts: The more we embrace diversity the more everything is the same BOMBSHELL: TMZ offers Kathy Griffin $5 mil to keep any future sex tape private DEVELOPING: CNN, WaPo, NYT anonymous sources say Vladimir Putin may have ties to Russia BREAKING: Manning and Snowden have come out with strong condemnation of Donald Trump leaking classified information to Russia Gun store goes into lockdown over report an "active university professor" roving the grounds Dozens injured at Ralph Lauren & Louis Vuitton headquarters after Ivanka calls in missile strikes on rival fashion houses BOMBSHELL: Evidence proves Donald Trump conspired with his campaign to defeat Hillary Clinton University ranked "very intolerant of free speech" fights the accusation by banning the study and all involved Concerned that Russians don't consume enough alcohol in the month of March, Russia's Orthodox Church makes St. Patrick's Day official holiday Grassroots group calls for "The Million Regulators March" on Washington, supported by all who fear the loss of their betters telling them what to do Experts: Starbucks CEO Schultz's hiring of 10,000 Muslim refugees likely to blow up in his face Will the groundprog be frightened by its own shadow and hide - or will there be another season of insane protests? Trump signs executive order making California and New York national monuments; residents have two days to vacate Women's March against fascism completed with 400,000 fewer deaths than anticipated Feminist historians uncover ghastly concentration camps where so-called "housewives" were forced to live inauthentic lives slaving away in kitchens Dictionary of the future: Global Warming was a popular computer simulation game, where the only way to win was not to play "Anti-fascist" groups violently protest misspelling of their original name, "aren't-we-fascists" Post-inauguration blues: millions of democrats distraught as the reality of having to find real jobs sets in "Journalism is the continuation of war by other means" is exposed as a fake quote by mainstream media journalists Congressional Democrats: "We cannot just simply replace Obamacare with freedom because then millions of Americans will suddenly become free" Schoolchildren jailed for building only white snowmen Obama's reckless attacks on Russia serve as recruitment tool to create more Russian hackers Hillary: "I lost, so I'm going to follow our democratic traditions, poison the wells, and scorch the earth" Children in Venezuela cook and eat their Christmas toys Hillary: "I can hack Russia from my bathroom" Hillary suggests to counter "fake news" with government newspaper called "Truth" ("Pravda" for Russian speakers) BREAKING: Millions of uncounted votes found on Hillary's private voting machine in her Chappaqua bathroom New York Times: Fidel Castro world's sexiest corpse After years of trial and error, CIA finally succeeds with the "waiting it out" technique on Fidel Castro Post-election shopping tip: look for the PoliticsFree label at your local grocer to make sure you don't buy from companies that don't want your business anymore In Hillary's America, email server scrubs you Obama transfers his Nobel Peace Prize to anti-Trump rioters Democrats blame Hillary's criminal e-mail server for her loss, demand it face prison Afraid of "dangerous" Trump presidency, protesters pre-emptively burn America down to the ground Clinton Foundation in foreclosure as foreign donors demand refunds Hillary Clinton blames YouTube video for unexpected and spontaneous voter uprising that prevented her inevitable move into the White House Sudden rise in sea levels explained by disproportionately large tears shed by climate scientists in the aftermath of Trump's electoral victory FBI director Comey delighted after receiving Nobel Prize for Speed Reading (650,000 emails in one week) U.N. deploys troops to American college campuses in order to combat staggeringly low rape rates Responding to Trump's surging poll numbers, Obama preemptively pardons himself for treason Following hurricane Matthew's failure to devastate Florida, activists flock to the Sunshine State and destroy Trump signs manually Tim Kaine takes credit for interrupting hurricane Matthew while debating weather in Florida Study: Many non-voters still undecided on how they're not going to vote The Evolution of Dissent: on November 8th the nation is to decide whether dissent will stop being racist and become sexist - or it will once again be patriotic as it was for 8 years under George W. Bush Venezuela solves starvation problem by making it mandatory to buy food Breaking: the Clinton Foundation set to investigate the FBI Obama captures rare Pokemon while visiting Hiroshima Movie news: 'The Big Friendly Giant Government' flops at box office; audiences say "It's creepy" Barack Obama: "If I had a son, he'd look like Micah Johnson" White House edits Orlando 911 transcript to say shooter pledged allegiance to NRA and Republican Party President George Washington: 'Redcoats do not represent British Empire; King George promotes a distorted version of British colonialism' Following Obama's 'Okie-Doke' speech, stock of Okie-Doke soars; NASDAQ: 'Obama best Okie-Doke salesman' Weaponized baby formula threatens Planned Parenthood office; ACLU demands federal investigation of Gerber Experts: melting Antarctic glacier could cause sale levels to rise up to 80% off select items by this weekend Travel advisory: airlines now offering flights to front of TSA line As Obama instructs his administration to get ready for presidential transition, Trump preemptively purchases 'T' keys for White House keyboards John Kasich self-identifies as GOP primary winner, demands access to White House bathroom Upcoming Trump/Kelly interview on FoxNews sponsored by 'Let's Make a Deal' and 'The Price is Right' News from 2017: once the evacuation of Lena Dunham and 90% of other Hollywood celebrities to Canada is confirmed, Trump resigns from presidency: "My work here is done" Non-presidential candidate Paul Ryan pledges not to run for president in new non-presidential non-ad campaign Trump suggests creating 'Muslim database'; Obama symbolically protests by shredding White House guest logs beginning 2009 National Enquirer: John Kasich's real dad was the milkman, not mailman National Enquirer: Bound delegates from Colorado, Wyoming found in Ted Cruzs basement Iran breaks its pinky-swear promise not to support terrorism; US State Department vows rock-paper-scissors strategic response Women across the country cheer as racist Democrat president on $20 bill is replaced by black pro-gun Republican Federal Reserve solves budget crisis by writing itself a 20-trillion-dollar check Widows, orphans claim responsibility for Brussels airport bombing Che Guevara's son hopes Cuba's communism will rub off on US, proposes a long list of people the government should execute first Susan Sarandon: "I don't vote with my vagina." Voters in line behind her still suspicious, use hand sanitizer Campaign memo typo causes Hillary to court 'New Black Panties' vote New Hampshire votes for socialist Sanders, changes state motto to "Live FOR Free or Die" Martin O'Malley drops out of race after Iowa Caucus; nation shocked with revelation he has been running for president Statisticians: one out of three Bernie Sanders supporters is just as dumb as the other two Hillary campaign denies accusations of smoking-gun evidence in her emails, claims they contain only smoking-circumstantial-gun evidence Obama stops short of firing US Congress upon realizing the difficulty of assembling another group of such tractable yes-men In effort to contol wild passions for violent jihad, White House urges gun owners to keep their firearms covered in gun burkas TV horror live: A Charlie Brown Christmas gets shot up on air by Mohammed cartoons Democrats vow to burn the country down over Ted Cruz statement, 'The overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats' Russia's trend to sign bombs dropped on ISIS with "This is for Paris" found response in Obama administration's trend to sign American bombs with "Return to sender" University researchers of cultural appropriation quit upon discovery that their research is appropriation from a culture that created universities Archeologists discover remains of what Barack Obama has described as unprecedented, un-American, and not-who-we-are immigration screening process in Ellis Island Mizzou protests lead to declaring entire state a "safe space," changing Missouri motto to "The don't show me state" Green energy fact: if we put all green energy subsidies together in one-dollar bills and burn them, we could generate more electricity than has been produced by subsidized green energy State officials improve chances of healthcare payouts by replacing ObamaCare with state lottery NASA's new mission to search for racism, sexism, and economic inequality in deep space suffers from race, gender, and class power struggles over multibillion-dollar budget College progress enforcement squads issue schematic humor charts so students know if a joke may be spontaneously laughed at or if regulations require other action ISIS opens suicide hotline for US teens depressed by climate change and other progressive doomsday scenarios Virginia county to close schools after teacher asks students to write 'death to America' in Arabic 'Wear hijab to school day' ends with spontaneous female circumcision and stoning of a classmate during lunch break ISIS releases new, even more barbaric video in an effort to regain mantle from Planned Parenthood Impressed by Fox News stellar rating during GOP debates, CNN to use same formula on Democrat candidates asking tough, pointed questions about Republicans Shocking new book explores pros and cons of socialism, discovers they are same people Pope outraged by Planned Parenthood's "unfettered capitalism," demands equal redistribution of baby parts to each according to his need John Kerry accepts Iran's "Golden Taquiyya" award, requests jalapenos on the side Citizens of Pluto protest US government's surveillance of their planetoid and its moons with New Horizons space drone John Kerry proposes 3-day waiting period for all terrorist nations trying to acquire nuclear weapons Chicago Police trying to identify flag that caused nine murders and 53 injuries in the city this past weekend Cuba opens to affordable medical tourism for Americans who can't afford Obamacare deductibles State-funded research proves existence of Quantum Aggression Particles (Heterons) in Large Hadron Collider Student job opportunities: make big bucks this summer as Hillarys Ordinary-American; all expenses paid, travel, free acting lessons Experts debate whether Iranian negotiators broke John Kerry's leg or he did it himself to get out of negotiations Junior Varsity takes Ramadi, advances to quarterfinals US media to GOP pool of candidates: 'Knowing what we know now, would you have had anything to do with the founding of the United States?' NY Mayor to hold peace talks with rats, apologize for previous Mayor's cowboy diplomacy China launches cube-shaped space object with a message to aliens: "The inhabitants of Earth will steal your intellectual property, copy it, manufacture it in sweatshops with slave labor, and sell it back to you at ridiculously low prices" Progressive scientists: Truth is a variable deduced by subtracting 'what is' from 'what ought to be' Experts agree: Hillary Clinton best candidate to lessen percentage of Americans in top 1% America's attempts at peace talks with the White House continue to be met with lies, stalling tactics, and bad faith Starbucks new policy to talk race with customers prompts new hashtag #DontHoldUpTheLine Hillary: DELETE is the new RESET Charlie Hebdo receives Islamophobe 2015 award; the cartoonists could not be reached for comment due to their inexplicable, illogical deaths Russia sends 'reset' button back to Hillary: 'You need it now more than we do' Barack Obama finds out from CNN that Hillary Clinton spent four years being his Secretary of State President Obama honors Leonard Nimoy by taking selfie in front of Starship Enterprise Police: If Obama had a convenience store, it would look like Obama Express Food Market Study finds stunning lack of racial, gender, and economic diversity among middle-class white males NASA: We're 80% sure about being 20% sure about being 17% sure about being 38% sure about 2014 being the hottest year on record People holding '$15 an Hour Now' posters sue Democratic party demanding raise to $15 an hour for rendered professional protesting services Cuba-US normalization: US tourists flock to see Cuba before it looks like the US and Cubans flock to see the US before it looks like Cuba White House describes attacks on Sony Pictures as 'spontaneous hacking in response to offensive video mocking Juche and its prophet' CIA responds to Democrat calls for transparency by releasing the director's cut of The Making Of Obama's Birth Certificate Obama: 'If I had a city, it would look like Ferguson' Biden: 'If I had a Ferguson (hic), it would look like a city' Obama signs executive order renaming 'looters' to 'undocumented shoppers' Ethicists agree: two wrongs do make a right so long as Bush did it first The aftermath of the 'War on Women 2014' finds a new 'Lost Generation' of disillusioned Democrat politicians, unable to cope with life out of office White House: Republican takeover of the Senate is a clear mandate from the American people for President Obama to rule by executive orders Nurse Kaci Hickox angrily tells reporters that she won't change her clocks for daylight savings time Democratic Party leaders in panic after recent poll shows most Democratic voters think 'midterm' is when to end pregnancy Desperate Democratic candidates plead with Obama to stop backing them and instead support their GOP opponents Ebola Czar issues five-year plan with mandatory quotas of Ebola infections per each state based on voting preferences Study: crony capitalism is to the free market what the Westboro Baptist Church is to Christianity Fun facts about world languages: the Left has more words for statism than the Eskimos have for snow African countries to ban all flights from the United States because "Obama is incompetent, it scares us" Nobel Peace Prize controversy: Hillary not nominated despite having done even less than Obama to deserve it Obama: 'Ebola is the JV of viruses' BREAKING: Secret Service foils Secret Service plot to protect Obama Revised 1st Amendment: buy one speech, get the second free Sharpton calls on white NFL players to beat their women in the interests of racial fairness President Obama appoints his weekly approval poll as new national security adviser Obama wags pen and phone at Putin; Europe offers support with powerful pens and phones from NATO members White House pledges to embarrass ISIS back to the Stone Age with a barrage of fearsome Twitter messages and fatally ironic Instagram photos Obama to fight ISIS with new federal Terrorist Regulatory Agency Obama vows ISIS will never raise their flag over the eighteenth hole Harry Reid: "Sometimes I say the wong thing" Elian Gonzalez wishes he had come to the U.S. on a bus from Central America like all the other kids Obama visits US-Mexican border, calls for a two-state solution Obama draws "blue line" in Iraq after Putin took away his red crayon "Hard Choices," a porno flick loosely based on Hillary Clinton's memoir and starring Hillary Hellfire as a drinking, whoring Secretary of State, wildly outsells the flabby, sagging original Accusations of siding with the enemy leave Sgt. Bergdahl with only two options: pursue a doctorate at Berkley or become a Senator from Massachusetts Jay Carney stuck in line behind Eric Shinseki to leave the White House; estimated wait time from 15 min to 6 weeks 100% of scientists agree that if man-made global warming were real, "the last people we'd want to help us is the Obama administration" Jay Carney says he found out that Obama found out that he found out that Obama found out that he found out about the latest Obama administration scandal on the news "Anarchy Now!" meeting turns into riot over points of order, bylaws, and whether or not 'kicking the #^@&*! ass' of the person trying to speak is or is not violence Obama retaliates against Putin by prohibiting unionized federal employees from dating hot Russian girls online during work hours Russian separatists in Ukraine riot over an offensive YouTube video showing the toppling of Lenin statues "Free Speech Zones" confuse Obamaphone owners who roam streets in search of additional air minutes Obamacare bolsters employment for professionals with skills to convert meth back into sudafed Gloves finally off: Obama uses pen and phone to cancel Putin's Netflix account Joe Biden to Russia: "We will bury you by turning more of Eastern Europe over to your control!" In last-ditch effort to help Ukraine, Obama deploys Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson's Rainbow Coalition to Crimea Al Sharpton: "Not even Putin can withstand our signature chanting, 'racist, sexist, anti-gay, Russian army go away'!" Mardi Gras in North Korea: "Throw me some food!" Obama's foreign policy works: "War, invasion, and conquest are signs of weakness; we've got Putin right where we want him" US offers military solution to Ukraine crisis: "We will only fight countries that have LGBT military" Putin annexes Brighton Beach to protect ethnic Russians in Brooklyn, Obama appeals to UN and EU for help The 1980s: "Mr. Obama, we're just calling to ask if you want our foreign policy back. The 1970s are right here with us, and they're wondering, too." In a stunning act of defiance, Obama courageously unfriends Putin on Facebook MSNBC: Obama secures alliance with Austro-Hungarian Empire against Russias aggression in Ukraine Study: springbreak is to STDs what April 15th is to accountants Efforts to achieve moisture justice for California thwarted by unfair redistribution of snow in America North Korean voters unanimous: "We are the 100%" Leader of authoritarian gulag-site, The People's Cube, unanimously 're-elected' with 100% voter turnout Super Bowl: Obama blames Fox News for Broncos' loss Feminist author slams gay marriage: "a man needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" Beverly Hills campaign heats up between Henry Waxman and Marianne Williamson over the widening income gap between millionaires and billionaires in their district Biden to lower $10,000-a-plate Dinner For The Homeless to $5,000 so more homeless can attend Kim becomes world leader, feeds uncle to dogs; Obama eats dogs, becomes world leader, America cries uncle North Korean leader executes own uncle for talking about Obamacare at family Christmas party White House hires part-time schizophrenic Mandela sign interpreter to help sell Obamacare Kim Jong Un executes own "crazy uncle" to keep him from ruining another family Christmas OFA admits its advice for area activists to give Obamacare Talk at shooting ranges was a bad idea President resolves Obamacare debacle with executive order declaring all Americans equally healthy Obama to Iran: "If you like your nuclear program, you can keep your nuclear program" Bovine community outraged by flatulence coming from Washington DC Obama: "I'm not particularly ideological; I believe in a good pragmatic five-year plan" Shocker: Obama had no knowledge he'd been reelected until he read about it in the local newspaper last week Server problems at HealthCare.gov so bad, it now flashes 'Error 808' message NSA marks National Best Friend Day with official announcement: "Government is your best friend; we know you like no one else, we're always there, we're always willing to listen" Al Qaeda cancels attack on USA citing launch of Obamacare as devastating enough The President's latest talking point on Obamacare: "I didn't build that" Dizzy with success, Obama renames his wildly popular healthcare mandate to HillaryCare Carney: huge ObamaCare deductibles won't look as bad come hyperinflation Washington Redskins drop 'Washington' from their name as offensive to most Americans Poll: 83% of Americans favor cowboy diplomacy over rodeo clown diplomacy GOVERNMENT WARNING: If you were able to complete ObamaCare form online, it wasn't a legitimate gov't website; you should report online fraud and change all your passwords Obama administration gets serious, threatens Syria with ObamaCare Obama authorizes the use of Vice President Joe Biden's double-barrel shotgun to fire a couple of blasts at Syria Sharpton: "British royals should have named baby 'Trayvon.' By choosing 'George' they sided with white Hispanic racist Zimmerman" DNC launches 'Carlos Danger' action figure; proceeds to fund a charity helping survivors of the Republican War on Women Nancy Pelosi extends abortion rights to the birds and the bees Hubble discovers planetary drift to the left Obama: 'If I had a daughter-in-law, she would look like Rachael Jeantel' FISA court rubberstamps statement denying its portrayal as government's rubber stamp Every time ObamaCare gets delayed, a Julia somewhere dies GOP to Schumer: 'Force full implementation of ObamaCare before 2014 or Dems will never win another election' Obama: 'If I had a son... no, wait, my daughter can now marry a woman!' Janet Napolitano: TSA findings reveal that since none of the hijackers were babies, elderly, or Tea Partiers, 9/11 was not an act of terrorism News Flash: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) can see Canada from South Dakota Susan Rice: IRS actions against tea parties caused by anti-tax YouTube video that was insulting to their faith Drudge Report reduces font to fit all White House scandals onto one page Obama: the IRS is a constitutional right, just like the Second Amendment White House: top Obama officials using secret email accounts a result of bad IT advice to avoid spam mail from Nigeria Jay Carney to critics: 'Pinocchio never said anything inconsistent' Obama: If I had a gay son, he'd look like Jason Collins Gosnell's office in Benghazi raided by the IRS: mainstream media's worst cover-up challenge to date IRS targeting pro-gay-marriage LGBT groups leads to gayest tax revolt in U.S. history After Arlington Cemetery rejects offer to bury Boston bomber, Westboro Babtist Church steps up with premium front lawn plot Boston: Obama Administration to reclassify marathon bombing as 'sportsplace violence' Study: Success has many fathers but failure becomes a government program US Media: Can Pope Francis possibly clear up Vatican bureaucracy and banking without blaming the previous administration? Michelle Obama praises weekend rampage by Chicago teens as good way to burn calories and stay healthy This Passover, Obama urges his subjects to paint lamb's blood above doors in order to avoid the Sequester White House to American children: Sequester causes layoffs among hens that lay Easter eggs; union-wage Easter Bunnies to be replaced by Mexican Chupacabras Time Mag names Hugo Chavez world's sexiest corpse Boy, 8, pretends banana is gun, makes daring escape from school Study: Free lunches overpriced, lack nutrition Oscars 2013: Michelle Obama announces long-awaited merger of Hollywood and the State Joe Salazar defends the right of women to be raped in gun-free environment: 'rapists and rapees should work together to prevent gun violence for the common good' Dept. of Health and Human Services eliminates rape by reclassifying assailants as 'undocumented sex partners' Kremlin puts out warning not to photoshop Putin riding meteor unless bare-chested Deeming football too violent, Obama moves to introduce Super Drone Sundays instead Japan offers to extend nuclear umbrella to cover U.S. should America suffer devastating attack on its own defense spending Feminists organize one billion women to protest male oppression with one billion lap dances Urban community protests Mayor Bloomberg's ban on extra-large pop singers owning assault weapons Concerned with mounting death toll, Taliban offers to send peacekeeping advisers to Chicago Karl Rove puts an end to Tea Party with new 'Republicans For Democrats' strategy aimed at losing elections Answering public skepticism, President Obama authorizes unlimited drone attacks on all skeet targets throughout the country Skeet Ulrich denies claims he had been shot by President but considers changing his name to 'Traps' White House releases new exciting photos of Obama standing, sitting, looking thoughtful, and even breathing in and out New York Times hacked by Chinese government, Paul Krugman's economic policies stolen White House: when President shoots skeet, he donates the meat to food banks that feed the middle class To prove he is serious, Obama eliminates armed guard protection for President, Vice-President, and their families; establishes Gun-Free Zones around them instead State Dept to send 100,000 American college students to China as security for US debt obligations Jay Carney: Al Qaeda is on the run, they're just running forward President issues executive orders banning cliffs, ceilings, obstructions, statistics, and other notions that prevent us from moving forwards and upward Fearing the worst, Obama Administration outlaws the fan to prevent it from being hit by certain objects World ends; S&P soars Riddle of universe solved; answer not understood Meek inherit Earth, can't afford estate taxes Greece abandons Euro; accountants find Greece has no Euros anyway Wheel finally reinvented; axles to be gradually reinvented in 3rd quarter of 2013 Bigfoot found in Ohio, mysteriously not voting for Obama As Santa's workshop files for bankruptcy, Fed offers bailout in exchange for control of 'naughty and nice' list Freak flying pig accident causes bacon to fly off shelves Obama: green economy likely to transform America into a leading third world country of the new millennium Report: President Obama to visit the United States in the near future Obama promises to create thousands more economically neutral jobs Modernizing Islam: New York imam proposes to canonize Saul Alinsky as religion's latter day prophet Imam Rauf's peaceful solution: 'Move Ground Zero a few blocks away from the mosque and no one gets hurt' Study: Obama's threat to burn tax money in Washington 'recruitment bonanza' for Tea Parties Study: no Social Security reform will be needed if gov't raises retirement age to at least 814 years Obama attends church service, worships self Obama proposes national 'Win The Future' lottery; proceeds of new WTF Powerball to finance more gov't spending Historical revisionists: "Hey, you never know" Vice President Biden: criticizing Egypt is un-pharaoh Israelis to Egyptian rioters: "don't damage the pyramids, we will not rebuild" Lake Superior renamed Lake Inferior in spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness Al Gore: It's a shame that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of polar bears Michael Moore: As long as there is anyone with money to shake down, this country is not broke Obama's teleprompters unionize, demand collective bargaining rights Obama calls new taxes 'spending reductions in tax code.' Elsewhere rapists tout 'consent reductions in sexual intercourse' Obama's teleprompter unhappy with White House Twitter: "Too few words" Obama's Regulation Reduction committee finds US Constitution to be expensive outdated framework inefficiently regulating federal gov't Taking a page from the Reagan years, Obama announces new era of Perestroika and Glasnost Responding to Oslo shootings, Obama declares Christianity "Religion of Peace," praises "moderate Christians," promises to send one into space Republicans block Obama's $420 billion program to give American families free charms that ward off economic bad luck White House to impose Chimney tax on Santa Claus Obama decrees the economy is not soaring as much as previously decreeed Conservative think tank introduces children to capitalism with pop-up picture book "The Road to Smurfdom" Al Gore proposes to combat Global Warming by extracting silver linings from clouds in Earth's atmosphere Obama refutes charges of him being unresponsive to people's suffering: "When you pray to God, do you always hear a response?" Obama regrets the US government didn't provide his mother with free contraceptives when she was in college Fluke to Congress: drill, baby, drill! Planned Parenthood introduces Frequent Flucker reward card: 'Come again soon!' Obama to tornado victims: 'We inherited this weather from the previous administration' Obama congratulates Putin on Chicago-style election outcome People's Cube gives itself Hero of Socialist Labor medal in recognition of continued expert advice provided to the Obama Administration helping to shape its foreign and domestic policies Hamas: Israeli air defense unfair to 99% of our missiles, "only 1% allowed to reach Israel" Democrat strategist: without government supervision, women would have never evolved into humans Voters Without Borders oppose Texas new voter ID law Enraged by accusation that they are doing Obama's bidding, media leaders demand instructions from White House on how to respond Obama blames previous Olympics for failure to win at this Olympics Official: China plans to land on Moon or at least on cheap knockoff thereof Koran-Contra: Obama secretly arms Syrian rebels Poll: Progressive slogan 'We should be more like Europe' most popular with members of American Nazi Party Obama to Evangelicals: Jesus saves, I just spend May Day: Anarchists plan, schedule, synchronize, and execute a coordinated campaign against all of the above Midwestern farmers hooked on new erotic novel "50 Shades of Hay" Study: 99% of Liberals give the rest a bad name Obama meets with Jewish leaders, proposes deeper circumcisions for the rich Historians: Before HOPE & CHANGE there was HEMP & CHOOM at ten bucks a bag Cancer once again fails to cure Venezuela of its "President for Life" Tragic spelling error causes Muslim protesters to burn local boob-tube factory Secretary of Energy Steven Chu: due to energy conservation, the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off Obama Administration running food stamps across the border with Mexico in an operation code-named "Fat And Furious" Pakistan explodes in protest over new Adobe Acrobat update; 17 local acrobats killed White House: "Let them eat statistics" Special Ops: if Benedict Arnold had a son, he would look like Barack Obama AD GOES HERE MARION A boil water order is in effect for address 341 Market Street. Lake Egypt Water District has issued a boil order for customers on Illinois 37 from Nielson Crossing Road going north on Illinois 37 including side roads up to the Hair Hut. It also include Illinois 148 from Grassy Road to Southfork Road. All side roads off of Grassy Road are included. MARION Miss Illinois 2016, Jaryn Franklin, visited the Veterans Administration in Marion on Thursday, along with contestants from the 2017 Miss Illinois Pageant. The 2017 Miss Illinois Competition Finals take place through Saturday at the Marion Cultural and Civic Center. The Miss Illinois Outstanding Teen Finals will take place on Friday, and Miss Illinois will be crowned on Saturday. Franklin said that completing her year as Miss Illinois is a bittersweet experience. It has been an honor to represent the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association. This has been an exceptional year and I'm a bit sad to give it up, she said. An East Moline native, Franklin went on to represent the State of Illinois at the 2016 Miss America competition. During the preliminary competition in September 2016, she was awarded the Miss America STEM Scholarship. STEM is an acronym used to describe a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines science, technology, engineering and mathematics to improve U.S. competitiveness in science and technology development. The Miss America Foundation, by its own admission, strikes people as an unconventional advocate for STEM education. But the organization is often overshadowed by its beauty pageant persona, and has, for years, functioned as a scholarship organization. At a time when women are fully engaged in the workforce but also underrepresented compared to their male counterparts in STEM related fields and in the political arena, The Miss America Organization is proud to play its role in empowering women to achieve their dreams through needed, quality scholarship assistance, reads a statement on the foundation's website. Franklin was one of three recipients of the scholarship out of a field of 52 contestants, and received a $5,000 scholarship to continue her education in nursing. She said that STEM really stands for innovation, and I want to assure young women that whatever field they go into, be it science, technology, engineering or mathematics, they can be innovators. As women we have often been considered subordinate and inferior to men, so I think it is outstanding that women are coming together to help each other break through the glass ceiling and excel in those fields." Franklins degree is in nursing, and she has been working as a nurse for Unity Point Trinity Health in Rock Island the entire time she has been Miss Illinois. She says she dreamed of becoming a nurse since she was in the sixth grade. When I was 11 years old, my dad suffered from diabetic and heart complications, and the nurses that helped take care of him made a huge difference to my family," she said. "After meeting them, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. Franklin said that the Miss Illinois and Miss America pageants were a terrific means to pay for college. I am debt free, I am a nurse, Ive got my bachelors degree, I love my job, and I am able to go back to school to get my doctorate degree, she said. BENTON In a passionate, and at times bleak, Letter to the Editor sent to The Southern and other newspapers throughout the state last week, the Illinois Sheriffs Association made a case this month for SB1839, which local authorities say could mean the difference between having 911 dispatcher centers or not. It has to do with funding, said Franklin County Sheriff Donnie Jones. At the heart of the bill, which has passed both chambers of the state Legislature and awaits Gov. Bruce Rauners signature, is an increase in surcharges on phone services that provide funding to 911 services in the state. Greg Sullivan, executive director of the ISA, said this bill would increase these charges by about 62 cents, putting the charge to about $1.50 for most customers, and would equalize the amounts charged to landlines and cellphones. Sullivan said the money collected from these charges are then distributed by a central governing body, a consolidation made in 2015. This can be the sum total of funding some area 911 dispatch centers receive, Sullivan said. Though the bill had bipartisan support in the Senate and House, Rauner has expressed concern over signing the measure, which is expected to land on his desk soon. The governor is reviewing the bill but has serious concerns about raising fees on taxpayers across the state, Eleni Demetzis, a spokeswoman for Rauner, said an emailed statement sent The Southern. Vetoing the bill would not be a problem were it not for a sundown clause built into the 2015 911 legislation that raised surcharges and consolidated control of 911 services statewide. Sullivan said this sundown clause could end funding to 911 agencies June 30 if action is not taken. If he vetoes the bill, 911 is dead, said Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg, who was one of six sponsors for the bill in the House. Sundown clauses are not uncommon. Sullivan said they are put in place in order to review their efficiency at a later date. But, this particular clause would not allow for phone companies, such as AT&T and Verizon, to continue collecting the charges altogether, which Sullivan said could devastate 911 services. This could leave counties on the hook for paying for services. Itd be just like a number of unfunded things that are happening today because we have no budget. We would have no budget for 911, Sullivan said. If its not funded, we will be in dire straits, Jones said, adding that Franklin County, like many others in Southern Illinois, would be hard pressed to find a way to make up that funding gap. Time is essential, Jones said, when dealing with 911 emergency calls and if the services are effectively defunded, this could affect how efficient dispatchers would be. Sullivan guessed that if this measure falls through, emergency calls could look something like this: He said the call would then be routed to a seven-digit phone number at a local dispatch center at a local police station or sheriff's office. He said this would could increase response times and would eliminate the professionally-trained emergency call handlers. Sullivan said what makes 911 dispatch centers and their employees so valuable is their specialty equipment that provides increased call-location accuracy and call handlers that are able to walk callers through some tough emergency situations he said this could mean everything from how to make a splint to how to deliver a baby. When you hear some of the stories that some of these people go through, I dont know how you would do it without that kind of equipment, that kind of backup that you have with the extra dispatchers, Sullivan said. Unsure what the future holds and hesitant to read the crystal ball, Jones said Franklin County would try to make the best of a bad situation if they find themselves with an unfunded 911 program. Wed certainly do the best we could, he said. An appellate court has ruled against social service providers suing Illinois over the lack of payment during the budget impasse. The Pay Now Illinois coalition sued last year in Cook County to force the state to honor contracts. However, a Cook County judge dismissed the case, saying it belonged in a higher court. The Illinois Appellate Court dismissed the case Thursday, directing providers to the Court of Claims for relief. Coalition spokeswoman Andrea Durbin says she's "terribly disappointed." The coalition alleges a "breakdown of constitutional government" and says social service providers are being held hostage in the fight between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and majority Democrats. The impasse could enter a third year if there's no deal by July 1. A similar lawsuit is pending in St. Clair County. Associated Press CARBONDALE The final candidate in Southern Illinois University's search for its next chancellor on the Carbondale campus billed himself as a builder, someone who has demonstrated how he uses visioning to help struggling institutions to flourish. Carlo Montemagno became the sixth and final candidate on Wednesday morning to talk to the SIUC community as part of this chancellor search. He is a Ph.D. at the University of Alberta's Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering and founder of the Ingenuity Lab for the Province of Alberta. He is one of four finalists for the job. They include George W. Hynd, president and professor of psychology at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan; Rodney Hanley, the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee; and SIUC's interim chancellor Brad Colwell. Two other candidates withdrew from consideration. Montemagno notes that he has a long history in helping revitalize or establish organizations. "(I have more than) three decades of experience in shepherding complex organizations both inside and outside academia," he writes on his curriculum vitae. "Working as a builder, I have led organizations in government, industry and higher education during periods of change and challenge to achieved goals that many perceived to be unattainable." That experience includes his time at the University of Cincinnati, where he was the founding dean of its College of Engineering and Applied Science, serving from 2010 to 2012. He had served as deans of the university's College of Engineering from 2006 to 2010 and of its College of Applied Science from 2009 to 2010. That, Montemagno told a full house in the Morris Library auditorium, is what he can do with SIUC. Key would be defining the university's vision and then clearly communicating that so that everyone affiliated with the organization knows that, Montemagno said. He told the group about how he helped turn around failures at the University of California at Los Angeles as its dean. In seven years, he said he: helped improve the university's funding base, which had experienced 10 years of budget cuts, experiencing a 50 percent decrease in state support and funding, up to witnessing a 40 percent increase in funds from external source; helped increase its "stagnant" student enrollment by 25 percent; helped improve the university's six-year graduation rate from 48.3 percent to 64 percent and its underrepresented minority six-year graduation rate from 17 percent to 61 percent; and helped increase philanthropic giving from $900,000 a year to more than $38 million in philanthropic gifts and $300 million in industrial agreements. "This was all done in an austere environment, which was not inconsistent to what you have right now," he said. "The reason why I highlight this and I point this (out) is that there is a path forward. There's a path forward for achieving the aspirations for the institution and for your own personal aspirations at the institution. It's possible: It's all do-able. But it all starts in one place: It starts in vision. "We as a community have to decide who we're going to be in 15 years, we have to make decisions that bring us to that path to that goal. One of the most difficult challenges that institutions have is that they never have a clear vision because no one wants to make any clear decisions on what's important, what's not important, what's not critical. We have to define this: We have to define this now who we are, to put that stake in the ground and move us forward." Miss USA Kara McCullough, a graduate of South Carolina State University, says she had an "amazing" time at the university and appreciates the attention and care her instructors and administrators gave her during her time there. McCullough, who was named Miss South Carolina State University, during the 2012-2013 academic year, earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry, with an emphasis in radiochemistry, from S.C. State in May 2013. The Virginia Beach, Virginia, native is the daughter of Betty Ann Parker-McCullough and Artensel E. McCullough. She represented the District of Columbia in the May 14 Miss USA Pageant. McCullough said a member of her church influenced her decision to attend S.C. State. "Honestly and truly, there was a colonel at my church who went to South Carolina State, and he brought me an application. I filled it out and just ended up finding out that South Carolina State was where I needed to be," she said, noting that three of the colonel's children had also attended S.C. State. McCullough said her love of the food also played a factor in her decision to stay in Orangeburg. She praised Dr. Kenneth Lewis, who was dean of South Carolina State University's College of Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology during her time at the university, and his staff for creating a fertile learning environment. "The dean at the time was Dean Lewis, and he was over the STEM department. He was just a marvelous person. He made sure that students that were either in the nuclear or engineering program were really taken care of," McCullough said. "I was just given so much care. If I needed any help -- clarification on any points, resume assistance, applying for internships and writing essays -- they were all there to offer their assistance. All of that really helped me out in general." The 25-year-old has worked for nearly four years as an emergency preparedness specialist in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response in Washington, D.C. McCullough reviews emergency plans for both new and operating nuclear facilities, including nuclear power plants. She's also a member of one of the agency's incident response teams. Her platform as Miss USA focuses on doing more to steer children into the STEM field. "My platform is all about STEM involvement for children. I'm really looking forward to expanding my program and getting to know so many kids nationwide. It's just about getting kids more engaged in science at a very young age," McCullough said. Winning the Miss USA crown is an honor and example of what individuals can do when they step out of their comfort zones, she said. "It's amazing. It's an honor. I'm extremely thankful. If you were to have asked me five years ago if I would have won the title of Miss USA, I would have looked at you like you were crazy," McCullough said. "That is just really a testament to really stepping out of your comfort zone. It's one thing to believe in your dream, but it's another thing to truly act on things." This is about our children and as concerned parents, we appeal to you that if something is not broken, theres no need to fix it, Williette Waring Berry said. Berry and other parents attended Tuesdays Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 board meeting to express concerns about rumored changes to the Gifted and Talented Program. Kimberly Roache said she was concerned that, were just finding out in May that there will be a drastic change to this program and no one was notified. We were notified through our children, she added. We made phone calls, we went to the district office and still again, we have not gotten any answers, Samantha Farlow-Moyd said. We want to know what changes youre making to a program thats already working. Last month, a rumor from a parent made its rounds about the possible elimination of the districts Gifted and Talented Program. Parents visited the OCSD5 offices to speak with officials. An impromptu meeting closed to reporters was arranged with OCSD5 Chief Instructional Services Officer Dr. Cynthia Cash-Greene. The parents said Cash-Greene told them the district would not be able to answer questions at the time. Board Chair Mary Ulmer said the rumors were untrue and the district has no plans to get rid of the program. Orangeburg County Probate Judge Pandora Jones-Glover told the board, We were misinformed because of the lack of information. If youre considering disrupting the program, what are you proposing to do? Parents reported receiving automated calls on June 2 but have still been left in the dark. Weve heard from the robocall that the program is not going to be discontinued but were hearing that the program may be restructured based on finances and enrollment, Jones-Glover said. She asked for the details of any changes. If youre going to do that, are you proposing one hour? Half a day? All day? she asked. Another parent, Andrea Jamison, added that pulling the students out of class for one hour a week is not enough to ensure their academic success. Academic success for these students means that they will need to be challenged, they will need to be pushed to excel academically, Jamison said. Berry said the districts Gifted and Talented Program, has become a model for other schools to follow because they see our students thriving. Jamison asked that the parents voices be considered. She noted a slogan on the OCSD5 website saying parents are our partners. In this situation, you did not allow your parents to be your partners, Jamison said. You did not provide any information that the GT program needed to be changed or that you were changing the program. Jamison urged the board to find other areas where cuts could be made that would not directly affect the students in the classroom. OCSD5, you are developing the next generation of Orangeburg, Jamison added. I request that you do not change it but if you must, please allow the parents to be a part of the process. After the parents spoke, Ulmer said the board would accept your comments as information. She went on to say that once they meet, We will as a board, Superintendent (Dr. Jesse) Washington and staff, get back with you. Rep. Russell Ott, D-St. Matthews, attended the meeting and thanked the parents for being involved in their childrens education. You dont see that everywhere, Ott said. The fact that youre here is commendable to you and also to your children as a reflection on them. In a statement, Washington thanked the parents for sharing their concerns. I will be giving full consideration to their input as we complete our analysis of our anticipated enrollment, fiscal resources, the availability of teachers and other resources, he said. The district is committed to providing the best educational opportunities possible for all of our students, including those participating in the Gifted and Talented Program. Washington said he will communicate directly with the parents once final decisions on the Gifted and Talented Program have been made. Waterville Valley Resort- NH-- June 14, 2017Waterville Valley Resort announced that it has secured funding to begin work on Phase II of its $7.5 million capital improvements plan that began with the Green Peak Expansion in Fall 2016. Phase II of this capital investment program will bring multi-year infrastructure upgrades and improvements throughout the resort. This is the second step in the most exciting revitalization of Waterville Valley Resort in over 30 years. We are proud to be the only mountain on the East Coast pursuing a renovation of this magnitude says John H. Sununu, Waterville Valley Resort CEO and Chairman. The Green Peak Expansion project added a second peak and 45 additional acres of terrain in 2016-17. Phase II of development will include new projects throughout the resort, as well as the completion of the Green Peak Expansion. Work will include additional Green Peak trail clearing and installation of a new snowmaking system, upgrades to existing snowmaking infrastructure on Mount Tecumseh, multiple lift enhancements, base lodge renovations, a new beginner area experience, nordic trail system improvements, and additional summer offerings. It is very exciting to be progressing to the next level of development of Waterville Valley Resort and bring to life the vision of our ownership, fellow employees, and guests, said Tim Smith, President and General Manager. Financing from The Provident Bank is allowing us to look to the future and continue our evolution, on and off the slopes. In anticipation of the major enhancements set to debut throughout the 2017/18 Season, a 10-day Seasonal Pass Flash Sale ending on Friday, June 23rd will offer the lowest pricing of the year on seasonal products for one last time. Waterville Valley Resort is expected to release further details of the multi-year project as progress continues. Regular updates can be found at: http://www.waterville.com/Phase-II. ### Waterville Valley is a four-season resort set on 540 private acres surrounded by 360 of pristine National Forest. Sitting atop 4,004 foot Mt. Tecumseh, New Hampshires Family Resort features 265 acres of skiable terrain, a vertical drop of 2,020 feet, 60 trails, 11 lifts, and 74km of groomed nordic terrain nestled in the valley below. Shuttles provide easy access to year-round events, shopping, and dining in the Town Square as well as a variety of lodging options, including country inns, condominiums, and all-suite hotels. In the summer of 2017, Waterville Valley Resort embarks on Phase II of a multi-year capital improvement and expansion project. Learn more at waterville.com or by calling 1-800-GO-VALLEY. A sign for State Power Investment Corp is seen in Beijing, Jan 12, 2017. [Photo/VCG] State Power Investment Corp (SPIC), one of the top five power generators in China, is in exclusive talks with Latin America Power to acquire the latter's Chilean asset for $325-$400 million, Reuters reports. Latin America Power has more than 300 megawatts of wind power and hydropower assets in Chile and Peru, among which over 250 megawatts is located in Chile, including two large wind farms near Chile's capital Santiago. In 2015, bankrupt US solar company SunEdison agreed to buy Latin America Power for $700 million. However, SunEdison later halted the deal, resulting in a court battle. Last year, SunEdison paid $28.5 million to reach a settlement. Latin America Power then put these assets back on the market and attracted some companies, including Chile power company Colbun, China's SPIC and Canada's BluEarth Renewables Inc, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. However, BluEarth and Colbun will not bid for these assets any more, the sources said. If the acquisition succeeds, it will mark SPIC's another major stride into Latin American renewable market. In December 2015, SPIC purchased Pacific Hydro for $2.5 billion from Australia's largest pension fund investor IFM Investors. Pacific Hydro had almost one gigawatt of wind and hydropower assets at the time of acquisition, located in Brazil, Chile, and Australia. Agencies contributed to this story. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. By Trend Iranian security forces have killed two terrorists and arrested five others in the southeast of the country, Press TV reported. Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Wednesday night that security forces killed two terrorists in the city of Chabahar in Sistan and Baluchestan Province earlier in the day. They also arrested five other terrorists, including two nationals of a neighboring country, he said, adding that a member of Intelligence Ministry forces lost his life. Alavi further said that a terrorist group was also busted in Kordestan Province on Wednesday. Meanwhile, an informed source told IRNA that the terrorists belonged to the so-called Ansar al-Furqan group, and that a terrorist sustained injuries during the clashes in Chabahar. A number of explosive vests and some explosives and ammunitions were also seized from the terrorists, the source was quoted as saying. This came in the wake of last weeks terror attacks in the Iranian capital Tehran, which killed 17 people and injured over 50 others. The casualties happened last Wednesday when gunmen mounted almost simultaneous assaults on Irans parliament and the Mausoleum of the late Founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini. ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assaults. Iran has arrested dozens of terrorists since the Tehran attacks. The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced new regulations to create a regulatory sandbox that will allow start-ups and fintech (financial technology) firms to test and experiment their banking ideas and solutions. The creation of the regulatory sandbox provides an opportunity for fintech businesses around the world to expand and thrive in the Gulf and strengthens Bahrains position as a fintech and financial services hub in the GCC. The framework provides a virtual space for companies to test their technology-based innovative solutions, and is open to existing CBB licensees and other local and foreign firms. The testing duration is nine months, with a maximum extension of three months. In order to be eligible, solutions need to demonstrate innovation, customer benefit, technical testing, and an intention to be deployed in Bahrain after the sandbox period ends. The CBB recently issued the Regulatory Sandbox Framework directive, which includes the eligibility criteria, filing requirements and timeline for the process, which may be found on CBBs website. This is in line with the Kingdoms efforts to further develop the ecosystem in place to encourage growth in the fintech industry. Most recently, the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) announced a partnership with fintech incubator and ecosystem builder Singapore Fintech Consortium and asset management and advisory firm Trucial Investment Partners to develop a fintech ecosystem and regulatory framework for the Kingdom. The agreement includes support in developing the related commercial and legal infrastructure required to initiate, nurture and sustain Bahrains fintech ecosystem. It will pave the way for increased interaction between fintech firms in the Middle East via Bahrain and those in ASEAN via Singapore and will facilitate the entry of Singaporean fintech companies into the Kingdom. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, governor of the CBB, said: These new initiatives are a continuation of the CBBs efforts to provide the right mix of policies and products to develop and enhance the quality and competitiveness of services in the financial sector. We are living in an era of unprecedented changes mainly brought about by technological advancement, where we are witnessing how technology is defining financial services and CBB remains at the forefront of these developments to enable the industry to advance similarly. Khalid Al Rumaihi, chief executive of the EDB, said: The launch of the regulatory sandbox is an initiative that follows on the directives of HRH the Crown Prince to prioritise innovation that supports sustainable high value job creation in the Kingdom. In order to grow the fintech industry, we know we need to create an ecosystem in which entrepreneurs can innovate and test their ideas and the introduction of Sandbox regulations is one of the key steps towards ensuring that environment. Bahrain has always been an attractive proposition for fintech - particularly due to our unique offering in areas such as Islamic finance and payments, and we are looking forward to welcoming more local, regional, and international fintech firms. The regulatory sandbox will enable industry players to apply innovative Fintech products while maintaining the overall safety and soundness of the financial system; We are pleased with the introduction of this regulation, which sets a very forward-looking policy that adapts with the times, said Khalid Hamad, executive director of Banking Supervision. Bahrain provided greater opportunities for fintech businesses in 2014, when the CBB initiated two new license types - payment services and card processing services - marking the entry of non-banking companies into banking services. To date Bahrain has issued 14 licenses for these two activities. TradeArabia News Service Servcorp, a leading provider of serviced offices and business package solutions in the Middle East, will launch five co-working office spaces across the Middle East in 2017 to meet the growing demand for flexible work environments. Located in iconic business towers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Lebanon, Qatar and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Servcorps co-working spaces provide businesses of all sizes - from start-ups to multinationals - the infrastructure, support and facilities of a fully serviced office without the cost of a full-time office space, a statement said. Servcorps month-by-month Co-working Package provides access to a host of cutting-edge benefits that ensure businesses are at their most professional and productive, it added. These include seamless IT solutions generally found only in the worlds largest blue-chip corporations; first-class private offices and meeting rooms, and the most personal and professional administrative support to ensure any contact with your company is world-class. Companies also enjoy access to the Servcorp Community, an online corporate hub that has been developed to encourage networking and knowledge sharing with over 35,000 imagineers globally. One of the largest private business communities in the world, the Servcorp Community also provides clients with high-level content through curated articles, deep-knowledge forums and access to worldwide events. With an increased focus on companies operational efficiencies, as well as the cost of setting up an office for newcomers to the region, Servcorps Co-working Package offers value for money and unrivalled convenience. More businesses than ever are looking for a flexible way of working that will reduce costs, increase agility and offer more options for their teams and were delighted to provide that solution, said Laudy Lahdo, general manager, Servcorp Middle East. At Servcorp, we believe that by bridging traditional elements such as providing the most sought-after office addresses in the world with unrivalled IT capabilities, our clients are able to excel in a flexible work environment that suits the needs of their business. We add value by providing the best of everything, from the office space to the support team and technology. As a concept that has continued to gain traction since its true inception during the global economic downturn in 2009, co-working spaces are increasingly being recognised for their value even by government. This has most recently been demonstrated by the launch of the Dubai governments Dubai Future Accelerators an incubator programme that brings together the best companies, entrepreneurs and government entities who understand global challenges and invest in breakthrough technologies. The programme is a prime example of how the country continues to become a forward-thinking, smart hub for doing business. While across the region co-working regulation remains relatively conservative, offering alternative solutions that cater to rapidly growing economies such as the UAE, will help strengthen the business environment, attract more foreign direct investment, foster entrepreneurship and diversify sources of growth, Lahdo added. TradeArabia News Service Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group said it will deliver three new build tugs to Kotug Smit Towage for its European harbour towage operations. This order will bring the total number of Damen-built tugs operating in Kotug Smits fleet of 69 to 22, said a statement from the company. This agreement encompasses two ASD Tugs 2913 and an ATD Tug 2412 Twin Fin, it said. The ASD 2913 is renowned for its manoeuvrability and environmentally efficient performance and boasts 80 tonne bollard pull. Damen has outfitted one of the two 2913 vessels with a fire-fighting system. The 70 tonne bollard pull ATD Tug 2412, with its twin fin feature, combines compactness with manoeuvrability, it added. Simultaneously, Kotug Smit Towage commenced a charter of a Damen-built ASD 2810 Hybrid tug, which was renamed Hampshire during Kotug Smits Herring with friends-party a traditional Dutch event to mark the beginning of the herring season in Rotterdam, said a statement. Hampshire was freshly delivered from Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam, where she had been repainted in Kotug Smit Towage colours, it added. Rene Raaijmakers, CEO, Kotug Smit Towage, said: We are delighted to be supporting our growth in the UK with the addition of three new tugs to our fleet. These Damen tugs were selected for their high performance and short delivery time and will fit perfectly into our European harbour towage operations, especially given their commonality with the tugs we are currently operating, he said. Mijndert Wiesenekker, area director - Benelux, Damen, said: We are very pleased to be delivering these vessels to Kotug Smit and continuing to help them in their sustained growth and development. Thanks to our standardised shipbuilding philosophy two of the vessels had already been constructed as stock vessels, ensuring Kotug Smit of the fastest possible delivery time, he added. TradeArabia News Service Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the fire that engulfed a west London block of flats, killing at least 17 people. That figure is expected to rise, as fire chiefs do not expect to find any more survivors in the burnt-out Grenfell Tower, in north Kensington, reported BBC. People have been desperately seeking news of missing family and friends. The PM said people "deserve answers" as to why the fire spread so rapidly and that the inquiry "will give them". May, who made a brief, private visit to the scene earlier, said: "[The emergency services] told me that the way this fire had spread and took hold of the building was rapid, it was ferocious, it was unexpected." "So it is right that, in addition to the immediate fire report that will be produced and any potential police investigation, that we do have a full public inquiry to get to the bottom of this." Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, also visited the site, telling community leaders "the truth has to come out". The financing for Phase Three of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park in Dubai has been completed, a report said. This marks the latest significant milestone for the Masdar-led consortium, with EDF Group's subsidiary, EDF Energies Nouvelles, which is developing the 800-megawatt (MW) project in partnership with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), reported WAM, the Emirates official news agency. A sophisticated finance structure has been developed which includes seven different institutions: from the Middle East, the Union National Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp); commercial banks Natixis from France, Siemens Financial Services, from Germany, and Korea Development Bank; and Canada's export credit agency Export Development Canada (EDC). Following the agreement, the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park becomes the largest renewable energy project in the Middle East to receive Sharia-compliant financing, which is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global financial market. "Dewa has adopted the independent power producer (IPP) model to build the 800 MW third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. It has generated international interest from global business and energy companies, which reflects the trust and interest from international investors in large projects adopted by Dubai Government, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa. This has been supported by the favourable existing regulatory and legislative frameworks in Dubai that enable public-private partnerships. The project has also set a global benchmark in solar tariffs at a price of 2.99 US cents per kilowatt-hour, a world-record-low tariff for solar power generation. The third phase will be operational by 2020. "The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the IPP model, and is instrumental to the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050. The solar park's production capacity will reach 5,000 MW by 2030 with investments totalling Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion). It will eventually save over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year, supporting Dubai's objectives to promote its sustainable goals," added Al Tayer. "The financing of the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park clearly demonstrates the confidence which the multinational lender community has in this important project, and underlines the compelling business case for renewable energy today. The involvement of Islamic investment in the project financing is especially pleasing, and will pave the way for further Sharia-compliant investment in the clean energy," said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, chief executive officer of Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company. "Construction of the third phase of the Dubai Solar Park is progressing as scheduled, thanks to the close involvement of Dewa and the collaborative efforts of all shareholders. This project is a model for successful public-private renewable energy partnerships, which not only contributes to the UAE's strategic objectives, but also sets an example globally," added Al Ramahi. EDF Group, via its subsidiary EDF Energies Nouvelles, a market leader in renewable energy electricity, recently joined Masdar as a co-partner to support the project. "The completion of this sophisticated financing represents a major milestone in the implementation of the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. This project is a perfect illustration of EDF Group's CAP 2030 strategic ambition for renewable energy. The commitment from international financial institutions alongside Middle Eastern financial institutions has been instrumental to the delivery of this important project, in partnership with Masdar and Dewa," said Antoine Cahuzac, EDF Group's senior executive vice president, Renewable Energies and CEO of EDF Energies Nouvelles. The 16 sq-km 800 MW photovoltaic plant will be the largest of its kind in the world on completion, generating around 2.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity per annum on completion. Unlike conventional solar power arrays, the third phase of the solar park will use tilting panels that track the sun, thereby maximising output. The plant is being delivered in three stages. Considerable progress is being made on site, with drilling and piling works under way for the placement of photovoltaic panels. Completion of Stage A is due in 2018, the 300 MW Stage B in 2019, and the final 300 MW Stage C in 2020. Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways is offering traditional Ramadan refreshments onboard, staying true to its regional heritage and Ramadans spirit of giving and kindness. All Jazeera Airways passengers flying up to 90 minutes before and after Iftar, will be served special Iftar starters such as dates, yoghurt and apricot juice along with the regular meal when they break their fast, either in flight or shortly after. Economy passengers can look forward to being offered the healthy Iftar starters as part of their on board meals consisting of sandwiches, chocolates and drinks. For Business passengers travelling to all sectors, the airline has additionally replaced the international dessert on the meal tray with a rich collection of popular Arabic and Kuwaiti sweets namely Mamoul Walnut, Goraiba Kuwaiti and Aish Al Bulbul. During this holy month, the additional Iftar refreshments will be distributed to travellers flying to and from: Alexandria, Dubai, Jeddah, Beirut, Amman, Istanbul, Cairo, Sharm El Sheikh and Taif. The latest offer symbolizes Jazeera Airways pledge to ensure a seamless travel experience across different destinations whilst also promoting a sense of community and solidarity in society as it honors regional culture and traditions. - TradeArabia News Service Flydubai has seen a 3.5 per cent increase in passengers numbers travelling between the UAE and Africa in 2016 compared to 2015, a positive record for this emerging market. Following this surge in demand, flydubai has announced plans to launch flights to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, beginning in October. From October 29, the relaunched service to the carriers third point in Tanzania, along with Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, will see flydubais network in Africa expand to 12 destinations. Flydubai began operations to Tanzania in 2014 and has seen a steady growth in passenger numbers. Kilimanjaro will be served with six flights a week three of which are via a stop in the capital, Dar es Salaam. In addition, the carrier will increase direct flights to Zanzibar from three to eight flights a week. Commenting on the launch of flights, Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of flydubai, said: With the addition of the service to Kilimanjaro and more direct flights to Zanzibar, Flydubai will operate 14 flights a week, marking a 133 per cent increase in capacity to the market compared to the previous year. This is a healthy indication of the rising popularity of Tanzania as a preferred tourist destination and we are happy to be connecting the market to Dubai. Kilimanjaro International Airport is located between the regions of Kilimanjaro and Arusha in Northern Tanzania. The airport is the major gateway to the Kilimanjaro region, a main international tourism destination that includes Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. Only a few international carriers operate to Kilimanjaro and flydubai will be the first airline to provide direct air links from the UAE. We are committed to opening up underserved markets and flydubais service to Kilimanjaro will introduce more options for travel with a Business and Economy Class service, together with added cargo capacity available through our Cargo Division. We expect to see healthy flows of trade and tourism on this route from the GCC and Eastern Europe via our hub in Dubai, said Sudhir Sreedharan, senior vice president commercial (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa). Flydubai has built up a comprehensive network in Africa with flights to Addis Ababa, Alexandria, Asmara, Djibouti, Entebbe, Hargeisa, Juba, Khartoum and Port Sudan, as well as Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. The 12 points will be served with more than 80 weekly flights for the summer period. - TradeArabia News Service Al Manshar Rotana, a five-star business hotel in Kuwait, has appointed two new executives to its team. Rasha Rusrus has been named the new human resources manager and Cynthia Requino joins as the new executive housekeeper Coming from Jordan, Rusrus joined Rotana as assistant director of human resources at Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa on 18 March, 2015. Prior to this, she has gained experience in human resources in Jordan working with Ibis Hotel, Cham Palace Hotel and Kempinski Hotel. Rasha will oversee the management and non-management hiring process to attract, select and retain a diverse workforce. She will also make sure to utilize selection processes that identify the best candidate for open positions in a cost effective and efficient manner to meet the business needs of the operation. Requino has 19 years experience having previously worked at five-star hotels and resorts in different counties such as Philippines, Brunei and UAE. Hailing from Philippines, Requinos last post was executive housekeeper at Hala Arjaan by Rotana in Abu Dhabi before joining Al Manshar Rotana Hotel, Kuwait. As an executive housekeeper Requino will be responsible for the daily operation of the housekeeping department, guide and develop a committed multicultural team to ensure the impeccable Rotana standards are met in all areas. The role involves bringing all the knowledge and standards required to maintain and surpass the guests highest expectations. - TradeArabia News Service Saudia Holidays, the newly-launched holidays division of Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), will be showcasing its full range of travel packages during a two-day event at the Red Sea mall in Jeddah. A travel exhibition will be stationed in the mall today (June 15) and tomorrow from 21:30 01:00 which will showcase a large variety of packages available, available as pre-packaged holidays and also customizable holiday packages, said a statement from Saudia Holidays. A one-time special discount is available for 20 per cent of the total package price for all guests who visit and sign up at the Saudia Holidays exhibition at the Red Sea mall. The Saudi carrier's holidays arm also offers access to 175,000 quality car rental vendors across 30,000 locations in addition to 50,000 tours and activities, enabling guests to select their ideal package of flight with hotel and/or vehicle and tours. The two-day exhibition will have Saudi Holidays representatives onsite ready to answer all enquiries and make bookings on the spot for families wishing to reserve their Eid holiday travels. "In addition, there is a chance to win a three-night stay and return airfare to the Maldives for two persons. An entry ballot can be filled out when visiting the exhibition," said a company spokesman. "The Saudi airline's holiday arm was officially launched at the annual Arabian Travel Market exhibition held in Dubai, UAE this April. The newly-created division makes available a large variety of custom or pre-packaged holiday options for Saudia guests," he added. Through its partnership with Expedia Affiliate Network (EAN), Saudia Holidays offers guests access to more than 225,000 quality hotel accommodations in over 29,000 destinations, including Dubai, London, Paris and New York.-TradeArabia News Service Casper City Council threw cold water on plans by the new Wonder Bar owners to build a patio for outdoor seating in front of the historic downtown establishment. Legal questions and skepticism from some Council members about the effect of eliminating parking spaces along Center Street mark the first public pushback against the Cercy familys plans for developing downtown Casper. Tony Cercy and his son, Cole, purchased the the Wonder Bar and Poor Boys Steakhouse last fall and have since acquired several other downtown properties, including the former Botticelli building on Second Street. The Cercys also donated $1 million to the construction of David Street Station and have been widely praised for their investment in downtown. But River Valley Builders project manager Brandon Daigle, who presented the patio plan to City Council on Tuesday on behalf of the Cercys, received notable resistance from several members. As part of a comprehensive renovation of the Wonder Bar, the Cercys are seeking to build a sidewalk extension in front of the building for outdoor seating. The proposal would do the following: Eliminate five diagonal parking places along Center Street; provide room for up to 46 Wonder Bar patrons in an outside gated seating area; extend the sidewalk to allow pedestrian access around the seating area; install two benches for public use outside the seating area; place metal bollards along the perimeter of the extended sidewalk to protect pedestrians from passing traffic; install four new street lights in front of the Wonder Bar. The Cercys are not asking for any money for this, Daigle said. Theyre asking for a lease on property currently owned by the city. Specifically, the Cercys need permission to use the sidewalk and occupy space that is now part of Center Street. Downtown businesses skeptical Councilman Bob Hopkins, who attends meetings of the Downtown Casper Business Association, said many merchants were opposed to removing any parking spaces in the area. I have a lot of constituents down there who like those parking spaces, Hopkins said. I was at the DCBA meeting this morning, and they were pretty vocal about not wanting to do that. Daigle acknowledged that a majority of the group did not agree to support the project but said that several individual members were in favor of the patio extension. He added that the Cercys had reached an agreement with the city to rent 40 spaces in the municipal garage for Wonder Bar patrons. The Cercys received letters of support from the Downtown Development Authority, the Casper Area Economic Development Alliance and the Casper Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, among others. Councilwoman Amanda Huckabay was also opposed to the proposal, criticizing the Cercys for not presenting the project themselves and expressing concerns about the familys growing influence downtown. Those who have money and power oftentimes like to use it against those do not, Huckabay said. Huckabay was bothered that the Cercys had not received letters of support from the owners of the House of Sushi, which is immediately south of the Wonder Bar, and from representatives of the Wyoming state government, which owns the building on the north side of the bar. The sidewalk expansion would extend across the entire facade of the House of Sushi. That business was there first, Huckabay said. Engineer Ryan Altenburg, who designed the sidewalk extension, said that Tony Cercy had sought to speak with the House of Sushi owners but theres a communication barrier that wasnt able to be overcome. Yet, Daigle added. Questions about downtown development City Planner Craig Collins wrote in a memo that Council would have to determine its comfort level with converting a public right-of-way into a private area for the exclusive use of a single business. This does not only pose philosophical challenges regarding the sanctity of public property for use by all people of Casper, it poses legal obstacles for the same reason, Collins wrote. Municipalities are allowed to vacate streets by a vote of City Council only if a majority of property owners within 300 feet of the proposed vacation support the change, said City Attorney Bill Luben. Lubens concern was that if Council approved the Cercys request, the city would be powerless to stop other business owners in the area from extending the sidewalk in front of their buildings, meaning that downtown parking spaces could start disappearing in large numbers. This is a really kind of cool idea, but there are some aspects that really dont fit Wyoming law, Luben said. Collins said that he had proposed converting the space in front of the Wonder Bar into a small public plaza or parklet, with plantings and seating available to the public and patrons of nearby businesses including the Wonder Bar. But that plan was shot down because of a need for Wonder Bar customers to be able to consume alcohol in the outdoor seating area. Seating on a public sidewalk would not be covered by the bars liquor license. Collins said that the question of converting parking spaces into outdoor seating is part of an ongoing debate over how downtown Casper should be developed. This proposal is a proxy for a larger conversation in downtown Casper regarding the balance of land uses for automobiles, pedestrians, and public/private space, Collins wrote. A comprehensive downtown planning effort to develop standards for parking management and public space is the best approach, long term... Laird backs proposal Despite the skepticism, it wasnt all bad news for the Cercys. Councilman Dallas Laird strongly backed the patio proposal, highlighting the Cercys significant investments downtown. (These) people are putting $4 million into a bar, making it nice, putting money into this town, renting 40 parking spots, Laird said. I dont like telling businessmen no. Laird, an attorney, emphasized the concept of home rule, which holds that each level of government has significant autonomy to govern its own jurisdictions. He believes that there would be little legal risk for the city to unilaterally vacate the section of Center Street in front of Wonder Bar. Laird got into a testy exchange with Councilman Shawn Johnson over whether Council could simply throw its support behind the project. We should be trying to make this happen, not stomp it out of existence, Laird said. I dont think anyone is stomping it out of existence. You say we should run our city however we want, but we also have state law, Johnson said. You cant just say screw the state law and just vacate the street. Council asked Daigle to provide letters of support from adjacent businesses before deciding whether to approve the proposal. All families, regardless of how they are defined, are welcome to attend Saturdays fifth annual Fathers Day A Celebration of Families in Washington Park. Organized by the Casper Housing Authority, the event features a free barbecue, childrens activities, live music, free festival-type snacks, giveaways, free food boxes for those who need them and lots of information on services available to families. This is a national initiative by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which really wanted to find a way to get fathers more involved, said Lori Burns, CHA development coordinator. Here in Casper, thats not such a big problem, getting fathers involved, so we want to make it a community celebration of families, however you define that. Brandy Smouse, client relations manager for CHA, stressed that although CHA is hosting the event along with many sponsors, it is for the entire city. Every type of family in the community is more than welcome, even if you are a family of one, Smouse said. Sinclair is providing the barbecue, which will be available as long as there is food. Last year, the event attracted 2,500 people, which earned CHA an award from HUD for having the largest Fathers Day initiative in the nation. This year, organizers are planning for 3,000. Childrens activities include sack races, a tumbling blocks game, Jenga, Angy Birds, inflatables, pools filled with magic water beads, roping on a faux steer, characters from Dream Upon A Princess and Star Wars, as well as face painting from the ever-popular Mary Ann Budenske. Live music will be provided by the Neefer Dudes and DJs will fill in during the breaks. Snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy and shaved ice will be available throughout the day. Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies will have its mobile food pantry there with nonperishable food for those who need it. We have a heck of a day planned, Smouse said. We hope everyone comes out and shares the fun with us. The mission of Casper Housing Authority is to help people find quality, safe, affordable housing, recognizing that housing is the foundation to improve lives and independence. Burns, who has been with CHA a short while after stints with the Natrona County School District and Mercer House Family Resources, said that 10 percent of Casper citizens need the services of CHA but that available, affordable housing limits services to about 1 percent. Smouse said CHA serves nearly 1,000 clients at any one time, with those seeking a variety of the agencys services. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. When the Wonder Bar reopens later this year, patrons will discover an entirely new downtown Casper establishment, with two kitchens, multiple bars and a technology-fueled tap room. The historic downtown Casper establishment was purchased last fall by local energy entrepreneur Tony Cercy and his son, Cole, who has been taking the creative lead on the bar and restaurants comprehensive redesign. Before closing after the sale in October, the Wonder Bar featured a bar and dining area along with a back room with a billiard table and arcade games. The second floor featured a performance space. Wonder Bar to keep name, reopen as bar and restaurant Downtown Caspers World Famous Wonder Bar will reopen as a bar and restaurant and keep its Now the bar officially known as C85 @ The Wonder Bar has been largely gutted, River Valley Builders project manager Brandon Daigle said Tuesday at a presentation to Casper City Council. It will reopen with the bar and dining area on the ground floor swapped, new bathrooms, a new kitchen that patrons can see into and an upgraded second floor. The top floor will be accessed by an open stairway and feature a tap room where customers will use a wristband connected to their credit card to pour as much or as little beer as they want from taps offering 40 different beers. You can sample as many craft beers as you want, Daigle said. There will also be an area toward the back of the second floor that can be sealed off with glass doors and which can be rented for events. The top floor will also feature a wall of televisions and a view of Center Street. They reopened ... windows back up to give as much indoor-outdoor (as possible), Daigle said. There will also be a kitchen on the second floor offering fast casual dining options as opposed to the full kitchen downstairs. Daigle referenced the difficulty of renovating the old building as he showed Council the iconic photo of horses standing at the bar. It was a staged photo and apparently they got in trouble for it, Daigle said. Having now been in the basement, I dont understand how they got those horses on that floor. I know some of the things with that old bar, said Councilman Dallas Laird, who owned the Wonder Bar in 1985. Laird recalled a customer who died on the first night after he opened the bar. The economy had taken a dive and a guy took a nose dive down the stairs opening night and didnt survive that, Laird said. Daigle was presenting to City Council on behalf of the Cercys to ask for permission to extend the sidewalk in front of the Wonder Bar to allow outdoor seating. Council asked for more letters of support from neighbors before making a decision on that request. Despite downtown investments, Cercys' Wonder Bar plan receives pushback from Casper City Council Casper City Council threw cold water on plans by the new Wonder Bar owners to build a patio RAPID CITY, S.D. The Air Force is holding another large-scale exercise in the Powder River Training Complex in the Northern Plains. The training area covers nearly 35,000 square miles of airspace in the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming. Its the largest over the continental U.S. Officials at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota say the Combat Raider exercise June 27-29 will involve various military aircraft. There is the potential for people on the ground to hear sonic booms. The Air Force also cautions non-military aircraft to review the Federal Aviation Administration notice and avoid areas and altitudes where military planes will be practicing. The FAA in 2015 approved quadrupling the airspace available for training. The larger facility has since opened and has featured flying operations including B-1 bombers from Ellsworth and B-52 bombers from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. The complexs first large-scale exercise took place in December 2015. The training exercises were at once time the source of complaints from ranchers, who said they disrupted their operations, but those tensions have cooled since the military began to provide more notice, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association Executive Director Silvia Christen said last year. JACKSON A bus driver has proved that a runaway truck system on a highway in western Wyoming works as intended. Andrew Williams of Jackson said the newly installed system saved his life when he lost all ability to brake on Teton Pass recently. Williams said his brakes failed and his emergency brake snapped, forcing him to steer into a guardrail to slow down. He then drove into a series of nets designed to stop runaway trucks on the steep pass. Only one of the eight nets was needed to stop the bus. Williams wasn't hurt and his bus had little damage. The system became operational in March. Fewer people visited Yellowstone National Park this May than during the same month a year ago. Park managers believe the 5.6 percent decline might be due to late snowstorms that kept some roads closed as well as the end of the National Park Services 100th year, which drew record numbers of visitors. Still, it was the parks second-busiest May on record, according to the park announcement. Yellowstone welcomed 419,627 visitors in that month this year and 444,630 in May 2016. Yellowstone and other national parks have struggled in recent years to balance high numbers of visitors with their mission of preserving American wild spaces. That combination can take a toll on safety for both humans and animals and on land conservation. Already this year, there has been at least one incident: A park concessions worker from North Carolina was burned Tuesday after falling into a hot spring in Yellowstones Lower Geyser Basin. He was taken to the hospital. Last summer, which fell during NPS centennial celebration, record numbers of visitors flocked to the nations first national park. More than 4.25 million people went through Yellowstones gates in 2016. That was an increase of nearly 4 percent from 2015. With the larger crowds came an unusual number of conflicts between humans and the environment. For example, a group of Canadian men were cited for walking on the Grand Prismatic Spring, while a tourist from China was fined for collecting thermal water and damaging the delicate travertine crust around the Mammoth Hot Springs area. A man also died after straying from the boardwalk and falling into a hot spring. People and animals also found themselves in dangerous situations. A French Canadian man, thinking a bison calf looked cold, placed it in his vehicle; the animal later had to be euthanized since it was rejected by its herd. A woman was hit and killed on one of the parks roads as she crossed it to see an eagle. An elk charged another woman, knocking her over. And several tourists were injured by bison as they attempted to take photos with them. Sunday was a glorious day in Casper. Not only was it a beautiful day to enjoy the blessings of living in Wyoming, but our city was enveloped by a sea of orange love! Hundreds of attendees from Highland Park Community Church sporting orange t-shirts saying Love your City fanned out across our community on various service projects. Instead of holding their typical worship service, Highland Park Community Church went out and served practical needs in our community. What a touching scene it was to see more than 50 people from the church serving individuals struggling with homelessness and poverty at Wyoming Rescue Mission. Like a swarm of ants on a mission, this group of Christ followers got incredible work done in two hours on their hands and knees cleaning tile, pulling weeds, organizing our mission pantry, and mowing two lots set aside for our new construction. Not only did HPCC serve at Wyoming Rescue Mission, but hundreds more served cleaning numerous parks, other nonprofits, and various service organizations across our city. What a great group of people and a wonderful reminder that there is hope in these uncertain times. Thank you, Highland Park Community Church, for your service to our community and for sharing in such a practical way the love that Christ so freely shares with us all. I am a elementary teacher in Idaho and I am in need of some help. I want to do a school project for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year with my class. I need a retired license plate from the Equality State (Wyoming). If you have one you could donate to me I would greatly appreciate your help. Thank you! More than three dozen community and business groups and more than 300 residents have signed onto letters urging the Arizona Corporation Commission to increase funding for Tucson Electric Power Co. energy-efficiency programs. In May, TEP stopped accepting applications for its commercial energy-efficiency programs for the remainder of 2017 and reduced rebates for residential efficiency improvements, after facing a $6 million program funding shortfall. The programs, mandated by the state, are supported by ratepayer surcharges and paid out in customer rebates for efficiency improvements such as lighting and air-conditioning updates under annual program budgets. Non-profit groups including the Arizona PIRG Education Fund, AARP Arizona, the Arizona Community Action Association, energy-related trade groups, local businesses and residents signed letters to Corporation Commission Chairman Tom Forese, urging the commission to strengthen funding for the TEP efficiency programs. They contend the programs help participating consumers save money in the on their bills, while saving all ratepayers money in the long run by reducing the need for new power generation. TEP has said it has no plans to ask the Corporation Commission for more energy-efficiency funding for this year, seeking to avoid an increase in customer surcharges following a general rate hike earlier this year. But the utility, which is due to file for commission approval of its 2018 energy-efficiency plan and budget by Aug. 1, says it remains committed to the programs going forward. The University of Arizona now has two separately accredited medical schools. UA officials announced Wednesday that the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix, which was originally a branch of the UAs Tucson medical school, was granted full accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). The LCME is the national accrediting authority for medical-education programs leading to M.D. degrees in the United States and Canada. The accrediting authority completed its latest site visit earlier this spring. The LCME is expected to provide a comprehensive report within the next month detailing the site visit and the factors for granting full accreditation. The full accreditation came earlier than expected. UA officials originally projected they would gain full accreditation in 2018. Began as a branch The UA College of Medicine-Phoenix was created 10 years ago as a branch campus of the UA College of Medicine-Tucson, which opened in 1967. In 2012, the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix received preliminary accreditation with the LCME. That marked the point when students first were accepted as part of the separate accreditation, and also the beginning of a five-year process to full accreditation. The next step of provisional accreditation was granted in 2015. Full accreditation was the final step. To date, the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix has graduated 354 physicians, with classes of about 80 students per year. During the accreditation process, more than 100 performance elements are evaluated to establish whether a medical school is in good standing. From my standpoint, its a wonderful signal that things are going well at the College of Medicine in Phoenix, said Chic Older, executive vice president of the Arizona Medical Association, a statewide group made up of doctors, residents and medical students. Theyve got a terrific medical school and theyve certainly become more stabilized. ... Its a medical school students can be proud of graduating from. One year ago this month, the Arizona Medical Association asked for an investigation after a half-dozen of the Phoenix medical schools top leaders left for positions out of state. Among those departures was the schools dean, Dr. Stuart D. Flynn. The UA recently hired a new dean to lead the school, Tennessee cardiologist Dr. Guy Reed. The UA also has a new interim senior vice president of health sciences, Dr. Leigh Neumayer, who oversees both medical schools. Neumayer replaced Dr. Joe G. N. Skip Garcia, who stepped down in December. Older said interim dean Dr. Kenneth Ramos did an excellent job after Flynns departure and helped lead the Phoenix medical school through the accreditation. Dr. Leigh Neumayer is clearly stabilizing things as well, Older said. This is not some kind of miracle. This is a lot of hard work by a lot of people and is what we wanted, and it will only help the state. Five med schools Having another fully accredited medical school is a key part of ensuring quality health care in Arizona in the future and also in addressing a doctor shortage. However, Older said another key is having enough residency spots and that the current level in Arizona is not enough. There are now five medical schools in Arizona the two UA medical schools; the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, which is opening its Arizona campus in Scottsdale this summer; and Midwestern University and A.T. Still University, which both operate osteopathic medical schools in the Phoenix area. A sixth medical school Nebraska-based Creighton University School of Medicine has medical students doing third- and fourth-year rotations in Arizona. Milestone Earning full accreditation is an important milestone, UA President Dr. Robert C. Robbins said in a prepared statement. Full accreditation assures students that they are getting an outstanding education and it demonstrates to Arizona residents that the University of Arizona is graduating exceptional physicians, said Robbins, who is a cardiac surgeon. Ramos, interim dean of the UA College of MedicinePhoenix, received a call Friday from the LCME, notifying him that the college would move from provisional accreditation status to full accreditation, UA officials said Wednesday. This announcement acknowledges the strength and excellence of this college and our ability to transform todays students into tomorrows health-care leaders, said Neumayer. Tucsons largest school district will seek voters help to address critical facilities needs, including repairs to heating and cooling systems. Tucson Unified School Districts Governing Board voted Tuesday night to pursue a $180 million bond election in November. We are in a very, very critical situation with regards to capital, said Gabriel Trujillo, the interim superintendent. State funding to schools for capital projects, including building construction and renovation, has dried up since 2009, he said. A district assessment of the facilities revealed that nearly 40 percent of the needs are related to heating and cooling systems. The $180 million would address only the most urgent needs. To address all of the repairs and new construction, the district says it would need $509 million. For an average homeowner in TUSD, the tax levy, if approved, would cost $93.98 a year. Consultants advising the board on the matter told members to be united on the issue, saying a split vote and divisive climate could worsen the chances of winning voters approval in the election. Board members Mark Stegeman and Rachael Sedgwick voted against the measure, saying the risk for failure is too high at this time. If we lose the election, theres no money, Stegeman said. Losing one year doesnt help your chances the next year. Prop0sition 301 money The Governing Board also approved a new payment plan for Proposition 301, a statewide tax levy put in place to increase pay for teachers. In the past, teachers and TUSDs administration have argued over the districts use of that funding to make up for other budget deficiencies. This years plan includes two payouts: two-thirds of the money paid out first, and another third later based on the teachers performance. For a full-time teacher who is eligible, which does not include substitute teachers, the estimated total payout is about $2,460. More than 72 percent of 2,814 eligible teachers supported the new plan, according to a survey TUSD conducted. By law, the district is required to have more than 70 percent in support. Qualities of new leader Longevity, trust, visibility and problem solving. Those are some of the qualities the TUSD community said it wanted from the new leader of its schools. Nic Clement, who is leading the superintendent search as a consultant, visited five schools and conducted a community forum to gather public input. He sent 235 responses to researchers at Northern Arizona University who analyzed them for free. The analysis showed improving facilities, putting students first, supporting middle schools and experience in teaching were also priorities for community members. From a June 8 public forum, Clement said he gathered an additional 165 responses. Though there hasnt been a complete analysis yet, he said many people voiced that they wanted a leader who has experience with desegregation, budgets and dealing with discipline issues. The TUSD Governing Board is working on setting up a superintendent search screening committee, which will forward five top candidates to the board for review. Halima Mohamed (HALIMA MOHAMED) looks out into the audience from the stage after taking the oath of U.S. citizenship, one of 26 children under 18 years of age to become citizens during the World Refugee Day Celebration, Tucson High School, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, Tucson, Ariz. Photo by Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star MANDATORY CREDIT - NO MAGS/NO SALES Can the dry heat jokes. This heat wave is deadly serious. When temperatures reached these levels last June, four visitors died from the heat on Tucson-area hiking or walking trails. High temperatures, already well into triple digits, will ramp up a few degrees every day through the weekend, topping out Monday and Tuesday at 114 to 119 degrees in parts of Southeastern Arizona. The western deserts could hit 122. The upper limits of the highs predicted by the National Weather Service for the Tucson metro area 108, 109 and 112 Friday through Sunday and 116 on Monday and Tuesday would all set or tie records. Add a couple degrees to those predictions if you live in places such as Gila Bend or Phoenix. The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings for most of Southern and Central Arizona, Saturday through Wednesday. Dont look for immediate relief after temperatures peak Tuesday. Extended forecasts call for highs in Tucson well into the 100s for the foreseeable future. We could have another false start to the monsoon, with thunderstorms that produce more wind and lightning than rain, mostly east and south of here, beginning as early as Tuesday, said meteorologist Rob Howlett of the NWS in Tucson. Its a concern that we could get another couple of fire starts out of that, he said. Howlett said this years heat wave parallels to what happened in 2016, when Tucson set heat records of 115 on June 19 and 112 on June 20. That also produced an early start to the summer rains with a couple of drenching cloudbursts in Tucson on June 26. In this heat, dont hike or exercise outside after 10 a.m. Dont even go outside in the middle of the day unless you really must, officials warn. When you do, take the usual precautions. Drink lots of water. Cover up with light, loose clothing and a wide-brimmed hat. Watch for signs of heat stress, even if you are indoors, especially if your home is not sufficiently air-conditioned. Tucsonans, with their suffer to sing the blues mentality might be tempted to think this is the normal price we pay each year to bring on the rains. Its not. Temperatures in the next few days will be 7 to 15 degrees above the normal high of 101 degrees. Its time to behave like a desert animal, said Steve Anderson, planning division manager at Pima County Natural Resources: Stay inside. If you must exercise outside, said Anderson, get up early 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. or so. After last years hiking deaths, Pima County joined with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service to create heat cards that are available at the visitor centers at Saguaro National Park and Sabino Canyon. Anderson applied predicted temperatures to the advice on the card: It says your risk is very high, dont go out there. The heat brings special peril to those who have no way to escape it. The Salvation Army has ramped up its Chill Out campaign to deliver cold, bottled water and sun supplies to parks where people with no homes gather, said spokesman Corey Leith. Donations of water, sunscreen, hats, light-colored T-shirts, lip balm and umbrellas can be taken to any of five Naughtons heating and cooling locations. The very hot temperatures will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illness for those working or exercising outdoors during the daytime, or for those without access to adequate air conditioning, the NWS warns. According to a 13-year study done by the state Department of Health Services about 2,000 people in Arizona visit hospital emergency rooms for heat stress each year. During that period, 1,500 people died from heat-related illnesses. In Pima County, about 300 people visit the ER for heat stress each year, said Aaron Pacheco of Pima County Health Department. Thats probably the tip of the iceberg, Pacheco said, with most people recovering from heat stress at home. Pacheco seconded Andersons advice to stay inside, if at all possible, during the day. Drink water before you get thirsty, he said. Hiking in the desert is extremely dangerous this time of year. The usual precautions carrying lots of water, taking along a cellphone and starting early are insufficient. Last June, four people died on Tucson-area trails in 115-degree heat June 19. Hikers died in September and again last month on Saguaro National Park trails in heat not nearly as severe as that predicted for the next few days. High temperatures can also affect air travel. Hot, dry air can cause aircraft to lose lift. Predicted temperatures of 115 at Tucson International Airport and 120 at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix should not impact large commercial aircraft, said spokesmen for the two airports. The big jets can fly in temperatures up to 126 degrees, said Greg Roybal of Sky Harbor, but regional carriers using smaller aircraft could be affected. Roybal said passengers should check on those flights before leaving for the airport. Those decisions are made by the airlines, he said. Last June, only one flight diverted from Sky Harbor when the temperature hit 118 on June 28. In 1990, when Phoenix recorded its record high of 122, all flights were temporarily suspended. With European banking expert Bob Lyddon intervening in the great Brexit debate to suggest a soft EU exit may be more costly to Britain than trading on WTO rules, this proves Theresa May is likely to stick to her guns and walk away from EU negotiations. This means a 'hard' Brexit is becoming increasingly inevitable. What senior figures from last year's Stronger In campaign to keep Britain inside the EU such as John Major, David Cameron and Ruth Davidson seem to forget is that the electorate did opt for Britain to withdraw from Brussels completely. Both Labour and the Conservatives campaigned on a ticket to pursue a total withdrawal from the EU. The main parties' share of the vote increased last Friday, which contradicts Mr. Major's argument that voters rejected a 'hard' Brexit. Staunch Eurosceptic Dan Hannan wrote an article this week urging Britain to copy Switzerland's trade deal with the EU. But even this comes with strings attached. The price the Swiss must pay for partial access to the Single Market is acceptance of the Schengen Agreement, which enables people to travel freely throughout the EU. Control of immigration brought an overwhelming victory for pro-Brexit campaign group Vote Leave last year. For the UK to retain the free movement of workers as a cost for a free trade deal with Europe would lead to nationwide anger that a core campaign promise from Vote Leave would have been trashed during upcoming negotiations. 'Golden opportunity to reinvent herself' For a woman who had her 'strong and stable' image tarnished during June's general election, Mrs May has a golden opportunity to reinvent herself as a second 'Iron Lady' and stick to her convictions over the 'no deal is better than a bad deal' mantra. If she does, she will gain universal respect in the face of staunch opposition from passionate Remainers in her own party. If she fails to keep to this promise, she will face a greater wrath from the electorate the next time round. A European banking expert has suggested the European Union not to offer a 'soft' Brexit deal to the UK as it would burden them with financial costs. Bob Lyddon warned Brussels Britain would fall back on World Trade Organisation rules if there is a high price for tariff-free Single Market access. His comment flies in the face of David Cameron's advice to the Prime Minister that Britain should pursue a 'softer' Brexit deal. Speaking to RT, Mr. Lyddon said a 'soft' EU exit means the UK would be swamped in detail about which parts of EU membership they wish to retain or scrap. A consensual approach He said if the price for gaining tariff-free access to the Single Market was higher than WTO rules, this would result in the collapse of a trade deal between the UK and the EU. This is despite Mr. Cameron saying Theresa May should develop a more consensual approach with Labour in agreeing on a 'soft' Brexit. Speaking to a business conference in Poland since the Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority last Friday, he said the Tory leader should listen to other parties over Britain's EU exit. He predicts this will mean Parliament will now have a greater say over upcoming negotiations with Brussels to agree on a Brexit deal since Mrs May triggered Article 50, the mechanism to leave the EU in the 2007 Lisbon Treaty, last March. The former prime minister said the election of 13 new Scottish Conservative MPs will enable the leader of the Scottish Tories, Ruth Davidson, a significant role in the negotiations. 'An open Brexit' Since Friday's general election result, Ms Davidson has called on the Prime Minister to agree on an 'open Brexit' with the EU. This would result in the UK remaining a member of the Customs Union, the European Court of Justice having a limited say over British law, and a trade deal that allows Britain access to the Single Market in exchange for accepting the free movement of people. This would contradict all the campaign promises pro-Brexit group Vote Leave made during last year's EU Referendum. Former Tory prime minister and staunch Europhile, John Major, joined a growing list of critics of the Prime Minister's 'hard' Brexit strategy by suggesting the electorate rejected that approach last Friday. But Mrs May has refused to enter into discussions with the other parties to agree on a consensus for Britain's EU exit. Many Tory Brexiteers fear that the Conservative leader's reduced majority means her plans to leave the EU may be undermined. 'Get the best deal for Britain' Many figures, like Michael Gove, have urged her to stick to her principles. Michael Gove said those who voted to remain last year must also be included in the conversation about how to get the best deal for Britain. Steve Baker, a Conservative MP who has recently been appointed as a Brexit minister, said he wants an EU exit consistent with the principles of taking back control of Britain's laws, borders and money. Meanwhile, Labour figures continue to contradict each other over their party's official position on the issue. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told ITV's Robert Peston that under a Labour government, the UK will be leaving the Single Market. This led to Tony Blair's former press secretary, Alastair Campbell, tweeting: 'I suspect some of the young people voting Labour and voting for the first time were hoping for something a bit less "Brextremist" from Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.' But staunch Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner said his party was committed to reforming Britain's membership of the Single Market and attacked Mrs May for failing to consider that option. Yet he appeared on The Daily Politics on Monday and said he supports leaving the Single Market. But another key Corbyn ally, shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, described it as a 'moot point' for her party. She said she supports the free movement of workers from Europe. This is despite Labour campaigning on a pledge to pull Britain out of the EU in its entirety and to support the end of unlimited immigration from Europe. As the dust slowly settles in the deserted corridors of Westminster on Friday's sorry debacle, it appears that no one has learnt any lessons, and if they have, well they sure as hell not telling any of us anytime soon. To watch the PM and Jeremy Corbyn trade banter across the Commons benches yesterday was as if they were sharing a joke that only they were in on. That is the problem with career politicians of any persuasion, with expenses, subsidised living and comfortable salaries, they are far divorced from the realities of life. The other thing that they are far from reliable with is the truth. Conservatives The world has fallen down around Theresa May's ears and her head certainly appears to be still in the clouds. Her gamble failed, the party returning to power only if they can get into bed with the DUP, a party that is in many ways an antithesis of what she and the Conservatives are supposed to stand for. Make no mistake, Northern Ireland is yet a stone's throw away from violence - the approaching Protestant marching season will show that - with the old hatreds that divide the population waiting just below the surface. Sein Fein is certainly not going to stand for any alliance - which will only delay Stormont's reinstatement - as it breaks the impartiality of the Irish parties and the Good Friday agreement, allowing the DUP to be merely an extension of the British Government. Why not be honest for once! An election will be held before the end of the year because shoring up the foundation is not going to work - not with her in charge that's for sure. The grandees of the Tory Party are not going to allow her to lead the cowboys to the pass again, only to be slaughtered this time by the Indians. Labour With a Cheshire cat smile, Jeremy Corbyn still insists that he did not lose the election, and is more than prepared to form the next government should the government's deal fall through. That, of course, would be even more disastrous in both the long or short term. To cobble together a patchwork quilt of opposing views, and then having the moral strength to contain them, is a little above his meagre skills. Can he also not tell us that his policies are likely to bankrupt the country within a year? That would leave us driving down the highway to hell. Oh, and of course can someone please explain to Dianne Abbott, that incompetence is not an illness? At this crucial point in our history, we need to be told what an awful mess we are in. It is useless for Mrs May to insist that she has the country's backing when clearly she has not. Watch the henchmen Johnson and Gove sharpen their knives and wait for an opportunity to strike. It won't be long now. Arlene Foster and her 10 DUP MPs at 10 Downing Street entered by the front door, but for some reason left via the back door like they had something to hide or did not wish anyone - especially the media - see them leave. Why the secrecy as the world's media would have seen them arrive at Downing Street so why didn't they leave the way they had come? The DUP founded by the Rev. Ian Paisley is a staunchly Unionist party with a deep Protestant Christian ethos which governs some if not of all of their policies. They could be called right-wing as they do not accept same-sex marriage, are climate change deniers and are very pro-Brexit. Would this have been part of their negotiations with Theresa May in Downing Street? It is expected that an informal coalition agreement will be signed today between the Conservatives and the DUP bringing this loose arrangement government into being. Certainly, this gives Arlene Foster who could easily give Theresa May a run for her money in talks a certain amount of leverage with the now weakened Theresa May administration. What Arlene Foster may have asked at the meeting Arlene Foster and Theresa May have worked together behind the scenes on things they agree on in the past and in some ways some areas of the Conservative party mirror aspects of the DUP. It can be guessed even though Arlene Foster keeps things close to her chest that she will have a set of demands or requests in return for helping Theresa May stay in power. Certainly one of the requests will be for more money for Northern Ireland in helping with infrastructure, and money for schools and hospitals. Many in Northern Ireland, especially the Loyalist community, see this DUP-Conservative arrangement as a good thing if the deal is signed today, as it may highlight the areas of Northern Ireland that need investment. Even some Republicans have grudgingly admitted if this investment is forthcoming from the central government in London it could be a good thing for Northern Ireland. John Major's warning Former Prime Minister John Major who was involved in talks with both sides of the Northern Irish conflict peace talks before handing over to Tony Blair has warned he has reservations about his party going into government with the DUP. The DUP has been accused of having links to Loyalist paramilitary groups and this maybe is one of John Major's concerns. He may also be warning against going down a road with the DUP that may somehow entrap Theresa May's already enfeebled administration. Of course, Major's concerns could be completely unfounded, but on the other hand, they may be justified. Only time will tell. DUP in talks with Sinn Fein regarding Stormont Sinn Fein and even the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny have expressed their misgivings about the DUP going into government with the Conservatives. Their worry is that it may make the negotiations a little skewed as it may feel like the British government is backing the DUP in talks rather than being objective. The British government will realise the importance of talks to get a Stormont administration running again and will remain completely objective in talks between the DUP and Sinn Fein. If the talks fail it may bring back direct rule from London which after all the good work of the Good Friday Agreement and the time both Sinn Fein and the DUP shared power together would be a complete shame. Northern Ireland has enjoyed peace and prosperity for a long time now let us hope this continues. On Tuesday Malawis education rights activists took to the streets of the capital Lilongwe to express their anger over continued inaction by the government on problems that have hit the countrys education sector. Led by the Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC), the activists implored the government to stop burying its head in the sand in the wake of the teachers strike and the closure of Chancellor College. Teachers from public schools in Malawi are on strike over unpaid leave grants that run into millions of dollars, stretching as far back as five years ago. The strike is now in its second week. "Education sector is now falling apart" On the other hand, lecturers at Chancellor College, a constituent college of the Malawi University, want an increase in their allowances. Executive Director for CSEC Benedicto Kondowe said, Malawis education sector is now falling apart right now, and only President Mutharika has the mandate to put everything to rest. Kondowe has warned the civil society in Malawi will mobilise the nation to march against the education stalemate that has paralysed the education sector, with millions of learners now staying at home. Meanwhile, Malawis Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Goodal Gondwe, said the process to pay the teachers would take longer than expected. The Teachers Union of Malawi President Willie Malimba has vowed the nationwide teachers strike will continue until the teachers get their dues. It is sad that ever since the sit-in started last week, government has not made any efforts to meet us on the way forward, Malimba said. The issue has also attracted the attention of the countrys lawmakers Speaking in Parliament, opposition MPs took turns to bash the government over the matter, saying the delay to pay teachers their leave grants will inevitably affect learners. One lawmaker described the governments inaction as criminal. Another lawmaker Richard Chimwendo-Banda said the government was sitting on a time bomb, as people were tired with the stalemate. While their counterparts in secondary and primary schools are fighting for the leave grants Chancellor College lecturers are on strike over salary disparities. The lecturers want their allowances to be similar to those of academic staff at College Of Medicine, who have been receiving a 40 percent top-up allowance for clinical services they offer in public hospitals. But the matter escalated after it was noted that some academic staff at College of Medicine that were not providing such services were also benefitting from the 40 percent top-up allowance. Meanwhile, Minister of Education, Emmanuel Fabiano has been refusing to comment on the matter, saying his ministry was not responsible for teachers salaries. Raqqa, as predicted, is falling Islamic State's dream of a pure Islamic Caliphate dating back to the Prophet Mohammed must surely now realise that dream is now in ashes. Their territory which made up the so-called caliphate is shrinking by the day as anti-IS forces drive them out of areas where they were once dominant. Those ethnic groups who were their victims; Yazidis and Christians, plus Shia Muslims are now part of the forces taking the battle to Islamic State. They must be relishing defeating this group of Jihadis who treated them so badly. US, UK and even Russian missiles are hitting Islamic State targets in Raqqa supporting an anti-IS fighting group known as the Syrian Democratic Forces made up of Arabs and Kurds. The group says it has captured the al-Romaniya district of Raqqa driving out all IS fighters after capturing the eastern part of the city a few days ago. The fact that anti-IS forces have fought the Islamic State all the way to their declared capital Raqqa shows that IS is a spent force, or soon will be, as a conventional military force at least. The Islamic State defence of Raqqa IS will have known days in advance as artillery shells, bombs and rockets pounded their positions they were being softened up for an assault on their capital. It is assumed IS would have had time to prepare a defence of the city even before anti-IS forces made it to the outskirts of Raqqa. Anti-IS forces are encountering defences such as IEDS, suicide bombers, car bombs, as well as conventional defences like machine gun nests and mine fields. Also, it can be expected IS will be using what armour or military vehicles they have to help in their defence against anti-IS forces. It is estimated around 4,000 fighters remain in the city to oppose anti-IS forces as they fight their way into Raqqa. The whereabouts of al-Baghdadi and other IS top brass For all of al-Baghdadi's brave words of forming the caliphate and driving out the infidel, it goes without saying that he and other IS leaders will not be beside their men as they fight and die for the greater glory of the caliphate. It is more than likely that al-Baghdadii and other leaders have evacuated Raqqa months ago especially as allied bombs and missiles were getting far too close for comfort for the leadership. It has been said that Baghdadi is wounded and in hiding and is aware there is a heavy price on his head. He knows he can no longer travel around in convoy for fear of being targeted from the air. Baghdadi like all dictators and war mongers before him can only blame himself as his empire crumbles around him. High demand for accommodation has encouraged buildings built with preference for speed over safety As Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya, there are a lot of Kenyans who come to the town for access to higher paying jobs and better quality education. This influx of people has created the demand for affordable housing. Some unscrupulous business people have taken advantage of this housing crisis by Building apartments, or flats - this is not a bad thing to want to provide a housing solution to fellow countrymen. The part where it becomes bad is when the owners of said buildings do not follow the right processes and end up either hiring unqualified architects and contractors, or try to cut corners which end up with compromised integrity of the buildings they own. Now, this short term way of thinking by either the building owners, contractors, architects or a combination of all has contributed to the abundant cases of buildings collapsing. This has happened a lot in recent years with a five-storey building in Kariobangi in 2016 actually getting caught on tape as it collapsed. Fortunately, no one was in the building at the time. Monday's collapse of a seven-storey building in Embakasi In Monday's case, residents reported that they had been seeing cracks in the building a week earlier and when they notified the owners via the caretaker all that happened was some cement was smoothed over the cracks. The cracks re-appeared on Monday which prompted residents to call the authorities who were able to evacuate over 128 residents using the National Disaster Management Unit. "We are looking for almost five people, including a family of four. The husband is out but the wife and children are suspected to be inside the building," Pius Masai, deputy director of the National Disaster Management Unit, told Reuters at the site of the collapse. Rescuers drawn from various government departments, including the youth service, dug through the rubble after a specialist unit from the military cut through walls and floors at the top Nairobi, Kenya has seen similar tragedies in the past. A total of 49 people died last year when another building collapsed during a heavy, nighttime downpour in a poor neighbourhood. The government ordered the demolition of many other buildings after that incident. Nairobi Governor Dr Evans Kidero at the site of the collapse urged the building owner to provide architectural plans of the building so as to be able to help better coordinate rescue efforts. The governor also stated that between 30,000 - 40,000 buildings constructed without approval in Kenya are at risk of coming to a similar end. Vulnerable residents Governor Kidero said that building owners are known to stop demolition process by going to the courts, and now urged the judges to add to their consideration the potential loss of lives of vulnerable residents living in these unsafe buildings. I believe that the buck should not just be stopped at the courts, but the building owners should consider the potential harm to human life. And if that doesn't get to them then the potential loss of investments in building the building quickly, versus following the right procedure and taking an active role in ensuring quality assurance in his/her projects thereby not only saving lives but also providing a service to fellow countrymen. This would also mean making a profit in the long-term, as the building will last for a long time. I hope every missing person gets found and for all those personally affected my condolences to you and here's to a safer future. One of the biggest areas of concern for Donald Trump ever since being elected has been leaks that have come from inside the White House. Despite the controversial information that has gone public, the president seems to be more concerned about who is leaking the information rather than its contents. Trump on Twitter When Donald Trump was sworn into office just two months after his shocking upset win over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, many wondered what would happen during the early stages of the administration. While it's only been four months, the former host of "The Apprentice" has been faced with non-stop controversy that has surrounded the White House. Whether it's the growing Russian story, his questionable attempts at executive orders, in-fighting within his own team, or the countless other potential scandals, Trump has had his back against the wall from day one and has done his best to deflect, usually blaming the media in the process. Recently, two stories have controlled the media headlines as it pertains to political news coverage. After abruptly firing James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Trump did his best to defend his decision. The Comey issue only got removed from the headlines after the Washington Post revealed that Trump shared classified information with two Russian officials during a recent meeting at the White House. The president appeared to tackle both of these issues as part of his early morning tweet-storm on May 16. I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community..... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2017 In his most recent tweet as of press time, Donald Trump focused on leaks coming from his White House as the aforementioned Washington Post story continues to gain traction. "I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community....." Trump wrote on Twitter. It appeared as if the president was not finished with his tweet, but has not yet updated his social media accounts to reflect a follow-up a message. Trump defends sharing info with Russians: "I have the absolute right to do so https://t.co/N7jrcGCEGN pic.twitter.com/nIBlE2byja The Hill (@thehill) May 16, 2017 Message trouble Donald Trump's addition of James Comey's name in his latest Twitter message ties together the two big political issues of the day, which has only put pressure on the commander in chief and his team to come to a consensus. Prior to Trump's tweet about Comey, he defended his decision to share information with the Russians, which contradicted the denial coming from national security adviser H.R. McMaster just hours earlier. ACLU files FOIA request for records related to Trumps abrupt firing of Comey, citing concerns of "abuse of power" https://t.co/E8PvcX8NOt pic.twitter.com/rQjwH7pwrb Talking Points Memo (@TPM) May 16, 2017 Moving forward With Donald Trump feeling the heat over a variety of issues, recent reports have indicated that he is looking to make major changes with his staff, which could include the removal of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. Despite Trump's insistence that his presidency is going well, his approval rating has dropped to around 40 percent in the most recent polling. Over the last two weeks, the headlines have been dominated by two stories that have rocked Washington, D.C. and the White House. For Donald Trump, the pressure might finally be getting to him. Trump trouble It was just two weeks ago when Donald Trump surprised many by firing James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Comey has been one of the most polarizing figures in Washington since the final days of the 2016 presidential election. Many Democrats and liberals believe his decision to bring up Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State cost her the election, leading to a Trump victory in the process. However, Comey has recently been more of a problem for Republicans as he's led the investigation into Russia's role in the election, including their potential link to the Trump campaign and administration. Over the last 24 hours, it was revealed that the former host of "The Apprentice" allegedly asked Comey to end the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn over his relationship with Russia. After reportedly failing to give his loyalty to the president, Trump decided to terminate Comey. In addition, the Washington Post recently reported that Trump shared classified information with top Russian officials causing even more backlash against the White House. As reported by Jon Cooper in a pair of tweets on May 16, Trump is starting to crack. White House sources say Trump is cursing up a storm - ranting and raving. Yelling at staffers & using the "F" word. He's losing it tonight. Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) May 16, 2017 According to Jon Cooper, the Chairman of the Democratic Coalition, citing sources inside the White House, Donald Trump is "losing it" and taking his frustration out on his staff. "White House sources say Trump is cursing up a storm - ranting and raving," Cooper tweeted, before adding, "Yelling at staffers & using the 'F' word. He's losing it tonight." Sources say White House staff members are beginning to talk openly about their increasing concerns that Trump shows signs of early dementia. Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) May 16, 2017 In a follow-up post on Twitter, Jon Cooper went further and cited additional White House sources to note that many are worried Donald Trump could be suffering from "early dementia." "Sources say White House staff members are beginning to talk openly about their increasing concerns that Trump shows signs of early dementia," Cooper tweeted out. The news of Trump's potential dementia was also confirmed by Gabriel Sherman of New York Magazine, citing MSNBC host Joe Scarborough as an additional reference. This morning @JoeNBC says Trump is "a man in decline," suggests sharing of classified intel could have been from dementia Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) May 16, 2017 Moving forward After only four months in the White House, the constant stream of controversy and scandal surrounding Donald Trump appears to be causing cracks throughout the administration. With an approval rating dropping below 40 percent, only time will tell if the billionaire real estate mogul will be able to bounce back. Newt Gingrich is putting the blame on the Democrats after a shooting at a GOP practice in Alexandria on Wednesday morning. The attack has left six people injured, including Louisiana's Steve Scalise who is currently in critical condition. During his guest appearance on Fox News, the former Speaker of the House was almost unstoppable from attacking the other party for what happened in Virginia. 'It's part of a pattern' Aside from blaming the Democratic party for the recent attack against GOP legislators, Gingrich has mentioned a few more things which he said were part of the "increasing intensity of hostility on the left." The 73-year-old politician accused the other party of allegedly threatening the lives of Donald Trump's supporters. He also slammed Kathy Griffin for beheading the president in her photo shoot, and a New York play that features a Trump-like Caesar. Following his controversial accusations against the Democratic Party, MSNBC's Chuck Todd said "we are all to blame" for the attack in Virginia. In the latest broadcast of "Meet the Press Daily," the TV journalist said people are pointing their fingers at each other over the recent incident. Some are putting the blame on the left or right, while others are blaming the media for what has taken place. But heres who it seems too many folks dont want to blame: themselves," Todd said on the program. The former Political Director for NBC News added everyone is responsible for the violent attack against the members of the Republican party. "For too long, our collective politics has demonized the other side for caustic behavior while rationalizing that same behavior when it comes from someone who shares their politics," he continued, calling out partisans as "toxic stew." The 45-year-old journalist asked the public to call out caustic rhetoric when it is evident instead of contesting with it. He added that "what-about-ism" are among the worst patterns of behavior of partisans from both parties. Todd is hopeful that political supporters will reflect on what truly matters in times like these. Alexandria shooting Police authorities have identified the gunman as James T. Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old native of Illinois who transferred to Virginia two months ago. The suspect was said to be a supporter of the Dems and a strong critic of the U.S. president. In fact, Hodgkinson campaigned for Sen. Bernie Sanders during the Presidential Elections last year. Flint consequences continue to roll in. On Wednesday, it was announced that several officials would be facing charges for the ongoing Water Crisis gripping the city. The officials can either be fined or jailed when all is said and done. That won't be enough to restore the lives of those affected and improve confidence in the city's systems, however. That process will probably take years, if it ever happens. Charges for Flint officials Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced the charges on Wednesday morning. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon is the most prominent name on the list of officials charged. Several other prominent officials make the list, including two departed officials: former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley and former City of Flint Water Department Manager Howard Croft. Water Supervisor Steven Busch and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's Drinking Water Chief Liane Shekter-Smith round out the list of those facing charges for the city's water crisis. All five will face involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from their alleged failure to report and respond to the Flint water crisis. The charges stem from the death of Robert Skidmore, who died of Legionnaires' disease on December 13, 2015. If convicted, the felony charges can lead to a $7,500 fine and/or a prison sentence that can last up to 15 years. Flint water crisis rages on The water crisis in Flint began way back in 2014, when the Flint River became the primary source of drinking water for the city. The river was not treated properly, exposing hundreds of thousands to high levels of lead, especially dangerous for children. Since a federal state of emergency was declared at the beginning of 2016, residents have been instructed to only use bottled water for all purposes. Water quality has since improved, but the lead pipe issue causing the problem won't be resolved until 2020, at the earliest. The eyes of the world have been on Flint since the start, wondering how an American city can fail their people in terms of one of the most basic resources. At least 14 deaths have been connected to the water crisis, which is 14 too many. Public officials who had an opportunity to stop the tragedies from unfolding need to be held accountable by the population of the city; Wednesday is the first step in making sure that accountability is met. In a potentially precedent-setting criminal case that ran its course with closing arguments heard Tuesday, the defendants guilt or innocence rests with one man. Judge Lawrence Moniz, Bristol Juvenile Court, will determine the fate of, now, 20-year-old Michelle Carter, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter following the 2014 suicide of her 18-year-old boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning, alone in his truck, in a Kmart parking lot outside of Boston. During its closing, the prosecution likened Carters response to kicking Roys feet out from under him when he relayed reservations to Carter about killing himself. It reached a pointed that Roy apologized to his, then, 17-year-old girlfriend for not being dead yet, said Katie Rayburn, Assistant District Attorney. Carter, according to prosecutors, encouraged and pressured her boyfriend by telephone and countless text messages to kill himself because she was craving attention from her peers at school and sought to elevate her social status. The states contention was that the defendant wanted to assume the role as his grief-stricken girlfriend. Defense lawyer says suicide tragic, not homicide However, Joseph Cataldo, Carters defense attorney, argued that Roy had the intent to kill himself. He said she was carrying her own emotional health baggage, and she attempted to convince him to get professional help. Cataldo characterized Roys suicide as tragic but also said it is not homicide. To buttress his argument, he drew from a text that Carter received in which Roy wrote that there wasnt anything anyone could do to make me want to live. Defense lawyer says client taken on sad journey Carters defense also held that Roy had the intelligence to know what he was doing when he dragged his girlfriend on what Cataldo described as a sad journey. He said Roy caused his own death by his own thoughts and actions. After a year and a half of Roy saying he wanted to end his life, the constant wearing took a toll on Carter, according to her lawyer, CBS News reported. Roys suicide note was introduced into evidence Tuesday. In that note, he thanked his girlfriend, stating that he appreciated her effort and her kindness toward him. Dr. Peter Breggin, a psychiatrist, also testified at Tuesdays hearing. Breggin asserted that the defendant believed she was helping her boyfriend. He also stated that her actions might have been influenced by the anti-depressant Celexa, which she was taking after switching from Prozac three months prior to Roy ending his life. The psychiatrist testified that Carter thought she was helping Roy get what he wanted. On Monday, Breggin testified that Carter started taking Prozac when she was 14 in 2011 after she became anorexic. After transitioning to Celexa, he said, it can increase the risk of suicide in people younger than age 24. The medication can also lead to panic attacks, agitation, and grandiosity. During Cataldos closing, there were several times that Roys mother and his sister left the court. He rested his case following Breggins testimony. Whether it is a crime to tell someone to commit suicide the judge will determine, as Carter waived her right to a jury trial. If the judge finds her guilty, the case will establish a precedent. Judge Moniz started deliberating Tuesday. After he's reviewed all exhibits and testimony, he said he will tell the clerks office. The following day, his verdict will be announced. Last month when former FBI Director under the Bush and Obama administration was named as special prosecutor to lead a criminal investigation into the Trump administration, the President's surrogate, Newt Gingrich, gave some praise to Mueller's credibility and his reputation. Now, it's been reported that Gingrich is leading the charge to undermine Mueller's investigation. Newt Gingrich wants investigation against Trump scrapped Newt Gingrich called for the Justice Department to scrap the investigation in a video he posted on Facebook right after Comey's testimony. While Gingrich is not recognized as one of Trump's aides in the White House, Gingrich has shown himself to be quite influential in the Trump camp through the media as he is sought out by conservative media to comment on Washington politics. Gingrich has been asked about this by George Stephanopoulos in an interview for ABC News where he said that he changed his mind about Mueller after Comey made what he thought were very arrogant statements. He also said that the investigation was not neutral and that the people Mueller was bringing into his team were all "bad people". Gingrich was not the only one to say this, former White House chief strategist for the Bush administration Karl Rove holds the same views on Mueller. Considering firing Robert Mueller Chris Ruddy who is the CEO of the conservative NewsMax and a close friend to Trump was seen leaving the White House on Monday before he made an appearance on PBS Newshour. In his segment with the program, Ruddy said that Trump was thinking about firing the special prosecutor but Ruddy also said he thought it would be a bad idea. Here is that interview. He also gave justification for the potential firing saying that Comey's hearing showed that there was no reason for there to be a special prosecutor. Trump's personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz made a statement right after the hearing to say that the President felt vindicated that there was no investigation on him personally. Blasting News also reported details of how the administration will be using Kasowitz to fend off Mueller from accessing information he might need for his criminal probe. Response to potential firing It's been reported that the response to Trump's considerations was what the President expected and according to White House officials, he was satisfied. In a recent hearing by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, Rod Rosenstein said that the President could not fire Robert Mueller and that the responsibility would go to him. If he found any reason to get rid of him then he would as long as he was still the Deputy Attorney General. Of course, if this is true, President Trump could fire Rosenstein. If President fired Bob Mueller, Congress would immediately re-establish independent counsel and appoint Bob Mueller. Don't waste our time. Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) June 12, 2017 Blasting News reported on what would appear Rosenstein conceding to giving Mueller more power for his investigation and that Rod might also be a target. Ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Cali.) took to Twitter where he said that if Mueller was fired, Congress would activate him against to continue the investigation. Some on Twitter doubted this saying that Democrats did not have that kind of power, which is likely as this piece determines that Republican commentators want Mueller stopped. For the time being, Trump will not fire Mueller. Washington: For quite a long time, President Trump has been fixated with demonstrating his innocence in connection to the continuous examination concerning Russia's interference in the 2016 election campaign. In addition, Donald Trump, repeatedly asked then-FBI Director James Comey whether he was under scrutiny. Trump told NBC in an interview two days after he dismissed Comey, I'm not talking about campaigns or anything else because I'm not under investigation. In January, Comey had assured Donald Trump, that he was not under investigation. Although, that changed shortly after Comey was terminated from his services! Donald Trump under investigation Regardless, special counsel Bob Mueller will investigate whether Trump blocked justice in the Russia case. Above all, the Washington Post report concurred on Wednesday night, clarified that Dan Coats (Director of National Intelligence), Mike Rogers (National Security Agency Director) and Richard Ledgett (previous NSA chief) are being talked about this week. CNN also confirmed in their news, that Mueller's investigators asked for information on Coats and Rogers. Colossal Change for a few reasons! First, we are less than 6 months into Trump's presidency and this investigation by the former FBI Director is where Trump finds himself. Therefore, it makes it inconceivable for the President and his administration to expel this as a diversion made by the one-sided media. Second, it recommends that the special counsel's examination is already worrying White House. Albeit the investigation is widening out its scope from an endeavor to answer to Russia's hacking and whether it includes any Trump authorities. Investigating whether Trump deterred justice implies, that Mueller is likely to inspect the conditions for Comey's termination. Mueller's contemplation of the obstruction The interviews (with Coats, Rogers, and Ledgett) suggest that Mueller considers the attempted Obstruction Of Justice as more than just a blame game. That is basic given that Comey's sworn declaration with respect to the weight put on him by Trump to leave off an examination concerning Michael Flynn runs counter to Trump's affirmations about their discussions. Trump has demanded straight that he had never asked Comey to moderate or stop the Flynn examination. As a matter of fact, Trump seemed unbowed by the new disclosures. Trump tweeted Thursday morning, They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 In any case, this special counsel investigation has hit the doors of the oval office, where it hasn't gone some time recently. Trump's endeavors to deprecate the examination and move past it has turned out to be more troublesome than expected. Since the inception of his administration, US President Donald Trump has been plagued with controversies. Trump and his aides are accused of having affairs with Russia. The Trump administration is being investigated over its relationship with Moscow prior to the 2016 election. In an interview with NBCs Lester Holt in May, President Trump said he was not under investigation. He made this statement two days after firing Former FBI director James Comey. Trump said Comey was fired for manhandling the Russia Probe. Trump's testimony The President said he asked the former FBI boss if he was being investigated, but Comey said he was not on three occasions. The debate whether President Trump is under investigation has been put to rest since a report by the Washington Post on Wednesday made It clear that three senior intelligence officers are facing special counsel Bob Mueller to respond to questions whether President Trump obstructed justice in the Russia saga. The three officers are Dan Coats National Intelligence Director, Mike Rogers National Security Agency Director and Richard Ledgett former deputy director NSA. A source told reporters that the probes by Mueller seeks information and will ask Rogers and coats. Administration's claims Administration officials alleged that Trump received private assurance from former FBI boss James Comey that he was not being investigated but that changed immediately Comey was fired. The Washington Post reported that Trump was not under investigation personally until Comey was fired on May 9, but he is now being investigated. For that being the case, its practically impossible for President Trump and his aides to disregard this investigation as a distraction or a creation of the biased media. This is the President of the United States under probe for possible obstruction of justice in connection with a criminal investigation about Russian government interference in the US election for the sole aim of defeating his Democratic rival. Future of the Trump administration Considering that the Trump administration is less than 150 days and an investigation by a Special Counsel who is also a former Federal Bureau of Investigation director speak volume for the kind of government that will run the affairs of this nation for a couple of years. Probing whether President Trump obstructed justice simply means that the Muellers panel will also consider the circumstances that led to Comeys firing. Though, this was not among the federal investigation when Comey was still heading the FBI. After "Alaskan Bush People" Season 6 aired its final episode, the waiting game for Season 7 started. While there's a lack of official confirmation from the Discovery Channel that the show is returning for another season, it has been rumored that the docu-series has already started filming. Family members spotted A Twitter user, NayNay (@rittgerscr), shared that some members of the Brown Family are already filming. They have been spotted being flown in and out of Browntown in float planes. The production for "Alaskan Bush People" Season 7 reportedly started on May 8. She also teased that there has been an unexpected turn of events, which has led to the show taking a different path. "Alaskan Bush People" Season 6 left off with Noah thinking about moving his girlfriend Rhain Alicia into Browntown. Rhain Alicia is having a difficult time finding a job in Hoonah, which may force her to return to Oregon. So in the upcoming season, fans will see whether or not Alicia will move in with Noah and join the rest of the Brown family in the wild. Another thing that the next season of "Alaskan Bush People" may feature is the romance between Bam Bam and Kelly Kagan, a TV producer on the show. The two were recently spotted holding hands at a boat show. They were also previously spotted hanging out in a bar in New York. Ami Brown diagnosed with cancer? While patriarch Billy has been having seizures, his wife Ami is now rumored to be suffering from cancer, as reported by Radar Online. Ami is reportedly getting treatment in a facility in Los Angeles. If rumors turn out to be true, this would explain why "Alaskan Bush People" Season 7 could be the series finale. The publication reached out to a spokesperson for the Brown family but failed to receive a comment regarding the cancer rumors. For years, Ami has been suffering from spinal problems. Two years ago, she revealed that she has cervical radiculitis, a form of nerve damage in the spine. The cancer thing is quite a cruel rumor to spread, but fans hope it is not true. Ami's estranged family also shared with Radar Online that they are devastated to hear the news, but Ami refuses to speak with them, according to her brother Les, Branson. Not long ago, "Alaskan Bush People" was being criticized for essentially being fake and/or scripted. Still, there are viewers who want to tune in to catch up with the Brown family, and they will certainly be able to do that, as the show is set to return for at least one more season. The biggest story to dominate the headlines over the last 24 hours has been a report out of the Washington Post that revealed Donald Trump leaked classified information to two high-ranking Russian officials. As expected, the White House has denied any wrongdoing, but that didn't stop the president's critics from speaking out, including comedian Bill Maher. Maher on Trump Regardless of how often he denies the onslaught of allegations against him, Donald Trump can't seem to shake-off the growing scandal that his campaign and administration are tied to Russia. From the start of the 2016 presidential election, the former host of "The Apprentice" has been dealing with his critics accusing him of being in cahoots with the Kremlin. Over the last year and a half, the evidence has continued to pile up, with credible news outlets reporting that Russia hacked into the United States election with the goal of hurting Hillary Clinton and helping the Republican nominee. Trump's refusal to release his tax returns has caused Democrats and other liberals to raise questions, while several past and current advisers have been caught communicating with the Kremlin. On Monday, the Washington Post reported that during his recent meeting in the Oval Office with Segey Kislyak, the ambassador of Russia, and Sergey Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, Trump shared what was described as "highly classified" information. In response, the president's biggest critics have unloaded on the White House, with Bill Maher doubling down during a May 15 Twitter post. I remember how they attacked Obama because in the OVAL OFFICE he took off his suit jacket! Yeah, gotta watch what you do in there. Assholes. Bill Maher (@billmaher) May 16, 2017 Taking to his official Twitter account to continue his backlash against Donald Trump, Bill Maher did his best to mock the commander in chief, using humor and irony in the process. "I remember how they attacked Obama because in the OVAL OFFICE he took off his suit jacket!" Maher tweeted out in reference to previous Trump and Republican outrage over the former president removing his suit jacket in the Oval Office. "Yeah, gotta watch what you do in there," Maher sarcastically tweeted, before labeling the president and the GOP "A**holes." Analysis: Trump sharing highly classified information with Russia shows his extreme hubris https://t.co/USjksCKgNl Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 15, 2017 Trump denial While Donald Trump has not personally commented on the Washington Post report, he did send out his national security adviser H.R. McMaster in an attempt to clear the air. McMaster appeared to follow the current position of the administration, keeping his message short and to the point by denying the report in question. Reporter: White House is playing word games with denial of Trump's classified intel reve https://t.co/MzNBmY0f0Z pic.twitter.com/kD27af4M5x Business Insider (@businessinsider) May 16, 2017 Moving forward Doubling down on the Washington Post story was CBS News who cited a former intelligence official that claimed "something inappropriate" was discussed in the aforementioned meeting between Donald Trump and the representatives from Russia. The CBS News report also noted that a "key intelligence source" who has been used in fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) could be at risk due to the alleged leak of information. NEW: Pres. Trump revealed "highly classified" intelligence to Russians at White House, Washington Post reports https://t.co/cFjL2sMHYU pic.twitter.com/G44twobpG4 CBS News (@CBSNews) May 15, 2017 As of press time, no other information has been released by the White House, but it's expected that the commander in chief will address the issue as soon as possible, possibly during a remark on Twitter which has become Donald Trump's number one form of communication over the last two years. "The Real Housewives of Orange County" season 12 will premiere this summer and some spoilers for the show are slowly making their way online. One cast member will "surprise" fans and loyalties will change, according to Bravo's Andy Cohen. In season 11, there was certainly a theme of "them against us" from start to finish. Some of that continues with different faces, and one woman is possibly switching sides. Who surprises viewers in season 12? Andy Cohen tells Daily Dish that there will be "alliances shifting" in season 12 of "RHOC." He reveals that viewers will be "surprised" by Kelly Dodd in the new season as well. As fans recall, Kelly was team Vicki last season and spewed venom at Shannon Beador, Tamra Judge, and Heather Dubrow (who's not returning to "The Real Housewives of orange county"). Cohen adds that "some old housewives" are returning to "RHOC" when the show broadcasts again, which will make it even more interesting. Forged alliances will take on a whole new dynamic. Meghan King Edmonds never really took any sides last season of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" with the exception of turning her back on Vicki after the dune buggy accident. Meghan wasn't interested in visiting Vicki in the hospital because she reasoned they weren't close enough to warrant going out of her way. She was forgiven a few weeks later after declaring she had no idea how serious the accident really was for her. Other than that, Meghan was a good friend to Kelly but was objective in her viewpoints. She wasn't afraid to tell Kelly where she went wrong with the other cast members. The other women had nothing against Meghan at all. In fact, they felt sorry for her putting up with Kelly's crazy antics. Alliance rumors According to prior spoilers on "RHOC" season 12, one of the returning cast members will be Lydia McLaughlin while newcomer, Peggy Sulahian, is expected to appear. Lydia is rumored to play an ally of Vicki's but will be really close to Tamra. In other words, deceit and more dishonesty is on the horizon for the upcoming season of the show. It sounds like Tamra will be doing her best to get back at Vicki after last season. These two girls just can't get along! Kind of hard to do when they're willing to play dirty most of the time. A premiere date for "The Real Housewives of Orange County" hasn't been revealed yet, but should be announced later this month or in June. Are you looking forward to seeing what season 12 brings? There will be no shortage of drama and feuds to keep viewers tuned in! Megyn Kelly, who famously jumped from Fox News to NBC a few months ago, is already making news and causing controversy with her new Sunday Night magazine show. Due to an upcoming interview with radio talk show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. J.P, Morgan Chase has pulled its ads from the segment, scheduled to air next Sunday. Social media is ablaze with outrage. Who is Alex Jones and why is he so controversial? Jones has expressed the belief that a number of high-profile tragedies have secretly involved the federal government. He has suggested that the government was behind the Oklahoma City Bombing and the 9/11 attacks. He has said that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was staged. He believes that the Apollo moon landings were faked. The Sandy Hook conspiracy theory, which Jones has claimed was concocted to justify gun control elicited particular outrage from parents of the young children who died at the hands of a madman. Jones has started to backtrack to a certain extent, now admitting that the massacre happened, that the children likely died but suggesting that there are anomalies. Parents of the dead children have been understandably incandescent in their outrage at Jones. Major sponsor pulls ads J.P. Morgan Chase has pulled ads from the segment, according to the Washington Examiner. A social media campaign has started with the hashtag #shameonNBC demanding that the interview segment is pulled. Many people question the newsworthiness of giving a man of Jones dubious sanity a nationwide public platform to air his peculiar views. Many have called for the segment to be pulled and the interview not to be aired NBC and Megyn Kelly respond The network and Kelly have responded and noted that Jones has come into some praise from President Donald Trump for the talk show hosts support during the 2016 campaign. Jones describes himself as a libertarian and a paleoconservative and has been called by others alt-right and far right. It should be noted that Jones is behind an effort to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz, presumably for his insufficient loyalty to President Trump. Kelly and NBC, in a way, find themselves in a splendid position, having garnered a great deal of free publicity for the interview. As long as no other advertisers pull out, they can air the segment secure in the knowledge that it will get great ratings. How the interview will be received will largely depend on Kellys questioning. Jones, already sensing that he is not going to come off well, has started to complain that NBC is going to misrepresent his views through careful editing. Allison Tietjens life changed on Saturday as she was presented as Miss Nebraska 2017. She will travel Nebraska over the next year to help promote programs for veterans and military families unless she is crowned Miss America in September. The national crown would increase her activities to include a national audience, and she would also serve as goodwill ambassador for Childrens Network of Hospitals. Tietjen, 21, is a student at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Prizes and scholarships With her state pageant victory comes about $13,000 in scholarships and about an equal amount in gifts, wardrobe and a variety of other prizes. In addition to the final night of pageantry, Tietjen excelled in preliminary competitions earlier in the week. She was a top scorer in talent, evening gown and interview categories during early competition. Other top scorers Among others finishing well at the pageant were Wellesley Michael, first runner-up; Jessica Shultis, second runner-up; Lianna Prill, third runner-up; and Kogan Murphy, fourth runner-up. Pageant officials announced that $40,000 in scholarships and $25,000 in gifts were awarded to contestants in a variety of categories during the event. The competition was held at North Platte. Miss America 2018 This years Miss America pageant is set for September 6-10 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The first three nights will feature preliminary competitions. September 9 is set aside for participation in the annual Show Us Your Shoes parade. A new Miss America will be crowned after a final night of pageantry on September 10. The pageant will be broadcast live on the ABC television network. If Tietjen wins, she will become the second Nebraskan to reign as Miss America. The first was Miss America 2010 Teresa Scanlan. Teen pageant The Miss Nebraska Scholarship Program also sponsors a teen pageant for girls ages 12-17 years. Carsyn Long is Miss Nebraskas Outstanding Teen 2017. She travels to Florida later this summer to compete in the Miss Americas Outstanding Teen pageant. Contestants compete for scholarships and prizes in many of the same categories the older contestants do, one exception being there is no swimsuit competition for the teens. The teen state pageant was held in April at Omaha. If Carsyn wins the national title, she will become the first contestant from Nebraska to reign as Miss America's Outstanding Teen. Mainland says 'independence' factions jeopardizing region's stability, prosperity A spokesman for the Chinese mainland expressed strong opposition on Wednesday to what he said was an attempt by separatists to disturb Hong Kong Speical Administrative Region's stability and prosperity. "We resolutely oppose the collusion between the forces of 'Taiwan independence' and 'Hong Kong independence', as they disturb the implementation of the 'one country, two systems' principle in Hong Kong and jeopardize Hong Kong's prosperity and stability," said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, at a biweekly news briefing. "This conspiracy runs counter to the common aspirations of the people. It will never succeed." According to media reports, some members of Taiwan's "legislative yuan" formed an alliance on Monday purportedly to support "calls for democracy" in Hong Kong. Ma also criticized Taiwan's current Democratic Progressive Party administration for having increasingly stymied cross-Straits communication and cooperation. In response to concerns that the activities of mainland personnel who are in Taiwan for exchanges were being strictly scrutinized and managed by the DPP administration, Ma said the mainland encouraged and supported cross-Straits people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in various fields. "Since May 20 last year, the DPP administration has undermined the political foundation for the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and impeded exchanges and cooperation between compatriots," Ma said. At the briefing, Ma announced that China's top political adviser, Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, will take part in the weeklong 9th Straits Forum, starting on June 17 in Fujian province. Hung Hsiu-chu, chairwoman of the Taiwan-based Kuomintang party, will also attend the event. "This year marks the 30th anniversary since the two sides broke their isolation and started people-to-people exchanges across the Straits," Ma said, adding that "cross-Straits economic and social integration have become the direction for further cooperation". According to Ma, more than 8,000 delegates from Taiwan will take part in the forum. Hung announced on Wednesday that she would resign from all posts in the Kuomintang party at the end of this month. The party's new chairman, Wu Den-yih, was elected on May 20. Xinhua contributed to this story. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 People participate in a lobster feast in Xiangyang, Hubei province, April 22, 2017. [Photo/VCG] Chinese consumers' appetite for lobsters has given a strong boost to the industry. According to a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Chinese consumed 879,300 tons of lobsters in 2016, an increase of 32.47 percent from 2014. The country's lobster farming area exceeded 9 million mu (600,000 hectares) in 2016. The output of lobsters rose 30.36 percent from 2014 to 899,100 tons in 2016, making China the largest producer of lobsters in the world. Lobsters generated 146.61 billion yuan ($22 billion) of aggregate economic value and created nearly 5 million jobs in 2016. Value created in the primary industry, mainly in aquaculture, came to 56.41 billion yuan; that in the secondary industry, represented by processing, arrived at 10.2 billion yuan; and that in services, amounted to 80 billion yuan. China's lobster exports declined since 2015 as a result of increasing domestic demand and technical trade barriers. In 2016, China exported 23,300 tons of lobsters, down 6,400 tons or 21.48 percent from 2014. The United States and Europe are the major export market for Chinese lobsters. Exports to the US came to $100 million in 2016, accounting for 40 percent of the total. About 90 percent of the lobsters on the European market came from China. LONDON - Fire engulfed a 24-storey blockof flats in central London on Wednesday, killing at least 12, injuring 50 more and trapping some residents asleep inside the towering inferno. Flames licked up the sides of the block in the north Kensington area as 200 firefighters, backed up by 40 fireengines, fought the blaze for hours. Plumes of black and grey smoke billowed high into the air over the British capital hours after the blaze broke out at the Grenfell Tower where several hundred people live. Residents rushed to escape through smoke-filled corridors in the housing block after being woken up by the smell of burning. Some said no fire alarm sounded. Witnesses said they saw trapped residents desperately shouting for help from windows on upper floors as flames enveloped the building. London Fire Brigade said the fire engulfed all floors from the second to the top of the block which contained 130 apartments. "In my 29 years of being a fire fighter, I have never ever seen anything of this scale," London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton told reporters "I am very sad to confirm that there have been a number of fatalities, I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building." MORE THAN 50 TAKEN TO HOSPITAL London Ambulance Service said more than 50 people had beentaken to hospital. A witness told Reuters she feared not all the residents had escaped the fire. Some were evacuated in their pyjamas. "I looked through the spy hole and I could see smoke everywhere and the neighbours are all there. There's a fire man shouting 'get down the stairs'," one of the block's residents, Michael Paramasivan, told BBC radio. "It was an inferno." "As we went past the fourth floor it was completely thick black smoke. As we've gone outside I'm looking up at the block and it was just going up. It was like pyrotechnics. It was just unbelievable how quick it was burning." The cause of the fire, which broke out just before 1 am (0000 GMT), was not known, the Fire Brigade said. Residents said repairs had been made recently to the exterior of the block. Ash Sha, 30, who witnessed the fire and has an aunt in the building who managed to escape from the second floor, said the local council had renovated the tower. "One year ago the council renovated the building both externally and internally," Sha said. "They cladded the outside and insulated the inside. The insulated material is very similar to sponge so it crumbles in your hand. This was just done to tart it up and match the nearby building." The local council of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns the block, said its focus was on supporting the rescue and relief operation. It said the causes of the fire would be fully investigated. More than 20 ambulance crews were at the scene. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said a "major incident" had been declared. Police closed the A40, a major road leading out of west London, whilesome parts of London's underground train network were closed asa precaution. "There was bits of building falling off all around me, scalded my shin on a hot piece of metal that had fallen off the building," said Jodie Martin, who lives close to the building and sought to save people from the fire. "I was just screaming at people: 'Get out, get out' and they were screaming back at me: 'We can't, the corridors are full of smoke'," he told BBC Radio. Reuters Tung Chee-hwa, former chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that while trade and business ties between China and the US are important, the "overall relationship should not be anchored on the economic relationship alone", adding that taking advantage of every opportunity to collaborate will move the relationship forward. The two countries were able to come together to prevent an even bigger global financial meltdown from taking place during the 2008 financial crisis, collaborate on medical science in Africa during the Ebola crisis in 2014, and are currently working together to ensure a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, Tung said on Wednesday at the Asia Society during a high-level dialogue on the Belt and Road Initiative. "Today, the fact is that the world is faced with many other challenges that need urgent attention," he said, adding that "no single country can address [all of the] challenges alone". "A multilateral approach will be necessary, and the involvement of the big powers is crucial," he said. "But initiatives agreed to between the US and China from the very beginning can help the eventual success of our common efforts. I believe that contributing to the global common good is a noble and good cause for the two countries to take on." Tung was Hong Kong's first chief executive after the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China in 1997. He served until 2005 and is currently vice-chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The Belt and Road Initiative Dialogue held at the Asia Society, jointly organized by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and the Asia Society Policy Institute,comes a month after a Belt and Road Initiative forum was held in Beijing to discuss next steps for the $1 trillion project. Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to the US, said that the Belt and Road project was a manifestation of China's preference for connectivity over separation. "This connectivity is not only about linking our infrastructure, roads, and bridges together, but also about policy, trade, financial flows, and people-to-people exchanges," he said. "This connectivity will make it possible for us to build stronger bonds among nations, and really join hands to respond to the growing global challenges that transcend national boundaries," added Cui. Though the project has a certain geographical scope, it is open to all who want to participate and invest and China would be open to increased participation by the US, he said. "Let's make it another joint venture between us," he said. China and the US have economies that are so interdependent that there is no option for trade wars or zero-sum games, and healthy competition should be fostered, he said. "If China and the US can confront their common challenges, they will open a new page in history." "There are signs of steps in the right direction," the ambassador said. "Just two months ago, President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump had their first meeting in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. It was a very successful and productive summit - maybe more successful than most people would expect. It set the tone and direction for our relations to go forward." Referring to the 100-day plan initiated between the two sides at the meeting, Cui said that there have already been some "early harvests" and more new plans are in the pipeline. "I am quite confident that when the two sides officially meet at the end of these 100 days, there will be new plans for one year, two years, and the years to come," he told the audience. amyhe@chinadailyusa.com The Belt and Road Initiative should be regarded as a new driving force in economic globalization, according to Zhao Qizheng, former minister of China's State Council Information Office. Zhao said the initiative expresses China's interest in economic globalization. "China is willing to share its economic power and experience with particularly underdeveloped areas and developing countries to further promote globalization," he said at a press conference on the initiative at the Asia Society in New York on Wednesday. Even though it was proposed by China, the initiative is by no means China's monodrama. "We look forward to participation from as many countries - including developed countries - as possible to provide financial support for the initiative," said Zhao. Wei Jianguo, vice-chairman of the board of the China Center for International Economic Exchange, said that to support BRI, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was formed with capital of $100 billion. "We also founded the Silk Road Fund, to which we pledged $40 billion," he added. At the recently concluded Belt and Road Forum, President Xi Jinping pledged a major funding boost to the new Silk Road, including an extra 100 billion yuan ($14.50 billion) into the existing Silk Road Fund, 380 billion yuan in loans from two policy banks (China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China) and 60 billion yuan in aid to developing countries and international bodies in countries along the new trade routes. The cost of building the infrastructure that developing countries in Asia will need in order to maintain the economic growth that will lift people out of poverty in the next decade is estimated at $8 trillion. "There is still a big gap," said Wei. "The AIIB and the Silk Road Fund could take the lead in promoting the financing particularly coming from three sources, which are private capital and social capital international consortium; and thirdly, we hope that the countries where these projects are happening would also be able to manage some financial support," said Wei. Zhao Jinping, director of research in foreign economic relations at the State Council clarified that the AIIB is a multilateral financial institution participated in by many countries, with an aim to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region. As a regional investment bank, it follows the international economic rules of financing operations. Founded in 2016, after one-year operation, the AIIB has already produced solid results. "In the first year of its existence, AIIB has provided $1.73 billion in financing to nine projects in seven developing countries in Asia, which has actually driven $14.5 billion investment in total," said Zhao. Other than capital raised from financing, investment for BRI could be raised from other sources like enterprises, "since the development of BRI is market-based, and the ultimate driving force for the market is enterprises," Zhao explained. "We can only say the BRI is making progress when we see enterprises from many countries becoming actively involved in the process," Zhao added. As of September 2016, three years after the BRI was first proposed, Chinese enterprises have established 56 economic cooperation zones in 20 countries along the route, 1,022 Chinese enterprises have entered the zones, generating $1.1 billion in local tax revenue and creating 180,000 jobs. xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com NEW YORK - One can hardly tell what a New York high-rise building has to do with Fosun, one of China's largest private companies, until arriving at the 40-floor skyscraper on 28 Liberty Street in downtown Manhattan's Financial District. The Chinese investment company bought the office building, formerly named One Chase Manhattan Plaza, from JPMorgan in October 2013 for $725 million. However, the renovation of the plaza helped Chinese investors understand better the ways of doing business in the US. "There is actually a story about it," said Kate Zhao, director of the marketing & corporate communications of the Fosun Group. "It is a landmark building, and we need to meet the requirements set out by US authorities in its renaming and renovation," said Zhao. "Any changes to the facade of the building are prohibited, and many local families who have lived here for generations do not like too many changes either," she told Xinhua. The acquisition of the skyscraper demonstrates the fact that following rules is a must for foreign investors. "In the United States, you have to understand and respect the rules and play by the rules," Zhao said. "Playing by the rules" is one of the major factors that have attracted Chinese companies to increase their investment here. Others include robust economic outlook, the large consumer end market and large base of technology and brand assets. Fosun has made a total investment of $3 billion in the United States since 2012, supporting about 8,000 local jobs. A new report jointly released by the Rhodium Group and the National Committee on US-China Relations (NCUSCR) shows Chinese companies invested a record $46 billion in the United States in 2016, a tenfold increase compared to just five years ago. As Chinese companies expand rapidly in the United States, long-term challenges and concerns remain for Chinese investors even though they are getting more and more adapted to the American ways of doing business. The US trade protectionism, the rising labor costs, biases, and the lack of transparency of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) review process continued to pose threats to Chinese investment, said the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA (CGCC) in its 2016 annual Survey Report on Chinese Enterprises in the United States. According to the survey, Chinese companies are facing a common challenge - the complex and unfamiliar US legal system that often leads to expensive legal, tax, and compliance costs. In addition, new challenges have emerged such as the conflicts of laws between the two countries, the complex intellectual property rights system, and the high cost of exceeding compliance management, the survey said. The US legal and regulatory system involves many different players at the federal and state levels, and this complexity makes the country's regulatory environment harder for Chinese companies to navigate. "In 2014, we received only two supervisory inspections, but in 2016 we received eight, and in the first half of this year, the number already exceeded eight," said Xu Chen, Chairman of the CGCC, and also President & CEO of Bank of China USA, in a recent interview with Xinhua. "We know they are important, but if we do everything we can to deal with these inspections, do we have extra energy to do our businesses, and to support Chinese enterprises to invest in the United States?" Xu questioned. Xu told Xinhua that both US and foreign enterprises have been calling for deregulation during last two years. "Regulation is endless. There are businesses, there are risks. You have to find a balance between development and risk control. Overregulation will take a heavy toll on market efficiency and undermine the competitiveness of the U.S. investment market," Xu elaborated. The Rhodium Group also warned that Chinese investors would face greater uncertainty and political risk in the United States. One of the themes of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign was the need for enhanced national security; therefore, it is highly likely that CFIUS reviews will become more stringent under the new administration. Pin Ni, President of Wanxiang America Corporation, the Chicago-based arm of China's Wanxiang Group Company, called for a more transparent CFIUS review of merger and acquisition deals between American and Chinese enterprises. Wanxiang's acquisition of A123, a bankrupt electric car battery maker with US federal backing, is seen as a major success story of Chinese investment in America, with Wanxiang turning the company around to profitability and increasing manufacturing capacity. Yet the path to close the deal was rocky because a CFIUS review was called after some lawmakers expressed concerns about taxpayer-funded technology being acquired by a foreign purchaser. "It is right for any government to monitor foreign investors to ensure national security," Ni said, "However, the CFIUS review should be done through professional assessment without being politicized. Otherwise it would seriously undermine the confidence of foreign investors," Ni told Xinhua recently. Lu Guanqiu, Chairman and Founder of Wanxiang Group Corporation, once said to former US president Barack Obama "we want to take the United States as our own home, and we also want to be treated as a family." "For any company that wants to invest in a foreign country, the issue is not about money, instead it is about whether they feel comfortable," Ni said. Daniel Rosen, Founding Partner of the Rhodium Group, believes China's investment in America will continue to grow. "Those (capital) flows can happen without us having to make a sacrifice of national security. We don't have to make it, neither do you... The national security issues can be managed if there is political wisdom on both sides," he said. Xu Jing in Chicago contributed to this story by Xinhua Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. HA NOI National carrier Vietnam Airlines said it had achieved the business target set by its shareholder last year. However, the carrier said that with the budget carriers continuously expanding their operations on both international and national routes, the competition had intensified. In the domestic market, the firm supply was up 32 per cent in 2016 compared with 2015, but the purchasing power increased only 14 per cent, bringing down the average revenue of all airlines by 12 per cent. Meanwhile, the budget airlines expanded their operation to other regions, including Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, marking a 14 per cent rise in the market share from 8 per cent in 2015. Vietnam Airlines said the overload at airports, especially at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City, had resulted in an increase of 1,392 flying hours, incurring an additional cost of VN188 billion to the airline. The firm predicted high growth in the aviation market this year with 23.6 million international visitors and 31.6 million domestic visitors, a 14.7 per cent and 12.1 per cent increase, respectively, when compared with last year. However, Vietnam Airlines said there would be a lot of challenges, especially in the plan of repairing Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat international airports, which may reduce their capacity to 70 per cent. Noi Bai Airport will reduce from 35 flights per hour to 22-24 flights; meanwhile Tan Son Nhat Airport will scale down from 40- 42 flights per hour to 28-30 flights. Therefore, airlines will have to restrict 15 per cent of the total flights arriving and landing in the airport in the day. According to the business report of Vietnam Airlines, the corporation operated 138,764 flights last year, up 6.4 per cent compared with the target for the year. The 2016 aviation markets growth rate was 25.7 per cent higher than that of 2015, in which international market increased by 17 per cent, while the domestic market rose 33 per cent. VNS HA NOI Over the last ten days, pepper prices have fallen from an already low VN82,000 (US$3.65) to VN72,000 ($3.21) per kilogramme, but Central Highlands pepper farmers continue to hold out for higher prices. According to the Viet Nam Pepper Association (VPA), domestic pepper price started to decline back in 2016 when pepper farms over-expanded due to farmers anticipation. Pepper importing countries have receded their pepper demands to create further downward pressure on price. In 2015 to 2016, pepper price in the Central Highlands reached a record high of VN230,000 ($10.2) per kilogramme, making farmers increase the size of their farms despite warnings from local authorities. Le Nguyen, a pepper farmer in Thanh Binh rural commune, ong Nai Province, said that his two hectare pepper farm yielded 5.5 tonnes of dried pepper in March this year, but instead of selling immediately, he decided to wait for higher price than the VN117,000 ($5.22) per kilogramme back then. As such, after three months, the severe drop after drop in pepper prices trouble him greatly. If I sell now, best I can do is break even, said Nguyen. Le Van, another farmer from the same commune, said that in addition to the three tonnes of pepper that he harvested from his own farm, he had purchased an additional two tonnes at VN110,000 ($4.9) per kilogramme. By his own calculation, the current price will bring him a loss of nearly VN90 million ($4,016) on the other additional tonnes alone. Vo Van Thanh, a rural commune farmer in ong Nai Province, said that he will continue to refrain from selling no matter what, as the price is already too low to make a profit. He had already sold five tonnes at the beginning of March this year at VN120,000 ($5.35) per kilogramme, and still has two tonnes in storage. In general, farmers still have faith that the pepper price will rise, in spite of the current lowest price in six years. Many farmers report that they will continue to stock up on pepper instead of selling to make even. The VPA advised farmers to remain calm and refrain from mass sales that would drag prices down. They also advised farmers to sell immediately when prices show signs of recovery instead of waiting for the VN200,000 ($8.9) per kilogramme mark they had hoped for. Huynh Thanh Vinh, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Developement Department of ong Nai Province, said that his department has persuaded farmers to reduce pepper farming areas and connected directly to manufacturers, bypassing middlemen. Nguyen Huu Phuoc, Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Committee in Hung Loc Commune, Nghe An Province, said that in his locality, while only several merchants are losing big due to wrong predictions of rising pepper price when it was still at a high from VN110,000 to VN130,000 back ($4.9 to $5.8) per kilogramme in March 2017, most farmers refuse to sell as they wait for the price to rebound. At this point they are neither making a profit nor a loss. According to the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development, Viet Nam exported about 75,000 tonnes of pepper worth $456 million in the first four months of 2017. The national total output is about 150,000ha, set to produce about 300,000 tonnes of pepper in the next two to three years. VNS HCM CITY The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industrys HCM City branch and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) yesterday began a two-year programme for improving the quality of vocational training in aquaculture. Bui Thi Ninh, head of the bureau for employers activities at the VCCI HCM, said the programme aims to link enterprises and vocational training schools, and reinforce enterprises collaboration with training schools to create a skilled workforce that is able to meet the requirements of employers in the aquaculture industry. It also seeks to expand awareness of career opportunities in the field among parents and high school students, she said. It will be piloted in ong Thap and Khanh Hoa provinces. Speaking at the launch in HCM City yesterday, Vo Tan Thanh, director of the VCCI HCM, said fisheries is one of the countrys key economic sectors, with aquaculture and fishing output exceeding 6.7 million tonnes last year and export earnings reaching US$7 billion. The industry employs around nine million people directly and indirectly, but more than 60 per cent are unskilled, he said. Tore Myhre, director of NHOs International Department, said investing in skills development, especially vocational training, is important to improve the productivity and profitability of enterprises. Aquaculture is a sector that is growing in importance for both countries, he said. NHO and VCCI, together with Vietnamese and Norwegian industry players, have identified a need for more skilled and productive operators in their value chain from production to processing, he said. The current availability of vocational training for the aquaculture industry is limited despite an increase in demand for human resources. The aquaculture industry is also becoming more technically advanced, which increases the demand for skilled workers. Working in aquaculture is by many perceived as a low-status job often associated with heavy manual labour. The industry is however in rapid development, and needs to attract motivated and skilled young professionals. For this to happen, one needs to increase knowledge among parents and young students about what it means to work on a modern fish farm. The project would address this through various career guidance initiatives, he said. Thanh said since 2010 the VCCI HCM, with technical support from NHO, has co-operated with the ong Nai College of High Technologyand companies in ong Nai Province to pilot a training programme in mechanical engineering and hospitality. Ninety seven per cent of students from this training programme have got jobs after graduating, with their training quality deeply appreciated by employers, he said. Following its success, NHO and the VCCI HCM have expanded their co-operation to the aquaculture sector, he added. VNS HA NOI The national carrier Vietnam Airlines signed an agreement with the Ministry of Public Securitys Department of Cyber Security to ensure the security of its information system on Tuesday. Under the agreement, the two sides will check and evaluate the carriers security, build measures to discover and prevent cyber attacks and hold training courses. Speaking at the signing ceremony, head of Cyber Security Department Hoang Phuoc Thuan said cyber security in the world and the region had become more complex, especially in key information infrastructures of countries such as the aviation sector, which uses a lot of information technology. CEO of Vietnam Airlines Duong Tri Thanh said he expected the co-operation with the Cyber Security Department to help the carrier enhance its operations, cyber security and safety, gaining trust from customers. On July 29, 2016, the official website of Vietnam Airlines, vietnamairlines.com, was hacked by the 1937CN group. The website was fixed after several hours but the airlines customer database was stolen and published online, according to a press release from Vietnam Airlines. On the same day, cyberspace attacks also occurred at Viet Nams two biggest airports Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City and Noi Bai Airport in Ha Noi. The hackers claimed to be part of the Chinese 1937CN group, one of the biggest hacker groups in the country. The group also hacked Vietnamese and Filipino websites in 2013 and 2015, respectively. VNS HA NOI A draft decree on auto manufacturing, assembling, importing, and maintenance and warranty business recently publicised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is concerning industry insiders. The decree, developed by the MoIT and the Ministry of Transport with other agencies and offices says that enterprises engaged in automotive manufacturing, assembling and importing must be responsible for recalling and disposing of defective vehicles. However, no specific sanctions for violations are mentioned. The statement was made by lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, Chairman of the Viet Nam Lawyers Commercial Arbitration Center (VLCAC) and also Vice Chairman of the HCM City Lawyers Association, at a meeting to discuss the draft decree in HCM City on June 13. The question is how exactly will businesses compensate consumers and how do we ensure that they will recall defective vehicles?" Hau told Nguoi Lao ong (The Labourer) newspaper, adding that the draft decree should include sanctions for violations and serve as a legal basis for state agencies to manage automotive manufacturing, assembling, and importing enterprises. Regarding recalls of defective vehicles, the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) suggested the drafting agency reconsider the responsibility of vehicle recalls. The decrees article 21 stops importers from demanding accountability from manufacturers over the recall of defective units, the draft dictates that car importers are responsible for providing warranty and maintenance services and recalling the products. But according to the VCCI, recalls should be executed by manufacturers, both domestic and foreign, through authorised agencies. No commercial importers should be allowed to initiate recalls. Technical failures arise during the design, manufacture and assembly processes, all of which are conducted by manufacturers, not distributors, the VCCI said, therefore, in all cases, only the manufacturer possesses precise knowledge of systematic errors in the design and production process. Diagnosing defects related to details, parts, and components and how to fix them can only be carried out by the manufacturer, with their equipment and technical knowledge, it added. In fact, in some cases, the two sides could negotiate with each other so that the distributors can help manufacturers initiate product recalls. However, such companies often merely acted as an intermediary in recalls, VCCI said. Concerning imported completely-built units (CBUs), if foreign manufactures fail to fulfil their obligation to recall vehicles, Viet Nam can issue an import ban on products provided by that supplier, the VCCI said. A flood of low-price cars At the meeting, Tran inh Thu, a lawyer from the Legal Consulting Center under the HCM City Lawyers Association, warned about auto redundancy as the draft loosened restrictions on the import of CBUs. Article 21 of the Draft stipulates that importers file a written commitment with the MoIT in fulfilling their responsibilities in the warranty, maintenance, recall, and recalls of imported cars, which was not tough enough, Thu said. With importing cars are easy, people will flock to buy cheap cars to run businesses, pressuring the market, Thu said. In addition, there is a risk that defective vehicles with poor quality will flood easy markets, with manufacturers not required to recall defective vehicles, Thu said. Although the decree stipulates that importers must "commit to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to recall defective vehicles" this makes recalls impossible, Thu said, adding that the importers, who just trade the vehicles, are not capable of dealing with technical problems. Since there are no specific sanctions for those who cant fulfil their warranty and maintenance commitments, they will likely to ignore problems of consumers and open another company to continuing importing cars, Thu said. Cars imported from Thailand, Indonesia increase sharply According to the General Department of Customs, in May, imports of automobiles of all types hit 9,900 units valued at US$216 million, up 42.7 per cent in volume and 27.3 per cent in value compared with the previous month. In the first five months of the year, Viet Nam imported 43,300 automobiles of all types, up 5.3 per cent in volume and down 10.1 per cent in value over the same period last year. Thailand supplied the most CBUs to Viet Nam up to June with 15,900 units worth $288 million, up 27.2 per cent in volume and 27.4 per cent in value. Vehicles from Indonesia reached 8,700 units, up sharply against 2016. Regarding cars under nine seats, Indonesia became the largest supplier for Viet Nam with 7,200 units in the first five months, soaring from last years figure of 100 units in the same period, surpassing Thailand, India and South Korea. VNS Minister of Investment and Planning (MIP) Nguyen Chi Dung yesterday began answering questions on mobilisation of capital resources from society for development investment and on investment plans with State capital. VNA/VNS Photo Phuong Hoa HA NOI Minister of Investment and Planning (MIP) Nguyen Chi Dung yesterday began answering questions on mobilisation of capital resources from society for development investment and on investment plans with State capital. The questions also focused on strengthening the management of capital resources to avoid waste in public investment and the responsibilities of ministries and agencies in key national investment projects. About 50 deputies registered to question the minister. Deputies Pham inh Cuc from the southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, Tran Hoang Ngan from HCM City, Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy from the central city of a Nang, Ta Van Ha from southern province of Bac Lieu, Tran inh Gia from the central Ha Tinh Province and Bui Van Tung from the northern city of Hai Phong questioned about various issues including the implementation of public investment projects, agricultural projects with foreign direct investment (FDI) and the allocation of official development assistance (ODA) funds. They asked the MIP minister to explain the causes, responsibility and handling of public investment projects which disbursing capital slowly and without concentrated investment scale. Among the questions were how to improve the quality of FDI projects, how to attract FDI into high-tech agriculture, the responsibilities of ministries and ministers for key national projects, how to handle debt occurred in the process of building new countryside areas, solutions to overcome obstacles in the implementation of the Public Investment Law and solutions for problems in ODA disbursement. Explaining some public investment projects which the deputies said were implemented slowly and ineffectively after more than two years since passing the Public Investment Law, Dung said despite the law helping create a legal framework for the preparation, distribution, allocation and implementation of public investment projects, the implementation of the law was not effective due to unclear and inconsistent guiding documents. As the law was new, it needed to be improved. Dung said some projects were suffering from low funding disbursement including in localities where demands for investment capital were too large while the State budget was limited so they need careful consideration from the Government. The minister admitted there was a lack of collaboration between ministries, agencies and localities in handling capital issues especially in reviewing and finalising plans for projects. This has led to some problems of time and accuracy in completing the project causing stagnation for the whole process, said Dung.VNS HA NOI PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), a subsidiary of state-owned energy giant PetroVietnam, will sell 49 per cent of its stake later this year, with priority given to strategic investors. The corporation is going ahead with the equitisation process, and its initial public offering (IPO) is planned for October, Ho Cong Ky, chairman of PV Powers management board, said at a press conference on Wednesday while speaking about the companys performance. Equitisation is expected to be difficult in 2017 and 2018 as the three large oil and gas corporations will open IPOs this year. The volume of PV Power shares offered to the public will account for only four to five per cent of its capital; the rest will be sold to long-term strategic investors. PV Powers general director Nguyen Xuan Hoa said 100 businesses have shown interest in acquiring the companys stakes, and the corporation is considering 10 large investors from Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, the Middle East and the European Union. PV Power, a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroVietnam established in 2007, is the second largest power producer in Viet Nam after the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). It produces and sells electricity as well as repairs and maintains power plants. It also provides equipment and spare parts, sells coal to power plants and develops power projects. The company has a chartered capital of VN21.7 trillion (US$960 million). Currently, it is operating eight power plants, including four gas-fired power plants, three hydropower plants and one coal-fired thermal plant with a total designed capacity of 4,208MW. In 2016, PV Power contributed 21 billion kWh to the national grid. The company plans to invest in nine gas-fired power projects and four coal-fired thermal projects with a total capacity of 10,000MW in the future. VNS Minister of Health, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien at a Q&A session yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo An ang HA NOI Measures to improve medical check-ups and treatment, along with State management of drug prices and provisions at medical facilities and investment in grassroots healthcare to reduce overloading at central hospitals were among issues addressed by Minister of Health, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien at a Q&A session yesterday. Answering a question from Nguyen Phi Thuong, deputy from Ha Noi and other deputies about the abuse of health insurance, the minister said the ministrys inspectors found the abuse occurred in many localities, involving both health care facilities and insured people. She blamed the problem on the increase of healthcare services and said many people have taken advantage of a new regulation which allows insurance card holders to use any clinic or hospital without a hospital transfer from grassroots-level clinics as previously. Some people visited health facilities for examinations between 20 and 30 times in a short period of time, Tien said. According to the minister, since implementing a government decree giving financial control to hospitals and clinics, card holders have benefited from better check-up services and treatment. However, hospitals have used techniques in diagnosis and treatment to intentionally prolong treatment to cash in on services. To deal with the situation, she said, the ministry would tighten the health management process and strengthen supervision activities. It will work with Viet Nam Social Insurance to outline a ceiling expenditure and renovate the financial control models for health facilities. Hospitals will be asked to link their medical examinations results with each other to eliminate redundant examinations, she said, adding that it this will be implemented at centrally-run facilities first before applying at all levels by the end of 2018. Nguyen Thi Minh, General Director of Viet Nam Social Insurance, said that abuse of health insurance has become popular. For example, some patients stayed in hospital for up to seven days after a lense replacement surgery while normally a patient needs to stay two days after surgery, she said. In past years, district-level hospitals had bed occupancy rates of less than 100 per cent but it is reported at between 200 and 300 per cent at present in many provinces. This is abnormal, Minh said. This year, the health insurance fund is estimated to spend about VN80 trillion (US$3.5 billion), an increase of VN7 trillion ($308 million) compared with last year, she said, adding that the hike was also unusual. In response to a question on human resources in the health sector, with personnel and skill shortages common, Tien admitted that it was a shortcoming of the sector at grassroots levels. This was why many patients wanted to be transferred to hospitals in provinces and cities, she said. Tien also said many doctors at grassroots levels wanted to work at higher level hospitals or private ones for better salary. To tackle this, the ministry has devised policies to help outstanding students in medical universities work in local healthcare centres. In addition, more satellite hospitals will be built and modern techniques and facilities will be transferred to provincial-level hospital to ease overloading at central-run hospitals. Answering a question from deputy Trinh Ngoc Phuong of Tay Ninh Province about the price of medicine in Viet Nam, which is said to be higher than many countries in the region, Tien said the medicine market in Viet Nam was stable after implementing bidding for medicine. According to international health organisations, the price of generic drugs was 10 per cent lower than the average of six ASEAN countries namely Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Brunei. Medicine price is one of nine major groups in the Consumer Price Index. Assessment from international organizations is needed to confirm that medicine prices in Viet Nam are higher than other countries, she said. Regarding medicine price control, the ministry has sent a report to the National Assembly, she said. The Ministry of Health has worked with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and Viet Nam Social Insurance to amend regulations of the Law on Medicine Bidding, to enhance transparency, fairness and economic efficiency. In response to questions raised by Duong Minh Anh, deputy from Ha Noi, about over the counter medicine and the abuse of antibiotics in treatment, the minister said she took responsibility for the fact that people could use pharmacies without a prescription. She promised that the health sector would solve the problem despite it being a hard nut to crack. The ministry has issued many circulars on prescribing medicine and managing pharmacies in accordance with Good Pharmacy Practice standards but with little success, she said. The ministry has assigned the Drug Administration of Viet Nam to pilot a management model which will be applied nationwide soon. There should be a complete renovation in the healthcare sector, Tien said. The shortage of inspectors in the field was hindering the management of medicine, she said, adding that it has just 300 staff nationwide. On the abuse of antibiotics, the minister said, the ministry has submitted a strategy on the issue to the Government. In the future, the sector plans to apply e-prescription and e-dossiers to use medicine more effectively. Answering Nguyen Chien, a Ha Noi delegate about health workers ethics and attitude, Tien admitted some doctors and nurses have poor attitudes towards patients. To improve this, she said the health sector has introduced hotlines to receive complaints from patients. Strict punishment has been applied to violators such as issuing warnings, cutting bonuses and even firing them. In the first six months of the year, hospital managers issued warnings to 185 doctors and nurses who showed improper attitudes to patients, cut bonuses of 68 medical workers, transfered 13 others, removed one from a position and fired 5 people. Speaking at the end of the session of Minister of Health, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said that the health sector has made positive changes, especially in treatment quality. Patient overloading at hospitals has been gradually improved thanks to measures taken at many health facilities and transfers from grassroots levels to central hospital have been reduced. The NA chairman also pointed out shortcomings in infrastructure, management of facilities, the shortage of medical staff and the low capacity of health workers. People with minor ailments going to big hospital, causing overloading and waste at lower levels should be addressed, she said. She pointed out that the abuse of health insurance, purchasing medicine without prescription and accidents in medical practice were issues that the health sector needed to tackle. VNS VNA Director General Nguyen uc Loi (R) and Director General of Algeria Press Service (APS) Abdelhamid Kacha sign bilateral cooperation agreements in Ha Noi yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Van iep HA NOI Algeria and North Africa are important areas to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and Vietnamese audiences, VNA Director General Nguyen uc Loi said during talks with the Director General of Algeria Press Service (APS) Abdelhamid Kacha in Ha Noi yesterday. He noted that information provided by the APS will help VNA ensure the accuracy, impartiality and multi-dimension of its Algerian and North African coverage. Over the past few years, the two sides have actively exchanged information under signed bilateral cooperation agreements, he said, adding that the enhancement of cooperative ties between VNA and APS is important and in line with the traditional friendship between Viet Nam and Algeria. The APS Director General evaluated that the two news agencies have effectively implemented their cooperation and expressed his hope that the bilateral collaboration will be elevated in the future. The APS has made effective use of information provided by the VNA to better serve the Algerian publics demand for information on Viet Nam, ASEAN, and Asia, he said. During the talks, the two sides discussed challenges facing news agencies in the context of fierce information competition, along with measures to help VNA and APS ensure the fulfilment of their missions as national news agencies. The VNA Director General thanked APS for supporting VNA correspondents based in Algeria over the past years and hoped for continued assistance from the press service for VNA reporters working in Algeria. During the talks, the two directors general signed a cooperation agreement on continuing the exchange of text, photo and television information, along with a new type of information: infographic news. Both sides pledged to continue providing assistance for each others correspondents to carry out their professional activities and support each other at international forums. VNA and APS signed cooperation agreements in 2000, 2007 and 2013. During his working visit to Viet Nam, the APS Director General visited the VNA Television Centre (VNews) and Le Courrier du Vietnam newspaper office. VNS Vietnamese Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son meets Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Morgulov in Ha Noi yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Khang HA NOI Viet Nam and Russia agreed to maintain and promote dynamic bilateral cooperation in all sectors, aiming at a bilateral trade turnover reaching US$10 billion by 2020. Vietnamese Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Morgulov reached the statement while co-hosting the 9th annual Viet Nam-Russia Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy-Defence-Security and political consultation at deputy foreign ministerial level yesterday. The two sides exchanged their views on international and regional issues of mutual concern, discussing changes that affect economic connection and collaborating to address regional and international issues. In this context, the two sides agreed to foster information exchange and promote close cooperation at multilateral forums, especially at United Nations and ASEAN-Russia framework. They also affirmed a constant effort maintain peace and stability in Asia-Pacific and in the world. The two deputy ministers agreed to work closely to prepare for official visit of President Tran ai Quang to Russia and other high-ranking diplomatic activities in 2017. The two countries pledged to step up missions, agreements and cooperative projects on politics, trading-economy, security-defence, science-technology, education-training, culture and tourism while promoting relations among localities to fully tap the two sides cooperative potentials. Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Morgulov expressed Russias support for Viet Nam as the Asia-Pacific Economic Partnership (APEC) host this year, affirming that Russia will be ready to share experiences in hosting APEC and to work closely with Viet Nam to organise a successful event. The two sides also agreed to address disputes in the East Sea (South China Sea) in a peaceful manner based on respect for international laws, first on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and forge ahead Code of Conduct in the East Sea. - VNS HA NOI Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue has acknowledged the Governments responsibility in the slow budget disbursement for public investment, saying we have the money, but we are unable to spend it. The National Assembly hearing of the Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Chi Dung, resumed today morning, as the deputies grilled him with questions concerning the ineffective public investment since last year. Deputy Prime Minister Hue later decided to intervene to assist the minister in answering the deputies queries. The budget disbursed for investment by the end of December last year reached VN201.9 trillion (US$8.97 billion), accounting for only about 81 per cent of the annual plan, according to the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam. In the first five months of 2017, some VN76.2 trillion were already spent, a report by the GSO said. However, up to 13 out of the 44 Governmental units failed to do any disbursement, while 22, together with four local authorities, had a disbursement rate under 10 per cent. The slow disbursement was one of the reasons leading to an economic growth rate lower than expectation, Hue said. The national gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter this year only reached 5.1 per cent, continuing the downward trend from 6.1 per cent and 5.4 per cent in the same period in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The deputy PM said that the introduction of the Law on Public Investment which came into effect since early last year also caused confusion in the implementation. Though the purpose of the law was to avoid potential losses in the investment spending of the taxpayers money, Hue said, some administrative regulations unintentionally blocked the disbursement flow. Another reason for the ineffective disbursement came from an adjustment in the national mid-term public investment plan. The plan approved by the NA indicated that some VN2 quadrillion ($88.8 billion) would be spent up to 2020. It was, however, cut by VN200 trillion from the amount mentioned in the original plan, prepared and submitted by the Government to the previous 13th NA. The ministries and the local authorities had to spend time adjusting their projects, thus prolonging the disbursement process, Hue said. The Government has upped its efforts to accelerate the disbursement speed, which resulted in a faster rate, he told the NA deputies. The disbursement amount in the last five months of 2016 was nearly as much as the first seven months. The first five months of the year have disbursed 24.7 per cent (of the plan), while it was 24 per cent last year, the deputy PM said. It is, however, still slow. VNS HCM CITY Authorities in the southern economic hub have issued an ultimatum, ordering all its districts to submit plans to the Peoples Committee on getting rid of unplanned markets by July. Unplanned markets, which are areas with a concentration of street vendors selling agricultural produces and other common items, usually crop up on pavements based on peoples needs and conveniences that are not met by modern supermarkets and stores, not part of citys plannings. However, products sold in such spots are more often than not of questionable origin and food safety is a big issue. Authorities frequently crack down on such markets, both for food safety and during urban order restoration campaigns. Many experts are sceptical about the effectiveness of these campaigns, and argue that if forceful measures are not taken to address the root cause of the issue, then the street markets will return after the campaigns end. There is no official figure on the number of street markets in HCM City, but the number may be well in hundreds as these markets are ubiquitous in every district and ward, cropping up most often in and around poor neighbourhoods, areas with a large number of boarding houses, near processing zones and industrial parks. For instance, in the two-km radius around Tan Binh industrial park, there are dozens of such unplanned markets lining the pavements of Pham Van Bach, Che Lan Vien-Nguyen Huu Tien, Truong Chinh and other streets, and they have been around for years now. Vendors set up stalls and sell products such as fish and vegetables over the pavements, and there is rubbish, decaying leaves, and wastewater right underneath, making the area an eyesore and posing serious hygiene risks. Most vendors are workers or poor labourers from other provinces who have come to the city to try and earn their livelihood. Nguyen Thi Thuc, a textile worker from Tan Binh industrial park who hails from the central Thanh Hoa Province, told Lao ong (Labour) newspaper that she lives in a rented place nearby and after work, she goes to these street markets to buy food. I know there is no guarantee for the safety of food sold here, but it is affordable, and, most of all, the markets are convenient. I just thoroughly wash the produce and cook it very well, Thuc said. The situation is similar around Linh Trung processing zone in Thu uc District, or Tan Thuan in District 7 and Tan Tao industrial park in Binh Tan District. Radical solutions A member of Tan Binh industrial parks management board said that unplanned, temporary street markets always come up around industrial parks and areas with boarding houses. It shows that they meet the demands of the workers who live in these areas, so the solution to the problem is a more consumer-responsive distribution network. Nguyen Gia Thai Binh, vice-chairman of Binh Tan District Peoples Committee, said one of the characteristics of his district is the high concentration of industrial zones, with companies such as the Taiwan-based Pouyuen footwear company, which alone employs some 97,000 workers. The planning did not account for the workers needs for a proper market, so people started selling agricultural produce and other products on the streets near large manufacturers for the workers there, and slowly street markets were formed, Binh said. He admitted that the efficiency of inspections and raids is limited, as once the enforcement force leaves, vendors return and resume their trade. To get rid of these street markets, Tran Vinh Tuyen, vice-chairman of HCM City Peoples Committee, has asked the municipal Department of Industry and Commerce to set up proper stalls and stores that sell food, consumer goods, and other price-stabilised commodities in crowded neighbourhoods and industrial zones. Now, Binh Tan District is drawing up a detailed plan for indoor markets and convenience stores. So far, 100 convenience stores have been established, mostly serving workers in industrial parks. Similarly, Tan Binh District is looking at steps to encourage its street vendors to move to stalls and stores, and plans to offer financial support to those who come from very poor backgrounds, said Le Thanh Binh, vice-chairman of Tan Binh District Peoples Committee. If the whole political system does its best, coordinating efficiently with each other in this campaign to clear out street markets in addition to establishing consumer commodities distributors, then I believe the days of street markets will be over, said Tran Quoc Minh, a member of HCM Citys lawyer delegation. VNS BINH THUAN Binh Thuan Province authorities held a meeting with the Ministry of Defence and other relevant agencies on Tuesday to discuss speeding up of the construction of the civilian-military Phan Thiet Airport. They urged the ministry to quickly pay compensation to land owners. Of VN135 billion (US$6 million), only around VN50 billion ($2.2 million) has been paid so far. The ministry should sanction the extra money needed to upgrade the runway from 4C to 4E standard of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), they said. The ministry should identify the builder of the military section of the airport so that the work can proceed quickly, they said. Minister of Defence Ngo Xuan Lich urged the province authorities to acquire land and hand it over to the builders. The 543ha Phan Thiet Airport in Thien Nghiep Commune is being built in BOT (build-operate-transfer) mode at an estimated cost of VN5.6 trillion ($247 million). Rang ong JSC is the contractor for the civilian component, which is expected to cost VN1.64 trillion ($73.5 million). The construction began in 2015 and the airport is scheduled to open next year. It will have a capacity of 500,000 passengers and 10,000 tonnes of cargo a year. The airport is expected to help develop tourism and other services and attract investors by reducing the time it takes to travel to Phan Thiet from the rest of the country. Viet Nam has total 21 operational airports, nine of them international: Noi Bai, Cam Ranh, a Nang, Phu Bai, Vinh, Chu Lai, Tan Son Nhat, Can Tho (Tra Noc) and Phu Quoc. VNS HCM City will provide great support for the public-private-partnership (PPP) model in infrastructure development, its leaders told a meeting held yesterday to discuss attraction of funding through the model. Photo hanoimoi.vn HCM CITY HCM City will provide great support for the public-private-partnership (PPP) model in infrastructure development, its leaders told a meeting held yesterday to discuss attraction of funding through the model. In recent times HCM City has issued many measures to create a favourable investment environment, especially establishing the PPP Steering Committee and preparing to set up the Project Development Fund (PDF) and the Viability Gap Fund (VGF) to support financing for PPP projects, Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the Peoples Committee, said. Following a 2015 Government decree on PPP investment, the city has been hugely successful in attracting investment, which has helped resolve some serious problems related to transport, the environment and flooding. With public debt growing and the Governments financial constraints, PPP is an optimal solution for the lack of funding for infrastructure. The city has 153 PPP projects with a total investment of VN451 trillion (US$20 billion), with 23 of them being completed. Though PPP projects accounted for only 5 per cent of the citys public projects in 2011 15, they involved five times more investment. Between 2006 and 2020 the citys infrastructure needs were estimated at VN850 trillion ($37.5 billion), but the Government can only provide a fifth of it. An official from the HCM City Finance and Investment State-owned Company (HFIC) said, Administrative procedures are still cumbersome and take a lot of time while most PPP projects are huge and need to be begun quickly. He also complained about the shortage of land to pay developers for build-transfer (BT) projects, meaning undertaking such projects is difficult. The 2015 Government decree on PPP has somewhat improved the status of PPP projects, but difficulties related to acquiring land and legal provisions still exist. Furthermore, the PPP model is only regulated by a decree and many investors worry about the reliability of the policies in the absence of a law. He said authorities should first pay compensation and clear lands before inviting BT bids. Administrative procedures should be comprehensively reformed, urban planning information should be publicly announced and the PDF and VGF should soon come into operation to fund PPP projects. VNS The Viet Nam Journalists Association yesterday urged the Ha Noi Police to undertake an urgent investigation of an attack on Viet Nam Television journalists that occurred while they were working on an undercover live report in Soc Son District. Photo vtv.vn HA NOI -- The Viet Nam Journalists Association yesterday urged the Ha Noi Police to undertake an urgent investigation of an attack on Viet Nam Television journalists that occurred while they were working on an undercover live report in Soc Son District. Ho Quang Loi, Standing Vice President of VNJA, said the organisation received a report that a group of VTV journalists were assaulted. Their work accessories, including a high-tech camera, were destroyed. The associations inspection board immediately contacted the VTV to capture specific and accurate information, he added. Loi also cited the Press Law of 2016, which was effective from 1 January 2017, regulating the functions, duties and rights of journalists. The law affirms that no one should prevent, threaten, assault or destroy the working tools of journalists while they work in accordance with the law. These are the rules to protect journalists. Violating these rule means violating the law, and violators should be strictly punished, the official said. Loi said the association has sent an official dispatch to the leaders of Ha Noi authority and Police to undertake an urgent investigation of the assault, which has threatened the journalists lives and destroyed their means of practice. The organisation also asked the authorities to punish the attackers and to bring them to court. On Tuesday, after receiving a complaint from locals that home and shop builders were illegally encroaching public land and ponds in Soc Son District, a group of reporters of the VTV arrived at the scene to confirm the information. There, the group visited and interviewed some officials from Phu Lo Commune Peoples Committee, Soc Son District. They also met with the chairman of the communal peoples committee, who confirmed that there was a case of encroachment. The reporters requested to be continue their report by taking photos and video. The chairman then called a man named H., the owner of a villa built on a 3 hectare of the encroached lake. After phone call, the chairman refused to take the reporters to the scene, saying it was because of a "sensitive reason". As per the rules of their trade, the reporters ventured to the scene to verify the information. However, the man named H. did not co-operate with them. Instead, he drove his Mitsubishi car to directly into the reporters, trying to hit them. The reporters avoided the attack, but their camera was destroyed by the crash. Later, they tried to contact the Soc Son Police to inform them of the alleged assault. VNS Some 100 outstanding Vietnamese blood donors were honoured in an event to celebrate World Blood Donor Day yesterday in Ha Noi. Photo Thu Hien HA NOI Some 100 outstanding Vietnamese blood donors were honoured in an event to celebrate World Blood Donor Day yesterday in Ha Noi. Speaking at the event, Truong Thi Mai, member of the Politburo, Secretariat and Head of the Mass Mobilisation Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, praised the national blood donation programme and shared his high appreciation for the contribution of the donors in the past 10 years. During the past 10 years (2007-2016), the voluntary blood donation movement has achieved impressive achievements, with more than 8.5 million blood units collected. The collected blood volume keeps increasing year by year both in terms of quantity and quality, said Mai. Some 465,000 units of blood were donated in 2007, and nearly 1.4 million units were given in 2016, according to Mai. This blood has helped boost the treatment of millions of people, particularly those on the edge between life and death, said the official. According to Mai, the power and value of voluntary blood donation has been multiplied by the love, kindness and devotion of millions of Vietnamese people. Voluntary blood donors both young and old, men to women, have brought warmth and vitality to the society and they have helped confirm that No one is left behind on the path to development. June 14 became Blood Donor Day in 2004. With the theme Give blood. Give now. Give often, this years campaign will focus on blood donation in emergencies. Activities will focus on encouraging people to strengthen the emergency preparedness of health services in their community by donating blood and engaging authorities in the establishment of effective national blood donor programmes. The national steering committee for voluntary blood donations and the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion have held various activities from June 12 14 to credit the blood donors. A young volunteer donates her blood at a blood donation festival in Ha Noi. VNS Photo Thanh Hai Workshop discusses human resources for stable blood donation A workshop was held in Ha Noi yesterday to discuss measures to develop human resources for safe and stable blood donations, bringing together domestic and foreign experts and outstanding blood donors. As part of a programme to honour prominent blood donors nationwide and celebrate World Blood Donor Day 2017, the event was held by the National Steering Committee for Mobilising Voluntary Blood Donation and the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT). An International Federation of Blood Donor Organisations (IFBDO) representative said it is necessary to tailor communication methods to target groups to attract more blood donors. A representative of the Thai Red Cross Societys national blood transfusion centre introduced the Club 25 model, which targets blood donors aged between 17-25. When joining Club 25, participants commit to donate blood 25 times, until 25 years old and call on 25 others to follow suit. Ngo Manh Quan from the NIHBT introduced the institutes initiative to maintain groups of standby people to donate blood to ensure timely provision of safe blood for patients in remote and border areas. So far, the project has helped develop live blood banks in 17 remote, isolated and border districts and islands nationwide, with 1,174 members. Initiated in 2011 , the model benefits people in Bach Long Vi Island of the northern Hai Phong City, Phu Quoc Island of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang; Con Co Island in central Quang Tri Province; Si Ma Cai and ong Van districts in the north mountainous provinces of Lao Cai and Ha Giang. VNS HCM CITY African rhino horns weighing nearly 4kg were seized at HCM Citys Tan Son Nhat International Airport on June 14, the airport customs sub-department has reported. Eight horn pieces were discovered in the luggage of two passengers flying from Africa to Viet Nam. The horns were carefully hidden in personal items such as cookie tins, cosmetic boxes and a ceramic kettle. The horns, which are from the rare African white rhinoceros, are worth a total of VN8 billion (US$360,000) in the black market, according to customs officers. The customs office has been working with police to identify people involved in rhino horn smuggling and other smuggling activities. Since early this year, the citys investigative division of economic crimes and management discovered 6kg of rhino horns and 10kg of ivory from elephants. VNS WATERLOO Mediacoms remodeled customer service center goes well beyond new carpet and fresh paint. Waterloos cable television franchise holder and broadband communications provider showed off its reconfigured retail center Wednesday at 4010 Alexandria Drive, which is designed to give customers a chance to test-drive Mediacom products. Steve Purcell, operations vice president for Iowa and surrounding states, said Waterloo was the first office in Mediacoms system to get such a makeover. The company operates in 23 states and serves 309 Iowa communities. Waterloo has always been a key community, a key system for us, said Purcell, noting the city also serves as an infrastructure hub and was the first to get fast 105 Mbps download speeds in 2010, which have since been upgraded to 1 gigabit service. While the two-year office remodeling project covered the full building, the highlight is the new front customer service area. Previously we called them front counters, more of a payment center setting, Purcell said. Now were really trying to display our technology. Instead of a DOT-type setting were making it more interactionary. Customers waiting for counter service can test-drive phone and home controller products, learn about incorporating applications and tools with a home Wi-Fi network and get a hands-on demonstration comparing traditional 60 and 100 Mbps internet speeds to the new 1 gig broadband service. We are in a transition ourselves from what used to be a cable company to more of a communications operation, Purcell said. Technology is our number one business. Mediacom expects to make similar improvements to its other customer retail centers over time. Waterloo Councilman Steve Schmitt, who was on hand for the ribbon cutting, thanked Purcell and Mediacom for the companys investment in Waterloo. We hear at the city level consistently about the need for high-speed internet, Schmitt said. I know you provide a lot more than a lot of people realize. This is obviously going to accentuate that. WATERLOO Covenant Medical Center is debuting two new larger operating rooms and an expanded post-anesthesia care unit. The $7.7 million renovation of the hospitals surgical services area, completed over 18 months, is expected to be more functional and efficient for doctors and other operating room staff. Reconstructed locker and break rooms, control desk, anesthesia work room and nurses station were also part of the project along with a new storage room. The new operating rooms are 725 square feet. Until now, even Covenants largest operating rooms at about 500 square feet were well below the average size in U.S. hospitals, said Shelly Burton, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Iowa director of surgical services. We love that its so much bigger, said nurse Sara Joens during a tour of the rooms for staff and the media. Burton noted the new rooms are needed for large-scale surgical procedures. Its so much more welcoming for our patients and better for our flow, she said. Rooms are outfitted with state-of-the art equipment, some of which was purchased with funds raised by the Covenant Foundation. They can also accommodate da Vinci robotic surgical equipment as needed. We look for (operations) that require a lot of equipment and lot of set-up for the rooms, said Burton. A unique feature of the rooms are pass through cabinets, which allow staff to restock required supplies and fluids from outside of the operating room, decreasing traffic in and out of its sterile environment. We try to reduce the chances of infections at all costs, said Burton. She noted, In the past, weve never had a warming cabinet in the room. The post-anesthesia care unit was expanded from seven to nine patient bays and made more accessible. New bedside monitors, an extra nurses station, and a desk area for surgeons and anesthesiologists were added. For all of our existing other operating rooms, we did some upgrades, said Burton. Every room got a different kind of color. Its more welcoming to the patients. She said the very large storage room included in the project was added within the department so its accessible to staff. In planning the space, designers were also considering patients, whom Burton said noticed the need for storage. That decreased the clutter in the hallways and that was such an eyesore for our patients, she said. As we wait for announcement of some alteration of Cuba policy, here are some takes on the issue: --Chris Sabatini says Obama created leverage with Cuba. Yep! --Senator Patrick Leahy says opening up to Cuba keeps Russia at bay. That is, if you want to keep Russia at bay. --David Wade says rolling back Obama policy damages, well, everything except the Cuban government. --Rep. Ted Poe (R) says this would hurt U.S. agriculture, medical cooperation, and drug trafficking efforts. The most likely policy shift is one that restricts travel more (right now travel authorizations are quite broad) but not entirely, and to try and maintain benefits for Cuban entrepreneurs instead of the state (i.e. the military). The tricky thing is that the two are partially contradictory. For example, you want more Americans going to Cuba and using Airbnb, because that money is going into people's pockets. Assuming the administration really does make its announcement tomorrow, your best guess is that the talk will be tough, the Cuban government will be referred to as "very, very bad" and Obama will be labeled as "appeaser," then the actual details will be mostly continuity. And finally, it seems the worst way to get the administration's attention is by sending a letter because there is no person in the position who would be reading letters. It even confuzzles the Cuban American National Foundation, and they're lobbying experts. The Cuban American National Foundation hasnt sent the administration a letter or position paper, partly because with so many unfilled positions in the Trump administration and uncertainty over who is really driving Cuban policy, the question is who do you talk to? said Jose Pepe Hernandez, president and one of the founders of the exile organization . Its very confusing, really. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 14, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 14, 2017 | 11:34 AM | PADUCAH, KY A Ballard County man has been charged with having sexual relations with a minor. The McCracken County Sheriffs Department says deputies received a complaint on June 5 alleging that 27-year-old Casey Ringstaff of Ballard County had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl. Detectives arrested Ringstaff June 9 on a charge of third degree rape. Detectives said their investigation revealed Ringstaff picked up three female juveniles at a local business in McCracken County and took them to a warehouse that belonged to his employer. While at the warehouse, Ringstaff allegedly had sex with one of the girls. Ringstaff reportedly confessed to having sex with the girl and claimed he did not know her age. He also claimed to have just met her. Authorities later learned Ringstaff was acquainted with the victims family and was familiar with her age. Deputies said more charges are pending. By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 10, 2017 | 09:07 PM | FRANKFORT, KY Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear has announced that his office is working with Tennessee law enforcement to focus on the effective prosecution of vehicular homicide cases. The annual training event, being held in Pigeon Forge June 13-15, brings together Kentucky commonwealth's attorneys with prosecutors from the Tennessee District Attorney's Office and crash reconstruction officers from both states. "Unfortunately, the Commonwealth has experienced a 10 percent increase in annual highway fatalities from 2015 through 2016," Beshear said. "My administration is focused on addressing the persistent challenges our families face, and one of those is better addressing Kentucky's drug epidemic. Every time our families, our friends or our children get in a vehicle, they are at risk of being harmed by a driver under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol." In 2016, 834 people were killed on Kentucky's roadways. A statistic that remains constant, Beshear said, is that one in five highway fatalities are in crashes that involved alcohol. In Kentucky last year, there were more than 6,228 collisions involving alcohol and drugs, resulting in more than 2,900 injuries and 167 fatalities. Advanced training in this area by prosecutors and crash reconstructionists will improve the ability of prosecutors to both recognize these events as well as to successfully prosecute them when warranted, Beshear said. Attorney General's Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Robert Stokes will work in coordination with his Tennessee counterpart to present the training, which is open to the media. The training is at the Courtyard Marriott at 120 Community Drive in Pigeon Forge. The goal of the training is to create a team building approach between crash reconstruction officers and state prosecutors, Stokes said. The training is presented under the direction of the American Prosecutors Research Institute's (APRI) National Traffic Law Center. 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19 (18) Jan 18 (26) Jan 17 (24) Jan 16 (23) Jan 15 (30) Jan 14 (20) Jan 13 (18) Jan 12 (24) Jan 11 (11) Jan 10 (23) Jan 09 (22) Jan 08 (17) Jan 07 (17) Jan 06 (9) Jan 05 (18) Jan 04 (15) Jan 03 (19) Jan 02 (14) Jan 01 (6) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (15) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (7) Dec 26 (10) Dec 25 (16) Dec 24 (13) Dec 23 (16) Dec 22 (11) Dec 21 (26) Dec 20 (28) Dec 19 (14) Dec 18 (25) Dec 17 (23) Dec 16 (19) Dec 15 (22) Dec 14 (38) Dec 13 (26) Dec 12 (25) Dec 11 (27) Dec 10 (31) Dec 09 (15) Dec 08 (30) Dec 07 (31) Dec 06 (27) Dec 05 (38) Dec 04 (25) Dec 03 (27) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (36) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1) Jun 15, 2017 | By Benedict In todays roundup, we have news from 3D printed PCB specialist Nano Dimension, updates on the huge 3D printing effort in Dubai, and a partnership between French ceramic 3D printing pioneer 3DCeram and UK-based additive manufacturing company 3D Matters. Nano Dimension, Semplastics to build 3D printed ceramic objects for space applications Well this is something new for Nano Dimension. The Israeli company, best known for its circuit board-printing Dragonfly 2020 3D printer (and recent operations in 3D bioprinting), has received a grant to develop unique ceramic materials in collaboration with engineered components supplier Semplastics. The two companies will use these materials to 3D print low-density, high-thickness ceramic objects for space applications. The total budget for the project is NIS 585,000 (approximately $165,000), 30% of which will provided by the Israel Innovation Authority in the form of a grant. (The Authority hopes to recoup this amount though: the terms of the grant stipulate that Nano Dimension will pay royalties on future sales up to the full grant amount.) Nano Dimension will carry out the project with Semplastics LLC, a leading supplier of engineered components (mainly semi-conductors) for a broad range of industries. Nano Dimension and Semplastics have entered into a non-binding letter of intent with respect to the collaboration. The ceramic 3D printing project will focus on the utilization of Semplastics' novel ceramic material precursors using Nano Dimension's unique 3D inkjet printing technology, for which a modified resin will be developed. Combined, these technologies will be used to build high-thickness, low-density ceramic objects for aerospace applications. NASA will participate in the testing of the materials. "We are very excited to collaborate with Nano Dimension on this innovative project," said Bill Easter, CEO of Semplastics. "Building on our successful work with NASA, we see this work opening up even more applications for our unique ceramic materials. Challenger Center partners with New Matter on education 3D printing program Challenger Center, a DC-based, space-focused STEM education organization, and New Matter, a desktop 3D printing company, today announced a new partnership that will involve selecting and equipping Challenger Learning Centers with New Matters MOD-t 3D printers. Over the next few months, Challenger Center and New Matter will announce the initial group of three Centers selected to receive the donated printers, with the first being unveiled in late June following a competition. The selected Centers will receive five MOD-t 3D printers. As part of the competition, Challenger Centers network of 43 Challenger Learning Centers submitted proposals describing how they would use the 3D printers. From developing 3D printing summer camps to incorporating the printers into simulated space missions like Expedition Mars, the proposals purportedly demonstrated a broad range of creative, forward-thinking approaches for Challenger Center educators to use 3D printing technology to engage students and teachers alike. The MOD-t was developed and designed for teachers and students and were eager to see our Challenger Learning Center educators implement these remarkably easy-to-use and elegant printers into programs with their local students, commented Lance Bush, president and chief executive officer at Challenger Center. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority holds 3D printing workshop with GE Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has held a 3D printing and additive manufacturing workshop in cooperation with General Electric (GE). The workshop was purportedly organized to support DEWAs 3D printing plan. The first workshop, following our MoU with DEWA, has been a great learning experience for both entities, as we discussed the practical implementation of additive manufacturing and 3D printing for the utilities sector, said Dr. Dalya Al Muthanna, President & CEO of GE Gulf. Thats good to know, but aside from hearing that the workshop was a learning experience, we dont really know what happened therethis despite a lengthy press release from DEWA explaining the areas in which it is taking advantage of 3D printing. Keynote speaker HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, reminded attendees of DEWAs efforts to improve efficiency in the production, transmission, and distribution of energy and water, noting its in-progress construction of an R&D Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Part of the centers 3D printed drone laboratory has already been completed. The slightly mysterious workshop was attended by Al Tayer, Al Muthanna, DEWAs Executive Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents, 50 DEWA staff, and officials from the GE Additive Manufacturing Unit. 3DCeram announces UK partnership deal with 3D Matters The second ceramic 3D printing story of the roundup concerns French ceramic 3D printing company 3DCeram, who today announced a partnership with British 3D printing company 3D Matters. The deal gives 3DCeram an entry into the UK market. This partnership between 3DCeram and 3D Matters is a new step forward for our company, said Richard Gaignon, Co-Director of 3DCeram. We are committed to exporting our skills to new markets, providing much-needed expertise to companies across the Channel. And by pooling our talent, we can reinforce our engineering methods, production processes, maintenance, and support capabilities for maximum impact on the industry. 3D Matters was seeking a partner with the technology to produce high-quality matter components: parts with the best possible properties, added Nathan Blake of 3D Matters. Ceramic 3D printing allows us to drastically shorten the component development process and expand what we can offer in terms of other materials. 3D Matters will take advantage of 3DCerams Ceramaker ceramic printing technology, 3DMIX pastes, and personalized support capabilities. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Jun 15, 2017 | By Tess 3D printing giant Stratasys has entered into a technical partnership with Boom Supersonic, a Denver-based company that is developing supersonic passenger planes. As stipulated in the three-year agreement, Stratasys will support Boom Supersonics production of advanced tooling and production-grade aircraft parts with its FDM 3D printing technology. Together, the companies are aiming to advance the commercial airline industry, bringing it closer and closer to supersonic travel through high-speed aviation innovations. In fact, Boom Supersonic expects to fly its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator as soon as next year with the help of advanced additive manufacturing processes, which offer faster production speeds, cost reductions, and more design freedom. As part of the partnership, Stratasys will supply Boom Supersonic with its FDM Fortus 450mc 3D printer and the recently released F370 3D printer, both of which have the capacity to manufacture parts from production-grade thermoplastics and can offer Boom Supersonic on-demand production. The printers are also well equipped for manufacturing advanced manufacturing tools which could serve the aircraft manufacturer. According to Boom, its supersonic airliner will have the ability to fly 2.6 times faster than any aircraft on the market (even faster than Concorde was!) and can accelerate to speeds of 1,451 miles (2,335 km) per hour. That means that what it currently about a seven-hour flight (say, New York to London) could be reduced to just over three hoursimagine! Stratasys Fortus 450mc 3D printer (left); Stratasys F370 3D printer (right) Supersonic flight has existed for over 50 years, but the technology hasnt existed to make it affordable for routine commercial travel, explained Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom. Todays significant advances in aerodynamics, engine design, additive manufacturing, and carbon fiber composite materials are transforming the industry at all levels. Additive manufacturing helps accelerate development of a new generation of aircraft. Rich Garrity, President of Americas for Stratasys, also voiced his excitement about the partnership: Boom is working towards a major breakthrough in supersonic, commercial airline traveland were excited Stratasys is now playing a strategic role in helping them achieve their goals," he said. "We are proud to add Boom Supersonic to a roster of leading aerospace companies successfully implementing our additive manufacturing solutions to deliver new innovations in aviation. Stratasys compact FDM 3D printers will enable Boom Supersonic to increase the pace of its production while at the same time lowering costs. Through the agreement, the Denver-based aircraft manufacturer will also be able to leverage Stratasys extensive 3D printing expertise, services, and materials. Those visiting the Paris Air Show (held from June 19 to 25) will be able to see how Boom Supersonic is employing Stratasys 3D printing solutions, as both companies will be present at the event to showcase how 3D printing is shaping the future of aerospace. Stratasys already has partnerships with a range of aerospace and aircraft companies, including Airbus, and SIA Engineering. Boom Supersonic, for its part, recently raised $33 million in a Series A funding round, which will be used to get its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator up in the air. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Kenan Malik in the New York Times: It is just as well that Im a writer, not an editor. Were I editing a newspaper or magazine, I might soon be out of a job. For this is an essay in defense of cultural appropriation. In Canada last month, three editors lost their jobs after making such a defense. The controversy began when Hal Niedzviecki, editor of Write, the magazine of the Canadian Writers Union, penned an editorial defending the right of white authors to create characters from minority or indigenous backgrounds. Within days, a social media backlash forced him to resign. The Writers Union issued an apology for an article that its Equity Task Force claimed re-entrenches the deeply racist assumptions held about art. Another editor, Jonathan Kay, of The Walrus magazine, was also compelled to step down after tweeting his support for Mr. Niedzviecki. Meanwhile, the broadcaster CBC moved Steve Ladurantaye, managing editor of its flagship news program The National, to a different post, similarly for an unacceptable tweet about the controversy. Its not just editors who have to tread carefully. Last year, the novelist Lionel Shriver generated a worldwide storm after defending cultural appropriation in an address to the Brisbane Writers Festival. Earlier this year, controversy erupted when New Yorks Whitney Museum picked for its Biennial Exhibition Dana Schutzs painting of the mutilated corpse of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American murdered by two white men in Mississippi in 1955. Many objected to a white painter like Ms. Schutz depicting such a traumatic moment in black history. The British artist Hannah Black organized a petition to have the work destroyed. More here. Randall Fuller in Nature: One night in 1851, Henry David Thoreau woke from a dream. In it, astride two ungovernable horses literal nightmares he galloped through the woods, but the horses bit each other and occasioned endless trouble and anxiety, and it was my employment to hold their heads apart. At that time, the 34-year-old naturalistwriter was trying to reconcile two contending forces in his life: the transcendentalism he had long espoused and the rigours of science he had recently discovered. Transcendentalism emerged in the mid-1830s as an intoxicating set of philosophical, literary and spiritual tendencies unified by discontent with American life. Its core tenet, derived from Romantic philosophy, was that God permeated everything. As the movement's best-known spokesperson, philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, put it, behind nature, throughout nature, spirit is present. Transcendent divinity could be perceived only through intuition and inspiration not through reason and was best found in nature. This set of beliefs fuelled the experiment in self-reliance and simple living on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, in the mid-1840s that led to Thoreau's masterpiece, Walden, published in 1854. But something happened to Thoreau before his best-known book was finished, subtly changing its final form, making it more empirical, and thus scientific. Always fascinated by the natural world, he began to ponder more on its physical processes. Every day, rain or shine and usually for at least four hours, he tramped through the woods and fields surrounding his native Concord, collecting specimens and writing down what he observed in a series of small notebooks. He measured and weighed, pressing the leaves of red currant, poison sumac and many other species for his herbarium. In the evening, he transferred his observations into larger journals. Occasionally he worried about this new tendency. I fear, he wrote on 19 August 1851, that the character of my knowledge is from year to year becoming more distinct and scientific that, in exchange for views as wide as heaven's cope, I am being narrowed down to the field of the microscope. He tried to fit the data he gathered into a larger, transcendentalist vision of the cosmos, but his focus was inexorably drawn to the material world. In 1860, he encountered Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published the previous year. He was already familiar with Darwin, having devoured The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) almost a decade earlier. Thoreau first learnt of Origin at a dinner party on New Year's Day 1860, a gathering that included radical abolitionist Franklin Sanborn, child-welfare reformer Charles Loring Brace and transcendental philosopher Bronson Alcott. This quartet of progressive intellectuals discussed the book at length, and Thoreau was immediately captivated. More here. Trace amounts of antibiotics, such as neomycin, are present in varicella; measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR); and inactivated poliovirus vaccines. Therefore, these vaccines are contraindicated in patients with a history of anaphylactic reaction to these antibiotics.8,9 Gelatin is used in some live virus vaccines, such as varicella and MMR; these vaccines should not be given to patients with a history of anaphylaxis to gelatin.8 Egg allergy is not a contraindication to the MMR vaccine, even though it is derived from chick embryo fibroblast tissue culture.9 Patients with anaphylaxis to egg proteins should not receive the inactivated influenza vaccine and should receive the egg-free trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine instead.10 The CDC publishes tables detailing the inactive ingredients or excipients and other potential allergens found in vaccines.8,11 Anaphylactic reactions to vaccines occur in approximately one per 1 million doses.12 A patient who has an anaphylactic reaction to a vaccine should undergo immediate type allergy skin testing to confirm that the reaction was immunoglobulin E mediated and to determine which vaccine component was responsible. If the skin test is negative, the vaccine can be readministered under close observation with resuscitation, including epinephrine, readily available.10,12 Every effort should be made to avoid unnecessarily withholding a disease-preventing vaccine. Table 1 lists serious adverse reactions to vaccines.8,1126 When the first boomers begin turning 80 in 2026, the nation may not be ready for them. A new state scorecard on long-term care services from AARP Foundation, the SCAN Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund paints a distressing picture of uneven, slow progress in providing the care older adults and people with disabilities want and need. Picking Up the Pace of Change: A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers, the third in a series, found that the pace of improvement in long-term care is scattered and incremental, and the cost of care remains prohibitive for most of the middle class. The scorecard found that more states have improved in these areas than having declined in the past three years, but it will take generations for states on the bottom to climb to the middle. At this rate, the demographic demand for services will outstrip most states capacity to provide them. Progress will be further hindered by proposed massive cuts to Medicaid, the largest public payer of long-term assistance, according to Susan Reinhard, RN, Ph.D., and senior vice president and director of AARP Public Policy Institute. Such cuts, part of the House-passed American Health Care Act, would result in millions of older adults and people with disabilities losing life-saving supports, she said. Older adults and people with disabilities account for more than 60 percent of Medicaid spending. Families who have already exhausted their resources and rely on Medicaid for critical home- and community-based services or nursing home care, for example, might not be able to afford care. That care is critical. It includes assisting with the activities of daily living for older adults and people with disabilities, whose physical, cognitive or chronic health conditions prevent them from performing the tasks on their own. They range from bathing, dressing and managing medications to preparing meals and providing transportation. Many states have been increasing the proportion of Medicaid spending for home- and community-based services, which enables more people to stay in their homes and neighborhoods. Such services are less expensive than institutional care, averaging one-third the cost per person on Medicaid. Here is a sampling of just a few of the Pride-related community activities: Chicago AARP Illinois will participate in Pride events throughout the state, with the biggest gathering at the Chicago Pride Parade. Houston The Pride Houston Festival will be held downtown on June 24. AARP Houston will have a booth with information and fun prizes. Manchester AARP New Hampshire and the Greater Manchester Parks and Recreation Department invite AARP members and their guests to join their spring Walk for Your Health program. Nearly a dozen walks are scheduled throughout June. Twin Cities For the fifth year, AARP Minnesota will be sponsoring the Boomertown section of the park at the 2017 Twin Cities Pride Festival on June 24 and 25 in Loring Park in Minneapolis. Seattle AARP Day with the Seattle Mariners will be held June 28 at Safeco Field. AARP members and their guests can purchase tickets at a discounted price. Sioux Falls, S.D. AARP in Sioux Falls will participate in the Pride Fest on June 17 and hold a series of summer programs throughout June, July and August. St. Louis AARP in St. Louis is a sponsor of PrideFest 2017, being held June 23-25 in Soldiers Memorial Park in downtown St. Louis. In addition to listing the June activities, the AARP Pride page offers content for the LGBT community year-round, including features on marital status and Medicare eligibility, estate planning and the most LGBT-friendly workplaces. US judge blocks President Biden's student debt forgiveness plan The injunction is the second to block the president's signature program, which could cut or eliminate student loan debt for up to 40 million people. WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, applauded the U.S. Senate for passing a bipartisan plan to codify existing Russian sanctions and require the President to obtain congressional approval to waive or remove any sanctions against Russia. To address Russian meddling in our elections, sanctions will be imposed on several new entities, including "individuals conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government." AJC urges that these provisions tacked onto the equally laudable and necessary Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act be quickly considered by the House and signed into law by the administration. "Beyond its illegal annexation of Crimea, and its destabilizing activities in eastern Ukraine, Russia continues to engage in illicit activities around the world," said Jason Isaacson, AJC Associate Executive Director for Policy. "Russia employs cyber intrusions, social media disinformation and other forms of propaganda, and corrupt financial practices to buy influence and spread distrust in democratic institutions. The United States must take further action to combat this hostile Russian behavior." For decades, AJC has been a consistent voice for human rights and democracy in the former Soviet Union. During this month's AJC Global Forum, some 700 advocates met with members of Congress from across the United States to promote similar legislation in the House and the Senate. AJC's Director of Russian Affairs conducts frequent assessment visits in the region, and AJC leadership delegations regularly conduct high-level consultations with political and community leaders. The first non-Ukrainian Jewish organization to call for recognition of an independent Ukraine, AJC maintains close contact with Ukrainian officials, U.S. and foreign diplomats in the country, the Ukrainian Jewish community, and other civil society figures. "Russia's hostile actions continue to pose a threat to international order," said Isaacson. "Through strong bipartisan support, the Senate has shown that countering Russian aggression is not only in America's national interest, but also a global necessity." To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ajc-applauds-senate-action-on-us-sanctions-against-russia-300474880.html SOURCE American Jewish Committee Ten pilgrims from Punjab were killed and 45 others were injured when a bus carrying them rolled down a gorge on a sharp curve near Dhaliara in Kangra district, about 60 km from Dharamsala, on Thursday. The pilgrims from Amritsar were on their way to the Jawalaji shrine in Kangra district. Sources said the driver of the bus lost control as he tried to save the bus from a collision with a Maruti car coming from the opposite side. He hit the car but no harm was caused to the car occupants. The bus rolled down into about thirty feet gorge. The pilgrims in the bus were traders from Amritsar who came to pay obeisance at Chintpurni Mata temple in Una district and Jawalaji Mata temple in Kangra district on every Sagrandh (full moon night). Meanwhile, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has expressed his condolences and assured all possible help for the victims. A special TADA court here is likely to pronounce on Friday its judgement in the second leg of the trial in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case involving seven accused including extradited gangster Abu Salem. The dastardly attacks had left 257 people dead, 713 seriously injured and destroyed properties worth Rs. 27 crore. In the first leg of the trial that concluded in 2007, the TADA court had convicted 100 accused in the case, while 23 people were acquitted. The trial of the seven accused Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Tahir Merchant and Abdul Quayyum were separated from the main case as they were arrested at the time of conclusion of the main trial. Salem was accused of transporting weapons from Gujarat to Mumbai. He also handed over to actor Sanjay Dutt, who was an accused in the case for illegally possessing weapons, AK 56 rifles, 250 bullets and some hand grenades at his residence on January 16, 1993. Two days later on January 18, 1993, Salem and two others went to Dutts house and got back two rifles and some rounds. The court had dropped certain charges against Salem in 2013 after the investigating agency CBI moved a plea, saying those charges were against the extradition treaty between India and Portugal. Mustafa Dossa allegedly masterminded the landing of explosives including RDX in India and sent some youth to Pakistan to acquire arms training. The court, in all, recorded statements of around 750 prosecution witnesses and 50 witnesses. Three accused including Salem had confessed to their crime during investigations carried out by the CBI over the years into the blasts case. Though the hearing in the case began in 2007, it was delayed as three petitions were pending with the Supreme Court, one each filed by Dossa and Salem, and another by CBI. The trial resumed in 2012 and concluded this March. The case (involving the seven accused) was first heard by judge Pramod Kode, who had also delivered the judgement in the first leg of the trial and convicted 100 accused and acquitted 23 in 2007. Later, judge D U Mullah presided over the TADA court, and the case is now being heard by judge G A Sanap. It was during the trial in 2013 that the Supreme Court pronounced a judgement on appeal filed by all the accused wherein key conspirator Yakub Memons death sentence was confirmed, while that of others (all bomb planters) were commuted to life imprisonment. Sanjay Dutt and many others surrendered before the TADA court here in May 2013 after the apex court upheld their conviction. Yakub Memon was executed on July 30, 2015 after his several pleas seeking clemency were rejected, including the post-midnight hearing by Supreme Court on the day he was hanged. On March 12, 1993 the countrys commercial capital witnessed an unprecedented terrorist attack when a series 12 bomb explosions took place one after another in about a span of two hours. Protesters and riot police hurled stones at each other and a car was set ablaze after a series of raids on Thursday on premises connected with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief, whose separatist campaign was spiralling deeper into violence. At 9.30 am, a huge police force descended at the home-cum-office of Bimal Gurung, president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha which is spearheading the call for the separate state. A huge number of arms including bows and arrows, machetes, axes, and explosives and cash were found, a senior police officer said. As the raid was on, Morcha supporters clashed with the police, who responded with teargas and lathicharges. A media vehicle was torched. Trouble spread to neighbouring Kalimpong district, where a police post was set on fire and two other government properties attacked. The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force, GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri said. He said the Centre and the state government should solve the political problem. In Darjeeling, GJM activists sparred with paramilitary personnel, hurling stones from a distance. The policemen responded by throwing stones back as a car burnt nearby. It was not clear if the car was that of a civilian or belonged to the police. The police, however, denied that Gurungs residence was raided. They said some party activists were arrested in the raids in Singmari and Patlabas areas. The raid came as an indication that chief minister Mamata Banerjee was ready to crush the protests demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland that has triggered violence in the northern Bengal hills. The demand by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the Darjeeling hills is fast turning into a major political crisis for Banerjee and is likely to cripple the critical tourist industry during the peak summer season. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from Thursday. The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting, Giri, the GJM general secretary, said. The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from Thursday, Giri said. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana party MP Raju Shetti will file a complaint against Jet Airways after its flight left for Delhi without taking him onboard. Shetti was supposed to fly to Delhi from Mumbai and had booked a business class ticket for his journey. He had reached the domestic airport an hour ahead of the check in. After reaching the airport, Shetti had collected his boarding pass and went to lounge. Shetti had made an entry in the register prior to entering the lounge. He never has followed protocol and sought assistance for commuting to Delhi. When Raju left the lounge to board his flight he was disappointed to learn that boarding has been closed. Thus Shetti had to undergo severe hardships and bear mental harassment at the airport due to negligence of the airline. I was at T2 (terminal 2) of Mumbai airport for my morning flight to Delhi. It was necessary for me to board the flight. I was waiting at the lounge with my boarding pass. After sometime I realised that the boarding doors are closed. When I enquired, I was told that my flight had taken off, said Shetti. Even though I possessed board pass I had to miss my flight. How can an airline fail to keep tab of passengers boarding the flight. This is unprofessional way of treating customers. I am going to raise this issue before the Ministry of Civil Aviation, he added. Initially, Jet Airways didnt take responsibility for taking Shetti on board before departure. After missing his flight, Shetti urged airline to arrange another flight for him. Jet Airways accommodated him in the next flight but asked him to shell out Rs 2,000 extra for ticket booking. Shetti nonetheless refused to pay the excess fare and had a heated argument with airline officials. However, they refused to cooperate with him and asked him to pay the difference amount of the fare. Since Shetti had to urgently reach Delhi for attending a meeting he agreed to pay the fare by using his debit card. When Shetti demanded a receipt for the booking amount officials refused. Later, Jet airways officials called Shetti and tendered an apology. They will refund the Rs 2,000 fare charged from him for boarding the next flight. Earlier Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was barred from flying by Air India for assaulting a staffer on March 23. The ban was lifted on 7 April after the Ministry of Civil Aviation directed Air India to allow the MP to board the flight, based on an undertaking submitted by Gaikwad. Vijay Mallya paid 650,000 bail and said keep dreaming about billions of pounds. He said, there was no loan diverted anywhere and reporters could keep dreaming about allegations of a billion-pound loan fraud at Kingfisher Airlines. The 61-year-old was arrested in London on a warrant issued by Indian authorities accusing him of conspiring to defraud IDBI Bank Ltd. through a Rs. 9,100 crore loan to Kingfisher Airlines Ltda premium airline he founded in 2005 and shut down seven years later. Mallya left India a year ago saying he was moving to England to be closer with his children. After taking over a beer-and-liquor empire from his father in the 1980s, Mallya built Kingfisher Airlines into one of Indias leading carriers until it was grounded amid mounting debt in 2012. He has gradually ceded control of his drinks businesses to rivals in recent years. Diageo Plc bought his United Spirits Ltd. in April 2014, while Heineken NV is now the biggest shareholder of United Breweries, the maker of the nations best-selling Kingfisher beer. Vijay Mallya, faulted of non-payment on loans worth crores, was arrested in London in what the CBI counted as a major win in attempts to bring the business tycoon to India to face trial. Mallya, 61, is wanted for loan fraud and is also facing charges of money-laundering. Vijay Mallya, the former boss of Kingfisher Airlines was granted bail after being arrested by Scotland Yard in London (UK). As usual, Indian media had gone over hyping about it, but Mallya gave them befitting reply on twitter. India had given a formal extradition request for Mallya as per the Extradition Treaty signed between India and the UK through a note verbal on 8 February. Mallya has been on the run after he failed to repay bank loans worth Rs. 9,000 crore taken on behalf of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Multiple courts in India have issued warrants against Mallya in various cases over the past one year. So far, banks have not made any significant progress as far as the recovery of Kingfisher loans even as Mallyas Kingfisher Villa was recently sold to a Mumbai-based businessman. Recently, a Delhi court had issued an open ended non-bailable warrant against the businessman in a case of allegedly evading summons in a FERA violation matter. On 4 November last year, while issuing non-bailable warrant against Mallya, the court had observed that, he had no inclination to return and had scant regard for the law of the land. The court also said that on 4 October, it had specifically noted that he could approach authorities and obtain emergency document to return to India but the situation is that he has not taken any such step. Last month, the British government certified Indias request for extradition of Mallya, and sent it to a district judge for further action. In a series of tweets recently, he accused the government of holding him guilty without a trial. There were many petitions against Vijay Mallya from past one year. The anger and rage people carry against him is unfathomable. From words like Bring Mallya back to Initiate criminal proceedings were all seen in the petitions by various people. Upon searching the twitters tweets, you can easily find how people are speaking and their tones are against him. Mallya did not take money from the Indian treasury, he may or may not have been a part of money laundering, and he has sponsored an entire team for IPL which we happily cheered for. He took loan from the banks and was willing to pay back. Not everyone can repay the loan amount. Not just Mallya but many people have absconded the country with a lot of money. It is banks responsibility to give loan based on the security they can receive. It is banks failed decision which has caused the uproar. Mallya did not make the banks sign at gun point or something, it was just business. Company singing with a bank for money and that is it! Many a times company can pay back, at times it does not. It is a business deal between bank and a company, has nothing to do with the nation. He has not stolen money from the citizens. Banks will happily claim their saving on taxes against the defaulters list. Actually, it is the banks that are draining the nation; they should have paid the full tax irrespective of the defaulters. Banks exist not for charity but to do business. They like to earn money by lending it, loan is one of their products. People repaying the loan or defaulting, it is called business risk and they undertake various research before signing the documents. Why are Indians getting worried about it? Why is a chief minister stepping down from his busy schedule and planning to resolve business issue between two companies? Besides, above all, he is asking the Prime minister of India to work on behalf of the banks. Banks should have known about the consequences. Many people defaulted when banks pushed credit cards down the throat of individuals as their sales representatives harassed with repeated phone calls, one of the reasons which doomed the nation like United Nations of America. At an individual level, they managed to declare a deficit from the government. Indian banks are not distributing loans as an individual demands. When you go to the bank, do you get loan instantly? Who is responsible, if you choose not to repay; bank or the government? Chief Minister is a respectable and responsible designation, and if someone wastes their time by curbing on the salary which is paid by our hard earned money as a tax then they should prove their time in the office more than casual activities. A business man will never let his employee waste his time. When some people open their mouth or express their understanding based on the wave created by the politicians, with no bases. It actually brings down the average IQ of an entire nation. Please step out of the crowd and work towards what is in the best interest of the nation. Being a part of political wave should be a thing of the past now. Let us grow up. Let the legal procedure take its time and draw the conclusion. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis issued a statement that the BJP unit in Maharashtra is prepared for mid-term polls. The buzz about a midterm poll is getting louder all over again in Maharashtra as the Bharatiya Janata Party is finding it tough to get along with its ally, Shiv Sena. Since 2014, both the parties have locked horns with each other on various issues. Uddhav kept on threatening BJP to withdraw support and BJP tried its level best to mitigate, but now finally even ruling party BJP has realised that these are verbal warnings and Sena will not act according to what they say. During Uttar Pradesh elections the verbal war continued but BJP has done very well in the state. The BJP leadership in Maharashtra had decided to patch up with Sena, the result for the Mumbai civic body elections too has gone in favour of the saffron party. Ahead of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation poll, the differences between Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) widened as the war of words between leaders of both the parties reached the pinnacle. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar took pot shots at Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray over his stand regarding Samruddhi super-communication highway between Nagpur and Mumbai. Shelar cornered Thackeray and stated that some people have habit of criticising even good work of the government. His indication was towards Uddhavs opposition to Samrudhhi highway. Thackeray had held meeting with farmers from Shahapur in Thane district affected by the project and had assured them Sena will be behind them and he will speak to CM in this regard. Shelar stated that Modi and Fadnavis have given instruction to do any work with transparency and we will do it. During that period NCP had declared unconditional support to the BJP government immediately after the results were declared for 2014 assembly elections, through which the BJP bagged 122 seats. To remain in power, the BJP needed 145 seats in the 288-member assembly. BJP and Sena, keep on targeting each other with no holds barred. Scaling up the attack, Sena leaders even hinted that the party may quit the state government, sparking in the political circles that Sena may withdraw support to the BJP-led state government after the BMC polls. While the Opposition came together to announce a statewide protest to demand a loan waiver for farmers, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), upset with ally Shiv Senas continued opposition to it in the legislature, including on the suspension of 19 Opposition legislators, went into a huddle. Meanwhile, the Opposition, after their rout in the local polls, came together and announced a statewide Sangharsh Yatra against the government by boycotting the Assembly. The decision came a day after the state government suspended 19 Opposition legislators for creating a ruckus on the day of the budget. That was the first time since the BJP romped to victory in the 2014 Assembly polls that the Congress and NCP planned a state wide political initiative together. Within the Sena, there is confusion on how to walk the tightrope between being part of the government and playing the role of opposition. The confusion is only because the BJP does not take them into confidence before announcing their decisions. Finally, after lots of pressure from all the sides, Fadnavis government had agreed to the long-standing demand of farmers and announced a loan waiver for them last Sunday. Both the BJP and the Shiv Sena are trying, in their own way, to reach out to farmers. While Fadnavis is leading from the front to publicize what the BJP has done, now question is that, will Thackerays staunch criticism puncture the claims? Shiv Sena was founded in 1966 for the rights of Marathi people in Mumbai. Senas early ideology was rights for Marathi manoos (Marathi people). The party originally emerged from a movement in Mumbai demanding preferential treatment for Maharashtrians over migrants to the city. The party adopted Hindutva in the late 80s as back then the Ram Janmabhoomi movement gained momentum and popularity. The party believes in aggressive Hindutva as opposed to BJPs moderate Hinduvta ideology. Balasaheb Thackeray has in the past openly criticized the Muslims of this country who live in India but love Pakistan, whereas the BJP hasnt been so vocal against the minorities. Balasaheb said, he was proud of his Shivsainiks who helped demolish the Babri Masjid. Meanwhile the main Ram Janmabhoomi movement leader LK Advani, criticised the demolition, and called that day as the most saddest day in his life. The Shiv Sena has admitted that, it was involved in the 1992 riots and they did it to save the Hindus in Mumbai, but the BJP has never openly admitted to any riot. Balasaheb bluntly said he didnt believe in the democracy but the BJP has never said anything like this. So, as you can see Shiv Sena has two ideologies out of which one relates to Marathi people and Maharashtra and the other is Hindutva which is a bit on the extreme side. But with the changing time, they are following none of these ideologies. They merged with BJP on every level and lost their own sheen. Whereas BJPs main ideology is (moderate) Hindutva or the Hindu Nationalism, but along with that they announced that the development is their priority. Since 2014, the modern Modi BJP is active on all fronts, but achieving too much success has made them arrogant and over confident. Both political parties are fighting with each other on non-issues, by sidelining Rs. 70,000 crore irrigation scam. Government has refused to order a probe and Sena too never forced them much on this front. Many scams have surfaced, but neither Sena nor BJP ever spoke about those but they always shielded such acts by planting favourable stories in media. Lets see, how long Sena and BJP will indulge in a verbal war? Chinese FM responds to 'end of diplomatic truce' with Taiwan Xinhua | Updated: 2017-06-14 20:51 BEIJING - A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that Taiwan would find itself in a dead end if it denies the 1992 Consensus that the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. Lu Kang made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked whether the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Panama Tuesday means the end of a "diplomatic truce" between the mainland and Taiwan. The one-China principle not only concerns the core interest of China and the feelings of the 1.3 billion Chinese, but also is the prerequisite and political foundation of developing relations between China and foreign countries, said Lu. Stressing that China has more and more friends now, Lu said there is "no way out" for Taiwan to refuse to accept the 1992 Consensus. Only by acknowledging the consensus could cross-Strait relations develop peacefully and the people on both sides of the Strait realize common development, said Lu. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Periods of rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 68F. Winds ESE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Periods of rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 68F. Winds ESE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. To mark World Blood Donor Day (14 June), Airbus helicopters will join other companies around the world in the campaign #MissingType, during which companies, organisations and individuals drop the letters A, B and O corresponding to the 3 main blood groups from their logos and social media profiles. The campaign was launched in 2015 by Britains National Health Service (NHS) to draw attention to the negative trend in blood donations, and to encourage first-time donors to register. Blood banks rely on a large supply and adequate mix of blood types to fulfill the need for transfusions in surgery, and to treat conditions like anaemia, cancer and blood disorders. No manufactured substitute exists for human blood; voluntary donations are therefore vital. In France, some 10,000 donations are needed each day in order to treat illnesses. Airbus helicopters will be dropping its letters in support of this cause, so dont be surprised by some unusual letter combinations on your screens this week. American Airlines Cargo has selected G Force GSA Mexico as its new General Sales Agent (GSA) in Mexico, following the retirement of Americans current GSA. The deal starts on July 1 and will also provide the airline with local sales expansion into five new locations Cancun, Guadalajara, Leon, Puerto Vallarta and Monterrey while continuing its presence at Mexico City. Mexico is a very important part of our worldwide network, with a high demand for both inbound and outbound cargo traffic such as pharmaceuticals, auto parts and seafood, said Shanna Abbott, American Airlines Cargos GSA contracts manager. Having G Force represent us throughout Mexico will enhance service for our customers who ship to or from these key cities. A local presence is a sure-fire way for us to ensure that each customers needs are being met. As cargo needs increase throughout Mexico, customers want to know that their goods are going to be shipped quickly and reliably, said Marcel Barjau, station manager for G Force. Our team has experience in cargo with a variety of airlines and logistics venues. We have a unique understanding of the needs of customers and of our local markets." Share this story June 14, 2017 A prominent opposition member of parliament was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Turkish court today, part of a widening crackdown by Turkeys Justice and Development Party (AKP) government against its critics. Enis Berberoglu, a member of the pro-secular Republican Peoples Party (CHP), was convicted of revealing state secrets. The veteran journalist who ran Hurriyet, the countrys most influential newspaper, before running for parliament was accused of having leaked footage shot in January 2014 of trucks operated by Turkeys national spy agency, MIT, that were laden with weapons. Turkey's judges are taking orders directly from the presidential palace, said CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu after an emergency meeting of his executive board. The arms were allegedly destined for jihadi groups in Syria. It is an open secret that since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Turkey was for many years the main conduit for weapons flowing to opposition rebels, including jihadis, seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. In March 2013, The New York Times reported that with the help of the CIA, Arab governments and Turkey had "sharply increased their military aid to Syria's opposition fighters." Quoting US and other officials, the report noted, "The Turkish government has had oversight over much of the program, down to affixing transponders to trucks ferrying the military goods through Turkey so it might monitor shipments as they move by land into Syria." The bulk of such deliveries originated from Esenboga airport in Ankara. The southern Mediterranean port of Mersin was the main hub for arms shipments to the rebels from Libya. The truck scandal erupted when prosecutors in the southern province of Adana sought to stop and search the vehicles, only to be obstructed by a separate set of Turkish officials who arrived at the scene. Cumhuriyet suggested that the arms were destined for the Islamic State, though the paper was unable to substantiate the allegation. Commenting on the verdict before being hauled off by security guards, Berberoglu said, This decision is intended as a message of warning to the Turkish public. CHP parliamentary whip Engin Altay took a harsher tone. The case that was adjudicated today is one that provides the basis for [Turkish President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan to face prosecution as a war criminal in an international court, he said. Berberoglu, the first CHP deputy to be imprisoned under 15 years of AKP rule, will join a dozen or so imprisoned lawmakers (their numbers keep changing at a dizzying pace) from the largest pro-Kurdish bloc, the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP). The Kurdish inmates include HDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtas, who faces an array of thinly supported terror charges. The story, which first ran in opposition newspaper Aydinlik before Cumhuriyet picked it up, provoked a furor. Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time, insisted that the trucks were carrying aid to ethnic Turkmens in Syria. He accused Cumhuriyet of engaging in espionage and blamed allies of Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based Sunni cleric who is also accused of masterminding last years failed putsch, of staging the affair. Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief Can Dundar would pay a heavy price for his actions, Erdogan warned. A cover-up ensued. Prosecutors involved in the case were dismissed and charges brought against Dundar and fellow editor Erdem Gul. The pair, who did prison time, were convicted in May 2016 of publishing state secrets. Prosecutors are seeking an additional 10 years in prison for the two editors. Dundar, who faces separate charges of terrorist propaganda, is now living in exile in Germany. Berberoglu was also prosecuted for providing video footage of the attempted truck search to Cumhuriyet. In May 2016, the parliament approved a bill spearheaded by the AKP to strip the immunity of lawmakers facing trial. Some 20 CHP members are believed to have supported the measures, which helped pave the way for Berberoglus prosecution. The CHP is facing mounting criticism for its ineffectual opposition to Erdogan. Some go as far as to accuse the party founded by founder of the republic Kemal Ataturk of propping him up by continuing to sit in the parliament. June 12, 2017 In a narrow street in Cairos Abbasiya district, a group of Chinese restaurants, stores and internet cafes thrive as Egyptian and Chinese customers, as well as tourists, find their way to this small Chinatown in the capital. Cairos Chinatown is warmly embraced by Egyptians in the area who say that having a small Chinatown in Egypt can bring people from two different cultures closer and enhance relations between the two countries. The food is delicious and at a good price, Mohannad Osama, one of the customers of a Chinese restaurant on Ahmed Saeed Street, told Al-Monitor. Osama described the service as good, although he said he had some difficulty communicating with the Chinese waiters. All in all, my friends and I enjoyed the experience a lot, he said. This was Osamas first visit to the small Chinatown in Cairo, but he said he would love to go there again and enjoy the Chinese food, learn about Chinese culture and embrace new cultures. Ahmed Ismail, a Chinese restaurant owner in the Abbasiya district who recently adopted Islam, told local media that his restaurant not only attracts Egyptians but also draws in customers from all over the world, including from Morocco, Malaysia, Indonesia and China, among other countries. Ismail learned to cook in China. After coming to Egypt in 2013, he opened a restaurant to earn money and, at the same time, pursue his studies. Ismail, who hopes to stay in Egypt for a long period, aims to open other restaurants in the country. Many Chinese migrants can be seen in Cairos streets selling electronics, household utensils and even Ramadan lanterns. Some of them also sometimes knock on Egyptians' doors to sell products. Chinese people have a good reputation in Egypt for their hard work and perseverance a trait Egyptians believe is demonstrated in the quality of their restaurants and cafes in Cairos Chinatown. Going to Chinatown is always great. We now go periodically, at least once a month, although it is far from us, Radwa Abdelsattar, who visits Chinatown with her husband, told Al-Monitor. Abdelsattar, who usually goes to one of the famous restaurants there, said, The taste, the quality and the quantity at the restaurant are exceptional. It gets better all the time. Even the most expensive and popular Chinese restaurants outside Chinatown in Egypt are not that consistent, she added. The new district shows the growth in the number of Chinese people who have come to Egypt, including students who study at the nearby Al-Azhar University, according to the Amsterdam-based academic database Arab West Report. The report says Egypts Chinese community has grown at an unprecedented rate over the past 10 to 15 years, driven by the economically rising power of China and the Asian countrys increasing economic interests in other countries. The academic database said that the number of Chinese in Egypt stands at 20,000, hailing from various social classes as well as different religious, ethnic and professional backgrounds. Chinese Muslim students at Cairos Al-Azhar University have been for decades a large percentage of the community in Egypt. Others come to Egypt for business. Since the rise of China as a foremost economic power, particularly this group has increased tremendously in numbers, it said. The success of Chinese entrepreneurship in Egypt is parallel to the Egyptian-Chinese relations, which have recently witnessed noticeable growth. In January 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Cairo and signed investment agreements worth billions of dollars with the Egyptian government. China supports Egypts efforts to maintain stability, develop the economy and improve livelihoods, and play an even greater role in international and regional affairs, Xi said, according to Chinas Foreign Ministry. During the Chinese presidents visit, Egyptian and Chinese officials inked 21 agreements to increase Chinese investments in the North African country. The deals covered the fields of infrastructure, electricity, transport and development. According to Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Qabil, the volume of Egyptian-Chinese trade hit $11 billion in 2016. He added that Chinese investments in the Egyptian market totaled $594 million so far in the fields of industry, telecommunications and information technology, the state news agency MENA reported. June 14, 2017 Despite all modernization efforts, Iran is still a cash-based economy where banks and financial institutions play a significant role. Ever since the privatization of the banking sector in the early 2000s, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has had to deal with a phenomenon of non-bank credit institutions, which are more commonly referred to as credit and financial institutions (CFIs). The legal framework for these organizations was established in the countrys pre-revolutionary commercial code, but it had not been used in the first two decades of post-revolutionary Iran when all banks and financial institutions were nationalized. In the early 2000s, Iranian authorities revived the framework to provide a legal platform so applicants for private banking licenses could establish a financial entity before issuing an initial public offering of a newly founded private bank and securing the needed license. However, a sizable segment of the Iranian financial sector has become dominated by mostly unlicensed CFIs. These are usually affiliated with religious foundations, which claim the financial institutions are an extension of the religious responsibility of their umbrella organizations to extend interest-free loans to applicants. For a long time, the CBI was unable to challenge these entities as they claimed they were not engaging in mainstream banking and financial activities. In the original legal provisions, non-bank credit institutions were meant to be an additional instrument to offer loans to applicants under the supervision of the CBI. In a way, non-bank credit institutions represented an Iranian version of savings and loans associations. However, the post-revolutionary nationalization of banks derailed the original pre-revolutionary framework. Today, these non-bank credit institutions involve a massive network of branches across the country and even though they claim to engage in Islamic banking, they actually pay a higher interest on savings and also find ways to charge high fees on loans. One interesting case study the emergence and eventual bankruptcy of Mizan Credit and Financial Institute sheds light on the framework of these entities. Mizan initially emerged as a cooperative fund, owned by the pensioners and employees of the judiciary branch in Razavi Khorasan province. In 2005, it received a conditional license to become a non-bank credit institution, and in 2010, when it met the financial preconditions, it received a permanent license from the Central Bank under the administration of then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2013, after extending a 3.25 trillion rial ($100 million) loan to the Padideh Shandiz company, Mizan declared itself bankrupt. The announcement led to massive protests in Mashad and other cities in Razavi Khorasan province. After long deliberations, in May 2015, the government and the CBI agreed to dissolve Mizan and to transfer its remaining assets and liabilities to Bank Saderat. In the meantime, Padideh Shandiz also declared bankruptcy and has proven to be a massive embezzlement scheme involving 94 trillion rials ($2.9 billion). The corrupt economic elements within Mizan and other non-bank credit institutions leads one to believe that the individuals behind many such institutions are also involved in similar embezzlement schemes, which would explain why the organizations have mostly ended up with financial difficulties. One apparent reason why there is a market for such institutions is that licensed public or private banks are not fully equipped to satisfy the demand for personal and business loans in the market, hence pushing many loan applicants to enter into a contract with CFIs. In other words, CFIs have filled a gap that has existed in the countrys money market in the absence of a more developed financial sector. At the same time, the mushrooming of unregulated CFIs and various cooperative funds across the country has led to unhealthy disruptions in the money market. In an effort to manage this complex market structure, the CBI issued a statement in 2015 identifying the CFIs that were nonlicensed. Only three CFIs Tosee, Kosar and Asgarieh were declared licensed entities, with the rest being nonlicensed and thus not recognized by the CBI. Leading CFIs at that time included major organizations such as Mol-Al-Movahedin, Samen-al-Hojaj and Samen-al-Aemmeh all affiliated with major religious institutions, and thus enjoying strong political cover to withstand pressures from the authorities. However, the previous cases of financial collapse, such as that of Mizan, followed by the recent collapse of a CFI called Caspian, have highlighted the economic as well as social risks affiliated with these entities. In fact, all of these bankruptcies have led to criticism of the CBI for not having managed to regulate the financial organizations and have caused major protests that have been unpleasant for the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic. Currently, the list of licensed CFIs only includes five entities Tosee, Melal, Kosar Markazi, Caspian and Noor. The most recent case of one of these entities encountering liquidity problems is Caspian, which was created through a merger of two non-bank credit institutions. Ahmad Hatami, a veteran banking expert in Iran, pointed to the problems involved in regulating CFIs. Most of them are affiliated with power and wealth centers and have been established by semi-state institutions, he said. He added that the majority of the directors of such entities are not bankers. The government and the CBI have not only failed in regulating non-bank credit institutions, but have also failed in creating awareness among the public that it should stop trusting unlicensed CFIs. It wasnt until 2016 that the CBI received all the needed approvals to amend the Monetary and Banking Act and become fully able to regulate and supervise CFIs. The CBI and the governments efforts since then to reduce the risk of financial collapse in these entities have clearly not borne fruit. One important step by the CBI and the government was to place a ban on the creation of new CFIs in the 6th Development Plan, which sets the political and macroeconomic framework for the next five years. Consequently, the key challenge is to find a solution for the existing CFIs and regulate their activities. In this context, one solution may be to encourage the remaining CFIs to merge with existing banks. Generally, experts expect a process of mergers in the countrys banking sector to consolidate Irans commercial banks. Thus it remains to be seen whether the CBI will compel the CFIs to join the process and be included in the emerging mergers. However, beyond the planned mergers and a potentially more stringent supervision by the CBI over CFIs and banks, the remaining core problem is a culture of corrupt dealings that needs to be addressed. In particular, entities closely affiliated with religious and political power centers have engaged in embezzlement schemes that have undermined the economic and social well-being of the country and further delegitimized the Islamic Republic as a political regime that can manage the complexities of a modern economy. June 15, 2017 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to task Tourism Minister Yariv Levin with formulating a stricter new version of the "NGO law" simply shows how serious he is about it. Levin is more than just Netanyahu's loyal cohort in the Likud Party and his personal envoy for all sorts of special operations. He has been working hard to ensure the rapid advance of this proposed law, which would completely ban Israeli nongovernmental organizations from receiving donations from foreign governments. Levin is already well-known for his struggle to reduce the power of the Supreme Court, which he sees as a branch of the Israeli left. He is, therefore, the ideal candidate to implement Netanyahu's most recent instructions. Netanyahu made the announcement June 11, at a meeting of coalition party leaders. He explained that the existing law, which obligates NGOs to reveal their sources of foreign funding, is still too weak, since it only resolves the problem of transparency. Now the prime minister wants to block the flow of money from overseas to those NGOs that he believes are operating against the Israel Defense Forces. Netanyahu said that Levin was instructed to propose new legislation, which would include a comprehensive ban on receiving donations from foreign governments. Such a law is expected to cause considerable harm to many NGOs with no political affiliation, but which advance civil rights or support social and educational activities. It could also damage Israel's international image as a democratic state. Nevertheless, not one of the coalition party leaders protested this new initiative. Even the next day, when Netanyahu used the Likud faction's weekly meeting to make the celebratory announcement that he had appointed Levin to oversee this new initiative, there was no one to raise a red flag in opposition to Netanyahu. It is believed that Levin will soon submit a draft of the proposed legislation for the Cabinet to review, before the bill goes to the Knesset Legislation Committee for approval and for the Knesset plenum to adopt. Meanwhile, the Likud is planning to begin the actual legislative process before the Knesset goes on its summer recess in late July. The previous NGO law, which received final approval from the Knesset in July 2016, requires those Israeli organizations whose funding comes primarily from foreign states and organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union to declare their sources of funding before the Registrar of Non-Profits and in their official publications. The process began in 2011 with proposed legislation submitted by Knesset members from the right in an attempt to make it difficult for left-wing organizations to raise contributions. The controversial law resulted in then-US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro's taking the highly unusual step of speaking out against the law. Shapiro described it as extreme and warned that it would be damaging to legitimate organizations. The difference between prior years and now is the lack of opposition from within the party. In the past, veteran Likud members such as Dan Meridor, Benny Begin and Michael Eitan were able to prevent populist legislation from restricting the powers of the Supreme Court and regulating civil groups. The three claimed repeatedly that proposals such as these run counter to the values of the Likud, chief among them a commitment to liberal democracy. Furthermore, the Labor Party headed by Ehud Barak was also a member of the coalition at the time (the Netanyahu-Barak government of 2009-13), and was able to serve as a moderating factor. Similarly, in Netanyahu's third government, created in 2013, quite a few pieces of proposed legislation of a nationalist bent such as the Nationality law were blocked, not least because Tzipi Livni (Hatnua) and Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) were both members of the government at the time. In the early days of the current government, the chairman of Kulanu, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, assumed the task of defending the Supreme Court and blocking anti-democratic legislation. More recently, however, he has stepped back from this role, preferring to focus on economic issues and housing instead. The current situation is disturbing, not only because there is no one to rein in this populist legislation, but also because the prime minister himself is leading the legislative push. The new NGO law that he is promoting comes in addition to the Nationality Law, which he recently declared to be one of the main goals of the Likud. The latter is a problematic and controversial law, which disrupts the delicate balance between Israel's two main characteristics its identity as a Jewish and a democratic state because it grants legal preference to Israel's Jewish identity, at the expense of democratic values such as equality and minority rights. In the past, the prime minister may have tried to show a modicum of official behavior in response to legislative initiatives of this kind, if only externally. He often advocated compromise and attempted to moderate such proposals before they were passed. Now, however, he serves as the spearhead of the nationalist camp, in what is turning out to be his own agenda for the next election. While the next election is scheduled to take place in 2019, it is entirely possible that it will be moved up. Whatever the date, as it approaches, Netanyahu has been proving that he knows how to be just as much of a populist as Knesset members David Bitan and Miri Regev, all the more so now that the Israeli public is shifting more to the right. Former Minister Meridor has been standing to the side, watching what is happening in his party with considerable consternation. This week, he was disturbed to learn about the new NGO law being advanced by Netanyahu. Meridor had just left a meeting at the NGO where he volunteers, and which was created to help Ethiopian immigrants integrate into Israeli society. It also happens to be funded in large part by several European states. If this strict new legislation is passed, the group will not be able to accept money from overseas, even though it is not involved in any political activity. In a conversation with Al-Monitor, Meridor said that he no longer understands the Likud or Netanyahu. "Why forbid it?" he asked. "If some of the groups are problematic, deal with them [individually]. I think this is heading in a bad direction, which will be damaging to important institutions such as the Weizmann Institute [of Science]. They also benefit from donations from foreign states. It's a populist law and it's harmful. I was the Likud's minister of justice who led the legislative revolution. Democracy, rule of law and protecting the rights of minorities these were the principles upon which we operated, without interfering with security issues. Today that would be considered a left-wing approach, and there is no one to stop the madness." June 15, 2017 Less than a month after hosting US President Donald Trump and 50 Muslim leaders, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's alliance of Sunni states is in tatters, squandered on a vendetta. The Saudis' self-inflicted damage comes as tensions with its arch nemesis Iran are becoming more dangerous than ever. Support in the United States for the kingdom is polarizing. King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud demonstrated the impressive convening power of the Saudi government last month by hosting the American leader and those of dozens of Muslim countries. With a few exceptions (Algeria, Oman), most Islamic heads of government came to Riyadh for the summit. The Saudis rightly announced that the summit was a strong display of unity against terrorism and Iran, one that probably no other country in the Islamic world could have arranged. Saudi wealth and the king's status as the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques account for the success. The longstanding rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the world's only two Wahhabi states, is now shattering the unity built just last month. Qatar has long been an irritant and gadfly of the Saudi royal family and other leaders. While suppressing dissent at home, Qatar has encouraged it abroad. It shares an enormous natural gas deposit with Iran and together with Oman has been a voice in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for keeping ties open with Tehran. Saudi Arabia is apparently determined to put Qatar in its place. Now the GCC is broken into three camps. There is the Saudi-Bahrain-UAE bloc, which has severed ties and closed borders to Doha. Then come outliers Kuwait and Oman, leaving Qatar alone. Although close to Riyadh, Kuwait is trying to mediate what has become the worst split in the history of the GCC. Iran was quick to offer support for Qatar. Iranian officials are also blaming the Saudis for the Islamic State terrorist attack on Tehran. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has accused the Saudis of supporting Sunni dissidents in the Kurdish, Arab and Baluchi communities against the Iranian government. The Saudis broke off relations with Iran a year ago. Iran is stepping up its support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen, where the Saudis have been bogged down for more than two years. Iranian advisers are helping the Yemenis with their missile strikes. It's a cheap game for Tehran to exploit the Saudi vulnerabilities in Yemen, Iraq and elsewhere. Turkey is taking the unprecedented step of deploying troops to the defense of Qatar. A century ago, the founder of the modern Saudi state, King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, helped engineer the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf, with British assistance. Now his son has precipitated the return of the Turkish army to both, and it's unlikely to leave. Egypt is backing the Saudi boycott. The Saudis have rallied many poor African and Indian Ocean states to their side. The Maldives and Eritrea, for example, have little choice but to answer the Saudi call. But most Muslim countries are staying out of the squabble. The king visited Malaysia and Indonesia earlier this year, for example, and signed friendship agreements, but they have not broken their ties to Qatar. Pakistan, which refused to join the Saudi war in Yemen two and a half years ago, is trying to calm tensions in the Gulf. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has good relations with the royal families of both Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Millions of Pakistanis work in the GCC states, with two million in Saudi Arabia alone. Sharif traveled to the kingdom to try to mediate a deal to end the siege of Doha, but there is no sign of a restoration of relations yet. Saudi foreign policy has traditionally been cautious and risk averse. Salman's predecessors his brothers Abdullah, Fahd, Khaled and Faisal usually avoided confrontation and worked subtly behind the scenes. Money resolved most issues or at least helped smooth out rivalries. The Saudi military was rarely used in combat. Salman and his son, Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman, are much more belligerent and willing to take risks. The signature policy of their two and a half years in power is the war in Yemen, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today, according to the United Nations. Operation Decisive Storm is a quagmire wrapped around a stalemate. Iran is the only winner. If Yemen is a harbinger for Qatar, expect a long, drawn-out and messy process. Trump is profoundly unpopular with Muslims around the world. Even in the kingdom, only a handful of Saudi citizens when polled last fall wanted him to be elected. He is still trying to get his Muslim ban enacted in the United States. The Saudi royal family embraced Trump because he is not Barack Obama. He doesn't care about human rights or gender equality, he hates the free press and he loves strong men. His leadership means no more criticism of Saudi support for sectarian violence against Shiites. Trump claims that he brokered $350 billion in arms and other deals with the Saudis at the summit, but The Washington Post and others have shown his claims are enormously exaggerated. The joint statement released at the summit makes no mention of any deals. A very modest half-billion-dollar arms deal for more munitions for the Royal Saudi Air Force to bombard Yemen barely survived a vote in the Senate this week. Of the senators who voted for the last Saudi arms deal in 2016, 20 switched sides this time to oppose the deal and the final decision was 53 to 47. The trend is against the Saudis as congressional opposition to the war in Yemen grows. Meanwhile, Qatar has signed a deal for 36 F-15 fighter jets and withdrawn from participating in the Yemeni war. Tweets from the president are mostly pro-Saudi and have defined the Qatar quarrel as the epicenter of the war against terror. The administration's national security team is more focused on keeping the crucial American military base in Qatar and resetting GCC unity. Neither has spoken about Saudi Arabia's own interactions with extremists in the region or its extreme sectarian politics. A nuanced approach to this very important American alliance is crucial. Saudi Arabia is America's oldest ally in the Middle East. The alliance dates to 1943, when then Prince Faysal visited the White House, and was sealed two years later when King Ibn Saud and Franklin Delano Roosevelt met on Valentine's Day 1945 on the USS Quincy. Together, they have confronted many challenges, from Soviet imperialism to Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda. It's a partnership that needs a sure touch, not a blind eye. The Qatar affair combines American incompetence, Saudi bullying and Qatari game-playing with Iranian meddling and subversion. Too many outside players are getting involved muddying the waters. What began as farce may end as much worse. June 13, 2017 IDLIB, Syria With harvest season in full swing, farmers and officials have begun to calculate the damage done by a swarm of locusts that descended in April and May on large areas of opposition-controlled Idlib province, in northern Syria. From early May to late June, farmers usually harvest wheat, barley, lentils, chickpeas and cumin, among other crops, in addition to several types of vegetables on the province's plains and plateaus. Agriculture is the most vital economic activity in Idlib. Before the Syrian revolution, Idlib was a top olive oil producer, second only to Aleppo in the country. Locusts appear every year in the area, but the ongoing civil war, weakness of the self-proclaimed Syrian Interim Government and lack of resources available to the Idlib Agricultural Directorate are the primary factors that have allowed the destructive spread of the agricultural pest this year. In the absence of effective measures, large tracts of agricultural land run the risk of desertification. The locusts have settled in the areas of Shahshbo Mountain and Jabal al-Zawiya in the Idlib countryside, jeopardizing olive trees and pistachio nut trees, among others. Idlib farmers called on the Free Idlib Provincial Council to join the fight and swiftly secure insecticides to try to stanch the problem. Khaled al-Hassan, director of the Idlib Agricultural Directorate, told Al-Monitor that both the council and the directorate had responded to the farmers' appeals and formed committees in May composed of agricultural engineers who assessed the scale of the disaster firsthand and distributed pesticides. These limited pesticides available could in no way eliminate the scourge altogether. Hassan said the directorate estimates that 6,000 hectares of agricultural land have been affected by the swarm. Locusts killed about 60% of the agricultural crops in Idlib province, mostly in the Shahshbo Mountain, Hassan asserted. We noticed the spread of this scourge in 2016, but we were unable to contain it because of the directorates lack of the necessary tools, equipment and pesticides, and this caused the spread of more locusts this year. Even al-Rouj plain, al-Jabal al-Wastani and the Harim Mountains have been affected in Idlib. He further stated, We contacted all of the foreign agricultural parties and institutions to get their support to fight this insect, but in vain. Still, the Idlib Agricultural Directorate did not give up and deployed the modest capabilities it had to fight the scourge with the help of local councils in Idlib by spraying various insecticides. This helped limit the spread of this pest in the hopes that it will prevent a similar scourge in 2018. Mohammad Salam, 45, from the town of Hass, 12 miles south of Idlib city in the center of the province, told Al-Monitor that he lives entirely off his agricultural produce. This father of six children remarked, I harvested 10 hectares of wheat crops on June 8, but the yield was so small that it did not cover the financial cost of planting the land and did not exceed 20% of the average production that I harvested in the years preceding 2016. Salam further asserted, The spread of this pest is the result of what happened in 2016, when our agricultural harvest in Idlib was significantly affected, and locusts also spread, with a large portion of wheat, barley and olive crops being destroyed. The problem was not addressed by the Idlib Agricultural Directorate until late in the year, after locusts had laid their eggs, causing a wider spread of the insect this year. Under normal conditions, a farmer cultivating 10 hectares, about 25 acres, with wheat would harvest around 30 tons. The price of one ton of hard wheat was around $270 and one ton of soft wheat $265, allowing farmers to earn about $2,700. A farmer cultivating 100 olive trees could earn about $3,000 in a good season, with each tree producing on average oil worth an estimated $30. Hossam Mahalli, director of the agriculture office for the Kfar Derian council, 12 miles north of Idlib city, spoke to Al-Monitor about the situation, stating, The town of Kfar Derian suffered from swarms of locusts that in February started to eat the agricultural crops for which the town is known. Wheat, barley, vegetables and fruit trees, such as olives and figs, were among the damaged crops, which barely yielded 30% of what they usually produce. Mahalli further asserted, The local council of Kfar Derian made great efforts to fight this insect with the distribution of the necessary pesticides, but the quantities were minor compared to the problem, which requires a greater capacity beyond that of the local councils. He lamented, Locusts threaten summer crops and fruit trees, and we are unable to address this scourge at the present time. It is no guarantee at this point that the Idlib Agricultural Directorate will be able to lay out programs capable of preventing a similar scourge in early 2018 or secure the large amounts of pesticides farmers need to fight against it. Hassan noted that the war is undermining another line of defense, stating, Idlibs farmers hope for the return of the stork bird, which feeds on locusts and naturally fights this scourge, but it has been years since this bird, among many others, stopped settling in Idlib because of the war. June 14, 2017 Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar has been having a tough time the past couple of months. Turkish media printed his high school photographs with Turkeys most prominent conservative ideologue, Necip Fazil, followed by photographs of him as a lieutenant with former President Abdullah Gul and notable right-wing columnist Fehmi Koru. These aren't people the military looks upon favorably, and Akar suddenly found himself in the midst of a debate about his conservatism. Even more damaging has been the testimony of soldiers on trial for the July 15 coup attempt who said Akar did not try hard enough to foil the uprising and, even though he was not interned, opted to passively observe the developments of that fateful night. Officers who were discharged about five years ago from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) because of their alleged involvement in the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer coup plot cases are accusing Akar of failing to notice pro-Gulen officers had penetrated his own offices. Erdogan blames followers of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen for the coup attempt. Opposition parties allege the attempt actually was to have been a "controlled coup" in which Akar played a major role. These charges, which are being widely discussed, emphasize Akar's dismal management of the crisis. Recently there has been an increase in newspaper comments charging Akar with failing to block the coup attempt by not confining troops to their barracks, as is done during times of crises. The eight-page written testimony Akar sent to the Parliamentary Investigation Commission after an eight-month delay was not enough to put the accusations against him to bed. Akar's fate will be determined by the Supreme Military Council, which will convene the first week of August and is to be chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But the perception is that Akars image has been irreparably tarnished and that such accusations are likely to continue. The fate of civilian politicians used to be determined by the chief of staff; today, Akars fate lies with Erdogan. Curiously, while Akar has been pummeled with accusations incessantly for the past two months, Erdogan has been remarkably silent. Erdogan has not said anything that could imply support for Akar or help repair his image. Erdogan faces three choices: Continue with Akar for one more year, thus backing him despite his rapidly eroding public image; go with what could be termed a "dishonorable discharge," terminating Akars term that would associate Akar with the July coup attempt and possibly open the way for legal proceedings against him; or grant Akar an honorable retirement, easing him out with all his personal rights and the usual fanfare. Which option will Erdogan prefer? If he wants to keep the failed coup in the public eye, he is likely to keep Akar for one more year. But if Erdogan thinks that it's time for normalization and that the country needs a new start, he will replace Akar and the branch commanders who were detained by the putschists that night. I personally think Erdogan, as he hasn't responded to the escalating criticism of Akar, will decide Akar should retire at the beginning of August. Whether Akar ends his service with a dishonorable discharge or honorable retirement will depend on his strategic bargaining with Erdogan though I dont think Akar has much left in the way of negotiating leverage. Should Erdogan decide it's best to end Akars term, the question then becomes who will replace him. We have to keep in mind that since the coup attempt, commands of land forces, the air force and the navy which used to be under the absolute control of the chief of staff are now attached to the civilian-run Ministry of Defense. With such radical changes and other military reforms carried out since July 15, and since Erdogan's powers expanded greatly following a constitutional referendum April 16, the chief of staff's influence with the executive presidency and authority over branch commanders have significantly weakened. The chief of staff, who in the past used to shape the civilian politics of the country, has become a coordinator/consultant subordinate to the executive presidency. The chief of staff is very aware of the change and has been discreetly trying to preserve his standing in the protocol lineup. But the chief of staff position is becoming a coordinating agent of symbolic importance who reports directly to the executive president. Bearing that in mind, who might be the next chief of staff? The air force command has been lobbying for an air force general to become the chief of staff; that aside, there are three likely candidates. The first is the current commander of gendarmerie forces, Gen. Yasar Guler, who was detained and interned by the putschists. He is known for his anti-Gulen views and nationalist identity. Gulers hawkish attitude of combating terror, his high media visibility and overall good relations with politicians, including the ruling Justice and Development Party, make him a good chief of staff candidate. Another candidate is Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Umit Dundar, who, as the coup was in progress, appeared on TV to voice his opposition to the putsch attempt and show the public that the uprising was not approved by the chain of command. His low-profile shunning of contacts with the media for the past year, his polite demeanor and efforts to transform the TSK have resulted in plenty of praise. The final likely candidate is Gen. Metin Temel, who was lieutenant general in charge of combating terror in southeast Turkey. For his robust anti-coup position, he was much praised and appointed commander of the second army, which is responsible for operations in Syria, Iraq and most of southeast Turkey. He is known for his hawkish anti-terror attitude, anti-US sentiments, field experience and fierce anti-Gulen stance. With his "fighting general" image, he is one of the most popular generals in Ankara. July will be an interesting and eventful period. If Erdogan signals he doesnt want to continue with Akar, we have to keep in mind that the traditional TSK criteria such as seniority and rank, which used to decide the next chief of staff, are not valid anymore. In the end, we can be sure Erdogan will choose a chief of staff he can easily work with and who will be absolutely loyal to the executive president. Correction: (June 15, 2017): An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Gen. Metin Temel had been promoted to four stars. Apologies. June 14, 2017 The election of US President Donald Trump was neither a surprise nor an unpleasant event for Islamists in Turkey. To the contrary, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were making extra efforts to cheer for their newly elected American colleague. Erdogans 22-minute March meeting with Trump, despite being a fiasco on multiple fronts, was portrayed as the beginning of an affectionate personal relationship. Pro-AKP media refrained from using negative language against Trump. However, the tide took a stark turn with the Qatar crisis. As several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, Erdogan decided Turkey would stand with Qatar. Pro-AKP trolls took social media by storm with their #TurkiyeKatarKardestir (Turkey and Qatar Are Brothers) hashtag. As AKP trolls and newspapers were trying to figure out how best to rally public support for Turkish deployment of troops in defense of Qatar, their mobilized reactions provide us clues about Erdogan's future plans. A crucial common point in Erdogans speeches and pro-AKP columnists and social media trolls is to refrain from directly criticizing Saudi Arabia. If you follow the Qatar crisis exclusively on pro-AKP media outlets, you may not even be aware of the fact that Saudi Arabia is the main interlocutor in all this. Rather, you are made to believe the problem is the United States more specifically, Trump. At the start of the Qatar crisis, the government-paid troll army and media immediately branded the crisis as a US attack on the Muslim Brotherhood. Gates of anti-Trumpism in Turkey are now open, and Trump-bashing is increasingly becoming popular. Not only Islamists but also leftist groups find comfort and joy in blaming the United States for all things wrong in the Middle East. Here are some examples from the media: On June 6, Trumps tweets on Saudi Arabia's and other Arab states decision to target Qatar made the waves on Turkish social media. Milliyet reported these tweets by saying, Now it is revealed who pressed the button. Trump targeted Qatar. Several examples of anti-Trump statements dominated the media on June 9. For instance, a headline from the pro-AKP daily Takvim read, Trumps scandal declaration about Qatar. The story continued with anti-American statements, such as The United States, known well for its support of terrorism, continues its two-faced declarations. The Star Daily, whose owner is now a member of the AKPs top decision-making unit, had on its first page Trumps notorious globe photo with the Saudi king and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The title said, We cracked that globe. The subtitle read, Erdogan broke the siege of Qatar through intense phone diplomacy, opposition to the sanctions, accepting the visit of the Iranian minister, passing the legislation to send troops to Qatar and sending food aid. Yusuf Kaplan, a provocative Yeni Safak columnist, listed earth-shattering US goals such as getting Muslims to destroy each other, cutting off communication between different Islamist movements and replacing Muslim states with city-states. Kaplan concluded that to defend Islam, one cannot stay silent against the attack on Qatar. On June 11, Ferhat Unlu, a columnist for Sabah Daily, titled his piece Trumps sword dance with the deep state. Unlu claimed the United States is controlling the Gulen movement and that the new director of the FBI would be pro-Gulen. One of Yeni Akit's prominent writers, Ali Karahasanoglu, urged the government to cut off all relations with the United States because it was providing weapons to the Kurdish groups in northern Syria. The piece was published almost a month after Trumps announcement to arm the Kurds and a few days after the Qatar crisis. Yeni Safak on June 14 referred to the United States as the Gangster United States." The columnist, Tamer Kormaz, referred to Trump as the enemy of Islam, which is posted in bold letters. On June 6, the same columnist penned a piece titled the US is not our ally, but our enemy, and throughout the piece the United States is referred to as the engineer of terror with the US flag symbolizing terrorism. It reads, Behind the July 15 Gulen coup attempt is NATO and the US. There were dozens of tweets about Trumps invitation extended to the Qatari emir as being a setup or a trap, congratulating the emir for his refusal to go. The common theme in all of these columns, reports and social media posts was that the United States is the culprit of all the troubles in the Muslim world, and that it supports terror and cannot be trusted. Several tweets alleged that the purpose of the United States was not to end terror but to get money from Qatar. Why is the crisis between Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) being presented in such a light while any direct criticism or even mention of Saudi Arabia is so diligently omitted? One of the reasons is the possibility that Erdogan could flip-flop on his promise in his savvy way, as he has done with other cases. Whomever Erdogan calls his brother could potentially become a threat Fethullah Gulen and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are prime examples. Knowing well that Saudis will not tolerate any sort of demeaning and belittling allegations, Erdogan who is ever so fluent in anger is now urging Saudi Arabia to act as an older brother. Trying and failing utterly to act as the mediator, Erdogan has referred the crisis to the Saudi king and asked him to act as the peacemaker, referring to him as the "elder of the Gulf." Another possible reason is that Turks really do not know the differences between the GCC states. For example, although protests are banned under emergency law, a group of pro-AKP protesters marched in Taksim Square at the heart of Istanbul with bright, red-colored Bahraini flags in solidarity with Qatar. Yet they were under the assumption that they were displaying the Qatari flag, which is burgundy and white. Although Turkey has developed rather complex relations with Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia due to the lack of transparency, the Turkish public is not aware of how the UAE and Saudi Arabia have become challenges for Turkey over the last couple of years. Now, slowly, the Turkish media are portraying Qatar as a friend who stood by Erdogan during the July 15 coup attempt, while the UAE is likely to be one of the forces behind the attempt against Erdogan. Yet Turkey refrains from targeting the Saudis. At this point, the United States presents itself as the easy target. With already skyrocketing levels of anti-Americanism in Turkey, it is not difficult to put all the blame on the United States to rally the public. The interesting observation here is how fast pro-AKP figures went from applauding and cheering Trump to scapegoating him. Trump-bashing is seen as a lower-cost activity than criticizing the Saudi king in Turkey. Yet the unknown here rests with Trump: Will he tolerate the increasing Turkish hatred and wild criticism? Correction: (June 15, 2017): An earlier version of this article misstated Ali Karahasanoglus affiliation. He writes for Yeni Akit, not Yeni Safak. June 15, 2017 Turkeys main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) staged mass rallies on June 15, the day after one of its deputies, Enis Berberoglu, received a 25-year prison sentence for revealing state secrets. Berberoglu, a journalist by profession and former editor-in-chief of Hurriyet, the countrys largest newspaper, was immediately placed in custody and taken to Maltepe Prison in Istanbul. Although he is the first CHP deputy to be imprisoned in 15 years of Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule, Berberoglu joins about a dozen other primarily Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) deputies who are serving prison terms, including co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas. In response, CHP chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu called for a Justice March that drew thousands of people. The leader of Turkeys secular opposition party aims to walk from the capital, Ankara, to Istanbuls Maltepe district, where Berberoglu is held, a distance of some 430 kilometers (about 267 miles) that Kilicdaroglu plans to walk in 20 days. After the criticism for his timid response to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans increasing authoritarianism and fraud allegations in the April 16 referendum, Kilicdaroglus recent move has received positive coverage in the domestic and international media. Yet, several factors work against the CHP and its embattled leader. For one, Devlet Bahceli, chairman of the second largest opposition group the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), took to Twitter to criticize Kilicdaroglus protest march. Bahceli accused the CHP leader of telling on [Turkey] to the West and either being an accessory or an active participant in the trap set for our country. Since the coup attempt in July, Bahceli has struck up an uneasy partnership with the AKP and Erdogan. Thus, without the MHP, the CHP has little chance to confront Erdogans AKP. In addition, some analysts such as Burak Kadercan, an assistant professor of strategy and policy at the US Naval War College, think Kilicdaroglus action is too little, too late. Kadercan pointed out that the state secrets that Berberoglu had passed on to Cumhuriyet's editor-in-chief, Can Dundar, had likely come from the supporters of Fethullah Gulen (to whom many Turks derogatively refer as FETO for "Fethullah Terror Organization") in the opening rounds of Gulens fight with Erdogan in early 2014. Kadercan tweeted, To pursue a case that was serviced by FETO and pushed by Can Dundar would close AKP ranks, and it would not motivate the opposition. At any rate, Kilicdaroglu is facing growing opposition within his own party. Many CHP members including former deputy chairwoman Selin Sayek Boke, who resigned from her post May 6, blamed the CHP leader for his inadequate reaction to Erdogans marred referendum victory. It is not hard to see Kilicdaroglus long march from Ankara to Istanbul as an attempt to re-establish his authority in the party and generate popular support for the CHP. While Kilicdaroglu has earned the nickname Gandhi for his physical resemblance to the father of modern India, he has yet to replicate the charismatic Indian leaders political successes. Should Kilicdaroglu fail to generate support for himself within the party and for the party within the country, his days as CHP chairman will likely to be limited. In other news, two people have been arrested in the United States in connection with the violent attack on protesters chanting slogans against Erdogan during the Turkish presidents visit to Washington May 16. During the scuffle, Erdogans bodyguards and Turkish-American supporters attacked some dozen protesters outside the Turkish ambassadors residence on Sheridan Circle. In the aftermath of the episode, both Democratic and Republican politicians condemned the Turkish sides actions. Whether the event will worsen US-Turkish relations any further remains to be seen. Birmingham-headquartered Tire Engineers and Express Oil Change have been sold from a Southern private equity firm to one based in California. Charlotte-based Carousel Capital sold the automotive service chain to Golden Gate Capital, based in San Francisco. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Express Oil was founded in 1979 and has 300 locations, both company owned and franchised, throughout 15 states. The chain will stay headquartered in Birmingham and the current management team, including CEO Ricky Brooks, will keep operating from Birmingham. "We are delighted to partner with Golden Gate Capital, which is fully supportive of our long-term strategic plan and appreciates our deep-rooted commitment to exceptional customer service and providing the highest quality automotive products and services," Brooks said in a press release. "I am extremely proud of the strong foundation we established throughout our decade-long partnership with Carousel Capital and believe that with Golden Gate Capital's support we are well-positioned to maintain our momentum as we pursue our growth strategy." Birmingham's Bradley law firm served as legal advisor to Express Oil and Carousel. Golden Gate has over $15 billion of capital under management, including locations of Bob Evans, Red Lobster, California Pizza Kitchen, Pacific Sunwear, Express and Zales. The Birmingham Public Library is seeking additional funding to make much needed repairs to the central library in downtown. Library board member Gwendolyn Guster Welch said the city's proposed budget for the 2018 fiscal year doesn't include any funds for capital improvements. "It is time to reinvest in our cornerstone - our libraries, she said. Speaking before the Birmingham City Council during a Wednesday evening public hearing on the budget, Welch said the central library's elevators break down frequently. The fire department had to be called Wednesday, she said, because people got stuck in the elevator. The central library's escalators and HVAC system are also in need of repairs or replacement, she said. A public hearing on the proposed 2018 operating budget, which is required by law, started about 30 minutes late and with only four councilors in attendance: LaShunda Scales, Johnathan Austin, Marcus Lundy and Valerie Abbott. Councilor Sheila Tyson walked into the meeting later. Mayor William Bell wasn't in attendance. Before the hearing began, Austin, who serves as council president, said the proposed budget from the mayor's office doesn't include any cost saving recommendations. He said the administration has been moving funds out of the city's savings in order to prop up revenues. Scales also pointed out that the proposed budget isn't balanced. The 2018 budget doesn't yet include the salary increases that members of the city council will receive beginning in October. The mayor's office argues that the salaries haven't been set yet. The 2018 fiscal year starts July 1. Most of the speakers during the hearing were agency heads seeking additional funding, or candidates for a city office. The Birmingham Public Library has a proposed operating budget of $15.67 million, a slight increase from the previous year. Councilors Abbott and Scales agreed that improvements need to be made to the central library. "It is stunning to me that we have allowed that library to get in the shape that it is in," Abbott said. "That is illogical to me." Of the operating funds budgeted to the library, $786,000 is allocated for the purchase of library materials, which includes books. Welch asked for more funding for books. Several years ago, she said the library system received $1.4 million for the purchase of materials. Also, last year the City Council allocated $1 million for a reading initiative between the library and Birmingham City Schools. Welch said those funds were never released. The city of Birmingham's proposed operating budget for 2018 is at $428 million, up about $6 million from the previous year. Personnel costs make up 70 percent of the city's budget, according to the mayor's office. Next year's budget includes a 5 percent employee merit raise, which will cost $2.6 million, and a 1 percent cost of living increase. The Birmingham Police Department will have the same operational budget as last year, except $1.5 million was added for purchase of police vehicles. Another $300,000 in funding was added for community policing efforts, according to the mayor's office. Bill Cather, who represented Rickwood Field, asked the council on Wednesday for $35,000 in additional one-time funding to make up for lost revenues. The field had to close for emergency repairs in April and lost about $50,000 in revenues, he said. The historic field is allocated $170,000 for next year. A few residents of the Roebuck Springs neighborhood asked the council for funding to demolish the former Banks school on 86th Street South. They said the building is in disrepair and not secure. Neighborhood association President Frank Hamby said gunfire has increased in the neighborhood, and residents believe it is coming from the school. Resident Jerry Tate asked the council to give more funds to Birmingham City Schools. "It appears our priorities are a little misguided," he said. He asked the council not to pass the budget until there is more funding for schools and roads. He said the condition of the road "is costing our cars. It is costing us in repairs." Scales said the council did approve funding to pay many roads in the city this year. Paving has begun, according to the mayor's office. The Rostock riots were the most disturbing resurgence of right-wing, xenophobic violence since the rise of Nazism. This summer marks the 25th anniversary of the Rostock riots the most disturbing resurgence of anti-immigrant violence in Germany since the rise of Nazism. In the quarter of a century since, many foreigners arriving in Germany have experienced the warmest of welcomes but a few have experienced chilling acts of hatred. This series explores how a small minority of ultra-xenophobic Germans has tarnished their nations reputation as a haven for the worlds displaced masses. These stories are primarily told through the experiences of immigrants and asylum seekers who survived xenophobic harassment or attacks. Their stories are the exception to the norm: incidents of violent xenophobia are rare in Germany compared with other countries. Indeed, Germany has welcomed more asylum seekers in recent years than any other European nation the United Kingdom, France, Poland, Austria, Hungary, and magnitudes more than the far more populous United States. W hen faced with the largest exodus of people since World War II, none of these nations welcomed refugees as unconditionally as Germany did. Its precisely because of this reputation that Al Jazeera is taking a hard look at what happens on the occasions when that welcome culture goes awry. This is the first story in a seven-part series. Rostock, Germany On a summer afternoon in August 1992, Sylvia Modrow returned from a holiday with her family to find scores of Germans gathering around her 11-storey apartment building. Modrow was a German resident of the building known as the Sunflower House, located on the outskirts of Rostock, an ordinarily calm town on the Baltic Sea in the countrys east. Located in the district of Lichtenhagen, the building, with a huge mural of a sunflower on the side of the structure, housed a number of immigrants from Vietnam. It soon attracted newly arriving refugees fleeing economic hardship and discrimination in Eastern Europe. That summer, dozens of Roma families had begun sleeping outside the Sunflower House. The city didnt house them or provide them with food, water or bathrooms. People didnt have toilets, so they had to urinate and do everything outside. It was stinking. The Romanians were stealing in the supermarkets because they didnt have money to buy food, recalled Dorit Kesselring, editor of Ostsee-Zeitung, the largest newspaper in the region. She said their presence came at a strange time. It was just two years after the [Berlin] wall fell. Everything was in change, everything was uncertain, Kesselring said. There was a change in peoples fears fears of the immigrants taking away our jobs and our living space. WATCH: People and Power Germanys Refugee Crisis Three days of violence Modrow witnessed what followed from the window and balcony of her fifth-floor apartment. At a nearby intersection, she saw men stopping vehicles in the middle of the road. It must have been some gangs that were controlling it, and they were picking out everyone who looked like foreigners, Modrow recalled. I watched as one car accelerated across the grass with a Vietnamese driver inside. He drove straight up to the building, jumped out and ran. She couldnt see whether he made it inside. Who knows what they would have done to this man, Modrow said. It was obvious he was fleeing for his life. Over three days, thousands of people stood by and watched as mobs consisting of hundreds of xenophobic Germans threw stones or lobbed Molotov cocktails into the Sunflower building. Theyd use petrol from their cars to make the explosives. We looked at the parking lot and we saw them preparing the cocktails, and we were surprised there were no police there, Modrow said. There was smoke everywhere. She didnt dare leave her apartment, for fear of getting caught up in the violence. Part of the building caught fire, and residents were forced to escape to the roof, babies and children in their arms. Fortunately, no one was injured. Though hundreds of arrests were made and charges were filed, only a few protesters were convicted of violence against police. Not one was convicted of violence against the immigrants themselves. It wasnt until a decade later that three men were found guilty of attempted murder. But they received no prison sentence beyond the year and a half theyd already been in custody. Accounts of buses arriving full of demonstrators to the parking lot opposite the building bolstered claims by residents that the attacks seemed calculated. It was planned to allow it to escalate to set a symbol, Kesselring said. WATCH: The Syrian refugee giving back to Germany Resurfacing of xenophobic violence Today, the Rostock riots are generally remembered in Germany as the moment when right-wing, xenophobic violence resurfaced in the country. In the years since the end of World War II Germany had gone to unimaginable lengths to reconcile with and compensate for the xenophobic period that culminated in the Holocaust. Theres even a word in German for this reckoning Vergangenheitsbewaltigung: to publicly debate problematic periods in the past, to cope with them. German teachers taught the uncensored history of how racism and xenophobia escalated into violence, and schools invited Holocaust survivors to come tell their stories to students. German churches preached repentance. Until a decade ago, Germans rarely flew their nations flag, uncomfortable with the connotations of its nationalistic past. But when the Berlin Wall fell and East Germans in particular faced unemployment as they abruptly encountered a free market, a small minority began once again to blame Jews and immigrants for their problems. Everything was changing, Modrow said. A lot of people started fearing losing their jobs, which was a feeling they hadnt known before. She added: I think people were overwhelmed with a lot of refugees coming. This is what made people scared and nervous, because we didnt have that in the GDR before. In the early and mid-1990s, disgruntled Germans committed numerous arsons against immigrants, some of whom were killed in the attacks. In the days following the Rostock riots, similar disturbances erupted across northeastern Germany. In November, neo-Nazis set fire to the house of a Turkish family just a few hours west in the town of Molln, killing three. Five more immigrants were killed in a similar attack in a west German town near Cologne the following year. The fact that the perpetrators of Rostock, after all the crimes that happened, were not brought to justice was a big factor in the radicalisation of a generation of xenophobic youth, said Heike Kleffner, a journalist who has researched the extreme right since the 1990s. It sent a signal: They could do whatever they wanted to. They could commit physical attacks against migrants and leftists, they could attack the police and they would never be brought to justice. WATCH: The New Germans Undercurrent of attacks Kleffner says even today, German authorities often fail to investigate such crimes or sentence their perpetrators with due force, sending a signal that they arent that serious. The parallels to todays events are striking, wrote Kleffner in an article for Amnesty International. The mass arrival of refugees to Germany beginning in late 2014 saw a wave of anti-immigrant violence. Since then, the number of xenophobic crimes has increased, with hundreds of arsons of buildings housing asylum seekers as well as dozens of physical assaults of immigrants themselves now taking place each year. As with the Rostock riots, few of Germanys modern-day attackers of immigrants are brought to justice. Did police learn anything from Rostock-Lichtenhagen? No, said Kleffner. After that, whenever the police should have been responsible for protecting immigrants, in many cases they werent there either. In 2012, on the 20th anniversary of the Rostock riots, Dimitri Avramenko, a politician in Rostock, told Der Spiegel that there remained a huge amount of latent racism in the population. Eastern Germany is extremely thinly populated with foreigners. And that vacuum is immediately filled with xenophobic slogans, he said. Kesselring believes that times have changed. People who live here are more experienced with having immigrants around, which wasnt the case back then, she said. Rostock, she points out, has become the primary stopover for thousands of recent refugees from Syria, Eritrea and elsewhere as they board ferries to cross the Baltic Sea to Scandinavia. These days, people give out clothes and bed sheets at the station or help refugees get on a boat to go to Scandinavia and prepare them sandwiches, Kesselring said. There has been a shift in the welcoming culture. In 1992, nobody would have helped those victims of those attacks. No one would have prepared them sandwiches. Of the violent events of August 1992, she said: I dont think it could happen again. Modrow isnt so convinced. I cant understand these people anymore. We Germans are so unfair in that boats full of people sink just because we dont want to have them here with us, Modrow said of the refugees fleeing to Europes shores. I could imagine this could happen again. Especially now that there is such a move to the right in society. Theres too much right-wing thoughts among the population here. Anything is possible. This reporting was made possible by a McCloy Fellowship from the American Council on Germany. Blocking of websites is part of a campaign to silence public dissent before presidential elections, analysts say. Egypts recent blocking of 64 websites that are not aligned to state medias narrative is part of the governments crackdown on civil society, analysts have said. With presidential elections scheduled to take place next year, and amid the controversial Tiran and Sanafir deal that was approved by parliament on Wednesday, analysts say that this is the governments attempt at neutralising resistance and eliminating potential presidential candidates. The blocking of news websites was described by UK-based rights group Amnesty International as an onslaught against media freedom. With this move, the Egyptian authorities seem to be targeting the few remaining spaces for free expression in the country. It shows just how determined the authorities are to prevent Egyptians from accessing independent reporting, analysis and opinion about Egypt, said Najia Bounaim, Amnesty Internationals North Africa Campaigns director in a statement on Tuesday. The authorities must immediately stop arbitrarily blocking news websites. Among the websites that have been blocked on Sunday are Albedaiah, which is run by independent journalist Khaled elbalshy, as well as Elbadil, and Bawabit Yanair. OPINION: Why is Egypt involved in the latest GCC crisis? The latest move to cut off news websites came days before the Egyptian parliamentary committee was set to cast its final vote on the transfer of two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, to neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Defying a lower court ruling that nullified the deal, Egypts parliament voted in favour of ratifying the deal. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi signed the controversial deal in 2016, which received much backlash from the public. Hundreds demonstrated against the move in the streets of Cairo last year in what was the first mass protests to take place under Sisis reign. All demonstrations in Egypt are banned unless they are court-approved. Journalists and activists continued to criticise the deal, which was open to debate in parliament earlier this week, calling for its termination on the basis that the islands were under Egypts sovereignty and accusing Sisi of selling land in return for Saudi aid. According to local media reports, a sit-in on the steps of the Journalists Syndicate in Cairo turned violent on Tuesday night, when police clashed with dozens of protesters, briefly arresting eight of them. Among those arrested were prominent journalists and activists who have been rallying support from the people and calling for the end of the Tiran and Sanafir deal for months. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, elbalshy said that when his news website, which is critical of the government, was cut off, most of its coverage was centred on the heated debate around the islands transfer deal. READ MORE: Egyptian court jails scores for islands protests The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, a non-government organisation that tracks and monitors the blocking of websites, said that the Egyptian authorities have now blocked 64 websites since May 24, including sites that grant access to blocked web pages, such as VPNs. According to local media, the number of VPN-users increased in recent weeks following a government campaign to cut off licensed news websites. What started with 21 cut-offs, escalated in recent weeks with authorities claiming to be combating terrorism and extremism. However, according to the monitor, there was no evidence presented to the public in support of these claims. Among the websites that were banned is one of the countrys most dissident independent websites, Mada Masr. A prominent local financial website, Al Borsa, was also blocked along with other international news outlets. Sisi is widely expected to run for a second term, but opposition candidates have increasingly been silenced by the government. Last month, ex-presidential candidate and opposition leader Khaled Ali, was arrested pending investigations. Ali, a human rights lawyer who had suggested he might run for president in the upcoming 2018 elections, was the main lawyer to bring a case against the government for agreeing to sign the Tiran and Sanafir deal. According to Mohamad Elmasry, associate professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, the reasons behind the intensification of government repression are two-fold. First, the Sisi government realises that the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands represents a potential existential threat for Sisi, because there is so much widespread opposition to the transfer including from liberals the government cant bill opposition as a Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy. Therefore, added Elmasry, the Sisi regime felt it important to restrict public expression and ensure a singular narrative about the transfer of the islands. READ MORE: How Sisi is using the law as a tool to restore tyranny Commenting on the upcoming presidential elections, Elmasry said: Sisis inner circle fears that an opposition candidate could emerge, using the transfer of the islands to Saudi Arabia as evidence that Sisi is, at best, unqualified to lead the country for a second term, and, at worst, a traitor. Similarly, Allison McManus, research director at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told Al Jazeera that restricting media space the latest step in widespread efforts to establish control of the public domain by criminalising, prosecuting and penalising an ever-broadening range of activity, referencing Egypts anti-terrorism law, which paved the way for the blocking of these websites. Other efforts to exert control have been seen in the passage of a new law to regulate NGOs, requiring oversight of their function and finances by the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, and General Intelligence, among others, she added. Egypt declared a state of emergency in April following deadly church attacks the killed nearly 50 people. The state of emergency grants the president powers that including censoring, monitoring and halting forms of communication. The reasons and timing behind the intensification, said McManus, are not necessarily linked to the threat of terrorism, but by a combination of factors including Sisis low approval ratings in advance of the 2018 presidential elections. Despite justifying the worsening restrictions as necessary security measures, terrorist attacks in the country have not abated, but have been increasingly deadly and, more recently, sectarian in nature, she said. In the middle of constant waves of violence and worsening economic conditions, Egyptians seek to express their concerns, despite having few means of doing so. This has created a vicious cycle by which, in an effort to maintain a facade of legitimacy, the government then carries out ever more repressive measures, McManus further explained, but said these measures will likely backfire in the long run. The Saudis publicly adopted Israels definition of Hamas as a terror organisation rather than a resistance movement. Nazareth Israel is seeking to exploit the rift between a Saudi-led bloc of Arab states and Qatar to advance its strategic interests in the region both against the Palestinian movement Hamas and against Iran, according to Israeli analysts. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar more than a week ago, accusing it of supporting terrorism and being too close to Iran. US President Donald Trumps visit to the region last month appears to have spurred the campaign against Doha. This week Israel added fuel to the fire by issuing its own threats against Qatar. Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman vowed to close down Al Jazeeras bureau in Jerusalem, in what would amount to shuttering its coverage of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reported to be consulting with the Israeli security services about how to justify the decision. READ MORE: Israel, Saudi, UAE team up in anti-Qatar lobbying move Analysts said Israel had been emboldened in its hardline stance by the recent decisions of Saudi Arabia and Jordan to close their own bureaus of the Qatar-based network. The signals from Saudi Arabia are that they are willing to normalise relations with Israel, even while the Palestinian problem remains unaddressed. by Jeff Halper, Israeli foreign policy analyst According to Lieberman, Israeli interests overlap with those of Arab states on the issue of Al Jazeera. The channel, he said, was an incitement machine. Its pure propaganda, of the worst variety, in the style of Nazi Germany. But Lieberman and Netanyahu have also seized the moment to make explicit other shared interests between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Israel has joined Riyadh in accusing Qatar of siding with terror primarily as a way to weaken Iran and Hamas, Israels most troublesome regional opponents, the analysts observed. Qatar has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into infrastructure projects in Hamas-ruled Gaza to alleviate a mounting humanitarian crisis there, provoked by a decade-long Israeli blockade and a series of military attacks. Until now, the aid had been channelled to Gaza with Israels tacit consent, said Yossi Alpher, an Israeli analyst and an aide to Ehud Barak when he served as Israels prime minister at the start of the Second Intifada. But since Trump entered the White House, the Israeli government had appeared readier to turn the screws on Hamas, Alpher told Al Jazeera. Israel senses that Hamas is now too weak and isolated to strike back. Doha has also maintained diplomatic relations with Iran, with which it shares a large gas field. Israel accuses Tehran of sponsoring terror against it, including by arming Hezbollah, a Lebanese movement on its northern border. Hezbollah operations forced Israel to pull its occupying forces out of south Lebanon in 2000. Riyadh, meanwhile, opposes the Muslim Brotherhoods role in the region, of which Hamas is a part. As the rift with Qatar broke last week, Lieberman told the Israeli parliament: Even Arab states understand that the risk to this region is not Israel, but rather terrorism. This is an opportunity to collaborate. Netanyahu echoed his defence minister, saying the Arab states see us as a partner and not an enemy. In particular, Netanyahu is eager to capitalise on the crisis as a way to avoid being dragged into new peace talks by the Trump administration. Highlighting Palestinian terror and Iranian meddling is a tried-and-tested way to deflect diplomatic pressure. Israels strategy is to marginalise the Palestinian issue, Jeff Halper, an Israeli foreign policy analyst, told Al Jazeera. The signals from Saudi Arabia are that they are willing to normalise relations with Israel, even while the Palestinian problem remains unaddressed. He said Israel hoped the emerging alliance with Riyadh would sideline the 2002 Saudi peace initiative, which embarrassed Israel by offering a regional solution to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel will now try to redirect attention to other issues, from Iran to energy and weapons. Anything to make the Palestinian issue disappear, said Halper. READ MORE: Will the GCC crisis undermine the Palestinian cause? The emerging ties between Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States were indicated by an Al Jazeera investigation this week. It revealed that 10 US legislators, financed by Israel lobby groups, had recently introduced a bill in Congress threatening US sanctions against Qatar if it supported Palestinian terror. The bill demands that Doha end its financial and military support for Hamas-ruled Gaza. The US legislators position aligns closely with the interests of Israel and Egypt, both of which have blockaded Gaza. Israel wishes to keep the Hamas rule in Gaza weak, as well as isolated from the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank. Cairo, meanwhile, wants Hamas isolated from its sister organisation the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypts military rulers removed from power in a military coup in 2013. Noticeably, Saud Arabia has begun making the same demand of Qatar, calling on it to stop financing Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. It is the first time the Saudis have publicly adopted the US and Israeli definition of Hamas as a terror organisation rather than a resistance movement. At stake is Dohas continuing investment in rebuilding homes and roads devastated by Israels repeated attacks. Such support has proved a lifeline for the tiny enclave. READ MORE: Arab world tweets Hamas is resistance, not terrorism In recent years Qatar has also served as a base for Hamas exiled leadership, with few other countries willing to host it. Alpher said Israels leadership hoped that the Gulf rift would intensify Hamas isolation. Israel will be happy if this crisis leaves Hamas even more friendless in the region, he said. In addition to trying to limit Qatars humanitarian activities in Gaza, Israel is helping the Palestinian Authority further damage its Hamas rivals. Electricity to the enclave is down to a few hours a day after the PAs president, Mahmoud Abbas, refused to pay Israels bill to supply power to Gaza. Abbas has also stopped paying salaries to many thousands of PA workers. Ofer Zalzberg, an Israeli analyst with the International Crisis Group, a conflict resolution think-tank based in Washington and Brussels, said both Netanyahu and Abbas were taking advantage of the new political climate in Washington. He told Al Jazeera: The stark message from Trump and Riyadh is, Now you must choose. Are you with the bad guys or the good guys? Netanyahu understands that Trump has set himself up as judge and jury. By balancing relations with a variety of states in the region, including Iran, Qatars policy was considered too grey for Trump and Riyadhs liking, observed Zalzberg. Alpher said Israel had conflicting impulses towards Gaza. It wanted the humanitarian situation under control to avoid triggering another round of fighting with Hamas. But it also feared that Hamas might misuse any aid to replenish arms and build what Israel terms terror tunnels. The tunnels proved a major problem for Israel when its troops invaded Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, allowing Hamas fighters to launch surprise attacks. Neve Gordon, a politics professor at Ben Gurion University in Beersheva, said the efforts to break Qatars ties with Hamas would most likely force Hamas into the arms of Tehran. Without Qatars help, Hamas has to turn to Iran, he told Al Jazeera. From Israels point of view, that creates a clearer picture, painting Hamas and Iran as different faces of the same terror. Ben Caspit, an Israeli journalist, recently quoted Israeli security sources saying that Trump had adopted Netanyahus approach on Iran, viewing it as the head of the serpent and the source of regional terrorism. Netanyahus ultimate goal, said Gordon, was pressuring the Americans to overturn an Iran nuclear deal signed by Barack Obama in 2015. Both the Israeli government and Saudi Arabia vigorously opposed that agreement. Netanyahu fears that, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, it would rival Israels nuclear arsenal and severely reduce Israels regional influence. Saudi Arabia similarly fears a nuclear-armed Iran would undermine its influence. Instead, Netanyahu and the Saudis prefer that Iran be kept under severe sanctions, with an ever-present threat of military attack hanging over it. A new draft law for legislative elections staves off another political crisis in Lebanon. A new electoral law is expected to be ratified by Lebanons parliament on Friday, paving the way for the first parliamentary elections in eight years. On Wednesday, ministers announced that Lebanon will be holding the long-delayed legislative elections in May 2018 after the countrys cabinet approved a new electoral law, staving off a fresh political crisis that threatened to leave the country without a parliament. The move will also end a stalemate that saw the countrys parliament extend its tenure twice. Current members of parliament were elected in 2009 for what was meant as a four-year term, but became protracted as key political figures disagreed on various proposals for fear of losing parliamentary seats. Parliamentary elections were scheduled to take place last month, but with MPs unable to decide on an electoral law, the country drifted towards a political vacuum that threatened to unravel the political deal that brought Michel Aoun into office in October last year. READ MORE: Lebanon set for new presidential era Prime Minister Saad Hariri touted the agreement as a historic achievement, saying, This is the first time the Lebanese sit together and agree on legislation in a positive atmosphere. The new legislation will replace the existing plurality voting system with proportional representation and reduce the number of electoral districts, among other changes. Aoun hailed the draft law as a great achievement, adding that the current plurality vote system does not provide for just representation. Today, we have reached a political agreement between political factions that needs to be applied to constitutional institutions, said Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, in a press conference on Tuesday after rival political parties finally agreed on the contentious voting law. The foreign minister said the new draft law has done justice to Lebanons minorities and will greatly improve representation, but vowed that one day Lebanese Christians would be able to elect all of their 64 deputies. The current electoral law often referred to as the 1960 law is sectarian-based. Designed to reduce inter-sectarian competition, the law grants an allotted number of parliamentary seats to different religious sects in each district. However, candidates in a particular constituency must gain a plurality of the total vote regardless of their confession in order to be elected. With the absence of an up-to-date census since 1932 and with the country undergoing various demographic shifts, the voting law was deemed unfair and non-representative of the sectarian composition of districts today. In a country that officially recognises 18 different religious sects, most political parties agreed on the need to reform the law, but disagreed over what system should replace it. The main Christian party, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which was founded by Aoun, has long wanted to redraw constituencies so that more of the Christian parliamentary seats are exclusively decided by Christian voters, according to Reuters. Bassil, the leader of the party and the presidents son-in-law, proposed drafting a law that merges the plurality vote system with the proportional representation system a move that was seen by some parties as an attempt to alter the Taif Accord. The countrys current political system was created after a 15-year civil war that ended with the Saudi-negotiated 1989 Taif Accord. Under the terms of this agreement, parliaments 128 seats are divided equally among Muslims and Christians, reinforcing the consociational formula of the 1943 National Pact, which stipulates that the countrys president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim a unique arrangement in the region. The Taif Accord defined the reform mechanism for Lebanon, including the voting system, Dhafer Nasser, the secretary-general of the Progressive Socialist Party, told Al Jazeera earlier this year. If some [politicians] want to reform the Taif Accord, then they have to reveal that to the Lebanese people, said Nasser. The constitution applies to everybody and we have to abide by it, said Nasser. We are not against [having] a new electoral law, under the condition that it is fair for everybody. READ MORE: Lebanese oligarchy preserves its interests once again In April, the president suspended parliamentary activities for one month to block legislators from extending parliaments term a third time and give them more time to agree on an electoral law. Aoun had previously declared that he preferred heading towards a parliamentary vacuum to holding another election based on the 1960 law, under which the 2009 elections were held, and threatened to use his executive power to do so. Parliament elected Aoun, an ally to Hezbollah movement, as president last year, ending a political deadlock that had left the country without a head of state since May 2014. Now, rival political parties have finally agreed on an electoral law whose efficiency in maintaining Lebanons sectarian-based political balance remains to be seen. The draft law does not address some of the previously proposed reforms, such as allocating a quota for women, allowing army soldiers to vote and reducing the voting age from 21 to 18. In addition, under the recent agreement, the current parliaments term, which expires on June 20, will be extended once again, only for 11 months this time, to give authorities time to prepare for the 2018 elections under the new rules. It will take at least seven months to prepare for this election, said Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk. Information Minister Melhem Riachy said the elections are likely to take place on May 6, 2018. Decisions by African states to take sides in the Gulf rift could have a long-term impact on citizens, analysts warn. As the Gulf crisis enters its third week, the decision to cut or downgrade diplomatic ties with Qatar by eight African countries could have a long-term impact on the nationals of those countries, analysts warned. This is not good for Africa. This is rush decision-making and taking sides in a crisis that the leaders have no clear grasp of is dangerous and will scare investors away, Adama Gaye, a Senegalese foreign policy expert told Al Jazeera. On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced that they were cutting ties with Qatar and imposing land, sea and air blockades. The Arab countries accuse Doha of supporting terrorism and extremist groups charges which Qatar strongly denies. Soon after the announcement, some Gulf envoys and ministers started shuttle diplomacy, travelling between countries trying to convince allies to cut ties with Qatar. Two days after the Arab countries cut ties with Qatar, Senegal said it was recalling its ambassador to Qatar and expressed active solidarity with Riyadh. Analysts say Dakar is likely to have automatically accepted the Saudi allegations against Qatar without questioning them. Security and tackling violent extremism are real issues in several African countries but there are strong economic factors at play here, Africa analyst Antony Goldman told Al Jazeera by phone from the Ghanaian capital, Accra. Saudi Arabia has invested a lot of money recently in Africa and this gives it a lot of weight on the continent, Goldman added. This is not the first time Senegal has been on the side of Saudi Arabia. Dakar sent 2,100 soldiers in 2015 to Yemen as part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels. Dakar said at the time that it sent its troops to protect and secure the holy sites of Islam, Medina and Mecca. READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis All the latest updates Senegal is the most significant of the African countries that have stood by Saudi Arabia since the GCC countries imposed trade, transport and diplomatic isolation on Qatar. Djibouti, a small country of less than a million people on the northern tip of Somalia, downgraded its diplomatic ties with Qatar, saying it took the decision in solidarity with the international coalition against terrorism and violent extremism. The horn of African country, known for hosting foreign military bases, said in January it was finalising an agreement with Saudi Arabia to allow the Gulf state to build a military base. According to analysts, this is the likely reason behind Djiboutis decision. Eritrea a one-party state under UN sanctions for violating an arms embargo and accused by rights groups of using mandatory and indefinite military conscription also cut ties with Doha after initially saying it backed Qatar. In 2015, the UAE established a military base in the Eritrean port city of Assab where it currently carries out its military operations against the Houthi fighters in Yemen. But a regional analyst says those small countries do not have much clout beyond their borders. These countries are small-league players in Africa, forget about the rest of the world. These countries have negligible influence. But for Saudi it seems it is quantity over quality, Abdullahi Boru, a Nairobi-based regional security specialist told Al Jazeera. READ MORE: GCC citizens launch petition to end Gulf crisis Comoros, Gabon, Niger and Chad were the other African countries that either cut ties or downgraded them. Those small countries are also subject to pressures that go beyond economic incentives offered by the Gulf states, Gaye said. It is not a secret that bullying tactics have been applied. First financial incentives were offered and, if leaders turn them down, then Saudi Arabia has the Hajj leverage where it has threatened that no citizens from these countries will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage if they dont take the Saudi side, said Gaye. Saudi Arabia, through a statement released by its embassy in France, refuted the allegation that they pressured African countries to cut ties with Qatar. The Saudi government strongly denies these allegations and we stress that no pressure was put on any African nation because every country has the right over its sovereignty, the statement said. Some African countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia have remained neutral and declined to take sides. The two east African countries have even called for dialogue to end the rift. Analysts say that the longer the crisis continues, the more likely many poor African countries will be dragged into it. African leaders have to show more muscle and must remain neutral. They should put aside all their personal interests, Gaye said. ICAO says it is assessing request by Doha to intervene after Gulf states closed their airspace to Qatar flights. The United Nations aviation agency has said it will review requests from Qatar to intervene after its Gulf neighbours closed their airspace to Qatar flights. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency that regulates international air travel under the Chicago Convention, said tranport ministers and aviation officials from Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt kicked off a two-day meeting at its Montreal headquarters on Thursday to seek a consensus-based solution that addressed current regional concerns. ICAO is presently reviewing requests from the government of Qatar to assess the flight restrictions imposed upon it by neighbouring states, according to an ICAO statement. The ICAO, which was created after the United States invited more than 50 allies to agree to a common air navigation system in 1944, has no policing powers and has to rely on consensus to enforce its will. The ICAOs decision to intervene in the Gulf airspace dispute is a rare instance of the UN body directly attempting to settle a row between states. We are working to bring these states together towards a solution which satisfies both their current regional concerns and the global needs and expectations of passengers and shippers, the ICAO said. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have long been major proponents of open-skies air transport agreements, which remove restrictions on flying between states. These policies helped the regions largest airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, to develop their home airports as hubs linking passengers travelling between the east and west. Saudi Arabia and the UAE said the closure of their airspace to flights from Qatar was within the two countries sovereign right to protect their citizens from any threat. Officials say majority of those have criminal convictions but activists argue they risk being killed if deported. Almost 200 Iraqi immigrants in the Metro Detroit area have been arrested by the US Immigration officials in the last three months after Iraq agreed to accept deportees as part of a deal removing it from President Donald Trumps travel ban, officials said. Over the weekend, 114 Iraqi nationals were arrested in the Detroit area while 85 have been detained throughout the rest of the country over the past several weeks, Gillian Christensen, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson, said in a statement. The overwhelming majority of those arrested had criminal convictions for crimes including murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking, weapons violations and other offences, Christensen said. Previously, the Iraqi government had refused to accept nationals with criminal records that the US wanted to deport. Since March 12, under an agreement with Iraq, eight Iraqi nationals living in the US were sent back. READ MORE: What makes Trumps revised travel ban different? Dozens of Iraqi Chaldean Catholics in the city of Detroit were among those targeted in the immigration sweeps. Kurdish Iraqis were also picked up in Nashville, Tennessee, attorneys, activists and family members told Reuters news agency. Immigration attorneys and family members said some fear they will be killed if sent back to Iraq. Chaldeans are indigenous Iraqis affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church and mainly based in northern Iraq for centuries. They began migrating to the Detroit area in the 1920s, searching for better economic opportunties and religious freedom. According to the Chaldean Community Foundation, an estimated 200,000 Chaldeans live in the US. Iraq had previously been considered a recalcitrant country, along with China, Afghanistan, Iran Somalia and others that refused to cooperate with ICEs efforts to remove nationals from the US, according to ICE. According to immigration attorneys and local activists, some of those arrested arrived in the US as children and had already served their sentence for the crimes they committed. They had been given an effective reprieve from deportation because Iraq would not take them back. I understand these are criminals, but they paid their dues, said Eman Jajonie-Daman, an immigration attorney in Detroit who had been receiving frantic phone calls from clients families over the weekend. But we cannot send them back to die. An Iraqi official said its diplomatic and consular missions would coordinate with US authorities to issue travel documents for the deportees when they can be proven to be Iraqi based on records and investigation. At least 66 people were also wounded in the explosion at a nursery in Xuzhou in eastern Jiangsu, state media reports. At least seven people were killed and 66 others wounded in an explosion at a nursery in eastern China, state media reported. The blast occurred as children were being picked up from school in the city of Xuzhou in Jiangsu province on Thursday, police said. It was not clear whether the explosion was an accident or was deliberately set. The official newspaper Global Times reported on its website that the incident was caused by the explosion of a gas cylinder at a roadside food stall, citing a witness identified only by the surname Shi. Mobile phone camera footage posted on the website of the official Peoples Daily newspaper showed more than a dozen people lying motionless in front of the nurserys steel sliding gate. The force of the blast tore the clothes off some of the people lying on the ground beside pools of blood. One woman was seen clutching her child, who was in tears. The video also showed ambulances arriving and medical personnel wheeling people into an emergency room. The Xuzhou government said two people died at the scene and five others died at a hospital. At least four others were seriously injured, it said. Calls to the kindergarten and local hospitals rang unanswered, AP news agency reported. An official at the police station in Fengxian county told AFP news agency that the explosion was under investigation. READ MORE: Wukan The end of a democratic uprising in China It is the latest tragedy to strike a nursery in China in recent weeks. A school bus packed with nursery pupils burst into flames inside a tunnel in eastern Shandong province on May 9, killing 11 children, a teacher and the driver. Officials later said the fire was intentionally set by the driver, who was angry at losing overtime wages. In 2010, nearly 20 children were killed in attacks on schools, prompting a response from top government officials and leading many schools to beef up security with the posting of guards and the installation of gates and other barriers. Last year, a knife-wielding assailant injured seven students outside a primary school in a northern city. China maintains tight control over firearms and most attacks are carried out using knives, axes or homemade explosives. UKs leader issues statement asking the Arab countries to urgently de-escalate the diplomatic rift. British Prime Minister Theresa May urged the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE to take steps to reduce tensions that have led the Arab worlds biggest powers to cut ties with Qatar. The Prime Minister raised the ongoing isolation of Qatar in the Gulf region, calling on all sides to urgently de-escalate the situation, engage meaningfully in dialogue, and restore Gulf Cooperation Council unity at the earliest possible opportunity, a spokesperson for May said in a statement on Thursday. READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis All the latest updates Qatar should continue to build on the progress it has already made to address the scourge of radicalisation and terrorism in the region, in partnership with its Gulf allies, the spokesperson added. Mays office said she spoke with the kings of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and the emir of Qatar on Thursday evening. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged Gulf states including Saudi Arabia to ease their blockade of Qatar on Monday. Qatar is facing an economic and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies who cut ties last week, in the worst rift among Gulf Arab states in years. They accuse Qatar of funding terrorism, fomenting regional unrest and cosying up to their enemy Iran, all of which Qatar denies. President Trump will visit Miami as early as Friday and may announce a rollback of Obamas detente with the island. Humberto Calzada takes a tough line on Cubas socialist regime. He fled with his family in the first wave of exiles in 1960, fearing what laws the new revolutionaries would impose on the Caribbean islands well-heeled set. He was a teenager then. Now a 73-year-old Cuban-American artist living in Miami, Florida, he still lobbies for the United States to use its economic might to bring about the downfall of the government in Havana. Its not an ideology; its a criminal enterprise that has crushed the spirit of the Cuban people, Calzada told Al Jazeera. I would cut the sending of money from the US, except a very limited amount between family members, just so they dont starve. I would cut travel, and cut all the other sources of income. READ MORE: El Bloqueo: 55 years of obstructing the Cuban people Some of his wishes may come true. US President Donald Trump is set to visit Miami as early as Friday, and announce a rollback of the detente between Washington and Havana that occurred under his predecessor, Barack Obama, a Democrat. Trump repeatedly bashed Obamas Cuba policy during the 2016 election campaign and vowed to terminate any deals unless Havana makes a better offer. US officials have told Reuters news agency they are close to finishing a review of the rapprochement. Plans under consideration include tightening rules on Americans travelling to Cuba, which were loosened under Obama and saw the number of US arrivals rise to 285,000 in 2016, not including the 300,000 Cuban-American visitors who are not counted as tourists. Trump may also use executive powers to ban US companies from doing business with Cuban enterprises tied to its military which controls hotels among a sizeable chunk of the communist-ruled islands economy. But parts of Obamas diplomatic breakthrough of December 2014 will likely remain intact. That includes the reopening of embassies and the restoration of relations between Cold War-era foes. For Trump and other Republicans, sounding tough on Cuba wins votes. In Florida, a swing state that is home to two-thirds of the two million Cuban Americans, some 54 percent of Cuban Americans backed Trump in the 2016 election more than the 26 percent of non-Cuban Latinos who voted for the celebrity-turned-politician. READ MORE: Capitalism meets communism head-on in Cuba Trump is likely influenced by Cuban-American politicians from the Sunshine State. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican congressman, may have won Trumps support for a hard-line Cuba policy by backing the presidents efforts to scrap the Obamacare health insurance system. Meanwhile, Florida Senator Marco Rubio sits on the Senate foreign relations and intelligence committees, and is seen as a useful figure to cultivate as Trumps aides are quizzed about colluding with the Kremlin to tip the US election in their favour. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson fuelled expectations of a rollback on Obamas cordiality. The opening had enriched Havana and achieved very little in terms of changing the behaviour of the regime in Cuba, he told politicians. Human Rights Watch agrees, saying Cuba represses dissent and discourages public criticism and has done little to stop punishing dissidents with beatings, public shaming, and the termination of employment. But for William LeoGrande, co-author of Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana, talk of human rights may just be cover for a Trump administration that works happily with rogues elsewhere. The Cuban governments human rights record leaves a lot to be desired, but its not as bad as the records of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Russia. Thats just a rationale or an excuse and not the real reason, LeoGrande told Al Jazeera. READ MORE: Paying the price for Cold War animosity in Cuba While Obamas policy was controversial, it came after decades of successive presidents failures to dislodge the cigar-smoking revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, or his brother, Raul, who replaced him as president in 2008. Overall, three-quarters of Americans back the re-establishment of ties with Cuba, says Pew Research Center. Similar numbers of Americans support ending the trade embargo on Cuba, which is applied by Congress, not the president. While Calzada and his friends sip coffee and bemoan Castro in his living room every Tuesday, not all Cuban Americans feel the same way. A 2016 Florida International University poll found 69 percent of those in Florida backed normalised relations. This is truer of younger Cuban Americans, 87 percent of whom back the re-establishment of ties. Meanwhile, the coalition of groups supporting closer US-Cuba ties has grown since the thaw began. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and other carriers connect with Havana nowadays and cruise ships, once a rarity in Havana Bay, dot the shoreline. By reversing Obamas policies, Trump would hurt the US economy by $6.6bn and hit some 12,300 jobs, according to Engage Cuba, a lobby group an odd choice for a hotelier who vows to promote US business. US telecoms and software firms have interests in Cuba, while the Roswell Park Cancer Institute of Buffalo, New York, struck a deal with Cubas Center for Molecular Immunology to develop a ground-breaking lung cancer vaccine. Trump has doubtless received pragmatic advice from the State Department and his cabinet, James Early, a scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think-tank, told Al Jazeera. Cuba plays a major role in drug interdiction in the Caribbean. You dont want to disturb that. US pharmaceutical firms already have patents on two Cuban cancer drugs, despite the blockade. But, as weve seen from Trump already, he may take the opposite course to the experts. READ MORE: Cubas medical magicians Republicans may also be coming round to the detente. In a letter to Trump, seven Republican politicians warned that rescinding Obamas policies would incentivise Cuba to once again become dependent on countries like Russia and China. For Catherine Walker, a Cuba-based staffer with Witness for Peace, which arranges educational visits for Americans to Cuba, it remains hard to predict whether Trump will once again defy expectations. Cubans are experts at managing the punishing US sanctions and have survived the tough presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George W Bush. But they had very clear policy lines and were easy to predict. Thats not the case with Trump, Walker told Al Jazeera. Since his inauguration in January, weve been sitting, holding our breath, waiting. Back in Miami, Calzada is working in his studio on his latest acrylic. He left Cuba aged 16, and visited only once in 2008, but still reminisces about his homeland and paints colonial terraces, stained-glass windows and other Havana-style architecture. Lots of people are optimistic about what Trump will do. Im not. I think it will be purely cosmetic, he said, adding that the presidents business interests will outweigh his desire for big changes on the island. Very few American presidents have cared about Cuba. They just come here, visit the famous Versailles Restaurant on 8th Street and say: Viva Cuba Libre, and thats it. They mock us to get our votes. Follow James Reinl on Twitter: @jamesreinl Scores of civilians killed in crossfire between army and ISIL-linked group in three weeks of fighting, politician says. A Philippines politician said residents fleeing besieged Marawi City have seen about 100 dead bodies in an area where the army and ISIL-linked fighters have clashed in the past three weeks. Zia Alonto Adiong, a local politician who is helping with relief efforts in Marawi, told reporters on Thursday that 500-1,000 people were still trapped in the city on the southern island of Mindanao. Dead bodies, at least 100, are scattered around the encounter area, Adiong said. Volunteers have been trying to extricate hundreds of civilians caught in the crossfire via peace corridors, Adiong said, but many of those trapped were still opting to hide rather than risk being discovered by the fighters. Most residents, however, have run out of food and water, Adiong added. WATCH: Marawi siege Philippine armys battle against ISIL enters fourth week Al Jazeera correspondent Jamela Alindogan said residents who initially fled and wanted to return to the city were being stopped by military forces. Martial law is being imposed here and across the entire island of Mindanao. Anyone is subject to investigation, even children, Alindogan said. The black flags of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) were flying over several government buildings in Marawi City, she added. Ive lived here since I was 12, said Elvira Sacot, who was forced to flee Marawi. It hurts me to leave everything behind. But it is more painful to stay. I dont think Im coming back. Meanwhile, a senior member of the ISIL-linked group was arrested by the military near the coastal city of Cagayan de Oro, some 100km north of Marawi. According to military spokesperson Jo-Ar Herrera, one of the seven Maute brothers, Mohammad Noaim Maute, was arrested at a checkpoint just after dawn. The Maute group, led by two of Mohammads brothers, has been at the forefront of the vicious battle with security forces for Marawi City since May 23. READ MORE: The battle for Marawi Confusion and contradictions Mohammad, an Arabic language teacher, is the suspected bomb-maker for the group. He was holding a fake student card of the Marawi-based Mindanao State University when stopped at a checkpoint. Most of the Maute brothers are believed to be in Marawi. Their parents have been taken into custody last week in separate cities. The military said 290 people had died in over three weeks of fighting, including 206 fighters, 58 soldiers and 26 civilians. The city of 200,000 has been largely abandoned owing to the fighting, which has seen the military relentlessly bomb areas held by the fighters, with residents fleeing to nearby towns. London mayor orders checks on other buildings as firefighters continue to tackle blaze, which has killed at least 12. The death toll from a tower block fire in West London is expected to rise as rescue workers continue to tackle the blaze a day after it started. At least 12 people died and more than 70 were injured after a fire broke out inside Grenfell Tower just after midnight on Wednesday with the number of dead expected to jump, according to the citys mayor. Sadly, it has been confirmed that 12 people are now known to have died as a result of the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower, a figure which I am afraid is expected to increase, said Sadiq Khan in a statement published on his website. Khan also confirmed that checks would also be carried out on other similar tower blocks to ensure they were not at risk. Emergency services battled throughout the day to put the fire out but late into Wednesday the blackened husk of the building, where up to 600 people are believed to have lived, continued to glow orange because of the flames inside. Details are still emerging about the desperate attempts made by residents to escape the high-rise, as well as questions about whether safety regulations were neglected by local authorities in the run-up to the fire. Sarmad Ismail, a resident of a nearby building, told Al Jazeera he saw a man in the tower trying to get the attention of those outside. I remember one Chinese or Asian man still stuck and he was just waving his trousers out the window, Ismail said. Nobody was helping him.. It was shocking and it still hasnt sunk in. By Wednesday morning, police had cordoned off the area and crowds of people gathered outside trying to get word about friends and family members who are missing. Devastated to see what's happened at Grenfell Tower. My thoughts are with those affected. Thank you to our firefighters & emergency services Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 14, 2017 Mia, a student, who also lived in the surrounding neighbourhood, said one of her friends died in the blaze. My friends name was Yasin, he was pretty well known around the area, she said, adding I knew he went missing last night when news of what was happening was coming out. This morning I woke up to the news that they found him I dont know exactly how he died. I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life at Grenfell Tower. My thoughts are with all those affected and the emergency services. Theresa May (@theresa_may) June 14, 2017 On social media sites, family members posted pictures of their loved ones missing after the fire desperately pleading for information about their whereabouts. However, few families have had the closure of knowing what happened as firefighters continue to work their way up the tower. Questions on safety Focus in the British media has fallen on what could have been done to prevent the tragedy, especially as news emerged that residents groups had warned about the failings inside the tower. Before the fire, the Greenfell Action Group published numerous blog posts dating years back about how Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), which runs the building, had not put into place adequate safety measures. ALL OUR WARNINGS FELL ON DEAF EARS and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time. by Grenfell Action Group statement It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders, members of the group said in a blog dated November 2016. In its most recent post, published just hours after the fire started, it wrote: ALL OUR WARNINGS FELL ON DEAF EARS and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time. Others familiar with the building shared the sentiment, including local charity worker Nads, who was coordinating the distribution of food and other essentials to emergency workers when he spoke to Al Jazeera. Ive been in to that block a lot, I know that block very well. Its always had issues, always had health and safety issues, the fire alarms have never been working, he said, adding he was certain the fire started because of a faulty fridge. The fire started on the fourth floor from a fridge, I can be sure of that because I know the neighbour. Ive spoken to the guy who had the fire in his fridge, knocked on his neighbours door telling him to get out of his house and help him. The fire spread so quickly that they all left. Criticism has also been levelled at the government for not doing enough to enforce safety requirements in buildings. Community support Like Nads, many in the local community are doing all they can to support those affected by the incident. Amid the reports of families lost and others made homeless, stories have also emerged of Londoners going out of their way to save others. In one video shared on Twitter, a woman praised local Muslim youths for raising the alarm and helping to evacuate residents while they were returning from nightly prayers during Ramadan. In the adjoining Notting Hill and Kensington areas, churches and mosques opened up their doors to donations of food, nappies, toys, sanitary products, and clothes. Roads normally congested by commuters and parents picking up children from school were instead full of cars and vans packed to the brim with plastic bags and suitcases carrying supplies for those who had lost everything. At the Al Manar mosque near the area of Ladbroke Grove, Londoners abandoned their cars in side streets hundreds of metres away to take bags by foot. https://twitter.com/mrjammyjamjar3/status/874985179743494146 Omar Salha, one of those coordinating at the mosque, told Al Jazeera the response was overwhelming. Its mainly Muslims in this area, but people from all across the community have turned up, he said. Weve had Sikh people turn up to the mosque and stay on to help, and weve had people who are not of the Islamic faith turn up. Salha said many of those who had lost their homes had been taken to shelters run by the local council but would be needing more than just basic supplies over the coming days. This was the scene earlier today at Al Manaar mosque. @RamadanTent volunteers proud to join other members of the community #GlenfellTower pic.twitter.com/3UuJECNgCv Omar Salha FRSA (@o_salha) June 14, 2017 Some of the residents left the tower without any shoes and barefoot, theyre basically homeless Just imagine having no place to sleep this evening. Its a state of shock to be honest. Fire commissioner says it will be an absolute miracle if any more survivors are found in the London building. Finding any more survivors of the west London tower block inferno will take an absolute miracle, Londons Fire Brigade commissioner said, as the death toll from the fire rose to 17. The blaze engulfed the 24-floor Grenfell Tower in the early hours of Wednesday. Sadly, I can confirm that the number of people that have died is now 17, London police commander Stuart Cundy told reporters on Thursday. There is still a number of people who are receiving treatment in hospital. There are 37 people receiving treatment, of which 17 are still in critical care. Many people are still missing and firefighters are facing hazardous conditions as they search the charred carcass from Wednesdays fire. The severity and the heat of the fire will mean that it will be an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive, Dany Cotton told Sky News. There are, as we believe, still unknown numbers of people in the building. It is not now safe for my fire crews to go all the way out to the edges of the building. Fire was finally put out on Thursday but smoke was still wafting out of the shell of the building 32 hours later. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday ordered a full public inquiry into the blaze amid growing public anxiety about whether similar fires could occur in other housing blocks around the country. Survivors who lost all their belongings in the blaze spent the night at emergency shelters, as charities and local support groups were flooded with donations of clothes and bedding. The tower, a social housing block built in 1974 in North Kensington, an area of west London, contained 120 flats and was thought to have been home to about 600 people. Harrowing accounts emerged of people trapped inside as the blaze destroyed everything around them, shouting for help and trying to escape through windows using makeshift ropes from bed sheets tied together. Survivors told of frantic attempts to escape during the fire. This was the scene earlier today at Al Manaar mosque. @RamadanTent volunteers proud to join other members of the community #GlenfellTower pic.twitter.com/3UuJECNgCv Omar Salha FRSA (@o_salha) June 14, 2017 The flames, I have never seen anything like it. It just reminded me of 9/11, said Muna Ali, 45. The fire started on the upper floors Oh my goodness, it spread so quickly. It had completely spread within half an hour. Details are still emerging about the desperate attempts made by residents to escape the high-rise building, as well as questions about whether safety regulations were neglected by local authorities in the run-up to the fire. Sarmad Ismail, a resident of a nearby building, told Al Jazeera he saw a man in the tower trying to get the attention of those outside. I remember one Chinese or Asian man still stuck and he was just waving his trousers out the window, Ismail said. Nobody was helping him It was shocking and it still hasnt sunk in. By Thursday morning, there was no sign of life in or around the blackened husk. Security cordons were in place around the base of the tower, where the ground was littered with charred debris. https://twitter.com/mrjammyjamjar3/status/874985179743494146 Outside the cordons, impromptu tributes had appeared, with photos of missing people, messages of condolence, flowers and candles. Emergency services said it was too early to say what had caused the disaster. Some residents said no alarm had sounded. Others said they had warned repeatedly about fire safety in the block. Al Jazeeras Neave Barker, reporting from London, said angry community leaders were demanding answers from authorities. Its believed that 300 to 600 people were inside the building when it caught fire, he said. The emergency crew worked throughout the night. Dozens of families have been rehoused and fears are growing for the missing. Michigan Civil Rights Commission has blamed decades of systemic racism for water crisis in the impoverished US city. Five people, including the head of Michigans health department, were charged with involuntary manslaughter in an investigation of the beleaguered US city of Flints lead-contaminated water, all blamed in the death of an 85-year-old man who had Legionnaires disease. Nick Lyon is the highest-ranking member of Republican Governor Rick Snyders administration to be snagged in a criminal investigation of how the citys water system became poisoned after officials tapped the Flint River in 2014. Lyon, 48, the director of the Health and Human Services Department, is accused of failing to alert the majority-black population about an outbreak of Legionnaires disease in the Flint area, which has been linked by some experts to poor water quality in 2014. An involuntary manslaughter conviction carries up to 15 years in prison. The health crisis in Flint has created a trust crisis for Michigan government, exposing a serious lack of confidence in leaders who accept responsibility and solve problems, said state Attorney-General Bill Schuette on Wednesday. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission issued a report in February blaming systemic racism going back decades for the problems that caused the water crisis in Flint. READ MORE: State of emergency in US city after water poisoned Flint began using water from the Flint River while under state emergency management, but did not treat it to reduce corrosion. Toxic lead from old plumbing leached into the water system, causing elevated levels in children and leaving residents to drink and bathe with bottled or filtered water. Some experts also have linked the water to Legionnaires disease, a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria that thrive in warm water and infect the lungs. People can get sick if they inhale mist or vapor, typically from cooling systems. There were nearly 100 cases in the Flint area, including 12 deaths, in 2014 and 2015. Schuette said his probe is moving to the trial phase and signaled that Governor Snyder, who has apologised for his administrations failures that led to and prolonged the crisis, may not be charged. We only file criminal charges when evidence of probable cause of a crime has been established. And were not filing charges at this time, he said. Lyon also is charged with misconduct in office for allegedly obstructing university researchers who are studying if the surge in cases was linked to the Flint River. The others charged with involuntary manslaughter were already facing other charges. They are: Darnell Earley, who was Flints emergency manager when the city used the river; Howard Croft, who ran Flints public works department; Liane Shekter Smith; and Stephen Busch. Shekter Smith and Busch were state environmental regulators. Prosecutors also brought charges Wednesday against a sixth person the states chief medical officer, Dr Eden Wells, 54, who is accused of obstruction of justice and lying to an investigator. Dr Wells vehemently denies the charges, defense attorney Jerry Lax said. Shekter Smiths lawyer, Brian Morley, said: Its my understanding neither she nor the Department of Environmental Quality were responsible for legionella issues. So I fail to see why the charge is being filed against Liane. Earleys attorney Todd Perkins said hes very disappointed in these new charges, adding his client has done nothing wrong. Chip Chamberlain and Larry Willey are representing Lyon and called the charges baseless. The true facts simply do not support the prosecutions claims, they said in a statement. READ MORE: Flint: The US city where people drank poisoned water Convincing a jury that the officials failure to disclose the risk of Legionnaires disease caused a death would be difficult, Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning said. This case is going to become a battle of the experts, something we dont usually see in a homicide or manslaughter prosecution, Henning said. This is a tough case for the attorney general. They can get a conviction but its not going to be easy. Lyon, Croft, Earley, Shekter Smith and Busch are blamed in the death of Robert Skidmore in December 2015. He was admitted to McClaren Flint hospital in June 2015 with symptoms consistent with pneumonia. He died at home six months later. Lyon was personally briefed in January 2015 but took no action to alert the public of a deadly outbreak until nearly a year later, special agent Jeff Seipenko told a judge as the charges were filed. Schuette has now charged 15 current or former government officials in an ongoing probe that began in early 2016, including two emergency managers whom Snyder appointed to run the impoverished city of roughly 100,000 residents. Qatar balances out loss of funding from neighbours by securing cash from US, European and Asian banks. A few large Asian, European and US banks are providing funds to help to keep Qatari banks running smoothly after a rift has dried up financing from the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, according to banking sources. Were unscathed so far, one Qatari banker told Reuters news agency on Thursday. The panic has eased as weve been able to continue receiving funding, though theres certainly no complacency about the risks that remain. He said his bank had borrowed more than $100m in unsecured three-year financing from a European bank and obtained six-month deposits from Asian and European banks in the two weeks since the crisis erupted. US banks were still trading through bilateral and repo lines, he said. Qatar central bank governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani referred to such ties in a statement this week, saying Qatari banks presence in markets including Asia and Europe were helping them to continue operating. Reliance on GCC Qatari banks reliance on Gulf Cooperation Council funding varies widely. Qatar National Bank on Wednesday reported healthy liquidity position, saying: The group manages its liquidity very wisely and benefits from a diversified local and international funding base holding a global footprint across Europe, Asia, and MEA [Middle East, Africa], with a very minimal funding from the GCC markets. Qatar Islamic Bank is the most dependent, obtaining 24 percent of its funding and 24 percent of deposits from the rest of the GCC, according to research published by Goldman Sachs. Big international banks including HSBC, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan declined to comment, Reuters said. In a statement, Standard Chartered said its operations in Qatar were unchanged, but it did not elaborate. Another difficulty facing those doing business with Qatar now is logistical, an international banker said. He said flying physical documentation for trade finance deals to Qatar has become slower and more burdensome as direct flights from Dubai have been cancelled because of the diplomatic rift. READ MORE Qatar-Gulf crisis: All the latest updates International banks ability to keep doing business with Qatar could face hurdles if the Saudi and UAE central banks were to announced harsher sanctions, such as curbs on the ownership of Qatari assets. So far, there appears to be no sign of that happening. If the sanctions had been proposed by the United Nations, we would have frozen everything, but because this is from one country to another, we dont see any reason to freeze anything, a source at an Asian bank said. Another potential risk is that Saudi Arabia could try to push international banks to choose between doing business with Qatar and obtaining access to its own, much larger market. But this would be difficult to enforce. In the meantime, the premiums which Qatari banks are paying to fund themselves do not look crippling. The three-month Qatar interbank offered rate has risen to a multi-year high of 2.31 percent from 1.92 percent before sanctions were imposed. Some Qatari banks are paying as much as 50 to 100 basis points more than they used to in the interbank market, an Omani banker said. But the Qatari banker said the six-month deposits his bank secured in the past few days only involved a premium of 1 basis point. More than 100 Iraqi Christians rounded up in the United States over the past week to be sent back amid safety fears. Rights groups filed a case to stop United States immigration officials from deporting more than 100 Iraqis who were rounded up in raids in Michigan over the weekend, including Christians who fear religious-based violence back in Iraq. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class action lawsuit on Thursday naming seven petitioners, saying the detainees must have a chance to prove they could face torture or death if returned to Iraq. It called for a hearing of the Eastern District of US District Court on Friday. Over the weekend, 114 Iraqi nationals were arrested in the Detroit area while 85 have been detained across the rest of the country over the past several weeks, said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokeswoman Gillian Christensen. READ MORE: US arrests nearly 200 Iraqis in deportation sweep Most of those arrested had criminal convictions for everything from burglary to murder, Christensen added. The ACLU acknowledged some detainees have had run-ins with the law but have reformed. Most of the Iraqis are being held at a detention facility in Youngstown, Ohio, and deportations could start as soon as Friday, the ACLU added in a statement. It is unconscionable, un-American, and cruel to send Christians into harms way in Iraq. We must be their protector, not their executioner, Mark Arabo, a Chaldean Christian and president of the Minority Humanitarian Foundation, which is involved in the case, told Al Jazeera. We look forward to the day that this suit sees the light of the courthouse, so that we may begin the long road to recovery for our community. One of the petitioners, Moayad Barash, 47, was nabbed by immigration agents during a family beach outing on Sunday. The Chaldean Christian served time for drugs and other offences while a teenager, but has become the breadwinner in a family of four children all US citizens. Were hoping they release him and stop the deportation and bring the families back home, where they belong, before Fathers Day, his daughter, Cynthia Barash, 18, told Al Jazeera, referring to the June 18 celebration. We really want our best friend to come back home. We dont need our father or anybody else in the Chaldean Christian community to be sent back to Iraq to be tortured. If you look up what they do to people in Mosul, its crazy. WATCH: US deportations fuel fears of gang violence in El Salvador Immigration agents swept up mostly Chaldean Catholics in the Detroit raids, along with Shia Muslims and Christian converts. Kurdish Iraqis were also picked up in Nashville, Tennessee, activists and family members told Al Jazeera. Iraqs government previously refused to accept nationals with criminal records that the US wished to deport. That changed three months ago when Baghdad agreed to accept deportees as part of a deal removing it from President Donald Trumps travel ban. We are hoping that the courts will recognise the extreme danger that deportation to Iraq would pose for these individuals. Our immigration policy shouldnt amount to a death sentence for anyone, said Kary Moss, ACLU director in Michigan. Chaldeans are indigenous Iraqis linked to the Roman Catholic Church and mainly based in northern Iraq for centuries. They began migrating to the Detroit area in the 1920s. According to the Chaldean Community Foundation, an estimated 200,000 Chaldeans live in the US. Follow James Reinl on Twitter: @jamesreinl Riyadh says Iraq postponed al-Abadis visit, while Baghdad claims it did not set Wednesday as date of the trip. Officials from Saudi Arabia and Iraq on Thursday expressed conflicting accounts over a postponed proposed visit to Saudi Arabia by the Iraqi Prime Minister, as the Gulf diplomatic crisis drags on. Saudi diplomatic sources told DPA news agency that a visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to the kingdom, which they claims was due to take place on Wednesday, was postponed as per request of the Iraqis. They said that the Iraqis had to postpone the visit for internal reasons. But sources in the Iraqi prime ministers office told Al Jazeera that the Iraqis did not set Wednesday as the date of the visit and said Iraqi officials were surprised that the date of al-Abadis visit to Saudi was leaked to the public. The Iraqi officials say that a proposed Saudi visit is only one part of al-Abadis Gulf tour that will also take him to Kuwait and Iran. Jassem Mohammed Jaafar, an MP from Iraqs ruling State of Law coalition, told DPA that he didnt believe al-Abadis visit was in Iraqs interest because Saudi Arabia is trying to embarrass Iraq in taking sides in the Gulf crisis. Saudi Arabia intentionally announced the Iraqi PMs visit on Wednesday to embarrass the Iraqi government and trying to push us into a corner so we can take sides in the Gulf crisis. I believe that the timing of the visit doesnt serve the best interests of Iraq because we will end up looking like we support one side over another. Al-Abadi said on Tuesday that his country opposed the recent boycott of his Gulf neighbour Qatar, which has been led by Saudi Arabia since last week. Iraq is against besieging any Gulf country, even if it does not agree with us, al-Abadi said during his weekly press conference. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, as well as a number of African countries, have severed diplomatic ties and transportation links with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar strongly denies the allegations. A Saudi diplomatic source told DPA on Monday that al-Abadis proposd talks in the kingdom were set to focus on the fight against terrorism and reconstruction of damaged Iraqi provinces. Israeli writers US translator to give half of prize money from literary award to group fighting for Palestinian rights. An Israeli human rights group working on issues in the occupied West Bank has welcomed the donation of prize money from one of the Man Booker International Prize winners. Amit Gilutz, the spokesperson of BTselem, said on Thursday the NGO was thankful to the donor, adding that the group was determined to continue to resist the occupation until it ends. Israeli writer David Grossman, 63, won the prize on Wednesday evening for his novel A Horse Walks Into a Bar, along with his US translator Jessica Cohen, with the two splitting the 50,000 ($64,000) award. Cohen announced at the awards in the British capital of London that she would donate half of the award money to the Israeli human rights group BTselem, which campaigns against Israels occupation of Palestinian territories. For almost 30 years now they have been reporting on human rights violations committed in the occupied Palestinian territories, she said. It is not easy to tell uncomfortable and unflattering truths, and its certainly not easy to hear them, but it is essential, not only in literature but in life. READ MORE: Israel passes controversial NGO bill amid criticism Grossman, the first Israeli to win the prize, is a member of the NGOs public council and is known for his open and direct criticism of Israel for the rights of Palestinians. But he told Israeli army radio on Thursday he was wary of being a representative of any particular cause. When I write a story, I dont think of it as an ambassador, or even as an honorary consul. I want to tell a story. At odds with government BTselems work has seen it regularly at odds with Israeli politicians in the current government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently floated the idea of banning all state foreign funding to NGOs, seen as targeting BTselem and other left-wing groups. Culture Minister Miri Regev, who has been at war with much of the countrys intellectual elite, congratulated Grossman on his victory. Regev did not mention Cohens donation to BTselem. Grossman urged Regev to see this as an instance where literature can put our situation across in a complex, interesting and meaningful way. He called on the government to not disturb literature or art from expressing all their complexities, because that is what they are for. Grossmans book unfolds over the course of a stand-up show during which comedian Dovaleh Gee exposes a wound he has been living with for years and the difficult choice he had to make between the two people who were dearest to him. Arrival of two vessels for joint exercise comes just days after US President Trump accused Qatar of funding terrorism. Two US Navy vessels arrived in Doha to take part in a joint military exercise with the Qatari Emiri Navy just days after US President Donald Trump accused Qatar of being a funder of terrorism at a very high level. Qatar hosts the biggest US military base in the Middle East with more than 11,000 troops deployed or assigned to al-Udeid airbase. More than 100 aircraft operate from there. Qatar News Agency reported the arrival of the vessels on Wednesday, the same day that Qatar signed an agreement for the purchase of F-15 fighter jets from the US with an initial cost of $12bn. The aircraft purchase was completed by Qatari Minister of Defence Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah and his US counterpart Jim Mattis in Washington, DC, according to QNA. The sale will give Qatar a state-of-the-art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar, the defence department said in a statement. It was unclear if the arrival of the two warships at Doha was planned before the Gulf rift or if it was a sign of support from the Pentagon. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and a number of other countries severed relations with Qatar earlier this month, accusing it of supporting armed groups and Iran allegations Qatar has repeatedly rejected. READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis All the latest updates Riyadh also closed its border with Qatar, the only land border the emirate has. In addition, the closure of Saudi, Bahraini, and Emirati airspace to Qatar-owned flights has caused major import and travel disruptions. The Pentagon last week renewed praise of Qatar for hosting the US airbase and for its enduring commitment to regional security. The Pentagon reassurance differed from Trumps comments that applauded the decision and seemed to take credit for the blackade on Qatar and the cutting of diplomatic ties. During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar look! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017 The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level, Trump said earlier this month. We have to stop the funding of terrorism. The time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding. The websites have been blocked in the Israeli-occupied West Bank following a directive by the PA public prosecutor. At least 11 Palestinian news websites appear to have been blocked in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, following a directive by the Palestinian Authoritys public prosecutor, according to local sources. All the targeted websites are based outside the West Bank, according to a source who spoke to Anadolu news agency on condition of anonymity on Thursday. We were informed this morning of a decision by the Palestinian public prosecutor [affiliated with the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in Ramallah] to block 11 Palestinian websites, the source, an employee at a Ramallah-based internet service provider (ISP), said. READ MORE: UN warns of Gazas total collapse amid power crisis The blocked websites include the Palestinian Information Center and the Shehab News Agency affiliated with Hamas and the Voice of Fatah; known to be close to Mohammed Dahlan, a controversial Palestinian MP expelled from Fatah in 2011. On Thursday, Iyad al-Qarra, editor of Palestine, a newspaper close to Hamas, confirmed that the newspapers website had been blocked in the West Bank. As part of an ongoing policy of suppressing Palestinian media freedom, the newspapers website was recently blocked, al-Qarra said via Facebook. Unfortunately, local ISPs responded [to the public prosecutors directive] by swiftly blocking the targeted websites, he added. Our colleagues with technical expertise are currently trying to undo the move, as our newspaper, through its website, has tens of thousands of readers across the West Bank, al-Qarra said. The PA public prosecutor Ahmed Barak declined to comment on the issue. Also on Thursday, the pro-Dahlan Amad news website issued a statement saying that it, too, could no longer be accessed in the West Bank. Currently based in the United Arab Emirates, Dahlan was expelled from the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2011 amid allegations of corruption. Hamas, for its part, blames Dahlan for much of the political turmoil that hit the Gaza Strip following the withdrawal of Israeli troops in 2005. Government claims bill is necessary to tackle crime ahead of 2020 Olympics, but critics say it threatens human rights. Japans ruling coalition passed a controversial law on Thursday, targeting conspiracies to commit terrorism and other serious crimes. Thousands of people have protested in Tokyo against the law over the past two days. More than 5,000 people gathered outside the Japanese parliament on Wednesday to demonstrate against the law and protests are set to continue into Thursday night. https://twitter.com/cracjp/status/875004952292098049 The government says the bill is part of the international joint effort against crime ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games. After the parliamentary vote on Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters the law seeks to protect Japanese citizens and is part of the Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, to prevent terrorism before it happens. But critics say its an abuse of power and an unconstitutional attack on freedom of expression. This legislation is the perfect example of how the government is using counterterrorism as an excuse for mass-surveilance of ordinary citizens and activists, trying to re-militarise the country and crackdown on dissidents, Tokyo resident, Lisa Torio, told Al Jazeera. OPINION: Japans new Defence White Paper Turbulence ahead Despite resistance from the opposition bloc, the bill was approved after more than 17 hours of debate. The bill writes 277 new crimes into law. But the opposition says many are petty crimes, targeting regular citizens, such as copyright violations or even stealing lumber from forests. In May, the UN Special Rapporteur for privacy rights, Joseph Cannataci, warned that: If adopted into law [this bill] may lead to undue restrictions to the rights to privacy and to freedom of expression. Additionally, [it] would permit the application of laws for crimes which appear to be totally unrelated with the scope of organised crime and terrorism, Cannataci said in an open letter to Japans Prime Minister. In an interview with Kyodo News earlier this month, US whistleblower Edward Snowden called the bill the beginning of a new wave of mass-surveillance in Japan. This is a normalisation of a surveillance culture, that has not previously existed in Japan in public, he said. The bill was revised several times over the years as earlier versions met with fierce resistance and did not make it through parliament. Japanese citizens have been protesting on and off since December, when the bill was first proposed. Online movements are calling for the protests to continue, although polls show that publics opinion regarding the bill is divided. Doha calls for action from UN to end humanitarian crisis resulting from anti-Qatar steps taken by its neighbours. Qatars human rights agency has discussed with a relevant UN body the humanitarian challenges resulting from the blockade imposed on the country, calling for action to stop rights violations. Rashid Khalikov, assistant secretary general at UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), met in Doha on Thursday with Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri, the chairman of the National Committee for Human Rights (NHRC). The two sides spoke about the unprecedented measures taken by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, classifying some of the Qatari humanitarian groups as terrorist organisations and directly violating rights of thousands of people by imposing travel restrictions. Al Marri stressed that the measures were intended to obstruct the external humanitarian assistance provided by Qatar by smearing the reputation of its charitable organisations and obstructing their work. He also said that the groups have partnerships with international humanitarian organisations such as the International Red Cross and the Humanitarian Affairs Office of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as the strong partnerships with their counterparts in the Gulf Cooperation Council. He called for a prompt action by OCHA to stop those violations and unfair accusations against Qatari humanitarian organisations. Over 13,000 people affected According to a report released by NHRC on Thursday, the rights of more than 13,000 citizens of the four GCC countries involved in the crisis have been directly violated by the blockade. In some cases, the actions taken by these states separated mothers from their children. READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis -: All the latest updates Hundreds of complaints have been submitted to the NHRC by email, phone and hotlines, or personal visits to its headquarters in Doha. On June 11, six days after the decision, Saudi Arabia issued a royal order to take into consideration the humanitarian situation of mixed families [Saudi-Qatar], then the UAE and Bahrain followed in its footsteps. While NHRC appreciates this step and sees it as a step in the right direction, it also calls on the three states to clarify the implementation mechanism. It emphasises that the decrees have to include all human rights and legal areas, and calls for ending the blockade and compensating the affected families and individuals. US institutions are with Doha and not easily influenced by political changes, a Qatari official is quoted as saying. A $12bn deal to buy US F-15 fighter jets shows Qatar has deep-rooted support from Washington, a Qatari official said on Thursday, Reuters news agency reported. Qatar is facing an economic and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies who cut ties last week, in the worst rift among Gulf Arab states in years. They accuse Qatar of funding terrorism, fomenting regional unrest and cosying up to their enemy Iran, all of which Qatar denies. Trump has echoed the accusations against Qatar, even as his defence and state departments have tried to remain neutral in the dispute among key allies. This is of course proof that US institutions are with us but we have never doubted that, Reuters news agency quoted a Qatari official in Doha as saying. Americas support for Qatar is deep-rooted and not easily influenced by political changes. The Pentagon said the jets sale would increase security cooperation between the US and Qatar and help them operate together. It added that US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Qatars Defence Minister Khalid al-Attiyah had also discussed the current state of operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and the importance of de-escalating tensions in the Gulf. READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis All the latest updates Qatar hosts an important base for the US military carrying out operations against ISIL and other groups in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and beyond. Al Udeid Air Base is home to more than 11,000 US and coalition troops. Two US warships arrived at Hamad port in Qatar on Wednesday as part of a planned joint military exercise involving marine forces, Qatars state news agency said. Turkish support Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, on a Gulf tour trying to help broker an end to the crisis, defended the fighter jet deal. Just like other countries, like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt it is natural for Qatar to buy airplanes or parts necessary for its own defence, Cavusoglu said in Kuwait following talks with his Kuwaiti counterpart, according to Turkeys state-run Anadolu news agency. Turkey is friendly to Qatar and has sent food supplies since the sanctions were imposed. Kuwait has led efforts to mediate the dispute. Security forces end night-long hostage situation at Mogadishus Pizza House restaurant after 31 people were killed. At least 31 people are dead after the overnight siege of a popular restaurant in Somalias capital by al-Shabab fighters was ended by security forces with all five attackers killed. Police said many of the victims were killed at point-blank range. A car driven by a suicide bomber rammed into the Posh Hotel in south Mogadishu on Wednesday evening before gunmen rushed into Pizza House, an adjacent restaurant, and took 20 people hostage. Soldiers surrounded the building and used guns mounted on the backs of vehicles to kill all five attackers, officials said. The building was secured after dawn on Thursday, said senior Somali police office Mohamed Hussein. Bodies of five girls and a Syrian man who worked as a chef were found inside the restaurant, said police. We are in control of the hotel but it was mostly destroyed by the suicide bomber, Abdi Bashir, a police officer, told Reuters news agency. Meanwhile, survivors recounted harrowing stories of hiding under tables as armed attackers continued firing in the restaurant on Wednesday. Attackers moved from room to room, looking for people, said a survivor. I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again. They were killing people on sight, said Saida Hussein, a university student who survived the attack by hiding behind a large table on the ground floor. Aden Karie was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain in the dark room. He shot at me twice and one bullet struck me on the leg, said Karie as he was taken to an awaiting ambulance. The roofs were blown off the restaurant and nearby buildings from the powerful blasts. Al-Shabab, which has carried out a campaign of suicide bombings in its attempt to topple the internationally recognised Somali government, claimed responsibility. A mujahid [fighter] with his suicide car bomb martyred himself after he rammed into Posh Hotel, which is a nightclub. The operation goes on, Abdiasis Abu Musab, the groups military spokesman, told Reuters. Main opposition party CHP announces march from Ankara to Istanbul after deputy Berberoglu is jailed for spying charges. Turkeys main opposition party is holding a protest march from Ankara, to Istanbul after an MP was sentenced to 25 years in prison on spying charges. Enis Berberoglu, the first Republican Peoples Party (CHP) MP to be handed prison time since the lifting of parliamentary immunities last year, was accused of giving an opposition newspaper video footage purporting to show Turkeys intelligence agency trucking weapons into Syria. CHP supporters gathered at an Ankara park on Thursday after party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu announced the march in protest against the conviction a day ago, which the party called an attempt to intimidate the opposition. Party officials said the march would head to a prison in Istanbul, where Berberoglu is jailed. If we will live in this country together, the existence of justice is a must. There is no state or human, where there is no justice Our march will continue until there is justice in this country, Kilicdaroglu said before starting his march in Ankara. We are in the days where the actual guilty are not tried, but the innocent are, he said, adding that he would carry a banner reading Justice during his march. Engin Altay, a deputy chairman for the CHP, said on Wednesday the decision to jail Berberoglu was aimed at intimidating the opposition and was a sign that the judiciary was under government control. Turkish trucks in Syria A report in the opposition-linked Cumhuriyet newspaper in May 2015 said that trucks allegedly owned by Turkeys state intelligence service were found to contain weapons and ammunition headed for Syria when they were stopped and searched in southern Turkey in early 2014. The defendant has committed the crime of disclosing information that should remain secret for state security, domestic and external benefits, with the aim of political and military espionage, the court document shared by Turkish media, said. A dozen MPs from the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party, along with tens of thousands of academics, journalists and civil servants, have been arrested under the state of emergency that followed last years failed coup. Following Cumhuriyets report, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged the trucks belonged to the National Intelligence Organisation, and said they were carrying aid to Turkmens battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group. He accused Cumhuriyet journalists, including editor-in-chief Can Dundar and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul, of undermining Turkeys reputation and vowed Dundar would pay a heavy price. Last year, Dundar and Gul were sentenced to five years in jail each for revealing state secrets in a related case, and the prosecutor is now seeking an additional 10 years in prison for the two over the report on the trucks. Turkey condemned the US move to seek arrest of Turkish security agents accused of taking part in Washington brawl. Turkeys foreign ministry has called in the US ambassador to Ankara, John Bass, for talks after US authorities issued arrest warrants for a dozen official Turkish security guards involved in a brawl with protesters in Washington last month. It has been conveyed to the ambassador that this decision taken by US authorities is wrong, biased and lacks legal basis, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday, blaming local authorities for failing to take proper security measures with regards to the so-called protesters. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also condemned the decision on Thursday. OPINION: Its time for the US to stop alienating its allies Speaking at a dinner to break the Ramadan fast in Ankara, Erdogan asked: What kind of a law is this? Referring to his security detail, he said, If they are not going to protect me, why would I bring them with me to America? Erdogan said the protesters were members of an outlawed armed Kurdish group and the US police failed to act. He vowed to fight the decision on legal and political grounds. Arrest warrants issued Police say theyve issued arrest warrants for a dozen Turkish security agents and two others accused of taking part in the violent altercation on May 16, which took place as Turkeys president visited Washington. District Police Chief Peter Newsham announced the arrest warrants at a news conference on Thursday, saying nine agents, three Turkish police officers and two Canadians are being sought. He also said two arrests were made on Wednesday. We all saw the violence that was perpetrated against the protesters, Newsham said. Were not going to tolerate this. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the charges send a clear message that the United States does not tolerate individuals who use intimidation and violence to stifle freedom of speech and legitimate political expression. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert declined to say what actions might be taken, but the US could seek the extradition of the Turkish suspects or bar them from entering the United States. Erdogans security detail returned with him to Turkey after his visit, so it was unclear if any would face any immediate US legal repercussions. However, they could end up being threatened with arrest if they return to the US. If any are still in the country, they could be expelled if Turkey refuses to waive diplomatic immunity. They should bring themselves here to the US to answer these charges, Newsham said. Newsham recounted how video near the residence showed some attacking protesters with their fists and feet. Men in dark suits and others were recorded repeatedly kicking one woman as she lay curled on the pavement. A man with a bullhorn was repeatedly kicked in the face. After officers struggled to protect the protesters and ordered the men in suits to retreat, several of the men dodged the officers and ran into a park to continue the attacks. Mevlut Cavusoglu in Kuwait to push the mediation efforts before a meeting with the Saudi king on Friday. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held talks in Kuwait to push mediation efforts aimed at resolving a standoff between a Saudi-led alliance and Qatar. Ahead of the talks in Kuwait on Thursday, Cavusoglu told a press conference that he will travel to the holy city of Mecca on Friday for talks with Saudi King Salman. Although the kingdom is a party in this crisis, we know that King Salman is a party in resolving it, the Turkish minister said. We want to hear the views of Saudi Arabia regarding possible solutions and will share with them our views in a transparent way We pay a great attention to our relations with them, he said. Cavusoglu held talks on Wednesday with Qatars emir and foreign minister. The Turkish foreign minister said Qatari officials believe they are not the cause of the current crisis and want to know the claims of the four countries. We are trying hard to prevent any escalation and find a quick solution to the crisis Resolving the crisis is not through taking [boycott] decisions but through dialogue, Cavusoglu said. The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf but is also keen to maintain its improving relations with the key regional power Saudi Arabia. To ward off bad spirits and keep her group protected, third-generation water carrier and 11-year-old Lily Smith smudged guests with sage at a Wednesday night water ceremony at Depot Park, located at 200 SE Depot Ave. In the first of many rituals to celebrate Depot Parks water purification system, two Grandmothers from indigenous tribes shared songs, poems and blessings to honor the importance of the four elements: water, air, fire and earth. Promoting the idea that water is life, Grandmother Mary Lyons of Minnesota and Grandmother Doreen Bennett of New Zealand have traveled the globe performing similar water ceremonies, where they sing, dance and explain how humans have deviated from the importance of water. In the past year, worried that they would jeopardize clean drinking water and indigenous land, Alachua County residents have taken to parking lots and street corners to protest the Dakota Access and Sabal Trail pipelines. The Sabal Trail pipeline, a 515-mile natural-gas pipeline running through Alabama, Georgia and Florida, has spurred many recent protests in North Central Florida, according to Alligator archives. The Dakota Access pipeline, which carries crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois, leaked 84 gallons of oil in April, according to The Washington Post. On Wednesday night, Lyons explained to about 30 people that humans are made up of the four elements, which play a vital role in our lives. She said when conceived, we are entered into water in our mothers womb. After birth, we breathe the air. The sun is fire, which warms us and sustains life. Finally, we are plants of the Earth, and it is where we grow. The only thing we can honestly pass onto the next generation are those four messages, Lyons said. Those four messages carry no prejudice. Cindi Harvey, Depot Parks manager, said the park is part of a man-made water treatment system that extensively purifies stormwater before it becomes drinking water for residents. It makes me really proud of our city and what were doing to our stormwater before it becomes our drinking water, Harvey said. Were doing a lot to protect our citizens. The part of the water purification system that is located in Depot Park is the heartbeat of the park, Harvey said. It makes visitors recognize how great it is to have a city that thoroughly cleanses its stormwater before it becomes drinkable. This water ceremony is honoring the heartbeat of Depot Park, and something that is very important for our city, Harvey said. Gainesville resident Eleanor Briseno said this was very important because these forces of nature are in jeopardy because of the lack of commitment to uphold them. Briseno said she thought bringing the Grandmothers to Gainesville was a good idea because of the water purification system that goes through Depot Park. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now I hope its a consciousness raising event, Briseno said. I hope that its also bringing (guests) into another realm of sacred understanding, connections and appreciation. Lily Smith, 11, welcomed guests at a Wednesday night water ceremony held at Depot Park, located at 200 SE Depot Ave., by smudging them with sage. At the ceremony, about 30 people sang, danced and discussed the importance of the four elements especially water. UF President Kent Fuchs said he plans to increase the faculty at UF by 500 people within the next few years. By hiring 500 faculty, well move from a student-to-faculty ratio of 21-to-1 all the way down to 16-to-1, he said. Itll make our teaching more effective, class sizes smaller and our faculty will have more time to conduct more research. The funding for the increase in faculty will cost $52 million, with any additional costs being sought out by other resources, UF spokesperson Steve Orlando said. We were fortunate enough to get some funding during this years legislative session $52 million and the point is that this will be used to accomplish two of our main goals, Orlando said. Although the Summer semester has seen the resignation of two top UF employees, Orlando said this did not play a part in the decision to hire new staff. According to Fuchs, in many of the comparisons done by organizations, such as the Association of American Universities, UF is at the bottom when it comes to its student-to-faculty ratio. He said the number of students at UF will not grow or decline, so his goal is to grow the faculty to help UF become part of the top five public research universities in the nation. Im very much committed, he said. Emphasis will be put on hiring faculty in science, technology, engineering and math professions, as well as areas that focus on economic development and startups, Orlando said. Along with decreasing the student-to-faculty ratio and having UF become a top research university, Fuchs said he also plans to pay UF employees based on merit and market at the level of UFs competitors. Were close there, but were behind, he said. With Floridas large population, Fuchs said he feels the state needs a university that is ranked highly nationwide. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now We are the highest-ranked university in the state public or private, he said, and I really believe that a state that is No. 3 in population should at least have one university that ranks among the very, very best in the entire world. When Virginia Lynn-Brinson lost her medical transcription business in 2012, she felt helpless. She thought she didnt know how to do anything else until a mentor told her to find a need in the community and fill it. Then, she had a moment of clarity. She started Virginia Lynn Enterprises, an event company that seeks to connect small businesses to the community. Her latest venture is a small business marketplace. The Good Life Market Place, located at 14874 Main St. in Alachua, offers local business owners and artists a place to showcase their products. The marketplace is open Monday through Thursday from noon to 7 p.m., Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. Lynn-Brinson and co-founder Sondra Thirston came up with the idea when they realized that local artists and business owners needed a permanent space to showcase their products. The name borrows from The Good Life Community, a nickname given to Alachua. They thought it was only fitting that their shop be named after the city where it was born. We thought that would be perfect for the store because this is the good life community, and we are a marketplace for small business; we just put those two together, Lynn-Brinson said. Friday at the marketplace features a special event called Sip, Shop and Socialize. Lynn-Brinson said its a time of light refreshments for people to check out the store and network. Because she has children, all of the events that Lynn-Brinson puts on are family friendly. At the last Friday event, she said a three-year-old boy stepped behind a vendors table and attempted to sell some of her merchandise. He had a good time in here, and he was going to make a really big sale if the person fell for it, she said. To keep the lights on and run the marketplace, Lynn-Brinson and Thirston charge the vendors a monthly fee for their booth and collect a 30-percent commission. In exchange, the vendors receive free advertising through the owners radio show and Facebook Live events and gain exposure through in-store events. When a potential customer comes to the market, they might not get to meet the particular vendor whose items theyd like to buy. Instead, Lynn-Brinson or Thirston assist in sales when a vendor is out of the store. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now The items in the marketplace include organic skincare products, artwork, clothes, plant holders and some direct sales items like Scentsy. Most of the 12 vendors hail from across North Central Florida, coming from Gainesville, Bronson and Alachua. Lynn-Brinson said the store is still accepting vendors. This marketplace is like a co-op, she said. Each one of us are contributing to helping to get our names out, but also helping us to be able to take a vacation or put our kids in dance class. All of us have a why. One small business owner from Gainesville whos participating in the marketplace is Simone Eddinger. Eddinger, 22, has been running her small business, Simones Natural Notions, for about a year. She makes handmade soaps, candles and bath bombs. Eddinger discovered making soap, perfecting do-it-yourself recipes and about how the science behind the suds was equally important through reading books. She uses different online sources to learn more about the chemistry that makes her product perfect. It was a little confusing, at first, starting out with the soap, but theres a lot of research going into it and a lot of helpful resources, she said. When she went into the soap business, she wanted to stand apart from the local people who came before her. To do this, she crafted her own recipes, making everything from scratch and perfecting how her products look. Decorating the soap is one area she still needs to improve on she says, but she thinks her booths originality is one way she stands apart. I kind of make my whole setup look like a tea party, she said. Before getting an associates degree in art studio from Santa Fe College, Eddinger wanted to be a veterinarian. Today, shes finishing up a degree in business entrepreneurship. Her goals have changed, but her love of animals still shines through. Currently, shes working on a handmade soap for dogs. Eddinger wants to offer affordable, specialty items. She prefers face-to-face sales for the small moments when she can talk to people and explain her in-depth process. One of her favorite soaps is called Milk n Coffee on her Etsy shop. She uses goats milk and coffee grounds, among other ingredients. Putting in long hours is whats needed to get a business off the ground. With the marketplace, small business owners can rely on each other to help run their businesses even when theyre not around. Lynn-Brinson said that she thinks it takes a village to run a business much like it takes a village to raise a child. The marketplace is her new infant, needing constant attention, and she puts in long hours despite being a mother of six. English News Chinese think tank experts visit US farmland for agricultural exchanges Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 14 Juin 2017 Statistics from US-China Business Council indicated a rapid growth of Iowas export to China during 2006 and 2015. In 2015, the state exported $1.4 billion of agricultural products to China and achieved a 257 percent growth. By Zhang Niansheng, Gao Shi and Zhang Penghui from Peoples Daily A Chinese think tank delegation on Sunday paid a visit to Kimberly farm in Iowa State, whose name became popular among Chinese people after hosting the then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in 2012, with the aim to remove the obstacles to the development of Sino-US agricultural cooperation. Headed by Wei Jianguo, who was a former vice minister of commerce, the delegation is to attend a US-China Think Tank Summit after visiting the farm in the outskirt of Des Moines, capital city of Iowa, a state of fish and rice. Farm owner Rick Kimberly and his son Grant Kimberly showed the delegates around the machinery, barns and farmland, sharing their experience in the business model and management. When addressing the US-China Agricultural Symposium in 2012, Xi said Chinese government pays great attendance to the development agriculture and rural areas because food security is key to the welfare of 1.3 billion people. The delegation wishes to listen to the US farmers expectation toward the agricultural exchange between China and the US and respond to their concerns, so as to resolve problems, said Wei, who is the executive deputy director of China Center for International Economic Exchanges. Xis visit has brought dramatic and surprising changes to our lives, Rick said. In October 2016, the 4,000-acre Kimberly farm inked an agreement with Lishu county in Northeastern Chinas Jilin Province to set up a model farm to showcase modern agriculture. In November, 2016, Terry Branstad, now US Ambassador to China and then Iowa Governor signed an agreement with Chengde city, Hebei Province to build a friendship farmland during his visit to China. Rick told the Peoples Daily reporters that China is a major producer, trader and consumer of agricultural products that enjoys rich resources and a huge market. The rapid economic development in recent years has driven up Chinese consumers attention on food security, Rick said, adding that their high demand for imported healthy food will bring chances to US farmers. I have visited China eight times since 2013, and the people there are the most hospitable ones I have ever met, Rick said, suggesting that every US citizen should pay a visit to the country. He added that exchange deepens mutual understanding, and the Chinese people are just as friendly and simple as the Iowans. Rick took out a photo which shows that Xi met with his son Grant at the Great Hall of the People in 2013. Xi asked Grant to convey his regards to me and my wife, which made me feel honored and warm, Rick said proudly. Grant, who serves as the director of Market Development for the Iowa Soybean Association, has visited dozens of Chinese cities since 2008 and witnessed all the changes China had made. Hailing China is the most energetic agricultural market in the world and the largest export destination of US agricultural products, he noted that China will transform from extensive development to intensive growth with the emphasis on innovation and agricultural technology, which means abundant opportunities for the US agriculture. Wei said that he has felt the strong desire of US people to cooperate with China after talking to the Kimberlys, adding that there is vast space for cooperation and mutual learning between China and the US, such as how to attract young talents to work on modern agriculture. Statistics from US-China Business Council indicated a rapid growth of Iowas export to China during 2006 and 2015. In 2015, the state exported $1.4 billion of agricultural products to China and achieved a 257 percent growth. China and Iowa enjoy profound friendship, Bill Northey, secretary of the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship, told the Peoples Daily. He said he was impressed by Chinas continuous development and huge market in agriculture. Iowa is an agricultural state that tops the US in terms of corn, egg and pork production, the secretary said, adding that the two countries share a well-established and unshakable foundation for agricultural cooperation. Northey hoped that the two countries could deepen cooperation and learn from each other for the sake of common development. Dans la meme rubrique : < > Yunnan dispatches sci-tech experts to South Asia, Southeast Asia, builds bridge of int'l technological cooperation China's Beidou reaches world-leading level: white paper Silk Road e-commerce promotes trade among Belt and Road countries Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) English News Sino-US ties involve competition and cooperation: experts Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 15 Juin 2017 The US is much more powerful than China. However, the world is marching towards economic globalization, the democratization of international relations and polarization, Tao said, adding that China, a country on the rise, will neither start all over again nor overturn the existing system. By Zhang Niansheng, Zhang Penghui and Gao Shi from Peoples Daily Competition and cooperation have become the new normal between China and the US, said experts attending a think tank seminar in the US on Monday (US time), warning that bilateral ties will develop smoothly if cooperation prevails, but will be risky if competition takes the upper hand. Nearly 100 Chinese and US experts exchanged views on such topics as Sino-US relations, local cooperation and the prospects of the bilateral relationship, during the US-China Think Tank Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa. The symposium was jointly organized by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) and the World Food Prize Foundation (WFPF). The key to bilateral ties is to effectively manage competition, said Cui Liru, former president of CICIR, suggesting consensus be reached on mutually beneficial cooperation. Former US Ambassador to China Stapleton Roy said disagreements are normal, and what matters is to find a solution. If disagreements are not well managed and controlled, Sino-US relations will become frustrated, he warned. "The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Florida in April has built good cooperative and working relationships, setting an example for managing and controlling disagreements and promoting cooperation, the former US ambassador said. The development of international relations doesnt stop at such descriptions as the rise of China and the decline of the US, said Tao Wenzhao, a researcher on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The US is much more powerful than China. However, the world is marching towards economic globalization, the democratization of international relations and polarization, Tao said, adding that China, a country on the rise, will neither start all over again nor overturn the existing system. The symposium participants spoke highly of China-US economic and trade relations. The 100-day action plan under the four-pronged dialogue mechanisms resulting from the meeting of Xi and Trump is a good start and has yielded fruit, said Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the CASS. China-US investment and trade enjoy great potential, according to Zhao Jinping, research fellow and director-general of the Research Department of Foreign Economic Relations, Development Research Center of the State Council. Zhao said that the investment environment in both countries can be further improved. In the future, the two countries will ink high-level bilateral agreements on investment, which will push trade and economic cooperation to a new high, the researcher added. Cooperation between China and Iowa is a good example. Iowa is the second largest agricultural base in the US with an annual agricultural output of more than $30 billion. The states economic development is highlighted by its deepened collaboration with China. Bill Northey, secretary of the Iowa Department of Agriculture, said thanks to increased agricultural trade between the two countries brought about by rising demand from China, more farmers in the state have expanded their cultivated area. Half of the states soybeans are exported to China. US enterprises are eager to cooperate with China, said Wei Jianguo, vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. Wei noted that upon their arrival in Iowa, the states agricultural machinery manufacturers asked them if China would cooperate more with the US side in agricultural machinery manufacturing. WFPF president Kenneth Quinn said trade and economic cooperation will be conducive to both. And more importantly, closer collaboration in such sectors as agricultural technology and food safety are an important part and outcome of China-US economic and trade relations. Provincial or state level exchanges now work as new engines of bilateral exchanges. In the future, the two countries will eye more exchanges on lower levels, said Yang Dali, senior consultant for the University of Chicago president. Young people in the US hold a more positive impression about China than ordinary people, and they believe that the two countries will become partners, indicating they are optimistic about the future of Sino-US relations, Yang said. Political issues used to dominate Sino-US relations, but people are delighted to see that the symposium focuses on agricultural cooperation, said Roy. As a close friend of the Chinese people, Iowa will always open its door to them, Quinn said. Dans la meme rubrique : < > Yunnan dispatches sci-tech experts to South Asia, Southeast Asia, builds bridge of int'l technological cooperation China's Beidou reaches world-leading level: white paper Silk Road e-commerce promotes trade among Belt and Road countries Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) On Thursday morning, China launched a cutting-edge space telescope, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope, which is designed to help scientists better understand the universe, according to project insiders. The HXMT, jointly developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Academy of Space Technology, blasted off at 11 am atop a Long March 4B carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China. The satellite is the nation's first space-based X-ray observatory. With a weight of nearly 2.5 metric tons, the HXMT will be in operation for at least four years in a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of about 550 kilometers, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, which oversees China's space programs. The administration said the HXMT carries four scientific devices three X-ray telescopes and a space environmental detector. Zhao Jian, a space program official at the administration, said the HXMT will help scientists study the activities of black holes and neutron stars as well as X-ray radiation. The satellite will also enable engineers to explore ways of using pulsars as benchmarks for a new-generation space navigation technology that they are developing for spacecraft, according to Zhao. China has launched three science satellites the Dark Matter Particle Explorer Satellite, Shijian 10 microgravity experiment satellite and Micius quantum experiment satellite. The nation plans to launch at least four science spacecraft in the near future the China-Italy Electromagnetic Monitoring Experiment Satellite, China-France Oceanography Satellite and China-France Space Variable Objects Monitor as well as the country's first Mars probe, Zhao said. The official added that his administration will continue to push forward a number of space-based scientific programs, including the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, Water Cycle Observation Satellite and the Einstein Probe as well as the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Thermosphere Coupling Small Satellite Constellation. Both the railroads and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division say the extension will help all parties make the best decision on how to proceed with the outstanding tentative labor agreements. The Bernie Sanders supporter who tried to kill numerous GOP lawmakers did not commit his violent acts in a vacuum. James Hodgkinson may have pulled the trigger that critically wounded House majority whip Steve Scalise and two others. But the hysterical threats of violence against Republicans and President Trump could not have escaped his notice. Hodgkinson was a regular viewer of Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show and worshipped Bernie Sanders. There is little doubt that someone so immersed in left-wing politics heard the calls for blood and violence against Republicans. Breitbart has a list of 15 Hollywood celebrities who made overt and chilling threats against the GOP and President Trump. Hollywood has issued dire predictions and hysterical warnings about Donald Trump ever since the Republican businessman first announced his candidacy for the presidency in June 2015. But the level of vitriol and violent rhetoric against now-President Trump has increased substantially in recent weeks, from comedian Kathy Griffin's now-famous shock "beheading" photograph to Shakespeare in the Park's not-at-all-subtle "assassination" of Trump on a stage in New York City's Central Park. Unfortunately, Griffin and the director of Julius Caesar are not anomalies in Hollywood; actors, writers, directors, and other celebrities have fantasized about using violence against Trump, his supporters, and other GOP lawmakers for at least the past 18 months. Breitbart lists 15 examples of celebrity calls for violence. A few examples: 1. Kathy Griffin 'Beheads' Trump in Graphic Photo 2. Madonna "I've thought a lot about blowing up the White House." 3. Snoop Dogg "Shoots" Trump in the Head in Music Video 4. Robert De Niro: "I'd Like to Punch Him in the Face" 5. Joss Whedon: "I Want a Rhino to [F---] Paul Ryan to Death" 6. Shakespeare in the Park Stabs 'Trump' to Death in Performance of 'Julius Caesar 10. Rapper YG Threatens Trump with "[F---] Donald Trump" Song 11. Marilyn Manson Kills 'Trump' in Music Video And let's not forget actual violence and intimidation that has been carried out against Republicans: Daily Caller: Even before Wednesday's shooting, Republicans were growing used to being on the receiving end of violence and intimidation amid an increasingly hostile political climate where left-wingers portrayed them as "fascists." One of Virginia Rep. Tom Garrett's town halls last month featured a heavy police presence after Garrett and his family were targeted by repeated death threats. "This is how we're going to kill your wife," read one such message, Garrett told Politico. "I don't want to die anytime soon. I got stuff left to do, I hope. But when you pull wives and children in, that's not cool." Just days after the Politico article ran, FBI agents arrested a Tucson Unified School District employee for making violent threats against Arizona Rep. Martha McSally. Agents said 58-year-old Steve Martan left threatening voicemails for McSally, telling the Republican congresswoman that her days were "numbered." Also last month, police in Tennessee charged 35-year-old Wendi Wright with felony reckless endangerment for allegedly trying to run Republican Congressman David Kustoff off the road after a town hall he held regarding the GOP health care bill. If Wright stays out of trouble and abides by the terms of her one-year restraining order, then all charges will be expunged from her record, reported BuzzFeed, which covered the story in sympathetic terms. "Wendi Wright can't have any contact with Republican Rep. David Kustoff for a year after she chased after him for his vote on Obamacare last month," read the story's sub-headline. The same day Wright was charged, police in North Dakota escorted a man from a town hall with Rep. Kevin Cramer after the man became physical with the Republican congressman and shoved a fistful of money into Cramer's collar. There have been many comparisons between Jared Loughner, the man who shot Rep. Gabby Giffords, and Hodgkinson. The parallels are ridiculous, as is Loughner's supposed "trigger" for the attack: an obscure map published by Sarah Palin's PAC that showed Giffords's congressional district in crosshairs. Loughner, a mentally disturbed man, diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, was oblivious to the rantings of right-wing fringe players and almost certainly never saw the Palin PAC map (almost no one did). Hodgkinson, on the other hand, followed far-left politics every day, immersing himself in the conspiracy theories and anti-Trump hysteria of the left. He could not have helped being directly influenced by the threats and acts of violence against Republicans. For that reason, the far left in Hollywood and elsewhere have blood on their hands. What's a newspaper to do when it ostentatiously refuses to cut funding for a high-profile play in Central Park depicting an obvious President Trump-themed Julius Caesar being assassinated, and then a left-wing extremist attempts to assassinate a group of GOP congressmen? The answer is obvious: lie! The New York Times editorial today about the attempted assassination yesterday in Alexandria is one of the most despicable acts of the newspaper since its Russia correspondent Walter Duranty actively covered up Stalin's crimes in deliberately starving Ukraine. In its editorial on the attempted mass murder of Republicans, the Times admits that James Hodgkinson was politically motivated: The sniper, James Hodgkinson, who was killed by Capitol Police officers, was surely deranged, and his derangement had found its fuel in politics. Mr. Hodgkinson was a Bernie Sanders supporter and campaign volunteer virulently opposed to President Trump. He posted many anti-Trump messages on social media, including one in March that said "Time to Destroy Trump & Co." Here it gets tricky for the Times, having endorsed showing the public (including that percentage of the public that is mentally unstable) a vivid theatrical enactment of the assassination of President Trump (reportedly causing raucous applause from the audience at the point of bloodiness). Any unstable members of the audience might conclude that one could be a hero among the Smart Set by killing President Trump, or by extension Republicans with less protection than a constant Secret Service detail. So the Times has been sponsoring showing the public that assassination is something to be celebrated when the victim is the Republican president. Its endorsement is explicit and conscious, because the Times refused to pull funding (unlike Delta Airlines and Bank of America) when the horrific implications of the onstage incitement were widely discussed. With such obvious culpability, the Times is forced to lie and claim that the problem is with the tone of politics, something for which both parties share responsibility, and the proof is that Jared Laughner was inspired by Sarah Palin to shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords: Was this attack evidence of how vicious American politics has become? Probably. In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear. Before the shooting, Sarah Palin's political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs. "The link to political incitement was clear" is a damnable lie! Peter Hasson of the Daily Caller points out: There is no evidence to support the conspiracy theory that Loughner, a schizophrenic, was at all inspired by Palin's electoral map. As CNN's Jake Tapper pointed out in response to the NYT editorial: "even way back in Jan 2011 we knew that Loughlin's [sic] obsession began 3 years before the Palin map." Tapper made that same exact point back in 2011 when he worked for ABC. Other commenters pointed out the NYT's bizarre and inexplicable dishonesty. "The NYT editorial falsely claims Loughner shot Giffords due to a target on a photo," Commentary editor John Podhoretz wrote. "It's not yet 11. They can change it. Let's see." The Times didn't change it, even after its lie was pointed out. Even some honest leftists are appalled: Ben Dreyfuss, a senior editor with left-wing Mother Jones, called the editorial "stupid," adding: "Palin didn't make that loon shoot Gabby Giffords." "Unbelievable. The Times is still peddling this despicable lie," said Wall Street Journal editor James Taranto. He added: "This is shockingly dishonest." For a newspaper styled as "the newspaper of record" to outright lie in this way shows us that there is panic at the Gray Lady. As on the left as a whole. They have been caught out with the consequences of their fusillade of incitement to violence. As I wrote at the time, Kathy Griffin's severed head photo is so vivid and resonant that it will linger in the collective memory of Americans for many years. All the blather from the Times cannot obscure the fact that unprecedented levels of incitement to violence have been put before the public for over half a year. There is absolutely nothing on the right that compares. Roughly 60 percent of Americans are either strong liberals or strong conservatives. Among the 40 percent who are in the middle, the record of incitement and its consequences may have a telling effect. Update via Yahoo News: In a close vote, the Senate beat back an effort to partially derail the arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The bill would have denied the kingdom access to American precision-guided weapons. Four Republicans voted against the measure, but five Democrats crossed the aisle to vote with the GOP majority. Opposition to the deal was based on the bloody Saudi war against Houthi rebels in Yemen that has resulted in thousands of civilian casualties. The Hill: The vote broke down mainly along party lines. Four Republicans Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, Todd Young of Indiana, and Dean Heller of Nevada voted against the sale. Five Democrats broke with their party and assured Trump's victory: Virginia's Mark Warner, Missouri's Claire McCaskill, West Virginia's Joe Manchin, Florida's Bill Nelson, and Indiana's Joe Donnelly. Activists denounced the Democrats who broke ranks and accused them of caring more about contributions from weapons makers than the lives of Yemeni children. In anticipation of the vote, a coalition of peace and humanitarian aid groups launched a vigorous campaign to support the anti-weapons resolution sponsored by Sens. Chris Murphy, Rand Paul and Al Franken. Thousands of activists around the nation emailed, called, and visited their senators. Among the more clever tactics was a teach-in on Saudi Arabia in the D.C. office of Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) by activists who refused to leave until the senator released a public statement against the sale. On the other side were lobbyists for the Saudi government and the weapons industry. Officials from the Trump administration also lobbied extensively, spending hours before the vote frantically making phone calls and holding briefings with lawmakers when they realized the vote would be a close one. The vote reflected an unprecedented level of opposition in the Senate. Murphy and Paul tried to pass a similar resolution of disapproval during Obama's presidency last fall, but the measure failed by a 71-27 vote. "Today's vote total would've been unthinkable not long ago, but Congress is finally taking notice that Saudi Arabia is using U.S. munitions to deliberately hit civilian targets inside Yemen," said Murphy. The more cynical interpretation would be that Democrats are more willing to criticize Saudi weapons sales under a Trump administration than under a Democratic one. The Israelis have expressed concern over the arms deal but have not unleashed a full court press against it. That's because the Saudis are a front-line state against Iranian hegemony in the region, and while the two countries remain enemies, the Israelis realize that Saudi Arabia need to protect itself. As for the war in Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthis are well supplied by Tehran and receive weapons and training from the Revolutionary Guards. The Saudis need the precision-guided munitions to maintain a qualitative advantage over the enemy. Senator Paul said it would be "counterproductive" to support the arms sale while supporting Israel. That would have been true a decade ago, when the potential for conflict between Israel and Saudi Arabia was much higher. Today, both countries recognize a tacit alliance against Iran the real enemy of both Sunni Muslims and Jews in the region. The Saudi war against the Houthis will continue whether the Saudis get the weapons or not. Also, there are other sources for precision weapons than the U.S. that the Saudis have access to. The opposition to the deal is a case of moral posturing that would have little or no impact on civilian deaths in Yemen. The battle for the ISIS capital of Raqqa is intensifying as U.S.-backed forces are making their way toward the center of the city. The fighters are supported by massive U.S. air strikes on ISIS targets in Raqqa itself. The strikes have resulted in a "massive loss of life," according to the U.N. war crimes commission. Syrian human rights groups report that at least 300 civilians have died in the air strikes, with many more killed by ISIS as civilians try to escape the city. Reuters: Intensified coalition air strikes have killed at least 300 civilians in the Syrian northern city of Raqqa since March, as U.S.-backed forces close in on the stronghold of Islamic State forces, U.N. war crimes investigators said on Wednesday. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group of Kurdish and Arab militias supported by a U.S.-led coalition, began to attack Raqqa a week ago to take it from the jihadists. The SDF, supported by heavy coalition air strikes, have taken territory to the west, east and north of the city. "Coalition air strikes have intensified around the city," said Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry. "As the operation is gaining pace very rapidly, civilians are caught up in the city under the oppressive rule of ISIL, while facing extreme danger associated with movement due to excessive air strikes," he told reporters. Karen Abuzayd, an American commissioner on the independent panel, said: "We have documented the deaths caused by the coalition air strikes only and we have about 300 deaths, 200 in one place, in al-Mansoura, one village." The U.N. investigators do not have access to Syria. They interview survivors and witnesses in neighboring countries or by Skype with those still in Syria. Pinheiro, speaking earlier to the U.N. Human Rights Council, said that there had been a "staggering loss of civilian life" due to coalition air strikes that had forced 160,000 civilians to flee their homes. Rival forces are racing to capture ground from Islamic State around Raqqa, and the Syrian army is also advancing on the desert area west of the city. Separately, Human Rights Watch expressed concern in a statement about the use of incendiary white phosphorous weapons by the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, saying it endangered civilians when used in populated areas. White phosphorus is not banned as a chemical weapon and can legally be used on battlefields to make smoke screens, generate illumination, mark targets or burn bunkers and buildings. But it can cause serious burns and start fires. In its speech to the 47-member forum in Geneva, the U.S. delegation made no reference to Raqqa or the air strikes. U.S. diplomat Jason Mack called the Syrian government "the primary perpetrator" of egregious human rights violations in the country. Man of the Establishment John McDonnell wants mass protest to bring down the Government We should like it that John McDonnell speaks his mind. The shadow chancellor wants people to get out on the streets in support of Labour, to force Theresa May from office and to further the cause for another General Election and with it what he hopes will be victory for his Labour Party. We need people doing everything they can to ensure the election comes as early as possible, says McDonnell. What we need now is the TUC mobilised, every union mobilised, get out on the streets, the Shadow Chancellor said in comments reported by the Morning Star. Just think if the TUC put out that call that we want a million on the streets of London in two weeks time. McDonnell, who went on to talk about his comrades in Labour, has much form when it comes to saying whats in his head. He refused to apologise for calling Esther McVey a stain on humanity. Sometimes it is better to be honest with people about how you feel, he said. At times, in parliament in particular, it means using strong language that reflects your honest views. Im no fan of McDonnell, his calls for revolution mask a man steeped in conformity, who wants a society funded on taxation and welfare. I enjoy his call for protest, a cornerstone of any democracy. But does a raucous protest Occupy, anyone? do anything other than gain media attention? The suspicion is that McDonnell, an MP and with that job title a member of the Establishment, would rather the marchers and Left presented themselves as victims of oppression than as active agents in a fight for meaningful change. If you cant win through political argument and twitter is wrong; Labour lost you call for those already on your side and with time on their hands to get together and hope that being there is enough. Anorak Posted: 15th, June 2017 | In: News, Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink Madeleine McCann: Mallorca mum has nasty experience with would-be child snatcher Madeleine McCann: a look at the missing child in the news. With the media full of huge and often terrible stories, Madeleine McCann has been largely absent from the tabloids pages. But she pops up in the Daily Star. On page 11, readers are told: BRIT MUM: I STOPPED MADDIE KIDNAPPER. To Mallorca, where mum Blaise Deacon says a mystery blonde woman put her arms around 23-month-old daughter Darcie and said he was taking her. Blaise grabbed her child and refused to let go. At which point you wonder where Madeleine McCann comes into this? She went missing in Portugal. Are we to think that anyone who took her in what some theorise to have been been a well-executed crime, is now simply grabbing kids in broad daylight on a Spanish island? The paper says this Madeleine McCann-style kidnapper ran to a waiting car and fled. Only, this person was not a Madeleine McCann-style anything. Moreover, Spanish police have CCTV footage of the incident, which cops investigating what happened to Madeleine McCann do not. Blaise says the police were excellent . She says: From what we understand they have a match of the suspect and are now looking for her. Meanwhile, Madeleine McCann is missing. The police have nothing. But the tabloids have another sensation. Anorak Posted: 15th, June 2017 | In: Madeleine McCann, News Comment | TrackBack | Permalink After Grenfell: the rush to be the victims conscience The horror at Grenfell Tower fire dominates the news. The fire shouldnt happened. After fires at Kings Cross station and Bradford football ground took many lives, prevention became the watchword. A fire and building inspector told media if there is a fire in any of these buildings, youd expect it to be contained to an individual apartment. You wouldnt expect it to spread in anything like the way, and certainly not in the time, that weve actually seen here. But the level of prevention was inadequate. The appalling scene at the 1974-built tower block in West London scars the mind. Volunteers are flocking to the site of the disaster. The stricken and bereaved are not echoes. We see them. The faces of the dead pepper the front page like bullets holes. Most of us didnt know them but, boy, can we feel the pain. And it spreads. Already the newspapers are out of time. The present is fleeting. Twelve dead, says the Mirrors cover. The figure is now 17. The newspapers try to report and make sense of the terrifying blaze. The Daily Mail produces a special edition with 21 pages, all led by the question How the hell could it happen? Tragic. Horrific. Avoidable, says the i newspaper. The Sun has 18 pages of coverage, leading with They were told it was safe. Warnings were ignored, says the Guardians front page. The papers questions can be distilled: who is to blame? Surely we should wait until we know the facts before naming and shaming any guilty parties, if there are any. If we trust the brave and heroic firefighters who race in as others run out, we must trust them to investigate fully. But in the void, many like to use the horror to score points. This should be avoided. Nobel Prize winner Joseph Brodsky put it well in his 1998 address to students in Michigan: Of all the parts of your body, be most vigilant over your index finger, for it is blame-thirsty. A pointed finger is a victims logo the opposite of the V-sign and a synonym for surrender. No matter how abominable your condition may be, try not to blame anything or anybody: history, the state, superiors, race, parents, the phase of the moon, childhood, toilet training, etc. The menu is vast and tedious, and this vastness and tedium alone should be offensive enough to set ones intelligence against choosing from it. The moment that you place blame somewhere, you undermine your resolve to change anything; it could be argued even that that blame-thirsty finger oscillates as wildly as it does because the resolve was never great enough in the first place. But the rush to blame is contagious. The Tories did it. Its part of their war on the poor. Labour did it. Its their nannying, cod environmentalism, lack of home building and lowering of expectations. The media did it, with its assault on health and safety regulations and monstering the poor. Resist the urge to blame. Dont rush to position yourself as the victims conscience. A disaster like Grenfell did not happen by chance and did not happen as the result of one mistake. Its far more complex than that. Brendan ONeill notes: If this mass burning of homes feels Dickensian, then so too does the hunt for the fat, evil, Tory-like landlord to hold responsible: thats a Dickensian-style moralism that prefers the thrill of hating immoral individuals to the far harder task of looking at the economy and politics over the past 30 years and asking what might be done to improve both. We dont know all the names of the victims. But in this coming together of a community in the face of horror a genuine community of people who live together, not individuals bunched together by ethnicity or age to further a divisive agenda lets take time to focus on those who have lost so much. Theyre not looking to blame. Theyre looking at how they can carry on. We should be circumspect. We should be kind, stoic and humane. Anorak Posted: 15th, June 2017 | In: Key Posts, News Comment | TrackBack | Permalink Gender roles: Anything becomes all about the boy Acting. Isnt that about pretending to be someone you are not? One writer takes issue with indie movie Anything, staring Matt Bomer: However, it is not Bomers incontestable conventional attractiveness that is setting off alarm bells. It is his off-screen gender and the consistent issue of cis performers playing people of trans experience in film. Recent years have seen both Jared Leto and Eddie Redmanye win Oscars for their respective trans-woman roles in The Dallas Buyers Club and The Danish Girl. Chloe Sevigny, Felicity Huffman, Elle Fanning and other notable cis-gender actors have taken on parts that show trans people either during or mid transition. Almost all of these actors have collected praise from the mainstream press for doing so. Lauding cis actors for delving into trans experiences has long been a Hollywood tradition. The frequency of those plaudits has only more regular more and more films take up the trans narrative at different angles. Cant we recruit actors on merit? Non-binary actor Asia Kate Dillon tells the Sunday Times: I feel like one thing I encounter is that, particularly with cis men, when they find out Im non-binary, they dont know how to be in relation to someone that isnt something that they understand, The paper adds: And yet, even as more trans stories surface across all media, actual trans actors are often shut out of telling stories that are in many senses theirs to tell. Its a trend thats been a regular source of criticism and genuine concern. When Miley Cyrus talked about being gender fluid in 2015, some dismissed it as yet another Hollywood wild-child phase. But Cyrus is hardly alone in identifying this way, joining the likes of teen activist Amandla Stenberg, the Transparent director Jill Soloway, and the model/actor Ruby Rose, who also stars in Orange Is the New Black. The number of gender nonconforming people in the UK is growing and almost half (44%) of a poll by the Fawcett Society last year said they regard gender as more fluid than simply man or woman. Taking their cues from the real-world social discourse, Facebook and Tinder now offer dozens of gender identities. For those still confused, this is how Dillon put it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in March: Sex is between our legs, gender identity is between our ears. So what are you? And what are you dating? Anorak Posted: 15th, June 2017 | In: Film Comment | TrackBack | Permalink (ANSA) - Milan, June 15 - The next Aste Bolaffi auction at Milan's Grand Hotel on June 22 will include 782 lots of rare books and autographed items. Highlights include the unpublished letters of the Italian poet Gariele D'Annunzio and the diary of the Italian fascist Roberto Farinacci. The letters are part of the correspondence between D'Annuzio and Giovanni Rizzo, the prefect who watched over the poet's life and activities on behalf of the Fascist government during the years he spent at Lake Garda. The correspondence includes 83 signed letters with a starting price of 20,000 euros. The letters by D'Annunzio have never before been published and hold historical and political value, since the poet used Rizzo to amplify his positions and to convey messages to Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. The signed, typewritten diary of Fascist party secretary Roberto Farinacci will also have a starting price of 20,000 euros and be accompanied by copies of newspapers and court documents from a trial that began in 1947, two years after he was executed by firing squad in Vimercate. At that time his heirs opposed the publication of them. The documents show that Farinacci distanced himself significantly from the line taken by Mussolini. Playbills and postcards signed by Maria Callas will also be included, as well as one of her private letters written in Rome in 1969 prior to leaving for Turkey and one in Monetcarlo in 1961 that was addressed to her Bologna-based admirer Paolo Barbieri, who later became a friend (lots 737 and 746, with a starting price of 1,000 euros each). In the books section, a highlight is lot 501: the most famous atlas of the 16th century with 363 views of 543 cities, 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum', with a starting price of 50,000 euros. "This is the 'lighthouse' of the auction," Aste Bolaffi Business Developer Cristiano Collari said, "one of the most famous books of this type. It is the most beautiful copy that has ever gone on auction, with a red Morocco leather binding from the 18th century." The works of Giambattista Bodoni from Marche native Lorenzo Solari's collection are another highlight, with 271 lots up for bidding. It is the largest private collection of the works of Bodoni, who is considered one of the most important publishers and printer in Italy and the world between the mid-18th century and the early nineteenth century. The collection includes editions on exotic characters, including the 'Manuale Tipografico' from 1818, the result of 40 years of work that was completed by his wife. Bidding will start at 14,000 euros. Egyptian parliament approves island transfer to Saudi Arabia No major protest amid state of emergency and media crackdown (ANSAmed) - CAIRO, JUNE 15 - The Egyptian parliament on Wednesday approved a controversial agreement to transfer sovereignty of two largely uninhabited islands to Saudi Arabia. President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi had in April 2016 basically handed over the two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, which provides a large amount of funding to his cash-strapped government. The approval, by a wide majority in an assembly filled with the president's supporters, was expected but how the country will react is what analysts are watching with interest. A year ago the move sparked rare protests in an Egypt under an ever-tighter iron grip, under an emergency law against Islamic terrorism and with growing pressure on opposition and independent media. In the torpor created by Ramadan, there were no reported incidents or arrests in the first few hours after the vote except for eight made in relation to an unauthorized protest at the journalists union. Fewer than 100 out of the 600 MPs said that they were opposed to the move and Sisi's signature will bring the measure into force. The agreement on the new borders between Saudi Arabia and Egypt was signed on April 8, 2016 and handed the Tiran and Sanafir islands over to Saudi Arabia. The uninhabited islands at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba were strategic during the conflict with Israel and were entrusted to the Egyptian armed forces in 1950. They have now been handed back after a Saudi pledge to make them part of a huge bridge uniting the two sides of the Red Sea and developing their tourist potential. The Egyptian opposition saw it as giving in to oil-rich Saudi pressure, which helps Sisi both financially and in its struggle against the Muslim Brotherhood, a common enemy. The appeals against the agreement in the spring of 2016 led to the largest protests since Sisi gained power in 2014. In the three weeks after the agreement, human rights lawyers say that almost 1,300 people were arrested. At that time, however, the police and judiciary had not yet been granted additional power as part of a three-month state of emergency that came into force in April after suicide attacks on Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria. Reporting on protests in Egypt has also become more difficult due to a crackdown on the media through organs of control, a change in the leadership of state media and the blacking out of dozens of websites without an official explanation or on vague accusations of aiding terrorism. The situation has been worsened both by the threat of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the subversive tendencies of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was banned after a nationalistic-military uprising that led to the ousting of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. (ANSAmed). Amnesty criticizes Tunisia for arrests for no Ramadan fast 'Clear violation of individual freedoms' (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, JUNE 15 - ''Imprisoning someone for smoking a cigarette or eating in public is an absurd violation of an individual's personal freedoms. Failing to conform to religious and social customs is not a criminal offence,'' said Heba Morayef, North Africa Research Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement issued on Tuesday. ''The Tunisian authorities should not allow vaguely worded charges to be used to impose harsh sentences on spurious grounds. Everyone should have the right to follow their own beliefs in matters of religion and morality,'' she added. The statement came after several people were sentenced to jail terms of a month after they were caught eating, smoking or drinking in public in Tunisia during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The sentences were issued by judges who found the individuals guilty of ''public indecency''. No law in Tunisia forbids eating or drinking in public during Ramadan, but the issue is debated every year. The 2014 constitution states that there is ''freedom of religion and conscience'' but also enshrines the state as ''guarantor and guardian of religion''. A group of civil society associations has called for the authorities to ''comply with their constitutional duty of ensuring freedom of conscience'' and has organized several demonstrations in Tunis under the slogan 'Mouch Bessif' ('No Compulsion') to demand the right to decide whether or not to observe the fast. (ANSAmed) Thousands 'marching for justice' in Turkey after MP jailed 450 km from Ankara to Istanbul jail, to take around 24 days (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, JUNE 15 - Thousands of Turkish protestors on Thursday begun a 450-km march from the capital to the Maltepe prison in Istanbul to protest the imprisonment of an opposition lawmaker. Enis Berberoglu, the first MP of the main opposition party CHP to end up in jail, entered the Maltepe prison on Wednesday evening. He was arrested after being sentenced to 25 years in prison for ''revealing state secrets'' as part of a trial into the leaking of information on weapons transfer into Syria on lorries of the Turkish secret service in early 2014. A report appeared in the secular Cumhuriyet newspaper in May 2015, and Berberoglu was accused of leaking information to the newspaper. The march, called by CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, is to demand that Turkey restore ''democracy and justice'' and started at 11 AM local time from Ankara's Guven Park. ''We are dealing with a dictatorial regime. We do not want to live in a country where there isn't any justice. When it is too much, it is too much,'' Kilicdaroglu said, starting the march with a placard in hand that read ''justice''. Hurriyet reports that the protestors are expected to arrive in Istanbul after around 24 days. (ANSAmed). Turkish 'march for justice' begins after MP arrested Berberoglu accused of revealing state secrets (ANSA) - ISTANBUL, JUNE 15 - Turkish protestors on Thursday begun a 425-km march from the capital to the Maltepe prison in Istanbul to protest the imprisonment of an opposition lawmaker. Enis Berberoglu, the first MP of the main opposition party CHP to end up in jail, entered the Maltepe prison on Wednesday evening. He was arrested after being sentenced to 25 years in prison for ''revealing state secrets'' as part of a trial into the leaking of information on weapons transfer into Syria on lorries of the Turkish secret service in early 2014. A report appeared in the secular Cumhuriyet newspaper in May 2015 and Berberoglu was accused of leaking information to the newspaper. The march, called by CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, is to demand that Turkey restore ''democracy and justice'' and started at 11 AM local time from Ankara's Guven Park. (ANSAmed). If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both The relaunched service to the carriers third point in Tanzania, along with Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, will see Flydubais network in Africa expand to 12 destinations. Flydubai began operations to Tanzania in 2014 and has seen a steady growth in passenger numbers. Kilimanjaro will be served with six flights a week three of which are via a stop in the capital, Dar es Salaam. In addition, the carrier will increase direct flights to Zanzibar from three to eight flights a week. Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of Flydubai, said: With the addition of the service to Kilimanjaro and more direct flights to Zanzibar, flydubai will operate 14 flights a week, marking a 133% increase in capacity to the market compared to the previous year. This is a healthy indication of the rising popularity of Tanzania as a preferred tourist destination and we are happy to be connecting the market to Dubai. Kilimanjaro International Airport is located between the regions of Kilimanjaro and Arusha in Northern Tanzania. The airport is the major gateway to the Kilimanjaro region, a main international tourism destination that includes Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. Only a few international carriers operate to Kilimanjaro and flydubai will be the first airline to provide direct air links from the UAE. We are committed to opening up underserved markets and flydubais service to Kilimanjaro will introduce more options for travel with a Business and Economy Class service, together with added cargo capacity available through our Cargo Division. We expect to see healthy flows of trade and tourism on this route from the GCC and Eastern Europe via our hub in Dubai, said Sudhir Sreedharan, senior vice president commercial (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa). Flydubai has seen a 3.5% increase in passengers numbers travelling between the UAE and Africa in 2016 compared to 2015, a positive record for this emerging market. In the past week, the award-winning global airline has flown approximately 1,200 flights between Doha and its network of more than 150 destinations around the globe, with 90 per cent of those flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time. In the coming months, the airline said its network will continue to grow. Yesterday, the airline launched direct service to Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Qatar Airways' service to Nice, France, will commence on 4 July, and flights to Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on 17 July. Other new destinations planned for the remainder of this year and 2018 include Las Vegas (USA), Canberra (Australia), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon), Medan (Indonesia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Santiago (Chile) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), as well as many others. Earlier this week the airline released its annual report for the fiscal year 2017, revealing a net profit of $541 million, a 21.7 per cent year-on-year increase. The results also show an annual revenue increase of 10.4 per cent. Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker, said: Qatar Airways global operations continue to run smoothly, with the vast majority of our network unaffected by the current circumstances. Our focus is on supporting any passengers impacted by the current situation and ensuring that we continue to deliver our award-winning service. Our network expansion continues with two new destinations launching in the next month. As far as we are concerned, it is business as usual. He added: This blockade unprecedented, and it is in direct contradiction to the convention that guarantees rights to civil overflight. We call upon the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to declare this an illegal act. We are not a political body, we are an airline, and this blockade has stripped us of the rights which are guaranteed to us. Since 2015, a Saudi Arabian-led coalition has been involved in a war in neighbouring Yemen, supporting the regime of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi against Houthi rebels, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula insurgents, and forces loyal to the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Though there has been fighting on the ground, the emphasis has been on an intensive air campaign. Human casualties now exceed 10,000, according to the UN, and damage has been caused to a number of important archaeological and heritage sites. These include the pre-Islamic walled town of Baraqish, the Great Dam of Marib, and the old cities of Sana and Zabid (both of which were designated as World Heritage sites). Yemen is especially rich in important archaeological sites, including ancient walled cities, historic mountaintop villages, prehistoric burial sites and even long rows of trilithons (standing stones) that were linked with the incense trade. St John Simpson, a senior curator at the British Museum in London, has said that the Arabian Peninsula has one of the highest densities of archaeological sites and a very long history of urban civilisation, with ancient infrastructure, palaces and temples. This makes Yemen something of an archaeological jewel. Some of the sites that have been damaged are alleged to have been of no strategic importance, according to the UK Committee of the Blue Shield, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that seeks to protect cultural property in time of conflict. It has been suggested that such damage was, thus, sometimes avoidable. After one attack, Bijan Rouhani, vice-president of the International Council on Monuments and Sites risk preparedness committee, noted that: There was no reason to attack a residential centre that is a World Heritage site as well. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) sent a list of World Heritage sites to the coalition when the air campaign began, reminding air commanders of their obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. Under its auspices, there can be a criminal liability for some cultural offences. Experts working for the University of Oxfords endangered archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project have now drawn up a further cultural heritage list. This may increase the legal pressure on the coalition. Experts hope that combatants will use it as a no-strike list when planning their attacks, thereby protecting Yemens heritage sites from damage. EAMENA is documenting ancient sites across the region using Google Earth, which Oxford Universitys Robert Bewley described as a phenomenal source that is transforming how archaeologists do their work, combined with conventional historical field records and a resource of about 40,000 aerial reconnaissance photographs taken by the British Royal Air Force between the 1950s and 1970s. The pictures were taken during a period when the UK was the colonial power in Aden (later southern Yemen) and when Britain supported Oman in its long war against Yemen-based insurgents, and (with Saudi Arabia and Jordan) supported the royalist side in the North Yemen civil war. It is estimated that 400-2,000 sites would make it on to the final cultural heritage list. Professor Peter Stone, chairman of the UK Committee of the Blue Shield, was optimistic that the EAMENA list would make a difference, explaining that NATO air strikes in Libya in 2011 managed to avoid damaging some important historic sites. We have got some relatively good evidence that these lists work, he said. The Blue Shield is actively encouraging the use of no-strike lists by military planners, and especially targeting experts, who, it says, must be convinced to incorporate the information into their targeting plans. The organisation believes that todays air forces have an unparalleled ability to spare cultural, historic and archaeological treasures by using precision bombing techniques. The Saudi-led coalition conducting operations against Yemeni targets is using a very high proportion of precision-guided munitions, and does have a desire to avoid collateral damage, in a way in which Russian and Syrian Government forces conducting air operations against Aleppo, for example, did not. In the latter case, a much higher proportion of dumb, unguided weapons were used. China is willing to enhance communication with Panama in various sectors, including education, culture and people-to-people exchanges and expand areas of cooperation with the country, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Thursday. Lu was addressing a daily news briefing when questioned about Panamanian students studying in Taiwan who may face difficulty completing their studies under scholarships offered by Taiwan, as Panama announced it was cutting diplomatic ties with Taiwan on Tuesday. China, he said, welcomes students from Panama to study on the Chinese mainland, adding that China will increase the number scholarships to students from Panama every year. He also said that for those Panamanian students currently studying in Taiwan, China is ready to offer timely assistance to students in need. Grossman, the first Israeli writer to win the prize, is now expected to enjoy a spike in international sales for A Horse Walks Into a Bar. US translator Jessica Cohen and Israeli author David Grossman pose for a photograph with his book A Horse Walks Into a Bar at the shortlist photocall for the Man Booker International Prize at St. James Church in London. (Photo: AFP) Israeli author David Grossman won the Man Booker International Prize on Wednesday, sharing the $64,000 award with translator Jessica Cohen. Grossman, the first Israeli writer to win the prize, is now expected to enjoy a spike in international sales for A Horse Walks Into a Bar. The book unfolds over the course of a stand-up show during which comedian Dovelah Gee exposes a wound he has been living with for years and the difficult choice he had to make between the two people who were dearest to him. Thank you all. I will cherish this award and this evening, Grossman said after receiving the prize at a ceremony in central London. I thank first of all my wonderful, devoted, translator, Jessica Cohen, the 63-year-old author added. Judge Nick Barley said Grossman attempted an ambitious high-wire act of a novel, and... Pulled it off spectacularly. We were bowled over by Grossmans willingness to take emotional as well as stylistic risks: every sentence counts, every word matters in this supreme example of the writers craft, Barley added. Since he started writing in the late 1970s after being fired from public radio following anger over his critical coverage, Grossman has won numerous Israeli and international awards. His 1986 novel See Under: Love is seen by a number of critics as his masterpiece, delving into the Holocaust and the generation of Jews that followed. Other works have included The Yellow Wind, a prescient, non-fiction look at Israels occupation ahead of the first Palestinian intifada that erupted in 1987. His 2008 novel To the End of the Land, published after the death of his son Uri, contemplates the effects of war while portraying Israeli life. Grossmans works have been translated into more than 30 languages and he was also decorated with Frances Chevalier de lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres in 1998. In 2011 he was part of a group of seven prominent writers from around the world to appeal to the United Nations Security Council to sanction the Syrian government over its actions in the civil war which began that year. The international edition of Britains Man Booker Prize was introduced in 2005 and up to last year was awarded in recognition of a body of work by a living author whose work was written or available in English. From last year the prize has been given for a single work of fiction that has been translated into English and published in Britain. The prize was won last year by South Korean author Han Kang for The Vegetarian. Anti-occupation NGO gains donation from win An Israeli human rights group disliked by the government welcomed Thursday the donation of prize money from the Man Booker International Prize won by David Grossman. The Israeli writer won the prize on Wednesday evening for his novel A Horse Walks Into a Bar, along with his US translator Jessica Cohen, with the two splitting the $64,000 award. Cohen announced at the awards she would donate half of the award money to the Israeli human rights group BTselem, which campaigns against Israels occupation of Palestinian territories. For almost thirty years now they have been reporting on human rights violations committed in the occupied Palestinian territories, she said. It is not easy to tell uncomfortable and unflattering truths, and its certainly not easy to hear them, but it is essential, not only in literature but in life. BTselem spokesman Amit Gilutz welcomed the donation. We are thankful to her and we are determined to continue on our mission, which is to resist the occupation until it ends, he told AFP. Grossman, the first Israeli to win the prize, is a member of the NGOs public council but told Israeli army radio Thursday he was wary of being a representative of any particular cause. When I write a story I dont think of it as an ambassador, or even as an honorary consul. I want to tell a story. BTselems work on human rights issues in the occupied West Bank has seen it regularly fall foul of Israeli politicians in the current government, considered the most right wing in Israels history. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently floated the idea of banning all state foreign funding to NGOs, seen as targeting BTselem and other leftwing groups. Culture minister Miri Regev, who has been at war with much of the countrys intellectual elite, congratulated Grossman on his victory. In response, he urged her to see this as an instance where literature can put our situation across in a complex, interesting and meaningful way. He called on the government to not disturb literature or art from expressing all their complexities, because that is what they are for. Grossmans book unfolds over the course of a stand-up show during which comedian Dovaleh Gee exposes a wound he has been living with for years and the difficult choice he had to make between the two people who were dearest to him. Clearing inventories ahead of GST is one of the reasons. Brick-and-mortar retailers are also slashing prices to liquidate merchandise, advancing their usual end-of-season sale by a month. New Delhi: As customers wait for prices to come down after GST implementation, automobile companies are wooing them with attractive limited period discounts of up to Rs 2.5 lakh across a range of vehicles sold in the country. Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, Mahindra and Mahindra and Ford India have all come out with different schemes that are valid for June only. Dealers of Maruti Suzuki are offering discounts between Rs 25,000 and Rs 35,000. The highest discount is offered on its entry-level hatchback Alto. Similarly, M&M is offering benefits ranging between Rs 27,000 on Scorpio to Rs 90,000 on XUV500 till June 30. Hyundai Motor India dealers are offering discounts ranging between Rs 25,000 on Elite i20 and all-new Xcent to Rs 2.5 lakh on SantaFe. Besides, it is offering discount of Rs 45,000 on Eon, up to Rs 73,000 on Grand i10 and Rs 90,000 on Verna. Honda Cars India, on the other hand, is offering up to Rs 14,500 discount on Brio, Rs 50,000 on Amaze, Rs 17,000 on Jazz and Rs 60,000 on B-RV under a special scheme valid during June. We are giving price protection to the customers for cars retailed from June 10 to June 30 which means that customers will buy the car at pre-GST price now. Post GST implementation whatever the difference in ex-showroom price it will be returned back to the customer by the dealer, a Honda Cars India spokesperson said. EPFO also reduced the grievance redressal period to 15 days from 20 days. Mumbai: With the view to ease the claim settlement process for subscribers, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has reduced the settlement period to 10 days from 20 days. EPFO also reduced the grievance redressal period to 15 days from 20 days. "The claim settlement period has been reduced to 10 days from 20 days and grievance redressal period is reduced to 15 days from 20 days," read the EPFO statement. The retirement fund body has been taking a lot of steps off late, to address issues faced by subscribers. Recently, EPFO mandated the quoting of Aadhaar for all new members who join the Employees Provision Scheme, 1995, with effect from July 1, 2017 (except in North East states, where it will be implemented from October 1, 2017). With the objective of making a "transparent and electronic case management system" for all stakeholders, including employers, employees, litigants and CBT (Central Board of Trustees), EPFO launched its e-court Management System on May 16, 2017. "All paper/evidence/documents can be filed online and the status can also be viewed online," it said. In an earlier statement the Labour Ministry had said It is a step towards paperless court system wherein court procedure of EPF & MP Act, 1952 and EPFAT will take place in a digital environment". In a note of caution to establishments exempted from the EPF Act, 1952, EPFO said non-filing of returns for three consecutive months shall result in cancellation of exemption granted to the establishment. It also released a new software to keep a tab on the performance of exempted bodies. EPFO will facilitate quick transfer of funds and easier tracking by paying beneficiaries through electronic or digital fund transfer system. This move is likely to benefit 4.5 crores EPF subscribers and around than 54 lakh pensioners. This move came after the Labour Ministry made amendments to the social security schemes run by EPFO. EPFO is also set to invest Rs. 20,000 crore in exchange traded funds this fiscal, Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya had said earlier. The Finance Ministry designed a new investment pattern for EPFO, allowing it to invest a minimum of 5 per cent and up to 15 per cent of its funds in equity or equity-related schemes. In the first year (2015-16), Rs. 6,577 crore was invested in ETFs, while in 2016-17, it invested Rs. 14,982 crore. As per the draft, GSTN would generate e-way bills that will be valid for 1-15 days, depending on distance to be travelled. New Delhi: The all powerful GST Council will meet on June 18 to finalise tax rates on lottery as well as rules relating to e-way bill and anti-profiteering measures. This will be the 17th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts. The Council has already finalised tax rates on almost all goods and services in the bracket of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. The Council may also review rates on certain items, and approve draft GST rules and related forms for advance ruling, appeals and revision, and assessment and audit. In the last meeting of the Council on June 11, tax rates on 66 items, including agarbatti, packaged food and insulin, were lowered. With regard to hybrid cars on which industry has been seeking a reduction, Jaitley had hinted that it will not be reviewed, saying the industry demands were not in sync with a study conducted by tax officers. The Council had last month fixed 43 per cent tax (28 per cent GST plus 15 per cent cess) on hybrid cars, a rate that industry felt was too high for the fuel efficient vehicles. Once the rules on 'e-way bill' are finalised it would be clear whether the GST Network alone would be developing the platform for it or National Informatics Centre (NIC) would be roped in. The GST Council had in April come out with the draft e- way bill rules that made it necessary for any movement of goods, within or outside the state, having value of more than Rs 50,000 to be registered with the GST-Network (GSTN) website. As per the draft, GSTN would generate e-way bills that will be valid for 1-15 days, depending on distance to be travelled -- one day for 100 km and 15 days for more than 1,000 km transit. The tax officials can inspect the 'e-way bill' anytime during the transit to check tax evasion. Industry however has expressed concerns over this saying that the Rs 50,000 limit was too low and that the timeline for completion of transport operation was "impractical and removed from reality". They also felt that the e-way bill would be applicable to movement of all kinds of goods without making any distinction between goods that were evasion prone or not. With regard to anti-profiteering rules, the final structure of the authority as also who will have the power to levy penalty would become clear. According to the draft rules agreed upon, when a complaint is received about any company or a trader making undue profit by not passing on the benefit of lower tax incidence because of GST, it would be referred to a standing committee appointed by the Council. The committee would decide whether an inquiry should be initiated on a complaint. The new anti-profiteering authority will carry out an investigation only when the committee recommends so. The inquiry report with recommendations would be referred back to the standing committee, and any penalty or action would be taken by either the committee or the Council. Bill to cover financial entities and insurance firms. The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017, which aims to instil discipline in financial service providers in the event of a financial crisis by limiting the use of public money to bail out distressed entities. New Delhi: The government may introduce a bill in the forthcoming Monsoon session of Parliament to facilitate setting up of a Resolution Corporation to deal with bankruptcy in banks, insurance companies and financial entities. The proposal to this effect received the Union Cabinets approval on Wednesday. Official sources said that the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017, which aims to instil discipline in financial service providers in the event of a financial crisis by limiting the use of public money to bail out distressed entities, was approved by the Union Cabinet. According to an official statement issued after the Cabinet meeting, the proposed legislation will provide for a comprehensive resolution framework to handle any bankruptcy situation in banks, insurers and financial sector entities. The Resolution Corporation would ensure the stability and resilience of the financial system, protecting the consumers of covered obligations up to a reasonable limit and public funds to the extent possible. The government has recently enacted the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, for the insolvency resolution of non-financial entities. The proposed Bill complements the Code by providing a resolution framework for the financial sector. Once implemented, this Bill together with the Code will provide a comprehensive resolution framework for the economy. The 18th Edition of IIFA Awards 2017 will be held at New York's iconic MetLife Stadium on July 15. Mumbai: IIFA 2017 is all set to be a platform for complete fun with Karan Johar and Saif Ali Khan hosting the big night. Varun Dhawan is all set to make a debut at IIFA Awards with a stunning performance and will be also be seen co-hosting a segment of the star-studded awards night. IIF Awards is amongst the most coveted and highly anticipated award celebration that honors the very best of Indian Cinema with the highest level of achievement seen through the glamorous statuette. The 18th Edition of IIFA Awards 2017, to be held at New York's iconic MetLife Stadium on July 15, will witness power-packed performances by Bollywood superstars- Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon, to name a few. Commenting on the occasion, Karan Johar said, "IIFA is the most awaited international award function of the Indian film fraternity. I am excited and look forward to hosting the 18th Edition of the IIFA Weekend And Awards. New York will be spellbound with the magic of IIFA!" Saif Ali Khan added, "I am happy to be back to the IIFA stage this year as I join my close friend Karan Johar to host the IIFA Awards in New York. The excitement for IIFA has been steadily growing worldwide. This year it's going to be super fun and glamorous in every way as Karan and I are going to have lots of surprises in store for our fans internationally!" Varun Dhawan shared, "I am absolutely excited to be a part of IIFA Awards in New York this year. I'm looking forward to joining everyone and see fans at the amazing MetLife Stadium. This year is truly going to be a grand celebration and I can't wait to be there!" Commenting on the occasion, Andre Timmins, Director- Wizcraft International, the producers and creator of the IIFA movement said, "With the 18th Edition of IIFA weekend and awards, we look forward to bring the world of Indian cinema to life in its premier edition in New York for existing and new audiences at the NEXA IIFA Awards Powered by VIVO. I am excited to announce two of the biggest talented stars in Bollywood, Karan Johar and Saif Ali Khan as the hosts of the awards night. We are thrilled to have Varun Dhawan make his debut at the IIFA stage and co-host a special segment at the awards this year. Get ready to witness the magic of IIFA as Bollywood descends in America to celebrate Indian cinema like never before." Stuart Ford's IM Global has signed a first-look deal with Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp. Mumbai: Stuart Ford's IM Global has finally signed a first-look deal with Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company will be run by Depp and his longtime producing partner Christi Dembrowski as well as Sam Sarkar and Stephen Deuters. In a statement, Ford said, "Johnny is, of course, a globally recognized superstar but, as importantly, we at IM Global love Infinitum Nihil's idiosyncratic and taste-driven view of the movie-making world and the unique brand that Johnny, Christi and their team have developed." Adding, "We're building this relationship in order to generate great movies for the global audience with a like-minded creative partner, and with IM Global's reputation as a company that has enjoyed frequent success greenlighting bold films outside of the confines of the major studio system, I feel certain that our newly extended filmmaking partnership with Infinitum Nihil will be a fruitful one." IM Global, whose most recent credits include Mel Gibson's 'Hacksaw Ridge' and Martin Scorsese's 'Silence,' is financing and co-producing Depp's next film, 'Richard Says Goodbye'. Written and directed by Wayne Roberts, the film is set to begin production this summer. IM Global's relationship with Infinitum Nihil began last year when IM Global Television announced that it was developing a music-driven TV drama series about the legendary Muscle Shoals recording studio based on Rick Hall's autobiography 'The Man From Muscle Shoals: My Journey From Shame to Fame,' with Infinitum Nihil producing alongside Richard Branson's Virgin Produced. Depp is currently in theaters with 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,' which has crossed the 600 million USD mark worldwide since its release last month. The press almost decided to ban the event if it wasnt for the intervention of Raj Nayak, the CEO of Viacom 18. Chandrakanta, televisions new classic drama from Balaji , almost witnessed a media walk out because of czarina Ekta Kapoor. The media were made to wait for her arrival for nearly three hours before a Colors PR team member decided to address the antsy crowd. Amid all the stress of waiting and the lack of information, the PR team stating that the press was free to go if they wished, riled them further. The press almost decided to ban the event if it wasnt for the intervention of Raj Nayak, the CEO of Viacom 18. We are extremely sorry for the delay. We will begin the show within just ten minutes, he said to calm the crowd. He then decided to continue in Ektas absence. There are a few shows which have already been showcased on television. However, we are trying to present our version of Chandrakanta differently. The audience will have to watch the show and decide, Raj added. Yes, we are replacing Naagin, which was a Balaji Production and hence who better than Ekta to join hands with, till they decide to make Naagin 3, he added with a laugh. Ekta eventually did reach the venue. However, she did not enter nor did she interact with the media. She made her way to a vanity van where she had brief discussions with Raj. She then met the starcast, after which she zoomed off in her car. For someone who swears by the Vedic sciences of astrology and numerology, was the launch of the show in her absence a bad omen? Or was it a calculated move to ensure the success even before it begins? Well wait for Ekta to answer that. Based on specific intelligence on movement of a hardcore terrorist group, the Army challenged the villager when he arrived at the spot. According to defence PRO Colonel Chiranjit Konwer, the incident took place on Wednesday night. (Photo: File/Representational) Itanagar: The Army opened fire on a villager mistaking him to be an ultra in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, killing him on the spot. The incident took place on Wednesday night, defence PRO Colonel Chiranjit Konwer said on Wednesday. Based on specific intelligence regarding movement of a hardcore terrorist group, the Army personnel challenged the person when he arrived at the spot. The person identified as Thingtu Ngemu made very suspicious movements and rushed towards the troop following which the Army opened fire, resulting in his death, Konwer said. The demand for a separate Gorkhaland state is fast turning into a major political crisis for Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee. Earlier today, police recovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung. (Photo: ANI | Twitter) Darjeeling (WB): Protesters and riot police hurled stones at each other and a car was set ablaze after a series of raids today on premises connected with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief, whose separatist campaign was spiralling deeper into violence. The demand by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal state is fast turning into a major political crisis for Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, and is likely to cripple the critical tourist industry during the peak summer season. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force", GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri said. He said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". In the fog-shrouded hilly roads of Darjeeling, GJM activists sparred with paramilitary personnel, hurling stones from a distance. The policemen responded by throwing stones back as a car burnt nearby. It was not clear if the car was that of a civilian or belonged to the police. Earlier today, police recovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Police said some party activists also were arrested today in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his group's campaign will not stop until it a separate Gorkhaland state is created. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official said on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from today. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting," Giri, the GJM general secretary, said. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from today," Giri said. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition". "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us," he alleged. "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centre's intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, said over phone. The raids came on the fourth day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite strike in government and GTA offices in the hills. The GJM's call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language of the rest of the state. Prominent among the six states to join GJM is the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Centre has dispatched 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the West Bengal government in restoring normalcy in violence-hit Darjeeling hills which witnessed incidents of stone pelting during GJM-sponsored indefinite bandh. The Centre had also sought a detailed report on the prevailing situation in the hill district from the state government. Zargar is a resident of central Srinagar and heads the Al-Umar Mujahedin group. Srinagar: The Kashmir Valley witnessed a series of grenade attacks at the camps and foot patrols of security forces during the past few days, leaving more than a dozen personnel injured. Following the attacks, the security forces particularly the CRPF and the J&K police have been put on high alert to avert such attacks or, at least, minimise casualties if these do take place in future. The terror strikes were reminiscent of the militant pursuits witnessed during the heyday of urban insurgency in the Valley and the man who claimed responsibility for these is Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, the most feared militant commander then. We together with Jaish-e-Muhammad carried out these attacks. We plan more such and similar attacks as we strongly believe in armed struggle being the only option left to free our Kashmir from the Indian yoke, he telephoned this newspaper to say. Zargar, a resident of central Srinagar, heads Al-Umar Mujahedin group. He was provided safe passage to Pakistan after he was with Moulana Masood Azhar and Omar Saeed Sheikh swapped with the passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines IC 814 at Kandahar (Afghanistan) in December 1999. Azhar and he became closer to each other in jail after the latters arrest on May 15, 1992. Azhar was already in jail and reportedly promised Zargar that he would ensure he too is freed with him if the plan to get me out of here is executed successfully. Im Mushtaq Zargar, the Al-Umar Mujahedin chief. Im in Doda (a district in eastern Jammu region) and am speaking to you on behalf of my organisation and Jaish-e-Muhammad. We together carried out the attacks and we do plan more such and similar strikes for we strongly believe India understands only the language of violence. The musallah jadujuhad (armed struggle) is the only way out as it alone can drive the occupying forces out and free our Kashmir from the Indian yoke, he said. 50-year-old Zargar nicknamed as Latram, a professional photographers son and himself a coppersmith by profession, grew up in Srinagar which became a hotbed of militancy after four local youth Ashfaq Majeed Wani, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Abdul Hameed Sheikh and Javed Ahmed Mir- crossed over to Pakistan to get arms training in 1988. On their return to the Valley, these Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) cadres formed a group called HAJY which inspired many Kashmiri boys to turn to the gun. Zargar was one among them although he was already associated with the freedom movement and figured in police records for his involvement in anti-India activities and violence. After Wanis death during armed confrontation with the security forces in Srinagars Hawal area in March 1990, he had ideological differences with the JKLF which stands for reunification of Jammu and Kashmir to make it a sovereign and independent country and soon founded Al-Umar Mujahedin which favours the Muslim majority states merger with Pakistan. Al-Umar Mujahedin remained very active between 1991 and 1995, mainly in Srinagar, and was involved in many incidents of violence and kidnappings. Zargar became a household name in Kashmir and beyond and was soon listed on the security forces most dreaded terrorists. He was, however, arrested during a smooth and bloodless raid at a residential house in Srinagars Safar Kadal area. A report had said that the BSF officer who captured him was not even knowing about the big catch fallen into his hand like a ripe cherry till Zargars identity was established. After his arrest, the house was levelled by angry crowds amid rumours that the owner lady had leaked information about Zargars presence there to the security forces but the investigations done later proved the charge wrong and she was helped by locals to rebuild her house. Immediately after his release, Zargar renewed the activity of Al-Umar Mujahideen in Muzaffarabad but the outfit has remained more or less defunct in Jammu and Kashmir over the years. However, Zargar said, We were very much there but have decided to be more active now. Using a satellite phone, he said, Ramazan mubarak to youThe grenade attacks in Tral, Pulwama, Awantipora and Safar Kadal were carried out jointly by Jaish-e-Muhammad and Al-Umar Mujahedin. We will step up such actions together. Our armed struggle would continue till the last Indian (security force) man is present in occupied Kashmir. We will fight till the last drop of our blood. The only solution of Kashmir dispute is musallah jadujuhad. He added, India forcibly occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 1947. We will continue to fight and fight till it is thrown out." The police officials here said they were aware of the involvement of the Jaish-e-Muhammad and Al-Umar Mujahedin in the recent terror strikes. We are on it. In the month of Ramazan escalation does take place and we will take measures to prevent such strikes. The situation is under control, J&Ks Director General of Police, Shesh Paul Vaid, told reporters. The police in close coordination with other security forces on counter insurgency assignment and various intelligence agencies are keeping close watch on the movement of people who had been associated with Al-Umar Mujahedin in the past, sources said. SP MLA Abu Asim Azmi, who recently took over the institution, alleged that there was a conspiracy to harass the school management. Mumbai: The Mumbai civic body's education department has said that controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic International School (IIS) in south Mumbai is operating without authorisation. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's south Mumbai region education inspector BB Chavan, in a letter issued on Wednesday, stated that no school can run without the NOC (No Objection Certificate) of the local governing body, as defined under provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009. It was also mentioned in the letter that parents should not enroll their children in IIS. However, it was not specified if the school has obtained the NOC. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi, who recently took over the school, alleged that there was a conspiracy to harass the institution's management. The school, which has around 135 students and conducts classes from nursery to class X, was taken over by Azmi's Niyaz Minority Education and Welfare Trust. "The school is being run on the same lines (as earlier) with only some changes, including its name and management. I have taken the premises on rent and have done nothing to invite the fury of the education department," said Azmi, who is the legislator from Mumbai's Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Assembly constituency. However, he also said that the school management would get in touch with the education department and find out if further permission is required to run it. "I would not want any controversy. Neither me nor the education department would want to jeopardise the future of the students. Therefore, I have asked our team to get in touch with the education officers and obtain all the required permissions," Azmi said. Notably, the Maharashtra government had in December 2016 informed the parents of the students of IIS that it would either be shut or brought under a new management. Azmi had in 2016 requested the Maharashtra government not to close down the IRF-run school saying doing so will jeopardise the future of students enrolled there. He had made the request to state Education Minister Vinod Tawde. In November 2016, the Union Home Ministry had banned the IRF for five years under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for its alleged involvement in terror acts. Besides the IRF, Naik is also the founding trustee of the IRF Educational Trust and the Islamic Dimensions Trust. The home ministry is likely to convene a meeting with the West Bengal government and Gorkha leaders to help resolve the crisis. Kolkata/New Delhi: As violence and anarchy dominated the Darjeeling Hills on Thursday, following police raids on Gorkha Janmukti Morcha offices, the Union home ministry rushed an additional 400 paramilitary personnel, taking the total deployment of central forces to 1,400, including 200 women personnel. As protesters and the police clashed in Darjeeling after a series of raids on GJM offices in which lethal weapons and bomb-making ingredients were allegedly recovered, in New Delhi, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri, along with BJPs Darjeeling MP S.S. Ahluwalia, met Union home minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the ongoing agitation and their demands. The agitation in Darjeeling was initially against the forced imposition of the Bengali language in schools in the area, but has now transformed into a renewed demand for a separate Gorkhaland. The GJM urged the Centre to immediately intervene to help restore normality in the region. The home ministry is likely to convene a meeting with the West Bengal government and Gorkha leaders to help resolve the crisis. Sources said the tripartite meeting is likely to be held on June 19. Mr Giri, however, said the GJM will not take part in the June 19 meeting as it strongly backs the demand for full statehood. The home minister has assured us that he would take up the matter with Prime Minister to find a solution, he said. The Centre has sought a report from the state about the spiralling crisis. Sources in the state secretariat in Kolkata said that no decision has been taken yet on participating in the tripartite meeting. GJM supporters clashed with the police and security personnel at different places soon after the police recovered sophisticated cross-bows, a huge cache of arrows, large number of crackers, one country-made pistol, khukris, axes and cash during 9.30 am raids at the GJMs office in Patlaybas, near party chief Bimal Gurungs house. Morcha supporters gathered nearby, started shouting slogans and pelted stones at the police. The police claimed the protesters also hurled petrol bombs and thats why they had to resort to lathicharge and fire teargas shells. A media vehicle outside the party office was set on fire, allegedly by GJM supporters. In Kalimpong, a police post was set on fire, while a bus of the North Bengal State Transport Corporation was set on fire elsewhere. Infuriated by the police raid, the GJM has called for an indefinite bandh in the Hills. It is within our constitutional rights to have bow and arrow. It is our traditional weapon that is used in archery and a plaything for children. We have a school programme scheduled on July 8 where these were to be used. The other things recovered are used for agriculture, GJM general secretary Giri said. We had information that GJM workers were gathering in the area. We raided three places and recovered firearms, materials which look like bomb-making ingredients, contraband and lethal weapons, Darjeeling SP Akhilesh Chaturvedi said. GJM general secretary Roshan Giri and BJP Darjeeling MP S.S. Ahluwalia meet Rajnath. New Delhi: The home ministry on Thursday rushed an additional 400 paramilitary personnel to Darjeeling taking the total deployment of central forces to 1,400, including 200 women security personnel. Meanwhile, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri along with BJPs Darjeeling MP S.S. Ahluwalia met Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday and discussed the issue. Mr Giri said he informed the home minister about their demands and the protest in Darjeeling, especially the issue of statehood and decision of the state government to introduce Bengali in schools. The GJM urged the Centre to immediately intervene to help restore normalcy. Mr Giri also clarified the GJM will not take part in the June 19 meeting as they are strongly supporting the demand of full statehood. He also criticised raids by the state police on GJM offices. The home minister has assured us that he would take up the matter with the Prime Minister to find out a solution, he added. He said the state should not make Bengali mandatory in Darjeeling schools and issue an order to this effect to help defuse the situation. He also called for a political solution to the Gorkhaland issue saying police action was not acceptable. The home ministry is closely monitoring the situation there even as officials admitted that violent protests were still continuing in certain parts of the district. Officials also confirmed that the West Bengal government had so far not sent a detailed status report to the Centre, which had been sought a few days ago. The GJM has been leading the agitation demanding full statehood even as most private and government establishments have remained shut over the last few days. The GJM agitation, which also controls the Gorkhaland Territorial administration (GTA), has forced tourists in the hill station to leave Darjeeling. In some places, the agitation turned violent with protesters resorting to stone pelting also. The home ministry has once again reiterated that it would provide all necessary support to the state government, but it is primarily the responsibility of the local administration to control the situation. The West Bengal government has so far adopted a hardline on the issue refusing to have a dialogue with the protesters on the core issue of a separate full Statehood. India and Pak were formally admitted as members at Kazakhstan capital Astana at the SCO summit held on June 8-9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev (4th L), Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd L), Russian President Vladimir Putin (4th R), Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (Extreme Right) and other Heads of Delegations after inclusion of new Member States, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, in Astana, Kazakhstan on Friday. (Photo: AP) Beijing: Welcoming India and Pakistan into the SCO, China on Thursday dismissed apprehensions that their differences could disrupt the unity of the grouping saying its charter strictly prohibits members to bring their bilateral hostility into the organisation. As a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), we are very happy about the membership of India and Pakistan, Chinas assistant foreign minister Kong Xuanyou said at a ceremony at the SCO headquarters here to formally admit the two nations as new members of the grouping. China, a dominant member of the now eight-member group, hosts the headquarters of the organisation. The SCO headquarters held a ceremony on Thu-rsday to hoist the flags of India and Pakistan. Indian ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale and his Pakistan counterpart, Masood Khalid, attended the ceremony which included jointly beating a huge SCO cooperation drum heralding the admission of their respective countries into the grouping. India and Pakistan were formally admitted as members at Kazakh-stan capital Astana at the SCO summit held on June 8-9. China, Russia and Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan besides India and Pakistan are the members of the grouping. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are the observers. China takes over the rotating Presidency of the group this year from Kazakhstan. Mr Kong, who attended the ceremony, in a brief chat with reporters alla-yed apprehensions aired by the state-run Chinese media that entry of India and Pakistan could disrupt the unity of SCO. In the charter of the SCO there is a clause that the hostility between the bilateral relations should not be brought to the organisation. I believe both the countries will abide by the charter of the organisation, he said. SCO has its own rules of procedures. We hope that those rules can be abided by all member states, he said. He said discussions on matters between the government and the top judiciary cannot be divulged to the media. New Delhi: Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said more scrutiny of candidates was needed in judicial appointments. Speaking to journalists on achievements of his ministry in the last three years, the minister refused to comment on Calcutta high court Justice C.S. Karnan, who retired on June 12, saying he wont comment on individual matters. But he said, The entire affair pointed to the need for greater scrutiny and screening while making judicial appointments. Referring to the huge tendency of cases, the minister said he will write to Chief Justices of high courts across the country to expedite disposal of cases both civil and criminal pending for 10 years or more. He said he will seek to ensure physical verification of the pending cases so as to ascertain the real pendency. On the finalisation of Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and high courts, the minister said: Work is in progress. On several issues there were discussions and consensus has been arrived at. He, however, refused to identify the issues that still need to be resolved before the MoP was finalised. He said discussions on matters between the government and the top judiciary cannot be divulged to the media. He said non-finalisation of the MoP was in no way impacting judicial appointments and referred to the record 131 appointments of judges made to various High Courts in 2016. Asked if there should be more representation for dalits and tribals and other weaker sections in higher judiciary, the minister said: There are very bright lawyers from the marginalised communities. They need to be given a chance. On May 12, the court had issued a bailable warrant against Ramdev. Rohtak: A non-bailable warrant was issued against yoga guru Ramdev by a court in Rohtak on Wednesday in a case over remarks made by him in the Haryana district last year against those refusing to raise the slogan of Bharat mata ki jai. The court of additional CJM Harish Goyal issued the warrant against the yoga guru and fixed August 3 as the next date of hearing in the case. On May 12, the court had issued a bailable warrant against Ramdev. The order follows Ramdevs failure to appear before the court yet again today. He also failed to appear despite summons and a bailable warrant, O.P. Chugh, the counsel for the complainant in the case, said. Mr Ramdev had made the remarks at a Sadbhawana Sammelan in Rohtak in April last year, which was called to promote peace in the city that witnessed violence during the Jat quota stir. He had allegedly said that but for the rule of law he would have beheaded lakhs of people for refusing to chant Bharat mata ki jai. On March 2, Mr Goyal had issued summons to Mr Ramdev after a complaint was filed by Congress leader and former Haryana minister Subhash Batra seeking registration of a police case against the yoga guru. The magistrate had then directed Mr Ramdev to furnish Rs1 lakh personal surety and also asked him to appear in court on June 14. The PIL noted that the 1960 Act specifically provides for and permits the slaughter of any animal for the purpose of food. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre seeking its response on two public interest writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules 2017, regulating the sale of bovine animals for slaughter. A vacation bench of Justices R.K. Agrawal and Sanjay Kishan Kaul issued the notice on petitions filed by Hyderabad-based Mohammed Abdul Faheem Qureshi, advocate and president of the All-India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee, and one Sabu George that sought a declaration the rules are unconstitutional and illegal. The bench said it would not pass any interim order at this stage and posted it for further hearing on July 11. Reacting to the court notice, environment minister Harsh Vardhan said: We will reach out to any person in India who has heartburn on this issue. The Supreme Court has given us time till July 11, but we will file our response before it. We have already said that whosoever has any concern related to this issue, we (Centre) will seriously and honestly address those. The minister was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at Delhi Zoo. Union law and justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday that while the eating habits of people could not be controlled or regulated, there was a need to strike a balance as a large number of people in India revered cows. Speaking at a media interaction called to highlight his ministrys work since May 2014, he referred to Article 48 of the Constitution, under Directive Principles of State Policy, which states: The State shall take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle. Earlier, additional soilicitor-general P.S. Narasimha informed the court that the Madurai bench of the Madras high court had already stayed the May 23 notification and that the stay applied to the whole of India. He said: It is a misconception that there is a beef ban. The rules have organised the livestock market... The farmers now have the option of taking cattle to the livestock market or a slaughter market. Whoever wants to purchase animals for slaughter... there is no controlled market and the rules dont touch upon this. When we change the rules we might bring in regulation of the meat market. Assailing the rules, the petitioners contended that these were inconsistent, ultra vires, overriding and outside the purview of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, in which there is no prohibition on slaughter of animals. The provisions of the rules could not be used to override the provisions of the Act and it would render the entire scheme of the Act as useless and nugatory. They said there were a number of incidents where the cow, bull or bullocks are transported by any goods carriage or carried on foot, they are generally seized either by the police or anti-social elements. The police is also helpless before such anti-social elements, who are violating the fundamental right of citizens to carry on the trade of purchasing and selling the cattle. The PIL noted that the 1960 Act specifically provides for and permits the slaughter of any animal for the purpose of food. BJP president Amit Shah is due to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Sunday to try and win over the miffed ally. New Delhi: A day before the crucial meeting between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the BJP ministerial panel on presidential elections, the Congress indicated Thursday it will not support the candidature of Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu, who is said to be the frontrunner as NDA presidential candidate. BJP president Amit Shah is due to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Sunday to try and win over the miffed ally. Hectic parleys have begun between the BJP and the Opposition parties to arrive at a consensus, with Mr Shah forming a team of three ministers to hold talks with a range of Opposition leaders. The members of this team are finance minister Arun Jaitley, home minister Rajnath Singh and I&B minister M. Venkaiah Naidu. Mr Naidu spoke to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday. Mr Pawar said he would be in New Delhi in the next couple of days for further talks. BJP sources said Mr Shah will meet Mr Thackeray at his Matoshri residence in Mumbai on Sunday, with the coming presidential election being the main subject of discussion. The BJP president will be on a three-day visit to Mumbai to celebrate the Modi governments three years in office. The Shiv Sena has been a vocal critic of the BJP, and specially over the recent farmers issues, and has played hardball with the BJP. Mr Thackeray has repeatedly said RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat should be made the next President, though Mr Bhagwat ruled out his candidature. The Opposition parties have tried to exploit this division in the NDA by approaching the Shiv Sena for support and even pitching the name of NCP chief Sharad Pawar as the Opposition presidential candidate. Congress insiders say the party has made up its mind that it would not support any candidate with saffron leanings, and sources said the party was not willing to extend support to Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu, a former BJP MLA in Odisha, who has emerged as the frontrunner in the BJP camp for the presidency. Congress president Sonia Gandhi met senior leaders of the party a day before the crucial meeting with the BJP ministers on Friday. She met Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge and her political secretary Ahmed Patel. Sources said the Congress would only agree to any candidate the government proposes after consulting all Opposition parties for the sake of unity. The Opposition leaders are likely to meet once again around June 20. At this point, the Congress feels it is incumbent on the ruling party to arrive at a consensus, with a rider that the person should have faith in the Constitution and uphold the idea of India, and not have saffron leanings. Senior Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said the party had tried to bring about a consensus on every major issue. But the picture is not yet clear on the issue of the presidential election, he said, adding that it would be better if the government too understood the need for unanimity. It will be good if there is a consensus. But I cannot say anything as of now, he added. A 17-party Opposition grouping has decided to field a joint candidate if no consensus emerges. There have been two meetings of the entire Opposition to shortlist a possible candidate. The Congress feels that at Fridays meeting, the BJP will ask the Congress to support its candidate to respect the mandate of the people as it has 54 per cent of the votes in the electoral college, which could go up to 65 per cent if more parties come on board. Apart from Ms Murmu, the names doing the rounds as probable NDA nominees include external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and social justice minister Thawar Chand Gehlot. The Opposition names include former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, JD(U)s Sharad Yadav and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh were summoned by the I-T department in connection with a 'benami' assets case. New Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday said the grand alliance of Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress is intact, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will never be successful in capturing Bihar. "The alliance between RJD, JD (U) and Congress is very strong and intact. As death is true so is our bond with each other. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will never be successful in capturing Bihar as they are trying their tricks in West Bengal. We are not foolish to listen and abide by their rules," Lalu said. Further lashing out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Modi over son-in-law Shailesh Kumar's connection with the benami assets, Lalu said the opposition is trying to defame them and destroy their public perception. " Sushil Modi is speaking on the instructions that he receives from Delhi. I am not in any ministry nor is Rabri Devi then why should we be pulled into it. Everything is bonafide and is available on net. They (BJP) are trying to lower down the image and destroy the public perception of us. The opposition and their families are always into scams but these issues are never raised nor highlighted. I have faith in the judiciary and sure to get justice," added Lalu. The Income Tax Department earlier this week, had summoned Lalu Yadav's son-in-law Shailesh Kumar, in connection with the benami assets and tax evasion case registered against him. Meanwhile, his wife, Misa Bharti, gave the questioning a skip for the second time in two weeks on Monday. On June 7, the I-T department slapped a fine of Rs. 10,000 against Shailesh on account of not appearing for interrogation. Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh were summoned by the I-T department in connection with a 'benami' assets case. The summons were issued days after the arrest of Bharti's Chartered Accountant (CA) Rakesh Agrawal, in connection with an Enforcement Directorate probe into a Rs. 8,000 crore money laundering racket, involving two Delhi-based businessmen and a few political entities. Agrawal was arrested under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly being instrumental in providing accommodation entries (illegal funds) to launder the money of businessmen brothers- Virendra Jain and Surendra Jain. The I-T department in its summons reportedly said it wishes to question Misa and her husband on transactions conducted by M/s Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited. The I-T department had conducted raids and surveys at about 22 locations in Delhi and adjoining areas in connection with alleged benami deals of Rs. 1,000 crore by Lalu's family. India's reaction came after Pak welcomed Russian Prez Putin's reported offer to ease the ongoing tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. New Delhi: India on Thursday said that no offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to New Delhi. "No offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said. Denying reports in Pakistan media about Russia's reported offer for mediation to ease the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan, Baglay said, "It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence". India's reaction came after Pakistan welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's reported offer to ease the ongoing tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. Although, Russia has not confirmed about it. Read: Russia welcome to mediate issues with India: Pakistan govt The Dawn quoted Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Thursday that the country had recently established high-level contact with Russia and Islamabad welcome Putin's offer to mediate between India and Pakistan. According to unverified reports in Pakistan media, Russian President Putin during his meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the recently-held Belt and Road Forum reportedly offered to help mediate tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. Tensions have been running high between the two Asian neighbours amid spree of ceasefire violations and cross-border infiltration from Pakistan side. Relations between India and Pakistan worsened after several terror attacks including one on an Indian military base in Uri and also on an Indian air force base in Pathankot. The situation between both nations further deteriorated after a Pakistan military court announced a death sentence to former Indian Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav. Relations between the two nations have been particularly worsened after the 2008 Mumbai attacks by Pakistan based terrorists. If you thought Old Monk was the only spirit to have come out of India, youre wrong. There was a time when American and British liquor brands ruled the world, but it is no longer the case. Asian companies, including Indian ones, are now some of the biggest sellers of alcohol. If you were to ask an average pub-goer about Indian liquor brands, their answer would most probably be limited to Kingfisher. But our lack of knowledge isnt because we dont venture out from sips were already familiar with, its because only half of local Indian spirits find their way out. We should thank Dr Vijay Mallya for introducing famous liquor brands like McDowells No.1, White Mischief, and Kingfisher. India can be ranked as one of the foremost countries in the world as far as consumption of liquor is concerned. But we would be proud of our breweries brewing some of the finest alcohol. So, which are the drinks that put India on the map internationally? Lets find out: Royal Mawalin Royal Heritage Liqueur makes liqueurs that are based on recipes created by royal families from Rajasthan. There were many small kingdoms in Rajasthan until Indian independence in 1947, and each had their own recipes for liqueurs based on herbs and spices, such as saffron. You can drink it straight or with soda it has a great bitter flavor that evaporates cleanly from your tongue. Wild Tiger Rum With its velvet tiger stripe sleeve and a tooth tag as part of its bold packaging, Wild Tiger Rum is a winner on the shelf. Known as Indias first premium rum, its a blend of exocytic mix of molasses and pure sugarcane spirits, which is then aged, in ex-bourbon Oakwood casks. Its available in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, UAE and Jamaica. Desmondji A tequila product in India? Yes, you read this right. Sure, 99 per cent of the world tequila comes from Mexico, but Goa-based drink guru Desmond Nazareth changed all that. In 2011, Desmondji became the only agave-based spirit to be produced outside of Mexico. It produces five spirits agave 100 per cent, agave gold, agave, margarita and blue margarita blend. Amrut Established in 1948, perhaps Indias best known single malt whisky, Amrut Fusion Single Malt is manufactured by Bengalurus Amrut Distilleries. In 2010, Amrut was listed as the worlds third finest whisky by Jim Murrays Whisky Bible, one of the most recognized global whiskey guides. The single malt, procured from north India, claims to use only Indian ingredients (barley, water and yeast.) Paul John Apart from Amrut, made in India whisky is conquering liquor market across the globe. In 2012, the Goa-based distillers joined the new world of whisky revolution and made a mark in London and labelled itself as the great Indian single malt. Recently in 2016, it was awarded liquid gold by Jim Murrays whisky bible, previously bagging the whisky bible title in 2013 and 2014 editions. Soul Tree wine Funded by two Oxford University alumni, Alok Mathur and Melvin DSouza, it was the only Indian wine to win an award at the event, where three different judges, decide on the best wine only by blind tasting it. The brand includes red, white and rose. For those of you who have not experienced these spirits yet, make a trip to your local bar/pub and order to taste our homegrown and award-winning spirits that continue to receive recognition internationally and are worth paying attention to. Ketan Swami is the food and beverage manager at MARS Hospitality. Dressed in a purple wet suit, the 17-year-old confidently coats his board with wax and smears sunscreen on his face before dashing into the sea. Ali Kassem, a 17-year-old Syrian refugee, poses for a picture holding his surfboard on a beach in the town of Jiyeh, south of the Lebanese capital Beirut. (Photo: AFP) Jiyeh, Lebanon: Ali Kassem had never seen the sea before he fled his home in Syria for Lebanon, but now hes a regular in the waves and dreams of his own surf school. Dressed in a purple wet suit, the 17-year-old confidently coats his board with wax and smears sunscreen on his face before dashing into the sea. He disappears behind one wave and another until his small figure is barely visible from the beach at all, as though he were headed for the horizon. When Im on my board, I feel free. I feel like Im in another life, the teenager says shyly at a beach in Jiyeh, 30 km south of Beirut. Kassem is from Aleppo city, though he says he remembers little from his childhood in Syria. His father has worked in Jiyeh for the past 25 years, and after Syrias conflict erupted in March 2011, he decided to bring his family to Lebanon as well. Kassem has two brothers and three sisters, but speaks little about his family and his life before he became a refugee. A third brother died in the conflict, killed in Aleppo at the beginning of the war, he says, without giving more details. His life now is dominated by surfing. Kassems entry into surfing came through Ali el-Amine, who became his mentor after meeting him in 2015. At the sandy Jiyeh beach, a popular spot for surfers, Amine spotted Kassem trying his luck in the waves with a makeshift board. He was trying to surf with a piece of polystyrene he had cut into a plank shape, says the 34-year-old, who runs a surf school in Jiyeh. He was very thin and wearing nothing but shorts. I was afraid he would drown, he says. But after watching for a few minutes, Amines fears began to recede. Amine decided to take Kassem under his wing, offering him a spot at his surf school and giving him a wet suit and board on the condition he was good in class and behaved with his parents. And two years later, the guidance has borne fruit, says Amine, who considers Kassem like a son. Kassem has stuck with the sport, convinced it can help him build a better life. During the summer, he works at Amines school, repairing boards, welcoming customers and helping during lessons. The job provides income that helps his family, along with his fathers wages and support from the UN refugee agency. While Kassem says he has become used to life in Lebanon, he still dreams of returning home. His ultimate goal is to become the first professional surfer in Syria and open a surf school in Latakia when the war is over. The International Surfing Association does not so far count a Syrian surf school among its members, and to help Kassem achieve his goal, Amine has set up a campaign on the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform. The school project might still be far off, but Kassem already has a name for it: It will be called Surf Syria, he says. No suicide note recovered, family claims their son was murdered. The family members of the deceased, Arnav Duggal, alleged that their son has been murdered while his girlfriend claimed that he committed suicide. (Photo: File) New Delhi: A 23-year-old man was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his girlfriends flat in Dwarka area on Tuesday evening. The family members of the deceased, Arnav Duggal, alleged that their son has been murdered while his girlfriend claimed that he committed suicide. The police said that on Tuesday they received a PCR call at 3pm regarding a suicide at a flat in Shakuntalam Apartments in Dwarka Sector 10. A PCR reached the spot and found a body hanging from the ceiling fan of a room in the flat. The body was brought down and the family members of the deceased were informed. The body was shifted to the mortuary for post mortem. No suicide note was recovered from the room. A senior police official said that in preliminary investigation it has been found that Arnav, who worked at an MNC in Gurgaon and stayed with his family in Patel Nagar area, went for a night out party with several other friends, including his girlfriend on Monday night. They partied till late and visited several places in Delhi. On the morning of June 13 (Tuesday), he dropped his girlfriend at her place (flat no. 441) in Shakuntalam Apartments and left for his home. However, he returned soon and complained of uneasiness. At this, she asked him to stay back at her flat and take rest. She claimed that they went to sleep in different rooms, but at 3 pm she woke up and went to the room where Arnav was sleeping. There she found him hanging from the ceiling fan. Immediately, she informed the police. A forensic team visited the room and collected samples for investigation. The deceaseds mobile phone will also be sent for forensic examination and the call records will be examined. We will question all their friends to re-establish the sequence of the events that took place during June 12-13, said a senior police official. The deceaseds family members alleged that Arnav has been murdered by his girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend and that they hanged the body to fake it as a suicide. The girl works in the same company as Arnav. She knew his family well but didnt inform them about the incident. We got a call from the police at 6 pm, informing us to reach the police station immediately. There we were informed about the incident, said a family member. Suspecting foul play in the death of their son, the deceaseds father, Alok Duggal, met special commissioner of police P. Kamraj and demanded fair probe into the matter. Sources said a high-level committee will be formed to investigate the matter. The blast was so powerful that the victims were engulfed in flames instantly and their bodies were too charred to be identified. They were taken to military hospital but were declared dead on arrival. Pune: Two labourers were killed instantly in an explosion at the ordnance factory in Khadki, Pune at 9.20 am on Thursday. The deceased have been identified as Ashok Dubbal (48) from native of the state and Yash Mariya Oak (50), a Karnataka resident. According to sources, the blast took place at F2 section of the factory where detonators are made. The labourers were carrying propellant powder, which was mixed in spirit, from one section of the factory to the other, as was their wont when the blast took place. The blast was so powerful that both the victims went up in flames instantly, and their bodies were too charred to be identified. Dubbal and Oak were taken to the military hospital, but they were declared brought dead on arrival. Immediately, all buildings and the surrounding area were cordoned off. An officer on the condition of anonymity said, A high-level committee will be constituted to investigate the matter. The spokesperson of defence ministry issued a statement saying that situation is under control. The statement reads, The incident happened today morning at the time of shifting of explosives. It was regular work being carried out by labourers at the factory. Two labourers suffered burn injuries and died. Military explosive experts are on the site to investigate the matter. There has been no damage to buildings or other infrastructure. The situation is under control. This is not the first blast at the factory. Earlier, in 2015, a labourer was injured in one such blast. Parents and authorities are baffled on how students scored marks. Mumbai: Parents and teachers have raised doubts about whether the standard of education has increased or the quality of students has improved, after 193 students received 100 per cent marks in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam in the state on Tuesday. Questions are also being raised on whether the top marks are being given due to the student's academic excellence or due to factors including lenient evaluation. While a top state board official claimed the top marks were because of the fact that the education standard was improving, a former board chairman who is also associated with the Centre's Sarv Shiksha Abhiya, J.Abhyankar said that the same could be owing to the fact that a few unaided schools were allegedly trying to give extra marks to seek aid and recognition from the school. Talking to The Asian Age about the concern, the State board chairman Gangadhar Mhamane said, The standard of education system is improving. This is a new strategy in which cultural studies marks are added, making the score a perfect 100 percent. Such initiatives motivate students to get themselves enrolled in extra curriculum activities, Mhamane added. The state governments resolution issued in January 2017 had asked awarding 10 to 25 additional marks to students who excel in drawing, classical and folk arts. Board officials said that the results are due to a hike in the standard of education and quality of the students. Abhyankar said, Earlier there were no system of granting grace or additional marks to students. This is indirectly benefiting the unaided schools and the schools that want to show they are progressing well. The extra marks from the orals exams are in schools hand and the written exam to has many objective questions, making it easier for students to score good marks. Now, the question that arises is whether these students who have scored well because of grace marks would suffer later on in life due to lack of skills. Most top colleges are likely admit those with 90 per cent plus marks, while the rest, even with those having 70-80 per cent, will have to struggle to get in. Talking to The Asian Age, the students, Rajas Joshi who scored 70 per cent and Shreya Mehta who score 79 per cent in SCC express that they anxious about their admissions. Joshi said, I want admission in a South Mumbai college but it would be difficult for me to do so because of my marks and so I am worried. Mehta on the other hand, said, The students who have secured above 90 per cent have benefited from their cultural studies marks. The Maharashtra State Gazetted Officers Union has issued warning to the state to decide on the matter, else employees will go on strike from July 12. The state had already formed a committee under former secretary, K.P. Bakshi to look into details and finances. Mumbai: Even as the prolonged farmers agitation has forced a debt-ridden state to promise loan waiver of Rs 30,000 crore, the state is likely to face one more strike, this time round by government employees over the seventh pay commission. The Maharashtra State Gazetted Officers Union has issued warning to the state to decide on the matter, else employees will go on strike from July 12. The state had already formed a committee under former secretary, K.P. Bakshi to look into details and finances. With the Centre declaration that it will start paying employees as per the seventh pay commission starting July 2017, state employees too are demanding that the new pay scales be implemented with effect from January 1, 2016. G.D. Kulathe, leader of the employees union, said, Our demand is reasonable. We are not saying that start paying us right now. But we just want assurance that the state will give us arrears from January 1, 2016 on the lines of the Centre. Asked why the union was not ready to wait till Mr Bakshi submitted his report, Mr Kulathe said, This committee has not even started its work. It has not conducted interviews. Hence we want the state to take our demands seriously. Thackeray said that he would send his suggestions after the state appointed committee prepares a draft for the loan waiver. Mumbai: After the BJP-led governments announcement on granting loan waivers with conditions to farmers, the Shiv Sena and Congress on Wednesday, separately, demanded a complete loan waiver for farmers. When revenue minister Chandrakant Patil met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday at the latters residence to discuss the issue, the Sena chief pushed for a complete waiver. He asked Mr Patil to make 7/12 (land document) of farmers clear. Mr Thackeray said that he would send his suggestions after the state appointed committee prepares a draft for the loan waiver. After the meeting, Shiv Sena minister Diwakar Raote said that the party was fully in support of the farmers. We have presented our views that the 7/12 of farmers should be cleared completely. Uddhavji has asked the government to let him know their decision on implementation of the loan waiver. He will share his ideas when a draft is ready. All the farmers should get loan waiver, he added. Speaking to the media, Mr Patil said the government would not include any land ceiling for the loan waiver. He was referring to the five-acre land limit decided for the earlier waiver. We have reached a consensus that the maximum farmers should receive the benefit of a loan waiver. I have explained the data and information that we have to Uddhavji. He has agreed on several issues. He told me that we should meet again and discuss the issue further. Shiv Sena on Tuesday had claimed the credit of the loan waiver. The Sena workers had also participated in the strike called by farmers a few days back. The party leaders expressed their ire at not being included in a committee to negotiate with the farmers initially. Later, Sena minister Diwakar Raote was included in the committee. In the afternoon, Congress state president Ashok Chavan held a meeting of all the leaders and demanded there should be no conditions attached to the loan waiver. After holding a meeting with senior Congress leaders, he demanded that the government declare a date for the waiver. Chandrakant Patil met me. We support the loan waiver but it should not have any conditions like land ceiling or financial income. It should also include loans related to agriculture. The state should also announce when waiver would be given. Marathawada farmers should also benefit from the decision, Mr Chavan said. The trial of the said seven persons was kept separate as they were arrested later. Mumbai: A special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act (TADA) court will on Friday pronounce its judgment on the trial against the seven accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast case. These are the second group of accused persons who werent persecuted with the previous 100 accused including Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt. Extradited gangsters Abu Salem, Mustafa Dosa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Tahir Merchant and Abdul Quayyum are facing trial in the case. The trial of the said seven persons was kept separate as they were arrested later. Earlier, the court did not convict any of the accused in the case for waging a war against the nation; however, special public prosecutor Deepak Salve argued before the court that these blasts were tantamount to war against the nation. He claimed that Pakistan had sponsored the bombings and hence, the accused should be convicted for waging a war against the nation. On March 12, 1993, Mumbai city witnessed a terror attack when a series of 12 bomb explosions took place one after another in about a span of two hours. The blasts took place at Bombay Stock Exchange, Katha Bazaar, Lucky petrol pump near Sena Bhavan, opposite Passport office near Century Bazaar, Fishermens colony at Mahim Causeway, at the basement of Air India Building, Zaveri Bazaar, Hotel Sea Rock, Plaza Theatre, Centaur Hotel (Juhu), Sahar Airport (Bay no.54) and Centaur Hotel (near airport). In the blast 257 people were found dead, 713 seriously injured and properties worth `27 crore were destroyed. In the first set of the trial that concluded in 2007, the TADA court had convicted 100 accused in the case, while 23 people were acquitted. The court, in all, recorded statements of around 750 prosecution witnesses and 50 defence witnesses against the seven accused. Three accused including Salem had confessed to their crime during investigations carried out by the CBI over the years into the blasts case. Though the hearing in the case began in 2007, it was delayed as three petitions were pending with the Supreme Court, one each filed by Dossa and Salem, and another by CBI. The trial resumed in 2012 and concluded this March. Timeline of the case March 12, 1993: 13 blasts rock Mumbai. About 257 people are killed and 713 injured. June, 1995: Trial begins in the TADA court in Mumbai, which is housed in high-security Arthur Road Central Prison. September 2006: 100 accused, including Yakub Memon (brother of prime accused Tiger Memon) and actor Sanjay Dutt, are convicted. July 13, 2006: Gangster Abu Salems trial is separated from the other accused. July 27, 2007: The death sentence is awarded to Yakub by TADA Judge P.D. Kode. July 30, 2015: Yakub is hanged to death. Charges against accused The corridors of power in Maharashtra have been abuzz with reports of BJPs preparations for mid term polls. Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ready for polls. If someone wants to impel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will be able to form a government again, he stated, adding fuel to speculations that BJP is contemplating the option of mid-term polls in Maharashtra. However, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray dismissed it as an attempt to divert attention from the farmers loan waiver issue. The corridors of power in Maharashtra have been abuzz with reports of BJPs preparations for mid term polls. Its region-wise survey of seats in the event of snap polls has been published in media. Also the fact that Mr Fadnavis had initially asked for a four month-period to deliberate on loan waivers during his first meeting with farmers is being interpreted in political circles as BJPs intention to go for elections in six months time after writing off farmers loans. Also the fact that BJP national president Amit Shah is expected to be in Mumbai for three days from Friday and is scheduled to meet Mr Thackeray, has added more weight to the speculations. Speaking to reporters, Mr Fadnavis said, Some people were talking during the farmers agitation that we will bring down the government. They will withdraw support. I said we are ready for midterm polls. Obviously indicating the Sena without directly naming them, the CM also referred to the recent civic polls held in the state. People supported us in a way that was unprecedented in recent years of state politics. Even Congress and NCP never got such a huge response. It shows to people are still supporting us. Reacting to Mr Fadnaviss statement, Mr Thackeray said, The mid-term poll statement is a bid to divert attention from the loan waiver issue. If the loan waiver is not implemented then, an earthquake will come. It is an irony that those with money are talking about loan waivers. Mr Thackeray warned the government that his party was observing the conditions to be drafted for the loan waiver. The loan waiver given the last time had certain conditions attached to it. But we do not want there to be any conditions for the waiver this time, he added. Rvenue minister Chandrakant Patil had met Mr Thackeray on Wednesday to discuss the loan waiver issue. The Islamic summit of Sunni nations along with the US vowed to target Iran as the supporter of global terror. Globally, the war on terror has never been so much in paralysis as it has been in the past few weeks. Its almost as if its non-existent, with terrorists ruling the roost in many of the worlds violence-prone regions, and political leaderships aiding them with their thoughtless agendas. Britain, reputed for its excellent success in welding together communities and possessing world-class intelligence services and security forces, has been in the eye of the storm with three major attacks at Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge. France, with a respite from the chain of attacks it bore through 2015-16, once again suffered a lone wolf attack at Notre Dame on June 5. It last faced a terror strike on April 20, when a policeman was killed at Champs Elysees in Paris just before the first round of the presidential elections. With fast-moving developments in the Middle East after the Arab and Islamic summits during US President Donald Trumps visit to the region, we now have audacious attacks on Irans Parliament building and the tomb of its revolutionary founder, leaving at least 12 people dead and 42 wounded in the worst terror attack against the Islamic republic in years. The attack was claimed by ISIS. Paradoxically, the Islamic summit of Sunni nations along with the US vowed to target Iran as the supporter of global terror. In Afghanistan, there were a spate of deadly terror attacks in Mazar-e-Sharif (140 Afghan National Army soldiers dead), at a Kabul hospital, the car bomb outside the German embassy, also in Kabul, and the latest attack at a mosque in Herat, causing seven deaths. The Taliban was behind all of them, with ISIS attempting to showcase its presence too. Southeast Asia, comparatively less scathed so far, has had the Philippines witnessing a Muslim militant group-linked ISIS attack that led to loss of control over parts of Marawi City on Mindanao Island, southern Philippines. Almost 85,000 people fled the city of 200,000. It appeared Abu Sayyaf, the radical Islamic group, is now acting as an ISIS surrogate. What seems clear is that with new political leaderships emerging in the West, the focus on the global war on terror as a concept, that was anyway debatable being a selective strategy of targeting, is even further from any degree of execution. The United States is clearly in a state of transition, with policy reversals in various areas which are as yet fuzzy. From Europe to the Middle East to Afghanistan, President Trump is yet to bring any clarity to how the US intends to make the world any safer. His current focus appears to be only on how to make the US more secure. His recent visit to Europe gave no confidence to European leaders, and intelligence leaks over the Manchester attack hasnt evoked any confidence in the US being a reliable partner in the war against terror. The most controversial part of the developments in the fight against terror appears to be the aftermath of the Trump visit to the Middle East. News at the end of 2016 and early 2017 made us believe ISIS was on its last legs in Mosul, its leadership having deserted and its money dwindled. Mosul is yet to fall, and a last-ditch battle for the city is on, but the ISIS presence elsewhere is widespread and well-networked. Its capacity to operate and conduct terror strikes is not limited only to lone wolf attempts. Although the UK is currently in its crosshairs, ISIS capability in the rest of Europe, as well as Turkey, is still intact. In December 2016, the assessment was that ISIS was preparing to target Britain, and that did prove true. There is no doubt that ISIS would have been worried about the advent of President Trump and his intent to target terror more energetically than Barack Obama. However, Mr Trump may have actually just helped ISIS by making Iran the target of his entire Middle East policy. Even in relation to the crisis in Syria, it was clearly President Bashar al-Assad who was the target when it came to the response to alleged chemical weapon attacks by Syrian government forces. The battle against ISIS seems to have lost focus partially in the physical realm in the Middle Eastern battlefields, but equally so in the psychological realm. The coming together of Arab and other Sunni nations ostensibly in a show of solidarity against terror ended up only looking at Iran as the adversary, with no clarity on what to do with ISIS or the crisis in Yemen perpetrated by Saudi Arabia. The status of ISIS in Afghanistan remains unclear. However, the Taliban is on a roll, with its ability to target Afghan security forces and carry out acts of terror in the heart of Kabul. The rump ISAF is incapable, and the Afghan National Army and police, without more modern weaponry, are unlikely to sustain the pressure for too long. The creeping decision to add 5,000 troops isnt going to take this campaign anywhere. With Mr Trump reluctant to back Nato in Europe and expressing his scepticism even about funding Nato, he should not expect any support from others in enhancing forces in Afghanistan. The current crisis over Qatar perpetrated by a few Gulf states and Saudi Arabia at the behest of the US doesnt appear to have been thought through, and is full of paradoxes. It is almost akin to the situation in Syria, where it is difficult to determine who is opposed to whom. Clearly, Qatar is regarded as the villain behind financing conduits for ISIS. The reported $1 billion ransom paid for the release of some members of the Qatari royal family to an Iraqi Shia militia sounds unconvincing. No commentary on terror can be complete today without a mention of Pakistan, the core sponsor of violent extremism through its policy of friendly and unfriendly terrorists. It has so far escaped President Trumps ire, but the snub to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Riyadh was sufficient to convey that Pakistan doesnt fit into the US counter-terrorism scheme. There are no solutions visible on the horizon, but the global crisis in terms of spreading terror can be better controlled if the Middle East is more stable and ISIS has less scope to exploit the meaningless differences between nations that should in any case be aligned on the same side. As Delhi's historical step wells lie in ruins with the ongoing urbanisation drive, a new initiative seeks to preserve seven baolis across the city. The baolis which were once a major source of water for civilisations that sprung up around them, are being digitised by The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in collaboration with Google. Titled "Baolis of Delhi - Stepping into Step Wells", the project features baolis constructed between 1210 - 1540 and offers a virtual tour of the structures through specially curated photographs. "The effort would help to reach out to more people and provide them information about the architectural heritage of our city. "By reaching out to more and more people we are creating public awareness which is the first step towards conservation," Swapna Liddle, Convenor of INTACH's Delhi chapter, told PTI. With over 20 baolis spread across the city, most of these structures, Liddle said, have been neglected due to lack of awareness among people. Besides documenting the popular stepwells - Agrasen Ki Baoli in Lutyens and the baoli at Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, the project also introduces the lesser known baolis along with interesting narratives around them. Viewers will also get a virtual experience that enables them to have a look at the reservoirs which no longer have public access. These include the baoli at Feroz Shah Kotla and Purana Qila among others. The photographs can be viewed on the website - Google Art and Culture (GAC), and also on the corresponding application on both iOS as well as Android. Talking about the need for collaborating with governments for initiatives to conserve historical structures, Liddle noted how a baoli in Dwarka is being restored by the Delhi government. "We need to work in collaboration. The INTACH Delhi Chapter in fact has had a very fruitful partnership with Delhi government through which we are studying and restoring several heritage structures for the Delhi State Department of Archaeology," she said. When asked why only seven baolis were shortlisted for the project, Liddle said, the material picked up by Google was part of tourist literature and not a comprehensive list. Simon Rein, programme manager - India, GAC said that the initiative is inclined towards making India's rich heritage and culture more accessible to people at home and abroad. "It stems from Google's broader mission to organise and make information about world heritage more accessible to people. We want to enable users to discover artworks in new ways and help the cultural sector make the most of the digital opportunities," he said. Police said many victims were killed at point-blank range after being hunted down. Another survivor, Aden Karie, was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain. Mogadishu: At least 31 people are dead after the overnight siege of a popular restaurant in Somalia's capital by al-Shabab Islamic extremists, ended Thursday morning by security forces with all five attackers killed. Police said many victims were killed at point-blank range after being hunted down. Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as attackers searched for patrons in the darkened Pizza House restaurant, firing their weapons. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility shortly after the assault began with a car bomb exploding at the restaurant's gate. Soldiers surrounded the building and used vehicle-mounted guns to neutralize the attackers early Thursday. Troops entered the ground floor while the extremist snipers held positions upstairs. All five attackers were killed and the soldiers secured the building after dawn, said senior Somali police Capt. Mohamed Hussein. Efforts to take control of the restaurant were slowed by the darkness of night, d Hussein said. Many of the 31 victims were killed at point-blank range, Hussein said. Nearly 40 other people were wounded. "I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again. They were killing people on sight," Saida Hussein, a university student, told The Associated Press. She said she survived by hiding behind a large table downstairs. Another survivor, Aden Karie, was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain. "He shot at me twice and one bullet struck me on the leg," said Karie as he was taken to a waiting ambulance. The bodies of five girls thought to have been killed by the extremists were found in the restaurant, police said. Inside the building, the body of a Syrian man who worked as a chef there lay near the rubble of a blood-spattered and bullet-marked wall. The attack began Wednesday evening when a car bomb exploded at the gate to the restaurant and gunmen posing as military forces stormed in. The roofs were blown off the restaurant and nearby buildings by the blast. Many early victims were young men who had been entering the Pizza House when the vehicle exploded, Hussein said. The gunmen "were dressed in military uniforms. They forced those fleeing the site to go inside" the restaurant, witness Nur Yasin told the AP. While al-Shabab claimed to have attacked the neighboring Posh Treats restaurant, which is frequented by the city's elite and was damaged in the blast, security officials said the Pizza House was targeted instead. Security forces rescued Asian, Ethiopian, Kenyan and other workers at Posh Treats as the attack continued, Hussein said. The Somalia-based al-Shabab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu, including hotels, military checkpoints and areas near the presidential palace. It has vowed to step up attacks after the recently elected government launched a new military offensive against it. Al-Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The extremist group also faces a new military push from the United States after President Donald Trump approved expanded operations, including airstrikes, against al-Shabab. On Sunday, the U.S. military in Africa said it carried out an airstrike in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp. Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed that airstrike and said such attacks would disrupt the group's ability to conduct new attacks. With a new federal government established, pressure is growing on Somalia's military to assume full responsibility for the country's security. The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020. The White House has been directing all questions related to this to Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz. Washington: US President Donald Trump is being investigated for possible obstruction of justice by the special counsel appointed to probe alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential polls, according to a media report. The probe by special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI chief, "marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin," The Washington Post reported. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes by Trump associates, the daily said, quoting unnamed US officials. According to the paper, Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers's recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's investigators as early as this week. The New York Times also reported that Mueller was seeking interviews with the three officials. "The investigation has been cloaked in secrecy, and it is unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI," it said. The White House has been directing all questions related to this to Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz. "The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal," Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Kasowitz, was quoted as saying. The Post reported that the obstruction of justice investigation of the president began days after James Comey was fired as the FBI Director on May 9. Mueller is overseeing a host of investigations involving people who are or were in Trump's orbit, people familiar with the probe were quoted as saying. "The investigation is examining possible contacts with Russian operatives as well as any suspicious financial activity related to those individuals," the daily said. Significantly, Preet Bharara, the India-born former top US federal prosecutor, earlier this week had said that there was enough evidence to begin an obstruction of justice case against Trump over his alleged interference in the Russia probe. Trump has said he is "100 per cent" willing to testify under oath on Comey meetings and tell the FBI Special Consul Robert Muller that he never asked FBI to stop investigating. The report comes a day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a close aide of Trump, vehemently denied any role in Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 US polls and dismissed accusations that he discussed such an effort with Russian officials as an "appalling and detestable lie". Sessions' testimony came in the wake of fired FBI Director Comey's assertion that he believed he was fired by Trump as part of an effort to influence the agencies' investigation into Russia's meddling in the presidential polls. Putin said he found Comey's behaviour strange for a security official, after Comey leaked details of his meetings with Trump. Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday questioned the conduct of ex-FBI chief James Comey, comparing him to whistleblower Edward Snowden and joking that Russia could offer him asylum. Speaking at his annual call-in with Russian citizens, Putin, a former KGB officer, said he found Comey's behaviour strange for a security official, after Comey leaked details of his meetings with Trump. "He said suddenly that he had recorded the conversation with the president and then passed it to the media through his friend. Now that sounds very strange," Putin said. "When the head of a security service records a conversation with the commander-in-chief and passes it to the media... then how is the FBI director different from Mr. Snowden? "Then he's not head of a security service, he's a rights activist who defends a certain position. Speaking of which, if he is persecuted, we would be ready to offer him asylum in Russia. He should know this." Putin granted asylum to Snowden after he leaked details of US surveillance programmes and was stranded in Moscow after his passport was cancelled en route to South America. Comey had been leading an FBI investigation into Trump aides and their contacts with the Russian government, which US intelligence agencies believe could have led to collusion to sway the 2016 election in Trump's favour. After being fired by Trump, Comey leaked details of the series of meetings with the president, in which Trump allegedly asked for Comey's "loyalty" and suggested the investigation be shelved. Putin on Thursday again dismissed allegations that Russia meddled in the US vote, instead accusing Washington of doing precisely that around the world. "Constant American propaganda, constant feeding of US-oriented NGOs... Is that not influencing our minds? Is that not an attempt to influence how we should act during our campaign?" Putin said. "Take the globe, spin it, point a finger, and you'll find American interests there, and you'll definitely find their meddling," he added. "What do they want, that everyone just bows their heads?" he asked of the United States. "We have an opinion, we openly voice it. These aren't some kind of covert underground actions." The message was broadcast on the militants Radio Khilafat station in the Pashto language late on Wednesday. Kabul: The Islamic State (IS) group claimed that its fighters have captured Osama bin Ladens infamous Tora Bora mountain hideout in eastern Afghanistan. The group released an audio recording saying its signature black flag is flying over the hulking mountain range. The message was broadcast on the militants Radio Khilafat station in the Pashto language late on Wednesday. It also said IS had taken over several districts and urged villagers who fled the fighting to return to their homes and stay indoors. Terrified civilians hide from Islamic State snipers in Mosul school. The Tora Bora mountains hide a warren of caves in which al-Qaeda militants led by bin Laden hid from US coalition forces in 2001, after the Taliban fled Kabul. Afghan officials earlier said fighting between IS and the Taliban, who controlled Tora Bora, began on Tuesday but couldnt confirm its capture. Pakistan welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this longstanding issue with India. Islamabad: Pakistan said on Thursday it welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's "intention" to play a role in helping resolve its bilateral differences with India. Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria during a weekly briefing was asked that reportedly during his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of SCO Summit, Putin offered mediation between India and Pakistan to resolve their issues. "Pakistan welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this longstanding issue on the UNSC agenda," he said. Zakarai said Putin was a world leader and a statesman and Pakistan would extend a very warm welcome to him when he decides to visit the country. Talking about ties with Russia, Zakarai said Pakistan-Russia relation was following a positive trajectory. "Both sides have signed defence agreement, held joint military exercises and Russia is investing USD 2 billion in South-North gas pipeline project. There is tremendous scope for enhancing ties further, particularly in political, economic and trade, energy, defense, culture and education fields," he said. Zakarai said there was a growing realisation and concern among the regional countries and the UN on the threat to peace in the region "due to Indian unprovoked hostility on the LoC and Working Boundary." "Indian attempts to distract the world attention from the brutalities its occupation forces have unleashed on unarmed Kashmiris have endangered peace and security in the Sub-Continent and beyond," he alleged. To a question about External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement that Pakistan cannot take Kashmir issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), he said Pakistan was a sovereign country and reserves the right to take up any matter at any forum it deemed appropriate. "As for Kashmir, it is an internationally recognised dispute and outstanding on the UNSC agenda. Pakistan's position is consistent that we call for an early implementation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions on Kashmir, which promise the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people under a UN supervised plebiscite," he said. Sharif appears before probe panel over Panama leaks, says has done nothing wrong. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif leaves the premises of the JIT with son Hussain Nawaz in Islamabad. (Photo: AP) Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday appeared before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) over the Panama leaks scandal and was grilled for three hours. After the interrogation, Mr Sharif said that all the relevant documents had been provided to the probe panel. Speaking to reporters outside the Federal Judicial Academy, Mr Sharif said that he had accounted for every penny. I have presented myself, the government and my family before the JIT for trial. The Prime Minister said never before in the history of the country, three generations of a family had been held accountable like his family had been. He said the present process extended to a period before his birth. He added, We will not only come out successful in the proceedings of the JIT but also in the next general elections, get overwhelming support of the nation. Mr Sharif said that his personal businesses had nothing to do with the national treasure and the allegations against him were on a personal level, adding that his opponents would be unsuccessful no matter how many conspiracies they hatched against him or his family. Mr Sharif claimed it was a historic day, proving the supremacy of the Constitution and the law in Pakistan. He said that he had to face questions from Pakistan Peoples Party and during Pervez Musharrafs era and but no charges of corruption against him and his family had been proved. Our national security will be at stake if the factories running specific agenda are not be closed, he said. Mr Sharif appeared before the JIT for the first time on Thursday and recorded his statement in the Panama leaks case. Arriving at the Federal Judicial Academy, Mr Sharif greeted his supporters and waved at them. He was accompanied by his sons, Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, chief minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, and Hamza Shahbaz. Sources said that as many as 11 questions related to the Prime Ministers speeches delivered on different forums after the scandal surfaced, over the sale of Gulf Steel Mills, the real owner of Nelson and Nescol companies, Hussain Nawazs gift of millions of rupees, and the set up of various businesses in different parts of the world, were asked during the hearing. On April 20, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa announced the apex courts decision on the Panama leaks case. The order, comprising of 540 pages, showed that the court had issued a split ruling and called for the constitution of a probe panel to investigate the case further. Two of the five judges branded Mr Sharif dishonest and said he should be disqualified from running the country, but they were outnumbered. The JIT has been directed to submit a progress report after every two weeks to the apex court and it is supposed to complete the investigation within two months. by Nirmala Carvalho Sister Bina Joseph is "traumatized". The religious was detained for 12 hours along with four tribal girls. The Archdiocese of Bhopal presents an complaint to the head of state railways. The women are in the Pastoral Center. Provincial of the Carmelites: "We will continue to serve the poor." Bhopal (AsiaNews) - Bhopal Christians demand justice for Sister Bina Joseph, detained two days ago in Madhya Pradesh with the false accusation of having forced the conversion of four tribal girls with whom she was just traveling. Fr. Maria Stephen, head of the Public Relations Office of the Archdiocese of Bhopal, led a delegation of Christians to GP Singh, head of state railways. Speaking to AsiaNews Fr. Maria Stephen reports that he "has submitted a memorandum to the attention of the state official, in which we express our concerns about the incidents against Christians in recent days and the harassment of the missionary during the trip." In the paper, he continues, "we have stressed that Christians, like any other citizen of this country, have the right to travel for study, work and religious motives." The arrest of Sister Bina, of the Carmelite Congregation of St. Theresa (Csst), has upset local Christians. The religious and the four girls she accompanied were detained at Satna station while on board the Shipra Express train from Jharkhand. The railway police forced them to get off the convoy and kept them locked up at Satna Station for at least 12 hours before transporting them to the police station where they were questioned. The Hindu fundamentalists of Bajrang From the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (Vhp) and Matrushakti (Vhp's female branch) had filed a complaint of forced conversions of the girls. In this regard, Fr. Maria Stephen complains that "the police have halted the journey of Christian missionaries on the basis of a simple claim, without making appropriate verifications. All this goes against the freedom of Indian citizens. " At the end of the interrogation, the women were released because no apparent evidence was presented against them. "Now the nun and three girls - says the Archdiocese spokesman - are in the Pastoral Center, while a fourth tribal has been taken to the ChildLine Child Center, as the authorities insist on her being underage." The priest states that the situation has caused "a profound trauma to the nun and the girls". Sister Tripti, deputy provincial of the Carmelites, reports that tribals "come from poor families live in rural areas. They were going to Bhopal for a training period. " In any case, she assures, "this incident will not disorient us, we will continue to serve the poor." (Photo by Fr. Maria Stephen) by Melani Manel Perera The groups members belong to the congregation of the Holy Family. They left Jaffna for Wennappuwa, near Colombo. Here they immediately established "deep affections and friendships". For one participant, we would like more exchange programmes to create good relationships. Colombo (AsiaNews) Forty-nine members of congregation of the Holy Family founded by Pierre-Bienvenu Noailles (PBN) made a north-south journey across the island-nation to strengthen peace and foster reconciliation in the country. Participants left Jaffna in the north and travelled towards Colombo. They stopped at about 50 km from the capital, where they spent three days at the convent of Wennappuwa, staying in the homes of other members of the same Catholic community. Despite the brevity of the visit and "the difficulty of understanding a different language," they all attest to "deep affections and friendships". The trip took place on 8-10 June. The pilgrims - 30 young women and girls, 12 lay women and seven sisters came from the districts of Jaffna, Mannar and Vavuniya. For them, the meeting provided an opportunity to "share the strong love we have for each other". For this reason, "we would like more exchange programmes, Thushari, from Colombo, told AsiaNews. This way, we can build good reciprocal relationships." "A few months ago, a request came for the meeting and we welcomed it, said Sister Priyanka Perera, national head of the Holy Family Lay group (Supasa). We hope to continue this for a long time." For Sister Judith and Sister Christine, the exchange can be defined as "the good start of a long journey in which we can deepen the relationship between the provinces of Colombo and Jaffna". All the travellers were "amazed at the warm reception they received. They even decorated various places." An elderly mother received a plant as a reminder of the trip to the south. "I will plant it with love, she said, like a tree of the Holy Family. I hope this plant will become a big tree and that our family will also grow." The pilgrims did not only receive gifts, but also reciprocated the hospitality. For example, Margaret Fernando said that Quincy and Shalika, two Jaffna youths whom she hosted for a night "did not allow me to prepare breakfast. They wanted to cook pittu for me, that is a food with corn flour and coconut, and an omelette with curry. For me it was like receiving the affection of two daughters." On 8 June, the travellers were welcomed with the Aubowan, a wish of long life, followed by singing and dancing in the Sinhalese and Tamil traditions. The next day they attended Mass, celebrated by Fr Tanter. At the end of the service, they visited Santh Samaya, a home for older nuns and children, and Meth Niwesa, another home for older women. by Samir Khalil Samir There are good relations between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan. The difficulties were born and nurtured by Saudi Arabia and its Wahhabite Islam, as well as with the Muslim Brotherhoods in Egypt. Sunnism of this ilk are similar to al Qaeda and Daesh. The contribution of Christians to Arab culture involves modernity, education, the role of women in society. Arabic culture unites Christians and Muslims in the East. Rome (AsiaNews) - The series of terrorist attacks in many European cities and capitals, as well as the relentless wave of migrants seeking asylum in Europe, spurs many to fear of a possible "invasion" of Islam. Correspondingly many see an equally violent response to the violence of these attacks as the most rational move. A "war of religions" is the cliche touted passionately by many media, following the hypothesis of the "conflict of civilizations" in vogue a few years ago. In this three part analysis, Father Samir Khalil Samir, Jesuit, Islamologist, points out not tensions with Islam are not found everywhere, nor within the entire Islamic world, instead they can be traced back to historical, geographical and cultural reasons, and that there has always been a dialogical basis in the Middle East, which urgently needs to be strengthened in Europe. Part One: 1. Relations between Christians and Muslims in the East The situation is different depending on the countries. In general, however, the situation is difficult because the states are not secular, but governed by Islamic Law (shari'a), with the exception of Lebanon, the only non-Islamic Arab country. Muslim countries do not distinguish between faith and politics, between private and public. This is the greatest difficulty for us Christians: to be subjected to the Islamic system, a system that dates back to the seventh century. In Lebanon, the situation is generally good and there is a willingness to live in a friendly way. All religious groups are recognized: they can follow their norms, and there is a constitution inspired by nodernity and recognized by all groups. There is equality between the two groups. In Jordan, the situation is also relatively good, because the king is open-minded. Both his father Hussein and the present king, Abdallah, married Western, well-educated, wives of Eastern and even Christian origins. Syria has positive elements, following the Baath party founded by an Orthodox Christian (Michel Aflaq, 1910-1989) and having a secular constitution. The problem is that, for almost 50 years, the president is a Muslim of Shiite tradition (alawita), although 70% of the population is a Muslim of Sunni tradition. The fact that the constitution is secular and that all religions are respected permits, for example, every religious group to build their own places of prayer, to have their religious activities, their days of celebration; The marriage system is different according to religions, the hereditary system also. In short, there is a distinction between political life (common to all), and the different religious organization according to religious groups. Egypt, overly influenced by the al-Azhar University and the Muslim Brothers founded in 1928, is more fanatical. Everything is derived straight from Islamic Shari'a. It was not the case before, under the monarchs and even under Gamal Abdel Nasser. This changed with the amendment of the Constitution under President Sadat in 1972, with Article 2 which made shari'a the essential basis of the constitution. In addition, the Muslim Brotherhood movement is very strong in Egypt (where it was born). This movement is aimed at the Islamization of society, by all possible means. The mosques are numerous and increasingly radical, and emit imams preaching and prayers five times a day (even at 5am) with powerful megaphones. It is their form of Islamic propaganda. As for the Arab Peninsula, especially Saudi Arabia, religious intolerance is the norm based on Wahhabi fanaticism, a doctrine introduced by imam Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792), in the most rigid form of Islam , Insisting on the literal interpretation of the Koran. Many of them estimate that those who do not adopt this form of Islam are simply pagan, kafir. Characters such as Osama bin Laden, Taleban and nowadays Isis (Da'esh in Arabic) inspire to this conception of Islam, with all the violence we see from these groups. What is worse is that all these inhumane massacres are carried out in the name of God and of religion. The majority of Arab Peninsula countries follow Saudi Arabia to different degrees. Today's tragedy is that Arabia (and Qatar), with their oil wealth, widely distribute millions of dollars among every Islamic country provided they adopt the Wahhabi doctrine. And so they are destroying all the Muslim countries. 2. Arab culture unites Christians and Muslims and facilitates dialogue Christians and Muslims in the Middle East share a common Arab culture. Indeed, everyone recognizes that through the centuries Christians have played an important role in Arab culture, both during the abbasside period (750-1250) and in the modern era, in the 19th and 20th centuries. They have modernized Arabic language and thought; they have often been promoters of modern ideas and modern technologies. Everyone recognizes their contribution (especially that of Siro-Lebanese Christians, even in Egypt in the 19th and 20th centuries) in Arab society and Arab politics. This common Arab culture, and this positive contribution to renewing and modernizing culture, facilitates the relationship between the two religions. Often, however, Christians are more open to Western culture than Muslims, who have a more closed vision of life, more marked by the past, especially regarding the relationship between man and woman. In this area, as far as the woman's place is concerned, Christians have made a great contribution. Without falling into the excesses visible in the West, they have given value to the respective role of men and women. The greatest contribution of Christians to modern Arab civilization is probably in the field of education. Both in Lebanon and Egypt, Christian schools (mainly Catholic), male and female, already in the middle of the nineteenth century, have formed the most prominent personalities, Muslims and Christians. In Lebanon, the most famous universities so far have been created by Protestant Christians (such as the American University, AUB, founded in 1866) and Catholics (St. Joseph's Jesuit University, USJ, founded in 1875). In the twentieth century many Catholic colleges (founded by religious orders) emerged, beginning with the Kaslik University (USEK, founded in 1950), the Balamand Orthodox University (inaugurated in 1988), and finally the Lebanese University In 1953). The Islamic-Christian Studies Institute, founded in 1977 at St Josephs University, provides scientific information on the two religions and the relationship between the two. Students are more or less Muslim and Christian. The same goes for the professors. Some subjects are given simultaneously by two professors, one Muslim and the other Christian. This allows you to complete the point of view of one professor with that of the other professor. Having a common Arab culture, this allows Christians to better understand Muslims and Muslims to find out that Christians are not alien to the Muslim cultural world. Difficulties arise with rigorous or fanatical Muslims, more rarely with fanatical Christians. In addition, there is a common basis between Muslims and Christians of the East: faith in the one God, total trust in God. There are many common expressions that express abandonment to God's will in everything, and trust in Him : Insaliarah (if God wills!), Al-hamdu lillah (praise God!), Bi-idhn Allah (with permission of God!), Neshkor Allah (thank God!), Subhan Allah (Glory to God!), Ma Allah, (what God loves) Fi aman Allah (in the protection of God!), Rahimahu Allah (May God have pity on him for a dead person), etc. by Fady Noun The majoritarian system introduced in 1960 has been abolished to ensure greater representativeness. Parliament is expected to pass the bill tomorrow. Elections are set for May 2018. Both President Aoun and Prime Minister Hariri are satisfied. However, some critical issues remain: The age of voting has not been lowered, and there are no gender quotas. Diaspora MPs will be elected only in 2022. Beirut (AsiaNews) The agreement on a new electoral law along with the election of a president last 31 October after two years of presidential vacancy has certainly added an element of stability to Lebanons political life and the regions current geopolitical environment. A law based on proportional representation must be considered progress compared to the majoritarian system adopted in 1960. Since then, the country went through a war (1975-1990) that prevented elections for twenty years (1972-1992). The first elections were held after the Taif agreement (1990), but an institutional stalemate ended up extending the four-year mandate of the parliament elected in 2009. The bill adopted by the cabinet will be voted in parliament tomorrow, Friday, only three days before the mandate of the current assembly ends. This underscores the tensions and expectations that led to its elaboration and the pride of a head of state who had "promised" that a new electoral law "would finally come into effect". However, the nature of the law and its logistical requirements, in particular the adoption of a magnetic election card, which makes electronic voting possible, requires a "technical" rather than political extension of eleven months to the current assemblys mandate (until 20 May 2018). Lebanons next elections will therefore be held on the first Sunday of May (6 May 2018). The new law will certainly allow new faces in parliament, those who had been excluded under the majoritarian system. In principle, almost everyone is more or less satisfied, starting with the president and the prime minister. For both, this is an "historic achievement" for a quest that began in 2009. As for those who do not like the law, they will just have to resign themselves. Of course, proportional representation does not only have advantages. It can indeed disperse votes and could make Parliament ungovernable. However, the design of electoral districts should limit this possibility. Under the proposed law, Lebanon would be divided into fifteen relatively homogeneous electoral districts with, wherever possible, homogeneous communal electoral majorities: Christians (Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants), Sunni Muslims, Muslim Shias, and Druze. On the whole, the new system will allow Christians to elect a larger number of Members of Parliament in areas with Christian electoral majorities. "It is not ideal yet, but it is great progress," said Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil and Lebanese Forces Vice President Georges Adwan, who negotiated the new law with the Sunni-based Future Movement and Shia-based Hezbollah and Amal. It is a setback to the level of "living together", say supporters of a traditional Lebanon who fear sliding towards a "federation of communities" in which communal sentiments are stronger than the sense of shared nationhood. What is essential, in the eyes of President Aoun and Samir Geagea, is the increase to 50 of the number of MPs that can be elected in districts with Christian majorities (instead of the current 36 out of a total of 64, half of 128-member house in which Muslims and Christians are equally represented). As said, the system adopted does not only have advantages. Proportional representation with closed lists penalises independent candidates and smaller groups. This is the big flaw of the new law. In order to be eligible, an open list must include a number of candidates that is equal to or greater than 40 per cent of the number of seats to be filled. This could drive the independent and civil society candidates who ran in the last municipal elections to unite their efforts to counter the hegemony of traditional parties. This is the case for the Kataeb (Phalange) party and independents such as Boutros Harb (MP for Batroun), the opponents to the Hezbollah-Amal duopoly (Ibrahim Chamseddine, son of former Imam Mohammad Mehdi Chamseddine, Shia Superior Council), and the opponents to the Free Patriotic Movement, in particular former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, who is trying to carve some space on the right of Prime Minister Saad Hariri. This said, there is no need to deny the obvious: the bill, which is the result of a compromise, reflects the current balance of power, which leans in favour of Hezbollah. According to expert Tanios Chehwane, who spoke to L'Orient-Le Jour, the creation of four predominantly Shia electoral districts makes it difficult for other candidates to break out of the existing system, even with proportional representation, which the radical Shia group defended at the outset, but with Lebanon as a "single constituency", something totally unacceptable to the Christian communities. Kataeb MP Nadim Gemayel held a protest against the law, saying that Hezbollah has finally "won". On the other hand, if the representativeness of Hezbollah is not likely to be undermined, except in case of a surprise, this will not be the case for other parties, most notably the Future Movement, Walid Jumblatts Socialist Progressive Party, and even for the Patriotic Movement Free, which will almost certainly lose a number of MPs. Sign of an out-dated mind-set, the new electoral law will not lower the voting age to 18, despite the countrys youthful population, and will not introduce gender quotas. On this last point, such a step is left to each party and movement. Likewise, the new law put off the election of six MPs representing the mostly Christian Diaspora to 2022. The 11-month delay for new elections was criticised by President Michel Aoun, but has been welcomed by the Future Movement, which is trying to gain back a volatile electorate, sensitive to regional conflicts and tempted by Hezbollahs extremism. by Vladimir Rozanskij From now on, theology will be a specific discipline in academic institutions, which can issue specialization and doctoral degrees. A great victory for the Russian Orthodox Church, and especially Patriarch Kirill, who championed the cause. Shaping the culture of the nation, overcoming a formal membership of the Church. The fears of secular academics. Moscow (AsiaNews) - On June 14 the Russian Ministry of Justice issued a decree approving academic degrees in theological studies. The Minister of Education, Olga Vasileva, informed the First Pan-Russian Scientific Conference on "Theology in Humanitarian Education", as reported by the RBK correspondent. The decree stipulates that theology is not only a branch of history or philosophy, but a specific discipline that can issue specializations ("candidate") and doctoral degrees. Vasileva considers this to be "a truly historical day," and accordingly there is a need to "make every effort to prepare specialists" in the theological field. The minister also stressed the need to strengthen the theology faculties in the Russian educational and scientific fields. "In the field of education, theology develops in three directions: as an autonomous discipline (which includes a baccalaureate, masters and specialization), as a preparatory discipline in mixed learning plans, and as an optional discipline," which is taught in 51 higher schools Russians. At present, more than 4,500 people follow theology programs. "We are just at the beginning of the journey, and it is now important to clarify the stages of development and the quality of this branch of knowledge," she added. In 2015, after a strong public intervention by Patriarch Kirill (Gundjaev), theology was recognized as a scientific discipline by the Superior Commission for Certifications at the Ministry of Education and Science Research. It was possible to present the first degree theses in this discipline from 2016, when expert councils and dissertation evaluation committees were formed. On June 1st, the first official specialist ("kandidat nauk") in theology qualified, the orthodox priest Fr. Pavel Khondzinskij, dean of the Faculty of Theology of the Orthodox University of San Tikhon, who defended a thesis on the subject: "Solving Problems of Russian Theology in the Eighteenth Century, in the Synthesis of Saint Filaret, metropolitan of Moscow." Foreign dissidents and journalists were not allowed to attend the historic dissertation session. It is a great victory for the Russian Orthodox Church, and in particular Patriarch Kirill, who more than anybody had insisted on achieving this. The participation of Christian culture in the public education process was one of the qualifying points of his Patriarchate, which was inaugurated in 2009. Kirill was a young rector of the Leningrad Orthodox Theological Academy in the Seventies and has always had great sensitivity for theological studies, also thanks to his historic friendship with the Jesuits of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. In ancient times, theology was sacrificed in Russia because of the difficulty of distinguishing it from monastic ascension and avoiding the accusation of rationalism. In the 17th century, the Jesuit school theology arrived in Russia, with the formation of the Theological Academy of Petr Mogila in Kiev and the first Russian schools in Moscow and St. Petersburg, also influenced by Western theology (Latin was an academic language in Russia until the mid-nineteenth century). In the nineteenth century, the orthodox theological faculties of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, and Kazan were kept strictly separate from state universities, fearing they would contaminate the purity of orthodoxy. The first to attempt to overcome this barrier was the famous religious philosopher Vladimir Solovev, who studied on both sides, and was imitated by the great theologians before the revolution (Berdjaev, Bulgakov, Florenskij). Only today theological culture is officially part of the Russian academic world, in the midst of the disagreements of most secular professors, who see these reforms as an attempt by the Church to ideologically mould the country through formation. The hope of Patriarch Kirill and his deputy, the metropolitan Ilarion (Alfeev), is rather to use culture as a means of boosting the orthodox population's consciousness, often anchored to a purely formal vision of ecclesial belonging. By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Bourne Supremacy screenshot/Universal The cloak-and-dagger exploits of characters like James Bond and Jason Bourne have shaped our cultural idea of spy work. But these films, made mostly in the US and UK, have little to do with the reality of Australian intelligence. Public perception of groups like the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), and the Australian Geo-Spatial Intelligence Organisation (AGO) is tied intimately with their overseas counterparts, and particularly their portrayals on the silver screen. Take the Bourne movies (2002-16) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012), the latter of which offers a controversially dramatised account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Both have cast intelligence in a sinister light. The United States use of torture, shown in film through images of waterboarding and other forceful techniques, has sullied the image of American intelligence work, and by extension Australias. Despite President Donald Trumps call for their return, these practices remain disendorsed in the US and explicitly prohibited in Australia, but the taint lingers. Overreach versus oversight This bad reputation continues in Oliver Stones 2016 biopic Snowden, which portrays a man intent on uncovering the underhanded practices of the US National Security Agency (NSA) as it collected data on American citizens without clear legal sanction. Edward Snowdens revelations were widely hailed at the time as a boon for civil liberty. But anecdotal accounts indicate they have reduced trust within the Five Eyes network and damaged international relations including between Australia and Indonesia. Snowdens actions, both in reality and as depicted on screen, have contributed to a popular idea of signals intelligence as an intrusive and malign force. Yet the Australian experience stands in contrast to that perception of American counterparts, in my opinion, thanks in part to tight legislation and oversight. Most people dont realise that local intelligence agencies are held accountable through several mechanisms that have emerged over recent decades, particularly in the wake of a number of royal commissions. These include the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS), the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS), and the Intelligence Services Act (ISA), which sets out the rules governing the ASIS, ASD and the AGO. But of course this doesnt make for dramatic viewing. Laws passed in Australia to collect telecommunications metadata, although polarising, are also unlikely to make it onto the big screen. Getting intelligence right More recent movies like 2016s Eye in the Sky, featuring Helen Mirren as a British colonel, are more accurate in their depiction of the current intelligence status quo. Many of the capabilities on display in the film are real, particularly the way in which technology such as aerial sensors, signals intelligence, satellite imagery, and human agents on the ground has enabled ever more detailed, time-sensitive and actionable intelligence, and the moral questions this generates. In Eye in the Sky, Mirrens character and her bosses face choices about the relative value of a successfully targeted terrorist ringleader and an innocent child who inadvertently enters the missile target zone. Such fraught decisions can haunt intelligence practitioners for the rest of their lives. Still, the preference for exaggeration is not going away. Increasingly, the plots of shows like Homeland and House of Cards depict intelligence operations being used to coerce opponents and sully the political process. These portrayals are often accurate, to a point, demonstrating technical surveillance capabilities and the limitations of analysis that crosses cultural and linguistic boundaries. Still, directors and producers are understandably inclined towards more drama rather than less. But with so much cynicism aimed at the various intelligence agencies, thanks in part to the Jason Bournes of this world, as well as a broad range of emerging intelligence and security challenges, periodic reviews of oversight and governance arrangements are important. We must ensure that all groups tasked with border security and countering violent extremism are incorporated under existing governance arrangements like the aforementioned PJCIS and the IGIS. We should also be more transparent with the community about the purposes and function of these activities. While not yet the subject of a blockbuster film, the tragic Bataclan killings in Paris, as well as the Nice, Berlin and London vehicle attacks, point to the enduring game of cat and mouse played by terrorists and intelligence and police authorities seeking to track down an ever more wary and surveillance-savvy adversary. Recent revelations on the ABCs Four Corners program Power and Influence about the activities of China-backed organisations also point to the growing challenge of state-derived intelligence. Australias intelligence and security agencies are adapting to increasingly sophisticated threats. Perhaps the 2016 Australian miniseries Secret City is a prescient indicator of some of the nefarious deeds the future may hold for us. John Blaxland is Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies and Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at ANU. He is a former military director of joint intelligence operations and one of the authors of the three-volume history of ASIO. Originally published in The Conversation. Sales halted because the motorcycles do not conform to BS-IV regulations; replacements will arrive soon. Among the many casualties of BS-IV implementation in India are three motorcycles from Ducati. The Scrambler and Monster 821 accounted for the most affordable spectrum of Ducati's India line-up, while the Panigale 1299 and 1299 S were among the most expensive. (All prices referred to in the report are ex-Delhi.) However, the recently launched Monster 797's introductory price of Rs 7.7 lakh fills the void left by the Scramblers at the entry level. As the Monster 797 shares the same air-cooled,803cc, 75hp/68.9Nm L-twin motor, it shouldn't be long before the updated Scramblers arrive. The same goes for the Monster 821. Ducati showed off the updated, Euro IV 2017 model at EICMA last November, and a launch in India can't be far away. When the 112hp/89.4Nm Monster 821 arrives, it will serve as a rival to machines like the Rs 9 lakh Kawasaki Z900 and Rs 8.5 lakh (introductory prices) Triumph Street Triple S. However, if the old model's pricing was anything to go by, expect it to be on the premium side upwards of Rs 10.5 lakh. The range-topping Panigale 1299 and 1299 S might not have it so easy. Ducati still sells Euro III versions of those bikes in Europe thanks to something called the derogation exemptions. These allow manufacturers to sell limited numbers of a product that may be at the end of its lifecycle while compliant models are being readied. The rules allow such bikes to be sold in Europe for two years, up to a maximum 10 percent of total sales of that product over the past two years. Most manufacturers who desperately attempted to offload old BS-III stock at discounted prices before the April 1, 2017, deadline would have certainly appreciated such an allowance in India. The entire Ducati international range is now Euro IV save for the big Panigales, which will continue to sell through the derogation exemptions. Considering that the 2017 Panigale Superleggera is Euro-IV compliant, we could very well see a BS-IV compliant Panigale launch overseas if the demand arises. There's also a chance that this may not happen. That could be because of the upcoming V4 superbike that Ducati boss Claudio Domenicali announced at the 2017 MotoGP team launch in Bologna this January. Rumour has it that this V4-engined Panigale replacement will break cover at the 2017 EICMA show in November. A launch may happen in 2018 and that could be the range-topping Ducati superbike that eventually makes it to India. We explore what we think are the five best scooters available in India today. In the last decade and a half, the Indian two-wheeler market has undergone an automatic-scooter revolution. These humble two-wheeled workhorses have pretty much become the go-to bikes for everyone from college students to families. And while their rise in popularity has originally been due to their unmatched practicality and ease of riding, more recently the market has been showing signs of shaping up towards scooters that offer style and even some performance. So here are, in our opinion, the top five scooters that you can walk into showrooms and purchase today. Note: All the prices mentioned here are post-GST. Honda Activa 4G The Activa has been Hondas most popular scooter and it tops the scooter sales charts in India by a huge margin. This scooter has been so successful that, in fact, the company has sold over 1.5 crore Activas since it was launched back in 2000. And while there are three variants of the bike available right now the Activa, the Activa i and the Activa 125, our choice here is the base model. Now in its fourth generation, the Activa 4G gets a BS-IV compliant 109cc engine thats good for 7.96hp of peak power and 9Nm of peak torque. It doesnt get a huge number of features like its competition, but now the bike does finally has a mobile charging socket in its underseat storage. It also gets tubeless tyres, a combined braking system (CBS) and, thanks to the new regulations, always-on headlamps. It has an all-metal body, making it one of the sturdiest scooters available in the country. While it doesnt really shine in any single area, its easily the most recommendable scooter in our list, thanks to its jack-of-all-trades nature and bulletproof reliability. Price: Rs 50,846 (ex-showroom, Delhi) Power: 7.96hp at 7,500rpm Torque: 9Nm at 5,500rpm TVS Jupiter Believe it or not, the Jupiter is the second-highest selling scooter in India, although its sales numbers are nowhere close to those of the Honda Activa. The Jupiter is loaded to the gills with features designed to improve the scooters convenience factor, such as an external fuel-filler cap, an easy-to-use centre stand, mobile charger and even an ignition lock cover. Its telescopic front suspension and gas-filled rear monoshock ensure a well-damped ride over bumpy roads, while its larger 12-inch wheels at both ends, and long 1,275mm wheelbase, provide improved stability. TVS also claims that, at 375mm, the Jupiter offers the highest leg space amongst all scooters so even tall riders can sit comfortably. A combined braking system (called Sync Brake System in TVS-speak) is available with the drum brake version while the ZX variant gets an optional front disc brake as well. Just like the Activa, its an all-metal body scooter and is pretty much built like a tank. The performance from its 109cc motor is nothing to write home about, but TVS says it can manage a fuel efficiency figure of 62kpl. And to top it off, the company offers the Jupiter in 10 pretty classy looking colour options. Price: Rs 49,766 (ex-showroom, Delhi) (base model) Power: 8hp at 7,500rpm Torque: 8Nm at 5,500rpm Also read: TVS Jupiter review Suzuki Access 125 The Access has always been one of our favourite scooters, thanks to the ample performance from its 125cc engine and great handling characteristics. Last years update to this scooter kept all that was good and put it all into an even more attractive package. The Access gets telescopic suspension at the front and a 12-inch front wheel combined with a 10-inch rear, both shod with tubeless tyres. Suzuki has included an easy-start system which allows riders to crank the motor with a single push of the starter button. It also gets a convenient cubby at the front for storing small knickknacks. And while there is no combined braking system available on the Access, Suzuki does offer an optional front disc brake. Even with a full-steel body, the Access 125 weighs a scant 102kg, making it a very easy scooter to handle. A 2017 update has seen the Access motor become BS-IV compliant and an inclusion of an always-on headlight. Price: Rs 54,163 (ex-showroom, Delhi) (drum brake variant) Power: 8.7hp at 7,000rpm Torque: 10.2Nm at 5,000rpm Also read: Suzuki Access 125 review Yamaha Ray ZR Now the Ray ZR isnt Yamahas best-selling scooter, but its certainly the most attractive one the company makes in India. Its based on the companys Ray scooter, which was originally designed with a female target audience in mind. But to broaden its appeal to a male demographic, the ZR gets wider bodywork and some really funky two-tone colour schemes. It features a taller seat height and slightly increased ground clearance as compared to the Ray. The front gets telescopic forks, but only 10-inch wheels at both ends. It does, however, offer a front disc brake as an option. With a wet weight of 103kg, this disc brake-equipped variant is quite light and actually weighs a kilo less than the Ray Z. At 21-litres, theres lots of underseat storage space (enough to swallow a small full-face helmet) and it also has two ample-sized cubby holes in the front which can accommodate a couple of 500ml bottles. A claimed fuel efficiency of 66kpl makes it extremely frugal as well. Price: Rs 53,451 (ex-showroom, Delhi) (drum brake variant) Power: 7.2hp at 7,500rpm Torque: 8.1Nm at 5,000rpm Aprilia SR150 The Aprilia SR150 is hands-down the most fun scooter that the Indian market has ever seen. It gets a 154.8cc motor thats been derived from the one in the Vespa 150, and while it makes lesser power on paper as compared to the Vespa, its variomatic transmission has been tuned for superb performance. In a straight line, it can give some manual-geared 125cc motorcycles a run for their money. But straight-line performance is not all this scooter is good at. With big 14-inch wheels shod with sticky V-Rubber tyres, show the SR150 some corners and youll be grinning from ear to ear, though this agility comes at the cost of a stiff suspension setup. It does miss out on some practical features that weve come to expect on modern scooters, such as a brake lever lock, a remote seat release mechanism or a charging socket. But it certainly has the handling prowess and the performance to live up to its thoroughbred Italian pedigree. And for all the performance it offers, the SR150 is extremely well-priced as well. Price: Rs 67,904 (ex-showroom, Delhi) Power: 10.4hp at 6,750rpm Torque: 11.4Nm at 5,000rpm Also read: Aprilia SR150 review and watch the video. Photo by Vince Taroc. The 2017 Compass clarifies the Jeep compact SUV lineup because it's essentially replacing three vehicles the outgoing Compass, Patriot, and Liberty but it accomplishes another important feat. With a look that aligns with Jeep's Grand Cherokee, the appealing design should provide insurance companies and other branded fleets an opportunity to represent a stout corporate image. The 2017 Compass slots between the Renegade and Cherokee in the Jeep lineup and will do battle in the burgeoning smaller compact SUV niche that includes Honda's HR-V, Toyota's CR-V, and Nissan's 2017 Rogue Sport. The Compass comes in at 175.1 inches in total length. The Compass is available in three trims Sport, Latitute, and Limited with a single engine, the 2.4-liter inline-4 MultiAir that can be paired with three transmission options. The base front-wheel Compass gets a six-speed and starts at $20,995. The four-wheel Compass that starts at $24,495 offers a manual. A six-speed automatic or nine-speed automatic would add $1,500. Photo by Vince Taroc. We tested the Compass Limited 4x4 with a base price of $28,995 and the nine-speed, which provided smooth shifts in city driving even if acceleration was a bit sluggish. The Compass provides a more rugged ride that's familiar if you've driven Jeeps, but it offers more refinement that some of the brand's trail-monster vehicles. That's not to suggest that the 2017 Compass doesn't have off-road chops, if you need it. A five-mode Selec-Terrain system is standard on Limited. A Trailhawk model provides 8.5 inches of clearance and skid plates. For cargo needs, the Compass provides 22.7 cubic feet with the second row up and between 53.6 to 62.7 cubic feet with the seats folded down. The Compass can seat five with the driver relatively comfortably. FCA's standard Uconnect system is onboard with an available 8.4-inch display. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included with the larger screen. FCA will offer a $500 fleet incentive with the 2017 Compass. Photo of trio of 2018 Sonata sedans courtesy of Hyundai. Hyundai's 2018 Sonata will retail for $450 more than the 2017 mid-size sedan when it arrives this summer with several new features including blind spot detection, new body styling, and LED daytime running lights, the automaker has announced. Hyundai will offer the 2018 Sonata in four trim grades SE, SEL, Limited, and Sport and three powertrains, including the base 2.4-liter, 1.6-liter turbo Eco model, and 2.0-liter turbo engines. Hyundai pairs the base engine with a six-speed automatic, Eco model with a seven-speed dual clutch transmission, and 2.0-liter with an eight-speed automatic. In addiiton to blind spot detection, the 2018 Sonata will offer a new lane departure warning system with an available enhanced Lane Keep Assist function. BEIJING -- The State Council announced the appointment and removal of several senior officials Thursday. Sun Shaocheng was removed from the post of vice minister of civil affairs and was appointed vice minister of land and resources. Wang Bingnan was named vice minister of commerce, with Fang Aiqing removed from the post. Hou Jianguo was appointed vice director of General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Du Zhaocai was appointed assistant director of General Administration of Sports. Li Xiaohong will no longer perform as vice minister of education. Dai Bohua was removed from the post of assistant minister of finance. Yang Jiacai was removed from the post of assistant chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission. The wife of the gunman who opened fire at Pulse nightclub in Orlando is asking a judge to dismiss one of the counts that she is facing. Noor Salman is arguing that an obstruction charge against her was filed in the wrong venue. The filing, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, cites "lack of venue and accompanying memorandum, of law in support." The motion requesting the charge to be dropped was filed Monday as people across Orlando and beyond commemorated the one-year mark of the attack that killed 49 people and injured more than 50 others in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Salman's husband, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group during the attack before authorities killed him in a shootout. Noor Salman is charged with aiding her husband and obstruction for allegedly misleading investigators. Small Storm to Hit Oregon Coast, Portland Published 06/14/2017 at 7:24 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Oregon Coast) - The word from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Portland is Be prepared for the change in the weather on Thursday. This counts for most of Oregon, but especially the beaches, where a small storm more like something you'd find in March will make the Oregon coast quite breezy. Gusts along the beaches could be up to 55 mph. A system is taking shape rather quickly on Wednesday that will be an unusually strong frontal system for June, the NWS said. But a nice run of sun is in store shortly after for Portland and the beaches. This system is forecast to move through southwest Washington and northwest Oregon on Thursday, the NWS said on its website. Fairly strong gales are expected along the coast with windy conditions onshore. Gusts 40 to 50 mph are possible along the coast, possibly close to 50 or 55 mph near beaches and headlands. Gusts to 40 to 45 mph are possible in the higher terrain of the coast range and the Cascades. Gusts to 35 mph are possible in the valleys. It's resulting in a special weather statement from the NWS that includes a few warnings, even for those headed to some parts of inland Oregon for recreation. While these are not normally speeds sufficient for a wind advisory, with trees now having leafed out, some tree and limb damage is possible which could lead to a few power disruptions, the NWS said. In addition, this weather will make outdoor activities in the mountains difficult. Mountain climbing is not recommended. The Portland area will see sizable winds at times, mostly in the teens. Some gusts close to 30 mph are possible. There is also a gale warning for marine craft off the Oregon coast. The beaches will see sizable waves too, up around 12 feet. Afterwards, clouds and rain are expected to linger through Saturday for inland and the coastline. Saturday will be at least partly sunny with a high near 64 on the coast, while Sunday gets mostly sunny. Monday will be sunny with highs in the upper 60's but some drizzle at night. Tuesday and Wednesday continue with mostly sunny conditions. Portland returns to the 80s over the weekend. More Oregon Coast Weather. - Oregon Coast Lodgings for this - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Three Beaumont suspects have been booked into Jefferson and Hardin county jails in connection with the robbery of a Hardin County store earlier this week. Douglas John Martin, 21, and Shavonskie Ardoin, 23, are accused of demanding money and firing multiple shots inside Batson Grocery in Hardin County, causing damage to the store clerk's vehicle, according to Hardin County Sheriff Mark Davis. GALVESTON - The drowning of a woman after she rescued her 4-year-old son this week has revived a discussion about how to make beaches safer on the Bolivar Peninsula. Brandy Mosley, 33, of Palestine, was swept away in rough surf Monday after plucking her son from the water and handing him to a relative. The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Wednesday that a body discovered near Crystal Beach on Tuesday was Mosley. While lifeguards on Galveston Island flew red flags this week warning of dangerous swimming conditions, there are no lifeguards on Bolivar's beaches. The only safety measures are two sets of warning flags that the chamber issues to two businesses situated miles apart. Mosley's death has brought the simmering issue of beach safety to the fore, said Georgia Osten, a staffer at the Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. "There has been a heightened awareness, not just since the accident, but because we have these incidents happen every year," Osten said. Those concerns led to a meeting Wednesday of Chamber President Brenda Flanagan and peninsula residents with County Commissioner Darrell Apffel, whose First District includes the peninsula. The meeting was scheduled to discuss improvements on Texas 87, the highway that runs the length of the narrow peninsula, but Flanagan used the opportunity to raise the beach safety concerns. Maj. Douglas Hudson, who has patrolled the peninsula since 1993 for the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, said the number of beachgoers has "drastically increased over the years." For example, Hudson said, the Go Topless Jeep Weekend has exploded from between 300 and 500 Jeeps in 2005 to between 20,000 and 25,000 Jeeps along the entire beach. There have been 33 drownings or near-drownings recorded by the sheriff's office since 1995, Hudson said. Near-drownings are victims sent to the hospital who have no pulse or are near death, though the total number of fatalities isn't known because hospitals are not obligated to report deaths. There were five drownings in 2015, but the number dropped to one in 2016, and Mosley became the second so far this year. The other was a fisherman at Rollover Pass who waded into a strong current. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A 38-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after an 11-year-old relative told police he had raped her several times over the last year, a practice that allegedly began after he showed her pornography and asked her if she liked it. Silas Wirth now faces a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a young child. He remains in the Bexar County Jail on a $75,000 bail. RELATED: Early morning blaze destroys apartment home on East Side According to his affidavit, Wirth confessed to the abuse during an interview with a detective, then went back on his confession before blaming the abuse on the relative, claiming she initiated the illicit relationship. The victim, however, told police a different story. She said that the abuse began around a year ago, with the last instance occurring sometime in April, according to the affidavit. Wirth allegedly progressed from showing the victim pornography to raping her. According to the affidavit, both the victim and Wirth told police that he used sex toys on the victim at various times. Wirth also told police he took showers with the victim on multiple occasions. According to the affidavit, Wirth would sexually assault the victim while her mother was away at work and her brother was asleep. RELATED: After adopted parents' arrest, S.A. woman shares horrific story of 15+ years of sexual abuse Police were first notified of the alleged abuse on Tuesday. Later that day, a police detective interviewed Wirth about the allegations. At first, Wirth dismissed the allegations and even made a joke about them, police say. Wirth then told the detective that "any chance he got, he did it," and that "he did everything [the victim] said he did," according to the affidavit. Following the interview, police obtained a warrant for his arrest on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child. Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com cdowns@mysa.com Twitter: @calebjdowns A study, published in BMC Anesthesiology, examined how anesthesiology residents break bad news in relation to critical incidents. Yanda Yazbeck Karam, MD, of the Lebanon-based Lebanese American University School of Medicine, and colleagues studied how anesthesiology residents broke bad news to patients through a simulator and through role-play situations. Researchers analyzed the communication skills of 16 residents through videotaped standardized patient encounters at baseline and after an educational intervention. The residents also completed surveys of their communication abilities. Here's what you should know: 1. Using the GRIEV_ING checklist, post-test scores were higher than pretest scores. 2. The post-test scores were also higher using communication global rating as a metric. 3. The GRIEV_ING checklist said residents had acceptable inter-rater degree of agreement among rater and internal consistency reliability. 4. Performance was not related to work experience or previous experience breaking bad news. Researchers concluded, "Anesthesiology residents communication skills when breaking bad news in relation to a critical incident may be improved with educational interventions based on immersive experiences with a high fidelity simulator and role-play with standardized patients." More articles on anesthesia: Dr. Boris Yaguda named Leading Physician of the World 3 insights ProCare Systems, Inc. rebrands as ProCare Pain Solutions North Carolina pain clinic adds provider 3 key notes Manatt Health believes Montana's Medicaid program could lose $4.8 billion in federal funding by 2026 if the American Health Care Act becomes law. Here's what you should know: 1. The loss could cause more than 70,000 adults to lose their coverage by 2026 as well. 2. The AHCA would reduce Montana's Medicaid problem by a third. To make up a portion of the losses, Montana's government may have to reduce funding to other programs. 3. The Montana Healthcare Foundation commissioned the report. More articles on coding, billing and collections: FBI investigates Zomm Health over $3M in falsified medical claims 5 key notes CMS says AHCA will leave 13M uninsured, 10M less than CBO estimates Pain management in 2017: Tips for thriving despite the challenges The Taiwan Government Industrial Development Bureau awarded CellMax Life a $760,846 grant for its cancer detection platform. CellMax Life is using the grant to increase automation and commercialization efforts for its early cancer circulating tumor cell detection platform CellMax CMx. Here's what you should know: 1. The company is using its device initially to detect colorectal cancer. 2. The company wants to increase CRC screening compliance for high-risk populations and for people over 50 years old. 3. In high-risk patients, a clinical study showed the CMx Platform correctly identified patients with colorectal cancer 90 percent of the time. 4. President and CEO of CellMax Life Atul Sharan said in a release, "This is additional recognition that our CTC Technology is enabling early cancer detection in the high-growth cancer diagnostics area." More articles on gastroenterology: Boston Scientific continues to pour money into endoscopy Why? GI leader to know: Dr. Cynthia Wait of Illinois Gastroenterology Group XBiotech discontinues its phase III trial & more 6 GI company key notes Developer Brian Lichterman and his associates plan to expand in the Sarasota, Fla., region through a new ASC and medical office building, according to the Herald Tribune. Here are five insights: 1. The surgery center is 17,000 square feet. 2. Florida's Agency of Healthcare Administration approved Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial's application to build a 110-bed hospital in Venice back in December 2016. 3. In December 2016, the state Agency of Healthcare Administration also approved applications for Venice Regional's plan to move 210 of its existing 312 beds to its new hospital campus. Both hospitals have challenged each other's state approval. 4.To build the ASC and office building, Mr. Lichterman must apply to Sarasota County for a small area comprehensive plan amendment and change in zoning. 5. Currently, the lot is zoned for moderate density residential and undefined commercial centers. In a letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma sent Tuesday, the American Hospital Association urged CMS to "hold Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors accountable." The Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program's mission is to correct improper Medicare payments by identifying and collecting over- and underpayments. The program's auditors are paid a contingency fee for denying hospital claims. They receive the financial reward even when denials are later found to be in error. Healthcare providers have the option to appeal recovery auditors' findings, and HHS' Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals administers hearings concerning denied Medicare claims. Claim denials that reach the third of five possible levels of the appeals process are brought before administrative law judges, who issue decisions regarding coverage determinations. In its letter to CMS, the AHA advocated for penalizing auditors who have high overturn rates at the administrative law judge level. "The AHA urges the administration to revise the RAC contracts to incorporate a financial penalty for poor performance by RACs, as measured by administrative law judge appeal overturn rates," the letter stated. This isn't the first time the AHA has pressed for changes to the RAC program. In 2014, the AHA sued HHS over the Medicare appeals backlog and a federal judge granted the AHA's motion for summary judgment in the case last year. The judge ordered HHS to incrementally reduce the backlog of appeals pending before OMHA over the next four years, reducing the backlog by 30 percent by the end of 2017; 60 percent by the end of 2018; 90 percent by the end of 2019; and to completely eliminate the backlog by Dec. 31, 2020. In March, HHS said in a court filing that it will not be able to meet the deadlines imposed by the court for clearing the appeals backlog. HHS appealed the order to clear the backlog, and an appellate court heard oral arguments in the case in May. More articles on healthcare finance: CHI Health closes Nebraska hospital, opens new ED Lawsuit claims CHS failed to provide up to $110M in charity care Dana-Farber operating income plunges 66% on unplanned costs of CMS review Massachusetts hospitals are speaking out against two proposed bills that would require some nonprofits to pay more in property tax, according to the Worcester Business Journal. The first bill, proposed by Rep. David Nangle (D-Mass.), would allow towns to charge a 50 percent tax liability to nonprofit organizations that pay their five top earning employees more than $2.5 million cumulatively. The second bill, proposed by Rep. Stephen Kulik (D-Mass.), would allow municipalities to collect 25 percent of the amount that would be paid in property tax from property tax-exempt organizations, according to the report. Both bills are strongly opposed by nonprofits, including Massachusetts hospitals, who argue their organizations support the community by providing essential services rather than paying property tax, according to the report. "It's clear non-profit organizations are the lifeblood of the commonwealth and the cornerstone of every community," Michael Sroczynski, vice president of government advocacy of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, told the Worcester Business Journal. "The fact that these organizations receive tax exemption at the state and federal level is in recognition of the public good they offer to society and the help they provide to our most vulnerable residents." Healthcare organizations across the globe are more susceptible than ever to hacks and data breaches, which can cost a hospital or health system millions to fix and damage their reputation. As a result, hospitals are investing more in cybersecurity and risk management services. Organizations face internal threats from email scams, cloud sharing and lost mobile devices, as well as external threats such as hackers. The global healthcare cybersecurity market is expected to reach $10.8 billion by 2020, according to a Grand View Research report. If you'd like your company to be added to this list, contact Laura Dyrda at ldyrda@beckershealthcare.com and Jess Cole at jcole@beckershealthcare.com. Here are more than 100 cybersecurity companies in the healthcare space, listed in alphabetical order. Absolute (Vancouver, Canada). Absolute offers near real-time security breach remediation. The company's Absolute Persistence product, a self-healing endpoint security technology, provides IT personnel control over devices and data. The company's cloud-based visibility allows for remote IT asset management and security for healthcare providers, including support from its healthcare information security and privacy practitioners and ASIS-certified protection professionals. Agari (San Mateo, Calif.). Agari allows companies to secure themselves and customers from advanced phishing attacks. The Agari Email Trust Platform helps healthcare organizations verify trusted email identities and stop threats of identity deception. AlienVault (San Mateo, Calif.). AlienVault is the provider of Unified Security Management, a comprehensive approach to security monitoring, and the AlienVault Open Threat Exchange, an open threat intelligence community enabling collaborative defense with community-powered threat data. USM is designed to monitor cloud, hybrid cloud and on-premises environments. AllClear ID (Austin, Texas). AllClear ID provides breach response and customer identity protection services. The company notifies customers in the event of identity theft and assigns a dedicated investigator to initiate any dispute processes, recover financial losses and restore credit reports to the pre-fraud state. Arxan (San Francisco). Arxan offers application attack-prevention and self-protection products for the internet of things with mobile and desktop applications. The company aims to protect customers from financial loss, fraudulent transactions, stolen credentials and internet protocol theft. In the healthcare space, Arxan offers protection for embedded apps in medical devices. Attivo Networks ThreatDefend (Fremont, Calif.). The ThreatDefend Deception and Response Platform is a powerful security control for an active defense, which provides early threat detection and changes the asymmetry against attackers. The Attivo Networks deception solution takes an innovative approach to detection by dynamically setting traps and lures to create a virtual hall of mirrors, altering an attackers reality and imposing increased cost as they are forced to decipher what is real versus fake. The ThreatDefend platform is unique in that it provides visibility throughout the attack lifecycle and detects activity that has bypassed traditional security controls. Designed for the most sophisticated human and automated attackers, the Attivo Networks deception technology is proven at global scale by Fortune 500 customers to accurately and efficiently detect threats. High-interaction engagement technology is used to substantiate each detection, provide high-fidelity alerts, automate attack analysis. Extensive 3rd party integrations complete the cycle of an active defense with attack information sharing and automation to simplify incident response. Auth0 (Bellvue, Wash.). Auth0 is a HIPAA-compliant service that healthcare organizations can use with their business associates when handling protected healthcare information. The company provides authentication for third-party business associates and ensures all data transfers are HIPAA-compliant. Axway (Phoenix). The Axway Amplify Platform is a data and engagement platform that can provide real-time operational intelligence and API lifestyle management. In the healthcare space, the Axway Amplify can help eliminate silos, overcome interoperability challenges, accelerate meaningful use and promote patient engagement with health information. Barracuda Networks (Campbell, Calif.). Barracuda Networks offers solutions to solve IT problems including content security, networking and application delivery and data storage, protection and disaster recovery. The Barracuda Web Application Firewall provides secure access to patient portals while the Barracuda NextGen Firewall F secures network devices against persistent threats, malware and zero-day exploits. Barrier1 (Minneapolis). Barrier1's Real-Time Intelligent Threat Management and the Advanced Analytics Reactive Engine platforms are designed to protect against security breaches. The technology inspects traffic type and dataflow to stop malware and viruses; analyzes the real time data flow; and inspects the network with multiple methods of authentication. The company's customers include hospitals, clinics and specialty providers with MRI and CT Scans from multiple hospitals and clinics. Battelle (Columbus, Ohio). Battelle is a nonprofit research and development organization that includes a team of experts devoted to medical device cybersecurity. The team members, led by a certified ethical hacker, hacks into medical devices to help manufacturers identify vulnerabilities in the software, mitigate cybersecurity risks and help design new products. Bayshore Networks (Bethesda, Md.). Bayshore offers solutions for a variety of cyber initiatives, including industrial asset visibility, cybersecurity protection and managed remote access. The company aims to help clients eliminate cyber threats and risks while preparing to achieve industrial internet of things maturity. BeyondTrust (Phoenix). BeyondTrust delivers cybersecurity solutions designed to reduce risks and act against internal and external data breach threats. The company offers an integrated risk intelligence platform to identify critical risks and provide information for the company. In the healthcare space, BeyondTrust's PowerBroker privileged account management solution enforces lbest practices; its Retina vulnerability management solutions allows the healthcare IT security team to identify exposure, analyze the business impact and conduct remediation. BIO-key (Wall Township, N.J.). BIO-key offers biometric software and hardware solutions to strengthen user authentication. The company's products include finger scanning devices for authentication in addition to passwords, PINs tokens and cards for customers to secure their devices. Bitglass (Campbell, Calif.). The Bitglass Cloud Access Security Broker solution enables organizations to ensure security and regulatory compliance when using cloud apps. Founded in 2013, the company aims to protect corporate data on managed and unmanaged devices. Bitglass's platform can help healthcare professionals with multiple hospital affiliations access files on any device and maintain visibility and control of their data. BlueCat (Grapevine, Texas). BlueCat centralizes and automates domain name server services so organizations can leverage the DNS data for increased visibility, control and compliance. The company takes a software-centric approach to information security and promotes interoperability to manage complex network structures. In the healthcare arena, BlueCat allows organizations to centrally manage and track wired and wireless networks and devices. Bradford Networks (Boston). Bradford Networks' network entry solution is designed to continuously assess risks of all users and endpoints. The technology integrates with existing endpoint security, firewall and threat detection solutions through the SmartEdge Platform. Bromium (Cupertino, Calif.). Bromium focuses on the global enterprise security market and its Bromium Secure Platform protects against all advanced malware. The company's solution can secure patient data and minimize breaches across the healthcare industry. CA Technologies (New York City). CA Technologies works with healthcare organizations on digital transformation initiatives to prevent cybersecurity attacks while still providing streamlined access to authorized employees and partners. The company has worked with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives and GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines in the healthcare space. Centripetal (Herndon, Va.). Centripetal's core networking technologies are designed to simplify cyber intelligence collection and management to stop unwanted network traffic. The company's QuickThreat Gateway combines proprietary software and hardware to detect and enforce 5 million threat indicators. CipherCloud (San Jose, Calif.). CipherCloud's comprehensive multicloud security platform integrates advanced data protection, adaptive policy controls, monitoring and cloud risk analysis to secure organizations in financial services, insurance and healthcare industries, among others. CipherCloud works with healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers to safeguard private health information while maintaining HIPAA compliance. Citrix (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Citrix provides a secure digital workspace to unify apps, data and services necessary for productive organizations while allowing IT personnel to manage complex cloud environments. The workspace as a service company developed a platform for enterprise file synchronization and sharing with users across all business segments. The Citrix Windows apps solution allows healthcare organizations to securely deliver apps to diverse mobile devices including tablets and smartphones. The company's Enterprise Mobility Management Technologies provides security for bring-your-own-device environments. Clearwater Compliance (Nashville, Tenn.). The American Hospital Association endorsed Clearwater Compliance as a leading provider of hospital and health system compliance and cybersecurity management solutions. The company has implemented systems in hundreds of hospitals and health systems, Fortune 100 organizations and the federal government. Coalfire (Westminster, Colo.). Coalfire is the cybersecurity advisor that helps covered entities and business associates avert threats, close gaps, and effectively manage risk. By providing independent and tailored advice, compliance assessments, technical testing and cyber engineering services, the company secures health data throughout the care continuum. Coalfire is one of the original HITRUST CSF assessor firms with the experience required to efficiently manage successful certifications. Code42 (Minneapolis). Code42 is a software as a service solution designed to back up distrusted end-user data on a secure platform. The company's software can protect files across Mac, Windows and Linux laptops and desktops automatically to limit risks and meet data privacy regulations. Comodo (Clifton, N.J.). Comodo has more than 100 million installations of its security product in healthcare as well as other industries. Comodo's technology authenticates, validates and secures networks and infrastructures around the world, designed to solve advanced malware threats, both known and unknown. CORL Technologies (Atlanta). Founded in 2012, CORL Technologies provides vendor security risk management solutions as part of the vendor risk management program. The program allows healthcare organizations to monitor vendor risk, ease compliance audits and improve executive-level communications and risk analytics reporting. Cryptzone (Waltham, Mass.). Cryptzone focuses on identity-centric security solutions to protect information from internal and external threats. The company uses a software-defined perimeter model to protect applications and content from threats, which can also streamline operations and lower costs. In the healthcare space, Cryptzone's network, application and content solutions are designed to encrypt data, restrict access to private information and share documents in a HIPAA-compliant way. Cybereason (Boston). Cybereason's platform can identify a single component of an attack and connect it to other information in the system to shut down the attacker's entire campaign. The platform is designed to quickly build the complex attack story and simplify the resolution process. Cylance (Irvine, Calif.). Cylance is an artificial intelligence-driven endpoint detection and response solution designed to predict and prevent cyberattacks. The company's products are designed to secure the entire healthcare infrastructure, working across Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X to integrate with existing security information and event management platforms. Cymmetria (Palo Alto, Calif.). Cymmetria develops comprehensive cyber deception solutions based on breadcrumbs and decoys to lead attackers away from targets. Founded in 2014, the company aims to change the asymmetry of cybersecurity to reduce the odds hackers are left vulnerable information. CynergisTek (Austin, Texas). CynergisTek is a cybersecurity and privacy consulting firm. The company helps organizations assess privacy and security risk programs with regulatory requirements as well as develop best practices for risk management. CynergisTek was named Best in KLAS for Cyber Security Advisory Services in 2017. DarkOwl (Denver). DarkOwl is an information security company specializing in darknet (or "dark web") intelligence. Founded in 2009, DarkOwl has built the world's largest commercially available database of darknet content. Their database allows clients to search the darknet without accessing it directly, which is both difficult and dangerous. Their darknet platform also allows clients to passively monitor the darknet for their sensitive information, enabling near real-time awareness of any potentially breached information. Dataguise (Fremont, Calif.). Dataguise provides a solution for global data governance, allowing organizations to detect, protect and monitor sensitive data in real time on the premises and in the cloud. Healthcare organizations can use the company's Hadoop product to streamline and analyze billing data to reduce costs and fraud incidents; digitize patient records; and incorporate sensor and internet of things health monitoring data. DataMotion Health (Florham Park, N.J.). DataMotion Health enables providers to communicate more efficiently across the care continuum. DataMotion provides secure messaging and connectivity solutions to exchange protected health information for clinical use and to deliver improved care at reduced costs. DB Networks (San Diego). DB Networks aims to protect databases from insider threats and cyberattacks. Founded in 2009, the company launched the first signatureless database cybersecurity product in 2013 and has received a patent for its approach to database protocol information extraction. Last year, the company launched its first artificial intelligence-based agentless database activity monitoring to protect against cyberattacks. DeviceLock (San Roman, Calif.). Established in 1996, DeviceLock provides endpoint device and portal control as well as data leak prevention software. The company has more than 70,000 licensed customers and a presence in the finance, medical, pharmaceutical and government markets. Digital Defense (San Antonio). Digital Defense's Frontline Vulnerability Manager is a service platform designed to scan for vulnerabilities and provide penetration testing for organizations. The company's Frontline Social Testing promotes security-minded behaviors among employees. Overall, the company aims to safeguard data and ease burdens associated with maintaining information security. DomainTools (Seattle). DomainTools examines network indicators and connects them with other active domains to develop risk assessments, identify attackers, assist in fraud investigations and map cybersecurity activity to attacker infrastructure. The company works with U.S. government agencies and contracts in addition to companies in the financial and healthcare space. Duo Security (Ann Arbor, Mich.). Duo Security aims to secure organizations that operate in the cloud and manage a bring-your-own-device environment. Duo is a software as a service company that orchestrates two-factor authentication to help healthcare organizations maintain and share information in a HIPAA-compliant fashion. eSentire (Cambridge, Ontario). eSentire is a pure-play managed detection and response service provider that protects organizations from the constantly evolving cyberattacks technology alone can't prevent. The company provides a 24-7 security operations center staffed by analysts to investigate and respond to threats in real time. ESET (Bratislava, Slovakia). ESET was founded as an antivirus protection company and has expanded to include security solutions for customers in more than 200 countries. ESET's solution for healthcare companies protects against data breaches and can be deployed across multiple operating systems and endpoints. EnSilo (San Francisco). EnSilo provides a comprehensive endpoint security platform to automatically respond to and eliminate complex security issues. The system also provides post-attack protection to avoid data theft or ransom. For healthcare organizations, the company's real-time endpoint security platform protects sensitive data in compliance with HIPAA standards. Exabeam (San Mateo, Calif.). The Exabeam Security Intelligence Platform provides security intelligence and management solutions. Exabeam's platform can detect and respond to insider threats, track behavior analytics, protect against data loss, conduct breach investigations and report on data security compliance. The company earned SC Magazine's 2017 Best Emerging Technology award and was a finalist in the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards in 2017 for security analytics and threat hunting categories. FireMon (Overland Park, Kan.). FireMon's Security Management Platform seeks to improve security while reducing operational costs through analytics, simulation and automation. The company focuses on protecting cloud-bound enterprises with next generation security intelligence. Flexera Software (Itasca, Ill.). Flexera Software aims to help enterprises and application producers increase application usage and security. The company has more than 80,000 customers in a variety of industries. Flexera's FlexNet Producer Suite is designed for intelligent device manufacturers as an end-to-end solution for software licensing, entitlement management and device lifecycle management. ForeScout (Cupertino, Calif.). ForeScout's approach to security protects organizations against emerging threats with the ForeScout CounterACT. The company's technology assesses, remediates and monitors devices continuously and works with disparate security tools to accelerate incidence response. More than 2,400 customers in 60 countries use ForeScout technology for network security and compliance. Healthcare organizations use the technology to secure agentless medical devices and mobile computing against cyberattacks. ForgeRock (San Francisco). ForgeRock is a digital identity management company that works with organizations to adopt the ForgeRock Identity Platform. The platform allows healthcare providers to create secure digital identities for patients that collects data from apps, wearables and digital health and wellness services. Fox Technologies (Grand Rapids, Mich.). Fox Technologies aims to help companies protect corporate information assets with network security and access management software. The company also works with organizations to simplify compliance and streamline administration with its access management and account control solution. In May, the company launched Release 7.1 of its Privileged Access Management Solution to address new web-scale infrastructures used in global financial institutions, government, healthcare, telecommunication, energy and technology companies. General Dynamics IT (Fairfax, Va.). General Dynamics IT's cybersecurity operations provide service support to select the best security systems, develop data protection policies and monitor their networks. The company provides cybersecurity for the Department of Defense, local and state governments and select commercial customers. The company provides its full security services in the General Dynamics Health Solutions package to secure hospitals' systems and protect information. GigaTrust (Herndon, Va.). Founded in 2000, GiaTrust provides security software to protect emails and attachments, documents, administrative oversight and compliance tools. The company provides a software as a service secure document rendering experience inside and outside of an enterprise's network. Globalscape (San Antonio). Globalscape was founded in 1996 and since then has grown to provide information exchange software and services to more than 13,000 customers in more than 150 countries. The company focuses on providing secure data transfer through its managed file transfer platform for on-premises, cloud or hybrid deployments. Globalscape also offers electronic funds transfer for healthcare organizations including secure and compliant data management, data integration, automation management, workflow management and real-time activity monitoring and tracking. GreyCastle Security (Troy, N.Y.). GreyCastle Security is a risk management company with cybersecurity capabilities. The company provides a team of cybersecurity experts, a client portal to view cybersecurity efforts, custom security roadmaps, an incident response team and an account manager to maximize the cybersecurity program. The company also provides HIPAA risk assessments, 24/7 breach and incident response, HIPAA security training and policy development. GuardiCore (San Francisco). GuidiCore focuses on data center innovation and cloud security to deliver accurate and effective solutions to stop advanced threats. The company's real-time breach detection and response software was developed by cybersecurity experts to fight attacks in an organization's data center. Gurucul (Segundo, Calif.). Companies around the globe use Gurucul technology to detect insider threats, cyber fraud, internet protocol theft and external attacks. The company's technology includes user behavior analytics and identity access intelligence that includes machine learning anomaly detection and predictive risk-scoring algorithms to prevent unnecessary access and breaches. Haystack Informatics (Philadelphia). Haystack Informatics was founded out of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to provide solutions for monitoring patient privacy. Haystack professionals analyze interactions between hospital staff and patients to identify privacy violations and security risks. The team uses multiple detection engines to identify inappropriate behavior and reinforces employee training in privacy matters. HID Global (Austin, Texas). HID Global provides identity security solutions to governments and hospitals as well as educational and financial institutions. The company provides information security solutions to hospitals, mobile device use, visitor management and HIPAA-compliant medical record security and also gives suppliers secure access to the appropriate data. HITRUST Alliance (Frisco, Texas). HITRUST Alliance is a nonprofit organization leading advocacy efforts and educational support to safeguard healthcare information and manage risk. HITRUST was founded in 2007 to protect health information systems and exchanges, providing access to common risk and compliance management, de-identification frameworks and related assessment and assurance methodologies. Hortonworks (Santa Clara, Calif.). Hortonworks creates and supports enterprise-ready open data platforms and modern data applications. Founded in 2011, the company provides services to Oracle, Microsoft and Red Hat, a multinational software company. Interset (Ottawa, Ontario). Interset's platform can correlate multiple data classes and link security events to users, machines, applications and files to identify threats and remove false positives. The technology is designed to stop sensitive data theft. Interset has partnered with Toledo, Ohio-based Promedica; Huntington, W.Va.-based Valley Health System; and San Francisco-based Dignity Health, among other healthcare providers. Invincea (Fairfield, Va.). Invincea is an endpoint security software company focused on eliminating enterprise IT threats. More than 25,000 customers use its X by Invincea solution with Performance-Built-In to combine machine learning and behavioral monitoring that covers endpoint security blind spots. Healthcare organizations can use the technology to protect patient information and stop ransomware attacks. Ixia (Calabasas, Calif.). Ixia was founded in May 1997 to provide testing, visibility and security solutions for governments, service providers and network equipment manufacturers. The company helps customers manage IT and protect against security threats with technologies for mobile devices, cloud security, internet of things management and improved network visibility. Liberty Investigation Forensic and Response Services (New York City). LIFARS is a global digital forensics and cybersecurity intelligence firm that provides cybersecurity solutions. The company conducts digital forensic investigations, incidence response services, web application security testing, digital risk assessments and academic research to optimize an organization's digital infrastructure. LightCyber (Ramat Gan, Israel). Cyberwarfare experts founded LightCyber in 2011 to help security analysts identify attacks on their networks. The LightCyber Magna behavioral attack detection platform provides security visibility into advanced or targeted attacks as well as insider threats and malware that circumvent traditional security controls. LookingGlass Cyber Solutions (Reston, Va.). LookingGlass Cyber Solutions protects global enterprises and government agencies against cyberattacks. The company provides healthcare organizations with a team of analysts through its Threat Intelligence Analysis and Management system to identify potential security threats, analyze multiple threat factors and indicators and develop a plan to mitigate threats in real time. MedCrypt (Encinitas, Calif.). MedCrypt provides application programming interfaces to encrypt data sent from devices and allows customers to assign unique keys to every actor in the system and monitor what devices are doing remotely in real time. After installation in the device, MedCrypt Nodes communicates with the company's centralized transaction monitoring service to look for anomalous behavior. Meditology Services (Atlanta). Meditology Services provides consulting and management advisory to large hospitals and healthcare organizations across the country. Meditology's experts in IT risk management and healthcare IT consulting focus on assessing and developing security and compliance programs. Menlo Security (Palo Alto, Calif.). Menlo Security's Isolation Platform contains and eliminates malware while giving a completely native experience. The company's platform uses the isolation model to ensure malware doesn't reach the endpoint to access patient data at hospitals, allowing administrators to expand internet capabilities without risking data security issues. Microsoft (Redmond, Wash.). Microsoft invests more than $1 billion in security research and development each year and created the Microsoft Enterprise Cyber Security Group to develop solutions for Microsoft customers. The company opened its Cyber Defense Operations Center in 2015 and works with healthcare organizations' C-suites to support a culture of cybersecurity. MicroStrategy (Washington, D.C.). MicroStrategy provides enterprise analytics and mobility software to clients worldwide. Healthcare organizations use MicroStrategy's enterprise solution to boost operational efficiency, expand businesses and improve the quality of care and patient experience. The company's healthcare solutions focus on supply chain management, revenue cycle optimization, hospital operations, population health management and claims analysis. Mimecast (Watertown, MA). Mimecast makes business email and data safer for customers worldwide. Founded in 2003, the companys next-generation cloud-based security, archiving and continuity services protect email and deliver comprehensive email risk management. With Mimecast healthcare organizations can respond to industry risks by safeguarding protected health information, preventing advanced attacks like ransomware, archiving email and keeping employees connected during a mail server outage. Mimecast also meets healthcare privacy regulations having completed the HIPAA security compliance assessment. NCC Group (Manchester, United Kingdom). Formed in 1999, NCC Group provides expertise in cybersecurity and risk mitigation. The company has more than 35 offices and 15,000 clients worldwide, providing a variety of services including internet of things consultancy. NetScout (Westford, Mass.). NetScout's Adaptive Service Intelligence optimizes a hospital's analytics platforms to identify signs of outages in the hospital's network before they happen to diagnose and repair the issues quickly. The technology could prevent issues with a surgical robot powering down in the middle of surgery or video screens going dark during a procedure. Netskope (Los Altos, Calif.). Netskope has a patented cloud-scale security platform designed to provide governance of all cloud usage while allowing real-time access to updates from the corporate network, remotely or from mobile apps. The company works with Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente among other healthcare clients to protect against threats in the cloud and detect unusual data movement or activity. Netwrix (Irvine, Calif.). Netwrix Auditor, a visibility platform for data security and risk management, provides clients with security analytics to detect anomalies in user behavior and investigate threat patterns. The Netwrix Auditor's solutions are HIPAA compliant. Nexthink (Switzerland). Nexthink's Nexthinker is designed to help organizations reduce health information breach incidents and improve security and compliance. In the healthcare space, Nethink helps institutions secure protected health information, ensures HIPAA compliance, reduces risk for HITECH penalties and facilitates bring-your-own-device adoption for physicians and clinicians. NTT Security (Ismaning, Germany). NTT Security offers security, risk and compliance services to help organizations meet immediate challenges in data security. The company's technology solutions team works alongside consulting services to give advice on the appropriate solutions for risk management. Okta (San Francisco). Okta's IT products use identity information to grant access to applications on any device at any time while enforcing strong security protections. The platform connects companies to customers and partners securely. Okta works with CMS, New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System and Nashville, Tenn.-based Envision Healthcare, among other healthcare customers, to provide adaptive multifactor authentication and HIPAA-compliant cloud identity solutions. OPSWAT (San Francisco). OPSWAT focuses on technologies to protect clients against cyberattacks. The company's solutions secure and manage IT infrastructure by scanning for known threats with anti-malware engines and sanitizing documents to prevent unknown threats. Osirium (Theale, United Kingdom). Osirium's software development team aims to fill the virtual air gap for privileged account access. The company was founded in 2008 and focuses on cybersecurity and hybrid-cloud automation technology as well as privileged protection and task-automated solutions. Ostendio (Arlington, Va.). Ostendio serves primarily healthcare clients, including WellDoc, the American College of Cariology and Higi. The company's MyVCM Cybersecurity and Information Management platform uses behavioral analytics to drive employee and vendor engagement. Ostendio's solution manages all aspects of security and allows organizations to report their security profile to internal and external stakeholders. PhishLabs (Charleston, S.C.). PhishLabs is a 24/7 service that protect organizations against cyberattacks targeting employees or customers. Founded in 2008, the company provides a full range of services to detect attacks, identify attack operations and mitigate underlying infrastructure to stop the threat. The company also provides services and training specific to protecting patient and healthcare provider information. Praetorian (Austin, Texas). Praetorian's solutions aim to identify and solve cybersecurity problems enterprisewide. The company's technical engineers and developers offer security expertise to minimize risk across digital assets. Praetorian offers corporate and product security solutions unified through its software platform. In the healthcare space, the company works with medical device manufacturers to identify and address vulnerabilities. Prevalent Networks (Warren, N.J.). Prevalent Networks focuses on risk management through a product suite focused on automated vendor risk assessment, continuous vendor threat monitoring and vertical vendor networks. Healthcare organizations can use Prevalent Vendor Risk Management to better manage and monitor third- and fourth-party business associate risks. PriorityOne Group (Rutherford, N.J.). PriorityOne Group manages, implements and provides integrated IT services to healthcare organizations in and around Bergen County, N.J. The company focuses on guiding providers, including ASCs, through HIPAA compliance, product integration and technology acquisition. Proficio (Carlsbad, Calif.). Proficio provides always-on cybersecurity protection and services to help customers detect and respond to or prevent security breaches. For healthcare industry clients, the company provides round-the-clock managed security services to protect confidential patient information and maintain HIPAA compliance. Promisec (Boston). Promisec is an endpoint system, software asset management and compliance company that aims to help organizations avoid cyberthreats and attacks that lead to data breaches. The company's technology provides secure endpoints and clean audits to meet regulatory compliance standards. Protegrity (Stamford, Conn.). Protegrity aims to develop solutions to protect data throughout its lifecycle without disrupting workflow. The company can provide security across big data clusters, cloud environments, databases and mainframes. The Protegrity data security platform can protect sensitive healthcare data through tokenization and encryption technologies. Prot-On (Spain). Prot-On provides a solution to protect files, decide who has access to files and track file activity. Healthcare organizations use Prot-On to securely store and communicate patient and prescription information as well as share health records with patients. Protenus (Baltimore). Protenus' platform proactively monitors and protects patient privacy in EHRs. The company's technology uses artificial intelligence to understand how the workforce accessed patient records in the EHR. Pulse Secure (San Jose, Calif.). Pulse Secure provides secure access solutions to enterprises and service providers. The company's virtual private network, network access control and mobile security products are designed for data security. In the healthcare space, Pulse Secure provides medical-grade network visibility and control solutions to support a bring-your-own-device environment and can ensure security for the internet of things. Risk Based Security (Richmond, Va.). Risk Based Security focuses on risk identification and security management tools to protect a variety of clients, including drug companies and healthcare providers. Founded in 2011, the company offers a full set of analytics and dashboards designed to identify security risks by industry. The company provides several HIPAA- and HITECH-compliant solutions for protecting patient data. RiskIQ (San Francisco). RiskIQ focuses on digital threat management, offering the RiskIQ Community Edition giving security analysts free access to the company's solutions within a collaborative online environment. RiskIQ provides a comprehensive digital threat management platform for healthcare providers to audit, discover, monitor, investigate and mitigate threats. RiskSense (Albuquerque, N.M.). RiskSense focuses on reducing cyberattacks and security risks. Cybersecurity practitioners founded the company as a spin-off of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, which originally conducted research as a service projects. Since then, the company has developed to advise the Department of Defense and intelligence community and create the RiskSense platform. The company also partners with healthcare organizations that have limited resources to protect against cyberattacks. Rogue Wave Software (Boulder, Colo.). Founded in 1989, Rogue Wave has grown into a global company focused on cross-platform software development tools and embedded components. The company provides life science and medical companies with necessary tools and consulting expertise to accelerate the time it takes to bring their devices to market as well as achieve accurate and reliable results. Rsam (Secaucus, N.J.). Rsam sets the foundation for enterprise risk management and includes intuitive templates to deploy in complex situations. The company offers audit management, compliance, risk management, security incident response and vendor risk management, among other services. In the healthcare space, Rsam delivers a comprehensive risk assessment tool and establishes repeatable and consistent processes to support compliance and an enterprisewide incident management program. Rubicon Labs (San Francisco). Founded in 2012, Rubicon Labs' Zero-Knowledge Platform provides abstract key management services. The company's authorization capabilities, device security services and software can secure physicians' devices as well as medical devices to prevent hacking. Seclore (Sunnyvale, Calif.). Seclore focuses on document protection to allow organizations to collaborate securely. Pharmaceutical companies can use Seclore's offerings to secure and govern their internet protocol and other confidential assets. The company's electronic digital reference model provides patient protection from product dossiers, unauthorized access and issues related to file sharing. SecureAuth (Irvine, Calif.). Founded in 2005, SecureAuth focuses on authentication to ensure all entities attempting to access data are known and verified. The company's technology offers flexible identity access control solutions to protect virtual private network, on-premises, cloud, mobile and homegrown applications. For healthcare organizations, SecureAuth protects electronic prescriptions and protected health information in a HIPAA-compliant way. SecureMy Social (New York City). SecureMy Social technology scans social media use and warns organizations about activities that expose them to risk in real time. The platform prevents information breaches and data leaks on social media. Sedara (Buffalo, N.Y.). Sedara is a managed security service provider with clients across the U.S. The company manages network security for clients and ensures regulatory compliance, including HIPAA compliance, for organizations across the spectrum. The company provides continual data monitoring and alert systems to identify and defeat hack attempts. SentinelOne (Palo Alto, Calif.). A group of international defense and intelligence experts founded SentinelOne to tackle cybersecurity issues with a new endpoint protection approach. The company's platform is certified as an antivirus preplacement. The SentinelOne Endpoint Protection Platform can monitor all endpoints accessing HIPAA-sensitive information and protect health information and can also predict advanced attacks and automate the threat response process. Shape Security (Mountain View, Calif.). Shape provides protection against web and mobile cyberattacks to corporations around the world. The company is focused on protecting against high traffic and mobile application attacks. In the healthcare space, Shape Security can protect against distributed denial-of-service attacks and keep the organization's website running. Skybox Security (San Jose, Calif.). Skybox is a privately held cybersecurity management company established in 2002. Skybox's security platform uses firewall and network device data to detect vulnerabilities, and its powerful attack vector analytics can reduce response times for greater network control. The company covers more than 2,000 enterprises globally, including Delta Dental, Neptune, N.J.-based Meridian Health System and eHealthInsurance in the healthcare sector. Skycure (Palo Alto, Calif.). Skycure Mobile Threat Defense is a layered solution leveraging on-device, in-could and crowd-based intelligence to defend against mobile malware, network-based threats, device vulnerabilities and physical attacks. The company's platform provides secure mobile access to EMR and patient data and meets regulatory compliance. Skyhigh Networks (Campbell, Calif.). Skyhigh is a cloud access security broker that deals with shadow IT and sanctioned IT could data security. Skyhigh has worked with Long Beach, Calif.-based Molina Healthcare, AtraZeneca and Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Adventist Health System in the healthcare space, providing a risk rating for the organizations and ensuring protected health information isn't stored or shared in the cloud or other non-secure space. Spirion (Irvine, Calif.). Spirion provides enterprise data management software to minimize risks, costs and reputation damage associated with cyberattacks. The company's platform is designed to identify, classify and monitor personal information, medical records, credit card numbers and other intellectual property. Stratiform (El Segundo, Calif.). PCM acquired Stratiform in January 2017. Stratiform is a cloud IT solutions provider with consulting, professional and managed services. The company specializes in Microsoft cloud technology and post-acquisition Stratiform plans to grow in the U.S. and Canada. Swimlane (Louisville, Colo.). Swimlane is a security and operations management platform with the capability to centralize security alerts and automate attack response. The company provides security automation and orchestration to unify, analyze and resolve alerts from the organization's existing security tools and provide analysts with threat intelligence. The company's solution can also gather security metrics and generate reports on cybersecurity efforts. Swivel Secure (West Yorkshire, United Kingdom). Founded in 2001, Swivel Secure's AuthControl Sentry authentication platform allows organizations to tailor authentication requirements according to individualized security policies. Earlier this year, the company expanded their global partner program concentrating efforts on the United States. Sword & Shield (Knoxville, Tenn.). Sword & Shield is a holistic information security provider with solutions to evaluate, remediate and monitor data security. The company also provides consultants to assist in all aspects of the security and compliance lifecycle, including HIPAA compliance. The company's team of experts make recommendations to increase HIPAA compliance with the HIPAA Security and Privacy kit. Synopsys (Mountainview, Calif.). Synopsys is a software partner for companies around the world, focused on electronic design automation and semiconductor internet protocol. The company works with healthcare organizations to address cybersecurity risks for personal patient information and medical device hacking. Tanium (Emeryville, Calif.). Tanium's solution for hospitals and health systems provides complete visibility across managed and unmanaged endpoints to improve security hygiene. The tool allows users to ask a simple or complex question of any or all endpoints and receive a response directly from all endpoints within 15 seconds. Tanium can also collect data from third party endpoint agents to bring multiple security and IT operations under one platform, which can help streamline operations and reduce costs. ThreatMetrix (San Jose, Calif.). The ThreatMetrix Digital Identity Network is designed to inspect digital transactions across applications, devices and locations in real time. The company also provides online fraud prevention and can pinpoint suspect behavior and fraud attempts before damage is done. The company also provides authentication for patients, payers and physicians logging into the system. TraceSecurity (Baton Rouge, La.). TraceSecurity is a leading provider of cybersecurity and compliance solutions that help organizations of all sizes reduce the risk of cyber breaches and demonstrate compliance. With a combination of software and services, TraceSecurity can help organizations manage their information security program and supplement it with third-party validation. TrapX Security (San Mateo, Calif.). TrapX Security's TrapX DeceptionGrid allows customers to send "traps" that impersonate systems and devices, responding like attackers in the real world, to fool and entrap attackers. Sending out multiple traps alongside real systems and devices ensures the system can identify and contain attackers before any damage is done. The technology can detect sophisticated attackers and provide real-time forensics and analysis for the hospital's security operations team to take immediate action. Trend Micro (Irving, Texas). Trend Micro is a global cybersecurity company providing solutions for consumers, businesses and governments. The company's XGen solution was developed to help healthcare organizations improve security before, during and after attacks. TrustPoint Solutions (Suwanee, Ga.). TrustPoint Solutions provides IT transformation, disaster recovery and security services to healthcare organizations. The TrustPoint team provides strategic advisory, planning and implementation services to help clients leverage their IT investment. Trustwave (Chicago). Trustwave currently works with more than 3 million businesses to protect data and reduce security risks. The company provides a flexible portfolio of services to healthcare organizations designed to protect their specific infrastructure, networks and data while remaining HIPAA and HITECH compliant. Tufin (London, U.K.). Tuftin's security policy orchestration solutions streamline security policy management across complex, heterogeneous organizations. The company's technology alliance program partners with industry leaders to integrate the Tufin Orchestration Suite with their existing solutions. Untangle (Sunnyvale, Calif.). The Untangle NG Firewall is designed as a single, modular platform that clients can run on their own hardware or as a virtual machine. Untangle helps the healthcare industry comply with HIPAA and HITECH through granular controls over who has access to the data. Varonis (New York City). Varonis' platform collects, stores and analyzes metadata in real time to protect data from cyberattacks. Organizations can monitor their unstructured data using the company's platform. Varonis specializes in protecting file and email systems storing spreadsheets, word processing documents, presentations and audio and video files that contain sensitive information. The company also offers a HIPAA compliance crash course. VASCO Data Security (Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.). With more than 10,000 customers in 100 countries, VASCO provides security access to online information with two-factor authentication, transaction data signing, e-signature and identity management solutions. In the healthcare space, the company can secure protected health information in EHRs, protect electronic prescriptions and safeguard against unauthorized manipulation of mHealth apps. Venafi (Salt Lake City). Venafi's platform pinpoints machine identity weaknesses and automatically makes updates to lower security risks. The company's platform is designed to help healthcare organizations better secure keys and certificates against privacy breaches by strengthening the cryptology. Vera (Palo Alto, Calif.). Vera aims to protect data with strong encryption on any device without changing the existing workflow. The company's data-centric security solution is designed for collaboration while ensuring a high level of security, visibility and control. Vera includes HIPAA-compliant verticals for healthcare providers as well as pharmaceutical companies to secure intellectual property and trial data. Virtru (Washington, D.C.). Virtru's products allow businesses and individuals to control access to emails, documents and dataregardless of where the files are shared. In the healthcare space, the company's technology allows providers to share HIPAA-compliant emails and attachments, automatically identifying and encrypted personal health information. The company focuses on business privacy and data protection for more than 5,000 organizations worldwide. WinMagic (Mississauga, Ontario). WinMagic is a data security solutions company that secures data where it's stored and provides enterprise-grade data encryption and key management policies across an organization's operation systems. In the healthcare space, the company's platform encrypts patient data and takes steps to ensure there won't be a compliance breach. WhiteHat Security (Santa Clara, Calif.). WhiteHat Security focuses on securing web applications and delivering solutions to reduce the risk of cyberattacks. Healthcare providers use the company's technology as well as expertise to deploy secure applications and websites, as well as third-party apps. Wombat Security Technology (Pittsburgh). Founded in 2008, Wombat Security Technologies received funding from the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense to develop a suite of cybersecurity software training and filtering technologies. The company evolved its provider awareness and training software to support clients' efforts to teach secure behavior. In February 2017, the company expanded its healthcare security awareness training program to include ransomware training. Zenedge (Aventura, Fla.). Zenedge offers security for web applications and networks. The company's platform stops malicious bot traffic and distributed denial-of-service attacks and offers ongoing monitoring and security updates. The company's cybersecurity platform includes an artificial intelligence engine and advanced bot mitigation and management. Zenedge's cybersecurity solution can protect medical records and health information. Zimperium (San Francisco). Zimperium is a mobile threat management platform designed to deliver continuous cyberthreat protection for mobile devices and applications. This on-device solution can detect threats in real time. As healthcare organizations rely on mobile devices to communicate and provide better care in the hospital and home care settings, Zimperium's zIPS app provides continuous self-service mobile threat detection and remediation. Zix (Dallas). Zix protects business communications through email encryption. The company's solutions support around 15,000 businesses and 1,200 U.S. hospitals with email encryption, data loss prevention and bring-your-own-device security. The top three vendors hospitals use to attest to the meaningful use program are Cerner, Meditech and Epic, according to June 2016 ONC data. Here are 21 hospitals and health systems that posted job listings seeking EHR and IT expertise in the past two weeks. Editor's note: This is not an exhaustive list. Job listings were compiled from job seeker websites. Cerner 1. Banner Health (Phoenix): Seeks an IT clinical systems consultant 2. Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa (Mason City): Seeks a clinical informatics analyst 3. Mission Health (Asheville, N.C.): Seeks an applications systems analyst 4. Munson Medical Center (Traverse City, Mich.): Seeks a senior clinical informaticist 5. Northside Hospital (Atlanta): Seeks an applications analyst 6. Seattle Children's Hospital: Seeks a senior applications systems administrator 7. Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.): Seeks a clinical application analyst Meditech 1. Augusta Health (Fishersville, Va.): Seeks a clinical systems analyst 2. Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth (Mass.): Seeks a clinical information analyst 3. Lincoln (Neb.) Surgical Hospital: Seeks an EHR analyst 4. Oak Valley Hospital (Oakdale, Calif.): Seeks a clinical analyst 5. Samaritan Health Systems (Watertown, N.Y.): Seeks a CIO and vice president of information systems 6. Sinai Health System (Chicago): Seeks a data analytics manager 7. Steward Health Care (Boston): Seeks a lead applications analyst Epic 1. Allegheny Health Network (Pittsburgh): Seeks an information systems manager 2. Lahey Health (Burlington, Mass.): Seeks an Epic revenue cycle director 3. MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston): Seeks a clinical informatics specialist 4. NYU Langone Medical Center (New York City): Seeks a clinical systems project manager 5. Penn Medicine (Philadelphia): Seeks an application analyst 6. Texas Children's Hospital (Houston): Seeks a systems analyst 7. UMass Memorial Medical Center (Worcester, Mass.): Seeks an applications manager Here are 16 recent news updates on health IT companies. Sumbul Desai, MD, executive director of the Stanford (Calif.) Medicine Center for Digital Health, will reportedly join Apple in a senior role to promote health uses for its Apple Watch. Athenahealth entered into an agreement to acquire Praxify Technologies, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company that streamlines EHR workflow with mobile interfaces, analytic feedback and natural language processing. Carena, a telehealth startup, raised $6 million in a recent round of funding. Cerner integrated Carevive's patient care planning software into its PowerChart Oncology solution. Weirton (W. Va.) Medical Center is suing Cerner, and its acquired entity Siemens Health Services, for breach of contract. Cognizant entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TMG Health, a subsidiary of the health insurer Health Care Service Corp. Dell Technologies released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018, posting a total revenue of $17.82 billion. eClinicalWorks launched a telehealth solution on its Health & Online Wellness mobile app. GE CEO and Chairman of the Board Jeff Immelt will retire at the end of 2017. The board has selected current President and CEO of GE Healthcare John Flannery to replace him. Nashville, Tenn.-based Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy joined a consortium of healthcare companies led by Hashed Health, a blockchain startup. Health Catalyst a provider of data analytics, decision support and outcomes improvement appointed Eric Denna senior vice president of professional services, effective in July. Hewlett-Packard debuted a video with Christian Slater to promote its hardware such as printers and personal computers which the company claims are more secure than the outdated models in use at many hospitals. IBM will expand its "new collar" career program to more than a dozen community colleges over the next six months. Meditech launched MHealth, a patient portal app, on Apple's App Store and Google Play. Royal Philips opened its first innovation center in Russia in the Moscow-based Skolkovo Innovation Center. Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center joined forces with Tempus to personalize breast cancer treatment. Inovalon, a Bowie, Md.-based health technology company, plans to eliminate 113 employees by July 10, according to a filing with the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and reported by Baltimore Business Journal. The layoffs will comprise "nationwide field-based employees who are supervised by the Columbia [Md.] office," Inovalon spokeswomen Kim Collins told Baltimore Business Journal via email. She added Inovalon tends to hire seasonal workers, which leads to regular changes in employment numbers. Baltimore Business Journal reports federal filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed Inovalon has 2,453 total employees, 1,908 of whom are full-time, as of year-end 2016. This marks a 870 employee decrease since one year prior, in 2015. Inovalon reported $108.3 million in revenue for the first quarter, up 5.5 percent, Baltimore Business Journal reports. More articles on health IT: GE Healthcare CEO to head GE in August; Weirton Medical Center sues Cerner for breach of contract & more 16 health IT key notes Weirton Medical Center sues Cerner, Siemens for breach of contract: 10 things to know 107 cybersecurity companies in healthcare | 2017 IBM joined forces with Rite Solutions a Dhaka, Bangladesh-based provider of telecommunications and IT infrastructure solutions to bring Watson for Oncology to hospitals in Bangladesh. Under the agreement, Rite Solutions will work with hospitals around the country to deploy Watson for Oncology. Rite Solutions has already implemented the technology at Bangladesh Specialized Hospital and Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital, both based in Dhaka. This collaboration marks Watson's first partnership in Bangladesh. Through the agreement, Rite Solutions officials said they also hope to bring Watson for Oncology to surrounding countries. "There is a pressing need to provide quality oncology expertise to the people in our country, and through our collaboration with IBM, we aim to help physicians provide personalized care to every single patient in Bangladesh," said, Ridwan Mustafiz CEO of Rite Solutions. "Apart from providing quality healthcare for people in Bangladesh, we also want to serve Nepal, Bhutan and eastern India." Four Democratic lawmakers called for an investigation into the partisanship of HHS tweets in a June 14 letter to Gene L. Dodaro, comptroller general of the Government Accountability Office. Sens. Patty Murray, Wash., and Ron Wyden, Ore., with Reps. Frank Pallone Jr., N.J., and Richard Neal, Mass., alleged at least two official HHS Twitter accounts @HHSGov and @HHSMedia have "repeatedly" promoted the passage of the GOP's American Health Care Act, which is pending before Congress. The lawmakers highlighted tweets using the "popular Republican moniker" #RepealAndReplace. The lawmakers also commented on the reposting of content produced by third parties, such as @HHSMedia retweeting a Fox & Friends video clip on March 24 of HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, urging Congress to pass the AHCA. "We are especially concerned by these actions because they appear to continue a pattern of behavior by the Department of using federal resources to advance partisan legislation," the letter reads. The lawmakers pointed to the Consolidating Appropriations Act, which bans using federal funds to publish communications that support pending legislation, according to the letter. They also claimed the tweets violate the Anti-Lobbying Act, which prohibits the use of federal funds from backing legislation Congress is currently considering in this case, the AHCA. "We therefore request that the GAO review these matters for compliance with the appropriations laws that ban certain electronic communications, covert propaganda and grass roots lobbying," the letter concludes. Click here to view the full letter. More articles on leadership: Indiana legislators: CHS' firing of Lutheran Health CEO 'raises concerns' Study finds deductibles would be higher under AHCA Texas Medicaid laws leave many at risk of losing coverage The northeast Indiana delegation of the General Assembly voiced its disapproval of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health System's decision to fire Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Lutheran Health Network CEO Brian Bauer June 12, according to Inside Indiana Business. In a statement obtained by Inside Indiana Business' partner institution WPTA-12 News, state officials said they were "disappointed" by the decision. They highlighted Mr. Bauer's commitment to the eight-hospital health system, stating he "immediately embraced our community and remained steadfast in his commitment to its betterment [CHS'] decision to suddenly terminate such a valuable asset to the community raises local concerns over the direction of the company." To read the full statement, click here. A bill that aims to increase accountability for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employees gained final approval in the House Tuesday, according to a Los Angeles Times report. Here are four things to know. 1. The House gave final approval to the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 in a 368-55 vote. The Senate passed the bill June 6. It now heads to President Donald Trump, who is expected to give the bill his signature, according to the report. 2. The bill "lowers the current standard of evidence needed to remove workers for misconduct" and would expedite the process to fire and discipline VA employees for cause, reports the LA Times. The report states it also includes more protections for whistleblowers and gives additional authority to VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD, who could "reduce an employee's federal pension if they are involved in a felony affecting their position, or recoup a fired employee's bonus and relocation expenses." 3. The bill has drawn mixed reactions. Dan Caldwell, director of policy for advocacy group Concerned Veterans for America, showed support for the bill, saying it is "key reform that needs to be implemented before you can start addressing ... anything at all, because if you don't have accountability then any type of future reforms will be undermined," according to the report. However, the report states, unions with VA employees as members contend people could use the legislation for political purposes and that it will not fully address issues that have plagued the VA. 4. The bill follows various problems at the VA, such as long wait times for veterans seeking healthcare services. More articles on leadership and management: Chief marketing officer salary & bonuses: 10 things to know CMS scores the AHCA: 8 key takeaways AARP launches ad campaign targeting GOP senators, AHCA The family of a Seattle man who died of an infection received from a contaminated scope testified this week in a civil suit against Tokyo-based Olympus Corp., the manufacturer of the device, according to Kaiser Health News. The suit, brought by the widow of Richard Bigler and later joined by Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center, was filed in 2015. At least 35 patients at Virginia Mason, including Mr. Bigler, were infected by Olympus-made scopes between 2012 and 2014. Eighteen of them died. Several other hospitals have also reported infections linked to the difficult-to-clean scopes. Teresa Bigler's attorneys in this civil case argue the scopes had a design flaw that made them difficult to properly clean. They also say that Olympus executives were aware of the infection risk yet made no effort to notify hospitals. Officials from Olympus say the devices were possible to clean if hospital personnel followed the instructions properly. Three top Olympus executives have declined to testify in Ms. Bigler's civil case. More than 25 families across the country have filed suits against Olympus, though Ms. Bigler's is the first to go to trial. According to Kaiser Health News, Ms. Bigler's case "may serve as a bellweather for future litigation" and "offers a preview of the evidence federal prosecutors could use against Olympus in a possible criminal case." More Articles on Clinical Quality: 100 patient safety benchmarks | 2017 Tamiflu no longer a 'core' drug, per WHO update Pediatric chemotherapy linked to cognitive issues later in life A patient stabbed a nurse with a knife in Southbridge, Mass.-based Harrington Hospital's emergency department Wednesday, according to WCVB. The nurse, Elise Wilson, was seriously injured by the patient, who fled the ED after the incident occurred around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday. The nurse was treated immediately in the ED and was flown to Worcester, Mass.-based UMass Memorial Medical Center after being stabilized. The nurse remained in critical condition with stab wounds to her face and shoulder as of Thursday, CBS Boston reports. The Worcester County District Attorney's Office told WCVB authorities arrested Conor O'Regan, 24, for the stabbing. Police said Mr. O'Regan allegedly stabbed Ms. Wilson because he was unhappy with care received at Harrington Hospital three weeks prior, according to CBS Boston. Mr. O'Regan will be arraigned Thursday in Central District Court in Worcester following a psychiatric evaluation. He will also be charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon and assault with intent to kill, the report states. Editor's note: This article was updated June 15 at 2:09 p.m. Cleveland Clinic will offer a joint health plan with New York City-based Oscar Health, marking the clinic's entrance into the health insurance market and Oscar's expansion into Ohio. Cleveland Clinic | Oscar individual plans will be sold in five northeast Ohio counties beginning this fall, pending regulatory approval. Cleveland Clinic and Oscar jointly will offer plans on and off the state's ACA exchange for coverage beginning Jan. 1. Policyholders will gain access to a Cleveland Clinic primary care physician and care managers, as well as an Oscar Concierge nurse and three care guides. Cleveland Clinic and Oscar will also offer Cleveland Clinic | Oscar members 24/7 access to telemedicine. Steve Glass, CFO of Cleveland Clinic, said the offering reflects "a different approach, one that breaks down the complexities between providers and insurers, allowing our patients to easily navigate the healthcare and health insurance systems." Emma Riccardi, corporate communications manager for Oscar, said in an emailed statement to Becker's Hospital Review the payer will send its "engineers, clinicians and data scientists to Cleveland to help build Cleveland Clinic | Oscar plans" during the next several months. More articles on payer issues: Connecticut regulators asked to reject Anthem's rate increases 5 places with the highest rates of insured children Sutter Health, Aetna to launch joint health plan Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies is collaborating with Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina to mitigate the risk of infection for patients in its operating room and ambulatory surgery facilities. MUSC will leverage J&J's CareAdvantage platform, which aims to reduce infection risk by offering a data-driven approach to help hospitals and health systems. The platform features an infection risk management capability that focuses on risk factors of costly infections as well as clinical practice patterns that can lead to the proliferation of hospital-acquired infections. The capability also offers evidence-based practices to reduce the risk factors of HAIs, including bloodstream infections and surgical site infections. "Through its evidence-based approach, JJMDC is helping us to identify and address our needs specific to infection risk management, including appropriate techniques for its products, and provide training and education resources for our care team members. Our common goal is providing the highest level of patient care possible," said Danielle Scheurer, MD, chief quality officer, hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at MUSC. More articles on quality: Depression affects nearly one-third of hospital patients, study finds AHA urges CMS: Use only quality measures that matter 61% of pediatric nurses in poor work environments miss care, study shows Here are eight things for spinal surgeons to know for June 15, 2017. CMS issues ICD-10 code for radiolucent porous interbody fusion devices CMS issued an ICD-10 code for radiolucent porous interbody fusion devices. The new ICD-10 code classification covers Vertera Spine's Cohere Cervical Interbody Fusion Device as the only commercially available porous interbody fusion device. Largest & smallest city prices for lumbar spinal fusion The average cost for lumbar spinal fusions in the 10 largest metropolitan cities are oftentimes less than in the 10 smallest metropolitan cities, as ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau based on population. The procedure costs $5,000 more in Carson City, Nev., than New York City. See the other cities' prices here. American Medical Association names Dr. Barbara McAneny president-elect Oncologist Barbara McAneny, MD, is the new president-elect of the American Medical Association, effective June 2017. She will begin her presidency in June 2018. Her AMA career dates back to 2010, most recently serving as board chair from 2015 to 2016. Massachusetts General Hospital faces lawsuit for double-booking surgeries At least five orthopedic surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston are accused of repeatedly double-booking surgeries, leaving patients under anesthesia longer than they would have been if the surgeon was only focused on one case, according to the Boston Globe. Lisa Wollman, MD, filed the lawsuit against Massachusetts General Hospital after witnessing surgeons perform simultaneous operations without the patients' consent. Read more about the lawsuit here. MIS spine market to grow at 14.7% CAGR through 2022 The global spinal implants and devices market is expected to reach $13.38 billion by 2022, based on an Allied Market Research report. While open spine surgery accounted for the greatest revenue in 2015, the minimally invasive surgery market will grow at the highest compound annual growth rate at 14.7 percent through 2022. In 2015, the spinal fusion devices sector captured about three-fifths of the total market share. Former Swedish-Cherry Hill's Dr. Johnny Delashaw's attorney pushes for license reinstatement On June 12, attorney Amy Magnano presented a case defending Johnny B. Delashaw, MD, against nurse allegations of improper conduct, The Seattle Times reports. Nurses at Seattle-based Swedish Neuroscience Institute on the Cherry Hill campus alleged Dr. Delashaw created a hostile environment, sending coworkers into submission as they were too afraid to ask questions that impacted patient care. Ms. Magnano argued the majority of nurse allegations referenced 2015 events, so Dr. Delashaw is not an immediate threat to safety in 2017. Read more about the case here. This product rakes in the best income for medical sales reps The 2017 Medical Sales Salary Report reveals medical sales rep income by product, according to MedReps.com. Medical sales reps selling health IT/software products make the highest average total compensation at $176,012. See the other top four products here. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont adds minimally invasive SI joint fusion coverage for 200k members The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont established a written coverage policy for minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion. The policy, which goes into effect on July 1, covers more than 200,000 health plan members for minimally invasive SI joint fusion. The dairy industry in Northern Ireland has welcomed a ruling by the EU Court of Justice that terms like milk, cheese and butter must refer to products from animals and not plants. The landmark ruling could spell the end of manufacturers marketing plant-based products as 'soya milk' or 'tofu butter'. Phillip Sanaghan, commercial manager with Draynes Farm in Lisburn - which processes its own milk into a range of dairy products - said: "This is good news for the dairy industry in Northern Ireland and is very important. "As the world gets smaller in terms of product availability, we have an abundance of these artificial products made from plants landing on our doorstep which are full of additives and chemicals. "Milk from a cow is one of the healthiest foods people can drink from they are just two years old. "Too many times have these alternatives jumped on the 'healthy' food bandwagon to promote themselves. "Although these alternatives have a place for those people who have dairy allergies, I am glad to see the court has said milk should mean real milk from an animal." Declan Billington, chairman of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association, also welcomed the judgment. "Whilst I recognise that plant-based substitute products service an important niche in today's marketplace, the use of words such as 'butter', 'cheese' or 'cream' in their product descriptions allows companies in their marketing to build upon the positive consumer perceptions developed for dairy products by the dairy industry, whilst being fundamentally different in nature. Going forward, it is good to know that the consumer will now get butter when they buy butter," he added. Eamon Lynch, the commercial director from milk processor Strathroy Dairy Ltd in Omagh, said the ruling should help to promote the benefits of real milk in the future. "Milk from a cow or goat provides a variety of natural nutritional benefits and cannot be substituted by so-called milk from a plant," he said. "I welcome this ruling from the European court which should help to promote the benefits of real milk going forward." Following a case taken against German company TofuTown, which produces and distributes vegetarian and vegan foods referring to them as 'milk', 'cheese' and 'butter, the court ruled this week that these names must only refer to animal products. Purely plant-based products cannot, in principle, be marketed with designations such as 'milk', 'cream', 'butter', 'cheese' or 'yoghurt', which are reserved by EU law for animal products, the court said. The court observed that, in principle, for the purposes of the marketing and advertising in question, the relevant legislation reserves the term 'milk' only for milk of animal origin. The UK is committed to a "close and special partnership" with the Irish Republic post-Brexit, the Prime Minister has told new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. The two leaders discussed a variety of issues during a phone call on Thursday. During the exchanges, a Downing Street spokeswoman said Mrs May had assured Mr Varadkar of her steadfast commitment to the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. The Government's adherence to the 1998 peace accord, in particular the requirement for it to act with "rigorous impartiality" in Northern Ireland, has been questioned by some in the wake of Mrs May's anticipated parliamentary deal with the DUP. The Prime Minister and Mr Varadkar's conversation came a day after he was elected Ireland's new premier, replacing the retiring Enda Kenny. "The Prime Minister spoke to Leo Varadkar on the phone earlier today to offer her congratulations on becoming Taoiseach," said the Downing Street spokeswoman. "The Taoiseach expressed his deepest sympathies for recent tragic events and said the thoughts of the Irish people were with the people of London at this time. "Both leaders agreed on the importance of continued cooperation between the two countries and the Prime Minister said she was personally committed to a close and special partnership with Ireland as the UK embarks on leaving the European Union. "They also spoke about a crucial need for the parties in Northern Ireland to come together to form a fully functioning Executive by the 29 June and how both leaders would continue to engage closely on this important issue. "The Prime Minister also emphasised her steadfast commitment to the Belfast Agreement and its successors and the two leaders agreed to meet in person at the earliest possible opportunity." It's one of the oldest cliches in the book, but a week really is a long time in politics. Exactly seven days ago the election in Northern Ireland looked set to throw up another dose of the same old, same old. Instead, everything has changed, changed utterly, as Arlene Foster's DUP found itself in the fortuitous position of which all smaller parties dream, negotiating to extract concessions from a minority Tory government in return for keeping Prime Minister Theresa May in No.10. This outcome was none of the DUP's doing; it was simply an accident of electoral arithmetic. But politics is about striking when the iron is hot, and Mrs Foster, it seemed, was ready to strike. Since last Thursday she has played a blinder, insisting from the start on using her newly-won political capital for the benefit of all in Northern Ireland, reportedly based on the principles already set out in a private agreement with the Conservatives ahead of the 2015 election. Basically, it comes down to more money, more help to secure foreign investment, and more consideration for local economic needs. It hasn't been without controversy. Over half-a-million people signed a UK-wide petition against any Tory/DUP deal, all so carried away by a feverish mob mentality that they seemed to believe Mrs Foster was set to march on Downing Street and demand the Orange Order be allowed down the Falls Road, or similar such nonsense. Some amusement could be forgiven at the unexpected clash between the DUP's more traditional supporters and socially liberal modern Britain, but this was hysteria with an ugly, intolerant undercurrent. Mrs Foster didn't rise to the bait. She simply got on with the job of negotiating the best deal for Northern Ireland, and only a begrudger would resent her enjoying this moment in the sun. There was, after all, a whole section in the Sinn Fein election manifesto titled 'Ending Tory Cuts', which demanded more funding for the NHS, schools, housing and agriculture. Those who pretend to care that the poorest continue to suffer the harshest effects of the recession a decade on from the financial crash have no cause for grievance if Foster returns from Westminster with measures to offset austerity. On a personal level, she's been vindicated too. Like May, Foster had a good start as leader, winning a decisive victory for the DUP in last year's Assembly election before heading into the Executive with the late Martin McGuinness in every expectation that it would last a full term. By Christmas it had all gone horribly wrong as Sinn Fein, seeing the chance of claiming a scalp over the RHI controversy, demanded that she step aside pending an inquiry. She didn't. Consequently there was another Assembly election in which Mrs Foster managed to antagonise the most mild-mannered of constitutional nationalists by appearing to disparage the Irish language. Sinn Fein almost managed to overtake the DUP when the votes were counted. Her internal critics were far from happy. There were rumblings against her. Another election, this time for Westminster, offered the prospect of redemption, but almost immediately Foster was accused of misogyny for daring to notice that Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill puts a lot of effort into her appearance. It was a silly row, wholly manufactured by people who've made a career out of taking offence, but it summed up how nothing was going right for her. As the summer begins, she's right back on top, with every chance not only to put her critics back in their box, but to build a reputation as the most successful unionist leader of her generation. After all the personal abuse she's endured, she deserves to take immense satisfaction from that. She also has a golden opportunity to show that the Union can work for the benefit of everyone in Northern Ireland. Any unionist who didn't relish that prospect would barely be worthy of the name. Even more important, though, Foster has reasserted the primary function of politics. It's not about protest, or gestures, or saying the right things, or getting a fashionable hashtag trending on Twitter. It's about being in a position where you can repay the trust the people have shown in you by giving back to them what they need. By contrast, Sinn Fein's pettiness has been brutally exposed. In his personal message in the manifesto, Gerry Adams declared that "a vote for Sinn Fein... is a vote for representation where it counts, not wasting time at Westminster". If Mrs Foster returns with a package of measures to improve real people's lives in Northern Ireland, it will be impossible to argue again that time at Westminster is "wasted", or that Sinn Fein's preferred option of sitting up in Connolly House sulking is the better way. Even now the party still says it wouldn't take its seats at Westminster to secure a similarly beneficial deal. In other words, relieving austerity and reviving the economy must play second fiddle to the cultish obsessions of the republican movement. If the DUP can further use its influence to stop a hard border after Brexit the party will have done a massive service for the whole island of Ireland, and nationalists should be generous enough to acknowledge it. Foster is a politician. Of course she does all this knowing that her party will get significant electoral advantage from taking centre stage in British life. But that's politics, too. Rewards come from doing the right thing. Those who'd rather do nothing have no cause to quibble if others enjoy a boost from taking on the challenges that they themselves have shirked. What does all this mean for Stormont? Well, Adams put it best when he said in that same manifesto that the election result would "shape the talks to re-establish the Executive". It certainly has. The DUP insisted all along that it has no "red lines" and simply wants Sinn Fein to return to Stormont and get on with the job of government. Foster's practical and straightforward approach to negotiating a deal at Westminster demonstrates that she is genuine about wanting to make political institutions on both sides of the Irish Sea work. Sinn Fein's excuses for not doing likewise have been exposed as hollow. It faces a simple choice - return to Stormont and start discussing like grown-ups how to make best use of whatever package Foster's heavy lifting has won, or else to retreat further into bitterness and ingratitude, parroting empty slogans about Irish unity. That shouldn't even be a difficult decision. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) is carrying out a health and safety inspection of all of its 32 tower blocks in a bid to reassure local residents in the wake of the Grenfell Tower blaze. The inferno, which UUP Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast Sonia Copeland said reminded her of the Twin Towers terror attack in New York, had last night claimed 12 lives. During the horror, a baby was thrown from the ninth or 10th floor of the 24-storey tower block into the arms of an onlooker. Some 74 people were rushed to hospital and 20 remain in a critical condition. The cause of the Grenfell Tower blaze, which was tackled by 40 fire engines and around 200 firefighters, is not yet known. Within hours of the catastrophe, an NIHE spokesman said the organisation wanted to "reassure our tenants that their safety is taken extremely seriously across the Housing Executive". She stated: "Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all those affected by the fire in Grenfell, London. We have robust fire safety regimes and carry out regular inspections in all of our 32 tower blocks. "In light of the fire in Grenfell, we undertook health and safety inspections of each block. We are currently refurbishing three tower blocks in Belfast and completed one last year. "Cuchulainn House in the New Lodge area of north Belfast was recently refurbished. Eithne House in the same area is currently being refurbished, as are Carnet House and Whincroft House, both in east Belfast." The spokesman continued: "We want to reassure tenants that any cladding systems which have been installed or are being installed are required to comply with the relevant fire safety regulations. All blocks have current fire risk assessments in place and these have all been recently reviewed. Each tower has its own evacuation plan and we carry out regular testing of fire safety systems." The NIHE spokesman said that all its tower blocks have single protected fire-resistant staircases with fire doors. She added that they would "take on board" any findings which emerged from the investigation into the cause of the Grenfell fire. Meanwhile, a UUP councillor has called for a "proactive, not reactive approach" to fire safety in high-rise flats. Deputy Lord Mayor Sonia Copeland said she has been contacted by a number of concerned residents of Belfast tower blocks seeking reassurances that everything was being done to prevent a similar tragedy occurring here. "People here are aghast at what happened in London," she told the Belfast Telegraph. "I was so shocked at what happened, it made me think of the Twin Towers. "We don't yet know what caused the Grenfell fire, but I will be asking the NIHE a lot of questions around safety checks and materials, as well as whether there is information for residents in the event of a fire, if fire extinguishers and sprinklers are on every level, and what happens in the case of disabled, elderly or sick residents when lifts aren't working. "The safety of our constituents is our number one priority. I would like to send my condolences to everyone affected by the Grenfell blaze. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of those who passed away and those who are injured." To view Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service's (NIFRS) safety advice for residents of high-rise accommodation, visit: www.nifrs.org/fire-safety/community-information-bulletins. Alternatively, contact the NIFRS prevention and protection department on 028 9266 4221. NIHE fire safety advice is available at www.nihe.gov.uk/highrise_buildings or from a local office. Hundreds of people are expected to attend the funeral of a popular Methodist minister whose death has touched people across the religious divide. Rev Margaret Ferguson served as superintendent with the East Belfast Mission from 2014 until her death earlier this week at the Marie Curie hospice. As her husband David and daughters Heather, Ruth and Clare prepare to lead mourners at her funeral at Mountpottinger Methodist Church this morning, Mr Ferguson paid his own tribute to the woman he described as his soulmate. He recalled a life filled with love and a shared faith with the woman who was his childhood sweetheart. "Margaret and I first met away back in 1970 when she was aged 14 and I was 15 and we have been together ever since," he said. "She was a stunning woman, she was certainly the love of my life. There never was anyone else for either of us, we were soulmates and that was it. "We got married when Margaret was 24 - she was a stunning looking woman and that didn't change throughout her life." While raising their three children the couple also spent much of their busy lives helping out at their church, which eventually led to Margaret becoming a full-time Methodist minister. "Her first posting for the Methodist Church was in Woodvale church when she was 50," he said. "She thrived and loved the church and they loved her. She was fresh and new and sparky and wanted to do all sorts of wonderful things. Margaret also had a real heart for the community, and Woodvale was in the thick of very tough times. Everyone Margaret engaged with really took to her, she was even asked to be on the board of governors of St Mary's Christian Brothers School. "She was so respected by them that she was chosen as one of the representatives to meet Mary McAleese when she was President of Ireland visiting the school. Margaret was also chosen to meet the Queen, but whether you were the Queen, President or someone struggling with life in Belfast, she treated everyone with equal respect." He said his wife was diagnosed with lung cancer in March last year and while she responded well to chemotherapy she took ill again with meningitis this year and never recovered. "I will always be so thankful to the Marie Currie doctors and nurses that looked after Margaret in the hospice during her final weeks," he added. "My life without Margaret will be so difficult but I am comforted by the knowledge she is in Heaven and was loved by so many while she was with us." Following the funeral service at 11am, Margaret's coffin will rest at East Belfast Mission to allow people to pay their respects. The outgoing president of the Methodist Church has appealed for politicians at Stormont and Westminster to "meet each other halfway" to promote peace and reconciliation. The Reverend Bill Mullally recalled his recent visit to the Messines battlefield in Belgium saying: "I was moved by the recollection of the soldiers of the 36th Ulster Division and the 16th Irish Division fighting alongside each other." He added: "I call on those politicians recently elected to Stormont and Westminster to meet each other halfway for the good of all and to ensure that we reinstate the institutions in Northern Ireland to build a bridge of peace and reconciliation. Last night the Methodist Church installed the Reverend Dr Laurence Graham as president in succession to Reverend Mullally. The ceremony took place in Fisherwick Presbyterian Church, Belfast, and because of the close ties of the Methodists and the Church of Ireland under their joint covenant, three Bishops took part in the ceremony. The Reverend Dr Graham, who is 48, is one of the youngest presidents of the Irish Methodist Church. He is the son of a former president and general secretary the Rev Winston Graham. Dr Laurence Graham was educated at Dalriada School and Queen's University. He is currently the superintendent minister in the Dublin Central Mission. In his presidential address, the Rev Graham outlined his hopes. He said: "I am really glad that a lay mission strategy is coming to the Methodist conference this year, and that its vision is to promote and communicate effectively the Methodist Church's vision of every member ministry." The theme of this year's Methodist conference, which is taking place in Trinity Methodist Church in Lisburn, is 'The Rhythm of Grace'. Members and delegates will consider a wide range of issues affecting the Church and society. On Sunday evening four people will be ordained to the Methodist ministry at a service in Fisherwick Church, which marks the end of the four-day conference. A mother and daughter who want women from Northern Ireland to receive free abortions on the NHS in England have vowed to fight on after a narrow defeat at the UK's highest court A mother and daughter who want women from Northern Ireland to receive free abortions on the NHS in England have vowed to fight on after a narrow defeat at the UK's highest court. Following the Supreme Court's decision to reject their case against the Health Secretary by a majority of just three to two, they announced plans to go to the European Court of Human Rights. The justices said they were "sharply divided" over what the outcome should be, with the court's deputy president Lady Hale being one of the two who ruled in favour of the mother and daughter. The 20-year-old woman at the centre of the appeal was 15 in October 2012 when she and her mother travelled from Northern Ireland to Manchester and were told she had to pay hundreds of pounds for a private termination because she was excluded from free abortion services. The daughter, who can only be referred to as A, and her mother B, previously suffered defeat at the High Court in London in 2014 and at the Court of Appeal the following year. After the latest round of their battle, they said in a statement: "We are really encouraged that two of the judges found in our favour and all of the judges were sympathetic to A's situation. "We have come this far and fought hard because the issues are so important for women in Northern Ireland. For this reason, we will do all that we can to take the fight further. "We have instructed our legal team to file an application with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, to protect the human rights of the many other women who make the lonely journey to England every week because they are denied access to basic healthcare services in their own country." In Northern Ireland a termination is lawful when continuation would threaten the woman's life, or when it would probably affect her physical or mental health, but only if the effect would be serious and, in particular, permanent or long-term. The mother and daughter had sought a declaration that it was unlawful for the Health Secretary to have failed to make provision for A and all other UK citizens usually resident in Northern Ireland to undergo a termination under the NHS in England free of charge. The Health Secretary said he had power to make such provision, and the question decided by the justices was whether it was "unlawful for him to have decided not to exercise it". During the Supreme Court proceedings last year it was argued on behalf of the Government that it was not irrational for the provision of non-emergency healthcare to be divided between the different countries of the UK according to the place of residence of the patient. The majority concluded the Health Secretary was entitled to reach the decision he did. Announcing the decision yesterday, Lord Wilson said it was not for the court to "address the ethical considerations which underlie the difference" in abortion law in Northern Ireland and England. He added: "But the fact is that the law in Northern Ireland puts most women in unwanted pregnancy there in a deeply unenviable position." Grainne Teggart from Amnesty International said: "This is a further blow to women from Northern Ireland, who already face some of the harshest abortion laws in Europe." Police officers treat Phoebe Clawson after she was struck by a car driven by Aughey in Ardoyne in July 2015 An Orangeman showed no emotion on Thursday as he was convicted of driving over a teenage girl, trapping her under his Nissan car after 'ploughing' into a crowd of protesting nationalists over a banned loyalist parade at a contentious north Belfast interface two years ago. It took the Belfast Crown Court jury of eight women and four men almost three hours, during two days of deliberation, to reach their majority verdicts and convict 63-year-old John Alexander Aughey of the charges arising from the collision close to the Ardoyne shops on July 13, 2015. Twice during their deliberations on Thursday the jury informed the court they could not reach unanimous verdicts, before delivering their majority 11 to one guilty verdicts on each of the six charges which Aughey from Brae Hill Park, had denied. Among those charges, and the most serious, was causing grievous bodily harm to a then 16-year-old girl Phoebe Clawson by dangerously driving his car on Belfast's Crumlin Road. She was trapped under the wheels of his red Nissan Pulsar, fracturing to her pelvis, ankle and collarbone. Jurors, some of whom gasped on being shown a video of the moment she was flung onto the bonnet, and under the car, heard she spent two weeks in hospital after undergoing a five-hour emergency operation on her "shattered pelvis". However, before striking her, Aughey had also stuck and injured a community representative and two other civilians, before also injuring two police officers. Police who had run forward to stop Aughey's car, described seeing young Phoebe being struck in the back by the bonnet of the car before disappearing under the car's front wheels which "rose up" as it did so. During his nine day trial over three weeks, Aughey claimed he was driving home after marching earlier that day and had made his "U-Turn" manoeuvre taking him into the crowd, "in a blind panic", after believing his car had come under attack. He maintained he had not drove deliberately at the crowd, making the case that as he sat in traffic he became aware of abuse and shouting coming from the protestors. He said that after missiles hit his car and his wing mirror was kicked, in a "blind panic" he tried to perform a u-turn to get back down the road "to the safety" of police lines. Expand Close Augheys overturned vehicle sits in the middle of the road Photopress Belfast / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Augheys overturned vehicle sits in the middle of the road When asked why he didn't just get out of the car and walk a matter of yards to a police Land Rover, Aughey said: "If I had got out of the car it would have been tantamount of committing suicide." Claiming he heard someone shout 'get him, don't let the B get away,' he said that "scared me even more because I realised then how vulnerable I was to attack. To me that was chilling and knocked me into a blind panic. "I thought the crown would get me and drag me out of the car or damage me while I was sitting in the car." Expand Close Phoebe Clawson / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Phoebe Clawson However, these claims were 'rubbished' by prosecution barrister Neil Connor QC, who accused him of not only lying to police two years ago, but also of lying to the court. Mr Connor said the issue was a simple one, in which Aughey had driven his car in a manner which was dangerous and which fell far short of what would have been expected from a competent and careful driver. Following their verdicts trial Judge Patricia Smyth praised the jury for dealing with what she described as "probably being one of the most difficult trials that any jury in Northern Ireland has been asked to decide upon". Expand Close John Aughey Photopress Belfast / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Aughey Thanking them for their time and deliberation without "complaint", she excused them from further jury service for life if they wanted. Then freeing Aughey on continuing bail until after the summer recess in August, Judge Smyth told him that should not be taken "as an indication of the sentence the court will pass in due course". The new Sinn Fein MP for Foyle has dismissed criticism by political rivals after she took to social media to complain about the size of her London accommodation. Posting photos of her London hotel room, Elisha McCallion commented: "Don't let anyone fool you that a life of a Sinn Fein MP is lavish!! Never stayed in a smaller hotel room in all my life, literally my bathroom at home is bigger lol xx." Ms McCallion had been staying at the Craven Hotel in the Westminster Borough. Rooms are typically priced between 80 and 100 a night. DUP MLA Gary Middleton labelled the post as "embarrassing". Speaking to the News Letter, he said: "The fact is, that whilst DUP MPs and Arlene Foster were negotiating for Northern Ireland and trying to get the best deal for the UK, Sinn Fein MPs were kicking around outside Parliament tweeting about how small their accommodation was. It is embarrassing. "People are relying on our MPs to speak up about the issues that matter, not the small hotel room size in London. If they are not performing their duties then they should not be getting expenses." He later retweeted a comment from parliamentary assistant Jordan Greer, who said: "Collapses NI assembly and refuses to take seats in parliament. One of Sinn Fein's newest MP's main concern is their hotel room size in London." When contacted for a response last night, Ms McCallion told the Belfast Telegraph she did not want to be drawn into the matter. She said: "I didn't think becoming an MP meant you had to lose your sense of humour as well. "It really is ridiculous." Sinn Fein added: "Sinn Fein MPs travel to London every week for meetings with the British government, a range of political parties, trade unions, embassies, the Irish diaspora and many others promoting our platform of rights, equality and Irish unity." In her first political engagement as MP last Sunday, Ms McCallion became the first Sinn Fein MP to attend a First World War commemoration service, with the event taking place at the cenotaph in the Diamond in Londonderry. The service marked the 100th anniversary of the battle of Messines, when soldiers of the 16th Irish and 36th Ulster Division fought alongside each other for the first time. There are now more than half a million fewer smokers in England than in 2015, Public Health England said Smoking rates across the UK continue to fall, with a sharp decline since 2010 among younger people, figures show. In 2016, 15.8% of adults in the UK smoked, down from 17.2% in 2015, the data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. Some 15.5% of adults currently smoke in England, rising to 18.1% in Northern Ireland, 17.7% in Scotland and 16.9% in Wales. Across the UK, 5.6% of people - around 2.9 million - used e-cigarettes in 2016. Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, said there were now more than half a million fewer smokers in England than in 2015. He said the UK now has the second lowest smoking rates in Europe after Sweden. He added: "What is really fantastic news is that this steep decline is even greater among young adults (aged 18 to 24), where smoking has fallen by a staggering quarter since 2010, reversing a long trend." In 2010, 26% of this age group smoked, dropping to 19% in 2016. Mr Selbie said: "It's now hard to believe that back in 1974 almost half of adults smoked. But now an end really is in sight and we have a real opportunity to virtually eliminate all the harm, misery and death caused by smoking." Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: "People who quit live longer and feel better, no matter their age. However we must not be complacent. Smoking is still the UK's biggest cause of early preventable death. "Approximately 100,000 people die needlessly from smoking-related diseases every year in our hospitals - it's time to tackle the human and financial cost the tobacco industry creates. "These statistics confirm that e-cigarettes are mainly being used to help people quit. Given half of long-term smokers die as a result of their habit, using vaping to help someone stop smoking could literally save their life. "A new tobacco control plan was expected to be published last year. It is now well overdue, and must be a priority for the new Government." Ash chief executive Deborah Arnott said: "One in two lifetime smokers will die from smoking-related disease, so a fall in smoking rates of this scale will save many thousands of lives in years to come. "This proves that tobacco control policies work when they are part of a comprehensive strategy and are properly funded." Smoking rates among pregnant women have dropped slightly, with around one in 10 smoking in pregnancy. Sarah Fox, professional policy adviser at the Royal College of Midwives, said: "These are encouraging figures and we need to see this downward trend continue. "Smoking is one of the main contributors to stillbirths and if we can reduce the numbers smoking in pregnancy even further we can make a contribution to reducing stillbirth rates." Theresa May has signalled she is "confident" of getting the Queen's Speech through the Commons whether or not a deal is reached with the Democratic Unionists (DUP) by the State Opening of Parliament next week. After days of uncertainty, the Government announced that the State Opening would now take place on Wednesday June 21 - two days later than originally scheduled. The move came as a senior Conservative source said talks with the DUP on a deal to prop up a minority Tory administration were "progressing well" with "broad agreement" on the principles of the Speech, setting out the Government's legislative programme for the coming year. The source confirmed there was no need for a deal on a so-called "confidence and supply" arrangement to be sealed in order to press ahead with the Speech, and said Mrs May wanted the Government to "get on with its business". Expand Close Nigel Dodds, deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street on June 15, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nigel Dodds, deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street on June 15, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images) "Both parties are committed to strengthening the Union, combating terrorism, delivering Brexit and delivering prosperity across the whole country," the source said. "However, while talks are ongoing it is important the Government gets on with its business and we are confident there will be sufficient support across the House for passing the Queen's Speech." DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds, in Downing Street for talks with Mrs May on restoring powersharing in Northern Ireland, refused to be drawn on how the negotiations were progressing. Expand Close Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Fein and Michelle O'Neill, leader of Sinn Fein (L) speak to the media outside 10 Downing Street on June 15, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Fein and Michelle O'Neill, leader of Sinn Fein (L) speak to the media outside 10 Downing Street on June 15, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images) "We are working on a series of fronts and we are working very, very hard to deliver good government for Northern Ireland and good government for the United Kingdom," he said. Tories have made clear since last week's election that their discussions with the DUP revolve around assurances of support in key Commons votes, rather than a full coalition. With her tally of Conservative MPs slashed to 317 in last week's poll, Mrs May needs the backing of the DUP's 10 members to reach the 320 required for a working majority in the Commons. Expand Close Colum Eastwood, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (C) stands with colleagues as he speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street on June 15, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Colum Eastwood, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (C) stands with colleagues as he speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street on June 15, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images) The listing of four policy areas where the parties are in agreement suggests a final deal may go further than a basic confidence and supply arrangement, which would see the DUP guarantee its support only on financial measures and no-confidence votes. Mrs May held talks at Downing Street with the other Northern Ireland political parties in an attempt to allay growing concerns that the expected DUP deal would undermine the peace process. The meetings came as time is running out for the parties to reach an agreement on restoring devolved government to Stormont, with the Government set to resume direct rule from Westminster if there is no deal by June 29. Expand Close Ulster Unionist Party leader Robin Swann speaks to members of the media outside 10 Downing Street in central London on June 15, 2017, after holding talks with with Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ulster Unionist Party leader Robin Swann speaks to members of the media outside 10 Downing Street in central London on June 15, 2017, after holding talks with with Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May. AFP/Getty Images In a statement afterwards, Mrs May said that "good progress" had been made and an agreement was possible if there was "good will on all sides". "My Government remains absolutely committed to doing everything we can to help take this process to a successful conclusion, remaining steadfast to our commitments in the Belfast Agreement and its successors," she said. However Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said they would oppose any deal which undermined the Good Friday Agreement, which commits the UK and Irish governments to demonstrate "rigorous impartiality" in their dealings with the different political traditions in Northern Ireland. Expand Close Alliance Party of Northern Ireland leader Naomi Long speaks to members of the media outside 10 Downing Street in central London on June 15, 2017, after holding talks with with Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alliance Party of Northern Ireland leader Naomi Long speaks to members of the media outside 10 Downing Street in central London on June 15, 2017, after holding talks with with Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May. AFP/Getty Images "We told the British Prime Minister that in our view she is playing fast and loose with the Good Friday Agreement in a desperate attempt to cling to power," he said. "A little side bargain to keep Theresa May in power - a temporary little arrangement - won't have any integrity." At the same time, Michelle O'Neill, the Sinn Fein leader in Stormont, made clear that an agreement on powersharing would require a substantial package of financial support for Northern Ireland from the UK Government. "There has to be a strong financial package to allow us to deliver good public services when we get the executive up and running again," she said. Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert in the Horn Drive area of west Belfast yards from the Woodburn Police Station on June 15th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Police are examining a suspicious object in the Horn Drive area of west Belfast. Officers have cordoned off the area and a bomb disposal robot has been deployed close to Woodburn Police Station. Expand Close Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert in the Horn Drive area of west Belfast yards from the Woodburn Police Station on June 15th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert in the Horn Drive area of west Belfast yards from the Woodburn Police Station on June 15th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) There are no further details at this time. This is a developing story and will be updated Leo Varadkar waves to wellwishers after being elected as Taoiseach, having beaten Simon Coveney Leo Varadkar used his first day as Taoiseach to tell world leaders "this country will be at the heart of Europe". The son of an immigrant Indian doctor and Irish nurse was formally elected yesterday as the country's youngest and first gay Taoiseach after securing 57 votes against 50 in the Irish parliament, with some 45 parliamentarians abstaining. Mr Varadkar's Cabinet reshuffle saw leadership rival Simon Coveney made the effective 'Brexit Minister', while Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has been tasked with preparing "for the challenges and opportunities of Brexit". Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald, who has moved to the Department of Enterprise, is to ensure Ireland is "business ready for Brexit". Mr Varadkar will discuss the Brexit crisis during a series of phonecalls with Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron over the next 48 hours. The Department of Foreign Affairs, under Mr Coveney, has been given responsibility for coordinating a whole of government response to Brexit. The full details remain to be worked out but a source told the Irish Independent: "In the same way that Public Expenditure monitors spending in every department, Foreign Affairs will now oversee Brexit across government." Mr Coveney and Mr Varadkar had been rivals in a drawn-out race for the leadership of the minority ruling Fine Gael party. "We face enormous challenges in foreign policy as relationships on this island and between these islands and across Europe change," said Mr Varadkar. "I have given (Mr Coveney) the task of working towards re-establishing devolved government in Northern Ireland, securing the best possible deal for Ireland on Brexit, winning seats for Ireland on the UN Security Council and expanding our diplomatic and trade footprints overseas." One of Mr Varadkar's first official contacts as leader will be with Mrs May to pass on the sympathies of the Irish people following the London tower block fire. "The UK has been through some dreadful and terrible tragedies in the past few weeks and to them, on behalf of this House, we offer our sympathies, solidarity and support," he said. Mr Varadkar also vowed a "genuine willingness" to work together with all parties "on matters relating to Northern Ireland and matters outside the State". "Our responsibility as a government is as co-guarantor of the (Good Friday) Agreement, and of course the responsibility of all parties in Northern Ireland, after two elections, is to form an administration," he said. Mr Varadkar will meet the leaders of the DUP and Sinn Fein in Dublin tomorrow. Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams took the opportunity to tell the Dail yesterday and he and Mr Varadkar had previously attended the same Pilates class. "I do not know him well, though he and I once attended the same Pilates class," he revealed. "We couldn't get the former Taoiseach to stretch as far as that." Last night the leaders of the SDLP and Alliance Party offered their congratulations to Mr Varadkar. Colum Eastwood said: "The new Taoiseach enters into office when our country is experiencing some of its greatest challenges since the formation of the State. This is a period of fracture and change across our continent and all of us in political life face the challenge of meeting that change and bringing unity and stability in the interests of all our people." Naomi Long said: "Northern Ireland and the Republic have a good relationship and I am confident it will continue under his stewardship. "That is particularly important given the challenges we face in the near future - especially in relation to Brexit and the future of the power-sharing institutions." Sinn Fein has demanded speaking rights for its MPs in the Republic's parliament - even though they won't sit in Westminster. New Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been urged to implement a plan allowing Northern Ireland MPs to be allowed to speak "as of right" at Leinster House. Former Belfast Lord Mayor Niall O Donnghaile, now a senator, argued it would make more sense than calls from Irish parties, including Fine Gael, for Sinn Fein to give up abstentionism. "Given the context in which we find ourselves as a result of the election and the impending threat posed by Brexit, it is critical that the new Taoiseach implements the long-standing promise that MPs from the North would, as of right, have speaking rights in this Oireachtas," he said. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has led tributes to Children's Minister Katherine Zappone's wife, who has died after a short illness. Dr Ann Louise Gilligan, who taught at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra and Dublin City University, and Ms Zappone married in 2003 in British Columbia. The couple were veteran campaigners for gay marriage equality and got engaged again on live television after Ireland backed same-sex weddings in a referendum in 2015. "Dr Gilligan was deeply committed to education and equality, and made a lasting contribution to Irish society, in particular as co-founder and director of An Cosan and through her work in campaigning for marriage equality," Mr Varadkar said. Ms Zappone said she was heartbroken by the death of "my beloved Ann Louise". "Since 1981 she has been my love and my life-partner," she said. Labour leader Brendan Howlin said Dr Gilligan's work at the An Cosan project had helped transform so many lives in Tallaght. "Throughout her life, Ann Louise always fought for justice and equality," he added. "In her passing, she leaves behind a wonderful legacy and a distinctive mark on a more equal Ireland." Jeremy Corbyn's former leadership rival Owen Smith has returned to the shadow cabinet - as the Northern Ireland spokesperson. The Labour leader brought back the man who tried to oust him in 2016 as he began putting together a "strengthened shadow cabinet" following the general election. The Pontypridd MP will serve under Mr Corbyn as shadow Northern Ireland secretary. Lesley Laird also makes it to the top team as shadow Scottish secretary, just days after being elected as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. Dawn Butler will be shadow minister for diverse communities, while Ian Lavery becomes party chairman. Mr Corbyn said: "I look forward to working with the strengthened shadow cabinet as we prepare a government in waiting to carry out our manifesto for the many, not the few. "Our party is now on a permanent campaign footing in anticipation of the failure of Theresa May's attempt to establish a stable administration with the support of the DUP. "I am therefore appointing Ian Lavery, co-national campaign coordinator, to the additional role of Labour Party Chair to strengthen our campaigning and party organisation, as we prepare to contest a new general election and form the next government." Andrew Gwynne, credited with playing a major role in the general election campaign which saw Mr Corbyn's Labour gain 30 seats, has been appointed shadow communities and local government secretary. He retains the co-national campaign coordinator role alongside Mr Lavery. Meanwhile, Ian Blackford MP has been named as the SNP's new Westminster leader. The member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber will succeed Angus Robertson, who lost his Moray seat in the snap general election last week. "As Scotland's leading party at Westminster, and the third party across the UK, the SNP has a huge opportunity in this parliament to stand up for Scotland's interests," he said. The two coffins are carried into church. (Danny Lawson/PA) A young couple killed in the Manchester bombing continue to be the image of love, the vicar taking their joint funeral service has said. Mourners for Liam Curry, 19, and Chloe Rutherford, 17, were asked to wear pink or blue for the service at St Hildas Church in their home town of South Shields, South Tyneside. The teenagers were among the 22 people killed in the terror attack on the Ariana Grande concert last month. Expand Close Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry. (Greater Manchester Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry. (Greater Manchester Police/PA) Miss Rutherford was studying music at college and was about to start an apprenticeship in travel while her boyfriend was studying for a degree in sport and exercise science at Northumbria University. The Rev Fr Chris Fuller addressed the mourners who packed the church and several hundred outside, telling them: Chloe and Liam were and still are an image of love. Inseparable in life, inseparable in death, inseparable now with the angels of heaven. Two white coffins bedecked with flowers were carried in to the church together. Flowers in the two hearses spelled out the words Sis and Son Liam. The loving couple had long-term plans to get married and have children, the service was told. The teenagers had got to know each other as Liam was a keen member of Marsden Cricket Club where Chloes older brother Scott played. Their families were delighted with the relationship, with Miss Rutherfords parents pleased to see he was a true gentleman who looked after their daughter. Humanist celebrant Ian Hunter told the service how Chloe had supported her boyfriend following the death of his father Andrew from cancer. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Liam was there to provide strength and comfort for his mum and family, assuming a new role, he said. He was the man of the house, there to protect and take care of everyone, that was a mantle he carried with immense dignity and great courage. She was his rock, their love for each other was just getting stronger. The pair planned to visit New York together. Then they aimed to save up to get a flat together, two years later get married, and start a family in another two, the service heard. Miss Rutherford had already printed business cards for her job in a travel agents, while Mr Curry wanted to join the police. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference But those hopes were wrecked by the horrific events at the Manchester Arena. Mr Hunter said: The rest we know. Too tragic, too sad, and here we are now, when we wish we werent. How to make sense of something thats never, ever going to make sense? The two coffins were carried out of the church as a recording of Miss Rutherford singing Someone Only We Know by Keane was played. The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to his "very special godmother" Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who has died at the age of 93. Charles said the Countess played an "extremely important" part in his life and he would "miss her presence most dreadfully". Born Patricia Mountbatten, the Countess was the Duke of Edinburgh's first cousin and was the daughter of Charles's beloved great-uncle Earl Mountbatten. She survived the 1979 IRA bomb that killed her father, her 14-year-old son Nicholas Knatchbull, her mother-in-law the Dowager Lady Brabourne and boat boy Paul Maxwell (15) on a boat off the coast of Co Sligo. The Countess died peacefully at her home in Mersham, Kent, on Tuesday. The arrangements for a funeral in London, followed by a burial service in Mersham, will be announced later. Former TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been jailed for four years for a string of sex offences against schoolboys on trips to Scotland more than three decades ago. The 67-year-old indecently assaulted seven teenage boys in his care during camping and boating trips in the 1970s and 1980s while working as a biology teacher at a school in the Manchester area. He is already serving a five-year sentence imposed in Manchester in 2015 for indecently assaulting two other schoolboys. During a nine-day trial at Lanark Sheriff Court last month, Talbot denied the allegations. But a jury took four hours to convict him of seven of the nine historical abuse charges against him. The four-year sentence is due to start from August, at the end of the punishment part of his current jail term. The television personality, who regularly appeared on a floating weather map in Liverpools Albert Dock for ITVs This Morning show for several years, stood and nodded as Sheriff Nikola Stewart delivered her sentence on Thursday afternoon. She said he grossly abused the trust placed in him as a teacher with systematic abuse of schoolboys. It is beyond doubt these trips were organised with sexual exploitation of these boys very much in mind, Sheriff Stewart said. By denying your guilt and insisting on a trial, you put each victim through further trauma. Dozens of people gathered last night for a vigil in the shadow of the Grenfell Tower while many residents remained missing. Many were moved to tears after a moment of silent contemplation outside the Notting Hill Methodist Church in west London. The Rev Mike Long invited those present to light candles to place on the steps of the church yesterday evening. He then played Amazing Grace on his flute as members of the crowd sang along. He said: "There are times when all the words we can say are not adequate and sometimes words fail us because no words can do justice to how we feel, or what we have seen or what has happened. Today is one of those days. What we can simply do is look to all that we have seen today which is good, which is fabulous - people getting together." He added: "Let light triumph over all that is rotten, that is desperate and that defies our understanding." A number of people last night remained missing following the fire, with their relatives making desperate pleas for information about them. Artist Khadija Saye (24), who is currently showing her artwork in the Venice Biennale, was in her flat on the 20th floor, with her mother Mary Mendy, who is thought to be in her 50s. Her friend, artist Nicola Green, said: "We're desperately trying to communicate with all the hospitals. "We're told some people have been rescued up to the 19th and 20th floor. She was on the 20th floor. Nobody has any information at this point." Ms Green told the Press Association that Ms Saye was last heard from at 3am, when she was direct messaging from her flat, as her phone was not working. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Fire service personnel survey the damage at Grenfell Tower (Rick Findler/PA) Inside of the Grenfell Tower, as searches for people missing in the inferno are continuing frantically. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. PA LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 15: Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to members of the fire service as she visits Grenfell Tower, on June 15, 2017 in London, England. At least twelve people have been confirmed dead and dozens missing, after the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road was engulfed in flames in the early hours of June 14. The number of fatalities are expected to rise. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Getty Images Inside of the Grenfell Tower, as searches for people missing in the inferno are continuing frantically. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. PA Prime Minister Theresa May visits the scene near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building yesterday morning. Rick Findler/PA Wire PA Inside of the Grenfell Tower, as searches for people missing in the inferno are continuing frantically. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. PA LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 15: Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to Dany Cotton, Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, with members of the fire service as she visits Grenfell Tower, on June 15, 2017 in London, England. At least twelve people have been confirmed dead and dozens missing, after the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road was engulfed in flames in the early hours of June 14. The number of fatalities are expected to rise. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Getty Images British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) visits the remains of Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London which was gutted by fire on June 14, 2017. Firefighters searched for bodies today in a London tower block gutted by a blaze that has already left 12 dead, as questions grew over whether a recent refurbishment contributed to the fire. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga AKMENTOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) meets police officers as she visits the remains of Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London which was gutted by fire on June 14, 2017. Firefighters searched for bodies today in a London tower block gutted by a blaze that has already left 12 dead, as questions grew over whether a recent refurbishment contributed to the fire. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga AKMENTOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 15: Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to Dany Cotton, Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, with members of the fire service as she visits Grenfell Tower, on June 15, 2017 in London, England. At least twelve people have been confirmed dead and dozens missing, after the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road was engulfed in flames in the early hours of June 14. The number of fatalities are expected to rise. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Getty Images British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) speaks with Dany Cotton (L), London Fire Brigade commissioner as she visits the remains of Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London which was gutted by fire on June 14, 2017. Firefighters searched for bodies today in a London tower block gutted by a blaze that has already left 12 dead, as questions grew over whether a recent refurbishment contributed to the fire. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga AKMENTOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) speaks with police as she visits the remains of Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London which was gutted by fire on June 14, 2017. Firefighters searched for bodies today in a London tower block gutted by a blaze that has already left 12 dead, as questions grew over whether a recent refurbishment contributed to the fire. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga AKMENTOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Smoke and flames billow from the 24-storey Grenfell Tower PA Firefighters and their exhausted colleages at the scene Getty Images Firefighters and their exhausted colleages at the scene AFP/Getty Images Grief-stricken people at the scene AFP/Getty Images Grief-stricken people at the scene AFP/Getty Images Residents evacuated from the blaze AFP/Getty Images Undertakers remove a body PA A man at a window in the burning tower AP LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Fire fighters drench the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 50 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Smoke continues to rise from the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 50 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Getty Images Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images Flames and smoke engulf Grenfell Tower, a residential block of flats in west London on June 14, 2017, as firefighters continue to control a fire that started in the early hours of the morning. Six people were confirmed dead in a massive fire that engulfed a London tower block before dawn on Wednesday and the number is expected to rise, police said. / AFP PHOTO / Adrian DENNISADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Pic: Rick Findler/PA Wire PA Emergency services at the scene after a fire engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Steve Paston/PA Wire PA Members of the emergency services carry oxygen tanks as a huge blaze engulfs Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block on June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through the 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block on June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through the 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block on June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through the 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Steve Paston/PA Wire PA LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: People watch as smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: A heicopter circles as smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Getty Images Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Steve Paston/PA Wire PA Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Rick Findler/PA Wire PA LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: People watch as smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Getty Images Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Rick Findler/PA Wire PA Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP Smoke rises from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP A man photographs a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Rick Findler/PA Wire PA Smoke pours from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Wednesday June 14, 2017. More than 200 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze and London Ambulance Service said 30 people had been taken to five hospitals. Steve Paston/PA Wire PA This handout image received by local resident Natalie Oxford early on June 14, 2017 shows flames and smoke coming from a 27-storey block of flats after a fire broke out in west London. The fire brigade said 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters had been called to the blaze in Grenfell Tower, which has 120 flats. / AFP PHOTO / Natalie Oxford / Natalie OXFORD / AFP/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: A man watches as smoke continues to rise from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday June 14, 2017. More than 200 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze and London Ambulance Service said 30 people had been taken to five hospitals. See PA story FIRE Grenfell. Photo credit should read: Rick Findler/PA Wire PA LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: A fire fighter tackles the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Fire fighters take a rest near the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP A person, bottom right, peers out of a window from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP A person peers out of a window from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP This handout image received by local resident Natalie Oxford early on June 14, 2017 shows flames and smoke coming from a 27-storey block of flats after a fire broke out in west London. AFP/Getty Images Firefighters wait to start their shift after a massive fire raged in a 27-floor high-rise apartment building in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP Paramedics arrive with oxygen as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower early June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through a 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel Leal-OlivasDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) AP This handout image received by local resident Natalie Oxford early on June 14, 2017 shows flames and smoke coming from a 27-storey block of flats after a fire broke out in west London. The fire brigade said 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters had been called to the blaze in Grenfell Tower, which has 120 flats. / AFP PHOTO / Natalie Oxford / Natalie OXFORD / AFP/Getty Images Firefighters react as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower early June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through a 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel Leal-OlivasDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Fire engulfing the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London (Natalie_Oxford/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fire service personnel survey the damage at Grenfell Tower (Rick Findler/PA) Ms Green's husband, Labour MP David Lammy, also put out a plea to find Ms Saye, tweeting: "If you have any information about Khadija Saye pls contact me. She is our dear friend, a beautiful soul and emerging artist." Twelve-year-old Jessica Urbano is still missing following the fire at the block. Ana Ospina posted an image of the young girl, said to be about 5ft tall, on Facebook, saying: "Please continue to share the photo of my niece who has not yet found her. I know there are people who say they already found her, but the reality is that there has been no news of her." Mrs Ospina said the girl lived on the 20th floor, adding: "She last spoke to her mum when she borrowed a phone and told her she was on the stairs with other people. We then have had unconfirmed reports/sightings of her outside of the flats and also being put into an ambulance, but we have checked hospitals and no news." Emma Evans shared an appeal to find long-time friend Mariem Elgwahry, who lived on the 19th floor of the tower block and was said to be missing with her mother. Ms Evans said that Ms Elgwahry had last been heard from when she spoke to another friend in the tower block - who was since confirmed safe - at around 2.30am. She added that she had been to a number of rescue centres in the area "with no luck yet". Ali Yawar Jafari (82) is also thought to be among those missing. His son, Hamid Ali Jafari, said his father had lost contact with his mother and sister, who lived with him in Grenfell Tower, on the 10th floor. The younger Mr Jafari said he had been to several rescue centres throughout the day since first reporting his father missing on Twitter just before 8am. Firefighters react as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower early June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through a 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel Leal-OlivasDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images This handout image received by local resident Natalie Oxford early on June 14, 2017 shows flames and smoke coming from a 27-storey block of flats after a fire broke out in west London. The fire brigade said 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters had been called to the blaze in Grenfell Tower, which has 120 flats. / AFP PHOTO / Natalie Oxford / Natalie OXFORD / Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Paramedics arrive with oxygen as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower early June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through a 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel Leal-OlivasDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Firefighters wait to start their shift after a massive fire raged in a 27-floor high-rise apartment building in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) This handout image received by local resident Natalie Oxford early on June 14, 2017 shows flames and smoke coming from a 27-storey block of flats after a fire broke out in west London. A person peers out of a window from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) A person, bottom right, peers out of a window from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Fire fighters take a rest near the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: A fire fighter tackles the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday June 14, 2017. More than 200 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze and London Ambulance Service said 30 people had been taken to five hospitals. See PA story FIRE Grenfell. Photo credit should read: Rick Findler/PA Wire LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: A man watches as smoke continues to rise from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) This handout image received by local resident Natalie Oxford early on June 14, 2017 shows flames and smoke coming from a 27-storey block of flats after a fire broke out in west London. The fire brigade said 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters had been called to the blaze in Grenfell Tower, which has 120 flats. / AFP PHOTO / Natalie Oxford / Natalie OXFORD / Smoke pours from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Wednesday June 14, 2017. More than 200 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze and London Ambulance Service said 30 people had been taken to five hospitals. Steve Paston/PA Wire A man photographs a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Rick Findler/PA Wire Smoke rises from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Smoke and flames rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Metropolitan Police in London say they're continuing to evacuate people from a massive apartment fire in west London. The fire has been burning for more than three hours and stretches from the second to the 27th floor of the building.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Rick Findler/PA Wire LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: People watch as smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Rick Findler/PA Wire Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Steve Paston/PA Wire LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: A heicopter circles as smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: People watch as smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of this morning on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Steve Paston/PA Wire Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block on June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through the 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block on June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through the 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images Members of the emergency services carry oxygen tanks as a huge blaze engulfs Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block on June 14, 2017 in west London. The massive fire ripped through the 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze. Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images Emergency services at the scene after a fire engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Steve Paston/PA Wire Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Pic: Rick Findler/PA Wire Flames and smoke engulf Grenfell Tower, a residential block of flats in west London on June 14, 2017, as firefighters continue to control a fire that started in the early hours of the morning. Six people were confirmed dead in a massive fire that engulfed a London tower block before dawn on Wednesday and the number is expected to rise, police said. / AFP PHOTO / Adrian DENNISADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Smoke continues to rise from the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 50 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Fire fighters drench the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London on June 14, 2017 in London, England. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze while at least 50 people are receiving hospital treatment. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Firefighters and their exhausted colleages at the scene Firefighters and their exhausted colleages at the scene British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) speaks with police as she visits the remains of Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London which was gutted by fire on June 14, 2017. Firefighters searched for bodies today in a London tower block gutted by a blaze that has already left 12 dead, as questions grew over whether a recent refurbishment contributed to the fire. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga AKMENTOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) speaks with Dany Cotton (L), London Fire Brigade commissioner as she visits the remains of Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London which was gutted by fire on June 14, 2017. Firefighters searched for bodies today in a London tower block gutted by a blaze that has already left 12 dead, as questions grew over whether a recent refurbishment contributed to the fire. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga AKMENTOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 15: Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to Dany Cotton, Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, with members of the fire service as she visits Grenfell Tower, on June 15, 2017 in London, England. At least twelve people have been confirmed dead and dozens missing, after the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road was engulfed in flames in the early hours of June 14. The number of fatalities are expected to rise. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) meets police officers as she visits the remains of Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London which was gutted by fire on June 14, 2017. Firefighters searched for bodies today in a London tower block gutted by a blaze that has already left 12 dead, as questions grew over whether a recent refurbishment contributed to the fire. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga AKMENTOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) visits the remains of Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London which was gutted by fire on June 14, 2017. Firefighters searched for bodies today in a London tower block gutted by a blaze that has already left 12 dead, as questions grew over whether a recent refurbishment contributed to the fire. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga AKMENTOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 15: Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to Dany Cotton, Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, with members of the fire service as she visits Grenfell Tower, on June 15, 2017 in London, England. At least twelve people have been confirmed dead and dozens missing, after the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road was engulfed in flames in the early hours of June 14. The number of fatalities are expected to rise. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Inside of the Grenfell Tower, as searches for people missing in the inferno are continuing frantically. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Prime Minister Theresa May visits the scene near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building yesterday morning. Rick Findler/PA Wire Inside of the Grenfell Tower, as searches for people missing in the inferno are continuing frantically. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 15: Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to members of the fire service as she visits Grenfell Tower, on June 15, 2017 in London, England. At least twelve people have been confirmed dead and dozens missing, after the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road was engulfed in flames in the early hours of June 14. The number of fatalities are expected to rise. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Inside of the Grenfell Tower, as searches for people missing in the inferno are continuing frantically. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster which has claimed the lives of at least 17 people. The death toll from the devastating tower block fire in west London is expected to rise with the London Fire Brigade saying it does not expect to find anymore survivors. Investigators had been trawling through the wreckage in the search for other victims. The Metropolitan Police said there are 37 people still receiving care in hospital with seventeen in a critical condition. Mrs May visited the scene on Thursday and said the inquiry was needed to ensure "this terrible tragedy is properly investigated". Speaking at 10 Downing Street shortly after she returned from the site she said: "We need to know what happened, we need to know an explanation. "We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived. "That is why I am ordering a full public inquiry so that we can get to the answers, we can find out exactly what happened." On Thursday morning, London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said she does not expect any other survivors to be found inside Grenfell Tower. She also said the edges of the building are no longer safe for firefighters. The search operation is likely to take weeks. Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "Sadly I can confirm that the number of people who have died is now 17. "We do believe that that number will sadly increase." Detective Chief Inspector Matt Bonner has been appointed to lead the investigation, he added. London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said: "This will be a detailed fingertip search. "Obviously this will be a very slow and painstaking process." The fire service chief said nine of her officers had been injured during the incident. The Queen has said her "thoughts and prayers" are with the injured and families who lost loved ones in the tragedy. Read More More than 1 million has been raised to help those affected as fire tore through the 24-storey building while volunteers and charities helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. A wall of condolence was put up near the scene with photographs showing dozens of messages left for loved ones. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Residents groups have claimed they voiced concerns about the safety of the building, which had been recently refurbished, while those who escaped complained their fire alarms had not been set off by the blaze. One focus for the investigation will be the buildings cladding, which TV architect George Clarke said may have accelerated the blaze. Expand Close People light candles as people gather for prayers outside the Notting Hill Methodist Church (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People light candles as people gather for prayers outside the Notting Hill Methodist Church (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Mr Clarke, who lives locally and appears on Channel 4s Amazing Spaces, told BBCs Newsnight: I saw those cladding panels, the cladding on the outside and the insulation was just peeling off, like youd peel a banana. It was fully on fire. I could see the flames behind theres a new cladding system put on the outsides that looks like a new skin, theres an air gap an insulation behind that, to me that looks like a fantastic chimney for the fire to rage around. Grenfell Tower, built in 1974, was recently refurbished at a cost of 8.6 million, with work completed in May last year. Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it had received complaints over the works, after a residents action group said its warnings about safety had fallen on deaf ears. Expand Close The 24-storey Grenfell Tower (Henry Vaughan/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The 24-storey Grenfell Tower (Henry Vaughan/PA) A blog post from Grenfell Action Group in November said only a catastrophic event would expose the concerns residents had. The group said there was one entry and exit to the tower during improvement works and it had issues with evacuation procedures. Concerns had also been raised about exposed gas pipes weeks before the devastating blaze. Rydon, the firm that carried out the refurbishment work, said the project met all required building regulations, in its latest statement following the fire. Expand Close Emergency services close to the scene (Victoria Jones/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Emergency services close to the scene (Victoria Jones/PA) and health and safety standards, which was included in an earlier release, had disappeared. When questioned about residents worries about fire safety at the block, the councils deputy leader Rock Feilding-Mellen told the BBC: My understanding is that their concerns were looked at and officers and the TMO (tenant management organisation) made inquiries and felt we had done what was necessary. Meanwhile, work is continuing to tackle pockets of fire in the block, with several residents reporting one man had said it started in his faulty fridge. Many people are still unaccounted for with firefighters saying the operation was now in the recovery phase. Commander Stuart Cundy of the Metropolitan Police said: This is going to be a long and complex recovery operation and I do anticipate that the number of fatalities will sadly increase beyond those 12. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Witnesses described hearing screams for help from people trapped on the upper floors of the block as flames engulfed the building, which contains 120 flats thought to be home to between 400 and 600 people. Children and a baby were seen being thrown out of the windows to be caught by emergency workers and members of the public below. London Fire Brigade said it had rescued 65 people as flames engulfed the block, and had managed to reach all 24 floors, though a full search of the building has not been completed. The Prime Minister will meet all of Northern Ireland's main parties in London today after a deal between the Conservatives and the DUP to form the next government was postponed The Prime Minister will meet all of Northern Ireland's main parties in London today after a deal between the Conservatives and the DUP to form the next government was postponed. The DUP will hold its second meeting in three days with Theresa May and Secretary of State James Brokenshire, while an arrangement for the party to prop up a Tory administration with its seven MPs has yet to be agreed. Sinn Fein, SDLP, Ulster Unionists and Alliance teams will hold separate sessions with the PM in Downing Street - with all warning any agreement between Mrs May and Arlene Foster must not undermine the prospects of reviving the collapsed Stormont Executive. Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance have also insisted Mr Brokenshire cannot be an impartial chairman of the talks to restore the Stormont power-sharing institutions because of the DUP/Tory link-up. Meetings at Stormont, meanwhile, are in limbo. A round-table session had been envisaged for today involving Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan. And it is not clear if there will be meetings tomorrow. Mr Brokenshire insisted that today's meetings in London would "build on the political discussions that restarted on Monday in Belfast". "The UK Government is offering whatever support we can, working alongside the Irish Government, as appropriate, honouring our respective commitments in the Belfast Agreement to serve the interests of the whole community in Northern Ireland." And he warned: "There is very little time left. An agreement to restore devolved power-sharing in Stormont must be reached by the June 29 deadline. Ultimately, I think the parties understand people voted in the March Assembly elections for a strong voice at Stormont. Northern Ireland's political leaders now have it in their hands to take control and shape a brighter future for everyone in Northern Ireland." The London tower block disaster yesterday meant any announcement of an agreement between the Conservatives and DUP had to be postponed. And it now appears there will be no formal finalisation of the 'confidence and supply' arrangement until next week. Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill - who is to meet new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin tomorrow - said she would tell Mrs May that any deal with the DUP must not threaten the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements. "Progress will not come from a deal between the DUP and Tories to prop up a government in Westminster with an austerity and Brexit agenda but through the full implementation of the agreements and an Executive that respects the rights and delivers for all in society," she said. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said: "The SDLP are clear that any deal struck must not hinder cross-community confidence in our politics. We are steadfast in our commitment to devolution and are ready to work with all willing partners to restore the devolved institutions in the interests of all our people." Ongoing negotiations between Conservatives and DUP make it increasingly likely the Queen's Speech setting out the Government's intentions may have to be put back from its scheduled date of next Monday. Prince Harry has spoken of the importance of nurturing the worlds future leaders, as he opened a 3 million centre aimed at supporting the next generation of statesmen and women. Harrys comments came as he visited the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and met some of those hoping to be at the forefront of decision making. The prince chatted to young researchers from across the globe in the new Stavros Niarchos Foundation Floor which is home to the Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Harry told the group: Anyone can be a fantastic leader and the key is identifying those people as early as possible, incubating them and support them all the way to the top. The academy aims to help a new generation of potential leaders to develop skills to deal with major policy challenges and critical issues facing the world. The Queen, who launched the academy in 2014, has been patron of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, based in central London, since 1952. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have honoured the memory of 18 primary school children killed 100 years ago in a First World War bombing raid on Londons East End. On June 13 1917, a daylight bomb from a German aircraft hit Upper North Street School in Poplar, killing the youngsters, most of whom were aged between four and six. In the summer sunshine, the Queen and Philip went to a memorial service at nearby All Saints Church, Poplar, where the funerals of 15 of the children took place. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference The royal couple also met descendants of some of the victims and later revisited the rebuilt school, now named Mayflower Primary School. At the church, the 91-year-old monarch and Philip, 96, joined the 250-strong congregation in also remembering the victims of this weeks tragedy at Grenfell Tower across London in North Kensington. The Reverend Jane Hodges, team rector in the Poplar ministry, told the worshippers: We will pray for peace in our hearts, peace in our community and peace in our world. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Today we will also hold in our hearts all those affected by the dreadful fire in west London. A childrens choir sang The Lords My Shepherd before the names of all 18 pupils killed in the raid were read out. All but two were in the infant class on the ground floor, where the bomb exploded after scything through the roof and upper two floors. A girl aged 10 and a boy aged 12 were the others killed. It is thought the bomb had been meant for the docks nearby. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference At least 37 more pupils and teachers were injured in the bombing. School caretaker Benjamin Batt found his own son, Alfred, five, dead in the rubble. The Queen and Philip met relatives of some of the victims. They included Donald Challen, 90, from Braintree, Essex, whose cousin William Challen died aged five. Mr Challen, a former fruit merchant who served in Italy with the 16/5 Lancers in the Second World War and escaped from his own family home in Walthamstow, north-east London, when it was hit by a V1 buzz bomb, saw the service as part of continuing efforts to bring reconciliation between Britons and Germans. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference I think its needed to bring us and Germany back to the status we had in the time of (Kaiser) Wilhelm I when the Germans were our best friends, he said. The Mayor of London has called for an interim report into the Grenfell Tower fire to be published this summer and for the public inquiry to examine whether the block was refurbished safely. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Sadiq Khan said there were questions that demand answers, adding: We cant afford to wait many years for those answers. It comes after Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a full public inquiry into the disaster to establish what had happened. Speaking near the scene of the blaze in west London, Mr Khan said: One of the things the public inquiry will look into is the refurbishment of the tower blocks and whether the tower block was refurbished in a safe way. There are obvious questions about value for money and other questions that will be raised and other questions that demand answers. We cant afford to wait many years for those answers. Which is why I am today calling for an interim report to be published this summer. Police and Fire Minister Nick Hurd promised the public inquiry will leave absolutely no stone unturned. He said the investigation into the blaze will seek to produce a factually-based understanding of what happened on the night of the fire and the events which led to it. Mr Hurd indicated that a promised review of building regulations would not be published until after the inquiry. Asked why the review, promised after the inquest into the Lakanal House blaze, had not been published, he said: Our commitment is to a full public inquiry where everything needs to be looked at in the round. This is a very complicated situation, it is an absolutely unprecedented fire in the observation of those who fought it. We need to understand what happened on that dreadful night and as the Prime Minister has said, get a really proper factually-based, evidence-based understanding of what happened on that night, and what happened in the run-in to that night. Mrs May made the announcement after visiting emergency teams at the scene of the blaze in west London. Expand Close Prime Minister Theresa May with emergency workers at the site. (Rick Findler/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prime Minister Theresa May with emergency workers at the site. (Rick Findler/PA) Speaking at 10 Downing Street following the visit, she said: We need to know what happened, we need to know an explanation. We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived. That is why I am ordering a full public inquiry so that we can get to the answers, we can find out exactly what happened. Grenfell Tower, built in 1974, was recently refurbished at a cost of 8.6 million, with work completed in May last year. A blog post from Grenfell Action Group in November said only a catastrophic event would expose the concerns residents had about the building. The group said there was one entry and exit to the tower during improvement works and it had issues with evacuation procedures. A handcuffed Otto Warmbier under guard at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang in March 2016 (AP) The father of an American college student released by North Korea and now in a coma in hospital has said his son was "terrorised and brutalised" by his captors. Speaking from his Ohio home, Fred Warmbier told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that his son Otto "is not in great shape right now". University of Virginia student Otto, 22, landed in Cincinnati late on Tuesday and was taken by ambulance to hospital. His parents say he has been in the coma for more than a year. Mr Warmbier senior says he does not know exactly what happened to his son during his 17-month detention. Otto Warmbier was serving a 15-year prison term with hard labour after he tearfully confessed that he tried to steal a propaganda banner while visiting North Korea. Mr Warmbier's full interview will be shown on Fox News on Thursday night. Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson said there should be an investigation into what happened to Mr Warmbier, saying it was a "tragic situation". The Democrat and former US ambassador to the United Nations praised the Department of State for working to bring Mr Warmbier home. But he said the US government had to respond forcefully if it was determined Mr Warmbier's condition was not disclosed "and he didn't get proper treatment". AP Gunmen posing as military forces are holding dozens of hostages inside a popular restaurant in Somalia's capital, in an attack that began when a car bomb exploded at the gate. The extremist group al Shabab claimed responsibility. Police said at least nine people had been killed and several wounded. Most of the victims were young men who were entering the Pizza House in Mogadishu when the vehicle exploded, Captain Mohamed Hussein said. A burst of gunfire was later heard inside the restaurant, Mr Hussein said. The gunmen "were dressed in military uniforms. They forced those fleeing the site to go inside," witness Nur Yasin said. The blast largely destroyed the restaurant's facade and sparked a fire. While al Shabab claimed to have attacked the neighbouring Posh Treats restaurant, which is frequented by the city's elite and was damaged in the blast, security officials said the Pizza House was targeted instead. Security forces rescued Asian, Ethiopian, Kenyan and other workers at Posh Treats as the attack continued, Mr Hussein said. The Somalia-based al Shabab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu, including hotels, military checkpoints and areas near the presidential palace. It has vowed to step up attacks after the recently elected government launched a new military offensive against it. Al Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. The extremist group also faces a new military push from the United States after President Donald Trump approved expanded operations, including air strikes, against al Shabab. On Sunday, the US military in Africa said it carried out an air strike in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp. Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed that air strike and said such attacks would disrupt the group's ability to conduct new attacks. With a new federal government established, pressure is growing on Somalia's military to assume full responsibility for the country's security. The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020. Also on Wednesday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution extending the UN political mission in the Horn of Africa nation, which is trying to rebuild after more than two decades as a failed state, until March 31, 2018. The resolution recognised that "this is a critical moment for Somalia". AP The death toll in an overnight attack by al-Shabab extremists on a popular restaurant in Somalia's capital has risen to 31. Police captain Mohamed Hussein said many of the victims were killed at point-blank range after the attackers hunted them down. Police say nearly 40 people were wounded in the assault that began when a car bomb exploded outside the Pizza House restaurant in Mogadishu. Security forces ended the siege on Thursday morning after the extremist snipers fired on them. Capt Hussein said all five attackers were killed. Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as attackers searched for patrons in the darkened restaurant. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility shortly after the assault began, when a car bomb exploded at the gate to the restaurant and gunmen posing as military troops stormed in. The roofs were blown off the restaurant and nearby buildings by the blast. Soldiers surrounded the building and used vehicle-mounted guns to neutralise the attackers. Troops then entered the ground floor while the extremist snipers held positions upstairs. All five attackers were killed and the soldiers secured the building after dawn. Efforts to take control of the restaurant had been slowed by the onset of nightfall, Capt Hussein said. Saida Hussein, a university student, said she survived by hiding behind a large table downstairs."I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again," she said. "They were killing people on sight." Another survivor, Aden Karie, was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain. "He shot at me twice and one bullet struck me on the leg," he said. The bodies of five girls thought to have been killed by the extremists were found in the restaurant, police said. Inside the building, the body of a Syrian man who worked as a chef there lay near the rubble of a blood-spattered and bullet-marked wall. Many early victims were young men who had been entering the Pizza House when the vehicle exploded, Capt Hussein said. The gunmen "were dressed in military uniforms. They forced those fleeing the site to go inside" the restaurant, witness Nur Yasin said. While al-Shabab claimed to have attacked the neighbouring Posh Treats restaurant, which is frequented by the city's elite and was damaged in the blast, security officials said the Pizza House was targeted instead. Security forces rescued Asian, Ethiopian, Kenyan and other workers at Posh Treats as the attack continued, Capt Hussein said. The Somalia-based al-Shabab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu, including hotels, military checkpoints and areas near the presidential palace. It has vowed to step up attacks after the recently elected government launched a new military offensive against it. Al-Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. The extremist group also faces a new military push from the US after President Donald Trump approved expanded operations, including air strikes, against al-Shabab. On Sunday, the US military in Africa said it carried out an air strike in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp. Somalian president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed that air strike and said such attacks would disrupt the group's ability to conduct new attacks. With a new federal government established, pressure is growing on Somalia's military to assume full responsibility for the country's security. The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020. AP Supporters of Turkey's pro-secular Republican People's Party, CHP, chant slogans as they gather for a protest in Istanbul (AP) Turkey's main opposition party has started a 250-mile march from the capital to an Istanbul jail in protest over the imprisonment of one of its politicians. The leader of the pro-secular Republican People's Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, called the "march for justice" after parliamentarian Enis Berberoglu was convicted to 25 years in prison for revealing state secrets. Thousands of people set off on the march from Ankara, led by Mr Kilicdaroglu carrying a banner reading "Justice". Mr Kilicdaroglu said he wants justice, democracy and freedom in Turkey. "Let the whole world hear, we are facing a dictatorial regime in Turkey, in our own land," he said. On Wednesday, an Istanbul court found Berberoglu, a former journalist, guilty on espionage charges. His case stems from a 2015 story by the Cumhuriyet newspaper suggesting Turkey's intelligence service had smuggled weapons to Islamist rebels in Syria. Berberoglu was accused of giving journalists footage that showed local authorities searching Syria-bound trucks allegedly carrying mortar rounds and getting into a stand-off with Turkish intelligence officials. Turkish leaders denied supporting Islamic rebels and said the trucks contained aid for Turkmens in Syria. Can Dundar, Cumhuriyet's then editor-in-chief, who is now abroad, and the paper's Ankara representative, Erdem Gul, are also on trial on similar charges. Separately, the three are being tried for "aiding a terror organisation without being members", referring to the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of orchestrating last summer's bloody coup. The prosecutor believes Mr Gulen's network to be the source of the leaked images. After the verdict, Mr Kilicdaroglu tweeted: "In this country, the punishment for covering the news of a truck filled with weapons heading to terror groups is 25 years in prison but illegal arm shipments are allowed!" Berberoglu is the first politician from the Republican People's Party to be imprisoned since a constitutional amendment stripped parliamentary immunities last year. A dozen pro-Kurdish politicians are already in prison for allegedly supporting terror and more than 50,000 people have been arrested for purported links to Mr Gulen. Turkish media said the march would take two weeks, covering approximately 12 miles each day. Mr Kilicdaroglu is being escorted by his security detail. You might love the guy; you might not. Either way, we as believers are encouraged rather commanded to pray for our political leaders, irregardless of their political persuasion or ours. Psalm 72 is a wonderful prayer for a governmental leader. We will use it as a prayer template for President Donald J. Trump on this his 71st birthday. Join us Psalm 72 Father, Today we especially want to heed Your call to pray for our president. Endow the king with your justice, O God May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. Give President Trump a keen sense of justice. Grant Him divine wisdom to make choices based on wisdom, dealing equitably with people, especially those who are weak. May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. Through this term as President, may he find ways to bring prosperity to our nation, especially to those afflicted with poverty. Help him find ways to help meet the needs of the poorest of the poor and their children. May the kingsof distant shores bring tribute to him. Enhance his relationship with foreign leaders and nations, Lord, giving him both favor and wisdom as he navigates rugged political terrain around the globe. May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor. May his kindness toward the afflicted spread from our shores to other nations around the world, through example as well as through sharing our resources, for we know that when we are called upon to share, there is always enough. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. Decrease violence in our land, Lord, and save from death the unborn and others who are vulnerable. May he be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days may the righteous flourish and prosperity abound till the moon is no more. We ask for abundant provision for every person in our land, an ample supply of food and basic necessities. Bless each farmer in our land who grows our food, and please give them adequate rain for their crops. May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon and thrive like the grass of the field. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. We ask that other nations would benefit from our prosperity. May the earth prosper and may each person be well-fed and cared for and loved. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. May You stir the hearts of all praying Americans to lift up President Donald Trump and his family in prayer every day for protection, wisdom, and divine guidance. Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen. You alone do marvelous things, Lord! The government is ultimately on Your shoulders, and we give You praise and thanks, believing that as we pray in humility, You will hear us. In Jesus Name, Amen. A decision by West Bengals government to make Bengali instruction compulsory in schools has unleashed violent protests in the hills of the Indian state, with Nepalese-origin residents Thursday calling for a strike to back their demand for a separate state. Leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) political party called for an indefinite strike in Darjeeling, a popular tourist destination with a large Nepalese population, after police raided its offices early Thursday and seized what officials had described as a huge cache of weapons. The strike will continue until the government gives in to our demand, GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told BenarNews, urging tourists not to visit the states tea-producing hill district. A few people were injured after GJM activists protested the raid and clashed with security forces in Darjeeling, police said. GJM is spearheading a decades-old movement for a separate Nepalese-speaking Gorkhaland. Although Indias almost 5 million-strong Gorkha population has been demanding separation from West Bengal for more than a century, the latest cycle of protests erupted on June 8 after the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party decided to make the Bengali language mandatory in the states classrooms in mid-May. A separate state for Gorkhas is the only solution, Giri said. It is the demand of all Gorkhas living in India. We have written to the Indian government to intervene. The people of Gorkha ethnic origin are demanding a state separate from West Bengal on the basis of stark linguistic and cultural differences, Giri said. The state government, however, said that giving in to the Gorkhas demand was out of the question. We are taking every possible step to contain the situation in Darjeeling, which is an integral part of West Bengal. We will not part with even an inch of it, Gautam Deb. Paritosh, the states tourism minister, told BenarNews. These protests are against the interest of the people of West Bengal, he said. Since the new policy was announced by West Bengals education minister in May 15, Mamata Banerjee, the states chief minister, has since come out with a statement clarifying that Bengali instruction would be optional in schools in Darjeeling, according to a report in the Indian Express on June 8. But supporters of the Gorkha movement said separation from West Bengal still was necessary. We are still referred to as Nepalis in several parts of India. We need a separate Gorkhaland to have our own identity in the country, Puran Gurung, a Mumbai-based software professional, told BenarNews. We are not asking for separation from India. We only want separation from West Bengal because there is nothing common between the Bengali culture and language and our culture, Gurung said. Police said supporters of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) burned these police vehicles in Darjeeling, West Bengal, June 8, 2017. [B. Mukharjee/BenarNews] Arrows, crossbows and axes seized While condemning the violence in the state, political analyst Saumitra Mohan said the merits for a separate state for Gorkhas should be debated amicably. What should be considered is how well the state is administered and how viable such a new entity can be, economically and geographically, Mohan wrote in her blog. Binay Tamang, GJMs assistant general secretary, described the police raid as part of excesses committed against the partys democratic movement. They found a few bows and arrows, rusted spades and firecrackers all tools found in local households, he told BenarNews on Thursday. He said the party was organizing its traditional archery competition when the police confiscated the arrows. Anuj Sharma, West Bengal polices additional director-general, told a news conference on Thursday that officers seized sophisticated crossbows, kukris and axes, among other items during the GJM raid in Patlaybas, near the party chief Bimal Gurungs house. The GJM is trying to mislead people by claiming that the weapons seized were part of the traditional local culture, he told reporters. It is not true. The weapons were stockpiled to resist and attack the police. Local journalists said Bimal and other GJM senior leaders have been hiding since the raid. GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri said the Darjeeling issue required a political solution that should be decided through a tripartite meeting including officials from West Bengal and the Indian capital, New Delhi. The prevailing situation in Darjeeling is not a law-and-order situation, Roshan told a news conference. It is a political problem. Thousands of Rohingya refugees have been living in makeshift houses along a highway in Coxs Bazar district in Bangladesh, June 2, 2017. A Bangladeshi minister on Thursday warned of potential security threats as the country grapples with crimes brought about by the influx of thousands of Rohingya refugees. Foreign Minister A.H. Mammood Ali said in a report to parliament that there were up to 400,000 undocumented refugees from Myanmar living in Coxs Bazar and four neighboring districts in southeastern Bangladesh. They have been involved in drug peddling, smuggling of illegal arms, human trafficking and other anti-social activities along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, Ali said. In the future, this huge Muslim community from Rakhine state may pose threats to our national security. Alis statement came as a Jakarta-based think-tank reported that a new armed Rohingya insurgency was operating along the Bangladeshi-Myanmar border. BenarNews obtained the ministers written statement to parliament. First called the Harekat al-Yakin, the insurgent group changed its name in March 2017 to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), according to the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC). In a report released in May, IPAC said the groups existence became known when hundreds of men attacked three police posts along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, killing nine Myanmar border guards in October 2016. The attacks led to security sweeps in the Myanmar state of Rakhine, which caused around 75,000 Rohingya residents to flee into Coxs Bazar during the following months, according to the United Nations. The existence of an armed group on the border mounting attacks on Myanmar security forces could inspire pro-ISIS groups in Bangladesh, the IPAC report said, using another acronym for the militant group Islamic State (IS). Ties between extremists in Bangladesh and Southeast Asian countries are growing because of ISs presence in the region, as well as population movements by students, migrant workers and refugees, the report said. Replying to a question from Irafil Alam, a ruling-party parliament member, Ali said that up to 400,000 Rohingya had snuck into Bangladesh to flee decades-long persecution launched by the Myanmar security forces, starting in 1978. He said the refugees constituted 20 percent to 25 percent of Coxs Bazar district, which has a population of more than 1.6 million. Alis number closely matched the figures presented to the U.N. in April by Nurul Islam, Bangladeshs minister for expatriate welfare and oversees affairs, who said 403,000 Rohingya had settled in the country. Israfil Alam, a member of parliament for the ruling Awami League, asked Ali what damage the Rohingya were causing in Bangladesh. The infiltrating Myanmar nationals have been causing huge social, economic, political and environmental damages in Bangladesh, Ali said, explaining that the Rohingya had been establishing settlements all over, damaging land, cutting trees and harming the environment. They developed a crime syndicate in the bordering areas (Bangladesh and Myanmar), he said. Besides, they have been causing law-and-order situation through different criminal activities. Chess pawns The ministers report about the Rohingya involvement in criminal activities was true, said Mizanur Rahman, former National Human Rights Commission chairman. But actually they are the pawns of the chess board. The masterminds of the trans-boundary crime syndicate utilize the Rohingya from behind the scene, he told BenarNews. As the Rohingya are stateless, they are hapless. So, they are easily available people to do any types of bad works. They do it for their survival, Rahman said. Newly arrived Rohingya refugees have reported witnessing cases of killings, rapes and acts of arson carried out by Myanmar security forces against their people allegations that Myanmars government has denied. The United Nations in May appointed a fact-finding mission to probe allegations in the Buddhist majority Rakhine state, but Myanmars de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, rejected the U.N. mission. Dian Yulia Novi allegedly plotted to blow herself up during a changing-of-the-guard ceremony at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Dec. 11, 2016. Indonesias first accused would-be female suicide bomber and her husband appeared in a Jakarta area court Wednesday to stand trial on charges stemming from their alleged botched attempt to attack the Presidential Palace in the nations capital last year. Defendants Dian Yulia Novi and Muhammad Nur Solihin face charges of conspiring, attempting or assisting the crime of terrorism based on Indonesias Anti-Terrorism Law that carry a maximum life sentence. The trial process is ongoing. Today is only the second day. It will probably take about three months, defense lawyer Fariz told BenarNews on Wednesday. We will try to defend them so they do not get the maximum sentence charged by prosecutors. The trial at the East Jakarta District Court opened on May 31. The prosecution team could not be reached for comment. In May, Dian was indicted on charges of preparing to be a suicide bomber with the help of her husband, an alleged leader of a terrorist cell. If not for police intervention, she would have been the first female suicide bomber in Indonesia. In the earlier court session, the couple admitted that they married for the purpose of committing a terror attack during a changing-of-the-guard ceremony outside the presidential palace, on Dec. 11, 2016. During a TV interview shortly after their arrests on Dec. 10, the couple told the same story, saying they were being directed by someone whom they believed was Bahrun Naim, a leading Indonesian figure of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group. Testimony on Wednesday featured the owner of the rented room where Dian stayed and where police arrested her. The witness, who was not identified, said he did not know that the two were planning a suicide bombing. Police found a presser-cooker bomb that was ready to be detonated. The witness did not know about what the defendants did inside the room. So the judge also cannot dig for more information, said Fariz, who, like many Indonesians, uses one name. Woman came up with suicide plan The indictment states that Dian came up with the plan and was aided by Nur Solihin, who shared her vision about jihad (holy war) and being a suicide bomber as a way to please God. Her husband, who already had a wife, married Dian to help prepare for the attack, according to the indictment. Nur Solihin took on Dian as his second wife because a fatwa issued by IS required women to have permission of their fathers or husbands to carry out any activities outside their home even for worshipping, including by becoming a martyr, according to a report published earlier this year by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), a Jakarta think-tank. From the beginning they had the same idea to take action that they believed to be jihad, Fariz, the defense attorney, said, referring to the two wives of Nur Solihin. The couple was arrested in two separate locations along with five other suspects. Nur Solihins first wife was among those arrested on suspicion of participating in his terror cell. Lawyer: Dian is a victim Fariz said Dian was a victim of a radical doctrine and he did not believe that Nur Solihin had encouraged her. Dians position in this case is a victim. Moreover, they did not have time to do the action. This will be our material to defend them later, the lawyer said. Fariz said he had a tough time gathering information to support Dians case because she did not want to talk privately with the lawyers. According to her conservative Muslims belief, she must be accompanied by at least four people, which could include prison wardens. Previously, reports surfaced that Nur Solihin had taught Dian about suicide bombing after receiving instructions and funding from Bahrun Naim, who is believed to be in Syria and leading Malay-speaking IS fighters. Letters to parents After police arrested Dian, they seized two letters from Dian to her parents in Cirebon, West Java. She wrote to tell them that this was her path to defend her religion. God willing, someday we will regroup in a more beautiful place. This is my way of worshiping my religion and to you, my parents. Dont you ever hate my way, she wrote a few days after her arrest. The trial will resume on June 21. At least 12 witnesses are expected to testify. Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar is surrounded by reporters after Malaysian investigators issued arrest warrants for four North Koreans, March 16, 2017. The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was carrying an undisclosed amount of cash when he was murdered at a Kuala Lumpur airport in February, Malaysias police chief confirmed Wednesday, in the latest twist to the case that sparked international attention. Police Inspector-General Khalid Abu Bakar declined to give the amount of money that Kim Jong Nam had with him when he was allegedly poisoned to death at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) on Feb 13. Japans Asahi Shimbun on Monday reported that he was carrying U.S. $120,000 (511,806 ringgit) in four bundles that each contained 300 U.S. bills in 100-dollar denominations. The bundles of cash, in mostly mint condition, were in a black bag found among Kims belongings, the article said. Yes, an amount of money was found on the victim but I wont confirm for you the figure, Police Inspector-General Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. Dont believe the foreign media. he said, referring to the Asahi report. The foreign press, when writing stories, tend to make it livelier. According to Asahi, because Kim Jong Nam held a diplomatic passport, his luggage was not subject to thorough screening when entering and leaving the country. Citing Malaysian investigative authorities, the Japanese newspaper also reported that Kim Jong Nam had met with a man believed to have links with a U.S. intelligence agency during Kims eight-day stay in Malaysia. According to the report, an unidentified official said Kim could have received the cash from the man in return for providing information. Two Southeast Asian women have been charged with murder for allegedly poisoning Kim Jong Nam to death by smearing a banned chemical agent on his face as they accosted him at KLIA2, while he was preparing to board a flight to Macau, where he and his family lived. Kim died about 15 minutes later while en route to a hospital. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Hoang were charged in court in March with Kim's murder along with four others who are still at large a reference to North Korean men who were spotted on surveillance cameras at an airport restaurant with the women, moments before the attack on Kim. The men boarded planes and left the country later that day, police said. Malaysia, South Korea and the United States had linked Kim Jong Uns regime to the murder, which strained nearly four decades of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and North Korea. Six weeks after Kim Jong Nams death, two other North Korean nationals identified by Malaysian police as suspects in the killing and who had hid in the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur were allowed to return home aboard a plane that carried Kims body. Malaysian authorities granted custody of the body to the North Korean authorities on March 30 in exchange for nine Malaysians who had been trapped in Pyongyang by an exit ban. North Korea had strongly denied any role in Kims killing and even refused to identify the body as that of Kim Jong Nam, who was carrying a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol when he was attacked. The female suspects are scheduled to appear Friday at a case management hearing in a courtroom at the Kajang Womens Prison in Selangor state. Officials moved the hearing from the Shah Alam High Court because of security concerns. Military reinforcements arrive in the southern Philippine city of Marawi, where government forces have been battling IS-linked militants for weeks, June 12, 2017. As Philippine authorities announced the capture on Thursday of a suspected bomber for an Islamic State-linked (IS) group battling government forces in Marawi, a local official said witnesses had reported seeing scores of bodies strewn in the citys streets. Some residents were believed to be trapped in areas controlled by IS-affiliated militants in the southern Philippine city, while corpses of civilians who may have died of hunger or execution by gunmen were seen by people fleeing to safety, said Zia Alonto Adiong, the spokesman for the provincial governments crisis management committee. Based on personal accounts of trapped residents who managed to cross the bridge from the encounter area to safety, there are roughly around a hundred bodies scattered on the streets and in advanced state of decomposition, Adiong told BenarNews. However, he said the report was being verified by rescuers and the military, which has not confirmed the figure. On Wednesday, Adiong had warned in an interview with Agence France-Presse that the local crisis management committee was expecting the worst, saying he and others feared that rescuers might find bodies of residents who had starved to death because food and water supplies had run out in the city. Battles between Abu Sayyaf Group and Maute gang militants, who have been backed by foreign fighters, have raged for more than three weeks. A trained bomber On Thursday, Philippine authorities said they had arrested a suspected bomber for the Maute gang, who is believed to be a cousin of two brothers who have been leading the group in the fighting in Marawi. The suspect, identified as Mohammad Noaim Maute (also known as Abu Jadid) , was picked up at a rented house in Cagayan de Oro, a city about 70 km (43 miles) north of Marawi. He is a trained bomber who came here (Cagayan de Oro city). We are still trying to make him reveal his target but we presume that he wants to create destruction in some areas in Cagayan de Oro, Chief Superintendent Agripino Javier, the Region 10 police director, told ABS-CBN, a local TV news channel. Abu Jadid was arrested on a tip from a resident who recognized him from a list of wanted personalities in connection with the sacking of Marawi, portions of which are still under the control of the IS-linked gunmen, authorities said. The suspect is an Arabic studies teacher in Marawi and a suspected bomb expert for the Maute group, according to police. The Philippine government earlier offered a bounty of 5 million pesos (U.S. $101,250) each for the capture of Abdullah and Omar Maute, the brothers who head the gang named after them. Their parents, father Cayamora and mother Farhana, were earlier arrested and held separately. In a statement, the military expressed its appreciation to the support of the people, for the information they gave that led to the arrest of Mohammad Maute. It said it was expecting more militants to be arrested in the coming days as the military intensified its campaign to end the crisis, which erupted on May 23. As of Thursday, its tally placed the total number of those who have died in 24 days of fighting at 206 gunmen, 58 soldiers and policemen and 26 civilians. Violence was triggered when troops and police moved to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, the acknowledged IS chief in Southeast Asia. But the authorities were surprised to discover a rebel contingent, with the Maute brothers bringing in fighters that included Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean militants. Fierce clashes erupted, with the gunmen spreading around town and executing Christians in the predominantly Muslim city, according to military officials. The militants have also been holding dozens of hostages as human shields, including a Catholic priest, Philippine authorities said. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Joar Herrera said the siege appeared to have been planned by the militants during the past three years. These are not ordinary militants and terrorists. They are ready to die for their ideology. They are very prepared. They have assorted high powered firearms and they are still capable of inflicting damage, but in due time we can liberate Marawi City, Herrera said. The official said the military intended to finish battles as soon as possible. Tactical commanders are getting vital help from U.S. special forces through technical and intelligence support. There are still snipers [positioned]. We continue to access the battle ground. Its very fluid and dynamic so we have to re-access and strategize our options, he said. Herrera said anywhere between 200 and 500 civilians were still trapped inside the battle zones, which are concentrated in four villages in the heart of Marawis commercial district. We are receiving calls from the ground and we continuously communicate with them, he said. The situation on the ground has become extremely volatile, even for the press contingent documenting the war. On Thursday, an Australian television journalist was evacuated after he was hit by a wayward bullet in the neck. The man, identified as Adam Harvey, is said to be out of danger. Thai military officials take control of Phra Mongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok after a pipe bomb blast injured more than 20 people, May 22, 2017. A retired engineer confessed to setting off a bomb last month at a Bangkok military hospital on the third anniversary of the junta seizing control of Thailands government, authorities said Thursday. The deputy prime minister for security affairs said military officials searched the home of a 62-year-old man who was arrested Thursday and who confessed to detonating the pipe bomb that injured more than 20 people on May 22. The suspect, whose name was not released, was taken to the Military Circle 11 detention center in downtown Bangkok. Officials have arrested a suspected bomber at Phra Mongkutklao Hospital. They are speedily questioning the man. ... He admitted to planting the bomb, Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also defense minister, told reporters in Bangkok. It is a good thing that we arrested a bad guy who created turmoil, he said. Prawit designated National Police chief Gen. Chakthip Chaichinda to handle interrogation. Search Lt. Gen. Apirat Kongsompong, the commander of the 1st Army Region in Bangkok, led his men and police as they searched the home in Bangkhen, a suburban district north of Bangkok, of a man identified only as 62-year-old retired engineer for a state enterprise. Authorities found bomb-making materials such as a detonating circuit, PVC pipes and nails, Apirat said while declining to reveal more details. The bomb packed with nails exploded on May 22 near a dispensary room next to the hospitals Wongsuwan Room, which was established as a tribute to the deputy prime minister. The blast struck an area mostly frequented by military officials. A Thai language newspaper reported the suspect told officials he set off the bomb because he hated the military. Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Kongcheep Tantrawanich told reporters he believed the suspect was not the only one responsible for the attack, according to a local news report, without releasing additional details. Three bombings since April The national police chief said there was a potential link to three bombings in Bangkok since April. On April 5, a small bomb exploded at the old government-run Lottery Building, slightly injuring two people. A similar bomb exploded in front of the National Theater on May 15, injuring two others. The two incidents occurred near the Royal Grounds in Bangkok, where a gigantic pyre is being constructed for the funeral of King Bhumibol Adulyadej later this year. After the hospital bomb exploded, Chakthip, the national police chief, said the three attacks were similar in nature, based on initial investigations. On May 22, 2014, army Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha led a military coup that toppled the civilian government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Prayuth became Thailands 29th prime minister and appointed Prawit to the two ministerial posts. Since taking control, the junta has imposed tight controls on freedom of speech and assembly and has arrested government critics or others accused of violating Thailands strict royal defamation law. ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern. neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke. 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UK officials have said they only recently learned that Libyan authorities monitored Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi for more than a month before the attack he perpetrated, something the Libyans say he started planning in December. In Britain, police and intelligence services have been piecing together 22-year-old Abedi's movements in the days leading up to the May 22 attack in which 22 people died. They are still searching a rubbish dump outside Manchester, looking for the blue suitcase he was seen with in a CCTV image in the hours before the attack. "We've learned that he spent a month in Libya with his family, and was being tracked by Libyan intelligence," said a United Kingdom official who requested anonymity. The BBC, meanwhile, quoted Ahmed Ben Salem, a spokesman for Libya's Special Deterrence Force, as saying the attack had been planned as far back as December. He claimed the force's agents had gathered important information about Abedi's contacts, both in Libya and the UK. It wasn't clear whether the Libyans had attempted to share that information with UK intelligence services. Libyan security officials told the BBC they had better contacts with the Central Intelligence Agency in the United States, and a general said Libya also wanted improved ties with the UK in order to avoid future atrocities, such as the Manchester bombing in which mainly young people died during a suicide attack at the end of an Ariana Grande pop concert. Libyan officials were quoted as saying Abedi's brother, Hashem, bought the materials for the bomb while in the UK. UK officials said Abedi assembled the bomb alone in his Manchester apartment. Hashem and his father are being detained and questioned by the Libyan Special Deterrence Force. Meanwhile, Mark Rowley, head of national counterterrorism policing in the UK, wrote in The Times newspaper that closer partnerships were needed, both with other countries and at home, to ensure the appropriate sharing of expertise and information. Rowley wrote that five active plots had been foiled since March, and 18 since mid-2013. Police and officers from the UK's MI5 intelligence service have 500 active investigations involving some 3,000 individuals regarded as posing the biggest threat. "There are another 20,000 who we continue to be concerned about," he wrote. "Some of these, we will decide to move into the priority group. Others may move from radical to would-be terrorist very quickly. These numbers have grown. There is more overseas influence from terrorist groups and an internet going darker (more impenetrable). That makes it harder to look at those we are concerned about." For Immediate Release, June 15, 2017 Contact: David Henkin, Earthjustice, (808) 599-2436, dhenkin@earthjustice.org Makaala Kaaumoana, Hui Hoomalu i Ka Aina, (808) 346-5458, kaaumoana@gmail.com Marjorie Ziegler, Conservation Council for Hawaii, (808) 284-3071, mz@conservehi.org Brian Segee, Center for Biological Diversity, (805) 750-8852, bsegee@biologicaldiversity.org Lawsuit Launched to Stop Hawaii's Airport, Harbor Lights From Killing Rare Seabirds State Facilities Contributing to Massive Decline in Three Imperiled Species HONOLULU Conservation groups today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Hawaii Department of Transportation for failing to prevent bright lighting at state-operated airports and harbors on Kauai, Maui and Lanai from causing injuries and death to three species of critically imperiled seabirds. The Newell's shearwater is a threatened species, and Hawaiian petrels and band-rumped storm petrels in Hawaii are endangered species. According to today's notice from Hui Hoomalu i Ka Aina, Conservation Council for Hawaii and the Center for Biological Diversity, represented by nonprofit law firm Earthjustice, the department's failure to protect these native seabirds from harmful operations at its facilities violates the federal Endangered Species Act. Since ancient times, Hawaiian fishermen have looked to the ao (Newell's shearwater) to help them find fish, said Kauai fisherman Jeff Chandler of Hui Hoomalu i Ka Aina, which works to protect cultural and natural resources. They're an important part of our culture, and the Department of Transportation needs to take seriously its kuleana (responsibility) to protect them. The seabirds circle the bright lights at the department's facilities until they fall to the ground from exhaustion or crash into nearby buildings. Bright lights have contributed significantly to the catastrophic 94 percent decline in the population of threatened Newell's shearwaters on Kauai since the 1990s. They have also harmed endangered Hawaiian petrels, whose numbers on Kauai have plummeted by 78 percent in the same period. Fixing the lights so these magnificent seabirds on the brink of extinction aren't killed is completely feasible, said Brian Segee, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. Instead, the department is doing everything in its power to avoid protecting these highly imperiled native Hawaiian birds. It's worse than irresponsible it's unethical and illegal. Last October the department abruptly broke off discussions with federal and state wildlife agencies regarding its participation in an island-wide habitat conservation plan to minimize and mitigate harm to the rare seabirds on Kauai. By withdrawing from talks on Kauai, the department left the county of Kauai and private entities holding the bag to address harm from the airports and harbors, even though the department's facilities are among the largest sources of illegal death and injury on the island, said Marjorie Ziegler of Conservation Council for Hawaii. The department needs to fulfill its duty under Hawaii's constitution to conserve and protect our natural heritage, not stick its head in the sand and do nothing. The groups seek to compel the department to comply with its obligations under the Endangered Species Act to minimize and mitigate harm to the imperiled seabirds by securing incidental take permit coverage of its activities on all three islands. The Act requires that citizens provide 60 days' advance notice before filing a lawsuit to address illegal activities. Time is running out for these rare and culturally important seabirds, said David Henkin, an Earthjustice attorney representing the groups. If the Hawaii Department of Transportation continues to shirk its obligations under the Endangered Species Act, we'll see them in court. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health; to preserve magnificent places and wildlife; to advance clean energy; and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer. Hui Hoomalu i Ka Aina is a taro roots community-based organization founded by cultural practitioners in 1983 to restore, protect and preserve Kaua'i's natural and cultural resources. Conservation Council for Hawaii is a Hawaii-based, nonprofit environmental organization founded in 1950 to protect native Hawaiian species and ecosystems for future generations. For more information, visit www.conservehi.org. Opinion | 04 November 2022 | Interviews India needs to connect OPD with the cashless insurance network to bring them into the digital economy After having raised $1.2 million from Entrepreneur First and GrowX Ventures in 2021, how do you see the perfor...Read more NAIROBI, Kenya - Youtap partners with MatchMove to deliver open-loop payments for mobile money customers in Africa and Asia. This partnership is in response to the growing demand for Mastercard companion cards connected with mobile money accounts globally. Youtap, a global provider of contactless mobile money payments and financial services software, has announced a partnership with MatchMove that will provide Youtaps customers in Africa and Asia with an off-the-shelf open-loop payment acceptance solution for closed-loop wallets. Youtap has worked closely with MatchMove to provide integration to Youtap Pay, Youtaps mobile money payment processing platform. The combined solution will enable mobile operators to issue Mastercard companion cards to their mobile money customers. Cards can be branded and integrated with an operators current mobile wallet app. This partnership is in response to the growing demand for Mastercard companion cards connected with mobile money accounts globally. It provides for tight integration for the acquiring, processing and settlement of credit, debit and prepaid cards linked to a mobile money wallet. Chris Jones, CEO and founder of Youtap, said, Our partnership with MatchMove is yet another disrupter for cash transactions in growth markets. It makes it possible for customers without credit cards to buy products online and in stores with mobile money. Shailesh Naik, CEO of MatchMove, said, MatchMove is committed to accelerating financial inclusion for the millions of people worldwide who are now connected digitally via their smartphones but remain unbanked and uncarded. Our partnership with Youtap will expand the availability of our secure cashless solutions for mobile operators around the world, thus creating a new channel to bridge the gap between mobile money and end users. Youtaps mobile payments platforms are operating in multiple countries in Africa and Asia with various payment service providers and mobile network operators. Over the past two decades, the digital world has undergone a rapid evolution - from marketing mix newcomer, to a mandatory (yet not fully understood) element of brand communications From being just one part of the media mix, to become the underlying disruptor that is changing business structures, strategies and methodologies at a fundamental level. If digital agencies dont adapt to this change, they will die. Lets unpack that. Once upon a time, digital was just another channel. It was a website. An email newsletter. A banner ad. Brands knew that they needed to include these elements in their marketing mix, if they wanted to engage with their future consumers, but the reality is that they were an add-on, a way to ensure that the brand had a presence in the digital world, if not an actual purpose. Traditional advertising agencies were initially a little slow on the uptake, reluctant to play in a space in which they lacked the necessary expertise. But as small specialist digital shops took the gap, so the larger agencies realised the necessity of developing the necessary skills; or buying them in bulk. Today, you would be hard pressed to find an advertising agency that doesnt offer digital expertise; or have a digital arm. As the digital world has evolved, so too has the digital menu in agencies offering so-called full-spectrum digital coverage encompassing the mobile environment, social media platforms, web development and, increasingly, user experience (UX) and data expertise. It sounds impressive. But the reality is that most agencies outsource or silo the hardcore nuts and bolts of digital development, providing their clients with a top-level offering of digital communications. And the digital realm has progressed far beyond the point of being a mere communication channel. Today, entire businesses are built on the back of the digital world. Think Airbnb, Uber, Alibaba and Amazon. Existing businesses are re-engineering their modus operandi in order to compete, or simply survive, both locally and internationally. And many more businesses are embracing the digital world as an entirely new and untapped marketplace, adding to their existing bricks-and-mortar infrastructure, among them the likes of Starbucks and even (increasingly) vehicle manufacturers. Digital is no longer a medium, it is a method. The result is that businesses are requiring more from their digital partners than ever before. Digital agencies can no longer hide behind a website and a social strategy; they need to provide clients with data intelligence, SEO, media, UX, in-built utility, technical builds and deep digital strategy that has the potential to not only build client brands, but their businesses as a whole. Most agencies lack this technical depth, creating a gap for digital consultants; the likes of Deloitte Digital and Dimension Data, which offer digital transformation services, and are fast becoming the go-to digital consulting partners of modern businesses. But in my humble opinion, there is one key business driver that agencies have in abundance, and which consultants dont; and which is a base line requirement of operating in the intensely crowded digital environment creativity. Digital agencies have a unique and rare opportunity to become the digital partners of choice, by combining specialist technical expertise, creativity and media competency in a way that enables brands and businesses to own the entire online journey. The mental leap is ours to own, and our time is now. Already, South African retailers and shopping centres have openly embraced the technological boom but more is on the cards. Technologies of the imagination will soon become innovations of today - it is only a matter of time. Menlyn Park, a super-regional mall in Pretoria is one of many that have welcomed this evolution. Tech advancements such as dedicated charging stations for electric and hybrid vehicles, license-plate recognition and developing an analytical parking app for mobile devices that will allow users to locate their vehicles are among the many plans Menlyn Park has in the pipeline. The centre does head counts as opposed to foot counts, which also tag an individual with a unique number to prevent double-counting'. It has installed smart-metering systems, which ensures accurate and billings that are on time for tenants. GM for Menlyn Park, Olive Ndebele, said that the malls tenants are embracing the change. Most of our tenants offer online shopping platforms for customers and this motivates others to follow suit. Energy efficiency is also important, so we have improved our technology regarding air-conditioning, lifts and escalators. Currently, we are in the process of partnering up with Google for further technological advancements. Amanda Dilima, the retail leasing consultant for the V&A Waterfront, Western Cape said that they too are embracing the technological age. We have recently embarked on a project that involves voice-guided location screens in the centre, which are supplemented by the mobile app. This voice guides the customer to where they wish to go in the mall in real time. The app also provides interesting information to the user about their current location, as they navigate to their destination. Bedford Centre in Bedfordview, Germiston has launched the Johannesburgs first virtual reality arcade, which opened its doors in October 2016. Food and consumer goods retailers Pick n Pay and Woolworths along with clothing retailers TFG and the Mr Price Group have also jumped on the technological train, successfully offering online-shopping platforms for consumers. Dion Chang and Sue Morris from Flux Trends agree that technology is paving the way to a retail future that we have not even begun to imagine yet. Chang has been at the forefront of trends and innovations, not only in South Africa but globally. According to him, 2017 is the year of the drone among other things. He further added that if retailers and brands do not find themselves among the ones that have evolved, adapted and elevated themselves into the technological spheres and the booming e-commerce realm, they may find themselves on the back foot. Drone technology When it comes to technology, drones are definitely as hi-tech as they come. This year, drone technology will be rolled out more intensively. In Rwanda for example, blood samples are being delivered to hospitals via drone technology. Due to the rough terrain and inaccessibility, the only answer was drone technology. The samples are dropped via parachute to the location. Drone commerce is happening. Head of the Retail Laboratory at Flux Trends, Sue Morris, added that drone technology is taking retail to the consumer - no matter the location. Amazon has just applied for a patent to have charging stations on top of street lights to charge its drones. According to the patent, drones will be making deliveries and land on top of the light poles to charge. Amazon is known for applying for many patents - some of which work and some do not. The bottom line is that we are very close to this being a reality in South Africa. Drones are making deliveries already and we dont have to look very far, I mean, we have a fantastic drone factory here in Pretoria. E-commerce Chang added that the e-commerce market is growing at a rapid rate and in terms of technology, retailers need to up their online game in order to remain relevant. Customers can now interact with your brand without having to leave their homes. People are more connected than ever. Nowadays, I can search for items on my smartphone or tablet and once I have researched them, I can simply click and purchase the item without having to drive to a store. It is simple, quick and convenient and that is the way shoppers are headed. Retailers everywhere need to offer online facilities for their customers. E-commerce has evolved into easy access to information. This allows customers to do comparative analysis on products with the option to purchase online or walk into the nearest retailer with the decision to purchase already made while researching the product on e-commerce platforms. 2016 was the year e-commerce saw huge development. The integration of social media allowed it to push boundaries and make significant moves forward resulting in a $220 billion growth in 2016 for the US alone. This year will see more e-commerce integration in apps such as Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram, a photo-sharing app, will allow users to swipe a photo to order items of interest. Snapchat, the video sharing and messaging app is taking e-commerce in its stride with new advertising strategies becoming more widely available in 2017. According to Morris, e-commerce is going to be one of the biggest disrupters in South Africa. Shoppers are looking at convenience and cost. E-commerce gives people up-to-date trends and fashion at their fingertips, allowing them to purchase as they see it. In India for example, e-commerce is taken even further - the poor are able to have e-commerce deliveries made directly to their cellphone location. That means that you dont need to have a physical address or structured residential areas to have e-commerce. Omnichannel Omnichannel, the cross-channel business model that companies use to increase customer experience flourished in 2016. Bridging the gap between physical shopping and online is a huge trend - with Google local inventory ads to show online shoppers product availability in nearby physical stores, it is clear that retailers are now finding new ways to link both their bricks-and-mortar stores with their e-commerce offerings. Retailers in South Africa have begun to embrace technology. The possibilities that come with technology are endless. CEO for the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC), Amanda Stops, said. There are a number of South African retailers who have embraced technology in all its forms. They are as resilient as they come. Even through tough economic times, many have soldiered on successfully. Now, with the advent and constant advances in technology, South African retailers and shopping centres have begun to explore and maximise this technological surge. It is exciting to see that both retailers and shopping centres have embraced technology. "It is not a matter of technology or online stores replacing the physical counterparts but rather how the two can complement each other in a harmonious way. The retailers and shopping centres of the future will be those who get the balance just right and who maximise technology and most importantly understanding the ever-changing needs of the customer, she concluded. The regulatory environment governing the mining industry in South Africa has never been more complicated - or expensive - as the cost of compliance continues to skyrocket. The result is that the country is not competitive. Decisions are no longer based of policy and administrative rules, said Hulme Scholes, director: Malan Scholes Inc. Today, decisions are made for political reasons. And the result is the mess we are sitting with today. Its completely unworkable and unreasonable. From the first Mining Charter through the 2000s to 2007, the process was well managed and the regulator, the then department of minerals and energy (DME), today the department of minerals resources (DMR), was accessible and its team knew what it was doing. Conflicting policies The problem is exacerbated by various regulatory and policy documents not talking to each other, and are in conflict with the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA). The other challenge is weak leadership in government. The DMR is incapable of making a decision, he said. Scholes was part of a panel at the recent Junior Mining Indaba held in Auckland Park discussing the development of a competitive regulatory regime for exploration and junior mining. Also on the panel was Jacinto Rocha, once the director general of minerals and energy, he is now the director, Mineral Investment Advisory Services, who agrees there is a weakness in the regulator, but hes not sure what can be done about it. he is not sure what to do about it. What to do, to be honest, I dont know. We are all confused. The South African system is complex and is becoming more complex, and it is inefficient. He quoted an example of a client who has been waiting seven years for a license renewal. Knowledge gap For him, the problem is a lack of intellectual and knowledge capacity, caused by a brain drain in the department. When the post-apartheid founders left, the level beneath them followed, leaving a gap in the department. When you are changing things, you need to understand why certain things were done the way they were, if you are to further contribute. But if that knowledge is gone We need to start over, said Scholes, while another panel member, Jonathan Veeran, partner: deputy head of the mining sector group, Webber Wentzel, said there are a basket of things that we should be doing. The first is regulatory certainty. Secondly is an efficient and clear administrator, that is trained and complies with international treaties, and thirdly is the rebuilding of trust between the parties in the industry, which include tax incentives for junior mining and investments, creating a MPRDA light version for junior miners. This is a pivotal moment to rebuild this trust. India houses the largest proportion of the global poor with no access to adequate housing and electricity. In response to the housing crisis in India, the country's government set a five-year target of providing 40-million homes for the poor. Realistically, this means that an estimate of about 20,000 homes would have to be constructed daily. billionBricks, a non-profit design studio has developed an emergency housing concept that promises to transform the regular government-funded housing scheme, which is often a long process. Their concept powerHYDE aims to reduce dependency on government support by empowering communities to replicate solutions on their own. The mere provision of a house is not sustainable because a family faces the additional burden of basic needs such as electricity and water, which they may not be able to afford. Custom designed for the rural poor, powerHYDE ensures that when these modular homes are built, basic needs are met. The structures produce four times the amount of energy needed to function. For example, each structure also collects 100% of its rainwater, cleans its own waste, and grows its own food. This additional energy does not go to waste, instead, poor families generate additional income by selling energy to power other communal facilities. A cluster of 170 powerHYDE homes is capable of generating 1MW of energy, meaning that communities are able to form their own mini-plants and gain independence. Since powerHYDE homes can be developed in stages, expansion is also possible and easy to do since the materials are prefabricated and quick to assemble. Made from environmentally friendly materials, this billionBricks architecture solution allows homeless citizens to be able to afford their own property while contributing to an environmentally sustainable planet. According to the billionBricks, the modular solution will be available soon. Companies need to play an active role in bringing about transformation in the Western Cape wine industry, including fostering young, previously disadvantaged and female talent. As part of Old Mutual's Responsible Business ethos, the Old Mutual Foundation invested development funding with the registered non-profit company, Pinotage Youth Development Academy (PYDA) - in support of its work in driving job creation, transformation and inclusion - which saw 23 students graduating from the PYDA class of 2017. Through this funding, the PYDA were able to create job opportunities for 50 youth in the Western Cape wine industry. Front row, L-R: Avuyile Maqolo, Masande Mlanjeni, Christiaan Abrahams, Siphenathi Kowa, Yolani KasoBack row: Siphokazi Taliwe, Yolanda Ngwevela, Yanga Tshaya (behind Yolanda), Tiffany Andrews, Louise Jones (Old Mutual Foundation), Siphesihle Tshaka, Siyabulela Makedama (behind Siphesihle), Phelisa Ntsokotha, Emihle Ganyaza, Zenande Fuzile, Sinobom Gosa, Porchia Jacobs, Samkelisiwe Magwaza, Simamkele Ncapayi, Nosipho Ngcawe, Yonela Zondwayo, Mpontseng Ramothathaki, Ntombentsha Stuurman According to Millicent Maroga, head of the Old Mutual Foundation, the academy brings about positive change in the lives of the graduates and contributes to a changing wine landscape in the region. We are proud to support the PYDA and the work they do in creating positive change in the lives of young people. At Old Mutual, we believe in not only celebrating outstanding wines, which we do annually as part of the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show. Skills development is an important element of all our sponsorships and in addition to the PYDA, we also support the development of world-class wine judges through the Wine Judging Academy, run with the University of Cape Towns Graduate School of Business. We are also a long-term partner of the Cape Winemakers Guild Protege Programme through Nedbank, a member of the Old Mutual group. Launching young South African talent into meaningful employment The PYDA trainees are selected from the Greater Stellenbosch area, Paarl, Wellington and Franschhoek, key wine producing regions in the Western Cape. Trainees are selected through an application process and are required to be between the ages of 18 and 25, unemployed or casually employed with a grade 12 qualification. The programme is a one-year qualification which combines a number of accredited modules with personal development and in programme work placements. It is endorsed by Winetech and is widely supported by wine farms in the region which are also a source of employment for the graduates. Nikki Munro, programme director at PYDA, says the programme exists to launch young South African talent into meaningful employment as a new generation of professionals in the sector. Through meaningful work, our graduates are able to bring irrevocable change to their lives, their families, and communities. The partnership with the Old Mutual Foundation is invaluable to us and through our shared commitment to skills development and positive change, we are able to expand our reach to create more work-ready employees for the industry, Munro added. Since its inception in 2013, the PYDA has produced 122 graduates with a 90% employment rate. During the year-long course, trainees are exposed to a variety of wine industry environments, from pruning the vines to tasting room work, to marketing in order to produce well-rounded graduates able to contribute to the industry. Optimistic about the future The PYDA has a robust selection process which has resulted in a 94.5% retention rate overall. Old Mutuals continuing sponsorship of the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show holds the promise of great reward in the form of a future world-class wine-making industry supported by an increasingly experienced and skilled workforce, says Maroga. The graduates are optimistic about their future and that of their industry. According to Ntombentsha Stuurman, a 2017 graduate, The wine sector is all about discovery, its about having faith in myself and to be open minded to what it has to offer. Its a world full of adventure and challenges at the same time. Maroga concludes by saying, Our support of the PYDA is an investment in the long-term future of this industry, discovering and nurturing young talent, and bringing marginalised people into the mainstream economy. We play an active part to transform the industry to be more reflective of South African society, and the communities in which they operate. As a responsible business, we believe that celebration of fine wine and transformation of the industry go hand-in-hand. Tomorrow, 16 June 2017, the University of Cape Town (UCT) researchers at the Poverty and Inequality Initiative (PII) will launch an interactive online tool, Youth Explorer that provides a range of information on the status and wellbeing of South Africa's young people. The Youth Explorer is useful to anyone working in youth development from national and provincial governments, to civil society organisations implementing policies and programmes in communities as well as community members and youth themselves. PII, in partnership with OpenUp (formerly Code for South Africa), Statistics South Africa and the Economies of Regions Learning Network, developed the Youth Explorer - youthexplorer.org.za. Importance of online platform Youth development is currently high on the national agenda, says Professor Murray Leibbrandt, pro vice chancellor for Poverty and Inequality, at UCT, and director of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit. Government adopted a new National Youth Policy in 2015 and earlier this month, President Jacob Zuma promised to prioritise the implementation of programmes in various departments critical to youth development. A recent Presidential Youth Working Group meeting has assessed efforts that support young people and proposed further actions. Later this month, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs will launch the Local Government Youth Development Forum to examine the role of local government in youth development. For these and other youth development processes to be effective, a thorough understanding of the situation of the youth population at the community level is essential for the effective design, planning and roll-out of youth services, explains Emily Harris, the PII researcher who has been driving much of the Youth Explorer project. Those responsible for implementing policies in local municipalities or communities need clear facts and numbers on the specific needs of young people in the areas where they live. However, such fine-grained information is often hard to come by. Addressing information gap across regions The Youth Explorer will address this information gap, as it provides easy access to a range of useful detail on young people at different geographic levels, from electoral wards to local municipalities and district municipalities. The online platform presents youth-specific census data using simple charts, maps and other interactive features. In a country marked by extreme inequalities, the realities of young people vary widely from one geographic space to another. While both national and provincial policies stress the need to understand youth as a heterogeneous group, Dr Ariane De Lannoy, senior researcher at the PII and principal investigator on the Youth Explorer project, explains that such policies rarely engage with the complexity and combination of challenges faced by young people in their particular communities. The realities of youth living in Soweto, for instance, are not the same as those that are in Inanda or Khayelitsha. The Youth Explorer will also be a useful tool for communities and young people themselves. It allows for an easy view and understanding of the various challenges facing youth in their area: information that can be used in their attempts to hold local governments accountable for delivering the necessary services. In line with common international practice, the online tool currently defines youth as persons aged 15-24 years. However, there are plans to include information on youth up to age 35, aligning it with the South African youth definition. How does it work? Simply type in a location, for example Buffalo City, and the Youth Explorer shows information on crucial aspects of the lives and well-being of young people in that area, such as education, employment, and health. Users can look at any province, municipality or ward in the country and dig deeper into the various charts. They can easily produce maps that show a spatial perspective of youth outcomes in the area, look for outliers and interesting patterns in the figures, or compare any two areas to see how different socio-economic conditions affect the youth population. As an example, it can make comparisons between ward 42 in Soweto, Gauteng, and ward 55 in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal. The Soweto ward has about 4 500 youths aged 15-25 years, speaking mainly isiZulu (38%), Xitsonga (14%) or Setswana (14%). The ward located in Inanda contains about 10 000 youths aged 15-25 years, of whom the majority speak IsiZulu. In-migration appears to be relatively high in the Soweto ward, with 28% of youth born outside of Gauteng, compared with only 10% of youth in the Inanda ward born outside KwaZulu-Natal. While both wards have similar youth unemployment rates (60% in Soweto and 59% in Inanda), their educational outcomes are markedly different. For ward 55 in Inanda, only 70% of youth aged 16-17 have completed grade 9 or higher, and 53% of 20-24 age group have completed matric or have a higher educational qualification. In contrast, 87% of youth aged 16-17 in ward 42 in Soweto have completed grade 9 or higher, and 62% of 20-24 have completed matric or have a higher educational qualification. The ward in Inanda is also significantly poorer, with 75% of youth living in income-poor households as opposed to 55% in the Soweto ward. Such insights into how young peoples situations differ across communities can assist in fine-tuning national programmes to align with the actual lived realities of youth in their specific contexts. Further developments Harris says that, while the national and provincial governments regularly collect information on young people for administrative purposes, policy-makers, civil society organisations and researchers often have difficulty in accessing and interpreting such data. Our goal is to make these rich datasets more accessible and useful to those working in youth development, supporting them to make informed decisions in their programmes and policies, for example about budget allocations for specific youth services. Apart from census data, additional data sources for the Western Cape section of the website can be explored to provide a more comprehensive picture of youth and the contexts in which they live. These include administrative data from that provinces education and health departments, as well as from SAPS. Conversations are underway to add similar data for other provinces. The Youth Explorer builds on a pilot stage that was developed in collaboration with the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town, with additional support from the Cape Higher Education Consortium and the DST-NRF Centre for Excellence in Human Development at the University of the Witwatersrand. The portal uses the same technology applied for Wazimap.co.za, which is based on the Census Reporter, and is entirely open source. For more information, go to www.povertyandinequality.uct.ac.za. Capital growth player Attacq plans to become a real estate investment trust (Reit), says the company that owns the Mall of Africa near Midrand. Mall of Africa. Image source: Wikimedia Commons The move to the Reit structure means it will start paying dividends to shareholders, which is likely to put the counter on the radar of a wider investor audience. Many South African property fund managers are mandated to invest in income-producing companies only. Attacq listed on the JSE in October 2013. It has since completed 32 developments including the Mall of Africa and 25 other developments in Waterfall, adding 434,154m2 of lettable area to its portfolio. CEO Morn Wilken said on Tuesday, 13 June, that the group would pay its first dividend at the end of its June 2018 financial year before obtaining full Reit status in its 2019 financial year. "It is now appropriate for Attacq to reposition itself and adopt a strategy which includes income distribution " subject to the approval of the JSE for Reit status for the financial year commencing July 1 2018," said Wilken. "We always intended to become a Reit, eventually. "We sit with some incomeproducing properties, such as Mall of Africa, but also a very healthy pipeline, which will grow tremendously from a capital point of view. I believe Waterfall City will pipeline for 10 to more than 15 years." Dividends were expected to grow 20% a year over the 2019, 2020 and 2021 financial years, said Stanlib head of listed property funds Keillen Ndlovu. He welcomed Attacq's shift in strategy. "It's a good move. It aligns Attacq with the rest of SA's listed property sector. South African investors love income or distributions and Reit-like structures. The conversion to a Reit will make it easier to value the stock. Management has been working on simplifying the business too. This is all positive," he said. A repositioning to achieve Reit status was under way. "This process includes the reduction of existing debt facilities with the proceeds from the disposal of Attacq's central and eastern European investments, the continued optimisation of its balance sheet and the sale of certain noncore assets, where the deployment of the proceeds will serve to enhance sustainable and growing distributable earnings," said Attacq chief financial officer Melt Hamman. At 31 December 2016, Attacq's operational domestic portfolio had a gross value of R18.6bn. Source: Business Day South Africa's first years as a democracy saw substantially higher economic growth than population growth. Business was a central driver of that success, and has been indispensable for the growth of this country ever since. Bonang Mohale, new Business Leadership South Africa CEO Business is the answer for this country, not the enemy, said Bonang Mohale, newly appointed CEO of Business Leadership South Africa and former chair of Shell SA, at The Directors Event in Sandton recently. Our country is at a tipping point, he said. And the next five years will determine whether corruption will become the countrys operating system or if we will have a thriving country with a rule of law in a constitutional democracy serving all its people. So, business must act now. As hard working patriotic business, we have a duty to protect our citizens. Our pedestrian economy will only flourish in a capable system that has a well-functioning justice system, Sars, Treasury and auditor-general. State capture can ultimately become corporate capture, he warned. Therefore, business must keep its house clean. We cannot clean up the state if we have unethical behaviour in our own house. We need an ethical code; this is not just about the bad guys, it is about transformation. It is the project of rebuilding this country one brick at a time. Integrity six pack He spelt out the integrity six pack, needed if the country is to be saved: Firstly we need a judicial inquiry into state capture. Secondly, the nuclear energy deal must be halted for two years to investigate it properly. Thirdly, the public sector must be professionalised and depoliticised. Fourthly, business must reflect the countrys demographics broadly. Fifthly, the independence of key institutions must be restored and respected always. Lastly, the root cause of the crisis, political party funding should be transparent. These six steps will move South Africa to a much better trajectory, but added capital is still needed. The people we are opposing have very deep pockets. This is a massive task. It is an investment we need to make or we must pack up. No more chameleon camouflaging He added that, to succeed, business must accelerate transformation. Describing transformation as a fundamentally breaking with the past so that our present in no way resembles it, he said that it is not about reformation. This is not a chameleon camouflaging itself. This is an uprooting so that we can be one nation. It is urgent and serious, it is creative and innovative. Last year, issues discussed at The Directors Event included a lag in global competitiveness, creating an enabling environment for SMEs and entrepreneurs, the crisis in the healthcare sector, declining education standards and capacity. The need for economic growth dominated the discussion. Most of these issues are as pertinent today as they were a year ago - with the crisis in some (if not most) worsening. Education and healthcare (80% of doctors prefer not to work for the state) have declined into further crisis, while unemployment is up, and any gains made in global competitiveness have been offset by political instability and the first credit ratings downgrade and SMEs are struggling more than ever to access funding. Kobus Breytenbach, chair of Agri SA's Rural Safety Committee says that Agri SA welcomes the guidelines developed by the police in respect of their role and responsibility to ensure that all police members act within the ambit of applicable legislation and policy when dealing with complaints, regarding trespassing, land invasions and illegal eviction. Michael Moselle via 123RF South African legislation protects the rights of legal land owners. Inflammatory statements and the encouragement of supporters to occupy farmland are irresponsible and dangerous. While these statements are often made at public forums, they may also contribute to a climate conducive to carrying out such actions. It has to be kept in mind that a criminal element exists everywhere and such statements may serve to rationalise the invasion of farmland in the criminal mind. These guidelines are supported by Agri SA and will provide a framework within which the police and farmers can take hands to prevent such actions. These guidelines are further necessary to provide uniformity within the police service on how to deal with these issues. Breytenbach said, it is also important for landowners to know what the responsibility of police officials are in dealing with these issues and how they should approach the police to lay a charge. In accordance with the Trespass Act If it is clear to the land owner that the person in question is trespassing in accordance with the Trespass Act, the police must take the necessary steps to deal with the incidence, which in most cases will be to arrest the person trespassing in order to bring him before a court of law. Landowners should also note that where persons were allowed to take a certain route in the past over a piece of land and it has become customary practice, it will be difficult to proof a trespass case in such circumstances, Breytenbach said. When it is clear to a landowner that persons that are trespassing are doing so with the intention to erect structures which are to be used for accommodation, a charge may still be laid at the police station for trespassing, if such structures have not been finally erected. It is important for landowners to note that the police may not refuse to register a case of trespassing when it is clear that there is no occupation yet on the land. Even if the perpetrators are still in the process of erecting structures, a case of trespassing can still be opened, Breytenbach said. In closing, Breytenbach said: it is important that our farmer members work with the police and report all cases of trespassing and land invasions also to their provincial organisations. We strongly recommend that these guidelines be used to put an action plan together at the local level with the assistance of the police so to deal effectively with these situations. The recent case of Sampson v South African Post Office serves as a cautionary tale for employers and highlights one of the pitfalls of using the process of inquiry by an arbitrator, in terms of s188A of the Labour Relations Act. The aim of arbitration is to expedite the disciplinary process, leaving the parties with a final and binding award. The only option for a party dissatisfied with the award is to have it reviewed and set aside by the Labour Court. In April 2011, the employer appointed the employee as a manager in its legal services department. The relationship proved difficult and some seven months later in November 2011, the employer suspended the employee, pending an investigation into allegations relating to a breach of his fiduciary duties and insubordination. The parties agreed to an inquiry before an arbitrator appointed by Tokiso Dispute Settlement, an accredited agency. On 4 June 2012, the arbitrator found the employee guilty of the allegations and summarily dismissed him. Dissatisfied with the arbitrators award, the employee approached the Labour Court in July 2012 to have the award reviewed and set aside. In September 2012, some three months after his dismissal, the employee commenced employment with a new employer, LegalWise. Arbitration set aside Three years later, on 3 September 2015 the review application was finally heard in the Labour Court. The employer did not make an appearance and a default order was granted, reviewing and setting aside the arbitrators award and remitting the matter back to Tokiso for a rehearing before a different arbitrator. On 8 September 2015, the employees attorneys wrote to the employer stating that in light of the Labour Courts finding, the employment relationship had been re-established. Therefore, the employee should be compensated for the period of three years and three months since June 2012 and should be paid his monthly salary as an employee of the employer from September 2015 (the date the review application was determined). The employer denied the employees claims. It maintained that the dismissal stood until the outcome of the new arbitration hearing. It further submitted that it personally had no obligation to organise another arbitration because the court had ordered Tokiso to do so, on service of the order. On 26 October 2015, the employee launched an application asking the Labour Court to revive his contract of employment with the employer retrospectively, as if he had never been dismissed. The employer argued that the status of an arbitrator in terms of s188A of the LRA is unique in that the arbitrator stands in the role of a chairperson in a disciplinary enquiry and as an arbitrator. It maintained that when an enquiry by an arbitrator is reviewed and set aside, as with the outcome of an internal disciplinary hearing, the dismissal must stand unless ordered otherwise by the court. Employment relationship re-established The main question before the Labour Court was, when the arbitrators award was reviewed and remitted back for another pre-dismissal arbitration, did that mean that the employee was once again employed, as if he had never been dismissed and, as a result entitled to be compensated, or did it mean that he remained dismissed until the matter was reheard? In a judgment delivered on 10 May 2017 (almost four years after the initial termination of the relationship) the Labour Court found that the order reviewing and setting aside the award restored the status quo ante. The effect of the order was that the dismissal could not remain in force. In effect, the order revived the contract of employment as if the employee was never dismissed. The court then went on to consider the employees claim for payment. The relief claimed by the employee was not that he be accepted back into employment but simply a remittal of the award for rehearing. The employee, despite not tendering his service to the employer for the last three years, sought payment up until the date of judgment even though he remained in the employ of LegalWise. The court awarded what it described as essentially back pay for the period between the employees dismissal and the date of the review courts decision (three years and three months). The amount payable was to be calculated as the difference between what the employee would have earned as an employee of the employer and what he earned at LegalWise in the same period. Failure to tender services dismissed The court did not attach any significance to the employees failure to tender his services to the employer after the review courts decision. It found that it would be artificial to expect the employee to resign from the employ of LegalWise, where he had been able to mitigate his losses after his unfair dismissal by the employer to pursue his claims in this regard. While the court accepted that the failure of an employee to tender services after being reinstated might have serious legal consequences, in the case before it, the court felt it was clear that the employer had made it clear that it would not have accepted the tender of his services. The court accordingly awarded the employee remuneration calculated as the difference between what he would have earned at the employer and what he earned at LegalWise from 3 September 2015 to 26 October 2015. The employee was also awarded accrued leave from 4 June 2012 to 26 October 2015. The court did not consider that the employee would have accrued and taken annual leave while working at LegalWise. Arbitration carries risk The court accepted that its judgment was contrary to the purposes of s188A of the LRA, which was to avoid long delays in the resolution of disputes and the attendant risk of back pay. It referred to the unreported case of SATAWU & others v MSC Depots, where the court highlighted this risk. That an employer must run when it decides to place the function of workplace discipline in the hands of an unknown third party ... But the integrity of the system depends on the expertise of the arbitrator, and that is where the first employers initial confidence in the system was betrayed. The court held that its hands were tied and suggested that s188A might benefit from legislative scrutiny in future. This is cold comfort for any employer. This judgment, whether correct or not, is certainly contrary to the purpose of s188A. It serves as a disincentive for any employer considering whether to use s188A especially in circumstances where the employee may have been guilty of the allegations against him. Many countries are still finding themselves confronted with difficulties in registering and authenticating voters. It's a familiar scenario in present-day African elections. alexmillos via 123RF They are gauging the negative effects of this on their democratic process, even if, over the last ten years or so, the usage of biometrics has become more widespread, seeking to ensure voter equality, based on the principle of one voter, one vote, in other words, that everyone's vote should count equally. When someone registers to vote, their registration data may be considered public record and available to a variety of individuals or groups. Voter registration records typically include personally identifying information such as home address and may also include political party affiliation and other details. Its important for voters to be fully aware of how their voter information is used or even shared in their specific regions so they can make informed decisions about their privacy and safety when registering to vote. From a local and even international perspective there is an immediate need to increase voter registration by implementing, or considering the implementation of, a more automated process which may allay the fears of potential voters who are concerned about their privacy. Therefore, all solutions which make it possible to improve the electoral process with the approval of the various political powers already in place are a form of democratic progress for the country, its constituents and often for neighbouring countries too. The challenges Africa, having welcomed many innovations and technological advances is now witnessing a growing desire to digitise and secure data and documents related to civil identity. This is indeed a step in the right direction for a continent that for many decades has been notorious for not recognising the true value of its individual members and giving them full entitlement to exercise their civic and social rights. With 53 legislative and presidential elections in Africa in 2015 and 2017, the question of electoral processes is a very topical issue and deserves all the attention it receives. Of course, with the benefits of access to simplified administrative procedures comes a set of challenges and voter registration processes are no exception. Among these challenges is the fact that a democratic, reliable and fraud-free electoral process is an important factor in establishing lasting peace and stability in a country. To this end, elections give individuals the opportunity to cast their vote for or against a political candidate without recourse to violence and to make a peaceful contribution to political change. Voter registration, in turn, makes it possible to ensure that citizens who are eligible to vote are able to exercise their right to vote on election day. Enter biometrics Biometrics is the best technology to identify and authenticate individuals reliably and quickly based on their unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints to cite just the most well-known example. In the past, the preserve of applications such as for securing military or strategic sites, biometrics has come to see a more widespread use for general public applications, meeting the need of mobile users, companies and public authorities. For voter authentication, the fingerprints are compared against reference fingerprints stored on an identity document or in a fingerprint database, which enables the owner to be securely authenticated as the holder of the document. So, what does this mean exactly? Identification answers the question "Who are you?" In this case, the person is identified as one among a group of others (1: N matching). The personal data of the person to be identified are compared with the data of other persons stored in the same database or possibly other linked databases. Authentication, also called verification, answers the question: "Are you really who you say you are?" In this case, biometrics allows the identity of a person to be certified by comparing the data that they provide with pre-recorded data for the person they claim to be (1:1 matching). The usage of biometrics in electoral processes makes it possible to meet challenges involved in the implementation of the principle of "one voter, one vote" which is a necessary condition for the holding of democratic, free and transparent elections. For the electoral authorities, it implies an obligation to guarantee the fairness of the ballot. To do this, all steps in the electoral process must be considered, from the enrollment of voters through to the definitive results of the ballots, as well as electoral operations themselves. Is it the answer to the problem? Protecting the equality of votes is, and remains, a key consideration for any electoral process be it in Africa or anywhere else in the world for that matter. In electoral law, the ballot is considered to be fair if it meets requirements of equality and liberty, and the secrecy of voting is respected. Most importantly, however, biometrics for elections caters to two very important key objectives. Firstly, it makes it possible to compensate for the lack of a mechanism for the identification of voters and secondly, it guarantees the elimination of multiple enrollments on voter lists. In the African context, the issue of elimination of multiple enrollments is one which comes to the fore. In this regard, the said elimination is demonstrated by a systematic search for duplicates (based on biometric characteristics such as fingerprints) using an automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS). It is in this very scenario where the value of biometrics can be easily noted. Biometrics is thus first and foremost a tool for voter verification. It proves to be very useful in cases of electoral fraud related to identity theft, in cases where it is impossible to authenticate the voter or in the event of statistics on persons registered to vote that have been artificially inflated due to the introduction of fictitious voters. However, until cases of electoral fraud have been demonstrated and quantified, it remains difficult to establish what contribution the use of biometrics would make to the fairness of the ballot. It is only useful in cases where the civil register or population records are not able to fulfil the function of identifying voters. When its all said, and done The conditions for the implementation of biometrics serve to validate its effectiveness. The context in which biometrics is applied plays an overriding role in its success or failure. It is true that in a tense political context, where there is a total lack of trust between the different people involved in the electoral process, biometrics can itself become something of a double-edged sword: it may help to resolve problems with the identification of voters and prevent fraud of a certain type but it cannot, by itself, render an electoral process reliable, credible and transparent. It must take account of local specificities and of the impact of cultural and human factors on the limits of the technology. In the specific case where biometrics is introduced to compensate for the lack of a reliable civil register, it is not the electoral process which has to be biometric, but the national system for the identification of citizens. This approach is very attractive as it can lead to a reliable method of identification of populations and to a civil register which can subsequently be used in an electoral context. Opel has revealed plans to further strengthen the brand and grow its market presence in South Africa with a new distributor and new entries to its portfolio. The Williams Hunt group has been appointed as the dedicated distributor to distribute and sell the Opel brand in South Africa, effective January 2018. Williams Hunt has been a major Opel partner in South Africa for many years contributing to some 20% of the sales already today. In the pipeline The German car brand will launch the new Opel Crossland X in the second half of 2017 and the Opel Grandland X in 2018. Opel customers can expect a continued focus on strengthening the portfolio with new German-engineered vehicles. The current Opel lineup in South Africa includes the ADAM, Corsa, Astra, and Mokka. "Opel has had great success in South Africa," says Bill Mott, director of international sales operations. "Opel customers can expect the same quality of aftersales support and no changes to existing warranties," he adds. "We will ensure that our customers receive outstanding sales and aftersales support as we continue to further grow in the South African market." Over the past two years, Opel sales in South Africa have grown 9.6%, compared to an overall market decline of 15.5%. "We view South Africa as an important market. We are confident that the brand will continue to grow from strength to strength globally, and here in South Africa, because of the solid foundation that has been built in the 80-plus years Opel has been here," concludes Mott. Seven South African designers are working with American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), to design a Seed to Seat' project at 100% Design South Africa 2017. The something to sit on pieces, which will be made from a selection of four American hardwood species - American cherry, tulipwood, soft maple or red oak - will be unveiled at 100% Design South Africa 2017, running from 9-13 August in Johannesburg. The announcement follows kick off meetings held with the designers in Johannesburg and Cape Town earlier this month. The furniture design and life cycle assessment project aims to throw the spotlight on versatile, yet less well-known American hardwood species and identify the environmental impact of design. According to Roderick Wiles, AHEC regional director, the word sustainable has almost become design rhetoric. Whilst many well-intentioned designers claim sustainability in their approach to their work, there is often little solid evidence to support them in making those claims. Andrew Dominic (Andrew Dominic Furniture), James Mudge (James Mudge Furniture Studio), Laurie Wiid van Heerden (Wiid Design), Christoph Karl (Guideline Manufacturing), Jacques Cronje (Jacques Cronje Timber Design), David Krynauw (David Krynauw) and Adriaan Hugo (Dokter and Misses) are collaborating with AHEC to demonstrate that sustainability can have substance. Tracking environmental impact During the manufacturing process and incorporating data from AHECs LCA research for 19 American hardwood species, all materials, energy usage, transport and wastage will be recorded to assess the full environmental impact for each design. Life cycle assessment is a scientific tool that helps industry to establish environmental frameworks that have real meaning and assess true sustainability. The result will present the cradle-to-factory grave impact of creating each product across six categories. The most topical impact category is global warming potential (GWP), or carbon footprint. We are excited, not only by the calibre of the designers involved in this project, but also by the pieces that we look forward to seeing in these versatile, yet less well-known American hardwood species. We have seen for a long time that South Africa has a commitment to sustainable design in principle and, through this project, we can demonstrate what that means in reality - an opportunity for us to show, and learn, what works and what design elements make a difference to the environment, said Wiles. In addition, we have also developed a microsite for the project, which is now live at www.seedtoseat.info. This will be the hub for all information regarding the project and will include details regarding the designers. Following international trends The launch of Seed to Seat South Africa builds on prior initiatives in the Middle East, Australia and Europe, which have aimed at creatively promoting American hardwoods, and involved Zaha Hadid, David Adjaye, Matteo Thun, Sou Fujimoto, Norman Foster and Paul Smith amongst others. The project in South Africa is the second phase of Seed to Seat, which was initially launched in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. AHEC worked with six designers, who were given the same open brief, and their designs were on display at DENFAIR, which took place in Melbourne from 2-4 June. In line with its Grown in Seconds campaign, AHEC also calculated how many seconds it would take for the wood used to make the individual pieces to regrow naturally in the US hardwood forest. For the six designs in Australia and New Zealand, AHEC calculated that it would take a mere 2.2 seconds for all the wood used to grow in the US hardwood forest. Looking ahead, the plan is to calculate the same for the seven designs in South Africa as well. Seed to Seat aims to introduce the designers to American hardwood species, which are less widely-specified in their markets, while challenging them to design a seat using only solid lumber and as little non-wood materials as possible. This ambitious project involving American hardwoods and environmental profiling will be the first of its kind in South Africa and the initial response to it from the designers involved has been overwhelmingly positive. We hope that the project will prove to be a great learning experience and an opportunity for the designers to test new designs in new species. In addition, we are thankful to Rare Woods SA, who will be donating all of the timber required for the project, concluded Wiles. In order to boost connectivity and increase network coverage in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) - one of the least connected regions in the world with a mobile penetration of 82% compared to the 100% global average - service providers will need to accelerate their investment in mobile towers, particularly in rural areas. altomedia via 123RF.com Frost & Sullivan analysis titled Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Telecom Infrastructure Market, Forecast to 2021 estimates that the market for tower services in the region was worth $991.7 million in 2016, and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% over the period 2016-2021, to reach $1,508.4 million by 2021. It is anticipated that growth will be driven by third-party tower companies (towercos), which will then lease capacity to mobile network operators (MNOs) as well as other providers of wireless communications services. MNOs are gradually becoming more open to selling off their infrastructure, or outsourcing its management to third-party providers, in order to focus on their core operations. Some MNO operators are concerned about losing strategic control and revenues when ownership of infrastructure is transferred to the towercos, said Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Lehlohonolo Mokenela. To mitigate this, towercos should develop strong partnerships with MNOs in sale and leaseback deals, and invest in building a strong reputation and track record in infrastructure management. The study provides an analysis of the telecoms tower industry in SSA, highlighting trends in some of the leading markets in the region; including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania. The analysis focuses on: The current structure of tower ownership between MNOs and towercos, How the market is expected to evolve in the long-term, Current and expected base of mobile towers in the region, Potential opportunities in the market, and Competitive structure across selected countries There are also a growing number of tower innovations that are expected to shape the evolution of the industry in the long-term, notes Mokenela. This includes the structure of infrastructure outsourcing deals, supporting energy systems, base station technologies and infrastructure maintenance solutions. Opportunity to drive cost-savings Given the regions underdeveloped energy infrastructure, towercos have an opportunity to drive cost-savings through energy management. There is growing interest in hybrid systems to power mobile sites, which integrate power from the national grid and renewable energy solutions, such as solar together with storage batteries. The towercos can look to either partner with, or acquire, specialist energy technology providers to accelerate their capabilities in this space. Despite the growing demand for wireless connectivity, particularly in remote areas, the business case for infrastructure investment is not always compelling, explains Mokenela. The success of towercos in the industry is a function of their tenancy ratios, which in SSA, has been relatively low by global standards. To accelerate market growth, towercos will need to convince MNOs, particularly the larger ones, of the reduced total cost of ownership of either outsourcing or selling off their infrastructure. Former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng intends to challenge the outcome of a disciplinary inquiry that resulted in his being booted out of the SABC. Motsoeneng's lawyer, Zola Majavu, told The Times that he had been instructed to prepare a challenge to the ruling. Motsoeneng was "aggrieved" by the ruling and would meet his legal team on Monday to discuss what form the challenge would take, Majavu said. Motsoeneng confirmed that he had received the ruling. But he refused to say what he planned to do next. "I don't want to talk about my future or my plans because my focus right now is on this legal matter." Motsoeneng was fired by the public broadcaster on Monday after being found guilty of misconduct relating to comments he made at a media briefing in April. At the briefing Motsoeneng criticised SABC board members and the parliamentary committee looking into alleged irregularities at the corporation. The outcome of Motsoeneng's disciplinary hearing was made public after the SABC's interim board met Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo. Source: The Times Thursday, 15 June marked Global Wind Day 2017 - a day for re-considering wind, and the power it holds to reshape energy systems, decarbonise our economy and boost jobs and growth. In more than 80 countries worldwide, wind farms generate clean and renewable power, and South Africa is no exception. From the shores of the Western Cape, across the Eastern and Northern Cape, to the Northern borders of South Africa, wind farms are producing power, creating local value and building futures. Since the first RE independent power producer (REIPP) started commercial operation at the end of 2013, 15,220GWh have been generated, reducing carbon emissions by 15.4Mt. Of this, wind projects have contributed 7,603GWh reducing carbon emissions by 7.7Mt. Supporting socioeconomic development Our industry can be proud, not only of the clean, green, renewable power that we are putting into the national grid, but for what we are contributing to communities across rural South Africa, said Brenda Martin, CEO of the South African Wind power Association (SAWEA). In just three years South Africa has become the largest wind power producer on the continent, generating 1.4GW from 600+ wind turbines. Wind power avoids the power-related use of water by around 600-million litres each year. Through the SA government-led RE Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REI4P), over the past four years wind power has been directly supporting broader socioeconomic objectives including thousands of jobs for local youth and women. While the programme implementation has been delayed for the past two years, due to an impasse with Eskom, this initial developmental impact can grow exponentially, once the outstanding power purchase agreements are signed. Among the delayed projects, approximately R7bn, has been legally committed for socio-economic development by wind farms alone, concluded Martin. Following an invite from Minister of Women in the Presidency Susan Shabangu, The SheEO SleepOut event has been moved from 22 June to 8 August 2017. The change of date has been supported by Advocate Thuli Madonsela, Yusuf Abramjee, and Professor Justice Yvonne Mokgoro. Hosted by The Philanthropic Collection, The SheEO SleepOut, a chapter of The CEO SleepOut, is this year calling on female business leaders to spend a night sleeping outdoors at the Union Buildings. The objective of the project is to create awareness, encourage participation and galvanise the nation to support and empower vulnerable communities. The project will also raise funds for Door of Hope, an NGO that cares for abandoned babies. I support the SheEO SleepOut. I am also excited to see female business leaders in South Africa and influencers come together to discuss solutions for change. In light of the recent violence against women in the country, I believe this event is even more important at the moment, Shabangu said, before inviting The SheEO SleepOut to move the date of the event to August. In a series of tweets she said, "In light of the attacks on women, its important to get female leaders together at The SheEO SleepOut. Why not during Womens Month? I would like to invite you to change the date of your event to 8 August, the eve of Womens Day. I will host you at the Union Buildings. I believe this is an apt date for the event. She also highlighted the fact that Womens Day is a tribute to the more than 20,000 women who marched on 9 August 1956, to the Union Buildings, the venue for this year's The SheEO SleepOut. Space for women influencers The attacks on women in South Africa that have been highlighted recently have shown us that the SheEO SleepOut is more important than ever. While abuse of women is a problem for both men and women, this event can become a space for women influencers to discuss change for their sisters, mothers and daughters, says philanthropist and founder of The Philanthropic Collection, Ali Gregg. It also emphasises why the work of our primary beneficiary, Door of Hope, is so necessary. The NGO's mission is to care for babies who have been abandoned, which is very often a result of crisis pregnancies and domestic violence. The challenge is we often do not know the reasons behind abandonment. What we do seem sure of is that men abandon the women before women abandon their children. Often these women are also abandoned by their family, and are left with no support, says Luke Lamprecht, CEO SleepOut beneficiary consultant and child protection specialist. The timing of the event is excellent, said Madonsela, referencing the recent attacks on women. Often we think government needs to solve all the problems but we all need to play a role. And when it comes to issues of troubled families and communities, we are closer as community members to these problems, and we can do something For more information on The SheEO SleepOut, go to www.theceosleepoutza.co.za. The Democratic Republic of Congo said on Tuesday, 13 June, it has asked Chinese and Spanish bidders of a colossal dam project to join forces and submit a joint bid. The request will further delay the huge project, known as Inga 3, that has been planned for around 30 years. The government had said it would award the contract by the end of last year with an aim to launch construction this year. In the running for the deal are two consortiums, one led by the Chinese Three Gorges Corporation and another grouped under Spanish construction company ACS. The Congolese government agency handling the project ADPI asked the two consortiums to present a single, "optimised" offer, but did not set a deadline for starting to produce electricity. In September last year the agency said it wanted electricity production to start in 2021. The Inga 3 project is expected to complement two ageing power stations built between 1972 and 1982 on the Inga falls of the Congo River 260km downstream from the capital Kinshasa. The dam is expected to generate 4,800MW of power, equivalent to the output of three third-generation nuclear reactors, in a country where less than 10% of the population has access to electricity. South Africa has signed an option to buy 2,500MW of power, with much of the rest planned for mining groups in Katanga in the south east which suffers from chronic electricity shortages. The World Bank last July froze planned disbursements of a $73.1m grant aimed at funding technical assistance, saying the country had taken the project in a different strategic direction than had been agreed. Since then, political uncertainty over the position of Congolese President Joseph Kabila who stayed in power after his mandate ended last year, along with no prospect for elections in the near-term have weighed heavily on the business climate of the country. Source: AFP Rwandan political prisoner Victoire Ingabire leads the FDU-Inkingi PRESS RELEASE of the FDU-Inkingi Opposition Party of Rwanda and the Rwandan Diaspora FDU-inkingi is extremely concerned by the news that three RwandansGashabizi Emmanuel, Namuhoranye Pascal Bavugamenshi, and Bavugamenshi Gatangafrom Rusizi district, western province were picked by the Police on the 4th of June 2017, but cannot be traced by relatives in any police station in the district more than a week after their arrest. It calls on the Rwandan government to inform relatives of the whereabouts of their loved ones. As highlighted by Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch: enforced disappearances are a heinous crime, not least because of the anguish and suffering they cause to family and friends adding that the anguish suffered by not knowing the fate of the disappeared person, amounts to inhumane and degrading treatment." We have learnt from reliable sources that on June 4, 2017, two policemen from Bugarama police station locally known as Kazungu and Gasasira Pierre, purporting to be acting on official instructions picked the following persons from their homes to unknown destination. They were picked up at around 2 PM. The people who were abducted include: 1. Gashabizi Emmanuel, Kiyovu: village Gakoni. Cell, muganza: sector, Rusizi District; 2. Namuhoranye Pascal Accountant at BugarmaHealth Centre ; 3. Bavugamenshi Gatanga village Gakoni cell muganza sector Rusizi district. For the last one and half weeks. Relatives and friends have visited all the stations of Rusizi district and none of them has acknowledged their presence. The families are quite traumatised in view of the experience of police brutality in this region. We would like to recall that on the 19th of August 2016, the National Police stated that it had killed three terrorists in sector of Bugarama, Rusizi district. It also announced that it had killed two other persons on the 20th of August 2016, suspected of being terrorists. The fight against terrorism has become a new credit card that the government has bought from the international coalition to fight against terrorism, in order to get rid of imaginary or real critics of the government. Similar enforced disappearances have been reported in the capital Kigali in May and June this year and bodies of two of the victims were found dumped in Cyahafi, a suburb of the Kigali city. Three months ago, a British citizen of Rwandan origin. Mrs Violette Uwamahoro was kidnapped and kept incommunicado for more than 2 weeks by security services. After denying knowing her whereabouts they confessed having her in their custody under the pressure of the British government. A sad realisation that countries that have adopted Rwandans are more concerned about their rights than the countries of birth. FDU-Inkingi would like to recall that the Rwandan government is violating international and its own laws by kidnapping people. Article 120, item 9 of the Rwandan Organic Law considers enforced disappearances as a crime against humanity adding that any person who commits a crime against humanity provided under this item shall be liable to life imprisonment with special provisions. It is also violating the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. It states under article 5 which stipulates that The widespread or systematic practice of enforced disappearance constitutes a crime against humanity as defined in applicable international law and shall attract the consequences provided for under such applicable international law." We call upon the Rwandan government to inform the families the whereabouts of their loved ones and to produce before courts of law if they have committed any crime and to bring to book perpetrators of the crime. We ask the international community to end its silence over the crimes against humanity committed by the Rwandan government, particularly donors who, theoretically tell their people that their aid is tied to respect of human rights. Done at London, June 14, 2017 For the FDU INKINGI Justin Bahunga Unable to extent his visa, on June 9 he was forced to leave the country. Over the past few years, it was never difficult for him [Harn Yawnghwe] to get a one-year visa. He would be issued one within a week. He has been applying [for a visa] since April but still didnt get it, said Khuensai Jaiyen, the managing director of Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue (PI). When he contacted the Burmese embassy in Canada, they said they didnt know anything about it. Khuensai added: Any visa ban is ordered by the Burmese Ministry for Foreign Affairs. There is a rumor that the reason Harn Yawnghwe was blacklisted is because he has been increasingly seen as an influential person in the ethnic political arena. He is often accused by critics of masterminding the peace process single-handedly. Harn Yawnghwe and his Euro Burma Office (EBO) organization has been one of the main funders of civil society groups and ethnic armed organizations involved in Burmas peace process. The EBO was established in 1997 with an agenda to promote democracy and human rights. It was allowed to set up a branch office in Burma a few weeks after Harn Yawnghwe met Naypyidaws chief negotiator Aung Min in Bangkok in September 2011. Khuensai Jaiyen said that Harn Yawnghwe has been a key player in Burmas peace process dating back to President Thein Seins initiative in 2011, frequently helping to facilitate talks between the Burmese government and ethnic armed groups. In my opinion, this marks a failure for the State Counselors peace process, said Khuensai Jaiyen. If he is not allowed to enter the country, the peace process that the State Counselor is leading will face problems. They should not ban him on the basis of these suspicions. They should have talked with him face to face. Apart from Harn Yawnghwe, two other staff from EBO are also on the blacklist. Currently, EBO is helping to support the eight nationwide ceasefire agreement signatory groups to set up liaison offices inside the country. Han Yawnghwe is the youngest son of Sao Shwe Thaike, the prince of Yawnghwe who was the first president of Burma from 1948-52. One of his brothers was shot dead when Gen. Ne Win staged a coup detat in 1962. He and his mother, Sao Nang Hearn Kham, the founder of the Shan State Army, immediately fled the country. He was allowed to return to Burma in 2011 during the early days of the military-backed Thein Sein government. 1. The Eagle Pose (Garudasana) The eagle pose helps the nervous system to reset your mood and fight feelings of grief. It increases endorphin levels. Step by step Stand erect. Bend your knees slightly, lift your left foot up & balancing on your right foot, cross your left thigh over the right. Point your left toes towards the floor, press the foot back, and then hook the top of the foot behind the lower right calf. Balance on the right foot. Stretch your arms forward, parallel to the floor, and spread your scapular wide across the back of the torso. Cross the arms in front of your torso so that the right arm is above the left, and then bend your elbows. Snug the right elbow into the crook of the left, and raise the forearms perpendicular to the floor. The back of your hands should be facing each other. Press the right hand to right and left hand to left, so that the palms now face each other. Thumb of the right hand should pass in front of the little finger of the left. Now press palms together, lift elbows and stretch fingers towards the ceiling. Stay for 30 seconds and then unwind the legs and arms. 2. Child Pose (Balasana) Step by step With your head down on a yoga mat, let your hip sink back so you are sitting on your calf bones and feet. Stretch your arms straight out ahead of you or rest them on your hands. Feel your back broadening and contracting with your breath, allowing tension to release from your body and mind Hold this pose for a couple of minutes. Benefits- Helps us in deep exhalations as we hold the posture and breathe and creates space in the spinal vertebrae, thus improving blood circulation to all the nerves. The forward bends massage your internal organs like abdomen, kidney and liver and help you to exhale completely, thus calming your mind. 3. Camel Pose (Ustrasana) Step by step Kneel down on a folded yoga mat or blanket. Place your palms on your lower back on each side of your spine. Draw your elbows towards each other, letting your upper body point back onto a comfortable back bend. Deepen the area throughout your shoulders and chest with 5-7 long deep breaths. Rest in the child pose for some time. 4. Head Stand (Sirsasana) Step by step Place the elbows on the ground with fingers of both the hands intertwined into each other. Place your head on your hands. Bring your knees as close to the face as possible. Now take one leg up followed by the other. With the legs folded, hold on to this position for a while. Now lift the legs straight up the body so that it comes in line with the head. Hold on to this position for a while. Come back using same steps. Benefits- It helps to reverse the blood flow, lowering heart rate & helps in the aligning of the spine. Holding inversions is a great stress buster as it rejuvenates our mind and body. 5. The Corpse Posture (Savasana) It seems like the easiest pose to do, one that we look forward to, but it is considered one of the most challenging asanas and is strongly recommended at the end of a Yoga routine. Step by step Lie on your back (close your eyes ) and relax your muscles, moving the awareness from your toes all the way up to your head. Become aware of your entire back and body weight as you inhale and exhale. Begin to count from 10 to 1 in your head with every exhalation, breathing as naturally as you can. At the count of 1 slowly turn to your right and sit up. Rub your hands and when they are sufficiently warm, place them on your eyes and look into your palms as you open your eyes. It re-channelizes the neural circuits. 6. Nadi Shodhan (Alternate Nostril Breathing) Step by step Sit comfortably and bring your attention to your breath. Spend a few minutes breathing naturally. Create Vishnu mudra (see image) with either your right or left hand. Inhale through both nostrils and then exhale out of one nostril and close the other nostril with your thumb or ring finger. The Science of Yoga suggests that you exhale out of the left nostril first if you are doing it before noon and through the right nostril first, if you practice after noon. The reason being the flow of Prana or life force is balanced by following the time cycle. 7. Meditation A daily 20 minutes meditation practice releases BDNF or brain derived nerve factors and endorphins (feel good hormones). Meditation helps in regeneration of brain cells and increases our cognitive abilities, filling us up with enthusiasm. To begin with, you can practice guided meditations available online. OMG! Three-man Gay Marriage Is A Legal Thing In Colombia! Pulse oi-Syeda Farah Gays, lesbians are still fighting every day to get their rights for living in many parts of the world. Amidst this, there are certain places and countries where it has been legalised already. One of the first set of 3 gay men being married is capturing a lot of limelight lately, as the men have legally married. According to a ruling by the court in April 2016, same-sex marriage in Colombia has been legalized. Since three people are legally allowed to marry each other here, the term is known as a 'trieja', which is a word that has been derived from two others: trio and pareja: trio and couple. This ceremony hence establishes the 3 men as a family unit that has inheritance rights. Read on more to know about this unique family of 3... They Are The First Of A Kind To Take This Step The trio became the first same-sex trio to tie the knot. They have apparently spent years together in love. They Are Victor along with his two life partners - John Alejandro Rodriguez and Manuel Jose Bermudez. These 3 have signed the legal papers with a solicitor in the city of Medellin, and as a result, it establishes them as a family unit with inheritance rights. They Wish To Share Economical System Rights... Amidst them, one of the newlywed man named Victor Hugo Parada said, "We wish to have an economical system based on the trieja' relationship that we already have". In Simple Terms, It Means He explained further that they decided to marry "for love but also for taking care of their common heritage". pulse Transgender Man Announces His Pregnancy In Style! They Explained Their Relationship As One of the married man named Alejandro said, "We base our relationship on a coexistence and solidarity issue. Here we do not have powers, we do not have roles, we try to reach an agreement. We are all in the same condition." We Wish Them Luck With the world becoming a more liberal place, and people getting their rights to do things as per their wish, it just makes us feel that the world is finally changing into a better place to live in! What is your take on this? Do share your thoughts on the same. All Images Source GET THE BEST BOLDSKY STORIES! Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 12:39 [IST] Canada NewsWire OTTAWA, June 14, 2017 OTTAWA, June 14, 2017 /CNW/ - The London Free Press has won the 2016 Michener Award for its series Indiscernible, an investigation into the death of a local man that led to changes in Ontario's criminal, corrections and mental health systems. "The judges concurred that this two-year investigation exemplifies the best in public service journalism and the critical value of local media," said Russell Mills, president of the Michener Awards Foundation. His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presented the Michener Award trophy to the London Free Press in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. The media outlet was among six news organizations honoured at the ceremony. The Michener Award honours, celebrates and promotes excellence in Canadian public service journalism that makes a significant impact on the public good. The Governor General also presented the 2017 Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Investigative Journalism to print journalist Valerie Borde, an award-winning science writer and frequent contributor to L'Actualite. Borde will investigate food safety in Canada to see if our public institutions are effectively protecting Canadians from fraudulent food claims and products. The 2017 Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Journalism Education was awarded to Matthew Pearson of the Ottawa Citizen for his proposal to develop a teaching module for journalism instructors and online portal for newsrooms across Canada to help students and working journalists better understand trauma and its impact. 2016 Michener AwardThe London Free Press: IndiscernibleThe London Free Press dedicated exceptional resources over two years to investigate how Jamie High, a 40-year-old father, athlete and successful real estate agent in St. Thomas, Ontario could die naked in a police cell. With dedicated and in-depth reporting by Randy Richmond, along with data obtained through Freedom of Information requests, the Free Press produced a fearless, eloquent series that exposed serious shortfalls in policing, mental health care, justice and corrections services. Opposition politicians and industry advocates credit the Free Press series with prompting the province to increase funding for health care in jails and change the segregation policy. As well, lawyers, police and court officials in St. Thomas have new protocols to deal with people under psychological stress. "The Free Press newsroom gave more so the work on the series could carry on over many months," said Joe Ruscitti, the paper's editor-in-chief. "So say what you want about the state of journalism in Canada and maybe especially local journalism, Indiscernible and all the Michener work from across the country say different." The judges noted that Indiscernible exemplifies the best in public-service journalism and the critical value of local media to relentlessly pursue stories and seek accountability from those in authority. Michener Citations of Merit were presented toThe Globe and Mail; National Observer; La Presse; The Toronto Star; and to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio-Canada and The Toronto Star for a joint submission. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Canada, and The Toronto Star: Panama PapersThe result of the largest-ever journalistic collaboration, the Panama Papers has become a catch-phrase capturing global frustration and outrage over the entrenched, secretive and sprawling network of offshore tax havens. More than a year of original reporting by the Toronto Star and CBC -Radio-Canada exposed in detail the techniques used by Canadian individuals, banks and corporations that diverted billions from the country's public treasury or engaged in bribery or paid secret commissions and breached international sanctions. The reporting also examined the regulatory framework that allows tax avoidance, and sometimes evasion, to flourish, from international tax treaties that foster offshore wealth movement to secrecy in this country`s corporate registration system. The Canada Revenue Agency, aided by a $450 million budget increase, has since initiated 122 audits and dozens of criminal investigations dealing with individuals identified through the Panama Papers leak. "Providing new knowledge and insight into how the world works is the way journalists demonstrate leadership; it is also the ultimate expression of public-service broadcasting," said Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor-in-chief of CBC News. The Globe and Mail: Shadow flippingThe Globe and Mail's deep exploration of real estate sales practices in B.C. exposed an industry rife with speculation as agents sold properties before deals had closed, and made tax-free profits in the process. The Globe's tenacious investigative team revealed loopholes, lax self-regulation and insufficient provincial oversight. "Everyone knew something was happening in the real estate markets of Canada's biggest cities but it was only through journalism that the public and policy-makers got the facts," said David Walmsley, the Globe and Mail's editor-in-chief. "Our series produced the data that had been missing from the debate. The addition of this information resulted in the most consequential government policy moves involving any journalism in 2016." The stories raised public and political consciousness about unethical real estate practices that disadvantaged clients and triggered an investigation that resulted in 28 recommendations to protect clients and increase accountability and transparency in the B.C. real estate industry. The revelations were also impetus for a new provincial foreign-buyer's tax, government regulation of the real estate industry, investigations by the Canadian Revenue Agency, and probes into the misuse of farmland. National Observer: Pipeline PanelThe story that derailed the Energy East pipeline hearings last fall started with the National Observer's revelation of a private meeting between members of a National Energy Board (NEB) panel and former Quebec premier Jean Charest. Charest was working for TransCanada pipelines while also advising the NEB about how best to manage TransCanada's Energy East hearings in Quebec in the face of strong opposition to the Alberta-New Brunswick oil pipeline. By September the regulator's chief executive and the entire federal hearings panel recused themselves from the process, two NEB employees were reassigned and the Energy East pipeline hearings postponed. The National Observer not only exposed the compromised position of NEB panelists, it reopened disturbing questions about the pattern of cooperation between the NEB and the industry it is supposed to regulate. The examination of thousands of pages of correspondence, reports and briefing notes, reveal missing evidence, sloppy investigations and edits to reports that downplayed mistakes made by industry. "Our reporting has triggered a significant change in federal oversight that allowed Canada's National Energy Board to propose a review of the impacts of climate change as part of its assessment of a major pipeline project. This was possible because we asked tough questions about potential ties between federal officials and industry," said Mike De Souza, the managing editor of the National Observer. "As the media landscape changes, I think it's important for us to demonstrate that responsible journalism matters and that it's critical for strengthening public trust in our democracy." La Presse: Investigation into Video Lottery TerminalsAn enterprising team of journalists from La Presse presented a comprehensive picture of Quebec's booming video lottery industry, worth a billion dollars a year to provincial coffers. The detailed investigation revealed that hundreds of bars with video lottery terminals (VLTs), many in poor neighborhoods, deliberately flouted rules intended to protect patrons from addiction, and that the provincial regulatory agency passed off routine breaches, even in the case of repeat offenders. The series disclosed that close to 70 bars with VLTs had links to organized crime and Lotto Quebec took no action. "Lengthy features like this one are necessary and vital. Moreover, this investigation really allowed society to improve as the government was forced to make certain decisions and tighten the screws on Lotto-Quebec in order that it improve its surveillance of the gambling industry," said Eric Trottier, assistant editor and vice-president of La Presse. As a result of the reporting Quebec's Minister of Public Security quickly ordered the regulatory agency to revise several decisions, and to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for regulation breeches. The Quebec government is to withdraw 1,100 video lottery terminals from bars in vulnerable neighbourhoods, and Lotto Quebec decided not to re-commission 375 machines in storage. Toronto Star: Secrecy and SIUPublic anger against a pattern of excessive police force in Toronto, especially against black Canadians and those in mental-health crisis, followed the fatal shooting of Andrew Loku in July 2015. Protests erupted when Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) determined in March 2016 that the officer who fired the fatal shots did not exceed "justifiable force" and that no criminal charges would be laid. Persistent journalism by the Toronto Star exposed a lack of transparency in the SIU's public reporting process. The Star's coverage contributed to significant actions, including the release of a redacted version of the SIU report, a new protocol that allows public access to police board reports following SIU investigations of Toronto police, and an independent review of Ontario's police oversight bodies. The review's final report, tabled in April 2017, made 129 recommendations to improve police oversight and transparency in Ontario. "Journalism needs the Michener Award more than ever in the current context of tumultuous change and painful cutbacks in the news industry. We need to celebrate," said Michael Cooke, editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star. "There's still plenty of great journalism being done coast-to-coast and yay! to the Michener organization for a bright spotlight." Judges for the 2016 Michener Awards:Kim Kierans (chair), professor of journalism and vice-president at University of King's College in Halifax and former CBC news reporter and editor; Kevin Crowley, director of communications and public affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University and former business editor with the Waterloo Region Record; Claude Papineau, former vice-president for French services of The Canadian Press and former parliamentary correspondent; Christopher Waddell, professor and former director of the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University and former national editor of the Globe and Mail and parliamentary bureau chief for CBC Television News; and Mary Lynn Young, associate professor of journalism, former associate dean at UBC's Faculty of Arts, and former director of the UBC School of Journalism. Judges for the 2017 Michener-Deacon Fellowships:Susan Mitton (chair), former regional director, CBC Maritimes; Michael Goldbloom, principal and vice-chancellor of Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec, and former publisher of the Gazette and Toronto Star; Donna Logan, current member of the Michener board, former media executive of CBC, and founding director of the Graduate School of Journalism at UBC; Genevieve Rossier, directrice des communications, relations publiques et visibilite numerique a Bibliotheque et Archives National du Quebec, former directrice communications, marketing et contenus numeriques, La Place des Arts; and Romayne Smith Fullerton, associate professor, Faculty of Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario, and ethics editor at J-Source. Michener AwardRecognizing outstanding and unbiased public service in journalism, the award is presented to news organizations: newspapers, broadcasting stations and networks, news agencies, periodicals, magazines and online journalism sources. Web sites: www.michenerawards.cawww.prixmichener.ca SOURCE Michener Awards Foundation Listen to our podcast on the General Slocum Disaster: The General Slocum Memorial Fountain is one of the sole reminders of one of New York Citys darkest days, and its not a very awe-inspiring memorial. This is no dig at the custodians of Tompkins Square Park, where the memorial has been on display since 1906, nor at Bruno Louis Zimm, the fountains sculptor whose creation presents two children in idyllic profile, next to an engraving: They were Earths purest children, young and fair. Its left side unveils its more tragic context: In memory of those who lost their lives in the disaster to the steamer General Slocum, June XV MCMIV. The fountain, while charming and tranquil, is inadequate in expressing the grief and horror that filled New Yorkers on June 15, 1904, when, during a church-sponsored day trip headed for the Long Island Sound, the General Slocum steamboat caught fire and sank in the East River, killing more than a thousand passengers, mostly women and children. This tragedy was the single deadliest event in New York City history until September 11, 2001. This disaster virtually wiped out the German presence on the Lower East Sideentire families perished, many of whom had just gotten a foothold in New York a generation before. In a single morning the lights of Kleindeutschland, New Yorks Little Germany, permanently faded. The boat had been chartered by St. Marks Evangelical Lutheran Church* for their yearly day trip excursion to the Long Island Sound. The East River was filled with excursion steamers such as the General Slocum and its sister ship the Grand Republic (a vessel with a doomed story of its own). It was a chance for the congregation to briefly break out of the crowded Lower East Side to enjoy a day in the sun. Among the passengers was the Liebenow family, which consisted of parents and their three daughters, Anna, Helen, and Adella, along with several aunts and cousins. A postcard featuring General Slocum from the Museum of the City of New York collection. Courtesy MCNY The Slocum left the pier shortly before 9 a.m. and began its slow crawl up the East River. Captain William Van Schaick had been principally concerned that morning with one turbulent spot up the East River, a dangerous confluence of waters known as the Hell Gate. It had already sunk hundreds of vessels as far back as the seventeenth century. By 1904 it was still a dangerous pass, but on this day, the Hell Gate would not be the problem. About 30 minutes into the voyage, a child noticed that a small fire had started in the lamp room below the main deck. A crewman tried to stamp it out, throwing charcoal on it in an effort to contain it. But the flames only grew larger. Crew members grabbed a firehoseonly to find it rotten to the point that it burst wide open. These were not men trained for emergency situations; once they realized the hoses were useless, they simply gave up. from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle Civilized behavior soon gave way to panic as the flames quickly spread through the lower levels of the steamer, fire jumping from passengers clothing to hair. Families moved away from the flames only to find themselves pressed up against the boats railings as panicked crowds pushed forward in search of fresh air. Children lost hold of their parents, never to see them again. Crowds surged toward the Slocums six lifeboats and attempted to hoist them down. But they wouldnt budgesomebody had wired them to the wall. The life preservers, never properly inspected, were filled with rotten cork, and several exploded into dust. They were not only uselessthey were actually dangerous. Panicked parents strapped preservers to their children and tossed them overboard, only to watch in horror as they sank from sight. Below deck, passengers were burned to deathhuddled in groups and trapped in corners. Smoke choked many, causing unconsciousness; many were trampled underfoot. Some jumped into the violent waves. There was little hope that any of the children who jumped overboard could be saved, reported the New York Evening World. The current all along the course taken is on a section of the river where not even a strong swimmer can breast the currents. Scores of little ones were sucked in by the whirlpools in Hell Gate. Greenwich Village Society of Historic Preservation Crowds formed along the shores, and their attention was drawn by the billowing smoke, fire, and horrifying spectacle before them. The captain managed to steer the boat toward North Brother Island, where nurses, doctors, and even patients from the smallpox hospital ran to the water to rescue and attempt to revive those who had washed ashore. Bodies on the shore of North Brother Island The Slocum eventually floated out into the Long Island Sound, puffing clouds of cork dust into the air, while leaving a trail of tragedy in its wake. Just after noon, the burning vessel sank, a single paddle box and a smokestack jutting out of the water. By the final count, 1,021 people perished in the General Slocum disaster that day, making it the deadliest single event in the citys history up to that date. In the weeks following the disaster, the streets of Kleindeutschlandtodays East Villagewere filled with mourners, as the community attended funerals in the homes of those who had perished and held solemn processions through the streets. A mass funeral through the streets of the Lower East Side burial of the unidentified New York Public Library The Liebenow family was hit particularly hard. The entire Liebenow family died in the disasterall except baby Adella (pictured below), just six months old at the time of the tragedy. Two years later, now only two-and-a-half years old, Adella was hoisted to a podium here in Tompkins Square Park. She stood before a community that hadnt yet fully recoveredwould they ever?as she tugged at a cloth to unveil the General Slocum Memorial Fountain. NYHS No, the fountain is not perfect. How could it be? But why hasnt this tragedy been better memorialized? Its such an important event in the citys history, and yet so many dont know its whole story. There are a few theories about this, many having to do with the anti-German sentiment that cropped up a decade later at the beginning of World War I. Or was it the social class of the victims that caused it to recede from memory? Adella, who died in 2004, 100 years after the disaster, believed that this might be the case. To a crowd at a 1999 commemoration of the tragedy, she said, The Titanic had a great many famous people on it. This was just a family picnic. *St. Marks is located on East 6th Street, between First and Second Avenues, in the heart of New Yorks first and largest German neighborhood. A plaque honoring the victims hangs in front. Theres also a monument to the victims at a cemetery in Middle Village, Queens The above is an excerpt from our book The Bowery Boys Adventures In Old New York, now available at bookstores everywhere. Listen to our podcast on the General Slocum Disaster here: COPENHAGEN - Denmark's iconic sculpture of Little Mermaid was vandalized again on Tuesday night, two weeks after it was painted red in an apparent protest against whale hunting in the country's autonomous Faroe Islands. A police officer inspects the Little Mermaid statue, seen covered in paint, for the second time in weeks, in what local authorities say is an act of vandalism, in Copenhagen, Denmark June 14, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] The sculpture was partly sprayed with blue paint, with a message left on the pavement in front of the statue saying "Befri Abdulle" (Free Abdulle in Danish).Copenhagen police confirmed the vandalism on twitter, saying they were looking for a suspect "blonde girl" of around 170cm in height.Police officer Michael Andersen was quoted by local newspaper Ekstra Bladet as saying that a local resident walking the dog in the night caught the statue being defaced.Tourist guide Cui Lin said the area had been cordoned off when she took a group of tourists there early on Wednesday morning.Xia Guangpu, owner of a Chinese restaurant, also said he saw community workers trying to clear up the statue.It was the second time that the statue has been painted within weeks. The bronze work by sculptor Edvard Eriksen was painted red two weeks ago, and the stainer also left messages demanding that the Danish authorities shall "defend the whales of the Faroe Islands."In 1964, the original head of Little Mermaid was sawn off and stolen. In 1998, she was beheaded again. Also in 1984, she lost her right arm, which was returned days later by two young men. A Saab photo. NEW DELHI (BNS): A new torpedo system is being developed for the Royal Swedish Navy that are both easy to control and highly adaptable. The new lightweight torpedo system is a successor to Torpedo 45, a lightweight torpedo system introduced by Saab in 1995, a Company statement said. The new version will have a greater range of speeds, meaning it can go both faster and slower, depending on the situation its in, said Thomas Ljungqvist, Sales Director for Weapons and Sensors at Saabs Business Unit Underwater Systems. It will also have a completely new propulsion system. While Torpedo 45 is propeller driven, the new torpedo will use a pump jet system, making it quieter, more powerful and more efficient in terms of battery use. Users of the system will also benefit from major advances to the homing and navigational systems which will be updated in line with todays sophisticated computational systems. And the system is fully adaptable as new technology evolves in future. The modifications will make the torpedo even more suitable to the rapidly changing global defence environment, where there are even greater requirements on weapons to be precise and efficient, he said. Like the current Torpedo 45, the new system will employ a wire-control system. This will allow operators to target enemy assets with precision and safely abort attacks when required, for example if a civilian or other friendly vessel is at any risk, he said. You can direct the torpedo to stop or select another target. If the wire breaks, the torpedo will either go for the designated target and kill it or in peace time, abort the mission and go into safe mode. Modern torpedoes need a homing system that can differentiate between counter measures and the true target and to have endurance to continue the attack until the countermeasures are gone or the homing system has identified the target. The new torpedo system, being developed in the Baltic Sea, is due to be delivered to the Swedish Royal Navy in 2022. Circle is set to double its workforce in Ireland as part of its ambition to become the world's default platform for digitally sharing money. The Boston-based firm currently employs 20 people in Ireland, having established its international headquarters in Dublin in July 2014. The Transport Minister, Shane Ross, has launched a review of capacity at Irish airports. Mr Ross has hired Oxford Economics and Cambridge Economics Policy Associates (CEPA) to carry out the assessment. The Minister says he expects the report to recommend a timeframe for the construction of Terminal 3 at Dublin Airport. The consultants have been asked to look at the long-term development of Dublin, Cork and Shannon up until 2050. To celebrate those summer months, Cork is hosting their annual Midsummer festival. In keeping with the spirit of May, June and July, theyll be staging Irelands largest ever Maypole Dance - an iconic Midsummer ritual. The best part is that anyone and everyone can take part, theyve even recorded the moves for you to learn the dance in advance. This year it's inspired by the sensational dance show ProdiJIG: The Revolution. All together now 5, 6, 7, 8. Now you know the moves, all you need is to head down to Corks Fitzgerald Park, with some white clothing (if possible), on the morning of June 18th and show them off. Although dont worry if you haven't them off by heart, word champion dancer Alan Kenefick will be on hand to step you through it. ProdiJIG will also perform their hit show, ProdiJIG: The Revolution from June 14-25 in Cork Opera House. The Supreme Court has referred to Europe the question of whether the Equality Tribunal, now part of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), has the power to decide if the 35-year age limit for joining the Garda Siochana is discriminatory, writes Ann O'Loughlin. A five-judge Supreme Court unanimously agreed to refer the issue to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) arising out of a case originally brought by three men who claimed the rule discriminated against them under national and European law. The WRC has appealed a 2009 High Court finding that an Equality Tribunal did not have the authority to make a binding legal declaration on the inconsistency or insufficiency on a comparison of European and national legislation. Such a power was "expressly reserved" to the High Court under Article 34 of the Constitution, a judge ruled. The Minister for Justice also brought a cross appeal against the refusal of the High Court to award the Minister her legal costs. The three complainants were notice parties in the appeal. The three, who were in their thirties and forties, had applied to join the force between 2004 and 2007 and were refused. In his judgment on behalf of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Frank Clarke said as a matter of national law, a person or a body exercising statutory power - not being a court established under the Constitution - does not have jurisdiction to commence a process where the only positive conclusion would involve setting aside or disapplying a measure of legislation. On that basis, he had concluded the WRC would not, as a matter of national law, have jurisdiction to entertain the complaints of the three men in this case. That was because the only lawful conclusion in favour of the three would require the disapplication of a EU Directive "Establishing a General Framework for the Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation" (Directive 2000/78). He was satisfied the division of competence between the WRC/Tribunal and the High Court does comply with principles of equivalence or effectiveness. However, there remained an issue as to whether EU equality legislation requires the WRC/Tribunal, notwithstanding those earlier findings, "must have a jurisdiction to embark on the hearing of these complaints". Therefore, the Supreme Court had decided to refer to the CJEU, under the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, issues concerning the jurisdiction of the WRC in the context of the equal treatment in employment Directive. An action by Dublin Bus against a document management and storage firm over alleged losses from the theft of pre-paid bus tickets has been settled, writes Ann O'Loughlin. The bus company claimed in the High Court it suffered 240,000 in losses resulting from the use of nearly 4,000 stolen pre-paid bus tickets which were among a batch which were supposed to have been shredded. There's no need to be jealous of your friends heading off to Spain because this weekend is set to be a scorcher. After a miserable June so far the sun has finally decided to shine tomorrow and throughout the weekend as Ireland is set to be hit with a hot spell. It is expected to hit up to 24 degrees so get the sun cream and inflatable pools out, and why not have a barbeque. via GIPHY A few light breezy winds are expected but this will cause for some great drying on the clothes lines across the country. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be a mix of cloudy periods and warm sunny spells but temperatures are still to remain in the high twenties. That's not all either as forecasters expect the warm weather to continue into next week as well. With the hot weather, drivers are reminded to be cautious of breakdowns and cars over-heating. The AA want to remind the public to expect heavy traffic around parks and beaches are drivers are advised to allow a bit more time while travelling on the roads. Director of Consumer Affairs of the AA, Conor Faughnan said hot weather can make life difficult for a driver. "Harsh sunlight and glare can make it difficult to see vulnerable road users such as kids out and about and cyclists on the roads. Hot weather also causes road temperatures to increase and can affect car tyres," he said. The AA also advised drivers to keep hydrated while driving as sunshine can cause driver fatigue and to expect the unexpected. via GIPHY Update - 10.57am: A 32-year-old man arrested on Tuesday evening by Gardai investigating the murder of Patricia O'Connor will appear at Tallaght District Court this morning. Earlier: Gardai are continuing to question a man in connection with the murder of Patricia O'Connor. Ms O'Connor's remains have been found in a number of locations in the Wicklow Mountains after being murdered in Dublin. Gardai have sealed off sites in Wicklow, Dublin and Wexford in connection with the grandmother's death. Ms OConnor was from the Rathfarnham area of South Dublin and had worked as a chef in the now closed private maternity hospital, Mount Carmel. She had been reported missing from her home on June 2. Gardai believe that she died as a result of a blow to her head with a blunt object during a row with a male relative before her body was dismembered and discarded around the Co Wicklow area. A 32-year-old man presented himself to Wexford Garda Station on Tuesday, where he was later arrested. He was being detained in Bray Garda Station last night. It is understood that Ms OConnor died in her Rathfarnham home and was then transferred to a car where an attempt was made to bury her in a shallow grave in Co Wexford. There are now at least eight crime scenes being investigated by gardai, in locations in Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow. One theory being investigated is that Ms OConnor was buried with her body relatively intact, however, the killer panicked and dug up her remains in order to dismember them and later discard them. Wexford Chief Supt John Roche said a scene has been preserved in a rural area in the county. Its a rural area between Kilmuckridge and Blackwater, he said. Right now, were waiting on a team from the technical bureau to begin searching the surrounding area. The scene we have is quite contained, so we will be searching it ourselves. Over 200 gardai and Defence Forces employees are involved in the large-scale search investigation, including members of the Garda Water Unit and Dog Unit. Following the discovery of the torso by hikers last Saturday evening, the biggest breakthrough was locating a human head on Tuesday afternoon, approximately 3km north of Glenmacnass waterfall, which is on the Military Road in Co Wicklow. Further remains, including an arm, were located later in the afternoon. A partial torso, a leg, a backbone and internal organs were then recovered as part of the investigation. Describing the gruesome discoveries, Bray Superintendent Pat Ward said he was conscious the remains were those of a loved one. A High Court action brought by convicted murderer Graham Dwyer against the Garda Commissioner and State over the use of mobile phone records in his trial will be heard at the Four Courts early next year, writes Ann O'Loughlin. Dwyer was charged in October 2013 with the murder of Elaine OHara and was convicted by a jury following a lengthy trial at the Central Criminal Court in March 2015. In his High Court proceedings commenced in 2015 Dwyer claims certain provisions of the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 breach his rights to privacy under the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The Directive underlying the 2011 Act was struck down by the European Court of Justice in 2015. He claims that the ruling from Europe means that Irish legislation implementing the directive was illegal and that data collected on his phone was also therefore invalid. Many requests for disclosure of mobile phone records were made under the relevant provisions of the 2011 Act by gardai investigating Ms OHaras murder and were granted by the relevant service providers. Phone data was also admitted into evidence during the trial. During Dwyers trial, his lawyers argued the mobile phone data was inadmissible as evidence but those arguments were rejected by the trial judge. The High Court proceedings are against the Garda Commissioner, Director of Public prosecutions, Ministers for Justice and Communications, Ireland and the Attorney General. The case was briefly mentioned before the Chancery Court yesterday, when lawyers for Dwyer and the State applied for a hearing date. The hearing of the action, which is expected to take 6 to 8 days, was fixed for February 20 next year. In his action, Cork born Dwyer with an address in Foxrock in South Co Dublin seeks, if appropriate, damages and, if necessary, a reference of issues to the European Court of Justice. Following his conviction Dwyer for the murder of Ms O'Hara in August 2012 the married architect was jailed for life and his appeal against conviction has yet to be heard. Sinn Fein said any deal between the DUP and the Conservatives must not undermine the Good Friday Agreement. Representatives from the five political parties in the North met for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May at Downing Street today. Theresa May is to hold talks with the Northern Ireland political parties amid warnings an expected deal with the DUP to prop up her minority government will undermine the peace process. The British Prime Minister will meet separately with representatives of Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionists, the SDLP and the Alliance Party - as well as the DUP - in Downing Street in an attempt to allay growing concerns. It follows warnings - including from former prime minister John Major - that the British Government will compromise its stated impartiality in the province if it enters a confidence and supply deal with the DUP at Westminster. Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Alliance Party have all made clear Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire cannot chair the ongoing process to restore power-sharing at Stormont due to the perceived conflict of interest. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement - also referred to as the Belfast Agreement - commits the UK and Irish Governments to demonstrate "rigorous impartiality" in their dealings with the different political traditions in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill said: "I will be making it very clear that any deal between the Tories and the DUP cannot be allowed to undermine the Good Friday and subsequent agreements." Mr Brokenshire insisted the Government would honour its commitments in the Good Friday Agreement and warned that time was running out if power-sharing was to be restored and a return to direct rule from Westminster avoided. "The UK Government is offering whatever support we can, working alongside the Irish government, as appropriate, honouring our respective commitments in the Belfast Agreement to serve the interests of the whole community in Northern Ireland," he said. "There is very little time left. An agreement to restore devolved power-sharing government in Stormont must be reached by the 29 June deadline. "Ultimately, I think the parties understand people voted in the March Assembly elections for a strong voice at Stormont. "Northern Ireland's political leaders now have it in their hands to take control and shape a brighter future for everyone in Northern Ireland." Meanwhile, talks are continuing between the DUP and Conservatives, to secure the support of the DUP's 10 MPs in steering government business, including crucial measures on Brexit, through the British House of Commons. It is thought that an announcement on an agreement will be delayed as a result of the Grenfell Tower tragedy - and may not come until next week. Ministers have already said that the Queen of England's speech may have to be set back from its scheduled date of next Monday June 19, because of the ongoing negotiations. DUP leader Arlene Foster, who met Mrs May in No 10 on Tuesday, is understood to have returned to Northern Ireland leaving her deputy Nigel Dodds to represent the party at Thursday's meeting. The proposed deal would see the DUP back the Conservatives in votes on the Budget and on any confidence motion while other matters would be negotiated on an issue-by-issue basis. The UK is committed to a "close and special partnership" with the Ireland post-Brexit, the Prime Minister has told new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. The two leaders discussed a variety of issues during a phone call on Thursday. During the exchanges, a Downing Street spokeswoman said Mrs May had assured Mr Varadkar of her steadfast commitment to the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. The Government's adherence to the 1998 peace accord, in particular the requirement for it to act with "rigorous impartiality" in Northern Ireland, has been questioned by some in the wake of Mrs May's anticipated parliamentary deal with the DUP. "The Prime Minister spoke to Leo Varadkar on the phone earlier today to offer her congratulations on becoming Taoiseach," said the Downing Street spokeswoman. "The Taoiseach expressed his deepest sympathies for recent tragic events and said the thoughts of the Irish people were with the people of London at this time. "Both leaders agreed on the importance of continued cooperation between the two countries and the Prime Minister said she was personally committed to a close and special partnership with Ireland as the UK embarks on leaving the European Union. "They also spoke about a crucial need for the parties in Northern Ireland to come together to form a fully functioning Executive by the 29 June and how both leaders would continue to engage closely on this important issue. "The Prime Minister also emphasised her steadfast commitment to the Belfast Agreement and its successors and the two leaders agreed to meet in person at the earliest possible opportunity." Appointing an independent chair to take over the faltering Stormont talks process would be a waste of time, the Ulster Unionists have claimed. UUP leader Robin Swann rejected the call made by Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance as he emerged from a meeting with the UK Prime Minister at Downing Street. The three parties claim the UK government's role as a facilitator in negotiations to re-establish the crisis-hit institutions has been fatally undermined by the mooted parliamentary deal with the DUP. They have demanded that Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire step aside from chairing any part of the talks. The head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Sir Malcolm McKibbin, has already taken on responsibility for moderating many of the exchanges, with Sinn Fein and the SDLP having already questioned the impartiality of Mr Brokenshire earlier in the process. Mr Swann said talk of replacing Mr Brokenshire or appointing an independent chair from outside the UK and Ireland was a "sideshow". "We have two weeks from today to get the Northern Ireland executive up and functioning again and to try to bring in a new chair is actually a waste of time and a distraction," he said. "The Ulster Unionist Party is prepared, as we have always been prepared, to get the executive up and functioning again." Northern Ireland has been without a powersharing Executive since March and without a First and Deputy First Minister since January. The institutions collapsed amid a bitter row between the DUP and Sinn Fein about a botched green energy scheme. "We told @theresa_may very directly that she was in breach of the Good Friday Agreement," says Sinn Fein President @GerryAdamsSF pic.twitter.com/h2RAkktudw Sky News (@SkyNews) June 15, 2017 The Government has warned that direct rule from London could be reimposed if the local parties fail to reach an agreement before a June 29 deadline. All five Northern Ireland parties had separate meetings with Mrs May at No 10 on Thursday afternoon. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the Prime Minister had not convinced him the "DUP tail is not wagging the Tory dog". "We were very clear that it can't be a deal that gives the DUP power over the Tory Party," he said. "It can't be a deal that affects and infects the talks process." Alliance leader Naomi Long struck a more optimistic note as she left Downing Street. "We remain optimistic that a deal (on powersharing) can be done if others have the will to do so," she said. Australia's prime minister has said he is disappointed that excerpts of an off-the-record speech he gave at Parliament House parodying US president Donald Trump have been broadcast by a television network. Malcolm Turnbull made fun of Mr Trump and the Australian government's dismal opinion polls during a light-hearted speech at a ball hosted by the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery. Update 8.53am: Fighting continued through the night as the extremists fought heavily-armed soldiers. Extremist snipers fired on security troops who surrounded the restaurant and used big guns mounted on the backs of vehicles to neutralise militants. Soldiers entered the ground floor while the insurgent attackers held positions upstairs. Capt Hussein said at dawn on Thursday that at least one attacker was firing on troops from inside the restaurant. Police said the bodies of five girls thought to have been killed by militants were found in the building. AP Latest: Gunmen posing as soldiers are holding an unknown number of hostages inside a popular restaurant in Somalia's capital in a deadly attack that began when a car bomb exploded at the gate. Extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack in which at least 17 people, including foreigners, died, police and an ambulance driver said. Two of the gunmen were shot dead and 10 hostages were rescued, but five other attackers were thought to still be inside, cutting off electricity to complicate security forces' efforts to end the siege, Captain Mohamed Hussein said. Khalif Dahir, a driver with Amin Ambulance, said early on Thursday his service transported 17 bodies and 26 wounded people. Police said the dead included a Syrian man. Most of the victims were young men who entering the Pizza House in Mogadishu when the vehicle exploded, Capt Hussein said. The gunmen "were dressed in military uniforms. They forced those fleeing the site to go inside" the restaurant, witness Nur Yasin said. Wednesday night's blast largely destroyed the restaurant's facade and sparked a fire. While al-Shabab claimed to have attacked the neighbouring Posh Treats restaurant, which is frequented by the city's elite and was damaged in the blast, security officials said the Pizza House was targeted instead. Security forces rescued Asian, Ethiopian, Kenyan and other workers at Posh Treats as the attack continued, Capt Hussein said. Somalia-based al-Shabab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu, including hotels, military checkpoints and areas near the presidential palace. It has vowed to step up attacks after the recently-elected government launched a new military offensive against the group. Al-Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. The extremist group also faces a new military push from the United States after Donald Trump approved expanded operations, including air strikes, against al-Shabab. On Sunday, the US military in Africa said it carried out an air strike in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp. Somalia's president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said such strikes would disrupt the group's ability to conduct new attacks. With a new government established, pressure is growing on Somalia's military to assume full responsibility for the country's security. The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, Amisom, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020. Meanwhile the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution extending the world body's political mission in the Horn of Africa nation, which is trying to rebuild after more than two decades as a failed state, until March 31, 2018. The resolution recognised that "this is a critical moment for Somalia". Fighting continued through the night as the extremists fought heavily-armed soldiers. Extremist snipers fired on security troops who surrounded the restaurant and used big guns mounted on the backs of vehicles to neutralise militants. Soldiers entered the ground floor while the insurgent attackers held positions upstairs. Capt Hussein said at dawn on Thursday that at least one attacker was firing on troops from inside the restaurant. Police said the bodies of five girls thought to have been killed by militants were found in the building. AP Latest: A criminal investigation has been launched in the wake of the fatal fire. It followed calls for those involved in the building's recent renovation - which many claim posed a major safety risk - to face prosecution. Search teams were forced to leave the tower when the fire restarted on Thursday afternoon. Six bodies - all recovered from outside the building - have been taken to Westminster Mortuary. Of the 17 known to be dead, six were identified using items such as passports. One of the first victims was named as 23-year-old Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali. A total of 30 people continue to receive hospital treatment, of which 15 are still in critical care, all of whom have now been identified and reunited with family. Scores of families are preparing to spend a second night in temporary accommodation. Update 7.10pm: A criminal investigation has been launched in the wake of the fatal fire. It followed calls for those involved in the building's recent renovation - which many claim posed a major safety risk - to face prosecution. "We as the police have started an investigation, I mentioned when I was down at the scene this morning that one of our very senior investigating officers is leading that for us," the commander said. "We as the police, we investigate criminal offences - I am not sitting here and saying there are criminal offences that have been committed, that's why you do an investigation, to establish it. "This will need to be a lot of work between us and other investigating agencies to establish what has happened and why and that is going to take a considerable period of time." Detective Chief Inspector Matt Bonner from the homicide and major crime command has been appointed to lead the investigation. The fire was initially extinguished shortly after 1am - a full 24 hours after the first alarms were raised - paving the way for tentative searches in Grenfell's worst-affected areas. Pls RT to thank all of the emergency services who acted so professionally and bravely at Grenfell Tower - you are all heroes pic.twitter.com/fGPH13K7h3 NHS Million (@NHSMillion) June 15, 2017 But the blaze flared up again on Thursday afternoon, forcing search teams to scale back their efforts. Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack said the lingering threat had also hampered the process of recovering bodies. "At this moment in time, the fire is still ongoing, so it is not safe to take people out of the tower," she told reporters. The police's casualty bureau was said to have received 5,000 calls during the chaotic first day of the investigation. Around 400 people were reported missing, but Mr Cundy downplayed the figure, saying it added up to more people than actually lived in the block. One person was reported missing 46 times, he added. Update 5.50pm: The Mayor of London has called for an interim report into the Grenfell Tower fire to be published this summer and for the public inquiry to examine whether the block was refurbished safely. Sadiq Khan said there were "questions that demand answers", adding: "We can't afford to wait many years for those answers." It comes after British Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a full public inquiry into the disaster to establish what had happened. Speaking near the scene of the blaze in west London, Mr Khan said: "One of the things the public inquiry will look into is the refurbishment of the tower blocks and whether the tower block was refurbished in a safe way. "There are obvious questions about value for money and other questions that will be raised and other questions that demand answers. "We can't afford to wait many years for those answers. Which is why I am today calling for an interim report to be published this summer." Update 5.10pm: Police fear they may not be able to identify everybody killed in the Grenfell Tower disaster. Six bodies have so far been recovered from the gutted 24-storey tower, while 11 have been located inside but cannot be removed. A missing poster for Khadija Saye, who friends are searching for along with her mother Mary Mendy following the fire. The death toll from the blaze is 17, but that figure is expected rise significantly. Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said: "It may be - and I just don't know - it may be that ultimately some victims remain unidentified. "I won't know that until we've gone through the full recovery from Grenfell Tower and we know exactly what we've got and I anticipate that is going to take a considerable period of time. "Not just the immediate recovery of the bodies we have found but the full search of that whole building we could be talking weeks we could be talking months - it is a very long process. "There is a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody." His comments came as Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a full public inquiry into the disaster. Meanwhile, more than 60 tonnes of donations for victims of the Grenfell Tower fire have been collected by a local mosque. Scores of volunteers gathered at nearby Al Manaar mosque to help with the relief effort. They formed lines to sort boxes of clothing, toiletries, food and baby supplies donated by the community. There have been so many donations that the group has taken over a local warehouse to store all the supplies. Kamran Siddique of Muslim Aid, which is working with the mosque, said: "We have got a couple of hundred volunteers from all over the country from diverse backgrounds. "People have been here since early on Tuesday and are still here now. "A lot of us are fasting as well - it feels like sandpaper in my mouth. "We've got over 60 tonnes of clothing, toiletries, bedding, food, medicine - we have now come to the point where we can't take any other donations. "Our plan is to get it sorted, boxed and inventoried so that we can share it with other organisations. "Residents of Grenfell are all over the place so we will do a needs assessment." The only thing the group needs now is more empty boxes to store all the donations in, he added. "There are a lot of Muslims in the area and we've all come together with others from all different backgrounds to help," Mr Siddique added. Update 2.45pm: One of the first victims of the Grenfell Tower fire has been named as 23-year-old Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali. Co-founder of the Syria Solidarity Campaign Abdulaziz Almashi confirmed the news, saying he had met Mr Alhajali whilst working for the organisation which promotes freedom, peace and democracy in Syria. Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhaj Ali who used to live in #Grenfell Tower has died. RIP my friend. #GrenfellTower #LondonFire #RefugeesWelcome pic.twitter.com/oYb9AzKeMY Asaad Sam Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) June 15, 2017 Mr Almashi said: "He (Mr Alhajali) was kind, charitable and full of passion for his family. I can't believe he's not here." Mr Alhajali studied civil engineering at the University of West London. He wanted to study the subject so that he could one day return to Syria and help the country, said Mr Almashi. His brother Omar Alhajali was also caught up in the blaze but was found in hospital in a stable condition. Update 1.40pm: British Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire disaster. After visiting emergency teams at the scene of the blaze in west London, Mrs May said a proper public investigation was needed to establish what happened. British PM Theresa May visits the scene near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building yesterday morning. Speaking at 10 Downing Street shortly after her return from the site, she said: "We need to ensure that this terrible tragedy is properly investigated." "We need to know what happened, we need to know an explanation. "We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived. Mrs May's announcement came just before a demand by mayor of London Sadiq Khan that an inquiry be held. He said the "full scale of the tragedy is becoming clear and there are pressing questions, which demand urgent answers". "That is why I am demanding a full, independent public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower. In light of concerns about the safety of other tower blocks that have been similarly refurbished, the inquiry needs to produce an interim report by the end of this summer at the latest." Mrs May added: "When I went to the scene and spoke to the emergency services, they told me that the way this fire had spread and took hold of the building was rapid, it was ferocious, it was unexpected. "So it is right that, in addition to the immediate fire report that will be produced and any potential police investigation, that we do have a full public inquiry to get to the bottom of this. "People deserve answers. The inquiry will give them." Update - 11.37am: Specialist urban search and rescue teams are being brought in to make the 24-storey tower block safe in north Kensington to allow firefighters and the police to carry out investigations. Search dogs will also be used to help locate the missing in the wreckage. London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said: "This will be a detailed fingertip search. "Obviously this will be a very slow and painstaking process." The flats were home to between 400 and 600 people, community leaders said. More than 1m has been raised to help those affected by the fire, while volunteers and charities helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. A wall of condolence was put up near the scene, with photographs showing dozens of messages left for loved ones. Some of the tributes left close to Grenfell Tower in west London. British Prime Minister Theresa May has visited the scene this morning, speaking with firefighters and police officers inside the vast cordoned-off area around the fire site. She has promised a "proper investigation" after the building went up in flames amid growing concerns about how the blaze could have spread so rapidly. She was whisked away by car shortly after 10am without speaking to reporters. Update - 11.01am: 17 people have died in the Grenfell Tower fire but the death toll is still expected to rise, Commander Stuart Cundy of the Metropolitan Police said. Commander Cundy also said a senior detective, DCI Matt Bonner, has been appointed to lead the investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire. London Fire Brigade (LFB) said firefighters have been able to search almost all of the building more than 30 hours after the fire broke out, although flare-ups are still happening, with flames seen throughout last night. However, they have not be able to reach beyond the 20th floor of the 24-storey block as the structure is too unstable. London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton, said: "Sadly we do anticipate the death toll will rise - we haven't done our searches of the top floors yet." The firefighters could face future psychological issues, Ms Cotton has warned. London Fire Brigade said more than 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines attended the scene after the blaze ripped through the 24-storey block in west London, from the second floor upwards. She said the firefighters had been particularly affected by the desperation of one family who threw a baby from a window in a bid to save it. She told Sky News: "For my crews who were on the ground who witnessed it happening it was truly horrible and shocking. "I spoke to one of my officers who was very near when someone came out of the window, he was in tears. He is a professional fire officer. "We like to think of ourselves as roughty-tufty and as heroes but they have feelings. People were absolutely devastated by yesterday's events." Update - 10.09am: A total of 37 people are still being treated in hospital, with 17 in critical care, NHS England said in a statement. Update - 9.33am: The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said a ruptured gas main in the block had to be isolated before fire crews were able to put the blaze out and bring it under control by 1.14am. A 40 metre aerial appliance was brought in from Surrey Fire and Rescue Service to help with this. Ms Cotton said the number of people who are unaccounted for is still unknown as some may have got out by themselves or gone into other flats. The cause of the fire is still being investigated. A large number of material has been taken away for sampling in detailed searches of the flats as evidence is collected along with identification of the people who live in the flats. #LondonFire: Families waiting for news after #GrenfellTower fire. Watch Sky News' live coverage https://t.co/k59sScgzF9 Sky News (@SkyNews) June 15, 2017 She said "in quite a short period of time" investigators will try to pinpoint the cause of the fire. Firefighters who worked in intense heat and under falling debris have suffered nine minor injuries, ranging from burns, smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion but the potential psychological damage to them could be a future concern. British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to visit the scene of the tragedy later on Thursday to speak with emergency services and ensure that they have the resources they need to deal with the situation. Update - 9.13am: There are still "unknown numbers" of bodies in Grenfell Tower following the devastating inferno, London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton has said. At least 12 people died after the huge fire destroyed the block in north Kensington, west London, where flames could still be seen burning more than a day on from the disaster. The commissioner told Sky News: "Tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. The severity and the heat of the fire would mean it is an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive." She said there are still "unknown numbers" of people in the building. It is not safe for fire crews to go to the edges of #GrenfellTower. It would be a "miracle" to find anyone else alive, @LFBCommissioner says pic.twitter.com/UuZPmXcII3 Sky News (@SkyNews) June 15, 2017 More than 1 million has been raised to help those affected as fire tore through the 24-storey building while volunteers and charities helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. Ms Cotton said the upper floors of the building are still to be searched. "Sadly we do anticipate the death toll will rise - we haven't done our searches of the top floors yet," she told reporters at the scene. Earlier: The death toll from the devastating tower block fire in west London is expected to rise as investigators trawl through the wreckage in the search for other victims. At least 12 people have died after the huge fire destroyed Grenfell Tower in north Kensington, where flames could still be seen burning more than a day on from the disaster. More than 1 million has been raised to help those affected as fire tore through the 24-storey building while volunteers and charities helped with feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. A wall of condolence was put up near the scene with photographs showing dozens of messages left for loved ones. British Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a "proper investigation" after the building went up in flames early on Wednesday morning amid growing concerns about how the fire could have spread so rapidly. Speaking in Downing Street, Mrs May said: "When it's possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken." Residents' groups have claimed they voiced concerns about the safety of the building, which had been recently refurbished, while those who escaped complained their fire alarms had not been set off by the blaze. One focus for the investigation will be the building's cladding, which TV architect George Clarke said may have accelerated the blaze. Mr Clarke, who lives locally and appears on Channel 4's Amazing Spaces, told BBC's Newsnight: " I saw those cladding panels, the cladding on the outside and the insulation was just peeling off, like you'd peel a banana. "It was fully on fire. I could see the flames behind - there's a new cladding system put on the outsides that looks like a new skin, there's an air gap an insulation behind that, to me that looks like a fantastic chimney for the fire to rage around." Grenfell Tower, which built in 1974, was recently refurbished at a cost of 8.6 million, with work completed in May last year. Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it had received complaints over the works, after a residents' action group said its warnings about safety had fallen on "deaf ears". A blog post from Grenfell Action Group in November said "only a catastrophic event" would expose the concerns residents had. The group said there was one entry and exit to the tower during improvement works and it had issues with evacuation procedures. Concerns had also been raised about exposed gas pipes weeks before the devastating blaze. Rydon, the firm that carried out the refurbishment work, said the project "met all required building regulations", in its latest statement following the fire. But a line stating that the project had met all "fire regulation and health and safety standards", which was included in an earlier release, had disappeared. When questioned about residents' worries about fire safety at the block, the council's deputy leader Rock Feilding-Mellen told the BBC: "My understanding is that their concerns were looked at and officers and the TMO (tenant management organisation) made inquiries and felt we had done what was necessary." Meanwhile, work is continuing to tackle "pockets of fire" in the block, with several residents reporting one man had said it started in his faulty fridge. Many people are still unaccounted for with firefighters saying the operation now in the "recovery phase". Commander Stuart Cundy of the Metropolitan Police said: "This is going to be a long and complex recovery operation and I do anticipate that the number of fatalities will sadly increase beyond those 12." Witnesses described hearing screams for help from people trapped on the upper floors of the block as flames engulfed the building, which contains 120 flats thought to be home to between 400 and 600 people. Children and a baby were seen being thrown out of the windows to be caught by emergency workers and members of the public below. London Fire Brigade said it had rescued 65 people as flames engulfed the block, and had managed to reach all 24 floors, though a full search of the building has not been completed. NHS England said 74 patients were treated in six hospitals across London. Thirty-four remain in hospital including 18 who are in critical care. On Wednesday evening, dozens of people gathered for a vigil in the shadow of the tower as the sun began to set. Many were moved to tears after pausing for moment of silent contemplation outside the Notting Hill Methodist Church in west London. The Rev. Mike Long said: "There are times when all the words we can say are not adequate and sometimes words fail us because no words can do justice to how we feel, or what we have seen or what has happened. Today is one of those days. "What we can simply do is look to all that we have seen today which is good, which is fabulous - people getting together." Emergency accommodation had been provided to 44 households affected by the fire, with families with young children, elderly residents and those who are vulnerable given "immediate priority", the local council said. People unable to return to their homes were offered a place to stay at Westway Sports Centre in Crowthorne Road, north Kensington. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said "searching questions" need to be asked about what happened, suggesting spending cuts could have contributed to the deadly fire, while general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union Matt Wrack said: "The truth is this should not be happening in the UK, one of the wealthiest countries in the world." A 43-year-old man has been arrested over allegations he posted pictures of a Grenfell Tower victim on social media. Images were posted of what appear to be a partially-covered body following the fatal blaze in north Kensington, west London. US president Donald Trump has told his Twitter followers that they are witnessing the "single greatest witch hunt in American history". Mr Trump did not clarify what exactly he was referring to in the early morning tweet, although he has frequently described reports about possible ties between members of his campaign and Russia as a "witch hunt". A brother and sister have been freed by detectives in the UK investigating a fatal shooting which reportedly occurred after they disturbed a break-in at their secluded caravan. Reuben and Kathleen Gregory were held on suspicion of murdering Wayne Digby, 48, who was gunned down in Colnbrook, Slough, Berkshire, in the early hours of Monday. Update 9pm: Doctors who are treating an American college student released by North Korea in a coma say he has severe injury to all regions of his brain. They described 22-year-old Otto Warmbier as in a state of "unresponsiveness wakefulness". They say he does not show any consistent response to stimulation, shows no sign of understanding language, responding to commands or awareness of his environment. Doctors with the University of Cincinnati Health system say Mr Warmbier shows extensive loss of brain tissue, consistent with respiratory arrest, when the brain is cut off from oxygen but they are not sure why. They said his prognosis remains confidential. Earlier: An American college student who was released by North Korea in a coma has suffered a "severe neurological injury", a spokeswoman for the Ohio hospital treating him said. Otto Warmbier is in stable condition after arriving at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre two days ago. Doctors plan to hold a news conference on campus later. The 22-year-old student's father, Fred Warmbier, said he does not believe North Korea's explanation that his son's coma resulted from botulism and a sleeping pill. Fred Warmbier said there is relief that his son is home, but also anger that he was so brutally treated for so long. Mr Warmbier said his son was "terrorised and brutalised" during his 17-month detention, and has been in a coma for more than a year. He said he and his wife, Cindy, only learned of their son's condition last week. The University of Virginia student was medically evacuated from North Korea and arrived in Cincinnati late on Tuesday. He was then taken by ambulance to a hospital. Mr Warmbier was serving a 15-year prison term with hard labour in North Korea after he tearfully confessed that he tried to steal a propaganda banner while visiting the country. Such detentions in the totalitarian nation have added to tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. Three Americans remain in custody. The US government accused North Korea of using such detainees as political pawns. North Korea accuses Washington and South Korea of sending spies to overthrow its government. US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said his department is continuing "to have discussions" with North Korea about the release of the other three imprisoned American citizens. - PA Industry groups have sounded a warning about the use of flammable materials in Canberra buildings following a deadly fire in London. At least 12 people were killed in the fire at London's Grenfell Tower on Wednesday, with indications the building's flammable aluminium cladding contributed to the inferno. Canberra industry groups have sounded a warning about ACT fire safety in the wake of a deadly London blaze. Credit:Rohan Thomson It is believed that a similar type of combustible cladding contributed to a blaze at an apartment block in Melbourne's docklands in 2014. The executive director of Master Builders ACT, Kirk Coningham, said the territory typically had very strong building regulations in place to prevent fires. A Canberra man on trial after police allegedly found $400,000 and heroin in his Phillip home gave a user drugs to clean his house, the ACT Supreme Court heard on Thursday. Justice David Mossop heard the second day of the trial of Chang-Kee Song, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge each of trafficking in a controlled substance, being heroin, and money laundering. Defence barrister James Stewart had previously argued Mr Song was not a heroin dealer, but one of a group of users pooling their finances to buy the substance in bulk to save money. But a witness, under questioning from prosecutor Katie McCann, said she had bought heroin from Mr Song, who she knew as "John", on a number of occasions and had also cleaned his house in return for heroin when she could not pay. That witness said she believed Mr Song was a heroin user, not a dealer, but had asked him why he had started asking for money from her for drugs, as they were "friends". A Canberra man threatened to kill his sister and send a bomb to her home after getting into an argument with her partner, police have told a court. Benjamin Fernandez, 21, of Dunlop used Facebook Messenger on June 7 to send his sister several messages over an hour abusing and threatening her, it is alleged. Benjamin Fernandez is yet to enter a plea on charges that he threatened to kill his sister. Credit:Louie Douvis One of the messages read: "I know where you live now. I'm actually going to kill you ... I promise there's a bomb coming to your house tonight", police said. Later when police were arresting him, he told them: "Whatever, when I get out I will go and kill her", according to documents tendered to the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday. EnergyAustralia has announced it will increase electricity prices in Sydney by 19.6 per cent - or $320 a year - from July 1. The increase, which will add an extra $6.15 a week to the average household bill, was announced alongside price rises to gas of 6.6 per cent. For small-to-medium-sized businesses, electricity will increase 19.9 per cent a year ($17.60 a week) and gas 10.7 per cent ($20.05 a week). EnergyAustralia chief customer officer Kim Clarke described the hike as "bad news for families and business." The number of hours worked by Australians has surged by the highest rate in a decade after the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in four years on Thursday. TD Securities Economist Prashant Newnaha said the result "surpassed street expectations by a country mile". More than 52,000 people found full-time jobs in May while 10,100 part-time ones fell away, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. When it comes to language, we're going over the top, says Garrett Naumann, of Cammeray. "Mourning the demise of the straight-forward-down-to-earth talking Aussie, the present sounds fake: 'tremendous', 'terrific', 'amazing', 'fantastic' are adjectives attached to very ordinary people and events, culminating in, not 'stars', but now 'superstars'." If that's too much, Tess Osborne, of West Pymble, heard the gnashing of her English teacher's teeth and the sound of him turning in his grave when she followed the instructions to place her Woolies Butterflied Beef in "an ovenable dish". Tess won't need an oven, if our largest hardware chain is right. "Their current catalogue shows an illustration for a 'digital clock, nightlight and room temperature display' on page 2," writes Warren Devrell, of Maryvale. "It shows that at 16:20 on a Thursday the temperature will be 134 F. That's just over 10F higher than the highest-ever temperature recorded in Australia!" While we are on dramatic fake news, Paul Hunt, of Engadine, points out that the C8 contribution about an exasperated audience member shouting "she's in the attic" during a badly acted version of The Diary of Anne Frank "is not just an urban myth, but a global one", invariably featuring the questionable thespian abilities of Pia Zadora, who never appeared in Anne Frank. That's disgruntling. While we are on gruntling, Barry Galbraith recalls that an episode of the TV sitcom M*A*S*H had some of the staff complaining to the CO, Henry Blake, that others were disgruntled. "Colonel Blake's retort was that he wasn't responsible for their 'gruntlement'." Anita Pallenberg, who has died aged 73, was sexual muse to three of the Rolling Stones; she did drugs, sadomasochistic sex and dabbled in black magic, yet lived to tell the tale. A ravishing beauty with a shock of blonde hair, heavily kohled eyes and a stick-thin frame, she epitomised the '60s "rock chick". Anita Pallenberg and Keith Richards became a devoted couple during the 1960s. Credit:AP She had an autocratic foreignness that people found both scary and seductive. She herself sometimes claimed to be a witch. Her effect on some members of the group was calamitous. When she first met the Stones in 1965, she was just 21. But she had already appeared in films and fashion magazines, knew Andy Warhol and "everyone else" in New York, could say "f--- off" in six languages, knew about drugs and was highly qualified in the arts of sex; her model agency billed her as "too beautiful to get out of bed". We understand it's part of Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's job to sell the government's troubling treatment of asylum seekers in offshore processing centres on Manus Island and Nauru. That means making no admissions or concessions about inhumane practices that have drawn widespread international condemnation and blackened Australia's reputation. So Mr Dutton can assert loudly and often that the Commonwealth makes no admissions in settling for $90 million the class action against the Commonwealth and its contractors brought by Slater and Gordon on behalf of former Manus Island detainee and lead plaintiff Majid Kamasaee. But he's fooling no one. Mr Dutton said the out-of-court settlement of the claims of negligence and false imprisonment was a "prudent outcome" for the Australian taxpayer, on the basis that the case would have cost "tens of millions of dollars in legal fees alone". (Of the $90 million, $70 million goes to compensation for the plaintiffs and $20 million is for legal fees.) The government's insistent secrecy over conditions in offshore detention centres was set to be exploded by the 70 witnesses and 200,000 documents due to be presented to the court in a six-month case. The settlement also puts paid to the legal fiction of the government's equally insistent claim that it has no moral or legal responsibility for the centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, even though it pays for them. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has repeatedly defended the visa changes. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The publicly available 166-page statement of claim alleges the plaintiffs were kept in dirty, overcrowded and overheated facilities, were subject to violent and ant-social behaviour from security staff and other detainees, and were deprived of sufficient drinking water, hygiene products and medications. The Herald has accepted that offshore detention can act as a deterrent to asylum seekers undertaking dangerous boat trips, but we have always insisted that the deterrence needs to be humane and cause the least harm possible. Manus Island is to close in October. Up to 1250 refugees from there and from the Nauru detention centre are to be resettled in the US under the deal reached between Malcolm Turnbull and Barack Obama, which Donald Trump is reluctantly honouring. That is a good thing. The Nauru facility remains, however, and so does the problem. The UN's special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants Francois Crepeau declared after visiting Nauru that "Australia is responsible for the damage inflicted to these asylum seekers and refugees and that the involuntary geographical and psychological confinement ... constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment". He also said it was a "fundamental principle of human rights law that one person can't be punished only for the reason of deterring another". The court settlement is a reminder, if we needed one, that inhumane treatment of asylum seekers in offshore detention centres is not only unnecessary, cruel and unlawful, but exposes the Australian government and taxpayers grave legal and financial consequences as well as moral ones. Federal Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon has been accused of contradicting himself over his contact with Chinese officials. In question time on Thursday, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop brandished a 2011 affidavit obtained from the ACT Supreme Court in which Mr Fitzgibbon swore to writing a series of letters to various Chinese officials. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop goes on the attack during question time. Credit:Andrew Meares But Ms Bishop also quoted from an email Mr Fitzgibbon sent earlier this month to a journalist - inquiring about his links with Chinese socialite Helen Liu - in which he said: "I have never written to a Chinese official." "I would invite the Member for Hunter to repeat that statement in this House," Ms Bishop said to the Parliament. Oh, work/life balance. If we could all just figure it out wouldn't life be blissful? Everything would just fall into its rightful place and we would no longer feel guilty, or tired or defined by our work. The tricky thing about work/life balance is that the people most likely to desperately seek work/life balance are the very same ones who use busyness as a status symbol, who post photos of themselves working late in the office to social media, and in response to someone asking how they are they can be counted on to reply "soooo busy" (subtext: with my fulfilling and important job and jammed social life!). Gooped: Paltrow in her Goop uniform. Credit:Benjamin Lozovsky/BFA.com They are mostly not the people for whom work/life balance is a concept so absent from their lives that it is laughable. The women who really need better work/life balance are likely not posting their career mission statement on Instagram, or mainlining management books or booking in 'me time.' They're mostly doing the best they can to get by. To keep going. Perhaps the most galling example of this was revealed in a Guardian report about the conditions factory workers in Subang, Indonesia are labouring under to produce Ivanka Trump's line in neutral-hued office-friendly separates for Women Who Work. Australia has been ranked 39 out of 41 high- and middle-income countries in achieving quality education, in the latest international report to find that the country is falling behind in basic measures of teaching and learning. Only Romania and Turkey were ranked below Australia in education in the latest United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report card. The report looks at the performance of 15-year-olds in reading, maths and science, as well as the quality and level of access to early schooling, in 41 European Union and OECD countries. The report found that only 71.7 per cent of Australian 15-year-olds are achieving baseline standards in the three key areas of education, based on the latest PISA assessment, and only 80.3 per cent of children are attending "organised preschool learning" for at least a year, according to 2014 figures. A 22-year-old man arrested at Sydney Airport, allegedly trying to travel to the Syrian war zone, was intending to buy a one-way ticket to Turkey or Lebanon when he arrived at the airport, police say. Moudasser Taleb, from Panania in Sydney's south-west, was arrested by NSW Police on Thursday morning. Counter-terrorism officers had been monitoring him closely since January and they will allege he was intending to travel to Syria to join Islamic State. NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson said the man had allegedly been radicalised after speaking to people online and he was acting alone. In the space of three weeks in mid-2014, Moudasser Taleb's views appeared to change drastically. Commenting on a YouTube video of al-Qaeda bombing a Yemen hospital, the Panania man, who was arrested at Sydney Airport on Thursday allegedly trying to join Islamic State, said he abhorred violence. "The people who did this are not 'muslim' and they have nothing to do with islam, we are forbidden to kill innocent people," he wrote. "Stop blaming islam when its these crazy brainwashed fools that are doing these things." But, three weeks later, he was singing the praises of Sheikh Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda attack planner who was killed by a US drone strike in 2011. A Muslim woman who allegedly refused to stand for a Sydney judge may challenge a charge of "disrespectful behaviour in court" in the High Court. Moutia Elzahed, the first person in NSW to be charged with the offence, did not appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday but her lawyer Zali Burrows said she planned to challenge the charge on constitutional grounds. Moutia Elzahed is challenging the charge. Credit:Christopher Pearce "It's a shame that they've actually applied this (charge) to the wrong person because she wasn't disrespectful," Ms Burrows told reporters outside the courtroom. "It does offend the (defendant's) implied freedom." Salim Mehajer's sister Fatima is facing a potential prison sentence after pleading guilty to a raft of electoral fraud offences, while her brother is on trial for seeking to rig the Auburn council election that catapulted him into public office. On the eve of the siblings' criminal trial in the Local Court, Ms Mehajer struck a deal with Commonwealth prosecutors to plead guilty to 77 counts of giving false or misleading information to the Australian Electoral Commission. Clutching her baby daughter, Ms Mehajer appeared briefly in court on Thursday to confirm the deal before being excused by magistrate Beverley Schurr. The offences, under the Criminal Code, carry a maximum penalty of 12 months' imprisonment. The proposed $210 million redevelopment of Sydney's Walsh Bay has suffered a major blow after planning approval for the project was declared invalid because the state failed to consider the construction impact on nearby businesses. After a two-year legal battle, the NSW Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the owner of the Simmer on the Bay restaurant at Walsh Bay, who challenged the project on the ground that it had not been lawfully approved. Brigid Kennedy, inset, of Simmer on the Bay. Credit:SMH The 3-0 decision represents a setback for a government which, for the past five years, has been working on and touting plans to redevelop the wharf area between the Barangaroo headland and Dawes Point Park. But the decision also represents a relief for Brigid Kennedy, the restaurant owner and manager who took on the money and muscle of the state to halt what the court has now found was an invalid planning process. Queensland University of Technology's Caboolture campus will be transferred to the University of the Sunshine Coast by next year in light of the USC's expansion in the region. The governing councils of both universities finalised the decision in the past 48 hours after looking closely at education priorities in the Moreton Bay region, after USC's planned opening of a full-service campus at Petrie in 2020. QUT's Caboolture campus will be handed to the University of the Sunshine Coast by 2018. QUT senior deputy vice chancellor Carol Dickenson said both universities were interested in making sure good education opportunities were offered within the Caboolture region. "From our point of view, it doesn't make sense for two different universities to be offering the same programs in same space," she said. Queensland Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls has used his budget reply speech in State Parliament to rule out asset sales, as he made an election pitch to voters. Mr Nicholls had been challenged by the Labor government to rule out asset sales to pay for his election promises, and he made that pledge on Thursday. "The LNP has absolutely no intention of backing down on the amendments to sugar legislation," Queensland Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls wrote to Wilmar's boss. Credit:Robert Shakespeare Borrowing a phrase from former prime minister Tony Abbott, Mr Nicholls said the issue was: "dead, buried and cremated". "Let me make it very clear - we will not sell government-owned corporations," Mr Nicholls said. Mr Soorley said the engagement of a specialist consultant would help with cultural change. One of the biggest problems for the 2016 election were IT issues. While the ECQ relied heavily on technology, it did not have a permanent and full-time chief information officer. The elections results system could not cope with the large volume of data on election night, which led to delays, and the ECQ's security firewall interpreted the enormous increase in traffic to its website as a denial of service attack. Mr Soorley said the panel was unable to meet with electoral commissioner Walter van der Merwe on his own, as he was always accompanied by the assistant commissioner, who took the lead on responding to most issues. "It seems that there is a division of responsibility between the two. Their interactions and behaviour has the semblance of 'good cop bad cop' management style," he said. There were also inadequate staff numbers at pre-polling and election days for the 2016 local government election, insufficient training and a lack of clarity around their work hours. Mr Soorley said the postal vote system was beset with problems, in part because of the content of ECQ communication materials such as a standard "voter information letter", which led to confusion, unreturned ballot papers and invalid ballot papers, as some postal-only voters believed they had to attend a polling booth. Shockingly, Cook Shire had 650 discarded ballot papers and another 500 that were not returned - out of an enrolment of 2415 people, with confusion and incomplete declarations to blame. There was also insufficient staff at the call centre, and 37 per cent of election day calls were abandoned. There was no clear agreement on budgets for the elections and the referendum between the ECQ and the Local Government Association of Queensland, with an underspent budget of $4 million impacting on resources. The panel said the election day for council elections in Queensland should be relocated to October or November, to avoid wet tropical conditions and make it easier to prepare council budgets. While some stakeholders argued there should be compulsory preferential voting for all councils, the panel recommended the current system remain. Mr Soorley said the problems required urgent action before the next election. The report criticised the ECQ's internal report following the election and said it "glossed over" many issues within the organisation. The panel recommended the ECQ introduce electronic voting by the 2020 election at some pre-polling and polling booths, which the ECQ said it supported and would take into consideration in planning for the next council elections. The panel also recommended the ECQ investigate full online voting, and asked: "Is it time to now ban how-to-vote cards in Queensland?" The panel also criticised instances where returning officers appointed family members and friends as polling booth staff. It said recruitment of returning officers was inadequate, inconsistent and lacking consistency, and some were paid up to $30,000 for the 2016 election. The ECQ will prepare a recruitment strategy for elections, but said circumstances may arise where it may be required to hire family members at polling booths, such as in isolated areas. Mr van der Merwe said the ECQ supported most of the recommendations, and had already begun implementation, with several to be in place for the 2020 local government elections. But Mr van der Merwe took issue with some aspects of the report, including an allegation of absences from meetings, stating he or the assistant commissioner chaired every meeting. He also said the ECQ consulted with all 77 councils to limit the cost to ratepayers. The ECQ has engaged a consultant to change management and organisational culture and has amended its structure. Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said the government would consider permanent dates for local government elections. The government will consider retaining optional preferential voting for council elections at least until after the next election, in consultation with the LGAQ. Ms D'Ath she had written to the ECQ Commissioner asking him to report back regularly on the progress of implementations of the recommendations. She said a future Labor government committed to doing an assessment of early voting processes for state and local elections. The local government elections and the referendum on fixed four-year terms were held on March 19, 2016, with a participation rate of 83.04 per cent and an informality rate of 4.34 per cent. About 417,000 postal vote ballots were sent to electors, with a return rate of 321,000. But in the 21 councils using postal-only voting, 23 per cent of registered voters did not participate at all. It took until last week for a reply to arrive in the mail, a standard letter to inform Mr Lust that his "application has been received and is currently being assessed". Adam Lust is one of more than 1000 taxi/hire car licence owners who has applied to the government's taxi fairness fund. There have been no payouts yet. Credit:Jason South With large debts and a shrinking business, he saw the promised hardship fund as a way to stay afloat while he worked out whether or not to remain in an industry that has been up-ended by change. When the Andrews government announced in August it would spend $50 million on relief for people in the taxi industry in urgent financial need, hire car operator Adam Lust was keen to apply. Not a cent has been yet paid out from the $50 million fund, despite an assurance from the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources in February that "early payments will be made available to eligible applicants in priority cases, before the fund closes". Meanwhile, Mr Lust's financial situation is even worse than it was when he applied, a situation he guesses is mirrored by many hundreds of other smaller players in the industry. "I'm still working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, but I'm not getting the return I used to get for those hours. So absolutely, my circumstances have changed," he said. The Andrews government was forced into admitting this week that it has been overwhelmed by paperwork regarding its Taxi Fairness Fund, which has delayed the flow of payments. Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the government was "very keen to get these payments moving as quickly as possible" and had provided a short grace period for late applicants who missed the April 30 deadline. A 37-year-old man has avoided a jail term for stabbing a Labrador to death in a Mirrabooka park last month - after pleading guilty on Thursday morning. Jayde Paul Rowan appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday morning, and was handed a seven month suspended sentence by chief magistrate Steven Heath for the attack on four-year-old dog Luna. Owner, 22-year-old Bridgette Millen, was exercising Luna and her male Labrador Chocco in a park off Apple Blossom Drive at 6pm on May 18 when the incident occurred. "I made them sit then took them off their leads," she told media on last month. For the first time, conjoined twins Abby and Erin Delaney can sleep in separate beds. The 10-month-old girls from North Carolina were born connected at the head, an extremely rare condition. Following months of planning and preparation, the pair underwent a successful 11-hour separation surgery last week at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, according to the hospital. Conjoined twin girls Abby, right, and Erin at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia. Credit:AP "Separating conjoined twins is a very complex surgery followed by a long and complicated recovery, but we are very hopeful for a positive outcome," Jesse Taylor, a plastic surgeon who co-led the operation with neurosurgeon Gregory Heuer, said on Tuesday in a statement from the hospital. "Erin and Abby are now recovering in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit under close monitoring by our expert teams." A firefighter conducts a search of a burnt-out flat in Grenfell Tower. Credit:Getty Images Policing and Fire Minister Nick Hurd said anger in the community over the tragedy was "quite understandable" and the government needed to listen. "We have to act and think as if it was our friends, our family in that building," he said, adding he had told officials "there's no room for cool, detached, plodding bureaucracy at this moment". Firefighters at Grenfell Tower. Credit:Getty Images New Housing Minister Alok Sharma said many people across the country in high-rise towers would be wondering about the safety of their own homes. He told a parliamentary committee that his department was talking to local authorities and housing management organisations across the country about how to get checks quickly on buildings. People attend a candlelight vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the Grenfell Tower block. Credit:Getty Images He also said a long-awaited review of building regulations was "almost ready". Conservative MP Vicky Ford said people who worked in tall buildings "will be fearful" and asked this also be considered in a review or inquiry. Police forensics carry a stretcher with a body bag out of the 24-storey residential Grenfell Tower block. Credit:Getty Images Earlier, emergency services leading the operation in north Kensington warned that the death toll was likely to rise further with specialist search and rescue teams expected to enter the devastated building imminently. London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said the search could take "weeks", adding: "I want to be realistic this is a very long process." Smoke continues to rise from the burning 24-storey Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, west London. Credit:Getty Images Many are now calling for a fundamental rethink of the safety of the UK's estimated 4000 residential tower blocks, housing millions, as it emerges many of these buildings lack basic fire safety features and some have been refurbished with now-suspect materials. Firefighters worked through to Thursday morning, searching the gutted, still-smouldering west London tower from floor to floor, looking for victims as well as putting out the last pockets of fire, more than a day since it began around 1am on Wednesday. People leave donations outside the Notting Hill Methodist Church near the burning 24-storey residential Grenfell Tower block. Credit:Getty Images On Thursday morning police confirmed the number of dead had risen to 17 though they believe this number will increase further. Unofficially the death toll was estimated at dozens, perhaps as high as 100. A fire crew near the 24-storey residential Grenfell Tower block. Crews searched the gutted building looking for victims. Credit:Getty Images On Thursday afternoon senior police detectives said it could take weeks if not longer to work out who died in the fire. Due to the intensity of the blaze they would have to rely on dental records for much of the identification of the dead. However they believe many in the tower were recent immigrants who may not have been to the dentist in the UK. They fear some could never be identified. The burning Grenfell Tower in London. Credit:AP Ms Cotton paid tribute to firefighters' work and talked about their heroic rescues the night before. "My firefighters battled through intense heat to reach some of the highest floors," she said. The blackened exterior of Grenfell Tower. Credit:Getty Images "It was a very stressful and difficult time. I was looking at a building that was engulfed in fire where I knew members of the public were still trapped yet I was committing hundreds of firefighters into a building that to a lot of people looked terribly unsafe. "My firefighters were desperate to get in there and desperate to rescue people, and we committed crew after crew into a very dangerous, very hot and very difficult situation because we had a passion to do as much as we could to rescue the people in there." She said nine firefighters had suffered minor injuries including burns, as well as heat exhaustion due to the intensity of the fire and their hard work. She was more concerned in the long term about the mental impact, she said, and would make sure her firefighters got trauma counselling. "This was an unprecedented event," she said. "People saw and heard things on a scale they'd never seen before." Firefighters and police were starting a "fingertip search" of the whole building to try and find and identify the dead still in there, Ms Cotton said. They were also using search dogs, who were lighter than people and so could cover a greater area in the building. But upper floors "will be more challenging" and would need internal "shoring" to make sure floors were safe for search crews, Ms Cotton said. It was still too early to say if a recent refurbishment to the building had had an impact on the fire, the said. Police said there were still 37 people in hospital on Thursday morning, with 17 in critical care. Many residents of Grenfell Tower remained unaccounted for, with families spreading appeals through social media to find their loved ones. Entire families were missing. Due to the speed the fire spread up and into the building, from an unknown cause on a lower floor by some reports an exploding fridge, residents were trapped on upper floors without hope of rescue, signalling desperately for help. The building held 120 homes in 24 storeys, and had only one internal staircase which had quickly filled with smoke. Some residents initially followed the standard "stay put" fire advice, under which people are told that if there is a fire outside their flat they should stay inside, shut the door, and wait for rescue. That advice assumes there is adequate fire insulation between apartments, slowing the advance of any blaze. Though firefighters quickly ordered an evacuation when they arrived at the scene and saw the speed the tower was being consumed, witness reports revealed confusion among residents about whether they were supposed to stay or flee. This issue, as well as questions about the building's lack of a central fire alarm and sprinkler system, and the role in spreading the fire of apparently flammable external aluminium cladding from a recent refurbishment, will be a central question for an expected inquest and possible government inquiry. Adding extra anger and purpose to the aftermath will be the evidence that lessons were not learned from a similar, smaller fatal blaze in a tower block in south London in 2009 despite a long and exhaustive coronial investigation. In March this year fire experts warned that a government delay in reviewing building regulations could be endangering tower blocks throughout the UK. The promised review was a long-awaited follow-up to a fire in July 2009, when three women and three young children died in Lakanal House in Camberwell, south London. An inquest into the deaths in 2013 found that a recent refurbishment adding "composite panels" to the building "had a significant impact on the fire resistance of the external wall". In recent years the role of external cladding in spreading fire over the face of a building has become an "understood phenomenon", said Russ Timpson, head of the Tall Building Fire Safety Network. Coroner Frances Kirkham also wrote to the government in 2013 recommending a review of building regulations "with particular regard to the spread of fire over the external envelope of the building", especially if renovations or refurbishments might reduce existing fire protection. Newly added aluminium cladding on Grenfell Tower has been blamed for helping the fire to quickly spread across the building. Policing and fire minister Nick Hurd said checks would be carried out on other tower blocks going through similar refurbishment to Grenfell Tower. The coroner in 2013 also said the government should encourage housing providers to retro-fit sprinkler systems in high-rise residential buildings. But Ronnie King, the secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fire Safety and Rescue said almost all the country's tower blocks lacked fire sprinklers. And the coroner also said the government should clarify the "stay put principle". Southwark Council said after the 2013 inquest "we urge everyone in the country that has a responsibility in this area to ... try to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again and in order that those who tragically lost their lives did not do so in vain". One in 12 Londoners lives in a tower block. Mr King told LBC radio that the government had sat on the coronial report and not acted. "Successive ministers since 2013 have said they are still looking at it," he said. "We've been waiting." Those ministers include the previous Housing Minister Gavin Barwell, now Prime Minister Theresa May's new chief of staff. Mr Barwell said the government was carrying out the review but it had never been published. Loading Washington: As they draft legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Senate Republican leaders are aiming to transform large sections of the US health care system without a single hearing on their bill and without a formal, open drafting session. That has created an air of distrust and concern - on and off Capitol Hill, with Democrats but also with Republicans. "I've said from Day 1, and I'll say it again," said Senator Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee. "The process is better if you do it in public, and that people get buy-in along the way and understand what's going on. Obviously, that's not the route that is being taken." The secrecy surrounding the Senate measure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act appears to be remarkable - at least for a health care measure this consequential. In 1993, President Bill Clinton empowered the first lady, Hillary Clinton, to assemble health care legislation in private, with input from a panel of more than 500 experts. President Vladimir Putin joked that he's willing to offer former FBI Director James Comey asylum, comparing him to Edward Snowden, the ex-National Security Agency contractor who took refuge in Russia after being accused in the US of leaking classified information. Mr Comey's decision to release records of his conversation with US President Donald Trump to the media is "very strange," Mr Putin said during his annual call-in show on Thursday, in a response to a question from a factory executive from the southern city of Volgograd on the ex-head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. It's bizarre "when head of an intelligence service makes a record of his conversation with the commander-in-chief and then leaks this conversation to the media via a friend," Mr Putin said. "How then is the director of the FBI different from Mr. Snowden? Then he's not a head of an intelligence service, he's a human-rights activist." The Russian president added facetiously that his country is ready to offer Mr Comey asylum if he's prosecuted in the US. "He should know this." Latest News Sydney records highest auction clearance rate in six months Almost 70% of properties sold in first week of November ScotPac opens new broker portal System aimed at speeding up approvals Banks, non-banks, aggregators and brokers have recognised the positive industry outcomes of the broking community during a discussion forum on ASICs remuneration review, the Sedgwick review and future reforms.The event was the first of its kind for the industry with the Australian Bankers Association (ABA), the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia ( MFAA ), the Finance Brokers Association of Australia ( FBAA ) and the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) coming together in Sydney on 9 June.The forum was an opportunity for the industry to share views on issues raised in these reports and the potential impact of proposals on brokers, aggregators and lenders.This is a unique step forward for our industry to see everyone sit around this table with a clear view to support best practice and good consumer outcomes from this process, whilst supporting an industry sector that has positively delivered so many positive outcomes to the lending landscape over the past 27 years, said Peter White, executive director of the FBAA.The main focus of the forum was forming an understanding of where each of the industry bodies was coming from, he told Australian Broker. Strict ACCC anti-cartel guidelines were followed by all attendees, preventing discussions on topics such as pricing models and commissions.It was about having an open discussion with the ABA, various banks, aggregators and brokers that were there around how certain things can play out, how certain goals can be achieved, whether certain things are appropriate, etc.The biggest takeaway from the forum was the recognition of the role brokers play in the industry, White said.One of the great things that came out of this was that everybody agreed that the broker channel is invaluable, it has provided invaluable growth to our industry, and it provides a great service. There were no discussions around destroying the industry and putting a match to it. Everybodys on the right page about positive outcomes.Other points of discussion lay around clarifying certain important points such as what a soft dollar commission actually is and what constitutes one, White said.MFAA CEO Mike Felton said that the forum was a crucial step in determining how the industry responds as a whole to ASICs proposals on broker remuneration.This meeting demonstrates that our industry is serious about self-regulation and has the maturity to work together across different stakeholder groups to effect the required change and ensure customer outcomes continue to remain front of mind.Felton told Australian Broker that attendees discussed the importance of industry uniting together in response to the ASIC review.We went through a number of recommendations. We did some thinking around the table on those and also the principles we adopt around the way we look at that.There was a clear commitment by all industry groups to strong consumer outcomes, transparency and accurate disclosure, he added.At the end of the day, this is a fantastic outcome in itself.However, he said that it was early days in an ongoing process of self-regulation.Each of the industry bodies will now submit its own industry papers to the Treasury on the ASIC remuneration report by the due date of 30 June. A second forum will be held next month after submissions have been handed in.The MFAA will continue creating this final submission through its national aggregator forum, national lender forum and broker regulatory roundtables.We take the feedback from all of those member groups and we will be constructing an MFAA response on behalf of the industry by 30 June when its due.ABA executive director of retail policy Diane Tate said that this first meeting was an important step to create an industry-based response to calls for changes in the mortgage industry.We have heard these calls to change incentives and governance arrangements and we look forward to working with the industry, in consultation with the government and subject to all competition law obligations, on reforms to support good customer outcomes. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams The sirens will be going all night! Brooklyns beloved Mermaid Parade will launch this Saturday afternoon at 1 pm but once it wraps up three hours later, the party is not over! Once the floats, marching bands, antique cars, Queen Mermaid Deborah Harry, and more than 1,000 mer-men and women have traveled down Surf Avenue for the 35th Annual Mermaid Parade, the many participants and watchers will all want a place to party and show off their outfits. So save some energy for one of the many after parties around the borough. Its official! You can start your party moments after finishing the parade the Official Party of the Mermaid Parade is just a few steps away, at the open-air art museum Coney Art Walls. You can dance to disc jockey Jonathan Toubins world famous soul vinyls and fuel up with snacks provided by Chick-N-Cone, Coney Shack, and Neapolitan Express. Coney Art Walls (3050 Stillwell Ave. between Bowery Street and the Boardwalk in Coney Island, www.coney artwa lls.com ) June 17, noon10 pm. Free. Scurvy sea dogs! Swim over to Freddys Bar in Park Slope right after the parade for an afternoon of beer and Nathans hot dog combos for $5 assuming you didnt get your fill while you were at the original frankfurter stand. Bartenders will fill up your first drink for free if you show up decked out in mermaid attire. And starting at 10:30 pm, local rock band Sea Kelp a perfect musical fit for the evening will take the stage. Freddys Bar (627 Fifth Ave. between 17th and 18th streets in Park Slope, www.fredd ysbar.com ). June 17 at 4 pm. Free. Creature feature Shake your mermaid tail-feather at the fifth annual Sea Creature Stomp Mermaid Parade After Party at Gemini and Scorpio Loft in Gowanus. Special guest disc jockey Boogiemeister is flying in from Hawaii to provide the best tunes all night long, and there will be ice cream and cheap drinks to keep you cool once you leave the dance floor. Gemini and Scorpio (255 Douglass St. between Third Avenue and Nevins Street in Gowanus, www.gemin iands corpi o.com ). June 17, 8 pm2 am. $10$20 suggested donation. Sea shanties Boerum Hill watering hole Hanks Saloon will host a Mer-Lives Matter party after the parade, featuring deep-sea down-home bands all night, including Americana act Dan Montgomery Band, Thigh Highs, Heap, and Meticulous Woman. Hanks Saloon (46 Third Ave. at Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, www.hanks saloo n.com ). June 17, 7:30 pm1 am. $7. Swing of the sea Explore an ancient kingdom at the Atlantis party at Bushwicks House of Yes where all underwater species are welcome, and costumes are mandatory! Whether you appear as ill-tempered god of the sea Poseidon, or as a gentle sea horse, you can float into a photo booth, spend the night dancing to tunes from Sirens of Sea and a trio of disc jockeys, and exploring a bioluminescent lagoon, aquatic aerial spectacles, and bursting bubbles. House of Yes (2 Wyckoff Ave. between Jefferson and Troutman streets in Bushwick, www.house ofyes.org ). June 17, 10 pm4 am. $15$25. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Salute! A swanky new Italian eatery is now offering high-end pasta and amazing views of the waterfront in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Cecconis, which opened on Tuesday, will give locals and tourists alike a new spot to celebrate a milestone, or simply kick back and relax with a drink as they take in its stellar sights, said its executive chef. Its a place for special occasions and its a place for the everyday, said Andrea Cavaliere. You can come for a pasta or can come for a coffee and a Prosecco. The 240-seat restaurant, which is run by the members-only club Soho House, is housed on the ground floor of Empire Stores, a 19th-century warehouse building that is now a retail and office complex. The eatery boasts views of the East River, Lower Manhattan, and the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges from its eat-in bar, main dining room, and outdoor patio. The restaurant already has outposts in Miami, Hollywood, Barcelona, Berlin, and Istanbul, but the Dumbo location is its first foray into New York. Its international spots are known to draw celebrities, but Cecconis also hopes to appeal to everyday Brooklynites, said Cavaliere. We want to build a relationship with the community, to creating as many neighbors as possible people who love coming to Cecconis over and over, he said. The dinner entrees range from a budget-friendly $13 lamb ragu to a $42 veal chop, along with the restaurants signature lobster spaghetti ($32), and a selection of wood-fired pizzas made with New York cheeses. Cecconis also serves brunch; a happy hour on weekdays from 47 pm where each item costs $4, $7, or $9; and a Sunday Supper from that includes a family-style meal with choice of appetizer, main course, and dessert for $50. Cecconis is the first of several new eateries slated to open in the park, including Pilot, a seafood restaurant on a historic schooner, and Cafe Roebling, a casual cafe. Cavaliere said he is pumped to serve his food in such company. The location, the area, theres a lot of great restaurants opening a lot of people coming to Dumbo, he said. It feels good to be a part of it. Empires Stores will also soon welcome the first Brooklyn incarnation of the exclusive Soho House club, called Dumbo House, on its top two floors. Cecconis [55 Water St. between Main and Dock streets in Dumbo, (718) 6503900, www.cecco nisdu mbo.com ]. Open MonWed, 11:30 ammidnight, ThuFri, 11:30 am1 am, Sat, 10:30 am1 am, Sun, 10:30 ammidnight. Reach reporter Lauren Gill at lgill @cngl ocal.com or by calling (718) 2602511. Follow her on Twitter @laurenk_gill Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Theyre drunk on wellness! A Fort Greene cafe serving off-the-menu boozy smoothie bowls offers patrons a one-stop-shop to eat better and get drunk while doing so according to the dishs creators. Often times you dont do wellness and drinking at the same time, but I dont understand why, said Gabby Mann, the owner of Baba Cool on Lafayette Avenue and S. Elliott Place. The concoctions begin as bowls filled with a mouthful of feel-good ingredients that include pureed dragon fruit, peaches, almond milk, cacao nibs, bee pollen, pepita, and chia. The mixture is then spiked with just less than a standard pour of sparkling wine or rose, creating a taste Mann likened to two favorite frozen treats. Its refreshing, kind of like a daiquiri, she said. You get different flavors from bee pollen, and the texture is kind of like that of a McFlurry with cacao nibs. And while hungry and thirsty customers may get different flavors from the baby bees food, the sloshed slushs alcohol gives them all the same buzz, which is even stronger if they make a meal or two out of it. It will definitely give you a buzz especially if its all your eating for breakfast and lunch, Mann said. The chef discovered her affinity for creating alcoholic edibles as a student at the University of Wisconsin, where the jello shot bowls she served her hard-partying classmates were a primer for her smoothies. I was the queen of making jello shot bowls, so it just sort of came naturally to me, Mann said. The boozy bowls join other spiked frozen treats sold across the city, including Tipsy Scoop ice cream, honey whiskey cake, and prosecco-packed popsicles. Try one yourself at Baba Cool [64B Lafayette Ave. at S. Elliott Place in Fort Greene, (347) 6892344]. $13.75. Springfield quarry plan still unresolved as residents wait, worry Conditional Use Hearing on a proposed quarry along Rt. 309 in Springfield may be nearing an end after two years. Here's what residents have to say. WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday called on lawmakers to grant "flexibility" to the White House in dealing with Russia as US Senate overwhelmingly passed new Russia sanction bill. "I would urge Congress to ensure any legislation that allows the president to have the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation," said Tillerson at a congressional hearing. While acknowledging the necessity to hold Russia accountable for its alleged meddling in US elections, Tillerson also emphasized the importance of a "constructive dialogue" with Russia. Tillerson's urge came on the same day as the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan package of new Russia sanctions. The new package of Russia sanctions, passed by a 97-2 vote in the Senate, was so far one of the strongest US responses to alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. The new sanctions will target among others "those conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government" and "those doing business with the Russian intelligence and defense sectors," according to a press release by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. The new package also requires the White House to get a congressional review if it attempts to relax, suspend or terminate Russia sanctions. To make it even harder for US President Donald Trump, who had been seeking rapprochement with Russia for months, to reject the new Russia sanctions, the Senate also attached the new Russia sanctions to a bill imposing sanctions on Iran. As a result, Trump would have to reject new sanctions against Iran, which he supports, to derail the latest congressional effort to punish Russia. the view Future of unions in balance as Trump prepares to reshape NLRB Members of the Graduate Employees and Students Organization (GESO) rally for recognition as a union at Yale University. Picture by Henry Trotter, 2005. By NICOLE HALLETT Assistant clinical professor, School of Law Reprinted from The Conversation Last October, employees of the Elderwood Nursing Home on Grand Island voted to unionize after years of dealing with short staffing, stagnant wages and problems with management. Six months later, the company has yet to come to the bargaining table, claiming there are unresolved legal questions about whether licensed practical nurses can be part of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Yale University recently was criticized for making a similar decision. Despite a February vote to unionize by graduate students in eight departments, Yale has so far resisted calls to begin the bargaining process. Instead, it has appealed the decision to certify the election and is refusing to bargain until the appeal is decided. Elderwood and Yale could hardly be more different. Yale is a world-class Ivy League bastion of higher education. Elderwood is a medium-sized elder care company that operates nursing home facilities in New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Yet both have made the strategic decision to not recognize the right of their employees to unionize. Why? My research on the decline of the labor movement suggests a reason: Employers are counting on a changing of the guard at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Republicans take control The NLRB is the administrative agency that is tasked with enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, the federal statute that gives employees the right to unionize and collectively bargain. The NLRB consists of five members who are appointed to five-year terms by the president upon the advice and consent of the Senate. Right now, there are two vacancies on the board that President Donald Trump will fill. Once the Senate confirms Trumps nominees, Republicans will control the board for the first time since 2007. The background of the three candidates reportedly under consideration suggests the board will, in fact, be much friendlier to business interests under the Trump administration. One of the potential nominees, Doug Seaton, has made a career of being a union-buster, the term used to describe a consultant brought in by employers to beat a unionization campaign. Another, William Emanuel, is a partner at Littler Mendelson, one of the largest and most successful anti-labor law firms in the country. Less is known about the third potential candidate, Marvin Kaplan, but his history as a Republican staffer suggests he may also represent employers interests. Many observers assume this new board will overturn many Obama-era precedents that favored unions. These precedents include questions such as how to define bargaining units, at issue at both Yale and Elderwood. But the new board could go even further and roll back pro-union decisions dating back decades. This could be devastating to already weakened unions. With private sector union membership hovering at a dismal 6.4 percent down from about 17 percent in 1983 nothing short of the end of the labor movement could be at stake. How politics intruded on the NLRB The composition of the NLRB is important because most claims regarding the right to organize and collectively bargain are decided by the agency. Unlike other employment statutes, such as Title VII and the Fair Labor Standards Act, individuals and unions cannot file claims in federal court and instead must participate in the administrative process set up by the National Labor Relations Act. While aggrieved parties can appeal board rulings to federal appeals courts, judges grant a high degree of deference to NLRB decisions. In other words, three board members a bare majority of the board have an enormous ability to influence and shape American labor policy. Given the amount of power these three individuals can wield, it is no wonder that the NLRB has become highly politicized in the decades since its creation in the 1930s. Ironically, the board was originally established as a way to try to insulate labor policy from political influences. The drafters of the labor act believed the federal courts were hostile to labor rights and would chip away at the protections in a way that would be bad for unions. Instead, the board has become a political battlefield for the two parties who hold very different views about labor policy. This politicization came to a head during the Obama administration, when it became impossible to confirm anyone to serve on the NLRB. In response, Obama appointed several members using his recess appointment power, which allows the president to avoid Senate confirmation of nominees when Congress is in recess. Employers challenged the move, and the Supreme Court eventually invalidated the recess appointments as executive overreach in NLRB v. Noel Canning. After the decision, Obama and the Senate finally agreed on five members who were confirmed. This new board, with a Democratic majority, then decided many of the precedents that employers hope the new members will overturn. Flaws in the National Labor Relations Act NJ Weedman got a license to sell NJ legal weed. He almost said no. Farmers supplying milk to Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) have witnessed four-fold increase in their income over the last seven years, claims the company, which markets the popular brand of milk and dairy products. Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app. Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006. Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more. Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them. 26 years of website archives. Isuzu, the Japanese manufacturer, says it expects to benefit from a fast expanding utility vehicle (UV) segment. It also plans to use India as a base to export vehicles to some of the 100-plus markets catered to by the group, which has operations in 25 countries. Girish Wagh admits he is not an automobile enthusiast like some of his colleagues. Yet for Tata Motors, he is the man to ride the company out of the challenges it is currently facing. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and BP Plc Chief Executive Bob Dudley on Thursday announced at a press conference that their would invest Rs 40,000 crore more in partnership to increase KG-D6 gas output to 30-35 mscmd. The partners would progress on R-Series gas field development in the KG-D6 block, Dudley said, adding the gas project would reduce India's import dependence by 10 per cent. RIL and BP are partners in oil and gas exploration but have no such collaboration in downstream fuel retailing business. Sanand plant has been made a part of the firm's new Organisational Effectiveness (OE) programme, which is a major transformational human resource drive by the company to become a leaner and agiler organisation. The country's biggest automobile maker by revenue, will get about Rs 1,600 crore from the sale of its 30 per cent stake in IT company Tata Technologies to global private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The vehicle maker, which will be left with a 43 per cent stake, said the move is a part of plan to 'strategically monetise' part of the value created. Warburg Pincus will also acquire another 13 per cent stake in the same firm for Rs 703 crore from Tata Capital. The deal values the company at about Rs 5,300 crore. The court had dropped certain charges against Abu Salem in 2013. Photo: PTI The dastardly attacks had left 257 people dead, 713 seriously injured and destroyed properties worth Rs 27 crore. In the first leg of the trial that concluded in 2007, the TADA court had convicted 100 accused in the case, while 23 people were acquitted. The trial of the seven accused -- Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Tahir Merchant and Abdul Quayyum -- were separated from the main case as they were arrested at the time of conclusion of the main trial. Salem was accused of transporting weapons from Gujarat to Mumbai. He also handed over to actor Sanjay Dutt, who was an accused in the case for illegally possessing weapons, AK 56 rifles, 250 bullets and some hand grenades at his residence on January 16, 1993. Two days later on January 18, 1993, Salem and two others went to Dutt's house and got back two rifles and some rounds. The court had dropped certain charges against Salem in 2013 after the investigating agency --CBI-- moved a plea, saying those charges were against the extradition treaty between India and Portugal. Mustafa Dossa allegedly masterminded the landing of explosives including RDX in India and sent some youth to Pakistan to acquire arms training. The court, in all, recorded statements of around 750 prosecution witnesses and 50 witnesses. Three accused including Salem had confessed to their crime during investigations carried out by the CBI over the years into the blasts case. Though the hearing in the case began in 2007, it was delayed as three petitions were pending with the Supreme Court, one each filed by Dossa and Salem, and another by CBI. The trial resumed in 2012 and concluded this March. The case (involving the seven accused) was first heard by judge Pramod Kode, who had also delivered the judgement in the first leg of the trial and convicted 100 accused and acquitted 23 in 2007. Later, judge D U Mullah presided over the TADA court, and the case is now being heard by judge G A Sanap. It was during the trial in 2013 that the Supreme Court pronounced a judgement on appeal filed by all the accused wherein key conspirator Yakub Memon's death sentence was confirmed, while that of others (all bomb planters) were commuted to life imprisonment. Sanjay Dutt and many others surrendered before the TADA court here in May 2013 after the apex court upheld their conviction. Yakub Memon was executed on July 30, 2015 after his several pleas seeking clemency were rejected, including the post-midnight hearing by Supreme Court on the day he was hanged. On March 12, 1993 the country's commercial capital witnessed an unprecedented terrorist attack when a series 12 bomb explosions took place one after another in about a span of two hours. The blasts took place at Bombay Stock Exchange, Katha Bazaar, Lucky petrol pump near Sena Bhavan, opposite Passport office near Century Bazaar, Fishermen's colony at Mahim Causeway, at basement of Air India Building, Zaveri Bazaar, Hotel Sea Rock, Plaza Theatre, Centaur Hotel (Juhu), Sahar Airport (Bay no.54) and Centaur Hotel (near airport). This was the first ever terrorist attack in the world where RDX (Research Department Explosive i.E cyclotrimethylene trinitramine) was used on such a large scale after the Second World War. According to the prosecution, in order to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid, members of the crime syndicate under the fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim along with other absconding accused Tiger Memon, Mohammed Dossa and Mustafa Dossa (who is presently facing trial) hatched a conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in India. The prosecution said that the object of the crime was to commit terrorist acts with an intent to overawe the Government of India, to strike terror on the people, alienate section of the people and to harm the communal harmony. It said that the conspirators smuggled fire-arms, ammunitions, detonators, hand grenades and highly explosive substances like RDX into India and stored it. According to the prosecution, Mustafa Dossa, Tiger Memon and Chhota Shakeel organised training camps in Pakistan and in India to impart and undergo weapon and arms training and handling of explosives. They also sent men from India to Pakistan via Dubai for arms training. The prosecution also said that the conspirators held 15 meetings before the execution of the blasts. Amnesty International India has demanded that the Chhattisgarh police must conduct a probe into the allegations by over 80 Adivasi villagers in Raigarh district that they had been unlawfully dispossessed of their lands for industrial use. A sadhvi attending a conclave of various Hindu outfits here has said those who eat beef should be hanged in public, sparking a row amid the raging debate over cattle slaughter and consumption of beef. The remark made by Sadhvi Saraswati last evening was condemned by the Congress, whose leaders demanded that the BJP-led government in Goa lodge an FIR over the "hate speech" and put her under arrest. Saraswati, president of Sanatan Dharma Prachar Seva Samiti of Chhindwara in MP, also likened eating beef to "eating one's own mother." "I would recommend the Government of India that those who consider it as a status symbol to eat the meat of one's own mother should be hanged in public. Then only people will realise that it is our duty to protect 'gau mata'," the sadhvi said during the inauguration of the All India Hindu Convention at Ramnathi village here. She also exhorted the Hindus to keep arms at their homes to protect themselves. "If we do not stock arms, we will be destroyed in future," she said. "Today Bharat is under attack from all directions. Efforts are being made to separate Kashmir from Bharat and also stop the Amarnath pilgrimage. Bharatmata-Gaumata are under attack," she added. Slamming the demand by some political parties to ban the right-wing outfits calling for the creation of the "Hindu rashtra", she said they should realise that no power in the countrycan prevent the Hindus from establishing the "Hindu Nation." She also said "there is no such thing as saffron terrorism," adding that "saffron means dedicated life for the nation and dharma." About 130 Hindu organisations from 21 states and foreign countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are attending the four-day convention, its organisers said. Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik said he had raised Saraswati's speech at the meeting of the Consultative Committee of Home Affairs, presided over by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, held in New Delhitoday. Naik said Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who also holds the Home portfolio,should immediately take cognizance of the sadhvi's statementand put her under arrest. Otherwise it would be presumed that BJP, including its leadership, is in agreement with her views, Naik said in a press note. Reacting to the speeches made at the meet, All India Congress Committee secretary Girish Chodankar questioned the Manohar Parrikar-led state government's silence over them. "Statements causing communal hatred are made during the convention. The state government has become a party to the entire programme by maintaining silence and allowing it to continue," Chodankar alleged. He also questioned Goa Forward Party leader Vijai Sardesai's silence on the issue. Sardesai, whose party is now an ally of the ruling BJP, had in the past hit out at the VHP's claim that it would ban beef in the state. "Why is he (Sardesai) silent over Sadhvi's statement promoting violence?" Chodankar asked. He said the government should have taken cognisance of the sadhvi's comments on its own and filed an FIR against her for 'hate speech'. The woman who was raped by a driver of Uber while on a trip in Delhi in December 2014 has filed a lawsuit against the company, its founder Travis Kalanick, and two former executives, accusing them of violating her for a second time by unlawfully obtaining and sharing her medical records. Liquor baron had allegedly floated 20 shell companies, directors of which were either his personal staff or those who retired, the ED has said in its recent charge sheet filed in the KFA-IDBI money laundering case. The central probe agency, meanwhile, is set to confiscate a coffee estate in Coorg in Karnataka and other assets in Bengaluru which it had attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as it did with a Rs 100 crore farm house in Maharashtra's Alibaug recently. The Enforcement Directorate had registered a criminal case in this deal last year and has attached assets worth over Rs 9,600 crore till now. "Mallya was holding directly or indirectly movable and immovable assets, in the form of shares of publicly listed companies, by way of creating a web of shell companies. The assets were being in shell/dummy companies created by Mallya," the ED said in its charge sheet filed in Mumbai yesterday. The over 5,000-page charge sheet or prosecution compliant, with 57 pages of the main report and rest annexures, has been filed before a special PMLA court in Mumbai. The charge sheet said Mallya had "formed a complex web structure of his group companies so as to indirectly control their affairs." "He has nominated directors in those companies who were either his personal staff, retired company official or a third person," it said. The agency identified the alleged shell firms as Ms PE Data Centre Resources Private Limited, Ms Pharma Trading Limited, Ms Kingfisher Finvest Limited, Devi Investment Private Limited, Ms Mallya Investment Private Limited, Ms Explicit Consultancy Private Limited, Ms Ambitious Computech Private Limited and Vilora Consultancy Private Limited among others. Shell companies are defined as those firms which are set up by nominal paid-up capital, high reserves and surplus on account of receipt of high share premium, investment in unlisted companies, no dividend income or high cash in hand among others. It added "there were unencumbered (free of debt) properties more than Rs 1,760.03 crore in addition to the properties mentioned in the personal guarantee submitted by Mallya to the IDBI bank", indicating that these assets were not pledged as collaterals towards the security of the bank loan. Describing how the alleged syphoning off the funds happened in this case, the agency said, "It is suspected that major portion out of the amount of Rs 417.29 crore was remitted out of India to overseas parties from IDBI bank." It mentioned a transaction made to a firm which allegedly had fake or dummy directors. "An amount of Rs 63.10 crore (approximately) was paid to Ms UBICS Technologies Pvt Ltd (controlled by Mallya). Directors are dummy directors acting on behalf of Mallya. "This company was used as a special purpose vehicle to route the funds of Ms KFA as no other transaction from any other company has been noticed in this," it said. "Thus, the acts of Mallya, Ms UBHL and others, establish that a criminal conspiracy was hatched for obtaining or sanctioning of bank loan to KFA in gross violations of established procedures and the airline had no intention for repayment of loan of Rs 900 crore since the beginning. "The said loan amount along with interest totalling Rs 1,301.67 crore, therefore, falls within the sweep of the proceeds of crime in terms of section....Of the PMLA," the charge sheet said. Thus, it said, the accused have been "actually involved" with the concealment, possession, acquisition and use of the proceeds of crime and therefore knowingly and intentionally in the activity of money laundering as defined under Section 3 of the PMLA and are liable for punishment under Section 4 of the PMLA. A total of 9 accused has been named in the charge sheet by the ED including Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), United Breweries (Holding) Limited and senior employees and executives of the now-defunct airline and the IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India) Bank. The agency, in the charge sheet, has called Mallya the "prime mover of the entire plot" and has described how funds obtained from the bank loan were allegedly routed illegally including "substantial payments" being diverted by the beleaguered businessman to the Formula-1 car racing event abroad and others. The total loan sanctioned and disbursed by the IDBI bank to KFA was Rs 860.92 crore. India under Prime Minister has shed some of the non-aligned philosophy of the Congress party, a top Democratic Senator has said. "Under PM Modi, they have shed a little bit of the Congress' party non-alignment philosophy and they do more military training exercises with United States and other nations," Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia said during a Congressional hearing. "And it is also a nation with a strong technological capacity. So just to use them as an example...We're talking about analysing India as a potential ally in the cyber cooperation arrangement," Kaine said, advocating a strong relationship with India. Samantha Ravich, senior advisor, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in terms of where India plays is high and evolving on the technology. "Another area of shared interest that you might want to look at is if they are facing a problem similar to us so there might be a threat like a country, but there also could be...A particular sector where you are facing challenges and we're facing challenges in the same sector," Kaine said. "That might suggest that, cooperation on all of cyber defence, but at least let's shore up our utility sector or our financial sectors at risk. So for purposes of R&D or other things that we could focus on a sector and make each of our nation stronger, so that would be probably another area that we should look at," he said. In her testimony, Ravich said, China has been engaged in a massive, prolonged campaign of intellectual property theft against US firms, costing potentially hundreds of billions of dollars and more than two million jobs. "China's IP theft campaign constitutes a large, if not the largest, part of what appears to be Beijing's overall cyber-enabled economic warfare strategy against the US and the West more generally, which they themselves have described as, quote, 'a form of non-military warfare', which is just as terribly destructive as a bloody war, but in which no blood is actually shed," she said. Recently, Beijing punished a private South Korean company in part by denial-of-service attacks for participating in the THAAD deployment. The revenue loss was marginal, but the move has prompted deep concerns in Seoul, she added. "South Korea exported over $120 billion to China last year, about a quarter of the country's total exports and is particularly vulnerable to Chinese coercion. A possible result, South Korean President Moon has suspended for the deployment of THAAD," Ravich said. "However, Washington and its allies have been slow to comprehend the threat from China primarily because they view each cyber-enabled economic attack individually as separate incidents instead of collectively as elements in an overall coordinated campaign," she rued. Maritime forces from India, Japan and the US would participate in Malabar 2017, a joint mid-summer exercise aimed at addressing shared threats to maritime security in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The exercise involving naval ships, aircraft and personnel from the three countries will feature in both ashore and at-sea training off India's eastern coast in the Bay of Bengal, a statement from US Embassy said on Thursday. Training will focus on high-end war-fighting skill sets, combined carrier strike group operations, surface and anti-submarine warfare, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), helicopter operations, and visit board search and seizure (VBSS) operations, it said. The exercise would also include medical operations, maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations, damage control exercises and subject matter expert and professional exchanges. Malabar 2017 is the latest in a continuing series of exercises that has grown in scope and complexity over the years, the US Embassy said. "Indian, Japanese and US maritime forces look forward to working together again to build upon and advance their working relationship to collectively provide security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region," the embassy said. "Each iteration of this exercise helps to increase the level of understanding between our sailors and interoperability between our three navies," it added. The SSC Board exams of the current academic year were held between March 7th to March 29th, 2017. The results were declared on June 13, 2017, at 1.00 pm respectively. Over 16 lakh students had appeared and as a tradition girls once again beat the boys in academics. Girls scored 91.46% percent while boys were caught at 86.51%. The overall passing percentage of 2017 is 88.74% which is slightly lower than the passing percentage of 2016 which is considerably 89.56%. Weeks before the on July 17, the ruling Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Opposition parties have begun parleys to decide on their candidates. And, we already have had a set of names doing the rounds for the highest position in the Indian republic. India on Thursday said Russia had not made any mediation offer to it to resolve Indo-Pak issues, and asserted that Moscow was "well aware" of New Delhi's position of bilateral resolution of all such matters in a terror-free environment. The remarks by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay came following reports in the Pakistani press that Russia expressed its intention to mediate between the two countries. A senior diplomat in the Russian Embassy in New Delhi also rejected the reports and said it was Pakistan's "wishful thinking". The Pakistani media quoted Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying "we welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda". Zakaria was asked about reported offer made by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO Summit earlier this month. Asked for his reaction, Baglay said, "No offer of mediation was made by Russia to India. Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence." The senior diplomat in the Russian embassy also rejected reports of any mediation offer. "We do not have any information of such an offer made by our president. Russia is clear in its position that Indo-Pak issues need to be resolved, bilaterally, and we will never ever suggest anything contrary to that. "It seems wishful thinking on part of Pakistan," said the diplomat, on the condition of anonymity. China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved $150 million equity investment loan to the India Infrastructure Fund, the bank's first such loan to fund private projects, a statement said on Thursday. The Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) who met in Jeju in South Korea has approved $150 million equity investment to the India Infrastructure Fund, said a statement from the bank. The bank, in which India is a lead partner, has approved two loans and one equity investment totalling $324 million to support infrastructure projects in India, Georgia and Tajikistan. The aims to invest in mid-cap infrastructure companies in India, and to expand the bank's equity and loan deal sourcing pipelines in the private sector through its equity participation in this fund, the statement said. This initiative will benefit local infrastructure development by enhancing private capital inflows from global long-term investors, such as public pension funds, endowments and insurance companies, it said. "Approving our first equity investment is another milestone for the Bank and will enhance our potential to source and fund high quality, private sector projects," said D J Pandian, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer AIIB. "These three projects demonstrate a growing sophistication in our ability to support our member countries across different region," he said. AIIB also approved loans to support transport and power projects in Georgia and Tajikistan. Besides India, the bank has granted $114 million loan for the Georgia Batumi Bypass Road Project, which is the bank's first loan to Georgia, co-financed with the Asian Development Bank. The project aims to improve regional connectivity and efficiency of road transport along the East-West Highway in Georgia. The project will construct a new, two lane road approximately 14.3-km long in a key section of the East-West highway that skirts the port city of Batumi. The bank has granted $60 million loan for the Tajikistan Nurek Hydropower Rehabilitation Project Phase I, co-financed with the World Bank (IDA Credits and Grants). The project aims to rehabilitate and restore the generating capacity of three units of the Nurek hydropower plant, improve their efficiency and strengthen the safety of Nurek dam operations. ThAIIBwas officially established late last year with 57 founding members. With authorised capital of $100 billion, China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 per cent voting shares. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 per cent followed by Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany with 4.5 per cent. Fuel dealer associations on Wednesday called off their plan to go for no purchase of fuel from June 16 in protest against the proposed daily revision of prices by oil marketing companies, after intervention from Union Petroleum Minister . While the erstwhile Foreign Investment and Promotion Board (FIPB) has been abolished, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Commerce ministry will be incharge of its successor mechanism.This includes the old FIPB portal that has now been placed under the under a new name - the Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal, secretary Ramesh Abhishek said onThursday.The portal is the main interface used by investors to apply for bringing in FDI into the country. The Cabinet had last month approved the abolition of FIPB, which was the authority clearing foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals for 25 years. Subsequently, FDI approvals in most sectors have been relegated to the ministries concerned. Abhishek said that while the standard operation procedures for processing FDI proposals are currently in the draft stage, they would be finalised before July 1.The Cabinet has set a timeline of four weeks for transfer of all pending applications with the FIPB to the administrative ministries.However, any fresh application made under the portal would first be sorted by who would then forward that to the specific ministry involved within two days.Then the nodal ministry will take two weeks for scrutinising the proposals pending which it might ask for certain clarifications from DIPP regarding FDI norms."We will then respond to such queries within the next two weeks," Abhishek said.FIPB proposals relating to private security agencies would be decided by the home ministry. Investments from Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as investments meant for the North-East region and Jammu & Kashmir will also require security clearance from the home ministry. Home ministry would take a call within 6 weeks, Abhishek said.Similarly, the ReserveBank of India will have to offer its comments within four weeks. In yet another push to domestic manufacturing, the government may allow tax incentives and tariff intervention for more various industries on the lines of the phased manufacturing programme (PMP) aimed at boosting mobile phone production. The move may be a logical step forward from the government policy to allow preference to domestic companies in government procurement, DIPP secretary Ramesh Abhishek said on Thursday. Under the PMP developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and announced last month, the government wants to jump start the large scale manufacturing of one the largest selling consumer goods in the country - mobile phones. Sub parts of mobile phones including mechanics, microphone and receiver, keypad and USB cables, among others have been targeted. According to industry estimates, only about two per cent of value addition is done in India with regards to mobile phone manufacturing. Raising that figure over the next ten years is the primary aim of the PMP, which was proposed by a joint panel of the industry and the government. On the other hand, the public procurement policy, also announced last month, mandates that only local suppliers will be eligible for procurement of goods and services above Rs. 5 lakh, if the nodal ministry determines that there is sufficient local capacity as well as competition.The move is aimed at giving a substantial boost to domestic manufacturing and service provision apart from stimulating the flow of capital and technology into the sector. Dry fruits merchants in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur, the four major markets in the country, observed a complete bandh to protest against the rate of 12 per cent for dry fruits. The Granite Industry on Thursday urged the government to lower the goods and services tax (GST) rate of 28 per cent on granite polished slabs as higher taxes would impact the labour- intensive sector. According to JIGANI Granite Industries Owners Welfare Association, prices would go up after the implementation of from July 1. The industry has cut down the production by about 50 per cent in May and June, anticipating lower granite demand with rise in price for end user post the roll-out, it said in a statement. "The Council has announced a tax of 28 per cent on granite polished slabs, which was earlier 14.5 per cent," the association said. Granite sector is a labour intensive sector and employs over 75,000 people directly and indirectly in and around Jigani and Bangalore area, it said. "We request the government to lower the rate of GST to flat 12 per cent on granite slab products," it said. Spokesperson Lalit Rathi said the majority of factories are of small scale and several granite units are already struggling to sustain operations following the decline in exports due to a global slowdown and demonetisation. Dhiraj Shah, managing director of Shalon Industries, is worried he will have to pay a higher goods and services tax (GST) rate on synthetic yarn while the fabric he makes will attract a lower rate. With an annual turnover of Rs 500 crore, Shahs unit makes synthetic fabric in Surat, Gujarat, and has a 1 per cent share of the citys Rs 50,000-crore textiles business. It's a good time to take a short break and plan a vacation as the monsoon showers provide relief from the scorching summer heat. The good news is travel company Cox and Kings is offering exclusive packages and you can head to Udaipur, Mahabaleshwar or Kathmandu by shelling out only Rs 1,099 to Rs 9,599. ALSO READ: Travel bookings for Monsoon witness 60% growth: Report India will add more than 40 gigawatt (Gw) of coal-based power over the next five years amid stagnant growth in the sector, according to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). It is rare for a regulator empowered by parliament to seek the opinion of the attorney general (AG) on rules and regulations. In an unprecedented action, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) approached the AG when the incumbent operators opposed the regulators proposal to allow Reliance Jio to offer promotional tariff beyond 90 days, bypassing its own rule that was being followed for 15 years. Finally the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) has announced the results of MBBS Entrance Exam (2017). Around 15 lakh MBBS aspirants had appeared for the exam. The Institute has declared the merit list displaying the name of the candidates, all-Indian ranks and percentile. Those who had appeared for the exam can download their results on the institutes official website. The entrance exam was conducted on May 28 this year. Following the announcement of the results, the Institute will now begin counselling for 100 MBBS seats which include 7 for foreigners and the rest for Indian students. is creating a new combined debt, equity and leveraged capital markets business within the investment bank as it focuses on corporate clients, according to a copy of a memo seen by Bloomberg. On the sidelines of WSIS Forum 2017, Shri Sinha met Dr. Debretsion Measho, Ethiopian Minister of Communications and IT. Both sides agreed to draw up a list of priority areas for cooperation in ICT infrastructure development, technological up-gradation, development of Common Service Centers for G2C and learning of best practices followed by India. Shri Sinha invited the Ethiopian delegation to visit India at mutually convenient time, which was accepted. . . In the bilateral meeting with Mr. Mahmoud Vaezi, Iranian Minister for Information & Communication Technology, both sides agreed for setting up a Joint Working Group to examine potential areas of cooperation, updating the existing MoU of 1995, cooperation in the field of cyber security, ICT infrastructure development for making Iran hub for internet traffic of Central Asian Countries with rest of the world. Iran also sought Indias support to its candidature of ITU Council. It was decided to nominate Shri G.K. Upadhyay, Member (Technical), DoT and Mr. Sherafat Adviser, as focal point to carry forward the points agreed during the meeting. Both sides also agreed to consult and closely cooperate at regional and international forums, on issues of common interest. . . Shri G.K. Upadhyay, Member (Technical), DoT discussed issues of mutual interest with Mr. Shigenki Suzuki, Japanese Vice Minister for Policy Coordination, Ministry of Internal Affairs & Coordination along with other delegation members. Japan expressed keen interest in offering 5G standardization and regularization; machine to machine (M2M); Internet of Things (IOT); knowledge development & regulation; and cyber security coordination. Both sides agreed to examine these issues and work-out a plan to carry forward the cooperation in ICT sector. . . Mr. Win Mlambo, Zimbabwean Deputy Minister for ICT, Postal and Courier Services expressed interest in furthering cooperation in ICT sector for connecting its rural areas with ICT infrastructure on the lines of Bharatnet. Zimbabwe sought technical, financial and regulatory expertise of India for using utilities like transmission lines for laying optic fibre cables. The Indian side was headed by Shri G.K. Upadhyay, Member (Technical) DoT for this meeting. India agreed to seriously consider the request made by Zimbabwe side. . . The Meeting between Member (Technical) DoT and Mr. Rashid Ismailov, Russian Deputy Minister of Information and Communications explored cooperation in the field of IoT and M2M; brainstormed on ways and means for expanding cooperation and consultation in the field of cyber security. Russia expressed keen interest in several C-DOT products where Indian side agreed to share detailed technical information and continue this discussion. Shri G.K. Upadhyay, Member (Technical) DoT briefed about India plans to offer infrastructure to host the BRICS Institute of Future Networks and sought Russias support. . . <><><><><> . . SNC Indias national pavilion at the International Exhibition Expo 2017 (June10- September 10) in Astana, Kazakhstan is a major attraction for the visitors. Indias participation in this event has been organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), New Delhi. . . India Pavilion was inaugurated jointly by Mr. L. C. Goyal, Commissioner of India Pavilion and Chairman Managing Director, ITPO and H.E. Mr. Harsh Kumar Jain, Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Mr. Deepak Kumar, Executive Director, ITPO and Mr. A.K. Sinha, OSD, ITPO were also present during the opening ceremony. H.E. Ambassadors from five other countries to Kazakhstan were also present. There is a representative participation from 100 countries and over 10 international organizations in the Expo. . . Indias participation in Expo 2017 has become more significant due to recent Astana visit of the Honble Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi who had bilateral talks with H.E. the President of Kazakhstan, Mr. Nusultan Nazarbayev during two-day summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) a consortium that focuses on security and trade. . . H.E. Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan delivered a welcome address and Commissioner of India Pavilion, Mr. L.C. Goyal highlighted salient features of India pavilion.Creating a sync. with theme of the Expo Future Energy", India pavilion features a model of Cochin Airport which is a 100 per cent worlds first green airport generating more energy than required. Besides, there is also model ITPOs ambitious project i.e. Re-development of Pragati Maidan exhibition complex into a world class Integrated Exhibition-Cum-Convention Center (IECC). India Restaurant is also set up for serving taste of Indian cuisine during the three months long EXPO. Apart from a large number of visitors, A delegation led by the honorable Minister of Green Energy, Government of Malaysia also visited the India Pavilion. . . Future of the energy leads the visitors to Energy in Life" corridor. The corridor is designed with Indian historical architecture presents new energy ideas through technology and smart India with experience of smart cities, smart transfer, tourism, yoga, ayurveda and culture. The most interesting parts of the pavilion are the models designed and displayed by the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the energy resources Institute India. The models showcase native technology with strong forms on Science and technology. . . The story taking over Brazil's social media recently doesn't involve the country's dramatic politics, but a teenager, a tattoo, and two men trying to take justice into their own hands. A second television personality has been sacked by an American news network within 10 days for making controversial statements about President Donald Trump. US media reported that CNN first severed ties with Kathy Griffin and has now sacked Reza Aslan, who showed a documentary that allegedly promoted xenophobia and Hinduphobia and outraged the Hindu community in the US. Griffin's contract was terminated after the comedian allowed herself to be photographed holding a prop of Trump's severed head. And Aslan was fired after he called Trump a "piece of s---" on Twitter last weekend. Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi today welcomed the decision by the CNN to fire Aslan. "By cancelling the show 'Believer' and terminating its relationship with Aslan, CNN has taken a step in the right direction towards toning down the inflammatory rhetoric we've witnessed across the country," Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. "CNN and all of us need to work together towards a more civil dialogue and a culture of tolerance to promote a greater understanding of Hinduism and other religions," he said. Krishnamoorthi had lodged a strong protest after CNN aired the 'Believer' series. Early this year, many from the Indian-American community had held protests outside CNN offices against Aslan over the 'Believer' series showing the Aghori sect as reflective of Hinduism. Aslan tweeted in vulgar language against Trump after the US president used the London Bridge attack to promote his travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries. He has apologised for the tweet. "I lost my cool and responded to him in a derogatory fashion. That's not like me," Aslan said in a statement. "I should have used better language to express my shock and frustration at the president's lack of decorum and sympathy for the victims of London. I apologise for my choice of words," he said. Later, CNN said they were "pleased that he has apologised for his tweets. That kind of discourse is never appropriate." Aslan said he was disappointed by CNN's decision to terminate his contract. "However, in these politically charged times, the tenor of our nation's discourse has become complicated, and I recognise that CNN needs to protect its brand as an unbiased news outlet," he wrote. "Similarly, I need to honour my voice. I am not a journalist. I am a social commentator and scholar. And so I agree with CNN that it is best that we part ways. I look forward to partnering with another platform in the future to continue to spread my message," Aslan said. Muslim residents observing Ramadan have been hailed as heroes after they helped save many sleeping neighbours from the horrific Grenfell Tower fire. Residents who had stayed up for Sehri (pre-dawn meal) saw the inferno break out just before 1 a.m. After sensing the smoke smell about an hour after midnight Tuesday, the fasting Muslims came out of their homes and began running around, frantically knocking on neighbours' doors to wake them up, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday. They were dubbed a "lifeline" in helping to get people out of their flats even as fire alarms and sprinklers failed to work in the west London block, the daily reported. Khalid Suleman Ahmed, who lived on the eighth floor of Grenfell Tower, said: "No fire alarms went off and there were no warning. I was playing PlayStation waiting to eat suhuur when I smelt smoke. "I got up and looked out of my window and saw the seventh floor smoking. I woke my auntie up, then got clothes on and started knocking on neighbours' doors." Rashida, a resident, told Sky News how fasting Muslims may have saved lives in the tower block as many of them were awake. "Most Muslims now observing Ramadan will normally not go to bed until about 2 a.m., maybe 2.30 a.m., when they have their late night last meal. They do their last prayer. "So most of the families around here would have been awake," she said. Nadia Yousuf, 29, also said that Muslim residents were among the first to alert neighbours to the blaze as they woke up to prepare to break their fast. A number of Islamic cultural centres and mosques like the Al-Manaar Mosque opened their doors to help those affected. The nearby St. Clement's and St. James' church and local Sikh temples also opened their doors to people who were evacuated. A woman near the scene told reporters: "If it wasn't for all these young Muslim boys around here helping us coming from the mosque, a lot more people would have been dead. "They were the first people with bags of water giving to people and helping, running and telling people." Andre Barroso, 33, told The Independent: "Muslims played a big part in getting a lot of people out. Most of the people I could see were Muslim. They have also been providing food and clothes." Twenty people are fighting for their lives in a critical condition with 78 people taken to six different hospitals across London. The two events that put 2016 in the history books alongside other pivotal years such as 2001, 1989, and 1945 were, of course, the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and the election of in the United States. What makes 2016 different, however, is its apparent revocability. The Islamic State group is claiming its fighters have captured Osama bin Laden's infamous Tora Bora mountain hideout in eastern Afghanistan. IS released an audio recording saying its signature black flag is flying over the hulking mountain range. The message was broadcast on the militants' Radio Khilafat station in the Pashto language late yesterday. It also says IS has taken over several districts and urged villagers who fled the fighting to return to their homes and stay indoors. The Tora Bora mountains hide a warren of caves in which al-Qaeda militants led by bin Laden hid from U.S. Coalition forces in 2001, after the Taliban fled Kabul. Afghan officials earlier said fighting between IS and the Taliban, who controlled Tora Bora, began on Tuesday but couldn't confirm its capture. On 23 May 2017, a group with alleged links to ISIS attacked some parts of Marawi City in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. In response, the government declared martial law in Mindanao to pursue the attackers and prevent the spread of ISIS in other towns. Walking down the cobblestoned streets of Antigua, Guatemala, I looked at the sandy red roofs of the Spanish colonial-style houses. I watched stray dogs grovel on the streets as motorcycles drove by and the vendors sold freshly cut mango and passion fruit. I was a passing American foreigner trying to make sense of what I saw before me. The looming Volcan de Agua in the distance was a reminder that I was in a different world than the small-town suburbs of New Jersey where I grew up. But as I neared the community supermarket on Poniente Street, something familiar caught my eye: a clear set of golden arches on a dark brown sign hanging on a speckled red wall. It was a McDonalds. Qatar will sign a deal to buy as many as 36 F-15 jets from the US as the two nations navigate tensions over President Donald Trumps backing for a Saudi-led coalitions move to isolate the country for supporting terrorism. The is a volatile place or rather, its are. China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have been fighting over this azure stretch of the Pacific for more than a century. But tensions increased markedly in recent years as China, claiming the as its own, has built on and militarised some 250 islands off the coasts of Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. The US Senate has overwhelmingly passed an amendment to strengthen and expand the current sanctions against Russia, sending a "strong" signal to President Vladimir Putin over territorial violation in Crimea, alleged meddling in elections and aggression in Syria. In a rare moment of bipartisan unity, the Senate voted 97 to two to approve the sanctions, with only Republicans Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky voting against. To take effect, the measure would also have to pass the House of Representatives and be signed into law by President Donald Trump. The amendment to the underlying Iran sanctions bill maintains and substantially expands sanctions against the government of Russia in response to the violation of the territorial integrity of the Ukraine and Crimea, its brazen cyber-attacks and interference in elections, and its continuing aggression in Syria. "With overwhelming Senate passage of the Russia sanctions amendment, the US sends a strong signal to President Putin while ensuring the Trump administration has the flexibility it needs," said Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "The Russian government continues to violate the sovereignty of Ukraine, aggravate the crisis in Syria, and destabilise democracies around the world. This amendment makes clear that we will not continue to tolerate such actions, and I am glad we are one step closer to passage of our legislation to hold Iran accountable," he said. "This amendment is also an important step as we continue its efforts to reassert congressional authority," Corker said. Democrats and many Republicans have been pushing for the Senate to adopt a new Russia sanctions measure in response to Russia's interference in the 2016 US elections and after reports the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on Moscow. "Time and again, the Obama administration abused its executive authority to bypass Congress, and this legislation ensures that Congress - both now and in the future - will be able to weigh in on behalf of the American people," Corker said. In its own inside-out, upside-down way, its almost wondrous to behold. As befits our presidents wildest dreams, it may even prove to be a record for the ages, one for the history books. Marc Kasowitz, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer in the Russia investigation, has boasted to friends and colleagues that he played a central role in the firing of Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, according to four people familiar with the conversations. Around the same time last year, when talk of consolidating public sector banks (PSBs) gathered momentum, it had a positive rub-off effect on their stock prices, leading to a re-rating in their valuations. dropped to six-week lows on Thursday, under pressure from high global inventories and doubts about OPEC's ability to implement agreed production cuts. Brent crude oil fell 30 cents to $46.70 a barrel, its weakest since May 5 and just above six-month lows, before recovering a little to trade around $46.90 by 0945 GMT. US light crude was down15 cents at $44.58, also not far off six-month lows. Both crude benchmarks have lost all the gains made at the end of last year after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed with other big producers to cut output in an effort to prop up prices. OPEC and its allies have promised to restrict output until at least the end of the first quarter of next year to try to drain surplus supply. But inventories are near record highs in many parts of the world, and many traders expect further price falls. "The market is in trouble," said Tamas Varga, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. Crude prices have fallen about 12 per cent since May 25, when OPEC agreed to extend its output limits into next year. Despite the deal, some OPEC members, including Nigeria and Libya, have been exempted from cutting and their rising output is seen to be undermining efforts led by Saudi Arabia. "OPEC 2017 year-to-date exports are only down by 0.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from the October 2016 baseline," analysts at AB Bernstein wrote. OPEC's pledge was to cut some 1.2 million bpd, while other producers including Russia agreed to bring the total reduction to almost 1.8 million bpd. But production in the United States, which is not part of the deal, has jumped 10 percent over the past year to 9.33 million bpd. "Production growth in Libya and Nigeria and continued rig additions in the US are complicating the picture, raising doubts on OPEC's strategy," AB Bernstein said. The US government's Information Administration has raised its forecast for domestic output growth in 2017 to 460,000 bpd from a predicted decline of 80,000 bpd in December. OPEC now expects US production to increase by 800,000 bpd in 2017. This suggests global oversupply will persist for a while. The International Agency says it expects oil supplies next year to outpace demand despite consumption hitting 100 million bpd for the first time. Arsenal are resolute not to sell star forward Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City this summer. Arsenal host Leicester City on opening weekend of the Premier League season and it will only sell Sanchez abroad, meaning Bayern Munich remain his likeliest destination if he does not see out the last year of his contract at the north London club. It is expected that City will bid 50 million pound for the 28-year-old whose current deal with Arsenal is set to end in 2018. However, as per The Independent, Arsenal--- whose fundamental position is to persuade Sanchez to sign a new deal-- are however resolute they will not sell to a rival. However, the Chilean's stay after the deal at the Emirates looks increasingly unlikely, especially after the club failed to qualify for the Champions League. It is believed that Sanchez's first preference had been to remain in London because he loves the city so much but, despite Chelsea's strong interest, the Arsene Wenger-led side are just as reluctant to sell across the capital to Stamford Bridge as they are to City. As per sources, Bayern Munich can be seen as a valiable option in the worst case scenario. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said the government has accepted Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi's letter, wherein he has expressed his unavailability to continue in office for a second term. He said the government would take an appropriate decision in this regard. "He is a very efficient Attorney General. He has served well as the top law officer of the country. We have taken note of the letter written by Mukul Rohatgi 'to not continue.' We will take an appropriate decision in this regard," Prasad said. Prasad said that the creation of an all India Service for the judiciary was progressing well under the directives of the Supreme Court. "We are achieving success in creating an all India Judicial Service so that new talent emerges in the country and we are cooperating, under the direction given by the Supreme Court," he said. The minister said that 1,824 laws have been identified so far for repeal. Prasad said that the Centre is on the process of revealing the Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS), a digital platform to introduce transparency in the judicial process. "Our government hopes to achieve transparency by making an online system for receipt of applications for appointment of notaries. Due to the technological advancement, we have made it easier for litigants to achieve certain goals," Prasad said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seven people were killed and 66 people were injured in a deadly blast that occured at teh entrance to a kindergarten in east China on Thursday, according to Chinese state media. Nine are in serious condition as the powerful explosion occurred in front of the gate of the Chuangxin Kindergarten at around 4:50 p.m., CNN quoted Fengxian police officials as saying. "The police and related departments rushed to the scene as soon as it was reported and conducted rescue and investigation work on the site," police said on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform similar to Twitter. "Currently, the investigation work is still underway." There are fears of many casualties as dozens of people, including children are lying on the ground, some of whom were bleeding. Local police said a number of people were injured in the blast. The investigation into the blast has been initiated. "Local emergency services have rushed to the scene but the cause of the explosion is not yet known," The Global Times reported. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday called for restoring normalcy in West Bengal's Darjeeling by negotiating with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). The Political Bureau of the CPI (M) on Thursday expressing its concern issued a statement saying, "Normalcy needs to be restored in the region and this can happen only through negotiations with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). Authoritarian attacks against this movement like police raids and arrests are not going to lead to any solution." It further said that the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) was established after an agreement earlier between the then Left Front state government of West Bengal, the Central Government and the representative of the GJM. "The state government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee must immediately initiate a political process on the Darjeeling situation in order to resolve the issues and restore normalcy," the statement added. Earlier in the day, the Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the West Bengal Government on the Gorkhaland issue. It has asked the state government to maintain law and order. After the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling following a raid at Bimal Gurung's office by the West Bengal Police earlier in the day, the GJM asserted that it was a political matter and that the state government should solve it "politically." "We were agitating in a peaceful manner. The strike is to protest against police high-handedness. This is a political matter and not a law and order problem. Hence, the West Bengal Government should solve it politically," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told ANI. The police recovered a cache of arms, arrows and cash. GJM's assistant general secretary Binay Tamang said that they want Gorkhaland because their "culture, rights, tradition are not respected here." "We are tribals, about to hold our traditional archery competition. They showed our traditional equipment as weapons. That's why we need Gorkhaland. Our rights, culture, heritage, traditions - nothing is respected here," Tamang said. Gurung, a day before, said that the police were working like the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) cadre and the fight wouldn't stop even if all Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel of country were sent to Darjeeling. "The police work like TMC cadre. Even if all CRPF personnel of country are sent here, our fight won't stop," Gurung said. Earlier, as many as six parties including the GJM and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) adopted a resolution for a separate Gorkhaland state. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) did not attend the meeting. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is monitoring the situation in Darjeeling. Inculpating the ruling TMC for the ongoing protest in Darjeeling by the GJM, the BJP accused the state government of alienating the community, which resultsed in them facing an identity crisis. "The Gorkhas belong to India, but the state government has alienated them to such an extent that they lost their belief of belonging to this country. It is the identity crisis which has initiated such violence," BJP state vice president Chandra Kumar Bose told ANI. Bose held the state government responsible for the escalated tension in Darjeeling and said that the ruling regime cannot solve this issue by simply providing some funds and forming the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has branded the GJM protest as 'abhorrent' and appealed to the people of the region to maintain peace. The GJM supporters are also protesting against the alleged imposition of Bengali in schools in the hills. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Thursday inaugurated a toll free helpline called 'MADADGAAR' for the Kashmiris, whereby it shall be able to serve the citizens of the Valley located all over the country. MADADGAAR will render assistance in case of public safety, medical emergencies, disruption of civic amenities, natural and manmade calamities, women safety etc. Speaking to ANI, Director General (DG) of the CRPF Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar said, "Addressing distress is not merely the aim. The helpline would also aid career counselling for those interested in joining the paramilitary forces, help victims of drug addiction by referring them to the counsellors, provide important information on tourism, especially to pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi and Sri Amarnath shrines." Further assuring help to the citizens of Kashmir, DG Bhatnagar stated that the helpline would merely act as a link between the citizens as well as the administrative arm of the state. "The success of this helpline can only be assured when the relevant departments of the state also respond to the pleas, as and when approached by CRPF, as the establishments of CRPF would merely act as a link between the citizens as well as the administrative arm of the state," added the DG. Meanwhile, he also assured to rebuild the lost trust and confidence in the forces. "The effort is intended not only to help rebuild the lost trust and confidence in the Forces but is also expected to project the humane face of the Force. In the long run the forces should not be conceived merely as villains of peace and perpetrators of violence and injustice, but as well wishers of the people of Kashmir who sincerely wish to witness peace, tranquillity and prosperity return to the valley," added DG Bhatnagar. The CRPF is the largest central armed police force of the country with strength of over three lakh was one of the first responders in 1989 when the first signs of militancy appeared in the valley. Though the force did make its presence felt since the late 50s and into the 60s and 70s battling the Chinese and the Pakistani aggression alongside the army, the force was inducted in a big way in the late 80s. The CRPF has continued to be a constant, ever since. Currently, 47 Battalions of the force are deployed in the Valley. CRPF, being a pan India force, has its base in almost every state, reinforcing its ability to serve the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir, both here as well as in any part of the country. The CRPF has maintained that reaching out to the citizens and building bridges of trust and confidence is also an integral part of their duties, apart from, assisting the state in maintaining law and order. The force in its various theatres of deployment has been undertaking various outreach programmes to build a connect with the people. The Kashmir Valley has been ravaged by militancy for the last three decades throwing the lives of Kashmiris into the throes of despair, despondency and helplessness. Curfews and bandh calls have become the order of the day and in times of necessity the citizens have no means to reach out to the authorities for redressal of their grievances. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India's leading specialist healthcare focused venture capital fund 'Healthquad' has achieved its final close with a total commitment of Rs. 750 million for investing in thematic and disruptive healthcare models in the country. The Fund is also the first early stage investment vehicle by the leading healthcare private equity investors Amit Varma, Abrar Mir and Charles Antione Janssen. Delhi-based venture capital firm garners strong investor interest from accomplished healthcare professionals and investors and leading institutions from Europe. The Fund targets to invest around four billion rupees in healthcare companies that have the potential to disrupt the healthcare landscape by improving the productivity, affordability and accessibility of healthcare through differentiated and innovative solutions. Fund's sponsor Amit Varma said, "Healthcare sector has seen emergence of over 500 startups in the last two years and venture capital firms have infused around 25 billion rupees. We are looking to deploy around four billion rupees, along with co-investors and partner funds in healthcare models that are driven by new age disruptive technology and are changing the way healthcare is delivered and accessed in India." "Our deployments in healthcare across sub-sectors and geographies provide extensive synergies to help companies scale-up rapidly and that forms the basis of our compelling proposition to healthcare entrepreneurs in India," Fund's co-sponsor Abrar Mir added. Lastly, Charles Antione Janssen, Fund's third co-sponsor said, "Our first four Healthquad investments have confirmed that model innovations and health tech innovations will open access to quality healthcare for hundreds of millions of neglected Indians. Our final close will allow us to fund more, fast growing, profitable and highly impactful companies. We look forward to supporting great entrepreneurs for the benefit of patients as well as our LPs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bollywood movie 'Tubelight' is garnering headlines these days. Recently a poster was seen at Times Square, New York, in which, Laxman aka Salman Khan is seeking help in finding his brother "Bharat". This is the first time when any Bollywood movie has gone ahead of the national abuzz to promote internationally. The intriguing poster on Times Square, New York is grabbing eyeballs and has raised the buzz amidst the fans on social media as they are seen posing in and around. The poster is embedded with UC News app that has been wooing online audiences with its unique format ever since its inception. Is this some kind of game or is team Tubelight planning to lure its New York fans with another unique promotional tour. It would be interesting to see the unveiling of this international promotional strategy of Tubelight and its Times Square connection in the coming days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Even as the Maharashtra Government assuaged the anger of farmers by waiving off their loans, a video of a farmer getting beaten up by Congress MLA from Sillod along with his supporters has gone viral. MLA Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi allegedly beat up farmers over a land dispute. When asked the reason behind it, Nabi told ANI, "The land belongs to Dalit brothers. I don't have any connection with it. The situation at that time was such that I had to take that step." This incident comes at a time when the farmers have been agitating across the country for loan waivers and better cash for their produce. On June 1, farmers from the Ahmednagar district went on a strike followed by many farmers groups in other parts, who tried to suspend vegetable and milk supply to Mumbai. Last week, a farmer in the Solapur district, before ending his life due to debt, wrote that unless the Chief Minister visits his farm, his body should not be cremated. Also, Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur has become the epicentre of a farmers' agitation over a demand for loan waivers and better prices for their produce. During the agitation, six farmers were gunned down by the police, thereby drawing criticism from political parties. The situation forced the district officials to impose Section 144 and restricted prominent personalities from visiting the violence-hit district. Section 144 was later revoked ahead of the visit of MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's visit to the families of the deceased. Pakistan government departments are expected to submit their replies to obstruction-related allegations made by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that is probing the Panamagate leaks issue on the orders of the Supreme Court. A number of replies have been submitted to the attorney general's (AG) office by different organisations, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the law ministry, and may be filed formally before the Supreme Court on June 15, reports the Dawn. The Supreme Court implementation bench has also asked the AG to look into the JIT's application, highlighting impediments in their work and tampering of documents by state institutions. In its application, the JIT had alleged that the SECP, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), FBR, the law ministry and Intelligence Bureau (IB) were creating impediments in the collection of evidence in the Panama Papers probe. In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Law Ministry strongly denied allegations that it intentionally lingered over the issuance of a notification, authorising the JIT chairman under Section 21 of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999. Meanwhile, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday termed the joint investigation team's (JIT) accusations of record tampering against government institutions "a sign of [their] frustration". With Dar's statement about the JIT it is the first time a top figure from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has expressed doubts over the functioning of the JIT. Earlier, PML-N MNAs and junior ministers had been indirectly complaining about the behaviour of some of the investigators. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan has welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's reported offer to ease the ongoing tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. Although, Russia has not confirmed about it. The Dawn quoted Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Thursday that the country had recently established high-level contact with Russia and Islamabad welcome Putin's offer to mediate between India and Pakistan. According to unverified reports in Pakistan media, Russian President Putin during his meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the recently-held Belt and Road Forum reportedly offered to help mediate tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. Tensions have been running high between the two Asian neighbours amid spree of ceasefire violations and cross-border infiltration from Pakistan side. Relations between India and Pakistan worsened after several terror attacks including one on an Indian military base in Uri and also on an Indian air force base in Pathankot. The situation between both nations further deteriorated after a Pakistan military court announced a death sentence to former Indian Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav. Relations between the two nations have been particularly worsened after the 2008 Mumbai attacks by Pakistan based terrorists. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A three member special bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court appointed to probe the Panama Papers leaks case, on Thursday, adjourned proceedings related to it till June 19. The apex court in its last hearing had reserved a decision on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's son Hussain Nawaz's petition challenging the recording of the JIT proceedings. It had also directed the Attorney General (AG) to submit his response to the JIT's report on 'impediments' faced by it. Prime Minister Sharif appeared before the Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on Thursday. He is the first sitting prime minister of Pakistan to be directly questioned by investigators. According to the notice issued to the Prime Minister, Sharif has been called as a witness and not as an accused. The JIT is currently probing where Sharif and his children acquired the properties and set up various businesses in different parts of the world, reports the Dawn. The Prime Minister's son Hassan and Hussain Nawaz have already been summoned and questioned by the JIT in recent days. The JIT has also summoned his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif to appear before it on June 17 However, as the premier had been summoned for questioning by the JIT at the same time, the members of the high-profile probe team could not make it to court for the hearing. Since Monday's hearing, the JIT report was leaked to the media and stirred up a controversy as it accused the petitioner of having mala fide intentions and several government organisations of creating hurdles in the high-profile probe by tampering records and pressuring witnesses as well as the investigators. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government has made grand plans for the forthcoming International Yoga Day. The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) has been working tirelessly to make the International Yoga Day functions across the country and world a grand success. Union Government's 74 ministers would take part in the Yoga Day functions in 74 cities on June 21. Prime Minister Modi would take part in the Yoga Day function in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow where AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik would also be present. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah would perform Yoga in Ahmedabad. Home Minister Rajnath Singh would attend the Yoga Day function in Himachal Pradesh's Sujanpur Tihra. Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu would be present in Delhi. Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nitin Gadkari, J. P. Nadda, Smriti Irani, Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal would take part in International Yoga Day functions at Patna, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam respectively. AYUSH Ministry is working day and night to make the International Yoga Day a big success not only at level but also at international level. It has written letters to different Ambassadors and Embassies and urged to make the event successful. International Yoga Day is celebrated annually on 21 June since its inception in 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his UN address had suggested the date of 21 June, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Taking initiative to resolve the Gulf crisis Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has landed in Doha in a first leg to his Gulf tour to mend Qatar's ties with Arab states and said the crisis should be resolved "through peace and dialogue". "The efforts by Turkey so far and the future steps to be taken were discussed during his meetings with several top Qatari officials," Anadolu quoted Cavusoglu as saying. Accompanied by Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Cavusoglu met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Economy and Trade Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani. "The situation we have been going through in this holy month of Ramadan is a really undesired one. There is such a crisis between sister countries and there are some steps that directly affect people. We must absolutely overcome it. We need to overcome it through peace and dialogue," Cavusoglu said, underlining that Turkey was contributing to the peace process. "We do not want any differences between our brothers in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, and it is not enough to say that there is a problem without trying to resolve it," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. Cavusoglu also said he would visit Kuwait later on Wednesday and meet Saudi Arabian King Salman Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on Friday in Mecca to resolve the Gulf crisis. Qatar termed the actions by Gulf member countries of isolating it diplomatically as "unjustified". Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain, along with Egypt had snapped diplomatic ties with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Qatar earlier this month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also promised to continue supporting Qatar amid a diplomatic row engulfing that Gulf state. Erdogan said he had never witnessed Doha supporting terrorism, adding Turkey "will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar." The Turkish leader has urged Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions and lift sanctions. However, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the U.A.E. in a collective statement has accused 59 individuals and 12 charity organisations in Qatar of being "linked to terror." This situation is a repeat of 2014, when several Gulf countries recalled their Ambassadors from Doha over its support for Muslim Brotherhood. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two "high-profile militants" of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) have escaped from Karachi's central prison. The prison was claimed to be safeguarded heavily after multiple operations to foil escape attempts, including the October 2014 operation by the Rangers, during which they found a 45-metre-long tunnel being built just a few metres from the facility to allow some 100 militants to escape. The actual circumstances of the escape are still unclear as the police officials said they were informed about the incident after "considerable delay". The Dawn quoted a senior police official, as saying that the police received a letter from DIG Prisons, Ashraf Ali Nizamani, on Wednesday evening, stating that two under-trial prisoners have escaped and that the DIG wanted the registration of a case against the escaped UTPs and several jail officials over their alleged negligence. The DIG Prisons' letter did not mention the exact date of the escape of the prisoners. Both LJ militants- identified as Shaikh Muhammad Mumtaz and Muhammad Ahmed Khan -were arrested by the CTD police in 2013. Raja Umer Khattab, a senior official of the police's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), said they were both hardcore LJ militants and that Shaikh Mumtaz, a resident of Orangi Town was involved in targeted killings of 57 persons including members of Shia community and the police. He had 32 cases registered against him. Similarly, Khattab said Ahmed alias Munna, a resident of Korangi was involved in seven targeted killing cases. Following the development, the jail administration has suspended 12 jail staff including Superintendent Central Prison Ghulam Murtaza Shaikh, Deputy Superintendent Faheem Memon and Assistant Superintendent Abdul Rehman Shaikh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The terrorists on Thursday fired on a police patrol party at Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar. Two policemen were injured in the incident that took place in Srinagar's Hyderpora. Meanwhile, Pakistan violated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir's Naushera Sector along the Line of Control (LoC). The ceasefire was violated today evening at around 5:30 p.m. The Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively. The Pakistan Army, earlier in the day, had also initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in the sector around 2 p.m. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two combat U.S. Navy vessels arrived in Doha to conduct joint military drills with the Qatari Emiri Navy just days after US President Donald Trump accused Qatar of funding terrorism at a very high level. The crews of the US warships were greeted by their Qatari counterparts after they disembarked in Doha upon their arrival on Wednesday, Russia Today reported. The arrival of U.S. warships coincided with the Qatar signing of an agreement for the purchase of F-15 fighter jets from the United States with an initial cost of 12 billion dollars. The enhanced military relations between U.S. and Qatar indicate Washington's support for Qatar as it faces regional isolation and the severing of diplomatic and economic ties. This new development comes amid a widening rift between Qatar and a number of Gulf states with several countries cutting off ties with Qatar owing to its alleged support for terrorism and extremism. Saudi Arabia, as well as Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar earlier this month, accusing it of supporting terrorism and cozying up to Iran. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At meeting held on 14 June 2017 The Board of Directors of Balasore Alloys have vide circular resolution dated 14 June, 2017, appointed Dr. Samuel Nwabuokei Onyeabor, as an Additional Director (Category: Non - Executive, Non Independent) with effect from 14 June, 2017 to hold office upto the date of the ensuing Annual General Meeting of the Company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At meeting held on 15 June 2017 The Board of Canara Bank at its meeting held on 15 June 2017 has permitted the Bank to raise Capital at an appropriate time subject to necessary approvals and eligibility as per the following details : - Equity capital up to Rs. 3500 crore, inclusive of premium to be decided, by way of Qualified Institutional Placement / Rights Issue / Preferential Allotment / Follow-on Public Offer / any other mode approved by Reserve Bank of India / Government of India; - Basel III Compliant Additional Tier I Bonds up to Rs. 1800 crore; and - Basel III Compliant Tier II Bonds up to Rs. 1000 crore; The bank would seek the approval of the shareholders for raising of Equity Capital in the ensuing AGM of the Bank. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has found Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) to be in contravention of the provisions of Section 3(4)(e) read with Section 3(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 for imposing arrangements upon its dealers which resulted into Resale Price Maintenance in sale of passenger cars manufactured by it. Such arrangements also included monitoring of the maximum permissible discount levels through a Discount Control Mechanism. Further, HMIL was found to have contravened the provisions of Section 3(4)(a) read with Section 3(1) of the Act for mandating its dealers to use recommended lubricants/ oils and penalising them for use of non-recommended lubricants and oils. The final order has been passed today on informations filed by the dealers of HMIL viz. Fx Enterprise Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. and St. Antony's Cars Pvt. Ltd. Apart from issuing a cease and desist order against HMIL, CCI has imposed a penalty of Rs. 87 crore upon HMIL for the anti-competitive conduct. The penalty has been levied @ 0.3% of the average relevant turnover of HMIL of preceding three years. CCI noted in its order that for the purposes of determining the relevant turnover for the impugned infringement, revenue from sale of motor vehicles alone have been taken into account. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) From Department of Fertilisers (DOF), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Government of India Deepak Fertilizers & Petrochemicals Corp has received an intimation that Department of Fertilisers (DOF), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Government of India would release the balance withheld amount of Rs. 310.52 crores on providing a Bank Guarantee of equivalent amount. In June 2016, the Company had intimated about withholding of subsidy by Department of Fertilisers (DOF), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Government of India wherein an amount of Rs.310.52 crore was withheld pending decision on recovery of alleged undue gain on account of supply of 'cheap' gas Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Domestic stocks drifted lower in early trade tracking negative Asian stocks. At 9:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 29.84 points or 0.1% at 31,126.07. The Nifty 50 index was down 19.80 points or 0.21% at 9,598.35. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.03%. The fall in this index was lower than Sensex's decline in percentage terms. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.11%, outperforming the Sensex. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 823 shares rose and 686 shares fell. A total of 68 shares were unchanged. Overseas, Asian shares were trading lower as risk sentiment was hit by fear of more US political turmoil after media report indicated that US President Donald Trump is being investigated by a special counsel for possible obstruction of justice. Investigators are investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Trump's legal team denounced the report. In US, the Dow industrials closed at a record for a second straight session yesterday, 14 June 2017 but other benchmarks finished lower as the Federal Reserve hiked the fed-funds futures rate. The Federal Reserve hiked the fed-funds rate by a quarter-point to between 1% and 1.25% as expected after its two-day policy meeting yesterday, 14 June 2017 and indicated that it would reduce its $4.5 trillion balance sheet this year. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the process could start relatively soon, while projections of Federal Reserve Board members also showed they expect one more rate hike by the end of year. Back home, GAIL (India) (down 1.64%), Coal India (down 1.2%) and Asian Paints (down 1.19%) edged lower from the Sensex pack. Wipro slipped 0.16%. The company announced that it has won IT Applications Managed Services engagement with Finnish company, Valmet, a leading global developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper, and energy industries. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 14 June 2017. Valmet has selected Wipro as the partner for supporting its renewed Infor LN ERP platform. As part of the multi-year engagement, Wipro will deliver the maintenance and support of the new ERP platforms in a Managed Services model covering all global locations in which Valmet operates. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Key benchmark indices alternately swung between positive and negative zone in mid-morning trade. At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 13.76 points or 0.04% at 31,142.15. The Nifty 50 index was down 14 points or 0.15% at 9,604.15. Pharma shares were in demand on renewed buying. Cement stocks rose. Domestic stocks drifted lower in early trade tracking negative Asian stocks. However, stocks recovered in morning trade. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.11%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.6%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,373 shares rose and 934 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged. Overseas, Asian shares were trading lower as risk sentiment was hit by fear of more US political turmoil after media report indicated that US President Donald Trump is being investigated by a special counsel for possible obstruction of justice. Investigators are investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Trump's legal team denounced the report. In US, the Dow industrials closed at a record for a second straight session yesterday, 14 June 2017 but other benchmarks finished lower as the Federal Reserve hiked the fed-funds futures rate. The Federal Reserve hiked the fed-funds rate by a quarter-point to between 1% and 1.25% as expected after its two-day policy meeting yesterday, 14 June 2017 and indicated that it would reduce its $4.5 trillion balance sheet this year. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the process could start relatively soon, while projections of Federal Reserve Board members also showed they expect one more rate hike by the end of year. Back home, pharma shares were in demand on renewed buying. Wockhardt (up 3.99%), Cipla (up 1.3%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.65%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.62%), Lupin (up 1.02%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.62%) and Alkem Laboratories (up 1.08%) gained. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.58%) fell. Aurobindo Pharma jumped 6.52% after the company received the final approval from the US FDA for the generic version of Genzyme's Renvela medication. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 15 June 2017. Cadila Healthcare rose 1.73% after the company said it received final approval from the US drug regulator for Acyclovir for injection USP. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 15 June 2017. Cadila Healthcare said it received the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Acyclovir for injection USP in strengths of 500 mg/vial and 1000 mg/vial. Acyclovir for Injection USP, which caters to the anti-viral segment, will be produced at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at Moraiya, Ahmedabad. Cement stocks rose. Shree Cement (up 1.52%), Ambuja Cements (up 0.06%), ACC (up 0.3%), and UltraTech Cement (up 0.41%) gained. Grasim Industries was up 0.27%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement. Shipping Corporation of India rose 8.7% on reports NITI Aayog has proposed strategic sale of about 26% stake in the company. According to reports, the core group of secretaries on disinvestment, headed by the cabinet secretary, discussed the proposal and has mandated the Shipping Ministry to find out legal hassles, if any, in the process. The proposal will soon go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, reports added. The government, at present, holds 63.75% stake in Navratna PSU Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). After the sale of 26% stake, the government holding in the company will come down to 37.75%. The sale of 26% stake could fetch about Rs 960 crore to the exchequer. The government has budgeted to raise Rs 15000 crore through strategic sale of PSUs this fiscal. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Repco Home Finance rose 3.71% to Rs 912.50 at 11:52 IST on BSE after the company said its board approved raising of funds aggregating to Rs 272 crore via allotment of debentures to International Finance Corporation. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 14 June 2017. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 24.72 points or 0.08% at 31,131.19. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 7.50 points or 0.05% at 14,806.91. On the BSE, 28,000 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 33,000 shares in the past two weeks. The stock had hit a high of Rs 918.80 and a low of Rs 883.55 so far during the day. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 923 on 13 June 2017 and a 52-week low of Rs 499.50 on 20 December 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 14 June 2017, advancing 17.54% compared with the Sensex's 3.21% rise. The stock had also outperformed the market over the past one quarter, gaining 39% as against the Sensex's 5.82% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market over the past one year, surging 21.25% as against the Sensex's 18.03% rise. The mid-cap company has equity capital of Rs 62.56 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10. Repco Home Finance announced that the securities allotment committee of the board of directors of the company approved the allotment of 2,720 secured, redeemable, non-convertible, non-cumulative debentures (SRNCD) aggregating to Rs 272 crore on private placement basis to International Finance Corporation. Repco Home Finance's net profit rose 19.8% to Rs 50.59 crore on 13.9% increase in total income to Rs 273.66 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016. Repco Home Finance (RHFL) is one of the leading housing finance companies in India. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shipping Corporation of India rose 10.27% to Rs 87.50 at 9:45 IST on BSE on reports NITI Aayog has proposed strategic sale of about 26% stake in the company. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 9.63 points, or 0.03% to 31,165.54. On the BSE, 13.46 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 4.09 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 92 and a low of Rs 87.15 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 92 on 15 June 2017. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 55.75 on 21 November 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 14 June 2017, falling 3.58% compared with 1.87% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 22.74% as against Sensex's 5.31% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one year, rising 17.29% as against Sensex's 16.57% rise. The mid-cap company has equity capital of Rs 465.80 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10. According to reports, the core group of secretaries on disinvestment, headed by the cabinet secretary, discussed the proposal and has mandated the Shipping Ministry to find out legal hassles, if any, in the process. The proposal will soon go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, reports added. The government, at present, holds 63.75% stake in Navratna PSU Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). After the sale of 26% stake, the government holding in the company will come down to 37.75%. The sale of 26% stake could fetch about Rs 960 crore to the exchequer. The government has budgeted to raise Rs 15000 crore through strategic sale of PSUs this fiscal. Net profit of Shipping Corporation of India declined 58.78% to Rs 92.36 on 5.09% decline in net sales to Rs 897.73 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016. Shipping Corporation of India in the largest Indian shipping company. The SCI also has substantial interests in various segments of the shipping trade. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Announces top-line results of the PIF study and Low dose PK study for SPARC DPI Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company provided update on its breath activated device SPARC DPI. SPARC DPI is a pre-metered, 60 dose, breath activated device containing Salmeterol - Fluticasone. SPARC DPI uses half the dose of the both Salmeterol and Fluticasone compared to Seretide Accuhaler. The Company announced the top-line results of the PIF study and Low dose PK study for SPARC DPI. Anil Raghavan, CEO, SPARC said that the results confirms that the device is highly efficient and consistent in delivering more drug to the lungs and suitable for all classes of patients. The Company will consult the regulatory agencies in Europe to understand the potential path forward for SPARC DPI. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vijaya Bank fell 1.43% to Rs 82.45 at 9:52 IST on BSE after the stock turned ex-dividend today, 15 June 2017, for dividend of Rs 1.50 per share for the year ended 31 March 2017. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 17.53 points, or 0.06% at 31,173.44. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 26.29 points, or 0.18% at 14,825.70. On the BSE, 72,000 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 2.31 lakh shares in the past two weeks. The stock had hit a high of Rs 82.85 and a low of Rs 81.65 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 97.40 on 9 May 2017 and a 52-week low of Rs 31.15 on 14 June 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 14 June 2017, declining 4.29% compared with the Sensex's 3.21% rise. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market over the past one quarter advancing 31.73% as against the Sensex's 5.82% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market over the past one year advancing 162.64% as against the Sensex's 18.03% rise. The mid-cap bank has equity capital of Rs 998.85 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10. Before turning ex-dividend, the stock offered a dividend yield of Rs 1.79% based on the closing price of Rs 83.65 yesterday, 14 June 2017. Vijaya Bank's net profit spurted 186.1% to Rs 203.99 crore on 8.6% increase in total income to Rs 3504.73 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016. The Government of India held 70.33% stake in Vijaya Bank as at 31 March 2017. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police officers prepare to enter a United Parcel Service (UPS) facility after a gunman opened fire inside the building in San Francisco, California, US, June 14, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] A man shot and killed three people and then himself early Wednesday at a UPS facility in San Francisco. Two others were shot and five more were hurt in the rush to escape. The incident happened shortly before 9 am as drivers gathered for their morning meeting. The shooter, a UPS employee, allegedly targeted the manager at the facility, an area sorting hub and delivery center. UPS employs 350 people there. According to ABC 7's source, the shooter was identified as Jimmy Lam, a middle-aged man living in the Sunset District with his children. The report said Lam had a history of mental illness. Police recovered two guns from the scene, including an "assault pistol". "We can't continue to allow this level of gun violence to become the new normal in our nation," said California state Senator Scott Wiener in a statement. "Today we mourn the San Franciscans who were murdered in cold blood and send positive energy to the survivors of these shootings. Tomorrow we get back to work to enact common sense gun control legislation," he said. liazhu@chinadailyusa.com At least 10 pilgrims from Punjab's Amritsar city were killed when a private bus in which they were travelling skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district on Thursday, police said. Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Gandhi told IANS that over 30 people were injured in the accident, around 200 km from the state capital. They have been admitted to hospitals in Dehra and Tanda towns. The pilgrims were on their way to the popular Hindu shrine Jwalamukhi when the bus met with an accident near Dhaliara town, some 65 km from Dharamsala district headquarters. The pilgrims, mostly traders, earlier paid obeisance at the Chintpurni temple in the hill state. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed grief over the incident. In May last year, a bus accident had occurred near this site in which seven people, all from Amritsar, lost their lives. They were returning home after paying obeisance at the Jwalamukhi temple. --IANS vg/amit/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ten pilgrims from Punjab were killed when a private bus they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district on Thursday, police said. All of them were from Amritsar. "Fifty five people, including 23 women and eight children, were injured in the accident. They have been admitted to hospitals in Dehra and Tanda towns," Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Gandhi told IANS. More than 80 pilgrims were on their way to the popular Hindu shrine Jwalamukhi when their bus met with an accident near Dhaliara town, some 65 km from district headquarter Dharamsala. The pilgrims, mostly traders, earlier paid obeisance at the Chintpurni temple in the hill state. Eyewitnesses said the bus was overcrowded and the driver probably lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a steep gradient. The administration had a tough time extracting the victims from the bus, though locals started rescue work before the authorities could reach the spot. Wailing relatives mourned the loss of lives of their loved ones. "Shiv Kumar was travelling with his family. He died in the accident while his family members received grievous injuries," said a relative of Kumar. Overloaded buses, trucks and tractor-trailers carrying passengers from Punjab is a common sight in Himachal Pradesh, especially during religious festivals. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Governor Acharya Devvrat expressed grief over the accident. In May last year, a bus accident had occurred near the site of Thursday's accident in which seven people, all from Amritsar, had died. They were going home after paying obeisance at the Jwalamukhi temple. Police officials blame buses belonging to the neighbouring state, driven recklessly by untrained men and largely belonging to private operators, for most of the fatal accidents. --IANS vg/him/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two more debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri and Hoshangabad districts, police said on Thursday. Narmada Prasad Yadav, 50, a resident of Chaplasar village in Hoshangabad district, was found unconscious and foaming at the mouth by his brother on Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital in a serious condition and was declared dead later at night. Station chief Mahendra Singh Chauhan told IANS: "His family says that he had an outstanding debt of Rs 50,000 and was being pressurised to clear the debt. The debtors were even asking him to give his tractor as repayment. Distressed by this, he allegedly committed suicide. We are investigating the case." Another farmer, Kalla, was found hanging from a tree in Shivpuri district's Bineka village. According to Kalla's kin, he had two bigha land in his name. But due to drought conditions since the last three years, he had increasing amounts of debt in his name due to which he took his life. One bigha equals 5/8 acre. Station chief S.B. Sharma told IANS that Kalla used to consume alcohol in large amounts and even practised tantrik rites, which could be a reason for the suicide. This brings to six the number of farmer suicides reported in the state in the past three days. On Monday, Dulichandra of Sehore district's Jajna village, who owed Rs 5 lakh in loans, died under mysterious circumstances. On Tuesday, two farmers took their lives due to distress over debts. Makhan Lal, resident of Hoshangabad's Bhairopur village, was found hanging from a tree around 4 a.m., while Hari Singh Jatav of Vidhisha district's Jirapur village slipped into a critical condition and later died after he consumed poison. On Wednesday, 40-year-old Ramesh, a resident of Ballarpur village, took his life by consuming poison. He had an outstanding debt of Rs 2 lakh and owned about one-acre land. Farmers in the state protested from June 1 for better prices for their produce and debt relief. The agitation turned violent on June 6 when six farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur. The violence spilled over to several other districts, including the Malwa-Nimad area, and even reached the state capital. Angry farmers blocked roads, vandalised property and set fire to vehicles. After the farmers' killings, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial probe. --IANS hindi-vgu/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Thursday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has no "national significance" to be part of the opposition's deliberations on the Presidential election and the party should rather settle its internal problems first. Senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma, asked about the Congress and NCP decision not to include the Arvind Kejriwal-led party in the opposition's meetings for the Presidential election, said: "AAP, at this moment, has no national significance. "I don't think they should be part of such an important meeting because they are already in difficulty these days, they have internal problems. They should settle that first instead of advising others how to work," he added. On evolving a consensus candidate, he said: "The government should understand that it should be a consensus candidate. If a consensus is arrived at, it will be a good thing. Let us wait for now. Let meetings and discussions take place," Sharma said. Asked if the Congress really thought the government was serious about a consensus candidate, Sharma said: "I don't understand their thoughts, but I do understand their mindset, which is anti-nation." His comments come a day before senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu are to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday in a bid to evolve consensus on the presidential candidate. They are to also meet CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury later in the day. --IANS sid/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Shimla civic body, one of the oldest in the country, is set to go to polls on Friday. Unlike earlier elections, when residents elected the mayor and his deputy, this time voters will only elect councillors. The party with the maximum councillors will have internal polling for mayor and deputy mayor. For the Congress, the ruling party in the state, and the BJP, which has largely been out of the corporation in the past 31 years, winning the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) elections is a prestige issue. The CPI-M is fighting anti-incumbency. Stakes are high for six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh as he is trying to prove he is still a mass leader and can lead the party in the forthcoming assembly polls also, while BJP's two-time Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is fighting a "survival battle". Dhumal is mainly challenged by his bete noire and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, who is trying to return to state ahead of the assembly elections. Both Dhumal and Nadda are seeking votes for the BJP, generating a buzz among the voters. The CPI-M, which came to power in 2012, rules the civic body with just three councillors in the 25-member House. The majority of the councillors are from Congress. CPI-M Mayor Sanjay Chauhan and his deputy Tikender Panwar blame successive governments for eroding the autonomous character of the civic body. They say the corporation has been reduced to a "waste collector". Interestingly, the age-old issues of water shortage and the spread of waterborne diseases continue to be the main complaints, besides shortage of parking lots, traffic jams and unscientific disposal of solid waste. But political observers say the main issue in the poll this time is Shimla's failure to grab the Smart City tag which lost the city a lot of revenue. Both the BJP and CPI-M blame the ruling Congress of playing in the selection of Smart City. Deliberately keeping the issue of Smart City on the backburner, as it is the BJP's main poll plank, Virbhadra Singh said his government has evolved a World Bank-funded Rs 1,000 crore scheme to end the city's water shortage issue at least for the next 50 years. "We have started work on pumping Satluj river water from Kol Dam to end water shortage in Shimla," the Chief Minister said at the launch of party's manifesto "Shimla-Sankalp-2017" here on Wednesday. For the city's beautification, he said the government has got funding from the Asian Development Bank for resorting and preserving the British-era Town Hall and developing The Ridge and The Mall areas. Attacking the Congress and the CPI-M, BJP's Dhumal has said the voters would punish both the parties for playing with the lives of people by supplying unsafe drinking water. A jaundice outbreak last year claimed over 30 lives which was caused by mixing of sewage from a nearby sewerage treatment plant with the natural water supply. Countering Dhumal's claims, CPI-M Deputy Mayor Panwar said Shimla has been seeing a jaundice epidemic every alternate year since 2007. "In fact, the corporation has helped better the water supply and sewage treatment during our tenure. Now every drop of water that is lifted from the river and every drop of sewer that is treated and released into the river is the responsibility of the civic body. This has brought a qualitative change in water and sewerage management," Panwar told IANS. B.D. Sharma, a local and former Press Secretary to the Chief Minister, however, blames the corporation and successive governments for deteriorating civic conditions. "Though political parties have been promising the moon but no one has said a single word about ensuring systematic and planned development of the city," he said. Planned for a maximum population of 16,000, Shimla is home to 1,70,000 people as per the 2011 census and generates 30.09 million litres of sewage per day. (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in) --IANS vg/him/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah will meet ally Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray with the main agenda of discussions likely to centre around the upcoming presidential election, party officials said here on Thursday. The meeting will take place at the Thackeray residence, 'Matoshri' in Bandra east on Sunday during the three-day visit of Shah to Mumbai to celebrate the BJP's three years in power at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting assumes significance for the BJP as the Shiv Sena is the most vocal critic of the party, the Prime Minister and also its Maharashtra alliance partner Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. In an embarrassment for the ruling BJP, its ally Shiv Sena has virtually joined ranks with the state opposition parties demanding complete loan waiver for farmers and on other major issues confronting the state. Shah is expected to mollify Thackeray and ensure his support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the upcoming presidential election. In fact, even as the Shah-Thackeray 'summit' was announced on Thursday, the Shiv Sena fired missives at neighbouring Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is grappling with a farmers' agitation. The Sena is upset over the Chouhan government's refusal of permission to various opposition parties, including Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and Gujarat reservations leader Hardik Patel, to meet the families of the victims killed in the recent police firing during the farmers' agitation in Mandsaur. "This is wrong... If this continues, it could prove damaging for the country's democracy," the Sena opined in an edit in the party mouthpieces 'Saamana' and 'Dopahar Ka Saamana' on Thursday. --IANS qn/pgh/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Army on Thursday admitted that it shot dead a man in a case of "mistaken identity" during a counter-insurgency operation in an Arunachal Pradesh village bordering Myanmar. Thingtu Ngemu, 35, was killed when soldiers of 21 Para (Special Forces) were carrying out an operation in the remote Kongsa Basti in Changlang district during Wednesday night. Defence Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Suneet Newton said in a statement that Ngemu walked into the ambush, was challenged and asked to stop but he did not. "The roops had laid an ambush in this particular area based on hard intelligence with regards to movement of a group of hardcore terrorists," the spokesman said. "It was during this time, the individual, who has got killed, came into the ambush and on being challenged he made very suspicious movements and rushed towards the ambush party, which forced them to open controlled fire," leading to his death, the official said. "It is a case of mistaken identity," the spokesman added. --IANS ah-sar/ahm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The makers of Ajith Kumar-starrer upcoming Tamil action-thriller "Vivegam" released the audio teaser of the film's first single on Thursday. Composer Anirudh Ravichander shared the teaser of the single - titled Surviva - on his Twitter page. He further added that the full single will be released on June 19. Surviva is said to be the film's opening number and it feature RAP portion by Yogi B. In the film, Ajith plays an Interpol agent and it has been predominantly shot across exotic locations in Europe. Directed by Siva, the film marks his third consecutive outing with Ajith. Produced by Satyajothi Films, "Vivegam" also stars Vivek Oberoi, Kajal Aggarwal and Akshara Haasan. --IANS hp/nv/pgh/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has lashed out at the US for carrying out drone strikes "unilaterally" on a militant hideout in the tribal Orakzai Agency. "Unilateral actions, like drone strike, etc., are counterproductive and against (the) spirit of ... ongoing cooperation and intelligence-sharing being diligently undertaken by Pakistan," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday quoted Gen Bajwa as saying. "Pakistan Army is capable of taking effective measure if actionable intelligence is shared," Gen Bajwa said, referring to Tuesday's drone strike in the Spin Thall area of Orakzai Agency adjacent to North Waziristan Agency. According to media reports, a US drone fired two missiles at a compound, killing two suspected militants, including a leader of the Haqqani network, Abubakar. Gen Bajwa on Wednesday said the army would continue its efforts to consolidate gains achieved thus far and added that the army stood with all other institutions to get Pakistan rid of menaces retarding its progress and prosperity. --IANS ahm/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister Ananth Kumar on Thursday accused the West Bengal government of deliberately putting the brakes on two major central government projects with a huge potential for employment generation in the eastern state. "The Trinamool Congress government is deliberately blocking two projects to be built on nearly 200 acres of land in the state despite Centre's promise to provide 100 per cent training and maintenance facilities in the region," the Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers said. Ananth Kumar, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Karnataka, said the two central projects entailing massive investments would have ensured jobs for nearly 30,000 Bengal youths. The Minister claimed the state government was not providing land for the proposed National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, a Rs 500-crore central project. "We are in regular talks with the West Bengal government for 100 acres required for the NIPER campus but there is no response from them." He said Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh have already given land for similar projects but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government had deliberately prevented such a reputed institution from coming up in the eastern state. He also accused Banerjee of deliberately blocking the Centre's proposed plastic park in West Bengal by not giving it necessary land. "There is a wave in favour of a Modi-model government in West Bengal. The Mamata Banerjee government is aware of this and is thus getting increasingly depressed, frustrated and threatened," he said. "The state government is deliberately obstructing 'Sabka saath sabka vikas' programme and MODI (Making of Developed India) fest in the state. Trinamool Congress cadres have tried to attack and vandalise tents put up for these events at many places. This shows how much they are scared of the BJP growth in West Bengal," Ananth Kumar said. --IANS mgr/tsb/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh and said the Chief Minister's lunch with Dalits in a Gorakhpur village was a sham. In a statement, the former Chief Minister said that by supping with the Dalits, the BJP was trying to hoodwink the community and eyeing the Dalit vote bank. "They think all this drama can get them the votes and goodwill of the Dalits but they really are anti-Dalits" she alleged. The whole nation was a witness to the BJP's anti-Dalit rant and policies, she said, adding that eating food with the marginalized were cosmetic gestures. "All this is not going to help, neither the BJP nor the Dalits." --IANS md/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ruling allies Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena on Thursday engaged in a verbal spat ahead of a crucial meeting between BJP President Amit Shah with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reiterated that his BJP was ready for mid-term elections in Maharashtra and would win on its own strength in a reaction to Sena MP Sanjay Raut's recent comments that the party would withdraw support to BJP if it failed to announce a complete farm loan waiver. "Some people had said that they will withdraw support and bring down the government. We are ready for mid-term elections. If they compel us for mid-tem polls, I am confident we will form the government again," Fadnavis told media persons. Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar also made a similar statement in a different function, making it clear that "the BJP is always prepared for mid-term elections" and would romp home on its own strength if any allies withdrew support. Reacting sharply to this, Thackeray said "if they (BJP) have so much money, they should give it to the farmers and clear their debts". "It seems they have a lot of money to fight mid-term elections. They should give it to the poor farmers and clear all their loans. We shall fully support them," he said sarcastically. He added that the talk of mid-term polls is a ploy to divert attention and dilute the issue of farm loans waiver. The Sena chief said he offered prayers on Thursday at the Gajanan Maharaj Temple in Pune to give strength to the government to implement its promise of farm loans waiver. "We did not care for power and supported the farmers. The farmers will not forgive those who called them as 'saala' and make they cry," Thackeray said. Later, state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve attempted so soothe ruffled feathers on both sides, saying Fadnavis did not mean mid-term elections will be held but merely the BJP as a party was ready for it. The aggressive stance of both partners came as Shah and Thackeray plan to meet on Sunday with discussions expected to centre around the upcoming the upcoming presidential elections. The meeting will take place at the Thackeray residence, 'Matoshri' in Bandra east during the three-day visit of Amit Shah to Mumbai to celebrate the BJP's three years in power at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting assumes significance for the BJP as the Shiv Sena is the most vocal critic of the party, the Prime Minister and also Fadnavis. In an embarrassment for the ruling BJP, its ally Shiv Sena has virtually joined ranks with the state opposition parties demanding complete loan waiver for farmers and on other major issues confronting the state. Amit Shah is expected to mollify Thackeray and ensure his support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the upcoming presidential election. In the past, the Shiv Sena had deviated from supporting NDA candidates on at least two occasions - during the elections of former President Pratibha Patil and later the current President Pranab Mukherjee for whom it pitched for a second term. It has also suggested RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat be field for the post. --IANS qn/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu will meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday in a bid to evolve consensus on the presidential candidate even as opposition parties are said to be keen on a fight in the July 17 election. Singh and Naidu, who are part of the three-member team constituted by BJP President Amit Shah for discussion with political parties on the presidential candidate, are set to meet Gandhi at her residence on Friday morning, sources said. This will be followed by a meeting with CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury later in the day. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also part of the team is away in South Korea. He is scheduled to return only on Saturday morning. The BJP has given no indication so far on who its candidate is but there is speculation around the names of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The name of BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi is also not ruled out in BJP circles since he is said to have the backing of RSS. It remains to be seen whether the BJP team will put forward any name to Gandhi and other opposition leaders it would be meeting or talking to in the coming days, or whether the team would merely seek the support for a BJP candidate. Sources in the opposition parties say that they are waiting for the government side to come out with the name of its nominee before they can finalise their strategy. Opposition leaders say that the choice of BJP candidate, even according to insiders, is known "only to (Prime Minister) Modi and God", to stress the point that it was Modi who was calling the shots on the issue. They feel that the government was only engaged in an exercise of consensus building for the sake of formality and, in fact, may not be keen on a consensus candidate. They point to Naidu's statement a couple of days ago that the government has the mandate and the opposition should keep this in mind when talking about a presidential candidate. At the meeting of opposition parties on Wednesday, there were suggestions mainly from Left parties that they should put up a fight by fielding a candidate because it is an "ideological battle" with BJP. They feel the BJP might be keen on having someone with ideological moorings in the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Should there be a fight, the Left parties are reportedly keen on fielding Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former Governor of West Bengal. As part of BJP's outreach, Shah is likely to meet Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai in seeking the party's support for the NDA nominee. The Sena, which has been having a cold war with BJP, has not voted with the NDA in the last two presidential elections. The Sena has been pitching for RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat for the top constitutional post and has also sought to know from the BJP why he (Bhagwat) is not acceptable. Bhagwat on his part has ruled himself out, saying he was not in the race. Meanwhile, disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday yet again backed party veteran L.K. Advani as the most deserving candidate for the post of President, saying he was physically fit and has the ability to "understand the complexity of the Constitution". In a series of tweets, Sinha said: "What Advaniji has, is the ability to understand the complexity of the Constitution and to take the right decision when needed without getting influenced by anyone, in the larger interest of the nation." Sinha also said that Advani, who is 89, is "physically fit" for the post and no one has come out against his candidature. "No one is able to speak anything, be it from within or outside d party...no voice coming out against Advani's candidature. "Advaniji is much more healthy and energetic than any of the young leaders. He has kept himself maintained so that he can take responsibility of the country," Sinha said. Sinha has been sidelined in the party after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country. He was also not inducted into Modi's council of ministers though he has claimed of long association with the BJP, since the time when the party had two members in the Lok Sabha. His proximity to Advani is said to be one of the reasons for being sidelined in the BJP. --IANS bns-vsc/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng met Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chief Zubair Mahmood Hayat in Beijing on Thursday and lauded Pakistan's support in fighting . Hailing the traditional friendship between China and Pakistan, Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said China appreciates the Pakistani government and military's firm support for China in fighting terrorism, Xinhua reported. He called on both sides to enhance military-to-military cooperation so as to safeguard the security of both countries as well as regional peace and stability. Yu also called for the implementation of the consensus reached by the leaders of both countries to promote the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and forge a community of shared future. Zubair said Pakistan would like to increase cooperation between the two militaries and provide security for the construction of the economic corridor. Pakistan on Thursday said it was in contact with Chinese authorities regarding the abduction and murder of Chinese nationals. "The government is taking the matter very seriously," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said, adding that the abducted nationals had no link to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26 -- who were abducted from Jinnah Town in Quetta on May 24 and later murdered by the militant Islamic State group -- were suspected of illegal missionary work. The Chinese government said it would work with Pakistani authorities to investigate reports that the two were missionaries. "We will cooperate with the Pakistan government and launch an investigation in accordance with the law," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. --IANS ahm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a major embarrassment for the ruling Congress in Karnataka, its no-confidence motion against Legislative Council Chairman D.H. Shankara Murthy of the BJP was defeated by one vote on Thursday. Thirty-six lawmakers voted in support while 37 opposed the motion, which was moved by Congress member V.S. Ugrappa. Council Deputy Chairman Marithibbe Gowda of the Janata Dal-Secular put the motion to vote in the 75-member council, where the Congress has 33 members, BJP 23, JD-S 13, and the Independents are five. The BJP members include the Council Chairman. At present one seat is vacant in the upper house of the state legislature. "The Congress leaders did not take JD-S leaders into confidence before deciding to move the no-confidence motion against Murthy. So, we decided to vote against it," JD-S Karnataka unit President H.D. Kumaraswamy told reporters here. Congress's Karnataka unit chief G. Parameshwara had met JD-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda on Tuesday evening to seek his party's support for the motion but the former Prime Minister advised the Congress leader to discuss it with Kumaraswamy. "No Congress leader consulted me till today (Thursday) morning. Congress leaders offered through the media the Chairman's post to the JD-S in lieu of support but did not convey it to me," Kumaraswamy said. He accused the Congress of attempting to divide the JD-S by creating confusion on the issue. "It has become a habit for national political parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, to use JD-S for their vested interests," Kumaraswamy, son of JD-S supremo Deve Gowda, said. --IANS str/tsb/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A policeman was on Thursday shot dead by militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, police said. "Constable Shabir Ahmad Dar was shot by militants near his home in Boguld village in Kulgam. He was rushed to the district hospital but was declared dead on arrival," a police officer said. The constable received multiple bullet injuries. --IANS sq/him/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has demanded a law giving farmers right to sell their produce at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and guaranteeing an automatic annual review of the MSP. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said that with the Food Corp of India (FCI) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) not buying all the produce at MSP, the farmers were being forced to sell their produce at a loss. "I am writing this letter to draw your attention to the plight of farmers across India which has resulted in a high level of rural distress, including thousands of suicides by farmers in the past three years. "There have been increasing protests by farmers in one state after another, which have been met by your silence and apathy while the state governments of your party have let the police loose on the poor farmers," Yechury wrote in the letter. He also mentioned the farmers' death in police firing in Madhya Pradesh and the "distress suicides" committed by farmers across the country. "Under these circumstances, I am writing to you to demand that your government introduce and pass a legislation in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament which not only confers on farmers the right to sell at MSP but also guarantees an automatic annual review of the MSP which will be, at least, 50 per cent more than the comprehensive production costs as established by the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for that year," Yechury said. --IANS mak/ahm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two complex paediatric liver transplants conducted by doctors at Fortis Hospital here helped save lives of infants hailing from Fiji and Iraq, who were suffering from congenital liver defects. Azariah Malala and Lilaz Bakhtiyar were both suffering from forms of Biliary atresia -- a condition in which the bile duct is not formed (or partially formed and blocked) at the foetal stage -- causing a threat to their health and vitality at the time of birth. "Pediatric patients account for about 12.5 per cent of liver transplant recipients. Biliary atresia is a reason for transplant in pediatric age group in 50 per cent of patients," Vivek Vij, Director (Liver Transplant) at Fortis Healthcare, said in a statement on Thursday. In Malala, a six-month-old boy from Fiji, the condition resulted in an enlarged liver and bile duct, stretching and blocking the main portal vein that supplies 75 per cent blood to the liver. The doctors at Fortis Memorial Research Institute successfully conducted an eight-hour-long liver transplant surgery, where the father donated 25 per cent of his liver to his son. In the second case, 21-month-old Bakhtiyar, who hailed from Iraq, underwent surgery at Fortis Escorts. Bakhtiyar, who has O blood group, underwent an ABO incompatible transplant -- donor and recipient of different blood groups -- in which her mother, having A blood group, donated the liver. With ABO transplant, one receives medical treatment both before and after the transplant to lower antibody levels in the blood and reduce the risk of antibodies rejecting the new organ. Both children are doing well after transplant, the doctor said. --IANS rt/vgu/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TDP's member of Parliament J.C. Diwakar Reddy on Thursday allegedly created a ruckus at the airport here after he was denied a boarding pass for reporting late for a flight to Hyderabad. Reddy, Lok Sabha member from Anantapur, was accused of damaging a printer and misbehaving with IndiGo airline staff. The MP had reported at the check-in counter 20 minutes before the scheduled departure of the flight. As the airline staff told him they cannot issue him a boarding pass, he got angry and entered into a heated argument with them, airport sources said. Closed-circuit television footage aired on some television channels showed the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader shouting at the airline staff as some security personnel tried to control him. Interestingly, the MP managed to board the flight but it was not clear who intervened to get him the boarding pass. Reddy, however, is not likely to face any action for his behaviour as IndiGo did not formally lodge a complaint with airport authorities. Civil Aviation Minister and TDP leader Ashok Gajapathy Raju, who was present at the airport, claimed Reddy had reached the airport on time. "Perhaps the flight was overbooked," the Minister said. In March, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was accused of assaulting an Air India staff, following which several airlines banned him from flying on their planes till he apologised. Gaikwad later submitted a letter to the Aviation Minister to express 'regret', after which AI revoked the ban, followed by the Federation of Indian Airlines and other private airlines. --IANS ms/tsb/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met on Thursday Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Mike Pompeo and hailed the Egyptian-US ties as strategic and long-standing, the Egyptian Presidential spokesman said in a statement. "Sisi lauded the strength of security and military relations binding Egypt and the US, saying they contributed to laying down the foundations of peace and stability in the region and addressing regional and international challenges," Xinhua news agency quoted presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef as saying. The CIA chief praised strategic relations with Egypt and stressed US keenness on enhancing relations with Egypt in all fields, especially in the security domain. Pompeo also commended Egypt's leading role in fighting terrorism. Talks between Sisi and the CIA director tackled several regional and international issues, including the crisis with Qatar, the counter-terrorism efforts and other regional developments. "President Sisi underlined the importance of adopting a standard approach while confronting terrorist organisations, firmly facing terror-sponsoring countries and addressing radical ideas feeding terrorism," said the spokesman. Egypt-US ties suffered years of rift under former US President Barack Obama, whose administration suspended the annual $1.3-billion military aid to Egypt after the military overthrow of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 and the later heavy crackdown on his loyalists and now-blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group. Sisi started his first official visit to Washington earlier in April at the invitation of US President Donald Trump. The two exchanged remarks of praise and expressed willingness to engage in partnership in the global fight against terrorism. Experts believe that the war on terror, the turmoil in the Middle East region and the Russian regional expansion are all behind the current progress in the Egyptian-American relations under Sisi and Trump. --IANS ahm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The West Bengal hills saw widespread violence on Thursday as irate Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters torched a police outpost and stoned security forces in angry reaction to a police raid on party chief Bimal Gurung's house in Darjeeling district. The GJM activists, with their women's wing Nari Morcha in the vanguard, virtually surrounded the police force as they were returning after the raid on Gurung's house in Patlebas, and started stoning the police from elevated areas in the hills. Several police personnel were injured in the stoning. In response, the security forces lobbed tear gas shells at the protesters after a baton charge failed to control the situation. Large police reinforcements arrived in the area. Some vehicles, including one belonging to a media house, were set on fire. In neighbouring Kalimpong district, alleged GJM supporters torched the Pedong police outpost. Accusing the state government of "high handedness and oppression", GJM general secretary Roshan Giri appealed to the central and state governments to intervene and sort out the "political problem". "The GJM has not started the violence in the hills. The state government did. They are trying to suppress us using the police. To protest against the police high handedness, we are calling for an indefinite general strike in the hills," Giri said. "This is a political problem, not a law and order situation. The Government of India and the government of West Bengal should solve it politically," Giri said. Police raided Gurung's house on Thursday morning, amid the ongoing GJM-sponsored indefinite shut down in the hills, and said they have seized bows and arrows, knives, axes, explosives and a large quantity of cash. "Two persons have been detained so far in the incident," Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi, the superintendant of police of Darjeeling district said. "It seems that they gathered all these arms to attack the police. No peace loving person can have this amount of arms in store," he claimed. Refuting the police allegations, Giri said the bows and arrows stored in the party office was for the annual archery programme of the local schools. "What have they found? Bow and arrow? That is a traditional weapon in the hills. Those were stored for the annual archery programme of the nearby schools," Giri claimed. Meanwhile, the women Morcha activists gathered outside Gurung's house in large numbers and demonstrated demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland. "We want a separate Gorkhaland. We strongly condemn the raid and ransacking at our leaders house," a woman GJM activist asserted. Terming the GJM's call for complete shut down as illegal and a crusade against the people, state Tourism Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Gautam Deb vowed to stop the strike at any cost. "The High Court and the Supreme Court have already declared such strikes as illegal. This is a strike against the people of the hills. The state administration and the Trinamool leadership would unite the people of the hills to prevent the bandh," Deb said. After the raid on Gurung's house, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha claimed such "drastic steps" could worsen the situation in the hills and urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to call for an all-party meeting in the hills to come up with a solution. "Mamata Banerjee provoked the unrest in the hills and now she is making the situation even worse with these steps. She should immediately call an all-party meeting in Darjeeling to listen to their demands and sort out the situation," Sinha claimed. He clarified that BJP was in no way supporting the GJM's demand for Gorkhaland. --IANS mgr/ssp/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government's project of creating a database of artists and art forms spread over six lakh villages in the country will begin soon, a minister said on Thursday. "The National Mission on Cultural Mapping of India will be launched in Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay's hometown, Mathura, in a day-long block-level mega talent hunt programme on June 17," Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma told the media here on Thursday. "The beginning of the Rs 470-crore project is part of our year-long plan to celebrate Deen Dayal Upadhyay's 100th birth anniversary," he said. The minister explained that this mission would focus on data mapping, demography building, formalising processes and bringing the cultural activities under one web-based umbrella for better results. "There will be talent hunt competitions having several rounds from block level to the national level and we shall distribute cash prizes to the winners," he said. The project will rate artists and writers under three categories -- A, B, and C -- on the basis of which they will be sent to various events. Sharma said that artists could register themselves online to be part of the mission. "We are eying to launch massive cultural awareness campaigns, so that no artist is left behind. To associate themselves with the project, artists can register themselves on our web portal -- culturalmappingofindia.nic.in," he said. For those who do not have access to Internet, enumeration teams will visit villages for geo-mapping of artists and their art forms. Sharma said that the cultural mapping of India portal would serve as a repository of information about cultural assets and resources for essential planning, sustainable economic development and for preserving the scattered and near-extinct art forms. After Mathura, the ministry will organise similar block-level events in other states. The current round includes Shimoga block in Shimoga district in Karnataka; Thanesar block in Kurukshetra, Haryana; Chauri-Chaura block in Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh; and Saraikela block, Saraikela-Kharsawan district in Jharkhand. --IANS mg/nir/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a bail plea by Delhi businessman Yogesh Mittal, arrested in a money laundering case. Justice S. Muralidhar sought the ED's response by June 19, when the custodial interrogation of Mittal by the agency will end. Mittal, a resident of Model Town area, was arrested on June 5 for his alleged role in illegal conversion of demonetised currency notes totalling Rs 51 crore in connivance with lawyer Rohit Tandon, Ashish Kumar, Raj Kumar Goel, and others. Mittal said he had cooperated and joined the probe over 10 times. On May 30, the ED raided the premises of Mittal and former Congress legislator Rajesh Jain in Delhi to look for incriminating documents. The government had scrapped the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8, last year. The ED had registered a case against Tandon, Ashish Kumar and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of a case registered by the Delhi Police Crime Branch. --IANS gt/tsb/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday appeared for thr first time before a judicial panel probing the familys offshore properties in line with the apex courts verdict in the Panamagate case. "Today, I have just presented my stance before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT)," said the Prime Minister adding that all sources of his assets were already submitted to relevant authorities. "A historic day for Pakistan's judiciary, I and my whole family have presented ourselves for accountability." "Is there any family in Pakistan that has appeared for accountability other than mine," asked Sharif, stating it was the third time the family appeared before the court. "My personal businesses have nothing to do with federal treasury. And no matter how many conspiracies my rivals are hatching, they will not be successful," he said. Sharif, ahead of appearing before the JIT, met his close aides including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, reports The News International. Sharif became the first sitting Pakistani Prime Minister to appear before a judicial panel. Before this, former Prime Ministers Yousuf Raza Gillani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf were the only ones summoned by the Supreme Court. Ashraf was a respondent in the rental power case before the National Accountability Bureau, but never personally appeared before investigators while in office. The JIT is conducting its proceedings at the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA) here. On June 8, the team issued summons asking the Prime Minister to appear before the panel on Thursday. The JIT questioned Hussain Nawaz, the Prime Minister's elder son, on May 28. Hussain has made five appearances before the JIT so far. The panel has also grilled Sharif's younger son, Hassan. In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted the JIT and empowered it to summon the Prime Minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money laundering, through which four apartments in London's Park Lane area were purchased. --IANS ahm/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian and Pakistan armies clashed on the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector. Defence Ministry spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand said that at about 11.30 a.m., Pakistan initiated unprovoked shelling with mortars and firing by small arms along the LoC in Nowshera sector. "The Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively," the spokesman said. The two armies had on Monday also traded heavy fire in Nowshera sector and in neighbouring Poonch district. All educational institutions within a five-kilometre distance of the LoC have been shut by the authorities in Poonch and Rajouri districts. --IANS sq/mr (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A dreaded interstate gangster who was wanted in a Rs 56-lakh robbery case near Arthala Peer on the Trand Trunk road has been arrested in this Uttar Pradesh city, the police said. "Hasan Ahmad was nabbed from Ramlila Ground in Kavinagar by Special Operation Group (SOG) after a tip-off by an informer," Superintendent of Police (City) Akash Tomar told reporters in a press conference on Thursday. A .32 calibre pistol and 3 live cartridges were recovered from him,, the police officer added. In March 2016, Hasan looted Rs 56 lakh from a businessman near Arthala Peer under the Sahibabad police station jurisdiction. While two persons involved in the robbery were arrested, Ahmad managed to escape. During interrogation, Ahmad, a resident of Loni, confessed to the robbery. It was found that he was also involved in robberies and other crimes in Delhi. Three cases were registered against him in Karawal Nagar, Malviya Nagar and South Campus police stations, while three other cases were registered against him in Ghaziabad. --IANS sps/vgu/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran is interested in expanding ties with India in the fields of IT and communications, Iranian Labour Minister Ali Rabiei was on Thursday quoted as saying. Rabiei made the remarks at a meeting with Indian Minister of Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya on the sidelines of an International Labour Organization meeting in Geneva, Xinhua news agency reports. A draft MoU has been prepared to be signed with India in near future, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted the Iranian minister as saying. Dattatreya referred to common grounds for cooperation with Iran, saying his country was ready to transfer its experiences in the fields of rural employment, IT and ICT to Iran. --IANS mr/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Filmmakers from 40 countries including India will participate in the 30th International Film Festival for Children and Youth which will open in Iran's Esfahan city on June 30, it was announced on Thursday. The one-week event is aimed at discovering and promoting children's talents in arts and cinema and encouraging professional filmmakers to focus on the issues related to children and the youth, Xinhua news agency quoted Press TV as saying. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Russia, Denmark, Turkey, Japan, the US, India, Qatar, Bangladesh and Egypt are among the countries attending various categories at the event. Among the categories to rival, the festival will host a major animation competition, Festival Chairman Alireza Rezadad said. --IANS mr/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More bodies were found on Thursday in the fire-ravaged apartment block in west London, raising the death toll to 17, the Metropolitan Police said. Commander Stuart Cundy said the number was expected to rise and that an unknown number of people were missing, Efe news reported. Seventeen of the 37 people still hospitalized remained in critical condition. "Our absolute priority is about locating and identifying those people that are still missing," he said, although he was not able to specify how many people were unaccounted for. Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said specialist search and rescue teams would be working to make the building safe for firefighters and police to enter and begin search for and identify people who may have been in the building when the fire erupted early on Wednesday. Teams would be preceded by sniffer dogs who could search dangerous areas faster. "This will be a very slow and painstaking process," she said. Firefighters worked overnight at the scene of the devastating fire that gutted the 24-storey Grenfell Tower. Cotton earlier told Sky News they were not expecting to find anyone else alive and it would be an "absolute miracle" if anyone were found still living, given the "severity and the heat of the fire". Prime Minister Theresa May visited the scene of the fire on Thursday and spoke to police and firefighters there. The tower block housed 120 apartments. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UN General Assembly launched a major effort on Thursday to break boundaries and coordinate globally the fight against the scourge of by setting up an office headed by a high-level functionary to coordinate all counter- efforts. India welcomed the creation of the Office of Counter- (OCT) to be headed by an Under-Secretary-General as an "all-of-UN effort" to coordinate the world body's war on terrorism. The first major reform effort of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who took office in January with a pledge to make the UN more effective, the initiative was approved unanimously by the UNGA after its President Peter Thomson said it would reaffirm the view of all member states that all acts of terrorism are criminal regardless of whoever commits it for whatever cause. The OCT will takeover the UN efforts now split among the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force Office and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre. India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin said after the vote that the OCT "will align the UN with the changed global reality and needs of the international community", adding that it was a "much-awaited first step in our efforts to enhance coordination of the UN's counter-terrorism efforts". "Terrorism networks are not bound by borders norms legal frameworks and bureaucratic inertia that binds us as member states of the UN at all levels," he said underlining the need for such an office. "While terrorism networks use modern platforms, social media, cyberspace and parallel worlds existing alongside us in hidden transnational networks we cannot work in silos created either by boundaries or bureaucracy." Warning against any nation supporting terrorism, he quoted Guterres, who said in Kabul that "support of terrorism entails a very high price". According to diplomats, Russia is lobbying for the crucial new post of Under-Secretary-General for counter-terrorism. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in) --IANS al/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia has not made any offer to mediate between India and Pakistan, the government said on Thursday, after Islamabad "welcomed" Russian President Vladimir Putin's reported offer to resolve bilateral tensions. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay, in a statement said: "No offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India. "It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence," he said. The response came after Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said: "Pakistan welcomes Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda." --IANS rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Thursday said during his visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should "demand and obtain credible and firm assurances from President Donald Trump that he will reverse his decision on granting to Indian professionals". The party also demanded that the Prime Minister should respond and register protest over "disparaging observations" made by the US President about India while walking out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. "Prime Minister will be travelling to the US. He should demand and obtain credible and firm assurances from US President Donald Trump that he will reverse his decision which discriminates against the Indian professionals for grant of H-1B visa," said Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma. "There has been a drop of 37 per cent, whereas the Indian professionals constitute less than 0.06 per cent of the American workforce. We do not want mere statements and photographs," he added. "We want answers and also how the Prime Minister responds and registers our protest over the disparaging observations made about the Republic of India recently when the US decided to walk out of the Paris Agreement. We will wait for the PM's response or reaction." Prime Minister Narendra Modi will for the first time meet President Donald Trump on June 26 at the White House. Trump's recent withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on fighting climate change created fissures in the India-US ties, especially with Trump commenting that India signed the pact only because it expected "billions and billions" in aid. Broadbasing government's outreach, senior minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and ally TDP's chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu as part of its exercise to evolve a consensus on presidential candidate. Naidu's talks with Pawar and Chandrababu Naidu came a day before he and another senior minister Rajnath Singh would be meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday seeking her party's support even as opposition parties are said to be keen on a contest. Sources said Pawar told Naidu that he would be in Delhi for the next couple of days for the talks, while Chandrababu Naidu told him that his party would stand by the Prime Minister's decision on the issue. Naidu has so far contacted leaders of the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the All India Congress (N. Rangasami). Singh and Naidu -- who are part of the three-member team constituted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah for holding discussions with political parties on the presidential candidate -- are set to meet Gandhi at her residence on Friday morning, sources said. This will be followed by a meeting with CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury later in the day. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also part of the team, is away in South Korea. He is scheduled to return only on Saturday morning. The BJP has given no indication so far as to who its candidate is, but there is speculation around the names of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The name of BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi is also not ruled out in the BJP circles, since he is said to have the backing of Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS). It remains to be seen whether the BJP team will put forward any name to Gandhi and other opposition leaders it would be meeting or talking to in the coming days, or whether the team will merely seek the support for a BJP nominee. Sources in the opposition parties say they are waiting for the government side to come out with the name of its nominee before they can finalise their strategy. Opposition leaders say that the choice of BJP candidate, even according to insiders, is known "only to (Prime Minister) Modi and God", to stress the point that it is Modi who is calling the shots on the issue. They feel that the government is only engaged in an exercise of consensus building for the sake of formality and, in fact, might not be keen on a consensus candidate. They point to Naidu's statement a couple of days ago that the government has the mandate and the opposition should keep this in mind while talking about a presidential candidate. At the meeting of opposition parties on Wednesday, there were suggestions mainly from the Left parties that they should put up a fight by fielding a candidate, because it is an "ideological battle" with the BJP. They feel the BJP might be keen on having someone with ideological moorings in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Should there be a fight, the Left parties are reportedly keen on fielding Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former Governor of West Bengal. There is also another section in the opposition, saying that it should be a political fight and the nominee could be a political leader like Janata Dal-United (JD-U) veteran Sharad Yadav. As part of BJP's outreach, Shah is likely to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai for seeking the party's support for the NDA nominee. The Sena, which has been having a cold war with the BJP, has not voted with the NDA in the last two presidential elections. The Sena has been pitching for RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the top constitutional post and has also sought to know from the BJP why he (Bhagwat) is not acceptable. Bhagwat on his part has ruled himself out, saying he is not in the race. Meanwhile, disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday yet again backed party veteran L.K. Advani as the most deserving candidate for the post of President, saying he is physically fit and has the ability to "understand the complexity of the Constitution". In a series of tweets, Sinha said: "What Advaniji has, is the ability to understand the complexity of the Constitution and to take the right decision when needed without getting influenced by anyone, in the larger interest of the nation." Sinha also said that Advani, who is 89, is "physically fit" for the post and no one has come out against his candidature. "No one is able to speak anything, be it from within or outside d party...no voice coming out against Advani's candidature. "Advaniji is much more healthy and energetic than any of the young leaders. He has kept himself maintained so that he can take responsibility of the country," Sinha said. Sinha has been sidelined in the party after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country. He was also not inducted into Modi's council of ministers, though he has claimed of long association with the BJP, since the time when the party had two members in the Lok Sabha. His proximity to Advani is said to be one of the reasons for being sidelined in the party. --IANS vsc-bns/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Print will no longer be the dominant as it is being replaced by the digital medium that is rapidly becoming the arbiter of public discourse, says a well known US educator who has taken up a teaching assignment in India. Tom Goldstein, former Dean of the Columbia School of Journalism who is set to become the Founding Dean of the Jindal School of Journalism and Communication, believes that "print will never occupy the dominant position" which it enjoyed until recently, and marked out digital for its "malleability" and cheapness over the old medium for the decline of print worldwide. However, Goldstein, a reporter himself for quite a number of years, refuses to endorse the growing perception about the falling standards in journalism, insisting that "journalism has improved markedly" over the last generation, and has, contrary to popular perception, "become more professionalised". "Of course, there are still notable ethical lapses among journalists, but I believe they are significantly fewer now than 50 years ago. Journalists certainly have a greater awareness now of what is right and appropriate," the former reporter who has written for Newsday, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and New York Times told IANS in an e-mail interview. He is also not unaware of the different intellectual climate which he will have to contend with in India and admits to the need to acquaint himself with the "social, historical and political milieu" of the country and to learn the "special nature of the Indian setting". "I have great ambitions for the journalism school, but I do not want to over-promise. I hope that the graduates will be clear thinkers with a deep understanding of history and public affairs, and that they will become leaders of journalism in India -- and internationally," he added. On local US politics and Trump's rise, the former member of the Pulitzer Prize Board blamed the media for not seeing it coming and ignoring the electorate. "I think the simplest explanation is that people were ready for a change, and Trump provided that. I think many in the media did not give enough importance to the restlessness of the electorate," he said. He rubbished the notion of American media swearing strictly by either of the two principal political parties saying that the partisanship in American media is exaggerated. "With the exception of Fox and MSNBC, most in the American media strive for non-partisanship. And you must remember that cable news channels like Fox draw small audiences. Sometimes we attribute far more influence to these channels than they actually have," he explained. Despite having over 20 years of experience as a teacher and dean, Goldstein confesses his inability to generalise what a good reporter is like, but pointed out a few common traits anyway. "Some of the best reporters are insatiably curious, hard-working and stubborn individuals who possess an innate sense of social justice," he said. --IANS vn/tb/sac/rn (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prosecutors at the trial in Cambodia on Thursday sought life imprisonment for the last two surviving top leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime over charges of genocide, rape and murder. Prosecutors of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, backed by the UN, presented their closing arguments against Nuon Chea, 90, the second-in-command and chief ideologist of the Khmer Rouge, and the former head of State, Khieu Samphan, 85. The leaders have been charged with genocide against the Cham Muslim minority and the Vietnamese population and over their policy of forced marriages and rapes, reports Efe news. Next week will be the defence's turn to present its closing arguments, with June 23 being the last day for closing statements. The two former leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment in an earlier trial. The court had divided the trial into two phases, due to the complexity of the charges and fears that the two leaders, who are in poor health, would die before the verdict is delivered. The first phase of the trial had addressed accusations that included forced evacuation of Phnom Penh, deportation of the urban population to labour camps in rural areas and execution of Republican soldiers by the Khmer Rouge after it came to power. The trial, which began in 2011, had included two more accused, Leng Sary, the former Foreign Minister of the Khmer Rouge, who died in March 2013 aged 87 years, and his wife and former Minister of Social Affairs Leng Thirith, who died in 2015, aged 83 years. The leader of the Khmer Rouge regime, Pol Pot, died in 1998 in the last stronghold of the Maoist guerrillas in the forest of northern Cambodia. The international court passed its first sentence in 2010 against Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch, who managed the detention and torture of around 12,000 people in the S-21 prison. Duch was initially sentenced to 35 years in prison but the judgement was later changed to life imprisonment. About 1.7 million people died from starvation, illness and execution during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. --IANS mr/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed the Madhya Pradesh government for not lodging any FIR in the killing of protesting farmers in the state. "Nine days on, 45 FIRs against protesting farmers, but not one against those who murdered six farmers in cold blood in Mandsaur," wrote Gandhi on his official Twitter account. Farmers in Madhya Pradesh were on protest from June 1 demanding better prices for their produce and debt relief. The agitation turned violent on June 6 when five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur. --IANS sid/him/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reliance Industries (RIL) and British energy major BP on Thursday annnouced the creation of a joint venture energy vertical to work across the entire value chain, involving investment of $6 billion, or Rs 40,000 crore. This would also develop their existing deep water gas fields in India's eastern offshore to bring to fresh production 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas by 2022. "We will invest Rs 40,000 crore over many years as new investment to bring in 30-35 million cubic metres of gas in next three-to-five years and sustain it over seven-to-eight years," Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said at a press briefing here. The "solid relationship between our two companies is a great example of what can be achieved while working together at scale", he added. Ambani said RIL was investing together with its eastern offshore KG basin gas fields' consortium partner BP after a gap of 6 years. The first project of the tie-up is to develop already discovered R-series gas fields in Block KGD6, approximately 70 km off India's east coast. A dry gas development project in water-depths of more than 2,000 metres, the project is expected to produce up to 12 million cubic metres of gas a day after going on-stream in 2020. "India holds great promise for future," BP CEO Bob Dudley said, adding that tie-up was an important step for BP in India. "Reliance and BP are now able to develop these major deep water gas resources offshore India efficiently and economically. It is testament to our commitment to working in partnership with Reliance and with the government to produce more energy in India, for India," he said. BP plans to submit development plans for the next two projects for government approval before the end of 2017. Development of the three projects is expected to bring a total 30-35 million cubic metres of gas a day onstream, phased over 2020-2022. India consumes over 5 billion cubic feet (141.5 million cubic metres) a day of natural gas. Earlier, Dudley met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from the three projects, the two companies have also agreed for strategic cooperation, under which they will jointly explore options to develop differentiated fuels, mobility and advanced low carbon energy businesses in India, Ambani said. BP had entered into a partnership with RIL in 2011 with a 30 per cent stake in multiple oil and gas blocks operated by RIL in India, including KGD6. Since then, the two companies have invested over Rs 10,000 crore ($1.6 billion) in deepwater exploration and production up to May 2017, according to information given by RIL. Queried multiple times about their ongoing arbitration disputes with the Indian government, the consortium said that it were the change in policies made by the current NDA government that had guided this investment decision designed to meet the energy needs of the Indian consumer, which effort would then be upscaled at a global level. "We still have some pending arbitrations and we hope to follow this legal process to conclude these within the framework of the law," Ambani said, referring to the arbitrations cases on shortfall in KG-D6 targeted gas output and on alleged seepage of gas from contiguous fields of state-run ONGC. "We're pretty sure of a fair outcome of these proceedings, and which will not come in the way of future investments. Because you have arbitration, you don't stop all businesses," he added. Dudley pointed out that a lot of such arbitration issues crop up around the world, which are then resolved. He said the change in government policies over the last few years had chiefly guided this major investment decision and also expressed satisfaction over the pricing policy for domestic natural gas for producing from difficult deep sea areas. --IANS mm-bc/vd (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India's Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale on Thursday said the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should not ignore the "sovereignty and territorial integrity" of member states while deepening cooperation on trade and connectivity. Gokhale, speaking at the flag hoisting ceremony of India and Pakistan at the SCO headquarters in Beijing, was referring to the Chinese-sponsored multi-billion dollar economic corridor which passes through the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan and claimed by India. "We support enhanced connectivity and unimpeded trade in the SCO region and believe that initiatives should be pursued in an inclusive and sustainable manner with due respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all members," he said. Beijing is building a $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which links Kashgar with Gwadar port in Balochistan. Indian has opposed the project citing the issue of "sovereignty". At the SCO summit last week in Astan, where India and Pakistan were admitted to the grouping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also raised the issue. Addressing the event, Gokhale said: "Now as a full member of SCO, we look forward to further deepening these relations for mutual benefit. "We would also like to deepen our cooperation in our joint fight against terrorism." (Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based correspondent of IANS. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com) --IANS gsh/ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday appeared before a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in connection with the Panama Papers probe into his family's assets, the media reported. He met his close aides including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other senior advisers ahead of his appearance, reports The News International. Sharif became the first sitting Pakistani Prime Minister to appear before an investigating body. The JIT is conducting its proceedings at the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA) here. The Prime Minister is requited to reply to 13 questions raised by the Supreme Court. On June 8, the team issued summons asking Sharif to appear before the panel on Thursday, reports Dawn news. The summons also instructed the Prime Minister to "kindly bring along relevant record/documents/material" related to the Panama Papers case which will entail nearly all the documents and evidence submitted before the Supreme Court by Sharif's counsel, Makhdoom Ali Khan. The JIT had prepared the questionnaire for Sharif and his children last month. It questioned Hussain Nawaz, the Prime Minister's elder son, on May 28. Hussain has made five appearances before the JIT so far. The investigation team has also grilled younger son, Hassan. In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted the JIT and empowered it to summon the Prime Minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money laundering, through which four apartments in London's Park Lane area were purchased. The Prime Minister's son-in-law, retired Captain Mohammad Safdar, has also been summoned by the JIT on June 25. --IANS ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday yet again backed party veteran LK Advani as the most deserving candidate for the post of President of India, saying he was physically fit and has the ability to "understand the complexity of the Constitution". In a series of tweets, Sinha said: "What Advaniji has, is the ability to understand the complexity of the Constitution and to take the right decision when needed without getting influenced by anyone, in the larger interest of the nation." Sinha's remarks came as a three-member BJP committee is to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders to evolve a consensus for next President of the country. Sinha also said that Advani, who is 89, is "physically fit" for the post and no one has come out against his candidature. "No one is able to speak anything, be it from within or outside d party...no voice coming out against Advani's candidature. "Advaniji is much more healthy and energetic than any of the young leaders. He has kept himself maintained so that he can take responsibility of the country," Sinha said. Sinha has been sidelined in the party after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country. He was also not inducted into Modi's council of ministers though he has claimed of long association with the BJP, since the time when the party had two members in the Lok Sabha. His proximity to Advani is said to be one of the reasons for being sidelined in the BJP. During the Bihar Assembly polls, Sinha had spoken in favour of JD-U President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He does not enjoy good relations with Bihar BJP leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi. Sinha had on Tuesday described Advani as "Pitamah" of the BJP, saying that he most richly deserves to be President of the country. US President Donald Trump is under investigation for possible obstruction of justice by Robert Mueller, the special counsel examining Russias interference in the 2016 election, a media report said. In response, Trump on Thursday mocked federal investigators for making up a "phoney collusion with the Russians story", the New York Times reported. "They made up a phoney collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," Trump tweeted. In a later tweet, the President once again called the Russia investigation a "witch hunt" and called the people leading it "very bad", apparently a reference to Mueller and others at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mueller has requested interviews with three current or former senior intelligence officials, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The move suggested Mueller is examining whether Trump sought their help in trying to get former FBI chief James Comey to end an investigation into Michael T. Flynn, the former National Security Adviser. The special counsel is also seeking documents from the National Security Agency relating to its interactions with the White House on the Russia connection investigation. The requests from Mueller also pointed towards a new scrutiny on whether the President tried to influence the Russia investigation through conversations he had with Comey, whom he ultimately fired, or with other officials. That would make Trump a subject of a sprawling inquiry that he repeatedly said has no merit. Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, National Security Agency's head Mike Rogers, and Rogers's recently departed deputy Richard Ledgett agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's investigators as early as this week, the Post reported. It is unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI, the sources told the daily. Investigators were also looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates. The NSA said in a statement that it will "fully cooperate with the special counsel" and declined to comment further. In response to the report, Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz, said: "The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." Comey testified last week before the Senate Intelligence Committee, where he gave a detailed account of his conversations with the President, who he said asked him for his "loyalty" and insinuated that his job as FBI chief might depend on providing such a pledge. Mueller, who headed the FBI for 12 years and was Comey's predecessor in the post, has the confidence of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. The crime of obstruction of justice could lead to a move to impeach Trump in Congress, something that some Democratic lawmakers had called for, provided that the unfolding facts prove that to be warranted. --IANS soni/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid regional tensions between Gulf states, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci will visit Qatar, a media report said on Wednesday. "We do not accept the sanctions imposed on Qatar during Ramadan. We are ready to do our best to meet the needs of Qatar," citing Anadolu Agency, Xinhua quoted Zeybekci as saying. "The needs of our Qatari brothers have been fulfilled with a high level of performance so far," he said. According to the Economy Minister, the two sides will work together on a programme during the meeting. Cavusoglu will hold a bilateral meeting with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement late Tuesday. The visit comes after several Arab countries and governments cut diplomatic relations with Qatar last week, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. On Wednesday, Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said at a press conference that Ankara was sending food assistance to Qatar after neighbouring Gulf Arab states imposed sanctions on the country. --IANS sku/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two policemen were injured when militants attacked a police 'naka' (checkpost) here on Thursday evening, police said. Police said militants fired at the policemen near the J&K Bank branch in the Hyderpora area on the city outskirts. "The injured policemen have been shifted to hospital. Doctors have described the condition of one of the injured policemen as critical," said police. --IANS sq/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two workers were killed in a blast as they were shifting some explosives at the Ordnance Factory Dehu Road (OFDR) here on Thursday morning, police said. The explosion, the cause of which is not yet known, occurred in the Defence Ministry's ammunition factory in Khadki area of the city at around 9.20 a.m., said investigating official, Dilip Salunkhe of Khadki Police Station. The duo suffered severe burn injuries in the blast and succumbed immediately, he said. In a statement, a defence spokesperson said that military experts are conducting investigations at the blast site in which there was no damage to any buildings in the establishment. The victims have been identified as Ashok Kashinath Dubal, 51 and S. Maria Rokh, 47, both local residents in Khadki. The safety team of the ordnance factory will carry out a detailed probe into the incident to ascertain the technical or human causes behind the tragedy and take remedial actions, officials said. --IANS qn/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One of the terminals at the port of Charleston in South Carolina was evacuated over a potential bomb threat from a container on a ship, the US Coast Guard said on Thursday. "The Maersk Memphis is currently moored at Charleston's Wando terminal which was evacuated (on Wednesday night) while units from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies investigate the threat," the Coast Guard said in a statement. The statement added that a joint command has been set up to oversee the coordinated response, reports Efe news. The Coast Guard later tweeted that "a safety zone has been established around the vessel while law enforcement authorities investigate the threat." In another tweet, the Coast Guard confirmed the Maersk Memphis threat was "active" and an investigation "was ongoing by unified command in Charleston". --IANS ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ahead of International Yoga Day that falls on June 21, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation has installed a giant digital billboard in perhaps the poshest retail address in the national capital: Khan Market. The billboard is right in the middle of the markets parking lot and rolls advertisements of some of the pet projects initiated by the current government, such as Swachh Bharat and promoting International Yoga Day. Thats something for shoppers to look up to, literally. The Congress on Thursday said it would prefer consensus over the presidential candidate, while sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) indicated their nominee would file papers on June 23. Communist Party of India (Marxist) chief Sitaram Yechury has in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanded that the government pass a legislation in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament to give farmers the right to sell their produce at the minimum support price, or MSP, and also guarantee automatic annual review of the -- that is, at least 50 per cent more than the input costs as established by the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for that year. The month-long monsoon session of Parliament is likely to begin on July 12. A first-ever calligraphic exhibition depicting the verses of 'Bhagavad Gita' was held today in China, highlighting its growing popularity in the Communist nation. Drawn by China's renowned calligrapher Dai Daosen, the calligraphic rendition of Chinese Translation Gita, titled 'Rendezvous in Hangzhou - Calligraphic Works from Bhagavad Gita' was held at the prestigious Zhejiang Museum in Hangzhou. Gita has been translated into Chinese language earlier but this is the first time it was rendered on Calligraphy, Prakash Gupta, the Consulate General of India in Shanghai, told PTI here. Dai has done this as he is deeply inspired by Gita, Gupta said. The calligraphic exhibition was conducted by Consulate General of India in Shanghai with Zhejiang Museum. It was organised as part of the India Week celebrations, and jointly inaugurated by Gupta along with Dai and Nie Bangrui, President of Wangxizhi Organisation. The exhibition comprises 88 pieces of calligraphy, which took six months to prepare; and marks the first stage of 'Exhibition of Chinese Calligraphic Works from Eastern and Western Classics'. Thematically, the exhibition centres on the cultural and artistic exchanges between China and India. It aims to exhibit and universalize Oriental culture represented by China and India, including classics in both languages, a the consulate said in a stateent. Born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, Dai has been a successful entrepreneur, with enterprises spread across Zhejiang and Gansu provinces. He has been practicing Chinese Tai Ji and probing Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist ideas, and also specialises in Chinese calligraphy. Dai's inclination towards Gita was owing to it being not only a revered sacred scripture of Hinduism, but also as one of the most important religious classics of the world. The exhibition brings together two ancient civilisations, Dai said. The India Culture Week would also comprise India-China (Hangzhou) Business and Investment Forum and a photo exhibition of Buddhist images among others. The consulate along with Zhejiang Provincial Museum jointly organised a rare exhibit of Gupta Period Sculpture and Art Works titled 'Across the Silk Road: Gupta Sculptures and their Chinese Counterparts: 400-700 CE' at the prestigious Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A powerful explosion rocked the entrance of a kindergarten in eastern China today while children were leaving the school, killing at least seven people and injuring 66 others, the state media reported. The blast happened at around 4:50 p.M. At the front gate of the kindergarten in Fengxian County in east China's Jiangsu Province when children were leaving the school, officials were quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua agency. Two people were killed at the site of the explosion while another five died later in hospital. Among the injured, nine are in critical condition, the Fengxian county government said. The number of children among the casualties has not been confirmed, the report said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, which rocked the kindergarten as parents were picking up children from the school. However, the Global Times and China Youth Daily newspapers cited witnesses as saying that a gas cylinder at a food stall had exploded. Pictures and videos posted online showed at least a dozen people lying outside the gate of the kindergarten and one woman was seen clutching her child, who is in tears. Footage of the scene showed some people covered in blood while others appeared to be unconscious and some even with their clothes burned off. Children were seen among the injured. "About 5 pm, we heard a blast and thought it might have been a gas explosion at a nearby food vendor," a local shop owner was quoted as saying by online portal Sohu. "Many people could be dead," he said. In one video clip posted online, a man covered in blood was seen trying to stand up only to collapse again. His clothes appeared to have been burned off. In a separate video clip, people could be heard shouting: "Blast, blast, dial 110 quickly!" The gate of the kindergarten appeared to have been horribly bent, with shattered glass littering the scene. It is the latest tragedy to strike a kindergarten in China in recent weeks. A school bus packed with kindergarten pupils erupted in flames inside a tunnel in eastern Shandong province on May 9, killing 11 children, a teacher and the driver. Officials later said the fire was intentionally set by the driver, who was angry at losing overtime wages. China in the past witnessed knife attacks on kindergarten school children by disgruntled people. An explosion of this magnitude was rare. In January a man armed with a kitchen knife stabbed and wounded 11 children at a kindergarten in southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The acronym RSS, which is generally associated with the Hindu nationalist group, is in a different avtar here - Rashtriya Shia Samaj. A hoarding of the organisation, working for welfare of Shia Muslims in Uttar Pradesh, outside the Haj House here reads, "Prem ki peeda Bharat ke ab kone kone mein ho, chot lagey Ram ke, to dard Raheem ke seene mein ho (Love or empathy should exist throughout India. If Ram is hurt, Raheem should also feel the pain)." Interestingly, the hoarding has been put up barely 100 metres away from the state BJP office and the imposing state legislature complex on the busy Vidhan Sabha Marg to catch the attention of passersby. "Rashtriya Shia Samaj or RSS was conceptualised almost a year back, but we started different public-oriented programmes only from this year. "On one of the Tuesdays of Jyestha month (June 13) of the traditional Hindu calendar, we organised a large-scale bhandara (community feast) at Hazratganj," Bukkal Nawab, the president of this Shia welfare body, told PTI. Elaborating on the idea behind formation of the RSS, he said, "The basic idea was to ensure betterment and welfare of people belonging to the Shia community. When we were zeroing in on the name of the organisation, Rashtriya Shia Samaj was agreed upon and the abbreviation became RSS." On whether the organisation drew any inspiration from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Nawab (62) said, "It is not at all influenced or inspired by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. After its formation, no one from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh objected to the abbreviation." He said the main aim of the organisation was to foster amity between Hindus and Muslims and spread brotherhood. Referring to the Ayodhya dispute, Nawab, who is also a member of the UP Legislative Council, strongly advocated for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. "I am of the view that Ram Temple must be built in Ayodhya. After all, Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya and not in Pakistan," he said. To a question on triple talaq, he said, "There is no such provision in Quran." Reacting to the formation of the Rashtriya Shia Samaj, All India Shia Personal Law Board spokesperson Yasoob Abbas said, "He can form any organisation for his personal gains. We have no objections to it." "But, if the name of the community is involved for personal gains, then we certainly have objections. At best, this could be described as a publicity stunt," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The AIIMS today declared the results of its MBBS online entrance test after a government panel rejected allegations of question paper leak. A total of 28,4,737 candidates appeared, out of which 4,905 have qualified and are eligible for counselling session in AIIMS. "For the first time in its history, AIIMS New Delhi will be admitting 100 students for this session," Dr Ashok Kumar Jaryal, head of exams, AIIMS said. The results are now available on the official website -- aiimsexams.Org and also on the websites of other six AIIMS. The entrance examination for the MBBS course was conducted on May 28 at various centres across the country and around 2.8 lakh students appeared in it. On May 31, Anand Rai, who exposed the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, had alleged that the question papers of this year's entrance exam for MBBS course of the AIIMS were leaked following which the institute had constituted the committee to probe how snapshots of the test came out in public. The AIIMS committee in its report has stated that there was no question paper leak though some candidates in an examination centre in Uttar Pradesh indulged in cheating in connivance with some officials. It also recommended a CBI probe into the matter. The sources said the premier medical institute through its internal mechanism has identified the candidates and the centre. Rai, in a series of tweets, posted images of question papers of the entrance examination. He claimed to have received the question paper screenshots from a source who said these were leaked from a college in Lucknow when the online test was on. Rai had also tagged the Prime Minister's Office in his tweet and sought a CBI enquiry into the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amnesty International India today demanded probe into alleged fraudulent sale of tribal lands in Ghargoda development block of Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district. "Police must conduct investigation into allegations by over 80 Adivasi villagers that they were unlawfully dispossessed of their lands by people acting as agents of two private companies," said Karthik Navayan, programme manager (business and human rights), Amnesty International India. The villagers yesterday submitted a complaint to the special police station for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Raigarh. They alleged that they were forced to sell their lands through intimidation and misinformation to the 'agents' of two power generation firms. These transactions, mostly benami (through proxy), took place between 2004 to 2011 at Khokhraaoma, Katangdi, Bhengari and Nawapara Tenda villages, said Navayan. Gram sabhas of these villages have passed resolutions stating that lands were purchased through fraud and coercion, he said. Some villagers alleged that they were not paid the amount mentioned in the sale deed. Many claimed that their land was bought at a price far below the market value, he said. Pavitri Manjhi, sarpanch of Benghari village, told reporters that the middlemen involved in these transactions adopted various means to persuade or force villagers to sell off their lands. In some cases, villagers were lured with liquor, he said. A senior police official from Raigarh district told PTI that police were conducting a preliminary enquiry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former world champion Viswanathan Anand played out a draw with overnight joint leader Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the seventh round of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament here. After a scintillating victory over Fabiano Caruana of United States in the previous round, Anand yet again showed great intent against Nakamura, but the American was quite up to the task in a keenly contested game. Levon Aronian of Armenia scored his third victory in the tournament at the expense of Sergey Karjakin of Russia to shot into sole lead for the first time in the event. Anish Giri of Holland too found Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France on the wrong foot and scored a fine victory. However, it was not Aronian's win or Giri's dismantling that hogged the limelight in the seventh round, the biggest of the day was Magnus Carlsen's losing to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. The loss proved costly as Kramnik came tantalisingly close to Carlsen on the live rating list. In fact just a little over six points separate the two, and a good result for him and a bad one for Carlsen could mean that the Norwegian will lose his top world ranking, which he has managed to hold on to since July 2011. The three decisive games made some changes in standings also as Aronian shot himself up to five points out of a possible seven and now enjoys a half point lead over Nakamura, who had been leading the tournament since the first day. Kramnik and Giri share the third spot on four points each, a half point ahead of Wesley So of United States while Anand, Karjakin and Caruana share the sixth spot with three points apiece. Generally when one is sharing a spot with Magnus Carlsen it is good but currently it isn't as the world champion is sharing the last spot with the French star Vachier-Lagrave. "Surprisingly the Italian is one area where you can just say computers have revolutionised it, because it seems that we gave up way too early," Anand said after his draw with Nakamura. Indeed the Italian opening was the flavour of the day as not only the Indian ace but also Kramnik employed it to beat Carlsen. Even Aronian defeated Karjakin when the Russian was playing with white, which meant a 50 per cent score for white in the opening in this round. "I wasn't sure if I was in control or I was losing the plot!," Anand noted during the post-mortem analysis. All three results were possible, but in the end the draw was a logical outcome. Anand will next take on new leader Aronian before crossing swords with Carlsen in the final round. Results round 7: V Anand (Ind, 3) drew with Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 4.5); Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 3) lost to Levon Aronian (Arm, 5); Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 4) beat Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 2.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 2.5) lost to Anish Giri (Ned, 4); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 3) drew with Wesley So (Usa, 3.5). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has criticised the CIA's drone strikes on a militant hideout in the northwest Orakzai Agency, saying such "unilateral" actions by the US were "counterproductive". "Pakistan Army is capable of taking effective measure if actionable intelligence is shared," he said during his visit to the Peshawar Corps Headquarters yesterday. "Unilateral actions like drone strike.... Etc are counterproductive and against (the) spirit of (the) ongoing cooperation and intelligence sharing being diligently undertaken by Pakistan," army's media wing the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) quoted Bajwa as saying. On Tuesday, a US drone fired two missiles at a compound in the tribal Orakzai Agency, which is close to the borders of the North and South Waziristan tribal regions, killing two suspected militants including Abubakar of the Haqqani network, media reports said. Bajwa said that Pakistan considers Afghanistan a brotherly neighbour and terrorists were common enemies of the two countries, the ISPR added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With assembly elections in the state just four months away, the Himachal Pradesh BJP today decided to launch 'Parivartan Rath Yatra', simultaneously from all four parliamentary constituencies on June 18. The BJP had launched the 'Mafia Hatao, Himachal Pradesh Bachao' campaign to expose the alleged misdeeds of the Congress government in the state. The 'yatra', which will cover all the 68 assembly constituencies would be the final onslaught in the run up to elections, a party release said. National level BJP leaders and chief ministers of party ruled states would flag off the 'Parivartan Rally Rath' from all the four parliament constituencies. Haryana Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar along with local MP, Ram Swaroop Sharma would flag off the yatra from Mandi, while Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat alongwith former Himachal Chief Minister P K Dhumal would flag off the Yatra from from Haripur Dhar in Sirmaur district which falls in the Shimla parliamentary constituency. Union Ayush Minister Shripad Naik and former chief minister Shanta Kumar, MP would launch the yatra from Baijnath which falls within the Kangra parliamentary constituency while Union Health and Family Welfare minister J P Nadda would flag off the rally along with local MP Anurag Thakur and party incharge Mangal Pandey from Sri Nainadevi in Bilaspur district from the Hamirpur constituency. All the four "raths" would cover 17 assembly segments each. The would take 20 to 22 days and in all over 250 meetings would be held enroute, a BJP release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An explosion on Thursday struck a kindergarten in eastern China while children were leaving the school, resulting in several casualties, the state media reported. At least seven dead and 59 injured in China kindergarten blast, according to an AFP report. The blast happened at around 4.50 pm. At the gate of the kindergarten in Fengxian County in east China's Jiangsu Province when children were leaving the school, officials were quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. Police said they are investigating and have no word yet on injuries or deaths. Witnesses said there were casualties, but the exact number is unclear, the report said. According to Hong Kong based South China Morning Post, dozens of people were reported to have been injured in the explosion. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, which rocked the kindergarten as parents were picking up children from the school. Pictures and videos posted online showed at least a dozen people lying outside the gate of the kindergarten, the paper said. Some victims were seen covered in blood while appeared to be unconscious and some even with their clothes burned off. Children were seen among the injured. "About 5 pm, we heard a blast and thought it might have been a gas explosion at a nearby food vendor," a local shop owner was quoted as saying by online news portal Sohu. "Many people could be dead," he said. In one video clip posted online, a man covered in blood was seen trying to stand up only to collapse again. His clothes appeared to have been burned off. In a separate video clip, people could be heard shouting: "Blast, blast, dial 110 quickly!" The gate of the kindergarten appeared to have been horribly bent, with shattered glass littering the scene. China in the past witnessed knife attacks on kindergarten school children by disgruntled people. An explosion of this magnitude was rare. India and other BRICS members today pledged to strengthen partnership and jointly usher in a second "golden decade" of cooperation among the major emerging economies. The pledge came during the second BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Sherpa meeting that began yesterday in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. Participants in the meeting reviewed the progress of BRICS cooperation in key areas such as political, security, economy, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and focused on the outcome of the upcoming 2017 BRICS Summit, which is scheduled between September 3-5 in the coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian Province, state-run Xinhua agency reported. "The five countries are not together by chance. The consensus building is very easy among us. We think very similarly on most issues such as international relations, foreign policy and the importance of the multilateral system," Brazilian sherpa Georges Lamaziere said. "We are all in favour of openness in the economy, free trade and climate change agreement, and I think that's the most important message that BRICS is sending to the world." Indian deputy sherpa Alok Dimri said the priority of BRICS is the economic and financial market forum, which focuses on the reform of the economic and global governance system. "There are multiple dimensions and initiatives on which BRICS is working together. We have the New Development Bank (NDB), which works on infrastructure, and lots of initiatives in the fields of finance and people-to-people exchanges," he said. The NDB, established by the BRICS in 2014, was a milestone for pragmatic financial cooperation among the BRICS. "The bank can be seen as a platform for the BRICS as a whole to reach out to other countries. One of its central aspects is to support the financing of infrastructure in member countries. So it will be able to assist the Belt and Road Initiative," said Paulo Batista, vice president of the NDB. "We are confident that the Xiamen summit will be a huge success and cement cooperation and interaction among all BRICS members. We are very impressed by China's thoughtful and productive preparation work. We think that the Xiamen summit will usher in the golden decade of BRICS," said Russian BRICS sherpa and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. The second BRICS Sherpa meeting was chaired by Li Baodong, sherpa for BRICS affairs and vice foreign minister of China, and attended by sherpas and sous-sherpas of BRICS countries and representatives from the NDB. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A top Chinese leader today appreciated Pakistan government and military's "firm support" to China in combating terrorism, days after two Chinese nationals were killed by the ISIS in restive Balochistan province. Yu Zhengsheng, the Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) today met Pakistan's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Zubair Mahmood Hayat here and appreciated Islamabad's support to Beijing in combating terrorism. Hailing the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan, Yu, said, "We appreciate the Pakistan government and military's firm support to China in fighting terrorism." His comments came as the two countries are grappling with the killing of two Chinese nationals by Islamic State millitants. Reports from Pakistan said the two were killed by the Islamic State militants after being abducted by gunmen dressed as policemen in Quetta in restive Balochistan province last month. Pakistan Interior Ministry said the two Chinese nationals were involved in "preaching" in the country along with a Korean group. China has offered to cooperate in investigating their alleged illegal preaching activities in the Muslim nation. Yu in his meeting with Zubair called for implementation of the consensus reached by the leaders of both countries to promote the construction of the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and forge a community of shared future, state-run Xinhua agency reported. Zubair said Pakistan would like to increase cooperation between the two militaries and provide security for the construction of the economic corridor. Zubair yesterday attended 12th China-Pakistan Defence and Security Consultation in Beijing. General Fang Fenghui, member of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) and chief of the Joint Staff Department conducted the dialogue on behalf of China. The two held in depth exchange of views on international and regional security situations and bilateral military relations, a defence ministry statement said. The consultation achieved positive results, it said. Fang said the bilateral military relations between the two Chinese military will promote the development of the Quadrilateral Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism in Counter-terrorism by Afghanistan-China-Pakistan-Tajikistan Armed Forces (Four-nation Counter-terror Mechanism), elevate the level of cooperation between the two militaries and jointly maintain the security and stable development of the region, Fang added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China is investigating claims of academic fraud involving mostly Chinese cancer researchers after more than 100 articles were withdrawn from a foreign medical journal. German publisher Springer announced in April the retraction of 107 articles from Tumor Biology after finding evidence the "peer review process was compromised". The papers had been produced by Chinese medical institutions and universities and published between 2012 and 2016. It is standard practise for scholars to submit their research to peers for scrutiny before publishing to ensure the integrity of their work, but fraud is a growing problem. China's Ministry of Science and Technology said it had "zero tolerance" for such behaviour and pledged to investigate "each and every paper retracted". Researchers involved in the mass retraction have had their projects and funding suspended, it added. "The incident has had a very bad influence, seriously tarnishing the international reputation of China's scientific circle and hurting the self-esteem of Chinese scientists," the ministry said yesterday. "But it also shows we need to strengthen punishment for academic fraud and to improve the academic atmosphere." The blog Retraction Watch said it had been told by Springer that "the reviews were submitted under the names of real researchers with faked emails. Some of the authors may have used a third-party editing service, which may have supplied the reviews." Tumor Biology is now published by SAGE Publications in the United States. It is not the first time Chinese medical experts have been caught faking peer reviews -- in 2015 London-based BioMed Central pulled 43 articles, which the Global Times said were mostly by Chinese researchers. In 2016 Springer retracted 64 articles from 10 journals, many written by Chinese contributors, the newspaper added. The latest incident highlighted the pressure on Chinese doctors in public hospitals to "publish a certain number of papers in national or international journals just to secure promotion or salary rises", Xinhua agency said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's cooperation in pressuring its close ally North Korea over its nuclear and missile programme is "notable but uneven", US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told lawmakers. "The approach we are taking with North Korea, as you're aware, is one of eliciting countries all over the world to support us in putting pressure on the regime in Pyongyang, to change and alter their position and their view before we are willing to sit down and conduct discussions with them," Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a Congressional hearing. Clearly, China is the capstone to achieving this kind of pressure, he said, adding that this was a topic of significant discussion in President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump's summit in Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. "The communications have been very clear. Our expectations have been very clear with the Chinese. Their cooperation, I would say, has been notable, but it has been uneven," he said. "And we continue that dialogue with the Chinese, specifically around their actions that support revenue streams to North Korea, but also taking action against entities inside of China that may be supporting revenue streams as well," Tillerson said. The Secretary of State said he along with Defense Secretary James Mattis will be having another high-level dialogue next week when they meet their Chinese counterparts here in Washington. "That will be one of the first topics on the agenda. We have made it clear to them, and we have provided them a list of entities that we believe they need to take action against. We have asked that they take the action, but President Trump has also been very clear with President Xi that if they either don't want to take the action or they do not take the action, we will act on our own," Tillerson said in response to a question. Responding to a series of questions on Taiwan, Tillerson said that there is no change in US' One-China policy. "The China-US relationship has been defined for the past 50 years by our One-China policy and our agreement around One-China policy. They have their interpretation of what that means, and we have ours, and we've agreed that we will accommodate each other's interpretation," he said. "But it has led to 50 years of stability in the region. It has prevented conflict. It has allowed for this enormous economic growth that has gone on, much of which we have benefited from," Tillerson said. "As we began our dialogue with Chinese leadership, with this new administration, as you know, there was some questioning of our commitment to (the) One China early on. The president has reaffirmed that we are committed to the One- China policy," he said. Tillerson asserted that the US is also completely committed to the Taiwan Relations Act, and fulfilling all of its commitments under it. "But we are also in a discussion with China, now, about what is our relationship going to be for the next 50 years. How do we enter another era of stability and absence of conflict? And Taiwan, clearly, to the Chinese, is a part of that discussion," he said. "So it is important, as we engage with them, that we are able to fulfill our commitments to Taiwan, which we have every intention of doing, and the question is, is the One China Policy sustainable for the next 50 years? And those are the kinds of discussions we're having," Tillerson said. The discussions are extremely complex in many regards, he said. "But this is what we seek is another 50 years of stability and no conflict with China in the Pacific region. Taiwan is a big element of that. North Korea is a big element of that. Their island building and militarisation of islands is a significant element of that," Tillerson said. "All of these are in our discussion with them about how do we define this relationship for the next half century, to ensure we have a continued era of no conflict and stability," said the Secretary of State. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The opposition Congress today demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged involvement of TRS government in irregularities in different land registrations in Telangana. However, state Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao dismissed Congress' allegations and said the Opposition party is only indulging in "mud-slinging" and false propaganda. State Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy, who led a delegation of party leaders to Raj Bhavan, sought the intervention of Governor E S L Narasimhan on the issue. "We represented to the Governor that resources and lands in and around Hyderabad, which belong to people, are going into the control of others (private individuals) in Telangana state more than what it used to be in Andhra Pradesh prior to its division. "We have submitted our doubts and some proofs to the Governor that the family members of chief minister, senior officers in chief minister's office and those close to chief minister are involved in this," Reddy told reporters after meeting Narasimhan. The PCC president raised doubts on TRS MP K Keshav Rao seeking to give up 50 acres of land registered in the name of his family members. "Would any one give up 50 acres of land if no wrong happened?" he asked. Reddy expressed "serious objection and doubts" over the participation of TRS MP from Nizamabad K Kavita, daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, in an official meeting convened by Rao on the issues related to land registration. The Congress leader said they have informed the Governor about "doubts" that some lands have been "illegally" transferred to MLAs who switched loyalties to TRS from their parent parties. Wondering how can the CID of state police, which functions under the Chief Minister, conduct an impartial probe into the issue, he demanded that a CBI inquiry be ordered in the matter. Claiming that "such a land scam has not probably happened anywhere in India," the PCC president said the Governor should directly intervene in the matter and "take appropriate action under the Constitution." The alleged irregularities pertain to land registrations in and around Hyderabad and the state government has ordered the CID of state police to inquire into it. Harish Rao, who countered the Congress' allegations, said no loss has occurred to the state exchequer and that the government took swift action when the issue of alleged illegal registrations came to light. "They say family members are involved. I am asking Uttam Kumar Reddy, make public the family members you say are involved," he said. Congress has not said anything fresh or concrete in the matter, the irrigation minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Thursday accused the dispensation of failing to fulfil its promise of creating two crore jobs every year, and asked the prime minister to make his position clear on BJP president Amit Shah's claim that it had never made such an electoral promise. Senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma also raised apprehension about the changes in H-1B visa rules by the US administration, and asked Modi to raise the issue with US President Donald Trump and seek credible assurances from him during his visit later this month. He dubbed as "futile" the prime minister's "much-delayed cosmetic" exercise of holding a meeting with Niti Ayog, the government's policy think-tank, on job creation and said it came after the government realised the seriousness of the crisis. "The prime minister should make it clear whether he agrees with his party president Amit Shah that the BJP had never promised to provide jobs or to create jobs. He should make his position clear. He cannot remain silent and if Amit Shah is right, this means another false promise and the complete betrayal (of the people) by the BJP," he told reporters. He said the prime minister should stop making false claims and he must realise after three years in power that the time for propaganda and publicity was over. "Did the prime minister not talk about job creation for the youth of the country? When it is time for giving answers, they are making excuses," Sharma said. He said it was time to give an account of the "miserable performance of his government, his failure to provide jobs as promised". Sharma said this government was giving wrong answers and it would be better if Modi talked honestly instead of continuing to make false claims and admitted his mistake before the people of the country and apologised. Raising the issue of H-1B visas, Sharma has said there has been a fall of 37 per cent in such visas to Indians and asked Modi to raise the issue with Trump during his visit to the US. "He should demand and obtain credible and firm assurances from US President Donald Trump that he will reverse his decision which discriminates against Indian professionals... He cannot return empty-handed," the Congress leader said. "We do not want mere statements and photographs. We want answers and also how the prime minister responds and registers our protest over the disparaging observations made about the Republic of India recently when US decided to walk out of the Paris (climate) pact. We will wait for the prime minister's response or reaction," he said. The Congress leader has demanded that the government publish a list of Indians who have been provided with jobs since Modi came to power in 2014. Hurling petrol bombs and stones, Gorkhaland supporters today fought pitched battles with police, who broke up protests, bursting teargas shells and baton-charging violent crowds, plunging Darjeeling hills into deeper turmoil. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), meanwhile, called an indefinite shutdown after police raided premises connected to its chief Bimal Gurung and some other leaders. The outfit had earlier called a shutdown of the offices of the state government and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), which its controls. The centre today rushed an additional 400 paramilitary personnel to Darjeeling to help the local administration restore peace. These are in addition to around 1000 personnel, including 200 women, already stationed there, a home ministry official said in New Delhi. GJM supporters surrounded a police contingent at Patlebas when it was returning after a series of raids on premises connected with Gurung, whose separatist campaign is escalating fast after it joined forces with arch rival Gorkha National Liberation front (GNLF) two days ago, and attacked them. GNLF, an ally of the Trinamool Congress, had yesterday snapped its ties with West Bengal's ruling party, giving a fillip to the agitation for a separate state of Gorkhaland. "They (GJM) threw stones, hurled petrol bombs and fired on the police," S N Gupta, an IG rank officer who has been tasked by the state government with handling the volatile situation in Darjeeling, told reporters. Gupta and two other senior West Bengal officers are camping in town to ensure the situation does not spiral out of control. A media vehicle was also set ablaze by the protesters. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata, "We want peace in the hills. There is peace in Bengal. If anybody violates law, the administration will take action. Law will take its own course". "There was peace in the hills. A few leaders are doing goondagiri (hooliganism). But one cannot do politics with guns and bombs. We will curb their violent agitation," she later said at a police event in Kolkata. "We are with the people of the hills. A conspiracy was hatched to disturb peace there. We will not allow this," she said, adding "we are ready to shed blood, but will not allow peace to be disturbed in the hills." There were reports of clashes between police and protesters from several places, as they threw stones at each other. Baton-wielding policemen were seen chasing away the agitators and bursting teargas shells to break up protests. Earlier in the day, police seized more than 300 weapons, including pickaxes, bows and arrows, explosives, night vision binoculars and cash during raids on premises connected with Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills at the peak of the tourist season. The separatist stir in the hills, known the world over for producing aromatic tea, is fast turning into a major political headache for the Mamata Banerjee government and is likely to cripple the tourism industry, critical to the region's economy. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us by using huge police force", GJM general secretary Roshan Giri, who is in the national capital, told PTI. The Centre and the state government should resolve the "political problem", he said. Later in the day, Giri, accompanied by BJP MP from Darjeeling S S Ahluwalia, met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and sought the Centre's intervention to restore peace in the hill district and "foil" West Bengal government's attempt to make teaching Bengali language mandatory in schools. The GJM is an ally of the Centre's ruling NDA. "We have apprised the home minister of the prevailing situation in Darjeeling and Mamata Banerjee government's attempts to impose Bengali in schools in Darjeeling. We have urged him for immediate central intervention to bring back peace there," Giri told reporters after meeting Singh. Giri said the West Bengal government was "conspiring to suppress the democratic movement for Gorkhaland by using force and brutal methods". "We strongly condemn the raids at our offices in Darjeeling. Whatever the police found in our offices were planted by police themselves," he claimed. On the recovery of weapons, Giri had earlier said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition. What is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition." Giri said Bengali and Nepali, the language spoken in Darjeeling, are in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution and hence equal respect should be shown to both. "We will not accept imposition of Bengali in Darjeeling," he asserted. The GJM leader said the home minister assured them that he would speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue and try to find a solution. Ahluwalia demanded that the Mamata Banerjee government issue an official order clarifying that teaching of Bengali language will not be made mandatory in Darjeeling in order to address the concerns of the people in the hills. Police sources said in Darjeeling that some GJM activists also were arrested during raids at Singmari and Patlebas. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official told PTI speaking on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. The developments came a day after Gurung declared the GJM's campaign will not stop until a separate Gorkhaland state has been created. He has asked tourists to avoid visiting Darjeeling. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ahead of the International Yoga Day on June 21, Esri India, a leading Geographic Information System (GIS) Software & Solutions provider, has launched an app to help yoga enthusiasts locate a Yoga Centre. The app - Yogamplify is available through web and mobile phones and using it, the organizers can list their International Yoga Day events and provide details like location, timing and capacity. This information will be placed on an interactive map. Yoga enthusiasts can view the yoga events organized near their locations on the map and find the best way to reach there, Ersi India President, Agendra Kumar said in a release here. This app makes use of Esri's Cloud known as ArcGIS Online, Kumar said. "Esri India supports government's vision for promoting Yoga around the globe. Yoga day is a global event that promotes yoga for healthy living." he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seeking total exemption on yarn and fabric from Goods and Services Tax (GST), the cloth merchants of Ludhiana today observed a complete strike against the Centre's new tax regime. A protest rally was organised at Badhaur House market in which traders demanded rollback of GST on these items. Pawan Batra, a senior leader of the traders, said that there was no tax on cloth till now. "Once the GST regime kicks in, a tax of 5 per cent will be levied on yarn and fabric. Additionally, a 5 per cent GST will have to be paid by workers doing works like embroidery, etc.," he said. Ravinder Arora, president of the Ludhiana unit of the BJP and Ajit Lakra, Bepoar Mandal Secretary also addressed the traders. Later a delegation of the cloth merchants met Union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, who was in the city today and expressed their apprehensions about imposition of the GST on these items. The minister assured them that he would convey their sentiments to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Farmers have threatened to block the traffic for three hours tomorrow on all national highways in Haryana as part of their protest against the death of five cultivators in police firing in Madhya Pradesh and failure of the Centre to provide relief to the farming community. As part of their nationwide call, farmers owing allegiance to different unions will block traffic for three hours tomorrow on all national highways across Haryana, a senior BKU leader said today. In view of their protest, the Haryana police too has taken necessary steps to deal with the situation. Haryana Director General of Police, B S Sandhu said that all necessary security measures have been taken in the state in view of the tomorrow's protest. Four companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Sonepat and Jind, he said. "At a meeting in the national capital on Saturday, the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, a group of 62 farmers' unions, announced that it will block traffic for three hours on all national highways across the country," senior Bharatiya Kisan Union leader from Haryana, Gurnam Singh said. He said the decision to block traffic was taken to protest the killing of five famrers in firing incident in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, and the alleged failure of the BJP government to provide relief to the farming community. "From June 11 to June 15, the farmers in Haryana and at other places in the country held peaceful demonstrations. But tomorrow, there will be a pan-India blockade of highways," he said. In Haryana, he said, the farmers would be holding protests at Ambala, Rohtak, Sonepat, Hisar, Sirsa, Jind, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri and other places. Singh said it was unfortunate that the BJP had ignored its election promise of implementing the Swaminathan Commission report. "Swaminathan Commission report should be implemented without any delay and all kind of loans of farmers across the country should be waived," Singh said. The National Commission on Farmers, headed by eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan, in its final report had said: "The Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Suicide bombers struck a crowded Shiite mosque in Kabul late today, killing four people in the latest in a series of militant attacks to rattle the Afghan capital during the holy month of Ramadan. At least eight others were wounded when the bombers blew themselves up in the kitchen of Al Zahra mosque after police prevented them from entering the prayer hall packed with worshippers. The carnage comes at a time Kabul is already on edge following a wave of deadly bombings, which triggered angry public protests calling for the resignation of President Ashraf Ghani's government over spiralling insecurity. "Terrorist attack on Al Zahra mosque in west of Kabul," ministry spokesman Najib Danish said. "Three civilians and one policeman was killed and eight others were wounded." No group has so far claimed responsibility for the assault, but minority Shiite areas in Kabul have been frequently targeted in the past by Islamic State militants. The rise of the Islamic State group has raised the spectre of sectarian discord in Afghanistan, something that the Sunni-majority country has largely been spared despite decades of war. Last year Afghanistan witnessed a wave of attacks on Shiites claimed by IS, which considers Shiite Muslims apostates. The attack occurred as worshippers were preparing for an all-night congregation on a night of Ramadan that holds special significance for Shiites. The Taliban, Afghanistan's biggest militant group locked in a fierce rivalry with IS, denied it was behind Thursday's attack, with a spokesman saying they do not attack places of worship. General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, has pledged to defeat the local IS affiliate this year. In April the US military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb ever used on an IS stronghold in eastern Afghanistan, killing dozens of jihadists, but the group still appears to be resilient. Islamic State fighters this week captured Tora Bora, a mountain cave complex in eastern Afghanistan that was once the hideout of Osama bin Laden, despite pressure on the jihadists from US-led forces. Kabul has been on edge since a massive truck bomb on May 31 killed more than 150 people and wounded hundreds in the city's fortified diplomatic quarter, the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since 2001. Just days later protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting authorities to respond with live rounds, which left at least four people dead. Separately, suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners at the funeral for one of the protesters, killing at least seven more people. The carnage during the holy fasting month of Ramadan has left the Afghan capital shaken, with anti-government protesters incensed by the violence setting up a sit-in camp close to the May 31 bombing site. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As its separatist campaign in the Darjeeling hills spiralled deeper into violence, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today sought central intervention to bring back peace in the district and "foil" the West Bengal government's "attempt" to make Bengali mandatory in schools. GJM general secretary Roshan Giri and BJP's Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and placed their demands before him. "We have apprised the home minister of the prevailing situation in Darjeeling and the Mamata Banerjee government's attempts to impose Bengali in the district-based schools. We have urged him for immediate central intervention to bring back peace there," Giri told reporters after meeting Singh. The GJM leader said they will not participate in the June 19 tripartite meeting called by the Home Ministry to discuss issues related to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and his party would talk only about a separate state. Giri said the West Bengal government is conspiring to suppress the democratic movement for Gorkhaland brutally by using force. "We strongly condemn the raids on our offices in Darjeeling. Whatever the police found in our offices were planted by police themselves," he said. Giri said both Bengali and Nepali, the languages spoken in Darjeeling, are in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution and hence, equal respect should be given to both. "We will not accept the imposition of Bengali in Darjeeling," he said. The GJM leader said the home minister assured them that he would speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue and try to find a solution. Ahluwalia said the Mamata Banerjee government must issue an official order declaring Bengali will not be made mandatory in Darjeeling, to assuage the feelings of the people of the hills. He said there should be political action and a political solution to the Gorkhaland issue and the use of police force cannot be acceptable. Protesters and riot police today hurled stones at each other, while a series of raids uncovered weapons from premises connected to the movement's chief, Bimal Gurung. The demand by the GJM for a separate state of Gorkhaland to be carved out of the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal is fast turning into a major political crisis for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and is likely to cripple the critical tourist industry during the peak summer season. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a stern warning to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which is spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said her government would curb its "violent agitation". "There was peace in the hills. A few leaders are doing goondagiri (hooliganism). But, one cannot do politics with guns and bombs. We will curb their violent agitation," she said while speaking at a police programme here. "We are with the people of the hills. A conspiracy was hatched to disturb the peace there. We will not allow this," Banerjee said, adding, "We are ready to shed blood, but will not allow the peace to be disturbed in the hills." She also said the GJM will not be allowed to "do politics by taking away the livelihood of the people". Referring to the June 8 incident in Darjeeling during the state cabinet meeting there, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said, "I have never seen the way they (GJM) planned to attack the ministers. For two hours, they resorted to hurling bombs. There was an intelligence failure. That was why we had to take action." Darjeeling Superintendent of Police Amit Javalgi was removed from his post in the aftermath of the June 8 incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government on Thursday made it clear that it will not be an "adjudicator" in cases of alleged corruption in the judiciary and asked the judiciary to evolve a robust mechanism within to deal with complaints against judges. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also said any future move to bring a fresh law on judicial appointments will require a bipartisan decision after the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act was struck down by the Supreme Court. Responding to a question on corruption charges against judges, he said the judiciary has to address the issue of complaints against judges. "As far as the issue of corruption in the judiciary is concerned, the government does not wish to be an adjudicator. Any issue of impropriety must be addressed to the judiciary. The larger issue of impeachment (of a judge) will be dealt with by Parliament," he said. The Law Minister also said the judiciary must address the issue of complaints through a robust mechanism, stressing this is important for the independence of the institution. Prasad's remarks on robust mechanism assume significance because a new Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) a guide to appoint judges to the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts has been pending for nearly one-and-a-half years due to differences between the executive and the judiciary. One of the changes suggested in the existing MoP by the government is the setting up of a secretariat to screen those who have been nominated for appointment as judges and deal with complaints against judges. The Supreme Court collegium a body of top five SC judges had sent the draft MoP back to the government in March due to disagreements over several clauses. Prasad refused to speak on the differences saying several differences have been resolved and the MoP is a "work in progress". He said though the new MoP has not been finalised, the appointment of judges continues. There is already an in-house mechanism in the judiciary to deal with complaints against judges. Differences between the executive and the judiciary escalated when Parliament passed the NJAC Act, but it was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional and void. "Despite our reservations and 99.9 per cent unanimity in Parliament, we have accepted that decision," Prasad said. Asked whether a similar new law could be brought, he said, "What is to be done in the future, I cannot say. Obviously, this will require a bipartisan decision", clearly indicating that a unanimous approach by Parliament was needed to bring a new law on judicial appointments to overturn the collegium system of judges appointing judges. He said the present government has notified maximum appointments of judges since 1989. He said 249 judges in the 24 high courts have been appointed in the last three years of the Modi government. The minister said a record 126 judges of the HCs were appointed in 2016 alone. He, however, expressed concern on the large number of vacancies in the subordinate judiciary which, he said, has a vacancy of 6,000. He also said the entire responsibility of recruitment is in the domain of the respective high courts. "Neither the Centre nor the states have much role to play in that," he added. Prasad said the government is hopeful of setting up of a UPSC-type exam for appointment at the level of district judges. With the apex court, too, showing its willingness, he said, "It is moving in the right directions." In a relief to former chief minister and state JDS chief H D Kumaraswamy, the Karnataka High Court today directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) not to arrest him till June 20 in an illegal mining case. Justice Rathnakala passed the order on an application for anticipatory bail moved by Kumaraswamy after the special court turned down his bail plea on Tuesday in the Janthakal mining company case. The judge then posted the matter to June 20. Kumaraswamy, son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, is accused of putting immense pressure on the then commissioner of mines, Gangaram Baderiya, to clear a file in favour of Janthakal mining firm in 2007, when he was the chief minister. Baderiya, now the principal secretary (revenue), was arrested by the SIT on May 15 for allegedly allowing the firm to illegally lift one million tonnes of mined ore inChitradurga, based on forged documents. The SIT had summoned Kumaraswamy, following the arrestof Baderiya. Kumaraswamy had earlier saidthat he had no role in the case and would come out clean. He also had accused the Congress government of targeting him ahead of the 2018 assembly polls. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters today, Kumaraswamy said he has nothingto fear and knows about the strength of the case. He also questioned as to why the government which isfast tracking the Janthakal mining case involving him was not taking similar action relating to former chief minister Dharam Singh who is also facing charges in the case. Asked whether he was being victimised, he said, "Thereis no doubt about it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following are the top stories from the northern region at 2215 HRS: DEL21 JK-CEASEFIRE Jammu: Pakistan violated the ceasefire by shelling mortars and firing small arms on forward posts and civilians areas along the LoC in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing strong retaliation from Indian troops. DES1 DL-AAP-FINE New Delhi: The Public Works Department of the Delhi government slapped a fine of Rs 27 lakh on the AAP for "unauthorised occupation" of a bungalow in Rouse Avenue. DES14 HP-LD ACCIDENT Dharamsala: A private tourist bus from Amritsar fell into a gorge near Dhaliara, killing 10 passengers and injuring 55 others. DES7 UKD-SCAM CBI Dehradun: The CBI has decided to launch a probe into alleged irregularities running into crores of rupees in the procurement of land for National Highway 74 in Udham Singh Nagar district. DES13 MHA-PARAMILITARY TOLL REJECT New Delhi: A proposal to exempt private cars of paramilitary personnel from paying toll on national highways has been rejected by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. DES15 MHA-POLICE-MEDAL-WITHDRAWAL New Delhi: In a rare instance, a gallantry medal given to a Punjab Police officer in 1997 was withdrawn by the President after the awardee was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. DES27 PB-WRITER Chandigarh: Noted Punjabi playwright Ajmer Singh Aulakh passes away at his residence in Mansa in Punjab. DES35 NCR-TWINS DIE IN CAR Gurgaon: Two five-year-old twin sisters were suffocated to death after being trapped inside a car while playing in Pataudi in Gurgaon. DES51 JK-STONE PELTING FIRING Srinagar: A civilian was critically injured as security forces opened fire on a stone-pelting mob in Rangreth area on the outskirts of the city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Haryana government has decided to install 109 mobile phone jammers in all 19 jails of the state, except the one in Gurgaon, to strengthen the security in prisons. The state government has already sent a proposal to the Centre to sanction about Rs 10.64 crore for installating 17 mobile jammers in the Gurgaon district jail. "The proposal, approved by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, will cost over Rs 68.22 crore for which a budgetary provision has been made in the current financial year," an official spokesperson said here today. In the first phase, 14 mobile phone jammers would be installed by a Government of India undertaking, he said. There are three central jails in Ambala and Hisar and 16 district jails in Gurugram, Faridabad, Jind, Karnal, Narnaul, Rohtak, Sonepat, Palwal, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Rewari, Sirsa, Yamunanagar and Panipat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India cruised into the final of ICC Champions Trophy with a thumping nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh here today. The defending champions will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the title clash on Sunday. Needing 265 for victory, India chased down the target with 59 balls to spare at the Edgbaston. Earlier, sent into bat by India skipper Virat Kohli, Bangladesh scored 264 for seven in the allotted 50 overs. Brief scores: Bangladesh: 264/7 in 50 overs (Tamim 70, Mushfiqur 61; Bumrah 2/40). India: 266/1 in 40.1 overs (Rohit Sharma 123 not out, Virat Kohli 96 not out). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan author Sabyn Javeri, who has just come out with a political whodunit on a former prime minister's assassination, says India is a fabulous platform for writers from her country. Javeri's debut novel "Nobody Killed Her" is about love, loyalty, obsession and deception and is set against a backdrop of intrigue and political machinations. It is a tale of intense friendship between two ambitious women - Prime Minister Rani Shah and her close confidante Nazneen Khan or Nazo Khan - and unfolds in a country steeped in fanaticism and patriarchy. The book was first supposed to be published in the UK but things did not work out for Javeri. And then, to her relief, an Indian agent helped her and finally her book was published by HarperCollins India. She terms the Indian publishing industry as a great platform for Pakistani writers. "Indian publishing industry is doing a fabulous job for authors, particularly for those from Pakistan. The publishers don't care about your nationality, your gender or your age. All they care is that the story has to be good," Javeri, who was in India recently, told PTI. "I feel there is a lot of interest in India about Pakistani authors and their works and people of both the countries share a lot in common," she says. This was her second visit to India, the first being in 2007 for an event on the invitation of writer-publisher Ritu Menon. Recalling some of the difficult times she faced initially in getting her book published, Javeri says, "When I first began this novel, I started blogging about it. So an editor in London got in touch with me on Facebook and later offered to publish it. I was elated. However, when the novel was in its finishing stages of production, they realised that they could not publish it." "The editor also quit and my agent left and I had a difficult time, disappointed and dejected feeling that it's not going to happen," she says. Then she came back to Karachi and subsequently got in touch with an Indian literary agent. "I got a positive feedback and then I decided to rewrite my novel. I decided to make it Nazo Khan's story. That created a lot of interest and looked more publishable," she says. "Many publishers evinced interest in my book and finally I chose Harper because they had done political novels before," she says. Her next project will be a book of short stories titled "Hijabistan" on the theme of the hijab or the veil which is used as a metaphor. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The country should stand up to a parallel war being waged by an "Islamised social milieu" in Jammu & Kashmir, Panun Kashmir leader Ajay Chrangoo said today on the sidelines of the ongoing All India Hindu convention. Around 130 Hindu organisations from as many as 21 states in the country and from Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are participating in the four-day convention, which began yesterday at Ramnathi village. "Treating the Jihadi movement merely as terrorism is a self deception and Indian state not only has to stand up to a relentless war by terror, but also to a parallel war being waged by an Islamised social milieu in the J&K," the Panun Kashmir national spokesman said in a joint press conference with leaders of some Hindu organisations at the venue of the event. He said the public disruption of encounters with terrorists, including stone-pelting, constitutes a part of the Jihadi war where civil society is being used as a "sanctuary as well as a civilian shield". Hindu Janjagruti Samiti's (HJS') national spokesman Ramesh Shinde said the government can no longer afford to ignore the activities like holding of "pseudo-peace conclaves" or the statements of so-called mainstream Muslim leaders who supported the secessionist movement in Jammu and Kashmir. "It is high time the Government of India recognise these conclaves and political expressions as essentially subversive in nature which are aimed at meeting the objective of Jihad half way," he stated. Shinde said certain "so-called peaceniks" have been meddling in the affairs of J&K only to demoralise the security forces who are facing a war like situation in the state. Panun Kashmir's Youth leader Rahul Kaul said there is no permanent solution to the Jihadi war except its military as well as ideological defeat. "It is only in the best interest of India, and the world, that such fundamental Jihad forces and motives are crushed completely to ensure that we are able to save a peaceful and beautiful world for our progeny. "We also want to state that the murder of a police personnel Sameer Bhat in Kashmir while on duty by his own colleague is the testimony to the fact that genocidal war against Hindus of Kashmir is going on unabated," Kaul said while demanding a probe by the CBI. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India today welcomed the creation a UN office on counter terrorism, saying the "much- awaited" step will align the world body with the changed needs and international reality in the fight against terrorism. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution here to establish a United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressing hope that this reform of the UN counter-terrorism architecture will contribute to the world body's broader efforts to promote conflict prevention, sustainable peace and development. Welcoming the creation of the new UN office, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said the unanimous action by the General Assembly on the issue demonstrates the importance the member-states place on collective and coordinated action on terrorism, which remains the most complex threat faced by the international community. "India believes that the creation of the Office of Counter Terrorism Coordinator is a much awaited first step in our efforts to enhance coordination of the UN's CT (counter- terrorism) efforts," Akbaruddin said in the General Assembly. "It will align the UN with the changed global reality and needs of the international community" as was articulated by the secretary-general himself in Kabul where he referred to the reform and said that support to terrorism entails a high price. Addressing reporters in Kabul, Guterres had warned that any country that supports terrorism anywhere in the world in relation to other countries, "sooner or later the price paid will be high in relations to terrorism within the country itself." Akbaruddin said terrorist organisations are not bound by the borders, norms, legal frameworks and bureaucratic inertia that bind nations as member states and the UN at all levels. "While Terrorist networks use modern platforms such as social media, cyber space and exist in parallel worlds alongside us in hidden trans-national networks, we cannot work in silos created either by boundaries or bureaucracy," he said. Akbaruddin underscored that there was never a stronger case today for more multilateral action, coordination and cooperation on any matter amongst all stakeholders than on terrorism. He noted that an all of UN approach and a certain convening power on counter-terrorism issues will be crucial for the new office to fulfill its functions effectively. "The office should not only engage member states at a higher political level but also cooperate with other international organizations dealing with issues relating to terrorism for fulfilling its mandate effectively," he said adding that it is important to build the UN narrative on counter terrorism for the ordinary people who are threatened by this scourge. A statement issued by Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Secretary-General considers counter- terrorism and prevention of violent extremism to be one of the highest priorities of the United Nations to address a growing threat to international peace and security. "The secretary-general expects the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre within the new Office of Counter- Terrorism to play a central role in the provision of enhanced capacity building assistance to member-states," the statement added. India had repeatedly stressed on the need for "coherence and coordination" at the UN in dealing with terrorism. It had lamented that as many as 31 entities within the United Nations deal with some aspect of countering terrorism, calling it a case of "too many cooks spoil the broth. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) IndiGo today barred TDP MP J C Diwakar Reddy from its flights following his alleged unruly behaviour at the Visakhapatnam airport after being denied boarding as he had reached late. Telugu Desam Party's J C Diwakar Reddy was scheduled to fly IndiGo's flight 6E-608, which departs from Visakhapatnam at 8.10 am, to Hyderabad. But he reached just 28 minutes before the scheduled departure, according to the airline. As per norms laid out by the aviation regulator, airlines close check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure. The MP was later accommodated on the same flight. Later, the airline, however, said it would not permit him on its flights. IndiGo will not allow Reddy on its flights, a top airline official told PTI. Reddy -- who had allegedly vandalised the Air India office at Gannavaram airport in Vijaywada last year after he missed his flight -- got into a verbal spat with the ground staff and threw a printer kept at the airline's counter after he was informed that boarding for his flight had closed. Television channels also showed CCTV visuals of him allegedly pushing an IndiGo employee. "The staff politely informed him that boarding for flight 6E-608 is closed and offered to accommodate Mr Reddy in the subsequent flight. Mr Reddy expressed his annoyance and soon raged against the staff using aggressive and abusive behaviour," IndiGo had said in a statement earlier. The airline maintained that any untoward conduct which compromises the safety and security of passengers and staff is a serious concern. Safety and security of passengers, crew and the aircraft is the top priority and it cannot be compromised, it added. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju also belongs to the TDP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two infants suffering from foetal development issues of the liver got a second chance to life after undergoing a rare surgery at hospitals in the national capital region. In both the cases, the parents of the infants donated portion of their livers. Azariah Malala and Lilaz Bakhtiyar were both suffering from foetal development issues of the liver which posed a threat to their health and vitality, experts said. Azhariah, a six-month-old boy from Samoa Island near Fiji, was brought to Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon and diagnosed with a rare congenital defect called Biliary Atresia with cystic malformation of biliary tract. This is a condition in which the bile duct is not developed completely and is blocked, thereby not draining the bile from the liver. This results in stretching and blockage of blood supply to liver, mainly portal vein which supplies 75 per cent of blood to liver. Doctors performed an eight-hour-long liver transplant surgery on the baby, whose father donated 25 per cent of his liver to his son. The other infant, 21-month-old Lilaz Bakhtiyar, from Iraq, was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a condition in which the bile duct is not formed in the foetal stage. At three months of age, Lilaz had undergone a biopsy which helped diagnose the congenital abnormality. Her mother (A blood group) donated a portion of her liver to Lilaz who has O blood group. "Intensive treatment for removal of antibodies was done before surgery to minimise the risk of rejection. Surgery was uneventful and child was discharged in satisfactory condition, said Dr Vivek Vij, Director, Liver Transplant, Fortis Healthcare, Okhla. "Children with the foetal form of biliary atresia are more likely to require liver transplants, usually sooner rather than later. The need for a transplant is decided by the extent of damage and how badly the liver is diseased. "Paediatric patients account for about 12.5 per cent of liver transplant recipients. Biliary atresia is reason for transplant in paediatric age group in 50 per cent of patients," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iranian forces have killed two suspected members of an armed group in a Sunni-majority southeastern region and arrested five others, a minister said, accusing Saudi Arabia of "sponsoring terrorists" in the country. "A group of seven terrorists who wanted to attack a barracks in Chabahar (in Sistan Baluchistan province) was dismantled" yesterday, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said, quoted by the official agency IRNA. "Five people, including two nationals from a neighbouring country, were arrested and two others were killed. Unfortunately, an intelligence agent was also killed," he added. Sistan-Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, has seen repeated attacks by Sunni militants against the security forces of mainly Shiite Iran. A second "terrorist group" was broken up in Iranian Kurdistan in the northwest, Alavi said, without elaborating. "Saudi Arabia is sponsoring terrorist groups in Iran," he said. Tensions between the regional rivals flared after twin attacks on June 7 on the parliament and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran in which 17 people were killed. The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has accused Saudi Arabia of involvement in the attacks. After the assaults, dozens of suspects were arrested in Tehran and in the northwestern provinces of Kermanshah, Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan, as well as in Sistan- Baluchistan. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday also pointed the finger at Riyadh. "We have intelligence that Saudi Arabia is actively engaged in promoting terrorist groups operating on the eastern side of Iran in Baluchistan," Zarif said in Norway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Islamic State group said its fighters have captured Osama bin Laden's infamous Tora Bora mountain hideout in eastern Afghanistan but the Taliban today dismissed the claim, saying they were still in control of the cave complex that once housed the former al-Qaida leader. Earlier, IS released an audio recording, saying its signature black flag was flying over the hulking mountain range. The message was broadcast on the militants' Radio Khilafat station in the Pashto language late yesterday. It also said IS has taken over several districts and urged villagers who fled the fighting to return to their homes and stay indoors. A Taliban spokesman denied IS was in control, claiming instead that the Taliban had pushed IS back from some territory the rival militants had taken in the area. The Tora Bora mountains hide a warren of caves in which al-Qaeda militants led by bin Laden hid from US coalition forces in 2001, after the Taliban fled Kabul and before he fled to neighbouring Pakistan. According to testimony from al-Qaeda captives in the US prison at Guantamo Bay, Cuba, bin Laden fled from Tora Bora first to Afghanistan's northeastern Kunar province, before crossing the border into Pakistan. He was killed in a 2011 raid by US Navy SEALs on his hideout in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. Pakistan complained the raid violated its sovereignty while bin Laden's presence, barely a few miles from the Pakistani equivalent of America's West Point military academy, reinforced allegations by those who accused Pakistan of harboring the Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. Pakistan denies such charges, pointing to senior al-Qaida operatives it has turned over to the United States. Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that Taliban fighters pushed back the Islamic State group from areas of Tora Bora that IS had earlier captured. Mujahid claimed that more than 30 IS fighters were killed in battle. He also added that a US airstrike on Taliban positions yesterday that killed 11 of its fighters had benefited the Islamic State group. The remoteness of the area makes it impossible to independently verify the contradictory claims. Afghan officials earlier said that fighting between IS and the Taliban, who had controlled Tora Bora, began on Tuesday but couldn't confirm its capture. Afghan Defense Ministry's spokesman Daulat Waziri would not say whether IS was in complete control of Tora Bora. But he said Afghan forces engaged IS militants in the Chapahar district of eastern Nagarhar province, killing five and pushing them out of the area. The province, which borders Pakistan, is the main foothold of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan. An affiliate of the IS, which is fighting in Syria and Iraq, emerged over the past two years and seized territory, mainly in Nangarhar. The Afghan forces' offencive will continue toward Tora Bora, Waziri said on Thursday, adding that if the Afghans "need air support from NATO, they are ready to help us." While the United States estimates there are about 800 IS fighters in Afghanistan, mostly restricted to Nangarhar, other estimates say their ranks also include thousands of battle- hardened Uzbek militants. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's spy agency ISI supports the Haqqani network and the country's government could do away with the leadership of the terror outfit if it wishes, a top US Senator said today as he demanded a reduction in the US' aid to Pakistan. Republican Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Pakistan was welcome to buy US arms with its own money, but not through the American tax payers' money. "Pakistan's intelligence services (ISI) we know support the Haqqani Network. We know that the government of Pakistan, if they wished, could do away with the leadership of the Haqqani Network," Corker told Indian reporters at a fund raiser organised by the US-India Security Council here. Corker, who leads the Senate in formulating America's foreign policy, was instrumental in blocking sale of F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan with the US aid. "I mean we should be reducing the amount of aid that goes to Pakistan because we've always said the Pakistani relationship has been one where people have said we don't want it to be a transactional relationship. We'd like for it to be a real relationship. But the fact is, it's a transactional relationship," he said in response to a question. "And that's not really the kind of relationship that will be. It's not a relationship you can count upon. We'd like for their behaviour to change and I'd like to see that happen before we spend a lot more money in dealing with them," said Corker, who would be playing a key role in approval of US aid to Pakistan in the next year's budget. The 64-year-old Senator from Tennessee rued that over the years the US had supported Pakistan with a lot of aid and money "that has not really produced the kind of results that it should". "I'm very disappointed in the relationship. We should be reducing the amount of aid that goes to Pakistan," he said as he explained the relationship between the Haqqani network and the intelligence community. Members of the US-India Security Council, a non-profit organisation with the mission of increasing interaction between the security communities of the two countries, urged Corker to lead a delegation of Senators and defence industry representatives to India. Corker said he was looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month when he vists Washington. The Haqqani network has carried out a number of kidnappings and attacks against US interests in Afghanistan. The group is also blamed for several deadly attacks against Indian interests in Afghanistan, including the 2008 bombing of the Indian mission in Kabul that killed 58 people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Unidentified men barged into a jewellery shop in Malviya Nagar today and decamped with valuables worth lakhs, the police said today. According to Vaibhav Jain, the shop owner, four or five men entered the shop around 11 AM. Two of them were carrying country made pistols and the others had meat-chopping knives, he said. "They threatened us and abused us and decamped with jewellery items they could lay their hands on," he added. The accused were wearing helmets so they have not been identified yet, the police said. Jain said the loss must be close to Rs 70 lakh. Police said they are looking at CCTV footage from the area to identify the accused and are questioning employees of the shop. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two high-profile militants of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) have escaped from the heavily guarded Central Jail here, following which 12 policemen were arrested, a senior official said today. Under trial prisoners, Shaikh Mohammad Mumtaz alias Firoon alias Sher Khan and Mohammad Ahmed Khan alias Muna escaped from the judicial complex, which is adjacent to the prison. However, authorities are yet to confirm the exact time of their escape. "What is mysterious, is that the prison officials informed the police department about the escape after much delay," SSP Rana Umar Khatab said. "We still don't know about the timing of the escape. But already 12 police officials, including the central prison's Superintendent Ghulam Murtaza Shaikh, Deputy Superintendent Faheem Memon and Assistant Superintendent Abdul Rehman Shaikh, have been arrested and FIRs registered against them," he said. The two "hardcore" militants were arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in 2013, the SSP said. "Their arrest helped us destroy the Naeem Bukhari group LJ cell in Karachi," he said, adding "we just hope they don't regroup now". According to a senior official of the Sindh police's counter-terrorism cell, Mumtaz and Ahmad Khan had "confessed" to dozens of target killings and terrorist acts. Mumtaz of Orangi town is said to be involved in the targeted killing of 57 people, including members of the Shia community and police. He was charged in 32 cases. Ahmed Khan of Korangi was involved in seven targeted killings. The officer admitted that the police considered the escape as a "worrying development". In October 2014, a timely operation by the Rangers had led to the discovery of a 45-metre tunnel that was being built just a few meters from the Central Jail, apparently to aid the escape of 100 "dangerous militants". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The case of controversial former Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan calls for greater scrutiny and screening of the judiciary, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today. "As regards a specific case of a specific judge, I would not like to make any comment, except observe that may be there is a case for greater scrutiny and screening of judiciary. The particular incident you have quoted only underscores the compelling need," he told reporters here. The minister was asked to comment on the failure of state machinery to implement a Supreme Court order to send Karnan behind bars for six months for contempt of court. Justice Karnan had last week ended his tenure as a fugitive from law. He has been evading arrest since May 9 after being sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court. He has the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the apex court. A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar had passed the unprecedented arrest order against Karnan. Justice Karnan was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on March 11, 2016. He was transferred from the Madras High Court for his repeated allegations and run-ins with its then chief justice and fellow judges. The high court judge had on February 15, 2016 stayed his transfer order, which was suspended by the Supreme Court. The apex court had even asked the chief justice of the Madras High Court not to assign Karnan any judicial work. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With less than a month left for the rollout of the GST, the 'Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017' was unanimously passed by the state assembly here today. Before Karnataka, as many as 24 states and Union Territories had passed the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) bill in their respective legislative assemblies. As per the GST Constitutional amendment, all states have to pass SGST bills by September 15, 2017, failing which they will lose their taxation powers. Piloting the bill, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state has always been at the forefront of issues like implementing tax reforms, including VAT. "Even the World Bank has acknowledged Karnataka as the most progressive states in implementing tax reforms," he added. Countering this, Vishweshwara Hegade Kageri (BJP) said the image of the state took a hit for not being the first state to pass the SGST bill, especially after being the first state to implement VAT. "Karnataka should have been first to have agreed to implement GST, especially after the state was first to implement VAT in the country... But this did not happen... This is one of the examples where it hurt the image of Karnataka being a progressive state," the BJP leader said. Kageri also slammed Siddaramaiah for not agreeing to implement GST on earlier occasions despite 50 per cent of the states agreeing to do so. "Everybody knows the hurdles created by your party (Congress) in parliament to stall the bill, which was your own baby," he argued. Taking an indirect dig at BJP-ruled states, Siddaramaiah said as many as 24 states and one union territory have agreed to implement GST, but initially Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were against it. Siddaramaiah also said since parliament has already passed GST Bill, the state assembly did not have much scope to debate over it because decision-making powers are vested with the GST Council. However, suggestions submitted by members will be presented during GST Council meetings, he added. The Chief Minister said he did not attend the GST Council meetings because he did not get time and had deputed Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alleging "massive corruption" in the functioning of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today sought to know where the funds released by his government to the civic body were being spent. East MCD Mayor Neema Bhagat met the chief minister today seeking release of funds, which she claimed is "pending" to the civic body. During the meeting, Kejriwal said the Delhi government has, till now, released all funds to the MCDs which were supposed to be provided under the Fourth Delhi State Finance Commission. "After listening to the mayor's demands, the chief minister said that he has seen the accounts of the EDMC and there is a massive corruption in the civic body," a senior government official said. "Kejriwal said the EDMC must do away with corruption to make it financially stable," the official said. During the meeting, Kejriwal also sought to know why the sanitation staff were not paid salaries despite the fact that the government has released all funds due to the EDMC, the official said. Asserting that the EDMC has many sources of income, but because of corruption its finances are in a mess, the chief minister said illegal hoardings and illegal parking must be curbed, which will increase the revenue of the civic bodies manifold. Recently, mayors of North and South Delhi Municipal Corporations also met the chief minister seeking release of funds which they claimed were due to the respective civic bodies from the Delhi government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today alleged "massive corruption" in the EDMC and sought to know where the funds released by his government were being spent. East Delhi Mayor Neema Bhagat rejected the charge and accused him of "politicising" the issue instead of helping the cash-strapped civic body. Bhagat met the chief minister at the Delhi Secretariat and sought release of funds, which she claimed were "pending" to the municipal corporation. During the meeting, Kejriwal said the Delhi government has, till now, "released all funds" to the corporations which were supposed to be provided under the existing Delhi State Finance Commission. "After listening to the mayor's demands, the chief minister said, he has seen the accounts of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and there is massive corruption in the civic body," a senior government official said. "Kejriwal said the EDMC must do away with corruption to make it financially stable," the official said. The senior official said that during the meeting, Kejriwal also sought to know why the sanitation staff were not paid salaries despite the fact that the government has released "all funds due to the EDMC". Bhagat, when later contacted, said Kejriwal instead of solving issues was "politicising the matter". "As per the finance commission recommendations' Rs 9,845 crore is due to us in financial year 2017-18 from the city government. We are already suffering due to lack of funds, and unable to disburse salaries of many employees. "But, instead of solving their problems, he (Kejriwal) accuses EDMC of corruption," the mayor said, adding, the meeting with the chief minister was "disappointing". She said that during the meeting Kejriwal said that "his government can only release more funds if the Centre gives funds to it." Bhagat was accompanied by Deputy Mayor Bipin Bihari Singh, Delhi MLA Om Prakash Sharma and two other members. After the meeting, the mayor told reporters that the chief minister "did not give any assurance on the funding issue and instead asked us to go to the Lieutenant Governor". During the meeting, the chief minister asserted that the EDMC has many sources of income, but because of "corruption" its finances are in a mess. Kejriwal said illegal hoardings and illegal parking must be curbed, which will increase the revenue of the civic bodies manifold. Bhagat also apprised Kejriwal of 25 spots in areas falling under the PWD, which need immediate attention for desilting. Recently, mayors of North and South Delhi Municipal Corporations had also met the chief minister seeking release of funds which they claimed were due to the respective civic bodies from the Delhi government, and to discuss desilting issues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Veteran actor Adam West will be honoured with a ceremonial bat-signal by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. Garcetti and Beck will light up the iconic signal for the the star of the "Batman" TV series, who passed away at the age of 88 last Friday, at 200 N Spring Street downtown in an event that will start around 9 PM PT Thursday evening, reported Deadline. The signal will be projected via spotlight onto the tower of Los Angeles City Hall. West, who was at the pinnacle of pop culture after "Batman" debuted in January 1966, only to see his career fall victim to typecasting after the ABC show flamed out, died after a short battle with leukemia. On the big screen, West starred in "The Young Philadelphians" (1959), "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964) and contributed his velvety voice to the animated "Redux Riding Hood" (1997), which received an Oscar nomination for best short film. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The death toll in a devastating fire that engulfed the 24-storey residential block in west London rose to 17 on Thursday, even as many people were still unaccounted for with police saying there was little chance of finding any survivors from the smouldering building. London Fire Brigade firefighters worked through the night to try and account for whole families that are still missing in the huge fire at the Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate in Latimer Road. The fire was reported at 01:16 AM (local time) yesterday. About 600 people were believed to have been inside the tower's 120 flats, many of them asleep, when the blaze ripped through the building. Police confirmed 17 deaths among the 600 residents thought to have lived in the tower but expect that toll to rise significantly as the building is searched. Scotland Yard said the death toll of 17 is expected to rise further as the emergency services have lost hope of rescuing any more people alive from the building. Nearly 78 people were injured, and 34 remain in hospitals across London 18 of them in critical condition. "There is going to be a long and complex recovery operation. I do anticipate the number of fatalities will sadly increase," said Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Mundy. Responding to a question, he said there was "nothing to suggest the fire had anything to do with terrorism". London fire commissioner Dany Cotton said it was not safe for fire crews to go all the way out to the edges of the building. "The fire is now out, there are small pockets of smouldering. You will see wisps of smoke coming out all day due to the heat of the building and the remaining contents. There are, as we believe, still unknown numbers of people in the building," Cotton told Sky News. "Due to the severity of the fire and the way things are, it will take a long time for us to be able to do that search to properly identify anyone who is left in the building... tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. "The severity and the heat of the fire will mean that it will be an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive," she said as she indicated that the search operation could take weeks. Firefighters worked through the night to dampen the fire. Crews using an aerial platform were going "floor by floor" shining lights into the building, BBC reported. Almost all of the building had been searched but crews were still trying to put out "pockets of fire" in hard to reach places and "unknown numbers" remain inside, London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Steve Apter said. Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, who praised the efforts of the fire crews and said her "thoughts and prayers" are with the families of the victims. "Prince Philip and I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of firefighters and other emergency services officers who put their own lives at risk to save . It is also heartening to see the incredible generosity of community volunteers rallying to help those affected by this terrible event," she said. British Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a "proper investigation" after the building went up in flames early yesterday morning amid growing concerns about how the fire could have spread so rapidly. Speaking in Downing Street, she said, "When it's possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken." More than 1 million pounds have been raised to help those affected by the massive blaze which ripped through the building. Volunteers and charities helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. Gurdwaras, mosques and churches opened their doors to the people rendered homeless, which included hundreds from nearby housing blocks that were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Bhupinder Singh, one British Sikh volunteer handling donations, said, "It is times like this that the best of our community comes out. This is where you find out how good it is to live in England and how good it is to be a Londoner." Questions have been raised about why the fire appeared to spread so quickly and engulf the entire building instead of being contained within a few flats. One focus of the investigation is expected to be the building's rain-screen cladding that was installed for better insulation during the nearly 10-million-pound refurbishment work carried out on the building last year. Construction firm Rydon, which carried out the refurbishment, said on its website, "Rydon completed a refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for KCTMO (Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) on behalf of the Council, which met all required building control, fire regulation and health & safety standards." "We will cooperate with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their enquiries into the causes of this fire at the appropriate time," it said. Concerns have also been raised about fire alarms not going off and the lack of sprinklers. The building, dating back to 1974, is owned by the local government council and houses some of the poorer sections of the working class in the north Kensington area of London, one of London's richest boroughs in terms of funding and amenities. Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it had received complaints about the refurbishment works, after a residents' action group said its warnings about safety had fallen on "deaf ears". The local Grenfell Action Grouphad claimed, before and during the refurbishment, that the block constituted a fire risk and residents had warned that access to the site for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted". Appeals are being made on social media for news of friends and family who are still missing and the Indian High Commission in London has also made an appeal on Facebook for any Indians caught up in the tragedy to make contact. Children and a baby were seen being thrown out of the windows to be caught by emergency workers and members of the public below. London Fire Brigade said it had rescued 65 people as flames engulfed the block, and had managed to reach all 24 floors, though a full search of the building has not been completed. French President Emmanuel Macron was in Morocco on a 24-hour visit for talks on battling terrorism as well as the Libyan conflict and Qatar's dispute with its Gulf neighbours. As he stepped off the plane for his first visit to Morocco yesterday since his election in May, the French president, his wife Brigitte at his side, was welcomed on the tarmac by King Mohammed VI. The king's wife, Princess Lala Salma, and Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, 14, were also present at the airport to greet the French first couple, who were then driven to the royal palace for talks. Ahead of the visit, the French presidency said Macron would discuss with Mohammed VI the dispute between Qatar and several countries, as both Paris and Rabat are keen on mediating a solution to the crisis. The French presidency said after Macron landed in Rabat that the French president would meet separately in Paris with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and the crown prince of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The meetings are due to take place in the last week of June and are aimed at trying to defuse the dispute between Qatar and its neighbours. The United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and other countries, accusing the gas-rich Gulf nation of supporting Islamist extremism. The crisis is the worst to grip the Gulf in years. "President Macron has spoken with all the heads of state of the region and called for appeasement. This efforts could converge with the mediation that Morocco wants to attempt," the Elysee Palace said ahead of the visit. A French diplomatic source said "the priority is to help resolve the crisis". Also on Macron's agenda was the conflict in Libya, where the UN-backed government is struggling to impose its legitimacy. The fight against radicalisation and terrorism would also be at the centre of the talks between the two leaders, and Paris would like to "intensify" cooperation in that field, the source said. Moroccans, or people of Moroccan origin, are believed to be behind several attacks that have been carried out in Europe in the past two years. Macron and his wife are to attend an iftar meal, to break the fast of Ramadan, at the king's personal resident, and the French president will spend the night in Rabat before flying back home today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated Leo Varadkar on becoming Ireland's prime minister and said he looked forward to working with him to enhance relations between the two countries. Varadkar, Ireland's first Indian-origin premier, yesterday officially took over from Enda Kenny as Taoiseach, as the Irish prime ministerial title is known. "Congratulations to Leo Varadkar on assuming office as Taoiseach of Ireland. I look forward to working with Taoiseach Varadkar to further strengthen India-Ireland relations," Modi tweeted. Varadkar is the youngest and the first openly gay prime minister of the Catholic-majority country. His father Ashok, hails from Varad, a village in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Modi government is committed to develop India as a world leader by boosting growth of every part of the country, Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore today said at a 'ModiFest' event hosted by the Delhi BJP. The event held in Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari's Parliamentary constituency in northeast Delhi showcased the achievements of the three-year rule of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. "The Modi government is committed to develop India as a world leader. As a first step towards fulfilment of this goal, it is working to take the benefits of national development to the remotest areas of the country," the minister said. He said the purpose of the 'ModiFest' (Making Of Developed India festival) is not only to showcase the government's programmes but also ensure participation of the people in it. The three-day event has been organised by Delhi BJP at a school in Shahdara area. Tiwari urged party workers, specially the municipal councillors, to popularise the schemes like Mudra Yojna, Start Up India and Stand Up India, among the youth in the city. Northeast Delhi has a high number of small scale industry units that can benefit from these schemes, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping on his 64th birthday through his Chinese microblog account, wishing him "long life and good health." "On the occasion of President Xi Jinping's birthday, I congratulate him and wish him long life and good health," Modi said in his message on Weibo which is akin to Chinese Twitter. Modi had opened an account on Weibo during his visit to China in 2015. "A few days ago I met with President Xi Jinping during the SCO summit in Astana and had a fruitful discussion to further promote the development of China-India relations," Modi said in his greeting in Chinese. Surprisingly, Xi's birthday has not been highlighted by the official media. Regarded as the post powerful Chinese leader in recent times, Xi heads the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), the military besides the Presidency. This year, he completes his five-year rule and is expected to be elected by the party later this year for another term. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Maoist was killed and an STF jawan was injured in an encounter between security personnel and ultras in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district today, police said. The skirmish occurred late this afternoon in Raidongri-Rakasmetta forests under Kaknar police station limits when a joint team of District Reserve Group (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) was out on an anti-Maoist operation in the interiors of Kaknar, Bastar superintendent of police Sheikh Arif Hussain told PTI. "While one Maoist was killed, a jawan sustained injuries in the face-off," he said. During the operation, a group of naxals opened indiscriminate fire at the security personnel on a hill in the forests abutting Kaknar, ensuing a gun battle. However, ultras fled after realising that the troopers are closing in on them. "During search, the body of a naxal clad in 'uniform' along with one SLR rifle was recovered from the spot," the SP said, adding the injured STF constable, identified as Manish Jha, was shifted to a local hospital after reinforcement was rushed to the spot. "As per the feedback received from the area, blood stains found at the spot indicated that some more naxals were either killed or injured in the incident," the SP said, adding a search operation was still underway in the region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today accused the BJP-led NDA government of being "insensitive" towards farmers as it is yet to register cases in the Mandsaur deaths and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his silence on the crisis gripping the agriculture sector. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said even after nine days no one has been booked for the deaths six farmers in police firing Mandsaur. "Nine days on, 45 FIRs against protesting farmers, but not one against those who murdered 6 farmers in cold blood? Mandsaur," tweeted Gandhi who is on vacation abroad. The Congress party on its official Twitter handle said, "6 farmers killed in police firing in Mandsaur. Why are eye- witness statements not taken? Why is there no action against police officials?" Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma also hit out at the NDA government for showing "apathy and insensitivity" towards farmers and the agri sector. "The farmers' issue is a matter of serious concern. This government is insensitive. An unannounced curfew has been imposed in Mandsaur. Other political parties are not allowed to enter the area. Till now, no case has been registered in the matter," Sharma said. He said the Congress party advises the prime minister to take a break from his publicity campaign and give better attention to the serious business of governance. Referring to the crop loan interest subvention scheme announced for farmers yesterday, the Congress leader said at best it was like "adding insult to injury". "It is a serious issue, the farmers are committing suicide but government is not doing anything and the prime minister is silent," he said. Sharma said only crop loan concession would not help and the government needs to come out with a comprehensive loan waiver scheme to resolve the crisis gripping the farm sector in the country. He also termed as "height of insensitivity" of the government towards farmers after it officially justified its decision to reduce import duties from 25 per cent during UPA rule to 0 per cent now on wheat. Citing the government's reasons for this, the Congress leader said the government's statistics and figures contradict the claim that there was low production of wheat in 2016. "There was no shortfall," he said, adding the government's argument was that traders in agricultural commodities in southern India say the cost of wheat coming from northern India is more and thus the import duty should be done away with so that wheat can be imported from Australia which would be cheaper. He also said that the government has claimed that Indian wheat has gluten and allergens whereas wheat from Canada and Australia has no gluten. "This is an illiterate statement. Wheat contains gluten irrespective of where it is produced. Only millets, Bajra are gluten-free. This government's ministers need education about what is gluten-free, and we will be very happy to educate them. They should stop insulting the wisdom of the Indian people by giving these reasons," he said. Sharma demanded that government withdraw its statement with an apology as there was no justification to remove import duty on wheat from 25 per cent to 0 per cent. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a significant victory for India at the UN, international law expert Neeru Chadha has won a crucial election to a top UN judicial body that deals with disputes related to the law of the sea, becoming the first Indian woman to be appointed as a judge at the tribunal. Chadha, an eminent lawyer andthe first Indian woman to become the chief legal adviser in the ministry of external affairs, won the election yesterday to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026. Chadha got 120 votes, the highest in the Asia Pacific group and was elected in the first round of voting itself. The candidate from Indonesia got 58 votes, Lebanon 60 and Thailand 86. All three candidates went to a second round of voting in which Thailand won the other seat in the Asia Pacific group. Election was held here for a total of seven seats. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin expressed gratitude for the broad support of countries that resulted in Chadha's "emphatic success" at the elections to the ITLOS. "It reflects both an appreciation of India's global standing in matters of international law and the recognition for Chadha's expertise as alawyer and negotiator on contemporary issues related to the Law of the Seas," Akbaruddin told PTI. "The Tribunal is composed of 21 independent members who are elected from among persons enjoying the highest reputation for fairness and integrity and of recognised competence in the field of the law of the sea," according to the information on the ITLOS website. Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson in New Delhi hailed Chadha's elections to the ITLOS saying, "Indian expertise on ITLOS stage! Neeru Chadha elected as 1st woman on Int'l Tribunal 4 Law of Seas w/ most votes in Asia Pacific Group." The Hamburg-based ITLOS, established in 1996, is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994. Chadha has extensive international arbitration and litigation experience, having served as an agent for the Indian government in its maritime delimitation case with Bangladesh. She was also India'sagent for the case filed by Italy in ITLOS involving two Italian marines accusedof shooting two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. Currently, eminent jurist from India P Chandrasekhara Rao is a judge at the tribunal. He was elected member of the tribunal in 1996 and his term will expire in September 2017. Chadha is only the second woman to be judge of ITLOS in its two decades of existence, where there have been a total of 40 judges, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said in a statement. Chadha holds law degrees including PhD in law from the University of Delhi and the University of Michigan. She was also the first woman chief legal adviser to the Indian government and has advised the government on diverse issues relating to the law of the sea involving interpretation of various provisions of the UNCLOS including determining the extent of coastal state's jurisdiction in different maritime zones, maritime delimitation with neighbouring states and legal issues relating to submissions on extended continental shelf. Chadha has also served as an agent before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case concerning the Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to cessation of nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament with Marshall Islands. She has represented the Indian government in various other multilateral meetings and conferences in the United Nations, AALCO (Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation), UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law), UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law). Chadha has also represented Indian government at The Hague Conference, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and ay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on subjects relating to human rights, humanitarian law, international trade, international terrorism and international criminal law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fire engulfed a 24-story government-owned apartment building near Notting Hill in west London in the wee hours of Wednesday, killing at least 6 people and injuring 74, police and fire services said. Flames could be seen racing through the building after the fire started at about 12:54 am. More than 250 firefighters fought the blaze through the night. Police confirmed the fatalities but said the death toll is likely to rise as firefighters search the building fully in the next few days. London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said she had never seen anything like it in her 29 years of experience. "This is a major fire that has affected all floors ... from the second floor upward," she said. Eyewitnesses told China Daily that they heard screaming and people calling for help. Majid Mahdi said: "I live next door. I ran to help, we could hear people screaming and crying for help. The fire just got bigger and bigger. It has been a very sad night." Dani Smith, who lives in a neighboring building, called it an inferno. "There have been fatalities, families, children and old people. Everyone's been evacuated. We were in the block right next to it. I've been told it could take up to three days before we can get back in because the block next door could be unsafe." Local residents said the building, with 120 apartments, had recently been refurbished. The cause of the fire was unknown. London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a major incident and London ambulance officials said they had taken 50 people to five hospitals. Paramedics treated others at the scene. The building, built in 1974, is owned by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London and managed by a company under contract. The renovation in 2014 cost 10 million pounds ($12.74 million) and followed complaints by residents of faulty wiring, poor ventilation and blocked fire exits. The fire has dominated the news and may also set back announcement of a deal between the Conservatives and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party on managing the government, the BBC reported. DUP sources said the fire made any announcement on Wednesday inappropriate. Kevin Wang in London contributed to this story. Contact the writers at liwensha@chinadaily.com.cn Flames and smoke engulf a 24-story residential building in west London early on Wednesday in this photo by a local resident. Six died but officials feared the death toll would grow.AFP (China Daily 06/15/2017 page1) The Nepal government today postponed the date of local-level elections in the disputed Madhesi-stronghold province number two by nearly three months, adding a third phase in the polls. With the move, which came following a Cabinet meeting, the polls will now be held in three phases of which the first phase was concluded in provinces 3, 4 and 6 on May 14. The second phase in Province 1, 5 and 7 will be held on June 28 and the third phase in Province 2 on September 18. The local-level elections are being taken place across Nepal after a gap of 20 years. They should be held in every five years but due to political instability, they were halted since May 1997. The government and the agitating Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJP-N), agreed on the postponement of the elections in Province number 2 following a joint meeting held on Thursday. According to Nepali Congress sources, an agreement to defer the polls was reached during a meeting between the two sides at the prime minister's office at Singhdurbar. "The talks with the ruling party leaders today were positive," said senior Madhesi leader Mahendra Yadav. Bara, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Parsa, Rautahat, Saptari, Sarlahi and Siraha are the eight districts under Province two, where the agitating Madhesi party, RJPN has a stronghold. The RJP-N leader said they would make decision on whether to participate in the June 28 polls after holding an internal meeting of the party. However, the RJP-N had threatened to disrupt the polls if their demand relating to the amendment to the Constitution was not addressed before the June 28 polls. The Nepal government has tabled a new Constitution amendment bill in Parliament to address the demands of the agitating Madhesi parties ahead of the local elections. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scientists have developed gluten free beer made from teff, a small cereal native to Ethiopia, providing an alternate beverage option to people who are allergic to the protein complex. Researchers from University of Perugia in Italy examined, for the first time, the potential of a variety of teff called Witkop as a raw material for malting and brewing. They examined the Witkop teff malting process, in which grains are steeped, germinated and dried, to determine the optimum conditions. The team found that Witkop teff took longer to malt than barley, and that the teff had different enzymes to break down sugars than barley. Witkop teff grains have potential as a raw material for beer production but would likely require custom malting equipment on an industrial scale, researchers said. Gluten based sensitivities impact millions of people each year, leading to a dramatic rise in gluten-free food products on grocery store shelves. According to the US Celiac Disease Foundation, one per cent of the global population has celiac disease, which results in the immune system attacking the small intestine when gluten is consumed and currently, no medicinal treatments are available. The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A firefighter was killed trying to put out a massive blaze at a crude refinery in southern Mexico, state oil company Pemex said today. The fire, which broke out Wednesday and remains out of control, also left nine people injured at the Salina Cruz refinery in the state of Oaxaca. Pemex said it expected to have the fire controlled "in the coming hours." The company blamed the fire on Tropical Storm Calvin, which lashed southern Mexico this week. Flooding caused the refinery's waste retention ponds to overflow, spilling flammable byproducts, it said. Thousands of nearby residents were evacuated as the fire engulfed a large part of the refinery and sent a giant plume of smoke into the sky, local media reported. The refinery is one of the largest in Mexico, with a processing capacity of 330,000 barrels of crude a day. In recent years, Pemex has been hit by a string of fires and explosions at its facilities. In April last year, 32 people died and more than 100 were injured in an explosion at a petrochemical plant in the eastern state of Veracruz. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A jawan was killed and three others were injured when suspected militants ambushed an Assam Rifles party in Ukhrul district of Manipur today. The ultras exploded an improvised explosive device (IED) at Kashungabout 11.15 am, police said. The deceased was identified as Havildar Rohit. The three injured, who are yet to be identified, were airlifted by a helicopter to the Leimakhong Army Hospital in Imphal, they said. A large number of central forces' personnel and police commandos rushed to the area to conduct search operations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One person was killed and nine others wounded when a grenade exploded in Bujumbura, in a neighbourhood of the capital known as an opposition bastion, the city's mayor said today. "A grenade was thrown and exploded among a group of people who were having a beer near the bus station in Musaga," Freddy Mbonimpa told AFP of the incident which occurred yesterday. Witnesses said many police officers went to the scene with some seen firing their weapons. "Those were warning shots fired into the air," the mayor said, adding police had opened an investigation "to find the criminals behind this attack". Musaga, in the south of the city, is a bastion of opposition where protests erupted two years ago over President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a disputed third term in office, which he went on to win. The demonstrations swelled into a major crisis which even saw a failed coup attempt. Since then, Musaga has seen regular anti-government protests. The unrest has claimed between 500 and 2,000 lives and more than 400,000 Burundians have been forced into exile, rights groups and the UN say, while there have been reports of hundreds of cases of torture and forced disappearances. Last month, three members of the youth league of Burundi's ruling party -- considered a militia by the UN -- were killed in a grenade attack in the same neighbourhood. The "Imbonerakure", whose name means "The Watchmen", has long been accused of using barbaric methods to achieve political ends on behalf of Nkurunziza and his ruling CNDD-FDD party. Four days later eight people were hurt in a grenade explosion in a northern Bujumbura neighbourhood considered a CNDD-FDD stronghold -- the scene of a string of similar attacks that have left two people dead and around 20 injured in less than a month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An absconding member of a robber's gang has been arrested here in connection with an year-old case in which a family was looted of cash and ornaments worth over Rs 50 lakh, police said today. Mohammad Hasan was arrested yesterday near Kavinagar Ramlila ground and a pistol of .32 bore along with three live cartridges were recovered from him, a senior official said. His gang-members Aas Mohammad and Faraz were arrested on October 18 last year, while another, Chetan, was also nabbed the next day with the police recovering the ornaments and cash from their possession, said Superintendent of Police (City) Akash Tomar. With Hasan, police have arrested four members of the gang so far, even as their fifth accomplice, Firoz, is on the run, Tomar said. The gang had looted a business man's family in April last year on the GT road near Arthla Peer in Sahibabad police station area when they were returning to Nehru Nagar from a wedding function in Indirapuram. The vehicle was waylaid and the entire family was taken on gun-point by the gang which snatched and fled with the ornaments and cash. An estimated loss of Rs 54 lakh was mentioned in the FIR by the complaint, police said. Scores of traders had protested outside the office of the senior superintendent of police office demanding early arrest of all culprits. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Chief Minister Amarinder Singh dispensation today expressed its inability to take action against PACL, which had allegedly collected more than Rs 60,000 crore through illegal collective investment, saying the company was not registered with the Punjab government. However, the government was in the process of introducing a fresh Bill to deal with such fraudulent cases, state Finance Minister informed the Assembly today. To a question of AAP MLA Aman Arora, whether the state government was taking any action against the erring chit fund companies/persons by tracing their benami properties as per the instructions of Lodha Committee set up by the Supreme Court. "No Sir. PACL is not registered with the state government. The state government takes action against those chit fund companies which are registered with the state government," Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said in a written reply, tabled in the ongoing budget session today. The Supreme Court has constituted the Lodha Committee to dispose off properties of the PACL limited so that the sale proceeds can be paid off to the investors, the minister said. Replying to question on whether the government was making any special legal provision to curb such fraudulent cases, the minister said that the Punjab Protection of Interests of Depositors' (in Financial Establishments) Bill, 2015 was passed by Punjab Vidhan Sabha in September 2015. "The Bill was sent to the government of India for President's assent. The government of India has made few comments and observations on the Bill which are included. "As per the advice of LR, the Bill has to be withdrawn formally and a fresh bill is to be passed by the state legislature. The process to withdraw the Bill has already been initiated," the minister said. He further said that a total of 63 cases have been registered against 19 chit fund companies from April 1, 2012 till March 31, 2017. Notably, PACL, which had raised money from public in the name of agriculture and real estate businesses, was found by Sebi to have collected more than Rs 60,000 crore through illegal collective investment schemes over a period of 18 years. The Supreme Court-appointed R M Lodha committee was overseeing disposal of PACL assets so as to refund the affected investors. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate the 'nationwide P N Panicker memorial reading day celebrations' at a function to be held at St Theresa's College in Kochi on June 17. The month-long reading day celebrations organised across the state is being extended nationwide this time, a release from the Panicker Foundation said here. The celebrations will be held between June 19 to July 18. Modi, who will be in Kochi for the inauguration of Kochi Metro, would inaugurate the'reading celebration' at 12.15 hrs, the release said. Focus of this year's celebration would be to empower digital reading, the release added. The celebration is being organisd by the P N Panicker Foundation here. Panicker was a renowned educationist. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police recovered 300-400 weapons, including arrows, and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morch (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Police said some party activists also were arrested on Thursday in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his group's campaign for a separate Gorkhaland state would go on till it was achieved. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official said on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from today. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting," said GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from today," Giri said. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found ? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it ? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition." "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us," he alleged. Giri said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centre's intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, said over phone. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force", he alleged. The raids came on the fourth day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite strike in government and GTA offices in the hills. The GJM's call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language of the rest of the state. Prominent among the six states to join GJM is the Gorkha Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Centre has dispatched 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the West Bengal government in restoring normalcy in violence-hit Darjeeling hills which witnessed incidents of stone pelting during GJM-sponsored indefinite bandh. The Centre had also sought a detailed report on the prevailing situation in the hill district from the state government. Protesters and riot police hurled stones at each other and a car was set ablaze after a series of raids today on premises connected with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief, whose separatist campaign was spiralling deeper into violence. The demand by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal state is fast turning into a major political crisis for Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, and is likely to cripple the critical tourist industry during the peak summer season. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force", GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told PTI. He said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". In the fog-shrouded hilly roads of Darjeeling, GJM activists sparred with paramilitary personnel, hurling stones from a distance. The policemen responded by throwing stones back as a car burnt nearby. It was not clear if the car was that of a civilian or belonged to the police. Earlier today, police recovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Police said some party activists also were arrested today in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his group's campaign will not stop until it a separate Gorkhaland state is created. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official told PTI on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from today. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting," Giri, the GJM general secretary, said. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from today," Giri said. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition". "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us," he alleged. "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centre's intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, told PTI over phone. The raids came on the fourth day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite strike in government and GTA offices in the hills. The GJM's call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language of the rest of the state. Prominent among the six states to join GJM is the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Centre has dispatched 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the West Bengal government in restoring normalcy in violence-hit Darjeeling hills which witnessed incidents of stone pelting during GJM-sponsored indefinite bandh. The Centre had also sought a detailed report on the prevailing situation in the hill district from the state government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Chhattisgarh police today recovered a powerfulIED, allegedly planted by Naxals, in Kanker district. A joint team of the district force and Border Security Force was patrolling when it spotted a connection of the improvised explosive device (IED) beneath the dirt track near a culvert on Kanker's Badgaon-Himmatwahi road, located around 200 kms from the state capital, a police official told PTI. Later, the security personnel recovered the explosive kept in a steel container. The IEd, weighing nearly eight kgs, was immediately destroyed by the bomb disposal squad, the official said. The Maoists have been planting the IEDs to target security forces and stall the developmental works in the state. They mostly plant landmines close to trees and culverts. Several times in the past security men as well as villagers have become victims of such Maoist blasts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra have registered a case of rioting and assault against Congress MLA Abdul Sattar and 29 others. Mukhtar Sattar Shaikh (29), a farmer from Dahigaon Shivar in Sillod tehsil of the district, had lodged a complaint that Sattar and his supporters assaulted him and drove him out of his field on June 12. The alleged incident took place when Mukhtar was busy sowing in his field. Video of the incident, captured on mobile phone, went viral on Internet. Shaikh also alleged that in the past, the MLA, misusing his political clout, had grabbed his land and built a farm house on it by manipulating land records. Sillod rural police late yesterday night registered a case against the MLA Sattar and 29 others for rioting and assault under the IPC, said the sub-divisional police officer Neeraj Rajguru. Also, a separate case under section 295-A of IPC (hurting religious sentiments) was registered against the MLA for certain statements made by him (as heard in the video) during the incident. A complaint in this regard was lodged by another farmer, a resident of Borgaon in the tehsil. Nobody has been arrested in the two cases yet. Probe is on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Singaporean logistics firm Ascendas-Singbridge has formed a joint venture with Firstspace Realty that will invest up to USD 600 million to create warehousing facilities over the next five years in the country. "We will invest USD 500-600 million to create 14-15 million sqft of industrial and logistical warehouse space over the next five to six years," Aloke Bhuniya, the chief executive of the JV named Ascendas-Firstspace, told PTI today. Ascendas will be holding a majority stake in the JV, while the Bengaluru-based Firstspace, the execution partner, will have a minority share, he said, refusing to disclose the exact equity holding. The investment involves both debt and equity, he said, without divulging the exact equity base saying it will depend on the projects and the quantum of leverage possible on each project. Bhuniya said the investment will be primarily in Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune, and every single location measuring 5 to 30 lakh sqft each -- will be a special purpose vehicle. The JV will exit an SPV either partly or fully based on the interest it generates from buyers, he added. Bhuniya said the forthcoming GST, the make-in-India drive and growing retail and e-tail segments make logistics an exciting prospect in the country. Currently, there is only one big player in the segment -- his previous employer Everstone Indospace-- and two-three more players are looking to enter the space, Bhuniya said, adding competition is not a worry as over 80 million sqft space is required. The company expects demand from the logistics, FMCG, electronics and auto sectors for its space, he said. At present, the JV is scouting for land banks to build the facilities, he said, adding it is interested in both greenfield and brownfield projects. Bhuniya said while Firstspace will manage land acquisition and project execution, Ascendas will get the global best practises and client relationships with over 2,600 customers in the APAC region alone. Ascendas has been present in the country for the past 23 years and primarily engaged in creating space for the IT sector, where it has over 10 million sqft of space leased out and another 4 million sqft under construction. Globally, it has over 50 million sqft of space, with 25 million sqft focused on logistics alone. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wrestling drama "Sultan", starring Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma, has been shortlisted to compete in one of the categories at the Shanghai International Film Festival this June. "Sultan" has been selected in the Jackie Chan Action Movie Week section where awards are given by the combined means of judge assessment and audience vote. "As a film, 'Sultan' is a home grown story of a fighter and an underdog rooted in our country's soil. The film's action reflects this and has won popular opinion over in India. "That China, a nation with a proud legacy of cinema and a priceless heritage of classic action and martial arts, has found it suitable to feature in an action competition section is huge gratification to us. We are excited and proud to be part of Shanghai International Film Festival," director Ali Abbas Zafar said. "Sultan" has also been screened at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SAP India aims to impart digital literacy to one million people in the country by 2019 through partnerships with ITC and Larsen & Toubro Public Charitable Trust (LTPCT). As part of its 'Code Unnati' programme, SAP India plans to offer employment-led digital literacy and software skills to citizens, including students, women and the differently- abled. "We run a similar programme in Africa, where we have created half a million employment opportunities. In India, we want to equip citizens with the most pertinent IT skills that will make them more relevant in the job market," SAP Indian Subcontinent president and MD, Deb Deep Sengupta told PTI. SAP will provide technology infrastructure and expertise on course curriculum. ITC and LTPCT, on the other hand, will enable outreach in far-flung, tribal areas to ensure monitoring and evaluation. The company will also set up 100 code unnati Community Services Centres to provide training to 'Sarpanchs' (Village Council administrators) and educate local citizens on effective utilisation of various available e-services. In the pilot phase till next year, the initiative will focus on rural areas of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. It will also reach out to areas in urban demographies in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Vishakhapatnam and Hyderabad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP president Amit Shah will be in Maharashtra on a three-day tour from tomorrow during which he is expected to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, whose party has threatened to take an "independent stand" in the presidential poll. "We are hopeful of getting the Sena's votes," a senior BJP leader said, adding that the regional party would not like to vote against a candidate most likely to become the next president. Sena mouthpiece Saamana has reported that Shah will meet Thackeray on June 18. Ties between the two Hindutva parties have been strained for long due to the power tussle between them in Maharashtra. The Sena has a history of voting against the BJP's choice in the presidential polls. Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut had recently said his party may take an independent stand in the polls. Sena had proposed the name of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the post. While Bhagwat expressed his unwillingness, the proposal also drew little enthusiasm from the BJP. BJP leaders have been expressing confidence that they are in a position to get their candidate elected for the top constitutional post with the support of allies as well as some regional parties. Sena had gone with the UPA's choice of Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee in 2007 and 2012 despite being an ally of the BJP, which had supported Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in 2007 and P A Sangma five years later. Both Patil and Mukherjee had emerged victorious. Shah is scheduled to offer floral tributes to Shivaji, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Veer Savarkar and Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray at Shivaji Park tomorrow. He will later meet BJP MPs, MLAs, state office bearers, heads of districts and mandals besides other elected eepresentatives before a meeting with state ministers at the chief minister's residence, a party statement said. He will also meet all party MPs. On June 17, he will meet core committee members of the state and later take part in other party events. On the last day of his tour, Shah will hold a meeting of the 'Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Birth Centenary Year Karya Vistarak Yojana' in Mumbai and review various programmes to strengthen the party at the booth-level, the party statement said. Shah is visiting all states over a 110-day tour, part of his efforts to further strengthen the party ahead of the 2019 general election. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) No-frills carrier SpiceJet today presented a luxury Mercedes-Benz car to the winner of its 'Spicy Hot Jackpot' offer launched during Diwali last year. SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh handed over keys of Mercedes Benz C200 to Lakhan Khandait, a resident of Indore, at the airline's headquarters in Gurgaon. Under the Spicy Hot Jackpot offer, customers on purchase of a SpiceJet ticket along with any of Spice add-on services or products were eligible for a lucky draw. The airline had announced seven winners for seven consecutive weeks. The luxury car was the grand bumper prize. "We will continue to create more such opportunities to delight our flyers through exciting offers," Singh said in the release. SpiceJet operates on an average 364 daily flights to 46 destinations; 39 domestic and seven international. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A suicide bomber struck a crowded Shiite mosque in Kabul late today, officials said, in the latest militant attack in what has been a bloody month of Ramadan in the Afghan capital. The bomber blew himself up in the kitchen of the mosque after police prevented him from entering the main building packed with worshippers, the interior ministry said with witnesses also reporting gunfire in the area. "Terrorist attack on Al Zahra mosque in west of Kabul. Special forces have been sent to the area," ministry spokesman Najib Danish said, without revealing if there were any casualties. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the assault, but minority Shiite areas have been frequently targeted by Islamic State militants in the past. Kabul has been on edge since a massive truck bomb on May 31 killed more than 150 people and wounded hundreds in the city's fortified diplomatic quarter, the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since 2001. Just days later protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting authorities to respond with live rounds, which left at least four people dead. Separately, suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners at the funeral for one of the protesters, killing at least seven more people. The carnage during the holy fasting month of Ramadan has left the Afghan capital shaken, with protesters who have set up a sit-in camp close to the bombing site demanding the resignation of Ghani's government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu government today said it was firm on ensuring that the proposed AIIMS was set up in the state and has suggested Thanjavur for the Rs 2000 crore central project, aimed at providing a boost to tertiary care services. Chief Minister K Palaniswami was responding to Opposition DMK, which raised the matter in the state Assembly today. DMK Member K Ponmudi, a former Minister, sought to know why the Chief Minister had recently recommended to Centre that the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) could be set up in Chengipatti in Thanjavur district. He particularly referred to demands from within the ruling party, including a Minister, for establishing the project in their respective districts. A Central team had in 2015 visited Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Madurai, Perundurai (Erode district) and Chengalpattu (Kancheepuram) scouting for land for the 200-acre project. The ruling members had sought the project in their district, only with the aim of benefitting the people there and nothing else," Palaniswami said. The Central team had earlier mentioned "some shortcomings" at each of the proposed site and "there was an opinion" that Chengipatti in Thanjavur could meet all the requirements. "To ensure speedy implementation of the project and that it does not go out of Tamil Nadu, we had mentioned Chengipatti (in the communication to Centre)," the Chief Minister said. He also said, "However, the Central government has not accepted that also.. They are considering setting up AIIMS in one of the locations mentioned by them (in the said districts)." The government's stand was that Tamil Nadu should get the AIIMS project, and in any one of the locations proposed in the five districts, he added. Interestingly, DMK MLAs hailing from different districts, were seen demanding allocation of the project to their respective districts during the discussion today. The Centre had in its 2015-16 budget announced establishment of AIIMS in Tamil Nadu and other states. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu government today announced setting up of a "Dream Teacher" award to promote teachers for various tasks including use of computers for teaching students. School Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan said six teachers in each of the 32 districts in the state will be selected under this programme. Teachers from government schools will be selected for the award based on various tasks like using computers for teaching, excelling in imparting co-curricular activities and school management, he informed the state Assembly. They will be provided with a certificate and Rs 10,000, he added. Further, government will send 100 students annually on a foreign trip, to encourage those with special skills in various subjects including Science and Arts, he said. Students from government and aided schools will be selected for this purpose and flown to countries which have expertise in the respective fields, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Trump administration is beginning an inter-agency policy review of relations with Pakistan, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said, underlining that the president has specifically asked questions about the level of support and funding to Islamabad. "We are beginning an inter-agency policy review towards Pakistan. This (continuation of US aid to Pakistan) is going to be one of the considerations," Tillerson told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on the State Department's annual budget proposals. He made the remarks while responding to a question from Congressman Dana Rohrabacher as to why the US continues to give financial assistance to Pakistan. "Are we still giving money to Pakistan? Dr Afridi (who helped locate Osama bin Laden)...Is being held in a dungeon there, and the Pakistanis continue -- we know the ISI continues -- with the notorious support of terrorist elements in Afghanistan. Why are we still giving Pakistan any aid at all?" Rohrabacher asked. Tillerson said this is one of the things being considered by the inter-agency review. "The president has asked the question specifically about our level of support and funding to Pakistan. No decision is to be taken until we complete that policy review," Tillerson said. "As you well can understand and appreciate, Pakistan and our relationship with them touches on some much broader issues relative to stability in Afghanistan and how we achieve that, but also stability in the Indo-Pacific region. It is a very complex relationship we have with the government of Pakistan, but your concerns are all well founded," said the Secretary of State. Hoping that the Trump administration will take a realistic view of the region, Rohrabacher said Pakistan is acknowledged by most people he has dealt with as the source of terrorism in that part of the world. "And if we don't succeed in Afghanistan, it will be because of the ISI in Pakistan," Rohrabacher said. "With that said, Afghanistan looks like it's not going in the right direction. And there are some creative ways to handle this. We continue to have troops involved there, but some people are calling for more troops. I hope that we look for other methods rather than sending American troops into Afghanistan," the Congressman said. The Afghan policy is under review as well, he said. "I mention that in the context of Pakistan because you cannot work one without the other. In the interim, though, we have had inter-agency discussions with the president about how to preserve the opportunity for a long-term solution in Afghanistan where we do not leave Afghanistan, where we never allow Afghanistan to become the platform for terrorism to be launched against the United States or certainly others," Tillerson said. "That work we expect to complete over the coming weeks, review it with the president, make a final policy decision. But it has not been going well in Afghanistan. There are steps we need to take to at least prevent further deterioration while we get our new policies in place," he said. What the US is following now are the policies of the prior administration, and some steps need to be taken to stem the effects of those while the Trump government gets its policies in place, Tillerson said. Joining Rohrabacher, Congressman Ted Poe said Pakistan is playing the US. "We give them money. That money ends up in the hands of bad guys in Afghanistan who hurt Americans. And I personally think that Pakistan should not get any American money," he said. "They get USD 500 million a year not counting the military. They should be designated as a state sponsor of terror. And they also should be removed from the major non- NATO ally status that they have," Poe said. "But I know this has been a discussion for years to try to get Pakistan on board to do the right thing. They don't. What are we going to do?" he asked. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump paid a brief visit to the Supreme Court, where he had a front-row seat but no formal role in a courtroom ceremony honoring his high court pick and the newest justice, Neil Gorsuch. The president and first lady Melania Trump yesterday also paid a brief social call on the justices, shaking hands and posing for photos, according to court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg. But there was apparently no talk of Trump's travel ban, which his administration is asking the court to immediately reinstate after it was blocked by lower courts. While the dispute over the travel ban and other controversies have simmered during Trump's first few months in office, his choice of 49-year-old Gorsuch for the Supreme Court won widespread praise in the legal community as well as unanimous Republican support in the Senate. Chief Justice John Roberts gave the Trumps "a very warm welcome" at the start of the 10-minute session. The courtroom was packed with Gorsuch's friends and family, as well as Trump administration officials, senators, former high-ranking government officials and 97-year-old retired Justice John Paul Stevens. Before Melania Trump's appearance, Nancy Reagan was the last first lady to attend what the court calls an investiture ceremony for a new justice, Arberg said. Reagan attended the ceremonial swearing-in for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who in 1981 was the first woman to take her place on the court. Gorsuch repeated the judicial oath he first took in April, placing great emphasis on its final line, "So help me God." He already has issued his first opinion, on Monday. The investiture ceremony typically takes place before a new justice's first day on the bench, but Gorsuch was confirmed and sworn in on a tight schedule. He filled the seat that had been held for nearly 30 years by Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016. The high court seat was vacant for nearly 14 months after Senate Republicans refused to take up President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President today ridiculed as "phony" and "witch hunt" claims about collusion between Russia and his associates after media reports that he is being investigated for possible obstruction of justice. "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," Trump tweeted, a day after The Washington Post followed by several other media outlets reported that a special counsel appointed to probe alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential polls is investigating him for possible obstruction of justice. The probe Mueller "marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin," The Washington Post reported yesterday. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes by Trump associates, the daily said, quoting unnamed US officials. According to the paper, Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers's recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's investigators as early as this week. The New York Times also reported that Mueller was seeking interviews with the three officials. Trump described such stories as witch hunt. "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history led by some very bad and conflicted people!#MAGA," Trump said in another tweet. Trump relies heavily in social media outlets, twitter in particular, to communicate directly with his followers across the country. Trump, believes that the mainstream media has not been fair to him and outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN is against him. This is reflective in his several statements and tweets in the past. At times he calls the two prominent dailies as the fake media and during the election campaign he described CNN as 'Clinton News Network'. Meanwhile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich slammed Mueller for reportedly launching investigation against Trump. "Mueller is now clearly the ti[p of the deep state spear aimed at destroying or at a minimum undermining and crippling the Trump presidency," Gingrich tweeted today. The Post reported that the obstruction of justice investigation of the president began days after James Comey was fired as the FBI Director on May 9. Mueller is overseeing a host of investigations involving people who are or were in Trump's orbit, people familiar with the probe were quoted as saying. Significantly, Preet Bharara, the India-born former top US federal prosecutor, earlier this week had said that there was enough evidence to begin an obstruction of justice case against Trump over his alleged interference in the Russia probe. Trump has said he is "100 per cent" willing to testify under oath on Comey meetings and tell the FBI Special Consul Robert Muller that he never asked FBI to stop investigating. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned today a decision by US authorities to issue arrest warrants for 12 members of his security detail, accused of assaulting protesters during a brawl in Washington. "We will fight politically and judicially" against the warrants, Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara, accusing US police of allowing "terrorists" to demonstrate against him when he visited the White House last month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two cops were killed in two separate attacks by militants in the Kashmir valley today, the police said. Militants attacked a police party in the Hyderpora area of the city, at around 9.30 PM, by firing indiscriminately at a patrol party, a senior official said. Two cops were injured in the attack and were rushed to 92 Base Hospital of the Army. One of them, constable Shehzad, succumbed to his injuries there. Earlier in the day, militants had shot dead a policeman in south Kashmir's Kulgam district. Constable Shabir Ahmad was shot outside his residence at Bogund in Kulgam, a police official said. The cop was rushed to a local hospital but he did not survive, the official added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two suspected ISI spies were detained by intelligence agencies in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan. "The two men are residents of a village located near the Indo-Pak border in Jaisalmer. They were detained following inputs by central intelligence agencies yesterday," DIG Security, H Raghvendra Suhasa, told PTI today. He said that the two men were being interrogated at Jodhpur by intelligence agencies. They are believed to have passed on strategic information related to military installations to their handlers in Pakistan, an official alleged. Some Pakistani sim cards and documents were recovered from their possession and these are being examined, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Almost all drugs manufactured by Ipca Laboratories at its facilities at Pithampur, Silvassa and Ratlam have been banned from the US market by the country's health regulator. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) cited violation of current good manufacturing norms for taking the step against the company. The USFDA has refused admission to all drugs made at the company's Pithampur and Silvassa facility, Ipca Laboratories said in a BSE filing. All drugs except API Chloroquine Phosphate made at Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh) unit have also been denied entry in the US, it further said. The ban on all drugs made at Pithampur (Madhya Pradesh) and Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) will continue "until the company can demonstrate that the drugs manufactured from these manufacturing sites and intended for the US market are in compliance with cGMP," Ipca Laboratories added. However, it said the US health regulator will reconsider the exception for Chloroquine Phosphate made at the Ratlam facility, if shortage and/or medical necessity implications change. Last year, the USFDA had issued warning letter to the company over violations of manufacturing norms at the three facilities. Shares of Ipca Laboratories closed 0.86 per cent down at Rs 513.15 on BSE. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a twist to the sensational genital chopping case in Kerala, the woman victim today purportedly retracted her claim that she had cut the private part of a self-styled godman to foil a rape bid by him and said he was innocent. According to a letter reportedly written by the victim to the lawyer of the accused Gangeshananda Theerthapada alias Hariswami, the 23-year-old law student accused the police of having coerced her to level the allegation against the man. The woman told a Malayalam TV channel that she had written the letter to the lawyer and that she stood by its content. Police, however, pleaded ignorance about the letter. "We have no idea about the new development. The defence lawyer has now said that she (victim) has given a letter denying her charge against the swami. We do not know why she has retracted from her earlier position," a police official said. Lawyer Sashthamangalam Ajit told TV channels that he had produced the letter, received by him through post, in a special court here yesterday along with the bail petition of Hariswami. He said judge Minimol T K has sought the response of the public prosecutor and posted the case to June 19. The 54-year-old godman was admitted to the government medical college here with critical injuries in the wee hours of May 20. The woman had earlier stated that she had chopped off the genitals of the man during a rape attempt at her home at nearby Pettah, where he was a frequent visitor. She had also alleged that the godman had been raping her since the past six years, when she was a minor. A case had been registered against the accused under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and IPC 376 (punishment for rape). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A German executive working at Volkswagen's Tokyo office has been arrested on drug charges, the automaker said today. Thomas Siebert, 53, was detained yesterday on suspicion of using an unspecified drug, the company said, with media reports suggesting it was cocaine. "We deeply regret the fact that an employee of our company has been taken into police custody for a personal matter," Volkswagen Group Japan KK said in a statement. "We will fully cooperate during the investigation and take the necessary steps, as soon as the facts have been clarified," it added. The company did not provide further details, but said the sales executive has been working for its Japanese division since 2010. Authorities started investigating Siebert after customs officers found what was believed to be an illegal drug mailed to his Tokyo address, media reports said. His urine tested positive for drugs and Siebert has admitted to using cocaine, local media added. Police declined to confirm the arrest. Japan has strict drug laws and simple possession can result in jail time. Two years ago, an American Toyota executive was arrested on charges she had a controlled drug -- the painkiller oxycodone -- mailed to her Tokyo residence. She was released after several weeks in custody. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Samajwadi Party (SP) delegation met Governor Ram Naik today and handed over a memorandum, addressed to the President, demanding waiving off farmers' loans through out the country. "The SP is of the view that loans of all the farmers of the country should be waived off. The BJP should fulfill its promises made during polls and implement recommendations of the Dr Swaminathan commission," the memorandum said. The delegation was led by Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chowdhury while senior leaders Ahmad Hasan, Rajendra Chowdhury and Naresh Uttam were also present. The Mandsaur firing incident in Madhya Pradesh was unfortunate and if the BJP government did not pay heed to farmers' problems, agitations will also be witnessed in states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan, they said. "The SP supports the farmers' demands, stands with them and condemns action against them," SP leader Chowdhury said. The memorandum urged President Pranab Mukherjee's intervention to stop the "anti-farmer economic policy of BJP government". They also demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government strengthen the irrigation facilities and provide 18 hours power supply in rural areas as, they claimed, was done during the SP regime. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As'ad's Bio As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants. The Congress today said it would prefer a consensus presidential candidate and it would be good if the government understood this. "The Congress party has tried to bring about a consensus on every important issue. But the picture is not yet clear on the issue of the presidential election," said Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma. He said it would be better if the government also understood the need for unanimity on the issue. "It will be good if there is consensus. But I cannot say anything as of now," he said. Asked whether there was any possibility of reaching an agreement on Pranab Mukherjee's successor, the Congress leader said, "I cannot say what the government is thinking, but I do understand their mentality, which is against the country. It will be difficult for me to say anything on what the government is thinking." Sharma said the BJP had displayed its "mental bankruptcy" the last time as well when it opposed Mukherjee's candidature and contested the presidential election. The BJP panel, set up by party chief Amit Shah and comprising senior leaders Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu, has reached out to some opposition leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The committee members will meet Gandhi tomorrow while trying to arrive at an agreement. Asked about the meeting, Sharma said, "How can I make a statement even before the meeting with leaders of the ruling party." According to sources, the opposition sub-committee formed by Gandhi met in Parliament yesterday. Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge today apprised the Congress president of the developments. While the process for the presidential election kicked off with the start of nominations yesterday, the elections will be held on July 17 and counting on July 20. The term of incumbent president Mukherjee ends on July 24. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rising above party politics, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to invite the leaders of all the political parties, including former chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, to its 'International Yoga Day' function on June 21. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to send the invitation to the leaders of all the political parties, former chief ministers and Assembly speakers, a senior government official told PTI today. The main function on June 21 will be held at the sprawling Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan in the state capital here. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adityanath will lead around 55,000 yoga enthusiasts in performing 'asanas' (yoga postures) at the maidan, he added. The programme, which is being organised by the AYUSH Ministry, is also likely to be attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other Union and state ministers, said the official. Former chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Mayawati (BSP), Narayan Dutt Tiwari (formerly with the Congress), Kalyan Singh (BJP) and former governor Motilal Vora would be invited to the function among others. Lucknow District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma, who is overseeing the preparations for the function, said he had received the list of those who would have to be invited and added that the invites would be sent out soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A technological failure which stranded tens of thousands of British Airways (BA) passengers in May will cost the company around 80 million ($102.19 million), Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA parent Airlines Group (IAG), said on Thursday. The figure was an initial estimate, Walsh told at the company's annual shareholders meeting in Madrid. In addition to BA, IAG owns Aer Lingus, Vueling and Spain's Iberia. BA suffered a disruption at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports when a power surge knocked out its information technology system forcing it to cancel almost two-thirds of all flights on May 27, which fell on a busy bank holiday weekend. Heathrow suffered further setbacks on Thursday after a baggage system failure prevented luggage from being checked in at terminals 3 and 5. The problem has been resolved. By Clare Jim and Elias Glenn HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - A crackdown in Shanghai on commercial office projects converted into residential apartments will squeeze speculators, but could also hurt bona fide homebuyers already struggling with high prices and buying restrictions. Some property developers in the city bought land zoned for commercial use as a cheaper alternative to plots meant for homes. Apartment blocks put up on these sites were consequently cheaper, and weren't regulated under home-purchase rules brought in to curb speculation and soaring prices. The properties proved popular with investors and homebuyers shut out of the market by the buying restrictions. But Shanghai last month rolled out a "clean up and rectify" campaign for commercial-turned-residential developments, following similar moves in the capital, Beijing. While this may deter some speculation, it is likely also to further squeeze the mainstream housing market and push up prices. "These types of apartments were quite popular in the past few years because of home purchase restrictions," said Clement Luk, CEO of East China at realtor Centaline. "Clients like those who haven't lived in Shanghai for the required amount of years or buy-for-investment purposes go for these apartments. But with the new measures, demand from both real users and investors will be wiped out all at once." In Beijing, sales of these so-called serviced apartments nearly tripled last year to more than 4 million square meters (43 million square feet), according to data from E-House China R&D Institute, accounting for a third of all residential sales, up from just 13 percent in 2015. But sales there collapsed in April, down more than 98 percent year-on-year, while unit prices fell 31 percent in May, the E-House data shows. The crackdown by Shanghai's housing authority - ordering developers and buyers to rip out fixtures such as toilets and kitchens before properties could be sold on - prompted a protest by hundreds of people last weekend after the market effectively froze. A similar protest is planned in Beijing this weekend. The Shanghai measures have already dented buyer sentiment for similar developments in other Chinese cities in anticipation of a broader nationwide clampdown, said Centaline's Luk. Developers in Shanghai have suspended sales of all related developments, including Hong Kong developer Sun Hung Kai Properties' luxury serviced apartment project on the Huangpu River in Pudong, property agents said. "Some cities over-planned their office supply; by converting some of this into apartments would have helped ease the glut," said Stanley Ching, head of Citic Capital's real estate group. "But the new measures seem to contradict the policy intention to clear office inventory, and removing this extra supply of serviced apartments may further drive up home prices." STILL UNCLEAR Following the protest, Shanghai's housing authority said buyers of commercial-turned-residential properties could take delivery of them if they had already signed purchase contracts, while developers were told to accommodate buyers seeking to cancel contracts. Some buy-and-hold investors, who want to rent out their apartments or live in them, welcomed this week's shift. "It's OK for those of us who are holding on to them for the long term," said Ms. Ye, who said she was waiting to take delivery of a 50 square metre loft she bought two years ago that is still being built. Others, though, say they still don't know if they'll be allowed to re-sell these properties or if they'll be compensated if they cancel the purchase now. Developers and anyone looking to sell one of these properties soon are likely to be hit as they will be required first to restore residential apartments back to commercial use, and office space is worth up to a fifth less than apartments. Some funds, too, are now reviewing their investments. "(The measures) will have an impact on investment firms' strategy because many involve these developments, and the policy is likely to be introduced in other cities," said Ching at Citic Capital. "We're stalling some deal talks until we have a clearer sense of the policy direction." Greenland Holdings, whose Beijing unit was punished by local authorities last month for promoting apartments built on land designated for commercial use, said it has a few developments in Shanghai that fall into the "clean up" category, and it will adjust its marketing strategy accordingly. (Reporting by Clare Jim in HONG KONG and Elias Glenn in BEIJING; Additional reporting by John Ruwitch in SHANGHAI; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Ireland sees no issue with reprofiling Greece's debt, its finance minister said on Thursday, as euro zone lenders met to discuss the size of new loans to Greece and what debt relief they may offer. "Ireland has no difficulty with proposals in relation to the reprofiling of Greek debt," Paschal Donohoe told reporters in Luxembourg ahead of the meeting. "We're looking forward to seeing progress being made this afternoon and this evening in relation to our Greek neighbours." Greece needs more than 7 billion euros ($7.8 billion) in new loans from the euro zone bailout fund to repay debt maturing in July, but can only get the money once lenders agree Athens has pushed through agreed reforms. (Reporting by Elizabeth Miles; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Silicon Valley tech moguls are conducting an enormous experiment on the nations children. We should not be so trusting that theyll get it right. Alphabet Inc has taken a big role in public education, offering low-cost laptops and free apps. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook is investing heavily in educational technology, largely through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Netflix, head Reed Hastings has been tinkering with expensive and algorithmic ed-tech tools. Commercial Feature is a Business Standard Digital Marketing Initiative. The Editorial/Content team at Business Standard has not contributed to writing or editing these articles. For further information, please write to assist@bsmail.in Calling beleaguered beer baron Vijay Mallya the prime mover in a money laundering plot involving a loan of Rs 861 crore from IDBI Bank, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday filed its first charge sheet against Mallya and eight others in the case. The 57-page charge sheet or prosecution complaint filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before a special anti-money laundering court names Mallya, the nowdefunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), United Breweries (Holding) Limited and senior employees and executives of IDBI Bank. It has also mentioned the role of other officials and executives of KFA and IDBI Bank in this deal and has explained how the alleged bank loan fraud was committed, with the help of flow charts and diagrams. ED has also described how funds obtained from the bank loan were allegedly routed illegally including substantial payments being diverted by the beleaguered businessman to the Formula-1 car racing event abroad. The court is soon expected to take cognisance of the charge sheet, officials said. The agency's investigations found that Mallya, KFA and IDBI bank officials criminally conspired to obtain funds of Rs 860.92 crore, despite weak financials, negative networth, non- compliance of corporate credit policy of new client, non-quality collateral security and low credit rating of the borrower, out of which Rs 807.82 crore of principal amount remains unpaid. Of the total loan sanctioned and disbursed by IDBI, Rs 423 crore has been remitted out of India, in alleged violation of rules, ED said in the chargesheet. The said payments were shown to be made towards aircraft rental leasing and maintenance, servicing and spare parts. The agency is expected to soon file a supplementary charge sheet in this case. The ED had registered a criminal case in this deal last year under the PMLA and has attached assets worth over Rs 9,600 crore till now. The agency also added the statements of KFA and IDBI bank officials it recorded under the PMLA in the charge sheet. Mallya, sought by India for defaulting on several bank loans of nearly Rs 9,000 crore, has been in the UK since March 2016 and was arrested by the Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant on April 18. Baba Ramdev's remarks against those who refuse to say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' has landed him in trouble with a court in Rohtak issuing a non-bailable warrant against the yoga guru. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Harish Goyal issued the warrant against Baba Ramdev after he failed to appear in the court on Wednesday. Baba Ramdev had allegedly made a belligerent remark at a Sadbhawana Sammelan in Rohtak in April last year. He had allegedly said if it were not for the rule of law he would have "beheaded" lakhs of people for refusing to chant 'Bharat mata ki jai'. The court has fixed August 3 for next hearing in the case. Congress leader and former Haryana minister Subhash Batra had filed a complaint to the police against Baba Ramdev over the statement. The court had directed Baba Ramdev to pay Rs 1 lakh personal surety and asked him to appear in court on June 14. "The order follows Ramdev's failure to appear before the court yet again today. He also failed to appear despite summons and a bailable warrant," PTI quoted OP Chugh, the counsel for the complainant in the case, as saying. Baba Ramdev is vocal about his patriotism. Ramdev's FMCG company Patanjali's ad campaigns often focus on the firm's Indian identity and heavily criticize the use of products produced by foreign multinationals. Diesel and petrol prices will change every day from tomorrow. Oil marketing companies (OMC) ran a 40-day pilot in five cities - Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Udaipur, and Visakhapatnam - before deciding to roll out the fluctuating price system nationally. Until now, diesel and petrol prices were revised on a fortnightly basis. State-run companies - Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum - operate 54,000 petrol pumps in the country. There could be confusion about the prices in early days as reports say not all petrol pumps have their system automated to implement the change. So, when you visit a petrol pump tomorrow, here are few things to keep in mind: Prices to change at 6 a.m. everyday: Petrol prices will change at 6 a.m. everyday. It was earlier supposed to change at 11 p.m every day. However, petrol pump dealers opposed the timings saying they would need additional resource to make the price change that late in the night. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the decision to change the time to 6 a.m. had been taken after discussions with dealers association. "There was some practical difficulties which we have addressed in our meeting with leadership of all the three petroleum dealers association today," he said. This means that consumers can check the petrol prices early on in the day. ALSO READ: After diesel, petrol, govt plans to revise CNG prices on daily basis Check price through SMS/Mobile App: Customers who want to know about the daily petrol prices can check the cost by sending a SMS or logging into Indian Oil's mobile app. The app Fuel@IOC will carry both diesel and petrol prices. Customers can type RSPDEALER CODE and send it to 92249-92249 to receive the fuel prices through sms. "Customers would be able to fetch daily updated prices of petrol and diesel at all cities through Indian Oil's mobile app Fuel@IOC. Alternatively, customers may cross-check the prices applicable in their cities by sending SMS RSPDEALER CODE to 92249-92249. The Dealer Code of each petrol pump would be prominently displayed in the petrol pump premises," IOCL said. Fluctuations may not be huge: Many consumers must be worried about huge change in fuel prices, but this may not be the case unless international fuel prices see a big change. Also, the price change pilot has already been conducted in five cities. "The daily price revision is an initiative for ensuring the best possible prices to the customers as well as improved transparency in the pricing mechanism," IOCL said. ALSO READ: Daily price revision of petrol and diesel: Here's how to check the cost CNG price could change too: In the days ahead, it may not just be diesel and petrol prices that see a daily price change. Those using CNG may have to get used to a similar fluctuating prices. A lot of people use CNG in their vehicles as it's a cheaper option compared to petrol and diesel. Indian Oil Corporation CMD Sanjay Singh has said the OMCs are in the process of revising CNG price on a daily basis. No strike on Friday: Petrol pump owners had earlier called for a "no-sale-no-purchase" strike on 16 June, the day daily revision in fuel prices was supposed to be implemented. This has now been called off. Federation of All India Petroleum Traders decided to call off the strike after the government agreed to alter the timing of price change from midnight to 6 a.m. in the morning. However, the dealers are also demanding a higher commission. "We are withdrawing our [strike] call. We have been assured there will be a higher dealer commission from July. However, the rate of increase will be decided later. We have asked for a 5 per cent increase on both petrol and diesel," Ashok Badhwar, president, Federation of All India Petroleum Traders told Business Standard. Also watch: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre over the notification banning sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter at animal markets across the country after a PIL was filed by a Hyderabad-based NGO. The court also asked the Centre to file its response in two weeks and posted the matter for hearing on July 11, 2017. Petitioner Mohammed Abdul Faheem Qureshi, who moved the top court on June 7, 2017 has challenged the notification, saying it violates the right to free trade. Early this month, the central government banned sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter at animal markets across India. A gazette notification, titled Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 by the ministry states that no one can bring cattle to an animal market unless he or she has furnished a written declaration that the cattle will not be sold for the purpose of slaughter. The first central regulation for cattle business allows only farmland owners to trade at animal markets. This means cattle can be sold only to a person who has documents to prove he is an "agriculturist". The notification covers bulls, bullocks, cows, buffalos, steers, heifers and calves, as well as the camel trade. Rent is generally one of the biggest component of the monthly expenditure that you make. Now, you can not only pay your rent through credit card but can also earn reward points on the amount paid. A London based fintech company, RedGirraffe, is offering a facility to pay rent through credit card using its online platform "RentPay". For this, it has tied up with various banks including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. So, if you have a credit card from one of the banks that have collaborated with RedGirraffe, you can use it to pay rent. How you can do it To enroll for this facility you have to visit the website www.redgirraffe.com and create a RG Property ID by filling up the details of the rental property and attaching the rental agreement. The tenant will mention the bank account details of the landlord in the form. After submitting the form, a mail will be sent to the tenant's mail id for giving standing instructions to the bank. After this one time registration, your monthly rent will be deducted automatically on a predetermined date. "Bank and RedGirraffe.com have strong processes of inbuilt compliance and other tenant verification/reference checks. All the bank accounts remain automatically linked to Aadhaar and PAN details. In cases where the accounts are not linked, such customers are not allowed to transact via RentPay anyway. Apart from this level 1 verification mode, there are another 17 point checks (carried out between the bank and RedGirraffe.com) during each tenant onboarding. The verification happens over a period of 50 working days," said Manoj Nair, Founder and CEO, RedGirafffe.com. Why it is beneficial The advantages of using this platform is you get 45-60 days of credit as your rent remains in your savings bank account and you earn returns on the amount. Also, if you use credit card, you can avail reward points depending on the offer that your bank is giving. "Since rent payments are typically large transactions, such spends enable customers to earn significant reward points. These points can be redeemed against the banks catalogue of over 200 options including products, gift vouchers, e-vouchers and air miles. Cardholders can even redeem points to pay their outstanding on the card," adds Vijay Jasuja, CEO, SBI Cards. Apart from this it will also help the tenant build a good CIBIL score which can help him or her get loans at relatively better rates compared to a person with no or bad CIBIL score. What are the charges? A transaction fees of 0.39 per cent with a minimum of Rs 39 per transaction will be charged from the credit card holders of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank. Apart from this a service tax will be levied on it. So, for every Rs 10,000 rent paid the gross transaction fees including service tax comes to around Rs 45. However, in case of SBI Cards, an additional banking transaction charge of 1.75 per cent plus taxes shall be charged extra by the bank. If everything goes as planned, pilgrims will soon travel to Shirdi, the town famous for its Saibaba temple, in just 40 minutes from Mumbai. According to a report in the Indian Express, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate a new airport near Shirdi. With this, the travel time will reduce to just 40 minutes which otherwise takes five long hours for travelling by road. The airport has been partly funded by the Saibaba Sansthan Trust, the report further added. The airport, apart from Mumbai, will also connect Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, the report quoted officials as saying. "We expect four flights a day in the beginning. Aircraft ranging from ATRs to an Airbus 320 could land here," the report quoted Suresh Kakani, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), as saying. The Shirdi airport got sanctioned in 2010, will now be owned and operated by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company. The airport costs a whopping Rs 340 crore, out of which Rs 45 crore has been given by the Saibaba Sansthan Trust. Also watch: Telecom regulator TRAI has recommended that international roaming SIM card and global calling card providers should pay Rs 5,000 as compensation to consumers who face service failure during an overseas travel. The compensation of Rs. 5,000 has been suggested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) both for pre-paid and post-paid subscribers. Pre-paid customers should additionally get full refund of the amount they have already paid to the service provider, TRAI suggested to the telecom department, DoT. The regulator's recommendations pertain to the sale and rent of international roaming SIM cards and global calling cards of foreign operators in India. The compensation has been recommended in cases of "non-activation of services, no usage of the card for reasons beyond the control of the customer like poor network coverage, in-compatibility of handsets etc". TRAI has also said that the penalty and refund should be remitted to the customer within 15 days of their return and reporting non-usage of the card. The sector regulator also suggested cancellation of the permits of such companies in case 10 per cent of the total international SIM cards sold by them are found to be non-working. The regulator recommended that international SIM card sellers should set up grievance redressal mechanism. For early settlement of complaints they should set up an appellate authority having representation from the company and the telecom department, it said. TRAI has also recommended that purchase of global calling cards and International SIM cards be done though digital mode only that is net banking, credit or debit cards and e-wallets. The move by TRAI follows detailed discussions with international SIM card and global calling card companies, after a number of user complaints were received by the regulator. The discussion between regulator and players was held after an SMS-based survey initiated by the regulator revealed that nearly half the consumers who used such services claimed it worked partially or did not work at all. TRAI has also favoured cancellation of permits of 23 companies which did not respond to its call for discussion on the issue. Top: The artwork of 2017 Art in Transit contest winner Carter Ostermiller, a Ridgeline High School student, wrapped on a CVTD bus. Bottom: The artwork of 2016 runner-up Ivy Rich, a Mountain Crest High School graduate, on a CVTD paratransit bus. The buses will be unveiled and parked for public viewing June 15-17, 2017 during the Summerfest Arts Faire. CACHE COUNTY In partnership with the Cache Valley Transit District (CVTD) and the Bear River Health Department (BRHD), the Cache County School District (CCSD) will unveil three projects during the Summerfest Arts Faire this weekend in celebration of the 6th annual Art in Transit: From Schools to Community Project. The projects, showcased on two CVTD buses, will be on display for public viewing from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 15-16, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 17. One bus will be parked at the southeast corner of the Logan Tabernacle parking lot (50 N. Main), with the other bus being parked at the corner of Center Street and 100 East. Aurora Hughes Villa, district arts coordinator with the CCSD, said the goal of the Art in Transit project is to display art created by children in public places, showcasing their work both inside and outside of CVTD buses. Featured during Summerfest will be a large CVTD bus wrapped with the work of Ridgeline High School student Carter Ostermiller and a smaller paratransit bus wrapped with a design by Ivy Rich, who graduated from Mountain Crest High School last year. Villa said the theme of the Art in Transit contest is Share the Air. She said students are tasked with creating imagery that connects with the theme, and her office received more than 100 entries this year. She said the judging committeecomprised of CVTD members, the director of Summerfest and a local artistwas so excited about Ostermillers artwork that they decided to reproduce his original design to sell at Summerfest. Proceeds will benefit the Art in Transit Project. Its kind of this fun, kind of scientific, artistic approach to the whole theme of Share the Air, Villa said. His designs a little different from the past years, and its a little more conceptual. Its just a real eye catcher, so Im excited about kind of hearing what the response is. After they view the outer wrap of the larger bus, Villa invites visitors to Summerfest to hop on and look inside. The inside of the bus is decorated with artwork by the top 10 student artists who entered this years contest, along with pictures painted by third graders at Lincoln Elementary School. Its just beautiful, said Villa. Theyre self-portraits of the students that they created with watercolors and landscapes and different buildings and houses. The project is called My Community in Me, and Im excited for the Summerfest participants to come and see that as well. The Art in Transit project is supported by grants from the Daniel Robert Lynch Art Foundation, the Cache Education Foundation, the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Sorenson Legacy Foundation. For more information about the Art in Transit project, contact Villa at 435-752-3925. Come and see this triple unveiling at Summerfest, she said. Im just really excited to have that variety for people to see. Mike Kimel | June 14, 2017 10:28 pm From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: Indigenous advocates from around the world are calling on a UN committee to make appropriating Indigenous cultures illegal and to do it quickly. Delegates from 189 countries, including Canada, are in Geneva this week as part of a specialized international committee within the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a United Nations agency. Heres more: Speaking to the committee Monday, James Anaya, dean of law at the University of Colorado, said the UNs negotiated document should obligate states to create effective criminal and civil enforcement procedures to recognize and prevent the non-consensual taking and illegitimate possession, sale and export of traditional cultural expressions. Anaya said the document should also look at products that are falsely advertised as Indigenous made or endorsed by Indigenous groups. Canadians often aggravate peaceful and reasonable people all over the world. Because of that, it is no surprise to find Canada among the worst offenders when it comes to abuse of the indigenous population: There are Indigenous groups from around the world taking part in this round of negotiations, including groups from New Zealand, Kenya, Mexico, Colombia and the United States. There is no Indigenous representation in the Canadian delegation. Officials with Global Affairs Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Canadian Heritage are taking part in this round of negotiations, but the lack of Canadian Indigenous representatives is drawing criticism from the Assembly of First Nations. In any scenario in which property rights are being assigned, there are always eager claimants. Fortunately, when it comes to the Canadian First Nations, one of the tribal elders and knowledge keepers can tell us precisely who are the authorities who should oversee the creation of guidelines and a process for utilizing Indigenous knowledge in any activities: The elders and knowledge keepers are the authorities who should oversee the creation of guidelines and a process for utilizing Indigenous knowledge in any activities, Assembly of First Nations national chief Perry Bellegarde told CBC in a written statement. But once again there is the issue of the exploitative nature of the Canadians: There was no word on whether the federal government plans to consult with the AFN after this round of negotiations wraps up on Friday. Now, I am not an attorney, but I cannot understand how this could work separately from the copyright and patent process. And to my knowledge, copyrights and patents dont touch on culture. Nor to my knowledge do they get assigned to large groups of people and administered by a council of elders. Culture, from what I can tell, is a tough thing to assign. For example, the Navajo (mentioned in the CBC article) are well known for their blankets, suggesting that production of anything resembling such blankets and their design should involve royalties paid to the Navajo. And for a new design, copyright laws work fine. But my reading of the UNs intent is that older designs (say those that have been in use for a long time) or even the very concept of a Navajo design rate protection and payment to the Navajo tribe. However, there is some evidence that the creation of those blankets is a recent phenomenon. It may be that a Spanish trader came up with the whole idea. It hasnt, so far, been in anyones interest to dig very deeply into the issue. But, if it turned out that the concept of Navajo blankets is, in fact, the brainchild of some unwashed and forgotten Spaniard of a few centuries back, what then? Would the Navajo owe the Spanish three hundred years worth of royalties? And which Spanish people are owed? No doubt among the various claimants to the Spanish empire, a council of elders could be assembled. And of course, the council of elders would decide that the council of elders should decide. If the UN goes the route its headed, someone will have to tackle problems like these. Plus, it isnt going to stop with the rights of what tend to be called indigenous people. After all, the First People seem to actually be the second people, having mostly wiped the actual first people out. That, of course, is a sadly consistent feature of human history. With the possible exception of the San, every one of us descend from butchers who engaged in genocide and other atrocities. In a world where indigenous seems to simply mean former conquerors who have since been vanquished heres the sort of issue that will eventually come up: is it cultural appropriation for non Jews to treat Jerusalem as a Holy City? Even accounting for the UNs anti-Semitism, that question alone will result in quite a show. So when it comes, get comfortable. Take out your mouth-plate, loosen up your piu piu, adjust your koteka, kick off your moccasins, put up your feet and enjoy. Brussels determined to impose refugee quotas Published on June 15, 2017 Story by euro topics en es it fr de pl "Decisions that have been made are applicable law, even if one voted against them". With these words EU Commission President Juncker has defended the opening of infringement procedures against Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The three states are refusing to comply with the quota system for the distribution of refugees decided in 2015. Are sanctions justified? Row over distribution just a sham - Heti Valasz, Hungary The row over refugee distribution isn't really about the refugees, Heti Valasz explains: Hungary certainly wouldn't go to pieces if it took in the 1,294 migrants Brussels has prescribed. And for the EU's leading member states as well as for Italy and Greece, which are demanding more solidarity, it won't make much of a difference whether the Central Europeans take in ten thousand migrants or not since within the next few months far more refugees will wash up on the coast of Sicily alone. The quota system is not a viable solution. The Commission is insisting on it because it wants to convey the impression that it is doing something about the refugees. But in reality it doesn't have any kind of plan. (14/06/2017) The fight must be fought - Gazeta Polska Codziennie, Poland The conflict is about more fundamental issues, Gazeta Polska Codziennie agrees: The core of the controversy between the EU Commission and Poland over refugee quotas revolves around the question of the leadership of the European Union. We're facing a situation in which decisions that have no legal basis are being forced on certain member states. ... That risks setting a precedent for decisions that violate existing treaties and violate the sovereignty of individual states. ... Today the issue is migrants, but once this decision-making model has been used one time it could be applied at will in the future. Of course we can't accept that, so this conflict is well worth the trouble. (14/06/2017) Prague's migration policy unserious - Hospodarske Noviny, Czechia If the Czech Republic rejects the EU's migration policy it should at least do it in an honest and consistent way, Hospodarske noviny criticises: We're lying up our sleeves. We don't reject the distribution quotas because we're afraid they won't work, but because we're afraid they will. ... De facto, however, we're not offering any other solution either to Europe or the refugees. ... For instance we could make a serious attempt to negotiate a permanent exemption in this area with the EU, as Denmark has done. Naturally that would entail many risks. Imagine, for example, if the Ukraine conflict escalates, the Czech Republic is flooded with hundreds of thousands of refugees, Germany closes the door and no one will help us. As things stand, however, as long as we're part of this mechanism we're obliged to respect it. (14/06/2017) Flexible solidarity is just a scam - Dennik N, Slovakia The politicians in Brussels have realised that the "flexible solidarity" the Visegrad states talk of is in fact no solidarity at all, Dennik N observes: According to the official announcements by Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, 'flexible solidarity' means that each state contributes to solving the crisis depending on its resources. However in Brussels and other member states people aren't as dumb as the Central and Eastern European countries had hoped. They have understood that this was just a cheap ploy. We shouldn't get upset now that Brussels is contemplating financial sanctions against us. And we certainly can't accuse the EU of lacking solidarity. Solidarity is a word we should avoid altogether. (09/06/2017) --- 30 Countries, 300 Media Outlets, one press review. euro|topics presents the issues affecting Europe and reflects the continent's diverse opinions, ideas and moods. Story by euro topics Roma: It's not black or white Published on June 15, 2017 en de pl es it It seems that discrimination against the Roma community in Germany is still on the rise. They are calling for a 'right for all to stay' as the authorities send them back to their homelands. One of the aims of the first World Romani Congresses was to create a more integrated society. But has this been successful? The atmosphere at the demonstration in April in Berlin for the Roma community shifted between one of anger, frustration and belligerence. A motley crew gathered at the Neukoellner Hermannplatz, and prosters held giant banners with Roma flags and slogans such as 'All Roma to stay'. The colourful and noisy protest set off, accompanied by police officers. As the group was tailed by a yellow pick-up truck and lead by giant speakers, the protester's powerful words pierced the morning air. Good and bad foreigners The Romani are the largest ethnic minority group in Europe, many of which come from the eastern and southern parts of the continent. 'Roma' is an umbrella term used to describe a group that shares similar cultural characteristics, and includes the Sinti. Most of the Roma who live in Germany have lived there for many generations and have German citizenship. They do not benefit from special support programmes, and consider themselves well integrated, according to the Germany's 2011 report to the European Commission. In his 2016 study "Die enthemmte Mitte" [NB. "The Uninhibited Center"], Johannes Kiess - research associate at Siegen University - examined German attitudes towards Roma. The research was based on state-wide investigations on right-wing extremist attitudes in Germany. While the acceptance of right-wing extremism declined, another problem arose: "We are moving away from traditional xenophobia and antisemitism and towards a more specific devaluation of people. There is this dichotomy of 'good' and 'bad' foreigners, and the Roma, refugees and Muslims fall into the latter category." These groups are categorised as such because of their supposed 'negative qualities': "Roma are perceived as a threat to prosperity," says Kiess. Georgi Ivanov, a coordinator of the welfare advice service Amaroforo, says that it's not really possible to define the Roma as a single group. Amaroforo is the Berlin association of the AmaroDrom community, which mobilises Roma and non-Roma, allowing them to participate in community life. I am embarrassed to be Romani Another obstacle for the community is that many find it difficult to identify as Romani. Safeta Zwietasch from Amaroforo was reminded of a young boy who did an internship with them, who was "embarrassed to show his internship certificate because the association works for and with the Roma." On the contrary, being a Bosnian native herself, Zwietasch has been open about her Romani heritage ever since she started working for the organisation. "Before, I was concerned that I could lose my job and was worried that my child would be bullied at school. Now I like to show my allegiance to the Romani people." It seems, however, that discrimination only affects those who have certain physical features, which is in line with the 'foreigner' stereotype. "If a Romani person is blonde with blue eyes, then they simply won't face the same level of discrimination," Kiess explains. Who can stay? In Berlin, the focus is set on making sure a ban on deportation is implemented. According to Statista, the statistics portal, the Roma population in Germany has about 120,000 people. This is only an estimate, however, because since the end of World War II, socio-economic and demographic data have not been collected on the basis of ethnic affiliation in Germany, and no data has been recorded in the Civil Register on this matter. Legally speaking, identifying as Romani shouldn't weigh on a citizen's status in Germany. Nonetheless, Roma mostly fight for their rights as Roma people and less so for their rights as Romanians, Serbians or Albanians. This is due to the fact that, not only are they the largest ethnic minority group in Europe, but also because they are the community most often subjected to discrimination. According to Marijo Terzic, manager of the Duisburg Integration Centre, discrimination can occur anywhere and in any situation. Perhaps the Romani people's fight for their rights can be linked to Germany's past of preferential treatment for specific groups of people, during the time of National Socialism. Time and time again, at protests in Neukoelln, the responsibility of the country towards the Romani people has augmented. Protesters believe that Germany is obliged to offer them the right to freedom of movement and the right to housing. Marijo Terzic works in Nordrhein-Westfalishen Duisburg, a hotspot for Roma migration flows from the Balkans. He believes that: "The state is stripping itself of responsibility and handing over the integration work to the local authorities, who are struggling to keep their heads above water. We are overrun with Roma coming here for language courses and we simply cannot work quickly enough to meet their needs," he says. Authorised or not, the measures for integration are the same for everyone, regardless of whether or not they are Romani. The main focus of the integration strategy is: "... education, education, education. Giving children a chance, further down the line, to access traineeships. And with regards to adults, integration into the job market is enormously important." Georgi Ivanov takes a similar stance when it comes to matters of self-sufficience: "You need to be proactive. If you simply sit at home, complaining, nobody is going to be able to help you - integration is a two-way process." He believes the fact that so many Roma are locked outside of the job market is one of the biggest problems concerning integration. This is because Roma who come from non-EU countries, although 'tolerated', are not allowed to work. "Although many would like to work and many are also proficient in the local language, they aren't allowed to. Such is the paradox," he concludes. Different colours different measures across Europe For years, the European Union has launched a variety of projects in an attempt to end discrimination against different ethnic groups. In 2005, 12 EU states signed the Decade of Roma Inclusion programme, backed by the EU and the World Bank. Germany wasn't a member. Within the framework of the Decade of Roma Inclusion programme, the 'Roma Education Fund' was established; a fund which offers educational opportunities to Roma people living in member states. In spite of this, the EU's capacity to protect ethnic minorities has its limitations. Some question the usefulness of the Roma integration strategies. Some parts of Duisburg, Mannheim, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund or Berlin, which have a comparatively higher proportion of Romani people, indicate that the integration strategies to date have been unsuccessful. "We want the same rights as Jews who come to Germany," the voice on the speakers shouts. According to the State Ministry for Migration and Refugees, Jews are the exception when it comes to immigration; they can enjoy freedom of movement as long as they are nationals of the former Soviet Union and have a sound knowledge of the German language. Roma are Europeans - I don't understand why they have to leave At the Neukoelln protest, there are many people who aren't Romani. Amongst others, there is a Brasilian tourist who is there because she considers political engagement to be very important. "The Romani are also Europeans, I don't understand why they have to leave." From a purely legal standpoint, the Roma aren't being forced to leave because of their heritage. They have always been discriminated against in Germany. To accuse the enitre community of playing the victim would be short-sighted. There are German Roma living in Germany, just as there are perfectly integrated Romani immigrants living in the country, and there are also those who don't want to integrate or are unable to do so. As a young woman behind me on the train so perfectly put it: the prevailing prejudes are "purely racist," because ultimately, in every group of people there are the bad and the good. Translated from Roma: Und taglich grut das Schwarz-Wei-Denken "One of them is to return to PNG to continue my work with the archdiocese in helping local people on infrastructure and land issues," he said. Now back in New Zealand, Mr Tennent said he wants just two things. Mr Tennent had been working at the Rabaul archdiocese where among his roles was helping local people affected by multi-national Rimbunan Hijau's palm oil operations. Despite a court order staying his deportation, Douglas Tennent (pictured) was forced to leave PNG on Monday after being told on Friday by immigration officials he was abusing the conditions of his religious worker visa. A NEW Zealand missionary deported from Papua New Guinea says he wants PNG Immigration to spell out to him how he breached his visa. "And the other thing I want is for immigration to spell out to me how I breach my visa and if any groups have got concerns about my actions, set them out so I can respond. I have had no opportunity to respond." Mr Tennent also said he felt PNG Immigration officials misled him when ushering him out of the country. After being told of the deportation order, he agreed to accompany immigration officials from East New Britain to Port Moresby on Sunday on the understanding he'd get his phone back so he could communicate with his lawyer and the Archbishop. Despite receiving repeated assurances from Immigration officials that he'd get his phone back over the weekend, he was eventually relayed a message from the Chief Migration Officer that no communication was allowed. Mr Tennent said he felt betrayed. "They didn't give me my phone back until they pushed me through Immigration and Customs (on Monday)," he explained. "So when I finally got my phone back, I rang through to the lawyer and he said look, we've got a stay, you can't leave the country. The response was look, you've already left the country because you've passed through customs, so we cant stop you leaving the country." Keith Jackson writes. Colleagues of Mr Tennent in Rabaul were shocked and distressed by his deportation. Daisy Lisania, John Bart Lavu and 32 others asked on Facebook what crime Mr Tennent had committed. He was an advocate for the Archdiocese of Rabaul assisting concretely for the poor, they wrote. Please help us share this post so the unjust treatment of Mr Doug will be known by the world. People throughout PNG - including church leaders - have been horrified by the treatment of Mr Tennent, which is seen as revealing just how much the O'Neill government is at the beck and call of Rimbunan Hijau. The mission worker's peremptory expulsion shows that, where major investors are concerned, the government is willing to act with the utmost ruthlessness. It was a moment when the government disclosed the truth of Governor Gary Juffa's much repeated observation that it is a puppet of Asian commercial interests. Cameroonian Lawyer and US based Dr Davis Makongo called on over the 71 detained Anglophones in Yaounde to end their hunger strike and instead take care of them selves for health is wealth. Cameroon News Agency reports that he made his statement in a message posted on his official Facebook page, in which the President and founder of UDP demonstrated his seriousness by offering the sum of FCFA 500.000 to the inmates to use for their feeding. He told the detainees that their health was primordial in the ongoing struggle. Direct Message to Dr. Balla and Mr. Mancho to suspend the hunger strike by SC inmates in Kondengui. (500.000frsCFA for your feeding): Our dear brothers, HUNGER STRIKE could be SPIRITUALLY SWEET but its FRUITS are MORTALLY BITTER. If it makes sense for us to ask you to stop the hunger strike, it makes even more sense for us to donate the sum of 500.000frs so all of you can start eating good food and drinking clean water right away. While we continue praying and demanding the unconditional release of everyone, your health is very important to all of us, if you must be alive to see the joyous daybreak of your nightly sacrifices. For those who have already paid the intimate price in this struggle, we pray that God strengthen your families and provide you with a better place than you had here on earth. Your sacrifices will not be wasted. They will lead to freedom and peace all over our lands so we pray! God strengthen everybody! Dr. David Makongo (President Founder USP) Dr Makongo is not in his first intervention in cases on social issues in Cameroon, he reportedly donated the sum of FCFA 1000,000 to victims of Eseka train accident, same amount to students in Bamenda and Buea during the crisis. Inhabitants of Limbe can also vividly recall how he gave financial assistance to the Limbe village water project as well as paying of school fees to some 30 University of Buea students for 3 years. At least three persons have died and several others left in a state of shock after a fatal road accident which occurred along the Buea-Ekona highway Wednesday June 14, 2017 . A bike rider whose bike caught fire after the incident died on the spot with the passenger. The incident occurred when a 14 seater bus met in a head-on-collision with a red colored Carina E belonging to the CPDM Section president of Meme 1, John Kingue. He reportedly died from the wounds incurred. The injured victims were rushed to the Buea regional hospital while deceased were taken to the mortuary. The accident came just 12 days after 5 persons lost their lives on the same highway in a road accident. | BY Ricki Green | Raltcheva joins Balance with a brief for growth, after working for Penfolds, American Express, Tommy Hilfiger HQ in Amsterdam and Mindshare London and says she was attracted by the openness of the opportunity and the agency culture. Says Trent OSullivan, director, Balance: We are fortunate to have clients who have had the vision and commitment to adopt significant change in channel priorities and will be on the look out for additional partners who like our close working style. Were very excited to have Mariana leading the Digital team at Balance. | BY Ricki Green | Berlei has appointed The Monkeys, part of Accenture Interactive, to lead its creative account as the brand celebrates its centenary year anniversary. As an Australian brand run by women, for women, Berlei remains committed to supporting the modern woman, with pioneering products and ongoing research and development into new fabrics and technologies. Creative work is expected to roll out from August 2017 onwards. Says Zoe Hayes, marketing manager, Berlei: Berlei is at a pivotal point as we turn 100 years old. We have partnered with The Monkeys to reset the benchmark and create a remarkable foundation as we enter our next 100 years and release new ranges to support it. Says Mark Green, co-founder and CEO, The Monkeys : Berlei is an iconic Australian brand with brave marketers at the helm. We are looking forward to playing our part in the brands next chapter. | BY Ricki Green | Brett Colliver (left), CD, DDB is representing New Zealand on the Cannes Cyber Lions jury. Colliver, along with most of the other NZ and Australian jurors, is reporting exclusively for CB. Today the Cyber jury gathered in Cannes for the first official day of judging. Except it wasnt the first day. The truth is that every member of the jury has already judged hundreds upon hundreds of entries. Yes, gather round kids, its time for a story about the dreaded (cue horror music) prejudging. Id heard the stories and been Id be warned, but I had never realised the extent of it. It started around 8 weeks ago and was relentless until about a week before we arrived. Each of us had seen at least 500 pieces, which is a quarter of the entries. Think about that. When youre giving each piece a fair shot (and trust me, all of us are desperate to) thats at least 5 minutes per entry. Which sounds reasonable. Until you realise that even if you watch every video back to back, that equates to at least a day and a half worth of judging. Each. So naturally it was a hot topic last night at the jury welcoming drinks, where there were all sorts of stories about how people had managed to fit in their portion. Some had diligently planned out sessions. Some had crammed it in over a couple of weeks. Others had grabbed small windows wherever they could. And some, Im pretty sure, had simply asked for the Ludovico Treatment, like Alex in A Clockwork Orange All of which is fine, because every juror is eager to find the best work and would sit through twice as many videos if required. But its worth considering for a moment what prejudging means for your work. Its one thing to try to stand out in the jury room. Sure, theres a mountain of entries, but at least in that environment you have a captive audience. But now think about how your case study is viewed before it makes it anywhere near the jury room. Suddenly youve got a different audience to contend with. Suddenly youre trying to stand out to people who are in the middle of their regular lives. Suddenly, dare I say it, youre talking to someone from the real world. So you need to consider that your work might be watched by someone whos only got 12 minutes to spare as they shove their morning Weeties into their mouth. You might be talking to someone who, after working late on a last minute pitch, is less than jovial after getting home at 10:30pm for the third time that week. Or perhaps youve caught someone who just got back from an overseas shoot and isnt quite sure what timezone theyre in. Who knows. But this is the new reality of the big award shows. It may not be perfect but, given the quantity of entries, its necessary. So its never been more important to make sure you tell a bloody good story. To make sure its simple and that the viewer doesnt need to fill in too many gaps for themselves. And to make it entertaining. | BY Ricki Green | By Ben Welsh (left), chief creative officer, DDB Sydney The recent spate of terrorist attacks has led to tragedy, sorrow, fear and hatred. Shock is followed swiftly by calls for better intelligence, more police powers and a curtailing of our civil liberties. Like a killer disease we focus on the symptoms, obsessed with finding a cure, seemingly disinterested in combating the causes. Understanding awful human behavior invites accusations of condoning these acts, but surely, if we had a better understanding of what drives young men, and occasionally women, to kill and be killed in the name of Allah we would be closer to stopping them doing it? If we were to look at the radicalisation process I suspect it would have many similarities with a marketing strategy and ensuing advertising campaign. It would commence by identifying the target audience, developing insights and a compelling idea, then tying it all together with a clever media campaign. There may also be similarities with the typical recruitment for those pyramid-selling schemes; people getting in touch with people who are potentially susceptible to the idea. Word of mouth is still more pervasive than any ad so a word from a trusted source could be a key catalyst. Whatever the pathway, it all starts with an insight into the mind of the would-be bomber. Minds are complex things, particularly young male minds. I remember being told by an expert in youth depression that drugs and alcohol abuse werent the root cause, rather the subject self-medicating because their problems hadnt been identified. How much do we spend on understanding and mentally inoculating against the risk vs beefing up security? | BY Ricki Green | How will New Zealand perform at Cannes this year? In the lead up to the Festival, Campaign Brief will be showcasing the work we hope will impress the judges FCB, New Zealand In 80% of the house fires the NZ Fire Service responds to, working smoke alarms havent been installed. To get the public to understand the importance of having one, we mixed the burnt ashes of family homes with the ink of nine national and regional newspapers. So, when readers picked up their morning paper, they were literally holding the remains of a local home devastated by fire. FCB, New Zealand Testicular Cancer is the #1 Cancer for 15-39 year old males. But these young guys are completely oblivious to it. And its a little-known fact that exercise is one of the best and easiest things you can do to help prevent testicular cancer. #GoBallsOut was a social media led exercise challenge that got males using a free GPS Exercise tracking app to map the shape of a Cock & Balls. We asked them to share it on social media with #GoBallsOut, and challenge their mates to join in too. The challenge grew fast organically reaching 192 countries, with over 4 million people watching our videos and learning how to check for testicular cancer. FCB, New Zealand Telcos love to talk up the reliability of their network but its hard to show. So we enlisted the help of a world champion drift driver to put Vodafones 4G network to the test. We got Mad Mike Widdet to drive his Mazda RX7 around a custom-made drift course with blacked out windows using cameras on four smartphones mounted on the cars roof to deliver a live video feed streamed to Vodafones 4G network to four tablets inside Mikes blacked out interior. FCB, New Zealand | BY Ricki Green | Clemenger BBDO, Sydney has today launched its campaign for the Dry July Foundation. The Foundation, now in its 10th year, challenges Aussies to drop booze for the month of July to help raise much needed funds for people affected by cancer. Although the Foundation has raised more than $26.5 million over the past decade, the cause behind Dry July hasnt always been clear to the average Joe. The challenge this year was to make people understand that raising funds for cancer patients is what drives the Foundation. Every month, an average of 11,181 Australians are diagnosed with cancer. No one asks for cancer. But Dry July is asking for help. This year, the creative campaign takes a tonal shift, as actual cancer patients were recruited to ask Aussies to sign up for Dry July. Says Brett Macdonald, co-founder and CEO, Dry July: We are grateful for the support and donations of those Australians who have taken part in Dry July over the past decade. We couldnt have imagined that raising over $26.5 million was possible when we started all those years ago. This year we wanted the creative to remind people that taking part in Dry July is more than just giving up alcohol its a chance to make a real difference to the lives of people affected by cancer all around Australia. You are not taking part in Dry July unless you are raising money or supporting someone who is. The campaign kicks off this week with a website, TV, radio, social and digital OOH. Visit www.dryjuly.com for more information. Client: Dry July Foundation Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer: Brett Macdonald Marketing Manager: Katie Evans Agency: Clemenger BBDO Sydney Executive Creative Director: Ben Coulson Managing Director: Emily Perrett Creative Directors: Brendan Willenberg, Ben Clare Creatives: Sophie Horne, Salah Ben-Brahim Planner: Toby Clark Senior Account Director: Holly Whiteley Account Coordinator: William Mulholland Senior Producer: Claire Bisset Senior Sound Engineer: Anthony Tiernan Editors: Alex Guterres, Jess Morgan Production Company: Rabbit Content Director: Craig Rasmus Executive Producers: Alex Hay and Lucas Jenner Producer: Rita Gagliardi DOP: Michael Latham Casting: Peter Einberg Casting Colourist: Fergus Rotherham- BE Colour Stills Photographer: Scott Davidson | BY Ricki Green | Niccola Phillips (left), head of art, M&C Saatchi Sydney is representing Australia on the Cannes Design Lions jury. Phillips, along with most of the other Australia and NZ jurors reports exclusively for CB. Its all in the eyes. The doorman manages to effortlessly convey to me that you smell like the excrement of one thousand bovines while simultaneously pretending that I dont exist. Disorienting, because the perfumier in Le Marais assured me that I would actually smell like Tilda Swintons childhood bedroom and also, strangely, of carrot cake. The 80 euros worth of artisanal fragrance that separates last weeks Western Australian dairy farm shoot and this evenings stroll down La Croisette now seems flimsy. Inadequate, actually. Thats how I find myself hyperventilating in a corridor in The Carlton, reassuring myself that unlike my last CB Legendary Lunch appearance, this time Im dressed nothing like a waitress. No one is going to be thrusting their empties at me while I politely try to explain that Im actually a head of art at M&C Saatchi. This time Im going to be the one ordering the roses. And I do. By rose number four Im flying. Im the carrot-cake-scented belle of the jury welcome drinks. Im not quite committing to skinny dipping in exchange for an invitation to the Swedish party next Wednesday. Im an honorary South African now. | BY Ricki Green | WPP AUNZ has announced the appointment of Elissa Good-Omozusi to the newly created role of chief HR and talent director, with a clear objective to engage, grow and retain the best talent across the groups 80 operating companies. Reporting directly to WPP AUNZ CEO Mike Connaghan, Good-Omozusi will work with WPP AUNZ head of talent acquisition, Tom Stevenson and WPP AUNZ talent, wellbeing and development director, Fleur Marks, ensuring a collaborative and aligned approach across all HR and talent functions within the group. Says Connaghan: The size and complexity of our group demands we have a central HR resource. After an extensive six-month search we are delighted Elissa will be joining the team, particularly as she already has an intimate knowledge of WPP garnered from her seven years at GroupM. We know we have found the best qualified person to collectively bring together the strengths of our most powerful resource: our people. Says Good-Omozusi: I am delighted to be given the opportunity to work alongside such a collaborative leadership team who are genuinely focused on talent. My goal is to work with the existing HR and Talent community in continuing to build a best in class culture, and ensure each and every one of our 5,500 WPP AUNZ employees feel empowered and supported to do great work. With nearly two decades of senior global and local HR experience in the advertising and digital industries, Good-Omozusi was most recently chief HR and talent officer for Australias leading media investment group, GroupM. At GroupM she was responsible for driving the HR and Talent function across the Group with a particular focus on their future talent initiatives. Prior to that she was with Publicis UK for 10 years providing HR and talent management solutions across the UK Publicis Group of agencies. | BY Lynchy | Mudah.my recently launched a campaign encouraging its core target market Malay youths and young adults to go onto Mudah.my for their buying and selling needs ahead of Hari Raya or Eid al-Fitr, one of the major festive celebrations in Malaysia. Conceptualized by Isobar Malaysia, the #GoodByeGoodBuy campaign strapline, Turn Your Goodbyes into Someones Good Buy was brought to life through an online video. It centres around the point-of-view of a young Malaysian who wants to sell off some of his old possessions to earn money for a new purchase, which will enable him to balik kampung (return to his hometown) for the festive season. The video is presumably told through the eyes of the young man, but a twist at the end reveals otherwise and results in an unexpected happy ending. Isobar also created a dedicated campaign microsite (goodbyegoodbuy.my) that allows users to write break-up letters to the items that they wish to sell. The basic premise of the microsite allows Mudah.my to inject a little fun into the selling of pre-loved items. The process of listing and uploading photos of items and information was made easier with user-friendly templates, and users can then post the item that they have broken up with on Mudah.my and Facebook. Andrew Pinto, Head of Marketing, Mudah.my, said, This year, Mudah.my wants to reach out to and encourage young adults to declutter as well as give their unused items a second lease of life. The #GoodbyeGoodBuy campaign is an excellent opportunity for them to clear the things they are not using anymore, and to buy what they need. San Yen Liew, Executive Creative Director of Isobar Malaysia, said, Buying and selling online doesnt need to be boring and transactional. We wanted this campaign to lend a little humour to the whole process. We also know people sometimes need a gentle push to let go of their items, so we had a lot of fun coming up with the concept of breaking-up. To further engage users, Mudah.my is also conducting mini-contests on its Facebook page. Users are required to watch the video on Mudah.mys website, and find the robots featured within, to stand a chance of bringing home the vintage robot theyd found. The #GoodByeGoodBuy campaign is running solely in the digital space. It will run for approximately one and a half months and is being promoted via web banners, social media postings and shorter 15s videos that drive traffic to goodbyegoodbuy.my and Mudah.my. Credits Isobar Malaysia Managing Director Ben Chew Executive Creative Director Liew Sanyen Creative Group Heads Celestine Lau, Wong Chin Wei Copywriter David Lim Group Account Director Jean Tang Brand Manager Sharon Hew Production Sotong Potong Studio Art Director: Lim Kean Woei Designer: Estelle Lai Web Developer: Andrian Tam Mudah.my Head of Marketing Andrew Pinto "The feedback we got was, 'Please do it again', 'This is the first time I've given my child a farm experience', 'Please keep it authentic'. And we're going to do all that," Ms McArdle-English said. "Pushing light rail down Parkes Way, which would be down Constitution Avenue to Russell then down across Kings [Avenue], around Capital Circle would certainly add significant trip time and significant cost I would imagine but to your point Chair, yes if the NCA came to the view this landscape and Commonwealth Avenue was far too sensitive to introduce something as sensitive as light rail well we could veto that route." JOHANNESBURG - The South African State Owned Entity (SOE) Transnet and Chinese locomotive manufacturer CRRC are exploring ways to further strengthen their cooperation, senior officials of both sides said Wednesday. In an interview with Xinhua at the Africa Rail 2017 in Johannesburg, Thamsanqa Jiyane, Chief Advanced Manufacturing Officer of Transnet, said they are negotiating with CRRC to take their relationship to another level. Transnet has been providing CRRC facilities to produce locomotives. "The Chinese with a short space of time have done what the EU and the United States failed to do over years in terms of skills transfer and some of the things we never dreamed we will have ... The Chinese have brought a new kind of partnership where they impart skills for our future use on our own," said Jiyane. He said the relationship with the Chinese have been very cordial while hailing the mutual learning between Transnet and CRRC. Wang Guojun, General Manager of CRRC South Africa, told Xinhua that CRRC have supplied South Africa with over 250 locomotives since 2013, terming the relations between the two SOEs as excellent. "The global economy is currently facing difficulties and we are exploring news areas of cooperation. We are thinking of using new models like leasing the locomotive since some do not have money to buy in current environment," said Wang. Both executives confirmed that there have been frequent visits of employees of both companies on exchange programs and share knowledge, skills and good practice. The two-day Africa Rail 2017 conference and exhibition ended on Wednesday. AUBURN Two years after being sentenced to probation, Brandon Hinman could now face up to 14 years in prison. The 34-year-old Weedsport native returned to Cayuga County criminal court Thursday on a charge of violating probation. Hinman was initially sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation back in June 2015 after pleading guilty to two felonies third-degree grand larceny and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. At the time, the Army veteran had admitted stealing nearly $50,000 in funds raised for his family following the premature birth of his twin daughters and the unexpected death of his wife, Jenna, in 2014. According to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann, there were three primary conditions of Hinman's probation: he had to pay restitution, complete felony drug court and fulfill his duties as a father. Two years later, both the district attorney and Hinman's in-laws said he has continuously violated those conditions. Hinman's first violation of probation occurred two months after his initial release from jail in late 2015 when he was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license. Then, in May 2017, he was arrested again for allegedly failing to report to court, missing probation meetings, leaving the jurisdiction and using drugs and alcohol. In court Thursday, Hinman denied another violation. Judge Thomas Leone accepted the denial, but offered Hinman a deal if Hinman pleaded guilty to the violation, Leone would sentence him to two to six years in prison. Otherwise, Hinman could face 2 1/3 to seven years in prison on each count, which could run consecutively for a total of 14 years. After Hinman's denial, Jenna's mother, Kim Blaisdell, said the family was relieved the case was back in criminal court and hoped it would be resolved soon. "(Brandon) is not a fool. He went to college for criminal justice. He knows what to do and what not to do and he's just prolonging it," Blaisdell said. "He could plead guilty ... which would save a lot of time and taxpayer money, but (regardless) we believe justice will be served." Hinman has been incarcerated at the Cayuga County jail without bail since May 15. He will appear back in court for a hearing June 29. "We want justice," Blaisdell said. "(Brandon) has had no care in the world. Maybe now he'll sit in prison and think about everything that he's done." All of this, and more, was recognised in the Queens Birthday Honours list released on the weekend with dozens of Canberrans celebrated for going above and beyond in their desire to help others, to be the best they could be and to keep the vision of a better world alive. CHATHAM Mark Chester began taking the photographs that became The Bay State: A Multicultural Landscape in 2015, well before immigration became the hot-button issue it is today. This is not intended to be a geopolitical project, said Chester, who grew up in Springfield and now lives in Woods Hole, but it seems like it's becoming more meaningful. Chester's project involves photographing more than 400 naturalized U.S. citizens from all over Massachusetts. The subjects hail from nearly 190 of the world's 195 countries. A selection of the photographs, featuring residents of Cape Cod, are on display at the Eldredge Public Library's Forgeron Room through June 30. On Thursday, June 22 at 7 p.m., the library will hold a meet and greet with Chester. The seeds of the project were planted decades ago when Chester, then a freelance photographer based in San Francisco, was given the assignment of doing photographs for Charles Kuralt's book of essays, Dateline America. One of the places he photographed was Ellis Island. This was 1978, and the facility where hundreds of thousands of immigrants arrived earlier in the century was neglected and rundown. It was just a mess, actually, Chester recalled in a telephone interview last week. It still had the patina of the late 1800s, early 1900s. Although his grandparents and father had immigrated from Belarus, they didn't come through Ellis Island, but that photography experience helped him realize that, like most Americans, he was from a family of immigrants. That always stayed with me, he said. Fast forward to 2010. Chester was living in Woods Hole when he saw a news article in which then-Gov. Deval Patrick talked about the diversity of the state's population. Looking at the census figures, Chester saw that people representing more than 100 nationalities live in the Bay State. That got me thinking, where are they? he said. He began attending naturalization ceremonies in Boston and other locations throughout the state; officials sent him lists of countries of origin of the participants and he began tracking them down one by one. He'd show up at the ceremonies some of which included thousands of new citizens and call out the names of countries. If someone responded, he told them about his project and, if they were willing, arranged a photo shoot. Some connections were made purely at random. A man he saw repairing shoes in a shop in Harvard Square turned out to be from Greece, a country he hadn't checked off yet. When looking for a native of Brunei, he discovered that another of his photographic subjects from Samoa had gone to school with someone from Brunei. In other cases, he contacted embassies and consulates to try to track down residents from specific countries. Almost everyone he approached agreed to be photographed, Chester said. Many invited him to their homes; he leaves the location of the shoot and other details such as whether the person wants to dress in native clothing or not up to his subjects. I've made friendships with a lot of people, he said of the process. He uses natural light so prefers outdoor settings. I'm interested in the subject and the presentation. The idea was more or less from a photographic point of view, to show what a person from Madagascar looks like compared to a person from Albania, he said. What is the physiognomy of different countries. The goal was also to show the diversity represented by immigrants living in Massachusetts, and to pique curiosity about where they'd come from and why they are here. He ended up traveling around the world without leaving the state, he said. A non-profit organization, the Mark Chester Diversity Project, endorsed by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, grew out of the photographs. An exhibit of the photos has been touring libraries and other locations throughout the state since 2015; there are actually three separate exhibits, Chester said, currently in Chatham, Milton and Hingham. They will continue to circulate through 2018. Chester has also put together a book featuring the photos, The Bay State: A Multicultural Landscape Photographs of New Americans, which he plans to distribute free to state schools, libraries and community organizations as part of an education component of the project, called Teaching Children Tolerance, Diversity and Social Justice. He is currently raising the money to publish 3,500 copies, one of which will be given to each of his photographic subjects. The project presented other challenges for Chester; it was the first time he'd worked with a digital camera, and it was a departure from the street photographer approach he'd used for years as a freelance photographer. He began his career as an intern on the Steve Allen Show, taking behind the scenes photos. For years he was director of photography and staff photographer for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in New York City for about 25 years. He ended up in the San Francisco area where he freelanced for national and regional publications, traveling extensively. I always had a wanderlust, he said. Even as a youngster, I always wondered what another place was like. His photos are in the collections of numerous museums, including the Cape Cod Museum of Art, and he's published two books along with the Kuralt volume: No In America, a tongue-in-cheek collection of No signs, and Twosomes, photos of pairs collected through his travels. Through the multicultural exhibit photographs, Chester said he hopes people will develop a curiosity about other countries and compassion for those who speak with an accent, or wear clothes that differ from Brooks Bros. and J.C. Penny or Wal Mart or Puritan, [and] respect others' customs and want to understand them. Chester sees the project as a positive way to promote understanding. I'm happy with the photos, and happy that the people like them, he said. It's their project as much as my project. For more about Mark Chester and the multicultural project, visit www.markchesterphotography.com Immigration Expert To Speak At EPL CHATHAM The U.S. is a nation of immigrants, but you wouldn't know it by the current political climate. An Uneasy Nation of Immigrants will be presented at the Eldredge Public Library on Monday, June 26, at 7 p.m. by Daniel Tichenor, Philip H. Knight Chair of Political Science and director of the Program on Democratic Engagement and Governance of the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics at the University of Oregon. Although the United States is a nation built upon immigration, Tichenor said in a statement, the subject has been a source of contentious debate since the founding generation. This talk will help shed light on the practical and philosophical origins of these differences over immigrant admissions and rights, and encourage audience members to reflect on several important policy dilemmas. Tichenor has published six books and more than 50 journal articles and chapters on immigration politics and policy, the American presidency, national security and civil liberties and the influence of interest groups and social movements on representative government. Among his books are Dividing Lines: The Politics of Immigration Control and Rallying Force: Presidents, Social Movements and the Transformation of American Politics, his most recent, written with Sidney Milkis. . Smoke from the Boundary fire on Kendrick Mountain began drifting south toward the Flagstaff area Wednesday. The U.S. Forest Service has a community meeting about the fire planned for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Summit Fire and Medical Station, 6050 E. Firehouse Lane, in Doney Park. Last week, strong winds from the southwest blew smoke toward Cameron and Tuba City to the northeast. But winds have calmed this week and begun to come out of the west, putting areas like Wupatki National Monument, Wupatki Trails and Timberline potentially in the plume of smoke. According to the Forest Services InciWeb site, smoke from the fire may settle in Fort Valley, Baderville and east Flagstaff. It may also affect Parks, Williams, Interstate 40, the Grand Canyon, Cameron, Tuba City and Pumpkin Center. The Forest Service started aerial ignitions near the peak of Kendrick Mountain on Tuesday and continued them through the day Wednesday. The idea behind the ignitions is to bring the fire down the mountain to minimize the impact to the area and reduce fuel. The area has steep slopes and hazardous terrain that makes it difficult for firefighters to get to the area and fight the fire safely. The two-week old fire was caused by lightning and is 13 percent contained. The 5,784 acre fire is about 17 miles northwest of Flagstaff and is burning in the area of the 2000 Pumpkin fire scar. The Arizona Department of Transportation and the Forest Service closed Highway 180 in the area last week due to smoke form the fire. The highway is still closed and will remain closed until further notice. There's a wealth of new map and app tools designed to enhance your enjoyment and ease of hiking the trails of the Coconino National Forest (CNF) and local passages of the Arizona National Scenic Trail (ANST). This season the Interpretive Partnership will feature several CNF trails and ANST passages in our columns and on our public hikes. So this summer is a great time to "test drive" these tools, to see if they fit your hiking needs. GPS-ENABLED DIGITAL MAPS The CNF Digital Travel Map is a free map showing all open Forest Service roads and trails in the CNF. Downloaded to any smartphone, the GPS function displays your current location and serves as your hiking guide and safety tool. Optional functions record the track of your hike, calculate mileages, etc. The app functions in "Airplane Mode," saving valuable battery life on long hikes. Access the Travel Map via the "Avenza Maps" mobile app, also a free download from the App Store. Once installed, tap its 'Store' icon, and scroll down to select Coconino NF 2017 MVUM. When beginning a hike, you can turn on optional tools as desired. A "Getting Started" tutorial demonstrates the use of basic and optional functions. Pros: Free! GPS functions in Airplane Mode, extending battery life on long hikes Additional optional GPS tools Cons: Trails are numbered, not named Largish 76.9MB size The Arizona Trail Association ('ATA') offers two ANST-hiking apps, available at www.aztrail.org. The Arizona Trail App is GPS-enabled, and costs $9.99. Consider becoming an ATA member, which provides you access to the full suite of GPS functions. Between the web portal and Trail App, you can plan out every aspect of an ANST hike ahead of time. The basic Arizona Trail App arrives in low-MB form, but several attractive views and backgrounds available at no additional cost require more memory. Pros: In combo with ATA membership, provides maximal info for all ANST hikes Multiple optional GPS tools and views (photos, topo contours and shading, satellite view, etc.) Cons: Most optional views run >200MB each Older smartphone operating systems may not support the app in Airplane Mode AZ Trail to Go is the ATA's economy app, a free download online. Not a GPS map app, Trail to Go is a clearinghouse where hikers and stewards check on and report the latest conditions along each ANST passage. It is vital for hike planning and trail maintenance by the passage stewards. Avenza, who carry the CNF Digital Travel Map, offer other Flagstaff-area GPS-enabled maps including a 47.6MB digital map of the Flagstaff Urban Trail System for $9.99, and a free 13.8MB digital version of Emmit Barks map of the Flagstaff Loop Trail, produced in cooperation with CNF and the Flagstaff Biking Organization. HARD-COPY PAPER MAPS AND GUIDES There are a number of good old-fashioned paper maps that can still be your optimal tool for selecting and planning hikes. The CNF Motor Vehicle Use Map is an essential. It shows every open Forest Service road and permissible vehicles for the entire CNF. The 2017 map is available free to the public from CNF offices in Flagstaff, Sedona, and Blue Ridge. A color PDF version can be downloaded from the CNF website. While you're at the CNF office, be sure to check out the Coconino National Forest Map ($10) and the dozens of free individual CNF trail-guide brochures (PDFs are also available on the CNF website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/coconino/. Consider making this your home page (at least during the summer). It's your best resource for local trail descriptions, upcoming ranger hikes, updates on wildfire and prescribed burns, etc. If you wish to plan an ANST hike, consider purchasing a copy of the ATA's Arizona National Scenic Trail guidebook (leave it at home though: it's too heavy in a backpack). Private publishers offer several fine water-resistant paper maps of local trails, available at all local outdoor stores. Word is that some of these maps will soon be available in digital GPS-enabled form. Similarly, CNF is beta-testing a new trails app, scheduled for public availability later this year. So watch this space for a follow-up column on additional new hiking apps and maps. Happy trails! Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Jaguar Land Rover announced the investment of $25 million in Lyft through its innovation arm InMotion. The Tata group-owned British company will also provide the ride-hailing company with a fleet of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles and work with them in developing autonomous car technologies, following the example of GM and Googles Waymo whove also partnered with Lyft. JLR has already begun testing autonomous vehicles in the UK and plans to operate a fleet of more than 100 driverless cars in the next three years. This is a strategic investment for both parties as we focus on innovating new mobility solutions for our customers, said Hanno Kirner, Executive Director of Corporate and Strategy, Jaguar Land Rover. Collaborating with an expanding technology business like Lyft is going to help us both accelerate our ambitions. Were excited to join forces with Jaguar Land Rover and InMotion, said John Zimmer, Lyft President and Co-founder. Lyft envisions a future where shared mobility will transform cities and improve peoples lives. This partnership will help us achieve that ambitious goal. PHOTO GALLERY Ferrari may not be the only exotic automaker on the stock market for much longer. Following reports that Aston Martin is considering launching an IPO, the latest word has it that McLaren is now looking at the same. The more successful we become, the more attractive we become to people who want to invest, McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt reportedly told The Times. I still think a public float of this business in three to five years is a better route. What isnt immediately clear is whether McLaren as a group would float shares on the stock exchange, or just the automotive unit. The McLaren Technology Group also includes the racing division as well as McLaren Applied Technologies, which could add considerable value to shareholders due to its marketable advancements. Apple didnt look into buying the company for nothing, after all. Motor1 points out that the companys recently ousted chairman Ron Dennis had expressed interest in the idea of an IPO back in 2011, saying it would take another five years which brings us up to last year. Dennis still owns 25 percent of the company, as does Saudi-French investor Mansour Ojjeh, with the royal government of Bahrain holding the other half. The decision would have to be made from whose shares the public offering would be taken, and on which exchange theyd be listed. But the smart bet would see each shareholders stake proportionately decreased and floated on the London Stock Exchange. Photo Gallery Shortly after West Virginia Universitys Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions (CAFEE) announced it found diesel models from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles emit up to 20 times the legal amount of nitrogen oxide during on-road tests, the automaker is hitting back at the accusations. In a statement, the automaker accused the tests of being commissioned by a law firm which is preparing to sue the company. FCA also says it asked CAFEE to discuss its testing methodology and share data with them but they have been unwilling to do so. Regardless, the company believes the report tries to equate on-road tests to those conducted by the EPA under laboratory conditions. FCA says this raises a number of issues as the CAFEE tests were conducted at much higher speeds and with an additional 600-700 lbs (272-317 kg) of payload than the EPA tests. The company also notes on-road tests subject vehicles to various conditions, such as steep grades, and are not representative of EPA procedures. The automaker goes on to point out there is no official protocol for conducting on-road emission testing and the report indicates the vehicles were modified in an attempt to replicate a previous recall. The testing involved five Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 models equipped with a 3.0-liter diesel engine. The CAFEEs director, Daniel Carder, seemingly dismissed FCAs complaint and told Automotive News Our intent is to look at how these emissions controls systems are performing in the real world. We think thats where it really matters. In the meantime, FCA is facing a lawsuit from the United States Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency for using defeat devices and software functions that were not disclosed during the certification process. The automaker has said it defend itself vigorously but is committed to working with EPA to resolve the issue. Photo Gallery The VW Group has agreed with Europes consumer affairs chief to offer an extra two years of warranty to its European owners of diesel models but no compensation, according to a European Commission spokesman. Despite VWs admission of cheating the emissions standards with its diesel-powered models in the U.S., the company claims that it hasnt broken the law in Europe and sees no need to compensate its customers there. VWs CEO Matthias Mueller told the EUs commissioner for consumer affairs earlier this week that his company would offer European customers a two-year extended warranty, as reported by Reuters. However, when VW was asked for a comment on the talks with the EU commissioner, the company didnt confirm that it had agreed to extend the warranty of the affected diesel models. Instead, it referred back to earlier confidence-building measures, including their commitment to fix all vehicles affected by this fall. An extended warranty would signal the first concession made by the German automaker, as Brussels pressures them to do more for its European diesel customers. EU regulators have repeatedly expressed their frustration over VWs attitude to not offer cash payouts to its European customers in the same way it does to U.S. owners of its affected diesel models. The news come a day after a report that 220,000 Dutch and UK VW owners have teamed up to sue Group VW over the diesel scandal. PHOTO GALLERY Wrong way drivers pose a serious threat and a video recently posted to YouTube shows how terrifying they can be. According to the person who uploaded the video, he was following a friend southbound on I-215 in his Hyundai Sonata. Everything appears normal until his friend starts braking and suddenly swerves out of the way. When this happens, the Sonata driver sees a Ram pickup headed straight for him. The truck slams into the Sonata seconds later and sends the car into a spin. It hits a second vehicle, before coming to a rest against some concrete barricades. Fox 13 of Salt Lake City is reporting police received the first calls about the wrong way driver shortly before midnight. By the time they arrived at the scene in Taylorsville, Utah the accident had already occurred. The driver of the Ram abandoned the truck and police said they found drug paraphernalia and some marijuana in the vehicle. The driver hasnt been identified but the trucks owner told police he let a friend borrow it for an hour. Everyone appears to have made it out of the accident okay but things could have been much worse. Video Photo: Andreas Boll Dumped car between Kelowna mountain and the Upper Mission area. Andreas Boll was out on hike by the reservoirs in the Upper Mission, when he stumbled upon something that didn't belong. Boll came across an abandoned car on Friday evening. It looked like it had been in area for a few months and was stripped and sitting on its roof. "It really shocked me," he said. Boll couldn't understand what a car could be doing in the natural grassland/wetland area. "This makes me really very angry seeing this, and clearly whoever did this did not care at all about anything. Car parts are all over, engine still in it. Many birds are nesting in that area, and water is flowing down from the slopes into a little creek there. And that junk is right in the middle of it," he said. "It is very unfortunate there are still people who don't appreciate what Mother Nature is giving us. I am wondering what they would say if somebody would drop a car in their backyard or lawn. Shame on them," Boll said. Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer A South Okanagan man who admitted to shooting his roommate was acquitted on all charges Wednesday evening in Penticton. Matthew Cameron, 33, was found not guilty of aggravated assault and using a firearm to commit an indictable offence in connection to an incident in Naramata in 2015. Cameron's family wept as the verdict was read out, with the newly exonerated man telling reporters he's "just happy to have my life back," as he left the courthouse. His lawyer, Don Skogstad, commented that the "jury saw where the truth lay." The jury returned the verdict after a full day of deliberations which began on Wednesday morning, following a five day trial. Skogstad successfully argued that his client shot Kyle Miller in self defence, during confrontation at the pair's home following a day of drinking. Cameron had testified that he snatched a shotgun from Miller's hands and shot him in the leg as he was falling down. The prosecution argued, unsuccessfully, that Cameron had shot Miller out of rage, not fear for his life. Photo: Google Street View An evacuation alert has been lifted for a home in Lake Country. The Emergency Operation Centre said residents are able to go back to 3550 Woodsdale Rd. at Emerald Point. A southerly winds advisory map has been created for waterfront locations that could potentially be impacted by winds generated across the region, to see that link click here. Winds are expected to ramp up again tonight, reaching 40 km/h with gusts of up to 60 km/h on Thursday. All other evacuation orders and alerts remain in place. The Penticton Fire Department held its annual fire truck pull on Saturday at the farmers market. Several teams competed in the third annual event, a fundraiser for muscular dystrophy. Local photographer Mike Biden caught the action Saturday morning, a gallery can be viewed above. Fundraising totals are still being counted. Photo: Colin Dacre City staff speaking with the public on Lakeshore Dr. June 14 Staff with the City of Penticton hit the streets Wednesday to talk parking. A review of the citys parking strategy was requested by staff in March after pushback from the community over parking meters being proposed for Lakeshore Drive. Some residents in new expanded resident only parking neighbourhoods were also unhappy about being drafted into the program. Before we make decisions, we really want to get that feedback from the community and their priorities, said director of development services Anthony Haddad. Haddad said paid parking generates between $350,000 to $400,000 per year for the city, with the majority coming from the downtown core. While some concerns have surfaced about the parking situation downtown, Haddad says it is the parking meters along the waterfront that have elicited the strongest feedback. Definitely going from free parking to a paid parking situation along the lake is something that has raised a number of concerns, he said standing on Lakeshore Drive. And that is what we are here trying to address, and trying to hear from the community before were bring back council some recommendations. Seasonal parking rules, to deal with the influx of tourists along the waterfront in summer months could be a possibility, said Haddad. But at this point, staff are working to gather feedback and opinions from the community. Residents are being asked to fill out an online survey on the topic, which can be found here. Photo: Castanet File Photo A water advisory for Falcon Ridge water users has been lifted. The Regional District of Central Okanagan has lifted a water-quality advisory for residents served by the Falcon Ridge Water System in the Central Okanagan East Electoral Area. The lifting of the advisory by the Regional District of Central Okanagan was made in consultation with Interior Health. The higher turbidity caused by the spring runoff in the source water for the Falcon Ridge system has decreased and is once again within the acceptable and safe Canadian guidelines for drinking water quality," said RDCO communications officer Bruce Smith. "As a result, weve removed the precautionary water-quality advisory that has been in place since May 8. Customers of the system are no longer advised to boil their water before using it for drinking, washing fruits and vegetables or brushing their teeth. He adds residents on the system are reminded the advisory was a precautionary measure and that no bacteria was detected within the water system. As the nation gears up to celebrate a Canadian milestone, Historic O'Keefe Ranch was celebrating one of its own a little bit earlier. On July 1, Canada turns 150, two weeks after the North Okanagan ranch reached the same age. On Thursday, the ranch that was founded by Cornelius O'Keefe, turned 150 and hundreds of people came out to celebrate the anniversary. Carla-Jean Stokes, ranch curator, said the festivities are something the ranch has been building up to for a long time. We have a lot of things going on and we're going to be having some Family Fun Days in July and August as well, so we are going to keep the birthday party going, she said, adding the Family Fun Days will include children's activities, family events and more. The ranch played a big role in the Okanagan Valley. This was the end of the wagon road coming from the north, and if you wanted to go south you would have to stop here and keep going on foot, said Stokes. So this was where it was all happening in the early 1870s and 1880s before Vernon was really established. The City of Vernon is 125 years old this year. This morning on my way to work I was almost side swiped by a distracted driver; the only saving grace was today I was in my car instead of my normal transportation which is a motorcycle. The young lady was driving her newer model grey Hyundai Sonata south up bridge hill. She was in the very left lane and as we came around the corner she crept about 3 feet into the centre lane where I was driving. I was able to swerve right and avoid her. I pulled up beside her honking my horn and saw that she was engaged in her texting. We travelled in the same direction and I noted again at the highway and Boucherie Road intersection that she was still texting, even after a near miss and someone honking and yelling. As I said, I normally ride my motorcycle and this may have had a much worse ending as I would have been leaning in to the corner and she more than likely would have sent me to hospital or to an early grave. As much as I would like to blame the RCMP and ICBC for not stepping up, they have so much to deal with on a daily basis this cannot be a priority, but it should be. There has been a lot of comparison to impaired driving and distracted driving including the number of accidents and deaths; perhaps it is time we increased the penalty to $750 and anyone caught doing this would have their phone confiscated and/or vehicle impounding as with impaired driving. I have seen one blitz by RCMP looking for distracted drivers, perhaps we need more. I am simply fed up with this epidemic of texting and driving, if the message cannot wait then find a safe place to pull over and text. Robin Carter If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,... Nepal sees rise in cement imports from India 15 June 2017 Cement imports from India to Nepal have doubled over the first 10 months of the current fiscal, according to a report in the Himalayan Times. The value of imports of cement arriving into Nepal from its neighbouring country reached NPR16.02bn (US$155.8m) compared to NPR7.99bn in the corresponding period of the last fiscal. Between 10-15 per cent of cement is imported from India and around 30 per cent of production relies upon imported clinker. A blockade by India restricted imports in 2015-16. Published under This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions A legal battle lasting more than five years has been won by merchants against credit card companies that forced them to accept all cards just as the issuer instructed. This included cards which purported to offer gifts and rewards for which the merchant had to pay the card company with higher fees per transaction. It began in the middle of the last decade when first Visa then MasterCard decided they wanted to be like American Express and hype the card experience with giveaways. Of course, nothing is free. Merchants complained through the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and ultimately a class action lawsuit began its sway through the courts. The outcome permits merchants to charge a customer extra for a premium card. Whether the result will prove to be more than a moral victory is yet to be seen. DENY WRONGDOING Visa and MasterCard both released statements saying they do not admit to any wrongdoing, but entered into a settlement agreement in the case earlier this week. Both companies agreed to pay $19.5 million each and allow Canadian merchants to add surcharge fees on credit card payments. The revised rules will include a surcharge cap. Visa said in a statement that the new rules will come into effect 1.5 years after provincial courts in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec approve the settlement. The CFIB praised the decision saying its important for merchants to have the power to add a surcharge when customers pay with premium credit cards. The CFIB added it does not expect smaller merchants to widely use this new power although they may get tougher about accepting premium cards. The state of Kansas has embarked on what its governor, Sam Brownback, calls a real live experiment over the past several years. The experiment, in its simplest terms, was to enact sweeping changes to the states tax policy. Lower taxes are typically something to be celebrated, of course. But after witnessing whats happened in Kansas, many people are rethinking their approach to the tax system, especially given that lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including the president, have tax reform on their agenda in coming months. The gist of it is Kansas slashed tax rates to the bone. Brownbacks plan was heralded as one of the cleanest and truest economic experiments in recent memory. The problem is real peoples lives were at stake. It wasnt merely guinea pigs who had nothing to lose. What, exactly, did Kansas do? And how did it all turn out? Well start with the nuts and bolts of the plan itself. The Kansas plan In a nutshell, the plan was to lower tax rates considerably and reap economic rewards on the back end. The idea was to allow people and businesses to keep more of their money, rather than giving it to the state government, with hopes that theyd use the money to hire people, invest, or otherwise spur economic activity. Bold? You bet. Feasible? Well find out. Who is the man behind the plan? What happened after it was enacted and ultimately led to Kansas lawmakers abandoning it? Well do an autopsy to try to sum it up. But first, well introduce you to Brownback, the politician who was elected (and subsequently re-elected), promising to make Kansas an economic powerhouse. Gov. Sam Brownback The man with the plan, in a very literal sense, is Brownback. Elected to the governorship in 2010 (and re-elected in 2014), Brownback had previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (elected in 1994) and then as a senator (elected in 1996). He also ran for president in 2008, ultimately losing in the primaries and endorsing John McCain. Brownbacks ideological stance is where the Kansas experiment is rooted. Hes a fairly hard-line conservative, and because of that he believed he could grow his states economy by cutting government red tape and lowering taxes. His failures, as well discuss, have made him one of the most unpopular governors in the country. In fact, for a while, he was the most unpopular, with approval ratings sinking to around 25%. Despite this, he still managed to get re-elected. The great Kansas tax-cut Brownbacks plan had really one overarching goal to slash taxes to the bone. As mentioned, the logic was this would put more money into the pockets of individuals and businesses, spurring economic growth. In 2012, Brownback said his plan would help turn Kansas stagnating economy around, creating jobs and attracting investment. Our state was losing residents to all surrounding states. We had the highest taxes in the region and ranked among the worst in private-sector job creation. Something had to be done if Kansas was going to be a place where our children and grandchildren could stay to find a job and raise a family, Brownback wrote in an op-ed for the Wichita Eagle. Our new pro-growth tax policy will be like a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy, he said. An expanding economy and growing population will directly benefit our schools and local governments. His plan was enacted when the legislature lowered the top income tax rate from 6.45% to 4.9%, and for some businesses (partnerships, LLCs, S-corps, and sole proprietorships), the tax rate was cut to zero. What were Brownback and the GOPs goals? As discussed, Kansas Republicans were more or less convinced these tax cuts would result in increased economic activity. From that activity, they would make up for the lost revenue from the tax cuts themselves. They thought businesses would pick up and move to Kansas, investing in local communities and hiring Kansans left and right. Because Brownback and company believed they would make up for lost ground in terms of revenue, they didnt pair their tax cuts with spending reductions. Even though many programs now had no funding, it was assumed the influx of revenue would allow the state to break even or perhaps come out ahead. So what actually happened? We can boil it down to a few key things. The results: Slow economic growth First and foremost, Brownbacks plan didnt produce the promised economic benefits. Though the states economy has grown, its been outperformed by neighboring states. In fact, studies show the tax cuts for businesses, specifically have had very little impact at all. The main reason is those who are benefiting from the tax cuts arent reinvesting that money as hoped. Not only that, but some are taking advantage of the system by reclassifying themselves to jump into different tax brackets. Researchers at Indiana University and the University of South Carolina said responses to the new tax policies were overwhelmingly tax avoidance rather than real supply side responses. In other words, the plan backfired, and Brownbacks job creation and economic growth goals fell way short. But thats not all. Ballooning deficits and big cutbacks Because lost tax revenue wasnt offset by expected economic growth, many of Kansas public programs are facing massive deficits. You might have even heard about how some public schools have had to shut down because they have no funding. But thats just one part of the problem. The state also had to enact huge cutbacks to infrastructure projects, the court system, welfare programs, and even Medicaid. This all results in Joe Sixpack taking a shot to the proverbial jugular. Average people didnt reap the rewards What weve witnessed is things got worse for the average middle-class Kansan. Cuts to public programs and public assistance have impacted families state-wide, and the promise of jobs has fallen flat. Many people actually lost their jobs, too. As cuts to education forced downsizing at some schools in rural communities, teachers have been laid off. In towns where the school is the biggest employer, this has had devastating effects. In poor, rural cities, the cuts to public assistance and lost jobs have amounted to a one-two combination that has set communities even further back. Some would argue Brownback and Republicans in the state legislature should have seen this coming. But is that fair? What, exactly, went wrong in Kansas? What went wrong? Democrats around the country would say the GOPs plan was doomed from the beginning. They might point to flawed logic and wishful thinking as to what wrecked Kansas economy, and that might be a part of it. But what we can say for sure is the tax cuts failed, at least partially, because they werent paired with reductions in government spending. This is where the wishful thinking comes in evidently, its a bad idea to shut off revenue streams but still expect to be able to pay your bills. One Kansas Republican legislator broke down their take on the failed plan on Reddit. The individuals main points were the state cut too much too fast, relied on wishful thinking for national economic growth, and didnt include incentives for businesses to create jobs. Clearly, there are a lot of moving parts, and its hard to blame one single part of the plan for the downfall of the entire thing. But we do know Brownbacks plan failed. This has forced legislators to act, and their first order of business was something thats wildly unpopular. Kansas lawmakers raise taxes Yes, the Kansas legislature raised taxes. With nowhere else to turn and growing budget deficits, state lawmakers were really left with no choice. Brownback actually tried to veto the reversal on his tax policies but was overridden. According to the local NPR affiliate KCUR, a $1.2 billion tax increase passed, and exemptions were reversed for more than 300,000 businesses. The reversal has already generated some optimism. But one Democratic lawmaker said itll take quite a while before the damage is fully reversed. I think by overriding the governors veto that we have started the turnaround, said state Sen. Laura Kelly of Topeka, according to The Topeka Capital-Journal. Were still not out of the woods. Its going to take years to dig out of the hole thats been created by the 2012 tax experiment. Why should you care? Because this could go nationwide For those of us who dont live in Kansas, why should we be concerned? Because the Kansas experiment is something the GOP wants to replicate on a national scale. With President Donald Trump planning on tackling tax reform at some point, you can expect his plans to take a similar shape to that of Brownbacks. In fact, Republicans refer to the Kansas plan as a road map of sorts. The same basic principles apply. The key, though, is to lower taxes significantly for both individuals and businesses. You can bet, too, that Republicans will want to avoid big cuts to public programs (as they did in Kansas) that would be unpopular. Trump, with a Republican-controlled House and Senate, will likely try some form of these cuts sooner or later. Except, in this case, the damage wont be confined only to Kansas. More from Money & Career Cheat Sheet: The University of Chicago's Polsky Center, which operates the Polsky Exchange, seen here, is planning a major expansion into a proposed 20-story complex in Hyde Park. (Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation) The University of Chicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is planning to more than double its footprint, adding space in a proposed 20-story office and laboratory complex designed to support "deep science" ventures. U. of C. announced plans Wednesday night for the new 270,000-square-foot development, planned as part of the next phase of the Harper Court development project in Hyde Park. The school is working on the project with Baltimore-based real estate company Wexford Science & Technology. Advertisement Early plans call for adding 16 stories of new office space on top of an existing four-story parking garage at 53rd Street and South Lake Park Avenue, while also building a new four- to five-story lab building. The two structures will be attached via one "super floor"; the development is also planned to include 15,000 square feet of retail space. The Polsky Center will take between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet of the final space, and the existing 34,000-square-foot Polsky Exchange will stay open, according to John Flavin , U. of C.'s associate vice president for entrepreneurship and innovation. Advertisement Flavin said the proposed development is a "necessary" step to back the cutting-edge science businesses started at the Polsky Exchange and keep them in Chicago. "We have a lot of entrepreneurs who are pursing things that involve deep science like new medical innovations and next-generation batteries that require unique kinds of spaces, including physical and material science labs and computational-type spaces," he said. "With this new complex, we'll continue to attract, retain and build talented companies that are involved in scientific entrepreneurship." Although the office-lab complex will largely be focused on "bringing researchers together for the sole purpose of commercialization," it will also include work space for local entrepreneurs, he said. The first phase of the Harper Court development project began in 2013 and added more than a dozen new businesses and an estimated 1,320 jobs to the Hyde Park neighborhood, according to University of Chicago officials. The new development plans promise to bring hundreds of temporary construction jobs and more than 600 permanent research, tech and other science-related jobs, U. of C. said. Flavin said that, if all goes according to plan, construction will likely begin in the first half of 2018 and finish in the early part of 2020. He said it is too early to share an estimated cost. "At the end of the day, we certainly believe that this will have a very positive economic impact across the broader South Side," Flavin said. "It's really an exciting development that meets a very important need in Chicago's rapidly emerging tech ecosystem." U. of C. partnered with Wexford Science & Technology because of its vast experience working with universities, academic medical centers and research companies, he said. The real-estate firm has helped develop a dozen of what it calls "knowledge communities" across the United States, including University Technology Park at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Wexford will be the owner and operator of the new space, Flavin said. Robert Holly is a freelance writer. Twitter @robertwadeholly Chicago-based Regroup Therapy, which lets mental health professionals virtually meet with patients at a variety of institutions, has raised more than $6 million in Series A funding, it announced Thursday. It has been a period of notable growth for Regroup, which was founded in 2011 and bootstrapped until last year. Advertisement Revenue at the telehealth company is up significantly since it raised its $1.8 million seed round in April 2016, said CEO and founder David Cohn. It currently has more than $4.5 million in annual revenue under contract, whereas early last year its annualized revenue was about $100,000, he said. "(We) have a health care system that is increasingly incentivized to provide better care earlier for patients," Cohn said. "You can't do that without providing high-quality mental-health care earlier." Advertisement Regroup currently has 15 full-time employees. Cohn said he plans to use the funding to grow to 30, in roles including new business and clinical deployment. Those in the latter group travel to sites such as hospitals and prisons to integrate Regroup's tools with the facilities' existing technology. The company works with a network of more than 3,000 psychiatrists and social workers who video chat with patients from a distance, and can also securely view and share patients' health information. Regroup's almost 30 clients commit to work with the company for a year and pay per hour of care, with mental health workers receiving a portion of each fee, Cohn said. Clients include the Cook County Department of Corrections and OSF Healthcare, a Peoria-based health care system. OSF Healthcare led the more than $6 million round, with participation from Chicago investors Hyde Park Angels, OCA Ventures, Furthur Fund and Impact Engine. Boston-based HLM Venture Partners also participated. Cohn would not comment on what he expects for Regroup down the line, saying only that his long-term goal is to increase access to mental health care. In 2015, another telepsychiatry company called 1DocWay was acquired by Genoa, a pharmacy chain that serves behavioral health and addiction needs, for an undisclosed sum. Sapan Shah, deal lead for Hyde Park Angels, said he hopes to see Regroup grow "geometrically" over the next couple of years. He is also president of Flagship Healthcare, a medical malpractice insurance brokerage, and holds a J.D. and M.D. If the company continues on this trajectory, Shah said he thinks it could go public or be acquired by a health care company or even a staffing firm. Advertisement "I've been impressed with their ability to sell across a wide range of facilities," Shah said. "So you kind of get an idea of how broad the need was and how broad Regroup can be." aelahi@chicagotribune.com Twitter @aminamania Paperwork providing information to immigrants and others on what to do if confronted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers is available at the Latino Union workers center Tuesday, March 7, 2017, in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) For the second time this year, an influential group of Chicago-area business leaders is openly challenging the Trump administration's tough anti-immigration policies. But this time around, the more than 170 corporate CEOs, midsized-business owners, neighborhood entrepreneurs and investors are pressing Gov. Bruce Rauner to join their crusade. Advertisement This week, the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition sent a letter to Rauner urging him to sign the Illinois Trust Act, which recently was passed by the General Assembly. The bipartisan measure seeks to provide increased legal protections to immigrants. Rauner should sign this bill into law, despite the possibility of political blowback or maybe a nasty tweet from President Donald Trump. It will boost the state's economic fortunes, while enabling Illinois to chart a realistic approach to dealing with the complex issue of immigration, particularly its impact on labor and business. Advertisement "Rauner has a very interesting decision to make," says Scott Grams, executive director of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, which has 800 members statewide. "Illinois has an opportunity to become a real beacon on immigration." The governor's office says the Illinois Trust Act legislation is "under review" and Rauner is a believer in "comprehensive immigration reform." By approving the bill, Rauner would make progress on the immigration front by providing more clarity and security to most everyone in this state touched by the issue. At its core, the legislative measure sensibly prohibits local or state police from cooperating with federal authorities investigating immigrants unless they possess a court-issued criminal warrant, a basic constitutional right. It also forbids local law enforcement from stopping, searching and arresting anyone based only on immigration or citizenship status. Federal agents still could catch and deport criminals in the country illegally, which is the appropriate course of action. As important, the act would provide the majority of immigrants in the country illegally, and their families, the assurance of living and working in Illinois without having to continually look over their shoulders in dread. Landscapers are among a host of local employers favoring the proposed Illinois Trust Act. Representatives of the area's retail, hospitality, restaurants, health care, and agriculture businesses lined up to sign the letter to Rauner. All are justifiably concerned about the repercussions of Trump's pledge to mass-deport people who are living here illegally and tighten entry across U.S. borders. Advertisement That's not a big surprise. Anyone who buys, sells or uses the society's most basic goods and services soon realizes how highly dependent our economy has become on immigrant labor. Unfortunately, it's getting increasingly difficult to recruit and retain immigrant workers amid a highly charged anti-immigrant environment. The "fear generated by increased immigration enforcement over the past five months has a negative impact," the coalition letter asserts. This anxiety isn't restricted to people who are not legally authorized to be here, but also affects people who are here legally, including children and young adults who are concerned about being profiled or picked up at random by law enforcement. This week, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement reasserted the administration's vow to track down people who are living here illegally, while asking Congress for more tax money to do the job. "What's going on now is making people afraid to go to work," says Carole Segal, co-founder of retailer Crate and Barrel and co-chair of the immigration coalition. Advertisement Among the other local business and civic leaders supporting the Illinois Trust Act: Susan Crown, founder of a namesake investment firm and member of the wealthy Crown family; Mike Englehart, CEO of Presence Health; Morton Schapiro, president of Northwestern University; Mark Gordon, CEO of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association; and William Kunkler, executive vice president of private equity firm CC Industries. John Rowe, chairman emeritus for Exelon and co-chair of the coalition, and Glenn Tilton, ex-chairman of United Airlines, are also on board. But some marquee employers haven't pitched in, including McDonald's. A coalition spokeswoman says the group continues to recruit corporate names and is reaching out to the fast-food giant and others. Earlier this year, the coalition sent a letter to Trump urging him not to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump kept the plan, which basically allows nearly 750,000 young people who are children of immigrants in the country illegally to obtain work permits and remain in the country. Yes, illegal immigration is a vexing, multidimensional dilemma. But it can't simply be solved by mass deportation and disruption. Advertisement In backing the Illinois Trust Act, business leaders are calling for a rational, humane course of action toward immigration enforcement, even though it's at odds with the president's approach. Illinois' CEO should follow their lead and approve this plan. roreed@chicagotribune.com Twitter @reedtribbiz CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy has returned to work after recovering from a collapsed lung suffered in May, the company said Wednesday. The CME operates the world's largest futures exchange. It is based in Chicago, with trades from about 200 countries worldwide. Advertisement The CME announced Duffy's illness May 24 when he was unable to attend the company's annual shareholders meeting. While recovering, Duffy had made occasional trips to the office, the CME said. gmarksjarvis@chicagotribune.com Advertisement twitter @gailmarksjarvis On Wednesday, June 14, 31 people officially became American citizens at the Homestead National Monument. It was a part of the Homesteads twice yearly U.S. Citizenship Naturalization Ceremony, where people from every continent but Antarctica officially became American citizens. After a medley of patriotic tunes sung by Judy Andersons, representative aides for Nebraska U.S. senators Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse and U.S. congressmen Adrian Smith and Jeff Fortenberry welcomed Americas new citizens. Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart called out the names of all 31 new citizens and their countries of origin. They came from a variety of countries, including Burma, Mexico, Australia, Iraq, Vietnam, Somalia, India, China, Iraq, Ukraine and Cuba, among others. During the ceremony, the 31 new citizens were asked to renounce all allegiance to foreign states or sovereignties. They were also asked if they were ready to support and defend the constitution and the laws of the United States This you do declare or affirm under the pains and penalties of perjury," Zwart said to the group. "If so, answer I do. The crowd answered affirmatively and Zwart welcomed them to the United States. According to Homestead superintendent Mark Engler, there couldn't have been a better place to hold the event. These parks belong to you," Engler told the group of new Americans. "So, we're excited that the first place you're going to be as new citizens is going to be in a national park and what better place for you to become a citizen of the United States than at Homestead National Monument of America?" The symbolism of the Homestead Monument is important for immigrants too, said Hunter Hendricks, park guide at the monument. The Homestead Act of 1862 granted 160 acres of land to any citizen or person who intended to become citizen willing to settle and farm the land for five years. Recent immigrants leapt at the opportunity, leading to the settling of the western United States. The peak immigration years coincide with peaks in applications for land under the Homestead Act, Hendricks said. This is not a coincidence; this is evidence of the penetrating effect of the American dream. Zwart gave a tearful, emotional keynote address, explaining the importance of Flag Day, to the new citizens. In this day and age, let's make sure we remember this," Zwart said. "[The flag] is a symbol of our unity, our power, our thoughts and our national purpose. In it, and in and of itself, it has no character, other than the one we give it. The choice is ours. The men and women who died to protect the freedoms the American flag represents, Zwart said, wrote their own history on the flag. As part of the United States, Zwart implored the new citizens to write their own history upon it. Their road to citizenship was a long one, Zwart said, but it was perhaps the most American of all journeys. A country of immigrants, new Americans have a duty to participate in the democratic process, to stake a claim and, as full citizens, not to fear being asked to leave one day, she said. This country accepts only those who feel compelled to serve that supreme allegiance, Zwart said. You, as its new citizens, have been accepted by us and have accepted the challenge. Welcome to the family, the United States of America. Music icon Prince, who died in May, is featured on the cover of "Ebony" in June 2016. The magazine has been sold to a Texas company. Ebony is being pressed by the National Writers Union to pay more than $200,000 it claims the magazine owes to freelance writers who contributed stories over the past year. The union is representing 23 writers who are collectively owed about $50,000, but it said there are as many as 50 freelancers who are awaiting overdue payment for their work. Advertisement Ebony Media released a statement June 3 saying it would pay freelance writers within 30 days. Larry Goldbetter, president of the New York-based union, said Thursday that only one of the writers it represents has seen a check since then. "The company, through its lawyers, said they are going to pay everybody in 30 days, and it's going to be a rolling schedule based on which invoices are going to be the oldest," Goldbetter said. "It's been two weeks, and they haven't started rolling yet." Advertisement A monthly African-American lifestyle magazine that has called Chicago home since it was launched in 1945, Ebony has struggled with everything from delayed subscription deliveries to the unpaid freelance writers since it was sold by Johnson Publishing to Texas-based private equity firm CVG Group for an undisclosed price in May 2016. Michael Gibson, co-founder and chairman of CVG Group, said Thursday that the $200,000 amount the union claims it owes is "too high," but he declined to disclose the exact amount. Gibson also reiterated the company's pledge to pay off its freelancers within the month. "We are committed to paying everyone 100 percent of what we owe and over the next few weeks," Gibson said. "We will have all payments completed by (the) first week in July, which is consistent with our commitment." Gibson blamed the unpaid freelance invoices on an accounting error. "In the process of changing over to a new accounting system ... we lost track of some invoices," Gibson said. "Unfortunately, some of the freelancers were impacted. We now understand what happened, we understand the size of it, so we're working as fast as we can to get it corrected." Ebony announced last month that it was cutting nearly a third of its staff and consolidating editorial operations with sister publication Jet in Los Angeles. The company will retain a downsized Chicago office, where Linda Johnson Rice, newly renamed Ebony Media CEO, will remain in her role. Founded in 1981, the National Writers Union became active on behalf of Ebony freelancers after #EbonyOwes began trending on Twitter this spring, bringing the payment backlog to light. rchannick@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @RobertChannick A three-bedroom, modernist-style house on Lake Michigan in Glencoe sold this spring for $5.15 million to a retired physician and his wife. Built in 2007 and designed by architect Tony Grunsfeld, the two-story stone and stucco house has 4 baths, a first-floor master suite with his and hers closet rooms, floor-to-ceiling windows, a living room with a fireplace, a den, an exercise room, and a large kitchen with an island and top-of-the-line appliances. Outside on the property are terraces, a checkerboard lawn, a bluff, stairs and a tram to the beach. Advertisement The 5,277-square-foot house, which sold in April, first was listed in June 2016 for $6.5 million. The sellers reduced the asking price to $5.9 million in September. The previous owners paid $3.698 million to buy the 1-acre property in 2005 and then built the home. Advertisement Kim Kelley of @properties, who represented the buyers, declined to comment on the purchase, as did listing agent Linda Jacobson of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter. WASHINGTON Several winters ago, Meagan Foster and her then-boyfriend were trying to turn a bad day around by venturing to the Tabard Inn in Washington, D.C. for drinks and dinner. But when she tried to navigate the sliver of space between her table and the next, Foster says, she bumped everything votive, water, silverware off both of them, and promptly burst into tears. The incident didn't scar her for life; the Washington resident and her boyfriend were later married at the Dupont Circle spot. But whenever they go back, they make sure to avoid the banquettes, or what she called the "booth tables," along one wall. Advertisement She's not the only diner tired of playing ballet dancer or contortionist (in my case, sucking in my gut) for the privilege of a meal away from home. To access some of the more tightly packed tables, anyone who's not a string bean is forced to enter seats sideways, sometimes on tiptoe, and invade a neighbor's space one of two ways: by butt or by crotch. Inadvertent fat shaming ensues. Like airlines, restaurants seem to be trimming personal space in an attempt to pack in more customers, and this at a time when the average man and woman are 30 and 26 pounds heavier, respectively, than they were in 1960. (That's 196 and 166 pounds.) Whoever came up with the Knee Defender, the gadget that prevents airline seats from reclining, might contemplate its equivalent for cramped restaurants, because diners would likely snap it up. A Zagat survey from two years ago found that "crowds" ranked just behind service, noise and prices as a chief complaint among restaurant-goers. Advertisement The average two-top table (or "deuce" in industry jargon) measures 24 by 30 inches, says Stephani Robson, a senior lecturer at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University who specializes in restaurant design psychology. There's no industry standard (or fire code) for distance between tables, but Robson considers 16 inches a good minimum at banquettes, where space is usually tightest. "Your guests will thank you for it," she says. The dining room at Daisies is shown on May 25, 2017, in Logan Square. The restaurant opened June 7. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) Armed with a tape measure on recent restaurant rounds, I discovered some tables (not all of them banquettes) set a mere foot apart. At the 14th Street branch of Busboys & Poets in D.C., the socially conscious eatery treats customers as if they were sardines. Ten inches separates some seats. At the Tabard Inn, where earlier this month a diner knocked a pepper grinder into my buttered bread as she squeezed into the banquette beside me, I found two tables with only eight inches between them. That's just about the length of a pencil. The stakes are high. Aaron Allen, a global restaurant consultant, says a 40-seat restaurant that can fit in "just one more four-top has increased their capacity and revenue capacity by 10 percent." Mike Friedman, a co-owner of All-Purpose, thinks his restaurant's intimate seating promotes a "convivial nature" that's in keeping with its Italian-American theme. While he could have squeezed more tables into the space, Friedman says he didn't, because they would have disrupted server flow and taxed the small kitchen. The restaurateur also says that removing even a single table would mean saying arrivederci to "hundreds of thousands of dollars" a year. The sense of crowdedness has been exacerbated in recent years by chefs and diners themselves. Blame the former for blanketing tables with small plates, menus the size of posters and flights of food and drink. Patrons, meanwhile, are unloading on the table everything including laptops and smartphones (because you never know when you might need to snap some food porn). Rising interest in European concepts brings with them more-intimate seating. Take the Spanish-themed Joselito, where owner Javier Candon says he wanted to evoke "Old World cafe" charm when he opened in January. Aiming to re-create the feel of Seville and Madrid, he bought small tables and set them so close that servers bumped into one another, silverware routinely fell to the floor and at least one chicken consomme created an oily slick when a diner bumped into a tray holding the broth. Candon ended up removing two tables. At the Spanish-themed Joselito in Washington, D.C., owner Javier Candon says he wanted to evoke an "Old World cafe," like one might find in Seville or Madrid. But, he moved the small tables farther apart after the servers were bumping into one another. (Dixie D. Vereen / For The Washington Post) "For those that are uncomfortable about the shrinking personal space we once enjoyed," says Allen via email, "we'll have to remind ourselves this is the new normal and pretend we're Parisian." Age, sex and geography, says Robson, influence tolerance levels. Older women, she thinks, are more sensitive to being wedged into a dining room than their younger counterparts, due partly to diminished hearing. (Witness how some restaurants make a show of offering the inside seat to a woman by pulling a table out to let her slip into her seat where she's entombed until she needs to get up again.) In high-rent, high-density cities such as New York, locals are less bothered by restaurant confines than outsiders. Advertisement In a 2009 study in a New York restaurant, the recently closed Public in SoHo, Robson found that diners spent less time and less money at seats that were close together. Customers with 12 inches between tables stayed an average of 110 minutes and spent 73 cents a minute. Those with six inches between tables stayed an average of 102 minutes and spent 66 cents a minute. The study didn't explore overall economic effect, but as Robson said, "In a restaurant with a lot of demand, the goal is to turn tables quickly. Putting them close together accomplishes that." Designers find themselves trying to serve two masters: restaurant owners eager to maximize floor space and diners who might enjoy some elbow room or not, says architect Herb Heiserman, managing principal with Streetsense. "Not everybody looks for a private zone," he says. Some diners see restaurants as an extension of their families, he adds, and don't mind the closeness. Design-wise, banquettes give restaurants the greatest amount of flexibility, allowing them to easily push tables together or pull them apart to accommodate different party sizes. For patrons seeking privacy, full booths are popular, given their physical barriers to other diners. One way designers can make up for the lack of privacy is to use objects such as table lamps, props that establish boundaries, however small. Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > "Our number one goal with design is to create a fun environment," says Jeffrey Lefcourt, founder and managing partner of the Smith in Washington, a New York import where the small tables and tight seating practically allow neighboring diners to taste one another's food. Instead of looking at each table as if a price tag were attached, he prefers to view seating as a social enhancer. The formula seems to be working: Diners have sent his company photos of strangers who have become friends in his restaurants. On the other end of the spectrum, pools of space are, for the most, part a luxury. Consider the stately Plume in the Jefferson Hotel, where tables are set an impressive four to five feet apart. "Diners want to relax and not hear the conversation of the next diner," says restaurant manager Sean Mulligan. Such privacy comes at a cost: The check average at Plume is $150 a person. Speaking of conversation, private talk can easily go public in tight environs. Breakups, makeups - I feel like I've heard it all sitting in close proximity to fellow diners. "When do you testify?" I overheard a woman ask her companion at Tosca, the lobbyist favorite downtown. "I'm a womanizer. He's worse than me!" one man recently shared with his table mates (and me) at the Partisan in Penn Quarter. Whether they want to or not, diners seated thigh-to-thigh become Gladys Kravitzes. Advertisement "I can't tell you how many times I've heard things that I'm not supposed to hear," says frequent restaurant-goer Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition. "Not state secrets," he says, but not information fellow diners would share publicly about, say, campaign missteps or awful bosses. Hardly unique to Washington, tight seating is a problem shared by walking cities with high rents: New York, San Francisco, Chicago in particular. Chef Jimmy Bannos Jr. of the Purple Pig in Chicago has a Rising Star medallion from the James Beard Foundation, "but if he swung it in his dining room," says Phil Vettel, restaurant critic for the Chicago Tribune, "he'd kill someone." How cramped is cramped? On a review visit, Vettel found himself at a bar-height communal table, shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, with so little elbow room he couldn't raise the napkin on his lap to wipe his fingers. "Wow, these napkins are really soft," he reported to readers. On second contact, he discovered why: "I was using the cashmere scarf of the woman seated to my right." "Parks and Recreation" star Jim O'Heir said Wednesday a bloody puppet show he worked on in Chicago decades ago helped him get his start in Hollywood. "The reason I feel I'm sitting here today is because of ('Stumpy's Gang'). We did it in Chicago, it became like this kind of cult, crazy thing. These puppets spewed blood. I was covered in blood," O'Heir said on "Late Night with Seth Meyers." "We brought it to L.A. and it was just crazy enough that it got me the attention to get agents and managers, so I really I give 'Stumpy's' all the credit." Advertisement The Chicago-area native did recall one reviewer saying of the production: "Jim O'Heir, though seems like a nice enough fellow, should be embarrassed to do what he's doing in the privacy of his own home, let alone on the stage." O'Heir, 55, said reviewers typically note his ursine size. A 1990 Tribune review of "Stumpy's Gang" didn't mention O'Heir's body, but did note the production is "definitely not for the squeamish." Advertisement "The hecklers come and go, you move on," O'Heir said. "No, my stuff's out there forever." O'Heir, who visited Wrigley Field and took a tour of the PAWS adoption center in a recent trip to Chicago, stars in "Middle Man," which is playing at the AMC River East 21 in Streeterville. "Late Night" airs 11:35 p.m. weeknights on NBC. RELATED STORIES: Steppenwolf 'denounces' Sun-Times critic's review following backlash 'Handmaid's Tale' star Elisabeth Moss shows off Cubs-themed bonnet on 'Late Night' Watch Stephen Colbert recall playing an old black woman in Second City scene Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) We are now nearly a decade past the 2008 financial meltdown, which "The Big Short" tried to explain to us as entertainingly as possible. In the wake of the widespread mortgage crisis, with dominoes falling all around the world, only one U.S. financial institution faced criminal charges from prosecutors. Merrill Lynch? Bear Stearns? Morgan Stanley? No, no and no. Advertisement Rather, it was a classic fall guy: the small, family-owned New York City Chinatown institution Abacus Federal Savings Bank. A big story in New York, though less so nationally, the Chinese immigrant owners' five-year legal battle makes for a compelling and, even now, suspenseful nonfiction account. "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail" opens a weeklong run Friday at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and director Steve James along with producer Mark Mitten will introduce four of the screenings. A prosperous lawyer turned banker, Shanghai-born Thomas Sung opened Abacus in Chinatown as a way of cementing his place within the community, and offering loans of all kinds to those unable to secure them elsewhere. In 2009 Sung fired one of the bank's loan officers after his family (daughter Jill, one of four Sung offspring, serves as Abacus president and CEO) discovered he had been robbing homebuyers blind stashing checks worth thousands into his own pocket rather than putting them toward closing costs. Advertisement Other Abacus loan department employees were subsequently fired; still others resigned. The Sungs informed Fannie Mae of the illegal activity. And then, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. came in, ready to make Abacus not simply an example of widespread and systemic fraud, but THE example. The only example. Some banks were too big to fail; this one gave filmmaker James his movie's subtitle. The personalities make the picture, and James' camera presence is such that "Abacus" never seems to gin up or theatricalize anyone's thoughts or behavior. James brings us into the lives and perspectives of the Sung daughters, Jill, Vera, Heather and Chanterelle, whom we eat dinner with and hear from in direct-address interviews. In a wild coincidence, Chanterelle served seven years as an assistant DA in Vance's office; Manhattan, we're reminded, is a small town on an island, though the universes contained on that island are laden with prejudice, hypocrisy, low-hanging fruit and high ideals gone awry. The outcome ... well, let's keep it a secret in case you can't predict it. Last year, before his film's Toronto International Film Festival premiere, James told me "Abacus" works best if you don't know how it ends. "This is one of those stories even New Yorkers right around the corner weren't aware of," he said. His movie is well worth seeing, partly because it's a story full of juicy David vs. Goliath hooks along with some intriguing gray areas (hinted at, sometimes, frustratingly). But the evidence, or lack of it, makes James' case, and in any event "Abacus" has no interest in retrying a court case; rather, it's guided by a family's turmoil, internal clashes and eternal bonds. Michael Phillips is a Chicago Tribune critic. mjphillips@chicagotribune.com Twitter @phillipstribune "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail" 3.5 stars No MPAA rating Advertisement Running time: 1:30 Opens: Friday through June 22, Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St.; www.siskelfilmcenter.org/abacus RELATED STORIES: 'Rough Night': The bad, the beautiful, and the dead male stripper 'Beatriz at Dinner' review: Hayek roils a Trumpian real state mogul 'Cars 3': The middle-aged pain, humiliation and branding of Lightning McQueen Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) It sounds paradoxical, but it's often true that the more culturally precise a foreign language film is, the more universal its appeal becomes. This is very much the case with the charming but pointed "The Women's Balcony." A major box-office success in Israel, "The Women's Balcony" is so seemingly site-specific that even its driving force, screenwriter Shlomit Nehama, was surprised when it began succeeding overseas. Advertisement But culture aside, this is an unapologetically warmhearted comedic drama, a fine example of commercial filmmaking grounded in a persuasive knowledge of human behavior. As the title indicates, "The Women's Balcony" is set in an Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem. But though that world may seem monolithic to outsiders, as Nehama and director Emil Ben-Shimon well understand, there is a genuine rift there, a clash of cultures often unspoken and unacknowledged that the film has adroitly mined. Advertisement At first, however, everything is supremely festive, as the members of a small neighborhood Orthodox community, the kind of close-knit group in which everyone inevitably knows everyone else's business, gather to celebrate the bar mitzvah of the grandson of pillars of the congregation Etti (Evelin Hagoel) and Zion (Igal Naor). Under the leadership of a venerable but still beloved rabbi, things are going splendidly when a mishap strikes: The building's balcony, the place where women pray in sex-segregated Orthodox services, suddenly collapses, leaving the rabbi's wife hospitalized and the rabbi himself in retreat from reality. Very much in disarray, the congregation finds a new temporary space in a location that makes finding a minyan, the 10 men needed for daily prayers, difficult. Enter the young and charismatic Rabbi David (Aviv Alush), a can-do individual who teaches at a local seminary and takes on the congregation's well-being as a personal project. Rabbi David is so eager to help he even offers to cut through the annoying red tape and supervise the rebuilding of the collapsed synagogue. "Thank the Creator," he modestly tells the grateful congregants. "I am only the messenger." Discerning eyes will notice, however, that Rabbi David's dress marks him as ultra-Orthodox, while the congregation, whose female members do not cover their hair, is what might be called modern Orthodox: definitely observant but without the accompanying zealotry. That may seem like a small difference, but it turns out it is not. Things get complicated when Rabbi David gives the men in the congregation a stirring speech about purity that does not go down well with the wives. Then the new rebuilt synagogue is unveiled and all hell breaks loose. For under Rabbi David's supervision the airy balcony of old has been eliminated and the women are squeezed into a claustrophobic auxiliary space. And worse is yet to come. Advertisement But if the men think that the women will agree with Rabbi David that this is all an expression of God's will, they very quickly realize their mistake. Screenwriter Nehama, who grew up in an Orthodox Jerusalem community like the one in the film, has said her goal was "to tell the story of the moderate people who are forced to deal with growing religious extremism," and "The Women's Balcony" definitely does that. But Nehama has also said that she was inspired by British movies about the misadventures of small-town life, such as the charming "Waking Ned Devine," and the way she has made her serious societal points in an audience-friendly format is the key to this film's success. Following the peregrinations of numerous characters, including the happily married Etti and Zion, Yaffa (Yafit Asulin), a young woman looking for a husband, and the tough-minded Tikva (top Israeli comedian Orna Banai), "Balcony" very much includes us in the community's warmth and caring. As smoothly directed by Ben-Shimon, a filmmaker best known for his television work, and enlivened by a fine Ahuva Ozeri score, the plot twists can mostly be seen coming. But as performed by a cast of practiced farceurs, that is part of its charm. When one character says, "Everyone should take care of his own account with God," that is a message that resonates as well. Advertisement kenneth.turan@latimes.com "The Women's Balcony" 3 stars No MPAA rating Running time: 1:36 Opens: Friday at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St., www.siskelfilmcenter.org RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Jennifer Ehle: A career in delicate balance How 'It Comes at Night' writer-director almost became a flight attendant Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP) Two weeks ago, a young Beluga whale went for a swim and lost its way. But because whales don't have Google Maps, this calf needed a rescue effort that involved the Shedd Aquarium. The 6-foot whale was found alone earlier this month hundreds of miles from its usual summer migration zone. The Beluga wound up in the St. Lawrence Estuary, a resource-deprived area for whales. Early Thursday, members of the Shedd helped lead a rescue and relocation mission that involved marine mammal health experts from Vancouver Aquarium and the University of Montreal in Quebec. Advertisement Beluga whales are a conservation-dependent species, listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as "near threatened" and critically endangered in Anchorage, Alaska, and two areas of Canada. There are only 800 Beluga whales left. "When the number is only 800, every animal counts for sustainability," said Andrea Rodgers, Shedd vice president of communications. "It is critically important that when we have the opportunity to save it, we do." Advertisement The rescue effort was led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals, or GREMM. These types of rescues a multinational effort involving a net and a truck are very rare, according to Rodgers. The last one she remembered took place in 1991. The Shedd Aquarium is part of a baby Beluga whale rescue team, working at the St. Lawrence Estuary. (Shedd Aquarium) It was the first binational collaboration for scientific rescue and release in the St. Lawrence Estuary, where the whale wound up after straying from its herd. In addition to the rescue, there might be opportunities for gaining important information on how whales migrate, live and feed. Shedd experts believe the animal took a wrong turn during a time when water levels were unusually high in the Nepisiguit River, where young animals were feeding and socializing. Although the animal appeared healthy to its rescuers, scientists from DFO, GREMM, the Marine Animal Response Society, the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network and the Whale Stewardship Project were concerned about its long-term welfare and survival without its herd, and about growing interest and possible interference by members of the public. The researchers from DFO and GREMM called Shedd and the Vancouver team to help on the ground. Time was of the essence. "We believe that the estimated time for a 2- to 3-year-old, 6-foot-long whale should be 45 minutes with help of a plane rather than a truck," Rodgers said. "That would normally be six hours for a fully grown whale. If successful, we will add a satellite tracker so they can track it back home and see how it is doing." Rodgers said the team used a hoop net and stretcher to coax the whale into the net. The group then carried it from the water and lifted it into the back of a truck for transportation to the airport. Live Beluga Whale in Nepisiguit River, NB On June 2nd, we received a report of a lone #beluga whale in the Nepisiguit River near Bathurst, New Brunswick. MARS and Fisheries and Oceans Canada were onsite yesterday to assess the animals condition and location in order to determine the best course of action. A plan is currently being developed to safety move the animal. To investigate and respond to marine animal incidents, MARS operates under the authority of SARA and scientific permits as issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. SPREAD THE WORD. SUPPORT THE CAUSE. DONATE TODAY. Music: "Chimera" by Podington Bear #worldoceansday Posted by Marine Animal Response Society on Thursday, June 8, 2017 Shedd Aquarium staffers played a big part in working with government officials to assess the health and well-being of the animal. This team included Tim Binder, executive vice president of animal care, and Kurt Heizmann, from the senior animal care staff. Both were there to lend their expertise to strategically transporting the animal safely and efficiently while making sure the whale remains healthy. Advertisement "It is a large team with 20 people on the ground, two of our experts there directly involved. Vancouver also had two, as well as members of DFO," Rodgers said. The rescue started at 7 a.m. Thursday, and is ongoing. The whale's condition was characterized by Binder as "mobile and aware." "We are passionate and grateful, holding our breath," Rodgers said. Update: The Beluga has arrived to the Cacouna port. The release went well and the young calf has been spotted with three young whales. ebenmoche@chicagotribune.com Twitter @ebenmoche Advertisement RELATED STORIES: Shedd's first price hike in 17 years approved Revising Statue Stories: They're still talking and still worth hearing Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) A project at Victoria University of Wellington has students building their creative thinking and research skills while writing stories about the Universitys creative legacy. Writing in their own voices, students have produced stories on topics ranging from Victorias art collection, the Classics Museum and Maori taonga (treasures) to ones about items with special significance. These include New Zealand author Janet Frames writing desk, Victoria alumni and chemist Alan MacDiarmids Nobel Prize medal and works of art that are displayed across the University and in exhibitions at the Adam Art Gallery. Victoria encourages creative thinking and enables experimentation, and this project has been an innovative way for us to teach and develop students storytelling and research capabilities, says Dr Conal McCarthy. By having students engage with the Universitys history, the project has integrated teaching and learning with civic engagement, contributing to Victorias role as a globally minded capital city university. The stories written by students about unique objects and buildings and the fascinating personalities that have shaped Victorias creative legacy will initially be accessed on the STQRY app, a mobile phone app featuring a global story-telling platform. Users find the stories using the in-built map or through pop-ups on their mobile as they pass the location of an object or story. Master of Architecture student Gemma Winstanley says the project has taught her a lot about writing and storytelling. Its given me a new perspective on how to put together a storywhat should be given emphasis and where the most interesting elements are. I learnt that I had to get to the meat of my story quickly and how to put together a story to get the best out of it, says Gemma. Bachelor of Arts student Lisa Kiyomoto-Fink learnt how to approach research in new ways. I learnt that you have to put yourself out there in order to find the right information and the right interview subjects. Things often worked out better than expected because I had to try things through different avenues, says Lisa. The Creative Legacy project is an initiative of Victorias Cultivating Creative Capital themeone of the Universitys eight distinctive, multidisciplinary areas of expertiseand aims to showcase and celebrate Victorias heritage of imagination and innovation. There will be around 150 stories in the STQRY app, each providing an account of the history of creative practice, people and places at Victoria. Featured story: Janet Frames desk Landfall Charles Brasch gifted the desk he had used for 20 years to Janet Frame. After many adventures, it was gifted to Victoria University and now features on the STQRY app. In 1966, founder and editor of New Zealand magazineCharles Brasch gifted the desk he had used for 20 years to Janet Frame. After many adventures, it was gifted to Victoria University and now features on the STQRY app. Janet Frame (19242004) is recognised as one of the greatest writers in Aotearoa New Zealand. The desk was altered twice while in her custody: to make it more comfortable, she shortened its legs. In 1968, the tenants leasing her home sawed the desk in half, explaining it would not fit in a room with a double bed. Unfazed by the tenants alteration, Janet pushed the pieces together and continued to use it. In 1989, she gave the desk to neighbours in Levin when she moved to Shannon. The neighbours gifted the desk to Victoria in 1996. A conservation report was commissioned, and some further repairs were made. The desk now resides in the International Institute for Modern Letters on the Kelburn campus, where it is considered one of New Zealands most unusual literary treasures. Annette Barbier was a video and digital artist whose work influenced her teaching at Northwestern University and Columbia College Chicago, where she was chair of the interactive arts and media department. "She brought both video and digital art to Northwestern it wasn't there," said colleague and filmmaker Michelle Citron. "She was really insightful and thoughtful and generous, and she observed. That's what she did first, and that made her a great teacher and a great friend." Advertisement Barbier, 66, died June 5 in Northwestern Memorial Hospital of complications from a bone marrow disorder, according to her daughter, Celine Browning. She had lived in the Chicago area most of her life. Barbier was born and grew up in Hegewisch on Chicago's Southeast Side. After attending St. Francis de Sales High School, she went to the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree. She went on to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned a master's degree in fine art. Advertisement "She took photos starting at a very early age," Browning said. "There's a photo of her holding a camera at about age 5." Working first in sculpture, art was her way of interpreting and understanding the world around her and communicating her vision to others, her daughter said. "This was the way that ideas flowed for her through visual art." Barbier's interest in visual art soon found expression through what she called feminist video in the 1970s. "She was an early video artist back when video wasn't really considered art," said her daughter. Many of her art projects were done in collaboration with her husband, Drew Browning, who survives her. The two met at the University of Illinois and studied together at the Art Institute. One of their collaborations, "Approach," uses motion data of two people, one in a wheelchair and one walking, to make a life-size installation on a 75-foot-long fence at the Prairie Center of the Arts in Peoria showing the intersecting paths of human motion and the traces left behind in passages through life. Celine Browning said her parents also collaborated on the grant-funded "Expose Intervene Occupy" project in Chicago, in which smartphone users could access visions of what Browning called "augmented reality" on and around downtown buildings. Barbier joined the faculty of Northwestern in 1982 as associate professor in the department of radio/television/film. She moved from there to Columbia in 2005 as associate professor and chair of the interactive arts and media department. She moved to emeritus status in 2012. Doreen Bartoni knew Barbier at Northwestern and hired her for the Columbia post. In an email, Bartoni said: "Annette provided stellar leadership over the department and infused an artistic and inclusive approach to a historically technical discipline. I was particularly impressed with her initiatives to get girls interested in gaming as well as her focus on the importance of gender representation." Advertisement Barbier's work has been collected widely and has won her a number of grants and awards. One of those was a Fulbright lectureship that took her to India in early 1988 to teach video making to Indian women as well as work on her own art. Her daughter, about 2 years old then, came with, grounding Barbier in her own responsibilities as a mother even as the child wandered into some of the videos she was making of Indian women at work. Mindy Faber, who worked with Barbier at the Art Institute and later at Columbia, called her a pioneering, groundbreaking artist, internationally acclaimed for her videos. Faber said the work evolved over time, moving from exploring issues of female identity to concerns with nature, ecology and climate. "The last work she produced was about the environment," Citron said. "She cared deeply about it." That concern took in farming practices, species extinction, pollution, even collisions of migrating birds into Chicago high-rises. "I think her work was trying to get us to understand our place in the world," Citron said. Barbier also is survived by her sister Joyce McClellan. Advertisement A celebration of her life will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday in Barbier's studio, 319 N. Albany St., Chicago. Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter. YouTube pop artist Austin Jones was ordered released on home confinement Thursday but must stay off the internet while facing federal child pornography charges alleging he coerced two underage female fans to send him sexually explicit videos. Jones, 24, has been in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago since his arrest Monday night at O'Hare International Airport, where he had returned after a European tour. Advertisement In a brief hearing Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Mason ordered Jones released to his mother's custody on a $100,000 bond. Jones will be placed on 24-hour home confinement at his mother's home in west suburban Bloomingdale and barred from using the internet while the charges are pending, including use of any social media. Jones' attorney, Terrence Lefevour, declined to comment after the hearing, which was also attended by Jones' mother. Advertisement Jones faces two felony counts of production of child pornography. Each count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years behind bars if convicted. Jones' original songs and covers of popular teen artists have earned him a huge online following. His YouTube channel has more than 500,000 subscribers and some of his videos have received more than 1 million views. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > A criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday alleged Jones had online conversations with two 14-year-old female fans in which he encouraged them to send him sexually explicit videos of themselves, including dozens of images of them performing graphic sexual acts. In one chat last month, Jones told one girl identified as Victim A to dance in a sexually suggestive manner and "make it clap super loud and talk about your age the whole time," according to the complaint. Last year, Jones told the other victim Victim B in a Facebook chat that she was "so lucky" to have his attention and needed to "prove" she was his biggest fan, according to the complaint. At one point, he instructed her to remove her underwear. "I'm just trying to help you!" he wrote, according to the complaint. "I know you're trying your hardest to prove you're my biggest fan. And I don't want to have to find someone else." The conversations showed both girls appeared hesitant as Jones asked them to perform increasingly explicit dances. jmeisner@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @jmetr22b Two people were arrested after police responded to a break-in at a home in the Norwood Park neighborhood Thursday morning, police said. Police got the call around 10:30 a.m. for a home in the 6800 block of West Hobart Avenue, according to Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago police spokesman. Advertisement Officers caught two male suspects after a short foot pursuit. Charges were pending, Estrada said. No one was injured. Then-Ald. Bernard Stone speaks with the Chicago Tribune on March 23, 2011, about his career. The Chicago Park District has moved to name a park after the late alderman. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune) In addition to new grass, walking paths and drinking fountains, a far North Side park in the midst of a major renovation could also get a new name: Bernard L. Stone Park. The Chicago Park District board on Wednesday laid the groundwork to name the park after the jovial but sometimes sharp-tongued alderman who served on the City Council from 1973-2011 and died in 2014. Advertisement During the next month-plus, the public can weigh in on naming the park after Stone, or provide their own suggestions, according to a measure approved during the park board's monthly meeting. At the end of what's known as a 45-day notice period, the proposal to name the park after Stone will be put before a park board committee followed by a final vote of the full board. Currently the park is simply on the books as No. 526. Advertisement Naming the park after Stone, who also served as the city's vice mayor, was the brainchild of his successor, Ald. Debra Silverstein, who famously unseated her former ally in a bitter runoff election. Despite the contentious 2010 aldermanic campaign, which included Stone calling Silverstein, who is married to state Sen. Ira Silverstein, "nothing but a housewife," the alderman said she has put the campaign behind her. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "I'm not a person who lives in the past," Silverstein said Tuesday, a day before the Park District vote. The alderman said naming a park after Stone would be the perfect way to thank him for his years of service to the ward. "Given that he was the alderman for so long, I think that it would be a nice tribute," she said. Silverstein said community groups also support naming the 1.8-acre park after Stone. The former Metropolitan Water Reclamation District parking lot, which sits along the North Shore Channel just north of Lincoln and Kedzie avenues, is in the midst of a major expansion. In March, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Park District Chief Executive Michael Kelly and Silverstein broke ground at the park, where new walking paths, fitness equipment geared toward seniors and a new multipurpose field will be built. Park District officials are looking to expand west of the channel, creating more passive green space along the bike trail. Silverstein said she was enthusiastic about what a new park space so close to suburban communities would mean for ward residents. "It's the entryway into the city of Chicago. As you're coming from the (western) suburbs, it will be the first thing that you see. It has been underdeveloped for a very long time so I'm happy we were able to get a nice passive park for people walking through," she said. "We're excited about it." wlee@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @MidNoirCowboy A group of bystanders at North Avenue Beach prevented the escape of a man who stabbed someone nine times, then tried to flee Tuesday, prosecutors said Thursday. Pablo Sosa, 35, has been charged with aggravated battery and attempted murder. He was ordered held in lieu of $750,000 bond Thursday. Advertisement The fight, which left a 25-year-old man seriously wounded, happened about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday near the 1600 block of North Lake Shore Drive, police said previously. Sosa, of the 900 block of West Winona Street, was at the beach Tuesday when he went up to another man, according to Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto, who said the two men did not know each other. Advertisement Other people with the man thought Sosa was acting strangely and told their friend to look out for him, Scaduto said. Later, Sosa came back to the other man and started a fistfight, prosecutors said. He then pulled out two knives and stabbed the other man nine times, according to Scaduto. Sosa got on a bicycle and tried to leave when another person wielding a bottle knocked him off the bike, Scaduto said. A group of people surrounded Sosa on the beach until police arrived. The victim suffered nine stab wounds, including at least one that punctured his lung, Scaduto said. Both he and Sosa, who police said was stabbed with the jagged edge of a bottle, were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment. Sosa was still there Thursday and did not appear for his hearing. Police initially said that Sosa and the man with the bottle were engaged in a mutual fight over a domestic dispute. That account was contradicted by prosecutors' account Thursday. The stabbing marked the second violent attack to happen within three days on a Chicago beach. On Sunday, two 16-year-old boys were shot at 31st Street Beach. The Chicago Tribune's Elvia Malagon contributed. A man with a concealed carry permit fired at two attackers as he was being robbed in the Loop on Wednesday afternoon, Chicago police said. The man was sitting in traffic in the first block of East Wacker Drive, near State Street, around 3 p.m. when someone distracted him and another person snatched belongings from his car, police said. Advertisement The man fired his gun and the robbers fled. Police said no injuries were reported. The robbery remained under investigation, and the victim was cooperating with police. No one was reported in custody. The wife of James Hodgkinson , who authorities say shot a congressman and injured others at a ballfield in Virginia, had no idea her husband would do it, and was sorry it happened. BELLEVILLE, Ill. Suzanne Hodgkinson told reporters gathered outside her Belleville home Thursday afternoon that she "couldn't believe it" when she heard about the shooting. "I'm sorry that he did this, but there's nothing I can do about it," she said, according to interviews posted on St. Louis television stations' websites. Advertisement Four people including Rep. Steve Scalise , the House majority whip from Louisiana, who was shot in the hip were wounded in the shooting. A Capitol Police officer was also injured in the incident. James Hodgkinson, who was 66, died of gunshot wounds suffered in a shootout with police. Suzanne Hodgkinson said she thought her husband had traveled to Washington to focus on tax issues but had not known much of what he was doing. She works for a tax firm, she said, and was busy in recent months. The couple had been married for 30 years, she said, and he'd sold almost everything from his business before moving out to D.C. in March. She said she thought he was going to return to Illinois because he'd run out of money. Advertisement Suzanne Hodgkinson asked reporters to leave the area, saying that she and her family had been through enough. Richard Wagner, chief deputy of the St. Clair County sheriff's office, said afterward that Hodgkinson was told about the shooting by a journalist and has been with the FBI since the shooting. "She had no idea he would do this. She had no idea he felt as strong as he did," Wagner said. "She's just devastated." In Belleville, residents continued to grapple with the news that one of their own, a man many knew could be quick to anger, but who many said didn't show outward signs of violence, could have committed the mass shooting. Tom Reis has owned the popular T.R.'s Place about a mile from Hodgkinson's home since 1997. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 38 An investigator walks to the home of James Hodgkinson on June 14, 2017 in Belleville, Ill. (Steve Matzker / Chicago Tribune) "It makes you feel real bad that something like this is connected to here," Reis said. "We had policemen and even the FBI in here asking questions, but we just don't know him." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > A half-dozen patrons gathered at the tavern Thursday afternoon for the $1 taco special and to shoot pool said Hodgkinson didn't hang out there and wasn't known to them. "What makes a guy do something like that? I think it's terrible," Reis said. "It doesn't matter whether you're Republican, Democrat, black or white, Muslim or whatever. You just don't go out and shoot someone." Advertisement Jack McClenahan, a retired Belleville business owner, said he had several unpleasant run-ins with Hodgkinson over the years while Hodgkinson protested a favored Democratic political cause outside the local post office. "He would get politically aggressive. I go down to the post office quite often, and he would be there collecting signatures on things he was for, and if you weren't of his opinion, he'd be very agitated," McClenahan said. "It was super shocking for our town because you don't want bad press, and this is about as bad as press you can get," he said. cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com (Chicago Tribune Graphics) Twitter @ChristyGutowsk1 The community group Justice for Semaj attends the Will County Board meeting on June 15, 2017, in Joliet to press for the continued investigation into the girl's death. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune) As questions linger about the death of a 17-month-old Joliet Township girl, Will County authorities said Thursday they continue to look for answers on how the toddler died. "Nothing has stopped," Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley said after a County Board meeting Thursday. "We've still got detectives assigned and working on it every day." Advertisement Investigators are still awaiting a ruling on the cause of death of Semaj Crosby, whose body was found under a couch in her family home in April some 30 hours after she was reported missing to police. Her death sparked criticism of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which was providing services to the girl's mother and was at the home the day Semaj disappeared. Though a final autopsy report is not yet complete, Kelley said initial toxicology results were not showing "much." An autopsy did not provide a cause of death, and he said additional information, such as toxicology reports, was needed. Kelley said cause of death is one of the "main things" investigators are waiting on. Advertisement Kelley's comments came after a small group holding large pictures of Semaj quietly sat in the audience at the meeting. "I just want to make sure Semaj receives justice," said LaToya Robinson, who identified herself as Semaj's godmother. The group did not address the board or any of the law enforcement officials at the meeting but hoped its presence served as a reminder of the girl's death and the unanswered questions in her case. "Their presence does speak volumes," board member Herb Brooks, whose district includes Semaj's neighborhood, said just before the meeting ended. "I thank them for keeping it before us." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Amy Sanchez, a member of the Justice for Semaj Action Group, said the lack of developments in a case now 7 weeks old is difficult. "The hardest part is the silence," she said. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 44 Monique Nolden of Chicago, left, holds a photo of Sema'j Crosby, while holding hands with Joliet residents Destini Hayes, center, and Briana Johnson during a prayer in the vacant lot at Second and Iowa avenues in Joliet, minutes from where Sema'j was found dead two years ago, Saturday April 27, 2019. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune) Sanchez and other members of the group spoke briefly with Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow after the meeting. Glasgow reassured the group the case remains active. "This was an unusual tragedy," Glasgow told the group. "Until we exhaust all our avenues, we won't stop." Advertisement Glasgow also said he would support improvements in DCFS policy regarding when children are removed from a home. Following the girl's death, questions regarding DCFS' handling of complaints about the girl's mother and others living in the home surfaced. A 22-page report detailed how the agency handled complaints of abuse and neglect at the home and the agency's shortcomings. Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter. Police are searching for a man who sexually assaulted a woman in the Albany Park neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. The 26-year-old woman was walking into her building in the 3400 block of West Irving Park Road about 1 p.m. when a man followed her and knocked her down, according to police. Advertisement The man pulled out a knife and sexually assaulted the woman, according to police. Police described him as Hispanic, about 30 years old, 6-foot-1 and weighing about 210 pounds. He was wearing a black T-shirt, tan cargo shorts and black sandals, police said. His hair was styled in a bun. Advertisement Anyone with information can contact Area North Detectives at (312) 744-8261. BISMARCK, N.D. A judge's ruling that might open the door for at least a temporary shutdown of the disputed Dakota Access pipeline surprised the industry that hailed the project as a "game changer" for North Dakota oil. But shippers said Thursday that they aren't concerned that there will be any long-term disruption to service on the $3.8 billion pipeline that on June 1 began moving crude from the Bakken oil patch to a distribution point in Illinois, from which it's shipped to the Gulf Coast and potentially high-paying markets abroad. "It's business as usual today," said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, which represents nearly 500 energy companies including Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, which built Dakota Access. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers "largely complied" with environmental law when approving the pipeline but didn't adequately consider some matters important to the Standing Rock Sioux. The tribe draws its water from Lake Oahe and is opposed to the pipeline crossing beneath the Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota. "Obviously, we don't know how all that plays out," Ness said. "But clearly the pipeline is running. It's a critical element of the nation's energy infrastructure." The pipeline whose completion was pushed through earlier this year by the Trump administration has the capacity to move half of North Dakota's daily oil production. Ness just a few weeks ago called it a "game-changer that opens up everything." But the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes are fighting the project in federal court in Washington, D.C., and they've hailed Boasberg's ruling as a victory. Boasberg said the Corps didn't adequately consider how an oil spill under Lake Oahe might affect tribal fishing and hunting rights, or whether it might disproportionately affect the tribal community. He will rule later on whether the pipeline should be shut down while the Corps reconsiders those matters, though he acknowledged such a move "would carry serious consequences that a court should not lightly impose." ETP in a Thursday statement to The Associated Press said, "Dakota Access believes the record supports the fact that the Corps properly evaluated both issues, and that the record will enable the Corps to substantiate and reaffirm its prior determinations." "Pipeline operations can and will continue as this limited remand process unfolds," the company said. Corps spokeswoman Catalina Carrasco said the agency was still reviewing Boasberg's decision and couldn't immediately comment on a potential timeline for the additional review, or on whether a possible outcome might be requiring that the pipeline at Lake Oahe be dug up and moved. Standing Rock attorney Jan Hasselman said Boasberg's decision "resets the clock to where we were last fall," when the tribe was pushing for a more thorough environmental study and consideration of alternate routes. "The Corps could decide that it's safe enough and just grant the same permit. Or it could say we need to look at something different, either a different route or different safety/mitigation options," he said. "There will be a lot of advocacy around those options in the weeks and months ahead." The lawsuit has dragged on nearly a year. Grow America's Infrastructure Now, a pro-pipeline coalition of businesses, trade associations and labor groups, expressed confidence that Boasberg's ruling will "do nothing to impact the ongoing operation of the pipeline." The pipeline runs through the Dakotas and Iowa to Illinois. In Iowa Thursday, the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and the Science and Environmental Health Network asked the Iowa Utilities Board to revoke the state permit that authorized pipeline construction there. The board granted the permit in March 2016 based on ETP obtaining "all necessary and required permits and authorizations." The environmental groups contend Boasberg's ruling nullifies the Corps' permit and therefore makes the Iowa permit void. The board declined to comment, but a spokesman said members will act on the motion at some point after Dakota Access and the other parties have had an opportunity to respond. The Sierra Club and a group of landowners have sued the board over its approval of the pipeline in Iowa and their appeal is before the Iowa Supreme Court. Citing a lack of personnel, the Cook County state's attorney's office plans to stop prosecuting certain traffic offenses, a top county official said. Under a policy expected to take effect later this year, the state's attorney's office will not prosecute people accused of driving on licenses that have been suspended or revoked for financial reasons such as failure to pay child support, tolls or parking tickets. Advertisement Instead, individual cities will have the option to prosecute those violations. "We are in a triage mode, and we can't continue to do what we were doing 10 years ago with 30 percent less resources," Eric Sussman, the first assistant state's attorney, told the Tribune on Wednesday. Advertisement The move comes as State's Attorney Kim Foxx, elected in November, has pushed in other ways to change how her office handles low-level, nonviolent cases. In December, she dramatically raised the bar for felony charges related to shoplifting. And this week, she said that prosecutors could recommend that judges release nonviolent defendants charged with low-level crimes without any cash bail, pending the resolution of their cases. In the new policy on traffic cases, Cook County prosecutors will continue to handle cases in which a driver's license was invalidated because of more serious crimes, such as DUI, fleeing a police officer and reckless homicide. In addition, the new traffic policy raises the bar for felony charges against people who cause serious car crashes while their licenses were revoked for financial reasons. Under current law, a driver's license-related misdemeanor charge can be upgraded to a felony if the driver causes a serious car crash and has one prior conviction for driving on an invalidated license. Under the new policy, the state's attorney's office would upgrade those charges only if the defendant has five or more convictions for driving on a revoked or suspended license, if the license was taken away for money-related reasons. The shift represents a reshuffling of increasingly scarce resources, Sussman said, noting that the number of assistant state's attorneys in the county has plunged in the past 10 years. That means each prosecutor's caseload far exceeds what experts suggest, he said, citing a recommendation that assistant state's attorneys handling misdemeanors should have about 400 cases apiece. In Cook County, that number is closer to 5,700, Sussman said. Advertisement Even prosecutors handling more serious crimes are stretched thin, Sussman said. Cook County assistant state's attorneys prosecuting homicides have about 25 cases at a time, he said outstripping their peers in Manhattan, who handle about five apiece, and San Francisco, where each prosecutor has about 13 homicide cases. "We're overwhelmed, and so what we have tried to do (is) look to areas where we can essentially reallocate our resources," Sussman said. There are currently two courtrooms at the Daley Center devoted entirely to hearing the types of driver's license cases that state's attorneys will soon decline to prosecute, Sussman said. The new policy is expected to free up those prosecutors. Representatives of the state's attorney are meeting with municipalities and law enforcement agencies to explain the change. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "So far at least, it makes it easier for law enforcement to understand we're not doing this because we disagree with the law or have a philosophical problem with the way the law is set up," Sussman said. "I think that a lot of this came as news to a lot of law enforcement agencies that we are as resource-constrained." Individual cities will have the power to prosecute the traffic offenses that the state's attorney's office is no longer handling, Sussman said. Advertisement "Some may decide to do it, some may decide it's not worth their time or effort," he said. Relative to the overall jail population, there are few people in Cook County Jail whose main charge involves driving on a suspended or revoked license, according to Cara Smith, chief policy officer for the sheriff's office. As of Monday, there were 61 pre-trial detainees who were locked up mainly for those charges, Smith said. That's a fraction of the nearly 7,300 people who were in jail that day awaiting trial, she said. mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com Twitter @crepeau A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to conduct further environmental reviews of the Dakota Access pipeline but stopped short of halting oil-pumping operations pending further hearings beginning June 21. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg handed a limited victory to Native American tribes in North Dakota that had challenged the administration's effort to speed the project, and his dense, 91-page opinion directed both sides to appear before him next Wednesday to decide next legal steps. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "substantially complied" with federal environmental laws, Boasberg wrote, "it did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline's effects are likely to be highly controversial." Boasberg's decision comes just weeks after Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners had begun pumping crude oil through the 1,170-mile line carrying North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a distribution point in Illinois. "Whether Dakota Access must cease pipeline operations" while the additional reviews are done "presents a separate question of the appropriate remedy, which will be the subject of further briefing," Boasberg ruled. David Debold, an attorney for Dakota Access, and Daryl Owen, a lobbyist representing Energy Transfer Partners, did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Four Sioux tribes in the Dakotas have asked the court to shut down oil-pumping operations. Boasberg in February rejected emergency requests by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes grounded in cultural preservation and religious freedom claims, the latter of which was based on the tribes' argument that the pipeline would desecrate the Missouri River and Lake Oahe, integral parts of their religious practices. The newest battle was triggered by one of President Donald Trump's early executive orders, directing the corps to expedite approval. The tribes and environmental groups said the administration's actions violate administrative procedure and treaty obligations. Jan Hasselman, an attorney with the environmental group Earthjustice and lawyer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, called the ruling "a significant vindication" of the tribe's position, recalling how Trump in a speech last week in Cincinnati took credit for the project's opening, saying "Nobody thought any politician would have the guts to approve that final leg. I just closed my eyes and I said: 'Do it.'" Hasselman said, "That is a perfect metaphor for this president and this project: they have closed their eyes to the impact of oil spills on some of the poorest people in the nation. It wasn't right, and now we know it wasn't lawful." However, he acknowledged that what the judge decides to do about it "remains to be seen." The pipeline has been the focus of legal maneuvering and protests for months. Authorities reported 761 arrests resulting from protests before the pipeline began commercial operations June 1. Opponents, who say the pipeline endangers their water supplies, said leaks began even earlier. As preparations for service began, the pipeline and a feeder line leaked more than 100 gallons of oil in western North Dakota in separate incidents in March, and the Dakota Access line leaked 84 gallons of oil in northern South Dakota in April. Tribal leaders say their environmental concerns have grown more urgent now that the pipeline is operational. Boasberg's opinion focused on tribes' call for the courts to declare the administration's actions illegal, arbitrary and capricious. In late 2016, President Barack Obama ordered the Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the river and lake, to ask Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline company, to submit environmental impact statements on alternative routes. But Trump on Jan. 24 ordered the engineers to speedily issue the final easement the company needed to finish construction in the national interest. On Feb. 8, the Army said it no longer needed an environmental-impact statement and issued the easement. Boasberg said that while federal law typically allows a court to order a halt to operations, such a move in the Dakota pipeline case "would carry serious consequences that a court should not lightly impose." In such cases, he wrote, "courts have discretion to depart from that presumptive remedy," calling for further legal arguments. Bob Dylan's lengthy career is difficult to sum up. The restless and prolific innovator has sold more than 100 million albums, won Grammys, Golden Globes and Oscars and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Check out highlights of his legendary life. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Bob Dylan has been accused of plagiarism once again. Last year, when the Nobel committee awarded Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature, true to form, he did not travel to Stockholm to accept and he waited until the deadline to give the mandatory Nobel lecture, which he delivered in recorded form. It has been subsequently posted on the Nobel website, nobelprize.org. Scrutinizing the speech for Slate, writer Andrea Pitzer found at least 20 of Dylan's 78 sentences about the classic Herman Melville novel "Moby Dick" with traces and phrases that appear to be lifted, without attribution, from the SparkNotes online study guide. Advertisement This is not Dylan's first brush with accusations of plagiarism. In the early 2000s one of his songs contained lines purported to be lifted from Civil War-era poet Henry Timrod, known as "The Poet of the Confederacy." Another song borrowed lines nearly verbatim from Japanese writer Junichi Saga. In each case, Dylan failed to credit the author. Critics have been divided on whether Dylan was guilty of plagiarism. In the past his defense has been that borrowing from others is how songwriting, and especially folk music, evolved. Fair enough. But a Nobel Prize lecture is a different animal. Advertisement Given that, here are some minor rewrites of a few Dylan lyrics, with apologies: "The Times, They Are A-Changin'," 1964 Come writers and artists / Who create with your pen / And don't scrutinize too closely / Your chance won't come again / I'll just use your material / Is borrowing someone's words such a sin? / And there's no tellin' who I will borrow / For the author now / Will be forgotten someday / For Nobel Prizes are for tomorrow "Like A Rolling Stone," 1965 Once upon a time you wrote so fine / Threw the crowd your words in your prime, didn't you? / People call, say "beware guy, you're bound to plagiarize" / You thought they were all kidding you. / You used to write with ease / Wasn't a critic you couldn't please / Now you don't write so much / Now you seem to have lost the touch / About having to pull off your next deal / How does it feel, how does it feel? / To be without the muse / Pulling a ruse / Like a man accused "Mr. Tambourine Man," 1965 Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, write some words for me, / I've got writer's block and nothing's coming easily / Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, write some words for me / In the jingle jangle mornin' I'll come copying you "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," 1963 Advertisement Oh, what did you write, my blue-eyed son? / And what was original, my darling young one? / I've stumbled on the side of some questionable borrowing / I've walked and I've crawled near supposed appropriation / I've listened to a Nobel speech taken from online SparkNotes / I've heard the words come right from a Japanese doctor / I've been ten thousand miles with some weak attribution / And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard / And it's a hard thing to write when you get old "Highway 61 Revisited," 1965 Oh, Nobel said to Dylan, "Write me a speech" / Dylan said, "Man, you want me to teach?" / Nobel said, "No" Dylan say, "What?" / Nobel say, "You can do what you want, Dylan, but / The next time you see me comin', you better have it done" / Well, Dylan said, "I might borrow from SparkNotes." / Nobel said, "Make sure you at least attribute the quotes" "Just Like A Woman," 1966 Nobody feels any ease / Tonight as you try and please / Ev'rybody knows / The emperor's got no clothes / And lately they see how far his appropriation goes / When he's lost his originality / He takes just like a schoolboy, yes, he does / He deals phrases just like a schoolboy, yes, he does / And he borrows words just like a schoolboy / But he wins prizes like a Nobel laureate "It Ain't Me Babe," 1964 Advertisement Go 'way from my phrasebook / Leave at your own chosen speed / I'm not the one you want, babe / I'm not the one you need / You say you're lookin' for someone / Whose words have always brightly shown / No borrowing, all attribution / All his work done all alone / Someone who wrote all his stuff by himself / But it ain't me, babe / No, no, no, it ain't me babe / It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," 1963 Well it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe / Ifin' you don't know by now / An' it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe / How he wrote those words somehow / When he borrowed some phrases that were hard to find / At first the critics didn't seem to mind / Plagiarism not that easy to define / Don't think twice, it's all right "Blowin' In The Wind," 1963 How many times can a man take a line that someone else actually wrote? / How many times can a man claim credit for somebody else's quote? / The answer my friends is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind. Cory Franklin is a Wilmette physician and author of "Cook County ICU: 30 Years of Unforgettable Patients and Odd Cases." Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks to the media after a Chicago Gourmet event at Tribune Tower on June 13, 2017. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune) The Chicago Police Department needs serious reform. There's no room to doubt that. The question is whether the people in power are resolved to take the steps needed for real change to come about. Mayor Rahm Emanuel's recent actions have shaken Chicago's faith in his commitment to that effort. On Wednesday, lawyers for several civil rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force those changes. Advertisement A U.S. Department of Justice report, published in the closing days of the Obama administration, laid out a stark record of abuses and failures that harm Chicago citizens and create hostility toward cops in the communities that need them most. Emanuel pledged to keep working toward a consent decree, with a court-appointed monitor overseeing the implementation of new policies and a federal judge holding the city accountable for any lapses. Advertisement But new Attorney General Jeff Sessions is no fan of that approach. And Emanuel now says it isn't necessary. Instead, he's been talking privately with the Justice Department about a plan that would spare the city a court overseer. It would also spare it from negotiating a reform plan with stakeholders who have their own ideas about what needs to be done. The Justice Department has seen Emanuel's proposals, but the public hasn't. On Wednesday, some of those stakeholders demanded a voice in what happens next. A group of civil rights organizations and lawyers filed a lawsuit on behalf of six African-Americans who say their rights were violated by Chicago police. It's not necessary to endorse every sentence in their brief to welcome their objective: to compel the city to open up the process to public input and scrutiny and to ensure that a federal court will have the power to make sure the agreed-on changes are more than words on paper. That is true accountability. Emanuel's hoped-for side deal with the Justice Department is not. He promises transparency while working toward a memorandum of agreement in secrecy. He wants Chicagoans to accept his assurances that an appointed monitor who doesn't answer to a federal judge can be as effective as one who does. Yet it would be up to the Justice Department to enforce the agreement if the monitor determined the city wasn't in compliance. Chicago can't count on Sessions to do that. Emanuel knows as well as anyone the deep and pervasive distrust of cops in many Chicago neighborhoods, particularly those that are predominantly black or Latino. As the lawsuit documents, the abuses go back decades, and they demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt that outside help is essential. Advertisement Emanuel should stop trying to avoid that. He should spare taxpayers the expense of fighting this lawsuit and possibly more to come and get back to Plan A voluntarily. Without court oversight, says Craig Futterman, one of the lawyers who filed the suit, "we'll be having the same conversation after the next scandal." Better to embrace this option and try to prevent the next scandal. Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. Become a subscriber today to support editorial writing like this. Start getting full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks. Chicago Public Schools' just-announced plan to build a $75 million state-of-the-art high school in Englewood is terrific news for many parents and students there. The as-yet-unnamed school, to be built next to Robeson High School, is expected to open in 2019. The proposal also calls for four area high schools Robeson, Hope, Harper and TEAM Englewood to close. Advertisement Yes, we understand why some parents and students will mourn the demise of those schools. It's never easy to lose a neighborhood school. But the reality is that most students have long since abandoned these schools for better ones. Only 1 in 10 students attend neighborhood high schools in the Englewood community, the district reports. Advertisement At Robeson, about 2,300 students were eligible to attend. But just 86 students living inside Robeson's attendance boundaries did so last fall. At Harper High, about 2 miles away, just under 10 percent of its 1,166 eligible students enrolled in classes. Hope attracted a paltry 8 percent of nearly 700 eligible students. Area students are voting with their feet and traveling long distances for better educational opportunities. Four in 10 Englewood-area high schoolers travel 4 miles or more to attend charters and other stronger schools outside the community, CPS reports. That's a bigger percentage than any other community in Chicago, the district says. Big questions: Can the near-insolvent district afford this $75 million investment? And will students flock to the new school if it's built? District officials answer yes to both. Construction costs would be paid with a share of hundreds of millions of already borrowed money, financed by a special property tax approved by the city in 2015. So the district wouldn't have to dip into its already cash-strapped operating budget. CPS also would presumably reap savings in operational and maintenance costs from shuttering the four schools. Robeson and the others have built up tens of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance costs, the district says. Advertisement As for demand: "Englewood children should not have to travel for miles and miles to find a quality high school experience," CPS CEO Forrest Claypool rightly says. "They deserve a modern high school with excellent academic programming, which is exactly what this new facility will provide." Still, serious concerns remain about student safety. Englewood students could be at risk when crossing gang turf. That's why a 2013 commission report on CPS closings recommended keeping all high schools open. Since then, the district has gained extensive experience in helping students reach school safely. CPS has worked with Chicago police and community groups to set up and expand Safe Passage routes, now helping 75,000 students get to their classrooms every day. Chicago Teachers Union officials criticized the CPS plan as "another way for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to sabotage the community at its time of greatest need." Instead of consolidating the schools, CTU officials argue that the district should be "fortifying" them with more resources. But the district has too many underenrolled schools soaking up scarce funds. Mayor Emanuel's moratorium on school closings ends in 2018. It won't be politically popular, but more schools must close as CPS loses student population and grapples with huge budget deficits. CPS is betting that many students who attend schools elsewhere will be lured back by a modern new campus in Englewood and an excellent academic curriculum. We hope so. But CPS officials still have to make their case at upcoming public hearings. Advertisement One thing is certain: Englewood students deserve a first-rate education with high-quality teachers. A new school could be a beacon for those students and a building block to help the neighborhood thrive. Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. Become a subscriber today to support editorial writing like this. Start getting full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks. Here's where to drink on a budget this week. Thursday, June 15 Advertisement Cabana Club (1616 N. Milwaukee Ave. 872-315-3083) hosts a Big Star pop-up from 5-9 p.m. featuring $4 tacos, $10 margaritas, $6 micheladas and $6 orders of chips, salsa and guacamole. Friday, June 16 Pitchfork (2922 W. Irving Park Road 773-866-2010) offers $2 domestic bottles, $3 sangria and $5 appetizers. Saturday, June 17 Advertisement Houndstooth Saloon (3369 N. Clark St. 773-244-1166) celebrates its 11th anniversary by serving 11-cent Smirnoff cocktails and $1.11 Bell's Brewery drafts from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Sunday, June 18 Easy Bar (1944 W. Division St. 773-227-4644) offers $5 bloody marys and Moscow mules from 3-5:30 p.m. Monday, June 19 Little Goat (820 W. Randolph St. 312-888-3455) offers $2 off all beers, $7 specialty cocktails and $8 glasses of wine plus a menu of mini-portions of favorite dishes from the West Loop restaurant, including $6 banh mi burgers and crab dip and $3 smoked fries. Tuesday, June 20 Scientists from The Field Museum discuss the most unusual sexual behaviors found in nature from 6-8 p.m. at Sidetrack (3349 N. Halsted St. 773-477-9189). The benefit for homeless queer and trans youth includes snacks and two drinks. $20. Tickets: fieldmuseum.org Wednesday, June 21 The lounge menu served at Carnivale (702 W. Fulton Market 312-850-5005) from 4:30-6:30 p.m. features $6 Argentine meatballs, $9 lamb chops, $7 sangria and $12 cocktails including the Havana Breeze, a blend of Captain Morgan grapefruit rum, cranberry juice and lime. If you have a happy hour deal you'd like to see featured in RedEye, email details to laurenchval@redeyechicago.com. Chicagos Pride Fest and Pride Parade both take place along Halsted Street in Boystown and Lakeview and draw crowds upwards of 750,000 people, according to the Chicago Pride website. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) On the morning of June 2, Blake Kelley sat as his computer, typing away on Facebook. "Happy Pride Month!" he began. "Let it be a remembrance of the number of trans people of color killed this year. Let this month highlight the people who continue to be fired for their sexual orientation or gender identity." Advertisement His post went on to describe the many issues still at large within the LGBTQ community, from being denied housing to trans and bisexual visibility. "I had one of those moments where I just couldn't stop writing," the 27-year-old Lakeview resident said. The impetus of his post, he said, came from a place of frustration. Advertisement "Ever since the Supreme Court decision (granting LGBTQ people rights to marry), there's this general conversation that now everybody's equal and people who aren't queer think that everything is just perfect now," Kelley said. According to Kelley, that couldn't be further from the trutha point that's all the more poignant during the month of June, when Pride Month, Pride Fest and the Pride Parade are all celebrated. Chicago's Pride Fest and Pride Parade both take place along Halsted Street in Boystown and Lakeview and draw crowds upwards of 750,000 people, according to the Chicago Pride website. Those in attendance aren't limited to just members of the LGBTQ community; allies are also welcome to attend and do turn out en masse, though Kelley takes issue with the way Pride is discussed among people not within the LGBTQ community. "I love that allies come out to support, but I tend to see them treat it more as a party, like, 'We're going to go get drunk with all the gays today!'" Kelley said. For Modesto Tico Valle, the CEO of Center on Halsted, Pride is an opportunity to celebrate, yes, but also a chance to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak. "If we're going to be involved, we have to write checks. We have to volunteer, we have to stand up and we have to speak up," he said. Valle said that the Center has seen a spike in volunteer engagement in the past six months, something that may be credited to the beginning of a new presidential administration. Edmund Talideh, a transplant from the U.K., said it's the political uncertainty that's driving his celebration of Pride this year. Though Pride may be largely a social event, Talideh sees the Pride parties as inherently political. Advertisement "The way you normalize something that people are uncomfortable with is by showing it to them and being visible," the 31-year-old Lakeview resident said. "That message is even stronger now that there's a set of people with a specific ideology in power. The fight is now about showing that there are different types of love." That visibility starts with organizations fighting for LGBTQ protections, according to Valle. During Pride, the opportunity for volunteers to get involved increases, with programming occurring throughout the month to engage both LGBTQ Chicagoans and their straight allies. "I believe Pride should really be every day," Valle said. "Unfortunately, not everybody is afforded that and not everybody can come out but this is our moment to celebrate and affirm but also to pause and remember that some people are still struggling." The struggle with coming out is still fresh for Natalie Tomes, a 25-year-old DePaul University law student. Tomes began slowly coming out to family and friends during high school and college, but only publicly declared her bisexuality following the Pulse club shooting in Orlando last summer. "Pride is usually so exuberant and about not being afraid and fighting back," Tomes said. This year's Pride marks her third year celebrating in Chicago. "You can feel all of the events of the past year, from the Supreme Court decision to Pulse you can feel it all in the air." Tomes grew up in Wheaton, Ill., known for being one of the most conservative Chicago suburbs and one of the cities with the highest number of churches per capita. Tomes said her exposure to the gay community changed significantly when she moved to Chicago three years ago. Advertisement "I knew one lesbian growing up and she was closeted," Tomes said. "Now, at Pride I love to people watch and see people being unapologetically queer and celebrating who they are. It's so great to live in a city that's so encouraging of that." Cornelius Lee, 30, had a similar experience before his move to Chicago in 2011. A queer man of color, Lee said his experience growing up in a suburb of Dallas was far less encouraging than his time spent in Chicago thus far. "That was a really oppressive place to be as a black, gay person," the Logan Square resident said. "Chicago does have its own problems, but it's more important now than ever to lean on each other." For Lee, Pride represents a sense of safety, but not complacency. Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > "We took for granted the rights we were given under the prior administration," Lee said. "Now, Pride is also more of a call to action and a call to activism." With the ushering in of the Trump administration, Lee has started volunteering at the Center on Halstedalongside upward of 100 new volunteers a month, according to Valle. Advertisement As the community rallies during Pride Month, the importance of volunteering becomes much more poignant as groups come together to reflect on the work still to be done, according to Anthony Galloway of Equality Illinois. The organization works throughout the state to ensure LBGTQ protections at the state level and also staffs an informational booth at Pride Fest and marches in the parade at the end of the month. "There is definitely a group of people that are celebrating, which we have the right to," Galloway said. "But some of us say the work is not done yet and that Pride is the opportunity for us to take a moment to reflect on the fact that we are all not equal just yet and there's lots of work to be done." And that work starts with young peoplethe same young people that come out in droves to celebrate Pride. "If you're growing up and you see one person who is openly and unapologetically gay, then you can grow up and become that person for somebody else," Tomes said. "It's like the circle of gay. Pride lets us live our lives and live our queerness and celebrate and resist together." @shelbielbostedt | sbostedt@redeyechicago.com Another weekend, another batch o' fests to keep the entire city full, happy, tipsy and dancing. From free music performances in Grant Park to all the pasta you can eat in Little Italy, this weekend is going to be a good one. Grant Park Music Festival When: June 14-Aug. 19 Where: Millennium Park How much: Free The skinny: From Beethoven's Symphonies to "Star Wars," the Grant Park Music Festival has something for every taste. Advertisement Craft Brews at the Zoo When: June 16-17 Where: Lincoln Park Zoo How much: $20-$79 The skinny: Go wild at Lincoln Park Zoo with a selection of more than 75 brews to choose from. Oakley Festa Pasta Vino When: June 16-18 Where: Heart of "Little Tuscany" How much: Free The skinny: Celebrate Italian culture with music, wine and authentic Italian food. Advertisement Taste of Randolph Street When: June 16-18 Where: West Loop How much: $40-$100 The skinny: Taste of Randolph is old enough to drink now, celebrating its 21st anniversary this year. Listen to local musicians and chow down on Chicago's finest edibles. Back Lot Bash When: June 16, 23-24 Where: Andersonville How much: $20-$100 The skinny: This outdoor music festival was started in 2004 as a Pride weekend event for the lesbian community. Pride Fest When: June 17-18 Where: Boystown How much: $10 (suggested donation) The skinny: Celebrate the LGBTQ community at this two-day festival ahead of the Pride Parade. Gold Coast Art Fair When: June 17-18 Where: Gold Coast How much: $5 The skinny: Head to Grant Park's Butler Field for artwork, live music and family-friendly activities like speed-painting demonstrations. Women's Funny Festival When: June 15-18 Where: Lakeview How much: $15-$100 The skinny: Women prove once again that they can and will be funny with more than 500 performers across 80 shows. @shelbielbostedt | sbostedt@redeyechicago.com Want even more fests? Check out our ultimate guide to 135+ Chicago summer festivals. Chicago weather is a fickle beast. We spend six months of the year praying for heat, then when it comes, will it away. To help you get through the sweltering hot and humid days, Kizuki Ramen and Izakaya (1482 N. Milwaukee Ave.) is offering free Japanese matcha green tea soft serve ice cream on any day that hits above 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Available through August 1, the free treat will be available with any purchase. Advertisement Make your summertime trip to the Wicker Park spot all about the frozen treats with shochu sake-infused gummy bears for $6 a bag or sangria ice pop available for $9 each. You can also skip the booze and opt for a non-alcoholic pop for only $4, if you so choose. Flavors include pomegranate, apple pineapple, cucumber and "mega kuwaii" featuring fresh strawberries, shochu and lime. If you're heading to Kizuki with a group, check out their summer combo special featuring a pitcher of Saporro beer, chicken karaage, chicken wings, tempura and edamame for $25.99. Advertisement @shelbielbostedt | sbostedt@redeyechicago.com With no mention of a two-month delay that sent states like Montana and Colorado scrambling, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced on Tuesday that his agency would be releasing federal excise taxes to states, including $28 million that is directed to projects overseen by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. We were glad to see that, said Mike Volesky, FWPs chief of operations. Zinkes announcement came several weeks after Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., added his voice to a chorus of other conservation officials from across the nation calling for a release of the tax dollars. Testers office never received any response from Zinke, a former Montana Republican U.S. congressman who resigned to take the Interior job. Jon hopes that important requests about the future of Montanas hunting and fishing opportunities are answered in the future, a Tester spokeswoman wrote in an email. When asked if it was normal for a senators letter to be ignored by a federal agency chief, Testers office pointed to a Politico story that said in part that a White House lawyer told agencies not to cooperate with such requests from Democrats out of fear fear the information could be weaponized against President Donald Trump. It doesnt matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent, holding the federal government accountable should not be a partisan issue, Testers office wrote. Land acquisition The delay in the release of federal Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson funds which are collected from taxes paid when someone purchases firearms, ammunition and some fishing gear threatened Montanas time-sensitive acquisition of a prime piece of real estate along the Bighorn River, just north of Hardin. With the federal money released, the 425-acre addition to the Grant Marsh Wildlife Management Area is now scheduled to be finalized, possibly as early as next week, according to Darlene Edge, FWPs land conservation specialist. Three-quarters of the $1.57 million purchase price for the Bighorn River land is paid for from the excise taxes. The rest comes from a state account, which is funded by a fee paid by hunters. At least we have one we can check off, Edge said. The federal funds are distributed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A request for comment on the delay to an agency spokesman was directed to the Department of Interiors general press office email. No response to the Gazettes questions had been received by press time. Delay Zinke ordered the funding delay in an April 12 memo, requiring the Department of the Interior to review all grants valued at more than $100,000 in order to help him understand the immense impact grants and cooperative agreements have on the mission delivery of the Department. These grants represent over half the funding used to support Fisheries & Wildlife staff and operations across our state, and to support administration of these programs from our headquarters in Helena, Adam Brooks, who oversees federal grants for FWP, wrote in an April email. To cover the temporary shortfall, FWP turned to Gov. Steve Bullocks budget office to fill the hole in the meantime, Volesky said. The agency also had to cancel a planned hunter education program since it was dependent on the federal funds. Nationally The Department of Interior will distribute $1.1 billion in funding for state wildlife agencies this year, according to a DOI press release. Montana will receive $28 million, including almost $8 million in Sport Fish Restoration program funds and $20 million in Wildlife Restoration program funds. Ironically, Zinkes office made the announcement during his four-day trip across the Northeast where he was scheduled to meet with state fish and wildlife agency directors as part of a roundtable focusing on recreation and partnerships. Allocations of the funds are authorized by Congress. To date, the USFWS has distributed more than $19 billion for state conservation and recreation projects. The recipient state wildlife agencies have matched the funds with about $6 billion, which is primarily collected through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. The conservation and outdoor recreation gains made possible by this funding mechanism, which is unique to the United States, serve as the bedrock of wildlife conservation in our country, said Jim Kurth, acting director for the USFWS, in the press release. The former Ponderosa restaurant in Aurora will rise again as a Bulldog Ale House, possibly as soon as September. (Steve Lord / The Beacon-News ) Bulldog Ale House is planning to open in a long-shuttered former restaurant building at Commons Drive and New York Street in Aurora. The exclusively Chicago-area chain will open its 10th location in the former Ponderosa restaurant that is across the street from Fox Valley Mall. Advertisement It is the second location in the Aurora area a Bulldog Ale House is already open at 495 S. Randall Road in North Aurora. "I think it's going to do very well," said Randy Schobert, a Bulldog regional manager who manages the North Aurora location, and will open the Aurora spot. "It's a great location." Advertisement Schobert said officials are hoping to have the new Bulldog open by late September. In addition to using the existing building, officials plan to build a patio at the location, Schobert said. At the moment, nothing has been done with the building, but the company has stretched a temporary sign announcing the eventual opening over the old Ponderosa sign. Bulldog Ale House features a menu with burgers, chicken wings, sandwiches, pizza, wraps and salads, as well as some signature items, such as chicken and waffles, ribs, homemade pot pie and pastas. Besides the North Aurora location and the new Aurora location, the eight other Bulldog Ale House locations are in: Roselle; Carol Stream; New Lenox, Bolingbrook; Rolling Meadows, McHenry; 901 S. State St. in Chicago; and 6606 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, near the Loyola University campus. slord@tribpub.com Mayor Richard Irvin (center) has chosen Adrienne Merced-Holloway (right) and Michael Pegues as part of his innovation team at Aurora City Hall. (City of Aurora) Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin was able to tap into the private sector to get the executives he wanted for his new innovation team at City Hall. He admitted he had to do a sales job on Adrienne Holloway and Michael Pegues to get their years of experience in public administration for less than what they were paid in the private sector. Advertisement Holloway will make $132,496 a year in her new role, and Pegues $129,646.40 a year. In the end, Irvin said the two are key to the effort he wants "to take Aurora to the next level." Advertisement Holloway was hired as the Chief Innovation Officer, a new, first-time position in the mayor's office. She will head up a team of several other employees who will look at ways to innovate and generate new ideas for how to use technology to better the services at City Hall. While her job is new, she is, in effect, replacing the position once held by Alex Alexandrou, whom Irvin appointed as the city's chief management officer. He previously served as director of human resources and risk management. Alexandrou will retain some of his old responsibilities in his job as chief management officer, and the others will be taken up by the Human Resources Department. Holloway will focus on innovation at City Hall, with help from Pegues, whose title is chief technology officer. The former chief technology officer, Ted Beck, is now chief technology security officer, Irvin said. Both Pegues and Beck will be on Holloway's innovation team, along with Dan Barreiro, who is the city's chief community services officer. Irvin announced the team Tuesday at a special event at the Illinois Math and Science Academy IN2 innovation center. He also presented Holloway and Pegues at Tuesday night's City Council meeting. Irvin said he worked with Holloway on several projects at City Hall. Until recently, she was chairman of the Hispanic Heritage Advisory Council for the city. In the community, she is vice chairman of the Northern Lights Development Corporation, a member of the advisory board at the Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry, and secretary of the Executive Committee on the Hesed House Board of Directors. She is leaving a job as an assistant professor at DePaul University in Chicago, teaching in the School of Public Service. Advertisement Holloway, who has a doctorate in political science, with a concentration in public policy and administration, from Northern Illinois University, said she decided that it was time for her to do what she encouraged her students to do, community and public service work. "While this is very different, my experience has prepared me for this opportunity," she said. Irvin said he and Pegues have known each other since they were 5 years old, although Irvin ended up graduating from East Aurora High School and Pegues from West Aurora High School. They were set to go into the U.S. Army together. Pegues decided to become a paratrooper. "He decided to jump out of airplanes, and I wasn't having any of that," Irvin said. But both entered the Army, with Irvin stationed in Germany and Pegues in Italy. Pegues ended up going back to work for the Department of Defense in Italy in 1998, and that started him working in Europe in France, Italy and Hungary for 18 years. Advertisement He ended up with Morgan Stanley in Hungary, then went to work for the company in Chicago. Pegues said his interest in working at City Hall in his home town stemmed from a sense of social responsibility. He said Aurora's image was decidedly different during the 1980s when he grew up, and he wanted to be an African-American role model for people growing up in the city now. He said he also likes being involved in long-term, strategic planning for the city. slord@tribpub.com Less than six months after being paroled from prison on a weapons-related conviction, Anthony Medina now stands accused of murder in a fatal weekend shooting in Aurora. Medina, 24, is charged in the death of 34-year-old Rodolfo Rocha Jr., who was standing with friends outside a home on Grove Street early Saturday morning when, according to Aurora police, Medina and another man walked up to the group, pulled out handguns and opened fire. Advertisement Rocha suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Medina, who was arrested about an hour later, remains in Kane County Jail on $3 million bail with a court date scheduled for June 23. Advertisement Kane County court and Illinois Department of Corrections records show Medina with two convictions that have landed him in prison since 2012. In the first case, Aurora police found the then-19-year-old Medina with a loaded semi-automatic pistol inside his vehicle during a traffic stop. Medina who self-identified as a gang member initially received probation after being found guilty of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful use of a weapon charges, but he was resentenced to two years in prison after violating probation terms, court documents state. In 2015, Medina was charged with possession of a weapon by a felon, which he was later convicted of after a bench trial. The judge in that case, in January 2016, sentenced Medina to three years in prison. After receiving credit for a year spent in the Kane County Jail, Medina served almost another year in prison before his parole on Dec. 30, 2016, records show. Aside from the two felony cases, Medina has been arrested several times on misdemeanor counts alleging illegal contact with street gang members, court documents state. Aurora police have not ruled out gang motivation as the possible motive in Saturday's shooting, which remains under investigation. Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News The fountain in Tinley Park's Zabrocki Plaza at Oak Park Avenue and 173rd Place is shown toppled over. The damage occurred during Labor Day weekend last year. The village is exploring replacing the fountain. (Ted Slowik/Daily Southtown ) For now, the only reminder of the fountain that used to grace Zabrocki Plaza in downtown Tinley Park is a fresh concrete patch covering the spot where it once stood. But village officials say they're in the exploratory stage of possibly replacing it, although there isn't money earmarked in the village's budget for it. Advertisement A centerpiece of the plaza, directly west of the Oak Park Avenue Metra station, the fountain was toppled and heavily damaged in an act of vandalism over the Labor Day weekend last year. Rather than repair or replace it at that time, the village opted to remove it. The tiered fountain was toppled before, in 2010. The cost to replace it then was nearly $40,000, according to Kevin Workowski, the village's public works director. Advertisement At a meeting Tuesday of the Village Board's public works committee, Workowski said he was waiting to hear back on a current price on the same type of fountain, but that he would also bring back other possible designs for village trustees to consider. The fountain had been used by homeless prevention agency Together We Cope for its annual "Pluck a Duck" fundraiser, and it has served as the background for countless photos. In 2010, a photo of the fountain taken by amateur photographer and former elementary school teacher Kelly Johnson was selected the winner of the village's first-ever vehicle sticker photo contest. The photo, taken not long after the fountain was installed, was used for that year's edition of village vehicle stickers. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > A Tinley Park man was arrested and charged after last September's vandalism of the fountain, but the money recouped from him doesn't come close to paying to replace it, officials said. One resident who spoke at Tuesday's meeting suggested that village officials think bigger, and install a fountain that would make other villages "envious." He said that perhaps a replacement fountain could be financed through corporate sponsorships. The village "will look at all options," Trustee Brian Younker, who chairs the public works committee, said. Although there is not money in the budget specifically set aside for the fountain, officials said funds could be allocated for it if a decision is made to move forward with it. As they consider whether to move ahead with a replacement of the fountain, village officials also are evaluating a significant expansion of Zabrocki Plaza to make space for more events and activities, and are considering hiring a consulting firm to help with that work. Because the plaza abuts the Metra station's parking lot, any enlargement of the plaza would require the village to replace parking spaces lost as a result of any expansion. mnolan@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @mnolan_J Christina Ayala, program director of the La Rabida Children's Advocacy Center, is shown in a room where audio/visual equipment records interviews with children who are victims or sexual abuse or witnesses of violent crimes. The center shares a building with the Park Forest Police Department. (Ted Slowik/Daily Southtown ) A children's advocacy center serving the south suburbs has expanded its operations this year to help provide healing and justice for an increased number of youngsters. The Park Forest-based La Rabida Children's Advocacy Center says it has increased its caseload by more than 200 percent and is treating nearly 40 children each month instead of 15. Advertisement The center's small staff of three full-time and two part-time professionals is handling the increased workload, program director Christina Ayala told me. "It's been a little intense," said Ayala, 36, who took over as the center's director in December. "We're all doing the best we can." Advertisement The center was founded in 1986 at the La Rabida Children's Hospital on South Promontory Drive on Chicago's lakefront in Jackson Park. In 1997, the advocacy center moved to Park Forest, where it shares a building with the village's police department on Lakewood Boulevard. More than 800 children's advocacy centers nationwide serve a vital role for children who have been sexually abused or affected by other forms of trauma and violence, according to the National Children's Alliance, which accredits local centers that meet professional standards. "Without a CAC, the child may end up having to tell the worst story of his or her life over and over again, to doctors, cops, lawyers, therapists, investigators, judges, and others," the alliance says on its website. The role of advocacy centers includes interviewing young crime victims to gather credible testimony that authorities can use to prosecute offenders. The La Rabida Children's Advocacy Center at the Park Forest police station includes rooms where counselors can interview children. Detectives and prosecutors can monitor from another room on the other side of a one-way mirror, and audio/visual equipment records the interviews. "We're able to streamline the process so the child does not have to tell the story more than once," Ayala said. Ayala attributes her center's increased caseload to three factors. First, the center expanded the age range of referrals. The center now treats children ages 2 to 17 years, whereas previously the criteria was 3 to 13 years. Second, the center broadened the criteria for referrals. Previously, the center assisted in cases of childhood sexual abuse or extreme physical abuse. Now, criteria include witnesses to community and domestic violence, homicides, abductions, home invasions and other violent crimes. Advertisement Third, the center expanded its hours of operations. Previously, staff members were able to conduct forensic interviews at early morning or early afternoon appointments. Now, the center also is able to conduct late-afternoon interviews. "Most of our clients are from low-income families," Ayala said. "It was difficult for family members to take off work," and children missing school for interviews often created complications, as well. "We want to help as much as possible to reduce that anxiety" of providing testimony used to prosecute offenders, she said. All services are provided to children and their families at no cost. The center receives funding from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, the National Children's Alliance, private foundations and individual donors. I asked Ayala how the state budget impasse was affecting her center's operations, and she said they're "safe for now." Legislators and the governor authorized $7.1 million in funding specifically for children's advocacy centers statewide, she said. DCFS or local police detectives refer clients to the La Rabida Children's Advocacy Center. The center works with 36 different south suburban police jurisdictions in Cook County's 6th Municipal District. Criminal cases are prosecuted at the courthouse in Markham. Advertisement Communities served include Blue Island, Burnham, Calumet City, Calumet Park, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Crete, Dixmoor, Dolton, East Hazel Crest, Flossmoor, Ford Heights, Glenwood, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Lansing, Lynwood, Markham, Matteson, Midlothian, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Phoenix, Posen, Richton Park, Riverdale, Robbins, Sauk Village, South-Chicago Heights, South Holland, Steger and Thornton. The advocacy center works with family members of child victims throughout the criminal prosecution process, Ayala said. Typically, detectives gather testimony and evidence and share it with prosecutors, who decide whether to pursue a case. When cases are pursued, defense attorneys for offenders often negotiate plea bargains that go before a judge for approval. "Sometimes it's difficult to navigate that system," she said. In addition to Ayala, the La Rabida Children's Advocacy Center staff consists of just two other full-time and two part-time members. Ayala told me her goals for the center include offering additional services, such as group therapy sessions for teen victims or their adult family members. Ayals explained that while advocacy centers fulfill an essential role in the criminal justice process, their core mission isn't to provide longer-term psychotherapy counseling often needed by child survivors of sexual abuse, violence or other trauma. Advertisement Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Some advocacy centers provide mental health counseling, but more typically other nonprofit agencies and professionals in private practice fulfill that role, including several serving the south suburbs. The need is great. In its 2016 annual report, the National Children's Alliance said its network of 822 advocacy centers nationwide served 324,602 children last year. Since 2008, centers have served 60 percent more child victims of physical abuse and 111 percent more child witnesses to violent crimes. As Ayala gave me a tour of the La Rabida Children's Advocacy Center in Park Forest Wednesday, I told her I have great respect for the center's work. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for young children to recount sexual abuse they've experienced or violence they've witnessed. She agreed, but said young victims and witnesses are often surprisingly capable of coping with traumatic experiences. "Children are so resilient," she said. mailto:tslowik@tronc.com Advertisement Twitter @tedslowik The Afterset bar in downtown Elgin will continue to be open until 4 a.m. on weekends. (Mike Danahey/Courier-News ) To "level the playing field" for local bars and nightclubs, the Elgin Liquor Control Commission voted Wednesday to cut the weekend hours at Medusa's bar from 6 a.m. to 4 a.m. At the same time, the Afterset will keep its current weekend 4 am. license. Advertisement The new hours, if approved, would go into effect following the next city council meeting. Elgin Corporation Counsel Bill Cogley called in the owners of both establishments to talk with the commissioners about the number of police calls for serious incidents. Advertisement Elgin's liquor code includes a "10-strike rule." If a single establishment has 10 police calls in 12 months, the commission can fine, suspend or even revoke a liquor license. While neither bar has reached the 10 incidents yet, both have come close in 14 months, Cogley said. Those incidents have included calls for fights, battery and resisting a police officer, Cogley said. He looked at reports from all of 2016 through the end of February, he added. Medusa's, at 209 E. Chicago St., had 10 incidents in the 14 months, Cogley said. The Afterset, at 158 Symphony Way, had eight such incidents. There were two more incidents at Medusa's from March through mid-May, and three more at The Afterset, Cogley added. While he suggested reducing the two location's hours to 3 a.m., commissioners voted 5-2 for the 4 a.m. licenses. John Steffen and Corey Dixon, the dissenting votes, said they would have rather put Medusa's owner Dave Shelton on probation, allowing him to keep the 6 a.m. license he received just over a year ago. Advertisement "As a downtown business, I want to support downtown business," Steffen said following the vote. "We could watch and see if they can improve," the number of police calls, he said. Dixon agreed, saying that while both establishments had police calls, it would be unfair to punish them for incidents that hadn't happened. "It was too reactive," to move to a 4 a.m. or 3 a.m. license, Dixon said. However, it would be fair, said Mayor David Kaptain. Earlier this year, The Afterset also asked for a 6 a.m. liquor license. At the time the bar's owners said they were losing clients who would go to Medusa's knowing they could keep drinking there. The city turned down that request. "it would be impossible" to not give Afterset the same hours as the other club, Kaptain said. "We have to have a level playing field." Advertisement Shelton argued that he and other venues are losing clients to downtown Chicago and other clubs with longer hours, noting that some younger crowds don't go out until 10 p.m. or midnight. Neither, he argued, can he control every patron at his club and was concerned that his willingness to call police when there are problems hurts the business. "Elgin is going in reverse no one is going to be in our downtown area," Shelton said. Janelle Walker is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News. Ronald Medlin, the St. Charles Township man accused of using a knife to commit robberies in St. Charles, Elgin and South Elgin earlier this year, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday. Medlin, 46, denied the eight-count indictment, which includes armed robbery and aggravated robbery, during a court appearance before Judge David Kliment. Medlin is being held in Kane County Jail on $1.1 million bail with a July 13 hearing scheduled. Advertisement Prosecutors allege Medlin used a knife to take money and cigarettes during the robberies which occurred between Feb. 6 and Feb. 14. Investigators zeroed in on Medlin after St. Charles police responded to a pair of incidents on Feb. 13 in which a man later determined by authorities to be Medlin used a knife to take $381 from the 7-Eleven store on East Main Street and, several hours later, the Clark Gas Station on West Main Street. Around 3 a.m. on Feb. 14, Medlin had a knife when he took $400 from the register at the Shell Station on South State Street in Elgin, authorities said. Based on suspect information gathered in the St. Charles cases, Elgin police were able to identify Medlin on surveillance footage of the robbery and track him to a South Elgin home where he was arrested. Advertisement The investigation also turned up enough information to eventually identify Medlin as the suspect in a Feb. 6 knife-point robbery of a woman in South Elgin, court documents show. Two months before the robbery spree, Medlin was paroled by the Illinois Department of Corrections where he served prison time for various convictions. He previously was imprisoned on drug charges and once received an eight-year sentence for an aggravated robbery conviction for stealing money and cigarettes from a St. Charles convenience store, records show. Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News. On the hottest day of summer so far, a pair of Orchard Elementary educators roamed Billings' South Side, looking for their next students. Kindergarten teacher Ahnna Barnett is offering a "Kindergarten Jumpstart" program this year something of a preschool lite for students beginning kindergarten in September. Her students often exemplify the gap between the haves and have-nots of school readiness. Those who attend a preschool like Head Start, a federally funded program, come in with some academic knowledge and understand how to behave in a school atmosphere. Other students often have never had a school-like structure to their day, and when they have to adhere to one, the change can be jarring. "Some kids come in just completely bonkers, Barnett said. She and Indian Education home-to-school coordinator Dee Neiter distributed fliers about the program last week. While Barnett's work is effectively volunteering, Indian Education funding will be used to purchase school supplies. And Neiter, who often visits students' homes, knows Orchard's neighborhoods well. Most fliers ended up tucked in doorways or pinned on notice holders. But Barnett did chat with a handful of adults whose children were slated to start school next year. All expressed interest in the program. Students will get free breakfast and lunch, and hopefully hit modest academic goals things like writing their first name and counting up to 30. Social and behavioral goals may be more important. Barnett modeled the program after a long-running summer class at East Helena. That program began at least 10 years ago "to address those kids that come into kindergarten screaming and dont perform very well, just simply because of a lack of kindergarten readiness things like opening your milk and using scissors and coloring between the lines, said East Helena Superintendent Ron Whitmoyer. East Helena enrolls only about 15 students in its six-week morning program, about 10 percent of the district's incoming kindergartners. That allows for a more intensive approach. Students are selected based on kindergarten screening scores on a scale known as the Development Indicators for the Assessment of Learning, or DIAL. The at-risk kids really are the ones that are identified, Whitmoyer said. The district uses Title I money federal funds earmarked to help students from low-income families for the program. And it appears to work. DIAL scores show the students reach kindergarten readiness by the end of the six-week program, he said. Weve just had remarkable success with it. Barnett isn't sure what to expect from the first year at Orchard. She asked East Helena officials about their program, but was largely on her own within School District 2. Orchard's principal, Jeremy Carlson, signed off on the idea. "At first I figured, let's open up the classroom and see what happens," she said. She started pursuing the program after legislators killed a $12 million ask for public preschool funding requested by Gov. Steve Bullock this year. A $37 million proposal failed in 2015. Barnett testified in support of the bill in Helena. When I came back, I was just so frustrated, and I just talked to Jeremy and said, 'Rather than wait for the state to take action, well do something for our kids,' she said. Legislators did approve $3 million for a grant program to existing preschools, and the state receives funds from a $40 million federal preschool grant. But most early education advocates highlight Montana as an example of a lack of investment in preschool. Theres a mixed body of research on the benefits of high-quality preschool programs, but most of it shows that such programs have long-lasting educational, social and health benefits. And the kids who benefit most are often the ones that start the furthest behind. In Billings, many of those students attend Orchard. The school usually has low test scores, and more than 60 percent of its student body come from families that qualify for programs like food stamps, one of the highest rates in School District 2. Nationally, academic outcomes are strongly correlated with the financial success of students' families; poor kids typically perform worse than more well-off students on measures like standardized tests and graduation rates. We dont have the ability to control where these kids come from, Barnett told legislators. We do have the ability to give them an equal playing field. The Elgin Math and Science Academy would potentially open in 2018 on the former site of the Fox River Day School. (Rafael Guerrero/Courier-News ) A proposed contract between School District U46 and the Elgin Math and Science Academy could not be finalized during a special meeting Tuesday night. The three-hour special session did, however, raise more questions the EMSA board needs to answer about the charter school before a final vote. The next special session on the proposal is set for June 26. Advertisement The U46 board had set a June 30 deadline to approve a contract for the EMSA charter school. The charter proposal is set on the board's regular agenda Monday, with the vote expected at the later special session. The board expressed a split opinion on some details of the final contract, including which organization will serve as the Local Educational Authority. Advertisement If the EMSA board is the Local Educational Authority, and receives 100 percent of possible funding from District U46, it also takes on 100 percent of the liability for potential lawsuits, said Kerry Kelly, president of the EMSA board. It is unheard of, she added, to have an organization other than the charter school be the Local Educational Authority. If EMSA is the Local Education Authority, it would receive 100 percent of its funding from U46, in the amount of $10,000 per pupil. If U46 retained some of that control, EMSA would receive less funding per pupil, Kelly said. Some board members said they preferred EMSA take on the liability of being the Local Educational Authority, while others were concerned that one lawsuit or one student with profound disabilities could bankrupt the charter school. District U46 School Board members also debated whether the charter school would need to include its student code of conduct in its initial proposal, wait until a principal is hired for the school to create a proposal, adopt the U46 code of conduct, or adopt the U46 code until the charter school creates one if its own. EMSA hopes to open for businesses at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year on the former Fox River County Day School off Route 25 in far north Elgin, Kelly said. The school would start with two classes each in kindergarten through third grade, adding more grades until reaching full enrollment into the eighth grade. Starting out, the proposed budget would be $2 million a year, with a final budget once all grades are attending the school of $4.5 million, Kelly said. At that point, about 450 students are anticipated, she said. Advertisement School board member Jeanette Ward had asked at the previous June 5 meeting for a revised budget at the special session. With their treasurer out of town, a new budget had not been worked up, Kelly said. She did say following the meeting that updated budgets ones that show three different funding scenarios are in the works. Janelle Walker is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News. Hinsdale officials say an increase in crashes at Garfield and Walnut streets has convinced them to install addition stop signs at the intersection. The Hinsdale Police Department reported 15 crashes occurred at the intersection in the past five years, but eight of them were in the last 12 months. Since the police prepared its report May 17, another crash happened at the intersection, Hinsdale Police Chief Kevin Simpson said. Advertisement Every six to seven weeks, there's an accident there, Simpson said at Tuesday's Village Board meeting. The intersection currently has stop signs on Walnut, causing eastbound and westbound drivers to stop before crossing or turning onto Garfield. Police officials recommend also putting stop signs on Garfield for north- and southbound traffic, making Walnut and Garfield a four-way stop. Advertisement "In a residential community, I am not opposed to more stop signs," said Village President Thomas Cauley, Jr. "The slower the traffic the better" in a residential neighborhood, he said. The alternative would be to remove mature trees and bushes on the east side of Garfield that partially block drivers' views. On the northeast corner, there are bushes about 54 inches high, planted sometime after July 2015, and a metal fence. Even taller bushes and parkway trees are growing on the southeast corner of the intersection, which limit how well westbound drivers on Walnut see cars on Garfield approaching from the south. Police Sgt. Mark Wodka, who studied the intersection, said it appears westbound drivers spend more time looking to their left to check the cars coming from the south, from downtown Hinsdale, and may forget to double-check the traffic coming from the north before they turn onto Garfield. The majority of the crashes from 2015 to the present were between cars going west on Walnut and south on Garfield, police reports show. Police officials said the homeowner on the northeast corner agreed to trim his bushes to the maximum height, 45 inches, that the village allows within 100 feet of the intersection. For a totally unobstructed view, however the trees and bushes would have to be removed entirely to compensate for the rise in the road elevation and the height of the drivers' view. And, according to police reports, only two of the drivers in crashes over the past five years said their view was obstructed. Village Board member Luke Stifflear, who said he lives near the intersection, believes crashes are occurring more frequently because more cars are coming through the intersection since the new two-way Oak Street bridge opened in December 2015. For drivers heading north over the bridge, Walnut is the first street they come to where they can turn west. Advertisement kfornek@pioneerlocal.com Twitter @kfdoings Three Brothers Theatre decided many months before the presidential election it wanted to include Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," in its lineup of shows. Still, director Emily Robinson said the play written in 1599 hits home today during the political climate in America. Advertisement The play, which depicts a leader loved by some and unloved by others, is proof, she said, that "nothing's really new in the world." One of several plays Shakespeare wrote based on historical fact, "Julius Caesar" runs weekends through June 24 at Three Brothers Theatre in Waukegan. Robinson, a Chicago actor and director who will appear in several Shakespeare plays this summer, said when she was chosen to direct "Julius Caesar," she thought hard about how she wanted to approach it. Advertisement "I didn't want to set it in ancient Rome or in the corporate world. I wanted to make it as ambiguous as possible," she said. "The play can apply to many times in history when someone rises up to power and some people go against him. "I don't want to make a political statement on that (what's happening with politics in America) with the show, but I did want it to be a bit of a cautionary tale, that people should be aware of what's going on throughout the world." She intentionally chose non-descriptive costuming, so it wouldn't appear to be in ancient Rome or modern times, but rather timeless. The actors dress in black and wear colored sashes to help the audience know who's who, she said. "The costume designer and I worked on it together to figure out the way to present it with my vision for the play." Robinson is working with 16 actors, who play more than 50 characters. Though she cut the play by a few scenes, she did not change any of the words. "We use Shakespeare's original text." It can be difficult for the audience to understand the language of hundreds of years ago, she said, but good actors know how to get the meaning across in different ways. "The most important thing is to really have a handle on the meaning intimately. If you understand exactly what you're saying and how Shakespeare uses plays on words, then you can find actable ways to portray that to the audience." Advertisement For example, when Marc Antony talks about a donkey pulling a cart, the actor "does this thing with his hands and ears that shows the audience that it's an animal," Robinson said. "That's just a small example of the many ways actors can help the audience understand Shakespeare." The play opens with Caesar having conquered Pompei and returning to a cheering crowd in Rome. "A lot of people are celebrating. Other people are getting scared as he rises to power," Robinson said. Robinson said she makes sure the play "is not a statement on what's going on now. The way that I directed the show wouldn't have been any different had there been a different outcome of the (presidential) election. I took Shakespeare's text and ran with it in the best interpretation as possible." She added she worked to bring out two important themes in the play friendship and loyalty. Robinson acknowledged that "Julius Caesar" was the most difficult play she's directed. "There's all these moving pieces and then digging into a language that's not natural to us. The actors and crew, they've worked hard. Their support has really been fantastic." Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer for the News-Sun. Advertisement 'Julius Caesar' When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays to June 24 Where: Three Brothers Theatre Upstage, 221 N. Genesee St., Waukegan Tickets: $15-$20 Information: 224-419-4325; threebrotherstheatreblog.wordpress.com/ The reorganized Waukegan High School has a new leader. The Waukegan District 60 school board hired the top administrator for the two-campus, nearly 4,700-student high school at its meeting Tuesday evening. Advertisement Timothy Bryner, who has spent the last 22 years at Abbott Middle School and the last six as its principal, will replace Brian Riegler, who has been Waukegan High School's principal for the last five years, according to board documents. Riegler will be taking over the principal job at Centennial High School in Champaign, according to local news reports. Advertisement Bryner's appointment marks the first of a reorganization process that required all Waukegan High School administrators to reapply under a new administrative set-up. He will earn a salary of $135,000, according to board documents. Like Riegler, Bryner will be responsible for both campuses, but under the new administrative organization, he will be assisted by a co-principal instead of an assistant principal at each campus, according to interviews and district records. They'll be assisted by four directors, who serve a similar function as assistant principals but are each responsible for a grade level, district spokesman Nick Alajakis said. Below the directors will be four culture and climate specialists whose jobs will be similar to deans and cover discipline and attendance. Bryner said he will be reviewing the applicants that have already been interviewed and might call some in for another interview. He sat in on the first round of interviews as part of the hiring committee in the capacity of a middle school principal. According to Bryner, his first priority is to create a team and move forward from there. He added that he wants to create a more positive school environment using social media to build on and share successes with students and the community. He had a similar initiative at Abbott Middle School, and he said the process "created a family" within the school community. "It's exciting," the Waukegan West High School graduate said about his new job. "It's a different mindset, but it's one that I understand because I've been here for so long. I understand where the strengths and weaknesses are and where the needs are. For an outsider, it might be difficult, but being in this system, growing in the system, I have a leg up." Advertisement One of the high school directors Evonnda Fulton, who is currently a house leader at the Brookside campus was also hired at Tuesday's school board meeting along with a slew of assistant principals. Like the Waukegan High School administrators, assistant principals across the 15,800-student district had to reapply for their jobs. Of the seven hired so far, two kept their same jobs at the same schools, according to district records. They include Whittier Elementary School Assistant Principal Andrew Carlson and Miguel Juarez Middle School Assistant Principal Nichole Farris. Another assistant principal, Diallo Telli Brown, is moving from Carman-Buckner Elementary School to Little Fort Elementary School; and Waukegan High School house leader Flor Carter will take the assistant principal job at Daniel Webster Middle School, records show. Two Waukegan teachers were also promoted, records show. Joel Ruiz, a teacher for students learning English at Glen Flora Elementary School, will become that school's assistant principal, and Paula Sterner, a teacher and behavior specialist based out of Lincoln Center, will be the assistant principal at Lyon Magnet School. One of the seven is coming from outside the district, records show. Glenwood Elementary School's new assistant principal will be Jennifer Aldred-Berry, who served as a district liaison with the American Institutes for Research's Illinois Center for School Improvement, where she led efforts to help schools close their achievement gaps between groups of students. Advertisement The district still needs to hire eight assistant principals, as five schools will no longer have assistant principals moving forward, according to Alajakis and district records. Those schools include Andrew Cooke Magnet School, Greenwood Elementary School, Hyde Park Elementary School, H.R. McCall Elementary School and John S. Clark Elementary School, Alajakis said. Of the five, only Clark did not have an assistant principal this year, the district website shows. emcoleman@tribpub.com Twitter @mekcoleman Protesters demonstrate against British Prime Minister Theresa May on Parliament Square in London on June 10. Britain's general election on June 8 ended in a hung parliament, with the Conservative Party unable to gain a majority. (ANDY RAIN / EPA ) The unexpected results of the British general election continue to reverberate. The Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Theresa May was generally expected to increase their thin majority in the House of Commons, which forms the government, and thereby move ahead more confidently in implementing their ambitious program. This includes a "hard Brexit," shorthand for a tough approach to negotiating withdrawal from the European Union (EU). Historically and currently, Britain has a highly ambiguous attitude toward the continent of Europe. The seminal European Economic Community was formed in 1957. Britain remained aloof, then applied and was rejected twice by President Charles de Gaulle of France. The nation finally gained entry in 1973. Advertisement In the actual voting, the Conservatives won only 318 seats, short of the 326 for a majority. Some commentary emphasizes the impact of the Manchester and London terrorist attacks, following an earlier London attack. However, polls indicate that the Conservatives steadily lost ground throughout the election campaign. The Labour Party made gains, despite being led by the bland and left-wing Jeremy Corbyn. Advertisement Pundits have varied widely regarding the impact of the election on upcoming Brexit negotiations. That is quite appropriate given the remarkable unpredictability of voters currently, and not just in the United Kingdom. However, a weakened Conservative government is unlikely to take or be able to take a hard line toward negotiating with the EU. The main driver of voting appears to have been a collective desire to reject the status quo. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and UK Independence Party (UKIP) were visible winners in the last general election, in 2015. Both lost in 2017. The SNP retreated in Scotland, providing gains for the Labour Party. Scotland traditionally is Labour territory. The UKIP led by incendiary Nigel Farage earlier gained in elections to the European Parliament. In the 2010 general election, the Conservatives led by David Cameron won a total of 306 seats in Parliament's House of Commons. Again, this fell short of total MPs required for a governing majority. The Liberal Democrats' 57 seats added enough to form the coalition government, the first since the special circumstances of World War II. During the 2010 campaign, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg performed strongly in first-ever American-style televised debate with Conservative and Labour party leaders. Generally, Liberal Democrats represent reformist sentiments. While the coalition provided the party with credibility in government, Establishment collaboration meant decimation in 2015. The Liberal Party (predecessors of today's Liberal Democrats) revived starting in the early 1960s, spearheaded by charismatic party leader Jo Grimond. From time to time, Liberals and Liberal Democrats have rivaled the main parties in public support. Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday > The post-war Liberals never won more than a handful of parliamentary seats. An early 1974 general election also resulted in a House of Commons with no clear majority, but no formal coalition resulted. The Conservatives were ruthless in undercutting the Liberal Democrats, despite their formal governing coalition agreement. There is no chance of repeating that alliance. The Conservatives will have a bare Commons majority if supported by the Democratic Unionist Party from Ulster. Karl Marx has enduring impact. Socialist and communist movements defined much of the twentieth century. Their collapse for many people puts an end to his ideas as well. Advertisement However, Marx also emphasized alienation: hostility to established institutions. British politics today mirrors alienation, but also voters' freedom to choose. Others should take note. Conservatives and Labour no longer control politics. Two-party dominance has disappeared in Britain. Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War." acyr@carthage.edu Lake Zurich and South Barrington officials recently approved resolutions supporting Barringtons proposal to move the intersection of Lake Zurich Road and Northwest Highway closer to the Barrington Area Library (pictured), ramping up pressure on library officials as they continue to negotiate with Barrington about re-aligning the intersection. (Pioneer Press file) Concerned about safety, two neighboring villages recently endorsed Barrington officials' plan to move the intersection of Lake Zurich Road and Northwest Highway closer to the Barrington Area Library, which has been hesitant to support the relocation. Earlier this spring, officials from both Lake Zurich and South Barrington approved resolutions supporting Barrington's $3.5 million proposal to move the intersection to a stoplight in front of the library, 505 N. Northwest Highway, ramping up pressure on library officials as they continue to negotiate with Barrington about re-aligning the intersection. Advertisement The Barrington Area Library would need to sell a portion of its parking lot to make the relocation happen, but officials are concerned about increased noise and traffic that could make the area unsafe for library patrons, said library spokeswoman Karen McBride. Both sides are hopeful that they will be able to reach a deal on a land sale, according to McBride and Greg Summers, director of development services for Barrington. Advertisement "The meetings with the library are ongoing," Summers said. "We've had some positive meetings. We're working with them to examine alternatives." Summers also clarified that the intersection relocation is a separate project from village officials' years-long effort to construct a railroad underpass along Northwest Highway that would let motorists bypass Canadian National trains moving through town, although the idea to relocate Lake Zurich Road developed during discussions on the underpass project, he said. In a non-binding advisory referendum last fall, voters were nearly split on the question of whether Barrington officials should spend public funds to construct a Route 14 underpass, along with the re-routing of Lake Zurich Road needed to make the underpass project work. According to election results from Cook and Lake counties, 50.34 percent (2,661 votes) voted "yes" on the question while 49.66 percent (2,625 votes) voted "no." "It's an independent project that stands on its own," Summers said of the intersection relocation. "It has safety benefits of its own." Under the proposal, Lake Zurich Road would be moved south to the current intersection of Berry Road and Northwest Highway, where the front entrance of the library is located, McBride said. The proposed realignment would create a second entrance to the library's parking lot from Lake Zurich Road to go along with the entrance off Northwest Highway, she said. But a stoplight would not be included at Lake Zurich Road for library customers exiting the parking lot, McBride said. "There are many concerns, but safety is our biggest concern," she said. "We have many families, small children, elderly people coming here seven days a week. We want to make sure we're doing everything we can to maintain a safe environment here." Advertisement More than 1,000 people visit the library building each day and others use the parking lot to return books, McBride said. Aside from voicing safety concerns, library officials also are aware that Barrington has been reaching out to neighboring communities, asking them to support the relocation project. Lake Zurich Village Board members recently passed a resolution supporting Barrington officials' proposed intersection relocation. The intersection of Lake Zurich Road and Northwest Highway was the site of a fatal crash, as well as the site of 14 car crashes in the last 18 months, said Kyle Kordell, assistant to the village manager for Lake Zurich. South Barrington Village President Paula McCombie said board members approved a resolution in South Barrington to show support for the safety issues raised by Barrington Village President Karen Darch. "We're hoping the library district reviews its position in regard to giving up that land," McCombie said. "I guess that's basically why we passed that resolution to support safety and to have the library district take another look." Advertisement Summers declined to comment on why Barrington officials started asking neighboring communities to support the intersection relocation in resolutions. "That came from the village manager's office," he said. "I wouldn't have any comment on that." Neither Darch nor Village Manager Jeff Lawler returned calls requesting comment. McBride said library officials continue to negotiate with village officials about a possible land sale but also want to make their own safety concerns known. "We want to find the solution that is best for all the stakeholders involved," she said. "The (library) board is still talking with the village and hopes to find something that will work." Phil Rockrohr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press An envelope containing a suspicious powder prompted a two-hour lockdown of Passages Women's Center on Monday before emergency responders determined the substance was methamphetamine. Three employees in the main office at the entrance of the facility found the envelope and contacted authorities at about 8:40 a.m., said Asst. Fire Chief Bill Rash, of Billings Fire Department. BFD responded with four engines, a ladder truck and the Billings Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team vehicle. A hazmat crew donned protective suits and self-contained breathing apparatus before entering the building. Rash said none of the prerelease center employees or inmates were allowed to leave until the substance was identified. Hazmat operators entered Passages and field tested the powder at about 10:40 a.m. It was determined not to pose a public threat and the lock down status was lifted. Lt. Mark Cady, of Billings Police Department, said field tests indicated the powder was methamphetamine. A sample will be sent to the Montana State Crime Lab to confirm the test result. Cady said he did not know how much of the powder was found at Passages. The origins of the envelope and who it was intended for were also not immediately clear. The investigation into the incident has been turned over to BPD's Drug Task Force, according to BPD Lt. Neil Lawrence. Siva Sreedhar, 16, of Elmhurst, was one of 100 high school students from 29 states recently named as a winner in the second year of PBS LearningMedia's and Stand Up To Cancer's Emperor Science Award program. The program is designed to encourage high school students to explore careers in science, specifically cancer research and care, through a mentoring opportunity. Advertisement Sreedhar, a York senior, will be working with someone at the University of Wisconsin for her project. Q: What's your favorite subject in school? Advertisement A: Math Q: What do you want to do as a career? A: I want to be a chemical engineer. I took chemistry this year and had a lot of fun with it. And being a chemical engineer would combine science with math. Q: Do you have any siblings? A: I have a brother, Hari, 22. Q: What's your favorite food? A: French silk pie Q: What is your favorite drink? Advertisement A: Mango smoothies Q: What do you like on your pizza? A: Just cheese Q: What is your favorite ice cream flavor? A: S'mores Q: What's your favorite TV show? Advertisement A: 'Supergirl' Q: What super power would you most like to have? A: Teleportation Q: Who is your favorite music artist? A: Demi Lovato Q: What's your favorite area restaurant? Advertisement A: Taco Bell. I really like their burritos. Q: Who should play you in a movie about your life? A: Emma Watson Q: What's your guilty pleasure? A: Junk food Q: What's No. 1 on your bucket list? Advertisement A: Going to Antarctica. It seems like the one place nobody has infringed on. Q: What is your favorite place you have visited? A: Australia Q: Fiction or nonfiction? A: Fiction Q: Cubs or Sox? Advertisement A: Cubs Q: What's your favorite board game? A: Monopoly Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut. cfieldman@pioneerlocal.com Twitter @chuckwriting One current and one former Oak Brook Village Board member are speaking out against a board decision, announced Thursday, to drop a lawsuit challenging the installation and operation of red light cameras at Route 83 and 22nd Street. Village officials announced in a brief statement that DuPage County Circuit Court Judge Paul Fullerton had granted the village's motion to dismiss the suit against the Illinois Department of Transportation, Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Tony Ragucci and each of the city's six aldermen, and Nikki Zollar, president and chief executive officer of SafeSpeed, LLC, the company hired by Oakbrook Terrace to install the cameras. Advertisement The Oak Brook board initially had discussed going ahead with the lawsuit, and made a unanimous decision to do so during public session of a Jan. 24 meeting, but had no public discussion on the decision to drop the suit. "The board should have done this all in public; there's no good reason to keep this from our residents," said current board member Michael Manzo. "Why would the board majority be afraid to discuss this and express their opinions in public session if they have a good reason for dropping the lawsuit?" Advertisement In the press release Oak Brook issued Thursday afternoon about its decision to drop the lawsuit, village officials did not explain the reasoning behind dropping the suit. But Oak Brook Village President Gopal Lalmalani indicated in an interview Thursday that the decision might have been about the legal costs associated with the suit. The release also reiterated earlier opinions from the village about red light cameras not being necessary at the intersection and states that the village may re-file the lawsuit. "We again reaffirm the finding in our ordinance that except for the most dangerous intersections, none of which exist in the Oak Brook area, red light cameras are of no benefit and of significant harm," Lalmalani was quoted as saying in the release. "The intersection of Route 83 and 22nd Street is very safe and red light cameras are not at all justified." Oak Brook had a May 30 deadline to respond to Oakbrook Terrace's motion to dismiss the case; however attorneys representing Oak Brook asked for, and were given, a continuance until July 13, Village Manager Rick Ginex said. The cameras are for southbound traffic on Route 83 and eastbound traffic on 22nd Street. There had been some dispute about whether the red light cameras were in Oak Brook or Oakbrook Terrace. So far, Ginex said, the village has spent about $109,000 in legal bills for the red light camera lawsuit. Lalmalani said Thursday he supported the board's decision to drop the lawsuit. "We thought the message already had been delivered," he said. "For now, we want to keep our legal expenses down, but we will keep an eye on these red light cameras, and if they have a negative impact on our commerce, we may pursue this again." Lalmalani said the discussion and decision to drop the lawsuit were not conducted in public because the village's legal counsel did not advise the board to follow that procedure. Advertisement Board member John Baar said Thursday that he supported dropping the lawsuit, but added he "can't comment on it" when asked why. Board member Ed Tiesenga did not immediately respond to a message, asking for a return call to answer questions. Both Manzo and former board member Don Adler, who opted to not seek re-election in 2017, but was on the board when the decision to file the lawsuit was made, said it was a bad decision to drop the lawsuit. "We went from talking about corruption to giving up before we really started," Manzo said. "We never did any discovery or depositions for this case. "Now we look suspicious. We went from talking about what looked like corruption with IDOT, Oakbrook Terrace, the red light company, and some state politicians in the process that led to IDOT issuing the permit for the red light cameras to looking just like that ourselves." Along with challenging whether Oakbrook Terrace actually has jurisdiction of the intersection, the lawsuit challenged the process by which IDOT issued a permit to Oakbrook Terrace for the red light cameras. Advertisement Oak Brook officials previously said they had issue with IDOT approving the cameras just two months after initially determining red light camera enforcement was not supported at Route 83 and 22nd Street. A March 3, 2016, IDOT justification report review denied the camera request and noted that data for 2015-2017 could be submitted for another review. Then, a May 20, 2016 letter from IDOT stated approval, based on video files dated November 2015, which "demonstrated a pattern of violations at the intersection." "It's inexplicable, what's happened here," Adler said. "The board is dodging the issue now. This is an insult to the residents of Oak Brook. We're covering something here, and just as we were pointing fingers before, that's what we look like now." Manzo said he believes there was outside pressure on some board members to drop the lawsuit. "That's just my opinion, but it's the only logical reason," he said. Mark Moy, who also left the Village Board earlier in 2017, said he supports the decision to drop the lawsuit and would not vote in favor of filing it if he had to do it over again. Advertisement "We got caught up in the fervor and emotion of it at the time," Moy said. "I never thought it was worth spending more than $20,000 or $30,000 on this, and at the time we agreed to go ahead with the lawsuit, I didn't think it would amount to this much, and I believe the costs would at least double from here." Frank Avila, an attorney who was hired for $10,000 as co-counsel to work on the red light camera lawsuit with Oak Brook's legal firm, offered to take the case going forward for a flat fee of $25,000. But Moy said he believes substantial additional costs would be incurred. cfieldman@pioneerlocal.com Twitter @chuckwriting Spark kids' interest in the city around them with help from The Ultimate Kids Adventure Guide to Chicago by Sarah Parisi, who presents her book at 10:30 a.m. June 24 at Magic Tree Bookstore, 141 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. ( Magic Tree Bookstore ) The Chicago-area is filled with treasures. Sarah Parisi's new book, "The Ultimate Kids Adventure Guide to Chicago" will help you find them. You and your children can meet the author, 10:30 a.m. June 24 at Magic Tree Bookstore, 141 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. Advertisement "Sarah is from Chicago. She's a mom. She knows the place inside and out because she has spent years looking for interesting places to take her children to keep them entertained but also learning things," said Magic Tree owner Beth Albrecht. Parisi will discuss the attractions of some of her favorite places at the event. "Some of them are going to be big places that everybody knows but maybe she knows some little gems hidden within those big places," Albrecht said. "And I'm sure she'll pull out some of her favorite lesser known little places, too." Advertisement The author will also answer questions about outings. Reservations are encouraged but not necessary. For details, call 708-848-0770 or see www.magictreebooks.com. Big blowout Giant balloons are the specialty of Smarty Pants who will bring some huge ones for The Mouse Trap Machine Show, 3-4 p.m. June 22 at River Forest Public Library, 735 Lathrop Ave. This STEM-oriented show is for kids of all ages with their parents. For details, call 708-366-5205 or see www.riverforestlibrary.org. Dads in nature Wildlife fathers will be the subject during a free guided Father's Day Walk, 1 p.m. June 18 at Trailside Museum of Natural History, 738 Thatcher Ave., River Forest. Dads and their families will stroll by a pond and through the woods. Registration deadline is June 17. Advertisement For details, call 708-366-6530 or see www.fpdcc.com. Ahoy, there! Tropical tunes, oldies and classic rock with a tropical flair will be performed by Pirates Over 40, 7 p.m. June 22 at Chestnut Park, 10105 Chestnut Ave., Franklin Park. The all-ages performance is part of the Park District's Summer Concert Series. For details, call 847-455-2852 or see www.fpparks.org. No generation gap Age won't be a barrier for creativity during Summer Craft Fun with Seniors at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, 4-5 p.m. June 19. Children ages 3 and older, with a caregiver, will make suncatchers with residents of the Arms. The finished projects will be given to the residents. Registration is required. Advertisement For details, call 708-452-3420 or see www.oppl.org. Oak Park police are searching for a man who allegedly grabbed two victims in an inappropriate way June 10 in the 100 block of North Grove Avenue. (Steve Schering/Pioneer Press) Oak Park police are searching for someone who allegedly grabbed two people in an inappropriate way while walking near Scoville Park. According to a police summary of the incident, a male suspect approached two pedestrians, an Oak Park resident and a Chicago resident, in the 100 block of North Grove Avenue at approximately 8:02 p.m. June 10. Advertisement The suspect approached both from behind as they were walking, and grabbed each of their buttocks, police said, and he was last seen running west in a parking lot in the 100 block of North Grove Avenue. According to the pedestrians, the suspect is described as a white male, between 17 and 18 years old, standing 6 feet tall, thin, with brown curly hair parted to the side, wearing saggy jeans and a purple shirt that depicted crying female eyes and a tongue sticking out on the back. Advertisement Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Oak Park Police Department at 708-386-3800. sschering@pioneerlocal.com Twitter @steveschering A former Lake County police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to battery causing serious bodily injury. Jon O. Breitweiser, 42, faces up to five years in prison after he admitted he hit a woman in the face. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 7. Advertisement In court documents, Breitweiser admitted that on Nov. 6, 2015, he was at his Highland home and asked the woman to meet him so he could give her photo albums he had in his possession. The woman arrived, and Breitweiser led her to the basement of the home to get the albums. Breitweiser said he attacked the woman and hit her in the face. Advertisement The battery charge is punishable by one to six years, but Breitweiser's plea outlines a maximum five-year sentence. The agreement also requires Breitweiser to remain on an alcohol-monitoring device throughout his sentence. Lake Superior Court Judge Samuel Cappas said that the alcohol monitor would not be worn if Breitweiser receives a sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction. Breitweiser also must follow recommendations for mental health treatment and follow-up care. The agreement calls for dismissal of charges of rape, criminal confinement, strangulation and misdemeanor domestic battery. Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. A Hammond man sentenced in 2015 for his part in a Valparaiso burglary that turned into a double murder could get out of prison as soon as October 2018 if a sentencing modification is accepted. Porter Superior Judge Mary Harper originally sentenced Alejandro Santino Sanchez, 24, formerly of Hammond, to 16 years in 2015, after he pleaded guilty to Class B felony burglary. Advertisement The state had dropped two murder charges against Sanchez under his plea agreement, and he's now set to get out of prison Oct. 9, 2020, because of good behavior and because of classes and programs he's participated in while incarcerated, defense attorney Mitch Peters said. Jeffrey Trinka, 40, and Jennifer Guinn, 31, were at their home at 1558 West Lincolnway, Valparaiso, on April 7, 2012, when they were shot to death, according to court records. Sanchez and Julius Jovan Garza, 24, also formerly of Hammond, were accused of killing Trinka and Guinn in a home invasion. Advertisement Garza was sentenced to 45 years in prison Nov. 18 after admitting guilt. The four-year reduction Peters requested would be turned into an early release of two years because of his credit for good behavior and classes, Peters said. The prosecution has signed off on the modification with the defense, and after a brief hearing Thursday, Harper said she would issue a written decision on it. She set no deadline for that decision. Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Cheryl Polarek, who had signed off on the sentence modification, said she couldn't comment after the hearing, Trinka family members declined to comment. James D. Wolf Jr. is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Boy Scouts and members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 988 lead the Color Guard as a Flag Day ceremony gets underway Wednesday at the Valparaiso post. (Amy Lavalley / Post-Tribune) With reverence and history, about 60 people gathered at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 988 Wednesday to commemorate Flag Day. While a thunderstorm forced the program indoors, its annual traditions continued, including a ceremonial flag folding and the respectful discarding of 188 tattered flags into a hole on the VFW's property on Roosevelt Road in Valparaiso. Advertisement Veteran Leo M. Simon, 89, of Valparaiso, received the flag folded during the ceremony. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1948 to 1952, and said he never misses the Flag Day ceremony. "I love this flag," he said, holding a flag folded into a tight triangle with its stars on top, as is tradition. The flag, he added, makes him think of others' service to their country, not his own. "I enjoyed every minute I was in but I always think about the ones who didn't come back." Advertisement Bob Wilhelm, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, gave an overview of the history of the Pledge of Allegiance and the U.S. flag, which he said has long served as a symbol of American hope and freedom from oppression. He said Americans should be proud of the flag because it's a living symbol. "Those without respect for the flag have no respect for themselves," he said. The Flag Day program at the VFW has been a tradition for more than 30 years, said Ryan Kominakis, the post's adjutant and chair of the program. When Francis Scott Key, author of "The Star-Spangled Banner," saw a U.S. flag over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, "he knew liberty and freedom would carry on forever," Kominakis said, also noting the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima and at the site of the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. The flag, he said, represents "the steady resolve of our forces in the Middle East right now," and the two Marines from Kominakis' unit in Afghanistan who didn't make it home. The flag also represents the freedom Kominakis said he enjoyed with his wife and son. He added there are many ways to honor the flag and improve the lives of others, including enlisting in the military and voting. "Every action will strengthen the community, and that will unite all Americans," he said, adding the flag is not just a piece of cloth. "The flag is a reminder of who we are." Advertisement Rain splatters some of the 188 flags awaiting proper disposal Wednesday during a Flag Day ceremony at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 988 in Valparaiso. (Amy Lavalley / Post-Tribune) Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. What's Quickly? It's where readers sound off on the issues of the day. Have a quote, question or quip? Call Quickly at 312-222-2426 or email quickly@post-trib.com. I just wanted to wish everyone a happy weekend! I have a great idea how about if we all perform a random act of kindness for another person? Let's all do our part to help make our world a better place. Advertisement Robert Mueller received a Purple Heart; Trump had bone spurs. Mueller worked for five presidents; Trump worked on "The Apprentice". Mueller respects the law; Trump thinks the law doesn't apply to him. The Trump defenders are now complaining that Special Counsel Mueller needs to be fired because he is friends with James Comey and he has Obama supporters on his team. What? The GOP wants everything to be exactly even for them, but never return the favor. Keep dreaming. Advertisement If somebody wants to investigate me, I wouldn't try to stop them because I don't have anything to hide. It's a very simple concept. You gotta love the Trump fans, the only defense they have for their beloved leader is to always fall back on their "what about Hillary, what's about Obama, what about the Democrats?" In other words, they have no defense. Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Wrong doesn't become right, and evil doesn't become good just because it's accepted by a majority. Our society has crossed the line when it comes to hate speech. It started with Bush, then crossed over to Obama, and went completely off the rails with President Trump with a comedian holding a chopped off head. Then Bill Maher using the N-word on his HBO show. And the New York production of "Julius Caesar" where they assassinated a Trump lookalike. They only lost two sponsors with such a witty idea. And "SNL" where there ratings are the highest in 20 years, thanks to the president. The president is super-charging the economy even with the people that hate him. I heard a representative talking on the radio after the Virginia shootings. He said they were only trying to make things better. My question is: who are they trying to make things better for? It certainly isn't for 99 percent: Tax cuts for the rich, healthcare cuts for the poor. Maybe they should actually listen to the public and make the changes they want. They are suppose to represent the people and haven't for years. They instead represent big money and are for sale to corporate donors. Oh Walmart, you can remodel every store in Northwest Indiana but if you don't staff them, who gains from the new look? And putting in more "self checkouts" than cashier-manned ones is taking jobs away. Again, Walmart talks the talk about American jobs but doesn't walk the walk! During the recent Congressional hearings, a lot of old, white, rude men kept insisting that a female speaker was being rude, because she was doing the job that they refused to do. How many people, every single day, taunt and antagonize political rivals, trying to get a reaction? Then someone snaps, and everyone acts so surprised and innocent. Advertisement Read more at www.post-trib.com/quickly. Skokie resident Margalit Tocher is owner and president of Home Care Assistance of Greater Chicago, which provides caregivers for seniors who want to stay in their homes with some help. Q: First job? Advertisement A: Not including babysitting, my first was in the mailroom and computing room of my father's office when I was in high school. Q: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Advertisement A: I just knew I would be a businesswoman of some sort, working with people, making some sort of positive impact. Either that or a rock-and-roll drummer. Q: Pets? A: A fish tank filled with beautiful, happy fish. Q: What book are you currently reading and what book would you like to read next? A: I'm reading "The Light Between Oceans: A Novel" by M.L. Stedman. I recently read "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown. Fantastic story of the American crew team and their journey to the 1936 Olympics during a fascinating time in history. My all-time favorite book is "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. Q: A movie you'd recommend? A: I loved "Hidden Figures." There is so much of recent history that is significant but unknown. This is a fascinating story. Q: Do you have children? Advertisement A: I have three incredible, crazy, fun children ages 13, 10, and 8, as well as a step-daughter in her 30s and her husband. I also have a wonderful partner, Jordan Feiger. Q: Words of wisdom? A: Life is short so enjoy each day. Be true to yourself in everything you do. Listen to your gut and move forward, learn, grow and smile. Q: What song best sums up Skokie for you? A: "In My Life" by The Beatles. Q: Favorite local restaurant? Advertisement A: In Skokie, Ken's Diner. In Evanston, the Blind Faith Cafe has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. I do miss Dr. Jazz, which was in Evanston. Where else could you order the Earthquake 16 scoops of ice cream. Kids will learn what it's like to sit in big vehicles during Touch-A-Truck, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. June 23 at Prospect Park, 315 Chicago Ave., Clarendon Hills. ( Clarendon Hills Park District ) Clarendon Hills Park District has declared June 23 "Mega Free Event Day." They're celebrating the occasion with two free family-friendly events in Prospect Park, 315 Chicago Ave. First, they are treating families to the second annual Touch-A-Truck, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. There will be a police car, fire truck, ambulance, dump truck, heavy equipment, SWAT team vehicle and school buses. Advertisement "Kids have the opportunity to crawl in it, explore it," said recreation supervisor Emily Golembiewski. "Representatives from each of those organizations will be there with the truck, so they get a chance to meet some of our community employees as well." Free face-painting will be offered in a tent. Advertisement "Swing by with your little ones and your big ones who enjoy vehicles," Golembiewski said. Part two of the free day is an 8:30 p.m. screening of "Sing," the animated film about a singing competition staged to save a theater. It will be preceded by family activities starting at 8 p.m. For details, call 630-323-2626 or see www.clarendonhillsparkdistrict.org. Prize for guys The generosity continues at Clarendon Hills Park District during Dad's Day at Lions Park Pool, 100 Byrd Court, 1-3 p.m. June 18. Fathers and grandfathers will be admitted to the aquatic center for free when they are accompanied by a child who pays the daily rate or has a season pass. For details, call 630-323-2626 or see www.clarendonhillsparkdistrict.org. Out and about There will be games, archery, scavenger hunt, nature programs, guided night hike and egg-drop contest at the DuPage Forest Preserve District's Great American Campout, 1 p.m. June 24-11 a.m. June 25 at Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville. The cost of $15 per person includes dinner, s'mores and a continental breakfast. Bring your own tents and camping gear. Registration deadline is June 19. For details, call 630-850-8110 or see www.dupageforest.org/great-american-campout-2017. Got to be kidding Dads and their children pop bubble wrap, watch cartoons and race in shopping carts together in "When Dads Don't Grow Up," by Marjorie Blain Parker. Youngsters will hear that story and do related activities during a Father's Day Storytime, 11 a.m. June 17 at Barnes and Noble, 297 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook. Advertisement For details, call 630-684-0586 or see www.barnesandnoble.com. Heartfelt music Families will hear selections from Laura Doherty's latest CD, "In a Heartbeat," when the popular family entertainer performs at La Grange Public Library, 10 W. Cossitt Ave., 11 a.m.-noon June 19. Children will dance and sing along to Doherty's folk-pop sound. A Busby man who admitted causing a fatal rollover after drinking an estimated 12 beers will spend five years on federal probation. Torren Jon Russell, 20, told U.S. District Judge Susan Watters during his sentencing on Wednesday that he made a dumb mistake when he drove drunk on May 21, 2016, and rolled a pickup with four passengers near Busby early in the morning. Russell faced a sentencing guideline range of 30 months to 37 months in prison for his guilty plea in February to involuntary manslaughter. There was no plea agreement. Russell admitted causing the death of Paul Foote, 16, of Busby, who was his first cousin and like a brother. He estimated earlier that he had consumed about 12 beers before driving. His blood alcohol concentration was 0.139 percent. The legal limit is 0.08 percent. The whole group had been drinking before the crash, and although passengers had asked Russell not to drive, they eventually allowed him to do so, the prosecution said. A U.S. Attorneys Office representative read a statement on behalf of Footes grandmother, Joy Foote, in which she asked for justice and expressed how much she missed her grandson. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sullivan requested a 30-month sentence saying while the crash was a tragedy and Russell had no criminal history, there needed to be punishment. He did kill another human being, Sullivan said. These are the things that happen when people drink and drive and its something that is a rampant problem, he said. Assistant Federal Defender Gillian Gosch recommended probation saying that Russell made a stupid decision to drink and drive but that it wasnt normal conduct for him. Russell will have to live with his cousins death every day, she added. He is a good, solid young man who made a fatal decision to drive, Gillian said. Watters said drunken driving fatal crashes on the Northern Cheyenne and Crow reservations are something she sees all too often. While Russell didnt intend to cause Footes death, Watters said his decision to drive demonstrated gross negligence. In ordering probation, the judge noted that Russell did not have any criminal record or history of problems with alcohol and that his conduct that night was really an aberration. Boebert now leading Frisch by 1,200 votes in CD-3 race Frisch had been in the lead, which was declining as more counties in CD-3 continue to report results after election day By Alexander Chipman Koty Chinas sweeping new Cybersecurity Law (the Law) came into effect on June 1 amid widespread anxiety from the foreign business community. Many in the private sector were concerned by the Laws stringent requirements, ambiguous language, and unclear implementation plan. To allay these concerns, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) modified the language of certain parts of the Law, and delayed implementation of cross-border data localization provisions until the end of 2018. While the last minute changes add a degree of clarity to the Law, and give additional time for companies to organize compliance, many of the fundamental issues that concerned foreign companies remained unchanged. As a result, companies with operations or customers in mainland China should review the Law. Professional advisors can help determine whether your business needs to make changes to its business structure to comply with the new Law. Data localization delayed, security reviews reduced Prior to June 1, rumors circulated in the business community that the authorities would delay the implementation of the Law. Despite the concerns of foreign companies, and the dearth of supporting guidelines from the authorities, the Law ultimately came into effect on June 1, 2017; the CAC stated that it would publish all supporting implementation guidelines and regulations within a year. However, in a meeting with representatives of foreign businesses and governments, the CAC offered a 19-month grace period for companies to comply with the cross-border data flow requirements. Companies now have until December 31, 2018 to comply with that part of the Law. The other aspects of the Law, including the controversial security review requirements, are still effective as of June 1, though authorities removed the provision for automatic security reviews of overseas transfers of 1,000 GB or more by a network operator. The revised draft Measures also state internal company data transfers will not be subject to a security review if the company does not use its network to commercialize data externally. This suggests that companies who solely use their networks for internal purposes might not be subject to security reviews. RELATED: IT-based Solutions from Dezan Shira & Associates Scope of data localization clarified A Q&A posted on the CACs website on May 31 states that data localization requirements only apply to personal information and/or important data collected or generated by critical information infrastructure (CII) operators. This was the language used in the original Law that passed in November 2016. The draft Measures for the Security Assessment of Personal Information and Critical Data Leaving the Country (the Measures), released on April 11, 2017, appeared to extend data localization requirements to network operators in addition to CII operators. Since an extremely wide swathe of companies could be considered network operators with the broad definition used in the Measures, the CACs confirmation that the data localization requirements only apply to CII operators is a relief for foreign companies who may have been affected. It should be noted that this clarification appeared in a Q&A posted by the CAC, but does not constitute an official amendment to the Law or the Measures. As such, those who could be considered network operators should await further official updates and announcements before making a final determination about whether or not they might be affected by the data localization provisions. Although the CAC responded to the confusion surrounding network operators, it did not narrow the vague definition of CII operator. According to the Law, CII operators are entities providing services that, if lost or damaged, could endanger Chinas national security, economy, or public interest. Examples provided in the Law include public communications and information services, energy, transportation, water conservancy, finance, public services, and e-government, among others. The State Council will release measures to further define CII operators at a later date. Important data and personal information clarified The CAC clarified that important data will be assessed as data important from the perspective of the state, rather than the perspective of a company or individual. In the draft Guidelines for Cross-border Transfer Security Assessment released on May 27, 2017, important data is broadly defined as data that can influence or harm the government, state, military, economy, culture, society, technology, information and other national security matters. Relevant bureaus are required to further clarify the specifics of what is important data within its industry. The expansiveness of this definition, though slightly more detailed than before, does little to allay fears over government access to critical information, such as propriety data and source code, since it leaves considerable room for the government to define important data. The revised draft Measures also clarified that personal information can be sent outside of China with implied consent, such as by sending an email abroad. Previously, it was unclear whether express consent to export personal data abroad would be needed. RELATED: Weathering Chinas Cloud Computing Regulations Proactive compliance recommended Although businesses have until the end of 2018 to comply with the data localization requirements, and many supporting regulations and guidelines have yet to be finalized or issued, it is recommended that companies proactively take steps to review their exposure to the Law. The CAC recently shut down dozens of celebrity news and gossip accounts on Chinese platforms, such as Sina Weibo, WeChat, NetEase, and Baidu, citing privacy provisions included in the new Law as the basis. Further, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection criticized the CAC soon after the Law came into effect, stating that it had for a period not carried out general secretary Xi Jinpings important instructions and requirements resolutely and promptly enough. As CAC regulators have already taken steps to enforce the Law, and may be under pressure from higher authorities to swiftly enact them, companies are advised to take proactive steps to comply. Although many of the exact steps to take are unclear thanks to the Laws ambiguity, a proactive approach demonstrates a willingness to comply with regulators. In the meantime, businesses with operations and customers in China are advised to monitor for further clarifications and supporting measures to the Law. About Us China Briefing is published by Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. We produce material for foreign investors throughout Asia, including ASEAN, India, Indonesia, Russia, the Silk Road, and Vietnam. For editorial matters please contact us here, and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here. Dezan Shira & Associates is a full service practice in China, providing business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax, IT, HR, payroll, and advisory services throughout the China and Asian region. For assistance with China business issues or investments into China, please contact us at china@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide. An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2017 This Dezan Shira & Associates 2017 China guide provides a comprehensive background and details of all aspects of setting up and operating an American business in China, including due diligence and compliance issues, IP protection, corporate establishment options, calculating tax liabilities, as well as discussing on-going operational issues such as managing bookkeeping, accounts, banking, HR, Payroll, annual license renewals, audit, FCPA compliance and consolidation with US standards and Head Office reporting. Payroll Processing in China: Challenges and Solutions In this issue of China Briefing magazine, we lay out the challenges presented by Chinas payroll landscape, including its peculiar Dang An and Hu Kou systems. We then explore how companies of all sizes are leveraging IT-enabled solutions to meet their HR and payroll needs, and why outsourcing payroll is the answer for certain company structures. Finally, we consider the potential for China to emerge as Asias premier payroll processing center. Dezan Shira & Associates You are here: Home The State Council, China's cabinet, Wednesday announced its decision to set up pilot zones for green finance to support its industrial upgrading and to further cut red tape. The pilot zones will be in Guangdong, Guizhou, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The zones will explore replicable ways to boost green financing, according to the State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. China will support financial institutions to set up green finance departments and welcome foreign capital to participate in green investments. The State Council will also encourage the development of "green credit," which takes the environmental credentials of companies into account. The country will roll out pilot markets for trading water and energy rights. The central government will provide support on fiscal, tax, and land policies for green industries and projects. A risk prevention mechanism must also be established for the healthy development of green finance. It was also decided at the meeting that China must further streamline administrative approval for the production of certain industrial products and delegate power to lower levels to promote innovation and upgrading of manufacturing industry. The number of categories of products that require official licensing has been reduced from 487 to the current 60 after rounds of reform over the past years. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, China's quality watchdog, will delegate the licensing authority of another eight categories of products, including chemical fertilizer, to provincial-level quality supervision departments, the meeting decided. The country will also pilot reform to streamline procedures for manufacturing license applications in some designated areas and industries. Government departments concerned should further step up compliance oversight, Li said. Beijing has arranged 255 major engineering projects this year to accelerate the construction of its sub-center. By now, the overall design of the sub-center and the detailed design of six key areas have been reviewed by experts. By the end of April, a total of 27 new projects have been launched, and 140 projects worth 16.35 billion yuan (US$2.41 billion) are under construction. The first-phase construction of the sub-centers administrative area is speeding up, and the citys major departments are expected to begin relocation by the end of this year. Shi Weiliang, chief planner of Beijings urban planning and land resources authority, revealed that the plan of the six-square-kilometer administrative office area of the sub-center has been completed. He said that the overall plan of the entire Tongzhou District was rolled out last year, with the focus on the planning of the peripheral towns with unique characteristics and their coordination with the sub-center, surrounding cities and downtown Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] In present times, China-Indian ties have gone beyond the bilateral context to acquire a global character. The two countries have been enjoying good communication at many levels and maintaining sound economic and social development despite some friction. Indian Prime Minister Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan on June 9, 2017. This private bilateral meeting was seen as an effort to repair Indo-Chinese ties that have been hit by growing differences over a host of issues including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and India's possible membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It is the first meeting between the two leaders after India's absence from China's high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part. India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the landmark US$50 billion CPEC, which is a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). During the Astana summit, India and Pakistan became the seventh and eighth members of the SCO. It is important to state that despite India's reservations about the BRI on questions of "territorial integrity and sovereignty," it has now become a part of another China-initiated organization. At a time of global uncertainties in the face of an unpredictable American administration under President Donald Trump, India and China relations are a force of stability. The meeting between Modi and Xi, lasting 40 minutes, was described as "cordial and positive." It was also felt that, as the world becomes more multi-polar, it is important for India and China to work together more closely. Hopefully, the two leaders agreed on the importance of this. The meeting also came after President Trump blamed India and China for brokering an "unfair climate deal" while pulling out of the Paris agreement. A sound India-China relationship will help undoubtedly stabilize the volatile international situation. During the meeting, Modi said India and China should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes. Xi said the two countries should make joint efforts to promote regional connectivity and shared development, align their development initiatives, advance the building of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor within the BRI at an early date, and boost cooperation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Modi acknowledged in a tweet that his discussions with Xi were about "how to improve and further ties." He thanked President Xi for China's staunch support which made possible India's accession to the SCO. The sense of the meeting was markedly different from when on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Goa last October, when all the hot-button issues were raised, ranging from NSG to Masood Azhar, head of a terrorist group operating from a Pakistan base. However, the meeting did not go well since Xi did not yield to Modi's request for NSG membership and Masood Azhar's listing as a terrorist at the UN. It's really encouraging to see that, during the Astana meeting, the two leaders showed their softening stand to bring down the temperature. The meeting sent out a strong signal that both nations are willing to look at the bigger picture and hedge the ties on increasing trade and people-to-people links while simultaneously trying to keep all channels of communication open. After Astana, Modi and Xi will meet again at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany, followed by the 9th BRICS Summit scheduled for September in Xiamen in south China's Fujian Province. These two upcoming multilateral meetings will again give the two nations a chance to improve relations through dialogue. This is happening at various levels. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee visited China in May last year and Prime Minister Modi has now held three meetings with President Xi since June last year. The economic and commercial cooperation between the two nations is growing fast. While India is offering support to China's "Going Global" strategy, China has been playing a significant part of Indian developmental missions like "Digital India," "Skill India," "Smart Cities," etc. Rabi Sankar Bosu, Secretary of New Horizon Radio Listeners' Club, West Bengal, India. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Flash File photo taken on June 5, 2014 shows Kenyan police officers check 302 pieces of ivory, including 228 elephant tusks seized in a warehouse during a raid in the port city of Mombasa. [File photo/Xinhua] China welcomes Uganda's clarification that two Chinese nationals allegedly involved in an ivory trafficking case are not diplomats, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday. The Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement Monday, confirming that the two Chinese nationals who are allegedly involved in collaborating with Uganda Wildlife Authority officials in exporting ivory "are not accredited diplomats with the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Uganda." The ministry expressed regrets over the negative impact caused by the incident and reiterated its commitment to strengthening relations and friendship with China. "We are aware of the statement issued by the Ugandan foreign ministry, and we appreciate the clarification and the ministry's positive attitude toward strengthening bilateral ties," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing. Chinese public servants, diplomats and government-dispatched personnel visiting abroad are ordered to abide by strict codes of conduct and regulations. They are prohibited from purchasing, trading or carrying any rare, endangered wildlife species or their products, and those who violate the regulations will be severely punished, said Lu. "We support African countries including Uganda in dealing with such cases in accordance with their laws," Lu said. DOUGLAS A nurse at Memorial Hospital of Converse County allegedly took a narcotic painkiller for his own use for nearly nine months, resulting in more than 400 patients receiving a weakened or essentially worthless form of the drug, the Douglas hospital announced Tuesday. The hospital put the nurse, Ryan Harris, on administrative leave on June 8 after discovering the week before that he had allegedly been diverting Hydromorphone since September, said hospital CEO Ryan Smith. Smith said Harris had been inserting a syringe into the top of the small vials of Hydromorphone, an opioid painkiller, and removing the drug. He would then replace the missing liquid with saline solution. Smith said it's unknown how much Hydromorphone that Harris had taken over the nine months but said some vials had been replaced entirely with saline while others were a mixture of the solution and the painkiller. On June 2, pharmacy staff discovered the issue during a "routine review" of the hospital's Pyxis Medstation. Harris was called in shortly after and confessed. Fifty-eight vials of Hydromorphone were found to be tampered with in some form. Harris is currently in Oregon telling his family, Smith said, and Harris told hospital authorities that he would enter treatment. He has not been arrested, though the Douglas Police Department has been alerted. The Wyoming Board of Nursing suspended the nurse's license on June 8 and he is not authorized to practice anywhere in the state. Harris, who is on unpaid administrative leave, had been with the hospital for around six years and had no prior incidents, officials said. Smith said the hospital will have to wait and see if it is at some legal risk from the more than 400 patients who received a diluted or completely ineffective treatment for pain. He said Harris had told hospital staff that he was never under the influence of drugs while on duty at the hospital, where he is a night shift nurse. He was drug tested after he confessed and passed the exam. Patients who received the drug between Sept. 13 and June 2 may not have received the prescribed dose because certain vials "were compromised by the nurse," according to the hospital. To assist any patients who received the drug during that period, the hospital set up a phone line at 307-358-7345. "On behalf of our entire organization, I want to apologize to our employees, community, and, most importantly, to any patient who may have been affected by this nurses drug diversion," CEO Ryan Smith said. "All of our employees and providers have been working very hard to improve our organizational culture and values, and we were all devastated to learn this drug diversion took place here." The Wyoming Board of Nursing suspended the nurse's license on June 8 and he is not authorized to practice anywhere in the state. The nurse was tested for HIV and Hepatitis C and is not infected with either disease, the hospital said. A worker assembles an excavator in a plant of Qingdao Lovol Excavator Co Ltd in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/China Daily] Sales of heavy duty excavators jumped to 11,283 units last month Sales of heavy construction excavators doubled in May to cope with expanding infrastructure projects in China as the economy continues to purr along. Industry insiders confirmed that the sector has been rising steadily in the past 10 months as demand increased here and globally for major construction equipment. "The cost of buying an excavator is high, so most companies prefer to rent," said Ye Tan, a financial commentator, who writes for leading publications. "So, these sales figures show investment in the economy is now picking up." Data released from Wind Information, a market leader in financial statistics and based in Shanghai, showed that major excavator manufacturers increased their sales last month to 11,283 units. This was a rise of 106 percent compared to the same period last year. To illustrate how the sector has grown, domestic sales of excavators hit 66,147 units in the first five months of this year, which is double the 2016 figure. Wang Huajun, an analyst at Zhongtai Securities, pointed out in an infrastructure report that expanding domestic demand has stimulated sales. "Infrastructure has seen 18.21 percent in investment growth in April year-on-year," Wang said. "Rising excavator sales can be seen as a sign that the mechanical engineering industry is healthy," he added. "Growth in other equipment, such as bulldozers and cranes, is also expected to rise in next six months. " The overseas market has also been a powerful driver as sales figures surge. Sany Heavy Industry Co Ltd, one of the major manufacturers of excavators, has seen a 30 percent rise in the first three months of this year. "Sany reported that first quarter overseas sales accounted for 40 percent of its total sales figures," said Huang Luchuan, chief marketing officer of ROOTCLOUD, an industrial internet open platform and end-to-end solution provider. "Up to 70 percent of oversea profit was generated in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative," Huang added. Data from ROOTCLOUD showed that Sany's excavator sales to Russia have jumped more than five-fold in the first quarter, while sales to Latin America and the Middle East also increased. "Excavators are not just used for basic construction," Huang said. "They are also used in advanced projects such as wind power farms, industrial housing, smart city developments and medical equipment factories." According to 21-Sun, a machinery and engineering business service website, 21 out of 26 major companies manufacturing excavators posted sales growth in May, including the top five of Sany, XCMG Group, Doosan Corporation and LiuGong Machinery Co Ltd. BEIJING - China and Russia held their first innovation dialogue in Beijing Tuesday and Wednesday, with both countries agreeing to strengthen cooperation in innovation and entrepreneurship. The dialogue was co-hosted by China's Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. The dialogue aimed to improve discussion and research on political support for innovation development, and push forward cooperation between micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in technology and capital markets, said Huang Wei, China's vice minister of science and technology. The meeting will bring new opportunities to align the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, said Russian Vice Minister of Economic Development Oleg Fomichev. Nearly 200 representatives from Chinese and Russian government offices, colleges and research institutions among others joined the discussions. Three U.S. soldiers were shot to death Saturday in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. A fourth was wounded. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that deadly attack, reportedly carried out by an Afghan army commando working for the Taliban. These American deaths and injury werent headline news back home deplorable evidence of how distracted we are from the world events that matter most. Americans are preoccupied with either defending President Donald Trump or criticizing him. Every presidential tweet receives more public attention (praise or condemnation) than those soldiers deaths. Lets try to correct the dearth of information about these fallen American heroes. On Monday, the Department of Defense identified them as Cpl. Dillon C. Baldridge, 22 of Youngsville, N.C.; Sgt. Eric M. Houck, 25, of Baltimore, Md.; and Sgt. William M. Bays, 29, of Barstow, Calif. All three were married fathers of young children, according to Stars and Stripes. They were assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Company D, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. According to the Washington Post, they reportedly were killed by an Afghan soldier who opened fire on U.S. troops in the Achin district of Afghanistan's Nangahar province, where both Islamic State and Taliban insurgents are contesting territory. The shooter was killed immediately. Baldridge, Houck and Bays deaths bring the total number of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan to six so far this year. Special Forces Staff Sgt. Mark R. De Alencar, 37, was killed in action in April. Army Rangers Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, and Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, 23, were killed later in April during a raid on an ISIS hideout in Achin. The Pentagon is investigating their deaths, and has said that Thomas and Rodgers may have been killed by friendly fire. Achin has been a major base for Islamic State militants, according to National Public Radio. In April, the United States dropped its most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the area to destroy tunnels being used by ISIS fighters and killed dozens of them, according to locals in the area. The United States has about 8,400 troops deployed to Afghanistan, and the White House is considering deploying several thousand more. That troop total doesnt count thousands of U.S. civilian contractors working in Afghanistan for the Department of Defense. Many of those contractors are U.S. veterans. Since Americas longest war started in October 2001, 2,399 U.S. military members have been killed. Americans account for the vast majority of the 3,535 casualties counted from the U.S.-led coalition, according to the website iCasualties.org, which compiles Defense Department press releases. The sacrifices made in this war include 10 Montanans killed and 50 others wounded; six Wyomingites killed and 27 wounded, according to iCasualties.com. California has given more than any other state, with 257 deaths and 886 others wounded. The Trump administration must confront the same problems that vexed George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Afghanistan is a complicated place to win friends and subdue enemies. The president, members of Congress and citizens of this great nation must be mindful of the thousands of Americans who have sacrificed for this war and the thousands who still serve in this remote and dangerous place. China plans to import two new varieties of genetically modified crops from the United States, as it accelerates a review of biotech products as part of its broader efforts to promote economic and trade ties with the US. The approvals came right after China finalized detailed protocols on imports of US beef. The outcome was arrived at due to the two nations' willingness over the past several months to enforce their 100-day action plan agreed by their top leaders, with a goal to establish a comprehensive economic dialogue. Wu Laping, a professor of the College of Economic and Management at China Agricultural University, said the updated approvals to US agricultural products are based on the mutual benefits that the two sides stand to gain. "Not only will it meet China's increasing domestic grain demand, but also contribute to growth in the US," he said. In May, China pledged to speed up checks of eight US varieties of GMO crops under the bilateral trade deal. Two of them received approval from China's Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday, said the ministry in a statement. The ministry gave permits to two US-based agriculture companiesMonsanto Co and Dow AgroSciences LLCto ship their soybeans and corn to China from June 12. The ministry said it also renewed import approvals for 14 other GMO crops. In China, foreign companies must obtain safety certificates issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, in order to export GMO crops to the market. Testing, production and marketing are subject to government approval. Under the 100-day plan, imported crops will only be used as raw materials, and none are permitted to be grown in China, according to Wu Kongming, vice-president of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Commenting on Chinese consumers' deep concerns about the safety of GMO foodstuffs, Wu said relevant government bodies are bound to take prudent measures to make evaluations and ensure food safety. Related Story: US beef speeds to China by air as trade deal ends 14-year ban CHICAGOThe first shipment of US beef to China under a new trade deal went airborne on Wednesday, a Nebraska meat company said, just two days after Washington finalized details to resume exports, ending a 14-year ban. Greater Omaha Packing Co said it shipped beef by plane to China from Nebraska, a top US beef-producing state, to meet strong demand. "They want it right away," Chief Executive Officer Henry Davis said about Chinese consumers. China banned US beef imports in 2003 after a US scare over mad cow disease, but last month agreed to allow shipments by mid July as part of a broader trade deal. Talks moved quickly, and US officials said on Monday they had finalized requirements for exports. China is the world's fastest growing beef market, according to the US Department of Agriculture, and its imports increased to $2.5 billion last year from $275 million in 2012. To win business, Greater Omaha Packing has hired bilingual salespeople from China, Davis said. He added that the company had received hundreds of phone calls in recent months about sales to China from potential customers and distributors. To make the first shipment, the company, which exports to other countries, affixed labels in English and Chinese on every box of beef on the flight, Davis said. "We'd never done Chinese before," he said. So far, only Greater Omaha Packing and Tyson Foods Inc, the biggest US meat company, has processing plants approved by the agriculture department to ship beef to China. Tyson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, Cargill Inc, another major beef processor, said that only a small percentage of the total current US cattle supply would qualify for exports to China under the terms of the new trade agreement. The deal requires US producers to track the birthplace of cattle born in the United States that are destined for export to China and take other steps. Reuters A Michelin-starred restaurants in Shanghai. [Photo/VCG] My earliest experience of dining at a Michelin-starred restaurant happened several years ago, when I had an amazing lunch at the Cantonese dim sum restaurant T'ang Court, now one of the only six three-star restaurants in Hong Kong. It was there and then that I realized Chinese food could be served in such a delightful combination of flavors, freshness and colors. I'd have almost forgot that legendary gastronomic experience had it not been for the suddenly rising trend of dining at Michelin-starred restaurants in Shanghai, where French tire manufacturer Michelin launched its first restaurant guide in the Chinese mainland last year. In a nation that boasts thousands of years of culinary culture, people pay a lot of respect to the 117-year-old restaurant guide. Some gourmets specifically arrange trips from other cites to Shanghai or book seats weeks ahead to taste the dishes in Michelin-starred restaurants. Some local restaurants advertise their links with other Michelin-starred restaurants, and the media gives lavish exposure to restaurants newly listed by Michelin. But the feedback is not always encouraging, as I have started to hear some complaints. "I will never forget how I was shocked when I ate a sweet-flavored soft-shelled turtle in a local restaurant which won one star from the restaurant guide. That culinary adventure means that I will not enter that restaurant again," one of my colleagues said. Another friend of mine complained that some starred restaurants pay too much attention to the presentation instead of the taste of the meal. "I was lost in the thick liquid nitrogen in which the fruit and meat were presented in a quirky way," said the friend. A more dramatic scene happened when Taian Table, a one-star restaurant run by a German chef, was forced to shut down as it was operating without business or catering licenses. The restaurant did not reopen until it moved to a new location four months later. But the power of the Michelin stars is still huge for many prestigious local Shanghai restaurants. "The food we are serving receives fabulous reviews from our customers, but we still need to learn more from our peers in plate presentation in order to become a Michelin-starred restaurant," said a senior executive from a famous local restaurant, which is well-known for its crab dishes. Based on ratings from anonymous inspectors and independent food reviewers, the Michelin guide offers undoubted fairness and credibility, but I do wonder if a Western guide should become the sole standard for deciding the quality of restaurants in China. In the 2017 edition of the Michelin guide for Shanghai restaurants, nine out of the 26 Michelin star restaurants offered Cantonese dishes, six provided Western cuisine, five presented local Shanghai dishes, five offered other Chinese cuisines including vegetarian restaurant, and one sold barbecue. In the eyes of Western food reviewers, the selection is wide enough, but China is a nation that has developed eight famous cuisines from Shandong, Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Anhui over hundreds of years, in addition to the countless other must-try snacks and dishes from every corner of the country. Behind the advent of the Chinese version of the Michelin guide is the growing food economy. In 2016, China's top 100 restaurants generated 218 billion yuan ($31.96 billion) in revenue, representing annual growth of 7.4 percent and outpacing China's GDP growth, according to the China Cuisine Association. Another report jointly published by Meituan and Dianping.com showed that dining revenue exceeded 3.5 trillion yuan in 2015, and this figure is expected to reach 5 trillion yuan by 2020. Venture capital also has great interest in the dining sector, with a milk tea brand from Guangdong province receiving 100 million yuan in financing. As the nation boasts the four great inventions of gunpowder, the compass, papermaking and printing, I do believe that China is capable of formulating its own standards to help guide local gourmets to find their dream dishes. An attendee takes a picture of the back of P9 plus smartphone, manufactured by Huawei Technologies Co, at its launch event in London, April 6, 2016. [Photo/VCG] Smartphone and telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said it is evaluating the decision of a leading court in the United Kingdom over patent infringement that could mean its phones will not be allowed to be sold in the UK, as well as possible steps the company may take. The High Court of England and Wales recently ruled that Huawei must pay licensing fees to use patents related to 4G technologies in its devices from Unwired Planet International, a US software company that owns thousands of patents obtained from Ericsson, otherwise it will face a sales ban in the UK. The Shenzhen-based company said in a statement that it has received the decision of the court, but it does not believe that this decision will adversely affect its business operations either in the UK or in other countries. It said that as it is one of the world's leading intellectual property rights owners, Huawei has a strong record of respecting the IPR of others, in addition to doing whatever is required to protect its own IPR assets. "Huawei remains committed to providing its cutting-edge products and services to our customers without interruption," the statement said. The lawsuit between Huawei and UPI has been going on for more than three years. In 2014, UPI sued Google Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Huawei in the UK, claiming the three companies infringed six patents held by it, including five standard essential patents related to 2G, 3G and 4G. Google was reconciled with UPI as early as 2015. In 2016, Samsung withdrew from the patent war with UPI after the two companies reached a settlement. The UK market has been an important country in Huawei's global strategic layout. Huawei has continuously increased its investment in the UK since it established its first office in the UK in 2001. "Huawei could choose to appeal the ruling, or reach a settlement with UPI. It is more likely that the settlement between the two sides will be reached," said Wang Yanhui, secretary-general of the Mobile China Alliance. Wang said the lawsuits could often be seen in the patent wars among multinational companies, adding there are some companies which have no entity business, and survive through initiating patent infringement suits. Li Junhui, professor of China University of Political Science and Law, said it is urgent that Huawei should conclude a patent licensing cooperation with UPI, otherwise it may suffer greater losses in the UK. SHI YU/CHINA DAILY Demonstration areas will be set up to embrace more sectors and encourage entrepreneurship New innovation and entrepreneurship demonstration zones will be established to expand the innovation strategy to wider areas and industries. The State Council's executive meeting on June 7 decided to set up more high-level demonstration bases for mass entrepreneurship and innovation covering all provincial-level regions, a goal raised by Premier Li Keqiang in his Government Work Report in March. This is a follow-up to further deliver the innovation-driven strategy and encourage entrepreneurship. Last year, the country launched 28 national demonstration bases for innovation and entrepreneurship, most of them in State-owned enterprises and research bodies. The new move aims to boost the transformation of SOEs and establish a prudent supervisory mechanism that adapts to the development of emerging industries, according to a media release after the meeting. Lin Lei, a researcher at the Center for Innovation and Development at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who has monitored China's innovation strategy since 2014, said the new move will help bring national experience to provincial bases, and boost mass innovation across a wider range of sectors. "I think most SOEs that set up last year in the demonstration bases performed quite well, and have strong developing momentum through favorable policies," said Lin, who visited several SOEs established last year. He added that institutional reform is what helped most in these SOE trials, which allows employees to use company platforms and resources to develop technology innovation and explore new business opportunities. While SOEs also provide financial support for their business starters, they get proportional profits on a contract basis from the innovation program, if successful. "This has helped immensely to make use of existing resources owned by SOEs and help them gain growth momentum," Lin said. "I believe this will widely boost the transformation of SOEs while more innovation will be created through the platforms that SOEs provide." Figures from the Ministry of Finance in April showed that China's SOEs made combined profits of 587 billion yuan ($85 billion) for the January-March period, up 37.3 percent compared with the same period a year ago. The State Council's new measures will include online trademark registration and electronic business licensing in the new round of demonstration zones, aiming to provide a friendly policy environment for business startups and innovation incubators, further streamlining regulation and administration efforts. Lin stressed that trouble caused by the previous business registration system should not be overlooked and needs to be cut down. "It sounds like just several steps of registration, yet in fact it may take you days or even weeks to get just one permission," Lin said, referring to some of the institutional costs in business registration. "Such inconvenience can really kill a business starter, because more often than not when you finish the whole procedure, your money has gone. Business opportunities wait for no one." The meeting also decided to rejuvenate some dilapidated factories into innovation spaces. "What is needed now is to make these incubators really useful and practical for business startups, to improve efficiency. The key is to give tailored designs to new incubators, not just increase in number," Lin said. He stressed that innovation spaces, or incubators, such as the 3M Cafe and the Garage Cafe in Beijing's Zhongguancun area, have emerged in many cities in recent years, but not all meet the most pressing demands from startups. "Currently, most incubators provide only workspaces, internet and some business registration services to entrepreneurs, and this is far from enough because they are only at very basic levels," Lin said. He said innovation spaces need to be built with clear features that meet the demand from particular industries in terms of hardware facilities, as well as human resources training. The meeting also vowed to strengthen intellectual property rights protection, the statement said. An international medical journal's retraction of 107 papers by Chinese medical researchers has severely harmed the reputation and integrity of the country's scientific community and revealed a flawed oversight system, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology. In late April, Tumor Biology, a journal published by Germany-based Springer Nature, announced it had retracted the papers after an investigation showed the peer review process had been compromised. Nearly all of the 524 authors connected with the papers are clinical cancer doctors at key public hospitals. The ministry said it would launch a thorough investigation into the incident, an unidentified division director of the ministry told China Central Television on Wednesday. Results will be made public, and anyone found with misconduct will be punished, the TV report said. Other scientific projects related to the authors are also being investigated, and may be halted. Previous reports said third-party agencies were found helping some authors fake the peer reviews. In China, it's not rare for researchers to give their draft papers to third-party agencies for language polishing and other related services. To advance and secure more research funds under the current evaluation system, clinical doctors in China are under immense pressure to publish papers in reputable journals. The ministry vowed during Wednesday's interview to clean up such activity, which was deemed a regulatory gray area. He Defang, the ministry's law and regulation chief, said retractions are a normal way for academic journals to redress mistakes concerning questionable papers. But such a mass retraction "is abnormal and irresponsible", he said. He said a single incident cannot tarnish the positive image of Chinese scientific researchers as a whole. "Mainstream science workers in the country are highly devoted to advancing science and are honest," he said. Some pre-manufacture product licenses replaced by safety checks China is cutting the number of products whose manufacture requires official licensing, the State Council decided at an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday. Nineteen categories of products, including water pipes and rechargeable batteries, will no longer need manufacturing licenses. The licenses required for electric blankets and motorcycle helmets will be replaced by the post-manufacture China Compulsory Certification, or safety certification, it was decided. Industry is the pillar of the real economy, Li said. The existing licensing system needs a thorough overhaul and a major streamlining, keeping a tight list of product categories that do need to follow the current practice and also speeding up the transition to product certification, he said. "We need to free the hands of businesses for innovation and operation. It is pivotal to the upgrading of the real economy," he said. The production licensing system was introduced in 1984 for quality supervision. Companies must obtain a license before their products go into production. The number of categories of products that require official licensing had since been reduced from 487 to the current 60, and now to 41. At a news conference in March, Li said that the government should send a resounding "yes" to all law-abiding market entities and give the green light to all hardworking entrepreneurs and innovators. Violators of laws and regulations must be warned, he said, and when necessary barred from the market. "Having fewer licensing requirements doesn't mean less responsibility. On the contrary, they now have a greater responsibility to the consumers," Li said at the meeting on Wednesday. The new system will also pose higher requirements on enterprises to ensure the quality of products. The government departments concerned should further step up compliance oversight and waste no time in developing compulsory certification standards, he added. "There should be no overlap, though," he said. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, China's quality watchdog, will delegate the licensing authority of another eight categories of products, including feed grinders, to provincial-level quality supervision departments, the meeting decided. China will also pilot a reform to streamline procedures for manufacturing license applications in some areas and industries. Companies can present a qualification report conducted by an eligible agency instead of going through pre-licensing production inspection. Government departments can conduct on-the-scene inspections of companies after, rather than before, they have obtained the manufacturing license, to enable companies to start their production in a timely manner. The quality watchdogs will also step up compliance oversight through spot checks after the issuance of licenses to ensure the quality of products. The BRICS Summit, planned for September in China, is expected to promote pragmatic cooperation among member states in a wide range of areas, senior diplomats from the BRICS bloc said on Wednesday. Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr, vice-president of the New Development Bank, said that the bank is working together with China's Ministry of Finance "to come up with some items that can be announced" at the summit on Sept 3 to 5 in Xiamen, Fujian province. "For example, a second round of projects that could be announced by September. The establishment of an African regional center in South Africa," he said. The banker made the remarks on the sidelines of the second BRICS Sherpa meeting, held in Qingdao, Shandong province. The Sherpa meeting was aimed at preparing for the summitsenior diplomats from BRICS member countries who are in charge of coordination are called Sherpas. The NDB will be involved in financing infrastructure projects under the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, he said. "Our bank has as one of its central aspects to support the financing of infrastructure in member countries. We will be able to help the Belt and Road Initiative," he said. The NDB was set up with an initial authorized capital of $100 billion after the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa signed the treaty for its establishment during the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, in 2014. The bank officially opened in Shanghai in 2015. Alok A. Dimri, joint secretary of Multilateral Economic Relations at the Ministry of External Affairs of India, said there are multiple dimensions and initiatives on which BRICS countries are working together. "We have the New Development Bank, which works on infrastructure. The BRICS have lots of initiatives in the fields of infrastructure, finance and people to people. It's ongoing," he said. Among the initiatives he mentioned were the BRICS Film Festival, BRICS youth forum and BRICS academy council, and he added that BRICS countries also had discussions on political security. BRICS countries have an important role to play in addressing global challenges including the unstable situation in the Middle East, conflicts in some African countries, and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, said Anil Sooklal, deputy director-general of Asia and the Middle East at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa. "BRICS represents over 40 percent of the global population. When the five leaders meet for the summit in Xiamen, it's not just the five leaders' meeting. It's over 40 percent of the global population." he said. Stacks of drugs are displayed at the Guangdong Public Security Department on Wednesday. Guangdong police seized more than 640 kilograms of narcotics since April.CHEN JIMIN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE Police and customs officers from Guangdong province have detained 30 suspects in three drug smuggling cases since April in cooperation with Indonesia and Malaysia. More than 640 kilograms of narcotics, plus dozens of fishing boats and vehicles, were seized. In addition to suspects from the Chinese mainland, seven detainees were from Africa, three were from Hong Kong, two were from Taiwan and one was from Malaysia. China's drug enforcement and customs officers began investigating after receiving a report that a gang headed by a Hong Kong resident was planning to illegally export a large amount of methamphetamine. In a joint operation by customs officers from Guangdong, Indonesia and Malaysia in April and May, 16 suspects were detained and 56 kg of meth was seized. Authorities said the drugs were hidden in treadmills and cash registers that were to be shipped to a Southeast Asian country. After they received information from their Chinese counterparts, Indonesian customs officers detained two more suspects, and Malaysian authorities captured another. A drug smuggling gang and a transport channel led by African drug traffickers active in smuggling meth from the mainland to Southeast Asia were busted after the joint operation, the Chinese authorities said. Deng Jianwei, director of drug enforcement at Guangdong's Public Security Department, said the operation dealt a heavy blow to marine drug smuggling in Guangdong waters. But he said fighting drugs and related crimes is still a tough long-term task in Guangdong, which has been the country's main battlefield against drug crimes for decades. Deng promised to expand international cooperation in fighting drug smuggling, as criminals remain active. "Guangdong has a coastline of 4,114 kilometers, with 109 ports, 41,000 registered fishing boats and 145,000 registered fishermen," Deng said at a news conference in Guangzhou on Wednesday. Guangdong has made progress in fighting marine drug smuggling in cooperation with other Southeast Asian regions, and countries including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, Deng said. Guangdong detained 273 suspects, including 119 from Hong Kong and 30 from Taiwan, and seized more than 5.75 tons of drugs during investigations into 135 marine drug smuggling cases, from January 2015 to April. Lin Sen, executive deputy director of the public security bureau of Shanwei, Guangdong province, said police are offering rewards of 500,000 to 8 million yuan ($74,000 to $1.2 million) for tips to the police. "Those who report clues that lead to the seizure of a ton of drugs will receive the highest reward," Lin said. A university hospital in Hunan province is developing an online service to accurately diagnose skin conditions in seconds, as well as offer advice on where to seek treatment. The service, an app that works with WeChat, will require users to upload a photo of the affected area. An artificial intelligence-assisted system will then scan the photo to identify the problem. The system, currently available only to doctors for testing, is expected to be opened to the public as early as October. It is being developed by the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha and a technology company, Danale, based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. "The technology will be used to assist in the diagnosis of common skin diseases by providing a reference for doctors, especially those at grassroots clinics, and to provide guidance for patients seeking treatment," said Lu Qianjin, director of the hospital's dermatology department. Lu said the app has proved capable of diagnosing lupus, a rare skin disease, with 85 percent accuracy. Skin diseases appear in a variety of forms, and some types resemble others, which makes diagnosis challenging for doctors, particularly those at the grassroots, Lu said. "It's difficult to have a thorough knowledge of every type of skin disease, and doctors at grassroots face more challenges in accurate diagnosis since they see fewer patients," he said. "That's why we decided to develop the system - to aid in diagnosis." As skin damage is a major clue in the diagnosis of skin diseases, conditions are easier to diagnose using Central South University's clinical database, which includes vast numbers of images, Lu said. "When a doctor uploads an image of a skin condition to the system, the computer will evaluate the image and compare it with the massive image data it has stored. It can then provide a list of diagnosis results for reference," Lu said. The system was first aimed at diagnosing lupus because the hospital has accumulated a large number of photos of the disease over the past 20 years, Lu said. Jin Lu, a technology supervisor at Danale, said the company will intensify research and development so the system will be upgraded to support the diagnosis of other skin diseases with improved accuracy. With the quick development of technology in China, AI is playing a more important role in the medical care sector. In March, Baheal Pharm, a Chinese company that focuses on health, announced a partnership with IBM to introduce Watson for Oncology - a cognitive computing platform designed to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of some common cancers - to medical institutions in China. Experts at forum propose action along lines of outdoor regulation China needs to draft laws to address worsening indoor air pollution, which deserves more attention, including targeted measures to better protect human health, experts said at a forum on Wednesday. Soaring sales of air purifiers and talk of protective measures for people indoors have made headlines, along with severe outdoor air pollution, showing the public's growing attention to indoor air, they said. "The controls on indoor air pollution are far from enough, compared with the national campaign against outdoor air pollution since 2013, and there is lack of scientific and systematic study of this issue," Hou Li'an, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at a forum in Beijing on indoor air quality. It's urgent to draft laws, considering it will take years to see air quality reach consistently good levels in Chinese cities, even though great reductions of airborne pollutants such as PM2.5 particulate matter have been achieved, he said. PM2.5 refers to particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 microns or less that is hazardous to human health. Its concentration is a major index for measuring air quality. Indoor air quality has been greatly influenced by air quality outside. On smoggy days, indoor air is also polluted, Hou's research showed. That opinion is shared both at home and abroad. According to the World Health Organization, 4.3 million people a year die from exposure to indoor air pollutants worldwide. In addition to pollutants from outside, the WHO says, indoor air quality sources include cooking and heating, which can produce some health-damaging pollutants, including PM2.5. Moreover, if someone smokes in an enclosed room on a smoggy day, the air pollution indoors may be more severe than the outside level, and thus more harmful to people, Mao Qun'an, a publicity official from the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said in a news release in January after many days of heavy pollution. The PM2.5 concentration indoors should be less than 75 micrograms per cubic meter for elderly people and children - the cutoff line for what is defined as "good" air outdoors, the news release quoted Wang Yu, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as saying. But the indoor air quality standards that took effect in 2002 were not updated in recent years, according to Hou. "We have urged the authorities to update it to keep up with recent air pollution levels," he said. Unlike outdoor air pollution, which falls under the authority of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, indoor pollution falls under the National Health and Family Planning Commission. There should be regulations to control the domestic air purifier market, which is promising but chaotic, so that machines meet the same strict standards, and better protect health, Hou added. Xin Wen contributed to this story. Chinese scientists want to grow potatoes on the moon. Although similar to the plot of the Hollywood movie The Martian, in which the central character plants potatoes on Mars, the Chinese scientists had been working on the project before the movie arrived in the country, said Zhang Yuanxun, an engineering researcher at the Center of Space Exploration, which is conducting the experiments. The plan is to carry two kinds of plants and one animal species in an aluminum vessel that will land on the surface of the moon with China's Chang'e 4 lunar probe in 2018. The 3-kilogram vessel, called a moon-surface mini ecosphere, has a diameter of 16 centimeters and a height of 18 cm. Made of a special aluminum alloy, it will carry silkworm eggs, seeds from potatoes and cress, as well as water, soil, air and scientific research tools. Founded by the Ministry of Education in 2009, the center is located at Chongqing University in Southwest China. Scientists in fields including biology, telecommunication, engineering, materials and aeronautics and astronautics - from the university and other research institutes across the country - are participating in the project. According to Zhang, the vessel will retain the proper humidity and temperature for each life-form. "Natural light on the surface of the moon will also be carried into the vessel through light pipes to assist the growth of the plants inside," he said. The sprouting and blooming of the plants and the incubation of the silkworm eggs will be live-streamed to people all over the world using cameras inside the vessel, said Xie Gengxin, chief designer of the project and deputy director of the center. "We have considered a lot of factors, including weight, when selecting the plants and animals taken to the moon, as only 3 kilograms are allowed," he said. Zhang said the long-term goal is to explore ways of enabling astronauts to support themselves by planting food on other planets. Departments and ministries under the State Council, China's Cabinet, have responded to a series of public concerns in the past week, including express delivery data sharing, tax and administrative fees, school food safety, rural collective property rights and chemical accidents. The State Post Bureau invited senior executives of Alibaba affiliate Cainiao and SF Express, two major domestic parcel carriers, to talks in Beijing, to resolve their dispute that blocked access to each other's customer data. The bureau stressed the significance of the development of e-commerce and the express delivery industry, and urged the enterprises to jointly promote the healthy and sustainable development of the entire industry and provide customers with better express delivery services. The two enterprises agreed to resume cooperation and data transmission from June 3. Reducing tax Shi Yaobin, vice-minister of finance, said at a meeting of the State Council on June 9 that the central government will carry out several measures to further ease the tax burden on enterprises by about 283 billion yuan ($42 billion), part of measures to ease the 1 trillion yuan in taxes enterprises face this year. He also said reducing tax and administrative fees could enhance the vitality of the enterprises to further expand their business, which would increase tax revenue. In the next stage, the ministry will further improve the list-based management system of administrative charges, in order to curb arbitrary charging. Fan Xuehui, an official with the China Food and Drug Administration, said recently that food safety in schools has been basically established. The authority made clear its requirements on school food safety, and demanded schools take key responsibility for food safety. Fan said frequent food safety scandals in schools and kindergartens indicated that there are still shortfalls. Rural property rights Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu explained the reform of rural collective property rights to the media. The reform, Han said, will explore new methods and operations for collective property rights and develop a new type of collective economy. In this process, rural residents' wishes will be fully respected. The reform is expected to be finished in five years. According to the central government's requirements, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Rural Work Office will choose 100 counties to launch pilot programs. Fu Jianhua, deputy director of the State Administration of Work Safety, said on June 11 that local authorities, departments and enterprises should take measures to boost safety protection and reduce accidents involving dangerous chemicals. wangyiqing@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily 06/15/2017 page7) Nansha port area of Guangzhou port. [Wei Wei for China Daily] Guangzhou Port, the main seaport in the capital of Guangdong province, plans to expand its "international friends circle" and seeks greater multilateral cooperation with other international ports. Located in the Pearl River Delta region, it is an important hub for domestic and international transport and maritime logistics, and had formed sister-port relationships with 38 cities by 2016. The number is expected to grow to 43 by the end of 2017, according to Yuan Yue, deputy director-general of Guangzhou Port Authority. "Having more friends helps to develop port business, while greater communication brings more diverse opportunities. After forming a sister-port relationship with Thailand's Laem Chabang Port, the Thai port authority invited Chinese professionals to provide training to their staff. We have also established a training company in Guangzhou along with Belgium's Port of Antwerp, one of the most advanced ports in the world, to provide high-quality training to Chinese and overseas professionals," Yuan said. Guangzhou's international maritime trade activities date back 2,000 years, and it is the only Chinese port that has never been shut to international trade. A Beijing court is developing a database on juvenile offenders to help judges better understand a defendant's family background. Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court said the database will help judges analyze why a child age 17 or under may have committed a crime and make rulings that benefit that child's development. "The database will hold as much information as possible, such as family background, education and upbringing, as well as information about the victim or victims," the court said on Thursday. "We also want to use the data to find management or supervision problems that could harm a child's development, and then push forward revisions of juvenile legislation." The court established a tribunal for handling cases involving juveniles in June 2009. So far, it has dealt with more than 200 criminal cases and punished 234 young offenders. Although the number of criminal cases involving children has fallen over the past decade, "some problems related to juveniles still require attention", the court said. For example, juvenile crimes mainly relate to violence, including homicide, intentional injury, robbery and fraud, with most offenders age 16 or 17. In addition, more than 57 percent of young offenders are the children of migrant workers, according to the court. Lu Weimin, vice-president of the court, said judges are asked to conduct social surveys in the hometowns of children who move with parents or relatives to Beijing, "to understand more about why they may have committed a crime and whether they were better cared for before or after moving to the capital". "The surveys help us find the root cause of a juvenile's actions," Lu added. "We're exploring other measures to solve juvenile disputes, to effectively protect the rights of young people." TIANJIN -- Construction of a Chinese campus for New York's renowned Juilliard School started in Tianjin Thursday. As Juilliard School's first overseas campus, the Tianjin Juilliard School is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2019 in North China's Tianjin municipality. Construction should be completed by the end of 2018. The Tianjin campus of the Juilliard School would be built by the Haihe River and offer college preparatory courses and non-academic music training, said Zheng Weiming, an official with the administrative committee of central business district, Tianjin's Binhai New Area. Zheng said that the school was expected to stage more than 150 music concerts a year, which will be open to the public. He said the Juilliard School would also cooperate with Tianjin Conservatory to set up Tianjin Conservatory-Juilliard Academy to provide master's degree courses. The Juilliard School was founded in 1905 and specializes in performing arts education. Its alumni have won numerous world-class musical awards, including Grammy, Tony and Emmy Awards. Approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2015, the Juilliard School's programs in Tianjin are the first collaboration between Chinese and foreign conservatories. NANJING -- Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Thursday stressed cross-Straits communication based on the 1992 Consensus. Zhang made the remarks while meeting with Hung Hsiu-chu, chairperson of the Taiwan-based Kuomintang (KMT) party, who is visiting the mainland and will attend the 9th Straits Forum in Fujian province. "The CPC has paid high attention to relations between the two parties," Zhang said. The CPC is willing to keep communication, strengthen exchanges and dialogue, and maintain peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and stability in the Taiwan Straits, based on the common political basis of adhering to 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," he said. Global Switch CEO John Corcoran has performed yet another big switch-on, telling Evelyn Yu the Belt and Road Initiative has been one of their prime considerations in the thrust into the Asia Pacific. When British billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben first bought an interest in data center provider Global Switch in 2004, it was a loss-making company. Over the years, the London-based corporation has grown into a leading owner and operator with nine data centers spread across Europe and the Asia Pacific. Behind the transformation is Chief Executive Officer John Corcoran, who has steered the company into a highly profitable enterprise that's still growing. There has been a rising trend of companies and governments outsourcing to third-party data centers as the deployment of data center co-location services enables entities to cut their in-house IT maintenance costs, while ensuring higher security and reliability, plus high-bandwidth availability. "Many customers realize computer rooms in office buildings are not suitable for keeping their data processing and storage. The capital cost of a data center is very high, it takes significant resources to invest in a data center, but sharing the costs of operating a data center among a wide range of customers offers greater economic benefits," Corcoran tells China Daily on a visit to Hong Kong. It's a very capital intensive business, he says. "One of our sites in London has enough standby power generation capacity on the campus to power the city of Edinburgh, and we're talking about a very large investment." Over the years, Global Switch has secured more 1,000 clients globally. With notable corporations like IBM and Microsoft in its fold, major clients range from financial institutions, governments and telecommunication carriers to conglomerates worldwide. Corcoran sees a rising trend of organizations outsourcing to data centers around the world, especially in developing countries and regions. According to a report by global market research and consulting company Markets and Markets, the data center co-location market is estimated to grow from $25.7 billion in 2015 to $54.13 billion by 2020 at a compound annual growth rate of 16.1 percent during the forecast period. Corcoran has contributed to perfecting the business model at Global Switch since he assumed the company's top management. He has been a key adviser to shareholders since 2004, when the Reuben brothers first acquired a stake in the company before going on to own it two years later. When the Reubens first acquired Global Switch, it had yet to get in the groove. It was running at a loss and its eight data centers were operating like an independent little business. Satisfying needs "We standardized all the processes and systems to convince our global customers that we were able to satisfy their exacting data center needs in Hong Kong, as well as in Frankfurt and Sydney," recalls Corcoran. His strategy then was to establish large-scale, multi-tenanted carrier and cloud-neutral data centers in Europe and the Asia Pacific, exclusively in first-tier markets that are major business and connectivity hubs, close to central business districts. "It's challenging creating the data center business in those key telecommunication markets because access to power was very difficult, access to connectivity was very difficult and, generally, the price of land was very high. We acquired the land because we took a long-term view by buying land earlier on, by working with power and telecommunication companies. I think this has been part of our success." Currently, North America is the largest market for data center co-location services, but Global Switch has yet to take on the region. Corcoran has thus decided to position the company in the growing European and Asia Pacific markets, particularly Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. Last year, Global Switch recorded revenue of about 400 million pounds ($516.2 million) from its global operations, with the Asia Pacific accounting for one-third of the total. Top credit rating The group has so far pumped HK$5 billion into the Hong Kong data center which, on completion, will be the SAR's largest carrier and cloud-neutral data center, taking up 45,000 square meters of space. Another new site in Shanghai is expected to come into operation late next year at the earliest, according to Corcoran. Hong Kong is the 10th data center under the Global Switch umbrella and five more are under discussion or construction. Upbeat about the company's financial strength, Corcoran says 5 billion pounds is a "modest number" compared with the company's extensive portfolio of existing data centers valued at about 6 billion pounds. With a Fitch Rating of "BBB+", Global Switch is the highest credit-rated data center company in the world. Chinese mainland consortium Elegant Jubilee bought a 49-percent interest in Global Switch last year for $2.9 billion. The consortium consists of a bevy of leading Chinese companies and institutional investors, led by Jiangsu Sha Steel Group - the largest privately owned steel company on the mainland. Talking about the acquisition, Corcoran reveals they had received many offers over the years. "Elegant Jubilee's offer was attractive in certain ways. Firstly, they're completely happy with our business model, and that is very important as we've been perfecting our business model in the past decade and we don't wish to change. "Secondly, it's a group of financial institutions that are looking to help the business grow - they're from the capital intensive industry and have access to lots of capital, but the key things Elegant Jubilee has brought to us is significantly improved access to Chinese customers." What really convinces everyone, Corcoran stresses, is a pipeline of growing mainland customers on the back of the Belt and Road Initiative. As for future plans, he sees the business effectively doubling in the next 10 to 15 years. "It's not a pipe dream, it's a pipeline development." Contact the writer at evelyn@chinadailyhk.com FWD executive David Wong Tai-wai says the insurance group had set out as a pan-Asia insurer and its goal is to cover most Asian countries. Roy Liu / China Daily Apart from helming local insurer FWD Hong Kong, David Wong Tai-wai is dedicated to the development of micro-insurance in immature markets in Asia. He serves as an advisor under the United Nations Development Program for ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) regulators on rural financial inclusion and micro-insurance development. Wong has had a long relationship with member states of ASEAN since 2004 when his former employer Manulife dispatched him to establish a foothold in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. His office in Hong Kong testifies to the relationship - its walls adorned with paintings by Cambodian and Vietnamese artists, depicting the exotic landscapes in these emerging countries. He says while the insurance markets in Japan and Hong Kong are already in place, those in Cambodia, Burma and other developing countries are just opening up, with an infrastructure network that has yet to come on. "In these countries, the city and rural areas have very different economies. The banks or insurance companies prefer to set up branches in the big cities instead of the countryside, so the distribution and payment channels in those poor areas are not ready yet. That's the biggest problem. In such a situation, how to protect the low-income people against perils? Micro-insurance is what we want to push in these developing countries," says Wong. Micro-insurance refers to insurance with low premiums and coverage, usually targeting a population ignored by mainstream commercial and social insurance programs. "Typically, the premium for micro-insurance is $10 to $20 annually, with coverage of $1,000. But, due to the poor transportation system, insurance agents need to ride a motorbike for three days to go to the village, just to take that $10 premium? That's the distribution problem. On the payment side, as most of these places are still a cash society, companies need to hire collectors to get the money and even if there's a bank, it will charge a $1.5 handling fee for a $20 transfer. The whole payment procedure just doesn't work." Fortunately, with the development of digital technology, things will get much easier. Wong intends to promote online purchasing of insurance products and the use of digital wallets in those countries as his next step. "The odds for success are much higher if we use the internet to promote financial inclusion because, even in Vietnam, 80 percent of the people in the rural areas use mobile phones. If digital wallets become popular, the selling and payment procedures would be far more effective and would be a very big help in terms of promoting financial inclusion and micro insurance." Although the digital revolution can bridge the gap between villagers and insurance, most villagers don't even know what insurance is, so educating the local people has been Wong's major task in the past few years. "People in Southeast Asian countries are coming to understand the merits of insurance, and then we can build up the distribution and payment channels before starting to make an impact," he says. According to Wong, he has urged ASEAN governments to legalize the whole distribution procedure and regulate insurance companies, while agents need to get a license before they can sell insurance policies. As insurance is a regulated industry in every country, regulatory consistency with other markets is important to the domestic insurance market development. Regulators in ASEAN countries have introduced regulations on many fronts. The Philippines will launch its new RBC (Risk-Based Capital)-2 framework next year and continue to synchronize its solvency regulations around risk-based capital frameworks that have been established in Europe, while Singapore, Malaysia, and several other countries already have regulations on cyber security, according to the 2017 Asia-Pacific insurance outlook report by London-based accounting firm Ernst & Young. cherrylin@chinadailyhk.com South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem described the U.S. border with Mexico as a war zone last year when she sent dozens of state National Guard troops there. Noem said theyd be on the front lines of stopping drug smugglers and human traffickers. But newly released records from the National Guard show that in their two-month deployment, the South Dakota troops didnt seize any drugs and sometimes went days without encountering any migrants at all. Noem justified the deployment and a widely criticized private donation to fund as a state emergency because of drugs making their way across the southern border to South Dakota. But the records cast doubt on whether the deployment was effective in addressing that. Insurance executive David Wong Tai-wai unwittingly threw himself into a business that was totally alien to what he had majored in. But, he tells Lin Wenjie he was 'ignited' by the challenges ahead. When David Wong Tai-wai, chief executive officer of FWD Hong Kong and Macau, graduated from the University of Waterloo in Canada 30 years ago with a degree in computer science, he never imagined he would spend half his lifetime in the insurance business. He had little understanding of what insurance was all about, but found himself "ignited" by the challenges the industry offers, such as analyzing insurance policy risk levels and the intricate issues concerning assets and liability. His computing background also gave him the impetus to steer the human-intensive industry into the digital era. "Initially, I worked in the IT (information technology) unit of an insurance company. My goal was to achieve something in that field. Eventually, I found this complex and human-interactive business really interesting," Wong tells China Daily. Having started his career with Toronto-based finance services and insurance giant Manulife in the 1980s, Wong was transferred to Hong Kong in 1996 and held key management and leadership posts across Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. He had taken up nearly 10 positions in three decades with Manulife before returning to Hong Kong in 2013 to become the first chief executive of the newly created FWD Hong Kong. FWD Group - the insurance arm of investment group Pacific Century Group headed by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's younger son Richard Li Tzar-kai - now has its footprint across eight Asian markets - Hong Kong, Macao, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan - offering policies like life and medical insurance, general insurance and employee benefits. It boasts more than 1.2 million customers and a staff strength exceeding 2,900. On joining FWD, Wong set an ambitious goal for the group to be among Hong Kong's top five life insurers within five years. He rolled out three key strategies focusing on insurtech (insurance tech), health solutions and customer experience. FWD said earlier this year it would pump HK$500 million into developing proprietary insurtech solutions - more than five times the amount the company had poured into the sector in the past three years. Customer experience "Technology and mobile phones are changing customer behavior, as well as the way of doing business. Thus, it's imperative that we develop insurtech in line with our aim of enhancing customer experience," says Wong. He stresses that young people, particularly the "mobile-dependent generation", would rather use a digital platform to buy products nowadays instead of going to an agent while, on the services side, both the younger and older generations also prefer using multiple channels to communicate with customer services staff through mobile phones and digital platforms besides face-to-face encounters. FWD started its commerce digital platform iFWD in mid-2015, enabling customers to purchase products and talk with staff online. For mobile services, the company has an app providing easy access to customers' insurance policies, allowing them to view key data about their policies or make changes to it with the mobile device. With the creation of iFWD, the group has emerged as the market leader in direct sales of life insurance products through digital platforms in Hong Kong. Statistics show that iFWD generated more than HK$140 million in annual premium equivalent (APE) last year. For general insurance, the platform raked in more than HK$5 million in new business premiums with over 40,000 policies underwritten. FWD saw the value of its new businesses grow by 44 percent in 2016 to HK$1.13 billion, compared with the previous year, while the APE posted 36-percent growth to HK$2.63 billion. However, FWD is not the only insurance company that has gone digital. Major competitors like pan-Asian life insurance group AIA, Paris-based AXA and Prudential have embraced insurtech. Cultural difference So, what makes FWD different from its peers? Wong believes it's the company's culture. "The key part is to create a culture that aligns with our strategies. For us, we encourage our employees to be different and innovative. We want them to feel fulfilled when making people's lives a lot easier by using digital tools, so they'll be keen to push through these strategies. We also advocate a win-win environment, with everyone in the company working and succeeding together." Wong says FWD had set out as a pan-Asia insurer and its goal is to cover most Asian countries. "So, any country with a big population will be among our top choices." To round it up, FWD has applied to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission for a life insurance license and is keeping its fingers crossed that the nod would be forthcoming. Contact the writer at cherrylin@chinadailyhk.com Joint ventures, easing of curbs woo experienced overseas players Hong Kong and overseas companies have upped the stakes in the race for a slice of the Chinese mainland's robust life insurance market, while mainland clients continue flocking to Hong Kong to snap up insurance policies. Industry experts still see great potential for overseas insurers on the mainland despite the tightening of licensing regulations by the country's insurance watchdog. AIA Central stands among some of the city's prominent skyscrapers in Hong Kong's Central business district. Hong Kong's insurance sector is calling for deeper integration with the Chinese mainland to win access to the less-developed mainland market, which is one of the largest insurance markets in the world and may exceed $46 trillion by 2020. Xaume Olleros / Bloomberg FWD Hong Kong - the insurance arm of Pacific Century Group chaired by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's younger son Richard Li Tzar-kai - has applied to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) for a life insurance license and is keeping its fingers crossed that the nod would be forthcoming. The company believes its plan to tap the mainland market conforms with the State Council's blueprint for promoting the development of diversified health insurance and innovative endowment, and aims to start operating there by specializing in online health insurance products and services. "The mainland authorities have come up with a list of requirements that we need to fulfill. One of the key conditions is having a representative office up and running there for two years prior to winning a license. That's a reason why we didn't apply for the license earlier. As a young company, we need to wait for some time until our Shanghai office can satisfy such a requirement," David Wong Tai-wai, chief executive officer of FWD Life Insurance, told China Daily. But, how long it would take is still up in the air, he admitted. "As far as we know, there're more than 200 companies queuing up for licenses, but no one knows how long it will take before approval can be obtained. We hope to get the license within two years," Wong said. The CIRC issued new rules earlier this year to regulate the operations of insurance companies on the mainland, with a higher market entry threshold for Hong Kong's small- and medium-sized insurance companies. Hong Kong insurance sector lawmaker Chan Kin-por said the higher market entry rules will make it more difficult for small- and medium-sized enterprises to open up on the mainland, and only big multinational companies can have access to the mainland market. "Even so, the prospects of entering the mainland market are definitely good for overseas insurers, as an enormous population still lacks insurance protection," he said. According to official statistics, the Chinese mainland is one of the largest insurance markets in the world, with its current "protection gap" at an estimated $18 trillion and which may exceed $46 trillion by 2020. The CIRC has also lowered the maximum shareholding in insurers to 33 percent from 51 percent since January this year, which means overseas insurers would have to find two partners instead of one before they can start operating. "With the new regulations coming into effect, the number of players in the market will be reduced," said Eunice Tan, director of financial services ratings at S&P Global Ratings. She noted that many Hong Kong-related insurance companies have already entered the mainland market but, globally, overseas companies have mixed views on the mainland thrust. "Of course, the opportunities in China are very large, but Sino-foreign joint ventures only account for a small part of the insurance market, with premiums growing in singular digits each year, which means foreign players in China don't find it very profitable," Tan said, stressing that mainland customers prefer to buy local brands they are familiar with, such as China Life. Thus, she said, the market for joint ventures is not growing as fast as that of local companies. However, from the mainland's point of view, she said joint ventures are good for the country as experienced overseas partners can bring its advanced risk management and asset management strategies in joint ventures with their mainland counterparts. Hong Kong's insurance sector has been calling for deeper integration with mainland for a long time. The good news is the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance in Hong Kong and the CIRC signed the Equivalence Assessment Framework Agreement on Solvency Regulatory Regime in Beijing in May to conduct equivalence assessment on the insurance solvency regulatory regimes of the mainland and Hong Kong. The CIRC will introduce preferential policies on the Hong Kong insurance sector based on the equivalence assessment. Under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and the mainland, Hong Kong insurance companies are allowed to enter the mainland market through strategic mergers with a mainland company, subject to various conditions, such as the group holding total assets exceeding $5 billion; more than 30 years' establishment experience attributable to one of the Hong Kong companies in the group; and one of the SAR enterprises having a representative office on the mainland for more than two years. To date, several insurance pioneer companies have been licensed to do business on the mainland. Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corporation teamed up with Sinochem Finance Co Ltd 20 years ago to form Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance; while Hong Kong-based Convoy was the first to obtain the mainland's National Insurance Agent License in 2013. Three years later, Prudential partnered with CITIC to form the CITIC-Prudential Life Insurance Company, strengthening its footprint across the country. He Xiaofeng, head of the CIRC's development and reform department, warned earlier this year the regulator needs to prevent the resurgence of overheating problems in the insurance sector. "We're worried that once the market opens up, everyone will apply for a license. But, cultivating talent cannot catch up with the speedy development. This kind of expansion is worthless," he said. The CIRC is being guided by three overriding principles in granting licenses. Preference is given to institutions that operate in line with key national policies, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and free trade zones; those with a regional balance that will get due consideration, with favor given to companies supporting the development of the middle and western parts of the country; and companies focusing on professional innovation and development which will be issued with licenses that are in short supply, such as for setting up captive insurance and reinsurance companies, as well as asset management business. cherrylin@chinadailyhk.com Asset investment guru Chen Shuang's gamble has paid off. He tells Evelyn Yu the overseas unit of mainland conglomerate Everbright Group has now found itself synonymous with the trade. Chen Shuang, chief executive of Hong Kong-based China Everbright Ltd (CEL) - the overseas arm of Chinese mainland conglomerate China Everbright Group - has had his company's unique features at his fingertips. His strategy has been to get the company shifted to asset management, and the approach has been progressing well under his stewardship for the past decade as its business model evolved over the years, having started off with brokerage and investment banking. CEL itself is a market-oriented State-owned company that knows China well and is a polished brand to both foreign and domestic investors. Chen has steered the diversified financial group, which came into being in 1997 on the periphery of the city's return to the motherland, into a flagship mainland-funded finance company that has been synonymous with direct investments, asset management, investment banking and brokerage services in China. CEL is the subsidiary of State-owned conglomerate Everbright Group - a pioneer in the country's overseas investment program. Everbright Group's history could be traced back to the 1980s when the central government launched an ambitious overseas investment drive with the emergence of two major groups - CITIC Group established in 1979 by Rong Yiren, former vice-president of the People's Republic of China, and China Everbright Group which was founded in Hong Kong in 1983. Chen notes that brokerage services have remained the major business of the mainland's securities houses and are prone to volatility in the stock market, while investment banking is not highly profitable, with foreign investment banks dominating the Hong Kong market. The evolvement saw CEL's direct operating businesses - fund management and investment - shot up 509 percent year-on-year to HK$2.74 billion in 2016. But, due to a decline in returns for its two strategic investments - a 71-percent drop in profit share from Everbright Securities and 3 percent down from China Everbright Bank - CEL posted a 21-percent fall in profit attributable to shareholders of HK$4.07 billion compared with a year ago. Strong appetite Chen reveals that he has been trying to convince the group to sell off those two sectors, but no time frame has been set. He sees opportunities abound in cross-boundary asset management. "In 2008, China became the center of attention in the global economy as it was among the few countries that were mildly hit by the global financial crisis. The renminbi was on its upward track and the demand of foreign investors to invest in China surged. We saw the opportunity and touted the company as an expert in investments in China." Today, despite the renminbi's depreciation, domestic investors' appetite for overseas investment is strong, and Chen sees cross-boundary asset management and investment as holding great promise. CEL manages a portfolio of private equity funds, venture capital funds, sector focus funds, mezzanine funds, hedge funds and principal investment funds that invest in such fields as healthcare, manufacturing, aircraft leasing, real estate, technology, media, and telecommunications. As of 2016, CEL had held 36 funds, 105 primary market post-investment management projects and 15 secondary market portfolios. The fund management business's total fundraising amount soared nearly 80 percent from 2015 to HK$87.5 billion. Chen is confident that most of the invested projects have reached their expected rate of return, while some existing projects have been rewarded with excessive returns. "In 2008, when we acquired the real estate private equity firm from Lehman Brothers, which is today's EBA Investments, it only cost us $850,000. Last year, we sold a 51-percent stake to Jiabao Group for 1.5 billion yuan ($220 million)," Chen tells China Daily. He believes EBA's total returns would exceed 4 billion yuan in the event of a full exit. Going with the trend Chen's investment philosophy is to "ride on the momentum rather than against it", saying he's not a short-term investor seeking overnight riches, but is carefully looking for sectors and assets that blend with the trend of society. "Many private enterprises think they should invest in banks in secondary markets. I wouldn't recommend that because banking is on the downturn. As the country furthers its structural reform, banks are digesting a high level of bad loans, thus dampening their profits. Recent years have seen banks aggressively expand their off-balance sheet assets for profit, but the financial deleveraging and downsizing of balance sheets only serve to pile pressure on them," he notes. Some of his strategic investments, however, have been questioned in the first place. Last year, CEL completed the acquisition of a 100-percent stake in Tirana International Airport in Albania. "People asked me why I bought an airport in Albania, which is one of the most undeveloped countries in Europe. The fact is that Tirana is the only international airport in Albania and the return has been high and stable over the years. Chinese investors are craving for high returns from overseas assets. I find it's very easy for me to complete the airport's asset securitization." Looking ahead, aircraft leasing, investment in Israel and the issuance of dollar products in overseas markets will form just a fraction of Chen's ambitions. In retrospect, like many Chinese-funded finance houses, Chen said CEL was a small firm that "didn't have the confidence to compete with foreign investment banks" when it set foot in Hong Kong in 1997. As Hong Kong celebrates the 20th anniversary of the handover, Chen is glad to see many mainland finance firms going out and keeping pace with their overseas competitors. "We're growing by leaps and bounds." Contact the writer at evelyn@chinadailyhk.com HKEx Chief Executive Charles Li Xiaojia's proposal to introduce a third board has been given the cold shoulder by Hong Kong's securities watchdog. A third board, however, may help startup entrepreneurs quench their thirst for capital. Provided To China Daily Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx), which holds the monopoly to operate the city's stock exchange, has proposed creating a third board for technology startups that do not qualify to be listed on either the main board or the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM). HKEx Chief Executive Charles Li Xiaojia described potential third board candidates as startups with zero track records and owned by entrepreneurs who're like "mountain climbers striving to reach the highest peak", according to a newspaper report. "How can Hong Kong help people on that path to Mount Everest? Hong Kong needs to do something because it's a long, hard, lonely road," he said. Li is asking a lot from Hong Kong people who are more attuned to investing in real estate. Of course, there's no shortage of local and foreign speculators in the stock market. But, they are punters who cannot be counted on to provide long-term funds needed to nurture a new industry. Noting the murky role of the GEM, regulators are known to have reservations about the idea of a third board. Early last year, Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Chairman Carlson Tong Ka-shing was quoted as saying that the GEM's role should be clarified before a third board can be discussed to avoid a potential overlapping of functions. A third board could seriously tax the SFC's resources that are already stretched to the limit, arising from controversies surrounding the buying and selling of shell companies and other irregularities. Without adequate supervision and vigorous enforcement, a third board could be used by unscrupulous parties to lure unwary investors with promises of unrealistically high returns. It's widely recognized that the difficulties in securing funding are a major stumbling block that inhibits the development of Hong Kong's technology industry. A third board can potentially help startup entrepreneurs raise the capital needed. But, extra care must be taken to prevent the board from being turned into an unruly casino that can cause irreparable damage to the SAR's reputation as an international financial center. Despite the renminbi's depreciation, asset investment executive Chen Shuang says Chinese mainland investors' appetite for overseas investment is strong, and he sees cross-boundary asset management and investment as holding great promise. Parker Zheng / China Daily Striking a chord with the motto of China Everbright Ltd (CEL) - Making Wealth Simple - Chief Executive Officer Chen Shuang has clung to the "simplicity" philosophy that has guided him at the company's helm for the past decade. Hailing from a humble family background in a village in Nantong, Jiangsu province, Chen recalls that his carefree childhood days, when he would clamber up trees wrenching eggs from birds' nests, have had a far-reaching impact on his career. He says his tenet of leadership is to keep simple politics. He maintains a high degree of transparency in the company, and the last thing he wants to see is an employee walking into his office with a "tip-off". Staff members, he says, have to be simple, happy and well-motivated. Growing up in an impoverished environment has taught Chen how to keep striving for personal advancement and be always on the lookout for opportunities to move up the value chain. When he began his stint as the head of CEL in 2007, he was candid that the company had the "staleness" of a typical State-owned unit. It was cozily living on revenues generated each year by Everbright Securities and Everbright Bank - money that could just keep the company afloat. Chen introduced drastic reforms in 2011, with the sale of a 51-percent stake in Everbright Securities (International) to Everbright Securities. The company has been aggressively looking for new opportunities to expand. Employee co-investing was also adopted to enhance alignment of interest between employees and CEL. Chen believes this would ultimately motivate his staff and effectively bring down investment risks. Citing the Chinese saying "breaking the caldron to sink the boat", he says it's necessary to go through self-imposed hardships so as to gain the strength to move ahead. evelyn@chinadailyhk.com Song Sio-chong points out that the SAR has never had separate legs of authority, as in the United States, or a supreme parliament, as in the United Kingdom The question of whether the political structure of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is executive-led or features a form of separation of powers is often raised. Laymen can easily mistake the existence of three (or more) branches of government with checks and balances as the practice of separation of powers. But the fact is almost all nations have three (legislative, executive and judicial) branches of government at both the national and local levels. Can all of them be classified as having a political structure of "separation of powers"? The answer is a definite "no". Take the United Kingdom for example; its parliament enjoys supremacy over the other two branches of government. Meanwhile Hong Kong's political structure features an executive-led government, which is different from the practice of separation of powers. What are the ingredients of separation of powers? For political scientists or constitutional scholars, the United States' system features a typical separation of powers. The separation doctrine dictates that the legislative, executive and judicial powers are purposely kept apart; they must have coequal status; the functions and powers of one branch cannot be mingled with those of the other branches; the members or officials of one branch cannot hold a concurrent post in another branch; and mutual checks and balances are obviously conducted. Most importantly, there are no supervisory powers above the said three branches of the government that have equal ranking. Only when all these requirements are met can a system be described as having a political structure of separation of powers, as the jargon truly implies. Judging from these criteria, one may realize the UK does not practice that kind of system for its parliament is supreme over the executive and the judiciary and its cabinet members must be selected from members of either parliament or the House of Lords by convention. Before establishment of the Supreme Court early in this century the highest court was the House of Lords, or upper chamber of the legislature. Therefore, the British political structure is called "supremacy of parliament" rather than "separation of powers". It can be easily observed that Hong Kong practices neither separation of power like the US nor parliament supremacy like the UK. For instance, the central government authorities are there to exercise a supervisory role as stipulated in various articles of the Basic Law, the relationship between the central government and the SAR is complicated and totally different from those between different branches of government in the US and UK. As given in the Basic Law, the powers of the Chief Executive are much higher than those of the Legislative Council and judiciary - another arrangement different from the coequal status of the US president or the status of the UK prime minister, whose public policies can be vetoed by parliament. Hong Kong's political structure could only be described as "executive-led"; and any other term will be a misnomer. A further question is why some people keep suggesting Hong Kong's executive-led system should be replaced by a form of separation of powers. The motive of such attempts may be difficult to reckon but it is easy to conclude that such a change in political structure would be detrimental to the "One Country, Two Systems" arrangement for several reasons. Firstly, it would put in doubt China's basic policy regarding Hong Kong, which was elaborated by the Chinese central government in the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Before 1997, Hong Kong had maintained an executive-led government. In the said basic policy, it is promised that "the laws currently in force in Hong Kong will remain basically unchanged". If the executive-led political system of Hong Kong was to be converted into one of "separation of powers", this would be a breach on the part of China in the preservation of the laws, broadly speaking, previously in force in Hong Kong. Secondly, the SAR would cease to be directly under the central government as stipulated in Article 12 of the Basic Law. As mentioned above, there are no supervisory powers above the three branches of government under a "separation of powers" system whereas such supervision is mandated by the Basic Law. A shift to that kind of political system would be in effect a blatant rejection of the central government's role under the Basic Law. Thirdly, the legislative and judicial branches of the SAR government would demand more and higher powers than those given in the Basic Law. Since 1997, we have witnessed a broadening of their functions and powers, intruding on the domain of the Chief Executive and the executive branches of the government, and weakening the function and powers of the executive-led government. And finally, friction and chaos would happen in the political system as upper structures cannot match the economic base of the SAR. Economic development would be hindered, public policies would be unduly derailed by judicial reviews and budgets would be delayed or even disrupted by filibusters or other irrational behaviors in LegCo. Maintaining the system of executive-led government is the only way to ensure the smooth operation of the SAR government. Hong Kong will soon commemorate the 20th anniversary of the reversion of its sovereignty from Britain back to China. Over the past 20 years the special administrative region has ridden the rough tides of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2003 SARS epidemic, the 2003 demonstrations against Article 23 legislation, the 2012 protest against national education and the 2014 "Occupy Central". But it manages to emerge from all these challenges unscathed. Chief Executive-designate Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, respected for her administrative efficiency, will be sworn in on July 1 to become the city's first female Chief Executive. She has prioritized the tackling of livelihood issues and is determined to show the world that this once-colonized city can continue its transformation into a dynamic powerhouse. On top of her agenda is Hong Kong's uphill battle for more affordable housing as the city continues to be one of the most expensive property markets in the world; the unaffordability of housing has become not just one of the most intractable livelihood issues, but a very contentious political controversy as well. It is therefore imperative to conduct feasibility studies of building housing on the peripheries of country parks and fallow land. Let us hope that Lam will not be deterred by the myriad obstacles which bedeviled her predecessors in this vital endeavor, and is willing to think outside the box and implement bold measures to achieve this socially harmonizing objective of affordable homes for all. But housing is by no means the only critical issue she needs to deal with. There are at least three others that require her close personal attention. First, she must cultivate among all Hong Kong people a more accurate understanding of the subtleties and importance of the "One Country, Two Systems" concept which guarantees our security. This is a very significant benefit. At the same time, Hong Kong people should understand that the high degree of autonomy promised them is not equal to a license to do anything they please without regard for the integrity of the nation as a whole. Those activists pursuing separatism should be made to understand that they need not take such extreme measures to maintain Hong Kong's uniqueness. As Professor Wang Zhenmin, the legal affairs chief of the central government's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, has made plain: "The state has no intention to mainlandize Hong Kong, otherwise Hong Kong will lose its value." Next, Hong Kong should take on a constructive role in international relations to help champion China's commitment to globalization and a peaceful rise, especially now that the city is a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Meanwhile, Hong Kong's perennial competitor Singapore is threatening to eat our lunch. At present, many Chinese mainland banks are already issuing bonds connected with the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative in Singapore to finance projects, and about 60 percent of Association of Southeast Asian Nations infrastructure projects are financed mainly through banks in Singapore. The B&R is a multi-billion dollar initiative aimed at linking Asia with Europe and Africa, and the countries in between with a view to symbiotic and coordinated development of all participating countries and regions. However, given the backing of "One Country", and the flexibility of "Two Systems", along with Hong Kong's well-developed, robust and liquid financial markets and abundance of top professionals with global vision and experience, we should do better than any other participant in exploiting the opportunities arising from this initiative. The recent Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing was a milestone in turning the B&R vision into reality. Recently Hong Kong played host to three Asian national leaders from Indonesia, the Philippines and Pakistan - a clear indication that the city remains a major player on many levels. It therefore must leverage its many advantages in expanding its trading network with the developing markets. Last but not least, Hong Kong should recognize the huge benefits of integrating with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong still leads bay area cities in terms of its banking and financial services. Macao boasts a flourishing tourism industry while Shenzhen is home to the world's highest concentration of hardware engineers. China's equivalent of Silicon Valley also exudes the most active science and technology culture and has the strongest and most flexible manufacturing capacity. In a year or two, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, and the Humen Second Bridge will be completed to dramatically improve transport connections between the west bank of the Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong. Bay area development will spawn untold opportunities for all stakeholders. Their increasing economic cooperation and infrastructure development will soon make the "one-hour living circle" catchphrase a reality. By then, Hong Kong people should better appreciate the importance and benefits of respecting "One Country" in spirit and practice. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has been playing a strategic role as a pioneer and trend-setter for the country over the past 20 years since the handover, said Henry Tang Ying-yen, who held several top government positions during that period. Hong Kong had organized a number of important international meetings since 1997, he remembered. This fully reflected Hong Kong's key role under "One Country, Two Systems", making the best of the city's position as a trend-setter and allowing the mainland to share Hong Kong's experience. "That included the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meeting which was held in Hong Kong in September 1997, World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference 2005 and International Telecommunications Union conference in 2006, with the hosting rights of the latter two events being negotiated by me while I was financial secretary," he recalled. Tang said hosting major international conferences offered the nation invaluable opportunities. "Every time the international conferences were held here, they sent a big delegation to Hong Kong to watch and share our experience," added Tang. He noted that this was before the Chinese mainland hosted the 2008 Olympic Games and 2010 World Expo. "Hong Kong also played the pioneer role in other cross-boundary projects, including Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and the mainland, Individual Visit Scheme and offshore yuan services, enjoying the unique advantages of 'Two Systems' under the 'One Country' arrangement." According to World Trade Organization, Hong Kong ranked the seventh among leading world traders in 2016, accounting for 3.3 percent of total value of global trade, trailing after the top three players - the US, the Chinese mainland and Germany. joseph@chinadailyhk.com Some 20 members of Taiwan's legislature on Monday formed an alliance supposedly to support "calls for democracy" in Hong Kong. The new group's leader is Huang Kuo-chang, chairman of the pro-independence New Power Party (NPP) and some members are from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Both NPP and DPP are well-known supporters of "Taiwan independence" but did not use the sensitive word in their public announcement of the new group, apparently to avoid creating another controversy both in Taiwan and Hong Kong, because a few poster boys from Hong Kong's opposition camp were on hand to pledge solidarity with their hosts. It should be noted that this kind of collusion between separatist politicians in Hong Kong and Taiwan has been going on for quite some time now but became more frequent after the illegal "Occupy Central" movement in fall 2014, which can be seen as a copy of the Sunflower Student Movement in Taiwan about half a year earlier. Their painstaking efforts not to mention the word "independence" and focus on "democracy" instead this time only makes them sound even phonier than they already are, because both sides favor separatism at home. The separatists from Hong Kong are open advocates of "self-determination", which includes independence as an option. They are Legislative Council members Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Eddie Chu Hoi-dick and Raymond Chan Chi-chuen, and student activists Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Alex Chow Yong-kang. All of them are leading figures in the radical factions of the opposition camp and played key roles in "Occupy Central". They have been taking cover under the guise of "localism" or "nativism". Now their separatist intent has only become more pronounced by joining forces with their Taiwan counterparts. Members of Hong Kong society must remain vigilant against separatist attempts no matter what disguise they use, such as "self-determination" and even "true democracy", which merely serve as excuses or pave the way for further steps toward "independence". The majority of Hong Kong people fully know separatism is a dead end. Such advocacy could only derail the smooth implementation of "One Country, Two Systems", undermining the city's prosperity and stability to the detriment of society's overall interests. But young people, particularly students - who are intrinsically idealistic and impulsive - are vulnerable to separatist notions and campaigns, which are often wrapped with layers of romantic idealism. Schools therefore have a significant role to play in equipping young students with the ability to discern and resist those pernicious ideas. Tighter collaboration between Hong Kong separatists and their peers in Taiwan once again reminds society that the move to enact national security legislation according to Article 23 of the Basic Law has taken on added urgency. Zhou Bajun points out that legal systems are not oil and water - Shanghai could still become a financial colossus Some people say Hong Kong can become a global financial center while Shanghai cannot, because the former practices the common law system - along with the two existing international financial centers New York and London - whereas Shanghai exercises the continental law system. Indeed the current global financial market system was born and raised in Great Britain and the United States. The US financial system is derived from the United Kingdom version and Hong Kong became a regional financial center in Asia under British rule. Thus the opinion mentioned above should make some sense. However, just as no civilization in human history developed without opening up to ideas from another civilization and improving upon them one way or another, the two dominant law systems of the world - the common law and continental law systems - have never been like oil and water either. In fact, the two legal systems have borrowed from each other and become inter-complementary. Take the relationship between the legal systems of the mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as an example. The mainland's land system reform has borrowed from Hong Kong's land system; the mainland's stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen also follow a set of laws and regulations modeled after the one adopted by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; the Basic Law of the HKSAR and local laws all follow the Constitution of the People's Republic of China; in the Basic Law almost all articles and appendixes contain the offspring of the marriage between two legal systems; and, from constitutional law to civil law and corporate law, both the HKSAR and main body of the nation have shown the two legal systems can merge with or borrow from each other when necessary. Therefore, one should not overestimate the effect the two different legal systems have on Hong Kong and Shanghai's efforts to become the next global financial center in the 21st century. I have argued in multiple commentaries published in this newspaper that Hong Kong should have what it takes to become a global financial center ahead of Shanghai as long as it handles the "physical boundary" (immigration control) and "virtual boundary" (ideological difference) with the mainland as well as the relationship between the HK dollar and yuan well. Even if for some reason or reasons Hong Kong could not become a global financial center whereas Shanghai becomes one, its rare reputation as the freest and most open economy in the world would allow it to play the indispensable role of a vital pressure valve for the safety of Shanghai - the new international financial center - and even of the nation's finances and economy. Given the complexity and unpredictability of the ongoing profound realignment of the global financial, economic and political dynamics, it is impossible for Shanghai to become as free and open a regional international financial center in the foreseeable future as Hong Kong already is, because there is no way the yuan can be as freely convertible as the HK dollar is. Thus, when much of the yuan business happens in Shanghai - the new international financial center - Hong Kong's offshore yuan business can still find some room to grow, thanks to its free market and openness to Western economies. That scenario may remind people of the days when a lot of greenbacks were kept in London-based banks and often referred to as "European dollars" before the US Federal Reserve lifted Regulation Q on US banks' dollar deposits. Hong Kong's financial market should maintain its existing ties with the present international financial system led by the US and Britain and remain open to Western economies on the one hand, and join the new financial culture and system advocated by emerging economies led by China. On May 14 President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. In the speech he emphasized: "Finance is the lifeblood of the modern economy. Only when the blood circulates smoothly can one grow. We should establish a stable and sustainable financial safeguard system that keeps risks under control, create new models of investment and financing, encourage greater cooperation between government and private capital and build a diversified financing system and a multi-tiered capital market. We should also develop inclusive finance and improve financial services networks." It means China wants to motivate the international community to build a financial culture and system that not only retains some characteristics of the existing financial system led by the US and Britain but also reflects the new characteristics resulting from the changing times. It is an important move in deference to the eastward shift of the global economy and the need to push forward the global governance system reform. Hong Kong's financial market should avoid, as best it can, intertwining with the property market and stimulating the latter's tendency to generate bubbles. Instead Hong Kong's financial industry should use its wisdom to promote global financial system reform and provide quality services to the real economies of the countries and regions along the Belt and Road. If Hong Kong keeps its strengths in financial services over Shanghai it will no doubt enjoy a head start in becoming the next global financial center. China commended the clarification Uganda made on Wednesday, in which the African country's Foreign Ministry said that Chinese diplomats were not involved in ivory smuggling and that the Ugandan government is committed to strengthening ties with China. According to previous media reports, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ordered an investigation into the country's Wildlife Authority and two "Chinese diplomats" for alleged collusion in ivory smuggling. However, the Ugandan Foreign Ministry, said in a statement issued on Monday that it has confirmed, "following a thorough review of its records", that the two Chinese named "are not accredited diplomats" of the Chinese embassy in Uganda. [Photo provided to China Daily] The latest Transformers film will release in China soon after its North America debut, and there are hopes it could do exceedingly well in the country. Xu Fan reports in Guangzhou. On the big screen, Transformers star Josh Duhamel is a US military hero. But in Guangzhou, the capital city of South China's Guangdong province, his biggest "enemy" is the hot, humid summer. On a 60-meter-long red carpet, the American actor with director Michael Bay and actresses Isabela Moner and Laura Haddock linger for nearly an hour to sign posters and pose for pictures with screaming fans. They are soon sweaty and Duhamel wishes for rain. His prayers are answered. Then, on the outdoor stage of the city's landmark Hanxinsha Asian Games Stadium, the Hollywood celebrities sit under umbrellas and share details about the upcoming Transformers: The Last Knight, a Paramount Pictures movie. The fifth installment of the Transformers franchisewhich was launched in 2007will release on the Chinese mainland on June 23, two days after its North America debut. Meanwhile, despite its slightly delayed release in China, the country is the first stop on the film's global promotion campaign. Li Weiyi and her documentary's producer Yi Feng at the film's premiere ceremony in Beijing. Photos provided to China Daily Li Weiyi, who returns a young wolf to nature in southwestern China's vast grasslands, will see her story hit the big screens on Friday. Return to the Wolves, a documentary about Li and her wolf cub, recently toured 17 Chinese cities for test screenings, and will be released in mainland theaters on Friday. As a freelance painter based in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, Li was in the picturesque Zoige grassland in the northwestern province in April 2010. There, she heard a story about a wolf family from the locals. The male wolf bit off his own claw to flee from a trap but was killed by some herdsmen, and the female deliberately ate a poisoned bait to kill herself, leaving behind six cubs, born merely a couple of weeks earlier. Li discovered the only surviving cub, bringing him back to Chengdu and naming him Green. But city life was not suitable for the cub, and Green also yearned for more space and freedom. Li released him into the wild, returning him to the Zoige grassland in February 2011. She wrote a book about the cub titled Return to the Wolf Pack, and the initial print run of 200,000 copies sold out in three months after its launch in July 2012. Winners of this year's Vision Youth Awards include My Grandparents, a documentary about a couple's 50-year-long married life. Photos provided to China Daily This year's Vision Youth Awards honor short films and documentaries on important topics made by Chinese students. Xu Fan reports. A man who is in his 50s and has cancer uses the last three months of his life to prepare his wife for his approaching death. This is the gist of a 29-minute film, titled Before We Part, which is based on the real-life story of Han Jiawen's grandparents. Han is about to complete his degree in direction from Shanghai Theater Academy. Earlier this month, the film won the best picture prize of the Vision Youth Awards 2017. The annual event is jointly held by China Association of Higher Education and the Communication University of China, encouraging college students to share their views of life and the world through cinema. Eight other movies and documentaries also won at the event this year. Since it was launched in 2003, the event has risen from being a campus activity to a platform for cultural exchanges, says Hu Fang, the head organizer and professor at the university. Tableware designs shown at the exhibition in Paris and Brussels. [Photo/Chinaculture.org] An exhibition featuring traditional Chinese tableware designs was held in the China Cultural Centers in Paris and Brussels in May and June. The showpieces, divided into 15 groups, were displayed along with the documents, pictures and videos about food culture in provinces along the Silk Road. Made by traditional Chinese crafts and modern digital engraving technique, the designs combined traditional and modern materials, and presented a new look of the old culture. These designs were previously showed at the EXPO 2015 in Milan and Venice. [Photo provided to China Daily] Electronic beauty devices might still be a relatively new thing in China, but sales have been picking up in recent years. As they become the latest sensation in the market, Clarisonic, one of the pioneers in the field, recently introduced its new offering Smart Profile Uplift to Chinese consumers. The product is based on nine years of research done by L'Oreal's research and innovation center in collaboration with the Mechanobiology Institute and the Institute of Medical Biology in Singapore, the Institut Langevin and the Denis Diderot University in Paris. It combines a patented sonic frequency with a cleansing brush head and a silicon massage head, which is said to have skin firming and uplifting benefits. L'Oreal says that it takes about 12 weeks to see the difference. Initially launched in the United States and designed for Caucasian skin, the product has taken different features like varying brush heads to cater to different skin types, says Robb Akridge, co-founder of the brand, who was trained in immunology. With only five engineers and scientists, the label started with facial beauty devices with a unique frequency for opening and cleaning the pores. It soon become popular after Oprah Winfrey recommended it on her show in 2007. After being bought by the French cosmetic giant L'Oreal in 2011, the brand has developed internationally. It now holds more than 40 patents from the handle, the material, the color and the motor. "When you want the brand to be global, you need different resources and distribution. The main thing is to get the product all over the world, which L'Oreal is very good at, no matter if it's a lipstick or a shampoo," says Akridge. The US remains the biggest market for the company, followed by Western European countries, Japan and South Korea. China is catching up fast as people's awareness of sonic beauty devices has been rising, says Akridge. "The Chinese market is so dynamic and it's growing so fast. There are now different ways to reach people. We need to raise awareness and give people an easy way to purchase it." Akridge says the company will continue to extend the product line, exploring new frequencies and science technologies. Black ink spaghetti with sea urchins ricotta [Photo provided to China Daily] He really likes simple and homemade dishes. His favorite ingredients are aromatic beet tops, tomatoes, citrus fruit and spices. He loves Mediterranean fish and French patisserie, and says he cannot resist the temptation to taste and buy new cheese, whether Italian or imported. Sicilian chef Vincenzo Candiano says his culinary consultants are his grandmother and his aunt -- but one suspects there have been other inspirations, too, if the dishes he's preparing this week in Beijing are a clue. The chef of Locanda Don Serafino since 2002, and his kitchen artistry earned the restaurant its first Michelin star in 2007 and a second star in 2013. Through Friday night, he's teaming up with head chef Fabio Nompleggio at Cepe, the Italian restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Financial Street, for a series of set menus starting from a three-course lunch menu 588 yuan per person to an eight-course feast available only at dinner (1,088 yuan). A gala dinner finale on June 16 (eight courses including beverage and welcome canapes) is 1,588 yuan. Through June 16, Cepe at the Ritz-Carlton, 1 Jinchengfang Street, East Financial Street, Xicheng district; 010-6629-6996. Wuxi entrepreneur a model ambassador for China-Germany ties 2017-06-15 08:39:57 chinadaily.com.cn Cao Kebo, a Wuxi entrepreneur, has been striving to forge business partnerships with German companies for years. When Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Germany earlier this month to highlight key cooperative efforts around technology and innovation, he was joined by a group of business executives among which was Cao Kebo, a Wuxi entrepreneur who for years has striven to forge business partnerships with German companies. As president and CEO of Wuxi-based Jiangnan Mold & Plastic Technology Co., Cao was invited to speak at a bilateral forum on innovation and cooperation which was attended by both Chinese Premier Li and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in Berlin on June 1. Cao took the opportunity to describe the business relationship between his company and German auto giant BMW. Although Cao's company may not have drawn the attention of China's big hitters such as Alibaba or Huawei, with over 20 years of experience in Sino-German relations the auto-related company certain holds authority when it comes to understanding the importance of such a cooperative endeavor. Born in 1969, Cao started work at 18 before spending 15 years studying in Germany. The experience gave him a deep understanding of the country's auto industry and allowed him to forge a successful business venture that can boast an annual output volume that exceeds 3 million. Cao believes investing enterprises should also bear a social responsibility and consequently initiated the Dusseldorf China Center in 2005, which acts a cultural bridge of exchange between the two countries. Upon Merkel's visit to Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, two years later, the pair met and discussed the progress of the project. In recent years, Cao has remained on hand during negotiations between the two sides and in 2014 he was met by President Xi Jinping who expressed his appreciation for the positive role Cao continues to play in the economic and cultural exchanges between two nations. "The friendly exchange between China and Germany has really ushered in a new era," Cao noted before expressing his feeling of fortune at having met President Xi and Premier Li in just the same year. In 2015, Cao made a deal with BMW to set up supporting plants in Mexico and he noted that the president encouraged him to increase investment in a third country along with German counterparts. The partnership has continued to flourish as the mold and plastic technology company promised to set a subsidiary in the US providing auto parts for BMW, an agreement that was fulfilled last year. Apart from the auto business, Cao has also brought top medical resources to China with the establishment of Wuxi Mingci Cardiovascular Hospital, a 100 million project cooperatively launched with German heart clinic Heart and Diabetes Center North Rhine. Currently, as an ambassador of North Rhine-Westphalia, a German province, the entrepreneur has been active on the lecture podium spreading the image of Germany's most populous region from his own perspective, a role he relishes. Taiwan's HK 'collusion' draws rebuke 2017-06-15 06:53:59 China Daily ZHANG YI A spokesman for the Chinese mainland expressed strong opposition on Wednesday to what he said was an attempt by separatists to disturb Hong Kong Speical Administrative Region's stability and prosperity. Mainland says 'independence' factions jeopardizing region's stability, prosperity A spokesman for the Chinese mainland expressed strong opposition on Wednesday to what he said was an attempt by separatists to disturb Hong Kong Speical Administrative Region's stability and prosperity. "We resolutely oppose the collusion between the forces of 'Taiwan independence' and 'Hong Kong independence', as they disturb the implementation of the 'one country, two systems' principle in Hong Kong and jeopardize Hong Kong's prosperity and stability," said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, at a biweekly news briefing. "This conspiracy runs counter to the common aspirations of the people. It will never succeed." According to media reports, some members of Taiwan's "legislative yuan" formed an alliance on Monday purportedly to support "calls for democracy" in Hong Kong. Ma also criticized Taiwan's current Democratic Progressive Party administration for having increasingly stymied cross-Straits communication and cooperation. In response to concerns that the activities of mainland personnel who are in Taiwan for exchanges were being strictly scrutinized and managed by the DPP administration, Ma said the mainland encouraged and supported cross-Straits people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in various fields. "Since May 20 last year, the DPP administration has undermined the political foundation for the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and impeded exchanges and cooperation between compatriots," Ma said. At the briefing, Ma announced that China's top political adviser, Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, will take part in the weeklong 9th Straits Forum, starting on June 17 in Fujian province. Hung Hsiu-chu, chairwoman of the Taiwan-based Kuomintang party, will also attend the event. "This year marks the 30th anniversary since the two sides broke their isolation and started people-to-people exchanges across the Straits," Ma said, adding that "cross-Straits economic and social integration have become the direction for further cooperation". According to Ma, more than 8,000 delegates from Taiwan will take part in the forum. Hung announced on Wednesday that she would resign from all posts in the Kuomintang party at the end of this month. The party's new chairman, Wu Den-yih, was elected on May 20. Xinhua contributed to this story. SCO boosts security, promotes prosperity 2017-06-15 07:06:49 China Daily Shen Dingli President Xi Jinping has wrapped up his state visit to Kazakhstan, where he also attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, lifting the Beijing-Astana partnership to a new level. President Xi Jinping has wrapped up his state visit to Kazakhstan, where he also attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, lifting the Beijing-Astana partnership to a new level. Over the past two decades, China has deemed Kazakhstan as one of its pivotal partners. In its neighborhood, China has maintained the most stable and constructive relations with Central Asia, building cordial and cooperative partnerships with all the countries in the region. To further this cause, China and Russia helped form the SCO as a pan-Central Asia security organization in which Kazakhstan plays a key role. Kazakhstan is a regional heavyweight not only because of its size, but also as a major shaper of pan-Asian security. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed at the United Nations in 1992 the idea of a "Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)". He conceived it as an Asia-wide security and confidence-building framework, laying the foundation for the present CICA process. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union and founding of Kazakhstan, Astana has envisioned a pan-Asian peace and security institution, which has been welcomed by Beijing and Moscow. China, in return, has accorded Kazakhstan a pivotal status in its foreign policy toward Eurasia. And Xi's three visits to Kazakhstan in four years show the importance China attaches to its crucial neighbor. Over the past 25 years, China and Kazakhstan have forged robust ties to promote common goods. Under the SCO framework, Beijing and Astana have jointly combated terrorism, extremism and radicalism. Of late, the China-Kazakhstan partnership has extended to the economic and energy sectors. China's aggregate investment in Kazakhstan is about $42.8 billion, making the Central Asian country the top destination of Chinese capital along the Silk Road Economic Belt. In addition, China has offered Kazakhstan loans of more than $50 billion to help propel its economic development. The progress of the 51 Sino-Kazakh projects in energy collaboration has brought benefits to both countries. With help from China's financial and technical resources, Kazakhstan has expedited its economic modernization drive and raised the living standards of its people. In return, China has got access to the energy resources that are crucial to its supply-side structural reform. Given China's determination to honor the Paris climate change agreement despite US President Donald Trump withdrawing the United States from the pact, Beijing is more dependent upon the energy supply from Kazakhstan to build a green future. Over the years, China and Kazakhstan have viewed each other as pivot countries. In partnership, they are using the SCO to make Central Asian countries more secure and prosperous. At the Astana summit, the SCO inducted India and Pakistan as new member states, which means the bloc will now cover South Asia. Given the importance of India and Pakistan in the regional and global fight against terrorism, the SCO is now in position to more effectively combat the common threats of terrorism, extremism and radicalism. China and Russia played critical roles in bringing India and Pakistan to the SCO, while Kazakhstan played the role of host country to expand the organization. To some extent, this is to fulfill the mission of CICA, so as to expand cooperative security to large parts of Asia, thanks to the efforts of Kazakhstan and other SCO member states. The mission and attraction of the SCO have prompted India and Pakistan to join the bloc, in order to take forward the common mission of security and prosperity, while making their contributions according to their capacities. Such a quest for widened and enhanced collaboration could be better served by the introduction of Belt and Road Initiative, which facilitates infrastructure connectivity and helps building mutual trust among countries, and is thus committed to promoting Asia's integration. The author is a professor at and associate dean of the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai. China has world's second largest stock of assets 2017-06-16 03:37:10 chinadaily.com.cn Conal Urquhart China has the worlds' second-largest stock of public pension funds, sovereign wealth fund and central bank assets, according to a new report. China has the worlds' second-largest stock of public pension funds, sovereign wealth fund and central bank assets, according to a new report. Such Chinese banks and funds control $4.2 trillion in assets, around 12 percent of the world's total. China is second to the US, which has $6.6 trillion in such assets, around 20 percent of the world's total. China is followed by Japan and the United Arab Emirates. The figures were revealed in the latest edition of Global Public Investor, which tracks the behavior of public pension and sovereign funds and central banks. The book is published by OMFIF, a think tank based in London and Singapore. The report found that an improving world economy boosted public pension fund, sovereign wealth fund and central bank assets to $33.5 trillion by the end of 2016. Pension funds grew by $435 billion, and sovereign wealth funds by $143 billion. Central banks' assets declined by $103 billion. The People's Bank of China has the most assets ($3.097 trillion) with Japan's Government Pension Fund in second ($1.334 trillion). China Investment Corporation is in sixth place with $813 billion in assets. conal@mail.chinadailyuk.com Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping has wrapped up his state visit to Kazakhstan, where he also attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, lifting the Beijing-Astana partnership to a new level. Over the past two decades, China has deemed Kazakhstan as one of its pivotal partners. In its neighborhood, China has maintained the most stable and constructive relations with Central Asia, building cordial and cooperative partnerships with all the countries in the region. To further this cause, China and Russia helped form the SCO as a pan-Central Asia security organization in which Kazakhstan plays a key role. Kazakhstan is a regional heavyweight not only because of its size, but also as a major shaper of pan-Asian security. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed at the United Nations in 1992 the idea of a "Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)". He conceived it as an Asia-wide security and confidence-building framework, laying the foundation for the present CICA process. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union and founding of Kazakhstan, Astana has envisioned a pan-Asian peace and security institution, which has been welcomed by Beijing and Moscow. China, in return, has accorded Kazakhstan a pivotal status in its foreign policy toward Eurasia. And Xi's three visits to Kazakhstan in four years show the importance China attaches to its crucial neighbor. Over the past 25 years, China and Kazakhstan have forged robust ties to promote common goods. Under the SCO framework, Beijing and Astana have jointly combated terrorism, extremism and radicalism. Of late, the China-Kazakhstan partnership has extended to the economic and energy sectors. China's aggregate investment in Kazakhstan is about $42.8 billion, making the Central Asian country the top destination of Chinese capital along the Silk Road Economic Belt. In addition, China has offered Kazakhstan loans of more than $50 billion to help propel its economic development. The progress of the 51 Sino-Kazakh projects in energy collaboration has brought benefits to both countries. With help from China's financial and technical resources, Kazakhstan has expedited its economic modernization drive and raised the living standards of its people. In return, China has got access to the energy resources that are crucial to its supply-side structural reform. Given China's determination to honor the Paris climate change agreement despite US President Donald Trump withdrawing the United States from the pact, Beijing is more dependent upon the energy supply from Kazakhstan to build a green future. Over the years, China and Kazakhstan have viewed each other as pivot countries. In partnership, they are using the SCO to make Central Asian countries more secure and prosperous. At the Astana summit, the SCO inducted India and Pakistan as new member states, which means the bloc will now cover South Asia. Given the importance of India and Pakistan in the regional and global fight against terrorism, the SCO is now in position to more effectively combat the common threats of terrorism, extremism and radicalism. China and Russia played critical roles in bringing India and Pakistan to the SCO, while Kazakhstan played the role of host country to expand the organization. To some extent, this is to fulfill the mission of CICA, so as to expand cooperative security to large parts of Asia, thanks to the efforts of Kazakhstan and other SCO member states. The mission and attraction of the SCO have prompted India and Pakistan to join the bloc, in order to take forward the common mission of security and prosperity, while making their contributions according to their capacities. Such a quest for widened and enhanced collaboration could be better served by the introduction of Belt and Road Initiative, which facilitates infrastructure connectivity and helps building mutual trust among countries, and is thus committed to promoting Asia's integration. The author is a professor at and associate dean of the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai. Premier Li Keqiang shares a light moment with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during a news conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Friday. [Photo/Xinhua] A worrying and dangerous trend has been noticed among media outlets and the political establishment in Australia, which threatens to squander what the country has achieved from its healthy and growing partnership with China. On June 5, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, through one of its programs, accused China of trying to influence the Australian political system, among other means, by prompting Australian businessmen of Chinese origin to make donations to the country's political parties. The lengthy evening showbased on the results of a joint investigation by Four Corners, the ABC's current affairs program, and Australia's Fairfax Mediawas filled with hearsays and speculations, which wouldn't convince an objective and impartial audience. Yet to people's surprise, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull bought into this media farce and asked China to respect the sovereignty of other nations. The Australian leader's attitude shows he has confused right with wrong and ended up fueling anti-China sentiments in his country. In fact, Turnbull had seized the opportunity to address a regional security forum in Singapore last month to criticize China for adopting a new version of the "Monroe Doctrine" to minimize the United States' influence in Asia. Due to these developments, one can easily gauge the magnitude of the current uproar against China in Australiaa rare phenomenon in recent years that could cast a shadow on positive interactions between the two sides. Thanks to the efforts of both sides, Beijing-Canberra ties have progressed smoothly, with the signing of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement two years ago injecting new vitality into trade and opening up new horizons and sectors for cooperation. Yet there is no denying there has been a China-phobic undercurrent in the Australian political system, which forces people to see Chinese presence in Australia, especially the intentions of Chinese companies and investors, with suspicion. In some extreme cases, major business deals have been scrapped simply because Chinese companies were parties to them. One could even say Australia has never treated China as an equal partner, or given it the same status as the US, Britain and Japan. That Chinese investment in Australia is subject to perhaps the most severe scrutiny is just one example of such discriminatory treatment. Had a US businessman donated money to an Australian political party, the issue might not have surprised, let alone raised doubts in, Australian society or media. But when a businessman of Chinese origin donates money to an Australian party, media outlets and the political establishment regard it as highly suspicious and politically motivated. Australia is known for respecting diversity, because without the contributions of immigrants, including those from China, it would not have become a prosperous country. Wild speculations and unfounded accusations will only prevent Australia from benefiting from the Beijing-Canberra partnership. They could also prevent Chinese investors from investing freely and normally in Australia, which the FTA encourages. As a country thousands of miles away from Australia, China has no reason or motivation to seek undue political advantage against Australia. But as Australia's biggest trading partner, China's rising significance for the Australian economy is quite clear. With the Beijing-Canberra FTA continuing to benefit both sides, a rising number of Chinese have begun to see Australia in a more positive way. But such favorable atmosphere cannot be guaranteed in the future if the China-bashing trend continues in Australia. Admittedly, no country other than the US enjoys absolute political influence in Australia. Many Australians would argue the US is Australia's military ally as well as biggest economic partner, meaning US investments in Australia outweigh those from China. Still, they cannot deny China's economic significance for Australia. Australian politicians and media do not need to burn the midnight oil to seek a balance between the country's relationships with the US and China. All they need to do is to develop an unbiased and fair attitude toward China and the wisdom to avoid unnecessary confrontation, which are the basic requirements for a respectable country. The author is a senior writer with China Daily. wanghui@chinadaily.com.cn Taiwan's main opposition Democratic Progressive Party, DPP, Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan,on April 15, 2015. [Photo/IC] About 20 members of Taiwan's "legislative yuan" launched on Monday a "platform" in Taipei designed to connect "pro-democracy" groups in Taiwan with their "allies" in Hong Kong in the name of promoting democracy in both places against "suppression" by Beijing. Not surprisingly five men representing the opposition camp in Hong Kong, including three "pan-democrat" members of the Legislative Council and two leaders of radical student organizations, were on hand to seal the deal, widely seen as a token of defiance to the overwhelming support for national reunification, sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the country. Obviously they did their best to omit any perceivable link to separatist or secessionist ideas in the paperwork for their cross-regional alliance, but people familiar with the political situations in Taiwan and Hong Kong have no problem understanding why they have publicly come together at this juncture. The Taiwan side in this marriage of convenience is led by the New Power Party, which is as "pro-independence" as they come; while the Hong Kong side is well-known for its dubious label of "localist self-determination", which of course embraces "independence". The NPP rode the Sunflower Student Movement of March 2014 to prominence while some of its Hong Kong allies are poster boys of the illegal Occupy Central movement, also known as the "umbrella revolution". But their media stardom came at the expense of their local societies' overall interests, and both camps have been experiencing waning public support lately as a result of their highly divisive and destructive political stunts. The biggest victim of their activities has been democracy itself, as evidenced by the mess that is the "legislative yuan" in Taiwan and non-stop filibustering by opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong just so they can undermine the SAR government at all costs in total disregard to people's well-being. People who believed the Sunflower Movement was all about democracy should have realized by now it was designed to put the "pro-independence" Democratic Progressive Party in power. The DPP got what it wanted, but Taiwan's economy and ultimately the local society are now suffering in its name. Hong Kong, fortunately, has avoided a political disaster like Taiwan's, thanks to the principle of "One Country, Two Systems", but there are groups funded by foreign governments and forces hostile to China trying everything they can to achieve their aim of declaring it at least an independent political entity. They are sacrificing the city's stability and prosperity and residents' well-being for their doomed and selfish cause. Graduates from normal universities in Hunan province interact with their potential employers at a job fair in Hengyang in March. More than 4,000 graduates participated in the event.[Peng Bin/For China Daily] A RECENT SURVEY on the employment of college graduates this year suggests that the employment rate for graduates in Northeast China continues to drop following the annual exodus of local talents. Beijing News commented on Wednesday: The continuing departure of college graduates from Northeast China, which comprises Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces, is a foreseeable result of the area's sluggish growth in recent years. An industrial powerhouse before the 1980s, Northeast China seems stuck in a wretched economic plight accompanied by plummeting GDP growth. In the early 1980s its economy accounted for about 13 percent of the country's GDP, it then dropped to an all-time low of 8.77 percent in 2007 before climbing to 9.45 percent in 2012, thanks to a national strategy implemented in 2003 to revitalize the region. The hoped-for economic recovery, however, did not arrive, as the figure plummeted to just 5.9 percent in 2014. It is therefore no surprise that more college graduates are choosing to start their career elsewhere, although that in turn hurts the already unpromising growth. The economic structure backed by State-owned enterprises is responsible for the dilemma in Northeast China, where the growth of the secondary sector has been higher than that in many other areas. Even in 2010, the year marking Northeast China's best economic performance in recent decades, the growth of the three northeastern provinces' service sectors still lagged behind the growth of the service sector in East and South China. Experience suggests that private enterprises have not only revitalized the economy in the Pearl River and Yangtze River delta regions, but also created scores of jobs. The longevity of the SOE-driven growth in Northeast China and the obsolete recruitment inclinations of many SOEs, mean there are not enough jobs in the region for local graduates. Unlike private employers that offer decent pay to competent job seekers regardless of their "background", SOEs normally do not have competitive incentives for graduates. Revitalizing Northeast China requires local governments to remove the institutional barriers to the market-oriented forces. Police officers make a list of bank cards seized in a telecommunication fraud case in Xuchang, Henan province, in January. NIU YUAN/CHINA DAILY WITHIN A WEEK of a homebuyer in Beijing completing the deal to purchase an apartment in early June, the man reportedly received at least 20 calls from interior decoration companies, as well as about 100 text messages from furniture and electric device shops. These companies knew almost everything about the transaction: His name, the address of his new house, even the exact time of the deal. Beijing News comments: Obviously, someone has leaked the man's information to these companies. According to insiders, sometimes within hours after a buyer purchases a property, details of the deal will be sold to decoration companies and furniture shops. Insiders also revealed the price of the personal information they sell, which ranges from up to 8 yuan ($1.17) a piece to as little as 0.5 yuan. As an indication of the scale of the problem, a suspect on trial in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, was found to have illegally obtained 35 million pieces of personal information, for which he was sentenced to four years in prison. How to curb the illegal buying and selling of personal information? The police might need to strike more precisely to break the profit chain. It should be noted that a majority of the reported suspects who illegally obtain and sell the personal information of others are real estate agents or property salespersons, who sell the information of their clients for profit. But the companies that buy personal information need to be punished, too. In the case of the house purchaser in Beijing, the decoration companies that called him obviously obtained his information via illegal means, but the current laws do not hold them legally accountable. It is therefore necessary to revise the laws so that the buyers of personal information receive their deserved punishments, too. In a modern society, personal information is of great importance, and its being leaked might bring untold troubles to people. It is necessary to let those who profit by selling other people's information pay for their illegal deeds. According to a guideline issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Monday, China has drawn up a two-step overall plan for its future urban and rural community governance. The first step is to basically form an urban and rural community governance system led by grassroots CPC organizations by 2020. By that time China's urban and rural community governance capacity is expected to have remarkably improved, and public services, public management and public security in grassroots communities will be effectively guaranteed. The second step is to form a mature and stable urban and rural community governance system within another five to 10 years, in order to provide strong support to the Party's grassroots governance, and lay a solid foundation for the construction of national governance system. According to the document, the community governance system will also feature public participation. Issues such as the basic role of autonomous organizations, the participation of social groups and the functions of communities are also included in the guideline, which called for increased efforts to resolve disputes within communities. Party congress delegates, legislators, political advisors and CPC members and officials should maintain contact with communities and their residents via proper channels, the guideline states. Photo of the design of the new Capital city of Egypt. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] As usual, I start my daily routine by scanning through the online newspapers from around the globe. Recently, a headline caught my eyes stating that Egypt's dream of getting a new capital moved a step closer to reality with the announcement that the China Fortune Land Development Company (CFLD) agreed to largely fund the megaproject with a grant of $20 billion in addition to another $15 billions commitment from another Chinese state-owned company. As an Egyptian Canadian who is making China his current home, I was ecstatically happy to read about the generosity of spirit of Chinese in their mission of peace to help underdeveloped countries including my birth country, Egypt, to build bright future for their struggling citizens. One may attribute my exultation to the fact that I am a firm believer in the kinship between the two ancient civilizations, China and Egypt. Having the opportunity to experience life in both countries and interact on a daily basis with their distinguished citizens, I have no apprehension in stating that the relationship between Egyptians and Chinese goes deeper beyond friendship and camaraderie. They have soul and spiritual connections. Through history, China was always supportive of Egyptian endeavors and aspirations. It extended its hand of friendship during Egypt's time of chaos and turmoil. It is logical to assume that most Egyptians are eternally grateful for China's support. Consequently, it is perfectly normal that Chinese companies would jump at the chance to participate actively in achieving Egypt's objective of establishing a new capital. It is a well-known fact that the current capital of Egypt is overcrowded and one of the most polluted cities in the world. It has a current population of over 18 millions. Furthermore, it is estimated that the population of Cairo will reach 40 millions by 2050. Its streets cluttered with traffic. Any visitor to Cairo will notice that life in the city has become a tedious and cumbersome challenge. It takes forever to move through the city. One can attribute that to the fact that all government ministries, agencies are situated in the city. All foreign embassies and organizations are located in the city. The Egyptian government selected the corridor between Cairo and the Red Sea as the site for the new capital city. It should be completed within 12 years. The China State Construction Engineering Corporation signed agreement with the Egyptian government to complete the first phase of the megaproject within two years with an initial budget of $45 billions. The new capital city will create many opportunities for the Egyptian youth in the field of sustainable technology. The Egyptian government aspires that the new city will become a center for international collaboration. If the city is completed successfully, the major credit should go to the generous spirit of China for its financial support and technological expertise in accomplishing the megaproject. China's commendable and generous offer to help Egypt in establishing the new capital is an exemplary initiative of the international collaboration in promoting peaceful development. The Establishment of the new capital city is not the only Chinese-Egyptian collaboration. Chinese have been investing in multiple projects in Egypt including the new Suez-Canal and the textile industry. Chinese tourists are helping in the recovery of the tourism industry in Egypt. On behalf of my Egyptian patriots, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the Chinese government and the Chinese people for their generosity of spirit and their willingness to actively participate in the establishment of the new capital city of Egypt with their finance and expertise. I hope that the relation between my birth country Egypt and my current home China will strengthen with time. I also aspire that their collaboration will expand to include every domain in life. When I arrived in Zhengzhou on August 25, 2011, I planned to stay a year. I was going to go back to my comfortable home in the USA and just chalk up another wonderful place I'd been to the more than 20 countries I'd already visited. However, after just one month, my eyes were opened to something that I didn't expect. It has caused me to stay here more than 5.5 years now. I was working with a company that provides foreign, native English speaking teachers to Chinese schools. This company had a 'cooperation' with numerous schools throughout Henan. I was teaching 20 classes a week at the top middle school in Zhengzhou. Then, they called me and asked me if I wanted more. I said, "Sure. Bring it on. 20 classes a week is easy. I need more." They first suggested 4 more classes. Then, as I started doing promotional lessons at several schools, that number grew to 12 rather quickly. I was teaching 32 classes a week and delighted to do so. I had a blast (a lot of fun). Students were great and quite receptive to my teaching style. I played my guitar and taught them more than a dozen songs. At a primary school that was directly affiliated to Zhengzhou University, I was teaching primary school students in addition to 4 classes of students in the Masters degree program at the university. One day, one of the primary school classes was moved to a different classroom onto the campus of the university. There was some kind of testing going on and they needed our regular classroom. After class that day, a 6th grader stayed and wanted to talk to me. Now, I'd had trouble communicating with the middle school's English teachers. I couldn't imagine such a young student wanting to 'talk' to me, a native English speaking foreigner. His name was Jeremy Hua. Jeremy did a good job in letting me know that he wanted me to be his English teacher permanently. He told me that his mother was requiring him to learn 20 new English words every day. I was impressed with that and agreed to be his permanent teacher. Jeremy took my classes every year. He never failed to take my classes and rarely missed a class. He said that his mother insisted that a native English teacher be the only one allowed to teach him. She wanted me. He wanted me. And I certainly wanted to teach him. After 4 years, I had taken Jeremy as far as I could take him without taking the next step, an advanced step in a Chinese student's English education. It was time to begin preparing him for the SAT. I knew by the time that he started high school that he wanted to study in the USA. His mother had even registered him for summer camp at the famous Choate Rosemary Hall Prep School in Connecticut. It was the same school where President John F. Kennedy and most of his family had attended. It also happened to the high school where Ivanka Trump went. I was teaching Jeremy SAT English while also preparing him for the TOEFL exam. Then, last year, I had an interruption in my tenure of teaching in China and had to stay in America for six months. There is a law that is rarely enforced in most provinces that require foreigners to 'sit out' six months after they've spent 5 consecutive years working in China. Henan happened to be one of the provinces that required it. Fortunately, my daughter and her husband had come to Zhengzhou and was able to carry on with Jeremy's classes. In the beginning of this summer, 2017, Jeremy took the SAT soon after he had taken the TOEFL exam. His TOEFL score was 109; good enough to get him into any school in the USA including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford or any other. His SAT score came back at 1520 (out of 1600). This placed Jeremy in the top .25% of all of the 2 million students who took the exam this year. His score is good enough to get him into any school in the USA that he wants to go. And, like Victoria in my other post about amazing Chinese students, he will likely go on a full scholarship. This means that it will cost his family very little for him to attend a top university in the world. Can your child go to Harvard? The answer is, with the right preparation they can. If students are doing it in Henan, I believe that they can in other parts of China as well. Workers at the construction site of the Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway in Kenya. Pan Siwei / Xinhua Hailed as a symbol of "Chinese quality and spirit", the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, which opened on May 31 in Kenya, ferried more than 7,000 passengers in the first week of its operation, a weekly record for the country. In contrast to the meter-gauge railway built more than a century ago during the British colonial rule, the 480-kilometer railway is expected to reduce the travel time from 10 hours to just 4 hours and lower logistics costs by 10 to 40 percent. Built by China Road and Bridge Corporation, Kenya's first standard gauge railway, also the largest infrastructure project since its independence, cost $3.8 billion with China contributing nearly 90 percent of the amount. The good news for Kenya, however, has been accompanied by speculation by Western observers that the country will struggle to repay the "monstrous" debt at the expense of Kenyan taxpayers. A recent report in The New York Times even drew parallels between the China-funded railway and the "Lunatic Express", a term coined over 100 years ago to describe the costly, all-consuming construction of a colonial British railway linking the Kenyan part of Lake Victoria with Mombasa. Such a far-fetched analogy and misinterpretation of the Kenyan government's motives to build the railway is nothing but slanderous. The Beijing-backed project provided training opportunities to 45,000 local employees and created more than 46,000 jobs during the four-year construction period, not to mention the proposal to build a technical academy for railways. The Kenyan people were fully involved in the project and stand to greatly benefit from it. Unlike the 1 billion yuan aid to the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, which was built in the 1970s, Beijing's railway loan to Nairobi has to be repaid. The two countries' partnership to build the Mombasa-Nairobi project has not only helped train some 3,000 local railway technicians and created opportunities for many others to receive such training in the future, but also kept the cost at a controllable level. Nairobi is confident that the railway will increase its annual GDP by 1.5 percent and the loan will be paid back in about four years. That is achievable if all agreed terms are followed through as designed. China and Kenya have vowed to upgrade the construction of industrial parks along the route while seeking to integrate the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, the Port of Mombasa and the Mombasa Special Economic Zone. The railway will also stimulate growth and industrialization of neighboring countries, including Uganda and Rwanda, adding fresh impetus to the economic integration of and the flow of people and resources in East Africa. The lack of connectivity in East Africa has greatly limited cross-border trade between the countries in the region, many of which are heavily reliant on the continent's second largest port Mombasa, keeping prospective investors at bay. The Mombasa-Nairobi railway could well be a game-changer for the more than 120 million people in the six East African countries. China welcomes the idea of enhancing capacity cooperation with Kenya and other African countries, by contributing its railway expertise and strong record of building infrastructure facilities. Its railway cooperation with Kenya and other African countries has not been without challenges, from transnational coordination to the slow long-term returns on the projects. But that should not stop the parties concerned from taking the right path to share development, nor does it justify the West's attempts to exaggerate the risks. The author is a senior researcher at the Charhar Institute and a researcher at the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article is an excerpt from her interview with China Daily's Cui Shoufeng. A firefighter directs a jet of water at a tower block severely damaged by a serious fire, in north Kensington, West London, Britain June 14, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] LONDON With smoke still swirling around the charred remains of Grenfell Tower in west London, residents and community leaders demanded to know Wednesday how a ferocious fire could have swept through the high-rise apartment block with such speed that it killed at least 12 people. The anger was particularly strong since activists had warned just seven months ago that fire safety procedures were so lax that only a catastrophic blaze would bring the scrutiny needed to make the building safe. Fire and police officials have not specified what went wrong, but extensive video footage shows the flames climbing the exterior of the building at a remarkable pace. "I've never seen a fire like that in my life," said Joe Ruane, the former deputy chief fire officer for US Air Force bases in Britain. "I've never seen that in a residential block." The 24-story public housing complex is owned by the local government council in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea and was completed in the 1970s. It is managed by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization, which spent 10 million pounds ($12.8 million) refurbishing the building over the last two years. The renovation project included installation of insulated exterior cladding, double-glazed windows and a communal heating system. Investigators need to look at what materials were used in the project and who approved their use, Ruane said. But he said the speed with which the fire spread suggests that more than one fire protection safeguard failed. "It's not just one thing," Ruane said. "It's multiple issues." Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, arrives in Downing Street in central London, Britain, June 14, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May said talks with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist party aimed at securing their support for her minority government were continuing but that a fire in London had taken priority on Wednesday. May's Conservative Party, which failed to win a majority in an election last week, has been holding talks with the DUP on securing the support of its 10 members of parliament to pass legislation. "We are continuing to have talks, but today as you will imagine, there has been a real focus on this terrible tragedy in London," she said in a televised statement. At least 12 people died and dozens more were injured when a fire ripped through a tower block. Reuters A senior Chinese envoy called for more international assistance and cooperation on mine action to reduce the threat from landmines and other explosive devices. Wu Haitao, deputy permanent representative of China to the UN, made the remarks on Tuesday at a United Nations Security Council briefing on a comprehensive approach to mine action and explosive-hazard threat mitigation. To address humanitarian concerns over explosive devices such as landmines, Wu said the international community needs to consider the national conditions and needs of mine-affected countries. Differences in security environments and military capabilities should be respected, and de-mining efforts should be geared toward countries self-reliance as opposed to external assistance, he said. China has put great importance to humanitarian concerns stemming from the use of improvised explosive devices by non-State actors. Wu mentioned President Xi Jinpings announcement at the 70th General Assembly that China would launch 10 mine-clearing assistance programs. Speakers agreed that mine action is not limited to removing remnants of war and needs to become part of a toolkit to help communities and countries recover and pursue sustainable peace. UN has its Mine Action Service and Mine Action Gateway directly on demining efforts and sustainable peace. According to Bolivias ambassador to the UN Sacha Sergio Llorenty Soliz, negotiations are under way on a draft council resolution that would emphasize the importance of mine action for peacekeeping, peace and security. Tekeda Alemu, Ethiopias ambassador to the UN, said the draft resolution would send a strong signal on the need to mitigate the threat posed by landmines and other explosive devices. He said his country has suffered from the impact of landmines and other explosive devices for decades, and attached great importance to mitigating their effects. A photo of Zhang Yingying released by the police. The search continues for a Chinese visiting scholar who has been missing from the University of Illinois' Urbana-Champaign campus since Friday, as the FBI has gotten involved and students light up social media with safety concerns. UIUC police say a video shows 26-year-old Zhang Yingying of Fujian getting into the passanger side of a black Saturn Astra on the afternoon of June 9 after texting a prospective landlord that she was on her way to sign a lease. She has been missing ever since. The FBI confirmed on Wednesday the case is being treated as kidnapping. "The FBI has been involved, which is routine in missing persons cases," Patrick Wade, communications director of the UIUC Police Department, told China Daily. "But that they have identified the plate number is incorrect information, which gained traction on social media." Police posted the video and photos of Zhang on their website (police.illinois.edu), asking people to view the images and offer whatever information they could. Zhang had been living in the college town for a month. Police say she was last seen wearing a pink and white flannel shirt, blue jeans, white shoes and a gray hat with a white logo on the front. She was also carrying a dark blue backpack. Apart from using the resources offered by partner law enforcement agencies and the FBI, UIUC Police also "continue to work with rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft, cellphone companies, check vehicle records and have pursued other information offered to us by members of the public", the website says. The issue of student safety has come into focus since the incident was reported. Chinese overseas students say they avoid going out alone at night. If they have to, they ask others to accompany them. Students are also wary of unfamiliar places with few people and they avoid strangers. Kris Wong, a student at Columbia University in New York City said he was concerned for college-age women. "After the night's activities, we usually go home together, like taking an Uber. Especially for girls, we usually accompany them home after they get out of the car," said Wong. Baron Yan, a junior at Purdue University, said, "For me if someone is way too friendly and I don't know the person, I tell them to have a nice day and walk away, because you never know what sort of motives they have, good or bad, I would rather not take the chance." He offered a few tips for foreign students in America. "They may think all Americans are good-hearted people because of how friendly they are and how willing they are to help. Though a majority of Americans are this, there are a few who have ulterior motives as to why they are friendly." Wade emphasized the importance of 911. He suggests that even under normal circumstances, students should always be aware. "We are deeply troubled anytime we believe a member of our campus community may be in danger, but we are very grateful for our community's support for Ms. Zhang," the police website reads. Xiao Jiaqiao in New York contributed to this story. A man shot and killed three people and then himself early Wednesday at a UPS facility in San Francisco. Two others were shot and five more were hurt in the rush to escape. The incident happened shortly before 9 am as drivers gathered for their morning meeting. The shooter, a UPS employee, allegedly targeted the manager at the facility, an area sorting hub and delivery center. UPS employs 350 people there. According to ABC 7's source, the shooter was identified as Jimmy Lam, a middle-aged man living in the Sunset District with his children. The report said Lam had a history of mental illness. Police recovered two guns from the scene, including an "assault pistol". "We can't continue to allow this level of gun violence to become the new normal in our nation," said California state Senator Scott Wiener in a statement. "Today we mourn the San Franciscans who were murdered in cold blood and send positive energy to the survivors of these shootings. Tomorrow we get back to work to enact common sense gun control legislation," he said. China commended the clarification Uganda made on Wednesday, in which the African country's Foreign Ministry said that Chinese diplomats were not involved in ivory smuggling and that the Ugandan government is committed to strengthening ties with China. According to previous media reports, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ordered an investigation into the country's Wildlife Authority and two "Chinese diplomats" for alleged collusion in ivory smuggling. However, the Ugandan Foreign Ministry, said in a statement issued on Monday that it has confirmed, "following a thorough review of its records", that the two Chinese named "are not accredited diplomats" of the Chinese embassy in Uganda. The ministry apologized for the incident and said the Ugandan government "reiterates its commitment to strengthening further the relations and bonds of friendship that exist between our two countries". In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang praised the statement on Wednesday. The Chinese government has imposed strict rules of discipline and guidelines on public servants, including staff members of diplomatic and consular missions stationed abroad as well as delegations dispatched overseas for official visits, Lu emphasized. The government strictly forbids these people to purchase, participate in the trade of or carry with them any endangered species of wild fauna and flora or products derived from them, Lu said. The government will hold these people accountable "resolutely and according to law" if it uncovers such violations, the spokesman said. wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn British Prime Minister Theresa May says there will be a public inquiry into the cause of the fire in London that has left at least 17 people dead and around 600 homeless. Local residents hang a banner over a balcony following the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block, in north Kensington, West London, Britain June 15, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] The judge-led inquiry will also ask what lessons can be learned from Wednesday's fire at Grenfell Tower, and what the tragedy means for the safety of the United Kingdom's 4,000 residential high-rises. May visited the scene of the fire on Thursday but angered many people by not meeting those affected by the fire. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also arrived at the scene and met victims, telling them he will represent them. "There is desperate stress and sadness," he told reporters. "There are still bodies to find in that dreadful building. We will demand and get answers." Firefighters, meanwhile, will search the charred shell of the building for bodies. Dozens of people are missing, including members of three families who lived on the upper floors.The search and rescue teams will use sniffer dogs, and build internal shoring as they go. Firefighters have been to all 24 floors but have not been able to conduct a thorough search because of the fragility of the building. The fire commissioner estimated that the search for bodies could take weeks. The fire began at 12:54 am on Wednesday and was not fully under control until more than 24 hours later. Commentators have speculated about the role of external cladding in the spread of the blaze but the cause of the fire and what allowed it to accelerate are not yet known. As of Thursday afternoon, more than 30 people were still being treated in hospital. Seventeen of those were described as being in critical condition. The queen issued a statement offering her sympathy to those affected by the fire. "My thoughts and prayers are with those families who have lost loved ones in the Grenfell Tower fire and the many people who are still critically ill in hospital," she said. Meanwhile, criticism of the management of Grenfell Tower has been growing. David Lammy, the member of Parliament for the Tottenham area of North London, who may have lost a family friend in the fire, was especially critical. "This is the richest borough in our country treating its citizens in this way and we should call it what it is," he said. "It is corporate manslaughter. That's what it is. And there should be arrests made, frankly. It is an outrage. "Those 70s buildings, many of them should be demolished. They have not got easy fire escapes. They have got no sprinklers. It is totally, totally unacceptable in Britain that this is allowed to happen and that people lose their lives in this way." The opening of the United Kingdom's Parliament has been delayed by two days because Prime Minister Theresa May has still not finalized a deal with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party over its support for her government. May needs the backing of the DUP's 10 MPs if her government is to pass any legislation, and also for it to gain approval of the Queen's Speech, which is the formal presentation of the government's plans made at the state opening of Parliament. Government sources suggested that the Conservatives do not necessarily need an agreement with the DUP before Wednesday, because the DUP would be unlikely to support the opposition Labour Party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn. Even if the DUP abstains from the vote, May should be able to get the Queen's Speech passed. The DUP dislikes Jeremy Corbyn because of his support for the Northern Irish Sinn Fein Party, which is the DUP's main rival. May received members of Northern Ireland's other political parties on Thursday to reassure them that any deal with the DUP would not affect the government's neutrality in Northern Ireland. They did not, however, leave reassured. Naomi Long of the non-sectarian Alliance Party said May did not reassure her of the government's neutrality in Northern Irish matters. She tweeted that she felt that the DUP had leverage over the government. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon also said she was concerned about the prospect of a DUP-Conservatives deal. "I want to record my deep-seated concern and, I believe, the deep-seated concern of many, not just in Scotland, but across the UK right now, at the prospect of some sort of grubby deal between the Tories and the DUP to allow Theresa May to cling to office," she said. Meanwhile, the leader of the Liberal Democrats party, Tim Farron, resigned on Thursday, saying he found it difficult to reconcile his Christian faith with being the leader of a political party. A federal judge has ruled in favor of two American Indian tribes in their lawsuit against the Dakota Access Pipeline. In an opinion issued Wednesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg decided the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to adequately consider the environmental consequences of a spill at the Lake Oahe crossing and ordered the agency to redo parts of its environmental analysis. For now, the pipeline will be allowed to continue operations. But that could change after the judge considers further briefings from the parties. A status conference is scheduled for June 21. "Although the corps substantially complied with (the National Environmental Policy Act) in many areas, the court agrees that it did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipelines effects are likely to be highly controversial," the judge wrote. Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II, who has called for a full environmental impact statement, characterized the decision as a major victory. The previous administration painstakingly considered the impacts of this pipeline and President (Donald) Trump hastily dismissed these careful environmental considerations in favor of political and personal interests. We applaud the courts for protecting our laws and regulations from undue political influence and will ask the court to shut down pipeline operations immediately, he said in a statement. A spokeswoman for Dakota Access did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday evening. After months of protests and legal action from the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes, the pipeline began commercial service on June 1. In his 91-page opinion, Boasberg said the corps did many things properly when it came to evaluating the environmental impact of the proposed pipeline. For example, he said the corps adequately weighed an alternative route that would have taken the pipeline 10 miles north of Bismarck. He cites information from a DAPL consultant's memo used by the corps that said the current crossing a half mile north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation would be further from drinking water intakes. But he said the corps didn't fully consider the environmental justice consequences of the pipeline and thought more about construction effects than spills. In that respect, the corps confined its evaluation zone to a half-mile buffer, which hangs just north of the reservation in mostly white Morton and Emmons counties. "The EA is silent, for instance, on the distinct cultural practices of the tribe and the social and economic factors that might amplify its experience of the environmental effects of an oil spill. Standing Rock provides one such example in its briefing: many of its members fish, hunt and gather for subsistence. Losing the ability to do so could seriously and disproportionately harm those individuals relative to those in nearby nontribal communities," Boasberg wrote. "The corps need not necessarily have addressed that particular issue, but it needed to offer more than a bare-bones conclusion that Standing Rock would not be disproportionately harmed by a spill." Boasberg wrote that the corps also did not carefully consider the controversy among experts about the pipeline's effects and possible risks. He also said the corps did not give enough credence to the effect of a spill on the tribe's hunting and fishing rights. The $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile pipeline transports Bakken crude oil to Patoka, Ill., where it is piped to refineries in the Gulf Coast. Thousands of people gathered in North Dakota for more than six months to protest the project, which was halted by the Obama administration for further review. It moved forward to completion after Trump issued an executive order, directing the corps to grant the final permits. Before this decision, Boasberg twice ruled against the tribes, when they argued the pipeline would threaten historic sites and desecrate sacred waters. (Photo : US Army) U.S. Army fighting men. Advertisement U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is blaming the Republican-dominated Congress for what he termed as the "shockingly poor state of combat readiness" of the United States Armed Forces. Mattis said he was "shocked" by the sad state of the U.S. military's readiness for combat when he took over as defense secretary. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement In a recent testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Mattis assailed the House of Representatives for repeatedly approving short-term spending measures that provide too little money for the armed forces. As a result of this drip, drip, drip of funding, commanders of the armed forces' service branches are unable to adequately prepare their troops for battle in the face of threats from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Mattis also blasted the House for not repealing a law that strictly limits defense spending even though there is bi-partisan support for doing away with this measure called a "continuing resolution" or CR. A continuing resolution is a type of appropriations legislation that is passed in lieu of an appropriations bill when Congress and the president fail to agree on and pass one or more of the regular appropriations bills. A continuing resolution continues the pre-existing appropriations at the same levels as the previous fiscal year (or with minor modifications) for a set amount of time. Congress has "sidelined itself from its active constitutional oversight role," said Mattis. "It has blocked new programs; prevented service growth; stalled industry initiative and placed troops at greater risk. "Congress as a whole has met the present challenge with lassitude, not leadership." The White House's proposed military budget for fiscal year 2018, which begins Oct. 1, requests $639 billion for the Pentagon, including $65 billion for ongoing military operations. Republican congressmen, however, want $30 billion more added to the military's budget. They argue the extra money is needed to rebuild the military degraded by years of war and erratic budgets. Advertisement TagsSecretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Congress, United States Armed Forces, House Armed Services Committee, continuing resolution (Photo : National Supercomputing Center ) China's Sunway TaihuLight, currently the world's fastest supercomputer. Advertisement Japan is building the world's fastest supercomputer, a monster that will occupy 1,000 square meters of floor space, and will be capable of an astonishing speed of 130 petaFLOPS or 130 quadrillion (130 million billion) calculations per second. When this supercomputer given the name "AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure" (ABCI) comes online in April 2018, it will far eclipse China's Sunway TaihuLight, currently the world's fastest supercomputer, with a LINPACK benchmark score of 93 petaFLOPS and a claimed peak of 124.5 petaFLOPS. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Sunway TaihuLight is the first system in the world to exceed 100 petaFLOPS and came online in June 2016. Sunway TaihuLight is nearly three times faster than the world's previous number one system, China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer, which was the world's fastest for past three years. TaihuLight, which is installed at China's National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi, uses ShenWei CPUs developed by Jiangnan Computing Research Lab in Wuxi. The operating system is a Linux-based Chinese system called Sunway Raise. ABCI is being built at the University of Tokyo for use in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and deep learning. It's being built by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. "The current supercomputer system is one million times faster than your personal computers," said Satoshi Sekiguchi, a director general at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). AIST's role is to integrate scientific and engineering knowledge to address socio-economic needs. "The supercomputer that is currently under development would take up about 1,000 square meters of floor space," said Sekiguchi. Sekiguchi said ABCI will help Japanese companies develop and improve driverless cars, robotics and medical diagnostics. "A supercomputer is an extremely important tool for accelerating the advancement in such fields," he said. Sekiguchi also said the "supersonic speed" of ABCI will help Japan develop advances in artificial intelligence technologies such as deep learning. Advertisement TagsJapan, Supercomputer, AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure, 130 petaFLOPS, ABCI, Sunway TaihuLight, 93 petaFLOPS (Photo : Getty Images) North Kore is definitely behind the WannaCry ransomware attack. Advertisement The United States is squarely blaming North Korea for a string of devastating worldwide cyber attacks extending back to 2009, including the most recent, the global WannaCry ransomware attack last May, and the cyber break-in at Sony Pictures in the U.S. in 2014. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said North Korea will continue to rely on cyber operations to advance its military and strategic objectives, and warned that more cyberattacks by North Korea will be launched in the future. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement As a result, the federal government has issued a rare joint alert squarely blaming the North Korean government for the attacks dating back to 2009. The joint alert said "cyber actors of the North Korean government," given the name "Hidden Cobra" by the report, had targeted aerospace firms, financial firms, the media and critical infrastructure in the United States and around the world. Hidden Cobra was previously called the Lazarus Group and Guardians of the Peace by western cyber investigators. Two cyber security firms, Symantec Corporation from the U.S. and Kaspersky Lab from Russia both said it was "highly likely" Lazarus (now Hidden Cobra) was behind the WannaCry ransomware attack that infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide, and disrupted operations at banks, schools and hospitals. Cyber security experts note that North Korean hacking activity is becoming increasingly hostile. This was evident in the case of the WannaCry ransomware attack. The attack targeted computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments ranging from $300 to $600 in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. It began on May 12 and within a day was reported to have infected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries. Hidden Cobra commonly targets systems that run older versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system such as Windows 7 that are no longer patched. It also uses Adobe Flash player vulnerabilities to gain access into targeted computers. Hidden Cobra's capabilities include denial of service attacks (DoS), which send a flood of junk traffic to a server to knock it offline; keyloggers; remote access tools and several variants of malware. The U.S. said Hidden Cobra compromised a range of victims. Advertisement TagsUnited States, North Korea, WannaCry ransomware attack, cyber attacks, Department of Homeland Securit, Hidden Cobra (Photo : IN/RAN) INS Shivalik (top) and HMAS Newcastle firing a missile. Advertisement Warships of the Indian Navy (IN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will train together from June 17-19 in the waters off Western Australia as part of Exercise Australia-India 2017 (AUSINDEX 17), which will be held to prepare both navies for confronting a common enemy (China). AUSINDEX is the first-ever bilateral military exercise in Australian waters involving the IN and RAN. It aims to develop "a deeper understanding and cooperation between the two navies." Like Us on Facebook Advertisement This will be the second AUSINDEX exercise. The first was held in the Bay of Bengal off India in 2015. "AUSINDEX is the centerpiece naval exercise held between Australia and India and is an important component of this year's fleet program," said Rear Admiral Stuart Mayer, Commander Australian Fleet, who commands all RAN combat forces and is responsible for all maritime operations within the Australian Defense Force (ADF). "AUSINDEX is a terrific opportunity to increase our interoperability and enhance the professional interaction of two great navies. Amidst a very busy operational program for the Indian Navy, I am pleased to welcome their ships to Fremantle and look forward to a challenging and rewarding sea program," noted Adm. Mayer. The three Indian Navy warships that will participate in AUSINDEX 17 are already docked at Fremantle. This squadron consists of INS Shivalik (F-47), lead-ship of India's first class of stealth multi-role frigates; INS Kamorta (P-28), the first of four anti-submarine Kamorta-class stealth corvettes and the INS Jyoti (A-58), a Komandarm Fedko-class replenishment oiler. The Royal Australian Navy will send HMAS Newcastle (FFG-06), one of four Adelaide-class guided missile frigates; HMAS Waller (SSG-75), a Collins-class diesel-electric submarine, as well as Clearance Diving Team Four, an elite diving and special operations unit. The Clearance Diving Branch is the elite diving unit of the RAN whose role covers all spheres of military diving, and includes explosive ordnance disposal and maritime counter-terrorism. A number of Lockheed P3 Orion anti-submarine and maritime reconnaissance aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force will also take part in AUSINDEX 17. Advertisement TagsIndian Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Exercise Australia-India 2017, AUSINDEX 17, Rear Admiral Stuart Mayer (Photo : fbi.gov) Indicted China army officers. Advertisement The United States will restrict Chinese investments in key strategic U.S. industries with national security implications such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Federal officials say this move to impede Chinese investments, especially those in Silicon Valley tech firms, is necessary to protect sensitive technologies critical for national security. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement China has repeatedly gained access to advanced technologies made in the United States by acquiring U.S. tech firms via joint ventures, minority stakes and early-stage investments. Chinese investors, most of whom represent companies either owned or controlled by the Communist Party of China, then repatriate these technologies back to China where they are adapted for military use. In essence, the U.S. is supplying China with the potential weapons China will later use against it on a future battlefield. China has made no secret of its aim to supplant the U.S. as the world's premier economic and military superpower by any means. The Pentagon said U.S. companies that received Chinese investments in its early stages will not be allowed to receive contracts with the Department of Defense. It's also looking at ways to strengthen the role the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) plays reviewing Chinese investment in U.S. firms, especially technology firms. The government wants to give CFIUS more power to stop "China's predatory practices." CFIUS is an inter-agency committee of U.S. government that reviews the national security implications of foreign investments in U.S. companies or operations. Chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, CFIUS includes representatives from 16 U.S. departments and agencies, including Defense, State, Commerce and Homeland Security. "We're examining CFIUS to look at the long-term health and security of the U.S. economy, given China's predatory practices" in technology, said an administration official quoted by U.S. media. The Senate is drafting legislation to give CFIUS power to block technology investments from China. The bill will empower CFIUS to increase its scrutiny of buyers from nations such as China considered potential threats to national security. It will also ask the Pentagon to identify what technologies should be under CFIUS scrutiny. Many experts are beginning to believe China is ahead of the U.S. in AI, thanks to Beijing investing billions of dollars into U.S. research programs and initiatives. Advertisement TagsUnited States, Chinese investments, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Technologies, national security, Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, Silicon Valley Amid mounting scrutiny over his evangelical faith, the head of the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom resigned from his position and spoke out about the tension he faced as the political partys leader. To be a political leaderespecially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bibles teaching, has felt impossible for me, Tim Farron told his country on Wednesday, a week after the general election. Considered the first evangelical party leader in a century, Farron dodged questions during the recent campaign about whether he believed homosexuality was a sin despite his political stance in favor of same-sex marriage and equal rights. An evangelical amid Anglicans, he faced accusations of harboring conservative theology within the liberal party, even when he made his liberal views clear. Still, the accusations bled into the general electionthe party gained seats in Parliament but ... 1 Judicial Watch Demands FBI Recover Records Unlawfully Removed by Former Director James Comey Warns of Lawsuit Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch, 202-646-5172 WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch today announced it sent Acting FBI Director Andrew G. McCabe a warning letter concerning the FBI's legal responsibility under the Federal Records Act (FRA) to recover records, including memos Comey subsequently leaked to the media, unlawfully removed from the Bureau by former Director James Comey. The June 14 letter from Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton states: As you are well aware, former FBI Director James Comey gave sworn testimony last week before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Among other things, Mr. Comey confirmed that, while in office, he created various memoranda regarding his meetings with President Trump. Mr. Comey also confirmed that, after his departure from the FBI, he provided at least some of these memoranda to a third party, Columbia Law School Professor Daniel Richman, for the purpose of leaking them to the press. Various media outlets now have reported that Professor Richman has provided these memoranda to the FBI. It is unclear whether he still retains copies of the memoranda. I am writing to you on behalf of Judicial Watch, Inc., a not-for-profit educational organization that seeks to promote transparency, accountability, and integrity in government and fidelity to the rule of law. In furtherance of its public interest mission, Judicial Watch regularly requests access to the records of the FBI through the Freedom of Information Act and disseminates its findings to the public. In fact, on May 16, 2017, Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request seeking these specific memoranda removed from the FBI by Mr. Comey. Judicial Watch also has pending FOIA lawsuits in which the memoranda may be at issue. These memoranda were created by Mr. Comey while serving as FBI director, were written on his FBI laptop, and concerned official government business. As such, they indisputably are records subject to the Federal Records Act. 44 U.S.C. 2101-18, 2901-09, 3101-07, and 3301-14. The fact that Mr. Comey removed these memoranda from the FBI upon his departure, apparently for the purpose of subsequently leaking them to the press, confirms the FBI's failure to retain and properly manage its records in accordance with the Federal Records Act. Even if Mr. Comey no longer has possession of these particular memoranda, as he now claims, some or all of these memoranda may still be in possession of a third party, such as Professor Richman, and must be recovered. Mr. Comey's removal of these memoranda also suggests that other records may have been removed by Mr. Comey and may remain in his possession or in the possession of others. If so, these records must be recovered by the FBI as well. MORE: www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-warns-fbi-obligation-recover-records-unlawfully-removed-former-director-james-comey/ Share Tweet The oil guru who predicted the market rout in 2014 said OPEC and its allies should have gone much further when they extended their supply deal last month. They should have cut another million barrels a day for ninety days in order to drain the system, said Gary Ross, global head of oil at PIRA Energy, a forecasting and analytics unit of S&P Global Platts. For Ross, the producers missed an opportunity to deepen cuts between June and August when refinery demand is higher and so accelerate the decline in inventories. Such a move would have pushed the market into backwardation, when near-term prices are higher than those for later months, he said. That structure favors OPEC because it would discourage their shale-oil rivals from locking in prices for future production. If that was really their objective, then they should have cut during this window of maximum crude runs to accelerate, he said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and partners led by Russia re-upped their agreement on May 25, agreeing to maintain curbs of as much as 1.8 million barrels a day until next March. Yet benchmark crude prices have since slid toward $47 a barrel, and the International Energy Agency said Wednesday that the cuts are only slowly diminishing global stockpiles. Rosss view was echoed by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd., who said OPEC needs to cut deeper for longer to restore inventories to normal levels. OPEC needs to drain by 34 million barrels a month or 1 million barrels a day for the next 10 months, the analysts wrote in a note. This looks challenging. Ross also warned that Chinese crude-demand growth is set to decrease in the second half of this year. That poses a real problem for OPEC as they enter 2018, he said. Ross lowered his forecast for benchmark Brent crude to $50-$55 a barrel by year-end, he said Wednesday. In early February, he expected Brent would be trading near $60-$65 a barrel by now and reach as much as $70 by year-end. Although the market is rebalancing, the surplus isnt reducing at the rate OPEC had hoped and will still be at 150 million to 200 million barrels by year-end, Ross said. Thats partly because crude production is increasing in Libya and Nigeria -- OPEC members that are exempt from curbing output because of internal turmoil. In November, two weeks before OPEC decided to implement curbs, Ross predicted an agreement could eliminate most of the surplus stocks by the beginning of the second half of this year. UNDERWOOD Teachers sat in the control room of a giant piece of coal mining machinery Wednesday, getting an up-close view of North Dakotas lignite industry. They were part of a group of more than 100 teachers from the region who toured North Dakotas coal country through a teachers' seminar sponsored by the Lignite Energy Council. One group of teachers toured a dragline a piece of machinery nearly as tall as the North Dakota Capitol building as crews operated it at the Falkirk Mine near Underwood. Greg Dehne, engineering supervisor for Falkirk Mine, said the facility welcomes tour groups so the public can better understand the industry. When people think of coal, they think of dirt and pollution, Dehne said. We want to tell our story that we can mine the coal and we can do it safely and reclaim the land. Teachers from North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Iowa and Saskatchewan are participating in the four-day seminar, representing states that are affected by electricity produced from North Dakota lignite coal. The goal of the program, in its 32nd year, is to raise awareness about the economic impact of the lignite industry as well as the workforce opportunities, said Kay LaCoe, membership marketing director for the Lignite Energy Council. The industry really needs teachers and parents to encourage those technical skills, LaCoe said. Molly Perkins, who teaches at Bismarcks Sunrise Elementary, was already familiar with the coal industry because her dad works at Falkirk Mine. But the seminar taught her more about other aspects of the industry, including touring Great River Energys Coal Creek Station, which gets its coal from Falkirk Mine. I gained a lot of ideas to bring back to my classroom now, Perkins said. Dean Hagen, a welding instructor in Drake, said he now has more information to share with students about possible careers in the energy field. Theres a lot of opportunities, not just in the western part of the state, but in the middle of the state, Hagen said. Teachers also toured an electrical generating station, the nations first commercial-size coal gasification plant and saw land reclaimed after it was mined. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate RuPaul's 1992 breakout hit "Supermodel" starts off like a children's story. "Once upon a time, there was a little black girl in the Brewster Projects of Detroit, Michigan. At 15, she was spotted by an Ebony Fashion Fair talent scout and her modeling career took off. "You better work." It makes sense, then, that Drag Queen Story Hour is coming to Houston for Pride Week. PRIDE GUIDE: Here's where to celebrate throughout Houston The event happens at 10:30 a.m. June 24 at Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet. Local drag performer Blackberri will read an LGBTQ friendly book for kids. "In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real," reads a statement on the official site. Drag Queen Story Hour happens regularly in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, where it began in 2015. This will be the first Houston event. The New York Times wrote a piece in May describing the event in detail: "Story hour, long a mommy-and-me staple, had never looked so colorful." Blackberri is an experienced entertainer who regularly does stand-up comedy at The Improv and performs at local clubs. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate After two U.S. senators pleaded with the organizers of South by Southwest to consider relocating the festival from Austin, Texas because of the "sanctuary cities" ban, the CEO responded, and SXSW won't be moving. SXSW CEO Roland Swenson said in a statement on its website that "Austin is our home and an integral part of who we are. We will stay here and continue to make our event inclusive while fighting for the rights of all." This is after U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) said in a letter that a state Senate bill (SB4) poses potential risks to SXSW attendees. "SB4 is one of the most extreme anti-immigrant and discriminatory state laws signed to date." Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB4 into law May 7 and it will go into effect Sept. 1. The new legislation includes two significant anti-immigration statutes. It establishes civil and criminal penalties for local law enforcement agents who disregard requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to extend the detentions of inmates suspected of being illegal immigrants. And while SB4 does not require officers to demand documentation from suspected illegal immigrants like Arizona's infamous "papers please" law it prohibits sheriffs and police chiefs from keeping their officers from asking for papers, according to RollingStone. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he will ask the City Council to consider a vote to join Austin, San Antonio and Dallas in lawsuits challenging SB4. HOUSTON RESPONDS: Turner plans to ask council to join SB4 lawsuit The full statement released by Swenson: We stand by the City of Austin in their challenge against SB4 and will continue to speak out against it, and all discriminatory legislation. We agree with the Senators that the law stands diametrically opposed to the spirit of SXSW and respect their call to action. We understand why, in today's political climate, people are asking us to leave Texas. For us, this is not a solution. Austin is our home and an integral part of who we are. We will stay here and continue to make our event inclusive while fighting for the rights of all. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Federal agents quietly arrested Jason Posey, a former congressional aide who'd been wanted for two months on charges that he helped ex-U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman carry out a criminal conspiracy to bilk millionaire donors, violate elections laws, and illegally divert hundreds of thousands in campaign cash. Posey and Stockman were both indicted March 28 on 28 federal charges including mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, making false statements to the Federal Elections Commission, excessive campaign contributions and money laundering. Stockman was arrested at the airport on his way out of the country by federal agents. But it appears government agents spent weeks negotiating with Posey - who'd been living abroad in the Middle East for more than two years. Posey voluntarily returned to Houston to turn himself in on May 23, according to Philip Hilder, a Houston lawyer appointed to represent Posey. "He voluntarily came back to the United States to face the allegations levied against him," said Hilder, who is known for his work representing whistle-blowers and other witnesses and defendants in high-profile white-collar crime cases, including Enron. In his recent federal court appearance, Posey pleaded not guilty to all 28 charges, according to federal court records. Stockman also pleaded not guilty. RELATED: One staffer pleaded guilty to scheme involving shell companies Posey has been freed on bond set at $50,000, which was posted by his father, Cecil Posey in his home state of Mississippi. One of the charges against Posey alleges that he illegally contributed to Stockman's campaign under his father's name while Stockman was still serving in Congress. Stockman represented Houston and a wide swath of East Texas from 1995-1997 and again from 2013-2015. Posey worked closely with Stockman during both of his stints in congress and also on his campaigns. Another former Stockman aide, Thomas Dodd, pleaded guilty in March to two related conspiracy charges and has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. But in indictments, prosecutors describe Posey as Stockman's primary accomplice . State and county business filings show that Posey set up some of the companies that federal prosecutors say were used to divert campaign contributions through suburban Houston post office boxes and an array of bank accounts. RELATED: Ex-congressman Stockman headed complex criminal conspiracy, feds allege Posey's arrest and arraignment were not announced by the federal government. "The only information we have to share is what is in the public record," said Jennifer Lowery, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Texas. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but after looking at these precious photos you might be speechless. Ollie and Donald King are celebrating their 68th wedding anniversary in September. Their granddaughter arranged for the couple to have a photoshoot on their farm in Kentucky. Phil Baumann died early Sunday, June 11, after battling an incurable form of brain cancer for six years. Baumann is founder of CureFest, which was established in 2011 after he was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme. "Even though I couldn't save my husband, we cannot give up this fight," Baumann's wife, Misty, wrote on the CureFest Facebook page. "Someone else's husband, father, son, child or wife will succumb to this disease, and we must help them cross that finish line." CureFest raises funds for the Brain Cancer Research Team at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, which is working to find a cure. In September, the Baumanns presented a $130,000 check to the research team. Each year, Humble residents gather for a music festival fundraiser that included local musicians, food trucks and events accommodating kids. Constable Mark Herman, Precinct 4, said he coincidently struck up a friendship with Baumann after stopping him for a traffic violation when Herman was first starting out his law enforcement career in the 1980s. "He was a very nice and respectful person to me during the stop, and we became friends from there, until now," Herman said. Herman said after learning of CureFest and Baumann's diagnosis, he spent his time volunteering with CureFest as a uniformed officer. The funeral is scheduled to take place at Atascocita Rosewood Funeral Home on Saturday, June 17, at noon followed by a gathering service at The Overlook in Atascocita. For more information about CureFest, visit www.curefest.com. (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is expected to announce a ban on Americans and U.S. companies doing business with Cubas military on Friday in a rollback of the Obama administrations plan to thaw relations with the island. Trump will make an announcement on US-Cuba policy during a speech in Miami, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at the White House on Thursday. She did not provide specific details about what the president planned to announce, though other people familiar with administration discussions have said he plans to impose new limitations on commerce. Trump will prohibit financial transactions between Americans and U.S. companies and Grupo de Administracion Empresarial SA, known as GAESA, the state-run, military-affiliated conglomerate that controls large swathes of the Cuban economy, according to a summary of his policy prepared by a congressional office and obtained by Bloomberg. Story continues below... This new policy reverses the Obama administrations support for the communist Castro regime and its military apparatus, and instead aligns the United States with the Cuban people, according to the summary. The implications of such a move are likely profound, as nearly every aspect of the Cuban economy has links to GAESA. The conglomerate owns almost all of the retail chains in Cuba and 57 of the mainly foreign-run hotels on the island. It is also a partner in the Four Points by Sheraton hotel currently under development in Havana. Travel Restrictions The administration also plans to more strictly enforce mandates that a trip to the island fall within one of 12 categories for legal travel to Cuba, including family visits and educational activities, according to the summary. The Obama administration relaxed requirements that educational groups travel with a guide from a U.S. organization sponsoring the trip. While the new restrictions are likely to stifle some of the uptick in travel seen on the island since the Obama administration unveiled its new policy, Trump does plan to exempt port and airport fees from the GAESA ban, according to a report in the Miami Herald. That means airlines and cruise ships should still be able to bring visitors to the island. Trump will also exempt banking transactions and fees, allowing Americans to continue to rent private properties such as those offered through AirBnB, the paper said. This policy was clearly written by people who have never been to Cuba, at least not in this century, James Williams, the president of Engage Cuba, a group that advocates for lifting the 55-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, said in an emailed statement. Because if they had, theyd know that the only thing that restricting travel will do is devastate Cubans working in the private sector who have relied on American visitors to provide for their families. The policy also wont limit remittances to Cuba by Cuban-Americans or end direct flights from the U.S. allowed under Obamas policy, according to the congressional summary. Trump also intends to exempt legal exports of agricultural commodities, medicines, and medical devices, as well as air and sea operations that support permissible travel, cargo, or trade. Expanded telecommunications and Internet access programs will also be allowed to continue, according to the congressional source. Cuban cigars and rum are not specifically mentioned in the summary. Embassies Remain The U.S. and Cuban embassies in each others countries will remain open, though Sanders said she didnt know if Trump would nominate an ambassador to Cuba. Trump also will not reinstate the so-called wet foot, dry foot policy Obama ended that allowed Cuban immigrants who reached U.S. soil to remain in the country, according to the Heralds report. Tightening restrictions on travel and trade with the communist nation loosened by his predecessor would fulfill a campaign promise for Trump, who heavily criticized Obamas decision to end a decades-long policy of economic and diplomatic isolation of the island. Trump administration officials have debated possible changes to Cuba policy throughout the week, including at a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that while the administration favored commercial engagement, Cuba should still face penalties for its poor record on human rights. If were going to sustain the sunny side of this relationship, Cuba must, absolutely must, begin to address its human rights challenges, Tillerson said. Marriott International Inc. Chief Executive Arne Sorenson said on Thursday that the administration should recognize tourism as a useful diplomatic tool. It would be exceedingly disappointing to see the progress that has been made in the last two years halted and reversed by the administration, Sorenson said in an emailed statement. Trumps new travel audits could reduce American visits to the island, impacting U.S. airlines with direct flights to Cuba as well as the cruise industry. Major airlines, including American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., JetBlue Airways Corp., Southwest Airlines Co., and United Continental Holdings Inc., and cruise lines including Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. have all taken advantage of Obamas relaxed travel restrictions. --With assistance from Margaret Talev Nick Wadhams and Hui-yong Yu To contact the reporters on this story: Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net, Toluse Olorunnipa in Washington at tolorunnipa@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Mike Dorning 2017 Bloomberg L.P. Octavia Fields Library hosted Mad Science on June 14, gathering more than 250 children and parents for a hands-on science experience. Mad scientist Seismic Sue travels all across Texas to deliver a message: Science is fun and innovative. "I kind of feel like Mad Science as a company we are really dedicated to bringing kids to the hands-on side of science, the coming up with an idea and then proving it by doing it - that's kind of what everything Mad Science geared towards," Sue said. Mad Science has franchised across the world with the purpose of presenting innovative programs to help attract kids to science. Sue demonstrated the effect burning different metals creates, leading to an indoor firework show that prompted kids to shout and guess the colors each metal will present once in contact with the flame. Kids were also able to see what happens to Styrofoam once in contact with acetone, leaving a stretchy web-like blob as a result. Sue brought a block of dry ice she mixed with hand soap that turned into a huge bubbling potion, giving each child a chance to high-five her and experience the feeling of what dry ice and soap create. Nicole McGuire, a parent who recently moved to the Humble area, said she has been coming to the library every day with her kids for the last month and has notice this library has a vast list of programs that attract her children. "It really made me sad for the kids in the other areas because they don't know what they are missing," McGuire said. This is the first time in four years the library has hosted a Mad Science program. "It's a nice STEM program ... a lot of times kids still have that mentality that science is boring, and they don't realize there is science in everyday life, so that's part of the reason you want to pick a program like this," said Megan Young, children's librarian. Continuing on with their summer programs, the library also will have a presentation with snacks on July 19 with many more summer programs that can be found on their events calendar at https://host4.evanced.info/harris/evanced/eventcalendar.asp. Courtesy of Google The westbound inside curb lane of Kingwood Drive is closed at Chestnut Ridge in Kingwood in preparation for a dual panel replacement. Houston Public Works and Engineering Department will start construction on the inside curb lane panel replacement Thursday, June 15. Following the completion of the inside curb lane, crews will start on the westbound outside gutter lane panel replacement at Kingwood Drive and Chestnut Ridge. When conventional communication methods break down, the responsibility of transmitting vital information to the essential agencies falls on a network of more than two million individuals worldwide who have agreed to uphold communication systems in times of need. The word "unsung" has repeatedly been used to describe ham radio operators' contributions in the wake of catastrophic events. "Ham" refers to licensed amateur radio operators. John Nobile, member of a Kingwood-based ham radio club called the Texas Emergency Amateur Communicators (TEAC) has been a ham radio operator for nearly three decades. "As an amateur radio operator, when you get your license, you actually agree to be put into service by the government if there is a need during emergencies. So, you become a link for when telephone lines and stuff like that goes down," Nobile said. He explained that many people may not realize the people reporting updates during emergency situations, like severe weather events, are often ham radio operators. "Many members in the TEAC club belong to something called ARES, which is Amateur Radio Emergency Services, and we have a direct alliance with Homeland Security and many of the police departments around the country, so if there is an emergency event, such as a hurricane, we will be placed into operation at different locations that have been set up, or right from our home if we have the means to provide emergency services," Nobile said. "Then, what we do is report back to Homeland Security, which disseminates the information to all the news agencies. "Many times, those early warnings do come from ham radio operators even though they usually don't give any credit to that. They actually get that information for all those resources." Ham radio operators may serve anonymously most of the time, but for one weekend every year, tens-of-thousands across North America get the chance to showcase the function of amateur radio as a hobby, as well as a vitally important tool during emergency situations. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day event takes place annually on the fourth weekend of June. Ham radio operators convene to practice emergency response, compete to establish the most contacts with other ham stations and showcase the roles ham radio operators play in their communities on the local, national and global levels. TEAC invites the community to attend its Field Day event Saturday, June 24, and Sunday, June 25 in the LSC-Kingwood Performing Arts Center. Participating ham radio operators will begin setting up equipment Friday, June 23, at 3 p.m. "During Field Day, we set up radios and antennas as if we were deployed in an emergency situation," Nobile said. "It's a 24-hour event and the point is to make as many contacts as possible. Your goal, as a ham radio operator, is to hit every state, Canada and Mexico. It's sort of an informal contest, but it's really more of an expose of Field Day to showcase what we do and why we have those big antennas up at our houses. It shows the community we actually have a service to provide." Field Day is a free event and open to the public. TEAC suggested the public visit Saturday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Sunday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. However, Nobile said anyone interested in staying overnight to hang out with the TEAC hams is more than welcome. During the event at LSC-Kingwood, people have the opportunity to witness firsthand the different methods and mediums by which ham operators are able to communicate. There will be a satellite station that communicates with amateur radio satellites in orbit around the earth. And this year, TEAC will be selling raffle tickets for the chance to win prizes, including a radio and software to get licensed as an amateur radio operator. Nobile encourages people of all ages from the community to come out to the Field Day event and learn about the function ham radio operators serve. "Field Day really showcases the use of ham radio and why it's important, especially during emergency events," Nobile said. "Ham radio sends a lot of information back and forth to federal agencies and local agencies. It also gets a lot of information back to the media and helps spread the word about different events. It's definitely worth learning about. And, it's a great hobby. If you want to get your kids into science, it's a good hands-on learning opportunity." TEAC has more than 80 members from areas as far out as Spring and Conroe. TEAC meets the first Saturday of every month at the Christ the King Lutheran Church on West Lake Houston Drive in Kingwood. For more information about Field Day and TEAC, visit www.teac.net. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Fort Bend County's health department is investigating tuberculosis at George Bush High School, following the recent confirmation of two active cases. The department Monday hopes to test more than 600 people -- mostly students but also staff members -- possibly exposed to the bacterial disease. They were informed Wednesday of the need to have their blood drawn to determine if they contracted the contagious bacteria. "We take this very seriously," said Kaye Reynolds, deputy director of the health department. "We want to get anyone who's infected but not ill on prophylactic medicine to prevent it from progressing and those who have active disease on the proper multi-drug regimen." Health officials would not divulge any information about the individuals initially infected, citing federal privacy laws. It is unclear if the two confirmed cases at George Bush are related or occurred independently. TB is not uncommon - an estimated 20 to 30 occur annually in Fort Bend, for instance -- but Reynolds said the ones at George Bush are a cause for concern because of the potentially wide exposure. The disease is typically treated effectively with proper medication, but it takes time. Those infected but not ill take prophylactic medicine for six to nine months and those with active disease may have to take it as long as two years, though the duration is usually nine to 15 months, said Reynolds. "It's not like strep throat," she said. TB typically causes a disease of the lungs, but can affect other organs as well. Though contagious in individuals with active disease, it usually takes prolonged close contact. It is not spread as easily as a cold, flu or measles, but may be passed on if droplets coughed or sneezed into the air reach the lungs of another person. Test results should be back in about a week, said Reynolds. She encouraged those contacted -- emails and letters were sent Wednesday -- to come in for testing Monday. A new paper released this week by a pair of political scientists claims, as The New York Times reports, that, pastors are even more politically divided than the congregants in their denomination. As the abstract of the paper states: Pastors are important civic leaders within their churches and communities. Several studies have demonstrated that the cues pastors send from the pulpit affect congregants political attitudes. However, we know little about pastors own political worldviews, which will shape the content and ideology of the messages transmitted to congregants. In this paper, we employ a novel methodology to compile a database of over 130,000 American clergy across forty religious denominations. These data provide us with a sweeping view of the political attitudes of American clergy. Using CCES data, we compare pastors partisanship to congregants political affiliation and policy views. The results demonstrate that pastors denominational affiliation is much more informative of their partisanship than for congregants. These results provide a nuanced understanding of the relationship between clergys political orientations and those of the individuals they lead. Are pastors more partisan? My initial intention was to evaluate that claim based on the evidence provided in the paper, Partisan Pastor: The Politics of 130,000 American Religious Leaders. Like many of you, I had noticed my friends on social media linking to reports about it in such outlets as The New York Times and The Atlantic. After reading the paper, though, I came to the conclusion the data were insufficient to support the conclusion. How did such a paper get published? As it turns out, it wasnt. The paper has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed political science journal, and one of the authors lists it on their curriculum vitae under Works In Progress & Under Review. As we will see, there is reason to believe the paper does not meet the standards worthy of publication. Here are some of the specific concerns about the quality of the research: To our knowledge, this is the largest compilation of religious leaders ever assembled, the authors say. The compilation is indeed impressive, but the means of collecting the data raise questions about its reliability, especially concerning minority pastors. For example, to find the names of pastors from several minority denominations the authors hired Mechanical Turk workers to find the pastors names. Mechanical Turk is a service run by Amazon where anyone can hire people to complete online tasks for mere pennies. For this data collection project workers were paid between one to three cents to search on the internet, locate the pastors name, and enter it into a form. What is the likelihood such data collection is accurate? Its hard to say. But the fact that the authors are confused about the spelling of the name of one of Americas most (in)famous preachersJoel Osteen is referred to as Joel Olsteenraises questions about how stringent they were in collecting names of lesser-known ministers. Another concern with the data collection is with the way pastors were matched to voter registration. Almost half of the entries (44 percent) were considered a match if the name of the pastor matched a name on a voter registration list within commuting distance of the church (the authors do not clarify what they consider a commuting distance). While this is a creative method, it is bound to lead to numerous false positive results. For example, if there is a pastor named Joe Carter who lives outside the presumed commuting distance and another voter named Joe Carter who lives closer to the church, the latter person would be presumed to be a match even though he is not only not the pastor but may not even belong to the same denomination or be of the same political persuasion. The authors base their claims of partisanship (i.e., commitment to a particular political party or ideology) solely on voter registration. So a pastor or congregant is considered a partisan if he is registered to vote as either a Republican or Democrat. Voter registration, as the authors admit, is a basic proxy for partisanship. So when they say a pastor is more partisan than their congregants, the authors are merely stating the pastor is more likely than his congregants to be registered for a particular political party. However, the fatal flaw of the paper is in its use of voter registration as the sole proxy for pastoral partisanship. As the paper acknowledges, only 29 states ask voters to register with a particular political party. How is the partisanship of pastors in the other 21 states identified? The paper doesnt say because, based on their own criteria, they cant know. Since the paper is based on pastors in a little more than half of the states, its impossible to know how representative the results are for pastors in the entire United States. This is a long-winded way of saying, Dont believe everything you read. But it also highlights a concerning trend in religion reporting. As weve repeatedly seen over the past few years, reporting on religion that confirms the biases of secularists (e.g., Christian pastors are hyper-partisan Republicans) gets reported based on the flimsiest of evidence. As the paper ironically notes, Attitudes and behaviors of ordinary Americans are affected by elite influencers. This is all too true, which is why the elite influencers in Americas newsrooms and Ivy League political science departments need to hold themselves to a higher standard of trustworthiness. What reason did The New York Times have for reporting on an unpublished study? And why did they choose to do so a mere day after the unpublished paper was posted online (the paper is dated June 11)? Whatever the newspapers motives, they put their credibility behind the flawed study. Despite having never been published, the paper is likely to be cited for years to come as credible evidence for the conclusion that pastors are more partisan than their congregants. Bear Creek Park Community Center, 3055 Bear Creek Drive, Houston, will host a meeting organized by the Texas Department of Transportation to collect information about the proposed improvement of Clay Road at Texas 6. The meeting will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 15. It will be an open-house format so residents may come and go at their convenience. TxDOT staff will answer questions. Three graduates from the Katy Independent School District are among 50 high school seniors who received on June 7 a total of $100,000 in Ford Driving Dreams scholarships from the Fort Motor Company Fund and Houston Area Ford dealers. The Katy graduates are Katherine Martinez of Cinco Ranch High School and Reed Reddell and Margaret Sloan, both of Obra D. Tompkins High School. This marks the second time Ford Fund has helped students from the Houston area pursue their academic dreams of going to college. The scholarship awards celebration was at Space Center Houston, a science and space learning center and the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center. Students with their parents heard from Alex Montoya, a motivational speaker who encouraged them to accept challenges as opportunities. Community leaders, Ford Fund representatives and Houston Ford dealers joined the celebration. Recipients from the Cy-Fair Independent School District include Samiksha Ray and Brittney Robison both of Cypress Ranch High School; Bhavesh Sayal of Cypress Falls High School and Marissa Garcia of Langham Creek High School. Scholarship recipients from Houston Independent School District include: Andres Garcia, Austin High School; Sahar Fattani, Angelina Ossimetha and Luz Rodriguez all of Bellaire High School; Ronen Melloul, Carnegie Vanguard High School; Matthew Diaz, Energy institute High School; Noelia Rosas, KIPP Generations Collegiate; Kyra Thomas, Young Women's College Preparatory Academy; and Katelyn Dykas and Robyne Petitt, both of Westside High School. Through Ford Driving Dreams, Ford Fund provides tools and resources to guide students through school, and recently launched a new website www.FordDrivingDreams.com that features educational information for students, parents, and teachers. "At Ford, we believe that the world is only as strong as how we help and impact the next generation. We want to make higher education accessible to every student because academic attainment will allow them to reach their dreams," said Joe Avila, manager, Ford Motor Company Fund. "We are happy to have the support and commitment of the Houston Area Ford dealers to help make a positive impact in the communities where they do business." The Ford Driving Dreams Tour was designed by Ford Motor Company Fund to help youth graduate on time and pursue higher education. Launched in 2012, the program has reached more than 100,000 students in California, Chicago, Florida, Indiana, Texas, Panama and Puerto Rico. The scholarships awarded in Houston will be administered by LULAC National Education Services Centers Inc. Thomas Xiong, a senior at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, has been selected as a gold medalist in the 15th annual USA Biology Olympiad (USABO). USABO's four-member 'Dream Team' will represent the United States as Team USA at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) from July 23-30 in Coventry, United Kingdom. "I feel very honored," said Xiong after Team USA was announced. "There's a lot of responsibility and trust that's been put on my shoulders to represent the United States. This has been an amazing experience and I'm super-excited to go to IBO." Xiong was chosen from among 20 USABO National Finalists based on practical and theoretical tests that followed 10 days of intensive biology instruction at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. At Marymount, USABO finalists studied with leading U.S. experts in the fields of cellular and molecular biology, plant anatomy and physiology, animal anatomy and physiology, genetics and evolution, ecology, ethology, and biosystematics. Nearly 10,000 high school students from across the country registered for this year's USABO. The IBO is an annual competition for pre-university students, ages 14 to 19. All IBO participants place in the top four of their countries' National Biology Olympiad. Kathy Frame, CEE director of USABO and Special Projects, will accompany Team USA to the U.K. in July. All Team USA Members have medaled in the IBO since the United States first began competing in 2003, garnering a total of 42 gold, eight silver and two bronze medals. At IBO, Team USA has earned no less than two gold medals each year for 14 consecutive years, and has achieved the coveted world #1 ranking in 2011, 2013, and 2015. In addition to Xiong, Team USA 2017 Gold Medalists are: Edward Lee of Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA), Austin, Texas Alexander Tsao of Troy High School, Fullerton, California Catherine Wang of Lexington High School, Lexington, Massachusetts The mission of the USABO is to encourage excellence in biology education throughout the United States and to challenge students and their teachers to reach the gold standard in biology, said Frame. The 20 finalists-representing nine states-were selected based on their scores from the USABO Open and Semifinal Exams. USABO alumni have earned MacMillan Grants, Goldwater Scholarships, Hollings Scholarships (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), American Heart Association Undergraduate Fellowships, National Science Foundation Fellowships, The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, the Linen Prize in Chinese, and the Clara Levillain Prize. They have also been selected as Marshall Scholars and Churchill Scholars. The Center for Excellence in Education was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover and Joann P. DiGennaro, president of the Center. The center's mission is to nurture high school and university scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to encourage collaboration between and among leaders in the global community. CEE's programs include the Research Science Institute (RSI), the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO), and the Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP). Visit USA Biology Olympiad: http://www.cee.org/usa-biology-olympiad-usabo, Center for Excellence in Education: http://www.cee.org/, Marymount University: http://www.marymount.edu/ or International Biology Olympiad: http://ibo2017.org/ for more information. Two Houston ISD trustees said they will likely vote against the district's budget if teachers and staff don't get larger pay raises than proposed by the new superintendent. Trustees Rhonda Skillern-Jones and Jolanda Jones pushed back Thursday against the district's plan to spend $26.92 million on increasing teacher and staff salaries, insisting it was not enough to stay competitive with neighboring districts. HISD finance officials had asked the board how it should divvy up that amount among teachers, bus drivers, hourly employees and principals. Officials said it would cost $24 million to give teachers a 3 percent raise, even though teachers unions and others have called for a 5 percent raise. "We haven't agreed as a board that this $26 million is OK that this $26 million is all we can spend on salaries," Skillern-Jones said at a board meeting on the budget Thursday. "We're not supportive of this budget I'm not sure it's going to pass." Board members are scheduled to vote Wednesday on the nearly $2 billion budget for the 2017-18 school year. Pay increases have been the biggest sticking point in Houston ISD's effort to adopt a budget this month. Budget officials have not called for any overall tax increases on property owners, instead lessening the amount of taxes collected for debt interest payments and increasing the amount it will receive for maintenance and operations. Superintendent Richard Carranza said the budget does provide incentives to keep teachers in the Houston ISD, including stipends for teachers who volunteer to work in high-needs schools as well as ensuring no employee will see an increase in out-of-pocket health care costs. "As we actually looked at the numbers in terms of stability, it became more of a conversation about this is where we are in our region, this is a pot of money we have for salary raises, how do we distribute that pot of money," Carranza said. Carranza added that any salary increases would be "a true raise in take-home pay this year" because teachers will not have to pay more for benefits. When Trustee Holly Vilaseca asked what the district could do to put more money toward pay raises, Carranza said it would likely involve cutting existing jobs and positions, as they represent the biggest component of the district's budget. But Trustee Jolanda Jones said she would vote against any budget that does not include a 5 percent raise for teachers and a raising of the district's minimum hourly wage to at least $12 an hour. "If teachers don't get a 5 percent raise, I'm not voting for it" Jones said. "A 5 percent raise wouldn't make us the best-paying in the area, but we're the biggest district in the state, seventh-biggest in the country. We should have the best salaries (for teachers) in the state." Trustee Diana Davila said the district can't spend money on raises it doesn't have. "I don't think there's anyone on this board who doesn't want to give teachers a 5 percent raise," Davila said. "But it's about what's feasible. You have to stay within the budget." Trustee Anne Sung also raised questions about the district's spending on special education, which has been a controversial topic since a Chronicle investigation found that Houston ISD and hundreds of school districts across the state denied thousands of students special education services at the Texas Education Agency's behest. District officials had recommended creating five new positions within the special education department, but none of them appeared to be funded on the budget presented to board members on Thursday. Carranza said it's likely that he could fund new special education positions through the superintendent fund, which has about $5 million, at some point during the school year. But with all of the constraints on this year's budget, Carranza said reorganizing the department made more sense than to throw more money at it. Among the chief budget pressures is HISD's looming recapture payment, which could cost the district between $77.5 million and $137 million in state-mandated fees to help subsidize districts that collect less in local property taxes. "We went back as a cabinet and asked what are absolutely necessary in the budget and what are things we can reorganize and redirect," Carranza said. "Could we use the new positions? We could, but with this budget we're looking at reorganization first. We think we can do work we need to do right now by tightening our belts." Harris County officials plan to ramp up their ability to combat a stray animal problem after receiving almost $750,000 in grants this year. The grants will fund two initiatives. About $500,000 will help the county pay for a wellness clinic where residents can get low-cost services such as vaccinations and flea control. The remainder will help the county ship more stray dogs to states with greater demands for animal adoptions. Baytown police are investigating several Home Depot theft cases that caused a total loss of more than $7,000 for the store. Lt. Steve Dorris of the Criminal Investigations Division said detectives think the three cases could be related, since the items stolen are similar. Southwest is celebrating its 46th birthday with a new airfare sale. Tickets are on sale now for as little as $39 one-way to destinations across the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Availability varies depending on the route, but most sale prices are available on flights departing Monday through Thursday between August 22 and December 16. Blackout days (think: Thanksgiving weekend) do apply. A South Padre Island man was sentenced to five years in federal prison - half of what he could have received - after pleading guilty in November 2016 to possession of child pornography, officials said Wednesday. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brownsville, U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera "considered the age" of the 70-year-old Howard William Halverson when he handed down the five-year prison sentence. The Cy-Fair ISD reported Wednesday that one of its recent graduates was accepted into seven of eight Ivy League schools, a rare feat. But Eghosa Amadin, a member of Cypress Falls High School's Class of 2017, ultimately decided to pursue an engineering degree at Stanford University in northern California, an elite school that is not part of the Ivy League. "It feels really good," Amadin said, according to the district's news release. "It feels better that I made my parents proud more than for myself." In May, the Chronicle reported on Alief ISD graduate Amina Mabizari who was also accepted into seven Ivy League schools and placed on the wait list of one (in her case, Harvard University). Both Mabizari and Amadin included impressive resumes in their college applications. Amadin was president of her high school's National Honor Society, president of the Cypress Falls' Spanish Club and secretary of the school's Key Club, among other leadership positions. Despite her campus involvement and high grade point average, Amadin had doubted whether she would get in to any of her choice schools. The reason I applied to so many was because I was really scared that I wouldn't get in anywhere, she told the district. But I knew I did as much as I could have done and I worked hard. I tried my best and whatever happened, happened. The 18-year-old said she and her parents were shocked when she checked her admissions status with each college in April. My mom was jumping up and down and screaming and yelling and dancing, and my dad was off the walls and everything, Amadin said, according to the news release. My proudest moment honestly would be opening up the Harvard acceptance, because for my parents coming from Nigeria, thats like the holy grail of education. I wish I could replay my moms reaction over and over again, it was so amazing. The Cy-Fair ISD grad advised that students can accomplish similar success with motivation and dedication Dont be afraid to aim high and reach for your dream schools because you never know whats going to happen, Amadin advised students, according to the district. Also, work hard every single day. It might be tough at the time, but it will all be worth it in the end. The Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in northwestern ISD, the state's third-largest district, covers 185 square miles and has about 115,000 students. The news release said the cumulative acceptance rate of the Ivy League schools was about 7.9 percent this year, with colleges such as Cornell and Brown seeing acceptance rates dip to their lowest levels in history. Specialists who treat children with autism in Texas will soon be required to obtain licenses after Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday signed an amended version of Senate Bill 589 into law. The bill, by Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, will require licenses for applied behavior analysts, therapists most known for their treatment of autism. After easily passing in the Texas Senate on May 1, the bill also swiftly passed in the House on May 23 before heading to Abbott's desk. "Because of the tireless work behind SB 589, our most vulnerable Texans who benefit from applied behavioral intervention -- such as children with autism, along with those with developmental, intellectual, and physical disabilities, and with brain injuries -- will now be protected by SB 589, which will reduce the probability and the possibility of them being harmed by unqualified practitioners," he said in a statement. The bill's supporters have said a law is needed to regulate the profession. Texas has now joined more than 25 other states requiring licenses for behavior analysts. "We are so delighted and appreciative of the Legislature," said Dorothea Lerman, director of the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at the University of Houston Clear Lake and president of the Texas Association for Behavior Analysis."(Legislators) understood the importance of this licensure law. I know they heard from a lot of families and professionals who were in support of having this protection for families with special needs." The bill's amendments made the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in charge of overseeing the licenses after the original version listed the Texas Medical Board as the regulator, and some language and standards regarding the TDLR were also changed or added. Other licensed professionals such as psychologists or those working in schools have raised concern regarding the scope of the bill, but that has mostly been quieted because the bill includes exemptions for practitioners who have their own licensure requirements. Some lawmakers have also voiced skepticism about having another medical profession regulated. Applied behavior analysis is recognized by researchers and the autism community as a highly effective method of autism treatment. It breaks down weaknesses into small goals and rewards children for each goal completed. Treatment can require up to 40 hours per week of one-on-one time and can cost tens of thousands of dollars. About 40 behavior analysis facilities in Texas signed a petition in favor of the bill. There are about 1,300 behavior analysts in Texas certified through the the national Behavior Analysts Certification Board, which requires at least a master's degree from a credible behavior analysis program at a university, along with field work and other requirements. But people with little to no experience have legally been able to practice because licenses haven't been mandated. Two years ago, a licensure bill passed the full House before stalling in the Senate. Stakeholders had pushed the bill through the Senate first this go-around since it already had proven support in the House. Their bet worked. "This bill will make sure behavior analysts meet the standards in Texas. We have had a very positive reaction from parents," said Kate Johnson-Patagoc, director of specialized services at the Texana Center, an autism treatment facility in Rosenberg and Sugar Land. "Many parents helped us with this bill. This will help raise the bar so that practitioners in Texas will meet high standards and have more positive outcomes for children and adults that benefit from behavior analysts." The law goes into effect Sept. 1. Birmingham, Alabama, June, 7, 2017--Fernando, 13 of Birmingham has been chosen by JDRF, the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, to join a delegation of children and celebrity advocates in Washington, D.C. this summer at JDRF 2017 Children's Congress from July 24-26. The Delegates will be lobbying their Members of Congress to remind them of the vital need to continue supporting T1D research that could reduce the burden of this disease and ultimately find a cure. These children--ages 4 to 17, and representing all 50 states--will participate in a number of activities on the Hill, including a Congressional Committee hearing to share personal testimonies that highlight the daily struggles of living with T1D and the need for continued funding for research projects such as the Special Diabetes Program (SDP). Joining the U.S. Delegates will be six international Delegates traveling from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Together, the Delegates will convey a clear message to the Federal Government that T1D is a global problem that requires a global effort. "These children and their parents face the burden of type one diabetes every day, and by sharing their stories, they become the most powerful advocates we have in fighting type one diabetes. They represent millions of other families like mine who need the support of the government to help us end this disease," says Derek Rapp, JDRF President and CEO. "Children's Congress gives the T1D community a unified voice in front of Congress and a way to urge our government leaders to continue supporting research." Serving as Chair for JDRF 2017 Children's Congress will be Angie Platt of Encino, Calif., whose 13-year old son, Jonathan, was diagnosed with T1D at age 6. Angie is a member of JDRF's International Board of Directors and previously chaired the 2013 Children's Congress. As Chair of the event, she will help engage, support and energize all these Delegates and their families during the advocacy efforts up on Capitol Hill. "I am so happy that I was picked to be a part of JDRF 2017 Children's Congress and to share my family's story with people who can make a huge impact on T1D research," said Fernando, 13 of Birmingham "I'm excited to go to Capitol Hill alongside these powerful kids to meet with our Senators and Representatives. I'm really proud that I have a chance to make a difference in the lives of people with T1D." About JDRF Children's Congress JDRF Children's Congress was inspired by (then) eight-year-old Tommy Solo from Massachusetts, in 1999. He overheard adult JDRF volunteers talking about going to Washington, D.C. to talk to Congress and thought it was important that children go, too, and make their voices heard. JDRF Children's Congress inspires national lawmakers to remember the children who live with T1D when making decisions about medical research funding and voting on other important Federal Government issues relating to diabetes. The young Delegates' personal stories, told in their own words, are often more powerful than almost any other type of education a legislator and staff can receive. Tommy's idea quickly became a well-developed event, first held in 1999. Since then, JDRF Children's Congress has occurred every other year. To learn more about JDRF Children's Congress, please visit http://cc.jdrf.org/. About JDRF JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. To accomplish this, JDRF has invested more than $2 billion in research funding since our inception. We are an organization built on a grassroots model of people connecting in their local communities, collaborating regionally for efficiency and broader fundraising impact, and uniting on a national stage to pool resources, passion, and energy. We collaborate with academic institutions, policymakers, and corporate and industry partners to develop and deliver a pipeline of innovative therapies to people living with T1D. Our staff and volunteers throughout the United States and our six international affiliates are dedicated to advocacy, community engagement and our vision of a world without T1D. For more information, please visit jdrf.org or follow us on Twitter: @JDRF Media Contact: Meredith Morrison, (205)908-5515, MMorrison@jdrf.org The FBI is hoping a billboard campaign starting Thursday and $5,000 reward from CrimeStoppers will help agents track down a Kingwood man who failed to show up in court after his conviction in a $16 million loan fraud scheme. Oscar Cantalicio Ortiz, 53, has been on the run since spring, when he cut off his ankle monitor and left it on the side of the road, according to a news release from the FBI. A Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is speaking out after four children were injured Sunday night in a shooting at a north Harris County apartment complex. A group of children aged 12 to 16 were involved in the shooting, which occurred at The Roundhill of Cypress Station Apartments in the 500 block of Cypress Station Drive, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. A 16-year-old girl who was critically injured after being shot in the cheek, has improved and is awake, the sheriff's office reported. The other three children were treated with non life-threatening injuries and released from the hospital. The group of children were apparently involved in an argument with another group of teens at the apartment complex, eventually leading to several shots being fired. Witnesses were questioned at the scene and a possible juvenile shooter is being interviewed, according to the sheriff's office. The shooting is still under investigation. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense said in a statement Wednesday they were angered by the violence at the apartment complex. "Simply put, children as young as 13-years-old should not be suffering from injuries related to gun violence," said Emily Keown, a volunteer with the Texas chapter. "We can no longer afford to live in a country where our children pay the price for our nation's issue with gun violence." Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was started after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Since its inception, a group has been created in every state across the country. The organization is fighting for solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes they believe jeopardize the safety of children and families. The group is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention organization, with more than three million supporters and over 140,000 donors advocating for public safety when it comes to guns. "It is time for us to stand up and demand our lawmakers do more to keep our children safe," Keown said. "The time to act is now." Sometimes cute, little ducklings get themselves into tough situations and this week, a Texas police officer was on the scene to lend a helping hand. A Richardson police officer noticed several ducklings and their mother struggling with the traffic as they tried to cross the street. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate An infant was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon as his father was taking him for a walk outside his southwest Houston apartment. At a press conference Thursday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo vowed to track down the perpetrators of the shooting and to end violence at the apartment complex in the 5400 block of Braesvalley. "We're not going to put up with this," Acevedo said. "Gangsters ... killing a 10-month-old boy being held by his father, that's outrageous. And I promise you we are going to come after these people." CrimeStoppers is offering up to $5,000 for information that leads to suspects' capture. Police believe three men in the early 20s are responsible for the shooting, which happened around 1:30 p.m. The father was taking his 10-month-old son for a walk outside of the Nob Hill apartment complex when the three men approached them. One of them was armed with a pistol. "He began shooting at the father. The father turns and runs," said Sgt. Mark Holbrook with the Houston police homicide division. The boy - identified by Acevedo as Messiah Marshall - was struck by the gunfire. Joshua Levy was returning home from work when the father ran up to his car. "He was yelling, 'Help me. Help me.' I was kind of shocked. I didn't know what was going on," Levy said. The father was holding his bleeding son in his arms. At first, Levy thought the child might have merely been injured in some sort of accident. Levy said he remembered seeing a Harris County constable minutes earlier at a Valero station down the street from the apartment complex. "I hoped he (the constable) was still there. I didn't know where else to take him," Levy said. They raced down the street to the service station about a block away. The constable hadn't left yet. The father got out, still carrying his son. The constable called for help after Levy told him what had happened. "I saw him (the father) walking around with the baby - basically dead in his arms," Levy said. An ambulance was called, but the child died at the Valero. Levy said he lived in the same complex as the child's father but didn't know him. HPD investigators said the father told them he didn't know the assailants. It wasn't immediately clear whether they had targeted the man, police said. "I don't know at this time. Maybe, maybe not," Holbrook said. Police did not have a detailed description of the gunman or the two men he was with at the time. They remained at large Thursday morning. All three could be held equally responsible for the 10-month-old's death, Acevedo said Thursday. Police are continuing to canvass the neighborhood around the location where the child was shot for any clues into the fatal shooting. Acevedo added he plans to increase police presence at the complex. Speaking directly to the criminals, Acevedo said, "You got our attention, and we're going to start paying very close attention to your complex." "We're going to turn that place around," Acevedo said. Acevedo asked community members during Thursday's press conference to come forward. "There's no doubt that there are people right now who know who these suspects were," Acevedo said. "And there's no doubt in my mind that we're going to bring justice to this little boy." He cautioned community members against retaliating on their own. "Retaliation is just going to lead to more bloodshed," Acevedo said. "Let us bring these people to justice so they can rot in prison, as far as I'm concerned." Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Burglars broke into a west Houston pharmacy but only nabbed a handful of medications, including codeine cough syrup, early Thursday, police said. The burglars descended around 3:40 a.m. into the pharmacy in the 9500 block of Richmond near South Gessner, through the ceiling, said Capt. Megan Howard with the Houston Police Department. Police made it to the pharmacy minutes later, but the burglars were able to evade arrest. Apparently, they exited back through the ceiling and ran into the nearby neighborhood just before police arrived. READ ALSO: Slang, other names of drugs trafficked in America The pharmacy on Richmond does not sell the narcotics that burglars typically target, Howard said. The burglars only took a few less potent medications, including codeine cough syrup. Police recovered all of the medications the burglars took. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Bigfoot appears to be a fan of Texas. On Saturday, the Round Rock Parks and Recreation Department released photos of foot prints found on various trails and parks in the Austin suburb. Officials have called it an "unexplained phenomena" and are urging anyone who knows about the origins of the footprints to contact them. BIGFOOT IN TEXAS: 2 South Texas believers say they saw Bigfoot Compared to a park ranger's foot, the mysterious foot print seems quite large. Some have speculated that it may be Bigfoot, the mythical creature that some have said they've seen in Texas. But at least one local Bigfoot hunter was not impressed. "I'm leaning towards not real at least on the top one," Russell Miller told Chron.com after checking out the pics posted online. "Too narrow at the instep." Any further analysis of the images was difficult without a better view, the Baytown Bigfoot hunter added. "Would love to see more pics and something for scale." UNDER THE SEA: Mermaids are making a splash in Texas and beyond Miller, who's been seeking the elusive creature in Houston-area woods for more than half a decade, said that the Round Rock area is not particularly known for mysterious cryptid sightings. But to the south, Baldemar Galvan, a Bigfoot hunter in Bee County, said he first saw Bigfoot in 2014 in a ranch about 10 miles north of Beeville. More commonly, though, the big guy is spotted just north of Houston, in the Sam Houston National Forest, which is something of a bigfoot hotspot. Maybe Bigfoot just really doing his sight-seeing around the Lone Star State. If not, the mysterious prints may have been the crafty work of someone who created Bigfoot shoes, like this Canadian artist. The Campaign Legal Center filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to force the Department of Justice to release records to determine whether GEO Group, a massive for-profit prison company, used illegal campaign contributions to convince the Trump administration to reverse a proposed phase-out of lucrative private federal prison contracts. Lawyers for the nonprofit say they are seeking information to determine whether $225,000 in campaign contributions made by a subsidiary of the Florida-based private-prison giant GEO Group to a Trump SuperPAC played a role in several recent government contracting decisions that benefited the company. It has further alleged those contributions violated a ban on federal contractor contributions. A spokesman for GEO group, Pablo Paez, has denied that $225,000 in donations made by its subsidiary - GEO Corrections Holdings Inc. - last year to the pro-Trump super PAC were illegal or related directly to government contracting policy announcements. "These are absolutely baseless and meritless allegations. All of our company's contributions have been fully compliant with all applicable laws," Paez said in an email. GEO Group, based on Florida, is one of the nation's largest for-profit prison companies. It runs 74 detention facilities nationwide with 80,000 beds and describes itself as the "fifth largest correctional system in the United States," according to its website. GEO Group reported $2.18 billion in total revenues in its 2016 annual report. Since Trump won the election, its stock price has doubled. GEO runs several detention centers and prisons in Texas - including a 1,500-bed immigration detention facility in Conroe.In April, GEO announced that it received the largest contract so far awarded by the Department of Homeland Security under ICE to build a second $100 million dollar facility in Conroe where another 1,000 immigrant detainees will be held under a 10-year, $400 million government contract. Paez noted that the Conroe contract came from the Department of Homeland Security, not the Department of Justice, as "part of a competitive procurement process which was initiated by the Obama Administration in 2015." He said the policy reversal by the Department of Justice for BOP contracts merely "reinstated the long-standing policy and practice enabling the use of public-private partnerships by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which has been in place since the 1990s under both Democratic and Republican Administrations." The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, a non-partisan organization that focuses on the financing of campaigns, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after getting no immediate response to its related Freedom of Information Act request on government contracting decisions involving GEO Group. The government has not yet filed its response to the lawsuit. In August 2016, a DOJ Inspector General report concluded that private contract prisons had "more safety and security incidents per capita" than government-owned prisons and the Obama administration subsequently announced it would phase out federal prison contracts like those held by GEO Group. The lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that on Aug. 19, 2016, one day after the Obama administration announced its decision, the company made a $100,000 donation to the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now through its subsidiary GEO Corrections Holdings Inc. The nonprofit filed a complaint on November with the Federal Elections Commission argued that the $100,000 corporate contribution violated a 75-year-old federal law that bans federal contractors from making political contributions. The same day, GEO Corrections Holding Inc. contributed an additional $125,00 to Rebuilding America Now. GEO Corrections Holding Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary that shares the same address as GEO Group. The FEC complaint about the alleged illegal contractor contributions remains pending. AUSTIN -- Larry Fitzgerald, the straight-spoken face of Texas' prison system when it reigned as the nation's busiest death chamber and drew international attention, died Monday after an extended illness. He was 79. Fitzgerald, an Austin native and longtime Texas radio newsman before he joined the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at a time when it had tripled in size during the early 1990s, also worked as communications director for the State Bar of Texas from 1978 to 1991. His tenure as spokesman for the prisons agency came at a time when the Texas corrections system gained international notoriety for its assembly line pace of justice for condemned criminals that drew celebrity protesters from Bianca Jagger, the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and television luminaries such as Geraldo Rivera, among others. He witnessed 219 executions during his tenure, and after his retirement in 2003 he became an expert witness for defense attorneys during the punishment phase in more than 30 capital murder cases -- in which some defendants won a lesser sentence, and others did not. "He was a consummate public relations professional who was always truthful and always worked for transparency about government," said Larry Todd, who worked with Fitzgerald in the agency's public information office. "He was a great guy." Born Clyde Larry Fitzgerald in October 1937, the son of a government landman and a school teacher, Fitzgerald attended the University of Texas at Austin with eyes on becoming a broadcast journalist -- a career that he launched, without ever graduating, at small radio stations in San Marcos, Taylor and Bryan. At one job in Fort Worth, he followed Bob Schieffer, who later became a legendary newsman for CBS News, Fitzgerald once said. He also did news at stations in Cleburne, Dallas and Arlington. In radio, he served in jobs ranging from disc jockey to news reporter to news director. Early in his career while working at an Austin TV station, Fitzgerald recalled that the station's owner, Lyndon Baines Johnson, then a U.S. senator who would later become president, used to come around turning off the lights to save electricity. Between stints at radio stations, Fitzgerald also drove 18-wheeler trucks for a time until one hauling oil caught fire in Tyler. While the fire was extinguished quickly without injuries, "he decided that was it for him driving trucks," recalled his wife of 57 years, Marianne. Returning to Austin for the State Bar job, Fitzgerald worked in political campaigns for Democrats Bill Hobby, who was lieutenant governor, for for Ann Richards when she ran for governor. During Richards' tenure, Fitzgerald worked for a time as a location scout for the Texas Department of Commerce as part of the state's initial efforts to expand the number of movies that were filmed in Texas. But the job that would make him a household name in Texas and beyond was for Republican Gov. George W. Bush, starting in January 1995 -- a time when the state had expanded its prison system to more than 100 lockups as it ginned up the nation's busiest death chamber. After hiring on, Fitzgerald once said he was surprised to learn his job would be based in Huntsville, not Austin as he had thought. So he moved to Huntsville and within months was an on-air celebrity as the Texas system continually made headlines. Included were the executions of Houston murderers Gary Graham and Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman in Texas since the Civil War to receive the ultimate sentence and the first since 1984 to be executed in America. Also, a 1995 scandal over a no-bid purchase of a meat extender called VitaPro that led to the indictment of the prisons director; the November 1998 escape of six death-row convicts from a Huntsville prison that resulted in the relocation of Texas' death row; the infamous escape in December 2000 of the Texas Seven from a South Texas prison, among other headlines as the agency came under fire for its huge incarceration statistics. After retiring in 2003, Fitzgerald worked for a time for the state Division of Emergency Management as it responded to floods, wildfires and hurricanes. He also worked from 2005 until 2013 as a doorkeeper in the Texas Senate -- and was present the night of the raucous filibuster by Sen. Wendy Davis over an abortion bill. In addition to his wife, Fitzgerald is survived by a daughter, Kelly Anne Fitzgerald, and a son, Kevin Lane Fitzgerald and spouse Lorraine. All live in Austin. All Faiths Funeral Services in Austin is in charge of arrangements. No services had been announced as of Wednesday afternoon. The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. BNM anunta concurs pentru postul vacant de expert principal, pe durata determinata, responsabil de elaborarea/actualizarea cerintelor metodologice de reglementare a procesului de raportare la BNM A Connecticut city will pay $6.65 million to settle one of three lawsuits filed by the family of three girls who died in a Christmas morning house fire that also killed their grandparents. Terms of the settlement werent disclosed when it was announced last month but are contained in Stamford Probate Court papers obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media. The 2011 fire killed 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah Badger, 9-year-old Lily Badger and their maternal grandparents, Lomar and Pauline Johnson. The city had been accused of failures in inspecting renovations at the home. The girls father, Matthew Badger, sued on their behalf. He died in February, but his brother, Sherwin Campbell Badger, took over as executor. Jury selection had started in the case and a trial was expected to begin this month. The parties consider the settlement to be fair, Emmett said in a statement to The Advocate newspaper. The city is sympathetic to the tremendous losses suffered by the Badger family. The defendants did not admit any liability or fault in the settlement. I appreciate that the Stamford defendants have agreed to resolve this case, Campbell Badger said in the joint statement. Matthew Badger filed the lawsuit in 2012 and also named several contractors who had worked on the large home overlooking Long Island Sound. The general contractor, Michael Borcina, was dating the girls mother, Madonna Badger, at the time, and both of them escaped the blaze. Borcina and other contractors previously settled claims against them for a total of more than $8 million. The suit said the city failed to properly inspect renovations at the home. The suit alleged the city and some officials were reckless by giving Borcina a building permit even though he had no contractors license, and approved plans that didnt include smoke detectors in the girls third-floor bedrooms, which were legally required. The suit also said the city engaged in a cover-up when it tore down the house the day after it burned, thus eliminating evidence. The citys lawyers had denied all the allegations in the suit. The fire was blamed on fireplace ashes placed in a bin and left in a mudroom. Borcina initially told authorities that he put the bin in the mudroom, but later said in a deposition that Madonna Badger placed the ashes there. The probate papers show the city will pay $3.87 million to the childrens estates. Attorneys costs amounted to $2.52 million. The settlement also includes a $250,000 annuity for the Stamford chapter of the Girl Scouts of America. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Water-filled portable dams are being deployed and $1 million in state funding will go toward emergency repairs to wastewater treatment systems in two flood-damaged Lake Ontario communities, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday. A temporary emergency barrier system using water-filled dams instead of sandbags is being deployed in Greece in Monroe County and Sodus Point in Wayne County, the Democrat said. The two communities also will get $500,000 each to repair and upgrade flood-impacted wastewater infrastructure. The Democrat said he has also renewed a request to the Army Corps of Engineers for rock structures to safeguard flood-prone areas. Last month, Cuomo announced $7 million in state aid to help Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River homeowners impacted by flooding caused by record rainfall. Cuomo again blasted the U.S.-Canadian panel that controls the outflow of water from Lake Ontario, saying the agency bears much of the blame for flooding in New Yorks lakeside communities. I think they pulled the trigger too late on increasing outflow, Cuomo said in the Rochester suburb of Greece on Tuesday. They got behind, and now we have a real problem. The International Joint Commission responded to Cuomos comments by saying no one could have predicted the severe flooding throughout the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River system caused by record rainfall. The commission-directed board that controls outflow through a St. Lawrence River dam said Tuesday it would increase water releases starting Wednesday. The governor returned to flood-damaged Lake Ontario shoreline communities in Monroe and Wayne counties Tuesday amid National Weather Service predictions for more damaging waves and an Army Corps of Engineers forecast of above-average water levels for all five Great Lakes all summer. Both counties have seen some of the worst damage from flooding that began earlier this spring during heavy rains. Many lakeside communities in an eight-county region stretching from the Niagara River to the St. Lawrence River have sustained at least some damage since May, including shoreline erosion, flooded roads, battered break walls and submerged docks and boat launches. Cuomo said the flooding has devastated the spring-summer tourism season for many lakeside communities. When that season gets wiped out, it has economic consequences for the entire year, he said. Some lakeside residents and local officials have blamed the flooding on the International Joint Commission. New York residents and officials want the board to release more water through a dam on the river, but the commission also must consider flood-ravaged downstream communities as well as cargo ships that would be hampered by increased currents. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit announced Monday that water levels for all of the Great Lakes are expected to be higher than average into the fall. The agency predicts Lake Ontarios level will start to lower this month but remain higher than average into November. The Weather Service has issued lakeshore flooding watches for Tuesday night into Wednesday afternoon from Wayne County west to the Niagara River due to wind-driven waves. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Lawyers who represent injured workers in South Dakota are preparing for a proposal from the insurance industry that would limit their ability to pursue legal claims against insurance companies that are intentionally dishonest. Insurance industry representatives were scheduled to present the proposal to the state Workers Compensation Advisory Council later this month, a step that could lead to legislation limiting injured workers from pursuing bad faith claims against insurance companies. But lawyer Mike McKnight, who represents insurance companies, said the proposal is delayed until August. Were going to have some further discussions both sides, the other claimant lawyers, trial lawyers, etc. and see if we can come to some resolution of it, McKnight said. Lawyers representing workers expect the proposal to include caps on damages awarded in bad faith cases or even barring those claims from being filed at all, the Argus Leader reported. Theres been a concern raised in the past that worker compensation insurance companies are unduly susceptible to liability for bad faith, said James Marsh, who oversees the state Division of Labor and Management and workers compensation system. Bad faith claims usually accuse insurance companies of intentionally hiding information from those insured. Should a jury find that a company acted in bad faith, it can levy punitive damages to punish the bad behavior and hopefully deter future similar behavior. Mike Abourezk is a Rapid City attorney who won a $4 million verdict last year after finding that an insurance company hid the details of a $1 million insurance policy after a woman suffered catastrophic injuries in a car accident. Abourezk said insurance companies are willing to gamble that they wont get caught, especially with workers comp claims where the amount is usually only a few thousand dollars. He said that by denying legitimate claims, those companies are going to make more money than they lose even if they get caught now and again. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. General Motors Co. says it has built 130 self-driving Chevrolet Bolt electric cars at a factory in suburban Detroit, making it among the first automakers to mass produce self-driving vehicles. The automaker has been building self-driving Bolts at its Orion Assembly Plant in Orion Township, Michigan, since January. Unlike GMs earlier self-driving test vehicles, the new cars were built on the same assembly line as regular Bolts that are being sold to customers. Once they rolled off the line, the self-driving Bolts went to another area of the plant to get computers, sensors and other hardware installed. The cars use software from Cruise Automation, a self-driving startup GM bought in 2016. GM CEO Mary Barra wouldnt say Tuesday if the company plans to make more self-driving Bolts. What GM is doing is similar to what Waymo and Fiat Chrysler did last year, says Sam Abuelsamid, a senior analyst with Navigant Research. Fiat Chrysler assembled 100 hybrid Chrysler Pacifica minivans with modified wiring and then sent them to Waymo, which installed the hardware and software needed to make them self-driving. Fiat Chrysler is currently building an additional 500 Pacificas for Waymo. The main difference is that GM is doing the modifications under one roof, Abuelsamid said. But he thinks all automakers will soon be mass-producing vehicles that are modified for self-driving as they start to build up larger test fleets. It makes sense to do that engineering up front, because otherwise you have to tear up the car later to add the hardware, he said. The Bolt is a fully electric car that went on sale late last year. It can go 238 miles on a charge, and is ideal for use as an autonomous vehicle because its electric system can charge the computers needed for self-driving capability. GM has sold around 6,000 Bolts in the U.S. so far this year. The new cars will join 50 self-driving Bolts with older technology that are already being tested in San Francisco; Scottsdale, Arizona; and the Detroit area. Barra says the new vehicles will help GM accelerate its testing in urban environments, which are among the most challenging for autonomous cars to navigate. GM eventually plans to place self-driving Bolts in ride-hailing fleets in major U.S. cities. But unlike other automakers who are generally targeting 2020 or 2021 for autonomous vehicle fleets Barra is giving no target date. She said the company has set internal targets, but its not announcing them because it wants to make sure the vehicles are safe before theyre released. Gaining our customers trust is extremely important, she said. The self-driving version of the Bolt is equipped with GMs second-generation self-driving software and hardware. The cars have multiple cameras and 40 sensors, including a radar system that scans around corners for oncoming traffic. Five spinning Lidar cylinders on top of the car use lasers to make a three-dimensional map of the area as the vehicle is driving. GM wont say how much each vehicle costs. GM has been working with Lyft on autonomous vehicle research since early last year, when it invested $500 million in the San Francisco-based ride-hailing company. More recently, Lyft has partnered with some of GMs rivals, including Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover. Its unclear how Waymos tie-ups with both Lyft and Fiat Chrysler will impact GM. But Barra said GMs partnership with Lyft was never meant to be exclusive. Were working together in one space and competing in another, she said. Karl Brauer, the senior director of content at Cox Automotive, says no single company is doing everything related to autonomous driving as well as companies working together, like Waymo and FCA or the recently announced collaboration between BMW, Intel and Mobileye. But he said GM seems to be the furthest along in terms of its partnerships with Cruise and Lyft and development of self-driving cars. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Recently the United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held, in Great American Alliance Insurance Co. v. Anderson 847 F.3d. 1327 (11th Cir. 2017) that an employee did not go beyond the scope of the employers permissive use of a company vehicle when the employee operated the company vehicle while in an intoxicated state. This case was decided under Georgia law. Previously, the Georgia Supreme Court had held that no distinction existed between the terms actual use and use with respect to a permissive use situation. See e.g. Strickland v. Georgia Casualty and Surety Co. 224 Ga. 487, 489, 162 S.E. 2d 421, 423-424 (Georgia 1968). According to the Georgia Supreme Court, the term use had two meanings. The first meaning related to the operation of the vehicle while the second related to the purpose served by the vehicle. Using that lens, the Georgia Supreme Court held in Strickland that a finding of permissive use under the policy only required permission for the purpose served by the vehicle, and that the operational aspects of the vehicle were unimportant to that determination. The Georgia Supreme Court explained the reason for its prior pronouncements on scope of use in the following way: The policy, among other things, insures against obligations arising from the negligence or unlawful operation of the described vehicle. Under Appellees contention if the named insured permitted the use of the vehicle, and at the same time prohibited its negligent or unlawful operation, it would defeat the very purpose of the policy. Therefore, the actual use of the vehicle within the meaning of the policy cannot reasonably relate to the particular manner of its operation. At most, it could relate only to whether or not permission to operate the vehicle had been given. And even this would have no application to the first permittee who had been given permission to use the vehicle for a particular purpose since authorization necessarily implies permission to operate the vehicle. Furthermore, the policy provides: the purposes for which the automobile is to be used are business and pleasure. This indicates to us that the policy is concerned with the purpose to be served by the vehicle and not its operation. If the policy intended that actual use included the operation of the vehicle, it could have stated so plainly. The Georgia Supreme Court has also found that even in scenarios where employees have been determined to violate express prohibitions of the employer regarding the operation of the vehicle, insurance companies could still be found obligated to insure the employee where the use to which the [vehicle] was being put was within the scope of the initial permission, and the first permittee was riding in the [vehicle] or its operation by the second permittee was for his benefit or advantage. The Georgia Court of Appeals, 20 years after the Strickland case was decided, broke from the Strickland decision when it found that a companys internal rules could govern the scope of permissive use. See Barfield v. Royal Insurance Co. of America, 228 Ga.App.841, 492 S.E. 2d 688 (Georgia Court App. 1997). The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Anderson found that the Strickland and Barfield decisions were irreconcilable because they were predicated upon mutually exclusive premises. On the one hand, the Georgia Supreme Court held that the only inquiry relevant to determining the scope of a generic permissive use clause was whether the vehicle was used for an approved purpose. Strickland 224 Ga. at 492, 162 S.E. 2d at 425. Thus, where a vehicle was used for an approved purpose, the employees violation of explicit company policies would not foreclose the employees status as a permissive user. However, the Barfield court allowed an insurer to look beyond the express purpose identified by the Strickland court to look at the internal rules of the company to determine the scope of permissive use. Barfield, 228 Ga. App. at 843, 492 S.E. 2d at 690. To resolve this irreconcilable difference, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the Strickland case had not been overruled, and therefore it governed the current case disposition. Under a Strickland analysis, the Courts inquiry should have been limited to whether the employer had approved the purpose for which the employee was using the vehicle at the time of the accident. Under the facts presented in Anderson, an employer, Looper Cabinet Company (LCC) hired an employee, Brian Hensley, to perform services related to cabinet installation. Over the years of his employment, LCC had permitted Hensley to drive its 2008 Chevrolet Silverado for both work and personal purposes. On one occasion, Hensley drank several beers before driving the vehicle. An accident occurred involving Hensley and the driver of another vehicle. For two decades, LCCs internal policies had banned alcoholic beverages on company property and prohibited employees who are under the influence of alcohol from working in the shop on or off the clock. Based upon Strickland, the Court in Anderson found that the phrase used in the employers insurance policy regarding actual use, was the functional equivalent of the term use. The Court then held that Hensley was a permissive user while intoxicated because the analysis was limited to whether LCC approved the purpose for which Hensley was using the vehicle at the time of the accident. AKRON, Ohio -- Akron Symphony Orchestra will partner with the city of Akron to offer a series of free outdoor concerts in city parks this summer. The summer season opens July 4 as the orchestra joins Akron's annual Fourth of July celebration at Lock 3. The orchestra will perform a free concert at the park beginning at 8 p.m. with fireworks at 9:45 p.m. The performance will feature a salute to America and a variety of popular songs, including Lowden's "Armed Forces Salute," Sousa's "The Washington Post" march, the theme from "Rocky," and the march from "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The performance will close with "The Stars and Stripes Forever." The concert and fireworks culminate the city's Rib White and Blue National Rib Festival, which takes place June 30 through July 4. The orchestra will host the following four additional summer parks concerts in Akron: July 23 at Hardesty Park July 30 at Firestone Park Aug. 6 at Goodyear Heights Metro Park Aug. 13 at Glendale Cemetery The performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and feature a variety of popular favorites, including "Tubby the Tuba," featuring Ken Heinlein, principal tuba; Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake Suite" and John Williams' suite from "Jaws" and march from "Superman." The orchestra will also perform "The Paper Man," a composition by 17-year-old Harrison Collins, a finalist in the 2017 National Young Composers Challenge. AKRON, Ohio - Ana, the Akron Zoo's tiniest primate, just got her vision back. The 1.5-pound endangered golden lion tamarin recently underwent cataract surgery, which veterinarians believe could be the first such surgery on a primate so small. Zoo staff realized Ana was blind after she showed trouble getting around her exhibit. After an exam revealed cataracts, Ana was moved to safer area with a net. Workers also trained her to rely on hearing and touch to find her food, water and nest box. Improvising tiny instruments Performing cataract surgery on domestic and exotic animals is not uncommon, but Ana's tiny 5mm corneas made her surgery unique. With normal surgical instruments too large, Akron Zoo veterinarian Brittany Rizzo, and staff worked with Emily Conway, veterinary ophthalmologist at VCA Great Lakes Veterinary Specialists, and William Wiley, medical director of Clear Choice Laser Center and the Cleveland Eye Clinic, to improvise. Wiley, who performed the surgery, fashioned small retractors from various components to keep Ana's eyes open during the procedure. Dr. William Wiley performed the surgery, fashioning tiny retractors from various components to keep Ana's eyes open during the procedure. The zoo's vet tech, Samantha Aemmer, came up with a facemask design to deliver Ana's anesthesia using a 12cc syringe case, Rizzo said. Sightpath Medical mobile unit delivered special equipment to the zoo. "There was a lot of collective creativity to get her procedure done successfully," Rizzo said. "We need to use creativity a lot because they come in all shapes and sizes." Recovering well Ana's surgery took place June 3, the day before her 13th birthday, and was a success. Normally, once cataracts are removed, lenses to improve vision are inserted. With Ana's size no such lenses exist, so she'll remain farsighted. "She is recovering well, her incisions are healing well, and she's making eye contact with keepers, so her vision is coming back," Rizzo said. "We'll see how well she can jump from branch to branch." Ana will be off-exhibit as she recovers, although her twin brother, Rio, remains in the zoo's rainforest exhibit in Komodo Kingdom. You can view Ana's surgery here. Helping species thrive and survive Ana and Rio are cared for under a Species Survival Plan program, in part, because golden lion tamarins, indigenous to South America, are endangered as deforestation destroys their habitat. With more than 2,000 animal-holding facilities in the United States, the Akron Zoo is one of only about 230 that are accredited to participate in the Species Survival Plan program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. "it is a rigorous set of standards to become accredited," said Kim Cook, the zoo's director of conservation & animal health. Out of 227 different species on site, the Akron Zoo has 50 under survival plans, including such creatures as the komodo dragon, the white-winged wood duck, the blue-grey tanager, the pygmy slow loris, the African straw-colored fruit bat and the jaguar. Advancing animal welfare science Accredited zoos work together to improve the health of populations, ensure their sustainability and protect natural habitat, Cook said. The Akron Zoo is currently working with the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas (Institute for Ecological Study) and Cans for Corridors in Brazil to reforest areas that can help reconnect wild tamarin habitats to support survival of the species and its genetic diversity, Cook said. Zoos in the program also have a scientific responsibility to advance animal welfare science. As part of the program, Ana's unique surgery and case study will be recorded and shared with the other zoos to add to the growing body of animal welfare science and husbandry for endangered species in human care. To learn more about endangered species, visit the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. For more information abut the Akron Zoo, visit the website or call 330-375-2550. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save CLEVELAND, Ohio - Legendary city planner, community development leader and planning professor Norman Krumholz, who served in the administration of Carl Stokes, America's first black, big-city mayor, will be honored today from 4:30 to 7 p.m. today (Thursday, June 15) at Cleveland State University for his 90th birthday. The event will take place in the atrium of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at 1717 Euclid Ave. The event is free and open to the public. Street renaming As part of the festivities, the City of Cleveland will rename the one-block stretch of East 18th Street from Euclid Avenue to Chester Avenue as Norman Krumholz Way, said Chris Ronayne, president of the nonprofit University Circle Inc., the community development corporation for the city's medical, educational and cultural hub, who helped organize the event. Signs renaming the street will be installed today, said Ronayne, a former Krumholz student. The event will honor Krumholz's service to the city, to Cleveland State and to mark his 90th birthday, which falls on Saturday the 17th, Ronayne said. "He's a lion in city planning," Ronayne said. "He really broke the mold in city planning, locally." Krumholz also enjoys a national reputation as an early champion of equity planning, defined as considering the impact of any decision on a city's poorest residents, and as enhancing the choices of those who have the fewest choices. "Norm is synonymous with equity planning," Ronayne said. "It's really hotter than ever." Education and career Krumholz was born in Passaic, N.J. in 1927. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Missouri in 1952, and a master's degree in city and regional planning at Cornell University in 1965. He was assistant director of the Pittsburgh City Planning Commission from 1965 to 1969 according to his official CSU biography. He served as city planning director in Cleveland from 1969 to 1979 under mayors Carl B. Stokes, Ralph J. Perk, and Dennis Kucinich, and led the Cleveland Center for Neighborhood Development from 1979 to 1984. Krumholz joined the faculty at the CSU Levin College of Urban Affairs in 1985, where his title is professor. A writer, too With John Forester, Krumholz is the co-author of "Making Equity Planning Work, published in 1990. With CSU's Dennis Keating, he also co-authored "Revitalizing Urban Neighborhoods" in 1999. Krumholz also served as a member of the Cleveland City Planning Commission from 2006 to 2014. Speakers at today's event will include Roland Anglin, dean of the Levin College; Keating; Krumholz's son, Andy; writer Roldo Bartimole; Ronayne; and Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland. "He's a damn good teacher to all of us," he said. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. will build the Midwest's first-ever plant producing hot briquetted iron, which is used in steelmaking, the company announced Thursday. The $700 million project, which received $30 million in grants and other financial incentives, is expected to break ground in early 2018 on the Ironville site in East Toledo, a former brownfield. The plant is anticipated to begin production in mid-2020, the company said. The project is scheduled to create 1,200 construction jobs and 130 permanent jobs. Hourly jobs at the plant will pay about $100,000, said Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the 170-year-old mining and natural resources company. The plant will be Cliffs' first facility in Ohio. He said Toledo was uniquely situated for the project. "We got a site in the Port of Toledo that is extremely convenient," he said. "It is close to the clients and has easy access. Logistically, it is an extremely positive site for us receiving iron pellets from Minnesota to produce the HBI, or hot briquetted iron." U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Democrat of Toledo, expressed similar sentiments. "The confluence of a job-ready site and Toledo's excellent distribution and transportation network helped to put the Toledo Port site over the top, attracting major investment and the jobs that will come with it," she said in a news release. Goncalves said a lot of the plant's back office operations will be done in Cleveland, creating additional jobs. "We don't have a number to give you, but that is a very fair conclusion that there will be more jobs in Cleveland," he said. Goncalves said the plant would meet a strong demand in the Midwest and the Great Lakes region for HBI, which is used in an electric arc furnace as part of the steelmaking process. He said partly because HBI isn't produced in the region, steelmakers primarily rely on scrap metal with some pig iron mixed in. The pig iron comes from places such as Russia and Venezuela. Cliffs is relying on local production having an advantage in serving a customer base concentrated in Ohio and neighboring states. "It will be the first HBI facility in the Midwest and the first one in the Great Lakes," Goncalves said. "We think of this as a great market opportunity that has been present for a long, long time, and now we can do it because in order to produce hot briquetted iron you need two things: iron ore, which we have plenty of, and affordable natural gas, which is something relatively new in the Midwest since the shale boom made natural gas affordable in the Great Lakes." He said HBI allows for the production of a higher grade of steel. "Scrap carries trace elements that are completely unacceptable for the high-end applications," Goncalves said. "We will produce a customized product -- not a one size fits all -- for each one of our clients," he said. Follow: @OPinfo OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- An Ocean Springs man was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempting to sell cereal treats laced with marijuana to juveniles. Sheriff Mike Ezell said complaints to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and supervisor Randy Bosarge led to agents from the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team staking out the Lake Mars boat ramp in the Gulf Park Estates subdivision just east of Ocean Springs. At about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, agents witnessed a suspect -- later identified as 19-year-old Deshea Johnson of Ocean Springs -- attempting to sell the bags of marijuana cereal treats to three juveniles. During the arrest, agents seized 16 plastic bags of the marijuana-laced treats. Johnson has been charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. He is currently in the Jackson County Adult Detention Center awaiting an initial court appearance. Ezell said his department is "aggressively" pursuing drug trafficking in Gulf Park Estates. "We want parents to know this stuff is making the rounds and they need to be aware of it," he said. Huntington Bank today vowed to add scores of jobs in downtown Akron this year and increase employment significantly over the next five years. Huntington is officially designating Akron as its new regional headquarters, and it currently employs about 1,100 in the city. The formal announcement to add to that was made this morning at Cascade Plaza in Akron with numerous dignitaries, including Huntington CEO Steve Steinour and Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan. The commitment comes nearly 1-1/2 years after Columbus-based Huntington announced its blockbuster acquisition of Akron-based FirstMerit, whose history in Akron dated back to 1845. The combination created one of the nation's 20 largest banks. Huntington initially shaved 179 jobs from FirstMerit's Akron headquarters of 1,200 after the merger closed last summer. There had been fear the job loss would be worse, as often happens when a corporate headquarters is lost. But Huntington at the time promised there wouldn't be massive cuts. Now, Huntington will get back to 1,200 jobs this year, and add even more jobs between Jan. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2022, Steinour said. "Part of today is to say, 'Promises made, promises kept,' " he said in an interview. The bank vows employment won't go below 1,200 in the next five years. Overall, Huntington employs about 16,300 as of the first quarter of this year. That's roughly the same number Huntington and FirstMerit employed together at the time the deal was announced. The planned expansion -- which doesn't have a specific number attached to it at this time -- is connected to tax incentives. For every job created or added in Akron, Huntington will get a credit equal to 35 percent of new income taxes collected in connection with the new jobs. Steinour said that as Huntington expands various operations, it will look to expand in Akron in cases where it makes sense. For example, mobile app development is a hot field, Steinour said. The bank may look to add future jobs in this and other divisions in Akron instead of in cities like Cleveland or Columbus. Akron, meanwhile, is agreeing to improvements around Huntington's regional headquarters at Cascade Plaza, including spending up to $1 million to replace and upgrade lighting in the Cascade Plaza parking deck, repairing the back stairs overlooking Quaker Street and updating and improving signage pointing motorists to the parking deck. Horrigan said Akron embraced Huntington's promise to not cut more jobs and instead add them. "It's a great day," he said, adding that Huntington's commitment can be one of the sparks that could help the city as it continues its efforts to rebuild downtown and increase its population. Nick Browning, Huntington's Akron regional president, said, the bank's future in Akron is bright. To support Huntington's hiring efforts, JobsOhio is providing a $225,000 grant to support new employee recruitment and training. "Huntington had many options on where to place a new regional headquarters, and Huntington chose Akron," said Valentina Isakina, JobsOhio's managing director for financial services. She praised Huntington's recognition of the talent pool in Northeast Ohio, which should expand under these efforts. Horrigan said the city, while initially devastated by last year's announcement, decided that trying to work with Huntington would probably turn out better than trying to block the merger. Huntington has made physical improvements in Akron, too, investing more than $5 million at its operations center at 295 FirstMerit Circle, 3 Cascade Plaza and Huntington Tower. "We're about a year ahead of where we wanted to be," Steinour said. "We will continue to grow here." EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio -- East Cleveland, a suburb steeped in political turmoil and facing an uncertain future, now has a list of candidates who want to be its next mayor. After a recall in December, Brandon King has been serving as acting mayor, taking over from the former mayor, Gary Norton. Six people filed to challenge King for the post he wants to keep. East Cleveland remains in a fiscal state of emergency, according to the state auditor's office. Merger talks have not moved forward since the recall. The filing deadline has now passed for the September primary for all cities in the county besides Cleveland, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Among the East Cleveland candidates is Devin Branch, an activist who collected signatures to recall Norton. He was recently cleared of a charge that he assaulted the former mayor. He was also appointed to council in January, but the city's law director and mayor called his and Kelvin Earby's appointments unlawful, and the mayor replaced them. A lawsuit regarding the matter is still pending. Una Keenon, who is currently serving as president of the East Cleveland school board, and Mansell Baker, a former council member, also are listed among the seven mayoral candidates. See the full list of names in the document viewer below. MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio Body found, Interstate-271: An overnight construction crew reported at 4:47 a.m. June 3 there was a man passed out in a vehicle on the shoulder of the freeway. The crew members said the vehicle had been there for almost two hours. Responding officers found a dead man in the driver's seat. There was no illegal contraband located in the vehicle, but, the owner of the vehicle was contacted and she stated the Aurora man, 44, was a friend and a heroin user. Trespassing, Mayfield Road: A Genesee Avenue resident was arrested for criminal trespass and theft from Speedway at 1:40 a.m. June 5. The woman, 33, was suspected of stealing five bottles of beer from the store. Several of them were found in her purse, which was located behind a house on a Washington Boulevard. Animals, Washington Boulevard: A man said May 31 an unknown person unlocked the gate on his fence on purpose to let his dogs free. He said there is a neighbor on the street that has an issue with dogs in the area. Officers advised the man to put up a security camera to cover the gated area of the fence. General assistance, Marsol Road: A tenant at the Drake apartments said June 2 she had an argument with the staff in the leasing office and a security guard was called and stood over her. She believed this done to harass her. Officers learned the woman was upset about a bed bug problem she was having in her apartment. A manager said an exterminator would be out to handle the problem. Suspicion, Eastwood Avenue: Officers responded to a report at 9:15 p.m. June 3 of a man that had dropped his pants in front of two young children and made odd comments. It was believed the man may have been drunk and looking for his vehicle while coming from a festival in Lyndhurst. He was not located. General assistance, Enfield Drive: A resident received a letter June 2 that appeared to be hand-delivered because there was no stamp or return address on it. The letter stated to call a specific phone number "or else." The phone number was found to belong to a human services line and was unrelated to anything. It was assumed to be a prank. Theft, SOM Center Road: A Cleveland woman, 37, was arrested at Target June 5 for the suspected theft of 22 clothing items, valued at $285. Inside her purse, officers located a second purse containing two pairs of flip flops. Those items were found to have been stolen from Old Navy. General assistance, Marsol Road: A man reported May 31 someone threw away a very expensive piece to a hookah he bought for his girlfriend. Officers determined it was a civil matter between friends. Property damage, Bonnie Lane: A resident reported June 4 he suspected his deceased brother's landscaper had cut fuel lines on both of his vehicles because he felt he should pay him for doing yard work at the brother's house. He said the Cleveland man, 29, had also dumped a pile of debris in his driveway the previous week. Officers spoke to the suspect, who denied cutting the fuel lines. He admitted to dumping the debris and was told he would be cited for illegal dumping. Burglary, Golden Gate Boulevard: A man reported at 9:54 a.m. June 1 his Pepperwood apartment was robbed while his girlfriend's daughter, 10, was home alone and he was at the store. The girl said the male suspect did not threaten her but told her not to use her phone. She said he also asked her where her parents kept the money and jewelry. It appeared a crowbar was used to pry open the apartment door. Among the items stolen were purses, wallets, earrings and necklaces. There were no suspects identified. The man later reported an unknown person threw pasta on his car in the parking lot. He asked for special attention to the area. Criminal damage, Golden Gate Boulevard: A vehicle was found keyed and dented in the Pepperwood apartment parking lot June 3. Its owner said a neighbor has problems with him due to his dog's barking, but he did not suspect she would have caused the damage. See more Mayfield Heights news at Cleveland.com/hillcrest If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page. Domestic violence, Acacia Park Drive: Just before 1 p.m. June 10, a woman reported that her mother threatened to shoot her while the two, and the caller's six-year-old child, were riding in a car. The woman who called police responded by jumping out of the car, leaving the child behind. The mother continued to drive around while the caller ran to the nearby Sherri Park Apartments, 2111 Acacia Park Drive, where her child's father lives. She then hid in the apartment's garage, telling police she would not emerge until she saw officers arrive. Police spoke with the mother, 48, who said she did not have a gun. A report on the matter was forwarded to the city prosecutor to determine if charges will be filed. Littering, Cedar Road: At 8 p.m. June 10, a woman reported that she was walking in Legacy Village when she saw a man in his 20s throw from his moving car a cup. The woman yelled at the man to pick up up the cup. The man stopped his auto and got out in what the woman described as a threatening manner, and yelled back at her. The man then got back into his car and drove away, but returned as the caller got into her car in the Legacy Village lot. The woman drove from the lot to the police station. Police could not locate the man's car. Welfare check, Lyndhurst Road: At 1:10 a.m. June 10, a biker notified police that a man in a parked car was involved in a fight with someone in the car. Police arrived to find the man, 21, alone in his car. It was learned that the man was wanted on a North Randall police warrant. North Randall police could not pick up the man and he was sent on his way. Assault, Edgefield Road: At 11:30 p.m. June 9, police were called to a home by a woman, 64, after her son, 31, and his ex-girlfriend, also 31, had apparently been involved in an altercation. Police arrived to find the former girlfriend, of North Olmsted, with a bloody nose, visible marks on her neck and face, and swollen cheeks. Her clothes were covered in dirt and grass, and her makeup was running as if she'd been crying. The man, who was intoxicated, had marks on his face, back and arms. The son was taken to Hillcrest Hospital because he was having difficulty breathing. Fleeing and eluding, Cherokee Drive: At 6:45 p.m. June 8, a caller told police of a pickup truck parked reverse to traffic. When police approached, the truck driver sped off, he later claimed, because he had a vehicle registration problem. The truck sped through several streets as it headed into Highland Heights. In Highland Heights, the truck struck a man who was walking and continued on its way before it crashed on Strumbly Drive. The truck's driver, a Cleveland Heights man, 19, was injured in the crash and taken to UH Richmond Medical Center. He was charged with two counts of fleeing and eluding, and one count of assault. Lyndhurst police were unaware of the condition of the pedestrian the truck hit. Neighbor trouble, Kilbourne Drive: At 3:50 p.m. June 8, a man called police to report that he was threatened by a male neighbor over grass clippings in the road. The threatening neighbor told the man he was going in his home to get a gun. No gun was displayed. Because no physical altercation took place, police spoke with both parties and left without citing either man. Theft, Acacia Park Drive: At 1:05 p.m. June 8, the staff at Pain & Relief Center, 5555 Mayfield Road, reported that an employee stole $5,000 from the company. The employee was not at work on the day police were called. Drug paraphernalia, Edgefield Road: At 11:25 a.m. June 8, a resident called police because a suspicious, occupied car had been parked near his home for some time. Police found that the man in the driver's seat, 20, of Cleveland, was in possession of marijuana and paraphernalia. He was cited for both offenses and released. Theft, Cedar Road: At 11:30 a.m. June 7, the manager at Dick's Sporting Goods, 24545 Cedar Road, reported that an employee, a Euclid man, 19, was being detained for stealing $180 from the store's cash register. The man was charged with theft and issued a trespass warning. If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page. There are a few places for bird watching in Taman Negara for those interested in this hobby. The first thing you should know is that this is a rainforest area, and one of the oldest in the world dating to 130 million years old. This means, you will be doing tropical birding here and the main area for bird watching in Taman Negara is no other than around the park headquarters and its surroundings. However, for serious birders, there are a few other places that are great for bird watching. Recently in late 2016 and early 2017, there has been a new place that opened for birding and is a 10-minute drive out of the main area of Kuala Tahan in Taman Negara. In total, there are over 350 479 species of birds recorded in the entire Taman Negara area, based on the last count done in 2018. Bird Watching in Taman Negara A group of Hornbills perched on a tree at Taman Negara Recently in late 2016 and early 2017, there has been a new place that opened for birding and is a 10-minute drive out of the main area of Kuala Tahan in Taman Negara.In total, there are over479 species of birds recorded in the entire Taman Negara area, based on the last count done in 2018. To do bird watching here, you should know that Kuala Tahan will be your main gateway into Taman Negara National Park. Kuala Tahan is a small village town that offers accommodations, local restaurants, floating restaurants, tour desks, and convenient shops. There are no modern cafes, restaurants or shopping malls found here. There are also no ATM machines or pharmacies found here. So, if you need to get any supplies or special items, make sure you get them before you leave the larger cities. A Great Hornbill was seen at the Mutiara Resort Bird Watching Places in Taman Negara From Kuala Tahan, visitors will take the boat taxi service across the Tembeling River into the national park. Read this article on the best way to go to Taman Negara for those wanting to find out how. Below is a list of places for bird watching in Taman Negara, Pahang which is narrowed down for you. Some of these places are very popular while one of them is a new bird watching spot. If you are looking for Broadbills, Taman Negara is home to many, which include Green, Banded, and Black-and-yellow Broadbills. And if you are a fan of Barbets, look out for the Gold-whiskered and Red-throated Barbets, which are not easy to spot. Hornbill Valley in Taman Negara, one of the new bird watching spots here The list of bird watching places in Taman Negara is; When you are here, your bird guide would most likely bring you to the popular ones where you can see the most birds. Again, this all depends on luck, weather and timing. Lata Berkoh (Berkoh Waterfalls) - This is one of the good places in the mornings or afternoons where the journey there will allow you to spot many birds. It is a short ride from the main area of Taman Negara. Hornbill Valley (Lembah Enggang) - One of the very new areas for bird watching in Taman Negara where you can spot hornbills, barbets and many other birds. This location is actually by the main road and about a 10-minute drive from Kuala Tahan. Your bird guide will drive you to the area where you alight from the vehicle and do bird watching by the road. - One of the very new areas for bird watching in Taman Negara where you can spot hornbills, barbets and many other birds.This location is actually by the main road and about a 10-minute drive from Kuala Tahan. Your bird guide will drive you to the area where you alight from the vehicle and do bird watching by the road. One of the star birds is no other than the Helmet Hornbill. The Hornbill Valley in Taman Negara is also gazetted as a conservation area. Lembah Enggang or Hornbill Valley in the morning Taman Negara Forest Loop Trail - This is the easiest trail where it loops around the back of the Mutiara Resort. The walkway is boarded therefore it is an easy walk without worrying about leeches or bugs on the ground. The best time is just before 7.00 am and in the late afternoon. A total of 173 species of birds was spotted here on a bird count in April 2017.One of the star birds is no other than the Helmet Hornbill. The Hornbill Valley in Taman Negara is also gazetted as a conservation area.- This is the easiest trail where it loops around the back of the Mutiara Resort. The walkway is boarded therefore it is an easy walk without worrying about leeches or bugs on the ground. Taman Negara Swamp Loop Trail - Another easy trail at the other end of the resort which is also boarded. Walking here requires silence in order to spot the birds in the bush or canopy. In one section, a swampy area is seen where birds are often spotted, but you need to be silent and slow here. Tahan Hide Trail - This trail connects from the Forest Loop Trail and takes you all the way to the Tahan Hide, a lookout point for wildlife. Along the way, birds are spotted in the canopy and mid-canopy levels. Jenut Muda Trail - This is one of the very popular and best trails and is relatively easy. The Great Argus Pheasant is often spotted here along with other star birds like the Banded Pitta, Gould's Frogmouth, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Kingfishers, Woodpeckers, and many others. Watch for the leeches here though. The Taman Negara Canopy Walk Canopy Walk Trail - This is probably one of the active trails, from the park to the canopy walk. However, there are more birds spotted along the walk, versus the canopy walk as sometimes, there are many people on the canopy walk which distracts the birds. - This is one of the very popular and best trails and is relatively easy. The Great Argus Pheasant is often spotted here along with other star birds like the Banded Pitta, Gould's Frogmouth, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Kingfishers, Woodpeckers, and many others. Watch for the leeches here though.- This is probably one of the active trails, from the park to the canopy walk. However, there are more birds spotted along the walk, versus the canopy walk as sometimes, there are many people on the canopy walk which distracts the birds. Bukit Teresek Trail - This is the furthers trail at 2.5 km away from the park quarters. However, the journey here will bear fruit as many birds have been spotted in the first part of the trail. The unique Crestless Fireback is also spotted on this trail. Beyond The Batek Orang Asli Village - This requires you to take a long boat ride upriver, passing the popular ethnic Batek orang asli tribe village. The boat ride will take about 20 to 30 minutes through mild rapids to a spot upriver. Hornbills are often sighted around here among other birds. But to be honest, I am yet to explore this part, therefore I will update this once I have visited this spot. Around The Mutiara Resort - This is the best for beginners as you can do some casual birding around the resort grounds. There is a local resident Great Hornbill by the name of Abu who is frequently seen in the trees around the resort reception area or the park headquarters area. A Coucal spotted along the Tembeling River during a boat trip Along The Tembeling River - Usually, when you depart Taman Negara, you will take a two-hour boat ride down the Tembeling River to Kuala Tembeling, where your van transfer will be waiting to take you back to KL. It is on this boat ride that you will spot a number of birds along the river. - This is the best for beginners as you can do some casual birding around the resort grounds. There is a local resident Great Hornbill by the name of Abu who is frequently seen in the trees around the resort reception area or the park headquarters area.- Usually, when you depart Taman Negara, you will take a two-hour boat ride down the Tembeling River to Kuala Tembeling, where your van transfer will be waiting to take you back to KL. It is on this boat ride that you will spot a number of birds along the river. On my journey back, I managed to spot broadbills, kingfishers, raptors, swallows, water birds, and a few others. The trick is to sit behind the boat nearer to the boat captain, and he can slow the boat down when you want to photograph the birds. And no, he will not stop the boat for you, unless you are the only passenger. Star Birds of Taman Negara Most bird watchers or bird photographers come here in search of the many star birds of Taman Negara. They are mostly found in popular areas while some of them require some serious trekking and just to highlight, you may not see them all in one trip. Perhaps less than half of the birds below. The list of star birds in Taman Negara is; Malaysian Rail-babbler Malaysian Blue Flycatcher Short-toed Coucal Blue-winged Pitta Gould's Frogmouth Large Frogmouth Ferruginous Wood-Partridge Mountain Peacock Pheasant Crestless Fireback Barred Eagle Owl Bay Owl Masked Finfoot Great Argus Malaysian Peacock Pheasant Black-and-white Bulbul Rufous-tailed Sharma Red-legged Crake Storms Stork Wallaces Hawk-Eagle Bat Hawk Jambu Fruit Dove Rufous-collared Kingfisher Olive-backed Woodpecker Great Slaty Woodpecker Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker Trogons Some birds spotted sitting on a tree along the Tembeling River Best Time For Bird Watching in Taman Negara For the avid birder, there are of course the best and worst times to do bird watching. From my point of view, as an amateur bird watcher, the worst time for this is during the school holidays, weekends, public holidays and the rainy season. This way, you can fully enjoy your birding in Taman Negara without distraction and noise. One of the chalets at Mutiara Taman Negara Where To Stay In Taman Negara? I would advise booking your visit for a weekday, as the best bird guides would be free and there would be very few people around the national park.This way, you can fully enjoy your birding in Taman Negara without distraction and noise. The resort is located in the national park where the park headquarters is. This is luxury in the rainforest and an average room would cost around RM350.00 (USD 80.00) per person, but you know you will get a good night's rest here. Your second choice would be the general guest houses which cost around RM120 to RM140 per room. They are basic, with attached bathroom, hot water, and air condition. The golden question for birders. Depending on your budget, there are basic air-condition rooms from the many budget hotels in Kuala Tahan. Even cheaper, there are homestays available. But for optimum relaxation, there is the Mutiara Taman Negara Resort The resort is located in the national park where the park headquarters is. This is luxury in the rainforest and an average room would cost around RM350.00 (USD 80.00) per person, but you know you will get a good night's rest here.Your second choice would be the general guest houses which cost around RM120 to RM140 per room. They are basic, with attached bathroom, hot water, and air condition. What is the Weather in Taman Negara? Just to get you in the right attire, the weather in Taman Negara is pretty hot and humid with temperatures around 74-88F (23-31C). Humidity gets really high in the late mornings and afternoons and you can expect random showers unless it is the rainy season from October to January. Personally, many say that it is not recommended to do bird watching in Taman Negara during the rainy season. In general, you need to be as comfortable as you can be. Shorts, T-shirts or short-sleeved light material clothes are recommended, along with comfortable hiking or trekking shoes. A hat is optional as you would most likely be in the rainforest under the canopy. What to Prepare For Taman Negara? Just like any other rainforest, you need to have a poncho or raincoat, lots of drinking water, leech socks (if you truly are scared of them), very basic first aid kit, energy bars and insect repellent (the local ones please). Other than that, you will perspire quite a bit during your walks, so you may need to bring along a towel or tissue for this. A good pair of binoculars is recommended as the thick rainforest can be tricky to spot birds in Taman Negara. For me, I use the mid-level During my last trip for Some of the river birds around Taman Negara Booking a Bird Watching Tour in Taman Negara If you are lugging a bazooka lens with a massive tripod, I would recommend you use a comfortable shoulder pad to carry your gear.A good pair of binoculars is recommended as the thick rainforest can be tricky to spot birds in Taman Negara.For me, I use the mid-level Omicron Savvy IV HR binoculars to spot birds. They are affordable and very easy to use, as I have brought the binoculars around the world with me.During my last trip for bird watching in Flores , Indonesia in late 2016, the binoculars served me pretty well as I managed to spot quite a lot of birds. For those interested, you can contact me to arrange for your booking. I am in contact with one of the local bird tour operators in Taman Negara. So, for the Peninsular, this place was an eye-opener as the many birds spotted was quite interesting. You can also read this article for a complete list of There are many other places to do bird watching in Malaysia , while over the years, I have been pretty much active doing bird watching in Sabah and Sarawak, on the island of Borneo.So, for the Peninsular, this place was an eye-opener as the many birds spotted was quite interesting. You can also read this article for a complete list of birding events in Malaysia , for the serious birders. Conclusion My recent trip to Taman Negara was done with the company above where it took a four-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur. I stayed at the Mutiara Taman Negara and explored the many places around here. This is also my first time doing bird watching in Taman Negara, and it was a fruitful trip with quite a number of birds spotted. I am planning to go back for another round of birding here as there are still many places that I want to visit here. Data analytics is doing absolutely amazing things for companies Recently, Vodafone worked with a venture-backed company Celonis to improve efficiency. The results have been nothing short of staggering. Process costs per purchase order were cut by 11% and time to market by 20% all in less than six months. Solutions like this are touted as MRI for your business in a Forbes article from Gil Press. See graphic below. Data mining, big data and analytics have the potential to transform businesses and many companies are investing now to accrue the benefits before the competition. You literally cant look at the tech news of the day without seeing a wealth of analytics stories. For example, an IoT Evolution piece from Cynthia Artin discusses how Amazon AWS Greengrass is allowing for improved analytics including examples from Lenovo. Larry Dignan at ZDNet further discusses Salesforce Einstein Analytics contextual suite of self-service apps throughout its platform. See graphic below. The increased focus on analytics hasnt been missed by the media. In fact, in March 2017, Dun & Bradstreet and Forbes Insights explored the current state of analytics adoption across the enterprise via a survey of more than 300 executives in North America, the U.K. and Ireland across a range of industries. Some of the findings are fascinating (emphasis added by us): Senior executives finally understand the value of analytics and are making investments in technology, people and processes. Data analytics skills gaps persist across the enterprise, as 27% of analytics professionals surveyed cite this skills gap as a major impediment in their data initiatives. Data analytics has moved from IT and finance to the majority of business functions. Analytical methods and tools trail both the appetite and ambition of most business leaders: 23% of analytics professionals are still using spreadsheets as their primary tool for data analysis. There is a dire need for better data analytics best practices, with 19% using only basic data models and regressions. People capital is a major factor for data analytics success. While data analytics has gone mainstream, the C-suite and senior leadership need to do more to drive the cultural change needed for better utilization of analytics, as 38% of those surveyed say their companies need to do more. To move to a data-driven enterprise, business leaders need to do more with all the data their teams are consuming and analyzing. Only 38% of respondents strongly felt that business leaders took full advantage of their analytics initiatives. In short, there is a skills gap and an opportunity gap with a small but growing number of companies beginning to take advantage of data analytics to save money and find new customers. The opportunity is not going to go away companies need to be on the leading edge of this curve to stay competitive. One way to be on the forefront is to attend the IoT Evolution, Business Intelligence and Analytics track where you will hear from companies like Tellient, Uptake, GLOBECOMM, IBM, Cradlepoint and many more. Register now the event takes place July 17-20 in Las Vegas. UPDATED The top Democrat on the Senate education committee is expressing dismay at a report from ProPublica that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her team want to scale back the Obama administrations approach to investigating civil rights complaints. President Trump and his Administration can claim to oppose discrimination all they want, but actions speak louder than wordsand everything they are doing is making it clear that they want to defang and weaken the federal governments tools to protect the civil rights and safety of people across the country, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement. If true, this would help clarify why Secretary DeVos is calling for major cuts to the Office for Civil Rights: because she simply doesnt want it to do as much to protect students. Murrays comments come in response to ProPublicas Thursday story about an internal memo sent to regional offices of the U.S. Department of Education. In that June 8 memo, acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Candice Jackson called for reversing the Obama administrations approach to investigating claims of racial discrimination, inequitable resources, and more. During the Obama years, civil rights investigators would consider if individual complaints were part of a broader pattern of discrimination by asking investigators to look at three years of compliance data. That practice, which some critics said was onerous, wont be continued under President Donald Trump unless the original complaint notes systemic problems, or the individual investigator can show higher ups why its warranted, the online news organization reported. The memo also gives more autonomy to regional offices, scaling back requirements that investigations be reviewed at the agencys headquarters. Liz Hill, a spokeswoman for the department, said the changes arent intended to weaken civil rights protections. This about ensuring every individual complainant gets the care and attention they deserve, Hill said in an email. In OCR, processing times have skyrocketed in recent years and the case backlog has exploded. Justice delayed is justice denied, and justice for many complaints has been denied for too long. The new instructions, she said, seek to clear out the backlog while giving every complaint the individualized and thorough consideration it deserves. The change will do that by getting rid of the artificial requirement to collect several years of data when the complaint may be able to be addressed faster and adequately without taking that extra step, Hill said. And she noted that the instructions also called for all civil rights violations be given equal care and importance, and every type of civil right to be enforced with equal vigor and vigilance. But civil rights advocates, including Catherine Llahmon, who led the office during Obamas tenure, expressed big concerns about the move to ProPublica, saying it would undermine the offices mission. Lhamon also took to Twitter Thursday to criticize the decision: Americans deserve better. This civil rights rollback is dangerous for all of us. https://t.co/L8Qfo6mUOo Catherine E. Lhamon (@CatherineLhamon) June 15, 2017 ProPublicas report comes as the Trump administration is seeking to cut 46 positions from the departments office for civil rights, as part of an effort to trim the departments staff by about 150 full-time workers. Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . At just 31, Kyle Maynard has already accomplished way more than most people ever will. Even Oprah Winfrey has praised Maynard, calling him "one of the most inspiring young men you will ever hear about." Born with a condition called congenital amputation, Maynard is an ESPY-award winning mixed martial arts athlete in jiu-jitsu, the first amputee to climb Mount Kilimanjaro without the help of a prosthesis, a wrestling champion and the author of a New York Times-bestselling book called "No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life." He has appeared in a groundbreaking Nike commercial and has been the subject of a documentary. Plus, he travels the country helping Fortune 500 executives and serving as a motivational speaker for soldiers and at college campuses. CNBC spoke with Maynard via phone from the Hightower Apex Conference in San Francisco, California. Here's his best advice about personal achievement, work-life balance and setting goals. Pieter Hugo "Work smarter and harder" Maynard, who considered his father a source of inspiration growing up, says that he knew from a young age that his disability would lead to "disadvantages." But that didn't stop him. "I'd just work that much harder," he says. "I'd stay after wrestling practice or weight lifting and do that extra work and just put in that extra time." Maynard even has a mantra he tries to follow. "I'm a big fan of 'work smarter, not harder,' but I think it's like, 'work smarter and harder,' sometimes," he says. "I just notice that people do those extra things for a multitude of reasons due to their level of commitment and commitment shows in their results." Blend work and play Maynard says he's a fan of work-life balance but doesn't think there necessarily needs to be a separation. It's "an awesome thing," he says, but "I want to aspire to blur the lines between work and play much more." He adds, "The less we can differentiate between work and play, it actually leads to a life well-lived." Luis Lopez Failure teaches more than success "I believe there's a lot more to be learned from failures than when everything goes right," says Maynard. He considers failure to be a spectrum. "You have the little failures and the bigger screw-ups," he says, but there are also things you "need to stop doing right away." In those instances, he says, it can be difficult to quit, although you may be better off in the long run if you do. Surround yourself with those who add value watch now Imagine turning to your iPhone for all your health and medical information every doctor's visit, lab test result, prescription and other health information, all available in a snapshot on your phone and shared with your doctor on command. No more logging into hospital websites or having to call your previous doctor to get them to forward all that information to your new one. Apple is working on making that scenario a reality. CNBC has learned that a secretive team within Apple's growing health unit has been in talks with developers, hospitals and other industry groups about bringing clinical data, such as detailed lab results and allergy lists, to the iPhone, according to a half-dozen people familiar with the team. And from there, users could choose to share it with third parties, like hospitals and health developers. One of the people said Apple is looking at start-ups in the cloud hosting space about potential acquisitions that might fit into this plan. watch now Essentially, Apple would be trying to re-create what it did with music replacing CDs and scattered MP3s with a centralized management system in iTunes and the iPod in the similarly fragmented and complicated landscape for health data. "If Apple is serious about this, it would be a big f---ing deal," said Farzad Mostashari, former National Coordinator of Health IT for the Department of Health and Human Services and the founder of a start-up called Aledade. Such a move would represent a deviation in strategy from Apple's previous efforts in health care, the people said, which have focused on fitness and wellness. Apple's HealthKit, for instance, is primarily used to store things like step counting and sleep. There's also a feature called "health records," which includes the option to import documents that include summaries of care, but that is a limited snapshot of medical information. A huge problem Apple How it all started Casper CEO Philip Krim says the "stars aligned," for the co-founders to meet. Parikh, Sherwin and Flatemen knew each other they had started an e-commerce company together. When Krim and Chapin sat with them at that N.Y.C. accelerator, they all became friends and started comparing notes, says Krim on the podcast. Casper co-founders Jeff Chapin, Gabe Flateman, Neil Parikh, Philip Krim and Luke Sherwin Courtesy of Capser As it turned out, Krim, Parikh and Chapin had something in common the sleep industry. Krim had founded The Merrick Group, and its two largest websites were AngelBeds.com and SleepBetterStore.com. Parikh's father was a sleep doctor with direct access to the experts. Jeff Chapin, an industrial designer and engineer, had worked at IDEO designing, among other things, mattresses. Flateman and Sherwin had other important business expertise: Flateman knew e-commerce, and Sherwin, having worked Saatchi & Saatchi and Thrillist, had a background in media and brand building. Random perhaps, but certainly serendipitous. The five banded together to disrupt a $14 Billion industry by designing a single, affordable "mattress in a box" consumers could easily buy online and have shipped to their homes. How they became "Casper" The name "Casper" has "nothing to do with" the friendly ghost, says Krim on podcast Connections. Instead, inspiration came from co-founder Sherwin. His roommate at the time was a six-foot-six German guy named Kasper, who slept on a twin mattress. "He did not fit on the mattress at all" says Krim, which gave the team a good laugh. Casper mattress Courtesy of Casper Krim and his co-founders had set an arbitrary deadline to name the company, and despite lots of ideas, they kept on returning to "Kasper." Eventually they went with Casper (with a C). Fundraising and pushing past doubts Krim's vision was to build a company that would revolutionize sleep a gargantuan task that the founders believed would require backing from the best technology investors. The problem was, says Krim, not one technology investor believed they could succeed. They heard no "dozens and dozens and dozens of times." When they pitched, they would hear things like: "You're talking to technology investors, but you're going to sell mattresses? How does that make sense?" "You're going to make selling mattresses cool? Like okay, yeah, good luck." "You're going to market with just one mattress?" "You're gonna sell a mattress that everyone wants to lay on without having a retail presence?" The constant rejection took its toll on the co-founders. "That can be something that really is very demoralizing and it certainly made us question our conviction," admits Krim. But, he says, "the best ideas come when no one else, or very few people, see things the way that you see it. That's what creates the opportunity." Adam Levine and Leonardo DiCaprio shake hands at a Laker's game in 2008. Getty Images | Noel Vasquez Eventually the team was introduced to Ben Lerer, founder of Thrillist and managing director of Lerer Hippeau Ventures (LHV), who actually had a "thesis on the [mattress] industry needing change" even before Casper came calling, says Krim. And Lerer already had experience investing in direct-to-consumer businesses like Warby Parker, which allowed him to understand the vision. LHV lead Casper's seed round in early 2014. Its series B in 2015 attracted celebrity investors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam Levine. The Amazon air mattress incident When the site launched April 2014, its first-year sales projections were $1.8 Million. The company hit that 12-month target in 60 days. Courtesy of Casper But was "amazing and mind-blowing," according to Krim, quickly turned scary, since the team didn't have enough product. Finding a manufacturer to produce their mattress in a hurry was "like pulling teeth," says Krim, since, until Casper, most brands just wanted something off the shelf with their labels on it, shipped to a warehouse. Casper had a proprietary design it wanted shipped directly to consumers. "It was chaos," says Krim. Fledgling Casper had thousands of customers experiencing delivery delays. Referrals were a lifeblood, so the team needed a customer service solution. Through the chaos, came creativity: Parikh came up with the idea to ship air mattresses via Amazon.com to customers whose orders were held up, as gifts from Casper. "We thought Amazon would shut us down because we ordered so many, and they might think we were reselling them," Chapin tells Quartz. Target and the 'Nike' of sleep UPDATED President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order Thursday that aims to create a new channel of approval for apprenticeships. He is calling on Congress to commit $100 million in new money to the initiative, and expand the allowable uses of student financial aid so students can use the support for earn while you learn programs. Signing the order at the White House, Trump said he wants to remove restrictions that have prevented industries from creating apprenticeship programs. Standing at his elbow as he signed were North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx, the chairwoman of the House education committee, and Bobby Scott of Virginia, its ranking Democrat. Were empowering these companies, these unions, industry groups, federal agencies, to go out and create new apprenticeships for millions of our citizens, he said. Apprenticeships place students into great jobs without the crippling debt of four-year college degrees. Instead, apprentices earn while they learn. Trumps top aides have made it clear that he envisions a far wider reach for apprenticeships than currently exists. Earlier this week, the president said he would like to see those paid positions at every high school in America. In a briefing for reporters before the signing, two senior White House officials said that the presidents order will create a new way of getting apprenticeships approved. Currently, half of the countrys 1 million apprenticeships are registered with the U.S. Department of Labor. That process requires programs to meet standards of quality, ensuring that students are paid more than minimum wage, and that they receive nationally recognized industry credentials when they complete their programs. Trumps order directs Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta to develop new regulations that would create an additional channel of access to that system. It would allow trade associations, labor unions, industry, and third-party training providers to create their own standards and criteria for apprenticeship programs, and then seek expedited approval from the Department of Labor. That system, they said, would preserve the registration process quality-control mechanisms while allowing experts in the field to shape programs. Officials said the work would be done with a strategic use of available funds from the ApprenticeshipUSA program, which was funded at $90 million this year, and for which Trump has requested the same amount next year. But they also said Trumps order would call on Congress to provide $100 million more for workforce development. The additional approval channel would not eliminate the Department of Labor from the process, the White House officials said, but rather create a dialog between Labor officials and entities with on-the-ground expertise. The Department of Labor, they said, would still judge and approve the programs. Trump is ordering a review of the existing 43 workforce-development programs, which sprawl across 13 federal agencies and spend $16.7 billion annually. He will also create a task force to advise him on how to expand apprenticeship programs, the officials said. The president wants students to be able to use federal student aid for a wide variety of earn while you learn programs, including apprenticeships, the White House officials said. UPDATED Currently, federal student aid can be used only in programs eligible under federal law: an institution of higher education, a proprietary institution of higher education, or a postsecondary vocational institution, according to Karen McCarthy, the director of policy analysis for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Programs must lead to an associate, bachelors, professional, or graduate degree, last for at least two years and provide full credit toward a bachelors degree, or last at least one academic year and culminate in a certificate or other nondegree recognized credential that prepares students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation. Expanding the use of federal student aid beyond that legal definition would be a major shift in how the program operates, and would need Congressional action, McCarthy wrote in an email. The idea could face opposition, especially in the wake of revelations about for-profit colleges that accepted federal financial aid and left their graduates unable to earn enough to pay off huge student debts. The White House officials emphasized that the presidents apprenticeship program isnt a dig at university education. Rather, its about choice: offering multiple pathways to education and good jobs. UPDATED Trumps desire to pare back regulations that stand in the way of creating new apprenticeships worried some lawmakers. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, the top Democrat on the appropriations panel that oversees education spending, said in a statement that Thursdays executive order could open the floodgates for federal dollars to flow to so-called job training programs like Trump University. We cannot allow the American people to be scammed by organizations that rake in million dollars in profit from vulnerable students and give them a shoddy education in return, she said. These students deserve education and training that will give them the resources and tools to succeed, and these bogus organizations will not do that. watch now Sukanto Tanoto is the charismatic and hardworking founder behind Singapore-based RGE (Royal Golden Eagle). While it was his vision and passion that led the resources giant to the size and scale it is today, building up the family business was and still is very much a team effort. Together with his wife, Tinah Bingei Tanoto, they worked together to grow RGE and their four children spent much of their youth on the palm oil plantations, observing their parents at work. His youngest child Anderson, who is a director at RGE, recounted some of his early memories. "I spent four or five summers actually in Kerinci, in Riau for example or in the plantations," he said. "It was fun as a young kid being in nature, being fascinated by large structures wearing hard hats and going through the different canals and the rivers." The Tanoto family at an oil palm plantation. Courtesy: Tanoto family It is a similar memory shared by Sukanto's second youngest child Belinda, who is a member on the Tanoto Foundation Board of Trustees. "Growing up, we always go to the back to the fields and to the plantation so we always have this very strong emotional connection to the business," she said. The roots of RGE go back to 1967 in Medan, Indonesia, where a young Sukanto honed his business skills. A tough family situation forced him to take over his father's spare parts supply business and his entrepreneurial journey started a few years later. RGE, previously known as Rajah Garuda Mas, started in the plywood business. Slowly, it branched out into palm oil as well as to pulp and paper. Today, the company is a resources heavyweight with operations spanning seven groups and a growing presence in Southeast Asia, China, India and Brazil and assets exceeding $18 billion. This year, RGE and its founder Sukanto, celebrate their 50th year in the business. "From that humble beginning, he's managed to build a business that's grown from the local level, to the national, to regional and global. And I think the biggest lesson that I learned from him is that sense of perseverance and hard work that entrepreneurial spirit is something that we appreciate and we look forward to preserving in the future generations." Belinda said. A palm oil plantation on September 21, 2016 in Indonesia. Lana Priatna | Barcroft Media | Getty Images When Chinese pianist Lang Lang was just nine years old, his father gave up his job to take his son from their hometown of Shenyang, to audition for the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. It took months to practice for the audition, and during that time Lang thought his career as a pianist was over, he revealed to CNBC's new show Trailblazers. His teacher dropped him just months after he had moved to the capital. "For three months, I did not have a teacher. So, and I thought my career was over as a pianist, and I should go home," he told Trailblazers presenter Tania Bryer. Lang's mother remained behind in Shenyang, he said. "It was a very difficult time. I mean leaving my mother, coming to (Beijing), it's a big city, but, but in a way, at that time, I preferred Shenyang, my hometown, because it's where I felt so comfortable and all my brothers, all my classmates, basically all my social network were in my hometown, not here. "So, coming here, my father quit his job, and we rented the most cheap, the 15 dollar-a-month apartment, and study with a new teacher, with completely different environment. It was very difficult, and I did not really enjoy (it)." Qatar's Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday the country signed a deal to buy F-15 fighter jets from the United States for $12 billion. The deal was completed despite the Gulf country being criticized recently by U.S. President Donald Trump for supporting terrorism. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and representatives from Qatar were set to meet Wednesday to seal the agreement, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters. Bloomberg News reported the deal was for 36 jets. Job seekers around the world agree on one thing: Google's parent company, Alphabet, seems like an awfully appealing place to work. The tech giant places first on LinkedIn's 2017 Top Companies Global List, which highlights the 25 companies whose teams employees everywhere would most like to join. It also reigned atop LinkedIn's ranking of the most attractive employers in the U.S. To determine this list, LinkedIn's data team analyzed billions of searches by the site's more than 500 million members, considering views of and applications to job postings, engagement with the company on LinkedIn and the number of employees that stay with the company for at least one year. LinkedIn did not consider itself, or its parent company, Microsoft, for this list. As usual, a number of tech industry headliners claim spots in the ranking, but the list also represents a broad range of companies from industries including professional services and consumer goods. Read on for the 25 most attractive employers around the world: 25. GE Simon Dawson/Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 350,000 GE offers eight different leadership programs, which provide recent college graduates training in areas ranging from engineering to human resources. Roughly a quarter of the company's current senior management completed one of GE's leadership programs. 24. Adobe Chip Chipman/Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 15,000 Adobe offers job titles as creative as its products, including Principal Artist-in-Residence, People Scientist and Vice President of Creativity. The company emphasizes that to be successful, employees should have a "learn-it-all" attitude. 23. Schneider Electric Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 144,000 Headquartered in France, Schneider Electric wants to increase sharing of skills and knowledge among its employees. Schneider's Global International Mobility Center facilitated 400 employees moving to new countries to work for the company last year. 22. EY Piotr Malecki/Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 250,000 One of the accounting industry's "big four" firms, London-based EY currently has a quarter of a million employees, and expects its global headcount to reach 300,000 by 2020. In Germany, the country has introduced a refugee internship, offering four months of training to participants, who work with a mentor and are offered full-time employment following the program. 21. Accenture Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 401,000 The global professional services firm offers 16 weeks of maternity leave and eight weeks of primary care leave. Further, Accenture provides free breast milk shipping for new mothers who travel as part of their role, or the option of as much as one year of local work following maternity leave. 20. PepsiCo An employee restocks shelves with PepsiCo Inc. soft drinks products inside a Perekrestok supermarket, operated by X5 Retail Group NV in Moscow, Russia. Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 264,000 PepsiCo brands like Lays, Gatorade and Tropicana are available in upwards of 200 countries around the world. Recently, the company has honed in on creating healthier products, increasing research and development spending 45 percent over the past six years. 19. Deloitte Brent Lewin/Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 244,400 Employees of the auditor and consultancy have the opportunity to transfer to 150 countries where Deloitte has offices or teams more than 6,000 employees took advantage of the option last year. The company's leadership training center, Deloitte University, has campuses in the U.S., Singapore, Belgium, France, India and Canada. 18. IBM David Ramos | Getty Images Number of global employees: 380,000 IBM uses its own technology, Watson, to enable the hiring process and pair resumes with relevant open positions. 17. Johnson & Johnson Daniel Acker/Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 126,000 Johnson & Johnson is made up of 275 companies around the planet and has nearly 130,000 employees, but the company's decentralized structure means that each of its subsidiaries has the independence to develop strategies that best serve its market. 16. The Walt Disney Company MN Chan | Getty Images Number of global employees: 195,000 Disney employees get free passes for themselves and family members to the company's theme parks, and trainers on the Disney English team use stories and characters from the company's movies to teach English to children in China. 15. Unilever Daniel Acker/Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 169,000 Got a taste for tea? The global consumer goods juggernaut employs a "Tea Expertise Director." The role entails leading employee tours through tea plantations and tasting more than 1,000 cups of the beverage each day. 14. Siemens Sean Gallup | Getty Images Number of global employees: 350,000 Siemens has cracked the code on employee retention: According to LinkedIn data, Siemens workers stay with the company 8.6 years, longer than the average employee tenure of any other company on this list. 13. Oracle David Paul Morris/Bloomberg | Getty Images Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 30,000 Tesla is now the most valuable U.S.-based automaker, with a $62 billion market cap and nearly 2,500 jobs open around the world. The company isn't turning a profit yet, so employees miss out on a lot of the perks often associated with the tech industry. But there's hope: In an email to staff, CEO Elon Musk recently announced that free frozen yogurt and an "electric pod roller coaster" will soon be part of Tesla's office landscape. 11. Cisco Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Number of global employees: 73,000 Cisco employees receive five days off beyond their vacation time each year to devote to volunteering, an initiative that's clearly been a hit last year, employees put in 227,000 volunteer hours. 10. Dell Technologies Ralph Orlowski | Getty Images Number of global employees: 145,000 Dell offers employees a great deal of flexibility, including working from home, adjustable hours and the option of bringing your dog to work. More than 40 percent of the company's hires are referred by current employees, a strong vote of confidence in Dell's organizational style. 9. L'Oreal Balint Porneczi/Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 83,000 L'Oreal has 36 brands in 140 countries and has a strong focus on those at the entry level: Roughly one third of the company's hires last year were recent graduates, and the cosmetics giant's current CEO started as an intern with the company in 1978. 8. LVMH Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg Number of global employees: 135,000 Nearly three quarters of management positions at the iconic luxury brand which spans sectors including fashion, perfume, cosmetics, jewelry and wine are filled with internal candidates. 7. McKinsey & Company McKinsey employees gathering during a lunch break Source: McKinsey Number of global employees: 25,000 About 40 percent of McKinsey consultants take on at least one international assignment each year. The global consultancy offers employees the chance to take as much as 10 weeks off between projects. 6. Salesforce Bloomberg | Getty Images Number of global employees: 25,000 Salesforce continuously audits employee pay "to ensure equal compensation across gender, race and ethnicity," and recently introduced six months of parental leave for primary caregivers in the U.S. 5. Apple Zhang Peng | Getty Images Number of global employees: 110,000 Apple offers employee stock grants to all its workers, including part-time and retail employees, and a little more than one-tenth of its retail workforce turns over each year, compared to 80 percent industry-wide. CEO Tim Cook has said that he plans on doubling Apple services like iTunes and Apple Pay over the next four years. 4. Uber Anthony Wallace | Getty Images Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg with Facebook employees. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Number of global employees: 17,000 Facebook boasts 1.9 billion active users every month and is constantly on the hunt for the talent to help it grow its reach. "When you enter our buildings," says CEO Mark Zuckerberg, "we want you to feel how much left there is to be done in our mission to connect the world." 2. Amazon Amazon corporate office building in Sunnyvale, California. Lisa Werner | Getty Images Number of global employees: 341,400 "The everything store" collected three Oscar trophies for its programming, introduced Prime video in India and delivered a package in the U.K. via drone all in the past year. "We take risks and make big bets," Amazon told LinkedIn, "and when we fail, we apply the lessons learned and keep moving." 1. Alphabet Google Inc. APAC Headquarters, Singapore Ore Huiying/Bloomberg | Getty Images Wall Street is getting jittery over FANG stocks. Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Graham told investors he is growing increasingly concerned about the valuations of the large-cap tech bellwethers in a note to clients Thursday. As a result, he lowered his rating for Alphabet to hold from buy, saying the shares are "expensive by historical standards." FANG shares are crushing the market this year. Facebook is up 31 percent, Amazon is up 30 percent, Netflix is up 23 percent, and Alphabet is up 22 percent year to date compared with the 9 percent return. "We still largely believe in the growth [of FANG], but the valuations are a bit less obvious. That said, we still believe the group should reward investors, but we are taking a step back on GOOGL," Graham wrote in the report. The analyst reaffirmed his $1,000 price target for Alphabet, representing 3 percent upside from Wednesday's close. The company's stock reached the $1,000 level for the first time ever last week. For Google "the really easy growth for this ad business has sort of passed us by over the last two years," Graham said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Thursday. "Looking out past 2018 I think growth might get a little tougher Facebook, Amazon, Netflix all have more dynamic upside in our view." The analyst gave three key reasons for his downgrade: 1. "We think much of the growth over the past two years is due to ad load increases on mobile search and YouTube, which (especially the former) will be hard to repeat." 2. "Our refreshed detailed segment analysis suggests firmly that consensus gross margin estimates are too high, and while revenue growth mostly makes up for this, we believe this limits the potential for upward EPS revisions." 3. "GOOGL's P/E multiple of ~24x is expensive by historical standards, and puts the stock within a pitching wedge of our $1,000 price target." FANG is an acronym created by CNBC's Jim Cramer for a basket of high-growth technology stocks Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet (formerly known as Google). Alphabet did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. The company's shares were down 1.7 percent at midday Thursday. CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this story. The Dow closed lower as shares of major tech stocks like Facebook , Amazon , Apple and Netflix all fell, while Snap shares slipped and closed at its $17 IPO price. But in regards to the broad market shifts, Meridian Equity Partners' Senior Managing Partner Jonathan Corpina attributes the recent moves to recent worldwide headlines. "At this point, look at the participation we've seen in the market, , DOW, up about 8.5, 9% for the year," Corpina told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Thursday. "Investors have a reason to pause at this point right. We talk about the Fed. We talk about North Korea. We talk about investigations into the Trump presidency and election process. Investors are not fully scared away from that, but it gives them a reason to take a step back." Corpina specifically describes how uncertainties in the Trump presidency have influenced the market's behavior. "I don't think we've had a presidency where our markets have watched headlines come out of Washington so much, and the headlines that have come from Washington have been so gray and uncertain," Corpina said. "So as we get to the end of the month here, the end of the quarter, investors are going to feel a pause in the market, a reason to move away." While some investors have seen the tech slip as a reason for concern in the markets, Riverfront Investment Groups' Chief Market Strategist Kevin Nicholson dismisses it as a "minor" blip. "When you look at what tech has done this year versus the S&P, it's outperformed the S&P by almost 9%. So having a pullback like you're seeing today is only very minor," Nicholson said. "You have the big five names out there that have, you know, gotten a little bit ahead of themselves." As for Snap, Destination Wealth Management CEO Michael Yoshikami said he thinks the company needs to focus on user growth and monetization before it becomes a worthy investment. "With Snap, it comes down to two things: Can they grow the user base and monetize their user base without alienating their current user base?" Yoshikami said. "I think it's very debatable, it's a work in progress. Personally, I think that Snap is a name that's speculative. Its not an investable name." Apple has billions of dollars in cash overseas and CEO Tim Cook has a political proposal for how to bring it back. Speaking to Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook said bringing that money back is "what's good for America." Cook suggested that a more reasonable percentage 10 percent or 20 percent repatriation should be required. "The issue is not that there's a tax on international earnings. The issue is the existing tax has been crazy," Cook said. "No one would bring it back at a 40 percentI mean, 35 percent federal and then state taxes. That's the problem. I think it's smart for the United States to have some kind of tax revenue for international earningsif that tax were reasonable." It's not the first time that Cook has suggested Apple has an unreasonable tax burden. With most of its $256.8 billion cash overseas, Apple has taken some creative measures to keep taxes low in places like Ireland. Dean Karen Symms Gallagher of the University of Southern Californias Rossier School of Education will soon have more of a say in shaping the quality of teacher preparation in the United States. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, or CAEP, has elected her to lead its board of directors. She takes over the role on July 1. CAEP was conceived in 2010 to unite the embattled teacher education field behind one set of national accreditation standards. (Read more about the groups history here .) The newand some say tougherstandards for evaluating the quality of ed programs were unveiled in 2013. The first major test of the new standards came in December of last year when 17 of 21 teacher-prep programs seeking accreditation passed all requirements. So how does Gallagher view the teacher-prep landscape? When I spoke with her in February about the possibility that the Obama administrations teacher-prep regulations would be scrapped, she expressed wariness of unregulated programs, saying ed. schools wont hold themselves accountable for the teachers they prepare if they dont have to. (President Trump signed a bill scrapping the federal teacher-prep rules in March). Yet Gallagher wondered whether there would be consequences for sub-par teacher-prep programs, even if they were regulated. She pointed out that few ed programs have ever been shut down in the past for ineffectiveness. So you are not a good school of ed., what happens? she said in February. I dont know of any school of ed. that was closed under No Child Left Behind. In the past, no program was judged to be of poor quality. (A 50-state Education Week analysis of teacher-preparation programs conducted in 2014 found that closures for performance reasons are quite rare.) At the time, Gallagher highlighted CAEP accreditation as one way for programs to prove their quality in the absence of federal regulations, but still expressed some reservations about how far the group would go to hold programs to higher standards. CAEP has attempted to put more teeth in accreditation, not only in the standards, but in outcome measures, what programs have to show, she said. It remains to be seen if any programs will lose their accreditation, but [CAEP] has moved toward more accountability in what it means to be nationally accredited. Currently, more than 900 teacher preparation programs participate in the CAEP accreditation system, including those that have passed muster under former standards. And while national accreditation of teacher-prep programs is not mandatory in many states, 29 have so far said they plan to use CAEP to evaluate the quality of their programs. In her role as chair, Gallagher will guide the board of directors in making policy for CAEP that could shape the accreditation process and the standards by which teacher-preparation programs are judged. She and the board of directors will also be responsible for reviewing all CAEP activities, signing off on its annual budget, and completing independent audits. Gallagher has more than 30 years experience working in the teacher-prep field. She has served as the dean of University of Southern Californias Rossier School of Education since 2000, and the dean of the school of education at the University of Kansas from 1994 to 2000, leading accreditation efforts at both schools. She has also served as senior policy consultant to the Ohio General Assemblys Commission on Education Improvement. Gallagher served on the CAEP presidential search committee, and has been a board member since January. As an experienced dean of both a private and public school of education, I know Karen understands what it takes to prepare students to teach and lead in diverse academic settings, said CAEPs current board chair Mary Brabeck in a statement . She brings her informed perspective to the accreditation process. She is committed to excellence in educator preparation, and understands the challenges providers face, with budget demands, admission goals, and faculty needs in a time of enormous change in higher education. Gallagher said she looked forward to working with board members and fellow ed school deans to strengthen the accreditation experience, and affirmed her commitment to ensure teacher-preparation programs prove their worth using data. Accreditation is an opportunity for us to work together to demonstrate excellence in educator preparation, and to create a broad vision of successful preparation of professionals for diverse learners based on equitable, data-driven practice. Photo: Courtesy of USCs Rossier School of Education For more on CAEP: As Apple moves into health care, it's acquired a few small start-ups. Now, Citigroup analyst Garen Sarafian is recommending that the company scoop up a far larger player in health technology: Athenahealth . Even with a market capitalization of close to $6 billion, the purchase would make sense, Sarafian wrote in a note to clients, as it could help Apple solve one of the biggest's issues in health care -- the interoperable exchange of medical data. Sarafian's analysis followed a report on Wednesday from CNBC that Apple is looking to turn the iPhone into the central bank for patient health information. Apple has more than 1 billion iPhone users but limited access to clinical systems that capture data in hospitals. Meanwhile, according to Sarafian, Athenahealth offers access to around 83 million patient records and has a track record of integrating with clinical IT systems like Epic and Cerner . The company also has access to a network of about half of all U.S. doctors through its mobile health app Epocrates. Sarafian has a "buy" recommendation on Athenahealth. Supporters of the Affordable Care Act participate in a "Save Obamacare" rally in Los Angeles on March 23, 2017. California's Obamacare marketplace said Thursday it will require insurers submit two sets of proposed prices for health plans next year because of continued uncertainty over whether the federal government will continue reimbursing insurers for crucial subsidies. One set of rates would be used if there is not a clear sign that the Trump administration and Congress will fund the subsidies through 2018, which would reduce revenue to insurers. The other set of rates would assume that the subsidies, known as cost-sharing reductions, are continued throughout 2018. Covered California recently estimated that premiums for so-called silver plans would rise by 16.6 percent beyond the normal premium hike if the federal government ceased the CSRs. Allowing insurers to submit two sets of rates could make it easier for Covered California to retain insurers on the marketplace. The CSRs reimburse insurers for subsidies that Obamacare legally requires them to offer to low-income customers who enroll in silver plans the type of plan that covers an average of 70 percent of the health costs of enrollees. North Korea's young dictator is said to be "extremely nervous" about being assassinated. Secretary of Defense Minister James Mattis. Samuel Corum | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images A North Korean war would be "catastrophic," but the U.S. would ultimately prevail, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis told Congress on Thursday. "I will suggest that we will win," the retired four-star general said in testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. "It will be a war more serious in terms of human suffering than anything we have seen since 1953." He added: "It will involve the massive shelling of an allies' capital [Seoul], which is one of the most densely packed cities on Earth. It would be a war that fundamentally we don't want. Our allies and us would win at great cost." Mattis also said Japan would be among the countries that would be potentially affected by such a "catastrophic war" with North Korea. "We're exhausting all possible diplomatic efforts," he said. Mattis said those efforts include continuing to press for help from China, a longtime ally of North Korea and its largest trading partner. watch now "North Korea is today a strategic burden to them; it's not a strategic asset," he said. "China has actually responded in some ways positive." Mattis was referring to China participating in a recent unanimous vote in the United Nations' Security Council for increased sanctions against Pyongyang. The council agreed to slap a travel ban and asset freeze on just over a dozen North Korean individuals and several entities, including the North's Koryo Bank, linked to the finances of key officials of the secretive state. Even so, some observers believe China could do more to pressure Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. "North Korea employs a global array of overseas networks to circumvent international sanctions and continue its pursuit of nuclear weapons," according to a "Risky Business" report released this week by the Washington think tank C4ADS. It added that China trade was "the largest market exploited by" the Pyongyang regime. In Seoul, meanwhile, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in on Thursday opened the door to dialogue with North Korea but laid out conditions that include stopping nuclear and ballistic missile tests. "I make it clear that if North Korea stops making additional nuclear and missile provocations, we can come to dialogue with North Korea without conditions," he said in remarks at a peace center in Seoul. The South Korean president said he's open to holding parallel talks on both denuclearization and a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War. "I am willing to discuss, sitting knee to knee and putting our heads together, how we will implement the existing inter-Korean agreements. We will be able to talk comprehensively about the complete dismantling of North Korea's nuclear program, the establishment of a peace regime on the peninsula, and even the normalization of North Korea-US relations." People watch a television broadcast reporting the North Korean missile launch at the Seoul Railway Station on June 8, 2017 in Seoul, South Korea. Getty Images Moon, whose parents were refugees from North Korea, won the presidential election last month and had campaigned on rebooting Seoul's tough approach to Pyongyang. A former human rights lawyer, Moon's approach is different from that of his predecessor, Park Geun-hye, a conservative who was critical of the effectiveness of a so-called Sunshine Policy approach that included humanitarian aid to North Korea and cooperation on projects such as the Kaesong Industrial Park. "North Korea must give up its nuclear development and find ways to work with the international community," Moon said. "North Korea's decision to give up nuclear weapons will be a symbol showing its determination to implement what has been agreed between the South and the North." North Korea has test-fired at least 10 ballistic missiles this year, including new midrange missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. The hermit regime's 33-year-old leader, Kim Jong Un, has been in charge since 2011 and conducted more ballistic missile tests and twice as many nuclear weapon tests as his father and grandfather did during their rule. North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper Thursday said that advancements in the country's missile and nuclear weapons programs have led to the regime becoming a "dignified nuclear and rocket power" and added that Pyongyang stands "open" to reunification and engaging in "bringing about a great turn and change in the north-south relations." The North Korean paper held out hope that the new president of South Korea would help reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula. It also blasted the past nine years of conservative leadership in South Korea, charging they "valued cooperation with outsiders more than the nation's interests and openly pursued the policy of submitting to the U.S." Meanwhile, Seoul's Korea Herald newspaper reported that the North Korean leader is "extremely nervous" about the possibility of being assassinated. It cited comments attributed to a South Korean intelligence official who briefed national lawmakers in Seoul on Thursday. "Due to concerns over potential airstrikes and assassination attempts, the young tyrant prefers to move at dawn and uses his subordinates' cars, such as a Lexus car, not his own Mercedes-Benz 600," the paper reported. As a result, the report added that the North Korean leader has curtailed his public activities significantly. Then again, it said the change could be a reflection of a dictator now "confident about his grip on the communist state." Watch: US sanctions over North Korea arms Nor has anyone produced any evidence whatsoever of proof of collusion on the part of anyone in the Trump camp. Mueller might come up with something Russia-related that sticks to the Trump administration. But even there, Democrats' appetite for the charge was limited to questioning Session's truthfulness about the encounter rather than suggesting he had knowledge of any TrumpRussia collusion. As even Comey stated last week, Trump is not a target of any investigation about Russia's alleged role in the election. That doesn't mean Democrats weren't willing to throw some more mud on Sessions. And they did so energetically, with allegations that he hadn't told the truth about meeting the Russian ambassador. They were happy to make a smoking gun of what appears to have been, at best, a brief public encounter in a crowded hotel ballroom during a Trump campaign speech last year. They've all but given up on their quest to prove the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to influence the 2016 election the charge at the heart of the ongoing congressional investigations. They are now solely focused on pinning a charge on President Trump and ultimately forcing him from office. With the collapse of the collusion narrative, they've seized upon "obstruction of justice" as the accusation that will, they hope, get Trump impeached. But if Senate Democrats seeking to bait and interrogate him weren't particularly interested in his profession of innocence, it was hardly surprising. As was made plain by their questioning of former FBI director James Comey and the three intelligence chiefs last week, Democrats have moved the goalposts on the Russia investigation. While it has become an axiom of American politics since Watergate that the cover-up is always worse than the crime, the fact remains that in contrast to the break-in that ultimately led to Richard Nixon's resignation there is still no proof of the underlying crime of collusion. But if there were anything damning that investigators had found during the course of an investigation that dates back at least to last summer, someone in the Justice Department would almost certainly have leaked it by now the way that leakers have disclosed anything else that makes Trump look bad. For all of the pious sermons Democrats are spouting about Putin's attempts to subvert American democracy, the hearings telegraphed to the country that they've largely given up on pinning that charge to anyone around Trump. (And recall that just a few years ago Democrats were applauding Obama for deriding GOP concerns about Russia.) Some individuals associated with Trump may wind up getting indicted on unrelated charges. Former national-security adviser Michael Flynn will be made to pay for his failure to disclose payments from foreign governments and for lying about it. But while most liberals will, to their dying breath, cling to the idea that the 2016 election was stolen from Hillary Clinton by a RussianTrump cabal, that conspiracy theory is unlikely to ever be tested in a court of law or backed up by evidence. But as most conservatives including those who never had any use for the president have sensed throughout this controversy, the Democrats' main goal has always been to topple Trump, not to expose Russian hacking, which in any case played no real role in the outcome last year. That their main and perhaps only ally in this endeavor has been Trump himself is an irony that will probably puzzle future historians as much as it does contemporary Republicans. Yet it is a fact that must drive White House strategists crazy even as they seek to remind Americans that the Intelligence Committee hearings have done nothing to advance the wild charges about collusion. Trump was, as we've been told by Comey and by leakers inside the White House, enraged by Democratic efforts to delegitimize his victory with their talk of Russian collusion. But when Comey refused to publicly exonerate him (despite his private assurances to Trump that he was not under investigation) or ease up on Flynn, Trump fired him. For the anti-Trump resistance, that is evidence of wrongdoing on the president's part. Instead of a ham-handed cover-up, Trump's anger-management and impulse-control problems probably motivated the Comey firing. But it still looks like the behavior of a guilty man. Can a president be convicted in a court of law for obstruction of justice for firing Comey, even though it was something he had a constitutional right to do and even though Comey's behavior during the 2016 campaign merited his dismissal? Probably not. But the White House would be foolish not to realize that Trump can be convicted of obstruction in the court of public opinion. That's especially true given that Trump told the public in a TV interview with Lester Holt that "this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story" and that he had been thinking of that when he decided to fire Comey. Trump also allegedly told the Russians foreign minister during a subsequent meeting that he had "faced great pressure because of Russia," which had been "taken off" by firing Comey, whom he describes as a "nut job." (This conversation was leaked to the New York Times by two anonymous sources who were not in the room but who were basing their leaks on a "document summarizing the meeting.") Digging the president out of the mess he has dug for himself with his own intemperate comments is not going to be easy. But while it has become an axiom of American politics since Watergate that the cover-up is always worse than the crime, the fact remains that in contrast to the break-in that ultimately led to Richard Nixon's resignation there is still no proof of the underlying crime of collusion. That doesn't matter much to liberals whose sole purpose is to reverse the verdict of the Electoral College and drive from the White House a man they consider unfit for high office. The shifting focus of their accusations signals where the real battle to save Trump from impeachment will be fought. (It's a given that Democrats will try to impeach Trump if they win control of Congress next year.) For all of Trump's unpresidential behavior and foolishness, Democrats will be hard-pressed to justify their efforts without finding proof of collusion and they seem to already have given up on that. Commentary by Jonathan S. Tobin, the opinion editor at JNS.org and a contributor for National Review. Follow him on Twitter at @jonathans_tobin. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. 2017 National Review. Used with permission. If all you want to do is win social media, you have to be yourself and have a positive message, according to top online influencer Khaled Mohamed Khaled, better known as DJ Khaled. "Being authentic always wins," Khaled said to CNBC. "When people see somebody that is just real, they love it. It ain't no act. It ain't no fake." Khaled, who was called "The King of Snapchat " by Coca-Cola senior VP for content Emmanuel Seuge, gets 3 to 4 million views on each of his Snaps, according to Wired. He has more than 6.2 million followers on Instagram and 3.36 million followers on Twitter . He's also signed a deal to host a weekly radio show on Apple Music. Though Khaled rose to fame through his Snaps, he said he likes all the platforms, and uses tools to post the same content across all social media. "I think it would be genius if the CEOs got together," Khaled said. "I know everybody's competitive, and everybody getting their money and doing what they have to do, but if they got together and made maybe a switch where we didn't have to rip stuff off and put it and post it and find a way to break down the pie, (it would be great)." Watch: How DJ Khaled conquered social media "We are long Europe we have always found Europe a good place to be . When everybody else was getting out we were getting in. And so, we are very vested in Europe it's a productive workforce," Immelt said. The GE CEO, who is stepping down from August 1, said that outside of the region, Europe has got a bad reputation. "Europe to a certain extent, has become a cartoon You've allowed yourself to be portrayed as not as productive," Immelt said. "So people who sit someplace else in the world and all they do is read the newspaper, they don't come and invest, versus people like us who acquire companies, who have had to make a go of it on the ground. You have a very different impression when you're on the ground." Immelt explained that GE has large operations in Italy, France, Germany and the Nordic region, and all of those export globally. He said that Europe is underrated and is a good place to invest, even though it may not be the most simple place to do business. "Is it as easy as I'd like to see all the time? No, of course not. But this region has a good chance to be competitive," Immelt said. Robert Mueller must tread carefully when investigating President Donald Trump because of his past ties to James Comey, former DOJ official John Malcolm told CNBC on Thursday. "Bob Mueller has an excellent reputation," Malcolm, former deputy assistant attorney general under the George W. Bush administration, said on "Squawk Box." "He's got to be a little bit careful because there is no question that he is close to Jim Comey. He dealt with him every day when Comey was deputy attorney general." "He must keep an arms length distance from Jim Comey," Malcolm said but added he personally isn't concerned about Mueller's handling of the investigation. Mueller and Comey had worked closely together in the George W. Bush administration when Mueller was FBI director and Comey was deputy attorney general from 2003 to 2005. With Mueller maxed out and required to leave his post, President Barack Obama plucked Comey from the private sector and appointed him FBI director in 2013. Malcolm, who worked for Trump's FBI director pick, Chris Wray, when Wray was head of the DOJ's criminal division, spoke after a Washington Post report said Mueller's investigation has now widened to determine whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice. People familiar with the matter told the Post that the obstruction of justice probe started in the wake of Trump's firing of Comey. The New York Times later reported Mueller is seeking interviews with three high-ranking foreign intelligence officials. Matthew Miller, who was the DOJ chief spokesman under Attorney General Eric Holder, said he isn't surprised Mueller is taking aggressive steps in the investigation. Miller said it could be in Trump's best interest if Mueller moves quickly with the probe. "Whether you're a supporter of the president or an opponent of the president, you ought to want Mueller to get the truth and get to the truth quickly," he said. He said the investigation could get dragged out if people of interest refuse to cooperate or if Trump uses executive privilege. Medicine is going digital and regulators are under pressure to keep pace. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a few months ago that it will create a new unit dedicated to digital health, which will include team of engineers. And on Thursday, the FDA's recently-appointed commissioner Scott Gottlieb went a step further, outlining in a blog post more steps the agency is going to take. Gottlieb said he's putting together a "digital health innovation plan" that will lay out how devices will be regulated so that developers have clarity on the rules and don't have to seek out the FDA's position on a "case-by-case basis." Many in the health technology industry are optimistic about the steps being taken. "Holy smokes," said Bradley Merrill Thompson, a lawyer with the firm Epstein Becker Green, who specializes in digital health and FDA, in an email to CNBC. "I feel like I've died and gone to heaven." President Bill Clinton smiles and gives the 'Thumbs Up' sign while boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base near the nation's capital en route to Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1998. Paul J. Richards | AFP | Getty Images Before there was Donald Trump, there was another charismatic presidential candidate who led his party out of the White House wilderness. A political miracle worker all his own, he resurrected himself from the political grave so many times that one of his nicknames was "The Comeback Kid." He toppled a political empire, ended the opposing party's alleged vise grip on the White House, and had a temperament and personality that drove his political opponents nuts. He inspired such fanatical devotion (and gratitude for his key policy decisions) that men and women were willing to lie for him, sacrifice their principles for him, and in one notorious case even go to jail to protect him. He was the movement. The movement was him. I'm speaking, of course, about Bill Clinton. It's easy to forget, these many years later, how thoroughly he co-opted the Democratic party and the progressive movement and turned them into the shameless spinners and character assassins. He so convinced the party and its people that its fortunes were his fortunes that virtually any means justified the ends of Bill Clinton's political survival. Think of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The president of the United States had an affair with a young intern in the Oval Office, no less and lied about that affair, under oath, in a sexual-harassment deposition in a separate case. (Clinton's conduct was so consistently reckless and obscene that he occupies a gray area somewhere between Eliot Spitzer and Bill Cosby. Was he a Lothario? Or something worse?) He not only lied under oath, he lied directly to the American people, sent his surrogates to lie for him, and then (through his wife) blamed his troubles on a "vast right-wing conspiracy." He lied right until the moment when DNA tests left him nowhere to hide. watch now More from National Review: The endless ironies of Donald J. Trump Trump's credibility problem I alone can fix: Twitter isn't really the problem with Trump He apologized, survived impeachment (indeed, he survived multiple scandals that would have doomed any conventional politician), and moved on to keep living his corrupt life, in part through his corrupt foundation. How did he do it? How did a man survive scandal after scandal to not just win two terms but emerge as the Democratic party's most popular politician until he was dethroned by Barack Obama? Here's how and when I map it out, the picture that emerges will start to look very familiar indeed. What's old is new again. Donald Trump and his core supporters aren't just following the Clinton playbook, they should be disciplined for plagiarism. It's all there. First, he exploited the understandable (and deep) gratitude and affection of his supporters. If you think Republicans were desperate to win the White House in 2016 and panicked about their long-term presidential prospects in the face of Obama's alleged "emerging Democratic majority," you don't remember Democratic desperation after losing the presidency in 1968, 1972 (landslide), 1980 (landslide), 1984 (landslide), and 1988 (landslide). Their only victory came directly after Watergate, and their one-term president could barely drag himself over the finish line against an unelected incumbent. Democrats were going to stand by Bill Clinton. He was their conquering hero. This meant that they simply held him to a different standard. He could lie; his opponents could not. He got the benefit of the doubt despite admitted affairs, multiple credible claims of sexual harassment, and even one disturbing account of rape. But that's just Bubba being Bubba, right? How can he help it if women love him, and besides, aren't we Americans just a tad too uptight about sex? European politicians flaunt their mistresses and no one cares. Next, he and his surrogates destroyed his accusers twisting even honorable people into hated caricatures and destroying public reputations not just in an effort to hide the truth but to immunize Clinton when the truth did finally emerge. The question of the controversy morphed. The central question wasn't "Did Bill Clinton commit the crime of perjury by lying under oath?" It was instead, "Who do you want to win this political battle? The president of peace and prosperity or the sneaky Linda Tripp and the obsessive Ken Starr?" If that meant destroying the public reputation of a respected former federal judge and solicitor general, then so be it. Wasn't Starr weird? Why was he so concerned about a president's sex life? The Democrats fought and won news cycle after news cycle. They ruined lives. They twisted themselves into pretzels to justify behavior they'd previously condemned. After all, the nation had recently watched Democratic women demand that Clarence Thomas be rejected for alleged conduct far less egregious than the claims against Clinton. But, hey, Bubba helps keep abortion legal, so he gets one free grope. What's old is new again. Donald Trump and his core supporters aren't just following the Clinton playbook, they should be disciplined for plagiarism. It's all there. Trump exploits the loyalty and gratitude of supporters shocked and relieved by his surprise win. He persuades them to hold him to an entirely different standard (Lies and threats that we'd never tolerate from a Democrat? That's just Trump being Trump. You gotta understand, he's an outer-borough kid who knows how to deliver a punch. He's not a sissy elitist!) and then demands that his critics be better than he is. watch now Think of the avalanche of vitriol against James Comey. Trump fired him, misled the public about the reasons, and then absurdly trashed his reputation. But how dare Comey fight back and defend himself? How dare he "leak" a memo? Never mind that he stood up and answered questions, under oath, just days later. He's a "leaker," and no one likes a leaker. The same people who decry a rush to judgment against Trump are forwarding and sharing article after article claiming that Comey (without yet seeing the relevant evidence) potentially violated his employment agreement or even federal criminal statutes when he asked a friend to read excerpts of his memos to the New York Times. Lost in the anger is a serious look at the truth (and implications) of his allegations. Did a president demand personal loyalty from an FBI director? Did he improperly ask him to drop an active criminal investigation of a former close adviser? Did he circumvent normal channels and demand that Comey, in essence, "clear" him publicly? Did Trump fire him when he failed to comply with these demands, and then hide the ball about the reason? Instead, we get the Ken Starring of James Comey and Robert Mueller. It's not enough to trash Comey; now there's blood in the water around Mueller. Men like Newt Gingrich have pivoted on a dime. On May 17, Gingrich is declared that "Robert Mueller is superb choice to be special counsel. His reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity." On June 12, he attacked Mueller, saying that it was "time to rethink." Others already got the jump on Gingrich. On May 18, Judicial Watch put out a statement calling Mueller a "bizarre choice" to be special counsel because he was allegedly too politically correct on his approach to Muslim terrorism when he was FBI director. How does that bear on his fitness to investigate various aspects of the Russian election-interference controversy? The goal is clear to remove the focus from the actual claims against Trump and instead focus on the alleged perfidy of his opponents. Who do you want to win? The man who beat Hillary Clinton? Or the backstabbers in the "deep state" who are launching a "soft coup"? And through it all, Trump dissembles and bullies secure in the knowledge that his supporters will attack and seek to destroy his opponents, all while "defending" his own dishonesty by declaring, "It's just Trump being Trump. He fights." Beware. What "worked" for Clinton is far less likely to work for the GOP, and what "worked" for Clinton rightly brought defeat and shame for Democrats in years to come. Sure, Clinton survived impeachment, but his party lost the next two presidential elections, and the stench of corruption clung to his wife and was instrumental in two humiliating Clinton presidential defeats. The Clinton playbook left a party robbed of moral authority to confront Trump, and it indeed helped make his victory possible. And that was with the mainstream media far more Clinton-sympathetic than it is Trump-friendly. Trump can't win reelection with just his base, and there are already signs that outside the conservative bubble, Trump's act is wearing thin. In conservative-land, it's widely said that Comey "failed," that he's been completely discredited. Outside the bubble, Americans overwhelming believe Comey and disbelieve Trump. "But Gorsuch" is the new "but abortion." Bob Mueller is the new Ken Starr. "Fake news" is the new "vast right-wing conspiracy." Hypocrisy abounds, and but for the double standards, many of Trump's most zealous defenders would have no standards at all. Cultural decay? The loss of public trust? Credibility gaps? Let the pastors worry about all that. In the meantime, get on or under the Trump Train, conservatives. There's a news cycle to win. Commentary by David French, a senior writer for National Review. He is also a senior fellow at the National Review Institute and an attorney. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. 2017 National Review. Used with permission. WATCH: President Trump was bathed in praise at his first cabinet meeting Greece's international lenders are expected to agree on Thursday to unblock as much as 8 billion euros in loans that Athens desperately needs to next month to pay its bills, but to leave the contentious issue of debt relief for later. Euro zone finance ministers will meet in Luxembourg together with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde. She suggested last week that the IMF could join the Greek bailout now, but not disburse any money until the euro zone clarifies what debt relief it can offer Greece. The IMF has so far refused to join in this bailout, Greece's third since 2010, because it believes that without relief Greece cannot get out from under its massive debt mountain. Euro zone powerhouse Germany does not want to discuss details of debt relief before German parliamentary elections in September. At the same time, its parliament insists on IMF participation if it is to agree new disbursements. Greek Economics Minister Dimitri Papadimitriou accused German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of being "dishonest" by blocking debt relief for Greece despite his acknowledgement that Athens has implemented significant reforms. If a Business Refuses Bathroom Access, Can You Sue for Discrimination? When you have to go, the last thing you want to hear is "no." Depending on the circumstances, it's possible you could have a legal claim for discrimination. For one South Carolina man in need of relief, 5 different gas stations and convenience stores allegedly denied him access to their restrooms, despite the man being a paying customer. Adding insult to injury, Daniel Woodward, the man denied bathroom access, believes the denial was on account of him being an African American. After an investigation by his attorneys reportedly confirmed discriminatory bathroom policies, Mr. Woodward filed a lawsuit to fight back. He is seeking $5 million from the El Cheapo, Pops, and City gas stations, as well as the Obama Convenience Store and the Cheapway (presumably another store). Suing a Business for Discrimination Under both federal and state laws, discrimination in the provision of services or goods by businesses that are open to the public is illegal. Essentially, any business that is a public accommodation cannot discriminate against customers that walk in seeking goods or services. While a business can refuse to serve a person for legitimate reasons, such as the infamous "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" signs we're all accustomed to seeing, basing a refusal to serve on race, gender, national origin, disability, or another protected class, is illegal. A person who has been denied service may not know for sure that the denial was discriminatory. However, if there is a suspicion, feeling, or just an inkling, contacting a civil rights attorney for a consultation is a good first step. A person can also file a complaint with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division for discrimination in a public accommodation. Additionally, there are state civil rights agencies that may also be able to accept complaints, investigate, and possibly mediate the matter, or file suit on your behalf. Do Businesses Have to Provide Restrooms? This question is determined by state and local regulations and laws. Generally, depending on the type of business, restrooms may be required. However, there are often exemptions and exceptions based on the age the business, the date of the last renovation or remodel, and other specific factors that vary based on location. Usually, businesses that have a large thumbprint, like malls or super-stores, or those that serve food and beverage, are required to provide a restroom for customers. While most state and local laws allow businesses to limit the use of bathrooms to customers only, placing other limits on who can use the restroom can potentially run afoul of discrimination laws. Additionally, if a restroom is not wheelchair accessible, or otherwise accessible to individuals with disabilities (when it can be made accessible), this too is considered discrimination. Related Resources: The first time David Litt met his new boss in person, he blacked out. Litt, then 24, had just landed a gig as a speechwriter at the White House. His boss was President Barack Obama. Obama asked Litt, "How's it going?" "And I have no idea what I said. I could have said anything. I assume it wasn't that bad because I didn't get fired, but I have literally no memory of what happened after that," Litt tells CNBC. "And I later talked to other people and that's a fairly common occurrence upon meeting a president you just totally freeze like a deer in the headlights." Litt, now 30, was one of the many millennials who became obsessed with Obama when he heard the then Senator campaigning. David Litt with President Obama and Keegan-Michael Key. Photo courtesy David Litt After graduating with a degree in history from Yale in 2008, Litt drove to Ohio and worked as a field organizer for Obama. "And then I moved to D.C. with absolutely no plan whatsoever and was lucky," he says. Litt landed an internship in D.C., though that didn't go terribly well. "I was the world's worst intern at a communications firm. I almost got fired more than once, and it definitely did not bode well for my future job prospects," says Litt. Without knowing that such a thing existed, I ended up at a White House entry level speech writing job. David Litt former speechwriter for President Obama "But just through a friend of a friend, right as this one internship was collapsing another internship door opened, and so I ended up working at a speech writing firm called West Wing Writers," he explains. "They wrote speeches for Senators, C.E.O.'s everyone in between, heads of big foundations, and that's how I got to learn some of the craft of speech writing." Two years later, Litt was hired to be an entry level speechwriter at the White House for Valerie Jarrett, then the President's Senior Advisor. "Sort of without knowing that such a thing existed, I ended up at a White House entry level speech writing job," says Litt. He can still remember the first time he wrote words that the President of the United States spoke out loud. David Litt "I was 24 and he was in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and it was just a short stop at the airport, so for people who have been writing speeches for a long time this was not a big deal. For me it was the biggest deal that had ever happened ever, obviously," says Litt. "It was almost surreal. I was watching on the livestream and it was just this very strange thing where you're like, 'I had some of these thoughts and now they are leaving the mouth of President United States.' "It was totally bizarre and even more bizarre was that Jon Stewart made fun of that speech that night on 'The Daily Show.' That was the moment when I was like, 'Wow My high school self is totally confused by what's going on,' because, you know, Jon Stewart just made fun of something I wrote on television." Litt did very well in the job he hadn't even known existed. For his first two years, Litt's official title was "Speechwriter." In 2012 he was promoted to Presidential Speechwriter and in 2014 to Special Assistant to the President and Senior Presidential Speechwriter. He was also the lead joke writer for the four White House Correspondents' Association dinners during his tenure. David Litt with President Obama Photo courtesy David Litt In January 2016, Litt stepped down to take a job as the head writer and producer for comedy website Funny or Die in its Washington, D.C. office. Now he's also writing a memoir of his years coming of age in the White House, "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years," due out in September. Litt started his career at the White House very young, but he wasn't the only one. "There's lots of young people there because you work incredibly long hours, nobody's paid very much, and so young people are often the ones with the energy to do that kind of work," he says. And generally, Litt was measured by the quality of his work, not his age. "The truth about working in the White House is it's so stressful and high pressure that if you can make it, it doesn't really matter whether you're you know the right age or whatever else," he says. Confidence is not necessarily organic. You have to have a sense of believing in yourself, but you also need other people who believe in you. David Litt former speechwriter for President Obama "Once you demonstrate that you can do the work, people really gravitate toward that, and so that was a big part of why it was possible for me and other people my age to really succeed at the White House. I think particularly because President Obama was young and had a young staff, people understood that." Even still, it took Litt some time to develop confidence in himself and in his abilities. That came with experience and the trust of his very capable colleagues. "Confidence is not necessarily organic," he says. "You have to have a sense of believing in yourself, but you also need other people who believe in you and are better than you are at whatever it is you want to do but have faith that you can get good at it as well. And I think that's what I was lucky enough to have both in the private sector and then in the White House." David Litt with Airforce One When Litt did find himself doubting his abilities or was particularly frustrated by a long day or a rejected draft, connecting to the larger purpose of why he was doing what he was doing always propelled him. He had a poster that all of the field organizers he'd worked with in Ohio gave to him that he would look at for inspiration. A lot of the time you keep going because you don't really feel like you have a choice. And that ends up being what courage looks like more often than not. David Litt Funny or Die writer "The threat of those millions of "Obamacare orphans" has always been the understandable fear for the White House and the Congressional Republicans as a whole." In fact, this path takes one of the worst parts of Obamacare and makes it even worse. Remember that the GOP bill eliminates the individual mandate to buy health insurance. It's true that the number of younger and healthier Americans who complied with the mandate fell far short of Congressional Budget Office and Democrat projections. But those who did sign up provided at least some of the needed revenue to pay for the Obamacare insurance subsidies. Now the Republicans are looking at expanding subsidies while cutting off a key aspect of the funding. Conservatives and liberals alike can agree that's madness, and they do. The better way to make this bill nicer is to not to focus on the aggregate numbers of insured and uninsured. That's a red herring that puts the goal of preserving nominal "health coverage" above the much more important goal of improving access to actual health care. As we've learned from the steep Obamacare plan deductibles and the reduced Obamacare plan choices across the country, being "covered" and getting care are two different things. The Trump administration and the GOP Congress cannot be allowed to get away with simply claiming that more people having health insurance is a good or nice thing when that insurance doesn't make getting care any easier or less expensive. By contrast, the Senate has three better paths to being less mean. The first is Senator Ted Cruz's plan to focus much more funding on the risk pools and make them provide care to the smaller number of Americans with expensive conditions who truly cannot afford care. Cruz's plan is based on the same philosophy as Ronald Reagan's successful welfare reforms when he was Governor of California. Reagan called for the truly poor to "get a raise" and give them that raise at least in part by removing too many marginal welfare recipients from the rolls. Instead of providing more subsidies to able bodied, middle class people to buy potentially overpriced insurance, it would be nicer if that money was spent on covering more of the truly poor and very sick. Spreading out the government largesse only promotes political, and not societal, goals. The second nicer thing to do would be to make it easier for states to allow insurance companies to provide lower cost insurance plans. The current AHCA forces states to apply for waivers if they want to allow their residents to buy the bare-boned, major medical plans that make sense for younger and healthier people. Revenues from the sales of those kinds of plans, plus the fiscal quarantining of pre-existing condition patients via robust risk pools are much more likely to produce the less mean result of lower overall premium costs for everyone else at any age. And the third nice thing the Senate should consider either in this bill or in a follow-up measure is to work hard to remove the barriers to entry that plague almost anyone who wants to get into the health care field. The only way to really lower health care costs and increase access are increased supply of health care and technical innovations that eliminate overhead. Washington should move to make it less expensive to be a doctor or a nurse by eliminating repetitive regulations, making meaningful tort reform, and changing the student loan system to favor medical and nursing students who commit to filling jobs in under-served areas. Again, shoving all of that into this GOP health bill now may be a tall order, but it's a necessary path to take once the AHCA is passed. Something President Trump and too many people in politics don't seem to understand is that government handouts aren't nice. In the case of Obamacare, the handouts did not lead to lower health insurance costs in the relatively short run and they never provided much choice. Simply copying Obamacare's essential mistakes won't make the GOP replacement bill less mean, it'll make it meaner for the actual taxpayers who will have to pay more and more to keep it afloat. The nice and compassionate part of the Republican efforts should focus on the risk pools, everything else shouldn't be concerned with nice or mean labels and simply go with what will work. Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. In Kenya, businesses are looking to broaden access to energy by fusing micro grid technology with the significant uptake of mobile phone payment systems. Margaret Mwangi runs a salon in Kenya. With her business not connected to Kenya's main grid, she makes use of a local solar micro grid operated by smart metering technology business SteamaCo to get electricity. SteamaCo says that it operates in nine countries, serving 3,000 homes and businesses, using mini grids as well as biogas digesters and solar irrigation pumps. "I just have to use my phone, and go through M-Pesa (a mobile phone payment and money transfer system)," she told CNBC's Sustainable Energy. "I put the amount that I want as low as 50 shillings ($0.48), and onwards up to 1000 depending for what I want to use." The town of Entesopia is now the site of an eight kilowatt solar micro grid, which provides electricity to roughly 65 households and businesses. The micro grid is helping to smooth the transition from expensive, polluting diesel generators to cleaner, solar powered grids. Greece will have to keep waiting for details on how much debt relief it will get even though its bailout program is coming to an end, the Eurogroup President told CNBC on Thursday. The Greek government has been asking for debt relief since its third bailout program was prepared in 2015. However, several political stones, including the upcoming federal election in Germany, have derailed any detailed conversations. "As you know today will not be the meeting when we will take sort of the final decisions on what size of debt relief is needed," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs the meetings of the 19 euro zone finance ministers told CNBC on Thursday. "We've outlined last year what kind of debt measures we have standing ready. We've always said that at the end of the program, in the second half of next year we will do the final calibrations of what's needed and how to design it," he said ahead of a Eurogroup meeting. Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told CNBC Thursday that he was optimistic of a solution. "I am quite optimistic that we will find a common solution but I cannot announce the result of our negotiations today before the meeting has started." Wall Street is increasingly worried over the future growth opportunities for the two best-performing stocks in the market during the past year. Chipmakers Nvidia and AMD shares are both down significantly in recent days. Nvidia declined more than 5 percent over the past week through midday Thursday, while AMD fell 12 percent in that time period. The Nvidia decline was in part sparked by a negative Citron Research report on Nvidia Friday. "Take your profits and move on to Google (Alphabet). Exposure to the identical array of 'sexy businesses' with less risk on the downside," Citron Research's Andrew Left wrote in a post entitled "NVIDIA: The Moment that Separates the Gamblers from the Investors. NVDA to Trade back to $130." Left cited competition coming from Intel, Google and Xilinx in the data center markets and the likelihood of slowing growth in its gaming graphics card business as reasons for his skeptical view on Nvidia's market value. Wells Fargo is also concerned over rising competition in Nvidia's data center business. The firm reiterated its underperform rating on the company Wednesday. "We think that Nvidia has done very well in establishing itself as the dominant provider of standalone accelerator solutions for data center, but believe that this is already reflected in Nvidia's stock value," Wells Fargo analyst David Wong wrote in a note to clients. "Over time we think additional providers of standalone accelerators might emerge, helping to drive growth in the standalone processor market but reducing Nvidia's market share in this market." Even with the move lower, Nvidia shares have rallied 218 percent through midday Thursday in the previous 12 months compared with the market's 17 percent return. That performance ranks No. 1 in the entire , according to FactSet. AMD is right behind at No. 2 with a 156 percent return in the same time period. In similar fashion to the negative Nvidia notes, Goldman Sachs told investors to sell AMD shares Monday, questioning whether the recent cryptocurrency-driven demand for the company's graphics cards will last. "According to our checks, the RX 570 and RX 580 graphics cards are sold out at numerous retail websites including NewEgg and Microcenter. While this dynamic may provide near-term upside to fundamentals, we believe [cryptocurrency mining] is unlikely to become a sustainable driver of EPS," Goldman analyst Toshiya Hari wrote in the note to clients. Nvidia declined to comment on the Citron and Wells Fargo reports. An AMD spokesperson responded to the Goldman report by email: New York's top financial regulator has sent subpoenas to Fiat Chrysler , seeking information on whether vehicles sold in the state were equipped with devices that defeated emissions testing, a source told CNBC. The New York State Department of Financial Services has also requested documents from Santander related to its relationship with the automaker as well as anything related to financing offers for affected vehicles, including those with EcoDiesel engines. Both companies have until July 14 to produce the documents. A DFS spokesman declined to comment. Fiat Chrysler and Santander did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. The subpoenas come in the wake of a May civil suit filed in federal court, in which the government alleges Fiat Chrysler sold 103,828 vehicles that violate the Clean Air Act. In the filing, the government asserts that software allowed vehicles to emit lower emissions during federal testing than in "certain normal real world driving conditions." CNBC's Jim Forkin contributed to this report. Watch: Hard to see difference between Fiat & VW on emissions cheating Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, is speaking out about the White House's latest turmoil between President Donald Trump and the interactions he's had with former FBI director James Comey. "Does it make [Comey] any different to [Edward] Snowden?" Putin posed this question during an interview Thursday, comparing Comey to someone who copied and leaked classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013 without any authorization. "Snowden's a human rights activist who defends some kind of position. And if there's some kind of persecution, we would be ready to offer political asylum to Comey if he's persecuted in the U.S.," Putin went on to say. The Russian president was slated to take questions from residents all over his country in a phone-in expected to last for several hours on Thursday. "We do not view USA as our enemy," Putin said during his annual question-and-answer session with Russian citizens. Moscow and Washington can cooperate on issues, including the non-proliferation of weapons and the Syria crisis, he added. Back on the subject of Comey, Putin said he "didn't really know the details of [Comey's] testimony." But the Russian president does believe it "looks strange" that Comey would memorize a conversation that he had with Trump and then leak it to the press. President Trump was also up early and tweeting about Russia Thursday morning, calling the latest accusations made about him involved with collusion there "the single greatest witch hunt in American political history." TWEET TWEET Reuters contributed to this reporting. With stubbornly low oil prices hurting the coffers of international producers, Russian President Vladimir Putin is only agreeing to the OPEC-led output cut extension because he's worried about his grip on power, said Daniel Yergin, a leading geopolitical and oil analyst. "I was in St. Petersburg two weeks ago, and the sense you got is Putin is actually looking at his March 2018 election and wants economic stability. He doesn't want a kind of free-fall in prices," Yergin told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday. Last month, Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's top two oil producers, agreed to extend production cuts for nine more months until March 2018 in hopes of pushing up prices by reducing the global crude glut and putting more revenue back into their economies. "That's the pressure that they're feeling. That's why they came together. And that's why what the Saudis wanted to see was Russia on board. And Russia got on board because of the same revenue thing," said Yergin, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his best-seller "The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power." The policy rollover came despite the failure of November's landmark output reduction deal to clear the supply overhang. Prices are back to levels before the original agreement, Yergin pointed out. In another dose of geopolitical uncertainty hanging over the oil market, Yergin cited the decision last week by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, and the Maldives to cut ties with Qatar. The reason behind the break was concern over Qatar's alleged support of Iranian-backed militants, Yergin said, adding Qatar finds itself "in a corner by other Gulf producers." Despite President Donald Trump's criticism for its alleged support of terrorism, Qatar said it signed a deal to buy F-15 fighter jets from the U.S. for $12 billion. Boeing is the prime contractor on the fighter jet sale. U.S. crude briefly dropped to a six-week low Thursday morning, under pressure from high global inventories and doubts about OPEC's ability to implement the agreed upon extension in production cuts. U.S. crude sank 3.7 percent to $44.73 per barrel on Wednesday, breaking a three session win streak. West Texas Intermediate crude began tanking in June 2014 from around $108 per barrel. WTI prices lost about 75 percent, plunging to under $27 per barrel by early 2016. Prices have certainly recovered dramatically since then but were still trading under the key level of $50 per barrel. Said one intellectual property attorney, "The speed with which these appeals were decided is mind-blowing." The Associated Press reports today on China's sudden decision to overturn the nation's prior rejection of 9 Trump-related trademarks. Trump's brand will be better protected in China now, so he can cash in on Chinese-ified versions of his name for a wide range of businesses that even include bodyguards, escort services, and massage ladies. Trump has received 39 new trademarks since becoming President of the United States. If there are no objections, the newly granted provisional trademarks become formally registered in China after 90 days. Snip: The Chinese government has granted preliminary approval for nine Donald Trump trademarks it had previously rejected, in whole or in part, The Associated Press found, a turn that is likely to fuel further allegations that Beijing may be giving the president's family business special treatment. Trump's decision to retain ownership of his global branding empire has sparked criticism over perceived conflicts of interest and three lawsuits, including one filed Wednesday by nearly 200 Democrats in Congress, which allege violations of a constitutional prohibition against accepting gifts from foreign governments. Trademarks lie at the heart of these complaints because they are granted by foreign states and can be enormously valuable whether they are intended as groundwork for future business activity or defensive measures to protect a brand from squatters. Publicly available records do not indicate why the nine applications were initially rejected, or why the trademarks were then granted provisional approval eight to 15 weeks later. "The speed with which these appeals were decided is mind-blowing," said Matthew Dresden, an intellectual property attorney at Harris Bricken in Seattle. "I have never seen any decisions made that quickly. That suggests special treatment. But that's just procedural. Substantively, it's impossible to say whether any of this is unusual." China's Trademark Office did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. () You Yunting, a partner at DeBund Law Offices in Shanghai, said it's not unusual for trademark rejections to be overturned on appeal. China's Trademark Office database contained no indication Trump's lawyers had appealed the trademark rejections, but said it can take months for such actions to be publicly noted. If the initial denial was only partial, some elements of the applications can move forward without an appeal, in which case reversals can be swift. "Considering the political element, the authorities are definitely not going to admit special treatment, but the possibility cannot be excluded," You said. "Even if the Trademark Office helped Trump, it would be very difficult to find the wrongdoing on the surface." China approves 9 Trump trademarks previously rejected [AP] PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago, REUTERS "There's 330,000 people that work for GE and none of them had a productive day yesterday, none of them had a completely productive day. So my own belief is that when it comes to digital tools and things like that, that first part of the revolution, is going to be to make your existing workforce productive," Immelt said during a talk at the Viva Tech conference in Paris. "I think this notion that we are all going to be in a room full of robots in five years and that everything is going to be automated, it's just BS. It's not the way the world is going to work." Companies should look to make their workers more productive through new technological tools, Immelt said. Immelt did not mince his words, saying that those who have warned about such a short term hit to jobs have no experience of actually working in factory environments. "Most of the people that think that work is totally going to be displaced are people that have never done work, I think if you've actually run a factory you know most of this is just bulls--t. And so, I would call myself more a realist than an optimist," Immelt said. Fierce debate has been raging recently about the extent to which jobs will be automated, and what impact this could have on jobs and society. Even if the short-term outlook is not that bad, several stories have pointed towards a longer-term impact. Around a third of jobs in the U.K. could be affected by artificial intelligence and automation, while this figure rises to 38 percent in the U.S. by the 2030s, according to a report by accountancy firm PWC released in March. Ultimately, "if you can outwork the rest of the population, you're going to get lucky," Cardone tells CNBC . And once you do start seeing success , don't change your mentality: "If you gave me $5 billion, I'd still be grinding tomorrow." What sets the self-made millionaire apart from the rest of the population, he says, is how much he works : "Most people work 9-to-5. I work 95 hours [per week]. If you ever want to be a millionaire, you need to stop doing the 9-to-5 and start doing 95." That comes out to about 14 hours of work a day. Entrepreneur and New York Times-bestselling author Grant Cardone was deep in debt before building his building his multimillion-dollar fortune. He's not the only millionaire who says you should be spending more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week, pursuing your goals. Gary Vaynerchuk, founder and CEO of digital marketing company VaynerMedia, says that if start-up founders want to make it, they should put in at least 18 hours a day for the first year. In launching a business, "you have made a decision that does not allow you, in Year One, any time to do anything but build your business," the self-made entrepreneur says. "Every minute call it 18 hours a day out of 24 if you want this to be successful, needs to be allocated for your business." "I think one of the biggest reasons so many people go out of business in the first year, first two years is they don't realize how hard it is and how all-in you have to be," Vaynerchuk says. Self-made millionaire and "Shark Tank" star Daymond John has a similar perspective. Ultimately, the secret to success boils down to one thing, says John: "Work. Bust your butt. Get up before everybody, go to sleep after everybody, and bust your butt. That's it." Don't miss: Daymond John: 'Quit your day job' is garbage advicehere's the secret to success South Africa's Chamber of Mines has decided to take the government to court over its decision to raise the threshold for black ownership. Its President Mxolisi Mgojo says the chamber, which represents 90 per cent of the industry in the country, needs to "protect the mining industry and take all critical steps" to do so. "We are taking the matter to court to try and bring the industry and the Department of Mineral Resources back to the negotiation table," said Mgojo. The Mining Charter, which applies with immediate effect, was released on Thursday without consultation and many of its aspects have not been seen by the Chamber of Mines,. It was only given a copy of the charter after it was released. Roger Baxter, Chamber of Mines CEO, says it will not be signing the charter as "it is not its charter". Mining shares were trashed on the JSE following the release of the charter. Baxter warned that this charter is going to scare investment. It will have a significant impact on the sector, he added. The charter raised the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 per cent from 26 per cent but has not decided if firms must retain that structure permanently, Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said. The charter also requires mining companies to pay 1 per cent of turnover to their black empowerment partners. Zwane said companies had 12 months to meet the new 30 percent target. The Mining Charter was introduced in 2002 to increase black ownership of the mining industry, which accounts for about 7 percent of South Africa's economic output. The Chamber of Mines, an industry body, has taken the government to court over the interpretation of the ownership rules, which it put on hold in good faith. The government has said companies must keep to black ownership targets even if black shareholders sell their stakes. The chamber will not again approach the courts to reopen the matter. Uncertainty about the government policy remained, however, as Zwane said "we have not dealt with that" issue. The Chamber of Mines, which represents companies such as Anglo American and Sibanye Gold, did not take part in the launch because of what it said was a lack of consultation in drawing up the charter. (Additional Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; writing by Ed Stoddard; editing by James Macharia and David Clarke) Germany's interior ministry has announced sweeping new surveillance powers ahead of the coming national election, which would include the right to infect residents' computers with malware in order to spy on their encrypted communications (shades of the illegal Bundestrojaner program), ordering tech companies to deliberately introduce defects into their cryptography, and fingerprinting children as young as 6. Ministers from central government and federal states said encrypted messaging services, such as WhatsApp and Signal, allow militants and criminals to evade traditional surveillance. "We can't allow there to be areas that are practically outside the law," interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters in the eastern town of Dresden. Militant attacks in France, Britain and Germany have prompted European governments to tighten up on surveillance of suspected militants. Britain has proposed forcing messaging services to let authorities access encrypted communications. Among the options Germany is considering is "source telecom surveillance", where authorities install software on phones to relay messages before they are encrypted. That is now illegal. Austria is also planning laws to make it easier to monitor encrypted messages as well as building out a linked network of cameras and other equipment to read vehicle licence plates. "Travel brings people and cultures together, so we are excited about the upcoming cruises to Cuba for our guests," Carnival said. Carnival's namesake cruise line currently sails to Cuba, an experience the company called "extremely positive." Holland America Line, one of the company's other properties, will start sailing to Cuba in December, according to its website. Carnival said it has also requested permission for its other lines to sail to Cuba. The changes Trump is expected to announce would not prohibit travel altogether. Carnival Corporation said in a statement it was pleased the new policy would allow it to continue sailing to the island nation, but that it would still need to review the "extent of the tightening of the travel rules that could potentially affect our guests." Travel companies reacted to reports that President Donald Trump will announce plans tomorrow to roll back former President Barack Obama 's policies loosening restrictions on travel to Cuba . Marriott International , which already has one hotel open in Cuba and another in the works, urged the Trump administration to rethink its plan. "We are at an important moment in the relationship between the United States and Cuba," Marriott said in a statement. "Travel between our two countries continues to increase and strengthen an evolving bilateral relationship. It would be exceedingly disappointing to see the progress that has been made in the last two years halted and reversed by the Administration." Airline companies were less forthcoming ahead of the announcement. Doug McGraw, a spokesman for JetBlue , said the company will review the policy once it is available and plans to operate within the government's policy. JetBlue flies from New York, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale to Havana, and from Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara, Camaguey and Holguin, according to its website. Southwest declined to comment on the new Cuba policy, simply saying in a statement it will "continue to seek opportunities to offer unique value and hospitality." The airline currently flies to Havana from Tampa and Fort Lauderdale and has a pending application to the United States Department of Transportation for another flight from Florida. Delta Air Lines declined to comment before Trump's remarks. It offers three daily services from New York, Miami and Atlanta to Havana. United Airlines also declined to comment, but said it will release something "immediately after an announcement." The company offers flights to Havana from nine airports in eight cities, including Boston, New York, Chicago and San Francisco, according to its website. CNBC's Susan Li contributed to this report. Watch: Marriott CEO says Cuba remains a place people want to go see President Trump on Thursday criticized reports that he is now under investigation for obstruction of justice in connection with the firing of FBI Director James Comey. "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story," Trump tweeted. "Nice." @realDonaldTrump They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice @realDonaldTrump You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA Trump appeared to be a responding to a Washington Post report that special prosecutor Robert Mueller "is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice," officials said. While the Justice Department appointed Mueller to investigate Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and any "collusion" with the Trump campaign his assignment also includes "any matters that arose or may arise" from the Russia probe. Read more from USA Today: Timeline: Key moments in the FBI probe of Russia's efforts to influence the 2016 election Mueller investigating Trump for possible obstruction, report says Social media lights up after Kamala Harris questions Jeff Sessions Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he believes Trump fired him last month because he resisted a request to drop the Russia investigation, especially as it related to former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump said he fired Comey for poor performance, though he also reportedly told a group of Russian officials that the Comey dismissal would help get the Russia probe behind him. He also called Comey a "nut job." Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel shortly after Comey's firing. Rosenstein was acting, because Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself from acting in the Russia investigation after it was revealed he had held two meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak before the Nov. 8, 2016 election. News that Mueller is now investigating Trump for obstruction of justice comes amid reports that Trump has discussed whether to remove the special counsel. White House officials said the president is not considering such a step. Supporters of Trump condemned the news leaks regarding the new investigation. "The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal," said Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's legal team. It is possible, however, that the sources for the Post report could have been those interviewed as part of the investigation, not the investigators themselves. Members of the female division of the People's Protection Units (YPG), carry the body of comrade Roj Adiyaman, one of eight soldiers that were buried in the martyrs' cemetery on November 8, 2015 in Derek, Rojava, Syria. The U.S., Russia and Iran are all involved in the Syrian Civil War. They are all working to defeat ISIS, but for different reasons. The president of the United States has very different attitudes toward the two biggest supporters of one of America's greatest enemies. Both Iran and Russia support Syrian strongman Bashar Assad, who has committed atrocities against his own people in that country's bloody civil war. Trump has been candid about his distrust of Tehran, but he has been less critical sometimes even supportive of Moscow. Trump is a recurring and vocal critic of Iran. He opposes a nuclear deal struck in 2015 between Iran and a group of major powers including the Obama administration, calling it the "worst deal ever" and vowing to "rip it up." TWEET In a May speech in Saudi Arabia, Trump condemned Iran for supporting militias, terrorists and other extremist groups. "Among Iran's most tragic and destabilizing interventions have been in Syria. Bolstered by Iran, Assad has committed unspeakable crimes," he said. With Russia, Trump has taken a more positive tone. He has tweeted that having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, and that only "stupid people" would disagree. TWEET The U.S. has been slow to realize Russia's "power projection issues" in the Middle East, said Andrew Bishop, deputy director of research at the Eurasia Group, whereas Iran ambitions in the region are longstanding and well-known. Plus, Bishop said, Trump may perceive Russia as a fellow target of Islamic terrorism and one of few potential partners in Syria. The president has voiced his desire to work with Russia to fight the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS. The U.S. Senate appears ready to ensure that the administration doesn't unilaterally ease up on Russia. On Wednesday, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to require the president to get congressional approval before he lifts any sanctions against the country. Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listen during the town hall debate at Washington University on October 9, 2016 in St Louis, Missouri. Playing defense after the latest twist in the Russia investigation, President Donald Trump turned back the clocks Thursday. In a pair of late-afternoon tweets, Trump railed against his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton, questioning why the scrutiny was on him, the president, and not her. Breaking out his campaign nickname for Clinton "crooked" Hillary he said the former secretary of State and her family had "dealings" with Russia. Tweet: Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are? He also questioned why she was not investigated for obstruction last year. Tweet: Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction? The tweets came after a Washington Post report that former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is also looking into whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice. The obstruction investigation began just days after the president abruptly fired former FBI Director James Comey, according to the newspaper. In a pair of earlier tweets, Trump called the investigation "phony" and the "greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history." After the report, Trump's lawyer accused the FBI of an "inexcusable and illegal" leak of information. It is not clear if the bureau was the source of the Post's report. Clinton and her associates were never charged in the investigation into her use of a private email server and handling of classified information at the State Department. Trump and other critics have repeatedly accused her and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch of improper conduct in the probe. Watch: Comey says he knew there was no case regarding Clinton emails For the first time since he was elected, President Donald Trump is set to attend the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, presenting a potentially awkward moment as the court weighs what to do about his contentious executive order that attempts to restrict U.S. entry by people from six Muslim-majority countries. Trump is scheduled to visit the ornate, marble-clad courthouse in Washington for the investiture of new Justice Neil Gorsuch, whose Senate confirmation in April was his first major accomplishment. Attention will be focused on whether Trump, known for his off-the-cuff remarks and incendiary tweets, will follow the rules of an institution known for its courtesy and tradition. The stakes are heightened by the fact that Trump's so-called travel ban, one of his signature policies, is now before the justices after being blocked by lower courts. The president is expected to sit in the courtroom during the brief ceremony in which Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the judicial oath to Gorsuch. Trump is not expected to make a speech at the event, but he is likely to talk briefly to the justices beforehand in the court's conference room, as other presidents have done in the past, according to a court spokeswoman. In deciding whether to allow the travel ban to go into effect, the justices are set to weigh whether Trump's harsh election campaign rhetoric can be used as evidence that the March 6 order was intended to discriminate against Muslims. Trump has spoken out against courts blocking the ban and has also criticized his own lawyers. The court is currently considering an emergency request from the administration seeking to put its travel ban into effect while litigation continues. Federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii blocked Trump's 90-day ban on travelers from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The Hawaii judge also blocked a 120-day ban on refugees entering the United States. The injunctions blocking the ban were upheld on appeal. Trump's appointment of conservative Gorsuch has been his most significant win since taking office in January. Gorsuch, who has been sitting on the bench since April 10, restored the high court's 5-4 conservative majority. There was a vacancy on the court for more than a year following the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. watch now President Donald Trump wants to blow out the number of apprentices working for U.S. companies but it doesn't look like he'll spend the money to do it. Apprenticeships blend on-the-job work with paid classroom instruction, and they usually last two to six years. The federal government has regulated and certified apprenticeships since 1937, but the jobs were not actively promoted by more recent presidents until the Obama administration. Trump wants to create 5 million new apprenticeships over the next five years, which would be almost 10 times the total that exist now. But the money he has appropriated to apprenticeships is roughly the same as it was under Obama. The budget for fiscal 2016 appropriated $90 million for apprenticeships; that number is set to increase only to $95 million as part of Congress' omnibus budget for 2017. President Donal Trump (R) and his daughter Ivanka (L) chairs a a workforce development roundtable discussion at Waukesha County Technical College during his visit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 13, 2017. Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images "Just because something's a good thing doesn't mean you can have it," said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Most of the cost of apprenticeships is borne by employers, with the government taking a regulatory role. But the administration has provided few details on how it will create exponential gains with roughly the same amount of federal spending. You can't grow tomatoes in the desert. The bottom line on America is, it requires enormous expenditures and regulation of employers, and that ain't gonna happen. Anthony Carnevale Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce "You can't grow tomatoes in the desert," Carnevale said. "The bottom line on America is, it requires enormous expenditures and regulation of employers, and that ain't gonna happen." The Department of Labor did not respond to requests for comment. At a news conference Monday, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta avoided details on how it plans to increase the number of apprenticeships. US Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta speaks during the briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 12, 2017. Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images "Getting from 500,000 to 5 million?" asked Robert Schwartz, senior research fellow of educational policy at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. "This is the typical kind of Trump looseness with the facts." The president signed an executive order Thursday for the "Apprenticeship and Workforce of Tomorrow" program, an initiative "removing federal restrictions" that have prevented industries from creating apprenticeships, Trump said. "We want to keep jobs in America, and we want to train people and hire American workers to fill those jobs," Trump said. "And that's exactly what we're doing." Challenge from Salesforce.com's Benioff Marc Benioff, co-founder and chief executive officer of Salesforce.com Inc., center, arrives to a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump and Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, not pictured, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, March 17, 2017. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images In March, Trump appeared to commit to Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff's challenge at a White House CEO roundtable to "take a moonshot goal to create 5 million apprenticeships in the next five years." "Let's do that let's go for that 5 million," Trump responded. To achieve that goal, his administration would need to increase the current number of active apprenticeships almost tenfold from 505,371 in the last quarter of 2016, according to the Department of Labor in just five years. Trump's position is in some ways a continuation of the Obama administration's effort to revive apprenticeships across industries. The number of apprenticeships grew substantially under President Barack Obama, from roughly 350,000 in 2010 to more than half a million today. "The Obama administration said, 'Hey, it's a great model with great outcomes, let's expand it,'" said Eric Seleznow, who was the Labor Department's deputy assistant secretary during Obama's presidency. "And that's exactly what they did." While most experts agree that more apprenticeships would be a good thing for the economy, the Trump administration's budget proposals in recent months including a 40 percent cut to job training programs and a 21 percent cut to the Department of Labor created concern among apprenticeship advocates. "It's an aspirational goal," Seleznow said, referring to the 5 million apprenticeships. "I don't think it's feasible." WATCH: President Trump was bathed in praise at his first Cabinet meeting watch now A student outside ITT Technical Institute after it abruptly closed, in Vista, California, Sept. 6, 2016. It seems only right that victims of predatory for-profit education companies should have their student loans forgiven. The Trump administration is delaying and considering dismantling two new rules that were a cornerstone of the Obama administration's crackdown on predatory for-profit colleges. The announcement by the Education Department on Wednesday throws into limbo changes that would speed up and expand a system for erasing the federal loan debt of student borrowers who were cheated by colleges that acted fraudulently. It also freezes the implementation of key parts of what is known as the gainful employment mandate, which cuts off loans to colleges if their graduates do not earn enough money to pay off their student debt. The move came just over two weeks before the rules were to take effect on July 1. The agency said it would form new rule-making committees to study the regulations and would hold off on implementing them until the review was completed. More from New York Times: Fed actions show confidence but are not Trump speed Oil prices: what to make of the volatility Why did China detain Anbang's chairman? He tested a lot of limits "Fraud, especially fraud committed by a school, is simply unacceptable," Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement. "Unfortunately, last year's rule-making effort missed an opportunity to get it right. The result is a muddled process that's unfair to students and schools, and puts taxpayers on the hook for significant costs." The agency also took aim at the Obama administration's rules on gainful employment, criticizing them as "overly burdensome and confusing" for colleges. Consumer advocates and some state officials quickly lashed out against the delay, calling it damaging and potentially illegal. Maura Healey, the Massachusetts attorney general, called the delay a violation of federal law and a "betrayal of students and families across the country who are drowning in unaffordable debt." She said she would challenge it in court. Critics including Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Patty Murray of Washington, both Democrats, argued that the department could not unilaterally suspend negotiated rules, which go through a process intended to ensure that the viewpoints of the public and those affected by the rules have been taken into account. "I am extremely disappointed that Secretary DeVos has decided, once again, to side with special interests and predatory for-profit colleges instead of students and borrowers," Ms. Murray said in a statement. The Obama administration pushed through sweeping regulatory changes after hundreds of for-profit colleges were accused of widespread fraud and subsequently collapsed, leaving their enrolled students with huge debts and no degrees. The failure of two mammoth chains, Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institutes, capped years of complaints that some career-training colleges took advantage of veterans and other nontraditional students, using deceptive marketing and illegal recruitment practices. Few higher-education institutions could survive without federal student aid, which includes billions of dollars in guaranteed loans, and the money kept streaming in despite warning signs at some colleges that included surging defaults, missed standards and numerous government investigations and lawsuits. For-profit colleges have vehemently opposed the regulations, known as borrower defense, saying that the rules endanger their viability. They say the industry is being unfairly singled out. Industry executives are particularly riled by automatic loan discharges for broad groups of defrauded students and by a new ban on forced-arbitration agreements, which prevent students from bringing lawsuits. Under the rules frozen on Wednesday, education officials could, for example, take into account lawsuits, accrediting agency reports and graduates' job placement and wage records in deciding whether an institution remains eligible for federal student aid. The goal was to hold violators financially responsible for soured loans instead of dumping the burden on taxpayers. In its announcement, the Education Department cited as reason for the delay a federal lawsuit filed on May 24 by an association of for-profit colleges in California that is seeking to block the rules. On Tuesday, eight state attorneys general, including Ms. Healey, filed a motion to intervene in the California association's lawsuit in order to prevent the rules from being delayed. Existing rules allow students to apply for a loan release if they attended a college that broke state laws. But that process, once used very rarely, has been overwhelmed with claims after a wave of failures by for-profit institutions. Some students have had applications pending for years. Borrower advocates say the system came to a halt in the first few months of the Trump administration. The gears are turning again, according to the Education Department but only for a fraction of those who are waiting. In January, one week before President Trump took office, the Obama administration said 23,000 applicants had been notified that their claims had been approved. Nearly 7,000 of those claims have been discharged, and the rest will be soon, according to Elizabeth Hill, a department spokeswoman. But the Obama administration also said in January that it had 68,000 applications awaiting further review, on which no decision had been made. Those cases "will still be reviewed under current statute," Ms. Hill said. Borrowers caught in the pipeline say that they have been given no information about why the decisions are taking so long. A coalition of 31 military and veterans groups sent a letter to Congress and Ms. DeVos this week stating that "veterans' applications for relief remain stalled." Last week, a federal court judge in California ordered the Education Department to file a report within 90 days on one borrower's application that has been under review for more than two years. Another borrower, Victoria Linssen, applied in October for forgiveness on the $50,000 in federal loans that she had taken out to study photography at the Brooks Institute in Ventura, Calif., a for-profit college that shut down last year after extensive regulatory criticism and penalties. The college lied about its accreditation, its job placement rate and the wages its graduates earned, Ms. Linssen said. Ms. Linssen said she had made many calls to the Education Department about her claim. "All they tell me is that my application has been received, to sit tight, that there is nothing else I can do, and that it could be a year, potentially two years before I hear a decision," she said. A key figure in the Education Department's regulatory rollback is Robert S. Eitel, previously a top lawyer at two companies that operate for-profit colleges, Career Education Corporation and Bridgepoint Education Inc. Mr. Eitel, who also worked at the department when George W. Bush was president, is the co-chairman of its regulatory review task force. Like all vocational college operators, Bridgepoint would be directly affected by any delay in both the borrower-defense and gainful-employment rules. The publicly traded company has previously been investigated by state prosecutors, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pauline Abernathy, executive vice president of the Institute for College Access and Success, a nonpartisan research group, called it "outrageous" that Mr. Eitel was in a position to influence rules that could significantly affect a recent employer of his. Mr. Eitel recused himself from the review of gainful employment regulations, according to Ms. Hill, the Education Department spokeswoman. That review was led by James Manning, the department's acting under secretary, she said. Ms. Hill said that the agency's ethics officer had told Mr. Eitel that he was not disqualified from working on the borrower-defense regulations that were to take effect next month. But Mr. Eitel is not involved in evaluating existing borrower-defense claims, she said, because some of those claims come from students of his former employers' colleges. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with journalists after his annual 'Direct Line with Vladimir Putin broadcast live' by Russian TV channels and radio stations at the Gostiny Dvor studio in Moscow on June 15, 2017. Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe could become a prominent casualty of fresh sanctions against Moscow agreed by the US Senate as part of a package of proposed new measures against the country's key energy sector. Senators on Wednesday overwhelmingly supported an amendment that strengthens existing sanctions against Moscow and deepens their scope, including targeting "energy export pipelines". The new sanctions need approval from the House of Representatives. Vladimir Putin, Russian president, on Thursday brushed off the proposed sanctions as just one step in a long line of anti-Russian moves. More from Financial Times: Macron and allies head for EU clash on foreign takeovers US Senate punishes Russia with sanctions over election Liberty Media shows how to win deals and influence companies "Now we know that another draft bill has appeared in the US Senate on toughening these sanctions. Why, by the way? Nothing extraordinary happened. What drove them to talk about these sanctions out of the blue?" Mr Putin said during an annual televised call-in show where he answered questions from voters. "This is, of course, a sign of continued political infighting in the US." Nord Stream 2, which would double the amount of gas that Russian state monopoly Gazprom could supply Europe under the Baltic Sea, is under already regulatory scrutiny after claims from critics that it would increase European reliance on Russian supplies and reduce transit through Ukraine, a US ally. The text of the Senate amendment, which was passed with 97 votes to 2 against, requires the imposition of sanctions against those who make an investment or sell, lease or provide "goods, services, technology, information, or support" to projects for the export of energy from Russia. "It sanctions those who . . . invest or support the construction of Russian energy export pipelines," Mike Crapo, a senator from Idaho who co-authored the amendment, told the Senate. Nord Stream 2, the company managing the pipeline, said in response that the sanction threat was a sign of "increasing politicisation of Nord Stream 2 driven by commercial interests", and suggested it was part of the US's intentions to become a major gas supplier to Europe through exports of LNG. "This unprecedented course of action is clearly aimed at undermining the position of a future commercial competitor in an already diversified market," it said in a statement. "It follows similar scare tactics by some European countries with existing or planned gas import infrastructure to protect their own commercial interests by using political arguments." Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom's deputy chairman, shrugged off the impact of the Senate amendment on his company. "I think the bill is aimed at US companies. This is a case of cutting off your nose to look beautiful. If senators believe that they can block the US-Russian co-operation, god be their judge," he said in comments reported by the Interfax news agency. Fully owned by Gazprom, Nord Stream 2 is supported by European energy companies Shell, Uniper, Wintershall, Engie and OMV, which have together agreed to meet half of the project's 9.5bn costs. The pipeline amendment, and another amendment covering investment in privatisations of state assets, were "potentially the most damaging to Russian equities," Barry Ehrlich, a Moscow-based analyst at Citi, said in a brief note to clients. Shares in Gazprom fell as much as 3.2 per cent on Thursday, while shares in OMV fell 3.7 per cent. Engie was down as much as 1.3 per cent, Shell 1.1 per cent and Uniper 0.9 per cent. Poland and other eastern European states have called for the pipeline to be blocked by regulators in Brussels, claiming that it will increase the EU's reliance on Russian gas supplies and is an attempt by Moscow to try to hurt Ukraine, which earns large transit fees from shipping Russian gas to Europe along Soviet-era pipelines. Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of Russia's lower house of parliament, said the measures were "beyond logic". Other Russian politicians on Thursday said the sanctions would not have a serious impact on the country's economy, which was plunged into recession in 2015 after the imposition of sanctions and a 50 per cent fall in the price of oil. The Senate amendment tightens the sanctions regime against Russia by codifying it in law and making it more difficult for President Donald Trump's White House to ease the measures. In addition to targeting pipelines and stake sales, the amendment would further restrict access for Russian finance and energy companies to capital, while bringing transport, metals, shipping and mining industries under the sanctions umbrella. Analysts said that the suggestion of imposing restrictions on Russian sovereign debt and derivatives, included in the amendment, was potentially the most serious threat to the country's economy. While not yet written into law, the Senate vote "is clearly negative", Moscow-based research house BCS Global Markets said in a note to clients. "It demonstrates how remote, difficult and protracted the process of normalising US-Russia relations is." The benchmark RTS index in Moscow was down 2.3 per cent mid-morning. Even as Wells Fargo was reeling from a major scandal in its consumer bank last year, officials in the company's mortgage business were putting through unauthorized changes to home loans held by customers in bankruptcy, a new class action and other lawsuits contend. The changes, which surprised the customers, typically lowered their monthly loan payments, which would seem to benefit borrowers, particularly those in bankruptcy. But deep in the details was this fact: Wells Fargo's changes would extend the terms of borrowers' loans by decades, meaning they would have monthly payments for far longer and would ultimately owe the bank much more. Any change to a payment plan for a person in bankruptcy is subject to approval by the court and the other parties involved. But Wells Fargo put through big changes to the home loans without such approval, according to the lawsuits. More from The New York Times: Justice Department Weighs In Against Wells Fargo in a Whistle-Blower Suit Accusations of Fraud at Wells Fargo Spread to Sham Insurance Policies Wells Fargo Warned Workers Against Sham Accounts, but 'They Needed a Paycheck' The changes are part of a trial loan modification process from Wells Fargo. But they put borrowers in bankruptcy at risk of defaulting on the commitments they have made to the courts, and could make them vulnerable to foreclosure in the future. A spokesman for Wells Fargo, Tom Goyda, said the bank strongly denied the claims made in the lawsuits and particularly disputed how the complaints characterized the bank's actions. Wells Fargo contends that the borrowers and the bankruptcy courts were notified. "Modifications help customers stay in their homes when they encounter financial challenges," Mr. Goyda said, "and we have used them to help more than one million families since the beginning of 2009." According to court documents, Wells Fargo has been putting through unrequested changes to borrowers' loans since 2015. During this period, the bank was under attack for its practice of opening unwanted bank and credit card accounts for customers to meet sales quotas. Outrage over that activity which the bank admitted in September 2016, when it was fined $185 million cost John G. Stumpf, its former chief executive, his job and damaged the bank's reputation. It is unclear how many unsolicited loan changes Wells Fargo has put through nationwide, but seven cases describing the conduct have recently arisen in Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. In the North Carolina court, Wells Fargo produced records showing it had submitted changes on at least 25 borrowers' loans since 2015. Bankruptcy judges in North Carolina and Pennsylvania have admonished the bank over the practice, according to the class-action lawsuit filed last week. One judge called the practice "beyond the pale of due process." The lawsuits contend that Wells Fargo puts through changes on borrowers' loans using a routine form that typically records new real estate taxes or homeowners' insurance costs that are folded into monthly mortgage payments. Upon receiving these forms, bankruptcy court workers usually put the changes into effect without questioning them. It is unclear why the bank would put through such changes. On one hand, Wells Fargo stood to profit from the new loan terms it set forth, and, under programs designed to encourage loan modifications for troubled borrowers, the bank receives as much as $1,600 from government programs for every such loan it adjusts, the class-action lawsuit said. But submitting the changes without approval violates bankruptcy rules and puts the bank at risk of court sanctions and federal scrutiny. When a lawyer for a borrower has questioned the changes, Wells Fargo has reversed them. Abelardo Limon Jr., a lawyer in Brownsville, Tex., who represents some of the plaintiffs, said he first thought Wells Fargo had made a clerical error. Then he saw another case. "When I realized it was a pattern of filing false documents with the federal court, that was appalling to me," Mr. Limon said in an interview. The unauthorized loan modifications "really cause havoc to a debtor's reorganization," he said. This is not the first time Wells Fargo has been accused of wrongdoing related to payment change notices on mortgages it filed with the bankruptcy courts. Under a settlement with the Justice Department in November 2015, the bank agreed to pay $81.6 million to borrowers in bankruptcy whom it had failed to notify on time when their monthly payments shifted to reflect different real estate taxes or insurance costs. That settlement in which the bank also agreed to change its internal procedures to prevent future violations affected 68,000 homeowners. Borrowers having financial difficulties often file for personal bankruptcy to save their homes, working out payment plans with creditors and the courts to bring their loans current in a set period. If the borrowers meet their obligations over that time, they emerge from bankruptcy with clean slates and their homes intact. Changing these payment plans without the approval of the judge and other parties can imperil borrowers' standing with the bankruptcy courts. In the class-action lawsuit filed last week, the lead plaintiffs are a couple in North Carolina who say that Wells Fargo submitted three changes to their payment plan in 2016 without approval. The first time, Wells Fargo put through the changes without alerting them, according to the couple, Christopher Dee Cotton and Allison Hedrick Cotton. The Cottons' monthly payments declined with every change, dropping to $1,251 from $1,404. Buried deep in the documents Wells Fargo filed but did not get approved by the borrowers, their lawyers or the court was the news that the bank would extend the Cottons' loan to 40 years, increasing the amount of interest they would have to pay. Before the changes, the Cottons owed roughly $145,000 on their mortgage and were on schedule to pay off the loan in 14 years. Over that period, their interest would total $55,593. Under the new loan terms, the Cottons would have incurred $85,000 in interest costs over the additional 26 years, on top of the $55,593 they would have paid under the existing loan, their court filing shows. Theodore O. Bartholow III, a lawyer for the Cottons, said Wells Fargo's actions contravened the intent of the bankruptcy system. "When it goes the right way, the debtor and mortgage company agree to do a modification, go to court and say, 'Hey judge, modify or change the disbursement on my mortgage.'" Instead, Wells Fargo did "a total end run" around the process, said Mr. Bartholow, of Kellett & Bartholow in Dallas. The Cottons declined to comment. Mr. Goyda, the Wells Fargo spokesman, denied that the bank had not notified borrowers. "The terms of these modification offers were clearly outlined in letters sent to the customers and/or to their attorneys, and as part of the Payment Change Notices sent to the bankruptcy courts," he wrote by email. Mr. Goyda said that "such notices are not part of the loan modification package, or part of the documentation required for the customer to accept or decline modification offers." He added, "We do not finalize a modification without receiving signed documents from the customer and, where required, approval from the bankruptcy court." Mr. Limon and other lawyers say that while the bank may wait for approval to complete a modification, it has nevertheless put through unapproved changes to borrowers' payment plans. According to a complaint he filed on behalf of clients in Texas, instead of going through the proper channels to try to modify a loan, Wells Fargo filed the routine payment change notification. The clients also accuse the bank of making false claims by contending that the borrowers had requested or approved the loan modifications. In many cases, the trustees who handle payments on behalf of consumers in bankruptcy would accept the changes Wells Fargo had submitted on the assumption they had been properly approved. Mr. Limon represents Ignacio and Gabriela Perez of Brownsville, who say Wells Fargo put through an improper change to their payment plan last year. After experiencing financial difficulties, Mr. and Mrs. Perez filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in August 2016. They owed about $54,000 on their home at the time, and had fallen behind on the mortgage by $2,177. The value of their home was $95,317, records show, so they had substantial equity. In September, the Perezes filed a payment plan with the bankruptcy court in Brownsville; the trustee overseeing the process ordered a confirmation hearing on the plan for early November. But in a letter to the Perezes dated Oct. 10, Wells Fargo said their loan was "seriously delinquent" and offered them a trial loan modification. "Time is of the essence," the letter stated. "Act now to avoid foreclosure." Because they were going through bankruptcy, the Perezes were not under any threat of foreclosure. Mr. Perez said in an interview that the letter worried him, so he asked his lawyer to investigate. Then, on Oct. 28, 2016, DeMarcus Jones, identified in court papers as "VP Loan Documentation" at Wells Fargo, filed a notice of mortgage payment change with the bankruptcy court. It said the Perezes' new monthly payment would be $663.15, down from $1,019.03. In the notice, the bank explained that the reduction was a "Payment change resulting from an approved trial modification agreement." The changes had not been approved by the Perezes, their lawyer or the bankruptcy court, their complaint said. Although the monthly payment Wells Fargo had listed for the Perezes was lower, there was a catch the same one that showed up in the Cottons' loan. The Perezes had been scheduled to pay off their mortgage in nine years, but the loan terms from Wells Fargo extended it to 40 years. The Perezes would owe the bank an extra $40,000 in interest, the legal filing said. "I thought that I was totally crazy, or they were totally crazy," Mr. Perez said. "I am 58, in what mind could they think I would agree to extend my mortgage 40 years more? I don't understand much maybe, but it doesn't sound legal to me." Mr. Limon quickly fought the changes. If he had not, Mr. and Mrs. Perez could have faced further complications. The new Wells Fargo payments were so much less than the payments the Perezes had submitted to the bankruptcy court that if the trustee had started making the new payments with no court approval, the Perezes would have emerged at the end of their bankruptcy plan owing the difference between the amounts. The Perezes would be unwittingly in arrears, and the bank could begin foreclosure proceedings if they were unable to make up the difference. This guy has a lot of nerve. Not only does he drive his Smart car right into a convenience store in Jiangsu, China, but then he honks to get the cashier's attention. The cashier is a good sport, hopping to attention and actually bringing yogurt and a bag of chips to the guy's window, as if it's a drive-thru. He then takes some cash and helps guide the driver out of the store. Can you imagine what a ruckus this would have caused had this happened at a 7-11 in the US? Thanks Mashable! Brian Ach | Getty Images "Most of the companies I've started, I've started because of a passion," he said. "I've never sat down and I'm not smart enough to know where it's going to go. Most people maybe make believe that they are, but I'm not. You have to pivot, you have to take advantage of the environment, you have to see what your strengths and your weaknesses are, and then you make decisions on the fly." Lerer, who sits on the board of MTV owner Viacom, is also a venture capitalist: He's the managing partner of New York City-based seed fund Lerer Hippeau Ventures. His willingness, in past roles at HuffPost and elsewhere, to identify and fix his own blind spots has served him well as an investor, too, he said. "I've never seen a company at the seed stage or almost never, I have seen a few that said I'm going to do 'x' and did 'x,'" he said. "Part of this is the pivot. A founder, if he or she doesn't have the capacity to pivot, they won't succeed. And that's really important, and you won't know that when you invest initially." The statistics are worrying: 100,000 mammals and 1 million birds die every year after swallowing plastic in the ocean. The UN predicts that unless urgent action is taken there will be more plastic than fish in the seas by 2050. Then there's the threat to human health: No one yet knows what effect plastics and the chemicals they absorb will have as they work their way up the food chain. And because cleaner oceans ultimately drive local economies and job growth, this is an issue that can't be ignored. Now 22, the Dutch entrepreneur is a man with a mission: To clear the world's oceans of the trillions of pieces of floating plastic, one giant step at a time. Qatari citizens rush to sell properties in Dubai as diplomatic crisis deepens Qatari investors based in Dubai are rushing to sell their properties at steep discounts before the Monday deadline to leave the country amidst the ongoing Gulf crisis. Due to the escalating diplomatic crisis, Qatari citizens in the United Arab Emirates were given 14 days to leave UAE on June 5, while the government said that Qatari citizens outside the UAE would not be allowed to enter the country. Qatari citizens are rushing to sell their properties in Dubai amidst ongoing Gulf crisis. Photo courtesy: Youtube Property brokers are saying that Qataris are selling their property portfolios worth millions of dirhams as they rush to liquidate their assets and leave. Mario Volpi, chief sales officer at Kensington Exclusive Properties, said, It is an extremely difficult time for many of our Qatari clients. We had one guy who managed to sell everything some town houses in JVC, a plot of land in Dubailand, some commercial units in the Marina and a full building. Mario Volpi, chief sales officer at Kensington Exclusive Properties, Photo courtesy: linkedin He added, He managed to sell the lot in just a couple of days at probably around 20 per cent below market price, but we have at least two other clients who are trying to sell and cant. Nick Grassick, managing director of Dubai-based broker PH Real Estate, said, We are currently working with a number of Qatari sellers and landlords. As a result of the current situation, some of our clients have either reduced their asking prices or have agreed to a recommended marketing strategy which is more attractive to tenants or buyers. Those with smaller units, which can be sold fast, have managed to sell at between 5 and 10 per cent below market prices. But of course the bigger assets are not that liquid. However, the number of Qataris who own property in Dubai is not a significant proportion of the market. The record of Dubai Land Department shows that in 2015 Qataris invested AED2.8 billion in Dubai property through 799 transactions, comprising 2 per cent of the total AED135 billion transacted that year. In 2016, nationals from Qatar and Kuwait combined invested nearly AED2 billion in Dubai property 0.78 per cent of the total transacted, with Qataris accounting for 1,006 transactions. Tragedy of time: Indian to return home after living in Saudi desert for 23 years In what can be called as a tragedy of time, an Indian national living in the deserts of Saudi Arabia for the past 23 years, is set to return to his home country after the Saudi government announced a 90-day amnesty period. The Indian, Gana Prakasam Rajamariyan, 51, came to Saudi Arabia in August 1994 to work as a farm-hand in a remote village in Hail province. He is a resident of Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. Gana Prakasam Rajamariyan has spent 23 years in the desert of Saudi Arabia and now is set to return to his home country India. Photo courtesy: iexplore Narrating his tale of woe, Rajamariyan, said, I was paid only Saudi Riyal 100 a month for six months by my first employer. I was then transferred to another employer and a third a few months later. Of the three employers, I was not sure which one was my sponsor. Above all, I did not receive any salary from them, so I decided to abscond and live illegally out of compulsion. The old man has spent 23 years in the desert, without going home once, a Saudi Gazette report said. He said his destiny was in the desert where he spent half of his life. He said, My four daughters were very young when I left home. Now when I return, I have grandchildren of the same age. Rajamariyan said he was able to marry off three of his four daughters with his earnings in Saudi Arabia. He said he did not own a house nor did he have an Aadhaar card or a voter ID, all of which were introduced after he left the country. He made his last phone call to his wife, Ronikyam, before she was admitted to hospital in 2015. After that he did not call her as she was not able to speak and died a year later. It was all due to the efforts of local social worker Sarfuddin Thayyil that Rajamariyan has completed all formalities for his return to India. He hopes to leave Saudi Arabia soon. Gana Prakasam Rajamariyan hails from Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu in India. Photo courtesy: Wikipedia There are thousands of Indian workers stranded in Saudi Arabia after travelling there illegally or overstaying their visas. They are ready to return to India under a 90-day amnesty period that the Saudi government has offered them. The General Directorate of Passports (GDP) of Saudi Arabia had made the announcement, By approaching the passport departments to solve their status from March 29, illegal workers will be exempt from the consequences associated with the deportee fingerprint system and will be able to return to the Kingdom on the condition of pursuing legal methods to gain entry. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah received a total of 26,713 applications for emergency travel passes and issued 25,894 since the general amnesty was announced 56 days ago. People from Uttar Pradesh formed the majority with 11,390 applicants while Telangana had 2,733 applicants, West Bengal 2,332, Tamil Nadu 2,022, Kerala 1,736, Bihar 1,491, Andhra Pradesh 1,120 and Rajasthan 853. If George Osborne had stayed in the Commons, he could have demanded a return to the Cabinet on his own terms. The Prime Minister is so weak, and so anxious to maintain some kind of party unity by bringing potential troublemakers into the government, she could not have refused to bring back the former Chancellor, just as she has brought back Michael Gove. But Osborne stood down at this election, and is instead editing The Evening Standard. His admirers say it is a tragedy he opted for journalism rather than politics. They point to the irony that Osborne used to make strenuous efforts to persuade friends such as Jo Johnson, who worked for The Financial Times, to forsake journalism for the altogether more serious business of running the country. Journalism has, however, its compensations, one of which is the freedom Osborne now enjoys to say exactly what he thinks of Theresa May. His ferocious attacks on the woman who did not lift a finger to help the Remain side in the referendum campaign, and then told him as she sacked him that he needed to get to know the party better, have won him new and unexpected friends. On Sunday, Polly Toynbee, star columnist of The Guardian and scourge of the Tories, beamed fondly at Osborne as they sat beside each other on Andrew Marrs sofa. She said of his newspaper, which he has now been editing for six weeks: Your pages have been pure poison against Theresa May. Its been wonderful to read, absolutely relished it with total joy I read [your editorials] with delight. That is quite a testimonial, and fully deserved. For as Osborne had just told Marr: Oh yeah, Theresa May is a dead woman walking. Its just how long shes going to remain on death row, and I think we will know very shortly. In other words, we could easily get to the middle of next week and it could all collapse for her, or if it doesnt, and I agree with Toby [Young], there are many Tory MPs who dont want a leadership contest right now, itll be delayed. But be in no doubt, look at this weekend, youve got the Leader of the Opposition coming on the programme as a sort of victor, and youve got the Prime Minister, whos supposed to have won the election, in hiding, and that tells you volumes about whats gone on. Osborne is using the pages of his newspaper to take revenge on May. Each morning he arrives at Northcliffe House, in Kensington, at about seven. He is a very fast worker, and writes his own leaders attacking her, as well as masterminding many other disobliging bits of coverage. He really does have it in for the PM, as one of his staff remarks. Not that inside knowledge is required to see that. Here is a relatively temperate passage from the editorial published on the eve of the election, in which the Standard advised its readers to vote Conservative, but also said: The current Conservative leadership is moving further away from the social and economic liberalism that has made our country and its capital a global success story. That is the wrong direction. Their legitimate attempt to address the concerns of those who feel left behind by globalisation has ended with them stigmatising the value that immigration brings to Britain, and it has produced a misguided programme of intervention in business. Osborne has brought back the daily political cartoon, an excellent editorial decision, and on every possible occasion it is used to mock May. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister was drawn, under the heading Strong and Stable, flicking a V sign at Philip Hammond, who in turn is shaking his fist at her, while between them the portion of Downing Street linking Number 10 to Number 11 has been reduced to rubble. On Friday of last week, we saw the Prime Minister in the pocket of an Orangeman, on Monday she appeared bound and gagged between Hammond and Gove at her first Cabinet meeting, while on Tuesday she was seen leaving the 1922 Committee, and saying Well that went well, unaware that she is marching over a cliff. Osborne has likewise expanded the number of daily comment pieces, in journalistic terms another good move. On Monday, Bruce Anderson was wheeled out to describe her as the worst ever Tory Prime Minister (Lord Bute will be relieved), while on the same day the front-page splash informed us that she has been sidelined by Cabinet ministers, known as the Sensibles, who are reaching out to Labour MPs and European leaders who share their fears over jobs and stability. The editor of The Evening Standard did not quite get any of these ministers to break cover. But in Poland, his old friend David Cameron warned that over Brexit, she is going to have to talk more widely, listen to other parties. And in London, another friend of Osborne, Lord Bridges, resigned as a Brexit minister. As Osbornes biographer, Janan Ganesh, observes, George Bridges, one of the Conservative Partys most able and genial operatives in recent years, has been indispensable to Osbornes life and career. For it was on the recommendation of Bridges that in 1994, Osborne got his first job in politics, in the Conservative Research Department, and it was at a dinner organised by Bridges that in 1996 Osborne met his future wife, Frances Howell. Some were doubtful whether Osborne could make the transition from politics to journalism. They forgot that he had already written some very good journalism, for example the pieces about American presidents which he did for The Spectator. Here is the opening paragraph from his article about the Clintons, published in 2003: A friend of mine recently sat next to Bill Clinton at dinner. She was dazzled by his brilliance as he gave her a private tutorial on world problems from HIV/Aids to terrorism. Occasionally, she said, to emphasise a point, he would run his fingers down her spine. At the end of dinner, he removed his leg, which had been pressed up hard against hers all evening, and in his Arkansas drawl said, I thought that was the table leg.' One may note Osbornes interest in getting to know influential people, and his willingness to share some of the amusing things he discovers: a combination of qualities useful in journalism. He also foresees, at the end of the piece, that Hillary Clinton is pretty much certain to end up running for the presidency in 2008, which she did, only to be beaten by Barack Obama. At Oxford, Osborne edited Isis, an achievement of which he was sufficiently proud to have the two issues for which he was responsible framed and displayed in his Downing Street flat. And in 1997, when Tony Blair swept into power, he applied for jobs on The Times and The Economist. But Osborne instead started working for William Hagues leadership campaign, where he demonstrated his remarkable facility as a writer of newspaper articles and speeches. Osborne went on to work for Hague from 1997-2001: a job where among other qualities, he honed his abilities as an attack dog, seeking to get inside the mind of powerful opponents and precipitate them into error. In 2001 he became MP for Tatton, but he continued to help successive Conservative leaders to prepare for PMQs, a task at which he was extremely good. The aim was to destroy Tony Blair, and also, as shadow chancellor from 2005, to destroy Gordon Brown. Success was a long time coming. Osborne learned the trade of politics through many years of Conservative failure. In his period as Chancellor of the Exchequer, from 2010-16, he was a commanding figure, and managed to restore partial though by no means total equilibrium to the public finances, while presiding over a remarkable increase in employment. But for him to be, as editor of The Evening Standard rather than the second most powerful man in the government, a political outsider, albeit a well-connected one, is not such an unfamiliar experience as one might think. Once again, he is trying to destroy a Prime Minister, only this time she happens to be a Conservative. He believes he has the higher interests of the party at heart: that it needs to return to the liberal conservatism promoted by him and his Cameroon friends. One might say he wants to do for Britain something similar to what Macron is trying to do for France. But his assault on May is not to everybodys taste. Dominic Raab, who has just returned to government, has described it as disloyal, unprofessional and frankly pretty self-indulgent, while Iain Martin, a columnist for The Times, tweeted: Dead woman walking is such a deeply unpleasant phrase from George Osborne. He should apologise to May. But what Osborne has said about May is not as unpleasant as what various newspapers have said about Jeremy Corbyn. Brutal rudeness is part of our idea of a free press, and does not necessarily harm those on the receiving end. So too is the shameless use of newspapers to advance political interests. The bust of Lord Northcliffe in the lofty atrium of Northcliffe House is a reminder of that. The first test for Osborne is what his readers think of his frequent attacks on May. I would guess that at present, they find these pleasingly incisive: an admirable antidote to blandness. If Londoners are satisfied, and pick up and read the paper in large numbers (for it is free), then the advertisers on whom The Evening Standard depends for its revenue will be happy too. But attacking May will not do as a policy forever. Not only will it become fearfully repetitive, but the situation will change. Either she will recover, and will deserve a degree of credit for the resilience and adaptability she has shown, or she will go, and either way, a new editorial line will be required. And at this point, there might be a problem. For when the identity of a new Conservative leader is the issue of the hour, it may matter that The Evening Standards proprietor, Evgeny Lebedev, is on very friendly terms with Boris Johnson, while Osborne would be much more likely to favour someone like Amber Rudd. Meanwhile another curiosity of Osbornes position deserves to be noted. While he was in government, the Independent Press Standards Organisation was set up, but his present newspaper does not subscribe to it. So if the Prime Minister ever feels inclined to lodge an official complaint about him, that particular route is not open to her. It is, however, possible that Osbornes attacks will produce a reaction in her favour. After all, his own attempts to control the Conservative Party were not universally popular with Conservative MPs. And a week ago the party did get 42.4 per cent of the vote, its highest share since 1983. In these circumstances, persistent attempts to demolish the Prime Minister, rather than help her to get back on her feet, could come to be seen as distinctly unhelpful. Business / Companies by Staff reporter Zimbabwe focused gold junior Caledonia Mining Corporation is looking at opportunities to expand its investment in the country, where it currently runs a 50 000 ounce per year mine, despite the country's treacherous political and economic terrain.Caledonia vice-president Maurice Mason said his single asset company was scouting for more opportunities in Zimbabwe.He said while Caledonia could possibly explore the option of investing in some capital starved mines in Zimbabwe, the company also had scope to go into Greenfield projects. Garvan Walshe is a former national and international security policy adviser to the Conservative Party. He runs Brexit Analytics. A few disingenuous paragraphs in a speech by Jeremy Corbyn aside, foreign affairs scarcely featured in the election campaign, but the result has serious consequences for national security policy. A weakened and distracted Prime Minister, never interested in foreign affair,s now confronts a Leader of the Opposition for whom it has been an obsession. She is stuck working with a foreign secretary whose ambitions lie entirely in the domestic sphere and who she has made clear she holds in contempt. This isolationism chimes with the mood of an inward looking public. His determination to oppose any British military involvement, anywhere, was the only thing that got through to them, but his support for almost any movement opposed to the West will have escaped most of them. That he got paid by Iranian state TV will have been noticed only by a few Middle East obsessives, including this columnist. Brexit (for the young), school funding (for parents) and social care (for the old) outweigh these matters in voters minds. Surprisingly for an election disrupted by two serious terrorist attacks, serious discussion of terrorist threats, both a revival of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland and much more organised Islamist violence in Manchester and London, was absent from the campaign. Aside from the important realisation that fighting terrorism also involves confronting the ideology that motivates its supporters, debate was limited to the simplistic but politically effective Labour assertion that police cuts were to blame for the attacks; matched only by the absurd Conservative line that what was lacking was anti-terrorism legislation. After seven years of Tory-led government, preceded by 13 years under New Labour not known either for its civil libertarianism or a spartan approach to legislative activity, it is unlikely this is the problem. This is not the Red Army tank corps, where quantity has a quality all of its own. The difficulties the police and security services face are about priorities of the 20,000 potential jihadis, who should merit the most attention? Though resources enter into this, it is more about proportionality. Arrests and other security interventions provoke opposition even when theyre well targeted. Acting too early on too many leads can backfire. The same is true of prosecutions: whether its better to swoop early before a plot has got going or wait to accumulate more evidence is a matter of judgement. The failure to win a majority will save us from having to impose more counterproductive anti-terror laws, of which trying to outlaw encryption is by far the worst. Whether the new parliament permits serious consideration of potentially sensible reforms, such as allowing intercept evidence to be used in terrorism trials, remains to be seen. What is certain however is that it risks overseeing a severe weakening of Britains regional security position. At the end of the Second World War, the United States has made the security of Europes democracies and stability in the Middle East and North Africa surrounding it a central aim of its policy. But even before Trumps election its attention turned towards Asia. His aggressive hostility to the European Union (I wonder how much of it has to do with Nigel Farage appearing to be his chief adviser on European affairs) has already weakened ties. Leaks by American intelligence (of the investigation into the Manchester attack) and the President himself (of Israeli secrets to the Russians) have put allies on edge. Just at this point Vladimir Putin, having failed to destabilise France and Germany, has the good fortune to see the rise in one of Europes two preeminent military powers of a strongy anti-Western leader of the opposition. So anti-Western, indeed, that he has been paid by Iranian state television, and Seaumas Milne, his confidant, has even attended the Valdai conference of pro-Putin acolytes. Gerhard Schroeder may have left office, and Francois Fillon immolated himself in spectacular fashion, but in Corbyn the Kremlin might find a new champion. Better still, Corbyn will help them out of conviction. Unusually for a friend of Moscow these days, the man is utterly incorruptible. It has therefor become necessary, whatever the economic relationship that emerges from the Brexit negotiations, to contemplate a strong and structured security partnership with the EU, capable of surviving a Corbyn-led government. A European security institution, perhaps on the model of a revived and renamed Western European Union as suggested by the MEP Charles Tannock, could provide the necessary institutional staying power to resist the depredations that Putins useful idiot would wreak upon Western security policy, and supply much needed goodwill to what are looking like very fractious Brexit negotiations. Tim Farron didnt serve in government under the coalition, and had spiky relations with his colleagues who did. It became clear as the parliament went on that he was angling for the leadership, having prudently voted against tuition fees and the spare room subsidy. His ambitions didnt go down well with Vince Cable, who dismissed them two years ago, saying that Farron would not be seen as a very credible leader, at least now. Maybe in five, 10 years time, things are different. Miaouw! Now Cable is back in the Commons, together with other former Liberal Democrat Ministers, and Farrons position was threatened. He had gambled on seeking to mobilise last Junes Remain 48 per cent behind his party, and had met some success in local by-elections, but at least half of them had moved on, and Jeremy Corbyns pitch to younger voters turned out to catch their mood more effectively than Farrons. Yesterday, Brian Paddick, the partys Home Affairs spokesman, resigned from the partys front bench, citing his leaders views on various issues. No guessing what these might have been. So it rather looks as though Farron jumped before he was pushed, with his quote from Isaac Watt in hand, but this is not to say that his decision was somehow insincere. Far from it. This site has no window with which to see into his soul, but it is clear from his resignation statement that the media pursuit over his views on gay sex and abortion has wounded him. It may also be that, amidst the hazardous business of trying to balance his beliefs with his responsibilities, he feels somehow that he erred too much on the side of the latter. Be that as it may, his resignation statement was remarkable. To be a political leader especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bibles teaching, has felt impossible for me. That sideswipe at his party was extraordinary. It can be read as meaning that orthodox Christian belief and the Liberal Democrat worldview are currently incompatible. Not all Christians will share Farrons views or perhaps what were once his views on abortion and gay sex. Liberal Anglicans, for example, would have no intrinsic problem with the second. But churchgoers and others should ponder what he said. Farron yesterday put his finger on a problem that this site identified when he was first quizzed about his beliefs. Social conservatism, for want of a better phrase, is not only unfashionable amongst the elites that shape our public culture, but is increasingly treated by them as somehow illegitimate. That the DUP is currently under fire for its stance on abortion and gay sex is a reminder of this (even though the SDLP takes much the same position on the first). That Farron is an evangelical Christian leading a party with a strongly secular ethos was always going to make him a target for media smart alecs and alices. They have pursued him relentlessly. What the Liberal Democrats think and say is their own business, but there is a lesson here for the Conservative Party. Obviously, it should not take a collective view on matters of conscience, but it should hold that private beliefs are just those, and that the role of Christianity in public life is important. In her first Commons speech of the new Parliament, the Prime Minister welcome the presence in it of black and minority ethnic MPs, the first-ever Sikh MP, more disabled MPs and more LGBT MPs. That balance was right. But it is important that a positive message from her and the Party to the churches does not get confined to Christmas and Easter messages. Farrons words were a wider challenge. It would be wrong to claim that Christians are always the victims of Equality Laws. But the fact is that politicians set out in them a list of protected characteristics, of which religion is one, and passed the buck to the courts in deciding which have priority when. MPs should decide rather than quit the field. Last, a blunt point: if the churches cant persuade younger people, in particular, of their view about sexual ethics, then that is the churches problem. Politicians should do their job, but not that of the clergy. The churchs future lies in its own hands, not that of the state, even if England puts the first in the hands of the second. Imagine how proud I am to lead this party, Farron said yesterday. And then imagine what would lead me to voluntarily relinquish that honour. In the words of Isaac Watts, it would have to be something so amazing, so divine, (it) demands my heart, my life, my all. That closing passage will be a bit unctuous for the taste of some of our readers. Taking its cue from Alastair Campbell, our culture doesnt do God. But this site must confess that it found Farrons peroration rather moving. Equinix, the global interconnection and data centre company, announced a collaboration with Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of China's Alibaba Group, to provide enterprises with direct, scalable access to Alibaba Cloud via the Equinix Cloud Exchange at its Hong Kong, Silicon Valley, Sydney and Washington DC International Business Exchange (IBX) data centres, with Frankfurt and London due to be added shortly. Equinix noted that according to the U.S. International Trade Administration, the Chinese cloud market is forecast to grow 40% per year to 2020. Access to Alibaba Cloud is key for multinational customers seeking to expand cloud-based applications into the region. By offering multinationals secure, direct access to Alibaba Cloud, Equinix can provide connectivity to the suite of Alibaba cloud services, while Alibaba Cloud Express Connect provides access to its cloud network in mainland China. With the addition of direct access to Alibaba Cloud on Equinix Cloud Exchange in markets across Asia Pacific, EMEA and the Americas, Equinix is able to offer private access to Alibaba Cloud in five markets. Equinix noted that it previously offered access in its Singapore IBX. Alibaba Cloud is also a colocation customer in Dubai with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (known as du). Alibaba Cloud provides a suite of global cloud computing services to support international customers' online businesses as well as Alibaba Group's own e-commerce ecosystem. Its international operations are headquartered in Singapore, with international teams based in Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, San Mateo, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Equinix operates 179 data centres in 44 markets worldwide. The Equinix Cloud Exchange offers direct private access to multiple cloud service providers and is available in 21 markets including: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Osaka, Paris, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington DC and Zurich. News / Africa by Staff reporter News has emerged that the estranged wife of Lesotho's new Prime Minister Tom Thabane has allegedly been shot dead on Wednesday - a day before the inauguration of her husband in the mountain kingdom, News24 reported.Although details of the incident are still sketchy, Dipolelo Thabane's stepdaughter Advocate Nkoya Thabane reportedly confirmed the fatal shooting to a Lesotho-based journalist.In another tweet she said: "Mrs Thabane's fatal shooting comes hours before her husband Thomas Thabane's inauguration as the next Prime Minister of Lesotho".SABC News reported that two women were shot but the identity of the deceased was not released. The other woman was still in surgery late on Wednesday night.It was also not clear what the motive for the shooting was.Spokesperson for Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Ronnie Mamoepa, told the SABC that there was an attempt on the lives of the Thabane family on Monday. He says that Ramaphosa, who represent the SADC, will proceed to the country for the inauguration."The deputy president is aware of the developments," said Mamoepa, adding that "security forces" will ensure that the inauguration runs "smoothly".Thabane's All Basotho Convention party won 48 out of the 120 parliamentary seats in the June 3 election.The South African international relations and cooperation minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, warned on Sunday that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - which Lesotho is a partner - will not allow any military coup "in any [its] corner"."This was made very, very clear to everyone in Lesotho two weeks ago. They have just had an election a year and a half ago, and they have also undertaken to go back to the reforms [on the role of the police and the military, which have been supporting leaders from opposing parties] which they themselves say has bedevilled focus on governance," she told News24. News / National by Thulani Nkala The best way of dealing with the traumatic effects of death is to be physically and psychologically prepared. This is easier said than done, however, a group of like-minded people in the UK have managed to come together and form an organisation which in its small special way will work towards meeting that fundamental goal or preparedness for the eventuality. The name of the organisation is called Simunye Bereavement Community Trust otherwise better known as Simunye. Simunye is a Zulu/Ndebele word which denotes unity and togetherness. Membership of the organisation is drawn from those in the UK who originally hail from Southern Africa.Mr Alex Ndebele speaking at the occasion of the unveiling of the organisation's website ( www.simunye.org ) thanked Mr Zenzele Mazibuko who designed and built the website for the organisation. Mr Ndebele went on to say, "We are happy to launch our brand-new one-stop-shop website for all our information and services we offer, now people can make their payments and donations online and access all our important literature from one place"Simunye Bereavement Community Trust is relatively a new organisation which was pre-launched last year in November in Birmingham and then fully launched early this year in London, its aim is to adequately and appropriately carter for and support its members on a number of fronts, chief among them being when members experience death. The support is not only financial, but also practical and emotional. Members of Simunye are based in the United Kingdom whilst the beneficiaries can be anywhere in the world. "We came together after experiencing hardships in the UK when loved ones passed on, there was no organised practical and emotional support, also we had seen some of our community members failing to repatriate their loved ones back home for families to pay their last respects and for decent burials, we have put a stop to that, our members will be fully covered and supported during and after" Mr Ndebele the Chairperson of Simunye said.Simunye is more than just a bereavement association, it is a family to its members and a business venture. Many business initiatives are on the pipeline.Within a short space of time Simunye has managed to achieve a respectable financial position, through membership contributions and fundraising activities."It is safe to say that we are on track and within a short space of time we have almost hit our target membership, we do not want a big membership, but we aim for a reasonable but quality membership. Currently we have spaces for a few potential members. Once we recruit this number we will close recruitment for the year until the next review cycle next year" Mr Makhula who is the Treasurer of the organisation said.Mr Makhula is the chief fundraiser within the organisation, a job which he has discharged with a distinction. "We don't want to look after our members only after death, but we want to look after each other right now through empowerment schemes" Mr Makhula said.Simunye is currently advertising for a few membership spaces for this year, if you are in the United Kingdom and interested in joining hands with them please contact Mr Zenzele Mazibuko 07732367941 (Secretary) or Ms Creddy Siziba 07460110013 (Vice Chair) www.simunye.org CORNWALL, Ontario Cornwalls Chief of Emergency Medical Services, Myles Cassidy, will be leaving on June 30. As of yet, there is no word on who will be taking over his position until a new full-time EMS Chief for Cornwall is found. Cassidy has been awarded the job of EMS Chief in Ottawa, despite not meeting the bilingual requirement. The council for the City of Ottawa voted to waive the language requirement at their meeting on Wednesday according to a report in the Ottawa Citizen, but he will be required to take language training. He had previously spent five years as the Dispatch Officer for the Citys EMS Services. Seaway News had reached out to Cassidy for a comment, but he was unavailable as of time of publicaiton. CORNWALL, Ontario A 24-year-old Cornwall woman was arrested on June 14, 2017 and charged with assault with a weapon and mischief. It is alleged during an argument on June 14, 2017 the woman threw a pop can at her husband and damaged property in the residence. Police were contacted and an investigation ensued. During the investigation the woman was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. Her name was not released as it would identify the victim in the matter. THEFT UNDER $5, 000, BREACH CORNWALL, Ontario Susan Chiefari, 35, of Morrisburg was arrested on June 14, 2017 and charged with theft under $5, 000 and breach of probation for being in a certain store despite her conditions. On June 14, 2017 the woman attended a local business and removed several items making no attempt to pay for the items as she left the store. She was stopped by the Loss Prevention Officer and police were contacted. The woman was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on July 16, 2017. WARRANT, BREACH CORNWALL, Ontario James Savidge, 27, of Cornwall was arrested on June 14, 2017 on the strength of warrant and charged with breach of undertaking for being out past curfew. He was also charged with breach of undertaking and probation for failing to keep the peace. It is alleged on June 14, 2017 the man was in breach of his conditions when he was spotted by police in the area of Milleville Street. He was taken into custody on the strength of the warrant, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. News / National by ROHR ROHR International representatives will today hand themselves over to ZRP Chitungwiza accompanied by Ms Kuzivakwashe of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. The group led by Tinashe Zhakata, ROHR programmes manager, were told to report to the police just after the peaceful march on Friday 9 June.ZRP Chitungwiza refused to sanction the march citing section 25 of the Public Order Security Act (POSA). However, ROHR went on with the march as it was their constitutional right through the provisions of the constitution which stipulates that we only notify the police not ask for permission.ROHR strongly condemn this act by the Zimbabwean police, and urges the police to respect the Zimbabwean constitution and let people exercise their rights freely. ROHR International UK chapter pledged their support and gave a clear message to ZRP that they will not rest until Zimbabwe restores human rights and dignity.'We will stand with our comrades in Zimbabwe until our country is free from these human rights abuses', said ROHR President Ephraim Tapa. 'ROHR will not be silenced by these shenanigans, We are the voice of the voiceless.'ROHR International is facilitating a peace project known as Zimbabwe Peace Actors Platform (ZimPAP) in which 18 NGOs signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to stop and prevent violent outbreaks in the country ahead of the 2018 elections and beyond.Latest news from Tinashe Zhalata is that he was interrogated by the police today and has been released. He has been ordered to report again tomorrow morning at 8 am with the letter from the police refusing permission for the peace march planned for the end of May. News / National by Simbarashe Sithole A 20-Year-Old Mozambican national was allegedly caught stealing maize at night in Omeath farm in Mvurwi, Mashonaland Central yesterday.Givemore Arumando was reportedly stealing and shelling maize at Tulani Ndlovu's farm around 20:00hours.An eyewitness alleges that Arumando was in the habit of stealing and shelling the maize in the field and he had succeed two times but was unlucky yesterday as he was trapped and caught."The Mozambican had been stealing and selling the maize to locals but his luck ran out yesterday when we finally caught him."He was severely beaten before being surrendered to the police where he revealed that he had a partner who is still at large," said the source.However, a lot of maize farmers are crying foul nationwide as they grew maize under command farming and are support to pay back for the inputs used hence if they lose maize to thieves it will be a big blow. Opinion / Columnist Zanu-PF has in the past politicised positions that are supposed to be independent of the executive. These include the Judiciary, Independent Commission and the Civil Service which in black and white is highlighted by the constitution that the Civil Service must be manned by people whose conduct does not depict partisanship."Members of the Civil Service must act in accordance with this Constitution and the law. No member of the Civil Service may obey an order that is manifestly illegal. No member of the Civil Service may, in the exercise of their functions Act in a partisan manner; further the interests of any political party or cause; prejudice the lawful interests of any political party or cause."Despite the dictates of section 200 of the constitution, Civil Service has been involved in the organisation of Zanu-PF activities, recently as revealed by Mandi Chimene, civil servants are involved in organising Mugabe's rallies.This culture did not spare the Prosecutor General's Office, whose jurisdiction previously fell under the office of the Attorney General through the provisions of the old constitution.The man who presided over this department in recent years is one Johannes Tomana who in our view decided to direct much of his efforts in a narrow partisan agenda other than focus on the core duties of his office as outlined in section 259 of the supreme law.The PDP is convinced that the conduct of Tomana did not only compromise the efficacy of the Prosecution but resulted in the loss of trust in the department by the Zimbabwean people.One of the famous cases in recent times is the refusal by Tomana to prosecute his Zanu-PF colleague Munyaradzi Kereke who was later convicted of raping a minor through private prosecution.Our concern has always been the denial of Justice by a partisan official who is supposed to be independent. If the child raped by Kereke was from a family in Malipati in Chiredzi, Kereke would be walking Scot-free, it could be possible the family would not afford a private prosecution.We are also aware of the fact that Zanu-PF prevents people from knowing their rights therefore many Zimbabweans would not even know they have a right to initiate a private prosecution.All the technical debates and discussions could be avoided had Tomana just done his job and stayed away from politics.We therefore urge Zanu-PF to allow the office of the Prosecutor General to open a new chapter of competence, integrity and independence.The Prosecutor General's in the new era must focus on the following issues.Focus on combating corruption which has put a huge premium on the Zimbabwean economy.Change the culture in the department which has resulted in the loss of faith by the Zimbabwean people.Ensure all the violations of the law against the state are pursued to the fullest extent possible.Ensure The Prosecutor-General and officers of the National Prosecuting Authority act in accordance with the Constitution and the law.Ensure that No officer of the National Prosecuting Authority may, in the exercise of his or her functions--act in a partisan manner; further the interests of any political party or cause, prejudice the lawful interests of any political party or cause; or violate the fundamental rights or freedoms of any person.Together Another Zimbabwe is PossibleJacob MafumePDP Spokesperson Cloud News Partners: Peak 10's Move To Acquire ViaWest Will Create Formidable Cloud Competitor With A Channel Focus Gina Narcisi Share this Partners are applauding Peak 10's move this week to acquire cloud service provider ViaWest for $1.67 billion in a deal that will form a global co-location, connectivity and managed cloud service provider behemoth. The deal will boost the provider's competitive position in the crowded cloud services market, as well as its position in the eyes of channel partners, said Andrew Pryfogle, senior vice president of cloud transformation for Intelisys, a Peak 10 and ViaWest partner. Peak 10, a channel-friendly, Cisco-powerered Infrastructure-as-a-Service provider, today takes in about 40 percent of its revenue through indirect sales. Pryfogle called the proposed tie-up "exciting." The Petaluma, Calif.-based master agent has been promoting cloud to its community of agent partners through several education programs, including its Super9 group and Cloud Services University. [Related: Peak 10 Channel Chief Sroka: 'Our Commitment Level To Partners Is Second To None' ] Both [Peak 10 and ViaWest] have been tremendous supporters of our education efforts at Intelisys, and both share a strong commitment to the channel. The combined organization will be well positioned to win big with our community going forward, Pryfogle said. Peak 10's channel chief, Dave Sroka, who joined the company in November, told CRN in April that the channel is a big part of Peak's 10's strategy for 2017. Sroka said that the company wanted to be viewed as a national provider, not just a regional player, and was investing in the channel as way to grow its business. As there is no overlap in market coverage between Peak 10 and ViaWest, the acquisition enhances the new company's channel strategy and lets partners offer more services and solutions to more locations, Jeff Spalding, chief revenue officer at Peak 10, told CRN. "The combined company will have more capabilities, services [and] skills, and thus more choices for partners and their customers. Our expanded geographic reach provides a more complete and consistent solution for our partners, [so] it's truly a win-win-win scenario," Spalding said. While many providers have moved out of the data center infrastructure space, Peak 10 decided to dig in and expand into new markets based on requests it was receiving from its customers, Spalding said. "This combination provides us scale as one of the largest hybrid IT solution providers now in the industry," Spalding said. "We can now offer more choices for our partners and their customers." Following the close of the transaction, Peak 10's operational footprint will expand to reach 20 domestic and international markets and 4,400 global customers, according to the Charlotte, N.C.-based provider. "We see all infrastructure providers racing to scale to achieve the economies necessary to compete in the hyper-competitive landscape -- this includes carriers and data centers. The Peak 10 and ViaWest combination makes sense as we've seen Peak 10 as an eastern U.S. version of ViaWest," said Adam Edwards, CEO and co-founder of Sandy, Utah-based master agent Telarus, a Peak 10 and ViaWest partner. Peak 10's market expansion will include Atlanta; Dallas and Austin, Texas; Cincinnati; Denver; Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, and Tampa, Fla.; Las Vegas; Louisville, Ky.; Minneapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C.; Richmond, Va.; Salt Lake City; Amsterdam; and Calgary, Canada. Together, the two providers will offer enhanced cloud and interconnection capabilities, highly redundant data centers, and back-office and operational support, according to Peak 10 and Denver-based ViaWest. Master agent Avant, a longtime partner of both Peak 10 and ViaWest, is also enthusiastic about the tie-up and expanded geographic reach. "The merger creates a natural synergy of geographic coverage combining cloud, co-location and security offerings," said Alex Danyluk, Chicago-based Avant's chief strategy officer. Telarus' Edwards said that the merger will combine two "healthy" channel programs. "We think they'll take the best elements of both channel programs to improve even more," he added. Via the terms of the deal, GI Partners, which acquired Peak 10 in 2014, will be the majority shareholder for the merged company. ViaWest is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shaw Communications Inc. Current Peak 10 CEO Chris Downie will remain as CEO of the combined company. Nancy Phillips, CEO of ViaWest, will become the executive chair of the board of the combined company, the two companies said in a statement. The two companies expect the all-cash deal to close in the third quarter and is subject to regulatory approval. Security News Palo Alto Networks Execs: The Security Market Is Ripe For Disruption Sarah Kuranda Share this In a market defined by disruption, Palo Alto Networks executives said the security market is ready for yet another shakeup. "The vendor landscape is going to be totally different than what you use here today," said Palo Alto Networks co-founder and CTO Nir Zuk. "We're getting to a point where it's just becoming very, very clear that we cannot keep going or keep going the current route we're on in terms of investment in the industry." The signs that the market is ready for disruption are there, Zuk said in a keynote at Ignite 2017 in Vancouver, Canada, this week. Zuk pointed to astronomical spending on security R&D and venture capital for a marginal impact to security effectiveness, increasing challenges in consuming security technology, high data demands for effective machine learning, and requirements for frequent updates as reasons the market is ready for disruption. [Related: 5 Hot Happenings From Palo Alto Networks Ignite 2017] Palo Alto Networks is looking to create that disruption, just as it did with the next-generation firewall market, said Zuk. The company is looking to disrupt the way cybersecurity is consumed, with deployment of a single agent on each endpoint, network and service for a Software-as-a-Service application, then layered with independent security services connected to the platform leveraging a single data set and threat intelligence. To build this, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company launched an Application Framework, allowing third-party developers to build on its platform, as well as new cloud-based services. "Cybersecurity has to become a set of services that you consume, rather than a set of technologies that you deploy on-premise," Zuk said. "This is the disruption. We're going to completely change the way you consume cybersecurity." Palo Alto Networks President Mark Anderson said this shift is required as companies continue to lose the battle against attackers with an inefficient and ineffective security model. Vendors need to adopt a new consumption model to address this and make new security products easier to consume as services on top of a platform, he said. "All of this innovation has to be able to be consumed. This is what's fundamentally wrong," Anderson said. "We have to make it easier to consume the innovation that our industry is cranking out." Partners said they also see the need for a security market disruption. Andy Segal, president of Albertson, N.Y.-based Vandis, said customers are maturing. They are looking for deeper analytics and faster response times to combat an increasingly more sophisticated adversary, he said. "I think that the market is evolving and maturing. You can't stay exactly where you are. You have to evolve and mature with the market," Segal said. "It's really serious stuff. Everybody has to up their game The manufacturers, the producers of technology have to up their game. We [as partners] have to up our game. And clients have to up their game. Its a serious and complicated business," said Vandis' Segal. "This threat evolution is not stopping." Chris Stolley, vice president of sales at Denver-based Optiv Security, said customers are looking for increased automation and orchestration capabilities from a security platform. They also are looking to consolidate the number of security technologies they use for better efficiency, he said. Palo Alto Networks' proposed vision for "disruptive technologies" could help meet those demands from customers. Segal said technologies like the Application Framework will "vastly increase the scope of your vision and accelerate your ability to react to what's going on in the marketplace" as it brings together information and technology from multiple vendors. He said Vandis will "absolutely take advantage of that" for its customers. "That is one of the areas where Palo alto Networks has been very adept: understanding where the market is and evolving their position and the products so they address the needs of the market," Segal said. Opinion / Columnist TO listen to some of our recent headlines is to hear all sorts of resonances with Zimbabwe.We have young men who claim, impossibly, to be military veterans of the liberation struggle guarding the ANC HQ, amid more claims that our politics is going through a process of "militarisation".In Zimbabwe this process ended with "military vets" raiding white-owned farms while being led by a man called Chenjerai "Hitler" Hunzvi.Here, Zuma's Minister of State Security, David Mahlobo, believes, really, that NGOs are trying to foment regime change, that the media is trying to foment regime change and that opposition parties are trying to foment regime change. In his world, the recent downgrades by ratings agencies were also an attempt at regime change, and the judiciary is, wait for it, trying to foment regime change.This is exactly the same strategy followed by Mugabe's supporters. Every single act against them, every criticism that was made (back when there was still real opposition to his rule) was somehow the act of a former colonial power or mysterious outside forces.Then we have the lack of division between party and state, and the abuse of state agencies by Zuma, and his supporters, for political reasons.This is not just looting we're talking about (and boy, could we talk about it) but about tapping the phones of opponents and generally using the security cluster's top officials to settle political disputes.And then we have the very idea that Mugabe believes he has some incredible divine right to lead. For now, forever, always. How else do you explain someone who stays in power for so long he is the only leader most Zimbabweans have ever known.Zuma, in his less guarded moments, has hinted that he too would quite like to be a dictator. And his behaviour towards women, government money and Parliament could also suggest that he has a certain sense of the divine entitlement about himself.Put all of this together, and on a less than favourable reading for Zuma you have plenty of the similar ingredients that led to Zimbabwe's meltdown.But.And, my word, it's the biggest but in our politics.We are an incredibly different society to Zimbabwe.First, consider the recent history. In Zimbabwe, political power became less fractured and more centred after 1980. There was a time, just after Mugabe came to power, when he actually faced a strong black-led opposition party. But he was then able to convince the Patriotic Front to merge with Zanu. And they've been putting the PF into Zanu-PF ever since. He grew stronger literally from the moment that he took power. And crucially, in those early years, he was able to get away with using the military to conduct massacres of people in Matabeleland, and faced no consequence.At the same time, it was only Mugabe in charge. No one else. By the time 2000 came around, he'd been in power, personally, for 20 years. If you leave someone in power for that long, by the end of it their son-in-law is going to be the chief of police, and will run the national airline in his spare time.Now, consider our situation. Since 1994, we have had four presidents (and a fifth if you include those completely forgettable few hours duirng which Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri was acting president between Mbeki and Motlanthe).Each one has done things differently. And it has taken time for each one to gather proper control of the police and the spies and the other necessaries (such as the NPA, the Hawks etc).And, crucially, political power here has actually fractured, or splintered the complete opposite of what happened in Zimbabwe. In 2004 the ANC was a single political entity, united almost completely behind Thabo Mbeki. It won 69% of the vote that year.Since then, we have had the splinter of Cope, the semi-split of the EFF, and the rise of the DA (which must surely have taken voters from the ANC over time). And who knows what is going to happen after December this year, but the ANC might well fracture completely.It is hard to see how this process is ever actually stopped, never mind reversed. And if you don't have at least complete control of a party that is dominant, it is much harder to stay in power.There is also a hugely important structural reason why this could happen there, but not here.In Zimbabwe there is a system of geographic constituencies, Parliament is made up of people who represent certain areas. It is pretty easy to weight these in favour of Zanu-PF with the result that while every person has one vote, those votes don't end up being equal.Here, because of our proportional representation system, each vote, and thus each voter, has exactly the same weight. And that's before you consider how difficult it is to manipulate our elections process, which has party agents at each step of the way, a working electoral court (although its chair is the uncle of one of Zuma's children) and people who can predict results before they come out.To sum all of this up, we are a very different society from Zimbabwe. Bigger for a start, with many more different groups of people. The biggest difference is that we are a proper multiclass society, which means that people vote in different ways, and fight for different things. It is not easy to completely dominate a multiclass society in the way that Mugabe has managed to do for so long. Nothing is really going to change that, even in the medium term.In these difficult times, it is easy to become hugely despondent. Especially with a leader who sometimes appears to behave more like a potentate than a true democrat.But Zuma is not South Africa. And he never will be. What's a password manager? A password manager is a program that stores passwords and logins for various sites and apps, and generates new strong passwords when a user needs to change an old one or create a new account. Users can sign into a password manager with a single strong password or by using biometrics, and access all their login information. Most password managers allow users to sign in on multiple devices (including Macs, Windows machines, and iPhone or Android smartphones) and work with multiple browsers (including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari) to automatically fill in username and password info, storing password information encrypted in the cloud and sharing it across platforms as needed. And while these tools got their start in the consumer world, most offerings now have editions aimed at businesses with enterprise features. Is a password manager a good idea? While it may seem counterintuitive at first to entrust security to a single password manager app accessed by a single password, using a password manager is in fact a very good idea. Most people have difficulty remembering more than one strong password, so they often end up either reusing a password across sitesmeaning that a hacker who discovers the password can go on a break-in spreeor using weak passwords that are easy to defeat by brute force. A password manager will autogenerate random new strong passwords for all of a users accounts, and users can access them with a single strong password that's all they need to remember. Most password managers also have additional security features, like multifactor authentication. Business password manager: 4 features to look for A password manager isn't just a boon for individual users; it can boost the security of enterprises as well, and there are a number of business-focused features that you should look for if you're aiming to roll one out for your company: Administrative capabilities for managing multiple users and applications. Some offerings include capabilities to automatically provision and de-provision user access to applications based on their group membership. Tools to manage password policies are a must-have and should include the ability to manage complexity rules and change requirements. Interoperability with enterprise software and networking. You'll want the ability to synchronize with LDAP or Active Directory, or the option to leverage authentication from cloud services like Office 365 or Google Workspace, to streamline deployment of the password manager to your users. Advanced authentication capabilities. Were talking about the ability to handle authentication using the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) standard, a step above simply filling login form fields, and dynamic authentication policies that can make sure your users are using a registered device or are attempting to log in from an accepted geographic location. Some vendors even support capabilities like password management for VPN software, on-premises apps, or RADIUS servers. Audit logging, reports, and alerts are key capabilities for a password manager focused on business users, whether youre monitoring app usage, auditing administrative actions, or simply looking to get a read on what passwords are weak, have been re-used, or are due to be changed. Password managers are also sometimes used to provide access to an application to multiple users with the same set of credentials; normally, this prevents auditing processes within that application from identifying who performed an action, but a password manager can to track and report on which users accessed an application at a particular date and time. Alerts can help keep you in the know about known compromised accounts, when user accounts are locked, or potentially when anomalous behavior is detected. Support for accessing passwords programmatically with scripts. Secrets management is a real concern in the devops world, as hard-coded credentials are almost as bad as those stored in plain text. Command-line tools or the ability to access password vaults using an application programming interface (API) are common methods password management tools can offer to securely retrieve passwords from your vault, but secrets management could also involve native support for common tools like Kubernetes or Ansible. What is the best password manager? Which vendors offer password management for businesses and bring enough features to the table to warrant consideration? Here are the ones worth looking at. 1Password Dashlane Keeper Business and Keeper Enterprise LastPass NordPass Password Boss Securden 1Password 1Password is one of the more established names in the password manager arena, and in addition to their personal password management services they also offer solutions for teams, business, and enterprise. The teams tier offers admin controls for sharing and permissions, two-factor authentication (including support for Duo integration), and five guest accounts to extend secure sharing reach for $19.95 monthly. Customers of the business tier are looking at a $7.99 monthly cost per user, but gain policy-based administrative security controls, logging and reports, and provisioning through Active Directory, Okta, or OneLogin. Starting at $29 monthly 1Password also offers a Secrets Automation add-on for secrets management that supports a variety of tools including Andible, Kubernetes, HashiCorp Terraform and Vault, and code libraries for Go, NodeJS, and Python. Dashlane Dashlane is another popular password manager choice for personal use that successfully bridges the gap to the business world. Like 1Password, Dashlane offers both a teams and business tier, for $5 or $8 monthly per user, respectively. Aside from a suite of administrative management tools and reporting capabilities, Dashlane also supports both provisioning and de-provisioning of apps (including remote removal of company credentials). Dashlane also offers SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) for users of their business tier, directory integration, and policy-based management. Keeper Business and Keeper Enterprise Keeper Security boasts the most popular mobile apps of any password manager, and its individual accounts and apps compare well with the competition in that space. Like much of the competition who offer password management solutions for business, Keeper offers both a business and enterprise tier starting at $45 annually per user. The business tier offers policy-based management, reporting, and two-factor authentication, while enterprise customers gain SAML support, more robust two-factor (DUO integration and RSA tokens), command-line provisioning tools, and API support for things like password rotation and basic interaction with your vault. An add-on is available for more advanced reporting and alerting for $10 per user each year. LastPass LastPass is something of the big name in the group. Its business solution offers an intuitive admin interface with security policies, MFA settings, and reporting. Federation from Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) or Okta couples nicely with built-in provisioning and de-provisioning to streamline your administrative workflow. LastPass for business is available for $6 monthly per user, but limits you to three SSO apps, which is a pretty serious handicap. The Advanced SSO add-on gives you unlimited apps for an additional $2 per month for each user, and the Advanced MFA lends some serious power and flexibility to the authentication process for $3 monthly. Business customers can bundle with both add-ons for $9 monthly per user all told. NordPass NordPass is made by the same folks as NordVPN, which just means they have experience and something of an established reputation when it comes to privacy and security. Not gonna lie though, NordPass business could use some maturing, particularly on things like directory integration, MFA options, and reporting. Not that NordPass doesnt offer options for each of these categories; its just that they dont offer a lot of flexibility or depth compared to the competition. Business accounts start at $3.59 per user monthly, with enterprise tiers requiring a call to the sales team. Password Boss Password Boss may not be as well known as other vendors on this list, but it offers a business solution thats worth at least a cursory look. Connectors for both Active Directory and Azure AD are available to help onboard your users, and MFA support is available using Google Authenticator or another time-based one-time password (TOTP) authenticator. While certainly not as sophisticated or mature as some of the other solutions on this list, if youre looking for a simple, straightforward password manager Password Boss may fit your business needs nicely. Securden Securden is another name you may not have heard of, but it has a few different solutions for business account security, including their password manager for enterprises. Securdens password manager has a long list of features including a robust array of admin tools like the typical group-based management and reporting, but it extends beyond that. Securden offers request-based permission workflows, where a user must request access to a resource and have it approved prior to authenticating to the resource. This not only ensures users are authorized but provides an additional audit point. Securden also offers automatic password rotation, API access, management of Windows service accounts, and even SSH key and secrets management. If that wasnt enough Securden will integrate with your corporate Active Directory or SAML-based SSO solution, as well as your existing security information and event management (SIEM) and helpdesk ticketing systems. Malware. Data theft. Ransomware. Everyone wants to know who was behind the latest audacious attack. Several attempts have been made over the years to use linguistics to identify perpetrators, but when it comes to attribution, there are limitations to using this method. Linguistic analysis came up recently when analysts at intelligence firm Flashpoint said there was a Chinese link with the WannaCry ransomware. Much of the security research up till then had pointed to North Korean ties, as the attacks reused infrastructure components associated with the shadowy Lazarus Group. Before that, a Taia Global report suggested the The Shadow Brokers manifesto was actually written by a native English speaker, despite the broken English. Linguistic analysis also was used to suggest that Guccifer 2.0, who released documents stolen from the Democratic National Committee, was likely not Romanian as claimed. Back in 2014, Taia Global said linguistic clues pointed the Sony breach to Russian actors, and not the North Koreans as the United States government had claimed. [ How much does a cyber attack really cost? Take a look at the numbers. | Get the latest from CSO by signing up for our newsletters. ] Attribution is hard enoughand relying on linguistic tools appears to be just adding to the confusion. Was WannaCry the work of the Chinese or the North Koreans? Is Guccifer 2.0 Romanian or Russian? Linguistic analysis will very rarely lead to the smoking gun. At the very least, it will uncover a whole set of clues for researchers to track down, and at the best, it will support (or confirm) other pieces of evidence uncovered by technical research and forensics methods. Linguistic analysis is another tool in the arsenal when it comes to attribution. Linguistic evidence, to be reliable, must show a consistent pattern of different features pointing in a single direction, says Shlomo Argamon, a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was behind Taias original analysis of the Sony hackers and that of The Shadow Brokers. Understanding the analysis There are two kinds of analysis, one looks at the actual source code and the other examines the actual text that is used. In the first kind, the analysis focuses on code style and patterns to see similarities to other known code samples. Many researchers have relied on this method to link different attacks to a single actor, but this isnt linguistic analysis. The second method relies on human language, such as error messages, dialog boxes and messages directly shown to victims. For it to be effective, there needs to be text and plenty of it. Flashpoints WannaCry analysis focused on the ransom notes that victims were shown. Argamon analyzed The Shadow Brokers rambling manifesto. In the case of Guccifer 2.0, Argamon looked at Motherboards Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierais interview with Guccifer 2.0 over Twitter. In some cases, there is text in the code itselfsuch as commentsbut that is typically considered too little to be useful. You have to have enough text, says Argamo On June 21, IDG Enterprise will follow the sun and discuss the challenges organizations across the globe face when attempting to identify or mitigate risk. To do this, IDG has organized Security Day, a global event that will start in Sydney, Australia and conclude at the Ritz-Carlton, Tyson's Corner, in McLean, VA. The U.S. segment will be hosted by CSO's own Bob Bragdon, and includes a stellar lineup of experts and insiders. Globally, IDG Security Day will include events, in nine countries, on three continents. After kicking off in Sydney, the conversation will continue in Singapore, then it's over to Mumbai, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Madrid. As the day progresses, the conversations in each market will be tailored to the most pressing or trending issues, but will focus on what businesses leaders need to better understand the increasing threats their organizations face as they connect to the cloud, engage a new service provider, hire a new employee, or attempt to build a security program from scratch. In Washington, DC, the day will start with a conversation about defining risk in 2017, and move forward to data destruction in the era of IoT. From there, the topics will include building a rock-solid security program and managing the IT / Security relationship within an organization. Other talks will address supply chain risk, insider threats, and credibility with senior business leadership. "SecurIT is a concept whose time has come. We're bringing together two groups that have become increasingly at odds with one another: IT and Security. These groups must work together to ensure the security of our digital business ecosystems. It's global footprint recognizes that this is an important issue regardless of where you love, or where you conduct business on the globe," said CSO's Publisher, Bob Bragdon in a statement. "I'm particularly looking forward to our opening session with the CIO and CSO of AES as we discuss that partnership and the risk environments we face today and will likely face in the future." IDG Security Day events will include networking breaks for peer-to-peer discussions, luncheon table discussions, and conclude with a cocktail reception for additional conversation. A full agenda, as well as conference registration for the Washington, DC event is available online. A judge has dismissed a lawsuit by General Electric retirees that claimed the company improperly changed its health benefits for former workers. District Judge Lynn Adelman in Milwaukee said the plaintiffs, including Fairfield resident Dennis Rocheleau, lacked standing to bring the case because they have not shown that they were cognizably harmed by GEs fiduciary conduct with respect to the plans. In 2015, the company eliminated its supplemental health care plans for retired salaried workers, instead offering access to a private exchange of insurance providers and a $1,000 annual reimbursement to cover expenses. Retirees said the process was confusing and that the stipend did not necessarily cover the expenses. About 65,000 people nationwide were affected by the change, including thousands in southwestern Connecticut. GEs headquarters were in Fairfield from 1974 until 2016. Under the previous system, retirees had paid up to 10 percent of the monthly cost of insurance. The share the company paid amounted to an average of about $1,500 annually, retirees said. The changes resulted in savings of nearly $1.4 billion in future benefit obligations, according to GE filings. In 2014, the same judge who on Thursday dismissed the case rejected an initial claim by GE to rule in its favor by citing language that could be considered misleading. In 2012, GE distributed a handbook on retiree benefit plans that included pro-forma language that said GE expects and intends to continue offering its plans indefinitely, while reserving the right to terminate the programs. That September, the board of directors announced that salaried retirees and spouses who have not reached age 65 before January 2015 would no longer be eligible for the plans. GE had argued it could amend or terminate the plans at any time for any reason, and the judge agreed. The plaintiffs on Thursday said they planned to meet with lawyers this week to consider their options, including a possible appeal. A second suit, filed by retired unionized workers over the same health care changes, is still pending. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT When news spread throughout Sikorsky Aircraft about Lockheed Martins plans to acquire the Stratford-based company in 2015, staff estimated they had six to nine months to prepare before the sale closed. They decided to be ready in five. When the process looked to be moving quickly, their five-month target became four months. Ultimately, just over three months later, in November 2015, the local helicopter maker became a Lockheed Martin company. That was only the beginning, said Edward Beyer, vice president of Sikorskys integration into Lockheeds rotary and mission systems business. At that point a lot of the integration began. Beyer gave a brief inside look at the integration process during a 20-minute address to the business community at the Bridgeport Regional Business Councils annual meeting on Thursday afternoon at the Holiday Inn. He said despite the short timeline, employees of Lockheed and Sikorsky worked together seamlessly to begin bringing together the companies distinct accounting, reporting and other standards. Beyer called bringing together their different cultures the most critical step. From the beginning, however, Lockheed showed a strong respect for Sikorsky and an openness to learn from the smaller company, he said. We truly have been able to learn from each other, Beyer said. He noted an agreement reached last year with the state of Connecticut to keep Sikorsky in Stratford until 2032 was negotiated during a time when the aerospace companies were still working on the integration process. Under the deal, announced last year, Lockheed Martin agreed to keep Sikorsky in Connecticut and grow the number of jobs here in exchange for as much as $220 million in state subsidies. The company also pledged to move production of nearly 200 CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopters for the U.S. Navy to Connecticut. Beyer said Sikorsky is now moving forward with several projects, including production of its combat rescue helicopter, and its work on helicopters that fly autonomously. He said the relationship with Lockheed has been a good one. They understand us and they want us for the long term and they say that all the time, Beyer said. The BRBC also gave out several awards during its meeting, including economic development impact awards for Connecticut Distributors, Inc. in Stratford, CooperSurgical in Trumbull and both Spinnaker Real Estate Partners and the Trefz Corp. for their work on the Harral Security Wheeler building in downtown Bridgeport. The organization also unveiled its new logo, which replaces the row of lines above their name with a circle made up of seven colorful images appearing like a head with arms extended, representing the BRBCs affiliates. In the center of the circle is a rendering of the Bridgeport skyline, including the Peoples United Bank headquarters and the Barnum Museums dome. The new logo was created by students at the University of Bridgeport. The BRBC had partnered with Susan Katz, a UB professor, to allow one of her undergraduate classes to come up with ideas for a BRBC marketing campaign. The ultimate design was conceived by UB senior Nicolas Mancheno, who attended the event Thursday. The experience was a whole new thing for me, said Mancheno, noting that he was able to meet graphic designers at Peoples United as part of the process. It was a highlight for me. ktorres@hearstmediact.com; 203-330-6227 Opinion / Columnist I listened to the audio when Tsvangirai was delivering his main speech at Gweru rally on Saturday and I think his advisors must quickly do something on this one. Does Tsvangirai has good advisors at hand?This leaves me with a lot of questions at hand why Tsvangirai quickly endorsed the Chinese company that was awarded the tender on the BVR system. Some of these things you don't need to go on the podium and say them out, you will be alerting your enemy and you will definitely expose yourself. I was very amused when I listened to the audio from a friend.Tsvangirai has good numbers to deal with the victory issue but he lacks quality advice on his part. He has the charisma as an opposition leader which is the one expected but lacks intellectual experience to deal with technical issues on how to make crucial decisions. His advisors should have not allowed him to say such statements. He should separate his advisors from his personal friends and relatives.There are so many good lawyers in the MDC, the likes of Chamisa, Gutu, and Mwonzora and how could they allow him to expose himself to such levels. Trust me Zanu Pf will use such statements to discredit him. He should never cry foul on rigging matters because he has already endorsed the elections. We are six months away from national election and someone is already talking as if he has won the elections.Everyone knows the relationship between Chinese firms and the current regime, and for one to jump the gun and quickly endorse the BVR system was tantamount to discredit his main lieutenants. Tsvangirai statement contradicted with that of Obert Gutu. Gutu questioned the tender, how ZEC arrived to the decision of awarding this Chinese firm and Morgan goes to the podium to endorse the same company, and this left many MDC officials with an egg on their face.Does Tsvangirai consult? Who prepares his speech? This leaves a lot of questions. I would rather arrive at a conclusion of saying Tsvangirai is seriously infiltrated so that he can be pumped with wrong advice. Tsvangirai should be able to know by now that there are issues to talk in public and issues to talk in public.Stop coalition issues and focus on voter registration and mobilisationWhoever is advising MDC to focus on the coalition is up to no good. If you look at what ZANU PF has achieved in the past 6 months it has worked to their advantage why? Because for the past six months they were busy with the rural folk whilst Tsvangirai is talking to Mujuru. Does Mujuru vote for the whole country? Who told you Mujuru has numbers? Who told you Mujuru is the only one who can make the numbers for 2018 increase? Who told you that Mujuru ndiye ane yese? Go to the rural electorate, talk to them and address their needs. From my own observation as a political analyst, Tsvangirai will spend 2017 discussing electoral pacts whilst ZANU PF will be doing ground work and by the time he wakes up, the ball will be in ZANU PF hands. If you look at what Mujuru is doing, I see her as a serious threat to democracy, why? Because she has too many positions regarding the coalition, today she says another thing tomorrow she changes statements and this is a deliberate ploy by ZANU PF to divert opposition's attention from real issues like vote's registration and ZEC reforms.Do MDC supporters vote?My major worry with Tsvangirai and MDC is that these people they don't go to vote, in fact they expect Morgan to do everything for them which is very wrong. If you look at the 2013 scenario you will find that MDC supporters' majority of them didn't go to vote they were seen loitering in town. The major issue is to drive every Zimbabwean to register and vote. It doesn't make sense to implement reforms when people are not registered.Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo writes in his personal capacity as the head of MINDS which is responsible for policy and research. He is also a development analyst and he can be contacted at greatorminds@gmail.com WASHINGTON Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Thursday slammed the Senate GOPs secret health care plan, which he said would devastate efforts to combat opioid addiction in Connecticut and nationwide. We hear it every day in our communities, he said. They know there is a public health crisis, and they know that this epidemic has to be addressed more effectively than we see it right now. Blumenthal, D-Conn., in a news conference with three other Democratic colleagues, said the Republican House-approved American Health Care Acts $880 billion cuts to Medicaid over 10 years would undermine years of efforts to curtail a growing wave of opioid and heroin abuse across the nation. Opioid-related overdoses resulted in 917 deaths in Connecticut in 2016 a number that has grown consistently for at least the last five years, according to the Office of the State Medical Examiner. Nationwide, opioid-related overdose rates clocked in at more than 33,000 in 2015, nearly tripling since 2002, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A Senate version of the AHCA has not yet surfaced, though negotiations have been ongoing behind closed doors for about five weeks. The buttoned-up process, which precludes hearings with experts or industry leaders, is expected to come to an end with a Senate vote as early as next week. Blumenthal decried the opaque process, saying there is a real danger here that this kind of legislating is going to become the new normal. He added: I think there really is an important principle here about democracy and about people knowing that gutting Medicaid is going to destroy opioid abuse and addiction treatment in the United States of America. Medicaid and CHIP covered 30 percent of Americans with opioid addictions in 2014, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The GOP has long awaited their chance to replace the Affordable Care Act, which Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, called an unaffordable and unworkable law on Thursday. In a press release, Hatch cited a nearly $1 trillion tax increase under Obamacare and an average premium increase of 105 percent in 2017 for states that unlike Connecticut did not set up their own insurance exchanges. But earlier this week, reports emerged that Senate Republicans are considering additional funds for opioid abuse treatment to ease concerns about proposed cuts to Medicaid an idea Blumenthal also rejected. Theres no way these alternative funds could ever adequately replace comprehensive insurance coverage or the progress that weve made in substance abuse prevention under Medicaid expansion, he said. Cayla.harris@hearstdc.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ANSONIA Whenever Laura Lane leaves her Westfield Avenue driveway and heads onto Wakelee Avenue she begins seeing dollar signs. In the past month weve run up $613.86 in car repairs, she said. We had two torn axle boots and just yesterday I had to get a four wheel alignment ... I swear its the road. Nowadays, Lane is forced to turn onto Wakelee Avenue rather than pulling out of her driveway and heading directly onto Division Street. Thats because the state recently turned Westfield Avenue street into a dead end to make way for the new Route 8 entrance ramp which opened earlier this year. And Martha Smart? The Riggs Street resident picks routes around Wakelee. Its terrible, Smart said of the avenues section from Jackson to Division Street, which leads to Griffin Hospital. I try to avoid it as much as I can. Last week, Mayor David Cassetti conducted a community meeting at the Ansonia Rescue Medical Services headquarters. He brought Robert Pantalone, an Eversource Energy manager of gas construction, and Bill Anderson, an engineer with VHB of Wethersfield. Last fall, Eversource replaced the main gas lines along Wakelee Avenue from Division to Franklin Streets. They also added connector lines leading into most of the intersecting side streets. That work resulted in a patchwork-quilt design of rectangles, squares and dips cut into the state road which links Ansonia to Derby and Seymour. You bounce up and down Sheila OMalley, the citys economic development director, said this will all be taken care of once the $5 million Wakelee Avenue reconstruction project is completed in the fall of 2018. But for now, area residents are demanding a quick fix. I cant even go down that road when I come from Seymour, said one resident. Instead he said, he gets off in Derby and goes the back way. You bounce up and down, said Waldy Beltran, who lives and drives on the street. I know the street, so I know when to go right and when to turn left to avoid some of the bumps. VHB is providing the architectural planning and engineering for the work, which includes new sidewalks, drainage and a completely refurbished road with street lamps every 75 feet. The pipeline contractor did his own paving, said Cassetti, who in his prior career owned and operated Birmingham Construction, which did a lot of pipe replacements and road work. They one-shot it when they dug, backfilled and compacted, they just filled the asphalt up to the top of the road and rolled so it made it rippled ...Youre supposed to put the first course in, compact it and then put a top course in ...We have quite a few people making complaints. In addition to cars being damage, some driveways like that belong to Joseph Jaumann, a Fifth Ward alderman and Bridgeport lawyer, were damaged while other residents claim their ruined yards and sidewalks need repairs. His wife, Crystal Jaumann, said steel plates were placed over the dug hole before a temporary patch job was done. Aside from that patch, there is a smaller patch running all the way to the house. Damage claims One woman claimed it took 10 to 15 phone calls and emails before her yard was finally fixed. Jaumann is still waiting for his driveway to repair. And Joan Radin, who owns the 100-year-old Lear Pharmacy, said the poor road conditions prevented customers from coming in. My Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentines Day sales were all gone, said Radin, whose pharmacy also offers cards, candies and figurines. I cant afford another year or two of this. Radin said she had to replace a tire on her car because of the road damage. This is not up to our standards at all, said Corporation Counsel John P. Marini, who attended the session. It makes us upset to hear all these claims of damage. Marini said he will be making available to residents along Wakelee Avenue the name of the company insuring Eversources pipeline and paving contractor. Additionally Cassetti said anyone on Wakelee Avenue seeking to replace their oil or electric furnaces with gas should do so now. Once this project is complete, Im not allowing contractors to open up the road, he said. Those seeking to complain about damage can contact Rob Pantalone at 203-317-4401, while anyone seeking to switch to gas should call Eversource at 888-292-6533. STRATFORD Police have confirmed that the body recovered from the Housatonic River Wednesday afternoon was identified as Tavares Harris. Harris, 26, of Florida, jumped from the Washington Bridge into the Housatonic River Wednesday, June 7 around shortly after midnight. There is a traditional view of lawyers as the enemies of entrepreneurs. The famously risk-averse attitude of lawyers often frustrates business leaders who complain of over-lawyering and objection-raising when receiving advice from their counsel. There are a number of reasons for this lack of entrepreneurial sensitivity among lawyers. The U.S legal system rests on guidance from previous case law, and focuses heavily on precedent and risk-spotting -- instead of breaking stuff and disruption associated with fast-growth companies. It may even be in the legal genes. One study found that lawyers are in the 90th percentile for skepticism and have the lowest resilience (bouncing back or dealing with a setback) of any profession. These traits may be good for pouring over documents, but are less useful when powering fast-growth businesses. Related: Why Entrepreneurship Takes Real Bravery However, very recently a curious phenomenon has swept through this traditional profession. Lawyers are leaving the safe and well-paying world of law to build their own fast-growing, tech-first companies. The driver: the need to fix problems and deep inefficiencies encountered in their first career of law. These lawyer-entrepreneurs are helping create what have been called legaltech companies, using major advances in technology, including artificial Intelligence, to solve archaic practices in the daily practice of law, which have remained unchanged for decades. This boom has helped create a slew of new companies disrupting the way legal services is delivered and a $16 billion legaltech market in the U.S alone. In the research of my book, The In-House Counsels LegalTech Buyers Guide, carried out over several months analyzing more than 100 essential legal technology products, I have seen the rise of this lawtrepreneur. These unique lawyers are among those building companies revolutionizing the daily tasks of law, including contract review, intellectual property, due diligence, research and expertise automation. Here are 10 lawyers who have made the (not-so well-trodden) path from lawyer to tech business leader, and their advice to others making the jump. 1. Haley Altman, CEO and founder, Doxly Altman says her idea for an automated document and transaction management platform was born at 1 a.m. when, as partner at a law firm, she sat surrounded by hundreds of manila folders. Altman and her team were hunting through thousands of documents for one missing signature page holding up a multimillion dollar closing. Founded in 2016, Doxly has since raised $2.75 million in equity funding. Altman told Stanford Laws Codex blog, Do not dwell too much on things you cannot change. You have to constantly move forward. Every setback is an opportunity to learn and grow. Related: If Elon Musk Can Admit His Mistakes, Then So Can You 2. Noory Bechor, CEO and co-founder, LawGeex My boss Noory Bechor was a lawyer at a top Israeli law firm when he experienced firsthand the pain of creating and reviewing everyday contracts manually. Convinced the process could be automated, he founded AI contract review platform LawGeex in 2014. LawGeex has raised $9.5 million in funding and has won clients including leading U.S names in retail, finance and insurance. Bechor told me about a shift in mindset for a lawyer: "To take two examples, for lawyers every risk must be mitigated, for an entrepreneur taking risks is second nature. Secondly, for lawyers, everything is confidential, but as an entrepreneur the more you share, the more advice you get, the better you become. 3. Ned Gannon, co-founder, eBrevia Ned Gannon graduated from Harvard Law and worked in a law firm, before founding eBrevia, based on technology developed in partnership with Columbia University. EBrevia provides contract due and lease abstraction. Founded in 2014, the company received $1.98 million in funding and reports a 30 percent to 90 percent increase in speed compared to old-style manual review. Allocating time is one of the biggest challenges," he told Whiteboard. "There are a lot of things to do on many different fronts which is challenging, but this also makes the process fun and interesting. Related: What Tech Entrepreneurs Can Learn From the Startup That Beat Google 4. Michael Mills, co-founder and chief strategy officer, Neota Logic Inc Michael attended the University of Chicago Law School, then served as law clerk to a United States district judge before becoming partner at global law firm, Mayer Brown. Mills created Neota Logic, an AI-driven, no-code platform for intelligent automation of expertise, documents and processes. Neota has picked up major clients, include Littler, the worlds largest employment and labor law practice. Do what every startup must do -- focus on product/market fit," Mills told me. "Buyers win, visions don't. Know that you will try, fail, pivot and try again. Stamina counts -- legal tech serves the legal industry, which sometimes remembers too well its antecedents in the 11th century." 5. Chrissie Lightfoot, CEO and founder, Robot Lawyer LISA Former lawyer Chrissie Lightfoot is now a bestselling author, consultant, legal and business commentator. In 2016, she created Robot Lawyer LISA (Legal Intelligence Support Assistant), the "world's first impartial AI lawyer." These are evolutionary, revolutionary and transformational times," she says. "You need to be on the digital AI robot wave or you risk being left in the wake water or at the wake funeral of your business. 6. Nehal Madhani, CEO and founder, Alt Legal Nehal Madani, founder of Alt Legal, graduated from University of Pennsylvania Law School and landed a job at the prestigious law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Inspired to make legal practice more efficient, he left his high-paying salary, taught himself to code, and started Alt Legal, a cloud-based software using technology to manage global IP filings. He told Early Growth Financial Services, As the founder, its hard not to want all of our plans immediately executed, but Ive learned (painfully) that strict focus on getting just a few details right is a much more effective path. Related: 3 Steps (Nearly) Every Tech Startup Makes -- and How to Avoid Them 7. Joseph R. Tiano, CEO and Founder, Legal Decoder After practicing law for nearly 20 years as partner at two American Law 50 law firms, Tiano founded Legal Decoder seeing that clients lacked analytic tools and data to manage costs of outside counsel. He told High Performance Counsel to lean on the experience of investors. About six of my investors in Legal Decoder truly inspire me. They have started businesses themselves and understand very well the emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship, providing invaluable support, guidance and encouragement. 8. Michael Sander, founder, Docket Alarm As a lawyer, Michael Sander found the legal research tools used at his New York law firm too expensive and inefficient. (He told Wired.com, "Twice a day, we had a paralegal go to the courts website, enter a case number, see if there was anything new, and repeat that nine times.") In 2012, he created Docket Alarm, providing legal search, analytics and litigations alerts for the United States court system. Lawyers are detailed oriented, use that to your advantage," he says. "The process of leaving your job to found a company may seem daunting, but if you break down your ultimate goal into tiny steps, the endeavor becomes far more manageable. Related: This Is the Year of the Machine Learning Revolution 9. Andrew Arruda, CEO and co-founder, Ross Intelligence As a lawyer, Andrew Arruda too often saw the scales of justice tip in favor of the wealthy. He partnered with a computer scientist to create an AI legal assistant and research tool, ROSS, leveraging IBM Watson. In a recent interview, Arruda said, If youre interested in doing it, start doing something with that interest. Our legal background does provide us with a fantastic base when it comes to working hard, applying ourselves and you can really use this to your advantage. 10. Noah Waisberg, founder and CEO, Kira Systems Prior to founding Kira Systems, Noah practiced at New York law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Kira Systems helps enterprises identify, extract and analyze business information from unstructured contracts. He says, Dont be afraid to leave without another job lined up. You won't really know what to do next until you have time away from work to think about it with a clear head. I quit with no job in hand. If I hadn't taken my break, I might well have been working as hard, as long, on a less interesting problem with less opportunity for impact. Related: Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Opinion / Letters The Editor,This is June 2017; Zimbabwe is 37 years old. In 2018 Zimbabwe is going to choose a path to either her new high or God forbid new low. After a general election, a new government will be formed and new goals will be set. The challenge for most of us is what are we going to choose? Do we have a choice or choices? 2013 and years before saw economic blue prints presented one after the other but unfortunately nothing came out of them. Slogans were chanted left right and center but nothing of value came out.Is an election season truly a period of empty promises or the time to map the future of generations to come? What is the purpose of an election? Is it just a tradition of supposedly choosing who gets a free pass to go to the Parliament? Are we choosing the best? If in fact we get the best, are we getting the best representative of the people, a fighter, a negotiator or a best politician?What is a politician? Before you get into the famous Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle's Politika and his interpretation of what a politician is let me give you some options.A politician is:1. A person who is professionally involved in politics, a public office holder or a candidate for an elected office2. A legislator, elected official, statesman/ stateswoman, public servant3. A person who acts in a manipulative and devious way, typically to gain advancement within an organization.Depending on who you are and your understanding, one of these sounds like and is indeed what a politician is. I am not going to persuade or try to convince you my reader that I know the best answer but I will ask you to do this, look at the crop you have and weed out the look alike then and only then you will get to know the politician. Not everyone is a politician and being a politician is far from privilege.Why do we have this crop of people that tells us that only they can make things better? If you are like myself you would ask, why it is that they see nobody but themselves leading the pack? We have heard promise after promise, why then do we still have the same problems or even in worse shape now than we have been? Do we need politicians? If we talk about our beloved Zimbabwe we have career politicians when the rate of decay in every institution in the country is alarming. Why?To our brave men and women who risked it all, I have some questions for you. When you made the decision to say it was time to take up arms, how was the situation? Do you ever look in your children or grandchildren's eyes and tell them that Zimbabwe came through blood sacrifice? If they were like myself, what will be your answer if they were to ask you this question? What did you fight for in a country where there are no jobs, people sleep in banking halls, roads riddled with potholes, no medication in hospitals, and no reliable power?The follow up I guess would be: Was the sacrifice worthy the blood that was spilled? I cannot think of anything that would make sense. My only guess is our freedom fighters fought for equality, we are indeed equal in the sense that we are now a huge flea market country where equally trying to make a sale of something. Where I come from, it is not advisable to fight your elders.Last, do you ever think that someday your children or grandchildren will be fed up with the situation and think about liberating themselves from joblessness, sleeping in banking halls, lack of running water, no functioning healthcare system?Sincerely,Sam Wezhira Shared solar The message is clear: over the next few months there is a real opportunity to bring the benefits of shared solar to Connecticut. Sean Garren, Northeast director for Vote Solar, an advocacy group that reported an expanded community solar program in Connecticut could produce $374 million in economic benefits and create thousands of new jobs. Real deal I worked closely with (former FBI chief James) Comey for 21/2 years and can assure you that hes the real deal. A former Bridgeport man has been arrested in the first prosecution in the distribution of carfentanil, a drug 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Charles Thelusma, 43, has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, heroin, carfentanil and U-47700. Carfentanil is an opioid that is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, which is itself 50 times more potent than heroin. It is typically used as a tranquilizing agent for elephants and other large mammals. U-47700 is a synthetic opioid that is approximately seven times stronger than morphine. Officials last year said there was no clear indication the opioid was in Connecticut. But the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed a man in Norwalk died on April 17 from an overdose involving carfentanil and other fentanyl analogues. The MEs office said the mans death, ruled accidental because it was an overdose, was caused by acute intoxication due to combined effects of carfentanil, fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, butyryl fentanyl, heroin, Etizolam, methadone and alprazolam, an anxiety medication. More News Connecticut AG joins probe on opioid makers The man also had a synthetic opioid called U-47700 in his system. The arrest According to federal prosecutors, on two occasions in March and May 2017, law enforcement coordinated a controlled purchases of heroin from Thelusma. In both instances, an individual working for Thelusma completed the drug transactions at predetermined locations in Bridgeport. On May 24, 2017, law enforcement conducted a controlled purchase of three bundles heroin (30 dose bags) from Thelusma in exchange for $200, prosecutors said. Thelusma directed the purchaser to a hotel in Elmsford, N.Y., to complete the transaction. Laboratory analysis of the drugs purchased on May 24 confirmed the presence of heroin, carfentanil and U47700. Thelusma was arrested Wednesday at the hotel in Elmsford, where he had been residing. He appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport and was ordered detained. The charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. The scourge of opioid abuse This is the first federal prosecution involving carfentanil in Connecticut, said U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said in a release. We will continue to devote numerous federal resources to battle the scourge of opioid abuse and distribution, and our commitment becomes stronger as these illegal drugs become more sinister and deadly. This investigation is ongoing. Those suffering from opioid addiction need access to treatment and recovery, said DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson. But those responsible for the distribution of heroin and deadly synthetic opioids like carfentanil and U-47700 need to be held accountable for their actions. This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative law enforcement in Connecticut and our strong partnership with the U.S. Attorneys Office to aggressively seek and bring to justice anyone who distributes these poisons. I would like to commend my officers for their excellent work on following up with this investigation in regards to this very dangerous drug, said Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik. I also thank the DEA and U.S. Attorneys Office for their valuable assistance and partnership in working on this case which lead to the arrest. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STRATFORD A suspect in Shelton and New Haven bank robberies held police at bay with a gun for more than two hours Thursday morning before agreeing to surrender. After tense moments when police said Bryce Laister pointed his gun at police and then himself, he finally gave up. The 24-year-old Laister was taken into custody without further incident. It was a very tense situation that went on for two hours as we negotiated with him to drop the gun and surrender, said Bridgeport Police Detective Robert Martin, a member of the U.S. Marshal Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force that arrested Laister. It really could have gone badly, but fortunately we were able to convince him to drop the gun. It all began about 6 a.m. when members of the task force, Stratford and Shelton police went to Laisters home on Pleasantview Avenue to arrest him on outstanding probation violation and failure to appear in court charges. Shelton police received information that Laister was staying at that address for several months. Laister had four outstanding arrest warrants in Connecticut and three out of state warrants. Martin said a family member consented to let them into the house to search for Laister. We went up to the second floor and when we opened a bedroom door Laister was standing there pointing a gun at us, Martin said. Over the next two hours Martin said Laister would alternately point the gun at police and then at himself as they attempted to talk him into surrendering. He said Laister was initially charged with the outstanding probation violation and failure to appear charges. Later, Stratford police charged him with criminal possession of a firearm, possession of a pistol without a permit, threatening, interfering with police and breach of peace. Later in the day, Shelton police charged Laister with the Shelton Peoples United Bank armed robbery that occurred on May 30. Laister was charged with Robbery in the first degree, third-degree larceny, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal use of a firearm and breach of peace. That robbery happened around 12:30 p.m. Police said Laister instructed two tellers at the bank to provide him with cash as he held a dark semi-automatic pistol, police said. He then left the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. When he exited the building, he stayed out of view of the exterior surveillance cameras. However, there were cameras inside Stop & Shop and at the Peoples United Bank that caught images of Laister. The images led to Laisters capture Thursday. Laister was held on a $500,000 bond and will be arraignedThursday at Derby Superior Court. Cuba to hosts international event on addictions Submitted by: Juana Havana international 06 / 15 / 2017 The First International Meeting on Rehabilitation of Addictive Disorders will be held in Holguin city from June 26 to 30, as part of the activities for the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Jose Carlos Puentez, head of the Marketing, Communication and Protocol Department of the Cuban Medical Services Company, told ACN that the main topic of the event is the rehabilitation of addictive disorders. Based in Cocal Quinque International Therapeutic Community for the Rehabilitation of Addicts, in this eastern territory, the forum constitutes a high commitment to the challenges of mental health, to contribute to the development and effectiveness in the assistance of this problem, which every day grows and destroys more people. The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was established by the UN General Assembly on June 26, 1987 to strengthen actions that counteract this global problem, helping to generate a world commitment against this threat which endangers millions of people. According to the UN Information Center, drug abuse is one of the 20 major health risk factors in the world, and is also in the top 10 in developed countries. The problems caused by drug use are associated with the increasing risk of other diseases such as HIV / AIDS, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, suicide, death by overdose and cardiovascular diseases, the same source said. (ACN) Preparing teens for their futures with soft skills Businesses of every size and industry continue to identify labor shortages as a top challenge across the country and... Where to find non-partisan ballot information Thank you for your non-biased bullet points explaining the three state ballot proposals in "A look at the three state... Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. . ..Israel Hayom..13 June '17..At Monday's big conference of dinosaurs, otherwise known as the Israel Peace Conference (sponsored by thenewspaper), the speech by New Israel Fund President Talia Sasson stood out.Sasson isn't good at rhetoric; she spills her heart out. So it's easy to pick out of her speech the avowed stance for which she was chosen to lead the fund. In the speeches I've heard her make, she quickly identifies the enemy: "the settlers."But the Israeli majority sees the settlements as a solution both to security issues at the heart of the country and a discourse about the rights of the Jewish people to their land. It's hard to find any discourse about Jewish rights among Sasson or her organization.In her speech, Sasson said, "In the lack of any opposition that puts up a battle to defend Israeli democracy and Palestinian human rights, human rights groups are glowing in their isolation." This one sentence distills the New Israel Fund's raison d'etre: a combative political opposition that will take the place of the official Knesset opposition, which isn't "doing its job." At the end of her speech, she expressly suggested founding a political party in the spirit of what she was saying ("not under the auspices of the New Israel Fund" -- sure, sure).We are talking about a political organization in every aspect that in the guise of hollow talk about human rights aims to seize hold of the political agenda and provide legal and propaganda weaponry to organizations, many of which have been working for years to change the Jewish-democratic character of the country -- in other words, which see even the parts of Israel that are within the Green Line as "occupied." Nowhere in the text of Sasson's speech does the phrase "Jewish-democratic" appear; the "Jewish" is used in her speech only in the context of control, occupation, and separation (apartheid).So what remains to justify her political activity? "Protecting democracy." But there is no real room in the president of the New Israel Fund's democratic vision for debate or polemic or for decisions made through democratic means such as elections. She sees all legitimate activity by a right-wing government as a "threat" to "democracy." The result is growing alienation between devotees of the New Israel Fund and the state, to the point of taking action against its existence as the national state of the Jewish people.The old-guard establishment that gathered Monday under the umbrella of the NIF andnewspaper is still trying to sacrifice itself on the altar of a paradigm of peace that has collapsed, and sees any other proposal as blaspheming against its dearest belief.The New Israel Fund provides gas for the stalled "territory for peace" paradigm. The regular infusions of this concept give hope to those who wish us evil that, heaven forbid, Israeli society is about to break down and give in.Ironically, the NIF's "civilian" disguise hurts the Israeli Left because it strengthens its fixated thinking and encourages it to adopt a combative approach, not against our enemies and opponents on the outside, but against Israeli society itself. My friends on the Left, do you want to know why you aren't reaching the hearts of the Israeli majority? Look at Talia Sasson and the organization she leads. That is your mirror. The comparisons between the Grenfell fire and Lakanal House in Camerbwell, which caught fire in 2009, are frightening In tower blocks all over the country tonight, few will sleep easily in their beds. After the horrific fire in West London, our first thoughts are with the victims, the bereaved and the families of the missing. We think, too, of the heroism of the emergency services and the efforts by neighbours and others to relieve the suffering of the terrified and distraught. But though recriminations must wait until the full facts emerge, it is clear that contractors, councillors and ministers face profoundly disturbing questions. After the blaze that killed six in a South London block in 2009, it should have been unthinkable that this could happen again. But eight years on, the similarities are frightening. Like Lakanal House in Camberwell, Grenfell Tower had recently been refurbished, raising suspicions that corners had been cut. Indeed, the fire seems to have been intensified by polystyrene-like external cladding, a cheap cosmetic alternative to full refurbishment or rebuilding. As in 2009, questions are being asked about non-existent sprinklers, inadequate alarms and lethal advice to residents to stay in their flats. And as then, the early signs are that the fire may have been started by a faulty electrical appliance one of millions still awaiting recall. Why were lessons not learned? Why were residents' warnings repeatedly ignored? Why were MPs' and safety officers' urgent recommendations allowed to gather dust? Whatever the truth, the priority now must be to make every neglected tower block safe so everyone can sleep without fear. The real extremists With sickening hypocrisy, Labour MPs protest against Theresa May's talks with the Democratic Unionist Party, holding placards demanding: 'Drop the DUP deal.' This paper does not recall such demonstrations when Gordon Brown sought a deal with the DUP in 2010, or when Ed Miliband did the same in 2015. But hypocrisy aside, they do the Northern Irish party a huge injustice when they condemn it as an extremist, gay-bashing sympathiser with Protestant terrorists. There is no shame at all in Mrs May's efforts to deal with a party representing Ulster's decent, peace-loving majority Certainly, the DUP represents an old-fashioned brand of conservatism on issues such as abortion and gay marriage. But far from being viscerally homophobic, the party backed a local version of 'Turing's law' which granted retrospective pardons to those convicted of homosexual acts under old laws. Most unfounded of all is the portrayal of the DUP as the Protestant equivalent of Jeremy Corbyn's friends in Sinn Fein, who hailed bombs and bullets as legitimate means of achieving political ends. Even under the tub-thumping Ian Paisley Snr, the DUP consistently condemned political violence. As for its present leader Arlene Foster, whose police officer father was almost killed in a shooting, she has always abhorred terrorism. No, there is no shame at all in Mrs May's efforts to deal with a party representing Ulster's decent, peace-loving majority. Most emphatically, the same can't be said for Mr Corbyn's relations with the IRA. Criminals' charter Dealing a hammer-blow to Mrs May's efforts to hasten serious foreign criminals' departure from Britain, the Supreme Court finds her 'deport first, appeal later' rule unlawful. No prizes for guessing why. Ruling that hard-drug dealers from Kenya and Jamaica shouldn't have been sent home without first being given the chance to appeal, the judges found this made it too difficult for them to claim their right to a family life in the UK. How can we ever rid our country of such undesirables while the Human Rights Act remains on the statute book? In the Western world, album artwork or concert posters featuring stars in revealing clothing barely raises an eyebrow. But that's not the case everywhere. A fascinating collection of photos compiled by BoredPanda reveals the stark contrast between iconic images from pop culture - before and after being censored in light of cultural sensitivities. Women in the Middle East are often required to cover up their face and body when they are out in public in keeping with Islamic traditions. So racy images of global stars like Shakira, Madonna and Ariana Grande require significant adjustment before being exposed to the market. In many cases famous pop albums are given a modest makeover, with midriffs and cleavage cleverly disguised using Photoshop to turn tight jeans into flowing skirts, or a crop top into a demure sweater. In other instances editors have bypassed photo editing software altogether to blank out exposed flesh by hand. BoredPanda has compiled a collection of images from popular culture showing how they have been censored in the Middle East Women in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran are often required to cover their bodies in public in keeping with Islamic tradition - therefore racier album covers require censoring In this creative alteration Christina Aguilera is placed inside of a lotus flower Geri Halliwell's album cover is given a modest makeover as she is given a bold red all-in-one With her stomach and cleavage on display Mariah Carey is given a rather subtle edit on this album cover And the singer receives another edit here where her furry friend becomes somewhat fluffier Despite her album being called 'Stripped' Christina Aguilera is given another layer in the second image With no photo editing software at hand this shop simply used a marker to cover up J Lo Kylie Minogue goes from swimsuit to full body suit in this less than subtle edit Cropping images is also a simple and popular technique for editing was simply cropping an offending image as seen with this Lady Gaga CD Britney Spears is treated to the same cropping treatment on the cover of Oops! I did it again It is not difficult to see why Lady Gaga's Do What U Want single cover would not fly in the Middle East In a less than subtle alteration Mariah is given a rather clunky pair of trousers under her dress The topless image of Shakira is done a way with by cropping in on the singer's face In a campaign for her fragrance Rihanna's silk jacket is fastened to cover her modesty It isn't only women who must remain modest with a topless Justin Bieber album looking rather different in the Middle East The addition of a red body suit means that Katy Perry's album is now shelf appropriate in the Middle East Maddona is given not only a cat suit but also has her crotch covered by an additional label In this Gisele campaign for H&M the model is given a slight tweak in the form of a t-shirt under her strappy tops It may have been one of her more modest outfits but Miley Cyrus' Bangerz album cover is still deemed inappropriate in the Middle East The blue globe on Lady Gaga's Artpop cover in order to cover her breasts and the singer is given a pair of tights In the absence of Photshop the models on these inflatable boxes are scribble out with a sharpie Advertisement Julie Bishop dazzled in a sparkly gown ruffled in feathers as she put on a glamorous display at the Mid Winter Ball. The Foreign Affairs Minister attended the charity event with her dapper partner David Panton in Canberra on Wednesday night. The stylish politician stepped out in a chic floor-length ball gown by Australian fashion designer Rachel Gilbert for the special occasion. Ms Bishop braved the cold in a high-neck dress, featuring intricate sequins, pearlised beads, finished with a touch of purple feathers. And it isn't the first time she has cut a stylish figure as FEMAIL rounds up some of her most memorable fashionable moments in the spotlight. Julie Bishop dazzled in a sparkly gown at the Mid Winter Ball with her dapper partner David Panton on Wednesday night Ms Bishop is known for her style, having previously attended the G'Day USA event in a white gown with a sparkly overlay (right), opting for a sequin silver dress with feathers in 2013 (left) and attending a Collette Dinnigan show in 2015 (centre) Last year, the 60-year-old wore another Rachel Gilbert dress when she met with human rights lawyer Amal Clooney in New York. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party has previously spoken out about her love of fashion. 'Give a girl the right shoes and she can take on the world,' she previously said on her passion for red stilettos as she's often spotted wearing Armani suits, coupled with a Louis Vuitton handbag and Christian Louboutin heels. She also said she believed it was her duty to wear clothes 'that will promote an appropriate image for Australia'. Fashions on the field: She turned heads at Flemington in a lime-green top in 2014 (left) before opting for a more demure black dress and hat in 2015 (right) Stylish partners in crime: Ms Bishop dazzled in a floor-length gown at the G'Day Black Tie Gala in California earlier this year (left), flaunting off a laced, long-sleeve dress at a David Jones fashion launch last year (centre) and a black ball gown (right) Speaking to Stella magazine, she said strongly that powerful women can still enjoy fashion and beauty. 'I don't think we should apologise for our interest in fashion,' she said in the interview. 'I have always loved fashion and beautiful clothes and magazines, that doesn't mean I can't have a serious career and hold deeply complex, serious conversations about world events with people. 'To suggest you can't do both is insulting.' The Foreign Minister wore an all-white suit at the White House last year (left) as she posed for the cameras in an orange blazer paired with a black skirt following a television interview in China in 2014 (right) The fashionable minister has previously opened up about her love for 'investment pieces', including Armani suits (pictured) The 60-year-old wore another Rachel Gilbert dress when she met with human rights lawyer Amal Clooney in NY last year The former lawyer is well known for her love of high-end brands like Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, Chanel, Rachel Gilbert and Escada. She has also opened up about her belief in 'investment pieces' like Armani suits, and revealed she knows the salespeople at the brand so well that they have her measurements and credit card on file. Bishop is also a regular guest at Australian fashion shows and attends quite a number of events supporting the local creative industry. A woman from Queensland who beat the odds to walk again after being paralysed in a skydive accident has spoken about the second ordeal that caused her foot to become infected and start to 'die'. Emma Carey, 24, survived a horror plunge in Switzerland in 2013 after her parachute and emergency chute became tangled, and six months ago was working on a mural in Bondi when she received a cut in her foot without realising. 'The surgeon told me... that my foot might have to be amputated,' she wrote on an Instagram post. Ms Carey is now a walking paraplegic but more recently almost had to have her foot amputated She was 20 years old when she experienced a horrific parachute accident Six months ago she had been working on a mural in Bondi while not wearing any shoes and got a cut in the bottom of her feet, but because she can't feel her legs she didn't notice the wound. 'The next day my entire leg was ridiculously swollen and the cut looked pretty bad so I went to hospital,' she wrote. 'They said it was infected so put me on antibiotics and kept me in overnight. 'A week went by and it wasnt getting any better so I went back and again they said it was infected and put me on antibiotics.' Six months ago she had been working on a mural in Bondi while not wearing any shoes and got a cut in the bottom of her feet But because she can't feel her legs she didn't notice the wound until it was almost too late Ms Carey said that they put her on antibiotics four times and at the two month mark she believed that the antibiotics weren't helping. She was then referred to an orthopedic surgeon who told her her foot might have to be amputated and it was at this point that he put her leg in a cast. 'A week later they took the cast off to check on the wound and my foot was white. The skin had gone necrotic which basically means it had started to die,' she wrote. 'I saw my foot and started crying because I knew it wasnt good.' After cast and before cast. 'A week later they took the cast off to check on the wound and my foot was white. The skin had gone necrotic which basically means it had started to die,' she wrote 'I saw my foot and started crying because I knew it wasnt good,' she said 'A week later they took the cast off to check on the wound and my foot was white. The skin had gone necrotic which basically means it had started to die' A friend later decided to contact a holistic nurse for a second opinion who told her to take the cast off straight away. 'She said my foot was dying and that even one more day in the cast could mean that I might have to have it amputated,' Ms Carey explained. 'Since then I have been seeing Amy and she has brought my foot back to life and now the hole is finally getting so small!' It was a friend who then decided to send her picture off to a holistic nurse for a second opinion who told her to take the cast off straight away Ms Carey said that she doesn't want to be angry about the situation and believes that the doctor she saw originally was genuinely just trying to help her. The story that she wants people to take away from this is that everybody should always seek a second opinion and that if you ever have a bad feeling about something medically, then they should trust their gut. 'Luckily we can all learn from this and know that if you ever have a bad feeling about what a doctor is telling you, then you should listen to your intuition. You know your body best so ALWAYS get a second opinion'. 'If something feels off then it probably is, so you should always seek a second opinion from another professional and take a more holistic approach. The patient should always be involved when discussing a treatment plan, because they know their body best,' she told Daily Mail Australia. The story that she wants people to take away from this is that everybody should always seek a second opinion These days she is known as 'the girl who fell from the sky' and an inspirational fitness guru with over 80,000 Instagram followers Ms Carey's was 20 years old when she experienced the horrific skydiving accident while backpacking in Switzerland. These days she is known as 'the girl who fell from the sky' and an inspirational fitness guru with over 80,000 Instagram followers. She ended up landing on her stomach with her instructor on top of her, breaking her spine in two places, shattering her pelvis and her spinal cord crushed but hasn't let this event define her negatively. Through documenting her experiences on Instagram she has gained a solid following of people who support her and are inspired by her story. 'Ever since I first began sharing my story and gaining a following on social media, I made a promise to myself to always be open and honest and always share both the good and bad,' she had previously Daily Mail Australia. Advertisement Staff at Bread Ahead - who baked loaves for William and Kate's wedding - today told Prince Harry how they fought off a blistering attack by Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22 - with just bread crates during the Borough Market terror attacks. Boss Matt James, 47, told Harry: 'It was a horrible thing. Our customers have been really supportive. I was away when the attack happened and my son had finished work in here - it was horrific. 'There would have been eight staff working and two of them got involved. Everybody reacts in their own way, they were brave and went out of their way. 'There were two girls being attacked outside and they literally threw bread crates at them. They grabbed the only thing they could in the moment. 'Yesterday we saw many of our regular customers come back, it was so encouraging.' Harry, 32, went to the scene of the tragedy - where three jihadi terrorists armed with knives killed eight people and injured 48 before being gunned down by police - to show the world the market is 'open for business.' The cheeky staff also took the chance to sell Harry a box of delicious-looking donuts topped with blackberries. Prince Harry, 32, went to the scene of the tragedy at Borough Market - where three jihadi terrorists armed with knives killed eight people and injured 48 before being gunned down by police - to show the world the market is 'open for business' Prince Harry paid a poignant tribute to the heroes and victims of the Borough Market terror attack, as well as the 'poor people' of Grenfell Tower, on a visit to central London today. The royal took the opportunity to voice his own sympathy for Grenfell families and the 'unthinkable tragedy' they have suffered whilst he was on a tour of newly opened, terror-hit Borough Market. Told how traders are donating food to the shell-shocked West London victims, the royal said: 'Those poor people - our thoughts are with them.' Earlier on the visit he said: 'The strength of London and this community as a whole was magic.' The prince was standing in the spot where armed police gunned down the London Bridge terrorists when he heard of the extraordinary community spirit in London. Paul Wheeler, 51, owner of Paul Wheeler Fresh Supplies, said: 'Prince Harry asked us how we were getting on and said 'it's great that you are back to it. You are back, you are lucky'. Paul continued: 'What happened here last week was tragic. What happened over there yesterday was unthinkable. 'Those people have only got what they are standing up in. 'The bakers here in Borough Market have baked extra bread, we're getting food from all the traders and taking it over to West London today. 'It was us last week - now it's our turn to help and give them something this week. 'It was a really emotional day for us yesterday - we were opening up for the first time and then we heard about the fire.' The terror rampage was finally stopped at the closed shutters of Paul's grocers when armed police killed the knifemen in a hail of bullets. Prince Harry meets stall holders during a visit to Borough Market in London which has opened yesterday for the first time since the London Bridge terrorist attack Harry also went behind the stall at 'Bread Ahead' run by baker Matt Jones, 47, whose staff fought off attackers with brooms and crates as they went on the violent rampage stabbing innocent people. The Prince told the baker: 'The strength of this community and London as a whole is magic.' Harry's words echoed those of the Queen, who said in a message of support that her 'thoughts and prayers are with those families who have lost loved ones in the Grenfell Tower fire and the many people who are still critically ill in hospital'. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Harry have made an undisclosed donation to an appeal fund supporting the survivors of the fire. The royal trio have given money to the Evening Standard's emergency appeal for the Dispossessed Fund and a Kensington Palace spokesman said: 'As residents of the local area, they are keen to offer their immediate support.' Prince Harry samples some chorizo as he made his way around the popular London food market on Thursday Prince Harry meets fruit stall holder Paul Wheeler during a visit to Borough Market in London Jack Applebee, 24, of Applebee's Fish, said: 'Prince Harry was really friendly about the whole situation. 'He was making sure we were okay and happy to see we were back here again. 'It was all fairly crazy on the night - we were really lucky, some people weren't. 'We managed to get the shutters down before they came, before they were shot just outside. 'I was closing the shutter as they were on the other side of the market. 'We got it down, got everyone in the back. Then all we heard was gunshots.' Darren Henaghan, Borough Market's managing director, said he had been given a window into the extraordinary forensic effort that left no stone unturned within the crime scene. He said: 'Harry was just really pleased he could come and offer his support and give us a lift. 'I think what he was most concerned about was coming at the right time. 'It's just amazing. It's been difficult - really emotionally and physically difficult. The police have been absolutely superb.' Discussing the re-opening of the iconic London venue, MR Jones said: 'The business was in full operation. I was at home at the time but I had staff working on the night of the attack. 'Two of them got involved throwing bread crates at the attackers to try and save one of the women being attacked. It was really bad. 'Yesterday saw so many regular customers coming back. A lot of customers buy their bread here. Harry coming here is great for business.' A Kensington Palace spokesman said, 'Prince Harry was keen to come down as soon as as possible to spread the message that this vibrant market is open for business.' During the 45 minute visit the Harry also met Ganga Garbuja, security guard for the Market on the night of the attack. And he chatted with Dawn Hill, Chutney specialist and artist, Paul Wheeler Fresh Supplies, fruit and veg going to Grenfell Tower. A Kensington Palace spokesman said, 'Prince Harry was keen to come down as soon as as possible to spread the message that this vibrant market is open for business'. He made his way around the stalls and chatted to local tradespeople Prince Harry chatted with Matthew from Bread Ahead stall, whose staff fought off attackers with brooms and crates as they went on the violent rampage stabbing innocent people The prince also met a collection of traders and restaurateurs surf near the Wheatsheaf pub, near where the attackers were killed by police. Finally he greeted Jack Appleby who got people to safety pulling the shutters down on the Market Porter pub Borough Market Managing Director Darren Henaghan said, 'It is absolutely marvellous that Prince Harry came here today. It means a great deal to everyone connected with the market.' Harry met security officer Ganga Garbuja, who was first on the scene and led several people to safety, as well as Matt Jones from Bread Ahead, whose staff protected members of the public on the night of the attacks. Borough Market paused for a minute's silence on Wednesday before traders opened for business for the first time since the London Bridge terror attack. Scores of traders and visitors were joined by police officers and London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a market bell was rung to signal the reopening of the market, which closed after it was targeted in the atrocity. A minute's silence was held at the market in South London at 9.30am ahead of its official reopening at 10am. Charity Victim Support said trained staff were on hand to support anyone affected by the atrocity. Opening hours will be extended over the coming weeks to help businesses affected by the attack, while a trader support fund has also been set up to help those who have suffered financially by the market's closure. Prince Harry meets stallholder Ratan Mandal in his tea shop during a visit to Borough Market in London The prince also met a collection of traders and restauranteurs surf near the Wheatsheaf pub, near where the attackers were killed by police Traders and visitors to Borough Market pause for a minute's silence to remember the victims of the terror attack when it reopened on Wednesday morning Scores of traders and visitors turned out to observe a poignant minute's silence in the historic market at 9.30am yesterday London Mayor Sadiq Khan was among those attending Borough Market on Wednesday for the minute's silence Market trader Paul Wheeler rings the bell to open Borough Market for the first time since the London Bridge terrorist attact The market bell was rung at 10am this morning to signal the reopening of the bustling tourist hotspot in South London Market trader Paul Wheeler reacts with emotion at the reopening of Borough Market as the bell is rung this morning Donald Hyslop, chair of the trustees of Borough Market, told the crowd: 'We welcome you back to Borough Market. We thank from the bottom of our heart all our emergency services. 'And we are thinking of them, and we are thinking of North Kensington this morning. Welcome back to your market. 'That is what markets do all over the world - bring people together. Love Borough, love your local market. London is open. Borough Market is open.' A poem was read by Southwark Council worker Suley Muhidin at the ceremony and the market's Art Deco gates were adorned with a specially commissioned floral display with peonies for 'hope' and 'healing'. The market bell rang out at 10am to signal the start of trading and welcome back shoppers to the popular destination. 'It was a really moving moment,' a spokesman for the market said. 'People were moved to tears.' Police officers and members of the clergy could be seen among those gathering for the minute's silence this morning Mayor of London Sadiq Khan joins traders and visitors for a minute's silence to remember the victims of the terror attack Traders and visitors to Borough Market gather for a minute's silence as the site reopens for business after it was forced to shut Traders and visitors pause for a minute's silence to remember the victims of the London Bridge terror attack She added: 'The bells rung quite defiantly through the market. There was a huge amount of applause.' It was an emotional moment for some traders, including greengrocer Paul Wheeler, whose stall was badly damaged when three attackers rampaged through the market with 12in (30cm) ceramic knives. The market's chair of trustees, Mr Hyslop, said the reopening marked the healing process and thanked emergency services for their response to the attack. He said: 'There has been a market in this area for 1,000 years. It has survived fire, flood, plague and war. Sometimes - like now - it has become the focus of attention. 'But mostly it has just been a part of the everyday life of the city and its communities - a place people come to shop, eat, socialise and laugh. That's exactly what markets do all over the world - bring people together. 'Today we begin to reclaim and remake this place with you. Two women embrace in Borough Market on an emotional day for many as the location reopened to the public Stall owners and workers begin trading and selling goods to the public as Borough Market reopens after the terror attack A cheesemonger smiles as she packages her produce for the public as workers begin trading again after the market reopened Police and security stand guard within Borough Market to ensure that the reopening ceremony runs smoothly Northfield Butchery workers get ready for the Borough Market re-opening as they prepare their meats for sale A woman gets her various fruits set up in front of her ahead of the reopening of Borough Market 'Over the last few days our resilient creative community has been cleaning beyond cleaning, laying the tables and chairs, and bringing us back the familiar colourful displays, and sounds. So in a moment we give this place back to you with love.' Visitors from around the world wrote messages of support on a chalk board and made donations and, within hours of the reopening, the market was bustling with visitors, with queues forming outside popular cafes and restaurants amid a notable security and police presence. Opening hours will be extended over the coming weeks to help businesses affected by the attack, with the market also welcoming shoppers on Sunday June 18 and Sunday June 25. Max Palmer, from the Alsop and Walker cheese stall, said: 'The last ten days have been very difficult, being closed and not being able to trade. But the most important thing is standing here together as a community here today. 'The ethos of the market and its traders is incredibly strong. And we will not bow down to a small minority of extremist terrorists who think they can destroy our fundamental rights to live in peace in this country.' A police officer stands in front of an entrance to Borough Market,which officially reopened today following the terror attack Trader Paul Wheeler gets ready for the Borough Market reopening as he prepares his fruit and vegetable stall A woman sticks a sign onto a window in Borough Market to indicate that a store is still closed but will reopen next week Mr Palmer, 55, who returned to the market yesterday, added: 'London will come together and come and support the market, and all markets, and all traders, and all types of people in those communities. 'We are a great representative of what a community is about. We have people from all around the world. That can never change.' Mr Palmer said: 'It was a very good feeling in the market (yesterday). There were other people saying hi to each other, and talking about the incident and who had been involved. There was a great feeling of camaraderie.' Joe Ralph, 25, of Herne Bay, Kent, works at the Ellie's Dairy stall. On the night of the attack, he said he was at work until 9pm, and by the time he got home he saw it on the news. Mr Ralph said: 'It was surreal thinking you were there an hour and a half ago. And you cannot quite believe what is going on. From my point of view, I would like as far as we can to get back to normal. Police officers stand inside Borough Market as they provided a presence as the location reopened following the attacks 'But it is nice that a lot of people who wouldn't normally open on a Wednesday have opened up to show their support for everyone.' They had taken a hit by being closed, Mr Ralph said. But he added: 'At the same time you have to put things in perspective, that none of us were caught up in it. 'For us, it's not the end of the business. You have to just thank god you weren't involved. Today it is not about buying and selling. It is about having a presence, and a sense of community with everyone. 'And I hope that tourists come and see it, and local people come and show their support. It is about coming together more than anything. Security are absolutely brilliant, I cannot fault them. They have been superb. 'There has been a very friendly atmosphere all morning. It is the first time a lot of people have seen each other since it happened. There is a real sense of belonging.' Londoners pledged to support Borough Market as City workers passed through to pick up food and coffee as they made their way to work. Northfield Butchery workers get their meat ready for sale at Borough Market before the site reopens Fish traders get ready for Borough Market to reopen for business after it was forced to close following the attack Kelly Kelly, from Stratford, east London, a supply relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said it was 'surreal' to see it reopen again. The 49-year-old said: 'It is absolutely fantastic that it is back opening. 'Life has to go on, doesn't it? All those poor people who lost their lives would want us back out. It is a very vibrant part of London. It is hard for Londoners. But life does have to go on. 'And I am sure all those people out enjoying themselves that night would want us to do so. I have been round here in the evenings myself. Anybody could have been caught up in it. It is shocking that it has happened. 'It was surreal walking through last week on the outskirts. And it is surreal coming in this morning and seeing it come back to life. These businesses, it is their livelihood. And we need to support them back through that. 'Some of these places are small businesses. Some of them will be one man bands, and they need to get back and get there livelihood back on track. It is very, very sad what happened. 'It must have been unbelievably chaotic here that night. And the emergency services - my God, did they come into their own that night. They were faultless.' Workers pushed trolleys and set up stalls as they got ready to welcome customers for the first time in nearly a fortnight Borough Market is a bustling tourist hotspot but it has been shut since the terrorist atrocity in the capital earlier this month Three terrorists stabbed people in the neck, back and chest during a rampage which left eight dead on June 3 Andrea Deboli, 28, from the Greedy Goat ice cream stall, said: 'It feels really good to be back. It is the only thing that we could have done, just open as soon as possible and get back to work. It is the same for everyone.' He said it had been difficult, adding: 'In different ways for different reasons. The shock of what happened. It is always shocking when you think you could have been here. It is always difficult. I hope people will come down.' Jon Hayes, 36, a software developer, passes through the area on his way to work in Moorgate. He said: 'I usually come here every morning. Obviously it is terribly sad what happened.It is just nice to see everyone back. 'I just pick up a coffee on my way through. It is a relief to see it back up. People have got to come back and start using the market again, and carry on as normal. It is an amazing place - the coffee is awesome.' Some Traders said Borough Market had felt 'strange and eerie' before it officially reopened today. Hollie Allan, 24, who works in the Fish! restaurant in the market run by her family, said: 'It has been horrific. 'We were one of the only restaurants that didn't get affected, nobody was injured or anything. But lots of people were running towards the restaurant, running inside for cover. A worker makes her final touches to a flower display at Borough Market this morning as traders prepare for its reopening 'We had two managers on at the time. They took care of everyone. They had to get everyone in the toilets and staff area until it was safe, and the police came in and evacuated everyone. Everyone has been in shock. 'It has been a really strange, eerie atmosphere. We weren't allowed in until Sunday. Everything was still left as we left it. People were in the middle of their meals when they got evacuated. The kitchen was still a mess.' Her father Tony Allan, 52, said: 'Over the last 11 days our business has probably been hit by about 300,000. We cater for 3,000 people in the restaurant a week, and upwards 8,000 people in the takeaway.' Reflecting on how it felt to be back, he said: 'It is fabulous. It has been a long time coming really. Let's keep our fingers crossed. I think it will bring a lot of new people into Borough Market.' A Harry Potter tour made its way through the market, with the guide pointing out filming locations. Drinkers visited the pubs and sat outside The Market Porter and Wheatsheaf. Among them was Adrian Crick, 45, from Wapping, East London, who said: 'I saw it was opening again today, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to come down and support the businesses and pay respect. 'I come round here with mates quite a bit drinking. You have got to keep it going. It is a tradition. It is a great place to come. You cannot let a bunch of people like that ruin a great industry and local business.' Jock Stark, 68, of Orpington, Kent, who runs a fruit stall, said: 'It feels good to be opening up. It has been very sad - I have been in the Borough Market for 50 years. Because I haven't been able to work, it doesn't seem right. 'I am sure people will come out and support us. It will take a couple of weeks to settle down, but then things should gradually get back to normal. It is still quite raw. 'We have missed a week's trade, but that's not the main thing. Hopefully everything should get back to normal.' Inquests into the deaths of Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, and Frenchmen Xavier Thomas, 45, and Alexandre Pigeard, 26, who were killed in the attack, opened at Southwark Coroner's Court today. Coroner Andrew Harris opened and adjourned inquests for five other victims - Sara Zelenak, 21, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, and Ignacio Echeverria, 39 - at the same court yesterday. Police officers with riot shields on Borough High Street as police responded to the attack less than a fortnight ago on June 3 The shocking scene of debris inside Borough Market that was investigated by forensic officers is pictured following the attack The London Bridge terrorists were named as (from left) Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba Inquests have been opened for Sara Zelenak, Kirsty Boden, Sebastien Belanger, James McMullan, and Ignacio Echeverria The eight victims of the London Bridge terror attack Victims (top row left to right): Canadian Christine Archibald, James McMullan, Alexandre Pigeard, French chef Sebastien Belanger, (bottom row left to right) Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, Australian Sara Zelenak, Xavier Thomas and Spanish banker Ignacio Echeverria Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Normandy, France Alexandre Pigeard was a waiter at the Boro Bistro, by the River Thames and was stabbed in the neck in front of friends. Manager Vincent Le Berre, from Brittany, told the Telegramme news outlet that: 'One of the attackers got on to the roof of the bar and jumped on the parasol on the terrace, wounding one of my colleagues. 'He immediately attacked a client who was killed. I managed to escape, but my friend Alexandre did not have a chance. He was stabbed in the neck with a knife.' An inquest into Mr Pigeard's death will be opened today. Christine Archibald, 30, from British Columbia, Canada Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, died in her fiance's arms after being struck by the speeding van. The 30-year-old, who worked at a homeless shelter, had moved from her native British Columbia to live in Europe with her fiance, Tyler Ferguson. An inquest into her death will be opened today. James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, East London James McMullan, 32, was enjoying a night out with school friends to celebrate the launch of a new 1million business venture when he was caught in the attack. He was last seen outside the Barrowboy And Banker Pub and found dead found outside the Post Office in Borough High Street. His bank card was found at the scene and he was later identified by his father. His cause of death was given as haemorrhage due to knife wound to the chest. Ignacio Echeverria, 39, from Las Rozas, Spain Ignacio Echeverria, originally from Las Rozas in Spain but who lived in Poplar, east London, worked as a financial crime analyst for HSBC. He is understood to have gone to the aid of another victim, attempting to hit one of the terrorists with his skateboard to save her. He was reported missing after he was last seen lying on the pavement near London Bridge. The 39-year-old was knifed in the back on London Bridge and his body was identified by his brother several days later, today's hearing was told. Sebastien Belanger, 36, from Angers, France Frenchman Sebastien Belanger had been watching the Champions League final in Boro Bistro when the terrorists struck. He was a friend of victim Alexandre Pigeard. Mr Belanger was stabbed repeatedly in the chest, the inquest heard. His body was located in Borough Market and he was identified by dental records and fingerprints while his loved ones spent several days unaware of his fate. Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, Australia Nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, in South Australia, had moved to the UK and began working as a health professional and travel around Europe. She ran towards the danger in a selfless bid to save people. She was found in the shadow of Southwark Cathedral, on Montague Close, with a stab wound to her chest, and was later identified by DNA and dental records. Sara Zelenak, 21, from Brisbane, Australia The mother of Australian nanny Sara Zelenak, from Brisbane, had gone out to meet a friend on the night of the attack. She was found in Borough High Street and a CT scan and post mortem was carried out on her body in the day's following the attack, the inquest heard. Her cause of death was confirmed as a single stab wound to the neck. Xavier Thomas, 45, from Loire-Atlantique, France Xavier Thomas, 45, was walking south on the bridge with his girlfriend Christine Delcros when a van ploughed into pedestrians. Miss Delcros is seriously injured in hospital and has undergone an operation. The Metropolitan Police later revealed that they discovered Mr Thomas's body near Limehouse - four miles from London Bridge. Victim Support provides free support and practical help to anyone affected by a terrorist attack and can be called 24/7 on 08 08 16 89 111 Advertisement He may be retiring from public life but Prince Philip has shown he has no intention of holding back on his trademark honesty in the meantime. During a visit to a primary school in east London the Duke of Edinburgh left one teacher feeling a little flustered as he criticised the state of pupils' handwriting. He and the Queen were at Upper North Street School, in Poplar, to mark 100 years since innocent children were killed when a WWI bomb hit the site. An unimpressed Prince Philip examines the children's handwriting at Upper North Street School in east London The Duke of Edinburgh had asked the teacher if the pupils were taught 'joined-up writing' After finding nothing that could satisfy his expectations Philip pulls a face at a child's work The Royals were given a rapturous welcome by the children before they were given a tour of the classrooms. At one point Philip was shown to a table where pupils' work that had been proudly put on display. As he examined it the Prince bluntly asked the teacher manning the table: 'Do you ever teach them joined-up writing?' The man replied that the children were and tried to point to an example but Philip was unimpressed. 'That's not joined up,' he said. The teacher then hurriedly tried to find some work that would satisfy the Prince before handing him a sheet of paper and saying: 'This one is.' But it was all in vain as Philip merely said: 'No it isn't,' before pulling a face. Eighteen children, most of whom were aged between four and six, were killed when a daylight bomb from a German aircraft hit the school, in Poplar, on June 13 1917. Today the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh joined relatives of the children who died as well as community faith leaders at nearby All Saints Church for the memorial service. Her Majesty wore a vibrant turquoise coat and matching hat, carrying her trusty Launer bag, as she arrived at All Saints Church in Poplar to pay tribute to the 18 children killed in the bombing Stop two: The Royal couple arrive at the site of the former Upper North Street School in Tower Hamlets, which was rebuilt and reopened in 1928, and is now called Mayflower Primary School Tragedy: On June 13 1917, a daylight bomb from a German aircraft struck the school killing 18 infants, most of whom were aged between four and six Dressed in a vibrant turquoise coat, the Royal party chatted to local schoolchildren outside the church before heading inside for the service. They also visited the site of the school in Tower Hamlets, which was rebuilt and reopened in 1928, and is now called Mayflower Primary School. They were met by huge crowds of around 380 excited children waving Union Jack flags, according to the East London Advertiser. Waiting in the throng were Bobbi Middleditch, 11, and Hannah Dingley, 10, who told the newspaper that if they met the Queen they'd ask if she gets lost in her palace. The deaths led to one of the biggest funerals the East End had ever seen. Thousands of people lined the streets as the children were taken to their final resting place. Tribute: In 1917, the East End showed its collective grief in style, packing the streets in a way never seen before as 18 flower-bedecked, horsedrawn hearses went slowly through the streets to the mass grave in which the dead children were buried The Queen and Prince Philip chatted to local school children before heading inside the church The Duke, who recently announced his retirement from public duties, appeared in good spirits The Royal party are ushered inside by a uniformed official after arriving in Poplar The Queen appeared to have been handed a necktie from a local school girl which she handed to her assistant The monarch wore an eye-catching outfit as she met young children outside the church The Duke of Edinburgh spent a few minutes speaking to youngsters lined up outside Daylight bombing that killed 18 Jack Brown, aged six, was at Upper North St School they day it was bombed in 1917 Eighteen young victims were killed and 37 injured when bomb from a German plane hit Upper North Street School in Poplar on June 13 1917. Tribute: Money rolled in for a memorial, which stands today in a local park Their target was almost most likely the docks on the Isle of Dogs, where British destroyers were constructed. But just half a mile from the docks, the three-storey council school with its hundreds of children lay right in the path of any bombs that fell short. Jack Brown remembered sitting in class when, around 1pm, a teacher hurried in and whispered something urgent to his class teacher. 'She told us to get under our desks. No sooner had we done so than glass and everything fell in, and there was smoke and fumes and all sorts of stuff around us,' he said, remembering that fateful day in a 2007 documentary, BBC Two's Timewatch: The First Blitz. A single bomb had smashed through the roof and floors of the two upper storeys, killing three children on the way. Then it exploded in the room next to Jack's. It was the infant class, packed with five-year-olds. There were 64 of them. Fewer than a dozen came out of the fire and rubble unscathed. The East End showed its collective grief in style, packing the streets in a way never seen before as 18 flower-bedecked, horsedrawn hearses went slowly through the streets to the mass grave in which the dead children were buried. Money rolled in for a public memorial, which stands today in a local park. Advertisement Today, the Queen met with school children and saw their projects, including their First World War remembrance exhibitions. The Queen's grandfather King George V sent a personal note expressing his sorrow over the loss of 'young innocent lives', which was read at the funeral of 15 of the children at All Saints Church. Meanwhile, a striking war memorial built to commemorate the 18 victims has been upgraded to Grade II* by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England. Built in the form of an angel in mourning, it is the centrepiece of Poplar Recreation Ground, a stone's throw from the school. The Queen shakes hands with a guest as she arrives at All Saints Church for the memorial The monarch met with a number of faith leaders ahead of the memorial at the church The royal shakes hands with community faith leaders who gathered at the church on Thursday The Queen offset her vibrant turquoise coat with white gloves and a string of pearls The monarch could be seen reaching into her handbag for her reading glasses in the service The Queen examines the order of service during centenary commemorations inside the church. Afterwards, she unveiled a plaque before heading to nearby Mayflower Primary School A fitting tribute: The Queen looks solemn as she takes her seat beside the congregation Her Majesty looks sombre as she emerges from All Saints Church following the service The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are greeted by large crowds as they leave the church The Queen examines a plaque outside the church which appears to bear the names of the 18 children lost following the memorial service Debbie Mays, Head of Listing for Historic England said: 'This memorial to the 18 children who died serves as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this community. 'It was completed only five days before the Treaty of Versailles was signed, formally ending the war between the Allied Powers and Germany. 'It is also poignant that the memorial was unveiled by Major General Ashmore who commanded the London Air Defence Area which was established largely in response to this devastating daylight air raid of 1917.' In the first major daylight air raid over London of the First World War, the bomb dropped by a German Gotha aeroplane crashed through the roof of Upper North Street School into the girls classroom on the top floor killing one child. The Royal couple were met today by crowds of local children waving Union Jack flags Guest of honour: The Queen was were met by huge crowds of around 380 excited children waving Union Jack flags, according to the East London Advertiser The Queen adorned her dress coat with twin brooches (left), a gift from the Queens parents for her 18th birthday in 1944. They are an art deco arrangement of aquamarines and diamonds During her visit to Mayflower Primary School today, the Queen met with pupils and saw their projects, including their First World War remembrance exhibitions The royal looked to be in good spirits as she arrived at the Mayflower Primary school today Tragic loss: The Queen's grandfather King George V sent a personal note expressing his sorrow over the loss of 'young innocent lives', which was read at the funeral of 15 of the children at All Saints Church in 1917 It then fell into the boys classroom on the middle floor killing several more and finally exploded in the classroom on the ground floor where there were 64 infants. Of the 18 children who died, most were just five years old. At least 37 others were seriously injured. It was part of a larger bombing raid on London that day that caused the single highest number of casualties of all the air-raids on London during the First World War, killing 162 people and injuring another 432. It prompted a complete review of British air defences and resulted in the setting up of the London Air Defence Area, involving observers, guns and fighter squadrons defending Londoners from German air raids. A commemorative plaque is on display at Mayflower Primary School, which is the modern school that has replaced Upper North Street School. The monarch met with school children at Mayflower Primary School and saw their projects, including their First World War remembrance exhibitions One young girl can barely contain her excitement as the Queen is shown around her classroom The monarch listens to a youngster reading her a poem as she tours Mayflower Primary School Poignant tribute: The Queen unveiled a second plaque inside the Mayflower Primary School The Queen looks sombre as she meets with children and staff today at Mayflower Primary School, as part of commemorations to mark the centenary of the bombing of Upper North Street School Princess Madeleine of Sweden has paid tribute to her little boy's kindness and big heart in a sweet message for his second birthday. Prince Nicolas, the younger child of the Swedish royal and her husband Chris O Neil turns two today and, as is customary, the family released a new set of portraits of the birthday boy. Adorable Nicolas can be seen smiling alongside a strawberry birthday cake, wearing a blue shirt matching the colour of his eyes. The blonde cherub was the third grandchild of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, following the birth of his sister Princess Leonore, now three. It's been a time of celebration for the family who also marked the 34th birthday of Princess Madeleine last week with the release of a new official portrait. New official portraits have been released to mark the second birthday of Sweden's Prince Nicolas, younger child of Princess Madeleine The Princess last week released a new official portrait to mark her 34th birthday, which she celebrated on Friday The mother-of-two looks glowing in the portrait, posing in a dusky peach dress, accessorising with a matching corsage in her hair. Madeleine wore her hair swept back in an updo and complete her look with a just a hint of pink lipstick. The royal, who relocated to London from New York in 2015, has previously revealed how she would love her children to have playdate with Prince George and Princess Charlotte. 'I would love a play date,' she told People magazine. 'I'm sure we will cross paths and who knows what we will do when we do.' Cheeky chappy! The happy youngster giggles for the camera, wearing a blue shirt The youngster appears to already be taking after his father Chris O'Neill Prince Nicolas enjoys an ice cream in London, where the family moved in 2015 after spending time in New York The Princess explained that her energetic daughter Leonore needs lots of activities and stimulation to keep her occupied because of her boundless energy. And she also opened up maintaining a close bond with her siblings since they became parents, despite living in different countries. Her older sister Crown Princess Victoria, 39, has two children Estelle, five, and Oscar, 15 months, with her husband Prince Daniel. The youngster admires his birthday candles as he poses for official portraits Meanwhile her older brother Prince Carl Philip, 37, is a father to Prince Alexander, 14 months, and is currently looking forward to the birth of his second child with his wife Princess Sofia in September. According to Princess Madeleine, becoming parents has added an 'extra connection' to their already close relationship. Meanwhile her daughter Leonore and Princess Estelle are more like sisters than cousins. Madeleine and her husband Chris O'Neill share two children Nicolas and Leonore 'Victoria and I try very hard to make it so they really can see each other and play and have fun,' she revealed. Madeleine met her American businessman husband Chris O'Neill after fleeing to the US in 2010 with a broken heart. She crossed the Atlantic following the breakdown of her first engagement to Swedish attorney Jonas Bergstrom amid speculation that he had cheated on her. Service in the Age of Social Support In the last decade, consumers have increasingly sought out social platforms as channels to both engage with brands and to consult with their highly-connected peers about a brands products and services. Social Messaging Platforms Consumers are spending unprecedented amounts of time on social networks and social messaging platforms. Together, the three biggest messenger appsFacebook Messenger, WhatsApp and WeChathave close to three billion active users, a number equivalent to half of the worlds population. The adoption rate is staggering, and brands need to follow suit. The opportunity for brands is their ability to adopt these social platforms as service pathways, and provide a more intimate and efficient customer experience than what is possible through traditional channels such as the telephone, email, or even live chat. Daniel Foppen Social channels allow consumers the opportunity to have a conversation with a brand in an environment where they are already spending a good part of their day. Instead of searching for a phone number on a website, consumers can simply start a conversation thread with a business using Facebook Messenger, for example, or continue a conversation theyve had in the past. This interaction is on their own terms, and they are free to go about their day until further action is required. Unlike the phone, the consumer doesnt wait in a queue, they dont navigate an IVR menu, and department transfers are seamless. Once connected with an agent, messaging platforms allow for the exchange of rich information like images, video, sound and text. A customer can easily upload a photo that illustrates faulty packaging, or a video that shows blinking lights on an internet router, enabling service agents to more efficiently diagnose an issue. By including these pathways for service, a company is already offering a better, and differentiated experience. But they need to go one step further and empower their agents to provide consistent customer experiences. Whereas telephone, email, and chat channels have always been under the control of the business IT department, social channels are full platforms with billions of users that are not under a business control, they offer no guarantee of continuity (SLAs), and cant easily be nudged to implement a new feature. Furthermore, consumers expect brands to offer the same level of service on social channels as they do with traditional channels, 24/7. In order to efficiently embrace a social service strategy, businesses must give agents the proper tools to solve customer problems. By incorporating evolving channels alongside traditional ones, instead of on disparate platforms, service agents will have full access to context such as interaction history (across all channels), customer profiles, purchase history, records, and so on. Agents should be able to handle all types of service inquiries and offer the same level of connected service as they would on traditional channels. If a business contact center is not set up to offer the same service quality and breadth on social platforms as it does with traditional channels, it should wait to adopt that strategy to avoid customer frustrations. Community Self-Service More than ever, digitally-connected consumers are looking to their peers to find answers to questions. Oftentimes, customers can post this information faster than a company can, offering up trustworthy answers that draw from their own experience with a product or service. Companies can leverage these engagementstapping into customer expertise to solve service inquiresby fostering an integrated community as part of its digital customer service strategy. Community self-service is, at its essence, peer-to-peer support or a social knowledge platform. Its advisable to incorporate social knowledge seamlessly with curated knowledge, not on separate destinations. In doing so, businesses deflect contact center inquires and reduce costs, all while offering timely, trustworthy, and appropriate information to their customers. Lastly, by giving incentives and public recognition to engaged community experts, companies foster loyalty and brand champions among their customer base. Social self-service is a win-win for the company and the consumer. Meeting the Demand for Social Service Western Digital, one of the worlds top brands for memory storage solutions, has adopted an award-winning, omni-channel customer service strategy that stretches across four brands, several globally-located contact centers, and 16 different languages. Senior Director of Global Customer Support, Urvashi Sheth, derives Western Digitals success from its ability to offer the experience that its customers deserve. Not every customer wants to talk to us on the phone, some want to talk to us on SMS, another person wants to talk on chat, and we are able to offer a variety of service channels. Next on their list? We are looking at WeChat in China, to meet the growing demand of social service among this audience. Do not just have one channel or one way of offering service, Sheth concludes, make it what the customer needs, not what is easiest for you. Last night, stars like model Elsa Hosk toasted the year's best scents at the Fragrance Foundation Awards in New York City. Perfumes and colognes from brands like Victoria's Secret, Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren took home the top prizes for scent, packaging and popularity. If you're someone who likes to swap fragrances every season (or are still looking for a Father's Day gift), shopping for a summer scent has never been easier - just pick a winner. Below, we round up ten award-winning fragrances, starting at $49. Touched by an angel: Victoria's Secret model Elsa Hosk, 28, celebrated the brand's win for its Crush fragrance, of which she's the face, at the Fragrance Foundation Awards Wednesday When you're looking your polished best, all it takes is a pesky gust of wind to play havoc with your look. Today it was the turn of Queen Maxima of The Netherlands to battle the elements as she had her hair blown about in a strong breeze on arriving at an event in Amsterdam. Nevertheless, the Dutch monarch , 46, kept smiling as her blonde locks flew across her face while she waved to wellwishers before entering the annual palace symposium. The mother-of-three looked otherwise impeccable in a candy stripe dress, which she paired with a pair of pale pink heels. Queen Maxima of The Netherlands waves to wellwishers as she arrives at the annual palace symposium in Amsterdam The royal found herself battling the elements as a gust of wind blew her hair across her face She completed her understated look with a rose gold clutch. It was something of a style departure for the royal who is known for her love of bright colours and oversized hats. However, she did make sure to add a quirky touch to her ensemble with a gold swan brooch. Queen Maxima was attending the annual symposium at the royal palace, the theme of which is depopulation of rural areas. The subject matter no doubt ties in with the Queen's interest in finance and economics. The royal itched her usual oversized hats and bright colours for candy striped dress in pastel tones Prior to her marriage to King Willem Alexander of The Netherlands, Argentinian-born Maxima was pursuing a high-flying career in finance. While studying for her degree in economics from the Pontifical Catholic Universit, she worked for for Mercado Abierto Electronico S.A, an electronic securities and foreign-currency trading market. She also balanced her studies with working in the sales department of Boston Securities SA in Buenos Aires, conducting research on software for financial markets. The mother-of-three brightened up he muted look with a swan brooch The theme of this year's symposium is depopulation of the rural area, which no doubt ties in with the Queen's interest in finance and economics Still smiling! The Queen looked cheerful despite the weather playing havoc with her hairdo After graduating, she took up a job with HSBC in New York where she rose to vice president of institutional sales for Latin America. Her next move was to Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in New York where she worked as vice president of the emerging markets division, before moving to Deutsche Bank in Brussels. She is fluent in Spanish, her first language, English and Dutch and can speak conversational French. Thanks to her past career, Maxima has been appointed as a UN Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development by Ban Ki Moon. She's also an honorary patron of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) since June 2011. The only thing better than ordering a takeaway pizza is eating the leftovers for lunch the next day. But reheating your slice in the microwave can result in a soggy piece of pizza. Now a viral image from a Brooklyn restaurant reveals a much better way to warm up a slice that will leave the bottom crispy, the crust moist and the cheese gooey - and you'll need a frying pan. A viral image from Roberta's Pizza in Brooklyn has been shared on Reddit and Twitter and reveals the 'best' way to reheat a slice of leftover pizza For the viral trick, the pizza is first put into a hot pan without any oil or water to crisp up the bottom. Then, a splash of water is added before the pan is covered so that the cheese on top melts again. How to perfectly reheat a slice of pizza 1. Put a slice of cold pizza in a skillet on a medium to low heat. 2. Cook for two minutes or until the bottom is crispy. 3. Place two drops of water into the hot pan away from the pizza, and turn the heat down to low. 4. Cover the skillet, and cook for one minute covered to melt the cheese using the steam from the water. 5. Eat! The bottom should be crispy, the cheese melted and the crust moist. Advertisement Frying a leftover pizza slice in a pan for a couple of minutes will keep the bottom of the crust crispy An image revealing how to recreate the kitchen hack was shared on Reddit and then re-posted on Twitter by user Jules Scott. It comes from a pizzeria in Brooklyn called Roberta's Pizza, often dubbed the 'darling' of New York and a hipster hangout for its wood-fired pizzas. It follow advice from a former pizza worker at Domino's and Papa John's, who gave his best pizza reheating tips. He said the best way to reheat pizza at home was to put a slice in a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil with the lid on for a few minutes. He claims this technique also keeps the bottom crust crispy without drying out the toppings. Visiting a McDonald's in Asia can be an incredibly different experience from visiting one in the US or UK, and will often reveal a world of menu options that There will always be Big Macs and McNuggets, but the fast good chain has been known to introduce menu items on the other side of the globe that Westerners would never imagine. Now one special menu item in particular is earning widespread attention on the internet: an almost neon-green soda float. Tasty and in technicolor: This bright green drink from McDonald's in Japan has been earning quite a bit of internet attention Fruity: The melon float is made with melon-flavored Fanta soda and vanilla soft-serve Fave: It's only available in Japan and Thailand and appears to be quite popular Similar drinks are available at other fast food restaurants like Burger King and Subway Called a 'melon float', Seventeen.com reports that the drink is only available at McDonald's locations in Japan and Thailand. It's made with Melon Fanta which accounts for the practically radioactive bright green color and is topped with a swirl of vanilla soft serve. Locals and Western visitors alike have take to posting photos of the colorful drink on Instagram, where they've earned the attention of people around the world. Sweet: Asian McDonald's stores sell several items that can't be found in the US or UK, like these strawberry chocolate pies in Japan Interesting combo: Customers there can also buy chocolate sauce to drizzle on their French fries Huh... It seems that some McDonald's even offer corn as a side dish And while the drink looks unique, it seems similar versions are available at other fast food chains as well, including Burger King and Subway, according to PopSugar. The bright green float isn't the only thing currently on the menu at Japanese McDonald's restaurants that might seem unusual to people living in other parts of the world. According to Instagram images, locations there also serve cups of corn, kiwi-flavored milkshakes, mini strawberry chocolate pies in pink packaging, and packets of chocolate sauce which customers drizzle on top of their French fries. There are also some different dipping sauces for McNuggets, including one that tastes like wasabi. Drink up! McDonald's in Japan also has a sakura float that Instagrammers have gone crazy for Too pretty to sip: It's a twist on last year's Sakura McFizz, featuring soda, cherry blossom syrup, and ice cream on top The bright green melon float is the second McDonald's float this year to earn attention on the other side of the world. This spring, the chain brought back its Sakura Float to Japanese stores in honor of the beginning of cherry blossom season. The pink fizzy drink, which is also topped with vanilla ice cream, was especially popular on Instagram. A Pakistani man saw his penis size double in nine months after being given regular injections of testosterone. Due to a lack of the male hormone, the unnamed patient had just a 5cm-long (two inches) member at full stretch - equivalent to a 12-year-old. But after doctors corrected the 34-year-old's lack of testosterone, they were able to expand it to 9.1cm - dubbed the average size. The 5'7 patient, believed to be from Karachi, initially sought medical help when he became frustrated that he couldn't grow a beard. Due to a lack of the male hormone, the unnamed 34-year-old had just a 5cm-long (two inches) member at full stretch. But after doctors found the cause of his lack of testosterone, they were able to expand it to 9.1cm - dubbed the average size. AVERAGE PENIS SIZES FLACCID: Age 12: 5cm (2 inches) Age 15: 8cm (3.1 inches) Adults: 9.1cm (3.6 inches) ERECT: Age 12: 10cm (4 inches) Age 15: 11.8 (4.6 inches) Adults: 13.12cm (5.16 inches) Note: These figures are compiled from a range of websites and studies. Advertisement He also had just a few armpit hairs and was relatively scarce in the pubic region, experts wrote in the BMJ Case Reports. Because he wanted to get married soon, he presented himself to his doctor to combat his embarrassing symptoms. The man was also concerned about having less erections when he woke up in the mornings and absent ejaculations - a reduced supply of sperm. The man is 'unusual' Doctors, who said it was 'unusual' to see such symptoms in men that age, measured his penis and testicular volume. The man was between the normal ranges for all hormones except testosterone, which he severely lacked. He was found to have 55.99 ng/dL of the male hormone. Healthy adult males are supposed to have between 249 and 836. What is hypogonadism? As a result of his symptoms, the team at the Aga Khan University Hospital were able to diagnose him with male hypogonadism. HYPOGONADISM: THE FACTS Male hypogonadism is a condition in which the body doesn't produce enough testosterone. This hormone plays a role in masculine growth and development during puberty. If the body doesn't produce enough testosterone, the result may be impaired growth of the penis. It can develop later on in life through injury or infection, or patients can be born with it. Source: Mayo Clinic Advertisement This condition is when the body doesn't produce enough testosterone, causing a smaller penis and testicles. A treatment course of nine months of testosterone replacement therapy was then recommended to him. He went ahead with it, and was given an injection of 250mg once every four weeks to help boost his count of the hormone. This later decreased to once every six weeks when the treatment, which the doctors said can impair a man's fertility, was starting to work. Did treatment work? At the end of treatment, his testosterone count had increased to 433.8 ng/dL and his penis size had doubled. The size of his testicles had also doubled, with them having just a 10ml volume - the equivalent of a teenage boy, before he started the injections. Writing in the journal, the doctors added: 'This hesitancy to seek medical care regarding delayed puberty may be because of the social stigma associated with sexual disorders. 'Therefore, a lot of the cases might go unreported and present at a relatively advanced age.' Advanced 3D printed bionic hands for child amputees could be available in Britain on the NHS following a world first trial. Thanks to pioneering technology, better and more affordable prosthetics are on the horizon which would transform the lives of young patients. The current options available free on the NHS which include plastic moulded limbs with hooks are branded 'medieval' or 'prehistoric' by many. Robotic hands with multi-grip functionality are available privately, but the price tag of 3,000 to 60,000 ($4,696 to $93,930) makes them too expensive for most. But that all that could change now 3D printing has brought the cost of high tech arms to under 5,000. A six-month trial is currently underway to demonstrate the feasibility of the technology and product on children and young people living with disability and could see the products rolled out nationally. Scroll down for video Tilly Lockley, shown here from a BBC clip, demonstrated one of the hands at a conference The hands produced by Bristol-based firm Open Bionics even come in designs based on Disney characters. The Iron Man, Frozen and Star Wars-inspired limbs are 'prosthetics kids can get really excited about and feel proud to wear,' say the company. Durham schoolgirl Tilly Lockley, 12, who lost both her hands to septicaemia from meningitis when she was 15 months old, is involved in the trial. Open Bionics founder Samantha Payne, 26, said amputees currently have limited options. 'You can get a hook-type prosthetic, which is super primitive, or you can get a gripper prosthetic, which just open and closes,' she said. 'It's a very simple mechanical action.' Bionic hands with multi-grip functionality, she says, 'are just too expensive for amputees,' she told The Guardian. The girl wasn't expected to survive her mother is now a fundraiser and campaigner to raise awareness about meningococcal septicaemia The 12-year-old had both her hands amputated as well as most of her toes Current options for amputees Around 6,000 major limb amputations are carried out each year in the UK alone. Those routinely offered are either purely cosmetic, or functional, but are very basic with a hook or claw. These can alienate and scare young children. Myo-electic-controlled limbs using electrical signals generated naturally by a patient's own muscles are available but are not routinely commissioned by NHS England. These types can currently be bought privately, but because they are made with traditional manufacturing methods they can cost up to 60,000. That cost is often prohibitive for many, especially for growing children, who usually need to change their prosthetic once or twice a year. Award-winning technology Now, companies like Open Bionics have produced lighter, high-tech functioning, bionic limbs that are not only cheaper, but can be custom-made. Ms Payne co-founded the business with robotics graduate Joel Gibbard in 2013 and their products went on to win numerous awards, including the James Dyson gong for innovative engineering. After 3D scanning the wearer's residual limb, a prosthetic design is made in 3D modelling software, after which both the hand and its socket are 3D printed. The prosthetic works through sensors that are placed on the wearer's muscles, typically in the forearm or back. These send out an electric signal that allows the hand to move when specific muscles are flexed. Each finger can be moved independently and with varying speed, allowing for different gripping modes and movements. Thanks to pressure sensors in the fingers reporting how much force the motors in the fingers are applying, they can pick up delicate objects, like an egg or a grape. Wearers have been able to turn keys in locks, prepare food and hold hand tools. They are even designed to replicate bones, ligaments and skin. The technology isn't advanced enough yet for the owners to sense and feel what they're touching but Open Bionics hope this can be developed in the future. Cheaper and quicker methods 3D printing and scanning techniques are revolutionising the medical industry. The technology itself is increasingly accessibility and affordable and it offers cost savings in various factors of production their customisation capabilities means reduced number of process steps, wastage and labour. An entire hand bionic hand can be printed and assembled by Open Bionics in just four manufactured parts. 'Prosthetics have to custom fit every individual user and the software also has to work with them,' said Ms Payne. 'The big innovation, and how we're saving money, is by changing the materials that prosthetics are made of [and] by using 3D scanning to take the initial fitting. 'It takes about two minutes, and we can then build the socket in 24 hours.' The disruptive technology could also dramatically cut the wait time for custom-fit prosthetics. Amputees can currently wait weeks or even months for a prosthesis, even privately. Hope for a roll out The NHS trial began this week after being awarded 100,000 from the Small Business Research Initiatives scheme. If successful, the firm will apply for a 1 million grant to roll the product out across all NHS clinics. Ms Payne said: 'That's what we're hoping to achieve this year. This will be miles ahead for the NHS.' An augmented reality system that creates 3D replicas of patients' organs could be used to warn them of their risky lifestyles before it is too late, according to the developer. Doctors will be able customise the technology for each patient. For instance, to encourage smokers to quit, doctors could visually illustrate the effects of tobacco on the lungs, he added. Seeing the damage in front of their eyes could then encourage them to give up the deadly habit, which is known to cause cancer. Developer Dr Ian Williams from Birmingham City University, told MailOnline: 'If you select the lungs, it allows you to interact with the lungs by rotating or enlarging them as if they were in front of you as an actual object. 'If the patient was a smoker you could put a texture to reflect the effects of smoking.' An augmented reality system could help warn patients of their risky lifestyle habits (stock) PATIENTS RECOVER IF THEY THINK THEY HAD SURGERY Thousands of patients may be having unnecessary operations because any benefit they feel could be due to a placebo effect as much as surgery, an expert has claimed. Surgeon Professor Andrew Carrs warning follows research demonstrating procedures such as keyhole knee surgery, arthritis operations and gastric balloons for the obese may all work largely because people expect them to. Previous studies have shown that patients who have sham surgery, but believe they have been operated on, can recover almost or completely as well. Professor Carr from the University of Oxford, said surgeons need to discuss this with patients where there is evidence it is the placebo effect, and not the operation, that has taken their pain away. Advertisement More about the technology Dr Williams said: '[The technology is] done on a screen, like seeing yourself on TV stood next to a skeleton or virtual person and you can interact with that person as if it was a model in the real-world.' The developers believe the system could help to encourage people to change their risky habits by illustrating the potential health effects. Dr Williams said: 'The real advantages this brings are being able to visually demonstrate parts of the anatomy, using virtual models which can be customised for each patient and show how they have been impacted by lifestyle choices.' 'If you select the lungs, it allows you to interact with the lungs by rotating or enlarging them as if they were in front of you as an actual object. 'If the patient was a smoker you could put a texture to reflect the effects of smoking.' How it may be used in the future The developers hope the technology will one day be able to demonstrate to patients what is involved in an upcoming medical procedure by 'playing it out' beforehand. This will hopefully boost patient interest and understanding in their treatment, they add. Dr Williams said: '[The technology will] make patients more engaged in their treatment and heighten their awareness of the procedure.' He added, however, it is unclear how improved patient understanding of their surgery may improve outcomes. A new test that detects aggressive prostate cancer from a blood sample could save thousands of lives. It can show when a tumour is a type that could spread quickly in the body, research suggests. The test identifies prostate cancer patients with aggressive forms of the disease, whose risk of dying is ten times higher than men with slow-growing, less harmful tumours. This allows doctors to personalise the treatments given to the individual at an early stage, say scientists at Queen Mary University of London. The test is one of the first in a range of liquid biopsies that experts believe will revolutionise cancer treatment The test is one of the first in a range of liquid biopsies that experts believe will revolutionise cancer treatment. A patients blood sample is examined using a highly sensitive technique that can detect tiny amounts of cells that are shed by a tumour as it grows. This allows doctors to calculate the risk the disease will spread through the body. An initial trial, published today in the Clinical Cancer Research medical journal, found that the method identifies patients whose cancers will metastasise spread with 92 per cent accuracy. Existing techniques involve a painful biopsy and expensive scans, are thought to be only 80 per cent accurate and can be done only once the tumour has already spread. Study leader Dr Yong-Jie Lu, from the Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary, said last night: This will mean we can spot metastatic prostate cancer earlier, and so we have an increased chance of controlling the disease. It will save lives. About 47,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK each year but the severity of the disease varies hugely. Rapid treatment for men with aggressive forms is vital, and could be lethal if delayed 11,300 men die each year from the disease. Some 90 per cent of all cancer deaths are among those whose cancer has metastasised. Among men diagnosed late with aggressive prostate cancer, only 22 per cent survive for ten years compared with 99 per cent who are diagnosed very early. Many others have localised, low-grade tumours which are slow growing and could be left for years without threatening a patients life currently 20,000 have unnecessary radiotherapy or surgery each year. Among men diagnosed late with aggressive prostate cancer, only 22 per cent survive for ten years compared with 99 per cent who are diagnosed very early The new test, which is cheaper than a scan or a biopsy, uses cell-capture technology to collect tumour fragments that have broken away from the primary cancer. It also picks up megakaryocytes, large bone marrow cells that generate platelets and appear to aid prostate cancer survival. The test was trialled on 81 prostate cancer patients in London and the team is now embarking on a much larger trial across the country. Dr Lu said: We are also working to see if this test can be used on other types of cancer. In five years we could be seeing this on the NHS. The method is being tested for the detection of breast, lung, ovarian and blood cancers. US professor Bert Vogelstein told the American Society for Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago this month that the tests could eventually prevent 45 per cent of cancer deaths by diagnosing tumours before patients develop symptoms. To find out more about prostate cancers, including symptoms, advice and support, visit https://orchid-cancer.org.uk/ Online daters with lots of potential suitors are less satisfied and more likely to pursue other partners, new research reveals. The researchers believe having lots of choice makes people think of 'what might have been'. This then prompts the daters to go back online seeking more romantic encounters, they add. Study author Professor Catalina Toma from the University of WisconsinMadison, said: 'Sifting through choices is potentially problematic in that it can create the perception that the grass is always greener. Co-author Jonathan D'Angelo added: 'This research suggests that even though you're meeting people who are potentially similar, there can be downside to having that much access.' Online daters with lots of potential suitors are less satisfied and more likely to pursue others FALLING IN LOVE IS LIKE BEING 'HIGH' ON DRUGS Falling in love is like being 'high' on drugs, research revealed last month. Meeting somebody special gives us the same buzz as cocaine and other illegal substances, a study found. Findings show the feelings of giddiness and butterflies in our stomach that we experience when falling for somebody triggers certain brain cells. Previous research shows specific brain cell activation causes a surge in the 'feel good' hormone dopamine, which is also released after recreational drug use. Researchers from Emory University in Atlanta believe the findings give insight into how we can influence social interactions, which may one day benefit patients suffering from autism. Advertisement How the study was carried out Researchers from the University of WisconsinMadison analyzed 152 undergraduate students. Some had a choice of 24 potential partners on an online dating site. The remainder had just six to choose from. Key findings Results revealed those with a larger choice of partners were less satisfied with their selection after just one week. They were also more likely to change partners. The researchers believe having more choices causes people to think of 'what might have been', prompting them to pursue more dates online. Professor Toma said: 'Sifting through choices is potentially problematic in that it can create the perception that the grass is always greener. Mr D'Angelo added: 'There can be more regret when [you] know there are other options. 'This research suggests that even though you're meeting people who are potentially similar, there can be downside to having that much access.' The findings were published in the journal Media Psychology. Women should be given different heart disease drug doses to men as they are more at-risk of life-threatening side effects, an expert warns. Dr Juan Tamargo from the Complutense University of Madrid, said: 'Women have more adverse reactions from current dosages and may stop taking preventive medication, leaving them unprotected despite their higher risk. 'Women have more adverse reactions because for many drugs the same dose is recommended for everyone irrespective of body weight.' Previous research demonstrated women are up to 1.7 times more likely to experience complications from their heart disease medication as they absorb and process drugs differently to men. The side effects they experience also tend to be more severe, resulting in a greater number of women being admitted to hospital, the research adds. Women should be given different drug doses as they are more at-risk of side effects ASPIRIN FAILS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF A FIRST HEART ATTACK - BUT MAY HELP PREVIOUS SUFFERERS Aspirin fails to reduce the risk of a first heart attack or stroke but can help those who have previously suffered a cardiac illness, new research reveals. The painkiller significantly reduces the risk of having another heart attack or stroke if you have suffered one in the past, the study found. Yet, people still have a 10.7 percent risk of having a cardiac-related event if they take aspirin and have never had an incident before, the research adds. The risk is similar at 10.5 percent among non-aspirin takers. Researchers believe it is important to identify patients who will not benefit from aspirin due to its potential side effects, such as bleeding in the gut and brain. Study author Dr Anthony Bavry from the University of Florida, said: 'There are many individuals who may not be deriving a benefit from aspirin. 'If we can identify those patients and spare them from aspirin, we're doing a good thing.' Advertisement Woman more at risk of heart disease Dr Tamargo said: 'Cardiovascular diseases kill a greater proportion of women than men in Europe and they kill twice as many women as all cancers combined. 'Cardiovascular drug recommendations are based on clinical trials in middle-aged men. 'Women have more adverse reactions from current dosages and may stop taking preventive medication, leaving them unprotected despite their higher risk.' Women's longer life expectancy is thought to put them at a greater risk of heart disease. Treatment worse in women Yet, despite women's heightened heart disease susceptibility, they are less likely to be given preventative medications and are treated less aggressively upon diagnosis, Dr Tamargo said. He added: 'Male physicians less often prescribe recommended medications for female patients. 'Some doctors think cardiovascular disease is not a real issue for women because they are protected by sex hormones, forgetting that this disappears with age and women live longer than men.' Women are up to 1.7 times more likely to suffer complications from heart disease medication Greater risk of side effects Women are thought to be more at risk of heart disease drug side effects as they absorb and process medication differently to men, Dr Tamargo said. He said: 'Women have more adverse reactions because for many drugs the same dose is recommended for everyone irrespective of body weight. 'This can lead to higher plasma levels and overdoses in women.' For example, women's differing levels of enzymes causes more aspirin to enter their bloodstream than it does in men. Women are also more likely to be resistant to the painkiller. In addition, the risk of suffering a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm is more common among women taking heart disease medication than men, according to Dr Tamargo. Women are also more susceptible to severe bleeding, he added. Statin-induced muscle disease is more common in older women with a low body weight. Hopes for the future Dr Tamargo hopes sex-specific guidelines will be introduced for heart disease drugs. This includes different doses for men and women being listed on medications' labels. He adds that women should be enrolled in trials investigating heart disease drugs, as well as more doctors being educated on the different impact the medications can have between the sexes. Dr Tamargo said: 'The most effective way to minimise adverse drug reactions in women is to develop and implement sex-specific guidelines for cardiovascular drugs.' On day 3 we prepared for a long drive to Fez. It was the kind of touring I was hoping we'd get. As much as I enjoy exploring medinas and palaces on foot and eyes popping out of socket gawking at all the intricate tiles and gildings and carvings in a palace room, nothing compares to the serenity that traveling through the countryside brings me.I have no clue what to expect with Morocco truly, because I did not do much research for this trip. Why would I when I'm signed up for a guided tour? I leave that to the tour group to take me from one spot to another.However, I was pleasantly surprised to see the beautiful countryside that we passed by.Pit stop.A short photo op stop was made as we passed by the holy city of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, a town that is spread over two hills. It was so foggy that we didn't really get a full view of the city from where we stopped. Many joked that we'd take our photos and google the place so we can see what it really looks like without the fog. Why we stopped here? Well, this is the town where Moulay Idriss, an Arab ruler and head of the Idriss Dynasty, brought Islam to the Moroccan people and where he built his dynasty. Likewise it is this ruler that initiated the construction of Fez, a popular city in Morocco, which later was continued by his son, Moulay Idriss II.Moulay Idriss.We drove up to a higher spot to get a view of the valley. I wasn't paying any attention to our tour guide when we were there so I really did not know what place this was. Although I was guessing we were looking at Meknes; don't quote me on that. I was really bad at taking notes.From here we drove straight to Volubilis, a spot deserving of a separate post (coming soon). Lunch was in Meknes at a nice restaurant and grill. Remember this is only the third day and our little group of 4 were quite tired of tagine. Hey, we all love tagines. But as I mentioned in earlier post, we want other ingredients to go with it as well. So three of us got some familiar food while the husband who was really craving for vegetables got the warm vegetable salad called zaalouk My pizza.Pizza and burger for the couple we are traveling with.Husband's zaalouk.Dessert, which is a kind of apple tart ala mode. SKYWATCH is a weekly gathering of sky lovers and sky watchers. Join us. Jeremy Hunt said it was his priority to drive down the appalling waiting times at A&E departments Jeremy Hunt has promised to turn around struggling A&E units to ensure patients are kept safe with a pledge of 100 million. The Health Secretary said it was his 'immediate priority' to drive down the appalling waiting times and treat the vast majority of patients within four hours. He told NHS managers that this four hour target was 'non negotiable' and that it was 'quite simply a matter of patient safety.' Waiting times in A&E are at their worst on record and in January and February this year, many departments were completely overwhelmed. Elderly patients died on trolleys waiting for a bed and the Red Cross charity described the situation as a 'humanitarian crisis.' But many units remain extremely overcrowded all year round and simply cannot cope with the soaring numbers of patients coming through the doors. Just yesterday the Weston General Hospital in Weston-Super-Mare, North Somerset, announced its A&E would close overnight because it was 'not a safe environment.' A healthcare watchdog deemed the hospital did not have enough senior doctors available to staff it and found that due to a lack of cubicles patients were being treated in the corridors. The target rate The NHS is meant to ensure that 95 per cent of all patients who go to A&E are seen, treated and either discharged or admitted within a maximum of four hours. But the latest figures for March show just 90 per cent were treated within this time, the worst for this month since records began in 2004. Mr Hunt yesterday promised that the majority of A&E units would meet this target by March 2018. Addressing the NHS Confederation conference in Liverpool which represents managers from 560 hospitals and health boards he said improving A&E was an 'essential' and 'immediate priority.' He outlined how hospitals would be allocated a share of 100 million funding pot to hire GPs to assess patients on the door of A&E. The Health Secretary said it was his 'immediate priority' to drive down the appalling waiting times and treat the vast majority of patients within four hours Those with coughs, colds or sprains will be sent to nearby minor injuries units to free doctors up to treat the most serious patients. Other struggling units will be offered support and advice from a new team of experts, led by Pauline Philip, the NHS's National Leader for A&E Improvement. 'Immediate priority' Mr Hunt said: 'The first immediate priority is to ensure we are continuing to turn around A&E performance back to 95 per cent and most importantly keeping our patients safe this winter. The first immediate priority is to ensure we are continuing to turn around A&E performance back to 95 per cent and most importantly keeping our patients safe this winter Jeremy Hunt, Health Secretary 'The reason the 95 per cent target is not negotiable is that it is quite simply a matter of patient safety. 'The NHS prepares well in advance for winter each year but the despite the hard work and dedication of staff, demand on services continues to increase as a result of our ageing population. 'This vital investment will help hospitals change the way they assess and see patients so people are given the most appropriate medical care as quickly as possible.' But critics are sceptical But doctors' leaders and Labour were deeply sceptical of Mr Hunt's ambitions. Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the British Medical Association said the health service was 'at breaking point' with 'politicians missing their own targets, hospitals in the red and GPs unable to keep up with the number of patients coming through the door. 'Many NHS trusts are struggling to deliver basic care to patients in a climate of rising demand and declining resources.' Jonathan Ashworth, Labour's Shadow Secretary of Health, described the plans as a 'continuation of the Tories' mission impossible for the NHS. 'He said the 95 per cent A&E target missed repeatedly under his watch is 'non negotiable' but offered no financial help to allow the NHS to meet it.' He added. Cases of Legionnaires' disease have been appearing across the United States in the past few weeks. Four Florida gym-goers fell ill after coming into contact with contaminated water, two hotel guests in Last Vegas contracted the lung infection and New York City police officers were warned against showering at their station due to the disease. The outbreak is concerning because of the warmer season when people are more likely to head to public swimming pools and use the showers and hot tubs, where most cases occur. The potentially fatal disease is a severe form of pneumonia and develops when people breathe small droplets of bacteria-infected water. Although contracting Legionnaires' is rare, there has been a 450 percent increase of cases in the past two decades, according to a new CDC report. The news comes on the same week Nick Lyon, head of the Michigan health department, was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the Flint water crisis, where at least one person died of Legionnaires' disease. The outbreaks follow a pattern of concerning news to America's water supply as a report in May revealed that nearly 30 million people have contaminated tap water. Cases of Legionnaires' disease have been reported throughout the United States in the past few weeks. Outbreaks were found in Las Vegas, New York and Florida. Pictured: Legionella pneumophila bacteria The CDC reported there has been a 450 percent increase in the number of cases reported in a 15-year span (pictured) Two guests of the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas contracted Legionnaires' disease while they were staying at the resort in the months of March and April. The hotel released a statement on June 9 confirming the outbreak and said it was intensely cleaning, using Chlorine at high temperatures to disinfect the rooms. New York City was the next area to fall victim when a police officer was diagnosed with the sickness and officers were advised not to shower at the East Harlem station. Although the police officers were told they could still use cold water to cook and drink, several were on edge about drinking any water there, according to reports. The Florida Health Department confirmed on Tuesday that four people became sick and all were members of two separate LA Fitness gyms in the Orange County area. Health officials said showers and spas at both locations were in need of a disinfecting treatment with a hydrochlorinated solution. WHAT IS LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE? Legionnaires' disease is a serious lung infection caused by legionella bacteria. Initial symptoms include a high fever, muscle pain and chills. Once the bacteria infects a person's lungs, they may also develop a persistent cough, chest pains and breathing problems. Legionnaires' disease is usually caught by breathing in small droplets of contaminated water. It is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person. Legionella bacteria is commonly found in water, including lakes and rivers, though is often in harmlessly low numbers. However, the bacteria can multiply if they find their way into artificial water supplies, including air conditioning systems. Legionnaires' disease is commonly treated with a course of antibiotics. The condition can be particularly serious in people with pre-existing health problems. Most people make a full recovery, but in some cases it can lead to further life-threatening complications. The disease can cause your lungs and kidneys to stop working properly. Another complication is septic shock, which is the result of a blood infection causing a sudden drop in blood pressure. Between 10 and 15 percent of otherwise healthy people who contract Legionnaires' disease will die due to problems as a result of the condition. Advertisement On Wednesday, Nick Lyon was charged of involuntary manslaughter for failing to alert the public to an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the Flint area, which has been linked by some experts to poor water quality in 2014 and 2015. Lyon's failure to act resulted in the death of at least one person, 85-year-old Robert Skidmore, a special agent told a judge. City officials began using water from the Flint River in 2014, but didn't treat it to reduce corrosion, causing lead from old plumbing to leach into the water system and infect citizens. Some experts also have linked the water to Legionnaires' disease, a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria that thrive in warm water and infect the lungs. People can get sick if they inhale mist or vapor, typically from cooling systems, and there were nearly 100 cases in the Flint area, including 12 deaths, in 2014 and 2015. Lyon was personally briefed in January 2015 but 'took no action to alert the public of a deadly' outbreak until nearly a year later, the agent said. He has admitted that he was aware of Legionnaires' for months but wanted to wait until investigators in the Health and Human Services Department finished their own probe in order to 'solve the problem' before raising it to officials in Snyder's administration. There are around 6,000 cases of the disease reported each year, according to the CDC. From 2000 to 2015, rates of incidence sky rocketed to 450 percent. The organization reported that this increase may be due to better diagnostic tests and better monitoring by hospitals. A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that state in the nation had breached the Safe Drinking Water Act combining in 80,000 safety violations affecting 77 million people's drinking water. Officials said that 15 percent of those offenses were health-based contamination, including lead, copper, arsenic or cancer-causing poisons. These pollutants can lead to liver and kidney damage, cancer and birth defects. Lead exposure is especially detrimental to children with possible learning disabilities and damage to the central nervous system. Legionnaires' disease is a serious lung infection caused by legionella bacteria. Once the bacteria infects a person's lungs, they may also develop a persistent cough, chest pains and breathing problems. Pictured: Symptoms of the disease Teenagers have the same level of activity as an elderly person, a shocking study reveals. Baltimore researchers found 'alarmingly low' rates of movement in older teens and declared that physical activity levels for all minors were much lower than expected. The most astonishing finding was that 19-year-olds were so sluggish, they could be compared to an elder in their 60s. More than 50 to 75 percent of adolescents aren't meeting the suggested guidelines for daily activity amounts, resulting in this alarming sedentary lifestyle. Adolescents have surprisingly low levels of activity, a Baltimore study found. Researchers were concerned that 19-year-olds had the same levels as a 60-year-old WHAT THEY FOUND The World Health Organization recommends at least 60 minutes of normal-to-high physical activity daily for children and adolescents. For children, 25 percent of boys and 50 percent of girls did not meet this suggestion. For 12-year-olds to 19-year-olds, that number increased to 50 percent of boys and 75 percent of girls. Advertisement The new study by John Hopkins University suggest these low levels could be a factor in the growing epidemic of obesity in the US. The report comes on the heels of a worldwide warning that computers and social media are wreaking havoc on the health of young people. To conduct the study, public health researchers tracked the movements of six different age groups, from adolescence until late adulthood. They found the only uptick in activity throughout a person's lifespan was after the age of 20 but that quickly declined after they turned 35 years old. Experts were most concerned that teens were so idle they could be compared with an adult 40 years older than them. The World Health Organization recommends at least 60 minutes of normal-to-high physical activity daily for children and adolescents. For children, 25 percent of boys and 50 percent of girls did not meet this suggestion. For 12-year-olds to 19-year-olds, that number increased to 50 percent of boys and 75 percent of girls. Senior author Vadim Zipunnikov said: 'Activity levels at the end of adolescence were alarmingly low, and by age 19, they were comparable to 60-year-olds. 'For school-age children, the primary window for activity was the afternoon between two and six P.M. 'So the big question is how do we modify daily schedules, in schools for example, to be more conducive to increasing physical activity?' Overall, males tended to have a higher level of liveliness throughout their lives compared to women, especially when it came to high-intensity exertion. Researchers looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003-2004 and 2005-2006. The World Health Organization recommends at least 60 minutes of normal-to-high physical activity daily for children and adolescents. For children, 25 percent of boys and 50 percent of girls did not meet this suggestion. For 12-year-olds to 19-year-olds, that number increased to 50 percent of boys and 75 percent of girls. Data was compiled from 12,529 study participants by monitoring their tracking devices, which gauged how active they were. Researchers concluded that measures needed to be taken at the educational level to boost these rates of activity. In the United States, 17 percent of children and adolescents are obese, making the nation have the highest level of obesity in the world, according to a new report. Although life expectancy has risen consistently since the 1930s, children's health is a 'ticking time bomb', due to the rising rates of obesity. Youngsters will be less healthy than today's 65-year-olds by the time they reach that age, new research claims. Lifestyle-related problems such as consuming too much sugar and doing too little exercise are already causing health problems among children, the researchers say. The Economist Intelligence Unit, who directed the research, are calling for action to tackle the crisis. GADGETS AND SOCIAL MEDIA INCREASING RISK OF POOR HEALTH IN TEENS A dramatic rise in the use of computers and social media are wreaking havoc on the health of young people, a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has suggested. Data for the UK shows that children as young as 11 are spending increasing amounts of time on tablets, computers and smartphones. Experts say this is leading to an increasing risk of ill health, with the vast majority of young people also failing to take the recommended level of exercise each day. The study found a 'continuous steep increase' between 2002 and 2014 in the proportion of children and young people using technology for two hours or more each weekday for things like social media, surfing the internet and homework. While use increased for both sexes, it more than tripled for girls aged 15 and over during this period, with experts blaming the rise of social media. Advertisement 'Considering the longer life years that today's children can expect, it makes sense to focus on health practices that will increase the chances of making those longer life years healthy ones,' the unit's research director Aviva Freudmann said. A worldwide WHO report blamed technology and social media for the dismal levels of activity in children and teens. The researchers found a 'continuous steep increase' between 2002 and 2014 in the proportion of children and young people using technology for two hours or more each weekday for things like social media, surfing the internet and homework. When it came to using computers, tablets or smartphones just for games, between a third and two-thirds of children were spending two or more hours every weekday on them. Dr Jo Inchley, lead author of the WHO study, said: 'There are longer-term impacts on physical health from being sedentary. 'Its about reducing time being spent sedentary, and ensuring that children still have opportunity to be active. We really need to start addressing these challenges now.' MEMOIR BLEAKER HOUSE by Nell Stevens (Picador 12.99) When 27-year-old Nell Stevens told her friends that she was going alone to a remote island in the Falklands to write a novel, she got a mixed response. A stressed-out lawyer envied the peace and quiet: You can do yoga. An actor saw an opportunity to really get to know yourself. Then a primary school teacher downed her wine, looked Stevens squarely in the eye and said: Its going to be f***ing horrible. It will be cold and you wont have enough to eat. You got depressed house-sitting alone in Wales for a week. Whistling in the wind: Nell Stevens Like so many of us, Stevens had always believed she had a book in her. She sent her first attempt to an agent at the age of 12 and held on to the ambition through a series of unrewarding office jobs in London. But there were two problems: she didnt know what to write about, and she was constantly distracted by life. After a boring childhood in Oxford, she consequently spent her 20s in a frantic and masochistic quest for good material. But each of her adventures fizzled out, just like the plots of her novels. She went to the Israeli border to teach English to Palestinian refugees and ended up having to be rescued when war broke out. She threw herself into romance with a musician, but he turned out to be a depressive who watched TV all day. She advertised herself as a prostitute online to research character ideas and even met up with one potential client in a coffee shop, but failed to turn the sad and cliched results into fiction. So her strange voyage to the Falklands felt like a lastditch attempt. It came out of a creative writing course at Boston University, which required participants to travel in the final three months. Fellow students planned to sip coffee in Brittany or cocktails in Havana. But Stevens became fixated on the romantic solitude of a rented house on the ominously named Bleaker Island, just eight miles square of mud and rock and unpeopled through much of the winter. She told her professor she wanted to experience the isolation of this tiny colony of sheep farmers, most of whom self-identify as British, which has existed 8,000 miles from the UK for the past 200 years and planned to spin a yarn in which a young Englishman called Ollie would travel there in search of his father. But Stevens never made anything of her novel and has, instead, produced a quirky memoir about her time on the island. The practicalities alone are fascinating. She had to take all her food rations with her on the tiny plane: powdered soup, granola bars, and one Ferrero Rocher chocolate per night. Over the course of her 41-day stay she planned to consume a total of 44,485 calories and convert them into one 90,000-word novel. BLEAKER HOUSE by Nell Stevens (Picador 12.99) But instead of eating and writing, she walked and whinged. Without the internet she felt suffocated. Into the space left by social media flooded dark thoughts. Is the patch of dry skin on her face cancer? Will a blade come whirling off a wind turbine and decapitate her? Has someone poisoned her coffee? Used to salon treatments at home, on Bleaker she didnt shave her legs or moisturise her feet. She lost weight, bit her nails and gained freckles. It felt like she was falling back into herself, looking younger each day. But she learned this was not a truer version of herself, simply a different one. And her cracked heels began to hurt. Setting out her laptop on the coffee table of a sunroom pelted with hail, she felt like a fraud. The snatches of novel she wrote were flatter than the scenery. Yet, against the odds, Stevens made me want to visit Bleaker, with its beached whale skeletons, miserable penguins and shearing sheds. She certainly made a lonely stomp through desolate scenery sound more fun than facing a blank page and a blinking cursor. She may not have written the novel of her dreams, but the book she has produced will resonate with anyone who has shared her ambitions. Its comforting to know that even without any of the distractions of normal life, even at the ends of the Earth, you can still end up whistling in the wind. BOOK OF THE WEEK Koh-i-Noor: The Hi story Of The World s Most Infamous Diamond by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand (Bloomsbury 16.99) The Koh-i-Noor diamond, which weighs 105 carats (or 21 grams), currently resides in the Queen Consorts crown, kept under guard in the Tower of London. The Queen Mother wore it to State Openings of Parliament during the reign of George VI, and its last public outing was upon the cushion on the coffin at her state funeral in 2002. Its next wearer is likely to be Queen Camilla at the coronation of King Charles III. If the Duchess of Cornwall reads this book about its history, however, she may start to have misgivings. Coronation gem: The Queen Mother wearing the Koh-i-Noor (circled) in 1937, with Princess Elizabeth The gem rained misfortune on unworthy mortal custodians, we are told by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand. On the very day it arrived in London in 1850, Queen Victoria was hit on the head by a would-be assassin and former prime minister Robert Peel was thrown from his horse an accident that killed him. The Koh-i-Noor, with its short but irregular crystal tails, got its name (meaning mountain of light) from its resemblance to declivities falling from a Himalayan snow-peak. Indian diamonds are alluvial, sieved and extracted as natural crystals from the sand and gravel of riverbeds. Quite where the Koh-i-Noor came from nobody knows it may have been the eye of an idol in a temple in southern India, stolen by marauding Turks. But we do know it was at the centre of centuries of bloody conquests as it bounced bewilderingly between rulers and despots. By 500BC in Asia, diamonds were fashioned into rings gods were supposed to dwell in a particle of diamond and in the Indian royal courts, jewellery rather than clothing was the principal form of adornment. Princes and their concubines were covered in a fabulous profusion of jewelled ornaments as a conspicuous display of power. Koh-i-Noor: The Hi story Of The World s Most Infamous Diamond by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand Dalrymple and Anand first find a mention of the Koh-i-Noor in 1547. It next turns up in the despatch of a British ambassador in 1616, who described the Mughal emperors as laden with diamonds, rubies, pearls. Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, acquired the jewel in 1656, and believed it made him a sun king, almost a sun god. At the Red Fort in Agra he commissioned the Peacock Throne, designed to resemble and evoke the fabled throne of Solomon, which had a canopy studded with gems and held aloft on a column of emeralds. The Koh-i-Noor was set in the peacocks crown and was guarded by eunuchs. Jahan was imprisoned by his sons and died in captivity. His successors were variously murdered one of them was first blinded with a hot needle, the father of another ruler was forced off a precipice on his elephant and wives and mothers were strangled. Delhi was then invaded by Persians and, in 1739, the populace put to the sword. It seemed as if it were raining blood, for the drains were streaming with it, ran a report. Nader Shah, the scourge of the Ottoman Empire, transported the Mughal treasury to Tehran in a caravan consisting of 700 elephants, 4,000 camels and 12,000 horses. Hed received the Koh-i-Noor from the defeated Mughal emperor, Mohammud Shah, who wore it in his turban. Nader Shah was the kind of despot who had his son blinded and his eyes brought to him on a platter. When he was assassinated, the Koh-i-Noor was spirited away to Kandahar. Nader Shahs grandson had molten lead poured over his head to try to force revelation of its whereabouts. The jewel next appeared in the possession of Ahmad Shah, who had a gangrenous ulcer on his face that ravaged his brain. The Koh-i-Noor diamond, which weighs 105 carats (or 21 grams), currently resides in the Queen Consorts crown, kept under guard in the Tower of London. By 1772, maggots were dropping from the upper part of Ahmad Shahs rotten nose into his mouth and food as he ate. He ingeniously hid the Koh-i-Noor from his enemies in a crack in the wall. Examining poems, illuminated manuscripts and sculpted friezes, Dalrymple and Anand next spot the jewel on a bracelet in Kabul. Was it taken there by an Afghan bodyguard or a harem attendant? New owner Maharaja Ranjit Singh loved the Koh-i-Noor with a rare passion and wore it on all public occasions. By this stage, the British were establishing themselves in India. When Ranjit died, English diplomats were appalled to have to witness the abominable ceremony of suttee, in which his wives, devoted to their husband in life and beyond, were compelled to incinerate themselves on his cremation pyre. As the cruelties mount up dismembering troublesome relatives and leaving them to bleed to death; protracted poisonings; so-called accidents with a double-barrelled fowling-piece; the plundering of peoples property it is evident that the Koh-i-Noor was, quite simply, a spoil of war. In fact, the jewel never peaceably changed hands. Within a few years of Ranjits death in 1839, three Maharajas who hoped to possess it were murdered. Its next wearer is likely to be Queen Camilla at the coronation of King Charles III. If the Duchess of Cornwall reads this book about its history, however, she may start to have misgivings Ten years later, on the British conquest of the Punjab, the Koh-i-Noor, as the single most valuable object in India, was handed to the Earl of Dalhousie, representing Queen Victoria. It was transported to England though an outbreak of cholera on the ship put the vessel in danger of being forcibly sunk for quarantine purposes. Once safely in England, it was the star item at the Great Exhibition in 1851. But the diamond was deemed disappointingly dull, so it was cut and polished by Garrard, the Crown jewellers a process in which it lost 42 per cent of its original weight. Queen Victoria wore it on a sash during a visit to Paris, wordlessly conveying a sense of the power and reach of the British monarch. Today, as a sort of historical emblem of conquest in India, the presence of the diamond in London is contentious. India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and even the Taliban have asked for its return, and it is now a diplomatic grenade. When, however, James Callaghan was pestered by the prime minister of Pakistan in 1976, it is his response which remains masterly: In the light of the confused past history of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the clear British title to it [in the 1849 peace treaty with the Maharaja of Lahore, which concluded the Second Anglo-Sikh War], and the multiplicity of claims which would undoubtedly be made to it if its future were ever thought to be in doubt, I could not advise Her Majesty that it should be surrendered to any other country. In light of its poisoned chalice status, the Queen, we note, is taking no chances and has never personally worn the Koh-i-Noor. On September 12, 2014, Bestin Vincent Francis became Yahiya. The man in his early 20s from Kerala's Palakkad district voluntarily signed on to take up Islam. Three of his associates, including his lady love Nimisha alias Fatima, converted in the next few months. Raids by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on controversial preacher Zakir Naik's close aide Rizwan Illiyas Khan eventually blew the lid off this alleged terror chain. Zakir Naik's (pictured) Mumbai-based non-profit Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) has been banned by the government Rizwan, according to the probe body, was closely involved in processing the documents of conversion to Islam. In all, 78 affidavits, including the ones for Bestin Vincent, Bexen Vincent alias Isa, Merin Jacob alias Mariyam, and Nimisha alias Fatima, were seized from the residence. Apart from Rizwan, another Naik aide, Arshi Qureshi, was closely involved in active the conversion of people from other religions to Islam and radicalising them to follow the path of ISIS. A 115-page document accessed by Mail Today concludes that the NIA has collected material to show that Francis and his three associates were among the 24 youths who migrated from Kerala to Afghanistan to join ISIS. The alleged affidavits of Bestin Francis and Nimisha who are thought to have been radicalised All of the accused were allegedly regular visitors to the office of Naik's Mumbai-based non-profit Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and attended meetings that took place between key Naik aide Arshi Qureshi and the youths. Qureshi's job was to handle Naik's appointments and emails and he would report directly to the televangelist. Rizwan was a para-volunteer and helped in getting proper matches to prospective brides and grooms, PR manager Maqbool Barwelkar told the central agency. The NIA in November filed an FIR against Naik and the IRF - which he founded in 1991- accusing him of unlawful activities and promoting religious hatred. The NIA in November filed an FIR against Naik and the IRF - which he founded in 1991- accusing him of unlawful activities and promoting religious hatred The investigation revealed that Rizwan arranged marriage certificates for Bestin Vincent (Yahiya) and Merrin Jacob (Mariyam), as well as Bexen Vincent (Isa) and Nimisha (Fatima). Documents show that Rizwan appeared as the guardian of the brides. Qureshi, meanwhile, played a pivotal role in conversion of all the youths to Islam. The document states that activities of conversion made them follow the path to join ISIS. The young couples were childhood lovers and they later made a pact to enlist with ISIS together. Nimisha alias Fatima was four months pregnant when she left for Afghanistan. She delivered a child at an ISIS camp in Khorasan area. Nimisha came from an upper-class family and was a dentist. But after getting indoctrinated, officers say, she refused to touch patients and gave up the practice completely. The probe also found that during 2012-2016, the IRF paid Rs 43.75 lakh to Qureshi from the account meant for foreign contributions. He was eventually arrested by Kerala Police for his role in the conversion of at least 19 people, including some who left for Afghanistan. The report alleges that there is a clear link between Naik, Qureshi and IRF, who have been promoting enmity and hatred between religious groups and inspiring the youth to commit terrorist acts. With Qureshi's link to Naik established, he was already on the radar of police with two cases booked against him. Mumbai's Nagpada police station registered a case against Qureshi on August 6, 2016, on the basis of a complaint by Abdul Majeed, father of Ashfaq Majeed, one of the missing youth from Kerala who joined ISIS. Abdul blamed Qureshi for Ashfaq's radicalisation, which led him to join the terror group. Mail Today has a copy of the complaint. Another statement of Nizamudeen TK in August 2016 says his brother Hafeesudheen, an ISIS recruit, invited him to attend an IRF function. Here he learnt about conversion. Yet another case was registered at Palarivattom police station in Kerala against Qureshi. The Navi Mumbai resident was arrested in July 2016 for his role in 'promoting hatred and ill-will between different communities and forcible conversion of Kerala youth, who went missing and are suspected to have joined ISIS'. Authorities in Mumbai have seized a whopping 33,000kg of a 'protected' Himalayan herb that was being smuggled into the country via sea route from China. Officials of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), western region, identified the plant as the rare 'Saussurea costus', or 'kuth', which grows only at high altitudes of 8,000-12,000 feet in very cold climate. It is used variously as an aphrodisiac, in perfumes, incense sticks, ayurvedic oils and for curing asthma, arthritis, inflammation. Authorities in Mumbai have seized a whopping 33,000kg of a 'protected' Himalayan herb that was being smuggled into the country via sea route from China Authorities estimated the three seized consignments to be worth a few million rupees at the very least. M Maranko, regional deputy director of WCCB in Navi Mumbai, said, 'The first such parcel was received at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Raigarh in March. 'The second came in April and the third in June. Together, they weighed 33 metric tonnes.' The Indian government has declared it a threatened plant variety They were allegedly imported from China by shopkeepers in Delhi's Khari Baoli spice market and a drug house in Amritsar in the name of Pushkarmoola, a non-protected herb. 'When the Customs alerted us, we went and checked it and found it to smell and feel like Saussurea costus instead. Officials of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), western region, identified the plant as the rare 'Saussurea costus', or 'kuth', which grows only at high altitudes of 8,000-12,000 feet in very cold climate 'We sent it to the Central National Herbarium in Howrah, West Bengal, and later National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow, for testing and they confirmed our suspicions that it is kuth,' Maranko said. With its natural habitat spread across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, parts of Pakistan and China constantly shrinking and its wild population almost gone, the Indian government has declared it a threatened plant variety. Kuth is now included in the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972, Schedule VI, which covers only six plants in all, such as the pitcher plant and lady's slipper orchid found in the Northeast. It means these plants can be cultivated, harvested or sold only under a licence from the chief wildlife warden (CWW) of the respective State. Also, the global Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has declared it a 'critically endangered' plant. So, any import or export in the plant around the world will take place only with a CITES certificate. The rare 'Saussurea costus', or 'kuth', which grows only at high altitudes of 8,000-12,000 feet in very cold climate is used as an aphrodisiac Tilottama Verma, chief of the WCCB, which functions under the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, said, 'As kuth is now cultivated in a very small area in Himachal, but its demand in ayurveda, the Chinese and Tibetan systems of medicine, is increasing, it is being trafficked across countries. 'We definitely need more experts in this field to give optimum protection to such vanishing variety of flora.' The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is going to file a request to extradite fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya from the United Kingdom to tighten the noose around him. The agency will move the request any time this month as it filed its first charge sheet against Mallya and eight others in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 900-cr IDBI Bank- KFA bank loan case. ED will be the second central agency to apply for his extradition as the CBI has already made a similar request to UK authorities and filed a charge sheet in the case. Mallya denies the charges against him as his lawyer told Westminster Magistrates that there could be another extradition case ED will try to push for Mallya's extradition through its diplomatic channels. Mallya has been living in London since he left India on March 2, 2016. 'Now that the chargesheet has been filed against Mallya, we will soon file an affidavit in court and then apply for his extradition through diplomatic channels,' said a senior ED officer to Mail Today. Mallya was boss of Kingfisher airlines, which collapsed in 2012, costing 8,500 jobs. Allegations against him come from loans paid to him for the airline He explained that a separate extradition request is needed if another agency has to grill him. 'We have collected enough evidence against him and if the money laundering charge is not included in the extradition case, then Mallya cannot be tried for it once he is back in India. At present, only the CBI has applied for extradition and only they can grill him once he is back making us non-entitled to examine him,' he added. CBI's extradition case involves criminal conspiracy, fraud and cheating. A total of nine accused have been named in the charge sheet by ED, including Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines, United Breweries and senior executives of the now-defunct airline and IDBI. Indian investigators said Mr Mallya had not been co-operating and had ignored their summons to give evidence three times The agency, in the charge sheet, termed Mallya the 'prime mover of the entire plot' and described how funds obtained as bank loan were routed illegally including 'substantial payments' being diverted by the beleaguered businessman to the Formula-1 car racing event abroad. ED had registered a criminal case in this deal last year under PMLA and attached assets worth more than Rs 9,600 cr. Meanwhile, CBI on Thursday clarified that the documents related to Mallya's extradition were sent to the UK in February, and supporting documents were also handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) much before the June 13 hearing in the case. The agency was reacting to reports that there was a delay from India in sharing the Mallya case documents with the UK. CBI also asserted that there was no delay from its end and made it clear that the UK court had not criticised India's extradition request during the hearing. The agency clarified that the June 13 hearing in the UK was not related to Mallya's extradition. Agency spokesperson R K Gaur said the hearing was 'for case management review'. At a time when the country's courts and justice ministry are battling a backlog of more than 3.2 crore cases, it turns out that the government - both Centre and states - is the biggest single litigant, being a party in a whopping 46% of them. According to statistics provided by the law and justice ministry, the central government alone is involved in 1,35,060 lawsuits across the country. Experts say India has far too few courts, judges and prosecutors for its 1.3 billion people. Bulk of the cases is pending in subordinate courts thronged by poor litigants who bear the brunt of the overburdened system. According to statistics provided by the law and justice ministry, the central government alone is involved in 1,35,060 lawsuits across the country The ministry of railways is the biggest contributor, being a party in 66,685 pending lawsuits of which 10,464 are more than a decade old. Five other ministries with the most number of cases are finance (15,651), communications (12,642), home affairs (11,668), defence (3,433) and health & family welfare (3,275). Listing the Narendra Modi government's achievements in the arena of justice delivery in the last three years, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said a key goal is to reduce government litigation as a result of which the overall case pileup is set to witness a sharp dip. 'A draft national litigation policy is under formulation to make the government a responsible and efficient litigant. 'I wrote to all governmental departments and ministries to take pro-active measures to settle cases were government is a party,' said Prasad. Ministry sources said to give an impetus to the goal, a nodal officer has been appointed in each department to keep a track of disputes in which the department is involved, avoid filing appeals except in cases that involve a substantial policy matter, and withdrawal of vexatious litigation. Settlement The ministry is also making efforts to ensure cases involving two government wings or PSUs are settled out of the court using alternate dispute redress mechanisms. Pendency in the Supreme Court is now at 60,750 cases. About 40 lakh cases are stuck in high courts. The pendency in district and subordinate courts is at 2.74 crore. The department of justice's 'Action Plan To Reduce Government Litigation' says, 'Government is regarded to be the biggest contributor to litigation in India. Approximately 46% of the total pending cases in courts pertains to the government. A view of Supreme Court of India building in New Delhi This includes cases relating to Public Sector Undertakings and other autonomous bodies. Government litigation includes service matters, disputes with private entities as well as inter-se disputes between two government departments and disputes between two PSUs.' The Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS) - an endeavour to bring court cases against the government on a single comprehensive online platform - was launched last year. It was an effort to ensure that various ministries do not adopt conflicting stands on the same issue before a court, a growing trend these days, and to make maximum efforts to settle disputes between governments and among public sector units out of the court, which will reduce the backlog to a large extent. Transparency Prasad said LIMBS has captured details of more than 1,30,231 cases in which the government is involved. 'It helps to introduce transparency as well as a sense of ownership among various stakeholders/ ministries/departments during the entire cycle of a court case,' he said. The progress of each case - what happened on a particular date, stand adopted by the government - will be available at the click of a button for the official who has registered himself with the LIMBS. Several recent chief justices had been asking the Centre to take immediate steps to ensure that only minimal litigation between government departments and PSUs reach the court. They have also been calling for out-of-court-settlement of disputes to reduce the pileup. The last time Kabir Khan and Salman Khan got together, the result was the actor's most successful film to date - Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015). Two years later, unsurprisingly, expectations are high for Tubelight, the duo's third collaboration since Ek Tha Tiger (2012). An adaptation of the little-seen Hollywood drama, Little Boy, the film sees Khan as Laxman, a village simpleton whose life is affected when his brother (Sohail Khan) is sent off to fight the India-China war in 1962. For many Salman 'Bhai' Khan is Bollywood's very own last action hero and the epitome of machismo, but the trailer and songs of Tubelight so far suggest that viewers will get to see another side of the 51-year-old actor. Kabir Khan made Khan showcase the 'vulnerability, childishness and naivete' of a character whose conduct has earned him the nickname Tubelight. Tubelight is about the 1962 border conflict between India and China The attempt, says Kabir Khan, was not to reinvent Salman but to react to the story. Said Kabir Khan, 'I told Salman, 'If you don't commit to this character fully, I will not be able to save the film. If the character doesn't connect, the film won't. It is totally on your shoulders.' Often accused of taking it too easy on screen, Bhai seems to have understood what's at stake and the significance of the character. There were discussions, preparation work and research for character references. Amidst it all 'there was a parallel process that was going in Salman's mind that I wasn't even aware of', said Kabir Khan. The movie stars Salman Khan, and is directed by Kabir Khan 'I was taken aback by his performance,' said the filmmaker. 'I've never seen Salman approach a character the way he has in Tubelight.' The writer-director didn't make things easy for Salman Khan either. He made him shoot the climax on his first day on set. 'I threw him in the deep end and he was game for it,' said Khan. The one long take Salman gave, says Kabir Khan, was proof that the actor was 'really thinking about it. He was not winging it'. Tubelight is an official adaptation of the 2015 war drama, Little Boy I love a weekend city break, whether it is hopping in the car and going on a British adventure, or making a short flight to Europe on a budget carrier. We're lucky in Britain we have numerous airlines willing to cart us around to the different cultural experiences of Europe, most of which are within a few hours' reach, usually for a reasonable price. I have flown with Easyjet and Ryanair more times than I can remember, and on the whole, have found the pair to be efficient and good value for money. I just treat them as a bus in a sky - no bells, whistles, or red carpet treatment expected. Baggage wheeze: Flybe allow hand luggage on board - but with smaller dimensions than Easyjet or Ryanair Recently, there was exciting news as Flybe announced it was to launch a number of new destinations from (London!) Southend Airport which is just a 10 minute ride away by train from home for me and a far less painful experience than the juggernauts some airports have morphed into. It has opened the door to a number of interesting destinations including Budapest, the city spot I chose to visit to celebrate my 30th birthday with my partner. Ahead of the trip, flying out on a Saturday in late May and returning on Tuesday, we were contacted twice by Flybe. First of all, we were informed that the time of the return flight was changing to far later in the day on Tuesday, meaning we had to amend plans. Secondly, we were told that the return aircraft wouldn't be operated by Flybe, but instead by Jota Aviation. Both of these points made us worry that a third e-mail would be sent saying the flight was pulled. When the morning arrived and waiting to jet off to the Hungarian capital, we were hovering around duty free at Southend when the dreaded red letters flashed up on the screen saying that it was our 'final call' for the Budapest flight. This despite a few moments earlier saying 'waiting for information'. We raced over to the gate (it's only a small airport) along with others to find the staff had accidentally put that sign up and that actually, the flight was running late. Southend Airport: The small hub is great for the local area - but don't be caught out by the Flybe baggage sizes Eventually, the queue formed and that's when I saw it the dreaded metal measuring device they use for checking luggage you take on board. Frankly, it looked like you couldn't get a briefcase, or even a ferret, inside let alone a travel bag for a long weekend. I rarely pay extra to put luggage in the hold on short-haul as I hate waiting at the other end for it - and it takes vital time out of your trip. My bag is one of those that is meant to fit on board the budget airlines and I have taken it as hand luggage on many trips via Easyjet and Ryanair. SIZE MATTERS Flybe changed its bag dimensions in April last year. These subtle changes have no doubt caught many out. Prior to April 2016, you were permitted to bring a single cabin bag measuring no more than 55x40x23cm - this changed to 55x35x20cm (including wheels and handles). This is compared to 56x45x25cm on Easyjet and 55x40x20cm on Ryanair (which also allows an additional smaller bag on). Easyjet are less generous on this front (top tip - if you do have a handbag, make sure you buy a 5p duty free carrier bag from duty free and put it inside). Flybe: 55x35x20cm Easyjet: 56x45x25cm (16cm more generous) Jet2: 56x 45x25cm (16cm more generous) Ryanair: 55x40x20cm (5cm more generous) Thousands of others are likely to have bought a similar-sized bag in recent years precisely for this purpose. I had been rushing around the night before and hadn't checked the dimensions for Flybe hand luggage, which I soon discovered, is less generous than its rivals. I accept that I should have checked - after all, I spend my life trawling terms and conditions here at This is Money but it's what happened next that irked me. Worried travellers were comically trying to stuff their bags into the device and many couldn't get them in. I tried mine and it wasn't going to fit without a hacksaw. I explained, but Flybe staff were having none of it. I, along with a handful of others, seem to have been picked on and charged for oversized luggage. Others, whose bags also didn't appear to fit, weren't charged. My argument was you either charge everyone - or nobody at all. I also explained that the bag fits on other rivals airlines, that it was an honest mistake and I would pay its normal price for hold luggage - but staff weren't having any of it. Eventually, I stumped up the cash - 40 despite the unjust attitude of the staff who I just couldn't reason with. By that point I wanted to board and enjoy my birthday celebrations rather than continue to get annoyed by a stealth charge over a few centimetres of bag. They didn't tell me that the 40 didn't cover the return flight or any details as to how I could avoid the problem a few days later. When we did board, not only was our return flight via Jota, but the outbound was too - and there was plenty of space on the aircraft. Space: Both legs of the Budapest flight were far from sold out We had a marvellous weekend in Budapest; it's a real mix of ruin bars, beautiful architecture, hot baths and history. But on the last day, I had that sense of dread about my bag. I tried to check-in online via its app on my Android smartphone to see if I needed to book my bag on but annoyingly, the app just wouldn't work. Not wanting to ruin our final day of the trip, I gave up. At the airport, I tried to explain, but to no avail. I had to run across Budapest airport, find the baggage counter, part with another 40 (with currency charges more like 50) and queue once again at the check-in desk. An extremely frustrating experience. Recent research from Columbus Direct shows that we stump up an estimated 395million a year at airports for overweight and excess baggage. One in five have paid a charge in the last two years, on average, at 135 a pop - so I am not alone. The insurer said: 'The variation and complexity of luggage allowances between different carriers based on the permitted number of bags, weight and dimensions helps explain why so many Britons are caught out by excess charges.' I never thought I'd get stung this way and the attitude of staff have left me questioning whether I can be bothered to give Flybe another go. For short-haul, I'm inclined to stick with Easyjet and Ryanair. Exeter-based Flybe lost 20million in the year to the end of March. It flew 8.8million passengers in the year to the end of March, despite growing its capacity to accommodate 12.7million. Brilliant Budapest: The Hungarian capital makes a top weekend break I asked Flybe: - Why was I picked to have my bag charged, when it appeared other passengers with bags that didn't fit weren't charged? Is it company policy to pick and choose random bags that are too big? - Does your app work for Android customers? And would I have been able to add a bag for the return leg if it did work properly? - Are staff incentivised to charge extra for baggage? - How many passengers end up having to pay for extra luggage with Flybe? How much does it make the firm each year? The Flybe press office deflected my query. It said: 'With regard to your enquiry regarding the flight operated by Jota Aviation on behalf of Stobart Air, can I ask that you direct your enquiries to the Stobart team at Southend Airport'. It means I've paid Flybe to go with Stobart Air who use Jota Aviation planes. A complicated three-way partnership. A spokesman for Jota Aviation, or Stobart Air, or Southend Airport I'm not sure which disputes my claim that many with oversized bags were allowed on. They said: 'The new sized gauges were introduced recently by the airline and we are obliged to follow their guidance on the sizing and charging of bags. 'Having spoken to the staff at the gate they are adamant that they charged for the bags that were oversized, this is supported by the fact that there were a number of bags charged for on this specific flight. 'There may be some confusion where some bags are observed to not be checked at the gate, this is because any passengers that go to check-in will have their hand luggage checked there and it is tagged at that point, that ensures that we are not checking the same bag twice. BEEN CAUGHT OUT? Have you had to pay for excess luggage on a recent flight? Let us know your experience in the comments below... 'The issue of the booked load does not come in to this as the passenger has a contract with the airline specific to themselves and their hand luggage. 'If handlers were asked to make decisions on the amount of hand luggage allowed defined by the booked load there would be few flights departing on time. 'In relation to the charge being one way only the passenger's point has been taken on board and the staff have been asked to ensure this is advised.' My advice is this: if you are someone that flies from Southend Airport regularly and are used to the hand luggage sizes of Easyjet, get your ruler out if you're going with Flybe - or just accept that you need to pay to put your luggage in the hold. Milliond of pounds have been paid out to the foreign owners of Britain's biggest water company even as it picked up almost 29million in fines for leaks and pollution and paid no corporation tax. Thames Water rewarded investors with 100million in dividends last year including 26million to Australian bank Macquarie and 10million to Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, despite profits sinking 86 per cent to 71million. Yesterday, it was fined 8.6million for missing leak reduction targets by 47million litres a day and could face further enforcement action. Fishy: Thames Water rewarded investors with 100m in dividends last year despite profits sinking 86 per cent to 71m It follows a 20.3million fine in March for polluting the River Thames with 1.4billion litres of sewage. The company allowed 677million litres of water to leak every day last year. Cathryn Ross, chief executive of water regulator Ofwat, said the failings were 'unacceptable', adding: 'Thames Water will now face the maximum penalty.' Thames, which serves around 15m people in the Thames Valley and London, is banned from passing the fine on to customers. Ofwat is also considering further enforcement action. The company was bought from its German owners RWE by Australian bank Macquarie in 2006, for around 8billion. It has paid only around 100,000 in corporation tax back in 2006. It says this is due to a rule allowing it to defer tax based on investment, and that it has invested 12billion in the past ten years. GIANT WITH 10BN DEBT Thames Water began as a state-owned authority in 1973 It was privatised in 1989 and joined the FTSE 100. In 2001 it was bought by German firm RWE In 2006, the business was sold to Kemble Water Holdings a consortium of investors led by controversial Australian bank Macquarie An extremely complex structure involving nine firms was then set up This includes two firms from the Cayman Islands tax havenBosses claim this structure is completely normal, but they have been criticised for creating a web of businesses and it has also become loaded with 10billion of debt But in that time Thames Water has been loaded with more than 10billion of debt. Macquarie and other shareholders have taken out about 1.2billion in dividends during its ownership, not including its latest payout. It sold stakes to foreign investors with the final 26.6 per cent going last month to Kuwaiti and Canadian investors. The company is now owned by a group of mostly foreign investors including Abu Dhabi, Dutch and Chinese funds. Hermes GPE, which manages the asset on behalf of the BT pension scheme, owns 13pc. New chief executive Steve Robertson, who took over in September on a basic salary of 550,000 and got a 54,000 bonus last year, yesterday admitted the company would probably miss its leakage target again next year. He said it plans to spend an extra 150million to cut leaks, adding: 'I am extremely sorry that we missed the target and we are going to pay money back. 'We have the largest domestic urban area by a mile over 40 per cent of our pipe infrastructure is more than 100 years old, therefore, logically, we would say it's more likely to suffer from leaks. 'London now has a larger population than ever, so for me the question is we have got to look forward and make sure we are putting the infrastructure in, and supporting that growth.' The company's record fine in March was for allowing sewage into waterways in 2013 and 2014, leaving people and animals ill, and killing thousands of fish. Questions: Quindell founder Rob Terry The shamed insurance claims firm formerly known as Quindell is facing a High Court battle over a disastrous 637million deal. Quindell now called Watchstone sold its professional services arm to Australian law company Slater & Gordon in 2015. But later that year, Quindell admitted it had dramatically overstated revenues in previous accounts, turning a 107million profit for 2013 into a loss of 64million. As a result, S&G discovered its acquisition was worth 505.1million less than it thought. It meant the business lost 256.3million in the final six months of 2016. Shares in S&G have now fallen more than 98 per cent since the deal was finalised and yesterday the law firm said it would seek up to 637million in damages. Watchstone, which is being probed by the Serious Fraud Office, lost 178million in 2015 and 205.3million in 2014. The firms founder Rob Terry, 48, has also faced questions from the SFO, and is no longer involved in the company. Last year he launched a vineyard. Shares in Watchstone are down 97 per cent from their peak in 2014. They remained flat at 140p yesterday. Poacher turned gamekeeper? New City minister Stephen Barclay Unlike his predecessors, new City minister Stephen Barclay has plenty of experience of the Square Mile. The grizzled father-of-three, 45, was director of regulation at Barclays during some of the biggest scandals in the lender's history, from payment protection insurance mis-selling to flogging high-risk investments which savers couldn't understand. Perhaps excitable opposition MPs will courteously raise this delicate matter when Barclay takes to the dispatch box. Legendary dealmaker Ken Costa, former chairman of Lazard, posts a picture on social media of his meeting with Pope Francis. Would His Holiness have taken the opportunity to broach the thorny issue of high finance with moneybags Ken, 68? Francis has called on bankers to stop getting rich through financial market speculation, equating it to stealing food from the poor. Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen has paid 129m for the 1962 Roy Lichtenstein painting 'Masterpiece', making it one of the most expensive pieces on record. The vendor, mega-rich New York philanthropist Agnes Gund, 79, plans to donate the funds to organisations fighting mass incarceration in the US. Bald eagle Cohen's fund SAC Capital pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in 2013, so is perhaps a tad fortunate not to be in pokey himself. Train ticket retailer Trainline has recruited demure Poldark actress Eleanor Tomlinson to promote its new mobile phone app and has had her issue customers some pointers to surviving long train journeys. Her pearls of wisdom include 'try and get some sleep', 'take some time out to read' and even 'take a seat'. Flame-haired Eleanor, 25, would give Pippa Middleton a run for her money in the gormless tips stakes. Dinky advertising mogul Sir Martin Sorrell's courteous habit of responding to every email is legendary. He's so fastidious in his correspondence, it's assumed some responses are composed by a lackey. Apparently, there is a way to spot the difference. If Sorrell's email signature is underlined, then the correspondence is from the real McCoy. What I am told, anyway. PROFIT BOOST Wealth manager Charles Stanley is back in the black with an 8.8million profit for the year to March, up from a 300,000 loss. It now oversees 24billion of funds, and hiked its annual dividend by 20 per cent to 6p per share. PHARMA BACKED The standing of big pharmaceutical companies is improving, says the Reputation Institute, which found 44 per cent of people thought the industry had an excellent reputation and 27 per cent thought it was weak or poor. TECH BOOM More than 10 per cent of new jobs created in the UK are now tech-based, and tech jobs are the largest non-management category advertised in London, says global jobs site Indeed. It said the Capital needs to do more to make it attractive to nomadic computer experts. FIT FIGURES Soaring membership has kept low-cost gym operator Gym Group on track. It now has 507,000 members at 95 sites. FASHION DEPARTURE Zooplas ex-finance boss Stephen Morana is to step down from the board of online fashion chain Boohoo from July 1. Iain McDonald, the chairman of Mysale, has been appointed to the board as non-executive director and will chair the companys remuneration committee. QUIET JET No-frills airline EasyJet has received its first Airbus A320neo, saying it will increase fuel efficiency, cut emissions and reduce noise during take-off and landing by 50 per cent. STRIKE BALLOT Workshop staff on London Underground are to be balloted for strikes in a dispute over job security and casualisation. Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union at depots serving the Piccadilly Line will vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action over the recruitment of new staff on fixed-term contracts, arguing they should be permanent. TOBACCO EARNINGS The fall in the pound boosted earnings for British American Tobacco. The cigarette giant, which owns brands such as Dunhill, Kent and Lucky Strike, expects its first half earnings to receive a tailwind of around 14 per cent from currency translation effects. Profit growth is expected to be weighted to the second half of the year and its full-year earnings are expected to outperform the industry, which it anticipates will be down around 4 per cent. A row has broken out among some of the biggest names in the City as a vulture hedge fund launched its latest crusade with an assault on global miner BHP. Elliott Advisors went public in April with a 35billion overhaul plan for the FTSE miner, accusing it of major underperformance and demanding changes to structure and strategy. Yesterday, it ramped up its battle, claiming there were 'growing calls for change' from frustrated BHP shareholders such as investment houses Schroders, AMP Capital, Escala, and Tribeca Global, Aberdeen Asset Management, and BT Investment Management. They are quoted as being critical of various aspects of the way BHP is run. US hedge fund Elliott went public in April with a 35bn overhaul plan for BHP, accusing it of major underperformance and demanding major changes to structure and strategy But it is understood several of those named reject the impression they are supportive of Elliott's aggressive campaign and feel some comments have been taken out of context. One told the Mail: 'We are pretty confident with the direction of travel of the company [BHP]... there are some things that need changing but they seem to be moving in the right direction.' New York-based activist investor Elliott has a 4.1 per cent stake in BHP and wants an exit from its US oil shale business, to unlock value for shareholders. It called on the firm, which is listed in Australia and London, to 'upgrade' its board of directors as it chooses a chairman to replace Jac Nasser. Elliott says BHP has underperformed closest rival Rio Tinto by 11 per cent over the past ten years and 628 per cent over 30 years. It wants the new chairman to spin off its oil and gas operations, unify its dual Australia-London listing, and prioritise shareholder returns for BHP's owners. It added: 'Over the past few weeks shareholders have made clear that substantial and meaningful change is needed.' It quoted a note from major BHP shareholder AMP Capital saying AMP had called on BHP to conduct an 'independent assessment' of Elliott's proposal on the listing structure and prove the worth of its US onshore business. But the full letter to clients, seen by the Mail, also says Elliott needs to 'give BHP the time to set out the company's case for keeping onshore US oil and gas in the BHP portfolio, and then time to hit the targets it sets'. Elliott also quoted Schroders Investment Management as saying: 'BHP's dual-listed structure is a vestige of the diabolical Billiton transaction whilst the US shale gas foray has been even more painful.' The comment was made in a blog posting on May 3 by the company's head of Australian Equities, Martin Conlon. But he also said: 'At a company level, the proposal by Elliott Advisors to unlock value in BHP Billiton raised yet more questions on incentives and outcomes. 'We are dominantly focused on initiatives which will allow the business to become more efficient and deliver improved profitability. 'Those focused on delivering greater short-term market capitalisation through listing businesses in jurisdictions paying more inflated prices for the same assets are of limited interest. The Elliott proposals have a bit of both, however, their arguments are not without merit.' BHP has not responded to Elliott's missive but chief executive Andrew Mackenzie has said that it was confident it had everything in place to increase returns and grow shareholder value. Mackenzie met Elliott in May, with Elliott spokesman Michael O'Looney saying afterwards the meeting had been constructive. An investor survey in Australia this month found local retail investor support for Elliott's push for change at BHP, with nearly half of all investors agreeing changes were needed. Elliott declined to comment. Google has launched a 235 million fund to buy stakes in budding drug companies Google has launched a 235 million fund to buy stakes in budding drug companies across Europe. In a major boost for Britains healthcare sector and a fresh sign of Silicon Valleys growing interest in healthcare, the tech giants sister company Verily Life Sciences will bankroll companies that need cash for the final and most expensive stage of clinical trials. Swiss pharma group Novartis and the European Investment Fund are the other key backers of Medicxi Growth 1, which will be managed by venture capital firm Medicxi in London. Verily, the healthcare arm of Google parent Alphabet, will appoint two members to its scientific advisory board. Google's move is a major boost for Britains healthcare sector and a fresh sign of Silicon Valleys growing interest in healthcare It also marks another move towards healthcare by Googles bosses, who believe their data-crunching expertise can bring huge benefits to medicine and create future sources of income. FUTURE OF MEDICINE Originally a Google X division, Verily Life Sciences was created as part of Alphabet Inc in 2015 Verilys projects include contact lenses that can change focus automatically Its special spoon for Parkinsons sufferers helps them cope with hand tremors It develops robots to carry out complex surgery and has produced electronic implants to correct problems in the nervous system that cause disease A pill containing magnetic particles 10,000 times narrower than a human hair can detect cancer and disease in the blood Medicxi partner and co-founder Francesco De Rubertis yesterday said the fund would help companies trying to start phase three testing of experimental drugs, a stage at which many firms struggle to secure enough capital. A significant portion of the money is expected to be spent in Britain, which has the biggest experimental drug pipeline on the continent. De Rubertis added: Healthcare is very important to Google and they are going big on it. They want to go into Europe and believe we will be a great conduit into pharmaceuticals, so of course when they gave me the call I said Yes. The move by Verily marks a departure from its other work, which has mainly focused on how data and technology can be used to tackle problems in healthcare. The exact split of funding for Medicxi Growth 1 has not been disclosed. President Donald Trump has vowed to revisit all of his predecessor's diplomatic successes and failures and will demonstrate Friday that he's ready to slam the door on Cuba. Trump is expected to unveil a new policy on relations with Cuba after Barack Obama painstakingly restored ties with the communist-run island. The Miami Herald reports that Trump will tighten the travel restrictions for Americans that Obama loosened. He will also ban business transactions with Havana's military, the Herald reported. The Republican president will outline the strategy shift in a speech Friday in Miami at the Manuel Artime Theater, which is named of a Bay of Pigs veteran. President Donald Trump has vowed to revisit all of his predecessor's diplomatic successes and failures and will demonstrate Friday that he's ready to slam the door on Cuba Trump is expected to unveil a new policy on relations with Cuba after Barack Obama painstakingly restored ties with the communist-run island The Republican president will outline the strategy shift in a speech Friday in Miami at the Manuel Artime Theater, which is named of a Bay of Pigs veteran Although many Americans support the decision and the US business community has welcomed moves to reopen trade, Trump's hardline campaign rhetoric won him support among influential Cuban exiles in Florida. The White House has not let much slip, but a radical turnaround such as a renewed break in diplomatic relations does not yet appear to be on the cards. And commercial flights and cruise ships will still be allowed, The Herald reported. Instead, Trump will announce a return to restrictions on US tourists heading to Cuba and businesses signing partnerships with Cuban firms. They are meant to press Raul Castro's government toward democratic reform and appease Cuban-American voters, many of whom fled communist rule. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday acknowledged that increased cooperation helps both countries and provides opportunities for downtrodden Cubans. But he also cited the 'dark side' of Cuba's regime, saying Trump's review had concluded that some renewed business relations help fund the regime. 'Cuba has failed to improve its own human rights record. Political opponents continue to be imprisoned. Dissidents continue to be jailed,' he told senators. 'And as we're enjoying the benefits on the economic and development side, are we inadvertently or directly providing financial support to the regime?' 'Our view is: 'we are,'' he added, answering his own question. That view resonates with Cuban-Americans such as Senator Marco Rubio, the son of anti-Castro immigrants, who has long warned that detente is moving too fast. 'I am confident the president will keep his commitment on Cuba policy by making changes that are targeted and strategic and which advance the Cuban people's aspirations for economic and political liberty,' he said. Trump accused Cuba of 'cruel despotism' in May, vowing to support its people's hopes for democracy, which raised ironic cheers from rights supporters more used to his cozying up to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other autocratic states. But watchdog groups such as Human Rights Watch are skeptical of a return to the terms of the half-century Cold War stand-off, with its total trade embargo and no diplomatic ties. 'The previous administration was right to reject a policy that hurt ordinary Cubans and did nothing to advance human rights,' said Daniel Wilkinson, the group's managing director for the Americas. 'The fact that Obama's approach hasn't led to political reform in Cuba after just a few years isn't reason to return to a policy that proved a costly failure over many decades.' The Manzana Kempinski Hotel, Cuba's first luxury five star-plus tourist facility. Some 285,000 people visited the Caribbean country in 2016, up 74 percent over 2015, with Americans the third biggest group. Trump will tighten the travel restrictions for Americans that Obama loosened On the economic front, business interests on both sides of the Florida Straits are wary of a return to a rigorous enforcement of the still-active US sanctions legislation. Some 50 female Cuban entrepreneurs who have benefited from the island's limited free-market opening have even written to Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka. Inviting her to the island to see for herself, the women insist that 'millions of Cubans' now benefit from increased tourism and trade. 'A setback in the relationship would bring with it the fall of many of our businesses and with this, the suffering of all those families that depend on them,' they wrote. The previous US administration softened many of the restrictions lifting American travel to Cuba, triggering a tourism boom. Some 285,000 people visited the Caribbean country in 2016, up 74 percent over 2015, with Americans the third biggest group after Canadians and Cuban expats. Engage Cuba, a group lobbying for an end to the embargo, estimates that 10,000 US jobs in aviation and the cruise business already depend on Cuba. A Taiwanese company that assembles Apple's iPhones and other electronics is considering building a Wisconsin plant. If negotiations are successful, the new Foxconn plant could employ up to 50,000 people and give Governor Scott Walker a huge political boost as he prepares to run for re-election. A person with direct knowledge of the negotiations who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the state is in talks with the tech company. A Taiwanese company that assembles Apple's iPhones and other electronics is considering building a plant in Wisconsin that could employ thousands of people and give Governor Scott Walker (pictured in a stock image from 2016) a huge political boost as he prepares to run for re-election Foxconn, founded in 1974 and purchased in 2016 by Japan's Sharp Corp, announced in January it was considering investing $7billion in one U.S. factory to produce display panels that would create as many as 50,000 jobs President Donald Trump alluded to negotiations with an unspecified company during a visit to Milwaukee on Tuesday, saying Walker might get 'a very happy surprise very soon.' 'We have a lot of companies moving to the United States. We were negotiating with a major, major incredible manufacturer of phones and computers and televisions,' he explained. Foxconn, founded in 1974 and purchased in 2016 by Japan's Sharp Corp, announced in January it was considering investing $7billion in one U.S. factory to produce display panels that would create as many as 50,000 jobs. At least one other upper Midwest state, Michigan, is also pursuing the plant. Foxconn assembles of iPhones, and also smartphones for Sony, Blackberry and other brands, mostly in China, where its plants employ about 1million people Both Walker (pictured) and Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder made a brief, previously unannounced trip to Japan the weekend of June 2 to pursue an undisclosed economic development opportunit Foxconn assembles electronic devices such as smartphones for Apple, Sony, Blackberry and other brands - mostly in China, where its plants employ about 1million people. The company has been the subject of complaints for years about its labor practices and worker suicides at the Chinese plants that manufacture Apple products. Walker's administration declined to comment, instead deferring to the state's chief economic development agency spokesman Mark Maley, who said he can't comment on pending or potential opportunities. President of the Wisconsin Technology Council Tom Still, however, said: 'It would be great for Wisconsin for a lot of reasons,' noting that Wisconsin is already home to similar electronic manufacturers. 'I am assuming Foxconn was attracted by the fact there's already a skilled workforce here and there's a foundation to produce more such workers through the tech colleges and the other parts of the education system,' Still said. Both Walker and Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder made brief, previously unannounced trips to Japan the weekend of June 2 to pursue undisclosed economic development opportunities. Foxconn CEO Terry Gou (pictured in 2016) said in January a decision would depend on factors including whether a state where the factory might be built would be willing to provide low-cost land or power Wisconsin state Representative Joel Kleefisch, a Republican, said Wednesday he would 'jump at the chance' to work with the Walker administration to pass any economic development incentives deemed necessary to land the Foxconn plant Snyder has been increasing pressure on Michigan lawmakers to approve tax incentives for large-scale business expansions in the state as it tries to convince Foxconn to locate to his state. Michigan's state Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof said this week in advocating for the incentives to lure Foxconn that 'we should put our best foot forward so that we don't lose all of it or part of it to a neighboring state.' Wisconsin state Representative Joel Kleefisch, a Republican, said Wednesday he would 'jump at the chance' to work with the Walker administration to pass any economic development incentives deemed necessary to land the Foxconn plant. Foxconn CEO Terry Gou said in January a decision would depend on factors including whether a state where the factory might be built would be willing to provide low-cost land or power. He also said Pennsylvania was a leading candidate, but that a decision had not been made and the company was in discussions with other states as well. A Foxconn partner, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, said after a December meeting with then-President-elect Trump that the company was also considering a $7billion investment in the U.S. Poland's Prime Minister has been criticised for using an Auschwitz speech commemorating the first prisoners to enter the Nazi death camp as a chance to defend her government's anti-migrant policy. At the ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the first transport of prisoners who entered the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, Beata Szydlo said that 'Auschwitz is a lesson showing that everything needs to be done to protect one's citizens'. The comments caused widespread outrage with many taking them as a defence of the Polish nationalist-minded Law and Justice (PiS) party government's decision not to accept any refugees under a European Union resettlement plan. Beata Szydlo, who grew up in the town of Oswiecim, where the former death camp is located, made her remarks during a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the first transports of Polish prisoners to the camp Her comment came one day after the EU launched legal action against Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic for refusing to take in their share of refugees under the bloc's controversial solidarity plan. Donald Tusk, European Council president and an ex-prime minister of Poland, said in a tweet: 'Such words in such a place should never come out from the mouth of a Polish prime minister.' Former Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said that Szydlo's remarks were a 'discredit'. Szydlo's words first appeared in a tweet by PiS that has since been removed. Tomasz Lis, the editor of the Polish version of Newsweek, said: 'Szydlo showed today that she has no problems using both living Arabs and dead Jews in her primitive propaganda,' said 'Auschwitz must remind us of the need to defend universal human rights, not closing borders to refugees!' said Rafal Pankowski, the head of Never Again, an organization that fights neo-Nazism and other forms of extremism. But Rafal Bochenek, the government's spokesman, said that people should listen to the entire speech of the prime minister before making any judgment. In the speech, Szydlo said it was a great task for politicians to make sure that 'such terrible events as those that took place in Auschwitz and other places of martyrdom never happen again'. Szydlo said that 'in today's restless times, Auschwitz is a great lesson showing that everything must be done to protect the safety and life of one's citizens' Poland along with Hungary and the Czech Republic are refusing to comply with an EU programme to relocate 160,000 migrants from frontline migrant crisis countries Italy and Greece. The EU set up the plan in 2015 at the height of the migration crisis, when more than one million refugees, many of them Syrians fleeing a bloody civil war, landed on Europe's shores. Nazi Germany built the Auschwitz death camp after occupying Poland during World War II. The Holocaust site has become a symbol of Nazi Germany's genocide of six million European Jews, one million of whom were killed at the camp between 1940 to 1945. More than 100,000 non-Jews also died at the death camp, according to the museum. An estimated 232,000 of the victims were children. The widow of a Texas principal who school officials claim took his own life after admitting to having an affair with his former secretary is demanding answers as questions continue to linger almost a month after his death. Tammy Reeves has filed papers in Jefferson County District Court asking that over 30 people with ties to the school be deposed and required to answer questions so that she and her two sons can learn more about the final hours of her husband's life. Dennis Reeves, 45, reportedly shot himself in the head while sitting in his parked truck at Kirbyville High School on May 23, after being confronted about his affair with former secretary Marcia Morgan. The cause of death has still not been confirmed however by officials and police recently revealed that the surveillance footage from the school parking lot skips over the moment when Dennis fires the gun inside his car. Ubited front: The wife of Dennis Reeves is looking to depose over 30 people to learn more details about her husband's death (Denis and Tammy Reeves above) Fanily: Dennis, a principal at Kirbyville High School in Texas, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in the head on May 23 (Dennis and Tammy above with their two sons) Tammy was granted a restraining order against the school earlier this week, which ensures she will be able to examine her husband's possessions and decide if she and her sons might pursue a claim against the school district. In both of those filings, Tammy made it clear that she does not trust the school district and is concerned about the fact that there has still been no formal explanation given to her regarding the events that happened on the day of her husband's death. Among those Tammy wants to depose are Superintendent Thomas Wallis, who was one of the final people to see Dennis alive. Wallis claims that on May 23, Dennis admitted to having an affair with his former secretary after being confronted by himself and assistant superintendent Georgia Sayers and agreed to resign from his job to avoid an investigation. The two school officials claim that he then went out to his car and shot himself in the head. 'On their best day Respondents can only allude to an alleged affair,' reads the court filing. 'Most probably, this accusation was false, and like so many other things, manipulated or invented by others.' Meanwhile, despite at first calling Dennis' death a suicide, police are now backing off that statement pending an autopsy. The court filing submitted this week states that Tammy and her sons have been unable to obtain full, complete, accurate or truthful answers concerning the facts and circumstances that preceded or led to this tragic occurrence.' The 45-year-old had reportedly just admitted to a long-denied affair at the time with his former secretary, Marcia Morgan (above) The filing goes on to state that there has been a 'pattern of misinformation' regarding the details surrounding her husband's death and 'different, questionable or contradictory statements.' She sights as one example: 'Manufacturing the termination of Dennis Reeves as principal of KISD High School buy claiming a former of secretary Reeves had written/was writing a statement claiming an affair with Dennis Reeves.' One year prior the filing states, that same rumor was 'determined to have no validity.' Tammy is also asking to speak with Wallis' former employers about the 14 Code of Ethics violations he was allegedly accused of committing at his past job. Those violations forced him to step down from his job last year, and shortly after he began his current position in a new school district. At the same time, Dennis' former secretary has released her own statement detailing their love affair, and saying that he had tried to rekindle the romance just weeks before his death. Harsh: 'You realize you're still alive only because I can't afford a hitman, right?'Tammy allegedly told Morgan in one message (Dennis' truck that he committed suicide in above) Opening up: The statement released by Marcia Morgan detailing her affair with Dennis and why she came forward (above) Morgan meanwhile gave very detailed overview of her relationship with Dennis in a three-page statement this week, saying they began to grow close in September 2015 when her mother fell ill and she had to be away taking care of the woman. A few months later, they began to have a sexual relationship. 'I tried several times to stop the affair but he would persist and tell me he loved me,' said Morgan. 'He said he wanted to leave his wife and if ever given the chance he would ask me to marry him. I would always give in because I believed him.' Then, Tammy discovered the two were have an affair claims Morgan. ext and making accusations. Some of them were very angry and vulgar. Mr. Reeves told me several times that his wife would ruin him if she found out, and that he would kill himself if it came out. He specifically said he would or should kill himself at least two times, and one time mentioned blowing his brains out. Because of this, I did not want to tell anyone, and had to lie to many people. By the end of the school year I started feeling pressure to find another job. Mr. Reeves' wife had given the ultimatum that either he had to find another job or I did. She wanted him to fire me. 'In January of 2016 she began contacting me by text and making accusations. Some of them were very angry and vulgar,' said Morgan. 'Mr. Reeves told me several times that his wife would ruin him if she found out, and that he would kill himself if it came out. He specifically said he would or should kill himself at least two times, and one time mentioned blowing his brains out. 'Because of this, I did not want to tell anyone, and had to lie to many people.' By the end of the school year however, there was an ultimatum. 'She wanted him to fire me,' said Morgan. The woman found another job and was free of Dennis she said, until she confessed to having an affair with him on May 23, the same day that Dennis took his life. 'On May 19, 2017, Mrs. Reeves sent me a text telling me that Mr. Reeves had confessed the affair to her,' said Morgan, who did not respond to the text. 'On May 22, 2017 she sent me another very threatening text. Again, I refused to respond.' Minor win: Tammy filed a restraining order to block the school from going through or removing any of her husband's possessions earlier this week (Kirbyville High School above) Attack: According to court documents, after Dennis admitted the affair, his wife sent Morgan, his former secretary an 'angry text message' Then, according to Morgan, Tammy took things a step further in trying to get her attention. 'I saw postings by Mrs. Reeves on the internet about me. They were very threatening and named me by name,' said Morgan. ' In one post, she was threatening to confront my children and tell them about me. I was afraid that the affair had been made public, and that I would lose my job. 'I made an appointment to meet with the Superintendent and tell him about the affair to save my job.' Tammy sent a string of abusive online and text messages to Morgan according to a court filing submitted by the school earlier this week revealed, calling her 'a lying piece of trash' in what school authorities described as 'fodder for a soap opera serial.' According to court documents, after Dennis admitted the affair, his wife sent Morgan, his former secretary an 'angry text message'. She wrote: 'He told me everything today. You are a lying piece of trash... Do your children know what their mother did?' Tammy then posted an image to social media on may 21 of a note that was allegedly written by the former secretary to the school official. She included her own message as well when she posted the image, which appeared to have been sent directly to secretary, writing: 'You realize you're still alive only because I can't afford a hitman, right?' She also described the woman as the 'secretary' who had been 'f****** my husband'. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox laid into President Trump again, this time labeling the leader 'a beast,' while attending an Oakland, California Cannabis conference. 'I think its distinctive to Donald Trump to be such an ignorant such a disrupter, to be such a destroyer,' Fox said at the Cannabis Business Summit, according to the local CBS affiliate. When asked how he would deal with Trump if he was still the president of Mexico, Fox replied, 'Don't ask me that question.' 'How do you treat beasts? You domesticate them. Or you at least try,' he continued. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox criticized President Trump at the National Cannabis Industry Conference in Oakland, California When asked how he would deal with President Trump, former Mexican President Vicente Fox said, 'How do you treat beasts? You domesticate them' 'When you create fire, you burn yourself. When you create a storm denigrating others, offending others you get what you promoted,' the ex-president added. Fox has given Trump frequent tongue-lashings. The original Fox outburst occurred in February of 2016 when the former Mexican leader went on a profanity-laced tirade, saying he would not pay for the 'f---ing wall.' Trump has long called for a border wall to be built between Mexico and the United States, promising supporters that he'd get Mexico to pay for it. Fox also called Trump 'ignorant,' 'crazy,' egocentric,' nasty' and a 'false prophet.' A year later, Fox tweeted a similar thing. 'Sean Spicer, I've said this to Donald Trump and now I'll tell you: Mexico is not going to pay for that f***ing wall,' Vicente tweeted. Shortly after Trump's election and around the time of Cuban leader Fidel Castro's death Fox said the American president was 'very similar' to the totalitarian leader. 'Cuba is going to be a great Latin American nation as soon as they get rid of the Castros,' Fox said during an appearance on Fox Business Network. By the way, that kind of dictatorship, that kind of totalitarian leaders, is very similar to Trump,' Fox continued. 'They lie, they cheat, they are false prophets, they promise many things, but they are not going to be able to comply,' Fox added. When the television host pushed back on Fox's assessment, the former Mexican leader refused to back down. 'No, I don't take it back, I insist,' he said. 'They are similar authoritarian. They impose their wills, they only think that they have the right and the reason.' 'He only won, in the case of Trump, with 25 percent of American citizens' support,' Fox continued, pointing out how Trump lost the popular vote to his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and that only about half those eligible to vote did so. 'That doesn't give him enough of a mandate to impose his own ideas over a nation and over the world,' Fox concluded. A 21-year-old man suffered severe burns after falling into a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park. Park officials say Gervais Dylan Gatete of Raleigh, North Carolina, was with seven other people when he fell at the Lower Geyser Basin, just north of Old Faithful, on Tuesday. The group began driving Gatete to receive medical aid but, just before midnight, they flagged down a ranger near Seven Mile Bridge, about 15 miles away. Gatete was taken by ambulance to the airport in West Yellowstone, Montana, and then flown a Salt Lake City burn center. Gervais Dylan Gatete, 21, of Raleigh, North Carolina, suffered severe burns after falling into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin (pictured) at Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday night. He's since been transported to a Salt Lake City burn center where his medical condition remains unknown Gatete works for Colorado-based Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a hospitality company that lists Yellowstone among its affiliated properties. DailyMail.com had reached out to the company for comment. Park spokeswoman Morgan Warthin says details of the incident are still under investigation, including how Gatete fell in. She did not know the 21-year-old's medical condition. 'Yellowstone's thermal features are dangerous,' said park superintendent Dan Wenk. 'We continually stress that people must stay on trails and boardwalks in geyser basins, not only to protect resources, but for their own safety.' Temperatures of the geyser waters can reach as high 199F (93C). This is the first serious injury in a thermal area in Yellowstone this year, but not the first time such an event has occurred. Last June, 23-year-old Oregon tourist Colin Scott left the boardwalk and died after slipping into a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin. In August 2000, a man died after he and two people received severe burns from falling into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin. New Jersey's GOP Governor Chris Christie has not only the lowest approval ratings in states polled by Quinnipiac, he has the lowest approval ratings of any governor polled by the University in the past 20 years. The poll, published Wednesday, showed a paltry 15 per cent of voters approve of Republican's job performance, which is down three percentage points from the May polls. It's the lowest rating in New Jersey's history. A whopping 81 per cent disapprove. Christie refused to take questions about the poll after an event he attended Wednesday. NJ Gov. Chris Christie is pictured at a press conference on jobs in March. A paltry 15 per cent of voters approve of Republican's job performance His historically low ratings have caused a ripple effect to his local Republican constituent, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. The survey shows Guadagno has an approval rating of just 25 per cent, and is trailing behind Democrat Phil Murphy who is pulling in a 55 per cent approval rating. Both are heading to New Jersey's gubernatorial race in November, as Christie is at his term-limit cap. Those polled blame Christie for bringing down his Lt. Gov's ratings, and, chances at the Governorship. Fifty-four per cent of those polled believed Guadagno's time as Christie's lieutenant governor led them to think less of her, though she has tried to distance herself from the scandal-plagued Governor. Christie has been dogged by negative headlines in recent years, starting with the George Washington Bridge lane closing scandal, also known as Bridgegate, back in 2013. That scandal saw two of Christie's allies convicted and another pleading guilty for plotting to close lanes of traffic as revenge for the Democratic Mayor of Fort Lee, NJ refusing to endorse Christie for the gubernatorial run that year. The GOP NJ Gov. has been plagued by scandal and falling ratings starting in 2013 during the George Washington Bridge scandal Christie has made a big push this year to address the state's opioid drug epidemic, including a series of commercials he is featured in, and has also begun frequently taking questions from the press again. However, despite his recent attempts, he has also been an outspoken supporter of Republican President Donald Trump, who has a 66 per cent disapproval rating in the state. The poll surveyed 1,103 voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 points. Beyond New Jersey, Quinnipiac does polls of governor's in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Children with allergies are either being tricked or forced into eating food they can't tolerate by school bullies, a study has revealed. Kids are suffering from painful allergic reactions and are even being hospitalised because of the bullying trend, Australian researchers said this week. Students with allergies which affects one in every 12 children in Australia are twice as likely to be targeted by bullies and may be considered easy targets because their allergy can isolate them. 'Some of the things include things as scary as being forced to eat the food they're allergic to, or people tricking them into eating food,' Andrew Fong from The University of New South Wales told 7News. Children with allergies are either being tricked or forced into eating food they can't tolerate by school bullies, Australian researchers revealed this week (pictured) Students with allergies are twice as likely to be targeted by bullies and may be considered easy targets because their allergy can isolate them (pictured) Food allergies affects one in every 12 children in Australia (pictured) 'They can be separated from their peers at schools, and they may not be invited to parties.' 'Kicked, teased, and bullying through social media as well,' he said. Some parents have turned to home schooling after their children were targeted, researchers said. The issue has also been a problem in other countries, researchers found. An ad campaign in the U.S. tries to combat children bullying each other based on food allergies. 'Some of the things include things as scary as being forced to eat the food they're allergic to, or people tricking them into eating food,' Mr Andrew Fong from The University of New South Wales said (pictured) The issue has also been discussed in the UK's parliament. Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia President Maria Said told The Courier Mail the company is aware of this kind of bullying in Australia. 'There is a lack of respect and understanding around allergies generally and, when it comes to children, there can be an element of jealousy some don't like the special attention focused on the food-allergic children,' she said. A Connecticut pastor was arrested after he allegedly forged deed documents and sold a church worth more than $1million to himself for just $1. Bishop Franklin Fountain has been charged with first-degree larceny and second-degree forgery. He is accused gifting the Fountain of Youth Cathedral in Bridgeport to himself, and if convicted of the charges, could face more than 20 years in prison. Bishop Franklin Fountain (left, pictured with wife Larissa Fountain) has been charged with first-degree larceny and second-degree forgery Fountain allegedly forged deed documents and sold the church (pictured) - worth an estimated $1.5million - to himself for just $1 Bridgeport police say they received a complaint from the church's board of directors and members of Fountain's family that Fountain had allegedly altered the deed documents and sold the church to himself without board authorization. The church property on 324 Madison Avenue is valued at $1.5million, the Connecticut Post reported, and city records list Fountain as the owner. Fountain, 55, who was released Wednesday on a promise to appear in court, says the case is 'ridiculous' and that he expects 'this will all be worked out'. The church was founded in 1960 by Fountain's father, Franklin D Fountain, who led the church up until 2004. Fountain (pictured sitting, with his wife) took over as head pastor when his father passed away in 2005 Fountain, 55 (pictured sitting, with his wife), who was released Wednesday on a promise to appear in court, says the case is 'ridiculous' and that he expects 'this will all be worked out' The Pentecostal church was founded in 1960 by Fountain's father, Franklin D Fountain, who led the church up until 2004. Fountain took over as head pastor when his father passed away in 2005, according to the Connecticut Post. His lawyer, Errol Sykes, told the newspaper he is waiting to see the police report before commenting. A fourth man has been charged over the February murder of a Chinese man in a makeshift Buddhist temple that is also believed to have served as a drug den. Police allege the 40-year-old man, who was arrested at Silverwater Prison about 9.30am on Wednesday was a driver for the other men arrested over the shooting of Qin Wu, 37. He was charged with accessory after the fact to murder, and deliver/attempt to deliver something to an inmate without authority. Scroll down for video Qin Wu (pictured) was shot dead on February 1 at a makeshift Buddhist temple which doubled as a drug den A 40-year-old man is the fourth person to be charged over the murder and police allege he drove the other men to and from the Guildford home (pictured) He was refused bail and will face Burwood Local Court on Thursday. Police believe Mr Wu was acting as peacemaker between two others when he was fatally shot in the Guildford home earlier this year. Three other men were arrested in relation to the murder last week, and police allege the 40-year-old charged yesterday drove the men to and from the makeshift temple where the murder took place. Ying Luo, 31, was already in jail on drugs charges when he was arrested by police for the shooting of Mr Wu. Luo - who was already in jail on drugs charges - is accused of running out of the Guildford temple during gunfire before returning and shooting himself in the leg with a handgun. He was arrested on Wednesday morning after investigations and charged with one count of murder and one of attempted murder and was refused bail. Ian Fan, 45, and Jaiyu Liu, 35, were arrested on Monday and also charged. Police believe Mr Wu was acting as peacemaker between two others when he was fatally shot in the home which doubled as a temple (pictured) earlier this year Dramatic bodycam footage has captured the moment a suspect was arrested in a raid for the murder of Mr Wu 'Get on the ground. Get your hands behind your back,' officers are heard screaming at the half-dressed suspect repeatedly in video footage of the raid Ian Fan, 45, charged in relation to the murder of Mr Wu is led away by police on Monday Dramatic bodycam footage captured the moment heavily armed police raided Fan's Croydon flat to make one of the arrests. 'Get on the ground. Get your hands behind your back,' officers are heard screaming at the half-dressed suspect repeatedly in video footage of the raid. He is later seen handcuffed and being escorted into custody by police, dressed in a a pair of shorts and a black shirt. Detective Sergeant Justin Moynihan said investigations in the circumstances surrounding Mr Wu's murder are continuing. The three other men arrested over Mr Wu's death have both been charged with one count of murder and attempted murder 'We are alleging that Qin was shot when he intervened during an argument between his friend and the men charged today,' Det Sgt Moynihan said. Forensic evidence indicated another person may have been shot in the gunfire, but despite searching hospitals across Sydney police did not find Mr Luo. The Guildford house was also the scene of an unrelated murder three years ago, NSW Police have confirmed. In 2014, Zhen Fang fatally stabbed Ting Huang, 25, whose decomposing body was found wrapped in a doona in a car boot near Rookwood cemetery in Lidcombe. Fang, 38, was sentenced in March to at least 14 years behind bars for the frenzied knife attack. In 2014, Zhen Fang (pictured) fatally stabbed Ting Huang, 25, whose decomposing body was found wrapped in a doona in a car boot near Rookwood cemetery in Lidcombe Britain's top water firm has been fined 8.6million for leaking millions of litres a day just after revealing it had paid 100million to its foreign owners. The penalty, imposed for allowing 677million litres of water to leak out every day last year, is Thames Waters second major fine this year. It was the maximum that could be imposed by the regulator, Ofwat, and follows a record 20.3million penalty in March for polluting the Thames with 1.4billion litres of raw sewage. Britain's top water firm has been fined 8.6million for leaking millions of litres a day just after revealing it had paid 100million to its foreign owners (Stock image) The latest fine came as Thames Water, which serves 15million people in London and the Thames Valley, said 100million in dividends was paid to investors last year. The Australian bank Macquarie earned 26million, while Abu Dhabis sovereign wealth fund took 10million. It came after profits plunged 86 per cent to 71.1million in the year to the end of March. Even though shareholders have taken millions out of Thames Water, it has not paid any corporation tax in the UK since 2006. Chief executive Steve Robertson, who earns 550,000, admitted the firm faced challenges during the year. Ofwat chief executive Cathryn Ross said yesterday: The failure by Thames Water to meet the leakage commitments it has made to its customers is unacceptable. Our performance commitment regime imposes significant penalties for failure to deliver the levels of performance that customers have paid for and consequently, Thames Water will now face the maximum penalty. The penalty, imposed for allowing 677million litres of water to leak out every day last year, is Thames Waters second major fine this year (Stock image) The regulator punished Thames Water months after a judge slammed it for polluting the Thames. Ordering the firm to pay 20.3million at Aylesbury Crown Court, Judge Francis Sheridan criticised it for a shocking and disgraceful state of affairs. Slamming its history of non-compliance, he added: It should not be cheaper to offend than to take appropriate precautions. Thames Water went into German hands in 2001 and was then bought by Macquarie in 2006 for 8billion. The bank has since offloaded its stake to investors from all over the world including Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Canada and China. Pauline Hanson made headlines again this week but it wasn't her often controversial opinion that attracted the attention. The One Nation party leader attended the Federal Parliament Midwinter Ball in Canberra on Wednesday dressed in a 'daring' plum lace dress. Ms Hanson's dress choice caught the attention of Sunrise presenters Samantha Armytage and David Koch on Thursday with Armytage raising her eyebrows at the garment choice. 'Pauline scrubs up quite well hers had a big daring split,' Armytage said. The One Nation party leader attended the Federal Parliament Midwinter Ball in Canberra on Wednesday dressed in a 'daring' plum lace dress (Ms Hanson pictured with Kieron Smedley) 'Look at the split. That'll warm you up on a chilly morning.' Sports reporter Mark Beretta also passed comment on the dress choice and overall glamour of the event saying: 'This is turning into Brownlow red carpet'. 'It did look very glam, it's very Met Gala,' Armytage said. Armytage also took a shot at Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce saying he dressed as if he was on his way to a 'B&S' - Bachelor and Spinster - Ball. 'Look at the split. That'll warm you up on a chilly morning,' Armytage said about the dress Armytage (pictured with David Koch) also took a jab at the men who chose to wear a tie rather than bow tie, claiming they didn't interpret the dress code correctly Mr Joyce was pictured with an Akubra hat and a whip in his hand as he arrived at the event. Armytage also took a jab at the men who chose to wear a tie rather than bow tie, claiming they didn't interpret the dress code correctly. 'A long black tie? Wear them to funerals! See I think that looks like you're going to a funeral. I don't think that looks like you're going to a ball,' she said. Mr Joyce was pictured with an Akubra hat and a whip in his hand at the Canberra ball 'That's what black tie means a bow tie. 'I like boys wearing bow ties to balls. It looks really smart.' Ms Armytage did not voice any disapproval of the young man pictured alongside Ms Hanson, who was smartly dressed in a bow tie and three-piece suit. Ms Hanson was pictured beaming as she stood with Kieron Smedley a young zoo keeper in Queensland. Ms Hanson was pictured beaming as she stood with Kieron Smedley a young zoo keeper in Queensland Sunrise co-host David Koch appeared awkward throughout the segment, cutting in at the end to tell his Armytage 'all right we can disagree' Sunrise co-host David Koch appeared awkward throughout the segment, cutting in at the end to tell his Armytage 'all right we can disagree'. 'Yes we do, often,' Armytage quipped back. 'Save your long black ties for the funerals.' You might think a railway station is just somewhere were charged an exorbitant amount of money to stand and wait a ridiculous amount of time. But our countrys rail network is a mine of fascinating history and trivia, and Geoff Marshall and his partner Vicki Pipe are determined to share it. The pair are now more than a month in to a 14-week odyssey taking them to every one of Britains 2,563 stations and documenting their trip with entertaining videos on YouTube that celebrate the whimsies and eccentricities of life on the rails. Classic weepie: Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard in the film Brief Encounter We wanted to do something memorable, says Geoff, 44, a film producer, while Vicki, who works at the London Transport Museum, is partly inspired by her great great-grandfather who was a signalman at Shippea Hill in Cambridgeshire (more of which later). There are certainly plenty of intriguing stories for them to share. The author T.E. Lawrence, for instance, left his only manuscript of The Seven Pillars Of Wisdom at Reading station (yes, it really was Reading) and had to re-write the whole thing from scratch. Sir Winston Churchill, meanwhile, decreed that if General Charles de Gaulle outlived him, and was therefore at his funeral, the train carrying his body to Oxfordshire for burial should leave London not from Paddington but from the less convenient Waterloo named in honour of that infamous victory over the French just so the President of France would have to visit it. (This is indeed what happened in 1965.) And did you know that it was on platform 2 of Dartford station, on October 17, 1961, that a young Keith Richards spotted a young Mick Jagger with two blues albums under his arm and got talking to him about music? CARNFORTH FOR A TEAR-JERKER The station that made a whole generation of Brits weep was Carnforth, Lancs because it was the setting for David Leans masterful romantic film, Brief Encounter about two people who fall in love but decide to put duty and their marriage vows first. Carnforth was chosen because of the danger of Nazi bombing nearer the Denham studios in Bucks, where the interiors were shot. Advertisement MELTON FOR A WARM BOTTOM There was luxury at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire: the first-class waiting room had a toilet seat heated by a hot-water pipe running through it. Many 19th-century stations provided Bibles for passengers to read during the often long waits, though just in case any felt disinclined to obey the commandment about not stealing, the books were chained up. Advertisement Geoff and Vickis journey using 14-day 745 All Line Rover tickets will take them from the most northerly to the most southerly station in Britain (Thurso and Penzance respectively), and from the Scottish station of Arisaig in the west to Suffolks Lowestoft in the east. Alphabetically the extremes are Abbey Wood (Kent) and Ystrad Rhondda (Wales), while the title of shortest name is shared by 11 three-letter stations. Some are well-known, like Rye and Ely, but theres also IBM in Scotland, which originally served one of the computer companys factories. Britains stations are also wonderful examples of its engineering greatness. The pillars in the basement of Londons St Pancras (where you now wait to board the Eurostar) are spaced exactly three beer barrels apart: the station was designed with the Bass brewery in mind, so they could store their product there after it was transported down from the Midlands. Theres plenty of artistic creativity associated with them as well. Not just Mick and Keef: Paul Simon wrote Homeward Bound on Widnes station while playing British folk clubs in the 1960s. The Beatles filmed the opening scene of their movie A Hard Days Night at Marylebone station in London on March 2, 1964. The experience of waiting at stations has changed over the years. Youre no longer allowed to smoke, of course except at Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, where the only place for smokers other than the platform would be near a level-crossing, which is deemed far too dangerous. There were different hazards at Ingra Tor Halt station on Dartmoor: In the interests of game preservation and for their protection against the bites of snakes etc, dogs should be kept on a lead. And when he wasnt using stations to tease French generals, Winston Churchill was rather wary of them, because of the depression that plagued him all his life (his Black Dog). I dont like standing near the edge of a platform when an express train is passing through, he said. A seconds action would end everything. When the current Euston station opened in London in 1968, there were no seats, in case any non-passengers such as tramps decided to use them. A far cry from the old station, which had a Writing Room in which you could dictate letters and have them typed up while you waited. It was while he was waiting at Exeter station with nothing to read that Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin, had the idea for cheap paperback books you could carry round in your pocket, starting a publishing revolution. Meanwhile, Edinburghs Waverley is the only station in the world to be named after a novel (given that Westward Ho! halt in Devon has long closed). The hotel next door to the station, the Balmoral, keeps its clock three minutes fast to help people catch their trains. Politicians spend plenty of time at stations travelling to and from their constituencies, though Tory MP Norman St John-Stevas took it to another level. Accused of not spending enough time in his Chelmsford constituency he preferred the social whirl of the capital he rented a flat above the station to make it easier for him to slip out and onto the last train back to London without being spotted. His fellow Tory Alec Douglas-Home was once out shooting near a railway line, and bagged a woodcock that fell straight into the Flying Scotsman passing below. The driver left it at Berwick-upon-Tweed station, whence Douglas-Home collected it later. One of the most famous British train platforms is Harry Potters 9 though if you visit the luggage trolley magically sticking out of a wall at Londons Kings Cross youll notice its actually between platforms 8 and 9 Back to Reading for another political connection when a group of patients from a psychiatric hospital boarded a train there and joined Denis Thatcher in an otherwise empty carriage. Their carer counted the patients: One, two, three, four He reached Thatcher. Who are you? Im the Prime Min-isters husband. The carer continued: Yes, of course. Six, seven, eight, nine One of the most famous British train platforms is Harry Potters 9 though if you visit the luggage trolley magically sticking out of a wall at Londons Kings Cross youll notice its actually between platforms 8 and 9. This is because J. K. Rowling mixed up her stations when she wrote the books: she was actually thinking of Euston. The least-used station only 12 people a year is the aforementioned Shippea Hill in Cambridgeshire. (Even its Hill makes no sense: its below sea level.) Back in the Twenties the line passing through Capel station in Suffolk was so quiet that one passenger, a Miss Richardson, forgot her umbrella, went on holiday for two weeks and returned to find the brolly in the rack exactly where shed left it. About 150 of Britains stations are request stops, where you have to flag down the train as you would a bus. These are marked in the timetable with an x for instance 15x09 instead of 15 09. One of them is Duncraig in the Scottish Highlands, on the lovely line to Kyle of Lochalsh. In fact it was scheduled to be closed as part of the infamous cuts ordered by Dr Richard Beeching in the 1960s but the train drivers simply ignored the order and carried on stopping there as usual (or not stopping, if no one requested it). After 11 years of this splendid cocking a snook at the bureaucrats, the authorities quietly put it back on the timetable. Hi Everyone! I'm very happy to announce that Book #1 of my Men of Legend series -- TO LOVE A TEXAS RANGER is only $1.25 on Amazon and $1.99 at B&N and Kobo. The sale only lasts until Monday, June 19, 2017 so hurry before it goes up. Gravely injured on the trail of a notorious criminal, Texas Ranger Sam Legend boards a train bound for his family ranch to recuperateonly to find himself locked in battle to save a desperate woman on the run. Determined to rescue the beautiful Sierra, Sam recruits an unlikely ally. But can he trust the mysterious gunslinger to fight at his side? Sam is shocked to discover his new ally is not only an outlaw, but his half-brother he knew nothing about. Torn between loyalty to his job and love of his family, Sam goes reeling straight into Sierras arms. Yet just as the walls around his battered heart begin to crumble, Sierra is stolen away. Sam will risk anything to save herhis life, his badge, his very soulknowing that some bonds are stronger than the lawand some legends were born to be told. Brodays Westerns always captivate. RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars One of the best historical western authors. Fresh Fiction Poignant, dramatic and packed with action and mystery. Addicted to Romance The state of Texas has 268,597 square miles so its no wonder we have huge ranches. Some are simply too enormous to comprehend. So I had no trouble setting a big ranch here for my latest Men of Legend series. My fictional Lone Star Ranch is a little on the puny side at 480,000 acres. I modeled it to some degree after the Waggoner Ranch which was 510,000 acres in 1954. The Waggoner Ranch also fit the location of mine in North Texas, not far from the Red River. The largest ranch in the world in 1880 was the XIT Ranch (stands for Ten in Texas) at a whopping three million acres and covered practically all of West Texas and the Panhandle. To put this in perspective, thats roughly 4,687 square miles. Just think how long it would take to ride over by horseback. Book #2 of this series - The Heart of a Texas Cowboy came out last month (May 2017.) And Book #3 To Marry a Texas Outlaw - will release this November. Here are the links for TO LOVE A TEXAS RANGER : Have you ever been to a working ranch or a dude ranch? If so, what did you most like about it? I knew from the moment Sam Legend sauntered onto the page that he was going to be one of largest and unique characters I've ever created. He's bold and tough and will ride through hell in pursuit of an outlaw. Sam doesn't back down from anyone...except the beautiful Sierra Hunt.In Texas some Legends are born, some are made, and some are created by destiny.Sam is the youngest of Stoker Legend's three boys and he's helped to scrawl their name across the rugged Texas land. When Sierra Hunt falls into his lap, he knows he's bitten off far more than he chew. The 80-year-old pensioner was named as former Oxford don Brian Bellhouse An 80-year-old millionaire 'was trying to save a dog' when a herd of cows trampled him to death in a picturesque countryside village field. Former Oxford don Brian Bellhouse, was killed in the idyllic Sussex village of Guestling while out walking. It has now been revealed he was trying to save his beloved 12-year-old black Labrador, Baldrick, from being trampled as he feared his arthritis would prevent him from escaping. Paul Elliot, a farmer, 62, told The Times the cows and the calves may have been agitated before Professor Bellhouse arrived with Baldrick and his other dog, a younger golden retriever. He said: 'Most dogs can easily outrun a cow but the majority of us humans can't. 'It's an easy decision to say you shouldn't intervene and mostly the dog will come out of it alright, but its hard when it's your dog.' Emergency crews were called after another walker heard someone scream out for help, close to a 11th-century church. A helicopter was scrambled and paramedics from the air ambulance began administering CPR but they were unable to save him and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Prof Bellhouse, who was believed to have lived five miles away in Winchelsea, East Sussex, and was a company directer of Woodruff Farm Ltd. He became an overnight millionaire through the invention of a device for needle-free injections, helping raise his company PowderJect's value to more than half a billion pounds. The firm was sold for a massive 542million to US pharmaceutical group Chiron in 2003. Professor Bellhouse picked up 19.5 million for his 3.6% stake in the company. Police said that they were not treating the death of the former Magdalen college academic as suspicious and passed on the details to the coroner. The tragic incident happened near Saint Laurence, an 11th century church near Guestling, in East Sussex A spokesman for Sussex Police said: 'An 80-year-old man died after being found trampled in a field of cattle at Church Lane, Guestling, yesterday/on Monday. 'Police and paramedics performed CPR after being called at 11.02am and an air ambulance landed at the scene, but he was sadly pronounced dead at 11.46am. 'There are no suspicious circumstances and the matter has been passed to the coroner's officer.' Brian Bellhouse with his daughter Cathy Curtis. The former Oxford don pocketed a windfall for a device inventing a needle-free injection In a statement Magdalen College said that Professor Bellhouse would be deeply missed. It said: 'The College is very sad to announce that Professor Brian Bellhouse has passed away at the age of 80. 'Brian Bellhouse came up to Magdalen in 1957 to read for a Brian Bellhouse came up to Magdalen in 1957 to read for a degree in Mathematics. 'He obtained his DPhil in Engineering Science in 1964 and was then made a Fellow by Examination. He was elected an Official Fellow in Engineering Science in 1966. On his retirement in 2004 he was elected an Emeritus Fellow.' They were to be Britains streets in the sky, bringing futuristic home comforts to former slum-dwellers and Blitz survivors. Some 6,500 local authority tower blocks were built in their post-World War II heyday. But many proved to be high-rise dead-ends. And, in the very worst cases, death-traps. The Grenfell Tower inferno is the latest tragedy in the troubled history of British multi-storey living. That it has occurred as we are witnessing a sharp revival in the construction of sky-scraping apartment blocks is a timely reminder of the hazards they can present. Red Road, In Glasgow, has thankfully now been demolished. Its completion in 1968 came at the zenith of Britain's misguided love-affair with tower blocks The French modernist architect Le Corbusier is regarded as the father of the residential tower block. His vision of building vertical communities using concrete rather than brick his first and most influential multi-storey estate was in the sun-drenched city of Marseilles chimed with the desperate housing needs of post-war metropolitan Britain across the Channel. Clearance of the insanitary, low-rise slum areas of our Victorian industrial cities started in the Thirties. But by 1945 a further four million homes had been destroyed or damaged by the Luftwaffe. The residential housing crisis had grown acute. Many local authorities were drawn to the high-density Le Corbusier model that was under construction: build upwards rather than outwards. It was to prove a long and painful lesson in the pitfalls of urban planning. Britains first residential tower block was The Lawn in Harlow New Town, completed in 1951. It had ten floors and each of its 40 homes had a south-facing balcony and private indoor lavatory. The concrete core was clad in brick and the whole development surrounded by public space. The Lawn seemed to herald a brave new world. In fact, it was a false dawn. Ronan Point, in Newham, East London, should have been a lesson in cheaply-constructed towers. A gas explosion in 1968 caused one side of the block to collapse Much of the developments that followed were far larger and fashioned in the Brutalist style characterised by simple, block-like forms and raw concrete construction. And while views from the upper floors were often spectacular, the human scale was lacking. The blocks resembled factories where their residents often worked or prison wings. Warrens of concrete walkways, stairwells and steel-lifts did little to encourage regrowth in uprooted communities. Instead, they fostered anti-social behaviour and crime. Nor were these streets in the sky suitable or safe for children. Whats more, many were built on the edges of towns, where land was cheap but residents were poorly served by transport links and amenities. Above all, the building materials and techniques soon proved to be shoddy. Corners were cut sometimes as a result of corrupt relationships between local councillors and construction magnates. Not surprisingly, the concrete facades did not wear as well in the British weather. Doors did not fit, roofs leaked. The communal heating systems did not work. Many new highrises were prefabricated off site and bolted together like a Meccano kit. Engineering and safety standards were not adhered to. Despite the early warning signs, the towers kept coming. When completed in 1977, the Aylesbury estate in South London was the largest in Europe Le Corbusiers Utopian theory quickly became a dystopian reality. The tower-block boom reached its zenith in the mid-Sixties, when it accounted for a quarter of all new public housing. When completed in 1967, the 31-storey Red Road flats on the estate in Glasgow made it the tallest residential development in Europe. The following year saw work begin on Trellick Tower, perhaps Britains most famous and controversial residential skyscraper. Less than a mile from Grenfell, it was regularly voted one of the ugliest buildings in Britain. Designed by fashionable modernist architect Erno Goldfinger, its construction began at a time when an incident suddenly challenged faith in skyscrapers. Early on May 16, 1968, a gas stove exploded on the 18th floor of the new, 22-storey Ronan Point development in Newham, East London. It caused one corner of the tower to collapse. Miraculously, only four residents were killed with another 17 injured. It was later proved that the prefabricated building method used on others like it had an inherent weakness. Lakanal House in Camberwell went up in flames in 2009, in frighteningly similar circumstances to Grenfell Tower When one panel was forced forward by the explosion, the wall above collapsed like a pack of cards. Inevitably, commissions for new tower blocks slowed. Meanwhile, Trellick became known as the tower of terror as criminals exploited the lack of any concierge, meaning anyone could roam the block unchallenged. Vandals sabotaged a fire hydrant on the 25th floor causing a power cut throughout the tower over one Christmas week. Corridors became the haunt of drunks, drug addicts, sexual predators, prostitutes and rough sleepers. Muggings were a daily fact of life. One of the last and most notorious examples of Britains tower block building programme was the sprawling Aylesbury estate in South London. When completed in 1977, it was the largest in Europe. Twenty years on, Tony Blair made his first speech as prime minister there, describing residents as forgotten people. In 2009, tragedy struck again when a fire at Lakanal House in Camberwell killed six people and injured many others. The 14-storey block had no fire sprinkler system and Southwark Council (which owns 300 tower blocks, more than any local authority in Britain) was fined 570,000 for safety failings. Separately, an investigation two years ago found only 13 per cent of councils that owned high-rise residential accommodation had fitted sprinkler systems. No wonder an estimated half of the tower blocks built in the years after the end of World War II have been demolished. By 2000, Glasgows Red Road was a semi-derelict dumping ground for asylum-seekers, like many other sink estates across the country, and over the next decade they were emptied and flattened. The Trellick Tower, in west London, is often voted the ugliest building in the capital - and quickly became a haven for drugs, sex offenders, and other criminals The old North Peckham estate, where ten-year-old Damilola Taylor bled to death in a concrete stairwell in 2000 after being stabbed, has gone. So, too, has the Aylesbury estate nearby. Grenfell, like many others, survived and was refurbished. Perversely, Trellick became a trendy high-rise for hipsters with a veggie cafe. And, as Londons population swelled, housing was at a premium and foreign investment poured into the city, towers began sprouting up again. Elsewhere, the 47-storey Beetham Tower in Manchester became the tallest residential building in the UK in 2006. In the same year, a law made it obligatory for all new high-rises to have a sprinkler system but wasnt back-dated to make sure existing blocks were given them. The boom continues. More skyscrapers were built in Britain last year than in any previous year and at least 60 will be built in London in 2018. Previous generations ripped out traditional town centres to make way for thousands of high-rise buildings. Many now say its our generations duty to act now and pull down what remains of these dangerous, ageing monstrosities. Sex offences committed by migrants in Germany have doubled to more than 3,000 in a single year, official figures have shown. A new report issued by the German Government states that there were 3,404 sex crimes involving migrants last year compared with 1,683 in 2015. The crimes range from less serious crimes up to rape. The number of sex offences committed by migrants has risen in Germany (file image shows police officers arresting a Syrian man accused of smuggling migrants from Austria to Germany) According to HeatStreet, data analysis by the Gatestone Institute think tank, the most frequently recorded nationalities were Syrian, Afghan, Iraqi, Pakistani, Iranian, Algerian and Moroccan. This comes after the number of migrant criminal suspects in Germany soared by more than 50 per cent in 2016, according to data from the Interior Ministry. Police were hunting 174,000 suspects classed as immigrants in 2016, the data showed, 52.7 per cent more than in the previous year. Crimes motivated by Islamism also increased by 13.7 per cent. That includes the truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market by a failed Tunisian asylum seeker. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned that crimes committed by refugees had 'increased disproportionately' last year. The crimes range from less serious crimes up to rape. This comes after the number of migrant criminal suspects in Germany soared by more than 50 per cent in 2016 (file photo) Migrants accounted for 8.6 percent of all crime suspects in Germany in 2016, up from 5.7 percent the previous year. Mr De Maiziere blamed the high crime rate among migrants on their housing , saying that many were living in makeshift shelters or sharing crowded rooms in 2016. The number of attacks on refugee homes has declined for the first time since data started being collected in 2014. Some 995 were carried out in 2016, compared with 1,031 the previous year. Under the German system immigrants are classed as people who are applying for asylum, refugees, illegal immigrants and those whose deportation has been temporarily suspended. The boss of the company paid almost 3million for the cladding at Grenfell Tower that sparked 'like a match' is holed up in his 1million home today. But Ray Bailey's company secretary wife Belinda spoke at their grand house in Crowborough, East Sussex, and denied any knowledge about work at the west London block where at least 17 died yesterday. Mother-of-three Mrs Bailey, whose Facebook profile shows her sitting next to a tiger on an exotic holiday and enjoying luxurious ski trips, insisted there 'was nothing to say' from behind electric gates with a Porsche and a Land Rover parked in the drive. Her businessman husband Ray, 58, who entered the curtain walling business straight from university, brags of 25 years of 'practical experience' on Harley Facades Ltd's website. Experts were last night focusing their blame for the scale of the disaster on external cladding fitted to the block only last year - with witnesses describing how it acted like a 'firelighter' on a barbecue as flames engulfed Grenfell in 15 minutes. Raymond Bailey is the director of Harley Facades Limited which carried out cladding work on Grenfell Tower in a contract valued at 2.6 million Mother-of-three Mrs Bailey, whose Facebook profile shows her sitting next to a tiger on an exotic holiday in 2011, insisted there 'was nothing to say' last night The couple live in this grand house with large garden and swimming pool in Crowborough, East Sussex Left, the fire rages early on Wednesday morning and flames continued to rip through flats in the block almost 24 hours after it started The 27-storey Grenfell building, which was built in 1974 but refurbished last year, has an average of six flats per floor was reclad in a 10m refurbishment completed last year Grenfell Tower was equipped with metal overcladding by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited in a contract valued at 2.6 million, according to the firm's website. Ray and Belinda Bailey were director and secretary of Harley Curtain Wall, which went bust in 2015 owing creditors 1 million, it has been reported. A customer demanded 428,000 for disputed work and the company in total owed 1.18 million, according to The Times. But it was later bought by Harley Facades Ltd, Mr Bailey's other firm, for 24,900, which according to its latest accounts has 151,000 in the bank and made 299,000 profit last year. His mother Janet told The Sun last night: 'I've heard about the fire but wasn't aware Raymond's company was involved. But they've always got to blame someone, haven't they?' The company, which installed but did not manufacture the panels, said they were a 'commonly used product in the refurbishment industry'. The father-of-three, 58, said last night: 'This is an incredibly tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the residents and their families who have suffered such a personal loss. 'We will fully support and co-operate with the investigations into this fire. At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower.' Their mansion has three buildings with a large, covered swimming pool attached to the main house. Four cars including a Land Rover and a Porsche were parked outside. The property is in the exclusive village of Crowborough which is also home to a string of celebrities. The drive leading to the house can only be reached through locked electric gates. Mr Bailey describes himself as enjoys Skiing, motor sport, and is a long time loyal fan of Tottenham Hotspur. He has three sons, including Ben, 27, who was listed as a director of the defunct Harley Curtain Wall business. Belinda Bailey, pictured on a ski trip, has served as secretary for her husband's cladding company Their mansion has three buildings with a large, covered swimming pool attached to the main house. Four cars including a Land Rover and a Porsche were parked outside Harley Facades congratulated themselves on the work they had done at Grenfell on their Facebook page This aerial photo taken hours after the fire ripped through the tower block shows the devastating scale of the inferno Burning debris falls from a massive fire that raged in a high-rise apartment building in London and killed at least 17 The charred debris likely from Grenfell's cladding lies on grass below the tower A children's play area is filled with debris directly under Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate Cladding is a material attached to a building's frame to create an outer wall (shown in this graphic). The process of applying the rain-proof frontage can create a 25mm-30mm cavity between the cladding and the insulation behind it, shown between the first two layers A Facebook post by his father's company after the work at Grenfell was completed it referred to 'Ben and his team'. Away from work Belinda Bailey appears to own a number of designer cats and belongs to a breeder's group on Facebook. Photographs from her profile also show her enjoying holidays by the sea - apparently in Britain and abroad - and in the Alps. Councils turned to cladding to meet standards set by Blair government scheme Cladding became popular as councils sought to meet insulation standards laid out under the Blair Government's 22billion Decent Homes Programme, which ran from 2000 to 2010. The programme's rules dictated that homes should have efficient heating and effective insulation, modern facilities and be in a good state of repair. For high-rise council blocks, local authorities were faced with either knocking them down, meaning they would have to find or build homes elsewhere, or refurbishing them. The latter option was much cheaper, despite the millions of pounds then pumped into the scheme. In London alone, it is believed more than 820million in public funds were paid to contractors to make alterations. Local authorities turned to cladding the outside of old council house stock, including tower blocks, in a bid to improve the buildings' appearance and the improve so-called 'thermal efficiency' ratings. A press release by a cladding firm from the time stated: 'Over-cladding existing homes to improve their energy efficiency as well as aesthetics is proving the solution of choice for local authorities in their bid to meet Decent Homes standards.' The statement gave examples in Bristol and Lanarkshire where cladding had been used to meet the terms of the programme. A architect was quoted at the time saying: 'The main priorities were to eliminate water ingress, improve the thermal efficiency of the blocks, and enhance the physical appearance of the external envelope.' Advertisement Grenfell Tower was clad last year as part of an 8.6million refurbishment builders Rydon, whose boss also appears to live in east Sussex, and insisted yesterday that its work 'met all required building controls'. Rydon's CEO Robert Bond said last night the work 'met all required building regulations' and was signed off by the council's building control. He said: 'We were shocked to hear of the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower and our immediate thoughts are with those that have been affected by the incident, their families, relatives and friends. 'We are working with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their enquiries into the causes of this fire.' Mr Bond, who has four daughters Lucy, 27, Sophie, 26, Amelia, 23, and Ella, 20, and lives in a 2million mansion on a private estate in Orpington, Kent. They are believed to own an Aston Martin with a private 'Bond' number plate and a silver convertible Porsche was parked outside his impressive home today. His wife Tina Bond answered the door of her mansion when asked for comment and if her husband was home. She said: 'Thank you and goodbye' before closing the door. The married couple appear to share a love for classic sports cars and posed together in front a classic silver Ferrari. Mrs Bond's Facebook account shows the family enjoy a luxury lifestyle the family enjoy including holidaying on a yacht. One photograph showed Mrs Bond and her four daughters posing in bikinis in crystal clear waters on an exotic holiday to a destination that appears to be in south-east Asia. The 8.6million refurbishment by East Sussex-based builders Rydon and the cladding by Harley Facades Ltd is in the spotlight after the fire. Theresa May has today ordered a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster because of the scale of deaths, the speed in which the building was engulfed by flames and claims it was unsafe before the blaze. Rydon's CEO Robert Bond (pictured with his wife at a classic car event, and right as a clown on Facebook) said last night the work 'met all required building regulations' and was signed off by the council's building control Rydon boss Robert Bond lives in the circled 2million mansion with swimming pool on a private estate in Orpington, Kent The Rydon CEO has an Aston Martin with a private 'Bond' number plate pictured here next to the family's silver Porsche The construction boss and his wife Tina (pictured) appear to enjoy sailing and exotic holidays around the world Grenfell Tower before the refurbishment (left) in 2011 and with the new cladding (right) London Mayor Sadiq Khan has backed the decision but wants an initial investigation published by the 'end of the summer' because scores of high-rise blocks across the UK could be death traps. Grenfell Tower in White CIty was equipped with overcladding in 2016 by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited and ordered by contractor Rydon. It has since come to light that the firm has used a similar aluminium composite material (ACM) to clad several high rises and public buildings throughout the UK, raising fears for the safety of thousands of other residents. Robert Black, boss of Grenfell's landlord Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, waves as he leaves his South London home today Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of 16 million, as was Ferrier Point, a 23-storey block with 115 flats in Newham, east London, in 2015. Six tower blocks in Harrow, northwest London, were given the rainproof cladding when it was refurbished in 2015 in a contract worth 3.5 million, as was the 13-storey Merit House, home to 114 flats in Barnet, north London. The cladding was made from metal panels and slabs of a polystyrene-like material, separated by a small cavity, fixed to the concrete surface of the outside of the tower. Together with new windows, the cladding was meant to boost the building's energy efficiency, protect against the weather and smarten up the look of the 1970s facade. But it appears to provide a fatal conduit for the flames to leap from one flat to another, with witnesses saying the outside of the block ignited 'like a firelighter'. There are fears that hundreds of high-rise blocks across the UK are fitted with similar materials even though MPs warned of the potential fire risk nearly 20 years ago. A report in 1999 by the Environment, Transport and the Regions select committee said: 'We do not believe that it should take a serious fire in which many are killed before all reasonable steps are taken towards minimising the risks.' Left, the fire ages through several floors of the Grenfell Tower, centre, the inferno rips through the building towards the top floors and right, firefighters attempt to battle the flames on Wednesday morning Pictured: The new plastic cladding hangs charred and melted underneath the windows of the Grenfell tower in west London Cladding company has covered six other blocks in panels 'that went up like a matchstick' in London ALONE Fears are growing for hundreds of families living in tower blocks after it was revealed the firm which supplied the panels at the centre of the west London inferno has also carried out similar work across the capital. Grenfell Tower was equipped with overcladding by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited in a contract valued at 2.6 million. It has since come to light that the firm has used a similar aluminium composite material (ACM) to clad several high rises and public buildings throughout the UK, raising fears for the safety of thousands of other residents. Ferrier Point left), a 23-storey block with 115 flats in Newham, east London, was clad in an aluminium composite material in 2015. Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London (pictured right) were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of 16million Castlemaine Tower (pictured left), a 23-storey block in Battersea, south London, was clad and refurbished by the firm in 2014, as was Clements Court (right) in Hounslow, west London Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of 16million, as was Ferrier Point, a 23-storey block with 115 flats in Newham, east London, in 2015. Six tower blocks in Harrow, northwest London, were given the rainproof cladding when it was refurbished in 2015 in a contract worth 3.5million, as was the 13-storey Merit House, home to 114 flats in Barnet, north London. Castlemaine Tower, a 23-storey block in Battersea, south London, was clad and refurbished by the firm in 2014, as was Clements Court in Hounslow, west London. The material is set to be at the centre of an investigation into fire safety after witnesses claimed it 'went up like a matchstick', helping spreading the fire from the fourth floor to the roof in just 15 minutes. Six tower blocks in Harrow, northwest London (left), were given the rainproof cladding when it was refurbished in 2015 in a contract worth 3.5million, as was the 13-storey Merit House (shown right), home to 114 flats in Barnet, north London Advertisement The MPs highlighted concerns that the small air cavity between the layers of cladding can act as a chimney, helping the fire spread rapidly upwards. Their report demanded that 'all external cladding systems should be required either to be entirely non-combustible, or to be proved through full-scale testing not to pose an unacceptable level of risk in terms of fire spread'. Did the building's new cladding make the fire much worse? The cladding used on Grenfell Tower may have exacerbated the fire, it has been claimed. Rainscreen cladding, which was added during the block's refurbishment, can act as a 'chimney' for fires because of its ventilated cavities. Many have speculated as to whether this could have made the fire worse, and led to it spreading quickly and trapping residents. Jack Monroe, a former fire fighter, tweeted about the incident and said: 'Whoever signed off on that cladding needs to be hauled before a court and held fully accountable for every single fatality and injury. Chartered surveyor and fire expert Arnold Tarling, from Hindwoods, said that the process can create a 25mm-30mm cavity between the cladding and the insulation. 'It produces a wind tunnel and also traps any burning material between the rain cladding and the building. 'So had it been insulated per se, the insulation could fall off and fall away from the building, but this is all contained inside.' He said not all insulation used in the process is the more expensive non-flammable type 'So basically you have got a cavity with a fire spreading behind it.' Rydon carried out an 8.6 million project, completed in May 2016, to modernise the outside of the building, which saw new cladding and windows installed. In a statement, the Sussex-based firm said it was shocked by the 'devastating' blaze, adding: 'Rydon completed a refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for KCTMO (Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) on behalf of the council, which met all required building control, fire regulation, and health and safety standards'. Advertisement But the method was popular as councils sought to meet insulation standards laid out under the Blair Government's 22billion Decent Homes Programme, which ran from 2000 to 2010. It continued to be used even after the 2009 fire at the 14-storey Lakanal House in Camberwell, South East London, which killed six people. Sam Webb, a fire safety expert who helped gather evidence after that tragedy, said last night there was a conflict between safety and the materials used to make buildings more energy efficient. 'They are not fire-resistant and in some cases they're flammable,' he said. Fires involving cladding have also occurred in Australia, Russia and the Arabian Peninsula adding to the serious safety concerns. They include two in Dubai, one on New Year's Eve 2015 at the 63-storey The Address Downtown and a second last July at the 75-storey Sulafa Tower. Grenfell Tower was clad last year as part of an 8.6million refurbishment by East Sussex-based builders Rydon, which said yesterday that its work 'met all required building controls'. Yet the company admits on its website that the insulation material used, Celotex RS5000, 'will burn if exposed to a fire of sufficient heat and intensity [and] toxic gases will be released with combustion'. Design specifications seen by the Mail suggests Grenfell Tower had 150mm (6in) of Celotex RS5000 insulation and overcladding made from ACM aluminium composite material with a 50mm (2in) 'ventilated cavity' in between. ACM is also potentially highly flammable and rescuers yesterday faced the hazard of blazing metal panels raining down on them as they tried to enter the building. Arnold Tarling, chartered surveyor and fire expert with property firm Hindwoods, said the air cavity could create a 'wind tunnel [that] traps any burning material between the rain cladding and the building'. 'Had there merely been one layer of insulation, this could have fallen off and fallen away from the building but the metal cladding meant it was all contained inside. Not all insulation used in the process is the more expensive non-flammable type,' he said. 'So basically you have got a cavity with a fire spreading behind it.' Dr Kostas Tsavdaridis, associate professor of structural engineering at the University of Leeds said: 'The fire seems to have not only spread the inside the building but also outside. There is a trend nowadays where architects and designers use decorative materials to make buildings more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. 'Some materials used in facades act as significant fire loads: although theoretically they are fire resistant, in most cases they are high-temperature resistant instead of fire resistant. But even if they are, smoke and fire will spread through the joints and connections.' Celotex, which is based near Ipswich, said: 'Our thoughts are with those affected by the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower in London. Our records show a Celotex product (RS5000) was purchased for use in refurbishing the building. 'If required, we will assist with enquiries from the relevant authorities at the appropriate time.' Plans for the externals works at Grenfell Tower were approved by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In May 2016, after the work was completed, council leader Nick Paget-Brown said: 'It is remarkable to see first-hand how the cladding has lifted the external appearance of the tower and how the improvements inside people's homes will make a big difference to their day-to-day lives.' Pauline Hanson turned heads at Parliament House when she brought a handsome young crocodile handler as her date to the Midwinter Ball. Wearing a show-stopping plum lace dress, the One Nation leader beamed as she posed with her youthful date - who looked dapper in a slick black tie tuxedo. Her date has since been revealed as Kieron Smedley - a zoo keeper from a family-owned wildlife park Ms Hanson visited during her election campaign in 2016. Mr Smedley works with native reptiles and marsupials at the Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary in the small coastal town of Yeppoon, in central Queensland. Pauline Hanson brought a handsome young crocodile handler as her date to the Midwinter Ball Ms Hanson turned heads in a plum lace dress, while her youthful date looked dapper in a tux Her date has since been revealed as Kieron Smedley, a zoo keeper from central Queensland Ms Hanson appears to regularly visit the park, posting updates on social media to praise the zoo's hands-on policy with its animals and hardworking volunteers. Ms Hanson and Mr Smedley beamed for cameras at the charity event in Canberra, walking side by side as photographers snapped away. The pair were joined by a collection of Australia's political elite, who gathered in the nation's capital to indulge in some glitz and glamour. Politicians dressed to the nines to raise money for charity, and leading the charge in a flurry of purple were Julie Bishop, Chloe Shorten and Pauline Hanson. Flanked by their partners, Australia's high-profile political ladies made a statement in flowing gowns with sparkles, frills and feathers in Canberra on Wednesday. Mr Smedley (centre) works with reptiles and marsupials at his family-owned Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary. Ms Hanson visits the zoo regularly and praises its culture The glamorous pair were dressed to the nines for the charity event Ms Hanson appears to regularly visit the park, posting updates on social media to praise the zoo's hands-on policy with its animals But it was Ms Hanson's dress choice that caught the attention of Sunrise presenters Samantha Armytage and David Koch on Thursday, with Armytage raising her eyebrows at the garment choice. 'Pauline scrubs up quite well hers had a big daring split,' Armytage said. 'Look at the split. That'll warm you up on a chilly morning.' Sports reporter Mark Beretta also passed comment on the dress choice and overall glamour of the event saying: 'This is turning into Brownlow red carpet'. An employee at Cooberrie Sanctuary refused to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. Daily Mail Australia has also approached Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party for comment. A teenager who killed a mother-of-two when he slammed a stolen truck into her car at 188km/h will be eligible for parole in just 10 months. The boy, who was 15 at the time, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in relation to the horror smash that claimed the life of 48-year-old Nicole Tucker in Adelaide last year. In the District Court on Thursday he was jailed for at least 18 months but with time already served he can apply for parole after 10 months. Ms Tucker was waiting at a red light on a major expressway on October 6 when a stolen Holden utility truck driven by the 15-year-old boy and his 17-year-old passenger crashed into her car and caused it to burst into flames. Nicole Tucker, 48, was waiting at a red light in Adelaide, on October 6, when a stolen Holden ute driven by a 15-year-old boy and his 17-year-old passenger crashed into her car The boy, who was 15 at the time, pleaded guilty to causing Ms Tucker's death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to 18 months in jail this week The heartbroken family of Ms Tucker have called the teenage driver 'nothing but scum' in emotional statements presented to the District Court earlier this year. 'You are still here and my beautiful wife is gone ... it's wrong, it should be the other way around ... you are nothing but scum,' Ms Tucker's husband Brett told the teenager, The Advertiser reported. Ms Tucker's brother, Kent Thiele, also said he wished the 15-year-old could trade places with his sister, saying that would be 'real justice'. With time served, the teen will be eligible for parole in just 10 months The heartbroken family of Ms Tucker (pictured) have called the teenage driver 'nothing but scum' in emotional statements presented to the District Court earlier this year The court also heard from Kathryn Howard, who suffered neck injuries in the crash. Ms Howard asked the teenager to look at her while she addressed the court, but said he was 'emotionally inept' after he kept his head bowed, according to the Advertiser. The teenager pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and admitted to driving the stolen car. Ms Howard said the teenager had not only affected Ms Tucker's two children, both aged 18, who will now grow up without a mother, but also her own son. 'He has asked me not to have any more accidents because he missed the way mummy was before her back got sick,' she told the court. After her death, Ms Tucker's family released a statement describing her death as 'senseless' and saying she was a 'very loving mother' The 17-year-old passenger is serving a youth detention sentence. After the crash in October, Ms Tucker's family released a statement describing her death as 'senseless'. 'Our family is devastated by this senseless death of our beloved wife and mother Nicole,' the statement read. 'We are grieving and would appreciate our privacy as we come to terms with our loss. 'Nicole was a very loving mother and wife. Her life cut short too early.' Shocking video taken by witnesses shortly after the crash showed the intensity of the fire that engulfed her car at Bedford Park, in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. Debris was reportedly thrown hundreds of metres as a result of the crash which occurred in a road works zone where the speed limit was 40km/h. Two people are dead after a horrific collision between a motorcyclist and a pedestrian outside a shopping centre on Wednesday . The biker, 23 year-old Jack Kinloch, hit a 58 year-old female pedestrian who was crossing Cowper Street, resulting in the deaths of both people. Mr Kinloch's death has resulted in an outpouring of grief and he is being mourned on social media, with friends posting moving tributes on Facebook. Jack Kinloch attended Kanahooka High School and is being mourned by friends on Facebook A page has also been set up on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe, in order to raise money for his grieving family. According to police, both victims of the collision were alive when officers arrived and tried desperately to revive them using CPR. Paramedics arrived at the scene shortly after 6:15pm but were unable to save either Mr Kinloch or the female deceased, according to the Illawarra Mercury. Mr Kinloch suffered fatal injuries after being thrown from his motorcycle. 'The rider sustained multiple injuries and was unable to be revived,' said NSW Ambulance duty officer Norm Rees. 'We tried everything but were unfortunately unable to save her (the female pedestrian). We did absolutely everything.' Both the biker and the female pedestrian were thrown into the air by the impact of the collision Witness reports indicate that the 58 year-old woman was crossing Cowper Street near Warrawong Plaza when she was struck by the young motorcyclist. The collision caused Mr Kinloch to be thrown under the car of one of the witnesses, and the female pedestrian was sent flying. The sound was described as 'like the slamming of a car door' by one of the shocked bystanders. Friends and family of Mr Kinloch have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral Mr Kinloch's friends have turned to social media to express their condolences, writing tributes on Facebook and GoFundMe. 'I Only Spoke To You Just The Other Night, Im Going To Miss That Laugh Like Crazy And Those Bear Hugs. R.IP Jack Kinloch,' posted a distraught friend with a photo. 'I'm Going To Miss Everything About Him!!!! So Shattered!!!! Rest in peace Jack, an you will always be in my heart. Love you!'' commented another beneath it. Mr Kinloch sustained multiple injuries and could not be revived. The pedestrian passed away shortly afterwards. Others reacted with sadness and anger: 'What the f***....always the ones who don't deserve it that get taken way too early....R.I.P Jack!' Friends and family have donated $780 so far, and left a series of messages for Mr Kinloch and his family. Jayne Ryan wrote, 'We lost a beautiful soul. I'm still in shock. You will be so missed. I only have good memories of you. My only hope is that you are reunited with Mitchell and your dad. Rip uncle. You are so loved and will never be forgotten.' Britain is poised to weaken a key pledge on Brexit as talks begin in Brussels on Monday. Ministers are considering offering EU migrants currently living in Britain the chance to bring non-EU spouses to live in this country. That is despite the fact that UK nationals living in Europe do not enjoy the same privilege, breaking a pledge made before the election that UK and EU citizens must have the same rights. Theresa May is poised to offer EU citizens living in the UK the right to bring non-EU spouses to this country as part of a 'generous' package of deals for David Davis to open talks with Whitehall sources told The Telegraph that the move is being considered as part of a 'generous' package to kick off negotiations. The news also comes on the same day that British officials met Michael Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, in Brussels to hash out a structure for the talks. European officials have said there can be no substantive talks until the UK's position on the issue is settled, a move rejected by Westminster. The Europeans have also insisted that no talks can start on a trade deal until the issue of payments to the EU by Britain are resolved, another position previously rejected by Theresa May. The news emerged as British officials met with EU Chief Negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier on Thursday to discuss the outline for talks Philip Hammond suggested to his German counterpart this week that Britain's position on Brexit could change, though Theresa May had signalled she is still preparing to pull out of the single market and customs union. Withdrawing from both would give Britain greater control over migration - the essence of a hard Brexit. Any backtracking would likely cause a rift in the Conservative party between hardline leave MPs and centrist remainers, and could create a power-struggle that topples the Prime Minister. Four Kentucky National Guardsmen have been charged with sexual assault. Kentucky State Police announced the arrests of Anthony R. Tubolino, 25; Tyler A. Hart, 19; Austin L. Dennis, 21; and 22-year-old Jacob F. Ruth on Wednesday in a news release. According to police, the assault was reported on June 3. Police said the female victim was given alcohol and then sexually assaulted. Four Kentucky National Guardsmen have been charged with sexual assault. Kentucky State Police announced the arrests of Anthony R. Tubolino (left), 25, and 22-year-old Jacob Ruth (right) Wednesday in a news release Authorities said a preliminary investigation showed that the men were preparing for a weekend deployment at the time of the incident. In a separate news release, Kentucky Adjutant General Maj Gen Stephen Hogan called sexual assault a 'reprehensible act' and said the Guard will support the victim. Police said Tubolino of Auburn, was charged with second-degree rape, second-degree sodomy and third-degree unlawful transaction with a minor. Hart, of Bowling Green, was charged with first-degree sexual abuse and second-degree sodomy. Dennis and Ruth, both of Munfordville, were charged with second-degree sodomy. All four suspects are being held in Calloway County Jail. The soldiers couldn't be reached for comment. A reveller seen dancing alone at a busy nightclub allegedly unleashed a barrage of punches at fellow partygoers just seconds later. The incident was captured on camera at Canberra's Mooseheads nightclub back in January, but police have renewed calls for witnesses to come forward. CCTV footage shows the alleged attacker dancing by himself at the bar shortly before a wild brawl broke out. A reveller seen dancing alone at a busy nightclub allegedly unleashed a barrage of punches at fellow partygoers just seconds later Several punches appeared to be thrown, before the altercation came to abrupt end when other patrons and staff members stepped in. It is not clear from the CCTV footage whether anything was said to provoke the alleged attack. Police want to speak with the man over the alleged assault, but it was his dance moves prior to the brawl which sent social media into a spin. 'Hope he gets extra time for that dancing,' one wrote, while another said: 'The real crime here is his dance moves.' 'Poor guy was having a seizure and everyone thinks he was dancing,' yet another commented. ACT Police is urging anyone who witnessed the alleged assault, which left one man with facial injuries, to come forward. Police want to speak with the man over the alleged assault, but it was his dance moves which sent social media into a spin Several punches appeared to be thrown, before the altercation came to abrupt end when other patrons and staff members stepped in 'Police are urging anyone who recognises themselves in this footage from an assault at Mooseheads nightclub on Sunday 8 January to come forward and speak to police,' a statement read. 'The assault occurred around 4.10am and involved a number of people, resulting in a male victim suffering facial injuries.' The alleged attacker was wearing a long sleeved shirt, dark pants and white shoes. CCTV footage shows the alleged attacker dancing by himself at the bar shortly before the wild brawl broke out United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. C.E., Individually, and as Parents of D.E., a minor under the age of 18 years, J.E., Individually, and as Parents of D.E., a minor under the age of 18 years, Plaintiffs-Counter-Defendants- Appellants, v. CHAPPAQUA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant-Counter-Claimant-Appellee, NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Defendant. No. 16-2591-cv Decided: June 14, 2017 PRESENT: BARRINGTON D. PARKER, RICHARD C. WESLEY, CHRISTOPHER F. DRONEY, Circuit Judges. FOR PLAINTIFFS-COUNTER-DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS: PETER D. HOFFMAN, Law Office of Peter D. Hoffman, P.C., Katonah, NY. FOR DEFENDANT-COUNTER-CLAIMANT-APPELLEE: MARK C. RUSHFIELD, Shaw, Perelson, May & Lambert LLP, Poughkeepsie, NY. UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. Appellants, C.E. and J.E. (the Parents), parents of minor child D.E., brought this appeal following the district court's denial of their motion for summary judgment, which effectively affirmed decisions by a State of New York Impartial Hearing Officer (IHO) and State Review Officer (SRO) concluding that the Parents were not entitled to reimbursement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., for two school years when they placed D.E. in a private school after removing him from the Appellee, Chappaqua Central School District (the School District). We assume the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts, procedural history, and issues on appeal. 1. Subject Matter Jurisdiction There are two issues regarding subject matter jurisdiction in this case. The first relates to our subject matter jurisdiction following the denial of the Parents' motion for summary judgment, while the second relates to the nature of the SRO's decision. a. The District Court's Denial of Summary Judgment First is the issue of whether we have subject matter jurisdiction to review the substantive issues following the district court's decision denying the Parents' motion for summary judgment. Ordinarily, orders denying summary judgment do not qualify as final decisions subject to appeal. McColley v. Cty. of Rensselaer, 740 F.3d 817, 822 (2d Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted). The denial of summary judgment in this case is not a denial that leaves further proceedings to be conducted, however. The district court issued a thorough opinion addressing the merits of the Parents' claims. The court concluded that the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 [Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) ] were both procedurally and substantively adequate, and that the services offered by the [School] District were appropriate. The court then instructed the clerk of court to close the case, and the clerk entered a judgment closing the case the following day. The district court's decision thus had the effect of denying the Parents' appeal to that court, and a final judgment was entered immediately thereafter. We have reviewed IDEA appeals to this Court under similar circumstances. See Walczak v. Fla. Union Free Sch. Dist., 142 F.3d 119, 121 (2d Cir. 1998) (issuing decision in IDEA appeal to this Court where district court denied summary judgment and then entered judgment against moving party). We therefore conclude that we have subject matter jurisdiction over the Parents' appeal to this Court. See 28 U.S.C. 1291. b. The SRO's Dismissal on Procedural Grounds The School District moved before the district court for judgment on the pleadings, asserting that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the SRO dismissed the Parents' appeal because they failed to comply with the page limit and font size requirements of New York state regulations applicable to the SRO's review and therefore did not exhaust their administrative remedies. The district court denied that motion. The court distinguished several district court decisions holding that a party's failure to timely appeal to an SRO resulted in a party failing to exhaust its administrative remedies. The court also relied on the fact that the SRO here had extensively addressed the merits of the Parents' claims after noting the procedural failings. J.A. 858. The School District now renews its challenge to the district court's subject matter jurisdiction. In reviewing a district court's determination of whether it has subject matter jurisdiction, we review factual findings for clear error and legal conclusions de novo. AmBase Corp. v. United States, 731 F.3d 109, 117 (2d Cir. 2013) (emphasis added). Notwithstanding the SRO's statement that he was dismissing the Parents' appeal because they failed to comply with regulations governing the font size and page limitations of submissions to SROs, the SRO did not dismiss the appeal on that basis but instead rendered a final decision on the merits of the Parents' claims. We therefore agree with the district court that the Parents exhausted all administrative remedies, as required by the IDEA, before seeking judicial relief, J.A. 859, and that it had subject matter jurisdiction to address the merits of their claim. Cf. Polera v. Bd. Of Educ. of Newburgh Enlarged City Sch. Dist., 288 F.3d 478, 487 (2d Cir. 2002) (explaining the purpose of the exhaustion requirement as allowing the agency to bring its expertise to bear on a problem and conduct a full exploration of technical educational issues). Furthermore, because the Parents exhausted their administrative remedies in this case, we have no need to decide what procedural deficiencies may result in a party failing to satisfy the IDEA's exhaustion requirement. See B.C. ex rel. B.M. v. Pine Plains Cent. Sch. Dist., 971 F. Supp. 2d 356, 365 (S.D.N.Y. 2013) (collecting cases). 2. Standard of Review Before turning to the merits of the Parents' appeal, we note that the role of the federal courts in reviewing state educational decisions under the IDEA is circumscribed. C.F. ex rel. R.F. v. N.Y. City Dep't of Educ., 746 F.3d 68, 77 (2d Cir. 2014). The standard of review requires a more critical appraisal of the agency determination than clear-error review but nevertheless falls well short of complete de novo review. The deference owed depends on both the quality of the opinion and the court's institutional competence. Id. (internal citation and quotation marks omitted). 3. Bias & Competence The Parents first argue that the IHO's decision should not be afforded deference because he was (1) biased because he had previously been a school superintendent and (2) incompetent because (a) he was not an attorney and (b) he fell asleep during portions of the hearing. a. Bias The district court did not err by concluding that the IHO was not biased because of his long-ago-completed service as a school superintendent in school districts that are not parties in this action. Absent any evidence casting doubt on the impartiality of the local or the state review officers who examine[d] [the Parents'] claims, we cannot presume that they would be biased. Cave v. E. Meadow Union Free Sch. Dist., 514 F.3d 240, 249 (2d Cir. 2008). The IHO complied with the relevant state regulations intended to prevent biased hearing officers from conducting such hearings. N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8, 200.1(x) (No individual employed by a school district may serve as an impartial hearing officer and no individual employed by such schools may serve as an impartial hearing officer for two years following the termination of such employment ). The Parents' contention that the IHO's rulings during the hearing were solely in favor of the School District, moreover, is clearly refuted by the record. The IHO conducted himself appropriately during the hearing, and evidence he was biased is lacking. b. Competence The IHO was also competent to preside over the hearing although not an attorney. The New York regulations grandfathered him status as an IHO even though he was not a lawyer because he was an IHO prior to September 1, 2001. N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8, 200.1(x) (An impartial hearing officer shall be an individual admitted to the practice of law in the State of New York or be an individual certified by the State as an impartial hearing officer on September 1, 2001 ). Further, the IHO also brought decades of experience as a hearing officer to the bench. With regard to the Parents' assertion that the IHO was sleeping during portions of the hearing, the IHO provided an explanation for why the Parents might mistakenly think that, and our review of the portions of the record cited by the Parents confirms the district court's conclusion that the IHO was instead awake and attentive. The IHO spoke frequently, often asking questions of witnesses, ruling on objections, and addressing the admission of evidence. 4. The 2011 Behavior Intervention Plan The Parents' final challengeand their only substantive oneis to the decisions of the IHO, SRO, and district court with respect to the School District's 2011 Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). The Parents argue that the School District could not have implemented or updated the 2011 BIP in time to create a required, timely IEP in the following school year based on their past experience with the School District. The Parents also assert that the 2011 BIP was the product of a flawed process. We find no error. First, the IHO, SRO, and district court all properly rejected the Parents' argument that the School District would not have adhered to and properly implemented or updated the 2011 BIP and the IEP for the forthcoming school year because that argument was speculative. The Parents' argument was premised on their contention that the School District had a pattern and practice of failing to develop and implement Functional Behavioral Assessments and BIPs in a timely fashion. Appellant's Br. 48. However, although the Parents assert that the 2011 BIP was developed late and then only partially implemented at the end of the 2010-2011 school year, the record establishes that the 2011 BIP was actually developed for the following school year, the 2011-2012 year, thereby suggesting that it was developed in a timely fashion and partially implemented early. Furthermore, we have previously explained that it is speculative to conclude that a school with the capacity to implement a given student's IEP will simply fail to adhere to that plan's mandates M.O. v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ., 793 F.3d 236, 244 (2d Cir. 2015). Although the Parents frame their arguments as an attack on the School District's capacity to implement or update the 2011 BIP if needed, we conclude that their argument is best construed as a claim that the School District would not have followed through on its commitment to implement and update the BIP, not that it lack[ed] the services required to do so. Id. A School District official testified that the District was ready to update the BIP if needed, and that testimony is supported by documentary evidence. This is not a situation where a school district plainly lacks the ability to offer the services it says it will offer. Cf. id. (providing, as example of argument that is not speculative and therefore permissible, situation in which an IEP recommends one-on-one occupational therapy, outside of the classroom, but a school only offers in-class occupational therapy in a group setting). Second, we are not persuaded by the Parents' challenges to the process by which the 2011 BIP was created, or their argument that the district court failed to credit the testimony of their witnesses. District courts are not to make subjective credibility assessments, and cannot choose between the views of conflicting experts on controversial issues of educational policy in direct contradiction of the opinions of state administrative officers who had heard the same evidence. M.H. v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ., 685 F.3d 217, 240 (2d Cir. 2012) (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted). Considered individually and cumulatively, the procedural claims the Parents make do not succeed. See R.E. v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ., 694 F.3d 167, 190 (2d Cir. 2012) (explaining that procedural violations only entitle parents to reimbursement if they (1) impede a child's right to a free appropriate public education; (2) significantly impede the parents' opportunity to participate in the decisionmaking process; or (3) cause a deprivation of educational benefits). The 2011 BIP was regarded as appropriate by one of the Parents' expert witnesses, Dr. Tarnell, as long as the BIP was implemented properly. Moreover, the adequacy of the resulting BIP essentially came down to a credibility determination between the School District's witnesses and the Parents' witnesses. The district court properly decided to not reverse the IHO's decision to credit the former over the latter. See M.H., 685 F.3d at 240. We likewise decline to reject the district court's conclusion affirming the IHO's credibility determination. We have considered the Parents' remaining arguments and conclude that they are without merit. Accordingly, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court. FOR THE COURT: Catherine O'Hagan Wolfe, Clerk of Court FOOTNOTES . According to the School District's expert, a BIP seeks to prevent the reoccurrence of behavior, to respond or manage behavior when it does occur, and to teach appropriate alternative or replacement skills. J.A. 1511. . A Functional Behavioral Assessment is a process in which educators seek to determine the functions that a behavior is serving for a student, with the intent of reinforcing or maintaining consequences around the behavior. J.A. 1510. A Muslim woman charged with disrespectful behaviour after she allegedly refused to stand for a judge has now failed to show up at court because she's 'unwell'. Moutia Elzahed, the second wife of convicted terrorist recruiter Hamdi Alqudsi, is the first person charged under new 'disrespecting the court laws' in New South Wales. The burqa-wearing mother-of-two is alleged to have repeatedly failed to stand for District Court Judge Audrey Balla last December. Moutia Elzahed (pictured) failed to appear at a Sydney court - her lawyer said she was 'unwell' Elzahed (left, right) could face jail time if she is found guilty of the disrespect charges Judge Balla was told Elzahed 'only stands for Allah'. Elzahed also refused to remove her veil when giving evidence. Ms Elzahed's lawyer Zali Burrows on Thursday told a court she was considering a 'constitutional challenge' in the High Court. She told the registrar her client, who lives in Sydney's western suburbs, couldn't attend the case's first appearance in court because she was 'unwell'. Ms Burrows was ordered to bring a medical certificate at Ms Elzahed's next appearance in July. She has not entered a plea. Elzahed is pictured here during a counter-terrorism raid on her home in Reversby Her husband Hamdi Alqudsi is a convicted terrorist recruiter If found guilty of the charges, Elzahed could face up to 14 days in jail or an $1100 fine. In December, Elzahed hit back at the news from her western Sydney home, saying she was misunderstood and had done nothing wrong. 'I feel happy, very happy about everything'. Her husband, Hamdi Alqudsi, is serving a minimum six years prison sentence after organising for seven men to fight for Islamic State in Syria. Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc, has finalized an order to buy 300 modular apartment units for its employees The tech titan has purchased the homes in an effort to alleviate what many see as a housing crunch in Silicon Valley. The short-term housing for Google workers has an estimated deal value of between $25million and $30million. Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc, has finalized an order to buy 300 modular homes as short-term housing for its employees. The deal - estimated to be worth between $25million and $30million - is an effort to alleviate what many see as a housing crunch in Silicon Valley (Pictured, Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, in May 2007) Modular construction, in which a complete home or an addition is built in a climate-controlled factory and then delivered to the final destination, has seen a boom in recent years. The technology has been deployed to help alleviate housing shortages across the US, including in Miami, Detroit, and New York. According to The Wall Street Journal, Alphabet is purchasing the homes from a modular home start-up, Factory OS Rents for these apartments are expected to be more moderate. Factory OS founder and CEO Rick Holliday told the Journal that 'a previous project that Holliday built using modular technology saved tenants $700 a month in rent because of reduced construction costs'. According to a study by online residential real estate site Trulia, the median home value within Silicon Valley, which includes Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties, jumped from $535,614 in 2012 to $888,444 in 2016. Modular construction (file image) is when a complete home or an addition is built in a climate-controlled factory and then delivered to the final destination. In recent years, the technology has been deployed to help alleviate housing shortages across the US, including in Miami, Detroit, and New York Other tech companies are also taking the initiative to help their workers find reasonably priced homes. Apple Inc has begun moving thousands of its employees into Apple Park, the company's new 2.8-million-square-foot circular building in Cupertino, California. And Facebook Inc has pledged to plan and design 1,500 units in Menlo Park, of which 15 percent will be classified as affordable housing. A 15-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with killing a 10-year-old girl, and authorities said he could be tried as an adult. Adams County District Attorney Dave Young said after a closed hearing that the boy was charged with first-degree murder with intent to kill after deliberation, and first-degree murder of a child under 12 by someone in a position of trust. Young said he intends to prosecute the boy, who is accused of killing 10-year-old Kiaya Campbell, as an adult. A 15-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with killing 10-year-old Kiaya Campbell (left and right), and authorities said he could be tried as an adult The 10-year-old was found in this area about a mile from her home in Thornton, Colorado, on June 8 just hours after she went missing. Police are pictured at the scene Kiaya was found dead June 8 after her family reported her missing the previous night. The boy, who has not been identified because he is a minor, was arrested late on Saturday night by Thornton Police after Kiaya's body was found in a grassy park area the night she went missing. At the time of the boy's arrest, police released a statement confirming that the teen had been 'booked and transported to the Adams County Juvenile Detention facility', according to KDVR. Kiaya's father told police his daughter left home with his girlfriends 15-year-old son to walk to a nearby shopping center. The 15-year-old told police he lost Kiaya after they got separated when a rainstorm swept through the town, which is about 10 miles north of Denver. The 10-year-old's body was later found about a mile from her home. Neighbors told 9News they do not remember it raining on Wednesday night. Brooklyn Mitchell, 7 and her brother Ethan (both sitting on the wall), 9, joined hundreds in searching for Kiaya after she went missing Kiaya's (pictured) mother, Chantel Campbell, created a GoFundMe account to raise money for a memorial. It set a goal of $10,000, which it has surpassed. As of Wednesday night, more than $16,000 had been donated A cause of death has not been determined, however the coroner stated it was, 'other than accidental'. Kiaya was an avid YouTuber, frequently posting videos to her account that racked up thousands of views. KDVR reports neighbors and those who knew the 10-year-old described her as a happy, loving, young girl. Her mother, Chantel Campbell, created a GoFundMe account to raise money for a memorial. 'This beautiful soul was stolen from us. We appreciate everything everyone has done in this situation. Now we just appreciate anything anyone can do to help out her to rest,' the page read. It set a goal of $10,000, which it has surpassed. As of Wednesday night, more than $16,000 had been donated. A teenager is fighting for her life after being struck by a car while on her way to work. Liz Gibson was crossing the road in Canning Vale, near Holmes Street in Perth, when she was hit by a Honda Accord. The 19-year-old made it across two lanes but didn't see the vehicle coming on the third lane causing her to be hit and thrown, Perth Now reports. Liz Gibson, 19 was struck by a Honda Accord while on her way to work on Tuesday afternoon A West Australian police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Gibson crossed between vehicles that were stationary waiting at the traffic lights before entering a lane with turning traffic. 'The driver of a Honda Accord was unable to avoid the woman and hit her.' Ms Gibson was believed to be on her way to Dome Cafe to start her 3pm shift. She was rushed to the Royal Perth Hospital and remains there in an induced coma. The accident had caused her to suffer critical head injuries and broken bones. A Royal Perth Hospital spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that Ms Gibson condition remained critical, two days on. Ms Gibsons best friend Chelsea Holden had posted an update of the incident on her Facebook page. 'On behalf of Liz and her family, we would like to thank everyone for all the kind words, the love and the support we have all received in this rough time. 'Liz has a compassionate heart of gold and is a very strong young woman and is definitely fighting with everything she has. 'She is still in a critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit, but is showing no signs of deterioration. Ms Gibson's best friend has posted an update of the incident on her personal Facebook page An 18-year-old has been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a decorated Arkansas police officer. Newport Police Lt. Patrick Weatherford was investigating a vehicle break-in Monday night. When officers arrived on scene, Arkansas State Police allege that's when Tyler Calamese fled the scene with the officers in pursuit. Calamese allegedly turned and fired shots at the officers during the foot-pursuit, which is when Officer Weatherford was shot. The bullet lodged near his heart and he died at Uniter Health-Harris Medical Center later that night. The Arkansas State Crime Lab confirmed the shot killed him. Officer Patrick Weatherford (left) was killed in the line of duty. Tyler Calamese (right) allegedly shot the officer during a foot pursuit on Monday The suspect turned himself into police Monday night. Calamese's grandmother, Janet Reynolds, claims he did so to clear his name, and she is standing by her grandson. Reynolds, speaking to KATV said: 'Tyler is an easy-going person. He didn't meddle with people, he didn't start fights, and for them to say that he did this is just not - that's not true. That's not Tyler.' Weatherford, 41, was a decorated 15-year police veteran who was honored just last year as the Jackson County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Fallen Officer Weatherford pictured with wife Kristen Weatheford. he also leaves behind two children The scene in Newport Monday night as police piece together how their colleague was killed Weatherford also graduated from the FBI National Academy Program and he was one of only three members from Newport to be accepted. Reynolds spoke high praise of the fallen officer. 'I'm very sorry for what has happened,' she said. 'Everyone in this town loves Patrick Weatherford. He was a great officer and detective.' Reynolds added: 'I've known him personally, he was a great friend. I've talked to him several times. You couldn't ask for a better cop. I'm sorry for the family, but my grandson did not do this, he does not have the demeanor to do this.' The grandmother, who sat in on Wednesday's bond hearing, says her grandson is innocent, and told reporters Calamese has never been in trouble, and was an 'A and B student.' The Jackson County Court Judge ordered no bond for Calamese during the hearing. Calamese attending a prom (left), his grandmother (right) says he was never in trouble and a good student The 15-year police veteran's colleagues consoled one another at Newport's Remmel Park, the scene of the shooting, hours later Calamese is being defended by Chris Nebben and Gina Reynolds from the capital conflicts office with the Arkansas Public Defenders. His mother, Shanika Reynolds, said she had found private attorneys to represent her son. 'My son is a good kid,' Shanika said. 'My son is no killer.' After being advised of his Miranda rights, Calamese confessed to firing shots toward Weatherford, lead state police investigator Wendall Jines told the courtroom. However, Calamese mumbled to a waiting reporter outside that he is not guilty. Jackson County Court Judge Barbara Griffin scheduled Calamese's next hearing date for June 20 in Jackson County Circuit Court. The two public defenders representing the teen declined to speak on his behalf. The law enforcement community has gathered their support for the Weatherford family. 'Today is a tragic day for law enforcement,' Arkansas State Police Col. Bill Bryant said. 'Every available resource in Arkansas will be working on this case.' On Tuesday, divers took took to Newport lake, inside of Remmy Park, in search of the murder weapon. 'We're hurting,' Newport Police Chief Michael Scudder, said adding, 'Patrick was a good friend to everyone he met. We will miss him.' This is the second killing of an officer in Arkansas this year, however there hasn't been an officer killed in Newport since 1918, according to Col. Bryant. Doors to the police department and city hall are adorned with white flowers and a black ribbon. Flowers, a poster and a burning candle memorialize Weatherford at the entrance to Remmel Park. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said at a Wednesday news conference that he has asked for $10,000 to be allocated to a fund for fallen officers, so Weatherford's family may get $5,000 in immediate relief. Weatherford leaves behind his wife, a 21-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son. A former Queensland prison boss wants to see the system overhauled to better rehabilitate indigenous drug offenders. Keith Hamburger, the former director-general of Queensland Corrective Services, says low-risk indigenous people convicted of drug crimes should not be sent to jail, rather they should be housed in 'culturally-appropriate healing centres.' 'They need to be reconnected with culture, meet with elders and get their mind in a safe place so they can re-calibrate how they behave,' Mr Hamburger told Daily Mail Australia. A former Queensland prison boss wants to see the system overhauled to better rehabilitate indigenous drug offenders Keith Hamburger, the former director-general of Queensland Corrective Services, says low-risk indigenous people convicted of drug crimes should not be sent to jail, rather they should be housed in 'culturally-appropriate healing centres' Mr Hamburger's idea is to create centres on traditional land, run by local indigenous community members and built on a system of holistic approaches. 'Programs in jail are not culturally appropriate for their needs. Recidivism rates for Aboriginal people is 70%, compared to mid 40s for non-Aboriginals,' he said. He says up to 1000 Aboriginal people are being housed in already over-crowded Queensland jails that do not need to be there. Mr Hamburger's idea is to create centres on traditional land, run by local indigenous community members and built on a system of holistic approaches 'Most young Aboriginal people need cultural healing: ancestry, law, relationship to the land. At these centres we can provide mentoring, work skills training and traditional healing under empowered local indigenous people,' Mr Hamburger said. He says he has spoken with Corrective Services Queensland and has introduced the idea to the Queensland government, with the support of local Aboriginal elders. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to the Queensland Government for comment. A beloved pet dog who was stabbed as he defended his owner's home from young intruders has been put down after the council declared him dangerous. Vikki Phillips' German Shepherd Kodi was in the backyard of his home in Wynyard Tasmania in December, when two young intruders climbed over the fence. Kodi, seven, was allegedly stabbed seven times and one of the intruders, an 11-year-old boy, was taken to hospital with injuries. Kodi was declared a dangerous dog following the alleged trespassing, and confined inside a cage Kodi was declared a dangerous dog and released to Ms Phillips on the condition he was confined to a cage when she was not at home, wore a muzzle when he was taken outside, and signage was put up declaring his status as a dangerous dog. Ms Phillips complied with the conditions, but Kodi never fully recovered from the shock of the horrific event. Kodi suffered from post traumatic stress and fell into a deep depression. 'Kodi was a loving, loyal, protective, happy, friendly boy,' Ms Phillips said. Ms Phillips pictured with her beloved Kodi, who was a member of her family for seven years 'Kodi was a loving, loyal, protective, happy, friendly boy,' Ms Phillips said (pictured together) 'When it first happened I truly believed with my love and dedication we could bring him back to optimal health, both physically and mentally, and for a while it seemed like we could. 'Sadly the confinement of the cage eventually did irreversible damage to Kodi that nobody will ever understand unless they see their baby go through it. 'I would not have believed myself that a once happy loving oversized pup could change so dramatically in a few short months.' The devastated owner told Daily Mail Australia Kodi was 'never the same'. Kodi was declared a dangerous dog following the incident (pictured), forced to wear a muzzle, and confined to a cage when he was at home 'He went from this happy, lively animal to being frightened of his own shadow in the end,' Ms Phillips said 'He went from this happy, lively animal to being frightened of his own shadow in the end,' she said. Ms Phillips said Kodi was so 'damaged' she was forced to put him down last Thursday. 'It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to let you know Kodi lost his brave battle on Thursday night,' she said. 'I had to be unselfish and with support from the vet and advice from different behaviourists, it was agreed that Kodi would not improve, but continue to deteriorate. 'For the past six to eight weeks I have sought advice and battled and was determined this would not be how his story ended I could not believe my boy could be that damaged. 'I had to be unselfish and with support from the vet and advice from different behaviourists, it was agreed that Kodi would not improve, but continue to deteriorate,' Ms Phillips said (pictured together before the incident) 'For the past six to eight weeks I have sought advice and battled and was determined this would not be how his story ended I could not believe my boy could be that damaged,' she said (pictured before the incident) 'But with everything he was going through and the notable changes in his behaviour, it was time to look my beautiful boy in the eyes and search his heart for what he wanted. We had to allow Kodi's suffering to end.' Kodi's story garnered a huge following online. A social media page called Kodi's Army amassed more than 12,000 members who banded together to support Ms Phillips and help her pay for medical costs for Kodi. The page was followed by a petition called Kodi's Law, which called for changes to the Dog Act. A social media page dedicated to Kodi and Ms Phillips amassed more than 12,000 members The petition, which will be taken to the Tasmanian Government, calls for dogs and their owners to have more rights on their own property. Kodi's Law attracted more than 11,000 signatures. Ms Phillips said she would fight hard to have the Dog Act changed. 'We will continue the fight for Kodi's Law... this will be his legacy and his life will not have been in vain,' she said. Minister for Planning and Local Government Peter Gutwein said the government would look closely at the petition. Kodi, who had to be put down due to his suffering, is pictured when he was just a pup The Dog Act currently outlines a defence for a dog defending a person or property at the time, or if it was teased, abused or assaulted. Ms Phillips was not witness to the incident the night Kodi was stabbed. Tasmania Police told Daily Mail Australia officers investigated but no charges were laid in relation to the alleged trespass. A former New Jersey police officer convicted of drunken driving and causing a wrong-way crash that killed a fellow officer and another friend was sentenced Wednesday to the maximum of up to 25 years in prison. Staten Island judge Mario Mattei gave Pedro Abad 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison after the former Linden officer had asked for the minimum of one year. 'You have no idea of the magnitude of what you did,' Mattei told Abad, according to the Staten Island Advance. Scroll down for video Ex-New Jersey cop Pedro Abad (pictured in court on Wednesday), who was convicted of causing a wrong-way crash that killed a fellow officer and another friend while he was drunk, was given the maximum - up to 25 years in prison Staten Island judge Mario Mattei gave Pedro Abad 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison for the crash that killed his fellow officer Frank Viggiano (left) and friend Joseph Rodriguez (right) Prosecutors say the former Linden police officer was drunk when he crashed (pictured) into a tractor-trailer after a night at a strip club with friends in 2015. He was driving the wrong way on the West Shore Expressway when the crash occurred 'You weren't an accident waiting to happen. You were a time bomb waiting to explode.' Prosecutors say the former Linden police officer was drunk when he crashed into a tractor-trailer after a night at a strip club with friends in 2015. He was driving the wrong way on the West Shore Expressway when the crash occurred. Tests later showed the officer's blood-alcohol content was 0.24 per cent; the legal limit for driving in New York is 0.08 per cent. Hours before the crash, Abad had posted a photo on his Instagram page of three shot glasses filled with what he identified as 'Jack Daniels Fire on the house'. Abad, 29, said in court his friends never should have gotten into the car with him, and he apologized. Tests later showed the Abad's blood-alcohol content was 0.24 per cent; the legal limit for driving in New York is 0.08 per cent. Linden officer, Patrik Kudlac (right), was also critically injured in the crash Hours before the crash, Abad had posted a photo on his Instagram page of three shot glasses filled with what he identified as 'Jack Daniels Fire on the house' Officer Frank Viggiano and friend Joseph Rodriguez died in the crash. Linden officer, Patrik Kudlac, was critically injured. Rodriguez's father would not refer to Abad by name during the trial, but did so after sentencing. Abad had two drunken-driving arrests before the fatal crash, in 2011 and in 2013 both in NJ 'To Pedro: You took the most precious thing from a parent - you took my precious little boy from me,' he said. Abad's attorney had argued that his client's blood sample wasn't obtained properly and he disputed that the accident was caused by intoxication. Attorney Mario Gallucci told reporters outside court that Abad was 'fine' with the sentencing and thought it must be 'God's will'. District Attorney Michael McMahon said the sentence 'ensures Mr. Abad is held accountable for the lives he destroyed when he decided to get behind the wheel and drive drunk'. Abad had two drunken-driving arrests before the fatal crash. In a 2011 accident in Roselle, New Jersey, he allegedly drove through the wall of a convenience store. The 2011 charge was later dismissed. The occurred in 2013 when he reportedly struck a parked car in Rahway, New Jersey. A Townsville woman has reconnected with her estranged father after 22 years, but under tragic circumstances. Jordan Broad, 27, had been looking for her father Darren for most of her life, and was planning to fly to Darwin where he was last seen to continue the search when she got a phone call to say he was in intensive care. 'I always felt like I had a good connection with my dad, and when I never got to see him again - I've felt like a piece of me was missing for my whole life,' she told Daily Mail Australia. The single mother and her nine-month-old son Landyn were on the next flight to Darwin to be by Mr Broad's side. Jordan Broad (right) reconnected with her estranged father Darren (centre) this week, but under tragic circumstances. Mr Broad is in ICU with brain injuries following an altercation on Sunday The 56-year-old was involved in an altercation outside Throb nightclub on Sunday morning, which left him with severe head injuries. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition, but is now stable . Jordan, 27, experienced the heartache of becoming estranged from her father at six months old, though the pair did reunite for one day when she was about five. 'Even though I technically didn't know my dad, I feel like I know him, and I knew he would need somebody there for him,' she said. 'It was the unknown coming in to see him. I didn't freak out when I first walked into the ICU - I felt a really calming sort of peace. 'I was at ease, even though I didn't know if he was going to come out of it or not. 'I could tell he could feel our presence there. I think it helped him want to wake up.' On Wednesday, Mr Broad did wake up, leaving Jordan and her infant son elated. 'He knows we're here - he could not believe I was here yesterday. It was just after he woke up, he's still so out of it, but the more he looks at me, the more his eyes are open,' she said. Jordan and Mr Broad became estranged when she was six months old, but the pair reconnected for one day when she was five, and the 27-year old has been looking for her dad ever since (pictured: Mr Broad when he was young) Jordan (pictured with nine-month-old son Landyn) was planning to go to Darwin to find her father when she received the call to say he was in ICU 'I kind of feel like we needed to be here, because the first thing he said is "I need to get my s*** together", and that was my aim. 'It was my aim to come over here and show him that he's got more to life. We're here and there's something to keep going for.' Jordan was able to introduce her son to his grandfather, and she says the pair already share a brilliant connection. 'He knows he's got a grandson - he held his hand and was squeezing it the other day, and he leaned up to give me a big kiss,' she exclaimed. 'I'm really blown away considering the damage that's been done. 'I know people don't believe in fate or coincidence, but I do, and it's been confirmed for me really.' Mr Broad has been living what his daughter describes as a 'free spirit's' lifestyle. He moves around a lot and often sleeps in a tent. Through this, he has developed strong ties with his community, something Jordan was amazed to discover. The single mother was astounded to find how adored her father was throughout the city, and says she's received an outpouring of love from the local community 'I thought I'd be coming up here to my dad just being so alone and nobody knowing him but it's the complete opposite,' she said. 'Dad is really well known up here, even though he's just travelling and bumming around, but the support has been amazing. 'I've had venue managers message me and ask if he's okay - he's really loved up here.' Jordan believes her father's transient lifestyle is part of the reason he made himself so difficult to find over the years. 'He's a free spirit and he likes to do what he wants to do,' she explained. 'I think it's the fact that he felt like he had nothing to offer us that he didn't want us to find him.' Jordan was raised by her mother, who she said was an 'amazing' parent, but has always wanted to find her father. 'I feel at ease now that I've found dad. I feel so happy within myself - I can't explain it,' she said. 'It's such a f***ed up situation but I'm so happy I'm here. When he woke up yesterday, I could not stop smiling. 'I feel like I've got a connection with my dad, even though we haven't spoken properly.' Mr Broad woke up on Wednesday, and was able to meet his grandson Landyn (pictured) for the first time For now, Jordan is staying in a hostel with her young son, but cannot afford to continue staying in Darwin for much longer. She is now fundraising for a flight home to Townsville so she can get herself in order to better help her father. 'It's gonna take a long time for him to heal,' she said of her father's brain injury. 'They're not too sure how dad's gonna be when he recovers, it's a long time. He may need care.' Though she is short on money, the 27-year-old is not short on support, and says the Darwin local community has been a huge help to her and her son. 'I've got a massive massive support network of family and friends. The Darwin community has been amazing, especially the Crime Squad,' she said. 'They picked us up from the airport with a baby seat and they've been ringing me every day to make sure I'm okay. 'And Landyn's been amazing - he's been my rock. 'If I didn't have all of that, I'd fall into a heap I think.' A 'predatory' father-of-two has avoided a jail sentence after he sent 16 photos of his genitals to a 13-year-old girl. Kyle Justin Milne, 22, pleaded guilty in a Queensland court on Thursday to 16 counts of indecent treatment after sending the explicit photos over three days. The court heard Milne believed the teenager was 15 years old and he was sentenced to two years probation and 160 hours of community service, The Sunshine Coast Daily reported. Kyle Justin Milne, 22, pleaded guilty in a Queensland court on Thursday to 16 counts of indecent treatment after sending photos of his genitals to a 13-year-old girl Police were alerted to the pictures after the teenager told her mother. The court heard Milne, who has ADHD and is on the disability pension, also asked the 13-year-old to send him pictures, but she never responded to any of his messages. The Gympie man initially told officers his Facebook account had been hacked and said he believed the teenager was 15. Judge Brad Farr said the multiple messages were 'somewhat predatory,' but noted Milne had not touched the girl. United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. PAUL DAVID WOOSLEY, Appellant v. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT; HONORABLE ALVIN W. THOMPSON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE; DAVID H. SMITH; KIMBERLY A. SMITH No. 16-3584 Decided: June 14, 2017 BEFORE: GREENAWAY, JR., SHWARTZ, and GREENBERG, Circuit Judges OPINION* I. INTRODUCTION Paul David Woosley appeals from an order entered on August 10, 2016, in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissing his pro se complaint against the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, Alvin W. Thompson, a judge in the District of Connecticut, and Woosley's biological son's adoptive legal parents, David H. Smith and Kimberly A. Smith. Woosley's son was born in Pennsylvania on July 8, 1992, but the Smiths adopted him in Texas after Woosley, within 72 hours of the child's birth, signed an Affidavit of Waiver of Interest in the Child. Appellant's br. at 8; see App'x at 52. Although Woosley contends that the document merely permitted an adoption agency to take temporary custody of the child, clearly the affidavit had more far reaching consequences, as the Texas courts terminated his parental relationship following which the Smiths adopted the child. Woosley obviously came to regret his action as is evidenced by the circumstance that since 1993, he has engaged in extensive litigation in multiple jurisdictions in an attempt to reassert parental rights over his now-adult biological son. He has advanced his argumentsthe majority in lawsuits that he initiatedin no less than twelve jurisdictions including at least three state trial courts, one state court of appeals, four United States district courts, three United States courts of appeals, and the United States Supreme Court, which twice has denied him a writ of certiorari. After Woosley pursued litigation for a decade in three states, the Smiths initiated an action in the District of Connecticut in which they obtained an injunction in 2003 barring Woosley from attempting to relitigate the validity of orders of Texas courts terminating his parental-rights to the child and also attempting to nullify the Texas court adoption proceedings. Woosley appealed from the injunctive order to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2005 but that court affirmed the order for the injunction though it modified the injunction to allow Woosley to return to the Connecticut District Court and seek relief from the injunction in the event that he can (1) locate a jurisdiction in which a limitations period remains open (thereby escaping the preclusive effect of the Pennsylvania District Court's [earlier] judgment [that held that his claims were time-barred] ), (2) can obtain personal jurisdiction over the [adoptive parents], and (3) is otherwise then entitled to challenge the Texas decrees. Smith v. Woosley, 399 F.3d 428, 436 (2d Cir. 2005). We see nothing in the record before us that suggests that the modified injunction does not remain in effect. The injunction is not an outlier order as courts have entered judgments entitled to preclusive effect against Woosley on the issue of termination of his parental rights under the laws of Texas and Pennsylvania. In 2010, Woosley violated the 2003 Connecticut injunction by filing a Petition to Void Adoption in the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, even though the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania had determined over a decade earlier that a Pennsylvania statute of limitations barred his challenge to the adoption. See Smith, 399 F.3d at 430 (discussing the unreported Western District of Pennsylvania case). In 2013, pursuant to the 2003 injunction as modified on appeal in 2005, the district court in Connecticut verbally ordered Woosley to withdraw that petition. See App'x at 27-29. Woosley did so on August 23, 2013, and then filed the current suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, naming the District of Connecticut, Judge Thompson, and the adoptive parents as defendants. Id. at 25. In this action, Woosley contends that the Connecticut injunction violated his fundamental right to child custody and he requests $22 million in damages. See id. at 25, 27, 29. The District Court dismissed the action on the grounds that Woosley lacked constitutional standing to bring the case. Because we agree with the District Court that Woosley lacks standing to challenge the injunction, we will affirm the dismissal of this case with prejudice. II. STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION AND STANDARD OF REVIEW Inasmuch as there is a question of jurisdiction in this case we address that issue at the outset. Absent Article III standing, a federal court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to address a plaintiff's claims, and they must be dismissed. Common Cause of Pa. v. Pennsylvania, 558 F.3d 249, 257 (3d Cir. 2009) (internal quotations and citation omitted). But a federal court always has jurisdiction to determine its own jurisdiction. White-Squire v. U.S. Postal Serv., 592 F.3d 453, 456 (3d Cir. 2010) (quoting United States v. Ruiz, 536 U.S. 622, 628, 122 S.Ct. 2450, 2454 (2002)). Accordingly, the District Court had jurisdiction to determine its own jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1331, and we have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1291 to review its determination on that issue. See Becton Dickinson & Co. v. Wolckenhauer, 215 F.3d 340, 343 (3d Cir. 2000). We review dismissals for lack of standing de novo. Common Cause of Pa., 558 F.3d at 257 (internal quotations and citation omitted). Plaintiffs, as the parties invoking federal courts' jurisdiction, bear the burden of establishing their standing. Id. When, as here, the challenge to standing is facial rather than factual, we review only whether the allegations on the face of the complaint, taken as true, allege facts sufficient to invoke the jurisdiction of the district court. Id. (internal quotations and citation omitted). Yet, as with motions to dismiss generally, we may consider matters of public record and exhibits attached to the complaint. See Schmidt v. Skolas, 770 F.3d 241, 249 (3d Cir. 2014). III. BACKGROUND OF PRIOR LITIGATION The above introduction provides the relevant background of this litigation. Nevertheless, this case cannot be understood without focusing on the extensive litigation related to Woosley's attempts to have declared void Texas decrees entered in July 1992 terminating his parental rights pursuant to the waiver we have described as well as an adoption decree of March 1993. Smith, 399 F.3d at 430. Accordingly, we will describe at least eight separate actions regarding Woosley's biological son's adoption, which we more or less will describe in chronological order. First, in July 1993, Woosley contested his son's adoption in Bexar County Court, Texas, unsuccessfully arguing that the decree terminating his parental rights was void. Though he appealed from the order of the county court, an appellate court affirmed on appeal in April 1996. See Woosley v. Smith, 925 S.W.2d 84, 88 (Tex. App.San Antonio 1996, no writ) (holding that Woosley voluntarily relinquished his rights to his son and had every intention of doing so even prior to the baby's birth as well as noting that [g]iven the facts of this case and the controlling law, the mandate requiring us to look to the best interest of the child is easily harmonized with the public policy favoring the finality and integrity of judgments). Second, in December 1996, Woosley filed suit in the district court for the Western District of Pennsylvania seeking a declaration that his parental rights had not been validly terminated and an order setting aside the adoption decree, but the court denied the action as it was untimely under the Pennsylvania statute of limitations. Smith, 399 F.3d at 430 (discussing that unreported 1996 case). On appeal we affirmed. Woosley v. Smith, 191 F.3d 446 (3d Cir. 1999). Woosley petitioned for certiorari but the Supreme Court denied the petition in 2000. Woosley v. Smith, 528 U.S. 1159, 120 S.Ct. 1169 (2000). Third, in or around 2000, Woosley returned to the Bexar County Court filing a motion seeking an order to vacate void decrees, referencing the same decree of termination and decree of adoption that the Texas court of appeals already had affirmed. As would be expected the county court denied the motion and, on Woosley's appeal, a court of appeals in Texas affirmed its judgment on the grounds of res judicata and collateral estoppel. Woosley v. The Adoption All., No. 04-00-00343-CV, 2001 WL 687571, at *1 (Tex. App.San Antonio 2001, no pet.). In addition, the Texas court of appeals affirmed the county court's assessment of sanctions against Woosley for filing a frivolous pleading. Id. Woosley again unsuccessfully sought certiorari. Woosley v. Adoption All., 537 U.S. 878, 123 S.Ct. 78 (2002). Fourth, in 2002, Woosley was arrested in Connecticut for attempting to kidnap his son. The criminal charges were resolved by a plea agreement that provided for Woosley's conviction of various offenses, including custodial interference in the first degree. Smith, 399 F.3d at 430. Two weeks before this conviction, Woosley filed a suit in the Connecticut Superior Court, seeking visitation rights and apparently contending that the Texas decrees were void. Id. The Connecticut Superior Court dismissed this case in March 2003, after the district court in Connecticut issued its intervening injunction in February 2003, because his parental rights had been terminated in Texas and he failed to show the requisite parent-like relationship. Woosley v. Smith, No. FA020392653S, 2003 WL 1490317, at *1-2 (Conn. Super. Ct. Mar. 3, 2003). The Connecticut state court acknowledged the District of Connecticut's injunction in its opinion, but the injunction had no bearing on the case's outcome because Woosley's pleading raised no issue as to the validity of the adoption proceedings, and such would be inappropriate in proceedings for visitation Id. at *2. Fifth, some time prior to 2003, Woosley filed suit in the District Court for the Western District of Texas attempting to overturn the Texas state court judgments affirming the adoption and termination of his parental rights. See Woosley v. Adoption All., 79 F. App'x 672 (5th Cir. 2003). The district court held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred the action because the court did not have the authority to review the state court's judgments. Id. Woosley appealed but the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's disposition in November 2003, as it held that those [state court] judgments are not void for lack of jurisdiction. Id. The court of appeals also noted: Even if Woosley's complaint is characterized as a due process challenge to the procedures employed by the state court, the suit in federal court is nevertheless barred under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. Id. Sixth, in January 2003, the adoptive parents filed the suit in the District of Connecticut to which we already have made reference seeking an injunction prohibiting Woosley from relitigating the Texas decrees' validity and requesting damages for vexatious litigation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Smith, 399 F.3d at 431. The district court in Connecticut granted that injunction in February 2003 in reliance on the relitigation exception to 28 U.S.C. 2283, but, on appeal, as we already have indicated, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit modified the injunction in March 2005 to permit Woosley to bring a suit in a jurisdiction provided that he could show that: (1) a statute of limitations would not bar the action, (2) he could obtain personal jurisdiction over the adoptive parents, and (3) he otherwise would have a valid claim. Id. at 436. At that time, the court of appeals noted that no jurisdiction of which we are aware has a limitations period of such length as to leave Woosley's challenges to the Texas decrees now viable. Id. Seventh, Woosley, according to his pleadings, petitioned for and obtained relief from the Connecticut injunction on May 17, 2010, about two months before his son became a legal adult, to file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus for child custody in Connecticut. Appellant's br. at 7. The District Court in the action now on appeal has noted that that action was sua sponte dismissed as unmeritorious without being docketed, but we cannot find any record of this dismissal in the materials that have been provided to us on this appeal. App'x at 9. Eighth, in 2010, Woosley filed a Petition to Void Adoption in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, that he subsequently withdrew after the district court in Connecticut ordered him to do so. See id. at 29. As we stated above, the district court in the Western District of Pennsylvania already had ruled that his claim was barred by the statute of limitations under Pennsylvania law in 1996, and we affirmed that ruling in 1999. This current suit is at least the ninth in which Woosley has asserted the existence of parental rights that the state court of appeals in Texas in 1996 held that he had relinquished. None of the prior eight suits have resulted in a ruling favorable to Woosley. IV. DISCUSSION Woosley does not address why he has standing in this case. He contends that he described his arguments in the District Court so those arguments will not be repeated here. Appellant's br. at 31. The contentions that he asserts on appeal involve the District Court's determination that, regardless of the injunction, Woosley is precluded from pursuing a suit to establish status as a lawful parent by (1) the legal doctrine of res judicata, (2) the applicable statute of limitations, and (3) mootness due to [his son's] obtaining the age of majority. App'x at 9. He contends that the District Court's determination that the alleged injury would occur based on free-standing legal doctrines and is not fairly traceable to the Order at issue is incorrect because [p]reclusion doctrines do not apply to void judgments. Appellant's br. at 31-32. He claims that the 2003 Connecticut injunction has injured him because it hinders [him] from entering into a family court to seek confirmation that he is the legal father. Id. The judicial defendants respond that Woosley lacks constitutional standing because res judicata and statutes of limitations bar his claims, so he cannot assert injury in fact fairly traceable to their actions. Appellees' br. at 10-11. They also argue that the injunction has not injured Woosley [even though] he contends [that it affects] his ability to challenge the termination of his parental rights. Id. at 11. Article III, 2, of the Constitution restricts the federal judicial Power to the resolution of Cases' and Controversies. That case-or-controversy requirement is satisfied only where a plaintiff has standing. Sprint Commc'ns Co., L.P. v. APCC Servs., Inc., 554 U.S. 269, 273, 128 S.Ct. 2531, 2535 (2008). A plaintiff must show that it has Article III standing by establishing: (1) an injury in fact (i.e., a concrete and particularized invasion of a legally protected interest); (2) causation (i.e., a fairly trace[able] connection between the alleged injury in fact and the alleged conduct of the defendant); and (3) redressability (i.e., it is likely and not merely speculative that the plaintiff's injury will be remedied by the relief plaintiff seeks in bringing suit). Id. at 273-74, 128 S.Ct. at 2535 (omitting internal quotation marks) (alteration in original). Woosley attempts merely to incorporate by reference the standing argument that he presented to the District Court but we will not consider those contentions. To permit parties to present arguments through incorporation by reference to district court pleadings would effectively nullify the page or word limits imposed by the appellate and local rules. That cannot be permitted Papp v. Fore-Kast Sales Co., 842 F.3d 805, 816 (3d Cir. 2016). Thus, we consider only those arguments that he advances in his appellate brief. Woosley has neither a legally protected interest affected by the injunction nor an injury fairly traceable to it. The injunction as modified permits him to file a claim for recognition of his parental rights so long as the court in which he files his suit can exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendants, a statute of limitations does not bar the action, and he can assert a viable substantive claim. An action that cannot satisfy these criteria has no chance of success and merely burdens the court system and the defendants as it is by its very nature frivolous. Woosley has no legally protected interest in filing frivolous suits. Put differently, Woosley's alleged injurybeing prevented from exercising his fundamental right to seek a relationship with his childis not fairly traceable to the District of Connecticut, Judge Thompson, or the Smiths. The District of Connecticut's 2003 injunction as modified by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit does not bar Woosley from filing a lawsuit to pursue his status as a parent. Rather, he simply is prohibited from filing suit in jurisdictions where the statute of limitations bars his claim. Woosley, 399 F.3d at 429-31. Thus, when Judge Thompson issued his verbal order directing Woosley to withdraw his Pennsylvania state court petition in the summer of 2013, he barred Woosley from litigating his parental rights in Pennsylvania state-court, not because of the terms of the modified injunction order, but because the Pennsylvania statutes of limitations barred him from litigating his parental rights. The ultimate source of his alleged harm is the order that terminated his parental rights and the fact that a challenge to that order is time barred, not the verbal order or conduct of any of the defendants. Accordingly, the District Court correctly concluded that Woosley lacked standing. Because Woosley lacks standing, we do not have jurisdiction and must dismiss the case. V. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the District Court's dismissal of this action with prejudice for lack of standing by an order entered August 10, 2016. FOOTNOTES . According to the District Court in the case before us now a similar judgment was entered in Connecticut but we cannot find any record of the judgment in the record on this appeal. App'x at 9. . The judicial defendants recognize that, because 1983 only applies to state actors, Woosley's action is actually a Bivens claim. See Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agentsof Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999 (1971). . The District Court alternatively ruled that because Judge Thompson is immune from suit, the adoptive parents cannot be sued under 1983, and dismissal of the action as a sanction was warranted. App'x at 13-22. . This background does not include Woosley's suit that the District Court in this case states was against the Connecticut Superior Court and Unnamed Prosecutors after Plaintiff's arrest for various felonies in connection with his attempted kidnap of [his son] and the Superior Court's refusal to hear his petition We exclude this suit from the statement of the background of this case because we have not been provided a record of that proceeding. App'x at 9. . He also takes issue with the District Court's statement that any attempt to force a legal relationship with [his son] would be mooted by [the son's] obtaining the age of majority. App'x at 12. He claims that he is not attempting to force a relationship, but thinks that a document recognizing a legal relationship would make it much more likely that [he] would be able to develop a relationship with his adult son if he can present this type of document. It also wouldn't hurt if Woosley had an extra $22 million in his bank account. Favorable legal action, besides providing vindication, would tend to encourage a substantive relationship. Appellant's br. at 32-33. . The Smiths have not participated on this appeal but Woosley refers to them as Appellees. Appellant's br. at 4. . Even if we held that Woosley has standing we would affirm the order for dismissal as the action is clearly without substantive merit. . Woosley does not contend that the dismissal should have been without prejudice. GREENBERG, Circuit Judge. Conor O'Regan (pictured), 24, allegedly attacked a nurse at Harrington Hospital - about 20 miles south west of Worcester A nurse is fighting for her life after she was stabbed by an emergency room patient in Massachusetts. Conor O'Regan, 24, allegedly attacked the nurse at Harrington Hospital - about 20 miles south west of Worcester - shortly before 10.15am on Wednesday, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr said. Officials provided more information on how the alleged attacker got inside the hospital. The 24-year-old had reportedly been through the registration process and was being directed for care before he allegedly attacked the nurse - who has not been named. O'Regan was reportedly able to corner the nurse in a small room before stabbing her. Early said O'Regan fled after the stabbing, but he was arrested by Southbridge police a short time later at his home. He has since been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault with intent to murder. The incident took place at Harrington Hospital (pictured) on Wednesday after the 24-year-old checked into the emergency room as a patient Authorities said the nurse was airlifted to UMass Medical Center, where she remains in a critical but stable condition. Early said the nurse's colleagues helped save her life on Wednesday. 'The way that they reacted to this scene to help save this victims life, a job that was made even more difficult under the (condition) that they were working on their friend,' he said, the Worcester Telegram reports. 'What they did, you can't understate it, they saved her life.' O'Regan will be arraigned Thursday in Dudley District Court. It couldn't be determined Wednesday if he has been assigned a public defender. He is currently being held at Southbridge Police Department, and it is expected a mental health evaluation will be carried out. Advertisement Channel Nine journalist and child porn accused Ben McCormack has been pictured in public for the first time since emerging from a mental health institution. The suspended A Current Affair reporter was photographed reporting for bail at a Sydney police station on Thursday morning. The 42-year-old was rushed to hospital just days after he was arrested and charged in early April. A court later heard he was undergoing medical treatment. His lawyer Sam Macedone said: 'His health is his major concern and reporting for bail is his other big concern'. Dressed in a navy jumper and baggy tracksuit pants, A Current Affair journalist Ben McCormack kept a low profile as he reported for bail in Sydney on Thursday morning It was the first time McCormack had been seen in public since he was admitted to hospital and then a mental health 'institution' after his sensational arrest in April It's understood McCormack only emerged from treatment in the past few weeks. His priorities are his health and reporting for bail, his lawyer said It's believed McCormack only emerged from treatment in the past few weeks. Mr Macedone said the journalist was doing 'OK'. The well-known reporter ducked into Redfern Police Station for about a minute this morning, ducking out with his head tucked under a black cap and navy hoodie. He did not have any comment for a waiting photographer, instead listening to music on his phone and walking to his car in tracksuit pants and joggers. Mr Macedone said he was happy his client was reporting for bail twice a week and sticking to the strict conditions which virtually bar him from communicating with minors. The hunter becomes the hunted: The A Current Affair journalist faced a media scrum when he was arrested and charged with sending child pornography on April 6 McCormack was rushed to hospital on April 10, just days after he was arrested and charged McCormack said nothing to a waiting photographer as he emerged from the police station, ducking in for about a minute to report for bail He is yet to enter a plea to either of the charges with the matter set to return to court in July Under the terms of the court orders, he must not be in the vicinity of playgrounds, schools, child care facilities or anywhere kids are likely to frequent. He's also barred from using the internet, other than for his work. Meantime, he has been suspended from his on-air role at the Nine Network and has had to give up Surf Life Saving volunteering at North Bondi. McCormack is yet to enter a plea to either of the charges and is expected to face court in July. One of the main faces of A Current Affair, the Sydney journalist McCormack is pictured here reporting live on location Police released several minutes of footage of his arrest in April. Screenshots of his Grindr profile and details of his involvement in a bizarre film with a father-son incest plotl surfaced. Last month, it was revealed McCormack was arrested after West Australian police found conversations on the phone of an alleged child rapist in Perth. His lawyer confirmed there appeared to be conversations but said no pictures had been exchanged, as other media had claimed. Woolworths is shipping its homebrand products to China where shoppers are willing to pay huge money for the retailer's no frills groceries. A new deal struck between the supermarket giant and online retailer Kaola.com will see nearly 100 products available to Chinese consumers on the Kaola website at heavily inflated prices. Woolworths sells its products to Kaola at wholesale prices and has no influence on what the website charges its customers. 'Chinese customers are willing to pay a lot in order to get high quality products. They don't mind paying a high price for quality,' Kaola CEO Zhang Lei told news.com.au. Woolworths is shipping its homebrand products to China where shoppers are willing to pay huge money for the retailer's no frills groceries (stock image) A new deal struck between the supermarket giant and online retailer Kaola.com will see nearly 100 products available to Chinese consumers at heavily inflated prices Woolworths Select Full Cream Milk Powder 1kg, which sells for $5.70 on Australian shelves, is listed for over $13 on Kaola.com. The supermarket's Shake Pancakes 300g Mixing Powder costs just $1.50 in Australia, but a staggering $11.40 on the website. A spokesperson for the supermarket told Daily Mail Australia the partnership with the online retailer will have no impact on Australian prices. 'We have recently agreed a small presence on Kaola.com where we will predominantly offer a small range of well-known private label products,' the spokesperson said. Woolworths sells its products to Kaola at wholesale prices and has no influence on what the website charges its customers The supermarket's Shake Pancakes 300g Mixing Powder costs just $1.50 in Australia, but a staggering $11.40 on the website They said the new deal is an opportunity to expand the reach of locally made products to overseas consumers. 'Our goal will always be to promote Australian and New Zealand made products wherever possible,' the spokesperson said. Ms Zhang said Kaola.com's business model is about 'more than selling goods.' 'We want to forge brand awareness among Chinese customers,' she told news.com.au, adding that 'the market potential is endless'. A spokesperson for the supermarket told Daily Mail Australia the partnership with the online retailer will have no impact on Australian prices A school has been slammed after it penned a letter to hairdressers in the local region outlining exactly how its young students should have their hair cut to meet uniform rules. When Lorraine Carter opened an envelope addressed to her from Cooloola Christian College, she expected to find a letter asking for her support with a fundraising drive. But as the owner of Streetwise Hair salon, in Gympie, Queensland, read further down the note she realised the school was telling her how to cut and style children's hair. From boys having hair no shorter than a 'number three' to girls having just two plaits, the letter specifically outlined what was allowed - something the hairdresser said she had never seen before. Cooloola Christian College has been slammed after writing a letter to hairdressers (pictured) outlining exactly how to cut the hair of its young students to ensure they meet uniform rules Experience salon owner Lorraine Carter (pictured) said she felt the letter was 'rude' 'I think it's just incredibly rude,' Ms Carter told Daily Mail Australia. 'Usually we donate to schools and things and I thought it would be about that, and then I couldn't believe it. 'It's a very good school, but I feel kids should be able to express their individuality and it's just taking away any rights they should have to do that... we're in 2017 not 1996.' According to Ms Carter other hairdressing salons in the region also received the letter from the school, which all began with the greeting: 'Dear hairdresser'. While Ms Carter said she again felt this was 'rude', the letter from the school claimed it was aiming to 'be helpful' to the salon. 'From time to time we have students arrive at school with a haircut that falls outside our hairstyle policy which can be problematic for parents and students,' it read. 'By being aware of our requirements then you may be able to assist your clients in selecting a suitable cut/style, or at least notify them that their choice may cause an issue at school.' With a series of dot points, the school then outlined specifically what it deemed to be appropriate. According to the letter girls' hair should be worn away from the face, anything more than two plaits is banned and hair that goes beyond shoulder length must be tied up. Boys can not have hair beyond collar length, can go no shorter than a number two clipper, cannot partially shave their head and must not have rat's tails. Any student hoping to get adventurous by putting a colour in their hair is also out of luck, with the school pledging to suspend them until it's returned back to normal. Cooloola Christian College principal Trevor Norman told Daily Mail Australia the note was never meant to offend and that the school had previously written similar letters to shoe and clothing stores. From boys having hair no shorter than a 'number three' to girls having just two plaits, the letter specifically outlined what was allowed - something Ms Carter said she had never seen before Cooloola Christian College (pictured) principal Trevor Norman said the note was never meant to offend and that the school had previously written similar letters to shoe and clothing stores 'For us it was just about getting some info to local hairdressers so that if any families came in and said: "We go to CCC, do you think this might be OK?", they could say yes or no,' Mr Norman said. 'Were certainly not trying to tell hairdressers how to do their jobs and at the end of the day, if their clients want a hairstyle like this or that it's up to them. 'There was no disrespect intended by any means. It was a general letter, we weren't intending to cause any offense at all and apologise if it was taken that way.' But Ms Carter told Daily Mail Australia that despite the school's letter, she would continue to listen to her paying customers - most often the child's parent. 'I think it's personal preference and should be left up to the parents and the kids,' she said. 'It's the parents who are paying me and our policy is to ask them what they want. 'Most kids who want something a little outlandish do it during school holidays so it's gone by the time they get to school - they understand the rules.' Advertisement A group of tourists on a cruise had the shock of their lives when they were feasted with a rare sighting of a huge whale just five metres from where their boat was. The mammal was spotted near Sydney Head, outside of Sydney Harbour at about 2 pm on Tuesday, reports Caters News Agency. Sydney-based snapper John Goodridge, 53 who captured the sighting said there were screams heard when the 45-tonne mammal hurled itself into the air before heading straight towards the small whale-watching vessel he was on. Scroll down for video Tourists were feasted with a once in a lifetime experience when a whale showed up unannounced near their boat on Tuesday This was Mr Goodridge's second whale sighting in a week. On Monday, while on a Whale Watching Sydney boat, Mr Goodridge captured another rare double breach in the same location at 11 am. 'You never quite know what is going to happen out on the water, it is different every day,' Mr Goodridge said. 'This one just came out of nowhere (referring to the Tuesday's sighting) as we were watching it jumped out of the water straight towards everyone, just five metres from the front of the boat. 'Some people didn't see because the waves were pretty rough so a lot of them were inside the boat. 'But from the people who did see there were lots of screams. 'It was amazing to see a whale come at the boat like that it was unusual and it was pretty unusual to see it from that angle straight on. 'You can never tell whether they are happy or sad but from this one's expression it definitely looked grumpy. 'No one is entirely certain why they breach, but it is thought sometimes they do it as a bit of a warning to the boat as they seem to do it more when there are lots of boats in the area.' The whale had showcase some of its acrobatic moves with one tourist John Goodridge's describing it as looking grumpy Humpback whales measuring 15 metres long and weighing 45 tonnes are currently passing through Sydney as part of the annual migration to warmer waters to give birth. Every year by mid-May the whales are known to travel from Antarctica to northern Queensland, Fiji and Tonga. The mammals will be traveling back with their calves in October and November with the annual spectacle expected to be over by December. Sydney-based photographer John Goodridge captures the rare sighting near the Sydney Harbour on Tuesday afternoon Whales are currently passing through Sydney as part of their annual migration to warmer waters and will return in December Every year in mid-May these whales are known to travel from Antarctica to northern Queensland, Fiji and Tonga to give birth The mammals will be traveling back with their calves in October and November with the whole spectacle over by December A man will face court charged with the attempted murder of a young woman who went missing in far north Queensland. Jessica Hamill, 20, was reunited with her family in hospital about 18 hours after she went missing from her home in Port Douglas around midnight on Tuesday. Daniel Rooney, 24, has been charged with a string of offences, including attempted murder, assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation. Daniel Rooney (left) has been charged with the attempted murder of Jessica Hamill (right) Daniel Rooney (pictured) has been charged with a string of offences, including attempted murder, assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation Jessica Hamill (pictured) was reunited with her family in hospital about 18 hours after she went missing from her home in Port Douglas around midnight on Tuesday He is expected to face Cairns Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon. On Wednesday, police had said they were "extremely concerned" for Ms Hamill's welfare after she failed to turn up for work and a search was launched. Police spotted a black 2012 Holden Commodore station wagon on the Kennedy Highway following a public tip-off about the car. Tyre spikes were used without success to try to stop it and the car eventually crashed down a steep embankment on the Kuranda Range on Wednesday night. Emergency services found Ms Hamill in the wreck of a car and she was taken to Cairns Base Hospital in a stable condition. Australian journalist Adam Harvey still has a bullet lodged in his neck after being shot while on assignment in the Philippines. Mr Harvey, the son of late Channel Nine journalist Peter Harvey, has been covering the conflict between ISIS fighters and the Philippine military for the ABC. He was reportedly hit by a stray bullet inside the Provincial Capitol Compound in the war-ravaged city of Marawi on Thursday. Australian journalist Adam Harvey has been shot in the neck while on assignment in the war-ravaged Philippines Mr Harvey receives medical treatment as fighting between Islamist militants and government forces continues in Marawi The veteran journalist shared this image of an X-ray to Twitter with the caption 'lucky' About an hour after the reports emerged, Mr Harvey tweeted: 'Thanks everyone - I'm okay. Bullet is still in my neck, but it missed everything important.' He also shared an X-ray image showing the bullet lodged in his neck which he captioned: 'Lucky'. His sister Claire told 2GB radio that he might have to undergo surgery - hopefully in Singapore - to remove the bullet. The son of legendary Channel Nine political journalist Peter Harvey has been covering the conflict between ISIS fighters and the military for the ABC The ABC journalist is seen wearing a neckbrace inside a clinic at the Lanao Del Sur Provincial Capitol in Marawi Mr Harvey was reportedly hit by a stray bullet inside the Provincial Capitol Compound in Marawi on Thursday. Pictured, ISIS militants inside a building in Marawi 'It looks like this bullet has got him in the gap between the bottom of his helmet and the top of his vest,' she said. Mr Harvey was flooded with messages of support, including from veteran journalist Hugh Riminton. 'Injury said to be ''minor''. But too close to comfort for @adharves. Keep your head down, you big unit!' he tweeted. Mr Harvey was mobbed by a swarm of local journalists as he left hospital wearing a neck brace and blue helmet. Mr Harvey wrote online: 'Thanks everyone - I'm okay. Bullet is still in my neck, but it missed everything important' Black smoke comes from a burning building in a commercial area in a street of Marawi city A military helicopter releases a rocket as government troops continue their assault against insurgents 'I've just gone to get an X-ray to get it checked out,' the Australian said in a video posted on Twitter by DDZB Super Radyo. The veteran reporter has been tweeting photos from the conflict zone for several days. Less than 24 hours before he was shot, he shared a picture of a man lying dead on a Marawi street. 'Came across a murder on the drive out of Marawi tonight. Brutal times in the Philippines,' he wrote. 'I've just gone to get an X-ray to get it checked out,' the Australian says in a video posted on Twitter by DDZB Super Radyo Mr Harvey was mobbed by a swarm of local journalists as he left hospital wearing a neck brace and blue helmet His sister Claire Harvey told 2GB radio that he might have to undergo surgery - hopefully in Singapore - to remove the bullet The Philippine military has been engaged in fierce battles with hundreds of militants, who have pledged allegiance to Islamic State, for over three weeks. The fighting has left 202 gunmen dead, while 58 soldiers and 26 civilians have also been killed, according to the government. The militants have withstood a relentless bombing campaign that has made parts of Marawi resemble war-devastated cities in Iraq and Syria. Islamic State's news agency, Amaq, claim its fighters control two-thirds of the city. Soldiers aboard a vehicle manoeuvre through a street in Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao on June 14 A Philippine Marine fires his weapon on May 30 during the ongoing conflict with ISIS militants Qatar's Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday the country signed a deal to buy F-15 fighter jets from the United States for $12 billion. President Donald Trump just this past Friday accused Qatar of being a 'high-level' sponsor of terrorism, that are potentially hindering the U.S. Department of State's efforts to ease heightening tensions. Pentagon Chief Jim Mattis and representatives from Qatar were set to meet Wednesday to seal the agreement, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters. The sale seeks to increase security cooperation between the US and Qatar, the Pentagon said in a statement Wednesday. Deal for the fighter jets was completed despite President Trump criticizing Qatar for supporting terrorism. The agreement is set for Qatar to buy a total of 36 F-15 fighter jets from the US Mattis and Qatari Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah also discussed the current state of operations against the ISIS and the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals, the Pentagon added. Bloomberg News reported the deal was for 36 jets. In November, the United States approved possible sale of up to 72 F-15QA aircraft to Qatar for $21.1 billion. Boeing Co is the prime contractor on the fighter jet sale to the Middle East nation. Boeing declined to comment. It's unclear if this is part of the November agreement. Advertisement Tinder box cladding wrapped around buildings should be ripped down immediately because thousands of lives could be at risk, one of Britain's top fire experts told MailOnline today. Grenfell Tower in White City had insulated aluminium panels installed on the outside by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited - but it ignited 'like a firelighter' after a fridge exploded yesterday. Today it emerged that the same company, and the main contractor Rydon, did the same work at dozens of other buildings including scores of high-rise blocks housing thousands. Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of 16 million, raising fears for the safety of thousands other residents. Warning posters have been put up in communal areas telling residents to 'be aware'. And Labour MP David Lammy today branded the Grenfell Tower blaze 'corporate manslaughter' and demanded arrests are made because he fears hundreds may have died in Britain's worst fire for decades. It has since come to light the firm used a similar aluminium composite material to clad several high rises and public buildings throughout the UK, raising fears for the safety of thousands of other residents. Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of 16m. Warning posters have been put up in communal areas telling residents Ferrier Point (pictured left), a 23-storey block with 115 flats in Newham, east London, was clad in an aluminium composite material in 2015. Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London (pictured right) were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of 16million Castlemaine Tower (pictured left), a 23-storey block in Battersea, south London, was clad and refurbished by the firm in 2014, as was Clements Court (right) in Hounslow, west London At least five councils in London are to carry out safety inspections at similar developments after at least 17 died in the White City inferno yesterday. Architect and fire expert Sam Webb, who also advises Parliament on housing safety, told MailOnline: 'The cladding should be torn down. 'You only have to look out of your window to see these colourful buildings. In the past they would never have been built because they wouldn't have met the regulations. Tear them down. People have a right to be safe when you're in a building'. He added: 'When you get on a bus, you expect that bus' breaks to work. This building was like a bus full of people without any brakes. If we have to send someone to prison, then we have to do what we have to do.' Six tower blocks in Westminster (left), were given the rainproof cladding when it was refurbished in 2015 in a contract worth 3.5million, as was the 13-storey Merit House (shown right) in Barnet, north London The material is set to be at the centre of an investigation into fire safety after witnesses claimed it 'went up like a matchstick', helping spreading the fire from the fourth floor to the roof in just 15 minutes Mr Lammy said: 'This [Kensington and Chelsea] is the richest borough in our country treating its citizens in an appalling way and we should call it what it is. It is corporate manslaughter. 'That is what it is and there should be arrests made. It is an outrage.' MP CALLS FOR ARRESTS AS HE LOSES HOPE FOR FRIENDS Tottenham MP David Lammy said he believed arrests should be made over the fire and called it 'corporate manslaughter' Labour 's David Lammy has called for arrests in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster. The Tottenham MP said the fire amounted to 'corporate manslaughter' - although the cause has yet to be established. Mr Lammy pointed out that housing conditions in the capital were too often 'unacceptable' and urged the demolition of unsafe buildings. 'These are poor Londoners but they are the lucky ones who are in social housing. Most of them will be the working poor in London,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'We know as politicians that the conditions in this country are unacceptable. We built buildings in the 1970s, many of them should be demolished. It is totally unacceptable. People should be held to account' He said he is losing hope for close friend Khadija Saye, 24, and her mother Mary, who lived on the 20th floor but are still missing. Friends said that she was recognisable by the Africa pendant she always wears around her neck. Mr Lammy said: 'We hope and pray that she is amongst them (in hospital) and not perished in that building as I suspect hundreds will have done by the end of this count.' Khadija Saye, who lives on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower in west London is also among those who are currently missing. Friends said that she was recognisable by the Africa pendant she always wears around her neck Advertisement Theresa May has today ordered a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster because of the scale of deaths, the speed in which the building was engulfed by flames and claims it was unsafe before the blaze. London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants an initial investigation published by the 'end of the summer' because scores of high-rise blocks across the UK could be death traps. Grenfell Tower in White City was equipped with overcladding in 2016 by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited and ordered by contractor Rydon. It has since come to light that the firm has used a similar aluminium composite material (ACM) to clad several high rises and public buildings throughout the UK, raising fears for the safety of thousands of other residents. Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of 16 million. Warning posters have been put up in communal areas telling residents. Simon Happily, who lives on the top floor of of one block said: 'The urgent one is we don't know whether we have the polyethylene in our cladding. 'God forbid there is another fire, we don't know whether we stay or get the hell out'. Mandy Ryan, who lives on the 22nd floor of Dorney Tower in Camden, told the Camden New Journal said: 'Our concern now is, have we got similar cladding. I'd like to see the original paper work we had on the table. As far as I can remember, the cladding on the first five floors is filled, but we're not what it's filled with.' Ferrier Point, a 23-storey block with 115 flats in Newham, east London, was refurbished in 2015. Six tower blocks in Westminster were given rainproof cladding when it was refurbished in 2015 in a contract worth 3.5 million, as was the 13-storey Merit House in Barnet, north London Extra fire safety checks are being planned at some high-rise tower blocks following the Grenfell Tower inferno, council chiefs said. Local authorities in Camden, Newham, Croydon and Redbridge were among those to launch a review in the wake of the blaze in north Kensington that claimed at least 12 lives. Officials said robust measures were already in place to ensure tall blocks were safe, but that they would be revisited to see if any action needed to be taken. Castlemaine Tower, a 23-storey block in Battersea, south London, was clad and refurbished by the firm in 2014, as was Clements Court in Hounslow, west London. The material is set to be at the centre of an investigation into fire safety after witnesses claimed it 'went up like a matchstick', helping spreading the fire from the fourth floor to the roof in just 15 minutes. Ray and Belinda Bailey were director and secretary of Harley Curtain Wall, which went bust in 2015 owing creditors 1 million, it has been reported. A customer demanded 428,000 for disputed work and the company in total owed 1.18 million, according to The Times. But it was later bought by Harley Facades Ltd, Mr Bailey's other firm, for 24,900, which according to its latest accounts has 151,000 in the bank and made 299,000 profit last year. Harley Facade's boss Ray Bailey said last night: 'This is an incredibly tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the residents and their families who have suffered such a personal loss.' The father-of-three, 58, added: 'We will fully support and co-operate with the investigations into this fire. At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower.' Grenfell Tower, which was built in 1974, before the refurbishment (left) in 2011 and with the new cladding (right before the blaze) Councils turned to cladding to meet standards set by Blair government scheme Cladding became popular as councils sought to meet insulation standards laid out under the Blair Government's 22billion Decent Homes Programme, which ran from 2000 to 2010. The programme's rules dictated that homes should have efficient heating and effective insulation, modern facilities and be in a good state of repair. For high-rise council blocks, local authorities were faced with either knocking them down, meaning they would have to find or build homes elsewhere, or refurbishing them. The latter option was much cheaper, despite the millions of pounds then pumped into the scheme. In London alone, it is believed more than 820million in public funds were paid to contractors to make alterations. Local authorities turned to cladding the outside of old council house stock, including tower blocks, in a bid to improve the buildings' appearance and the improve so-called 'thermal efficiency' ratings. A press release by a cladding firm from the time stated: 'Over-cladding existing homes to improve their energy efficiency as well as aesthetics is proving the solution of choice for local authorities in their bid to meet Decent Homes standards.' The statement gave examples in Bristol and Lanarkshire where cladding had been used to meet the terms of the programme. An architect was quoted at the time saying: 'The main priorities were to eliminate water ingress, improve the thermal efficiency of the blocks, and enhance the physical appearance of the external envelope.' Advertisement Grenfell Tower was clad last year as part of an 8.6million refurbishment by East Sussex-based builders Rydon, which said yesterday that its work 'met all required building controls'. It was made from metal panels and slabs of a polystyrene-like material, separated by a small cavity, fixed to the concrete surface of the outside of the tower. Together with new windows, the cladding was meant to boost the building's energy efficiency, protect against the weather and smarten up the look of the 1970s facade. But it appears to provide a fatal conduit for the flames to leap from one flat to another, with witnesses saying the outside of the block ignited 'like a firelighter'. There are fears that hundreds of high-rise blocks across the UK are fitted with similar materials even though MPs warned of the potential fire risk nearly 20 years ago. Last night it also was suggested that council penny pinching and accepting the lowest bid was to blame for the blaze according to one former worker. A woman who worked as a property manager for Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council for 20 years said the deadly blaze could have been prevented if the council had spent money upgrading it. But Grenfell Tower, run by Tenant Management Organisation for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, was not modernised during the employee's two decades working in the property area of the authority. Often fire alarms didn't work and a new external fire escape was not installed because it would cost too much, she said. She claimed new cladding fitted to the outside of the building last year caused the blaze to rip through the block because substandard and cheap materials were used in an effort to save cash. She said: 'They spent 1 million on cladding the outside of the building last year, and surveyors told the council not to use the cheapest possible materials, but they accepted the lowest possible bid.' Nobody left in the London tower block which was engulfed in flames in minutes on Tuesday night is still alive, fire crews have said. Rescuers say there are still 'unknown numbers' of people dead inside, but at the moment it is too risky to try to recover them from the upper floors of the fire-ravaged and unstable Grenfell Tower. London fire chief Dany Cotton said full searches of the upper floors, where no one is said to have survived, are yet to be carried out. Parts of it will need to be shored up before rescue workers can enter and the operation could take weeks. By mid morning, the plastic cladding could be seen charred and melted on the tower in west London She told reporters: 'Tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. The severity and the heat of the fire would mean it is an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive.' After the worst fire for a generation at Grenfell and as the death toll rose to 17 today it also emerged: Bosses of the company running the building and those who carried out recent refurbishment work were challenged to explain whether new cladding led it to go up 'like a firelighter' in around 15 minutes. The death toll is expected to soar as rescuers piece their way through the ruined flats where more than 400 people were living when the fire ripped through. Prime Minister Theresa May visited the site and ordered a full public inquiry into the blaze after it was claimed ministers were warned over the cladding suspected to have helped the fire spread. Two young girls, part of a family of five who lived on the tower's 20th floor, were found by relatives in a London hospital. Their mother, father and six-month-old baby sister are still missing. Three generations of one family are missing after three girls, a mother and father and grandmother were caught up in the blaze. More than 1 million has been raised to help those affected by the fire, while volunteers and charities have helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, who live in the London borough, donated to the fund set up to help those affected, and the Queen offered her condolences to victims' families. Experts believe it was the cladding that helped the fire take hold and swamp the block containing 600 people yesterday morning. Architect and fire expert Sam Webb told MailOnline: 'This cladding was what caused the fire, but if the building had sprinklers in place that would have reduced the damage and it might not even have spread. 'It clearly didn't meet the London Borough building regulations and if that's the case then someone needs to go to prison. 'Before the tenants moved in then there should have been a full fire safety check and if that's not the case then it's a criminal offence. 'The maintenance of this building came from people paying their taxes. The victims will have paid their taxes'. When asked if all buildings with cladding wrapped around them should be torn down, Mr Webb said: 'Yes. They should be torn down. The authorities should have a log of how many of these buildings have been build, say, since the 1980s. Latimer House was bad enough, but this is on a much bigger scale. This could happen to you, it could happen to me, and it's not right'. Many residents who gathered outside the smoldering ruins of the building said the fire had been caused by a faulty fridge in one of the flats, but the fire service told MailOnline it could not confirm the reports at this stage The trapped, some of whom are still inside, were heard begging for their lives while waving white towels, torches and mobile phones A drone inspects the top floors of the wrecked tower block, where residents on the highest storeys are all feared dead after being trapped in their homes and then engulfed Cladding worries emerged almost 20 years ago after pensioner was killed Concerns had been raised about the fire risk of cladding as far back as 2000 in a parliamentary report. The Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee launched an inquiry after a blaze tore through a 14-storey block of flats in Irvine, Ayrshire, (pictured) in June 1999, killing an elderly man. It concluded that cladding should be non-combustible or not pose an unacceptable level of risk to tenants. Local activist Piers Thompson said 'the entire fascia went up like it was paper and tinder and balsa wood'. Rydon, the firm that carried out the Grenfell Tower refurbishment work, said in a statement following the fire that the project 'met all required building regulations'. Harley Facades Limited, who installed the cladding, said it was 'not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower'. Advertisement Design specifications seen by the Mail suggests Grenfell Tower had 150mm (6in) of Celotex RS5000 insulation and overcladding made from ACM with a 50mm (2in) 'ventilated cavity' in between. ACM is also potentially highly flammable and rescuers yesterday faced the hazard of blazing metal panels raining down on them as they tried to enter the building. Arnold Tarling, chartered surveyor and fire expert with property firm Hindwoods, said the air cavity could create a 'wind tunnel [that] traps any burning material between the rain cladding and the building'. Had there merely been one layer of insulation, this could have fallen off and fallen away from the building but the metal cladding meant it was all contained inside. 'Not all insulation used in the process is the more expensive non-flammable type,' he said. 'So basically you have got a cavity with a fire spreading behind it.' Dr Kostas Tsavdaridis, associate professor of structural engineering at the University of Leeds said: 'The fire seems to have spread inside the building but also outside. 'Some materials used in facades act as significant fire loads: in most cases they are high-temperature resistant instead of fire resistant. But even if they are, smoke and fire will spread through the joints.' Grenfell Tower was equipped with metal overcladding by Harley Facades Limited, another East Sussex-based firm. The company, which installed but did not manufacture the panels, said they were a 'commonly used product'. Managing director Ray Bailey said: 'At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower.' Celotex, which is based near Ipswich, said: 'Our records show a Celotex product (RS5000) was purchased for use in refurbishing the building. We will assist with enquiries from the relevant authorities.' Plans for the externals works at Grenfell Tower were approved by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In May 2016, council leader Nick Paget-Brown said: 'It is remarkable to see how the cladding has lifted the appearance of the tower and how the improvements inside people's homes will make a big difference to their lives.' FIRE REGULATIONS FOR BUILDINGS IN THE UK Fire safety in UK buildings is governed by part B of the Building Regulations, a document that has not been subject to an in-depth review since 2006. By contrast, other parts are reviewed bi-annually. A 2015 survey by the Fire Sector Federation, a forum for fire and rescue organisations, found 92 per cent of its members thought the regulations were 'long overdue an overhaul', claiming they do not reflect today's design and construction methods and that research underpinning the guidance is out of date. In addition to this, Paul Fuller, chief fire officer for Bedfordshire and chairman of the Fire Sector Federation, said the federation has been calling for a review of part B of the building regulations 'for a number of years now' to ensure they 'meet the needs of a modern society using modern methods of construction and who use buildings differently from the way we used to 30 or 40 years ago'. In 2013 the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group called for a review of safety regulation after six people died and more than 20 were hurt in a 2009 blaze at Lakanal House in Camberwell. Arnold Tarling, a chartered surveyor at Hindwoods and a fire safety expert, told the Guardian a problem is the flammability of insulation panels that are being used to clad postwar buildings to bring them up to date with today's thermal standards. The refurbishment of Grenfell Tower saw the building clad with 'ACM cassette rainscreen' panels, an aluminium composite material covering insulation panels, which could have caused the fire to spread more quickly up the tower block meaning it 'went up like a match'. He told the newspaper: 'The issue is that, under building regulations, only the surface of the cladding has to be fire-proofed to class 0, which is about surface spread. The stuff behind it doesn't, and it's this which has burned.' Advertisement How the fire ripped through Grenfell Tower: At 2.05am, left, the blaze was restricted to one side of the building. By 2.35am, centre, it was spreading fast. And by 4.17am, right, the whole block was in flames This aerial photo taken hours after the fire ripped through the tower block shows the devastating scale of the inferno The fire continued to burn all day. Left, the fire rages early on Wednesday morning, centre, firefighters battle the blaze and right, flames continue to rip through flats in the evening CLADDING WAS USED TO 'IMPROVE THE APPEARANCE' OF THE BLOCK OF FLATS A planning document released by the council in 2014 said: 'Due to its height the tower is visible from the adjacent Avondale Conservation Area to the south and the Ladbroke Conservation Area to the east. 'The changes to the existing tower will improve its appearance especially when viewed from the surrounding area.' The document also makes repeated reference to the 'appearance of the area'. Advertisement Cut price cladding added to tower blocks built in the 1970s could be to blame for the rapid spread of a fire which claimed the lives of at least 12 people. New plastic rain-proof cladding was installed at Grenfell Tower in White City, London, in May 2016 as part of a 10million refurbishment - but 'went up like a match' and helped the fire spread quickly from the fourth to 27th floor. Last night it also was suggested that council penny pinching and accepting the lowest bid was to blame for the blaze according to one former worker. The woman, who worked as a property manager for Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council for 20 years said the deadly blaze could have been prevented if the council had spent money upgrading it. But Grenfell Tower, run by Tenant Management Organisation for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, was not modernised during the employee's two decades working in the property area of the authority. Often fire alarms didn't work and a new external fire escape was not installed because it would cost too much, she said. She claimed new cladding fitted to the outside of the building last year caused the blaze to rip through the block because substandard and cheap materials were used in an effort to save cash. She said: 'They spent 1 million on cladding the outside of the building last year, and surveyors told the council not to use the cheapest possible materials, but they accepted the lowest possible bid'. Did the tower's cladding make the fire spread faster? A brace firefighter is pictured inside the burnt remains of the 27-storey building covered in panels that appeared to accelerate the fire Cladding is a material attached to a building's frame to create an outer wall. The purpose of cladding - which can be made from wood, metal or plastic - is to prevent condensation and to let water vapour escape. But adding cladding to tower blocks creates an additional fire risk, according to some experts. The material can be flammable and it also creates a cavity that traps other burning material between the cladding and the building. Grenfell Tower underwent a 10.3 million renovation project in May 2016 and was fit with insulated exterior cladding and double-glazed windows. In the early hours of this morning, the fire at Grenfell tower spread to the cladding outside. 'The cladding went up like a matchstick', according to reports by one resident. The building was clad with polyester powder-coated (PPC) aluminium rain-screen panels, according to the Guardian. Some have described it as 'polystyrene-type' cladding - and it may have been clad in the cheaper. According to Reynobond's website, the manufacturer of the panels, they come in two variants. One version a polyethylene core, which is a type of plastic, and flammable. Another version comes with a fire retardant mineral and has a higher resistance to fire. Grenfell tower developers decided to go for the cladding without the fire retardant mineral, which could be seen burning and melting in the early hours of this morning. Another issue is the process of applying the rain-proof frontage can create a 25mm-30mm cavity between the cladding and the insulation behind it. Arnold Tarling, chartered surveyor and fire expert with property firm Hindwoods, said this can have the effect of creating a 'wind tunnel and also traps any burning material between the rain cladding and the building'. He said: 'So had it been insulated per se, the insulation could fall off and fall away from the building, but this is all contained inside.' He added not all insulation used in the process is the more expensive non-flammable type. 'So basically you have got a cavity with a fire spreading behind it.' Angus Law, of the BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, said: 'Early media reports suggest that this event has similarities with other fires that have occurred recently around the world.' He added: 'The UK's regulatory framework for tall residential buildings is intended to prevent the spread of fire between floors and between apartments. 'If spread of fire does occur, as has happened at Grenfell Tower, the consequences are often catastrophic.' Construction firm Rydon, which carried out the refurbishment of the exterior of Grenfell Tower which finished last year, installing cladding and new windows, said its work 'met all required building control, fire regulation, and health and safety standards'. Design specifications suggest the renovation work carried out at Grenfell Tower included a 50mm 'ventilated cavity' next to 150mm of Celotex FR5000 insulation. This insulation, according to Celotex, has a Class 0 rating under UK building regulations, meaning it has the highest rating for preventing the spread of flames and prevents the spread of heat. In July last year, the 75-storey Sulafa Tower in Dubai Marina went up in flames, following a number of similar fires in the Middle East, including one at the 63-storey The Address Downtown Dubai on New Year's Eve 2015. James Lane, head of fire engineering at BB7, told IFSEC Global last July: 'Another high-rise apartment block is apparently victim to the poor fire properties of its external cladding. 'Any building constructed before the 2013 change in the local fire codes will be at risk from this kind of rapid and extensive fire spread unless major work is undertaken in the region to replace combustible insulation core cladding panels with a suitable alternative.' Advertisement Company boss paid 3m to clad inferno tower block is hiding in his 1m mansion as homeless residents sleep on the streets (but his wife claims there is 'nothing to say' about the disaster) The boss of the company paid almost 3million for the cladding at Grenfell Tower that sparked 'like a match' is holed up in his 1million home today. But Ray Bailey's company secretary wife Belinda spoke at their grand house in Crowborough, East Sussex, and denied any knowledge about work at the west London block where at least 17 died yesterday. Mother-of-three Mrs Bailey, whose Facebook profile shows her sitting next to a tiger on an exotic holiday and enjoying luxurious ski trips, insisted there 'was nothing to say' from behind electric gates with a Porsche and a Land Rover parked in the drive. Her businessman husband Ray, 58, who entered the curtain walling business straight from university, brags of 25 years of 'practical experience' on Harley Facades Ltd's website. Experts were last night focusing their blame for the scale of the disaster on external cladding fitted to the block only last year - with witnesses describing how it acted like a 'firelighter' on a barbecue as flames engulfed Grenfell in 15 minutes. Raymond Bailey is the director of Harley Facades Limited which carried out cladding work on Grenfell Tower in a contract valued at 2.6 million - which later went bust Grenfell Tower was equipped with metal overcladding by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited in a contract valued at 2.6 million, according to the firm's website. Ray and Belinda Bailey were director and secretary of Harley Curtain Wall, which went bust in 2015 owing creditors 1 million, it has been reported. A customer demanded 428,000 for disputed work and the company in total owed 1.18 million, according to The Times. But it was later bought by Harley Facades Ltd, Mr Bailey's other firm, for 24,900, which according to its latest accounts has 151,000 in the bank and made 299,000 profit last year. His mother Janet told The Sun last night: 'I've heard about the fire but wasn't aware Raymond's company was involved. But they've always got to blame someone, haven't they?' The company, which installed but did not manufacture the panels, said they were a 'commonly used product in the refurbishment industry'. Mother-of-three Mrs Bailey, whose Facebook profile shows her sitting next to a tiger on an exotic holiday in 2011, insisted there 'was nothing to say' last night The father-of-three, 58, said last night: 'This is an incredibly tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the residents and their families who have suffered such a personal loss. 'We will fully support and co-operate with the investigations into this fire. At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower.' Their mansion has three buildings with a large, covered swimming pool attached to the main house. Four cars including a Land Rover and a Porsche were parked outside. The property is in the exclusive village of Crowborough which is also home to a string of celebrities. The drive leading to the house can only be reached through locked electric gates. Mr Bailey describes himself as enjoys Skiing, motor sport, and is a long time loyal fan of Tottenham Hotspur. He has three sons, twins Will and Ben, both 27, and Hugh, 23. Ben is believed to work for the family business and a Facebook post by his father's company after the work at Grenfell was completed it referred to 'Ben and his team'. The couple live in this grand house with large garden and swimming pool in Crowborough, East Sussex Away from work Belinda Bailey appears to own a number of designer cats and belongs to a breeder's group on Facebook. Photographs from her profile also show her enjoying holidays by the sea - apparently in Britain and abroad - and in the Alps. Grenfell Tower was clad last year as part of an 8.6million refurbishment builders Rydon, whose boss also appears to live in east Sussex, and insisted yesterday that its work 'met all required building controls'. Rydon's CEO Robert Bond said last night the work 'met all required building regulations' and was signed off by the council's building control. He said: 'We were shocked to hear of the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower and our immediate thoughts are with those that have been affected by the incident, their families, relatives and friends. Robert Black, boss of Grenfell's landlord Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, waves as he leaves his South London home today 'We are working with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their enquiries into the causes of this fire.' Mr Bond, who has four daughters Lucy, 27, Sophie, 26, Amelia, 23, and Ella, 20, and lives in a 2million mansion on a private estate in Orpington, Kent. They are believed to own an Aston Martin and Porsche with private 'Bond' number plates pictured parked outside their mansion. He and his wife Tina appear to share a love for classic sports cars and posed together in front a classic silver Ferrari. Tina Bond's Facebook account appears to show them holidaying as a family on a yacht. One photograph showed Mrs Bond and her four daughters posing in bikinis in crystal clear waters on an exotic holiday, apparently to south-east Asia. The cladding was made from metal panels and slabs of a polystyrene-like material, separated by a small cavity, fixed to the concrete surface of the outside of the tower. Together with new windows, the cladding was meant to boost the building's energy efficiency, protect against the weather and smarten up the look of the 1970s facade. But it appears to provide a fatal conduit for the flames to leap from one flat to another, with witnesses saying the outside of the block ignited 'like a firelighter'. There are fears that hundreds of high-rise blocks across the UK are fitted with similar materials even though MPs warned of the potential fire risk nearly 20 years ago. A report in 1999 by the Environment, Transport and the Regions select committee said: 'We do not believe that it should take a serious fire in which many are killed before all reasonable steps are taken towards minimising the risks.' The MPs highlighted concerns that the small air cavity between the layers of cladding can act as a chimney, helping the fire spread rapidly upwards. Their report demanded that 'all external cladding systems should be required either to be entirely non-combustible, or to be proved through full-scale testing not to pose an unacceptable level of risk in terms of fire spread'. But the method was popular as councils sought to meet insulation standards laid out under the Blair Government's 22billion Decent Homes Programme, which ran from 2000 to 2010. It continued to be used even after the 2009 fire at the 14-storey Lakanal House in Camberwell, South East London, which killed six people. Belinda Bailey, pictured on a ski trip, has served as secretary for her husband's cladding company Sam Webb, a fire safety expert who helped gather evidence after that tragedy, said last night there was a conflict between safety and the materials used to make buildings more energy efficient. 'They are not fire-resistant and in some cases they're flammable,' he said. Fires involving cladding have also occurred in Australia, Russia and the Arabian Peninsula adding to the serious safety concerns. They include two in Dubai, one on New Year's Eve 2015 at the 63-storey The Address Downtown and a second last July at the 75-storey Sulafa Tower. Grenfell Tower was clad last year as part of an 8.6million refurbishment by East Sussex-based builders Rydon, which said yesterday that its work 'met all required building controls'. Yet the company admits on its website that the insulation material used, Celotex RS5000, 'will burn if exposed to a fire of sufficient heat and intensity [and] toxic gases will be released with combustion'. A man who stabbed a pet labrador to death in a Perth park was chased by angry protesters screaming 'murderer' outside court on Thursday after he escaped an immediate jail sentence. Four-year-old labrador Luna was stabbed with a knife at Apple Blossom Polyantha Reserve in Mirrabooka on May 17 after his 22-year-old owner, Bridgette, let him and her other dog run off their leads. Defence lawyer Michael Tudori told Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday that Jayde Paul Rowan, 37, was reacting to a perceived threat to his puppy when he stabbed Luna. But Mr Tudori conceded his client's reaction was not reasonable. Scroll down for video Jayde Paul Rowan, 37, (centre) was chased as he left Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday Mr Tudori said Rowan, who walked away after the stabbing and jumped over a fence, was remorseful and did not intend to kill Luna. 'He wants to express his regret,' Mr Tudori said. 'He is an absolute animal lover.' Mr Tudori said Rowan's 13-year-old staffy cross was killed in an attack by two dogs at a park 10 years ago and several months ago, his puppy was also threatened by dogs. The court heard Rowan had also written a letter to Bridgette. Four-year-old labrador Luna (pictured) was stabbed with a knife at Apple Blossom Polyantha Reserve in Mirrabooka on May 17 Luna pictured with her owner Bridgette before she was fatally stabbed at a Perth park in May Throughout proceedings, protesters in the public gallery scoffed and heckled Rowan, calling him a 'maggot' and 'murderer'. Chief Magistrate Steven Heath accepted that Rowan was an animal lover, but said he over-reacted and this act of animal cruelty required more than a fine. 'It was an instantaneous reaction by you with one blow without an intent to cause serious harm,' Mr Heath said. Rowan was sentenced to seven months in prison, suspended for nine months. Rowan was shouted at and kicked by protesters, and chased by media as he left Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday Rowan's defence lawyer said his client stabbed Luna (pictured with his owner Bridgette) because he thought it was a threat to his own dog Luna's owner Bridgette cries as she recounts what happened to her beloved dog Luna Outside court, the animal advocates chased Rowan down the street, hitting him with their signs and yelling 'murderer' as police monitored the situation from a distance. Many of the activists, who held signs that read 'Justice For Luna' and 'Harsher Penalties for Animal Cruelty', said they did not think justice had been served. Bridgette told reporters at the time of the stabbing that she found Luna covered in blood and she started screaming. A GoFundMe page created to raise money for Luna's funeral raised $2430, with additional money going to a dog rescue group. United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. JAMES D. DAVIS, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY; UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, Defendants - Appellees. No. 16-1277 Decided: June 13, 2017 Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. ARGUED: Nicole R. Scallon, Christina J. Banfield, WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellant. Catherine Faith Jordan, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Robert C. Carpenter, ADAMS, HENDON, CARSON, CROW AND SAENGER, P.A., Asheville, North Carolina; John J. Korzen, Director, Appellate Advocacy Clinic, WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellant. Roy Cooper, North Carolina Attorney General, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees. James Davis (Appellant), a professor of Spanish, was denied tenure from Western Carolina University (WCU). He then sued alleging WCU discriminated against him in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., due to his mental illness. After extensive discovery, the district court granted summary judgment to WCU concluding that WCU denied Appellant tenure for reasons unrelated to his alleged disability. We determine that WCU denied Appellant tenure because of his misconduct, not his disability; therefore, we affirm. I. The district court provided a thorough recital of the facts below such that we do not need to repeat them in full here. In short, beginning in 2006, Appellant held a tenure track position at WCU. In 2010, Appellant applied for tenure for the first time but withdrew his application when Dean Wendy Ford said she would recommend against his tenure because of concerns about his scholarship. He applied again in 2011, and, in late 2012, WCU denied his tenure application. Before WCU's denial of tenure became final, Appellant filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) asserting that he was denied tenure because of his depression and depression-related mental health impairments. On November 22, 2013, Appellant received a letter from the EEOC granting him the right to sue. On May 5, 2014, Appellant filed this action alleging that WCU denied him tenure because of his mental health related disabilities in violation of the ADA. After extensive discovery and upon WCU's motion, the district court granted summary judgment to WCU. The court concluded that Appellant failed to present any evidence demonstrating that his discharge occurred as the result of discrimination. Rather, it determined that WCU denied Appellant tenure due to his numerous instances of misconduct. Appellant timely appealed. II. We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. See RLM Commc'n v. Tuschen, 831 F.3d 190, 195 (4th Cir. 2016). Summary judgment is appropriate only if no material facts are disputed and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Dreamstreet Invs., Inc. v. MidCountry Bank, 842 F.3d 825, 829 (4th Cir. 2016). III. To establish a discrimination claim pursuant to the ADA, a party must establish his disability was the but-for cause of an adverse employment decision. Gentry v. E. W. Partners Club Mgmt. Co., 816 F.3d 228, 235 (4th Cir. 2016). If an employer acts with a mixed motive -- both a discriminatory and non-discriminatory reason -- then the employer is not liable. See id. In other words, causation requires disability to be more than a motivating factor: it must be the only motivating factor. See id. Here, the undisputed evidence amply demonstrates that WCU's decision was motivated primarily by Appellant's numerous instances of gross misconduct and not his disability. Appellant's gross misconduct included, but was not limited to, a poem he wrote depicting the rape of Dean Ford, a story he wrote about killing a faculty member, and threats directed against those involved in the tenure process. Because of the alarming and continuous nature of Appellant's misconduct, multiple faculty members suffered from anxiety, sleep deprivation, and were afraid to come to work. Indeed, as to Appellant's misconduct, Dean Gibbs Knotts, who recommended against Appellant's 2011 tenure application, specifically identified an incident where campus law enforcement filed a report against Appellant for making derogatory comments to construction workers who had called the police to have Appellant's illegally parked vehicle towed. Additionally, Dean Knotts described the general fear Appellant engendered amongst the faculty as a further reason he opposed Appellant's tenure. For example, one colleague was scared to come to work in light of Appellant's comments and sought an arrangement to teach on-line to avoid interacting with Appellant. J.A. 146. Another colleague had to see a therapist and considered resigning from WCU because of Appellant. The University Collegial Review Committee also voted to deny tenure to Appellant because it was concerned about [Appellant's] pattern of disruptive behavior. Id. at 134. Therefore, based on the entire record, we hold that a reasonable jury would not conclude that discriminatory animus was the but-for cause of WCU's negative tenure determination. See Gentry, 816 F.3d at 235. Moreover, in accord with our sister circuits, we are hesitant to second guess the subjective and scholarly judgments involved in professorial employment matters. Jiminez v. Mary Washington Coll., 57 F.3d 369, 376 (4th Cir. 1995) (quotation marks omitted); see also E.E.O.C. v. Amego, Inc., 110 F.3d 135, 145 (1st Cir. 1997) (In the context of academic tenure cases, this court has been attentive to the need to balance the right of a plaintiff to be free from discrimination against the undesirable result of having the court sit as a super-tenure committee. (quoting Villanueva v. Wellesley Coll., 930 F.2d 124, 129 (1st Cir. 1991))). Ultimately, in a circumstance such as this where substantial evidence supports the lawful denial of tenure, we will not interfere with that decision. IV. For the foregoing reasons and for the reasons ably stated in the district court's opinion, we affirm. AFFIRMED FOOTNOTES . We adopt the factual background set forth in the district court's opinion. See Davis v. W. Carolina Univ., No. 2:14-CV-00006-MR-DLH, 2016 WL 8692894, at *6 (W.D.N.C. Feb. 19, 2016). . Citations to the J.A. refer to the Joint Appendix filed by the parties in this appeal. PER CURIAM: Advertisement This is the mini-cab driver whose faulty fridge is alleged to have started the Grenfell Tower inferno. Behailu Kebede, a father of one, raised the alarm after flames took hold in his flat at number 16 on the fourth floor. Maryann Adam, 41, who lived at number 14, told how Mr Kebede banged on her front door in the early hours of Wednesday to tell her that there was a fire in his kitchen. She said: 'He knocked on the door, and he said there was a fire in his flat. It was exactly 12.50am because I was sleeping and it woke me up. 'The fire was small in the kitchen. I could see it because the flat door was open. There was no alarm.' Scroll down for video Raised alarm: Behailu Kebede, a father of one, pictured, whose faulty fridge started the Grenfell Tower inferno and raised the alarm, a neighbour claims Faulty fridge: Mr Kebede, pictured, banged on his neighbour's door, potentially saving hundreds of lives after flames took in the kitchen of his fourth floor flat Firefighters were still damping down the building today. It was deemed unsafe for them to enter until experts have assessed it The 27-storey Grenfell building, which was built in 1974 but refurbished last year, has an average of six flats per floor lived in by council tenants and a smaller number of private owners or tenants - fire had largely engulfed it in around 15 minutes Mr Kebede friend Eshete Meried said the 44-year-old taxi driver originally from Ethiopia, escaped the building - but was still in shock. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Mr Meried said: 'Behailu did raise the alarm, that is what I am hearing. 'He is fine but he is not in a position to talk about anything right now. I understand that he in a temporary shelter, staying with friends.' Another friend said Mr Kebede had spoken to police who are investigating the fire. Maryam left her phone with her belongings in her flat and has been unable to check on other residents. She later attended the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after feeling dizzy, but was given the all-clear. Speaking today from emergency accommodation close to the scene of the disaster, Mr Kebede told of his distress at witnessing the very beginning of the inferno, which it is feared to claimed more than 100 lives. He told MailOnline: 'I am very upset'. Asked whether the fire started in his flat by MailOnline Mr Kebede replied: 'I'm busy, I'm busy. Goodbye.' A Scotland Yard spokesman said today: 'The investigation is ongoing.' Mr Kebede's identity emerged today as: The official death toll was raised to 17, but is expected to soar as rescuers piece their way through the ruined flats where more than 400 people were living when the fire ripped through. Prime Minister Theresa May visited the site and ordered a full public inquiry into the blaze after it was claimed ministers were warned over the cladding suspected to have helped the fire spread. Two young girls, part of a family of five who lived on the tower's 20th floor, were found by relatives in a London hospital. Their mother, father and six-month-old baby sister are still missing. Three generations of one family are missing after three girls, a mother and father and grandmother were caught up in the blaze. Bosses of the company running the building and those who carried out recent refurbishment work were challenged to explain whether new cladding led it to go up 'like a firelighter' in around 15 minutes. More than 1 million has been raised to help those affected by the fire, while volunteers and charities have helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, who live in the London borough, donated to the fund set up to help those affected, and the Queen offered her condolences to victims' families. Dozens of residents at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London, are feared dead just a year after a 10million refurbishment of the block that developers said was safe. Saved lives: Mr Kebede, pictured on holiday, would have saved lives by alerting his pregnant neighbour Maryann Adam, 41, that a fire had started in his flat at number 16 Prime Minister Theresa May visited the site of the burnt-out building this morning before ordering a full public inquiry Rescue workers have reached the top floor of the building, but have been unable to enter any flats or rooms, because the structure is so unstable Experts suspect cladding added to the outside of the 1970s tower block may have helped the fire spread so quickly Chaos and confusion hit the block as the fire began in Mr Kebede's and quickly took hold. It reached the top floor of the 27-story block within just 15 minutes. Witnesses watched helplessly as people trapped in smoke-filled flats took it in turns to suck breaths of air through windows designed to open only fractionally. Trapped residents flashed torches, their mobile phones and even fairy lights from their windows in a desperate attempt to attract the attention of rescuers. One witness said: 'People were taking it in turns to get air from the window, and flashing their phones, and then the fire just took them. 'You could hear people yelling from the top, 'Help, get my children out!' and you are just standing there, and watching people die, burning' Undertakers remove bodies from Grenfell Tower yesterday. But the recovery of the dead is likely to take several more days A body wrapped up in a blanket, obscured by MailOnline, lies in the ground floor of the White City tower block largely destroyed by fire over night It is believed the first six people to be confirmed dead were those who had jumped or fallen. One resident wept as he described how people 'just threw their kids out, screaming 'save my children'.' Another said his mother stepped over a dead body to escape the building. One man claimed he saw a child who was on fire leap from the 22nd floor, adding: 'He walked to the window, and he jumped.' It emerged today that a six-month-old baby is among the missing. The baby girl's mother, Farah Hamdan, and father, Omar Belkadi, have also not been seen since the fire but her older sisters, eight-year-old Malek Belkadi and Tamzin, six, were found in a London hospital. A family of six are also missing after they were caught up in the blaze. Relatives are searching for Nadia, 29, and Bassem Choucair, 38, their three young girls, Mierna, 13, Zaynab, ten, and Fatima, three, and grandmother Sirra. Five-year-old Isaac Shawo was also lost as his family tried to flee their 18th floor flat. He was holding the hand of a neighbour but disappeared as his parents and brother Luca, three, stumbled down a fire escape. Little Tamzin Belkadi, six, (left) and her older sister Malek (right) have been located in a hospital by relatives after their family went missing in the Grenfell Tower fire Isaac Shawo has been missing since his family fled their 18th floor flat. It is feared he got lost in the thick smoke Mierna, 13, Zaynab, ten, and Fatima Choucair, three, are missing along with their mother Nadia (right), father Bassem Choucair and grandmother Sirra The death toll from the devastating tower block fire in west London is expected to rise as investigators trawl through the wreckage in the search for other victims. Mahad Egal sobbed as he described children being thrown from the building At least 12 people have died after the huge fire destroyed Grenfell Tower in north Kensington, where flames could still be seen burning more than a day on from the disaster. More than 1 million has been raised to help those affected as fire tore through the 24-storey building while volunteers and charities helped with feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. A wall of condolence was put up near the scene with photographs showing dozens of messages left for loved ones. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a 'proper investigation' after the building went up in flames early on Wednesday morning amid growing concerns about how the fire could have spread so rapidly. Speaking in Downing Street, Mrs May said: 'When it's possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken.' Residents' groups have claimed they voiced concerns about the safety of the building, which had been recently refurbished, while those who escaped complained their fire alarms had not been set off by the blaze. One focus for the investigation will be the building's cladding, which TV architect George Clarke said may have accelerated the blaze. Pictures of the tower today show the burnt-out flats on the upper floors, which are now blackened hulks with little left intact The remains of a family's kitchen table and chairs were visible through the burned out walls of one of the flats today Shocking footage has emerged of the debris-strewn hallway inside the building, where bodies were seen laying on the floor How can you donate to help the victims of the Grenfell Tower blaze? Britons have been moved by the terrible events at Grenfell Tower in West London yesterday to the extent that they have donated nearly 2million to fundraising pages. Many have provided clothing, shelter and food to those affected, while others have donated money. Here is how you can do your bit to help: There are two main JustGiving pages that have been set up by Karolina Hanusova and Hayley Yearwood, which have already generated about 1million between them. Chef Jamie Oliver offered free meals at his restaurant at nearby Westfield White City while phone company EE encouraged people to use local stores if they needed to contact anyone. Various other fundraising pages were set up, including the Grenfell Tower Fire Fund was set up by local councillor Eartha Pond. The An Noor Cultural & Community Centre also established the Latimer Road Fire Estate Appeal to help. Another page, the West London Tower Fire Victims, was set up by Muslims. Donations can also be made to the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation's Grenfell Tower Appeal. And an Amazon wishlist called the Grenfell Tower Emergency Relief Appeal was set up to help send supplies to the Rugby Portobello Trust which is helping those affected. Advertisement Mr Clarke, who lives locally and appears on Channel 4's Amazing Spaces, told BBC's Newsnight: ' I saw those cladding panels, the cladding on the outside and the insulation was just peeling off, like you'd peel a banana. 'It was fully on fire. I could see the flames behind - there's a new cladding system put on the outsides that looks like a new skin, there's an air gap an insulation behind that, to me that looks like a fantastic chimney for the fire to rage around.' Grenfell Tower, which built in 1974, was recently refurbished at a cost of 8.6 million, with work completed in May last year. Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it had received complaints over the works, after a residents' action group said its warnings about safety had fallen on 'deaf ears'. A blog post from Grenfell Action Group in November said 'only a catastrophic event' would expose the concerns residents had. London fire chief Dany Cotton said full searches of the upper floors, where no one is said to have survived, are yet to be carried out. Parts of it will need to be shored up before rescue workers can enter. She told reporters: 'Tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. The severity and the heat of the fire would mean it is an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive.' Describing the situation inside the tower this morning, fire chief Ms Cotton said: 'Some of the internal structures are not regarded as safe at the moment, however the central core is, so my firefighters have been up to the top floor last night, they have done the initial brief search from the doorways.' 'So although we've been up there we haven't managed to do a comprehensive search and until we can make the building safe then I really don't want to risk the safety of my firefighters at this moment in time,' she added. Ms Cotton said structural surveyors and urban search and rescue specialists would inspect the building on Thursday and once it was declared safe a full search would take place. Search and rescue dog teams will then go through the building first before experts carry out a 'painstaking' fingertip search of the building which may take weeks, Ms Cotton said. Jared Kushner's family real estate firm has suffered another setback in New Jersey, after it withdrew a request for a massive tax break on one of its developments in the area. The Kushner Companies sent a letter withdrawing its application for a 30-year break from city taxes for a planned two-tower project in the struggling Journal Square section of the city, Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill announced on Wednesday. The request had proven to be very controversial, with opponents of the tax breaks marching in protest of it earlier this year. The city's mayor, Steven Fulop, also voiced his opposition to the request. Jared Kushner was CEO of the family company before stepping down to become a senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump. Kushner Companies spokesman James Yolles said the company is committed to the 'much-needed investment' in that area of the city. Jared Kushner's family real estate firm has suffered another set back in New Jersey, after it withdrew a request for a massive tax break on one of its buildings in the area The loss of the tax break is the latest blow for the company in a city where it is major real estate developer. The 79-story building - One Journal Square - gained attention last month after Jared Kushner's sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, mentioned her brother in a presentation in Beijing where she had hoped to attract Chinese investors in the building. Marketing material noted the 'celebrity status' of her family. Government ethics experts blasted the family for what they said was an attempt to profit off Jared Kushner's position in Washington, and the Kushner Companies canceled upcoming investor presentations in the country. The company denied that was the case, claiming Meyer was not trying to use her family's White House ties to attract investors. The Kushner Companies sent a letter withdrawing its application for a 30-year break from city taxes for a planned two-tower project, One Journal Square (pictured is a design of the project) The Kushner family is currently seeking 300 wealthy Chinese to invest a total of $150 million in One Journal Square. The family was trying to raise money through the EB-5 visa program that grants temporary US residency to wealthy foreigners in exchange for investments of at least $500,000 in certain U.S. projects The company also is in danger of losing another tax break for the building. The shared office space firm WeWork recently pulled out as anchor tenant. That has put in doubt a state break tied to WeWork. Another project is off, too. The Kushner Company once considered bidding to develop a 95-acre industrial site along the Hackensack River in the city for housing, called Bayfront. Last month, it was revealed the family had withdrawn from those plans last year. The Kusnher Company has said politics had nothing to do with its decision to withdraw from Bayfront, and that 'economics of the deal' drove the move. The project became controversial when Jared Kushner's sister (right), Nicole Kushner Meyer, mentioned her brother in a presentation in Beijing where she had hoped to attract Chinese investors in the building As for One Journal Square, company spokesman Yolles said the project will provide 4,000 construction jobs and $180 million in tax revenue for the city over 30 years. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat, is running for re-election this fall, and tax breaks to developers have become a major issue. Unlike neighboring Hoboken, Jersey City has granted dozens of tax breaks in recent years. Fulop had campaigned to reform the practice, but critics say he has done little. Another Kushner property in the city overlooking the Hudson River got a five-year tax break soon after Fulop was elected mayor. That 50-story building has licensed the Trump name and is called Trump Bay Street. The building was also partly financed with EB-5 visa money from abroad. The Kushner family owns or manages 20,000 apartments, 13 million square feet of office space and industrial properties in several states, including New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois. Fernando Paulino was caught on CCTV footage buying milk an hour after murdering his ex-wife. He told police that he was out collecting hard rubbish that night in 2013 but video shows him calmly walking into a supermarket and purchasing groceries. The 55-year-old will most likely die in jail after he was found guilty of her murder. Scroll down for video Fernando Paulino was caught on CCTV footage buying milk an hour after murdering his ex-wife Supporters of Teresa Mancuso erupted in cheers as a guilty verdict was delivered to the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Thursday. The verdict came exactly three years and 11 months after she was stabbed 16 times in the stomach, chest and back in her elderly parents Reservoir home on July 15, 2013. The 55-year-old sat expressionless as the jury found him guilty of killing his 49-year-old ex-wife and former flight attendant. He told police that he was out collecting hard rubbish that night in 2013 but video shows him calmly walking into a supermarket and purchasing groceries For the couple's two sons Luke and Daniel Paulino, the verdict brings close for their mum. 'It's just a relief,' Daniel said outside court, with his younger brother Luke beside him. 'Mum can finally rest in peace.' Ms Mancuso's supporters erupted loudly with one saying 'justice', before they hugs and tears were exchanged outside court. Fernando Paulino will most likely die in jail after being found guilty of murdering his ex-wife in a brutal stabbing attack The 55-year-old stabbed Teresa Mancuso (pictured) 16 times in the stomach, chest and back inside her elderly parents Reservoir home on July 15, 2013 During the month-long trial, witnesses including the couple's two sons told the court Paulino repeatedly threatened Ms Mancuso's life. The prosecution alleged Paulino was driven by hatred of his ex-wife and was enraged over family court proceedings to split their assets. They alleged he feared losing the family home and two factories. He also allegedly told one of his sons: 'She'll die before I give her anything'. Witnesses, including both sons, told the jury Paulino repeatedly stalked Ms Mancuso, insulted her and made nuisance phone calls in the lead-up to her death. Paulino tried to blacken her name, inviting his sons to watch a pornographic video on his phone, claiming it was their mother performing oral sex on a man. The jury heard Paulino also asked his two sons to take a DNA test because he didn't trust his ex-wife. Supporters of Teresa Mancuso erupted in cheers as a guilty verdict was delivered to the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Thursday Throughout the month-long trial, the couple's two sons Luke and Daniel gave evidence against their father Daniel Paulino told the jury his dad had threatened to kill his mum, or himself, at least five to 10 times. Luke Paulino said he would call her 'slut' and 'bitch' interchangeably. 'He'd say, "Your mum's done this to us, she's destroyed this family, I'm going to kill her",' Daniel told the court. They claimed he stalked her, insulted her and made nuisance phone calls in the lead-up to her death. The defence maintained while Paulino acted poorly after the split, he was not a murderer and there was no forensic evidence linking him to the crime. Paulino, who appeared emotionless when the verdict was handed down, will face a plea hearing in August. A man nicknamed 'Australia's Tinder love rat' has been charged with being in possession of stolen rings just months after he was 'outed' online for misleading women he met on the internet. Brett Joseph, 30, from Mudgee in central west NSW was arrested on Thursday and charged with being in possession of and disposing stolen goods. His arrest was the result of a nine-month investigation by detectives from Griffith police station. Brett Joseph, 30, from Mudgee in central west NSW was charged on Thursday following reports to police he had been 'providing misleading information to befriend women' Stephanie Hoskins, 23, claimed notorious Tinder love rat Brett Joseph, 29, seduced her in a whirlwind romance after they met on dating site Plenty of Fish in November last year 'Detectives from Griffith Local Area Command launched an investigation in September 2016 following reports a man was providing false information to befriend women,' NSW Police said in a statement. 'As part of their inquiries, police tracked down two rings alleged to have been stolen from a woman in 2009'. Joseph was arrested at his parents' home and taken to the nearby police station where he was charged. He was granted bail and will face Griffith Local Court on July 26. This comes less than four months after Daily Mail Australia revealed the 'love rat' had intended to marry a 23-year-old American woman in Texas so he could get a visa. Stephanie Hoskins, 23, claimed notorious Tinder love rat Brett Joseph, 29, seduced her in a whirlwind romance after they met on dating site Plenty of Fish in November last year. She later found out Joseph was accused of fleecing at least 50 Australian women out of their money using dozens of aliases, including claiming he was an heir to the Myer fortune. Joseph was arrested at his home in the country town and later charged with four counts or receiving stolen property NSW Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia it began investigating Mr Joseph in 2015, and has taken statements from several of his alleged victims. Ms Hoskins was due to marry Mr Joseph on March 31, but discovered his true identity last week. 'He was very charming, very handsome and he knew all the right things to say,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'He made me believe we were looking for the same things in life starting a family and building a life together in Texas.' Joseph was granted conditional bail to appear at Griffith Local Court on July 26. Advertisement American nuclear bombers have been seen taking part in a vast US-led military exercise in the Baltics. B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers are currently taking part in BALTOPs, the annual live training exercise involving 14 nations and thousands of soldiers, according to US Air Force Lieutenant General Richard Clark. Lieutenant General Clark, commander of the German-based 3rd Air Force, said bombers are participating in exercises with NATO partners and other allies. Dramatic new photos showed some of the 6,000 service members, as well as dozens of planes and ships taking part in the exercise in Ustka, Poland. They have emerged in the same week as a Russian jet intercepted a US bomber flying over the Baltic Sea, which Clark referred to as 'standard practice' and 'no cause for concern'. American nuclear bombers have been seen taking part in a vast US-led BALTOPs military exercise in the Baltics B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers are currently taking part in BALTOPs, the annual live training exercise involving 14 nations and thousands of soldiers Dramatic new photos showed some of the 6,000 service members, as well as dozens of planes and ships taking part in the exercise in Ustka, Poland BALTOPs - comprising some 6,000 soldiers, 50 ships and submarines and another 50 aircraft - is designed to 'provide high end training for the participants'. The nations involved in this year's huge-scale event, which starts in Poland and ends in Germany, are Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, UK, US and NATO's Enhanced Opportunities Partners: Finland and Sweden. It is also intended to increase 'interoperability, strengthen combined response capabilities and demonstrate resolve among Allied and Partner Nations', according to US Naval Forces. 'What we want to do is practice and demonstrate the ability to deliver sea control and power projection at and from the sea,' said US Navy Vice Admiral Christopher Grady. The aircraft taking part in BALTOPS, which began in 1972, include eight F-16s, four KC-135 Stratotankers B-52 Strato fortresses and B-1 Lancers. Photos of US soldiers on BALTOPS emerge in the same week a Russian jet intercepted a US bomber flying over the Baltic Sea BALTOPs - comprising some 6,000 soldiers, 50 ships and submarines and another 50 aircraft - is designed to 'provide high end training for the participants' The nations involved in this year's huge-scale event, which starts in Poland and ends in Germany, are Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, UK, US, Finland and Sweden The huge-scale event is intended to increase 'interoperability, strengthen combined response capabilities and demonstrate resolve among Allied and Partner Nations' The aircraft taking part in BALTOPS, which began in 1972, include eight F-16s, four KC-135 Stratotankers B-52 Strato fortresses and B-1 Lancers Meanwhile Baltic nations have expressed concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using a military exercise later this year as cover for aggressive troop buildup on NATO's eastern flank. Lithuanian defence minister Raimundas Karoblis is in Washington to lobby US officials and lawmakers for support as the exposed Baltic states modernize their defenses to deter Kremlin interference. He went on to say he was grateful for - and confident in - US support for NATO, despite President Donald Trump's recent criticism of the alliance. Fears have increased in recent years after President Vladimir Putin deployed Russian troops, agents and proxy forces to seize chunks of Georgia and Ukraine. The Baltics worry they may be next to face pressure from the Kremlin, perhaps in the wake of September's 'Zapad 2017' - a huge Russian military exercise. Baltic nations have expressed concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using a military exercise later this year as cover for aggressive troop buildup on NATO's eastern flank Fears have increased in recent years after President Vladimir Putin deployed Russian troops, agents and proxy forces to seize chunks of Georgia and Ukraine The Baltics worry they may be next to face pressure from the Kremlin, perhaps in the wake of September's 'Zapad 2017' training exercise 'Putin would like to test NATO... and probably the best area for him to test is the Baltics,' the minister told AFP at Washington's Army and Navy Club. Karoblis said his government estimates that 100,000 Russian troops will be involved in the exercise, deployed in Lithuania's southern neighbor Belarus. The exercise itself will be intimidating for Belarus' southern neighbour Ukraine, which has already lost Crimea to Russian occupation and part of its east to rebellion. A clear majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump has tried to interfere with the investigation into Russia's alleged election meddling and possible Trump campaign collusion, a new poll shows. Just one in five support his decision to oust James Comey from the FBI. Following Comey's blockbuster appearance before Congress, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows 68 percent of Americans are at least moderately concerned about the possibility that Trump or his campaign associates had inappropriate ties to Russia. Almost half of Americans saying they're very concerned. Only 3 in 10 say they're not that concerned. A clear majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump has tried to interfere with the investigation into Russia's alleged election meddling and possible Trump campaign collusion, a new poll shows Americans largely view the issue along partisan lines. Sixty-two percent of Republicans say they're not very concerned or not at all concerned about any Russia ties. Though just over half of Americans say they disapprove of Trump's firing of Comey, the number grows to 79 percent among Democrats. Overall, only 22 percent of Americans support Comey's dismissal. For Sandra Younger, a 50-year-old from San Diego, Comey's exit reinforced her suspicion 'something fishy' was going on with the president and Russia. She said it was inappropriate to fire Comey given that he was overseeing the Russia investigation. 'If I had nothing to hide and someone wanted to investigate, I would say, "Go ahead, do your thing, I don't care, because you won't find anything,' '' said Younger, a Democrat who imports jewelry supplies. She added of Trump: 'He seems to be buddy-buddy with these epic creeps.' But William Shepherd, a maintenance worker from Anderson, Indiana, felt it was the president's prerogative to choose his FBI director. He said he was untroubled by claims Trump tried to persuade Comey to back off the investigation, saying those revelations only emerged after Comey was fired and wanted to defend himself. 'These headlines don't really concern me, although they are attention-grabbers,' said Shepherd, a 40-year-old Republican. The president says Comey is not telling the truth about an Oval Office conversation in which the former FBI director claims Trump tried to persuade him to back off Mike Flynn. The Washington Post dropped a new bomb on Trump yesterday - claiming in a report that the president is now the focus of the special counsel's investigation. Trump said it was a 'phony story' Thursday morning on Twitter. 'They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice,' he said. A second tweet 'You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA' Six in 10 Americans think Trump tried to obstruct or impede the investigation. Most are Democrats and independents. Only a quarter of Republicans feel Trump meddled in the probe. The poll began the day before Comey testified publicly before the Senate intelligence committee and continued through Sunday. Three percent of interviews were conducted before the hearing. The Washington Post dropped a new bomb on Trump yesterday - claiming in a report that the president is now the focus of the special counsel's investigation. Trump said it was a 'phony story' Thursday morning on Twitter But six in 10 Americans think Trump tried to obstruct or impede the investigation For many Democrats, there's some irony in coming to Comey's defense and embracing his concerns about Trump. Last year, Democrats aggressively attacked Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, with many calling for his firing. Now that Trump is president and Comey has emerged as a top Trump antagonist, some former Comey critics see his willingness to go after the leaders of both political parties as proof of his independence. 'I've not ever been a particular fan of Mr. Comey's,' said James Shaw, 53, of Olney, Illinois, pointing to the Clinton saga as a key reason. 'But he's an honest broker. I don't think he's politically motivated. I don't think he's partisan.' Trump's reference to the Russia probe as a reason for firing Comey bothers Linda Richardson, 62 - but not enough to second-guess his decision. Richardson, who said she's a registered Democrat but has voted Republican for years, said Trump might have had other reasons, too. 'I guess you feel like you just need to trust your president,' said Richardson, a retiree from Meade County, Kentucky. 'He just knows more about it than I do.' Americans are mixed on whether the Justice Department investigation, now led by Robert Mueller, can be fair and impartial. Twenty-six percent are very or extremely confident it can be. Thirty-six percent are moderately confident and an equal share of Americans aren't very confident or are not at all so. Though just over half of Americans say they disapprove of Trump's firing of Comey, the number grows to 79 percent among Democrats. Overall, only 22 percent of Americans support Comey's dismissal Mueller, the former FBI director, was put in charge of the investigation after Trump fired Comey and public pressure mounted for a special counsel to take over. Comey later testified that he'd authorized a friend to disclose to the media his notes on conversations with Trump about the investigation, in hopes that it would lead the Justice Department to name a special counsel. The poll shows the public relatively unsympathetic to those leaking information about the investigation. Fifty-four percent say they're doing more harm than good by potentially damaging national security. Forty-two percent think they're doing more good by giving the public necessary information. In general, 29 percent of Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in the people running the FBI. Fifty-two percent have a moderate amount of confidence and 18 percent have hardly any confidence. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they have a great deal of confidence in the FBI, 38 percent to 24 percent. The Frenchman who killed his wife in a horrific murder suicide by tying her to rail tracks before leaping in front of a 200mph express train did so on the woman's 34th birthday. Emilie Hallouin and Guillaume Gremy died in Beauvilliers, northern France, on Monday at about 4.30am. Police said that 34-year-old Hallouin's wrists and ankles had been bound to the tracks with strong polythene tape and her body had been severed into pieces by the train. Gremy, 37 had not been tied to the tracks, but his body was found scattered along several hundred yards of track, officials said. Emilie Hallouin and Guillaume Gremy died in Beauvilliers, northern France , on Monday at about 4.30am Police said the 34-year-old Hallouin's wrists and ankles had been bound to the tracks with strong polythene tape and her body had been severed into pieces by the train. Gremy, 37 had not been tied to the tracks, but his body was found scattered along several hundred yards of track, officials said The French TGV train was going so fast that it took more than two miles to stop after hitting Hallouin and Gremy. The couple had been separated at the time of the incident. A Beauvilliers police spokesman said: 'The 34-year-old woman had been fixed to the tracks with strong adhesive tape before her death, whilst the man's body had not. 'It was the act of a man who it has emerged had been suffering from serious and long-term depression. 'We have since learned they separated three years ago, and the man was desperate to reunite with his wife, which she did not want.' Gremy had been on sick leave from his job as a mechanic for depression in the days before the deaths, according to L'Echo Republicain. Along with the 15-month-old they had together, Gremy had an eight-year-old child and a ten-year-old child from a previous relationship, and Hallouin had a ten-year-old also from a previous relationship The French TGV train was going so fast that it took more than two miles to stop after hitting Hallouin and Gremy (file photo of a TGV train) Hallouin, a secretary, died on her 34th birthday. Remi Coutin, the Chartres prosecutor, said of the incident: 'This is a tragic affair. Together, they had a 15-month-old baby.' Along with the 15-month-old they had together, Gremy had an eight-year-old child and a ten-year-old child from a previous relationship, and Hallouin had a ten-year-old also from a previous relationship. The children were believed to be at their grandparents' house at the time of the murder-suicide. Police said they found a car parked near the scene of the tragedy, which allowed them to quickly identify the victims. Coutin said that Gremy is believed to have used wire cutters cut through a fence leading to the train tracks ahead of the incident. Post mortem examinations would be carried out within several days as part of the inquiry in the deaths, police added. For confidential support in the UK call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. For support in the United States, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800 273 8255. Police officers in Western Australia are looking to house eight staffy cross kelpie puppies after they were rescued from their abusive owners. The officers were called to a property in the Kimberly region after receiving an animal abuse complaint. The puppies were taken in order to return them back to full health. Paw-fect! Police officers in Western Australia are looking to house eight staffy cross kelpie puppies after they were rescued from their abusive owners The Kununurra force uploaded an adorable picture of the pups wearing tiny police caps The Kununurra force uploaded an adorable picture of the pups wearing tiny police caps. 'We have rescued eight puppies that are looking for forever homes. They can't stay, it seems they've had a 'ruff' day on 'pawtrol,' the caption read. The WA Pet Project reached out over Twitter and said they will re-home the dogs, but the police have already been 'inundated' with calls from hopeful owners. The WA Pet Project reached out over Twitter and said they will re-home the dogs, but the police have already been 'inundated' with calls from hopeful owners In the meantime the puppies are being cared for at the local police station and are being given treatments and food by the local vets - Kimberley Vet Centre Underneath the photo are hundreds of comments, many stating they would move to Kununurra just to care for the pint-size puppies. 'Thank you for saving them and I love the little sun shades!' One excited person said. In the meantime the puppies are being cared for at the local police station and are being given treatments and food by the local vets - Kimberley Vet Centre. Anyone who wishes to help should best direct their inquiries via email to: Kununurra.Police.Station@police.wa.gov.au. Head of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) Cheryl Giovannoni An education chief believes schoolgirls are 'far stronger, resilient and feistier' than people think - and they know how to cope with sexting and predatory boys. Head of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) Cheryl Giovannoni said British girls should not be wrapped up in cotton wool and that parents and teachers do not need to be overly protective. Earlier this year new data revealed that police have taken action against thousands of under-18s as they tackle a sexting epidemic amongst British youth. In the past four years almost 3,500 investigations into sexting by children have been opened by 25 police forces, according to figures provided to The Times under the Freedom of Information Act. And hitting out at the portrayal of girls as 'victims', Ms Giovannoni told the GDST's annual conference: 'I believe that many girls are far stronger, resilient, opinionated and feisty than they are given credit for. 'There's a huge amount our schools do every day to create and celebrate that empowerment. 'We know how girls learn, what they need to thrive, how they are best supported and encouraged. That's our business - the business of teaching girls to be the very best they can be. 'I believe that many girls are far stronger, resilient, opinionated and feisty than they are given credit for.' Children used a variety of social media platforms to share the images, with Facebook and Snapchat the most common. Norfolk police have investigated 1,097 cases of sexting since 2013-14. Essex has dealt with 431 cases, while Suffolk has dealt with 300 and South Yorkshire with 394. Children as young as seven have been investigated by police for sending sexual images on their phones or online (file photo) In most cases, no action was taken, and of the cases for which an outcome was recorded, 49 led to cautions, 51 to charges and 179 to community resolutions in which the offender apologised or paid compensation. The police forces involved said the increasing number of sexting cases reflect improved recording and reporting, and that more victims now feel able to make a complaint. Several police forces are heavily engaged in raising awareness about the dangers of sexting, explaining to children that it could have life-changing impacts and that once images are sent you lose control of what happens next. Tottenham MP David Lammy said he believed arrests should be made over the fire and called it 'corporate manslaughter' A London MP has today branded the Grenfell Tower blaze 'corporate manslaughter' and demanded arrests are made because he fears hundreds may have died. Labour's David Lammy also said he was losing hope for close friend Khadija Saye, 24, and her mother Mary, who lived on the 20th floor but are still missing. The furious Tottenham MP insisted that people must be 'held to account' for allowing the disaster to happen and said the police should arrest them. He said: 'This [Kensington and Chelsea] is the richest borough in our country treating its citizens in an appalling way and we should call it what it is. It is corporate manslaughter. 'That is what it is and there should be arrests made. It is an outrage.' The passionate comments came as Mr Lammy appealed for information about 'beautiful' artists Khadija Saye, 24, and her mother Mary, who lived on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower. Friends said that she was recognisable by the Africa pendant she always wears around her neck. Mr Lammy said: 'We hope and pray that she is amongst them (in hospital) and not perished in that building as I suspect hundreds will have done by the end of this count.' Khadija Saye, who lives on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower in west London is also among those who are currently missing. Friends said that she was recognisable by the Africa pendant she always wears around her neck Fire tore through the building in the 15 to 30 minutes after it was sparked by the exploding fridge - experts and Did the building's new cladding make the fire much worse? The cladding used on Grenfell Tower may have exacerbated the fire, it has been claimed. Rainscreen cladding, which was added during the block's refurbishment, can act as a 'chimney' for fires because of its ventilated cavities. Many have speculated as to whether this could have made the fire worse, and led to it spreading quickly and trapping residents. Jack Monroe, a former fire fighter, tweeted about the incident and said: 'Whoever signed off on that cladding needs to be hauled before a court and held fully accountable for every single fatality and injury. Chartered surveyor and fire expert Arnold Tarling, from Hindwoods, said that the process can create a 25mm-30mm cavity between the cladding and the insulation. 'It produces a wind tunnel and also traps any burning material between the rain cladding and the building. 'So had it been insulated per se, the insulation could fall off and fall away from the building, but this is all contained inside.' He said not all insulation used in the process is the more expensive non-flammable type 'So basically you have got a cavity with a fire spreading behind it.' Rydon carried out an 8.6 million project, completed in May 2016, to modernise the outside of the building, which saw new cladding and windows installed. In a statement, the Sussex-based firm said it was shocked by the 'devastating' blaze, adding: 'Rydon completed a refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for KCTMO (Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) on behalf of the council, which met all required building control, fire regulation, and health and safety standards. The former chairman of the tenancy organisation connected to Grenfell Tower has described recent refurbishment work as a 'disaster waiting to happen'. Advertisement The Tottenham MP said the fire amounted to 'corporate manslaughter' - although the cause has yet to be established. Without identifying anyone he regarded as culpable, Mr Lammy pointed out that housing conditions in the capital were too often 'unacceptable' and urged the demolition of unsafe buildings. 'These are poor Londoners but they are the lucky ones who are in social housing. Most of them will be the working poor in London,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Mr Lammy went on: 'We know as politicians that the conditions in this country are unacceptable.' 'We built buildings in the 1970s, many of them should be demolished. It is totally unacceptable. People should be held to account.' Families have begun the desperate search for loved ones that have gone missing after a huge inferno engulfed a tower block in west London. Moments after cheating death and escaping Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White City, relatives are now faced with the prospect of having to search for those who have gone missing during the ensuing chaos. The Health and Safety Executive, the police and the fire service are now expected to launch a large-scale investigation and Rachel Adamson, Head of Regulatory Law at Stephensons law firm, said for an incident of this size it is very likely they will be considering criminal charges. She told MailOnline: 'Corporate manslaughter charges are often quite difficult to prove as they relate to the controlling mind of the business. 'If an individual is thought to have been negligent, a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence may be considered. 'There are a range of other potential charges, such as breach of fire regulations or breach of health and safety regulations, these are the tiers down from manslaughter.' Investigators are expected to look at how recent renovation work was carried out, whether Construction Regulations have been adhered to, and what fire safety precautions were in place. More than one resident has claimed that there was no central fire alarm system for the tower block - or it had failed - and only smoke alarms in individual flats were working. There are also claims that there that there was no central sprinkler system - or it was also not working properly during the fire. Others have claimed that the new cladding encasing the block added during last year's 10million refurbishment by Rydon Construction caught alight 'like a matchstick'. The fire at Grenfell Tower broke out in the early hours of yesterday morning Undertakers remove bodies from Grenfell Tower today but the recovery of the dead is likely to take several more days as the fire is still not out Cladding is a material attached to a building's frame to create an outer wall (shown in this graphic). The process of applying the rain-proof frontage can create a 25mm-30mm cavity between the cladding and the insulation behind it, shown between the first two layers Checks are to be carried out on tower blocks going through similar refurbishment to Grenfell Tower, policing and fire minister Nick Hurd has said. Special arrangements have been made for MPs to question a Government minister on the Grenfell Tower fire this afternoon. MPs would normally expect to hear a ministerial statement on a tragedy of this scale in the House of Commons, but this is not possible because Parliament has not yet formally reopened following the snap election. But Speaker John Bercow announced on Wednesday that a meeting with a minister would be arranged. It is due to take place at 1.30pm in the Commons' secondary chamber, Westminster Hall. Fire minister Nick Hurd is expected to make a statement and take questions from MPs. Mr Bercow said on Wednesday that the meeting could be attended by "colleagues gravely concerned about this matter", but that it would not be an official proceeding of Parliament. It was not immediately clear whether the session would be televised. Cut price cladding added to tower blocks built in the 1970s could be to blame for the rapid spread of a fire which claimed the lives of at least 17 people. CLADDING WAS USED TO 'IMPROVE THE APPEARANCE' OF THE BLOCK OF FLATS A planning document released by the council in 2014 said: 'Due to its height the tower is visible from the adjacent Avondale Conservation Area to the south and the Ladbroke Conservation Area to the east. 'The changes to the existing tower will improve its appearance especially when viewed from the surrounding area.' The document also makes repeated reference to the 'appearance of the area'. Advertisement New plastic rain-proof cladding was installed at Grenfell Tower in White City, London, in May 2016 as part of a 10million refurbishment - but 'went up like a match' and helped the fire spread quickly from the fourth to 27th floor. This evening it also was suggested that council penny pinching and accepting the lowest bid was to blame for the blaze according to one former worker. Others said that the cladding chosen purely to make the block look 'posher'. The woman, who worked as a property manager for Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council for 20 years said the deadly blaze could have been prevented if the council had spent money upgrading it. But Grenfell Tower, run by Tenant Management Organisation for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, was not modernised during the employee's two decades working in the property area of the authority. Often fire alarms didn't work and a new external fire escape was not installed because it would cost too much, she said. She claimed new cladding fitted to the outside of the building last year caused the blaze to rip through the block because substandard and cheap materials were used in an effort to save cash. She said: 'They spent 1 million on cladding the outside of the building last year, and surveyors told the council not to use the cheapest possible materials, but they accepted the lowest possible bid. 'The surveyors weren't happy about it, but every time we brought it up with management they said 'we hear you, but we simply can't spend the money on upgrading the building'. There are fears that that no one who lived on the top three residential floors may have survived the unprecedented fire More than 600 residents desperately tried to escape the flames as the fire broke out in the middle of the night, with many woken by the screams of others and the smell of burning plastic 'It was built in the 1970s and the council didn't want to spend the money needed to bring it up to date because it would have cost so much money and taken so much work. WHY CLADDING CAN BE A FIRE HAZARD Cladding is a material attached to a building's frame to create an outer wall. The purpose of cladding - which can be made from wood, metal or plastic - is to prevent condensation and to let water vapour escape. But adding cladding to tower blocks creates an additional fire risk, according to some experts. The material can be flammable and it also creates a cavity that traps other burning material between the cladding and the building. Grenfell Tower underwent a 10.3 million renovation project in May 2016 and was fit with insulated exterior cladding and double-glazed windows. In the early hours of this morning, the fire at Grenfell tower spread to the cladding outside. 'The cladding went up like a matchstick', according to reports by one resident. The building was clad with polyester powder-coated (PPC) aluminium rain-screen panels, according to the Guardian. Some have described it as 'polystyrene-type' cladding - and it may have been clad in the cheaper. According to Reynobond's website, the manufacturer of the panels, they come in two variants. One version a polyethylene core, which is a type of plastic, and flammable. Another version comes with a fire retardant mineral and has a higher resistance to fire. Grenfell tower developers decided to go for the cladding without the fire retardant mineral, which could be seen burning and melting in the early hours of this morning. Another issue is the process of applying the rain-proof frontage can create a 25mm-30mm cavity between the cladding and the insulation behind it. Design specifications suggest the renovation work carried out at Grenfell Tower included a 50mm 'ventilated cavity' next to 150mm of Celotex FR5000 insulation. This insulation, according to Celotex, has a Class 0 rating under UK building regulations, meaning it has the highest rating for preventing the spread of flames and prevents the spread of heat. In July last year, the 75-storey Sulafa Tower in Dubai Marina went up in flames, following a number of similar fires in the Middle East, including one at the 63-storey The Address Downtown Dubai on New Year's Eve 2015. James Lane, head of fire engineering at BB7, told IFSEC Global last July: 'Another high-rise apartment block is apparently victim to the poor fire properties of its external cladding. 'Any building constructed before the 2013 change in the local fire codes will be at risk from this kind of rapid and extensive fire spread unless major work is undertaken in the region to replace combustible insulation core cladding panels with a suitable alternative.' Advertisement 'The materials they used for the cladding was a cheap mixture rather than the more solid concrete. 'The cladding created a gap between the wall which caused the fire to spread even quicker throughout the floors.' Experts were last night focusing their blame for the scale of the disaster on external cladding fitted to the block only last year. It was made from metal panels and slabs of a polystyrene-like material, separated by a small cavity, fixed to the concrete surface of the outside of the tower. Together with new windows, the cladding was meant to boost the building's energy efficiency, protect against the weather and smarten up the look of the 1970s facade. But it appears to provide a fatal conduit for the flames to leap from one flat to another, with witnesses saying the outside of the block ignited 'like a firelighter'. There are fears that hundreds of high-rise blocks across the UK are fitted with similar materials even though MPs warned of the potential fire risk nearly 20 years ago. A report in 1999 by the Environment, Transport and the Regions select committee said: 'We do not believe that it should take a serious fire in which many are killed before all reasonable steps are taken towards minimising the risks.' The MPs highlighted concerns that the small air cavity between the layers of cladding can act as a chimney, helping the fire spread rapidly upwards. Their report demanded that 'all external cladding systems should be required either to be entirely non-combustible, or to be proved through full-scale testing not to pose an unacceptable level of risk in terms of fire spread'. But the method was popular as councils sought to meet insulation standards laid out under the Blair Government's 22billion Decent Homes Programme, which ran from 2000 to 2010. It continued to be used even after the 2009 fire at the 14-storey Lakanal House in Camberwell, South East London, which killed six people. Sam Webb, a fire safety expert who helped gather evidence after that tragedy, said last night there was a conflict between safety and the materials used to make buildings more energy efficient. 'They are not fire-resistant and in some cases they're flammable,' he said. Fires involving cladding have also occurred in Australia, Russia and the Arabian Peninsula adding to the serious safety concerns. They include two in Dubai, one on New Year's Eve 2015 at the 63-storey The Address Downtown and a second last July at the 75-storey Sulafa Tower. Grenfell Tower was clad last year as part of an 8.6million refurbishment by East Sussex-based builders Rydon, which said yesterday that its work 'met all required building controls'. Yet the company admits on its website that the insulation material used, Celotex RS5000, 'will burn if exposed to a fire of sufficient heat and intensity [and] toxic gases will be released with combustion'. Design specifications seen by the Mail suggests Grenfell Tower had 150mm (6in) of Celotex RS5000 insulation and overcladding made from ACM aluminium composite material with a 50mm (2in) 'ventilated cavity' in between. ACM is also potentially highly flammable and rescuers yesterday faced the hazard of blazing metal panels raining down on them as they tried to enter the building. Arnold Tarling, chartered surveyor and fire expert with property firm Hindwoods, said the air cavity could create a 'wind tunnel [that] traps any burning material between the rain cladding and the building'. 'Had there merely been one layer of insulation, this could have fallen off and fallen away from the building but the metal cladding meant it was all contained inside. Not all insulation used in the process is the more expensive non-flammable type,' he said. 'So basically you have got a cavity with a fire spreading behind it.' Dr Kostas Tsavdaridis, associate professor of structural engineering at the University of Leeds said: 'The fire seems to have not only spread the inside the building but also outside. There is a trend nowadays where architects and designers use decorative materials to make buildings more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. 'Some materials used in facades act as significant fire loads: although theoretically they are fire resistant, in most cases they are high-temperature resistant instead of fire resistant. But even if they are, smoke and fire will spread through the joints and connections.' Grenfell Tower was equipped with metal overcladding by Harley Facades Limited, another East Sussex-based firm. United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. CAMERON WASHINGTON, Defendant - Appellant. No. 16-4737 Decided: June 13, 2017 Before NIEMEYER, KING, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges. William L. Welch, III, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. Rod J. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, David Metcalf, Assistant United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee. In accordance with a written plea agreement, Cameron Washington pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 846 (2012). Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(c)(1)(C), the agreement specified that Washington would be sentenced within a range of 84-144 months. The district court sentenced him to 100 months in prison. Washington appeals, raising two issues. We affirm. I Washington contends that the Government breached Paragraph 10 of his plea agreement, which provided: The parties reserve the right to bring to the Court's attention at the time of sentencing, and the Court will be entitled to consider, all relevant information concerning the Defendant's background, character and conduct, including the conduct that is the subject of the counts of the Indictment that this Office has agreed to dismiss at sentencing. Washington argues that the breach occurred when the Government did not bring to the court's attention at sentencing a report issued by the United States Sentencing Commission in August 2016after he had signed his plea agreement and entered his plea at the Rule 11 proceeding. The report contained a recommendation that an offender be sentenced as a career offender only if the instant offense was a felony crime of violence or one of the predicate offenses for career offender status was a felony crime of violence. The report impacted the Rule 11(c)(1)(C) pleas of two of Washington's codefendants, who signed their plea agreements after issuance of the report, and whose plea agreements stipulated that they would receive sentences of 84 months. Washington believes that, had the court been made aware of this report and its impact on the sentences of his codefendants, he, too, would have received an 84-month sentence. Because Washington did not claim in the district court that there was a breach of the plea agreement, our review is for plain error. See United States v. Rangel, 781 F.3d 736, 745 (4th Cir. 2015). To establish plain error, Washington must show that an error occurred, the error was plain, and it affected his substantial rights. See id.; United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732 (1993). We will not exercise our discretion to correct plain error unless the error seriously affect[ed] the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Id. Our interpretation of plea agreements is rooted in contract law. United States v. McLaughlin, 813 F.3d 202, 204 (4th Cir. 2016) (internal quotation marks omitted). Because a defendant's fundamental and constitutional rights are implicated when he is induced to plead guilty by reason of a plea agreement, our analysis of the plea agreement or breach thereof is conducted with greater scrutiny than in a commercial contract. United States v. Lewis, 633 F.3d 262, 269 (4th Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). [A] defendant alleging the Government's breach of a plea agreement bears the burden of establishing that breach by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Snow, 234 F.3d 187, 189 (4th Cir. 2000). [W]hen a plea rests in any significant degree on a promise or agreement of the prosecutor, so that it can be said to be part of the inducement or consideration, such promise must be fulfilled. Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 262 (1971). The Government breaches a plea agreement when an express or implied promise or assurance it made to induce the plea remains unfulfilled. See id.; United States v. Martin, 25 F.3d 211, 217 (4th Cir. 1994). When interpreting the responsibilities of the Government under the plea agreement, we will enforce a plea agreement's plain language in its ordinary sense. United States v. Linder, 552 F.3d 391, 393 n.1 (4th Cir. 2009). Washington cannot establish plain error. Nothing in the agreement obligated the Government to ask for a sentence of 84 months; rather, the parties agreed that Washington would be sentenced to between 84 and 144 months, and his 100-month sentence fell within this range. Nor did Paragraph 10 of the plea agreement expressly or impliedly bind the Government to bring to the court's attention the Sentencing Commission's recommendation or its impact on the negotiated sentences of Washington's codefendants. II Washington's plea agreement provided that he waived: all right to appeal whatever sentence is imposed (including the right to appeal any issues that relate to the establishment of the advisory guidelines range, the determination of the defendant's criminal history, the weighing of the sentencing factors, and the decision whether to impose and the calculation of any term of imprisonment, fine, order of forfeiture, order of restitution, and term or condition of supervised release), except as follows: (i) the Defendant reserves the right to appeal any sentence greater than 144 months imprisonment. Washington challenges the procedural reasonableness of his sentence. The Government seeks to enforce the appellate waiver with respect to this sentencing issue. We review de novo the validity of an appeal waiver. United States v. Copeland, 707 F.3d 522, 528 (4th Cir. 2013). Where the Government seeks to enforce an appeal waiver and did not breach its obligations under the plea agreement, we will enforce the waiver if the record establishes (1) the defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his right to appeal, and (2) the issues raised on appeal fall within the scope of the waiver. United States v. Blick, 408 F.3d 162, 168-69 (4th Cir. 2005). As discussed above, there was no breach of the plea agreement. To determine whether a waiver is knowing and intelligent, we examine the totality of the circumstances, including the experience and conduct of the accused, as well as the accused's educational background and familiarity with the terms of the plea agreement. United States v. General, 278 F.3d 389, 400 (4th Cir. 2002) (internal quotation marks omitted). Other factors to be considered are whether the waiver language in the plea agreement was unambiguous and plainly embodied, and whether the district court fully questioned the defendant during the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 colloquy regarding the waiver of his right to appeal. Id. at 400-401; see United States v. Johnson, 410 F.3d 137, 151 (4th Cir. 2005); United States v. Wessells, 936 F.3d 165, 167-68 (4th Cir. 1991). Generally, if the district court specifically questions the defendant about the waiver during the Rule 11 colloquy or the record otherwise indicates that the defendant understood the full significance of the waiver, the waiver is valid. Johnson, 410 F.3d at 151. Washington's plea agreement clearly set forth the waiver in a separate paragraph. By signing the agreement, Washington acknowledged: I have read this agreement, including the Sealed Supplement, and carefully reviewed every part of it with my attorney. I understand it, and I voluntarily agree to it. Specifically, I have reviewed the Factual and Advisory Guidelines Stipulation with my attorney, and I do not wish to change any part of it. I am completely satisfied with my attorney. At the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 hearing, Washington confirmed that he had signed the plea agreement and that the representations in the acknowledgment were true. The court reviewed the primary terms of the agreement. With respect to the waiver, the court stated, You waive your right to appeal from your conviction and your right to appeal from any sentence that I impose, and the Government does, too, provided that I sentence you [to] between 84 months and 144 months. Washington told the court that his understanding of the plea agreement [was what the court had] stated it to be. Based on the totality of the circumstances, we conclude that Washington's waiver of the right to appeal his sentence is valid and enforceable. Under Blick, the next question is whether the issue Washington seeks to raise falls within the scope of the waiver. He contends that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable. We hold that the waiver encompasses this issue. III We therefore affirm. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED PER CURIAM: Thousands of furious passengers were forced to fly from Heathrow without their bags after a baggage system meltdown affected Terminals 3 and 5. Customers hit out at the 'absolute shambles' that led to long queues and disruption to their holiday plans after a mechanical problem with the luggage conveyor belts. British Airways customers were particularly badly affected in another blow to the airline that came just two weeks after at IT system outage stranded 75,000 people. Hundreds of passengers at London Heathrow had to travel without their bags after an issue with its baggage system affected Terminals 3 and 5 Customers complained of long queues and disruption to their holiday plans after a mechanical problem with the conveyor belts that take bags through the airport Customers complained on Twitter after yet another bout of chaos at Heathrow Airport The UK flag carrier suffered particular disruption as many of its customers use Terminals 5 and 3. However, the airline was not responsible for the problems and other carriers were also affected. One Twitter user wrote: 'Increasingly typical c*** up at Heathrow T5. Luggage system down, massive queues and, worst of all, no information.' MailOnline understands there was a problem with the mechanical belts that carry luggage through the airport, rather than a IT failure or power outage. Passengers, who were told to pack essential items on their hand luggage, went on social media to express their anger at the latest disruption. Ceri Lewis tweeted: 'When your leaving for a snorkelling field trip and the Heathrow baggage system fails. Doooom!' Zoe Morrison wrote: '@britishairways let us down again @HeathrowAirport- no baggage being loaded this morning and no information for passengers.' Another frustrated passenger, Ryan Wooldridge, said: 'Baggage failure at @HeathrowAirport this morning. Bags won't be making it onto flights, absolute shambles.' Terminal 5 is used mainly by British Airways, so its passengers were worst affected, although the airline is not responsible for the airport's baggage systems One Twitter user wrote: 'Increasingly typical c*** up at Heathrow T5. Luggage system down, massive queues and, worst of all, no information' MailOnline understands there was a problem with the mechanical belts that carry luggage through the airport, rather than a IT failure or power outage Jacqui MacDermott tweeted: 'At Heathrow. @britishairways total chaos again!' Rachel Jackson tweeted: 'Just found out that despite checking in 3 hours early bag not on flight disgusted what are you doing about it @HeathrowAirport?' Heathrow said at 6.45am: 'We are currently experiencing an issue with its baggage systems which is affecting airlines operating from Terminal 3 and Terminal 5. 'This may mean passengers will travel without their bags, and we advise them to pack essential items in their hand luggage. Other terminals are unaffected.' The airport released another statement at 9.05am saying the problem had been fixed. Flights were operating as usual before and after the problem was fixed. This said: 'Further to the baggage issues we experienced earlier this morning, bag drop desks are now open and operating normally in Terminals 3 and 5. Terminals 2 and 4 were unaffected by the issue. Passengers, who were told to pack essential items on their hand luggage, went on social media to express their anger at the latest disruption Heathrow said at 6.45am: 'We are currently experiencing an issue with its baggage systems which is affecting airlines operating from Terminal 3 and Terminal 5' 'We continue to monitor the situation. We recommend that passengers who have already departed this morning without their luggage contact their airline for further updates. We are sorry to passengers affected by this issue.' While BA was not the only airline affected, it is another blow for the self-proclaimed worlds favourite airline', coming just two weeks after it suffered a power surge that knocked out its IT system. The systems failure caused mass flight cancellations over the May Bank Holiday, stranding 75,000 passengers. The outage lasted just 15 minutes but it stopped online check-in, grounded planes and broke baggage systems. Some passengers were still waiting to be reunited with their luggage almost a week on. The airline sought to blame the outage on a single engineer, who rebooted the system too quickly when the power failed. The airport released another statement at 9.05am saying the problem had been fixed The airport suffered massive disruption on the May Bank Holiday after a power surge knocked out British Airways' IT system, stranding 75,000 passengers The Uninterruptible Power System (UPS) system that broke down was at Boadicea House at Heathrow - a building built for state-owned BOAC. The system was designed and installed there in the mid-1980s. It failed on Saturday May 27 at around 8.30am. It appears that alternative power sources including batteries and a diesel generator may also have failed. BA's emergency procedures say that the power would then be restored 'gradually' with its other data centre at Heathrow - Comet House - taking 'up the slack'. But a source told the Telegraph that power 'resumed in an uncontrolled fashion', damaging servers containing all sorts of data about flights, passengers and even flight paths. It meant that BA staff needed days to rebuild the servers to get services back to normal. A four-year-old boy has survived almost five days alone Russian woodland rife with bears and wolves. Exhausted Dima Peskov was covered in ticks and mosquito bites when he was discovered in the Urals, western Russia. His parents said he was too traumatised to speak after getting lost on a camping trip and survived by eating grass and drinking puddle water. The child - found curled up under a tree - was found to be suffering from dehydration and pneumonia, according to doctors. His condition was tonight described as 'grave but stable'. Four-year-old Dima Peskov survived almost five days alone Russian woodland rife with bears and wolves Dima was covered in ticks and mosquito bites when he was discovered in the Urals, western Russia Dima's parents said he was too traumatised to speak after getting lost on a camping trip and survived by eating grass and drinking puddle water He was found as police had begun to suspect his father of murdering the child and burying him in the forest. Dima is unable to talk to his parents but can moan or nod to questions from his parents and nurses. A huge search had been underway for the boy with 500 volunteers helping to find him after he went missing near Reftinskoye reservoir where bears and wolves prowl. One rescuer described his survival as a 'miracle'. After being found the child was airlifted to hospital in Asbest, 50 miles north east of regional capital Ekaterinburg. His father Andrey Peskov said a young volunteer from Sokol Rescue Squad had found his son 'He saw a little mound behind a birch tree and came closer,' he told the Siberian Times. 'He walked around a tree and realised that the mound was actually a child lying down. Dima (left) was found as police had begun to suspect his father Andrey (right) of murdering the child and burying him in the forest The child, who went missing near Reftinskoye lake (pictured), was found to be suffering from dehydration and pneumonia A huge search had been underway for the boy with 500 volunteers helping to find Dima Dima is unable to talk to his parents but can moan or nod to questions from his parents and nurses 'At first, the rescuer thought that the boy was dead, but then he saw a slight move. Our son is now feeling better, he understand me - even though he doesn't speak. 'He talks back by either nodding his head or blinking his eyes. He is very strong, our son, but he spent more than four days in the woods. 'He is so exhausted. I cannot express our gratitude to everyone who helped looking for him. A huge, huge thank you. You didn't leave us alone in trouble.' The boy's mother Alfia Peskova, in tears and visibly shocked, said: 'Thank you so much to the volunteers. 'Our son is much better now. True he cannot speak, he moans back, but he understand what is said to him. 'He is on a drip now to ensure he gets fluids and food. His clothes were just cut off him, he was wrapped in a blanket.' Dima was lost after helping his father gather firewood. His father thought he had returned to his mother by the family's tent. The boy's mother Alfia Peskova (pictured), in tears and visibly shocked, said: 'Thank you so much to the volunteers' After being found the child was airlifted to hospital in Asbest, 50 miles north east of regional capital Ekaterinburg The parents say they staged their own search before calling police. The father admitted: 'Police suspected that I killed our son and hid his body.' He refused to comment further. The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed it is probing whether the parents were negligent in their supervision. The press service of Sverdlovsk region Investigative Committee said: 'More than 50 people were called as witnesses to be interrogated as part of the investigation. 'They included Dima's relatives, neighbours, staff at his kindergarten and also fishermen on shore of the reservoir that night. 'As we interrogate witnesses, we clarify the reasons and conditions that led to situation when the boy's life was put under threat.' Advertisement These are the first pictures to emerge showing the complete devastation left behind by the inferno that killed at least 17 people inside a London tower block. Dozens, possibly hundreds, of people are feared dead after the devastating blaze ripped through the Grenfell Tower housing block. Seventy eight people were taken to hospital, with 18 fighting for lives in critical condition, as around 600 residents tried desperately escape the flames that broke out at around 1am on Wednesday. Scroll down for video Fire seen burning inside what looks to be a kitchen of one of the flats inside Grenfell Tower on the West Lancaster estate What appears to be a washing machine in the burnt out remains of the inside of some of the apartments at Grenfell Tower A picture is beginning to emerge of the complete devastation left behind by the blazing fire which started in the early hours of yesterday There were fears the tower block, home to 600 people, would collapse yesterday and smoke can still be seen emanating from the flats today The burnt out remains of the inside of some of the apartments can be seen the Grenfell Tower block in west London Firefighters are now combing their way through the skeleton of the building trying to piece together the chain of events and search for survivors A kitchen table and chairs where a family would have sat down to eat on Tuesday night before going to bed is seen completely melted The smoke pictured still coming from the building which has been completely stripped of its controversial outer layer The fire seen raging through the building in West London as black smoke spews out leaving pieces of cladding hanging off How can you donate to help the victims of the Grenfell Tower blaze? Britons have been moved by the terrible events at Grenfell Tower in West London yesterday to the extent that they have donated nearly 2million to fundraising pages. Many have provided clothing, shelter and food to those affected, while others have donated money. Here is how you can do your bit to help: There are two main JustGiving pages that have been set up by Karolina Hanusova and Hayley Yearwood, which have already generated about 1million between them. Chef Jamie Oliver offered free meals at his restaurant at nearby Westfield White City while phone company EE encouraged people to use local stores if they needed to contact anyone. Various other fundraising pages were set up, including the Grenfell Tower Fire Fund was set up by local councillor Eartha Pond. The An Noor Cultural & Community Centre also established the Latimer Road Fire Estate Appeal to help. Another page, the West London Tower Fire Victims, was set up by Muslims. Donations can also be made to the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation's Grenfell Tower Appeal. And an Amazon wishlist called the Grenfell Tower Emergency Relief Appeal was set up to help send supplies to the Rugby Portobello Trust which is helping those affected. Advertisement Firefighters still working to completely extinguish the smouldering block of flats more than 24 hours after the blaze started are now combing for residents, and a picture of the extent of the damage is now beginning to emerge. Harrowing photographs showing blown out windows, melted kitchen tables and washing machines stopped mid-load were taken this morning in West London capturing how residents abandoned their homes in horror to reach safety. The tower block, which was wrapped in controversial cladding, has been left charred by the blaze which started around 1am yesterday. Burnt appliances such as washing machines can be seen abandoned inside the apartments, which are now completely bereft of any of the residents' personal belongings. Firefighters are now combing their way through the skeleton of the building trying to piece together the chain of events and search for residents. Nobody left in the London tower block which burned down on Wednesday morning is still alive, fire crews have said. Rescuers say there are still 'unknown numbers' of people dead inside, but at the moment it is too risky to try to recover them from the upper floors of the fire-ravaged and unstable Grenfell Tower. London fire chief Dany Cotton told Sky News: 'Tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. The severity and the heat of the fire would mean it is an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive.' Full searches of the upper floors, where no one is said to have survived, are yet to be carried out. In a separate interview, Ms Cotton told ITV today: 'Some of the internal structures are not regarded as safe at the moment, however the central core is, so my firefighters have been up to the top floor last night, they have done the initial brief search from the doorways.' 'So although we've been up there we haven't managed to do a comprehensive search and until we can make the building safe then I really don't want to risk the safety of my firefighters at this moment in time,' she added. Ms Cotton said structural surveyors and urban search and rescue specialists would inspect the building on Thursday and once it was declared safe a full search would take place. The blown out windows, outer layers of the building peeling off and complete devastation left inside Grenfell Tower The bottom couple of floors of Grenfell Tower are seen relatively unscathed (right), but the middle and top floors have been completely gutted (left) Officials have confirmed nobody left in the London tower block which burned down on Wednesday morning is still alive A structural survey is now being carried out and when the building is declared safe a full search will take place Terrifying explosions, flames and gunshots rang out into the night as military fighters crept through an Australian town which had been turned into a temporary war zone. Soldiers mimicked a real-life battle on the front line at Townsville Field Training Area in an urban complex used as a military range for the Australian Defence Force. Marines battled throughout the night during the 3rd Brigade's Exercise Brolga Strike - and while the scenes appeared frenzied, it was completely coordinated, the Townsville Bulletin reports. Scroll down for video Troops mimicked a real-life war zone which erupted in the makeshift town at the field training base The Townsville Field Training Area is an urban complex used as a military range for the Australian Defence Force Members of the Australian Defence Force were trained in the most realistic way possible how to pursue enemy flanks, launch organised demolitions and clear burning obstacles. The 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment Battle Group Coral and US Marines from Lima 'Lucky' Company of the 3rd Battalion and 4th Marines stormed the makeshift 'town' and took control during a five-hour battle. 'This scenario and other actions during the exercise are really testing us as combined arms battle group every asset and specialisation on the battlefield contributes and we saw it come together last night,' Lieutenant Colonel Ben McLennan told the publication. 'There is no tougher environment to fight in than urban. It's a good test of our readiness.' The Townsville Field Training Area serves as a live-fire military range for the Australian Defence Force. The 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment Battle Group Coral and US Marines from Lima 'Lucky' Company of the 3rd Battalion and 4th Marines stormed the makeshift 'town' and took control during a five-hour battle Theresa May announced a full public inquiry into the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze today - as she was criticised for failing to meet survivors on a 'private visit' to the scene of devastation. The Prime Minister insisted the government would get answers as she was rebuked for limiting her visit to police and firefighters sifting through the wreckage. Mrs May reportedly 'broke down on tears' when she heard news of the fire but has been 'damaged by her apparent inability to show emotion,' according to The Times. By contrast Jeremy Corbyn met survivors an hour later. Scroll down for video Amid fears that the death toll could rise above 100, the PM spoke to firefighters and surveyed the charred remains of the Grenfell building Mrs May was shown around the scene of the tragedy as emergency services were still picking through the wreckage Jeremy Corbyn comforted a local resident at St Clement's Church after he visited the scene The Labour leader met staff and volunteers who have provided shelter for those affected by the deadly inferno The PM not meeting local residents was greeted with disbelief by many on Twitter With fears the death toll could reach 100, Mrs May said the country 'owed it to the families' to uncover the truth about what happened. Ministers are facing mounting demands to explain why they did not do more to avert the horror. A series of blunders are being blamed for the disaster, with speculation that cladding installed last year helped the blaze spread, and residents claiming there were no working fire alarms and no sprinklers. Mrs May's chief of staff Gavin Barwell, who was housing minister until he lost his Commons seat last week, promised to respond to a major coroner's report which demanded safety improvements following a previous fatal blaze. But little progress appears to have been made on an overhaul of building fire safety regulations. It has also emerged that another former housing minister, Brandon Lewis, had suggested it was not the Government's 'responsibility' to ensure buildings have sprinklers - although the Home Office tonight insisted he was referring only to industrial warehouses. As Chancellor Philip Hammond cancelled his keynote Mansion House speech in the wake of the tragedy, Mrs May said today: 'We need to know what happened, we need to know an explanation. 'We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived. 'That is why I am ordering a full public inquiry so that we can get to the answers, we can find out exactly what happened.' The Prime Minister added: 'When I went to the scene and spoke to the emergency services, they told me that the way this fire had spread and took hold of the building was rapid, it was ferocious, it was unexpected. 'So it is right that, in addition to the immediate fire report that will be produced and any potential police investigation, that we do have a full public inquiry to get to the bottom of this. 'People deserve answers. The inquiry will give them.' Asked why she had not met local residents, Mrs May replied: 'Well, I visited the scene of this terrible fire this morning. 'I wanted a briefing from the emergency services. They've been working tirelessly in horrific conditions and I have been overwhelmed by their professionalism and their bravery. 'I heard stories of firefighters running into the building being protected from the falling debris by police officers using their riot shields. And we thank all our emergency services for the incredible work that they have done.' At least twelve people are feared to have died in the blaze at Grenfell Tower overnight Mrs May carried out her visit in private without being accompanied by journalists Fire crews are still trying to establish how many casualties there are from the deadly fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also visited the scene of the inferno this morning Mr Corbyn, pictured at the scene today, told residents 'the truth has got to come out' as he went on a walkabout of the area around the tower block in west London today Some Twitter users compared Mrs May's visit to that of President George Bush to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina - when he was criticised for avoiding victims Jeremy Corbyn also visited the scene of the inferno in west London today. Speaking to locals in a walkabout of the area, the Labour leader said the 'truth has got to come out'. Addressing a resident who said the investigation must not be kicked onto the long grass, Mr Corbyn said: 'I will speak up for you because we have got to get to the bottom of this. PM'S RATINGS SLUMP AS CORBYN SURGES The latest YouGov research underlines the stark turnaround in the leaders' fortunes Theresa May personal ratings have plummeted while Jeremy Corbyn's popularity has surged since the election, according to a poll. The Prime Minister's net favourability score has sunk from +10 in April to -34 this week. In a stark reversal of fortunes, Mrs May's rating is now at the level the Labour leader was on in November last year. The latest YouGov research show Mr Corbyn has secured his highest score to date after his popularity ratings surged from -42 in late April to +0. Advertisement 'The truth has got to come out and it will.' MPs gathered in Westminster Hall later for an ad-hoc sessions of questions to Fire Minister Nick Hurd about the blaze. Normally there would be a ministerial statement in the Commons on a disaster of this scale, but as parliament has not officially resumed after the election yet that is not possible. Mr Hurd described it as a 'national tragedy' and said a full search of the tower block was 'unlikely to be feasible for some time'. Mr Corbyn told the MPs that hundreds of thousands of people living in tower blocks will be 'frightened, traumatised and very, very worried' following the fire. He branded Kensington & Chelsea a 'tale of two cities' with poverty next to huge wealth - and suggested that housing should be 'requisitioned' to provide homes for those displaced by the fire. The Labour leader said he 'feels very angry' that so many people have lost their lives in a tower block where the fire precautions did not work. He welcomed the Government's decision to establish a public inquiry but insisted it must be speedy and allow residents to fully take part, with legal aid provided if needed. The tragedy means Mrs May is again scrambling to deal with a major crisis, after the election campaign was overshadowed by two terrorist attacks. Critics are demanding answers on why expert advice that sprinklers should be made compulsory in tall buildings has not been followed. It is thought 4,000 tower blocks across the country do not have sprinkler systems. Mr has suggested spending cuts could have contributed to the deadly fire. MPs gathered in Westminster Hall this afternoon for an ad-hoc sessions of questions to Fire Minister Nick Hurd about the blaze Former housing ministers Gavin Barwell and Brandon Lewis are facing scrutiny over claims they failed to act over fire safety warnings on high rise blocks He said 'searching questions' need to be asked about what happened at the west London tower block, adding: 'If you deny local authorities the funding they need, then there is a price that's paid.' Mr Corbyn said calls for sprinklers to be installed in high-rise buildings after a fatal fire at Lakanal House in south London in 2009 had not been heeded. 'I think there needs to be some very searching questions asked as quickly as possible in the aftermath of this fire,' he added. Harriet Harman, the Labour MP for Camberwell and Peckham which covers Lakanal House, also questioned the impact of austerity on the safety of housing. She told BBC Radio 4's World At One: 'Councils want to fit sprinklers in their tower blocks, but it comes down to money. COMPANY MANAGES TOWER FOR COUNCIL The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) manages the Grenfell Tower on behalf of the local council. The standalone not-for-profit company was formed in 1996, and also has responsibility for improvement works. It is managed by a Board of Directors comprising eight elected tenants, four Councillors and three independent members. Advertisement 'The Government has been cutting the money to councils. If you cut money to councils you can't put in sprinklers. 'If you cut money to councils you can't supervise contractors properly. 'I'm afraid the Government has got to say we have responsibility overall in public buildings to make sure of the safety of these tenants and we can't penny-pinch where it will cost lives.' But Downing Street insisted that many improvements had been made following the Lakanal House fire, which killed six people. Tory former minister and ex-firefighter Mike Penning admitted that people had been 'calling, I think probably rightly, for sprinklers to be installed for many, many years under many different governments'. 'At the end of the day, what we have got to check is that the existing regulations have been adhered to,' he said, He dismissed the suggestion that the squeeze on local authority funding could have been an issue. The building - in a Tory-run borough with sharp contrasts between very wealthy and deprived areas - is managed by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). Mr Penning said: 'I don't think cuts come into consideration when you have residents that have been saying 'we are frightened, we are worried'.' The fire resulted in the 'cladding and windows clearly burning', suggesting that the external cladding may have been a factor, Mr Penning said. 'I have never seen a tower block fire move so fast in that sort of way, and from a very low vantage point as well. So the source of the fire will be very interesting when the investigators do that and what was the cause of the initial fire, whether it was electrical or, sadly, even criminal activity,' he added. The All-Party Parliamentary Fire and Rescue Group has been demanding changes to building regulations on fire safety since 2013. Ronnie King, a former fire chief in Wales who is an adviser to the All-Party Group, told MailOnline that it issued a series of warnings that were not heeded. Mr King said the type of cladding installed on Grenfell Tower did not appear to have been resistant to the fire spreading. In this image taken by eyewitness Gurbuz Binici, a huge fire engulfs the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White City Many residents who gathered outside the smouldering ruins of the building said the fire had been caused by a faulty fridge in one of the flats, but the fire service told MailOnline it could not confirm the reports at this stage That was one of the issues with the regulations that were raised by the APPG with three successive ministers from 2013, he said. 'The building regulations relating to the fire safety were last reviewed in 2006,' Mr King said. Last year, when Mr Barwell was housing minister, the APPG 'pressed him for a review of the building regulations, stressing of course Lakanal House'. MINISTERS FACING QUESTIONS OVER WHY SAFETY AT TOWERS WAS NOT BOLSTERED Ministers are facing questions about why they did not act on warnings about fire safety at tower blocks. Ronnie King, a former fire chief in Wales who is an adviser to the All-Party Group, told MailOnline that it raised concerns that were not heeded. Mr King said the type of cladding installed on Grenfell Tower did not appear to have been resistant to the fire spreading. That was one of the issues with building regulations that were raised by the APPG with three successive ministers from 2013, he said. Last year, when Gavin Barwell was housing minister, the APPG 'pressed him for a review of the building regulations, stressing of course Lakanal House'. 'He said he was still looking at it,' Mr King said. Mr Barwell told the Commons in October last year: 'We have not set out any formal plans to review the building regulations as a whole, but we have publicly committed ourselves to reviewing part B following the Lakanal House fire.' But he did not give any date of when the review might start or how it would be conducted. Mr King pointed out that the building had been refurbished in 2016, at which point it should have been compliant with the regulations in force. 'If they updated the regulations and this change had been part of the update ... I think the fire would not have spread up the outside of the building,' he said. Mr King raised questions about whether Grenfell Tower had fire suppression measures such as sprinklers. He said there were 4,000 tower blocks that did not have sprinkler systems around the country, and that needed to be tackled urgently. In 2013, a coroner's report into the Lakanal House fire ruled that that all high-rise building should be retro-fitted with sprinklers. They also asked whether residents in tower blocks should be advised to 'stay put' or 'get out and stay out' in the case of a fire. Asked about the issue in February 2014, Mr Barwell's predecessor as Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, said: 'We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation.' Advertisement 'He said he was still looking at it,' Mr King said. Mr Barwell told the Commons in October last year: 'We have not set out any formal plans to review the building regulations as a whole, but we have publicly committed ourselves to reviewing part B following the Lakanal House fire.' But he did not give any date of when the review might start or how it would be conducted. Mr King said: 'The APPG has sought a review since the Lakanal House fire. In our view that was sufficient evidence that things are not right and things need to change.' Mr King pointed out that the building had been refurbished in 2016, at which point it should have been compliant with the regulations in force. He said: 'I think that there are obvious questions to be asked... 'If they updated the regulations and this change had been part of the update ... I think the fire would not have spread up the outside of the building. 'I would think if this had been done in this case and it had been refurbished externally it might not have happened.' Mr King raised questions about whether Grenfell Tower had fire suppression measures such as sprinklers. He said there were 4,000 tower blocks that did not have sprinkler systems around the country, and that needed to be tackled urgently. In 2013, a coroner's report into the Lakanal House fire ruled that that all high-rise building should be retro-fitted with sprinklers. They also asked whether residents in tower blocks should be advised to 'stay put' or 'get out and stay out' in the case of a fire. Asked about the issue in February 2014, Mr Barwell's predecessor as Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, said: 'We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation.' Mr Lewis who was promoted by the Prime Minister at the weekend and now attends Cabinet said regulations should be changed only as a 'last resort'. Last night fire minister Nick Hurd said emergency checks are to be carried out on tower blocks going through the same process of refurbishment as the Grenfell building destroyed in yesterday's blaze. Last night members of the all-party parliamentary group on fire safety said ministers had been warned that building regulations were out of date. Its secretary, Labour MP and former fireman Jim Fitzpatrick, told LBC: 'We've been pressing for fire sprinkler systems in buildings where we think it's appropriate... and government has been resisting that for some time.' Referring to the coroner's report, he added: 'You'd have to ask them why they've sat on it for four years.' Mrs May summoned a meeting of the government's Civil Contingencies Secretariat today to co-ordinate the response to the Grenfell Tower blaze. A Number 10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in the Grenfell Tower and is being kept constantly updated on the situation. 'She has asked for a cross-Government meeting at the Civil Contingencies Secretariat to take place to co-ordinate the response and ensure the Government is ready to assist the emergency services and local authorities as necessary. 'The PM's thoughts are with all of those affected by this terrible incident and the emergency services, who are working tirelessly in very difficult circumstances.' A man in Oklahoma conspired with a pregnant woman to rape her as-yet unborn baby, police have alleged. Daniel Thomas J. Deffner, 39, was arrested in Yukon after authorities say he was planning to molest and torture the baby when its mother, who he was messaging over Facebook, gave birth. The Midwest City woman, it is alleged, did not just agree to the sick fantasies being carried out on her child - she said she wanted to actively take part herself. Canadian County Sheriff Chris West said the case was 'one of, if not the, sickest things I've ever heard of'. Daniel Thomas J. Deffner (pictured) is alleged to have conspired with a pregnant woman to rape and torture her child as soon as it was born Video courtesy of News 9 KFOR reported that he added: 'I can't describe the evil and deranged details of what they were planning to do to this innocent and defenseless baby.' Deffner is also alleged to have had around seven pictures of an 11-year-old girl he had manipulated into sending naked images of herself. Police also said Deffner had arranged to meet up with the girl later this year. Sheriff West added: 'It sickens me to no end that an 11-year-old girl spent any amount of time alone with such a sick and demented individual as Deffner. I pray that baby wasn't scarred for life.' Canadian County Sheriff Chris West said the case was 'one of, if not the, sickest things I've ever heard of'. Pictured: Deffner's home in Yukon Deffner was arrested on June 9 and is facing charges for procuring a minor in child photography, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was already on probation for drug charges and child neglect. Deffner, who remains in custody, has had his bond put at $101,500. Police worry there could be more victims in the case. The pregnant woman in the case - whose identity has not been released - has now given birth, according to KOCO, and her newborn baby and other children have been put into protective services. Her case is being handled by the Midwest City Police Department. Former TV weatherman Fred Talbot is to be sentenced today after being convicted of a string of sex offences against schoolboys more than 35 years ago Former TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been jailed for four years after being convicted of a string of sex offences against schoolboys more than 35 years ago. The 67-year-old indecently assaulted seven teenage boys in his care during camping and boating trips in the 1970s and 1980s while working as a biology teacher at a school in the Manchester area. During a nine-day trial at Lanark Sheriff Court last month, Talbot, of Greater Manchester, denied the allegations. A jury took four hours over two days to convict the predator of seven of the nine historical abuse charges against him. Talbot is already serving a five-year sentence imposed in Manchester in 2015 for indecently assaulting two other schoolboys. The four-year sentence is due to start from August, at the end of the punishment part of his current jail term. He was sentenced today at Lanark Sheriff Court by Sheriff Nikola Stewart, who said he 'grossly abused the trust' placed in him as a teacher with 'systematic' abuse of schoolboys. She said: 'It is beyond doubt these trips were organised with sexual exploitation of these boys very much in mind. 'By denying your guilt and insisting on a trial, you put each victim through further trauma.' In mitigation, Talbot's defence lawyer Alan Gravelle said it was recognised there is no alternative to a prison sentence, but he asked the sheriff to take into account his age and lack of offending over the last three decades. The lawyer said: 'His reputation is damaged beyond repair. 'With this second case in Scotland, my lady, his shame is now complete.' Sheriff Stewart said the pupils that went on trips organised by Talbot had all trusted and liked the teacher. 'They were all utterly unsuspecting of the sexual threat you posed,' she told the former weatherman. Sheriff Stewart said he had 'utter disregard' for his duties as a teacher and the boys he preyed on were 'too embarrassed and disempowered' to report his 'disgraceful behaviour'. Talbot (pictured in Liverpool in 1990) is already serving a five-year sentence imposed in Manchester in 2015 for indecently assaulting two other schoolboys Dressed in a grey shirt and striped tie, Talbot was led down from the dock before being transported back to prison. Fraser Gibson, procurator fiscal for South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway, said: 'Fred Talbot was in a position of trust and abused that to prey on vulnerable boys. For over 10 years he may well have thought that he had escaped justice but he was wrong and thanks to the courage of his victims in coming forward to report what happened to them is now paying the consequences for his actions. 'I would urge any victims of sexual crimes, even ones which occurred decades ago, to come forward and report them. 'They will be treated with the utmost professionalism and sensitivity by the police and our expert prosecutors and we will do all we can to deliver justice.' The television personality, who regularly appeared on a floating weather map in Liverpool's Albert Dock for ITV's This Morning show for several years, sat impassively when convicted on May 25. It followed days of 'overwhelming and compelling' evidence against Talbot, including from Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown and a witness appearing over a video link from Australia. The television personality, who regularly appeared on a floating weather map in Liverpool's Albert Dock for ITV's This Morning show for several years, sat impassively when convicted on May 25 The offences, against boys aged 15 to 17, took place between 1978 and 1981 during separate trips near the St Mary's Loch area in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, and the Caledonian Canal, Inverness in the Highlands. A series of witnesses, now men in their 50s who cannot be named for legal reasons, told of their excitement at going on the excursions - sometimes the first time away from their parents. Many of them recalled how Talbot used his position to engineer situations to target those he should have been looking after. The court heard the attacks could be at night when a victim was isolated or after they had consumed alcohol. One man told of his 'horror' when he awoke - after being 'singled out' to go to the pub - to find Talbot touching him in a tent while partially-clothed. Talbot was cleared of two charges - of indecent assault and lewd, indecent and libidinous practices - on not proven verdicts. In 2015, Talbot was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of indecent assaults on two pupils from the same school and he was jailed for five years. Those assaults happened on school canal barge trips in the Cheshire area in the mid-1970s. Advertisement A visitor didn't beat about the bush when he came across what could Britain's most sh-rubbish view. Holidaymaker Paul Martin said he couldn't see the wood for the trees at the secluded beauty spot in Torquay, Devon. The public bench once had views looking across Lyme Bay - but it has now become obscured by excessive overgrowth. Mr Martin, 52, said: 'I came across this rather uninspiring view whilst needing a rest during a stroll along Walls Hill in Torquay. 'Perhaps someone just needs to take a big pair of shears to it as I'm sure there's a nice view of the sea beyond the overgrowth.' The area around Lyme Bay is part of the World Heritage Site the Jurassic Coast, which is named for its Jurassic geology. This bench used to offer scenic views of Lyme Bay in Torquay, Devon. However the picturesque view has now been completely blocked by overgrown shrubbery Holidaymaker Paul Martin said he couldn't see the wood for the trees when he came across the secluded beauty spot Mr Martin, 52, said he came across this rather uninspiring view whilst needing a rest during a stroll along Walls Hill in Torquay Furious residents blockaded their street following a school run row as locals claim parents park across their driveways and even threaten them with violence. Residents living on the street in Birmingham revealed their lives have been made a misery by mothers and fathers who inconsiderately park their vehicles. Parents have been accused of parking across driveways and on grass verges when they have picked their children up from the back gates of Heathlands Academy. Those who live there have also claimed they have been subjected to physical and verbal threats from parents who have parked on Ashville Avenue. The residents who live on Ashville Avenue in Birmingham staged a protest after they claimed parents kept parking on their driveways Residents, including elderly people and the disabled, blocked one end of the street at 3.45pm for five minutes. They blocked the street under the watchful eye of police before moving their protest to the gates - which remained shut today. Organiser Steven Brennan said: 'We can't take much more of the way the parents are using this road as a parking site. 'This is a side entrance, not the main entrance, and this road is not built to take the amount of traffic. Residents have had verbal and physical threats.' Factory worker Iftihkar Hussain, 51, said: 'It's terrible. They park everywhere. They block the driveway and I'm late for work. It's all the time. 'I told them not to but they say "it's only five minutes". Enough - we can't take it anymore.' Neighbours blocked the street under the watchful eye of police (pictured) before moving their protest to the school gates Sandra James, 64, said: 'They park wherever they want to. They park on the pavements, grass verges, on your drive, on corners, they double park. We have had enough.' Headteacher Peter Higgins said he sympathised with the residents. He said: 'As an academy we have gone to great lengths to discourage inconsiderate parking in the road through regular letters home and communication with parents. 'We have an agreement with some of the local pubs that parents can use their car parks to park in and where possible we encourage parents to walk to school with their children. 'We also support our local police and the council on enforcement matters and I regularly station myself outside of school at key times to help discourage parents from parking there.' The CEO of a day care center has fired four employees after a five-year-old special needs boy died when he was left in one of its vans all day in the Arkansas heat. Christopher Gardner, Jr was picked up by the day care van at 6.40am on Monday but was never taken inside Ascent Children's Health Services on West Tyler Cove, which serves children with developmental disabilities. Gardner was found dead, still strapped in a booster seat, more than eight hours later when staff members prepared to load the van for children to go home. Police said the heat inside the van was about 141 degrees Fahrenheit (just over 60 degrees Celsius). Christopher Gardner Jr, aged 5 (left and right) died after he was left in a day care vehicle all day in eastern Arkansas Gardner was picked up from his home in an Ascent Children's Health Services van, similar to this one Now CEO Dan Sullivan has said staff 'did not follow company policies and procedures', adding: 'If they had, this tragedy would not have occurred'. Sullivan, who also said he had 'terminated' four employees, stressed that the center is working with police and state agencies during the investigation. He has also spoken with the boy's family, including his mother and grandmother, to 'share how sorry I am' - and also offered to help cover funeral expenses. The mother, Ashley Smith, said her 'soul hurts'. Gardner was never taken inside Ascent Children's Health Services on West Tyler Cove (pictured), which serves children with developmental disabilities Staffers found the toddler dead, still strapped in a booster seat, more than eight hours later She told Fox 13: 'My heart hurts. I can't see my child again. I'm walking around with one kid. I had two.' 'It only takes 2 minutes to check a van. My son wouldn't even been dead. He would be in there asking me for cookies,' she added. According the department's database, the facility has received citations for minor issues. Records show no complaints have been filed against the day care. Gardner's family members, meanwhile, said the five-year-old had undergone two heart surgeries and was at the day care for developmental disabilities. A convenience store with a modern twist has launched in China. Moby Mart is an unmanned self-driving store which runs on solar power and is able to drive to your area at the touch of a button. Customers scan the goods themselves to purchase their shopping all without meeting a single person. 24 hour store: The store has already been tested in Shanghai and is currently in Hefei Genius: Customers use an app to get the shop to drive to their area and purchase goods For those customers in need of some assistance, a hologram worker appears with instructions Moby Mart is open to the public 24 hours a day and can automatically restock goods. New technology also allows users of the app to call a Moby to their area in order to buy items. While there are also plans to have drones installed on the top of shops to deliver goods to customers. Moby Mart is open to the public 24 hours a day and can automatically restock goods Moby Mart is open to the public 24 hours a day and can automatically restock It is currently travelling around the country in demo mode and has visited Shanghai Convenience store: The shop stocks groceries along with medicine, hot drinks and magazines While shoppers in need of help are given assistance by a hologram worker. The idea has been developed by Swedish company Wheelys in cooperation with Hefei University and Himalfy. It is currently travelling around the country in demo mode and has visited Shanghai. The shop is currently in Hefei. The main aim of the store is to make grocery shopping environmentally friendly Advanced AI technology means that the travelling mart knows when it needs to restock THE 'UNMANNED' SHOP The futuristic staff-free shop was the idea of local resident Robert Ilijason and shop opened after the app was approved by Apple in January. The idea for the shop is similar to unmanned gyms. It can stay open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, because it does not require staff. Shoppers use the app on their smartphones to unlock the door and scan each purchase. They are then charged monthly for their purchases. To enter, people need to use a BankID - a Swedish ID solution used by the banks. The shop is also covered with security cameras. Advertisement According to Wheelys, the main aim of the store is to make grocery shopping environmentally friendly and cheaper to operate. The store will stock groceries, ready meals, magazines and hot drinks. One way that it is cheaper is that it does not have any staff at the store. Customers download an app in order to call the mart to their area. Once the store arrives they can then scan items themselves and pay using the app. Advanced AI technology means that the travelling mart knows when it needs to restock. It can also meet up with other Moby marts to swap products that it is short of. There are plans to have drones on the roof of stores in the future that can deliver to houses. According to the team behind Moby Mart, the store cuts down shopping time from between 30 and 60 percent. French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Trogneux, sat down with Morocco's King Mohammed VI for an Iftar meal during a 24-hour trip to the country on Wednesday. The evening meal, which is eaten after sunset, marks the end of the daily feast Muslims partake in during Ramadan. Macron and his wife joined King Mohammed VI, his wife Princess Lalla Salma, his daughter Princess Lalla Khadija and others for the Iftar meal at the King Palace in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday night. The couple spent the night in Rabat before heading back to France on Thursday. Scroll down for video Mohamed VI sat in between Macron and Brigitte Trogneux during the lavish meal at the Moroccan King's personal home, the King Palace, in Rabat French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Trogneux, joined King Mohammed VI for an Iftar meal at King Palace in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday night Macron and his wife joined King Mohammed VI (right), his wife Princess Lalla Salma (second from right), his daughter Princess Lalla Khadija and others for the Iftar meal at the King Palace in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday night The evening meal, which is eaten after sunset, marks the end of the daily feast Muslims partake in during Ramadan The visit to Morocco was the first by the recently elected French president to a North African country and aimed to strengthen the relationship between France and Morocco, including cooperation on security issues. While in the country, Macron urged Qatar and its neighbors to talk directly, to defuse their tensions over alleged terrorism financing, and said he would step up diplomatic discussions with Gulf leaders in the coming days. Ahead of the Iftar meal, Macron spoke following a meeting with with King Mohammed VI, who is also trying to mediate the escalating Qatar standoff. Speaking in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, Macron called for a "clarification of all the links and financing of terrorist groups, whatever it is and wherever it comes from. Macron, left with Mohammed VI, and his wife spent the night in Rabat before heading back to France on Thursday morning The visit to Morocco was the first by the recently elected French president to a North African country and aimed to strengthen the relationship between France and Morocco, including cooperation on security issues Morocco's King Mohammed VI and his daughter Lalla Khadija (second right) welcome welcome French President Emmanuel Macron (center) and his wife Brigitte Trogneux upon their arrival for an Iftar meal Mohammed VI never comments to journalists and did not attend the conference. Saudi Arabia and other countries recently cut diplomatic ties and blocked travel to Qatar over allegations of Qatari sponsorship of Islamic extremists in the region. Qatar denies the allegations, but its ties to Iran and embrace of various Islamist groups have put the country under intense scrutiny. Stressing the international importance of stability in the Middle East, Macron said it's important "that the parties speak again" and find a way to "de-escalate" tensions that have mounted in recent days. "The king of Morocco shares this concern," Macron told reporters. Mohammed VI and Macron have spoken to key Gulf players in recent days and Macron said he will invite regional leaders to Paris for further discussions. While in the country, Macron urged Qatar and its neighbors to talk directly, to defuse their tensions over alleged terrorism financing, and said he would step up diplomatic discussions with Gulf leaders in the coming days Mohammed VI, right, with his brother Prince Moulay Rachid, left, met with Macron, center, at the Royal Palace in Rabat, Morocco, earlier on Wednesday Earlier Wednesday, Brigitte Macron and Moroccan Princess Lala Salma visited a Picasso exhibit at the Mohammed VI Modern Art Museum in Rabat Macron also offered support to the king over tensions in Morocco's northern Rif region, where protests over corruption and bleak living conditions prompted a violent police crackdown and large-scale arrests. The French president said he raised the issue but said the king gave him no "reason to fear renewed repression" and said the king instead appears committed to a "long-term response to the deep causes" of the conflict. Macron and the Moroccan King also discussed France's military operation against Islamic extremists in Africa's Sahel region. Earlier Wednesday, Brigitte Macron and Moroccan Princess Lala Salma visited a Picasso exhibit at the Mohammed VI Modern Art Museum in Rabat, a joint project with the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and discussed further art cooperation between the countries. Lt Nicholas Robinson denied raping a female sailor when he appeared in the dock at a military court today A Royal Navy lieutenant has been cleared of raping a female sailor twice after she lap danced for him naked in her hotel room. Nicholas Robinson, who is based at Abbey Wood in Bristol, was accused of carrying out a sex attack in a Radisson Blu hotel in Bahrain, when his ship was in the Middle East. He went back to woman's room after a party attended by a large number of military personnel. She offered him a dance as they drank wine together. The woman gave him two lap dances and during the second she stripped naked, rubbed her breasts in his face and licked him through his underwear before they had sex on her bed. When the pair woke in the morning they had sex a second time before he left the the hotel and returned to his frigate which was docked at the island. Lt Robinson had been accused of pinning the woman to the bed and attacking her, before they both fell asleep and she claimed she awoke to find him raping her again in the morning. The female sailor also told a court martial she had only performed the dances because Lt Robinson had been pestering her and she hoped it would stop him from making any further sexual advances. However, he denied three counts of rape and one of count of sexual assault by penetration - instead saying the woman had 'taken the lead' as she enjoyed turning him on. Today a board of senior officers at Portsmouth Military Court cleared Lt Robinson of all four charges, after deliberating for one and a half hours. During a five day trial the board heard the pair ended up in her hotel room after the party. Lt Robinson had intended to return to his warship but instead decided to go to an after-party in the Radisson Blu, where she was staying. After calling the ship from her room, they began chatting while sat on the edge of her bed and she offered to give him a lap dance. The court heard the female sailor put on music on her laptop before beginning to dance for Lt Robinson. During the first dance, which he said lasted between ten and 15 minutes, she removed his waistcoat and shirt and took all her clothes off except her knickers. Nicholas Robinson, who is based at Abbey Wood in Bristol, was accused of carrying out a sex attack in a Radisson Blu hotel in Bahrain (pictured), when his ship was in the Middle East He told the court: 'She was taking the lead during what happened between us. 'She was running her hands through my hair and gyrating on me. In the end, she stopped with her face just inches from mine as if she was going to kiss me, but she didn't. 'She was enjoying what she was doing, she enjoyed turning me on with the dance.' Lt Robinson said the woman then told him of a 'special dance' which men at lap dancing clubs would pay extra to have performed in a separate room and offered to do one for him. The prosecution claimed the woman had told Lt Robinson to stop a number of times and the sex had not been consensual - with the pair having discussed bondage beforehand He added: 'I was in my underwear and it was a lot more physical than the previous dance. 'She was rubbing herself on me, rubbing her breasts in my face, she went down on her knees and traced round the outline of my penis through my underwear with her tongue. 'Then she leant back and began masturbating in front of me. 'We then moved on to the bed and had sex with each other. At no point did she say no or ask me to stop.' The prosecution claimed the woman had told Lt Robinson to stop a number of times and the sex had not been consensual - with the pair having discussed bondage beforehand. But Lt Robinson said they had not discussed safe words or bondage sex and that the female sailor had been a willing participant both times they had sex and when he performed oral sex on her in the morning. Nicola Sturgeon's plan to break up the United Kingdom was dealt a fresh blow today after a poll found a majority of Scots want her to ditch her plans for another referendum. A Survation survey found that 60 per cent think the SNP should abandon its push for an IndyRef2. And even a third of voters who backed independence last time are now fed up with the nationalists and want Scotland's First Minister to take the threat off the table. Just 27 per cent think the SNP should push ahead with their plans for another ballot, while 13 per cent do not have a view. The SNP's new Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, today indicated the party will shift its focus from demanding an independence vote to trying to shape Brexit - and keep Scotland in the single market. Nicola Sturgeon, pictured in the Scottish Parliament today, was dealt a fresh blow after a poll found the majority of Scots do not want another independence referendum Opposition parties said Ms Sturgeon must listen to Scots and give up on her plans. The findings come after reports the SNP leader is secretly plotting to plough on with her plans for another vote, but rebrand it as a vote on the final Brexit deal to lure Scots into backing it. Ms Sturgeon branded the claims 'nonsense' but she has so far failed to publicly abandon her hopes to hold another referendum despite the SNP losing a staggering 21 seats to pro-union parties in the election. The poll, published today in the Daily Record, found that a considerable number of voters who supported independence in 2014 referendum have now swung the other way and oppose it. Some 34 per cent of those who voted 'Yes' to independence less than three years ago now think the SNP should drop the demand for IndyRef2. And 15 per cent think Ms Sturgeon should resign as First Minister. Opposition parties said Nicola Sturgeon, pictured yesterday in Edinburgh, should listen to voters and abandon her plans f or another vote to break up the United Kingdom While support for independence has also tumbled since the referendum, when 55.3 per cent voted against it 44.7 per cent were in favour. The poll of 1,037 Scots found that if the vote was held today the 'No' side would now win by 57 per cent to 43 per cent. And it found that more than a third of Scots (36 per cent) think she should resign as First Minister, compared with 47 per cent who think she should stay on. And a third (30 per cent) of those who voted SNP last week now think Ms Sturgeon should ditch her referendum demand. Mr Blackford told BBC Radio Scotland the party will change tack and focus instead on trying to keep Scotland in the EU single market after Brexit. But the EU has made it clear that the price of staying in would be freedom of movement - leaving Britain unable to control its borders. Mr Blackford said: 'What we asked the Scottish people to do at the 2016 Scottish election was vote for us on the basis that if there were a change in circumstances, the (Scottish) government and the (Holyrood) parliament would have the right to seek a referendum if that were appropriate. A new Survation poll, published today, found that if there was another Scottish independence vote the 'No' vote would win by 57 per cent to 43 per cent 'What we now see is a situation where I think its more likely we can achieve compromise while protecting the people of Scotland who have been dragged out of the single market against our will. So thats the immediate priority.' Opposition parties told the newspaper that the findings show that Ms Sturgeon should listen to the views of Scots and give up on her threat to tear Britain apart. Scottish Labour's election campaign manager James Kelly said: 'It is a devastating finding for the SNP, which backs up the message that voters sent the First Minister in last week's election. 'We need a government focused on schools and hospitals, not another referendum.' He added: 'We know that Nicola Sturgeon's popularity is in freefall, so it is little wonder that over a third of Scots think she should resign. If she doesn't get back to the day job, that figure will only rise.' Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw added: 'This is a remarkable poll which demonstrates the enormous strength of feeling that exists in Scotland against a second referendum. 'When even a large number of Yes voters are saying they don't want a referendum, surely Nicola Sturgeon must listen. 'She must take this divisive referendum threat off the table now.' A French conservative politician was knocked out in a Paris market while handing out leaflets ahead of Sunday's parliamentary election. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, 44, a former environment minister under Nicolas Sarkozy, briefly lost consciousness and was taken to hospital, her campaign team said. The politician, who is known under the acronym 'NKM', was pictured lying on the ground following the attack. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet was insulted by a man while visiting a market in central Paris and then lost her balance when he tried to throw her campaign leaflets in her face. After falling, she blacked out for several minutes possibly after hitting her head, before being revived by emergency service She had been confronted by a man in her fifties who jabbed his finger in her face and called her a 'dirty bobo', a derisive term for an urban hipster. He also tried to throw her campaign leaflets in her face and made reference to Paris' Socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, saying: 'It's your fault we have Hidalgo as mayor.' She lost her balance and after falling, she blacked out for several minutes possibly after hitting her head, before being revived by emergency services. NKM, a mother-of-two, had been defeated by Hidalgo in her bid to become the first female mayor of Paris in 2014. The attacker also said she should 'go back to the Essonne', the department in the region of Ile-de-France to the south of Paris where she used to be an MP. Kosciusko-Morizet, widely known by her initials NKM, was insulted by a man while visiting a market in central Paris and then lost her balance when he tried to throw her campaign leaflets in her face She then fell to the ground and the man in the chinos and shirt (right) disappeared from view After falling, she blacked out for several minutes possibly after hitting her head, before being revived by emergency services She is now standing to re-enter parliament in her central Paris constituency and had been campaigning for the Republican party ahead of Sunday's elections, where President Emmanuel Macron's party is expected to win a landslide victory. She faces a battle to win a seat against Gilles Le Gendre from the Republic on the Move party (En Marche!) of Macron. Paris mayor Hidalgo called the assault in Maubert square 'cowardly and intolerable'. France's Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, also spoke out against 'the unacceptable act of violence'. Her aggressor, a middle-aged man in a shirt and chinos, left the scene immediately and was last seen disappearing into the Metro. The Paris prosecutors' office said a investigation had been opened into the incident. Advertisement Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop has been slammed online after it was revealed the stunning purple gown she donned for the Mid Winter Ball in Canberra is worth $32,000. Australia's political elite had the chance to indulge in glitz and glamour at the elegant charity event, but Ms Bishop's high-necked, floor-length gown caught the eye of fashion finders who noticed the exorbitant price of the Rachel Gilbert design. 'Isn't that just short of Australia's minimum wage?' one woman asked on Twitter, while others claimed Ms Bishop's gown was too overpriced as her salary is funded by taxpayers. 'First, that's $$ ridiculous: 2nd, such vanity 3rd: to a charity event, poor taste 4th: not even elegant,' another harsh critic wrote. Scroll down for video Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop (pictured) stunned in a silver and purple floor-length ball gown Australia's political elite had the chance to indulge in glitz and glamour at the elegant charity event, but Ms Bishop's high-necked, floor-length gown caught the eye of fashion finders who noticed the Rachel Gilbert design's exorbitant price Many Twitter users took to social media to slam Ms Bishop (pictured) for being 'out of touch' with the typical working class Australian Other social media users criticised the politician for seeming 'out of touch' with everyday Australians who are battling the high cost of living combined with stagnant wage growth. 'Who said pollies are out of touch with the everyday punter?' one man said, while another wrote: 'Wearing a $32,000 dress certainly demonstrates Julie is in touch with the common folk.' The controversy following Ms Bishop's expensive dress follows revelations the Foreign Minister had a company funded by a Chinese donor set up in her name. Ms Bishop denied in parliament having any knowledge about the 'Julie Bishop Glorious Foundation'. 'I say that in the solemnity of this Parliament, I have never heard of such a foundation,' Ms Bishop said 'Isn't that just short of Australia's minimum wage?' one woman asked on Twitter, while others claimed Ms Bishop's gown was too overpriced as her salary is funded by taxpayers One Twitter user hinted that the travel costs for the Mid Winter Ball may have been very high 'That's half my yearly wage spent on a bunch of feathers': This Twitter user claimed the dress was worth half of her salary Politicians from around the nation dressed up to the nine to raise money for charity, and leading the charge in a flurry of purple was Julie Bishop, (pictured) Chloe Shorten and Pauline Hanson Bill Shorten's wife Chloe (pictured) wore a deep purple frock with a gorgeous one-shoulder design One Nation leader Pauline Hanson also stunned in purple with a daring side split Many other politicians from around the nation dressed to the nines to raise money for charity, and leading the charge in a flurry of purple were Ms Bishop, Chloe Shorten and Pauline Hanson. Flanked by their dapper partners, Australia's high-profile political ladies made a statement in flowing gowns with sparkles, frills and feathers in Canberra on Wednesday. The ball is regarded as the premier social event on the political calendar and invites the senior ranks from all parliamentary parties, including the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, plus the heads of corporate Australia and the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery. Ms Hanson ditched the power suit for a chic dark purple frock with a daring side split, coupled with a pair of silver heels. Bill Shorten's wife Chloe clearly received the purple memo, and wowed ball-goers in a floor-length deep plum dress. Her gorgeous off-the-shoulder gown was paired with silver tear-drop earrings, while Bill opted for simple black tie - making the parliament power couple look like every bit the celebrity duo. Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce (right) and his wife Natalie wore matching black outfits Barnaby Joyce (pictured) cracked his whip and donned a cowboy hat during the glamorous ball Australia's first Aboriginal woman elected to the House of Representatives, Linda Burney, wore a Grecian-style orange gown Anthony Albanese and his wife Carmel Tebbutt braved the cold for a night of glamour, the couple matching in elegant black outfits Bill Shorten and his wife Chloe posed with Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy at the Mid Winter Ball on Wednesday Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's wife Lucy opted for a more demure look, wearing a bead-embroidered skirt, a white top and a sensible black blazer. Labor MP Linda Burney arrived at the ball in a Grecian-style orange gown, topping off the look with a pair of dangling silver earrings. Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce mirrored a classic outback style, pairing his sleek tuxedo with a cowboy hat and a whip. His wife Natalie stunned in a black strapless dress with a split up the side and open high heels. Anthony Albanese and his wife Carmel Tebbutt also braved the cold for a night of glamour, the couple matching in elegant black outfits. Also on the invite list was Labor MP Ed Husic who arrived with Amanda Rose, who donned a magnificent sparkling gown with a flirty split up the side. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's wife Lucy (pictured) opted for a more demure look, wearing a bead-embroidered skirt, a white top and a sensible black blazer Also on the invite list Labor MP Ed Husic who arrived with Amanda Rose, who donned a magnificent sparkling gown with a flirty split up the side France's top human rights official has sparked fury by calling for the return of camps for UK-bound migrants. Jacques Toubon, the so-called Rights Defender, said up to 600 asylum seekers were being 'hounded night and day' while sleeping in 'undergrowth in the town'. With charity hand-outs banned, he said they were 'in a state of physical and mental exhaustion' and suggested France reinstate sprawling camps akin to the Calais Jungle which was torn down in October. His controversial remarks come as more than 100 riot police were drafted into the port city of Calais to stop UK-bound migrants setting up burning roadblocks to stop lorries so they could board them. But Mr Toubon said migrants' rights were being infringed 'with exceptional and unprecedented seriousness' and that the 'setting up of somewhere' where they can sleep should now be a priority. France's top human rights official has sparked fury by calling for the return of camps for UK-bound migrants Jacques Toubon, the so-called Rights Defender, said up to 600 asylum seekers (pictured boarding lorries to the UK) were being 'hounded night and day' while sleeping in 'undergrowth in the town' His controversial remarks come as more than 100 riot police were drafted into the port city of Calais to stop UK-bound migrants setting up burning roadblocks (pictured) to stop and board UK-bound lorries It follows the razing of the so-called 'Jungle' shantytown in Calais last October, when up to 8000 migrants hoping to get to Britain were 'evacuated' to other parts of France. The aim was to keep them out of Calais permanently, as police and local officials maintained a zero tolerance policy towards those returning. Following Mr Toubon's latest intervention, Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart called on him to 'defend the one hundred thousands Calais people who are waiting for people to show respect for their city on a daily basis.' An angry Ms Bouchart added that 'there is no police violence' against the migrants and that Mr Toubon 'does not understand the subject' because he does not live in Calais. Locals regularly complain about groups of young men stopping lorries on major roads using barricades made of burning branches and rubble. They then try and get aboard lorries heading for Britain, while also trying to get into the Channel Tunnel complex so as to try and get across to England. Shocking video footage recently emerged showing how migrants placing a burning tree across a motorway to stop a lorry in its tracks, before boarding it For years now, migrants have been obstructing French motorways to get lorries heading to England to stop With temperatures approaching 30 degrees, more migrants are arriving in France, and resuming their efforts to get to the UK Earlier this month, the French Interior Ministry approved the deployment of 150 extra riot police in Calais because of the worsening security situation. With temperatures approaching 30 degrees, more migrants are arriving, and resuming their efforts to get to the UK. France was blighted by squalid refugee camps for up to 20 years until October, and the new French government is determined to stop them reappearing. In a report following his visit, Mr Toubon also called for 'an end to people trafficking', 'an authorisation for the distribution of meals', and urgent 'shelter for minors' trying to get to the UK. For years now, migrants have been obstructing French motorways to get lorries heading to England to stop - so they can climb aboard and hide until reaching their destination. Video footage shows how migrants have placed burning trees across a motorway. In the shocking footage men are seen waving clubs at truck drivers, as they try to board the UK-bound lorries. It follows the razing of the so-called 'Jungle' shantytown (pictured) in Calais last October, when up to 8000 migrants hoping to get to Britain were 'evacuated' to other parts of France France was blighted by squalid refugee camps for up to 20 years until October, and the new French government is determined to stop them reappearing The tactics have been used at least three times in as many weeks, with images shot in the early hours of June 9 showing rubble and branches piled up on the A16 in Calais. A Polish HGV driver who regularly travels between his home country and Britain posted a video of the incident online. It shows gangs of mainly young men running along the busy road brandishing weapons and trying to climb into lorries. It is all part of a deteriorating security situation in the French port town which has led to 150 CRS (Republican Security Companies) new officers arriving. 'Local forces have asked for more support, and we have responded with a new detachments of CRS,' said an Interior Ministry source in Paris. 'The exact number of police in the Calais area is not released publicly, but a large number of personnel are in place to maintain security.' Mr Toubon suggested France reinstate sprawling camps akin to the Calais Jungle (pictured being burned down) which was torn down in October These include soldiers and specialist anti-terrorism teams, as well as regular National Police and gendarmes, said the Interior Ministry source. It was in October last year that some 8,000 would-be asylum seekers were evacuated from Calais following the destruction of the so-called Jungle shanty town. Since then everything has been done to stop them returning, with a zero tolerance approach to new settlements. Officials of a Chinese city which holds the notorious annual dog meat festival on the summer solstice have denied they had banned the sale of canine meat. In an interview with a Chinese newspaper, a government spokesman from Yulin, in southern China's Guangxi Province, said that the 'Lychee Dog Meat Festival' was local custom and the authority was not in a position to stop it from happening. The claim came after an outrage among Yulin residents following many reports of the alleged ban, and they accused the government of interfering with their privacy and their rights in choosing what they eat, an insider told MailOnline. The Yulin Propaganda Department said today that they had not stopped the Yulin Dog Meat Festival from happening in a report by The Beijing News (above) The city officials of Yulin have said that they had not issued a ban on the sale of dog meat The city told the vendors not to sell dog meat from June 15 to 23, according to previous reports It's also claimed that officials had given out the order to dog meat vendors by oral notice A spokesman from the Yulin Propaganda Department told The Beijing News today that the government had never issued a ban on the sale of dog meat. WHAT IS THE YULIN DOG MEAT FESTIVAL? Some claimed that the consumption of dog meat has been observed in Guangxi Province, China, for hundreds of years. However, the activity had not been promoted and encouraged until around 30 years ago - first by the dog meat traders, then by the Yulin government for driving tourism. The annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival can be traced back to 2009. Lychee, a seasonal fruit, is often eaten too during the festival. That's why the festival is also known as 'Yulin Lychee Dog Meat Festival'. The event has drawn waves of criticism from media and animal lovers, with influential figures leading campaigns around the world in a bid to stop it. The local government has stopped organising the festival under pressure, as it is understood, but vendors continue selling dog meat and residents carry on eating it on the summer solstice. Advertisement According to the report, the department insisted that the festival was organised by local residents themselves and was customary. The department claimed they had never heard of the alleged ban and did not know how overseas media had obtained their information. In May, the Yulin government was said to have informed the local vendors to stop selling dog meat in the lead up to the summer solstice, which falls on June 21 this year. The news was widely reported by media around the world. Multiple sources confirmed to MailOnline that the ban had been given to the vendors in downtown Yulin orally by the city's officials. Apparently, the ban is set to prohibit the sale of dog meat in central Yulin between June 15 and 23, especially in major shops and markets, such as the Dongkou Market. A Guangxi-born animal activist, who prefers to be known as Kimi, told MailOnline she was not surprised by the government's denial of the alleged ban. Kimi, who has been advocating for animals rights for more than five years, explained that the Yulin residents were enraged after the alleged ban had appeared in media around the world. The local people were said to be furious at the fact that the government should try to control what they eat, buy and sell. 'It's a way for the government to wipe their hands clean on the matters,' said Kimi. An insider told MailOnline that the government issued the denial after an outrage in Yulin Residents in the Chinese city are expected to carry on eating dogs on the summer solstice Yulin, in southern China's Guangxi Province, is spread out and composed of a large rural area In a previous interview with MailOnline, Kimi said Yulin people's dog-eating practice wouldn't and couldn't be stopped by criticism or suppression. WHY CAN'T THE EVENT BE STOPPED? Various measures have been taken by the Yulin government to discourage canine banquets from happening on summer solstice. According to Dr Peter J. Li, an expert on the topic, the Yulin authority issued an internal order in May, 2013, prohibiting any traders or butchers from slaughtering dogs in the street. In May 2014, an internal written notice was distributed in Yulin, which banned government officials from eating dogs around the summer solstice. Dr. Li said that it would be hard for the government to ban the trade once and for all as it is the livelihood for the vendors who are less educated and largely unskilled former peasants. Dr Li also said that if the government did terminate the festival by force, it would have to provide means of livelihood for those affected. What the Yulin government tries to do now is waiting for the industry to die out on its own. Advertisement She said Yulin locals have shown open hostility towards media and visitors. Reporters were said to have been banned from entering the markets around the summer solstice in previous years; and anyone carrying a camera ran the risk of having their device smashed by angry traders. 'Officers from the Ministry of State Security and policemen were stationed by the entrance of the dog meat markets undercover to stop people from going in with cameras and phones to take pictures.' Hostility runs so high that after the latest ban was reported in May, even dog owners and those who don't eat dog meat in Yulin have shown aggression towards the decision on internet forums, according to Kimi. 'They feel media don't have the right to judge what they eat.' Kimi, who is from nearby Liuzhou city, said the phenomenon of eating dogs has been observed in Guangxi and the neighbouring Guangdong provinces for hundreds of years. However, people didn't gather up to celebrate and eat dog meat openly until around the 1980s when the activity was promoted by the dog meat vendors and the authority. Vendors would give customers free lychees, a seasonal fruit, if they buy dog meat, which is why the festival is also known as the 'Yulin Lychee Dog Meat Festival'. Kimi called the current situation in Yulin 'tense' and 'dangerous'. She said a better way to stop pet dogs from being stolen, killed and eaten is to teach the Yulin people how to love dogs as companions - instead of blaming them for eating dogs. Yulin No.1 Crispy Dog Meat Restaurant claims to sell 'big pot' dog stew and crispy dog meat. Above is a picture believed to show one of the restaurant's signature dishes The restaurant was filled with eager diners on June 21 last year as Yulin celebrated the event The picture (above) of Yulin No.1 Crispy Dog Meat Restaurant was taken on May 17 this year. Dr Peter J. Li of Humane Society International said the place is operating with no signs of closing A worker at a Yulin slaughterhouse hung up cooked dogs before selling them to local restaurateurs. The picture was taken by a contact of Humane Society International in 2016 It's been estimated that 10 million dogs are slaughtered for meat in China annually. Many of them are believed to be stolen pets. The animal is eaten in some other Asian countries, such as Vietnam and South Korea. The summer solstice is the day to mark the end of the dog meat season in Yulin, according to Dr Peter J. Li, the Associate Professor of East Asian Politics at the University of Houston-Downtown and the China Policy Specialist from Humane Society International. While commenting on the alleged ban, Dr Li said it was unlikely to stop the dog meat banquets in private homes or at private events on summer solstice. He explained that Yulin, a city in the largely agricultural Guangxi Province, is spread out and composed of a large rural area, and it would be hard to restrict what the locals eat. Yulin people's dog-eating practice wouldn't and couldn't be stopped by criticism or suppression, said Kimi, a Guangxi-born animal activist. She said education is a better way Some said excessive suppression may cause a rebellious attitude among locals, who have already shown open hostility towards outsiders who visit the city with cameras In a picture taken by the local contact of Dr Li's, a popular dog meat restaurant in Yulin was operating as usual in May after the ban had apparently been issued. The picture shows the chained restaurant, Yulin No.1 Crispy Dog Meat Restaurant, has apparently removed the word 'dog' in its store sign, leaving the shop to be called 'Yulin No.1 Crispy Meat Restaurant'. 'It's definitely selling dog meat and it has no signs of closing,' said Dr Li. He added: 'The price of crispy dog meat is about 60 yuan (6.8) per kilo, but it varies depending on the demand. 'In the market, the price of uncooked dog meat is about 17 to 25 yuan (1.9 to 2.8) per kilo.' The restaurant bills itself as an 'internationally renowned' restaurant serving dishes made with 'healthy dogs carefully raised by farmers'. People displayed protest banners outside Yulin government office in Beijing on June 10, 2016 Animal rights activists protested against eating dog meat outside a restaurant in Yulin in 2013 Jill Robinson MBE, Animals Asia's Founder and CEO, warned that media shouldn't focus their attention on Yulin in order to stop the dog meat trade in China. According to Ms Robinson, who has worked in the animal welfare industry for over 30 years, people should look at China as a whole, where some 10 million dogs are slaughtered every year, and many of them are poisoned and stolen from homes or snatched from the streets. Ms Robinson said that animal welfare education is the key in China. 'While dog meat eating is legal within China, those wanting to eat in defiance of public opinion and any proposed moratoriums will find a way. 'What we need now is to make sure the message is heard outside of Yulin, on all the other days of the year when millions of dogs die for their meat. 'We need to continue working with the authorities, with Chinese organisations and with the public to change opinions and prove that dogs are friends, not food.' A Muslim sheikh has withdrawn his application to become an Army chaplain so he can continue to criticise the Greens and offend Islamist extremists. Adelaide-based Shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi last week revealed to Daily Mail Australia his bid to become an Army Reserve chaplain or a soldier. However, he has now withdrawn his application so he can continue to criticise the Greens, who he believes are soft when it comes to slamming Islamist extremism and pro-Sharia law groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir. Scroll down for video Adelaide Shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi has withdrawn his bid to join the Army The Muslim leader says Greens leader Richard Di Natale failed to criticism Islamist extremism 'I respect the Army's rules but I cannot allow the Left to pave the way for Islamic radicalism in Australia,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'The Greens are turning Australia into New Baghdad.' While Senator Di Natale has condemned recent terrorist attacks in Manchester, London and Melbourne, he hasn't explicitly drawn a connection between terrorism and Islam. Sheikh Tawhidi withdrew his application on Wednesday after a phone call with the Australian Defence Force. 'I understand, down the track, my statements could be offensive to people, radicals, who have lots of money and want to go around complaining to government,' he said. Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi submitted his bid to be an Army Reserve chaplain last week The 34-year-old religious leader had applied to be an Army Reserve chaplain or an soldier He told his Facebook followers in a video message he wanted to continue being an outspoken critic of left-wing politicians and Islamist extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir, adding he would be unable to do this as an Defence member. 'I was told that as part of the rules and laws within the Army that we cannot criticise or speak against certain matters because then that would be somewhat representing the Army, which means basically I couldn't criticise the Greens,' he said. 'We basically discussed my role as a Muslim imam that is very outspoken against radicalisation and radical Islam.' He added he wanted to continue standing up to the likes of Hizb ut-Tahrir, which campaigns for an Islamic caliphate based on Sharia law. Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar says ex-Muslims deserved capital punishment Attorney-General George Brandis last month declined to ban the group, despite its confirmation in March that it supported capital punishment for ex-Muslims. Sheikh Tawhidi said Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Indonesia, Germany, The Netherlands, Pakistan and Bangladesh, had a dangerous ideology even if they weren't violent in Australia. 'They are all potential terrorists because they believe in an ideology that condones terrorism,' he said. The 34-year-old Iranian-born religious leader, who moved to Australia from Iraq aged 12, supports One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, is a critic of unchecked multiculturalism and backs a temporary ban on Islamic migration. Senator Di Natale was contacted for comment. Sheikh Tawhidi regularly receives death threats for his campaign against Islamist extremists in Australia. Lib Dem grandee Sir Simon Hughes has insisted it was 'unfair' to ask Tim Farron if he thought gay sex was sinful during the election battle. The race to replace him was underway today with former ministers Jo Swinson, Sir Ed Davey and Sir Vince Cable leading the pack. Mr Farron quit as Liberal Democrat leader last night admitting it had proved impossible to balance strong Christian beliefs with leading a political party. But Sir Simon, who is bisexual, claimed today the interrogation of Mr Farron by journalists had been wrong. Lib Dem grandee Sir Simon Hughes has insisted it was 'unfair' to ask Tim Farron (pictured together on the campaign trail last month) if he thought gay sex was sinful during the election battle Mr Farron quit as Lib Dem leader in an emotional statement at party headquarters last night (pictured) Mr Farron's election campaign was damaged by repeated questions about whether he believed gay sex was a sin as he appeared to struggle to answer. Sir Simon, who has been friends with Mr Farron since university, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'He said very clearly he had become the subject of suspicion because of what I believe or what my faith is ... and it would be the same for people of other faiths who have strong faith views. SWINSON LEADS THE RACE FOR THE LIB DEM CROWN 4/9 Jo Swinson: The early front runner, Swinson was a business minister during the coalition and is close to former leader Nick Clegg. She is also thought to be Tim Farron's favourite for the job and is a major player in the internal party hierarchy. 6/1 Ed Davey: Three years as Energy Secretary installed Davey as one of the Liberal Democrats senior lieutenants during the coalition years. He was criticised for taking a lobbying job in the energy industry after losing his seat. 6/1 Vince Cable: A veteran beloved by the party grass roots and a contender at every leadership contest for a decade. He served the full five years of coalition in the Cabinet but stood apart from the Tories throughout, burnishing his centre left credentials in the process. Advertisement 'Where there are issues which are very controversial within that faith community it became unfairly difficult that Tim was put in the firing line and felt that he couldn't adequately do justice to his faith while upholding the liberal values which he has argued for all his life.' Ms Swinson appeared to be the front runner in the race for the Lib Dem crown today. A former coalition minister, she won back her East Dunbartonshire constituency from the SNP at last week's general election. She was installed as the 4/9 favourite by Paddy Power today, ahead of Sir Ed and Sir Vince, both on 6/1. Both are expected to run when the contest begins in earnest next month. Mr Farron announced his resignation in an emotional statement last night. 'The consequences of the focus on my faith is that I have found myself torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader,' he said. 'To be a political leader - especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 - and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me.' Former Liberal Democrat minister Jo Swinson (pictured second right celebrating re-election last week) appeared to be the front runner in the race for the Lib Dem crown today Party grandees Sir Ed Davey (picture campaigning in May left) and Sir Vince Cable (at his election count last week right) are among the other leading contenders Mr Farron faced intense criticism during the election campaign for failing to answer questions about his position on homosexuality. While he made it clear he supported equal marriage and LGBT rights, he initially declined to say whether he believed gay sex was a sin. After days of pressure to clarify his stance on the issue, he finally made clear he did not, but continued to be pressed on the issue in interviews. In his statement, Mr Farron said the continued questions over his faith showed people in Britain were 'kidding ourselves' if they thought they were living in a tolerant liberal society. 'I'm a liberal to my finger tips, and that liberalism means that I am passionate about defending the rights and liberties of people who believe different things to me,' he said. 'Even so, I seem to be the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in. In which case we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society.' A 14-year-old boy in Texas accidentally shot his twin brother in the head and killing him while aiming at a snake. The boy was aiming at a snake in a drainage ditch near their home in Liberty County, Dayton Texas when his brother leaned in towards the snake and into the line of fire. The victim suffered a single gunshot wound to the right hand side of his head slightly above his ear. A 14-year-old boy outside Dayton, Texas accidentally shot and killed his twin brother while aiming for a snake which they had spotted in a drainage ditch near their home, file photo Liberty County Sheriff's office said the youngster's death was being treated as a tragic accident and that it is unlikely that any charges will be filed following Tuesday's shooting Captain Ken DeFoor of Liberty County Sheriff's Office said: 'Investigators with the Liberty County Sheriffs Office have confirmed with the medical officials in Houston that the young 14 year old boy who was accidentally shot by his twin brother passed away last evening. 'Many of the news media have been asking if any charges will be filed in this case. I will say, again, that the investigation is still on-going but at this time we do not anticipate any charges being filed in this tragic accidental shooting.' The incident happened at approximately 3.45pm on Tuesday. According to Lead Investigator Deputy John Tucker, he said when he arrived at the scene, which is about 40 miles north east of Houston, one of the boys quickly admitted shooting his twin brother. The young boy said he and his brother spotted the snake in a drainage ditch and went into their home to retrieve a pair of .22 caliber rifles. Deputy Tucker said: 'Just as one of the brothers aimed at the snake, the victim suddenly knelt down in between the snake and his brother and was shot approximately half-an-inch above the right ear.' The victim was rushed to Herman Hospital by Life Flight helicopter. Police said they are not releasing the name of either boy as they are minors. Donald Trump lashed out at The Washington Post on Thursday, after the storied newspaper claimed Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller has widened his Russia probe to examine whether the president attempted to obstruct justice. This new tentacle of the year-long FBI investigation, now being handled by Mueller, unfolded days after FBI Director James Comey was fired by Trump on May 9, according to the Post. But Trump is hearing none of it, claiming that journalists are creating fake news to up the ante on a fake investigation. 'They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice,' he wrote on Twitter. 'You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA,' Trump added in a second tweet. Scroll down for videos President Donald Trump lashed out on Thursday against a 'phony' Washington Post story and the 'witch hunt' that he says is fueling it Special Counsel Robert Mueller (left) is reportedly looking into whether Trump (right) obstructed justice, as his Russia probe expands Comey testified last Thursday that he believed he was axed as a way to trip-up the Russia probe saying, 'It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation. I was fired, in some way, to change or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.' Comey also said Trump had pushed him to stop looking into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go,' Trump said, according to Comey. Now Mueller's team wants to talk to others who were reportedly pressured by Trump on the issue. Five sources told the Post that Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, NSA Director Mike Rogers and his ex-deputy Richard Ledgett agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's investigators. The sit-downs could come as early as this week, the Post said. The interviews suggest that Mueller, an ex-FBI chief himself, sees the 'he said, he said,' currently going on between Comey and Trump to be a bigger deal than just that, one of the Post's sources said. The NSA told the paper it will 'fully cooperate with the special counsel,' while the office of the Director of National Intelligence and Ledgett declined to comment. 'The FBI leak regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable, and illegal,' a spokesman for Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz said. The statement didn't challenge the accuracy of the Post's report. But former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a pointed Trump defender, tweeted that Mueller 'is now clearly the tip of the deep state spear aimed at destroying or at a minimum undermining and crippling the Trump presidency.' 'Deep state' refers to some conservatives' belief that a group of malicious actors within the government itself is conspiring to work at cross purposes with its leader. The FBI probe was originally supposed to examine Russian meddling during the 2016 election, but had already expanded to looking into whether there was coordination between the Russians and the Trump campaign. Comey's public admission of the latter, on March 20 before the House Intelligence Committee, rattled Trump and he asked the then-FBI director to make it clear publicly that the president wasn't personally under investigation. Comey refused. Trump defender Newt Gingrich, a former Speaker of the House, said special counsel Mueller is part of a 'deep state' intent on damaging the president Trump then went to Coats and Rogers, making the same request. Officials told the Post that Mueller is interested in conversations that took place on March 22, when Coats was less than a week on the job. Coats was at the White House attending a briefing when Trump asked him, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, to hold back. Coats told the Post's sources that the president had requested that he ask Comey to get the FBI to back off of the investigation into Trump's ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. A day or two later, Trump called Coats, and also Rogers, and asked them to say publicly that there was no coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. The Post previously reported these exchanges, including that Trump's request was doubly denied. Ledgett's involvement is unclear, though the Post's sources say he penned an internal NSA memo documenting Trump's call with Rogers. When speaking before Congress last week, Coats said he never felt 'pressured' when interacting with the president. Rogers said he wasn't 'pressured' either. 'In the three-plus years that I have been the director of the National Security Agency, to the best of my recollection, I have never been directed to do anything I believed to be illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate,' he told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee last Wednesday. Neither official would say whether Trump made the ask. That's a question that Mueller's team can ask, and that Coats and Rogers likely can't escape from in the long run. Even though the White House can invoke executive privilege, the Supreme Court ruled during Watergate that government officials can't use privilege if they're withholding evidence in a criminal prosecution. The Islamic State group have said its fighters captured Osama bin Laden's infamous Tora Bora mountain hideout along eastern Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. The remote region in Nangarhar province was most famously used by al Qaeda leader bin Laden in late 2001, in a bid to hold out against the US troops and Afghan allies who toppled the Taliban regime. Now Afghan officials say Islamic State militants have seized cave complexes in Tora Bora, after days of fighting against Taliban who had been based there. The Taliban, however, said on Thursday that they were still in control of the cave complex, despite fighting in surrounding villages. ISIS's attacks near Tora Bora come two months after the United States dropped the MOAB - or the Mother of All Bombs, the largest non-nuclear bomb in the world - on another IS hideout in eastern Afghanistan, killing dozens. Afghan officials say Islamic State militants have seized cave complexes in Tora Bora (the mountain range pictured above), after days of fighting against Taliban who had been based there The remote region in Nangarhar province was most famously used by al Qaeda leader bin Laden in late 2001, in a bid to hold out against the US troops and Afghan allies who toppled the Taliban regime Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid acknowledged that Islamic State forces had managed to capture several villages, but he denied that they had seized Tora Bora. 'Those areas around Tora Bora were a Taliban stronghold, but now Daesh militants captured them during fighting,' the police commander in the area, Shah Wali, told Reuters, using an Arabic term for Islamic State. Mujahid told The Associated Press that more than 30 IS fighters were killed in battle. He also added that a US airstrike on Taliban positions on Wednesday that killed 11 of its fighters had benefited the Islamic State group. The remoteness of the area makes it impossible to independently verify the contradictory claims. Afghan officials earlier said that fighting between IS and the Taliban, who had controlled Tora Bora, began on Tuesday but couldn't confirm its capture. IS released an audio recording, saying its signature black flag was flying over the hulking mountain range. The message was broadcast on the militants' Radio Khilafat station in the Pashto language late on Wednesday. It also said IS has taken over several districts and urged villagers who fled the fighting to return to their homes and stay indoors. Abu Omar Khorasani, an Islamic State commander in Afghanistan, told Reuters that his fighters had seized Tora Bora and were also battling government troops, who are backed by U.S. ground troops and aircraft. The Tora Bora mountains hide a warren of caves in which al-Qaeda militants led by bin Laden hid from US coalition forces in 2001, after the Taliban fled Kabul and before he fled to neighboring Pakistan One of Bin Laden's hideaways in the complex was made mud and stone and propped up by wooden struts 'We are in Tora Bora but this is not the end,' Khorasani said. 'The plan is to take more territory from the government and the Taliban.' Security analyst and counter-terrorism expert David Otto told IB Times that ISIS will not be able to stay in Tora Bora, due to lack of local support. 'The area is a strategic trade route for Isis to keep their resource flow and it is a very hostile territory that even Russia, the US and the UK failed to secure and stabilise for long,' he said. He added: 'Holding this territory will be an expensive venture and Isis does not really have the ability to hold Tora Bora for long, hence the reason why the Taliban would quickly refute this claim. 'The Taliban structure made up of former Mujahideen fighters will not give up Tora Bora easily. This is an area where 'culture eats strategy for breakfast'. 'If in the rare circumstances it falls to the hands of Isis, it will be their downfall. They will need constant logistical local supply to stay in Tora Bora.' Government forces have launched new operations targeting Islamic State, but more fighters are being recruited or crossing the border from Pakistan, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the Nangarhar governor's office. 'You kill one Daesh fighter and 10 more come from the border or are recruited here,' he said. General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, has vowed to defeat Islamic State in Afghanistan this year, and in April used one of the largest conventional bombs ever dropped in combat to target a cave complex used by Islamic State in the nearby district of Achin. While in the cave complex, the terrorist mastermind had declared war on the United States and tried to use international press coverage to spread the word Pictured is a secret passageway - part of the intricate network that lay in the mountainside. Bin Laden told his sons they had to know well the tunnel network in case the area came under attack 'After Achin, Daesh was looking for a second stronghold and now they have it,' Wali said. The fighting has sent hundreds of families fleeing, said Malek Tor, a tribal elder who put the number of Islamic State fighters in the area in the hundreds. In April, the United States dropped the 'Mother of All Bombs' in Afghanistan in an attempt to hit ISIS fighters and facilities. It was the first time that the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast was unleashed, and it hit IS positions in a remote area of eastern Nangarhar province. The unprecedented attack triggered global shock waves, with some condemning the use of Afghanistan as what they called a testing ground for the weapon, and against a militant group that is not considered a threat as big as the resurgent Taliban. The bomb smashed IS's hideouts, a tunnel-and-cave complex that had been mined against conventional ground attacks, engulfing the remote area in a huge mushroom cloud and towering flames. 'At least 92 Daesh (IS) fighters were killed in the bombing,' Achin district governor Esmail Shinwari told AFP at the time, adding that three tunnels that sheltered the insurgents had been destroyed. The massive bomb was dropped after fighting intensified and US-backed ground forces struggled to advance on the area. In April, the United States dropped the 'Mother of All Bombs' (pictured) in Afghanistan in an attempt to hit ISIS fighters and facilities While the United States estimates there are about 800 IS fighters in Afghanistan, mostly restricted to the eastern Nangarhar province, other estimates say their ranks also include thousands of battle-hardened Uzbek militants. Last week Russia announced it was reinforcing two of its bases in Central Asia, in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, with its newest weapons because of fears of a 'spill-over of terrorist activities from Afghanistan' by the Afghan IS affiliate. 'The (IS) group's strategy to establish an Islamic caliphate poses a threat not only to Afghanistan but also to the neighboring countries,' Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said. The Tora Bora mountains hide a warren of caves in which al-Qaeda militants led by bin Laden hid from US coalition forces in 2001, after the Taliban fled Kabul and before he fled to neighboring Pakistan. According to testimony from al-Qaeda captives in the US prison at Guantamo Bay, Cuba, bin Laden fled from Tora Bora first to Afghanistan's northeastern Kunar province, before crossing the border into Pakistan. He was killed in a 2011 raid by US Navy SEALs on his hideout in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. Pakistan complained the raid violated its sovereignty while bin Laden's presence - barely a few miles from the Pakistani equivalent of America's West Point military academy - reinforced allegations by those who accused Pakistan of harboring the Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. Pakistan denies such charges, pointing to senior al-Qaida operatives it has turned over to the United States. A grieving father who lost his young daughter has launched a charity which gives plane passengers incentives to give up their seats for those desperately needing transplant surgery. Allan Turner, from Shepparton, Victoria, created Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation when his seven-year-old daughter died suddenly from a burst blood vessel in 2004. After hearing about a grandfather who missed out on a life-saving lung transplant over a flight mix-up, Mr Turner started an initiative which offers passengers up to $2500 for their airline seat if a transplant patient needs it more. Allan Turner (pictured), from Shepparton, Victoria, created Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation when his seven-year-old daughter died suddenly from a burst blood vessel in 2004 Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation was created in memory of seven-year-old Zaidee (pictured) who lost her life in 2004 and donated her organs Mr Turner has reached out to all Australian airlines to ask them to introduce what he calls 'Zaidee's Seat of Life', which can be used when a flight is fully-booked but needs to accommodate for a sick passenger in an emergency. He told Daily Mail Australia he hopes all airlines can get on board with an initiative which costs them nothing, but could help save lives. 'I actually think most people won't need the financial incentive... to be able to give someone the opportunity to save another person's life is enough,' Mr Turner said. In an open letter to Qantas, Virgin, Jetstar and Tigerair, Mr Turner asked the airlines to review their domestic flight policies to accommodate for 'Zaidee's Seat of Life'. 'In life we learn a great deal of lessons that should never be repeated ever. This is one of them, we should never not allow a person that needs a life saving transplant to board a flight,' he wrote in an online plea. 'If the person needing a transplant has written documentation from the transplant hospital, that can be 100 per cent confirmed, with urgent phone contact details for staff to confirm back from that hospital, then your airline should proceed to make this seat available to this person.' Mr Turner says he decided to launch the initiative after hearing about 66-year-old Garry Woods, who was turned away from a Qantas flight on his way to receive transplant surgery because check-in staff were unable to find his booking. The father (pictured) has reached out to Australian airlines in the hope they will introduce 'Zaidee's Seat of Life' which offers incentives for paying passengers to give up their seats for transplant patients 'In life we learn a great deal of lessons that should never be repeated ever. This is one of them, we should never not allow a person that needs a life saving transplant to board a flight,' Mr Turner (pictured) wrote in an online plea Mr Turner created the foundation with his wife after their daughter Zaidee (pictured) died and was one of few children to donate organs Mr Woods was travelling from Adelaide to Sydney, but was forced to wait another three hours and missed out on a pair of new lungs because of the delay. 'Are you serious here is a man that needs to be on an operation table within hours or else these lungs with his name on them will become unusable and not be good for anything especially Garry,' Mr Turner said of the incident. The father hopes all airlines will implement 'Zaidee's Seat of Life', which will ensure all transplant patients have a fighting chance and are not turned away due to fully- booked flights. 'That would mean you as an airline, if that flight is fully booked, then kindly ask for volunteers to give up their seat to allow a very special passenger to travel instead of them,' Mr Turner wrote. 'Then if no volunteers are offered, you offer a fantastic incentive to the first person to raise their hand to make this happen. Zaidees Rainbow Foundation will cover the cost of this incentive and minor inconvenience to the person that gives their seat up to the value of $2,500 in travel airline ticket.' Zaidee (pictured) was the only child in Victoria under the age of 16 year and one of the youngest Australians to donate her organs and tissues in 2004 Gary Woods (pictured) suffers from pulmonary fibrosis and was travelling from Adelaide to Sydney to receive a set of new lungs he had waited two years for Mr Turner says he has received responses from representatives of Qantas and Virgin Australia who are both looking into introducing 'Zaidee's Seat of Life'. He began Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation with his wife Kim in memory of their daughter, Zaidee, who died in 2004 after suffering a burst blood vessel in her brain called a cerebral aneurysm. Zaidee was the only child in Victoria under the age of 16 and one of the youngest Australians to donate her organs and tissues in 2004. She was also only one of six children nationally to donate their organs that year. The 66-year-old grandfather (pictured) approached Qantas check-in but was unable to board the flight to Sydney A wedding guest has been jailed for a year after he crashed a Bentley at 111mph and put his best friend in a wheelchair for life. Lee Johnson, 30, from West Yorkshire, struck a kerb and ploughed into a roundabout in the luxury Bentley Continental GT, which he borrowed from his boss to attend the wedding at King's Croft Hotel in Featherstone. The crash left his friend Craig Darbyshire with major spinal injuries, and he is now wheelchair-bound for life. Johnson's wife Shauna, and Mr Darbyshire's fiancee Nicola Schofield - who were backseat passengers - also suffered serious injuries in the crash. Lee Johnson who has been jailed after he crashed his bosses Bentley leaving his wife Shauna (also pictured) injured and friend Craig Darbyshire wheelchair bound for life The crash left his friend Craig Darbyshire with major spinal injuries, and he is now wheelchair-bound for life The incident happened when Mr Derbyshire offered Johnson, a life-long friend, a lift as he waited for a taxi with his wife. Prosecutor Robert Galley told Leeds Crown Court that Johnson then asked his friend if he could drive the vehicle. The collision took place on Green Lane, Featherstone, in the early hours October 1, last year. The Bentley travelled through the air twice before hitting the roundabout. Johnson, who was not insured to drive, was breathalysed at the scene but refused to provide a blood sample at hospital. Mr Galley said: 'The defendant said he was not used to an automatic and misapplied the brake with his left foot, causing the vehicle to go in to a spin and losing control.' The prosecutor said experts concluded that the incident had been caused by the vehicle being driven at excessive speed. Johnson, from Featherstone, pleaded guilty to three offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to provide a blood sample and driving without insurance Tyre marks at the scene indicated that the vehicle was travelling between between 81mph and 111mph along the 40mph stretch of road. Johnson, from Featherstone, pleaded guilty to three offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to provide a blood sample and driving without insurance. He was jailed for 12 months. Stephen Wellford, mitigating, said Mr Darbyshire had written a letter to the court stating that he he did not want Johnson to go to prison. Mr Wellford said: 'He would see it as a tragedy if he was jailed.' The court heard the two men are still friends. The lawyer added: 'Everybody speaks highly of him and are supportive of him.' Mr Wellford said Johnson had no previous convictions. Judge Mushtaq Khokhar said the offences were too serious to impose anything other then an immediate prison sentence. He said: 'You were simply travelling too fast. 'The consequences are unimaginable if there were other road users. 'You will forever be reminded of this particular incident when you see Mr Darbyshire. 'I can tell you that in ordinary circumstances, if it wasn't your friends, or in one case your wife, the starting point (for a prison sentence) would have been far higher.' Craig Darbyshire who is now wheelchair bound for life pictured with fiancee Nicola, who was also injured Several pigs that were left four years ago on a small island within the California Delta have become the center of residents' debate after an animal-rights group took them off the island. The Sacramento Bee reports 10 people from Farm Sanctuary used a trailer and barge on Tuesday to ferry six pigs off the island under the land owner's permission. Susie Coston, the group's national shelter director, says the pigs were not in good health and were being mistreated, but residents in the area disagree and called their removal a theft. Scroll down for video... Several pigs that were left four years ago on a small island within the California Delta have become the center of residents' debate after an animal-rights group took them off the island The 'Friends of Pigs on the Delta!' page shows numerous boats stopping to feed the pigs everything from carrots to animal feed Several boaters have been feeding the pigs and say on the island, the animals are truly 'free.' Several of pigs were taken to the island near Stockton four years ago to help clear vegetation from the land. Years later, how well the pigs were faring on the small island is a matter for debate. Delta boater Erlyn Lucas-Payne says the pigs were 'stolen,' not 'rescued.' But Coston says the pigs starved in the winter and were fed beer in the summer. During the winters the pigs are are starving while during the summer people are riding them, feeding them beer and treating them really horribly according to an animal welfare group When it became clear the pigs could not live solely by eating the island's vegetation, the owner of the pigs 'just left the stranded animals to fend for themselves,' Coston said. Farm Sanctuary officials said a 10-person team, using a trailer and barge to ferry the pigs off the island, acted with the permission of the island's owner, Martin Wong. They said the pigs were not the original ones that were abandoned on the island. The pigs were taken to UC Davis for veterinary care. Farm Sanctuary claim that these pigs had been abandoned on Pig Island starving and without medical care The animal welfare group insisted that the pigs were very sick and were way too thin, which could be because of hunger, poor nutrition, parasites or disease The 'Friends of Pigs on the Delta!' page shows boats stopping on the island allowing people to feed them the animals. The San Joaquin Sheriff's Office has not commented as to whether the pigs were lawfully taken or if there were concerns about their welfare. Farm Sanctuary ended up creating a special chute in order to get the pigs onto a barge and then into a trailer. 'This rescue is like nothing I have ever experienced before. We've been dealing with dense woods, water surrounding us, and pigs who have lived their entire lives without care of any kind,' Coston said in a release. 'I have not been able to examine the pigs yet, but just by looking at them, I can tell you they are very sick. They are way too thin, which could be because of hunger, poor nutrition, parasites, disease, or any combination, and I suspect one might be pregnant. But we will not fail these pigs.' 'These pigs are going to have a beautiful, beautiful life,' Coston said. A terminal at the Port of Charleston in South Carolina was cleared on Thursday evening while officials investigated the threat of a dirty bomb on a container ship. The US Coast Guard said that a 'YouTube conspiracy theorist' notified them that there was an explosive stowed away on the Maersk Memphis. The Memphis had just returned from a trip to the Middle East on Wednesday, and the Coast Guard immediately evacuated all workers while federal, state and local officials began their search. The FBI was even called to the scene, but a thorough sweep of the ship found nothing and at 3:30am on Thursday the Coast Guard said there was no existing threat to the port. Scroll down for video Sweep: The Coast Guard evacuated two terminals and cleared a safety zone of one nautical square mile after receiving a tip about a 'dirty bomb' (Charleston ship terminal above) No go: A massive sweep of the ship got underway soon after but no bomb was found (terminal above) George Webb, the man who informed the Coast Guard of the alleged 'Dirty bomb,' is now being questioned by authorities. Law enforcement agents scanned four containers aboard the Maersk Memphis ship in the Wando Terminal after reports of a 'potential threat' on Wednesday, the Coast Guard said. Maersk Line, the world's biggest container shipping company, said the U.S. Coast Guard had informed it of a threat of a dirty bomb aboard one of its vessels. It said all crew members were safe and ashore. The Maersk Memphis, a 300-meter vessel, arrived in South Carolina from New York at about 7:30pm on Wednesday, two months after departing the Middle East. On its way back to the South Carolina the ship made stops in United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Oman, Egypt and Spain. Courtesy of Live5News.com Ship shape: A individual later identified as George Webb called in to say that the device was on the Maerfsk Memphis (above), which had just returned from the Middle East It was just 30 minutes after the ship had docked that the tip came in from Webb. In addition to a sweep of the ship, the Coast Guard also closed an area of one nautical square mile to board traffic. The terminal reopened once again on Thursday morning. Another Islamic school is having its taxpayer funding cut off after a review uncovered serious financial irregularities. The Islamic College of South Australia had fought Education Minister Simon Birmingham's decision in February to withdrawn $4 million in annual funding. However the Adelaide school, with classes from kindergarten to year 12, has lost that battle, joining Muslim schools in Canberra and western Sydney on the financial outer with the Turnbull Government. The Islamic College of South Australia will lose $4 million in federal funds following a review Education Minister Simon Birmingham decided to withdraw funds from Adelaide school Senator Birmingham said the inner-city school from his home state had failed to comply with financial and accountability standards. 'It is disappointing that after the number of chances this school has been given and the constructive work of the department, the school has still failed to meet the reasonable standards and expectations placed on them,' he said on Thursday. 'This decision has not been taken lightly. However, the department was left with no choice.' The minister says there has been a constant turnover of board members at the school since 2015. There were also reports the latest principal had been sacked after the board rejected a proposed takeover by the Perth-based Australian Islamic College. The Islamic College of South Australia in Adelaide has lost its funds following a review Last year, the government withdrew $19 million from Sydney's Malek Fahd Islamic School Federal funding to the Adelaide school is worth about $4 million a year. The college has also lost about $1 million in annual funding from the South Australian government. Senator Birmingham says the college now has 28 days to appeal the government's decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. In April, the government announced it would withdraw $1 million in annual funding to the Islamic School of Canberra. In May, Australia's largest Islamic school appeared in the Federal Court to appeal Senator Birmingham's decision to revoke $19 million in commonwealth funding. The Malek Fahd Islamic School at Greenacre, in south-west Sydney, last year lost the funds, following revelations taxpayer money was leaking to the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. This group, also known as AFIC, charges major food producers, including Kraft Vegemite, fees for halal certification. Lisa Marie Alexander, 46, is charged with felony neglect of a disabled person A woman has been arrested for disabled adult neglect after her bed-ridden diabetic husband was found lying in insect-riddled waste with maggots and cockroaches crawling over open wounds which were so deep his bones were exposed. Lisa Marie Alexander, 46, was taken in to custody after emergency responders found her husband Phillip, who is still alive but in intense care, in the 'rancid' condition at their home in Crandall, Georgia, on June 11. Fire crews and EMTs had to wear hazmat suits and breathing masks to search the 'toxic' home which 'smelled like rotting flesh' and was crawling with insects. In a sickening description of the 45-year-old's injuries, police said told of one on his lower back which was so 'grotesque that it appeared as though his entire buttocks had rotted from the body. 'It was so deep into the body that you could see what appeared to be the lowest portion of his spinal vertebrae along with his pelvic bones,' said one officer of the wound. They believe Lisa, the man's wife, had also been quaffing his prescribed painkillers. When questioned, she told them her husband's injuries were bug bites from a recent camping trip. She then changed her story, claiming his atrocious condition was down to him 'refusing to take care of himself'. Nurses at the hospital where Mr. Alexander was treated told police that his injuries were the worst sores they had ever seen. Phillip Alexander (above with his adult daughter Bethany who says there is 'no way' the family neglected him) is in intensive care. The wheelchair-bound diabetes sufferer had some of the worst wounds doctors and nurses had ever seen when he was brought to them on June 11 When officers entered the house in Crandall, Georgia, they were overcome by a 'rancid' smell which they likened to 'animal waste mixed with rotting flesh' As they treated him, they were forced to close off his hospital room and put warning signs at the door alerting staff to the potential infections inside. Bugs flew out of his seeping, pussy injuries as they tried to treat him. A copy of the harrowing police report was obtained by DailyMail.com. It describes how officers were first called to the 'cluttered' home on June 11 amid reports of a diabetic emergency. Mr. Alexander (above again with his daughter in 2014) asked to file a police report against his family once he had been removed from the home The first cop on scene observed trash 'strung' along the front yard and angry dogs that were tied up inside. As he entered, he said he was overwhelmed by the smell. 'The smell was absolutely rancid. It smelled as though there was animal waste mixed with rotting flesh inside of the house. 'In the living room, I noticed an extremely large amount of cob webs hanging from the ceiling. These webs contained numerous amounts of bugs and went throughout the entire house,' Murray County Sheriff's Officer Joshua Malone wrote. When police and paramedics arrived, Mr. Alexander was lying unconscious in an 'extremely dirty' bed with labored breathing. Officers struggled to find his pulse. Cockroaches were crawling on 'every surface' in the room and there were plastic urine receptacles strewn across it which contained 'brown matter that appeared to be decomposing human waste.' The smell was absolutely rancid. It smelled as though there was animal waste mixed with rotting flesh Responding Officer Joshua Malone EMTs could not bring a stretcher into the man's bedroom because it was so cluttered. Instead, they were forced to remove him from the festering bed on a sheet. This is when Officer Malone noticed 'a very alarming' site - 'a large black moist spot that was infested with more insects, directly underneath where he was lying.' As they moved him, they noticed for the first time that some of the cockroaches were crawling over the man's body. His injuries were the worst nurses had ever seen. Aside from the wound on his lower back, he had old 'decaying' sores on his legs and feet. 'Some appeared to have been fresh and others were so old that the flesh was black with green puss-like areas from where it was so decayed,' Officer Malone wrote. One of his feet had turned a blueish gray and was starting to 'prune'. 'Not only were the toes on both feet mangled but appeared to have a hard crust-like deposit stuck between them. The toe nails appeared to have a fungal infection which would cause extreme yellowing and hardening state of the nails. The man's wife first tried to say his wounds were bug bites from a recent camping trip then told police his condition was his own fault and that he 'refused' to take care of himself. She is also suspected of stealing his prescription medication 'His left foot appeared to be in a more advanced state of decay. The flesh tone was a grayish blue color and the skin had a 'pruning' effect from where the skin was starting to rot,' he went on. Once revived in hospital, Mr. Alexander told nurses he had been neglected and wanted to file a report against his wife and their two adult children. After he was removed from the house, police discovered his prescription drugs had been 'tampered with'. A bottle of the painkiller oxycodone which had been filled with 60 pills in it two days earlier had only 20 left. Another, that had been filled with 90 pills of the opioid painkiller hydrocodone, had just 30 left. The property's front yard was strewn with litter and a disused wheelchair 'Her pupils appeared to be very dilated even when she would look into direct light. She stated the reasons for the bandages on the legs of Phillip were from recent bug bites he received while they were camping. While questioning his wife in their home, the officer noticed Lisa's pupils were dilated. She was arrested on suspicion of neglect of a disabled adult, a felony charge which carries a sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment. She also faces a reckless conduct misdemeanor charge and six animal cruelty charges for keeping dogs tied up outside the home without food, water or shelter. The animals were removed from the house. Authorities went back to the home after her arrest to work through the scene. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation revealed that they had to wear Tyvek suits to carry out the search. They are working with local authorities to condemn the property. Mr. Alexander's adult children were also questioned as part of the investigation but are not currently facing any charges. His 21-year-old daughter Bethany was shocked by her mother's arrest and said the family took good care of him. 'There is no freaking way that we neglected him. None of us did,' she told The Dalton Daily Citizen. The man's wife remains in Murray County Jail with a bond of $50,000. Two young sisters who lived on the 20th floor of the Grenfell Tower have been found in hospital more than 24 hours after fire ripped through their high-rise home. Eight-year-old Malek Belkadi and her sister Tamzin, six, along with their mother Farah Hamdan, father Omar Belkadi and baby sister were among the missing following the Tuesday night blaze. Relieved relatives today confirmed the two girls have been located in a London hospital, but the search goes on for the parents and six-month-old baby. Little Tamzin Belkadi, six, and her older sister have been located in a hospital by relatives after their family went missing in the Grenfell Tower fire Their mother Farah Hamdan and her six-month-old baby are among the missing, along with Ms Hamdan's husband Omar Belkadi The couple lived on the 20th floor of the tower block. There elder two daughters managed to escape but what happened to them and their youngest is still unknown One of the located girls is in a coma and the other has been sedated because of trauma, relatives said. Ms Hamdan's cousin Adel told the Telegraph: 'My family has been round all the hospitals asking for anyone who matches the descriptions. 'One took pity on us and gave us information and lo and behold it was one of the children who was missing. 'Our brother is wandering around the wards and sees at a child two beds down and found that it was her sibling.' Mierna, 13, Zaynab, ten, and Fatima Choucair, three, are missing along with their mother Nadia (left, below), father Bassem Choucair and grandmother Sirra Mrs Choucair's sister Sawsan Choucair (right) told of her search for her family on TV today How can you donate to help the victims of the Grenfell Tower blaze? Britons have been moved by the terrible events at Grenfell Tower in West London yesterday to the extent that they have donated nearly 2million to fundraising pages. Many have provided clothing, shelter and food to those affected, while others have donated money. Here is how you can do your bit to help: There are two main JustGiving pages that have been set up by Karolina Hanusova and Hayley Yearwood, which have already generated about 1million between them. Chef Jamie Oliver offered free meals at his restaurant at nearby Westfield White City while phone company EE encouraged people to use local stores if they needed to contact anyone. Various other fundraising pages were set up, including the Grenfell Tower Fire Fund was set up by local councillor Eartha Pond. The An Noor Cultural & Community Centre also established the Latimer Road Fire Estate Appeal to help. Another page, the West London Tower Fire Victims, was set up by Muslims. Donations can also be made to the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation's Grenfell Tower Appeal. And an Amazon wishlist called the Grenfell Tower Emergency Relief Appeal was set up to help send supplies to the Rugby Portobello Trust which is helping those affected. Advertisement He said staff at the hospital were not even aware that the two youngsters were related. Mr Chaoui complained about the lack of help the family have received from authorities. He said they were given almost no information about where the two older children were, until the health worker at one hospital took pity on them. Ms Hamdan, Mr Belkadi and their six-month-old daughter are still unaccounted for, according to Ms Hamdan's father, Rkia. 'We've been to all the hospitals and we've been searching all day but we still haven't found them, we just want to know they are safe,' he told The Sun. 'We have had no help from the police, we understand that they're busy but they've got casualties in the hospitals.' A family of six are also missing after they were caught up in the blaze. Relatives are searching for Nadia, 29, and Bassem Choucair, 38, and their three young girls, Mierna, 13, Zaynab, ten, and Fatima, three. Teaching assistant Nadia's sister Sawsan Choucair went on Good Morning Britain today to explain how they are all missing, along with her mother Sirra. In an emotional interview, she told the ITV show: '(I spoke to them) in the morning as soon as I knew what happened at about 3am this morning, even before I got there as well I spoke to them. 'They were screaming, shouting, all I could hear in the background, and they were just quite screaming, and I was shouting - two of them, shouting, get out, try and find an exit or something.' Families were sent scrambling to escape after the blaze spread through the building at 1am Fire crews remained at the scene today, continuing to dampen down the smoldering building Rescue workers have reached the top floor of the building, but have been unable to enter any flats or rooms, because the structure is so unstable Sawsan added: 'My sister spoke to a friend, I don't know if exactly, but this friend contacted me, she said they're all safe, but I haven't heard anything, nothing at all. They could be in hospital, I don't know exactly, they could be anywhere. 'Everyone's doing their bit, their duty and everything, but I still don't know anything. I've given my name, my number, everything, just to know. I pray for everyone, I hope everyone's safe.' The next EnVision Bus Read more [...] A Muslim leader insists there is no link between terrorism and Islam because he hasn't committed any violent acts or killed anyone. Weeks after terrorist atrocities in Manchester, London and Melbourne, the spokesman for Adelaide's Ahmadiyya Muslim Association rejected a suggestion the Koran was to blame for terrorist atrocities. The host of Adelaide radio station 5AA's breakfast show David Penberthy had asked him if the Islamic scriptures had inspired people 'to rise up and use violence against non-Muslims'. But his guest contradicted calls from secular Muslims for Islam to be reformed so it is compatible with Western values, after Ahmadiyyas stood in the city mall and invited questions from the public. Scroll down for video Ahmadiyya Muslims in Adelaide held signs at the Rundle Mall this week inviting questions Muslims held up a sign in memory of nurse Kirsty Boden who was killed in a London terror attack Waleed Shah said terrorism had nothing to do with Islam. 'In terms of terrorism relating to Islam, I completely disagree with that,' he said. 'I, myself, have been a follower of Islam since birth and it never got in me to do or commit any such acts so how can how I believe that this religion is the problem? 'It's the people that are using this religion and trying to twist it, use it for their own benefit and then try to claim it is the religion that motivated them to do it.' Fellow South Australian Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi, an Adelaide-based Shia imam, has faced death threats for calling for Islam to be reformed so it fits within Western society. Waleed Shah, the spokesman for Adelaide's Ahmadiyya Muslims, says there is no link between Islam and terrorism Adelaide's Ahmadiyya Muslims this week held signs in the city's Rundle Mall inviting the public to ask them questions about their faith as part of a national campaign. Mr Shah said people had commonly asked if the Koran was responsible for acts of terror. 'We've been following the same religion and most Muslims around the world are actually peaceful yet they follow the same teachings,' he said. 'It's practising Muslims that are speaking out against terrorism now and you're going to be seeing a lot more of us out there from now on.' Ahmadiyya Muslim women stood on the London Bridge in March in a show of solidarity after a terrorist attack The Ahmadiyyas have publicly condemned terrorism around with world. In March, Muslim women from this denomination wore blue and stood on the London Bridge to condemn terrorist Khalid Masood, who sped along the bridge before storming the grounds of parliament and stabbing to death a police officer. The Ahmadiyya Muslims are often hated by Islamist extremists and religiously-conservative Sunnis around the world. Last year, an Ahmadiyya shopkeeper in the Scottish city of Glasgow was stabbed 30 times by a religiously-motivated killer for wishing Christian friends a peaceful Easter on social media. In Australia, Islamist extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir last year accused Tasmanian Ahmadiyyas of 'grovelling' for declaring their love of Australia in mailbox leaflets. Indonesia's Ulema Council, the peak body for the nation's Islamic clerics, doesn't recognise Ahmadiyyas, who are more secular than Islamist Sunnis. A 28-year-old man was arrested for raping and impregnating a 13-year-old girl, police said. Avisus Sedale Davis of Ocala, Florida, denied knowing the victim or her sister, who called the 28-year-old asking for a ride home from school in January 2016, according to News6. But the victim gave birth to a baby, and a paternity test showed Davis was the father of the child, according to the arrest report. Avisus Sedale Davis of Ocala, Florida, (pictured, left in mugshot) was arrested for raping and impregnating a 13-year-old girl The victim's sister asked Davis to give them a ride home from school in January 2016. He stopped at his home saying he needed to get money for gas, and the sister went to a store nearby. Davis said he would stay behind with the victim, who needed to use the bathroom, since the lock often got stuck. When the victim was finished, Davis raped her, punching her in the face when she tried to resist, according to the arrest report. The victim reported the rape in November, after she gave birth to a baby. Davis initially denied knowing either of the two girls, but a DNA test revealed there was a 99.9 percent chance he was the father. Davis was arrested Tuesday on charges of sexual assault of a victim under 18 years old, cruelty toward child - impregnate child under 16, possession of marijuana and two probation violations. Ukrainian-born Alexander Temerko said party faced losing the youth vote for good against a Labour Party committed to scrapping university charges A major Tory donor who backs Boris Johnson to be the next Prime Minister has demanded Theresa May overhaul the party agenda and slash tuition fees. Ukrainian-born Alexander Temerko said the party faced losing the youth vote for good against a Labour Party committed to scrapping university charges. Mr Temerko told MailOnline the Tories should radically overhaul the university system by charging EU and foreign students more instead. The businessman, who has given more than 1million to the Tories in recent years, backed Boris Johnson for No 10 last year and said he would be the next party leader when May won. Mr Temerko, who became a British citizen in 2011, condemned the Conservative campaign as 'robotic' and with 'no charisma'. He demanded the party see 'proper reform' and warned: 'If we can't become the party of young people, we will not win another election.' He said: 'It was in 2010 that the Liberal Democrats committed political suicide by breaking their election promise to abolish fees, which have since trebled to more than 9,000. 'The key point is that the coalition's decision to raise tuition fees was a temporary measure in response to the worst economic crisis since the second world war. 'We were only just out of recession and the public finances needed to be pulled back from the brink. 'Seven years later, we keep hearing from Theresa May that we're the fastest-growing economy in the G7. If that's true, why can't fees return to their previous level? Other European countries offer low-cost or free higher education; why can't we?' The businessman, who has given more than 1million to the Tories in recent years, backs Boris Johnson (pictured in Downing Street today) for No 10 last year Mr Temerko claimed the Labour ambition to eliminate fees was the right one even if the Opposition's solution to pay for it with higher taxes would 'cripple' the economy. He said the Conservatives has been 'punished' by young voters for failing to acknowledge the importance of fees an issue. He added: Scottish universities are performing as well if not better than their English counterparts. 'Their example shows it can work, and it's revealing that the Conservatives made gains in Scotland and did well among younger voters, who are joining the party and being vocal in their support.' Labour's campaign to scrap tuition fees was one of the centre pieces of Jeremy Corbyn's manifesto. Mr Temerko, who became a British citizen in 2011, condemned Theresa May (pictured leaving No 10 today) campaign as 'robotic' and with 'no charisma' Mr Temerko has backed Boris Johnson (pictured entering No 10 yesterday) to be the next Prime Minister It secured a huge surge in youth turn out that drove Labour to an expected increase in seats and stripped the Tories of their majority in Parliament. Mr Corbyn's 11billion pledge was to have been paid for by increasing taxes on the richest 5 per cent of workers. On the campaign trail he said: 'The Conservatives have held students back for too long, saddling them with debt that blights the start of their working lives. 'Labour will lift this cloud of debt and make education free for all as part of our plan for a richer Britain for the many not the few. 'We will scrap tuition fees and ensure universities have the resources they need to continue to provide a world-class education. 'Students will benefit from having more money in their pockets, and we will all benefit from the engineers, doctors, teachers and scientists that our universities produce.' A young Australian man described by police as a 'lone wolf' has been nabbed by counter-terrorism officers at Sydney Airport allegedly trying to travel to Syria to fight with Islamic State. Moudasser Taleb, 22, had taken a taxi to the airport on Thursday to buy a ticket to travel overseas and was carrying army-style clothing and survival kits when arrested, police said. Taleb, of Middle Eastern background, was known to police for minor matters and was on their radar when his behaviour became more concerning. An investigation was launched in January. This is the young Australian man nabbed by counter-terrorism officers at Sydney Airport Moudasser Taleb was intercepted by counter-terrorism police at Sydney Airport was allegedly attempting to travel to the Syrian war zone to fight for terror group ISIS Police charged Taleb with preparing for an incursion into a foreign country with the intention to carry out violent acts on Thursday evening. The foreign incursion charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Police claim the Australian-born man from Sydney's southwest intended to purchase a plane ticket to Lebanon or Turkey. 'We believe he was acting alone in this particular act and was radicalised by himself,' Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson told reporters in Sydney. 'We are alleging through online communication he was radicalised and then made a decision to travel overseas and fight for Islamic State. Moudasser Taleb, 22, (red shirt) had taken a taxi to the airport on Thursday to buy a ticket to travel overseas and was carrying army-style clothing and survival kits when arrested The man is co-operating with police and is expected to be charged with preparations for incursions into a foreign territory to commit acts of violence, which carries a maximum term of life imprisonment 'People try and source that material themselves rather than being approached.' Mr Hudson said Taleb had been engaging with people overseas, but doesn't believe Taleb's family were involved or had prior knowledge of his attempt to flee the country. '(It's) very much a lone wolf factor - he's been radicalised online and we don't believe that he's been involved with any other people in NSW or Australia,' the commander of investigations and counter-terrorism said. Taleb was handcuffed and escorted out of Sydney Airport by several plain-clothes officers on Thursday morning. He has been co-operating with investigators since. Police raided his Panania home on Thursday, removing evidence in brown paper bags and seizing a computer. 'Actions taken this morning were taken not only to protect the people of NSW but more broadly overseas,' Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Ian McCartney told reporters in Sydney. He said there had been a reduction in the 'flow of individuals that want to travel to a conflict zone, particularly in the last six to 12 months'. Taleb has been refused bail and will appear before Sydney's Central Local Court on Friday. Lyle Jeffs (pictured on Wednesday) a leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday night in South Dakota A polygamous sect leader was living out of his pickup truck and not getting much help from his once-loyal followers when he was captured in South Dakota after nearly a year on the run. Lyle Jeffs, a leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was arrested on Wednesday at about 8.30pm near the small town of Yankton - hours away from a compound run by the polygamous group. He had just used a bathroom and was alone near a lakeside marina when he was stopped by an off duty detective who recognized his truck. A tipster had informed police just days earlier of the truck Jeffs was driving. Jeffs complied with officers when he was arrested and was booked into the Minnehaha County jail in Sioux Falls where he is being held with no bond. Authorities believe he had been in that area for the last two weeks. Authorities had been looking for the 57-year-old since June 18 last year when he used olive oil to slip off his GPS ankle monitor and fled home confinement in Salt Lake City while awaiting trial on food stamp fraud charges. Eric Barnhart, FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Salt Lake City Division, said on Thursday that investigators believe Jeffs was running out resources and not getting much help from members of the sect. He said investigators are still trying to determine Jeffs' movements for the rest of the time he was missing and declined to discuss other tips received by agents. 'He spent that whole time, I'm sure, looking over his shoulder, wondering about every police officer he saw, every highway patrolman, what person would eventually give him up,' Barnhart said. The FBI had been looking for Jeffs (above in 2015) since June 18 last year when he slipped off his GPS ankle monitor and fled Salt Lake City while awaiting trial on fraud charges The FBI announced Jeffs arrest in a tweet Thursday morning that read: '#ARRESTED: FLDS leader Lyle Jeffs in custody after nearly a year on the lam' Jeffs is the brother of the sect's highest leader Warren Jeffs (pictured above in 2006). The 60-year-old is serving a life sentence in Texas for raping girls he considered to be his brides Jeffs is among 11 members of the sect charged in the multi million dollar fraud and money laundering scheme in which they are accused of converting benefits from a food stamp program into cash. He went on the run less than two weeks after a US District Judge released him from jail on supervised home release on June 9, 2016, despite federal prosecutors and the FBI fighting hard to keep him in jail pending trial. The FBI issued a warrant for his arrest shortly after he disappeared and issued a $50,000 reward and wanted poster with bold red lettering saying Jeffs should be considered armed and dangerous. WHAT IS THE POLYGAMIST SECT FLDS? The Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints is an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism. The radical sect broke away when the Mormon Church disavowed polygamy more than 100 years ago. Members of the FLDS believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. The FLDS main base is on the Arizona-Utah border and has a community of about 10,000 members. Followers believe leader Warren Jeffs is God's prophet, despite him serving a life sentence for sexually assault girls he considered his brides. Female members are required to cover their bodies from neck to ankle. They also never cut their hair. Advertisement Jeffs is the brother of the sect's highest leader Warren Jeffs. The 60-year-old is currently serving a life sentence in Texas for raping girls he considered to be his brides. The warrant for Jeffs arrest came a decade after his brother Warren was featured on a similar poster. Warren was captured during a routine traffic stop three months after appearing on the FBI's most wanted list in 2006. At the time of his initial arrest on fraud charges in February 2016, Jeffs was in the sect's main community on the Utah-Arizona border. The group also has a small compound in far west South Dakota that was established more than a decade ago. Known to followers as 'R23,' the compound sits along a gravel road, secluded by tall pine trees, a privacy fence and a guard tower. Barnhart said it is unclear if Jeffs spent any time there. Jeffs was the person in charge of day-to-day operations of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But after his arrest, his jailed brother re-assigned Jeffs' duties to another sect brother. The FBI revealed in August last year that Jeffs had been in contact with his brother since going on the run but said there had been some sort of falling out between the siblings. Jeffs' legal wife divorced him in 2015, but he is believed to still have eight 'spiritual wives'. Members of the sect believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. The group is an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, which disavowed polygamy more than 100 years ago. The jail where Jeffs was booked on Wednesday is about 400 miles from the sect's South Dakota compound (pictured above) Eric Barnhart (left), FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Salt Lake City Division, said on Thursday that investigators believe Jeffs was running out resources Female members of the sect were pictured leaving the federal court in Salt Lake City in April 2016 after 11 leaders were charged in a $12 million food stamp fraud case Jeffs' attorney Kathyrn Nester said he was expected to be returned to Utah in the coming days to face the pending food stamp fraud charges. He will likely face at least one new felony charge connected to his time on the run, according to US Attorney for Utah John Huber. While he was a fugitive, nine of the 10 other people charged in the high-profile bust in February 2016 took plea deals while one person had his charges dismissed. Prosecutors accused Jeffs and other sect leaders of instructing followers to buy items with their food stamp cards and give them to a church warehouse where leaders decided how to distribute products to followers. FBI investigators fitted secret cameras on poles outside of a dairy store in Colorado City, Arizona, for a year, placed another inside the store for 40 days and also flew planes over the store. Authorities watched as people made bulk purchases at the Meadowdayne Dairy Store and took the items to a community storehouse instead of their homes. They say food stamps were also cashed at sect-owned stores without the users getting anything in return. The money was then diverted to front companies and used to pay thousands for a tractor, truck and other items, prosecutors say. The defendants said they were just sharing food as part of their communal living practices. The FBI issued a warrant for his arrest shortly after he disappeared and issued a $50,000 reward and wanted poster saying Jeffs should be considered armed and dangerous Natwaina Clark, 33, made more than $93,000 in fraudulent purchases with city credit cards. She has pleaded not guilty to the thefts A Florida city says a former employee stole money to get a butt lift. A Gainesville city report released on Wednesday said Natwaina Clark stole $93,000 from the city, using $8,500 on the cosmetic surgery. The Gainesville Sun says the report shows the 33-year-old Clark also used city money for her cable television bill, food, highway tolls, a television and other expenses including a Brazilian butt lift. Clark was fired shortly before she was arrested last March 28 and charged with larceny and scheme to defraud. She has pleaded not guilty. An investigative report revealed Clark, 33, charged her city-issued credit card 136 times for roughly $61,000 in unauthorized charges and used her bosses' cards at least 31 more times for an additional $31,000, between November 2015 and March 2017. Department heads failed to notice the extravagant spending allowing the funds to be continued to be misspent. They were found to be negligent in allowing Clark access to their cards and had not reviewed expense reports for more than a year. It wasn't until the department was found to have overspent its budget that the legitimacy of some of the purchases was questioned. Documents show Clark funneled roughly $41,000 to her personal PayPal account and that $8,500 of it went toward a Brazilian butt lift (file photo) Natwaina Clark's 'expenses' The former city of Gainesville employee is accused of stealing more than $93,000 from the city coffers * $41,000 sent to her PayPal account * $8,500 for a Brazilian butt lift * $2,413 in cable bills * $1,011 spent at CVS * $739 at Sams Club for food items * $680 for a SunPass toll road account * $123.16 on Edible Arrangement gift Advertisement Clark who was on a salary of $33,500 managed to funnel roughly $41,000 to her personal PayPal account which was linked to her bank account with $8,500 going towards a Brazilian butt lift - a procedure that sees fat from one part of the body used to augment the buttocks. Purchases also show that Clark paid more than $2,400 to Cox Communications for her cable bill, spent $1,000 at CVS, $700 at Sam's Club for food and $680 to her toll pass. Clark was described as an intelligent worker who could even have earned promotions had she not made the purchases. The report as seen by the The Gainesville Sun said Clark was 'living beyond her means.' On one occasion she send an 'Edible Arrangements' bouquet to her office claiming that it was from a generous boyfriend. The gift later showed up as a $123 expense on her city-issued Visa card. Clark had previously been arrested in other Florida counties having used an HR position to illegally obtain other employees' banking and personal information before selling the data to a third party. She was charged with seven felonies but those were later dismissed after she pleaded no contest and served probation. The Senate Judiciary Committee is opening up a probe into President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey and whether any 'improper interference' with the FBI occurred. Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa revealed the probe in a letter to his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. But the probe won't be exclusively focused on Trump-land. Grassley also wants the investigation to look at Obama attorney general Loretta Lynch and whether she influenced the Clinton email scandal investigation. Republican Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa revealed that the Senate Judiciary Committee is opening up a probe into President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey Lynch's infamous Phoenix airport tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton in the final days of the email investigation will be part of the probe. Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that it made him 'queasy' when at one point Lynch directed him to discuss the federal investigation into Clinton's private email server as a 'matter' rather than a full-blown 'investigation,' which it was. 'There should be no improper interference with FBI investigations to favor any elected official or candidate of either party,' Grassley wrote, The Hill reported. 'The Committee has an obligation to pursue all evidence of such misconduct.' He wrote: 'The Judiciary Committee has an obligation to fully investigate any alleged improper partisan interference in law enforcement investigations.' Special counsel Robert Mueller is leading a probe of Russian interference in the presidential election, whether Trump associates had contacts with Russians, as well as whether Trump's firing of Comey was an effort to obstruct the Russia probe, according to media reports. DOUBLE DUTY: Grassley revealed the probe in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who also sits on the Intelligence panel probing Russian election interference 'It is my view that fully investigating the facts, circumstances, and rationale for Mr. Comey's removal will provide us the opportunity to do that on a cooperative, bipartisan basis,' Grassley added, optimistically. Grassley is known as one of the Senate's most dogged investigators, but in the early days of the Trump administration, it hasn't been clear how hard he intends to push on possible misconduct. GOING DOWN? Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill May 10, 2017 in Washington QUEASY FEELING: 'Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that it made him 'queasy' when at one point Lynch directed him to discuss the federal investigation into Clinton's private email server as a 'matter' rather than a full-blown 'investigation' In March, he vented to the Washington Post after requests for administration documents weren't satisfied. 'Every time they come up here for their nomination hearing and I ask them are you going to answer phone calls and our letters and are you going to give us the documents you want? And every time we get a real positive yes! And then they end up being liars!' Grassley told the paper. He eventually threatened to hold up the nomination of deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein to try to get results. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe has reportedly expanded to include possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The House Intelligence Committee is also investigating Russia election interference. An alleged serial killer charged with murdering a mother and her two daughters at their Ohio home last week sobbed in court on Thursday as prosecutors recounted how he used a different twisted method to kill each of the women. Prosecutors say George Brinkman slit the throat of 45-year-old of Suzanne Taylor, smothered her 21-year-old daughter Taylor Pifer and strangled her youngest daughter, 18-year-old Kylie Pifer, at their house in North Royalton on Saturday. The women were found lined up side by side, lying face down in a bed inside the home when Taylor's boyfriend went to check on them the following day. Their bodies were 'cold to the touch' and they may have been dead for more than 24 hours, a newly released police report reveals. Friends later revealed that Brinkman and Taylor were long-term friends and had graduated high school together. Her relatives said that he was interested in her romantically, wanting 'more' from their friendship. Brinkman, 45, was arrested on Tuesday morning in Brunswick, Ohio, 50 miles away after an eight-hour siege with police. At Thursday's court hearing - his first appearance since he was arrested following an eight-hour standoff with police on Tuesday - his bond was set at $75million. He is also suspected for the murders of his former girlfriend's parents, Gene and Bobbi John, who he was house-sitting for near his home in North Cranton. Scroll down for video George Brinkman, 45, wiped away tears as he was arraigned in Ohio on Thursday for the murders of a mother and her two daughters Suzanne Taylor, 45, and her daughters 18-year-old Kylie (left) and 21-year-old Taylor (right) were found by Taylor's boyfriend lying face down, side by side in bed The Johns were found dead with their son in their house on Monday. The couple had returned home from a vacation the previous day and their suitcases were still packed when their lifeless bodies were discovered. At a court hearing on Thursday which was attended by WKYC, Brinkman appeared in an orange prison jumpsuit and stab vest and had a cast on his hand. In the killings of the three women he is charged with three counts of aggravated murder, three counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of tampering with evidence for disposing of the knife he used to stab Ms Taylor. He also faces two separate murder offences from Stark County Police for the murders of Gene and Bobbi John but has not yet been arraigned on those charges. A police report obtained by DailyMail.com reveals that Dale Kostar, Taylor Pifer's boyfriend, went to the home on Sunday evening after not hearing from her since 3pm the previous day when she sent her last text message to him. Brinkman wore a stab vest, an orange prison jumpsuit and had a cast on his right arm The 45-year-old's bond was set at $75million. He is charged with three counts of aggravated murder, three counts of kidnapping and one of tampering with evidence Murder spree: How the five deaths and the armed siege unfolded from Sunday until Tuesday morning The women were found dead in their home in North Royalton, Ohio, on Sunday evening by Taylor Pifer's boyfriend Dale Kostar (left) went to the house after growing worried because he hadn't heard from his girlfriend. He was on the phone to Suzanne Taylor's boyfriend Scott Playmale (right) when he discovered their bodies At 4.30pm, he stopped by the house with flowers for her but there was no answer. By 7.30pm Sunday, when he still hadn't heard from her, he returned to the home and got no answer again. Worried, he phoned Scott Plymale - the girls' mother's boyfriend - who told him to go inside. Once inside the house, he found the women lying in a bed, face down. As he laid eyes on their corpses, he told Plymale: 'There's a body in here.' As the victims' relatives reeled from their deaths on on Tuesday, it was revealed that Taylor had been friends with Brinkman for years. Those close to her said she only ever wanted to be friends with him and was 'nice to him'. 'Suzy thought he was actually really a friend. We had meals together, he spent holidays here, I mean, he was a friend, so I don't know what made him so angry,' Marcia Taylor told Fox News. The woman's brother suggested he held an unrequited affection for her. 'He always wanted more from my sister, and she was just trying to be nice to him,' Ken Taylor said. He regularly 'liked' her social media photographs and referred to her as a 'queen' in one comment. Taylor's friends said she had been 'nice' to Brinkman for years and that the pair had known each other since high school Police say Brinkman smothered 21-year-old Taylor (right) and used a phone chord to strangle 18-year-old Kylie (left) The sisters' devastated father paid tribute to them as 'beautiful and intelligent' women The girls' devastated father Brian issued a statement on their deaths on Tuesday after Brinkman's arrest. 'Taylor and Kylie were deeply loved - not only by me, but by our families and so many friends. 'We are absolutely devastated. [They] were beautiful, strong, intelligent young women,' he said. Gene and Bobbie John were found dead in their home 50 miles away in Lake Canton on Monday. Brinkman had been house-sitting for them while they were on vacation but they returned on Sunday His wife said they were 'blindsided' by their killings and had no idea what may have prompted them. The Johns were found in their home in Lake Canton on Monday. Brinkman had been house-sitting for the couple and shot them dead when they returned to the bungalow on Sunday, police say. The couple's suitcases were still packed. Their son found their bodies after going to their house because he was concerned about them. Later, it was revealed that he had worked for the couple in the past. He also had a relationship at one time with their daughter. Brinkman was arrested after an eight-hour armed standoff with police in Brunswick, Ohio, on Tuesday. He is yet to make his first court appearance for the murders of his ex-girlfriend's parents. Stark County Sheriff's Office has charged him with their deaths. A teenage mother whose toddler daughters died after she left them alone in her car overnight in 90 degree heat had previously left them unattended so she could go to drug-fueled parties, DailyMail.com can reveal. Amanda Hawkins, 19, of Kerrville, Texas, is facing two counts of abandoning or endangering a child and is currently being held at Kerr County Main Jail on a $70,000 bond. Her daughters, Addyson Overgard-Eddy, two, and Brynn Hawkins, one, were left in the car for more than 15 hours while their mother attended a party. Both died shortly after reaching hospital in San Antonio, Texas, at 5pm on June 7. According to police, Hawkins had delayed getting medical help for fear of getting into trouble. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Victims: Brynn Hawkins (left), who was one, and Addyson Overgard-Eddy (right) who was days away from her third birthday, died after spending 15 hours in a car in 90 degree heat last week Accused: The dead toddlers' mother, Amanda Hawkins, was arrested after the deaths and is being held on two counts of abandoning or endangering a child Lost: Friends told DailyMail.com that Hawkins had been a good mother to Brynn (left) and Addyson (right) but that recently that appeared to have changed. She had left them unattended in a car before said a friend who admitted to using drugs Baby fathers: Austin Overgard (left) was a high school friend of Amanda, and had little to do with his daughter after her birth. He is a convicted meth dealer currently being held in a rehab jail. Isaac Hawkins married Amanda Eddy in August 2015, before the birth of their daughter Brynn. He has since been arrested on drugs charges. The couple are now estranged. DailyMail.com can disclose that their deaths came after long-running concerns for their welfare, with Hawkins' estranged husband, who was Brynn's father, having drug charges, while she was seen physically attacking her daughters. The fathers of both girls have drugs arrests and one is a convicted meth dealer. Addyson's father is Austin Overgard, who is currently in a prison rehab facility is a convicted meth dealer who is 21. Brynn's father Isaac Hawkins - to whom Amanda was married for a year and eight months before allegedly cheating on him with a 16-year-old - has been arrested on drug charges and now lives in a shabby trailer. He is 19. Former friend Sadie Harwood, 20, of Kerrville, told DailyMail.com that Hawkins had previously left her girls alone in the car while she attended parties and mixed with a crowd that dabbled in drugs. She said: 'I'm not totally surprised that something like this has happened. People have been worried about those kids for a while and she has left them in the car before.' Harwood, who is now sober and hopes to become an art therapy teacher, added: 'She would ignore them while we were inside doing things [drugs]. 'I never saw her take anything myself but she would always be at the houses when I went to buy stuff. It was always Xanax, meth and weed.' Close friend Sierra Talley, 20, of New Braunfel, Texas, told DailyMail.com that the 19-year-old had initially seemed to be a good mother but would 'get physical' with the girls if they cried. She said: 'If the youngest ever did something wrong, and also the oldest, she would get physical.' Scene of tragedy: Amanda Hawkins is alleged to have been partying at this block in Kerrville when she left her daughters alone in her car for 15 hours before their deaths on June 7 Last address: Amanda Hawkins is thought to have been sharing this home in Kerrville with her children after splitting from her husband.When DailyMail.com visited the property this week, a group of teenagers could be seen slouched in deckchairs outside the front door and declined to answer questions Evicted: Isaac and Amanda Hawkins had been living in the unit on the left of this two-family home until being pursued in court over rent arrears totaling $1,900 from March and April Not home: Isaac Hawkins was not at the rundown home on a trailer park where he is now living after his split from Amanda. He said on Facebook that he hopes she 'rots in hell' Talley suggested that something about Hawkins had changed. 'She was a perfectly amazing mother when I first knew her,' she said. 'About a year ago, she came down here [to New Braunfel] with Isaac and their two babies and we bought them some dinner and had a little playdate. 'I interacted with the children and they seemed to have no problems at all. Perfectly normal and perfectly happy. They seemed well fed, well treated and everything.' Hawkins was born and raised in the small town of Kerrville and attended the local Hill Country High School. The daughter of former waitress Alisha Eddy, 46, and her second husband Roger, 42, she has two half-brothers from her mother's first marriage: Cory Ray Clendennen, 29, and Shane Clendennen, 27. According to Talley, who met Hawkins at middle school, she appeared normal and 'a great person' during her adolescence spending much of her time with her younger cousins. But in 2013, she became pregnant for the first time by an older school friend named Austin Overgard, with her daughter Addyson arriving in June 2014. At the time of her death, the little girl was just three weeks from what would have been her third birthday. Overgard, who was born in Alamogordo, New Mexico, was 'an a**hole' at school according to Talley who wanted little to do with his daughter after she was born. Teenage family: Isaac Hawkins, 19, was married to Amanda in August 2015 and their daughter Brynn was born in February 2016 Family time: A friend told DailyMail.com that both girls were happy and healthy in the past. 'She was a perfectly amazing mother when I first knew her,' said Sierra Talley 'I interacted with the children and they seemed to have no problems at all. Perfectly normal and perfectly happy. They seemed well fed, well treated and everything,' Sierra Talley told DailyMail.com Relationship: 19-year-olds Isaac and Amanda Hawkins had posted wedding photographs and pictures of them as a couple but split in March of this year amid claims she cheated on him with a 16-year-old Currently understood to be incarcerated in a jail-rehab facility in San Angelo, Texas, the 21-year-old has a total of eight arrests and four convictions to his name including one for drug dealing. The indictment, dated September 27 2016, reads: 'On or about June 13 2016 [] did then and there knowingly attempt to deliver, by offer to sell, to a cooperating individual, a controlled substance, namely methamphetamine.' After pleading guilty, he was initially sentenced to 18 months probation but failed to meet the terms and was sent to the Concho Valley Community Corrections Facility after twice testing positive for meth. He also admitted to a secondary charge of possessing an illegal weapon a set of knuckledusters according to the indictment and police report. His other convictions both date from 2015 and are for marijuana possession in each case, leading to a fine. At the time of the girls' deaths, Hawkins had been pursuing her former flame over unpaid child support for Addyson, with the case due to return to court on July 21. After splitting from Overgard, Hawkins acquired a new boyfriend Isaac Hawkins. Talley, who also knew Isaac during her time at high school, describes him as 'quiet' and not inclined towards drama. Partying: Sierra Talley told DailyMail.com: 'If the youngest ever did something wrong, and also the oldest, she would get physical.' The couple married in July 2016 and set up home together in Kerrville, with Hawkins taking a job as a shelf-stacker in the local Walmart SuperCenter. He became the father of her second child, Brynn, who was born to the couple in February 2016. Nonetheless, the pair appear to have had trouble with money and are currently being pursued in court over rent arrears totaling $1,900 from March and April. A default judgment dated May 3 found in favor of landlady Jana Smith, with the couple also told to pay court costs of $211 and interest totaling $84.99. Smith, who also lives in Kerrville, declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com. Three days after the judgment, Isaac was arrested and booked into Kerr County Jail on a charge of marijuana possession, as well as releasing arrest, and was released on a $5,000 bond after spending a night in the cells. The 19-year-old, whose case is still pending, also faces a charge of Class 3 theft and another of resisting arrest. He and Hawkins are understood to have split up in March, after she allegedly cheated on him with a local 16-year-old, according to friends. Isaac was not available for comment when DailyMail.com visited his shabby trailer home on Tuesday but a friend who answered the door said he has been left 'devastated' by his daughter's death. He has spoken of his anger in posts made on a closed Facebook page dedicated to getting justice for the two girls and said he hopes Hawkins 'rots in hell' for her alleged crimes. In a post written on Tuesday, he said: 'She [Hawkins] did kill my children [] I'm not defending her and I truly hate her right now. 'I hope she rots in hell and sees the images of my kids lifeless faces knowing that she did it.' Writing in a second post later the same day, he added: 'I wasn't there for warning signs, only had bad gut feelings the day it happened.' However, Hawkins is understood to have been reported to Child Protective Services several times, including in July 2016, when her younger daughter was just five months old. A furious Hawkins wrote of the experience in an angry post made on her Facebook page at the time in which she insisted that she was a good mother who gave her daughters 'everything'. She wrote: 'If you want my mom to check up and ask questions about if my daughters are taken care of, that is messed up. 'You can ask me yourselves or leave us alone! We are great here. Focus on something else. My daughters have everything they want, and need, plus so much more. Fury: How Amanda Hawkins turned on Deadbeat father: Amanda Hawkins was suing Austin Overgard for child support. He is a convicted meth dealer currently in a jail rehab facility Selection of mugshots: Austin Overgard - who became a father with Amanda while she was at high school - has a criminal history with eight arrests and four convictions 'They get their checkups [sic] they get their shots. They get everything. You don't see us so just stop. The only people who see us are my mom and my grandparents. 'Ugh, I feel so mad. How dare someone question if I take care of my kids.' At the time of their deaths, the two girls are understood to have been living with their mother at a dilapidated home on Mack Hollimon Drive in Kerrville, which she shared with two friends named locally as Chelsea and KP. When DailyMail.com visited the property this week, a group of teenagers could be seen slouched in deckchairs outside the front door and declined to answer questions. The children's grandmother, Alisha, also refused to discuss Hawkins' alleged crime and has now left her apartment home. Among them was a child's pink plastic walker that had previously been stored next to the front door. Addyson and Brynn are expected to be buried in a private funeral within the next few weeks while their mother has been returned to Kerrville from San Antonio and is now in jail pending trial. Jimmy Poole, of the Kerr County Sheriff's Office, said: 'I can confirm we have her in our custody and she is in the jail here. 'I cannot say anything else about the case until we have spoken to the prosecutor's office.' A memorial service for the two girls was held in Kerrville, a small town of 22,000 people, on Sunday and included a fundraiser to pay for their funerals. Many of Hawkins' friends, including Talley, are now hoping she will be sentenced to a lengthy stretch in jail and have started a petition called 'Make sure Amanda Hawkins goes to Prison'. Hosted on thepetitionsite.com, it has racked up 1,874 signatures since June 11 344 of them from Kerrville residents. 'She left them in the car several times before so I feel she did this intentionally,' said Talley. '15 hours is a long time, so she could have done something about it. She added: 'I'm just hoping that it will at least change someone's mind in the court room around there, with the jury. 'Just let them know that she did something really, really wrong and she deserves a lot more than two years or something like that. She honestly deserves prison for life.' A nursery worker who abused three toddlers by drawing a moustache on one while he was sleeping faces being struck off. Laura Houston, 25, was convicted of assaulting the three one-year-olds while working at Happy Days Too in Busby, Glasgow. A court heard she intentionally tripped one boy up and drew a fake moustache on his face before grabbing him by the ankles causing him to fall face-first on the floor. Houston, a nursery nurse, also obstructed the path of a little girl which caused her to trip over and later slapped a different boy in the chest. Nursery nurse Laura Houston (pictured) was convicted of assaulting the three one-year-olds The 25-year-old (pictured) now faces being struck off and banned from working with children She was given a 12-month community payback order at Paisley Sheriff Court in Renfrewshire in August last year. But she now faces being banned from working with children altogether and a hearing with the Scottish Social Services Council for Scotland (SSSC) will take place next week. Along with the charges found proved in court, the SSSC are also investigating new allegations including biting and force-feeding one toddler causing them to be sick. Houston is also accused of telling a one-year-old child that she would 'love to put her head through a window'. The updated SSSC allegations state: 'During the course of your employment, you did, in relation to child AA, aged about one, between 30 November 2014 and 28 February 2015, on more than one occasion, put your hand or foot out as AA walked past, causing AA to fall over. 'On or around 9 February 2015, throw AA off a chair by grabbing his arms, causing AA to bump their head off the table. Houston (pictured) was given a 12-month community payback order at Paisley Sheriff Court in Renfrewshire in August last year She was convicted of assaulting the children while working at Happy Days Too in Busby, Glasgow (pictured) 'Between 1 January 2015 and 28 February 2015, tell child CC, aged about one, to push and bite DD. 'Between 24 October 2014 and 30 December 2014, take a photograph of DD with a moustache on his face which you had drawn with a marker pen or similar implement. 'Tell colleague ZZ to tell anyone who asked that DD had drawn the moustache on his own face. 'On or around 11 February 2015, in relation to child FF, aged about one, push FF back and forward while they were sitting down, repeatedly try to feed FF their lunch when FF was gagging. Your action contributed to FF being sick. 'On more than one occasion, push child HH, aged about one, on top of FF when they were playing in the knowledge that FF suffered from hip problems. 'On more than one occasion, say to child GG, aged about one, 'I'd love to put your head through a window' or words to that effect.' Another charge also accuses Houston of refusing to help a child who had slipped on a wet floor and bumped her head. She apparently refused to sign an incident form for the child and encouraged other junior staff not to report it. Houston resigned from her position at the nursery in February 2015 after being suspended amid an investigation into the claims. The saying goes 'don't bite the hand that feeds you'. But this impatient ostrich may not have heard that particular adage, as this comical footage from Glenrose, Texas, shows. Holly Bennett, 41, was caught off guard by the ostrich after she fed him at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. Holly Bennett took her triplets to a wildlife center for an educational day out and finished off by feeding the ostriches But she was taken by surprise when the ostrich bit her hand as it waited for more treats from her Impatient for more treats, the ostrich bit her hand as she reached to get more from her car. Holly, whose husband is currently deployed overseas with the Air National Guard, was visiting the wildlife center as a teaching experience for her two-year-old triplets. 'I was trying to expose the kids to wildlife since they are learning animals and the sounds they make,' said Holly. 'Wyatt, Beau, and Savannah Bennett along with the nannies were all in the car with me, as was my sister Kristine.' The family was was on their way out when they encountered the ostriches and decided it was a great opportunity to get up close and personal with them. She told the ostrich he was a 'good one' before the bite, explaining later that she'd just avoided feeding one because it seemed aggressive After biting her hand, he then bit her arm and Holly said she has a bruise to remind her of the day 'Just as we were about to leave the park I fed the ostriches at the exit.' After the first ostrich came across as aggressive Holly decided to move forward to the next one. 'I pulled forward to the next ostrich - this one was gentle with the first food pellet.' Completely unaware of what was about to happen Holly can actually be heard saying 'oh, you're a nice one' and reaching into the car for more food. 'I was telling it to wait so I could get more food. 'First that one got my finger in it's beak- then when I turned to get more food, it bit me on the back of the arm.' As the events unfold a combination of screams and laughter can be heard from the car from her sister and her children As the events unfold a combination of screams and laughter can be heard from the car. Holly, who now has a bruise on her arm as a reminder of the attack, was able to see the funnier side of things. 'I joked afterwards that it had tried to take my wedding ring.' Not shying away form the comedy of the events Holly decided to share the experience to her Instagram page, BennettTriplets. A former Israeli soldier and self-defence instructor will run for parliament to give people the power to use pepper spray and tasers on African Apex gang members. Avi Yemini, a conservative Jewish activist, has set up a new Facebook page, Make Victoria Safe Again, to outline his plan to smash Sudanese thugs and tackle Victoria's crime wave. 'We need to legislate things like pepper spray or tasers,' he said in a video. 'We need to stop being so defenceless as Victorians and fight these thugs.' Scroll down for video Former Israeli soldier Avi Yemini wants to run for parliament to smash Sudanese gangs The former Israeli soldier says Victorians have had enough of Sudanese gangs running riot The founder of the IDF self defence gym has told his 75,806 followers on Facebook he would campaign for zero tolerance of gang activity, as Sudanese youths terrorise Melbourne. 'We need to go in hard with our policing, our judicial system, we need to smash these people we need zero tolerance to this crime,' he said. 'I am going to run in the next election, I'm going to do something. 'We need to join together to fight this crime wave. We need to make Victoria safe again. It's that simple. It might sound cheesy, that's all we need to do.' Avi Yemini says Sudanese gang activity is out of control and needs a zero tolerance approach His campaign, with a Donald Trump-style slogan, comes a week after African Apex gang members broke into a North Melbourne home and threatened two men by holding machetes to their throats. The suspects then demanded car keys from the men after entering the Wilson Mews home through the garage. Earlier this week, three teenager offenders were spared jail despite stealing $100,000 worth of jewellery from a Toorak shop and allegedly pistol-whipping the manager during the January robbery. 'They have got away with not even serving any jail time,' Mr Yemini said. New crime statistics show sharp increases in robberies and assaults during the past year The self defence instructor wants a new direction to tackle the Apex African gang thugs 'That is a disgrace, I feel sick to my stomach, I feel sorry for the victims, I feel sorry for Victorians.' New official figures also show a dramatic increase in Victorian crime rates, with robberies up 20 per cent during the past year as assaults climbed by eight per cent. Mr Yemini said Sudanese gangs were running riot because of bad immigration and state law and order policies. 'These violent crimes that we're seeing with these Sudanese gangs... Victorians have had enough,' he said. An election is not due in Victoria until 2018 in a state where home invasions and violent crimes have risen since Premier Daniel Andrews' Labor Party came to power in 2014. Mr Yemini's policy on allowing citizens to carry mace and tasers comes only days after pro-gun NSW Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm outlined a similar proposal. Shocking claims: Silas Wirth, 38, of Texas, has been charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child for allegedly raping an 11-year-old relative on multiple occasions A Texas man has been arrested and charged with repeatedly raping his 11-year-old female relative, using sex toys during the assaults and taking showers with her while the girl's mother was away. Silas Wirth, 38, of San Antonio, was taken into custody at 9pm on Tuesday and booked into the Bexar County Jail on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a young child. According to an arrest affidavit cited by San Antonio Express News, Wirth, of San Antonio, was apprehended after the alleged victim told her mother about the months-long sexual abuse, who then contacted police. When interviewed by investigators, Wirth initially confessed, but then recanted before pointing a finger of blame at the 11-year-old girl for allegedly initiating the sexual encounters. Wirth's underage relative told the authorities that the abuse began a year ago, with the last encounter taking place sometime this past April, according to the charging document. The girl said the 38-year-old man used sex toys on her, which Wirth corroborated during his interview with police, according to the affidavit The 11-year-old said it all started out with Wirth showing her pornography on his cellphone and asking if she liked it, and eventually progressed to rape. The girl said the 38-year-old man used sex toys on her, which Wirth corroborated during his interview with police, according to the affidavit. The man also reportedly said he took showers with the child on multiple occasions. Speaking of the sexual encounters with the young girl, Wirth told a detective that any chance he got, he did it, and that he did everything [the victim] said he did, according to the affidavit. The document revealed that the assaults would take place while the 11-year-old's mother was not home and her brother was asleep. Wirth, who wrote on Facebook that he was in a 'complicated' relationship, was freed on $75,000 bail Wednesday. The man who has been by Katie Couric's side for over a decade has jumped ship and left Yahoo News in the wake of their $4.48billion sale to Verizon. Tony Maciulis exited the company three years after he was brought on by Couric to work with her in role as Global News Anchor. This news has many wondering if Couric may also be in the way out, though she has been clear in stating that she has made no decision at this time. Couric, 60, currently makes an annual salary of $15 miliion at Yahoo, making her one of the highest paid in her field. Cheerio: Tony Maciulis (above with Katie Couric at Buckingham Palace in May 2012) has left Yahoo in the wake of the company's sale to Verizon for $4.48billion Grand occasion: Maciulis' role at the company was Head of News, Yahoo Studios , and he worked closely with Katie Couric (pair above in 2016 at an event in Toronto) Page Six reports that Maciulis had been finalizing the details of his departure from Yahoo for the past two weeks. There will be a little over 2,000 layoffs to start following the sale, which officially closed a year after Verizon first revealed their intentions to buy the technology company. Couric did seem to have a bit of fun with the rumors on Wednesday, sharing a screen grab that showed her husband John Mollner asking her to join his Linked In newtork. 'You know you have a problem when your husband invites you to join his professional network. Lol!' wrote Couric in caption. Verizon announced the resignation of CEO Marissa Meyer after the sale was finalized on Tuesday, with the headline-grabbing executive walking home with an impressive $23million severance package. Couric was one of Meyer's first, and biggest, hires when she took over at Yahoo. And along with Couric came Maciulis, the man who whom she has said she shares a 'brain.' Maciulis' position at the time of his departure is Head of News, Yahoo Studios. The two first began working together back in 2006 when Couric made the move from NBC to CBS, and later Maciulis followed Couric to ABC in 2012 where he produced her syndicated daytime show 'Katie.' In a 2014 interview, Maciulis revealed that he actually met Couric thanks to a connection at NBC, having worked at MSNBC before moving to CBS. Couric has had a number of high profile jobs since she left NBC's Today back in 2006 after 15 years on the morning news show, over which time she became known as America's Sweetheart. She worked at CBS Evening News until 2011, while also doing segments for 60 Minutes, a job that earned her a reported salary of $15million a year, the most ever for a journalist at the time. Her most famous interview came in 2008 when she sat down with vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin for a series of pieces that many believed doomed Palin and McCain's campaign. In was during that interview that Palin famously talked about Alaska's proximity to Russia and was unable to name a single magazine she read on a regular basis, instead telling Couric; 'Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.' Palin would later claim that Couric had a bias against her. Waiting in the wings: Maciulis began working with Couric at CBS 10 years ago and then moved to ABC with her where he worked on her syndicated talk show 'Katie' (Couric in a pic snapped by Maciulis during Election Night at ABC in 2012) Fun and games: Soon after the news broke, Couric joked about joining her husban dLinked In network (above) Couric left CBS in 2011 to go work as a special corespondent at ABC, where she did segments for Nightline and 20/20 and filled in on all their morning programs at some point: The View, Live with Kelly and Good Morning America. Then, in 2012, she launched her own talk show, Katie, on ABC, which was cancelled after just two seasons in 2014. After leaving ABC there were rumors she might rejoin Today as the show was struggling in the ratings. And she did rejoin 'Today' earlier this year for a week when she filed in for Savannah Guthrie, who was off on maternity leave. Couric has two daughters, Ellie, 23, and Carrie, 18, from her relationship with her first husband John Monahan, who tragically died at the age of 42 in 1998 of colon cancer. She marriued Molner in June 2014 with a small, intimate ceremony at her home in East Hampton, New York. The two dated for two years before Molner proposed in September 2013. And now, they may soon be part of the same Linked In network too. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his country is ready to grant former FBI Director James Comey asylum if he's prosecuted by the Trump administration. Putin was participating in his annual Q&A and his remarks were reported by Russia Today, the Kremlin-controlled English language news network. 'If this entails some kind of prosecution against him, we are ready to grant him asylum in Russia,' Putin said of Comey. 'He should be aware of that.' Scroll down for video Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia would grant former FBI chief James Comey asylum if he's prosecuted by the Trump administration Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) likened former FBI Director James Comey (right) to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked secrets to the American people, and is now hiding out in Russia Putin tried to articulate that Comey's decision to leak his memos, through a pal at Columbia University, to the media put him in a vulnerable position. 'He suddenly said he recorded a conversation with Trump, and then handed the tape over to the media, which is strange,' Putin said, according to RT's Russian-to-English translation. That move, Putin suggested, was similar to what NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden did. Snowden currently has asylum in Russia. 'What the difference between him and Mr. Snowden then?' Putin asked the crowd. 'He's a human rights activists then, not an intelligence chief,' the Russian leader added. President Trump's personal lawyer said he would file a complaint against Comey for leaking his memos, however, no legal action has been taken yet. Putin, however, wasn't impressed by Comey's congressional testimony when the former FBI head accused Russia of meddling in the Americans' 2016 presidential election. 'The first thing that attracted my attention was that the ex-FBI director said that he believes that there was Russian meddling in the electoral process, but at the same time provided no proof of that,' Putin said. Putin also pointed out that Comey had said that there was no evidence that the Russians interfered in the Americans' vote count. 'Well, thank God, at least that, it's good enough,' Putin said. Putin said Russia's influence over Americans' minds was no greater than American influence from U.S.-based NGOs in the countries they do work in. 'Take a globe, spin it and point your finger at any spot, there's surely American interests and interference there,' Putin told the crowd. 'I know it from my conversations with almost every national leader.' 'They just don't want to spoil relations with the Americans,' Putin added. A heart-broken dog owner whose pet died while being transported by a Chinese airline is offered 11-per-kg compensation by the company for her 'lost luggage'. Ms Zuo, from China, said China Eastern Airline was 'disgusting' as she described her horrifying experience on social media on June 11. Her claim came two weeks after another pet owner said his dog was shot dozens of times by air guns while flying with the same airline to the same airport. The pet had apparently escaped to the runway and airline staff failed to catch it. A customer service officer from China Eastern Airline told MailOnline that the company was investigating both incidents. Ms Zuo, whose screen name is 'Mo Xi Bao Bao', said her dog died mysteriously while being transport by China Eastern Airline. Above is the profile picture of her social media account The woman said her parents were given the dog's lifeless body (pictured) when they went to welcome the 'lively' animal at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport on June 11 According to the pet owner's social media post (left), the dog, called Dou Dou, was 'full of life' (right) before it was flown from Shenzhen to Wuhan with the Shanghai-based air carrier According to Ms Zuo's post on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging platform, her pet dog, called Dou Dou, was found dead on June 11 after being transported by China Eastern Airline from Shenzhen to Wuhan. Before she sent the three-year-old Golden Retriever to a pet logistic company to be sent to Wuhan on the night of June 10, it was 'full of life', according to her accounts. However, when her parents went to the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to pick up the dog at 11:30am on June 11, the dog was found dead. The woman wrote under a screen name,Mo Xi Bao Bao. She said her late pet was transported by the China Eastern Airline on flight MU2478, which is a two-hour flight. She also posted two pictures which apparently showed a lifeless Dou Dou lying in a metal cage when it arrived at the airport. A few of the wires around Dou Dou's mouth had been torn. 'I have never thought you would leave me like this,' the woman wrote. 'I couldn't know how painful you had been before you died because the steel wires were gnawed away. 'I'm sorry. I didn't look after you well.' Another dog was shot dozens of times (pictured), also in Wuhan airport, while flying with the same airline after it escaped from the plane to the runway on May 24 The dog, called Er Mao, is undergoing treatment, according to the owner's social media account. The owner said vets had removed around 20 bullets after two operations Er Mao's owner shared her horrifying experience on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging platform. The post has been shared over 132,000 times and received 53,060 comments Ms Zuo said her parents waited at the airport for three hours but staff from China Eastern Airline failed to give them an explanation. Ms Zuo's parents were apparently told that the dog had already been dead when they opened the gate of the cargo compartment. China Eastern Airline agreed to compensate Ms Zuo for her dead dog, but only according to the financial standard of lost luggage, as it is reported. The woman, still furious, told Thecover.cn: 'They told me that the compensation will be based on the standard set for luggage, meaning that they can only pay me 100 yuan (11.5) per kilogram. 'My dog is 35 kilograms, so they intend to give me 3,500 yuan (403) in compensation. This is emotionally unacceptable to me, as my dog was like my child.' In another post on June 14, Ms Zuo said China Eastern Airline had apologised to her, but she did not mention if the company had adjusted the amount of compensation. A customer service officer from China Eastern Airline told MailOnline that the company is yet to issue an official statement regarding the matter. The officer said the incident is still being looked into by relevant colleagues. China Eastern Airline told MailOnline that the company is investigating both incidents In May, another dog owner who also flew with China Eastern Airline claimed that his dog was shot dozens of times because it had escaped onto the runway. In a Weibo post on May 27, the owner claimed that he flew from Shanghai to Wuhan on flight MU 2544 on May 24 and he checked in his Golden Retriever, called Er Mao, as luggage. But when he arrived in Wuhan, he was told by staff that Er Mao had gone missing. Later, he was told given a heavily wounded and dying dog. He was told that his dog had escaped while being unloaded from the plane. According to accounts, airline staff failed to catch the dog on the runway and the animals was wounded as workers from the airport tried to bring it under control. The dog was later reported to be shot by air guns for over 50 times. The two incidents took place in Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (pictured) in Hubei Wuhan Tianhe International Airport confirmed the incident had happened in a statement. The airport said that China Eastern Airline resorted them for help on May 24 after failing to catch an escaped dog on the runway. The airport sent eight officers to find the dog. The statement also said that the dog, which was one-metre-tall (three feet), was terrified and hard to reach. As a result, officers 'brought it under control', according to rules issued by the Civil Aviation Bureau of China. According to a post from its owner on June 12, vets had removed nearly 20 bullets from Er Mao after two operations. It's understood that Er Mao is still undergoing treatment. Commenting on the matter, a customer service officer from China Eastern Airline told MailOnline that the company is still carrying out investigation. Victorian police have released footage of what they believe is Karen Ristevski's car being driven in the direction the Melbourne mother's body was found. The CCTV photos, taken on the day the 47-year-old went missing, show a black Mercedes-Benz SLK coupe being driven through Diggers Rest towards Mount Macedon, 65km northwest of Melbourne, but the driver and registration plates cannot be seen. The Herald Sun reported that detectives believe Ms Ristevski's body was in the car when it was snapped going over the Diggers Rest railway crossing on June 29, 2016. Victorian police have released footage of a car believed to be Karen Ristevski's being driven in the direction the Melbourne mother's body was found The CCTV photo shows a black Mercedes-Benz SLK coupe driving through Diggers Rest towards Mount Macedon Footage does not show the car's driver and registration plates cannot be seen Police are reportedly working with the theory that her husband, Borce Ristevski, was driving the car because he has previously admitted to using her coupe the day she went missing Police are reportedly working with the theory that her husband, Borce Ristevski, was driving the car because he has previously admitted to using her coupe the day she went missing. But because the vision is so difficult to make out, police cannot be sure this is actually Ms Ristevski's car and are hoping witnesses near Diggers Rest might have seen it after 11am that day. Detectives said they have spoken to the registered owners of similar vehicles about their activities on the day Ms Ristevski went missing, but some owners are yet to be spoken to. Police are urging that any owners or drivers of black 2004 to 2006 Mercedes Benz coupes, who have not yet been approached, to contact police. Mr Ristevski continues to deny he had anything to do with his wife's disappearance and death. Karen Ristevski (pictured) was last seen on the morning of June 29, 2016 at her Avondale Heights home in Melbourne Initial investigations pointed to Ms Ristevski's husband Borce (right) as 'number one suspect' Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad chief Tim Day yesterday confirmed that Ms Ristevski's husband is still a suspect in the investigation A copy image of the Mercedes vehicle that Ms Ristevski drove Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad chief Tim Day yesterday confirmed that Ms Ristevski's husband is still a suspect in the investigation of the killing of his wife and the dumping of her body at Mt Macedon, the Herald Sun reported. 'Yes he's a suspect. His own lawyer said he's a suspect,' Det-Insp Day said. 'He remains a suspect. Whether there are other suspects or not I'm not going to comment on. 'But do I suspect the Mercedes in the CCTV footage may be Karen Ristevski's car, yes I do. The body of Ms Ristevski was found wedged between logs in remote bushland eight months after she went missing in June 2016. Four months have passed since the grisly discovery, and almost a year since her disappearance. Former detective Charlie Bezzina told 7 News last month the case 'may never be solved' as Ms Ristevski's cause of death is difficult to determine due to the length of time her body lay undiscovered. The Melbourne mother's decomposing remains were found wedged between two logs in bushland at Mt Macedon inside Macedon Regional Park (pictured) A cyclist (pictured) discovered Ms Ristevski's body after he followed a foul smell to her resting place The homes of rich people in Kensington could be seized for Grenfell Tower residents made homeless by fire, Jeremy Corbyn said today. Mr Corbyn said the London borough was a tale of two cities between a wealthy south and a poor north. He suggested that 'requisitioning' vacant properties would be a solution to the shortage of available accommodation for those displaced. Properties must be found requisitioned if necessary in order to make sure that residents do get rehoused locally,' Mr Corbyn told a meeting of MPs. How is it acceptable that in London you have luxury buildings and luxury flats kept empty as land banking for that future while homeless people look for somewhere to live?' The call came as Theresa May announced a full public inquiry into the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze. Scroll down for video Jeremy Corbyn comforted a local resident at St Clement's Church after he visited the scene Amid fears that the death toll could rise above 100, the PM spoke to firefighters and surveyed the charred remains of the Grenfell building The Labour leader met staff and volunteers who have provided shelter for those affected by the deadly inferno Labour MP for Tottenham MP David Lammy backed the call for properties to be seized The Prime Minister insisted the government would get answers as she was rebuked for limiting her visit to police and firefighters sifting through the wreckage. By contrast Mr Corbyn met survivors an hour later. With fears the death toll could reach 100, Mrs May said the country 'owed it to the families' to uncover the truth about what happened. Ministers are facing mounting demands to explain why they did not do more to avert the horror. PM'S RATINGS SLUMP AS CORBYN SURGES The latest YouGov research underlines the stark turnaround in the leaders' fortunes Theresa May personal ratings have plummeted while Jeremy Corbyn's popularity has surged since the election, according to a poll. The Prime Minister's net favourability score has sunk from +10 in April to -34 this week. In a stark reversal of fortunes, Mrs May's rating is now at the level the Labour leader was on in November last year. The latest YouGov research show Mr Corbyn has secured his highest score to date after his popularity ratings surged from -42 in late April to +0. Advertisement A series of blunders are being blamed for the disaster, with speculation that cladding installed last year helped the blaze spread, and residents claiming there were no working fire alarms and no sprinklers. Mrs May's chief of staff Gavin Barwell, who was housing minister until he lost his Commons seat last week, promised to respond to a major coroner's report which demanded safety improvements following a previous fatal blaze. But little progress appears to have been made on an overhaul of building fire safety regulations. It has also emerged that another former housing minister, Brandon Lewis, had suggested it was not the Government's 'responsibility' to ensure buildings have sprinklers - although the Home Office tonight insisted he was referring only to industrial warehouses. As Chancellor Philip Hammond cancelled his keynote Mansion House speech in the wake of the tragedy, Mrs May said today: 'We need to know what happened, we need to know an explanation. 'We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived. 'That is why I am ordering a full public inquiry so that we can get to the answers, we can find out exactly what happened.' Mrs May was shown around the scene of the tragedy as emergency services were still picking through the wreckage Mrs May carried out her visit in private without being accompanied by journalists Some Twitter users compared Mrs May's visit to that of President George Bush to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina - when he was criticised for avoiding victims The Prime Minister added: 'When I went to the scene and spoke to the emergency services, they told me that the way this fire had spread and took hold of the building was rapid, it was ferocious, it was unexpected. 'So it is right that, in addition to the immediate fire report that will be produced and any potential police investigation, that we do have a full public inquiry to get to the bottom of this. 'People deserve answers. The inquiry will give them.' Asked why she had not met local residents, Mrs May replied: 'Well, I visited the scene of this terrible fire this morning. Mr Corbyn met the Bishop of Kensington Graham Tomlin outside St Clementis Church as he thanked the community for rallying round in the aftermath of the fire The Labour leader offered a hug to councillor Mushtaq Lasharie who represents a community close to the scene of the fire Mr Corbyn met survivors and families of those cause up in the tragedy during his visit this afternoon The Labour leader travelled to the scene with shadow housing minister John Healey and the newly elected Labour MP for Kensington Emma Dent-Coad A TALE OF NORTH AND SOUTH: THE DEEPLY DIVIDED BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON The 2015 index of deprivation revealed the gulf in wealth between the north and south of Kensington. The dark red and orange areas are among the poorest wards in Britain Kensington is among the most deeply divided parts of Britain. Overall, the borough has the highest average salary of any patch in the country at almost 100,000. But the headline figure hides that several wards in the borough are among the most deprived. The 2015 Index of Deprivation ranker 11 out of the borough's 103 neighbourhoods among the 10 per cent of Britain's poorest. The child poverty rate in the borough runs at 28 per cent and almost one in five residents has a low paid job - more than the rest of London as a whole. In March 2015 it also had the fourth fastest rising rate of households in temporary accommodation. Despite the crushing poverty in the north of the borough, the leafy southern end counts the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Kylie Minogue, Nigella Lawson and Jeremy Paxman among its residents. Advertisement 'I wanted a briefing from the emergency services. 'They've been working tirelessly in horrific conditions and I have been overwhelmed by their professionalism and their bravery. 'I heard stories of firefighters running into the building being protected from the falling debris by police officers using their riot shields. 'And we thank all our emergency services for the incredible work that they have done.' Speaking to locals in a walkabout of the area, the Labour leader said the 'truth has got to come out'. Addressing a resident who said the investigation must not be kicked onto the long grass, Mr Corbyn said: 'I will speak up for you because we have got to get to the bottom of this. 'The truth has got to come out and it will.' MPs gathered in Westminster Hall later for an ad-hoc sessions of questions to Fire Minister Nick Hurd about the blaze. Normally there would be a ministerial statement in the Commons on a disaster of this scale, but as parliament has not officially resumed after the election yet that is not possible. Mr Hurd described it as a 'national tragedy' and said a full search of the tower block was 'unlikely to be feasible for some time'. Mr Corbyn told the MPs that hundreds of thousands of people living in tower blocks will be 'frightened, traumatised and very, very worried' following the fire. He branded Kensington & Chelsea a 'tale of two cities' with poverty next to huge wealth - and suggested that housing should be 'requisitioned' to provide homes for those displaced by the fire. The Labour leader said he 'feels very angry' that so many people have lost their lives in a tower block where the fire precautions did not work. He welcomed the Government's decision to establish a public inquiry but insisted it must be speedy and allow residents to fully take part, with legal aid provided if needed. The tragedy means Mrs May is again scrambling to deal with a major crisis, after the election campaign was overshadowed by two terrorist attacks. MPs gathered in Westminster Hall this afternoon for an ad-hoc sessions of questions to Fire Minister Nick Hurd about the blaze At least twelve people are feared to have died in the blaze at Grenfell Tower overnight Fire crews are still trying to establish how many casualties there are from the deadly fire Critics are demanding answers on why expert advice that sprinklers should be made compulsory in tall buildings has not been followed. It is thought 4,000 tower blocks across the country do not have sprinkler systems. He said 'searching questions' need to be asked about what happened at the west London tower block, adding: 'If you deny local authorities the funding they need, then there is a price that's paid.' Mr Corbyn said calls for sprinklers to be installed in high-rise buildings after a fatal fire at Lakanal House in south London in 2009 had not been heeded. 'I think there needs to be some very searching questions asked as quickly as possible in the aftermath of this fire,' he added. Harriet Harman, the Labour MP for Camberwell and Peckham which covers Lakanal House, also questioned the impact of austerity on the safety of housing. Mr Corbyn, pictured at the scene today, told residents 'the truth has got to come out' as he went on a walkabout of the area around the tower block in west London today Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also visited the scene of the inferno this morning Jeremy Corbyn (pictured today speaking about the disaster in Westminster Hall) said the London borough was a tale of two cities between a wealthy south and a rich north She told BBC Radio 4's World At One: 'Councils want to fit sprinklers in their tower blocks, but it comes down to money. 'The Government has been cutting the money to councils. If you cut money to councils you can't put in sprinklers. 'If you cut money to councils you can't supervise contractors properly. 'I'm afraid the Government has got to say we have responsibility overall in public buildings to make sure of the safety of these tenants and we can't penny-pinch where it will cost lives.' But Downing Street insisted that many improvements had been made following the Lakanal House fire, which killed six people. In this image taken by eyewitness Gurbuz Binici, a huge fire engulfs the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White City Tory former minister and ex-firefighter Mike Penning admitted that people had been 'calling, I think probably rightly, for sprinklers to be installed for many, many years under many different governments'. 'At the end of the day, what we have got to check is that the existing regulations have been adhered to,' he said, He dismissed the suggestion that the squeeze on local authority funding could have been an issue. The building - in a Tory-run borough with sharp contrasts between very wealthy and deprived areas - is managed by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). Mr Penning said: 'I don't think cuts come into consideration when you have residents that have been saying 'we are frightened, we are worried'.' The fire resulted in the 'cladding and windows clearly burning', suggesting that the external cladding may have been a factor, Mr Penning said. Many residents who gathered outside the smouldering ruins of the building said the fire had been caused by a faulty fridge in one of the flats, but the fire service told MailOnline it could not confirm the reports at this stage 'I have never seen a tower block fire move so fast in that sort of way, and from a very low vantage point as well. So the source of the fire will be very interesting when the investigators do that and what was the cause of the initial fire, whether it was electrical or, sadly, even criminal activity,' he added. The All-Party Parliamentary Fire and Rescue Group has been demanding changes to building regulations on fire safety since 2013. Ronnie King, a former fire chief in Wales who is an adviser to the All-Party Group, told MailOnline that it issued a series of warnings that were not heeded. Mr King said the type of cladding installed on Grenfell Tower did not appear to have been resistant to the fire spreading. That was one of the issues with the regulations that were raised by the APPG with three successive ministers from 2013, he said. 'The building regulations relating to the fire safety were last reviewed in 2006,' Mr King said. Last year, when Mr Barwell was housing minister, the APPG 'pressed him for a review of the building regulations, stressing of course Lakanal House'. 'He said he was still looking at it,' Mr King said. Mr Barwell told the Commons in October last year: 'We have not set out any formal plans to review the building regulations as a whole, but we have publicly committed ourselves to reviewing part B following the Lakanal House fire.' But he did not give any date of when the review might start or how it would be conducted. Mr King said: 'The APPG has sought a review since the Lakanal House fire. In our view that was sufficient evidence that things are not right and things need to change.' Mr King pointed out that the building had been refurbished in 2016, at which point it should have been compliant with the regulations in force. Former housing ministers Gavin Barwell and Brandon Lewis are facing scrutiny over claims they failed to act over fire safety warnings on high rise blocks He said: 'I think that there are obvious questions to be asked... 'If they updated the regulations and this change had been part of the update ... I think the fire would not have spread up the outside of the building. 'I would think if this had been done in this case and it had been refurbished externally it might not have happened.' Mr King raised questions about whether Grenfell Tower had fire suppression measures such as sprinklers. He said there were 4,000 tower blocks that did not have sprinkler systems around the country, and that needed to be tackled urgently. In 2013, a coroner's report into the Lakanal House fire ruled that that all high-rise building should be retro-fitted with sprinklers. They also asked whether residents in tower blocks should be advised to 'stay put' or 'get out and stay out' in the case of a fire. MPs gathered in Westminster Hall this afternoon for an ad-hoc sessions of questions to Fire Minister Nick Hurd about the blaze Asked about the issue in February 2014, Mr Barwell's predecessor as Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, said: 'We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation.' Mr Lewis who was promoted by the Prime Minister at the weekend and now attends Cabinet said regulations should be changed only as a 'last resort'. Last night fire minister Nick Hurd said emergency checks are to be carried out on tower blocks going through the same process of refurbishment as the Grenfell building destroyed in yesterday's blaze. Last night members of the all-party parliamentary group on fire safety said ministers had been warned that building regulations were out of date. Its secretary, Labour MP and former fireman Jim Fitzpatrick, told LBC: 'We've been pressing for fire sprinkler systems in buildings where we think it's appropriate... and government has been resisting that for some time.' Referring to the coroner's report, he added: 'You'd have to ask them why they've sat on it for four years.' Mrs May summoned a meeting of the government's Civil Contingencies Secretariat today to co-ordinate the response to the Grenfell Tower blaze. A Number 10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in the Grenfell Tower and is being kept constantly updated on the situation. 'She has asked for a cross-Government meeting at the Civil Contingencies Secretariat to take place to co-ordinate the response and ensure the Government is ready to assist the emergency services and local authorities as necessary. 'The PM's thoughts are with all of those affected by this terrible incident and the emergency services, who are working tirelessly in very difficult circumstances.' The large majority of people who purchased Trump real estate in the last year did so utilizing shell companies, which conceals the identities of the buyers. More than 70percent of the buyers were listed under limited liability companies, or LLCs, in the year since Trump's GOP nomination, compared to just 4percent of buyers two years before, according toUSA Today. Since his election victory in November, 28 properties have been sold, funneling a total of $33million into a trust that is currently being managed by his two sons, while Trump remains the sole beneficiary. The large majority of people who purchased Trump real estate in the last year did so utilizing shell companies, which hides the buyers' identities (file photo, Trump Tower in New York) Since his election victory in November, 28 properties have been sold, funneling a total of $33million into a trust that is currently being managed by his two sons (above in January) Two years before Trump received the Republican nomination, only nine out of 212 - or 4.24% - of Trump properties were sold to shell companies. In the year since the GOP nomination, the percentage of Trump units sold to LLCs rose dramatically to 70.73percent, making up 29 out of 41 sales. The sizable shift was specific to sales made by Trump's companies, since other condominiums in the same buildings were sold to LLCs at rates of no more than 20percent. Given the heightened scrutiny and backlash facing the president, buyers are wary of having their names associated with the Trump brand. Shortly after the elections, 'embarrassed' residents in three apartment buildings formerly known as Trump Place on the Upper West Side of Manhattan successfully petitioned to change the name and have it removed from the side of the building. Workers removed the words 'Trump Place' from the side of a Manhattan apartment complex on in November after the residents successfully petitioned to disaffiliate from the president Donald Trump licensed his name to the Hong Kong developer who constructed the buildings. But the buildings were later sold and the contractual obligation to use the name has ended While LLCs can be used to offer buyers, or a group of investors, an additional layer of privacy they can also be utilized to launder money, avoid taxation and obscure assets. Although Trump turned over control of his real estate development, management and marketing company to his adult sons and a senior executive, he did not divest from it. That means he stands to benefit financially from the Trump Organization's profits, including from foreign governments. Critics say foreign officials could try to curry favor with the president by purchasing real estate in the Trump Organization portfolio through a shell company without their names being made public. None of the real estate sales were significantly higher than market rate, with prices in Las Vegas staying largely stagnant since Trump announced his presidential bid. In New York, one Trump Park Avenue penthouse sold on the lower end compared to the price per square foot of similar properties, while a Trump Parc East condo was snapped up at the higher end of market rate. A corporate ethics officer screens all real estate deals for possible conflicts of interest, according to the Trump Organization. The USA Today report came days after Democratic lawmakers filed a lawsuit against the president over foreign money flowing into his global business empire. More than 70percent of the buyers were listed under LLCs, compared to just 4percent of buyers two years ago (above, Trump International Hotel Las Vegas) A corporate ethics officer screens all real estate deals for possible conflicts of interest, according to the Trump Organization (Above, the president on Thursday) Almost 200 senators and representatives are plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging Trump is violating the so-called emoluments clause of the Constitution. The new suit the third of its kind says the full scope of foreign payments to the Trump Organization cannot be known because the president has not made public his tax returns. Earlier this week, two Democratic attorneys general filed a similar claim. Days after Trump's inauguration in January, a liberal-funded government watchdog filed an emoluments lawsuit. A restaurant group and two individuals in the hotel industry later joined as co-plaintiffs. Trump and the Justice Department have called these lawsuits baseless. They argue the clause isn't intended to prevent normal business such as hotel payments and real estate transactions. Amber Sargarnaga, of Glendale, Arizona, has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly smothering her five-month-old baby to death with a blanked on June 9 An Arizona mother has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly smothering her five-month-old baby to death with a blank on June 9. Amber Sargarnaga, of Glendale, admitted to placing a heavy comforter over her crying daughter, Mary Dias, and pressing down on her face as she laid in a pack-and-play crib, according to police. The 23-year-old mother has been charged with first-degree murder of the child, and has a history with the Arizona Department of Child Safety, a representative told AZ Central. Sargarnaga's two other children, ages two and three, have since been taken into DCS custody as well. On June 9, her fiance found the baby unresponsive in her pack-and-play crib, and told Sargarnaga to clean up because he 'didn't want his children taken away,' according to police accounts. However, those officers who responded to the call of an unresponsive child described the apartment as 'extremely dirty and cluttered.' They also described the mother as 'lacking emotion' while her fiance was in a panic calling 911 from their apartment near Bethany Home Road and 67th Avenue in Glendale. When authorities arrived, they found the father attempting CPR on his daughter. Glendale Fire Department eventually arrived and took her to a nearby hospital, and an hour later she was pronounced dead, reported AZ central. Sarnaga reportedly told officers she has struggled with depression for her entire life, and said it has only gotten worse since having children. Authorities described the mother as 'lacking emotion' while her fiance was in a panic calling 911 from their apartment near Bethany Home Road and 67th Avenue in Glendale (pictured) Her fiance, who has not been named, told police she self-medicates with marijuana. According to DCS, Sagarnaga has a history with the agency, which had last been in contact with the family in December upon receiving a report that the then-pregnant mother was still using marijuana. At the time, both tested negative for the drug, though one of her previous children did test positive at the time of birth, according to DCS officer Darren DaRonco. Sargarnaga was booked into jail on Saturday pending second-degree murder charges, which have since changed to first-degree. She was held in a Maricopa County jail Wednesday on a $500,000 and will next appear in court June 16, according to AZ central. The Hamilton County Department of Education announces enrollment is open for incoming high school juniors at the Polytech Academy at Chattanooga State.Polytech Academy at Chattanooga State is a blend of high school, dual credit, and dual enrollment courses designed to give students a jump-start on their career paths.Students enrolled at Polytech Academy will earn more than 40 credit-hours toward a degree while completing their high school diploma, meet business and industry leaders, and get hands-on training with Chattanooga States labs and equipment.Plus, Polytech Academy students remain paired with their home high schools so they can participate in the schools activities and events.HCDE Interim Superintendent Dr.Kirk Kelly said he is thrilled to offer this to Hamilton County students. Polytech Academy is an amazing opportunity for our students, because it really is a 21st Century Kirkman. Students at Polytech will work with the latest state-of-the-art equipment that is constantly updated as industry standards change.Polytech Academy at Chattanooga State offers students four career paths: building science, mechatronics, chemical engineering technology, and computer programming.HCDE Career and Technical Education Director David Cowan has been working to make Polytech Academy a reality. It is an ideal path for both career and college-bound students. In addition to learning the skills employers need and want, Polytech offers students study time with tutoring. It offers all of the advantages of a private-school education without the expensive tuition.Polytech Academy at Chattanooga State will offer two Open House events this month. Tour the facility and speak with the educators on Tuesday, June 20 or Thursday, June 29 beginning at 5:30 p.m.The Academy is located on the west side of Chattanooga States campus, near STEM School Chattanooga. Federal agents have arrested three French nationals at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trying to smuggle nearly eight pounds of crystal methamphetamine in their underwear and carry-on bags. US Customs and Border Protection says the drugs with a street value of around $27,000 were seized Sunday at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. Authorities say one of the suspects was trying to board a flight to return to his home in French Polynesia when he was discovered to have two tightly wrapped packages of meth weighing just under 4lbs stashed in the areas of his groin and upper thigh. Federal agents on Sunday seized 8lbs of crystal meth from a trio of French nationals traveling from LAX to French Polynesia, including these packages that were found near a man's groin Contraband: The confiscated drugs had a street value of around $27,000 The man's two companions were then removed from the flight and their baggage searched. Authorities say additional 4.46lbs of meth were found in the carry-on luggage of a man and woman and sewn into the lining of the woman's bra. Both also were arrested, and all three suspects were then turned over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. 'This outbound interception demonstrates CBP's keen expertise, vigilance and commitment in keeping illicit narcotics off the streets, said Carlos Martel, director of Field Operations in Los Angeles. 'Crystal methamphetamine, which is highly addictive and causes irreversible damage to the body, continues to be a popular choice for smugglers.' The suspects were removed from a flight at the Tom Bradley International Terminal (pictured) More drugs were discovered inside a carry-on bag (pictured) and in the lining of a woman's bra CBP is responsible for inspecting all arriving and departing international passengers, to include conducting searches for narcotics, weapons, currency, agriculture, and other prohibited products. Federal officials with the agency confiscate more than 9,000lbs of narcotics at and between the United States' 328 international ports of entry. A paedophile father who filmed himself raping his two-year-old daughter has been imprisoned for 11 years in Germany in what the judge declared 'the most terrible crime ever seen.' Video evidence played to the court showed the man raping his daughter with his fingers or other objects, while she screamed continuously. The young girl was also tied up and gagged during the horrific crime, which the man committed with a 47-year-old accomplice. He broadcast live video footage of the crimes onto the internet, as well as photos. In the background, loud music could be heard that was meant to stifle the child's screaming. Video evidence played to the court in Lubeck (pictured) showed the man raping his daughter with his fingers or other objects, while she screamed continuously The father, who has not been identified, told the court in Lubeck: 'I regret what I did but I do love my daughter.' The 29-year-old was sentenced to a secure psychiatric hospital. His warped accomplice, who also raped the girl, was sentenced on Thursday to ten years in jail. He told the court: 'I have no idea why I mutated into a monster.' Both posted the sickening images and videos of the crimes online. Police were alerted to the crimes by an online acquaintance of the man, to whom he sent photos of the rape accompanied by the text 'I like it when she suffers.' He then alerted youth authorities who in turn contacted police. The father and his 47-year-old friend were arrested in November last year. The father was accused of nine rape and sexual abuse charges against his daughter, while his accomplice was accused of four. When the girl was rescued she was found to have alcohol and the drug speed in her system. 'Amazingly the pair posted the photos of their abuse in an ordinary Internet chat room, not a corner of the so-called 'dark web' beloved of perverts of and predators,' said a police detective in evidence. A public prosecutor in the case said that the pair were also charged - and found guilty - of putting the daughter's life in danger through the use of gags during her sexual torture. When police raided the father's apartment they also discovered chains and restraints that were used to immobilise the toddler. The young girl is currently living with her mother at the home of her grandparents in Schleswig-Holstein. The family's lawyer, Franziska Hammer, said the mother knew nothing of the crimes. Police are still investigating around 50 men who are alleged to have watched the crime via a live internet stream. Owners of illegal guns will be given three months to turn in their weapons 'no questions asked' after terror threats sparked national firearm amnesty. Starting from July 1 owners of unwanted or illegal weapons will have the opportunity to dispose of their firearms in every state and territory without prosecution. The decision comes just weeks after Queensland officer Brett Forte was gunned down by career criminal Rick Maddison using an illegal semi-automatic weapon. Starting from July 1 owners of unwanted or illegal weapons will have the opportunity to dispose of their firearms in every state and territory without prosecution The decision comes just weeks after Queensland officer Brett Forte was gunned down by career criminal Rick Maddison using an illegal semi-automatic weapon Justice Minister Michael Keenan said that even though the last amnesty was after the devastating Port Arthur massacre in 1996, it was now time again to clear Australian streets of guns. That amnesty and associated buyback resulted in more than 660,000 weapons being handed in. 'Sadly, as recent events have shown us, just one gun in the wrong hands can be deadly.' Mr Keenan said. Justice Minister Michael Keenan said that even though the last amnesty was after the devastating Port Arthur massacre in 1996, it was now time again to clear Australian streets of guns 'There is no cost involved with handing in firearms or related items for destruction, and no personal details are required.' After the amnesty ends on September 30 anyone caught with an illegal gun could face a fine of up to $280,000, a 14-year prison sentence and a criminal record. It is believed there are more than 260,000 illegal firearms currently circulating Australia and this move hopes to reduce that number significantly. Information about individual state and territory requirements, including how and where to surrender firearms, can be found online at firearmsamnesty.ag.gov.au or by phoning 1800 909 826. Advertisement Fresh images have emerged of a pile of slave registration documents that provide a haunting reminder of Britain's previous dealings with the banned trade. The papers record in detail the slaves owned by former Conservative politician Philip John Miles on his family's sugar plantations in Jamaica and are dated 1817, 1820 and 1823. Written in neatly headed columns are names of men, women and children, many of them taken from their homes in Africa and sold into slavery in the West Indies. Their sex, colour, age and their creed - African or Creole - were all recorded. The youngest was eight-days-old and the oldest was 76. Most poignantly, there was a 'cause of death' column which included the entries of 'worms', 'fever', 'drowning', 'consumption' and 'child birth'. Slaves' sex, colour, age and their creed - African or Creole - were all recorded in the chilling registration documents that were discovered at a deceased estate in Bristol. The youngest was eight-days-old and the oldest was 76 The papers record in detail the slaves owned by former Conservative politician Philip John Miles on his family's sugar plantations in Jamaica and are dated 1817, 1820 and 1823 View of King's Weston House in Bristol which was bought by Philip John Miles after he was paid compensation for his thousands of slaves The alarming documents have been unearthed in a pile of papers at a deceased estate in Bristol, where an auctioneer had been called on a separate matter to look at some militaria items. The homeowner consigned them for auction with Greenslade Taylor Hunt of Taunton, Somerset, and they have since sold for 635. The Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished the slave trade in the British Empire, in particular the Atlantic slave trade, and also encouraged British action to press other European states to abolish their slave trades. To combat illicit transportation many of the British colonies began keeping registers of black slaves who had been 'lawfully enslaved'. However, it was not until 26 years later that slavery itself was actually abolished so the likes of Miles could carry on using slaves on his Jamaican plantations. The horrific practice remained legal in most of the British Empire until the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Even then, the act provided for compensation for slave-owners. The British government raised 20 million (2billion today) to pay out in compensation for the loss of the slaves as business assets to the registered owners of the freed slaves. Most poignantly, there was a 'cause of death' column which included the entries of 'worms', 'fever', 'drowning', 'consumption' and 'child birth' Miles was an English merchant from Bristol. He became a banker, slave owner on plantations in Jamaica and Conservative politician. He left an estate of 1 million, making him the first recorded millionaire of Bristol Miles sat three times as a Member of Parliament, for Westbury from 1826, for Corfe Castle from 1829 and for Bristol from 1835 Under the Slave Compensation Act he received money for his plantations in Jamaica and Trinidad to cover the loss of his 2,200 slaves View of King's Weston House in Bristol which was bought by Philip John Miles after he was paid compensation for his thousands of slaves Miles was an English merchant from Bristol. He became a banker, slave owner on plantations in Jamaica and Conservative politician. He left an estate of 1 million, making him the first recorded millionaire of Bristol. Miles sat three times as a Member of Parliament, for Westbury from 1826, for Corfe Castle from 1829 and for Bristol from 1835. Under the Slave Compensation Act he received money for his plantations in Jamaica and Trinidad to cover the loss of his 2,200 slaves. A FORTUNE BUILT UP BY SLAVES The pile of slave registration documents discovered at a deceased estate in Bristol belonged to Conservative politician, Philip John Miles, whose family owned sugar plantations in Jamaica Born in 1774 to a wealthy merchant's family, Philip John Miles, the second son of William Miles - a Bristol West India merchant - became Bristol's first recorded millionaire. His father had found his fortune in the sugar industry and built up his wealth by managing a sugar plantation in Jamaica. Miles would benefit enormously from his father's estate after the death of his older brother, William, who was 23. He became a Merchant Venturer in 1795 and carried on his father's merchant business but also diversified into banking. By 1794, Miles he was senior partner at the Bristol bank of Vaughan and Baker, which would later be known as Miles and Company. Philip became the Member of Parliament for Westbury in 1826, and held the seat for three terms. In 1811, the same year as the death of his first wife, Maria, Miles bought the Abbots Leight Estate. He remarried in 1813 to Camilla Peach, with whom he had 11 children. Under the Slave Compenstation Act 1837, Miles receive money from the properties he owned in Jamaica and Trinidad. He died on March 24 1845 Advertisement Malcolm Claridge, of Greenslade Taylor Hunt, said: 'We were called in to look at a deceased estate and I was going through some paperwork when I found these documents. 'At first I didn't realise what they were but then I put two and two together and it was a bit of a shock. 'There are 10 pages and it is made up of three separate returns for different years. 'The returns had to be filled in every three years and these were completed towards the end of the abolition of slavery as a way of stopping more slaves being introduced to the plantation. 'I think it's a very important document. We can't change history and turn back the clock to stop the slave trade but these documents deserve to be aired as a reminder of what went on. 'By putting them up for auction we brought public attention to them.' Alexander Bischof, 37, from Fort Collins, Colorado, was visiting Germany when the shooting took place The 37-year-old man accused of shooting a police officer in a Munich subway station on Tuesday is a US citizen born in Bavaria who was on a European trip, German officials said. The suspect, identified as Alexander Bischof by family members, was a tourist from Fort Collins, Colorado, who was visiting Germany when the shooting took place. Bischof is accused of shooting a 26-year-old policewoman in the head after stealing her colleague's gun at the Unterfohring station on the outskirts of Munich on Tuesday. Despite family members saying that Bischof was the shooter, police have not confirmed the identity of the attacker in the assault, which left two bystanders also injured. The suspect is in custody at a secure psychiatric unit and has since been charged with attempted murder. Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said that the suspect flew to Munich airport from Athens on Monday and spent the night in the airport. Witnesses told police as the man rode the subway toward the city Tuesday he was talking to himself in English, then suddenly began punching another, apparently randomly chosen, passenger in the face, pummeling him until he was bloody. Bischof is accused of shooting a 26-year-old policewoman in the head after stealing her colleague's gun at the Unterfohring station on the outskirts of Munich on Tuesday. Pictured above, policemen arrive on scene following the shooting The suspect is in custody at a secure psychiatric unit and has since been charged with attempted murder. The 26-year-old police woman is fighting for her life after being shot in the head at the Munich station Police were called and when the suspect got off at the suburban Unterfoehring station, two officers began questioning him. Surveillance video shows one officer holding a pad of paper and pen taking notes when the suspect suddenly shoved him with 'extreme violence' toward an oncoming train, Andrae said. In the ensuing struggle the suspect grabbed the officer's pistol from its holster, and opened fire at both of the officers. He missed the officer whose weapon he took, but hit his 26-year-old colleague in her head as he emptied the eight-shot magazine. Two bystanders were also injured, and are believed to have been hit by shots fired by the suspect. The officer hit in the head appears to have fired at least one shot, hitting the suspect in the buttocks. Despite the wound, he was able to flee and was apprehended outside by other officers arriving on the scene. Armed German policemen secure the scene of a shooting at the Unterfoehring subway station in Munich, Germany Police officers secure the area around a commuter rail station in Unterfoehring near Munich, southern Germany, where shots were fired A helicopter hovers above the scene which has seen one police officer and several others injured The incident occurred this morning at Unterfohring station and German police said they had secured the area. Blood on the streets of Munich as a police officer is shot by a gunman at a train station The injured officer was rushed to a nearby hospital and was still in life-threatening condition on Wednesday, Andrae said. She remained in critical condition on Thursday afternoon, according to The Local. The bystanders who were injured by bullets were also treated and are stable. Andrae said police had been in contact with the suspect's father with whom he had been living in the United States, and said the suspect apparently had a criminal record there. He did not give further details but a police source confirmed German media reports that the suspect's name is Alexander B, and that he had been living in Colorado. Bild newspaper reported he was staying in Fort Collins, but the source could not confirm that. In addition to some 200 witnesses to interview, Andrae said police also have video surveillance footage from multiple locations to review and are still working on a complete picture of how the attack unfolded. The suspect has so far refused to talk with police. The shooting occurred during a morning police check at the subway station as an armed officer stands guard A police officer armed with a huge rifle walks the streets as the station is closed down for safety Dozens of emergency vehicles descend upon the scene which has been cordoned off Last July, an 18-year-old, David Ali Sonboly, shot dead nine people at a Munich shopping mall before turning the gun on himself, having spent a year planning the rampage. Police said the German-Iranian teen was 'obsessed' with mass murderers such Norwegian right-wing fanatic Anders Behring Breivik and had no links to the Islamic State (IS) group. And in March, an axe-wielding attacker wounded nine people in a bloody rampage at a railway station in the western city of Duesseldorf. The 36-year-old Kosovan national had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic with a history of high anxiety and self-harm, police said, ruling out a terrorist motive. Instead, they suggested he might have carried out the attack at the station to end his own life. The suspect was taken into custody after jumping off a bridge. German authorities have been on high alert since a series of attacks claimed by IS. The most deadly came last December when a Tunisian rejected asylum seeker rammed a truck into a crowded Berlin Christmas market in an attack that killed 12 people and wounded dozens of others. Armed German policemen secure the scene of a shooting at the Unterfoehring subway station in Munich The Mayor of London faced furious crowds today as frustrated residents demanded answers about the tragic deaths in Grenfell Tower. Sadiq Khan was confronted by up to 300 people outside Notting Hill Methodist Church in West London when visiting the scene of the inferno. Mr Khan was even heckled by a seven-year-old boy who asked: 'How many children have died?' In dramatic scenes captured on Sky News, Kai Ramos, who was sat on a relative's shoulders, added: 'What are you going to do about it?' The Mayor replied: 'The bad news is I'm afraid, lots of people died in this fire, there were very brave firefighters and police and ambulance workers. 'They are going through the building now, that's why it takes time you see. I know it's very sad because you might have a friend in there.' Grenfell Tower residents, who faced another two high-profile visits from Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn today, had been raising their concerns about the building for years and are now desperate for answers. Furious residents even warned of rioting on the streets in retaliation for the lives lost in the Grenfell Tower disaster. London Mayor Sadiq Khan was heckled by a seven-year-old boy who asked: 'How many children have died?' (pictured) The Mayor of London faced furious crowds today as frustrated residents demanded answers about the tragic deaths in Grenfell Tower The Mayor of London faced tired and angry crowds today as frustrated residents demanded answers about the tragic deaths in Grenfell Tower In dramatic scenes captured on Sky News, Kai Ramos, who was sat on a relative's shoulders, added: 'What are you going to do about it?' Mr Khan was even heckled by a seven-year-old boy (pictured) who asked: 'How many children have died?' Mr Khan was also allegedly bottled by a protester today as the crowd gathered to confront him when he visited the Grenfell Tower fire scene A man is taken away by police following a disturbance near Grenfell Tower this afternoon Up to 300 people gathered outside Notting Hill Methodist Church in West London today Photographs showed a man being led away by officers as police reinforcements headed in Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is given a police escort as he visits the scene of the massive fire Kai, who was with his mother Jade, also asked: 'What are you going to do with people's life? They lost their home.' Mr Khan answered: 'We need to know they have somewhere to live.' Afterwards, Kai was asked whether he was satisfied with Mr Khan's answers, to which he said: 'I didn't hear them.' Mr Khan was repeatedly interrupted as he tried to answer the concerns of local residents. He began the press conference by saying: 'Understandably, residents are very angry and concerned and have genuine questions that demand answers,' before a resident interjected: 'Someone needs to be held accountable. These deaths could have been prevented.' When discussing the need for a thorough investigation one resident chimed saying: 'Now. Not a year from now, not two years from now. We need it now.' People light candles as they observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower At least 17 people have been confirmed dead and dozens missing, after the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road was engulfed in flames One woman was seen lighting a candle at the vigil held near the scene this evening A woman leaves flowers as people arrive for a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church The assembled residents bowed their heads as they held a moment's silence for the victims One woman looked distraught as she took part in the moment of reflection for the victims The feeling of frustration and sadness hangs in the air in the streets around Grenfell with many locals still trying to come to terms with what happened Mr Khan was also allegedly bottled by a protester today as the crowd gathered to confront him when he visited the Grenfell Tower fire scene. A bottle is believed to have been thrown towards Mr Khan, who was said to be inside the church as 20 police officers rushed outside to calm the situation. Photographs showed a man being led away by officers as Metropolitan Police reinforcements headed in, and the atmosphere was said to be 'very tense'. The man - who has not yet been identified - was allegedly chased by a number of officers, wrestled to the ground and arrested before being taken away. Mr Khan had been meeting members of the local community at a community centre and was then heckled by children and adults as he spoke to the public live on TV. Mr Khan hugs the resident during his visit to the scene of yesterday's horrific blaze in London One woman was overwhelmed with emotion as she spoke to London Mayor Sadiq Khan Mr Khan was meeting members of the local community at a community centre in the area Furious residents have warned of rioting on the streets in retaliation for the lives lost in the Grenfell Tower disaster. Hundreds of people are thought to have perished in the devastating blaze that Yasmine Miah and Zainab Salman, both 18, have been desperately searching for news of their friend Yassin el-wahabi who lived on the 24th floor. 'We heard he was dead then a family member said he was in a coma. We don't know anything more.' The girls, who both live nearby, believe that violence could soon erupt on the streets. Miss Man said: 'Yeah I think there will be a riot. We care about everyone else here so when our families and friends are hurt we're going to be here for them. 'People are giving everything they have for those who need it. 'So do you think we're not going to stand up for them?' Miss Miah said the Grenfell blaze would not have happened in an affluent area and that Mrs May has not done enough to visit those affected. She said: 'Theresa May doesn't have one compassionate bone in her body. 'If it wasn't in this area, they would have made a whole bigger deal of it, they would have police doing the jobs were doing right now. ' The feeling of frustration and sadness hangs in the air in the streets around Grenfell with many locals still trying to come to terms with what happened. Yasmine Miah and Zainab Salman , both 18, have been desperately searching for news of their friend Yassin el-Wahabi who lived on the 24th floor Nana Owusu, 28, lives in the block just across from the tower and watched the traumatic ordeal unfold Nana Owusu, 28, lives in the block just across from the tower and watched the traumatic ordeal unfold. He said: 'The whole sky was orange. I've never seen anything like it. 'I saw two kids on their own just screaming, helpless. It was so sad.' Mr Owusu said the community felt abandoned by the government. He said: 'The feeling I'm getting is they've been left to themselves. Like, let them get on with it. 'It's the community helping the community, they are providing their public services.' He added: 'It's volunteers helping the community. 'There's no help from the government. If this was Devon we'd see the armed forces on the street and Theresa May. 'We've been left to help ourselves. 'If there was somewhere else we'd see armed forces on the streets - but it's been left to 14-year-old boys.' Furious residents also vented their anger on a memorial to the victims with one person writing, 'the council let us down, the community raised us up' and 'London will stand together to achieve justice. We will not forget'. Although many have come together to support each other, tensions have been rising with the council and building manager criticised. Sabu Hussain, who helped decorate the memorial, said it should be made into a permanent mural so the victims of the blaze will never be forgotten. The student, who lives in the area, said: 'The victims deserve more. It's a memorial and it should be the best it can possibly be. 'Some have been positive and some have been negative. People want to know how people in 2017, with the equipment and money that exists, could not stop this fire? 'Was the building properly tested? Were the lifts working? Why are elderly people at the top of a tower block? 'Someone has to be held to account. I don't understand how a minor fire can spread into something so horrific.' Julian Allen, 66, wrote 'Don't let it ever happen again' on the wall. Furious residents vented their anger on a memorial to the victims with one person writing, 'the council let us down' Sabu Hussain, who helped decorate the memorial, said it should be made into a permanent mural so the victims of the blaze will never be forgotten Mr Allen, who has a background in restoring buildings and used to live in the area, said: 'There's something very dodgy about the plastic cladding. 'We cannot wait for an inquiry, we have to start a legal process investigating this disaster today. 'If we wait around it could take years to get an answer and by then two or three more tower blocks may go up in flames. 'It may not ease the pain that these people have gone through but at least they will see people are trying to get something done about it.' Earlier Mr Khan said: 'Many are grieving and are heartbroken, but also people are frustrated because for years and years they have been expressing their concern, for the last few months more so, and they are justifiably angry, and I share their anger. 'That's why yesterday I said to government ministers that they need to make sure checks are done now to make sure tower blocks are safe. But also we need to make sure that the public inquiry doesn't report in two, three years time. 'We can't afford for that to happen, so what I've said is there will be an interim response this summer to make sure these questions are answered.' Mr Khan was also said to have been heckled by protesters who felt he has not been supportive of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the fire as emergency services raised the death toll to 17 - with further bodies expected to be found in the flats. Mr Khan speaks to the media as he is heckled by residents who are angry at the situation One person was allegedly chased by a number of officers, wrestled to the ground and arrested Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the fire as emergency services raised the death toll to 17 - with further bodies expected to be found in the flats Her demand for the 'terrible tragedy' to be 'properly investigated' echoed calls from London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Mr Corbyn for answers. Mr Khan said the 'full scale of the tragedy is becoming clear and there are pressing questions, which demand urgent answers'. The Mayor added: 'That is why I am demanding a full, independent public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower. 'In light of concerns about the safety of other tower blocks that have been similarly refurbished, the inquiry needs to produce an interim report by the end of this summer at the latest.' The blaze left residents in the 24-storey tower block fleeing for their lives. Mr Corbyn, during a visit to the scene, said the 'truth has got to come out and it will'. The captain of a whale watching boat which capsized killing five Britons had a secret condition which impaired his vision. Wayne Dolby had a problem with his sight which made it difficult for him to acquire a normal visual image, an official report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said. The report found he did not disclose to regulators that he was having personal eye tests which showed a discrepancy with his official vision exams. Wayne Dolby, captain of the Leviathan II whale watching boat had a secret eye condition he hid from doctors during medical exams before his boat capsized in October 2015 killing five Among those who died were Britons David Thomas, 50, and his 18-year-old son Stephen The vessel was stuck on the side by a freak wave which caused it to capsize killing five Mr Dolbys failure to do so may have been because he feared losing his job if he was deemed unable to see properly, the report said. Five Britons and one Australian died on October 25, 2015, when the Leviathan II capsized in waters near Tofino V on Vancouver Island. The TSBC report concluded that the vessel, which had 24 passengers and three crew, was hit by a freak giant wave which made it capsize as it stopped at the Plover Reefs to look at some sea lions. Kathy Fox, chair of the TSBC said that it becomes a risk when regulators do not have all the relevant medical information about a captain. But she said that overall the problems with Mr Dolbys sight were not a cause of the tragedy and that the wave was to blame. The report said after Mr Dolbys official eye examination in 2012 he had been sent a letter by regulator Transport Canada saying that his vision was on the limit of the required standard. Two years later Transport Canada certified him to be legal again but he he did not disclose he had been having private eye examinations as well between 2009 and 2014. Only after the Leviathan crashed did Transport Canada get access to those results. The report said: The (captain) had an eye condition that would have made it difficult for him to acquire a normal visual image in all parts of his visual field. The review concluded that there were discrepancies between the (captains) test results for unaided vision obtained during private eye examinations and those obtained during (Transport Canada) marine medical examinations. The report added that the Transport Canada examiner would not routinely look for such a condition during their tests so it was up to individual sailors to disclose them. Mr Dolby had worked for Janes Whaling Station, which was operating the tour, for 18 years before the tragedy. The report said: Seafarers may not disclose medical conditions out of concern that they will lose their medical certificates and, by extension, their employment. The report said that most passengers and crew were on the top deck of the vessels port side when the wave hit the starboard side. Survivors have described being thrown into the ocean without life jackets and grabbing hold of a single life ring that floated in the waves. Others have told about being stuck at the bottom of the sinking boat and thrown about like laundry in a washing machine. The crew did not have time to transmit a distress signal before the capsizing and as a result passengers were in the freezing water for 45 minutes emergency services were aware of the accident. Miss Fox said that the crew of the Leviathan relied on the experience and discretion of the captain for safety rather than more rigorous procedures. At a press conference she said thats not a good enough system even when mariners have decades of experiences. The report noted that Mr Dolby had developed informal practices to check the height of waves like looking at a weather buoy or asking other vessels in the area. Clinton Rebeiro, a senior investigator with the TSBC, said that Mr Dolby looked at the area for breaking waves and saw none...just because there are no breaking waves at that particular time doesnt mean one cant form. The youngest British victim was Stephen Thomas, 18, an amateur photographer, and his 50-year-old father, David, an IT specialist from Swindon, Wiltshire. Stephens mother Julie, 49, who was also on board, was one of the survivors. Raveshan Pillay, 27, from Sydney, died after his British girlfriend Danielle Hooker, 28, tried in vain to keep him afloat. She was among the survivors but her father Nigel Hooker, 63, from Southampton died. The other British victims were Jack Slater, 76, a former Royal Navy engineer from Salford, who had emigrated to Canada, and Katie Taylor, 29, from Lichfield in Staffordshire, who was working as a spa supervisor in Whistler, the Canadian ski resort. Julie Thomas is among a number of the survivors who have filed lawsuits in Canada which say that the tragedy was the result of negligence and recklessness by the tour company. A major IT failure that sparked travel chaos for tens of thousands of British Airways passengers last month will cost its parent company 80 million. Willie Walsh, the chief executive of International Airlines Group, gave the estimate during the airline giant's annual general meeting. During the event company also apologised to customers and praised management teams for the way they handled the incident. Mr Walsh said: 'On May 27 British Airways suffered a power failure to its primary data centre which led to severe disruption to its flights. British Airways' parent company could have to fork out 80 million in compensation claims after thousands of passengers were left stranded because of a computer failuire One passenger said that there were 'crowds everywhere and children were crying' as they waited at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 (pictured) Willie Walsh, the chief exectuive of International Airlines Group (pictured last month after holding talks with the the Government), said 'Our initial assessment of the gross costs of the disruption is in the order of 80 million' 'Our initial assessment of the gross costs of the disruption is in the order of 80 million. 'We will update the market at the appropriate time with more details.' Mr Walsh added that 'it was an outstanding achievement by the teams involved', and stressed that IAG was 'working hard to make sure customers are compensated'. More than 670 flights were cancelled due to a power failure over the spring bank holiday weekend at the end of May, sparking a raft of compensation claims for flight costs, train and hotel expenses, replacement clothes and toiletries. Under EU law, passengers can claim compensation from BA for cancelled or delayed flights, worth up to 600 euro (528). They can also claim expenses for items such as hotels, meals and phone calls. One passenger shared this photo from their delayed flight, adding they were 'not allowed to buy food or drink' More than 670 flights were cancelled due to a power failure over the spring bank holiday weekend at the end of May, sparking a raft of compensation claims for flight costs, train and hotel expenses, replacement clothes and toiletries Chaotic scenes that emerged throughout the day showed passengers queuing for hours and many resorting to sleep on airport floors. Mr Page, who was booked on a BA flight to Texas, was stuck in a queue in Terminal 5 for two hours. He said: 'I tried to use their website to get a screenshot of my boarding pass - but the website isn't working either. (We) had to rely on the whisperings I could hear from staff talking. 'We've tried all of the self check-in machines; none were working, apart from one. There was a huge queue for it and it later transpired that it didn't actually work, but you didn't discover that until you got to the front.' 'Then we queued for about an hour and a half with lots of people pushing in front to catch earlier flights.' A retired lecturer has told of his horror of losing his wife in the London fire after he lost his grip on her hand in the stampede as they tried to escape. Sabah Abdullah, 72, was leading his wife, Khadija Khalloufi, 52, through the smoke-filled stairwell as they fled their flat on the 17th floor. She remains missing. I feel lost. I dont know whats going on. I just want my wife back, he told MailOnline. Sabah Abdullah, 72, was leading his wife, Khadija Khalloufi, 52, through the smoke-filled stairwell as they fled their flat on the 17th floor I feel lost. I dont know whats going on. I just want my wife back, Mr Abdullah told MailOnline When the fire started, both left their flat in pyjamas and dressing-gowns, having been asleep when the block filled with smoke. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, he said: I said to my wife, put a part of your robe over your nose so you can at least filter it, and I pulled her from the flat. I pulled her from the 17th floor and it was very awkward. People were pushing and forcing you to move because each one was running for his life. It was a stampede, with killer smoke. I could see only half a metre in front of me. The noise was indescribable. Not only were people screaming, you could feel that every one of them was very nervous and afraid, scared, wondering whats going on. Nobody was expecting this. We were all coughing terribly in the black smoke. There was a mixture of people, mainly adults but some children. I thought, OK, my wife is behind me. All I need to do is keep my hand in her hand and the other hand over my nose. When the fire started, Khadija Khalloufi and her husband left their flat in pyjamas and dressing-gowns, having been asleep when the block filled with smoke. But she is still missing Mr Abdullah described his wife as wonderful and generous. They met when she attended one of his lectures in Business Studies at Kensington and Chelsea Colleges 28 years ago When Mr Abdullah got out of the building, he was shocked to see that his wife was nowhere to be seen. The pair have been married for some 28 years But how could I keep my balance? They kept pushing me left and right, how could I balance? I found myself letting go of her hand and putting my hand on the rail. I thought she was safe behind me. I couldn't keep hold of her hand and keep my balance, he added. I had to let go. I cant say exactly what happened next because I couldn't see anything. I never had a head at that time. It was crazy. When he got to the 15th floor, Mr Abdullah realised his wife was missing. Concluding that she must be making her own way down, he followed the crowd down through the building. Thereafter, I didnt care. I thought she was downstairs, he said. I was pushing other people, doing exactly the same thing as them. I felt like I was behaving like an animal, but everybody was the same. Everybody was panicking. When people fell on the floor, we pulled them up and carried on. When he got out of the building, he was shocked to see that his wife was nowhere to be seen. A police officer told me to get out of the way. I told him my wife was missing, and he pushed me. It was not a graceful push. I fell over, cutting my feet. The rest of the night, he said, was a blur. I dont know if its today or yesterday. I cant concentrate on anything, he said. Its not easy, I cant sleep last night. But when it got to five, automatically I slept. Firefighters were still damping down the building today. It was deemed unsafe for them to enter until experts have assessed it The 27-storey Grenfell building, which was built in 1974 but refurbished last year, has an average of six flats per floor lived in by council tenants and a smaller number of private owners or tenants - fire had largely engulfed it in around 15 minutes Rescue workers have reached the top floor of the building, but have been unable to enter any flats or rooms, because the structure is so unstable Mr Abdullah described his wife as wonderful and generous. They met when she attended one of his lectures in Business Studies at Kensington and Chelsea Colleges 28 years ago, he added. We were married for 28 years, wonderful, wonderful years, he told MailOnline. We have two stepchildren. A friend of the family said: When you look at Khadija, shes full of life with a big heart. She is such a humble person, very welcoming. She opens her home to you, when you go to their house, she cant stop feeding you. She is a very generous person, very pure. She supports a lot of people in their lives. She cares for neighbours and everyone and loves her husband and stepchildren very much. Peter Mims, the American sailor who went missing from the U.S.S. Shiloh last week, has been found safe on board the ship An American sailor who was presumed dead following a huge man-overboard search has been found alive after he was discovered to have been hiding in his own ship's engine room for a week. Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Mims was thought to have been lost on June 8 while his guided missile cruiser USS Shiloh was operating in the Philippine Sea. Forces from the US and Japanese navies conducted a 50-hour search over 5,500 square-miles before the rescue was reluctantly called off at midnight on June 11. However, four days later, the gas turbine systems technician was located alive and well, according to the Navy Times, although the circumstances of how he survived undetected for seven days are not clear. Mims, 23, from Interlachen, Florida, has been transported to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier for psychiatric evaluation and his disappearance is under investigation. Sources told the Navy Times that the Sailor was found hiding in the USS Shiloh's (above) engine room The sailor was reported missing 180-miles east of Okinawa on June 8 and the search extended for thousands of square miles until June 11 before it was called off 'We are thankful to have found our missing shipmate and appreciate all the hard work of our Sailors and Japanese partners in searching for him,' Rear Adm. Charles Williams said in a statement. 'I am relieved that this Sailor's family will not be joining the ranks of Gold Star Families that have sacrificed so much for our country.' The Navy has not responded to questions regarding his recovery and the 7th Fleet - which is based in Japan - has not elaborated on how he was found. Mims has been a member of the Navy since February 2014 and has served aboard the USS Shiloh since August of that year. He was initially thought to have fallen overboard while the ship was 'conducting routine operations 180 miles east of Okinawa,' according to the Navy. Mims is pictured above in photos posted to Facebook. He joined the Navy in 2014 Above, the layout of a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, which is the same class as the U.S.S. Shiloh Above, a look inside the main engine room of the U.S.S. Mobile Bay, which is also a Ticonderoga-class cruiser More than half a dozen US Navy and Japanese Defence Force vessels combined with helicopters and aircraft from the Ronald Reagan to search for the missing Mims. The list of American manpower and ships dedicated to finding the crewman included, the USS McCamphell, USS Barry and USS John McCain. After spending 50-hours trying to locate the sailor in the Philippine Sea, the search was called off on the stroke of midnight on June 11. 'The decision to suspend the search was not arrived at lightly,' said Rear Admiral Charles Williams at the time. 'Our thoughts are with our lost shipmate, his family, and the officers and crew of USS Shiloh.' However at the time, Mims's sister, Amy James said that she did not believe that her brother had lost his life. 'I just can't believe he's gone,' said James. 'Is this real? Is this a nightmare?' 'He's still alive, he's got to be fighting for his life'. Dr. Jill Berkowiczs, an associate of the National Principals Leadership Institute (NPLI) in New York City, will visit Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA) to officially honor CGLA as a 2017 recipient of the School Innovation and Change Award. The award includes a $10,000 prize, which Dr. Berkowicz will present during a brief ceremony that begins at 10:30 a.m. on the CGLA campus located at 1802 Bailey Ave. The public is invited to attend. Founded in 1998, the National Principals Leadership Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to leadership development and school transformation. Internationally acclaimed for its six-day summer training workshop, NPLI creates programming that develops principals into change leaders: educational visionaries eager to identify and implement new approaches that advance academic outcomes. Through the School Innovation and Change Award (SICA), NPLI celebrates school transformation by spotlighting the pioneering practices and extraordinary improvements of schools previously designated as failing. According to the NPLI application process, achieving significant school change is challenging and hard won, and SICA recognizes failing schools that managed to become exemplary. Saluting the innovative strategies of these schools provides verification that change leaders can make a difference. After reviewing 32 applications, NPLI selected CGLA as one of four 2017 SICA winners. The application process for SICA was rigorous and detailed, said Dr. Elaine Swafford, executive director of CGLA. NPLI requires CGLA Receives $10,000 School Innovation and Change Award from the National Principals Leadership Institute June 14, 2017. She noted the award was also an endorsement of the schools decision to establish a project-based curriculum that integrates science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math (STEAM) into the overall academic program. At CGLA, student success is foremost, and we know that offering exciting, interactive experiences engages students and awakens curiosity. Receiving this award allows us to celebrate the institutional shifts that invite interest, spark learning, and lead to educational excellence. For more information about the SICA award presentation, contact Donna Coleman, director of development, at 423.618.5362 or donnacoleman@cglaonline.com. For more information about CGLA, visit the schools website at CGLAonline.com. The Gray family: Father Scott, mother Amber and children Aidan, 10, (bottom right) and Addison, nine (top) A family is rebuilding their home after a skunk ruined its entire contents by polluting it with its foul spray. Scott and Amber Gray from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, were forced to throw out everything in their house in October because it was so soaked in odor. They had been at a Halloween party with their children, 10-year-old Aidan and nine-year-old Addison, when they returned home to find a rogue skunk running excitedly around the house. Mr. Gray, who'd had an operation days before, hobbled around trying to trap it with a comforter but could not catch it and eventually called exterminators. After an-hour-and-half, they were able to capture the animal - which had entered through the dog door used by the family's pets - but the house was steeped in an intolerable smell which Mr. Gray likened to 'rotten onions mixed with sewage, burned rubber and skunk spray'. Now, they are fundraising to rebuild it after having to strip it bare. Mr. Gray, 39, told DailyMail.com on Thursday how he smelled the skunk's spray a mile-and-a-half away from the house as the family drove home on October 29. He feared one of his dogs had been sprayed outside but, as he approached the house, he realized the skunk was inside. 'When I opened the door, it felt like my eyes were on fire. It was so immense,' he said. While the skunk did not cause any physical damage, the smell was so bad that it permeated every surface. The spray had soaked into the walls, carpets, clothes and even the television, rendering the house completely unlivable. The family was not home on October 29 when the skunk broke in through the dog door and sprayed its entire contents. They returned home to find it running rampant through the rooms After its three hour spray spree, the skunk had sprayed every surface in the house. Mr. Gray was forced to gut it completely and is now in the process of rebuilding 10-year-old Aidan and nine-year-old Addison have been helping their father rebuild the property. The family has no money to pay for tradesmen or materials and is relying on donations When they turned the TV on, Mr. Gray said, the heat from the electricity burned the oil from its spray and emitted the smell like a candle. 'Absolutely everything is ruined. Things you wouldn't even think would be were,' Mr. Gray, who runs the warehouse of his family's industrial fastener business. The family moved into a rented furnished apartment a week later. Despite being told by an insurance surveyor that the damage was the equivalent of that seen in a fire, they were given no money to help cover the cost of the destruction even though they had taken out a State Farm policy. Mr. Gray is now working to rebuild the house himself and they are relying on donations from friends and well-wishers. He estimates the total cost of work done that is needed to repair the house is $70,000 if he performs it all himself. They were forced to throw out albums of family photos, the children's toys and all their clothes Mrs Gray's wedding dress was destroyed as were the family's couches and the rest of their furniture They were forced to throw out their beds, the bedding on them, the carpet beneath them and almost everything in every room 'It's going to take me forever. It's literally a shell,' he said. He and his wife Amber, a school cafeteria worker, have no clothes. It was the first time a skunk had ever come near their home (file image) They prioritized buying new wardrobes for their children to wear to school but are themselves without any personal belongings. 'I got my kids clothes so they have stuff to wear. My wife and I not really, if the kids need it then they get it. That's more important,' Mr. Gray said. To raise money, the couple is hosting a free spaghetti dinner in the local town hall on July 8. In exchange for a free meal, they hope well-wishers will bring Home Depot or Loews gift cards. Mr. Gray's sister has also set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the family. Nationwide, the insurance company which Mr. Gray was insured with, said it was looking in to the case when contacted by DailyMail.com on Thursday. Mr. Gray had taken out a 'No Risk' policy but the claim was rejected immediately, he said. A Nationwide spokesman said: 'Nationwide does not publicly discuss the specifics related to claims. The company investigates and considers the individual facts and circumstances of the claim in light of the applicable insurance policy provisions, as well as any applicable state laws, prior to making a decision. ' Dalton Baril (above), a 20-year-old student attending the University of Virginia, is being accused of attacking a young woman on the night of February 1 The young scion of a prominent Republican family in Virginia turned himself in to police on Wednesday after he allegedly raped and sodomized a fellow college student, it was reported on Thursday. Dalton Baril, a 20-year-old student attending the University of Virginia, is being accused of attacking a young woman on the night of February 1, according to The Washington Post. Prosecutors in Albemarle County say that Baril met the woman, who is also enrolled at U-Va., at the Trinity Irish Pub, a local bar near the Charlottesville, Virginia campus. Authorities allege that Baril, who is not of legal drinking age, bought the woman a shot of tequila. While still at the bar, Baril is alleged to have tried to kiss her, but was rejected. Prosecutors say the woman told Baril that she did not wish to be kissed 'in public.' Afterward, Baril and the woman left the bar and walked to his apartment. Prosecutors say that she made clear to Baril that she would use the bathroom and then leave. Prosecutors in Albemarle County say that Baril met the woman, who is also enrolled at U-Va., at the Trinity Irish Pub, a local bar near the Charlottesville, Virginia, campus Authorities allege that Baril, who is not of legal drinking age, bought the woman a shot of tequila. While still at the bar (seen above in this stock image), Baril is alleged to have tried to kiss her, but was rejected When she exited the bathroom, she saw that Baril had stripped down to his boxers, according to prosecutors. The woman then repeated that she did not want to stay. 'Please don't make this bad,' she allegedly told Baril. Prosecutors then say that Baril grabbed hold of the woman, bit her lip and breast, and assaulted her. A nurse who examined the woman found injuries to her vaginal area as well as bruises on her face, according to prosecutors. Afterward, Baril and the woman left the bar and walked to his apartment. Prosecutors say that she made clear to Baril that she would use the bathroom and then leave. When she exited the bathroom, she saw that Baril had stripped down to his boxers before he began assaulting her, according to prosecutors After the alleged incident, Baril sent a text message to the woman, writing: 'I'm sorry if I got overly excited.' Baril did not enter a plea. His attorney has promised to introduce evidence which 'substantively contradicts' the prosecutor's claims. Baril's family is well-established in Virginia Republican politics. He is the grandson of John N. Dalton, who graduated from U-Va.'s law school and went on to win election as Virginia's governor. Dalton served as governor from 1978 until 1982. He died in 1986. Baril's family is well-established in Virginia Republican politics. He is the grandson of John N. Dalton (above), who graduated from U-Va.'s law school and went on to win election as Virginia's governor. Dalton served as governor from 1978 until 1982. He died in 1986 His mother, Mary Dalton Baril (left), also graduated from U-Va. She is currently a partner in the law firm McGuire Woods. His father, Steve Baril (right), has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republicans since 2001 His mother, Mary Dalton Baril, also graduated from U-Va. She is currently a partner in the law firm McGuire Woods. His father, Steve Baril, has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republicans since 2001. In 2005, he ran for the office of state attorney general, losing in the Republican primary to Robert McDonnell. Dalton Baril withdrew from the university in April after the school began to investigate the incident. Authorities say he has been cooperative with police. Bond was set at $10,000. Baril has been ordered to remain in either his mother's or father's home. He also must submit to electronic monitoring and is not permitted to ingest alcohol or drugs. Ken Starr, who led an unsuccessful impeachment prosecution of President Bill Clinton, said he doesn't yet see an obstruction of justice case against President Trump. At issue in Starr's opinion is the soft language Trump allegedly used to try to get fired FBI Director James Comey to back off an investigation of Trump's former national security advisor, Mike Flynn. 'You've got to take really affirmative action and Director [James] Comey said in his testimony that even though the expression was hope, he took it as a directive,' Starr said. Former Bill Clinton prosecutor Kenn Starr said it was 'too soon' to say whether President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice Starr said it was 'too soon to tell' whether Trump engaged in obstruction. 'From what I've seen and of course we don't know a whole lot the answer is no,' he told CNN's 'New Day.' QUEASY FEELING: 'Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that it made him 'queasy' when at one point Lynch directed him to discuss the federal investigation into Clinton's private email server as a 'matter' rather than a full-blown 'investigation' Former special prosecutor spoke about the obstruction issue on CNN Thursday 'But it is going to be investigated and so we will soon know,' he continued, The Hill reported. Comey testified that Trump didn't order him to halt the Flynn probe, but expressed his hope that it would go away. 'But what we know is, he didn't do anything about it, right? That is that he did not dismiss the investigation or curtail the investigation. There's an expression of hope, so it becomes an interpretation,' Starr told CNN. Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein says he would only fire special counsel Robert Mueller with 'good cause,' and vouched for his 'full independence' Former FBI Director James Comey One of the most damaging pieces of information against Trump could be his own comments. He told NBC's Lester Holt Russia was on his mind when he decided to fire Comey, who was leading the Russia investigation. He also told top Russian officials after the firing 'nut job' Comey, the pressure was off him. 'I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off,' Trump said, according to a New York Times of a summary document of the meeting. Starr infuriated Democrats during the Bill Clinton impeachment investigation, after an inquiry that started out probing the Whitewater land deal ended up pursuing whether Clinton lied under oath about his affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Special counsel Robert Mueller is leading a probe of Russian interference in the presidential election, whether Trump associates had contacts with Russians, as well as whether Trump's firing of Comey was an effort to obstruct the Russia probe, according to media reports. Special Prosecutor Ken Starr Is Sworn In And Testifies To The House Judiciary Committee Concerning The Possible Impeachment Of President Clinton, Washington, Dc, November 19, 1999 Earlier this week, when attorney general Jeff Sessions testified before an Intelligence panel, Starr told Fox News regarding Sessions: 'I know him to be a man of honor, a man of the law and I thought that came through.' Starr said of Comey: 'I have serious problems with the way Director Comey conducted himself' following Comey's one-on-one conversations with President Trump. Former Bill Clinton prosecutor Kenn Starr said it was 'too soon' to say whether President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice The Senate Judiciary Committee is opening up a probe into President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey and whether any 'improper interference' with the FBI occurred. Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa revealed the probe in a letter to his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. But the probe won't be exclusively focused on Trump-land. Grassley also wants the investigation to look at Obama attorney general Loretta Lynch and whether she influenced the Clinton email scandal investigation. Two prisoners who broke out of jail by placing dummies in their beds in an Alcatraz-style breakout are facing an extra stretch behind bars today. Matthew Baker, 29, and James Whitlock, 32, fooled guards at HMP Pentonville with blankets and pillows to make it look like they were still in bed. They escaped by sawing through the bars of the cell with a diamond tipped saw and using their sheets as ropes on November 7 last year. Baker broke his leg in two places during the escape and was discovered hiding under a bed at his sisters house in Ilford, Essex, two days later. He applied a home-made cast of wall filler so tightly he almost had to have his leg amputated, but surgeons at Royal London Hospital managed to save it. Mathew Baker, 29 (left and right) sparked a national manhunt when he escaped from Pentonville Prison, in North London after breaking out of his cell using a diamond tipper cutter and climbing down the jail walls using bedsheets Whitlock was arrested at a house in Shepherds Lane, Homerton, east London, six days later. Powerfully built Baker was awaiting sentence at the time for trying to murder 25-year old Matthew Bennett with glass and a knife, at a flat in Lewis Way, Dagenham, Essex. Mr Bennett was left with nearly 50 scars to his body as well as injuries to his heart and lung and brain via a stab to the ear and needed emergency surgery to save his life. Whitlock was on remand in Pentonville Prison at the time for conspiring to burgle cash machines. Baker, who was awaiting sentence for attempted murder, broke out of his cell using diamond-tipped cutting equipment. He removed an iron bar and wire netting from his cells window before scaling the category B Victorian unit's 25ft using sheets - before dropping to the ground and breaking his leg They cut through their window bars using a the saw and a pair of wire cutters which may have been flown into the prison on a drone He was part of a gang who blew up ATMs with welding gas bottles to steal 290,660 from cash machines inside 13 takeaways and other small business. Baker escaped the fifth-floor wing of Pentonville jail with Whitlock just two days before he was due to be sentenced. The pair had arranged pillows in their beds to dupe guards on patrol into thinking they were asleep. They cut through their window bars using a the saw and a pair of wire cutters which may have been flown into the prison on a drone. Moments later the pair squeezed through the gap and abseiled to the ground using their bed sheets as rope. Posts from a Facebook profile which appeared to be Matthew Bakers read I know where you live, I know your names and we will meet again, believe me. Baker initially denied breaking prison, claiming he had been under duress from threats to his life, but later changed his plea to guilty. Whitlock admitted the same charge. Bakers sister, Kelly Baker, 21, of Friars Close, Ilford, admitted helping her brother by buying him black dye to conceal his distinctive ginger hair. A search found a receipt for hair dye in Kellys purse. When Baker was arrested he shouted Im not saying anything. Kell, tell them Ive only just got here. Baker escaped the fifth-floor wing of Pentonville jail with Whitlock (pictured) just two days before he was due to be sentenced Kelly Baker initially claimed he had turned up just 30 minutes beforehand. It emerged later that Baker had also been communicating with his girlfriend Chelsea Gibson, 23, from prison using an illegal phone and had told her of his plans. In a series of texts she said to him: All you do is graft, dont ya? You need to be out and all that shizzle. She also asked him: Why did you only tell me what you are doing and no one else? Before you said you couldnt trust me with anything. In a text sent late at night, Baker replied Im going back to work now - thought to refer to the sawing of the bars. Jonathon Polnay QC, prosecuting, said: This must have taken a considerable degree of planning - these items are particularly tightly controlled in prison. It must have taken some considerable amount of time to bring into effect. He said that an officer trying to recreate the offence had got through seven hacksaw blades in an hour and got nowhere. It shows there were some highly specialised items smuggled in or it had taken some considerable time, he said. Gibson helped Baker to get a taxi once he was outside the prison walls and handed him a wad of cash to help him get to his sisters house. Yesterday she pleaded guilty to assisting an offender. Baker was arrested two days later at an address 12 miles from the prison. After he was found, he was eventually sentenced last December for the attempted murder of Matthew Bennett, then 23, who Bake repeatedly stabbed with broken glass and a knife at a party Whitlock was jailed for four and a half years for conspiracy to burgle in March this year, while Baker was jailed for life with a minimum of 10 years at Snaresbrook Crown Court last December for trying to murder Mr Bennett. Baker has 26 convictions for 72 offences dating back to when he was just 15, and has a history of attacking police officers. Thirty-four of the incidents involved violence or threats of violence. The escape of the two men was just one of a string of high-profile security breaches at HMP Pentonville. In October last year, two weeks before the escape, Jamal Mahmoud, 21, died after suffering stab wounds to the neck - he was housed on G wing, the same wing as Baker and Whitlock. The escape of the two men was just one of a string of high-profile security breaches at HMP Pentonville. A recent damning report found that 84 per cent of prisoners at the catagory B prison suffered physical or mental health problems and faced long delays for treatment A recent damning report found that 84 per cent of prisoners in Pentonville had physical or mental health problems and faced long delays for treatment. As many as one in five were being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs. Matthew Baker, of no fixed address, and Whitlock, of Staplefield Close, Chelmsford, Essex, admitted breaking prison and will be sentenced this afternoon. Kelly Baker, of Friars Close, Ilford, admitted aiding and abetting or harbouring an escaped prisoner by buying hair dye. Gibson, of Four Seasons Close, Bow, admitted assisting an offender. Baker and Whitlock will be sentenced later today (thurs) while both women will be dealt with on a date yet to be fixed. The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed tough sanctions on Russia and Iran, sending the House of Representatives a bill that would prevent President Donald Trump from unilaterally easing penalties against Moscow. The measure, which passed on a 98-2 vote, seeks to make Tehran pay a price for its 'continued support of terrorism.' It also aims to punish Russia's Vladimir Putin for interfering in last year's US election, and to make it tougher for the White House to roll back sanctions. U.S. intelligence chiefs have concluded that Russia orchestrated a campaign to undermine the American election process that included espionage and cyber-attacks, as a means to tilt the vote in Trump's favor. Armored vehicles drive along Tverskaya street during a rehearsal for the Victory Day parade, with the Kremlin in the background on April 27, 2017 in Moscow, Russia 'Not only did we pass a new round of tough sanctions for Russia's meddling in our election, we codified existing sanctions into law, making them harder to lift, and we moved to make Congress -- not the president -- the final arbiter of sanctions relief when necessary,' top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said before the vote. 'Any idea of the president's that he can lift sanctions on his own for whatever reason are dashed by this legislation.' The bill as originally introduced was exclusively about slapping new sanctions on Iran. But lawmakers attached a bipartisan amendment on Russia to it early this week. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a press conference during his annual call-in-show at press center in Gostiny dvor June 15, 2017 in Moscow, Russia.. During his annual call-in-show, a TV marathon lasting for hours he is expected to declare his intention to seek another term in 2018, comment on the last opposition protest and talk about Russia-U.S. interactions Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said the bill would prevent any attempt by President Donald Trump to unilaterally lift sanctions on Russia Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky called up the bill for a vote The addition came with the White House deeply embroiled in crisis over whether Trump's campaign team colluded with a Russian effort to sway the 2016 election. The measure would require a green light from Congress in the event sanctions on Russia are relaxed, suspended or terminated. It would codify in law the sanctions imposed by executive decree by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, especially against the Russian energy industry. - 'Strong' legislation - And it would impose new sanctions on 'corrupt Russian actors,' those implicated in serious human rights abuses or who supply weapons to Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, and people who conduct 'malicious cyber activity' on behalf of the Russian state. 'This is a very, very strong piece of legislation,' Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker said on the Senate floor. Corker, too, sounded pleased that the bill effectively ties a president's hands when it comes to unwinding certain sanctions on Russia. The Trump administration faces pressure from Russia hawks in Congress to maintain sanctions A traffic jam in Kremlin Embankment 'Today the United States Senate is asserting its responsibilities' regarding foreign policy, he added. The sanctions follow the scandalous departure of Michael Flynn as Trump's national security advisor. Flynn had been misleading about his phone conversations late last December that reportedly included talks with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, just as then-president Barack Obama was ordering new sanctions on Russia over its alleged election meddling. The new Iran restrictions, which impose mandatory sanctions on people involved with the Islamic republic's ballistic missile program and those that transact with them. It also applies terrorism-related sanctions to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and re-enforces aspects of the arms embargo on Iran. Senate Republican Lindsey Graham said the sanctions send a strong signal that 'business as usual with Iran is over.' The bill now heads to the House, where its fate is less certain. The White House has yet to announce its position on the legislation, and whether it approves of a process of congressional review that would essentially restrict the president's actions with regard to Putin's government. Megyn Kelly was spotted out and about in New York City on Wednesday morning, with the embattled NBC News host popping in for an appointment with her dermatologist. The skin-care visit came on the same day she had been asked to host a benefit gala for a gun-control charity that was founded in honor of the 20 students and six educators who lost their lives at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut. She was swiftly relieved of her duties however on Monday in the wake of her upcoming Alex Jones interview. Kelly herself spoke about the controversy in an interview with The New York Times while defending her decision to bring Jones on her program. 'What we do as journalists is we shine a light on those with power, those with influence, those who have become culturally relevant,' said Kelly. 'Of course, it's upsetting to know that doing that causes any upset to the Newtown families, many of whom I know well. But I have to do my job.' Scroll down for video Celebrity skin: Megyn Kelly stopped by a New York City dermatologists' office on Wednesday (above) Back in black: Kelly was comfortably chic in a long black cardigan over a white tee and some leather leggings which she tucked into her ankle-high black boots Caught in the act: Kelly pretended to be chatting on the phone when she was actually looking at photos of celebrities (above) The dermatologist Kelly went to see is one of the best in the city, specializing in facial rejuvenation, Botox, filler, laser hair removal, cosmetic lasers, and acne treatments The 46-year-old mother of three was looking comfortably chic as she strutted down the streets of New York on Wednesday and through the door of her Park Avenue skin clinic. She wore a long black cardigan over a white tee and some leather leggings which she tucked into her ankle-high black boots. Kelly finished off the look with over-sized shades and her phone, which she may have been pretending to speak on in order to avoid any questions from members of the public about her show this Sunday. Kelly has been under fire ever since Sunday, when she revealed on her news magazine that she would be interviewing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. On Thursday however she finally got a little support from a very unlikely place when CNN president and former NBC boss Jeff Zucker hopped to her defense. 'I think the issue here is they way that they have thus far presented it has not led to the belief that he's held to account as much as somebody who spews such hatred and nonsense needs to be,' said Zucker in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. 'If you're going to do this story the tease needs to be you holding up a picture of the dead kids at Sandy Hook and saying, 'How dare you?' And I think their marketing of this has thus far been unfortunate.' Zucker, who had been hoping to convince Kelly to join the team at CNN when her contract was up, also noted that the new NBC hire is a 'very good journalist.' Game time: Kelly, 46, has been under fire all week for her upcoming interview with Inforwars' Alex Jones, who has called the Sandy Hook shooting a hoax in the past (above in preview for Sunday) Stop it: 'Of course, it's upsetting to know that doing that causes any upset to the Newtown families, many of whom I know well. But I have to do my job,' said Kelly (Jones above in a preview for Sunday night's episode) 'As journalists, we dont get to interview only the good guys thats not journalism,' Kelly told the Times. 'Its going to be very difficult for us to keep an eye on the more controversial figures of our time if we never talk to them.' Kelly said she sat down with Jones to examine 'his influence and his for lack of a better term method for putting information together to figure out how he got to be so important in the presidents world, in millions of peoples world.' She also stated that currently 'there are a lot of people who are very angry that Donald Trump is president and a lot of people who believe Alex Jones played a large role in it.' Jeff Zucker (above in December) blamed the backlash on bad NBC marketing Kelly is also dealing with another issue as the second episode of her NBC news magazine tanked in the ratings, losing almost half its audience from the premiere one week prior. Final Nielsen numbers show that the latest episode of 'Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly' pulled in 3.61 million total viewers and scored an 0.6 rating in the all-important adults 18-49 demo, which was a slight improvement in the 7pm time slot from the previous year. It was far, far lower however than the 6.1 million viewers and 0.8 rating notched by the premiere, which featured an interview with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Kelly has been feeling the heat over her decision to interview InfoWars' host Alex Jones for her Sunday news magazine this week. Sandy Hook Promise, an organization that was created in memory of the 20 students and six staff members who were massacred in the 2012 school shooting in Newton, Connecticut, announced on Monday that Kelly would no longer host one of their annual Promise Champions Gala, That announcement came just two days before Kelly was set to take the stage at the event on Wednesday night in Washington DC. The decision made by the non-profit organization also leaves Kelly with a big gap in her episode that will be airing this Sunday, as she planned to film the gala to run alongside her interview with Jones. That plan went up in smoke however when she managed to draw the ire of Sandy Hook parents, who lashed out loud and quick as they attacked Kelly for allowing Jones' ideas to be heard by her audience of 6million. Disappointing drop: Kelly's second episode, which featured an interview with Erin Andrews (above), lost half of the audience from the premiere one week prior Impressive intro: Over 6 million viewers tuned into Kelly's premiere episode with Russian president Vladimir Putin (above) Kelly responded to the controversy on Tuesday in a statement, saying she was 'disappointed' but also 'respected the decision' of the charity. 'I understand and respect the decision of the event organizers but I'm of course disappointed that I won't be there to support them on Wednesday night,' began Kelly in her statement. 'I find Alex Jones's suggestion that Sandy Hook was "a hoax" as personally revolting as every other rational person does.' She then explained: 'It left me, and many other Americans, asking the very question that prompted this interview: how does Jones, who traffics in these outrageous conspiracy theories, have the respect of the president of the United States and a growing audience of millions?' Kelly then offered theories, stating: 'President Trump, by praising and citing him, appearing on his show, and giving him White House press credentials, has helped elevate Jones, to the alarm of many.' 'Our goal in sitting down with him was to shine a light - as journalists are supposed to do - on this influential figure, and yes - to discuss the considerable falsehoods he has promoted with near impunity,' said Kelly. Regardless of the aim, advertisers were not happy, and JP Morgan pulled their spots from the time slot. In the preview of her interview with Jones, the NBC News host demands to know how he can declare something like Sandy Hook a hoax given the loss of young lives and parents who are still grieving for their children. She's out: Kelly responded to the controversy around her firing from the Sandy Hook gala on Tuesday in a statement, saying she was 'disappointed' but also 'respected the decision' of the charity (Kelly and Jones above) Tragedy: Kelly's visit came on the same day she had been scheduled to host a Sandy Hook gala in Washington DC that she was cut from two days prior (parents Jimmy and Nelba Marquez-Greene in 2014 above) 'Oh I know, but they don't get angry about the half-million dead Iraqis from the sanctions...' starts Jones before he is cut off by Kelly and accused of dodging her question. 'The media doesn't cover all the evil wars...' begins Jones, who again is cut-off by Kelly. 'That doesn't excuse the things you said about Newtown, you know that,' states the host, who actually traveled to Texas to meet with Jones in his own studio. 'Here's the difference, I looked at all the angles of Newtown and I made my statements before the media even picked it up.' And in 2012, in the wake of the Aurora cinema massacre that saw 12 killed and 70 injured when a gunman opened fire during a screening of The Dark Knight, Jones claimed it was a 'false flag'. 'If you look at the full spectrum of information unfolding right now, 100 per cent chance that the mass murder committed in the suburb of Denver, Colorado, right next to Littleton and Columbine was a false flag mind control event.' He even blamed President Obama for being behind a series of deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma back in 2013 that claimed the lives of over 30 people. Ledura Watkins entered a Michigan prison in 1976 as a 20-year-old convicted killer, condemned to spend the remainder of his life behind bars. This week, a beaming Watkins, now 61, emerged from the correctional facility that has been his home for more than four decades as a free man. Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School asked in January for Watkins' guilty verdict to be set aside, arguing that the hair evidence used to convict him was unreliable. Smile of a free man: Ledura Watkins, 61, who had served more than 40 years in prison on a murder conviction, was released from prison Thursday morning after his guilty verdict was set aside Watkins was set free because prosecutors were no longer confident in the hair evidence used to convict him in 1976 The Wayne County prosecutors' office agreed, setting the stage for his release Thursday morning after one last court hearing at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, which was attended by his family members. Watkins was accused of killing a Detroit woman during a robbery in October 1975. On April 15, 1976, he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Condemned: Watkins, pictured in a mugshot from 2015, was accused of killing a Detroit woman during a robbery in October 1975 and was sentenced to a life in prison the following year The law schools Innocence Project said police used a single hair to tie Watkins to the killing. The prosecutors office conceded that conclusions made in the 1970s by FBI-trained lab analysts dont match current scientific and legal standards. 'Hair comparison is not based on science; it is simply a lab analysts subjective opinion and has no place in our criminal justice system,' said Marla Mitchell-Cichon, director of the WMU-Cooley Innocence Project. 'This is why a state-wide review of hair comparison cases is critical.' Mitchell-Cichon also said that Watkins has always maintained his innocence and never stopped fighting for his freedom. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Watkins will be the longest-serving wrongly convicted person in Michigan. Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School asked in January for Watkins' guilty verdict to be set aside, based on the dubious hair evidence Fres start: A beaming Watkins was greeted by family and well-wishers, whom he thanked for their support over the years Dressed in a checkered button-down shirt and a pair of rimless glasses, a visibly elated Watkins exited the Detroit courthouse this morning pumping his fists and was greeted by cheering relatives and well-wishers. 'I just want to thank everyone for everything that you've done, for all the support, he stated, addressing a small crowd. I appreciate you, I love you, I dont know how I'm ever going to repay you.' Watkins, who has a daughter, is now looking forward to attending his familys annual reunion in August. An argument 'over a cheeseburger' between a Florida mother and her son Monday night has resulted in a domestic battery charge against the young man. Cops allege that Noah Sullivan-Lincoln got into a physical dispute with his mother, Cheryl Sullivan-Lincoln in the family's kitchen of their St. Petersburg, Florida home. According to the complaint/arrest affidavit from the Pinellas County court, the 19-year-old 'spat in the face of the victim as there were arguing in the kitchen of their home over a cheeseburger'. Noah Sullivan-Lincoln, 19, assaulted his mother Cheryl Sullivan-Lincoln in their St. Petersburg, Florida, home 'over a cheeseburger' Noah 'smacked the cheeseburger out of the victims hand' in the process hitting his 57-year-old mother on her arm and hand (Stock) Noah then apparently 'smacked the cheeseburger out of the victims hand' in the process hitting his 57-year-old mother on her arm and hand. The boy confessed to the attack after he was detained. Noah was charged with domestic battery which is a misdemeanor and spent half-a-day in the county jail. In the report, it seems that there may have been an indication of drug influence in the altercation He was released Tuesday afternoon with his own recognizance. In the report, it seems that there may have been an indication of drug influence in the altercation. The window replacement firm worker has been ordered by a judge not to have contact with his mother. A murder probe has been launched after a dementia carer died just days after enduring an horrific chemical attack. Joanne Rand, who was 47, was sat on a park bench in Frogmoor, High Wycombe, when a group of men began fighting on June 3, police say. It is believed Ms Rand was sprayed with an 'alkaline substance' after one of the man kicked a bottle during the altercation. Ms Rand was discharged from hospital but was then readmitted on Friday - she told friends she had suffered an infection. Joanne Rand, 47 (pictured), was sat on a park bench in Frogmoor, High Wycombe, when a nearby group of men began fighting on June 3, police say. A bottle containing an 'alkaline substance' was kicked and Ms Rand was sprayed with the corrosive liquid Just days after thanking friends for their get well messages a spokesman for Thames Valley Police revealed she had died and a murder investigation had been launched to find her killers. Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Paul Hayles, from Thames Valley Police, today said: 'A team of detectives is continuing to investigate this incident and carry out enquiries. 'I would like to appeal to the public, particularly those who live or work between Frogmoor and the railway station in High Wycombe, to be aware of the bottle photographed which may have been discarded possibly in or with a dark coloured shoulder bag in the area. 'I would like to warn members of the public not to touch the bottle if they see it but to instead contact police as soon as possible. The bottle is white and has an orange or red hazard label on the side.' Police are now searching for this bottle which they believe to have been used in the attack Days before her death, the mother posted on Facebook: 'Seems I'll be in hospital up till end of next week. They will be doing another skin graft as the burns are deep.' Earlier she had written: 'On my way to Stoke Mandeville [Hospital]. Have an infection in my burns.' She was rushed to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Bucks., following the attack at 4.48pm on Saturday, June 3, in Frogmoor, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, but was later discharged. Ms Rand, who worked as a carer at Sir Aubury Ward care home in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, where she also was then readmitted to the hospital on Friday, June 9 where she died five days later. A Home Office post-mortem examination is due to be carried out shortly. Xeneral Webster, aged 18 years, of Westway in White City, north-west London, was charged with one count of robbery on Tuesday in connection with the attack. Another 18-year-old from London was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning general bodily harm on Tuesday, but was released under investigation while inquiries continue. No further action was taken against three further men, aged 19, 20 and 24, who were all arrested earlier this month in connection with the incident. Ms Rand was admitted to hospital with serious burns and was later discharged. She was readmitted to Stoke Mandeville Hospital on Friday and died yesterday A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: 'At 4.48pm on Saturday June 3 a group of men became involved in an altercation in Frogmoor, High Wycombe. 'A woman who was sitting on a bench nearby, was sprayed with a liquid, believed to be an alkaline substance, after a bottle was kicked during the fight. 'She sustained serious burns and was taken to hospital for treatment and was later discharged. She was subsequently readmitted to Stoke Mandeville Hospital on Friday where she sadly died yesterday.' President Trump resurrected one of his most brutal and repeated attacks from the 2016 campaign, blasting 'crooked' Hillary Clinton - less than 24 hours after it was revealed he is being investigated over obstruction of justice. Trump slammed his former political rival in a series of tweets Thursday afternoon, after earlier terming a probe by a special counsel 'the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people!' Trump's complaint about 'obstruction' follows a bombshell Washington Post report that special counsel Robert Mueller was focusing on possible obstruction of justice related to the Russia investigation and Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey. 'Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?' Trump asked on Twitter. President Donald Trump went after 'crooked' Hillary Clinton on Twitter, resurrecting attacks on his 2016 rival just hours after issuing a call for political unity 'Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?' Trump asked, combining his attacks on Clinton with gripes about the evolving Russia investigation. The tweet revived two attacks from the 2016 campaign, that a Clinton aide destroyed some of her multiple communications devices, and that her team used software to get rid of old emails. It also accuses, without evidence, Clinton of directing her husband Bill Clinton to hold his infamous Phoenix airport tarmac meeting with then-attorney general Loretta Lynch. At the time it occurred, Clinton's campaign was not happy that the former president caused a major headache what was apparently an impromptu chat when Bill Clinton learned from agents that Lynch would be on the tarmac at the same time as him. However Lynch's own actions are now under official scrutiny by the Senate Judiciary Committee after Comey revealed she had ordered the FBI to call its Clinton email probe 'a matter', not an investigation. Trump's tweet followed a flurry of attacks and complaints. Trump had told Americans Wednesday in a national address that the country is 'strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good' and asked them to remember that everyone in the nation's capitol is there out of love of country. President Trump called Hillary Clinton 'Crooked H' again, as he fought back against the Washington Post report that the special counsel was looking into whether he tried to obstruct justice WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT OBSTRUCTION: President Trump revived campaign attacks on Hillary Clinton, then asked: 'they talk about obstruction?' His attack on his defeated rival who has pointed to Russia, Comey, and a variety of factors for her defeat comes less than a day after Trump issued a call for unity following the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.). 'We may have our differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in our nation's capital is here because above all they love our country,' Trump said Wednesday at the White House. 'We can all agree that we are blessed to be Americans. That our children deserve to grow up in a nation of safety and peace. That we are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good.' In another tweet Thursday morning, Trump called the investigation into possible Russian collusion a 'witch hunt' led by 'bad people.' Trump's attack that Clinton 'bleached' her emails was a reference to her use of BleachBit, an open source software to delete emails she considered private. His mention of her destroying phones was a reference to information, gleaned FBI documents released in September, than an aide destroyed two Clinton mobile phones that were no longer being used with a hammer. SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES: Donald Trump, 2016 Republican presidential nominee, speaks during the third U.S. presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton celebrates her nomination following the completion of the DNC on July 28, 2016 in Philadelphia. President Trump resurrected his 2016 attack on her online Thursday Trump went after Clinton for her email practices during the second presidential debate in October where he also said he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate her. 'The thing that you should be apologizing for are the 33,000 e-mails that you deleted and that you acid washed,' Trump said. 'You delete 33,000 e-mails. And then you acid wash them, or bleach them, as you would saya very expensive process,'Trump said. President Trump attacked his 2016 rival a day after it was reported that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe was looking at possible obstruction of justice Sen. Charles Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced Thursday his panel would probe both possible obstruction of justice and Lynch's meeting with Bill Clinton. Trump's White House contended Thursday afternoon that Trump did not fire the first shots and is not responsible for the return of gutter politics. 'I think there's been quite a bit of attacking against the president. I think he was responding to those specific accusations,' spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told a reporter who asked about Trump's tone. Huckabee Sanders said Trump had apparently taken steps on Wednesday to encourage more respectful behavior and is using his agenda to bring about unity. The Republican president has taken many steps to reach out to Democrats, she said, and will continue to reach across the aisle. Trump's spokeswoman rebuffed a reporter who asked about charges from legislators that he bears some responsibility for the hyper partisan atmosphere in the nation's Capitol that has reverberated across America. 'I think the president was extremely clear yesterday where he thought the rhetoric should lie. I'm not sure how you would say that he should own responsibility,' she replied. Confronted with Trump's comments this morning in his tweets, Huckabee Sanders said, it was incumbent on the entire nation to bring down heat in political debates - and not just the president. 'I think as a whole our country certainly could bring the temperature down a little bit. I think that was the goal that the president laid out yesterday,' he said. The White House spokeswoman went on to argue that Trump was doing just that with an agenda that 'helps empower all of America.' Trump lashed out at The Washington Post on Thursday, after the storied newspaper claimed Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller has widened his Russia probe to examine whether the president attempted to obstruct justice. President Donald Trump lashed out on Thursday against a 'phony' Washington Post story and the 'witch hunt' that he says is fueling it This new tentacle of the year-long FBI investigation, now being handled by Mueller, unfolded days after FBI Director James Comey was fired by Trump on May 9, according to the Post. But Trump is hearing none of it, claiming that journalists are creating fake news to up the ante on a fake investigation. 'They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice,' he wrote on Twitter. 'You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA,' Trump added in a second tweet. Special Counsel Robert Mueller (left) is reportedly looking into whether Trump (right) obstructed justice, as his Russia probe expands Comey testified last Thursday that he believed he was axed as a way to trip-up the Russia probe saying, 'It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation. I was fired, in some way, to change or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.' Comey also said Trump had pushed him to stop looking into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go,' Trump said, according to Comey. Now Mueller's team wants to talk to others who were reportedly pressured by Trump on the issue. Five sources told the Post that Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, NSA Director Mike Rogers and his ex-deputy Richard Ledgett agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's investigators. The sit-downs could come as early as this week, the Post said. The interviews suggest that Mueller, an ex-FBI chief himself, sees the 'he said, he said,' currently going on between Comey and Trump to be a bigger deal than just that, one of the Post's sources said. The NSA told the paper it will 'fully cooperate with the special counsel,' while the office of the Director of National Intelligence and Ledgett declined to comment. 'The FBI leak regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable, and illegal,' a spokesman for Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz said. The statement didn't challenge the accuracy of the Post's report. But former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a pointed Trump defender, tweeted that Mueller 'is now clearly the tip of the deep state spear aimed at destroying or at a minimum undermining and crippling the Trump presidency.' 'Deep state' refers to some conservatives' belief that a group of malicious actors within the government itself is conspiring to work at cross purposes with its leader. The FBI probe was originally supposed to examine Russian meddling during the 2016 election, but had already expanded to looking into whether there was coordination between the Russians and the Trump campaign. Comey's public admission of the latter, on March 20 before the House Intelligence Committee, rattled Trump and he asked the then-FBI director to make it clear publicly that the president wasn't personally under investigation. Comey refused. Trump defender Newt Gingrich, a former Speaker of the House, said special counsel Mueller is part of a 'deep state' intent on damaging the president Trump then went to Coats and Rogers, making the same request. Officials told the Post that Mueller is interested in conversations that took place on March 22, when Coats was less than a week on the job. Coats was at the White House attending a briefing when Trump asked him, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, to hold back. Coats told the Post's sources that the president had requested that he ask Comey to get the FBI to back off of the investigation into Trump's ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. A day or two later, Trump called Coats, and also Rogers, and asked them to say publicly that there was no coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. The Post previously reported these exchanges, including that Trump's request was doubly denied. Ledgett's involvement is unclear, though the Post's sources say he penned an internal NSA memo documenting Trump's call with Rogers. When speaking before Congress last week, Coats said he never felt 'pressured' when interacting with the president. Rogers said he wasn't 'pressured' either. 'In the three-plus years that I have been the director of the National Security Agency, to the best of my recollection, I have never been directed to do anything I believed to be illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate,' he told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee last Wednesday. Neither official would say whether Trump made the ask. That's a question that Mueller's team can ask, and that Coats and Rogers likely can't escape from in the long run. Even though the White House can invoke executive privilege, the Supreme Court ruled during Watergate that government officials can't use privilege if they're withholding evidence in a criminal prosecution. Dr. Matthew Kreth, Pediatric Pulmonologist at Childrens Hospital at Erlanger, will lead a discussion about drowning verses dry drowning and pool safety this Thursday. He will answer questions and discuss current events with dry drowning"Dry drowning refers to a rare phenomenon from delayed physical reaction to inhaling water. It occurs when a patient breathes water into their lungs; the water then affects the lungs ability to properly inflate causing edema and swelling as the body attempts to fight the foreign substance.The symptoms usually appear between one and 24 hours after the incident and can appear as a mild, non-life-threatening issue. About 1-2% of all drowning deaths are deemed dry drowning. Symptoms include cough, trouble breathing, fever, and audible crackling in the chest. Coughing alone is not a symptom."Drowning is the third most common cause of accidental death in the U.S. Most drowning deaths are preventable with pool safety measures such as fencing to secure the pool area and adult vigilance," officials said. President Donald Trump visited the Supreme Court on Thursday for the first time since taking office to attend a ceremony for Neil Gorsuch, the justice he appointed, as the court mulls what to do with his blocked ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. The president and first lady Melania Trump were present in the marble-clad courthouse for an investiture ceremony formally welcoming Gorsuch to the top U.S. court. Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as a justice in April and authored his first ruling last week in a debt-collection case. Scroll down for video PROUD PRESIDENT: President Donald Trump (left) stands alongside new Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch (right), Trump's first appointment to the nation's highest court President Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined a photo with the justices of the Supreme Court, including new Justice Neil Gorsuch and his wife Louise President Trump (left) is photographed signing the Supreme Court's guest book with first lady Melania Trump (right) by his side Melania Trump (left), who just moved to Washington, appeared with President Trump (right) at the Supreme Court today President Trump poses with the Supreme Court: (from left) Justices Elena Kagan, Samuel Alito, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, Chief Justice John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor New Associate Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch (left) poses on the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington with his wife Louise (right) Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who President Trump nominated in the early days of his presidency, gives a squeeze to his wife Louise in front of the stories building The couple was photographed outside the Supreme Court in Washington after Justice Neil Gorsuch's investiture ceremony New Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch (left) was sworn into the Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts (right), who had been appointed by Republican George W. Bush Justices Neil Gorsuch (left) and John Roberts (right) are seen walking down the Supreme Court steps in Washington on Thursday The confirmation of Neil Gorsuch (left) marks the first appointment President Trump made on the Supreme Court, while Chief Justice John Roberts was appointed by the last GOP president Trump sat near the front of the ornate, burgundy-draped courtroom as Chief Justice John Roberts offered him and the first lady a 'warm welcome' in opening remarks. The president sat quietly as Roberts administered the judicial oath to Gorsuch and joined the crowd in applauding Gorsuch, smiling broadly. In appointing Gorsuch, Trump restored the court's 5-4 conservative majority. Trump did not speak at the event. Other notable figures at the ceremony included several members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and attorneys general during George W. Bush's presidency, including John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales. Also attending was Kenneth Starr, the former independent counsel who investigated Bill Clinton during his presidency. A special counsel examining whether Trump's presidential campaign team colluded with Russia in the 2016 election is now investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice. Trump's travel ban is now before the justices after being blocked by lower courts. In deciding whether to allow the travel ban to go into effect, the justices are set to weigh whether Trump's election campaign rhetoric can be used as evidence that the March 6 order was intended to discriminate against Muslims in violation of the Constitution. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign called for a 'total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.' The court is currently considering an emergency request from Trump's administration seeking to put the travel ban into effect while litigation continues. Federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii blocked Trump's 90-day ban on travelers from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The Hawaii judge also blocked a 120-day ban on refugees entering the United States. The injunctions blocking the ban were upheld on appeal. Trump was able to make the appointment of Gorsuch only because the Republican-led Senate last year refused to consider former President Barack Obama's nominee to the court, Merrick Garland. Khalid Masood died after killing five people after driving car into pedestrians in London A shocking BBC documentary showing hospital staff realise Westminster killer Khalid Masood has just died on a stretcher is set to be aired next week. The extraordinary footage, filmed in a London hospital, shows victims being treated and discussing what they remember during the terrorist attack, which took place on March 22. Five people died in the rampage, which saw Masood drive at pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing Pc Keith Palmer in the grounds of the Palace of Westminster. The 52-year-old attacker was then shot by armed police and was the first casualty to arrive at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, where he was pronounced dead. A camera crew filming series two of the BBC Two documentary Hospital were at St Mary's and captured the fatally wounded Masood being stretchered in. Shortly after his arrival, a member of staff is heard saying: 'The first one is RIP.' The episode tracks the progress of three people injured during the attack in the capital Throughout the dramatic programme, doctors are seen working hard to save peoples' lives The episode also tracks the progress of three people injured during the attack - two French teenagers on a school trip, and a 40-year-old British man who was on a birthday excursion in the capital. Simon Dickson of programme maker Label1, said of the decision to include the attacker: 'He's part of the story, and his appearance in the film is as you see it. 'It's brief, but his arrival is a key part of the day, and that is fully reflected in the way that scene is handled.' Masood's family were not consulted about showing him, and his face is blurred out in the footage. One medic looks shocked after receiving news from another member of staff at St Mary's BBC Two controller Patrick Holland said: 'The decision was made to treat him in exactly the same way, from the point of view of the hospital. 'That's where we're seeing him, that's where the audience is being allowed to see this incident unfold, he's the first casualty that comes to the hospital and we followed the same protocol that we do with any other patient which is that if they don't consent, you blur them.' The Hospital camera crew were just two or three days into recording the new series, which follows the Imperial College Healthcare Trust, when a meeting being filmed at St Mary's was interrupted by news of the attack. Staff at the hospital, one of London's 'major trauma centres', are seen quickly putting a major incident plan into place as they prepare to receive the first casualties. Two victims are filmed discussing what they remembered during the attack on March 22 The other patient says 'yes, little bits', remembering the car on the pavement and a 'big shock' He adds that he remembers having blood in his eyes and not being able to see anything The student jokingly adds 'Your new look is working for you' to his friend during the discussion All non-emergency surgery is cancelled, and doctors must decide which existing patients are well enough to be transferred to another hospital to free up beds. Dr Alison Sanders, clinical director at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: 'When a major incident happens, within 12 minutes the entire hospital has kicked into a completely different way of working, and obviously, subsequently we've had to do that twice more since this programme was made (with the London Bridge attack and the Grenfell Tower fire). 'It just demonstrates, that's something that won't be unique to us, it's a countrywide ability of the NHS to step up on top of what is already huge pressure.' She added: 'We have to do something entirely different with zero notice, and you see everybody just switch into it, and then the following day we have to go back to normal because the work is still building up, the ambulances will still be coming in, as soon as we open the doors again, the floodgates open.' Reid Comita, 15, died Monday afternoon while on a backpacking trip at Buffalo Trial Scout Ranch in West Texas A Texas teenager collapsed and died while on a backpacking trip with his Boy Scout troop. Reid Comita, 15, was a student at Central High School in Keller, North Texas and ran into problems while out hiking. It's believed the young man, who was an experienced Scout and who had almost reached Eagle Scout status, died from heat stroke on Monday afternoon. 'It was awful. I mean, it was awful,' said Reid's father, John Comita to NBC Dallas. 'I'm grateful. I'm grateful for all of them. The Scouting community is fantastic,' he said, not wanting to lay blame as his son's peers or scout leaders. The teenager collapsed while out hiking in 100-degree weather and suffered heat stroke Reid's father, John Comita, pictured here on the left, has spoken of his heartbreak at losing his son but says he does not blame the scouting colleagues that his son was with at the time 'A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent,' Reid's dad said. 'He was all those.' 'Please remember him in your thoughts and prayers. Pray for my family for strength and remember Reid as a loving caring young man. He hated no one and saw the best on everyone. A smart loving young man gone too early with so much to offer,' his dad wrote on Facebook. Reid collapsed at the Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch, where the temperature Sunday reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit. 'Reid was a loving caring young man. He hated no one and saw the best on everyone. A smart loving young man gone too early with so much to offer,' wrote his father, John, on Facebook The hikers were in the Davis Mountains where ambulances and other rescue crews could not reach him so other guides attempted CPR on him for more than an hour-and-a-half. His parents are still awaiting autopsy results for the exact cause of death. Reid was on a trip to get a badge that would boost him to Eagle Scout rank. A woman claims a United Airlines employee intentionally kicked her in the head to wake her up while she was sleeping in a Houston airport chapel. Lindsey Urbani was waiting for a connecting flight when she decided to take a nap in a nondenominational chapel at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport on Saturday night, KPRC reports. 'I was woken up by someone kicking me in the head. I immediately got up and asked the person why he had did that,' she told the news station on Thursday. Scroll down for video Lindsey Urbani was sleeping in a chapel at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport on Saturday night when she claims she was assaulted by a United Airlines employee She claims the United employee told her she couldn't sleep there, before he set out his prayer rug and began praying. When she confronted him again about the alleged assault, Urbani claims the employee said: 'He didn't want me to miss my flight.' Urbani was en route from San Francisco to Belize for a 10-day trip when the incident occurred. She said the employee refused to give his name and she only managed to take several photographs of the back of him as he left the chapel. 'I have horrible anxiety. I'm not sleeping. I feel completely violated,' she said in an interview from her hotel room in Belize. 'It's honestly ruined my trip. This is all I've been doing the whole time.' She said the employee refused to give his name when she confronted him. She only managed to take several photographs of the back of him as he left the chapel Urbani said she had flown in from San Francisco on Saturday night and decided to sleep in the chapel while she waiting for her connecting flight to Belize early on Sunday United Airlines said in a statement the employee (above) had been suspended while they investigated the allegations Urbani has since filed a police report and hired an attorney. United Airlines said in a statement that they had spoken to Urbani and were investigating. 'We are very concerned by the experience she shared with us. We are urgently reviewing the matter to further understand what happened. The employee has been suspended while we review the incident.' The allegations are the latest in a string of incidents that have plagued the airline. Footage emerged on Wednesday of a United Airlines customer service representative pushing a 71-year-old man to the ground and knocking him unconscious in the same airport. The elderly man, who is now suing over the 2015 incident, had asked a question about his boarding pass. Two months ago, witnesses recorded the moment a 69-year-old man was dragged off a United flight to make room for crew. Police have released the custody mugshot of a talented horse rider and aspiring model who was jailed for two years after being a getaway driver for a 700,000 car theft gang. Kirstie Covele, 18, was behind the wheel during 13 of 33 burglaries which were carried out in just two months last summer. The group managed to steal a range of vehicles including a number of Mercedes, BMWs and Audis which amounted to 696,500. They often wore 'skeleton' or ski masks when they raided the homes across Kent and south east London armed with screwdrivers. Kirstie Covele, 18, (pictured left and right) is a talented horserider and was hoping to compete at the next Olympics. Police have now released her mugshot The teenager (pictured) was a keen horserider and wanted to compete at the next Olympic Games Miss Covele, a talented horserider, later triggered automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras as she travelled in convoy with the stolen vehicles. She told police after her arrest that although she drove her co-defendants around, she did not know of their criminal activity, and was simply paid petrol money. Maidstone Crown Court in Kent heard that the gang of eight - mostly teenagers and some aged just 15 at the time - targeted the homes while the occupiers were asleep. After stealing car keys, the gang would then make off with the vehicles to be either sold on with false plates, stripped of parts or burnt out. Police later found video footage of one of the vehicles on fire in a field - a Mercedes worth 40,000 and stolen from Petts Wood in Kent - on the phone of one of the thieves. Father-of-three Thomas Ripley, 21, was described as the 'controlling mind' of the organised enterprise and involved in 21 break-ins and thefts. He was jailed for five years Freddie Friend, 17, of Orpington (left), 16-year-old Harry Turner (right), of Northfleet, admitted conspiracy to burgle Jack Hever, 20, (left) was sentenced to three years' youth custody. Charlie Parker, 16, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal The court heard they were paid 1,500 to be shared between them for each car stolen between June 12 and August 14 last year. Several break-ins would be committed in one night, with some residents having two cars stolen off their driveways. The gang even had the audacity to target one road on two consecutive nights. Former agricultural college student Covele, of Orpington, looked stunned as she was sentenced to two years in a young offenders' institution on Monday after admitting conspiracy to steal. Father-of-three Thomas Ripley, 21, was described as the 'controlling mind' of the organised enterprise and involved in 21 break-ins and thefts. He was jailed for five years. Ripley, of St Mary Cray, Kent, together with Jack Hever, 20, and Freddie Friend, 17, of Orpington and 16-year-old Harry Turner, of Northfleet, admitted conspiracy to burgle. Apprentice engineer Hever was sentenced to three years' youth custody, Friend was given a two-year detention and training order, and Turner was sentenced to an 18-month detention and training order. Shannon Kelynack, 19, of Orpington, Charlie Parker, 16, of Orpington, and a 16-year-old girl who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal. Kelynack was given two years' youth custody and Parker was sentenced to a 12-month detention and training order. The teenage girl was not at court today as she was sitting a GCSE exam. She will be sentenced tomorrow. Covele (pictured) was caught by police when her car triggered automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras as she travelled in convoy with the stolen vehicles The court heard the burglaries were carried out in Bexley, Bexleyheath, Petts Wood, Orpington, Swanley, West Kingsdown, Otford, Dartford, Hartley, Strood, Higham and Larkfield. Sentencing the seven gang members, Judge Adele Williams said the burglaries 'bore the hallmarks' of professional crime. She said: 'Tools were used to gain access and many of the householders were asleep in their homes. 'I have read victim personal statements and they make plain not surprisingly how badly affected they have been by these crimes, with feelings of violation of their homes as well as the financial loss and inconvenience they have suffered. 'The houses were targeted for their high-value cars. They were disposed of either in their entirety or for their parts. Miss Covele (pictured) told police after her arrest that although she drove her co-defendants around 'I have no doubt there were those higher up the chain who were older and more sophisticated criminals than you, but each of you played your part in this criminality.' Shannon Revel, prosecuting, said the eight defendants were identified through mobile phone data and ANPR cameras. She said: 'A total of 33 burglaries were committed over a two-month period and had the same key elements. 'In groups of two or more, they broke into residential properties and in the majority the residents were at home in the early hours of the morning. 'They stole cars ranging from Vauxhall Astras to Mercedes and BMWs, driving them away. 'They then saw one of two fates - number plates were changed and attempts to scratch off the identification numbers were made, and then sold on. 'A small number were destroyed - smashed up and set alight. Tools were used to enter the properties. Some of the defendants wore masks and gloves.' Covele was described as a hugely ambitious young woman who aimed to compete at the next Olympics. Sam Thomas, defending, said she became involved with the gang at a time of 'trauma, distress and stress' as her father was dying from motor neurone disease. Former agricultural college student Covele (pictured), of Orpington, looked stunned as she was sentenced to two years on Monday Maidstone Crown Court in Kent (pictured) heard that the gang of eight - mostly teenagers - targeted the homes while the occupiers were asleep She currently works on a voluntary basis at a livery based in Orpington. Kelynack was driving a Fiat Punto with Ripley, Hever and two of the 16-year-olds as passengers. The Mercedes keys were found under a seat, as well as a large screwdriver, ski mask and gloves. Kelynack - like Covele - acted as a driver in 13 of the burglaries. Her barrister, Daniel Darnborough, said it was a reflection of her naivety and lack of criminal sophistication that she had used her own car. A court order banning the naming of those under 18 was lifted by Judge Williams, except in the case of the 16-year-old girl. She said there was a 'strong interest' in the public knowing about the crimes, including the identities of those involved. A Texas woman who was arrested in late May on suspicion of driving while intoxicated was taken to jail with a loaded gun hidden inside her bra, which police officers had failed to find during a frisk search. The incident took place on May 29 in Austin, but police only addressed the discovery of the gun at the Travis County Jail on Tuesday. Austin Interim Police chief Brian Manley said the department has launched an internal affairs investigation to determine how the officers missed the gun in the suspect's undergarment during her arrest. A woman was arrested in Austin on May 29 on suspicion of DUI and was booked into the Travis County Jail (pictured), where a corrections officer found a loaded gun hidden in her bra We have training and protocols to address the appropriate techniques of frisking and searching suspects, Manley told the Austin American Statesman. The dangers posed by missing a weapon on a suspect cannot be overstated. Zachary Khabir Anam, 19, died after shooting himself in the head with a gun that police had apparently missed during his shoplifting arrest When the female motorist was booked into the county jail at around 6.30am on May 29, a corrections officer discovered the loaded firearm while performing a routine search. The weapon was then handed over to the police. The suspect has not been identified as of Thursday afternoon. The incident came five months after 19-year-old Zachary Khabir Anam fatally shot himself in the back of an Austin police cruiser after officers who arrested him for shoplifting at a mall apparently missed his gun. In the wake of May's botched patdown in the DUI case, all Austin police officers were reminded of the importance of conducting thorough searches of suspects during arrests. A US Coast Guard cutter has brought approximately 18 tons of seized cocaine to San Diego. The drugs brought ashore Thursday from the cutter Waesche were seized by the crews of eight Coast Guard cutters in the Eastern Pacific from late March through this month. The Coast Guard says it has been focusing personnel and resources on known drug transit zones in the Pacific during the last two years. The amount of drugs seized would fetch over $440million if sold wholesale in the United States, according to Business Insider. On March 28, the USCG cutter James delivered 16 tons of seized cocaine worth $420million wholesale to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The illicit cargo was seized in 17 separate raids on smugglers in international waters of the eastern Pacific off Central and South America shores. A US Coast Guard cutter has brought approximately 18 tons of seized cocaine to San Diego US and Canadian coastal defense vessels cooperated in the interdictions. The seizure mission, conducted over 26 days, was code-named operation 'HITRON,' for helicopter, interception, and tactical squadron. 'With this ship, we're capable of owning the night,' cutter James captain Mark J. Fedor told reporters at a dockside press conference in remarks relayed on Twitter. Captain Keith Gavin, who oversees the helicopter squadron, said they average about 12 interdictions a month. 'As I like to say, unfortunately, business is good for us. And I wish it wasnt,' said Gavin according to CBS Miami. The drugs brought ashore Thursday from the cutter Waesche were seized by the crews of eight Coast Guard cutters in the Eastern Pacific from late March through this month The Coast Guard says it has been focusing personnel and resources on known drug transit zones in the Pacific during the last two years On March 28, the USCG cutter James delivered 16 tons of seized cocaine worth $420million wholesale to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida The illicit cargo was seized in 17 separate raids on smugglers in international waters of the eastern Pacific off Central and South America shores Four American vessels and one Canadian ship took part in the operations that led to the massive seizures. The cutter James and its helicopter squad conducted five seizures totaling 5.2 tons of cocaine. The Mohawk raided seven ships, netting 5.8 tons of cocaine, and the Tampa seized three tons from three interdictions. The cutter Sherman and the HMCS Saskatoon, carrying a USCG interdiction team, each had one case and seized about a ton each. 'Our persistent maritime presence in drug trafficking zones from cutters like James enables us to interdict bulk quantities of drugs at sea, preventing criminal networks illicit cargoes from reaching the shores of Central America, and land routes into the United States,' Coast Guard Vice Admiral Karl Schultz told CBS Miami. In December, Coast Guard forces brought in 26 tons of seized cocaine to Port Everglades. The cutter Hamilton was covered in pallets of the drugs in that case, which had to be unloaded with a crane. The family of an unarmed black man who was shot dead by a white Oklahoma cop last year have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both the officer and the city of Tulsa. The lawsuit, filed by the family of Terence Crutcher, seeks at least $75,000 in damages from the city and from Officer Betty Jo Shelby, who was acquitted of manslaughter by jurors last month. The lawsuit acknowledges the dangers faced by police, but says they 'did not constitute cause for Officer Shelby to become Terence's "judge, jury, and executioner."' Scroll down for video Slain: The family of Terence Crutcher (left) are suing Officer Betty Jo Shelby (right) and the city of Tulsa after she shot him dead last year. The are asking for compensation and wide reforms Unarmed: Crutcher (seen here after being shot) was unarmed when Shelby killed him in September. She said she was scared for her life even though he was walking away, hands up As well as demanding money, the suit calls for widespread reform in the Tulsa police department. That includes mandatory training for police officers on managing suspects with mental health or substance abuse issues, as well as mandatory activation of dash cameras during encounters. It also calls for independent investigations conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and independent prosecutions of Tulsa police shootings by Oklahoma's attorney general. The suit, made out in Crutcher's name, says that police do no have 'a license... to "shoot first and ask questions later," without properly evaluating the need for such force.' The suit comes after Shelby's May 17 acquittal. Two days later the 43-year-old officer was reinstated by Police Chief Chuck Jordan, although she won't be allowed on street patrol while an internal affairs investigation continues. Shelby had been on unpaid leave since September 22, six days after the shooting, when prosecutors charged her. Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said Shelby had overreacted. He argued that Crutcher, 40, had his hands in the air and wasn't combative - part of which was confirmed by police video that showed him walking away from Shelby with his hands above his head. Demands: Crutcher's family want $75,000 in compensation, as well as better training for cops, mandatory dashcam use, and different tactics when dealing with the mentally ill or drug users PCP: An autopsy found PCP in Crutcher's system, and a vial of the drug was found in his car. Shelby was acquitted of manslaughter in May, and was immediately put back on duty Shelby had said she fired her weapon during the September 16 encounter out of fear because Crutcher ignored her commands to lie down and kept reaching into his pockets. Shelby said she fired the fatal shot when Crutcher appeared to reach inside his stalled SUV for what she thought was a gun. While a vial of PCP was found in his car and some of the drug in his system, no weapon was found on Crutcher or in his vehicle. Shelby's swift return to the force prompted one minister to call it 'a slap in the face.' Around 100 protesters gathered outside the courthouse the night jurors returned the verdict, marched for several blocks and briefly blocked a street before peacefully dispersing about an hour later. 'Fear': Shelby (pictured) said she feared for her life and thought Crutcher might be reaching for a weapon. The lawsuit says the danger to police doesn't give them the right to be executioners Crutcher's family and some black community leaders called the verdict a setback to racial relations in Tulsa. The city has yet to fully heal from a 1921 race riot that killed 300 black residents, injured thousands more and burned a thriving business district to the ground. On the day of Shelby's reinstatement, the foreman of the jury that acquitted her said in a public court filing that if Shelby had thought to use her stun gun before Crutcher reached his SUV, the decision 'could have saved his life.' 'Many on the jury could never get comfortable with the concept of Betty Shelby being blameless for Mr Crutcher's death,' the foreman wrote. The jurors didn't identify themselves in the memo filed in court. Advertisement Poignant messages have been left on a makeshift memorial at the site of the Grenfell Tower blaze, as distraught friends and relatives still seek information about missing loved ones more than 48 hours after the tragic fire. The Wall of Hope has been visited by thousands in the last two days, and is now a place for those confused and upset by the events of Wednesday to pour out their grief and anger. Community members and visitors have written their messages to demand answers or to find those they have not seen since the flames took hold on Wednesday morning. The wall shows the mixture of grief and anger the community feels after fire spread rapidly through the building, which housed some of the capital's poorest people. The wall's messages stem from grief as people pen 'rest in peace to their loved ones' and branch into fury, demanding justice for Grenfell'. One person called for those responsible to be jailed, another says it should never happen again, while one says the council should have listened. In between the message of anger are desperate searches for those still missing. One person wrote that she did not know why her loved ones were not answering her calls, but she would never give up. A multi-faith service is to be held in the grounds of St John's Church, Notting Hill church at 9.30pm tonight. A woman takes a moment to reflect as she touches a missing poster on the Wall of Hope, set up near the Grenfell fire site A woman in a headscarf stands beside the hundreds of messages left by residents and members of the community in Grenfell, as grief turns quickly to anger and demands for justice A woman writes a tribute on a wall as she stands carefully over floral and candle tributes that have been left to remember those who died. At least 30 have died, including one in hospital A woman clutches her face as she reads the messages outside the Latymer Community Church. One person hung a wicker heart in tribute to one of the dead Photos of the missing have been posted on a wall of condolence set up to remember those who died in the tower block fire. This one asks for information about Mariem Elgwahry, who was on the 19th floor when the tragedy struck. A handwritten message above it reads 'she didn't deserve this' More than 70 people - including a six-month-old baby - are still unaccounted for after the fire moved up the 24-storey building. These desperate messages ask for word of Amal and her daughter, as well as several others, who are missing. Another message reads 'Stay strong west London, our hearts are with you', while several have written 'Rest in Peace' A family member has left their number of a picture of missing Marjorie Vital, a 68-year-old woman who lived on the 19th floor. The tribute wall contains a mixture of messages of peace as well as a demand for justice as grief turns to anger Locals continued to visit the site today, reading messages left by others, paying their respects and writing their thoughts Pictured: An angry message among the poignant tributes to those lost in the Grenfell Tower fire calls for criminal prosecution for those behind the blunders that caused the blaze. Messages around the call read 'don't ever let it happen again' while another added 'we are praying for you' An angry message warns Prime Minister Theresa May to stay away, while another asks if council officials will take ownership of the tragedy After Theresa May's shambolic visit to the site, one has written 'Teresa [sic] May, where are you, your people voted you in' Pictured: One angry residents slams the tower's landlords - Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) - as 'criminals'. One person even made the journey from Manchester to leave a message on the wall Pictured: This message simply demands 'justice' as other people pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the blaze. Another added 'the council should have listened' and one added: 'they had no chance' Pictured: One resident compared the circumstances surrounding the community's loss, to the class divide in the Titanic. The message reads: 'I remember watching the film Titanic when I was younger and thinking "wow, I can't believe that they put the poor people at the bottom of the ship without life jackets and life boats to save them". This feels like the housing equivalent Pictured: The tribute wall is covered with poignant messages from the loved ones of those killed and still missing after the fire. Around the words 'Pray for our community' are tributes like 'our loss is heaven's gain' and 'May Allah grant you paradise'. Another wrote 'God rest your precious souls. Rest in eternal peace' why other ask 'why, why, why' Tributes have been left to family members, including one who wrote: 'My lovely Nadia and Mierna Fatima. I don't know why you are not answering my calls but I am not giving up, Sonia x'. Another wrote: 'You are in our hearts, minds and prayers. May the Lord give you all peace and comfort, we're praying for you all' Messages read 'Love and blessing to west London' while some simply wrote 'I am so sorry'. The name 'Nadia' was written in a heart, while another said 'we miss you, Jess and Alex' 'Never lose hope for our resistance is and always will be beautiful' wrote one. People from Leicester have travelled to help and to leave their words, while another drew a box representation of the town as a reminder of what had been home for hundreds of people just days ago Pray for our community: Missing posters surround tributes and rest in peace messages. One has written: 'RIP Roy and Marley, love and miss you dearly'. Another has written 'You will be remembered' The multi-cultural community of Grenfell is shown in the messages, which have been left by members of the Muslim and the Christian community. One wrote: 'What a wonderful response to a horrible tragedy. May we continue to give so that no one is in lack. This is the kingdom of Jesus Christ'. It sits alongside messages in Arabic and prayers to Allah In one defiant message, a resident wrote 'bonds formed in fire are difficult to break - our community will always stand together'. Another wrote: 'No words can truly describe the pain, the fear, the sense of being lost - only emotion to be felt - the heart felt prayers of the whole world are here and with time, peace will heal and reunite loved ones' One person left a message saying 'High Wycombe is praying for you' as people travel from far and wide to offer their help and donations to the relief effort. Another added: 'You broke my beautiful heart, I love all of you' In some, grief has turned to an outpouring of anger, in this post, which reads: 'Fire hose taken out, no fire alarms, no sprinklers, key fobs not working, no fire exits - this was a tragedy that did not need to happen in the UK's richest borough!' Another adds: 'Counsil [sic] you have blood on your hands' One well-wisher wrote 'May Allah grant you all the highest place in Jannah, Inshallah.' Another wrote: 'May the Lord be with you and cause his light to shine upon you' while another posted 'bless and courage for all' Messages have become a mix of tributes and calls for justice with one person saying the fire people feel is the fire of God. Another has written 'I watched your beautiful souls in the fire becoming the spiritual beings' Ignoring commands to sit, stay or fetch, it seemed as though Caleb the German shepherd was untrainable. But it turned out staff at his animal shelter had been, well, barking up the wrong tree. The four-year-old was perfectly capable of understanding commands as long as they were in Polish. Caleb the German Shepherd is looking for an owner who can speak Polish, according to Dogs Trust The four-year-old is perfectly capable of understanding commands as long as they are in Polish Now the Dogs Trust shelter in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, is hoping to find a bilingual owner to give Caleb a home. Caleb was given to the trust three months ago because his owners, who had trained him in their native Polish, could not look after him. Polish-born Mariusz Budz was asked to spend time with Caleb, and a remarkable video showed the dog obeying commands in Polish but ignoring their English equivalents. Caleb has started to learn some basic commands in English, but the trust are hoping someone who speaks the language will adopt him. The trust have said that Caleb could live with older teenagers aged 14 years or above but would prefer to be the only dog in the home. Sandra Foulds, of the trust, said: 'When Caleb first arrived, we thought that his lack of response to training commands was due to a change in his environment and him adjusting to life in kennels. 'But once we figured out it was the language barrier holding him back, theres no stopping him when hes being spoken to in Polish and hes really keen to show off his tricks. 'We have started saying commands in English to try and teach Caleb to recognise words like sit and stay but it is taking time. Caleb was given to the trust three months ago because his owners, who had trained him in their native Polish, could not look after him Caleb has started to learn some basic commands in English, but the trust are hoping someone who speaks the language will adopt him 'We repeat the commands but Caleb is much more comfortable following instructions in Polish.' She added: 'Caleb is an adorable boy and loves toys. He enjoys the company of people and will happily play with you if you have a ball. 'Like all our dogs when they become ready to find new families, we want Caleb to go to a loving home - although in this case, it would be a bonus if they can speak Polish.' Anyone wishing to offer Caleb a new home can call the Rehoming Centre on 0300 303 0292. Auditions for the comedy "Lost In Yonkers" by Neil Simon will be held on June 18-19 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Back Alley Productions. Registration will take place in the lobby. No acting experience is necessary. Performances will be Aug. 18, 19, 20, 25 and 26. The play will be directed by Ronald King. Summary: Brooklyn, 1942, Evelyn Kurnitz has just died following a lengthy illness. Her husband, Eddie Kurnitz, needs to take a job as a traveling salesman to pay off the medical bills incurred, and decides to ask his stern and straight talking mother, from whom he is slightly estranged, if his two early-teen sons, Jay and Arty (who their Grandma insists on calling by their full given names, Jacob and Arthur, which she pronounces "Yakob" and "Artur"), can live with her and their Aunt Bella Kurnitz in Yonkers. JAY - 16 ARTY - 13 1/2 EDDIE - their father, 41 BELLA - mid-thirties, neat and sweet and pretty GRANDMA KURNITZ - Eddie and Bella's mother, a big woman, buxom, with a strong and erect body, 70 odd years of age LOUIE - her other son, 36, doesn't look like he'd be the hugging type AUNT GERT - mid-to-late thirties, another of Grandma Kurnitz's children Student loan debt in the UK has soared to more than 100billion for the first time, as rising tuition fees take their toll. Figures from the Student Loans Company show outstanding debt on loans has rocketed by almost 17 per cent in a single year. Yesterday experts said the total is set to double to 200billion in six years and already dwarfs the nations credit card debt. It comes after Jeremy Corbyn made a bid to win over young voters by pledging in his election manifesto to scrap tuition fees for new and current students. Total student debt is set to double to 200billion in six years and already dwarfs the nation's credit and debit card debt He also told NME magazine he wanted to reduce and ameliorate debt held by those who have already graduated. Any writing off of fees and debt would be funded by the taxpayer. Nick Hillman, head of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said: Those politicians who promised to abolish past and present fees will be pleased this huge figure was delayed until after the general election, as this is the financial hole they need to fill. Even without Mr Corbyns plans, much of this sum will end up being paid by the taxpayer anyway, because student debts are written off after 30 years. This means that while high-earning graduates will make big contributions to paying back the public debt, middle to low-earning graduates will never earn enough to fully repay it. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) pledged to scrap tuition fees for new current students in the party's election manifesto Mr Hillman added: A total debt of 100 billion is massive. This is a significant moment. The total will keep on growing until those students paying 9,000 fees start making significant repayments much later in their careers. The figures show outstanding debt on loans rose by 16.6 per cent to 100.5billion at the end of March, up from 86.2billion a year earlier. At the end of March, there were 6.4million borrowers, 3.9million of whom had accounts liable to be paid. Jake Butler, of money advice website Save the Student, said: Lots of prospective and current university students will see these figures and worry about being part of an increasing pool of graduate debt. The rise has been driven partly by rules introduced in 2012, which will allow universities in England to charge up to 9,250 a year in tuition fees from the autumn. In the year to March 31, 2012, student debt was just 45.9billion. The figures from the Student Loan Company show outstanding debt on loans rose by 16.6 per cent to 100.5billion at the end of March, up from 86.2billion a year earlier Sebastian Burnside, a senior economist at NatWest, said student debt was rising at a faster pace than any other form of debt, eclipsing credit card debt of 68billion. These latest figures show student debt is becoming a greater priority with every passing year, he told the Guardian. Student debt is the fastest growing type of borrowing and is rapidly becoming economically significant. He predicted the debt was likely to hit 200billion in six years. In England, the average amount of debt for each graduate is 32,220. By comparison, student debt in the US totalled $1.34trillion (1.05trillion) at the end of March. But average debt per student at graduation was only $34,000 (27,000). The average amount of debt for each graduate in England is 32,220. In the US, student debt totalled$1.34trillion (1.05trillion) Loan repayments are dependent on graduates income, with those earning more than 21,000 a year required to pay 9 per cent of their salary above that threshold. A Department for Education spokesman said: Everyone deserves a world-class education and for many people that involves going to university. Our student finance system removes upfront financial barriers for anyone hoping to study and students only pay back what they can afford based on their income. There are now record numbers of young people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, benefitting from higher education. Advertisement A shopping centre manager who spent four years and clocked up 10,000 miles trying to capture his dream kingfisher picture finally nailed the perfect snap - with almost his 50,000th effort. Gary Jones embarked on dozens of 400-mile round trips from Merseyside to Scotland trying to catch a kingfisher at the precise moment its beak hit the water. And the father-of-one was rewarded when he landed this flawless photograph as the bird dived into a lake in search of fish. A shopping centre manager who spent four years and clocked up 10,000 miles trying to capture his dream kingfisher picture finally nailed the perfect snap - with almost his 50,000th effort Gary Jones embarked on dozens of 400-mile round trips from Merseyside to Scotland trying to catch a kingfisher at the precise moment its beak hit the water With its wings spread out, the female kingfisher's beak hadn't even caused a ripple in the water before Gary managed to capture the winning shot from inside a hide in Dumfries and Galloway. Gary, 50, from Wirral, Merseyside, said: 'I'm a bit of perfectionist. This is the kingfisher picture that all photographers dream about but they're so quick it's almost impossible. 'I go up to Scotland every other month and take about 2,000 pictures on each visit. I've been doing it for four years so I've had to bide my time. 'Every time you think you've got it, you'll be a nanosecond too early or little. The beak will fall short of the water or it'll be too late and there'll be a splash already. 'Kingfishers are so fast it's tricky to get them at the best of times but when they're transfixed on the fish in the water it's something else. 'I was camped out in the hide for six hours the morning I got this shot but it's worth it when you pull off something special. And the father-of-one was rewarded when he landed this flawless photograph as the bird dived into a lake in search of fish With its wings spread out, the female kingfisher's beak hadn't even caused a ripple in the water before Gary managed to capture the winning shot from inside a hide in Dumfries and Galloway Gary, 50, from Wirral, Merseyside, said: 'I'm a bit of perfectionist. This is the kingfisher picture that all photographers dream about but they're so quick it's almost impossible' 'It was like a bullet diving into the water so the timing was crucial. When I think about the thousands of near-perfect pictures I've got, it really hits home when you get what you were looking for.' The water remained so still that the kingfisher's reflection was still clearly visible in the sought-after picture. The bird, believed to be female, soon emerged from the water with a tasty treat for itself. Gary, who is accompanied on many of his trips by his partner Sharon Whitley, said: 'Mid-dive they tuck their wings in so they're more streamlined and it's a sight to behold just as much as the wingspan is. 'It emerged from the water less than a second after diving. They're frighteningly quick. 'I just love these types of shots. Every emergence shot is unique; the pattern the water makes, the shape of the bird. It's a sight very rarely seen and opens up a whole new perspective on these amazing little birds. 'It makes the long drive home a lot more bearable when you know you've got something worthwhile.' He added: 'I go up to Scotland every other month and take about 2,000 pictures on each visit. I've been doing it for four years so I've had to bide my time' Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull found himself in hot water after leaked footage from an off-the-record gala night revealed him impersonating Donald Trump. But the US Embassy have responded to the extraordinary footage with good humour, laughing off Mr Turnbull's mockery of the infamous phone call with the US President. 'We understand that last night's event is equivalent to our White House Correspondents' Dinner,' the US Embassy in Canberra said in a statement. 'We take this with the good humour that was intended.' In video leaked to the Nine Network's Laurie Oakes (pictured) Malcolm Turnbull can be heard impersonating the US president, joking that online polls are 'real polls' and quipping: 'I know this Russian guy'! The US Embassy said they took the roasting with the 'good humour' that was intended. Mr Turnbull (pictured at ball with wife Lucy) said the speech was 'affectionately light-hearted' Mr Turnbull could be heard roasting the 'leader of the free world' and his Russia scandal at the Midwinter Ball in Canberra on Wednesday evening. Joking about their infamous phone call earlier this year - where Mr Trump was said to have abruptly cut him off - Mr Turnbull said: 'It was beautiful, it was the most beautiful putting-me-at-ease ever'. He then riffed about how he and Mr Trump were 'winning' in the polls - 'real' online polls, rather than the 'fake polls'. 'I have this Russian guy,' Mr Turnbull quipped, to roars of laughter. The annual event is attended by hundreds of media and politicians on the basis that nothing is for publication. The audio was leaked to press gallery veteran Laurie Oakes - who does not attend the dinner and 'does not believe reporting should be banned at events hosted by journalists'. 'This is the worst call so far': In a phone call with Australia's prime minister in January (pictured), US President Donald Trump abruptly cut off Malcolm Turnbull - furious about a refugee deal the nation had struck with his predecessor Barack Obama Great mates? Malcolm Turnbull and US President Donald Trump have had a testy relationship since the Republican swept into office in January - but the pair appeared to kiss and make up at a meeting in New York in May (pictured) In his routine, Mr Turnbull poked fun at the two leaders' approval ratings. 'The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls... We are winning so much! We are winning like we have never won before! We are winning in the polls - we are! We are! 'Not the fake polls! Not the fake polls! They're the ones we're not winning in. We're winning in the REAL polls, you know, the ONLINE polls! They are so easy to win! 'I know that. I know that. Did you know that? They are so easy to win... I have this Russian guy... Believe me, it's true, it is true.' But Mr Turnbull has since brushed off his comments as a 'good humoured roast' which were meant to only 'poke fun'. 'Well it is a great tradition, it's a big charity fundraiser, they raised nearly 400k it is a good humoured roast really,' he told 3AW. 'The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition give a speech and poke fun. My speech was affectionately light hearted.' He also expressed disappointment the audio had been leaked and said next year he might just read 'selected passages from the budget paper'. 'It's a breach of protocol, it's a breach of faith and all those things but it's light-hearted, good-natured and the butt off all jokes was myself,' he added. Mr Turnbull brushed off his comments as a 'good humoured roast' which were meant to only 'poke fun' All his friends and enemies were at the ball: Bill Shorten was in attendance with his wife Chloe (pictured left) and Julie Bishop with her partner David Panton (right) The government will have to 'suck' up the fact Malcolm Turnbull's impersonation of Donald Trump was leaked at an off-the-record event, a colleague says. Brushing off how it will go down with the US president, Christopher Pyne doesn't think anyone will take the Midwinter Ball speech too seriously. 'I don't think it will worry (President Trump) or anyone else at all,' Mr Pyne told the Nine Network on Friday. 'The truth is the reason Bill Shorten's speech wasn't leaked was because it was such a stinker.' Mr Pyne said politicians will no longer believe they are able to let their hair down. 'I think we're going to have to suck up the fact it's been leaked.' Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said ethics had been breached by whoever taped the speech. 'I don't want to see the spirit of larrikinism that is part of the definition of being an Aussie disappear,' he said. Beneath the charred monstrosity, shock was fast yielding to anger yesterday evening as the Mayor of London discovered when he went for a walkabout in the streets below Grenfell Tower. Pursued by a crowd of frustrated locals and several hecklers, Sadiq Khan was left in no doubt about the visceral fury felt for all forms of officialdom here-abouts. He was even heckled by a seven-year-old schoolboy. Kai Ramos, sitting on a friends shoulders, yelled repeatedly: How many kids died, Mr Khan? How many? Turning to Kai, the Mayor promised he was doing his best to find out, or at least thats what it sounded like. It was hard to hear above the abuse being hurled by a self-styled black activist, held back by the nervous ring of police officers surrounding Mr Khan. Outburst: Sadiq Khan listens as a woman in the crowd confronts him during his visit to the disaster area yesterday Challenge: Mr Khan is questioned by Kai Ramos, seven, sitting on a friends shoulders This is an area famous for protest and dissent. The 1958 Notting Hill riots began on Bramley Road, right next to the spot where the Grenfell was later built. Delicate policing will be called for in the febrile and furious days ahead if history is not to repeat itself. The mood is worse than ugly. Many people, it should be said, were pleased to see Mr Khan. He had, at least, walked the streets and taken on all-comers. Retired hospitality worker Colleen Coombes broke down, sobbing on his shoulder as she gasped: Heads must roll! Youll get your justice, the Mayor assured her. The Prime Minister had made an earlier visit but no one had been aware of Theresa Mays brief private meeting with emergency workers until it was over. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn turned up to attend a meeting of hand-picked locals and then chat to some volunteers. A low-key affair. The Mayor, however, was mobbed the moment he arrived at Notting Hill Methodist Church. At first, it was a friendly reception as he listened to locals including former Catatonia pop star Cerys Matthews, who badgered him on the need for sprinklers in all new social housing. And can we have vetting of the builders, too? she added. Mr Khan looked inside the Methodist Church, an exemplary relief operation amid the mayhem. Working round the clock the Rev Mike Long, 53, and a team of relentlessly cheerful volunteers have catalogued three floors of food, clothes, shoes and toiletries. All will now be shipped to a local warehouse for distribution. Beneath the charred monstrosity, shock was fast yielding to anger yesterday evening as the Mayor of London discovered when he went for a walkabout in the streets below Grenfell Tower Pursued by a crowd of frustrated locals and several hecklers, Sadiq Khan was left in no doubt about the visceral fury felt for all forms of officialdom here-abouts This is an area famous for protest and dissent. The 1958 Notting Hill riots began on Bramley Road, right next to the spot where the Grenfell was later built Mr Long had been particularly moved by the response of local children. So many have come to give us toys which clearly meant a great deal to them, he said. As the Mayor toured the church, there was a scuffle outside when a man in a track suit suddenly ran out from the sealed-off emergency zone, vaulted the police barrier and legged it into a neighbouring estate. Eventually, he was extracted in handcuffs. He had apparently been caught using his mobile phone to take pictures of bodies being extracted from the tower. He was just desperate to find out whats happened to his family, insisted one of his friends. With photographs of dead victims of the fire being posted on Facebook, there will be many grieving families who have zero sympathy for such behaviour. This was a day when the best and worst of human nature were on display. It was somehow especially depressing to find two British Transport Police officers deployed at Latimer Road Tube station purely in order to stop people taking disaster selfies from a section of platform with a prime view of the tower. Just show some respect and move along! barked a constable. On the streets, however, there were innumerable little scenes to stir the heart of the most jaundiced cynic. I was in Buggsis newsagents on Bramley Road when a middle-aged man walked up to the counter ahead of me, clearly distressed. I just wanted to say thank you for being so nice to my Mum all these years, he told the shopkeeper. He paused. Im afraid she didnt make it ... On the streets, there were innumerable little scenes to stir the heart of the most jaundiced cynic A lot quoted the Koran, in both English and Arabic. The Islamic festival of Ramadan continues until the end of next week and a large number of the missing are Muslims On the walls of the nearby Latymer community centre, plastic boards now cover the walls like one huge, vertical book of condolence. By yesterday afternoon, there was scarcely room for any new messages. Many were angry, a handful politically partisan. The vast majority simply echoed the prevailing sense of compassion and desperation. My lovely Nadia and Fatima, said one, I dont know why you are not answering my calls but I am not giving up. Sonia X. A lot quoted the Koran, in both English and Arabic. The Islamic festival of Ramadan continues until the end of next week and a large number of the missing are Muslims. Wandering between the designated community centres for the homeless and bereaved, I met His Excellency Abdesselam Aboudrar, the Moroccan Ambassador to the UK, doing the same. There were many of his compatriots living in Grenfell Tower, he explained, but he was finding it just as hard as everyone else to get any information on them. Its incredible to see the solidarity of the people of London, though, he said. We are very grateful for that. London mayor Sadiq Khan pictured speaking at the scene of the fire on Thursday Opposite us, a line of volunteers were forming a human conveyor belt to transfer the endless boxes of goods donated to the Westway Centre to a fleet of vans queuing back up the road. By yesterday, every local community centre was turning away both gifts and volunteers. Yet still the goodwill kept on coming. One group of volunteers was sorting through hundreds of bags of clothes on the pavement of Walmer Road. They had been a little miffed that the nearby Rugby Portobello Trust youth centre was shooing away all offers of help and goods, leading to tailbacks in the surrounding streets as vanloads of unwanted gifts searched for a recipient. So former aid worker Sue Walsh had decided to set up a new relief operation on the street. And in among all this uplifting chaos, the heartbreak continues. I bumped into Jason Garcia, 23, searching for his missing cousin, Jessica Urbano, 12. He had her photo pinned to his chest. Her family had heard nothing since a desperate phone call in the early hours of Wednesday. With her mother working a night shift, Jessica had been trying to escape her 20th floor home with some neighbours. There must be someone who can tell us something, said Jason. He and the rest of the family had spent all day going from one community centre and hospital to another. They would be starting all over again first thing in the morning. Almost a dozen universities gave their vice-chancellors a bumper pay rise last year despite seeing a significant fall in student numbers, new figures show. The institutions gave their bosses above-average pay increases of up to 13 per cent in 2015-16, even though they failed to attract as many students as in previous years. A fall in student numbers can be problematic for universities and hit their resources and staffing, as budgets are largely reliant on tuition fees. However, the analysis by Times Higher Education (THE) magazine suggested such negative performance does not seem to impact on generous pay hikes for vice chancellors. The annual survey, compiled by the accounting firm Grant Thornton for THE, shows that in 2015-16, university heads across all institutions received an average package of 280,877, including pension contributions, a rise of 2.2 per cent on 2014-15. John Joughin, head of the University of East London, saw his total pay, including pension, soar by 13.5 per cent in 2015-2016 despite falling student numbers And 11 universities awarded larger-than-average pay rises to their leaders even as their student recruitment took a tumble of more than 5 per cent from 2014 to 2015. Among these was the University of East London (UEL), whose head, John Joughin, saw his total pay, including pension, climb by 13.5 per cent in 2015-16 despite numbers falling by 10 per cent year-on-year. University of Bolton vice chancellor George Homes enjoyed a pay rise of 11.5 per cent while the institution's recruitment fell by six per cent in the year to 2016 Another example is the University of Bolton, whose vice-chancellor, George Holmes, enjoyed a pay rise of 11.5 per cent while the institutions recruitment fell by six per cent in the year to 2016. Universities are allowed to recruit as many students as they like after the government scrapped a numbers cap, meaning there is now stiff competition to attract people. A fall in numbers can indicate a university is becoming less popular with youngsters as more shun it on their Ucas forms. Yesterday, Sally Hunt of the University and College Union, said: Huge disparities in the double-digit rises for some at the top and the more modest increases elsewhere expose the arbitrary nature of pay in our universities. A UEL spokesman said that the increase in Mr Joughins salary followed a period in which there had been no change [in its level] for a number of years, and its current level reflects the complexity and difficulty of the job he undertakes. A fall in numbers can indicate a university is becoming less popular with youngsters as more shun it on their Ucas forms Meanwhile, a Bolton spokesman said that Mr Holmes has overseen a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of the university since taking over a decade ago, creating a strong financial platform from which it can confidently develop for the future. Both universities said that their vice-chancellors remuneration is not out of line with similar institutions, and is lower than many. The highest Britains highest paid vice-chancellor was Dame Glynis Breakwell, of the University of Bath, who was given an 11 per cent pay rise of 45,000 last year, taking her total salary and benefits to 451,000. Bath was criticised over the amount earlier this year because the university is relatively small and was established only 50 years ago. She is paid more than every vice-chancellor in the Russell Group of Britains 24 elite research universities, some of which are more than twice the size of her establishment. Bath had 13,310 full-time students last year, while Manchester, the largest British university, had 34,565. University College London had 28,145 full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students and the University of Birmingham had 27,305. The widow of gunman James Hodgkinson today described his attack as 'horrible, horrible'. Suzanne Hodgkinson, speaking for the first time, said her husband had told her he was going to Washington to lobby 'to change the tax laws.' She would not discuss her husband's politics affiliations, but stressed she had no idea that he had weapons with him. The FBI do not suspect her of any involvement in yesterday's shootings and have treated her as an important witness to the background to the attack in Virginia. She and her husband broke up shortly after he was spoken to by police for discharging his rifle in their back yard. Suzanne Hodgkinson said her husband had told her he was going to Washington to lobby 'to change the tax laws' Suzanne Hodgkinson said her husband had essentially ended their marriage before going to Washington where he told her he was 'changing the tax law' Obsessed: Shooter James Hodgkinson had previously protested about tax Mrs Hodgkinson said the separation came after their daughter and her two-year-old son moved into their two-story home which is surrounded by sprawling countryside. 'I am sorry that he did this, but there's nothing I can do about it,' she said. 'I had no idea this was going to happen, and I don't know what to say about it. I can't wrap my head around it.' St. Clair Chief Deputy Sheriff Richard Wagner told DailyMail.com that she was in tears and her life had been turned upside down. He was with her when she returned home having spent 24 hours helping the FBI. Wagner added: 'She had no idea where he was staying and hadn't heard much from him. 'In my 30 years of police work I have seen couples separate and hardly speak to each other and give any indication of where they are going or what they are doing. 'She would never have guessed that he would ever hurt anybody. 'She was shocked when she got a call yesterday that her husband had did this in Washington. She is devastated.' St. Clair Chief Deputy Sheriff Richard Wagner told DailyMail.com that Mrs Hodgkinson was in tears and her life had been turned upside down Asked by DailyMail.com if she had ever witnessed a violent side to him, he said: 'No. never, never and that's what she said.' He said she had stressed her husband had shown no signs of mental illness or any other problems.' James Hodgkinson opened fire on a group of Republican Congressman and their staffers on Wednesday morning in Washington DC US Capitol Police said on Thursday the 9 mm handgun and 7.62 caliber rifle believed to have been used by to shoot GOP House Whip Steve Scalise and three others as they practiced for a baseball game were purchased legally. The FBI has also recovered a cell phone, a computer and a camera from the vehicle used by the gunman, who was fatally injured by two members of capitol police during the incident. Representative Scalise remains in critical condition. Scenes from Alexandria where members of congress were shot yesterday by John Hodgkinson US Vice President Mike Pence has hired outside legal counsel to help with questions from investigators probing alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign, a spokesman said on Thursday. Pence has retained Virginia attorney Richard Cullen, who previously served as a US attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, spokesman Jarrod Agen said. 'I can confirm that the vice president has retained Richard Cullen of McGuire Woods to assist him in responding to inquiries by the special counsel,' Agen said in a statement. VP Mike Pence has called in outside help after the Russia probe investigators turned their questions towards him President Donald Trump last month named Marc Kasowitz, a New York-based trial lawyer, as his private attorney for the Russia investigation. Special counsel Robert Mueller and several congressional committees are investigating possible ties between the Trump campaign and suspected Russian efforts to sway the election in Trump's favor. On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice in the Russia investigation. 'The vice president is focused entirely on his duties ... and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter,' Agen said. The Washington Post first reported Pence was hiring counsel. Advertisement The Ethopian taxi driver whose faulty fridge is alleged to have caused the Grenfell inferno said he will be forever haunted by what happened. Behailu Kebede, a father of one, raised the alarm after flames took hold in his flat at number 16 on the fourth floor. Seventeen people have been confirmed killed in the blaze that ripped through the 24-storey block in White City, west London, on Wednesday morning. But it is feared the death toll could soar into the hundreds, with many still missing. A friend who spoke to Mr Kebede shortly after the tragic ordeal said the experience was 'tearing him apart' and that he was 'blaming himself even though there was nothing he could do.' Raised alarm: Behailu Kebede, a father of one, pictured, whose faulty fridge started the Grenfell Tower inferno and raised the alarm, a neighbour claims Faulty fridge: Mr Kebede, pictured, banged on his neighbour's door, potentially saving hundreds of lives after flames took in the kitchen of his fourth floor flat Firefighters were still damping down the building today. It was deemed unsafe for them to enter until experts have assessed it The 27-storey Grenfell building, which was built in 1974 but refurbished last year, has an average of six flats per floor lived in by council tenants and a smaller number of private owners or tenants - fire had largely engulfed it in around 15 minutes The friend told the Sun: 'He kept repeating it over and over again, ''people have lost their lives I can't bear it.'' Another said that Mr Kebede, described as a 'warm and gentle' person, was 'haunted' by the fire but was relieved that he had managed to warn his neighbours in time. His neighbour Maryann Adam, 41, who lived at number 14, told how Mr Kebede banged on her front door in the early hours of Wednesday to tell her that there was a fire in his kitchen. She said: 'He knocked on the door, and he said there was a fire in his flat. It was exactly 12.50am because I was sleeping and it woke me up. How MailOnline readers can donate to a charity helping the Grenfell Tower fire victims The Grenfell Tower fire has prompted an extraordinary outpouring of support from Britons as they try to help the victims both financially and with gifts of food, clothing and other essentials. And MailOnline readers can donate to a charity co-ordinating efforts to help those whose lives were devastated by clicking here. The money will go to the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, the companys local charity partner. The foundation is coordinating a major funding appeal with support from London Funders and the London Emergency Trust Fund, and has set up a donation page on its website. Every penny raised on the site will go directly to charities funding the relief effort in the local community, both for those who lost loved-ones and those who lost their homes and all their possessions. Readers can also donate via cheque. Please make cheques payable to The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation and send to: Grenfell Tower Appeal, The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, 111117 Lancaster Road, London W11 1QT. The gutted block is just over a mile from the MailOnline and Daily Mail offices in Kensington, West London, known as Northcliffe House. Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) chairman Lord Rothermere and chief executive Paul Zwillenberg last night announced a 100,000 donation to the charity. Advertisement 'The fire was small in the kitchen. I could see it because the flat door was open. There was no alarm.' Mr Kebede friend Eshete Meried said the 44-year-old taxi driver originally from Ethiopia, escaped the building - but was still in shock. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Mr Meried said: 'Behailu did raise the alarm, that is what I am hearing. 'He is fine but he is not in a position to talk about anything right now. I understand that he in a temporary shelter, staying with friends.' Another friend said Mr Kebede had spoken to police who are investigating the fire. Maryam left her phone with her belongings in her flat and has been unable to check on other residents. She later attended the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after feeling dizzy, but was given the all-clear. Speaking today from emergency accommodation close to the scene of the disaster, Mr Kebede told of his distress at witnessing the very beginning of the inferno, which it is feared to claimed more than 100 lives. He told MailOnline: 'I am very upset'. Asked whether the fire started in his flat by MailOnline Mr Kebede replied: 'I'm busy, I'm busy. Goodbye.' A Scotland Yard spokesman said today: 'The investigation is ongoing.' Mr Kebede's identity emerged today as: The official death toll was raised to 17, but is expected to soar as rescuers piece their way through the ruined flats where more than 400 people were living when the fire ripped through. Prime Minister Theresa May visited the site and ordered a full public inquiry into the blaze after it was claimed ministers were warned over the cladding suspected to have helped the fire spread. Two young girls, part of a family of five who lived on the tower's 20th floor, were found by relatives in a London hospital. Their mother, father and six-month-old baby sister are still missing. Three generations of one family are missing after three girls, a mother and father and grandmother were caught up in the blaze. Bosses of the company running the building and those who carried out recent refurbishment work were challenged to explain whether new cladding led it to go up 'like a firelighter' in around 15 minutes. More than 1 million has been raised to help those affected by the fire, while volunteers and charities have helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, who live in the London borough, donated to the fund set up to help those affected, and the Queen offered her condolences to victims' families. Dozens of residents at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London, are feared dead just a year after a 10million refurbishment of the block that developers said was safe. Saved lives: Mr Kebede, pictured on holiday, would have saved lives by alerting his pregnant neighbour Maryann Adam, 41, that a fire had started in his flat at number 16 Prime Minister Theresa May visited the site of the burnt-out building this morning before ordering a full public inquiry Rescue workers have reached the top floor of the building, but have been unable to enter any flats or rooms, because the structure is so unstable Experts suspect cladding added to the outside of the 1970s tower block may have helped the fire spread so quickly Chaos and confusion hit the block as the fire began in Mr Kebede's and quickly took hold. It reached the top floor of the 27-story block within just 15 minutes. Witnesses watched helplessly as people trapped in smoke-filled flats took it in turns to suck breaths of air through windows designed to open only fractionally. Trapped residents flashed torches, their mobile phones and even fairy lights from their windows in a desperate attempt to attract the attention of rescuers. One witness said: 'People were taking it in turns to get air from the window, and flashing their phones, and then the fire just took them. 'You could hear people yelling from the top, 'Help, get my children out!' and you are just standing there, and watching people die, burning' Undertakers remove bodies from Grenfell Tower yesterday. But the recovery of the dead is likely to take several more days A body wrapped up in a blanket, obscured by MailOnline, lies in the ground floor of the White City tower block largely destroyed by fire over night It is believed the first five people to be confirmed dead were those who had jumped or fallen. One resident wept as he described how people 'just threw their kids out, screaming 'save my children'.' Another said his mother stepped over a dead body to escape the building. One man claimed he saw a child who was on fire leap from the 22nd floor, adding: 'He walked to the window, and he jumped.' It emerged today that a six-month-old baby is among the missing. The baby girl's mother, Farah Hamdan, and father, Omar Belkadi, have also not been seen since the fire but her older sisters, eight-year-old Malek Belkadi and Tamzin, six, were found in a London hospital. A family of six are also missing after they were caught up in the blaze. Relatives are searching for Nadia, 29, and Bassem Choucair, 38, their three young girls, Mierna, 13, Zaynab, ten, and Fatima, three, and grandmother Sirra. Five-year-old Isaac Shawo was also lost as his family tried to flee their 18th floor flat. He was holding the hand of a neighbour but disappeared as his parents and brother Luca, three, stumbled down a fire escape. Little Tamzin Belkadi, six, (left) and her older sister Malek (right) have been located in a hospital by relatives after their family went missing in the Grenfell Tower fire Isaac Shawo has been missing since his family fled their 18th floor flat. It is feared he got lost in the thick smoke Mierna, 13, Zaynab, ten, and Fatima Choucair, three, are missing along with their mother Nadia (right), father Bassem Choucair and grandmother Sirra The death toll from the devastating tower block fire in west London is expected to rise as investigators trawl through the wreckage in the search for other victims. Mahad Egal sobbed as he described children being thrown from the building At least 12 people have died after the huge fire destroyed Grenfell Tower in north Kensington, where flames could still be seen burning more than a day on from the disaster. More than 1 million has been raised to help those affected as fire tore through the 24-storey building while volunteers and charities helped with feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. A wall of condolence was put up near the scene with photographs showing dozens of messages left for loved ones. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a 'proper investigation' after the building went up in flames early on Wednesday morning amid growing concerns about how the fire could have spread so rapidly. Speaking in Downing Street, Mrs May said: 'When it's possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken.' Residents' groups have claimed they voiced concerns about the safety of the building, which had been recently refurbished, while those who escaped complained their fire alarms had not been set off by the blaze. One focus for the investigation will be the building's cladding, which TV architect George Clarke said may have accelerated the blaze. Pictures of the tower today show the burnt-out flats on the upper floors, which are now blackened hulks with little left intact The remains of a family's kitchen table and chairs were visible through the burned out walls of one of the flats today Shocking footage has emerged of the debris-strewn hallway inside the building, where bodies were seen laying on the floor How can you donate to help the victims of the Grenfell Tower blaze? Britons have been moved by the terrible events at Grenfell Tower in West London yesterday to the extent that they have donated nearly 2million to fundraising pages. Many have provided clothing, shelter and food to those affected, while others have donated money. Here is how you can do your bit to help: There are two main JustGiving pages that have been set up by Karolina Hanusova and Hayley Yearwood, which have already generated about 1million between them. Chef Jamie Oliver offered free meals at his restaurant at nearby Westfield White City while phone company EE encouraged people to use local stores if they needed to contact anyone. Various other fundraising pages were set up, including the Grenfell Tower Fire Fund was set up by local councillor Eartha Pond. The An Noor Cultural & Community Centre also established the Latimer Road Fire Estate Appeal to help. Another page, the West London Tower Fire Victims, was set up by Muslims. Donations can also be made to the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation's Grenfell Tower Appeal. And an Amazon wishlist called the Grenfell Tower Emergency Relief Appeal was set up to help send supplies to the Rugby Portobello Trust which is helping those affected. Advertisement Mr Clarke, who lives locally and appears on Channel 4's Amazing Spaces, told BBC's Newsnight: ' I saw those cladding panels, the cladding on the outside and the insulation was just peeling off, like you'd peel a banana. 'It was fully on fire. I could see the flames behind - there's a new cladding system put on the outsides that looks like a new skin, there's an air gap an insulation behind that, to me that looks like a fantastic chimney for the fire to rage around.' Grenfell Tower, which built in 1974, was recently refurbished at a cost of 8.6 million, with work completed in May last year. Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it had received complaints over the works, after a residents' action group said its warnings about safety had fallen on 'deaf ears'. A blog post from Grenfell Action Group in November said 'only a catastrophic event' would expose the concerns residents had. London fire chief Dany Cotton said full searches of the upper floors, where no one is said to have survived, are yet to be carried out. Parts of it will need to be shored up before rescue workers can enter. She told reporters: 'Tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. The severity and the heat of the fire would mean it is an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive.' Describing the situation inside the tower this morning, fire chief Ms Cotton said: 'Some of the internal structures are not regarded as safe at the moment, however the central core is, so my firefighters have been up to the top floor last night, they have done the initial brief search from the doorways.' 'So although we've been up there we haven't managed to do a comprehensive search and until we can make the building safe then I really don't want to risk the safety of my firefighters at this moment in time,' she added. Ms Cotton said structural surveyors and urban search and rescue specialists would inspect the building on Thursday and once it was declared safe a full search would take place. Search and rescue dog teams will then go through the building first before experts carry out a 'painstaking' fingertip search of the building which may take weeks, Ms Cotton said. A mysterious network of mazes crisscross the landscape of Saturn's largest moon Titan. But astronomers have long struggled to understand how they form. Now, research has found similar 'labyrinth terrain' on Earth - and scientists believe the landscape on both Saturn's moon and our planet may be formed by similar processes. They suspect the maze structures on Titan were likely carved out by rains and shaped by strong winds, in the same way they were on Earth . Understanding these structures could provide new insights into Titan's weather. Scroll down for video Scientists have used images captured by the Cassini probe of the surface of Titan (pictured left) to reveal how chemical rains falling from the skies above Saturn's largest moon carved out a network of methane filled canyons over millions of years. Pictured right is a similar phenomenon on Earth WEIRD WEATHER A team of French researchers has found that a process called dissolution carved out a network of methane filled canyons over millions of years on the surface of Titan. Michael Malaska, a planetary geologist from the Cassini mission, also agrees with this finding. He believes that the surface of Saturn's largest moon would have begun life with huge areas of flat open expanses, dotted with some minor pock marks. As liquid methane and ethane rain fell, these pools would have grown slowly over time. Eventually, these would have formed the structures first spotted by the Cassini probe in 2007. Similar labyrinth terrain exists on Earth. One of the most famous examples of is also home to the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. Other examples can be found in Canada, New Guinea, Cuba, China and Australia. Advertisement 'When we first saw them, we knew the terrain was special,' Michael Malaska, a planetary geologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, told Space.com. 'Now we know pretty much where they all are.' Scientists have analysed images from the Cassini probe to uncover how the maze like structures, first spotted in 2007, were formed. Experts at the Saclay Nuclear Research Centre in France used computer modelling based on weather patterns on Earth to make a comparison with Titan, Saturn's largest moon. When rain falls from our atmosphere, the chemicals it contains interact with and dissolve the planet's surface in a process called dissolution. The modelling showed that this process can occur over a few million years on our planet and it has resulted in similar structures to Titan's here on Earth. But the labyrinth network of valleys and ridges on Titan are believed to be billions of years old. This raises the question of exactly how long it took for the process to occur and what caused it to stop. 'We know that dissolution should play a role in the landscape evolution,' researcher Thomas Cornet, from the French team, told Space.com. 'After 13 years, we don't have a clue about the surface composition.' The image which were used in the study were captured by the Cassini probe, which launched in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004. It has since been touring the system with an up-close study of the planet, its rings and moons. The web of dark canyons on Titan have been known about since Cassini first spotted them in December 2007. The new research has only just uncovered how they may have been formed, and researchers say more work needs to be done. One of the most famous examples of labyrinth terrain on Earth is also home to the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. The massive sinkhole that houses the instrument is part of the island's unusual geography Perhaps the most visually similar to the pattern seen on satellite images is the Shilin or Stone Forest in Yunnan Province, China (pictured). The limestone formations were created by the same process as those on Titan (stock image) The Marakoopa cave (pictured) in Mole Creek Karst, a national park situated in the North of Tasmania, Australia, is another famous example of the forces of dissolution at work on the planet's surface (stock image) Dr Malaska, who worked on a separate study of the labyrinth features, told Space.com that a lot of places on Titan 'look almost exactly like some of the places we have here on Earth.' Dr Malaska, a planetary geologist from the Cassini mission, said that one of the most famous examples of labyrinth terrain is also home to the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. The massive sinkhole that houses the instrument is part of the island's unusual geography. The web of dark lines on the surface of Saturn's largest moon have been known about since Cassini first spotted them in 2007, but it was only last year that methane was discovered. The Sikun Labyrinthus area (pictured) shows a characteristic set of the ridges and valleys Experts at the Saclay Nuclear Research Centre in France used computer modelling based on similar patterns in the surface of the Earth to produce simulations of the surface of Titan (left). They used this to generate synthetic images (right) that appear similar to the Cassini probe's The computer modelling showed that this process could occur over just eight million years under Earth-like conditions (pictured). But the labyrinthine network of valleys and ridges on Titan are believed to be billions of years old Other examples can be found in Canada, New Guinea, Cuba, China and Australia. Dr Malaska believes that the surface of Titan would have begun life with huge areas of flat open expanses, dotted with some minor pock marks. As liquid methane and ethane rain fell, these pools would have grown slowly over time. Winds may also have contributed to their expansion. Eventually, these would have formed the structures spotted by the Cassini probe. CASSINI'S 'GRAND FINALE' Since it left earth in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004, Cassini has been touring the system with an up-close study of the planet, its rings and moons. The spacecraft discovered that a selection of Saturn's moons are among the most likely places in the solar system to host alien life. In April, Cassini detected chemical readings under the icy surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus, listing it as a prime target in the search for life. During its journey, Cassini has made several other dramatic discoveries, including a global ocean within Enceladus and liquid methane seas on Titan. Before Nasa's Cassini probe captured the most detailed images of Saturn ever seen, it dropped its companion Huygens on the planet's largest moon, Titan. The mission found that Titan has many Earth-like features such as wind, rain and seas. Cassini has circled Saturn for 13 years since reaching its orbit in 2004 but now, it's running low on fuel. Cassini's mission will officially terminate on September 15, after a planned plummet through Saturn's atmosphere After nearly 20 years in space, the Cassini mission is drawing near its end because the spacecraft is running low on fuel. On April 22 the spacecraft began to transition into its grand finale orbits, taking one last close flyby of Saturn's massive moon Titan. Titan's gravity bent Cassini's flight path, causing the orbit to shrink until it was on course to pass between Saturn and the inner edges of its rings. Cassini begun the first of 22 dives through an unexplored gap before it ultimately plunges through the skies of Saturn to end its mission as 'part of the planet itself.' Cassini's mission will officially terminate on September 15, after a planned plummet through Saturn's atmosphere. And, all the while, it will transmit data from several instruments until the signal is finally lost. Advertisement Although spotted in 2007, it was 2010 before the enormous depth of the canyons began to be understood by scientists at the space agency. And the presence of methane was discovered last year, after analysis of images beamed back from the vessel in 2013. They revealed that steep-sided canyons, which branch out from the northern sea Ligeia Mare, are flowing with liquid methane. The discovery was the first direct evidence of the presence of liquid-filled channels on Titan, and the first observation of canyons thousands of feet deep. Images beamed back from Nasa's Cassini reveal Titan's steep-sided canyons that branch out from norther sea Ligeia Mare are flowing with liquid methane. One such feature is Vid Flumina (pictured), the branching network of narrow lines in the upper-left quadrant of the image During the flyby in 2013, Cassini pinged the landscape of Saturn's moon with microwaves, and the returned signals indicated the surface of the canyons are extremely smooth, similar to the hydrocarbon sea Ligeia Mare Scientists named one of these networks, which has slopes steeper than 40 degrees and hydrocarbon depths that measure 790 to 1,870 feet, Vid Flumina. The discovery based on data collected from a close flyby Cassini made over Titan in May 2013, when the craft's radar instruments focused on channels that branch out from the moon's second largest hydrocarbon sea. Images of the canyons have been previously seen, but it was not clear whether the dark material was liquid or merely saturated sediment made of ice. Scientists have named one of these networks Vid Flumina (pictured), which has slopes steeper than 40 degrees and hydrocarbon depths that measure 790 to 1,870 feet During the flyby in 2013, Cassini pinged the landscape of Saturn's moon with microwaves, and the returned signals indicated the surface of the canyons is extremely smooth, similar to the hydrocarbon seas. And the timing of the radar echoes, as they bounced off the canyons' edges and floors, gave scientists a direct measure of their depths. The researchers previously proposed scenarios about what occurred on Saturn's moon, such as an uplift of the terrain, or changes in sea level - or perhaps both. Advertisement It's an incredible view of the night sky, showing a stunning cosmic trio. The European Space Observatory has revealed the amazing new three gigapixel image showing two of the skys more famous residents sharing the stage with a lesser-known neighbour. This cosmic trio makes up just a portion of a vast complex of gas and dust within which new stars are springing to life and illuminating their surroundings. Use your mouse to scroll around the image and zoom in On the right lies the faint, glowing cloud of gas called Sharpless 2-54, the iconic Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) is in the centre, and the Omega Nebula (Messier 17) to the left. HOW IT WAS MADE The images were created using data from ESOs VLT Survey Telescope (VST), located at ESOs Paranal Observatory in Chile. The huge final colour image was created by mosaicing dozens of pictures each of 256 megapixels from the telescopes large-format OmegaCAM camera. The final result, which needed lengthy processing, totals 3.3 gigapixels, one of the largest images ever released by ESO. Advertisement The three nebulae indicate where regions of this cloud have clumped together and collapsed to form new stars; the energetic light from these stellar newborns has caused ambient gas to emit light of its own, which takes on the pinkish hue characteristic of areas rich in hydrogen. Sharpless 2-54 and the Eagle and Omega Nebulae are located roughly 7000 light-years away the first two fall within the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent), while the latter lies within Sagittarius (The Archer). This region of the Milky Way houses a huge cloud of star-making material. Two of the objects in the image were discovered in a similar way. Astronomers first spotted bright star clusters in both Sharpless 2-54 and the Eagle Nebula, later identifying the vast, comparatively faint gas clouds swaddling the clusters. In the case of Sharpless 2-54, British astronomer William Herschel initially noticed its beaming star cluster in 1784. That cluster, catalogued as NGC 6604 , appears in this image on the objects left side. What you can see: On the right lies the faint, glowing cloud of gas called Sharpless 2-54, the iconic Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) is in the centre, and the Omega Nebula (Messier 17) to the left. This cosmic trio makes up just a portion of a vast complex of gas and dust within which new stars are springing to life and illuminating their surroundings. This chart shows the constellation of Serpens Cauda, the tail-part of the split constellation of Serpens (The Snake). Yellow circles represent star clusters and green squares nebulae. The associated very dim gas cloud remained unknown until the 1950s, when American astronomer Stewart Sharpless spotted it on photographs from the National Geographic SocietyPalomar Observatory Sky Survey. The Eagle Nebula did not have to wait so long for its full glory to be appreciated. Swiss astronomer Philippe Loys de Cheseaux first discovered its bright star cluster, NGC 6611, in 1745 or 1746. A couple of decades later, French astronomer Charles Messier observed this patch of sky and also documented the nebulosity present there, recording the object as Messier 16 in his influential catalogue . As for the Omega Nebula, de Cheseaux did manage to observe its more prominent glow and duly noted it as a nebula in 1745. However, because the Swiss astronomers catalogue never achieved wider renown, Messiers re-discovery of the Omega Nebula in 1764 led to its becoming Messier 17, the seventeenth object in the Frenchmans popular compendium. The City of Cleveland is inviting the public to discuss and provide input on the citys newly developed parks and recreation master plan. The master plan is utilized to guide the development and re-development of the Citys recreational facilities and assets. The information meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday at the Cleveland/Bradley Public Library, 795 Church St. Parks and Recreation staff and city officials said they are excited to discuss the future of the Citys recreational facilities and receive feedback from the community. All residents are invited to attend and participate in this informational meeting. For questions, contact 423-479-4129. Israeli defense-tech firm Elbit Systems has revealed an airborne camera system that can achieve one billion pixel coverage of the ground below. The SkEye WAPS system, which will be unveiled at the 2017 Paris Airshow, can be mounted on unmanned aircraft to capture high-resolution images of areas up to 80 square kilometers. The eye in the sky drone camera can even zoom into multiple regions of interest while still recording the surrounding area, and the firm claims it could be a game changer for homeland security. The SkEye WAPS system, which will be unveiled at the 2017 Paris Airshow, can be mounted on unmanned aircraft (as seen above) to capture high-resolution images of areas up to 80 square kilometers WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT Previous visual intelligence (VISINT) gathering systems relied on a designated video format in which the operator could only see and record the particular area in view, neglecting the surrounding area. But, the firm says the new camera allows for much wider coverage, with the ability to hone in on key events The SkEye WAPS system can achieve one billion pixel coverage of the ground below. It captures high-resolution images of areas up to 80 square kilometers. And, users can view particular footage in real time, or even look 'back in time.' Up to 10 regions can be analyzed at once, without neglecting the surrounding area. Advertisement The wide-area persistent surveillance solution, SkEye WAPS, allows users to select particular footage in real time as the camera observes a given area. It also shows back in time footage within the coverage area and, up to 10 individual regions can be analyzed at once. This could be useful in all different types of surveillance scenarios, the firm explains, from defense and law enforcement, or natural disaster recovery, to terrorism and homeland security threats. SkEye WAPS is equipped with an Electro Optic sensor unit, an advanced image processing unit, a large mass storage unit, and analysis applications. As it gathers observations of a given area, it transmits the data via an embedded link from the aircraft to the SkEye, Control and Management Center (SCMC). This could be either a fixed or mobile facility, the firm notes. If the camera spots something unusual, its will alert the commanders based on a customizable notification system. According to Elbit Systems, their eye in the sky has already been in use in defense and homeland security missions around the world. It works with unmanned aircraft vehicles and light aircraft, giving it a diverse array of potential surveillance applications. The wide-area persistent surveillance solution, SkEye WAPS, allows users to select particular footage in real time as the camera observes a given area. It also shows back in time footage within the coverage area and, up to 10 individual regions can be analyzed at once Previous visual intelligence (VISINT) gathering systems relied on a designated video format in which the operator could only see and record the particular area in view, neglecting the surrounding area. But, the firm says the new camera allows for much wider coverage, with the ability to hone in on key events. Elbit Systems SkEye WAPS system is a game changer in homeland security missions, enabling forces to analyze and retrace the steps of terrorists and criminals in an extremely large area, providing them with timely and valuable data in life threatening situations, said Bezhalel Machils, Elbit Systems President & CEO. In light of recent threats worldwide and particularly in Europe, SkEye WAPS provides meaningful leverage to security organizations in intelligence gathering mission and countering terrorist threats. A trove of ancient artifacts, including stone tools, weapons, and an engraved stone bead dating back to 50,000 years ago has revealed new insight on the transition between Neanderthals and modern humans. Archaeologists excavating a cave in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic say the artifacts, found alongside more than 20,000 animal bones, represent some of the earliest evidence of modern human activity in the region. Ten sedimentary layers from the ancient cave show the signs of dramatically different behaviours, marking a change in movement patterns or even in species, the researchers say. Archaeologists excavating a cave in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic say the artifacts, found alongside over 20,000 animal bones, represent some of the earliest evidence of modern human activity in the region. A stone tool thought to be a speartip is pictured HOW THEY DID IT The archaeologists from the Australian National University and the University of Sydney analyzed 10 sedimentary layers accounting for 28,000 to 50,000 years ago. This was done using a new technique known as ancient sediment DNA analysis. According to the researchers, it's the first method to detect which species were present even without access to their bones. The technique tests the lingering remnants of DNA. Advertisement The archaeologists from the Australian National University and the University of Sydney analyzed 10 sedimentary layers accounting for 28,000 to 50,000 years ago. This, they say, is when modern human ancestors arrived in Europe. In the early layers the items weve found are locally made flakes, possibly used by small communities living and hunting in the vicinity to kill animals or prepare food, but around 40,000 years ago we start to see objects coming from long distances away, said ANU archaeologist Dr Duncan Wright. Dating from this same time we unearthed a bead made from mammal bone. This is the oldest portable art object of its type found anywhere in central Europe and provides evidence of social signalling, quite possibly used as a necklace to mark the identity of the wearer. So between these two periods, weve either seen a change in behaviour and human movement or possibly even a change in species. Scientists are still trying to work out when the first Homo sapiens to arrive in the area first began to explore it in greater depth. The sedimentary layers indicate that people were moving father distances, and bringing portable art around with them. Ancient artifacts have revealed new insight on the transition between Neanderthals and modern humans Weve found that somewhere between 40-48,000 years ago people became highly mobile, says Ladislav Nejman. Instead of moving short distances near the cave where they lived, they were walking for hundreds of kilometers quite often. We know that because we found various artifacts where the raw material comes from 100-200 kilometres away. The artifacts were also made of different materials from different regions. Some from the North-West, some from the North, some from the East. The humans in the area werent always so mobile, though. In layer 10, from 48-45,000 years ago, the researchers discovered that the stone artifacts were all made from local raw materials. This suggests further exploration of the area came later on. A TIMELINE OF THE COMPLEX EVOLUTION OF MAN 55 million years ago - First primates evolve 15 million years ago - Hominidae (great apes) evolve from the ancestors of the gibbon 8 million years ago - First gorillas evolve. Later, chimp and human lineages diverge 5.5 million years ago - Ardipithecus, early 'proto-human' shares traits with chimps and gorillas 4 million years ago - Australopithecines appeared. They had brains no larger than a chimpanzee's 2.8 million years ago - LD 350-1 appeared and may be the first of the Homo family 2.7 million years ago - Paranthropus, lived in woods and had massive jaws for chewing 2.3 million years ago - Homo habalis first thought to have appeared in Africa 1.85 million years ago - First 'modern' hand emerges 1.8 million years ago - Homo ergaster begins to appear in fossil record 1.6 million years ago - Hand axes become the first major technological innovation 800,000 years ago - Early humans control fire and create hearths. Brain size increases 760,000 years ago - New DNA analysis shows the first Neanderthals emerging 400,000 years ago - Neanderthals begin to spread across Europe and Asia 200,000 years ago - Homo sapiens - modern humans - appear in Africa 40,0000 years ago - Modern humans reach Europe Advertisement The researchers say the analysis also revealed new insight on the ancient climate in the region. We havent had such a long sequence of sedimentary layers before that we could test, said Dr Nejman. The climate changed quite often from warmer to colder, and vice versa, but at all times it was much colder than the interglacial period that we have lived in for the past 10,000 years. Ten sedimentary layers from the ancient cave show the signs of dramatically different behaviours, marking a change in movement patterns or even in species, the researchers say. An illustration of Neanderthals is pictured According to the researchers, this new understanding will help to better pinpoint the period of transition between the two species of humans And, it sheds light on the little known activities of our modern human ancestors. We can tell by the artifacts that small groups of people camped at this cave, said Dr Wright. This was during glacial periods suggesting they were well adapted to these harsh conditions. Its quite possible that the two different species of human met in this area. Fifty years after it went on display in a museum, researchers have discovered an invisible inscription on the back of a pottery shard, known as an ostracon. Using advanced imaging technology, researchers found Hebrew text on the back of the ostracon, which was first found in Israel's desert fortress of Arad in 1965. The scans revealed three lines of writing, which the experts believe are a continuation of writing on the front of the shard. Scroll down for video Fifty years after it went on display in a museum, researchers have discovered an invisible inscription on the back of a pottery shard, known as an ostracon THE INSCRIPTION The researchers were able to decipher 50 characters that made up 17 words, on the back of the ostracon. The new inscription, which is written in Hebrew, begins with a request for wine, as well, as a guarantee for assistance if the addressee has any requests of its own, according to Mr Shaus. He added: 'It concludes with a request for the provision of a certain commodity to an unnamed person, and a note regarding a 'bath,' an ancient measurement of wine carried by a man named Ge'alyahu.' Dr Mendel-Geberovich said: 'The newly revealed inscription features an administrative text, like most of the Arad inscriptions. 'Its importance lies in the fact that each new line, word, and even a single sign is a precious addition to what we know about the First Temple period.' Advertisement The ostracon dates back to 600 BCE, and features an inscription on its front side, opening with a blessing, and discussing money transfers. But researchers from Tel Aviv University have turned their attention to the back of the pottery shard. Arie Shaus, one of the lead authors of the study, said: 'While its front side has been thoroughly studied, its back was considered blank. 'Using multispectral imaging to acquire a set of images, Michael Cordonsky of TAU's School of Physics noticed several marks on the ostracon's reverse side. 'To our surprise, three new lines of text were revealed.' The researchers were able to decipher 50 characters that made up 17 words, on the back of the ostracon. Shira Faigenbaum-Golovin, who also worked on the study, said: 'The content of the reverse side implies it is a continuation of the text on the front side.' As well as finding the writing on the back of the shard, the new scanning technique shed more light on the writing on the front. Barak Sober, who also worked on the study, added: 'Using multispectral imaging, we were also able to significantly improve the reading of the front side, adding four "new" lines.' The shard was found in 1965 at the Arad fortress a military outpost at the southern border of the kingdom of Judah. As well as finding the writing on the back of the shard, the new scanning technique shed more light on the writing on the front WHAT DOES IT SAY? The English translation of the inscription on the back of the shard says: 'If there is any wine, send {1/2 1/4?}. If there is anything (else) you need, send (=write to me about it). And if there is still <>, gi[ve] them (an amount of) Xar out of it. And Ge'alyahu has taken a bat of sparkling (?) wine.' Advertisement Dr Mendel-Geberovich, who also worked on the study, said: 'Most of the ostraca unearthed at Arad are dated to a short time span during the last stage of the fortress's history, on the eve of the kingdom's destruction in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar. 'Many of these inscriptions are addressed to Elyashiv, the quartermaster of the fortress. 'They deal with the logistics of the outpost, such as the supply of flour, wine, and oil to subordinate units.' The translation of the inscription on the back of the shard says: 'If there is any wine, send {1/2 1/4?}. If there is anything (else) you need, send (=write to me about it). And if there is still <>, gi[ve] them (an amount of) Xar out of it. And Ge'alyahu has taken a bat of sparkling (?) wine' The new scanning technique shed more light on the writing on the front, adding four 'new lines' of text The new inscription, which is written in Hebrew, begins with a request for wine, as well, as a guarantee for assistance if the addressee has any requests of its own, according to Mr Shaus. He added: 'It concludes with a request for the provision of a certain commodity to an unnamed person, and a note regarding a "bath," an ancient measurement of wine carried by a man named Ge'alyahu.' Dr Mendel-Geberovich said: 'The newly revealed inscription features an administrative text, like most of the Arad inscriptions. The inscription concludes with a request for the provision of a certain commodity to an unnamed person, and a note regarding a 'bath,' an ancient measurement of wine carried by a man named Ge'alyahu The ancient pottery shard, known as an ostracon, was first found in Israel's desert fortress of Arad in 1965 'Its importance lies in the fact that each new line, word, and even a single sign is a precious addition to what we know about the First Temple period.' The researchers hope that their findings will stress the importance of multispectral imaging to documenting ancient pottery. Ms Faigenbaum-Golovin added: 'It's daunting to think how many inscriptions, invisible to the naked eye, have been disposed of during excavations.' Mark Watney's potato-growing antics in 'The Martian' may not be as far-fetched as you think. China's space agency says it is planning to grow potatoes and hatch silk worms on the moon. The move is part of the China National Space Administration's plan to build a small ecosystem on Earth's natural satellite. Head of design on the project, Professor Xie Gengxin, said he hoped the work would pave the way for people to live permanently on the moon. Scroll down for video The China National Space Administration is planning to breed potatoes and silkworms on Earth's natural satellite as part of a lunar ecosystem. Scientists have developed an 18 centimetre (7 in), three-kilogram container (pictured) that will hold the mini-ecosystem CHINA'S PLANS FOR SPACE EXPLORATION Since 2009, China has been upping its work in space exploration in a number of stages. Each stage has been given a name to refer to the mission plans. Stage 1 'Around': Yinghuo-1 was launched in 2009 with the aim of bringing back samples however it was left stranded in orbit and disintegrated. Stage 2 'Landing': Yinghuo-2 is expected to launch in 2020 to collect data on Mars Stage 3 'Circular': A rover will be sent to Mars to carry out exploration Advertisement Scientists at Chongqing University in central China have developed an 18 centimetre (7 in), three-kilogram (6.6 lb) container holding a mini-ecosystem to be ferried to the moon by the Chang'e 4 rocket next year. Chief designer Dr Zhang Yuanxun said: 'The container will send potatoes, Arabidopsis (cress) seeds and silkworm eggs to the surface of the moon. 'The eggs will hatch into silkworms (moth larvae), which can produce carbon dioxide, while the potatoes and seeds emit oxygen through photosynthesis. Together, they can establish a simple ecosystem on the moon.' Scientists will then be able to observe the effect of the moon's low gravity (one sixth of Earth's) on the various organisms. One of the biggest problems facing Dr Zhang and his team was the huge temperature fluctuations in a lunar day. The moon's surface can swing from 120C (248F) in the day to minus 170C (-274F) at night, which would kill almost any Earth organism. The container has been heavily insulated to protect its contents from these harsh temperatures, and has lights inside to mimic sunlight on Earth. And officials say the results of the experiment will not be kept private. Professor Gengxin added: 'We will livestream the development of plants and insects on lunar surface to the whole world.' Image shows potato and cress seeds stored in a lab at Chongqing University in central China, from which the ecosystem will be launched. Scientists will send the seeds along with silkworm eggs to the moon to test the effects of micro-gravity on the organisms The mini-ecosystem is one of a number of lunar projects that China has announced in recent years. Earlier this month it was revealed that Beijing is making 'preliminary' preparations to send a man to the moon, the latest goal in China's ambitious lunar exploration programme. State media cited a senior space official as saying that it will 'not take long' for China's manned mission to the moon to get official approval and funding. Though no time frame was given, a government official said last year that China wants to put astronauts on the moon by 2036. Once at the surface, the insect eggs will hatch into silkworms (pictured), which can produce carbon dioxide, while the potatoes and seeds emit oxygen through photosynthesis. Together, they will establish a simple ecosystem on the moon The country also plans to land its first ever lunar probe on the dark side of the moon in 2018, another milestone (file image) The comment was the first confirmation that China intended to fund and run a manned lunar programme. This week's statement on Beijing's mission was made by Yang Liwei, deputy director general of China Manned Space Agency and China's first man in space. The report, published Tuesday state news agency Xinhua said late on Tuesday gave no other details, but such a trip could still be many years off. China in 2003 became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket after the former Soviet Union and the United States. It has touted its plans for moon exploration and in late 2013 completed the first lunar 'soft landing' since 1976 with the Chang'e-3 craft and its Jade Rabbit rover. From 'gutties' to 'tattie-champer', Scottish people have some of the most weird and wonderful slang words in the world. While the jargon may make perfect sense to Scots, the words can garner some baffled looks from English people. Scientists are now using eye-tracking technology to analyse the responses of English people to the slang, in the hopes of gaining insights into how people use accent and dialect to comprehend sentences. Scroll down to test your Scottish slang knowledge From 'gutties' to 'tattie-champer', Scottish people have some of the most weird and wonderful slang words. While the jargon may make perfect sense to Scots, the words can garner some baffled looks from English people (stock image) WHAT DO YOU THINK THESE WORDS MEAN? Bahookie Bothy Clype Crannie Cushie-doo Feartie Futret Ganzie Glaikit Gloaming Gutties Lug Mickle Muckle Puddock Rammy Skel Snib Stookie Tattie-bogle Tattie-champer Scroll down for the answers Advertisement Researchers from Dundee University are hoping to understand how English speakers understand Scottish dialects, and vice-versa. Their study, which is currently underway, began by surveying 1,500 English-speaking people on 90 of Scotland's best slang words, to see if people knew their true meaning. Next, the team plans to put people with broad Scottish accents together with those with English accents, and use eye-tracking technology to check their reactions to one another. Dr Yuki Kamide, who is overseeing the study by student Eleanor Smith, told MailOnline: 'In our study, participants will be presented with an array of written words (both Scottish and English) as well as related pre-recorded sentences, while their eye movements are recorded every half a millisecond. 'For example, they would hear "The thief will empty the" while seeing a display with written words, "bag", "poke" (Scottish word for bag), and other distractor words. 'We predict that the word "poke" would be initially looked at more often when hearing "The thief will empty the" if the sentence was read by a Scottish-accented speaker than an English-accented speaker (and for "bag", vice versa). 'However, after hearing the Scottish speaker always end up producing English words, and the English speaker Scottish words, trial after trial, participants might start anticipating English words when the sentence is read by the Scottish speaker (and Scottish words when the sentence is read by the English speaker).' Researchers are hoping to gain an insight into how English speakers understand Scottish dialects, and vice-versa. The team will put people with Scottish accents together with those with English accents, and use eye-tracking technology to check their reactions to one another (stock image) The researchers believe that their researchers could offer a wide range of implications. Dr Kamide told MailOnline: 'First, our online survey has produced a good picture of the current usage of Scottish words in the current Scottish communities with a very large number of participants. 'We hope it would help wider audiences to provide better services related to the Scottish languages. 'Second, our research would show how plastic our brain is with respect to processing language. We often think that, as adults, we cannot learn anything new to do with language. 'However, if our prediction is supposed by our forthcoming eye-tracking data, it would indicate that we are indeed very good at "unlearning" our preconceptions about language and learn new rules relatively quickly.' The researchers expect to complete the study within 'several weeks.' The Pentagon may soon unleash an army of robotic drones that are fast and smart enough to fly alongside fighter planes. Two classes of drone designed to act as airborne wingmen in aerial missions have been unveiled by a Pentagon-backed startup in the Silicon Valley. Though still in the testing phase, the drones could one day be used to protect human life by absorbing the first wave of an aerial attack. Scroll down for video Pictured is an artistic impression of what the XQ-222 Valkyrie will look like. The smart drone has a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles PENTAGON'S DRONES The Pentagon may soon unleash an army of robotic drones that are fast and smart enough to fly alongside fighter planes. Both UAVs use artificial intelligence to copy the movements of nearby planes, which means they don't need a ground-based pilot to keep up. The first, known as the UTAP-22 Mako, is a super-fast streamlined drone that can deliver 'a mix of lethal weapons', and fly at 700 miles/hour (1,123 km/hour) according to its creators. And the second, a 30ft-long UAV called the XQ-222 Valkyrie, has a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles, and a top speed of 650 miles/hour (1,049 km/hour). Aviation experts say this speed allows the drones to fly in tandem with F-16 and F-35 fighter planes. Advertisement Drone manufacturer Kratos Defense and Security Solutions officially announced the two new lines of fighter drones this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The first, known as the UTAP-22 Mako, is a super-fast streamlined drone that can deliver 'a mix of lethal weapons', and fly at 700 miles/hour (1,123 km/hour) according to its creators. And the second, a 30ft-long UAV called the XQ-222 Valkyrie, has a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles, and a top speed of 650 miles/hour (1,049 km/hour). Aviation experts say this speed allows the drones to fly in tandem with F-16 and F-35 fighter planes. Building of the drones was funded by the Defense Departments Silicon Valley laboratory, dubbed DIUx, and the Air Force. The UAVs use artificial intelligence to copy the movements of nearby planes, which means they don't need a ground-based pilot to keep up. 'These systems can conduct fully autonomous missions,' Steven Fenley, president of Kratos' unmanned systems division, told the Wall Street Journal. The company has already flown the planes alongside manned jets and will carry out a second round of testing above California's Mojave Desert this summer. In the tests, a pilot in an accompanying airplane will monitor their progress using a small Android tablet. Aviation experts say the speed of the drones could allow them to fly in tandem with F-16 (pictured) and F-35 fighter planes 'In order to exploit the maneuverability of one of these aircraft, you need to have the sensing ability of when to exploit it,' Dave Deptula, a retired Air Force general who now serves as dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told the Wall Street Journal. Using drones could help to protect human life by acting as a first line of aerial defence. The drones also cost considerably less than manned aircraft. The reusable drones cost from $2 million to $3 million (1.6m to 2.4m). The move comes as the US army continue to develop robots that could play a major part in wars of the future. Similar efforts have been made by the Navy, which is investing in autonomous submarines that scout the ocean floor and seek out mines. When it comes to online shopping, more people come unstuck buying shoes than anything else. One in three pairs of shoes bought over the world wide web get sent back, with a big part of the problem making sure shoes fit. Of course, for many children especially, having one's feet measured in a shoe shop was one of the rituals of growing up. But now researchers have developed the next best thing a way of measuring your feet by taking pictures of your foot with a smart phone. Researchers have developed a way of measuring your feet by taking pictures of your foot with a smart phone. The user photographs the foot from above as it rests on a piece of A4 paper, and then from each side, the left and right HOW DOES IT WORK? The user photographs the foot from above as it rests on a piece of A4 paper, and then from each side, the left and right. The app then compares the images of the feet with large databases comprising 3D images of feet. In a few seconds, a 3D model of the foot and more than 20 measurements are taken. Advertisement Dr Juan Carlos Gonzalez of Spain's Instituto de Biomechanica said the app requires three pictures of the foot allowing customers to 'virtually try on' shoes. All the smartphone user needs is a standard A4 piece of paper. The user photographs the foot from above as it rests on the paper and then from each side, the left and right. Dr Gonzalez, director of the institute's clothing research department said that the app works by comparing the images of the feet with large databases comprising three dimensional images of feet. After uploading three photos, the app then compares the images of the feet with large databases comprising 3D images of feet He said: 'The pictures are sent to a server that performs a 3D reconstruction of the foot. 'In a few seconds a 3D model of the aforementioned foot and more than 20 measurements are obtained,' added Gonzalez. Within a few seconds, a 3D model of the foot and more than 20 measurements are taken, allowing users to virtually try on shoes 'Any smartphone can be turned into a 3D foot scanner thanks to our technology,' he said. 'The research institute has also developed a freestanding scanner to be used in shoe shops.' The development of the foot measuring app comes shortly after a lingerie shop developed another smartphone measurement device last year a scanner that can measure bra sizes. To the humans who love them, all puppies might seem to be good boys and girls but unfortunately, when it comes to training a guide dog, not all are suited for the job. While guide dogs undergo months of costly training, many dont make the cut. Now, a new tool aims to predict the suitability of puppies early on to weed out those who are unlikely to pass their training, and researchers say it so far works with up to 84 percent accuracy. Scroll down for video A new tool aims to predict the suitability of puppies early on to weed out those who are unlikely to pass their training, and researchers say it so far works with up to 84 percent accuracy WHAT THEY TEST FOR The new tool assesses puppies and young dogs on seven characteristics revealed to be reliable and interpretable. These are: Adaptability Body sensitivity Distractibility Excitability General anxiety Trainability Stair anxiety Advertisement Working with the UK charity Guide Dogs, the tool created by animal behaviour experts at the University of Nottingham assesses puppies and young dogs on a number of characteristics revealed to be reliable and interpretable. This includes adaptability, distractibility, and stair anxiety, among other qualities. The decision tool dubbed the Puppy Training Supervisor Questionnaire (PTSQ) is designed to be used by training supervisors to observe dogs at the age of 5, 8, and 12 months old. In the study, trainers completed a total of 1,401 questionnaires to evaluate the young dogs behaviour. And, it predicted the training outcomes with an accuracy of 84 percent in 16.9 percent of dogs aged 5 to 12 months. The researchers say this could help to make the training process much smoother, saving both time and money to spot those with the best and least chances of success early on. The decision tool dubbed the Puppy Training Supervisor Questionnaire (PTSQ) is designed to be used by training supervisors to observe dogs at the age of 5, 8, and 12 months old. In the study, trainers completed a total of 1,401 questionnaires Predicting working dog suitability in puppies has been a huge challenge to organizations for many years, said lead researcher, Dr Naomi Harvey. If youve ever owned dogs you will know that every dog is different. They have their own characters and personality, which are heavily influenced by their life experiences. We were really pleased that this questionnaire-style behaviour assessment was able to effectively identify the dogs who were most, and least, suitable to guiding work, from a young age, and help to highlight those in between dogs who were at risk of failing training. In the study, 58 percent of the dogs moved on to qualify as guide dogs. To the humans who love them, all puppies might seem to be good boys and girls but unfortunately, when it comes to training a guide dog, not all are suited for the job. While guide dogs undergo months of costly training, many dont make the cut. Stock image Another 27 percent were found to be behaviourally unsuited for the job, while the rest were disqualified for health reasons. By extending the work to investigate what happens later on in a guide dogs working life as well, scientists could better understand why some end up retiring early. The Puppy training Supervisor Questionnaire is part of a suite of tools developed by the University of Nottingham for Guide Dogs, said Chris Muldoon, Guide Dogs Research Development Manager. This tool, and the wider research project, is increasing our understanding of dog behaviour and temperament to make informed decisions that will shape and improve our training process. Facebook has offered new insight into its efforts to remove terrorism content, a response to political pressure in Europe to militant groups using the social network for propaganda and recruiting. Facebook has ramped up use of artificial intelligence such as image matching and language understanding to identify and remove content quickly, Monika Bickert, Facebook's director of global policy management, and Brian Fishman, counterterrorism policy manager, explained in a blog post. Facebook uses artificial intelligence for image matching that allows the company to see if a photo or video being uploaded matches a known photo or video from groups it has defined as terrorist, such as Islamic State, Al Qaeda and their affiliates, the company said in the blog post. Image matching that allows the company to see if a photo or video being uploaded matches a known photo or video from groups it has defined as terrorist, such as Islamic State, Al Qaeda and their affiliates 'Our stance is simple: Theres no place on Facebook for terrorism,' the post says. 'We remove terrorists and posts that support terrorism whenever we become aware of them. 'When we receive reports of potential terrorism posts, we review those reports urgently and with scrutiny. And in the rare cases when we uncover evidence of imminent harm, we promptly inform authorities. 'Although academic research finds that the radicalization of members of groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda primarily occurs offline, we know that the internet does play a role and we dont want Facebook to be used for any terrorist activity whatsoever. 'We believe technology, and Facebook, can be part of the solution.' YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft last year created a common database of digital fingerprints automatically assigned to videos or photos of militant content to help each other identify the same content on their platforms. HOW FACBOOK SPOTS TERROR Facebook's AI is using several techniques to try and spot terror groups online. Image matching: When someone tries to upload a terrorist photo or video, systems look for whether the image matches a known terrorism photo or video. Language understanding: AI is learning to understand text that might be advocating for terrorism. 'Were currently experimenting with analyzing text that weve already removed for praising or supporting terrorist organizations such as ISIS and Al Qaeda so we can develop text-based signals that such content may be terrorist propaganda' Facebook says. The machine learning algorithms work on a feedback loop and get better over time. Removing terrorist clusters: When the system identifies Pages, groups, posts or profiles as supporting terrorism, it also use algorithms to fan out to try to identify related material that may also support terrorism. It uses signals like whether an account is friends with a high number of accounts that have been disabled for terrorism, or whether an account shares the same attributes as a disabled account. Recidivism: 'Weve also gotten much faster at detecting new fake accounts created by repeat offenders' Facebook says. Cross-platform collaboration: Facebook is working on systems to enable it to take action against terrorist accounts across all our platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram. Advertisement Similarly, Facebook now analyses text that has already been removed for praising or supporting militant organizations to develop text-based signals for such propaganda. However, the firm says it has not abandoned humans, and is using them more than ever. 'AI cant catch everything. 'Figuring out what supports terrorism and what does not isnt always straightforward, and algorithms are not yet as good as people when it comes to understanding this kind of context. To understand more nuanced cases, we need human expertise.' 'More than half the accounts we remove for terrorism are accounts we find ourselves, that is something that we want to let our community know so they understand we are really committed to making Facebook a hostile environment for terrorists,' Bickert said in a telephone interview. The AI is learning to understand text that might be advocating for terrorism Germany, France and Britain, countries where civilians have been killed and wounded in bombings and shootings by Islamist militants in recent years, have pressed Facebook and other social media sites such as Google and Twitter to do more to remove militant content and hate speech. Government officials have threatened to fine the company and strip the broad legal protections it enjoys against liability for the content posted by its users. Asked why Facebook was opening up now about policies that it had long declined to discuss, Bickert said recent attacks were naturally starting conversations among people about what they could do to stand up to militancy. In addition, she said, 'we're talking about this is because we are seeing this technology really start to become an important part of how we try to find this content.' The Pentagon has awarded an $11 million contract to build a combined-arms squad of human and robotic capabilities. Under the new agreement, Six3 Advanced Systems will design, develop, and validate prototypes of the new system, which is expected to be completed by mid-2019. It comes as experts have increasingly warned that robotic weapons will soon play a much larger role in warfare than they already do, and could even overtake human presence on the battlefield in the next decade. Scroll down for video The Pentagon has awarded an $11 million contract to build a combined-arms squad of human and robotic capabilities. Under the new agreement, Six3 Advanced Systems will design, develop, and validate prototypes of the new system. A stock image is pictured The $10,539,652 contract from the US Department of Defense calls for Six3 to design, develop, and validate system prototypes for a combined-arms squad. Such a squad, it explains, 'combines humans and unmanned assets, ubiquitous communications and information, and advanced capabilities in all domains to maximize squad performance in increasingly complex operational environments. From unmanned trucks and aircraft, to ghost fleets of underwater drones, the military has in many ways turned its sights on autonomous technology to improve capabilities. And, a similar shift can be seen all around the world. Russia, for example, has also been working on ways to integrate combat robots into battle, including armed sentry drones, according to RT. Experts predict robots are the future of warfare and it may come sooner than many expect. Intelligent robotic weapons theyre a reality, and they will be much more of a reality by 2030, said John Bassett, a former British intelligence officer, last year, RT reports. At some point around 2025 or thereabouts, the US Army will actually have more combat robots than it will have human soldiers. US ARMY TESTING SELF-DRIVING MILITARY TRUCKS The US Army plans to test the trucks in automated mode along the Blue Water Bridge in Michigan. 'We also want the Army vehicles to drive themselves,' Paul Rogers, head of research for the Army, told CBS Detroit . 'You're crossing a steel girder bridge and you look for the different radar reflections, whether or not your system gets confused or not,' Mr Rogers said. The US Army is thought to be keen to make use of autonomous trucks to help free up its personnel for other roles while also allowing it to send unmanned vehicles into dangerous areas. Attacks on vehicles and convoys are a common cause of casualties in war zones while accidents also contribute to military fatalities. According to the Times Herald of Port Huron, the test on the Interstate 69 highway in Michigan will be the first time the army has taken its self-driving vehicles onto public roads. Advertisement Earlier this year, experts explained that the use of robots could help the US military to cut costs and would allow them to remove soldiers from potentially dangerous environments, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. In many ways, they say the move has already begun, with newer warships like the USS Zumwalt designed to be manned by half the crew of previous destroyers. Robots could take on a number of tasks, from managing and delivering supplies or analyzing thousands of legal documents, to quickly diagnosing diseases and assisting in the operating room, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Experts have increasingly warned that robotic weapons will soon play a much larger role in warfare than they already do, and could even overtake human presence on the battlefield in the next decade. Stock image Just as in the civilian economy, automation will likely have a big impact on military organizations in logistics and manufacturing, Michael Horowitz, a University of Pennsylvania professor and an expert on weaponized robots told the San Diego Union-Tribune. The US military is very likely to pursue forms of automation that reduce back-office costs over time, as well as remove soldiers from non-combat deployments where they might face risk from adversaries on fluid battlefields, such as in transportation. Robots could also be used to detect and dismantle mines, while unmanned drone helicopters can pinpoint targets, map terrain, and detect bad weather. 6/19 DIVERSIFY 2017 Marketplace - Retail10 a.m. 2 p.m.Miller Plaza: 850 Market St.Its new, improved and you dont want to miss our summer celebration of allthings local, cultural, diverse and inclusive. Its the perfect place for vendors to sell merchandise and market their services to thousands of area residents and visitors. Its also a great venue to shop for unique gifts, discover new businesses, promote upcoming events, and strike up conversations with downtown workers, startups, innovators and entrepreneurs.6/20- Government Contracting 1018 11 a.m.INCubator: 100 Cherokee Blvd.Learn the entire process of how to do business with the government in this comprehensive, 3-hour course.The course overviews the entire federal procurement process, from start to finish, and outlines everything you need to know about government contracting and how to be successful in todays procurement marketplace. For more detailed instruction about the facets of Certification and Solicitation, register for the more in depth 2 part course under our Government Contracting topic.Speaker: Paul Middlebrooks, UT ProcurementTo sign up for this free course, visit : https://clients.tsbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=30370022 6/20 DIVERSIFY 2017 Marketplace - Buy Local10 a.m. 2 p.m.Miller Plaza: 850 Market St.Our DIVERSIFY Pop-up Marketplace celebrates what makes our region special, showcasing small, multigenerational,culturally diverse, innovative and creative businesses, as well as the non-profits that support our communities.6/20 Red Bank Council MeetingNoon 1 p.m.Red Bank Community Center: Tom Weathers DriveSpeaker: Elaine Merritt, Sandler TrainingJoin the Chamber for the Red Bank Council Meeting$10.6/21 Ooltewah/Collegedale Council Meeting9:15 10:30 a.m.Collegedale City Hall : 4910 Swinyar DriveJoin the Chamber for the Ooltewah/Collegedale Council Meeting.This event is free.6/21 DIVERSIFY 2017 Marketplace - Food10 a.m. 2 p.m.Miller Plaza: 850 Market St.Join the Chamber for the DIVERSIFY marketplace. Wednesdays theme highlights local restaurants and catering companies.6/21 Hixson Council Meeting11:45 a.m. 1 p.m.North River Civic Center: 1009 Executive DriveSpeaker: Senator Bo WatsonTopic: IMPROVE ACT$10.6/22 Enterprise Gateway Council Meeting8:15 9:30 a.m.Hospice of Chattanooga: 4411 Oakwood DriveJoin the chamber for networking from 8:15 8:30 a.m., followed by a program, from 8:30 9:30 a.m.$10.6/22 DIVERSIFY 2017 Marketplace - Services & Nonprofits10 a.m. 2 p.m.Miller Plaza: 850 Market St.Join the chamber for the DIVERSIFY marketplace. Thursdays marketplace highlights nonprofits and businesses that offer a variety of services.6/22- Small Business Orientation- Complimentary Morning Course11:30 1 p.m.INCubator: 100 Cherokee BlvdThis seminar will address key topics of interest for individuals considering starting a business.Topics include: business entity options and tax registration; the importance of business planning; financing options, and the extensive network of resources through the TSBDC. Participants receive a Start Up packet containing vital phone numbers and addresses for getting established within State and Federal regulations.To register for this free event, visit: https://clients.tsbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=30360134 6/22 Ribbon Cutting for Onsight Fitness2 2:30 p.m.Onsight Fitness: 736 Georgia Ave.Join the Chattanooga Chamber for a ribbon cutting at Onsight Fitness.6/22 Business After Hours Sponsored by Hawthorne at the Summit5 7 p.m.Hawthorne at the Summit: 8602 Summit Peak WayBusiness After Hours brings an average of 100 business people together fornetworking and refreshments. This month, Business After Hours is sponsored byHawthorne at the Summit.To RSVP for this free event, click here 6/22- Small Business Orientation- Complimentary Evening Course5:30 7 p.m.INCubator: 100 Cherokee BlvdThis seminar will address key topics of interest for individuals considering starting a business. Topics such as business entity options and tax registration; the importance of business planning; financing options, and the extensive network of resources through the TSBDC. Participants receive a Start Up packet containing vital phone numbers and addresses for getting established within State and Federal regulations.To register for this free event, visit : https://clients.tsbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=30360163 6/23 DIVERSIFY 2017 Luncheon11:30 1 p.m.Chattanooga Convention Center: 1150 Carter St.Isabel Wilkerson, author of The New York Times bestseller The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of Americas Great Migration, will give the keynote speech for the luncheon.Luncheon: 11:30 a.m. 1 p.m.Business Fair: 10 a.m. 2 p.m. / closed for luncheon 11:30 a.m. 1 p.m. Amazons Echo may help around the home, but the e-commerce giant's latest device is a designated kitchen assistant. Called Dash Wand, the hand-held, Wi-Fi enabled gadget lets users add groceries to their online shopping cart via voice commands or by scanning the barcode on a specific product. The Alexa powered device can also find recipes, convert cups to ounces, find nearby restaurants and more, and it is essentially free users pay $20 for the device and get $20 off their next purchase. Scroll down for videos Dash Wand is a hand-held, Wi-Fi enabled gadget lets users add groceries to their online shopping cart via voice commands or by scanning the barcode on a specific product HOW DOES IT WORK? Users push the button on Dash Wand and either say what they need or scan the barcode on a specific product. All items are then added to the user's online shopping cart on the platform. Besides music, the Dash Wand has access to thousands Alexas features and skills. It can turn down the lights, find recipes, recommend restaurants and more. And it is essentially free - it costs $20 and users get $20 off the first purchase made with the device. Advertisement Amazon had initially released the Dash Wand back in 2014, which boasts the similar features to the new device but it was not powered by Alexa. The upgraded version does not just help you stay on top of your household goods and groceries, but it can be used to tweak the lights around the home, find places to eat in your neighborhood and help you find the perfect dish to make for a party. Besides music, the Dash Wand has access to thousands Alexas features and skills. With just a push of the button, users can stock up on groceries, order paper towels or find a tasty pizza place in town. On top of getting your money back after purchasing the device, Amazon will also let you try AmazonFresh free for 90 days, which is normally $14.99 a month. The Dash Wand can be placed on the fridge, hung in the bathroom or placed anywhere in the house, as it does not to stay plugged into the wall. This device is another weapon Amazon has devised to wiggle its way into the grocery business, as it has been predicted that by 2025 online food shopping could account for as much as 20 percent of the market. The firm is also moving towards becoming a major player in groceries stores, as it was discovered last October by Business Insider that the e-commerce giant has plans to launch 20 physical grocery stores across the US by the end of 2018. The device does not just help you stay on top of your household goods and groceries, but it can be used to tweak the lights around the home, find places to eat in your neighborhood and help you find the perfect dish to make for a party Users can either speak into Dash Wand to order products or scan the barcode on the side of a specific item The news, found in leaked documents, had also revealed that Amazons goal is to open up 2,000 Fresh-branded grocery stores over the next decade - and they will open 200 every year to hit the mark. Amazon has been trying to stand up to the druggernaut of retail, Walmart, for years and believes the grocery business is their way to do it. However, as it stands, Walmart owns 17.3 percent of the business, while to Amazon only has 1.1 percent. But its first attempt in making waves in the industry ended up being more of a disappointment. All of the items are added to the user's online shopping cart, which will shipped off via AmazonFresh when the order is completed Amazon had opened its first physical store in Seattle, which operates without any cashiers,in March, but it was found to break down if more than 20 shoppers were inside at once. The stores are designed to allow customers to walk in, pick up items and then walk out, with their Amazon accounts automatically billed without the need to wait in line. And although the idea is enough to attract consumers from all over, it will not benefit Amazon if it does not work properly. This past May was the second hottest on record, according to new data. The spring month was cooler only than May 2016, which was the warmest May in 137 years of modern record-keeping. NASAs monthly analysis reveals last month was .88C warmer than the 1951-1980 May average, and just .05 degrees cooler than last year. Scroll down for video This past May was the second hottest on record, according to new data. The spring month was cooler only than May 2016, which was the warmest May in 137 years of modern record-keeping RISING GLOBAL TEMPERATURES Year Temperature increase (C relative to average temperature 1961-1990) 2016 0.77 2015 0.76 2014 0.58 2013 0.51 2012 0.47 2011 0.42 2010 0.56 2009 0.51 2008 0.39 2007 0.49 2006 0.51 2005 0.54 2004 0.45 2003 0.51 2002 0.5 2001 0.44 2000 0.29 In some areas, particularly around the Antarctic, temperatures rose by as much as 5C above normal. Africa along with much of North America and Europe saw higher than average temperatures as well, while only parts of the Arctic appeared to cool down. The new analysis means the top two warmest Mays occurred in the last two years, according to the scientists from NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). The hottest, which occurred in 2016, was .93C warmer than the May mean. Scientists from Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York have been collecting global temperature data since 1880. The monthly data is compiled into a map of the world, which shows the changes in temperature from the average. The monthly analysis is assembled from data from 6,300 meteorological stations around the world, ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea surface temperature, and Antarctic research stations. Data from the month before showed that April 2017 was the second warmest April ever recorded. The new analysis means the top two warmest Mays occurred in the last two years, according to the scientists from NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). The hottest, which occurred in 2016, was .93C warmer than the May mean It was 0.88C warmer than the average April temperature from 1951-1980, and was second only to April 2016. The worrying news came just one month after data showed that March 2017 was the hottest March ever recorded. Professor Piers Forster, Professor of Climate Change at the University of Leeds, said: 'We need to be very careful reading too much into a hot month. 'The important evidence for climate change is the long-term upward trend and we are certainly seeing that. As global temperatures continue to rise, shocking Nasa data has shown that April 2017 was the second warmest April ever recorded. Last month was 0.88C warmer than the average April temperature from 1951-1980, and was second only to April 2016 Nasa created this map which shows the monthly temperature anomalies superimposed on a 1980-2015 mean seasonal cycle 'Scientists or campaigners jumping up and down when a record is broken will only backfire and get climate scientists accused of making false predictions if next April is cooler it maybe cooler or warmer next year, but it doesn't really matter because overall, temperatures are rising.' March 2017 was also the hottest March ever recorded - and without a El Nino effect. El Nino is a natural warming of the Pacific that alters weather worldwide. Both 2015 and 2016 set repeated warmth records during an El Nino. 'It's quite impressive; it's just climate change, not natural variability like El Nino', Mr Sanchez-Lugo from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. 'We typically expect the next year after El Nino to be slightly cooler.' It could one day help humans colonize Mars, but for now, the 6-foot 2-inch humanoid is learning how to travel over treacherous terrain. NASAs Valkyrie has demonstrated that it can successfully cross a curved, uneven path in a similar fashion as a human. The robot is equip with a LIDAR sensor, which allows it to see the cinder blocks by illuminating them with a pulsed laser light and measuring the reflecting pulses with a sensor in order to calculate the distance between the block and its foot. Scroll down for videos It could one day help humans colonize Mars, but for now, the 6-foot 2-inch humanoid is learning how to travel over treacherous terrain. NASAs Valkyrie has demonstrated that it can successfully cross a curved, uneven path in a similar fashion as a human Valkyrie is the brainchild of NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, which hopes to equip the robot named after the female spirits of Norse mythology to go to the red planet many years before astronauts are able to make the journey, for pre-deployment tasks and to maintain assets on Mars. And NASA engineers based the design on the tether attachments used by spacewalking astronauts. Currently, the humanoid machine can walk on two legs and perform basic movements, such as holding and manipulating objects. It has 28 torque-controlled joints and nearly 200 sensors that are attached to their heads, arms, abdomens and legs. Valkyrie's human-like shape is designed to enable it to work alongside people, or carry out high-risk tasks in place of people. MEET VALKYRIE: THE HUMANOID GETTING READY FOR SPACE Currently, Valkyrie (R5) can walk on two legs and perform basic movements, such as holding and manipulating objects. The program is a joint effort between NASA and the University of Edinburgh. NASA hopes to equip Valkyrie - named after the female spirits of Norse mythology - to go to the red planet many years before astronauts are able to make the journey, for pre-deployment tasks and to maintain assets on Mars. Valkyrie's human-like shape is designed to enable it to work alongside people University scientists will seek to improve the robot's handling and walking capabilities, and use Valkyrie's sophisticated on-board sensors to help it make sense of its environment, and improve its manoeuvrability. Researchers will also aim to further develop the robot's ability to interact closely and safely with humans and other machines. Valkyrie's human-like shape is designed to enable it to work alongside people, or carry out high-risk tasks in place of people. They have Iron Man-style glowing chest emblems that contain linear actuators to help with waist movement. Their power source comes from a battery in a backpack that lasts for around an hour. Sensors include sonar and LIDAR, and operators can see what the Valkyries are doing on cameras attached to their heads, arms, abdomens, and legs. R5 is an update to its existing Robonaut, which currently on the 260-mile-high ISS, performing mundane cleaning chores and fetching things for the human crew. Each leg - 4 feet, 8 inches long - has seven joints. Instead of feet, there are grippers, each with a light, camera and sensor for building 3-D maps. NASA engineers based the design on the tether attachments used by spacewalking astronauts. Advertisement The robot is equip with a LIDAR sensor, which allows it to see the cinder blocks by illuminating them with a pulsed laser light and measuring the reflecting pulses with a sensor in order to calculate the distance between the block and its foot The robot has cost the agency a total of $2 million thus far and it still needs improved software and tests in order to get it ready for space. But it seems that the humanoid is progressing, as a new video posted by IHMC Robotics, a robotics firm that developed some of its software, has revealed how it is capable of walking like a human, Motherboard reported. The robotics team laid out a group of cinder blocks in a curved path, the Valkyrie cautiously walked across each one by bending its knees and putting one foot in front of the other. The robotics team laid out a group of cinder blocks in a curved path and Valkyrie cautiously walked across each one by bending its knees and putting one foot in front of the other. Each leg - 4 feet, 8 inches long - has seven joints. Instead of feet, there are grippers, each with a light, camera and sensor for building 3-D maps. Our humanoid projects are focused on enabling our bipedal humanoids handle rough terrain without requiring onboard sensors to build a model of the terrain, IHMC Robotics shared on its website. We also focus on robustly handling external disturbance. Our goal is to tackle increasingly more difficult walking challenges. HOW LONG WILL A MANNED MISSION TO MARS TAKE? Owing to the orbits of Earth and Mars there are specific windows of opportunity when a mission can take place. Our planets come as close to each other as 33.9 million miles (54.6 million km), but can be as distant as 250 million miles (400 million km). For this reason spacecraft to Mars, such as the Curiosity rover, have to launch in certain windows when the planets are aligned. The next window is open from January 2016 to April 2016, and will see the launch of two more missions to the red planet. For a future manned mission, they will need to launch out in one of the windows and return in one, which will take two years in total. Just getting there will take up to nine months. The astronauts will be there waiting for a year until they can come back - a total of around three years. But no human has spent more than 14 months continuously in space so research is needed to see how the crew will cope. Advertisement Each leg - 4 feet, 8 inches long - has seven joints. Instead of feet, there are grippers, each with a light, camera and sensor for building 3-D maps Each upper arm consists of 4 series elastic rotary actuators and when combined with the forearm has 7 joints. The arm has a quick mechanical and electrical disconnect between the first two joints that allows for easy shipping and service. Valkyrie can also be configured to run from a wall or from battery power and the custom dual-voltage battery is capable of running the robot for about an hour. When a battery is not in use, it can be replaced with a mass simulator and capacitor that simulates the mechanical and some of the electrical properties of the battery. In a major breakthrough for quantum teleportation, scientists in China have successfully transmitted entangled photons farther than ever before, achieving a distance of more than 1,200 km (745 miles) between suborbital space and Earth. Entangled photons theoretically maintain their link across any distance, and have potential to revolutionize secure communications but, scientists have previously only managed to maintain the bond for about 100 km (62 miles). Using the quantum satellite Micius, the scientists were able to communicate with three ground stations in China, each more than 1,000 km (621 miles) apart. In quantum physics, entangled particles remain connected so that actions performed by one affects the behaviour of the other, even if they are separated by huge distances. This is illustrated in the artist's impression above WHAT IS QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT? In quantum physics, entangled particles remain connected so that actions performed by one affects the behaviour of the other, even if they are separated by huge distances. This means if you measure, 'up' for the spin of one photon from an entangled pair, the spin of the other, measured an instant later, will be 'down' - even if the two are on opposite sides of the world. Entanglement takes place when a part of particles interact physically. For instance, a laser beam fired through a certain type of crystal can cause individual light particles to be split into pairs of entangled photons. The theory that so riled Einstein is also referred to as 'spooky action at a distance'. Einstein wasn't happy with theory, because it suggested that information could travel faster than light. Advertisement The 1,300 pound craft satellite is equipped with a laser beam, which the scientists subjected to a beam splitter. This gave the beam two distinct polarized states. One of these beams was then used to transmit entangled particles, and the other used to receive the photons. Pairs of entangled photons fired to ground stations can then form a secret key. Theoretically, any attempts to breach this type of communication would be easily detectable. The satellite launched from Jiuquan Satellite launch Center last year, and the new findings mark a promising step forward in the two-year mission prove successful, which could be followed by a fleet of others if all goes well, according to Nature. To overcome the complications of long-distance quantum entanglement, scientists often break the line of transmission up, creating smaller segments that can then repeatedly swap, purify, and store the information along the optical fiber, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Or, as in this case, they can use lasers and satellites. The researchers sought to prove that particles can remain entangled across great distances in this case, nearly 750 miles. Earlier efforts to demonstrate quantum communication have shown this can be done up to just over 180 miles, and scientists hope that transmitting the photons through space will push this even farther. When travelling through air and optical fibres, protons get scattered or absorbed, Nature explains, posing challenges to the preservation of the fragile quantum state. But, photons can travel more smoothly through space. In a major breakthrough for quantum teleportation, scientists in China have successfully transmitted entangled photons farther than ever before, achieving a distance of more than 1,200 km (745 miles) between suborbital space and Earth HOW THEY DID IT Scientists in China have successfully transmitted entangled photons farther than ever before, achieving a distance of more than 1,200 km (745 miles) between suborbital space and Earth. Using the quantum satellite Micius, the scientists were able to communicate with three ground stations in China, each more than 1,000 km (621 miles) apart. The 1,300 pound craft satellite is equipped with a laser beam, which the scientists subjected to a beam splitter. This gave the beam two distinct polarized states. One of these beams was then used to transmit entangled particles, and the other used to receive the photons. Advertisement Achieving quantum communication at such distances would enable the creation of secure worldwide communications networks, allowing two parties to communicate using a shared encryption key. In quantum physics, entangled particles remain connected so that actions performed by one affects the behaviour of the other, even if they are separated by huge distances. So, if someone were to attempt to listen in on one end, the disruption would be detectable on the other. Over the course of the two-year mission, the researchers in China will conduct a Bell test to prove the existence of entanglement at such a great distance. And, they will attempt to teleport quantum states, according to Nature, meaning the quantum state of the photo will be rebuilt in a new location. Researchers from Canada, Japan, Italy, and Singapore have also revealed plans to conduct quantum experiments in space, including one proposed aboard the International Space Station. This experiment would attempt to create a reliable and efficient means for teleportation. By achieving quantum teleportation, the researchers say they could create a telescope with an enormous resolution. Thousands of travellers face travel chaos today following a major power outage at Brussels airport. Passengers were evacuated from the Belgian travel hub early this morning and forced to wait for several hours after parts of the terminal were plunged into darkness. Images posted to Twitter showed hundreds of people gathered outside the flight centre in Zaventem while engineers went about fixing the problem. Thousands of travellers face travel chaos today following a power outage at Brussels airport Passengers were evacuated from the travel hub early this morning and forced to wait for several hours after parts of the terminal were plunged into darkness Emergency services were on stand-by, handing out bottles of water to frustrated holidaymakers. One passenger told Belgian radio station radio2.be that many feared there had been a terrorist attack. He told a reporter during the incident: 'We were supposed to leave at 6am but we are still outside the entrance. There is a power failure. 'Its weird. Everybody thinks immediately of a terrorist attack, but that is not the case.' Images posted to Twitter showed hundreds of people gathered outside the flight centre in Zaventem while engineers went about fixing the problem Travel woes: All systems were back to normal by mid-morning but the backlog will affect schedules for the rest of the day Hundreds of passengers tweeted about the incident Airport spokeswoman Florence Muls said the outage hit at 5am local time on Thursday. She added that the technical hitch specifically affected the luggage and air conditioning systems Airport spokeswoman Florence Muls said the outage hit at 5am local time on Thursday. She added that the technical hitch specifically affected the luggage and air conditioning systems. After the problem was solved, people were let back into the building. A message on the airport website confirms that the problem has now been resolved. It states: 'Crucial systems are running again but delays are expected throughout the day. Emergency services were on stand-by, handing out bottles of water to frustrated holidaymakers A message on the airport website confirms that the problem has now been resolved. Despite the delays, the airport warned passengers to show up on time, and said incoming flights should not be affected 'Arriving passengers should not encounter any problems.' All systems were back to normal by mid-morning but the backlog will affect schedules for the rest of the day. Despite the delays, the airport warned passengers to show up on time, and said incoming flights should not be affected. The departures hall at Brussels Zaventem airport was attacked by two suicide bombers on March 22, 2016. That coordinated assault, along with another at Maalbeek metro station, killed 32 people with many more injured. The airport has since returned to full operations. Advertisement If you're short of time or money at the airport, this trusty transport guide might help steer you in the right direction. A new infographic reveals the quickest and cheapest ways to get downtown from the world's busiest airports. After referring to this up-to-date chart you can decide whether it's best to take a bus, taxi, train or Uber. For instance if you're in London and strapped for cash, it would be best to take a bus from Heathrow with the 75-minute journey coming in at under 10. However, if you're looking to save on time, for triple the cost, a train will take you to the city centre in just 15 minutes. Scroll down to see other cost and time-saving ways to navigate your travels on this infographic from LastMinute.com... The pessimistic weatherman is fast becoming to Brad Pitt what Donald Trump is to Alec Baldwin. Brad reprized his role as the foreboding weatherman on The Jim Jefferies Show on Tuesday. The 53-year-old gave a bleak outlook of the world in the wake of President Trump pulling out of the Paris Agreement earlier this month. Bleak outlook: Brad Pitt reprized his role as the foreboding weatherman on The Jim Jefferies Show on Tuesday When asked by the show's 40-year-old host what the weather forecast was, the smiling A-list hunk returned a dark outlook. 'Carbon dioxide is slowing turning our planet into an uninhabitable wasteland, and half the population doesnt believe it,' he said, all while maintaining a manic grin. 'Okay... But do you have a forecast for us, weatherman?' asked a clearly depressed Jim, while rubbing his temple. 'I sure do, Jim!' Brad responded enthusiastically. Not good: The 53-year-old gave a bleak outlook of the world in the wake of President Trump pulling out of the Paris Agreement earlier this month Rough weather: When asked by the show's host, Jim Jefferies, what the weather forecast was, the smiling A-list hunk returned a dark outlook 'The Lord saw the wickedness of man was great, and the Lord said, "I will destroy man, who I have created, from the face of the Earth."' Without missing a beat, the still smiling Allied actor then turned to the host. 'So dont forget your sunscreen,' he added. End of the world... 'Carbon dioxide is slowing turning our planet into an uninhabitable wasteland, and half the population doesnt believe it,' he said Turning to religion... 'The Lord saw the wickedness of man was great, and the Lord said, "I will destroy man, who I have created, from the face of the Earth"' Cover up: 'Dont forget your sunscreen,' he told the show's Australian host, turning and pointing to him It's not the first time Brad's appeared on the show as the doomsday enthusiast weatherman. Last week, he appeared on the Comedy Central series to predict the end of world. 'Things are going to be getting warmer in this area here... and this area here,' he said, gesturing towards the entire map of the world. It's over: It's not the first time Brad's appeared on the show as the doomsday enthusiast weatherman. Last week, he appeared on the Comedy Central series to predict the end of world Dire situation: 'There is no future,' Brad deadpanned. To which the show's host simply replied, 'Wonderful' When asked if he had 'any future forecasts', Brad grinned at the camera and delivered a damning outlook. 'There is no future,' he deadpanned. 'Wonderful,' responded the sarcastic Australian host. She's got impeccable taste in fashion. And on Wednesday, Katie Holmes did not disappoint as she arrived to the Fragrance Awards in New York City. The 38-year-old actress hit the carpet in a fitted white dress with colorful floral beading, adding wavy hair and minimal makeup. Scroll down for video Flower power: Katie Holmes hit the carpet in a fitted white dress with colorful floral beading for the Fragrance Awards in New York City The former Dawson's Creek star chose a curve hugging number. The look featured gold, green and silver beading in the shape of flowers along the waist, torso, hips and sleeves. Katie's dress dipped low in the front with a flared skirt and mini train. The mother of one paired the flattering summer appropriate look with wavy locks and a deep side part. A vision: The 38-year-old former Dawson's Creek star chose a curve hugging number A goddess: The look featured gold, green and silver beading in the shape of flowers along the waist, torso, hips and sleeves Natural beauty: The mother of one paired the flattering summer appropriate look with wavy locks with a deep side part Katie finished off her flawless look with a touch of pink gloss on her lips and smokey eye makeup. Also joining her on the carpet in a floral look was model Karlie Kloss. The runway star chose a pale blush maxi dress with large flowers emblazoned all over the pretty number. The cover girl's dress had a collared detail as well as buttons along the front. Karlie styled the colorful frock with a knotted belt, pulling her hair back into a bun. A lady: Katie's dress dipped low in the front with a flared skirt and mini train What a vision: Also joining her on the carpet in a floral look was model Karlie Kloss Fancy: The runway star chose a pale blush maxi dress with large flowers emblazoned all over the pretty number Strike a pose: Karlie finished off the colorful frock with a knotted belt, pulling her hair back into a bun with glowing makeup Big smiles: The cover girl's dress had a collared detail as well as buttons along the front; pictured with Marc Puig Victoria's Secret Angel Elsa Hosk chose a strapless black dress by Romona Keveza that had a see-through skirt. The 28-year-old Swedish born model showed off her sculpted legs in the strapless frock, which had a mini skirt beneath the sheer voluminous bottom half. She kept her hair simple - center parted and loose - with heavy eyeliner and pink lips to finish it off. Blonde beauty: Victoria's Secret Angel Elsa Hosk chose a strapless black dress that had a see-through skirt A gorgeous choice: The 28-year-old Swedish born model showed off her sculpted legs in the strapless frock, which had a mini skirt beneath the sheer voluminous bottom half Stunning: She kept her hair simple - center parted and loose - with heavy eyeliner and pink lips to finish off her look Fellow Angel Lais Ribeiro also wore a black dress - but chose a more revealing look. The 27-year-old model's gown had a plunging neckline, revealing her ample cleavage. The sequined look had an open skirt with tailored trousers beneath. Glittering night out: Fellow Angel Lais Ribeiro also wore a black dress - but chose a more revealing look Eye-catching: The 27-year-old model's gown had a plunging neckline, revealing her ample cleavage Lais styled her tresses sleek with drop earrings and delicate rings for pops of sparkle Actress Anna Chlumsky stood out in her bright yellow dress with a ruffled hemline and a grey element on the skirt. The former child star chose to paint her pout a bold red hue and lined her eyes with black eye makeup. Orange Is The New Black actress Dascha Polanco sported a floral patterned frock with only one sleeve. The Dominican born beauty posed up a storm on the carpet in her asymmetrical frock. Looking like sunshine: Actress Anna Chlumsky stood out in her bright yellow dress with a ruffled hemline and a grey element to the skirt Sultry: Orange Is The New Black actress Dascha Polanco sported a floral patterned frock with only one sleeve Good looking: The Dominican born beauty posed up a storm on the carpet in her asymmetrical frock The Last Song star Carly Chaikin looked pretty in her silver and black ensemble; the flirty look had a halter top neckline with ruffles along the waist and skirt. Younger's Debi Mazar decided to go for a black and red look, adding a coordinating shawl to keep warm. Trisha Yearwood chose a bright red dress that gave a hint of her cleavage; she finished it off with a large black bangle and gold shoes. Shimmering: The Last Song star Carly Chaikin looked pretty in her silver and black ensemble; the flirty look had a halter top neckline with ruffles along the waist and skirt Colorful: Younger's Debi Mazar decided to go for a black and red look, adding a coordinating shawl to keep warm Lady in red: Trisha Yearwood chose a bright crimson dress that gave a hint of her cleavage; she finished it off with a large black bangle with gold shoes Handsome: Adrian Grenier suited up in a black and white look, adding a tie and sneakers Kyle Sandilands has revealed he was sent home by two London hospitals during the Grenfell Tower fire after suffering chest pains. The 46-year-old explained on the Kyle and Jackie O show on Thursday morning that halfway through Wednesday's show he began experiencing chest pain and worried, 'Is fat boy going to croak?' A doctor was called to the London studio, from where he is currently broadcasting. Drama: Kyle Sandilands has revealed he was sent home by two London hospitals during the Grenfell Tower fire after suffering chest pains The doctor apparently said, 'Well you are very fat, I would say grossly overweight, and I smell on your breath that you smoke cigarettes'. The physician then suggested Kyle go to the hospital immediately, but the shock jock went home only to suffer further chest pain. Worried that he was having a heart attack, an ambulance was called and Kyle was dramatically treated by paramedics on the sidewalk outside his London home. The radio host was rushed to the hospital only to be sent home as stressed staff prepared to deal with dozens of burns and fire victims from the towering inferno. Heading home: The radio personality called an ambulance as he had chest symptoms and thought he was having a heart attack, only to be sent home as stressed staff dealt with dozens of burns and fire victims from the towering inferno 'Hospital staff were running around crazy. And a woman shouted, "Get out, we're closed!" The ambulance guy said we have a chest pain patient here. And she said, "No, we're setting up for major trauma. You have to go to another hospital!"' Kyle was taken to a second hospital by ambulance, only to be told he would have to to go to a third hospital. The ambulance attendant then offered Kyle 'ten pounds' to take a taxi to a third hospital as the ambulance was called to the scene of the fire. 'I just went home, watched Designated Survivor and slept on the couch,' Kyle said. Intense: 'Hospital staff were running around crazy. And a woman shouted, "Get out, we're closed!" The ambulance guy said we have a chest pain patient here. And she said, "No, we're setting up for major trauma. You have to go to another hospital!" The radio star then paid to see a private doctor who told him, 'first thing you should do is throw those biscuits out'. Kyle revealed last year that he tips the scales at 138 kilograms. Later in the program, Kyle's guest, British media personality Katie Hopkins spoke about the drama. More drama: Kyle was taken to a second hospital by ambulance, only to be told he would have to to go to a third hospital Later in the program: Kyle's guest, British media personality Katie Hopkins spoke about the drama She joked: 'I don't want to be treating fat people like you in this country. 'Even our ambulance service told him he was just too fat. Could be politely remove himself from the building?' she said in jest, as Kyle laughed. 'As a tax payer I don't want to be paying for fat people like you in this country! Go home and have your cardiac arrest'. A laughing Kyle argued that Australia was a member of the Commonwealth and he should receive treatment in the UK. He has been the point of many laughs due to his connections to Blazin' Squad. Yet Marcel Somerville has made the transition from the court jester to the king of hearts as Love Island viewers swarmed social media on Wednesday evening to praise the 'gentleman' and 'national treasure'. The 31-year-old former boy bander brought joy to viewers of the ITV2 show as he finally got lucky with show newbie Gabby Allen - in a move which led to calls for the handsome hunk to be crowned winner of the show. Scroll down for video Happy days: Marcel Somerville has made the transition from the court jester to the king of hearts as Love Island viewers swarmed social media on Wednesday evening to praise the 'gentleman' and 'national treasure' Marcel's entrance to Love Island last week fell slightly flat as none of the girls stepped forward to pick him - meaning he was paired with Olivia Attwood by default although she swiftly ditched him for Sam Gowland. After much switching around, Marcel is currently paired with Montana Brown - although again the coupling is merely by default - meaning the rapper has won a firm place as the best pal to many in the villa. With viewers growing increasingly enamoured with the kind-hearted musician, Wednesday night's episode delighted fans as he was finally seen to get up close to one of the villa's stunners - this time Liverpudlian beauty Gabby. Prior to the kiss, Gabby said: 'I have had butterflies but I dont have them all the time. Maybe thats because everythings so chilled. My heart has flipped a couple of times. Oh God that sounds so cringe doesnt it. Up close and personal: The 31-year-old former boy bander brought joy to viewers of the ITV2 show as he finally got lucky with show newbie Gabby Allen - in a move which led to calls for the handsome hunk to be crowned winner of the show Happy days: Marcel's entrance to Love Island last week fell slightly flat as none of the girls stepped forward to pick him - meaning he was paired with Olivia Attwood by default although she swiftly ditched him for Sam Gowland 'The more I get chatting to Marcel, the more we have one on one time, the more Im gravitating towards him. Hes so interesting and I find him really charming and hes obviously trying to play it cool.' After the admission the couple, who were seen working out together earlier in the day, locked lips and they soon won praise from fans far and wide. Users penned: 'ask me how happy i am that my boy marcel is finally cracking on... Gwaaan Marcel #LoveIsland... Gabby and Marcel have now replaced Camilla and Jonny as my favourite couple... The look of love: After the admission the couple, who were seen working out together earlier in the day, locked lips and they soon won praise from fans far and wide 'I just want marcel to find love, he seems like such a nice, genuine lad n would do anything for a girl #loveisland... Gabby and marcel are so cute aw #loveisland... marcel is a national treasure for sure #LoveIsland... 'Power couple with real intentions Marcel and gabby. Can someone tell dom and jess im not believing this story seemed fake #LoveIsland... well Marcel and Gabby I'm rooting for you now #LoveIsland... 'OK BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW MONTANA'S STEPPING BACK FROM MARCEL FOR GABBY EVEN THO IT PUTS HER IN A DANGEROUS SITU, A QUEEN!! #loveisland... I fuckin knew marcel and gabby would get together, ma scouserr... 'Seeing Marcel make a successful move on gabby! Yess my G #loveisland... All the #Camilla #Jonny @LoveIsland drama seems to have overtaken the Marcel and Gabby news!! #mabby ? #Garcel ?... Gabby & marcel my fave couple on love island. 'So far #scouser love gabby... shocked that nobody is talking about how FUCKING SMOOTH marcel was with that kiss!!! consider me impressed #loveisland... 'glad Marcel's happy with Gabby but dayumm the island needs a new feminist guy for Camilla urgh #LoveIsland... Gabby and Marcel, sitting on the stairs, KISSING. #LoveIsland #Kissing #dating.' Other users were enamoured with Marcel himself, as they penned: 'And is marcel the nicest man ever or what? Like serous? Wtf is this #loveisland and whys cam English but Scottish???... Marcel is really one of the girls #LoveIsland... 'Marcel is lovely #LoveIsland... I want Marcel to be my friend #Loveisland.... Marcel is a prime example of how a lad should treat girls, I just love him... Marcel is an angel who deserves the world. Don't fight me on this.' The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce has selected the Leadership Chattanooga class of 2017-18. These 40 men and women were selected from the programs most competitive process to date officials said. "Leadership Chattanooga, established in 1984, is the regions premiere leadership development program and boasts almost 1,200 alumni. As one of the Chambers flagship programs, it provides participants and alumni with substantial access to, and support from, the regions business and civic leadership networks. The Class of 2018 reflects much of our communitys diversity and includes representatives from business, government and nonprofit sectors," officials said. We have participants from big business and small business; from healthcare, technology, finance, utilities, education, public safety and so many other elements of the local economy, said Bill Kilbride, Chamber president and CEO. Bergen Aldahir Partnership for Families, Children and Adults Jared Bigham Chattanooga 2.0 John Bilderback Chattanooga Hamilton County Health Dept. Susan Cowden Southeast Tennessee Development District John Douglas Pinnacle Financial Partners Connie Fernandez Skye Strategies Chelsea Garcia Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough, PLLC Joey Greer EPB Susan Harris See Rock City, Inc. Jeff Hollis Vision Hospitality Group, Inc. Miles Huff Spire Labs, Inc. Shea Jefferson City of Chattanooga Angela Johnson Girls Preparatory School Althea Jones Tennessee Valley Authority Amy Katcher Hamilton County Department of Education Kevin Kruchinski Tennessee American Water Courtney Krueger First Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga Alexa LeBoeuf UnifiEd Sande Lambert Signal Centers, Inc. Albert Leavengood CIGNA HealthCare Sammy Lowdermilk The Enterprise Center Stefanie Mansueto Chase Commercial Banking Lisa Maragnano CARTA Jeremy Martinez BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee KeeKee Mathis Volkswagen Group of America Patrick Miles La Paz Chattanooga Donald Mueller Children's Hospital at Erlanger Strat Parrott Juncture, LLC Meg Scarbrough Chattanooga Times Free Press Darian Scott Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce Meagan Shinn River City Company Tyler Siira Unum Krista Stephens Volkswagen Chattanooga Michael Stone Public Education Foundation Jennifer Summerlin Inline Electric Supply Maggie Tanner Synovus Banking Company/Synovus Bank Amanda Thompson U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. James Tyson EMJ Corporation Nathan Vaughn Chattanooga Police Department Justin Whitaker United Way of Greater Chattanooga We have some class members who have already achieved a great deal and others who are early in their careers. But they all have a love for our community in common and a desire to learn more and to make an impact.The Leadership Chattanooga program year kicks off in August with orientation and retreat sessions, and continues with monthly sessions and project work, culminating with graduation the following May.Leadership Chattanooga can be a transformational experience for members of our community who desire to be and do more, said David Steele, Chamber vice president of Policy and Education. We provide class members with unique exposure and experiences, with particular skillsets and tools, and with a dynamic network.Members of the 2017-18 class are:Find more information about Leadership Chattanooga here or call program director Diane Parks at 423-763-4353. An argument about a plate of spaghetti bolognaise escalated randomly into a race row on Wednesday night's Big Brother. After being cooked dinner by Imran and Tom, the housemates waited patiently to eat dinner together; but Ellie and Chanelle headed into the kitchen before everyone else and started tucking in. But Hannah was sure to make her feelings about this clear, barging into the kitchen to inform the two ladies that she felt they shouldn't have started eating before the others. Scroll down for video 'It's got NOTHING to do with race!' Big Brother viewers are left baffled and angry as Hannah Agboola suddenly turns a tiff about spaghetti into an attack on her Nigerian heritage As Imran had already scolded the girls for being 'selfish', Lotan expressed that Hannah didn't need to reiterate this, and that she should stay out of it. This infuriated Hannah who began screeching at Lotan for telling her what she should and shouldn't do. 'Im not about the bulls**t and the attention seeking!' she said, amoung an array of other vehement jibes. 'You created the argument you moron,' Lotan retaliated, before branding her 'a moody cow'. This escalated quickly into an expletive-laden row between the two, with Hannah storming into the diary room with Sukhvinder where she suddenly began accusing Lotan of being a racist. 'When you're a black girl, they like to take advantage of you and try to get the worst out of you!' she randomly ranted. 'I am Hannah, before colour. I am Hannah, before being 22. I am Hannah, before being Nigerian!' Enraged: Explosive scenes on Wednesday night saw Lotan Carter and Hannah Agboola go head-to-head in a furious row Furious: This escalated quickly into an expletive-laden row between the two, with Hannah storming into the diary room with Sukhvinder where she suddenly began accusing Lotan of being a racist At this point, Sukhvinder appeared to break down into tears over the rant, which only spurred Hannah on. 'Don't try making a perception on me that you can do this s**t continuously to me. They think if they get at me I'm going to pop off one day, but I'm not that violent person!' This did not sit well with the masses, as Twitter became littered with tweets by people slamming Hannah for her sudden decision to make the argument about her background. 'What the hell is Hannah's problem?? And what the hell has her race got to do with it? #GetAGrip!' came one irritated tweeter. Backlash: This did not sit well with the masses, as Twitter became littered with tweets by people slamming Hannah for her sudden decision to make the argument about her background 'Hannah randomly decides to whip out the race card!' came another post, as a third wrote: 'Why's Hannah using the racist card when the argument wasn't anything to do with her colour, what a melt!' A fourth posted: 'No. Hannah I was on your side and then you went all the way left!' Followed by a fifth and sixth who wrote 'Woahhh NO-ONE played the race card except YOU Hannah. Bang out of order' and 'I dont understand why race was bought into it tbf...' Someone felt Hannah should even be reprimanded for her sudden racial take on the situation: 'Race was NEVER brought into that argument Hannah should be told off for bringing that up!' Race rant: Hannah screeched - 'When you're a black girl, they like to take advantage of you and try to get the worst out of you!' she randomly ranted. 'I am Hannah, before colour. I am Hannah, before being 22. I am Hannah, before being Nigerian!' Someone else posted: 'How did an argument over food get turned into an issue about race? What is wrong with people?' Another echoed: 'I'm confused how an argument over food ended up being about #Hannah and the colour of her skin and where she's from?!' Some seemed to support Hannah however, with one person posting: 'Black people are always labelled as aggressive all the damn time!! Can we stick up for ourselves in peace!' A second person wrote: 'But is Hannah lying about the race thing? Lol only a black person will see how valid her reason is!' She was seen enjoying a lunch at Sydney's Catalina on Wednesday with Roxy Jacenko's protege Holly Asser and hotelier Craig Adamson. And on Thursday's Kyle and Jackie O Show, Kyle Sandilands teased co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson for receiving freebies after she was gifted a large bag of goodies from the Ritz hotel. After discovering the 41-year-old had been treated to a luxurious robe and candles, Kyle teased his co-host on air: 'What's going on here? Something's dodgy.' 'What's going on here? Something's dodgy': Kyle Sandilands teased Jackie 'O' Henderson (right), 41, for receiving freebies after she had lunch with Roxy Jacenko's protege Holly Asser and hotelier Craig Adamson, in Sydney on Wednesday The radio duo also addressed rumours Jackie was 'planning something' with the hotelier, but the blonde beauty insisted she was just 'catching up with some friends.' 'Who are these people you're talking to?' the shock jock asked. 'Holly is from Sweaty Betty PR and Craig is from Leading Hotels of the World,' Jackie replied. 'Sorry, where's Craig from? Leading Hotels of the World? Never heard of this bloke....What's that about then?,' Kyle teased his co-host. Line of questioning: 'Who are these people you're talking to?' the shock jock asked Swag: Jackie revealed she received a robe and some candles during the lunch 'What's that big bag you've got? Paris bag?' he continued. 'He (Craig) brought that back,' Jackie explained. 'He stayed at the Ritz Hotel in Paris and brought back a beautiful robe and some candles for me.' But Kyle was having none of it. 'What's going on here? Something dodgy's going on. No bloke brings a woman that he's not having sex with back a robe and candles. That says something,' he playfully told Jackie. Jackie's renowned for getting freebie holidays,' before adding: 'I tip my hat off to ya. It's brilliant.' Jackie's renowned for getting freebie holidays,' before adding: 'I tip my hat off to ya. It's brilliant' Kyle teased The on-air discussion was in relation to a lunch meeting at Sydney's exclusive Catalina restaurant in Rose Bay, set up between Roxy Jacenko's protege Holly and Craig. Craig is the Australian and New Zealand director of The Leading Hotels of the World, managing an impressive portfolio of boutique international hotels, including the Ritz Paris. Holly is a senior publicist at Sweaty Betty PR, and looks remarkably similar to her employer Roxy Jacenko. With her acid tongue and withering glare, she is the undisputed Queen of Mean. But televisions most terrifying presenter has been left a quivering wreck thanks to the most unlikely of enemies - a scuttling mouse. So terrified of the odd stray rodent is she, that Anne Robinson has employed a permanent pest control unit. So terrified of the odd stray rodent is she, that Anne Robinson has employed a permanent pest control unit The former Weakest Link host now receives monthly visits from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelseas rodent team, who check her house from top to bottom, and make the necessary reinforcement should a mouse dropping be found. A source said: Anne is absolutely petrified of mice and rats; its almost a phobia. Her next door neighbours building works caused a small influx of rats. Understandably, she was fairly livid especially when she stumbled upon a rat casually sunning itself on her back patio. Pest control were immediately called out, and poison was put down to get rid of the problem. She was also advised to block-up any cupboard gaps or holes in the wall with iron wool to stop them from being able to get in. Clearly Anne never wishes to come nose to nose with a rodent again, or hear the pitter patter of tiny paws, so she has the council on a retainer - meaning they come out once a month merely as a preventative measure. The former Weakest Link host now receives monthly visits from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelseas rodent team They check her house from top to bottom, and make the necessary reinforcement should a mouse dropping be found For peace of mind alone, it is worth every penny. Whilst a one-off visit - and two follow-up visits - costs 120, the council offers special rates for those on a retainer. According to its official website, a small house or flat with a mouse problem will be charged a minimum of 500 a year for an annual retainer. However, given that the 72-year-old star lives in a 6 million detached house on one of Londons finest streets, she is likely to be paying considerably more than this. Of course, such a rodent repulsion is likely to come as something of a shock to her legion of TV fans. For 12 years she left contestants shaking in their boots thanks to her scathing put-downs and a dismissive raise of the eyebrow as she unceremoniously told them, You are the weakest link; goodbye! Indeed, so scary was her on-screen demeanour, one commentator likened her to an emotional dominatrix. The popular presenter, a former journalist said to be worth around 50 million, is notoriously straight-talking. She has previously admitted to having had a facelift, and has spoken about her erstwhile battle with alcoholism which she overcame. Speaking about her television persona, she previously said: As far as Im concerned, Im doing my bit for the sisterhood just by being here. If you look at Mrs Thatcher, female solidarity wasnt even on the ninth page of her mission statement, but by becoming prime minister, she did more for women than any feminist you could mention. Lais Ribeiro was a knockout on Wednesday when she swung by Lincoln Center for the evening's Fragrance Foundation Awards. The 26-year-old Victoria's Secret Angel had slid into a glistening black dress that was open in front below the waist, revealing form-fitting charcoal trousers. A section of solid black fabric clashed with the sparkling look and emphasized her trim waistline, and the getup's sloping neckline dipped to her midriff. Scroll down for video Showstopper: Lais Ribeiro was a knockout on Wednesday when she swung by Lincoln Center for the evening's Fragrance Foundation Awards Her hair tucked neatly behind her ears to reveal drop earrings, Lais held an ornately patterned black and silver clutch against her enviably chiseled legs. Also a scene-stealer was ex-Victoria's Secret Angel Karlie Kloss, who according to the Fragrance Foundation's website is one of three co-chairs of the event. The other two are Carolina Herrera and her daughter Carolina Herrera De Baez, who per Harper's Bazaar is the 'creative director of fragrance' at her mother's brand. Hello, gorgeous: The 26-year-old Victoria's Secret Angel had slid into a glistening black dress that was open in front below the waist, revealing form-fitting charcoal trousers Karlie had turned up to Wednesday's awards fete at Lincoln Center dressed in a pale pink dress with wide-set sleeves ending at the elbow and an elegant collar. Purple and green floral designs were speckled over the dress, which the 24-year-old model had cinched about her enviably slender waist with a turquoise belt. Presented by Hearst Magazines, the Fragrance Awards will be garlanding Marc Puig as a Hall Of Fame Honoree when the ceremony's held at Alice Tully Hall. When you got it: A section of solid black fabric clashed with the sparkling look and emphasized her trim waistline, and the getup's sloping neckline dipped to her midriff Harry Fremont's being celebrated for his Lifetime Achievement as a perfumer at the awards, a black tie event that's got a dinner and after-party also on the schedule. As the Fragrance Foundation have revealed, Victoria's Secret Angel Jasmine Tooks is being crowned Face Of The Year, Olivia Palermo hailed as Instagrammer Of The Year. In the section of awards being doled out for Fragrance Coverage, the prize for an Article is being given to The Nude Review, a piece Francis Kurkdjian wrote for Allure, where Jenny Bailly's the Executive Beauty Director. Luann DAgostino is standing by her man. The Real Housewife of New York has slammed her castmates for spreading 'totally untrue' cheating rumors about her new husband Tom. 'The other women are just drumming up drama, and I wish they could find their own happiness,' the 52-year-old told People Magazine. Stand by your man: Luann DAgostino has slammed her RHONY castmates for spreading 'totally untrue' cheating rumors about her new husband Tom The duo tied the knot in Palm Beach, Florida on December 31. But in the months leading up to the marriage, her fellow RHONY star Bethenny Frankel insisted Tom had been unfaithful, even up to the day before their engagement party. Last season, Bethenny showed Luann photos of Tom allegedly making out with another woman in a hotel. But Luann shrugs the negativity off, insisting she is 'over the moon' about her second hubby. Reports: But in the months leading up to the marriage, her fellow RHONY star Bethenny Frankel insisted Tom had been unfaithful, even up to the day before their engagement party Hurt: Bethenny cried as she tried to convince Luann her hubby-to-be had cheated Mind your own beeswax: 'The other women are just drumming up drama, and I wish they could find their own happiness,' the 52-year-old told People Magazine 'Married life is so blissful. Ive had the best few months of my life,' she said. The reality star also shared some info on what the pair have been up to since getting hitched. 'Weve been traveling a lot weve been to Napa wine tasting, Vegas, Palm Beach, taken a helicopter into the Grand Canyon weve just been traveling and having adventures,' she continued. 'Marriage has just been in amazing adventure,' We travel together and join each other for work all the time and are inseparable and hardly apart.' Luann was married to financier Count Alexandre De Lesseps from 1993 to 2009 making her a Countess; a title she lost when she remarried. From piling on the pounds to sleeping in the frozen wilds, ambitious actors have always gone the extra mile in the hope of winning an Oscar. But Hollywood star James McAvoy has hit out at the lengths some of his contemporaries go to in order to win awards. The 38-year-old Scot reveals he has been instructed to lie about just how gruelling certain film roles have been in the hope it earns him official recognition. Honest: Hollywood star James McAvoy has hit out at the lengths some of his contemporaries go to in order to win awards He said: Ive been told so many times that if you want to win awards, you need to start making it sound like youre f***ing sweating blood every time you step on set. People want me to say things like, That was the hardest thing Ive done! It consumed me completely! 'For me its just my job and creatively speaking, it didnt leave me shattered but I feel that people are disappointed when I say that.' Somewhat ironically the X-Men actor has been tipped for an Oscar for his role in the psychological thriller Split, in which he plays a maniac with 24 personalities. McCoy, who split from his actress wife Anne-Marie Duff last year, added that caring for his six-year-old son, Brendan, helps him cope with playing deranged characters. Gritty: The 38-year-old Scot reveals he has been instructed to lie about just how gruelling certain film roles have been in the hope it earns him official recognition. Pictured in the film Split It also means he has little time for the hardcore method acting favoured by some of his Tinseltown peers - the kind that later goes on to earn Academy Award nods. In the same interview with US website TheTalks.com, the London-based star explained: I really, really love it [acting] and I hope that every job allows me to love it. When Im doing it, theres nothing else. You get up at 6:00 am and you dont get home until eight or nine and then you do it all again and its so exhausting you have no life when you work. If Im spending half my life doing that, then half my life is entirely that. But the other half is bringing up my kid and being a stay-at-home dad. So, comparatively, acting is just my job. Candid: He said: Ive been told so many times that if you want to win awards, you need to start making it sound like youre f***ing sweating blood every time you step on set' And I think that that approach makes it easy to separate myself from roles. I m relatively mentally healthy and I think its hard to separate yourself from roles when youre not. McCoys down to earth approach to his trade is a far cry from that of many of his famous rivals. In 1999 Hilary Swank spent five weeks strapping down her breasts and living as a man in order to prepare for her role as a trans male in the film Boys Dont Cry, which went on to win her an Oscar. Similarly both Robert DeNiro and Charlize Theron each put on around four stone in weight to play boxer Jake LaMotta in 1980s Raging Bull and serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003s Monster respectively. They both won Oscars. Last year Leonardo DiCaprio scooped his first Academy Award by eating raw bison and enduring hypothermic conditions in the wilderness just as his his character, Hugh Glass, did in The Revenant. Network Ten may have been given a last minute lifeline from billionaire shareholders Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon. But that hasn't stopped Twitter coming up with innovative ideas on how to fix the troubled company, which went into voluntary administration on Wednesday. Within moments of the announcement, Australians took to Twitter with the hashtag #FixNetworkTen to offer their solutions, from Toadie taking over The Project to replacing Grant Denyer with SBS newsreader Lee Lin Chin. George to save the day? From George Calombaris heading up payroll to Neighbours star Toadie taking over The Project: Twitter has come up with humorous ways to save Channel 10 How to cut costs: Twitter suggested Calombaris should head up Ten's payroll to help the company cut costs, after the Masterchef's own business reportedly underpaid staff by $2.6 million Lee Lin Chin: To replace Grant Denyer on Family Feud Others jokingly suggested that George Calombaris should head up Ten's payroll to help the company cut costs, after the Masterchef's own business reportedly underpaid staff by $2.6 million. They tweeted: 'Ten announces Masterchef's George Calombaris to head payroll: "clearly, we need to cut costs. George is the perfect choice."' Another asked for Shane Bourne be bought back for Thanks God You're here. Some requested Offspring to bring Patrick back from the dead, while one user seemed to seriously suggest that Sophie Monk be cut from the popular reality dating show The Bachelorette. Bring him back! Another asked for Shane Bourne be bought back for Thanks God You're here Lose her! One seemed to seriously suggest that Sophie Monk be cut from The Bachelorette Offspring: Some suggested that Patrick be brought back from the dead Ten's board put the company into administration on Wednesday, with corporate advisory group KordaMentha taking control of the station behind The Project, The Biggest Loser and MasterChef. Ten's chief executive Paul Anderson told a media conference 'this is extremely disappointing for all of us'. In a statement released by Ten, directors were left 'with no choice' but to enter administration. Ideas! In a statement released by Ten, directors were left 'with no choice' but to enter administration but this didn't stop one user coming up with innovative ideas The broadcaster says they expect immediate financial results with the changeover, bringing in $50 million between 2018-19 and 'potentially more than $80 million' per year after 2019. They have also replaced contract agreements with major US partners Fox and CBS, reducing their access to their content by up to 50 per cent. Current and former staff have expressed their sadness over the decision and offered support to Ten Network staff. Toadie to save the day! One Twitter user just wanted Neighbours star Toadie to star in everything The company's share price plummeted to just 16 cents ahead of the request to the Australian Securities Exchange, which valued the network at less than $60 million. In a statement to the exchange, Ten said key major shareholders Mr Murdoch's Illyria Pty Ltd and Birketu Pty Ltd, the investment vehicle of millionaire Bruce Gordon would no longer support credit facilities that are keeping the company afloat. In 2013, James Packer, Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon agreed to guarantee a $200million loan for the company. The loans expire on 23 December, after which the company will be liable for the debts that the company has made clear it does not have the funds to pay. Hours after being placed into voluntary administration, media moguls Lachlan and Bruce agreed to explore ways of paying off the beleaguered TV broadcaster's $250 million debt. Lachlan, who is co-chairman of newspaper giant News Corp Australia, and Gordon, the owner of regional broadcaster WIN-TV, could turn Ten from a listed to a private company. Ed Balls famously performed a side-splitting rendition of Gangnam Style during his stint on last year's Strictly Come Dancing. And the former Labour MP was keen to pass on his moves, as he was seen teaching Conservative politician Michael Gove his trademark routine during a skit on a special episode of Channel 4s The Last Leg, in honour of late MP Jo Cox. Filmed in a lift, the duo were feeling particularly playful as they larked around in the scenes which are set to air just days after he was controversially appointed Environmental Secretary. Ed's routine has now become iconic, having been dragged out for Comic Relief in March, after he reached Week 10 on Strictly with the hilarious dance. He has now put back on his dancing shoes to rehash his hugely popular Gangnam Style - this time with the assistance of his former political foe. In the clip, inquisitive Michael begins the routine while stating: 'The one thing is moving is the moving from side-to-side'. Ed then said: 'You step forward', before he spoke through the moves step-by-step while counting him down, before stating: 'Er... That will do'. Dancing around: Ed Balls famously performed a side-splitting rendition of Gangnam Style during his stint on last year's Strictly Come Dancing Teaching the way: The duo ditched their former clashing views to dance their socks off Honour: And the former Labour MP was keen to pass on his moves, as he was seen teaching Conservative politician Michael Gove his trademark routine during a skit on a special episode of Channel 4s The Last Leg, in honour of late MP Jo Cox The former Labour MP and the new Environment Secretary showed off their moves for the two-hour special to mark a year anniversary since the tragic death of politician Jo, who was murdered in broad daylight in Birstall. Atop Michael and Ed, politicos including Alastair Campbell and Nick Clegg will join hosts Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker in the studio alongside comedians Jon Richardson and Stephen Mangan. The show is part of The Great Get Together weekend, which will also see tributes from C4 hit Sunday Brunch with an appearance from London mayor Sadiq Khan. Teaching: The former Labour MP and the new Environment Secretary showed off their moves for the two-hour special to mark a year anniversary since the tragic death of politician Jo, who was murdered in broad daylight in Birstall Look at them now: Writing in Daily Mail about his original performance, Ed said: 'One thing I didnt realise before signing up as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing was that each week the wardrobe department would insist on sewing the bottom of whichever shirt Michael's appearance is topical as he has caused shockwaves when announced as Environmental Secretary after being sacked by Theresa May as Education Secretary in David Cameron's government. Michael previously wrote a gushing tribute to Ed, penning in his Times column: 'The former cabinet minister and ex-shadow chancellor is now reborn as the Peoples Ed, the star of Strictly, the nations favourite dad-dancer and the best vote-getter Labour has had since Clement Attlee. 'But politics is poorer without him. We need more passion, more commitment, more courage in setting out provocative intellectual cases, more urgency in driving reform, more faith in the power of argument to change minds and votes, more willingness to risk criticism, even derision, in pursuit of deep principle. In short, we need more Balls.' Ryan Seacrest has revealed that he nearly signed a deal to host the rebooted American Idol before joining his pal Kelly Ripa on Live With Kelly And Ryan. 'I've always loved the show. And if I could do it forever, I would do it forever,' Ryan dished to The Hollywood Reporter in his first full-length interview since the show wrapped, released online on Wednesday. The 42-year-old television and radio personality added: 'Who am I if not the American Idol guy?' Old friends: Ryan Seacrest signed on for Live With Kelly And Ryan after Fox wrapped American Idol but he has admitted that a return to ABC's rebooted Idol is not out of the question Ryan hosted Fox's hit show from the day the first season began on June 11, 2002, until the day it wrapped the 15th and final season on April 7. The already busy celebrity was advised not to jump into anything too quickly by Bob Pittman, CEO of iHeartMedia. Ryan hosts and produces iHearts Los Angeles-based 102.7 KISS-FM morning drive-time show as well as the nationally syndicated On Air With Ryan Seacrest and American Top 40 With Ryan Seacrest. 'When you come off a show like that, and you'd been doing it as long as he did, your natural tendency is to quickly replace it,' Bob told THR. Back in the day: The 42-year-old was a co-host with comedian Brian Dunkleman when the show bowed on July 11, 2002 'But unlike most people, Ryan has this huge audience who listens to him every day on the radio - it's bigger than his audience for Idol - so people aren't forgetting about him, he isn't going away.' Ryan is now co-hosting Live! with his longtime friend and he revealed he got the support of previous hosts Michael Strahan - who sent over a bottle of wine - and Regis Philbin when the appointment was announced. He dished that Regis said: 'Ryan, I was most worried about doing something the night before so we had something to talk about in the first 20 minutes of the show, so just make sure you're doing something.' Busy star: The celebrity, seen at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, hosts a morning show on the station's Los Angeles-based 102.7 KISS-FM as well as other radio shows The man behind the mike: He also hosts the nationally syndicated On Air With Ryan Seacrest and American Top 40 With Ryan Seacrest And the celebrity - who also presents live television specials including Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest, which he also produces - says he now knows what he is good at and what he isn't. He told THR: 'I've figured out what I'm better at and what I'm not so good at, and I'm doing the things that I'm better at. The things that I'm not so good at would make me tired and would make me want to slow down.' Meanwhile, Ryan may yet return to ABC's Idol reboot. 'We want Ryan to be a master of all things live for us in the way that Regis Philbin was for many years here,' Disney/ABC executive Ben Sherwood told THR. Making stars: Ryan welcomed Carrie Underwood back to American Idol for its finale. The star won the fourth season in 2005 The Real Housewives Of Sydney star has expressed gratitude at receiving medical advice from her Instagram fans, after her son Harry, 6, had a painful reaction to a tick bite on Tuesday night. Lisa Oldfield originally asked her followers 'should we take him to emergency?' on Wednesday before having a doctor rushed to her Sydney home. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the reality star revealed: 'If I had left it 48 hours there could have been serious complications in the long term.' 'If I had left it 48 hours there could have been serious complications': Real Housewives Of Sydney's Lisa Oldfield praises her Instagram followers for giving her medical advice after son Harry, 6, was bitten by a tick Family: Lisa shares her two young boys, Albert, 4, and Harry, 6, with former One Nation politician husband David Oldfield (pictured) Lisa shares her two young boys, Albert, 4, and Harry, 6, with former One Nation politician husband David Oldfield. The Sydney businesswoman claims the family gets bitten by ticks all the time due to where their property is situated, but have never encountered, but have never had a severe reaction. 'The Doctor thinks that Harry has been bitten by ticks so often that he's now developed an allergy to them, which can be very dangerous,' she revealed. The concerned mother-of-two added: 'There was a risk of spotted fever, which is like a chronic fatigue syndrome where your lymph nodes swell up.' While Lisa said Harry remained relatively calm, it was his younger brother Bert, 4, who was scared: 'If anyone was distressed it was Bert. He thought Harry was going to die, but he was relieved to hear that his brother is around for a long time yet to come.' Harry was given antihistamine and antibiotics by a home doctor from the service 13SICK and was well enough to attend school the next day. 'There was a risk of spotted fever': The concerned mother-of-two said the doctor believed Harry had developed an allergy to tick bites and was at risk of developing spotted fever, which she said 'is like a chronic fatigue syndrome where your lymph nodes swell up' Ouch! Lisa posted a picture of the six-year-old's bare back with a large, painful red lump visible below his shoulder Worried brother! Lisa said: 'If anyone was distressed it was Bert (4). He thought Harry was going to die, but he was relieved to hear that his brother is around for a long time yet to come' Lisa posted a picture of the six-year-old's bare back with a large, painful red lump visible below his shoulder to Instagram on Wednesday night. 'Plucked what seemed an #innocuous #tick from Harry's back last night. Has now become a #red #raised #sore lump the size of a small saucer,' the reality star described the circular rash. Fans suggested she call a home doctor or take the child to hospital right away for 'peace of mind'. Others suggested using antibiotics and drawing a ring around the rash, while also inquiring if she used appropriate tweezers to remove the tick safely. 'Get him to hospital. Lyme Disease is no joke. Better safe than sorry,' one Instagram user said, as many others worried about the possibility of Lyme Disease. 'Better safe than sorry': Fans suggested she take the child to hospital right away or call a home doctor, with many fearing the possibility of Lyme Disease 'Thank you everyone!' Lisa took the advice from her followers and had a GP sent to her home by using the 13SICK number suggested by many of her fans Three hours later, Lisa updated her followers by confirming a doctor had 'sorted him out' with medication without needing to visit the hospital. She revealed: 'Hugely #grateful to all of you who sent advice after Harry's #tick #bite - best lesson was @bupaaustralia has a 13 SICK line who sorted him out with #antihistamine and #antibiotics without the #trauma of #emergency or an #ambulance.' Andy Hodes, a Chattanooga realtor has been awarded the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Designation by the Council of Residential Specialists, the not-for-profit affiliate of the National Association of Realtors.Realtors who receive the CRS Designation have completed advanced professional training and demonstrated outstanding professional achievement in residential real estate. Less than 3.5 percent of realtors nationwide have earned the credential, officials said."Home buyers and sellers can be assured that CRS Designees subscribe to the strict realtor code of ethics, have access to the latest technology and are specialist in helping clients maximize profits and minimize costs when buying or selling a home," officials said.Mr.Hodes is a sales associate with Keller Williams Realty in East Brainerd. He is a member of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors and is licensed in both Tennessee and Georgia. Mr. Hodes earned an MBA in 1997 and also holds the designation of RCS-D (Real Estate Collaboration Specialist Divorce) as well as the GRI designation (Graduate, Realtor Institute) among other professional achievements.He can be reached at 423-595-7355 or Andy@AndyHodes.com. LuAnn D'Agostino finally tied the knot with Tom on Wednesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of New York City. The happy couple walked down the aisle in Palm Beach, Florida, on New Year's Eve and the show's cameras were there to capture the special evening - with most of the Housewives not invited. 'I am so ready and so happy,' the 52-year-old bride told the cameras as she got her hair and make-up done for the big event. Bride and groom: Luann D'Agostino and Tom got married on Wednesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of New York City 'I am a hopeless romantic. I have been looking to be in love and married again and for me Tom was like finding home again. 'I knew the first week that I met Tom that I was going to marry him. I feel really lucky that I have a man who loves me as much as he does. 'Every morning he wakes up and he reaches for me and there is nothing that feels better than that, to feel loved, to feel wanted, to feel whole as a couple. 'There is no guarantee you are going to find love again. I have a lot of single girlfriends. Tom just happened to come into my life and I feel really lucky. Like the pearly gates opened up and my father dropped him down on my lap, thanks dad.' First kiss: Tom and Luann kissed after becoming husband and wife Really lucky: Luann said she felt 'really lucky' to find love with Tom LuAnn was walked down the aisle by her brother Michael in a ceremony that was not attended by many of the Housewives cast. 'It's all just so overwhelming, it is just beautiful and perfect it is everything I imagined it would be with more nerves than I expected. 'There have been so many people who have not been supportive of Tom and I and do you know what I have to say to them? Ha ha, I'm here I made it. Brother and sister: The bride was walked down the aisle by her brother Michael 'This has been my dream and it has not been easy but to have my children there is magical and for them to be able to share this moment with me is incredible. 'I was getting really doubtful I would ever find someone again. With being Mrs D'Agostino I have a whole new life with Tom and we can take this journey together. I have someone to play with all the time and I love my new playmate.' The episode titled A Countess No More kicked off at Sonja Morgan's townhouse with her 39-year-old French lover Edgar who she calls 'Frenchie.' Family affair: Luann's children Noel and Victoria were part of the wedding Exchanging vows: Tom and Luann exchanged vows in front of family and friends but not so many Housewives Sonja told the cameras that Frenchie was taking it very seriously and it 'looks like we are dating' but she said it was a 'conundrum' because she also was dating Rocco. Tinsley told the cameras that Sonja had meant to set her up with Frenchie but liked what she saw and took him for herself. 'Thanks a lot b****,' Tinsley jokingly complained. Living together: Tinsley and Frenchie found themselves living together with Sonja When Tinsley asked if the pair were serious, Edgar told her and Sonja that he was always serious about his relationships. 'It's scary because this is not what I was looking for but everything else is going to have to fall in place for now,' said Sonja. Over breakfast it became clear that Edgar knew about Rocco, causing Sonja to scream out-loud in embarrassment. On the floor: Sonja dramatically dropped to the floor after learning Frenchie knew about Rocco 'Ive got some explaining to do, it's cool, we are all adults, one French and one Italian, it should be interesting,' she admitted. Bethenny meanwhile threw a holiday party but did not invite Ramona. 'Am I upset? A little,' Ramona admitted as she got ready for a night out of her own with daughter, Avery, and her young friends. Holiday party: Bethenny meanwhile hosted another holiday party Oyster lesson: Dorinda Medley got a lesson on how to open oysters Caviar party: Bethenny served up caviar at her holiday party Over dinner Ramona said there were many similarities between her and Bethenny despite their blow out arguments. She also later confided that after raging at Bethenny something bothered her on her bedroom wall and she yanked at a plug and 'pulled a painting off a wall'. At the party Dorinda Medley seductively opened oysters before the women drank through a Skinnygirl Cocktails ice sculpture. Mother and daughter: Ramona Singer wasn't invited to Bethenny's party but instead had dinner with her daughter Avery and her young friends Dorinda told Bethenny that she had 'said my piece' to Ramona and confronted her about the state her home had been left in. 'You know what this s*** is over, I can't take it. I said I think they are a disgrace,' said Dorinda as she complained about Ramona trashing her guest bedroom. Carole Radziwill told the women that she felt Ramona had been less fun and more aggressive this year, noting it was the second year after her divorce. Piece said: Dorinda aired her grievances with Ramona who left her house a mess 'I don't want to turn this into a Ramona bashing as I love Ramona but she hurt my house,' said Dorinda. After Christmas, Bethenny went for Chinese food with Carole and discussed LuAnn's marriage. 'Did it really happen? No one saw it,' said Bethenny as Carole slyly suggested 'other kinds of rumors' about Tom. Other rumors: Carole slyly slipped in some 'other kinds of rumors' about Tom 'She will strap one on with the best of them,' joked Bethenny. Dorinda took Ramona through LuAnn's wedding as Dorinda admitted she had grown tired of celebrating their nuptials. Ramona then told the cameras she was not happy about being invited to the couple's post-wedding celebration party. Not happy: Ramona was not happy about being invited to Luann's post-wedding party 'We are the discard, okay, thanks,' she told the cameras. Sonja then shocked her temporary roommate Tinsley by admitting that Edgar was moving in with them. 'I am in a precarious situation and I am very nervous about how fast this is moving, I should not have kissed him. We should have just stayed having sex,' she laughed to the cameras. Precarious situation: Sonja was moving fast with Frenchie while still dating Rocco 'I am in a conundrum with the guy, I cannot just throw him away. I have feelings for this guy and I just want to see him all the time.' At LuAnn's party Bethenny said she hoped it was the last event to celebrate a wedding that she wasn't asked to attend. 'I did call her a whore a year ago, so it's okay,' she admitted as she was the first to arrive and joked that it was a party only for people who had not slept with Tom. Wedding party: Bethenny admitted that she probably didn't deserve a wedding invitation Tinsley surprised the group by showing up at the party with her 23-year-old date, Chad. 'She is officially now part of the cougar club,' laughed LuAnn. The women asked Tom how his new ring felt and he joked about its weight and asking LuAnn if he really had to wear one. Cougar club: Tinsley Mortimer joined the cougar club with her young date Chad 'I'm sorry but if my fiance cheated on me with another girl he is wearing a ring,' Tinsley told the cameras sternly. Sonja then arrived with Frenchie and introduced him to the women. 'I can't believe I let him out of the bedroom but here he is,' Sonja told them as Tinsley let Bethenny know he had moved in with them. Public display: Sonja finally introduced Frenchie to her friends And when Dorinda found out she told her friend 'that was not smart.' 'Isn't she still dating Rocco? I mean how does that work?' said Dorinda skeptically. Sonja introduced her former longtime 'friends with benefits' Tom to Frenchie while congratulating the couple on their wedding. 'I wish you could have been to the wedding,' Tom said before he grabbed Luann by the throat and kissed her. Together again: Tom told Sonja that he wished she could have been at the wedding The bold kiss was't missed by Sonja. 'I don't know what's going on with you and that chokehold. Keep it in the bedroom,' Sonja told the cameras. The episode ended with Dorinda giving a heartfelt toast to the couple while noting they were finally done celebrating their nuptials. If there is one thing a starlet never has enough of it is clothes. And it looked like Vanessa Hudgens had spent a pretty penny as she lugged some bags after a shopping spree in Los Angeles on Wednesday. However she also made sure she gave her fellow shoppers something to smile about by flaunting her toned tummy during her latest retail tour of duty. Belly prancer: Vanessa Hudgens flaunted her flat stomach in a crop top in LA Wednesday The High School Musical filly looked in fine form indeed as she trotted along in her revealing crop top, which she twinned with blue jeans, black Gucci shoes and Sunday Somewhere sunglasses. But perhaps the most impressive aspect of the 28-year-old's ensemble was her wonderful wicker handbag, a trend that is sure to catch on. As if that was not enough to carry, she was also lugging an enormous Urban Outfitters bag, which was no doubt stuffed with goodies. Thankfully for her financial adviser, it is not all long lies and expensive retail therapy sessions for the hardworking actress. Basket case: The fashion forward starlet was also carrying a trendy wicker handbag Bag lady: She was also lugging an enormous Urban Outfitters bag stuffed with goodies Lady in red: She added a dollop of sauce to her look by wearing scarlet lipstick For made her debut as one of the judges on the latest season of So You Think You Can Dance, and even took to the stage to show her skills. Season 14 of the dance competition premiered on Fox on Monday. Unfortunately, Vanessa's NBC sitcom Powerless won't be returning for another season. The workplace comedy set in the world of DC Comics was officially cancelled May 11. Split decision: The High School Musical star strutted her stuff on So You Think You Can Dance She's the best-selling author of 11 novels and a stunning former model. And now Tara Moss has proven there's nothing she cannot do, turning her attention to vintage sewing and undergoing a rockabilly makeover. The 43-year-old shared a video with her Instagram followers on Thursday in which she's being etched with an elaborate sleeve tattoo. New woman: Tara Moss has proven there's nothing she cannot do, turning her attention to vintage sewing and undergoing a rockabilly makeover Her latest ink appears to be the word 'Mother' surrounded by flowers and birds, and it takes up most of her upper arm. The beauty captioned the video: 'How was your day? Mine was spent with the exceptional tattoo artist @_megan_oliver_ getting my latest tattoo - a tribute to my late mom, Janni.' The Tara in the video looks very different to the tanned, blonde model who has walked many a runway and red carpet. The journalist's transformation into retro chic has been gradual, however began to take a dramatic turn when she dyed her hair red in April. New tat: Her latest ink appears to be the word 'Mother' surrounded by flowers and birds She's been slowly adding to her collection of tattoos as well, which includes a feather, a swallow, a birdcage and a large back piece featuring a woman's face on her shoulder. For the past year, Tara has been learning to sew vintage style outfits, and started a specific Instagram to share her journey with fans. The account is called Sewing Vintage with Tara Moss, and the bio describes the beauty as a 'Vintage nerd learning to sew.' New look: The journalist's transformation into retro chic has been gradual, however began to take a dramatic turn when she dyed her hair red in April Making it: For the past year, Tara has been learning to sew vintage style outfits, and started a specific Instagram to share her journey with fans Authentic: The writer's outfits have become more elaborate as time goes on, with era-specific costumes inspired by the 1940s and 1950s featuring heavily on her Instagram The writer's outfits have become more elaborate as time goes on, with era-specific costumes inspired by the 1940s and 1950s featuring heavily on her Instagram. Fans have been supportive of the change, with many complimenting Tara's new hair and style on Instagram. One fan wrote, 'Looks stunning on you!' while another added, 'That suits you so much, it looks stunning!' He's the Australian actor who's scored gigs alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names. And as he touched down on home soil on Thursday, Joel Edgerton was looking better than ever. Arriving at Sydney International Airport, the 42-year-old actor channelled his inner geek, rocking a pair of glasses as he strolled through the terminal. It's all about how you frame it! Joel Edgerton (pictured) was spotted channelling his innner geek as he opted for black-framed glasses matched with a grey flat cap as he arrived at Sydney International Airport on Thursday The black rounded frames teamed with a grey flat cap gave the Great Gatsby star a hipster vibe. Keeping warm in a charcoal leather jacket worn over a white T-shirt, Joel opted for comfortable black pants and sturdy tan workman boots. The ruggedly handsome Australian could be seen sporting a beard as he carted his large nondescript black suitcase through the airport arrival area. Hipster vibe: Joel teamed the look with a leather jacket, black pants and sturdy tan boots World traveller: Joel is no doubt racking up the frequent flyer points with his frequent travels Joel regularly flies between the US and Australia for work. It's been a busy time for the actor and director, who has several projects currently in post-production, including spy thriller Red Sparrow alongside Jennifer Lawrence. Joel has also reportedly been trying to woo Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe to sign on to his upcoming gay conversion therapy drama Boy Erased. New project: The actor and director is reportedly trying to convince Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe to work with him on his gay conversion therapy drama Boy Erased In 2016, the Felony actor revealed to GQ magazine that his hectic schedule led his split with former flame Alexis Blake. 'I made a decision that I was just going to work my a*** off,' he told the publication. 'To be honest, I haven't changed that thought. I'm seriously married to work.' Scott Disick was photographed on Wednesday stepping out with his elder two children, son Mason and daughter Penelope, in Calabasas. The 34-year-old had popped on a pair of aviator sunglasses over a deep blue sweater he'd worn with a slightly faded pair of blue jeans. Having completed his ensemble with a pair of powder blue sneakers, Scott kept a hand near Penelope's shoulder as the trio took in a sunlit stroll. Scroll down for video Out and about: Scott Disick was photographed on Wednesday stepping out with his elder two children, son Mason and daughter Penelope, in Calabasas Scott's got three children by his on-and-off paramour Kourtney Kardashian, Mason's 2009 birth having been immortalized on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The co-parents welcomed their now four-year-old daughter Penelope into the world in 2012, and Kourtney gave birth to her youngest child, a son called Reign, in 2014. Kourtney and Scott, who'd been introduced in 2006 by Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis in Mexico, last ended their romantic relationship in July of 2015. Keeping warm: The 34-year-old had popped on a pair of aviator sunglasses over a deep blue sweater he'd worn with a slightly faded pair of blue jeans Scott and Kourtney both paid visits to Cannes during its recent film festival, and she'd been spotted there with her 24-year-old new flame Younes Bendjema. Scott was photographed in the South of France with a string of women including Bella Thorne, Chantel Jeffries, Ella Ross and Chloe Bartoli. His trip abroad also swept him to London, where he was photographed shirtless on a balcony with a male friend - also shirtless - and a topless woman who's been rumored to be 21-year-old Australian model Ruairi Lake. Watchful parent: Having completed his ensemble with a pair of powder blue sneakers, Scott kept a hand near Penelope's shoulder as the trio took in a sunlit stroll The day after he'd been seen poolside with 19-year-old Bella, self-confessed 'sex addict' Scott was spotted - poolside once again - getting cozy with Chloe. That same day, when Scott and Chloe were seen together, Bella tweeted: 'Yo this #cannes fancy life isn't for me,' and returned stateside not long after. Quoting another user's tweet that read: 'Waiting for @bellathorne to tweet that she's not talking to Scott and that she's actually with someone else,' Bella wrote in response: 'Hahahah I'm not talking to scott or anyone else. #dontf***withit'. Background: Scott's got three children by his on-and-off paramour Kourtney Kardashian, Mason's 2009 birth having been immortalized on Keeping Up With The Kardashians Bella's told Complex, in an interview that was posted online this Tuesday, that 'Scott is really nice, sweet, charming. I dont drink, and he really drinks a lot. 'Ultimately, it just ended up ...I just wasnt down. I was like: "I gotta leave.'" We were [at Cannes] a day and a half before I was like Im booking my flight and leaving.' Said she: 'I love to go out and have fun, I love to f***ing dance, but I just dont party hardcore like that and it was way too much for me,' and she's recalled: 'I was like: "Woah, this is not the way I live my life, bruh."' She split from ex-boyfriend Kris Smith last year, after four years of dating. And Maddy King showed the British hunk what he's missing during a swimsuit photo shoot in Sydney on Thursday. The 26-year-old model showed off her beach body in a black zip-down one-piece with brightly coloured detail on the sides, which highlighted her gorgeous figure. Sizzling: Maddy King showed ex-boyfriend Kris Smith what he's missing during a swimsuit photo shoot in Sydney on Thursday Beach body: The 26-year-old model showed off her beach body in a black zip-down one-piece with brightly coloured detail on the sides, which highlighted her gorgeous figure She showed off her toned and tanned frame as she posed against a rocky beach side backdrop. Her luscious brunette mane was styled in beach-waves with a deep side part and worn loosely over her shoulders. She wore flawless makeup consisting of light foundation, blush, mascara and a nude lip. Stepping away from the sun: At one point, the Chadwick model shielded her eyes from the sun between takes Beaming beauty: Maddy looked confident and at ease as she showcased her best angles At one point, the brunette beauty modelled a different look and posed for snaps wearing a black and white quirky-print swimsuit that further highlighted her golden glow. During breaks, Maddy sat comfortably perched on some rocks while sporting a hot pink robe as she checked her smartphone. The nutritionist showed no signs of heartbreak months after her split from I'm A Celebrity star Kris, 38. Changing look: At one point, the brunette beauty modelled a different look and posed for snaps wearing a black and white quirky-print swimsuit which further highlighted her golden glow Making a splash: Her luscious locks were styled in loose romance curls and worn loosely and her makeup was flawlessly applied Taking a break: During breaks, Maddy sat comfortably perched on some rocks while sporting a hot pink robe as she checked her smartphone The pair confirmed they had parted ways in October, with ex-professional rugby league player Kris calling it 'sad' at the time. 'I am definitely very single and will be for a while I imagine,' he told The Daily Telegraph. 'Maddy and I broke up a bit ago, it has been a while. It is sad but we are just heading in different directions. Over: Maddy and Kris Smith announced their split in October 'Maddy and I broke up a bit ago, it has been a while. It is sad but we are just heading in different directions,' the Myer ambassador said The Myer ambassador added: 'Obviously we have a lot of love and respect for each other so we are just letting each other go our own path.' Earlier this year Kris, who once dated Dannii Minogue, was linked to Channel Ten employee, Hannah Scott after they were pictured cosying up on Instagram. They've been dating since their high school days. And Ansel Elgort and his girlfriend Violetta Komyshan looked loved-up as ever when they attended the Los Angeles premiere of his new film Baby Driver on Wednesday night. The 23-year-old actor's gorgeous girlfriend stole the show on the red carpet in sheer lacy red mini-dress, before taking the dancefloor by storm at the after-party for Edgar Wright's new film. Scroll down for video Red hot: Ansel Elgort's girlfriend Violetta Komyshan stole the show on the red carpet when they attended the Los Angeles premiere of his new film Baby Driver on Wednesday night Boogying in style: The couple later took the dancefloor by storm at the after-party for Edgar Wright's new film The pair threw some shapes as they cut loose at the bash, laughing as Ansel spun her around. The couple, who rekindled their romance in 2015 following brief break, looked smitten with each other as they partied the night away. Frills encircled Violetta's neckline and hem, which had been cut off around mid-thigh, and she'd cinched the ensemble about her enviably trim waistline with a black belt. Cute couple: The pair threw some shapes as they cut loose at the bash, laughing as Ansel spun her around Long-term lovebirds: The couple, who rekindled their romance in 2015 following brief break, looked smitten with each other as they partied the night away Partying in style: Also in attendance were CJ Jones, Edgar Wright and Jamie Foxx He's a fan! Ansel looked thrilled to be hanging out with Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin A black clutch held in her hands, she'd completed the ensemble with a black pair of ankle-strap stilettos, as wear as the glistening set of drop earrings she'd worn. Ansel had buttoned himself into a silver and pewter grey pinstriped suit, which he'd worn with a similarly silvery-hued turtlenecked jumper for his movie's premiere. A white pocket square popped against the otherwise rather muted tone of his getup, and he'd popped on a glinting pair of black dress shoes on his evening out in LA. Celebrating: The leading man posed with Hannah Minghella and Edgar Wright Side by side: Ansel Elgort stars as Baby, the titular getaway chauffeur in Edgar Wright's film Evening wear: Violetta rocked a sheer lacy red mini-dress with sleeves that were cuffed in frills around her elbows Full of smiles: Frills encircled her neckline and hem, which had been cut off around mid-thigh, and she'd cinched the ensemble about her enviably trim waistline with a black belt Accessorizing: A black clutch held in her hands, she'd completed the ensemble with a black pair of ankle-strap stilettos, as wear as the glistening set of drop earrings she'd worn Leading man: Ansel had buttoned himself into a silver and pewter grey pinstriped suit, which he'd worn with a similarly silvery-hued turtlenecked jumper for his movie's premiere In addition to standing for photographs with his girlfriend, Ansel'd also got in quite a bit of posing alongside Lily James, who plays the character his falls for in the film. Lily's strapless dress offered up quite a bit of cleavage, and it featured a baroque swirl of intricate gold and purple patterning, having been hemmed above the ankle. When she turned about, she revealed that the dress was not only largely backless - the fabric starting with a streak of frill - but also had a thigh-slit up the back of it. Dapper Dan: A white pocket square popped against the otherwise rather muted tone of his getup, and he'd popped on a glinting pair of black dress shoes on his evening out in LA Colleagues: In addition to standing for photographs with his girlfriend, Ansel'd also got in quite a bit of posing alongside Lily James, who plays the character his falls for in the film Hello, gorgeous: Lily's strapless dress offered up quite a bit of cleavage, and it featured a baroque swirl of intricate gold and purple patterning, having been hemmed above the ankle Reveal: When she turned about, she showed that the dress was not only largely backless - the fabric starting with a streak of frill - but also had a thigh-slit up the back of it Over the shoulder: Lily posed up a storm whilst stood on the black carpet Wednesday night Her brown hair had been pulled back into a finely wound do, and she'd slid her feet into a navy blue pair of ankle-strap stilettos at the new movie's L.A. unveiling. Ansel also beamed as he stood for photos with an arm about Eliza Gonzalez, who in Baby Driver plays a character called Darling, who's one of Baby's fellow criminals. Eliza had slid herself into a half-turtlenecked sleeveless dress that featured a swirl of white floral designs that spread over a much more translucent white background. Aglow: Ansel also beamed as he stood for photos with an arm about Eliza Gonzalez, who in Baby Driver plays a character called Darling, who's one of Baby's fellow criminals Chic: Eliza had slid herself into a half-turtlenecked sleeveless dress that featured a swirl of white floral designs that spread over a much more translucent white background Ready for the prem: Ankle-strap high-heeled shoes did the trick as far as footwear was concerned, and the dress itself had a slit up the back that ended about at the knee A glistening pair of ankle-strap high-heeled shoes did the trick as far as footwear was concerned, and the dress itself had a slit up the back that ended about at the knee. Jamie Foxx, who plays yet another one of the criminals who works with Baby, had popped on a suit that was spattered with tiny white polka-dots over a black field. A white dress shirt and a gleaming pair of black dress shoes went elegantly with the whole look for the 49-year-old, who's won an Oscar for his performance in Ray. Debonair: Jamie Foxx, who plays yet another one of the criminals who works with Baby, had popped on a suit that was spattered with tiny white polka-dots over a black field Pedigree: A white dress shirt and a gleaming pair of black dress shoes went elegantly with the whole look for the 49-year-old, who's won an Oscar for his performance in Ray Jon Hamm had worn a shining Oxford blue tie with a deep purple dress short, over which he'd fastened on a silver suit that clashed against his black dress shoes. Flea, who posed with his fists clenched and arms flung wide, wore a brownish-green jacket with matching trousers with a patterned T-shirt and brown-and-beige shoes. Those actors - Lily, Ansel, Jon, Eliza, Jamie and Flea - were all seen posing alongside the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy director, who's also helmed their new film. Dashing: Jon Hamm had worn a shining Oxford blue tie with a deep purple dress short, over which he'd fastened on a silver suit that clashed against his black dress shoes Personality: Flea, who posed with his fists clenched and arms flung wide, wore a brownish-green jacket with matching trousers with a patterned T-shirt and brown-and-beige shoes As the rest of that septet stood, Flea was seen kneeling in front of them, one arm arced behind his back and another one jutted forward, the hand closed in a fist. Edgar, who was seen roaring with laughter, had teamed a jet-black suit with a charcoal tie he'd clashed stylishly against the white dress shirt he'd buttoned on. Ana De Reguera, who's not in Baby Driver, had matched a single apple green earring with a matching sleeveless top made up of fabric shaped like sprays of leaves. Top brass: Those actors - Lily, Ansel, Jon, Eliza and Jamie - were all seen posing alongside the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy director, who's also helmed their new film Scene-stealer: As the rest of that septet stood, Flea was seen kneeling in front of them, one arm arced behind his back and another one jutted forward, the hand closed in a fist Mirthful moments: Edgar, who was seen roaring with laughter, had teamed a jet-black suit with a charcoal tie he'd clashed stylishly against the white dress shirt he'd buttoned on What a swell party: The director and his actors in the film seemed to be having an absolute ball A hand at her impressively slender waistline as she struck a pose for the cameras, Ana had pulled herself into a pair of powder blue trousers over her open-toed shoes. Patton Oswalt stood on the premiere's black carpet whilst holding hands with actress Meredith Salenger, neither of them having been in Baby Driver. Meredith had slung a black leather jacket over a black top with a dipping neckline, and had pulled on a purple, white, blue and grey floral skirt with an asymmetric hem. Verdant: Ana De Reguera, who's not in Baby Driver, had matched a single apple green earring with a matching sleeveless top made up of fabric shaped like sprays of leaves Duo: Patton Oswalt stood on the premiere's black carpet whilst holding hands with actress Meredith Salenger, neither of them having been in Baby Driver Lady in leather: Meredith had slung a black jacket over a black top with a dipping neckline, and had pulled on a purple, white, blue and grey floral skirt with an asymmetric hem Meanwhile, Patton's midnight blue blazer matched his trousers, and he'd got a lighter blue patterned dress shirt untucked and buttoned over his darker undershirt A patterned black leather clutch she held to her side matched the ankle-strap high-heeled shoes Meredith had popped on, and she'd got her hair gathered into an updo. Meanwhile, Patton's midnight blue blazer matched his trousers, and he'd got a lighter blue patterned dress shirt untucked and buttoned over his darker undershirt. Multiple rings on his fingers, Jon Bernthal had worn a midnight blue suit over a white dress shirt and had left a couple of the shirt's buttons undone over his chest. Swank: Multiple rings on his fingers, Jon Bernthal had worn a midnight blue suit over a white dress shirt and had left a couple of the shirt's buttons undone over his chest Cheery: Having played another one of the criminals in Baby Driver, John had augmented his look with a silver striped pocket square, giving a thumbs up to the cameras Serene smile: Zach Braff, also not in Baby Driver, had still swung by its premiere, and had buttoned on a charcoal suit over a sky blue dress shirt and a wine-colored pair of shoes Warm moment: He stood on the carpet sharing an embrace with Ashley Greene, who sizzled in a slitted cocktail dress and who like Zach hadn't acted in the new Edgar Wright film Having played another one of the criminals in Baby Driver, John had augmented his look with a silver striped pocket square, giving a thumbs up to the cameras. Caleb McLaughlin, a 15-year-old actor best known for the Netflix series Stranger Things, was adorable in a print short-sleeved button down and a pair of sneakers. Zach Braff, also not in Baby Driver, had still swung by its premiere, and had buttoned on a charcoal suit over a sky blue dress shirt and a wine-colored pair of shoes. Radiant: Though Ashley's sleeveless dress was largely black, it featured sky blue sashes of fabric cinching in her svelte waistline and flowing down at the back past her ankles Dazzling: Her hair had been teased up into a sort of pompadour, and the black fabric of her dress had been hemmed slightly above the ankle to give a full view of her stilettos He stood on the carpet sharing an embrace with Ashley Greene, who sizzled in a slitted cocktail dress and who like Zach hadn't acted in the new Edgar Wright film. Though Ashley's sleeveless dress was largely black, it featured sky blue sashes of fabric cinching in her svelte waistline and flowing down at the back past her ankles. Her hair had been teased up into a sort of pompadour, and the black fabric of her dress had been hemmed slightly above the ankle to give a full view of her stilettos. Cute couple: She'd got in a bit of red carpet posing alongside Paul Khoury, to whom she'd got engaged near the end of last year and who's let a goatee sprout onto his face Spouses to be: Paul had got on a light blue dress-shirt beneath a charcoal and black tuxedo, and he and his fiancee were snapped by the cameras whilst kissing on the carpet New star: Caleb McLaughlin, a 15-year-old actor best known for the Netflix series Stranger Things, was adorable in a print short-sleeved button down and a pair of sneakers She'd got in a bit of red carpet posing alongside Paul Khoury, to whom she'd got engaged near the end of last year and who's let a goatee sprout onto his face. Paul had got on a light blue dress-shirt beneath a charcoal and black tuxedo, and he and his fiancee were snapped by the cameras whilst kissing on the carpet. Natasha Lyonne and her beau Fred Armisen, neither of whom has got an IMDb credited role in Baby Driver, were the image of cheer as they posed together. Fred had swung by the premiere in a checked dress shirt comprised of various blue shades, and his Persian blue suit went well with a pair of midnight blue shoes. Arm in arm: Natasha Lyonne and her beau Fred Armisen, neither of whom has got an IMDb credited role in Baby Driver, were the image of cheer as they posed together Keeping close: Fred had swung by the premiere in a checked dress shirt comprised of various blue shades, and his Persian blue suit went well with a pair of midnight blue shoes Dynamic double: Whilst she was on the carpet, Natasha also managed to get in a bit of posing alongside Aubrey Plaza, whose deep purple strapless dress seemed to be velour Looking swell: A splash of blue, pink and white floral patterning adorned the left side of the tiny cocktail dress, which Audrey had worn with a pair of thinly-strapped stilettos Meanwhile, Natasha had got on a flowing green dress hemmed around mid-thigh, plus a slightly sack-like camel-colored purse with a black strap, and black shoes. Whilst she was on the carpet, Natasha also managed to get in a bit of posing alongside Aubrey Plaza, whose deep purple strapless dress seemed to be velour. A splash of blue, pink and white floral patterning adorned the left side of the tiny cocktail dress, which Audrey had worn with a pair of thinly-strapped stilettos. Sky Ferreira had flung a muted print jacket over a tiny black cocktail dress, whilst Alanna Masterson posed up a storm in an embroidered orange gown and Riki Lindhome had turned up in a patterned dress that showcased her svelte frame. Baby Driver, the cast of which also includes such names as Kevin Spacey and Micah Howard, will open in cinemas June 28 both in America and in Britain. He plays one of Australia's most loved characters on TV soap Home And Away. And as the only cast member remaining from the 1988 pilot episode, Ray Meagher has been through it all as Alfred 'Alf' Stewart. But after being widowed twice, the Summer Bay resident may have found love again. Single no more? After being widowed twice, Alfred 'Alf' Stewart (played by actor Ray Meagher) may have found love again Ray, 72, was pictured filming scenes with a female character played by Sarah Chadwick on Thursday. The veteran television actor was spotted on the boat dock looking a little grouchy in Sydney's Palm Beach. Wearing a brown polo shirt and a pair of khaki trousers, he completed his casual look with a floppy tweed hat. Alf's new love interest? Ray, 72, was pictured filming scenes in Sydney's Palm Beach with a female character played by actress Sarah Chadwick (pictured) on Thursday Flirting? Sarah was pictured walking along with the pier with determination before sitting down and talking with Ray Joining Ray on the dock was his potential new love interest, Sarah Chadwick, who appeared on the show in 2011 as Vanessa Unley. Sarah is best known for her roles in The Flying Doctors as Dr Rowie Lang and as Marion in the 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The returnee Summer Bay actress was dressed in cropped white trousers and a loose shirt for her scenes. What's in the basket? Alf was seen walking along the dock with a fishing rod and a basket looking somewhat grouchy Working hard: Ray was seen filming his scenes effortlessly on Thursday Watch and learn! With the filming limited to the dock, Sarah was later seen among the cast and crew watching Ray perform his scenes Sarah was pictured walking along with the pier with determination before sitting down and talking with Ray. With the filming limited to the dock, Sarah was later seen among the cast and crew watching Ray perform his scenes. Sarah's Home And Away return is set to take place later this year. Coming soon! Sarah's Home And Away return is set to take place later this year Hard at work: Ray was also spotted relaxing on the dock in-between filming scenes She plays a waitress who steals the heart of a young getaway driver, played by Ansel Elgort. And Lily James put on a leggy display in a structured floral dress at the premiere of Baby Driver on Wednesday night. The actress, 28, showed of her incredible figure in the strapless blue midi dress covered in flowers at the Los Angeles event. Classic beauty: Lily James showed off her amazing figure in a structured blue dress covered in pink flowers at the Baby Driver premiere in Los Angeles Lily's dress, which featured a slit up the back of the frock, also featured pink piping around the neckline. The structured dress nipped in at her waist, accentuating the War and Peace actress's curves. Lily, who shot to fame as fun-loving blonde Lady Rose on Downton Abbey, tied her natural brown locks back for the Los Angeles premiere. The actress twisted a strand of hair from her crown to the nape of her neck, which she fixed in a low ponytail. Flower power: The strapless midi dress was finished off at the bodice with a length of pink piping Svelte figure: The War and Peace actress put on a leggy display at the premiere in the slit dress, which showed off her toned pins Screen siren: The structured dress nipped in at the War and Peace actress's waist, accentuating her natural curves Smouldering: The actress added to her natural look with a brown smoky eye and added a sparkle to the evening with glittering silver and multi-toned earrings Having a laugh: Lily had a dance with co-star Ansel Elgort as the group posed for pictures The actress added to her natural look with a brown smoky eye and added a sparkle to the evening with glittering silver and multi-toned earrings. Lily completed her look with a pair of navy blue strappy heels and delicate rings. The Cinderella actress stars in the action film Baby Driver opposite Ansel Elgort, Jon Hamm and Kevin Spacey. Edgy: Lily's boyfriend Matt Smith arrived at the premiere in a navy suit, which he wore in his usual unconventional style Quirky twist: Matt wore a black t-shirt underneath his navy suit and accessorised with a delicate necklace Relaxed: The actor rolled up his jacket sleeves as he arrived to support his girlfriend at her premiere Star-studded cast: Baby Driver, which was directed by Edgar Wright (centre), stars Lily, Ansel Elgort, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez and Jamie Foxx (left to right) Lily, who plays Ansel's love interest, posed with the Divergent star at Wednesday's premiere. The actor, 23, channeled a retro look in a grey pinstripe suit and a thin polo neck. Ansel teamed his suit with a pair of black shoes and offset the grey with a white pocket square. High-octane: The action follows getaway driver Baby, played by Ansel, who has to take part in a bank heist before he can leave the criminal world behind Criminal underworld: Jon, Eiza and Jamie all play members of a gang of bank robbers who recruit Baby to help them perform a heist Double trouble: Eiza, who wore a transparent white dress covered in floral detailing, posed with Lily at the premiere after party Pulling faces: Jon Hamm, who looked dapper in a grey suit with a navy shirt, decided to leap into the frame Photobombing: Eiza and Lily laughed after Jon started pulling faces behind them Moving in the right circles: The pair posed with TriStar executive Hannah Minghella at the after party on Wednesday night Lily's boyfriend Matt Smith arrived at the premiere in a navy suit, which he added his own quirky twist to. The former Doctor Who star, 34, wore a black t-shirt underneath his suit jacket and accessorised with a delicate necklace. The actor rolled up his jacket sleeves as he arrived to support his girlfriend at her premiere. Having fun: Lily laughed and had a joke with her co-star Eiza, who plays one of the bank robbers Mr Draper will see you now: Lily posed with Mad Men star Jon Hamm, who also stars in Baby driver Gorgeous: Both women looked glamorous at the premiere after party on Wednesday night Lily's co-stars Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx and Eiza Gonzalez also posed on the red carpet with Baby Driver director Edgar Wright. The film, which will be released on June 28, follows getaway driver Baby, who has to take part in a bank heist before he can leave the criminal world behind. Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey plays the leader of a group of bank robbers who recruit Baby to help them perform a heist. Co-stars: Jon plays Buddy, one of the bank robbers who is dating Eiza's Darling Bear hug: Lily had a cuddle with the film's director Edgar Wright after the premiere Glam girls: Lily shot to fame as aristocrat Lady Rose on Downton Abbey and played Cinderella in the live action remake of the Disney film She was always destined to follow in the footsteps of her supermodel mum Jerry Hall. And Georgia May Jagger flaunted her sensational genetics as she arrived at the party for her premiere clothing collaboration with VOLCOM in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The beauty, 25, flashed her enviably toned stomach in a stylish crop top and tiny mini-skirt as she was joined by her sartorially savvy model pal Suki Waterhouse. Scroll down for video All eyes on her: Georgia May Jagger, 25, flaunted her sensational genetics as she arrived at the party for her premiere clothing collaboration with VOLCOM in Los Angeles on Wednesday Georgia looked sensational as she ensured all focus on herself in the sexy ensemble which flashed every inch of her honed figure. The sleeveless crop top showed off her slender midriff while the button down skirt exhibited her toned legs. Already standing at a statuesque 5 ft 9 in tall, the daughter of Sir Mick Jagger boosted her height in a pair of towering silver strappy heels. The photogenic star boasted an incredibly glossy, teased blow-dry - framing her striking features and famous gap-tooth smile. Model squad: The beauty flashed her enviably toned stomach in a stylish crop top and tiny mini-skirt as she was joined by her sartorially savvy model pal Suki Waterhouse Sensational: Georgia looked sensational as she ensured all focus on herself in the sexy ensemble which flashed every inch of her honed figure Racy: The sleeveless crop top showed off her slender midriff while the button down skirt exhibited her toned legs Georgia teamed the look with a chunky glitzy silver choker and kept the rest of her accessories to a minimum. The star looked in high spirits as she was joined by a number of glamorous guests to celebrate the launch of her collaborative efforts with fashion brand Volcom. Previously talking about her influences for the line, Georgia revealed: 'My life has always been naturally surrounded by skateboarding & music. I always find myself attracted to the city, street culture and musicians.' Eye-catching: Already standing at a statuesque 5 ft 9 in tall, the daughter of Sir Mick Jagger boosted her height in a pair of towering silver strappy heels Stunning: The photogenic star boasted an incredibly glossy, teased blow-dry - framing her striking features and famous gap-tooth smile Sartorially savvy: Also joining Georgia at the event was her stunning pal Suki, who went for a chic hoodie and the same leg-flaunting skirt at Georgia Gorgeous: The model and actress wore her locks in tousled beachy waves Meanwhile, the catwalk queen has been getting used to having a new Jagger to contend with, after her rocker dad welcomed his eighth child in December. Ballet dancer Melanie Hamrick, 30, welcomed a son Deveraux Octavian Basil Jagger - - Octavian means 'born eighth' in Latin - with the Rollings Stones legend. Sir Mick has a daughter, Karis Hunt Jagger, 46, from his relationship with Marsha Hunt and a daughter Jade Jagger, now 45, with his ex-wife Bianca. Glam: Georgia teamed the look with a chunky glitzy silver choker and kept the rest of her accessories to a minimum Party time: The star looked in high spirits as she was joined by a number of glamorous guests to celebrate the launch of her collaborative efforts with fashion brand Volcom Previously talking about her influences, Georgia revealed: 'My life has always been naturally surrounded by skateboarding & music. I always find myself attracted to the city, street culture and musicians' The high life: Georgia was always destined to follow in the footsteps of her supermodel mum Jerry Hall Fun: Lindsey Troy of Deap Vally provided the entertainment for the night He had four children with his ex-partner Jerry Hall - Elizabeth, 32, James, 31, Georgia and Gabriel, 18. Also joining Georgia at the event was her stunning pal Suki, who went for a chic hoodie and the same leg-flaunting skirt at Georgia. The model and actress wore her locks in tousled beachy waves and kept it comfortable in a pair of white trainers. Content: Georgia was in high spirits as she exited the event - proving it was a success Trendy: Georgia held onto a super cool biker jacket as she strutted off into the night Need for speed: Georgia hopped into an awaiting vehicle and sped off home Chattanoogas history is moving into the UTC Library. More than 7,600 objects, almost 14,000 photos, and a huge number of text and paper items are being packed for the trip to their new home. Among the items, originally intended for the Chattanooga History Center are more than 100 years of personal and family papers, business records, photographic materials, moving images, textiles, books, periodicals, and physical objects. This collection represents our citys history and heritage, says Theresa Liedtka, dean of UTC Library Administrative Services. The collection has tremendous scholarly and local history value. It is the desire of both the UTC Library and the Chattanooga Public Library to work together to curate these important elements of Chattanoogas history and culture and to make them available to citizens of Chattanooga and the world. Corinne Hill, director of the library, describes the collaboration as a wonderful example and opportunity for two community anchor institutions to work together and share expertise. We are looking forward to collaborating on ways to safeguard and celebrate these historic archives so they can be enjoyed for generations," she says. Pieces in the collection cover such historical eras as the Cherokee Nation, the Civil War and Reconstruction, local sit-ins and demonstrations during the Civil Rights Era, and the renewal of Chattanooga from pollution-ridden to tourist destination. There also are materials from such noted Chattanooga families as the Brocks, Luptons, and Crutchfields and informational items from such city-based entities as Wheland Foundry, Coca-Cola, Fairyland, and Engel Stadium. The main goal is to keep the collection intact, in Chattanooga, and in protected spaces, Ms. Liedtka says. We are going to try to keep it all in one place and in a preservation environment. "Only a few of pieces of the collection will be on display in the library, which is limited in the amount of space it can dedicate to the items. But there will be materials available online. Long-term we plan to work with the Public Library on exhibitions and loans, displaying some and making items available on loan to others. "No renovations to the library should be needed, although some storage space and extra shelving probably will be used. We are in the process of rearranging our existing climate-controlled storage facility on the fourth floor of the new UTC library. Most of the collection currently is housed in the former location of the Chattanooga History Center above Pucketts restaurant next to the Tennessee Aquarium. The rest is in a city-owned warehouse. The History Center was planned as a full-scale, interactive museum, but never opened. They both combine glittering reality TV careers with motherhood. And sisters Sam and Billie Faiers looked truly radiant as they enjoyed a family day out with their youngsters in the Essex sunshine on Wednesday. Sam, 26, looked happy and content as she enjoyed a special moment with son Paul, 18 months, who looked adorable in a grey and red outfit. Scroll down for video Doting mum: Sam Faiers looked radiant as she took baby son Paul, 18 months, to see her mother, Sue, in Essex on Wednesday afternoon Yummy mummy: Sam's sister Billie, 27, showcased her incredible post-baby body in tiny shorts just three months after giving birth to son Arthur The former TOWIE star looked lovely in a pretty rose floral dress which hugged her enviable curves and showed off her toned pins. Keeping things comfortable for a mum on the go, Sam wore nude sandals which showed off her french pedicure. The Mummy Diaries star's flowing ombre locks were worn straight and sleek and she opted for natural make-up. Sam completed her look with a pair of chic mirrored shades as she enjoyed a family day out in the summer sunshine. Pretty as a picture: Sam, 26, looked happy and content as she enjoyed a special moment with son Paul, 18 months, who looked adorable in a grey and red outfit Blooming lovely: The former TOWIE star looked lovely in a pretty rose floral dress which hugged her enviable curves and showed off her toned pins Mum on the run: Keeping things comfortable for a mum on the go, Sam wore nude sandals which showed off her french pedicure Bouncing back: New mum Billie, 27, looked glowing as she showed off her slim post-baby body in grey leisurewear The TV personality's partner of almost three years, property developer Paul Knightley, 28, dealt with the bags as the girls took care of their little ones. New mum Billie, 27, looked glowing as she showed off her slim post-baby body in grey leisurewear. Despite only giving birth to baby son Arthur in March, the former TOWIE star showed off her toned midriff and legs in a tight vest and thigh-grazing shorts. The blonde kept comfortable by ditching her heels in favour of a pair of on-trend Gucci trainers. Billie wore her platinum bob in a chic half up do which showed off her radiant tan and fuchsia pout. Toned: Despite only giving birth to baby son Arthur in March, the former TOWIE star showed off her toned midriff and legs in a tight vest and thigh-grazing shorts Keeping it casual: The Mummy Diaries star's flowing ombre locks were worn straight and sleek and she opted for natural make-up Summer fun: Sam completed her look with a pair of chic mirrored shades as she enjoyed a family day out in the summer sunshine Professional multi-tasker: Billie handled the demands of two children with aplomb as she carried Arthur and her bag to the car with daughter Nelly, two, leading the way Multi-tasking mum Billie also shared a sweet moment with daughter Nelly, two, who looked adorable in a lemon yellow playsuit. The angelic tot held tightly onto her mother's hand as she loaded her into the car. The doting mum could be seen carefully attending to her son Arthur, three months, as she adjusted the visor on the pram to protect him from the glaring rays. Sam and Billie were paying a visit to their mum Sue after both returned from sunshine breaks in Sardinia and Portugal in recent weeks. Caring: The doting mum could be seen carefully attending to her son Arthur as she adjusted the visor on the pram to protect him from the glaring rays Pert: Billie showed off her lean legs and peachy posterior in her leisurewear ensemble Casual: Billie kept comfortable by ditching heels in favour of a pair of on-trend Gucci trainers Sam's long-term love Paul was also seen performing the gentlemanly act of carrying his girlfriend's luxurious Louis Vuitton bag to the car. The property developer looked strapping in a navy blue t-shirt which showed off his muscular arms to perfection. Paul paired this with grey shorts and box fresh trainers. Not seen was Billie's fiance, businessman Greg Shepherd, 29, who she has been in a relationship with since 2011. Lets go: Sam looked ready for her family day out as the pair strolled to the car Hey you: Little Paul looked pensive as his happy mum pointed to something in the distance Chivalrous: Sam's long-term love Paul Knightley, 27, was also seen performing the gentlemanly act of carrying her luxurious Louis Vuitton bag to the car Billie's businessman beau popped the question during her first pregnancy in 2014 while the duo were holidaying in the Maldives. And despite having their hands full with their two babies, the couple are now turning their attentions to their wedding and are hoping to set a date for their big day later this year. Billie told MailOnline in a recent interview: 'The next thing for us is the wedding. If we don't do it in the next two years, we'll have more kids and that will make it even harder. 'Plus I'm starting to feel left out in my family, I'm the only one that's not got the Shepherd name! New family: Billie is a devoted mum to two children and regularly posts sweet snaps of her brood to Instagram 'It's going to be abroad. Two weeks away. Next year, or early the following year. It will involve a beach, so probably the Caribbean. And it will be small, with only immediate family. 'I don't want it to get out of control. I know so many people and I don't want to spend my wedding day making small talk. So it's going to be far away and really hot!' Sam is currently enjoying some downtime after the second season of The Mummy Diaries came to a close in May. The ITVBe show followed Sam's home life with her Paul and their cherubic son. Sam first began dating Paul in October 2014 after meeting in their local pub in Essex. The reality star announced her pregnancy after they had been dating for just five months. His new film Baby Driver is set to thrill car-loving audiences around the world. And in real life, Jamie Foxx seems every bit the petrol head himself, as the star arrived at the Los Angeles premiere in a gold-wrapped, $2million Bugatti Veyron supercar on Wednesday night. The multi-talented artist, 49, was joined by his daughters, Corinne, 23, and Annalise, seven, making it a family affair at the Ace Hotel movie theatre. Scroll down for video Family affair: Jamie Foxx, 49, joined his daughters Corinne, 23, (to Jamie's right) and Annalise Foxx, seven (in front) at the Baby Driver premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday Taking to the red carpet alongside the film's cast, Jamie looked every inch the dapper Hollywood gent in a tailored polka dot suit. Adding an on-trend shirt with juxtaposing black buttons fastened to the top and Monk single strap dress shoes, Jamie casually wrapped his arm around his model daughter Corinne as they smiled for pictures. Complementing the sleek look, the actor looked sharp with a 'fade' haircut and trimmed goatee beard. Cool rider: The actor arrived at the star-studded premiere in a gold-wrapped, $2million Bugatti Veyron supercar, capable of speeds over 250mph Happy days: Ansel Elgort, Edgar Wright, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzlez, Flea and Jamie joked around as they hit the red carpet The sleek, customised gold Bugatti joins the duplicate blue version Foxx was previously seen driving outside a Los Angeles studio in March. The actor, whose net worth is widely reported as $85 million, originally previewed his extravagant purchase in an Instagram snap shared with followers in May. The rapid car is considered to be the fastest in the world. 'I was feeling solid gold today when I drove in for work...' he captioned the image, in which he is captured leaning against his new car. Fresh: The sleek, customised gold Bugatti joins the duplicate blue version Foxx was previously seen driving outside a Los Angeles studio in March Suave: Taking to the red carpet, smooth Jamie looked every inch the dapper Hollywood gent in a tailored polka dot suit Meanwhile, the actor's relationship with Katie Holmes - the ex-wife of former Collateral co-star Tom Cruise - is said to be going from strength to strength. 'She's head over heels for him,' a source told UsWeekly, adding that the actress is 'finally ready' broadcast their relationship. Another source close to the couple added: 'Theyre talking about planning a summer trip together in Europe. They're very serious.' Squad: The talented star laughed with the cast as they posed for snaps Family matters: Jamie and Corinne were pictured out and about in Los Angeles earlier in the day before hitting the red carpet Since their first meeting, which was reportedly at a New York benefit in August 2013, the actors have been keen to keep their romance from the public eye. Jamie's daughters Corinne, 23, and Annalise, seven, have since developed a 'close bond' with Suri, Katie's 11-year old daughter with Tom. But now it seems Katie is finding it hard to keep her feelings in about the Oscar winner. The source revealed: 'She gushes about how amazing he is. She says she loves him from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.' Balling: The actor, whose net worth is widely reported as $85 million, originally previewed his extravagant purchase in an Instagram snap shared with followers in May He was revealed to be wooing stunning science student Cadah Draper earlier this week. But James 'Arg' Argent' was seen putting on a very cosy display with a second brunette stunner, personal trainer Victoria Winterford, as they enjoyed a romantic date in Essex on Wednesday night. The TOWIE star, 29, looked smitten with the beauty as the pair leaned in for a smooch at the end of the night. Scroll down for video Ladies' man: James 'Arg' Argent' was seen putting on a very cosy display with a second brunette beauty, personal trainer Victoria Winterford, as they enjoyed a romantic date in Essex on Wednesday night Victoria is a former Essex beauty queen who now works as a personal trainer - which will no doubt be a huge draw for Arg now that he has overhauled his lifestyle and embarked on a health kick. Regularly sharing scantily-clad pictures on her Instagram account, Victoria boasts 8.3k followers who she keeps updated about her workout regime. She follows a diet of healthy fats, fresh fruit and protein, which is bound to encourage Arg to banish the takeaways for good. A source told MailOnline: They have been on a date and he likes her but hes very much single and enjoying dating hes getting a lot of positive attention now hes looking so good. Personal trainer: Victoria is a former Essex beauty queen who now works as a personal trainer - which will no doubt be a huge draw for Arg Health and fitness fan: The TOWIE star has overhauled his lifestyle and embarked on a health kick - and Victoria never skips a day at the gym Gym bunny: Regularly sharing scantily-clad pictures on her Instagram account, Victoria boasts 8.3k followers who she keeps updated about her workout regime Victoria put on a stylish display in a khaki choker neck top and ripped jeans, layering a leather jacket on top . Keeping her accessories to a minimum, she accessorised the look with an oversized clutch bag, adding a pair of leather boots to finish. Wearing her brunette tresses tied up in a ponytail, she showed off a flawless make-up look, accentuating her eyes with lashings of mascara. Stylish: Victoria put on a stylish display in a khaki choker neck top and ripped jeans, while layering a leather jacket on top Intimate: The pair were seen enjoying an intimate date over dinner at a restaurant in Essex Arg meanwhile looked smart in a navy shirt, which he teamed with a pair of light grey chinos and brown brogues. It comes after the reality star was seen getting cosy with another stunning brunette over the weekend at Capital FM's inaugural Summertime Ball. She was later revealed to be student Cadah Draper, who he is thought to have fallen after meeting her on E4's Celebs Go Dating. All smiles: Arg certainly seemed to be enjoying Victoria's company, flashing a big smile Cosy display: The duo embraced at the end of the night out, seemingly enjoying the date High spirits: Arg looked to be in very high spirits following the date in Essex According to The Sun Online, he is smitten with the Cambridge beauty after they were first pictured on Saturday, watching Little Mix and Sean Paul at Wembley Arena. Arg - who embarked on a ten-week stay at a Thai rehab centre earlier this year - is reportedly head over heels for the University student as he leads a healthier lifestyle. A source told the publication: 'Arg is looking, and feeling, better than ever. Its not surprising hes found someone as lovely as Cadah hes a really nice guy with a heart of gold. Beaming: The fitness fan looked to have equally enjoyed the night, flashing a wide smile as the pair left the restaurant together Successful evening? The duo were seen hugging as they said goodbye at the end of the night Romantic date: The pair looked relaxed in each other's company as they headed home Looking dapper: Arg looked smart in a navy shirt, which he teamed with a pair of light grey chinos and brown brogues 'They met on Celebs Go Dating and while its early days, there is definitely a spark between them. 'Everyone is saying how happy Arg is and its not surprising when you look at Cadah, shes gorgeous and has a lovely personality.' MailOnline have contacted James Argent's reps for comment. Beauty: Wearing her brunette tresses tied up in a ponytail, the stunner showed off a flawless make-up look, accentuating her eyes with lashings of mascara Dressed to impress: Both she and Arg put on a stylish display for their romantic date Flirty display: The TOWIE star seemed to be complete enamoured with the brunette beauty Animated: Arg looked animated as he chatted away to his female companion Relaxed: The television personality looked happy and relaxed during the date Arg was seen deep in conversation with the brunette beauty while at Wembley Stadium for the concert over the weekend. He appeared in high spirits - and with a cheeky grin on his face - as the duo strolled alongside each other. His slender appearance is arguably the most dramatic weight loss he has undergone throughout his years of trying to get into shape. Chatting away: Arg looked to be in deep conversation as the pair enjoyed dinner together What's on the menu? The pair appeared to be discussing the menu at one point in the evening What you having? Arg was seen chatting to the waitress, before sharing a joke together Going well: He could barely conceal his wide smile throughout the date Arg had taken a break from The Only Way Is Essex at the end of last year and checked himself into rehab following the break down of his relationship with ex-girlfriend Lydia Bright, 27, that allegedly saw him fall off the wagon. It was the reality star's second stint in rehab; he had checked into the Priory in early 2015 after allegedly testing positive for cocaine and being suspended from TOWIE. Escaping overseas for ten weeks, Arg embarked on a get-fit mission that saw him climbing waterfalls, swimming and venturing out on lengthy bike rides in order to kick-start his weight loss. First date nerves? Arg appeared to be slightly nervous as he arrived at the restaurant Head over heels: It comes after it was claimed the reality star is head over heels for the university student Cadah (pictured) 'Lovely': A source said 'Arg is looking, and feeling, better than ever. Its not surprising hes found someone as lovely as Cadah hes a really nice guy with a heart of gold On his return to his native Essex, it was claimed that Arg was in the 'best place he has ever been'. A source told The Sun in April: 'He won't go back to the old Arg ever again and he certainly won't pile the weight back on - he's completely changed, he's focused and he's happy.' While confirming her ex is returning to the series, Lydia however, left; a spokesperson for TOWIE confirmed her exit to MailOnline at the end of May, saying: 'Lydia has decided to take a break from TOWIE and this decision is fully supported by Lime Pictures.' Rumours had then surfaced claiming she and Arg had been back in touch, with sources hinting it could lead to more. All over: His appearance with the brunette beauties comes after it was rumoured he and his ex Lydia Bright had been 'talking again' Stronger: Arg has recently completed a second stint in rehab; he had checked into the Priory in early 2015 after allegedly testing positive for cocaine and being suspended from TOWIE But Lydia appeared to rule out any talk of a romantic reunion by insisting she no longer has any feelings for her ex-beau of seven years. Speaking to OK! magazine, Lydia revealed that she is happy for Arg and his transformation of late, adding that he has a 'good heart' and that she 'wouldn't change a thing' about their past together. Although she added: 'When feelings are gone, it's hard to care.' Arg has been linked to the third series of Celebs Go Dating set to air on E4 later this year, but his appearance on the show has not yet been confirmed. She's a seasoned bikini model, having appeared in countless swimwear campaigns. But even Natalie Roser couldn't help laughing during a rather awkward encounter at a photo shoot in Sydney's Bondi Beach on Thursday. Joined by Maddy King and Phoebe Ghorayeb, the 27-year-old was spotted being lifted onto the shoulders of a shirtless male model. Up she goes! Natalie Roser couldn't help laughing during a rather awkward encounter with a shirtless male model during a photo shoot in Sydney's Bondi Beach on Thursday Natalie was seen giggling as the model placed his head between her toned legs in preparation for the acrobatic pose. Natalie posed in a series of bikinis during the photo shoot, including a balconet design with a black and white print. Flashing her pearly whites for the camera, Natalie posed arm-in-arm with a handsome male model wearing a pair of red board shorts. Model behaviour! The 27-year-old posed in a series of bikinis during the photo shoot, including a balconet design with a black and white print Genetically blessed: Flashing her pearly whites for the camera, Natalie posed arm-in-arm with a handsome male model wearing a pair of red board shorts Glowing! Natalie let her blonde hair flow loosely over her bronzed shoulders, while sporting a subtle application of makeup Swept off her feet! After striking a few sultry poses in the knee-deep water, Natalie was scooped into the open arms of her hunky companion She let her blonde hair flow loosely over her bronzed shoulders, while sporting a subtle application of makeup. After striking a few sultry poses in the knee-deep water, Natalie was scooped into the open arms of her hunky companion. As the former beauty queen draped herself across his torso, a group of shirtless men also posed in the background. It's tough work being a model! As the former beauty queen draped herself across his torso, a group of shirtless men also posed in the background It's all about Natalie! She had no problem stealing the spotlight from her male colleagues as she played up to the camera Natalie had no problem stealing the spotlight from her male colleagues as she played up to the camera. Meanwhile, Maddy King showcased her slender figure in a sporty blue one-piece swimsuit with a plunging neckline. The ex-girlfriend of model Kris Smith styled her hair loosely and accessorised with a pair of keyhole sunglasses. Busty in blue! Maddy King (left) showcased her slender figure in a sporty blue one-piece swimsuit with a plunging neckline Brunette beauty: The ex-girlfriend of model Kris Smith styled her hair loosely and accessorised with a pair of keyhole sunglasses High fashion! Joined on set by models Maddy King (right) and Phoebe Ghorayeb (left), Natalie was spotted being lifted up onto the shoulders of a shirtless male model Fun in the sun! The glamorous models were later seen throwing their arms in the air while smiling for the cameras Maddy was also spotted posing on the shoulders of a male model for a group shot. The glamorous models were later seen throwing their arms in the air while smiling for the cameras. Natalie announced her new romance with Neighbours actor Harley Bonner, 26, earlier this year. It is believed she separated from her ex-fiance, personal trainer Dan Adair, last year. New flame: Natalie announced her new romance with Neighbours actor Harley Bonner, 26, earlier this year. She ended her engagement to personal trainer Dan Adair last year The wedding that never was! Natalie and Dan had been scheduled to marry in October 2016 but postponed the wedding just weeks before the special day So what happened? A spokesperson for the couple said at the time: 'Their wedding's been moved not due to a third person in the relationship problem' Former flame: Dan is a personal trainer who trains the like of Jesinta Campbell, Pia Muehlenbeck and Roxy Jacenko Taking the world by storm! Since the split, Natalie has relocated in America to pursue an international modelling career Natalie and Dan had been scheduled to marry in October 2016 but postponed the wedding just weeks before the special day. A spokesperson for the couple said at the time: 'Their wedding's been moved not due to a third person in the relationship problem.' Dan is a fitness trainer-to-the-stars, and his clients include Jesinta Campbell, Pia Muehlenbeck and Roxy Jacenko. Woman of many talents! Natalie also runs a fashion brand, Roser The Label, and regularly updates her blog with bikini-clad photos and lifestyle advice Are you sure? Most recently, she made headlines after suggesting her line of risque rompers were 'suitable for all body types' Since the split, Natalie has relocated in America to pursue an international modelling career. She also runs a fashion brand, Roser The Label, and regularly updates her blog with bikini-clad photos and lifestyle advice. Most recently, she made headlines after suggesting her line of risque rompers were 'suitable for all body types'. No newbie! The athletic blonde is a seasoned bikini model, having appeared in countless swimwear campaigns and photo shoots Since launching her swimwear range, she become comfortable modelling an array of daring bikinis. And Imogen Thomas looked effortlessly confident as she slipped on a skimpy orange two-piece for a beach photoshoot for her Chasing Summer UK range in Mallorca on Wednesday. Soaking up the sunshine, the Welsh model, 34, looked busty in the sizzling halterneck swimwear, which drew eyes to her ample assets and taut midriff. Scroll down for video Busty: Imogen Thomas, 34, looked confident as she slipped on an orange two-piece for a beach photoshoot for her Chasing Summer UK range in Mallorca on Wednesday Refreshing: Soaking up the sunshine with an ice lolly, the brunette beauty looked busty in the sizzling halterneck swimwear The vibrant bikini cups also threatened a wardrobe malfunction by highlighting Imogen's ample underboob. The racy high cut bottom revealed the mother-of-two's peachy posterior in all its glory as she wandered into the clear blue waters. The star made for a stunning tableau as she enjoyed a refreshing dip in the sea and exhibited her jaw-dropping curves. Imogen's chocolate locks were styled into waves, which she swept over one shoulder to show off the swimsuit's intricate strap detail. Long hot summer: The mother-of-two's chocolate locks were styled into waves which she swept over one shoulder to show off the swimsuit's intricate strap detail Sun soaked: The racy high cut bottom revealed Imogen's peachy posterior in all its glory as she wandered into the clear blue waters Eye-popping: The vibrant hue to the tiny swimsuit highlighted the star's healthy all-over tan Work it: The Big Brother bombshell looked toned and glowing in the bright bikini Soft smoky eyes gave the Big Brother bombshell a sex kitten look while she opted for natural glowing radiance. Imogen struck a confident pose with her left leg pointing outwards, showing off her toned form. Proving that orange really is the new black, the attention-grabbing piece stood out against the rugged Spanish landscape. The former Miss Wales looked serene as she wandered the water's edge while cooling herself down with a watermelon ice lolly. Life's a beach: Imogen struck a confident pose with her left leg pointing outwards, showing off her toned form as she worked her magic in front of the lens Tastes good: The star struck a serene pose as she enjoyed her watermelon ice lolly by the sea Beach life: Imogen flashed a huge smile as she enjoyed her sunshine stroll and excitedly pointed towards the water, perhaps signalling her intention to take a dip Bond girl moment: The mother-of-two channelled Ursula Andress as she emerged from the waves and struck a sultry pose Imogen showed she was just like any tourist abroad as she indulged in a spot of photography in the Spanish hills. She flashed a huge smile as she enjoyed her sunshine stroll and excitedly pointed towards the water, perhaps signalling her intention to take a dip. A pearlescent white manicure added to her fresh summer look. Vibrant: Proving that orange is truly the new black, the attention-grabbing Ibiza piece stood out against the rugged Spanish landscape Beach babe: Imogen struck a smouldering pose with the stunning landscape behind her Spanish vibes: Imogen looked breathtaking as she looked peacefully into the distance Bombshell: Soft smoky eyes gave the Big Brother bombshell a sex kitten look while she opted for natural glowing radiance and a hint of bronzer elsewhere Although the mother-of-two has a jaw-dropping physique she previously admitted feeling insecure about her figure. Speaking to MailOnline last month, Imogen confessed she 'hates' her curves. She explained: 'I'm totally body conscious. It's so hard because I'm naturally a curvy woman, but after having kids and getting older it's hard to maintain your figure. 'I hate my hips. I hate my boobs, they're too big,' before admitting that she wants her implants removed. Beautiful sight: Imogen took to the Spanish hills as she posed up on a rock Snappy: Imogen showed she was just like any tourist as she indulged in a spot of photography in the Spanish hills Lithe: The star showed off her lean physique and flowing locks in the sunshine Imogen is mum to two daughters, Ariana, four, and Siera, 19 months, with her partner, City trader Adam Horsley, who she has been dating since 2011. Despite being a devoted mother to her girls, the beauty confessed the pair were not quite ready to add more to their brood. She told MailOnline: 'I would like to have another baby. I will probably scare him (Adam) away now... but not for another year. I love my girls so much.' She became known to the world when she starred in the seventh season of Big Brother in 2006, alongside the likes of Nikki Grahame and Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace. He was announced as the official North American ambassador for luxury watch brand Montblanc last year. And Hugh Jackman proudly flaunted his expensive accessory as he posed on the red carpet at the 1926 Montblanc Heritage Launch event in Florence on Wednesday. The Wolverine star, 48, looked typically suave as he posed in a navy two-piece suit and matching tie. Time to shine! Hugh Jackman, 48, proudly flaunted his expensive watch as he posed on the red carpet at the 1926 Montblanc Heritage Launch event in Florence, Italy on Wednesday The Hollywood hunk finished off his look with a pair of patent dress shoes and his gold wedding band. The actor was joined on the red carpet by Brazilian model Marlon Texiera, who looked equally dapper in a slimline suit and leather boat shoes. Glamorous French actress Alice Taglioni also posed alongside Hugh, flaunting her slender figure in an red midi-dress. Suited and booted! The Wolverine star looked typically suave as he posed in a navy two-piece suit and matching tie Two peas in a pod! The actor was joined on the red carpet by Brazilian model Marlon Texiera (left), who looked equally dapper in a slimline suit and leather boat shoes Holding a black envelope clutch, the blonde beauty completed her outfit with a pair of delicate silver stilettos and a matching bangle. Montblanc International CEO Nicolas Baretzki also proudly displayed his black watch as he posed for photos next to the Australian actor. Last year, father-of-two Hugh took the stage during the brand's 110th anniversary party in New York to praise Montblanc for having a 'family atmosphere'. Lady in red! Glamorous French actress Alice Taglioni (left) also posed alongside Hugh, flaunting her slender figure in an red midi-dress 'I'm the baby of the family but... it is a place that I'm proud to be associated with, to call our friends,' he said. 'What it represents are qualities if I could half emulate I would be very happy. It is attention to detail, craftsmanship of the highest order, a real commitment to design,' he added. 'But more than anything what I love is they have one eye permanently on the past and their heritage; but one eye permanently on the future.' She recently revealed she's split from her mystery beau. But Kimberley Garner looked to have put all that behind her as she stepped out in Chelsea on Wednesday. The former Made In Chelsea star, 27, put on a stylish display in a metallic halterneck top and tight-fitting jeans as she enjoyed a stroll through the capital. Stylish: Kimberley Garner put on a stylish display in a metallic halterneck top as she stepped out in Chelsea on Wednesday. Opting to go braless in the racy number, she displayed her perky assets through the top's plunging cut-out at the front. The stunner teamed the racy number with a pair of high-waisted light wash jeans, showing off her peachy derriere. She added to the chic look with a pair of studded ankle boots and an elegant gold chain bag slung over her shoulder. Looking good: The stunner teamed the racy number with a pair of high-waisted light wash jeans, showing off her peachy derriere Wearing her honey-coloured tresses down over her shoulders, she accentuated her glowing complexion with a dash of bronzer, adding a coating of mascara to finish. The swimwear designer revealed last month that she had broken up with her unknown beau and is on the hunt for someone with a 'great personality'. She told MailOnline: 'I ended the relationship recently. It was a really wonderful three years and we are still good friends today.' Beauty: Wearing her honey-coloured tresses down over her shoulders, she accentuated her glowing complexion with a dash of bronzer, adding a coating of mascara to finish Enjoying the sunshine: The reality star later shielded her eyes with a pair of round sunglasses Finishing touches: She added to the chic look with a pair of studded ankle boots and an elegant gold chain bag slung over her shoulder The socialite has been notoriously tight-lipped about the identity of her long-term boyfriend, who was often seen with her in west London. But while the split is still raw, she says she's open to the prospect of dating as long as her suitor meets the right criteria. Speaking to The Sun during her appearance at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, she said: 'It was a great relationship. Newly single: Kimberley looks to have moved on from her recent split with her mystery beau Ready to date: While the split is still raw, she says she's open to the prospect of dating Stunning: Kimberley looked sensational as she enjoyed a day out in west London 'Id love to meet someone with a great personality its all about the personality for me.' Kimberley hasn't been on Made In Chelsea since its third season in 2012, appearing with the likes of Spencer Matthews, Jamie Laing and Richard Dinan. She dated Richard on the show, with the businessman whisking Kimberley off on romantic dates and later a holiday to Italy. Jay Z has been spotted leaving the Beverly Hills mansion he shares with Beyonce amid reports she has given birth to twins. The Hip Hop mogul, 47, was seen leaving their home after Twitter went into overdrive over rumours his 35-year-old wife was in labour on Tuesday. The day marked the Lemonade hitmaker's due date, and saw increased security at the medical centre. Scroll down for video Parents-to-be: The Hip Hop mogul, 47, was seen leaving their home after Twitter went into overdrive over rumours Beyonce, 35, was in labour on Tuesday Jay, who is also father to 5-year-old Blue Ivy with his superstar wife, was seen talking on the phone as he left their home in the back of a chauffeur-driven Escalade. With his face partially obscured, he looked in deep thought, perhaps anxious to be reunited the new additions to his family- rumoured to be a boy and a girl. The 99 Problems star, who married Beyonce in 2008 after five years of dating, was reportedly headed in the direction of the Westwood-based medical facility. Heading to see the newborns? Jay Z has been spotted leaving the Beverly Hills mansion he shares with Beyonce amid reports she has given birth to twins Beyonce fans first sparked a Twitter frenzy amid fevered speculation the heavily pregnant star is finally in labour in the early hours of Tuesday. Heavy security was spotted at a Los Angeles hospital, while it was also reported her security staff were carrying two baby seats to a medical facility earlier in the day. The superstar is due to give birth to her twins any time soon, which will increase the size of her brood with husband Jay Z to three. Labour of love? There was fevered speculation Beyonce was at an LA hospital to give birth earlier on Tuesday An insider told Hollywood Life: 'Beyonces security was seen leaving her Beverly Hills home this morning carrying two baby seats to a hospital in West LA 'Beyonces due date was yesterday and she has been seeing her OB/GYN on a regular basis at a different location. This trip to this hospital is unique.' A storm of tweets was unleashed due to the speculation. One fan said: 'I just need a heads up from Beyonce and the twins on when they plan to break the internet so I can cancel all my plans in advance.' While another said: 'Did Beyonce already have the twins or is she only in labor bc if i share a birthday with them i will *die*' Twits: There was frenzied fan speculation over whether she was really in labor Spreading the rumour: Some tweeters claimed to have inside knowledge Others claimed to have insider knowledge as one tweeter, Caslon Hatch, told her followers: 'You heard it here first. A friend of a friend who is an OB @ Beyonce's hospital tells me she had her twins, a boy and a girl.' Some fans pointed out that if the twins have been born or are due imminently they will fall under the Gemini star sign, which is represented by The Twins Castor and Pollux. One excited tweeted typed: 'So apparently Beyonce is in labor???! Her Gemini twins are coming to save us all.' Twin sign: Some fans pointed out that if the twins have been born or are due imminently, they will fall under the Gemini star sign Others were desperate to find out the no-doubt unusual names Bey and Jay will call their twins, with one fan quipping: 'Folk are reporting that Queen Mother, Queen Beyonce is in labor. I'm not ready for White Lotus and Purple Reign. The Beyhive has grown.' And most fans in the US were willing to pull an all-nighter to follow the speculation, with one tweeter musing: 'I think Beyonce in labor. Might as well stay up all night to see if it's true lol.' Give us the names! Others were desperate to find out the no-doubt unusual names Bey and Jay will call their twins Seeing this one through: And most fans in the US were willing to pull an all-nighter to follow the speculation If Beyonce is giving birth at a hospital, it would put previous claims she had converted part of her home so she could deliver there, quite literally, to bed. In addition to the Twitter speculation, the NY Daily News also quote sources at Melba's restaurant in Harlem who heard DJ Khaled, whose new track Shining features performances by Jay Z and Beyonce, spreading word on Tuesday evening that his friends had welcomed their twins. Another source who works at Jay Z's 40/40 nightclub in NYC told the publication that the couple welcomed a boy and a girl on Tuesday morning. Three become five? Sources have speculated that the family grew at some point on Tuesday Jay Z, real name Shawn Carter, 47, announced in February they are expecting twins. The rapper said: 'We would like to share our love and happiness. "We have been blessed two times over. 'We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes. - The Carters.' The couple, who got married in 2008, are already parents to five-year-old daughter Blue Ivy. When their first child was born, the couple confirmed the news in a statement to press two days after the birth. The low-key announcement followed Beyonce's big reveal of her pregnancy during a performance at the 2011 MTV VMAs when she ended her routine by rubbing her stomach. While being honored at the Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards on Tuesday, Elizabeth Banks revealed a piece of advice she chose not take when she started out in Hollywood in 1997. 'The first agent I ever met in this industry told me to get a boob job,' the 43-year-old platinum blonde said onstage the Beverly Hilton Hotel - according to People. 'I was so grateful that I didn't have enough money at the time to follow his advice. I also did not sign with him despite that.' Scroll down for video Confession: While being honored at the Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards on Tuesday, Elizabeth Banks revealed a piece of advice she chose not take when she started out in Hollywood in 1997 The 43-year-old platinum blonde said onstage the Beverly Hilton Hotel: 'The first agent I ever met in this industry told me to get a boob job. I was so grateful that I didn't have enough money at the time to follow his advice. I also did not sign with him despite that' The three-time Emmy nominee received an introduction from none other than former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton via a pretaped 95-second video. '[Elizabeth] is such a special person, again, on screen and off,' said the 69-year-old former Secretary of State. 'You're not only a creative force in front of the camera and behind it, you are a passionate advocate for women's equality and opportunity; I can vouch for that. I'm so grateful for your support and friendship and your sense of humor. I can't think of a more fitting person to receive this distinguished award.' Having campaigned for Clinton, Banks (born Mitchell) - who boasts 5.7M followers - later tweeted: 'I'll strive to be worthy of the friendship and support of these incredible women. Thank you Hillary Clinton.' Politician: The three-time Emmy nominee received an introduction from none other than former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton via a pretaped 95-second video The 69-year-old former Secretary of State said: '[Elizabeth] is such a special person, again, on screen and off. You're not only a creative force in front of the camera and behind it, you are a passionate advocate for women's equality and opportunity; I can vouch for that' Having campaigned for Clinton, Banks (born Mitchell) - who boasts 5.7M followers - later tweeted: 'I'll strive to be worthy of the friendship and support of these incredible women' During her speech, the Power Rangers actress gave a shout-out to her producer husband of 14 years, Max Handelman, whom she met at the University of Pennsylvania way back in 1992. 'I have a great partner in my husband Max Handelman,' Elizabeth gushed. 'We've been together 25 years and he expects [our children] to want to go see cool movies with really awesome kick ass female leads. I appreciate that very much in helping me shape them into great little feminists.' The Massachusetts-born beauty is proud to be an example of a working mom who loves what she does for their sons Felix, 6; and Magnus, 4 (both born via a surrogate). 'I have a great partner': The Power Rangers actress gave a shout-out to her producer husband of 14 years, Max Handelman (L), whom she met at the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 Elizabeth gushed: 'We've been together 25 years and he expects [our children] to want to go see cool movies with really awesome kick ass female leads. I appreciate that very much' 'They are too young to see Wonder Woman, but they're going to love it!' The Massachusetts-born beauty is proud to be an example of a working mom who loves what she does for their sons Felix, 6; and Magnus, 4 'I'm the mother to two boys,' Banks - dressed in a long-sleeved black-patterned Max Mara gown - continued. 'They are too young to see Wonder Woman, but they're going to love it. I am so proud that I get to raise my two boys to love women.' The Hunger Games alum and her 44-year-old husband will next produce and she'll reprise her role as Gail Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger in Pitch Perfect 3, which hits US/UK theaters on December 22. Trish Sie's musical threequel also stars John Michael Higgins, Ruby Rose, Anna Kendrick, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, John Lithgow, and Rebel Wilson. Hits US/UK theaters on December 22! The Hunger Games alum will next produce and reprise her role as Gail Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger in Pitch Perfect 3 Their unusual relationship began nearly three years ago and has strengthened in feeling ever since. And Pamela Anderson, 49, looked excited about her meeting with rumoured boyfriend Julian Assange, 45, as she arrived at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London's Knightsbridge on Wednesday. The Baywatch star had clearly made a special effort for the Wikileaks founder as she rocked a 50s-style dress covered in striking yellow and red leaf print by DHELA. Scroll down for video Curves ahead: Pamela Anderson, 49, looked excited about her meeting with Julian Assange, 45, as she arrived at the Ecuadorian Embassy in Knightsbridge, London, on Wednesday The plunging A-line dress revealed the model's famous assets, while the flattering belted midsection showcased her toned waist. Pamela's platinum locks were swept back into an elegant chignon and she covered her sparkling eyes with cat eye shades. The age-defying beauty's toned and tanned pins were fully on display as she donned vertiginous black stilettos. Designer Goyard tote in hand, the Barb Wire bombshell looked like she had brought Julian a host of goodies to keep him going during his time in exile. Dressed to impress: The Baywatch star had clearly made a special effort for the Wikileaks founder as she rocked a 50s-style dress covered in striking yellow and red leaf print Elegant: The plunging A-line dress revealed the model's famous assets, while the flattering belted midsection showcased her toned waist The blonde's make-up was natural and glowing as the smiling starlet headed inside the building. Pamela was first spotted at the Knightsbridge embassy in September 2014. The meeting was set up for Anderson to try to persuade Assange to back her new foundation, which supports women who are victims of sexual abuse. Since then, she has become a regular guest and was even snapped bringing vegan cheeseburgers to the political prisoner in February. Julian has been living in self-imposed exile at the Ecuadorian Embassy since June 19 2012, believing he will be extradited to the United States for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks if he leaves. Chic: Pamela's platinum locks were swept back into an elegant chignon and she covered her sparkling eyes with cat eye shades He is also subject to a European Arrest Warrant over allegations he raped a woman in Sweden which could be enforced as soon as he steps out on to the street. The actress has previously referred to Assange as her 'dear friend', saying she would not be surprised if people reduced their connection to 'just a sexual relationship'. And although Pamela may be more used to glitzy galas than political drama, she has remained resolute in her support for Julian. The star opened up further on ITV's Loose Women in February, calling him 'heroic' and 'important'. She said: 'I'm always doing something, trying to do something every day, befriending people that are important people in the world like Julian Assange'. Sophisticated: The age-defying beauty's toned and tanned pins were fully on display as she donned vertiginous black stilettos 'I think he's a very important person and I think that history will look back on him and realise how important he is.' 'I think WikiLeaks is very heroic and very important and it's true news,' And In a loving and slightly bizarre March blog post, the star gushed about Julian along with 'female empowerment' and 'faking orgasms'. She wrote: 'My relationship with Julian - it's no secret. He is one of my favourite people and he might be the most famous, most politicised refugee of our time. 'Famous for being persecuted is not a position of power but a position of vulnerability. I am concerned. 'Julian is a human being who is extremely empathetic and cares deeply about the world. And because of his work he has made some powerful enemies in a few countries, America especially, by exposing them.' Absent friend: Julian has been living in self-imposed exile at the Ecuadorian Embassy since June 19 2012, believing he will be extradited to the United States for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks if he leaves (pictured May 2017) She added: 'Julian is trying to free the world by educating it. It is a romantic struggle. I love him for this.' The rumoured romance comes after the star's three failed marriages. She was married to rocker Tommy Lee from 1995 to 1998 after knowing him for only four days. The former flames share her two children Dylan Jagger Lee, 19, and Brandon Thomas Lee, 20. Pamela went onto marry Kid Rock in 2006 but they were separated in 2007. In the same year, she tied the knot with Rick Salomon and despite a 2008 annulment, she remarried him by 2014 - but they parted ways for good in February 2015. Siskin Childrens Institute announces their community partner, Sun Tan City, and their charity event held May 19-21. The Sun Tan City Cares Initiative takes much pride in partnering with local charities, as it is an honor to be able to participate with organizations that are core to our beliefs and values. It is through the continued passion and support of staff and our valued clients as well. During our Sun Tan City Cares Events, Sun Tan City hosts $5 Spray Events in which clients can donate $5 to the partnered charity and receive a free spray tan. It is a special time to see our staff, clients, and charity members come together to contribute to such important causes, says Sun Tan City Managing Operator Garrett Bruner. In three days, Sun Tan City raised $6,552 to support the kids with special needs served by the Institute. We are so thankful for this wonderful partnership with Sun Tan City and for their generosity says President and CEO John Farrimond. Community partnerships like this allow SCI to continue to provide high-quality programs and services for children with special needs and their families each year." He has been in and out of hospital battling pneumonia over the past few months. And TV legend Bert Newton, 78, has confirmed that he is finally feeling like his old self again. 'I'm feeling better now. It took a while. I didn't realise until I copped it the first time, that pneumonia is such a serious thing, but I'm feeling better now,' he told The Daily Telegraph on Friday. 'I'm feeling better now': TV legend Bert Newton, 78, has confirmed that he is finally feeling like his old self again after battling pneumonia over the past few months In March this year, Bert was hospitalised as he battled a bout of pneumonia. He returned to hospital in April, spending five days recovering from anther bout of the lung infection. Bert's health has been a concern since 2012 when he underwent a quadruple heart bypass. Health struggle: In March this year, Bert was hospitalised as he battled a bout of pneumonia Bert's recent health woes caused him to miss the Logie Awards this year, with wife Patti instead being joined on the red carpet by their daughter Lauren. Determined for her husband not to miss out on the fun, Patti wore a gold sequined blazer with her husband's face emblazoned on the back. 'Even though Bert's not well I'm taking him to the Logies,' she wrote on Instagram. Staying at home: Bert's recent health woes caused him to miss the Logie Awards this year, with wife Patti instead being joined on the red carpet by their daughter Lauren His golden girl! Determined for her husband not to miss out on the fun, Patti wore a gold sequined blazer with her husband's face emblazoned on the back Earlier this month, Patti was recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to the broadcast media as an entertainer and presenter. She was also recognised as a supporter of charitable and medical research foundations. 'I have been so privileged to work with so many amazing people over the years, so this is a tribute to them as well,' she told The Daily Telegraph. Sofia Richie grabbed dinner in West Hollywood on Wednesday night with a fabulous guy pal rocking a turtleneck and silver booties. The 18-year-old Select Model - who relies on stylist duo Marie-Lou & Chloe Bartoli - bared her belly in a black blouse knotted at the front, Adidas trackpants, and beige sneakers. The 5ft6in catwalker was rocking her latest choppy blonde bob, which came courtesy of hairstylist Chase Kusero using a pair of kitchen shears on June 5. Scroll down for video Out and about: Sofia Richie grabbed dinner in West Hollywood on Wednesday night with a fabulous guy pal rocking a turtleneck and silver booties Relies on stylist duo Marie-Lou & Chloe Bartol: The 18-year-old Select Model bared her belly in a black blouse knotted at the front, Adidas trackpants, and beige sneakers Much ado has been made over the nature of Sofia's relationship with Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Scott Disick, who's 34 and the father of three children with Kourtney Kardashian. But Richie denied the romance with a June 9 tweet reading: 'The last time I'm gonna say it. Scott and I are just friends. I'm single and focused on friends, family and work.' The LA native - who famously had a 2016 summer fling with Canadian crooner Justin Bieber - hopes to keep her relationships 'as private as possible' and 'something special' between two people. 'You don't really want other peoples opinions on it - even though it doesn't matter,' the biracial beauty told Tings London magazine this month. Makeover: The 5ft6in catwalker was rocking her latest choppy blonde bob, which came courtesy of hairstylist Chase Kusero using a pair of kitchen shears on June 5 Are they or aren't they? Much ado has been made over the nature of Sofia's relationship with Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Scott Disick, who's 34 and the father of three children But Richie denied the romance with a June 9 tweet reading: 'The last time I'm gonna say it. Scott and I are just friends. I'm single and focused on friends, family and work' 'I just don't want to hear it at the end of the day. I try to just be quiet about my dating life.' Sofia is relieved her father R&B legend Lionel Richie didn't allow her to be signed to a label when she begged him age 13. 'I'm glad he held me off, because I really found myself and found what I truly wanted to do,' Richie told ET in March. 'At the time, it was heartbreaking.' The nepotistically-privileged socialite aspires to one day be married, have her own clothing line, and land the cover of Vogue. The not-so-typical teen - who last stormed the Philipp Plein 2018 Cruise runway - admitted: 'That's a big one.' 'At the time, it was heartbreaking': The LA native is relieved her father R&B legend Lionel Richie didn't allow her to be signed to a label when she begged him age 13 Jaclyn Smith doesn't seem to age, even though she has been in show business for nearly 50 years. On Wednesday the 71-year-old Charlie's Angels actress looked youthful and slender as she exited Craig's in West Hollywood with her husband of nearly 20 years, Dr Brad Allen, in tow. This comes after the clothing designer admitted that she stays thin by having broccoli, kale and spinach smoothies for breakfast. Taking the right steps: Jaclyn Smith looked slender in a beige suit as she exited Craig's in West Hollywood on Wednesday evening Stylish: The Navigating The Heart star looked fashionable in a shiny mocha beige suit that included a two-button blazer and cigarette pants The Navigating The Heart star looked fashionable in a shiny mocha beige suit that included a two-button blazer and cigarette pants. The Texas native did not seem to have a shirt on underneath. The 5ft7in star added pointy beige suede heels and a bronze metallic clutch purse. Gold hoop earrings and wide bracelets added sparkle. Smith wore her hair down and her makeup was perfectly done to match her beige outfit. Ladies first: As she exited Craig's, she held the door open for her 62-year-old husband who followed. He wore a grey blazer over a blue shirt She;s gone green: In May she told Closer Weekly she downs a very healthy green blended drink every morning. The ingredients include broccoli, spinach and kale As she exited Craig's, she held the door open for her 62-year-old husband who followed. He wore a grey blazer over a blue shirt. In May she told Closer Weekly she downs a very healthy green blended drink every morning. The ingredients include broccoli, spinach and kale. The brunette bombshell, who designs clothes and accessories for Kmart, told the weekly: 'I love green drinks, but I blend - not juice - so I get the pulp.' Her words: The brunette bombshell, who designs clothes and accessories for Kmart, told the weekly: 'I love green drinks, but I blend - not juice - so I get the pulp' Smith added: 'I use broccoli, kale, spinach, green apple, avocado, water, and a squeeze of lemon.' Jaclyn - who was on Charlie's Angeles for its entire run from 1976 until 1981 - has just returned from a trip to Europe which included stops in Vienna, Berlin and Amsterdam. She documented their travels on Instagram. In love: The couple took a romantic trip to Europe last week and she has been documenting their travels on Instagram Her first photo showed she and her husband out front of a historical building. 'Hello from Berlin! Brad and I are finally taking a vacation and we are having so much fun!' the brunette wrote. 'If you have any recommendations for must-see attractions, send them our way!' Matchy: Next they are seen side-by-side at an outdoor cafe. 'When you accidentally coordinate your outfits with the surrounding scenery,' wrote the Rage Of Angels star Next they are seen side-by-side at an outdoor cafe. 'When you accidentally coordinate your outfits with the surrounding scenery,' wrote the Rage Of Angels star. 'Such a delicious lunch at the #adlon! #spripes #brandenburggate #lunchtime #berlin #vacation,' added the Love Boat star. Distracted: Their next image was of the two of them inside a large, modern-looking building. 'Taking in the beauty of the #reichstagdome,' she wrote Their next image was of the two of them inside a large, modern-looking building. 'Taking in the beauty of the #reichstagdome, built by architect Norman Foster. What a sight! I couldn't even take my eyes off of it long enough to pose with Brad,' added the Windmills Of The Gods star. Another shot was of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. Festive lady: She also seen trying on big clogs in Amsterdam by a canal Jaclyn wrote: 'We have ventured to Vienna! You can hardly capture the overwhelming beauty of St. Stephen's Cathedral in a photo, but I still had to share. 'It has stood watch over the city for more than 700 years, and Mozart was married here in 1782.' She also seen trying on big clogs in Amsterdam by a canal. The good old days: The brunette designer worked with Fawcett - who died from cancer in 2009 - on Charlie's Angels with Kate Jackson It did her well: Jaclyn was with Charlie's Angeles for its entire run from 1976 until 1981 This comes after the two took a 'spontaneous road trip' to the Arizona desert where they enjoyed 'a great weekend' exploring Sedona. 'Going the distance is just great because you build a history together and memories,' Jaclyn said. 'Looking back over time is wonderful. We have similar values and upbringing; spiritually, we think the same.' But the star said they also like to spend time in their LA mansion. 'Brad and I love home. I feel very loved and protected,' she said. Her ex Jeremy McConnell is facing fresh police probes. And Stephanie Davis appeared downcast as she arrived back in London on Thursday following a short break away. The Hollyoaks star, 24, put on a quiet display as she made her way home ahead of her Big Brother's Bit On The Side appearance. Scroll down for video Upset: Stephanie Davis appeared downcast as she arrived back in London on Thursday following a short break away Cutting a casual figure, she teamed a pair of Adidas tracksuit bottoms with a matching jumper which she tied around her waist. Perhaps as a reminder of the baby boy Caben she shares with Jeremy, born in January, she wore a white t-shirt emblazoned with the words 'Little One'. Adding a touch of glitz in studded trainers, she covered her face in a cap and oversized glasses as she made her way through the station. Focused: The Hollyoaks star, 24, put on a quiet display as she made her way home ahead of her Big Brother's Bit On The Side appearance Wearing her brunette hair in a long braid, she appeared to go make-up free. Appearing reflective, she wheeling along a suitcase and carried a holdall bag as she prepared for her Big Brother appearance. Meanwhile ex Jeremy McConnell is reportedly facing a fresh police probe following his recent clash with Stephanie Davis. A tribute to their baby boy? Stephanie wore a white 'Little One' t-shirt Staying strong: Appearing reflective, she wheeling along a suitcase and carried a holdall bag as she prepared for her Big Brother appearance The CBB stars' romance is said to be over once and for all, with the former Hollyoaks actress making a formal complaint to the authorities in the wake of their split last week. A police spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Merseyside Police can confirm that officers are investigating an allegation of the disclosure of private sexual images. 'On Sunday, 11 June, a report was received of private images and video of a woman being shared on social media. The investigation is ongoing.' Investigation: Jeremy McConnell is reportedly facing a fresh police probe following his recent clash with Stephanie Davis MailOnline has contacted representatives for both Jeremy and Stephanie for comment. Meanwhile, it has been claimed that Stephanie has blasted Jeremy after he branded her a 'manipulative f**k' in a recent tweet. An insider told the Mirror: 'For Jeremy to say this after helping him turn his life around and getting him into rehab is a major kick in the teeth," said the pal. Split: The CBB stars' romance is said to be over once and for all, with the former Hollyoaks actress making a formal complaint to the authorities in the wake of their split last week 'Stephanie supported him throughout his rehab stint publicly and welcomed him into her home after he came out. 'Clearly Jeremy was not in a very good place at the time, but this was an all-time low blow to Stephanie. ' Earlier this week, Jeremy felt the wrath of his on/off flame's mother Pauline Davis, after he was caught slamming Stephanie on the social media site. 'Shown his true colours': Stephanie's mother Pauline branded Jeremy a 'scumbag' as she lashed out at her daughter's on/off flame in a now deleted tweet earlier this week The Irish model, 27, had claimed his ex-girlfriend is now 'dead' to him, prompting Pauline to label Jeremy a 'scumbag' in a now deleted tweet. According to The Mirror, Pauline had slammed her daughter's former beau and tweeted: 'Finally after 16 months of hell the scumbag has shown his true colours! #beyondevil #malicious #noexcuses.' Seeming to have second thoughts about her fiery tweet, Stephanie's mother has now appeared to have deleted her post. She is grandmother to Steph and Jeremy's five-month-old son Caben-Albi. It was prompted by a scathing tweet Jeremy had sent hours earlier, hitting out at Stephanie and branding her a 'manipulative f**k'. The duo had found themselves at the centre of speculation their on/off romance has come to an end yet again, after reports surfaced of the couple becoming embroiled in a 'blazing' row. Scandal: Her tweet came after Jeremy posted a scathing outburst in which he claimed Stephanie (pictured above with their son Caben-Albi) is a 'manipulative f**k' to Twitter 'Beyond evil': Pauline appeared to have second thoughts about her tweet and has now appeared to have deleted it Jeremy appeared to confirm the split in his tweet that accused Stephanie of 'cutting up his clothes' and making a harsh remark about his parents, who have passed away. According to The Sun, Jeremy's indirect tweet read: 'Cuts up my whole wardrobe s**gs my dead parents that girl is dead to me manipulative f**k #over.' The former Celebrity Big Brother star has since deleted his angry tirade. Instead, his last tweet now reads: 'Always stick with your initial vibe and buzz off someone.' Both Stephanie and Jeremy's representatives declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline. Like mother, like daughter: She is grandmother to Stephanie and Jeremy's five-month-old son Caben-Albi Not a fan: Pauline has had previous when it comes to hitting out at Jeremy on social media - his relationship with Stephanie has been tumultuous since they first got together last year All over? Jeremy appeared to confirm he and girlfriend Stephanie have split again, after sharing an angry tweet in reference to the former Hollyoaks star Jeremy's apparent outburst comes after the couple sparked speculation all was not well between them. It was claimed they had been embroiled in a 'blazing' row which saw Stephanie chuck her beau's clothes out onto the street. Sources claimed Jeremy had jetted off to Ireland to escape the drama and while confirming he had headed to his native, the reality star had appeared to shrug off the row accusations, tweeting in reference to them: 'UNBELIEVABLE.' It has now been claimed his rocky patch with Stephanie is due to comments his ex Savannah Kempsey had made about Jeremy's romance with the actress. Second thoughts? Jeremy later appeared to delete his tweet that hit out at Stephanie Scandal: His tirade came after the couple found themselves at the centre of reports they had been embroiled in a 'blazing' row Savannah had branded the pair's relationship as 'toxic' and claimed Jeremy was 'trapped' after starting a family with Stephanie. Her comments prompted Stephanie to seek the Ex On The Beach star out on Twitter and accuse her of using her name for publicity. Stephanie tweeted: 'Hi chick, @MissKemplay can I ask who u are? I got told u were fame hungry and would take any show as it comes, but seriously commenting on my life... 'Darling, u wanna give that big head a wobble. Please stop using my name for fame. Pity u honey. Love Steph x. (sic)' Having her say: Savannah had branded Jeremy's relationship with Stephanie as 'toxic' and claimed the reality star was 'trapped' because of their five-month-old son It's said Savannah's comments and Stephanie's reaction had sparked tension between herself and Jeremy, with sources telling The Sun it had led to Jeremy 'drinking again'. Back in April, he had checked himself into rehab in a bid to beat his issues with substance abuse. After completing his six-week stay, Jeremy had rekindled his relationship with Stephanie and moved in with her and their baby boy in Liverpool. Back to the beginning: The couple had first got together while starring on Celebrity Big Brother in January 201 Drama: At first, Jeremy had persistently denied that he was the father of Stephanie's then unborn child when she revealed she was pregnant, but stepped up when he discovered her paternity claims were in fact truthful The couple had first got together while starring on Celebrity Big Brother in January 2016, but things soon turned complicated between the pair and they called time on their relationship in April - a month before Stephanie announced she was expecting. At first, Jeremy had persistently denied that he was the father of Stephanie's then unborn child, but stepped up when he discovered her paternity claims were in fact truthful. However, things haven't been plain sailing for the couple and fans were left shocked as Jeremy made a court appearance over an assault claim - but Stephanie vowed to stand by him. In light of their latest relationship woes, Stephanie has kept quiet on social media. The mum-of-one chose to ignore the swirling rumours about herself and Jeremy, instead tweeting on Saturday night: 'Watching my favourite film Just Married. Night all x.' Making a go of things: Stephanie had vowed to stand by Jeremy throughout his stint in rehab and his subsequent court appearance The feud rumbles on between TOWIE's Jade Lewis and Amber Turner. And having run into one another in Mykonos this week, the bad blood continues to gush between the warring pair who have been fighting over hunky Jamie Reed. According to an eyewitness, Jade came to the end of her tether with Amber after the blonde troublemaker showed up at Jamie's house late at night recently and have since been thrown together on a Greek cruise. Scroll down for video Greek tragedy! TOWIE's Amber Turner [L] and Jade Lewis' [R] bitter feud has hotted up again after the pair came FACE-TO-FACE while stranded on the same cruise ship in Mykonos 'Jade is furious,' claimed the source, according to The Sun. 'Shes sick of having to put up with Ambers petty behaviour after remaining patient for so long. 'Amber had reassured her everything was okay between them but hasnt treated her too kindly since being on the cruise together. 'Jade resisted getting into a row with Amber during filming for the last series of Towie but recent events have made her feel differently.' The pair of feisty Essex girls are both on a Unique Parties cruise; and clearly the boat isn't big enough for the both of them. All about the boy: Having run into one another in Mykonos this week, the bad blood continues to gush between the warring pair who have been fighting over hunky Jamie Reed Flying solo: Amber, however, has claimed she hasn't been trying to get Jamie back, and denies the reports of pestering her ex The close quarters have evidently led to a run in, in wake of Amber's clingy behaviour towards Jamie, which includes the incident at his house and incessently calling his phone while he was previously on holiday with Jade. Amber caused the end of the relationship, after she cheated on Jamie after four years as a couple. Jamie met and moved on with Jade and have been loved up since, despite Amber's apparent Fatal Attraction-esque antics. Amber, however, has claimed she hasn't been trying to get Jamie back, and denies the reports of pestering her ex. At war: The pair of feisty Essex girls are both on a Unique Parties cruise; and clearly the boat isn't big enough for the both of them Her cheating scandal was the main storyline on TOWIE's 20th season. And while viewers were captivated by the saga, one person who was not happy with Amber's antics was co-star Mario Falcone - who branded her 'disgusting'. The 30-year-old show stalwart spoke on Simon Gross Showbiz Show where he dismissed the blonde beauty, stating 'I just don't like her' before claiming her romantic woes were an elaborate publicity stunt. Furious: Amber Turner's cheating scandal was the main storyline on TOWIE's 20th season Amber caused huge shock among viewers when she joined the show earlier this year while still in a long-term relationship with live-in boyfriend Jamie although she was accused of cheating on him with Dan - claims both parties denied. When she returned from Tenerife, jokingly christened 'Tene-grief' by the irked stars, she rushed home to Jamie, who made a comeback to the show after a drama-filled appearance in 2012, where she vehemently denied the claims. Later on however, the truth came out leading to an enraged Jamie facing off with both Amber and Dan before finding love once more with Jade Lewis, who he famously lauded as 'a real model - not an Instagram model'. As the situation remains acrimonious among the group, Mario will no doubt set further sparks flying as he made his brazen comments about Amber, who he insists is playing a huge game to garner publicity. Lost love: And while viewers were captivated by the storyline, which saw her ditch boyfriend Jamie Reed for a fling with Dan Edgar, one person who was not happy with Amber's antics was co-star Mario Falcone - who branded her 'disgusting' Having it out: When she returned from Tenerife, jokingly christened 'Tene-grief' by the irked stars, she rushed home to Jamie, who made a comeback to the show after a drama-filled appearance in 2012, where she vehemently denied the claims Not happy: Mario made his thoughts on Amber resoundingly clear in his shock outburst Speaking on the show, he said: 'Amber Turner Theres no history between us, I just dont like her. The way in which she ditched her boyfriend to be on TOWIE, which is the truth, and lie about it and say they have troubles just to be famous and be in the public eye is disgusting. 'Fans have longed her off (dismissed her) and she deserves everything she gets. Youll see it all next series, shell jump to someone else to keep herself as a storyline.' Seeming totally unbothered by the hate from her co-star, Amber took to Instagram to share a stunning snap with her 241,000 followers - as she posed in a bikini while embarking on a luxury party cruise. Who cares? Seeming totally unbothered by the hate from her co-star, Amber took to Instagram to share a stunning snap with her 241,000 followers - as she posed in a bikini while embarking on a luxury party cruise Fame hungry? As the situation remains acrimonious among the group, Mario will no doubt set further sparks flying as he made his brazen comments about Amber, who he insists is playing a huge game to garner publicity MailOnline has contacted representatives for Mario and Amber for comment. Mario joined TOWIE in its third season as Lucy Mecklenburgh's boyfriend in 2011, after which his time on the show was fraught with drama. Earlier this year it was revealed Mario is making his return to TOWIE, two years after his dismissal for touting slimming pills - a banned act for castmembers. Lucy and Mario's love story spun a convoluted tale, after he first debuted on TOWIE in 2011 when he entered the show cast as Lucy's boyfriend. The brunette beauty had previously enjoyed a casual romance with the show's lead lothario Mark Wright although the involvement of his girlfriend of nine years, Lauren Goodger, led to the demise of their relationship. Lost love: As the situation remains acrimonious among the group, Mario will no doubt set further sparks flying as he made his brazen comments about Amber, who he insists is playing a huge game to garner publicity Hitting back: 'Fans have longed her off and she deserves everything she gets. Youll see it all next series, shell jump to someone else to keep herself as a storyline' After she split from Mark she found love with Mario, although they suffered a spectacular blip when she devastatingly fell back into Mark's arms while Mario was on holiday in Ibiza. When Mario managed to forgive Lucy he later popped the question during the TOWIE cast's annual pilgrimage to Marbella, where she accepted his proposal. While Lucy believed the couple to be blissfully headed towards marriage, it transpired that Mario had been texting a host of other women behind her back leading to many confrontations between Lucy and an array of stunners. Since their split in 2013, both parties have enjoyed public relationships - Lucy dated Olympic gymnast Louis Smith for 14 months before splitting in February, while Mario dated stunning model Emma McVey, who he broke up with in October last year. They've been happily engaged for two years and share a beautiful daughter together. And Dan Osborne, 25, has paid a gushing tribute to his stunning fiancee Jacqueline Jossa, 24, on Instagram to mark the two-year anniversary of their engagement in which he referred to her as his 'best friend'. The former TOWIE star - who got down on bended knee during a family holiday in Greece - shared the heart melting snap of them kissing moments after life-altering moment on his social media on Thursday. Scroll down for video 'Best friend': Dan Osborne, 25, has paid a gushing tribute to his stunning fiancee Jacqueline Jossa, 24, on Instagram to mark the two-year anniversary of their engagement in which he referred to her as his 'best friend' With a banner-clad boat visible in the background, reading 'Will you marry me?', the two couldn't contain their happiness in the adorable photo. Fast-forward two years, Dan posted the photo to his social media, captioning it: 'Two years ago today I proposed to my best friend. Can't wait to make this woman Mrs Osborne. Love you darling.' Dan's sweet tribute sent fans into a tizzy as they began commenting in their droves about when they can see them walk up the aisle. 'So when is the big day????' one fan shared. 'Lovely pic. When is the wedding?' Heart warming: The former TOWIE star - who got down on bended knee during a family holiday in Greece - shared the heart melting snap of them on his social media on Thursday As another posted: 'So what you waiting for then?'. Before one other echoed the same sentiments: 'What are you waiting for?'. While one user wrote: '2 years ago!? Why ain't you married yet!?'. MailOnline have contacted Dan Osborne and Jacqueline Jossa's reps for comment. Despite previously set tongues wagging February that they had got hitched, Dan and Jacqueline became engaged in June 2016, with Dan proposing while the pair were on a family holiday to Greece, celebrating her sister's wedding. The TOWIE hunk announced their engagement on his Twitter account, writing: 'She said YES!!! I am the luckiest man in the world to be marrying the woman of my dreams @jacquelineMjos.' Wedding bells? Dan's sweet tribute sent fans into a tizzy as they began commenting in their droves about when they can see them walk up the aisle (pictured in 2015) Jacqueline and Dan have experienced something of a whirlwind romance, having started dating in 2013. He was fresh out of a relationship with the mother of his first child, Megan Tomlin, with whom he discovered he was expecting son Teddy, two, a matter of weeks after the initial split. Their relationship came under scrutiny in 2015 as the father-of-two was heard threatening to stab his ex in a recording obtained by The Sun. However, Dan insisted he would never have hurt Megan and he was simply speaking out of anger. Loved-up: Jacqueline and Dan have experienced something of a whirlwind romance, having started dating in 2013 'I never physically hurt anyone.. I said some things in anger in THE worst time of my life.. That's it!!', he tweeted. 'If everyone on earth had there arguments recorded.. I am sure 95% of you would listen back and hear things you OBVIOUSLY never meant.. [sic]' At the time, Jacqueline said she was 'disgusted' with her fiance and said she didn't think she would 'ever forgive him for what he said' - though she has kept largely quiet on the matter ever since. Jacqueline and Dan went public in June 2014 after previously denying that they were any more than friends. They announced their pregnancy in August of that year and baby Ella arrived in February 2015. Parental pair: The two are parents to their darling daughter Ella Whilst the pair had initially planned to tie the knot in 2016, they announced last year they would be postponing the wedding until 2017 as they had left it too late to find a decent venue. Jacqueline told OK! magazine: 'We just ran out of time to plan everything. I thought we had ages to get stuff sorted, then all of a sudden it was March and we didnt have anything booked.' In October, the pair revealed they had finally picked a date for the big day, with Jacqueline - who plays Lauren Branning in EastEnders - revealing: 'This means I finally have a vision of what I want the day to be like. Im really excited and happy, I cant wait.' Orange Is the New Black's Laverne Cox hammed it up for the cameras outside ABC Studios in Manhattan Thursday before pretaping her appearance on tomorrow's episode of The View. The 32-year-old Daytime Emmy winner - who relies on stylist Christina Pacelli - looked fierce as ever in a black pantsuit, matching studded Louboutin pumps, and a red Hermes Birkin bag. Ursula Stephen coiffed the transgender icon's wavy ombre wig and the Lady Deja Davenport applied her fully contoured make-up. Scroll down for video Sashay! Orange Is the New Black's Laverne Cox hammed it up outside ABC Studios in Manhattan Thursday before pretaping her appearance on tomorrow's episode of The View Toting her Birkin bag! The 32-year-old Daytime Emmy winner - who relies on stylist Christina Pacelli - looked fierce as ever in a black pantsuit and matching studded Louboutin pumps Camera ready: Ursula Stephen coiffed the transgender icon's wavy ombre wig and the Lady Deja Davenport applied her fully contoured make-up Thursday morning Laverne was on ABC's The Chew where she hilariously demonstrated her 'signature dance move' with gratuitous hair-flipping for the cooking show audience. While shaking her groove thing, the Alabama School of Fine Arts grad bared her shoulders in a cute white Bardot top. Cox said she can't cook beyond 'a bowl of cereal,' but she did admit to 'gaining lots of pounds' whenever indulging in her mother's Southern specialties broccoli cornbread and grits. Yasss! Thursday morning Laverne was on ABC's The Chew where she hilariously demonstrated her 'signature dance move' with gratuitous hair-flipping for the cooking show audience Werk! While shaking her groove thing, the Alabama School of Fine Arts grad bared her shoulders in a cute white Bardot top 'I've been working on other skill sets': Cox said she can't cook beyond 'a bowl of cereal,' but she did admit to 'gaining lots of pounds' whenever indulging in her mother's Southern specialties The Rocky Horror Picture Show actress defended: 'A girl like, me you have to work on a lot of things. So cooking, I let that go, but I'm good at a lot of other things. So after the deed, I can't make you a sandwich but I can order Seamless or Postmates or Uber Eats' 'I don't cook. I've been working on other skill sets,' the Rocky Horror Picture Show actress defended. 'A girl like, me you have to work on a lot of things. So cooking, I let that go, but I'm good at a lot of other things. So after the deed, I can't make you a sandwich but I can order Seamless or Postmates or Uber Eats.' The two-time SAG Award winner was promoting her role as Litchfield Penitentiary convict and hairdresser Sophia Burset in the 13-episode fifth season of the Netflix hit, which began streaming last Friday. Began streaming Friday! The two-time SAG Award winner was promoting her role as Litchfield Penitentiary convict/hairdresser Sophia Burset in the 13-episode fifth season of the Netflix hit Laverne's next film Freak Show - in which she plays Felicia Watts - will screen at the Edinburgh Film Festival on June 26 and Outfest Los Angeles on July 16. Sting's wife Trudie Styler helmed the cross-dressing high school dramedy - based on the 2008 James St. James novel - which also stars Bette Midler, Abigail Breslin, AnnaSophia Robb, and Alex Lawther. According to Deadline, IFC Films will release Freak Show 'early next year' in US theaters. Next gig: Laverne's next film Freak Show - in which she plays Felicia Watts - will screen at the Edinburgh Film Festival on June 26 and Outfest Los Angeles on July 16 Gwyneth Paltrow is not the type of actress to cover her face when out and about. But that's exactly what the Oscar-winning actress did on Thursday. While exiting an SUV in New York City she put her hands on her head. It appeared as if she may have been crying. This comes after the 44-year-old mother-of-two announced on Today she has pretty much retired from acting. Scroll down for video Sad day? Gwyneth Paltrow looked as if she had been crying or was just having a really hard time with the bright sun when she stepped out of an SUV in NYC on Thursday Sad face: The looker has been in Manhattan to talk about her website Goop and the beauty products she has created Poor thing! She had a man next to her making sure she was OK but the star seemed to struggle; he should have lent her a pair of sunglasses 'I'm still going to do a little bit here and there, but this really requires almost all of my time,' the Shakespeare In Love star said. 'I'm in the office all day, every day. 'I have a pretty big team we're almost 85 people so I kind of need to be at work.' The blonde beauty - who used to be married to Coldplay rocker Chris Martin - added: 'Its just one of those things I was so lucky: I had an incredible acting career, but I had this deep passion to produce content and make great products and curate things. Not good: The ex of Brad Pitt had only a cell phone with her and no purse How can she see where she is going? The man put a hand on her back as she headed into a building So unusual: Paltrow, who wore a floral dress and matching heels, usually smiles at fans 'It sort of evolved slowly and had a long gestational period and now its like, a real business.' In an interview with Extra she shared: 'I'm not sure how I'll feel about acting going forward. I'm doing just a teensy little bit here and there when I have time, but I am loving running my business.' The beauty - who has children Apple, 13, and Moses, 11, with Martin - admitted she's instead relishing the challenge of building her own company. Boss lady: She said: 'It sort of evolved slowly and had a long gestational period and now its like, a real business.' Here she is seen at a Goop event with Cameron Diaz, Tory Burch, Nicole Richie and Miranda Kerr 'You know, my life has been skewing far more heavily towards my business, and it has to right now that we have so much going on,' she explains. 'We're growing so fast (at my company), and it's such an exciting time to be doing what I'm doing.' Gwyneth's most recent role was an appearance in 2016 TV series Nightcap, while her last movie was the 2015 comedy Mortdecai, opposite Johnny Depp. Sorry Brad, it's not gonna happen: She said she would not get back together with Pitt They looked like twins: The couple in London in 1997; they were engaged at one point The Emma actress also said in a video shared on Wednesday that she would not date Brad Pitt again. In September he split from wife Angelina Jolie. When answering a question from a fan who asked if she would get back together with the Troy star, she said: 'That ship has sailed.' And when told by a fan she always thought Paltrow would have three kids she said 'so did I' but then added: 'I'm very lucky to have the two I have.' Covering her face again: She was later spotted putting on another low-key appearance Relaxed: Dressed in white cropped trousers and studded trainers she was seen running to a waiting car Coordinated: She teamed her ensemble with a pale pink jacket Shielding her face: Gwyneth came over all shy as she stepped out Under cover: Gwyneth was joined by son Moses as they strolled down the street Keeping it low-key: Gwyneth didn't want to draw attention to herself as she stepped out Kenya Moore is now a married woman. The Real Housewives Of Atlanta star, 46, tied the knot with a businessman she has been seeing for several months. But the reality TV darling does not yet want to reveal his identity, she told People on Thursday. The two said 'I do' over the weekend in St Lucia after first meeting a year ago. Who's the groom? Kenya Moore is now a married woman. The Real Housewives Of Atlanta star, 46, tied the knot with a businessman she has been seeing for several months, but she does not yet want to reveal his identity, she told People; pictured January Nice setting: Website Tamra Tattles shared photos from the wedding, which took place on the beach. Here is an image from the location shard by Moore this week This is the first time the Michigan native has been married. Website Tamra Tattles shared photos from the wedding, which took place on the beach. Kenya can be seen in a low-cut white dress and a veil while her husband wore a white suit. Guests can be seen in the background. 'I'm just ecstatic,' the former Miss USA told the site. 'This man is the love of my life and Im so happy to begin our lives together as husband and wife.' Champagne for two with her husband: Here the star showed off two glass of Veuve Her show: (l-r) Cynthia Bailey, Moore, Kandi Burruss, Andy Cohen, Phaedra Parks, Porsha Williams, Sheree Whitfield of RHOA She was last linked romantically to Walter Jackson and Matt Jordan. Moore worked as an actress for years in movies such as Waiting to Exhale and Deliver Us From Eva before doing RHOA. She also had roles on TV's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Girlfriends and In The House. Skills: Moore worked as actress for years in Waiting to Exhale and Deliver Us from Eva before doing RHOA. She also had roles on TV's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Girlfriends, and In The House; seen in March She joined RHOA during season five and feuded with Porsha Williams, Phaedra Parks and Sheree Whitfield. Kenya will be back for season 10 along with season on vets Kim Zolciak and NeNe Leakes. Williams, Whitfield, Kandi Burruss and Cynthia Bailey 'are all likely to return' said People. The ex: The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air actress with beau Matt Jordan in 2016 She's the stunning model-turned-fashion designer who isn't shy in front of a camera. But on Monday Sahara Ray found herself suffering a swimwear malfunction as she almost lost her red bikini top at a beach in Cancun, Mexico, during a photo shoot. The 24-year-old laughed as she pulled the swimwear back up, flashing her nipple ring in the process. Oops! on Monday Sahara Ray found herself suffering a major swimwear malfunction as she almost lost her red bikini top in the surf during a photo shoot The beauty seemed to struggle with her swimwear multiple times, adjusting the bikini bottoms once she left the surf. Once her swimsuit was back in check, the beauty posed for a series of photos, flaunting her incredible figure for a camera man. Sahara appeared to be posing for several images that showcased her pert derriere. Her bikini bottoms left very little to to the imagination, with a very revealing high cut that sat above the blonde's hips. Slip: The 24-year-old laughed as she pulled the swimwear back up, flashing her nipple ring in the process Revealing: Her bikini bottoms left very little to to the imagination, with a very revealing high cut that sat above the blonde's hips The struggle is real: The beauty seemed to struggle with her swimwear multiple times, adjusting the bikini bottoms once she left the surf Lit: Sahara laughed as she posed for snaps with a lit cigarette in her hand At one point the model could be seen pulling on the side of the swimwear, raising it even higher to show off her behind in it's best light. Wearing a retro bandanna around her hair, which was in a messy bun, Sahara laughed as she posed for snaps with a lit cigarette in her hand. The bikini top's straps fell down off her shoulders several times as the beauty shot flirty looks at the camera. Bottoms up! Sahara showed off her sand-coated bottom for another series of pictures Not an inch to pinch: She showed off her pert derriere in her bikini Retro: She wore a retro bandanna around her hair, which was in a messy bun Flirty: The bikini top's straps fell down off her shoulders several times as the beauty shot flirty looks at the camera Strut! The water was the model's runway on Monday Posing: Leaning down in the surf on all fours, Sahara posed proactively, looking back at the camera She added a shell choker and pair of sunglasses, worn low on her nose. Leaning down in the surf on all fours, Sahara posed proactively, looking back at the camera, before flaunting her sand-coated bottom for another series of pictures. Sahara also posed for several photo in a wooden beach chair, the photographer adjusting her hair between shots. Accessories: She donned a shell choker and pair of sunglasses, worn low on her nose Relaxed: Sahara also posed for several photo in a wooden beach chair Strike a pose: The photographer made sure to get a few close ups Quick fix: The photographer was seen adjusting the blonde's hair between shots Skills: The daughter of surf legend Tony Ray also got behind the camera at one stage, covering up in a denim jacket leaning forward to snap away The daughter of surf legend Tony Ray also got behind the camera at one stage, covering up in a denim jacket leaning forward to snap away. Known for posting racy images to Instagram, the gorgeous social media star has flashed glimpses of her nipple ring in the past. Aussie connections: Born in the Australian coastal town of Torquay, Sahara was raised in Santa Cruz, California Born in the Australian coastal town of Torquay, Sahara was raised in Santa Cruz, California. Sahara found herself in the spotlight last year after she was spotted skinny dipping in Hawaii with Justin Bieber. Hundreds of volunteers and local celebrities collected $21,859.04 in spare change at 36 McDonalds Restaurants for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga, a home away from home for families of ill or injured children during Day of Change on Friday, June 2. Day of Change is an annual RMHC event thats purpose is to show the importance of giving back even in the smallest gesture. Business partners who joined in by collecting money at their business ahead of the event and in most cases, also sending employees to volunteer at a location included: all area branches of Regions Bank, Cigna, the Chapter 13 Trustees Office, Pediatric Dentistry in Cleveland and Hixson, Benchmark Physical Therapy in Dalton and Ft. Oglethorpe, B. W. James Jewelers, Chattanooga Allergy Clinic, WCA-CPAs, and Skin Cancer and Dermatology. Chattanooga Times Free Press also donated money from their paper sales. He lives with his family in coastal Byron Bay where he often indulges in his passion for surfing. But Chris Hemsworth ran into trouble on Thursday when he decided to take on a stormy swell on the Gold Coast. The actor, 33, unfortunately snapped his board in half while being filmed navigating the large waves. Scroll down for video Thor gets hammered! Actor Chris Hemsworth snapoed surfboard battling a stormy swell on the Gold Coast on Thursday Chris was surfing with Channel Seven reporter Luke Munro, who was driving a jet ski in the clips. Footage from the reporter's GoPro was shared on Sunrise, showing Chris's snapped board. The Hollywood star appeared in high spirits despite the incident, laughing it off as he held up the colourful board to the camera while the pair headed back to shore. 'The actor admitting after a bit of time out of the water it was a grueling workout,' Sunrise revealed. Taking it well! Footage from the reporter's GoPro was shared on Sunrise, showing Chris's snapped board while he laughed off the incident 'It was a grueling workout': Sunrise revealed the actor had considered the morning surf a tough workout Meanwhile, Chris posted a video of his successful surf moments before the incident. The Thor star wrote: 'Thanks for the drop off @lukemun yeoooow.' Looking muscular in a black wetsuit, Chris was dropped into the waves by Luke, who continued to film him from the safety of the jet ski. Surf's up! Looking muscular in a black wetsuit, Chris was dropped into the waves by Luke, who continued to film him from the safety of the jet ski He's a natural! Chris, who regularly indulges in his passion for surfing, had a flood of praise by fans commenting on his expertise at the sport In his clip, Chris could be seen showing off his surfing skills, maneuvering his board impressively in the rainy weather. His followers immediately took to the video's comments section to praise his expertise at the sport. The father-of-three, who married Spanish actress Elsa Pataky in 2010, spends a lot of time at the beach with his family. The UN's Syria commission, which was set up in 2011 shortly after the civil war began, has repeatedly accused the various sides of a wide range of war crimes and in some cases crimes against humanity United Nations war crimes investigators expressed alarm Wednesday at the "staggering" number of civilian deaths as US-backed forces battle to oust the Islamic State group from its Syrian stronghold Raqa. "In areas controlled by extremist factions, we are gravely concerned with the mounting number of civilians who perish during air strikes," said Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, who heads the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria. "We note in particular that the intensification of air strikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) advance in Raqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes," he told the UN Human Rights Council. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled Raqa and its surroundings since the US-backed SDF began its operation to capture the jihadist stronghold last year. And new waves of displacement are expected as the battle inside the city progresses. "The imperative to fight terrorism must not, however, be undertaken at the expense of civilians who unwillingly find themselves living in areas where ISIL is present," Pinheiro said, using another acronym for IS. The UN's Syria commission, which was set up in 2011 shortly after the civil war began, has repeatedly accused the various sides of a wide range of war crimes and in some cases crimes against humanity. On Wednesday, Pinheiro said a range of deals that have led to evacuations of rebel-held districts and towns in Syria "also raise concerns and in some cases amount to war crimes". A number of evacuation agreements have been struck for Aleppo and towns and villages around Damascus, as well as in third city Homs. The government says the deals are the best way to end the six-year war, but the opposition says this amounts to forced displacement. Pinheiro, who already warned in March that the evacuation from Aleppo amounted to a war crime, said Wednesday that "there is no voluntariness nor choice when those who stay often face the risk of being either arbitrarily arrested or forcibly conscripted". "In despair, civilians see no option but to leave," he added. More than 320,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad. Palestinian children read books at home by candle light on June 13, 2017 due to lengthy power cuts in the Gaza Strip The United Nations said Wednesday that Gazans were being held hostage to Palestinian political infighting, warning that longer blackouts triggered by president Mahmud Abbas threatened a "total collapse" of basic services. Gazans currently receive only three to four hours of mains electricity a day, delivered from the territory's own power station and others in Israel and Egypt. Israel decided on Sunday to reduce the amount of electricity it supplies to Gaza by between 45 and 60 minutes a day after Abbas cut funding for it by his West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. The move was widely seen as an attempt by the Palestinian leader to step up pressure on his rivals in the Islamist movement Hamas which runs Gaza. The UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied territories, Robert Piper, warned the additional power cuts would have a disastrous effect. "A further increase in the length of blackouts is likely to lead to a total collapse of basic services, including critical functions in the health, water and sanitation sectors," Piper said in a statement. "The people in Gaza should not be held hostage to this longstanding internal Palestinian dispute," he said. Hamas has run Gaza since 2007, when it seized the territory from Abbas loyalists in a dispute over parliamentary elections swept by the Islamist movement the previous year. Multiple attempts at reconciliation between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah movement have failed, but his Palestinian Authority has continued to pay Israel for some electricity delivered to Gaza. A Palestinian woman helps her son study by candlelight at their makeshift home in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in Gaza on April 19, 2017 The prospect of even lengthier blackouts in Gaza has raised fears of a new upsurge in violence. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel had "no interest in an escalation," blaming internal Palestinian disputes for the crisis. Hamas said the cut was made on Abbas's orders and termed it "a catastrophe". "This decision aggravates the situation and risks an explosion in the Gaza Strip," it said on Monday. But on Wednesday Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman dismissed the idea of a humanitarian crisis in the tiny enclave of some two million people. "It is clear the Gaza Strip is not Switzerland, but there is no humanitarian crisis," he said, citing the "hundreds" of trucks delivering goods each day. Actor Bill Cosby arrives to court as a jury deliberates for a third day whether to convict him A Pennsylvania jury was deliberating a third day Wednesday whether to convict disgraced comedy legend Bill Cosby of sexual assault in one of America's biggest celebrity trials in years. The 79-year-old pioneering black actor could face the rest of his life in prison if convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for allegedly drugging and molesting a woman at his home in 2004. The maximum penalty for each charge is 10 years in jail and a $25,000 fine. But there is no mandatory minimum, meaning that the judge overseeing the case could also allow him to walk free. The 12-member jury, which already deliberated more than 15 hours on Monday and Tuesday, working late into the evening on both nights, has been sequestered for the duration of the trial. Cosby, once a towering figure in 20th century popular culture, returned to the court in Norristown, just outside Philadelphia, in a dark suit, white shirt and striped tie to await the verdict. The trial marks a steep fall from grace for an entertainer for decades loved by millions as "America's Dad" for his seminal role as a lovable father and obstetrician on hit TV series "The Cosby Show." In closing statements, the prosecution portrayed the actor as a sexual predator who deliberately drugged 44-year-old Canadian Andrea Constand so she would be unable to resist his advances at his Philadelphia home. Cosby refused to testify and his lawyers called just one witness, a police detective, before resting their case minutes later on Monday. Around 60 women have publicly accused the Emmy-winning comedian of being a serial sexual predator in remarkably similar accusations that span four decades, ending his career and pulverizing his reputation. Constand's is the only criminal case against him as under US law, most of the alleged abuse happened too long ago to prosecute. The seven-man, five-woman panel must reach a unanimous decision. If they tell the judge they cannot, Judge Steven O'Neill is likely to ask them to try harder. If the jury still fails to reach a decision, the district attorney will be given the option to request a re-trial. But if Cosby is convicted, even on one count, Montgomery County prosecutors will probably petition for his $1 million bail to be overturned and that he be detained into custody immediately. Protesters demonstrate against a controversial anti-terror bill near parliament in Tokyo. Rights groups say it is so broad it could be abused to allow wiretapping of innocent citizens and threaten privacy and freedom of expression Japan passed a controversial anti-terror law on Thursday that sparked street protests and warnings from critics that it would stomp on citizens' privacy rights and lead to over-the-top police surveillance. The upper house of parliament passed the conspiracy bill early Thursday morning after a full night of debate by sleepy parliamentarians and unsuccessful efforts on the part of Japan's weak opposition to block it. Thousands of demonstrators protested outside the legislature over the bill which criminalises the planning of serious crimes. The government argues it is necessary to prevent terrorism ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan's capital. But rights groups, Japan's national bar association and numerous academics have opposed the bill, saying it is so broad it could be abused to allow wiretapping of innocent citizens and threaten privacy and freedom of expression guarantees in the constitution. US surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden and Joseph Cannataci, UN special rapporteur on the right to privacy, have both criticised the law. Recent polls show the public is divided on the issue. The bill's passage overcame the opposition's no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet and a censure motion aimed at Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda. Tokyo insists the law -- which calls for a prison term of up to five years for planning serious crimes -- is a prerequisite for implementing a UN treaty against transnational organised crime which Japan signed in 2000. "We will uphold the law in an appropriate and effective way to protect people's lives," Abe told reporters after the legislation passed. "Three years ahead of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, we hope to cooperate with the international community to prevent terror," he added. - 'Forced vote' - The bill was revised several times over the years as earlier versions met with fierce resistance and never made it through parliament. The latest bill reduced the number of targeted crimes to over 270 offences and narrowed the definition of terrorist and criminal organisations. Earlier versions of the law targeted more than 600 crimes unrelated to terrorism or crime syndicates. Critics argued, however, that the current law still gives police and investigators too much leeway. The general public could be targeted on conspiracy charges via monitoring phone and online conversations once they are suspected of being a member of criminal group, they warned. The opposition chastised Abe for trying to push the law through quickly, as he faces mounting criticism over allegations that he gave friends special consideration in a couple of unrelated business deals. "This is an ultimate form of forced vote -- it shut down sensible debate in the upper house," Renho, head of the leading opposition Democratic Party who goes by one name, told reporters. The opposition has warned that petty crimes could fall under the scope of the law, and mocked Japan's justice minister when he earlier conceded that, hypothetically, mushroom hunting could be targeted if the fungi were stolen to raise money to fund terrorism. "This legislation is a serious violation of the constitution," said Kazuo Shii, head of the Japanese Communist Party, the second-largest opposition party. Some Japanese media have likened the bill to the World War II-era "public order maintenance law" under which ordinary people were arrested for political offences, exercising labour rights and anti-war activities. A Saudi man attends an evening class to learn technical skills, as part of a government programme to build a more self-reliant economy after the collapse of global oil prices The smell of automotive grease fills a college hallway and clanging noises emerge from the workshop where Saudi Arabian men gather around an engine. These are not high school graduates, but older students in a pioneering programme for extending skills throughout society. The kingdom for the first time is giving short technical courses -- among them household electronics and computing -- to men and women who say it's a further step towards easing their country's reliance on foreign labour. The move complements efforts to build a more self-reliant economy after the collapse of global oil prices. It also helps dispel misconceptions that Saudis don't like to get their hands dirty in manual work, much of which is done by millions of expatriates. "In my home I can fix it," said Mohammed al-Harbi, 29, who works in his family's small business and joined the household electronics course at Riyadh Technical College. "I don't want to hire someone." The world's biggest oil exporter last year embarked on a wide-ranging social and economic reform plan to wean the economy off oil by broadening its industrial, investment and small business base to employ more Saudis. It calls for improved education and expanded vocational training. The new adult courses are not designed to qualify people for the job market, said Ahmad Fahad al-Fahaid, who heads the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), the government agency in charge of skills development. They should, however, help them develop just enough knowledge to avoid having to call in expatriate labourers who "offer some maintenance or skills that can be done by Saudis," Fahaid said during a visit to the automotive workshop. - Added value - "Nobody told them, nobody taught them, nobody trained them, so that's why we stepped in" to offer skills that will help Saudis do the repairs themselves or, at least, to better oversee those doing the work, Fahaid said. Official figures show close to nine million foreigners are employed in the kingdom, which has a local population of more than 21 million Classes are free except for a small registration charge. Official figures show close to nine million foreigners are employed in the kingdom, which has a local population of more than 21 million. That was before an intensified effort to reduce the kingdom's reliance on foreigners as oil prices settled at around half the level they were three years ago. A weaker economy forced Saudi Arabia to delay major infrastructure projects, temporarily halt public service benefits, and prepare to implement taxes for the first time. Coinciding with the pilot training programme, Saudi Arabia gave illegal foreigners three months to leave without penalty. More than 345,000 have already stepped forward for the amnesty which ends later this month, the Arab News reported in early June. Fahaid said that if Saudis can do basic repairs themselves then expatriates who remain should have "the skills needed to give an added value" to the economy, rather than performing menial tasks. Students welcomed the chance to pick up new skills, and said they want more. "We have learned about vehicles and how to maintain them. We learned a lot already," said Ali al-Qasim, 26. - I 'can do it' - He was one of several men dressed in brown smocks watching the oil drain from the engine of an old sedan hoisted above them. Saudi Arabia last year embarked on a wide-ranging social and economic reform plan to wean the economy off oil by broadening its industrial, investment and small business base to employ more locals Across campus, a student reassembled the power unit of a dismantled air conditioner as about 15 classmates followed his progress. Sultan Abdullah, in his late 20s, said the four evening classes weren't enough, especially for someone like him. Educated in Japan, he lost his job with a government ministry earlier this year. "Young people, they have no work," Abdullah said, pointing out two other unemployed men in his class that focused on cooling systems. Saudi youths face "strong competition" from South Asians and other expatriates, and "it is better for our country" if more locals could find jobs, he said. But the night school is designed to fill a gap, not for job training which is covered in many other TVTC programmes, Fahaid said. A foreign education expert in Saudi Arabia earlier told AFP that education and training reforms will take years. The kingdom's well-equipped colleges may "talk the talk" but standards still lag, the expert said. While training in certain trades already meets global standards, Fahaid conceded that "in some other areas we need a lot... to develop our capability, and that's what we are doing in TVTC." The pilot project for more than 4,600 trainees ended before Ramadan. It is due to continue, with expanded course offerings, after the Muslim fasting month finishes in late June. For women, the programme offered basic computer technology, hairdressing and beauty instruction. It reflects public "requests for different kinds of courses" for all ages, Fahaid said, adding: "A lot of Saudis are keen to learn new skills." Among them is Suliman al-Kuoboor, 52, a Royal Saudi Air Force flight engineer. "I came here to make more knowledge for myself," he said. Instead of calling a foreign technician, "you can do it by yourself," he said, expressing confidence in his new skills for connecting household wires, switches and lights. Camalia Baunto (L) waits for news on her husband in Marawi, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, on June 15, 2017 Camalia Baunto keeps a desperate vigil for news of her husband, trapped just a short walk away in brutal fighting between Islamist militants and government forces that has ruined a Philippine city. He is among hundreds of civilians pinned down in pockets of Marawi that are controlled by the militants, and they are facing an onslaught of deadly threats including bombs, sniper fire, hunger and a lack of medical care. Some have made a two-kilometre (1.2-mile) sprint to safety during the three weeks of conflict, risking being shot at by the militants, and Camalia waits every day at a secured government building nearby hoping her husband will run into her arms. "It's really painful for me. I'm always scared he'll be hit," Camalia, 43, told AFP on Wednesday in a soft voice as she held back tears and anxiously fixed her hijab. Rebecca Tagab at an evacuation center at the Buru-on Barangay Hall in Iliga, on the southern island of Mindanao, begs for the authorities to rescue her husband Crisanto Tagab "He is too traumatised to escape. Even we on the outside are afraid because you don't know which direction the bullets are coming from." The fighting began on May 23 when hundreds of militants rampaged through Marawi, the most important Muslim city in the mainly Catholic Philippines, waving the black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group. They have since withstood a relentless, US-backed bombing campaign and intense ground battles with Filipino troops that have left large parts of Marawi resembling devastated cities in war-torn Syria and Iraq. One of the keys to their survival has been the trapped civilians, who are acting as human shields in stopping the military from completely destroying the small areas controlled by the gunmen. A soldier carries a girl who was among civilians trapped for 11 in a besieged village in Marawi Even so, entire streets are now just full of rubble and the military's bombs have not always hit their targets -- with one strike going astray and killing 10 soldiers. Most of the city's 200,000 residents fled during the early stages of the fighting. Authorities say anywhere between 300 and 1,700 civilians remain trapped in the militant-held areas. Camalia's family was visiting a nearby town when the clashes began but her husband, Nixon, returned to check on their home and their hardware store. Since then Nixon has been able to call her occasionally and report terrifying snippets of survival. "He hasn't eaten. He hasn't slept. A bomb here, an explosion there. He is getting weak," she said at the provincial government office's entrance, from where she could see military helicopters bomb militant-controlled areas. - Eating boxes - Twenty-six civilians have been confirmed killed in the fighting. Authorities say anywhere between 300 and 1,700 civilians remain trapped in the militant-held areas of Marawi But local officials and aid workers believe dozens more have likely died, with their corpses rotting in the militant-held areas, and that conditions are growing increasingly dire as food runs out. "Some residents are eating (cardboard) boxes. They just dip it in water to soften the material and eat it," provincial crisis management committee spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong told AFP, recounting testimonies from people who escaped. "It's heartbreaking. It's almost unbelievable to think that people are living this way." The military has also reported that the militants are using some civilians as slaves, making them cook and carry munitions. One survivor who escaped on Tuesday, Christian housepainter Nick Andeleg, 26, said he and his colleagues decided to flee after coming to the realisation that waiting any longer would certainly lead to death. "We thought we were the only ones left trapped. We felt it was better to try escaping. If we died outside our house, at least we tried to save ourselves," Andeleg told AFP as he recounted watching bombs destroy houses around him. "We hid anywhere we could. We'd go under all kinds of furniture: beds, cabinets, in the toilet. We were like rats hiding under anything we could find." Camalia Baunto, who has left her six children with her in-laws outside of Marawi, said she was determined to wait for her husband. She appeared tormented by the wait though, mumbling to herself while sitting alone sometimes, and asking unanswerable questions to others at the government building. "When is this crisis going to end? When will this chaos be over?" Eric Manu, a bricklayer from Ghana, stayed in Libya for several years but returned to Agadez in Niger because it was so dangerous Once an El Dorado for those seeking work and advancement, Libya has turned into the seventh circle of hell for migrants whose experiences range from exploitation verging on slavery to kidnapping and torture. Back in the days when Moamer Kadhafi was leader, Africa's second-largest oil producer was billed as a top destination for those looking for jobs and money. But with the collapse of the Kadhafi regime in 2011, everything changed. These days, those who have been there say Libya is in the grip of anarchy, controlled by a network of armed groups and militias, a place where African migrants are exposed to every form of abuse. "Now Libya is bad, bad, bad," said Ibrahim Ali, a native of Guinea-Bissau who has just returned to Agadez, the main city in central Niger which has become a revolving door for economic migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Exhausted by his trip back through the desert, this young man appears traumatised by the two years he spent working there. "Guns, everywhere guns. It no good any more," agrees Eric Manu, a 36-year-old bricklayer from Ghana who stayed there for several years. "Too much problems." He said he left because of the unrest but also because wages had fallen by two-thirds and that he'd had problems being paid. "You can work and they don't pay you." - Scavenging at the abattoir - "Too much thieves -- sometimes they look for telephones, for money. If you don't give (it to them), they can kill you, shoot you," says Manu. Originally from Abidjan in Ivory Coast, he was able to wire the money back home knowing full well there would be bandits waiting on the route back to Agadez, where he eventually arrived without a penny to his name. Kante Sekou, a 27-year-old graduate, left Guinea in 2013 in the hope of getting to Europe but gave up after spending several nightmare years in Libya Kante Sekou, a 27-year-old graduate, left Guinea in 2013 in the hope of getting to Europe. But he gave up after reaching Libya where he spent a difficult time dodging both the police, who were arresting people, and the militias who were fighting each other. He was finally taken on as a labourer on a construction site with a group of other migrants. "It's shite. We were paid 15 dinars ($11/10 euros) per day and we had to hand over five of that for food. But we never saw any money. We would sometimes go three or four weeks without being paid," he said. "The food ran out and we didn't know what to do," recalls Sekou, who holds a degree in communications studies. "In one village, we had to go into an abattoir (to find food). We took the leftovers -- camels' feet and things like that which nobody wanted. "It didn't taste good but we had to do it." - Kidnapped for ransom - One day, the workers were told the money had arrived, but Sekou wasn't paid what he was owed so he upped and left, moving to Misrata in the west where he worked as a decorator. He also had a run-in with bandits, who routinely kidnap migrants and lock them up in makeshift 'prisons' in order to extort a random. For many, the nightmare they experience in Libya forces them to turn back and they often return to Agadez, a desert city in Niger "Once, I had to jump out of a moving car to escape from armed men who wanted to take me away," he recalls. Others weren't so lucky, such as 26-year-old Ibrahim Kande from Senegal who says anyone earning money -- which is usually sent home to support family -- is targeted by bandits. "If you earn money, the 'boys' (armed men) catch you, beat you, and put you in prison -- not a normal prison, a private one," he says, "They lock you up and you have to pay between 200,000 and 500,000 CFA" to get out -- the equivalent of 300-750 euros ($350-$850). "They call your parents and you have to tell them 'Send me the money or they'll kill me'." The money is picked up in the home country by an intermediary who gives the green light to free the captive, according to a modus operandi confirmed by multiple migrants. Then, through various murky channels, the money is transferred to Libya. - 'Can't sleep, always afraid' - "They hit me many times, they kicked me, stabbed me," says Kande, showing scars on his forehead and on his leg. "They robbed me three times. You can't sleep, you're always afraid. I suffered a lot." Balde Aboubakar Sikiki from Kindia, a city in Guinea, was also kidnapped and held in a private prison. Many west African migrants report being abused and robbed in Libya "They look like normal houses from the outside, but there are rooms where they lock you up. There are many people in there," says this 35-year-old. He also says he was tortured before paying the ransom to get out. "They take you out of the cell and they beat you on the soles of your feet with batons or cables," he says. Such stories are rife among those who have returned from Libya. Even so, there many people in Agadez who remain undeterred by such horror stories. "It will make the journey more expensive because it's dangerous, but in the end, it's always the migrants who pay," shrugs one. A growing number of Japanese companies are encouraging exercise breaks, in the hope of keeping employees limber -- and productive -- for longer, as the nation contends with a shrinking labour pool and one of the world's fastest ageing populations At the stroke of 1:00 pm, a group of Tokyo IT workers spring from their desks for a few minutes of rigorous bending, stretching and thrusting as a voice on the radio instructs them -- "ichi, ni, san (one, two, three)". The suited staff are taking part in a regular calisthenics drill implemented by Adoc International, while over at electrical equipment firm Fujikura, the staff can be seen dangling from multi-coloured monkey bars. A growing number of Japanese companies are encouraging exercise breaks, in the hope of keeping employees limber -- and productive -- for longer, as the nation contends with a shrinking labour pool and one of the world's fastest ageing populations. "Japan's population is quickly getting older and there are fewer and fewer kids -- this is very big risk for companies," said Kenichiro Asano, who works in Fujikura's healthcare strategy group. With almost zero formal immigration, companies need to keep staff fit in the hope they'll work past the usual retirement age. "Keeping workers in shape is an important corporate strategy," said Asano, adding: "Good health means a sound society and a sound company." The government wants to keep citizens healthy as the growing number of retirees with medical problems strains the public purse. - Stay active - Japanese electrical equipment firm Fujikura has installed monkey bars for employees to exercise on. A growing number of Japanese companies are encouraging exercise breaks, in the hope of keeping employees limber -- and productive -- for longer Adoc International's staff practice "rajio taiso", a stretching routine that is often learned in schools and dates back to the 1920s. "We chose rajio taiso because it was the simplest exercise to put in place," said Clifton Lay, who works in Adoc International's human resources department. "Most Japanese and people who grew up here already know it and have no trouble with the movements," he added. Instructions for the three-minute exercise are also played daily on public broadcaster NHK, with different sets tailored for building strength or for the elderly and disabled. Automaker Toyota has its own in-house version, while Sony employees -- ranging from blue collar assemblers to top executives -- are supposed to join in a group stretch at 3:00 pm daily, although it's not mandatory. At e-commerce giant Rakuten, some 12,000 movable desks were installed when it moved its head office. Workers can switch between standing and sitting throughout the day. With almost zero formal immigration in Japan, companies need to keep staff fit in the hope they will work past the usual retirement age "I get tired easily when I'm sitting too long so it's nice to be able to stand up from time to time," said 35-year-old Rakuten engineer Liu Xiaolu. More companies need to adopt a health-focused mindset, said Koichiro Oka, a professor of health behaviour science at Waseda University in Tokyo. "If you think it is all right not to move much on weekdays because you're exercising on weekends, youd be wrong," he said. "A lack of exercise during the week can lead to heart disease, diabetes and other health problems," he explained. The rajio taiso routine is considered by many as a Japanese tradition, although the idea was actually borrowed from a similar programme sponsored by an insurance company in the United States. It spread quickly throughout Japan, as workplaces, schools and local communities got into the routine. The daily radio broadcast was temporarily banned by the Allied occupiers following Japan's defeat in World War II because it was seen as being too militaristic. But it was reintroduced in 1951. Today, as many as 28 million Japanese are believed to take part daily. "Doing these exercises in the morning when you arrive at work or just after lunch -- when your head is not completely into working -- let's you get ready and say 'OK let's do the job,'" said Adoc's Lay. A Long March-4B rocket carried the 2.5-tonne telescope into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert China successfully launched on Thursday its first X-ray space telescope to study black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts, state media reported. A Long March-4B rocket carried the 2.5-tonne telescope into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert at 11:00 am (3:00 GMT), according to the official Xinhua news agency. The Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), named Insight, will allow Chinese scientists to observe magnetic fields and the interiors of pulsars and better understand the evolution of black holes. It will also help scientists search for gamma-ray bursts corresponding to gravitational waves and study how to pulsars can be used for spacecraft navigation, Xinhua said. "We are looking forward to discovering new activities of black holes and studying the state of neutron stars under extreme gravity and density conditions, and physical laws under extreme magnetic fields," Xinhua quoted HXMT lead scientist Zhang Shuangnan as saying. Beijing sees its multi-billion-dollar space programme as a symbol of its rise and of the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation "These studies are expected to bring new breakthroughs in physics," Zhang added. The telescope will seek out new black hole activity by repeatedly scanning the Milky Way for active celestial bodies that emit X-rays. Black holes are usually undetectable, but when matter falls into a black hole, it is accelerated and heated, emitting X-rays in the process, Zhang explained. Compared with other countries' space telescopes, HXMT has a larger detection area and broader energy range -- providing advantages in finding black holes and neutron stars that emit bright X-rays -- and making scanning the galaxy more efficient, according to Zhang. Very bright objects have a large number of photon particles, which can result in image over-exposure, but HXMT designers solved the problem by diffusing photons instead of focusing them. "No matter how bright the sources are, our telescope won't be blinded," chief designer Chen Yong said. Beijing sees its multi-billion-dollar space programme as a symbol of its rise and of the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation. In April, China's first cargo spacecraft successfully docked with an orbiting space lab -- a key development toward China's goal of having its own crewed space station by 2022. Last month, China opened a "Lunar Palace" laboratory on Earth to simulate a moon-like environment and house students for up to 200 days as the country prepares for its long-term goal of sending humans to the natural satellite. Ben de la Cour will perform at Charles and Myrtles on Saturday, June 17 at 8 p.m. Review on Ben de la Cour: Ben de la Cour has lived a different kind of life. After growing up in Brooklyn, he set out to see the world as an amateur boxer, bartender, and agricultural worker. He lived in Havana, Paris, London, Los Angeles, and New Orleans before finally settling in Nashville. It was at Nashvilles Greenland Sound that de la Cour recorded the eleven songs of perfectly crafted Americanoir that make up his second album Midnight in Havana. Influenced by giants such as Townes Van Zandt and Warren Zevon as much as by bands like Slayer, Nick Cave, and The Gun Club, Ben de la Cour has somehow managed to meld all of these influences naturally into his Americanoir canon, delivering a uniquely modern, haunting and darkly humorous sound that is all his own. Songs filled with tales of substance abuse, murder and mental illness sit in perfect juxtaposition with playful lightheartedness and an ever-present glimmer of hope. However, upon closer inspection, darkness almost always winsan unlikely hero, but one that suits de la Cour. North Korea says it released US student Otto Warmbier, shown after his arrest in Pyongyang, 'on humanitarian grounds' North Korea released US student Otto Warmbier "on humanitarian grounds", state media said Thursday, two days after he was evacuated from Pyongyang after falling into a coma while imprisoned in a labour camp. The 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Cincinnati spent more than a year in North Korean detention after being arrested for stealing a political poster from a hotel. His family have said he was "terrorised and brutalised" by Kim Jong-Un's regime. "Otto Frederick Warmbier, who had been in hard labour, was sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a one-line statement. Warmbier's release came after a flurry of secret diplomatic contacts between Washington and Pyongyang, which culminated in Joseph Yun, the State Department's special envoy on North Korea, travelling to Pyongyang to secure Warmbier's release. "Joseph Yun went to Pyongyang to accompany Mr Warmbier home," Thomas Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters in Seoul Wednesday. Warmbier's parents Fred and Cindy have said that they were told their son had been in a coma since March 2016, allegedly after falling ill from botulism and being given a sleeping pill. "Otto is not in great shape right now," Fred Warmbier told Fox News Wednesday. Warmbier had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour, a sentence the US decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime, accusing the North of using him as a political pawn. The New York Times reported a senior US official as saying the authorities recently received intelligence indicating Warmbier was repeatedly beaten while in custody. The release came amid tension between Washington and Pyongyang following a series of missile tests by the North, focusing attention on an arms buildup that Pentagon chief Jim Mattis on Monday dubbed "a clear and present danger to all." The North has occasionally jailed US citizens and released them only after visits by high-profile political figures, including former president Bill Clinton. Principal Li Congshu ferries his pupils across the Xiangshuitan reservoir every morning and every evening, in a 30-minutes journey that saves them walking for two hours each way After school, a dozen children strap on life jackets under their backpacks before boarding a flat-bottomed boat in southwest China. Young students wear lifejackets on principal Li Congshu's boat as he rows them across the reservoir on the way to- and from school A 60-year-old man then sinks a pole into the green waters of the Xiangshuitan reservoir to push the punt in the daily, half-hour-long trip between the primary school and the pupils' village. He is none other than the school principal. Principal Li Congshu used his own money to buy the school's first boat twenty years ago. They are now on their fifth "I do not have a choice because it would take too long for them to walk this far. The shortest route passes through the reservoir," Li Congshu says. "That's why I bought a boat to transport them." Li drew on his own savings to purchase the boats. The school is on its fifth boat, after Li bought the first more than 20 years ago. If their school prinicpal, Li Congshu, did not row them to school every morning, these pupils would have to walk for two hours to get around the reservoir that separates their village homes from their school "It has become a part of my life, like teaching," he says. In addition to his duties as a ferryman and school principal, Li also teaches one of the five classes the small school offers each day in Dazu district, in the sprawling municipality of Chongqing. "People tell me to stop boating because I am in my sixties, but there is no other solution. They do not want to pay someone, so I have to go on." "People tell me to stop boating because I am 60 this year, but there is no other solution. They do not want to pay someone, so I have to go on." The crossing takes about half an hour compared to the two hours it would take the children to walk one way. But since Li lives at the school, he must first pick up his pupils in the morning, then return alone in the evening, spending a total of two hours each day propelling the boat. "There has never been an incident. Everyone recognises that it is safe," he said. -- This story accompanies a photo essay and video by Fred Dufour -- Conductor Alan Gilbert, who is ending his tenure as music director of the New York Philharmonic, is planning a new project he envisions as a sort of United Nations of orchestras that will perform on occasions of global significance In his eight years leading the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert has witnessed the power of music to connect cultures -- and watched as political strife consumes much of the world. Closing his tenure in one of classical music's most prestigious positions, Gilbert is planning a next chapter by creating a sort of United Nations of orchestras. Dubbed Musicians for Unity, Gilbert envisions a group of artists from around the world who can come together at short notice. The musicians will "play concerts that express hope for peace and cooperation and shared humanity," he told AFP. Gilbert experimented with the idea last week as he led his last series at the Philharmonic's home in Lincoln Center. At his invitation, the orchestra was joined by musicians from 24 countries that often have sour political relations with the United States or one another including China, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Russia and Venezuela. If the project sounds utopian, Gilbert is clear-eyed about the limits. He recalled that the New York Philharmonic in 2008 played a landmark concert in North Korea that brought some audience members to tears. Yet Gilbert acknowledged that tensions surrounding the nuclear-armed communist state have grown since. Still, Gilbert believes that music can only be a positive force in a world where conventional diplomacy can come up short. "I do think that in this day, the talking is not exactly working," Gilbert said. "Even though it's an age-old cliche, music's capacity to communicate without words is really unparallelled," he said. - Concerts for major events - Plans for Musicians for Unity -- including how it will secure funding -- are still in their infancy, but Gilbert envisions starting modestly with two to three concerts a year. Occasions could include a concert in 2018 to mark the centennial of the birth of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela. While joking that Musicians for Unity will not be "ambulance chasers," he said the artists could have convened for major events such as the launch of the Paris accord on climate change -- which has since taken a blow with US President Donald Trump's plans to withdraw from it. Gilbert has closely coordinated his idea with the United Nations, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has sent a message of support. The New York Philharmonic performed inside the General Assembly Hall as Guterres took over from Ban Ki-moon in December, playing selections including Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, one of music's defining works of hope. Gilbert has also taken inspiration from Karim Wasfi, conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, who was among the guests for his Philharmonic finale. Wasfi has turned up with his cello to play in the aftermath of bombings in Baghdad, assuaging pain through the soothing power of music. - Reaching outside Western canon - Gilbert -- the first New York-born music director of the Philharmonic, in which both of his parents were violinists -- has championed new work as well as international travels since he took up the baton in 2009. He will be succeeded by Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden, seen as more in the traditional mold of conductor who demands exacting performances of classics. Gilbert on Tuesday began to guide the Philharmonic in a series of free concerts across all five New York boroughs, presenting well-known works including Dvorak's "New World Symphony." Yet for his final series at Lincoln Center, Gilbert made eclectic selections including a piece by Kinan Azmeh, the Syrian-born clarinetist who marries Arabic and Western classical music. Guests included Yo-Yo Ma, the celebrated cellist who has tried to find musical commonalities across cultures with his Silk Road Ensemble. Gilbert hoped Musicians for Unity would both present the Western canon and explore music from other traditions. "I think Bach is definitely universal and to play a Beethoven symphony can be a powerful experience for anybody anywhere," he said. "I certainly don't see it as any cultural imperialism," he said. "But I'm personally also very interested in learning about other classical musics, as Yo-Yo refers to it." China is investigating claims of academic fraud involving mostly Chinese cancer researchers after German publisher Springer withdrew 107 articles from Tumor Biology after finding evidence the 'peer review process was compromised' China is investigating claims of academic fraud involving mostly Chinese cancer researchers after more than 100 articles were withdrawn from a foreign medical journal. German publisher Springer announced in April the retraction of 107 articles from Tumor Biology after finding evidence the "peer review process was compromised". The papers had been produced by Chinese medical institutions and universities and published between 2012 and 2016. It is standard practise for scholars to submit their research to peers for scrutiny before publishing to ensure the integrity of their work, but fraud is a growing problem. China's Ministry of Science and Technology said it had "zero tolerance" for such behaviour and pledged to investigate "each and every paper retracted". Researchers involved in the mass retraction have had their projects and funding suspended, it added. "The incident has had a very bad influence, seriously tarnishing the international reputation of China's scientific circle and hurting the self-esteem of Chinese scientists," the ministry said Wednesday. "But it also shows we need to strengthen punishment for academic fraud and to improve the academic atmosphere." The blog Retraction Watch said it had been told by Springer that "the reviews were submitted under the names of real researchers with faked emails. Some of the authors may have used a third-party editing service, which may have supplied the reviews." Tumor Biology is now published by SAGE Publications in the United States. It is not the first time Chinese medical experts have been caught faking peer reviews -- in 2015 London-based BioMed Central pulled 43 articles, which the Global Times said were mostly by Chinese researchers. In 2016 Springer retracted 64 articles from 10 journals, many written by Chinese contributors, the newspaper added. The latest incident highlighted the pressure on Chinese doctors in public hospitals to "publish a certain number of papers in national or international journals just to secure promotion or salary rises", Xinhua news agency said. The British woman fighting the case is known to the court only as QT and was refused a spousal visa in Hong Kong because she is in a same-sex partnership A high-profile gay rights case in Hong Kong went to appeal Thursday, closely watched by campaigners who say the socially conservative city is lagging in equal rights. The British woman fighting the case is known to the court only as QT and was refused a spousal visa because she is in a same-sex partnership. Major international companies including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse last week made an application to submit evidence to the Court of Appeal, saying they wanted to give a "more rounded picture of the issues", emphasising their commitment to diversity and desire to hire top talent from around the world. But the court refused their request, saying evidence they put forward was likely to repeat grounds already being presented by QT's legal team. Human rights barrister Dinah Rose argued Thursday that even though gay marriage is not recognised under Hong Kong law, that did not mean same-sex couples in a civil partnership or married in a foreign jurisdiction should be denied the rights of heterosexual married couples. Heterosexual spouses are eligible for "dependant" visas which allow them to enter Hong Kong and to work. Rose characterised such treatment as "a form of discrimination" that goes against the city's core values and the principle of equality. "We are dealing with real people, who have a real relationship and who have suffered a significant disadvantage because of their sexuality," she said. QT came to Hong Kong in 2011 after she entered into a civil partnership with a woman known as "SS" in Britain. SS was moving to Hong Kong for a new job. But QT was denied a dependant visa and was given instead a visitor visa, which does not allow her to work. She was later granted a 12-month visa under exceptional circumstances which did allow her to work, Rose said, but added that was still "less favourable" treatment. QT lost a legal challenge at the High Court last year after a judge ruled that equating same-sex unions to married status was "not permissible" under Hong Kong law. Rose said that people in polygamous marriages are allowed to bring in one of their spouses as a dependant, even though such relationships are not recognised in Hong Kong. Immigration law does not explicitly mention gay couples, but states that only the "spouse" of a person permitted to work in the territory may apply for a dependant visa. Judge Andrew Cheung said Thursday gay people were treated "differently" in Hong Kong because of current marriage law. "I'm of course not saying gay people are not protected in Hong Kong," he told the court. "All I'm focusing on is in terms of the right to marriage." Rights campaigners in the region were galvanised last month when a court in Taiwan ruled in favour of gay marriage. The hearing continues and is due to last for two days. Duterte, 72, has not been seen in public since Sunday and missed a scheduled appearance the following day at annual Independence Day celebrations in Manila, sparking speculation about the state of his health Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has withdrawn from public duties this week because he is tired and needs to "rejuvenate", his spokesman said Thursday as government forces battled Islamist militants in the biggest crisis of his rule. Duterte, 72, has not been seen in public since Sunday and missed a scheduled appearance the following day at annual Independence Day celebrations in Manila, sparking speculation about the state of his health. "He's just taking some time off to rejuvenate," presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters. Abella said there was no date for when Duterte would resume his official duties, although he insisted the president was healthy. "I'm saying that there's nothing to worry about in terms of sickness," he said. "The president is well." Pressed by journalists to state whether Duterte had visited a doctor this week, Abella said: "I'm not privy to those matters but I'm sure he's checked with his own experts." Duterte was last seen in the southern city of Cagayan de Oro, visiting soldiers wounded in nearby fighting with Islamic State group-styled gunmen that is now on its fourth week. Fifty-eight soldiers and police officers have died in the clashes in Marawi city, while at least 26 civilians have also been confirmed killed. The militants remain holed up in pockets of Marawi alongside hundreds of trapped civilians being used as hostages or human shields. Duterte imposed martial law over Marawi and the rest of the southern region of Mindanao, home to 20 million people, on the day the fighting erupted to head off what he said was an attempt by IS to carve out its own territory there. Abella said Duterte was taking time off because of a punishing schedule since then, which included regular visits to military camps and hospitals to support troops. "It has been really brutal, so it is important to allow him this kind of rest," Abella said. Duterte had repeatedly denied during last year's presidential election campaign that he suffered from cancer. However he said last December that he used to take fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid, to ease the pain of a spinal injury that he suffered in motorcycle accidents many year earlier. Duterte said then his doctor made him stop using it on learning he was "abusing the drug" by using more than the prescribed amount. Duterte's fentanyl comments attracted controversy as he has led a war on drugs in which thousands of addicts and users have been killed. Under the constitution, the separately elected vice president shall act as president if the incumbent dies, is permanently disabled or removed from office. Hollywood actress Rebel Wilson has won a lengthy defamation case against an Australian publisher that portrayed her as a serial liar Hollywood actor Rebel Wilson on Thursday won a lengthy defamation case against an Australian publisher that portrayed her as a serial liar, which she said cost her lucrative movie roles. The 37-year-old "Pitch Perfect" star sued Bauer Media over eight articles in Woman's Day, Australian Women's Weekly and OK Magazine in 2015, which her defence said "tore down an Australian star to sell magazines". The stories claimed the Sydney-born actor lied about her name, age and background in order to advance her career in the United States. Giving evidence during the three-week trial, often in tears, Wilson claimed she was sacked from DreamWorks animated feature films "Trolls" and "Kung Fu Panda 3" following the articles. Bauer denied they damaged her reputation and argued they were true. But the Victorian Supreme Court ruled she was defamed in all eight of the pieces, with the judge to decide on the penalty at a later date. "Bauer Media took me down with a series of grubby and completely false articles," said Wilson outside the court. "Far too often I feel the tabloid magazines and the journalists that work for them don't abide by professional ethics. "Far too often I can only describe their conduct as disgusting and disgraceful and I'm very glad that the jury has agreed with me. And with the unanimous and overwhelming verdict they have sent a very clear message." Wilson, who will now jet to New York to shoot a film with fellow Australian Liam Hemsworth, said she was grateful the drama was now over. "It's a win for everyone who gets maliciously taken down when there's no reason why that should happen," she said. Yemeni pro-government forces, pictured here, took back the port of Mokha from Huthi rebels in February Yemeni rebels have fired a missile at an Emirati ship near the Bab al-Mandab strait, injuring a crewman, the Saudi-led coalition said Thursday, marking the latest incident in the strategic waters. The coalition, which intervened against Yemen's Huthi rebels and their allies more than two years ago, did not name the vessel or say whether it was civilian or military. It was leaving the port of Mokha, in Yemen's southwest, when the attack occurred but the ship itself was not damaged, the coalition said. The rebels control northern Yemen and seized the capital Sanaa in September 2014, supported by members of the security forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. In a statement on their Sabanews.net press agency the rebels claimed the attack against the "warship" and said it took place on Tuesday evening. Coalition-backed forces supporting the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi took back Mokha from the rebels in February. The historic port is just north of the Bab al-Mandab which links the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean and is vital to global trade. An international naval coalition, the Combined Maritime Forces, on Monday warned that "there are still risks" to ships transiting Bab al-Mandab. Yemeni rebels in late January attacked a Saudi warship in the Red Sea, killing two sailors. Anti-government forces are also believed to have fired missiles toward US warships in the area. Late last year the rebels attacked a UAE vessel, the high-speed catamaran HSV-2 Swift, in the Bab al-Mandab. The UAE said the ship was "civilian" and lacked "any military capability," but a United Nations panel of experts disagreed. It reported in January that the vessel "was operating directly to support the military efforts" of the UAE when it was hit by a missile. Donald Trump's distinctive speaking style has been widely mimicked since he began his presidential run, but Malcolm Turnbull may be the first world leader to get taped doing an impression Australia's prime minister has taken a comical swipe at Donald Trump, mimicking his mannerisms and making reference to the Russia scandal, in comments he said were intended as "affectionately light-hearted". In a leaked audio recording that comes just months after a tetchy phone call between the two leaders, Malcolm Turnbull is heard making fun of the US president's idiosyncratic speaking style. "The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls," Turnbull said in a closed event for journalists in Canberra on Wednesday. "We are winning so much. We are winning like we have never won before. "We are. We are. Not the fake polls. Not the fake polls. They're the ones we are not winning in," he said to laughs from the audience at the Mid-Winter Ball, where politicians and Canberra journalists let their hair down. US President Donald Trump met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in May, with both declaring it had been a productive chat "We are winning in the real polls. You know, the online polls. They are so easy to win." Typically, the event is off-the-record, meaning journalists would not report on what was said, but a recording was leaked to the political editor at commercial broadcaster Channel Nine, who did not attend the soiree and decided to report it. Turnbull played down the speech late Thursday, saying that he was the butt of the jokes rather than Trump. "My speech was light-hearted, affectionately light-hearted," he told Melbourne's 3AW radio. "It's a breach of protocol, it's a breach of faith," he added of the leaked recording. "But it's light-hearted, it's affectionate and the butt of my jokes, was myself." In a statement cited by Channel 9, the US Embassy in Canberra said they saw the lighter-side of the address. "We understand that last nights event is equivalent to our own White House Correspondents Dinner," it read. "We take this with the good humour that was intended." Alec Baldwin has emerged as a popular mimic of the unorthodox US president, but he now seems to have some competition in the form of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turbull Last month, Turnbull met the US president in New York to mend fences, after the bad-tempered call early in Trump's White House tenure. Trump reportedly exploded and cut short the conversation when he was told about a Barack Obama-era deal to move refugees from Australia to America. The Australian leader appeared to make light of that icy conversation in the leaked recording. "It was beautiful. It was the most beautiful putting-me-at-ease ever," he said. In another leaked clip, Turnbull poked fun at the ongoing controversy surrounding the Trump administration's ties to Russia. "I have this Russian guy. Believe me, it is true. It is true," Turnbull said. The death toll in Bangladesh's worst ever landslides rose to 154 with the discovery of two more bodies, while locals have blamed the large-scale destruction of trees for the scale of the disaster Emergency workers in Bangladesh on Thursday stepped up the search for victims of the country's worst ever landslides, with mounting claims that the disaster was made worse by unchecked development. Rescuers found two more bodies, including that of a woman apparently washed away, taking the death toll from floods and landslides across southeast Bangladesh to 154. "We think she was washed away by strong currents during Tuesday's landslides," local fire chief Didarul Alam told AFP. "We have stepped up our rescue work in the five worst affected spots. But it's a huge struggle to dig through four feet (1.2 metres) of mud. Also villagers were not sure where the bodies were buried." Emergency workers also found the body of a soldier missing since Tuesday, army spokesman Rashidul Hasan told AFP. The landslides were the deadliest in the country's history, eclipsing the previous highest death toll of 127 a decade ago. Bijoy Giri Chakma, an elected tribal leader in the hardest-hit district of Rangamati, told AFP the landslides were the worst he had ever seen, and blamed unplanned construction and the large-scale cutting of trees for the scale of the disaster. "Trees have been felled indiscriminately, which loosens the soil. A lot of these hills are now completely barren," said Chakma. His views chimed with those of local rights activists. "The disaster is man-made. But there is a tendency to blame nature for this," said Sheepa Hafiza, head of the rights group Ain o Salish Kendra, at a news briefing on Wednesday. Authorities say hundreds of homes were buried by mud and rubble sent cascading down hillsides after monsoon rains dumped 343 millimetres (13.5 inches) of water on the southeast of the country in just 24 hours. Disaster Management Department chief Reaz Ahmed said teams had begun to assess the full extent of the damage left by two days of incessant rains in the Chittagong hills, which cover one tenth of the country's landmass. Authorities have opened 18 shelters in the worst-hit hill districts, where 4,500 people have been evacuated. The monsoon rains came two weeks after Cyclone Mora smashed into Bangladesh's southeast, killing at least eight people and damaging tens of thousands of homes. South Asia is frequently hit by flooding and landslides in the summer with the arrival of the annual monsoon rains. More than 200 people were killed in Sri Lanka last month when the monsoon triggered landslides and the worst flooding the island has seen in well over a decade. A Podcast Body-Shamed Feminist Author Roxane Gay, & Proved Her Point By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 14, 2017 10:14PM Roxane Gay, photo via her Facebook page. Roxane Gay won't be derailed by anyone's body-shaming bigotry. The justly celebrated, Indiana-based feminist writer responded on Tuesday to an awful bout of fat-phobia that was recently directed at herand which prompted a wave of ire. The offending language, if you're not familiar, actually came from the description of a podcast episode, a podcast that was hosting Gay. Will she fit into the office lift? read the episode description of No Filter, a show hosted by Australian website called Mamamia. How many steps will she have to take to get to the interview? Oh Mamamia. When good intentions just do so much damage... this is appalling pic.twitter.com/Kni2nKpvkp courtney robinson (@courtney_ro) June 13, 2017 For an author who's new book, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, and past work in part considers the dehumanizing effects of that very kind of nastiness, it pretty much proves Gay's point. Even as she lamented that the focus had partially shifted away from her book (Really? This is the story?) and toward the thoughtless cruelty of one particular podcast, Gay also told the New York Times on Tuesday that the episode description was proof positive of just the kind of nasty body-shaming that she faces and unpacks in the book: It is helpful, in that I think people get to see, in real time, what fat-phobia looks like and just how careless people can be in considering that fat people deserve dignity. So I suppose it's a useful example of why I wrote the book." Gay fired back on Twitter on Monday, also. Mia Freedman, the creative director of Mamamia, in a now-deleted article claimed the requests were sent by Gay's publisher, according to the Guardian. "Her size is imposing and also a logistical nightmare for her," she wrote. "The requirements back and forth with her publishers who had brought her out to Australia to promote her books were extremely detailed... I would normally never breach the confidence of what goes on behind the scenes of an interview but in this case its a fundamental part of the story. You see, Roxane Gay is Im searching for the right word to use here. I dont want to say fat so Im going to use the official medical term: super morbidly obese. Mamamia later issued an apology in a statement. Mamamia said in its apology that Gay had mentioned during the interview how it can be stressful to worry about whether a space will accommodate her. Gay called BS on that, as well, telling the Times, Ive been to Australia before. Shes actually seen me before. She knows that Im very capable of entering an elevator, so things like that are just weird and humiliating. Gay noted the humiliating treatment back in May, when the podcast was recorded, also. Ok I can't keep this in. I just did an interview w/ someone who read Hunger and they said "we did a bunch of special things to accommodate.. roxane gay (@rgay) May 25, 2017 ...you. Like. Am I supposed to be grateful you provided a sturdy chair? Why would you tell me this? Is it that arduous? Come on. roxane gay (@rgay) May 25, 2017 OK, now that that's behind us, do go read Hunger. Thomas Thabane (pictured) is due to replace Pakalitha Mosisili, Lesotho's prime minister since 2015, after forming a coalition with three other parties The estranged wife of Lesotho's incoming prime minister was gunned down just two days before his inauguration, his party and police said on Thursday, creating confusion ahead of the handover of power. Thomas Thabane's wife Lipolelo, 58, was shot dead in the Ha Masana village, 35 kilometres (22 miles) south of the capital Maseru where she lives, as she was driving with a friend on Wednesday. Samonyane Ntsekele, the secretary general of Thabane's All Basotho Convention party, said the prime minister-elect was devastated by the shooting. "Yes it is true that Mrs Lipolelo was shot dead last night... Everyone is traumatised by these developments," he said. Thabane is due to replace Pakalitha Mosisili, prime minister since 2015, after forming a coalition with three other parties following elections earlier this month that handed his party most seats in parliament. He and Lipolelo are understood to have been embroiled in a bitter divorce dispute. Lipolelo reportedly won a court case against Thabane during his first stint as prime minister affirming her position as Lesotho's first lady instead of Thabane's youngest wife, Liabiloe Thabane. A police source told AFP that Lipolelo had been driving with a friend when they spotted a man walking down the road. "The suspect pulled out the gun and opened fire on them. Lipolelo died on the spot while the other woman is fighting for her life in hospital," he said. Police spokesman Clifford Molefe confirmed there had been a shooting. - History of political instability - "A 58-year-old woman was shot dead last night at Ha Masana but it is too early to disclose the name of the deceased or whom she is related to," he said. Detectives are investigating the incident, he added. Ntsekele said it was too early to know if the shooting would affect Thabane's inauguration. But Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesman for South African deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa who has played a key mediation role in Lesotho, told broadcaster SABC he hoped the ceremony would go ahead as planned. Thabane is due to be sworn in at the Setsoto stadium in Maseru, marking the impoverished country's third attempt at a coalition government. Both of the previous joint administrations have collapsed. Lesotho has a long history of political instability having suffered coups in 1986 and 1991. The small kingdom was plunged into crisis in 2014 when soldiers attempted to oust Thabane during his last stint as prime minister. Thabane fled to South Africa, where he spent two years, while the regional bloc SADC stepped in to end the crisis. Early elections took place in 2015. Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard secure the area outside the Iranian parliament during an attack on the complex in the capital Tehran on June 7, 2017 Iranian forces have killed two suspected members of an armed group in a Sunni-majority southeastern region and arrested five others, a minister said, accusing Saudi Arabia of "sponsoring terrorists" in the country. "A group of seven terrorists who wanted to attack a barracks in Chabahar (in Sistan Baluchistan province) was dismantled" on Wednesday, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said, quoted by the official news agency IRNA. "Five people, including two nationals from a neighbouring country, were arrested and two others were killed. Unfortunately, an intelligence agent was also killed," he added. Sistan-Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, has seen repeated attacks by Sunni militants against the security forces of mainly Shiite Iran. A second "terrorist group" was broken up in Iranian Kurdistan in the northwest, Alavi said, without elaborating. "Saudi Arabia is sponsoring terrorist groups in Iran," he said. Tensions between the regional rivals flared after twin attacks on June 7 on the parliament and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran in which 17 people were killed. The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has accused Saudi Arabia of involvement in the attacks. After the assaults, dozens of suspects were arrested in Tehran and in the northwestern provinces of Kermanshah, Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan, as well as in Sistan-Baluchistan. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday also pointed the finger at Riyadh. "We have intelligence that Saudi Arabia is actively engaged in promoting terrorist groups operating on the eastern side of Iran in Baluchistan," Zarif said in Norway. Tsai has seen her popularity falling rapidly since taking office in May last year, as her government tackles a string of controversial domestic issues from gay marriage to pension and judicial reforms Thousands of anti-government protesters thronged Taiwan's parliament Thursday, as public sector workers led demonstrations against an assortment of policies including a measure that would slash their pensions. Holding placards reading "incompetent rule" and "(President) Tsai Ing-wen steps down," protesters rallied outside the legislature in heavy rain as lawmakers began an extraordinary summer session to review bills. Tsai has seen her popularity falling rapidly since taking office in May last year, as her government tackles a string of controversial domestic issues from gay marriage to pension and judicial reforms. "In the past year Tsai's failed to listen to the people and acted stubbornly to promote these controversial policies," said retired policeman Chuang Cheng-ho. Last year public sector employees staged a huge street protest with a turnout of more than 100,000. Organisers of Thursday's rally claimed a turnout of 30,000. Police estimate was not immediately available. Anger has mounted since the government unveiled draft bills aimed at reducing their pensions and phasing out a special savings rate for them that pays 18 percent interest. Officials have warned that various state pension funds are likely to go bankrupt within three to 14 years unless the system is overhauled. While most protesters on Thursday were public sector workers and retirees, some anti-gay marriage groups also joined the rally. Taiwan's constitutional court last month ruled in favour of legalising same-sex marriages, paving the way for Taiwan to become the first place in Asia to do so. But there has also been anger among conservative groups, who have staged rallies against any change in the law. A US Air Force Central Command photograph shows two F-15E Strike Eagles returning from carrying out air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria on September 23, 2014 The United States agreed a $12-billion warplane sale to Qatar and began manoeuvres with its military Thursday, re-affirming support for the emirate in the throes of a diplomatic crisis with its neighbours. A deal for the "state-of-the-art" F-15 fighters was signed by Qatar in Washington, which has sent conflicting signals to its longtime ally in the crisis that has seen Saudi Arabia and its allies impose sweeping sanctions on the emirate. Last week, US President Donald Trump expressed support for the Saudi-led allegations against Qatar, charging it had "historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level". Pentagon and State Department officials have since scrambled to reassure the emirate, which hosts the largest US airbase in the Middle East and the command headquarters for operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis welcomed his Qatari counterpart Khalid al-Attiyah to Washington on Wednesday for the F-15 sale. "The $12-billion sale will give Qatar a state-of-the-art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar," the Pentagon said. It did not provide additional details on the sale but Bloomberg reported it could involve as many as 36 warplanes. Attiyah said the agreement would boost Qatar's defences and create 60,000 jobs in the United States. "We believe that this agreement will propel Qatar's ability to provide for its own security, while also reducing the burden placed upon the United States military in conducting operations against violent extremism," he said. The Pentagon meanwhile deployed two warships to carry out joint manoeuvres with the Qatari navy in the Gulf. The vessels docked in Hamad Port, south Doha, on Wednesday, the Qatari defence ministry said. - 'Strong signal' - One Western diplomat in Qatar said this would send a message to Doha and other Gulf states. "The deal and the naval exercise is a strong signal for Qatar and I am sure that reassures the government in Doha that their relationship is strong," said the source. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urges Saudi Arabia and its allies to ease their "blockade" of Qatar in a June 9, 2017 statement Mattis and Attiyah also discussed the US-led military campaign against the Islamic State group and "the importance of de-escalating tensions" in the Gulf. Washington has voiced concern about the impact of the crisis on its fight against IS, just as it climaxes in the jihadists' Iraq and Syria bastions, Mosul and Raqa. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last week the rift was "hindering" the campaign and urged Saudi Arabia and its allies to ease their "blockade". At a Washington news conference with Tillerson on Wednesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir denied the sanctions amounted to a blockade, insisting it was the kingdom's sovereign right to close its airspace to Qatari aircraft and seal the emirate's sole land border. Saudi Arabia and its allies -- led by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain -- have said there can be no mending of ties until Qatar ends its support for "terrorist" groups. But Qatar and its allies -- led by Turkey -- say the emirate has every right to conduct an independent foreign policy and have branded the sanctions imposed as "inhumane and un-Islamic". - Turkey courts 'wise' Saudi - Turkey has thrown its support behind a UN-backed mediation effort by Kuwait, one of the Gulf states which did not join the Saudi-led sanctions. Its foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, was in Kuwait on Thursday, and said he would travel to Saudi Arabia for more talks on Friday. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks at a news conference in Ankara, on June 5, 2017 "Tomorrow all being well we will continue the talks with Saudi Arabia in Mecca," Cavusoglu said after returning to Turkey. "We are working hard as brothers to solve this problem and get over this process." While standing squarely behind its ally, Turkey has been anxious not to antagonise Saudi Arabia, which it has called a "wise state and big brother of the region". Qatar continued its diplomatic push outside the region, with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani holding a telephone call with the Angela Merkel. "The German chancellor stressed during the call the need to solve the crisis through dialogue," said a statement posted on the Qatar News Agency. The UN has expressed concern about the humanitarian impact of the crisis. As well as severing economic and political ties, the four governments ordered Qataris out within 14 days and called home their own citizens. Bahrain and the UAE have also banned expressions of sympathy for Qatar. Bahrain says it has detained a citizen for sympathising with the emirate on social media. "I am alarmed about the possible impact on many people's human rights," said UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. "It is becoming clear that the measures being adopted are overly broad in scope and implementation." Qatar's isolation has raised fears its gas-rich economy could be hit, but the emirate says it is so far unaffected. Standard & Poor's lowered its credit rating of the state-run Qatar Petroleum to AA- because of the ongoing crisis. It said the "blockade" could "exacerbate Qatar's external vulnerabilities and could put pressure on its economic growth and fiscal metrics". burs-dh/dv Emirates offers 38 weekly flights to and from China, providing connections to over 150 cities in the world China's civil aviation authority has fined Dubai-based Emirates airline for violating safety rules and banned it from adding new routes in the country for six months. On April 17, an Emirates plane flew at the wrong height over the city of Urumqi in far-western Xinjiang, causing "serious flight conflict," the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said in a statement. In another "unsafe event" also over Urumqi on May 18, an Emirates plane lost radio communications during its flight, the regulator said. The leading Middle Eastern airline was fined 29,000 yuan (4,270 dollars). Emirates was previously barred from adding new planes and routes in China for six months after a January 2016 incident where a plane landed with low fuel. The CAAC said its officials recently met with Emirates representatives to assess operations of the airline in the country in recent years. At the meeting, Emirates executives briefed the CAAC on its own internal investigation and proposed corrective measures. Earlier this week, the authority said it had "zero tolerance" for "security risks" and would introduce new methods to prevent accidents. Emirates offers 38 weekly flights to and from China, providing connections to over 150 cities in the world. The incident is the latest in a string of recent aviation crashes in Malaysia Two Malaysian pilots were found dead after their military plane went missing, triggering a search-and-rescue mission Thursday, an air force spokesperson told AFP. The Hawk 108 fighter jet took off at 11am and contact was lost at 11.30am when the plane was believed to be near the border of the Malaysian states of Pahang and Terengganu. The two airmen's bodies were found in a swampy area in Chukai, a town in Terengganu, the spokesperson who did not want to be named, said. "The plane has not been found yet and we are investigating," the spokesperson said without providing more details. State news agency Bernama, citing air force chief Affendi Buang, reported that the bodies had parachutes attached to them. There have been other recent cases of military plane incidents in Malaysia. In December, a military Beechcraft B200T turboprop crashed in the town of Butterworth in northern Malaysia. In May last year, an air force Aermacchi MB339CM jet crashed in a small town in the rural state of Pahang but there were no casualties. Police said the warrant for the arrest of Galagodaatte Gnanasara relates to an accusation of insulting the Koran that dates back to April 2014, months before the outbreak of deadly religious riots A Sri Lankan court issued a warrant Thursday for the arrest of a radical Buddhist monk accused of instigating arson attacks against the island's minority Muslim community. Police said the warrant for the arrest of Galagodaatte Gnanasara relates to an accusation of insulting the Koran that dates back to April 2014, months before the outbreak of deadly religious riots. The magistrate ordered his arrest after he failed to appear for a court hearing into the matter on Thursday. Police are also investigating more than a dozen recent complaints of incitement against Gnanasara, who went into hiding in May, after a series of arson attacks targeting Muslims. On Thursday they said they had arrested two of his associates in connection with a petrol bomb attack on a mosque last month. Gnanasara's Buddhist Force or BBS is accused of instigating the hate crimes. On Sunday, police said they had made the first arrest of a BBS member in connection with four arson attacks in a Colombo suburb. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe vowed on Wednesday that he would not allow a repeat of 2014 anti-Muslim riots in which four people died and hundreds of homes were destroyed, promising tougher legislation. With stoning and desecration of Muslim-owned places now an almost daily occurence, the government faces international criticism over its failure to tackle the violence and rein in the BBS. In a video message released Sunday, the group denied any involvement, but accused the government of allowing Islamic extremism to flourish in the Buddhist-majority nation. Earlier this month, Western diplomats urged Sri Lanka to take action to stop the renewed outbreak of religious violence. US translator Jessica Cohen (L) and Israeli author David Grossman (R) pose for a photograph with his book "A Horse Walks Into a Bar" which won the Man Booker International Prize in London on June 13, 2017 An Israeli human rights group disliked by the government welcomed Thursday the donation of prize money from the Man Booker International Prize won by David Grossman. The Israeli writer won the prize on Wednesday evening for his novel "A Horse Walks Into a Bar," along with his US translator Jessica Cohen, with the two splitting the 50,000 ($64,000, 57,000 euros) award. Cohen announced at the awards she would donate "half of the award money" to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, which campaigns against Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. "For almost thirty years now they have been reporting on human rights violations committed in the occupied Palestinian territories," she said. "It is not easy to tell uncomfortable and unflattering truths, and it's certainly not easy to hear them, but it is essential, not only in literature but in life." B'Tselem spokesman Amit Gilutz welcomed the donation. "We are thankful to her and we are determined to continue on our mission, which is to resist the occupation until it ends," he told AFP. Grossman, the first Israeli to win the prize, is a member of the NGO's public council but told Israeli army radio Thursday he was wary of being a representative of any particular cause. "When I write a story I don't think of it as an ambassador, or even as an honorary consul. I want to tell a story." B'Tselem's work on human rights issues in the occupied West Bank has seen it regularly fall foul of Israeli politicians in the current government, considered the most right wing in Israel's history. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently floated the idea of banning all state foreign funding to NGOs, seen as targeting B'Tselem and other leftwing groups. Culture Minister Miri Regev, who has been at war with much of the country's intellectual elite, congratulated Grossman on his victory. In response, he urged her to see "this as an instance where literature can put our situation across in a complex, interesting and meaningful way". He called on the government to "not disturb literature or art from expressing all their complexities, because that is what they are for". Grossman's book unfolds over the course of a stand-up show during which comedian Dovaleh Gee exposes a wound he has been living with for years and the difficult choice he had to make between the two people who were dearest to him. Lesotho's new prime minister Tom Thabane is to be sworn June 16 to lead a new coalition government in the southern African mountain kingdom. Just days before his inauguration, Lesotho's incoming prime minister was left shaken Thursday by the murder of his estranged wife in a shooting highlighting the political uncertainty which has long gripped the mountain kingdom. Thomas Thabane's 58-year-old wife Lipolelo, was shot dead Wednesday in Ha Masana village, 35 kilometres (22 miles) south of the capital Maseru where she lives, as she was driving with a friend. Samonyane Ntsekele, the secretary general of Thabane's All Basotho Convention party, said the prime minister-elect was devastated by the shooting. "Yes it is true that Mrs Lipolelo was shot dead last night... Everyone is traumatised by these developments," he said. Thabane, whose party won a parliamentary election earlier this month, is due to replace Pakalitha Mosisili, prime minister since 2015, after forming a coalition with three other parties. The gunning down of Thabane's wife just two days before he is due to take office, has created confusion in the tiny poverty-stricken country, completely surrounded by South Africa. Thabane is expected to be sworn in Friday amid hopes his new coalition government will end the political uncertainty that has long dogged the mountain kingdom. His ABC party won snap elections on June 3 but failed to get an outright majority, leading it to negotiate joint rule with the Alliance of Democrats (AD), Basotho National Party (BNP) and Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL). The new alliance will replace the government of Mosisili, a seven-party coalition plagued by infighting and corruption. Mosisili's government was toppled in March and elections triggered when opposition parties called a vote of no-confidence which he lost. Thabane, 77, previously had served as premier of the nation of two million people after coming to power in 2012 -- but was forced to flee to South Africa following an attempted military coup in 2014. - 'Manage the security forces' - He has pledged to bring the country stability and address its chronic poverty and 22.7 percent adult HIV rate. "We are fully cognisant of our mandate to work tirelessly for peace and stability as well as economic recovery and prosperity," he said. Thabane will be sworn in at the Setsoto stadium in the capital Maseru, marking the country's third attempt at a coalition government. Both of the previous joint administrations have collapsed. The Thabane-led alliance won 63 of the 120 seats in parliament, while outgoing Mosisili's Democratic Congress (DC) scored just 30. Stability was the dominant theme of the election in the kingdom known as Africa's Switzerland, because of its mountainous scenery. Political analyst Mafa Sejanamane told AFP that the main challenge facing the new government will be to "manage the security forces". "The new government also needs to unscramble Mosisili's government system, as it is known that he placed a number of allies in key positions in the last days of his tenure," said Sejanamane. Thabane has vowed that his new government will be "committed to the rule of law... good governance, rebuilding and strengthening of the pillars of democracy". Thabane secured victory just four months after his return from South Africa having claimed there was an army plot to kill him. He only headed back after the removal of army chief Tlali Kamoli who led the putsch. Lesotho has a long history of political instability having suffered coups in 1986 and 1991. South Africa's foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane warned Lesotho this week that Pretoria will not tolerate another putsch. "The coup thing is clear: we will not allow it to happen. Not in our backyard," she told local media. South Africa led mediation efforts after Thabane's ouster and its Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected in Lesotho for the inauguration ceremony. Lesotho's economy is totally reliant on South Africa which it supplies with water -- one of its major exports. A Yemeni infant suspected of being infected with cholera receives treatment at Sabaeen Hospital in Sanaa, on June 13, 2017 The death toll from a cholera outbreak is approaching 1,000 in Yemen, a war-devastated and impoverished country where "humanity is losing out to politics", a senior UN official said Thursday. "Time is running out to save people who are being killed or being starved and now you have cholera as well adding to that complication," said Jamie McGoldrick, UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen. "We are struggling because of the lack of resources. We need some action immediately," he said at a press briefing in the Jordanian capital. McGoldrick gave updated figures of more than 130,000 suspected cases of cholera and over 970 deaths, with women and children accounting for half of the numbers. "What is heartbreaking in Yemen is that humanity is losing out to the politics," said McGoldrick. He said a $2.1 billion humanitarian response plan for Yemen for 2017 had only been 29 percent funded. The cholera outbreak on top of famine in Yemen was "an indication to how things are falling apart with only 50 percent of health services" operational. "We need resources, we need money and we need them now to address the famine and to address the problems of cholera." Donors in April pledged close to $1.1 billion in aid to Yemen, which the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs calls the "largest humanitarian crisis in the world". But only 25 percent of aid pledged to the UN refugee agency has been delivered so far, UNHCR's Yemen spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said Wednesday. Yemen's war has seen more than 8,000 people killed and millions displaced since a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 to support the government against Shiite Huthi rebels allied with Iran. Sun-Times Theatre Critic Hedy Weiss Under Fire For 'Racism' & 'Bigotry' [Updated] By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 14, 2017 8:51PM Steppenwolf's 'Pass Over' / Photo: Michael Brosilow Update, Thursday: In a Facebook post on behalf of the company, Steppenwolf's Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro and Executive Director David Schmitz wrote that Weiss' comments "revealed a deep seated bigotry." They wrote in part: "We denounce the viewpoints expressed in some of these reviews as they fail to acknowledge the very systemic racism that PASS OVER addresses directly. Particularly egregious are the comments from Sun Times critic Hedy Weiss, whose critical contribution has, once again, revealed a deep seated bigotry and a painful lack of understanding of this countrys historic racism. Her contribution is actively working against the kind of theater we are striving to be." The full post can be read here. It states that "an official institutional response to Ms. Weiss" is forthcoming. Original: Veteran Sun-Times theatre critic Hedy Weiss is generating some stern, serious criticism of her own. In the wake of her controversial review of Steppenwolf's production of Pass Over, an online petition urging companies to stop inviting Weiss to their productions has emerged. The Change.org petition, which has more than 2,300 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon, urges theater companies to not provide free tickets to Weiss because, according to the petition, she has engaged in "inappropriate language" and "prejudice." A group called Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition, who created the petition wrote, "She has proven this repeatedly with the racism, homophobia, and body shaming found in her reviews. She has proven this by never, not once, apologizing to a party injured by her words." To be clear, we are not calling for a ban on Ms. Weiss attending performances, the Coalition adds. We are simply requesting that she not be given a ticket for free. If she wishes to present her damaging views, we ask that she pay for the privilege." Hedy Weiss / Twitter A piece published on theatre blog The Hawk Chicago called out a very long host of Weiss' past controversies. It also takes the critic to task for the following passage in her review of Pass Over, a "Waiting for Godot" riff in which two African-American characters hang out on a street corner and are interrupted by a bigoted cop: "But, for all the many and varied causes we know so well, much of the lions share of the violence is perpetrated within the community itself. Nwandus simplistic, wholly generic characterization of a racist white cop (clearly meant to indict all white cops) is wrong-headed and self-defeating. Just look at news reports about recent shootings (on the lakefront, on the new River Walk, in Woodlawn) and you will see the look of relief when the police arrive on the scene. And the playwrights final scenes including a speech by the clueless white aristocrat who appears earlier in the story and who could not be more condescending to Steppenwolfs largely white liberal audience further rob the play of its potential impact." A post on PerformInk chastised the same passage (among some other critics' responses), as well. "How do you know she meant to indict all white cops and not just the systemic racism that allows the bad ones to carry a badge?" Jason Epperson wrote in response in his post. Jason Zagoren, Artistic Director at WildClaw Theatre, posted the following partial catalog of Weiss controversieswhich includes the infamous time she wrote that playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) exhibited "the classic style of a self-loathing Jew." Weiss did not return a request for comment on Wednesday. Meanwhile, when asked to comment about the latest controversy by Broadway World, Tribune theatre critic Chris Jones defended his colleague Weiss, who has served as critic at the Sun-Times since 1984. He said in part: "Whether you agree with her or not (and few artists or critics are perfect) Hedy is one of Chicago's grand tradition of potent, formidable women critics. And the nastiest stuff online has been penned by men who use the rhetoric of demanding diversity. A critic's primary responsibility is to the reader; it is our readers who judge us. And believe me, they let us know how we are doing and how much use they have for us" Former FBI director James Comey told Congress last week that Trump pressured him to drop an investigation into his former national security advisor, Mike Flynn, who was forced to quit for lying about his links to Moscow President Donald Trump responded angrily to reports he is under criminal investigation Thursday, deriding a "witch hunt" against him led by some "very bad" people. Trump responded to reports he is personally being investigated for obstruction of justice with a characteristic scorched earth defense: claiming mistreatment of historic proportions and calling into question the probity of his accusers. "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people!" Trump said in an early morning tweet. Trump did not directly address the allegations that he is being probed for possibly obstructing justice -- a potentially impeachable offense. Nor did he deny he has entered the miniscule ranks of sitting presidents who have become the subject of a criminal investigation. "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," he wrote. Trump's young presidency has been battered by allegations -- under investigation both by Congress and the FBI -- that Russia interfered to sway the 2016 election in his favor, in possible collusion with Trump's campaign team. The FBI probe, now in the hands of special prosecutor Robert Mueller, shifted its focus to allegations of obstruction in the days after Trump fired the agency's then director James Comey on May 9. The new allegations against Trump center on his own admission that he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation, and suggestions he asked several top intelligence officials for their help altering the direction of the inquiry. The Washington Post reported Thursday evening that Mueller's team is also focusing on the finances and business dealings of Jared Kushner, Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law. The widened Russia probe could have far-reaching repercussions for Trump's presidency, transforming his closest aides into witnesses and sucking yet more political oxygen out of the West Wing. On Thursday an aide to Vice President Mike Pence revealed he was hiring Richard Cullen -- a veteran of the Iran-Contra investigation, Watergate and the 2000 vote recount in Florida -- as a private lawyer. The latest White House crisis struck on the evening of Trump's 71st birthday, after a day in which he had won plaudits for his handling of the shooting of Republican Congressman Steve Scalise. In an address to the country, Trump struck a notably less partisan tone in response to his first major domestic crisis. Ditching derogatory rhetoric about the Washington "swamp," Trump rallied in support of his fellow politicians and called on the country to pull together. "We may have our differences, but we do well, in times like these, to remember that everyone who serves in our nation's capital is here because, above all, they love our country," Trump said. But his tweets virtually ensure that the political focus swings back to the Russia scandal. - 'Inexcusable and illegal' - The president has long vehemently denied any collusion with Moscow. But as the legal rope has tightened, Trump's allies have gone on the offensive, questioning the credibility of the special investigator Mueller, a respected former FBI director who served under Republican president George W. Bush. Allies have even floated the idea that Mueller may be fired. On Wednesday, Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz suggested -- without providing evidence -- that the FBI had leaked details of the criminal probe. "The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal," Kasowitz said via a spokesman. Trump also trained his fire on one-time rival Hillary Clinton. "Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?" he wrote. "Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?" Several top intelligence officials have agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's team, according to reports in both The Washington Post and New York Times. The Post quoted five people briefed on the requests, saying those who agreed to be interviewed include national intelligence director Daniel Coats, Admiral Mike Rogers who heads the NSA, and his recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett. Comey told Congress last week that before being sacked, Trump pressured him to drop an investigation into his former national security advisor, Mike Flynn, who was forced to quit for lying about his links to Moscow. Phil Mickelson has withdrawn from the US Open Phil Mickelson withdrew from the US Open on Thursday, opting to skip the tournament to attend his daughter's graduation ceremony, organisers said. Mickelson had been granted a tee time by US Open organisers on the off-chance that any delay in play may allow him time to fly from California to Erin Hills, Wisconsin for the start of the first round. But with play at the 117th US Open getting under way Thursday under bright sunshine and clear skies, Mickelson's hopes of playing evaporated. It means the 46-year-old will have to wait another year before he can attempt to end his US Open jinx. The US Open is the only title missing from Mickelson's collection of five majors. He has posted six second place finishes at the tournament in 26 attempts since 1990. Mickelson's place will be taken by Mexico's Roberto Diaz, who was the first alternate to emerge from sectional qualifying at Summit, New Jersey. Tora Bora was the site of a major US offensive in 2001, when Al-Qaeda chief bin Laden was hiding there before he crossed into neighbouring Pakistan Islamic State fighters have captured Tora Bora, a mountain cave complex in eastern Afghanistan that was once the hideout of Osama bin Laden, officials said Thursday, despite pressure on the jihadists from US-led forces. The militants seized the territory from the Taliban this week, in a strategic and symbolic victory just two months after the US military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb ever used on a nearby IS stronghold. The fall of Tora Bora after days of heavy fighting, which forced hundreds of residents to flee, marks a setback to the US military which has vowed to defeat IS's local affiliate this year as they make inroads into Afghanistan. "Tora Bora has fallen into the hands of IS fighters," government spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP. "Afghan troops last night launched an operation to take it back from IS." Tora Bora in eastern Nangarhar province was the site of a major US military offensive in late 2001, when Al-Qaeda chief bin Laden was believed to be hiding there. He later crossed into neighbouring Pakistan, where he was killed in a US raid in 2011. Government forces and the NATO coalition had lately engaged in little fighting against Taliban insurgents who dominated Tora Bora, supported by local tribes along the mountainous border with Pakistan. Local tribesmen confirmed to AFP that the Taliban had retreated from large parts of Tora Bora. "When Daesh (IS) fighters launched their operation to seize Tora Bora, the Taliban fled and left us alone to protect our women and children," said Juma Khan, a tribesman who escaped with hundreds of other residents. First emerging in 2015, IS's local affiliate has made steady inroads into Afghanistan, overrunning large parts of Nangarhar and Kunar provinces and challenging the bigger Taliban militant movement on their own turf. The fresh IS assault and capture of Tora Bora comes despite a heavy US-backed Afghan offensive against the militants. General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, has pledged to defeat the local IS affiliate this year. The deployment in April of the US military's so-called Mother Of All Bombs (MOAB) on another tunnel-and-cave complex in nearby Achin district killed dozens of jihadists, but fighting in the area has continued unabated. The fall of the Tora Bora has also prompted heated discussion in the Afghan parliament, with lawmakers warning the government of growing IS activity in eastern Afghanistan. "Is this government unaware of the problem? Is this government here to kill us?" asked Hazrat Ali, a lawmaker from Nangarhar. Ali was joined by other MPs who suggested the IS offensive on Tora Bora had been prompted by the American decision to deploy the MOAB. str-mam-us-ac/ds Police said a local pet dealer in his thirties was arrested after a concerned citizen made a complaint A Pakistani man who took his pet lioness for a ride in the back of a pickup truck was charged with public harassment Thursday after footage from startled bystanders went viral. In the video posted on social media, the big cat can be seen reclining in the bed of the truck, a paw lolling over the ledge and seemingly unfazed by the heavy traffic inching through a chaotic street in the city of Karachi. Pedestrians jostling through the cars stumble into clawing ranging but the lion -- which is wearing a collar and a leash held by a man in the vehicle -- just yawns. Police said Saqlain Javed, a local pet dealer in his thirties, was arrested after a concerned citizen made a complaint. Javed, however, said he was taking the animal to the vet and had all the required permits and documentation. "We have freed the accused on bail but registered a case of negligent conduct with an animal," Muqadas Haider, a senior police officer said. In the video a woman can be heard asking: "Who will take responsibility if something were to happen?" and wondering whether the animal is an endangered breed. The clip has been viewed over one million times on Facebook, where people criticised the owner for cruelty and suggested he was showing off his wealth. Others decried the general lawlessness that exists in the fast-growing country of 200 million, where despite recent economic and security gains the rich and powerful are able to commit crimes with impunity. The video can be seen here: South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has been engulfed by graft scandals and several humiliating court rulings South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog has launched an investigation into several allies of President Jacob Zuma allegedly linked to corruption at three state-owned companies, based on a trove of recently leaked emails. South Africa's Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said she would probe alleged "improper or dishonest" acts and "unlawful enrichment... by certain public officials" at rail company Prasa, power company Eskom and the Transnet freight logistics conglomerate. One of the allegations involves suspected kickbacks worth 5.3 billion rand ($411 million) on a contract to purchase locomotives from China for Transnet, Mkhwebane said in a statement late Wednesday. Brian Molefe, a close Zuma ally and a former head of Eskom, is among the people who will be investigated. Thousands of leaked emails have recently emerged in the local press exposing alleged misconduct over lucrative government contracts awarded to the Guptas, an influential Indian business family. A report published last year by the state ombudsman accused the Guptas of wielding unprecedented influence over the government, including letting them select ministers. It also ordered a judicial inquiry into the allegations, but Zuma has opposed the inquiry and launched a court challenge against the report. His challenge will be heard in October. The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, on Thursday criticised the probe for being too narrow and not focussing on Zuma. "It appears that this investigation has been crafted as narrowly as possible to create the veneer of a state capture investigation, while at the same time protecting the real power brokers," the party said. In power since 2009, Zuma has been engulfed by graft scandals and several humiliating court rulings while grappling with record unemployment and a sluggish economy. His ruling African National Congress (ANC) party welcomed the decision to investigate the claims contained in the emails. "We trust that the investigation will shed some much needed light on the disturbing allegations which, if left unattended, have the effect of undermining the integrity and credibility of our government and state," the ANC said. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah (R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Kuwait City on June 15, 2017 Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday held talks in Kuwait to push mediation efforts aimed at resolving a standoff between a Saudi-led alliance and Qatar. Cavusoglu discussed with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah "regional and international developments," the official KUNA news agency said. Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has launched a mediation effort after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism. The Turkish chief diplomat held talks with Qatar's emir and foreign minister on Wednesday and plans to visit Saudi Arabia. Ahead of the talks in Kuwait, Cavusoglu told a press conference that he will travel to the holy city of Mecca on Friday for talks with King Salman. "Although the kingdom is a party in this crisis, we know that King Salman is a party in resolving it," the Turkish minister said. "We want to hear the views of Saudi Arabia regarding possible solutions and will share with them our views in a transparent way ... We pay a great attention to our relations with them," he said. Cavusoglu said Qatari officials believe they are not the cause of the current crisis and want to know the claims of the four countries. "We are trying hard to prevent any escalation and find a quick solution to the crisis ... Resolving the crisis is not through taking (boycott) decisions but through dialogue," Cavusoglu said. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism". US President Donald Trump expressed support for the allegations against Doha, which categorically denied them. The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf but is also keen to maintain its improving relations with the key regional power Saudi Arabia. Turkey is also eager to maintain workable relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia's foe with whom Doha's critics say Qatar maintained excessively close ties. Burundi was thrown into a political crisis in April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term that his opponents said was unconstitutional Burundi security forces and government-allied militia are continuing to torture and kill opponents, UN investigators said Thursday, allegations denied by the government. The investigators from the UN's Commission of Inquiry on Burundi have been denied entry to the country said there was a "feeling of deep and widespread fear" in more than 470 testimonies gathered from people who had fled to neighbouring countries. "Today we can say that our initial fears concerning the scope and gravity of human rights violations and abuses in Burundi since April 2015 have been confirmed," the investigators said in a briefing to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday. Burundi's government angrily rejected the allegations. "We do not accept the content of this report," said the country's human rights minister Martin Nivyabandi. "This report had only one objective, to send certain senior Burundian officials to The Hague," where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is headquartered, "and to exclude Burundi as a member of the Human Rights Council," he said, demanding the UN, "respect the sovereignty of Burundi." Burundi was thrown into a political crisis in April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term that his opponents said was unconstitutional. Since then at least 500 people have been killed while over 400,000 have fled the country. The commission of inquiry, established in September 2016, is tasked with concluding whether any should be held accountable for alleged violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity. The investigators said on Thursday that both state security agencies and the ruling party youth wing, the Imbonerakure which is considered a militia by the UN, were engaged in torture, rape, disappearances and murder "fuelled by hate speech" from officials. "We were struck by the particularly cruel and brutal nature of the violations described to us," the investigators said, citing the use of clubs, rifle butts, bayonets, iron bars, metal chains, electric cables, needles, pliers to rip out nails, burns and violent abuse of especially male genitals. They also bemoaned the "total impunity" enjoyed by perpetrators in Burundi. The commission's final report is due to be presented to the Human Rights Council in September. Nepali Madhesi protestors - a marginalised group in the southern plains - hold a torch rally in Janakpur on June 12, 2017, as they protest against forthcoming local elections Nepal postponed local elections in one flashpoint province on Thursday in an attempt to appease a party representing the country's Madhesi minority that had threatened to boycott the polls. It is the latest in a series of delays to the country's first local elections in 20 years, a key step in a drawn-out post-civil war peace process. A first phase of elections was held successfully last month in three provinces. But repeated threats of protest by the Madhesi, an ethnic minority group living along the border with India, has led to elections in the remaining four provinces being repeatedly pushed back. On Thursday, senior government minister Farmullah Mansoor told AFP that elections in province two would now take place on September 18, although polls in three other provinces will go ahead as scheduled. Province two is a stronghold of the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RPJ-N) -- the largest party representing the Madhesi, which had demanded a postponement. The Madhesi, who live in Nepal's populous southern lowlands and share close linguistic and cultural ties with India, have long complained that the existing federal borders deprive them of fair political representation. They have been demanding that Nepal's provincial boundaries be redrawn through an amendment to the constitution. The RJP-N however said the delay did not fully address their demands and vowed to maintain the boycott. "The government is trying to avoid taking the risk of a confrontational election by shifting the dates right now," said Sudheer Sharma, editor of Nepal's Kantipur newspaper. "The RJP has not expressed full consent, so there is no guarantee they will participate if the polls are shifted." It is unclear if -- or when -- the government will attempt to pass the amendment bill, which the largest opposition party staunchly opposes. The local elections are supposed to be the final step in the peace deal that ended the civil war in 2006. They pave the way for provincial polls and then national elections, which have to be held by January 2018 when the mandate of the current parliament expires. Despite its continued importance to the South African economy, mining has in the last decade experienced a marked declined fire, killing 34 miners and wounded dozens more South Africa adopted a new mining code on Thursday requiring companies to have majority black investors to qualify for new prospecting licences, causing the major miners' stock to tumble. The controversial Mining Charter forces firms seeking mining prospecting rights to have a minimum of 50 percent plus one share owned by black investors while requiring firms with existing mines to have 30 percent black ownership -- up from 26 percent. Companies will have one year to achieve the new 30 percent target. By midday, South African-focussed miners Sibanye Gold shares had shed six percent, platinum giant Anglo American had lost five percent while Kumba Iron Ore also dipped five percent. The country's mining minister Mosebenzi Zwane said the long-awaited regulations were a "key instrument for radical change, designed to address many of the inequalities in the mining and minerals sector prior to 2002". Ministers have for years been critical of the slow pace of change in the sector which has been a cornerstone of South Africa's economy. Despite its continued importance to the economy, mining has in the last decade experienced a marked decline, as lengthy sometimes violent labour disputes, low commodity prices and underinvestment have all taken a toll. Zwane acknowledged the important role of mining over the last 100 years, but said the sector, which is often accused of exploitation, had not done enough to increase the participation of South Africa's black majority. The charter, which includes a raft of reforms including mandatory workers' housing and quotas for blacks on boards, also requires that the 30 percent black-held equity be distributed between employees, mine communities and entrepreneurs. Zwane said previous regulations had failed to have an impact. But the mining industry's trade body, the Chamber of Mines, has rejected the charter, calling it a "seriously flawed" policy adopted without proper consultation. "The lack of meaningful engagement with the industry, and collective engagement with all stakeholders, has been most disappointing," said Chamber of Mines chief Mxolisi Mgojo. "Transformation should be implemented in a way that is sustainable, with practical and rational targets. Transformation and competitiveness goes hand in hand." So far 90 bodies have been pulled from the Andaman Sea after the military sent boats and planes to scour the waters, aided by local vessels. A fishing boat on Thursday found the tail of a Myanmar military plane that crashed last week with 122 people on board. The aircaft plunged into the sea during a routine flight from the southern city of Myeik to Yangon last week. Most passengers were the wives and children of servicemen So far 90 bodies have been pulled from the Andaman Sea after the military sent boats and planes to scour the waters, aided by local vessels. Army chief Min Aung Hlaing said a fishing boat that was helping with the search discovered the plane's tail off Myin Khwar Aww bay, not far from the southern town of Dawei. The fishing boat snagged the piece of debris in its net. Navy divers later confirmed the part was "the tail of Y-8 5820 plane with its logo," his office added in a statement. There has been no official explanation for the cause of the crash -- one of several deadly incidents involving Myanmar military aircraft in recent years. Min Aung Hlaing has suggested it may have been caused by bad weather, but there were no reports of major storms along the plane's flight path when it disappeared. The Chinese-made Shaanxi Y-8 four-engine turboprop aircraft was less than two years old and had only flown some 800 hours, according to Myanmar's military. Several countries have offered to help with the search, but state media reported on Sunday that they have all been turned down. Hundreds of distraught relatives have flocked to Dawei for mass funerals, with desperate families waiting for news of those still unaccounted for, as hopes fade of finding survivors. All but one of the bodies pulled from the waters had been cremated as of Thursday afternoon, according to the army. You are here: Home Li Weiyi, who returns a young wolf to nature in southwestern China's vast grasslands, will see her story hit the big screens on Friday. Li Weiyi and her documentary's producer Yi Feng at the film's premiere ceremony in Beijing. Photos provided to China Daily Return to the Wolves, a documentary about Li and her wolf cub, recently toured 17 Chinese cities for test screenings, and will be released in mainland theaters on Friday. As a freelance painter based in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, Li was in the picturesque Zoige grassland in the northwestern province in April 2010. There, she heard a story about a wolf family from the locals. The male wolf bit off his own claw to flee from a trap but was killed by some herdsmen, and the female deliberately ate a poisoned bait to kill herself, leaving behind six cubs, born merely a couple of weeks earlier. Li discovered the only surviving cub, bringing him back to Chengdu and naming him Green. But city life was not suitable for the cub, and Green also yearned for more space and freedom. Li released him into the wild, returning him to the Zoige grassland in February 2011. She wrote a book about the cub titled Return to the Wolf Pack, and the initial print run of 200,000 copies sold out in three months after its launch in July 2012. Protesters hurled petrol bombs as they clashed with police in eastern India's hill resort of Darjeeling which remained under total shutdown on Thursday, local officials said. Protesters hurled petrol bombs as they clashed with police in eastern India's hill resort of Darjeeling as tensions remained high Thursday, local officials said. Riots and arson attacks in Darjeeling last week left at least 12 people injured as thousands of mostly Indian tourists packed their bags and fled. "The current situation is very tense but under control," Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi, superintendent of Darjeeling police told AFP by phone. The clashes happened after the local police raided an establishment "linked to" the leader of the local protest movement, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), to recover a "cache of arms." "More than 300 weapons including firearms were seized... We suspect the weapons were hidden to create trouble," Director General of West Bengal police Anuj Sharma told AFP. "A mob fired and attacked us with petrol bombs as we were returning from the raid. We used batons and fired tear gas shells to control the crowd, and several policemen were also injured in the process," Chaturvedi added. The police also blamed the protesters for setting fire to a local news crew vehicle and a government bus. Many locals and activists led by the GJM have long been demanding the creation of a new Indian state. The GJM wants a new state named Gorkhaland in the hill region, currently part of the eastern West Bengal state. Tensions have risen over a recent decision to introduce the state's Bengali language in schools. Indigenous Gorkhas, who mainly speak Nepali, are furious. "We have called for an indefinite general strike in Darjeeling," GJM's Roshan Giri told AFP. The otherwise bustling hill station looked deserted Thursday with roads empty and shops closed. Police have banned Iraqi women in eastern Mosul, here shown shopping at the Nabi Yunis market on June 13, 2017, from wearing the face veil as part of new measures to prevent jihadist attacks Iraqi women walk freely around a street market in Mosul, their hair wrapped in brightly coloured scarves and face uncovered after police banned the conservative black veil mandatory under jihadist rule. Iraqi forces, who have retaken eastern Mosul from the Islamic State group after three years of jihadist rule, have banned the face veil as part of a package of measures to curb jihadist attacks in the area. They decided on the ban after having detained several IS fighters who had dressed up as women, concealing their faces behind the black material. Iraqi forces seized the eastern half of Mosul in January, and are now battling to retake the last western neighbourhoods from the jihadist group. Traditionally in Mosul, women wear what they like at home but don a long robe and cover their hair in the street. But after IS overran the northern city in 2014, imposing its harsh interpretation of Islamic law on inhabitants, women also wore the face veil, or niqab. Now the jihadists have fled the eastern sector, women can breath a sigh of relief. Before, "we never dared come to the market without wearing a face veil, gloves and black socks", Umm Ali, 45, said in Nabi Yunis market. "I saw the world from behind a black veil. The world seemed dark. But as soon as they left, I threw away the niqab... The police also banned us wearing it." Up until sundown, Nabi Yunis market bustles with customers before they return home to break the daily dawn-to-dusk fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Policemen stand among the women and children strolling between the shops, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. - Security first - Abu Messab, who sells clothes at a shop inside the market, said he has stopped stocking the face veil. "Nobody wants a niqab," the 50-year-old said. "Most people come here looking for bright, attractive colours." The salesman pointed at two policemen standing not far off. "They're here the whole time," he said. "When they see women with their face covered, they ask them politely to no longer wear the veil. And people cooperate." Since the jihadists left, Abu Mossad has given his shop a makeover, bringing back out previously banned mannequins. "We're back to pre-Daesh times," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS. Police chief Talal Abdallah said the face veil has been banned in eastern Mosul and the wider Nineveh province because "Daesh fighters dress up as women to walk around markets". Iraqi forces fear IS fighters may hit back with suicide bombings or car bombs. Police chief Talal Abdallah speaks during an interview with AFP at his office in Mosul on June 13, 2017 Police are also throughly checking identity papers as part of ramped up security measures, and neighbourhood leaders are expected to report on all residents in their district. Nobody can buy a phone or SIM card without first showing their identity papers, Abdallah told AFP, while motorbikes and lorries have been banned from 0600 pm local time to avoid bomb attacks. Last July 3, a truck bombing in a busy Baghdad shopping district claimed by IS killed more than 320 people. "We have taken these measures to minimise or prevent infiltration by Daesh members," Abdallah said. "The security of our citizens is more important that their freedom," he said, adding that the bans would be lifted "when the city is totally liberated". Nearby, Ali Mahmoud, 22, parked his motorcycle before heading in to the market. "Sometimes you need your bike but you can't use it because it's past six in the evening," he said. "They're scared someone will sneak in and blow themselves up." The Islamic State group's top recruiter in India and a senior coordinator of its European attacks network have been named on the US terrorist sanctions list. The State Department officially named three senior IS officials - Mohammad Shafi Armar, Oussama Ahmad Atar, and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali - as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, Washington's strict sanctions blacklist. Armar, a native of Karnataka, is the Islamic State group's leader and chief recruiter in India, the department said. The Islamic State group's top India recruiter and a senior coordinator of its European attacks network were named on the US terrorist sanctions list It blamed him for cultivating 'dozens' of IS supporters involved in building the group's operations in the country. Belgian-Moroccan national Atar was named as the man who established the IS network in Europe responsible for a number of deadly strikes, including in November 2015 attacks in Paris. Atar also allegedly recruited and mentored two of the bombers in the March 2016 attacks in Brussels. A Kashmiri Muslim protester wears an ISIS mask during pro-freedom clashes in old Srinagar The third man, Binali, is a Bahraini who has appeared in IS videos trying to recruit other Bahrainis to the group, the State Department said. The SDGT designation aims to notify the international community that the three 'have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism,' the department said in a statement. 'Designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the US financial system.' Meanwhile the US Treasury added an Iraqi money changer to its sanctions list for handling financial transactions for Islamic State. It said Umar al-Kubaysi and his company Al-Kawther Money Exchange have been involved in financial support for Islamic State and predecessor groups since before 2006. From late 2015 and early 2016, Al-Kawther handed transfers worth $2.5 million with another Iraq-based, IS-linked money changer, it said. Hong Kong's last British colonial governor Chris Patten says the city's autonomy was slipping away, with less than a month before the 20th anniversary of the city's handover. Hong Kong's last British colonial governor Chris Patten said Thursday the city's autonomy was slipping away, with less than a month before the 20th anniversary of the city's handover. Patten was governor of Hong Kong when it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under a semi-autonomous deal protecting its freedoms for 50 years. But 20 years on, there are serious concerns Beijing is disregarding the handover agreement designed to safeguard the city's way of life. Frustration at what many see as China's increasing influence and fear of Beijing curtailing its freedoms has sparked calls for self-determination for Hong Kong, or even a complete split from the mainland. Chris Patten, who said the happiest period of his life was spent during his time as the city's governor, believed Beijing's grip on the semi-autonomous city was getting tighter. "There has been a steady tightening grip... on Hong Kong's autonomy," Patten said. "You see that in the extent to which Beijing's offices in Hong Kong try to get involved in every branch, every aspect of government," the last governor said via video link at the SOPA Awards, which recognises editorial works in the region, held in the city Thursday night. "You see it as well in attacks on the way in which the rule of law works with the Beijing authorities actually intervening in a law case being held quite properly before Hong Kong courts," he said. Last year, the city's High Court disqualified two democratically elected pro-independence lawmakers from taking their seats after they added expletives and used derogatory terms for China when taking their oaths. The court's move was preempted by an earlier intervention from Beijing which said they should not be allowed to join parliament. "We're seeing people being snatched from Hong Kong streets by mainland people," Patten said in reference to bookseller Lee Bo, known for publishing salacious titles about Beijing's leadership, who in late 2015 vanished from Hong Kong and resurfaced on the mainland. The city's incoming leader Carrie Lam pledged that she would mend political rifts after her victory in March. She said there was "no difference" between the Hong Kong government and Chinese authorities' views on safeguarding the city's status and liberties. She will be sworn in on July 1 during the expected visit by China's President Xi Jinping to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover. Security personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard ship Hamilton guard approximately 26.5 tons of cocaine on the deck of the ship at Port Everglades on December 15, 2016 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida The United States pledged to help Central America defeat drug gangs and build a prosperous future Thursday, despite planning a near 30 percent cut in its own support. The US welcomed its southern neighbors to talks in Miami to discuss how to halt trafficking and illegal immigration in the age of border walls and "America First" budget cuts. US President Donald Trump came to power vowing to build a new barrier along the US southern border, accusing Mexico of allowing its worst people to cross, bringing crime and drugs. But when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sat down with Mexican leaders, they found they also had a shared interest in the stability of the countries further south. The two-day "Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America" opened with a vow to help Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador restore wealth and ensure the rule of law. US Vice President Mike Pence said Trump would set aside $460 million to support the three "Northern Triangle" nations through a stark crisis of governance. But that sum, yet to be approved by Congress as part of the State Department's 2018 budget, would be a steep drop from the $650 million set aside in the 2017 financial year. Pence said he would travel on Trump's behalf to South and Central America later this year "to build on the good work being done" in the Northern Triangle region. In these countries, he warned, an estimated 85,000 people work for gangs trafficking drugs northwards and one in five citizens have been victims of serious crime. - Greater threat? - "Under President Donald Trump the United States' borders will be strong but the borders of the United States will always be open to legal immigrants and lawful flow of commerce," he said. "We will make sure that our borders are closed to those who would do us harm and that they will be impassible to the drugs that are besetting our families and communities." Co-hosting the talks with Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, Tillerson said the United States would continue to work with Central America to train police and judges. And Washington, he added, will promote trade and investment "as our prosperity and security interests are tightly linked through the movement of ideas, people and goods." Addressing Presidents Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras and Jimmy Morales of Guatemala and Vice President Oscar Ortiz of El Salvador, Videgaray urged unity. "As part of the president's agenda, we seek to bolster US national security, secure our borders and advance US economic interest," US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the opening session at Florida International University "Working together, we have a far better chance of tackling this problem," he argued. But President Hernandez of Honduras, warned against US disengagement, arguing that without outside support Central America could pose an even greater threat that it does now. "A convulsing Central America, faced with a lack of opportunities and with violence, is a tremendous risk for the United States, Mexico and the region," he said. - Supply chain - Since the latest US support program began in 2009, the effort has started to get results -- homicide, violence and drug flights are down over the past two years. But criminal violence is still an epidemic -- local officials estimate that in 2016 alone 15,809 people were killed in the Triangle, more than 50 homicides per 100,000 people. "Working together, we have a far better chance of tackling this problem that brings us together," Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray argued And US-backed police tactics have also been controversial and often criticized as too brutal by local communities. Just last month, an official report found that US agents had been more involved in the deaths of Honduran civilians during botched raids in 2012 than they had previously admitted. New initiatives, along with Trump's aggressive rhetoric, have led to fears of a new militarization of the effort. Tillerson argues the new plan is not more of the same, but a big-picture effort to dismantle the drugs supply chain, from imports of Chinese precursor chemicals to street busts. On Friday, the talks will be hosted by the US military command for Latin America. Envoys from Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the European Union, Nicaragua, Panama and Spain are taking part. French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian (R) holds a joint press conference with Senegalese Foreign Affairs Mankeur Ndiaye, at the French Embassy in Dakar on June 15, 2017 France's foreign minister said Thursday he was confident "we will get there" in convincing a reluctant United States to give United Nations backing to an anti-jihadist force drawn from five African countries. Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, which make up the so-called G5 Sahel, have agreed to set up a special counter-terrorism operation of 5,000 troops, but want UN logistical and financial support. "We think that it is necessary to support them in this endeavour, because the security of Africans will not come, in the end, only from Africans themselves," said Jean-Yves Le Drian, speaking in the Senegalese capital of Dakar as part of a west African tour. France has presented a draft resolution to the Security Council that would give a UN mandate to the G5 troops to combat terrorism, drug trafficking and people trafficking. "We are trying to move this forward, and I think that we will get there," Le Drian added, evoking the support of Senegal, a non-permanent member of the Security Council. He noted an uptick in terror attacks in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger that had led the nations involved to propose the creation of the force. The United States had said the mandate lacks precision and that a council statement, instead of a full-fledged resolution, would provide sufficient support. The European Union has already agreed to give 50 million euros to the regional force, but the United States and Britain are unwilling to commit UN funds for the operation, diplomats say. The next summit of G5 Sahel nations will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron on July 2 in Bamako, Mali, as France reaffirms its commitment to stamping out jihadists in the region. France carried out a military intervention in Mali in 2013 to drive out jihadist groups, some of them linked to Al-Qaeda, which had seized key cities in the country's north. France maintains its own 4,000-strong military presence in the Sahel region, known as Barkhane, which works alongside a separate Mali-focused UN peacekeeping mission. Although the Islamists have been largely ousted from the north, jihadist groups continue to mount attacks on domestic and foreign forces, in violence that has engulfed parts of central Mali. US media said the Niagara Falls stunt by Erendira Wallenda, part of the famed acrobat clan, set a world record for height -- established by her husband Nik American daredevil Erendira Wallenda dangled from her teeth from under a helicopter in a series of eye-watering acrobatic moves over the teeming waters of Niagara Falls on Thursday. US media said her stunt set a Guinness World Record for height, breaking a record established by her husband Nik when hanging from his teeth 250 feet (76 meters) above Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Dressed in a black body suit, the mother-of-three sat and dangled from a large hoop tethered to the bottom of the helicopter, at one point hooking her feet over the hoop and hanging upside down with her arms stretched toward the water. Wallenda hung above the falls for around seven or eight minutes. She did splits hanging off the hoop backwards, before biting into an iron jaw and briefly dangling by her teeth about 300 feet in the air. Wallenda comes from a family of stunt artists and world record chasers. Thursday's stunt marked the fifth anniversary of her husband's walk on a tightrope over Niagara Falls, which straddle the border between Canada and the United States. Speaking to reporters, Wallenda described the experience as "amazing" and "beautiful," and said she had hung twice from her teeth, listening to music throughout so as to block out any sound from spectators below. Her stunt adds to the lore and legend of the renowned Wallenda family, famous for astonishing audiences around the world with their jaw-dropping stunts executed from dizzying heights. In June 2013, Nik Wallenda became the first man to cross the Grand Canyon on a tightrope, completing that record-breaking feat in under 23 minutes. ICRC spokesman told AFP its operations remained suspended in eastern DR Congo The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday two staff kidnapped when armed men attacked their convoy in the troubled eastern DR Congo last week had been released. The workers were abducted on June 7 between Kirumba and Beni in North Kivu province while on a humanitarian mission, prompting a Red Cross appeal for their immediate release. A Red Cross statement said the pair were freed Thursday morning. Spokeswoman Christine Cipolla said the organisation was relieved their ordeal was over but deplored an abduction she said threatened humanitarian work. An ICRC spokesman told AFP its operations remained suspended in the region, where it has been aiding 5,000 families, following the abduction of the two, whose nationality has not been revealed. "We have suspended our movements in North Kivu province until further notice ... awaiting security guarantees," the spokesman said. The eastern DR Congo has been rocked by more than 20 years of armed conflict among both domestic and foreign armed groups, fuelled by struggle for control of lucrative mineral resources as well as ethnic and property disputes. North Kivu has served as a base for Hutu rebels fighting with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) since 1994 and sees frequent kidnappings. Protesters gather in the northern Moroccan city of Al-Hoceima in the early hours of June 10, 2017 Human rights defenders issued a joint call Thursday for Morocco to release protesters in Al-Hoceima, a northern city shaken by seven months of demonstrations against the marginalisation of their region. The statement comes a day after a court sentenced 25 demonstrators and suspected members of the grassroots protest movement to 18 months in jail each, according to their defence attorney. On Thursday the Civil Initiative for the Rif, which includes Moroccan human rights organisations and intellectuals, issued a report after conducting a tour of the restive northern region. It called for the release of the protesters so that a dialogue can be started, warning that "otherwise the inhabitants of Al-Hoceima will continue to demonstrate". "Apart from this prerequisite, the government must take initiatives to satisfy social demands," they added. The protests were "spontaneous", had nothing to do with politics or trade unions, and there was no separatist motive, the group said, referring to accusations from politicians and state media. The 25 protesters sentenced to jail on Wednesday were among 32 people arrested more than two weeks ago after clashes erupted when police tried to detain the head of the movement, Nasser Zefzafi. They were handed prison terms of 18 months each while the other seven were given suspended sentences and fined, said defence lawyer Mohamed Ziane. "This verdict is a patent rejection of any kind of dialogue with the protesters," Ziane said at the time. "This sad decision can fuel more protests, and is not the right one at all to find an end to this situation." The Al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or "Popular Movement", has been holding protests for weeks in the neglected region, demanding jobs and an end to corruption. Its leader, Zefzafi, was arrested on May 29 and is in custody in Casablanca awaiting trial, along with other leaders of the movement. Al-Hoceima has been rocked by social unrest since the gruesome death in October of a fishmonger, who was crushed in a rubbish truck as he protested against the seizure and destruction of swordfish caught out of season. Demands for justice snowballed into the wider grassroots movement. A model of the BeiDou Satellite Navigation system exhibited in Zhuhai [File photo/Xinhua] Developers involved with the BeiDou Satellite Navigation system are preparing to make the next step forward in turning the Chinese-produced system into a major global player. The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is world's fourth navigation satellite system, which also includes the GPS system run by the United States, the GLONASS system in Russia and the Galileo system developed by the European Union. With its accuracy reaching centimeter-levels, the system can provide precise positioning services for urban construction, as it will be able to help accurately place underground gas and and power lines, along with other connections necessary for today's modern buildings. Miao Qianjun, secretary-general of Global Navigation Satellite System and Location Based Service Association of China says, "The National BeiDou Precise Service Network so far covers 317 cities across the country, and can provide precise location information, accurate time information and short-message communication service in almost all application areas." Steps are now being taken to make Beidou a global network. "Next month we're going to officially start networking and launching the BeiDou-3 system, which will provide global coverage. Probably in mid-July, we will launch the first two satellites on one rocket," Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation System Management Office says. "By the end of next year, we will have put 18 new satellites into orbit, including between six and eight satellites slated for this year." This should allow Beidou to start offering services to customers in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative by next year. Over 30 million chips which run the Beidou system have been sold to manufacturers of mobile phones and other systems which can use navigation technology. Beidou's high-precision board cards and antennas, for industrial use, are now being exported to more than 70 countries and regions, over 30 of which are along the Belt and Road. "For example, Beidou can be used to help with the construction of overseas ports and offer service to our country's high-speed rail services. After the Beidou system becomes available globally, those countries will be able to use the Beidou system to help boost their national economy and improve people's livelihood," Sun Jiadong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences says. China started building its own satellite navigation system in 2000, sending up just two satellites at first to end Chinese dependence on the United States' GPS system. Since 2012, Beidou has been able to provide navigation, time and text messaging services across the Asia and Pacific region. As of last year, satellite navigation became a 30 billion U.S. dollars business in China, with Beidou able to make up around 30-percent of the market share. By 2020, Chinese officials anticipate satellite navigation services will end up being close to a 60-billion U.S. dollar industry. This combination of undated pictures courtesy of the Georgia Department of Corrections shows escaped convicts Ricky Dubose (L) and Donnie Rowe, who escaped from a prison in Georigia June 13, 2017 A pair of US convicts who overpowered and killed their guards in a brazen jailbreak in the southern state of Georgia were recaptured after a two-day manhunt, authorities said. The felons, Donnie Rowe, 43, and Ricky Dubose, 24, had been described as "dangerous beyond description" by Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, who coordinated the search. The pair shot to death two prison officers during the escape in the early hours of Tuesday, as they were being moved between two penal facilities. Rowe, considered a sociopath by authorities, was described as a recidivist with a long list of convictions and was serving a life sentence for armed robbery and other crimes. Officials said Dubose is also a hardened criminal despite his relative youth, as well as being a member of the notorious "Ghostface Gangsters" white supremacist group. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said on Twitter that they had been captured and the state's governor indicated that they had been detained in the neighboring state of Tennessee. "CAPTURED: Fugitives in custody following car chase in TN. More info will be forthcoming," Governor Nathan Deal tweeted. The convicts were among 30 inmates being transported by bus when the drama unfolded Tuesday. The rear of the vehicle was equipped with a caged area where inmates were secured, with the guards in a separate compartment at the front. Somehow, the pair managed to free themselves and force their way into the front of the vehicle, overpowering the guards and killing them with their own firearms. The guards were named as Christopher Monica, a strapping 42-year-old, and Curtis Billue, 58, an experienced and highly-regarded prison worker. The vehicle's security camera footage was being reviewed to piece together how the prisoners managed to wrest away the guards' weapons -- and to determine which of the inmates pulled the trigger. - $130,000 reward - Rowe and Dubose abandoned the other prisoners and vanished, armed with the slain guards's nine-millimeter pistols. Authorities had urged the public to be vigilant, and warned against approaching them. The FBI was involved in a nationwide search after authorities suspected the escapees had fled Georgia. Dubose, who was serving a 20-year prison sentence at the time of his escape, was described as having a neck covered with hard-to-miss tattoos, with more ink drawings, in the shape of a crown, engraved over his eyebrows. Rowe and Dubose shared a cell in prison, but authorities had said they couldn't be certain if that is where they hatched their escape plan. As a security precaution, inmates typically are kept in the dark about plans to transport them. After their bloody jailbreak, the two convicts were spotted in the town of Madison where they broke into a house and helped themselves to clothes that would make them less noticeable. They then hijacked a Honda Civic, which was discovered hidden in a wooded area on Wednesday, and were believed to have stolen a white Ford pickup truck. The reward for information leading to their capture had been gradually increased from $60,000 to $130,000. University student Otto Warmbier had been on a tourist trip to North Korea when he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years hard labor Doctors treating Otto Warmbier, the comatose US student released from North Korean detention this week, said Thursday the 22-year-old had suffered extensive brain damage, the cause of which remains unknown. Neurologist Daniel Kanter told a news conference in Warmbier's home city of Cincinnati, Ohio that his neurological condition was best described "as a state of unresponsive wakefulness." "He has spontaneous eye opening and blinking. However, he shows no signs of understanding language, responding to verbal commands or awareness of his surroundings," he said. An MRI scan revealed "extensive loss of brain tissue in all regions of the brain," Kanter said. Warmbier's medical team said they had found no evidence of botulism, the explanation given by the North Korean regime for how the young man fell into a coma shortly after being sentenced in March 2016 for stealing a political poster from a hotel. "We have no certain or verifiable knowledge of the cause or circumstances of his neurological injury," Kanter said. The doctors said Warmbier's severe brain injury was most likely -- given his young age -- to have been caused by cardiopulmonary arrest cutting the blood supply to the brain. Kanter said his team had received copies of brain MRI images from North Korean medical personnel, the earliest of which were dated April 2016. "Based upon our analysis of those images, the brain injury likely occurred in the preceding weeks," he said. Kanter added that body scans had revealed no evidence of acute or healing fractures to the chest, abdomen or skull. Warmbier's father Fred lashed out earlier Thursday at the North Korean regime, saying he did not believe its claim that his son contracted botulism and fell into a coma shortly after being arrested last year. The university student, who had been on a tourist trip, was sentenced to 15 years hard labor, a punishment the US decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime, accusing the North of using him as a political pawn. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times Eastern Daylight Time): 4:45 p.m. President Donald Trump is again highlighting the stories of people whose health care premiums have skyrocketed as he tries to push a GOP replacement plan. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Michael and Tammy Kushman, left, and Robert and Sarah Stoll, right, speaks in front of Air Force One about healthcare, Tuesday, June 23, 2017, at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wis. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Trump met with what the White House has been referring to as "victims" of former President Barack Obama's health care law after landing in Milwaukee Tuesday afternoon. Trump says too many people have been forced off their insurance plans or forced to pay more. He says, "These citizens deserve so much better." The president is expected to tour Waukesha County Technical College as well as lead a workforce development round table discussion while in town. He'll also be delivering remarks at a fundraiser for Gov. Scott Walker before heading back to Washington. ___ 12:50 p.m. President Donald Trump is having lunch with Republican senators to discuss the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. Trump said President Barack Obama's health care law "had been broken and it's been a broken promise." He said a replacement will be "generous, kind" and show "heart" and promised more funding. Attendees at the lunch include Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins. Trump accused congressional Democrats of obstruction and said they would not provide even one vote for "the best plan ever." Senate Republicans are winnowing down policy options in search of 51 votes to advance House-passed legislation this summer. ___ 10:30 a.m. President Donald Trump is teaming with his daughter Ivanka to promote greater use of apprenticeships to spur job creation and help put people in jobs that often go unfilled. The Trumps will appear later Tuesday with Labor Secretary Alex Acosta and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on a visit to Waukesha County Technical School. The administration says apprenticeships could match workers with the nation's estimated 6 million open jobs but he's reluctant to spend more taxpayer money on the effort. President Donald Trump talks with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2017, before having lunch with Republican Senators. From left are, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska the president and Ernst. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa listen at right as President Donald Trump speaks in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2017, before having lunch with Republican Senators. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, June 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece's prime minister renewed an appeal to international lenders Wednesday to reach an agreement on easing the country's debt burden, a day before finance ministers from the euro currency bloc meet to review its bailout program. In an article written for France's Le Monde and Germany's Die Welt newspapers, Alexis Tsipras said dealing with Greece's debt, which stands at about 320 billion euros ($360 billion) or around 180 percent of the country's annual gross domestic product, was key to future growth. A deal was necessary, Tsipras wrote, "not so that money can be given away to Greece, but so that it doesn't have to be given away." Finance ministers from the 19 European countries using the euro currency are meeting in Luxembourg Thursday to decide whether to unfreeze the latest installment of Greece's rescue loans and to discuss potential debt relief measures to be enacted when the bailout program ends next year. Greece's left-led coalition government recently legislated more belt-tightening reforms, including pension cuts, in an effort to meet requirements for the disbursement of its latest long-delayed rescue loan installment. It needs the funds as it faces a roughly 7 billion euro spike in debt repayments in July which it will struggle to meet from its own resources. Greeks, Tsipras wrote, are "full of hope and expectation for this meeting of finance ministers. Because we have done everything we owe and we continue on the same European path." "And we expect the same from our lenders. For them to respect the rules that they themselves wrote," he added. "To respect my country. To respect Greece." Pierre Moscovici, the EU's financial affairs commissioner, told German newspaper WAZ he expected Thursday's Eurogroup meeting to conclude Greece had done enough on the reform front to get the bailout funds and that he hoped a "fair solution" would be reached on debt relief. A key voice will be that of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who has often taken a tough stance on Greece over the seven years of its bailout era. In Berlin, Juerg Weissgerber, a spokesman for Germany's finance ministry, said Schaeuble recently expressed optimism that an agreement would be reached. "We believe that we can agree a sustainable overall package," Weissgerber said Wednesday. But in Greece expectations appeared gloomier, with state-run media quoting an anonymous government official as saying the two sides were "very far" from an agreement. The official was quoted as saying that if no decision was taken Thursday, Athens would ask for a eurozone leaders' summit on the sidelines of a June 22 meeting of the EU's heads of government. Weissgerber, asked by reporters whether there might be a need for heads of government to meet over the issue, said that "in this case the Eurogroup is the body that's responsible." European creditors had promised some form of debt relief if Greece implemented austerity measures. Athens has long argued that it needs some form of debt relief for its debt to be deemed sustainable, which would in turn help it return to the international borrowing markets. But the issue has been complicated by disagreement between the Europeans and the International Monetary Fund, which participated in Greece's first two bailouts, over the country's growth potential and long-term debt sustainability. J.P. Morgan's Marco Protopapa and Aditya Chordia said Greece's "expectations, strongly linked to (governing party) Syriza's desire to receive a major political boost to a faltering electoral support, have long proved excessive." They anticipate that Greece will likely receive "unanimous praise" for its reform efforts and get a quick disbursement of cash but that the issue of debt relief will "remain ongoing." Tsipras' government, initially elected in 2015 on promises to repeal all bailout-linked austerity, has instead approved more. The latest legislation extends budget cuts for roughly five years, beyond the end of Greece's third bailout program in 2018. ____ Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report. MOSCOW (AP) - The former head of Russia's penitentiary system has been sentenced to eight years in prison for defrauding the state. Tass, the state news agency, says that Alexander Reimer was convicted Wednesday of taking part in selling electronic monitoring bracelets to the prison service at inflated prices. It found the embezzlement in 2010-12 totaled 1.3 billion rubles (about $40 million at the time). Two other high-ranking prison officials were also found guilty in the case and sentenced to terms of up to six years, THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court appealed Wednesday for the immediate arrest of the son of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was recently released from custody in Libya after more than five years in detention. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda called on Libya "and all other states, if in a position to do so, to immediately arrest and surrender" Seif al-Islam to the court. The International Criminal Court has no police force and relies on cooperation from states to arrest suspects. Bensouda said in a statement that an arrest warrant issued by the court in 2011 remains valid. Seif al-Islam is charged with murder and persecution for his alleged role in the violent suppression of anti-government protests in 2011. Seif al-Islam's former captors said over the weekend that his release was decided as part of a pardon issued by the Libyan parliament based in the country's eastern region. Bensouda also called for the arrest of another Libyan suspect, identified by the court as Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, who is wanted by the international court on charges including torture and persecution also committed in 2011. The whereabouts of both men remains unclear. Moammar Gadhafi also was charged by the court, but was killed by rebels before he could be detained and sent to The Hague to face justice. Libya is not a member of the court. The United Nations Security Council asked the court to open an investigation in Libya amid widespread reports of atrocities as Gadhafi attempted to cling to power in the face of a popular uprising. SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A federal judge had dismissed a former inmate's religious freedom lawsuit against a Pennsylvania jail, saying he had no right to a cleric from the specific Muslim sect he preferred. Gregory Bush sued Lackawanna County in 2014, alleging his religious expression was hampered when he was an inmate in 2012. The (Scranton) Times-Tribune (http://bit.ly/2rv8fpE) reports that the judge agreed with an attorney for the jail who argued that the jail did offer Muslim services and religious items but that Bush didn't participate because the cleric wasn't affiliated with the Nation of Islam. Courts have ruled inmates have a right to practice their religious, but that right isn't unlimited and must be balanced against the jail's ability to run safely and efficiently. The ruling was issued last week. ___ Information from: The Times-Tribune, http://thetimes-tribune.com/ FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A federal judge has handed a lifeline to efforts to block the Dakota Access pipeline, ruling Wednesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn't adequately consider the possible impacts of an oil spill where the pipeline passes under the Missouri River. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said in a 91-page decision that the corps failed to take into account how a spill might affect "fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline's effects are likely to be highly controversial." The judge said the Army must redo its environmental analysis in certain sections and he'll consider later whether the pipeline must halt operations in the meantime. A status conference is scheduled for next week. Dave Archamabault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which has led opposition to the pipeline, called it "a significant victory." Developer Energy Transfer Partners announced earlier this month that it started shipping oil to customers. ETP maintains that the 1,200-mile pipeline is safe, but the Standing Rock Cheyenne River, Yankton and Oglala Sioux tribes in the Dakotas fear environmental harm. ETP spokeswoman Vicki Granado did not immediately return email and phone messages seeking comment on Boasberg's ruling. U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said the department is reviewing the ruling. The decision marks "an important turning point," said Jan Hasselman, attorney for the nonprofit Earthjustice, which is representing the tribes in the lawsuit. "Until now, the rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have been disregarded by builders of the Dakota Access pipeline and the Trump Administration ... prompting a well-deserved global outcry," Hasselman said. The project led to months of demonstrations near the Standing Rock Reservation and hundreds of protesters were arrested. The protests died off with the clearing of the main encampment in February and the completion of the pipeline. Boasberg rejected two earlier complaints by the tribes. One was that the construction threatened sites of cultural and historical significance and the other was that the presence of oil in the pipeline under Lake Oahe would desecrate sacred waters and make it impossible for the tribes to freely exercise their religious beliefs. "Now that the court has rejected these two lines of attack, Standing Rock and Cheyenne River here take their third shot, this time zeroing in DAPL's environmental impact," Boasberg wrote. He added later, "This volley meets with some degree of success." The corps originally declined to issue an easement for drilling and earlier this year launched a full environmental study of the Lake Oahe crossing, which it said would take up to two years to complete. Boasberg, the federal judge, had rejected an ETP request to stop the study. "As we all know, elections have consequences, and the government's position on the easement shifted significantly once President Trump assumed office on January 20, 2017," Boasberg wrote in Wednesday's ruling. LOS ANGELES (AP) - The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is returning an ancient marble statue to Italy. The museum announced Wednesday that the "Statue of Zeus Enthroned" is being voluntarily returned after the Italian government said it obtained a recently discovered fragment of the sculpture. The 29-inch-high statuette is believed to date from the 1st century BC. The museum bought the piece in 1992 from an American couple but the Los Angeles Times says (http://lat.ms/2sAWgvn ) there's no documentation indicating it was legally exported. At the time of purchase, the Getty's senior antiquities curator was Marion True. Italy later indicted True for conspiracy to traffic in illegal antiquities but eventually dropped the case. However, in the past decade, the Getty has returned dozens of artworks to Italy and Greece. NEW YORK (AP) - The real estate firm owned by the family of Jared Kushner has withdrawn a request for a big tax break for one its buildings in Jersey City, New Jersey, the latest setback for the company in the area. The Kushner Cos. sent a letter withdrawing its application for a 30-year break from city taxes for a planned two-tower project in the struggling Journal Square section of the city, Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said Wednesday. Opponents of the tax breaks marched downtown earlier this year and the city's mayor recently came out against the Kushner request. Jared Kushner was CEO of the family company before stepping down to become a senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump. Kushner Cos. spokesman James Yolles said the company is committed to the "much-needed investment" in that area of the city. The loss of the tax break is the latest blow for the company in a city where it is major real estate developer. The 79-story building - One Journal Square - gained attention last month after Jared Kushner's sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, mentioned her brother in a presentation in Beijing where she had hoped to attract Chinese investors in the building. Marketing material noted the "celebrity status" of her family. Government ethics experts blasted the family for what they said was an attempt to profit off Jared Kushner's position in Washington, and the Kushner Cos. canceled upcoming investor presentations in the country. The company said Meyer wasn't trying to use her White House ties to attract investors. The Kushner family is seeking 300 wealthy Chinese to invest a total of $150 million in One Journal Square. The family was trying to raise money through the EB-5 visa program that grants temporary U.S. residency to wealthy foreigners in exchange for investments of at least $500,000 in certain U.S. projects The company also is in danger of losing another tax break for the building. The shared office space firm WeWork recently pulled out as anchor tenant. That has put in doubt a state break tied to WeWork. Another project is off, too. The Kushner Cos. once considered bidding to develop a 95-acre industrial site along the Hackensack River in the city for housing, called Bayfront. Last month, it was revealed the family had withdrawn from those plans last year. The Kusnher Cos. has said politics had nothing to do with its decision to withdraw from Bayfront, and that "economics of the deal" drove the move. As for One Journal Square, company spokesman Yolles said the project will provide 4,000 construction jobs and $180 million in tax revenue for the city over 30 years. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat, is running for re-election this fall, and tax breaks to developers have become a major issue. Unlike neighboring Hoboken, Jersey City has granted dozens of tax breaks in recent years. Fulop had campaigned to reform the practice, but critics say he has done little. Another Kushner property in the city overlooking the Hudson River got a five-year tax break soon after Fulop was elected mayor. That 50-story building has licensed the Trump name and is called Trump Bay Street. The building was also partly financed with EB-5 visa money from abroad. The Kushner family owns or manages 20,000 apartments, 13 million square feet of office space and industrial properties in several states, including New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois. A conundrum of Chinese language reading test in the latest National Higher Education Entrance Examination in Zhejiang Province has confused many students as well as the author of the text. [File Photo] A conundrum of Chinese language reading test in the latest National College Entrance Examination or Gaokao in Zhejiang Province has confused many students as well as the author of the text. The test required students to choose the most accurate and appropriate analysis among the choices to explain why the author ended the story with a sentence stating that "the eyes of the fish flash with a glimpse of weirdness." In his Weibo (China's equivalent to Twitter), Gong Gaofeng, author of the article selected for the test, wrote that he was no different than the students sitting the exam in being perplexed by the analytical choices on offer. Gong is not the first author confused by the test of his own material. In 2011, a reading test in Fujian Province asked the students to explain why the author twice described pelting rain in the article. However, the writer later told the media that it was simply because he had been writing the article while it was raining. Although the entrance exam finished a few days ago, the debate on whether the reading analysis should go beyond an author's true intentions continues. According to Gong, the final part of his story about the eyes of the fish was intended to salute to the style of the writer O. Henry who often concluded his novels with mysterious or unexpected ending. Yu Yonggang, director of Chinese language pedagogic team from Ningbo Chaiqiao High School, said, "The design of the particular multiple choice did not digress from the scope of required knowledge, as O. Henry's endings are encompassed in the compulsory textbooks, while, the mysterious writing is one of the genre compiled in elective courses." The excerpt from the novel chosen for the exam reflects the impoverished life in the past, which may, however, fail to resonate with the generation born after 2000, so that's why the question sounds difficult, he added. According to the outline of Chinese exam, the test should be dedicated to evaluating a studen's abilities in reading, writing, reciting, analyzing and critical thinking. The examinees are tested for their competence in comprehending the spirit, aspirations and cultural values hidden between the lines of literary works, analyzing them by using different paradigms. "As the exam is designed to select the most competent candidates, the answers of questions should always comply with certain standards," said Yu, "However, they should not be too rigid so to allow students to have different understandings and thoughts." Speaking on why authors are often unable to answer the questions in the test featuring their own creations, Shi Shengxun, associate professor of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature in Peking University, said authors are not supposed to be involved in designing the questions. This is a professional process, during which, the author's answer, despite its assurance and exclusiveness, may constrain the creativities of different minds and thoughts from the teachers responsible for charting the tests and students expected to sit in the exams, Shi said. "What we insist on is to show an understanding of the reasons and logic behind every word, not absolute answers," he stressed. Chu Zhaohui, researcher from the National Institute of Education Sciences, advised China to learn from foreign countries by introducing a better evaluation system to ensure the reasonableness of the entrance exams. "We need rounds of discussions from groups of people before the exam papers are eventually fixed," Chu said. BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A former deputy U.S. marshal in North Dakota has been sentenced to three years in prison for spying on young women in Bismarck dressing rooms. Michael Rivera, 30, was convicted in February of misdemeanors that included surreptitious intrusion and creating and attempting to create sexually expressive images. He was found not guilty of more serious felony charges. Rivera was sentenced in state court on Tuesday and ordered to get sex offender treatment while in prison. "I violated a norm of our society, but I am not that same person," Rivera said. "I understand there may be people here who have ill feelings towards me, but above all, I ask for the forgiveness of the victims. I am not the same person that I was." Investigators allege Rivera secretly recorded girls and young women as they tried on clothes in dressing rooms from the summer of 2015 to 2016. He was caught peeping on a 15-year-old girl, who saw his phone peering beneath her fitting room door at a Target store. Authorities who searched his computer and electronic devices determined he took similar actions at several other Bismarck stores. He was sentenced in May in federal court to seven years in prison on child pornography charges, and he'll serve the federal sentence first. Two young women who were peeped on said at the hearing that they now often feel uncomfortable when a man is looking at them and fear going into dressing rooms. "I don't know how to go into a dressing room again without feeling violated," one of the minor victims said. The girls said they felt cheated because Rivera was acquitted on 11 felony counts that corresponded to his recording of minors. TORONTO (AP) - Prince Harry says his late mother drew a spotlight to causes and issues that didn't get attention. Now he's following in her footsteps as he promotes the Invictus Games for wounded veterans. The 32-year-old prince said in an excerpt of an interview with Canada's CTV television network that Diana would put everybody before herself. He says she was very good at inviting and taking the cameras to causes and areas where they had never been before. Diana's handshake in the late 1980s with a man with AIDS amid the fears of that era is an example. The Invictus Games were created by Prince Harry as a way to inspire and motivate wounded soldiers on their path to recovery. The 2017 Games will be held in Toronto this September. Britain's Prince Harry gestures as he hosts a reception at Buckingham Palace in London to mark the 40th anniversary of the children's charity WellChild, Monday, June 12, 2017. (Jonathan Brady/Pool via AP) "The general public across the world wants to support their armed forces and what better way to do it then this year in Canada," he said. NEW CONCORD, Ohio (AP) - At age 87, Norman Stout may not have a lot of time left to see the execution of the man who killed his wife more than three decades ago. He's determined to be there if possible. "I want to make damn sure that it finally is accomplished," Stout said. The state of Ohio wants the execution to happen, as well, and says it finally has the means to put condemned killer John Stumpf to death after years of trying to obtain lethal drugs. In this Friday, June 9, 2017 photo, Norman Stout points to where fragments of lead remain in his face after he was shot and left for dead in a 1984 robbery that killed his wife, Mary Jane Stout, in New Concord, Ohio. Norman Stout is frustrated by the delays in carrying out the execution of his wife's condemned killer, John Stumpf, whose January 2018 execution was recently postponed to November next year. (AP Photo/Andrew Welsh-Huggins) Whether that three-drug combination is constitutional is before a federal appeals court whose ruling will help decide whether Stumpf's execution - now scheduled for November of next year - can take place at last. Stumpf was sentenced to die in 1984 for the slaying of Mary Jane Stout, shot four times at the couple's home outside of New Concord in eastern Ohio, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Columbus. Of the more than two dozen Ohio inmates with active execution dates, Stumpf has been on death row the longest - more than 12,000 days. Six presidents have served. More than 30 new countries have come into existence. The population of the U.S. has grown by a third. Stumpf's situation is not unique. Six Alabama inmates have been on death row more than 30 years, including one inmate who arrived there in 1979. Texas houses more than a dozen inmates whose capital crimes occurred more than three decades ago. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson cited long delays faced by victims' families when he pushed for eight executions in 11 days in April. Ultimately, four men were put to death. As has been the case elsewhere, court appeals and Ohio's struggle to find lethal drugs have helped delay Stumpf's execution. That includes a reprieve from Gov. John Kasich in May when he moved Stumpf's execution from January of next year to November to allow more time for legal arguments over Ohio's new lethal injection process. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati heard arguments Wednesday for and against that process and is expected to rule soon. Ohio's first execution in more than three years is set for late next month. Seemingly endless appeals and roller-coaster rulings are a hallmark of death sentences in the U.S., frustrating proponents who say capital punishment moves far too slowly to ensure justice. But, opponents argue, those same appeals protect suspects' constitutional rights and sometimes free the innocent. Complicating matters, drugmakers and distributors have put the drugs used for decades off limits, setting off a scramble to find alternatives and often delaying executions while they search and argue in the courts. At issue in Ohio is the effectiveness of the first drug in the state's three-drug method, a sedative called midazolam that has been used in problematic executions in Arizona, Arkansas and Ohio in which inmates didn't appear fully sedated before the second and third drugs took effect. "More politics," said Norman Stout, recalling his reaction when he heard of the latest delay. Stout is waiting for a conclusion to the events of May 14, 1984, which he recalls as if they happened yesterday. He and his wife, Mary Jane, had just finished dinner when two men came to the door asking if they could use the phone. Once inside, they announced a robbery. As Stumpf held the couple at gunpoint, Clyde Wesley ransacked the house, according to court records. When Norman Stout made a move toward Stumpf, the gunman shot him twice in the head. Five fragments of lead remain beneath his skin. After Stout regained consciousness, he heard two male voices in the next room, then the four shots that killed his wife. Stumpf, sentenced to death by a three-judge panel, has always maintained Wesley shot Mary Jane Stout. Wesley is serving 35 years to life. The driver of the car that day, Norman Edmonds, served about 10 years before being paroled to his home state of Texas. At Wesley's trial, prosecutors argued Wesley shot Mary Jane Stout, while Wesley testified it was Stumpf. Wesley received a life sentence with parole eligibility; his next hearing is in 2027. Over the years, courts upheld and later rejected Stumpf's argument that it was improper for prosecutors to argue that Stumpf shot Mary Jane Stout yet contend at a separate trial that Wesley was the triggerman. Stumpf, now 56, has no current appeals pending, said David Stebbins, his public defender, who declined to comment further. Norman Stout met his wife while stationed at the now-closed Sampson Air Force Base in western New York state. After a teaching stint in Rochester, the couple moved to Ohio, where Norman Stout was a heavy equipment operator until the shooting. Mary Jane Stout was an avid collector of Holly Hobbie memorabilia. Norman Stout expanded her collection in her honor and now maintains a gallery in New Concord full of hundreds of Holly Hobbie figurines, plates, greeting cards, puzzles and board games. Showing a visitor around, Norman Stout speaks evenhandedly of his shooting and his wife's death. But it's clear he has little sympathy for arguments about the risk of execution to Stumpf. "I can't imagine the pain that my wife went through when she was shot," he said. "I want him to feel some pain." ___ Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/andrew-welsh-huggins In this Friday, June 9, 2017, photo, Norman Stout stands in New Concord, Ohio next to a picture of his wife, Mary Jane Stout, killed in a 1984 robbery in which Norman Stout was also shot and left for dead, in a museum he maintains in her honor. Stout, 87, is frustrated by the delays in carrying out the execution of his wife's condemned killer, John Stumpf, whose January 2018 execution was recently postponed to November next year. (AP Photo/Andrew Welsh-Huggins) This undated photo provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shows death row inmate John Stumpf, sentenced to die for the May 14, 1984, slaying of Mary Jane Stout, shot four times during a robbery in the home where she lived with her husband Norman Stout outside of New Concord in eastern Ohio. Norman Stout, who was shot twice in the head but survived, is determined to attend Stumpf's execution if it ever takes place. Of the more than two dozen Ohio inmates with active execution dates as of June 2017, Stumpf has been on death row the longest, more than 12,000 days. (Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction via AP) TOKYO (AP) - Japan's ruling coalition pushed a contentious bill through parliament Thursday that makes it a crime to plan a crime. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the new law, which criminalizes the planning of 277 serious crimes, is needed to prevent terrorism, especially with the Olympics coming to Tokyo in 2020. Opponents warned that authorities could use the legislation to limit free speech and public protests and expand surveillance of private citizens. Upper house members of the ruling coalition clap their hands after parliament approved a contentious bill that makes it a crime to plan a crime, in Tokyo Thursday, June 15, 2017. The ruling coalition pushed the conspiracy legislation through the upper house, bypassing committee approval that normally precedes a vote by the full house. (Kyodo News via AP) Abe told reporters after the vote that the government wants to use the law in a proper and effective way to protect lives and property. The law applies to organized criminal groups of two or more people that have engaged in specific preparations for a crime, such as scouting a location, according to Japan's Kyodo News service. About 5,000 people protested against the bill outside parliament Wednesday, Kyodo said, as upper house lawmakers hotly debated the bill. Opposition parties used delaying tactics, with the jockeying continuing into the early morning hours. In the end, the upper house approved the bill after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito took the unusual step of bypassing committee approval, which normally precedes a vote by the full house. The more powerful lower house passed the bill last month. At the time, opposition lawmakers in a lower house committee tried to rip documents from the hands of the chairman to prevent a committee vote. The U.N. special rapporteur on the right to privacy, Joseph Cannataci, sent an open letter to Abe in May raising concerns over the bill. The letter expressed "serious concern" that the bill could affect the right to privacy and other freedoms if broadly applied. Though the number of crimes covered has been reduced from more than 600 in earlier versions of the legislation, the letter noted that the bill includes crimes that have nothing to do with organized crime or terrorism, such as copyright violation and stealing lumber from forest reserves. Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary of Abe's government, called Cannataci's concerns "utterly incorrect." People protesting against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies raise clenched fists outside parliament, background, in Tokyo Thursday, June 15, 2017. Abe's ruling coalition pushed a conspiracy bill that makes it a crime to plan a crime through the upper house, bypassing committee approval that normally precedes a vote by the full house. Opponents warn that authorities could use the legislation to limit free speech and public protests. (Iori Sagisawa/Kyodo News via AP) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A Minnesota jury ended its fourth day of deliberations Thursday without a verdict in the manslaughter trial of a police officer who killed a black motorist. Officer Jeronimo Yanez shot 32-year-old Philando Castile during a traffic stop last July 6 in a St. Paul suburb. Yanez, who is Latino, fired seconds after Castile informed the officer that he was carrying a gun. Castile had a permit for the firearm. Yanez testified Castile was pulling the gun out against his instructions and he feared for his life. Prosecutors insist Yanez never saw a gun and had plenty of options short of shooting Castile, an elementary school cafeteria worker they say was never a threat. Witness testified that the gun was in the pocket of Castile's shorts when paramedics pulled him from the vehicle. FILE - In this May 30, 2017, file photo, St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez stands outside the Ramsey County Courthouse while waiting for a ride in St. Paul, Minn. Closing arguments are set for Monday, June 12, in a Minnesota police officer's manslaughter trial in the death of a black motorist. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP, File) Jurors began deliberations after hearing closing arguments on Monday. Thursday's deliberations passed quietly, with no sudden hearings or requests to review evidence. On Wednesday, the apparently deadlocked jury was summoned to court by the judge and told to keep deliberating. On Tuesday, jurors requested another look at dashcam video captured by Yanez's squad car that shows the shooting. The jury also watched a replay of the video that Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, livestreamed on Facebook beginning seconds after Castile had been shot. Reynolds and her then-4-year-old daughter were in the car when Castile was shot. The squad-car video shows a wide view of the traffic stop and the shooting, with the camera pointed toward Castile's car. While it captures what was said between the two men and shows Yanez firing into the vehicle, it does not show what happened inside the car or what Yanez might have seen. The 12-member jury includes two black members. The rest are white. None is Latino. FILE - In this July 25, 2016, file photo, a memorial including a photo of Philando Castile adorns the gate to the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minn., protesting the July 6, 2016 shooting death of Castile by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez. Closing arguments began Monday, June 12, 2017 in in a Yanez' manslaughter trial in the fatal shooting of Castile.(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) Defense attorney Earl Gray leaves the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn. on Monday, June 12, 2017. (Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP) Clarence Castile, uncle of Philando Castile, leaves the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn. on Monday, June 12, 2017. (Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP) Defense Attorney Paul Engh leaves the Ramsey County Courthouse after presenting closing arguments in the case of Jeronimo Yanez in St. Paul, Minn. on Monday, June 12, 2017. (Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP) MARAWI, Philippines (AP) - About 100 bodies of civilians and Islamic militants remain uncollected in the rubble of a southern Philippine city because of continuing fighting between troops and gunmen aligned with the Islamic State group, an official said Thursday. Provincial government crisis committee spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong said the estimate was based on accounts by residents who have escaped from areas of Marawi city that are still mired in clashes, and aid volunteers who entered a combat zone during a four-day lull in the fighting last week. Retrieval teams have been organized, although it remains unclear when the siege by the remaining militants, estimated to number more than 100, can be quelled by troops, Adiong said. The stench of death has been reported by witnesses in still-inaccessible areas since militants launched their attack on May 23. In this photo taken by journalist Adam Harvey of his own X-ray clearly shows a bullet lodged near his neck after being shot while covering the Philippine military's assault on militants, Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Marawi, Southern Philippines. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC, journalist Harvey was hit at the provincial capital building where government officials have been updating the media on the progress against the militants who've laid siege to Marawi since last month. (Adam Harvey via AP) "We need to expect the worst and to be ready to transition from a crisis mode to a recovery mode," Adiong told The Associated Press by telephone. The violence in the lakeside city has left 202 gunmen, 58 soldiers and policemen and 26 civilians dead, officials say. The most serious attack in Southeast Asia so far by IS-aligned militants has displaced most of the more than 200,000 residents of Marawi, the bastion of Islamic faith in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. Many of the militants reportedly killed in the clashes have not been recovered. While the remaining gunmen have been isolated in four areas, sporadic gunfire has been reported in other places. An Australian journalist was hit by a bullet in his neck on Thursday while covering the Marawi crisis. ABC journalist Adam Harvey, who was wearing a neck brace, told reporters he was fine as he walked out of a hospital. Harvey, ABC's Jakarta-based Southeast Asia correspondent, was hit at a provincial government compound in Marawi while interviewing children from families displaced by the fighting. The sprawling compound near an army brigade has served as a venue for daily news conferences by government and military officials and is regarded as a relatively safe area. "Thanks everyone - I'm okay. Bullet is still in my neck, but it missed everything important," Harvey tweeted. Also Thursday, a suspected militant bomber was arrested in Cagayan de Oro City, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Marawi, according to police. More than 1,600 residents have been rescued from areas of heavy fighting in Marawi, many of them still shell-shocked and hungry and some wounded. Tales of love and heroism have emerged, including a group of trapped Muslim policemen who helped several Christian workers escape with them from the intense fighting. Villager Saipoding Mariga waited in tear for days to be allowed to rescue his wife, Geraldine, who was trapped in a heavily bombarded neighborhood, but was not allowed by troops because of the grave danger. Facing TV cameras, he pleaded to be allowed to enter the conflict zone to save his wife. Mariga eventually met his wife in a tearful reunion at Marawi's newly reopened Amai Pakpak hospital, where she was brought with a gunshot wound in her leg and shrapnel injuries on her body, the ABS-CBN TV network reported Thursday. "What's important is you recognize me and we saw each other again," Mariga told his wounded wife at the hospital's emergency ward. PARIS (AP) - A cold case in France is heating up, with three new arrests this week over the 1984 killing of a 4-year-old boy named Gregory. The investigation has involved family rivalries, judicial bungling and 12,000 pieces of evidence - including about 2,000 anonymous letters - in the three decades since his corpse was pulled from a freezing river in eastern France. The Burgundy gendarme service and Dijon appeals court said in a statement that three people were arrested Wednesday. Local newspaper L'Est Republicain reported that they were a great-uncle, great-aunt and aunt of Gregory's and that they are suspected of complicity in the killing. A relative was initially jailed but released - and then killed by Gregory's father. Then Gregory's mother was accused of killing her son, before being cleared. THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Thursday to promote plans for an ambitious Mediterranean undersea natural gas pipeline project, in a bid by his country to become a key European energy supplier. Israel is hoping to export much of its newly discovered natural gas to Europe by a proposed 2,200-kilometer (1,350-mile) undersea pipeline to Cyprus and Greece. "It's something we're very excited about," Netanyahu said in Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece, on Thursday, June 15, 2017. Under heavy security Netanyahu is in northern Greece to discuss plans to become a key supplier of European energy through an ambitious Mediterranean undersea natural gas pipeline project. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) "Of course the idea of the East Med pipeline would be a revolution. We've had preliminary studies of it. It seems promising and we're going to look further." Netanyahu met with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades after the three countries signed a joint declaration in Tel Aviv in April to promote construction of the pipeline. Greece and Israel are also planning an undersea electricity cable link and are considering a Mediterranean data cable. Once frosty, Israel's ties with Greece and Cyprus have markedly improved in recent years, coinciding with a spat between Israel and regional rival Turkey. "There's a simple fact with Cyprus, Greece and Israel that brings us very close together. We are all democracies - real democracies," Netanyahu said. "And when you look at our region ... that's not a common commodity." The three countries now hold frequent joint military and civil protection exercises, including the recent "Kinyras-Saul" exercises that involved special forces from Cyprus and Israel. More than 3,500 police officers were deployed around Thessaloniki, which historically had a large Jewish community that was almost wiped out during the Nazi occupation in World War II. While in the city, Netanyahu was also visiting several Jewish sites, including the grounds of a planned Holocaust museum. Later Thursday, more than 600 people in total took part in two peaceful pro-Palestinian rallies organized by left wing groups. A group of demonstrators held a separate protest inside the offices of state-run ET3 television, and a videotaped message was broadcast by the station. "We would swap our prime minister for a Palestinian activist," protest organizer Petros Gotsis said. "(Tsipras) is no longer on our side." ___ Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed to this report. ___ Follow Costas Kantouris at http://twitter.com/CostasKantouris Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, centre, and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades shakes hands during their meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, on Thursday, June 15, 2017. Under heavy security Netanyahu is in northern Greece to discuss plans to become a key supplier of European energy through an ambitious Mediterranean undersea natural gas pipeline project. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades during their meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, on Thursday, June 15, 2017. Under heavy security Netanyahu is in northern Greece to discuss plans to become a key supplier of European energy through an ambitious Mediterranean undersea natural gas pipeline project. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, center and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades pose for a photo during their meeting in Thessaloniki on Thursday, June15, 2017. Under heavy security, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in northern Greece to discuss plans to become a key supplier of European energy through an ambitious Mediterranean undersea natural gas pipeline project. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, center, and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades chat during their meeting in Thessaloniki on Thursday, June15, 2017. Under heavy security, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in northern Greece to discuss plans to become a key supplier of European energy through an ambitious Mediterranean undersea natural gas pipeline project. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A federal judge has found six people who protested at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia guilty of trespassing on restricted federal grounds. The judge on Wednesday acknowledged the constitutional right to protest. But he found the protesters crossed the line when one of them cut through the fence erected more than a quarter-mile from where President Barack Obama would address delegates last summer. Prosecutors argued the demonstrators could have endangered Obama. The judge fined five of the defendants $500 each. But he deferred sentencing the man who cut through the fence, saying he needed more time to consider the penalty. BERLIN (AP) - Authorities in Germany say a man has stabbed two of his children to death and seriously injured another in the eastern state of Thuringia. Prosecutors in the state capital Erfurt say the children's mother came home from a hospital stay Thursday to find her three sons with serious injuries. The 1-year-old and 4-year-old sons subsequently died, while a 3-year-old is in a critical condition. German news agency dpa reported that the 27-year-old man was also present in the home in Altenfeld, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of Frankfurt. The suspect was arrested and is in a hospital receiving treatment for self-inflicted wounds. China Thursday promised to assist Panamanian students in Taiwan affected by the breaking off of diplomatic relations between Panama and Taiwan. Panama established relations with China Tuesday, ending relations with Taiwan. "China will enhance educational and cultural exchanges with Panama," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a regular news briefing Thursday. "We are aware some Panamanian students who have received scholarships from Taiwan may experience difficulties. We welcome them to study in the Chinese mainland and are willing to offer timely and necessary assistance," Lu said. Lu also promised assistance for other Panamanian students in Taiwan while respecting their own decisions. In the future, China will provide annual scholarships for students from Panama, according to Lu. Recent media reports said that Taiwan missions in some countries are under pressure from China to change names and use Taipei rather than the Republic of China or Taiwan in their names. In response to questions about such reports, Lu said the Chinese government highly appreciates relevant countries dealing with Taiwan-related issues in line with the one-China policy. Adhering to the one-China policy is the general trend within the international community and is a precondition and political foundation for China to develop diplomatic relations and friendly cooperation with other countries, Lu said. Authorities say five people in their 70s and 80s have died after a freight train hit their van as they returned from an ice cream social in central Illinois. Illinois State Police say the 79-year-old man driving the van failed to yield to the oncoming Union Pacific freight train at a rail crossing near Nokomis, about 80 miles northeast of St. Louis, on Wednesday evening. The train hit the driver's side of the van. Five people were killed when the 79-year-old man driving the van failed to yield to the oncoming Union Pacific freight train at a rail crossing near Nokomis on Wednesday evening Christian County Sheriff Bruce Kettelkamp tells the Decatur Herald & Review that the group was returning from an ice cream social. State police say three people were pronounced dead at the scene and two were taken to St. Louis-area hospitals where they died. Police say the five were from nearby Pana and have been named as Herbert J. Castle; Mary M. Pugsley; John A. Castle; Nell R. Castle; and Mary H. Castle. All were from the town of Pana. Police did not provide ages for each victim, but said they were all between 77 and 89. WYOMING, Ohio (AP) - The Latest on an American college student freed this week by North Korea (all times local): 7:20 p.m. One of former President Barack Obama's advisers says the Obama administration had "no higher priority" than securing the release of Americans detained overseas but North Korea's isolation "posed unique challenges." FILE - In this March 16, 2016, file photo, American student Otto Warmbier, center, is escorted at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang, North Korea. Warmbier, whose parents say has been in a coma while serving a 15-year prison term in North Korea, was released and returned to the United States Tuesday, June 13, 2017, as the Trump administration revealed a rare exchange with the reclusive country. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File) Ned Price says the Democratic president's administration "worked through every avenue available" to try to secure the release of University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier (WORM'-bir). Warmbier was released from a North Korean prison and returned home to suburban Cincinnati on Tuesday in a coma. Doctors say he has severe injury to all regions of his brain. A White House spokeswoman says Warmbier's release "was a big priority" for President Donald Trump. Price said Thursday the Obama administration's efforts secured the release of at least 10 other Americans from North Korea. He says efforts to get Warmbier home never ceased. He says the administration is heartened Warmbier has been reunited with his family. ___ 4:20 p.m. A U.S. diplomat who traveled to North Korea to secure American college student Otto Warmbier's (WORM'-birz) release also was able to make contact with three other Americans detained there. Warmbier is a University of Virginia student who arrived back home in Ohio on Tuesday in a coma. Doctors say he has severe injury to all regions of his brain. A Department of State spokeswoman won't say what envoy Joseph Yun gleaned about the medical conditions of the other Americans. Spokeswoman Heather Nauert (NOW'-ert) says the U.S. hopes the other Americans will be able to return home soon. She says Yun's visit to Warmbier along with two doctors took place in a North Korean hospital. She says Yun traveled with the doctors to North Korea on a private aircraft after being instructed by President Donald Trump to travel there to negotiate Warmbier's release. ___ 3:20 p.m. Doctors in Cincinnati who are treating the American college student released by North Korea in a coma say he has severe injury to all regions of his brain. On Thursday, they described 22-year-old Otto Warmbier (WORM'-birz) as in a state of "unresponsiveness wakefulness." They say he doesn't show any consistent response to stimulation, shows no sign of understanding language, responding to commands or awareness of his environment. Doctors with the University of Cincinnati Health system say Warmbier shows extensive loss of brain tissue, consistent with respiratory arrest, when the brain is cut off from oxygen but they aren't sure why. They said his prognosis remains confidential. Warmbier is in stable condition at UC Medical Center, where he was taken Tuesday night after his arrival in Ohio. ___ 2:55 p.m. A former teacher of an American college student released by North Korea in a coma says he's a fighter and believes he'll do everything he can to recover. Twenty-two-year-old Otto Warmbier's (WORM'-birz) high school English teacher, Danica White, says he was an outstanding student with "a good heart." White says Warmbier was a master at defusing tense situations with his humor. White says she kept in touch with the University of Virginia student after he left her class. White calls him a "curious boy" and says his adventurous nature led him to travel extensively during summers. Warmbier was imprisoned in North Korea for 17 months. He was medically evacuated from the country and arrived in Cincinnati late Tuesday. ___ 10:10 a.m. An Ohio hospital spokeswoman says the American college student who was released by North Korea in a coma suffered a "severe neurological injury." Kelly Martin of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said Thursday that Otto Warmbier (WORM'-bir) is in stable condition after arriving at the hospital two days ago. Doctors plan a news conference on campus later Thursday. His father, Fred Warmbier, said Thursday he does not believe North Korea's explanation that the coma resulted from botulism and a sleeping pill. Fred Warmbier said there's relief to have their son home in the arms of those who love him and anger that he was so brutally treated for so long. ___ 8:10 a.m. Doctors treating an American college student who was released by North Korea in a coma plan to discuss his medical condition. Twenty-two-year-old Otto Warmbier (WORM'-bir) was taken immediately to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after his arrival Tuesday night in Ohio. A UC Health spokeswoman says doctors will have a news conference on campus Thursday afternoon. His parents plan a Thursday morning news conference. His father Fred Warmbier told told Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Wednesday that his son, Otto, was "terrorized and brutalized" during his 17-month detention and has been in a coma for more than a year. He said Otto "is not in great shape right now" and that his family is "adjusting to a different reality." ___ 12:13 a.m. The father of an American college student who was imprisoned in North Korea and was returned to his home state of Ohio in a coma says the family is "adjusting to a different reality." Fred Warmbier (WORM'-bir) told Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Wednesday that his son, Otto, was "terrorized and brutalized" during his 17-month detention and has been in a coma for more than a year. The father says that he and his wife, Cindy, only learned of their son's condition last week. The 22-year-old University of Virginia student was medically evacuated from North Korea and arrived in Cincinnati late Tuesday. He was then taken by ambulance to a hospital. Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate student who was imprisoned in North Korea in March 2016, speaks during a news conference, Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Wyoming High School in Cincinnati. Otto Warmbier, serving a 15-year prison term for alleged anti-state acts, was released to his home state of Ohio on Tuesday in a coma. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate student who was imprisoned in North Korea in March 2016, speaks during a news conference, Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Wyoming High School in Cincinnati. Otto Warmbier, serving a 15-year prison term for alleged anti-state acts, was released to his home state of Ohio in a coma and medically evacuated Tuesday. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Friends and relatives gather to listen as Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate student who was imprisoned in North Korea in March 2016, as he speaks during a news conference, Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Wyoming High School in Cincinnati. Otto Warmbier, serving a 15-year prison term for alleged anti-state acts, was released and medically evacuated Tuesday. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate student who was imprisoned in North Korea in March 2016, speaks during a news conference, Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Wyoming High School in Cincinnati. Otto Warmbier, serving a 15-year prison term for alleged anti-state acts, was released to his home state of Ohio in a coma and medically evacuated Tuesday. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate student who was imprisoned in North Korea in March 2016, speaks during a news conference, Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Wyoming High School in Cincinnati. Otto Warmbier, serving a 15-year prison term for alleged anti-state acts, was released and medically evacuated Tuesday. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate student who was imprisoned in North Korea in March 2016, speaks during a news conference, Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Wyoming High School in Cincinnati. Otto Warmbier, serving a 15-year prison term for alleged anti-state acts, was released and medically evacuated Tuesday. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate student who was imprisoned in North Korea in March 2016, speaks during a news conference, Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Wyoming High School in Cincinnati. Otto Warmbier, serving a 15-year prison term for alleged anti-state acts, was released to his home state of Ohio in a coma and medically evacuated Tuesday. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) SOMERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say police in Tennessee have fatally shot a knife-wielding man. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement officers were responding to a 911 call Wednesday night that a man with a knife was intoxicated and suicidal at a home in Fayette County. Two officers from the Somerville Police Department responded. The bureau says they tried twice to use non-lethal force to subdue 54-year-old Michael Morris, but were unsuccessful. The statement says the situation escalated, leading at least one officer to fire his gun. Morris died at the scene. Police did not release his race. The bureau says it is investigating the shooting and will turn its findings over to the district attorney general, who will determine whether it was justified. The officers' names and races were not released. BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - A Hungarian appeals court has annulled the conviction and ordered a retrial in the case of a Syrian man sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for entering Hungary illegally and committing an "act of terror" by throwing rocks at police during a 2015 border riot. Explaining its ruling, the appeals court in the southern city of Szeged noted contradictions in police testimony about Ahmed Hamed's role in the riot and said that while there was evidence to support his conviction, the lower court had failed to properly justify why it took certain evidence into account in its decision while other evidence was discarded. Hamed will remain in pre-trial detention throughout the new trial, to be heard by a different panel of judges than the one which made the original ruling last year, the appeals court said. The case of Hamed has become emblematic of Hungary's strict anti-migrant policies, rejecting nearly all asylum-seekers and leading to the construction in 2015 of razor-wire fences on the country's southern borders to stop migrants. The case stems from rioting on Sept. 16, 2015, when dozens of police officers, migrants and some journalists were injured in clashes on the Hungary-Serbia border a day after Hungary closed the border, stranding hundreds of migrants. Hamed's conviction last November was widely condemned by human rights advocates and a resolution on Hungary adopted in May by the European Parliament called his trial "unfair." Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the European Union was "openly siding with terrorists." In December, the U.S. State Department also expressed concerns about Hamed's prosecution, saying it was based on a "broad interpretation of what constitutes 'terrorism.'" Prosecutors had appealed for a longer prison sentence, while the defense sought the dismissal of the terrorism charge and a shorter prison term. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Latest on the capture of fugitive polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs (all times local): 1:55 p.m. The owner of a small-town South Dakota pawn shop says Lyle Jeffs revealed who he was on Tuesday when he pawned two pairs of Leatherman pliers for $37 and provided identification. FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2015, file photo, polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs leaves the federal courthouse, in Salt Lake City. Polygamous sect leader Jeffs has been captured after being on the run for nearly a year. An FBI spokeswoman said Thursday, June 15, 2017, that Jeffs was arrested in South Dakota on Wednesday, June 14. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) River City Treasures and Pawn owner Kevin Haug says a store employee in the small town of Yankton notified him that Jeffs was wanted by the FBI after Jeffs had left the store. Haug says Jeffs provided his last name as his first name, going by Jeffs Lyle Steed. Haug then read about Jeffs on the internet and called Yankton police. He says he provided officers with store video and pawn paperwork. Haug says Jeffs also visited the store last week and tried to sell a tool but the store did not buy it that time and Jeffs did not identify himself during the earlier visit. He says Jeffs during his first visit was fidgeting, seemed nervous and "acting like a freak." Yankton County Chief Deputy Sheriff Michael Rothschadl says authorities looked for Jeffs in the area because of the tip from the pawn shop ___ 11:30 a.m. Authorities say escaped polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs was living out of his car when he was captured in South Dakota. FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Barnhart said in Salt Lake City on Thursday that a tip led to Jeffs' capture at a recreation-area marina southwest of Sioux Falls. U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber says Jeffs will likely face at least one other felony charge connected to his time on the run. He says the arrest shows that law enforcement will catch up with fugitives. Authorities had been looking for Jeffs since June 18, 2016, when he escaped from home confinement in Salt Lake City pending trial on charges in an alleged multimillion-dollar food stamp fraud scheme. ___ 9:35 a.m. South Dakota authorities say polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs was captured at a recreation area marina southwest of Sioux Falls. Yankton County Chief Deputy Sheriff Michael Rothschadl says that Jeffs surrendered without incident Wednesday evening after a traffic stop. He says Jeffs was alone in the vehicle. Rothschadl says law enforcement had been looking for a silver Ford pickup truck with Utah plates. An off-duty Yankton Police Department detective spotted the vehicle and believed it was Jeffs. Rothschadl says police made the traffic stop as Jeffs drove through the marina after using a bathroom. Rothschadl says he doesn't know why Jeffs was in southeast South Dakota. Authorities had been looking for Jeffs since June 18, 2016, when he escaped from home confinement in Salt Lake City pending trial on charges in an alleged multimillion-dollar food stamp fraud scheme. ___ 8:39 a.m. Polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs has been captured after being on the run for nearly a year. FBI spokeswoman Sandra Barker said Thursday morning that Jeffs was arrested in South Dakota at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. No other details were provided. Authorities had been looking for Jeffs since June 18, 2016, when he escaped from home confinement in Salt Lake City pending trial on charges in an alleged multimillion-dollar food stamp fraud scheme. Jeffs is the brother of the sect's highest leader, the imprisoned Warren Jeffs. Prosecutors said Lyle Jeffs was a flight risk, but U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart let him out in early June 2016, citing the fact that 10 other defendants in the food stamp fraud case already out had complied with the court's conditions. FILE - This Feb. 23, 2016, booking file photo released by the Davis County, Utah Jail shows Lyle Jeffs. Polygamous sect leader Jeffs was captured Wednesday, June 14, 2017, night in South Dakota after being on the run for nearly a year after escaping from home confinement in Utah pending trial on food stamp fraud charges (Davis County Jail via AP, File) FILE - This undated photo provided by the FBI Salt Lake City Division shows Lyle Jeffs. Polygamous sect leader Jeffs was captured Wednesday, June 14, 2017, night in South Dakota after being on the run for nearly a year after escaping from home confinement in Utah pending trial on food stamp fraud charges. (FBI Salt Lake City Division via AP, File) NEW YORK (AP) - Ties to the White House may ultimately help the Kushner Cos., but recent trouble in a New Jersey city suggests they can hurt a bit, too. The real estate firm owned by the family of Jared Kushner has withdrawn a request for a big tax break for one its building projects in Jersey City, New Jersey, city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said Wednesday. Opponents of such breaks marched in front of another Kushner property in the city earlier this year and the mayor recently came out against the company's request. The company had sought a 30-year break from city taxes for the planned building, called One Journal Square, a proposed two-tower complex in a struggling section of the city. The Kushner Cos. is also seeking breaks from state taxes. Jared Kushner was CEO of the family company before stepping down to become a senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump. Kushner Cos. spokesman James Yolles said the company is committed to the "much-needed investment" in that area of the city. The loss of the tax break is the latest blow for the company in a city where it is a major real estate developer. The 79-story One Journal Square project gained attention last month after Jared Kushner's sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, mentioned her brother in a presentation in Beijing where she had hoped to attract Chinese investors in the building. Marketing material noted the "celebrity status" of her family. Government ethics experts blasted the family for what they said was an attempt to profit off Jared Kushner's position in Washington, and the Kushner Cos. canceled upcoming investor presentations in the country. The company said Meyer wasn't trying to use her White House ties to attract investors. The Kushner family is seeking 300 wealthy Chinese to invest a total of $150 million in One Journal Square. The family was trying to raise money through the EB-5 visa program that grants temporary U.S. residency to wealthy foreigners in exchange for investments of at least $500,000 in certain U.S. projects The company also is in danger of losing another tax break for the building. The shared office space firm WeWork recently pulled out as anchor tenant. That has put in doubt a state break tied to WeWork. "Earlier this year, we looked at the market and decided not to proceed with WeWork," said Kushner Cos. spokesman Yolles. "Instead, we decided to do a more conventional project, which would result in better economics." Another project in the city is off, too. The Kushner Cos. once considered bidding to develop a 95-acre industrial site along the Hackensack River for housing, a project called Bayfront. Last month, it was revealed the family had withdrawn from those plans last year. The Kushner Cos. has said politics had nothing to do with its decision to withdraw from Bayfront, and that "economics of the deal" drove the move. As for One Journal Square, company spokesman Yolles said the project will provide 4,000 construction jobs and $180 million in tax revenue for the city over 30 years. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat, is running for re-election this fall, and tax breaks to developers have become a major issue. Unlike neighboring Hoboken, Jersey City has granted dozens of tax breaks in recent years. Fulop had campaigned to reform the practice, but critics say he has done little. Another Kushner property in the city overlooking the Hudson River got a five-year tax break soon after Fulop was elected mayor. That 50-story building has licensed the Trump name and is called Trump Bay Street. The building was also partly financed with EB-5 visa money from abroad. The Kushner family owns or manages 20,000 apartments, 13 million square feet of office space and industrial properties in several states, including New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois. PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Pennsylvania man already convicted in state court for stalking Amish children near their school has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for collecting hundreds of child pornography videos and images online. U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak imposed the 11-year, three-month sentence against Lucas Klobetanz because of the "library nature" of the collection, which included categories of various types of images, notably "Boy Scouts," described by prosecutors. Hornak also noted that the Ellwood City man's prior conviction for stalking made the unrelated pornography case, "in the court's estimation, more serious." Klobetanz, a wiry, balding and bespectacled man, did not address the court before sentencing. His defense attorney, Philip Berezniak, didn't contest the sentence and spoke little, beyond handing the judge a character reference letter from a friend of the family. Klobetanz's elderly parents sat silently in the courtroom and, like their son's attorney, didn't comment after the hearing. Klobetanz pleaded guilty to the porn distribution charge in February. He was charged after an undercover FBI agent received more than 50 computer porn files from Klobetanz. A raid of his home netted 640 videos and 229 still images of children involved in sex, mostly boys ages 2 and up, some involved in violent activity including bondage, Assistant U. S. Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar told the judge. "It was a pretty significant collection ... neatly organized into topics such as 'Boy Scouts,'" she told the judge. Smolar argued for a stiff sentence noting that the children depicted in Klobetanz's collection continue to be victimized every time someone like him shares the images or videos on the internet. She read victim impact statements from the mother of a child porn victim and another from a boy who was molested by his Scoutmaster and made to participate in some of the images Klobetanz traded online. That victim's written statement called the crimes "sick and unfathomable" and said, "To think that there are pictures being sent all over the country of me is devastating," Smolar told the judge. Federal law has since determined that victims of child pornography that is distributed can claim damages. One such victim came forward in Klobetanz's case, and he's agreed to pay that person $1,000 for a single image he shared of the boy online, Smolar said. The Ellwood City man was sentenced to three months to two years in jail in December 2015 after pleading guilty to trying to lure children into an outhouse at the Ligo Amish School in Wilmington Township, Mercer County. Klobetanz originally claimed he merely needed help picking up toilet paper he had dropped. Klobetanz was also indicted on the federal pornography charge in December 2015 and has been jailed ever since. When film students in the future search for terrible movies in 2017, they'll have a hard time locating "The Book of Henry." Not because it's good - trust us, it isn't - but because it will be hard to find. The Naomi Watts-led film is a domestic drama, a thriller, an exploration of modern parenting, a revenge flick, a call to social action, a meditation on grief, a caper and a movie about a budding genius. Since it doesn't spend enough time doing any of those things, watching it is as frustrating as trying to categorize it. It opens as the story of Henry, an exceptional 11-year-old who is trying to navigate a brutal and unexceptional world. Along for the ride are his normal brother and his overwhelmed but slightly infantile single mom (Watts, very good at the wrenching drama, confused elsewhere). This image released by Focus Features shows Jaeden Lieberher, left, and Jacob Tremblay in a scene from "The Book of Henry." (Alison Cohen Rosa/Focus Features via AP) Henry (the terrific Jaeden Lieberher) is the de facto adult in the family, paying bills, buying stocks, giving computer tutorials, overseeing the shopping and protecting his younger brother. "Find me another male of the species who's more grown up than him," his mom says of her first son. As for her, she's a waitress at a diner, drinks too much wine and plays first-person shooter video games. Henry is a genius, but a non-threatening, quirky one. He uses payphones instead of cellphones, microcassettes instead of digital recorders, builds his own walkie-talkies, uses a Polaroid camera and wears World War I-era googles in a way that's supposed to communicate cuteness. He constructs complicated Rube Goldberg contraptions in his tree house, which is designed in Tim Burton Lite. The film seems to want to stretch toward fantasy or whimsy but it fights an established sober tone grounded in the early winter leaves and fading light of New York City suburbs. As soon as we settle down to what seems to be a domestic coming-of-age drama, things take a turn first toward horror when Henry suspects his next-door crush is in danger, and then another zag when a medical problem suddenly arrives. It ultimately becomes a thriller before adding some farcical elements, collapsing on its own preposterousness. Written by Gregg Hurwitz, author of the "Orphan X" thriller novels, you might feel as if you're on your own Rube Goldberg contraption. Raising - and then quickly abandoning - interesting dramatic avenues, "The Book of Henry" becomes completely unhinged, with Henry's mom running around the forest cradling a high-tech sniper rifle. Soon the cliches start piling up - a good-looking doctor becomes a love interest, the chilly police chief with something to hide is protected by small-town politics, a girl tries to communicate her pain through dance and we are subject to various bad montages of people carefully planning elaborate missions. The film is directed by Colin Trevorrow, who directed and co-wrote "Jurassic World" and has been tapped to do the same with "Star Wars: Episode IX." He apparently has made a pit stop between blockbuster franchises to make a complete mess of a small film. The only thing not thrown at this film was a dinosaur or a cute robot. The script leaves many good actors completely marooned. Maddie Ziegler, making her film debut (she danced in Sia's "Chandelier" video), shows promise with her brooding brokenness, and Dean Norris ("Breaking Bad," ''Under the Dome") is a deliciously charming heavy. Jacob Tremblay, playing Henry's brother, turns in a wonderfully complicated take on what's it's like to be in the shadow of a prodigy. And Sarah Silverman gives us a prickly, honest turn as a co-worker of Henry's mom until a truly terrible final scene that ruins all her work. It's hard to tell whether Watts is simply miscast or anyone would be doomed in her role. There are times when she simply drifts and others when she threatens to take the film by the scruff of its neck. When she's on, she gives her all - parental love, crushed by sorrow, silliness and lethally focused, including a touching scene in which she strums a ukulele and sings the new Stevie Nicks song "Your Hand I Will Never Let It Go." But this is a film that she can't save and one that you can do nothing else but let go quickly. ___ "The Book of Henry," a Focus Feature release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for "for thematic elements and brief strong language." Running time: 105 minutes. One star out of four. ___ Definition of PG-13: Parents are urged to be cautious. Some material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers. ___ Online: http://www.focusfeatures.com/thebookofhenry ___ Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits This image released by Focus Features shows Jaeden Lieberher in a scene from "The Book of Henry." (Jojo Whilden/Focus Features via AP) This image released by Focus Features shows Jaeden Lieberher, left, Jacob Tremblay and Naomi Watts from "The Book of Henry." (Alison Cohen Rosa/Focus Features via AP) NEW YORK (AP) - Forget an American-only 401(k). Investors are flocking to foreign funds and snapping up stocks from Europe, Asia and across the developing world. The lure: Foreign stocks may finally be shaking out of their doldrums. After struggling for nearly a decade and falling well behind their U.S. counterparts, which raced to record heights, overseas stocks have been bouncing higher this year on expectations that economic and profit growth are on the upswing. The most popular category of foreign stock funds has returned an average of 14.9 percent this year, through Wednesday, according to Morningstar. Funds that focus on stocks from China and other emerging markets have returned even more: 18.1 percent. Both easily top the less-than-10 percent return of a Standard & Poor's 500 index fund of U.S. stocks over the same time. FILE - In this Tuesday, May 9, 2017, file photo, men walk past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo. Foreign stocks may finally be shaking out of their doldrums. After struggling for nearly a decade and falling well behind their U.S. counterparts, which raced to record heights, overseas stocks have been bouncing higher this year on expectations that economic and profit growth are on the upswing. Investors have noticed and are jumping onboard. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File) Investors have noticed and are jumping onboard. They plugged $65 billion into world stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds through the first four months of the year, according to the Investment Company Institute. That's nearly triple what they put into U.S. stock funds and ETFs. The shift in sentiment has been so strong that investing in European and emerging markets has gone from being a contrarian move to a consensus one, BlackRock's global chief investment strategist Richard Turnill wrote in a recent report. For many investors, it's an embrace of diversification. The thought is that having a portfolio filled with stocks from different economies makes it safer. When some areas of the world are struggling, others will hopefully be doing better and smoothing out returns. For the last several years, U.S. stocks have been the ones to plow ahead while others lagged. Perhaps the flip will be true in coming years. At Harding Loevner's Global Equity fund, managers had long been favoring U.S. stocks. For 10 years, it owned more U.S. stocks than its benchmark index held, and it was rewarded for it. The fund ranks in the top 9 percent of its category for 10-year returns. But last year, it began cutting back on U.S. stocks after managers thought they had grown too expensive following their strong runs. By the end of the year, it was holding less in U.S. stocks than its benchmark index. Now it's leaning more heavily on stocks from Europe, Japan and across the developing world. "Things are going to change," said Rick Schmidt, portfolio manager at Harding Loevner. The U.S. recovery is further along than in Europe and elsewhere, which means those other areas may have more room still left to rise. "The banking system in the U.S. took its hits and recapitalized, and it was painful and expensive, and Europe didn't do that," Schmidt said. "Now, Europe is starting to." The fund hasn't abandoned the United States - Google's parent, Alphabet, is its biggest holding, and U.S. stocks still make up nearly half its portfolio. But it's been more likely to trim its U.S. investments as their price tags continue to rise and use that cash instead in cheaper foreign stocks, such as Symrise, a German provider of flavors and fragrances. Foreign stocks have long been cheaper than U.S. stocks, a result of their divergence in performance. Stocks across China and other emerging markets are trading at 12 times their expected earnings per share over the next 12 months, for example. Their U.S. counterparts are trading at a more expensive price-earnings ratio of nearly 18, according to MSCI indexes. What's different now is that analysts are expecting earnings growth for emerging markets to be stronger than for U.S. companies, said Patricia Ribeiro, portfolio manager at American Century's Emerging Markets fund. "That's positive, that's the change," she said. The change has also brought in a wave of new investors, Ribeiro said, global funds that aren't committed to emerging markets specifically. Such funds can be just as quick to leave as they are to enter, and an exodus at the next sign of trouble could exacerbate any price drops. Emerging-market stocks in particular have a volatile history: The largest fund in the category, Vanguard's Emerging Markets Stock Index fund, had a loss of nearly 53 percent in 2008, much deeper than the 37 percent loss for the S&P 500. Over the last four years, the fund has returned more than 1 percent just once. Ribeiro, though, said she sees an exodus as less likely. "If it were driven only by valuations, that may be the case," she said. "What makes us more optimistic is the improving fundamentals: Earnings expectations are not only accelerating this year, but growth rates are higher than for developed markets. And when I'm meeting with company management teams, the tone is very positive in general." DETROIT (AP) - A Detroit man who spent four decades in prison was freed on Thursday after prosecutors agreed that his 1976 murder conviction hinged on the flimsiest of evidence: a single hair. Ledura Watkins, 61, walked out of the Wayne County Jail in downtown Detroit after a court hearing in which his conviction was overturned. "It's really surreal ... kind of unbelievable," he told reporters. "But I'm feeling great. I expected this to happen. I didn't think it would take 41 years." Ledura Watkins, 61, greets family and supporters following his release Thursday, June 15, 2017 from the Wayne County Jail in Detroit. Watkins was convicted in 1976 of first-degree murder in a Detroit woman's slaying. Prosecutors are no longer confident in the hair evidence used to convict him. Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School's Innocence Project helped Watkins fight for his release. His conviction has been set aside. (AP Photo/Corey Williams) Watkins was 20 years old when he was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1975 shooting death of 25-year-old Yvette Ingram during a robbery at her home. Police lab analysts tied Watkins to the crime based on a single hair found at the scene, according to the Innocence Project at the Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School, which took up Watkins' case and asked a court in January to set aside the conviction. The Wayne County prosecutor's office agreed that the evidence was flawed under the new FBI standard for hair comparison, Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the office, said in a statement. Marla Mitchell-Cichon, the law school's Innocence Project director, said hair comparison is not based on science. "It is simply a lab analyst's subjective opinion and has no place in our criminal justice system. This is why a state-wide review of hair comparison cases is critical," she said. Watkins, who worked for years to clear his name, said he was looking forward to having dinner with his family, probably at a Chinese restaurant. "It took me years to get to this point. I don't want to touch another law book," Watkins said. He is the second Michigan inmate to be released in recent weeks after having a decades-old conviction thrown out. Desmond Ricks was freed in late May after having served 25 years for the killing of a friend outside a Detroit restaurant. An analysis of two bullets taken from the victim showed they didn't match the gun that prosecutors offered as the murder weapon at Ricks' 1992 trial. Ricks was aided by lawyers and students from the Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan's law school. WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) - Wolfsburg has signed right back William from Brazilian side Internacional on a five-year deal with the Bundesliga club. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but Kicker magazine reported that Wolfsburg paid around 5 million euros ($5.6 million) for the 22-year-old defender, who has made three appearances for Brazil. Wolfsburg sporting director Olaf Rebbe says, "We have been intensively scouting William for quite some time. He is a young player with a great deal of potential." Wolfsburg recently paid a reported 20 million euros ($22.4 million) for Hertha Berlin defender John Anthony Brooks, a record transfer for an American player. The club has seen forward Borja Mayoral return to Real Madrid, defender Jannes Horn join Cologne, and defender Ricardo Rodriguez leave for AC Milan this offseason. NEW YORK (AP) - CNN chief Jeff Zucker says the level of threats faced by his journalists is more serious than people realize and he lays the blame squarely at the feet of President Donald Trump and other politicians he says try to delegitimize the press. Zucker called it "unconscionable and dangerous and they should know better." CNN has frequently been the target of Trump's complaints about "fake news." Anti-CNN chants were heard from the audience at some of Trump's campaign rallies last year. It didn't involve CNN, but recently elected Montana congressman Greg Gianforte pleaded guilty to body-slamming a newspaper reporter who had asked him a question the night before his special election victory. President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 15, 2017, during an event on Apprenticeship and Workforce of Tomorrow initiatives. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) "This is what happens when you try to delegitimize an institution that is trying to do its job," Zucker said on Thursday. "It is shameful on the part of the administration and other politicians to cause a frenzy against something that is guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States. It does a disservice to this country and its position in the world and allows a heightened sense of rhetoric against journalists and media organizations." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide, said he was reluctant to talk publicly about the concerns but that "we've been dealing with this in a very real and heightened way over the last 18 months." The Committee to Protect Journalists said it is concerned that public criticism and attacks have "created a threatening environment for journalists," said Carlos Lauria, CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas. The organization is in the process of documenting incidents in the U.S., he said. CNN and Trump have had a complicated relationship; the network was criticized in the early stages of last year's campaign for giving Trump too much airtime, and the network still gets heat for some of the pro-Trump commentators it employs, like Jeffrey Lord. Zucker has consistently defended the importance of having people on the air who reflect Trump's point of view. Zucker and Trump have a personal history, too. He was head of NBC Universal when Trump became one of NBC's biggest stars on "The Apprentice." Zucker said he hasn't spoken with Trump since he became president. Meanwhile, he notes that CNN has yet to score a sit-down interview with the president and said he's willing to do so at any time. Zucker also said CNN will continue to air the White House press briefings that were a staple of cable networks' early afternoon programming in the first weeks of the Trump administration, even though they've become less frequent, shorter and - some critics have noted - less informative. "There is value in shining a light on what the president's spokesperson says," Zucker said. "There is news value in the unwillingness or inability to answer questions." BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A judge's ruling that might open the door for at least a temporary shutdown of the disputed Dakota Access pipeline surprised the industry that hailed the project as a "game changer" for North Dakota oil. But shippers said Thursday that they aren't concerned that there will be any long-term disruption to service on the $3.8 billion pipeline that on June 1 began moving crude from the Bakken oil patch to a distribution point in Illinois, from which it's shipped to the Gulf Coast and potentially high-paying markets abroad. "It's business as usual today," said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, which represents nearly 500 energy companies including Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, which built Dakota Access. FILE- This Feb. 13, 2017, file aerial photo shows a site where the final phase of the Dakota Access Pipeline will take place with boring equipment routing the pipeline underground and across Lake Oahe to connect with the existing pipeline in Emmons County in Cannon Ball, N.D. A federal judge has handed a lifeline to efforts to block the pipeline, ruling Wednesday June 14, that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn't adequately consider the possible impacts of an oil spill where the pipeline passes under the Missouri River. (Tom Stromme /The Bismarck Tribune via AP, File) U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers "largely complied" with environmental law when approving the pipeline but didn't adequately consider some matters important to the Standing Rock Sioux. The tribe draws its water from Lake Oahe and is opposed to the pipeline crossing beneath the Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota. "Obviously, we don't know how all that plays out," Ness said. "But clearly the pipeline is running. It's a critical element of the nation's energy infrastructure." The pipeline - whose completion was pushed through earlier this year by the Trump administration - has the capacity to move half of North Dakota's daily oil production. Ness just a few weeks ago called it a "game-changer that opens up everything." But the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes are fighting the project in federal court in Washington, D.C., and they've hailed Boasberg's ruling as a victory. Boasberg said the Corps didn't adequately consider how an oil spill under Lake Oahe might affect tribal fishing and hunting rights, or whether it might disproportionately affect the tribal community. He will rule later on whether the pipeline should be shut down while the Corps reconsiders those matters, though he acknowledged such a move "would carry serious consequences that a court should not lightly impose." ETP in a Thursday statement to The Associated Press said, "Dakota Access believes the record supports the fact that the Corps properly evaluated both issues, and that the record will enable the Corps to substantiate and reaffirm its prior determinations." "Pipeline operations can and will continue as this limited remand process unfolds," the company said. Corps spokeswoman Catalina Carrasco said the agency was still reviewing Boasberg's decision and couldn't immediately comment on a potential timeline for the additional review, or on whether a possible outcome might be requiring that the pipeline at Lake Oahe be dug up and moved. Standing Rock attorney Jan Hasselman said Boasberg's decision "resets the clock to where we were last fall," when the tribe was pushing for a more thorough environmental study and consideration of alternate routes. "The Corps could decide that it's safe enough and just grant the same permit. Or it could say we need to look at something different, either a different route or different safety/mitigation options," he said. "There will be a lot of advocacy around those options in the weeks and months ahead." The lawsuit has dragged on nearly a year. Grow America's Infrastructure Now, a pro-pipeline coalition of businesses, trade associations and labor groups, expressed confidence that Boasberg's ruling will "do nothing to impact the ongoing operation of the pipeline." The pipeline runs through the Dakotas and Iowa to Illinois. In Iowa Thursday, the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and the Science and Environmental Health Network asked the Iowa Utilities Board to revoke the state permit that authorized pipeline construction there. The board granted the permit in March 2016 based on ETP obtaining "all necessary and required permits and authorizations." The environmental groups contend Boasberg's ruling nullifies the Corps' permit and therefore makes the Iowa permit void. The board's spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The Sierra Club and a group of landowners have sued the board over its approval of the pipeline in Iowa and their appeal is before the Iowa Supreme Court. ___ Follow Blake Nicholson on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/NicholsonBlake ___ Associated Press writer David Pitt contributed to this story from Des Moines, Iowa. A newly sworn-in cop is fighting to keep her job after her department learned that she previously appeared in bondage films as a dominatrix. Hudson County sheriff's officer Kristen Hyman is accused of conduct unbecoming a public employee and faces a disciplinary hearing June 27, NJ.com reported on Thursday. The department says the videos, produced from 2010 to 2012, have sparked ridicule for it. She was suspended on May 26, six days before her academy graduation, for allegedly failing to disclose 'that she appeared in the films and sometimes saw clients privately for money.' Kristen Hyman (pictured, center) could be kicked off the police force the same month she was sworn in after it emerged she had appeared as a dominatrix in kinky films In videos, she is seen kicking naked men in the testicles, slapping and insulting them, and making them 'worship' her Hyman told investigators she never appeared naked and didn't perform any sex acts in the videos, according to court documents. She called the videos 'stupid stuff I did when I was a kid' and said that violent acts seen in some recordings, including whipping and kicking, were staged. Hyman is seen here making a man in a leather mask lick her boots. She has called the videos, filmed between 2010 and 2013, 'stupid stuff I did when I was a kid' In some clips seen by DailyMail.com, she is seen kicking naked men in the testicles, choking a man in a swimming pool, and putting her heels on the face of a man in a leather mask. Hyman said that she was merely an actress in the videos, and noted that she didn't use her real name. Her lawyers argued that it was wrong to suspend her before a disciplinary hearing. The suspension was rescinded by a judge, and Hyman was sworn in June 8. Her lawyers say she is on modified duty. Court documents show that Sheriff Frank Schillari concurred with the discipline against Hyman, saying it was necessary to protect the department's integrity and to prevent her from taking an oath of office 'for which she is not entitled.' Schillari declined to comment to the newspaper, citing the ongoing dispute. Hyman also declined to be interviewed, but one of her attorneys, James Lisa, said she hopes to remain in law enforcement. 'The videos are clearly inflammatory, but there is nothing illegal,' he said. Lisa said Hyman could be fired at the disciplinary hearing or the matter could be dismissed altogether. The Hudson County prosecutor's office declined to pursue any criminal charges against Hyman. In several videos she is seen choking men until they appear to fall unconscious; in this one she is seen pushing a man's head under the water OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) - Officials at a Maryland beach resort can now legally ban topless women. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh waded into the controversy that has rocked Ocean City for days. The Washington Post reports that Frosh said Thursday that requiring women to cover up on top while allowing men to expose their chests does not violate state or federal constitutions. Last week, the head of the beach patrol said lifeguards will no longer approach and scold women who are topless. Some on social media incorrectly assumed this meant toplessness would be allowed. Ocean City officials, fearing for their resort's family-friendly reputation, unanimously passed an ordinance in an emergency session Saturday barring topless women. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - Authorities in Honduras say a journalist who was running for congress has been shot dead in the Caribbean coast city of La Ceiba. Security Minister Julian Pacheco says Victor Funez was slain Thursday as he was entering his home. Surveillance camera video provided by police shows a gunman on a motorcycle shooting from close range at the head of the victim, who falls to the sidewalk. The attacker fires at the body twice more and takes the victim's wallet before fleeing. The 36-year-old Funez was better known as "El Masa." He directed a nighttime show on the local channel 45 station. He also recently won a primary to run in November elections as a candidate for the ruling National Party. Police say they have arrested and are questioning a suspect. Britain could lose its budget rebate and opt-outs if it changes its mind about Brexit and decides to remain a member of the EU, an influential MEP has suggested. Frances President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that the door remains open for the UK to ditch plans for Brexit and stay in the EU. But the European Parliaments Brexit co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, said the UK could not expect the conditions of its membership to remain the same if it took this path. Speaking to the Parliament in Strasbourg, he made clear he believes the rebate negotiated by Margaret Thatcher in 1984 and worth up to 5 billion a year to the UK, along with opt-outs in areas like open borders, monetary union and justice, could be up for grabs if Britain decides to stay. The rebate was negotiated by Margaret Thatcher (PA) Demanding a swift start to Brexit negotiations under Article 50 of the EU treaties, the former Belgian prime minister compared Britains position to the heroine of Lewis Carrolls Alice In Wonderland, who found herself in a room with many doors and no idea what lay behind them. Yesterday Emmanuel Macron said if Britain is changing its mind, it will find an open door, said Mr Verhofstadt. I dont disagree with him. But like Alice In Wonderland, not all doors are the same. It will be a brand new door with a new Europe, a Europe without rebates, without complexity, with real power and with unity. That is the door towards Europe. If Britain changes its mind, it will find an open door but it will be a new door to a new Europe. pic.twitter.com/MFgkthOEbL Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) June 14, 2017 Asked about Mr Verhofstadts comments, European Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein played down suggestions of a change in the UKs status, telling reporters: The UK is a member of the European Union and will remain so until it leaves, so that is where we are. Im not going to comment on statements by others. The only thing I know is that there is an Article 50 request and we have been preparing ourselves for a long time to start negotiations on that basis. Mr Verhofstadt said that a year on from the EU referendum in the UK, it was time to start Brexit negotiations, due to kick off on June 19, amid speculation they could be delayed by fallout from last weeks General Election. Brexit Secretary David Davis said he still expects the talks to begin next week and Theresa May insisted on Tuesday the timetable remains on track. I ask clarity from the British side on these five pressing questions pic.twitter.com/5aaLlPSOM3 Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) June 14, 2017 Mr Verhofstadt demanded to know whether the inconclusive result of the General Election would mean any change in the UK Governments plans to take Britain out of the single market, customs union and jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Would the British negotiating position represent the position of the Tories or the position of the whole nation? he asked. Party interest or national interest? Because this is not about the Tories leaving the EU. This question is about the UK leaving the EU. Uncertainty over Brexit has already had a negative impact on everybody in Europe, especially on Britain, said Mr Verhofstadt. And he asked: Is the populist illusion to limit free movement of people more important than the prosperity and fortune of the British workers, the British industry, the British companies and the British economy? Mr Verhofstadt urged the EU to bring forward legislative proposals for closer integration of the remaining 27 member states, to take advantage of the opportunity provided by Brexit and the election of the pro-European Mr Macron. Warren Gatland insists British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton will take it on the chin if he does not win selection for the first New Zealand Test. Ireland flanker Peter OMahony will captain the Lions in Saturdays clash against the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua, with Warburton on the bench. Gatland confirmed that OMahony will keep the armband if he stays on the field when Warburton joins the fray, as a likely second-half replacement for Sean OBrien. Sam Warburton will watch from the sidelines on Saturday (David Davies/PA) Congratulations Lion #833 Peter O'Mahony, who will captain The Lions against the Maori All Blacks More: https://t.co/AlxYqqWC2C #MABvBIL pic.twitter.com/nPGntmkz8b British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 15, 2017 Warburton faces a race against time to be fully match-sharp for the first Test on June 24 and Gatland is confident his tour captain would accept the decision if he does not make that starting XV. Sams well aware of the competition that is there at the moment, said Gatland. He fully understands that that loose forward trio (OMahony, OBrien and Taulupe Faletau) went outstandingly well against the Crusaders. The challenge for them is to repeat it. And if they do it again, well make what we think is the right selection for the Test match. One of the reasons we selected him as captain of the squad is that he is an absolute quality player. But this tour isnt about Sam Warburton, its about putting the squad first. If hes not involved in the first Test because of the performance on Saturday night he will fully understand that. But hell get some game time and some opportunity to keep improving his match fitness because he hasnt had a lot of rugby in recent weeks. Peter will continue to lead the team (if Warburton comes on); I think thats only fair. You wouldnt change your match captain to your tour captain as he comes on the field. Sams comfortable with that. Jonathan Davies has been passed fit after head injury trouble to start, forging a formidable midfield trio with Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton and England centre Ben Teo. Gatland insisted Warburtons ability to cope with setbacks and remain resolute was one of the key reasons why he was named Lions captain in the first place. Sams character is hugely helpful; sometimes guys will be disappointed, one or two may feel they havent had a chance, said Gatland. Thats the hardest thing about going on tour. But its how you deal with that. We want people disappointed if they are not selected, but its then how you deal with that and how you respond. Gatland hailed Saturdays Lions captain OMahony as a man who can bring the intangible will to win that has underscored Munsters modern-era success. I think sometimes its not something that you can quantify, what Munster bring to a game, said Gatland. Its a special pride, sometimes the performances they can produce, (theyve) done consistently over the years being able to dig deep and bring performances from places where individuals and collectively people often cant do. Thats what Peter will bring to the team on Saturday. Ireland back-rower OMahony has had to fend off 18 months of chronic knee problems before hitting enough form to force his way onto the Lions tour. The gritty flanker impressed against the Crusaders and is now a genuine Test-match option. Its a huge honour, obviously to be picked for the Lions at all is a massive honour, said OMahony. Owen Farrell faces a race against time to be fit for the British and Irish Lions first Test against New Zealand after suffering a quadriceps strain. The England fly-half will miss Saturdays Maori All Blacks clash with a grade one quad injury - and the Lions will hope he can recover in time to face New Zealand in Auckland on June 24. Wales fly-half Dan Biggar will replace Farrell on the Lions bench for Saturdays Maori clash in Rotorua. Owen Farrell will miss the Maori All Blacks clash with a quad injury (David Davies/PA) SQUAD UPDATE: Owen Farrell ruled out of #MABvBIL due to injury. Dan Biggar comes in on the bench. More: https://t.co/4ViujcI5Du pic.twitter.com/OniHe2bdLG British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 15, 2017 Owen Farrell has suffered a grade one quadriceps strain in training and has been ruled out of the British and Irish Lions match against the Maori All Blacks on Saturday evening, read a Lions statement. The England and Saracens playmaker will be replaced on the bench by Wales fly-half Dan Biggar. Farrell had shown imperious form in the Lions fine 12-3 win over much-vaunted Super Rugby leaders the Crusaders in Christchurch last weekend. Head coach Warren Gatland will want the 25-year-old to play a pivotal role in the first Test against the All Blacks on Saturday week. So the 52-cap England star will now launch an immediate bid to ease past this setback to contest selection for the Eden Park showdown. Gatland hailed Johnny Sexton for rediscovering his mojo in naming the Ireland fly-half to start against the Maori. Should Farrell fail to recover in time for the first Test, then Sexton would be almost certain to wear the Lions number 10 jersey. The Lions are already sweating on the full match readiness of tour captain Sam Warburton, who may yet not be in a position to start the first Test. So Lions boss Gatland will be desperate not to have another of his blue-chip performers, in Farrell, entering the week of the first Test under a fitness cloud. Congratulations Lion #833 Peter O'Mahony, who will captain The Lions against the Maori All Blacks More: https://t.co/AlxYqqWC2C #MABvBIL pic.twitter.com/Ylok7JUmLI British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 15, 2017 Ireland flanker Peter OMahony will captain the Lions against the Maori, with Warburton on the bench as he continues to shake off recent ankle trouble. Johnny needs more rugby and were building on that, said Gatland of Sexton. He was really good off the bench against the Crusaders the other day and the combination of 10 and 12 was pretty seamless. He was just down a little on confidence but hes got a bit of his mojo back, and we wanted to give him a start against the Maori. Thousands of passengers departing from Heathrow Airport have had to fly without checked luggage due to a system failure. The airport advised travellers departing from Terminals 3 and 5 to pack essential items in their hand luggage. It came less than three weeks after chaotic scenes at the airport when British Airways grounded all flights following an IT power cut. Thousands of passengers departing from Heathrow Airport are having to fly without checked luggage (Steve Parsons/PA) An important update following an issue with baggage systems at Heathrow earlier this morning. pic.twitter.com/nAMXaKV11Q Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) June 15, 2017 Heathrow posted a message on Twitter at 6.45am on Thursday to alert passengers. An updated statement was issued at 9.07am to report that bag drop desks had reopened. A number of passengers went on social media to express their anger at the latest disruption. @britishairways let us down again @HeathrowAirport- no baggage being loaded this morning and no information for passengers Zoe Morrison (@zo_uk) June 15, 2017 Baggage failure at @HeathrowAirport this morning. Bags won't be making it onto flights, absolute shambles #Heathrow Ryan (@CaddyWooldridge) June 15, 2017 Just found out that despite checking in 3 hours early bag not on flight disgusted what are you doing about it @HeathrowAirport Rachel Jackson (@rjckjackson) June 15, 2017 Heathrows initial statement read: Heathrow is currently experiencing an issue with its baggage systems which is affecting airlines operating from Terminal 3 and Terminal 5. Other terminals are unaffected. This may mean passengers will travel without their bags, and we advise them to pack essential items in their hand luggage. We are currently investigating the issue. We are sorry for the disruption and are working hard to get the system running as soon as possible. A BA spokesman said: Were currently unable to accept bags and strongly encourage customers to pack essentials in their hand baggage. Heathrow Airport is working hard to fix the faults. Were sorry for the disruption that customers are facing and more information is available on BA.com. The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to his very special godmother Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who has died at the age of 93. Heir to the throne Charles said the Countess played an extremely important part in his life and he would miss her presence most dreadfully. Born Patricia Mountbatten, the Countess was the Duke of Edinburghs first cousin and was the daughter of Charless beloved great-uncle Earl Mountbatten. Countess Mountbatten has died, aged 93. She was a wonderful lady, full of energy, intelligence, great spirit, good humour and heart. RIP. Gyles Brandreth (@GylesB1) June 14, 2017 She died peacefully at her home in Mersham, Kent, on Tuesday, surrounded by her children. The Prince said in a statement: I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of my very special godmother, Lady Mountbatten, whom I have known and loved ever since I can first remember. She played an extremely important part in my life and I shall miss her presence most dreadfully. A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: The Queen and the Duke are aware and have privately passed on their condolences. The funeral for Lord Mountbatten. (PA) The Countesss father Lord Mountbatten, her 14-year-old son Nicholas Knatchbull and her mother-in-law the Dowager Lady Brabourne were all murdered by the IRA in 1979 when their boat was blown up off the coast of Sligo. The Countess, then known as Lady Brabourne, suffered serious injuries, but survived the blast, as did her husband Lord Brabourne and Nicholass twin brother Timothy. A local boat boy, 15-year-old Paul Maxwell, also died. A statement issued on behalf of the Knatchbull and Mountbatten families said: It is with great sadness that we announce the death of the Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Patricia Mountbatten died peacefully on Tuesday 13th June at her home in Mersham, Kent, surrounded by her children. Her husband, the celebrated film producer Lord Brabourne, died in 2005. The arrangements for a funeral in London followed by a burial service in Mersham will be announced in due course. Charles with his godmother. (PA) Her husband Lord Brabourne was the producer of films such as A Passage To India and Death On The Nile, and they had six surviving children. The then Princess Elizabeth, her third cousin, was one of her bridesmaids at her wedding in 1946. The Countess once recalled how she cried every morning on waking for about six months after the IRA bomb attack. In a book by a bereavement charity, she referred to the seemingly endless black tunnel through which those left behind have to pass to reach the light that truly does appear at the end, and which we eventually found ourselves. For more than 30 years she used her own personal experience of loss to help other bereaved parents, through her support of the charities Child Bereavement UK and Compassionate Friends. Smoking rates across the UK continue to fall, with a sharp decline since 2010 among younger people, figures show. In 2016, 15.8% of adults in the UK smoked, down from 17.2% in 2015, the data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. Some 15.5% of adults currently smoke in England, rising to 18.1% in Northern Ireland, 17.7% in Scotland and 16.9% in Wales. Smoking rates in the UK continue to fall. (Sean Dempsey/PA) Great to see smoking rates among adults continue steep decline to 15.5%; over 1/2 million fewer smokers in one year https://t.co/QZje3avCVa UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) June 15, 2017 Across the UK, 5.6% of people around 2.9 million used e-cigarettes in 2016. Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, said there were now more than half a million fewer smokers in England than in 2015. He said the UK now has the second lowest smoking rates in Europe after Sweden. He added: What is really fantastic news is that this steep decline is even greater among young adults (aged 18 to 24), where smoking has fallen by a staggering quarter since 2010, reversing a long trend. In 2010, 26% of this age group smoked, dropping to 19% in 2016. Decline in smoking is greatest among young adults aged 18-24; falling by a quarter since 2010 https://t.co/QZje3avCVa UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) June 15, 2017 Mr Selbie said: Its now hard to believe that back in 1974 almost half of adults smoked. But now an end really is in sight and we have a real opportunity to virtually eliminate all the harm, misery and death caused by smoking. Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: People who quit live longer and feel better, no matter their age. However we must not be complacent. Smoking is still the UKs biggest cause of early preventable death. Approximately 100,000 people die needlessly from smoking-related diseases every year in our hospitals its time to tackle the human and financial cost the tobacco industry creates. UK has 2nd lowest smoking rates in Europe but health inequalities persist 5x greater between the worst & best areas https://t.co/QZje3avCVa UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) June 15, 2017 These statistics confirm that e-cigarettes are mainly being used to help people quit. Given half of long-term smokers die as a result of their habit, using vaping to help someone stop smoking could literally save their life. A new tobacco control plan was expected to be published last year. It is now well overdue, and must be a priority for the new Government. Ash chief executive Deborah Arnott said: One in two lifetime smokers will die from smoking-related disease, so a fall in smoking rates of this scale will save many thousands of lives in years to come. This proves that tobacco control policies work when they are part of a comprehensive strategy and are properly funded. The death toll in an overnight attack by al-Shabab extremists on a popular restaurant in Somalias capital has risen to 31. Police captain Mohamed Hussein said many of the victims were killed at point-blank range after the attackers hunted them down. Police say nearly 40 people were wounded in the assault that began when a car bomb exploded outside the Pizza House restaurant in Mogadishu. Security forces ended the siege on Thursday morning after the extremist snipers fired on them. Capt Hussein said all five attackers were killed. The scene after the blast. (AP) Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as attackers searched for patrons in the darkened restaurant. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility shortly after the assault began, when a car bomb exploded at the gate to the restaurant and gunmen posing as military troops stormed in. The roofs were blown off the restaurant and nearby buildings by the blast. Soldiers surrounded the building and used vehicle-mounted guns to neutralise the attackers. Troops then entered the ground floor while the extremist snipers held positions upstairs. A Somali soldier stands near the wreckage. (PA) All five attackers were killed and the soldiers secured the building after dawn. Efforts to take control of the restaurant had been slowed by the onset of nightfall, Capt Hussein said. Saida Hussein, a university student, said she survived by hiding behind a large table downstairs.I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again, she said. They were killing people on sight. Another survivor, Aden Karie, was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain. He shot at me twice and one bullet struck me on the leg, he said. A mother whose daughter was shot grieves in Mogadishu. (Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP) The bodies of five girls thought to have been killed by the extremists were found in the restaurant, police said. Inside the building, the body of a Syrian man who worked as a chef there lay near the rubble of a blood-spattered and bullet-marked wall. Many early victims were young men who had been entering the Pizza House when the vehicle exploded, Capt Hussein said. The gunmen were dressed in military uniforms. They forced those fleeing the site to go inside the restaurant, witness Nur Yasin said. Former TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been jailed for four years for a string of sex offences against schoolboys on trips to Scotland more than three decades ago. The 67-year-old indecently assaulted seven teenage boys in his care during camping and boating trips in the 1970s and 1980s while working as a biology teacher at a school in the Manchester area. He is already serving a five-year sentence imposed in Manchester in 2015 for indecently assaulting two other schoolboys. During a nine-day trial at Lanark Sheriff Court last month, Talbot denied the allegations. But a jury took four hours to convict him of seven of the nine historical abuse charges against him. Court artist sketch of Fred Talbot. (Elizabeth Cook/PA) The four-year sentence is due to start from August, at the end of the punishment part of his current jail term. The television personality, who regularly appeared on a floating weather map in Liverpools Albert Dock for ITVs This Morning show for several years, stood and nodded as Sheriff Nikola Stewart delivered her sentence on Thursday afternoon. She said he grossly abused the trust placed in him as a teacher with systematic abuse of schoolboys. It is beyond doubt these trips were organised with sexual exploitation of these boys very much in mind, Sheriff Stewart said. By denying your guilt and insisting on a trial, you put each victim through further trauma. The first round of formal negotiations on Britains withdrawal from the EU will begin on June 19, it has been confirmed. Following discussions in Brussels on Thursday, the offices of Brexit Secretary David Davis and the European Commissions chief negotiator Michel Barnier released a joint statement to confirm the date. The announcement followed speculation that talks may have to be delayed because of the inconclusive outcome of last weeks General Election, which has already forced the State Opening of Parliament to be put back from June 19 to 21. David Davis and Michel Barnier agreed today to launch Article 50 negotiations on 19 June https://t.co/DiRrWSjXEU pic.twitter.com/MPm31u7naN Department for Exiting the EU (@DExEUgov) June 15, 2017 But in a statement, officials said: David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and Michel Barnier, the European Commissions chief negotiator, agreed today to launch Article 50 negotiations on Monday, June 19. Mr Davis is expected to meet Mr Barnier at the Commissions headquarters in Belgian capital Brussels on Monday but it is not known how long the initial round of talks will last. Mr Barnier is due to report back to leaders of the 27 other EU states on Thursday to review progress ahead of a two-day summit of the European Council attended by Theresa May which starts later that day. On Monday, the European Commission insisted it was fully prepared and ready for the negotiations to start the process. A broken Union flag on the backdrop of the EU flag The senior official at the Department for Exiting the European Union, Olly Robbins, has been in Brussels this week for preliminary talks. Brussels has insisted talks on the so-called divorce, taking in issues including the fee the UK will have to pay to sever its ties, must make sufficient progress before any discussion on a future trade agreement could begin. The UK Government wants the talks to take place in parallel during the Brexit process but both sides have made finding a solution to the issue of citizens rights a priority. In a hint at a softer approach, Mr Davis said on Monday we will start down this process by focusing on the divorce proceedings from the EU before moving on to trade. David Davis Mrs Mays weakened position in the House of Commons as a result of losing her majority has fuelled speculation the Tories would be forced to soften their stance on Brexit. The Prime Minister has insisted the UK will leave the single market, replace customs union membership with a new deal and end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Critics of her approach have urged her to give ground in order to safeguard jobs and the economy. Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said: The Conservatives cannot go from weak and wobbly to business as usual in three days. It does not wash. If the Government cannot even secure a deal with the DUP, how on earth can they get a deal with the EU? Theresa May must immediately create a cross-party joint cabinet committee to negotiate Brexit. It is the only way to unite the country and strengthen our bargaining power with the EU. By Francois Murphy and Shadia Nasralla VIENNA, June 14 (Reuters) - Austria's ruling Social Democrats have dropped a 30-year ban on allying with the far right, saying on Wednesday they would be prepared to enter a coalition with anyone on certain terms. After a party leadership meeting, Chancellor Christian Kern presented a "values compass" of principles that his Social Democrats (SPO) would require of any future coalition partner. That effectively swept aside a self-imposed rule against tie-ups with the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPO) before a parliamentary election in October, although differences between the two parties remain stark in several areas. Opening the door to an alliance with the far right is a rare step for a European centre-left party but it could be the cost of staying in government. The SPO and its coalition partner, the conservative People's Party (OVP), are at loggerheads and their government is deeply unpopular. The Oct. 15 election is shaping up to be a three-horse race between those parties. The OVP, less torn over the idea of forming coalitions with the far right, is leading in opinion polls. "What we want to do today is not to answer the question of whom we want to enter coalition talks with but to say what we want to talk about," Kern told reporters. "We are not rolling out the red carpet for the Freedom Party." Alongside the values compass, which included broad principles such as support for human rights, gender equality and the European Union, Kern outlined separate but more specific points he wanted to be part of any coalition deal, such as raising the minimum wage to 1,500 euros ($1,692) a month. "Anyone who is prepared to implement this catalogue is a welcome partner," Kern said, while also outlining differences between his party and the FPO on issues including gender equality, taxation and integration. "For the FPO to become a possible partner they must move significantly," he added. Kern said other parties should decide after the election whether to hold talks. Any deal would then be submitted to SPO members for a vote. He also hinted at a tactical motivation, saying the SPO had previously only had the OVP as a potential partner and coalition talks were less "successful" than they could have been. Both the SPO and OVP have been in government with the FPO before. But the SPO's last national coalition with the far right ended 30 years ago, after the late Joerg Haider, a eurosceptic and anti-immigrant nationalist, took over as FPO leader. The OVP went into coalition with the FPO in 2000, triggering European sanctions against Austria, and the far-right party is still a prominent feature of Austrian politics. For years, polls have shown a quarter of voters or more support it. The OVP and SPO are also currently in coalition with the FPO in provincial governments. ($1 = 0.8866 euros) (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) By Amir Handjani June 14 (Reuters) - President Donald Trumps attempt to bring peace and stability to the Middle East has backfired. He has put a major U.S. ally, Qatar, in a geopolitical crisis and damaged his cabinets efforts to calm regional tensions. Trumps recent trip to the area was intended to bring together like-minded Arab states and Israel to hold the line against Iran. That effort has instead divided longstanding American allies. Soon after Trump left the region, several Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, a key enabler of regional U.S. military operations. One of the primary reasons for this rebuke was Qatar's refusal to buy into the narrative that Iran must be isolated from its neighbors. Qatar has reasons for taking a more pragmatic approach with Iran. The source of Qatari wealth is a shared gas field with its neighbor. The North Dome field ("South Pars" to the Iranians) is the largest gas reservoir in the world. None of Qatars Arab neighbors economic fortunes are so deeply tied to their relationships with Iran. By not leaving diplomatic space for Iran and its Arab neighbors to manage their differences, Trump has set the United States alongside the House of Saud on a collision course with Irans Shiite regime. This is what the Obama administration tried to avoid (with little success) by concluding the nuclear deal with Tehran and trying to lighten Washingtons footprint in the Gulf. It seems lost on Trump that other Arab states like Oman and Kuwait also have pragmatic working relationships with Tehran that could prove as useful to this administration as they did for President Obama, who was able to consult with the Sultan of Oman at the start of Washingtons nuclear negotiations with Iran. Trumps "new" approach is a repackaging of an old idea: that isolating and chastising Iran will produce peace and security for Washingtons allies. And yet the Trump administration has promised to sell more military hardware to Saudi Arabia - a country that has exported the most intolerant form of Sunni Islam around the world. The state-sponsored hard-line Wahhabism promulgated from Riyadh has provided the ideological foundation for groups such as IS and al Qaeda. The recent Islamic State attacks in Tehran have shown that Iran is also a target of the violence that has struck European cities like Paris, Manchester and London. But Trump seems to have little appetite for the nuances and subtleties that previous presidents struggle with as they formulate policy out of often-competing interests. More sophisticated weaponry from Washington will not make Tehran cower. It will have the opposite effect by pushing Tehran to accelerate its ballistic missile program while spending only a fraction of what U.S. allies do on defense. It also presents Russia and China with an opportunity to further fuel a regional arms race by selling armaments to Tehran. Furthermore, Irans power extends beyond its borders to Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Tehrans armed forces are tested and battle hardened. The Saudis, meanwhile, are still struggling to defeat Houthi rebels in Yemen after two years of airstrikes. It is no coincidence that four of the top five countries of origin for ISs recruits are also Washingtons top Sunni-majority military partners in the Middle East. Trump seems oblivious to this when crafting his order to ban travelers from six predominantly Muslim nations. Trumps embrace of the Saudi narrative will also have terrible consequences for U.S. operations in Shia-led Iraq. It is no secret that Iranian-backed militias are on the ground fighting IS, nor that Tehran has great influence in Baghdad. Trumps bellicose rhetoric could fracture this fragile coalition and further alienate Shiites in other parts of the Middle East. The irony for Trump is that he needs Iran and its Arab neighbors to work together in finding holistic solutions for the sectarian wars that have enflamed the region. Washington cant impose its will on Tehran without a military confrontation. Trump has promised to bring peace and security to Washingtons Arab partners and to put an end to the Arab/Israeli conflict. Antagonizing Iran and taking actions that embolden regional countries to isolate one another is a recipe for more chaos - not solutions. (Reporting by Amir Handjani) By John Kemp LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - The oil market is on an unsustainable course with output from U.S. shale and other non-OPEC sources 010increasing rapidly, while OPEC and its allies trim production to reduce inventories and prop up prices. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects non-OPEC output will increase by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2018 ("Oil Market Report", IEA, June 2017). If that proves correct, non-OPEC suppliers will capture all the increase in demand next year, because the IEA predicts consumption will increase by only 1.4 million bpd. In effect, OPEC will be restricting its own output only to see rival producers step in to meet growing demand from refiners. OPEC will face the familiar dilemma of whether to defend oil prices by continuing to restrict output or defend market share by growing production again. OPEC and its non-OPEC allies are unlikely to remain impassive as U.S. shale producers and other non-OPEC countries not bound by the production agreement capture all the growth in market demand in 2018. If U.S. shale production continues to grow rapidly, OPEC will probably return to defending its market share in 2018, even if it means accepting lower oil prices. SWITCHING TACK OPECs strategy can best be described as a cycle alternating between prioritising price protection and defending market share. Between 2012 and the middle of 2014, the organisations members complacently enjoyed high prices but ceded market share to the U.S. shale sector and other non-OPEC producers including deepwater projects. OPECs share of the market shrank progressively from 43.5 percent in 2012 to 41.2 percent in 2014, the lowest since 2006, according to BP ("Statistical Review of World Energy", BP, 2017). If the shale boom had continued, with U.S. production growing at more than 1 million bpd per year, OPECs share would have fallen even further in 2015 and 2016 (http://tmsnrt.rs/2srWKEf). So OPEC, under the leadership of Saudi Arabia, refused to cut production and allowed oil prices to fall to curb the shale boom and deepwater projects, which was the only rational strategy under the circumstances. Between mid-2014 and mid-2016, OPECs strategy switched to protecting its market share and allowing oil prices to sink. OPECs market defence strategy appears to have been successful, with its share of output climbing from 41.2 percent in 2014 to 42.7 percent in 2016. But the cost proved more painful than anticipated, with oil prices slumping from an average of $100 per barrel in 2014 to less than $45 in 2016. In the second half of 2016, OPEC switched tack again, and abandoned its market share strategy in favour of a return to price defence. Prices have risen but OPECs share of production is set to decline once more in both 2017 and 2018, which could force another change of strategy. SHALE REBOUND The resurgence of U.S. shale is already complicating OPECs efforts to draw down global stocks in 2017, as well as threatening its market share in 2018. The speed and scale at which U.S. shale production has bounced back from the slump in 2015/16 has confounded OPEC and all the other major forecasters. OPEC wrote in its latest oil market assessment that rebalancing is underway but at a slower pace because of the "shift in U.S. supply from an expected contraction to positive growth." OPEC now predicts U.S. oil production will increase by 800,000 bpd in 2017, compared with a projected decline of 150,000 bpd at the time of its December forecast ("Monthly Oil Market Report", OPEC, June 2017). The International Energy Agency is forecasting U.S. crude and condensates production to increase by 620,000 bpd in 2017, compared with a prediction that output would be flat in its November assessment. And the U.S. Energy Information Administration has raised its prediction for U.S. output growth in 2017 to 460,000 bpd from a predicted decline of 80,000 bpd in December. STEIN AND SHALE At this point in the cycle, it may be time for OPEC and U.S. shale drillers to heed Stein's Law. "If something cannot continue forever, it will stop," wrote Herbert Stein, chief economist to U.S. President Richard Nixon. His law is arguably the most important insight in economics but it is amazing how frequently it is forgotten ("What I think: essays on economics, politics and life", Stein, 1998). U.S. oil producers have added more than 400 extra rigs since the end of May 2016 in response to higher oil prices. But the increase in U.S. production is now threatening to overwhelm the market, in a re-run of the situation in 2014 that led to the price collapse. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects U.S. production will rise by a further 680,000 bpd in 2018. The International Energy Agency is predicting an even larger increase. Most forecasters are bullish about the outlook for oil demand growth in 2018. Even so, output from U.S. shale and other non-OPEC sources will essentially capture the entire gain. The implied erosion of OPECs market share is unlikely to be sustainable, and following Steins Law, it will stop. The correction is likely to come from lower oil prices, which will have to fall low enough for long enough to bring the boom back under control. Benchmark U.S. crude prices have already declined by $9 per barrel or about 16 percent from their recent peak in the middle of February. Shale producers have continued to add rigs even as prices have fallen because most of their production for 2017 had already been hedged at higher price levels (http://tmsnrt.rs/2ssekIv). Shale firms have also benefited from plentiful funding from private equity investors with a relatively long-term view on the market. But most producers have only hedged a relatively low proportion of output for 2018 so far, and the patience of private equity investors will not last forever. Crude prices will need to remain relatively low until more of the hedges have expired, private equity funding has slowed and drilling moderates to a more sustainable pace. Many U.S. shale producers insist they can drill wells profitably at prices well below $50 per barrel and in some cases below $40. There may be an element of bravado in some of these claims which may exclude certain costs and apply only to the most productive wells in the most promising locations. In any case, the oil market is already testing the shale drillers' resolve. Oil prices are likely to remain weak until there are signs that U.S. drilling and future production are shifting onto a more sustainable trajectory. (Editing by Edmund Blair) DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - Houthi militants attacked a United Arab Emirates ship off the coast of Yemen, wounding one crew member, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Thursday. "A UAE ship was attacked by a missile fired by the Houthi militias, causing no damage to the ship. ... One crew member was injured," SPA said, citing a statement by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. The ship was attacked upon its departure from the Yemeni port of Al-Mokha, SPA said. The Red Sea port of Al-Mokha is close to the Bab al-Mandab shipping lane through which much of the world's oil passes. (Reporting by Mostafa Hashem; Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Leslie Adler) BUCHAREST, June 15 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Thursday. RULING SOCIAL DEMOCRATS Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu refused to resign after his ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) withdrew its support for his cabinet late on Wednesday, contributing to the political infighting in the European Union's fastest growing economy. DEBT TENDER Romanian debt managers tender 800 million lei ($196.14 million) worth of six-month treasury bills. INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT Romania's adjusted industrial output ROIP=ECI fell 0.5 percent on the month in April after March's 2.6 percent advance, but rose 5.5 percent on the year, data from the National Statistics Board showed on Wednesday. JOINING THE EURO Romania could be in a position to join the euro within 8 years, central bank policymaker Daniel Daianu board member said on Wednesday, though it would have to see improvements in the set-up and running of the euro area bloc. ENERGY RESOURCES Romania's energy production edged 0.3 percent lower on the year during January-April, while imports rose by 6.5 percent, data from the National Statistics Board showed on Wednesday. CEE MARKETS The Czech crown retreated from multi-year highs on Wednesday after Czech central bank Vice-Governor Vladimir Tomsik said its strength allows the CNB not to rush into rate hikes. For the long-term Romanian diary, click on For emerging markets economic events, click on For an index of all diaries, click on For other related news, double click on: --------------------------------------------------------------- Romanian equities RO-E E.Europe equities .CEE Romanian money RO-M Romanian debt RO-D Eastern Europe EEU All emerging markets EMRG Hot stocks HOT Stock markets STX Market debt news DBT Forex news FRX For real-time index quotes, double click on: Bucharest BETI Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX ---------------------------------------------------------------- ($1 = 4.0788 lei) SHANGHAI, June 15 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks fell to a three-week low on Thursday as borrowing costs in the city looked set to rise after a U.S. rate hike overnight, while shares in China slid on persistent fears that economic growth will soon start to cool. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index dropped 1.1 percent to 25,601.68 points by the lunch break, touching the lowest level since May 29. Still, the gauge is up 16 percent this year. Selling was more intense in mainland companies. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 1.5 percent, to 10,362.12, on track for its biggest loss in six weeks. Hong Kong's central bank raised its base rate 25 basis points earlier in the day after the U.S. Federal Reserve lifted its policy rate as expected overnight. Hong Kong rates move in line with the U.S. due to the city's currency peg. The head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Norman Chan, said he expects banks in the territory to gradually raise mortgage rates, which could hit shares of property developers. China shares, which are less vulnerable to global capital flows, also weakened, amid signs that Beijing's deleveraging campaign has made some progress in reducing liquidity in the financial system. Tighter credit conditions, in turn, are expected to drag on economic activity in coming months. The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.4 percent to 3,519.68 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1 percent to 3,127.19. Although the Federal Reserve's rate rise was expected, Chair Janet Yellen's more-detailed plans to reduce the Fed's balance sheet was viewed by some as negative to equities in Asia. The move would "reduce market liquidity over the long term and could impact the performance of equities and other assets," China Investment Securities (HK) wrote in a report on Thursday. Echoing such a view, the HKMA's Chan said he expects there could be an increase in capital outflows from the financial hub due to arbitrage trade with the local currency. Although China on Thursday didn't follow the Fed in raising rates, as it did with short-term rates in March, analysts pointed out that borrowing costs in the country's interbank market have already risen sharply this year, as money supply in May grew at the slowest annual rate in over 20 years. "We're seeing more equity supplies but less liquidity, so China's stock market will likely remain sluggish," said Wei Jianfei, analyst at Lianchu Securities. Traders say the market is also worried that profit growth at listed Chinese firms could stagnate. Data this week showed that China's economy generally remained on solid footing in May, but tighter monetary policy, a cooling housing market and slowing investment reinforced views that it will gradually lose momentum in coming months. Most sectors fell in both China and Hong Kong, with the decline in Hong Kong led by the real estate sector, which is vulnerable to higher borrowing costs. (Reporting by Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Kim Coghill) PRAGUE, June 15 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Czech financial markets on Thursday. ALL TIMES GMT (Czech Republic: GMT + 2 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA========================== Real-time economic data releases.................... Summary of economic data and forecasts........... Recently released economic data.................. Previous stories on Czech data............. **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: http://emea1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/Apps/CountryWeb/#/2E/events-overview =========================NEWS=================================== POLITICS: Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Wednesday he would step down as the leader of his Social Democrat party but remain the head of government, a move to shore up his party's prospects before an October parliamentary election. Story: Related stories: KOMERCNI BANKA: Czech lender Komercni Banka will be ready to meet higher capital requirements next year, its chief financial officer said on Wednesday, after the central bank decided this week to make banks put more aside in case of hard times. Story: Related stories: EURO: The Czech Republic is unlikely to adopt the European Union's common currency, the euro, in the next decade because it lacks the political will to make the change, central bank Governor Jiri Rusnok was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Story: Related stories: BUDGET: The Czech government on Wednesday backed a proposal by the Finance Ministry to cut the 2018 budget deficit, aiming to stick to a 50 billion crowns ($2.14 billion) gap even as parties gear up for a parliamentary election this autumn. Story: Related stories: SKODA: VW's Czech unit Skoda Auto said deliveries increased by 2.4 percent to 99,000 units in May, making it the best May in the companys history. Story: Related stories: CEE MARKETS: The Czech crown retreated from multi-year highs on Wednesday after Czech central bank Vice-Governor Vladimir Tomsik said its strength allows the CNB not to rush into rate hikes. Story: Related stories: ---------------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT ------------------------ Index/Crown Currency Latest Prev Pct change Pct change close on day in 2017 vs Euro 26.175 26.155 -0.08 3.08 vs Dollar 23.306 23.209 -0.42 9.13 Czech Equities 1,000.15 1,000.15 -0.11 8.52 U.S. Equities 21,374.56 21,328.47 0.22 8.16 Pvs close or current levels vs prior domestic close at 1500 GMT ========================PRESS DIGEST============================ ARMY: The Czech army wants to buy an anti-aircraft system to go with the new radar units it is buying from IAI Elta of Israel. The new system could cost 11 billion crowns and the defence ministry has identified five potential suppliers. Pravo, page 1 (Reuters has not verified the stories, nor does it vouch for their accuracy.) For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX For updates on CEE currencies TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets Prague Newsroom: +420 224 190 477 E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (Reporting by Prague Newsroom) ALMATY, June 15 (Reuters) - One man has died from burns in a wildfire caused by a discarded part of the Russian booster rocket launched on Wednesday from the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan's emergency situations committee said. Another man, who along with the dead man had been collecting the rocket debris on the steppe in central Kazakhstan, has been hospitalised after also suffering burns, it said in a statement on Thursday, without naming the men. An uncrewed Russian Progress cargo ship blasted off towards the International Space Station on Wednesday. During the launch, parts - or stages - of the booster rocket separate and fall, with some landing in Kazakhstan, where Baikonur itself is located. Russia leases the launch facility from the Central Asian ex-Soviet republic. (Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Gareth Jones) June 15 (Reuters) - Premier League clubs Manchester City and West Ham United will conclude their pre-season preparations with a friendly against each other in Iceland on Aug. 4. The match will take place at the Laugardalsvollur Stadium in Reykjavik and offers City manager Pep Guardiola and his West Ham counterpart Slaven Bilic a chance to fine tune their squads before the new season begins, eight days later. "This match will be a fantastic occasion, and we'll be looking to put on a great show for our supporters. City and West Ham played out some brilliant matches last season, and this game will be no different... " City manager Guardiola told the club's website. (www.mancity.com) West Ham defender Pablo Zabaleta, who left City after nine seasons at the end of the last campaign, could face his former club for the first time. (Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru) By Jan Strupczewski, Renee Maltezou and Francesco Guarascio LUXEMBOURG, June 15 (Reuters) - Euro zone governments threw Greece another 11th-hour credit lifeline on Thursday worth $9.5 billion and sketched new detail on possible debt relief as the IMF finally offered to help out after two years of hesitation. The 8.5 billion euros of loans from the euro zone's 18 other states, including Berlin which is wary of easing terms for Greece ahead of a German election in September, lets Athens avoid defaulting on bailout repayments next month and recognises unpopular cuts and reforms the left-wing government has made. "There is now light at the end of the tunnel," Greece's Euclid Tsakalotos told reporters after meeting fellow euro zone finance ministers and IMF chief Christine Lagarde in Luxembourg. The accords gave enough clarity to investors on how Greece can manage its crushing debt burden that it should be able to borrow on the market again "in due course" after effectively relying on bailout support from other sovereigns since 2010. A proposal by the French government under new President Emmanuel Macron to help bridge differences on debt relief will underpin further euro zone discussions, officials said. Macron wants to work with Germany to strengthen the 18-year-old common currency, which was nearly wrecked by the sovereign debt crisis. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, whose insistence on austerity reforms to public finances in Athens have long made him a hate figure for many Greeks, said lawmakers in Berlin would review the deal on Friday to see if it deviated from a 2015 bailout enough to need new German parliamentary approval. Euro zone bailout fund chief Klaus Regling said his European Stability Mechanism would disburse 7.7 billion euros in early July to cover 6.9 billion euros in maturing debt and 0.8 billion of arrears. A further 0.8 billion euros would be disbursed "after the summer". IMF JOINS IN The International Monetary Fund would join the current bailout, Lagarde said, offering Athens a standby arrangement of less than $2 billion, the length of which will be tailored to match the end of the euro zone bailout in mid-2018. But the Washington-based Fund, which Europeans value for its rigour but had fallen out with over its demands they forgive Athens some of its debt, will not disburse any of its money yet. It still wants the euro zone to offer sufficient extra detail on possible debt relief in 2018 to let the Fund calculate that it will be enough for Athens to sustain its debt in the long run. The standby arrangement was a second best solution to a full debt deal, Lagarde said, but it would buy the euro zone, Greece and the IMF time to work out the details for next year. A senior IMF official said they were still not satisfied the euro zone was ready to do enough on debt relief but had joined the bailout anyway as Greece risked being in difficulty again. To accommodate the IMF's need for more specifics on debt relief, the euro zone finance ministers said in a statement that in 2018 they would be ready to consider extending the maturities and grace periods of their loans to Greece by a range from zero to 15 years. The average maturity now is 30 years. But they did not go any further than that and the IMF said it was not enough to calculate Greek debt sustainability. Debt relief has been a hard sell in Germany, the biggest contributor to Greek bailouts over the years, though it is also unpopular in other countries, notably in poor Eastern Europe, where Greek welfare support seems generous to many. Berlin also wants to retain leverage over Greece to make sure reforms remaining under the bailout are implemented. But in a mark of relief among the European Union's top leadership that the divisive crisis among member states seemed to be under control, European Council President Donald Tusk, who will chair a summit of EU leaders next week, tweeted: "Finally good news for Greece. It was well deserved." The euro zone has been reluctant to commit to concrete debt relief numbers now because it argues that if Greece does all that is required of it and keeps a high primary surplus - the budget before debt servicing costs - for decades, it may not need any debt relief at all. But the IMF says euro zone assumptions on Greek economic growth and the country's ability to keep a high primary surplus are unrealistic and that Athens clearly needs debt relief to win back investor confidence and return to market financing. To bridge the wide differences in assumptions on Greek growth for the next decades, France proposed to link the size of the debt relief with Greek economic growth and euro zone ministers said they would work on that idea further. They said in their statement that the exact mechanism of how to link debt relief to growth would be worked on as of 2018 by deputy finance ministers and treasury officials and be announced after the bailout ends, together with the whole debt deal. (Additional reporting by Tom Koerkemeier; Writing by Jan Strupczewski and Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Andrew Hay) By Karolina Tagaris THESSALONIKI, Greece, June 15 (Reuters) - Greece, Israel and Cyprus said on Thursday they would speed up plans for the development of a pipeline channelling gas to Europe from newly discovered east Mediterranean reserves. European governments and Israel agreed in April to move forward with a Mediterranean pipeline project to carry natural gas from Israel to Europe, setting a target date of 2025 for completion. Europe is keen to diversify its energy supplies, and Greece wants to promote itself as a hub for the transit of gas from the eastern Mediterranean to the continent. "We agreed to expedite our joint actions concerning our agreement on the construction of a large project which will offer new prospects of economic cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told a news conference in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. He was flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Nicos Anastasiades, the president of Cyprus. The planned 2,000-km (1,250-mile) pipeline aims to link gas fields off the coasts of Israel and Cyprus with Greece and possibly Italy, at a cost of up to 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion). Netanyahu said the so-called East-Med Pipeline "would be a revolution". "We've had preliminary studies of it and it seems promising and we're going to look further into it. It's something we're very excited about," he said. Israel and to a lesser extent Cyprus are thought to be sitting on vast quantities of natural gas wealth given the significant finds reported in the past decade. Israel has discovered more than 900 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas offshore, with some studies pointing to another 2,200 bcm waiting to be tapped. Along with the European market, it is exploring options to export to Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Cyprus' Aphrodite gas field holds an additional 128 bcm, and Cypriot waters are expected to hold more reserves. Delivery options have included a pipeline linking the three countries, a pipeline to Turkey, and use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage in Egypt for shipment to Europe. The three leaders said they would also pursue the development of an electricity cable linking their countries. The EuroAsia Interconnector will carry electricity generated in Israel and sent via Cyprus, the Greek island of Crete and mainland Greece to European grids. A Greek government official said Greece had proposed adding fibre optic cables estimated to boost the cost by 10 percent. It has secured funding of 1.5 billion euros from the European Union and viability studies have been completed. "It's in a mature phase and we must now move on to the establishment of a consortium of investors and its implementation," the official said. ($1 = 0.8971 euros) (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Dale Hudson) By Umit Bektas CILVEGOZU, Turkey, June 15 (Reuters) - Carrying suitcases, shopping bags and toddlers, thousands of refugees walked back home into Syria from Turkey on Thursday ahead of the Eid festival that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Turkey has taken in some 3 million Syrian migrants since the start of civil war in 2011, making it home to the world's largest refugee population. Now Ankara is giving Syrian refugees the right to return to Turkey within a month if they want to go home to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Some said they wanted to start again in their homeland, and would return within the month if it did not work out, while others said they wanted to return to Syria for good, citing the difficulty of finding employment in Turkey. "One day you can find a job, the other day you can't," said Sevsen Um Mustafa as she walked toward the border crossing with two daughters in tow. "Sometimes they make you work but they don't pay. Even if they do, it's not enough." "Even smelling the soil of Aleppo is better than here," said the former Aleppo resident. "I'd rather die there because of war than here because of starvation." The majority of Syrian refugees in Turkey live outside the government-built camps and struggle to make ends meet as the cost of food, rent and clothing usually exceeds their incomes. The government, which tightened its border security after a 2016 deal with the European Union to stem illegal migration, estimates it has spent some $25 billion on housing the refugees. BORDER CROSSING Authorities did not give any figures on how many Syrians have returned so far. A Reuters witness said at least 3,000 people crossed on foot through the dusty Cilvegozu border crossing into Syria during several hours on Thursday. Ankara introduced work permits for Syrians in 2016 but many, like 22-year-old Muhammed Ali, said opportunities are scarce. "Even if I worked for the whole month, I'd have 200-300 liras ($57-$85) left over after paying the rent," said Ali, who was heading back to his hometown of Afrin, in northwest Syria after four years of working as a textile labourer in Istanbul. "I had no rights of leave, no insurance. I was miserable." The offer to return applies to Syrian nationals with valid travel documents who cross through the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates, authorities said. The Eid al-Fitr holiday begins on June 25. Those who wish to return can do so until July 14. Anyone who comes back after that will be treated as new arrival and subject to the regular immigration process, a local official at the Hatay governor's office said. Facing criticism from Western allies that it was too slow to stop the flow jihadis from Syria, Turkey has fortified its 900 km (560 miles) border with fences, minefields, ditches and a wall. In August 2016 it launched a military campaign in Syria and drove Islamic State militants from its border. Authorities say thousands of Syrians have since returned to Syrian towns freed from Islamic State. Still, Turkey's biggest cities and border provinces still host hundreds of thousands of refugees. Images from Turkey's state-run broadcaster TRT also showed hundreds of refugees waiting near Oncupinar border crossing in the southeastern Turkish province of Kilis. ($1 = 3.5157 liras) (Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by David Dolan and Alison Williams) June 15 (Reuters) - Marriott International Inc Chief Executive Arne Sorenson on Thursday urged the Trump administration to improve relations with post-Castro Cuba and recognize tourism as a strategic tool in the effort. His comment come as U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce a new Cuba policy on Friday. The policy is likely to tighten some rules on travel and trade and partly roll back former President Barack Obama's opening toward the island, U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. Marriott, the world's biggest hotel operator, already has a hotel in Cuba, and is in the process of opening another soon. "It would be exceedingly disappointing to see the progress that has been made in the last two years halted and reversed by the administration," Sorenson said in an emailed statement. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) June 15 (Reuters) - Leicester City signed Hull City centre back Harry Maguire on a five-year contract on Thursday. The 24-year-old, who made 36 appearances for Hull last season, will join Craig Shakespeare's side in July ahead of their pre-season camp in Austria. "Its obviously a very exciting time for myself. There were a number of clubs interested, but when I met the manager here, he pretty much swayed it into the direction of this club," Maguire said in a statement. "He showed me the way the club is going. It's on the up and it looks very promising for the future, so credit to the gaffer." Maguire began his career at Sheffield United in 2011, making over 100 appearances across three seasons before joining Hull City. (Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; editing by Mark Heinrich) BAGHDAD, June 15 (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi postponed a Saudi Arabia to avoid taking sides in the rift between the kingdom and Qatar, Iraqi officials said on Thursday. Wednesday's planned visit was postponed "so that it would not be considered as supporting one side against the other", Jabbar al-Abadi, a lawmaker close to the prime minister, told Reuters. Qatar is facing a severe economic and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies who cut ties last week, in the worst rift among Gulf Arab states in years. They accuse Qatar of funding terrorism, fomenting regional unrest and cosying up to their enemy Iran, all of which Qatar denies. Abadi's visit to Saudi Arabia was to foster reconciliation between the Sunni Muslim kingdom and majority Shi'ite Iraq - and help heal deep and bitter divisions between Iraq's Shi'ites and Sunnis. Abadi's office confirmed that the visit, during which Abadi was to meet with Saudi King Salman, was postponed, possibly to next week, without giving a reason. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Alison Williams) By Mica Rosenberg MIAMI, June 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence held up Venezuela on Thursday as a prime example of what happens when democracy is undermined and urged Latin American leaders to condemn its government, in comments that Venezuela's president called nauseating. Already suffering a severe economic crisis, Venezuela, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has recently been convulsed by clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters. "We need only look to the nation of Venezuela to see what happens when democracy is undermined," Pence told the gathering of leaders in Miami. "That once-rich nation's collapse into authoritarianism has pushed it into poverty and caused untold suffering for the Venezuelan people." Stepping up Washington's war of words with Caracas, Pence added: "We must all of us raise our voices to condemn the Venezuelan government for its abuse of power and its abuse of its own people, and we must do it now." At least 69 people have died in the unrest in Venezuela since early April, with hundreds injured. Opposition has been fanned by Maduro's plan for July 30 elections for a special assembly to rewrite the constitution, which critics say are stacked in his favor. The Maduro government calls the protesters violent coup-mongers, supported by the United States. "I tell the vice president of the United States, get your nose out of Venezuela, there will be no gringo, Yankee, imperialist intervention in Venezuela," Maduro said in a TV broadcast with members of the armed forces. Maduro added that he read Pence's comments "and it provokes nausea that a man who doesn't know where Venezuela is on the map gives his opinion about our country." Earlier this month, the United States denounced Venezuela for suppressing protests and called for free elections, saying Maduro must not be allowed to follow a "dictatorship" path like Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Pence was at a conference to discuss improving security and economic prosperity in Central America, specifically in the violent nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Foreign ministers from across the hemisphere will travel to Cancun, Mexico, next week for a meeting of the Organization of American States, where Venezuela will be discussed. (Additional reporting by David Alexander in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney) By Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday will announce a plan to tighten rules on Americans traveling to Cuba and significantly restrict U.S. companies from doing business with Cuban enterprises controlled by the military, senior White House officials said on Thursday. Trump will lay out his new Cuba policy in a speech in Miami that will roll back parts of former President Barack Obama's opening to the communist-ruled island after a 2014 diplomatic breakthrough between the two former Cold War foes. Taking a tougher approach against Havana after promising to do so during the presidential campaign, Trump will outline stricter enforcement of an existing ban on Americans going to Cuba as tourists and will seek to prevent U.S. dollars from being used to fund what the new U.S. administration sees as a repressive military-dominated government. The new policy will ban most U.S. business deals with the Armed Forces Business Enterprises Group (GAESA), a sprawling conglomerate involved in all sectors of the economy, but make exceptions related to air and sea travel, the officials said. This will essentially shield U.S. airlines and cruise lines now serving the island. But even as he curbs Obamas detente with Cuba, Trump will stop short of closing embassies or breaking off diplomatic relations restored in 2015 after more than five decades of hostility, U.S. officials said. He will also leave in place some other tangible measures implemented by his Democratic predecessor, including the resumption of direct U.S.-Cuba commercial flights, though Trumps more restrictive policy seems certain to dampen new economic ties overall. And, according to one White House official, the administration does not intend to "disrupt" existing business deals such as one struck under Obama by Starwood Hotels, which is owned by Marriott International Inc, to manage a historic Havana hotel. There are also no plans to reinstate the limits that Obama lifted on the amount of the islands coveted rum and cigars that American can bring home for personal use, one White House official said. As a result, the changes - though far-reaching - appear to be less sweeping than many pro-engagement advocates had feared. HUMAN RIGHTS Trump will justify his partial reversal of Obamas measures to a large extent on human rights grounds. His aides contend that Obamas easing of U.S. restrictions has done nothing to advance political freedoms in Cuba, while benefiting the Cuban government financially. Saying that the aim was to repair what Trump has called a "bad deal" struck by Obama with Havana, one U.S. official said the new administration would leave the door open to improved relations if Cuba undertakes democratic reforms such as allowing free and fair elections and the release of political prisoners. International human rights groups say, however, that reinstating a U.S. policy of isolating the island could make the situation worse by empowering Cuban hardliners. The Cuban government has made clear it will not be pressured into political reforms in exchange for diplomatic engagement. At home, Trumps critics have questioned why his administration is now singling out Cuba for its human rights record while insisting that in other parts of the world it will not lecture other countries on the issue. Trump will issue a presidential memorandum when he delivers his speech at the Manuel Artime Theater in Miamis Little Havana district, the heart of Americas Cuban-American and Cuban exile community. The venue is named after a leader of the failed U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 against Fidel Castros revolutionary government. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who was played a key role in pushing for Trumps changes, was expected to attend along with U.S. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart and other Cuban-American lawmakers. Under Trumps order, the Treasury and Commerce Departments will be given 30 days to begin writing new regulations and they will not take effect until they are complete. Under the revised travel policy, U.S. officials say there will be tighter enforcement to make sure Americans legally fit the 12 authorized categories they claim to be traveling under, which could spook many visitors, wary of receiving a hefty fine. While tourism to Cuba is banned by U.S. law, the Obama administration had been allowing people to travel to Cuba as part of "people to people" educational trips for visitors, a classification that a White House official said was "ripe for abuse" by those looking for beach vacations. Trumps new policy will eliminate such visits by individuals while still allowing them to be done as group tours, and also retaining individual travel under other authorized categories such as religious, artistic and journalistic activities, the official said. But Trumps planned rollback of Obamas policy has drawn opposition from American businesses and the travel industry, which have begun making inroads on the island, as well as many lawmakers, including some of Trumps fellow Republicans. The new policy has come together after contentious meetings within the administration. Some aides have argued that Trump, a former real estate magnate who won the presidency promising to unleash U.S. business and create jobs, would have a hard time defending any moves that close off the Cuban market. But other advisers have contended that it is important to make good on a promise to Cuban-Americans whose support they considered significant in winning Florida in the 2016 election. Miami is home to the largest Cuban-American community. (Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington, Sarah Marsh and Marc Frank in Havana; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Pilgrims enjoying Coca-Colas refreshing beverages in Anuradhapura Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. continued its proud tradition of refreshing pilgrims on their annual Poson Poya pilgrimage to the ancient capital of Anuradhapura. Coca-Cola set up kiosks, this year too, to serve several thousand pilgrims with a wide selection of refreshing beverages to help stay refreshed, beat the heat and in the hope of reinvigorating the pilgrims to continue on in their holy pilgrimage. Poson Poya is one of the most sacred events in the Buddhist calendar and the holy city attracts thousands of pilgrims who gather at the citys holy sites to mark the occasion. Fire engulfed a 24-storey housing block in central London in the early hours on Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring 74 others in an inferno that trapped residents as they slept. Some residents screamed for help from behind upper floor windows, some tried to throw children to safety, as flames raced through the high-rise Grenfell Tower block of apartments in the north Kensington area after taking hold just before 1 a.m. We could see a lot of children and parents screaming for Help! Help! Help! and putting their hands on the window and asking to help them, Amina Sharif, a witness, told Reuters. We could do nothing and we could see the stuff on the side was falling off, collapsing. We were just standing screaming and they were screaming. Another witness, Saimar Lleshi, saw people tying together sheets in an attempt to escape. I saw three people putting sheets together to climb down, but no one climbed down. I dont know what happened to them. Even when the lights went off, people were waving with white shirts to be seen, Lleshi said. More than 200 firefighters, backed up by 40 fire engines, fought for hours to try to bring the blaze, one of the biggest seen in central London in memory, under control. By mid-day, London police said six people had been killed and they cautioned the death toll was likely to rise. Police Commander Stuart Cundy said a recovery operation could take some time and there could be people in the building who are unaccounted for, though he would not be drawn on a figure. Fire-fighting crews still had to reach the top four floors of the building where several hundred people live in 130 apartments. REUTERS, 14th JUNE, 2017 Statement issued by Finance and Mass Media Minister, Mangala Samaraweera in response to a recent statement made by former President and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa on GSP+ concession. Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa and his advisers, instead of working to take our country to the heights that our country could have achieved soon after the conclusion of the conflict in 2009, chose to run our country to the ground. He made our country heavily indebted on the one hand, having borrowed at exorbitantly high, commercial rates; while taking decisions that made Sri Lanka withdraw from the international stage, on the other, thus making our country and our people isolated and shunned by the world. He hides the fact that time after time, major donor countries voted against Sri Lanka at the time, in international financial institutions. Having eventually lost an election which he himself called for, ahead of time, he appears to still not be able to come to terms with that loss. His hunger for power makes him and his advisers continue to indulge in the lies, tricks and games that were so much a part of his regime and so much a part of his personality. Just recently, we saw how he lied to the people about his travel to Japan. He said that he was travelling to Japan at the invitation of the Emperor of Japan! The Embassy of Japan responded to a question from a journalist denying this. Why resort to this kind of lying to hoodwink the people, Mr. Rajapaksa? If you are in fact a follower of the teachings of Gautama Buddha as you try to show the people, isnt it about time, at least at this stage of your life, to try to abide by even one of the five precepts, and refrain from indulging in lies. Mr. Rajapaksa, in a statement titled Government should not create unrealistic expectations about GSP Plus says that obtaining the GSP Plus facility is trivial, since Sri Lanka is very close to passing the threshold of an upper middle income country. He conveniently hides a fundamental issue. A country has to be classified as upper middle income by the World Bank for three consecutive years in order to be no longer eligible for the GSP Plus. Even if Sri Lanka were to reach that threshold tomorrow, we would still have access to the advantages of GSP Plus for three years, and for one additional year after the decision is taken to withdraw the benefit. This shows that Mr. Rajapaksa is clearly trying to distort facts because he cant acknowledge the fact that the National Unity Government has in fact managed to obtain a formidable boost to Sri Lankas economy, in application of Article 4(1) of the GSP Regulation of 2012, for at least four years. This period of, at the very least four years, comes just when the European economy starts to show signals of growth recovery. With less unemployment and more consumer demand, this is the moment to join in enhanced partnership with the European Union! For this government, the GSP Plus system is a partnership that helps our nation and our people regain their due place once again on the international stage as a respected nation But let me add a point. Mr. Rajapaksas reasoning that we shouldnt aspire to a better deal, because some time in the future the economy will grow is callous and insensitive to the workers of our country and their families. It reflects a complete lack of concern for our workers who expect progress in the immediate present, and they deserve progress in the immediate present. So what if Sri Lanka, thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of its entrepreneurs and workers looks poised to cross a certain threshold of average income? Does it mean that we, as a government, should sit on our hands without giving them the opportunity for a better deal that they deserve now in the present? Shouldnt we help them to reach our national goals sooner rather than later? The idea that GSP Plus puts Sri Lanka under the supervision of the EU is simply absurd. By committing to a number of universal human rights principles, we do nothing that was not already recommended by Sri Lankan people who came before the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to give their input and views. Protecting every citizen from torture is not an alien imposition. It is a sovereign decision from a humanistic nation, towards its own citizens, inspired by the most sacred human values and principles. How ironic that Mr. Rajapaksa who claims to be not just a follower but a guardian of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, does not advocate granting the very basic human rights principles and rights and freedoms to the citizens of this country! Dont our citizens deserve the highest standards of protection? Dont our citizens deserve the highest standards of human rights and freedoms? We know very well how Mr. Rajapaksa and his advisers tried until the last minute to retain the GSP Plus facility in 2010, and lost. Licking their wounds, they then sought to lie to the people by saying that he decided to not pursue the facility It was incompetence and arrogance of Mr. Rajapaksa and his advisers, and their determination to deny the people of this country their rights that resulted in Mr. Rajapaksa failing to retain the GSP Plus facility. It was ill-advised to not implement the 2011 recommendations of the LLRC, a Commission which he himself appointed, to protect citizens from torture, criminalize disappearances, and fully investigate cases of human rights violations. In fact it was an injustice caused to the law abiding soldiers of this country as well. Having failed himself, and the people of our country, now in 2017, it is simply invidious to criticize a successful measure that the Government seeks to implement for the benefit of the people of our country. We know very well how Mr. Rajapaksa and his advisers tried until the last minute to retain the GSP Plus facility in 2010, and lost. Licking their wounds, they then sought to lie to the people by saying that he decided to not pursue the facility, to avoid damage to the countrys political, legal and institutional framework. He probably still cant get over those lies. So he keeps repeating them in different formulations and words even seven years later in 2017. For this government, the GSP Plus system is a partnership that helps our nation and our people regain their due place once again on the international stage as a respected nation and a respected people standing shoulder to shoulder with the international community, shedding the pariah tatters that the former government chose to put on our nation and our people. Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan people deserve the best in the world. Sri Lanka is a proud nation and the Sri Lankan people are a proud people with the self-confidence to speak and act as equals with every country or group of countries in the world. We dont need to hide from global dialogue in order to feel better. On the contrary, we feel stronger when our laws reflect the best of global humanism, when our citizens benefit from the best law enforcement, when our workers and entrepreneurs see the ports of the world open to the fruit of their efforts. Number One in yahapalanaya visited the flood-hit parts of the Kalutara district recently. He was due to participate in a shramadana in Pahiyangala area as well. Media had given much publicity to the shramadana that Number One had planned to attend and Diyawanna members, purohitas and white-collar high-ups of the Kalutara district rushed to Pahiyangala and were waiting for the arrival of Number One for the event. Number One on arrival in Pahiyangala saw the political and white collar bigwigs wearing gloves and boots waiting all agog at the venue of the proposed shramadana obviously for the purpose of posing for a picture with him. Wise to the ways of publicity seekers, Number One after greeting them told them: You all wait at this end. Ill go over to the other end to start the shramadana. Having thus made it clear to the politicos and white collar bigwigs that they were not expected to follow him, Number One walked away. Thus disappointed, the politicos and white collar ones had faded from the scene one by one, they say. Sri Lanka is recognized as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean in terms of its strategic location and magnificent splendour. It is absolutely evident that Sri Lanka consists of a variety of birds, animals and plants, which further enhances its beauty. Between the year 2000 and 2016 the rate of deforestation has been 1.46% per annum over the reasons like massive development projects, large scales of plantations and resettling programmes Legal action against projects like port city, Uma Oya, the construction in Wilpattu of resettling sites for Muslims, and the Rideemaliyadda Sugar Factory Loss of forests has a major impact on global warming and biodiversity; consequently increasing Carbon dioxide, soil erosion, risk of earth slips and spring water drying It has 751 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles of which 21.7% are endemic, and over 3,314 species of vascular plants, of which 26.9% are endemic. We in fact are blessed to be born in a nation like this with serenity and peace. At the same time, we are fortunate to experience pleasant warmth of breath on account of the vast natural forests located on this land. On the other hand; it is our prime duty to protect our land and hand it over to the future generation with more value. But, it seems that only a few are interested in caring for the worth of the natural forests which are at drastic risk. It is obvious that the natural forests are at imminent threat as deforestation is taking place with no concern for the conservation of the environment. The estimated natural forests in Sri Lanka covers nearly 18 percent of the land area. They are mainly situated in the dry zone of the island. Now, the natural forests are being gradually cleared for particular reasons with the utmost approval of the government Deforestation in Sri Lanka is one of the most serious environmental issues that have appeared to be rapidly for past few years. Sri Lankas forest cover, which was around 49% in 1920, has fallen to approximately 18% by now. Between 2000 and 2016 the rate of deforestation growing 1.46% per annum. Sri Lankan natural forests are in severe danger due to the deforestation for purposes like massive development projects, large scales of plantations and resettling programmes, an environmental organization called the Centre for Environment Justice told the Daily Mirror. The estimated natural forests in Sri Lanka cover nearly 18 percent of the land area. They are mainly situated in the dry zone of the island. Now, the natural forests are being gradually cleared for particular reasons with the utmost approval of the government, the Legal Officer of Centre for Environment Justice Sugath Atapattu said. He categorically mentioned the consequences that we have to undergo, if this act is carried out continuously. He said that however the repercussions seem to be inevitable as deforestation is obviously visible in this context. Loss of forests has a major impact on global warming and biodiversity; consequently increase of the Carbon dioxide, soil erosion, risk of earth slips, spring water drying and influence towards ground water are the negative outputs of deforestation, he added. They have been very vocal on this issue and have taken legal actions against the ongoing projects like port city, Uma Oya project, the project of construction in Wilpattu of resettling sites for Muslims displaced during the civil war, and the Rideemaliyadda Sugar Factory. He stressed in a special manner the disadvantage of Rideemaliyadda Sugar Factory through which 85 percent is gained by a foreign company and a trifle is gained by Sri Lanka. He further stated that it has been internationally identified that a single plantation like sugar-cane has a huge impact on the earth owing to its absorptive nature. Approximately 65,000 acres have already been allocated for this gigantic project and no government official has been concerned about the disaster that would cause in terms of this project, he emphasized. Meanwhile, Centre for Environment Justice Executive Director Hemantha Withanage said that they have taken steps to put an end to this deforestation which has caused a large destruction to the forests and the country as well. He stated that the latest report of the UN-REDD depicts the whole scenario of this topic and how important it is to protect the remaining forest for the future. In conclusion, it should be noteworthy to fathom that it is we who will suffer due to this tragedy in the long run. Therefore, as the governing body of Sri Lanka, parliament should take prompt action with the collaboration of the environmental organizations pertaining to those who involve in these activities. Otherwise, the repercussions would be more serious than we experience now. A group of family members of missing persons including Sandya Eknaligoda, wife of missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, had reportedly attempted to wade towards the deep sea off Trincomalee today in protest to the governments alleged failure to look into the investigations of the missing persons. However, the attempt was prevented by the villagers. The group staged a protest outside the Trincomalee Governors office by displaying the pictures of the disappeared prior to wading into deep waters. The protestors strongly demanded the government to expose what had happened to the disappeared and to ban the Prevention of Terrorism Act and release all political prisoners. The relatives of disappeared from Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Jaffna and Vavuniya participated in the protest. Prageeth Eknaligoda was a cartoonist, political analyst and a journalist was reported missing on January 24, 2010, just two days before the presidential polls. (Thilanka Kanakarathna) Nation-building needs a foundation of core values that could unite a diverse community of people. This cannot be done in a hurry and it requires sincere commitment to values that unite people. This is far from the reality we see at present with leaders paying lip service to grand concepts without intelligently perceiving what they stand for. As to what change we wanted is the priceless question as the pace of change has also not been in line with what is expected of a newly mandated regime inspired by Good Governance The expectation is probably to see an end to regressive policy development and practices We need to remind the new regime we ourselves created that post-war Sri Lanka needs no lip service to grand concepts that leaders ironically cannot perceive with depth The country has suffered immensely due to unprincipled political leaders who have never had the backbone to stand firm on democratic values This is although for years we have been critical of the overall system that prevailed and aspired clear-cut changes for the common good. If the change we wanted was clear enough in our minds, we wouldnt have, for instance, permitted the January 8th Regime to make a mockery of the will of the people by bringing rejected candidates through the back door. This I say as someone who respects democracy and believe in highest democratic benchmarks of governance What is the change we wanted? As to what change we wanted is the priceless question as the pace of change has also not been in line with what is expected of a newly mandated regime inspired by Good Governance. They seldom realise that the clock ticks faster and the days are numbered for all regimes. Such sentiments have been expressed by the current leader of the opposition, Mr. R Sampanthan too as a much-respected elder statesman who obviously has national interests in mind. Sri Lankan democracy with an unprincipled intelligentsia At a time when we hear many say the country needs to have more educated people in legislature and provincial bodies, the expectation is probably to see an end to regressive policy development and practices. Going by what we continue to see, the question is whether we need an intelligentsia that will appease people who are alien to democratic values and promote through ignorance and inaction, regressive forms of nationalism? Today, people are reluctant to respect educated men and women who hold public office as they are considered shameless, often making grand pronouncements that they dont mean. Lessons for the future through mindless self-contradiction in past policy-making People say the actions of leaders of the political left and right are unthinkable, as it is the innocent people who were at the receiving end of all things, despite lesser education in terms of formal credentials. People remember a highly celebrated leader of the so called Left Movement who made his position clear on language issues by eloquently proclaiming, Two Languages, One nation: One language, two nations. But the very same people failed regarding constitutional reforms through the First Republican Constitution of 1970, in laying the foundation for a nation of unity in diversity based on equality. It is a shame that such people fed more to partisan religious and linguistic nationalism, conferring special status to one religion and language over other religions and languages, while the moderates in this country wanted to see a constitution that respected the fundamental rights of all people protected in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ensuring for instance, the right to worship. That is the lesson from India for us. The position was equally shameless regarding language as there were those who led this country by instigating tribal sentiments with Sinhala Only policies, indifferent to its consequences. What we see even at this stage of unprecedented and complex socio-political issues are the apologists for the same policies, trying to justify how important it was then to restore the dignity of the Sinhala majority about their language and the religion of the majority in post-independent Sri Lanka. Hence we hear on and off, even at present, the arrogant statements against equality that we shall never do anything that will undermine the interest of the majority. This again will not be countered by any one so easily as this nation is not quite blessed by men of high integrity and character in leadership who can take a stand that will be respected by all people. That is the lesson we can learn from Singapore with superior thinking on these lines. Singaporeans include not only the principal minorities but also smaller groups like the Eurasian and the indigenous communities. We need to remind the new regime we ourselves created that post-war Sri Lanka needs no lip service to grand concepts that leaders ironically cannot perceive with depth but decisive changes that will at least ensure that our future will not be as bleak as the past. Apathy and incapacity to counter regressive nationalistic sentiments by religious groups Is acute normlessness or anomie a condition that social institutions should deliberately promote? In recent times, we have been witnessing and reading in the national newspapers, about how members of the clergy threaten and even physically intimidate their members, making a mockery of the religious order they represent. Some were intimidated verbally as well as physically and very little has been done to discipline such clergy by their own hierarchy or by the laws of the land. The situation is even more serious if they belong to the religion that the constitution proclaims so proudly as the state religion, as the government that habitually washes its hands off most public issues cannot be indifferent in this situation as well. The government is not carrying the obligation to ensure that the highest standards are maintained by clergy who belong to the state religion. These problems are seen in other religions, including my own religion. The Christian Ministry of this country with different splinter groups acting with utmost impunity have been permitted to operate without registering with the National Christian Council (NCC) and the Evangelical Alliance is a shame indeed. Without adhering to principal benchmarks stipulated, we only see greater room for regressive nationalistic forces to raise their heads and make life difficult for those who are sincere devotees, irrespective of the religion they belong to. There are splinter groups even among Christians who have taken the law into their own hands and prevent people from partaking of Holy Communion, as they have married members of other religions. These things happen with the total blessings of the Christian Affairs Ministry, in the way Ministries in charge of other religions remain inactive regarding standards they should maintain, at whatever cost. The Ministers in respective subjects need to be more inspiring for the public to respect them. The position of the state regarding the ethno-political crisis It is unthinkable that the governments elected by the people in post-independent Sri Lanka have failed to take a clear-cut position on how they wish to provide a clear-cut solution to the ethno-political crisis that has plagued this land for decades. Thousands of lives have been lost but the minds of those who aspire to be in national leadership have not been opened. The war that was fought ended with a most questionable position taken by the leadership of the previous regime that there are only two groups of people in this land, known as the Patriots and Traitors. That those with the government irrespective of their ethnicity and other differences are Patriots and the rest are Traitors was not a position the people of this country irrespective of their status ever wanted to tolerate. It is ironic that these leaders who were rejected by the people have not made a fair assessment of the reasons for their own downfall. Despite a feeling good peaceful environment, it is shocking that the present regime has not moved ahead convincingly in winning the confidence of the minorities on the real political problems they encounter. Empty rhetoric should be ended on all these issues urgently, with the government taking its commitment to restore good governance in all principal frontiers that remain an annoyance to the people. The role of the media and the academia in neutralizing regressive nationalism Enlightened opinion formation is not easy as I have already stated in this article. What the country needs in a formidable sense is a strong foundation of nation-building in all frontiers based on democratic values. It looks like those who talk about good governance also believe such a grand project is possible within an autocratic culture too. The country has suffered immensely due to unprincipled political leaders who have never had the backbone to stand firm on democratic values. It is similar to the eloquently proclaimed need for two languages for one nation ending up with the extraordinary position of advocating one religion over other religions. The media as well as the academia in a developing country have a very special role to play in creating an enlightened public, as many remain unenlightened on core principles of democracy. The freedom that we have today in the aftermath of defeating an oppressive regime that believed in abducting and killing anyone with dissenting views should be used more responsibly. Those freedoms will not be ours very soon, if we, as a nation prove once again that we are not prepared to learn lessons from the past. It is time that the broad-based national mass media institutions take their role more seriously, instead of conferring status to what could set our beautiful country alight once again. Academics are aware of the type of culture required for a university to prosper. However that too becomes an issue as they have not been sources of inspiration to the overall student population in maintaining a healthy dialogue with them on issues of grave national concern. Students take to the streets due to their indifference. In the absence of a culture that is politically more liberal in orientation, what we see is the scope for those with contradictory positions to occupy the space for vibrant discussion and debate devoid of confrontational tactics that burden the less fortunate of the land. British Prime Minister Theresa May gives a speech at 10 Downing Street after meeting with the Queen in London, Britain on June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Friday afternoon she will form a Westminster government, helped by members of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). [Photo/Xinhua] Theresa May, won, but defying all predictions, it was Jeremy Corbyn's night. I don't want to reiterate the numbers, as the readers already know who won how many seats. However, there are some quick takeaways from this intense last few months. First of all, it is obvious Britain voted tribalistically. It didn't matter that May was robotic in her speeches or whether Jeremy Corbyn had dubious former ties and judgements. The personal characteristics of the leaders didn't matter much, and public voted mostly on drawn up battle lines. This result is similar to the first victory of Cameron in 2010. Conservatives won, but not enough to roll over the entire country. That said, this vote was also a revenge of the Remainers. Conservatives were wiped out of London, no surprises there. But they also lost Oxford, and Canterbury, not known to be a bastion of flaming Trotskyists. Canterbury was regarded as a Tory fort. That proves that Conservatives are tired of May's hardline rhetoric and vacuous slogans like "Brexit means Brexit" and "strong and stable" relationship. What was forgotten before the election was that half the country was opposed to leaving the EU and a lot of those who supported were not hardliners and racists, proven by the fact that the only far right party, UKIP, was wiped out of the election map scoring only 1.8 percent vote. A lot of moderate remain conservatives quite clearly jumped the shark. To quote the old saying, right wingers fall in love, left wingers fall in line. The right wing love for Brexit and May is over, while Labour managed to rally their troops behind their banner, even when the Labour leader was universally pilloried by the press. The second point that I wrote several times before, is the fact that there was truth in what Jeremy Corbyn said, and that resonated with the public. That British interventions in Libya and the broader Middle East and NATO expansion has been a disaster. There's now pointless brinkmanship with Russia, a ravaged North African coastline which is the launch pad for smugglers and terrorists, and an incessant backlash for flawed activist foreign policy. The British public are tired of paying taxes and see their men go to fight wars in places where there's no discerning British interest, whether geopolitical or economic. The second point that resonated with the people was Corbyn's pledge of increased police. The Conservatives under Cameron gutted the internal security infrastructure of the U.K., and the effect is all too evident now with almost weekly attacks and a brewing insurgency Europewide. That said, May will now be dependent on DUP to back her up in Parliament. While there are questions whether a formal alliance can ever happen, as that might breach the terms of the Good Friday agreement, the Unionists usually vote along the same lines with the Conservatives and will continue to do so. The only good thing is that no one wants a hard land border in Ireland, and that would mean that it is in neither the DUP or the Conservative interest to demand a hard cliff edge Brexit, which will result in the imposition of tariffs, and custom checks on borders. Across the channel, however, real "strong and stable" government is forming with Macron winning his parliamentary vote, essentially giving him the powers of an authoritarian, should he choose to use it like one, not that he is going to. The French system allows the president to directly decide foreign policy, and needs the Parliament for domestic policy. The upstart liberal party formed a year back, now has bled the right and left and is forming one of the biggest governments in parliament. However, I am cynical. France suffers from structural economic rots, including deep problems with regards to efficiency, work time, and protest, not to mention a nagging domestic Islamist insurgency problem. Old timers will remember that Sarkozy tried to change the French system as well, but failed due to provincial resistance and riots. And that was when Europe was fairly peaceful without any migrant problems or wars in the East. Macron is young and idealistic, and looks like David Cameron circa 2010, and we all know how that crashed and burned. Yet, there's hope. Europe needs a strong center, and France is a natural leader. One can only hope that good sense will prevail on both sides of the Channel. The external powers like China, India and U.S. already noted why the common market is good for both Britain and Europe. British policy makers surely understand that as well, and it seems that the British public is slowly getting that as well. Brexit cannot be hard, the forces of economics do not allow that, both for Europe and United Kingdom. The sane people understand that worldwide. Whether that translates to actual policy, remains to be seen. Sumantra Maitra is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SumantraMaitra.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. It is encouraging to see that despite being severely cash-strapped due to the absence of an independent allocation in the 2017 National Budget, the RTI Commission of Sri Lanka has begun hearing appeals and concluded several hearings under the globally acclaimed RTI Act No:12 of 2016. This is no doubt due to the perseverance of Commission members despite the Commission operating out of temporary premises and with skeletal staff. It was reported that the appellants were recording their appreciation of the fact that this was a law which gave ordinary people the right to ask questions from the establishment. This included even public servants who have no recourse to questioning the establishment when they themselves became the victims of injustice. Parents of children who had been denied admission to schools without giving reasons and journalists attempting to expose corruption in the Provincial Council machinery have stated that they have gone before the Commission. No doubt, all this is an important part of the RTI regime. RTI is a weapon that acts as a leveler against privilege. Whether it is the politically, socially or financially privileged makes no difference. Any citizen can file an RTI request and cannot be questioned as to why it is being filed. If it falls within the reach of the RTI Act, it will be granted. If not, then those refusing must explain why and will be held responsible before the Commission. However citizens including journalists who file appeals to the Commission must be aware of the legal processes even though they have been relaxed to a great extent. The RTI Act and the Regulations allow initial information requests to be filed electronically (through email). But appeals to the Commission must be by registered post or person. To our mind, this safeguard must be to prevent fraud at the appeal stage. This is necessary. The Commission sits on appeal against a decision of a Designated Officer (DO) in a Public Authority in response to a rejection of an information request by an Information Officer. A citizen cannot simply ignore an appointed DO and come directly to the Commission saying that it is of no use to appeal. The steps laid down in the law must be followed. An appeal will lie directly to the Commission only when a DO is not in place, as we understand it. The Commission has announced in a recent media statement that it is pleased with the publics use of RTI. Considerable numbers of citizens and public officers have reached out to the Commission in these early months. Its Draft Rules on the duties of Ministers to publish certain categories of pro-active information in advance will soon be available for public feedback on its eagerly awaited website. It is a special feature of our RTI Act that Ministers are required to publish information regarding future projects above a particular monetary value, including information on procurement and tender processes. These are areas where the most corruption has been evidenced. In addition and under other provisions of the Act, Ministers are also required to publish disbursements under allocated budgets. This would involve, among others, costs incurred for junkets abroad. In a further development, regulations are pending before Parliament to enable public access to the declarations of assets and liabilities of parliamentarians who are elected to office and are thus directly covered by RTI. This is a praiseworthy development and would, no doubt, further strengthen the steadily growing RTI regime in Sri Lanka. What we see taking place today is a quiet and gradual change in the culture of not asking questions which Sri Lankans have been used to for decades. Despite all the criticisms levelled against this Government, it is to its credit that it brought RTI to the citizens. Its benefits will come in the years ahead if the RTI process is supported and encouraged rather than sabotaged. Social networking outlets such as Facebook are used by people to express their personal opinions and views about issues they are interested in. Recently, a male teacher of Kuliyapitiya Central College faced repercussions from the Education Ministry allegedly for posting critical poems, which the Ministry had apparently not approved, on his Facebook page and it resulted in his being transferred to the Narammala Mayurapada Central College. However, the media unit of the Education Ministry on Wednesday stated in a media release that the transfer was made due to an administrative requirement and it had nothing to do with any investigation. The 30-year-old Science for Technology teacher Kushan Shalika, whose hobby was writing poems, told Dailymirror that the reason for his transfer was ridiculous. He said the Education Ministry had launched an investigation against him in January this year on a complaint made by Kuliyapitiya Central College Principal for writing poems that he alleged was critical of the school. A team of officials from the ministry came to the school to investigate this matter and questioned me. I let them read my poems. They said there was nothing wrong with my poems. I wrote poems about everything I feel like writing about including school life. I came to know some people are hurt by my poems. But, my intention is not to hurt anyone. Writing poems is my hobby and also my right to the freedom of expression, he said. Kushan said he had not been accused of any other misdemeanors that justified a transfer. He said as far as he was aware he had neither violated any principles as a teacher nor had he failed in carrying out his duties as required by the school. When asked by Dailymirror about the controversial reason to transfer a teacher, the Education Ministry official who worked on this particular transfer on the basis of anonymity said there was no connection between the transfer and the ministrys investigation. Violation of the teachers Fundamental Rights and right to the freedom of expression She stressed that there was an excess of Science for Technology teachers in the Kuliyapitiya Central College and therefore he was transferred to the Narammala Mayurapada Central College where there was a vacancy for a Science for Technology teacher. However, Kushan, who had assumed duties the day before Tuesday at his new school, Narammala Mayurapada Central College, told Dailymirror that there was an excess of Science for Technology teachers at the Mayurapada College and as such he had been asked to teach Mathematics to Grade-6 and 7 students. I was teaching Science for Technology subject at the Kuliyapitiya College for three years. According to recently issued Advanced Level results, my students had got district ranks. I was teaching Science for Technology subject at the Kuliyapitiya College for three years. According to recently issued Advanced Level results, my students had got district ranks. I dont believe there was a justifiable reason for them to transfer me. This transfer was not made in line with laid down procedures, he said. However, he said he would appeal to the Education Ministry against the transfer today. Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin claimed that the transfer had not been made through the Teacher Transfer Board. He urged the ministry to cancel the transfer as it was allegedly made as a result of an unnecessary issue. Former Human Rights Commissioner Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa said the act was a violation of the teachers Fundamental Rights and right to the freedom of expression. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution protects the right to the freedom of expression. It can be a public servant or any other person in the country. Any views can be expressed as long as they do not disrupt social harmony and national security. Social media is well-accepted and guaranteed in Sri Lanka. Facebook is a broad platform where people can discuss anything. There are personal blogs also. This transfer that had been made for writing critical poems on Facebook is totally unacceptable and wrong. I think the teacher should be reinstated, he said. (From left to right) Ramani Fernando - Ramani Fernando Salons, Priyantha Talwatte Deputy General Manager, Consumer Banking, Nations Trust Bank, Shalindra Fernando Chief Executive Officer, OLU Tropical Water, Ajai V. Singh Founder and President, Colombo Fashion Week & Swim Week Colombo, Muditha Ferdinando Chief Executive Officer, Linea Aqua, Shane Ingram Director Operations, Hilton Colombo, Sheran Fernando Director, SML Frontier Automotive (Pvt.) Ltd, Shiranee Yasaratne Advisor, Biodiversity Sri Lanka Swim Week Colombo 2018, presented by OLU Tropical Water, will showcase the latest swimwear collections of eleven progressive Sri Lankan designers and three international designers. As demonstrated in its previous editions, Swim Week Colombo is the foremost platform for swimwear designers in Sri Lanka as well as the region and brings together some of the leading minds in the fine art of swimwear the world over. Swim Week Colombo 2018 will take place from 27 June to 2 July with runway shows taking place on 30 June and 1 July. Swim Week Colombo was established in 2015, with the vision of creating a global platform for swimwear and positioning Sri Lanka as the swimwear capital of the world. Sri Lanka is renowned globally for its world-class swimwear manufacturing capabilities, which has engineered and produced swimwear for some of the worlds finest swimwear brands. This existing knowledge and expertise, along with Sri Lankas strategic position as an island with world-famous beaches and holiday attractions, lends itself the potential to become a global swimwear hub. "Swim Week Colombo is a strategic fashion development project which aims to showcase Sri Lanka as an expert is swimwear, resort and active wear. This year we are adopting a positioning which is close to our heart and creates an ecosystem based on Green Consciousness. This is another level of activities." Says AjaiVir Singh Founder of Swim Week Colombo. Swim Week Colombo is strongly attempting to take the position of the world's first eco-ethical fashion week, and branding has been developed as SWIM WEEK COLOMBO, GREEN CONSCIOUS AND EARTH SENSITIVE. In order to qualify this, three pillars of impact have been detailed; Impact on Garment, Impact on Supply Chain and Impact on the environment. This season, each participating designer needs to implement any one or more of the above impacts to participate. So every collection is in some way contributing to being Green Conscious and Earth Sensitive. Ajai V. Singh speaking on Swim Week Colombo Chief Executive Officer, OLU Tropical Water, Ajai V. Singh Founder and President, Colombo Fashion Week & Swim Week Colombo The Title Partner of Swim Week Colombo, OLU Tropical Water, is recognized as a premier Sri Lankan brand of natural mineral water with the potential to be recognized globally as an international brand. OLU Tropical Water is proud to be the Title Partner of Swim Week Colombo once again as principal partner. Swim Week Colombo has established itself as a key event in the Asian Fashion calendar and this years theme of Green conscious and Earth sensitive is very close to the heart of OLU as a brand as we strive to minimize our impact on the environment. says Shalindra Fernando Chief Executive Officer, OLU Tropical Water. "Swim Week Colombo is a technical collaboration with state-of-the-art swimwear manufacturer, Linea Aqua. Through this partnership, Swim Week Colombo hopes realize its vision to position Sri Lanka as a hub for swimwear design and manufacturing amongst the global creative class. We are happy to join this groundbreaking path in Sri Lanka a global swimwear hub, as The Journey is what Linea Aqua takes pride in. says, CEO of Linea Aqua, Muditha Ferdinando. Over the last decade, swimwear has been identified as one of the strongest categories in the global fashion industry, with an estimated worth of more than US$17.6 billion. Although once a status symbol of the elite, high-quality swimwear is now more accessible than ever due to the rise in the number of designers who are branching out to swimwear and the introduction of innovative fabrics and silhouettes that target a wider audience. The rise in beach culture, ease of travel to holiday destinations throughout the year and social media influencers have also lead to the rise of swimwear as a versatile, essential piece of clothing in the wardrobes of discerning fashion consumers. Hosted by Hilton Colombo, its base for the last few years, General Manager, Manesh Fernando, said Its been a great partnership that has benefitted all of us throughout the years, which has placed Sri Lanka on the global map as being a must visit destination not only for sun, sea, culture and adventure, but for fashion too. Hilton Colombo is also committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility and fully endorse Swim Week Colombos green initiative. Nations Trust Bank American Express returns once more as the Official Fashion Card of Swim Week Colombo. Swim Week is proud to associate with a card that opens doors to amazing experiences and opportunities not only in Sri Lanka but around the world. Swim Week Colombo has formed relevant and strategic partnerships with Sri Lankas leading brands and they all play an important role in pushing the annual event to international level. Jaguar as the Official Automobile Partner, Wine World is the Official Lifestyle Beverage Partner, Ramani Fernando is Official Hair and Make-Up Partner, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka and MSL Group Sri Lanka is the official PR Partner and Emerging Media is the Outdoor Digital Media Partner all who share and extend their support towards the vision and aspirations of Swim Week Colombo Swim week Colombo 2018 will feature the following segments: Art Connect In this edition of Swim Week Colombo, Art Connect will return and feature five of Sri Lankas most acclaimed artists. The artists selected for the exhibition are Mahen Perera, BanduManamperi, Vajira Gunawardena, ChathurikaJayani, AjithSusantha. Fashion and Food As with the previous seasons, Swim Week Colombo will see leading restaurants in Colombo curate limited edition menus intended to provide attendees with an unparalleled gastronomical experience exclusively during the fashion week from the 27th of June to the 2nd of July. Fashion and Food will encourage the participation of an entire spectrum of premium tastemakers which will create special events during Swim Week. Rare at Uga Residence will host the launch of Swim Week; We love fashion will be rightly held at The Love Bar at Flamingo House while Meet at the Lab will be held at The Hilton Lobby bar. Cafe Francais by Pourcel, will be the venue of the after party. This inclusion will create an expression that transcends the runway, making Summer a celebration of immaculate style and taste. Fashion Films This segment, taking place on the 30th June and 1st July, aims to encourage the active collaboration of the two creative streams of fashion and film, producing interesting and innovative interpretations. Last seasons winner Youre My Favorite returns for another season along with Jason of Ifilms, along with new directors Kavindu, Ihshan Iqbal and Reza Akram. Trend Swim Seminar Trend Swim is a panel discussion, on important and trending news on the industry, which will take place in the morning of 1st July at the Hilton Blue. The panel will comprise of 3 -4 leaders in the field and will be moderated by Mihirini de Zoysa. Topics for discussion include Global Swimwear - Future direction, trends and consumer behavior, Good and Sustainable Fashion: Building an earth-conscious future, sustainability practices and Textile Forum - Fabric technology, innovations in process and product. Last years edition of Trend Swim was praised for the valuable insight brought by the panel discussions and this years edition is expected to be just as acclaimed. Trend Swim Exhibit Sri Lanka is renowned world-wide for its state of the art manufacturing strength in swimwear. This presentation taking, place on the 1st July, will showcase the capability of manufacturers and open a window into the work that goes into turning out a designer masterpiece. To round up the week with a finale to these events, the SWC will conclude with a spectacular themed after party at the Cafe Francais Young investigative writer Varuna Priyankaras controversial book - Andonawa Reader awards for the book relating the full story Young investigative writer Varuna Priyankaras controversial book Andonawa (Wailing)--an extensive investigation into the infamous massacre of 30 Advanced Level students from two schools in Embilipitiya during the 1989-90 terror period--was awarded the readers felicitation award on Tuesday June 13. Organised by the Colombo Public Library Readers Society, the award was given by Librarian Waruni Gagabada Arachchi and Deputy Librarian Chintha Ailaperuma of the Colombo Public Library. The result of years of in-depth analysis and interviews of survivors, witnesses and court records, Andonawa is an exposure of a society rendered lawless by violence and cruelty endorsed by political authority. In a landmark case in Sri Lankas judicial history, nine individuals including army officers and soldiers were tried for kidnapping and disappearance of more than 30 students, the story is told here with impartiality and exacting detail. Exactly three years have lapsed since the Aluthgama riots - a seismic event in the history of Sri Lankas troubled ethnic relations. June 15 and 16, 2014 saw mobs in a well-organised manner, unleash collective violence on Muslim-owned businesses and homes in Aluthgama, Beruwala, Dharga Town, Welipenna and Matugama in the district of Kalutara, located along the islands south-western coastal belt. The rioting resulted in the loss of four lives, injuries to 80 and caused extensive damage to property. Apart from the tangible losses, the violence of June 2014 brought into full focus the very real and devastating consequences of a coordinated programme by divisive forces to drive hatred, fear and suspicion into the minds of the Sinhala-Buddhist population. A result of the anti-Muslim sentiment cultivated in the post-war period, the rioting and looting in Aluthgama and its neighbouring towns marked one of Sri Lankas darkest moments, severely impairing relations between the countrys Buddhist and Muslim communities on the one hand, and among the minorities and an indifferent then government on the other. Just a little over two weeks later, on December 19, 2014, the Maithri Manifesto was released promising swift and sweeping reforms. Based entirely on propaganda, this virulent anti-Muslim campaign conjured a narrative in which the Muslim minority was falsely portrayed as representing economic, cultural, demographic and political threats to the Sinhala-Buddhist majority. By levelling unsubstantiated allegations of growing radicalisation, it sought to demonise the vastly peaceful and well-integrated Muslims of Sri Lanka. Aluthgama was the culmination of a hate campaign which began on September 10, 2011 with the demolition of a Muslim shrine in Anuradhapura, believed to have been around 400 years old. As the monk-led mob attacked the religious site, police personnel stood by watching idly. Eerily enough, the visuals of the incident exposed the crux of the issue: the unwillingness of law enforcement agencies to enforce the law, and arguably even their complicity in the crimes, as violence targeting the countrys Muslim and Christian minorities escalated sharply over the suceeding months. In their treatment of the monks and their lay supporters as somehow above the law, the police, possibly were well-aware of the political patronage these discordant groups enjoyed, thus emboldened them in their vigilante actions. It was on April 20, 2012, around 200 Sinhalese including Buddhist monks staged a protest outside the Khairiya Jumma Masjid in Dambulla demanding the removal of the illegally constructed mosque from a Buddhist Sacred area. Despite a formidable police presence, the protestors were able to disrupt the traditional Friday Muslim prayers, and some among them broke into the mosque and caused damage to Islamic religious texts and property. The actions of an apparently fringe minority of Buddhist clergy and lay persons are not representative of Buddhism with its emphasis on pacifism and non-attachment just as much as actions of the anti-Islamic; so-called Islamic State (IS) are not representative of Islam. Yet there has been no condemnation of the recent spate of hate crimes by Buddhist spiritual leaders. There has been no vocal calls by them to return to the Buddhist values of tolerance and non-aggression in the way Muslims the world over are expected to condemn the atrocities committed allegedly in the name of Islam and disassociate Islam from IS. The silence of the Sinhala-Buddhist majority, notably the Maha Sangha, on the growing hostilities, hate speech and anti-minority attacks in post-war Sri Lanka is perhaps an indication that these extremist groups are capitalising on deep-seated prejudices against the minorities - the Muslims in particular of recent times. The core assertion of the nationwide campaign to fuel and intensify ethnic tension led by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and supported by groups such as the Sihala Ravaya and Ravana Balaya is that Buddhism is under threat - and that Muslims are now the primary threat - must have sunk into the recesses of the minds of a fairly significant proportion of Sinhala-Buddhist society. This is also compounded by the Mahavanmsa mind-set which regards Sri Lanka as a Sinhala-Buddhist land where others may live so long as they accept the primacy of the Sinhala-Buddhist race. This line of thinking is captured in the threat uttered by BBS leader and General Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera at the Aluthgama rally on June 15, 2014, the day prior to the eruption of the Aluthgama violence: It was on April 20, 2012, around 200 Sinhalese including Buddhist monks staged a protest outside the Khairiya Jumma Masjid in Dambulla demanding the removal of the illegally constructed mosque from a Buddhist Sacred area In this country, we still have a Sinhala Police; we still have a Sinhala Army. After today, if a single Marakkalaya (derogatory term for Muslim) or some other parayah (alien, outcast, also a derogatory term) touches a single Sinhalese.....it will be their end. Chauvinism thus gave rise to direct and violent attacks on Muslims that night and the next day. The Aluthgama attacks appear to have been hurriedly planned by the Buddhist extremist groups following the spread of a false rumour on June 11; just two days earlier that a Buddhist monk had been attacked by a Muslim near a temple in the area. The fact was that a Muslim-owned trishaw parked haphazardly on a narrow lane leading to the temple had obstructed a van transporting a monk to the temple which had led to angry words being shouted by the van driver at the missing trishaw driver who turned up to be assaulted by the van driver. It was a minor incident of two drivers hitting each other with neither being even injured. Meanwhile the monk had alighted from the van and intervened to prevent further incidents by which time neighbours had informed the police that a monk was being attacked, which did not happen at all. The false report of a monk being assaulted spread like wildfire leading to a sizeable crowd gathering outside the police station which led to three Muslims being remanded. It was two days later, the BBS exploited the minor incident by a public hate speech inciting violence against the Muslims of the area without intervening to settle the issue or allowing the law to take its course. The BBS-led public rally in the heart of the tension- ridden area resulted in four deaths and widespread destruction of Muslim property while engendering fear and demanding subservience. The mission to instil fear was a success - until a key member of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government - under which the violent attacks took place, in an unprecedented development, decided to part ways on November 21, 2014. Maithripala Sirisenas leadership to a joint opposition, many had hoped, would kick-start Sri Lankas long- awaited transition to peace and stability. From hope to fear An historic agreement was signed on December 1, 2014 to field a common candidate to defeat the incumbent at the January 2015 presidential election. 36 political parties and civic groups entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Viharamahadevi Open Air Theatre in a bid to restore democracy, stability and good governance in Sri Lanka. The MoU which was signed at a time Sri Lankans were desperate for change took cognisance of the countrys predicament. It averred that a country once seen as a model of democracy had degenerated into a place where its citizens were no longer able to live in dignity and safety. Manifestations of this reality, the agreement noted, was evident in (amongst other factors): the total breakdown of the rule of law and the severe strain on co-existence among different ethnic and religious communities. Taking into account the above, the agreement stressed the need to guarantee the primacy of the rule of law, restore democracy on the foundation of good governance, secure and advance fundamental rights and freedom, and to ensure the human right to live in dignity. Just a little over two weeks later, on December 19, 2014, the Maithri Manifesto was released promising swift and sweeping reforms. When Sri Lankans went to the polls on January 8, 2015 to elect a new president, they voted decisively in favour of change. Having endured violence, fear and discrimination, the peaceful majority of diverse ethnicities gave a fresh mandate to the Yahapalanaya coalition to live in a climate of freedom, dignity and equality. The Muslim community, revolted by the manner in which extremist groups were allowed to operate with impunity under the Rajapaksa government, voted en-bloc for the common candidate.Yet, two and-a-half years into the Yahapalanaya rule, a renewed sense of fear has gripped the Muslims of Sri Lanka. Anti-minority activities have re-surfaced, with Muslim properties - notably shops being attacked almost on a daily basis. Even as the innocent victims of the Aluthgama riots await justice three years on with the new government taking no action, a new form of low-intensity violence - dubbed A Shop a Day has created a climate of fear in place of the climate of hope that prevailed during the early days of President Sirisena administration. According to the Police, 16 major racially-motivated incidents targeting Muslims have taken place across the island since April 2017, while Muslims put the number at 30 incidents. Beyond the rhetoric of holding perpetrators accountable, no effective action has been taken towards this end. There is a deep sense of scepticism even about the recent arrests made as the firebrand monk Gnanasara Thera, the key instigator, is still at large. Rebuilding strained relations The false belief that the problem lies in the extremist ideas being propagated within Muslim society is deeply troubling. This notion makes it harder to mitigate the rising inter-religious tensions and to build mutual trust among communities. It is to the credit of the Muslims that they have remained peaceful and patient in the face of continued provocation. However, one cannot altogether dismiss the idea that an undercurrent of anti-Muslim sentiment was always there, that the end of the war simply gave a window for this to emerge. There are genuine concerns among the Sinhala-Buddhist population about the survival of their religion and culture, an anxiety that has been misdirected at minorities through false propaganda. Writing on Myanmars Buddhist nationalist groups for the Asia Times (June 9, 2017), Mathew J. Walton asserts: The current government is hesitantly and inconsistently taking steps to try to change the enabling environment that the previous government created for consequence-free anti-Muslim violence, but it needs to sincerely engage with these complex feelings of Buddhist vulnerability (without sanctioning violence or discrimination) if it hopes to facilitate reconciliation and peace. The same could be said of the current Sri Lankan context As Walton rightly points out, policy responses must find a way to engage with groups interested in the protection of Buddhism while making it clear that violence will not be tolerated. This is in the interest of all communities in Sri Lanka. Just as much as apprehending those behind the violence is essential to end the culture of impunity that prevails, it must be coupled with a proactive approach in which Buddhism is assured of its primus-inter-pares status. Unless such an approach is adopted, Sri Lanka is likely to remain trapped in ethnic friction for years to come. The U.S. government on Tuesday issued a rare alert squarely blaming the North Korean government for a raft of cyber attacks stretching back to 2009 and warning that more were likely. The joint warning from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that cyber actors of the North Korean government, referred to in the report as Hidden Cobra, had targeted the media, aerospace and financial sectors, as well as critical infrastructure, in the United States and globally. The new level of detail about the U.S. governments analysis of suspected North Korean hacking activity coincides with increasing tensions between Washington and Pyongyang because of North Koreas missile tests. The alert warned that North Korea would continue to rely on cyber operations to advance its military and strategic objectives. North Korea has routinely denied involvement in cyber attacks against other countries. REUTERS, 14th JUNE, 2017 The ruling BJP-led NDA is moving towards electing a president by consensus. To that end, it constituted a three-member committee to hold consultations with not just all its alliance partners but also the Congress-led Opposition. NDA may even be open to accepting some names which the Opposition suggests. However, it would not agree on the candidature of at least three-four names to be proposed by the Opposition. BJP is moving ahead cautiously to ensure that the president be elected not just by consensus but also without raising any controversy. Hence, two days before the Election Commission issued a notification on June 14 over the election process, the BJP constituted the committee comprising Union home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley and urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu. The BJPs committee showed an urgency of purpose. The Oppositions 10-party sub-group was scheduled to meet over discussing the presidential election on Wednesday, June 14, afternoon. Rajnath and Venkaiah pre-empted the Oppositions meeting by getting together in the morning even though Jaitley was away. Besides reportedly briefing Prime Minister Naremdra Modi over the issue after the meeting, the two BJP ministers also reached out to the Opposition. They declared that they would meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on June 16. They also spoke with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Rajya Sabha MP Satish Chandra Mishra over the phone. The Opposition leaders met in the afternoon to discuss their strategy for the presidential election. According to sources, the Opposition leaders are considering four names. But none of them may be acceptable to the BJP. 1. Sharad Pawar The NCP supremo and PM Modi have mutual admiration. And they do not have any qualms about displaying their bonhomie in public. The PM admires Pawar because at a time when all UPA ministers had boycotted him after the Gujarat riots, Pawar was the only one who stand by him. On an invitation from Pawar, PM Modi visited Vasantada Sugar Institute (VSI) in Manjari near Pune in November 2016 and lauded the NCP president as an example to others in public life. I have personal respect for Sharadrao. I was Gujarat chief minister. He helped me walk by holding my finger. I feel proud to pronounce this publicly, he said, congratulating Pawar for completing 50 years in public life in 2017. It was the second time in two years that Modi had visited an institution headed by Pawar and shared the dais with him. He visited Pawars hometown Baramati in February 2015 to inaugurate a Krishi Vigyan Kendra building. He also ate lunch at Pawars home. The NCP supremo returned the compliments in equally glowing terms. He said, I get surprised by the way Modi works. Yesterday, he was in Japan and in the morning he went to Goa. In the afternoon, Modi came to Belgaum and now he is at VSI. I dont know where he is going in the night. This shows his total commitment to the cause of the country. Pawar also was one of the few Opposition leaders who had backed Modis demonetisation move. Despite the bonhomie, PM Modi is unlikely to recommend Pawars candidature for the presidents post. Pawars name is linked to a number of controversies and corruption cases. He was named as a beneficiary in a stamp paper scam by convicted criminal Abdul Karim Telgi during a narco analysis test. In 2007, BJP had demanded Pawar's resignation for his alleged hand in a multi-crore scam involving wheat imports. Pawars name is also involved in the controversial Lavasa Lake City project in Maharashtra. He allegedly demanded compensation for allowing the planned city. 2. Meira Kumar The former Lok Sabha Speaker has a clean record. The senior Congress leader is also the daughter of freedom fighter Jagjivan Ram who was the deputy prime minister in the Morarji Desai government. Before it was formed in 1980, BJP was part of the Janata Party government. Meira Kumar belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. However, PM Modi apparently has a better candidate in Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu, who is not just a woman but who also belongs to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. India has already had an SC president in KR Narayanan in 1997 and a woman in Pratibha Patil in 2007. But India has never had a president belonging to the ST category. If at all the Opposition suggests Meira Kumars name, BJP may spring Murmus name as a better alternative. 3. Sharad Yadav The Rajya Sabha MP and former JD(U) presidents name is doing the rounds as a probable candidate of the Opposition. Yadav is a former Union minister and has a long parliamentary career. An acolyte of Jayaprakash Narayan, he was active during Emergency in the mid-1970s. Sharad Yadav has courted controversies on several occasions for making sexist remarks. Ahead of the Assembly elections to five states earlier this year, he made a bizarre analogy between the izzat (honour) of a vote and a woman. Honour of vote is bigger and important than honour of daughter, he said at a function in Patna. In 2015, while discussing the Insurance Bill, he said in the Rajya Sabha, The body of women from south is as good as beautiful they are. They (women) in our region are not that good as those (in south) know dancing. Modi would not like to see someone on the presidents chair who carries an impression of not according due respect to women. On the other hand, the PM is known to be promoting gender equality and has even launched "Beti Bachao, Bati Padhao" campaign with gusto. 4. Gopalkrishna Gandhi Former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi is the front runner among the probable candidates reportedly shortlisted by the Opposition so far. The grandson of Mahatma Gandhi has already got the support of the Left. He is a retired IAS officer and a diplomat. However, being a "Gandhi" may go against him as far as getting the support of NDA is concerned. He is known to be rabidly anti-BJP and RSS. This may not allow Modi to agree to his candidature. The ruling BJP seems to have got a hint of the likely consensus being built in the Opposition for Gandhi's name. Flash A photo of Zhang Yingying released by the police. The search continues for a Chinese visiting scholar who has been missing from the University of Illinois' Urbana-Champaign campus since Friday, as the FBI has gotten involved and students light up social media with safety concerns. UIUC police say a video shows 26-year-old Zhang Yingying of Fujian getting into the passanger side of a black Saturn Astra on the afternoon of June 9 after texting a prospective landlord that she was on her way to sign a lease. She has been missing ever since. The FBI confirmed on Wednesday the case is being treated as kidnapping. "The FBI has been involved, which is routine in missing persons cases," Patrick Wade, communications director of the UIUC Police Department, told China Daily. "But that they have identified the plate number is incorrect information, which gained traction on social media." Police posted the video and photos of Zhang on their website (police.illinois.edu), asking people to view the images and offer whatever information they could. Zhang had been living in the college town for a month. Police say she was last seen wearing a pink and white flannel shirt, blue jeans, white shoes and a gray hat with a white logo on the front. She was also carrying a dark blue backpack. Apart from using the resources offered by partner law enforcement agencies and the FBI, UIUC Police also "continue to work with rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft, cellphone companies, check vehicle records and have pursued other information offered to us by members of the public", the website says. The issue of student safety has come into focus since the incident was reported. Chinese overseas students say they avoid going out alone at night. If they have to, they ask others to accompany them. Students are also wary of unfamiliar places with few people and they avoid strangers. Kris Wong, a student at Columbia University in New York City said he was concerned for college-age women. "After the night's activities, we usually go home together, like taking an Uber. Especially for girls, we usually accompany them home after they get out of the car," said Wong. Baron Yan, a junior at Purdue University, said, "For me if someone is way too friendly and I don't know the person, I tell them to have a nice day and walk away, because you never know what sort of motives they have, good or bad, I would rather not take the chance." He offered a few tips for foreign students in America. "They may think all Americans are good-hearted people because of how friendly they are and how willing they are to help. Though a majority of Americans are this, there are a few who have ulterior motives as to why they are friendly." Wade emphasized the importance of 911. He suggests that even under normal circumstances, students should always be aware. "We are deeply troubled anytime we believe a member of our campus community may be in danger, but we are very grateful for our community's support for Ms. Zhang," the police website reads. You are here: Home Flash The national flag of Pakistan is raised at the SCO headquarters in Beijing on June 15, 2017.[China.org.cn] A solemn ceremony of raising national flags of Pakistan and India, the newly admitted SCO states, was held at SCO headquarters in Beijing on June 15, 2017. Welcoming the guests, SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov said that on June 9, in Astana, Kazakhstan, leaders of the founding states of SCO made a historic decision to accept Pakistan and India as full- fledged members of the SCO, and from today, eight members will be united by the "Shanghai Spirit". Masood Khalid, Ambassador of Pakistan to China, addresses the ceremony. [China.org.cn] The national flag of Pakistan was raised to the tune of national anthem followed by an address delivered by Masood Khalid, Ambassador of Pakistan to China. He termed June 9 as a historic day symbolizing the start of a new journey for Pakistan and pledged to work for a shared vision of common development. Thanking the six founding members of SCO, Secretary General of SCO, government of Kazakhstan and the Chinese government, the ambassador said that we shall work together to harness the SCO potential for enhancing regional security, connectivity, economic integration and people-to-people exchanges. Earlier, the national flag of India was raised after Ambassador of India to China delivered a speech. The ceremony was concluded with the "Shanghai Spirit Drum" being hit by Ambassadors of Pakistan and India and a group photo. You are here: Home Flash Ghanaian Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia will pay an official visit to China from June 20 to 25 at the invitation of Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced Thursday. You are here: Home Flash Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira will pay an official visit to China from June 16 to 20 at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced Thursday. He will also attend a meeting of foreign ministers from BRICS countries, to be held in Beijing from June 18 to 19, Lu said. HOUSTON Derek Fisher didn't have to wait too long to collect his first major league hit. The wait for No. 2 was even shorter. Fisher, a former Virginia star, homered and had an RBI single for his first major league hits in a nine-run sixth inning to help the Houston Astros to a 13-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night to avoid a three-game sweep. "Something you can dream of," he said. "I can't say that I would expect to have something like that my first night. But definitely happy that it happened." The Astros led by three with no outs in the sixth when Fisher, who made his MLB debut on Wednesday, connected off Jeremy Jeffress for a solo home run to the seats in left field. Two pitches later, Jake Marisnick hit a pitch into nearly the same spot to extend the lead to 6-1. Houston had pushed the lead to 10-1 when Fisher came up again with two outs in the inning. This time he laced a single to right field to send another run home. "It's a tall task to ask the team to get a guy up twice [in one inning] in his debut," manager A.J. Hinch said. Fisher is the first player to get the first two hits of his career in the same inning since Adam Laroche did it for the Braves on April 7, 2004. Fisher was called up when OF Josh Reddick was placed on the 7-day concussion list on Wednesday, retroactive to Tuesday. Reddick was injured when he crashed into the wall trying to make a catch on Monday night. Considering College in Europe? Here's What You Should Know Its not uncommon for college dancers to immerse themselves in a new culture for a semester abroad. But what about for their entire four years? Though its not a path many prospective students consider, its one that comes with major benefitsif youre up for a different kind of college experience. Q: How are European dance programs different from American ones? A: Most university-level dance programs in Europe dont include the academic component that American schools do. But for students whose sole focus is dance training, its ideal. All the classes have been about growing as an artist, says Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance student Sarah Ann Taylor, who is originally from Virginia. The grading system will likely vary from what youre used to in America, warns Laban lecturer Naomi Lefebvre Sell. Some countries use an alternative scale, while others just measure grades differently. It may take time to understand and adjust to the new standards. Sarah Ann Taylor, PC Keith Trodd Photography Q: Will I have to learn another language to attend school abroad? A: Some dance programs in Europe are taught in English. Either way, students should make an attempt to learn the language of the country where theyll be moving. Q: Do I need to visit the school before making a decision? A: Just like in the American college admissions process, its highly recommended that you visit. If a trip overseas isnt possible, research the teachers thoroughly, suggests Sell. You can also try going on a virtual tour of the campus or chatting with someone from the school on the phone. Erica Badgeley, PC Chris Rogl Q: Can I pursue performance opportunities while in Europe? A: Because of student visa restrictions, you technically wont be allowed to perform outside of your school. Be sure that youll be satisfied with the opportunities that your program provides. Q: What about tuition? A: In most European countries, college is significantly cheaper than in the U.S. German public universities are freeeven for foreigners. Students usually just pay for transportation and school maintenance fees totaling around $350 per semester. And in the UK, most programs only last three years. Q: What new techniques should I be prepared to learn? A: There is a lot of rolling on the floor, says Taylor. If youre planning on attending school in Europe, you may need to conquer any floorwork fears. Artesis Plantijn Hogeschool Antwerpen teacher Matteo Moles adds that in Belgium, floorwork is an essential part of training, especially a technique called flying low. If youre intimidated, take a break-dancing class or find a flying low teacher in the U.S. to help you get comfortable with the floor, suggests recent Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance graduate Erica Badgeley. Matteo Moles, PC Freddy Korthoudt Q: What are some of the benefits of studying in Europe? A: If you already see Europe as your career destination, attending college there can give you a valuable head start. After you graduate, youll have people to support you while youre getting your work visa, says Badgeley. I can go to almost any country and have a place to stay. Even if you come back to the U.S. after school, youll have a unique background that could make you desirable on the audition circuit. Sanctions are being considered by the United States on countries that still conducts illegal business with North Korea according to US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. He stated that the White House would soon have to decide whether to impose "secondary sanctions" on those nations. The Trump administration has sought to increase its pressure on North Korea over its nuclear and missile activities especially after Pyongyang's recent missile tests - which are banned by the UN. The recent test has sparked international alarm once more. North Korea is believed to be making progress toward developing a ballistic missile that is capable of reaching the United States according to investigators and experts monitoring the situation in the Peninsula. However, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson's warning only came while in a hearing at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee this Tuesday. He stated: "We are in a stage where we are moving into this next effort of 'Are we going to have to, in effect, start taking secondary sanctions because countries we have provided information to have not, or are unwilling, or don't have the ability to do that?'" Washington has no trade links with North Korea and has been considering sanctioning companies from third countries who deal with the secretive regime of Kim Jong-un in violation of the UN resolutions. However, Tillerson did not give any names of the said countries. He said the North Korea issue would be discussed with China, Pyongyang's major ally, at a high-level talks next week. Asked whether China has been fulfilling its pledges to put more pressure on North Korea, Tillerson said: "They have taken steps, visible steps that we can confirm." In the committee hearing, Tillerson also stated that United States' Policy is of greater economic openness and was providing financial support to a "very oppressive regime" in Cuba. President Trump; however, is expected to announce a strict set of rules on trade and travel as early as Friday. Aside from Cuba, America's relations with Russia were at an "all-time low" over the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, and also over alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections. Its future remains to be undetermined so far under Trump's administration. As part of the historic peace accord that was signed by FARC and the Columbian government signed last year, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejercito del Pueblo, FARC-EP and FARCC, Colombia's rebel group has officially surrendered 30% of its weapons to the United Nations inspectors. The President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, said the gesture showed that the agreement with the rebels was going ahead as planned. 60% of Farc's weapons were now decommissioned. Under the terms of the accord, FARC has agreed to give up more than five decades of armed struggle for the sake of peace. "This is a historic day. Peace will be built little by little, like a cathedral, which you build brick by brick," said President Santos. It was not exactly the picture many Colombians were expecting to see - but it is at least a picture. Up until now, the disarmament of the FARC had been only told with words: words from the rebel group. However, it is only now that the government and the UN expressed their statements and confirmed that the weapons had been handed over and put in safe containers. Images of rifles, RPGs and pistols being checked and stored by a UN observer has been seen in the news. Some might still think that that is not enough and said that the FARC should openly show how they renounce their weapons. They want photographs of fighters handing their rifles to the UN in real time. FARC insists that would be an image of defeat, one they do not want to convey. They insist that they have reached a deal and certainly did not surrender. "Demobilization is being achieved at a very fast rate," President Juan Manuel Santos said to mark a ceremony in La Elvira, but the bad weather kept him from attending in person. The peace accord was reached in August of last year after four years of negotiations in Cuba; but, Colombian voters rejected it by a narrow margin in a referendum a few months later. Some argued the accord went too easy on the rebel force. It was then revised a month later and approved by the Congress before it is implemented by both parties. FARC rebels have until the 20th of June 2017 to hand over all their weapons - a deadline that was extended from an original date of 30 May 2017. For his efforts to reach peace with the FARC, President Santos was awarded in last year's Nobel Peace Prize Prize. New Delhi: India's antitrust watchdog on Wednesday imposed a fine of 870 million rupees ($13.6 million) on South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co's local unit, accusing the company of anti-competitive behaviour. The Competition Commission of India in its order alleged that Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) contravened competitive practices by imposing certain arrangements upon its dealers including monitoring the maximum permissible discount level and mandating the use of recommended lubricants and oils. The penalty has been levied at 0.3 percent of Hyundai Motor India's average relevant turnover of the preceding three years, the anti-competition watchdog said. "For the purposes of determining the relevant turnover for the impugned infringement, revenue from sale of motor vehicles alone have been taken into account," the watchdog said, adding the final order was passed on the basis of information provided by the dealers. Hyundai, in a late night statement, said they were surprised by the order and were looking into the matter. "We are studying the order in detail and will take necessary course of action to challenge the order at appropriate level to protect the interest of our customers and channel partners by abiding (by) all the laws of land," Hyundai said. TRAI has also favoured cancellation of permits of 23 companies which did not respond to its call for discussion on the issue. New Delhi: Telecom regulator TRAI today recommended that international roaming SIM card and global calling card providers should pay Rs 5,000 as compensation to consumers who face service failure during an overseas travel. The compensation of Rs 5,000 has been suggested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) both for pre-paid and post-paid subscribers. Pre-paid customers should additionally get full refund of the amount they have already paid to the service provider, TRAI suggested to the telecom department, DoT. The regulator's recommendations pertain to the sale and rent of international roaming SIM cards and global calling cards of foreign operators in India. The compensation has been recommended in cases of "non- activation of services, no usage of the card for reasons beyond the control of the customer like poor network coverage, in-compatibility of handsets etc". TRAI has also said that the penalty and refund should be remitted to the customer within 15 days of their return and reporting non-usage of the card. The sector regulator also suggested cancellation of the permits of such companies in case 10 per cent of the total international SIM cards sold by them are found to be non- working. The regulator recommended that international SIM card sellers should set up grievance redressal mechanism. For early settlement of complaints they should set up an appellate authority having representation from the company and the telecom department, it said. TRAI has also recommended that purchase of global calling cards and International SIM cards be done though digital mode only that is net banking, credit or debit cards and e-wallets. The move by TRAI follows detailed discussions with international SIM card and global calling card companies, after a number of user complaints were received by the regulator. The discussion between regulator and players was held after an SMS-based survey initiated by the regulator revealed that nearly half the consumers who used such services claimed it worked partially or did not work at all. TRAI has also favoured cancellation of permits of 23 companies which did not respond to its call for discussion on the issue. New Delhi: State-owned oil firms IOC, BPCL and HPCL today signed an agreement to jointly set up India's biggest refinery at Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra at a cost of USD 30 billion or Rs 2 lakh crore. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will be the lead partner with 50 per cent stake while Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) will take 25 per cent stake each. The three oil refining and marketing companies signed the joint venture agreement here this evening. The pact was signed by IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh, HPCL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Kumar Surana and BPCL Chairman and Managing Director D Rajkumar. Officials said the 60 million tonnes capacity refinery at Babulwadi, Taluka Rajapur in Ratnagiri district is being set up keeping in mind the future fuel demand and the export potential of the country. The refinery and the accompanying mega petrochemical complex will be set up in two phases. Phase-1 will be 40 million tonnes together with an aromatic complex, naphtha cracker and polymer complex. Phase-1 will cost Rs 1.2-1.5 lakh crore and will come up in five-six years from the date of land acquisition, they said. The entire refinery will include three crude units of 20 million tonnes each -- first of these will be part of phase-1. The second phase will cost Rs 50,000-60,000 crore, they said. IOC has been looking at West coast for a refinery as catering to customers in West and South was difficult with its refineries mostly in the North. HPCL and BPCL have also been looking at a bigger refinery because of constraints they face at their Mumbai units. The refinery will produce petrol, diesel, LPG, ATF and feedstock for making petrochemicals that are basic building blocks in plastic, chemical and textile industries. Fifteen million tonnes a year is the biggest refinery any public sector unit has set up in one stage. IOC recently started its 15 million tonnes unit at Paradip in Odisha. Reliance Industries holds the distinction of building the biggest refinery in India till now. It built its first refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat with a capacity of 27 million tonnes, which was subsequently expanded to 33 million tonnes. It has built another unit adjacent to it for exports, with a capacity of 29 million tonnes. The refinery being planned by the state-owned firms will be bigger than that. The phase-1 itself will be bigger than any one single unit. Being on the West coast will provide the unit a natural advantage of easily sourcing crude oil from the Middle-East, Africa and South America, officials said, adding East coast was not being considered as shipping crude oil there will add at least USD 1 per barrel to cost. Also, moving products to consumption heartland from west will not be difficult. India has a refining capacity of 232.066 million tonnes, which exceeded the demand of 194.2 million tonnes in 2016-17 fiscal. According to International Energy Agency (EA), this demand is expected to reach 458 million tonnes by 2040. IOC has 11 refineries with a total capacity of 81.2 million tonnes while BPCL has four refineries with a total capacity of 33.4 million tonnes. HPCL has three refineries with a total capacity of 24.8 million tonnes. Overall, the country's mutual fund industry managed an asset base of over Rs 19 lakh crore New Delhi: Mutual fund houses added close to19 lakh investor accounts in April-May of 2017-18, taking the total tally to a record 5.72 crore, driven by growing interest from retail and HNI investors alike. This is on top of 77 lakh folios added in the entire past fiscal and 59 lakh in the preceding financial year. In the two years, investor accounts went up following robust contribution from smaller towns. Folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts though an investor can have multiple ones. According to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) on total investor accounts with 42 active fund houses, the number of folios rose to a record 5,71,90,112 at the end of May from 5,53,99,631 at March-end, a gain of 17.90 lakh. Growing participation from retail as well as HNI (high net worth individuals) categories have contributed to higher overall investor accounts, FundsIndia.com Head of Mutual Fund Research Vidya Bala said. The number of retail investor accounts, which comprise equity, equity-linked saving schemes and balanced categories, surged to 4.60 crore in May-end from 4.4 crore at the end of March. "A good percentage of investors stay invested in equity oriented schemes for at least 24 months or more than that. This increase in equity-oriented schemes holding period is for applicability of long-term capital gain," Bajaj Capital CEO Rahul Parikh said. "Even the Investors' confidence in MF has increased. Now they are holding their investments in equity-oriented schemes for a longer period of time for both lumpsum as well as SIP (systematic investment plan) investments," he added. Overall, the country's mutual fund industry managed an asset base of over Rs 19 lakh crore, which is likely to cross the Rs 20 lakh crore mark this fiscal. Mutual funds are investment vehicles made up of a pool of funds collected from a large number of investors. The funds are invested in stocks, bonds and money market instruments, among others. It is now up to Judge Steven Cray whether to allow what could be a critical piece of evidence against Brady W. Wolfe, who is charged with homicide by vehicle use-control substance. Cray has to decide whether the results of a blood test taken of Wolfe while Wolfe was in a medically-induced coma can be admitted during a planned January trial. He is scheduled to make a ruling at 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 28. The 26-year-old Wolfe is also charged with intentional abuse of a hazardous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia in the Aug. 16, 2013 death of 19-year-old Caston Arnold. Arnold was a passenger in silver 2011 Kia Forte that Wolfe was driving on Business 53 (also called North Hastings Way) and Melby Street in the part of the city of Eau Claire thats in Chippewa County. The car had been driven under a semi-trailer as it was turning eastbound onto Melby Street. The roof of the two-door car was sheared off in the crash. The case was placed on hold for years while a case with similar circumstances wound its way through state courts. In that case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court found that, under some circumstances, law enforcement agents may take blood samples from an unconscious driver without obtaining a warrant. But that ruling didnt settle the matter in Wolfes case. So on Wednesday Cray heard arguments from Assistant District Attorney Chad Verbeten and defense attorney Sarah Harless about the circumstances of taking Wolfes blood sample. The blood draw John McIntyre, who retired as an Eau Claire police officer in Jan. 2015, testified that in 2013 he was called to the crash scene at 2:25 a.m. There was a can of Dust Off laying on the (Wolfe vehicle) passenger floorboard, McIntyre said. He said that product can be used to produce an intoxicated state called huffing. The active ingredient in the product goes through a persons system at a rapid rate, he said. One ambulance crew took care of Arnold and a second Wolfe. I thought he was gravely injured as well, McIntyre said of Wolfe. He said Wolfe was screaming to help him. McIntyre said he was instructed by Eau Claire Police Sgt. Aaron Jensen to follow the Wolfe ambulance to HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital and get a blood work from Wolfe. McIntyre said he did the paperwork for a search warrant which would have been needed if Wolfe had turned down have a blood test done. Then McIntyre said he was told Wolfe was in a medically-induced coma. Every bone in Mr. Wolfes face was broken, he said. The blood draw was conducted at 4:31 a.m. Mr. Wolfe was not able to follow our instructions...He didnt comprehend what was going on, McIntyre said. Cray asked: What would you have done if the subject, Mr. Wolfe, had refused (the blood draw)? McIntyre replied: I would have notified Sgt. Jensen. Jensen, who has 19 years of experience of police work, said: I directed Officer McIntyre to Sacred Heart Hospital and (to) ready to him the form of the accused and to obtain two vials of blood if he consented. Jensen said that was protocol for Eau Claire Police at the time. SBI's exposure to telecom companies is in the range of Rs 80,000 crore. (Photo: Representational Image) New Delhi: Four major lenders, including SBI and HDFC Bank, today voiced concerns over "stress" in the telecom sector and flagged possibility of defaults by debt- laden operators at a meeting with an inter-ministerial group. The group, constituted to suggest policy reforms in the telecom sector, asked the banks to come back with more information like level of exposure to telecom sector and extent of 'stress' in the next meeting, an official who was present in the meeting told PTI. "They (the banks) say that the sector may be in stress and there can be defaults ... We have asked the banks for more data," said the official after emerging from the two-hour long meeting with the lenders. Punjab National Bank and Axis Bank are the two other lenders that attended the IMG meeting today. The IMG may meet these banks once more but the date for the same has not been finalised yet. The group, comprising officials from telecom and finance ministries, is meeting operators and lenders to discuss financial difficulties faced by the telecom industry, whose debt burden stands at a whopping Rs 4.6 lakh crore. One of the officials said that SBI's exposure to telecom companies is in the range of Rs 80,000 crore. An executive of PNB said that if revenues of operators have come down "a solution has to be found", but remained tight lipped about the measures that the bank proposed in the meeting. Last month, SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya in a letter to the Telecom Secretary had stated that the stress in the telecom sector has reached "unsustainable levels". "The stress in the sector has reached highly unsustainable levels after the entry of new players and launch of free services which led to erosion of topline and EBITDA of the telecom service providers," the letter had said. The letter had noted that the total EBITDA in the sector on an annualised basis is Rs 65,000 crore, which is "clearly unsustainable" for debt of more than Rs 4 lakh crore. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation or EBITDA is a measure of a company's operational performance. SBI had also sought immediate and large scale intervention to "stem the slide". The inter-ministerial group is next scheduled to meet the big three operators, Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, on June 16. The panel has already met senior executives from Reliance Jio, Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices and Aircel. It has held discussions with telecom PSUs Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd too this week. Meanwhile, the telecom regulator will meet all the operators tomorrow to understand the financial difficulties being faced by the industry and measures that can be taken to ease the situation. The incumbent operators have been vocal about the onslaught of free voice and data offers by the aggressive newcomer Reliance Jio (RJio), and its impact on the industry's revenue in FY2016-17. Incidentally, India, with over 1.16 billion mobile users is the second largest telecom market in the world, after China. But telecom operators lament they are facing pressure on income and profitability on account of competition intensified by the entry of RJio -- owned by Mukesh Ambani. Last month, Idea Cellular reported a consolidated loss of Rs 325.6 crore in the three-month period ended March 2017, hurt by the severe tariff war. Indias largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel, too, reported its lowest quarterly profit in four years as net earnings plunged 72 per cent in January-March, hit by "sustained predatory pricing" by Jio. London: Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya is considering changing his Formula One team's name to make the outfit more attractive to potential sponsors. The Silverstone-based team have gone through various guises already, starting out as Jordan in 1991 and then becoming Midland in 2006 and Spyker in 2007 before Mallya took control in 2008. Force India have never had an Indian driver, while the team's Indian sponsors were mostly brands linked to aviation and beer tycoon Mallya or co-owner the Sahara Group. "There is a growing feeling that maybe since we are a much-improved team in terms of performance and attracting more international sponsors, and sadly less Indian sponsors, there is a debate as to why the name should not be changed to give it a more international flavour," Mallya told motorsport.com. "There are some people who believe the current name Force India is restrictive psychologically. "I'm considering along with the other shareholders what steps to take but it's a major decision and one that is not going to be taken in a hurry without due consideration." Mallya said there was a proposal on the table from one sponsor about a name change, and his current legal situation had nothing to do with the idea. Mallya last week rejected speculation about a possible sale. The flamboyant 61-year-old was arrested by British police in April on behalf of the Indian authorities, who accuse him of fraud. India is seeking Mallya's extradition over unpaid loans tied to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines after the businessman moved to Britain in March last year. He has repeatedly dismissed the charges against him. It is not the first time Mallya has mooted a team name change -- he also did so in 2015 when there was talk of a deal with sportscar maker Aston Martin and whisky brand Johnnie Walker. "I named the team Force India only to give India and all of the motorsport fans in my country pride of place on a Formula One grid," he told Reuters at the time. "But they've enjoyed that for eight years and now they know this team is synonymous and will still be an entry from India flying the Indian flag. So what name we run under is not as critically important as it was for the first three or four years." Force India finished fourth overall last season, a position they currently occupy after seven races. The industry has cut down the production by about 50 per cent in May and June. New Delhi: The Granite industry today urged the government to lower the GST rate of 28 per cent on granite polished slabs as higher taxes would impact the labour- intensive sector. According to JIGANI Granite Industries Owners Welfare association, prices would go up after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1. The industry has cut down the production by about 50 per cent in May and June, anticipating lower granite demand with rise in price for end user post the GST rollout, it said in a statement. "The GST Council has announced a tax of 28 per cent on granite polished slabs, which was earlier 14.5 per cent," the association said. Granite sector is a labour intensive sector and employs over 75,000 people directly and indirectly in and around Jigani and Bangalore area, it said. "We request the government to lower the rate of GST to flat 12 per cent on granite slab products," it said. Spokesperson Lalit Rathi said majority of factories are of small scale and several granite units are already struggling to sustain operations following the decline in exports due to global slowdown and demonetisation. In the first five months of 2017, India's oil imports from Iran still jumped about 64 per cent, the data showed. New Delhi: India's oil imports from Iran have fallen to their lowest since June 2016, shipping data shows, in possible retaliation for Tehran not awarding a gas field development to Indian companies. India, Iran's top oil client after China, shipped in 487,600 barrels per day (bpd) in May, about 9 per cent less compared with April and nearly 40 per cent less than a peak registered in October, according to ship tracking data obtained from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts. Most Western-led sanctions against Tehran's nuclear programme were lifted in January last year, and India's Iranian crude imports began climbing two months later in March. In the fiscal year to March 2018, though, India has said it plans to order about a quarter less Iranian crude due to a snub over development of Iran's Farzad B gas field. "We stood by them in difficult times. We still buy substantial amounts of oil from them, and we expect reciprocity from Iran," Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters on Wednesday when asked if India was still hopeful of getting the development rights for the Farzad B field. Following years of seeming rapprochement over the field, Iran has likely reached an agreement on the concession with Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, Russian and Indian media have reported. Iran last month said India had not offered an acceptable proposal on the Farzad B development. Sri Paravaikkarasu of energy consultancy FGE said India's lower Iran imports were a "reaction of Iran's decision to award the gas field to Russia and the availability of cheaper grades like those from Russia." India was one of four countries - China, Japan and South Korea being the other three - that continued to import large amounts of Iranian oil after sanctions were toughened in 2012. Some of the drop in imports from Iran may be due to lower demand. Overall, India imported about 4.2 per cent less oil in May, compared with April, due to a shutdown of the 180,000-bpd Bathinda refinery for upgrades. In the first five months of 2017, India's oil imports from Iran still jumped about 64 per cent, the data showed. While Iran's oil exports to India are stalling, supplies to Europe and Turkey hit their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in 2016. Iraq continued to be India's biggest oil supplier for the second month in a row in May, followed by Saudi Arabia. Middle Eastern oil in May accounted for 65 per cent of India's overall imports, compared to 71 per cent a year ago, while the import share of Africa and Latin America have risen, the data showed. The shift is likely a result of an effort led by the Middle East-dominated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut production to prop up oil prices. India has over 30 lakh SMEs, which contribute almost 50 per cent of the total industrial output, and can create a big market for tax service providers. Hyderabad: The complexity of GST rules has brought big players like global tax consultancy firm KPMG into indirect tax compliance field, which was hitherto dominated by individual chartered accounts, to offer solution to small business. After the rollout of GST, businesses would have comply with a lot of rules. And it would put severe strain on small businesses, who dont have wherewithal to comply with so many rules, said Santosh Dalvi, partner and head, western India, indirect tax, KPMG India. GST requires all businesses to upload data every day. Every month, a business entity must file three returns every month, apart from an annual return. This makes an indirect assessee to file 37 returns in a year. For this, a high level of synchronisation between tax payers application an invoicing software and the GST system. This cumbersome process, however, has opened up a new market for organised players like KPMG, Cleartax, Tally, among others to tap small businesses, which till now serviced by chartered accounts. India has over 30 lakh SMEs, which contribute almost 50 per cent of the total industrial output, and can create a big market for tax service providers. HP has tied up with KPMG to offer a buddled tax software with its laptop, which could be bought on EMI. Cleartax also offers software, which is available in both online and offline modes on annual subscription model. Mumbai: Stuart Ford's IM Global has finally signed a first-look deal with Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company will be run by Depp and his longtime producing partner Christi Dembrowski as well as Sam Sarkar and Stephen Deuters. In a statement, Ford said, "Johnny is, of course, a globally recognized superstar but, as importantly, we at IM Global love Infinitum Nihil's idiosyncratic and taste-driven view of the movie-making world and the unique brand that Johnny, Christi and their team have developed." Adding, "We're building this relationship in order to generate great movies for the global audience with a like-minded creative partner, and with IM Global's reputation as a company that has enjoyed frequent success greenlighting bold films outside of the confines of the major studio system, I feel certain that our newly extended filmmaking partnership with Infinitum Nihil will be a fruitful one." IM Global, whose most recent credits include Mel Gibson's 'Hacksaw Ridge' and Martin Scorsese's 'Silence,' is financing and co-producing Depp's next film, 'Richard Says Goodbye'. Written and directed by Wayne Roberts, the film is set to begin production this summer. IM Global's relationship with Infinitum Nihil began last year when IM Global Television announced that it was developing a music-driven TV drama series about the legendary Muscle Shoals recording studio based on Rick Hall's autobiography 'The Man From Muscle Shoals: My Journey From Shame to Fame,' with Infinitum Nihil producing alongside Richard Branson's Virgin Produced. Depp is currently in theaters with 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,' which has crossed the 600 million USD mark worldwide since its release last month. Mumbai: IIFA 2017 is all set to be a platform for complete fun with Karan Johar and Saif Ali Khan hosting the big night. Varun Dhawan is all set to make a debut at IIFA Awards with a stunning performance and will be also be seen co-hosting a segment of the star-studded awards night. IIF Awards is amongst the most coveted and highly anticipated award celebration that honors the very best of Indian Cinema with the highest level of achievement seen through the glamorous statuette. The 18th Edition of IIFA Awards 2017, to be held at New York's iconic MetLife Stadium on July 15, will witness power-packed performances by Bollywood superstars- Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon, to name a few. Commenting on the occasion, Karan Johar said, "IIFA is the most awaited international award function of the Indian film fraternity. I am excited and look forward to hosting the 18th Edition of the IIFA Weekend And Awards. New York will be spellbound with the magic of IIFA!" Saif Ali Khan added, "I am happy to be back to the IIFA stage this year as I join my close friend Karan Johar to host the IIFA Awards in New York. The excitement for IIFA has been steadily growing worldwide. This year it's going to be super fun and glamorous in every way as Karan and I are going to have lots of surprises in store for our fans internationally!" Varun Dhawan shared, "I am absolutely excited to be a part of IIFA Awards in New York this year. I'm looking forward to joining everyone and see fans at the amazing MetLife Stadium. This year is truly going to be a grand celebration and I can't wait to be there!" Commenting on the occasion, Andre Timmins, Director- Wizcraft International, the producers and creator of the IIFA movement said, "With the 18th Edition of IIFA weekend and awards, we look forward to bring the world of Indian cinema to life in its premier edition in New York for existing and new audiences at the NEXA IIFA Awards Powered by VIVO. I am excited to announce two of the biggest talented stars in Bollywood, Karan Johar and Saif Ali Khan as the hosts of the awards night. We are thrilled to have Varun Dhawan make his debut at the IIFA stage and co-host a special segment at the awards this year. Get ready to witness the magic of IIFA as Bollywood descends in America to celebrate Indian cinema like never before." Mumbai: Salman Khan has an answer to war send all warmongers to the front. War will be over in a day, the actor predicted. Let all those who call for war be made to pick up guns and move to the front, he told reporters at a media conference here on his upcoming film Tubelight, which is about the India-China conflict of 1962. Their legs will start trembling, their hands will start shaking and they will be back to the discussion table, he said. Asked for his opinion on war, the actor said his film uses war to talk of peace. Whenever there is a war, soldiers of both sides die. Their families are left without their sons and their fathers, he said. Salmans brother, Sohail, who plays the role of the missing soldier, said nobody supported wars, but conflicts never ended. You can ask anybody but they will not say that war is good. They will say that war is bad... Conflicts are solved across the table... Nobody supports war but it happens. Nobody knows why, he said. Mumbai: On Wednesday, after a hectic day of promotions at Mehboob Studios, Salman ditched his plush car and opted for an auto ride back home, which is a hop and skip distance away from the studio. Katrina Kaif, who apparently still holds a special space in Salmans heart was also present there with her ex-flame and co-star Ranbir Kapoor for Jagga Jasoos promotions. Apparently, on learning Salmans presence at the same venue, Katrina, who was with Ranbir, left him back to meet Salman. Since the superstar was occupied, they couldnt meet, and later while exiting the venue, the Tiger Zinda Hai actor, while discussing something escorted Katrina to her car. Later, he obliged his fans with pictures and took an auto ride back home. The driver was all smiles. According to a report in a daily, Salman apparently paid INR 1000 for the ride (for a distance which would have hardly cost him INR 50). Well, we aren't surprised! However, this is not the first time that the actor took an auto ride! Mumbai: With fatigue appearing to set in, jurors in Bill Cosbys sexual assault trial reviewed portions of his accusers testimony Wednesday as they deliberated for a third day over whether the 79-year-old star drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia estate. Jurors made the request to have portions of Andrea Constands testimony read back to them but ended the day without a verdict in a case that has already helped demolish Cosbys nice-guy reputation. They will resume deliberations Thursday morning. The panel of seven men and five women worked late for the third night in a row, asking for testimony about a detectives interview with Cosby in early 2005, about a year after Constand says the comedian assaulted her. They ordered strombolis for dinner while a court reporter raced to transcribe that portion of last weeks testimony. As deliberations crossed the 27-hour mark, some jurors closed their eyes and tilted their heads down as a court reporter reread Cosbys January 2005 interview. One slunk down in his seat, looking angry. Can you find 12 people who will agree? Thats the question, said criminal lawyer Alan J. Tauber, who wasnt involved in the case. On Wednesday, the group wanted to hear from both Cosby and his accuser. Constand testified last week that Cosby gave her pills that left her woozy, helped her to a couch and then violated her while she was passed out, unable to say no or fight his advances. The 44-year-old Toronto woman, who spent seven hours on the stand last week, was in the gallery as portions of her testimony were read back to the jury. The panel also wanted to hear again from Cosby, who didnt testify at his trial but gave a deposition as part of Constands civil suit against him and submitted to a police interview about her accusations. Pennsylvania detectives spoke to Cosby in his lawyers New York City offices a few weeks after Constand went to police in January 2005. Cosby said in the interview that he gave her Benadryl, an over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine, to help her relax. He said she didnt show any ill effects from the medicine, nor did she object as he groped her. Constands mother wiped away tears at times as the interview was read. Cosbys lawyers maintain Constand was a willing sexual partner. The long days appeared to be wearing on jurors. This is an incredible jury that has just acted with incredible dignity and fidelity, ... and I dont have any higher praise, Judge Stephen ONeill told the panel before they broke for the night. You have taken your task so seriously. Constand denies there was any romance between them and told jurors she had rebuffed his advances before the assault. She believes he gave her something stronger than Benadryl on the night she says he molested her. Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Each carries a maximum 10-year prison term, though the counts could be merged at sentencing if he is convicted. The first prosecutor to review the case in 2005 passed on it. A successor, District Attorney Kevin Steele, reversed course a decade later, after dozens of women came forward to accuse Cosby of sexual misconduct and after the public release of his startling deposition in which he spoke about giving the powerful sedative quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with. The long-married Cosby, once known as Americas Dad for his portrayal of kindly Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, called all the encounters consensual. The Rev. Andrew F. Kline, a vicar of a historic black church in Norristown who stopped by the courthouse steps Wednesday to check out the scene, said his congregation is absolutely talking about the case given Cosbys place in their lives. He was huge. He was huge. He was a role model. He couldnt escape that, Kline said. You probably want it on one level, as a celebrity. He made some powerful statements that people either said, Yeah, Amen, or Thats not the way we are. So its always difficult to look under the hood and see the reality of our lives, Kline said. I pray for him. I pray for her. I pray for everybody here that justice be done, but that there be some mercy, too, right? I mean, we need to be about that. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done. For months, President Trump has been obsessed -- publicly and privately -- with clearing his name in relation to the ongoing investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and potential collusion with members of his campaign. Trump, we know now, repeatedly asked then-FBI Director James Comey whether he, personally, was under investigation. On three occasions, Comey said he was not. "I know I'm not under investigation," Trump told NBC's Lester Holt in a May 11 interview that came just two days after Trump had fired Comey over, according to the President, the FBI director's handling of the Russia investigation. "I'm not talking about campaigns. I'm not talking about anything else," Trump added. "I'm not under investigation." That isn't true anymore, according to reporting by The Washington Post on Wednesday night. That report makes clear that three senior intelligence officers -- Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers and and former NSA deputy director Richard Ledgett -- are being interviewed this week by special counsel Bob Mueller as he looks into whether Trump obstructed justice in the Russia case. A source familiar with the matter later told CNN that Mueller's investigators have asked for information and will talk to Coats and Rogers. This paragraph from the Post story speaks for itself: "Trump had received private assurances from then-FBI Director James B. Comey starting in January that he was not personally under investigation. Officials say that changed shortly after Comey's firing." Trump wasn't under investigation personally prior to Comey's firing on May 9. But he is now, according to the Post. That's absolutely huge -- for several reasons. First, it makes it virtually impossible for the President and his administration to dismiss this probe as a sideshow or small potatoes or a distraction somehow created by the biased media. (That doesn't mean they won't do exactly that, of course.) We are now talking about the President of the United States being investigated for possibly obstructing justice in relation to a criminal probe about a foreign government meddling in our elections for the purpose of defeating his Democratic opponent. Consider that paragraph. And consider we are less than 150 days into Trump's presidency and this -- an investigation by a special counsel who also happens to be the former FBI director -- is where he finds himself. Second, it suggests that not only is the special counsel's investigation reaching upward in the White House but that is also broadening out from simply an attempt to answer the question of the breadth of Russia's hacking and whether it caught up any Trump officials in it. Looking into whether Trump obstructed justice means that Mueller is also examining the circumstances surrounding Comey's firing, which was obviously not part of the original federal probe led by Comey when he still had a job as FBI director. As the Post story notes: "The interviews (with Rogers, Coats and Ledgett) suggest that Mueller sees the question of attempted obstruction of justice as more than just a 'he said, he said' dispute between the President and the fired FBI director, an official said." That's critical given that Comey's sworn testimony regarding the pressure put on him by Trump to leave off an investigation into deposed national security adviser Michael Flynn runs directly counter to Trump's assertions about their conversations. Trump -- while not under oath, it's worth noting -- has insisted flatly that he had never urged Comey to slow or stop the Flynn investigation. Trump appeared unbowed by the new revelations. "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," he tweeted Thursday morning. He soon added: "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA" None of the above makes Trump guilty. But, what it does is take this special counsel investigation all the way into the Oval Office -- a place where it hasn't gone before. And it also suggests that Mueller isn't narrowing the scope of the investigation he took over on May 18, he's widening it. All of which makes Trump's efforts to belittle the investigation and move past it that much more difficult. Thiruvananthapuram: Siddharth Chauhan was 25 years old and had made just four short films till last year. His fourth film Papa won the best short fiction award at the International Docume-ntary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) 2016. However, he was too young to be taken seriously. This year, when he returned to Thiruvan-anthapuram with another film to be screened at IDSFFK 2017, he shares how things have changed. When I pitched Papa to potential producers, no one was ready to invest in it. But now for Pashi, two or three production houses were willing to help me out. It could not work out because of logisitics. Once again I ended up making a film on my own. But I am sure they are recognising my work, he says. His films capture the ageless beauty of Himachal, its greenery, people, mountains and picturesque cottages. (Its because he decided he would only make films in Himachal, that he is unable to collaborate with production houses in Mumbai and Delhi.) Pashi, his latest short film, is set in a Himachali village. The title is a Pahari word which means trap. I grew up in a village called Dhanoti where there is a technique to trap birds. The trap made of thread is called Pashi. It is supposed to be a manly thing to do. I learnt it from other local boys when I was 12. I continued to do it until I started practising Buddhism, and I realised it is not fair. Siddharth Chauhan The concept and the fascination surrounding setting up Pashi, he says, Was planted firmly in my mind. After Papa, I wanted to make something on Pashi. I thought it would be a beautiful film and very unique in terms of its ethnographic content as well. The film will be screened at Kairali on Friday, the opening day of IDSFFK 2017, in the 11.30 am slot. A hunt in Georgia led to the team finding two DOPs, Gika Chelidze and Bakur Chikobava, who have worked for the last 20 years on French, English, Georgian and Turkish films. Recently, when the team of Rajasekhars upcoming film PSV Garuda Vega was flying to Georgia for a month-long schedule, the cinematographers father fell sick, forcing him to head back home. Of course, it was devastating for the producer, who had spent crores of rupees on the schedule. In order to ensure that the producer didnt suffer a loss, the team had to either cancel the shoot or find a replacement at the eleventh hour. Thats when a hunt in Georgia led to the team finding two DOPs, Gika Chelidze and Bakur Chikobava, who have worked for the last 20 years on French, English, Georgian and Turkish films. Seems like they can all now heave a sigh of relief! Sundeep Kishan and Mehreen are playing the leads in a bilingual titled C/o Surya, directed by Suseenthiran of Naa Peru Siva fame. The first look of the film was recently released by Tamil top actor Suriya. Interestingly, this film is a sequel to Naa Peru Siva, which was also directed by Suseenthiran. Chakri Chigurupati of Swamy Ra Ra fame is producing this bilingual and informs that the film is now in post-production stage. The action scenes have been choreographed by Anbu and Arivu, who worked earlier on Rajinikanth-starrer Kabaali, says Chakri, adding that he is also introducing top music director from Malayalam, Imam, to Telugu audiences with this film. Sundeep Kishans earlier film Nagaram won critical acclaim and he is hoping that this film will give him a big commercial break in Telugu. Shivani, the daughter of well-known actor couple Jeevitha and Rajasekhar is all set to foray into filmdom. While she has been flooded with several offers in Tamil films, she is apparently in talks to play the lead in the sequel of a hit film Kumki, which explored the relationship between an elephant and its mahout. The makers were looking for a fresh face to play the female lead. Shivani can pull off a tribal character and so, they want to rope her in. Talks are on for now, but it looks like shes going to be okayed soon, reveals a source, adding that the films shoot will begin in July. If the sequel works out, it will be a great debut for Shivani as she will work with critically acclaimed director Prabhu Solomon. Vikram Prabhu, who was part of the first part, will also star in the sequel, which will be shot in the forests of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Patients often go wrong in choosing correct insulin injection sites, systematic rotation of injection sites and changing needles as recommended. Thiruvananthapuram: Most diabetes patients, who are on insulin therapy, practise wrong injection practices, leading to increased doses of medications and treatment failure quite often. A study presented by Jothydevs Diabetes Research Centre at the American Diabetes Association (ADA), San Diego, California, the other day revealed that 75 per cent patients went wrong in at least 10 of the insulin injection techniques such as choosing correct insulin injection sites, systematic rotation of injection sites and changing needles as recommended. Continuous diabetes education and training are mandatory to ensure that patients adopt correct insulin injection practices. The study demonstrated improvements in injection techniques as well as diabetes control when patients were given brief education sessions. When they were reassessed after six months, their three-month average blood glucose (HbA1c) decreased by 15 per cent, fasting blood glucose by 12 per cent and post-meal glucose by 19 per cent. The dosage of insulin injections reduced by 22 per cent in comparison to previous dosage. Kerala population diabetes burden is 25 per cent, requiring measures and guidelines to make patients aware of benefits of practising correct insulin injection techniques and strict compliance, said Dr Jothydev Kesavadev, who led the study. Others on the study team were Dr Arun Shankar, Dr Ashwin David Ashok, Ms Lakshmy Ramachandran, Ms Sunitha Jothydev, Ms Gopika Krishnan and Ms Geethu Sanal. Aspirin has a higher protective effect against stroke in women and against heart attack in men. (Photo: Pixabay) Washington D.C.: To reduce the adverse reactions of cardiovascular drugs in women, a team of researchers has recommended to develop sex-specific dosages to protect greater proportion of women dying from heart diseases. According to the study, Aspirin has a higher protective effect against stroke in women and against heart attack in men. Aspirin is more active in male platelets, and aspirin resistance is more frequent in women. The findings indicated that women have a 1.5 to 1.7-fold greater incidence of adverse reactions to cardiovascular drugs and they tend to be more severe than in men, more often needing hospital admission.According to researchers, adverse drug reactions are more severe and more common in women than men. Lead author Juan Tamargo from Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain said that cardiovascular diseases kill a greater proportion of women than men in Europe and they kill twice as many women as all cancers combined. Tamargo added that women have more adverse reactions from current dosages and may stop taking preventive medication, leaving them unprotected despite their higher risk. Women have more adverse reactions because for many drugs the same dose is recommended for everyone irrespective of body weight and this can lead to higher plasma levels and overdoses in women, Tamargo explained. Cardiovascular drug recommendations are based on clinical trials in middle-aged men.The study highlights the differences between women and men with respect to cardiovascular medications and gives recommendations on how to improve treatment in women. Tamargo noted that male physicians less often prescribe recommended medications for female patients. Some doctors think cardiovascular disease is not a real issue for women because they are protected by sex hormones, forgetting that this disappears with age and women live longer than men. There are sex-related differences in the pharmacokinetics (the way a drug is absorbed, distributed, biotransformed and excreted) of some widely used cardiovascular drugs.Tamargo noted that sex-related recommendations for drug dosages are not included on labels, even for drugs with a greater than 40 percent difference in pharmacokinetics between men and women. The researchers suggested that to include sex-specific dosages on cardiovascular drug labels and doctors should be educated about sex differences in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of cardiovascular drugs. The most effective way to minimise adverse drug reactions in women is to develop and implement sex-specific guidelines for cardiovascular drugs, the authors concluded.The study is published in European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy. Chennai: Metro Blood Bank, a state-of-the-art facility that will serve as a central point for processing of blood components and their supply besides coordinating with other health centres, will be launched in the city very soon. Health minister C. Vijayabhaskar made the announcement while participating in a blood donation camp held at Omandurar government multi-specialty hospital to mark World Blood Donor Day. State will be able to meet emergency blood needs as we have sanctioned an am-ount of `213 crore for establishing Metro Blood Bank in Chennai. The blood bank will be launched soon, the minister said, asking youngsters to voluntarily participate in blood donation activities on a regular basis. Besides Chennai, another Metro Blood Bank would come up in New Delhi, which is being set up by the Union Government. Though the state has a network of 273 licensed blood banks, metro blood bank will facilitate blood transfusion services. Besides catering to people with genetic conditions, injuries, cancer and blood-related disorders, the centre will also manage supply in time of disaster and the institute will serve as a resource centre for training professionals in transfusion medicine and will also house a bone marrow registry. Meanwhile, various hospitals across the state conducted several blood donation camps with Kilpauk Medical Hospital collecting 300 units. In all, 245 volunteers donated blood at the hospital, whereas other camps had around 80-100 volunteers, Narayana Babu, dean of Rajiv Gandhi Government Multispeciality Hospital, said. In order to honour blood donors, Fortis Malar Hospital presented certificates for the first time as well as regular blood donors at an event at the hospital. Many students from various colleges across the city donated blood at major blood donation camps and hospitals. It is common knowledge that stress can increase hair loss and increase one's risk of developing serious diseases. But did you know stress could cause your teeth to fall out? Health experts and dentists say yes it can happen even though it is extremely rare, according to the Daily Mail. Dr Matthew Messina, a spokesperson for the American Dental Association told the Daily Mail that stress-causing teeth to fall does not mean it will happen or happen overnight. What you do need to do is pay attention to your body, he says. Bleeding gums, teeth grinding or teeth hurting are warning signs to watch for, he cautions. Dr Messina reveals the main cause for tooth loss in adults is periodontal disease, which is lined to stress. Exposure to psychosocial stress is a risk factor for a variety of health issues like coronary heart disease. "Stress can cause a variety of health issues that could potentially lead to something as dramatic as losing your teeth, however it's not likely to happen if you're taking care of your teeth," Dr Heidi Hanna, the executive director of the American Institute of Stress is quoted is saying by the Daily Mail. Both doctors recommend people see a dentist if they are concerned about their oral health. Washington: More than a third of heater-cooler devices used in the open-heart surgery may be contaminated with deadly bacteria, a recent study found. Thirty-three of 89 (37 percent) heater-cooler units (HCUs) assessed between July 2015 and December 2016 tested positive for Mycobacterium chimaera (M. chimaera), a bacterium associated with fatal infections in open-heart surgery patients, according to the research presented at the 44th Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). HCUs control the temperature of a patient's blood and organs during heart bypass surgery. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously have issued safety warnings that a widely used brand of HCUs might be contaminated during manufacturing, putting patients at risk for life-threatening infections. Approximately 60 percent of heart bypass procedures performed in the U.S. use the brand of device associated with these infections. The research, presented by John Rihs, advanced knowledge about the extent of colonization of M. chimaera that might be present in these units. Rihs and colleagues assessed devices already in use for the presence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) colonization (primarily M. chimaera) in HCUs before and after decontamination. A total of 653 water samples from 89 units were tested. Samples were received from 23 hospitals in 14 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. Thirty-three of the units (37 percent) tested positive for M. chimaera, while four units were colonized with Legionella. Researchers were surprised at how contaminated the units were, with 97 cultures deemed uninterpretable due to high levels of bacterial and fungal contamination. Multiple other strains of mycobacteria were also detected in many of the units. "Our results showed M. chimera in 37 percent of units tested and is consistent with previous findings. The extent of contamination from such a rare organism in multiple units from all over the country was surprising," said Rihs. "Some devices remained positive for M. chimera for months, indicating that disinfection can be difficult and routine testing is advisable. Beyond M. chimera, we found other NTM species, Legionella, and fungi, indicating these units are capable of supporting a diverse microbial population." HCUs have water tanks that provide temperature-controlled water during surgery through closed circuits. The water in the instrument does not come into direct contact with the patient. However, the water can aerosolize, and if contaminated, transmit bacteria through the air into the environment, and to the patient. "These results highlight the importance of monitoring the decontamination and maintenance schedules of these devices to minimize the risk of patient harm," said Linda Greene, APIC president. "Hospitals must follow the cleaning and disinfection instructions provided in the manufacturer's device labeling, as well as updated communications from the FDA and CDC." M. chimaera is often found in soil and water but is rarely associated with infections. However, patients exposed to the bacteria through open-heart surgery can develop general and nonspecific symptoms that can often take months to emerge. As a result, diagnosis of these infections can be missed or delayed, sometimes for years, making these infections more difficult to treat. Hospitals were instructed by the CDC and FDA to notify patients who have had open-heart surgery within the last five years that they were potentially at risk for infection. Patients were notified to seek medical advice if they were showing any symptoms or signs of infection, which can be vague or inconspicuous. The study appears in the American Journal of Infection Control. It is not an epidemic and continues to be sporadic cases which means that the source of the bacteria is from a food product which has not been manufactured or handled properly. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: With 36 cases of cholera recorded in 2016 in Hyderabad city limits, health workers say that when contaminated water is mixed with ice, juice, sharbats or beverages in the street food or in bottling plants, chances of contracting cholera increase. A recent study published in the Journal of Tropical Diseases and Public Health found that ice is also a carrier of bacteria vibro cholera. The researchers studied over 200 cases in different parts of India of which 20 cases where studied in Hyderabad over a period of two years from 2014 to 2016. Dr R. Reddy, a post-graduate student who was a part of the research explained, The quality of water and its testing in each batch and at regular intervals is important. We found that the cases which were reported in hospitals, both private and public, involved drinking juices with ice from street vendors or from hotels. Hence the water quality monitoring must be done not only by the unit but also by municipal authorities from time-to-time. Random sampling and checking is important by authorities not only during the manufacturing phase but also during storage and transportation. The study observed that hygienic conditions have to be maintained even while storing and transporting ice so that the people do not contract the disease. Dr Reddy explained, There have been random cases which are reported from time-to-time every year. It is not an epidemic and continues to be sporadic cases which means that the source of the bacteria is from a food product which has not been manufactured or handled properly. These aspects need to be looked into and rectified with the help of authorities. WASHINGTON Monday was the first anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando that left 49 dead. Saturday will be the second anniversary of the church shooting in Charleston, S.C., where nine were murdered at Bible study. In between these two somber remembrances, House Republicans will be commemorating the occasion in their own way: They will begin work relaxing restrictions on firearm silencers thereby making it easier for shooters to shoot without being noticed. Classy. To this injury, the legislators add insult with the bill's name: a provision of the "Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act" called the "Hearing Protection Act" as if it were subsidizing earplugs. That's like calling legislation that expands the availability of machine guns the "Carpal Tunnel Protection Act" because it spares would-be shooters the repetitive motion of trigger pulling. With all the hullabaloo over Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Russia scandal and President Trump's latest tweets, few are likely to notice when the bill gets a hearing Wednesday before a House natural resources subcommittee. And that's the point. Trump, as candidate and president, has been a weapon of mass distraction. Admittedly, nobody would wish on himself the kind of distractions Trump has been generating lately. The inquiries into his and his aides' Russia ties and his firing of FBI Director James Comey could ultimately end his presidency. But though these are consequential and necessary matters and though there's no way to avoid attention going to the many other bizarre happenings in Trump world these inevitably distract from serious matters that, in any normal time, would dominate headlines. As the Comey craze and Sessions obsession entertain the nation, Senate Republican leaders have used the diversion to advance Trumpcare legislation in the shadows. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) invoked "Rule XIV," a procedure that allows legislation to skip committees and go directly to the floor. McConnell is hoping to rush the health-care bill to a vote before the July 4 recess, and GOP senators working on the Senate legislation aren't even sharing the specifics with their Republican colleagues. The news outlet Axios this week reported that Senate Republicans don't plan to divulge the details of their legislation publicly. "We aren't stupid," one senior GOP aide told Axios. No, they aren't. And their subterfuge is working. Unnoticed by most, Senate Republicans believe they have cobbled together the 50 votes necessary to repeal Obamacare. On the very day that Comey testified before the Senate, the House passed legislation largely repealing the Dodd-Frank financial reforms implemented after the 2008 crash. The bill would, among other things, remove the requirement that retirement advisers put their customers' interests before their own. The House on Tuesday afternoon took up another controversial matter under cover of the Sessions distraction: As the attorney general testified in the Senate, the House voted along party lines to require a Social Security number for people to get Obamacare benefits. It is meant to block illegal immigrants from accessing health-care benefits. Opponents say it would also deny medical care for many newborn babies who are citizens. The Comey contretemps has also obscured splits between mainstream and conservative Republicans that have made a budget resolution unlikely. House Republicans are moving on with appropriations legislation for 2018 without a budget. This split could jeopardize tax reform and increase the likelihood of a government shutdown or default later this year. It's difficult to focus on budget nuances, though, when Trump has turned the White House into a circus. In addition to the Comey and Sessions performances, there is also the clown show: At this week's Cabinet meeting, nearly all of Trump's Cabinet members offered praise for their boss. There were, in all, 46 occurrences of "thank you," 32 of "great," 15 of "honor" and seven of "privilege" as they extolled Trump and his virtues: "Just the greatest privilege of my life. ... My hat's off to you. ... What an incredible honor. Thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that you've given us to serve your agenda." As we gape in astonishment at a president receiving tributes from his coterie like a strongman from his junta Americans might find it difficult to concentrate on an equally astonishing thing happening this week: that House "hearing protection" bill, which would end nearly a century of strict regulation of silencers and thwart the new gunfire-detection technology cities use to fight crime. It's no small irony that those trying to make silencers more available are relying on noise the din of Trump's antics and the clatter of the Russia probes so that most Americans don't hear what's happening until it's too late. New Delhi: Love Hormone, which has long been associated with relationships in several ways, now can be termed as 'crisis hormone.' American and Norwegian researchers have found that the hormone oxytocin, also called 'cuddle hormone,' which has a great reputation as it can make us feel better by reducing anxiety and making us feel more generous, may as well be called 'crisis hormone'. According to Andreas Aarseth Kristoffersen, a research assistant in NTNU's Department of psychology in Trondheim, there exists two main theories related to contradicting findings. Some scientists believe that oxytocin is released primarily to enhance a relationship and make it stronger when you are with someone you love. Others believe that oxytocin levels increase primarily when you find yourself in difficult or even threatening situations. For example when people notice that their partner is showing less interest in the relationship, the level of this relationship-building hormone increases. NTNU researchers joined forces with researchers from University of New Mexico to study the connection between oxytocin and investment in couple relationships. The researchers examined 75 American couples, and 148 Norwegian individuals who were one of the partners in a relationship. Both studies' individuals showed elevated hormone levels when they felt strong personal investment in the relationship. In this case, oxytocin's reputation as a love hormone holds up. But the crucial finding came from simultaneously examining both partners' involvement. The partners who were more invested in a relationship released more oxytocin when they thought about their relationship than the less invested partner did. Considering both members together, it was the difference in investment between partners that predicted an increase in oxytocin. Here, oxytocin may be acting more like a ' crisis hormone.' "It's seems contradictory that you would release more oxytocin both when things are going well and when they're not, but that's how it is," says Aarseth Kristoffersen. One explanation could be that the partner who is most invested in the relationship might benefit from putting even more effort into making it work, so that the more sceptical party re-engages. The researchers found no significant difference between US and Norwegian results. Responses to the study tasks were consistent across cultural condition, which reinforces the theory that the underlying explanation is biological. Rinku who was allegedly chained at a rehab centre in Hyderabad is happy to return home after a decade. (Photo: ANI | Twitter) Hyderabad: A mentally disabled woman who was found chained and naked at Hyderabad's Aram Ghar rehabilitation centre earlier in the week, is now all set to go home after 10 years. After the incident came to light, Telangana State Legal Services (TSLS) has directed the Ranga Reddy District Legal Services to inquire about the issue. Subad Ray, brother of Rinku, said, "She ran away from her husband's home and it's been ten years. My parents searched for her then but didn't file any complaint with the police. Rinku also has a 10-year-old daughter. Few days ago, the Pathepur Police approached me and took me to the Hajiapur Court, from where I was informed about my sister in Hyderabad. I took the latter and left for Hyderabad. I reached Hyderabad and want to take my sister back to our residence". Rinku said, "When I got to know that my brother has come to take me, I got ready as I so wish to go home. I am very happy, seeing my brother after ten years." Subhashini, Panel Advocate Ranga Reddy District Legal Services said, "The Telangana State Legal Services Authority has forwarded a report to Binary State Legal Services Authority for further investigation into this matter. We will counsel her husband too". The authorities of the rehab centre alleged that the victim, Rinku is mentally challenged and she has attacked her fellow inmates. The rehab centre authorities added that the woman's mental disability is the prime reason of restraining her and keeping her naked. Later, after the submission of the report by Panel Advocate and Para legal volunteer, the TSLS has given a notice to Hijapur Court in Bihar according to the address which has been given by Rinku. The Pathepur Police of Hajipur had started the search for Rinku's family. Based on his complaint, Alwal police has booked a case under Section 406 (Criminal breach of trust) and 420 (Cheating) of the IPC and started an investigation.(Representational Image) Hyderabad: Alwal police on Tuesday registered a case of cheating against DSP of Mahbubnagar Central Crime Station, Murali Manohar. Manohar took gold ornaments worth Rs 11.75 lakh from Ramulu, a resident of Old Alwal and an acquaintance of his, in February 2016, assuring him that he would return it in a couple of days, but failed to do so, said police inspector of Alwal, T. Anand Reddy. When he failed to return the gold even after 16 months, Ramulu lodged a complaint, added the police inspector. Based on his complaint, Alwal police has booked a case under Section 406 (Criminal breach of trust) and 420 (Cheating) of the IPC and started an investigation. Chennai: Police on Thursday arrested three persons including an 18-year-old girl who dressed up as a man while indulging in burglaries. Police recovered I-phones and laptops and other valuables from them. The woman identified herself as Dayalan and made friends with two minor boys from Ambattur. They were caught red handed when they tried to escape after stealing from a house, police said. On Wednesday night, two of the minor boys walked into a house in Bethanayakan street in Kondithope. The house belonged to a 60 year old businessman, Manivannan. Manivannan was at the second floor of his house when he heard noises from the ground floor and noticed a young boy escaping with a bag. He raised alarms following which public caught the minor boy and handed over to the police. The boy led the police to two others. On Investigations, police found that one of them is a 18 year old woman who dresses up as a man to steal from unassuming people. The gang of teenage offenders includes three minors and usually sneak into houses, which have, their doors open and flee with the gadgets and small bags there, police said. Investigations revealed that the gang also stole from the house of an advocate in Kondithope before entering the businessmans house. Seven Wells Police have registered a case and recovered I-phones, laptops from them. Further investigations are on. Chennai: Police on Wednesday night arrested a Madras high court advocate for possessing demonetised currency worth Rs 2 crore in scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, in his car. The advocate, T. Sivakumaran (41), was intercepted when he came to meet an acquaintance, a sub-inspector with the Special Branch-CID at Shankarapuram near Choolaimedu. Police claimed that sub-inspector Albert had no role and said that the advocate had come to meet him when the team intercepted his car. Police sources said that the advocate was under the radar of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for some time now and he was rounded up based on the inputs provided by the central agency. Choolaimedu police detained the advocate after the currency notes were found in his vehicle. The lawyer is a resident of Sairam Street in Adambakkam. Police officers quoted the lawyer as saying that he was handed over the cash by Muthu Krishnan alias Babu Reddy of Panruti. The advocate claimed that the cash was transferred onto his vehicle by two agents near Teynampet. We have formed special teams to trace the two of them, a police officer said. Police said that the seizure of the demonetised currencies would be investigated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the Cessation of Liabilities Act, 2017. The currencies have been seized under section 102 of the Crim0inal Procedure Code (power of a police officer to seize certain property) and the advocate was produced before a magistrate on Thursday evening. Further investigations are on. Meanwhile, the sub-inspector has not been booked as his role was not established. However, a departmental inquiry would be conducted as to why the advocate was to meet the policeman, according to police sources. The SI had been with the SB-CID for more than 10 years and was assigned to track developments in the DMK, police said. Visakhapatnam: Exposure of land scams worth thousands of crores in Vizag city has widened the rift between ministers Ch Ayyannapatrudu and Ganta Srinivasa Rao, with Mr Rao writing to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu requesting a CBI or CID probe into the land deals so that the party can be absolved of any involvement as Mr Patrudu has hinted is the case. He said that Mr Patrudu is trying to tarnish the image of Visakhapatnam and the Telugu Desam. The two ministers from Visakhapatnam do not see eye to eye on many issues and the land scam has widened the rift between them. Earlier, Mr Patrudu indirectly accused some TDP leaders and the revenue department of tampering with the revenue records of Madhurawada and Kommadi in Visakhapatnam city. He said revenue officials have tampered with the land records with the support of TD leaders for the benefit of land sharks and henchmen of TD leaders. The frequent land scams have dented the image of Visakhapatnam and will erode the confidence of investors, he added. Mr Rao in his letter to Mr Naidu wrote that such baseless allegations have dented the image of Visakhapatnam city and will tarnish the image of TD and the Chief Minister. Such accusations are aimed to cause trouble, Mr Rao said, and requested Mr Naidu to hand over the investigation to the CBI or CID, or to order an inquiry by a sitting judge, so that the true facts can emerge. He added that taking advantage of Mr Patrudu's remarks, Opposition leaders Botsa Satyanarayana, D Purandeswari and some from the left parties have also tried to corner the TD government. The state government has been looking for a way to control the damage and could take a decision after Mr Naidu's visit to Visakhapatnam. Mr Naidu has made several attempts to patch up the differences between the two leaders, but his attempts have fizzled out. New Delhi: The race for Raisina Hill kicked off on Wednesday with the ruling BJP reaching out to Opposition parties to discuss the possibility of putting up a consensus candidate for the top post. Opposition parties also held a meeting at the Parliament House to discuss presidential polls Wednesday afternoon. The BJD and AAP were not part of the Opposition meet. The BJP team, which includes Union ministers, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley, will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday to work out the possibilities of coming up with a consensus candidate for the crucial presidential poll. Mr Naidu is also expected to meet the CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury separately on the same day. Mr Jaitley would be speaking with Bihar CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar while Union home minister Rajnath Singh will hold talks with the Trinamul chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee separately. BJP president Amit Shah had formed the three-member committee on Monday to explore the possibility of a consensus presidential candidate. Early on Wednesday morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi held parlyes with Mr Naidu and Mr Singh on the forthcoming presidential elections. Mr Modi apparently is in favour of a consensus candidate. After the meeting, Mr Naidu called up both, Mrs Gandhi and Mr Yechury. He also called other Opposition leaders, which include BSP and CPI. Mr Naidu had earlier spoken with Anbumani Ramadoss of the PMK, N. Rangaswamy of the All India NR Congress and Praful Patel of the NCP over the issue. Cracks in Opposition surface As the ruling BJP tries to evolve a consensus, cracks seemed to have surfaced in the Opposition camp. During the Opposition meet in which nine parties participated, the Congress and CPM pulled in different directions. While the Congress was in favour of waiting for the meeting with the BJPs team, CPM wanted the name of a joint Opposition candidate to be announced immediately. The names being discussed in the Opposition camp include that of Gopal Krishna Gandhi, Meira Kumar and Sharad Yadav. Regional compulsions also surfaced with the NCP leader, Praful Patel, indicating that if the BJP proposed the name of a Maratha candidate, it would be difficult for his outfit to oppose. Speculation is rife that the BJP could also propose the name of UP governor, Ram Naik. The Congress and the Trinamul agreed to support BJP if it fielded external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, as the presidential candidate. The Opposition parties, which met Wednesday, included the Congress, CPM, NCP, Trinamul Congress, JD(U), BSP, SP, DMK and RJD. No names were discussed in the meeting and we all will meet again, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said. The probable names doing the round in the saffron camp for the top post include Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu, Kerala governor P. Sathasivam among others. Hyderabad: The Union home ministry has sought a report from the state government on the Miyapur land scam. While Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao issued a statement on Tuesday that declared that there was no scam in the Miyapur land registrations, and so there was no need for a CBI probe, the Union home ministry is learnt to be keen on a CBI probe as some parcels of land registered in Miyapur belong to the CRPF, which comes under the Union home ministry. The BJP leadership in the state has also demanded a CBI probe. The state government claims that the illegal registrations done in Miyapur are null and void, but the Union home minister is learnt to be concerned over legal complications cropping up if registrations are cancelled unilaterally, without a probe by the CBI that will establish the irregularities in land registrations. Should the need arise, the CBI report could be submitted in court to disprove anyone claiming rights over these lands in future. Official sources said the Miyapur land registrations done in survey no 20 for 109 acres out of 244 acres, and in survey no.28 for 148 acres out of 385 acres, belong to the Centre as they are categorised as evacuee/ enemy property. Centre wanted enemy property land for CRPF The Custodian of enemy property in Mumbai controls these lands across the country. The Union home ministry had sought land in Survey Nos. 20 and 28 to set up a CRPF C-30 Battalion camp in 2015, and the Custodian had sanctioned the land. However, local people objected to the land being allotted to the CRPF, so the local revenue officer requested the camp be shifted. The CRPF rejected this request, saying that the land was allotted to it by the Centre. Later, the state government pursued the case with the Centre seeking the Miyapur land to set up IT companies and offered to allot another piece of land for the CRPF in a letter written in 2016. There has been no response to this proposal from the Centre so far. In the meanwhile, the Miyapur land scam broke out last month. Land in Survey Nos. 20 and 28, held by the CRPF was found to be registered in the name of private parties. The CRPF complained to the Union home minister about this. Sources said the ministry is likely to order a CBI probe on its own into the Miyapur land scam since the land belongs to it. Security personnel chase away GJM supporters who were staging a protest meeting in Darjeeling on Tuesday over West Bengal government's decision to teach Bengali in all schools. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday rushed 400 additional paramilitary personnel to Darjeeling, taking the total number to 1,400, to assist the local administration there to restore peace and normalcy. "As many as 400 paramilitary personnel were sent to Darjeeling to help the state government on their request to maintain law and order," a Home Ministry official said. Around 1,000 personnel, including 200 women, have already been deployed in Darjeeling. The West Bengal government is yet to send a report on the prevailing situation in Darjeeling which has witnessed violence in the last few days. The Home Ministry is closely monitoring the situation in the hill district and assisting the state government to restore normalcy there. As their indefinite shutdown continues, protesters demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland pelted stones at police in various parts of Darjeeling as they were stopped from enforcing their shutdown in many government offices. Gorkhaland supporters had also vandalised government offices in Darjeeling as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)-sponsored indefinite shutdown forced tourists out of the picturesque hill station due to threat of violence. The GJM, which controls the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), has called a shutdown of all state and GTA offices to press its demand for creation of a separate state. Darjeeling: Protesters and riot police hurled stones at each other and a car was set ablaze after a series of raids on Thursday on premises connected with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief, whose separatist campaign was spiralling deeper into violence. The demand by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal state is fast turning into a major political crisis for Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, and is likely to cripple the critical tourism industry during the peak summer season. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force," GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri said. He said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". In the fog-shrouded hilly roads of Darjeeling, GJM activists sparred with paramilitary personnel, hurling stones from a distance. The policemen responded by throwing stones back as a car burnt nearby. It was not clear if the car was that of a civilian or belonged to the police. Earlier on Thursday, police recovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives in raids on premises connected with GJM chief Bimal Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Police said some party activists also were arrested on Thursday in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his group's campaign will not stop until it a separate Gorkhaland state is created. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official said on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from Thursday. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting," Giri, the GJM general secretary, said. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from Thursday," Giri said. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition". "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us," he alleged. "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centre's intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, told over phone. "Sergeant A" doesn't want to give his real name, his exact rank or show his face. Speaking to CNN, he said he was afraid the South Korean military would find out he was talking to the media. He faces charges for having sexual relations with another man, a crime within the South Korean military punishable by up to two years in prison. Sergeant A is part of a wider investigation which human rights groups are calling a homophobic witch-hunt, an accusation the military rejects. Homosexuality is not illegal for civilians in South Korea but human rights groups say the rights of sexual minorities are not always protected. 'Witch hunt' Investigators visited Sergeant A in March -- telling him they knew he was gay and his ex-partner had already admitted their "crimes." They asked him deeply personal and explicit questions, leaving him feeling "uncomfortable and humiliated," Sergeant A told CNN. "The atmosphere was very oppressive and humiliating," he said. "I was scared." The South Korea military and the defense ministry declined multiple requests for an interview and referred CNN to an April statement: "To keep the military community sound and given the special nature of military discipline, sexual relations with same sex soldiers are being punished as 'disgraceful conduct' under military law." The military penal code bans homosexual activity under Article 92-6 "to keep the military community sound." The law regards same-sex relations between soldiers as "disgraceful conduct," akin to sexual assault. One man convicted last month was given a six month suspended prison sentence. In a statement, Amnesty International East Asia director Roseann Rife called for the conviction to be immediately overturned and the group condemned what it described as "an outrageous military gay witch-hunt." Gay panic The recent investigation started earlier this year after a video was posted on social media showing two male soldiers having sex. Since then, according to human rights groups and local media, at least 32 soldiers have been charged. The military declined to give a number. Lim Tae-hoon, an activist with the Military Human Rights Center for Korea (MHRCK), said the military has been using gay dating apps to try and track down homosexual soldiers. Sergeant A told CNN his phone was taken and its contents copied, he claimed investigators insinuated his unit would find out about his sexuality if he refused. "They knew that I would not want my identity revealed so they made me cooperate in the investigation," he said. Amnesty has called on Seoul to "repeal this archaic and discriminatory provision in the military criminal code," criticizing the government for being slow to protect the rights of sexual minorities within the country. During the recent election campaign, now President Moon Jae-in drew intense criticism from LGBT groups after he said he was "opposed" to homosexuality in a televised debate. Days later he walked that back slightly, saying that it was "still a little early to allow homosexuality within the military" on the ground that South Korean society was not ready for it. He has not broached the subject since being sworn in. Srinagar: A new political tussle is brewing between the ruling PDP-BJP government and the opposition party in Jammu and Kashmir. The ruling government is adamant to make the Goods and Services Tax (GST) applicable to the State but the opposition has vowed to fight it out on the premise that it would not only weaken Jammu and Kashmirs special status guaranteed under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution but also cause irreparable financial losses. The separatists, on the other hand, have accused the States Finance Minister, Haseeb A Drabu, of showing loyalty to Nagpur by seeking to implement the RSS agenda on Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmir Inc has called for a one-day general strike in the Valley and sit-in demonstration outside Civil Secretariat in Srinagar on Saturday. National Conference (NC), the main opposition party, had earlier this month accused the PDP-BJP government of seeking to implement the GST regime in the State in a hush-hush manner to please the powers that be in New Delhi and thereby, bartering the interests of the State and its people to remain in power. It said Drabu who today is the strongest votary of GST implementation in Jammu and Kashmir, is on record having said Come GST and neither the State Legislature nor the State Cabinet will have a say on J&K Taxation. It asked him to come clean on the issue and not hoodwink the people of the State. A special session of the State Legislature will be held in Jammu and Kashmir on June 17 to debate the draft legislation on the GST approved by the State Cabinet which met earlier this month. According to Drabu, the bicameral House will deliberate on some specific issues related to the GST in the wake of apprehensions being raised over the implementation of the new tax regime in the State. The 101 Amendment Act of the Indian Constitution, under which the GST would be applicable to all States, does not apply to Jammu and Kashmir as of now. He said, It has been left to the State Legislature to look into its various provisions and take decisions accordingly. We have prepared our own draft bill that was approved by the cabinet and the amendment will apply in the modified form. I assure you the move would neither infringe upon Article 370 nor compromise on the power to impose taxes that the State draws from Section 5 of its Constitution. But the opposition is not satisfied with this argument. The NC had asked for convening an all party meet to discuss the issue. Apparently, no consensus could be arrived when it was held earlier week. We tried to get a sense of the stand taken by the government but, unfortunately, we realised, it is in deep confusion and does not know what to do and how to go about it, said senior NC leader and former finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather. The NC has now vowed not to allow the application of the 101 Constitutional Amendment Act to the State at any cost. We do not oppose the new taxation regime but we will not allow the implementation of the 101st Amendment of the Constitution of India in its original form to J&K come what may, said Rather. He recalled that the previous NC government had in 2012 prepared a blueprint for the implementation of the GST in consultation with tax experts of the Supreme Court and the state government. According to that blueprint, the State would impose and collect tax and give a share of it to the government of India. He ridiculed the government over its plea that the GST, if implemented in the State in present form, will not dilute Article 370 further. They are misleading people on the issue. Making the 101 Constitutional Amendment Act applicable to the State would mean a law passed by the Parliament would be extended to the State on the subject, which would automatically diminish the powers of the State, Rather said. Elaborating, Rather said, Our residual powers to levy taxes will go to the Parliament which will take over the role of auditing under tax administration and the State may have only a limited role to play in it. He also questioned the wisdom behind the State Cabinets approving the GST draft bill. Why to approve the bill if you have not decided whether to implement the law or not? You are only making it evident that you have made up your mind to implement the GST and now you are just creating a drama. The Congress too has pledged not to allow any compromise on Jammu and Kashmirs financial autonomy and special status. Opposing the holding of special session of the State Legislature, it asked for making the GST draft public first. We also attended the all-party meet but made it clear that there must not be any session of the State Legislature till the draft is made public, senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Monga was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview. He asked, Why are they keeping it under wraps? Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and other trade bodies have cautioned that implementing the GST in Jammu and Kashmir would be a direct attack on the States special status. In a statement issued, KCCI president Mushtaq Ahmed Wani said, The KCCI opposes extension and implementation of GST in Jammu and Kashmir as it would deprive the State of its financial autonomy and its powers to legislate on financial matters. He added that extension of such laws to Jammu and Kashmir tantamount to direct infringement with the special status of the State guaranteed and vowed to be maintained under Article 370 of the Constitution of India. He also said, We have, at our meetings with Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, and Finance Minister Drabu, made it clear that the GST shall in no way be acceptable as it tantamount to erosion of special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Associated Chamber of Commerce & Industries-Kashmir (CCIK), while reacting to the argument of the government that central laws have been extended to Jammu and Kashmir 46 times earlier and therefore, where is the harm if it happens 47th time, said, It is nothing but to justify one wrong with another. We are unable to buy this. A statement issued by CCIK said, It is our considered opinion that GST goes against the letter and spirit of the autonomy of the State. It will erode J&Ks say on taxation, be it the legislature or the cabinet. The GST Council can shoot down any proposal from the State on Goods and Services and this is going to happen to Jammu and Kashmir. This will turn the financial autonomy of the state into financial dependence. We are going to lose less financially but much more politically. Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) has called for Kashmir bandh on Saturday while the Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA) said it would hold secretariat gherao on the same day. Srinagar: A Jammu and Kashmir policeman was shot dead by militants in southern Kulgam district on Thursday afternoon. The officials and witnesses said that the cop, Shabir Ahmed Dar, was shot from point blank range by assailants in Bogund village of Kulgam. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. They said he had received multiple bullet wounds. One report said that Dar, associated with the Jammu and Kashmir polices counter insurgency Special Operations Group (SoG), was posted in Damhal area of the district but was in home village Bogund on vacations. He was on leave for past few days and was working in the familys paddy feild when the gunmen targeted him, a local police official said. However, according to another report, Dar was returning from duty in the districts Devsar area when targeted by the gunmen just outside his home. The locals added that Dar, on seeing the gunmen coming towards him, tried to flee but was chased by them and then shot five times. The murder comes close on the heels of the militants striking with impunity across the Kashmir Valley. They carried out four grenade attacks at the security forces camps and foot patrols in southern Pulwama district and Srinagar city, leaving over a dozen personnel injured. After the attacks for which Jaish-e-Muhammad and Al-Umar Mujahedin jointly claimed responsibility, the authorities had sounded a high alert and particularly asked the CRPF and the J&K police to be more vigilant and thwart any such acts by militants. On May 9, Ummer Fayaz Parray, a 22-year-old officer who was working with Armys 2 Rajputana Rifles was on leave when abducted by two masked gunmen from the wedding of his (maternal) cousin in Batpora village of Kulgam district. Next morning, his bullet-riddled corpse was found in Harmain area of neighbouring Shopian district. In March and April this year, the Valley had witnessed a series of militant attacks at policemen and their families following which the police department had issued an advisory asking its field personnel to avoid visiting their homes for the next few months. It while referring to the unfortunate incidents wherein militants and anti-national and anti-social elements have caused damage to the life and property of police personnel, asked them to exercise extreme caution while visiting their homes. They should preferably avoid visiting their homes for the next few months as their personal security is of paramount importance," the advisory had said. It also asked all the heads of various formations to brief their officers and men regarding the threat so the life and property of police personnel were secured. Bengaluru: Making an all-out effort to woo the Lingayat community, Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah on Wednesday asserted that he was a staunch follower of the 12th century saint-poet Basaveshwara's teachings and therefore chose to be sworn in as CM on Basveshwara Jayanti in May, 2013. He chose to drive home a point that he was not against any caste and was above caste prejudices and a champion of the cause to eliminate age-old blind beliefs. Addressing a huge gathering at Palace Grounds after being felicitated by Akihil Bharat Veerashaiva Mahasabha, Siddaramaiah said, "I wa deeply attracted by Basavas philosophy, therefore, I always strove hard to implement the philosophy in its true spirit. Be it schemes like Anna Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya and other Bhagyas, they were evolved keeping everyone's interests in mind rather than focussing on any particular caste." The CM rued that his political opponents were tarnishing his image by associating him with a particular community in spite of his efforts to design and execute welfare schemes for every poor man. "I am off the opinion that the state should not be victim of blind beliefs, which was the primary motto of Basava philosophy too," he said. The rehearsal for the mass yoga demonstration to enter the Guinness Book of Records, which was held in Mysuru on Sunday last Mysuru: Come June 21 and Mysuru hopes to host the world's largest mega mass yoga demonstration involving 60,000 people to mark the International Yoga Day and give the city a shot at entering the Guinness Book of World Records. The mass yoga will be conducted between 6 am and 8 am at the Mysuru Race Course with the Chamundi hills providing the backdrop. Over 15,000 yoga practitioners from various yoga schools Union and state government employees, students of government and private schools and PU College in Mysuru (of whom 15,000 are from the JSS institution alone) have already registered to participate, according to deputy director of the tourism department, Janardhan. Besides a committee formed by the district administration to oversee the event, a website, www.yogadaymysuru.com has been developed to reach out to interested people, he revealed. "So far over 18,000 people have registered online. Also boot camps are being set up at 12 locations in Mysuru for registration," he said, adding that spot registrations would also be accepted. However, those who wish to participate must bring a yoga mat of their own and wear a comfortable white top, according to him. "At first it was planned to conduct the mass yoga at 13 venues, including the grounds of the Mysuru Palace, and its adjoining major roads, but one of the conditions for entering the Guinnes Book of World Records is that an event must be held in one compounded venue. So the Mysuru Race course was chosen," explained Mysuru Deputy Commissioner, D Randeep. Mysuru administration is hosting the event along with Dept of tourism, Ayush, Nehru Yuva Kendra, Mysuru Yoga Networking Organisation and others. Mumbai: The BJP unit in Maharashtra is prepared for mid-term polls, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. Fadnavis made the remarks in reference to reports speculating mid-term polls in the state against the backdrop of farmers' stir for loan waiver in view of the agrarian crisis. The Fadnavis government had agreed to the long-standing demand of farmers and announced a loan waiver for them last Sunday. "Some people said (when the agitation was on) that they will bring the government down, they will withdraw support. I said we are ready for mid-term polls. If someone wants to impel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will be able to form government again," Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai without naming any party. Buoyed by the BJP's success in Maharashtra local bodies' polls, held recently, Fadnavis exuded confidence that people of the state were with the saffron party notwithstanding various agitations in the state. "That success was unprecedented. No other party achieved such success. The Congress-NCP could not attend the success even during their hay days. So, people believe in the government," he said. Talking to a Marathi news channel recently, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had suggested that his party, a BJP ally in the state government, would withdraw support if the loan waiver was not announced. Congress leaders, led by TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, visit Miyapur on Wednesday. Leaders of the Opposition K. Jana Reddy and Mohd. Ali Shabbir, former MP V. Hanumantha Rao and others are also seen. (Photo: DC) Hyderabad: For the first time in three years, TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy launched a direct attack on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, alleging that the lands were offered to a few Opposition MLAs to switch over to the ruling TRS. The TPCC chief, along with his party colleagues K. Jana Reddy, Mohd. Ali Shabbir, V. Hanumantha Rao and scores of others, visited Miyapur in the afternoon where Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy levelled the serious allegations. He said that Dornakal MLA D.S. Redya Naiks daughter was given lands in Miyapur. It was only after a deal was struck between Goldstone Prasad and the Chief Minister that Redya Naik joined the TRS, the TPCC chief said. He also alleged that Kukutpally MLA Madaram Krishna Rao was given 10 acres there. The TPCC chief said that lands in Hafeezpur of Ibrahimpatnam mandal were registered in the names of family members of MP K. Kesava Rao after the TRS came to power and government facilitated it. Even Khammam MLA Puvvada Ajay Kumar was given 1,100 yards land in Khammam city in lieu of his defection to TRS, the TPCC chief said, alleging that a close follower of the CM and his relative got more of these lands. Even the CMs family members also got four acres in this, he said. During the Telangana agitation, the same KCR vociferously said that all Telangana lands were being grabbed by Andhra rulers and politicians. Now, what answer does he have for this kind of open looting of government lands by private persons and firms, that too the CM himself colluding with looters?Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy asked. Family carry body of girl on stretcher after hospital did not provide ambulance. (Photo: ANI | Twitter) Kandhamal (Odisha): A father carried the body of his minor daughter on the district medical stretcher to his village, in perhaps yet another shameful incident. The minor, Alibha Pradhan, died on June 12. While on the way, the Phulbani Town Police stopped the father and arranged a Mahaprayana, a government dead body-carrying vehicle, and sent the body to the village. Kandhamal's Collector Dr Brunda D has ordered an enquiry into the incident. The Project Director of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) Tusar Kant Mohanty has been investigating the case after visiting the district medical and has questioned different officials. He also visited the village of the deceased girl. "Thursday, he might submit the report and stringent action will be taken against the accused," said the collector. "An internal enquiry has been conducted and everything will be clear after the enquiry," said Kandhamal's Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO). Notably, last year after Dana Majhi incident, the Odisha Government had launched the Mahaprayan scheme under which the government provides hearse service to the beneficiaries for carrying the dead body from hospital to their intended destination. It is interesting to note that it was the same collector and the DM, who was also the DM of Kalahandi during the Dana Majhi incident. Following the incident, she was transferred to Kandhamal. Exercising its Right of Reply during a general debate at the 35th session of the UNHRC, India accused Pakistan of misusing the UN platform to pursue its political objectives. Geneva: Pakistan has been given concrete evidence about its cross-border encouragement and support for the protests in Kashmir, India told the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), accusing Islamabad of resorting to short-sighted tactics to divert attention. Exercising its Right of Reply during a general debate at the 35th session of the UNHRC, India accused Pakistan of misusing the UN platform to pursue its political objectives. Pakistans unsolicited and unwarranted comments pertaining to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of the Union of India, are factually incorrect and bear no relationship to reality, India said in a statement. Asserting that Pakistan is using terror to destabilise Kashmir, it said, The foremost challenge to stability in Kashmir is the scourge of terrorism, which receives sustenance from Pakistan and the territories under Pakistans control. Contrary to Pakistans claims, and in gross violation of UN Security Council resolution 1267, the designated terrorist entities and organisations continue to carry out their activities freely as reported in the local Pakistani print, audio-visual and social media, it said. India said that concrete evidence about cross-border encouragement and support for the protests in Kashmir has been handed over to Pakistan. Instead of working with a sense of purpose to address this issue, Pakistan resorts to short-sighted tactics to divert attention, as we have once again seen today, it said. Pakistan keeps referring to UN Security Council Resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. However, it very conveniently forgets its own obligation under these resolutions to first vacate the illegal occupation of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, India said. Pakistan had described the situation in Kashmir as Indias national shame and said that this hateful cycle can only be stopped through political dialogue. India also criticised Pakistan for blatantly disregarding its other commitments saying, be it under the 1972 Simla Agreement, the 2004 joint declaration foreswearing terrorism as well as the understanding between our PMs in Russia. Darjeeling: Police recovered 300-400 weapons, including arrows, and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morch chief Bimal Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Police said some party activists also were arrested on Thursday in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his group's campaign for a separate Gorkhaland state would go on till it was achieved. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official told on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from Thursday. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting," said GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from Thursday," Giri said. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition. "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us," he alleged. Giri said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centre's intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, told PTI over phone. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force", he alleged. The raids came on the fourth day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite strike in government and GTA offices in the hills. The GJM's call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language of the rest of the state. Prominent among the six states to join GJM is the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi MLA Thamimun Ansari denies to the media, the allegations against him that he was given cash to support the trust vote for Palaniswami led government during the infamous Koovathur stay. (Photo: DC) Chennai: Demanding the dissolution of the state government over charges of bribing MLAs to vote in the confidence motion moved by CM Palaniswami in February, leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin, who was evicted from the Assembly on Wednesday asserted that the party would raise the issue again on Thursday. Since the government had been formed through horse-trading, it should be dissolved, toppled or it should resign, he demanded and added that the confidence vote should be cancelled. The government should order a CBI probe into the allegations, he said. Stalin arrested along with party legislators for resorting to road roko after their eviction was released later. Speaking to the media after his release, he said his party MLAs had been released after the conclusion of the Assembly proceedings. To a query about the ruling partys stand that the issue of bribing MLAs is sub judice, Stalin said the Assembly had discussed issues like Neet and Cauvery dispute which were also sub-judice. When asked about the Speakers stand he would take action if evidence is submitted, he said it was not necessary since everyone knows about the happenings. Congress leader and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia along with Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha during the 72-hour satyagraha, in Bhopal on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI) Bhopal: A farmer named Ramesh Bisen of Ballpur village in Balaghat district, on Wednesday committed suicide by consuming pesticides after being unable to pay a Rs 2 lakh farm loan borrowed from a local society. Late on Tuesday evening, another farmer, Shomla, 60, had allegedly committed suicide by drinking pesticide at Pisnawal in Barwani district. This takes the number of farmer suicides reported in the state since June 8 to seven. The reports come in the wake of a slew of measures announced by the state government to mollify agitating farmers and death of six protesters in police firing in Mandsaur district on June 6. In order to show his support to the farmers cause, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday met the family members of the slain cultivators in their villages. Mr Chouhan visited the villages of Badban, Lodha, Pipliya Mandi and Nayakheda in Mandsaur district to offer condolences to the kin of the slain farmers hailing from these areas. He also handed over documents to them showing that a compensation of `1 crore has been transferred to the bank accounts of the kin of each farmer killed in police firing. We have demanded that those responsible for death of our family members must be brought to book and dismissed from service, the kin of the farmers said. The Opposition was also keen on showing solidarity to the farmers. Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and others launched 72-hour satyagarh here in protest against the killing of six farmers by the police. Visakhapatnam/New Delhi: Indigo Airlines, Spicejet and Air India on Thursday barred TD Anantapur MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy from taking their flights after he threw a temper tantrum at the Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday. The MP had arrived late to board an IndiGo flight to Hyderabad. Denied a boarding pass, the MP allegedly damaged the property of the airline and abused the staff. Following a ruckus, the airline gave him a boarding pass. The flight that was supposed to take off at 8.10 am was delayed by a few minutes. The doors that were closed were opened for the MP, a rarity. Sources said civil aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju was in the VVIP lounge when the incident occurred. The airlines barring the MP follows the government proposing strict action against misbehaving airline passengers after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad had slapped an Air India staffer a couple of months ago. Diwakar screams his way through for boarding pass Speaking to the media in Hyderabad, the MP said. I just put my hand around the shoulder of the airlines staff in a friendly manner but the media has shown something wrong and defamed me. He refused to comment on CCTV footage that showed Reddy pulling out a printer and abusing the airlines staff. With the echoes of the misbehaviour of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad with Air India personnel still to die away, TD Anantapur MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy threw a temper tantrum at the Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday. Last year, he had reached the Gannavaram airport of Vijayawada 15 minutes before the flight departure and was denied a boarding pass. In a rage, he had allegedly barged into the Air India office and damaged the furniture. On Thursday, the MP reached the airport at 7.42 am, 28 minutes before Indigo 6E-608 was supposed to take off for Hyderabad. Normally when MPs and MLAs take a flight, their personal staff collect the boarding pass much earlier and inform the airline about the VIPs scheduled travel. However, on Thursday the airline staff didnt receive any information about his schedule. Sources said that when he reached the counter, the airline staffer informed him that check-in for the flight had closed. Diwakar Reddy got angry and abused the staffer. He then barged into Indigo manager V. Malliks room and demanded a boarding pass. Even as airport and airline staffers tried to get him out of the room, airport director G. Prakash Reddy and chief security officer K. Venugopal rushed to the scene and pacified the MP and had the boarding pass issued. Diwakar Reddy flew on the flight along with other VIP including AP Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao and GMR group chairman G. Mallikarjuna Rao.. There was no damage to the airport or airline and nothing has happened. I have not received any complaint from the airline, said Mr Prakash Reddy said. There was no complaint of any unruly incident at Vizag airport and we have not received any formal and written complaint against anyone, said ACP (North) B Bheema Rao. IndiGo confirmed the incident of unruly behaviour of the MP. After he was denied a boarding pass and offered accommodation on another flight, Reddy expressed his annoyance and soon raged against the staff using aggressive and abusive behaviour, it said. Bengaluru: In a breather for former chief minister and Janata Dal (S) state chief H. D. Kumaraswamy, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday has asked the Lokayukta's Special Investigation Team (SIT) not to arrest him till June 20. Justice Rathnakala, who heard the anticipatory bail petition of Mr Kumaraswamy in connection with Janthakal mining case, has also ordered notice to SIT while asking it to file objections, if any, in the matter. Earlier, Mr Kumaraswamys advocate Hashmath Pasha had argued that the allegations of putting pressure on the IAS officer was baseless. Similar allegations were made against Mr Kumaraswamy in two separate cases of which one case has been struck down by the High Court, and bail has been granted in another case, the advocate argued. He also stressed that the allegation was politically motivated, as Mr Kumaraswamy is the leader of a prominent political party in the state. Further, it was submitted that he had appeared before the SIT after it had issued notice to him in May. However, the lower court refused to grant bail, the advocate argued, pressing the court for grant bail, as Mr Kumaraswamy has been named as one of the accused in the matter. Mr Kumaraswamy has been accused of putting pressure on IAS officer Ganga Ram Baderiya, when the former was the Chief Minister, to renew the mining lease of Janthakal Enterprises in violation of various norms. The officer was arrested by SIT for allegedly receiving kickbacks to the tune of Rs 10 lakh from the mining company to renew its licence in 2007, when he was director of the Mines and Geology Department. New Delhi: India on Thursday dismissed Pakistans reported claim that Russia had offered to mediate between the two countries on the Kashmir issue. Russian diplomatic sources too denied that Moscow had issued any such offer of mediation. In a brief statement, the ministry of external affairs spokesperson said No offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India. It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of Indias consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence. Russian diplomatic sources in New Delhi too said, According to our information, no such official statement (by Russia on mediation) has been made. Meanwhile, China on Thursday dismissed apprehensions that differences between Pakistan and India could disrupt the unity of the SCO saying its charter strictly prohibits members to bring their bilateral hostility into the organisation. Hyderabad: The 11 reports submitted to the state government by the Task Force on Land headed by retired IAS officer S.K. Sinha have assumed great significance in the wake of the Miyapur land scam. The committee was constituted in December 2014 to probe land encroachments in the state. The first report was submitted in July 2016 and the last report in December 2016. These reports have been buried for nearly a year now. Mr Sinha exposed encroachment of nearly 15,000 acres of assigned and Bhoodan lands during his 24-month long investigation. He sought an extension for the committee by a few months to investigate jagir lands, but there was no response from the state government. The 11 reports exposed the role of highly influential persons in grabbing government land. The reports revealed the names of MLAs, MPs, former MLAs, collectors, deputy collectors, revenue divisional officers, mandal revenue officers, sub-registrars and businessmen who have usurped thousands of acres of land. The government did not make the report public, though it had promised to do so. Sub-registrars are being arrested or transferred now. They are not the only ones involved in these irregularities. We have found officials right from VROs to MRO, RDO, revenue inspectors, deputy collectors, collectors, politicians, businessmen etc, who have usurped lands. In fact, we have named all of them in our reports. The report is now with the government and unfortunately it is gathering dust, Mr Sinha told this newspaper. Had I been given a few more months extension, I would have submitted a report on Miyapur and other jagir land scams that came to light recently. I appointed six translators to examine jagir land documents (in Urdu, Arabic and Persian) before my tenure ended in December 2016, Mr Sinha added. He says senior IAS officials are misleading the government on the Miyapur scam. They are misleading them by stating that government lands can be reclaimed by declaring registered documents null and void. It cannot be done like that. Certain legal procedures need to be followed, he said, adding that the bureaucrats are telling the government that jagir lands are government lands. Not all jagir lands are government lands. If the government still thinks so, it is committing a big blunder, Mr Sinha said. Ooty: As June 15 this year marks the centenary of the house arrest of Dr Annie Besant, the champion of home rule movement in India, who was interned at a house in Ooty in 1917, the Nilgiris Documentation Centre (NDC) which is a storehouse of Nilgiris history, and historians are gearing up to commemorate the event as Nilgiris heritage in the freedom movement. Pudumund is the place where the great Dr Besant lived for nearly three months under house arrest during the British rule. D. Venugopal, the director of NDC, while chronicling the events in 1917 that led to the arrest of Dr Besant, said that the demand for home rule or self-rule in 1917 was an important milestone and a turning point in the struggle for Indian independence. The home eule movement was launched by the Irish activist Dr Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Unable to silence Dr Besant, the British rulers decided to arrest her on June 15, 1917. She and her two supporters G.S. Arundale and B.P. Wadia were kept under house arrest at Ooty. Dr Besant chose to stay at Gulistan at Pudumund which was built in 1890 by H.S. Olcott, the founder president of the Theosophical Society as his summer home. Dr Besant and Wadia in front of Gulistan in Ooty in June 1917. The property now renamed as Stockbridge Birla House is the property of Gwalior Rayons. A plaque commemorating the historic connection of the building to the historic event is displayed in front of the house. Dr Besant designed and unfurled a home rule flag at Gulistan. She also started a local branch of the Home Rule League at Ooty, he noted. On being elected as the president of Indian National Congress Dr Besant thundered from her presidential chair that, India shall soon be seen, proud and self-reliant, strong and free, the radiant splendour of Asia, the light and blessing of the world, he noted. As there are confusing statements about the date of her arrest on the internet, whether it was on June 15 or 16 in 1917, Mr Venugopal clarified that Dr Besant was arrested on 15-6-1917 in Madras and reached Ooty the next day to be kept under house arrest. Deputy police commissioner Yatish Chandra told DC that the police were expecting a high number of metro riders and that the police were well-equipped to manage the additional crowd and vehicles. Kochi: The Kochi city police have taken strong security measures to ensure the safety of Kochi Metro passengers anticipating the huge number of riders expected in the initial months. Police personnel in plainclothes will be deployed in metro stations and outside to prevent any untoward incidents. Deputy police commissioner Yatish Chandra told DC that the police were expecting a high number of metro riders and that the police were well-equipped to manage the additional crowd and vehicles. "Apart from CCTV cameras, mufti police will be deployed to catch pick-pockets and chain- snatchers. The 'joy riders' expected in the initial days have been urged to use public transport to access metro stations to reduce traffic congestion in station areas," he said. According to the DCP, it will be a 'trial and error' method to manage the additional crowd and vehicles since the metro is a new system. "Since there is no rough estimate on the number of daily commuters along the Aluva - Palarivattom stretch, a final system could be put in place after assessing the actual number of riders after a few months," he added. However, Mr. Chandra admitted that an increase in vehicle density and slow-moving traffic are expected at all metro stations in the absence of proper parking facilities. Meanwhile, a high-level police team made a security inspection along the metro corridor on Wednesday ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation principal advisor E. Sreedharan will visit the metro corridor from Aluva to Palarivattom on Thursday. Lack of parking spaces to be a stiff challenge With the Kochi Metro all set to begin commercial operations from next week, lack of enough parking facility in most of the stations will be a big challenge. There is no parking space even at the terminal station at Palarivattom where the busy road will be further congested when more vehicles access the Metro station. Of the 11 stations from Aluva to Palarivattom only Aluva, Edappally, CUSAT and Kalamassery stations have proper parking facilities. Traffic police, local body authorities, merchants and traders have already raised serious concerns over the unpreparedness in handling the additional vehicle flow. Since all commuters will not be using public transport or the feeder services to be introduced by KMRL to reach Metro stations, lack of parking facilities will add to the traffic chaos. City traffic police authorities have cautioned about the impact of insufficient parking space at Metro stations. When the Metro is opened, the number of riders, especially joy riders from across state, will be high. With no parking facilities in stations, commuters have to park their vehicles on the sides of the road resulting in traffic jams. KSEB rejected a KMRL request grant its 0.7 acres of land on rent or lease at Palarivattom to set up a temporary parking facility until the multi-level parking on KMRLs premises is ready. Parking will be a major problem at Palarivattom as vehicles have to drop passengers at the busy road which will result in congestion, especially during peak hours. Being the terminal station, the number of vehicles and passengers will increase at Palarivattom, said C.P Ajith Kumar of Suburban Travels whose office is adjacent to the station. According to Lissy Abraham, Aluva municipal chairperson, being the Terminus, Aluva needs more parking facilities. Though Metro authorities have set up a parking facility at the station it will not be sufficient. Municipality has proposed to construct a multi-level parking. But we are yet to get government funding, she said. Chennai: In the wake of increasing wildlife animal conflict, state forest minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan on Wednesday admitted that the quality of TN forests particularly the wildlife habitats had deteriorated. Moving the demand for grants for his department, the minister said fragmentation of forests has been major factor forcing wild animals to stray in to nearby human settlements threatening public safety. In the wake of recent drought and as part of ongoing summer management plan, the forest department has taken several steps to augment fodder and also ensure water resources in wildlife reserves are not dried. During 2016-17, the state enhanced the compensation amount to be paid for damages caused to properties and human death by wildlife. The compensation of human death and permanent incapacitation has been raised from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh and for major injuries from Rs 30,000 to Rs 59,000, the minister informed the Assembly. To prevent such human-wildlife conflicts, the department has taken up mitigation measures like solar fencing, creation of trench to prevent wildlife straying in to residential zones and introduction of GIS enabled information and technology system for monitoring of wildlife corridors. The compensation has also been raised for damage to properties of various kind. Further, the immediate relief paid for human death has been increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000. A sum of Rs 4.27 crore was spent for 2,921 beneficiaries in 2016-17 under wildlife compensation and conservation schemes, he said. State to get 60 ponds for Rs 3 crore As part of an initiative to harvest rainwater by digging up ponds, the state government has announced plans to set up 60 ponds under the Farm Pond Scheme (Pannai Kuttai Tittam) in TN at a cost of Rs 3 crore, forests minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan informed the Assembly on Wednesday. Pointing out that the state had been facing severe drought due to the 2016 monsoon failure leading borne dry water bodies, he said the new farm pond scheme proposed in the reserve forests would improve water table in forest reserves and prevent straying of wild animals from forests. The state would also set up a dedicated herbal park near the ancient Palani Murugan temple at a cost of Rs 30 lakh. As part of the greening project, the state would also undertake massive tree planting work in the rocky regions of Dindigul Malaikottai. Indigenous trees that suit arid conditions will be raised at a cost of Rs 50 lakh and planted in historical Malaikottai, Mr Sreenivasan said. Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and its ally Congress on Thursday staged a walkout from the Tamil Nadu Assembly after the speaker disallowed a discussion on the issue of alleged horse-trading of AIADMK MLAs. When Leader of Opposition M K Stalin tried to raise the issue "of some legislators being in the news" for the past three days, Speaker P Dhanapal said he had already given his ruling on this matter on Wednesday, stopping discussion since the matter was sub-judice and also it was based on media reports. Still, when Stalin insisted that he will not "get into court case" and said the Assembly rule only disallowed "expression of opinion" in an ongoing court case, Dhanapal did not allow his plea. Soon, all the DMK MLAs stood up and walked out of the House led by Stalin. After DMK members left, Congress Legislature Party Leader K R Ramasamy said their party too was walking out as the chair did not accord permission to raise the matter. Dhanapal, later cited precedents from the House records beginning from the 4th Assembly in 1972 to the first quarter of 2011, which was the fag end of the previous DMK regime, to say that discussion based on media reports sans evidence could not be allowed. He said speakers on various points of time had ruled against discussion based on media reports. Even, Leader of Opposition (then Minister in DMK regime) Stalin, former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and senior DMK leader K Anbazhagan had said that discussion based on media reports without evidence was not allowable in the House. Dhanapal later said if members had evidence for their claims, it could be submitted to him and if found in order, he would allow discussion. He asserted that nobody could criticise his ruling and said the matter should be ended. Bengaluru: In an effort to gain a head start over the BJP in the run-up to next year's elections to the Legislative Assembly, leaders of the ruling Congress are planning a series of rallies, including two big conventions, followed by a visit of party president Sonia Gandhi in order to galvanize party workers, as well as launch 'Indira canteen' across the state. Sources told Deccan Chronicle "We have commenced preparations for the Assembly polls well ahead of the BJP. We have a new AICC general secretary, K.C. Venugopal, who is concerned about party matters and wants to ensure its return to power. He has already held two rounds of meetings with state and district unit leaders and office bearers in an effort to understand the pulse of state politics. Unlike the BJP, we are united and we made a lot of preparations with respect to selection of candidates. So, we want to keep the momentum till the end of this year. Besides, our vice president Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit the state and address two rallies in order to attract voters of all sections of society." Sources said the first rally is likely to be held in Raichur where Mr Gandhi is likely to interact with over 50,000 booth level workers, presidents and agents. This would enable local leaders to empower booth level committees to take on the BJP. The leaders have already planned a women's convention where over 25,000 women workers will be addressed by Mrs Sonia Gandhi or Mr Rahul Gandhi. In August, Mrs Gandhi is likely to visit the state to inaugurate 'Indira canteen' to provide dishes at subsidies rates across the state. Best-Selling Author Jonathan Cahn Launches New Book Video and Sneak Peek of His Newest Book Cover: 'The Paradigm' NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 / Additionally, Frontline, the publishers of "The Paradigm," has released the cover of Cahn's new book. View/download the cover here: "The Paradigm's" publisher is also posting information about the book, set to be released on Sept. 19, under #ThePARADIGMisCOMING via several social media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as Cahn's social media pages. Cahn, who caused a stir throughout America and the globe with the release of his instant New York Times bestseller "The Harbinger," followed that earth-shattering work with "The Mystery of the Shemitah" and "The Book of Mysteries," also New York Times bestsellers. In fact, the mysteries of the immensely popular "The Harbinger" continue and are intertwined with the mysteries of "The Paradigm." The revelation contained in Cahn's newest book is sure to stun, startle, confound and amaze. One thing is certainonce the veil is removed, one will never see the world the same way again. "The revelation of 'The Paradigm' is so explosive that I was almost reluctant to put it on paper," Cahn said. "At the same time, I believe it is crucial that we realize what's happening, the underlying force that is affecting current events and every one of our lives to this day." Through such chapters as "The Priestess," "The Warrior," "The Prophecy," "The Shadow Queen" and "The Assassin," Cahn takes the reader on a journey from Middle-Eastern landscapes to Washington, D.C., from ancient palaces to the White House, from mysterious priests and priestesses, ruthless kings and queens, secrets and scandals, gods and goddesses, prophets and holy men, signs and portents, wonders and harbingers. Long before his previous best-selling books, Cahn was known for opening the deep mysteries of Scripture and for teachings of prophetic import. He leads Hope of the World and the Jerusalem Center/Beth Israel, just outside New York City in Wayne, N.J. He is also a much sought-after speaker, having addressed the United Nations on Capitol Hill and millions of people around the world. Cahn has also been called the prophetic voice of our generation. Share Tweet Contact: Hamilton Strategies, 610-584-1096NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- #ThePARADIGMisCOMING campaign has launched in advance of the fall book release of "The Paradigm: The Ancient Blueprint That Holds the Mystery of Our Times" by New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Cahn.Additionally, Frontline, the publishers of "The Paradigm," has released the cover of Cahn's new book. View/download the cover here: bit.ly/2rzIOmY . Other promotional tools include "The Paradigm is Coming" video ( bit.ly/2seIfkp ), as well as the book's website ( bit.ly/2rAcnoi ). Also view two Facebook features: bit.ly/2ssS5RH and bit.ly/2tqqUEf "The Paradigm's" publisher is also posting information about the book, set to be released on Sept. 19, under #ThePARADIGMisCOMING via several social media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as Cahn's social media pages.Cahn, who caused a stir throughout America and the globe with the release of his instant New York Times bestseller "The Harbinger," followed that earth-shattering work with "The Mystery of the Shemitah" and "The Book of Mysteries," also New York Times bestsellers.In fact, the mysteries of the immensely popular "The Harbinger" continue and are intertwined with the mysteries of "The Paradigm." The revelation contained in Cahn's newest book is sure to stun, startle, confound and amaze. One thing is certainonce the veil is removed, one will never see the world the same way again."The revelation of 'The Paradigm' is so explosive that I was almost reluctant to put it on paper," Cahn said. "At the same time, I believe it is crucial that we realize what's happening, the underlying force that is affecting current events and every one of our lives to this day."Through such chapters as "The Priestess," "The Warrior," "The Prophecy," "The Shadow Queen" and "The Assassin," Cahn takes the reader on a journey from Middle-Eastern landscapes to Washington, D.C., from ancient palaces to the White House, from mysterious priests and priestesses, ruthless kings and queens, secrets and scandals, gods and goddesses, prophets and holy men, signs and portents, wonders and harbingers.Long before his previous best-selling books, Cahn was known for opening the deep mysteries of Scripture and for teachings of prophetic import. He leads Hope of the World and the Jerusalem Center/Beth Israel, just outside New York City in Wayne, N.J. He is also a much sought-after speaker, having addressed the United Nations on Capitol Hill and millions of people around the world. Cahn has also been called the prophetic voice of our generation. MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the state unit of the BJP is ready for polls. If someone wants to impel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will be able to form a government again, he stated, adding fuel to speculations that BJP is contemplating the option of mid-term polls in Maharashtra. However, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray dismissed it as an attempt to divert attention from the farmers loan waiver issue. The corridors of power in Maharashtra have been abuzz with reports of BJPs preparations for mid term polls. Its region-wise survey of seats in the event of snap polls has been published in media. Also the fact that Mr Fadnavis had initially asked for a four month-period to deliberate on loan waivers during his first meeting with farmers is being interpreted in political circles as BJPs intention to go for elections in six months time after writing off farmers loans. Also the fact that BJP president Amit Shah is expected to be in Mumbai for three days from Friday and is scheduled to meet Mr Thackeray, has added weight to the speculations. Speaking to media, Mr Fadnavis said, Some people were talking during the farmers agitation that we will bring down the government. I said we are ready for midterm polls. MUMBAI: Taking a dig at Shiv Sena, Congress MLA Nitesh Rane sought a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the Uddhav Thackeray-led party for vowing to quit the BJP-led Maharashtra government several times but not doing so. Nitesh in a letter written to the director of Guinness Book of World Records said, We would like to register a record on Mr Uddhavs behalf for announcing a number of times that his party, Shiv Sena, will withdraw support to the Maharashtra government. It will be a first-of-its-kind record. The Congress MLAs father, Narayan Rane, was once a Sainik but left the party after a confrontation with Mr Uddhav. While it isnt known whether the letter was actually sent to Guinness Records, it immediately went viral on social media. Incidentally, Mr Uddhav has frequently threatened to quit the BJP-ruled alliance. After the 2014 Assembly polls, it had almost been decided that Sena and BJP would not come back to power. However, both joined hands to form the state government. A similar situation came up during local body elections, which is possibly why the Congress MLA chose to target the Sena. New Delhi: A day before the crucial meeting between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the BJP ministerial panel on presidential elections, the Congress indicated on Thursday it will not support the candidature of Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu, who is said to be the frontrunner as NDA presidential candidate. Hectic parleys have begun between the BJP and the Opposition parties to arrive at a consensus, with Mr Shah forming a team of three ministers to hold talks with a range of Opposition leaders. The members of this team are finance minister Arun Jaitley, home minister Rajnath Singh and I&B minister M. Venkaiah Naidu. Mr Naidu spoke to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday. Mr Pawar said he would be in New Delhi in the next couple of days for further talks. The Shiv Sena has been a vocal critic of the BJP, and specially over the recent farmers issues, and has played hardball with the BJP. Mr Thackeray has repeatedly said RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat should be made the next President, though Mr Bhagwat ruled out his candidature. The Opposition parties have tried to exploit this division in the NDA by approaching the Shiv Sena for support and even pitching the name of NCP chief Sharad Pawar as the Opposition presidential candidate. Congress insiders say the party has made up its mind that it would not support any candidate with saffron leanings, and sources said the party was not willing to extend support to Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu, a former BJP MLA in Odisha, who has emerged as the frontrunner in the BJP camp for the presidency. Congress president Sonia Gandhi met senior leaders of the party a day before the crucial meeting with the BJP ministers on Friday. She met Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge and her political secretary Ahmed Patel. Sources said the Congress would only agree to any candidate the government proposes after consulting all Opposition parties for the sake of unity. The Opposition leaders are likely to meet once again around June 20. At this point, the Congress feels it is incumbent on the ruling party to arrive at a consensus, with a rider that the person should have faith in the Constitution and uphold the idea of India, with no saffron leanings. Opposition leader and DMK working president M.K. Stalin along with his party MLAs stages a walkout from the Assembly on Thursday. (Photo: DC) CHENNAI: Stalin (DMK working president) needs cows meat. But, we want cows milk, is the latest mantra of the saffron party. BJP national general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao who was in the city on Thursday lashed out at the M K Stalin for slamming the Centres decision to ban the sale of cows and buffaloes in open markets for slaughter houses. The DMK is indulging in vote bank politics in all issues and its protest against the Union governments decision in this particular issue is yet another example of how the DMK is functioning, he added. While leading a protest by his party members against the ban, in the city recently, Mr. Stalin questioned the Centres decision to enforce a ban and asked, how can Central government impose restrictions on our food habit? We must eat only what Modi likes? Our individual rights are being snatched away by central govt. Speaking to reporters while participating in a massive rally organised by the BJP womens wing here on Thursday demanding total prohibition in TN, Mr. Rao took strong exception to Mr. Stalins remarks. On the state run liquor shops, he said, Tamil Nadu has become Tasmac Nadu. The state only needs cows milk, not liquor. Understanding this, the government should take appropriate steps to close down all liquor outlets. BJP state president Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan who addressed a large number of BJP members, said rather than making rapid strides in development Tamil Nadu continued to stagger backward as it was attaching more importance to encouraging Tasmac sales. She demanded all the Tasmac outlets be closed immediately in the interest of women and children. Chennai: Embattled deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran appeared to flex his muscle harder getting his 32 loyalist legislators to pressure Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday to request him to return from exile and lead the AIADMK, or else they would all vote against the partys choice in the Presidential election. The TTV loyalists wanted the CM to invite their leader to preside over all the party functions, including the MGR centenary celebrations planned at all district headquarters. More importantly, TTV should be on the dais in prominent status alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the party holds the MGR centenary finale at Chennai, they told the CM at his chamber in the Secretariat early evening. Their third demand is even more significant. They wanted the CM to announce that TTV would preside over the partys Iftar party during this Ramzan monthcontinuing the tradition set by late leaders MGR and Jayalalithaa leading the AIADMKs Iftar party. In short, the TTV team wanted the CM to rescind the banishment on TTV, announced by his senior ministers on April 18, and acknowledge him as the partys supreme leader as a full-fledged deputy general secretary. The CM heard them out patiently and counseled restraint while assuring he would consult party functionaries and decide. The CM knows these 32 votes mean little or nothing in the Presidential election. He is only being diplomatic and decent, rather than ticking them off straightaway, said a party senior requesting anonymity. Soon after his meeting with the TTV legislators, CM Palaniswami drove to party headquarters in Royapettah and held an emergency meeting with ministerial colleagues and the party office-bearers. Mediapersons drew near-blank from the party seniors who participated in the 90-minute session. They discussed arrangements for MGR centenary and filing of affidavits before the Election Commission in the two-leaves symbol case, for which Friday is the last date, said ministers D. Jayakumar and R.Vaithilingam before rushing off. They did not respond to the queries whether the demands of the TTV loyalists were discussed at the meeting. Sources said the TTV camp wants the CM to not just roll out the red carpet for his coronation but also sack the three ministers Jayakumar, P. Thangamani and S.P. Velumani. Proof of the success of the Modi governments Skill India Mission would depend largely on how it impacts or does not impact the vast majority eking out a living in the informal sector. India is one of the youngest nations. Its median age is 27.3. Skill development holds the key to Indias future as a globally competitive economy and the demographic dividend it hopes to reap. But here is a chilling statistic. Out of Indias estimated 480 million employed, less than five per cent have formally recognised skills. The figure shocks and awes but it is not so surprising when you consider that nearly 90 per cent of the countrys workforce is part of the unorganised or informal sector India leads the world with the sheer size of its informal sector. Let this sink in when you read about the imminent job crisis, techies being laid off in Bengaluru and elsewhere, about automation, artificial intelligence and suchlike and our national mission on skill development. Automation threatens a huge number of jobs in India; it is changing the way companies work. The skills of the future are premised on a certain level of education and exposure, which the vast majority of Indias youth dont have. The Narendra Modi led-National Democratic Alliance government has committed itself to providing young people with skill development and vocational training so that they can find or create jobs. But whether it will succeed will depend on its ability to upgrade the skills of the millions who have so far had no choice but to survive in the informal sector. Clearly, the task ahead for those overseeing Indias national skills development programme is a daunting one. So where do we go from here? The starting point is to face some home truths. The reasons for the worsening job crisis in the country are well-known not enough low-skilled job opportunities outside agriculture and construction sectors, the threat of automation substituting human skills in various sectors food processing, information technology, IT-enabled services, textiles and so on. The Modi governments response has been a ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship, a National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), and a flagship programme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). This programme seeks to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them secure a better livelihood and to equip individuals with prior learning experience or skills to be assessed and certified under a scheme called Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). The government pays all the training and assessment fees. PMKVY has got a huge dollop of money in the Budget. Ground realities, however, show a far gloomier picture. In March this year, there was a Parliament question which sought statewise details of the number of unorganised and unskilled workers, including those of SCs, STs, women and differently-abled workers who have been provided jobs through training under PMKVY. The MP also wanted to know the number of unorganised workers who have been certified, based on recognition of their prior learning. The government said that in 2015-16, 19.8 lakh candidates have been trained throughout the country under PMKVY. Of them, 2.37 lakh had received placement offers. That is less than 12 per cent. But there were no details nor disaggregated data, because earlier it was not mandatory for NSDCs training partners to report employment data. Now it is. In a recent interview to The Wire, Jayant Krishna, chief operating officer of NSDC, spoke about a flurry of initiatives in recent months. But the latest placement offer percentage is worryingly low. Plus, irregularities in the scheme have been reported already. NSDC now concedes that checks and balances were not adequate in the initial days and the quality of the training left much to be desired. Recent statements from the government suggest that course correction is happening. In stark contrast to the earlier hyperbole, there is a more realistic assessment of what is possible. The Modi government no longer says it wants to provide skills training to 500 million people by 2022. In what appears to be a change in strategy, the ministry of skill development now maintains that it would no longer chase numbers and skill development from now on will be demand driven than supply driven. Some have called this a flip-flop. One can also see it as course correction. At the current pace, the government cannot possibly meet the target of creating 500 million skilled workers by 2022. There are not enough qualified trainers nor training infrastructure. To succeed in its skills development mission, the government also has to ensure that basic education standards are improved. Millions of young Indians dont even reach secondary school. The skills of the future and the jobs of future necessitate that they at least complete school. School dropouts, both boys and girls, need to be provided a second chance and encouraged to acquire basic numeracy and literacy skills to move them out of low paid unskilled work in the informal economy. These are the harsh realities. NSDCs leadership concedes that initially, training providers were not even tracking what happened to those they have trained; training centres of uneven quality had mushroomed. Now there are more checks and balances and emphasis on quality of training, they say, and on demand aggregation and training for trainers. It is also true that government-subsidised skill programmes are not enough; industry should do more. For starters, as NSDCs Mr Krishna notes, it would be good to have some figures on how many people the corporate sector has skilled or reskilled. The new realism is welcome. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and the proof of the success of the Modi governments Skill India Mission would depend largely on how it impacts or does not impact the vast majority eking out a living in the informal sector. Thats where the jobs story is unfolding. Unless the Narendra Modi government is successful in not just dousing the literal raging fires in the fields but also prevent these from spreading to other states and new regions, it will soon be on the edge of a political precipice. Lulled into complacency by successive electoral victories since the setback in Bihar in November 2015 the most important booster dose coming from the astounding victory in Uttar Pradesh, undoubtedly the most significant and visible vote of confidence for the most disruptive government decision in decades, demonetisation, the government had begun believing that it could continue to sweep evidence of growing farm distress away from the public glare. The problem was that while urban India could be lulled into the complacent belief that achche din were indeed upon us, rural India was just awaiting someone somewhere to ignite a fire. The media, which till the other day was either tom-toming the finance ministers claim that prophets of doom were wrong because their assumptions were based on anecdotal evidence or was pounded into accepting failure to read the groundswell of support for notebandi, has suddenly come to life with reports from several northern and western states detailing how farmers are raging because their produce is not yielding enough. Almost overnight, the government, which appeared incapable of making the slightest error, and the BJP, that looked to be on such roll that Opposition parties were willing to concede defeat in the next parliamentary polls two years before they are due, is now seemingly shaky. It may be too early to write an epitaph for the Modi government but there is no denying that when its history is written, this moment will be recalled either as the beginning of its end or when it weathered the first severe challenge after assuming power. Does the sudden eruption of anger in places as diverse as Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, parts of Maharashtra, western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and even Punjab demonstrate that the Indian farmer is politically fickle-minded? After all, was it not just a quarter of a year ago that they lent wholehearted support to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand? The answer is multi-layered and must necessarily begin by examining the paradox that while rural Uttar Pradesh and the adjoining hill state voted overwhelmingly for the BJP, Punjab voted for the Congress. It is an accepted fact that while the identity politics was the primary determinant in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, albeit to a lesser degree in Punjab, the mood was primarily set by strong anti-incumbent sentiment. Moreover, the BJP remains a junior party in the alliance with the Akali Dal for demographic reasons. Farmers in Punjab therefore, did not vote as social communities but on the basis of class identity. In contrast, the farmer in Uttar Pradesh, as the election neared, became divided on caste lines and remained disunited on economic issues confronting them as a class. Caste divergences have now been sunk in Uttar Pradesh, where the Bharatiya Kisan Union and other farmers organisations have begun agitations against the crisis that stares them in the face, but only after two developments. First, the lead taken by farmers in other states, and second, the continuing confusion over loan waiver. Almost three months after newly-elected chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced the scheme, there is no clarity on who will be benefited under this scheme and how. For more than three years, Mr Modi has been in promissory mode, making one pledge after another, giving one assurance after another. Like most politicians before him, he had little intention to fulfil most of his assurances but unlike before, the people trusted him more than they had faith in the others. Consequently, the expectations from Mr Modi were higher compared to predecessors. It was nothing short of political myopia to expect that the loan waiver announcement in Uttar Pradesh would not trigger agitations in other states. Failure to anticipate farmers stir in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and then in other states, is indicative of hubris setting in. The BJP top brass believed that it could continue alienating one political party after another with little consequence. But party leaders forgot that while Opposition parties can be discredited, marginalised and sidelined, it is not possible to subdue the spirit to protest. History has time and again proved that movements do not necessarily need a leader; they emerge from within. Opposition leaders are not making a beeline for Mandsaur because of sudden realisation of farmers woes but to stay politically relevant. Arun Jaitley refused to accept the fiscal burden of loan waivers. As finance minister he may afford to do this but others in the party, specially Mr Modi, can ill afford to paint the sop as infantile decisions of state chief ministers. The Prime Minister is faced with two choices: either he bites the bullet and retracts on loan waivers or he allows fiscal deficit to spiral up and throw all claims of fiscal prudence out of the window. Either of the paths he chooses will make his journey on the other difficult. If loan waivers are not extended to other states and more farmers brought under its ambit, as they are now demanding, the agitation may be tough to contain. The decision will however negatively impact the governments fiscal management and result in loss of face for Mr Modi as a prudent administrator. Moreover, he has claimed for long that he does not believe in giving freebies. If Mr Modi is seen to be buckling under populist demands, his image will be severely dented. For three years people joked that while they were yet to see achche din, Mr Modi and his core team was surely having a good time. That phase appears to be over. How the Prime Minister navigates his course over the next few weeks will considerably determine the narrative in 2019. A group of retired bureaucrats has expressed disquiet at growing levels of religious intolerance in India. The largely non-political group of top former administrators signed an open letter laying out point by point what it sees as classic cases of religious intolerance. The trends pointed out range from gau rakshaks running riot and lynching people, anti-Romeo squads harassing couples, banning of slaughterhouses affecting the livelihoods of many people, the harassment of NGOs and interference in student affairs. A pattern of wilful majoritarianism was established by the arguments, including muzzling of media criticism. The growth of hypernationalism is also a major source of worry. The new rules banning the sale of cattle for slaughter, with their agenda not very well hidden, added a whole new dimension to the intolerance issue. The protests had spread so far across India that voices are now being heard from power centres that the government doesnt want to alter the food habits of people. As the trend of tolerance levels being lowered all the time is noticeable, the misgivings of a few bureaucrats cant be thought to be misplaced. The foundation of the thinking behind the trend is religious ideology. Since that is unlikely to change given the forces driving those now in power, its easy to say the problem isnt going away anytime soon. The question is: who should take corrective action, and how. Islam, they say, is a tolerant religion, but Im not sure the same can be said for most Islamic nations or societies. How many of them would pass muster as a tolerant state that allow other denominations, specially non-Abrahamic ones? The answer is almost none. One exception, however, is the tiny peninsula of Qatar a rare exhibit of Islamic tolerance in the Arab world, compared to Janus-faced Saudi Arabia that spews Wahhabism, the worst form of militant Islam. Qatar is where I spent some of my most productive years as a journalist, and I can vouch that even more so than Oman or the United Arab Emirates, the tiny emirate is a rare speck of oasis where a non-Muslim foreigner with a democratic background can feel the refreshing winds of freedom and a reassuring whiff of openness. In the rest of the Arab world, the idea of freedom and openness is a deceitful delusion, like a mirage in the desert. No doubt Qatar itself is far from being the noisy democracy that we are familiar with in India or from the free societies of the West. But then, its all about shades and degrees. The recent move by seven fellow Arab countries, apparently blessed by Washington and plotted by Saudi Arabia, to brand Qatar as a promoter of terrorism and to cut diplomatic ties with it was an unseemly perversion of the truth. Just look at the record of the rulers who targeted Qatar, starting with the House of Saud, the self-styled custodian of the Muslim holy sites. What has been its contribution to world peace? Osama bin Laden and his baby serpents? How would Egypt, the land of the ancient Pharaonic wisdom and timeless grace, account for its role in promoting, not peace, but a violent and regressive sect like the Muslim Brotherhood? Which nation does Ayman al Zawahiri, Osama bin Ladens successor in Al Qaeda, come from? And what about that hedonistic hell called Dubai (UAE), with its menacing towers of shallow opulence and unbridled pursuit of carnal pleasure? With global terrorists like Dawood Ibrahim plying their evil trade in its cozy confines, it must take some gall for the UAE to accuse Qatar of promoting terrorism. In short, theres not a single soul among these countries who could throw the first stone at Qatar. Interestingly, after 9/11, when the whole world was baying for Arab and Muslim blood, it was Sheikh Hamad bin Al Thani, then Emir of Qatar, who started a global news channel, Al Jazeera, to tell the world what Arabs and Muslims really thought about terrorism. We are not all Osama bin Ladens here, Sheikh Hamad was desperate to convince the Americans in particular and the West in general. The Saudis, meanwhile, were busy covering their tracks and playing possum with the Bush administration. Strangely, for all its earnest attempts at unravelling the truth about Al Qaeda and 9/11, Qatar earned the dubious title of being a lackey of Washington. In an ironic twist, that same lackey of Washington is being accused of being a promoter of terrorism. US President Donald Trump should explain how that adds up. Right from the days when double-dealing Britain had helped the camel-riding Bedouins against the Ottomans to set up the Saudi nation, the children of Abdul Aziz Ibn al Saud, the eponymous Bedouin chief, have been enjoying the trappings of royalty, no less. But in practice, the family had remained a salivating subsidiary to the British royal family. In fact, all through its history, the Saudis have been in their true element as the footmen of Whitehall and the White House than as the custodians of Islam. They always behaved as though they were in perpetual debt to the West, starting from a certain Colonel Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence, otherwise Lawrence of Arabia, who taught them modern warfare to drive the Turks out of the desert. And they were never shy to admit it, as long as they got to retain the Arab worlds leadership! The discovery of oil, which the Arabs first called devils blood, in the late 1930s thanks to Western oil firms, was the Cinderella moment for the Saudis. With waves of black gold gushing out of the desert, the idle minds of the royal brood decided on a global expansion of their brand of austere Islam called Wahhabism. While the rest of the Arabian Gulf states happily remained the vassals of the Sauds, the ruling al-Thani family of Qatar, sitting on the worlds second-largest (after Russia) gas reserves, decided to pull rank on the Saudis. The king was stung, and so were the vassals. Enough to let loose the dogs of war. The vassals, like all poor vassals, forgot all the millions and billions Qatar had sent their way when they were in dire straits, like Dubai was during the 2008-09 financial crisis. Egypt and Jordan too forgot how Qatar had rushed its troops to save them against an Israeli rollover in their numerous wars. Arab history has been nothing if not a history of betrayal and backstabbing. And it was only padded up with contributions from White Bedouins like the British and the Americans. Even today, two of the biggest US military bases in West Asia are located in Doha, Qatars capital, in what was seen as yet another move by the al-Thanis to convince the Americans they were with Washington in fighting global terrorism. In fact, the first bombing expeditions to Iraq in 2003 took off from Dohas Al Udeid airbase. Out of my window close to the airbase, I had then seen those roaring jets piercing through the dawn light. Journalist Robert Fisk, one of the greatest authorities on West Asia, wrote a masterpiece on the history of the region and called it The Great War of Civilisation. Fisk said the Middle East took several decades to reach the boiling point; and it would take several more to reach the freezing point. And then: Its indeed been a long war that started far behind us and with no end in sight. But if and when it does end, this war would be remembered neither for the boom of enemy guns nor for their words, but for the silence of the friends.... It may be inevitable, but not as yet: Rakesh Sharma The contending mainstream narratives on women in combat in the Army propelled by male and female protagonists lend bias and hues to disparate arguments. The epithet combat by itself is non-conformist in usage. Riot control is combat, engaging an adversarial aircraft by firing an air defence missile is so, as is establishing communication infrastructure in Kargil, supplying ammunition in Kupwara or erecting a bridge on the Lohit river. For the task that the Army undertakes, these are imperative combat roles. In debate, however, combat roles for women actually are deemed identical to that of a self-contained infantry soldier in a small patrol in the dense jungles of the Northeast, or along the LoC in J&K. Combat is again thought to be in the steaming deserts of South Rajasthan as part of tank crew. It is presumed that the mental and physical capabilities for women, despite the physiological concerns and the skeletal structure, can be attained by training, though the current standards have been watered down at the entry stage, during training and subsequent testing during career. For women, the longevity in combat (as evinced currently by the frontline infantry soldiers with sustained separation from families), and the rigours of overstretching to retain the physical and psychological conditioning, is bound to take its toll on their health and cause attrition. In a highly competitive environment, this becomes a serious management issue, to carry and place the unfit in scarce peacetime assignments, and ensure motivation for those repeatedly deployed in hardships. Not wanting to sound misogynistic, with the traditional and cultural roots of Indian society, specially the rural recruitment base, the male population of the Indian Army will require a credible psychological reorientation. Of course there will be need for gender-sensitisation for men, by no measure a small task. This is specially so with a larger number of males and a few females, cooped up for days, weeks or months in a very small post of a dozen soldiers or so, as is but normal in super-high-altitude areas. There are bound to be physical, physiological and psychological anxieties. Most importantly is to fathom the operational environment that exists, currently. Mutilation of soldiers has occurred in recent times in patrolling in proximity to LoC and caused nationally heated passions. There is a psychologically and culturally, protective behaviour characteristic among male society towards women, which at the heat of military operations, say under fire or in an ambush, may lead to poorer decisions that will have far-reaching implications. Understandably, poor decisions are still being made in the current scenario, and these could well multiply. Over-protectionism in operations may reduce the proverbial bayonet strength. All that has been stated above may not be new or original. It may also be hyperbole, exaggeration and overstating the obvious. And, yes, women may be willing to accept the risks, and why should men decide what is in store! But for the operationally committed Corps of Infantry, Armoured Corps and the Mechanised Infantry, haste at this juncture may adversely affect and lead to loss of combat effectiveness. Induction of women even in combat units may be inevitable over time, and the writing may be on the wall, but well into future, but not as yet! Lt. Gen. Rakesh Sharma recently retired as adjutant-general of the Indian Army. He had earlier commanded the Fire and Fury Corps in Ladakh. It is a facet of womens empowerment: K.R. Prasad There was an official announcement recently that the Army was opening its doors for women in combat roles. Indeed a wow moment for women in India! It is not a small or insignificant move by the government. The Indian Army is one of the best and the largest armies in the world. However, it swings in favour of men in numbers. Way back in the 90s, after a series of heated debates and discussions, a green signal was sent out for women to enter the Army. Today, they are represented in Ordnance, ASC, Medical, Educational Corps, etc. The adversities were many, the physical vulnerability of women, the stereotyped mentality of the male dominated force, social unpreparedness to reintegrate women affected by violence and aggression the list is endless. But the arguments in favour of women in the armed forces far outweighed the ill consequences. It is in a way, a facet of womens empowerment. Entering a male bastion, working shoulder to shoulder with fellow men and comrades, overcoming patriarchal stereotypes, engaging in all activities on the same footing as men, serving in difficult terrain with no preferential treatment, boosts the morale of women who know and believe that they are second to none. Perhaps because of the species-specific growth differentials, some selection criteria might have been tweaked to allow women into the Army. But then, this is essential as the bars have to cater to the differentials and cannot be the same. If it were, it would have eliminated many from making this career choice and surely would not have been fair to women. Anyone would agree that women display a great level of tolerance, patience, professionalism, empathy and understanding and a high degree of emotional quotient the qualities essential in a hostile and aggressive environment. Operations today go beyond the physical level; they are technologically sophisticated. Use of technology in most of the aspects of a battle is on increase and will continue to do so. There is no reason why women dont fit the bill here. The vulnerability that they may face is when they are captured by the enemy and subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Personal and social adjustment could become a nightmare and our social fabric is possibly still ill-equipped to receive and reintegrate them in society. However, these are only assumptions and fears. While the government has taken decision in the positive direction to include women in combat roles, it needs to simultaneously sensitise men in the force to accept women at par, help overcome any stereotypes which prejudice actions; empower women to acclimatise to combat roles; build, rebuild and strengthen the social fabric to accept and take pride in the giant steps taken by women to be a part of this great and reputed Army and to educate more and more young women to have belief in ones own strength and confidence and to choose this career path. Women constitute almost nearly half of Indias population and it is but fair that they have an equal opportunity to all careers, including combat roles in the Army. Inclusiveness is a sign of development and maturity of a nation. We have notable instances in the history of our country where valiant women have fought fearlessly in combat role against enemies. Its high time that they regain the lost glory. I have no doubt that women will be able to take up this challenge and emerge victorious, as always. Maj. Gen. K.R. Prasad (Retd) is from the Corps of Signals. He is now chief mentor to Janaagraha, an NGO in Bengaluru. Globally, the war on terror has never been so much in paralysis as it has been in the past few weeks. Its almost as if its non-existent, with terrorists ruling the roost in many of the worlds violence-prone regions, and political leaderships aiding them with their thoughtless agendas. Britain, reputed for its excellent success in welding together communities and possessing world-class intelligence services and security forces, has been in the eye of the storm with three major attacks at Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge. France, with a respite from the chain of attacks it bore through 2015-16, once again suffered a lone wolf attack at Notre Dame on June 5. It last faced a terror strike on April 20, when a policeman was killed at Champs Elysees in Paris just before the first round of the presidential elections. With fast-moving developments in the Middle East after the Arab and Islamic summits during US President Donald Trumps visit to the region, we now have audacious attacks on Irans Parliament building and the tomb of its revolutionary founder, leaving at least 12 people dead and 42 wounded in the worst terror attack against the Islamic republic in years. The attack was claimed by ISIS. Paradoxically, the Islamic summit of Sunni nations along with the US vowed to target Iran as the supporter of global terror. In Afghanistan, there were a spate of deadly terror attacks in Mazar-e-Sharif (140 Afghan National Army soldiers dead), at a Kabul hospital, the car bomb outside the German embassy, also in Kabul, and the latest attack at a mosque in Herat, causing seven deaths. The Taliban was behind all of them, with ISIS attempting to showcase its presence too. Southeast Asia, comparatively less scathed so far, has had the Philippines witnessing a Muslim militant group-linked ISIS attack that led to loss of control over parts of Marawi City on Mindanao Island, southern Philippines. Almost 85,000 people fled the city of 200,000. It appeared Abu Sayyaf, the radical Islamic group, is now acting as an ISIS surrogate. What seems clear is that with new political leaderships emerging in the West, the focus on the global war on terror as a concept, that was anyway debatable being a selective strategy of targeting, is even further from any degree of execution. The United States is clearly in a state of transition, with policy reversals in various areas which are as yet fuzzy. From Europe to the Middle East to Afghanistan, President Trump is yet to bring any clarity to how the US intends to make the world any safer. His current focus appears to be only on how to make the US more secure. His recent visit to Europe gave no confidence to European leaders, and intelligence leaks over the Manchester attack hasnt evoked any confidence in the US being a reliable partner in the war against terror. The most controversial part of the developments in the fight against terror appears to be the aftermath of the Trump visit to the Middle East. News at the end of 2016 and early 2017 made us believe ISIS was on its last legs in Mosul, its leadership having deserted and its money dwindled. Mosul is yet to fall, and a last-ditch battle for the city is on, but the ISIS presence elsewhere is widespread and well-networked. Its capacity to operate and conduct terror strikes is not limited only to lone wolf attempts. Although the UK is currently in its crosshairs, ISIS capability in the rest of Europe, as well as Turkey, is still intact. In December 2016, the assessment was that ISIS was preparing to target Britain, and that did prove true. There is no doubt that ISIS would have been worried about the advent of President Trump and his intent to target terror more energetically than Barack Obama. However, Mr Trump may have actually just helped ISIS by making Iran the target of his entire Middle East policy. Even in relation to the crisis in Syria, it was clearly President Bashar al-Assad who was the target when it came to the response to alleged chemical weapon attacks by Syrian government forces. The battle against ISIS seems to have lost focus partially in the physical realm in the Middle Eastern battlefields, but equally so in the psychological realm. The coming together of Arab and other Sunni nations ostensibly in a show of solidarity against terror ended up only looking at Iran as the adversary, with no clarity on what to do with ISIS or the crisis in Yemen perpetrated by Saudi Arabia. The status of ISIS in Afghanistan remains unclear. However, the Taliban is on a roll, with its ability to target Afghan security forces and carry out acts of terror in the heart of Kabul. The rump ISAF is incapable, and the Afghan National Army and police, without more modern weaponry, are unlikely to sustain the pressure for too long. The creeping decision to add 5,000 troops isnt going to take this campaign anywhere.With Mr Trump reluctant to back Nato in Europe and expressing his scepticism even about funding Nato, he should not expect any support from others in enhancing forces in Afghanistan. The current crisis over Qatar perpetrated by a few Gulf states and Saudi Arabia at the behest of the US doesnt appear to have been thought through, and is full of paradoxes. It is almost akin to the situation in Syria, where it is difficult to determine who is opposed to whom. Clearly, Qatar is regarded as the villain behind financing conduits for ISIS. The reported $1 billion ransom paid for the release of some members of the Qatari royal family to an Iraqi Shia militia sounds unconvincing. No commentary on terror can be complete today without a mention of Pakistan, the core sponsor of violent extremism through its policy of friendly and unfriendly terrorists. It has so far escaped President Trumps ire, but the snub to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Riyadh was sufficient to convey that Pakistan doesnt fit into the US counter-terrorism scheme. There are no solutions visible on the horizon, but the global crisis in terms of spreading terror can be better controlled if the Middle East is more stable and ISIS has less scope to exploit the meaningless differences between nations that should in any case be aligned on the same side. Google launched its flagship smartphones, Google Pixel and Pixel XL last year, which were manufactured by HTC. Therefore, it was assumed that HTC will be taking charge of manufacturing Googles 2017 flagship successors too. However, new report suggests that LG will be manufacturing the upcoming Pixel XL 2 this time. A report by 9to5Google notes a bug entry in Android Issue Tracker, apparently made by an LG employee earlier this year, suggesting that a device codenamed Taimen was actually listed under LG Electronics. Taimen as per several reports, is believed to be the successor to last years Google Pixel XL. The speculation further gained momentum when Android Police separately confirmed that LG will be manufacturing the Pixel XL 2. The reason behind Googles decision to switch from HTC to LG still remains unclear. Currently, HTC is still being assumed to be in charge of manufacturing the smaller versions of Google Pixel 2. This further opens up debates regarding the upcoming Pixel flagships designs. While it seems likely that fans might end up getting two different designs on Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 smartphones, nothing has been confirmed as yet from Google. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Qatari Minister of State for Defense Affairs Dr. Khalid al-Attiyah met to finalise the purchase and discuss security concerns among the two nations. (Photo: AP/Representational) New York: As Qatar faces regional isolation due to the ongoing diplomatic rift with its Middle-Eastern neighbours, the United States confirmed the sale of F-15 fighters worth USD 12 billion to Qatar, according to CNN. Through a statement, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Roger Cabiness notified CNN of a meeting conducted between Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Qatari Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr. Khalid al-Attiyah to finalise the purchase and discuss security concerns among the two nations, including an update on the operations of the Islamic State (ISIS). The announcement follows a string of messages that were sent out from the Trump administration regarding the dispute between Doha and the other Arab nations. However, the deal being facilitated at the time of crisis is being perceived as a symbol of support from the US. The Qatari defence ministry issued a statement Wednesday celebrating the F-15 deal. "This agreement underscores the longstanding commitment of the State of Qatar in jointly working with our friends and allies in the United States," al-Attiyah said in the statement. Al-Attiyah called the deal "yet another step in advancing our strategic and cooperative defence relationship with the United States." Earlier, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilising the region because of its ties to their Shiite rival, Iran, and its support for groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Qatar acknowledges its links to these groups, but denies that it supports terrorism. Owing to this, the nations decided to end all diplomatic ties with Qatar. Supporting the move, US President Donald Trump while accusing Qatar of 'sponsoring terrorism at a very high level', said it's time that Qatar stop funding terrorism. "The nation of Qatar has unfortunately been funding terrorism, and at a very high level", President Trump said during an appearance alongside Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the White House. Trump said "Nations came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar over its behaviour. We had a decision to make, "Do we take the easy road or do we finally take a hard, but necessary action? We have to stop the funding of terrorism," in an extraordinary escalation of the diplomatic row with one America's most important military partners in the Middle East." "I decided, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson , our great generals and military people, the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding, they have to end that funding and its extremist ideology," CNN quoted Trump, as saying. Meanwhile, it appears, that Trump and Tillerson, are not on the same page as the latter has said that the Gulf countries' land and air blockade of Doha is hurting the campaign against ISIS. This assessment has been only partially corroborated by the Pentagon. The blockade is hindering US military actions in the region and the campaign against ISIS," Tillerson said, without providing details. The US' "expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to resolve the situation," he added. Despite Tillerson's assessment that the fight against ISIS had been impacted, Pentagon officials said there has been no immediate disruption. They warned, however, that their ability to make longer-term plans was being affected. Qatar is home to 11,000 US troops and the Al Udeid Air Base, the main regional center for air operations against the terrorist group. Tokyo: Japan passed a controversial anti-terror law on Thursday that sparked street protests and warnings from critics that it would stomp on citizens privacy rights and lead to over-the-top police surveillance. The upper house of parliament passed the conspiracy bill early Thursday morning after a full night of debate by sleepy parliamentarians and unsuccessful efforts on the part of Japans weak opposition to block it. Thousands of demonstrators protested outside the legislature over the bill which criminalises the planning of serious crimes. The government argues it is necessary to prevent terrorism ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Japans capital. But rights groups, Japans national bar association and numerous academics have opposed the bill, saying it is so broad it could be abused to allow wiretapping of innocent citizens and threaten privacy and freedom of expression guarantees in the constitution. US surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden and Joseph Cannataci, UN special rapporteur on the right to privacy, have both criticised the law. Recent polls show the public is divided on the issue. The bills passage overcame the oppositions no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shinzo Abes cabinet and a censure motion aimed at Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda. Tokyo insists the law -- which calls for a prison term of up to five years for planning serious crimes -- is a prerequisite for implementing a UN treaty against transnational organised crime which Japan signed in 2000. We will uphold the law in an appropriate and effective way to protect peoples lives, Abe told reporters after the legislation passed. Three years ahead of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, we hope to cooperate with the international community to prevent terror, he added. Forced vote The bill was revised several times over the years as earlier versions met with fierce resistance and never made it through parliament. The latest bill reduced the number of targeted crimes to over 270 offences and narrowed the definition of terrorist and criminal organisations. Earlier versions of the law targeted more than 600 crimes unrelated to terrorism or crime syndicates. Critics argued, however, that the current law still gives police and investigators too much leeway. The general public could be targeted on conspiracy charges via monitoring phone and online conversations once they are suspected of being a member of criminal group, they warned. The opposition chastised Abe for trying to push the law through quickly, as he faces mounting criticism over allegations that he gave friends special consideration in a couple of unrelated business deals. This is an ultimate form of forced vote -- it shut down sensible debate in the upper house, Renho, head of the leading opposition Democratic Party who goes by one name, told reporters. The opposition has warned that petty crimes could fall under the scope of the law, and mocked Japans justice minister when he earlier conceded that, hypothetically, mushroom hunting could be targeted if the fungi were stolen to raise money to fund terrorism. This legislation is a serious violation of the constitution, said Kazuo Shii, head of the Japanese Communist Party, the second-largest opposition party. Some Japanese media have likened the bill to the World War II-era public order maintenance law under which ordinary people were arrested for political offences, exercising labour rights and anti-war activities. London: In the aftermath of the heavy fire that broke out at the Grenfell House tower block on Wednesday, the Government led by Prime Minister Theresa May is receiving flak for not paying heed to the fire safety warnings that were issued. The Prime Minister's new chief of staff Gavin Barwell had allegedly failed to review the safety during his tenure as housing minister, despite it already having been delayed for years. His predecessor, Brandon Lewis declined to bring in regulation forcing developers to fit sprinklers because he said it was not the Government's responsibility, reports The Independent. Pressure continued to mount with the leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn preparing to attack the ministers with all guns blazing. Suggesting spending cuts may also have a role to play, he said: "If you deny local authorities the funding they need, then there is a price that's paid." "A review took place after the fire in Camberwell and the Government has that review. I believe we need to ask questions about what facilities and resources have been given to local authorities that have tower blocs in the area and, frankly, most do. We need to deal with this; we need people to be safe living in high rise buildings," Corbyn said. With regards to the involvement of any current serving frontbench politicians, Corbyn asserted that although the focus at this point is on saving the locals, all ministers in their tenure must be interrogated. Following an explosion which took place in 2009 at Lakanal House in Camberwell, which claimed six lives and injured over 20, the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group recommended a review into the situation in 2013. However, the group's honorary administrative secretary, Ronnie King, said successive ministers had failed to carry out the review that the group's report called for. "Our group recommended that due to the speed that the fire spread in Lakanal House, that building regulations should be reviewed. It's nearly 11 years since it has been reviewed," he said, adding that over 4,000 building had no fire sprinklers fitted. The coroner's report into the Lakanal House had recommended an update on regulations, and called for developers refurbishing high-rise blocks to be encouraged to install sprinkler systems. However, Lewis, the then immigration minister washed his hands off the matter, claiming that it was the responsibility of the fire industry, and not the Government to encourage the installation of sprinklers. "The cost of fitting a fire sprinkler system may affect house building - something we want to encourage - so we must wait to see what impact that regulation has," he added. At least six persons were confirmed as dead following Wednesday's heavy fire that engulfed a tower block in west London. Commander Stuart Cundy, from the Metropolitan Police, said: "Our thoughts are with everyone involved in this truly shocking fire at Grenfell Tower. I can confirm six fatalities at this time, but this figure is likely to rise during what will be a complex recovery operation over a number of days. Many others are receiving medical care." Hundreds of firefighters battled to rescue residents from their flats after the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road, near Notting Hill as the blaze rapidly engulfed the full height of the 27-storey block. The London Ambulance Service Assistant Director of Operations Stuart Crichton confirmed in a statement that over 50 patients were admitted to five hospitals across London following the incident at the Grenfell Tower. "Over 100 of our medics are working hard to respond to this incident, including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, advanced trauma teams from London's Air Ambulance and those staff managing the incident in our special operations centre. In addition, our hazardous area response teams are also on scene," the statement added. While the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, residents in the vicinity had reportedly raised an alarm regarding the possibility of a calamity, which was allegedly not tendered to. They also claimed that due to renovation activities in the block, there was one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower, which created a hassle in the evacuation procedures. Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday questioned the conduct of ex-FBI chief James Comey, comparing him to whistleblower Edward Snowden and joking that Russia could offer him asylum. Speaking at his annual call-in with Russian citizens, Putin, a former KGB officer, said he found Comey's behaviour strange for a security official, after Comey leaked details of his meetings with Trump. "He said suddenly that he had recorded the conversation with the president and then passed it to the media through his friend. Now that sounds very strange," Putin said. "When the head of a security service records a conversation with the commander-in-chief and passes it to the media... then how is the FBI director different from Mr. Snowden? "Then he's not head of a security service, he's a rights activist who defends a certain position. Speaking of which, if he is persecuted, we would be ready to offer him asylum in Russia. He should know this." Putin granted asylum to Snowden after he leaked details of US surveillance programmes and was stranded in Moscow after his passport was cancelled en route to South America. Comey had been leading an FBI investigation into Trump aides and their contacts with the Russian government, which US intelligence agencies believe could have led to collusion to sway the 2016 election in Trump's favour. After being fired by Trump, Comey leaked details of the series of meetings with the president, in which Trump allegedly asked for Comey's "loyalty" and suggested the investigation be shelved. Putin on Thursday again dismissed allegations that Russia meddled in the US vote, instead accusing Washington of doing precisely that around the world. "Constant American propaganda, constant feeding of US-oriented NGOs... Is that not influencing our minds? Is that not an attempt to influence how we should act during our campaign?" Putin said. "Take the globe, spin it, point a finger, and you'll find American interests there, and you'll definitely find their meddling," he added. "What do they want, that everyone just bows their heads?" he asked of the United States. "We have an opinion, we openly voice it. These aren't some kind of covert underground actions." Islamabad: Embattled Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said he and his family have done nothing wrong as he lashed out at "some unseen elements" for hatching conspiracies against his democratically-elected government. "Today, I have just presented my stance before the JIT," Sharif told reporters after appearing before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing his family's alleged corruption as was reported by the Panama Papers leaks. The 67-year-old PML-N leader, who became Pakistan's first sitting premier to depose before such a panel, said that these allegations have nothing to do with his tenure as the prime minister and are not charges of corruption. "It should be noted that these allegations have nothing to do with my tenure as the prime minister and are not charges of corruption. They are charges against me and my family on a personal level about the family business," Sharif said after nearly three hours of questioning by the six-member team. He said as former chief minister and now third time prime minister, he approved projects worth trillion of rupees but "my opponents could not accuse me of any wrongdoing." Sharif said he and his family have repeatedly been subjected to merciless accountability but no allegation of corruption had ever been proved. "My opponents have levied charges of corruption against me, however, neither in the past, nor in the present, have any charges of corruption been proved against me and my family." He expressed the confidence that the outcome of the ongoing inquiry would not be different as he and his family have done nothing wrong. He also accused that "some unseen elements were hatching conspiracies against him and the democracy which would damage" the country. "All conspiracies of our political opponents will fail," he said. The JIT chief Wajid Zia had summoned the prime minister to appear before the probe team on June 15 with all documents relevant to the case. The summons was issued to Sharif after he returned last Saturday from Kazakhstan where he had attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. Islamabad: Pakistan said on Thursday it welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's "intention" to play a role in helping resolve its bilateral differences with India. Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria during a weekly briefing was asked that reportedly during his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of SCO Summit, Putin offered mediation between India and Pakistan to resolve their issues. "Pakistan welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this longstanding issue on the UNSC agenda," he said. Zakarai said Putin was a world leader and a statesman and Pakistan would extend a very warm welcome to him when he decides to visit the country. Talking about ties with Russia, Zakarai said Pakistan-Russia relation was following a positive trajectory. "Both sides have signed defence agreement, held joint military exercises and Russia is investing USD 2 billion in South-North gas pipeline project. There is tremendous scope for enhancing ties further, particularly in political, economic and trade, energy, defense, culture and education fields," he said. Zakarai said there was a growing realisation and concern among the regional countries and the UN on the threat to peace in the region "due to Indian unprovoked hostility on the LoC and Working Boundary." "Indian attempts to distract the world attention from the brutalities its occupation forces have unleashed on unarmed Kashmiris have endangered peace and security in the Sub-Continent and beyond," he alleged. To a question about External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement that Pakistan cannot take Kashmir issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), he said Pakistan was a sovereign country and reserves the right to take up any matter at any forum it deemed appropriate. "As for Kashmir, it is an internationally recognised dispute and outstanding on the UNSC agenda. Pakistan's position is consistent that we call for an early implementation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions on Kashmir, which promise the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people under a UN supervised plebiscite," he said. Welcome of India and Pak as new SCO members in Beijing on Thursday. (Photo: AP) Beijing: Welcoming India and Pakistan into the SCO, China on Thursday dismissed apprehensions that their differences could disrupt the unity of the grouping saying its charter strictly prohibits members to bring their bilateral hostility into the organisation. "As a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), we are very happy about the membership of India and Pakistan," China's Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said at a ceremony at the SCO headquarters here to formally admit the two nations as new members of the grouping. China, a dominant member of the now eight-member group, hosts the headquarters of the organisation. The SCO headquarters held a ceremony today to hoist the flags of India and Pakistan. Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale and his Pakistan counterpart Masood Khalid attended the ceremony which included jointly beating a huge SCO cooperation drum heralding the admission of their respective countries into the grouping. India and Pakistan were formally admitted+ as members at Kazakhstan capital Astana at the SCO summit held on June 8-9. China, Russia and Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan besides India and Pakistan are the members of the grouping. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are the observers. China takes over the rotating Presidency of the group this year from Kazakhstan. Kong, who attended the ceremony, in a brief chat with reporters allayed apprehensions aired by the state-run Chinese media that entry of India and Pakistan could disrupt the unity of SCO. "In the charter of the SCO there is a clause that the hostility between the bilateral relations should not be brought to the organisation. I believe both the countries will abide by the charter of the organisation," he said. "SCO has its own rules of procedures. We hope that those rules can be abided by all member states," he said, adding that India-Pakistan differences should not be exaggerated. "Between our member states our interests far outweigh our differences. So, we should not exaggerate the differences between the countries as it is not good for the organisation and cooperation between member states. After becoming members, we all become members of the big family," he said. China believes the entry of India and Pakistan "will guarantee very good cooperation in the organisation," he said. "Both countries are important in the region and China, Pakistan and India are in similar stage of development. We face similar challenges. Therefore, we hope that through this organisation that we can work together to overcome these challenges," he said. Also, he said, China has certain expectations of India's role in the SCO+ . "We have expectation for the role of India in this organisation. We hope that the Indian side will give attention to its membership in this organisation and pay attention to it." In his interaction with media, Gokhale also said SCO is important for India as it consist of China, Russia and Central Asian states. Asked about how SCO can help India and Pakistan to resolve their differences, he said both the countries have bilateral channels. "We are having number of bilateral channels. I see this as another opportunity and a platform. It helps because it enhances number of points of contacts. I think it is a good day for both the countries," he said. For his part, Khalid said "it is important that India and Pakistan have joined the region." "We are part of the region. As far as Pakistan is concerned we will make all possible efforts to promote peace and stability in the region and work together as active partners within the SCO to pursue common objectives of development, peace and security. I think historic day that way," he told PTI. About the utility of SCO to address contentious issues between India and Pakistan, the Pakistan's envoy said, "I hope so. It provides a multilateral platform where both of our countries will be there. They will be represented. There will be opportunities for interaction." Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in fierce retaliation by Indian troops as Pakistan Army today violated ceasefire thrice along the Line of Control in two sectors in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan Army resorted to shelling of mortar bombs and firing of small arms and automatic weapons on forward posts and civilians areas in the region. There have been 10 ceasefire violations in past four days and total 14 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the International Border in Jammu region since January 1, in which one civilian died and seven others were injured. In escalated terror violence in Kashmir, militants engineered seven grenade attacks and firing incidents in the Valley yesterday in which 14 policemen were injured and four rifles snatched by militants from the them. Indian troops gave a strong retaliation in which 2 Pakistani soldiers were killed opposite to Bhimbher Gali sector today, defence sources said. "Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of mortars, small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 1840 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today," Defence Spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta said. Before this third ceasefire violation in the day, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 0930 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today, he said. Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively and firing is presently on, he said. Earlier, Pakistan carried out indiscriminate firing from 0500 hours to 0545 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector in Poonch along the LoC, he added. There were 3 ceasefire violation on June 12. In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome! The death toll in a devastating fire that engulfed the 24-storey residential block in west London rose to 17 today, even as many people were still unaccounted for with police saying there was little chance of finding any more survivors from the smoldering building. Prime Minister Theresa May today ordered a full public inquiry into the fire, saying a judge-led investigation was needed to ensure that "this terrible tragedy is properly investigated". "We need to know what happened, we need to know an explanation. We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived. That is why I am ordering a full public inquiry so that we can get to the answers, we can find out exactly what happened," May said. London Fire Brigade fire fighters worked through the night to try and account for whole families that are still missing in the huge fire at the Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate in Latimer Road. The fire was reported at 01:16 AM (local time) yesterday. About 600 people were believed to have been inside the tower's 120 flats, many of them asleep, when the blaze ripped through the building. Police confirmed 17 deaths among the 600 residents thought to have lived in the tower but expect that toll to rise significantly as the building is searched. Scotland Yard said the death toll of 17 is expected to rise further as the emergency services have lost hope of rescuing any more people alive from the building. Nearly 78 people were injured, and 34 remain in hospitals across London 18 of them in critical condition. "There is going to be a long and complex recovery operation. I do anticipate the number of fatalities will sadly increase," said Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Mundy. Responding to a question, he said there was "nothing to suggest the fire had anything to do with terrorism". London fire commissioner Dany Cotton said it was not safe for fire crews to go all the way out to the edges of the building. "The fire is now out, there are small pockets of smoldering. You will see wisps of smoke coming out all day due to the heat of the building and the remaining contents. There are, as we believe, still unknown numbers of people in the building," Cotton told Sky News. "Due to the severity of the fire and the way things are, it will take a long time for us to be able to do that search to properly identity anyone who is left in the building... tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. "The severity and the heat of the fire will mean that it will be an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive," she said as she indicated that the search operation could take weeks. Firefighters worked through the night to dampen the fire. Crews using an aerial platform were going "floor by floor" shining lights into the building, BBC reported. Almost all of the building had been searched but crews were still trying to put out "pockets of fire" in hard to reach places and "unknown numbers" remain inside, London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Steve Apter said. Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, who praised the efforts of the fire crews and said her "thoughts and prayers" are with the families of the victims. "Prince Philip and I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of firefighters and other emergency services officers who put their own lives at risk to save others. It is also heartening to see the incredible generosity of community volunteers rallying to help those affected by this terrible event," she said. Speaking in Downing Street, May earlier said, "When it's possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken." More than 1 million pounds have been raised to help those affected by the massive blaze which ripped through the building. Volunteers and charities helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. Gurdwaras, mosques and churches opened their doors to the people rendered homeless, which included hundreds from nearby housing blocks that were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Bhupinder Singh, one British Sikh volunteer handling donations, said, "It is times like this that the best of our community comes out. This is where you find out how good it is to live in England and how good it is to be a Londoner." Questions have been raised about why the fire appeared to spread so quickly and engulf the entire building instead of being contained within a few flats. One focus of the investigation is expected to be the building's rain-screen cladding that was installed for better insulation during the nearly 10-million-pound refurbishment work carried out on the building last year. Construction firm Rydon, which carried out the refurbishment, said on its website, "Rydon completed a refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for KCTMO (Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) on behalf of the Council, which met all required building control, fire regulation and health & safety standards." "We will cooperate with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their enquiries into the causes of this fire at the appropriate time," it said. Concerns have also been raised about fire alarms not going off and the lack of sprinklers. The building, dating back to 1974, is owned by the local government council and houses some of the poorer sections of the working class in the north Kensington area of London, one of London's richest boroughs in terms of funding and amenities. Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it had received complaints over the refurbishment works, after a residents' action group said its warnings about safety had fallen on "deaf ears". The local Grenfell Action Group had claimed, before and during the refurbishment, that the block constituted a fire risk and residents had warned that access to the site for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted". Appeals are being made on social media for news of friends and family who are still missing and the Indian High Commission in London has also made an appeal on Facebook for any Indians caught up in the tragedy to make contact. Children and a baby were seen being thrown out of the windows to be caught by emergency workers and members of the public below. London Fire Brigade said it had rescued 65 people as flames engulfed the block, and had managed to reach all 24 floors, though a full search of the building has not been completed. In a significant victory for India at the UN, international law expert Neeru Chadha has won a crucial election to a top UN judicial body that deals with disputes related to the law of the sea, becoming the first Indian woman to be appointed as a judge at the tribunal. Chadha, an eminent lawyer and the first Indian woman to become the chief legal adviser in the ministry of external affairs, won the election yesterday to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026. Chadha got 120 votes, the highest in the Asia Pacific group and was elected in the first round of voting itself. The candidate from Indonesia got 58 votes, Lebanon 60 and Thailand 86. All three candidates went to a second round of voting in which Thailand won the other seat in the Asia Pacific group. Election was held here for a total of seven seats. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin expressed gratitude for the broad support of countries that resulted in Chadha's "emphatic success" at the elections to the ITLOS. "It reflects both an appreciation of India's global standing in matters of international law and the recognition for Chadha's expertise as a lawyer and negotiator on contemporary issues related to the Law of the Seas," Akbaruddin told PTI. "The Tribunal is composed of 21 independent members who are elected from among persons enjoying the highest reputation for fairness and integrity and of recognised competence in the field of the law of the sea," according to the information on the ITLOS website. Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson in New Delhi hailed Chadha's elections to the ITLOS saying, "Indian expertise on ITLOS stage! Neeru Chadha elected as 1st woman on Int'l Tribunal 4 Law of Seas w/ most votes in Asia Pacific Group." The Hamburg-based ITLOS, established in 1996, is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994. Chadha has extensive international arbitration and litigation experience, having served as an agent for the Indian government in its maritime delimitation case with Bangladesh. She was also India's agent for the case filed by Italy in ITLOS involving two Italian marines accused of shooting two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. Currently, eminent jurist from India P Chandrasekhara Rao is a judge at the tribunal. He was elected member of the tribunal in 1996 and his term will expire in September 2017. Chadha is only the second woman to be judge of ITLOS in its two decades of existence, where there have been a total of 40 judges, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said in a statement. Chadha holds law degrees including PhD in law from the University of Delhi and the University of Michigan. She was also the first woman chief legal adviser to the Indian government and has advised the government on diverse issues relating to the law of the sea involving interpretation of various provisions of the UNCLOS including determining the extent of coastal state's jurisdiction in different maritime zones, maritime delimitation with neighbouring states and legal issues relating to submissions on extended continental shelf. Chadha has also served as an agent before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case concerning the Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to cessation of nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament with Marshall Islands. She has represented the Indian government in various other multilateral meetings and conferences in the United Nations, AALCO (Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation), UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law), UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law). Chadha has also represented Indian government at The Hague Conference, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and ay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on subjects relating to human rights, humanitarian law, international trade, international terrorism and international criminal law. The Shiv Sena today lashed out at the Madhya Pradesh government for preventing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from entering trouble-hit Mandsaur, saying it is detrimental to democracy and wrong to create a wall between the Opposition leaders and "victims". The BJP constantly terms Rahul Gandhi as a "weak and an ineffective leader", the Sena pointed out and said if that was so, it had no reason to bar him from entering Mandsaur. Leaders of opposition parties have all the rights to meet the families of those affected by "government's brutality," opined an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana'. On June 6, five farmers were killed as the agitation by peasants demanding a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce turned violent in Mandsaur. Besides, a 26-year-old farmer had died in Badwan village, also in Mandsaur, allegedly after being beaten up by police. In the wake of the incidents, Gandhi tried to visit Mandsaur to meet the kin of the victims but was denied permission. Later, Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel was also turned back by police before he could enter Mandsaur. "First Rahul Gandhi and then Hardik Patel were stopped from meeting the families of farmers killed in police firing and were taken into custody. This shows the grim situation prevalent in Madhya Pradesh," the editorial said. "Whenever the government engages in such brutality, our democracy gives every sensitive leader the right to meet the families of victims," it said. "It is not right to create a wall between Opposition party leaders and victims in the name of the deteriorating law and order situation," the BJP's bickering ally said. Seeking to douse the smouldering embers of the farmers' unrest, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday visited Mandsaur and presented Rs 1 crore to the kin of three of the farmers killed in police action. The Sena asked "would the skies have fallen if Gandhi was allowed to meet the families of victims?" "If the government has the right to allow firing on farmers and then compensate them, then Opposition leaders also have the right to meet the victims, understand their plight and wipe their tears," it said. Rahul Gandhi was detained by police at Nayagaon in Neemuch, while he was en route to Mandsaur to meet the kin of the six farmers, on June 8. He was accompanied by senior Congress leaders and the JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav. Farmers in Mandsaur and other places in Madhya Pradesh were on a war path since June 1, demanding a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce. Telangana police established a possible common thread between the suspicious death of a beautician in Shaikpet here and suicide of a young Sub Inspector of Police in Kukunoorpalli Police station located 100 kilometres away in Siddipet district. According to West Zone, DCP Venkateswara Rao, 28-year-old Arusumilli Vijayalakshmi alias Sirisha who works as a beautician with the RK Studio here died under suspicious circumstances at the studio in the wee hours of Tuesday. By the time the police reached the spot her dead body was lying on the cot and according to the owner of the studio Vallabhaneni Rajiv, she hung herself by hanging to the ceiling fan with her Chunni. Police registered a case and informed her husband Satish Chandra, who expressed apprehension about the death of his wife. Sirisha is a mother of an 8-year-old girl who lives with her grandparents in Mattaparthi Palem in West Godavari of Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, P Prabhakar Reddy, Sub-Inspector at the Kukunoorpalli police station allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver exactly in the same room where his predecessor Ramakrishna Reddy shot himself to death exactly a year ago. Said to be an upright officer the death of Prabhakar Reddy created ripples. Hundreds gathered around his living quarters and organised a dharna alleging harassment by ACP Giridhar. However, the investigating officers checking phone records of Prabhakar Reddy found that he was in touch with the RK Studio owner Rajiv during the previous day. A thorough investigation led to the real connection between the two deaths. DCP Venkateswara Rao said that there is prima facie evidence that Sirisha , Rajiv and his fiancee Tejaswini and a common friend Sravan spent Monday night at the service residential quarters of Prabhakar at Kukunoorpalli. Sirishas messages to her husband also showed that she was on her way to Kukunoorpalli. Police say that Sirisha, who had an affair with Rajiv, was not happy with his engagement with Tejaswini. Their squabbles reached crescendo and they three went to Banjara Hills police station for Compromise. Sravan offered them help through Prabhakar Reddy who readily agreed to host them and sort out the love triangle. It is believed that Prabhakar Reddy in an inebriated condition tried to rape Sirisha. However she escaped that attempt and all the four returned to Hyderabad. Sirisha in a fit of rage ran into the studio, locked doors and committed suicide. Prabhakar Reddy allegedly committed suicide after the news of Sirishas death become viral and he was sure that he will be implicated in that case. However, Prabhar Reddys family alleges that he died of harassment by higher ups. Both Rajiv and Sravan are under police custody. Postmortem reports of both the deceased are awaited. Welcoming India and Pakistan into the SCO, China today dismissed apprehensions that their differences could disrupt the unity of the grouping saying its charter strictly prohibits members to bring their bilateral hostility into the organisation. "As a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), we are very happy about the membership of India and Pakistan," China's Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said at a ceremony at the SCO headquarters here to formally admit the two nations as new members of the grouping. China, a dominant member of the now eight-member group, hosts the headquarters of the organisation. The SCO headquarters held a ceremony today to hoist the flags of India and Pakistan. Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale and his Pakistan counterpart Masood Khalid attended the ceremony which included jointly beating a huge SCO cooperation drum heralding the admission of their respective countries into the grouping. India and Pakistan were formally admitted as members at Kazakhstan capital Astana at the SCO summit held on June 8-9. China, Russia and Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan besides India and Pakistan are the members of the grouping. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are the observers. China takes over the rotating Presidency of the group this year from Kazakhstan. Kong, who attended the ceremony, in a brief chat with reporters allayed apprehensions aired by the state-run Chinese media that entry of India and Pakistan could disrupt the unity of SCO. "In the charter of the SCO there is a clause that the hostility between the bilateral relations should not be brought to the organisation. I believe both the countries will abide by the charter of the organisation," he said. "SCO has its own rules of procedures. We hope that those rules can be abided by all member states," he said, adding that India-Pakistan differences should not be exaggerated. "Between our member states our interests far outweigh our differences. So, we should not exaggerate the differences between the countries as it is not good for the organisation and cooperation between member states. After becoming members, we all become members of the big family," he said. China believes the entry of India and Pakistan "will guarantee very good cooperation in the organisation," he said. "Both countries are important in the region and China, Pakistan and India are in similar stage of development. We face similar challenges. Therefore, we hope that through this organisation we can work together to overcome these challenges," he said. Also, he said, China has certain expectations of Indias role in the SCO. "We have expectation for the role of India in this organisation. We hope that the Indian side will give attention to its membership in this organisation and pay attention to it." In his interaction with media, Gokhale also said SCO is important for India as it consist of China, Russia and Central Asian states. Asked about how SCO can help India and Pakistan to resolve their differences, he said both the countries have bilateral channels. "We are having number of bilateral channels. I see this as another opportunity and a platform. It helps because it enhances number of points of contacts. I think it is a good day for both the countries," he said. For his part, Khalid said "it is important that India and Pakistan have joined the region." "We are part of the region. As far as Pakistan is concerned we will make all possible efforts to promote peace and stability in the region and work together as active partners within the SCO to pursue common objectives of development, peace and security. I think historic day that way," he told PTI. About the utility of SCO to address contentious issues between India and Pakistan, the Pakistan's envoy said, "I hope so. It provides a multilateral platform where both of our countries will be there. They will be represented. There will be opportunities for interaction." Protesters and riot police hurled stones at each other and a car was set ablaze after a series of raids today on premises connected with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief, whose separatist campaign was spiralling deeper into violence. The demand by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal state is fast turning into a major political crisis for Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, and is likely to cripple the critical tourist industry during the peak summer season. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force", GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told PTI. He said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". In the fog-shrouded hilly roads of Darjeeling, GJM activists sparred with paramilitary personnel, hurling stones from a distance. The policemen responded by throwing stones back as a car burnt nearby. It was not clear if the car was that of a civilian or belonged to the police. Earlier today, police recovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Police said some party activists also were arrested today in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his group's campaign will not stop until it a separate Gorkhaland state is created. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official told PTI on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from today. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting," Giri, the GJM general secretary, said. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from today," Giri said. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition". "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us," he alleged. "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centre's intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, told PTI over phone. The raids came on the fourth day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite strike in government and GTA offices in the hills. The GJM's call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language of the rest of the state. Prominent among the six states to join GJM is the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Centre has dispatched 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the West Bengal government in restoring normalcy in violence-hit Darjeeling hills which witnessed incidents of stone pelting during GJM-sponsored indefinite bandh. The Centre had also sought a detailed report on the prevailing situation in the hill district from the state government. In the backdrop of the Presidential elections, BJP president Amit Shah would meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday. Shah arrives in Mumbai on Friday on a three-day visit during which he would meet senior leaders of the party and also various sections of the society. The Amit Shah-Uddhav Thackeray meeting is scheduled for Sunday at Matoshree, sources in both the party said. However, when asked about the meeting, Shiv Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member, said: "You must not read politics into it....the chiefs of two parties are meeting...when Uddhav ji visited New Delhi, during that time also he had met Amit Shah." The support of the Shiv Sena, the oldest ally of the BJP would be key to the NDA for winning the Presidential elections. Going against the NDA view, the Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray had supported Congress nominees - Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential elections in 2002 and 2012. While Patil got the support on the ground that she was a Maharashtrian, Mukherjee had personal relations with the Thackeray family. The Sena with 18 MPs and 63 MLAs has 25,893 votes in the electoral college. From Maharashtra, the support of an MP translates to 708 votes, and an MLAs vote translates to 175 votes. On Wednesday evening, senior BJP leader and Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, who is a close confidante of Shah, met Thackeray, to apprise him of the loan waiver announced by the government and its implementation plan. The fate of two notorious criminals - Abu Salem and Mustafa Dossa - would be decided on Friday when a special anti-terrorism court delivers its verdict in the 12 March 1993 serial blasts case. On 12 March 1993, a dozen bombs went off at several locations in the city, killing 257 people, and injuring 713, while destroying property worth Rs. 27 crores. A total of seven persons including Salem and Dossa, both then part of the gang of Karachi-based don Dawood Ibrahim. Besides Salem and Dossa, others who stand before Additional Sessions Judge GA Sanap, who presides over a special court set up under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), are Mohammed Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Taklya, Abdul Qayyum, Karimullah Khan, and Riyaz Siddiqui. The trial of these seven suspects was separated from the main trial as these seven persons were arrested at a later stage when the first trial was coming to an end. Salem was one of the key persons of Dawood, however, fell out with him and Chhota Shakeel, after the murder of Gulshan Kumar. This is one of the reasons why Salem and Dossa had several fights inside the jail. As far as the role of Dossa is concerned, he had attended the conspiracy meetings, help some of the accused go to Pakistan for training and arrange for landing of RDX and AK-47 rifles along the Raigad coast. Salem too was part of the core team of Dawood and it was he who had supplied the Kalashnikov rifle to Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt. He was part of the group that visited Dutt's Bandra bungalow and delivered the weapons. Salem was arrested in Portugal in 2002 and was extradited to India 11 November 2005 along with his companion and actress Monica Bedi. He is standing trial in a total of nine cases in India. In 2015, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by a TADA court for the murder of builder Pradeep Jain. Dossa was deported from the United Arab Emirates and face the grave charge of landing of arms and ammunition. The BJP-led NDA is comfortably placed for the July 17 presidential polls with a majority of votes on its side, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. No one can "blackmail" the ruling party ahead of the election, Fadnavis told reporters during an interaction last night. He said the NDA at present had 54 percent of the total votes in its favour and suggested more parties were "ready to cooperate" with the BJP, taking the tally of votes to 65 percent. However, the chief minister did not name the parties. The electoral college for the presidential polls is 11,04,546 votes. Fadnavis made the remarks when asked about the Shiv Sena -- the BJP's ally in the Centre and in the state government -- insisting on fielding RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the NDA's nominee for the election. Bhagwat himself has rejected the proposal. "The UPA had only 37 percent votes when Mr (Pranab) Mukherjee became president, whereas we already have more than 50 percent votes with us. So, there is no problem (for the NDA) and nobody can blackmail us," Fadnavis said without naming the Shiv Sena or any party. In the previous presidential poll held in 2012, Mukherjee had secured 7,13,763 votes as against 3,15,987 polled by his rival P A Sangma. President Pranab Mukherjee completes his five-year tenure on July 25. This domain was recently registered at Namecheap.com. Please check back later! The Army opened fire on a villager mistaking him of being an ultra in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, killing him on the spot. The incident took place on Wednesday night, defence PRO Colonel Chiranjit Konwer said today. Based on specific intelligence regarding movement of a hardcore terrorist group, the Army personnel challenged the person when he arrived at the spot. The person identified as Thingtu Ngemu made "very suspicious movements" and rushed towards the troop following which the Army opened fire, resulting in his death, Konwer said. Like minded individuals and scientists at the Department of Aerodynamics, Bengaluru, Dr H N Science Centre, and the Department of Forest are conducting a novel experimentthey are dropping seeds via drones in the hope of planting a forest. Its a dry area, so our interest is to bring back the rains. Its not my idea alone. Its a collective thing, but I am the convener or the head of that scientific committee, professor KPJ Reddy told Factor Daily. The program was piloted by Professor KPJ Reddy and his colleagues on the banks of river Pinakini in the Gauribidanur area in Karnatakas Kolar district on June 5 on the occasion of World Environment Day. They say that they hope to disperse seeds in over 10,000 acres for three consecutive years. Weve chosen one sample area in which to fly and do the seed-dropping. Now were trying to make a more scientific study...the advantage with drones is that we have the image before dropping the seeds, and can geotag the path. Subsequently, once every three months we can fly over that area and see the impact of dropping the seeds, Professor S N Omkar, another scientist involved in the project explained. Adoption of drone technology to boost agricultural productivity is expected to grow in the future. According to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), it will comprise of 80% of the commercial UAV market. However, leading authorities on the subject say that the technology will have to iron out its kinks over time. In a report in The Wire, Suvasini Ramaswamy, a researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California cited the following analytical and implementation challenges that come with the usage of drones for agriculture: Outdoor use is highly weather dependent. Imaging can vary depending on sunlight and cloud cover although one can account for ambient lighting conditions. ambient lighting conditions. Limited internet access and cellular infrastructure can make it harder to rely on cloud-based computing services. cloud-based computing services. Higher costs especially for small landholders in emerging economies. Limited flight times. Maintenance costs and resources. The need for skilled operators. Uncertain government regulation that need to be overcome before this technology can be widely applied. Scores of dalits, including children, in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district embraced Buddhism in protest against attacks on their brethren by the dominant thakur community members in the neighboring Saharanpur district. According to the sources, the dalits of Nyamu village in the district converted to Buddhism at a ceremony at Sant Ravidas temple in the village in the presence of some buddhist monks on Wednesday. The matter came to light, when the converted dalits went round the village after the ceremony later in the evening. Reports said that slogans were raised against the UP government and the police during the procession. Sources said that the dalits had warned the district authorities that they would convert if alleged persecution of their brethren in Saharanpur was not stopped forthwith. They had also demanded immediate release of Chandrashekhar, the Bheem Army founder and the main accused in the Saharanpur violence, and his supporters. The conversion triggered alarm bells in the administration and senior officials rushed to the village to ascertain the veracity of the reports. ''We have received information about conversion....we are trying to ascertain the facts,'' said a senior district official in Muzaffarnagar on Thursday. Sources said that dalit leaders have also planned to hold a 'mahapanchayat' to discuss the issue and chalk out their future course of action. Attempt to hold a panchayat of the dalits at Ratheri village in Muzaffarnagar on Wednesday was foiled by the cops, who had detained several dalit leaders while on way to attend the panchayat. Dalit community members have alleged that the police have been conducting late night raids on their houses and arresting the youths on trumped up charges. Dalits also took the streets to in Saharanpur in protest against what they alleged indiscriminate arrest of the community members. Chandrashekhar was arrested from Himachal Pradesh by the Special Task Force (STF) of UP police a few days back. Three persons were killed and over two dozen others injured when members of thakur and dalit communities clashed following a dispute over taking out a procession at Shabbirpur village in the district last month. In what is being seen as a strong message to Shiv Sena, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that BJP was ready for mid-term elections and confident of coming to power again. However, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said that if they had money to fight elections they should give it to farmers and hence the question of mid-term elections does not arise. The two statements on Thursday is being seen in the context of the recently-announced loan waiver when BJP sided with the farmers even while in government and the ensuing Presidential elections when the votes of the regional party would be crucial. Some people said (when the farmers' agitation was on) that they will bring the government down, they will withdraw support. I said we are ready for mid-term polls...if someone wants to impel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will be able to form government again," Fadnavis said. The confidence of the BJP stems from the fact that in the elections to municipal corporations, municipal councils, zilla parishads and panchayat samitis, it has emerged as No. 1 party in terms of public representatives. Thackeray, however, to a query on the CM's statement, said: It seems they have a lot of money to fight mid-term elections They should give it to the poor farmers and clear all their loans. We shall fully support them". Taking a dig at Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Patil-Danve, he said: "We did not care for power and supported the farmers The farmers will not forgive those who called them as saala and make they cry." On being asked about the statement of Shiv Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut that in July there would be a political earthquake, he said: "If the loan waiver is not implemented there would be earthquake." The Fadnavis-Thackeray war-of-words comes on the eve of BJP president Amit Shah's three-day visit to Mumbai. On Sunday, Shah is scheduled to meet Thackeray at Matoshree, the suburban Bandra bungalow of the Thackerays. Danve and Raut confirmed the meeting. "You must not read politics into it....the chiefs of two parties are meeting...when Uddhav ji visited New Delhi, during that time also he had met Amit Shah," Raut said. "The BJP president would be in Mumbai during which he would meet the Shiv Sena president," Danve said. The Sena with 18 MPs and 63 MLAs has 25,893 votes in the electoral college. From Maharashtra, the support of an MP translates to 708 votes, and an MLAs vote translates to 175 votes.Going against the NDA view, the Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray had supported Congress nominees - Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential elections in 2002 and 2012. While Patil got the support on the ground that she was a Maharashtrian, Mukherjee had personal relations with the Thackeray family. On Wednesday evening, senior BJP leader and Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, who is a close confidante of Shah, met Thackeray, to apprise him of the loan waiver announced by the government and its implementation plan. With the TRS affiliated union Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TGBKS) staying away from the indefinite strike, the impact on coal production in the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL)'s coal belt of Telangana has been partial. The central trade unions AITUC, INTUC, CITU, HMS and BMS gave strike call demanding the revival of dependent employment scheme (DES). The strike has been complete in Mancherial, Srirampur, Mandamarri and Bellampalli divisions with the coal miners staying away from work. In Manuguru and Kothagudem the strike has been partial under strict police vigil. In several places, the central trade unions have been organizing gate-meetings. The SCCL management which has reiterated its commitment for the revival of employment on compassionate grounds after taking legal opinion. The DES has been scrapped 18 years ago in an effort to regulate recruitment. After TRS came to power the SCCL issued a circular allowing DES which was struck down by the High Court in response a PIL by an unemployed youth. Meanwhile, the TGBKS president Kenjerla Mallaiah has said that he would be urging coal miners to return to work. The government and the management are for DES, then where is the need for a strike. There are certain legal issues which can be sorted out, he said. The coal company is expecting a loss of Rs 41 crore on a single day whereas the labour will be losing wages of Rs 20 crore due to the strike. However, sources say that there is enough coal supply for the NTPC power generating units as power consumption has come down drastically due to onset of monsoon. Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria during a weekly briefing was asked that reportedly during his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of SCO Summit, Putin offered mediation between India and Pakistan to resolve their issues. "Pakistan welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this longstanding issue on the UNSC agenda," he said. Zakarai said Putin was a world leader and a statesman and Pakistan would extend a very warm welcome to him when he decides to visit the country. Talking about ties with Russia, Zakarai said Pakistan- Russia relation was following a positive trajectory. "Both sides have signed defence agreement, held joint military exercises and Russia is investing USD 2 billion in South-North gas pipeline project. There is tremendous scope for enhancing ties further, particularly in political, economic and trade, energy, defense, culture and education fields," he said. Zakarai said there was a growing realisation and concern among the regional countries and the UN on the threat to peace in the region "due to Indian unprovoked hostility on the LoC and Working Boundary." "Indian attempts to distract the world attention from the brutalities its occupation forces have unleashed on unarmed Kashmiris have endangered peace and security in the Sub- Continent and beyond," he alleged. To a question about External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement that Pakistan cannot take Kashmir issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), he said Pakistan was a sovereign country and reserves the right to take up any matter at any forum it deemed appropriate. "As for Kashmir, it is an internationally recognised dispute and outstanding on the UNSC agenda. Pakistan's position is consistent that we call for an early implementation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions on Kashmir, which promise the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people under a UN supervised plebiscite," he said. Pakistan said today it welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's "intention" to play a role in helping resolve its bilateral differences with India. A policeman was shot dead by unidentified militants in South Kashmir's Kulgam district on Thursday. A police official said constable Shabir Ahmad Dar was shot outside his home in Bogund, Kulgam, 70 kms from here, by two pistol-borne militants. "Dar was referred to Srinagar hospital but unfortunately he succumbed to injuries on the way. He was posted with Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K police and was currently on leave," he said. The killing comes a day after Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) warned policemen to leave their jobs and join them. LeT commander Abu Ukasha in a video message had warned J&K cops to join them for the 'Kashmir cause.' "Why do you want win applause from (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi for killing your own brothers. You have to live and die with us only," he said. However, no militant outfit claimed responsibility for the attack till evening. From the last few months, militants have time and again issued ing warnings to policemen to quit and return home forthwith, otherwise be prepared to die. In March this year, after militants threatened families of several officers, especially in south Kashmir, the state police chief Shesh Pal Vaid had warned ultras that 'they too have families.' "Militants should realise they too have families. Let them (militants) take this as a warning," Vaid said. This is between police and terrorists and families should not be brought into this conflict. If the police start doing this (threatening), what will happen to their (militant) families. During last year's unrest, the families of policemen came under mob attacks in the valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The homes of several policemen were vandalised by crowds after separatist groups named some officers, accusing them of killings and harassing people. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached assets worth Rs 7 crore of a Delhi jeweller family in Panama Leaks case, after invoking for the first time a provision that allows seizure property here that is equivalent to foreign assets held by accused. The assets attached belong to A K Mehra, Deepak Mehra, Shailini Mehra and Naveen Mehra of Mehra Sons Jewellers based in Delhi. This is the first time the ED has invoked Section 37A of Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999. The ED seized Rs 7 crore lying in various bank accounts in India in respect of the said persons, the agency said in a statement. According to Panama Leaks, the family had a couple of offshore entitites in Bahamas and British VirginIslands (BVI) and the registered agents were changed more than once for offshore entities. AK Mehra had in April 2016 was quoted as saying that he had incorporated these companies under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme and transactions were "duly declared to tax authorities and shown in the Income Tax returns of all members". The ED statement said that it came to light that "huge amounts were sent out of India by mis-utilising the scheme of Liberalized Remittance Scheme(LRS) of RBI in the garb of making investments abroad" by the Mehras. "The amount remitted outside India was given as interest free loan in individual capacity by the said persons to two companies in BVI and later on transferred to a company in UAE which is owned by one of the said persons. As on date, around Rs 10.54 crore is still parked outside India illegally by the said persons," the statement said. The government has brought in Section 37A in 2015 by which equivalent property situated in India can be seized, if there is a suspicion that any foreign exchange, foreign security, or any immovable property, situated outside India, is held in contravention of Section 4 of FEMA. The ED said further investigation is in progress. While six persons filed their papers yesterday, when the nomination process started, only one person, Jeevan Kumar Mittal from the national capital, did so today. Amongst the first six are the Patels, Saira Bano Mohammed Patel and Mohammed Patel Abdul Hamid, who want to share the top Constitutional posts between them. The Mumbai couple told the returning officer that it would be "good" if one of them became the country's president, and the other the vice president, sources present at the time said. The other four who filed their papers were K Padmarajan from Tamil Nadu, Anand Singh Kushwaha from Madhya Pradesh, A Bala Raj from Telangana and dhoti-clad Kondekar Vijayprakash from Pune. The nominations of all seven are liable to be rejected as none had the signatures of 50 proposers and as many seconders from the list of electors, essential for a valid nomination. Vijayprakash wrote in his nomination papers, filed in two sets: "I know my nomination paper will be rejected. A layman like me cannot obtain 100 signatures. I am crazy but one should be crazy. Sir, our institutions like Parliament (are) locked and the prison of political parties." Elected members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and of state legislative assemblies are the electors. All seven attached certified copies of their election cards to prove they were voters, while of few of them had deposited Rs 15,000 as security deposit, sources said. Seven persons have filed nominations for the presidential poll so far, including a couple from Mumbai who would like very much if one of them became president and the other vice president. Russia has not made any mediation offer to resolve Indo-Pak issues, India said today and asserted that Moscow was "well aware" of New Delhi's position of bilateral resolution of all such matters in a terror-free environment. The remarks by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay came following reports in the Pakistani press that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his intention to mediate between the two countries. A senior diplomat in the Russian embassy in New Delhi rejected the reports and said it was Pakistan's "wishful thinking". The Pakistani media quoted Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying "we welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda". Zakaria was asked about reported offer made by Putin during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO Summit earlier this month. Asked for his reaction, Baglay said, "No offer of mediation was made by Russia to India. Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence." The senior diplomat in the Russian embassy also rejected reports of any mediation offer. "We do not have any information of such an offer made by our president. Russia is clear in its position that Indo-Pak issues need to be resolved, bilaterally, and we will never ever suggest anything contrary to that. "It seems wishful thinking on part of Pakistan," said the diplomat, on the condition of anonymity. A TDP MP on Thursday broke a printer and pushed an airline staffer after he was denied boarding by IndiGo for being late, prompting a flying ban by the budget carrier. State-run Air India and SpiceJet, too, imposed a similar ban on him. Sources said, Anantapur MP J C Diwakar Reddy was scheduled to board IndiGos flight 6E-608, which departs from Visakhapatnam at 8.10 am to Hyderabad. But he reached just 28 minutes before the scheduled departure. As per norms laid out by the aviation regulator, airlines close check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure. Reddy, however, demanded that he be issued a boarding pass, but the airline staff turned down his demand. The irate MP then reportedly grabbed a printer kept at the counter and smashed it on the floor. Airport officials said they needed to investigate the incident before confirming it. The airport police said the IndiGo staff, however, did not register a complaint against the MP. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju also a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP who was at the same airport, reportedly refused to help Reddy board the plane. Television channels also showed CCTV visuals of Reddy pushing an IndiGo employee. The staff politely informed him that boarding for flight 6E-608 is closed and offered to accommodate Mr Reddy in the subsequent flight. Mr Reddy expressed his annoyance and soon raged against the staff expressing aggressive and abusive behaviour, IndiGo said in a statement. IndiGo further stated, Any untoward conduct which compromises the safety and security of our passengers and staff is a serious concern for us. Safety and security of passengers, crew and the aircraft is the top priority and it cannot be compromised. China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved $150 million equity investment loan to the India Infrastructure Fund, the banks first such loan to fund private projects, a statement said on Thursday. The Board of Directors of the AIIB who met in Jeju in South Korea has approved $150 million equity investment to the India Infrastructure Fund, said a statement from the bank. The bank, in which India is a lead partner, has approved two loans and one equity investment totalling $324 million to support infrastructure projects in India, Georgia and Tajikistan. Mid-cap infra companies The Infrastructure Fund aims to invest in mid-cap infrastructure companies in India, and to expand the banks equity and loan deal sourcing pipelines in the private sector through its equity participation in this fund, the statement said. This initiative will benefit local infrastructure development by enhancing private capital inflows from global long-term investors, such as public pension funds, endowments and insurance companies, it said. Approving our first equity investment is another milestone for the bank and will enhance our potential to source and fund high quality, private sector projects, said D J Pandian, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at the AIIB. These three projects demonstrate a growing sophistication in our ability to support our member countries across different region, he said. The AIIB also approved loans to support transport and power projects in Georgia and Tajikistan. Besides India, the bank has granted $114 million loan for the Georgia Batumi Bypass Road Project, which is the banks first loan to Georgia, co-financed with the Asian Development Bank. The project aims to improve regional connectivity and efficiency of road transport along the East-West Highway in Georgia. The project will construct a new, two lane road approximately 14.3-km long in a key section of the East-West highway that skirts the port city of Batumi. The bank has granted $60 million loan for the Tajikistan Nurek Hydropower Rehabilitation Project Phase I, co-financed with the World Bank (IDA Credits and Grants). The project aims to rehabilitate and restore the generating capacity of three units of the Nurek hydropower plant, improve their efficiency and strengthen the safety of Nurek dam operations. The Centres ambitious Make in India concept to promote native products has helped attract more foreign direct investments (FDI), said Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She was addressing the gathering at the Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas programme organised to celebrate three years of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule at the Centre, the minister said that the country has logged on to better progress in FDI in the current fiscal as against 18% progress in the previous fiscal. The surge in foreign investments alludes to perpetuating economic growth for better, the minister added. On corruption posing a threat to economic prosperity, however, the minister said that timely action to check bogus ration cards alone has saved Rs 48,000 crore for the exchequer, as it is the duty of any government to check pilferage of public money. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is committed to providing corruption-free administration. It is already evident through various programmes implemented successfully by the government in the last three years. In another two years, when the government completes its full five-year team, more visible changes can be witnessed. The archaic procedures that were impeding the machinery have been given a go-by, with the prime minister firm on taking the country towards the path of progress, said the minister. For reforms MLA C T Ravi, in his presidential remarks, said, The central government is not working for the sake of power but to bring in reforms in the country. Effortbeing made to ensure that each and every facility reaches the last mile man. The MLA added that the Centre is implementing programmes to ensure housing facilities for people from economically weaker sections at least by 2022. Ravi also listed out the programmes implemented by the government, like Jan Dhan, Start Up, Make in India, Swacch Bharat and Phasal Bhima, followed by demonetisation of high value currency notes and insurance schemes to ensure social security of the beneficiaries. KV this year Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje said, Kendriya Vidyalaya will start functioning from the current academic year, with a principal already having been appointed to the school. She added that the district has been allocated an estimated Rs 19.5 crore has been allocated under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), followed by Rs 71 crore for toilets. Under the Rashtriya Ucchattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), Rs 43 lakh has been sanctioned to PU colleges and Rs 51 lakh for degree colleges. A video highlighting three years of achievement of the BJP-led NDA government was also screened, followed by the distribution of facilities to the needy. The issue of coffee growers will be discussed by the ministry, said Union Minister for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman. She was speaking at the coffee growers convention in Mudigere on Thursday. Growers should come forward to protect the coffee industry. Earlier, an IAS officer had been appointed as head of the Coffee Board. However, the problems faced by the coffee growers and labourers did not come to the notice of the officials. As a result, a coffee grower has been appointed president of Coffee Board, she said. The growers face inconvenience owing to the vagaries of Nature. The government will provide assistance to construct check dams to improve the water table, she said and promised to extend the benefit of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana to the Coffee Board as well. As no insurance is available for coffee planters, she appealed to the growers to make use of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana itself. MP Shobha Karandlaje said that scientists could not find solution to borer disease. Former council chairperson B L Shankar said that Arabica coffee has been destroyed by 30% to 40% every year. There is a need to protect it. A team of coffee growers should be sent abroad to study the coffee growing pattern in foreign countries. Subsidy should be provided for the construction of houses for growers, he suggested. Legislator C T Ravi said that although five ESI hospitals have been sanctioned to Karnataka, one should be sanctioned to Chikkamagaluru. The district has six lakh coffee labourers, he reminded. The state government on Thursday informed the High Court of Karnataka that it needs eight months to gather information to prepare the letter seeking prosecution of the accused in the cash-for-job scam in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC). Additional Advocate General A S Ponnanna submitted to the court that out of the six KPSC officials, only three are holding the office at present. The application for sanction for prosecution of KPSC members has to be placed before the President of India as they are Constitutional functionaries. He said that the government will take time to follow the procedure as there are many IAS officers too who are being named by the CID. A division bench comprising Justice H G Ramesh and Justice John Michael Cunha asked the government why it would require eight months to apply for sanction for prosecuting these members. Ponnanna said that the charge sheet has been filed and thousands of pages have to be translated to be sent as documents along with the application. The government would require time to ensure that there are no loopholes. The bench later asked the government counsel to show the rules or orders which show the procedure for applying for sanction for prosecution and the time it would take. The bench asked the counsel to produce the details in the next hearing on Tuesday. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by T J Abraham, who has sought directions to the governor to frame guidelines in appointing the chairperson and the members of KPSC. The petitioner has sought directions to the state government not to propose the names of any persons for the post of chairman and members of KPSC, unless their names are cleared of the charges and allegations made against them. Frustrated with the governments response to the agrarian crisis, NDA partner and Swabhiman Paksha leader Raju Shetti has drawn up plans to launch a national campaign demanding farm loan waiver and increased minimum support price for farm produce. Shetti, an MP from Maharashtra, has called a meeting of farmer leaders from across the country on Friday to finalise plans for a nationwide campaign demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfil his electoral promise of fixing MSP at 1.5 times the cultivation cost of any crop. Farmer leaders from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are expected to join Shetti. As a follow-up of his meeting with JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav on Wednesday, Shetti met Madhya Pradesh leader Sunilam, farmer leader from Rajasthan Rampal Jat, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav among others on Thursday. Shetti had also visited Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, the epicentre of farmers agitation. He also played a key role in negotiating the farm loan waiver announced by the Maharashtra government earlier this month to end the farmers agitation in the state. Protest in Rajasthan Hundreds of farmers from the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, an organisation owing allegiance to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, launched an indefinite mahapadav (sit-in) at seven divisions of Rajasthan on Thursday seeking loan waiver. Congress leader and former Union minister B Janardhana Poojary strongly criticised the state government for its inability to provide justice to farmers who are staging a protest in Haveri. He urged the state and the central governments to come to the rescue of farmers. Addressing reporters, he said the farmers are staging several protests for a long time to demand regularisation of Bagar Hukum lands, loan waiver, crop compensation and support price. Some farmers held unique protests and tried to commit suicide, but the government has turned a blind eye. Instead of pointing fingers to the central government and considering the helpless situation of farmers, Chief Minister Siddaramaih should immediately announce the loan waiver, he said. The central government should also waive the farm loans. More than anything else, the government needs to work on humanitarian grounds. I continue to support farmers. If I am expelled from the party, so be it, he said. He stated that if the chief minister continues to behave indifferently, the Congress will not come to power next time in the state. He should rise from his deep slumber and instill confidence among farmers. It is not impossible to waive loans if the government decides to do so. It can be done even without the central governments support. The chief minister should step down, if he is not able to stop the suicides of farmers, he said. Moscow and New Delhi on Thursday dismissed Islamabads claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin had offered to mediate between India and Pakistan. Soon after Islamabad welcomed Putins offer to mediate between India and Pakistan, New Delhi said that it had not received any such proposal from Moscow. No offer of mediation btwn India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India, Gopal Baglay, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said. Officials in Russian Embassy in New Delhi also stated that no such offer was made to the Pakistan government recently. New Delhi has since long been opposing Islamabad's moves to involve a third party in resolving India-Pakistan disputes. Baglays remark came shortly after media reports from the neighbouring country quoted Nafees Zakaria, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Pakistan government, saying that Islamabad had welcomed Russian president's offer for mediating between the two South Asian neighbours. Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had a bilateral meeting on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisations summit in Astana last week. The Russian president and Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month had the annual bilateral summit at St Petersburg in Russia. It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence, Baglay told journalists in New Delhi. Sources in the Russian Embassy in New Delhi stated that Putin and Sharif had not discussed anything about the possibility of Moscow playing the role of mediator to resolve the issues between India and Paksitan. India has also been resisting Pakistans moves to raise the issue of Kashmir at the UN forums. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad would speak to the chief justices of all the high courts with an urge to fast-track cases that are pending for more than 10 years. He would also request them to physically verify the pending cases in the high courts as well as local courts and take action to reduce their numbers. Prasads request comes after startling figures from the National Judicial Data Grid revealed that there are 22.52 lakh cases pending in local courts, accounting for 9.25% of the 2.43 crore pending cases of various durations. Uttar Pradesh tops the chart with 7.46 lakh pending cases, followed by Gujarat with 3.80 lakh cases and 2.60 lakh cases in Maharashtra. Karnataka has 30,739 such cases. I will appeal to the chief justices to ensure that cases pending for more than 10 years must be expedited. I will also direct the secretary of the Department of Justice (in the Ministry of Law) to follow it up, Prasad told the media, while elaborating on the accomplishments of his ministry during the NDAs three-year rule at the Centre. Prasad also said the government would make an announcement at an appropriate time regarding the appointment of the successor to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who recently informed the government of his wish to be relieved of the responsibility. We have taken note of the Attorney Generals request not to continue due to personal reasons. We respect that. Rohatgi has been a very distinguished AG. He has served with great distinction, he said. Regarding the Memorandum of Procedure for an appointment in the higher judiciary, Prasad said it was a work in progress and the government had covered wide range. The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday announced dissolution of the Shia and Sunni waqf boards in the state in the wake of corruption charges against them. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has assented to the dissolution of the boards, said Mohsin Raza, Minister of State for Waqf. Adityanath also recommended a CBI probe into an alleged scam in the boards. Raza said a scam worth crores has come to the fore in a probe by the Waqf Council of India. There have been serious allegations of corruption against the Shia and Sunni waqf boards related to their properties. An inquiry conducted by the Waqf Council of India had also found many irregularities in this regard. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy informed the Assembly on Thursday that the state government would step up the drive to remove illegal number plates from vehicles. He was replying to a query raised by BJP MLA Suresh Kumar. Kumar said he recently spotted a vehicle at the Vidhana Soudha, which had the title Founder & President, National Human Rights, Anti-Corruption Wing, Delhi printed on its registration plate. This, Kumar said, was in gross violation of the rules and sought to know why the traffic police or the transport department had failed to take action. On June 13, Kumar had posted pictures of the vehicle on his Facebook page. In his reply, Reddy said leaders of all political parties, organisations such as Raitha Sangha, Rakshana Vedike, BBMP members and members of local bodies, among others, write the name of their organisation and the position they hold on the number plate. This is wrong, Reddy admitted. The minister also said the transport department has barely 350 inspectors. Of these, half of them are engaged in office work. I will take up the issue with the home minister. We must explore the possibility of imposing a higher penalty, he said. Kumar said, at the least, action should have been taken when such a vehicle was spotted at the Vidhana Soudha. As many as 146 districts in seven states with a high population growth rate are holding back Indias efforts to stabilise its expanding population. The Union Ministry of Health has now readied a plan to specifically target these districts, where the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is more than three. TFR is defined as the number of children born per woman. The current national TFR is 2.3 and the governments target is to achieve a TFR of 2.1 by 2025. We will launch the National Parivar Vikas Mission to widen contraception choices in those districts, Health Minister J P Nadda said at a press conference here on Thursday, marking the completion of the NDA governments three years in office. The 146 districts are located in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Assam. They also account for 50% infant mortality and 25-30% maternal mortality. As many as 115 of these districts have a high percentage of adolescent mothers. TFR is highest beyond 4% in 23 districts, of which 11 are from Uttar Pradesh, eight from Bihar and two each from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In the remaining 123 districts, TFR is marked between 3% and 3.9%. Contraceptives The ministry has decided to make injectable contraceptives available at sub-centres in these districts, unlike the rest of India where such a facility is available up to the district level. The ministry had last year decided to introduce injectable contraceptives DMPA (Depot-Medroxyprogesterone Acetate) in the family planning programme. There will also be mobile vans selling contraceptives. In addition, health workers will reach out to newly-wed couples and mothers-in-law in villages to educate them on the importance of maintaining hygiene and delaying the first pregnancy. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told officials of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to complete the Namma Metros Phase 2 within the stipulated deadline of 2020. The 72-km metro Phase 2 extends the lines of Phase 1 in all directions besides connecting Bommasandra with RV Road. While the Silk Board-KR Puram is seen as the final solution for the traffic snarls in the section, the Gottigere-Nagawara line is crucial as it is prerequisite for connecting the airport through Metro (Phase 2 B). After inspecting platforms 3 and 4 for the Nagasandra-Yelachanahalli trains at Kempegowda Metro station, the chief minister boarded a train along with mediapersons. He was briefed about the preparations for the inauguration of the Sampige Road-Yela- chenahalli section. The train crossed Chickpet and KR Market stations in a jiffy and arrived at RV Road Metro station before returning to Kempegowda station, all in about 15 minutes. The chief minister questioned BMRCL officials over the pending works in Chickpet and KR Market stations. The officials promised him that works will be completed before they begin operations on the section. Siddaramaiah chose not to speak to media but went straight to Janardhan Hotel in Sheshadripuram to eat dosa. He was accompanied by Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, Law Minister T B Jayachandra, MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao and K Govindaraju. Operation from Sunday Though Sampige Road-Yelachenahalli section will be inaugurated on June 17, commercial operations will only be possible from the next day, said BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola. We need some hours for final preparations, he added. Six districts of Karnataka would be among 100 districts all over the country, where the Health Ministry is set to roll out a universal screening programme for five diseases including three common cancers. Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Haveri, Gadag, Mysuru and Raichur would be among the districts that would witness the launch of the new programme in which community level health workers would visit every household to encourage its members to go for a screening for high blood pressure and diabetes as well as oral, breast and cervical cancers. Taken together, these five non-communicable diseases account for almost 52% of mortality in India. We aim to cater to 38% of Indian population, over 30 years of age. In the first step, the programme will be rolled out in 100 districts for which training programme is currently going on, a source in the Health Ministry told DH. The screening for cancers will take place once in five years whereas for hypertension and diabetes, it should be done annually. Four districts of Kerala, four from Tamil Nadu, eight from Telengana and three from Andhra Pradesh would also be covered under the programme, which would be rolled out within a couple of months. Once fully implemented, this is going to be the worlds largest disease screening programme. Those detected positive would be provided with treatment at health centres. In the last 30 years, diabetes has changed from being a mild disorder of the elderly to one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality for the masses. A new study by the Indian Council of Medical Research demonstrates that diabetes is now increasingly affecting the urban poor. The three most commonly occurring cancers account for almost 34% of all cancers in India. Breast cancer has emerged as one of the leading causes of cancer among women (14.3%) with 1,44,937 new cases and 70,218 deaths in 2012. This is followed by cervical cancer, which is the second commonest among women (12.1%). Every year around 1.23 lakh women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 67,500 of them die. Oral cancer accounts for 7.2% of all cancers in India with 77,003 new cases. As many as 52,067 deaths were reported in 2012. As per the governments plan, oral and breast cancer could be examined on the spot by a trained health worker whereas screening for cervical cancer would be done at the primary health centre by a staff nurse in the presence of a medical officer. A pilot programme undertaken by the Health Ministry last year in Gujarat showed that with some training, community health workers would be able to manage the screening programme. A 14-year-old boy who went missing after he was allegedly harassed by his teachers at Bishop Cotton Boys School three days ago was traced to Malleswaram on Wednesday night . The Class IX student had gone missing due to frequent harassment by a section of teachers. The boys mother has decided to approach the Child Protection Committee and the Human Rights Commission seeking justice. Mr Bindiya, the English teacher, deliberately targeted my son without any reason. Despite being a brilliant student, my son failed in the examination. The school principal abused me badly besides threatening me. Developments in the school have adversely affected my son who has been hospitalised, the boys mother alleged. She claimed that the school management did not share her sons answer scripts despite repeated pleas. She said there was no communication from the school about her sons failure to clear the exam. The school authorities directed the boy not to attend classes and sent him out of the campus. They didnt even inform me about sending him out of school. My son was ready to attend the re-exam, but I was told that he should study in Class IX again. He hasnt gone to the school since June 6, she said. DH contacted the school principal for his comments but calls remained unanswered. A section of senior ministers in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet is learnt to have expressed dissatisfaction with the way the ruling party handled the move to remove D H Shankaramurthy from the post of Legislative Council Chairman. The ruling Congress faced immense embarrassment in the Council as its plan to remove the Chairman backfired. These ministers are learnt to have blamed party MLCs V S Ugrappa and H M Revanna, who are considered close aides of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The ministers, it is said, took Ugrappa to task and accused him of misleading the chief minister on the Council Chairmans issue. KPCC president G Parameshwara and other senior party leaders were not taken into confidence before submitting a notice to the Council secretariat seeking to move a resolution to remove the Chairman. It was done without proper planning, the ministers are learnt to have told Ugrappa. When contacted, Ugrappa said: It is not that the Congress wanted the Chairmans post. We had even offered the post to the JD(S). Still, it went with the BJP, which is surprising. When asked whether the chief minister was involved in the process of holding talks with the JD(S), Ugrappa said no effort was made, without the knowledge of Siddaramaiah. The proposed plan of the state government to manage garbage by regularising jobs of 10,000 pourakarmikas and to do away with the civic workers on contract seems to be on a shaky ground. The civic workers across the state had taken to streets earlier this week, demanding regularisation of their services and abolition of contract system in hiring pourakarmikas. Their main complaint against the contractors was that they do not pay the salaries on time and hold back for as long as three months. There are 198 contractors in the city in as many wards. BBMP seems to be not equipped to provide proper infrastructure such as facilitating tippers and, pushcarts for civic workers. On record, there are 32,000 pourakarmikas in BBMP. Of these, 4,000 are on the BBMP rolls while the remaining 28,000 are outsourced. The government plans to regularise only 10,000 pourakarmikas leaving the remaining 18,000 jobless. This means that after regularisation there will be just 14,000 pourakarmikas who have to do the job of 32,000 people currently. When asked about what would be the alternative arrangement to provide basic facilities to pourakarmikas, Sarfaraz Khan, joint commissioner, BBMP, said, We are still working on the plan and we can give a clear picture only after the meeting with the Chief Minister on June 19. BBMP commissioner Manjunatha Prasad also echoed the same words. However, Balasubramanya, secretary, Bengaluru Mahanagara Lorry MalikaraHaagu Guttigedarara Sangha, said, It is not easy to facilitate the clearing of 6,000 metric tonnes of garbage in the city everyday without proper infrastructure. The civic workers in Karnataka are a lucky lot as they earn more than their counterparts in various states in the country. The pourakarmikas in Gujarat and Delhi earn Rs 9,000 per month whereas here it is close to Rs 11,000. Yet, they are not satisfied with it and are asking for more. If this is the kind of attitude they show, we need to think what would they demand for when they become permanent employees and earn more benefits. Although I agree that there would be problems with some contractors, there cannot be a problem with all 198 contractors in the city. Those civic workers who have a problem should go and lodge a complaint against the contractor. Why are they eliminating the entire contract system for a fault of one or two people? The flaw lies with BBMP officials such as Sarfaraz Khan as well since they know that there is a mismatch between the number of civic workers enrolled and the actual workers, said Balasubramanya. Kenche Gowda, chairman, Solid Waste Management said: The assurance of abolitioning the contract system has only been made to take control of the situation right now. It becomes very difficult to manage the garbage crisis without the help of garbage contractors. The civic workers raised their voice against delay in paying salaries. The delay is because the government has asked them to submit the Aadhar card details of the civic workers. Most workers are from Andhra Pradesh and they have registered their name there and they have a different name here. The problems are deep and needs investigation, added Balasubramanya. Why did the JD(S) continue its support to the BJP and did not stand by the Congress on the move to dislodge D H Shankaramurthy as the chairman of the Legislative Council? The JD(S) may not reveal the truth. But several reasons are being attributed for the JD(S) voting against the resolution moved by the Congress to oust Shankaramurthy. Sources in political parties said it was JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamys decision to vote against the resolution as he wanted to embarrass the ruling Congress, for he felt his party was being victimised by the state government. Besides, the JD(S) feels the Congress in the state is rapidly losing ground and there is no point in associating with the party during an election year. Sources close to Kumaraswamy said the JD(S) leader is of the opinion that the state government is trying to fix him in the Janthakal mining case. There is also a personal factor. Shankaramurthy has a good rapport with former prime minister and JD(S) national president H D Deve Gowda and their association goes back to the days of the undivided Janata Party in the 70s. On record, Kumaraswamy told reporters that JD(S) was just continuing its understanding with the BJP arrived in 2015 for sharing the post of chairman and deputy chairman of the Council. It is not a new development. Shankaramurthy became the chairman with the support of the JD(S). We are just continuing that support, he said. However, he said the support to the BJP is confined only to the Council and there will be no tie-up with the party for the 2018 Assembly polls. The Congress had tried to dislodge Shankaramurthy in 2015. The Congress, with 28 members and the support of four independents, felt it could claim the post of chairman as the BJPs strength had reduced to 31. However, the BJP and the JD(S) joined hands. Kumaraswamy trained his guns on the Congress, accusing it of indulging in such things for electoral gains. This morning (KPCC president) G Parameshwara offered us the post of chairman if we supported the resolution. The Congress speaks about uniting secular forces. But it is actually dividing secular forces, Kumaraswamy said. He said the ruling party was treating JD(S) legislators badly. A minister did not offer a JD(S) MLA a seat when he went to his chambers to speak to him, Kumaraswamy said. He appreciated the stand taken by senior MLC Basavaraj Horatti. Some legislators suggested that Horatti, the seniormost member of House, be made chairman. But Horatti rejected the offer stating the party is bigger than him, Kumaraswamy said. Replying to a query, Kumaraswamy claimed that the partys decision to vote against the resolution had nothing to do with the Janthakal mining case. Leader of the Opposition K S Eshwarappa said the resolution to remove the chairman was a conspiracy hatched by the Congress for the sale of position. In a face loss to the ruling Congress in Legislative Council on Thursday, Chairman D H Shankaramurthy retained his position with the BJP-JD(S) combine defeating a resolution to remove him by one vote. The Congress, which had moved the resolution seeking the removal of Shankaramurthy on communal and corruption charges, secured 36 votes in the 75-member Upper House (one seat vacant). The combined votes in favour of Shankaramurthy were 37. The BJP, the JD(S) and two Independent members voted against the resolution, which was moved by V S Ugrappa of Congress. Two days ago, State JD(S) President H D Kumaraswamy had declared that the party would maintain status quo when it comes to supporting the BJP in the Council. On Thursday, he stood by his words. The Congress even offered the chairmans post to the JD(S). However, the luring failed. The JD(S) had issued a whip to its 13 members to be present in the House and vote against the resolution moved by the Congress. However, till the voting process was completed, nobody was sure whether the JD(S) would continue to stand by the BJP. Shankaramurthy himself was intently watching the proceedings. In the House of 75 members, one seat is vacant due to the demise of Vimala Gowda of the BJP. At the time of voting, 74 members were present, and except the deputy chairman, the rest cast their vote. There was no cross-voting. All 33 Congress members voted in favour of the resolution. Three Independents - B S Suresh, Vivekrao Vasantrao Patil and M D Lakshminarayana - supported the Congress. Lakshminarayana was earlier with the BJP but quit the party after he fell out with B S Yeddyurappa. No precedent All the 23 BJP members and 12 JD(S) members voted against the resolution. Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and D U Mallikarjun supported the BJP-JD(S) combine. Yatnal was an active member of the BJP and was Union minister in the Vajpayee government. Mallikarjun, who was in the United States, flew back to Bengaluru to participate in the voting process. Shankaramurthy, 77, is due to retire as Council member in June 2018. The full term of an MLC is six years. This is the first time in the history of the Legislative Council that a resolution was moved to remove the chairman. When the resolution was put to vote through headcount, Shankaramurthy was not in the chair. He was seated along with the BJP members. Deputy Chairman Marithibbe Gowda conducted the poll. He belongs to the JD(S). Ugrappa, while moving the resolution against Shankaramurthy said, The chairman has displayed RSS leaders portraits in the Council hall. But we have to fight to get his permission to display a portrait of Ambedkar. He is communal and corrupt. We have no confidence in him. However, Ugrappa did not produce any document to back the accusation. The entire process of voting lasted 25 minutes in the afternoon. Finally, the House witnessed Shankaramurthy being congratulated and the Congress members leaving the House unhappy. The Nuclear Suppliers Group is likely to discuss Indias plea for admission into the cartel during its plenary at Berne in Switzerland, but New Delhi is not expecting a breakthrough. Despite Russias latest bid to make China stop opposing Indias entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, New Delhi is not expecting that the cartels forthcoming plenary would end the impasse over its plea for membership. Russian President Vladimir Putin took up with Chinese President Xi Jinping the issue of Indias admission into the Nuclear Suppliers Group when the two leaders met in Astana on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's summit last week. He argued that China should reconsider its position and support India's immediate entry, sources told DH. The renewed attempt by Modi and Putin to nudge Xi came just ahead of the NSGs annual plenary, which would take place at Berne in Switzerland next week. There were times when Del Mar resident Marc Andre Meyers drenched in sweat, swarmed by mosquitoes and bees, malaria and cannibals an ever-present danger knew the desperate straits in which Teddy Roosevelt had found himself a century earlier. The former U.S. president, still smarting from his humiliating defeat in the 1912 election two years prior, had ventured into an uncharted corner of the Amazon, down a tributary known ominously as the River of Doubt. Malaria-stricken and hobbled by an infected gash in one leg, Roosevelt, in his delirium, commanded his fellow expeditioners to forge ahead rather than to doom them to the fate to which he was certain he had fallen. When Meyers retraced that harrowing journey 100 years later, his crew did so as faithfully as possible navigating the river in flimsy pack canoes, portaging around boulder-choked rapids, slogging days on end through the jungle with mules and machetes. We didnt want to use any modern equipment. We didnt have a doctor. We didnt have anything, he recalled one recent morning in his office at UC San Diego, where he is a professor in material science. We almost couldnt get through. If we had been one more day without water, we would have died. For the past 30 years, Meyers work has focused on the effects of dynamic events like explosions in order to lay the foundation for new types of armor. Besides his many scientific papers, he has penned several novels, many of them set in South America. That passion dates back to his childhood in Brazil, where his engineer father from Luxembourg had taken the family in order to build a steel plant in the jungle. It was there that he developed a fascination for the Amazon and the tribes living in it. But it wasnt until decades later, when he read Candace Millards 2006 book on Roosevelts expedition that he plotted his return. I turned the last page and said, I have to do this, Meyers said. The 1914 expedition was co-led by Candido Rondon, an army colonel and legendary Brazilian explorer. He had built his renown in part by being among the first to lay telegraph lines across huge swaths of once-impenetrable jungle. Rondon had been at it for 10 years when Theodore Roosevelt arrived in South America to give a series of lectures. Roosevelt was not in a very good financial position. He was more of a dreamer and doer and politician than he was a businessman, Meyers said. When he arrived in Rio de Janeiro, one of the ministers told him about a river that no one had ever gone down. Roosevelt being like he was hotheaded immediately said yes. He didnt give it much thought. What ensued is now known as the Rondon-Roosevelt Scientific Expedition, a plan to collect specimens and chart the river for about five months that turned into Roosevelts brush with death. Whereas Millard detailed the expedition with a historians precision, Meyers account takes a scientists and explorers tack of recreating every step something that had never before been tried. His journey had two goals beyond retracing the original: to collect plant and animal specimens for research into their material structure and to measure the many environmental changes mankind has wrought over the intervening century. Meyers split his effort into two parts: the river portion in 2014 and the land portions in 2015. In some parts, his crew included Jeffrey Lehmann, cinematographer and a fourth-generation Del Mar resident. The challenges they faced went far beyond topography and environment. There is a lot of anti-American sentiment because they have this idea that Americans want to take over the Amazon, Meyers said. We almost got into it with the same tribe that gave Rondon and Roosevelt problems. Their chief is not a very nice guy. He didnt let us go through their land. He threatened to arrest us. He sent his thugs after us. They were cannibals, and the chief even hinted at this to us. When word of his journey got out, it earned him an invitation to speak to the San Diego chapter of The Explorers Club. His tale went over so well that he was called up to the clubs hallowed chambers in New York City. His manuscript part diary, part travelogue, part scientific compendium was written for that presentation. Meyers has also published several papers on the feathers, fish scales and seeds collected during his journey. He even built a special gauge to measure the force of the piranhas bite. But after all that, one portion of the Rondon-Roosevelt expedition remains to be retraced. Meyers plans to finish that off this summer, and hopefully rally support for a monument to the Rondon-Roosevelt expedition. River of Doubt: Reliving the Epic Amazon Journey of Roosevelt and Rondon on its Centennial is available in paperback via Amazon.com. By Jeff Grabmeier 8 June 2017 COLUMBUS, Ohio (OSU) While climate change is expected to lead to more violence related to food scarcity, new research suggests that the strength of a countrys government plays a vital role in preventing uprisings.A capable government is even more important to keeping the peace than good weather, said Bear Braumoeller, co-author of the study and associate professor of political science at The Ohio State University.While previous studies had examined the impact of climate change-induced weather patterns on violence and the increased danger of violence in weak or failing states, this is the first study to demonstrate that the combination of the two risk factors is even more dangerous than they would be separately.Braumoeller conducted the study with his former doctoral students Benjamin Jones, now at the University of Mississippi, and Eleonora Mattiacci, now at Amherst College.Their results appear in the Journal of Peace Research.Weve already started to see climate change as an issue that wont just put the coasts under water, but as something that could cause food riots in some parts of the world, Braumoeller said.Extreme weather such as droughts and floods could hurt agricultural production in some countries, leading to violence there or elsewhere by people who are desperate for food.Climate-induced food scarcity is going to become an increasingly big issue and we wanted to understand which countries are most threatened by it, he said.The researchers estimated the effects of food insecurity and state vulnerability on the occurrence of violent uprisings in Africa for the years 1991 to 2011.The researchers used a variety of measurements for both food shocks that lead to violence and to gauge the vulnerability of countries.For the climate-related causes of food shocks, the researchers analyzed rainfall, temperature and importantly the international prices of food, including sudden increases in prices.We recognized that countries that imported food could be impacted by climate shocks in other parts of the world that suddenly increased prices, even if they werent experiencing any significant weather impacts themselves, Braumoeller said.When examining countries vulnerabilities, the researchers analyzed a host of factors including a countrys dependence on agricultural production, its imports, the strength of its political institutions and its wealth.We found that the most vulnerable countries are those that have weak political institutions, are relatively poor and rely more on agriculture, he said.Less vulnerable countries can better handle the problems that droughts or food price fluctuations create.These results suggest ways that the United States and the worldwide community can respond to these challenges.Addressing the vulnerabilities of countries is crucial to breaking the link between food insecurity and violence, Braumoeller said.That means more than providing food aid to offset shortages in the short-term. More broadly, efforts should be focused on strengthening government institutions in vulnerable countries and helping them invest in green growth policies aimed at increasing economic growth while fostering resilience to climate shocks, he said.Development aid is important now and it is likely to be even more important in the future as we look for ways to increase climate resilience, Braumoeller said. Hyundai has unveiled the 2018 Hyundai Kona sub-compact SUV in Korea. The crossover has a striking new design, with well-defined creases and still managing to retain the design identity that Hyundai has managed to establish. Among the major elements of the Hyundai Kona are its unconventional exterior lighting arrangement, the thorough technology package inside and the aggressive stance that makes it look quite powerful. Here's taking a look at everything about the new Hyundai Kona crossover. Beginning with the styling, the Hyundai Kona looks largely aggressive owing to its sharp edges and lines, the upright stance and the smooth flow of lines from the front pillar to the rear lamps. The bonnet has muscular curved lines sweeping to the front, and the front has the signature hexagonal grille that we have already seen in the Hyundai Tucson. The most characteristic element here are the split lamps, with narrow slits in conventional headlamp positions integrating LED daytime running lamps and turn indicators. The headlamps, meanwhile, are placed much lower than usual, in an extended section of the contrasting wheel arch that somewhat sticks out as an additional unit. The Hyundai Kona also gets a contrast-coloured roof with roof rails. Moving to the technology inside, the 2018 Hyundai Kona comes with a host of new gadgets. It retains Hyundai's usual in-car firmware that includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, alongside a dedicated 3D satellite-based navigation and HD Radio services in the Korean variant. It also gets support for the connected car network with onboard 4G telematics. Other features of the new 2018 Hyundai Kona SUV include a wireless charging pad in the central console. It also comes with a Head-Up Display (HUD), a first for this segment. Instead of being projected on to the windshield, this HUD is more basic and has the information regarding speed, navigation and audio playback relayed on to a retracting glass on top of the instrument cluster. Safety technology in the new Hyundai Kona include a radar-based blind spot detection system and rear traffic alert, along with forward collision avoidance assist, automatic braking, driver attention warning system and lane retention system. All of these sum up the advanced set of features in the Hyundai Kona SUV, and it remains to be seen how many of the new features actually make it to India. Engine options in the new Hyundai Kona include a new 2-litre, four cylinder Atkinson Cycle engine that produces 147 brake horsepower and 179Nm of torque at 4500rpm, and is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. The other engine option also includes a more powerful, 1.6-litre turbocharged engine that produces 175 brake horsepower and 266Nm of torque, and is paired with a seven speed dual-clutch gearbox and is much faster on overall terms. The car would have three standard driving modes - Sport, Normal and Eco, that adjust throttle input, transmission ratios and torque. While Hyundai has not yet confirmed the availability of the Hyundai Kona in India, it is expected to be introduced in the country by end of 2017. Understandably, it may be introduced here without some of its prime features. The Hyundai Kona is expected to be priced between the Creta and the Tucson in India, although the pricing should be more towards the Tucson. Google has hired Manu Gulati and is reportedly planning to build its own microchips for future generation of Pixel phones and tablets Google has hired Manu Gulati as Lead SoC Architect, suggesting that the company could be designing its own chipsets. Gulati was the chief chip architect at Apple and is the prominent face behind the Cupertino-based company's custom A-series chipsets. Gulati recently updated his employer from Apple to Google on LinkedIn and Variety reports that Google is indeed looking to build its own chipsets. Google has been posting several SoC-related job postings including Hardware Engineer, Mobile SoC Architect, Mobile SoC Memory Architect among others. Some of the job descriptions suggest that Google is looking for chip architects who can define the architecture of SoCs powering future generations of smartphones and tablets. Qualcomm and MediaTek are the major chip suppliers for most smartphone makers right now. Google currently uses chipsets from San Diego-based Qualcomm for its Pixel range of smartphones. Apart from Qualcomm and MediaTek, Samsung, Huawei and Apple also design custom chipsets based on ARM designs for their mobile devices. Recently, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi also joined the race with its own Pinecone SoC. Google's desire to build its own chipsets dates back to 2015 when The Information reported that the company discussed Google-designed chips with chip manufacturers. Bloomberg recently reported that Google plans to eventually switch to its own microchips for Pixel smartphones. With Gulati, Google has an edge over others in the development of efficient chipsets for mobile devices. Hwang's comment substantiates previous rumours about iPhone getting wireless charging support Apple's next-generation iPhones could be waterproof and support wireless charging. Robert Hwang, CEO of Wistron (Apple's contract manufacturer) told Nikkei that the upcoming iPhones will bring these new features. "Assembly process for the previous generations of [iPhones] have not changed much, though new features like waterproof and wireless charging now require some different testing, and waterproof function will alter the assembly process a bit," Hwang told reporters after the company's annual shareholders' meeting on Wednesday. Hwang's comment substantiates previous leaks, which suggested that Apple is bringing wireless charging to its 2017 iPhone lineup. Earlier this week, a leaked image showed glass panels for the iPhone 8, iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, which suggested some kind of wireless charging technology being used. Apple has also joined the Wireless Power Consortium, hinting at support for Qi wireless charging on future iPhones. Interestingly, Hwang also mentioned that Wistron is making a small number of handsets for Apple in India. Wistron is Apple's primary contract manufacturer for assembling the iPhone SE in India and it is reportedly splitting the orders for the 5.5-inch iPhone for 2017. Apple is expected to introduce three new iPhones this year including one completely redesigned model. The newly redesigned iPhone likely to be called the iPhone 8, and is said to feature stainless steel case with glass back. It is rumoured to feature vertically mounted dual-rear camera setup and Apple supplier, Largan has confirmed that it will be shipping 3D depth-sensing lenses in the second half of 2017. At WWDC, Apple announced ARKit with a focus on helping developers build augmented reality apps. With the 3D sensing feature, Apple could be bringing mobile augmented reality features to next iPhone. As we get closer to the official launch, there is more likelihood of hearing further from Apple suppliers and manufacturers about company's next iPhones. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Subscriber content preview The railway restaurants, with elaborate tracks for model trains that serve drinks, have been a big hit with Czechs. The plan is for 30 in the U.S. and 120 in China. By KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE Having been tested successfully on beer-loving Czechs, the beer train is heading for the United States and China. Just imagine: you order a pint of beer, or even a cool glass of orange juice, and your drink is served by a model freight train arriving at your table. . . . Subscriber content preview By PHUONG LE Associated Press The Suquamish Tribe and two environmental groups are suing the U.S. Navy, saying it sent harmful pollutants into Puget Sound when it cleaned a decommissioned aircraft carrier near Bremerton. The mothballed 60,000-ton USS Independence was cleaned in waters near Bremerton, in January and February before it was towed to Brownsville, Texas, this month to be dismantled. . . . Subscriber content preview California orders inspections at 70 aging dams after crisis Dam operators must fix any spillway problems they find before next fall's next rainy season. By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and SCOTT SMITH Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO California is ordering immediate spillway inspections at about 70 aging dams that it believes might not be sound enough to protect downstream communities in a flood, a state dam regulator said Wednesday. The engineering and on-site reviews are part of stepped-up inspections following February's surprise failures of both spillways at California's 770-foot-high Oroville Dam, the nation's tallest. Authorities ordered nearly 200,000 people to evacuate in that crisis. . . . login or purchase a To read this story in fullor purchase a subscription. Qatar will sign a deal to buy as many as 36 F-15 jets from the US despite tensions over President Donald Trump's backing for a Saudi-led coalition's move to isolate the country for allegedly supporting terrorism. Qatari Defence Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah and his US counterpart, Jim Mattis, completed the $12-billion agreement on Wednesday in Washington, according to the Pentagon. The deal was completed despite the Gulf country being criticized recently by US President Donald Trump for supporting terrorism. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and representatives from Qatar met on Wednesday to seal the agreement, which Bloomberg News reported was for 36 jets. The sale "will give Qatar a state of the art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar," the US Defence Department said in a statement. Defense Secretary Mattis and Qatari Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah also discussed the current state of operations against the ISIS and the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals, the Pentagon added. In November, the United States approved possible sale of up to 72 F-15QA aircraft to Qatar for $21.1 billion. Boeing Co is the prime contractor on the fighter jet sale to the Middle East nation. But that was before Qatar's neighbors, including Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, severed diplomatic, trade and transport links last week in a move they said was aimed at isolating the country for its support of terrorist groups and Iran. The Trump administration finds itself in a complex position, forced to balance regional rivalries between key allies. Qatar hosts the regional headquarters for US Central Command, which includes a state-of-the-art air base the US depends on to target Islamic State. Qatar's Defense Ministry said the deal would create 60,000 jobs in 42 US states while reducing the burden on US forces. The F-15 accord will lead to "closer strategic collaboration in our fight to counter violent extremism and promote peace and stability in our region and beyond", the ministry said Wednesday in a statement. After the Gulf countries moved against Qatar, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson initially declined to take sides in the crisis, but his cautious stance was overshadowed almost immediately by Trump, who sent a series of tweets that appeared to take credit for and praise the decision. The US position was further muddied last Friday, when Tillerson called on Saudi Arabia to ease the blockade, only to have Trump, at a White House news conference hours later, say the blockade had been the right move. "The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," Trump said in a speech at the White House last week. "We ask Qatar, and other nations in the region to do more and do it faster.'' Tillerson has since sought to mediate the dispute from Washington, meeting with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Monday. He was scheduled to meet the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates - another member of the Saudi coalition -- for dinner Wednesday night. "I would characterize the mood and the approach to that as being one that is hopeful, that believes that the worst is behind us," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday. While Trump appeared to back Saudi Arabia and Tillerson took a more neutral tone, the Defense Department underscored its relations with Qatar, saying the US was grateful to the country for its support of the US presence there. "We encourage all our partners in the region to work towards common solutions that enable regional security," Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart, a spokesman for US Air Forces Central Command, said in a statement when the crisis began. The 2017 Earagail Arts Festival was launched last week with a series of photo shoots in Gweedore, Letterkenny and Inishowen featuring The Henry Girls. As its a quiet enough week elsewhere and the Earagail festival is just around the corner, I thought this would be an opportune time to take a look at whats on offer. Heres some quick thoughts on this year's line-up. The festival begins with "At Home With The Henry Girls" a five-day interactive residency where the Inishowen folk group host a series of songwriting workshops, cultural and culinary tours and traditional pub sessions along with three concerts. Its a novel idea and a great concept, and hats off to the organisers for some real outside-the-box thinking. In addition to "At Home With The Henry Girls", theres a cluster of Inishowen-based events taking place from Thursday, July 6th, to Sunday, July 9th, grouped together under the banner Wild Atlantic Weekend, so it looks like on that first weekend Malin is the place to be. In recent years content has skewed more towards music and this is true of this year's festival, with twice the number of music events listed (32) as there is theatre (16). Included under the music banner are The Letterkenny International Folk & Roots Weekend (Wednesday, July 12th, to Sunday, July 16th) and The Swell Festival on Arranmore Island, for which Earagail takes control of programming for The Mountain Stage on Saturday, 22nd and Sunday, 23rd. The Folk & Roots Weekend includes gigs at The Regional Cultural Centre by Saint Sister and Rosie Carney (Thursday, July 13th), Kila (Friday, 14th), Constantinople & Ablaye Cissoko (Sat, 15th) and Na Mooneys (Sunday, 16th). Theres also a concert featuring the Atlantic Arc Orchestra and Young Donegal Maestros at An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny on Sunday, 16th as well as a busking festival and a free music trail. The Folk & Roots Weekend isnt strictly confined to Letterkenny - theres "Music At The Castle" at Glenveagh National Park on Thursday, 13th and For Foresters and Leila Jane & The Healers keep good the festival's Made In Donegal tagline, with a gig at The Balor, Ballybofey on Saturday, 15th. Earagail's Mountain Stage at The Swell Festival will feature dozens of acts over two days, headlined by The Altered Hours on the Saturday and the seven-piece ragtime, Dixieland combo, The California Feetwarmers, headline on the Sunday. The Feetwarmers also play two mainland gigs as part of the festival in Rathmullan House on Friday, 21st, and in Teach Hiudai Beag in Gweedore on Saturday, 22nd. Oddly enough its a tenner in to the Rathmullan gig while its free in up in Hiudais which seems to be a strange pricing discrepancy. Other stand-out music gigs in the Earagail Festival programme include Femi Kuti & the Positive Force at McGrorys in Culdaff on Sunday, July 9th; The Selecter at the Regional Cultural Centre, Lettekenny on Thursday, July 20th; and Dirty Cello at The Balor, Ballybofey also on Thursday, July 20th. Highlight of the theatre programme is undoubtedly Pat Kinevanes award winning "Silent", which is on in An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny on Monday, July 10th and in Dunfanaghy on Tuesday, 11th. Also tickling my fancy is "Blackadder Goes Forth", which runs from Thursday, July 6th, to Saturday, July 8th, at An Grianan Theatre. This is quite an ambitious undertaking by students graduating from An Grianan Youth Theatre its actually a stage amalgamation and adaptation of three of the Blackadder TV scripts into one stage production (adapted by the students themselves), and I for one am looking forward to seeing how it turns out. The comedy programme is evenly split with two acts each at The Balor, Ballybofey - The Nualas on Saturday, July 8th, and Paddy Cullivans "10 Dark Secrets of The Irish Revolution" on Wednesday, July 19th and An Grianan, Letterkenny which hosts "Every Little Thing" on Friday, 21st, and Frank Carson on Saturday, 22nd. Family shows have always been an important component of the festival and there are shows for children in Letterkenny, Dunfanaghy, Malin, Dore, Gweedore and Rathmullan. Overall its a solid 2017 lineup every event has something to recommend it, nothing looks like its there as a filler. Id put "Silent" in An Grianan and Dunfanaghy, and The Selector in The Regional Cultural Centre as the stand-out theatre and music gigs respectively, and theyre the ones for which the old cliche "Advanced booking is strongly advised" definitely applies. Im really impressed with this year's new festival website - very user friendly and easily navigable. Check it out, with a full listing of all this years events at www.eaf.ie. We are well and truly into spring/summer of this year but its never too late for a good old Spring Clean! The Ballyshannon Regeneration Group will head up this years event on Saturday 24th June from 10am. Its a one day cleaning blitz which aims at getting as many people as possible involved to do a bit for Irelands Oldest Town. Many hands make light work and its surprising to see what can be done in just one day. Its a great opportunity for individuals, businesses or clubs to get involved, volunteer an hour or a few hours and really make a difference to your community. Love where you live, is the message. Meeting point and registration is at the Ballyshannon library at 9.30am where teams will be assigned different jobs. Lunchtime snacks and refreshments will be at 1pm and if some hardy souls wish to continue for a couple more hours after, well do that too. So if you fancy some planting, painting, picking, hoking or poking.. just join in. Gloves, tools and high-viz supplied but take your own if you wish. Spread the word. Come along, bring a friend and keep your fingers crossed for reasonable weather. A Florida company hired to complete a Dale County water project in 2014 and later charged with wire fraud said this week the outcome of the recent court case against the company and its owner was evidence a single, short term rogue employee was responsible for illegal actions associated with the project. Roberson Excavation of Milton, Florida, released a written statement this week after the company pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with the project. A man who did work for the project on behalf of the company, Darin Lewis, previously pleaded guilty to falsifying water testing records for the Marley Mill water line project in Dale County. The company and its owner, Billy Ray Roberson, were co-defendants in the federal criminal case. Charges included conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and making a false statement. Those charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement, which occurred during a trial in U.S. District Court last week in Dothan. The charges against our company were vigorously defended, and in the end, the Government recognized that the charges against our company arose entirely because of the actions of one rogue employee who we fired in early 2015. The resolution and plea agreement entered with the Government specifically and expressly recognized that the only wrongdoer was this employee, Roberson Excavation said in a written statement. The company and Roberson were represented by Montgomery attorney Joe Espy III. In a written statement, Espy said Roberson never should have been indicted. This is the first time anyone has ever raised any question about Mr. Roberson. (He) is a person of great character and is a living example of the American dream. He has built a successful family business through hard work and quality performance over many years, Espy said in the statement. Honda looks to entice buyers with new limited run version of its smallest SUV offering. In the wake of fresh competition from the likes of the Toyota C-HR and soon to arrive Hyundai Kona, the Japanese car maker is offering a new special edition HR-V based on the entry-level VTi variant. Priced at $28,990 drive-away, Honda claims the HR-V Limited Edition adds $3600 worth of extras for only an additional $1425 over the VTi model. The extra coin for the limited edition adds 17-inch alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, side steps, keyless entry and ignition and roof rails. Paint options include pearlescent blue and white and metallic silver and grey, all at no extra cost. Power comes from the same 105kW/172Nm 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that is featured in the rest of the range, which is mated to a CVT automatic transmission. The Honda HR-V Limited Edition is now on sale. Omniplex Cinema in Dundalk have announced that a Secret Screenings event will take place on Wednesday, June 28th in which a major new release will be screened ahead of its launch date. As with all Secret Screenings, movie goers will only know the genre in advance of the screening and the movie itself will only be revealed when movie goers are in their seats and the opening credits start to roll. Omniplex Secret Screenings have proved hugely popular since their launch, with tickets selling out quickly at all locations. This is the first Secret Screening event for Dundalk and will be a major new comedy that will not have gone on general release in Ireland. Previous Secret Screenings gave film fans the chance to see the much-acclaimed horror GET OUT and action comedy SNATCHED (which played to sold out screens) before they went on general release in Ireland. The Secret Screenings events will be hosted regularly throughout the year, so whether you prefer romances over sci-fi, or if youre simply an avid movie goer Secret Screenings offer something for everyone. Omniplex will host their third Secret Screenings event, on Wednesday, June 28th at 6.45PM in four Omniplex locations: Rathmines, Dublin; Mahon Point, Cork, Dundalk and Limerick. If the suspense is too much, book your tickets now to avoid disappointment. Tickets are limited and priced at 10 each which includes a medium popcorn and drink. Secret Screenings are available to book online exclusively to MyOmniplex members aged 16 years and over only. Joining MyOmniplex is simple and as part of the MyOmniplex offering, members can also avail of a 10% discount on all regular bookings.* Visit www.omniplex.ie Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Women have boundless potential to lead multi-million dollar businesses but many are being held back by a lack of financial literacy, says Tanya Titman, the founder of Acceler8 Academy, a growth program for female-led SMEs, and Consolid8, Xeros 2016 Accounting Partner of the Year. Having assisted over 200 female founders to scale their businesses through Acceler8, Titman an accountant with more than two decades of business experience is now expanding the 12-month program out of Brisbane into Melbourne and Sydney. It offers participants face-to-face, activity-based workshops addressing key components of business success (e.g. identifying business goals, financial and cashflow management, pricing, growth and marketing strategy, funding options and succession planning), with Titman guaranteeing each a lift in net profit of at least 30%. In addition, Acceler8 will next month be introducing shorter online finance modules for people to complete over 12 weeks. Breaking through the invisible ceiling According to Titman, $1 million in revenue is often an invisible ceiling to the further success of female-led businesses. She explained to Dynamic Business that founders who allow gut feelings and bank account balances to dictate business strategy will find it difficult to not just scale up to but also push through the million-dollar barrier. She said that while women often go into business with a passion to deliver a product or service, many struggle with financial literacy: this isnt something people just know, unless they specifically go out to educate themselves on this. The approach she advocates to women is making informed, strategic decisions based on a clear understanding of their true financial position. Having worked with a number of female business owners over the years, and helped many to pass the $1 million threshold, Im aware of the significant lift in profits they can achieve when they understand and can confidently speak about their numbers, she explained. Whether an owner is seeking funding for their business or seeking to launch a marketing or social media campaign, it always comes back to knowing the numbers. In the case of those examples, owners need to understand the right type of funding for their business and the ROI they can expect from their marketing spend. At the end of the day, theres nothing to stop people from going into business without any financial education but theres also nothing to stop them going broke. Running a business can be tough, so if youre going to put yourself through the experience, there better be financial rewards for you at the end of the day. If an owner is not prepared to pay themselves a market-rate salary, create a business asset and produce a profit, its less of a business and more of a hobby. Im passionate about working with women who are motivated to lead high-growth businesses and helping them realise the benefits to be gained from knowing their numbers. Once such business is The Vet Shed, an online retailer and public-facing warehouse based in Queensland. Titman has worked with the founder, Tania Withers, for close to two years, with a particular focus on raising the businesss value. Tania was approached to sell The Vet Shed but I didnt feel the offer was adequate or that the business had reached its potential in value, Titman said. So, weve worked with her to strategically grow the business and improve the value. Over the last two years shes had incredible increases in her business value as well as revenue, profitability and cashflow. The value of The Vet Shed has almost tripled in just three years, and Tania has seen a 222% increase in profit and 77% lift in revenue in the last 12 months. Rather than selling the business, shes resolved to stick with it and she has also signed up to do the Acceler8 program for a third year. Her plan is to scale the business nationally by setting up additional warehouses in Melbourne and Sydney. Common pain point: pricing strategy Asked to name an aspect of business female founders commonly struggle with when they seek to scale, Titman said their pricing strategy: Its important for founders to accurately value their time, especially if their business is serviced-based, and price it correctly in their business model. If theyre basing their pricing on what their competitors are charging, thats not necessarily the right approach. Pricing strategy is all about gathering data and working out the true cost of delivering your product or service, she said. Understanding how much time it is really taking and valuing that time is critical. My advice is to use technology to track everything youre doing from admin and research, to client liaison and actual delivery. This should always form part of the pricing structure and many women are surprised at how much time they invest behind the scenes. I also recommend restructuring your Profit and Loss statement so that these activities are not hidden in the expenses. Changing the way you track your time and finances can provide a clearer indication of what your pricing should be. The right people for the right roles Titman said that many female entrepreneurs and business owners are time-poor, for reasons that include wearing multiple hats to fulfil various roles in the business (book keeper, IT support, business development) while also juggling family and household commitments. Fitting more hours into the day, she explained, must involve building and leveraging a team populated by the right people for the right roles. She admitted that recruitment wasnt her strong suit when she was first establishing her business, Consolid8: I recruited some amazing talent but they werent right for the roles because they were too much like me and that wasnt a great fit for the business. Since then, weve implemented great systems and processes and Ive become accredited in extended DISC, which has led to a major transformation in the business. By using this work-based profiling tool, business owners are able to understand a persons natural style of communicating and working, for example, they might be fact based communicators who are prone to overanalyzing and need clear instructions before they can start a job (a C style). Its certainly allowed me to become very strategic in the way I scale up my team as it ensures I hire the right people for the right roles. In a half hour interview, you often dont see someones true style youll see the style they think the role demands. By employing Extended DISC, you can see who the true person is early on instead of discovering too late that theyre not the right fit for the job. Recruiting the wrong person can be a costly mistake for business owners not only in monetary terms but also in terms of the time invested in the onboarding, training and removing of employees who are not the right fit. Six tips for better business results Titman offered female founders the following tips to help them generate better results for their businesses: Take time to educate yourself on business financials so you can truly understand your numbers. Regularly review and monitor your Profit and Loss statement and Balance Sheet. Have a tool for managing your cash flow, a simple spreadsheet will do. Make it part of your weekly process to review, track and forecast. Identify the revenue channels in your business and break them down into realistic targets based on income generating activities. It is much easier for you and your team to focus on the activity that will ultimately generate the revenue target for the month. Ensure you have a commercially viable pricing model. Understand the total cost of delivering your product or service and ensure there is enough mark up on your cost to achieve a net profit (after all operating expenses). Set a realistic budget for your business. This can be by calendar year or financial year, and review it every three months. Pay yourself a market based salary for the time you spend in your business. You must create a viable business model that generates a profit after paying your salary. This represents the reward or return on investment for the risk that you take as a business owner. The next Brisbane Acceler8 Academy program will start in July 2017, with the inaugural Sydney and Melbourne programs commencing in August 2017. COLUMBUS Hundreds of flags were retired during a ceremony at the American Legion. A small crowd watched Wednesday as members of the honor guard disposed of worn flags that can no longer be flown. Military veterans hold the public ceremony each year in the Legion parking lot on Flag Day, a national day to honor Old Glory. Its to show the community the proper way to retire an unserviceable flag, said Mike Landkamer, a member of the local American Legion. The ceremony consisted of an inspection process when folded American flags were presented to commanders followed by a prayer by the post chaplain. Before the flags were placed in a fire set inside a metal trailer, the men stood at attention with their arms raised to salute as Taps played. Then, the flags were unfolded and dropped into the flames. Over the next several minutes, the rest of the flags were placed in the fire. Landkamer said any American flag that is unserviceable because it's tattered, torn or soiled should be disposed of properly. The public can bring old flags to the American Legion, 2263 Third Ave., to be part of a retirement ceremony. On the north side of the building under the awning, we have an old-time mailbox. People can put their flags right there, Landkamer said. OCTAVIA About sundown Tuesday, Tiffany Ladehoff sensed that something just wasnt right as she put her kids to bed. She hadnt paid much attention to the weather alerts issued during the blustery afternoon, when temperatures reached the 90s. Forecasters said a cold front would move through the area, triggering thunderstorms. Ladehoff made sure her son Anekon Jakub, 3, and daughter Shakira Lerma, 9, were settled in. Their bedroom is at the north end of the mobile home, located at the northeast corner of Octavia. She left the bedroom and stepped outside. Standing on the top of the steps, Ladehoff looked over the mobile home at the towering cottonwood tree, which stood about 50 feet west of the home. The top third of the tree was being whipped by the strong wind. Ladehoff stepped back into the bedroom, shouting, Go to the other end of the house! she recalled on Wednesday. Within seconds of her kids running past, a 30-foot section of the tree crashed onto the bedroom, slicing through the structures tin and plywood construction. The kids closet was exposed to the elements. It mustve been God that told me to rush the kids from the room, she said. I dont care what it was." Next door in another mobile home on the same property, Ladehoff's mother Judy Sound Sleeper heard the sound of a loud thud. On Wednesday, she was still shaken, wondering how she would have handled the kids being injured by the falling tree. Thats the worst storm weve had in all the years Ive lived here, said Sound Sleeper. She said she grew up on the familys property there, and remembers the tree being about 30 feet tall when she was a child. Now she is eager to have the cottonwood removed so her daughter can bring another mobile home to the site. Surprisingly, power to the two mobile homes was not interrupted until later, when a tree across the street fell on a power line. By noon Wednesday, Anekons grandfather, Terry Jakub, had come from Schuyler with a loader to remove the massive trunk from the home. A group of friends also came from Schuyler to help the family with the cleanup. Susie Workman, who lives about a block away, was there to offer her assistance with clothing and food for the family. Ladehoff was humbled by the friends and neighbors reaching out to help. Another two seconds and we could have all been gone, she said. American Red Cross volunteers were on the scene to assess the damage and offer short-term assistance for the family. Ladehoff said she also received messages from her co-workers at Camaco in Columbus. They were asking, Do you need any help? It was amazing. I didnt expect anything like this," she said. Page Content On the day when roaming charges became a thing of the past within the European Union, the next steps for the Digital Single Market were already being discussed at the Digital Assembly 2017. Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions, stressed that EU citizens in all regions and cities must be able to seize the benefits of the digital revolution at the event organised by the European Commission and the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council, in Valletta. Welcoming the end of roaming charges, President Markku Markkula said: "For European citizens, the end of roaming charges is the most concrete and visible example of the advantages of the Digital Single Market. The new rules specifically benefit those who are travelling, people living in border regions and the estimated 1.7 million cross-border workers in the EU. As of today, they will no longer have to worry about extra charges when their mobile phone switches to another country's network" However he also warned that: "In most cases people will still have to pay a surcharge when calling abroad from their country of residence. There is still work to be done when it comes to uniform prices for national and international calls within the EU." The Digital Single Market Strategy of the European Commission seeks to tear down regulatory walls and move from 28 national markets to a single one. The CoR will contribute to its mid-term review later this year through an opinion drafted by Alin-Adrian Nica (RO/EPP). In previous opinions, the assembly of local and regional authorities has already highlighted the need to address the digital divides between urban, rural and sparsely populated areas. In this respect, it welcomes the establishment of the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund, which is expected to become operational in the second part of 2017 and should raise at least 500 million to complement the investment of 100 million from the European Commission. "The economic and social benefits of the actual digital revolution will only be fully exploited with the deployment of very high-capacity networks reaching all citizens over the EU territory, in both urban and rural areas. The Broadband Fund is the first investment platform to support broadband infrastructure under the EFSI, the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe. It responds to the growing demand for financing of smaller-scale, higher-risk broadband projects across Europe, which currently do not have access to EU financing", President Markkula said. During his visit to Malta, President Markkula made the concluding remarks at a symposium organised by the tripartite Joint Undertaking "Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership" (ECSEL JU), which showcased projects developed under the Horizon 2020 funded scheme, and closed the 7 th edition of the annual semantic interoperability conference (SEMIC) seeking to reinforce the internet cooperation between European regions and cities. In the wake of manslaughter and other charges being filed against five people involved in the Flint Water Crisis, including two current members of his administration, Gov. Rick Snyder issued the following statement: Gov. Rick Snyders statement in support of DHHS Director Nick Lyon and Dr. Eden Wells Wednesday, June 14, 2017 LANSING, Mich. Gov. Rick Snyder issued the following statement today: Nick Lyon has been a strong leader at the Department of Health and Human Services for the past several years and remains completely committed to Flints recovery. Director Lyon and Dr. Eden Wells, like every other person who has been charged with a crime by Bill Schuette, are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Some state employees were charged over a year ago and have been suspended from work since that time. They still have not had their day in court. That is not justice for Flint nor for those who have been charged. Director Lyon and Dr. Wells have been and continue to be instrumental in Flints recovery. They have my full faith and confidence, and will remain on duty at DHHS. 128 words and barely a mention of the victims of this human-made catastrophe, one created through decisions made by Gov. Snyders own appointed Emergency Managers. Mostly its just a stubborn defense of two people who should lose their jobs NOW. It was the only statement hes made since the charges were announced yesterday by state Attorney General Bill Schuette and the first time hes publicly mentioned Flint in months. Fierce criticism, including a call for Snyder to resign, came quickly. Heres Lonnie Scott, Executive Director of Progress Michigan: These charges show that the failure in Flint lies squarely at the feet of Governor Rick Snyder. Nick Lyons statement from the charging document, everyone has to die of something shows a callous disregard for the lives lost by a member of the Snyder/Calley administration. Now that these charges have been levied against a top cabinet official, we renew our call for Governor Rick Snyder to immediately resign. Heres Rochelle Riley at the Detroit Free Press: Last summer, Schuette began his investigation in earnest by successfully obtaining a restraining order to keep the Snyder administration from working with personnel at the Genesee County Health Department and a Flint hospital to destroy records related to lead poisoning and Legionella deaths. So far, 15 current or former state or Flint city officials have been charged. But the Flint water crisis persists, now in its third year, because of poor leadership from the top of the House of Cards. And sitting atop that house is the governor. Should he be No. 16? Heres Flint-area state Senator Jim Ananich: These charges are an important step on a very long journey to getting justice for the people of Flint. I have said from the beginning that anyone who played a role in harming my cityno matter whoneeds to be held accountable for their actions. I found it incredibly disappointing that the governor responded by defending staff rather than showing concern for Flint. His comments erode trust in government. No one, no matter how important their job, is above the law. Heres Congressman Dan Kildee: Justice for Flint families comes in many forms, including holding state officials who created this man-made crisis accountable. Todays announcement that additional state officials will face criminal charges is an indictment of the states failed policies that led to this crisis. I support the ongoing investigations, led solely by the facts, that seek to hold everyone accountable who did this to Flint. It is important to remember that the Flint water crisis is not over. The state and the Governor created this crisis and they must do more to help Flints recovery. Heres Daniel Howes in The Detroit News: As much as Snyder has achieved with the restructuring of and reinvestment in Detroit, with stronger state finances, reformed corporate taxes and more, his tenure is shaping up to be defined by the Flint Water Crisis and the people affected by it. And the governor didnt help in a written statement Wednesday, which went longer on its lament for state employees charged over a year ago and shorter on compassion for the people of Flint affected by the long-running mess. Howes points out that, no matter how these charges are resolved, Schuette is using the Flint Water Crisis to further his bid to be governor. His main opponent is Lt. Gov. Brian Calley who has been invisible as the crisis has dragged on for years and is inextricably tied to Snyder. However, as Rochelle Riley notes, despite his current actions, Schuette was far too invisible himself until it became politically expedient for him to jump in. The crisis began in the spring of 2014 but it wasnt until nearly two years later that he finally got around to announcing an investigation. It would be disgusting irony if Schuette was to become the governor of Michigan because of his involvement in the Flint Water Crisis. Being a member of the Snyder administration since 2014 should be an extinction-level, career killer for everyone involved, INCLUDING Schuette. 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CORDIS website requires JavaScript enabled in order to work properly. Please enable JavaScript. Letting Students Take Ownership of Their Assessments Sponsored by: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 2 to 3 p.m. ET Note: No special equipment other than Internet access is needed to participate in any of our text-based chats. Participants may begin submitting questions the morning of the chat. Chat: Letting Students Take Ownership of Their Assessments (06/15/2017) 3:01 Shannon King: It was our pleasure! Thanks for having us, and thanks to EdLeader21 for their support! Thursday June 15, 2017 3:01 Shannon King 3:01 Shannon King: What Katie said. Thursday June 15, 2017 3:01 Shannon King 3:01 Madeline Will: I wish we had more time to keep talking about this. But thank you so much, Shannon and Katie, for joining us. Thursday June 15, 2017 3:01 Madeline Will 3:00 Katherine Hovanec: Try it! Be messy. Learn. Model how to learn from a mistake! Thursday June 15, 2017 3:00 Katherine Hovanec 3:00 Shannon King: PS ...those standardized test scores have not been hurt one bit! Thursday June 15, 2017 3:00 Shannon King 2:59 Katherine Hovanec: There was a question about what is the teacher doing during the unit if the students are driving the assessment... The teacher is meeting with students doing formative assessments, using traditional assessment (grammar, vocabulary, etc.), modeling skills, helping students brainstorm solutions to problems that crop up, etc. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:59 Katherine Hovanec 2:59 Shannon King: ...every teacher weve been working with has been so grateful theyve taken the risk. The level of student engagement increases and those relationships with students get stronger! Thursday June 15, 2017 2:59 Shannon King 2:58 Shannon King: My first piece of advice--dont wait for permission! If your school/district is not willing to change their culture just yet, you can still make a major difference in your classroom! Our students need this now... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:58 Shannon King 2:57 Madeline Will: Unfortunately, were almost out of time, but Shannon and Katie, could you share any closing thoughts or advice to people interested in this work? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:57 Madeline Will 2:56 [Comment From LaurenLauren: ] I found, as a social studies teacher, that my sixth grade class was capable of creating the their country project requirement list based on the enduring concepts studied during both fifth and sixth grade. These include; rights, diversity, change, balance, government, geography, economy, religious beliefs, technology and comparing and contrasting ideas with our country. Students who are interested in doing more for the same number of points, went beyond the requirement that we agreed to by incorporating research of a second country and comparing the two for each enduring concept. They were very successful and excited as the process developed. A visual product of their choice was included in each project. Some students created teams and did multiple visuals to support their research. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:56 Lauren 2:56 [Comment From SherriSherri: ] Shannon, I guess I was a little more open ended when I was in Middle School. I would provide ideas of projects, then allow them to choose; or I had also had where they chose ideas and then we voted on the most successful ones to show learning, then I wrote up rubrics also based upon what they chose. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:56 Sherri 2:55 Madeline Will: I wanted to share a couple of reader examples of this work: Thursday June 15, 2017 2:55 Madeline Will 2:54 Shannon King: SLA can help us make those invisible assessment visible, and they can help students become more empowered because it communicates that they have some control in the assessment process. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:54 Shannon King 2:53 Shannon King: ...and Id argue that those matter more than some of the other assessments we place so much value on because those are the ones that determine if kids keep trying or if they give up. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:53 Shannon King 2:53 Shannon King: Ron Berger mentions that there are thousands of invisible assessments happening in school every day--the ones inside students heads... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:53 Shannon King 2:52 Shannon King: So SLA is a practice that requires a transformation in school culture... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:52 Shannon King 2:51 Shannon King: ...if Im a master of my content I may not see value in this type of assessment. It is further hindered by most districts grading and reporting systems. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:51 Shannon King 2:51 Shannon King: Teacher mindset/fear was a challenge most of our schools have faced, as well as teachers sense of identity... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:51 Shannon King 2:50 Shannon King: ...and there is fear that if you do SLA, students wont be prepared for those. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:50 Shannon King 2:50 Shannon King: You also have to deal with that context--there is still pressure to perform on standardized assessments... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:50 Shannon King 2:49 Shannon King: ...in very data-driven settings, this type of data is messier than those standardized tests. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:49 Shannon King 2:49 Shannon King: Sure. This model of assessment typcially requires a shift in school culture... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:49 Shannon King 2:48 Madeline Will: Shannon, could you talk a little about the challenges of transitioning to this model of assessment? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:48 Madeline Will 2:48 Katherine Hovanec: ...it requires a good deal of organization and comfort with ambiguity, but it is ultimately worth it! Thursday June 15, 2017 2:48 Katherine Hovanec 2:47 Katherine Hovanec: ...and conferencing with students about the result of their final product. Did it meet the requirements? What does the student feel he/she has learned? What are the new goals for the student in preparation for the next assessment? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:47 Katherine Hovanec 2:46 Katherine Hovanec: ...on-going feedback in various forms. Checking student thinking at major project piece deadlines and leading student work review protocols... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:46 Katherine Hovanec 2:45 Katherine Hovanec: ...From there, it is my role (along with my team) to set rubrics and guidelines. I make time to conference with each student (both sm. groups and individually).. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:45 Katherine Hovanec 2:44 Katherine Hovanec: Ive been meeting with our librarians to help the students presearch their topics... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:44 Katherine Hovanec 2:44 Madeline Will: Katie, were getting some questions about the teachers specific role and what that looks like in practice. Could you talk a little more about how youre involved throughout this process? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:44 Madeline Will 2:43 Shannon King: ...for example, in Henry Co. VA, students are leading their own IEP meetings using the reflective tools theyve learned in this process. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:43 Shannon King 2:42 Shannon King: With supports like sentence frames and providing coaching/feedback, students can engage in this type of assessment...and it starts to support that way of thinking that continues after the assessment is over... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:42 Shannon King 2:41 Shannon King: Some of our schools are working with at risk in HS specifically. Just this week we had self-contained and team taught English students lead their own conferences about their learning...they were amazing! Thursday June 15, 2017 2:41 Shannon King 2:40 Shannon King: Katie described it as a low-threshold/high-ceiling approach. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:40 Shannon King 2:40 Shannon King: ...the whole premise of SLA is that we care what students are interested in and want to bring that into the classroom. Youre meeting the student where they are and helping them develop a goal for where they need to be instead of a top down approach... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:40 Shannon King 2:39 Shannon King: Hi, singer32--weve found this is actually very beneficial with at risk students... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:39 Shannon King 2:39 [Comment From singer32singer32: ] how do you do this with at risk students? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:39 singer32 2:39 Madeline Will: Shannon, maybe you can address this question about different populations of students: Thursday June 15, 2017 2:39 Madeline Will 2:37 Shannon King: ...and weve had some teachers who negotiate with their students to determine what the students must produce and where they have latitude to go crazy! Thursday June 15, 2017 2:37 Shannon King 2:37 Shannon King: ...showing students the rubric ahead of time is a great way to ensure your students are working with that end in mind... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:37 Shannon King 2:36 Shannon King: ...it also means you consider the maturity level of your students--how much freedom can they handle? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:36 Shannon King 2:35 Shannon King: ...offering choice as much as possible is great, and you want to keep an eye on your intended learning outcomes for the unit.... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:35 Shannon King 2:35 Shannon King: There certainly is a balance you want to strike with any type of assessment. Too much of a good thing, right? What were finding in our classrooms is that differentiation is necessary here, toosome students can handle lots of ambiguity and others need more structure Thursday June 15, 2017 2:35 Shannon King 2:33 [Comment From Erin ContradyErin Contrady: ] How do you set parameters or guidelines for the work while maximizing students freedom? This must be a very delicate balance. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:33 Erin Contrady 2:33 Madeline Will: Katie, we have a great question from Erin: Thursday June 15, 2017 2:33 Madeline Will 2:32 Katherine Hovanec: ...there are still students who pick safe topics and regret it, but I generally allow the students to have that ah-ha moment and reflect on their decision making. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:32 Katherine Hovanec 2:32 Katherine Hovanec: ...my experience is that once the students realize that I really mean it when I say they can choose their topic, their choice reading, their [whatever we are studying], they are thrilled... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:32 Katherine Hovanec 2:31 Katherine Hovanec: This requires the students to trust the teacher, and the teacher to be prepared to guide the students to find a way. ... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:31 Katherine Hovanec 2:30 Katherine Hovanec: Students are initially wary. They are afraid that following their passions might not lead them to their desired outcomes. ... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:30 Katherine Hovanec 2:29 Madeline Will: Weve had some questions about the level of engagement for students in forming/creating these assessments. Katie, could you speak to how your students have responded to this work? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:29 Madeline Will 2:27 Shannon King: Martha, SLA and PBL are certainly connected. Students who are engaging in PBL can be engaging in a SLA if it is designed that way. Instruction and assessment are inextricably linked, in my mind, and if you start planning your PBL with the intention for students to be involved in the assessmentgiving them opportunities to set goals, reflect on their learning throughout the process (while youre providing feedback), you have SLA embedded in your PBL. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:27 Shannon King 2:27 [Comment From MarthaMartha: ] Is this the same as Project Based Learning aka Learning Lab Method? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:27 Martha 2:27 Madeline Will: Martha had a question about this compares to project-based learning. Shannon, could you answer? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:27 Madeline Will 2:25 Shannon King: ...other ideas might include students using self-reflections on 21st c. skills like collaboration, communication, creative & critical thinking as they engage in their learning experiences. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:25 Shannon King 2:24 Shannon King: ...they use things like reflective exit tickets, fist to five reflections and sentence frames to help them engage in that metacognitive process. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:24 Shannon King 2:24 Shannon King: Hi, Sherri! As part of our work with the ALP grant, weve been exploring this topic with students at all grade levels! Some examples that are common in the elementary grades are reading logs where students express their understanding of their own reading strategies. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:24 Shannon King 2:23 [Comment From SherriSherri: ] Thank you ladies for doing this! I now am back in 4th grade after over a decade in Junior High where I did mostly SLAs. Can you give me a couple ideas for 4th grade? My mind is still thinking Middle School! Thursday June 15, 2017 2:23 Sherri 2:22 Madeline Will: Thats fascinating! Shannon, youve worked with student-led assessments district-wide. Could you share some examples with younger students? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:22 Madeline Will 2:20 Katherine Hovanec: ...her reflection was related to persistence and remaining curious in the face of struggle. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:20 Katherine Hovanec 2:20 Katherine Hovanec: ...She connected to nuclear decay, local customs, policies regarding clean up after a disaster etc. (all things she is deeply interested in), and then she talked about her struggles in statistics and how applying the knowledge from chemistry gave context to what she had been attempting to master in statistics. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:20 Katherine Hovanec 2:18 Katherine Hovanec: Tony -- One of my sophomores presented on nuclear power (specifically nuclear disasters like the one in Fukashima) and the effect they have on local economies... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:18 Katherine Hovanec 2:17 Katherine Hovanec: Martha -- However, you can do SLA at any time. Ive seen and done both, but I think it is most effective when the SLA is *the unit* and the teacher is assessing skills throughout. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:17 Katherine Hovanec 2:17 [Comment From Tony SiddallTony Siddall: ] Katie, can you share some examples of projects that students have created? I imagine some surprising/interesting stuff comes out when students design the projects themselves. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:17 Tony Siddall 2:17 Madeline Will: That sounds like really cool work, Katie. We have a question asking for more specifics: Thursday June 15, 2017 2:17 Madeline Will 2:15 Katherine Hovanec: Martha -- It is both. All year long the students have been reflecting on their 21st century skills and challenges related to those skills. This presentation is a culminating assessment. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:15 Katherine Hovanec 2:14 [Comment From MarthaMartha: ] Is this a year-end SLA or a unit-end SLA? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:14 Martha 2:14 Madeline Will: Katie, heres a quick question from Martha - Thursday June 15, 2017 2:14 Madeline Will 2:13 Katherine Hovanec: ...and as an English teacher, I am assessing their analysis, organization, media to support an oral presentation, and non-verbal skills. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:13 Katherine Hovanec 2:11 Katherine Hovanec: The students are connecting humanities, STEM, and elective courses to extra-curricular experiences. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:11 Katherine Hovanec 2:11 [Comment From MarthaMartha: ] Choice is not central to SLA? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:11 Martha Shannon King: Hi Martha! Choice is absolutely central. I guess we infer that when we say the process is meaningful to the student. Shannon King 2:10 Katherine Hovanec: I have students presenting their final projects this week. They are oral presentations with students making interdisciplinary connections and commenting upon their growth as a result of being challenged. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:10 Katherine Hovanec 2:09 Madeline Will: Katie, could you give us some examples of what this might look like in your classroom? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:09 Madeline Will 2:08 Shannon King: Anytime students are reflecting on their learning and articulating what they know and are able to do, that counts in terms of SLA. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:08 Shannon King 2:08 Shannon King: These assessment experiences are NOT limited to paper and pencil assessment--those tests we typically think of when we talk about assessment. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:08 Shannon King 2:07 Shannon King: During our work as a NIC, we have developed the following design principles as important to include as part of student-led assessment experiences: 1. Students are active participants in the process 2. Process is meaningful to the student 3. Demonstrates student learning or growth 4. Feedback is provided throughout the process not just at the end 5. Student self-assessment is integral to the process 6. Equity: These opportunities are accessible to ALL students Thursday June 15, 2017 2:07 Shannon King 2:06 Shannon King: Student-led assessment involves students as stakeholders in their learning process. This means that students need opportunities for meaningful learning and they need to reflect on that learning. They also need feedback from their teachers and peers so they can set goals for their future learning and ultimately measure their growth toward both mastery of the content and 21st c. outcomes. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:06 Shannon King 2:05 Madeline Will: So lets address the number one question right off the bat: What does a student-led assessment look like? Shannon, could you give us the big picture definition? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:05 Madeline Will 2:04 Shannon King: Our pleasure! Thursday June 15, 2017 2:04 Shannon King 2:03 Madeline Will: Thank you both for being here! Thursday June 15, 2017 2:03 Madeline Will 2:03 Shannon King: I currently help lead a 11 district VA Networked Improvement Community that is focused on exploring student-led assessment. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:03 Shannon King 2:03 Katherine Hovanec: Ive been teaching in Fairfax County Public Schools for 10 years. Ive been helping students to demonstrate skills through topics of their choice for the past 5 years. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:03 Katherine Hovanec 2:03 Shannon King: ...it ties into the work weve been doing in FCPS around our Portrait of a Graduate and helping students master those 21st c. skills they need to be successful after HS. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:03 Shannon King 2:02 Shannon King: Hi there! This is Shannon. Ive been passionate about incorporating student-led assessment practices into our work because it helps better prepare students for their futures... Thursday June 15, 2017 2:02 Shannon King 2:01 Madeline Will: Shannon and Katie, will you start things off by giving us a little background about your work with student-led assessments? Thursday June 15, 2017 2:01 Madeline Will 2:01 Madeline Will: Im joined today by Shannon King, the manager of the Best Practices for Teaching & Learning program at the Fairfax County school district in Virginia, and Katie Hovanec, an English high school teacher in Fairfax. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:01 Madeline Will 2:00 Madeline Will: Hello everyone, and welcome to our chat on student-led assessments! My name is Madeline Will, and Im the assistant editor for Education Week Teacher. Thursday June 15, 2017 2:00 Madeline Will 10:13 Mike Bock: Good morning, and welcome to todays free live chat, Letting Students Take Ownership of Their Assessments, sponsored by NWEA. Ive just opened the chat for questions, so please start submitting them now. Well be back at 2 p.m. E.T. with Katie Hovanec and Shannon King. Hope to see you then. Thursday June 15, 2017 10:13 Mike Bock Student-led assessments allow students to demonstrate their learning and knowledge in a meaningful way and to reflect on their own performance. Proponents say that this form of assessment allows students to be active participants in their learning, and that it facilitates deeper learning. The Fairfax County school system is part of a network of districts in Virginia that have received grant money to experiment with different student-led assessment practices. Join Education Week for a conversation with two educators who are leading the work in this area. In this chat, Shannon King, who oversees the network, will discuss the benefits and the challenges of transitioning to student-led assessments. Katie Hovanec, an English teacher in Fairfax County schools, will discuss how she implements student-led assessments in her own classroom. Guests: Katie Hovanec, English teacher, Oakton High School, Fairfax County Public Schools, Va. Shannon King, manager of the Best Practices for Teaching & Learning program, Fairfax County Public Schools, Va. Moderator: Madeline Will , assistant editor, Education Week Teacher Share: Belarus looks to China as Russia allegedly snubs dairy imports Belarus may soon be forced to deliver dairy products to China as Russia's hygiene officials are accused of deliberately denying dairy imports by imposing bans against Belarusian dairy plants and abattoirs, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. "Russia has closed its market to us. I've come in order to start exporting to China," Alexander Mikhailovsky said. The director of a dairy plant was attending a mid-May conference which sought to help local agriculture professionals sell their products to Chinese consumers. Belarus' dairy industry is a critical sector as the country has a big number of producers. Its dairy also enjoyed a good reputation for its quality in Russia which is not able produce enough milk for its domestic market. Moreover, Belarus's landlocked geography means that it is highly dependent on Russia for trade, with 95% of its food exports directed to the latter and amounting to US$3.7 billion. Despite Moscow's contention that the bans concern hygiene issues, they bear some similarity to embargoes that Russia previously imposed on other countries in the wake of soured relations, according to AFP. Until Russia's annexation of Crimea in Ukraine in 2014, the Federation and Belarus shared a close relationship before squabbling over border controls and energy prices. Russian agricultural officials also claimed that Belarus exploited its embargo of European food imports by exporting inferior products to the country. In an interview with state television, Belarusian Agriculture Minister Leonid Zayats suggested that particular elements of Russian authorities have use their influences to turn away Belarusian producers. By May, close to 100 Belarusian dairy plants and abattoirs were impacted by restrictions which have taken various forms of implementation and degrees of severity. "We are going to sell our products to consumers who need them," Zayats commented. According to Alexander Subbotin, Belarus' chief veterinary inspector, about 30 dairy producers had been authorised to sell to China. In the first quarter of 2017, dairy exports to the Chinese market were worth US$1.3 million, more than the entire year of 2015. - Agence France-Presse A prominent Art Nouveau school building in the historical centre of Bratislava had fallen into disrepair after decades of neglect and lack of investment. The school, known as Grosslingova 18, is one of the oldest educational institutions in Slovakia, and has many well-known alumni, such as the composer Bela Bartok and Gustav Husak, the former president of Czechoslovakia. The building, more than 100 years old, was falling apart, with a crumbling exterior, dilapidated floors and deteriorating interior walls.. It was a really good school, but it was in trouble, says Marek Vlcej, an economic adviser for the Bratislava region, explaining that the renovation was critical because the building is one of the most prominent symbols of the city. After several years of restoration, the school looks as good as new today, with a perfect facade and straightened walls and floors. Teachers and students are happier, and the site is a rich example of the Bratislava regional governments push to make this southwestern corner of Slovakia more liveable and productive by upgrading buildings, improving roads and revamping cultural centres. Suffering for years The region has been suffering for years from a lack of maintenance, says Sebastian Hyzyk, an economist at the European Investment Bank. If they want to attract new investment and attract more people, then they need to offer a good level of services. Deteriorating public buildings and poor roads do not just look bad and cause safety problems in Bratislava. They also raise operating costs, hurt the economy and make people less likely to move to the area. Its quite common in Slovakia to have a lot of buildings in bad condition, Vlcej says. During more than 40 years in Communism and then the years transforming to capitalism, the system itself didnt care too much about infrastructure. Buildings were not properly built, maintained or reconstructed, and year by year the need for investment became bigger and bigger. With a population of about 620,000, the Bratislava region modelled its redevelopment plan on the Europe 2020 strategy, a 10-year initiative by the European Commission to encourage social and economic development across Europe. The region makes important contributions to the research sector and to higher education, and it is a major university hub for Slovakia, which means the workforce has a high level of education. Financing many projects at once To help regional development, the EIB signed a EUR 23 million framework loan with Bratislava in 2008. A single framework loan finances tens or even hundreds of projects in a region across different sectors. The regional government in Bratislava matched this EIB loan with an equal investment and provided knowledgeable staff to carry out the investment plan. The Bratislava region and the EIB are working on a second framework loan worth EUR 25 million that is expected to be signed soon. The EIB financing was used to repair and modernize historic buildings replacing roofs, improving water pipes, upgrading electrical components, adding new heating and ventilation systems. The loans also helped rebuild and soundproof an 1880s Conservatory in the historical centre of the city, where students come from across the region to take lessons. The improvements helped both teachers and students concentrate more on the music. Finally, the money tackled many problems related to severe flooding in the Carpathian Mountains, fixing or replacing washed-out roads and bridges and repairing broken water pipes and downed power lines. The EIB, which opened an office in Bratislava in 2016, made EUR 874 million in loans to Slovakia in 2016. Infrastructure projects represented 63 percent of the loans, with 28 percent of the loans going to small- and medium-size enterprises and 9 percent focused on the environment. Over the past five years, the EIB has provided EUR 3.4 billion in loans to the country. There is still a lot of work to do in the region and the long-term investment plans reflect this need. Many schools, social services institutions, cultural buildings and secondary roads suffer from a backlog of repairs. But the regions leaders are doing much more today to fix old problems. The Bratislava region is one of the fastest-growing regions in Europe according to the European Commission, Vlcej says. The location is perfect and its a place where people should expect a good future, but there are a lot of challenges ahead in the areas of traffic, roadways, public transportation and the environment. This must have been such a fun storyline to work on. How did it come about? It has been so much fun, I am a bit sad that it is coming to an ... Dear @IlhanMN, I hear you plan to go on a fact-finding tour of Israel. In fact, Israel is doing pretty well. Its, Somalia, your native country, that could truly use your formidable skills. Maybe you could use your frequent flyer miles and swing by. On 17 May 2017, the union cabinet gave its approval for the construction of 10 more 700 megawatt (MW) pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) (IANS 2017). These PHWRs will be in addition to four such reactors already under construction. The cabinet secretariat's official press release read like a sales pitch, and claimed that the construction of these 10 reactors would "help transform Indian nuclear industry" and that it would "be a major step towards strengthening India's credentials as a major nuclear manufacturing powerhouse" (Press Information Bureau 2017). The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) put out their own press releases, profusely hailing the decision (NPCIL 2017c; DAE 2017). The reality underlying these announcements is far less spectacular. Plans for building many PHWRs have been enunciated in the past, and have not materialised. A more careful reading of the announcement suggests that it is targeted at persuading the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to accept India as a member and winning over sections of capital that hope to profit from supplying components for nuclear power plants. This publicity blitz notwithstanding, nuclear power will continue to be an expensive and relatively minor source of electricity for the foreseeable future. Planning History The chosen designs for the 10 reactors, the 700 MW PHWR, is one that the Indian nuclear establishment has evolved over the decades, starting with the original 220 MW design imported from Canada (Bhardwaj 2006). Of the 22 nuclear reactors operating in India today, 14 are 220 MW PHWRS and they account for about 3,080 MW of the total installed nuclear capacity of 6,780 MW, which in turn constitutes 2.1% of the total electricity generation capacity in the country. Apart from a few other smaller and older plants, the rest of this total capacity is largely provided by the two 540 MW PHWRs operating in Tarapur, and the two imported 1,000 MW light water reactors (LWRs) at Kudankulam. The DAE has been planning to build a fleet of 700 MW PHWRs for a long time, and so the government's decision is neither "bold" nor new, and simply constitutes one more step in this direction. In 2007, the DAE announced that as part of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (200712), "work on 8 700 MWe of indigenous reactors totalling 5,600 MWe capacity" would commence (NI 2007). Of these, fourreactors are already under constructiontwo each at Kakrapar (Gujarat) and Rawatbhata (Rajasthan). Construction of Kakrapar3 and Kakrapar4 began in November 2010 and March 2011 respectively (NPCIL 2017a), whereas Rajasthan7 and Rajasthan8 began in July and September 2011 respectively (NPCIL 2017b). In December 2012, the government stated in the Rajya Sabha that work on eight more 700 MW reactors would commence during the Twelfth Five Year Plan (201217) at Kaiga, Chutka, Gorakhpur, and Mahi Banswara (Narayanasamy 2012). However, none of these projects began during the Twelfth Plan. Although not mentioned in the official press releases, media reports suggest that these are the very sites targeted for the current approval. This history suggests that the recent announcement is largely a public relations spin on existing plans that had already been set in motion by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The Export Story The government's announcement also recycles other old tropes. For example, it plays up the role of this effort in "strengthening India's credentials as a major nuclear manufacturing powerhouse." This is the latest in a long sequence of efforts by the nuclear establishment to position itself as an exporter of nuclear reactors. The DAE's rhetorical desire to export nuclear technology dates back to the early 1990s (see, for example, ToI 1990). But claims about the potential for nuclear reactor exports multiplied during the debate over the USIndia nuclear deal between 2005 and 2008, and have continued since then. The rationale for these claimsapart from burnishing the institutional credentials of the DAEwas to persuade members of the NSGto see India as good enough to be admitted to the club. This diplomatic effort, initiated by the UPA government, has been adopted by the Narendra Modi government. Despite its embarrassing failure to do so last year, the government appears to be launching arenewed effort to join the NSG by making claims about exports of Indian PHWRs. However, the nuclear establishment's efforts at obtaining export orders for its reactors have not been particularly successful. In 2007, for example, the chairman of NPCIL announced that the company was "considering exporting small and medium reactors (220 MW to 700 MW) to countries in the Asian region" and that "Thailand and Cambodia have held preliminary talks with NPCIL for reactors as they are satisfied with NPCIL's safety and operational capabilities" (Wadke and Subramanian 2007). In 2009, it was the turn of a different country and NPCIL announced that a "proposal for reactor sales to Kazakhstan is already on the anvil, with discussions between NPCIL and the Central Asian nation's nuclear utility Kazatomprom at an advanced stage" (Bureau 2009). The same year, DAE Secretary Anil Kakodkar announced that India had made an export version of its advanced heavy water reactor design, called the AHWRLEU, which would use low enriched uranium (LEU) instead of the plutonium used in the original AHWR design. The target for this reactor design was to be developing countries "with modest industrial infrastructure" (WNN 2009).1 None of these countries have so far purchased any reactors from India. Nor is it likely that there will be any sales in the near future. Around the world, nuclear power, as a share of electricity generated, is on the decline, from the historical maximum of 17.6% in 1996 to under 11% in 2015 (BP 2015; Ramana 2016). Although there is much talk of new countries adopting nuclear power, as of 2016, only two new countries were actually building reactorsBelarus and the United Arab Emirates (Schneider and Froggatt 2016: 13). Just about every reactor sold in the last decade or more has been a LWR and prospects for the export of Indian PHWRs are bleak. Corporate Handouts A second target for the announcement is evidently the various corporations that profit from supplying equipment to nuclear power plants. All of the official announcements specifically mentioned these companies. NPCIL commented on the approval generating "confidence in the Indian nuclear industry about the continuity of business as it would provide orders over a period of time" and how it "would also help the Indian industry evolve, augment its capacities and capabilities" (NPCIL 2017c). The DAE's press release, a statement from a group of retired nuclear bureaucrats, talked about "new enthusiasm and optimism among equipment manufacturing industry", predicting that it "is poised to grow in tandem with our programme, bringing India to the frontline of global nuclear manufacturing and supply chain" (DAE 2017). Most importantly, the government press release talked about "likely manufacturing orders of close to 70,000 crores" being given to domestic industry (Press Information Bureau 2017). Although there are a number of such corporations, a few of them capture most of the contracts. Historically, some of the prominent companies involved in such supplies are Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Walchandnagar, and Tata Consulting Engineers. Most of these corporate entities naturally welcomed the government's announcement. The director of L&T called the move "bold and historic" (Reuters 2017). Likewise, the chief operating officer of Godrej & Boyce termed it a "visionary" step (Bureau 2017). Many of these companies had been hoping for major contracts from imported reactors. Take the case of L&T. In 2008, its top official had publicly expressed the expectation that it would get offers of around 24,000 crore per year for 10 years (MC 2008). In April 2015, L&T signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with French company Areva to carry out some of the manufacture for the EPR reactor planned for construction in Jaitapur (PTI 2015). Kalyani Group company Bharat Forge had earlier signed an MoU with Areva for the manufacture of forgings related to nuclear plants (Staff 2009). Tata Consulting Engineers had signed a preliminary contract with General Electric Hitachi "to collaborate in areas such as workforce skills identification and development, as well as early feasibility design studies, product and project engineering work" (GEH 2010). In late 2015, in anticipation of reactor imports from the US, the chairman of the Godrej Group, Adi Godrej, excitedly said, "There will be a huge opportunity". And the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walchandnagar Group was "very hopeful that before the end of the financial year enquiries [would] start to come in" (Reuters 2015). Although this bonanza from imported reactors has not materialised, contracts for nuclear plants can still be very large and profitable. For example, in March 2009, L&T received a 345 crore order for four steam turbines for Kakrapar3 and Kakrapar4, and in September 2009, two orders worth 405 crore (Larsen & Toubro 2009a, b). In December 2012, it received an order valued at "over 732 crores" (Larsen & Toubro 2012). It is likely that the number of large privatesector companies involved in the nuclear reactor business will expand in the coming years, and the recent announcement should be seen as a strategy to win over those sections of capital. Cost Ultimately, the cost of these handouts and efforts to woo NSG members will be paid by the public. Each of these 10 reactors will be hugely expensive propositions, as suggested by the 70,000 crore figure for manufacturing orders mentioned in the official announcement. Although the government has not so far provided a cost projection, we can come up with a rough estimate on the basis of earlier experience. We can start with the last two PHWRs under construction, Rajasthan7 and Rajasthan8. Construction of these began six years ago and they were estimated to cost 12,320 crore or about 6,160 crore per reactor (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation 2012). These projects have been delayed by at least two years due to what the government terms "major equipments supply constraints," referring to the inability of commercial manufacturers to manufacture components for these reactors on schedule. This itself suggests that the government's plan to manufacture 10 reactors in "fleet mode" may be overly ambitious. Delays inevitably lead to an escalation in cost. Although the government has not announced the precise cost escalation at the Kakrapar and Rajasthan projects, even a very conservative estimate using just the additional cost of debt servicing in building the project over seven rather than five years suggests an escalation of about 15% in costs. In addition, the construction cost index for power sector projects has gone up by more than 20% (CIDC 2017). Putting these factors together suggests that even if construction were to be started immediately, each new 700 MW PHWR would cost about 8,500 crore, and 10 PHWRs would cost 85,000 crore. The true cost is likely to be even higher. This highcost implies that the electricity from these reactors is likely to be more expensive than electricity from competing sources of energyeven if the comparison is restricted to socalled base load sources, such as coal, natural gas, and hydroelectric power. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power have also declined in cost. As we have discussed earlier (Raju and Ramana 2013; Ramana 2007), the government's tariff model for nuclear power hides several indirect costs. These include an inconsistent accounting of the timevalue of the equity invested in nuclear plants, and significant subsidies for the heavy water that is used in PHWRs. We will explore this issue in a forthcoming article. Evaluation Announcements are, of course, easier than delivery. There has been a history of the nuclear establishment setting ambitious targets and making tall claims. A particularly relevant example dates back to 1984, when the DAE announced that it would be constructing a number of PHWRs (CAG 1999). That plan involved building 12 235 MW PHWR units and 10 500 MW units by 2000, which were to bring the country's nuclear power generation capacity to 10,000 MW by the turn of the century (Ramanna 1985). That did not happen. Instead, as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found in 1999, the "actual additional generation of power" from this plan "was nil in spite of having incurred an expenditure of 5,291.48 crore." Installed nuclear capacity at the end of 2000 was 2,720 MW, less than a third of the target. Plans to import LWRs from France and the US have also failed. Plans for imported LWRs were announced at the beginning of the decade as part of a new target of 20,000 MW by 2020 (Chidambaram 2001). But these import plans did not, for the most part, become serious till the 2008 decision by the NSG to lift the ban on nuclear trade with India. At that time, NPCIL assumed that construction of the first imported LWR would start in 2008 and the reactor would start operating in 2014 (Thakur 2008: 62). But,as of May 2017, there has been no reactor imported as a result of the NSG waiver. Nuclear power targets have also fallen. Following the 2008 NSG waiver, nuclear power targets swelled and, in 2010, the DAEsecretary announced a target of 35,000 MW by 2020 (PTI 2010). By 2015, the target was a mere 14,600 MW by 202021 (Sasi 2015). Considering that the current official capacity is 6,780 MW, and that only the Rajasthan and Kakrapar projects and the prototype fast breeder reactor are likely to be completed by then, total nuclear capacity will probably touch 10,080 MW by 2020. The fruitless pursuit of imported LWRs suggests that it would be fallacious to assume that all the 10 PHWRs will be constructed. It is almost certain, going by history, that they will not be constructed on time. The four 700 MW PHWRs under construction have all been delayed. The initial commissioning dates were December 2015 for the two Kakrapar units and December 2016 for the Rajasthan units (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation 2012: 32). As of December 2016, Unit 3 at Kakrapar was expected to become critical by November 2017, and Unit 4 is expected to start six to seven months later (IANS 2016). The Rajasthan units are expected to start about a year later (Chaffee 2016). Practically all reactors constructed by the DAE and NPCIL have suffered delays and cost overruns (Ramana 2012). Changes in the Power Sector While nuclear power has been suffering delays and overruns, an important change has occurred on the supply side of India's power sectora rapid increase in renewable energy. For many years now, wind and solar power have delivered more electricity to the grid than nuclear energy. The Central Electric Authority (CEA) reports that between April 2016 and March 2017 renewable energy sources together generated 81.9 TWh, more than twice the 37.9 TWh generated by nuclear power. According to the CEA, renewable energy is expected to contribute about 20% and 24% of the total energy requirement in 202122 and 202627 respectively (Central Electric Authority 2016: 6.13). Even if these figures do not come true, the direction in which renewable energy is heading is clear. In contrast, the CEA projects that the share of nuclear energy will stay roughly constant, around 2% of all electricity generated in the country. Nuclear power, then, will continue to be a minor source of electricity for India. Conclusion In its press release, NPCIL declared that its mission was to "produce nuclear power as a safe, environmentally benign and economically viable source of electrical energy to meet the increasing electricity needs of the country" (2017c). The reality, however, is that nuclear power is neither safe nor environmentally benign, given the risk of catastrophic accidents and the production of radioactive waste. The high costs involved in generating nuclear energy imply that it cannot be an economically viable means of meeting the electricity needs of the millions in India without access to power. The announcement about building 10 PHWRs fits a pattern, often seen with the current government, where it trumpets a routine decision to bolster its "bold" credentials. Most of the plants that were recently approved have been in the pipeline for years. Nevertheless, there is good reason to be sceptical of these plans given that similar plans to build large numbers of reactors have failed to meet their targets, often falling far short. Neither is there a high likelihood of reactor exports. The media hype surrounding this announcement, and the effort and the expense invested in it, is a revealing indicator of the style of functioning of the Modi government. Note 1 The purpose of the plutonium or the LEU is to provide the initial fission reactions to produce neutrons that would go on to converting the thorium into uranium233, which would then undergo fission reactions and produce energy. References Bhardwaj, S A (2006): "The Future 700 MWe Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor," Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol 236, pp 86171. BP (2015): Statistical Review of World Energy 2015, London: BP: http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/aboutbp/energyeconomics/statisticalreviewofworldenergy.html. Bureau (2009): "NPCIL Embarks on Marketing Drive for Reactors," Business Line, 21 June. (2017): "70,000crore Investment Proposal to Set Off Chain Reaction in NEnergy," Economic Times, 18 May. 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ReactorID=91./ (2017b): "Plants under Construction Rajasthan Atomic Power Project", Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd,http://www.npcil.nic.in/main/ConstructionDetail.aspx?ReactorID=87. (2017c): "Mega Impetus for Nuclear PowerCabinet Approves 10 New Indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors," Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, 18 May, http://www.npcil.nic.in/pdf/news_18may2017_01.pdf . Press Information Bureau (2017): Press Release on Cabinet's decision to transform domestic nuclear industry, 17 May, Department of Atomic Energy, http://dae.nic.in/?q=node/973. PTI (2010): "NPower Generation to Touch 35,000mw by 2020: AEC Chief," India Today, http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Npowergenerationtotouch35,000mwby2020:AECchief/1/89269.html. (2015): "L&T, Areva Sign MoU for Cooperation on Jaitapur Nuclear Plant," Livemint, 11 April. Raju, S and Ramana, M V (2013): "Cost of Electricity from the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant," Economic & Political Weekly, Vol 48, pp 5160. Ramana, M V (2007): "Heavy Subsidies in Heavy Water", Economic & Political Weekly, Vol 42, pp 348390. (2012): The Power of Promise: Examining Nuclear Energy in India, New Delhi: Penguin India. (2016): "Second Life or Halflife? The Contested Future of Nuclear Power and its Potential Role in a Sustainable Energy Transition," in F Kern (ed.), Energy Transitions. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp 36396. Ramanna, R (1985): "Can Nuclear Energy Claim to be the Only Source of Power in the Future? C. C. Desai Memorial Lecture, Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, Bombay: Department of Atomic Energy. Reuters (2015): "Indian Manufacturers Like Larsen & Toubro and Walchandnagar Industries Target Orders from Revived Nuclear Power Push," Economic Times, 24 Dec. (2017): "Indian Cabinet Approves Plans to build 10 Nuclear Reactors", Reuters India, 18 May. Sasi, A (2015): "PMO Sets Target: Hike NPower Capacity ThreeFold in 10 Years," Indian Express, 2 Feb,http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indiaothers/pmosetstargethikenpowercapacitythreefoldin10years/. Schneider, M and Froggatt, A (2016): The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016, Paris: Mycle Schneider Consulting, http://www.worldnuclearreport.org/TheWorldNuclearIndustryStatusReport2016HTML.html. Singh, J (2016): "Unstarred Question No 146: Investment in Atomic Energy Sector," New Delhi: Lok Sabha; http://www.dae.nic.in/writereaddata/parl/winter2016/lsus146.pdf. Staff (2009): "Bharat Forge and AREVA Sign MoU for manufacture of heavy forgings in India," Forging, 6 Feb, http://forgingmagazine.com/materialsmro/bharatforgeandarevasignmoumanufactureheavyforgingsindia. Thakur, S (2008): "Economics of Nuclear Power in the Indian Context," Atoms for Peace, Vol 2, No 1, pp 5967. ToI (1990): "Export Nuclear Tech: Iyengar," Times of India, 14 May. Wadke, R and Subramanian, T S (2007): "30,000 MW to be Added Using Imported NFuel," Business Line, 16 Aug. WNN (2009): "Thoriumfuelled Exports Coming From India", World Nuclear News, 17 Sep; http://www.worldnuclearnews.org/NP_Thorium_exports_coming_from_India_1709091.html. The European Union and Ukraine discussed human rights during their annual Human Rights Dialogue on Wednesday (13 June) in Kyiv. Both sides reiterated their commitment to common values, in particular full respect for democratic principles, rule of law, good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms. Both sides have expressed their concerns over the further deterioration of the human rights situation in Crimea following the annexation by the Russian Federation. The situation of Crimean Tatars was also discussed under the pretext of fighting terrorism, authorities took arbitrary legal action against some Crimean Tatar activists in retaliation for their nonviolent opposition to Russias occupation. The EU and Ukraine condemned the human rights violations and abuses in the areas of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are not under full control of the Ukrainian government where local security services operate in an absence of the rule of law. Both Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine detained many civilians for collaborating with the other side, held them in arbitrary detention and deprived them of contact with lawyers or family. The EU and Ukraine are committed to mitigate the humanitarian impact on civilians of the conflict, also keeping in mind the protection of the human rights of internally displaced persons. Both sides also talked about the prevention of ill-treatment and torture and the ongoing reforms in the area of law enforcement. Brussels also additionally called for more progress in the investigations into the crimes committed during the EuroMaidan protests and the violent events in Odessa on 2 May 2014, emphasizing the need to address the shortcomings identified by the International Advisory Panel of the Council of Europe. EU diplomacy chief Federica Mogherini said that the EU has a unique role to play in supporting peace making processes around the world, taking the lead globally on issues from sustainable development and climate change to the promotion of free trade. The EU also promotes partnership and dialogue in its foreign policy and security making, Mrs. Mogherini pointed out and stressed that we dialogue with everyone and we always look for common ground. We believe that there is always a possibility to work together and to find solutions that are not zero-sum solutions. Mrs. Mogherini said that this approach to foreign policy has delivered positive results, especially when dealing with Iran since the 2015 nuclear deal. She added that the EU was still continuing its engagement with Tehran because we had just ten days ago the sixth International Atomic Energy Agency report, saying that the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] agreement is fully implemented. So we are defeating all these skeptics who first were betting on the impossibility to have an agreement, then on the impossibility of having the agreement starting to be put in place when we got to the implementation day, and then were saying in any case it will never hold; and now we are getting close to the second year and for the sixth time the IAEA says that it is fully implemented. Mrs. Mogherini further said that the EU would make sure that Tehran keeps the deal, adding that the agreement did not belong to any single country it belongs to the international community and as far as the European Union is concerned and all the Member States, we will make sure that the agreement continues to be in place and our policy of engagement with Iran will continue. She also added that the EU was confident that the United States would also stick to the deal despite the anti-Iran stance of President Donald Trump. The divide between the European Union and Russia is getting wider, in fact wider than those in Brussels who are calling for a rapid normalization of relations with Moscow out of ideological or economic reasons think. While normalization is very unlikely to happen this year, what is at stake is much more than the bilateral relationship between the EU and Russia it is the very nature of the EU and Russia themselves. Moscow hopes that given the changes in Washington coupled with its own domestic challenges, the EU will soften its stance on the conflict in Ukraine and especially the sanctions. Getting the sanctions removed is one of Russias most immediate objectives. On the flip side, the EU is mostly concerned about the future of the bloc and the strength of its transatlantic link and especially NATO the most tangible expression of the current rift between Brussels and Washington. The recent history shows that Moscow knows how to exploit anything vulnerable in the EU-US relations and the period of Euro-Atlantic crisis seems propitious for adventurous moves by the Kremlin. Brussels and Moscow no longer see each other as strategic partners and this is not going to change in the near future but still their relations will continue to be strategic for both sides. While the evolution of each will have a direct and meaningful impact on the other, the Kremlin has displayed increasing determination to challenge Brussels strategically in two sensitive areas: in the ideological dimension and the shared neighborhood, though this very expression greatly irritates Russia. On top of the rattle around the word strategic, the clash of perceptions and symbolism will play a central role in the geopolitical dispute between Brussels and Moscow in the years to come. From the European perspective, the struggle is about how to contain Russian aggressiveness and figure out what its objectives are. The EU is simply weighting how to respond to the many uncertainties produced by the Kremlin. From the Russian perspective, movements in Ukraine and Syria are both defensive as well as meant to restore the balance previously violated by the West. In the foreseeable future, the lack of trust will remain the main obstacle in the mutual relations between both sides. Vladimir Putin still perceives the EU and European values to be a potential existential threat and the EU actively believes that Russia is encouraging all parties with an anti-EU agenda. To describe this very complex situation simply as incompatibility of geopolitical approaches would be a serious understatement to be more accurate, it is the area of influence/control that Moscow claims against the progressive European integration that is driving the EUs foreign policy. Moreover, Moscow wants to position itself as a political alternative model for the EUs xenophobic right wing and populist left. All of this shows that the paradigm of Russian modernization and its progressive integration into a shared European space, which has shaped the EU-Russia relations for the past twenty-five years, is no longer appropriate. Another one must replace it and be based on new foundations. No Reset in Sight: The EU-Russia Conflict in the Trump Era Study by Nicolas de Pedro Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB). (The Study can be downloaded here) BERLIN Poor Alexis Tsipras. For days, the Greek leader has been working the phones, trying to secure the best possible terms for his country as it enters the last mile of its seemingly endless cycle of bailouts. So far, his efforts have won him more mockery than respect especially in Germany. He keeps calling the whole time, and the chancellor says again and again, Alexis, this issue is for the finance ministers, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble told an audience here on Tuesday, referring to the Greek prime ministers attempts to win over Angela Merkel to his cause. Eurozone finance ministers are set to decide at a meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday whether to release a more than 7 billion tranche of aid to Greece. No one doubts Athens will get the money. Schauble all but committed to it on Tuesday. But Tsipras wants something even more precious: debt relief. No serious economist believes Greece will ever crawl out from under its more than 300 billion debt without significant forgiveness from its creditors. That means convincing Germany, the country to which Greece owes the most. Truth is, Europe stopped listening to Greece a long time ago. For much of Greeces nearly decade-long depression, the country was hostage to its domestic politics. Now, its hostage to Germanys. Berlin, which has long opposed outright debt relief, refuses to budge. With a general election in Germany set for late September, Merkel and Schauble are unlikely to soften their position anytime soon. The Greek bailouts remain politically toxic in Germany, and any agreement involving debt forgiveness would be seen domestically as an admission the rescue effort had failed and at the German taxpayers expense. Over the years, Germany has quietly accepted more subtle forms of forgiveness, like extending maturities on Greeces loans and reducing the interest burden. But a straightforward cut, as demanded by the International Monetary Fund, remains out of the question. At least until after the election. Unfortunately for Tsipras, he has very little say in the matter. One big reason he wants debt relief now is that it would allow the European Central Bank to include Greece in its bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing. That would go a long way toward boosting investor confidence in Greeces stability. But Greece wont be eligible for the program as long as its debt burden isnt deemed sustainable. And with the ECBs program set to be wound down soon, Greece may never benefit Tsipras may yet try to resist a deal this week and take the matter to next weeks summit of European leaders in Brussels. Thats unlikely to make much difference. Truth is, Europe stopped listening to Greece a long time ago. Gone are the days when talk of Grexit (Brexits forgotten sire) triggered a nervous tick across financial traders faces. Today, mention of Greece is more likely to elicit a glazed look, if not a yawn. With the countrys debt safely out of the hands of the credit markets and in the vaults of the ECB and Europes treasuries, Athens can no longer rattle the global financial system. Tsipras didnt understand that dynamic until after he and his leftist Syriza coalition were elected in early 2015. Syriza won by promising to reverse much of the austerity creditors had imposed on Greece over the years. Buoyed by the victory, Tsipras held a referendum on whether the government should accept bailout terms negotiated by his predecessor. Voters response was clear: Oxi, No. Then reality set in. Faced with the collapse of Greeces banking system, exit from the eurozone and a future even bleaker than the present, Tsipras and his band of leftist firebrands came to heel. Yanis Varoufakis, the rockstar finance minister who once advocated sticking the finger to Germany, was forced out. Ever since, Tsipras has largely complied with creditors demands for further budget cuts and economic overhauls. Berlin and its partners confronted his occasional bouts of resistance with simple patience. In the end, they knew the Greek leader would have no choice but to relent. Time and again, they were proven right. Just last month, Tsipras pushed through cuts to pensions, a move once unthinkable. From the beginning of the crisis, part of Germanys strategy for dealing with Greece has been not to make the process too easy. Though German officials wont say so publicly, making an example of Greece has always been part of their plan. And its worked. Across Europe, Greece has become synonymous with economic incompetence. Officials in other European capitals refer to Athens like a wayward, unrepentant relative. No one wants to be like Greece. Greece is de facto a colony, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said in an interview with POLITICO, explaining his countrys resistance to joining the euro. We dont want to repeat this scenario. Last week, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde proposed a sleight of hand that would allow the bailout to go forward. Despite the challenges that reputation poses, Greece is holding out hope that it will ultimately get what it wants. For one, the IMF has been on its side for more than a year, refusing to participate in the bailout unless theres debt relief. Germanys parliament made its approval of the bailout in 2015 contingent on the participation of the IMF, which lawmakers regard as a guarantor that the process wont be skewed in Athens favor. That has led to a protracted standoff. Last week, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde proposed a sleight of hand that would allow the bailout to go forward. The IMF would formally join but not release any funds until after the Europeans spell out what kind of debt relief they will accept. If that happens at all, it wont be until after the German election. In the meantime, Tsipras has little choice but to heed the wishes of his colonial masters. : politico.eu Written by ACM *Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- EU Parliament's Biggest Group of MEPs' President, Manfred Weber, that of EPP, from the Governing ChristianDemocrat Party in Germany, speaking Today to "Eurofora", appeared Upbeat on EU's Security/Defense policy perspectives, including in relation to its possible contribution in the Peaceful ReUnification of EU Member Cyprus, under UN auspices, which might be Soon discussed at a Multilateral Top level Conference at nearby Geneva, (See Infra). - "There is really a Momentum" on that Now, President Weber Positively replied to an "Eurofora" Question about whether he believed feasible for an Effective "Push" on CFSP to be accomplished "between June and December 2017" EU Summits. Topicaly, EU Parliament's ChristianDemocrat/EPP Group President, Topicaly spoke to "Eurofora" at the Eve of Wednesday's forthcoming Plenary Debate of MEPs on Next Week's EU Summit in Brussels, 22-23 June 2017. A particularly Interesting, Concrete case in which EU's Security/Defence Policy might, eventualy, make a useful Contribution for Peace, Stability and Development in and around Europe, is also that of Cyprus' peaceful ReUnification process, which had been practicaly stalled, since January, mainly because of Turkey's insistant Claim for a Right to Unilateral Military Intervention even in the Future, added to the maintenance of Ankara's Troops at the Island, (which, in case of Agreement, will become Entirely, 100% integrated as EU Member State, including its currently semi-Occupied Northern Territories) : - Could, there, EU's emerging Security/Defense capabiliies, in Cooperation with the UNO, perhaps Find an Imaginative way to ensure Security both to Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, in the foreseable Future ?, "Eurofora" asked. - "I think that it should be part of the Negotiations" under UN Auspices and with EU Participation at Geneva's Multilateral High-Level Conference, (which could resume on June 28, if sufficient preparations are made at Bilateral Talks in Cyprus, until then) President Weber Replied to "Eurofora". - "Yes, Absolutely !", agreed also Weber on the possibility for Cyprus' ReUnification to be "one of the First Tasks" for the imminent development of EU's Security/Defense policy, particularly in Helping Guarantee Stability up to EU's Neighborhood. + "Thank you for making me Aware, about this", he kindly concluded on this Topical point, speaking to "Eurofora" with a smile, just before his imminent visit to Greece, later this week. Interestingly, Weber's forthcoming move in that area practicaly coincides also with a new Trilateral Summit between Cyprus, Greece and Israel, in which will participate President Anastasiades and Prime Ministers Tsipras and Netanyahou, respectively, as well as their Foreign Ministers, in Athens, where the ChristianDemocrat/EPP Group's President is due to meet also the Main National Opposition's Leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Head of "New Democracy" Party, (Comp., f.ex., recently : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/anticorruptionproeugreekformerprieministerdies.html , and from the latest Mitsotakis' declarations at EPP's Summit in Brussels : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/greekmainoppositionleaderonbrexitukinurope.html). + Moreover, Weber spoke with "Eurofora" just before a subsequent Debate with EU Commission's President, Jean-Claude Juncker, Later this Evening, at the Beginning of EPP Group's collective Meeting in EU Parliament in Strasbourg. Juncker has just Returned back from a Special High-level European Conference in Prague, (Czech Republic), precisely Focused on EU's CFSP. and will also lead MEP's Debate, Tomorrow Morning in EU Parliament in Strasbourg, about the current perspectives of the forthcoming EU Heads of State/Government in Brussels Next Week, (Comp. Supra). However, Questioned Briefly by "Eurofora", Later on this same Evening, Juncker, exceptionaly, didN't seem fixed on whether he might personaly participate in an eventual UN-sponsored Multilateral High-Level Conference on Cyprus in Geneva, (Comp. Supra), as he had already done on January 2017, at least not for the Time being. Strategicaly located EU Member Cyprus' Top Political Developments have also a Growing Economic Interest for the entire EU, given also the recent Perspectives for even More Oil-Gas Findings in South-Eastern Mediterranean Sea, beween Cyprus, Israel and Egypt, for which the EU is preparing also "East-MED" Pipeline projcet, for Energy Transport Directly into the EU. Questioned by "Eurofora" at Different occasions in the Pest, in Strasbourg and Brussels, French new President Macron, and EU Commission's vice-President competent for Enegry, Sefcovic, found that those Energy-related moves around Cyprus, already "are a Big Chance for All" , and, perhaps, "a Second Norway" Horizon, in the foreseable Future, (respectively : See http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/frencheconomyministermacronegyptisraelcyprusgaspipelinebigchance.html + http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/eucommissionersefcoviconcyprusenergy.html ). But, independent and Direct, new EU Energy sources, obviously also need an adequat EU Security and Defense policy, to help respect Europe's and its Friends' elementary Rights, (Comp.: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/mepurgesactiobvturkishthreatsoncyprusenergyrources.html). (../..) ------------------------------------ *** ("DraftNews", as already send to "Eurofora" Subscribers/Donors, earlier. A more accurate, full Final Version, might be Published asap). The crude oil bulls had been waiting for the US driving season to spur gasoline demand, which was expected to increase the drawdown in crude oil inventory. However, on Wednesday, the US Energy Information Administration reported a gasoline build of 2.1 million barrels. Gasoline inventory level at 242.4 million barrels is 9% above the five-year average. Compared to the previous year, gasoline demand is down 1.2% in the past four weeks. Though the US crude oil inventories fell by 1.66 million-barrels, the decrease was below the analyst expectations of 2.45 million barrels of drawdown. All these data dampened sentiment and led to a sharp fall in crude oil prices. Weve been running at historically high levels on the refinery side, which is pushing out more product. The gasoline build was negative as well and thats one of the things the market has been watching, Nick Holmes, director at Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC in Leawood Kansas, which manages $16 billion in energy-related assets, told Bloomberg. Obviously again, disappointing crude draw today relative to the market consensus. OPEC is failing to curb the supply glut "OPEC 2017 year-to-date exports are only down by 0.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from the October 2016 baseline," analysts at AB Bernstein said. OPEC and its allies efforts to remove about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil supply have not been successful. OPEC member nations Nigeria and Libya which are exempt from production cuts have been ramping production. The US production has also increased by 10% over the last year. "Production growth in Libya and Nigeria and continued rig additions in the U.S. are complicating the picture, raising doubts on OPEC's strategy," AB Bernstein said, reports CNBC. Additionally, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that the non-OPEC nations like Canada, Brazil and the US will add about 1.5 million barrels of supply in 2018, which is higher than the expected demand growth of 1.4 million barrels. "Our first outlook for 2018 makes sobering reading for those producers looking to restrain supply," the IEA said in its monthly oil market report. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Hi, I am coming to live and work in Milan with my family: wife, and two kids 12 and 18. My wife will not work. My gross salary will be 120K euro/year What NET salary shall I expect per month?(after all taxes and governmental, regional overheads) Thanks This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Air Force, on track to lose 1,000 experienced pilots this year but planning to expand its annual training of new ones by the hundreds, might need to add a fifth base to teach novice fliers. The Air Education and Training Command is conducting a study to determine if another Undergraduate Pilot Training wing is needed and where it would operate, officials said. Which installation would get the new mission is anyones guess a former Air Force chief of staff said those primarily in the Southwest stand the best chance and its also unclear when the study will be done or how soon a new wing might be flying. Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph teaches instructor pilots and an Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals course, while new pilots train at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Columbus AFB in Mississippi, Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls and Vance AFB in Oklahoma. Some in the command consider a new base likely because of an Air Force directive that the AETC eventually train and graduate more than 1,600 novice pilots a year. The commands graduating cohort of new pilots last year numbered just under 1,100, the AETCs commander, Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson, said in a recent interview. It will graduate 1,400 pilots a year starting Oct. 1, 2018, but if the figure rises beyond that as now is expected AETC will have some decisions to make. That is our max capacity given the resources that we have in place, Roberson said. If we were required to go above that number, because of the airlines (competition for pilots) situation and other circumstances that we have to consider, if we had to go above 1,400 we would have to go outside our normal resource capabilities. The training command is at least a year away from having answers, but its chief spokesman, Col. Sean McKenna, said AETC is open to operating undergraduate pilot training on an existing installation not one that has been shuttered in a prior base-closure round. That decision will be made by the Air Force. The Air Force Personnel Center said its shortage stood at 1,500 pilots as of last October. There are no quick fixes for plugging the gap because the Air Force needs two years to transform a young officer into a fighter pilot. A new incentive program will see bonuses rise from $25,000 to as much as $35,000 a year. The last time the AETC produced 1,400 pilots was in the 2004 fiscal year, when the command graduated 1,405 novice aviators, said Marilyn Holliday, a spokeswoman at the training command. If a fifth base is selected for the expanded mission, it would be the first time in a decade that AETC has trained new pilots at five installations. There are other options, Roberson noted. AETC could turn to private companies, which it hasnt studied yet but is something the Air Force did during World War II. Reese AFB in Lubbock was shuttered in 1997 by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. Then-Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, had argued against it, saying it was a mistake. Essentially, it was Reese and Vance up against each other for who was going to survive, and Reese lost. And literally, I will tell you, within six months of Reese closing, the Air Force was formally briefing that they closed one too many, said retired Army Lt. Col. Dave Davis, who was a top staffer to Hutchison during the BRAC debates. The Air Forces chief of staff during the 1995 BRAC, retired Gen. Ronald Fogleman, said Reese had the two things needed for undergraduate pilot training relatively uncluttered air space and good weather. They will be principal factors in selecting a new base, Fogleman predicted, adding, If theyre really smart, they expand their search to include whatever existing facilities may be there in other services that could be modified or expanded. Are we going to look at this just through an Air Force lens, are we going to look at this through a total force lens, and does the Navy have some training facilities that might be capable of being expanded? he asked. There may be options out there. So this is the only caution that I would hope folks would keep in mind, is that this does not necessarily need to be an Air Force-only solution. It is not known if the Air Forces strategic basing process will consider other service branches. But if it did, it could open possibilities in Texas, among them Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Naval Air Station Kingsville and Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. The base in Fort Worth serves the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines, as well as the Texas Air National Guard. The one in Corpus Christi is home to a depot that repairs Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force helicopters, as well as primary and advanced Navy pilot training. Half of the Navy and Marine Corps fighter aviators are trained in Kingsville every year. Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, where the Texas Air National Guards 147th Reconnaissance Wing flies drones and the Texas Army National Guard pilots fly AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters, is an unlikely player because of congested airspace over Houston, which has two major commercial airports, Fogleman said. Other Air Force installations dot the Lone Star State, but none is a shoo-in. Besides Randolph, where AETC is headquartered, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland is busy as well, serving the Texas Air National Guards 149th Fighter Wing and the Air Force Reserves 433rd Airlift Wing. The fighter wing, which flies F-16C and D model jets, trains instructor pilots. Sheppards 80th Flying Training Wing is home to the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, billed as the worlds only internationally manned and managed pilot training school. It has trained more than 6,600 combat pilots in 36 years. Dyess AFB in Abilene hosts the 317th Airlift Group, which consists of C-130 Hercules airlift, maintenance and operations support squadrons, and the Seventh Bomb Wing, which flies the B-1B Lancer, a supersonic bomber. Fogleman, who served as Air Force chief of staff from 1994-97, noted that Cannon AFB in eastern New Mexico transitioned from a fighter training base to one under the control of the Special Operations Command. He said Holloman AFB near Alamogordo, New Mexico, and Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota are other possibly underutilized bases that a new AETC wing could call home. North Dakota has some of the clearest airspace in the country and some of its facilities dormitories among them have vacancies, Fogleman said, adding that the University of North Dakotas aviation school is one of the best in the United States. Those bases, along with others in Texas, meet the critical criteria for flying training, but, he added: When I get beyond that, I start running out of good options either because of airspace or good weather. sigc@express-news.net NEW BRAUNFELS A former staffer at Brilliant Starts Learning Academy has been sentenced to prison and probation under a plea deal that resolves numerous criminal charges related to her physical abuse of children there in late 2014. A civil suit is still pending over the conduct. Constance DiGiovanni, 53, pleaded guilty last week to injury to a child, failing to report child abuse and 20 counts of child endangerment/negligence/abandonment, court records show. The attorney for DiGiovanni, a local resident, could not be reached Wednesday. State District Judge Bruce Boyer sentenced her to three years of incarceration, fined her $1,000 and ordered her to serve five years of probation upon her release. He also directed her to make unspecified restitution to the families of the five young victims to cover counseling costs for them. Prosecutor Clay Hearrell said prison time was warranted for DiGiovanni, one of three people charged over the episode in which he said she repeatedly manhandled young children during the portion of nap time when a co-worker went to lunch and she alone supervised them. Acting on the initial complaint that she had dropped a boy on his face in December 2014, New Braunfels police reviewed video recorded at the day care on FM 1101 in the prior two weeks and identified 20 other incidents where shed treated kids roughly, Hearrell said Wednesday. We found a pattern of daily behavior where she would manhandle children, he said, noting some of the kids parents read victim impact statements into the court record at the June 5 hearing where the plea deal was finalized. The children and families suffered a betrayal of trust, Hearrell said. Its going to have a long-lasting impact on them. The incident led the state to temporarily close the business, established in 2012 by Patricia and Randel Norman, who were arrested along with DiGiovanni in April 2015. The Normans were each charged with a felony count of failing to report abuse with intent to conceal and five misdemeanor counts of failing to make a required child abuse report. But the Normans, both age 60, successfully challenged the states revocation of the day cares license in 2015 and prosecutors this spring dropped the remaining charges against them after Patricia Norman was acquitted at the trial of the first misdemeanor cases to be adjudicated. Im sickened that the Normans had to go through this whole ordeal, but ultimately the prosecution did the right thing, Billy McNabb, attorney for Randel Norman, said after the last case against the Normans was resolved. Still looming is a civil suit brought in July 2015 that accuses the business, DiGiovanni, the Normans and daughter Kallie Norman, who managed the day care, of negligence. It seeks more than $1 million in damages. The six plaintiffs in the suit, which is set for trial Sept. 11, claim DiGiovanni assaulted and abused children and that day care officials allowed her to continue working even after receiving written and verbal complaints about abusive conduct. The Normans deny the lawsuits claims of failing to properly screen, train and supervise employees, exercise ordinary care or report abuse. They also argue that they are not responsible for the conduct of other individuals. Digitized Express microfilm / Digitized Express microfilm On June 19th, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg became the first American civilians executed for wartime espionage. The couple had been convicted by a jury two years earlier of conspiracy to commit espionage and were sentenced to death by a judge. They died in the electric chair within minutes of each other in the death chamber of Sing Sing prison in Ossining, New York. Ethels brother, David Greenglass, had worked as a machinist at Los Alamos, New Mexico, during the construction of the atomic bomb. He was arrested in 1950 for spying for the Soviets. Authorities charged that Greenglass gave the USSR information that allowed that nation to build their first atomic bomb. Greenglass claimed that he had been recruited for espionage by Julius - who had been fired by the Army for being a Communist. Though they pleaded innocent, both husband and wife were arrested. Many people felt the couple had not received a fair trial or that the death sentence was too severe. Notable public figures, including Albert Einstein and Pope Pius XII, plead for clemency, but the Supreme Court denied all appeals and President Dwight D. Eisenhower rejected two pleas for clemency. Greenglass was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was released in 1960. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In his stunning defeat of Ivy Taylor, Ron Nirenberg captured precincts in the citys Latino-dominant West and South sides while also managing to chip away at the outgoing mayors voting strongholds in parts of Northwest San Antonio areas where voters favored her in the 2015 runoff with former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte. Nirenberg continued the trend he started in May, eating into the North Side precincts Taylor dominated two years ago and sweeping westward in Saturdays runoff. He racked up 176 more precincts than he did in May, out of 565 total, and managed to secure all but four of the precincts former mayoral candidate Manuel Medina won in the general election. Medina did not endorse either candidate. Taylor, on the other hand, lost about 80 precincts that she won in May. Once again, she failed to win the East Side precinct where she lives, in the historic Dignowity Hill neighborhood. Nirenberg also flipped a few East and Southeast side precincts that Taylor previously won. Ask voters across the city, and reasons for the councilmans decisive win by 9,091 votes include a mix of what he did right and what Taylor did wrong during her tenure as mayor. Gloria Rodriguez, a community organizer whos worked on the South and West sides for more than 30 years, said it was Nirenbergs platform and commitment to ethics reform that excited her. She and 100 other prominent community organizers, including Rosie Castro, mother of politicians Julian and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, and District 3 City Council candidate Jessica Guerrero, teamed up to get the word out to South Side voters. He was a listener open, transparent, analytical, said Rodriguez, who twice ran for City Council unsuccessfully. Once Medina was out of the race, voters Rodriguez knew werent keen to switch to Taylor due to a variety of issues, she said. This included her 2013 vote against the citys nondiscrimination ordinance, which added protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The vote haunted Taylor for the rest of her tenure but also helped crystallize her relationship with more conservative North Side residents. More recently, Taylors opposition to the citys lawsuit against Texas Senate Bill 4, the anti-sanctuary cities bill that would give law enforcement the authority to question immigration status of those arrested and detained, didnt go over well with South and West Side voters, who are majority Latino, Rodriguez said. I worked the polls and heard people say, We cant have a person whos not willing to represent me in this law that discriminates against us, she said. Taylor has said she was against the lawsuit for the potential cost to taxpayers. Rodriguez said voters she spoke to also liked that Nirenberg regularly talked about traffic, neighborhoods and managed growth, issues important across the South, West and northwest sides. While residents on the West and South sides are beginning to experience gentrification, those on the Northwest Side, such as Michele Dalbis-Robledo, described the prevalence of new multifamily and low-income housing developments in recent years as a hot button item in the community, due to the potential impact on property values and traffic in the area. Nirenberg was able to get his finger on the correct pulse out here, Dalbis-Robledo said. Also, she noticed Nirenberg block-walkers around the neighborhood before the runoff, while she couldnt recall seeing any Taylor representatives. Taylors defeat Saturday closed the door on a political career that began in 2009, when she was elected to represent District 2 on the council after working for Merced Housing and the citys Housing and Community Development and Neighborhood Action departments. When she was appointed mayor in 2014, she became the first African American ever to hold the seat in San Antonio and only the second woman. East Side community leader Taj Matthews described Taylor, whom he supported in the past, as a complicated person, politically. He said the black and Hispanic community wanted stronger responses to officer involved shootings and other violent incidents involving police. Most recently, Matthews was disappointed with the mayors response to a video that surfaced in May, showing several police officers violently restraining a 14-year-old girl. It was another example of Taylors wait-and-see, standard approach that had come to frustrate Matthews. We all wanted her (Taylor) to be successful, we all pushed her to be successful, Matthews said. I think it was a difference in philosophy and how to handle certain things, and that became a problem. Many felt Taylor had caved to the police union on a contract deal reached last year, despite efforts by District 4 Councilman Rey Saldana to see more disciplinary provisions added into the contract language. Taylor started a police community relations group, but two of the meetings were closed to the public. When some of the participants in the group attacked Black Lives Matter members, Taylor said nothing, according to Matthews. Not one word, he said. Taylor showed her conservative colors in a variety of ways. In response to a question at an April mayoral forum, Taylor partly attributed the causes of generational poverty to broken people who arent in a relationship with God. She also suggested she was open to possibly reallocating city sales tax revenue that currently goes to the citys Pre-K 4 SA initiative, a Castro legacy project, so that money could instead be used to fund transit. But she also voted against short-term funding for VIA Metropolitan Transit. Matthews understands Taylor was often put in a difficult position, having to represent all of San Antonio and not just the East Side, African Americans or people of color in general. She was representing people who may have never been unjustly stopped by police, he said. I like Ivy, Matthews said. I like her on a personal level. I liked her as city councilwoman. I thought she had a lot of potential as mayor. But once she stepped into the role of mayor, it became different. He said she became more of a supporter of the establishment, and that her decisions no longer benefited people like us. Rodriguez said organizers both old and young hit the ground for Nirenberg, knocking on doors to ensure his South Side success. She appreciated Nirenbergs victory speech Saturday night that called on the public to hold leaders accountable, something she plans to do. Now we got him elected, we cant leave him alone, she said. frahman@express-news.net vdavila@express-news.net An imprisoned drug trafficker testified Wednesday in San Antonios federal court that his former employers kidnapped, beat him and burned him after someone stole 80 kilos of cocaine from his McAllen home. Federal prosecutors called Virgilio Carrillo Jr., 47, as the final government witness before resting their case late Wednesday against Reymundo Mundo Villarreal Arelis, a member of a Rio Grande Valley family known as Los Piojos, the lice. Prosecutors contend that the Villarreal family was a heavy hitter in the drug trade. According to trial testimony, the family relocated from near Reynosa, Mexico, to the Rio Grande Valley after Los Zetas, a paramiltary enforcement wing of the Gulf Cartel, broke off to form its own cartel. The family sided with the Gulf Cartel, federal agents testified. Reymundo Villarreal is one of a dozen in his family to be indicted last year but the only one to go to trial since most of his co-defendants have pleaded guilty and an indicted relative remains a fugitive. Reymundo Villarreal faces up to life in prison if convicted of drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy charges. Over three days, the prosecution painted the family as an important piece of Mexicos drug flow, bringing witnesses who told of marijuana and cocaine shipments to San Antonio, Houston and other parts of the United States. Agents also testified that the family laundered their drug proceeds in real estate in South Texas and in quarter horses, agents testified. Carrillo, who is serving 14 years in federal prison for a 2013 conviction in McAllen for conspiracy to transport cocaine, said he became associated with the Villarreal family as he worked for a trafficker named Javier El Gato Uriostegui, moving cocaine from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston, hidden in produce loads and refrigerated trailers of 18-wheelers. Uriostegui was the cocaine and marijuana supplier for the Villarreal family, according to testimony. But in 2009, Uriostegui was killed at a horse track in Saltillo, Mexico, on the orders of the leaders of the Zetas drug cartel, according to federal agents. Weeks later, Gilberto Don Beto Villarreal and other members of Los Piojos, including Reymundo Villarreal, met with Carrillo, and they forged an alliance to continue trafficking cocaine along Uriosteguis former territory, Carrillo testified. He moved about 15 to 18 loads for the family over about two years, until one time, someone stole 80 kilos of cocaine from a shop outside his home when he wasnt there, Carrillo said. He testified that he called a member of Los Piojos, Jose Luis Nune Villarreal Arelis, and tried to explain. Carrillo said Nune told him not to worry but to go to Mexico so they could talk. Carrillo said he agreed and took along a deed to a property he owned to hand it to the Villarreal family as collateral for the lost shipment. He also took along two men who were at his home when the cocaine was stolen and a note the thieves left informing Carrillo that they had taken the load, he testified. Upon arriving in Valadeces, Mexico, to meet some members of the Villarreal family, all of a sudden, trucks drove up, armed men threw us on the ground and told us to take off all our clothes, down to our underwear, Carrillo testified. Carrillo said he and his companions were blindfolded and handcuffed. They took us to a house nearby and started beating us with two-by-fours, Carrillo said. The captors, some of whom he recognized as members of Los Piojos and others with higher rank in an unspecified cartel, then claimed we only sent you 40 (kilos of cocaine), why did you have 80? Carrillo tried to explain. There was no explanation. They were just beating us up, Carrillo said. Over two days, Carrillo and his two companions were beaten while being questioned separately about the cocaine. They were also burned. Carrillo said his captors poured hot candle wax on his back, adding he still has burn marks. He showed jurors the marks on his wrist he said are from being handcuffed so long. Within two weeks, his two companions were let go. But Carrillo said he was held for two months. During that time, he was forced to ride with sicarios, or hit men, was given a gun and threatened with death if he didnt shoot at rivals or targets if ordered to do so, Carrillo testified. During various occasions, he said he saw Reymundo Villarreal Comandante Mundo, they called him who would often ask the sicarios, using vulgar language in Spanish, why they still had Carrillo with them and why he was still alive. Eventually, they let him go and he returned to Texas. Carrillo said he never saw the deed or the note left by the cocaine thieves again. He also said he stopped working for the Villarreal family after that. Closing arguments are expected today. gcontreras@express-news.net jbuch@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate If its possible for a national mood to seep into a local election, San Antonio might have just received a dose of exasperation with ethical defects. All three incumbents who lost Mayor Ivy Taylor, and Councilmen Alan Warrick and Cris Medina weathered ethics-related scandals before their losses. In a region where Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, its possible that outrage over President Donald Trumps own metastasizing scandals pushed voters to punish local leaders. People are getting frustrated with our politicians thinking that they can do things that certain citizens cant do, said William Cruz Shaw, who ousted Warrick in the District 2 runoff. We should be held to a higher standard with the way we carry ourselves and the way we conduct our business. About two weeks before the runoff, Warrick gift-wrapped his seat to Shaw when he drank too much at a downtown bar and passed out on a bench outside City Hall, then suggested that someone had drugged him to damage his political career. Warrick later recanted that fantasy. But the brazen lying spiked with conspiracy theory might have reminded some voters of Trumps own deflections of personal responsibility and detachment from reality. (One example: Trump blamed the failure of the first GOP health care bill on, variously, Democrats, moderate Republicans, conservative Republicans and House Speaker Paul Ryan. And dont forget: Trump won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally, he tweeted.) In District 7, Medina lost decisively to Ana Sandoval, who attacked the incumbent as ethically challenged in her campaign. She wasnt the first; in 2014, an anonymous email accused Medina of a litany of transgressions, including the illegal use of campaign funds. Medinas troubles worsened that year when Police Chief William McManus said both the FBI and the Police Department were investigating the councilman over allegations of public corruption. Medina never was charged. Despite the allegations, he won re-election in 2015. But that was before the rise of Trump, whose business entanglements are increasingly under fire. On Wednesday, nearly 200 Democratic members of Congress filed a lawsuit, accusing the president of violating the Constitution by profiting from deals with foreign governments. They argued that Trump has ignored a prohibition against accepting gifts from foreign powers without congressional approval collecting payments, for instance, from foreign diplomats who stay in his hotels. Critics have demanded Trump sell his holdings or put them in a blind trust. So far, the president has proved immune from the hue and cry. This brings us to Taylor. In 2016, the mayor marshaled a majority of council to grant her immunity from any future ethics complaints concerning a particular conflict of interest. For 15 months, her husband, Rodney, had accepted housing vouchers from the San Antonio Housing Authority a violation of the citys ethics code because Taylor oversaw SAHA, appointing board members. Mayor-elect Ron Nirenberg, who defeated Taylor on Saturday by a large margin, repeatedly hammered the mayor on this episode during his campaign. And for good reason: It was an example of a leader using her power to escape the consequences of her own transgressions, a scenario that might have reminded certain voters of Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey to rid himself of the Russia thing. Shaw, Sandoval and Nirenberg, of course, unseated their opponents because they were stronger candidates. But the incumbents were invariably weakened by the sort of scandals that have grown harder to stomach in the scandal-ridden era of Trump. bchasnoff@express-news.net Female Editorship in Italy and the Trans-Formation of the Public Sphere This roundtable is part of the 49th annual NeMLA convention (12-15 avril 2018) which will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We wish to outline possible avenues for theoretical reflection on the connections between the periodical press in Italy and the participation of women in the public sphere. Focus will be set on two main areas: a) the genesis and the early development of the press in Italy throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, b) the emergence of female editorship and its contribution to the transnational exchange of ideas during the 19th and 20th centuries.Recent scholarship has defined periodical studies as a vibrant field of research which aims to explore the role of the press in the dissemination of knowledge, the circulation of ideas and the formation of culture (Jack Censer, 1994; Pierre Retat, 2001; Hilary Fraser, 2003). Nevertheless, the participation of Italian women editors in the social, political and cultural discourse of their country and of Europe as a whole remains largely unexplored (Elena Brambilla, 2013). In fact, during the second half of the 18th century, the rise of the press in the Veneto region defined a new position for womens access to politics and culture. Women such as Elisabetta Caminer Turra and Gioseffa Cornoldi became editors of monthly periodicals in order to create a space for representation, information and cultural mediation. In the 19th century, journals and periodicals became increasingly important mainly due to the tumultuous period of the Risorgimento when women editors such as Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso and Giovanna Bertola Garcea played a prominent role in Italys struggle for independence. After the countrys unification, women continued to have a strong presence in the press industry either as advocates of female education (e.g. Sofia Bisi Albini) or as proponents of labour rights (e.g. Emilia Mariani). By taking into account the larger sociopolitical context in which Italian women developed their editorial activities, this roundtable will provide new insights into the main characteristics and the impact of their journals. Last but not least, special focus will be set on the transnational character of the press and the contribution of women editors in taking the Italian language and culture beyond the borders. Scholars at any stage of their research are welcome to submit their abstracts before the 30th of September 2017. The Presence of Women Editors in the Press Industry 1850-1950 49th annual NeMLA convention (Pittsburgh, 12-15 avril 2018) This panel examines the active participation of women in the public dialogue through the prism of their periodical publications. The rise of the periodical press has been recognized as a key factor in the formation of the public sphere in the nineteenth century (Habermas 1962). Studies of twentieth-century editorship, however, tend to take the institutionalization of editorship for granted. Male editors are often known by name, and they are studied in the light of their impact on the socio-political landscape of their time. Historically, however, editorship (and womens editorship in particular) was often anonymous or pseudonymous and even explicitly staged as performance. Therefore, this panel encourages a thorough study of the common strategies and the cross-cultural networks that women editors developed in order to make their voices heard. More particularly, this panel outlines possible avenues for theoretical reflection on editorship by shedding light on periodical publications across linguistic, socio-cultural and historical boundaries. Transnational perspectives on female editorship are particularly welcome because they offer a comparative viewpoint and a complementary insight into womens determination to position themselves in the public arena as makers of culture, arbiters of social values and proponents of human rights. Last but not least, this panel draws attention to the influence that female editorship exerted on the political, cultural, and aesthetic evolution which would come to shape and define modernity. Scholars at any stage of their research are welcome to submit their abstracts before the 30th of September 2017. The deadline to sign up for this free community event that is open to all is Nov. 16. Kennebunk Post "We need to invest in our kids," said resident Brenda Robinson. "That's how we keep graffiti out of Waterhouse Center and mischief out of the downtown on Saturday night." WOOSTER, Ohio Since the early 1900s, one of the prime places to sell livestock and crops has been the local auction barn. Depending on where you live, your local auction barn could be within walking distance, or it could be a couple hours drive. But one thing most Farm and Dairy readers have in common is access to a weekly auction barn sometimes even multiple barns. If you live in Wayne or Holmes counties, for example, you have at least five auction barns within about a half-hour drive with most of the sales held on different days of the week. But nearly all auction barns have been forced to change with the times. Some have gone out of business, due to changes in the farming community and changes in the marketplace, and others have had to adapt to new technology, and new ways of doing business. According to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which issues licenses to auction facilities there are about 20 weekly auctions across Ohio. Dan Goeglein, ag inspection manager with ODA, said the number of auctions has decreased over the years, but the ones that remain in business have generally maintained their volume and some have even grown. Built on tradition In the rural community of Mount Hope, located in eastern Holmes County, the Mt. Hope Auction has been selling farmers livestock since at least the 1940s. The current auction barn was built in 1979, and for nearly 40 years the sale has been one of the areas top auctions. Today, the Mt. Hope Auction is run by brothers Thurman and Chester Mullet, with livestock and hay and straw sales every Wednesday. The sale draws livestock, hay and straw from Amish and English farmers across Holmes County and also from counties up to two or more hours away. Although local farmers do not raise as many livestock or dairy cows as they used to, owner Thurman Mullet said the overall numbers at the auction are mostly unchanged, because farmers are bringing livestock and grain from further distances. Adapting to change The Mullet family has done what other surviving livestock auctions have done: adapt to change. But the Mullets have also adapted in some unique ways. In 2008, the Mullets added a 200-by-100 foot building to house a flea market and vendor area on sale day, and in 2013, after many years of special horse sales, they built an enclosed horse sale arena. Their most recent addition was a 40,000-square-foot convention center that holds shows and events throughout the year, as well as community events. In Mercer, Pennsylvania, the Mercer Livestock Auction has been in action since 1960, when auctioneer John Reimold began as auctioneer, following the closure of the Pittsburgh livestock yards. John was the father of current manager, Trish Loomis, and the grandfather of owner, Rod Loomis. The Mercer auction is held every Tuesday, with a focus on beef cattle and feeders. Loomis said one of the biggest challenges for livestock auctions is realizing that todays farmers have a lot of other options, including direct sales and online sales. Going online About five years ago, Mercer added live online bidding to its sale platform, and now has about 1,000 online registered bidders in 33 states. Were not controlled by the bidders in the ring, he said. Trish Loomis is now in her 80s and is ready to retire. The auction is currently for sale, but Rod said they want to sell it to someone who will keep it successful, and treat buyers and sellers in an ethical manner. At the Muskingum Livestock Auction in Zanesville, Ohio, beef cattle are the specialty. The auction is a Midwest destination for selling feeder cattle and also finished cattle many that are headed out of state via Interstate 70. General Manager Denny Ruff said the Muskingum auction sells 50,000-60,000 head of cattle a year, along with some swine, sheep and goats, and a few horses. The weekly sale is held every Wednesday, with some special weekend sales. Ruff has been with the auction since the 1980s, and the auction itself dates back to 1940. Today, everything is computerized, including the records for each animal. Were computerized from the time the cattle hit the (unloading) dock to the time they go out, he said. Changing times While some livestock auctions have done well on their own, others have joined or been sold to larger entities that manage multiple auction barns. One of those is United Producers Inc., which operates 17 weekly auctions, and nearly 20 livestock collection facilities. UPI has facilities across Ohio, as far west as Missouri, and also operates a collection facility in Pennsylvania. Mike Bumgarner, UPI president and CEO, said producer interest in selling at livestock auctions is changing, but they still remain a viable place to sell. He said farmers in general are getting more sophisticated with their operations, and are investing more money in their animals. In turn, they often need a degree of certainty as to what theyll receive when they sell those animals. On the one hand, Bumgarner said theres no truer form of price discovery than an auction. But on the other hand, Our larger producers cannot, a lot of times, sit unprotected in the marketplace and go to an auction and not know what theyre going to get. UPI offers risk management as one of its services, along with credit services. But auctions are still a major part of the company, with 55-60 percent of cattle sold through auctions, and about 50 percent of UPI sheep go through auctions. Bumgarner said UPI does not do a lot of Internet auctions, but did hold an online-based feeder calf sale this spring, during the Ohio Beef Expo, in which more than 3,000 head were sold. The auction was held live at the Expo, and the cattle were shown to buyers via a video feed that was displayed on a large monitor. The auction lasted about an hour compared to a full day or more if the cattle had been run through a sale ring. Specialization Later this year, Bumgarner said UPI is planning to update its sale information and on-screen information at each facility, to tell buyers more details about the animals theyre buying. He said the consumer wants to know more information, whether its grass fed, or some other detail, and he hopes that adding more information will add to the premium of the animals. Stan Ernst, an agribusiness management professor with Penn State University, said its doubtful livestock auctions will go away anytime soon. But the challenge will be to attract enough buyers to make the sales work. I think that specialization is one of the things that a lot of these places are going to have to look at, he said. Chris Bruynis, Ohiwo State University Extension educator in Ross County, said as livestock auctions still serve a critical function in livestock agriculture, especially for cattle and sheep. But there has to be a high enough volume of both animals and buyers, to make an auction work. In some western Ohio counties, for example, auctions have disappeared as farmers moved away from livestock, to grain farming. There has to be a critical mass of animals coming through the sale barn, Bruynis said. Special sales Auctions can specialize in a variety of ways including the type and quality of livestock they sell, selling pedigreed animals, and holding special sales outside of regular sale hours. For UPI, one of the specialty markets has been with sheep. About four years ago, the company decided to close the Mount Vernon Livestock Auction, and open a new location that served as a collection point for livestock, especially sheep. Instead of an auctioneer, the animals are sold through private treaty bidding. According to Bumgarner, the auction industry will likely continue to serve farmers, but auction barns will need to keep up with the times. We are constantly exploring new platforms, he said. I think there will always be a place for auctions, but they will change over time. WOOSTER, Ohio A staple in the Wayne County countryside, Troutman Vineyards and Winery started off as a 4-H project for 10-year-old Andy Troutman. I was looking for the most obscure thing I could do, he said. When the county Extension agent brought around the project books, viticulture intrigued him. He visited with researchers from the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster to learn more about the industry, and by junior high school, he had his first grape vines. While attending 4-H camp, which was then held on Kelleys Island, he had an opportunity strike up conversations with some of the areas winemakers and grape growers. He would also meet his wife, Deanna, at this camp. Career in winemaking After graduating from Ohio State, Troutman had planned to continue his studies in enology and viticulture in grad school, but the owner of the Winery at Wolf Creek, in Norton, had different plans for him. Andrew Wineberg offered Troutman a job at the winery in 1996. Teach me everything you know about winemaking, Troutman had asked Wineberg, and by 2002, Andy and Deanna made the decision to purchase the winery themselves. When he started his venture into the winery business, there were only 30 wineries in the state now there is over 200. I think we were just in the right place at the right time, said Andy. Back in Wooster, Troutman had planted an acre of grapes in 1998 on a property his parents owned. That plot became Troutman Vineyards and Winery in 2001. We were young and didnt know what we were getting into, said Troutman, of their decision to own two wineries. I think it is neat to see, we started out with nothing, said Deanna. We are true entrepreneurs. Production Currently, the Troutmans manage around 6 acres of grapes at Troutman Vineyards and around 12 acres at the Winery at Wolf Creek. When Troutman Vineyards first opened its doors, they sold around 400 gallons of wine. Now, during normal production years, they sell between 5,000 and 6,000 gallons of wine. However, the extremely cold polar vortex that swept through most of Ohio in the winter of 2014 and 2015 set them back. We didnt harvest a single grape from Troutmans (that year) and 80 percent of the crop was lost at Wolf Creek, said Troutman. Luckily, there were a number of years where the Troutmans had overproduced grapes. We were fortunate to have that stocked up, he said. The Troutmans also brought in grapes from California and experimented with honey- and cranberry-flavored wines to expand their product line. Recovering Troutman said, while his vineyards suffered a blow during the polar vortex, he also learned which grape varieties were the hardiest. Vidal Blanc, Concords and many of his hybrid varieties survived the cold blast. Varieties like Riesling and Cabernet did not. We evaluated those that did survive the polar vortex and replanted more of those varieties, he said. The new plantings included vidal, traminette and foch varieties. Troutman is hopeful this will be the year to get some of his replanted grapevines and production back on track. I dont want my kids to have to replant the vineyards the way we did, he said. Andy and Deanna have two children, Sophia, 14, and Asa, 12. Although its too soon to tell if they will take on the family business, Deanna said, I think they are proud to say they have the business (in the family). Distillery devastation Andy said, after all his years of experimenting with grape growing and winemaking, he still enjoys creating something new, including trying his hand at making brandy. In 2012, Troutman got his distillers license and started experimenting with some of the overproduced wine to make brandy as another value-added product. The original owner at Wolf Creek talked about making brandy, but we never thought about it until we had extra wine, said Troutman. He sold his first bottles of brandy from the Winery at Wolf Creek in the summer of 2016 he had no idea it would be his last. In late May 2017, Troutman had gotten up early to get a head start on distilling. After turning on the distiller in the basement of the winery, he left the building and went back to a house that sits just to the south of the winery. He had just poured a cup of coffee when he heard a thud and whoosh come from the building he just left. Ill never forget that sound, and running around the trees to see nothing, he said. The portion of the building that houses the distillery had been leveled in an explosion. A firewall between the distillery and the wine cellar prevented the fire from spreading to the rest of the building, leaving the winery and tasting room intact. At the time of this report, Troutman had not received word from his insurance provider as to what had caused the fire nor an estimate of damages. Im just grateful no one was hurt, he said. Troutman said at this point, he does not know if he will reopen the distillery. I cant thank people enough, he said of the cards, emails and well wishes he has received from friends and loyal customers. People are always asking what they can do to help, and all I ask if that they come see us. They dont have to buy anything, he said, just to hear their favorite stories of the winery is enough. The Winery at Wolf Creek reopened in early June, about a week after the accident. Two wineries Troutman Vineyards and Winery is located at 4243 Columbus Road, Wooster, Ohio. For more information call 330-263-4345 or click here. The Winery at Wolf Creek is located at 2637 S. Cleveland Massillon Road, Norton, Ohio. For more information call 330-666-9285 or click here. Warrenton, VA (20186) Today Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. I was born by candlelight. It was December 1970 and there were power cuts all over the UK. Apparently some hospitals managed to hitch up to ice cream van generators for electricity, but my mum and her midwife made do with a candle. Juliet West By Kelly Hill I didnt write stories as a child. I was too busy reading them. I wasnt particularly ambitious and the idea of being a professional writer never occurred to me. At my comprehensive school we were told not to choose the creative writing option in our English exam. The teacher said wed get tied in knots and end up saying it was all a dream. I once played Deirdre Barlow in a school assembly. I was a massive Coronation Street fan, and so I persuaded my form to put together an anti-gambling morality tale starring Stan Ogden and Terry Duckworth. I borrowed my mums glasses. After university I became a journalist. I trained as a reporter on the Bridport News, where the TV series Broadchurch is set. I still use my shorthand I love having a secret code which only fellow Teeliners can crack. At 34 I wrote my first short story. I had three young children by then and somehow felt brave enough to try my hand at fiction. The story won a local competition, which gave me the confidence to try another... I have no idea how I wrote my first novel. Bloody-mindedness, I guess, plus the support of my family and writing buddies. Before the Fall was published in 2014 and now my second novel, The Faithful, is out. Im so proud of my books but it still seems surreal to me that I actually wrote them. Ive been chased by cows three times. Im really scared of cows, and a bit scared of sheep. But I still go on country walks because I love being outdoors. I want to be a proper birdwatcher but I always forget to take my binoculars. I fall asleep on trains. Perhaps its something to do with a gently-rocking carriage. But I also fall asleep in the cinema and the theatre. When its dark and Im being told a story, I just think how lovely and feel my eyes start to droop. I used to be terrified of public speaking. Maybe I was scarred by the school assembly, but until recently I would do anything to avoid being in the spotlight. Then Before the Fall came out, and I knew I had to conquer the fear. To my amazement, I now really enjoying speaking at literary events. I even get asked back! I read vintage sex manuals while researching The Faithful. The book opens in the summer of 1935 and the main character, Hazel, finds a book called Ideal Marriage in her parents bedroom. It was a bestseller in the 1920s and its surprisingly frank and forward-thinking. We tend to assume that most women were sexually repressed until the 1960s, but the success of Ideal Marriage would suggest otherwise! I cant swim. Growing up my parents taught my two older sisters but by the time they got to me I was horse and pony mad and that won out. So I can ride but not swim. Though I did sometimes swim on horseback across ponds when I was a teenager but since the horse did all the work that doesnt really count does it? Kim Izzo I have a horse and two dogs. To say Im an animal love is an understatement. Ive worked with rescue does ever since university and currently have two, Cash and Abby. Plus I have a rescue horse, a former show jumper that didnt want to jump anymore. His name is Bogart. Weve never swum together however (see above). I was a tomboy. Kind of still am. Growing up I had a short haircut and despised pink and dresses and dolls, preferring to wear jeans and play with model horses and cars. While I like pink and dresses now, I still am passionate about horses and cars. I was a blonde. Once. In high school. For six weeks. Never again. But oddly, it was during the same period of the annual yearbook photo so there is proof. Im only one-quarter Italian. My maternal grandfathers family emigrated from Naples at the turn of the last century. The rest of my lineage is English, specifically from Yorkshire. In fact my great-grandfather, Walter Dawson, who survived the sinking of the Lusitania and is a character in my book worked in Halifax before immigrating to North America. I went to film school. Despite a career in womens magazines and writing three novels, I actually studied cinema, screenwriting and production at York University in Toronto. Film is still my passion and Ive returned to screenwriting and plan on making a short film this summer. I get seasick. I found this out the hard way when I took a transatlantic voyage from New York to Southampton aboard the Queen Mary 2 to research Seven Days in May. It wasnt pleasant but it did give me firsthand knowledge of what a week at sea feels like and that made into my book. I love country music. Being an urbanite it surprises people that I am passionate about country. I prefer the classics of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings to new country, but love current stars like Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton. I play guitar. Okay, not well but in the past few years Ive taken it up and bought myself a CF Martin acoustic so I could learn some of my favourite country tunes (see above). I am Canadian. Canada turns 150 this July 1st a veritable baby compared to Europe - and I will be wearing red and white no matter where in the world I am. Keith Richards has paid tribute to his "remarkable" former partner Anita Pallenberg following her death earlier this week. Keith Richards The Italian-German actress - who had kids Marlon, 47, and Angela, 45, with the 73-year-old rocker, as well as son Tara, who died aged just 10 weeks in 1976 - passed away aged 75 on Tuesday (13.06.17) following a long battle with an illness and, although the Rolling Stones guitarist is devastated by her passing, he has since taken to his Twitter account to pay his respects and insist he'll "always" keep her in his heart. Alongside a professional black-and-white photograph of Anita when she was younger, he wrote: "A most remarkable woman. Always in my heart. (sic)" Anita's exact cause of death is not yet known but friends close to the late star have revealed Keith - who also has two children with his wife Patti Hansen - was there for her in her final months and cared about her enormously. Anita first met the Rolling Stones in 1965 when she and a friend snuck backstage at one of their concerts in Germany. She initially embarked on a romance with guitarist Brian Jones - who died in 1969 - but as he grew increasingly abusive, she left him for Keith. The pair had a turbulent relationship and split in 1980 and the 'Brown Sugar' musician later claimed the 'Barbarella' actress - who was the band's muse and sang backing vocals on 'Sympathy for the Devil' - had had an affair with the group's frontman Sir Mick Jagger. Anita and Keith lived a wild partying life together, but the 'Candy' actress later insisted she didn't regret the hedonistic period. She said in 2008: "I don't think they were lost years. I went about doing what I did, travelling anyway, even if sometimes they had to carry me. Self-medication they call it now. I went into this - what do they call it before you become a butterfly? - cocoon for a long time. And in a way it's kept me probably more childlike; that's what drugs do to people, they stop emotional growth, so when you come out of it you're kind of 17." Harry Judd's appearance on 'The Real Full Monty' taught him "so much" about prostate cancer. Harry Judd The McFly musician is set to bear all in the ITV one-off special on Thursday (15.06.17) which will see him celebrate 20 years since the release of 'The Full Monty' - which follows the story of a group of men who start stripping in order to make a living - by learning the iconic dances from the movie. But it's not all fun and games, as the special also aims to raise awareness of supporting charities Movember, Cancer Research, Prostate Cancer UK and Everyman, and Harry admits the experience has "highlighted so much" about the potentially deadly disease. He said: "I've learned so much about prostate cancer, I didn't know much about it before doing this. It's highlighted so much to me and I'm happy to be here to help. I always feel that when you're doing something for a good cause." And the 'Love Is On The Radio' hitmaker will be making sure his band mates - Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, and Dougie Poynter - get themselves checked for prostate cancer, but admits he doesn't want them to tune in to the show. He added: "I don't think there is any way of further putting yourself out there than doing this. I'll be getting the McFly boys to check for prostate cancer, but I don't want them to watch the show." Harry, 31, will be joined by the likes of 'The Only Way Is Essex' star Elliott Wright, 'Red Dwarf' actor Danny John-Jules, journalist Dom Littlewood, and 'Pointless' host Alexander Armstrong on the show, which will see them perform at the film's original venue, the Shiregreen Working Men's Club in Sheffield, and also at the London Palladium. Ballet dancer Wayne Sleep - who is an ambassador for Prostate Cancer UK - is also taking part in the show, and said taking his kit off in front of the group has "bonded" them together. He told The Sun newspaper: "It's not just a dance routine, it's also about being naked. It's quite a lot to deal with. We've all seen each other's private parts and that's what bonded us. That's why we work so well together as a group." 'The Real Full Monty' airs on ITV at 8:30pm on Thursday (15.06.17). The net sales of Spanish apparel marketer Inditex for the first quarter of 2017 stood at 5.6 billion, up 14 per cent from the first quarter of the previous year. The reporting period growth was underpinned by strong business performance. The company's sales in constant currency terms increased by 12 per cent from February 1 to June 3 2017. Net profit amounted to 654 million, up 18 per cent from the first quarter of 2016. The company generated over 10,668 new jobs over the year, of which 2,242 were in Spain. In April, 42 million were distributed among 84,000 employees with at least two years' service in its stores, manufacturing facilities, logistics platforms, brands and subsidiaries as phase two of its extraordinary employee profit-sharing plan. In total, between commission, incentives and bonuses, the company has distributed 535 million to its staff over the past year. The first quarter of 2017 was marked by a notable number of flagship store openings. In Madrid, Zara opened a four-storied, 6,000 square metre store in Azca business and retail district. The new store stands apart for its eco-efficiency credentials, as it has been fitted with the latest innovations which will deliver savings in water and energy consumption of 45 per cent and up 20 per cent, respectively. The company has also announced plans to build two new logistics hubs over the coming months, one in the Dutch town of Lelystad and the other in A Laracha in Galicia, Spain. These hubs will complement and support the Group's existing central logistics platforms in Spain. Investment in these new facilities will exceed 150 million. (RR) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India MtnLogic is a new mountain apparel brand founded by Peter Whittaker, and developed with the help of over 60 RMI Expeditions mountain guides. The first collection from the clothing line includes 19 products, from technical power tee's and hoodies to jackets and pants for women and men. Each MtnLogic prototype has been put to the ultimate test. The prototypes have logged a minimum of 100,000 vertical feet, for alpine workwear that combines logic, performance, and simplicity, said the company in a press release. To create MtnLogic's alpine workwear, Peter Whittaker, MtnLogic founder and co-owner of RMI Expeditions, partnered with Polartec, a leading textile manufacturer for the outdoor industry. RMI Expeditions mountain guides helped select materials and features for the final products by determining what they needed most from their gear while out in the field for weeks or months at a time. After rigorous testing, the guides selected Polartecs NeoShell, Power Wool, Alpha, and High Loft + Power Stretch Pro materials to make up the first collection of MtnLogic alpine workwear. MtnLogic is a new mountain apparel brand founded by Peter Whittaker, and developed with the help of over 60 RMI Expeditions mountain guides. The first collection from the clothing line includes 19 products, from technical power tee's and hoodies to jackets and pants for women and men. Each MtnLogic prototype has been put to the ultimate test.# In discussing the motivation behind MtnLogic, Whittaker said that his family, which includes legendary mountaineers Jim and Lou Whittaker, has been guiding and climbing for over a half century and has collaborated with industry leading manufacturers along the way to improve the gear. "After years of teaming with manufacturers, and tagging a few summits along the way, we decided it was time to build our own apparel. Exactly the way we need it to function." Whittaker has been climbing and guiding for over four decades. He has stood atop the Seven Summits, and has a wealth of knowledge on what gear performs best while working and playing outdoors. (KD) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India The National Retail Federation has submitted comments to the US Trade Representative outlining retails priorities for the negotiation of a modernised North American Free Trade Agreement. Broadly, retailers have asked the administration to keep the pact trilateral, conclude negotiations quickly and provide a seamless transition for any agreed changes.The agreement has benefitted US importers and exporters, and more importantly, US workers and consumers, NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said in a letter to USTR Ambassador Lighthizer detailing the retail industrys comments on NAFTA modernisation. The National Retail Federation has submitted comments to the US Trade Representative outlining retail's priorities for the negotiation of a modernised North American Free Trade Agreement. Broadly, retailers have asked the administration to keep the pact trilateral, conclude negotiations quickly and provide a seamless transition for any agreed changes.# We applaud the administration for the reevaluation of NAFTA. NRF and its members are very supportive of NAFTA, as well as other free trade agreements that not only open up sourcing opportunities for retailers to provide high quality products to US consumers, but those that also open foreign markets for US retailers to sell US- made goods to foreign consumers, Shay said.Since the agreement was negotiated over two decades ago, it does not reflect todays global value chain or many new ways of doing business in the global economy. A number of its provisions affecting old ways of doing business need to be updated and modernised to reflect todays business environment as well as what may come in the future, Shay said.Broadly, retailers encourage the administration to: first do no harm to the existing trade relationship, keep the pact trilateral, conclude negotiations quickly and provide a seamless transition for any changes that are agreed upon. NRF notes that NAFTA has spurred economic activity supporting 14 million US jobs in farming, manufacturing and a wide range of service sectors.The comment letter also outlines key principles on tariffs, rule of origin, customs and trade facilitation, digital commerce, labour and environment, and enforcement provisions that would improve trade and support better regional integration among the NAFTA partners.NRFs suggestions, while specific to Canada and Mexico, are also broad enough to apply to other US trading partners. This is because retailers recognise that the modernised NAFTA will become a model for the Trump administrations efforts to negotiate future trade agreements with countries with which the US does not yet have such agreements.USTR officially notified Congress on May 18, 2017 that President Trump intends to renegotiate NAFTA, setting in motion the 90-day consultation clock under Trade Promotion Authority. USTR set June 12 as the deadline for comments on the negotiating objectives, and will hold a hearing on June 27. Under TPA, negotiations with Canada and Mexico could begin in mid-August. (SV) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India The European Commission (EC) has come to the conclusion of not imposing anti-dumping duties on South Korean purified terephthalic acid (PTA) products after a probe into the dumping allegations. The investigation into the Korean PTA products began in August 2016 after European competitors alleged that they are selling them at comparatively lower prices. The investigation results revealed that the Korean products' dumping margin was less than the minimum rate of 2 per cent. Thus, under the global trade rules and regulations, anti-dumping duty cannot be imposed on them, said South Korean media reports quoting the country's foreign ministry. The sale of South Korean PTA products touched $881 million in the European market in the year 2016, representing the largest share, according to the ministry. The European Commission (EC) has come to the conclusion of not imposing anti-dumping duties on South Korean purified terephthalic acid (PTA) products after a probe into the dumping allegations. The investigation into the Korean PTA products began in August 2016 after European competitors alleged that they are selling them at comparatively lower prices.# PTA products are used for making polyester. (KD) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Invista held its 2017 Lycra fibre Legwear Seminar in Yiwu, China, seen as the capital of the Chinese hosiery knitting business. The event, themed as Lycra moves ingenuity, emphasised on the innovative attitude of the Lycra brand with presentations on new ideas, innovations and market insights for participants from key Chinese mills, brands and retailers.Invista presented four innovations during the event - LYCRA FREEF!T technology which creates lightweight and breathable underpants in panty hose that offer a superb fit, LYCRA SOFT COMFORT technology which adds soft and comfortable stretch and a firm and secure fit to hosiery bands, control tops, and knee-high tops, LYCRA FUSION technology, the anti-laddering technology, is now available for hosiery made with LYCRA SUPER SUMMER SHEER technology and LYCRA LIFESTYLE COMPRESSION technology, and LYCRA XCEPTIONELLE technology which delivers comfort and style to hosiery and enhance a broader free-size fit. Invista held its 2017 Lycra fibre Legwear Seminar in Yiwu, China, seen as the capital of the Chinese hosiery knitting business. The event, themed as Lycra moves ingenuity, emphasised on the innovative attitude of the Lycra brand with presentations on new ideas, innovations and market insights for participants from key Chinese mills, brands and retailers.# In addition to presentations of these innovations, knowledge sharing sessions were also held at the seminar. Invista shared its integrated mobile campaign The Difference that Makes the Difference, created exclusively for the Chinese market. This campaign was designed to raise consumer brand awareness and create a positive brand association through engaging and shareable micro-film content thats perfect for social media.Revealing Chinese hosiery market insights were provided by guest speaker Martin Suen, chairman, China Hosiery & Socks Professional Committee of the China Knitting Industry Association, and president, Shanghai EIKO Textile. Suen asserted that competing in an ongoing price war is not a sustainable business practice.Suen explained that the key to outperforming the competition and winning in the global marketplace is to work with strong suppliers to develop good quality products. These products need to be innovative and feature benefits consumers are looking for like anti-laddering. He also stressed the importance of continuous innovation in order to give distinction to products in the overcrowded marketplace of hosiery brands and retailers. (SV) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Enterprise technology solutions provider Brandix i3 has announced the change of its name to Fortude. It has also launched its new website and rebranded its office located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name change re-positions the company as an independent brand in the IT industry. However, it will remain a fully-owned subsidiary of the Brandix Group. "We will continue to build on our current expertise in ERP and Enterprise Applications while aggressively growing our business intelligence and analytics practice in line with global demand," said Arjuna Sirinanda, chief executive officer, Fortude. Fortude has become a trusted partner for high performance solutions to diverse industry leaders across various industries including fashion and manufacturing. The company delivers high impact solutions in ERP, Business Intelligence & Analytics and custom software solutions. With offices in the US and Australia as well as project locations around the world, Fortude continues to provide global opportunities for its employees. (KD) Enterprise technology solutions provider Brandix i3 has announced the change of its name to Fortude. It has also launched its new website and rebranded its office located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name change re-positions the company as an independent brand in the IT industry. However, it will remain a fully-owned subsidiary of the Brandix Group.# Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Fijian Prime Minister and Incoming COP23 President Frank Bainimarama has named the United States Governor of California, Jerry Brown, as the COP23 Special Envoy for States and Regions today at a special ceremony held in Sacramento, California. As Special Envoy, Governor Brown will work intimately with the Fijian Presidency of COP23 to rally sub-national governments to align their policies and programs with the objectives of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The ceremony was also attended by the governors of Oregon, Kate Brown, and Washington State, Jay Inslee, and Leader of the California State Senate, Kevin de Leon, along with other senior state officials and representatives from the private sector. The Prime Minister pointed to Governor Browns long track record of advocacy on climate change as the basis for his decision to appoint the Governor as Special Envoy. "When I thought about the one leader I needed to help mobilise the states and regions as a critical pillar of our Grand Coalition, the choice was obvious. That is why I am particularly pleased to announce that I am today appointing Governor Brown as Special Envoy for States and Regions for the COP23 Presidency. In this role, I will lean on Governor Brown to continue the great leadership he has demonstrated time and time again, and to mobilise a strong contingent of like-minded leaders from around the world -- to show the world that we mean business, he said. At the ceremony, the Prime Minister also signed the Under 2 Coalition Memorandum of Understanding, a commitment by sub-national governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions towards net-zero by 2050. Fiji has joined 175 jurisdictions representing 35 countries as part of the coalition, which seeks commitments from all signatories to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95 per cent compared to 1990 levels by 2050. The Prime Minister described the ceremony as a big step forward for the United States, given the disappointing decision by the US President to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. "If there is one thing we have all learned over the last two weeks, for every action -- there is a reaction. And, my friends, the leadership represented in this room, and people of all walks of life from across America, have spoken very loudly -- telling the world that America will continue to tackle climate change, continue the clean energy revolution, continue to create jobs and grow its economy so that it can thrive in the 21st Century, he said. -ENDS- The makers of Baadshaho have been springing surprises every morning since last three days. After releasing the character posters of Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi from the film, it's time to welcome the third 'badass' from the gang. We are talking about Vidyut Jammwal who was last seen in Commando 2. What makes the poster quite interesting is the fact that the actor is sporting a moustache for the first time and boy, he is looking damn handsome! Check out the poster here... The badass with a badge! Catch the exclusive look in today's edition of @htshowbiz pic.twitter.com/EBp9XkPgHT Vidyut Jammwal (@VidyutJammwal) June 15, 2017 Talking about the posters, the first one had Ajay at his rowdy best followed by Emraan who looked every bit of a Rajasthani gunslinger and now we have Vidyut whose suave avatar is a talking point. While not much is known about the plot, one hears that it is based on true incidents during Emergency. On the other hand, the first look posters hint that it's going to be a hiest and will have six characters which will be played by Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Vidyut Jammwal, Ileana D'Cruz and Esha Gupta. Directed by Milan Luthria, the film is slated to release on 1st September. Meanwhile we just can't wait to see the next posters featuring the leading ladies, Ileana and Esha. Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to a five year jail term in Yerwada jail and the Maharashtra Government released him 8 months prior to completing his term citing "good conduct". The Bombay High Court has questioned the Maharashtra Government's decision to release him early citing good conduct and the court has asked the Govt to justify its decision. The Court raised questions on whether he was allowed to leave early only because he's a VIP and why they allowed him to spend 100 days outside the jail while he was sentenced. The Court also raised concerns about the parameters based on which Sanjay Dutt was judged and released on the basis of 'good conduct' and has asked the Govt to provide all details "Also, how did the authorities assess that Dutt's conduct was good? When did they get the time to make such assessment when he was out on parole half the time?," asked a judge at the Bombay High Court, according to the Press Trust of India. Salman Reveals The Main Reason Behind Baahubali Success "I will tell you why numbers have become such a big thing. The most amazing thing about Baahubali's success is that the Hindi audiences are so accepting." 'South Audience Know Us, Yet Our Films Don't Do Well' "They have made a Telugu film so large, even though they do not know south heroes apart from three or four of them. South audiences know us there; yet, our films do not do that volume of business because their fans have an extraordinary sense of loyalty to their actors." 'Fan Following Is Very Strong' "Fan following is very strong - if there is a Kamal Haasan fan, then he will be a Kamal fan forever; Rajinikanth fan will be a Rajinikanth fan for life." You've To Agree With Salman! "We have piracy here; one should try indulging in piracy there, fan clubs wouldn't allow it. Whether a politician or the underworld does it, they don't give a damn; they will fight it." Salman In Awe Of Hindi Audience "Hats off to the Hindi audiences. They love movies, and go and watch English, Chinese, and south films." Salman Boasts His Fans "A Salman Khan fan will also watch an Aamir Khan film and a Shahrukh Khan film. And, if the film is good, they will appreciate it." Despite Of Being A Superstar, Does Competition Keep Salman On His Toes? "I keep myself on the toes all the time. It is not about competition, it is about you competing with yourself." Salman's Thought On Film Collection Is On Point! "Even when you talk about collections, it is your collections and has nothing to do with anybody else." 'One Should Not Put Anyone Down' "I believe one should never put anyone else down but try and raise their own level." How Sweet! "Once you do that, others will also raise their own levels. Some people put others down, do negative publicity. I do not feel the need to do that. I have not learnt this from my seniors." Couple Absent On Hearing Date The family court of Bengaluru has strictly asked the couple to appear before the court on June 14, yesterday. But the absence of both Priya and Sudeep has angered the judge. They have been given a final warning by the court. Absent For 9 Times! The hearing session has taken 9 times in court, yet, the couple has not shown any sort of concern to the judiciary and its rules. Both Priya and Sudeep have been absent for all the 9 times of the hearing of their divorce case. They definitely do not seem to be responsible citizens of the country with their carefree attitude. Reasons For Sudeep's Absence Sudeep's advocate has said, "Mr. Sudeep is busy in foreign, shooting for The Villain movie. He will definitely be present for the next hearing." Last Opportunity Given By Court The family court of Bengaluru, after going through the case on June 14, has given one last opportunity for Sudeep and Priya to appear before the tribunal, failing which, the court will take the liberty to inspect the case by themselves and give a final decision for the divorce case. Why The Absence? According to the sources, the previous differences between Sudeep and Priya have been erased now. The application for divorce was done in a haste due to some personal problems between them. Realising their mistake, the couple have come to a compromise and would like to live as a couple, together as before. Seemingly, they have realised their mistakes and want to start all over again and hence they do not want to come to the court to avoid the divorce. Well, we are definitely happy for the couple, and their kid, if that is the case. What Will Happen On August 24? The court had issued notice to both of the parties, telling them to come to a compromise and live together or to separate on mutually accepted terms. But, Priya and Sudeep had not corresponded to the notice. We are yet to know what may happen on the 24th of August. With heightened curiosity, we only have to wait and watch. Dileep, who is trying his hands at films of different genres, has a really exciting project in his kitty, in the form of Kammarasambhavam, which marks the directorial debut of Ratheesh Ambat. The actor, is expected to be seen in different get-ups in this movie, scripted by Murali Gopy. The shoot of this Dileep starrer had commenced in August 2016 and had underwent various schedule breaks. According to a report by Times Of India, Dileep has joined the new schedule of the shoot of the movie. If we are to go by the reports, the film is being shot at Coimbatore at present and the team is expected to can a few sequences in Theni district as well. The report also adds that the team had canned mainly the sequences featuring Siddharth, in the previous year. Kammarasambhavam marks the Mollywood debut of Siddharth. Kammarasambhavam is expected to be a very different movie in the career of Dileep. Meanwhile, Dileep is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film Ramaleela, directed by debutant Arun Gopy. Dileep will also be seen essaying the lead role in the upcoming film Professor Dinkan, directed by Ramachandra Babu. The actor has already completed the shoot for some portions of the movie. Mammootty, the megastar is teaming up with cinematographer Shamdat for his directorial debut. The movie, which has been titled as Streetlights, will also mark Mammootty's come back into film production after a short gap. According to the sources close to the project, Streetlights will be a total surprise package for the audiences. If the reports are to be true, the movie is an out-and-out investigative thriller which is presented in a unique manner. Streetlights is a bilingual project, which has been simultaneously made in Malayalam and Tamil languages. The Malayalam and Tamil versions will feature different sets of supporting actors, while both the versions will have a few common faces. Maheshinte Prathikaaram fame Lijomol Jose, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Joy Mathew, Neena Kurup, Sudhi Koppa, Hareesh Kanaran, Sohan Seenulal, etc., will appear in the supporting roles in the Malayalam version of Streetlights. The Tamil version of the movie will feature some popular actors, including Manobala and Black Pandi. Mammootty is appearing as a police officer who handles a murder investigation in Streetlights, which is scripted by newcomer Fawaz Muhammed. Shamdat himself handles the cinematography. Debutant Adarsh Abraham composes the songs and background score. The movie, which will be distributed by Mammootty's Playhouse Release, is yet to get a release date. Karan Mehra & Nisha Rawal Welcome Their Baby Boy Sharing their baby boy's picture, Karan and Nisha wrote, "The littlest feet make the biggest footprints in our hearts, this is something that cannot be expressed in just words." Karan & Nisha Are All Set For A New Journey They further added, "We are ready for this new journey with our little blessing that has arrived in the form of a beautiful baby boy ." Nishas Heartfelt Post On Her Pregnancy Journey Recently, Nisha too, shared her pregnancy journey in a heartfelt post. Nisha, who was in the last trimester of her pregnancy, thanked everyone who gave her unconditional love during this sensitive journey. Nisha Wrote "This one's for all who have shown me unconditional love during this sensitive journey: To friends who care, to the strangers who offer me to jump the shopping queues, to the store attendants who run to offer a chair..." Nisha Thanked Fans... ".... to the security guards who switch off the scanners so the baby is safe, to fans who endlessly and lovingly wait for my posts just to shower their love on me, to mommy who pays a surprise visit with my favourite halwa..." Nisha Thanked Family "... to family that's in preparation every moment to welcome the new member, to the staff at home who doesn't let me bend to pick up stuff, to my music sir who lets me attend class with millions of pillows around me..." Nisha Thanked Her Partner "... and above all to my partner who freezes at night inside umpteen layers of quilts so I can sleep in a comfortable temperature, who holds my hand every step of the way and without whom I would never be fortunate enough to experience this magic inside and around me..." Nisha Thanked God "... and of course to the little angel growing inside me always reminding me of how much power nature has bestowed upon me, the power of being a woman, the power of procreation. THANK YOU GOD for so many priceless joys ." TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 11/20/17 -- Stroud Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: SDR) ("Stroud" or the "Company") has filed an updated, independent National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Technical Report (the "Report") on its Santo Domingo Project (the "Property") located in the western silver-gold belt of the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. The Property is located 90 km from Guadalajara in Jalisco Province; about 150 km south-west of First Majestic's San Silver Mine and 150 km south-east of Endeavour Silvers' Terronera Development Project. The Report was prepared by Derek McBride, P. Eng. using the exploration results from 16 diamond drill holes completed in 2011-2012, primarily on the La Raya and Guadalupe zones. It shows a significant increase in the measured and indicated and inferred mineral resource estimates from numbers previously reported in a 2010 Technical Report (press release of January 27, 2010). Highlights -- Measured and Indicated resources increased to 25.74M silver equivalent ounces from 15.05M. -- Inferred Resources increased to 13.39M silver equivalent ounces from 10.68M. -- La Raya vein indicates a mineralized zone, 35 metres wide by 300 metres deep and over 700 metres along strike. -- Guadalupe vein is typically 15 to 30 metres wide. -- Five additional veins have been identified for future exploration, deeper into the hillside. "Santo Domingo was first discovered in the 16th century and although there have been several periods of small-scale mining over the last 400 years, little modern exploration was ever carried out on the Property," said Mirsad Jakubovic, CEO of Stroud, "We have now defined a significant silver deposit and believe we have merely scratched the surface. The strike length of the La Raya and Guadalupe zones have been drilled to a depth of approximately 150 metres, leaving considerable room to expand by drilling. With the technical sophistication available today, the opportunity exists to more sensitively and expertly extract these resources with the least amount of disruption and cost. The sites proximity to Guadalajara provides excellent access to roads and facilities, with power and water supply on-site." The Report confirms measured and indicated, and inferred resources as set out in the table below: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold Silver Silver Classification Tonnes g/t g/t Eq. g/t ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Measured 3,148,834 0.51 107.40 144.21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indicated 2,932,967 0.43 94.07 124.93 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Measured and Indicated 6,081,801 0.47 100.97 134.91 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred 3,482,160 0.39 119.56 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ounces Ounces Ounces Classification Tonnes Gold Silver Ag Eq. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Measured 3,148,834 51,370 10,136,145 13,952,515 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indicated 2,932,967 40,242 8,874,620 11,785,663 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Measured and Indicated 6,081,801 91,612 19,010,765 25,738,178 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred 3,482,160 43,228 10,083,932 13,387,222 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cut-off grade was 45 grams per tonne silver equivalent over a three metre true width and a gold-silver ratio of 72:1 Continuity of mineralization was established by drilling on 50 metre centres, and using a specific gravity of 2.65 The Report has an effective date of November 17, 2017, meets the guidelines and form as set out in the National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and CIM standards, and was prepared for Stroud by Derek McBride Geological and Management Services Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined under the NI 43-101 reporting requirements. The Mineral Resource Estimation is contained in a report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Santo Domingo Silver-Gold Project, Hostotipaquillo Area, Jalisco State, Mexico" dated November 17, 2017, which may be found under Stroud's continuous disclosure filings at www.sedar.com. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the estimated Mineral Resources will be converted into Mineral Reserves. The Estimate may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues. The Mineral Resources were estimated in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM"), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the Standards Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council on November 27, 2010. Qualified Persons Dr. Derek McBride P. Eng. is the Qualified Person ("QP") within the meaning of the National Instrument 43-101 for this press release. Dr. McBride has performed assignments around the world and across the whole spectrum of commodities including base and precious metals, ferrous metals, uranium, industrial minerals and diamonds. He has over 40 years' experience and is the co-author of a comprehensive study on lode gold deposits. Dr. McBride, the QP, has prepared and supervised the preparation of, and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release. About Stroud Resources Ltd. Stroud Resources is a TSX-V listed company focused on the exploration and development of its Santo Domingo epithermal silver-gold project in central Mexico. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Stroud Resources Ltd. Mirsad Jakubovic CEO and Director 416-888-8731 TORONTO, 2017-06-27 13:30 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation ("Mandalay" or the "Company") (TSX:MND) regretfully announces that efforts to search for and locate the two Mandalay employees working in the flooded Delia NW mine at the Company's Cerro Bayo operation have been unsuccessful. The Chilean Office of Exception State has ruled out the possibility of finding the two miners, Jorge Sanchez and Enrique Ojeda, alive. Mandalay continues to work jointly with the national and regional authorities, and a team of experts, in the response to the flooding of the Delia NW mine. Activities include: continuation of drilling at different levels of the mine to determine the current state, pumping water to lower the water level in Laguna Verde, maintaining the diversion of La Tina creek (which is a tributary of Laguna Verde), and carrying out technical evaluations of the subsidence area. Mining operations at Cerro Bayo have remained suspended since the event occurred (please see Mandalay's June 9, June 14, and June 20, 2017 press releases). An independent investigation of the causes of the event and risk assessments of reopening the Delia SE, Coyita SE, Marcela and Raul veins are being initiated this week. Dr. Mark Sander, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mandalay, commented: "We deeply regret the loss of two members of our team at Cerro Bayo. The Company offers its condolences and support to the families, friends and crew of the deceased. We will continue to work with the Chilean Government on next steps and the future of the mine. The Company is extremely grateful for the intense efforts put forth in the search and recovery efforts by our employees, contractors, suppliers, Ministry of Mining, Armed Forces, Government of Aysen, Sernageomin and Firemen of Chile Chico, among other active participants. Mandalay thanks you all for your effort, solidarity and support." About Mandalay Resources Corporation: Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia, Chile, and Sweden, and a development project in Chile. The Company is focused on executing a roll-up strategy, creating critical mass by aggregating advanced or in-production gold, copper, silver and antimony projects in Australia, the Americas, and Europe to generate near-term cash flow and shareholder value. For Further Information: Mark Sander President and Chief Executive Officer Greg DiTomaso Director of Investor Relations Contact: +1.647.260.1566 Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Toronto Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2017) - Metals Creek Resources Corp. (TSXV: MEK ) ("Metals Creek") and Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX) ("Benton") are pleased to announce that they have been advised by Quadro Resources Ltd. ("Quadro), that Quadro has filed documents with the TSX Venture Exchange seeking final approval of its private placement financing previously announced June 6, 2017, and June 30, 2017 (see Quadro release dated 05 Oct 2017). On exchange approval, the company will issue 7.41 million units, each unit consisting of one common share and one common share purchase warrant, each warrant being exercisable at 15 cents for 18 months from closing, and 6,448,500 flow-through units, each flow-through unit consisting of one common flow-through share and one-half of a common share purchase warrant, with each full warrant being exercisable at 20 cents for 18 months from closing. All securities issued pursuant to this financing will be subject to a four-month hold period commencing on the date of issuance of the units and the flow-through units. Finders' fees totalling $61,791 will be paid and 617,910 finders' warrants, with each warrant being exercisable for a common share of the company at a price of 15 cents for 18 months from closing, will be issued to certain arms-length individuals. The financing was effected with two insiders of the company subscribing for 600,000 flow-though units on completion of the private placement, for aggregate subscription proceeds of $60,000, that portion of the financing a related party transaction as such term is defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101, Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. The company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements set out in MI 61-101. The company is exempt from the formal valuation requirement of MI 61-101 under sections 5.5(a) and (b) of MI 61-101 in respect of the transaction as the fair market value of the transaction, insofar as it involves the interested party, is not more than the 25 per cent of the company's market capitalization, and no securities of the company are listed or quoted for trading on prescribed stock exchanges or stock markets. Additionally, the company is exempt from minority shareholder approval under sections 5.7(1)(a) and (b) of MI 61-101 as, in addition to the foregoing, (i) neither the fair market value of the flow-through units nor the consideration received in respect thereof from interested party exceeds $2.5-million, (ii) the company has one or more independent directors who are not employees of the company, and (iii) all of the independent directors have approved the transaction. Material change reports were not filed 21 days prior to the closing of the financing because insider participation had not been established at the time the financing was announced. The financing and associated terms are subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. Under the terms of the Quadro Option Agreement (See MEK release dated 07 June 2017) and the terms agreed to by the TSX Venture exchange are, Quadro had to complete a 2:1 share consolidation (completed), has to complete a financing of up to $2 million and issue 4,000,000 common shares (post-consolidation) to each of Metals Creek and Benton. Quadro must also assume all the obligations under the Rose Gold property option, for which the optionor has agreed to accept common shares of Quadro in lieu of the 250,000 common shares of Metals Creek and 250,000 common shares of Benton (450,000 shares combined) originally negotiated. The Quadro Option Agreement will be subject to a royalty to be granted in favor of Metals Creek and Benton (the "Metals Creek/Benton Royalty"), as well as existing royalties held by Ed Northcott and Gilbert Lushman (the "Northcott/Lushman Royalty"), and by Shawn Rose (the "Rose Royalty). About Metals Creek Resources Corp. Metals Creek Resources Corp. is a junior exploration company incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario, is a reporting issuer in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, and has its common shares listed for trading on the Exchange under the symbol "MEK". Metals Creek has earned a 50% interest in the Ogden Gold Property, including the former Naybob Gold mine, located 6 km south of Timmins, Ontario and has a 8 km strike length of the prolific Porcupine-Destor Fault (P-DF) that stretches between Timmins, Ontario and Val d'Or, Quebec. The Company has also recently entered into an Option/JV with Trifecta Gold Ltd. on Metals Creek's Squid properties in Yukon. Metals Creek also has an option agreement with Quadro Resources on Metals Creeks and Benton Resources Staghorn Gold Project in Newfoundland as well as two option agreements with Anaconda Mining Inc. on Metals Creek's Jacksons Arm and Tilt Cove Properties also in Newfoundland. The company have also signed a LOI on its Clarks Brook property with Sokoman Iron Corp. and is engaged in the identification, acquisition, exploration and development of other mineral resource properties, and presently has mining interests in Ontario, Yukon and Newfoundland and Labrador. Additional information concerning the Corporation is contained in documents filed by the Corporation with securities regulators, available under its profile at www.sedar.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Alexander (Sandy) Stares, President and CEO Metals Creek Resources Corp telephone: (709)-256-6060 fax: (709)-256-6061 email: astares@metalscreek.com MetalsCreek.com Twitter.com/MetalsCreekRes Facebook.com/MetalsCreek TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Western Digital Corp. (WDC) announced that several of its SanDisk subsidiaries have sought preliminary injunctive relief in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco preventing Toshiba Corp. from transferring its three NAND flash-memory joint ventures operated with Western Digital until the request of the SanDisk subsidiaries for injunctive relief in arbitration is decided by the arbitral tribunal. Steve Milligan, chief executive officer of Western Digital, stated, 'Western Digital has been working tirelessly to reach an agreement that is beneficial to all stakeholders. Toshiba Corporation's attempts to circumvent our contractual rights have left us with no choice but to take this action. It is our concern that, left unchecked, Toshiba would pursue a course that clearly violates these rights and also runs decidedly counter to the best interests of the JVs and also to the hard working people at Toshiba Corporation's NAND Flash business in Japan.' 'Western Digital's desire to work collaboratively with Toshiba for the benefit of the JVs and Japan is stronger than ever, and we will continue to pursue a solution that is in the best interests of all parties,' Milligan said. Western Digital noted that the anti-transfer provisions of the relevant agreements between Toshiba and SanDisk, which govern their NAND flash memory joint ventures ('JV agreements'), are unambiguous and explicitly require that Toshiba obtain SanDisk's consent prior to any transfer of JV interests. Toshiba has acknowledged and validated SanDisk's consent rights on multiple occasions in the past. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / June 14, 2017 / The real estate market has shifts with the demands of consumers, moving towards more abundant options and conveniences and increased rental availability. Marcus Hiles has participated and invested in residential property development for decades and urges a close attention to detail regarding the reasons why wealthy couples, families and individuals are choosing to rent rather than purchase homes. Multiple factors are involved and the trend is likely to continue as the next generation of affluent Americans are drawn to the many advantages of pursuing options designed for luxury. In a society that has come to favor time over money, people are now preferring to minimize unneeded responsibilities and remove extra duties from their lives. A Business Insider article asserts that "Many high net worth individuals have properties in various locations and would rather skip the cost and maintenance associated with owning" which is one of multiple reasons wealthy Americans are renting. A shift in attitude is being seen towards ownership as people manage their net worth in a different way. Seeing the investment in freedom to choose a home based on personal criteria being a very positive influence in current housing considerations. Although the allure of ownership, and the equity that goes with it, is still common, the values have shifted over a number of years. U.S. Census Bureau data shows a 217 percent the number of renter households earning more than $150,000 a year increase between 2005 and 2015. Put another way "For some it's a lifestyle choice, as renting is more popular thanks to the high-end apartment market phenomenon that's been spreading all over the U.S. in the last couple of years." The rising housing costs and volatility of the market are encouraging people to choose the safer option of renting, what they want, where they want without any of the risk involved. As well, cities are growing with new and different rental options becoming available. Marcus Hiles states that the conveniences available in new, executive developments, combined with the ease of mobility that renting allows are considerable influences on affluent Americans choosing to sign a lease. Young adults are leading this trend as they seek out alternatives to owning and delay first-time home buying, sometimes indefinitely as they prefer the new luxury rental accommodations that are rapidly becoming available. Founder of Western Rim Property Services and Newport Classic Homes, Marcus Hiles has spent more than three decades creating properties that embody his vision of luxury living. As a renowned Texas real estate investor and developer he is dedicated to the concept of community building. His developments are designed with a focus on lifestyle amenities, greenspace and other services to provide a complete and exclusive living experience. CEO of his company, he encourages a supportive team environment with his employees, clients and partners. Dedicated to environmental and social causes, Hiles has donated over $2.5 million to school initiatives and he continues to support on-going tree planting and eco-friendly initiatives. Marcus Hiles - Chairman & CEO of Western Rim Property Services: http://www.MarcusHiles-News.com Marcus D Hiles Founder Of Texas based Western Rim Property Services: http://www.marcusdhiles.com Marcus Hiles (@marcus.hiles) - Instagram photos and videos: https://www.instagram.com/marcus.hiles/ Contact Information MarcusHiles-News.com www.MarcusHiles-News.com marcus@marcushiles-news.com SOURCE: Marcus Hiles Czech Hydrometeorological Institute NEC Seiichiro Toda s-toda@cj.jp.nec.com +81-3-3798-6511 TOKYO, June 15, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) today announced that the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) in the Czech Republic selected NEC Deutschland GmbH to provide the next generation supercomputer system utilizing NEC's scale-out LX series compute servers for their weather forecasts.NEC's scale-out LX series HPC cluster will enable the Czech Hydrometeorological Service to increase the accuracy of numerical weather forecasting and related applications, namely warning systems. Weather prediction models are increasingly complex, including rainfall, temperature, wind and related variables that have to be calculated as precisely as possible several days in advance. At the same time, regional peculiarities such as orography and terrain physiography need to be considered. In addition, the public must be made aware quickly of predictions of high impact weather events affecting daily life, including environmental risks linked to air pollution. High-performance computing (HPC) is therefore needed for running and completing weather and climate simulation jobs in time.NEC will deliver the computational power of more than 300 nodes, connected through a high-speed Mellanox EDR InfiniBand network and containing the new Intel Xeon E5-2600 v4 product family dual socket compute nodes, with a total of over 3,500 computational cores.The Supercomputer is configured for high availability, including redundant storage and power supplies, as operation is required 24x7.Moreover, the computational peak performance of this HPC cluster will be more than 80 times faster than the currently used system.This HPC solution also consists of a high-performance storage solution based on the NEC LXFS-z parallel file-system appliance, with more than 1 Petabyte of storage capacity and a bandwidth performance of more than 30 Gigabytes per second (GB/s), which are required to meet the production needs of the CHMI. This scalable ZFS-based Lustre solution also provides advanced data integrity features paired with a high density and high reliability design.The new system is scheduled to be put into operation in early 2018.http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_CzechHydrometeorological.jpgCzech Hydrometeorological Institute"Reliable HPC technology by NEC shall be important both for forecast production and innovation; after Meteo-France, CHMI is the second largest contributor to the development of the ALADIN Numerical Weather Prediction System, currently used by 26 countries. Moreover, in this project, we have a specific goal to improve air quality trend forecasts in relation to meteorological conditions and the performance of air quality warning systems," said Dr. Radmila Brozkova, head of the Numerical Weather Prediction Department, CHMI."We are very happy that CHMI has selected NEC to deliver an HPC solution for their weather and climate simulations, as NEC has a very special expertise in meteorological applications. For years, we have been successfully collaborating with meteorological institutes, and we look forward to cultivating these partnerships further," said Andreas Gottlicher, Senior Sales Manager, NEC Deutschland.NEC has a long-term track record in climate research and weather forecasting and holds a leading position in the supercomputer market.About the Czech Hydrometeorological InstituteThe Czech Hydrometeorological Institute is the Czech Republic's central government institution for the fields of air quality, hydrology, water quality, climatology and meteorology, performing this function as an objective specialised service. It was established in 1919 as National Meteorological Institute. The present-day organization of the Institute covers hydrology and air quality as well. The Institute is run under the authority of the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic and its main task is to establish and operate national monitoring and observation networks, create and maintain data bases of data on the condition and quality of the air and on sources of air pollution, on the condition and development of the atmosphere, and on the quantity and quality of water, and provide both climate and operating information about the condition of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, and forecasts and warnings alerting to dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena.About NEC CorporationNEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.Based on its Mid-term Management Plan 2015, the NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, please visit http://www.nec.com/en/global/about/solutionsforsociety/message.html.Source: NEC CorporationContact:Copyright 2017 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. Overview of the New System Fujitsu Limited Public and Investor Relations Tel: +81-3-3215-5259 URL: www.fujitsu.com/global/news/contacts/ TOKYO, June 15, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu today announced that it has received an order from the Research Institute for Information Technology at Kyushu University for a new supercomputer system, which will steadily ramp up operations starting in October 2017.This system will consist of over 2,000 servers, including the Fujitsu Server PRIMERGY CX400, the next-generation model of Fujitsu's x86 server. It is expected to offer top-class performance in Japan, providing a theoretical peak performance of about 10 petaflops(1). This will also be Japan's first supercomputer system featuring a large-scale private cloud environment constructed on a front-end sub system, linked with a computational server of a back-end sub system through a high-speed file system.The Research Institute for Information Technology will use this system as computational resources for JHPCN(2) and HPCI(3), as well as a variety of user programs. By making this system available to users both inside and outside of the university, it will enhance the platform for academic research in Japan and contribute to the development of new academic research including AI. Fujitsu will use the technology and experience it has developed as Japan's top supercomputer maker to strongly support the activities of the Research Institute for Information Technology.Background of the New System ImplementationAs a center for education and research, Kyushu University is the largest public university in the Kyushu region, and the Research Institute for Information Technology is a nationwide joint-use facility visited by professors, graduate students, and researchers across Japan for academic research.Currently, the Research Institute for Information Technology operates three systems: a supercomputer system (consisting of the Fujitsu Supercomputer PRIMEHPC FX10 system), a high-performance computational server system (made up of Fujitsu PRIMERGY CX400 x86 servers), and a high-performance applications server system. The three systems will be integrated as part of the new supercomputer system, creating an environment that can meet an even wider variety of needs, extending beyond the current large-scale computation and scientific simulations, to include usage and research that require extremely large-scale computation, such as AI, big data, and data science.Features of the New System1. Server SystemThe server system of the new supercomputer system will consist primarily of a back-end subsystem, a front-end subsystem, and a storage subsystem.Back-end subsystemThe computational nodes will be made up of 2,128 PRIMERGY CX400 systems, the next-generation model of Fujitsu's x86 server, equipped with Intel Xeon processor Scalable family (codename: Skylake). 128 of these servers will be equipped with four NVIDIA Tesla P100 GPU computing cards each (a total of 512 cards/ NVIDIA NVLink (4) used to connect GPUs).Front-end subsystemThis system will consist of 160 basic front-end nodes featuring Intel Xeon processor Scalable family (codename: Skylake) and NVIDIA Quadro P4000 graphics cards, as well as four high-capacity front-end nodes featuring 12 terabytes of memory each, and other servers.Storage subsystemFujitsu will deploy a disk array system with an effective capacity of over 24 petabytes.2. InterconnectUsing the latest high-speed interconnect EDR InfiniBand to connect between the servers, this system offers high parallel computation performance and availability.3. File SystemThis supercomputer system will be built using FEFS(5), Fujitsu's high capacity, high performance, high reliability distributed file system with a proven track record both inside and outside Japan.4. Power Saving FeatureThis will incorporate a system to monitor electricity usage. By using the Fujitsu Software Technical Computing Suite(6), the HPC middleware, this system will flexibly control electricity usage through such functions to limit the maximum electricity consumption for each system user.Overview of the New Systemhttp://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_OverviewNewSystem615.jpg(1) PetaflopsShort for peta floating-point operations per second. Peta is an SI prefix indicating one quadrillion, or ten to the power of 15, so this indicates performance of one quadrillion floating point operations per second.(2) JHPCNJoint Usage/Research Center for Interdisciplinary Large-scale Information Infrastructures. A network of joint use and research locations made up of supercomputer facilities at Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, Osaka University, and Kyushu University, with the Information Technology Center at the University of Tokyo serving as the core location.(3) HPCIHigh performance computing infrastructure. A computing environment that connects the K computer and major supercomputers located in universities and laboratories across Japan in a network to meet the diverse needs of users.(4) NVIDIA NVLinkA high-bandwidth interconnect with high energy efficiency. The next-generation model of PRIMERGY CX400 is equipped with the maximum of four GPU computing cards per server and by connecting them with NVIDIA NVLink, provides ultra-high-speed communications.(5) FEFSA high performance distributed file system that can be shared on the scale of a hundred thousand of nodes.(6) Fujitsu Software Technical Computing SuiteHPC middleware that offers high execution performance for massively parallel applications through system management and job operation functionality, compilers, libraries and so forth.About Fujitsu LtdFujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 159,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702; ADR:FJTSY) reported consolidated revenues of 4.7 trillion yen (US$41 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com.* Please see this press release, with images, at:http://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/Source: Fujitsu LtdContact:Copyright 2017 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. GLENDALE, California, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --The 2017 US first quartereconomy is at its weakest in three years. A once great, industrialized city of Detroit is a heartbreaking example of setbacks and forgotten promises. Detroit, a city hobbled with poverty and unemployment, struggles to recover from its deindustrialization. Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/522515/BLOCKCHAIN.jpg Opening Detroit's economy to exports can help revitalize and boost its ailing economy. Export Portal is lending its hand to Detroit small businesses, farmers, and entrepreneurs who are seeking new ways of reaching out to a global audience. As an online marketplace with a global clientele of buyers seeking high-quality products from the US, verified sellers and manufacturers use the portal as their online showroom. According to Export Portal CEO Ally Spinu, "We fully support and encourage entrepreneurs who are expanding their market internationally. This is an amazing opportunity for the people of Detroit, the United States, and the rest of the world to take advantage of the burgeoning technology in this private blockchain trade space." Export Portal encourages the State of Michigan as well as businesses, farmers, and entrepreneurs across the nation to invest its resources on exporting quality products to the rest of the world. Entrepreneurs who have never exported to foreign markets can generate employment through the Export Portal ecosystem. Export Portal utilizes the best private blockchain trade solution to help secure a safer, smoother, and faster transactions on a global scale. This private blockchain system protects thousands of businesses from being hacked or scammed by fraudulent companies. A private blockchain system prevents previous instances of international transactions where an entrepreneur lost $24,000 because a manufacturer provided subpar, unverified products. A future Detroit conference is set to call on all Detroit businesses to explore the growing Chinese middle class and take advantage of the "China opportunity". Unlike some e-commerce companies that do not have proper business and product quality assurance, Export Portal uses a meticulous verification process and guarantees its buyers that the businesses they trade with and products they purchase are all verified. Their system ensures that while all information is disseminated to all parties involved, the details are protected and tamperproof. The rapidly growing Chinese middle class market cannot wait for top quality American-made products. Export Portal is on the forward tip of the Fourth Industrial Revolution changing the way all businesses worldwide can trust one another because it is in the DNA of our platform. EXPORT PORTAL - THE ONLINE TRADING WEBSITE WITH BUYER PROTECTION For more information, visit ExportPortal.com or call at (800) 289-0015. Contact: John Zahaitis Telephone: (800) 289-0015 Email: media@exportportal.com Website: http://exportportal.com/ GUILDFORD, SURREY -- (Marketwired) -- 10/23/17 -- Angle PLC (AIM: AGL) (OTCQX: ANPCY) AIM:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY For immediate release 23 October 2017 ANGLE plc ("the Company") RESEARCHERS DEVELOP PARSORTIX-BASED PROCESS TO EFFICIENTLY HARVEST CANCER CELLS FROM BONE MARROW Reactivation of such dormant cells has been implicated in patients with cancer relapse ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, today announces that the Center for Women's Health Tuebingen, Germany, has presented the first report on a successful establishment of a protocol for detecting disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) using cancer patient bone marrow with the Parsortix system. The reactivation of dormant DTCs and their release into the bloodstream as circulating tumour cells (CTCs), is the process by which a patient may, sometimes after many years of remission, suffer a relapse through metastasis. There is intense interest in the existence and status of such DTCs that are "hibernating" in the bone marrow. At present, the method of choice for detecting DTCs is a density gradient centrifugation of the bone marrow to enrich for mononuclear cells and then an antibody-based staining for various cell markers. In experiments with spiked cancer cells this procedure was shown to be accompanied by a tremendous reduction of target cells with an average of up to 80% cell loss. This may well be one reason why, in primary breast cancer, DTCs have been found in the bone marrow of only 20-30% of patients. The Tuebingen researchers have shown that their newly established Parsortix based protocol allows a recovery of about 80% of input target cells. Furthermore, the Tuebingen team believe that this easy to use method may well be applicable to other (non-blood) body fluids for detection of tumor cells for liquid biopsies. The University Hospital Tuebingen research results were presented in a poster at Europe's leading CTC conference, the Third International Advances in Circulating Tumour Cells (ACTC) Symposium. A copy of the poster is available at https://angleplc.com/library/publications/. ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland, commented: "The presence of disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) in bone marrow has been shown in multiple studies to be predictive of clinical relapse. The research from the Center for Women's Health in Tuebingen demonstrates the utility of Parsortix in harvesting disseminated cancer cells from bone marrow, extending the potential applications of our liquid biopsy system significantly." Dr. Andre Koch, Center for Women's Health, Tuebingen commented: "The Parsortix system shows huge promise in improving the efficiency of isolating DTCs from bone marrow. At our Women's Hospital, taking bone marrow is routine during surgery on breast cancer patients, so improvements to processing and then analysis of the bone marrow are particularly valuable. We are excited about the opportunities this opens up." For further information ANGLE: ANGLE plc +44 (0) 1483 343434 Andrew Newland, Chief Executive Ian Griffiths, Finance Director finnCap Ltd (NOMAD and Joint Broker) +44 (0)20 7220 0500 Corporate Finance - Adrian Hargrave, Simon Hicks, Kate Bannatyne Corporate Broking - Alice Lane, Nikita Jain WG Partners (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 203 705 9318 Nigel Barnes +44 (0) 203 705 9316 Nigel Birks FTI Consulting +44 (0) 203 727 1000 Simon Conway, Mo Noonan, Stephanie Cuthbert +1 212 850 5612 Kimberly Ha (US) For Frequently Used Terms, please see the Company's website on http://www.angleplc.com/the-parsortix-system/glossary/ This announcement contains inside information. Notes for editors About ANGLE plc www.angleplc.com ANGLE is a world-leading liquid biopsy company commercialising a disruptive platform technology that can capture cells circulating in blood, such as cancer cells, even when they are as rare in number as one cell in one billion blood cells, and harvest the cells for analysis. ANGLE's cell separation technology is called the Parsortix system and it enables a liquid biopsy (simple blood test) to be used to provide the cells of interest. Parsortix is the subject of granted patents in Europe, the United States, Canada, India, China, Japan and Australia and three extensive families of patents are being progressed worldwide. The system is based on a microfluidic device that captures live cells based on a combination of their size and compressibility. The Parsortix system has a CE Mark for Europe and FDA authorisation is in process for the United States. ANGLE has established formal collaborations with world-class cancer centres. These Key Opinion Leaders are working to identify applications with medical utility (clear benefit to patients), and to secure clinical data that demonstrates that utility in patient studies. Details are available here http://www.angleplc.com/the-company/collaborators/ The analysis of the cells that can be harvested from patient blood with ANGLE's Parsortix system has the potential to help deliver personalised cancer care offering profound improvements in clinical and health economic outcomes in the treatment and diagnosis of various forms of cancer. The global increase in cancer to a 1 in 3 lifetime incidence is set to drive a multi-billion dollar clinical market. The Parsortix system is designed to be compatible with existing major medtech analytical platforms and to act as a companion diagnostic for major pharma in helping to identify patients that will benefit from a particular drug and then monitoring the drug's effectiveness. As well as cancer, the Parsortix technology has the potential for deployment with several other important cell types in the future. ANGLE stock trades on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AGL and in New York on the OTC-QX under the ticker symbol ANPCY. For further information please visit: www.angleplc.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END For further information ANGLE: ANGLE plc +44 (0) 1483 343434 Andrew Newland Chief Executive Ian Griffiths Finance Director finnCap Ltd (NOMAD and Joint Broker) +44 (0)20 7220 0500 Corporate Finance Adrian Hargrave Simon Hicks Kate Bannatyne Corporate Broking Alice Lane Nikita Jain WG Partners (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 203 705 9318 +44 (0) 203 705 9316 Nigel Barnes Nigel Birks FTI Consulting +44 (0) 203 727 1000 +1 212 850 5612 Simon Conway Mo Noonan Stephanie Cuthbert Kimberly Ha (US) PETAH TIKVA (dpa-AFX) - Today's Daily Dose brings you news about AbbVie's SELECT-BEYOND trial results; Aldeyra's clinical trial catalyst to watch out for today; Fennec's uplisting; Peregrine's quarterly results; Pulse Bio's withdrawal of 510(k) for PulseTx System and appointment of a new CEO at TEVA. Read on... AbbVie's (ABBV) phase III clinical trial of investigational Upadacitinib (ABT-494) in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, who did not adequately respond or were intolerant to treatment with biologic DMARDs, has yielded positive results. Results of the trial, dubbed SELECT-BEYOND, showed that after 12 weeks of treatment, both once-daily doses of Upadacitinib (15 mg and 30 mg) met the study's primary endpoints of ACR20 and low disease activity. All ranked secondary endpoints were also achieved with both doses. ACR20 is defined as American College of Rheumatology 20 percent improvements in tender and swollen joint counts, patient assessments of pain, global disease activity and physical function, physician global assessment of disease activity and acute phase reactant. ABBV touched a new all-time high of $87.10 on Monday, before closing the day's trading at $87.00, up 1.95%. Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc. (ALDX) is scheduled to announce results from its phase IIa clinical trial of ADX-102 in Dry Eye Disease on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 8:00 a.m. EDT. Dry eye syndrome is a common inflammatory disease characterized by insufficient moisture and lubrication in the anterior surface of the eye. Symptoms may include ocular irritation, burning or stinging, and severe cases may lead to decreased vision. In patients with dry eye syndrome, aldehydes may contribute to ocular inflammation as well as the impairment of lipids (fats) that lubricate the surface of the eye. ALDX closed Monday's trading at $4.20, up 1.20%. In after-hours, the stock was down 5.95% to $3.95. Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (FRX.TO), (FENCF.OB) shares of common stock have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol 'FENC' is expected to commence on September 13, 2017. Rosty Raykov, CEO of Fennec said, 'Our listing on the Nasdaq represents a significant corporate milestone as we continue our commitment towards serving an unmet medical need for pediatric patients with cisplatin chemotherapy pending the SIOPEL 6 results in Q4 2017.' FENCF.OB closed Monday's trading at $8.32, up 11.04%. Shares of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PPHM) rose more than 12% on Monday, following financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 ended July 31, 2017. The Company's consolidated net loss attributable to common stockholders narrowed to $2.65 million or $0.06 per share for the first quarter of FY 2018 from $12.44 million or $0.36 per share for the same prior year quarter. Contract manufacturing revenue from its CDMO subsidiary, Avid Bioservices, was $27 million for the first quarter of FY 2018 compared to $5.61 million for the first quarter of FY 2017. PPHM closed Monday's trading at $3.23, up 12.15%. pSivida Corp. (PSDV) plans to file NDA for Durasert three-year treatment for posterior segment Uveitis by late December or early January 2018. The Company has also reported financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2017. Revenue for the recent fourth fiscal quarter totaled $701 thousand compared to $304 thousand for the prior year quarter. Net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 improved to $6.1 million or $0.16 per share from $6.4 million or $0.19 per share for the prior year quarter. PSDV closed Monday's trading at $1.37, up 7.03%. Shares of Pulse Biosciences Inc. (PLSE) plunged 21% on Monday, following withdrawal of its initial application to the FDA for 510(k) clearance of its PulseTx System for a general indication for soft tissue ablation. The PulseTx System is based on the Company's proprietary technology called Nano-Pulse Stimulation, or NPS. The 510(k) for PulseTx System, which was filed on March 14, 2017, was voluntarily withdrawn on September 8, 2017. The withdrawal was the result of FDA's request for additional data that could not be provided within the Agency's 90-day review period that would have otherwise ended on September 10, 2017. PLSE closed Monday's trading at $15.46, down 21.00%. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., (TEVA) on Monday, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with CooperSurgical to sell PARAGARD (intrauterine copper contraceptive) for $1.1 billion in cash. The transaction includes Teva's manufacturing facility in Buffalo, NY, which produces PARAGARD exclusively. PARAGARD had revenues of approximately $168 million for the trailing twelve month period ending June 30, 2017. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2017. In other news, Teva's Board of Directors has named Kare Schultz as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer. Schultz will succeed Yitzhak Peterburg, who will continue to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer until Schultz joins the Company. TEVA closed Monday's trading at $18.50, up 19.35%. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (RARE) and Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd. have announced positive data from two ongoing phase II studies of Burosumab - 40 week data from the study in children less than five years old with X-linked hypophosphatemia and 24 week data from the study in adult tumor-induced osteomalacia patients. In the X-linked hypophosphatemia study, Burosumab increased mean serum phosphorus levels by 1.2 mg/dL into the low normal range after one week of treatment and these levels were maintained through week 40 with 77% of children achieving normal serum phosphorus levels at week 40. Serum 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D levels were also increased from baseline to week 40 of treatment. In the tumor-induced osteomalacia study, at week 24 there was a statistically significant increase in mean percent change from baseline levels of the bone turnover markers, Procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP) and collagen type 1 cross-linked C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTx). RARE closed Monday's trading at $50.51, up 1.10%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Around 300 MW of PV and wind power plants will be selected in the future cross-border auctions, in which German developers will have to deal with competitors from other EU neighbor countries. In the pilot cross-border solar auction held last year, all selected projects were located in Denmark.The German cabinet has released on Wednesday the decree for the future cross-border wind/solar auctions. The auctions were recommended by the EU Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), when it approved the country's new renewable energy law EEG 2017. The EU authorities imposed that at least ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 15, 2017 / Voltaic Minerals Corp. (TSXV: VLT, OTC PINK: VTCCF, FSE: 2P61) (the "Company" or "Voltaic") is pleased to announce that Lithium Selective Technologies, Inc. ("LiST") has provided an interim update from their process facility in Northern California. The Company had engaged LiST on an interim basis to continue its development of a Lithium extraction process for non-conventional brines (see news release dated April 11, 2017). Lithium Selective Technologies, Inc. has completed preliminary testing using its hybrid technology for the recovery of Lithium from natural brines. LiST is pleased to confirm they have produced solutions with significant enhancement of Lithium concentration and Lithium/Calcium ratios in its initial screening tests. William Bourcier of LiST comments, "We are very pleased that our initial process results confirmed our ability to enhance Lithium concentration of non-conventional brine. We are extremely optimistic that increased selectivity performance and concentration enhancement can be expected as optimization testing proceeds." In addition, LiST intends to have their data analysed by a third party laboratory for independent verification. The stated objective of LiST is to develop a process for Voltaic that would put them into the lowest quartile of Lithium production costs from natural brines in the United States. Tom Currin, Voltaic Project Manager states, "If successful, this process could create value from known resources in the US and globally. The company is incorporating selective techniques, used commercially in mineral extraction and water treatment, in a novel fashion to achieve a result not yet seen in the Lithium process sector." LiST will be issuing periodic updates of their process development work and achieved results as optimization testing continues. Definitive Agreement Update Voltaic Minerals Corp. and Lithium Selective Technologies, Inc. are continuing to work very closely on developing the lithium extraction process. Under the exclusivity agreement, both LiST and Voltaic will continue work toward the finalization of a definitive agreement, but need more results of testing in order to do so. The definitive agreement is intended to govern the utilization of the lithium extraction process worldwide on non-conventional brines. As a result Voltaic and LiST have mutually agreed to extend the exclusivity agreement to incorporate further testing. Grant of Stock Options The Company also announces that it has granted options to acquire 380,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (each, an "Optioned Share") at a price of $0.10 per Optioned Share for a period of five years to two consultants of the Company. About Lithium Selective Technologies, Inc. Lithium Selective Technologies, Inc. technical team has over 85 years of combined Lithium processing experience and is extremely optimistic about the potential that the extraction method could economically process non-conventional brines and effectively unlock such brines across the globe. LiST is currently using artificial brine that is similar in nature to the Green Energy brine identified in historic fluid analysis. About Voltaic Minerals Corp. Voltaic Minerals Corp. is a Vancouver-based Lithium exploration company which owns 100% of the Green Energy Lithium Project that encompasses 4,160 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) claims and is in Grand County, 15 km west of the city of Moab, Utah. Lithium and other minerals occur at the property in an over-saturated brine (40% minerals, 60% water) discovered during historic oil exploration when drill wells intercepted Clastic Bed #14 of the Paradox formation. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD VOLTAIC MINERALS CORP. "Darryl Jones" Darryl Jones President and CEO Tel: 604.681.1568 info@voltaicminerals.com SOURCE: Voltaic Minerals Corp. SHANGHAI, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sengled, a leading company of innovative lighting solutions has signed a development and commercialization agreement with Seaborough for oneTLed technology. Sengled will be the only ODM party to make the Universal T LED products (LED tubes fully compatible with all magnetic ballasts & all electronic ballasts). With the creation of this Universal TLED product, a new market standard for compatible LED retrofit tubes can be set. The Universal TLED products, jointly developed by Sengled and Seaborough, are an integrated combination of hardware and software solutions. They will be available in Sengled's own brands, as well as in products for Sengled's ODM customers. This Universal TLED tube finally allows for safe, inexpensive and energy saving retrofitting for any TL socket or ballast. With an estimated 12 billion sockets worldwide, sustainable and energy-efficient LED tubes will accelerate energy saving by consuming 50% less electricity. Sengled Universal TLED does not contain mercury or any other toxic chemicals and is therefore environmentally friendly. With an extended average lifetime of more than 8 years, Sengled Universal TLED will also significantly reduce total cost of ownership and in addition, reduce waste streams. "Both parties are excited with this cooperation. With these Universal TLED products, we are capableof providing the best possible solution for compatibility issues, to provide easier replacement for the end users, to reduce the global use of electricity as well as waste streams at a time of growing global demand for energy," says Sengled CEO Johnson Shen. About Sengled Sengled is a leading provider of innovative lighting solutions based in Shanghai China. The company has branches in several European countries and the USA, Canada, Australia, owning approximately 500 worldwide patents. Sengled specialises in the development and manufacture of LED products for customers worldwide and offers high quality as well as energy-efficient alternatives for conventional light bulbs. www.sengled.com About Seaborough Seaborough is an R&D company with a strong in-house IP department and a business unit that markets LED solutions. Seaborough invents, develops and commercializes ground-breaking innovations for the lighting industry. The company has a deep understanding of the current industry environment and possesses the drive, skills and expertise to address these challenges. www.seaborough.com http://momentumcapital.co.uk/ LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - June 15, 2017) - ThreatMetrix , The Digital Identity Company , today highlighted key moments from the Digital Identity Summit 2017: The Currency of Trust, which was held at London's iconic Shard building on 12-13 th June. Digital, risk and fraud professionals came together from a dozen countries to explore the critical role of establishing trusted identities online, to power today's digital economy. This event is part of the global Digital Identity Summit series, which is in its seventh year. Speakers represented key brands from across the region, including Lloyds Banking Group, Accenture, Visa, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Just Eat, Gemalto and Aite Group. This diversity illustrates the cross-industry collaboration required to facilitate a shared intelligence approach to combatting rising fraud across the region. This is of paramount importance, as Europe was recently revealed as the number one region for perpetrating cybercrime on the ThreatMetrix global network. 1 "While the digital economy is thriving, the ever-present threat of cybercrime has hindered many digital businesses from realising their full revenue potential. Authenticating users dynamically, based on an understanding of their true digital identities, enables accurate trust decisions and unlocks new, cross-border revenue streams," said Armen Najarian, CMO of ThreatMetrix. The Summit gave business leaders and industry professionals from throughout the region the opportunity to learn about the critical issues affecting their business. The guest speakers and ThreatMetrix experts shared insights on topics such as digital identity, identity theft, open banking and customer-centric security. "Today's digital economy means organisations must be able to transact freely and openly with their online consumers. But cybercrime is holding this back," said Geoff White, investigative technology journalist and host of the EMEA Digital Identity Summit. "Establishing trust online is a business imperative, and central to this is understanding identity, and preventing the abuse of personal details off the back of data breaches." The Summit also featured the 2017 Digital Identity Excellence Awards, in honour of those who are pushing the boundaries of what's possible with digital identity. The winners of the EMEA 2017 Awards were: Sky, winner of the Debut award, for eye-catching early results Commercial Bank of Dubai, winner of the Action award, given for impactful business results paysafecard.com, winner of the Partner award for most effective partnership with ThreatMetrix The global community will be gathering for the next edition of the Digital Identity Summit in San Francisco from September 18-20, 2017. To find out more visit www.digitalidentitysummit.com 1 ThreatMetrix Q1 2017 Cybercrime Report About ThreatMetrix ThreatMetrix , The Digital Identity Company , is the market-leading cloud solution for authenticating digital personas and transactions on the Internet. Verifying more than 24 billion annual transactions supporting 30,000 websites and 5,000 customers globally through the ThreatMetrix Digital Identity Network , ThreatMetrix secures businesses and end users against account takeover, payment fraud and fraudulent account registrations resulting from malware and data breaches. Key benefits include an improved customer experience, reduced friction, revenue gain and lower fraud and operational costs. The ThreatMetrix solution is deployed across a variety of industries, including financial services, e-commerce, payments and lending, media, government and insurance. For more information, visit www.threatmetrix.com or call 1-408-200-5755. Join the cybersecurity conversation by visiting the ThreatMetrix blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook pages. 2017 ThreatMetrix. All rights reserved. ThreatMetrix and the ThreatMetrix logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ThreatMetrix in the United States and other countries. All other brand, service or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or owners. Media contacts Lizzie Clitheroe ThreatMetrix Tel: 408-200-5756 Email: lclitheroe@threatmetrix.com Paul Wilke Upright Position Communications Tel: 415-881-7995 Email: paul@uprightcomms.com LONDON and UDEN, Netherlands, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dutch invention was previously presented to the World Fire Safety Conference in London and could have prevented victims As presented to the world on June 10, 2014, victims of disasters such as this week in London can be prevented. The Evacuator is a last resort for people in need by evacuating people via a steel cable on the outside of a building. The device can save thousands of lives all over the world, from high-rise residents to wind turbine engineers. The Evacuator was previously shown to the world at the International Tall Building Fire Safety Conference at Greenwich University, under the guidance of Professor Ed Galea, from June 17 to June 20, 2014 in London. In the Netherlands, the device was demonstrated at the provincial house in Den Bosch on July 3, 2014. In the meanwhile, Discovery Channel made and broadcasted a documentary about the Evacuator, which also illustrates the application in wind turbines, and now Evacuators are used in various industries. The Evacuator is a device that is placed in an apartment or logistics space and lets four to 16 people descend up to 300 meters at a time. The Evacuator always works, even when electricity is down the Evacuator works. Individuals automatically descend in a safety harness on a fire resistant steel cable at a speed of 1 meter per second. The Evacuator is the last resort when lifts are disabled, emergency exits are unusable and when the fire brigade cannot get access to individual(s) in need. What the airbag is for cars is The Evacuator for high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. With this technique lives can be saved in case of a disaster and this technique is available for 99 percent of all high-rise buildings in the world. The Evacuator has been developed and tested by Dutch companies and is being produced in the Netherlands. The device has been approved by the German inspection institute DEKRA and has an EN341 certification. For more information: http://www.evacuator.com/en/ or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOl0lHRmwYE&t=25s, Evacuation High Rise Building and Wind Turbine! LimFlow SA today announced enrollment of the first patient in the U.S. feasibility study of the LimFlow Percutaneous Deep Vein Arterialization (pDVA) System, a novel, purely percutaneous device for the treatment of end-stage critical limb ischemia (CLI) when all other revascularization efforts have been exhausted. The first patient was treated on July 5, 2017, at Metro Health University of Michigan Health by Jihad A. Mustapha, MD, FACC, FSCAI. The feasibility study is a multicenter, prospective, single-arm study to be conducted at three U.S. centers encompassing 10 "no-option" CLI patients. Endpoints include amputation-free survival at one month, patency, limb salvage and wound healing. Subjects will be followed out to two years. This clinical trial is the initial step towards a U.S. approval pathway for the LimFlow System. "The only other disease with worse life expectancy than CLI is pancreatic cancer. Because of the mortality rate associated with amputations due to ischemia, a new approach to treat CLI is needed now more than ever. In the LimFlow study, we hope to help patients with no other options that are on their way to amputation," said Dr. Mustapha, the study's primary investigator. The Paris-based medical device company also announced the initiation of a multicenter, prospective, single-arm post-market surveillance study, which will enroll up to 50 Rutherford Class 5 and 6 "no-option" patients in several CLI centers of excellence in Europe and Asia. Patients will be followed out to one year, and endpoints include amputation-free survival (AFS) and wound healing progression. Data collection is aligned with the U.S. feasibility study, allowing for a large comparable data set for the use of the LimFlow System in this "no-option" CLI sub-group. The LimFlow System is designed to restore perfusion to the ischemic foot, which may relieve rest pain, promote chronic wound healing, reduce major amputations and restore mobility for patients when used as part of a multi-disciplinary team approach. It uses proprietary ultrasound-guided catheters and covered nitinol stents to uniquely bypass diseased arteries and divert blood flow into the tibial vein to vascularize the ischemic foot. "With approximately 150,000 ischemic amputations annually in the U.S. costing the healthcare system many, many billions of dollars, we look forward to further exploring the promise of LimFlow and its role in treating the epidemic of Critical Limb Ischemia," said LimFlow Chief Executive Officer Dan Rose. About LimFlow SA LimFlow is a private, venture-backed medical device company transforming the treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia, a growing clinical need in the face of the prevalence of diabetes, heart disease and an aging population. For more information, visit www.limflow.com. The LimFlow System received the CE Mark in October 2016 and is currently available commercially in Europe. The LimFlow System is only available for investigational use in the USA, and has not been approved for sale in the USA, Canada or Japan. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170711005563/en/ Contacts: Chronic Communications, Inc. Michelle McAdam, (949) 545-6654 michelle@chronic-comm.com Regulatory News: Veolia (Paris:VIE) announced that its Nuclear Solutions entity, through its subsidiary Kurion (Canada) Inc., has been selected to design, fabricate, and commission a major remote waste access and conditioning system at the Whiteshell Laboratories in Manitoba under a new agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. The agreement builds on Veolia Nuclear Solutions' successfully deploying similar technologies at Dounreay in the UK, and represents a significant move into the Canadian market for the firm. Veolia's Nuclear Solutions will provide Canadian Nuclear Laboratories a integrated solution under the agreement, designing, fabricating and commissioning a system to remediate a range of intermediate-, and low-level waste from in-ground concrete standpipes and bunkers at the Whiteshell site, where decommissioning has been underway for more than a decade. The system deployed at Whiteshell will be using proven technologies to retrieve and sort the waste. The agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories calls for the project to run over five years. The first two years will consist of discrete design, fabrication, commissioning phases, while the following three years will feature operation support of the remediation system. The project will take advantage of technologies and design systems that Veolia Nuclear Solutions has created for previous efforts tackling the most challenging remediation projects in the world. "This agreement represents a significant endorsement of Veolia Nuclear Solutions' ability to provide robust, turnkey solutions to our clients," said Matthew Cole, VP Access Line at Veolia Nuclear Solutions. "By deploying proven technologies and best-in-class operational capabilities that have successfully dealt with some of the most significant environmental challenges around the globe, Veolia Nuclear Solutions is proud to support Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to safely decommission the Whiteshell Laboratories site." As Canada's leading nuclear science and technology company, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories operates a number of active and former nuclear sites around Canada. At the Whiteshell site, which operated for more than three decades beginning in 1963, the current plan calls for decommissioning of the entire site to be complete by 2024. The agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories highlights Veolia's broader mission of "Resourcing the World" by helping to preserve resources through addressing pollution in its most complex form, decommissioning nuclear facilities, and containing health hazards and unwanted environmental impact. As the world leader in optimized resource management, Veolia is committed to developing, preserving and replenishing the world's resources. Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With over 163 000 employees worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them. In 2016, the Veolia group supplied 100 million people with drinking water and 61 million people with wastewater service, produced 54 million megawatt hours of energy and converted 30 million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of 24.39 billion in 2016. www.veolia.com Veolia's Nuclear Solutions, which unites the best-in-class operations of Veolia's Kurion, Alaron and Asteralis businesses, is a leading world-class player in nuclear facility clean-up and treatment of radioactive waste. It provides the most comprehensive range of technologies, expertise and services to develop the activity of facility restoration, decommissioning and treatment of low-and intermediate-level radioactive waste. www.nuclearsolutions.veolia.com Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) is Canada's premier nuclear science and technology organization. It is a world leader in developing peaceful and innovative applications from nuclear technology through its expertise in physics, metallurgy, chemistry, biology and engineering. CNL is committed to ensuring that Canadians and the world receive energy, health, and environmental benefits from nuclear science and technology with confidence that nuclear safety and security are assured. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005466/en/ Contacts: Veolia Group Media Relations Laurent Obadia Sandrine Guendoul Stephane Galfre Marie Bouvet Tel.+ 33 1 85 57 42 16 sandrine.guendoul@veolia.com or Veolia's Nuclear Solutions Claire Billon-Galland claire.billon-galland@veolia.com or Michael Crittenden, Tel. +1 202.261.4000 mcrittenden@mercuryllc.com or Veolia Investor Relations Ronald Wasylec Ariane de Lamaze Tel. 01 85 57 84 76 84 80 ronald.wasylec@veolia.com / Ariane.de-lamaze@veolia.com or Terri Anne Powers (USA, Canada), Tel. +1 630 218 1627 terri.powers@veolia.com BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 4.30 am ET Thursday, the Office for National Statistics releases UK retail sales figures for May. Sales are forecast to fall 0.8 percent on month, reversing a 2.3 percent rise in April. Ahead of the data, the pound dropped against its major rivals. The pound was worth 0.8800 against the euro, 139.27 against the yen, 1.2363 against the franc and 1.2708 against the greenback as of 4:25 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. The government of the disputed region in South Caucasus, which is officially known as the Republic of Artsakh, announced it will conduct a study to assess its solar potential.The government of the Republic of Artsakh, a disputed region in South Caucasus which is commonly known as Nagorno-Karabakh, announced it has taken its first steps to develop solar energy on its territory. According to Armenian state-owned press agency Armenpress, the region's deputy minister of economy Tigran Gabrielyan has revealed that a study to assess the solar potential of the republic is currently being conducted, and that results are expected to be released by October. The study was requested by the region's prime minister Arayik Harutyunyan. Gabrielyan explained that the report is intended to identify the most suitable areas of the region for the ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 30, 2017) - Bluestone Resources Inc. (TSXV:BSR) ("Bluestone" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an exploration update regarding the Company's Cerro Blanco gold project. The sampling program was designed to confirm and improve the understanding of the deposit. Sampling commenced in July and has successfully confirmed surface drill results with sampling from the underground mine workings, as well as identified several new high-grade mineralized veins. Significant results include the discovery of a new shear zone oblique to the main mineralized zones, where chip samples returned 3.0 m of 231.6 g/t gold and 323.3 g/t silver. Including the shear zone, a total of 30 additional veins have been identified that were over 5.0 g/t gold. Previous operators have spent over US$230 million on the Cerro Blanco project, including more than three kilometers of underground development. None of the workings were systematically mapped or sampled. This program represents the first sampling and geological work done on the project in more than four years. Further work is underway to determine how many of these new veins will be incorporated into a new resource estimate and were not in the Mineral Resource Estimate defined in the Preliminary Economic Assessment available at www.sedar.com. A number of these veins are oriented either oblique to or perpendicular to the main vein trend and as such were not identified in earlier drill programs. A comprehensive structural study was also initiated in July and is nearing completion. This program entailed the relogging of drill core and detailed structural mapping of the underground workings. This work has resulted in a better understanding of the deposit and will aid in the prediction and estimation of additional high-grade veins together with helping guide mine design and mine planning activities. Bluestone's President & CEO Darren Klinck commented, "The results to date have been very encouraging and have strengthened our understanding of the deposit. In addition, the identification of several new high-grade veins in the underground is extremely encouraging." A total of 282 channel samples were collected from targeted areas within the three kilometres of underground workings at Cerro Blanco. The most significant of these results are shown below followed by a more comprehensive list of results in table 1. Select Chip Sample Highlights Include: 3.0 m sample width at 231.6 g/t gold and 323.3 g/t silver* 1.0 m sample width at 443.0 g/t gold and 100 g/t silver 3.0 m sample width at 58.7 g/t gold and 143.5 g/t silver* 2.5 m sample width at 52.2 g/t gold and 82.6 g/t silver 3.0 m sample width at 104.5 g/t gold and 110.3 g/t silver 1.5 m sample width at 48.4 g/t gold and 95.7 g/t silver 2.0 m sample width at 35.2 g/t gold and 119.0 g/t silver 3.0 m sample width at 14.5 g/t gold and 42.0 g/t silver 0.7 m sample width at 236.7 g/t gold and 196.3 g/t silver 5.0 m sample width at 15.3 g/t gold and 47.0 g/t silver* 2.1 m sample width at 59.3 g/t gold and 467.0 g/t silver * Samples that represent potential new veins that have been identified that were not in the previous Mineral Resource Estimate dated February 7, 2017 Table 1. Chip Sampling Results Over 5.0 g/t Gold Highlighted results represent potential new veins that have been identified that were not in the previous Mineral Resource Estimate dated February 7, 2017. Sample ID Width (m) Gold Grade (g/t) Silver Grade (g/t) RCB-2553 5 6.0 25.0 RCB-2556 4 12.4 21.0 RCB-2557 0.3 108.7 114.0 RCB-2564 5 9.7 17.0 RCB-2570 5 13.3 23.0 RCB-2571 5 8.5 8.0 RCB-2572 5 6.5 10.0 RCB-2575 2 35.2 119.0 RCB-2576 5 6.4 10.0 RCB-2582 5 7.1 22.0 RCB-2586 0.5 6.2 10.0 RCB-2587 0.3 7.0 9.0 RCB-2588 0.5 12.6 15.0 RCB-2589 0.23 55.0 67.0 RCB-2590 0.2 193.3 558.0 RCB-2592 0.3 17.3 29.0 RCB-2604 3 5.7 30.0 RCB-2619 5 6.3 7.4 RCB-2632 0.2 9.3 35.8 RCB-2641 3 231.6 323.3 RCB-2642 0.55 20.4 74.6 RCB-2643 3 58.7 143.5 RCB-2645 3 7.5 23.2 RCB-2659 3 5.9 94.7 RCB-2660 0.5 40.4 117.9 RCB-2670 0.3 31.7 33.3 RCB-2673 2.5 52.2 82.6 RCB-2674 3 104.5 110.3 RCB-2677 1.5 48.4 95.7 RCB-2683 3 5.5 33.8 RCB-2684 0.7 236.7 196.3 RCB-2685 0.9 94.7 296.9 RCB-2691 1.5 5.5 33.0 RCB-2695 5 15.3 47.0 RCB-2701 5 7.0 23.0 RCB-2713 3 7.4 10.0 RCB-2723 3 5.4 20.0 RCB-2737 3 14.5 42.0 RCB-2739 0.8 16.2 26.0 Table 1. Chip Sampling Results Over 5.0 g/t Gold Continued Highlighted results represent potential new veins that have been identified that were not in the previous Mineral Resource Estimate dated February 7, 2017. Sample ID Width (m) Gold Grade (g/t) Silver Grade (g/t) RCB-2742 3 8.2 13.0 RCB-2744 3 7.6 10.0 RCB-2745 4 7.5 10.0 RCB-2748 0.2 6.9 5.0 RCB-2750 3 7.5 17.0 RCB-2792 3 5.1 23 RCB-2796 3 8.7 54 RCB-2805 0.5 9.2 58 RCB-2815 3 5.7 25 RCB-2819 0.3 22.8 113 RCB-2820 3 7.1 38 RCB-2828 0.2 7.4 27 RCB-2832 0.3 10.9 75 RCB-2833 3 5.6 35 RCB-2834 0.15 10.5 73 RCB-2835 3 12.0 10.0 RCB-2841 3 7.1 93.0 RCB-2848 0.2 24.7 40.0 RCB-2849 0.6 11.6 78.0 RCB-2856 0.2 5.5 5.0 RCB-2858 0.25 7.5 30.0 RCB-2863 2.1 59.3 467.0 RCB-2864 3 22.6 201.0 RCB-2869 3 7.6 39.0 RCB-2871 3 29.7 126 RCB-2880 0.3 19.6 61.0 RCB-2883 0.4 16.1 59.0 RCB-2929 3 5.0 16.0 RCB-2976 1 7.4 46.0 RCB-3014 1 8.6 39.0 RCB-3017 1 27.8 27.0 RCB-3018 1 11.4 19.0 RCB-3023 1 443.0 >100 Note: Sample widths do not represent true widths. Most of the new veins identified are either parallel or subparallel to the orientation of historic drilling. As such, it is not anticipated that these new veins will be incorporated into the 2018 updated resource estimate. However, these veins still represent significant opportunities to enhance project economics. Qualified Person Garth Kirkham, P.Geo., of Kirkham Geosystems Ltd., is the designated Independent Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") and has reviewed and verified that the technical information set out above in this news release is accurate and therefore approves this written disclosure of the technical information. All analyses listed within this release were performed by Inspectorate Laboratories, a division of Bureau Veritas, which are ISO 17025 accredited laboratories. Samples are transported in security sealed bags to Inspectorate, Guatemala City, Guatemala for sample preparation. They are then shipped to Inspectorate, Vancouver, BC, Canada and Inspectorate, Reno, NV, USA where samples are assayed using industry-standard assay techniques for gold and silver. Gold and silver was analysed by a 30-gram fire assay with an AA and or using gravimetric finish for values exceeding 10 gpt Au and 100 gpt Ag. Quality assurance and quality control procedures identified no material issues. Bluestone inserts a series of standards and blanks into the sample stream as part of its quality assurance and quality control procedures which are continually monitored by the Company.77 About Bluestone Resources Bluestone Resources is a mineral exploration and development company that is focused on advancing its 100% owned Cerro Blanco gold and Mita geothermal projects located in Guatemala. The Cerro Blanco Project economics, as disclosed in the Company's Cerro Blanco Preliminary Economic Assessment which is available at www.sedar.com, and updated mineral resource estimate for Cerro Blanco indicates a robust project with an expected nine-year mine life producing 952,000 ounces of gold and 3,141,000 ounces of silver. Initial capital expenditures estimated in the PEA to fund construction and commissioning is estimated at US$170.8 million with all-in sustaining cash costs (as defined per World Gold Council guidelines, less corporate general and administration costs) estimated to be US$490 per ounce of gold produced. The Company trades under the symbol "BSR" on the TSX Venture Exchange. On Behalf of Bluestone Resources Inc. "Darren Klinck" Darren Klinck | President, Chief Executive Officer & Director For further information, please contact: Bluestone Resources Inc. Phone: +1-604-646-4534 info@bluestoneresources.ca www.bluestoneresources.ca Cautionary Language The PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Bluestone Resources Inc. ("Bluestone" or the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, without limitation: the interpretation of exploration results; statements about the Company's plans for its mineral properties; Bluestone's business strategy, plans and outlook; the future financial or operating performance of Bluestone; capital expenditures, corporate general and administration expenses and exploration and development expenses; expected working capital requirements; the future financial estimates of the Cerro Blanco Project economics, including estimates of capital costs of constructing mine facilities and bringing a mine into production and of sustaining capital costs, estimates of operating costs and total costs, net present value and economic returns; proposed production timelines and rates; funding availability; resource estimates; and future exploration and operating plans are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to Bluestone and often use words such as "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "may" or variations thereof or the negative of any of these terms. All forward-looking statements are made based on the Company's current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. Generally, these assumptions include, among others: the ability of Bluestone to carry on exploration and development activities; the price of gold, silver and other metals; there being no material variations in the current tax and regulatory environment; the exchange rates among the Canadian dollar, Guatemalan quetzal and the United States dollar remaining consistent with current levels; the presence of and continuity of metals at the Cerro Blanco Project at estimated grades; the availability of personnel, machinery and equipment at estimated prices and within estimated delivery times; metals sales prices and exchange rates assumed; appropriate discount rates applied to the cash flows in economic analyses; tax rates and royalty rates applicable to the proposed mining operation; the availability of acceptable financing; anticipated mining losses and dilution; success in realizing proposed operations; anticipated timelines for community consultations and the impact of those consultations on the regulatory approval process. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Bluestone. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: risks and uncertainties related to expected production rates, timing and amount of production and total costs of production; risks and uncertainties related to ability to obtain or maintain necessary licenses, permits, or surface rights; risks associated with technical difficulties in connection with mining development activities; risks and uncertainties related to the accuracy of mineral resource estimates and estimates of future production, future cash flow, total costs of production and diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources; risks associated with geopolitical uncertainty and political and economic instability in Guatemala; risks and uncertainties related to interruptions in production; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; uncertain political and economic environments and relationships with local communities; risks relating to variations in the mineral content within the mineral identified as mineral resources from that predicted; variations in rates of recovery and extraction; developments in world metals markets; risks related to fluctuations in currency exchange rates; as well as those factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Amended and Restated Annual Information Form. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Bluestone disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although Bluestone believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to their inherent uncertainty. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- American Energy Partners, Inc. ("the Company") (OTC: XFUL), a diversified energy company, announces that it has engaged the corporate communications expertise of NetworkNewsWire ("NNW"). "The opportunity to launch a corporate communications campaign with NNW is on par with the recent restructuring of our corporation and the desire to convey this exciting new strategy to the investment community," states American Energy Partners CEO Brad Domitrovitsch. "As we sharpen our focus on the convergence energy production, water and technology, we are pleased to partner with NNW to achieve greater market visibility and transparency." NNW is a multifaceted financial news and publishing company that delivers a new generation of social communication solutions, news aggregation and syndication, and enhanced news release services. NNW's strategies help public and private organizations find their voice and build market visibility. As part of the Client-Partner relationship with American Energy Partners, NNW will leverage its investor-based distribution network of over 5,000 key syndication outlets, various newsletters, social media channels, blogs, and other outreach tools to generate greater brand awareness for the Company. "We look forward to working with Brad and his team to identify and execute communication strategies that best suit the Company's mission to become a leading diversified energy company to the industrial, energy and government sectors," states Sherri Franklin, director of Content Marketing for NNW. About Converde Energy USA, Inc. (XFUL) XFUL, d/b/a American Energy Partners Inc., and its group of companies focus on providing solutions in markets where energy production and water meet technology. Collectively, the subsidiaries are engaged in the energy sector as well as the design, construction and operation of regional water treatment facilities that serve the industrial, energy and government sectors. Hydration Corporation of PA, LLC ("HCPA") is engaged in the businesses of water exploration, water augmentation, and the treatment of impacted waters. Notably, its intellectual property delivers one of the highest energy yields from a broad range of water-bearing assets, with one of the lowest capital expenditures of any other known water processes. American Energy Solutions, LLC provides treatment technologies that contribute to HCPA's business model of low-cost treatment and distribution. As a provider of design, this subsidiary is capable of repeatable and synergistic services across the value chain. Gilbert Oil & Gas Company is leveraging broad industry valuation experience to source drilling, operating, and partnership opportunities in the upstream oil and gas space. It is positioned to become a strong customer of XFUL's other subsidiaries while providing them with the foundation to attract other customers and enter new markets. For additional information, visit: http://americanenergy-inc.com About NetworkNewsWire NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is an information service that provides to users (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) enhanced press release services, and (3) a full array of social communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, NNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. NNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today's market, NNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. NNW is where news, content and information converge. Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the NetworkNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by NNW, wherever published or re-published: http://NNW.fm/Disclaimer Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters set in the company's SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. NNW Contact: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) New York, New York www.NetworkNewsWire.com 212.418.1217 Office Email Contact SANTA MONICA, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- MomentFeed, the leader in mobile customer experience management for multi-location brands, today released a proprietary research report that provides insights that have significant implications for how multi-location brands should engage with their increasingly mobile and social customers. The study, based on analysis of impression data gathered by MomentFeed in early 2017 from more than 50 national brand clients, was conducted to examine the engagement of consumers with brands across mobile devices and digital networks, and across multiple sectors including restaurant chains, retailers, and consumer services businesses. With mobile influencing 56% of all offline sales according to Deloitte, taking advantage of mobile engagement as a primary revenue driver for in-store sales couldn't be more important to national brands. "Local" Pages Have 5x The Impact of Corporate Pages While nationally-focused brand pages have provided a helpful way of communicating with customers, the study revealed that local storefronts on mobile are now becoming the first line of engagement with the consumer, with the master brand's website as a secondary catch-all: 84.8% of all consumer impressions, where customers are seeking information most relevant to them, happen on digital assets that represent individual stores, branches, showrooms and restaurants. Only 15.2% of impressions are on brand or corporate assets -- including the brand's own website and social media pages. Facebook Local & Yelp Drive the Best Customer Leads Based on MomentFeed's research, Facebook store pages are quickly emerging as the largest source of consumer impressions. Likewise, millions of impressions measured across Google and Yelp revealed noticeable differences in both lead source and conversion rates between the two. The study shows that: 25x more impressions took place on Facebook store pages than on Facebook brand pages. When going head-to-head, 91% of mobile impressions came from Google and 9% from Yelp. However, the Yelp views converted to leads (clicks for direction or calls) at 19%, compared to Google visitors that converted at just 6%. Accurate Location Information Needs To Be A Higher Priority When it comes to a business' physical location being accurately placed on maps, 67% of consumers say they lose trust in a brand if they find inaccurate location information online. As part of the study, MomentFeed analyzed latitude and longitude coordinates for 20,000 locations from multiple businesses in the MomentFeed Mobile Customer Experience Management platform before they were cleansed and updated by the MomentFeed digital presence team. The analysis showed that of these locations: A staggering 94% had latitude/longitude inaccuracies. About half of the inaccuracies were within 30 feet. While it may seem that being 'only' 30 feet off is 'good enough', this level of inaccuracy still impacts consumer behavior, especially in malls and with bank ATMs. 46% of locations had inaccuracies greater than 30 feet, the level where customer experience takes a truly negative downturn. "For a long time now, we have been seeing this steady rise in how much more consumers choose to engage with local pages over corporate pages for information, and believe that the trend is finally gaining mainstream adoption," said Robert Blatt, CEO of MomentFeed. "Many of our multi-location clients were early adopters of this local engagement strategy, and with the help of our partner platforms like Facebook, Snap, Apple, Google, Yelp and others, MomentFeed has been an innovator in leveraging local digital footprints to drive both online and offline sales for our customers. Brands that continue to invest in their local digital presence will be best positioned to win customers, and not get swept under in the rapidly shifting mobile riptide that many retailers are experiencing now." The bottom line: multi-location brands can gain a competitive advantage by putting greater resources into their local digital strategies, placing more value on the importance of their digital storefronts. The full, detailed report can be found here: https://momentfeed.com/blog/state-of-mobile-2017-insights-that-will-boost-engagement-and-sales About MomentFeed MomentFeed's mobile customer experience management software enables multi-location brands to make their nearest location the best choice for every mobile customer. The modular Mobile Customer Experience management platform helps organizations manage distributed consumer engagement at the store or field level, creating a mobile customer experience that is more authentic, relevant and engaging for local consumers. With an integrated management and reporting system that spans multiple channels full including mobile search, social media, digital advertising and customer care, the MCX platform helps continuously and predictably capture more in-store sales for retailers, restaurant chains, banks, auto dealers, insurance companies and other franchised and corporate-owned multi-location businesses. MomentFeed was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. For more information visit www.momentfeed.com, follow us on Facebook, and also on Twitter (@MomentFeed). Contact: Chad Torbin Speakeasy Strategies on behalf of MomentFeed 415.548.6536 Email Contact DENVER, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- American Cannabis Company, Inc. (OTCQB: AMMJ) ("ACC"), a full-service business-to-business consulting solutions provider, and seller of ancillary products to the cannabis industry, today announced it has secured its second client in the state of Ohio. ACC will be working with this client to strategically plan business operations in effort to win a license to legally operate a vertically integrated cannabis business within the state. ACC will provide end-to-end solutions for this new client, which include operational planning activities, conceptual design work, application completion, deployment of operations and ongoing remote management. ACC expects to leverage this contract to secure additional revenues through long-term consulting agreements and potential future sales of ancillary products. Terry Buffalo, CEO of American Cannabis Company, commented: "We are happy to announce that we have secured our second client in the state of Ohio. No matter where the market is, it takes a knowledgeable project management team and motivated client to produce, organize and finalize these license application materials. This up-and-coming state cannabis program is already stacking up to be a competitive market, but we feel that our client is prepared to do what it takes to not only secure licensure but also thrive in the space." About American Cannabis Company, Inc. American Cannabis Company, Inc. offers end-to-end solutions to existing and aspiring participants in the cannabis industry. We utilize our industry expertise to provide business planning and market assessment services, assist state licensing procurement, create business infrastructure and operational best practices. American Cannabis Company also developed and owns a portfolio of branded products including: The Satchel, SoHum Living Soils, The Cultivation Cube and The High Density Cultivation System. We also design and provide other industry specific custom product solutions. The building and development of our brands and product suite is based on our Geoponics Philosophy, "the art and science of agriculture in soil." For more information, please visit: www.americancannabisconsulting.com www.americancannabiscompanyinc.com www.sohumsoils.com Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which are not purely historical and may include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities and words such as "anticipate", "seek", intend", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.sec.gov. Contact: Steven Lico Marketing Manager IR@americancannabisconsulting.com 303-974-4770 VANCOUVER, BC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 --Liberty One Lithium Corp. ("Liberty One" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: LBY) (OTC PINK: LRTTF) (WKN: A2DHMB), an emerging exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of high grade lithium brine deposits, is pleased to announce closing of a mineral option and joint venture agreement with Millennial Lithium Corp. of Vancouver, BC (TSX VENTURE: ML) (FRANKFURT: A3N2) (OTCQB: MLNLF). The agreement grants Liberty One Lithium the sole and exclusive right and option to acquire up to an eighty (80%) percent undivided beneficial right, title and interest in the Pocitos West project in Argentina consisting of a total area of 15,857 Ha (approx.39,000 acres) along the western portion of the Pocitos Salar located in Los Andes Department, western Salta Province. The project is ideally located directly in the middle of the Argentinian segment of the well-known lithium triangle. Terms and conditions of the agreement have been filed as part of the Company's ongoing regulatory disclosure obligations, and are available at www.sedar.com. The 60-kilometre-long Pocitos salar basin was previously drill tested with 12 shallow holes in 1979 by an Argentine government agency, the Direccion General de Fabricaciones Militares (DGFM). The most significant result from the historical work program includes a shallow drill hole, which averaged 417 parts per million (ppm) lithium and 15,300 ppm potassium. The results of these holes and the sampling conducted are historical in nature and cannot be confirmed by the Company under National Instrument 43-101 standards of exploration applicable today. Geologically, Salars are topographically depressed and surrounded by hills and mountains. The salar basins are filled with surface runoff and subsurface flow from the surrounding high terrain. The sediments are the product of erosion of the mountain around the salars, which tend to mask the actual size of the salt flats as shown at surface. Most of the advanced stage projects in Argentina are extending their resource below the alluvial fans. At the Pocitos West project area, previous geophysics profiles indicate that the body of brine extends toward the west beneath the alluvial fans on-trend with the Liberty One property at depths of up 500 feet or more. Company President Brad Hoeppner states, "We have recently completed a detailed field inspection with our JV partners and had an opportunity to meet with several operators in the area. Examination of sampling efforts that were underway at an adjacent claim area were extremely interesting and we are preparing to move ahead with our initial NI 43-101 report with an aim to ready work plans in accordance with our agreement. We look forward to moving our project ahead to build shareholder value as a result of our efforts." Iain Scarr, AIPG, CPG, an arm's length party to the Company, is the Qualified Person responsible for the technical disclosure in this news release, in accordance with National Instrument 43-101. For further information about Liberty One Lithium Corp., please visit www.libertyonelithium.com or view the Company's filings at www.SEDAR.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "Bradley Hoeppner" Bradley Hoeppner CEO and Director About Liberty One Lithium (TSX VENTURE: LBY) (OTC PINK: LRTTF) (WKN: A2DHMB) Liberty One Lithium Corp. is an emerging exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of high grade lithium brine deposits. The Company believes that global resources are the key to a robust energy strategy to protect economic stability worldwide. Find out more at: www.libertyonelithium.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipates", "plans", "expects", "intends", "is expected", "potential", "suggests" or variations of such words or phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CONTACT Walter Spagnuolo Invictus Investor Relations Office: +1.604.343.8661 Email: investors@l1ithium.com Website: www.libertyonelithium.com LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- Calling the national opioid epidemic a crisis requiring a comprehensive federal response, the Consumer Safety Coalition urged Congress and the Trump administration to set an example for misbehaving drug companies by using the market power of the federal government's Medicare and Medicaid drug formularies to punish British conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (RB.L) for its alleged gaming of the opioid treatment market. "Medicare has become the largest payer for opioid pain relievers in the U.S. since the implementation of Medicare Part D in 2006, meaning federal and state governments are increasingly funding the opioid crisis through public and private insurance coverage," said James Lee, executive director of the Consumer Safety Coalition. "It's time the federal government uses that enormous leverage to persuade drug manufacturers to become part of the solution to the opioid crisis, not contribute to the problem." In 2015, the most recent year for which national statistics are available, 52,404 Americans died of overdoses -- more than the number of deaths in vehicle crashes and gun-related homicides; averaging over 143 deaths a day, the majority of those involving use of an opioid, Lee said. Opioid addiction has grown as the availability of both legal and illegal opioids have grown and availability of competing opioid treatment medications has been under threat from unrestrained price hikes and market manipulation from drug manufacturers, Lee added. Drug companies have used their cash and political power to leverage favorable reimbursement rates and gain key insurance payment approvals as outlined in recent reporting by the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity which found drug makers and allied advocacy groups hired an annual average of 1,350 lobbyists from 2006 through 2015, doling out millions in campaign contributions. Lee specifically called out British conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser, formerly the manufacturer of Suboxone, an opioid addiction treatment medication, for significantly contributing to the opioid crisis through "product hopping" to restrict its availability and keep prices high as charged in a lawsuit by 42 state attorney generals. "Among drug companies, Reckitt Benckiser led the pack in gaming the federal and state insurance regimens to deliver $1.2 billion in annual profits and cornering at one point 85 percent of the opioid drug treatment market, costing taxpayers and putting countless lives at risk," Lee added. Lee urged the Trump administration and Congress to take several steps to stem the tide of opioid abuse and send a clear signal to drug manufacturers: Modify regulations enabling states to submit requests to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to remove drugs from federal drug formularies if they are removed from a state's "preferred drug list"; Increase the availability of Medication-Assisted Treatment under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but enable new regulations prohibiting the listing of opioid treatment medication without comparable generics being available if a product patent has expired; Implement new regulations setting stricter standards for truth in advertising requirements for opioid treatment drug manufacturers through the Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration extending to allied advocacy groups that receive any funding from drug manufacturers. "Reckitt Benckiser is not the only drug manufacturer that has engaged in deceptive practices, but it is the only one facing a multi-state lawsuit, which makes it an ideal test case in terms of disclosing documents and information related to the decision-making of its corporate officers," Lee said. "We believe RB could very well end up being the Phillip Morris of the opioid industry and deliver the same ground-breaking settlements that reshaped the fight over smoking." Lee pointed out that two other federal investigations against Reckitt Benckiser were also still ongoing including a FTC investigation into whether Reckitt Benckiser abused public regulatory processes and a Department of Justice probe into the company's Suboxone business. With Reckitt Benckiser's recent acquisition of Mead Johnson Nutrition Co., scrutiny of Reckitt Benckiser's corporate decision making becomes crucial now that it stands to control a sizable portion of the baby food market affecting the health and welfare of children worldwide. The Consumer Safety Coalition The Consumer Safety Coalition was founded to serve as a clearinghouse and source of information for consumers, regulatory officials and news media on the business practices of companies endangering consumers and the environment. The CSC works with other consumer groups and activists to identify, research and explain harmful business practices companies undertake. Those practices may include issues related to counterfeiting goods, intellectual property theft, environmental hazards, work place and product safety. For more information, please go to www.consumersafetycoalition.com. Contact: James Lee (424) 276-1272 Email Contact NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- NetworkNewsWire ("NNW"), a multifaceted financial news and publishing company, today announces the publication of an editorial featuring SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING), a client of NNW focused on strengthening its position in the marijuana industry through the acquisition of, or investment in, small to mid-sized cannabis companies. The publication is entitled, "Digital Currency Headed for Widespread Acceptance, Has Potential as Cure for Banking Concerns among Cannabis Companies." The editorial shines a light on the hesitancy of many banks to associate with the cannabis market, and how digital currency is set to fill this payments gap. To view the full publication visit: https://www.networknewswire.com/digital-currency-headed-widespread-acceptance-potential-cure-banking-concerns-among-cannabis-companies/ "Since marijuana hasn't been legalized at the federal level, most banks are hesitant to have any part of the $6.7 billion marijuana industry. While many industry experts expect this stance to change amid growing support for a bankable marijuana industry, 70 percent of cannabis companies currently operate without access to a corporate bank account. "A lack of bank support hasn't deterred SinglePoint, Inc. (SING) from aggressively expanding its market reach to the 29 states that have legalized medical marijuana. Demonstrative of its insight into the opportunities afforded by mounting acceptance and legalization of marijuana, SinglePoint recently announced its partnership with First Bitcoin Capital (BITCF), a leading provider of bitcoin technology, to create a viable payments solution for unbanked cannabis businesses. "SinglePoint, through its SingleSeed Payments subsidiary (www.SingleSeed.com), already has its roots as a payment solutions provider to the cannabis industry. SingleSeed Payments delivers tools and support specifically crafted to help cannabis businesses stay on top of key issues in the retail and recreational markets in order to build their customer base and develop effective strategies." About SinglePoint, Inc. SinglePoint, Inc. (SING) has grown from a full-service mobile technology provider to a publicly traded holding company. Through diversification into horizontal markets, SinglePoint is building its portfolio by acquiring an interest in undervalued subsidiaries, thereby providing a rich, diversified holding base. Through its subsidiary company SingleSeed the company is providing products and services to the cannabis industry. Connect on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/SinglePointMobile, www.twitter.com/_SinglePoint_, www.linkedin.com/company/SinglePoint and www.youtube.com/user/SinglePointMobile For more information, visit http://www.singlepoint.com or https://www.singleseed.com About NetworkNewsWire NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is an information service that provides to users (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) enhanced press release services, and (3) a full array of social communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, NNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. NNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today's market, NNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. NNW is where news, content and information converge. For more information, visit https://www.NetworkNewsWire.com Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the NetworkNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by NNW, wherever published or re-published: http://NNW.fm/Disclaimer Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters set in the company's SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. NNW Contact: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) New York, New York www.NetworkNewsWire.com 212.418.1217 Office Email Contact VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- Taku Gold Corp. (CSE: TAK)(CSE: TAK.CN)(CNSX: TAK) ("Taku") wishes to announce that it is contemplating a certain mineral property acquisition (the "Acquisition") in the White Gold area of the Yukon from an arm's length party, Golden Predator Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: GPY) (the "Vendor"). In conjunction with the transaction the Vendor intends to invest in Taku, subject to the successful execution of the Acquisition. In order to accommodate this transaction, Taku will be increasing its recently announced non-brokered private placement (Taku Press Release - April 26, 2017) to $1.7 Million. About Taku Gold Corp. Taku Gold Corp. (http://www.takugold.com) is a mineral resource company focused on the exploration and development of precious metal properties in Canada with a particular emphasis on the White Gold District of the Yukon Territory and the Tagish Lake region of Northern British Columbia. On Behalf of the Board, Zachery Dingsdale, CEO and President Taku Gold Corp. Follow Taku Gold On: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/takugold Twitter: http://twitter.com/takugoldcorp YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TakuGold Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/takugold Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in the Company's periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by the Company from time to time with securities regulators. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revision of these forward- looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they are made or to reflect the occurrence of an unanticipated event. Shares Issued 18,306,514 Contacts: Taku Gold Corp. Zachery Dingsdale President and CEO 1-905-269-0797 zak@takugold.com www.takugold.com MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - The US Senate Wednesday passed an amendment with overwhelming majority to strengthen and expand the current sanctions against Russia for its attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and destabilizing activities in other parts of the world. The bipartisan amendment to the underlying 'Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017', that would impose new, strong, and mandatory sanctions on Russia, was passed by a 97-2 vote. The rare legislative action reflecting bipartisan unity comes amid reports that the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on Moscow. Multiple investigations are going on into the Trump campaign's alleged links with the Russian government to manipulate the US presidential election. The vote on final passage is expected Thursday. Following final passage, the House should follow suit, and the President sign the legislation into law to become effective. The amendment includes important provisions that would impose comprehensive sanctions on Russia for its cyber intrusions, aggression, and destabilizing activities in the United States, Russia, Crimea and Ukraine. It also requires congressional oversight of any decision to ease sanctions on Russia. The amendment codifies existing sanctions into law and makes them mandatory. It also imposes new sanctions on transactions with the Russian defense and intelligence sectors, including the agency primarily responsible for the attack on the U.S. election. In addition, new sanctions target the energy sector, which is controlled by President Vladimir Putin's henchmen, with sanctions on investments in Russian petroleum and natural gas development as well as Russian energy pipelines. Any relief from these sanctions requires Russia to begin adhering to the Minsk Protocol, roll back its occupation of Crimea and destabilizing activities in Ukraine, and cease its cyber operations aimed at undermining democracy in the United States and Europe. This legislation would authorize $250 million to support and strengthen democratic institutions in Europe against Russian propaganda and interference. John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, 'There is no greater threat to our freedoms than interference in our ability to choose our own leaders, and this amendment sends a message that we will not tolerate attacks on our democracy.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de GLASGOW, Scotland, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A British University, Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), has been awarded a charter by New York State Education Department (NYSED) to become a degree-granting body in New York - the first foreign higher education institution to achieve this. The charter from New York State Education Department (NYSED) will allow Glasgow Caledonian NYC (GCNYC) to offer Masters degrees. Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Pamela Gillies CBE FRSE said: "Glasgow Caledonian University is a special place. We are a forward-looking, socially entrepreneurial and truly international University. I am absolutely thrilled that we now have the opportunity to build upon our new research and business relationships in New York to deliver our unique programmes, which focus on fair fashion, fair finance and sustainability. "Our New York team, led by Vice-President Cara Smyth, should be very proud of the steadfast way it has forged a new path for our University." Cara Smyth said: "I am delighted that we will be able to put all our plans into action andoffer Masters degrees in finance, fashion and social business. Our Fair Fashion Center will support the degrees as we continue toidentify effective approaches to profitable sustainability, proving the business case by turning global challenges into industry opportunities. I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks toour GCU colleagues,the teamhere, and our many supporters in business, not-for-profits and the city of New York." The award is for a 'provisional' charter, which becomes 'absolute' after a period of five years subject to a review by NYSED. Around the world, this is standard practice for new higher-education establishments. During the initial period, GCNYC will have the authority to deliver Masters courses and charge fees - many US students will be eligible for scholarships to study. The University learned of the positive decision on its charter application during a meeting of the Board of Regents on Tuesday, June 13. The positive outcome for GCNYC marks a vital next step in the realisation of the University's global vision of delivering social benefit and impact through education, research and social innovation. Soft-touch polymers will broaden product portfolio and drive growth in Performance Plastics Trinseo (NYSE:TSE), a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and API Applicazioni Plastiche Industriali S.p.A. have signed a definitive agreement for Trinseo to acquire API. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017, following customary closing conditions. Trinseo is funding the purchase of API's shares through its existing cash on hand. "Trinseo's first acquisition is directly aligned with the company strategy to grow the Performance Materials businesses and will benefit customers across a breadth of market applications and geographies," said Chris Pappas, President and CEO of Trinseo. "API is a sophisticated polymer solutions provider with a strong position in soft-touch polymers - which complement Trinseo's strengths in rigid polymers. By leveraging API's advanced manufacturing operations, excellent management, deep technical expertise, and strong customer relationships, we will further strengthen our Performance Plastics businesses to create growth synergies with customers in all global regions." The transaction includes API's manufacturing and research facility at Mussolente, Italy, and all of API's business, employees and assets. The API management team and employees will join Trinseo's Performance Plastics business. The Brunetti family will support and facilitate a smooth transition of API to Trinseo. "After 60 years of successful history, API today celebrates an important milestone," said Lorenzo Brunetti, Vice President, son of Sergio Brunetti, the founder of API. "We see this transaction with Trinseo as the natural evolution of our long-standing experience, reputation, and flexibility in thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), now combining with the energy, stability and global presence of Trinseo. The excellent combination of the product portfolios will boost our customers' achievements and success through highly specialized solution offerings. The Brunetti family sees this operation as a fantastic example of how the cooperation between a forward-thinking player like Trinseo and an Italian enterprise can lead to absolute excellence and leadership on the global market. We see a bright and successful future for the people we care for the most: our dedicated and talented employees." Complementary Products, Cross-selling Opportunities Customers of API and Trinseo can expect the combined Performance Plastics business to serve their applications needs with a broader product offering of soft-touch and rigid polymers, as well as new technology from API and the addition of strong talent with deep application knowledge. "API's products are distinct from Trinseo's and are complementary," said Hayati Yarkadas, Senior Vice President and Business President, Performance Materials. "Trinseo's rigid plastics have a very strong position in Automotive, Medical and Consumer markets. API's soft-touch thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) products are often used together with rigid plastics in similar applications, so the combination of Trinseo and API will benefit customers. The potential for the combined product offering, as well Trinseo's global presence to bring API products into new geographies, means that this powerhouse portfolio of Performance Plastics will be an engine for growth in Trinseo." API Products : soft-touch polymers including TPEs, Thermoplastic Polyurethanes (TPUs), EVA-based Compounds, and Two-Components PU, as well as a portfolio of bioplastics : soft-touch polymers including TPEs, Thermoplastic Polyurethanes (TPUs), EVA-based Compounds, and Two-Components PU, as well as a portfolio of bioplastics API Key Market Applications : Automotive, Footwear, Appliances, Furniture, Sporting Goods, Apparel, Consumer Goods, Packaging, Construction, and Medical : Automotive, Footwear, Appliances, Furniture, Sporting Goods, Apparel, Consumer Goods, Packaging, Construction, and Medical Trinseo Products : ABS, Polycarbonate, Polypropylene, Polystyrene, SAN, polymer compounds, Synthetic Rubber (S-SBR, E-SBR, Li-BR, Ni-BR, Nd-BR), Latex Binders : ABS, Polycarbonate, Polypropylene, Polystyrene, SAN, polymer compounds, Synthetic Rubber (S-SBR, E-SBR, Li-BR, Ni-BR, Nd-BR), Latex Binders Trinseo Key Market Applications : Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Lighting, Appliances, Packaging, Medical Devices, Tires, Consumer Goods, and Construction Bringing together the unique strengths of Trinseo and API, the combined Performance Plastics businesses will be well positioned to grow and capture new business opportunities on a global scale. With a broader portfolio of both rigid polymers and soft-touch polymers, the combined business will be ready to meet an even broader array of application needs. Customers also will benefit from new technology and the addition of strong talent from API with their deep application knowledge. "This is the major step I was looking for since when, nearly ten years ago, we started to prepare API for a new strategy of profitable growth on the international stage," said Sandro Gusi, General Manager of API. "Our company has an incredibly deep product knowledge and experience, but still our real potential is yet to be exploited. I see a perfect fit with Trinseo as the true key to fully release our resources, with great benefits for both our precious API people, as well as our extremely valuable customers. I'm personally very excited and totally engaged in shaping this new future together." About API API is an Italian company specialized in the production of thermoplastic elastomeric compounds and bioplastics. Founded in 1956, API has developed a deep and proven experience based on continuous research into innovative, customized compounds for a wide range of applications. For more information visit www.APIplastic.com About Trinseo Trinseo (NYSE:TSE) is a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber. We are focused on delivering innovative and sustainable solutions to help our customers create products that touch lives every day products that are intrinsic to how we live our lives across a wide range of end-markets, including automotive, consumer electronics, appliances, medical devices, lighting, electrical, carpet, paper and board, building and construction, and tires. Trinseo had approximately $3.7 billion in net sales in 2016, with 15 manufacturing sites around the world, and nearly 2,200 employees. For more information visit www.trinseo.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, without limitation, forecasts of growth, revenues, business activity, acquisitions, financings and other matters that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results expressed or implied by this press release. As a result of the foregoing considerations, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005602/en/ Contacts: Press: Trinseo Donna St. Germain, +1 610-240-3307 stgermain@trinseo.com or Investors: Trinseo David Stasse, +1 610-240-3207 dstasse@trinseo.com WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, MONTANA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- Tintina Resources Inc. ("Tintina" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: TAU)(OTCQX: TINTF) is pleased to announce that it has received a third round of response comments from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MT DEQ) with regards to its' submission in the Complete and Compliant portion of the Black Butte Copper Mine Operating Permit ("MOP") process. The MT DEQ has identified a few remaining issues which require clarification. Once the project has achieved Complete and Compliant status, a draft Mine Operating Permit will be transmitted and the process moves forward to the next step in the permitting process; a full Environmental Impact Study (EIS). The EIS will be a comprehensive third party review of the MOP and will result in a Final Record of Decision. In addition, the Company will be required to attain other permits such as Air Quality, Public Water Supply, and a Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MPDES). A Clean Water Act 404 permit is currently in process. A summary of the MOP can be found on our website www.blackbuttecopper.com along with a 3D animation of the planned project showing what the site will look like before and during mining operations as well as after reclamation. The proposed underground mine is designed to provide economic opportunity to Central Montana while fully protecting the Smith River Watershed: 1. All designed openings and entry points to the underground mine are located well above the water table preventing water from ever leaving the mine. 2. Surface irrigation rights have been leased for instream flow to ensure there is no change to the water levels in Sheep Creek. 3. A reverse osmosis water treatment plant will treat water on-site from construction through reclamation, and will return clean water back to the same ground water system through a buried infiltration system. The water treatment plant will remain active as long as needed to ensure all water involved in the operation meets Montana's non-degradation water standards through reclamation and closure. 4. Our mining plan fills all underground mined areas in the copper deposit through paste/backfill ensuring that only a small percentage of the underground mine is open at any given time and that no large open spaces are left underground. There will be no subsidence from surface. 5. Mill tailings that are not returned underground (approx. 55%) have cement added to them and will be placed in a double-lined facility. This innovative use of existing mine technology eliminates windblown dust and prevents acid runoff. Any unmilled rock brought to surface will be stored here. During reclamation, the cemented tailings facility will be sealed with another liner, covered with several feet of cover and original top soil and returned to grazing. 6. Our reclamation plan returns the entire site to the traditional use of cattle grazing with no treatment of water in perpetuity necessary. John Shanahan, CEO stated, "An incredible effort has been put forward by the Tintina team with the oversight and review from the Montana DEQ. We have produced an industry leading underground mining plan that ensures we can have both; protecting our pristine environment while providing economic opportunity in Meagher County and Central Montana. We greatly appreciate the support and guidance from our major shareholders, Sandfire Resources NL and The Electrum Group LLC. We remain committed and focused to bringing the extraordinary project to fruition." Jerry Zieg, VP of Exploration closed by stating, "I am amazed at and thankful for the support we have received from my home community. I'm proud that we have created a project that fits our community while successfully protects traditional uses of our watershed and safeguards the environment; all while providing tremendous economic opportunities for Central Montana." Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this document constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the Company's plans for advancing the Black Butte Copper Project, including plans for tailings and water management and the MOP application and expected outcomes. In making these forward-looking statements, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the Company's plans for tailings and water management will be implemented as expected and will have the intended benefits and that the results of exploration and development activities are consistent with management's expectations. However, the forward-looking statements in this document are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to Tintina's operation as a mineral exploration and development company and the Black Butte Copper Project that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, including that results of exploration and development activities will not be consistent with management's expectations, delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals or financing, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, the risk of accidents, labor disputes, inclement or hazardous weather conditions, unusual or unexpected geological conditions, ground control problems, earthquakes, flooding and all of the other risks generally associated with the development of mining facilities and the operation of a producing mine. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Tintina does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Certain disclosures in this document constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Contacts: Tintina Resources Inc. Nancy Schlepp Director of Public Affairs Mobile: 406-224-8180 or Office: 406-547-3466 406-547-3719 (FAX) nschlepp@tintinaresources.com www.tintinaresources.com The 50 MW Planta Solar Fotovoltaica Oruro project is scheduled for completion in 2018. Bolivia's power utility ENDE is currently reviewing 16 bids for the projects.Bolivia's Minister of Development Planning Mariana Prado has signed a donation agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD) for a 11.5 million financing. The ministry said the funds will be used to leverage further financing for a 50 MW solar project in Bolivia from the Latin American Investment Facility of the European Union. The project's estimated investment is $43 million. The solar plant, named Planta Solar Fotovoltaica Oruro, is scheduled to come online in 2018. The ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2017) - Trenchant Capital Corp. (TSXV: TCC) ("Trenchant" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has retained the services of Hybrid Financial Ltd. ("Hybrid") and Integral Wealth Securities Limited ("Integral") to provide investor relations and market-making services to the Company. Hybrid Financial Ltd. Trenchant has retained the services of Hybrid Financial Ltd. to provide it with investor relations services, including marketing, distribution and branding of the Company to investment advisors and other registrants. Hybrid was co-founded by Steve Marshall and Alexandre Cote in early 2011 to provide retail-focused origination and distribution services to the investment management industry throughout North America. Hybrid is based in Toronto, Ontario and also has an office in Montreal, Quebec. Neither Hybrid nor any of its directors and officers own any securities of the Company. Under the terms of the agreement with Hybrid, the Company will pay a monthly retainer fee of $10,000 and the term of the agreement shall begin on August 1, 2017 for an initial period or two months. Integral Wealth Securities Limited Trenchant has also retained Integral Wealth Securities Limited to provide market-making services in accordance with TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") policies. Integral will trade securities of the Company on the TSXV for the purposes of maintaining an orderly market of the Company's securities. In consideration of the services provided by Integral, the Company will pay integral a monthly cash fee of $7,500. The agreement has a minimum term of 12 months, subject to the one-time right of the Company to terminate the agreement after three months, after which it may be terminated on three months' notice. Following the 12-month anniversary of the agreement, the Company may terminate the agreement on 30 days' notice. Integral will not receive shares or options as compensation. However, Integral and its clients may have or may acquire a direct interest in the securities of the Company. Established in 2003, Integral is a private, independent, IIROC licensed investment dealer headquartered in Toronto with offices in Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa, Nanaimo (B.C.) and Sidney (B.C.). Integral's capital markets group provides financing, strategic advisory, and market making services to emerging companies in three principal sectors: oil and gas, metals and mining and diversified industries. Integral is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and can access all Canadian Stock Exchange and Alternative Trading Systems. The capital and securities required for any trade undertaken by Integral as principal will be provided by Integral. The Company and Integral are unrelated and unaffiliated entities. About Trenchant Trenchant aims to become a diversified investment and venture capital firm with a focus on providing special situation debt financing to established companies with a proven track record. The Company expects to benefit from its strategic alliance with Hillcore, a leading independent Canadian investment and advisory firm, that grants the Company rights of first negotiation to provide financing and management services to Hillcore's pipeline of current and future private equity investments. About the Hillcore Group Hillcore is a leading independent Canadian investment and advisory firm that invests predominantly in the life sciences, real estate, seniors living, financial, industrial and energy sectors. With offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal, Hillcore employs approximately 2,500 people throughout Canada across its various groups and portfolio companies. Entities under management by Hillcore had an asset value in excess of $4.5 billion as of December 31, 2016. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD TRENCHANT CAPITAL CORP. Per: "Eric Boehnke" Eric Boehnke, CEO For further information, please contact: Trenchant Capital Corp. Eric Boehnke, CEO Phone: (604) 307-4274 Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the proposed business and operations of the Company including the two referenced agreements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to; general business, economic and social uncertainties; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; and other risks outside of the Company's control. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except as required by applicable laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 09/18/17 -- Editors Note: There are figures associated with this press release. INV Metals ("INV Metals" or "Company") (TSX: INV) is very pleased to announce the results of the recent exploration program at its 100% owned Loma Larga gold project ("Loma Larga" or "Property"), along with preliminary results of the initial field work performed at the recently acquired Las Penas and Tierras Coloradas exploration properties, located in Ecuador. Ms. Candace MacGibbon, CEO, stated, "The results of our Loma Larga drill program confirm our belief in the exploration potential of the property, and that the deposit remains open and has significant potential to the west. Phase one of our drill program at Loma Larga commenced in April and was completed in August. The focus of the program was to follow up on silica alteration containing gold mineralization that was encountered approximately 120 m west of the current resource during our geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations of the proposed Loma Larga ramp location. Geotechnical hole LLDGT-004 returned values of 2.17 g/t gold and 52.5 g/t silver, over 19.50 m (see Figure 1: Plan View of Drill Hole Locations). As a result, our team designed and conducted a drill program to systematically test for the western extension of the Loma Larga ore body, stepping out up to 600 m from the western border of the current resource. The results of the drilling are encouraging with interpretations from holes LLD-383 and LLD-385 possibly indicating the presence of a feeder zone approximately 75 to 100 m from the western boundary of the resource (see Figure 4: Alteration Section 700). Hole LLD-383 returned values grading 3.22 g/t gold and 48.7 g/t silver over 51.25 m, including 20.24 g/t gold and 434.4 g/t silver, over 2.75 m, while hole LLD-385 returned values of 1.59 g/t gold and 25.5 g/t silver over 53.00 m, including 8.75 g/t gold and 211.2 g/t silver, over 2.70 m." Ms. MacGibbon added, "The next phase of the exploration program at Loma Larga will be to analyze the information collected and to target locations for potential high grade feeder zone to the west, with the goal of adding to our current resource and to discover new deposits on the property." Ms. MacGibbon also added, "For over the past year, we have been reviewing public and proprietary exploration data throughout Ecuador and have identified highly prospective mineral concessions with potential for large gold and gold-copper deposits within Ecuador. This resulted in the Company being granted four highly prospective exploration projects earlier in 2017. The Company is aggressively continuing this strategy and expects to identify and acquire additional highly prospective exploration concessions within Ecuador. During our initial prospecting field work on the Las Penas and Tierras Coloradas properties, which included mapping and rock chip sampling, the Company discovered numerous silica veins with anomalous to high-grade gold values in surface grab samples. Please see below for further details." Loma Larga Exploration The Loma Larga deposit has a strike length of 1,600 m north-south by 120 m to 400 m east-west, and is up to 60 m thick. The deposit occurs within a silica alteration package interpreted to have been caused by the presence of at least two high grade feeder zones. Management believes the potential for the discovery of one or more feeder zones, which we believe to be the source of the Loma Larga mineralization, to the west of the current delineated deposit, remains high. INV Metals completed the first phase of its 2017 exploration drill program at Loma Larga in August. The Company drilled 13 exploration holes, totalling 4,567 m, primarily testing the western extension of the deposit and following up on mineralization discovered during the geotechnical drill program in early 2017. A deeper hole testing the potential for porphyry mineralization was also completed in the north. Management is highly encouraged with the results of the drill program which demonstrate the deposit remains open to the west and the broader high sulphidation system is large. The silica alteration package, which hosts the Loma Larga gold mineralization, was present in all drill holes, providing evidence of a very extensive high sulphidation system on the property, which remains untested to the north, west and south. Gold mineralization, ranging from 0.83 g/t gold over 62 m, and as high as 20.24 g/t gold over 2.75 m, was encountered along all the east-west sections tested (see Figures 2-6: Alteration Sections 500-900). Nine of the eleven mineralized holes testing the western extension, ranging in distance from 35 m to over 300 m from the border of the resource, returned gold values higher than the current resource cut-off grade of 2 g/t gold, while the other two holes returned values close to cut-off grade. Other highlights include hole LLD-376 grading 5.27 g/t gold and 64.6 g/t silver over 5 m, and hole LLD-386 grading 9.39 g/t gold and 72.0 g/t silver over 7.00 m. Table 1: Drill Results from Western Extension of Loma Larga below highlights the results of the program while Figure 1: Plan View of Drill Hole Locations shows the location of the drill holes. The results of hole LLD-389, on Section 900, are still pending. Hole LLD-384 was a deep hole drilled to a depth of 1,159.76 m to follow up on mineralization outside of the resource to the north which indicated the potential for porphyry style mineralization. The hole was completed at the above depth due to the capability of the drill rig. Assay results grading 0.29 g/t gold and 416 ppb copper over 214.50 m, from a depth of 720.8 m are promising and management interprets that the location of the drill hole may be the lateral halo of the porphyry system. The hole intersected anomalous gold mineralized diorite and quartz diorite intrusions hosting quartz, pyrite, magnetite and chalcopyrite veinlets plus disseminated pyrite and magnetite, developed in an Intense Intermediate argillic alteration (illite-kaolinite-muscovite-pyrite). INV Metals will analyze the results from the hole and will determine if further geophysics and/or drilling, including deeper drilling, is warranted to continue to test for porphyry mineralization at Loma Larga. Table 1: Drill Results from Western Extension of Loma Larga ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- True Hole From To Width Width Au Ag metres metres metres metres g/t g/t Section ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLDGT-004 223.50 243.00 19.50 16.90 2.17 52.5 600 including 223.50 238.00 14.50 12.60 2.63 51.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-376 187.00 196.00 9.00 8.70 3.25 32.3 600 including 192.00 196.00 4.00 3.90 5.27 64.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-377 226.50 254.50 28.00 24.20 2.35 29.6 600 including 230.50 236.50 6.00 5.20 3.44 16.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-378 170.00 187.00 17.00 16.40 1.65 30.6 500 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-381 249.20 252.80 3.60 1.58 2.45 28.9 500 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-382 167.50 186.50 19.00 18.40 2.66 57.1 800 including 171.50 180.50 9.00 8.70 3.25 91.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-383 170.00 221.25 51.25 48.15 3.22 48.7 700 including 179.00 217.00 38.00 35.70 2.53 31.6 and 213.00 217.00 4.00 3.80 3.36 65.8 218.50 221.25 2.75 1.74 20.24 434.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-384 720.50 935.00 214.50 ND(i) 0.29 0.8 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-385 161.00 214.00 53.00 49.80 1.59 25.5 700 including 162.00 177.00 15.00 14.10 1.83 11.9 and 193.00 201.00 8.00 7.50 2.69 54.6 244.00 262.00 18.00 16.90 2.28 38.8 including 250.00 252.70 2.70 1.70 8.75 211.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-386 152.00 189.35 37.35 37.20 4.89 52.2 700 including 162.00 189.35 27.35 27.20 5.89 67.4 and 174.00 181.00 7.00 6.97 9.39 72.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-387 137.00 197.20 60.20 56.60 0.83 26.0 800 including 149.00 153.00 4.00 3.80 1.44 4.5 and 186.00 197.20 11.20 10.50 1.27 64.0 and 192.00 197.20 5.20 4.90 1.65 94.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLD-388 126.00 161.00 35.00 33.80 2.32 20.3 800 including 126.00 137.00 11.00 10.60 3.36 14.0 and 133.00 137.00 4.00 3.90 5.31 24.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (i)Note: True widths determinations are estimated at 84-100% of the reported core length intervals for most of the holes, estimated sectionally based on the current alteration zone interpretation. The true width of Hole LLD-384 cannot be determined at this time. Holes LLD-378 and LLD-380 were drilled to test for silica alteration and potential feeders up to 600 m from the current resource boundary, under surface mapping of dacitic lithology. Although no mineralized results were encountered, the presence of thick silica alteration in these holes at this significant distance from the current ore body is encouraging. Table 2 below presents the drill results from the geotechnical and hydrogeological holes drilled within the Loma Larga deposit in early 2017 to obtain data for modelling. The results are in line with previous drill results and will be included in future resources and reserves calculation. Various samples of the core from these holes will be utilized in the on-going metallurgical test work program as part of the Feasibility Study. Table 2: Drill Results from Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Program ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hole From To Width True Width(i) Au Ag metres metres metres metres g/t g/t ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLDGT-007 71.45 77.50 6.05 5.70 1.24 1.5 131.24 183.23 51.99 48.90 3.25 27.6 including 131.24 153.00 21.76 20.40 4.20 11.8 and 163.00 170.00 7.00 6.60 4.88 53.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLDGT-008 60.50 71.50 11.00 9.50 7.27 91.8 including 64.50 67.50 3.00 2.60 12.97 155.8 92.80 173.00 80.20 69.50 3.28 13.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LLDGT-011 120.00 161.00 41.00 39.40 4.72 14.0 including 141.00 149.00 8.00 7.70 8.68 21.9 173.00 196.00 23.00 22.10 3.00 12.8 including 189.00 196.00 7.00 6.70 4.82 18.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (i) Note: True widths determinations are estimated at 84-96% of the reported core length intervals for most of the holes, estimated sectionally based on the current alteration zone interpretation. Regional Exploration The Company acquired four highly prospective exploration projects in early 2017 and continues with its strategy to acquire prospective exploration concessions within Ecuador. INV Metals carried out initial prospecting field work, including mapping and rock chip sampling on the Las Penas and Tierras Coloradas properties. Management plans to perform detailed follow up exploration activities, including geophysics, with the goal of the identification of drill targets when relevant permits have been applied for and issued early next year. Las Penas Project The Las Penas concessions are comprised of 30,278 hectares, located in central Ecuador, within the provinces of Azuay and Canar, approximately 20 to 40 km north of the Company's Loma Larga gold development project and northeast of the Rio Blanco deposit. Management believes the area is prospective for intermediate and low sulphidation epithermal gold systems, and early indications also indicate the presence of porphyry type targets. Initial field work consisted of prospecting activities, which included geological and structural mapping, as well as rock chip and stream sediment sampling. Within three discrete areas, the presence of quartz veins were identified, the longest of which is the Pampeada vein which was traced on surface for 6,000 m. Of the 20 rock chip samples taken from this vein, 5 returned assay values over 2 g/t gold with the highest returning assays of 8.7 g/t gold. The La Cresta vein was traced on surface for approximately 400 m with 10 of the 37 rock chip grab samples of vein material grading greater than 1 g/t gold, including 2 samples grading over 4.5 g/t gold. The Playas Ecantadas vein was traced for about 250 m and 2 of the 21 samples returned assays grading over 1 g/t gold, with the highest returning a value of 39.6 g/t gold. Tierras Coloradas Project The Tierras Coloradas concessions are comprised of 10,071 hectares located in the southern part of Ecuador in the province of Loja, near the border of Peru. Initial prospecting fieldwork has identified seven priority quartz vein areas for detailed follow up. The quartz veins identified on surface have a combined length of approximately 7.2 km. Approximately 1,200 m of the veins range between 0.5 m and 2 m wide and about 1,800 m of the veins are estimated at over 2 m wide. INV Metals collected 93 rock chip samples from the seven quartz vein areas mentioned above and the assay results demonstrated 20 of 93 samples returned gold values greater than 0.5 g/t (with corresponding silver values). The majority of the samples returned assay values of at least anomalous gold. Highlights from the grab samples include values of 49 g/t gold, 30.1 g/t gold and 8.1 g/t gold (with corresponding silver values). Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Scott Zelligan, P.Geo, a Licensed Professional Geologist with the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario and consultant to the Company, who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects. Mr. Zelligan has reviewed all the relevant technical data and plans to visit the Property in Q4/2017. About INV Metals INV Metals is an international mineral resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of precious metal projects in Ecuador. Currently, INV Metals' primary assets are: (1) its 100% interest in the Loma Larga gold property in Ecuador, (2) its 35% interest in the Kaoko property, located in Namibia, and (3) its 100% interest in regional exploration properties in Ecuador. Forward-Looking Statement This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events that may occur in the future. Forward looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to (i) the exploration potential and prospective nature of the properties disclosed in this news release, (ii) the details of future exploration plans and potential results, (iii) potential gold or silver mineralization on the properties and (iv) the potential acquisition of new properties. In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the timing and amount of future exploration and development, the acquisition of new properties, the availability of necessary financing and materials to continue to explore and develop the Company's properties in the short and long-term and to acquire new properties, the progress of exploration and development activities, results of future exploration activities, the receipt of necessary regulatory and government approvals permits and licenses, assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral properties, risks relating to variations in mineral resources, grade or recovery rates resulting from current exploration and development activities, risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in gold, silver and other commodity prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of gold, silver and related products, risks related to increased competition in the market for gold, silver and related products and in the mining industry generally, risks related to global financial conditions, uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the risk of delays or increased costs that might be encountered during the development process, regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, including the risk that the financing necessary to fund the exploration and development activities on the Company's properties, or to acquire new properties, may not be available on satisfactory terms, or at all, risks relating to adverse weather conditions, political risk and social unrest, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interest, environmental risks and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's reports and filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information. To view the figures associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1102347_figures.pdf. Contacts: INV Metals Candace MacGibbon Chief Executive Officer (416) 703-8416 cmacgibbon@invmetals.com FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 06/13/17 -- VPR Brands, LP (OTC PINK: VPRB), a market leader specializing in vaporizers and accessories for essential oils, cannabis concentrates, and extracts, will be a sponsor of the The Cannabis World Congress & Business Expo (CWCBExpo) at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York this June 14-16th. The CWCBExpo is the definitive business event for the cannabis industry. Exhibitors and sponsors bring cutting-edge solutions to owners and managers of businesses in this fast-growing industry, and a wealth of opportunity and knowledge to those looking to enter the market with potential partners and investors. "We have decided that sponsoring the event, which will give us the opportunity to insert one of our catalogs into every attendee bag when they arrive, would be best the best way to showcase our products, which are the cornerstone of our company. The evolution of our HONEYSTICK brand offering has grown exponentially in 2017 and our new catalog and website have been very well received by our customers. We have printed and have and will be distributing over 25,000 of our new product catalogs at trade events such as this as well as through our distributor partners just in the second quarter alone. Sponsorships like this will continue to be part of our and sales and marketing plan going forward," said Kevin Frija, CEO of VPR Brands, LP. "This is the largest Cannabis Conference in the Northeastern United States, with a very diverse exhibitor roster and some very famous presenters and other industry experts speaking. It is a great event for us to sponsor to show our support for the industry and further expand and create awareness of our HONSYSTICK Brand." About Cannabis World Congress & Business Expositions (CWCBExpo) The professionally run Cannabis World Congress & Business Expositions (CWCBExpo) are produced by Leading Edge Expositions in partnership with the International Cannabis Association (ICA). The events are the premier professional forums for dispensary owners, growers, suppliers, investors, medical professionals, government regulators, legal counsel, and entrepreneurs looking to achieve business success and identify new areas of growth in this dynamic industry. To learn more about the coast-to-coast CWCBExpos in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, go to www.cwcbexpo.com. About VPR Brands, LP: VPR Brands is a technology company, whose assets include issued U.S. and Chinese patents for atomization related products including technology for medical marijuana vaporizers and electronic cigarette products and components. The company is also engaged in product development for the vapor or vaping market, including e-liquids. Vaporizers and electronic cigarettes (also known as e-cigarettes) are devices which deliver nicotine and or cannabis through atomization or vaping, and without smoke and other chemical constituents typically found in traditional products. For more information about VPR Brands, please visit the company on the web at www.vprbrands.com and www.vapehoneystick.com Forward-looking statements: This news release contains statements that involve expectations, plans or intentions, and other factors discussed from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These statements are forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, so actual results may vary materially. The company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. Contact Information: VPR Brands, LP Kevin Frija CEO (954) 715-7001 info@vprbrands.com www.vprbrands.com BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 9:15 am ET Tuesday, the Federal Reserve will release industrial production figures for September. Ahead of the data, the greenback rose against its major rivals. The greenback was worth 1.1746 against the euro, 1.3180 against the pound, 0.9799 against the franc and 112.43 against the yen at 9:10 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 --New Colombia Resources, Inc. ("the Company") (OTC PINK: NEWC), a Colombian natural resource company listed in the U.S., with premium metallurgical coal and medical marijuana assets, believes Colombia is poised to become a world supplier of high quality medical marijuana and industrial hemp products. In Colombia, a law legalizing medical marijuana was passed in May 2016, but the regulations for possession of seeds, cultivation, transformation, and exportation have not been ratified. A Resolution regulating medical marijuana is expected at any time in accordance to Article 18 of Law 1787 of 2016 and Decree 613 of 2017. New Colombia believes recent efforts from the U.S. Attorney General to prosecute medical marijuana producers in states where legal is a big setback to the burgeoning medical marijuana industry in the U.S. The U.S. is Colombia's biggest trade partner in dozens of industries, so naturally medical marijuana and industrial hemp should be no exception. A year round grow cycle in the ideal climate with world renowned medicinal strains, will make Colombia the ideal supplier to the U.S. "As the U.S. medical marijuana industry and their investors ponder the AG's next move, Colombia's medical marijuana industry will flourish," commented John Campo, President of New Colombia Resources, Inc. New Colombia's President, John Campo, was recently interviewed by S&P Global Market Intelligence, for a copy of that report visit, http://www.snl.com/web/client?auth=inherit - news/article?id=40765771&cdid=A-40765771-10290 New Colombia Resource's joint venture in Colombia, Sannabis SAS, has been legally producing non-smoked medical marijuana products since 2014, their in-house doctor and others prescribe these products to patients. Sannabis works with small producers legally on an Indian reservation in Colombia creating opportunity for local farmers to grow medical marijuana legally verses initiating illegal coca crops. Sannabis is carefully monitoring the issuance of the resolution to regulate medical marijuana to apply for the appropriate licenses that will continue to help small producers. To see the Sannabis catalog with technical specifications of their products visit, http://www.sannabis.co/ver-catalogo The Company has documented several successful cases of cancer patients and will continue to collect data of other patients. They have been working with a U.S. company to submit an orphan drug application to the FDA and will be making announcements accordingly. Their U.S. partners have been issued several orphan drug designations in the past year. Sannabis products made headlines recently in Colombia when their Cannabis Exhibition in the halls of Congress was abruptly cancelled by the President of the Senate for political reasons, to view the news clip visit, https://www.facebook.com/sannabis.oficial/videos/vb.1064330270249615/1763729956976306/?type=2&theater For a video on the history of Sannabis visit, https://youtu.be/xzuFtp5-Iyo. Sannabis has built a prototype hemp brick maker to provide affordable housing to remote areas of Colombia where transportation of concrete blocks is cost prohibitive. New Colombia sees the opportunity to create a new industry in the export of hempcrete. To view the hemp brick maker visit, https://www.facebook.com/sannabis.oficial/videos/1770640082951960/ https://www.facebook.com/sannabis.oficial/videos/1771559692859999/ New Colombia Resources would also like to announce their accounting firm, Albeck Financial Services, has been working with their auditor, Sadler Gibb, to bring the company current with their SEC filings. According to the timeline provided by their auditor the first reports are expected to be filed soon. Follow Sannabis on Facebook for photos and testimonials at https://www.facebook.com/sannabis.cannamedicinal New Colombia Resources, Inc. New Colombia Resources, Inc. owns vast reserves of premium metallurgical coal mining titles and a medical marijuana joint venture in the Republic of Colombia. They are setting up a rock mining operation to supply the major road and infrastructure projects within miles of their properties. They own 100% of La Tabaquera metallurgical coal mine in Colombia with an estimated 15-17 million tonnes of reserves. They have an additional 1196 ha. metallurgical coal mining title that they are negotiating to develop with a foreign entity to build a coal fired power plant. New Colombia Resources holds a significant position in Sannabis SAS which legally produces medical marijuana products in the Republic of Colombia, visit www.sannabis.co. For more information on the Company visit www.newcolombiaresources.com Forward Looking Statements Forward Looking Statements; This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing works such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements might not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include financing, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations. New Colombia Resources, Inc. does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements. Company/Media Contact: New Colombia Resources, Inc. John Campo President/Chairman (1)-410-236-8200 USA (57) 318-657-0918 Colombia jcampo@newcolombiaresources.com BEIJING, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The launch event for Hainan Airlines' new uniforms designed in partnership with world-renowned fashion designer Lawrence Xu was held concurrently with the Shanli Jiangnan-themed press conference for the Lawrence Xu Haute Couture Show that will be held during Paris Couture Week Fall/Winter 2017, where Hainan Airlines will debut its new high-fashion uniform of 5th generation. Hainan Airlines Brand Director Xu Fei and Lawrence were among the many fashion industry insiders and journalists who attended the event. The level of dedication and innovation with which Hainan Airlines continuously seeks to strengthen the brand is not something often seen at most companies, while the results of these efforts are evident in the masterful visual experience to which the airline's passengers are treated every time they fly. Driven by Hainan Airlines' strategic vision of becoming one of the world's most prominent carriers, two years ago, the airline began seeking out leading international fashion designers with whom it could collaborate. After two years of meetings and conversations with the fashion world's leaders, Hainan Airlines decided on Lawrence Xu. One of the key decision drivers was the uniqueness of his creations, which combine elements from East and West as well as embody salient features of China's rich cultural heritage. Lawrence said, "Hainan Airlines' fifth-generation uniforms maintain yet add a new twist to the previous generations' iconic elements, including the Oriental art-inspired patterns and gray-color theme that have always been an essential part of the uniform's design. The new uniforms pay a tribute to those of the previous generations and have been updated with a modern aesthetic that incorporates popular international fashion elements. " Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/523865/Hainan_Airlines.jpg MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- Geomega Resources Inc. ("GeoMegA" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: GMA) announce that, subject to the TSX Venture Exchange approval, the expiry date of 1,302,778 warrants is extended for one year as per the table below. There are no other proposed changes to the terms of the warrants. Number of Warrants Current Expiry Date New Expiry Date Exercise price ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,302,778 June 19, 2017 June 19, 2018 $0.23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- About GeoMegA (www.geomega.ca) GeoMegA is a mineral exploration and evaluation company focused on the discovery and sustainable development of economic deposits of metals in Quebec. GeoMegA is committed to meeting the Canadian mining industry standards and distinguishing itself with innovative engineering, stakeholders' engagement and dedication to local transformation benefits. 78,258,049 common shares of GeoMegA are currently issued and outstanding. Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding our intentions and plans. The forward-looking statements that are contained in this news release are based on various assumptions and estimates by the Company and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from results forecasted or suggested in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We caution you that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, as discussed in the Company's filings with Canadian securities agencies. Various factors may prevent or delay our plans, including but not limited to, contractor availability and performance, weather, access, mineral prices, success and failure of the exploration and development carried out at various stages of the program, and general business, economic, competitive, political and social conditions. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward- looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws. Contacts: Geomega Resources Inc. Kiril Mugerman President and CEO 450-641-5119 ext.5653 kmugerman@geomega.ca Given increasing activity in the solar PV sector in Africa, a critical question has emerged: should African states aim for competitive tenders or negotiated deals? This question was among those discussed at the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) that took place last week in Copenhagen, Denmark.Answering the question, Kyeh Kim, acting vice president of the department of compact operations at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. foreign aid agency, said that the MCC is in favour of competitive tenders because they induce competition. However, Kim added, we see that some governments prefer working on direct deals because they are faster. So, we try to help governments to design transparent tender processes that proceed fast and efficiently. The key therefore, Kim argued, is transparent and not cumbersome tender processes. On the other hand, Kim noted, negotiated deals can work as pilots for governments and investors to understand the sector and learn what is working and what is not. But eventually, yes, the MCC wants to see African states adopting competitive tenders so they get the best deals, Kim concluded. Fast versus slow? Marcus Williams, sector manager for energy and extractive industries at the World Bank's Multilateral ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea An initiative launched by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation gives donors an opportunity to help provide for the care of a former racehorse while getting the feel of horse ownership without the added responsibilities. If a donor chooses to become a sponsor, which starts at $250, the TRF will send regular updates on the horse and may allow visits as well, depending on the horse's location. "It is like having your own horse," said Jennifer Stevens, assistant director of development and horse sponsorship for TRF. "Horse Sponsors receive a personalized package about their horse that includes pedigree, past performances, and photos of the horse. In addition, there are different gifts depending on donation level," she said, adding that most of the horses available for sponsorship are part of TRF's Second Chances program at correctional facilities. "Throughout the year we send updates on the horse with photos whenever possible. Most people want the option to visit their horse, and we can usually arrange that depending on the program that particular horse is in. It is best to know if someone wants to visit before we pick out their horse," Stevens said. Esteemed Friend, who won more than $800,000 in 69 starts, is part of TRF's herd. Photo courtesy of TRF. With 24 locations in nine states across the United States, the 800-horse herd owned by TRF consists of some adoptable off-track Thoroughbreds and many long-term retirees that are unable to be ridden or adopted (around 200 of their horses are 20 years old or older). The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited organization estimates that many of these lifersmost of the horses needing sponsorshipwill remain in their care for 10-15 years and cost approximately $2,500 per year per horse. This puts the cost for one off-track Thoroughbred anywhere from $25,000 to $37,500 for the organization. While some breeders or past owners help pay for their care, the organization said only 5% of its herd is fully supported by former connections. From the sponsor's perspective, the way Stevens and the TRF view it, $250 for one year is a workable donation for many who are interested in giving to a charity. While a $2,500 platinum sponsorship may be out of reach for an individual, groups of horse lovers have joined forces to share in a retired racer like a syndicate. "Sponsorship starts at $250. If you break that down it is only $20.83 per month, which is really like one lunch out," she said. "Our goal is to get at least $1,000 for each horse. A platinum sponsorship fully takes care of a horse for one year for less than $3 a day. Often there are several people sponsoring the same horse that allows us to get to that level. One group of friends even created a 'Syndicares' sponsorship where each person pledged $1 a day to care for a horse we rescued." Some of the horses needing sponsors are listed on the TRF's website along with short biographies that Stevens hopes will grab someone's attention or spark a memory of good times at the track. For horse lovers unable to have one of their own, a TRF sponsorship may offer a next-best option. "Usually someone will choose a horse who speaks to them in some waythe name, the pedigree, where it raced, the physical location of the horse or sometimes just how the horse looks will remind them of a horse they once knew or loved," Stevens said. "Sponsoring a horse is a great way for people who love horses or racing to help out a former racehorse." LONDON, June 15,2017 /PRNewswire/ --Chubb has announced the opening of a new office in Reading, Berkshire, and two key appointments to the local team, as it continues to invest in building its local presence across the UK and Ireland to support brokers and their clients. To support Chubb's growth in the South area,Chubb has appointed Mark Davison as Senior Property and Package underwriter and Bryony Glover as Business Development Manager (BDM). Mark will focus on the underwriting of property and package business for all customer segments and, together with the team, will also have responsibility for managing broker relationships in these product areas. Mark joins Chubb from AIG where he was a London Property Underwriter and brings to the role more than ten years of insurance industry experience. Mark will report to Nick Kirby, Regional Property and Package Manager for the Midlands and South for Chubb. Bryony will be the main access point to Chubb for the market across all product lines. She will also be responsible for maintaining and developing broker relationships generally. Bryony will report to Andy Francis, Regional Manager, Midlands and South for Chubb. Bryony joins from Pen Underwriting and has previously worked for HSB Insurance and Towergate. Both appointments are effective immediately. Andy Francis, Regional Manager, Midlands and South for Chubb in the UK and Ireland, said: "These appointments demonstrate our continued commitment to building a strong local presence in the South area and also to the investment we are putting into our local underwriting capability. "The valuable industry expertise Mark and Bryony bring will help to support us in further developing a strong proposition for our broker partners and their clients. "Over the coming months, we will continue to grow our team in order to support the development of our products, underwriting and service proposition." Editor's Note Brokers and clients in the Reading area can now find Chubb at its new address: Suite 1.10 Soane Point 6-8 Market Place Reading RG1 2EG. About Chubb Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: chubb.com/uk Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/324916/Chubb_Logo.jpg NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- In Ovations Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: INOH) wishes to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Rosendo Alvarez III for his years of service and announce his formal and amicable resignation as an Officer and Director of the Company. In stepping down, Mr. Alvarez stated, "I wish INOH and its shareholders a very bright future." The company has retired Mr. Alvarez's convertible promissory notes in the face value of four hundred twenty-one thousand dollars ($421,000.00) plus interest; and his ninety million (90,000,000) preferred shares of INOH stock as well. Mark Goldberg, CEO of In Ovations Holdings, Inc. stated, "I want to take this opportunity to wish Rosendo Alvarez lll the very best in his future endeavors and thank him for all the time he invested in INOH. Mr. Alvarez will always be a friend of mine and the company." INOH, Inc. is the process of entering the immensely profitable business of Medical Marijuana. For months, INOH has been involved in a thorough and comprehensive due diligence of profitable Medical Marijuana companies that desire to join the INOH family. The company has narrowed its search to a field of less than eight prominent companies in the Medical Marijuana sector. Furthermore, INOH will be adding a seasoned executive to manage its new Medical Marijuana division. The company will also be providing updates shortly on its other business ventures as well as a new Stock Symbol and Cusip Number. ABOUT Atmospheric Water Solutions ("AWS") is a controlled subsidiary of Aquarius Brands, a group of companies specializing in water generation, conservation and education for homes, businesses, hotels, restaurants, schools, utility companies and more. Aquarius Brands products include AWS AquaBoy air to water generators, Boomerang high-capacity compact bottling machines, Retrax solar solutions and DroughtBuster water saving devices. In Ovations Holdings, Inc. is a minority owner of Aquarius Brands. Through its subsidiary, Electro Verde Inc., it has entered into a marketing distribution agreement with Seychelle Water Environmental Technologies, Inc., which manufactures and supplies revolutionary water filtration systems featuring breakthrough technology, most notably, Ionic Adsorption Micro Filtration. Seychelle is a prominent company in the fast-growing water filtration industry, who markets a complete line of top-quality portable water filtration products and brands in North America and worldwide. The company reiterates that it has no intention of seeking a reverse split as previously stated. In Ovations Holdings Email: inovationsholdingsinc@gmail.com Website: www.inovationsholdings.com Facebook: InOvationsHoldings Twitter: @inohotc Aquarius Brands The Conservation Company 12260 SW 53rd Street, Suite 603 Cooper City, Florida, 33330, USA Office Phone - (954) 306-6763 Email: RGoldstein@AquariusBrands.org www.AquariusBrands.org www.AtmosphericWaterSolutions.com Seychelle Environmental Technologies, Inc. http://www.seychelle.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 15, 2017) - Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. (OTCQB: ATTBF) (CSE: ATT) (the "Company" or "Abattis") is pleased to announce the following key additions to our Executive and Management team, Anthony Jackson as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), Christina Boddy as Corporate Secretary, John Kaye as head of Corporate Development and Clayton Chessa as head of Operations. All positions will report directly to Robert Abenante, President and CEO of Abattis. Anthony Jackson is a Chartered Accountant (CPA, CA) with an impressive track record of providing financial consultant and CFO services to various public and private companies. Prior to becoming a founder and principle at BridgeMark Financial Corp, Mr. Jackson worked at Ernst & Young and as a senior analyst with an investment banking firm. Mr. Jackson has led strategic ventures within the cannabis industry and is a welcome addition to Abattis. Christina Boddy is an experienced corporate governance professional with over ten years' experience acting as Corporate Secretary for public companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, and the Canadian Securities Exchange. Ms. Boddy will play the lead role in ensuring regulatory and compliance requirements at Abattis are met. John Kaye has over 10 years of experience in active business operations as well as significant experience in investment banking and mergers and acquisitions ("M&A"). Mr. Kaye joins Abattis after his time as an M&A associate at Sequoia Mergers & Acquisitions, a sell-side M&A firm in Vancouver. He will lead corporate development efforts for the Company. Clayton Chessa has been working in the Canadian cannabis industry for nearly 10 years, developing a keen sense for the nuances and specifics of this booming industry. This firsthand experience has given Mr. Chessa the opportunity to transition into consultancy services where he has guided industry operators in areas such as financial and managerial systems and consultation on growing, testing, extracting, distribution and general operations within the sector. Mr. Chessa brings a unique skill set to Abattis and an educated view on the current landscape surrounding the legal cannabis industry in Canada. "I am very excited to add such talented individuals to our team at Abattis," said Robert Abenante, President and CEO of Abattis. "With many of our business verticals experiencing rapid expansion, we believe these key additions will ensure growth is managed smoothly throughout the Company and that appropriate policies and procedures are followed so the Company can continue to focus on organic growth, accretive acquisitions and joint-ventures." With the recent announcement of the exclusive distribution agreement with Suzhou Raybot Material Tech Corp. ("Raybot"), Abattis is positioning itself to capitalize on the sales of various extracts including THC and CBD, which are growing exponentially versus the sales of dried cannabis. According to an article in Forbes magazine, the sales of just CBD extracts alone will top $ 3 Billion USD by 2021. As licensed producers shift their focus from selling dried cannabis to higher margin extracted products, Abattis' intends to be a leader in extraction technology and be the lead provider of equipment and services to the cannabis sector. The Company will leverage its testing, formulation, extraction and sales expertise to offer one-stop testing, processing and manufacturing to the entire cannabis market. About Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. Abattis is a life sciences and biotechnology company which aggregates, integrates, and invests in cannabis technologies and biotechnology services for the legal cannabis industry developing in Canada. The Company has successfully developed and licensed natural health products, medicines, extractions, and ingredients for the biologics, nutraceutical, bioceutical, and cosmetic markets. The Company is also seeking to acquire exclusive intellectual property rights to agricultural technologies to be employed in extraction and processing of botanical ingredients and compounds. The Company follows strict standard operating protocols, and adheres to the applicable laws of Canada and foreign jurisdictions. About Northern Vine Canada Inc. Northern Vine Labs is licensed by Health Canada (Dealers License) for the possession of Cannabis and related active ingredients, as well as the production of extracts for the purpose of analysis. Northern Vine Labs product certification and quality assurances programs incorporate global best practices and procedures for application in the legal Canadian cannabis market. About Vergence Visionary Bioceuticals Corp. Vergence, dba Vergence NaturalsTM, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Abattis, based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The Vergence team are bioceutical marketing specialists focused on health products to penetrate the fast growing market for natural, safe and effective natural products that meet unmet wellness needs. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, ABATTIS BIOCEUTICALS CORP, "Rob Abenante" Robert Abenante, President & CEO For more information, please visit the Company's website at: www.abattis.com or www.northernvinelabs.com. For inquiries, please contact the Company at (604) 336-0881 or at news@abattis.com. FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION This press release contains forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "intends", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding the expected volume of services to be provided at the Northern Vine lab, the timing of results of testing of the Raybot machine, that the Raybot technology will be a lead extraction technology and will allow the Company to be a lead provider of extraction equipment and services, the expected growth of the CBD and other extracted cannabis derivatives market, the margins of extracted derivatives versus cannabis flower, the Company's general short and long-term growth plans and the Company's goal to become a one-stop testing, processing and manufacturing to the entire cannabis market. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including that the Raybot technology may not work as expected or at all, the Company will be unsuccessful in developing new product formulations in the time expected or at all, the Company will not be able to execute its proposed business plan in the time required or at all due to regulatory, financial or other issues, the Company's competitors may develop competing technologies, changes in regulatory requirements and other factors beyond the Company's control. Additional risk factors are included in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis, available under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements are made as at the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, where as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. TEMPE, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / June 15, 2017 / Lithium Exploration Group Inc. (OTC PINK: LEXG) announced today that its partners at White Top Oil and Gas have reached a verbal agreement on a $14M investment that would fund the final acquisition of the field in Louisiana, and fund the first six drilling targets. This proposed investment is from a New York-based private equity firm and is being made directly into White Top Oil and Gas and thus will not be dilutive to LEXG shareholders. "I was on a call with our partners at White Top and the investor yesterday afternoon and, with only a few small considerations in the final documentation, the goal is to close the transaction in July," commented CEO, Alex Walsh. "We are not directly involved in this transaction but we benefit, because, as soon as the acquisition is finalized, we begin to collect checks on our 3% overriding royalty. As they drill additional wells, that royalty stream goes up. The recent discovery of the overhang has significantly expedited the funding process and we are all excited to move this project forward." About Lithium Exploration Group Lithium Exploration Group is a US-based exploration and development company focused on the acquisition and development potential of lithium brines and other precious metals that demonstrate high probability for near-term production. Currently the company is focused testing the Sonic Cavitation Ltd. technology and the acquisition of oil and gas related assets in the US and Canada. Lithium Exploration Group is traded on the OTC Markets under the symbol LEXG. Website: www.lithiumexplorationgroup.com. Safe Harbor Statement This news release contains "forward-looking statements." Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future testing of the ultrasonic technology. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of lithium prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact Info: Shanon Chilson 480-641-4790 info@lithiumexplorationgroup.com SOURCE: Lithium Exploration Group Inc. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of June, according to a report released by the National Association of Home Builders on Thursday. The report said the NAHB /Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped to 67 in June from 69 in May. The decrease surprised economists, who had expected the index to inch up to 70. 'Builder confidence levels have remained consistently sound this year, reflecting the ongoing gradual recovery of the housing market,' said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald. The unexpected decline by the housing market index came amid decreases by all three of the components that contribute to the index. The component gauging current sales conditions fell two points to 73, and the index charting sales expectations in the next six months dropped two points to 76. The component measuring buyer traffic also moved down two points to 49. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - June 15, 2017) - Tech CU (Technology Credit Union) announced today it was selected as a Top 100 Bay Area Corporate Philanthropist by the San Francisco Business Times. The credit union also won two bronze Stevie Awards for Financial Services Marketing Campaign of the Year and Annual Report, and a silver MAC Award for Best Annual Report from the Marketing Association for Credit Unions (MAC). Each year, the San Francisco Business Times compiles a list of the top 100 most philanthropic companies in the region. In 2016, Tech CU, along with its employees and members, donated more than $126,000 and performed more than 350 volunteer hours to various organizations -- in addition to the more than $1.5 million the credit union has invested in Bay Area communities since 2007. "We're so happy to be recognized as a top 100 most philanthropic company," said Harris. "At Tech CU, we care about our community -- it's a key part of our mission and philosophy. Each year, we work to address our community's most pressing issues by investing time, talent, and dollars. We're proud to be recognized as one of the most generous companies in the Bay Area and look forward to continuing this legacy in the years to come." Tech CU was also honored with two Stevie Awards, which recognize accomplishments of companies worldwide. Tech CU won bronze for Marketing Campaign of the Year and Annual Report in the Financial Products & Services category. Additionally, the Marketing Association for Credit Unions, which recognizes outstanding credit union marketing achievements, awarded Tech CU a silver MAC Award for its annual report. "Our 'Bank Happily Ever After' advertising campaign addresses consumer's pain points with big banks while offering a better alternative," said Kate Duggan, SVP of Marketing at Tech CU. "We provide all the access and convenience one expects of a big bank, yet we're small enough to offer exceptional, personalized service. We're pleased that the campaign and our annual report, Reinvention, were recognized. They reflect our efforts to deliver an excellent member experience, and inspire and empower consumers to succeed financially." ABOUT TECH CU Tech CU (techcu.com) is a $2.3 billion credit union serving more than 85,000 members throughout the San Francisco Bay Area -- including employees of such companies as Tesla, eBay, Applied Materials, Nvidia and Facebook. A federally insured, not-for-profit organization, we put the financial interests of our members ahead of shareholder profit by helping members achieve their financial goals on their terms and by sharing the benefits of our growth. Founded in 1960 by a group of forward-thinking employees at Fairchild Semiconductor, today we continue to be an industry leader, providing innovative financial products for all stages of our members' lives, including personal banking, wealth management, private banking, commercial lending and business banking. Tech CU consistently achieves high marks for its customer satisfaction and maintains a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, the nation's largest independent rating service for financial institutions. And, with mobile and online banking, 65,000+ surcharge-free ATMs worldwide (more than Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo combined) and convenient branch access to our financial experts, Tech CU makes 24/7 banking easy and empowering. Linden Kohtz Public Relations (512) 964-3784 lkohtz@techcu.com LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- Easy Reader News conducts a yearly "Best of the Beach" survey to highlight the top businesses and service providers of the South Bay area. Los Angeles plastic surgeon Christine Petti, MD was named the "Best Cosmetic Surgeon" for her fourth consecutive year, and she is pleased to be recognized for her continued dedication to the local beach communities. Over 3,100 votes were counted to determine the winners of each category, which actually outnumbers the quantity of votes cast in some of the area's recent political elections. According to the Easy Reader News, "[The awards] satisfy people's need to express appreciation to those whose extra effort makes life a little bit richer than it would be otherwise." Dr. Petti holds herself and her staff to the highest standards of patient safety and care, so this award is especially meaningful to her. She notes that her aim as a cosmetic plastic surgeon is to help her patients both look and feel their best. Receiving the title of "Best Cosmetic Surgeon" once again, demonstrates the satisfaction of Dr. Petti's many patients from the area and also signals the consistency and excellence of her work to prospective patients who may be seeking an experienced plastic surgeon. As the Medical Director of Palos Verdes Plastic Surgery Medical Center and Spa Bella, Dr. Petti offers a wide range of surgical and non-surgical aesthetic procedures in a safe, comfortable environment. At her facilities, patients have the opportunity to address their cosmetic concerns with innovative solutions that can beautifully enhance the appearance of the body, breasts, face, and skin. Dr. Petti's friendly and knowledgeable team keep her state-of-the-art medical center running smoothly and efficiently, which helps maintain a high rate of patient satisfaction. According to Dr. Petti, the patient remains the focus from consultation to recovery, and every procedure is custom-tailored to meet the patient's unique needs and expectations. About Christine Petti, MD, FACS Dr. Christine Petti is a plastic surgeon, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and an active member of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the American Society for Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). A graduate of Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame and Georgetown University, Dr. Petti earned her medical degree from The Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Petti completed her plastic surgery residency at The University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a medical expert for The Medical Board of California. She has published numerous scientific manuscripts on laser body contouring, laser liposuction and laser cellulite treatment. Dr. Petti is the Medical Director of Palos Verdes Plastic Surgery Medical Center and Spa Bella, Medical Day Spa, located in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, California. She has been featured on "The Doctors", "20/20", "Inside Edition", "Discovery Health", and "Aesthetic TV" discussing her aesthetic expertise in facial, breast, and body contouring procedures. Dr. Petti is available for interview upon request. For more information about Dr. Petti and her practice, please visit dr-petti.com and facebook.com/drpetti. To view the original source of this press release, click here: https://www.dr-petti.com/news-room/los-angeles-plastic-surgeon-voted-best-of-the-beach-in-2017-easy-reader-news-poll/ Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3148619 Contact: Christine Petti, MD, FACS 3400 W. Lomita Blvd., Ste. 305 Torrance, CA 90505 (310) 539-5888 Rosemont Media (858) 200-0044 www.rosemontmedia.com Well poised to power "as-a-service" model within enterprises Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, today announced that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Service Delivery status for AWS Service Catalog. With this status, Wipro's capabilities help clients build the AWS Service Catalog to enable self-service discovery, maintain controls and centrally manage their enterprise cloud services. AWS Service Catalog helps customers create a catalog of approved IT services on AWS, which can be used within the enterprise. With AWS Service Catalog, customers can centrally manage commonly deployed IT services to achieve service reuse, consistent governance and meet compliance requirements. R "Ray" Wang, Principal Analyst Founder, Constellation Research, said, "With the growth in the as-a-service economy, customers are now increasingly looking at self-service options to drive digital transformation innovations. Customers seek a repository of commonly used services at the enterprise level to enable standards, re-use and agility. Certified partners who achieve status are well equipped to provide innovative marketplace solutions to power the as-a-service economy." "We are excited about this achievement," said Ramesh Nagarajan, Senior Vice President Head Cloud and Integrated Services, Wipro Limited."With AWS Service Delivery status for AWS Service Catalog, we help customers centrally manage commonly deployed IT services and optimize their application development. This also helps customers create efficiencies and generate savings which can be funneled to drive the cloud innovation agenda for digital enterprises." In addition to AWS Service Delivery Partner status for AWS Service Catalog, Wipro has also achieved APN status for industry competencies such as the Financial Services Competency, Life Sciences Competency; Solution Competencies like Migration Delivery Partner and workload competencies like SAP Competency. Wipro is also an APN Premier Consulting Partner and a member of the AWS Managed Service Provider (MSP) Partner Program. Wipro is an innovation-led cloud partner for customers in their digital journey on AWS. It provides cloud transformation services to build innovative solutions at the intersection of cloud with Big Data, analytics, IoT (Internet of Things) and mobile/web applications. Wipro's integrated blueprint for AWS migrations, deep AWS expertise and proven execution approach accelerates customers' digital journey with a strong foundation on AWS. About Wipro Limited Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. We harness the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help our clients adapt to the digital world and make them successful. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, we have a dedicated workforce of over 170,000, serving clients across six continents. Together, we discover ideas and connect the dots to build a better and a bold new future. Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005814/en/ Contacts: Wipro Limited Prathibha Das prathibha.das@wipro.com City Merchants High Yield Trust Ltd HEADLINE: Retirement of Chairman and Appointment of New Director Following the announcement made on 16 May 2017 by City Merchants High Yield Trust Ltd ('the Company') of Clive Nicholson's intention to retire after a decade of service, Mr Nicholson retired at the conclusion of the annual general meeting held today, 15 June 2017. The other directors wish him well in his retirement, and thank him for his valued service over the years. The Board of the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Tim Scholefield as a non-executive director and Chairman of the Company from today's date. Mr Scholefield was Head of Equities at Baring Asset Management until 2014. He has since developed a small portfolio of non-executive directorships including F&C Capital and Income Trust PLC, Fidelity Asian Values PLC and Standard Life UK Smaller Companies PLC and is an external member of the General Medical Council's Investment Committee. Mr Scholefield does not currently hold any of the Company's ordinary shares. There is no information to disclose in respect of paragraphs 9.6.13(2) to 9.6.13(6) of the Financial Conduct Authority's Listing Rules. R&H Fund Services (Jersey) Limited 15 June 2017 City Merchants High Yield Trust Limited HEADLINE: Issue of Equity The Board of City Merchants High Yield Trust Limited (the 'Company') announces that it has agreed today to issue and allot 100,000 ordinary shares of no par value in the Company at a price of 199.57p per share under its block listing facility. This allotment is to satisfy secondary market demand and is made under the annual authority granted by the Company's shareholders for such allotments. These shares rank pari passu with the existing shares in issue. Following this issue the total number of ordinary shares in issue is 93,461,204, which should be used as the denominator for calculating interests in the Company. . Issued for and on behalf of City Merchants High Yield Trust Limited Contact: Hilary Jones R&H Fund Services (Jersey) Limited Telephone: 01534 825323 19 June 2017 Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. (NYSE: OEC; the "Company"), a worldwide supplier of specialty and high-performance Carbon Black, today announced that on June 28, 2017, Mr. Claus von Hermann and Mr. Andrew Sweet resigned as directors of the Company. The resignation of each of Mr. von Hermann and Mr. Sweet reflects the reduced shareholdings of Kinove Luxembourg Holdings 1 Sarl in the Company after the secondary offering of OEC shares into the public market carried out at the end of March 2017. The Company thanks both gentlemen for their successful contributions and dedicated service on the Company's board since its foundation in 2014. On June 29, 2017, the board of directors of the Company appointed Mr. Marc Faber as a director of the Company to fill one of the vacancies created by the resignation of Messrs. von Hermann and Sweet in accordance with Section 17.5 of the Company's articles of association. About Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. Orion is a worldwide supplier of Carbon Black. We produce high-performance as well as standard Gas Blacks, Furnace Blacks, Lamp Blacks, Thermal Blacks and other Specialty Carbon Blacks that tint, colorize and enhance the performance of polymers, plastics, paints and coatings, inks and toners, adhesives and sealants, tires, and mechanical rubber goods such as automotive belts and hoses. Orion runs 14 global production sites and four Applied Technology Centers. The group has approximately 1,483 employees worldwide. For more information please visit our website www.orioncarbons.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170629005864/en/ Contacts: Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. Investor Relations Diana Downey, +1 832-445-3880 Investor-Relations@orioncarbons.com At the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) Conference OSE-127 Blocks Pathological Homing of Human T Lymphocytes to Inflamed Colon Ex vivo, OSE-127 Reduces Production of Gamma Interferon by Human Proinflammatory Bowel T lymphocytes in Patients' Biopsies Regulatory News: OSE Immunotherapeutics SA (Paris:OSE) (ISIN: FR0012127173; Mnemo: OSE) today presented new data for OSE-127 (Effi-7), an antagonist of the interleukin-7 receptor (IL-7R), at the 2017 Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies held in Chicago from June 14 to 17. The communication entitled "IL-7 pathway controls human T cell homing to the gut and culminates in inflammatory bowel disease mucosa" (1) shows efficacy results for OSE-127 in various preclinical acute or chronic colitis models and ex vivo human biopsies. In preclinical humanized models reconstituted with human T lymphocytes, OSE-127 significantly blocked pathological homing of human T lymphocytes to the inflamed colon thereby preventing destruction of gut mucosa by the T lymphocytes. In a separate translational study conducted in human in collaboration with Professor Thomas McDonald (Blizard Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine), OSE-127 significantly reduced production of gamma interferon expressed by proinflammatory mucosal T lymphocytes ex vivo in colon biopsies from patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Increased expression of IL-7R, IL-7 and genes involved in the IL-7R signalling pathway was observed in the patients' inflammatory colon biopsies and correlates with a lack of response to current immunosuppressive treatments. The expression of the product's target (IL-7R) in human tissues in case of therapeutic escape represents a major clinical interest for OSE-127, with potential identification of responder patients. Nicolas Poirier, Chief Scientific Officer of OSE Immunotherapeutics, said: "Strengthened by first-class academic collaborations, our studies demonstrate a differentiated mechanism of action for OSE-127 able to fight pathologic local homing of inflammatory T lymphocytes, key players in the inflammatory bowel disease's chronicity. The strong presence of the product's target in situations of therapeutic escape implies an important medical need as more than 40% of these patients are in therapeutic failure (2). These findings provide additional evidence of OSE-127 therapeutic potential in these patients." ABOUT OSE-127OSE-127 is a monoclonal immunomodulatory antibody targeting the CD127 receptor, the alpha chain of the interleukin-7 receptor (IL-7R) that induces a powerful antagonist effect on effector T lymphocytes. Interleukin-7 is a cytokine which specifically regulates the tissue migration of human effector T lymphocytes, especially in the gut. The blockage of IL-7R prevents the migration of pathogenic T lymphocytes while preserving regulator T lymphocytes (3, 4) which have a positive impact in autoimmune diseases. OSE Immunotherapeutics has signed a license option agreement with Servier in December 2016 for the development and commercialization of OSE-127. Under this agreement, OSE Immunotherapeutics is eligible to receive up to 272 M including a 10.25 M upfront payment and additional payments of 30 M upon the exercise of a two-steps option license until Phase 2 completion in ulcerative colitis. Further payments will be linked to the achievement of clinical development and registration in multiple indications, as well as sales milestones with double-digit royalties on sales. (1) "IL-7 pathway controls human T cell homing to the gut and culminates in inflammatory bowel disease mucosa" L. Belarif1,2,3, L. Kermarec4, V. Daguin1,2, C. Mary1,2,3, R. Danger1,2, A. Kucik5, T. MacDonald5, G. Blancho2,3, P. Naveilhan4, B. Vanhove1,2,3, N. Poirier1,2,3 1Ose Immunotherapeutics, Nantes, France; 2Centre de Recherche en Transplantation et Immunologie UMR 1064, INSERM, Universite de Nantes, Nantes, France; 3Institut de Transplantation Urologie Nephrologie (ITUN), CHU Nantes, Nantes, France ; 4INSERM, UMR 913, Nantes F-44035, France; 5Blizard Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK June 14, 2017 6:15 PM 7:45 PM Poster Number: W.19 (2) Sandborn WJ et al; The present and future of inflammatory bowel disease treatments; Gastroenter. Hepatol 12, 438-441 (2016) (3) Powell, N. et al. The transcription factor T-bet regulates intestinal inflammation mediated by interleukin-7 receptor+ innate lymphoid cells. Immunity 37, 674-684 (2012) (4) Yamazaki, M. et al. Mucosal T cells expressing high levels of IL-7 receptor are potential targets for treatment of chronic colitis. J. Immunol. 171, 1556-1563 (2003) ABOUT THE Federation Of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) The annual FOCIS meeting highlights the best science in the field of clinical immunology. In addition, the FOCIS meeting is an incubator for developing scientists and practitioners alike to meet with one another and representatives of the relevant biotech and pharmaceutical industry whose combined support is invaluable to the success of the field of clinical immunology. ABOUT OSE IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS Our ambition is to become a world leader in activation and regulation immunotherapies OSE Immunotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative immunotherapies for immune activation and regulation in the fields of immuno-oncology, auto-immune diseases and transplantation. The company has a balanced portfolio of first-in-class products with a diversified risk profile ranging from clinical phase 3 registration trials to R&D: In immuno-oncology Tedopi, a combination of 10 optimized neo-epitopes to induce specific T activation in immuno-oncology - Currently in registration Phase 3 trial advanced NSCLC HLA A2+ patients EU /US Orphan Status in the US - Registration expected in 2019 A Phase 2 with Tedopi in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor in NSCLC is considered in 2017 to induce specific T activation in immuno-oncology - Orphan Status in the US in NSCLC is considered in 2017 OSE-172 (Effi-DEM), new generation checkpoint inhibitor targeting the SIRP-a receptor In preclinical development for several cancer models. In auto-immune diseases and transplantation FR104, CD28-antagonist in immunotherapy Phase 1 trial completed - For the treatment of autoimmune diseases and for use with transplantation Licensed to Janssen Biotech Inc. to pursue clinical development. CD28-antagonist in immunotherapy - For the treatment of autoimmune diseases and for use with transplantation to pursue clinical development. OSE-127 (Effi-7), interleukin receptor-7 antagonist In preclinical development for inflammatory bowel diseasesand other autoimmune diseases.License option agreement with Servierfor the development and commercialization. The portfolio's blockbuster potential gives OSE Immunotherapeutics the ability to enter global agreements at different stages of development with major pharmaceutical players. Immunotherapy is a highly promising and growing market. By 2023 Immunotherapy of cancer could represent nearly 60% of treatments against less than 3% at present and the projected market is estimated at $67 billion in 2018 **. There are more than 80 autoimmune diseases that represent a significant market including major players in the pharmaceutical industry with sales towards $10 billion for the main products. The medical need is largely unmet and requires the provision of new innovative products involved in the regulation of the immune system. *Citi Research Equity **BCC Research Click and follow us on Twitter and Linkedln Forward-looking statements This press release contains express or implied information and statements that might be deemed forward-looking information and statements in respect of OSE Immunotherapeutics. They do not constitute historical facts. These information and statements include financial projections that are based upon certain assumptions and assessments made by OSE Immunotherapeutics' management in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. These forward-looking statements include statements typically using conditional and containing verbs such as "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "target", "plan", or "estimate", their declensions and conjugations and words of similar import. Although the OSE Immunotherapeutics management believes that the forward-looking statements and information are reasonable, the OSE Immunotherapeutics' shareholders and other investors are cautioned that the completion of such expectations is by nature subject to various risks, known or not, and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of OSE Immunotherapeutics. These risks could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied or projected by the forward-looking statements. These risks include those discussed or identified in the public filings made by OSE Immunotherapeutics with the AMF. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. This press release includes only summary information and should be read with the OSE Immunotherapeutics Reference Document filed with the AMF on 28 April 2017 under the number R.17-038, including the annual financial report for the fiscal year 2016, available on the OSE Immunotherapeutics' website. Other than as required by applicable law, OSE Immunotherapeutics issues this press release at the date hereof and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information or statements. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005566/en/ Contacts: OSE Immunotherapeutics Sylvie Detry, +33 143 297 857 Sylvie.detry@ose-immuno.com or Media: AlizePR Caroline Carmagnol Laetitia Abbar +33 647 389 004 oseimmuno@alizerp.com or U.S. Media: LifeSci Public Relations Matt Middleman, M.D. +1 646 627 8384 matt.middleman@lifescipublicrelations.com or U.S. and European Investors Chris Maggos, +41 79 367 6254 chris@lifesciadvisors.com TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - June 15, 2017) - Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd. ("GLH" or the "Company") (CSE: GLH) (CSE: GLH.CN) (CNSX: GLH) (OTCQB: GLDFF), a leading cannabis oil solutions company built around recognized brands, announced today that Soloman (Sam) Pillersdorf has resigned as a director of the Company. Don Robinson, GLH's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We really appreciate Sam's contributions to GLH in helping us develop our strategy and build our business. From the beginning, his support and guidance has been an asset to the Company." Mr. Pillersdorf will be replaced with a new director that will be elected at GLH's upcoming Annual General Meeting ("AGM"). The Company recently announced three new independent director nominees for the Board slate at its AGM scheduled at 11:00 am ET on June 28, 2017 in Toronto. Management believes that the proposed Board of Directors (which will consist of seven directors) has the skills and experience necessary to provide the Company with strong and relevant governance in its next phase of growth. The nominees for the Board of Directors for the upcoming AGM include, Don Robinson, Alex Winch, Michael Cohl, Peter Saladino, Gary Yeoman, Bob McKnight and Gary Zipfel. About Golden Leaf Holdings: Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd. is one of the largest cannabis oil and solution providers in North America. It's a leading cannabis products company in Oregon built around recognized brands. GLH leverages a strong management team with cannabis and food industry experience to complement its expertise in extracting, refining and selling cannabis oil. Disclaimer: This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's future business operation, expectations of gross sales, the opinions or beliefs of management and future business goals. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to general business, economic and competitive uncertainties, regulatory risks including risks related to the expected timing of the Company's participation in the Adult Use market, market risks, risks inherent in manufacturing operations and other risks of the cannabis industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. Forward-looking information is provided herein for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purpose. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. This Release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. For further information, please contact: Investor Relations - U.S.A. Harrison Phillips Viridian Capital Advisors, LLC 212-209-3086 hphillips@viridianca.com Investor Relations - Canada Paul Searle Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd. 778-240-7724 psearle@goldenleafholdings.com Eugene Hill Chief Financial Officer Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd. ghill@goldenleafholdings.com PHOENIX, AZ -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- WebPT, the leading rehab therapy software platform, today announced its all-star speaker lineup for Ascend 2017, a two-day summit designed specifically for rehab therapists looking to improve their businesses and bottom lines. The fourth-annual Ascend event will take place Sept. 29-30, 2017, at the historic Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. The conference speaker lineup features a wide array of industry leaders, including: Chris and Heidi Powell, Founders, Powell Metabolic Program James Chow, MD, ABOS, Director Orthopedics: Hip & Joint, St. Luke's Hedley Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine F. Iman Joshua, CISM, CISSP, chief information security officer, Aetna Heidi Jannenga, PT, DPT, ATC/L, president and co-founder, WebPT Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, former assistant secretary of health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Nancy Ham, CEO, WebPT Rick Gawenda, PT, founder and president, Gawenda Seminars & Consulting, Inc. Mary R. Daulong, PT, CHC, CHP, president and CEO, Business & Clinical Management Services, Inc. Highly interactive and collaborative sessions will cover topics such as revenue growth strategies, impending regulatory changes, technologies shaping the healthcare industry, digital marketing, leadership and management skills, and career planning. "Ascend is a place for rehab therapists to share best practices, collaborate with other successful practitioners who are at the top of their game, and gain insights from speakers who represent the best conference lineup in the industry," Jannenga said. "For many, Ascend is the only opportunity throughout the year to focus specifically on business strategy and growth. The information, new connections and tools attendees gain over the course of the two-day summit help empower and inspire them to propel their practices forward." Ascend attendees also will have the opportunity to earn continuing education units (CEUs). Pre-registration for Ascend is now open, with advance pricing starting at $699 per ticket and $649 for WebPT Members. Furthermore, each year at Ascend, one private practice is honored with the Ascend Practice of the Year Award, a program that recognizes outstanding business performance in rehab therapy. Previous Ascend Practice of the Year Award recipients have included Pivot Physical Therapy and Atlantic Physical Therapy. The Ascend award committee is now accepting 2017 award applications. To learn more about Ascend, register to attend or apply for the Practice of the Year Award, visit ascendevent.com. About WebPT, Inc. With a 30-percent market share, WebPT is the leading rehab therapy platform for enhancing patient care and fueling business growth. From scheduling, documentation and billing to outcomes tracking, business reporting and software integration, WebPT is the ideal solution for outpatient therapy organizations of all sizes. With a 99-percent retention rate and a 99.99-percent uptime rate, WebPT is the most-trusted and most-reliable solution in the industry. Launched in 2008, the company is based in downtown Phoenix's historic Warehouse District. Learn more at webpt.com. Contact: Heather Thornton | Beth Cochran Email Contact | Email Contact 602.538.2274 | 602.758.0750 A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a" of Samsung Fire Marine Insurance Company of Europe, Limited (SFME) (United Kingdom). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings of SFME reflect its excellent risk-adjusted capitalisation and strong operating performance. In addition, the ratings factor in the significant support it receives from its parent, Samsung Fire Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. (SFMI), which provided SFME's initial capital of GBP 10.6 million in 2011. SFMI provides substantial reinsurance protection to SFME on a facultative basis. As a small company writing large risks, SFME is highly dependent on reinsurance. Although the risks associated with this dependence are mitigated by the good credit quality of the company's reinsurers, it is an offsetting factor for the ratings. After a partial initial year and five full years of trading, SFME has built a track record of excellent operating performance, with a 5-year average combined ratio below 75%. Gross written premiums increased by 18% in 2016, partially reversing a 28% reduction in 2015, and in spite of a substantial increase in claims, the company reported a profit before tax of GBP 1.9 million. Although diversification improved in 2016, the majority of SFME's business was again generated from insuring Samsung group operations in Europe. In addition, SFME insured a small amount of third-party Korean risks within Europe and an increased amount of locally sourced business. A.M. Best expects portfolio diversification to continue over the coming years, as SFME continues to expand its external business. As a subsidiary of SFMI and part of the Samsung group, a South Korean conglomerate, SFME benefits from an excellent business profile within its target markets. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2017 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615006023/en/ Contacts: A.M. Best David Drummond, +44 20 7397 0327 Senior Financial Analyst david.drummond@ambest.com or Catherine Thomas, +44 20 7397 0281 Senior Director, Analytics catherine.thomas@ambest.com or Christopher Sharkey, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159 Manager, Public Relations christopher.sharkey@ambest.com or Jim Peavy, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644 Director, Public Relations james.peavy@ambest.com CIAM Pioneer One of Two Providers that "Lead the Pack" with Highest Score Possible In Privacy Controls, Analytics and CIAM Vision, Among Others PORTLAND, Oregon, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Janrain, the company that pioneered the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, today announced it has been named a leader in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)--evaluated in both current offering and strategy--by independent research firm Forrester in The Forrester Wave': Customer Identity and Access Management Q2 2017. Janrain manages more than 1.5 billion consumer identities for 2,100+ global brands across a wide range of global industries, including banking, insurance, manufacturing, retail, healthcare/life sciences, media/communications, travel/transportation, and utilities/energy. The report recognizes Janrain as an early entrant in the CIAM market, having been founded in 2002. Janrain has a CIAM vision that is "more differentiated than other solutions" in this report while supporting "a broad range of security certifications including SOC2 and Privacy Shield." Janrain, the only CIAM provider to obtain the CSA Security, Trust & Assurance Registry (STAR) Level 2 certification, has also obtained independent certification of its privacy practices from TRUSTe, having met all the criteria for a clean SOC2 Type II audit for Security, Confidentiality and Availability Trust Principles. Other certifications include ISO/IEC 27001:2013, the HIPAA/HITECH Security Rule, and soon PCI. "We believe the Forrester Wave report on CIAM clearly validates Janrain's industry leadership, especially in the areas of security, privacy and scalability as we continue to break new ground with an ongoing series of industry firsts," said Jim Kaskade, CEO of Janrain. "Not only is Janrain the first CIAM provider to be GDPR ready, the first to provide Consent Lifecycle Management for GDPR, and the first to integrate a fraud score into a CIAM solution, but we're the only CIAM provider to support its clients in 65 countries with 200+ cloud data centers, while offering 99.999% availability for its clients' mission critical applications." With respect to strategy and market presence, Janrain earned scores of 4 or 5 (out of 5) for the following criteria: CIAM vision Partner ecosystem CIAM installed base Verticals and geographies In terms of current offering, Janrain earned scores of 4 or 5 for the following criteria: Social registration and login Privacy controls Analytics Integration and APIs Scalability and availability Administration Security certifications and standards support "Getting such marks from Forrester and other important research firms shows you can't select a CIAM vendor without considering Janrain. Couple this with our ongoing list of industry-first innovations and proven impact we have on our client businesses, this should render the vendor selection decision a much easier one," Kaskade added. "Our clients report a 60% reduced threat exposure, 10X improvement in customer experience, 3X boost in registrations and login activity, and 50% reduced time to market for application developers. This is what drives Janrain's success. If you need a CIAM vendor that satisfies complex, global, and mission critical requirements, we're your only choice." For more information about this report, please visit: Forrester Wave: CIAM Q2 2017 Report Janrain's Blog About Janrain Founded in 2002, Janrain pioneered Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) and is widely recognized by industry analysts as a global CIAM leader. The Janrain Identity Cloud provides identity management, security and activation solutions that enable seamless and safe customer experiences across their digitally connected world, while providing enterprise organizations with deep customer insights. Janrain's identity capabilities include social and traditional login and registration, single sign-on, customer profile data storage and management, customer segments, customer insights and engagement solutions. The company powers brands like Pfizer, Samsung, Whole Foods, Fox News, Philips, McDonald's and Dr Pepper. Janrain is based in Portland, Oregon, with offices in London, Paris and Silicon Valley. For more information, please visit www.janrain.com and follow @janrain. Media Contact: Chris Blake MSR Communications Phone: 1-415-989-9000 E-mail: chris@msrcommunications.com BISHOPSGATE, LONDON / ACCESSWIRE / November 27, 2017 / The Board of SolGold (LSE: SOLG and TSX: SOLG) is pleased to provide an update on the Alpala Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") underway at the Cascabel Project, the Company's 85% owned copper-gold porphyry project in Ecuador. HIGHLIGHTS: Alpala Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate on track for completion late December. SolGold's Technical Service Manager Benn Whistler commented on the Alpala Maiden MRE, saying, "We are pleased with the way SRK have been able to replicate the geological detail of the deposit as interpreted in Level Plans and Cross-Sections throughout out the existing deposit, and envisage a very accurate estimate. This maiden resource is by no means a final quantity because the deposit is still growing, and as such we plan to announce updated MRE statements on a quarterly basis through 2018." SolGold's CEo and Managing Director, Mr Nick Mather further remarked: "The Alpala deposit will continue to grow with further drilling expedited through the arrival of 4 more large track mounted drills this month. We plan to immediately follow the MRE up with initiation of a PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment) of the deposit at Alpala, towards commencement of the PFS (Pre-Feasibility Study planned for instigation in late 2018." References to figures and tables relate to the version of this release on the Company's website (www.solgold.com.au) or visible in PDF format by clicking the link below: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5619X_-2017-11-27.pdf SOURCE: SolGold Regulatory News: Gecina (Paris:GFC) has now let all the space in the "55 Amsterdam" building in Paris' 8th arrondissement after signing a new firm six-year lease for nearly 3,400 sq.m, following the space already let to the Algolia, Thom Europe and Edicom groups. This next-generation building was delivered in the first half of 2017 following an ambitious redevelopment operation. This 12,300 sq.m asset is the first redeveloped building to be awarded Well label in France. It has also achieved HQE Exceptional, BREEAM Outstanding, LEED Core Shell Platinum, Wired Score, BiodiverCity and BBC renovation certification. On this operation, Gecina and the tenant were advised by BNP Paribas Real Estate. Gecina, living the city in a different way Gecina owns, manages and develops property holdings worth 19.5 billion euros at end-August 2017, with nearly 92% located in the Paris Region. The Group is building its business around France's leading office portfolio and a diversification division with residential assets and student residences. Gecina has put sustainable innovation at the heart of its strategy to create value, anticipate its customers' expectations and invest while respecting the environment, thanks to the dedication and expertise of its staff. Gecina is a French real estate investment trust (SIIC) listed on Euronext Paris, and is part of the SBF 120, Euronext 100, FTSE4Good, DJSI Europe and World, Stoxx Global ESG Leaders and Vigeo indices. In line with its community commitments, Gecina has created a company foundation, which is focused on protecting the environment and supporting all forms of disability. www.gecina.fr View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171114006447/en/ Contacts: GECINA CONTACTS Financial communications Samuel Henry-Diesbach Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 52 22 samuelhenry-diesbach@gecina.fr or Virginie Sterling Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 62 48 virginiesterling@gecina.fr or Press relations Brigitte Cachon Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 62 45 brigittecachon@gecina.fr or Armelle Miclo Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 51 98 armellemiclo@gecina.fr NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 15, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against KBR, Inc. ("KBR" or the "Company") (NYSE: KBR) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, and docketed under 17-cv-01375, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired KBR securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If you are a shareholder who purchased KBR securities between February 26, 2016 and April 27, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until July 3, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. [Click here to join this class action] KBR provides professional services and technologies across the asset and program life-cycle within the government services and hydrocarbons industries worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Government Services, Technology & Consulting, and Engineering & Construction. Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company's United Kingdom ("UK") subsidiaries had violated applicable bribery and corruption laws; and (ii) as a result of the foregoing, KBR's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On April 28, 2017, the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office confirmed that it had opened an investigation into "the activities of KBR's UK subsidiaries, their officers, employees and agents for suspected offences of bribery and corruption." On this news, KBR's share price fell $1.43, or 9.24%, to close at $14.05 on April 28, 2017. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com. SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the rally seen in the previous session, treasuries gave back some ground during trading on Thursday. Bond prices moved to the downside early in the session and remained in the red throughout the day. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 2.4 basis points to 2.162 percent. With the increase on the day, the ten-year yield moved higher after ending Wednesday's trading at its lowest closing level in seven months. The pullback by treasuries came as traders did some profit taking, cashing in on the sharp jump seen in the previous session. Traders were also reacting to a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing a bigger than expected drop in initial jobless claims in the week ended June 10th. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 37,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 245,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 242,000. A separate report released by the Labor Department showed a bigger than expected drop in import prices in the month of May, reflecting a steep decline in prices for fuel imports. The Labor Department said its import price index fell by 0.3 percent in May after rising by 0.2 percent in April. Economists had expected import prices to edge down by 0.1 percent. The report also said export prices slid by 0.7 percent in May following a 0.2 percent increase in the previous month. Export prices had been expected to inch up by 0.1 percent. Growth in Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity slowed in the month of June, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity in the region decreased to 27.6 in June from 38.8 in May, although a positive reading still indicates growth. The index had been expected to drop to 24.0. After reporting a contraction in regional manufacturing activity in the previous month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report showing a rebound in activity in the month of June. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index shot up to 19.8 in June from a negative 1.0 in May, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to rise to 4.0. The Fed also released a report this morning showing that U.S. industrial production was unchanged in the month of May. The Fed said industrial production was flat in May after jumping by 1.1 percent in April. Economists had expected production to rise by 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, homebuilder confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of June, according to a report released by the National Association of Home Builders on Thursday. The report said the NAHB /Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped to 67 in June from 69 in May. The decrease surprised economists, who had expected the index to inch up to 70. Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to U.S. economic reports on housing starts and consumer sentiment. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LW) announced today that its European joint venture, Lamb Weston Meijer v.o.f., has completed its acquisition of the potato division of Oerlemans Foods. The acquisition includes a frozen potato processing facility in Broekhuizenvorst, Netherlands, and will add 185 million pounds of production capacity to Lamb Weston Meijer's existing network. About Lamb Weston Lamb Weston is a leading supplier of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer and vegetable products to restaurants and retailers around the world. For more than 60 years, Lamb Weston has led the industry in innovation, introducing inventive products that simplify back-of-house management for our customers and make things more delicious for their customers. From the fields where Lamb Weston potatoes are grown to proactive customer partnerships, Lamb Weston always strives for more and never settles. Because, when we look at a potato, we see possibilities. Learn more about us at www.lambweston.com. About Lamb Weston Meijer Lamb Weston is a world leading brand in high quality potato products, and is sold in over 100 countries around the world. Lamb Weston Meijer serves markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Brazil. The company supplies frozen potato products like Twisters, Potato Dippers and Connoisseur Fries to customers in the Foodservice, Quick Service and Retail segments. Lamb Weston Meijer is also an ingredient solutions provider for the food industry. For more than 20 years, Lamb Weston Meijer has led the industry in innovation, by introducing inventive products that add convenience to the operations of our customers and make eating more delicious for their customers. From the fields where our potatoes are grown to proactive customer partnerships, Lamb Weston Meijer always raises the bar. Lamb Weston Meijer has its headquarters in Kruiningen, The Netherlands. The company operates five factories: three in the Netherlands, one in the United Kingdom and one in Austria. Lamb Weston Meijer employs 1,300 people in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. www.lambweston.eu View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005982/en/ Contacts: Lamb Weston Investor Relations: Dexter Congbalay, 224-306-1535 dexter.congbalay@lambweston.com or Media: Shelby Stoolman, 208-424-5461 shelby.stoolman@lambweston.com NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 15, 2017 / Clean Coal Technologies, Inc. (OTC PINK: CCTC) ("CCTI" or the "Company"), an emerging cleaner-energy company utilizing patented and proven technology to convert untreated coal into a cleaner burning and more efficient fuel, announced today that they have signed a binding agreement with Wyoming New Energy Corp. (WNEC) for the build-out of its first commercial facility in Wyoming. Wyoming New Energy Corp. has recently entered into an Engagement Agreement with Piper Jaffray to raise up to $80,000,000 (eighty million US Dollars) in debt financing to build a two million ton CCTI Pristine M Plant in the Powder River Basin. George Longo, Managing Director and lead project finance banker at Piper, said, "We are excited about the opportunity to support WNEC and pursue funding for the use of CCTC's advanced technology for processing coal and waste coal in what we hope is this first of many such projects. We appreciate being a supporter of our client's monetization of an abundant U.S. energy resource." The timing of this engagement could not be better for CCTI said CEO, Robin Eves, as it coincides with our presentation today to the Wyoming Miner's Association in Sheridan. "This is a US-designed, engineered and tested technology and we are very pleased to see it deployed here in the US, where we will continue to work with Wyoming on additional agreements and locations. We are working with Kiewit in completing some additional client requested tests at our Test facility in Oklahoma. This will also enable Kiewit to design the first commercial module," said COO, Aiden Neary. "The financial support from Piper Jaffray echoes not only confidence in the Pristine M technology, but also confidence in the US coal industry. The local knowledge from WNEC should ensure a seamless commercial build out," added COO Aiden Neary. "US Government and private finance will encourage our overseas interests from India, Indonesia, Turkey, Australia, and China to take a more aggressive approach to building commercial units in their countries. We are looking forward to hosting them at our Test Plant in Oklahoma during the summer prior to its move to Wyoming in early Fall," said CEO, Robin Eves. About Clean Coal Technologies, Inc. Clean Coal Technologies, Inc., a cleaner-energy technology company with headquarters in New York City, NY, holds patented process technology and other intellectual property that converts raw coal into a cleaner burning fuel. The Company's trademarked end products, "PristineTM" coals, are significantly more efficient, less polluting, more cost-effective, and provide more heat than untreated coal. The principal elements of the Company's pre-combustion technology are based on well-proven science and tried-and-tested industrial components. The Company's clean coal technology may reduce some 90% of chemical pollutants from coal, including Sulfur and Mercury, thereby resolving emissions issues affecting coal-fired power plants. For more information about Clean Coal Technologies, please visit www.cleancoaltechnologiesinc.com. Forward-Looking Statements This release may include forward-looking statements related to CCTI's plans, beliefs and goals, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about CCTI's plans, objectives, expectations, and intentions with respect to future operations, its products, its ability to secure financing for its operations, the impact on the industry and other statements identified by words such as "will," "potential," "could," "can," "believe," "intends," "continue," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "may," and other words of similar meaning or the use of future dates. Additional details about CCTI's business and its operations that could affect CCTI's actual results are described in CCTI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors" that are part of its most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and in each of its subsequently filed periodic reports. All forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of the date of this news release. CCTI undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For more information, please contact: Sean Mahoney Media Consultant seamah@gmail.com SOURCE: Clean Coal Technologies, Inc. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW Canada) welcomes the federal government's repeal of anti-union legislation from the Stephen Harper era, and the government's commitment to protect and advance the union and collective bargaining rights of all workers in Canada. The federal Liberal government's Bill C-4 received Royal Assent in the Senate on June 14, officially repealing the anti-union Bills C-377 and C-525 once and for all. Bill C-377 would have infringed on union members' privacy and placed onerous, costly, and unfair financial regulations on unions and their members. Bill C-525, meanwhile, targeted the ability of workers to exercise their constitutional right to join a union by changing federal labour laws to make it much more difficult to join a union, and easier to leave one. Both bills were specifically designed to weaken unions in Canada. The same day, the government also demonstrated its support for union rights and the collective bargaining process by ratifying the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Convention 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining. By ratifying Convention 98, Canada has solidified its commitment to fair labour and employment conditions for all workers, while recognizing the essential role that unions and collective bargaining rights play in building stronger, fairer, and more inclusive workplaces and communities. "We applaud the actions taken by the Minister of Labour to restore fairness in our federal labour laws and demonstrate Canada's commitment to union and collective bargaining rights for every worker," says Paul Meinema, the National President of UFCW Canada. "With the passage of Bill C-4, and the ratification of Convention 98, the federal government is clearly indicating its understanding of the crucial role that strong unions and fair labour relations play in advancing the rights and livelihoods of all workers in Canada," the UFCW Canada leader adds. Prior to the passage of Bill C-4, UFCW Canada campaigned strongly against the anti-union Bills C-377 and C-525, arguing that both bills infringed on the privacy and constitutional rights of workers and unions. As Canada's leading union for retail and food workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW Canada) represents over 250,000 workers across the country working in the food retail and processing, agriculture, health care, security, and hospitality industries, as well as other sectors of the economy. UFCW Canada is the country's most innovative organization dedicated to building fairness in workplaces and communities. To find out more about UFCW and its ground-breaking work, visit www.ufcw.ca. Contacts: UFCW Canada Mark Hennessy Special Assistant to the National President (416) 679-3411 mark.hennessy@ufcw.ca www.ufcw.ca WEST CHESTER, OH -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said today that it plans to release its second quarter 2017 financial results before the opening of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, July 25, 2017. AK Steel will also provide live listening access on the Internet to its earnings conference call to be held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on July 25, 2017. Access to the webcast will be available from the home page of the company's website at www.aksteel.com. The webcast will be archived on the company's website following the call until August 1, 2017 and will be accessible from the home page. AK Steel AK Steel is a leading producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, and carbon and stainless tubular products, primarily for automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing, electrical power generation and distribution markets. Headquartered in West Chester, Ohio (Greater Cincinnati), the company employs approximately 8,500 men and women at eight steel plants, two coke plants and two tube manufacturing plants across six states (Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) and one tube plant in Mexico. Additional information about AK Steel is available at www.aksteel.com. Contacts: Media Lisa H. Jester Corporate Manager, Communications and Public Relations (513) 425-2510 Investors Douglas O. Mitterholzer General Manager, Investor Relations (513) 425-5215 Vangold Builds Executive Team with Appointment of New CFO VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 15, 2017 / Vangold Mining Corp. (TSX.V: VAN) (OTC PINK:VGLDF) (the "Company") is pleased to provide results from its current exploration program on the El Pinguico Mine property, located 15 km from Guanajuato, Mexico. For the past four-months the Company has engaged FindOre SA de CV a Geological Exploration Services company to conduct extensive surface and underground mapping, surveying, rock sampling and trenching. The results of the geological exploration program have provided extensive information about the structure and geological origins of the epithermal vein systems across the property. The results of the 4-month sampling and mapping program will be used to identify grid spacing and drill locations increasing the highest probability of achieving an Inferred Resource. Exploration Highlights: Collected a total of 452 rock samples taken from surface grab samples and outcrops, historical workings and adits. Consistent assays over 10 g/t AuEg at surface and underground proving extensive multi-vein mineralization. Underground samples total 310, from exposed veins, hanging and foot walls locations. Confirmation of extending mineralization over 1.5 kms from underground stockpile location to southern claim limit. Completion of detailed mapping illustrates multiple parallel and perpendicular vein systems across the property as illustrated in the El Pinguico map below. Significantly de-risked drill site locations. By analyzing all the historic mining records, maps, production techniques and now using modern day geological controls, the Company can now engage in planning and advancing the potential of the in-situ mineralization and liberating the underground stockpile. "We are excited by the results of the first systematic exploration program carried out at El Pinguico and the surrounding properties. Historical production of gold and silver at the mine came from the El Pinguico/El Carmen vein, what this program confirms, the El Pinguico/El Carmen vein extends to the Southern claim limit, connecting with the La Joya, La Joyita and El Pirul vein systems. This discovery extends mineralization over 1.5 kms from the mid-point of the property. The logical next steps are to plan a drilling program, delineate the veins below the stock pile and define the width and depth of these new targets", stated Cameron King, President and CEO of Vangold Mining. El Pinguico Vein Structure Map To view the graphic, please click here Refer the following hyperlink: Vangold Mining Detailed Mapping Pinguico Sampling Demonstrates 2000m of mineralization up to 36.94 g/t Au.Eq. Vangold has completed a total of 452 rock samples both at surface and underground along the "El Pinguico/El Carmen" system of veins which demonstrates anomalous gold and silver mineralization over a total strike length over 2,000 metres from the northern underground stockpile to the south-southeastern La Joyita vein. In addition to the samples taken in January 2017 for the NI 43-101 report (samples F-001 to F-066), 383 new assay results have been collected from the El Pinguico concessions taken from both surface vein exposures and from veins exposed in underground workings and are highlighted in the following chart listing location and grade. Assay Highlights and Locations NB: Au.Eq = Au + [Ag x (1250/18)] Refer the following hyperlink: Vangold Mining Detailed Assay Listing El Carmen/El Pinguico Vein: Assay highlights realized - 36.94, 20.23, 14.52, 11.82 and 11.54 g/t Au.Eq from the Underground Stockpile. The stockpile channel sample results were announced in the NI43-101 report earlier this year and shows anomalous samples along 346m strike length of stockpiled ore from shrinkage mining method. The gold/silver veins of El Carmen/ElPinguico are comprised of quartz veined breccia and have the same strike as the Veta Madre gold and silver vein in the region. Mineralization consist of a mixture of native gold and silver, polybasite, pyargyrite, tetradedrite, marcasite, sphalerite, galena, pyrite and chalcopyrite. Outcrops in the area consist of the Tertiary formations called Calderones and Bufa. The oldest unit Bufa Formation consistes of rhyolites, tuffs and rhyolitic breccias. The Bufa Formation consists of massive andesite, tuffs and andesitic breccia of green color. The El Carmen-Pinguico vein was emplaced in a fault/fissure with average width of 7.0 metres. San Jose Vein System: realized assays of 34.11 and 11.29 g/t Au.Eq - from underground samples within quartz veined breccia, at the El Carmen mine, a further 480m SSE along strike from the El Carmen-Pinguico vein structure. The San Jose Vein System samples show anomalous gold and silver mineralization along two sub-parallel vein systems over a combined length of 638 metres striking SE and dipping to the northeast. The vein system ends at the Caida del Agua adit entrance. Anomalous samples were collected from white quartz veinlets with crustiform texture, quartz breccia, banded quartz veins and rhyolitic breccia in the footwall. La Joya Vein System: assays samples of 10.73 g/t Au.Eq from the underground LaJoya vein a further 570m SE along strike from the San Jose Vein System. Sampling demonstrates gold and silver mineralization over at least a 290m along two parallel southeasterly trending veins dipping to the NE. Anomalous gold and silver rock samples were collected from quartz veined breccia with disseminated sulphides and vein widths of 0.8 to 1.7m. El Pirul Vein: A further 137 metres along a southeasterly strike from the La Joya Vein System, the EL Pirul vein/adit was sampled with 33 assays over a strike length of 82m. The vein changes dip direction to the southwest compared with the El Carmen-Pinguico vein system, further north, which dip to the northeast. Sample F-272 returned 10.1 g/t Au.Eq from an underground fault related quartz fragmented vein. Other anomalous samples were taken from sporadic quartz fragments in veins ranging in width from 0.3 to 1.1m. La Joyita Vein: Assays were consistent in range of 17.95, 13.17, 11.4 g/t Au.Eq from a surface quartz vein. The La Joyita vein, in the southern extent of the Pinguico concessions, form part of a complex network of vuggy and collofom banded quartz veins and carbonate lattice blades forming over different age periods. The La Joyita area is host to numerous historical adits and stopes which are required to be re-opened and tested at depth by drilling. Anomalous samples were collected at surface form quartz vein fragments and vein breccia to 1.5m width of quartz amethyst with vuggy texture. Underground samples were collected from strongly oxidized quartz breccia at the El Chichote stope where the vein is dipping 45 degrees to the southwest. Mr. Hernan Dorado , Director and QP states "the potential intersection of the historic Veta Madre (Mother vein) with La Joya and La Joyita veins at depth will be studied and assessed in the next exploration program. The Mother Vein has been the local ore resource for the las 500 years in the area and produced over a billion ounces of silver since the Spanish established the mining district. Companies such as Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES), Endeavour Silver (TSX:EDR) and Great Panther (TSX:GPR) have mined this vein in the last decade." Surface Stockpile Dump: Located at the El Pinguico shaft, a total of 20 samples were taken ranging from low of 0.14 g/t Au.Eq to 4.36 g/t Au.Eq. The surface stockpile is an estimated 211,000 metric tonnes of mineralized rock with a Specific Gravity (SG) of 2.6 at 1.7 g/t Au.Eq. The exploration program will continue, covering the adjacent land and Patito I and Patito II properties. Results will be published once completed within the next few weeks. APPOINTMENT: CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFER The Company is pleased to announce that Mr. Kurt Bordian has accepted the position of Chief Financial Officer effective immediately and replaces Mr. Sandy Huntingford. Cameron King, President & CEO, stated, "I would like to thank Sandy for his substantial contribution to Vangold over the years and for making this transition as smooth as possible. We all wish him great happiness in his retirement," in addition, "I look forward to working with Kurt in his new capacity as CFO. His experience and knowledge of the mining industry makes him the perfect fit to step into this role as Vangold is accelerating its growth plans." Mr. Bordian is a designated Chartered Professional Accountant in Canada, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) Degree from the University of Manitoba. He has worked primarily in the mineral and exploration and oil and gas industries over the past 20 years, and has held a variety of positions with many entities: Chief Financial Officer, Controller, or Director. He has managed all aspects of the accounting and finance operations, and compliance. He was the chief financial officer of Alpha Minerals Inc. when it was acquired by Fission Energy Corp. in December 2013 for $189 million. ABOUT VANGOLD Vangold is a development-stage silver and gold company focused on developing its mining assets in Guanajuato, Mexico. Vangold is aggressively pursuing its business plan of becoming a producer by bringing the historic El Pinguico Mine back into production. Advancing the development of our surrounding mineral property assets and the pursuit of growth through acquisition. Vangold is focused on achieving its strong corporate growth and realizing value for our shareholders. The disclosure of historical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Hernan Dorado, a Director of the Company. Mr. Dorado is a member of the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America (MMSA) and is a Qualified Person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. The Company and its contractors strictly adhere to 43-101 quality controls to ensure best practice in sampling and analysis. Bulk samples are transported in security sealed bags and shipped to ALS Chemex Guadalajara facilities for pulping and shipped to ALS North Vancouver for fire assay with AA finish and by gravimetric methods. ALS Chemex is an ISO 9001-2000 and ISO 17025 registered laboratory. ON BEHALF OF VANGOLD MINING CORP Cameron S. King President & CEO Email: cking@vangoldmining.com T: +1 778 945 2940 Address: 1111 West Georgia Street, Suite 1400 Vancouver, BC V6E 4M3 For further information contact: Corporate Finance T: 1-778-945-2941 info@vangoldmining.com Further information is available on the Company's web site at: www.vangoldmining.com. This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company, the date upon which the Company's common shares commence trading under the symbol "VAN" on the TSX Venture Exchange and advancement of the Properties. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that such expectations will prove to be correct. All such forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. This information, however, is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from this forward-looking information include those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Vangold Mining Corp. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- TeraGo Inc. ("TeraGo" or the "Company") (TSX: TGO) (www.terago.ca) announces that the nominees listed in the management information circular for the Company's 2017 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") were each re-elected as directors of TeraGo. Among the directors re-elected, the Company announces Mr. Matthew Gerber as the new Chair of the Board effectively immediately. Mr. Gerber will be replacing Mr. Jim Nikopoulos who did not stand for re-election. Mr. Gerber joined TeraGo's Board in June 2016 and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and a board member at Rohinni LLC, a developer of next generation lighting systems for mobile computing applications. Prior to that, Mr. Gerber held operating or board roles at several significant cloud computing businesses, including: 2nd Watch, one of Amazon Web Services largest global business partners; IT-Lifeline, one of Amazon Web Services first business partners (subsequently acquired by Reynolds & Reynolds); and Blue Box Group, one of the first providers of hosted managed private cloud services on top of OpenStack (subsequently acquired by IBM). Mr. Gerber holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a Master of Business Administration with Distinction from Hofstra University. Mr. Gerber commented, "I'm excited and thrilled to take on this vital and enhanced role at TeraGo and will look to work with our CEO and Board to lead the Company into the next stage of its strategic growth plan. We were very fortunate to have had Jim Nikopoulos' strong leadership in his capacity as not only Chair of the Board, but also as a director and as part of TeraGo's management team for numerous years. He made significant contributions to the Company and we are greatly appreciative of his hard work through the various roles he has taken on." Mr. Antonio (Tony) Ciciretto, President and CEO of TeraGo added, "We look forward to Matt's leadership given his highly relevant experiences. We are confident the Board will continue its focus on creating long-term value for both our shareholders and customers under Matt's new role as Chair." Detailed results of the votes by proxy for the election of directors held on June 15, 2017, as well as the other matters voted at the Meeting are as follows: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Outcome Brief Description of Matter Voted Upon of Vote(1) For Against ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) In respect of the fixing of the Approved 9,862,984 3,500 number of directors of the Company at (99.96%) (0.04%) seven (7); ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) In respect of the election of directors to hold office until the close of the next annual meeting of Shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed: For Withheld ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Antonio (Tony) Ciciretto Approved 9,547,572 900 (99.99%) (0.01%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matthew Gerber Approved 9,547,572 900 (99.99%) (0.01%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Martin Approved 9,361,440 187,032 (98.04%) (1.96%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gary Sherlock Approved 9,541,422 7,050 (99.93%) (0.07%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hon. Jerry Grafstein, Q.C. Approved 8,598,640 949,832 (90.05%) (9.95%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) In respect of the re-appointment of Approved 9,865,284 1,200 KPMG LLP, Chartered Accountants as (99.99%) (0.01%) auditors of the Company to hold office until the next annual meeting of Shareholders and authorizing the directors to fix their remuneration. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Against ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) In respect of the special resolution Approved 6,203,921 10,450 to approve the Company's directors' (99.83%) (0.17%) share compensation program and the reservation of additional common shares issuable pursuant to such program.(2) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Vote conducted at Meeting by show of hands. The number of votes and percentages shown are based upon the votes cast by proxy only. (2) Includes only votes of disinterested shareholders. A report of voting results for each resolution presented at the Meeting prepared in accordance with National Instrument 51-102 - Continuous Disclosure Obligations has been filed on www.sedar.com. About TeraGo TeraGo provides businesses across Canada and internationally with cloud, colocation and connectivity services. TeraGo manages over 3,000 cloud workloads, nine data centres in the Greater Toronto Area, the Greater Vancouver Area, Ottawa, Kelowna, Winnipeg, St. Louis and Newport, United Kingdom, and owns and manages its own IP network. The Company serves approximately 4,000 business customers in 46 major markets across Canada including Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg. TeraGo Networks is a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) and was recognized by IDC as a Major Player in MarketScape Cloud Vendor Assessment. TeraGo Networks was also selected as one of Canada's Top Small and Medium Employers for 2017. For more information about TeraGo, please visit www.terago.ca. Contacts: TeraGo Investor Relations 1-877-982-3688 ir@terago.ca VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- Desert Star Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: DSR) ("Desert Star" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed a definitive agreement dated June 15, 2017 (the "Agreement") with Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone") to acquire 100% of the Kutcho high grade copper-zinc-gold-silver project ("Kutcho"). The consideration for the acquisition of Capstone's wholly-owned subsidiary Kutcho Copper Corp. (the "Acquisition"), which owns Kutcho includes C$28.8 million in cash plus such number of common shares in Desert Star, such that, subsequent to the completion of the Acquisition and any concurrent financing, Capstone will own 9.9% of the issued and outstanding shares of Desert Star. Desert Star also announces the results of an updated Prefeasibility Study ("2017 PFS") prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 for the Kutcho project. The base case estimate of this study generates an after-tax net present value (NPV) at an 8% discount rate of C$265 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 27.6% using metal prices of US$2.75/lb copper, US$1.10/lb zinc, US$17.00/oz silver and US$1,250/oz gold and a currency exchange rate of 0.75 USD/CAD. In connection with the completion of the Acquisition, the Company proposes to significantly strengthen its management team and board members with a number of new appointments including Mr. Stephen Quin, President & CEO of Midas Gold Corp. and former CEO of Sherwood Copper Corp., Mr. Bill Bennett, former BC Mines Minister and Allison Rippin Armstrong, former VP of Sustainability for Kaminak Gold Corp. Additional proposed appointments and complete bios are described further below. "The acquisition of the Kutcho project represents a transformational growth opportunity for the company and its shareholders," stated Vince Sorace, President & CEO of Desert Star Resources. "We believe Kutcho is an exceptional opportunity, with significant near-term upside potential in both the project economics and expansion of the existing mineral reserves and resources. Desert Star is guided by an experienced board, management and technical team with experience in project development, permitting and finance, all committed to working closely with First Nations, local communities and all levels of Government. We look forward to advancing Kutcho to a fully permitted status with strong First Nations, community and regulator support." Project Overview -- The Kutcho project is located in northern British Columbia, approximately 100 kilometres east of Dease Lake and Highway 37, and consists of one mining lease and 46 mineral exploration claims encompassing 17,060 Hectares. -- Mineralization at Kutcho comprises three known "Kuroko-type" volcanic massive sulfide ("VMS") deposits aligned in a westerly plunging linear trend. The largest deposit, Main, comes to surface at the east end of the trend, with Sumac followed by Esso down plunge to the west. -- Over C$50 million of historical project expenditures that provided the basis for the 2017 updated PFS. Desert Star's study includes parameter changes consistent with current market conditions, such as capital expenditures, operating costs, metal prices and foreign exchange rate. 2017 PFS Highlights -- Pre-tax NPV (8% discount rate) of C$423 million and IRR of 34.6% -- After-tax NPV (8% discount rate) of C$265 million and IRR of 27.6% -- Life of mine ("LOM") net pre-tax cash flow C$801 million and LOM free cash flow (after-tax) C$533 million -- 12 year mine life with 2,500 tonne per day production rate for a total life-of-mine payable production of 378 million pounds of copper and 473 million pounds of zinc, plus by-product gold and silver -- Average annual production of 33 million pounds of copper and 46 million pounds of zinc, plus by-product gold and silver -- Initial capital costs, including 15% contingency, for a 100% owner- operated mine are estimated at C$220.7 million excluding sunk capital to the start of construction -- Operating costs of C$73.72/tonne of material milled -- Unit operating costs of US$1.60/lb copper excluding by-products, and US$0.59/lb copper net of by-products -- Pre-tax payback of 3.3 years and post-tax payback of 3.5 years -- Probable Mineral Reserve(1) at a 1.5% copper cut-off grade of 10.4 million tonnes averaging 2.01% copper, 3.19% zinc, 0.37 g/t gold and 34.61 g/t silver. A 1.5% Cu cut-off grade was used for mineral reserve estimation and is based on the 2011 mine plan. Proposed Work Program Desert Star has developed plans to advance the Kutcho project from the 2017 PFS to a fully permitted project with a feasibility study completed by the end of 2019. This work includes additional geotechnical work on the deposits, a drilling program to collect metallurgical samples and upgrade a portion of the inferred mineral resources to the measured and/or indicated categories so they could potentially be included in future studies, additional metallurgical test work to optimize metallurgical parameters, and environmental baseline studies. Potential Exploration Upside Significant exploration upside has been identified through historic work including several priority drill ready targets prospective for the discovery of new deposits including: -- mineralized drill intersections along strike and down plunge to the west from the Esso deposit (one of three VMS deposits comprising the Kutcho project) including 7.2 metres @ 1.96% copper, 5.24% zinc, and 18.0 g/t silver in DDH 94-B3; -- the FW Zone, a relatively narrow sulphide lens (2 to 5 metres thick) that lies beneath the Main Zone and currently has an historic estimate(i) - prepared as an internal document for Esso in 1979, of 230,000 tonnes averaging 1.47% copper, 5.52% zinc, 0.4 g/t gold and 43.7 g/t silver. -- In addition, there is favourable untested stratigraphy east of the Main Zone, and on the southern portion of the property where the Kutcho time equivalent sulphide horizon is fold repeated. (i)A Qualified Person has not completed sufficient work to classify the historic estimate tabulated above as current mineral resources and the issuer is not treating the above mineral estimates as current mineral resources. The historic estimate is uncategorized and does not use the categories ("inferred", "indicated" or "measured" mineral resource, or "probable" or "proven" mineral reserve) set out in Sections 1.2 and 1.3 of NI 43-101 as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, are not compliant with the NI 43-101. The historical estimate is relevant to obtain a reference to mineral potential present on the property. The Company has not undertaken any verification of the historical data upon which the historical estimates are based on. Advisors The company has engaged the following advisors: -- Fort Capital as its financial advisor in connection with the Acquisition -- Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. as its financial advisor and lead agent with regard to any acquisition financing -- C3 Alliance Corp as a strategic advisor on Community and First Nations engagement, project permitting and government relations -- JDS Energy & Mining Inc. as its lead technical consultant -- Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP as its legal advisor 2017 PFS Assumptions & Economic Results A detailed analysis and update of capital expenditures and operating costs was conducted and compared to a previous Preliminary Feasibility Study for Kutcho prepared for Capstone in February, 2011 by JDS Energy & Mining Inc. entitled "Kutcho Copper Project Prefeasibility Study British Columbia" (the "2011 PFS"). The economic results of the 2017 PFS are summarized in Table 1 with parameters provided in Table 2 and all-in cash costs are shown in Table 3. Table 1: Economic Summary (Base Case Scenario) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Item Unit Value ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOM Net Operating Income C$M 1,088 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOM Net Pre-tax Cash Flow C$M 801 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Annual Pre-tax Cash Flow C$M 86 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOM Income Taxes C$M 267 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOM Free Cash Flow (after-tax) C$M 533 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Annual Free Cash Flow C$M 63 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-tax NPV (8% discount rate) C$M 423 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-tax IRR % 34.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-tax Payback Years 3.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After-tax NPV (8% discount rate) C$M 265 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After-tax IRR % 27.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After-tax Payback Years 3.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 2: Operating and Capital Costs Parameters ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parameter Unit 2011 PFS 2017 PFS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- UG Mining OPEX C$/t mined 27.37 41.89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OP Mining OPEX C$/t mined 1.84 1.93 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Processing C$/t milled 18.44 20.79 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipment Leasing C$/t milled 4.21 1.66 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- G&A C$/t milled 10.37 10.86 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Operating Cost C$/t milled 63.23 73.72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Initial Capital (incl. contingency) C$M 187.4 220.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sustaining & Closure Capital (incl. cont.) C$M 26.1 67.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Capital Cost C$M 213.5 287.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 3: All-in Cash Costs (Base Case Scenario) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life of mine Description Unit total C$/lbs Copper ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- UG Mining (incl. equipment leases) C$M 419 1.11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OP Mining C$M 3 0.01 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Processing C$M 217 0.57 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipment Leasing (power plant) C$M 17 0.04 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- G&A C$M 113 0.30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Refining & Transport C$M 193 0.51 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Royalties C$M 38 0.10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sustaining & Closure Capital C$M 67 0.18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total C$M 1,067 2.82 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- All-in Cash + Sustaining Cost (net of 0.97 by-product) ------------------------------------ US$0.72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Economic Sensitivities The 2017 PFS contemplates several sensitivity scenarios that demonstrate Kutcho's robust economic nature under a variety of scenarios, which are summarized in Table 4. Table 4: Commodity Price Sensitivity - Scenario Summary ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After-tax After-tax After-tax Case Cu Zn Au Ag Forex NPV-8% IRR Payback (US$/lb)(US$/lb)(US$/oz)(US$/oz)(US$:C$) (C$M) (%) (years) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A 2.50 1.00 1,125 15.30 0.725 211 24 3.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- B 0.750 (Base 2.75 1.10 1,250 17.00 265 28 3.5 Case) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- C 3.00 1.20 1,375 18.70 0.775 316 31 3.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2017 PFS was conducted under the overall supervision of Gord Doerksen, P.Eng. of JDS Energy & Mining Inc. Mr. Doerksen is the VP Engineering at JDS and an independent qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 who has verified and approved the technical and scientific information related to the 2017 PFS and the 2011 PFS, and prepared the economic analysis included in this news release. Mineral Reserves & Mineral Resources -- Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource (including Reserves) at 1.5% copper cut-off grade is 11.3 million tonnes averaging 2.19% copper, 3.28% zinc, 0.39 g/t gold and 36.7 g/t silver. -- The portion of this Mineral Resource that converted to Probable Mineral Reserve(1) is 10.4 million tonnes averaging 2.01% copper, 3.19% zinc, 0.37 g/t gold and 34.61 g/t silver; Table 5: Mineral Reserves & Mineral Resources (at 1.5% Cu Cut-off Grade) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes ('000) Classification Grade Contained Metal ------------------------------------------------------ Cu Zn Au AgCuEq(2) Cu Zn Au Ag (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (%)(Mlbs)(Mlbs) (Moz) (Moz) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Probable Reserve(1) 10,441 2.01 3.19 0.37 34.61 2.92 463 734 0.10 11.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mineral Resources ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Measured (M) 5,421 2.15 2.86 0.34 31.4 2.92 256.6 341.8 0.06 5.46 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indicated (I) 5,859 2.24 3.67 0.45 41.6 3.31 289.2 473.5 0.08 7.83 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- M&I Resource 11,280 2.19 3.28 0.39 36.7 3.11 545 816 0.10 13.30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred Resource(3) 1,090 1.74 2.04 0.35 30.7 2.32 42 49 0.00 1.10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) A Probable Mineral Reserve is the economically mineable part of an Indicated Mineral Resource, and in some circumstances a Measured Mineral Resource, demonstrated by at least a Preliminary Feasibility Study. This study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified. (2) Copper equivalencies are based on commodity prices of $2.75/lb Cu, $1.10/lb Zn, $17.00/oz Ag and $1,250/oz Au and recoveries of 84.7% Cu, 75.7% Zn, 48.0% Ag, 41.2% Au. Actual economic parameters, including recoveries, are subject to change as additional test work and studies are completed. (3) The economic analysis contained in the 2017 PFS does not include inferred resources. Cut-off Grade Sensitivities As part of the 2017 PFS update, a new calculation for the cut-off value was conducted that returned a mill-head NSR (including recoveries) cut-off value of $74/t excluding royalties and sustaining capital. This converts to a 0.8% copper cut-off, including by-product credits. Tables 6-9 demonstrate the sensitivity to cut-off grade for the Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources of the Main, Esso and Sumac deposits. Table 6: Main Measured & Indicated Resources(4) by COG ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnage Cut-off Grade (%Cu) (Kt) Grade ---------------------------------------- Cu Zn Au Ag (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.50 16,476 1.69% 2.27% 0.31 27.30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.75 15,803 1.74% 2.32% 0.31 27.81 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.00 14,472 1.81% 2.42% 0.32 27.65 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.25 12,340 1.93% 2.55% 0.33 28.89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.50 9,464 2.10% 2.72% 0.34 31.32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.75 6,817 2.29% 2.89% 0.36 32.84 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.00 4,430 2.51% 3.03% 0.38 34.78 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 7: Main Inferred Resources(4) by COG ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnage Cut-off Grade (%Cu) (Kt) Grade ---------------------------------------- Cu Zn Au Ag (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.50 1,234 1.38% 2.22% 0.38 28.82 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.75 1,198 1.40% 2.24% 0.38 29.20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.00 1,019 1.49% 2.36% 0.39 30.20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.25 664 1.69% 2.60% 0.42 31.42 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.50 464 1.84% 2.83% 0.43 31.55 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.75 260 2.02% 2.94% 0.42 32.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.00 94 2.32% 2.98% 0.40 31.67 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 8: Esso Measured & Indicated Resources(4) by COG ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnage Cut-off Grade (%Cu) (Kt) Grade(1) ---------------------------------------- Cu Zn Au Ag (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.50 2,823 2.10% 5.07% 0.54 51.99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.75 2,604 2.22% 5.35% 0.57 55.02 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.00 2,381 2.35% 5.63% 0.60 57.98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.25 2,081 2.52% 5.91% 0.63 61.61 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.50 1,816 2.69% 6.18% 0.66 64.78 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.75 1,556 2.87% 6.42% 0.70 68.12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.00 1,329 3.04% 6.70% 0.72 71.36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 9: Sumac Inferred Resources(4) by COG ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnage Cut-off Grade (%Cu) (Kt) Grade(1) ---------------------------------------- Cu Zn Au Ag (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.50 8,734 1.00% 1.32% 0.16 15.96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.75 6,610 1.12% 1.38% 0.18 18.27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.00 4,042 1.27% 1.42% 0.21 22.30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.25 1,785 1.46% 1.57% 0.26 26.55 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.50 656 1.67% 1.46% 0.29 30.12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.75 140 1.93% 1.45% 0.36 35.56 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.00 33 2.19% 1.90% 0.41 48.18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (4) Mineral Resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Acquisition Agreement Summary -- Desert Star to acquire 100% interest in Capstone's wholly-owned subsidiary Kutcho Copper Corp. which holds 100% interest in the Kutcho project -- Desert Star to pay Capstone C$28.8 million cash upon closing -- Capstone to become 9.9% shareholder of Desert Star at the completion of the Acquisition -- The shares issued to Capstone, will be restricted from sale for a period of two years from the date of issuance. Upon termination of the pooling restrictions, Capstone must give the Company written notice of its intention to sell any of the Purchased Shares, and Desert Star will have a 10-day right to designate the purchaser of such shares. -- For so long as Capstone holds at least 5% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company, Capstone will retain the right to: -- Appoint one director to Desert Star's board; and -- Participate in any subsequent security offerings on a pro-rata basis in proportion to Capstone's beneficial ownership interest in the Company's outstanding shares immediately prior to such offering -- If the closing of the Acquisition has not occurred on or before August 31, 2017, either Capstone or the Company may elect to terminate the Agreement Management and Board Appointments In addition to the existing management, technical team and advisory board members, Desert Star will be strengthening management and boards with the following appointments: Allison Rippin Armstrong - Community & Environment Ms. Allison Rippin Armstrong has 20 years of experience working in permitting, regulatory processes and environmental compliance for resource companies, Indigenous organizations and NGOs. Most recently, Ms. Rippin Armstrong served as the Vice President, Sustainability for Kaminak Gold Corporation, which was acquired by Goldcorp Inc. in 2016 for $520 million. Ms. Rippin Armstrong's experience includes roles in environment, lands and permitting for the Ekati Diamond Mine, Dene Nation and numerous resource proponent companies for projects in the NWT, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario. Ms. Rippin Armstrong has also participated as an industry representative in the development of draft regulations with the federal government. Stephen Quin - Director Stephen Quin was appointed president, chief executive officer and a director of Midas Gold, Inc. effective January 1, 2011 and guided the Company through the completion of the acquisition of the Yellow Pine deposit, which forms a core asset in the Stibnite Gold Project, the creation of Midas Gold Corp. and its combination with Midas Gold, Inc. in April 2011, the 2011 TSX listing of Midas Gold Corp., and subsequent advancement of the Stibnite Gold Project and fundraising to support the work thereon. Prior to joining Midas Gold, Mr. Quin served as president and chief operating officer of Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone"), a mid-tier copper producer with mines in Canada and Mexico and, before that, as president and chief executive officer of Sherwood Copper Corporation ("Sherwood"), which was amalgamated into Capstone in November 2008. As president and CEO of Sherwood, Mr. Quin led that company through the exploration, feasibility, permitting, mine financing and construction of the Minto Mine and subsequent operations, resource increases and production expansions. Mr. Quin also led Sherwood's acquisition of Western Keltic Mines, Inc., the then owner of the Kutcho project, and Sherwood's subsequent evaluation of the Kutcho project that led to the completion of the 2011 PFS. Prior to joining Sherwood, Mr. Quin was Executive VP at Miramar Mining Corporation, where he was responsible for exploration, business development and investor relations for 18 years, and notable milestones included the acquisition of the Con gold mine in NWT, the acquisition and exploration of the Hope Bay gold project in Nunavut and the creation of Northern Orion Exploration and its acquisition and advancement of the Agua Rica copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry copper project and the San Jorge copper project, both in Argentina. Bill Bennett - Director Bill Bennett was a government MLA in British Columbia for 16 years in the Riding of Kootenay East. In addition to holding portfolios for Local Government and Tourism, Mr. Bennett was named BC Mines Minister 3 separate times over his 16 years, and is known across Canada for his knowledge of the mining industry in BC, and has significant experience with all natural resources issues and with First Nations issues. He led the BC government's efforts over many years to restore BC's competitiveness for exploration investment, including having improved the BC Ministry of Energy & Mines permitting process and helping to launch BC's First Nations mine revenue sharing program. Mr. Bennett has a BA from the University of Guelph and a law degree from Queens University. Jay Sujir - Director Mr. Sujir is an independent business advisor to the mining industry, and a lawyer and Partner in Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP's Mining and Securities groups. He has over 30 years of experience acting for mining and other natural resource companies and is a member of the British Columbia Advisory Committee of the TSX Venture Exchange. Mr. Sujir has served as, and is currently a Director of several junior exploration and mining companies, including Leagold Mining, Red Eagle Mining and Excelsior Mining Corp. Brad Mercer - Director Mr. Mercer is a geoscientist with over 33 years of experience managing mineral exploration programs and feasibility evaluations of mineral properties focused in the Americas and is currently Senior Vice President, Exploration at Capstone Mining Corp. Mr. Mercer leads the exploration team at Capstone, credited with discovering nine copper-gold deposits in six years at the Minto Mine, Yukon, and is currently continuing success at the Cozamin Mine in Mexico. In addition to successes at the Minto and Cozamin mines, Mr. Mercer lead teams credited with the discovery of the Moly Brook molybdenum deposit and the Unknown Brook gold deposit, both located in Newfoundland, Canada. It is anticipated that Mr. Mercer will serve as Capstone's appointee to the board of Desert Star. Peter Meredith - Technical Advisory Board Mr. Meredith served as the Chief Financial Officer of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (now Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd.) from June, 1999 to November, 2001 and from May, 2004 to May, 2006, and as Deputy Chairman from May, 2006 to April, 2012. He also served as the Chief Executive Officer of SouthGobi Resources Ltd. from June, 2007 to October, 2009. During his tenure with the Ivanhoe Group of Companies ("Ivanhoe") he participated in raising more than US$4 Billion to advance the business interests of various companies within the group. Prior to joining Ivanhoe, Mr. Meredith spent 35 years with the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP where he was a Senior Partner. He has extensive experience in regulatory compliance and corporate finance, with an emphasis on public resource companies and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. He has served on the Board of Directors of many companies, including but not limited to, Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd., Great Canadian Gaming Corp., China Gold International Resources Corp Ltd., SouthGobi Resources Ltd., Ivanhoe Energy Inc., Entree Gold Inc., Ivanhoe Australia Ltd., Asia Gold Corp., Besra Gold Inc. (formerly Olympus Pacific Minerals Inc.) and Jinshan Gold Mines Inc. Additional Items Completion of the Acquisition is expected during Q3 2017 and is subject to a number of conditions precedent, including, without limitation, the receipt of all regulatory approvals, including the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). As this is an arm's length transaction and will be treated as a "Fundamental Acquisition" pursuant to the policies of the Exchange, the Company is not required to seek approval from its shareholders. In connection with the closing of the Acquisition, all of the 2,500,000 share purchase warrants issued in connection with the closing of the Company's private placement of units announced on May 1, 2017, will automatically terminate in accordance with their terms. Trading in the common shares of the Company has been halted in accordance with the policies of the Exchange and will remain halted until such time as all required documentation has been filed with and accepted by the Exchange and permission to resume trading has been obtained from the Exchange. Qualified Person Gord Doerksen, P.Eng., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has read and approved all technical and scientific information contained in this news release. Mr. Doerksen is Vice President Technical Services for JDS Mining and the lead Author of the 2017 PFS. Rory Kutluoglu, B.Sc. P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has read and approved all technical and scientific information contained in this news release. Mr. Kutluoglu is the Company's Vice President Exploration. The QPs verify that sufficient data verification was conducted for the 2017 PFS and that this data is adequately representative of the project. Vince Sorace, President and CEO, Desert Star Resources Ltd. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to the proposed Acquisition and changes to the Company's management and board, estimated mineral resources and mineral reserves, the timing and amount of estimated production, costs of production, capital expenditures, commodity price assumptions, the Company's ability to successfully obtain all regulatory approvals and permits to commence and conduct mining operations, environmental risks and title challenges. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Desert Star believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Desert Star's ability to obtain all requisite approvals for the proposed Acquisition and board and management changes, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital to fund its obligations under the Acquisition or under its property agreements going forward, to maintain its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, to explore and develop Kutcho or its other projects, to repay its debt and for general working capital purposes; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; the inherent hazards associates with mineral exploration, and mining operations, future prices of copper and other metals, changes in general economic conditions, accuracy of mineral resource and reserve estimates, the ability of Desert Star to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop Kutcho and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to Desert Star's plans and business objectives for the projects; the general ability of Desert Star to monetize its mineral resources; and changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, aboriginal title claims and rights to consultation and accommodation, dependence on key management personnel and general competition in the mining industry. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, estimates and opinions of Desert Star's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, Desert Star undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Contacts: Desert Star Resources Ltd. info@desertstar.ca www.desertstar.ca CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/15/17 -- Bonavista Energy Corporation ("Bonavista") (TSX: BNP) confirms that a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per common share will be paid in cash on July 17, 2017 to common shareholders of record on June 30, 2017. The ex-dividend date is June 28, 2017. Bonavista's dividend policy is reviewed quarterly and is based on future commodity prices, foreign exchange rates, our commodity hedging program, current operations and future investment opportunities. This dividend has been designated as an "eligible dividend" for Canadian income tax purposes. Bonavista is focused on creating premium shareholder value through the efficient development of high quality oil and natural gas assets. Forward-Looking Statements Corporate information provided herein contains forward-looking information. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of such information, particularly those pertaining to cash dividends, which are considered reasonable by Bonavista at the time of preparation, may be proven to be incorrect. Actual results achieved during the forecast period will vary from the information provided herein and the variations may be material. There is no representation by Bonavista that actual results achieved during the forecast period will be the same in whole or in part as those forecasts. Contacts: Jason E. Skehar President & CEO Dean M. Kobelka Vice President, Finance & CFO Berk Sumen Investor Relations Lead Bonavista Energy Corporation 1500, 525 - 8th Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2P 1G1 (403) 213-4300 www.bonavistaenergy.com Technological advances are shaking up several markets, making it challenging for manufacturers to keep up with trends and stay competitive. This is leading companies to increasingly seek out market intelligence in order to better understand opportunities and demand. Three companies recently approached Infiniti Research and asked them to perform a market intelligence study for various segments of the manufacturing industry. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615006289/en/ Infiniti Research helps companies identify new market opportunities. 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Infiniti's assessment of this market helps organizations overcome these challenges, providing firms with a deep understanding of the pharmaceutical industry in terms of market analysis and competitive landscape. The study aids organizations with making strategic business decisions to drive the next generation of products. View the study: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/casestudy/market-assessment-lab-instrument-manufacturer Global Bearings Market for the Food and Beverage and Construction Industries The demand for precision and minimizing energy loss has driven the demand for bearings in the food and beverages segment. From the end-user-segment side, the construction industry dominated the global market with a CAGR of 7% in terms of volume. Growth of the replacement market, robust technological advances, and rapid industrialization are some of the factors that have contributed to the growth of the global bearings market. A leading manufacturing company based out of US wanted to better understand the global bearings market and gain insights into the market landscape, key competitors, market positioning, and distribution channels. By providing these targeted insights, this study helps organizations effectively strategize market segmentation across regions and map high impacting future market trends. View the study: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/casestudy/market-intelligence-helps-manufacturing-company About Infiniti Research Established in 2003, Infiniti Research is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to help analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions, and develop intelligent business strategies. With 13 years of experience and offices across three continents, Infiniti Research has been instrumental in providing a complete range of competitive intelligence, strategy, and research services for over 550 companies across the globe. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615006289/en/ Contacts: Infiniti Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 630 333 9501 UK: +44 208 123 1770 www.infiniti.research.com Contact Us HARRISBURG Calling it dysfunction on the second floor of the Capitol, state Sen. Dave Argall, R-Berks/Schuylkill, is proposing a constitutional amendment to change how Pennsylvanians elect lieutenant governors. Lets be honest. This is embarrassing, Argall said Tuesday morning, referring to the publicly icy relationship between Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. Mike Stack. This is not how the top two members of the executive branch should operate to get things done for the people of Pennsylvania, he said. Argall wants to change the constitution so gubernatorial candidates pick their running mates, like presidents do on the federal level, instead of the current system where governors and lieutenant governors run independently in primaries and are then forced together in the general election. It would make sure theyre on the same team and its not just a shotgun marriage, Argall said. Rare are the sightings of Wolf and Stack in the same room at the same time. Theyve mostly avoided each other. Wolf recently removed round-the-clock protection and staff at the lieutenant governors residence after accusations that Stack and his wife were abusive to employees. The Office of Inspector General investigated the allegations and, sources tell ABC27, has completed its report. Its unclear if Wolf will release it publicly. Thirteen states including Pennsylvania neighbors Maryland, Ohio, and New Jersey let their governors choose their running mates. Its just common sense, according to Sen. John DiSanto, R-Dauphin/Perry. Pennsylvania has serious problems and if we have the two top executives not working together, its just not helpful for the citizens, he said. Constitutional amendments dont happen quickly. They require passage in the House and Senate in two consecutive sessions and then the question is put on the ballot for voters. It couldnt be done in time to affect next years gubernatorial race. Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) is a supporter. I like constitutional amendments because we the people get to decide on that as we go forward, he said. Interestingly, the Republican who wants to change the way lieutenant governors are elected is rumored to be mulling a run for lieutenant governor. We asked Argall if thats true. If you walked up and down the hallways of the Capitol, I suspect youd probably get the same answer from my colleagues saying, yeah, under the right conditions. Thats a discussion for another day, he said. Asked about the proposal, Wolfs office said the governor is focused on getting a fair budget done. Stacks spokesman said the lieutenant governor would support whatever the people decide. Millennial Retail Survey and Future of Brands Research: How Brands Can Survive in the Future FIT Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management Graduate Program's 2017 Capstone NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --There is a revolution occurring and it's not of the political sort. Brand loyalty is a thing of the past, retail doors are closing at an alarming rate, and power and influence have shifted into the hands of consumers, who now have the ability to take down a brand or a retailer in 140 characters or less. "We are experiencing a renaissance in which the consumer is transitioning from relying on brands for information to actually telling brands what they expect and need, ultimately providing brand direction," stated the beauty industry professionals in the Fashion Institute of Technology's Master of Professional Studies program in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management at the program's annual Capstone Research Presentation, sponsored by Shiseido Americas, on June 13 in New York City. Consumer Research Survey and Key Findings The FIT 2017 Millennial Consumer Expectation and Brand Perception Survey discovered that an emotional connection is what really motivates millennials to purchase a branded product. According to the survey: 48% are more likely to buy from a brand if they know the people behind it 47% want a brand to take ownership for its mistakes 47% want a brand to take their feedback into account In other words, millennials seek a bond of trust between the brand and themselves-a combination of transparency, experience, and community-defined by the researchers as The Trust Loop. The graduate students further examined the data, conducted extensive global research, and interviewed industry executives, focusing on two thesis areas: (1) Brand Expression-the DNA of brand; and (2) Brand Experience-how brands are presented at retail. The following are highlights of their findings, theories, predictions, and business imperatives. Brand Expression: Brands used to be a mark of quality, but in today's volatile world, trust, purpose, connection, and community have become the key brand attributes valued by millennial consumers. According to the students' research, "Brands in the future must win the hearts, minds, and now most importantly, the trust of their consumers." The question is how? The answer can be found in a new theory devised by the students: the Brand Humanization Theory. It is composed of the following three elements and corresponding business recommendations. Brand Actualization: 1) Develop an identifiable purpose for being that goes beyond a mission statement. It's why you do what you do. 2) Think small, act big; small is the new big . 3) Foster a strong brand community . 1) Develop an identifiable for being that goes beyond a mission statement. It's why you do what you do. 2) Think small, act big; . 3) Foster a strong brand . Personalization of Scale: 1) Treat each customer as a market of one . Great examples are Netflix and Spotify. 2) Engage rather than target customers. 3) Use consumer data to improve their lives and offer convenience. 1) Treat each customer as a . Great examples are Netflix and Spotify. 2) customers. 3) Use consumer data to Inside Out Organization: 1) Emphasize employee relationship management. 2) Cultivate a work environment where ideas freely flow between employees at all levels. 3) Empower employees to be internal influencers, rather than hiring external influencers, to reach consumers in a more authentic way. When adopted, the Brand Humanization Theory will create what the researchers describe as Community Fluidity-a symbiotic relationship between the brand and its community that allows the brand to be agile and responsive while remaining true to its core DNA. Brand Experience: Retail is at a tipping point. The rise of e-commerce has fundamentally changed how consumers choose to interact with and experience brands. In addition, mall traffic is down 13 percent, and year-to-date, 3,000 retail doors have closed and nine retailers have declared bankruptcy; yet the U.S. is still over-stored compared to other major global markets. The research further revealed that consumers are evolving faster than retailers, resulting in what the study defines as the Consumer Experience Gap. As only the most adaptable retailers will survive, the students took their cue from the Darwinian evolution theory of VISTA and developed five retail imperatives for today and tomorrow. V ariation: Demonstrate greater flexibility with store locations and formats. Variation is needed to provide more relevant, unique, and localized shopping experiences. All stores do not, and should not, have to look alike. Demonstrate greater flexibility with store locations and formats. Variation is needed to provide more relevant, unique, and localized shopping experiences. All stores do not, and should not, have to look alike. I nheritance: Liberate the role of retail associates via training and empowerment so they can transmit the brand's DNA to better connect and serve customers. Liberate the role of retail associates via training and empowerment so they can transmit the brand's DNA to better connect and serve customers. S election: Prioritize the consumer over consumption, providing experiences that transcend transaction via immersive brand experiences, social spaces, and holistic lifestyle hubs. Prioritize the consumer over consumption, providing experiences that transcend transaction via immersive brand experiences, social spaces, and holistic lifestyle hubs. T ime: Recognize that time will soon be the #1 currency for future shoppers. Recognize that time will soon be the #1 currency for future shoppers. A daption: Consumers will evolve into seekers, pursuing discovery of new experiences that lead to a sense of fulfillment. Anticipating consumer expectations will be the ultimate marker of success and survival in the future. This study challenges retailers to select consumer experience over consumption-and the research supports that conclusion. Fifty-seven percent of U.S. consumers say they want stores to serve a higher function than simply selling product. Because tomorrow's brands will be much more than product, retailers and brands need to think beyond the shelves. Video of the event, white papers, and infographics of The Future of Brands research are posted for public view here. High resolution photos can be downloaded here. About the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) The FIT Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management (CFMM) program, one of seven advanced degree programs in FIT's School of Graduate Studies, was developed in collaboration with industry as a leadership development program for outstanding mid-career executives. Global luxury firms including Chanel, Shiseido, Estee Lauder, LVMH, and global consumer packaged goods companies including Coty, L'Oreal, and Unilever, nominate talented emerging executives to participate in the two-year program. The CFMM program has become the beauty industry's recognized think tank, producing high-level annual research presented to industry executives and organizations, and during specialized panels, symposia, and forums in both academia and industry. Visit fitnyc.edu/cfmm for more info. The Fashion Institute of Technology, a college of the State University of New York, has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology for more than 70 years. With a curriculum that provides a singular blend of hands-on, practical experience, classroom study, and a firm grounding in the liberal arts, FIT offers a wide range of outstanding programs that are affordable and relevant to today's rapidly changing industries. The college offers nearly 50 majors and grants AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees, preparing students for professional success and leadership in the global marketplace. Visit fitnyc.edu. About Shiseido Americas Corporation Shiseido Americas Corporation is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Shiseido Company, Limited (TSE:4911), a leading global beauty company. Led by President and CEO Marc Rey, Shiseido Americas' portfolio of prestige beauty brands includes Shiseido, NARS, Cle de Peau Beaute, bareMinerals, and several prestige fragrance brands including Issey Miyake, Narciso Rodriguez, and Dolce & Gabbana. Shiseido Americas is headquartered in New York City and employs more than 5,000 individuals in the United States, Canada, and throughout Latin America. In 2016, Shiseido Americas acquired Laura Mercier Cosmetics and ReVive Skincare brands, further strengthening the company's position as a leading player in the beauty industry. In early 2017, Shiseido Americas acquired MatchCo, a technology company and JWALK, a creative agency. Cheri Fein Executive Director of Public and Media Relations 212 217.4700; press@fitnyc.edu Technavio analysts forecast the global pasta marketto grow at a CAGR of almost 6% during the forecast period, according to their latest report. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615006339/en/ Technavio has published a new report on the global pasta market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire) The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global pasta marketfor 2017-2021. The market is segmented based onproduct (dried pasta and chilled and fresh pasta), and distribution channel (supermarkets and hypermarkets, independent and grocery retailers, convenience stores, and discounters). The market is further segmented into geography (EMEA, the Americas, and APAC). The global pasta market is expected to grow during the forecast period due to the increasing demand for convenient food products like instant pasta and dried pasta. Change in consumer lifestyle, increasing disposable income, increase in health awareness, and rise in demand for convenience food and consumption will a positive impact on the market during the forecast period. Packaged foods are convenient to carry, store, and use. Thus, all these factors together will drive the market. This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free Technavio food and beverages research analysts highlight the following three factors that are contributing to the growth of the global pasta market: Impact of private labels Increased demand for instant pasta Increasing usage of pasta across the globe Impact of private labels Private label is one of the important and prominent strategies in the retail sector. The market share of private label products is increasing across the world. It varies according to the product segment. National brands and private label products differ in promotion frequency and pricing. Private label brands offer pasta products at prices lower than those of national brands and without promotions. Manjunath Reddy, a lead food research analyst at Technavio, says, "Price-sensitive consumers are switching from branded products to low-priced private label products. In Canada, leading retailers like Costco, Safeway, Auchan, Carrefour, Tesco, and Walmart offer private label pasta products. The demand for private label pasta products is expected to rise in the coming years as price-sensitive consumers look for quality products at competitive prices. Increased demand for instant pasta Instant pasta can be rehydrated in approximately five minutes after mixing it with boiling water. It is usually present with a dehydrated sauce that is mixed before or after cooking. Instant pasta is ideal for the "on-the-go" generation, who demand convenience foods. The newer generation has redefined the traditional way of cooking and eating. Convenience foods like instant pasta fulfill their needs by reducing the preparation time. "The market demand is also increasing due to increase at-home cooking. Increasing health awareness and growing concerns about the hygiene and quality of outside food have led to an increased preference for home-cooked food. Consumers now look for convenient options such as pasta, which can be cooked with minimal demands on time and effort," adds Manjunath. Increasing usage of pasta across the globe Pasta has become one of the most popular foods across the globe. Studies have shown that the popularity of pasta has surpassed the popularity of meat and rice. Low cost, versatility, and convenience have increased the sales of pasta across the world. Pasta is the most consumed food product in southern Italy. In Italy, it is served in small quantities, while in North America, it is served as a main course. Some of the leading pasta-consuming nations are Italy, the US, Brazil, Germany, France, Russia, Australia, the UK, Japan, Canada, and Mexico. The market is gaining momentum in Asian countries like China and India due to improving economic conditions, increase in disposable income, and growing demand for convenience foods. Top vendors: Barilla De Cecco Ebro Foods Nestle Browse Related Reports: Global Ice Cream Market 2017-2021 Global Pretzel Market 2017-2021 Global Plant Protein Market 2017-2021 Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like non-alcoholic beveragesalcoholic beverages, and food services. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615006339/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 630 333 9501 UK: +44 208 123 1770 www.technavio.com Medicxi, a London and Geneva-based life sciences venture capital firm, closed its first late-stage fund, at $300m. Cornerstone strategic investors in MG1 are Novartis, Verily, an Alphabet company, and the European Investment Fund (EIF). The fund also includes most of the institutional LPs that previously backed Medicxis first fund, as well as several new investors. With MG1 fund, the firm will focus on growth stage companies in European life sciences, trying to fill a clear gap in Europe, where talented entrepreneurs do not have access to as much local financial support as their US-based counterparts to expand exciting opportunities into more mature companies. Led by Giuseppe Zocco, co-founder and Partner, who will be the responsible for a dedicated growth team to be fully integrated with the established Medicxi team and Francesco De Rubertis, MG1 will be looking to invest in private or public companies with at least one asset in Phase II or beyond that Medicxi believes can become a licenced pharmaceutical product. MG1 will be supported by a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), which will benefit from the sector expertise of the senior executives of Novartis and Verily. Since 2016, Medicxi has raised in excess of $500m of new capital to invest across early and late stage companies through MV1 and MG1. FinSMEs 15/06/2017 FinLeap, a Berlin, Germany-based fintech company builder, appointed Michael Hock as a new Managing Partner and General Manager. As a Managing Partner, Hock and his team will be responsible for Finance and Investment Management (M&A), Corporate Law and Regulatory Affairs at FinLeap and will also support the twelve ventures of the group. Hock has experience in the field of Venture Capital, Corporate M&A, and operational startup management. Before building an independent VC company, he started his career at Siemens, where he was operating in the field of Corporate Ventures. Most recently, Hock was general manager and board member for Holtzbrinck Digital. Founded in the summer of 2014 by HitFox Group and Ramin Niroumand, CEO, FinLeap serially develops Fintech companies, supporting them with infrastructure and guiding their growth. It provides seed funding from 0.5 million up to 5 million and a network of investors, an integrated development platform and advice on best practice processes. Twelve ventures have been brought to market providing services for private and corporate clients. The ecosystem includes: FinReach, which offers among others a solution for switching bank accounts; PAIR Finance, a solution for digital debt management; Clark, a digital insurance broker; and solarisBank, a digital platform with a full German banking license. The team is made up of more than 400 employees from more than 30 countries. In conjunction with the announcement, Jan Beckers, CEO and Founder of HitFox Group, and Hendrik Krawinkel, HitFox CFO, will resign from their positions as General Managers. Nevertheless, HitFox Group will remain as FinLeaps largest and most active partner. Furthermore, Beckers will remain as the Chairman of FinLeap. FinSMEs 15/06/2017 Torchlite, an Indianapolis, Indiana-based tech marketing company, closed $2M seed financing round. The company has raised $4M in total funding to date. Founded in 2015 by Susan Marshall, Torchlite provides a platform for marketers to turn ideas into campaigns by showing them what to do, how to do it and who can get it done. Freelance marketing experts called Torchliters engage with businesses of every size through Torchlite Action, a SaaS platform that identifies marketing priorities and helps manage objectives, campaigns and deliverables to completion. In conjunction with the funding, Yext (NYSE: YEXT) CMO Jeffrey K. Rohrs joined Torchlite Board of Directors as Executive Chairman while Scott McCorkle, former CEO Salesforce Marketing Cloud, joined as Executive Chairman. Rohrs will be leveraging his extensive marketing experience at the board level to help guide the companys approach to empowering marketers. McCorkle will be actively involved in Torchlites operations, providing expert direction on go-to-market strategies and contributing to the development of the product and technology. FinSMEs 15/06/2017 Agra: In the backstreets of Agra's Muslim quarter, where shoes have been made for centuries, small-scale manufacturers are firing workers and families cutting back on spending as a government crackdown on cattle slaughter ripples through the community. The election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) three years ago has emboldened right-wing Hindu groups to push harder for protection of the cow, an animal they consider sacred. Authorities in the country's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, started closing down unlicensed abattoirs in March, immediately hitting production and sales in the Muslim-dominated meat industry. Last month Modi's government also banned trading cattle for slaughter, including not just cows, whose killing was already outlawed in most states, but also buffalo, an animal used for meat and leather. Now the squeeze is spreading to others in the Muslim minority and to lower-caste Hindus who cart cattle, labour in tanneries and make shoes, bags and belts - including for big name brands such as Zara and Clarks. Frequent attacks by right-wing Hindus against workers they accuse of harming cattle have further rattled the industry. Social tensions Much of India's meat and leather trade takes place in the informal economy, meaning the impact of the closing of illegal abattoirs and ban on trading for slaughter is hard to measure. But cattle markets are reporting a big slowdown in trade and tanneries a shortage of hides. Abdul Faheem Qureshi, a representative of India's Muslim Qureshi community of butchers, said in Uttar Pradesh some markets trading 1,000 animals last year were now down to as few as 100. The decline in production means fewer jobs for two of India's poorest communities, and risks inflaming social tensions at a time when Modi has vowed to boost employment and accelerate economic growth ahead of the next general election in 2019. Some large leather manufacturers support the Uttar Pradesh state government's move, arguing that allowing only licensed abattoirs to operate will clean the industry's image. Bigger exporters also say they have enough leather as they source hides widely, including from abroad. Still, millions work in the meat and leather industries, which are worth more than $16 billion in annual sales. When Reuters visited the narrow shoemaking lanes of Agra, a crowd of Muslims breaking their Ramadan fast gathered, shouting angrily that they were no longer safe to trade buffalo, buy cow leather for shoes or to do work that their community has done for centuries for fear of being attacked by Hindu vigilantes. "They want to weaken us. They want to snatch our bread," says 66-year-old Mohammad Muqeem, whose workers stitch $3 shoes in his cellar, referring to the closure of slaughterhouses and recent attacks on cattle traders. Muqeem's monthly income has halved to $300 since last year as leather has become scarce. His dozen casual workers, down from 40, now use mostly synthetic materials. Impossible target Like meat, India's leather industry has expanded rapidly in the last decade, providing relatively well-paid factory work and cash for families stitching informally in their homes. Agra, in Uttar Pradesh, turns out a million pairs of shoes a day for domestic buyers and European labels such as Inditex-owned Zara and Clarks. An estimated 40 percent of the population of the northern Indian city, famed as the home of the Taj Mahal, depends on the industry. Clarks said in a statement that it does not use leather from Indian-origin cows and that the small amount of buffalo leather it sources from India had not been impacted. Zara and did not respond to requests for comment. India is one of the world's top five producers of leather, with skins coming from cows that die of natural causes or from the legal slaughter of buffalo. The government is targeting leather revenues of $27 billion (21.14 billion pounds) - more than double today's level - by 2020 as part of a job creation push. But in May, the government decreed that animal markets could only trade cow and buffalo for agricultural purposes such as ploughing and dairy production - a move many in the industry say contradicts its plans to grow leather sales. The environment minister said this week the government could amend the rule after a court temporarily stayed the order and there was widespread anger in regions where meat and leather are important to the local culture and economy. But industry officials said the shock of the ban, coming on the heels of the crackdown on abattoirs and attacks against cattle workers, meant business would not easily recover. Companies say the government's leather target would be impossible to meet unless the restrictions are reversed. "There is a lot of panic in the industry after the latest order, which has come as the biggest blow," Puran Dawar, chairman of Agra-based exporter Dawar Footwear Industries, said as hundreds of workers moulded shoes on the factory floor, referring to the ban on cattle traded for slaughter. "There are grave concerns about the supply of leather, exports of shoes and overall employment." The commerce ministry did not respond to requests for comment. In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a controversial Hindu priest, had made closing unlicensed slaughter houses a priority after Modi appointed him in March. About 30 percent of hides, mostly from buffaloes, that supply tanneries in the state are from unlicensed abattoirs. Sitting in his one-room shop in Agra's leather market, Mohammad Hashim, a burly leather dealer in his sixties, said business was down 40 percent in the last three months. The recent scarcity of hides had hurt Hindus as much as Muslims, he said, pointing to the quiet streets outside and a Hindu man struggling to sell puffed rice snacks from his cart. Modi's election in 2014 and a resurgence in right-wing Hindu activism have increased concerns among Muslims that their livelihoods are under attack. As a minority making up 14 percent of India's 1.3 billion people, they are generally poorer and less literate than majority Hindus. When worshippers finishing evening prayers at the Mughal-era mosque in the shoemaking quarter of Agra are asked whether the chief minister handpicked by Modi is to blame, one of the Imams thunders: "Modi is to blame. He is targeting Muslims." In an interview with Reuters, Chief Minister Adityanath rejected accusations the BJP had targeted any specific group. "Illegal slaughterhouses operated across the state and many big and small leather traders were buying raw material at cheapest rates from unlicensed slaughterhouses to maximise profits," he said in Lucknow, the state capital. Wider industry hit In the industrial city of Kanpur, 250 km (155 miles) east of Agra, tanneries processing buffalo skins are reporting job losses as the availability of hides dries up. Nayyar Jamal, general secretary of Kanpur's Small Tanners' Association, reckons as many as 400,000 employees in Kanpur's leather and related industries are temporarily jobless, including some laid off because of environmental curbs on tannery pollution. Supplies of local hides have dropped by 20 to 30 percent. Qureshi, from the butchers' organisation, estimates that 3.5 million employees in Uttar Pradesh alone have been directly hit. "More than the economic loss, the government has injected fear," said Chandra Bhan Prasad, a writer and businessman from the Dalit community, as those at the bottom of Hinduism's social hierarchy once called "untouchables" are known. Dalits and Muslims often work in trades that higher-caste Hindus traditionally consider beneath them. Tannery owner Mohammad Ikram said he was only able to procure 4,000 hides a month - down from 25,000 - because even truckers transporting legally obtained cow or buffalo hides fear attacks from vigilantes. He has a month's inventory left, and when that runs out he will have to start shedding staff. Shahnawaz Qureshi, a wage labourer stuffing synthetic shoes into plastic bags in Muqeem's cellar in Agra, lost his last job after his employer could no longer afford leather. He now earns 3,000 rupees - or $47 - a month, down from 4,500 in his previous job, and together with his father's income supports three sisters and his mother. "I decided to sign up for this job despite the fact that I earn reasonably less here," he said. New Delhi: Public sector Central Bank of India has been placed under the RBI's watchlist on Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) owing to high bad loans and negative return on assets. IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank and Dena Bank have already come under the PCA initiated by the Reserve Bank, which is a noose-tightening on fresh loan disbursal as well as dividend distribution. "Reserve Bank of India, vide its letter dated June 13, 2017, has put the bank under Prompt Corrective Action in view of high NPA (non-performing assets) and negative return on assets (RoA)," Central Bank of India said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The bank further said: "We believe that corrective measures arising out of the PCA will help in improving overall performance of the bank." For the fiscal ended March 2017, the bank has reported a net loss of Rs 2,439 crore, against a loss of Rs 1,418 crore in 2015-16. Net non-performing assets (NPAs) also jumped to 10.20 percent of net advances for the fiscal from 7.36 percent year ago.The return on assets were at (-)0.80 percent. PCA is a framework devised by RBI that monitors key areas like capital, asset quality and profitability of banks. As part of the PCA framework, among others, there are a few threshold levels with regard to a bank's common equity tier-I (CET 1) capital, and upon breach of a certain level, a bank may become a likely candidate for resolution via different methods like amalgamation, reconstruction and winding up. If there is a default on part of a bank to meet depositors' obligation, a possible resolution process can even by resorted without any reference to the PCA module. Earlier in April, RBI revised PCA framework with a clause that if the bank does not show improvement, then it could be either merged or taken over by other bank. Srinagar: The ruling BJP and PDP are at loggerheads in Jammu & Kashmir over the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the state with the former contending that constitutional amendment 101 to enforce GST can be extended in the state through a cabinet order while the ally is pressing for evolving a consensus and taking on board Opposition parties on the issue as well. Although both the the parties are in agreement that the GST should be rolled out in the state, the BJP has held that this could have been done without seeking the concurrence of the state legislature. The difference between the ruling allies come even as the National Conference and Congress -- the key opposition parties in the state -- have been opposing the implementation of the indirect tax reform as they feel it will erode the autonomy of the state. The GST aims to make India a single market, eliminating the many barriers at the state borders and subsuming various state and central levies. Under the GST Bill there are three levies - the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) rate, the State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) and the Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST). The tax rate is determined by the GST Council. "The Central Sales tax was already under force in Jammu and Kashmir and it would be replaced by the IGST," said a senior government official. The bone of contention in the state is the constitutional amendment 101. This amendment gives Parliament "exclusive power to make laws with respect to goods and services tax where the supply of goods, or of services, or both takes place in the course of inter-state trade or commerce." Also as per the Article 269A(1) of the Constitution of India, GST on supplies in the course of inter-state trade or commerce shall be levied and collected by the central government and such tax shall be apportioned between the Union and the States in the manner as may be provided by Parliament by law on the recommendations of the GST Council, the body that decides the rate and other contentious issues related to the reform. The NC, meanwhile, has claimed that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has agreed to their demand that a broader consensus needs to be evolved over the GST. In view of the differences between the political parties, the Bussiness Advisory Committee (BAC) of the state legislature is slated to meet an hour before the special Assembly session, scheduled for 17 June as of now. Apprehending protests by the NC and Congress in the Assembly over the issue, the BJP has said that there was no need for the Legislative Assembly to discuss the constitutional amendment 101 that extends the GST Council jurisdiction to the state and it only needs to ratify the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) bill for which the government has numbers. "The concurrence of the government is required for extending the constitutional amendment 101 to the state which can be done by the state cabinet. The Assembly has no role in it. After the cabinet concurrence, a Presidential order can be issued to extend the GST to the state," said BJP chief spokesman Sunil Sethi. The threat of the Opposition parties to start an agitation over the issue and the PDP's attempt to appease its vote bank have put a question mark over the implementation of the GST in the state. If the tax is not rolled out in the state, it would mean the people of the state would have pay double tax and wouldnt get the benefit of the input tax credit. State finance minister Haseeb Drabu is rooting for the extension of the GST to the state. According to him, the constitutional amendment 101 doesnt apply to the state and the special assembly session will take a final call over the issue. He has also warned that if the GST is not implemented in the state, businesses will become unprofitable in the state and people would have to pay both the state and the central taxes. PDP is apprehensive that the Opposition parties may boycott the Assembly and in view of threat of protests by the business community, it will have to take the blame. State Congress Vice-President GN Monga has said the state shall have its own GST Council and it shouldnt become subservient to the tax rate which was determined for the entire country. Nasir Aslam Wani, NC provincial president, Kashmir, said the CM has assured that the GST Assembly session would be deferred as it has serious ramifications on the autonomy of the state. He said the state has a special status and imposes its own service tax. Under the General Sales Tax Act of the state, the state has notified many services as deemed goods. However the BJP's Sunil Sethi concurs the state is represented at the Council by state finance minister Haseeb Drabu, who can put forth his views. Wani, though, fears that the state minister will become a "rubber stamp" as the BJP ruled states will have majority say in terms of the voting strength in the council. As per the constitutional amendment 101 the vote of the Central Government shall have a "weightage of one-third of the total votes cast, and the votes of all the state governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast in a meeting." Bhupen Hazarika Award conferred to Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi Published: June 15, 2017 The Bhupen Hazarika National Award, 2017 has been conferred upon the noted writer Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi. This is the fifth edition of the award which was first conferred in 2012. The award has been instituted by Sarhad, a Maharashtra-based organisation. The award honours an outstanding literary work at national and international level. The award consists of 51,000 rupees, a memento and a certificate. Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi belongs to the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. He graduated from Cotton College, Guwahati and did his MA from Guwahati University. In spite of having Sherdukpen as his mother tongue, Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi started writing his works in Assamese over which he has excellent command. So far, he has written about a dozen novels and numerous short stories and plays. His famous novel includes Mauna Onth Mukhar Hriday (Silent lips, murmuring hearts) which won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2005. Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi joined the Arunachal Pradesh Civil Service in 1977 and was elevated to the IAS in 1992. He is the founder and president of Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society. Month: Current Affairs - June, 2017 Category: Awards, Persons & Places in News Topics: Awards National Persons in News Latest E-Books New Delhi: Competition Commission today imposed a Rs 87 crore penalty on Hyundai Motor India for unfair business ways with respect to discounts for passenger cars. The auto maker said it would challenge the ruling. Besides, the company has been directed to cease and desist from such anti-competitive practices. In a 44-page order, the regulator said the company's anti-competitive conduct include putting in place arrangements that resulted in resale price maintenance by way of monitoring of maximum permissible discount level. This was done through discount control and penalty mechanisms for non-compliance of the discount scheme, it added. "Such conduct pertains to and emanates out of sale of motor vehicles. Hence, for the purposes of determining the relevant turnover for this infringement, revenue from sale of motor vehicles alone has to be taken into account," CCI noted. In a statement, the company said, "we are really surprised with this order". "We are studying the order in detail and will take necessary course of action to challenge the order at appropriate level to protect the interest of our customers and channel partners by abiding (with) all the laws of land," it added. It was alleged that the company has a discount control mechanism whereby dealers are permitted only to provide a maximum permissible discount and not beyond the recommended range. The watchdog has slapped a fine of Rs 87 crore on the car maker. The penalty amount translates to 0.3 percent of the company's average relevant turnover in the last three financial years from 2013-14. Among others, CCI said the company contravened competition law through arrangements which resulted into resale price maintenance and by mandating its dealers to use "recommended lubricants/ oils and penalising them for use of non-recommended lubricants and oils". According to the watchdog, the arrangements perpetuated by the company caused hindrance in the distribution of goods and provision of services in relation to new cars. It also resulted in creation of "barriers" to the new entrants, the order said. "The level of discount was determined by the OP (Hyundai Motor India) for each model and variant of the passenger cars and the OP had also appointed a mystery shopping agency to collect data from dealers for such monitoring and reporting to the OP," it added. Further, the regulator noted the practice followed by the company to get the lubricants supplied by IOCL and Shell only and at pre-fixed price resulting in price discrimination is not accruing any benefit to the dealers as well as the consumers of the cars. "The practice and arrangements followed by the OP also result into creation of barriers to the new entrants in the market with regard to the supply and marketing of lubricants for use in the cars manufactured by the OP," CCI said. As per the regulator, that Hyundai Motor India mandates its dealers to use particular oil and lubricants and penalises its dealers where non-recommended oils are used, amounts to 'tie-in arrangement' in contravention of provisions of the Competition Act. Following two separate complaints, the regulator had ordered a detailed by its investigation arm DG (Director General) in 2014. The complaints were filed by Delhi-based Fx Enterprise Solutions India and Kerala-based St. Antony's Cars. By Alison Saldanha & Prachi Salve As demands for farm-loan waivers grow across Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnatakaafter Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra wrote off loans worth Rs 36,359 crore and Rs 30,000 crore respectivelyIndia faces a cumulative loan waiver of Rs 3.1 lakh crore ($49.1 billion), or 2.6% of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016-17. A waiver of this scale could pay for the 2017 rural roads budget 16 times over or pay for 443,000 warehouses or increase Indias irrigation potential by 55% more than the achievements of the last 60 years. Note: *Uttar Pradesh & Maharashtra have sanctioned the farm loan waivers. While such waivers could provide succour for 32.8 million indebted farmers, an IndiaSpend analysis of the impact of previous farm-loan waivers indicates such bailouts are band-aids of uncertain efficacy and do not address a deeper malaise gripping Indias agrarian economy. Over nine years to March 2017, the central and state governments waived Rs 88,988 crore ($13.9 billion) in loans to 48.6 million farmers. The nationwide Rs 52,000 crore ($11.3 billion at Rs 45.99 per dollar) loan-waiver announced by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2008 occupies the bulk of this figure. The waivers were primarily meant to discourage suicides by farmers, apparently caused by widespread indebtedness. However, our analysis shows this had little or no impact on suicide rates, probably because 32.5% on average, or 79.38 million, small and marginal farmers across India (with farm holdings of less than 1 to 2 hectares in size) rely on informal sources of credit. Meanwhile, loan waivers have led to a rise in the non-performing assets of banks, especially public-sector banks, and are likely to have a significant bearing on the state and national fiscal deficits. In 2013, agricultural non performing assets (NPAs) accounted for about 41.8% of priority sectorwhich also comprises micro and small enterprises, affordable housing, and student loansNPAs in public and private banksup from 25% in 2009, according to a 2015 study on NPAs in priority-sector lending in Indias public and private banks, published in the International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR). For example, Maharashtras Rs 30,000 crore farm-loan waiver for small and marginal farmers will raise the states fiscal deficit to 2.71%, which is three-fourths (1.18 percentage points) higher than the budgeted deficit of 1.53% of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) for the current financial year, according to this 2017 report by ratings agency India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). Uttar Pradeshs Rs 36,359 crore farm-loan is 2.6% of its GSDP, estimated the agency quoted in Mint in April, 2017. The 14th Finance Commission says fiscal deficits should not exceed 3% of state budgets. 22.1 million (67.5%) small or marginal farmers wont benefit from loan waivers About 85% of all operational farm holdings in India are less than two hectares in size, as IndiaSpend reported on June 8, 2017. Since 1951, the per capita availability of land has declined 70%, from 0.5 hectares to 0.15 hectares in 2011, and is likely to decline further, according to the latest available ministry of agriculture data. Owners of these shrinking farms find it difficult to use modern machinery and are often too poor to afford farm equipment. Manual labour increases costs, and size and output further limits access to loans and institutional credit. On average, a third of Indian small and marginal farmers have access to institutional credit. This means no more than 10.6 million of 32.8 million small and marginal farmers in the eight states demanding loan waivers could benefit from debts being written off. The other 22.1 million farmers depend on moneylenders and relatives for borrowings, according to the 2011 agricultural census and the National Sample Survey Offices 2013 situation assessment survey of farm households, the latest available data. Source: National Sample Survey Offices 2013 situation assessment survey of farm households Previous loan waivers did not stop farm suicides: NCRB data show In 2007, before the UPAs loan waiver for 30 million farmers across 18 states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal), 16,379 Indian farmers committed suicide, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. A quarter of these suicides (4,238) were reported from Maharashtra. In 2009, the year after the loan-waiver was announced, the state government promised an additional waiver of Rs 6208 crores. This led to a drop in farm suicides in Indias richest state, by GDP; but in 2010, suicides rose again, by 6.2%. By 2015, seven years after the Centres bail-out, Maharashtra recorded 4,291 suicides, its highest rate ever, accounting for 34% of such deaths nationwide, according to the latest available NCRB data. Telangana reported a similar trend. In 2014, when Telangana waived Rs 17,000 crore in loans to 3.6 million farmers, 1,347 farmers committed suicide in the newly formed state. By 2015, 1,400 suicides were reported. Source: National Crime Records Bureau data for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Moral hazard: Agricultural NPAs grow three-fold between 2009 and 2013 While loan-waivers provide no more than temporary relief, they place a significant burden on public finance and the economy and they engender a moral hazard, Reserve Bank of India governor Urjit Patel cautioned on April 6, 2017, echoing the arguments of financial experts who believe such bail-outs deter even capable farmers from honestly repaying their loans. Waivers undermine an honest credit culture It leads to crowding-out of private borrowers as high government borrowing tend to (impose) an increasing cost of borrowing for others, the RBI governor said, calling for a consensus among states on loan waiver promises. Otherwise sub-sovereign fiscal challenges in this context could eventually affect the national balance sheet. After Indias first major farm-loan waiver of Rs 10,000 crore in 1990announced by a Janata Party government led by then Prime Minister VP Singhit took almost nine years for banks to recover, the Economic & Political Weekly reported in April 2008. Since the 2008 farm-loan waiver, agricultural NPAs rose three times, from Rs 7,149 crore ($1.2 billion) in 2009 to Rs 30,200 crore ($4.7 billion) in 2013, according to this 2015 study on NPAs in priority-sector lending in Indias public and private banks. Source: International Journal of Science and ResearchNote: In public and private sector banks These NPAs affect the credibility of lending institutions. Shares of banks fell 4% after Maharashtra announced its loan waiver, Business Standard reported on June 13, 2017. Further, with public-sector banks (PSBs) accounting for the major share of farm credit52% in Maharashtra, followed by 32% from co-operative banks and 12% in private banksthese PSBs are more vulnerable, said this 2017 Kotak Institutional Equities report. While agricultural credit grew 547% over 10 years, rural road infra grew 10.5% Without repaying debts, farmers won't get fresh kharif credit. This is why they want loan waivers as well as remunerative procurement price M S Swaminathan (@msswaminathan) June 13, 2017 Indebtedness is a symptom and not the root cause of the farm crisis, according to a 2007 expert group report on agricultural indebtedness, chaired by economist R Radhakrishna. The average farm household borrowing has not been excessive, the Radhakrishna report said. The factors contributing to the farm crisis are stagnation in agriculture, increasing production and marketing risks, institutional vacuum and lack of alternative livelihood opportunities, the report said. More recently, others have emphasised this point (here, here and here): It is clear a loan-waiver alone cannot solve Indias agrarian crisis. The data reveal a more-than-necessary focus on agricultural credit, as other fundamental problems remain unaddressed. Over a decade to 2014-15, as institutional credit in agriculture grew 547%, from Rs 1.25 lakh crore ($19.4 billion) to Rs 8.45 lakh crore ($131.4 billion), rural road constructionwhich increases access and boosts agricultural income and productive employmentgrew 10.5% according to this 2016 research paper. Roughly 7% of Indias total grain output, 10% of seeds and between 25% and 40% of fruits and vegetableoverall a third of farm harvest spoilsare wasted every year because there isnt enough storage and supply-chain infrastructure, according to the 2015 IJSR paper. Irrigation, increasingly vital in an era of climate change, has failed Indian farming. No more than 47.6% of Indias farms are irrigated, as IndiaSpend reported on June 8, 2017, and the decadal growth in net-irrigated area to 2010 was 0.3%, according to ministry of agriculture data. These low investments eventually make farming expensive and prices volatile. For example, despite a good harvest, tur (pigeon pea), an important pulse, today fetches 63% less than it did in December 2015 (Rs 3,800-4,000 per quintal compared with Rs 11,000 per quintal). Since 2010, the cost of cultivating tur has risen by 78%. To curb the impact of market fluctuations, this 2016 report by chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian recommended improving the procurement capacityor money available to buy farm produceof states, lifting export bans, raising stock limitswhich is how much produce traders can holdand including risks and externalities while framing the minimum support prices (MSP) for various produce. For those commodities protected by the governments MSP policythese include fruits and vegetablesthe Radhakrishna committee recommended a price-risk mitigation fund, which would allow to hedge losses in market fluctuations. Since 2010, cost of growing #turdal has risen 78%, highest in 7 years, shredding farm incomes. pic.twitter.com/8UFi4Awy5D IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) 8 June 2017 These investments, as agricultural economist MS Swaminathan pointed out in his tweet, require capital expenditure, which may now be hit by the recent decisions to waive farm loans. States are unlikely to get help from the Centre this time, as finance minister Arun Jaitley indicated on June 13, 2017. States which want to go in for these kind of schemes (farm-loan waivers) will have to generate them from their own resources, said Jaitley. Beyond that the central government has nothing more to say. Rs 3.1 lakh crore: How we calculated the comparisons 1. The 2017-18 budget for rural road construction (under the Prime Ministers Gram Sadak Yojanaa national rural road scheme) is Rs 19,000 crore. We divided the total potential farm waiver of Rs 3.1 lakh crore by 19,000 = 16.31 times, rounded off to 16. 2. To arrive at the figure of 443,000 warehouses, we found that the average cost of one 10,000 sq ft warehouse is Rs 70 lakh (at the average rate of Rs 700 per sq. ft.). We divided the total potential farm waiver of Rs 3.1 lakh crore by 70 lakh = 443,000. 3. Since the first five-year-plan of 1951, Rs 2 lakh crore has been spent to create 109 million hectare of irrigation potential, according to this 2012 planning commission report. Irrigation potential is the area that can potentially be irrigated when it is fully utilised. From this, we found that Rs 1,835 crore can create an irrigation potential of 1 million hectare. We divided the total potential farm waiver of Rs 3.1 lakh crore by 1,835 crore per hectare = 169 million hectare, which is 55% more than the 109 million hectare. (Saldanha is an assistant editor and Salve is an analyst with IndiaSpend. With data inputs by Ojaswi Rao and Delna Abraham.) New Delhi: A day before India shifts to a market dynamic system of daily revision of petrol and diesel prices, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today invited BP plc, Europe's third-biggest oil company, and Reliance Industries to invest in fuel retailing. While RIL already has a fuel retailing license and has some 1,400 petrol pumps on the ground, BP last year got approval to set up petrol pumps in India. "Received CEO of BP Bob Dudley & RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani. BP and RIL have invested in KG Basin. Invited them to invest in retail as well," Pradhan said in a Twitter post after an 80-minute meeting with the partners. RIL and BP are partners in oil and gas exploration but have no such collaboration in downstream fuel retailing business. BP is the tenth player to enter the lucrative fuel retailing business that is seeing double digit growth, not seen anywhere in the world. Last evening at an industry event, Pradhan had stated that BP as also Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd have been given nod to set up petrol pumps. BP had in January last year won in-principle approval to retail aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to airlines in India. RIL too operates aviation fuelling services separately. RIL and BP are partners in four oil and gas blocks, including the flagging KG-D6 gas block. BP holds 30 percent interest in the block operated by RIL. For a licence to retail auto fuels petrol, diesel and ATF, a company should have invested a minimum of Rs 2,000 crore in exploration or production of oil and gas, oil refining, gas or product pipeline or terminals leading to additionality to the existing assets or creation of new assets in the eligible activities. BP, which had in 2011 bought 30 percent interest in 21 exploration blocks of Reliance Industries for US $7.2 billion, had cited investment of nearly US $500 million in oil and gas exploration and production for gaining the licence. India currently has about 59,595 petrol pumps, with public sector firms operating a majority of them. Private sector operators are limited to Essar Oil and Reliance Industries, which between them have some 4,900 petrol pumps. Royal Dutch Shell operates 85 petrol stations. Numaligarh Refineries Ltd (NRL) and Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) are late entrants and have six outlets between them. State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) owns 26,212 petrol pumps, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) 14,412 stations and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) 13,983 outlets. In ATF or jet fuel retailing, there are 211 aviation fuel stations, 104 of which are owned by IOC, 42 by BPCL and 37 by HPCL. RIL has 27 aviation fuel stations at airports, while joint venture of Shell and MRPL owns one. India is currently the ninth largest aviation market in the world. Its jet fuel market is circa 7.3 million tonnes per annum and is expected to continue to grow at over 8.6 percent to support the growth of the Indian economy. (Disclosure - Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd) New Delhi: Telecom regulator Trai today said certain operators have suggested fixation of minimum floor price for voice and data services. Fixing of a floor price by Trai, if it happens, could end the days of free voice and data offers for consumers by operators. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Chairman R S Sharma said this is a new idea that has come from some operators, and will be examined by the regulator. "We have not formed any view of this. We are open and consultative," he added. He, however, did not comment on whether the suggestion had been made by incumbent operators. Sharma admitted that floor price may be contrary to Trai's stance of forbearance on tariffs, but said minimum price issue will have to be "deliberated". He said the operators had argued that telcos offering below cost tariffs to consumers over a period of time may harm the industry and its financials and therefore, were rooted for a minimum floor price. He added that other suggestions from operators included rationalisation of GST, reduction in licence fee and spectrum usage charges and extending the deferred spectrum payment liabilities over a longer period. While Trai has already given its suggestions on a number of matters, including licence fee reduction, the proposals given by operators today fall under three broad areas -- IUC, tariff principles and ease of doing business, all of which are under consultation by the regulator, Sharma said. The incumbent operators have been vocal about the onslaught of free voice and data offers by the aggressive newcomer Reliance Jio (RJio) and its impact on the industry's revenue in FY2016-17. Reliance Jio earlier this week, however, ascribed the financial stress in the telecom sector to existing operators like Bharti Airtel and Idea running businesses on debt and investing heavily in unrelated sectors. (Disclosure - Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd) New York: A writer has charged that rock legend Bob Dylan lifted sections of his Nobel Prize lecture from SparkNotes, the free online study guide aimed at students. Dylan, the surprise winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, last week delivered a long-awaited lecture that as a requirement to receive the eight million kroner ($923,000) prize from the Swedish Academy. Author Andrea Pitzer, examining his lecture for the news site Slate, said she found striking similarities between Dylan's quotations from Herman Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick and the SparkNotes version. Dylan, for example, quotes Melville as calling the elusive whale Moby "the embodiment of evil." But Pitzer pointed that the phrase does not appear in the novel itself, although it appears in the SparkNotes synopsis. At least 20 references in Dylan's lecture about "Moby-Dick" bear some similarity to the SparkNotes version, she wrote. Pitzer noted that Dylan has long been unabashed about adapting musical and lyrical passages into his songs. "Dylan remains so reliant on appropriation that tracing his sourcing has become a cottage industry," she wrote. Lifting from earlier works is much more commonplace in music than in literature, where accusations of plagiarism are a major dent on reputation. The Swedish Academy stunned observers by choosing "rock poet" Dylan for literature's top prize. Dylan whose representatives did not reply to the Slate article took more than two weeks before acknowledging the prize and skipped the ceremony in December, citing pre-existing commitments. But Dylan, famously taciturn when he is not singing, finally explored his connections with literature in his Nobel lecture in which he also cited as influences Homer's epic poem The Odyssey and World War I novel All Quiet on the Western Front. Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, had described the lecture as "extraordinary and, as some might expect, eloquent." Last year, actor-turned-columnist Twinkle Khanna started a dialogue about menstruation and affordable sanitary pads when she chronicled the life of social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham in her book, The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad. In an attempt to carry forward the much-needed discussion, Khanna announced that her maiden film production under her new banner, Mrs Funnybones Films, will be titled Padman, a biopic of Muruganantham. Her husband, Akshay Kumar, is playing the protagonist and is currently shooting for the film in Madhya Pradesh. But in the midst of all these developments, an independent filmmaker Abhishek Saxena has already made a fictional film titled Phullu that aims to spread awareness about the same issue in the remotest parts of the country. However, much to his dismay, the Central Board of Film Certification has issued an 'A' (adult) certificate to the film days before its release on Friday, 16 June 2017. The Quint quotes Saxena as saying, "Phullu has no profanity, no smoking, nothing that warrants adult certification. Its just that people taking calls at the CBFC are not evolved and educated enough to see the importance of this film. Theyve grown up with the stigma around menstruation, have never discussed it in their homes, and think that its a forbidden adult topic. Theyll never understand that our aim is to break this very taboo. (Pahlaj) Nihalani hasnt watched the film. I know this because he wasnt there at the screening. But we are not strong enough to fight this, not now." Saxena also wondered if Akshay Kumar's Padman would be subject to the same standards by the CBFC, or if its leading man's clout would help it get a U/A certificate. The same report quotes Saxena as saying, "Im sure that the CBFC will not give Akshay Kumars film Padman an Adult rating. Because hes Akshay Kumar and whatever he shows is good and worthy of being seen as a public interest message. When Padman releases, Im sure that the CBFC will pitch it as an education film, even though our film is just as much about menstruation and the taboo around it, as theirs." While the CBFC's decision to issue an 'A' certificate to Phullu merely because it talks about menstruation seems unfair, the comparison to Padman, at this time, seems unjustified. The government may be supporting Kumar's next release, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, because it complements their flagship campaign of Swachh Bharat Mission. One can't assume they would do the same for Padman especially since they seem to have turned a deaf ear to the countless pleas opposing 'Lahu ka lagaan' or tax on sanitary napkins. As long as there is no clarification from the CBFC, Saxena's concerns about the adult certification are valid. But perhaps there's some minor solace to be found in the fact that the board is sticking to its role of certifying films rather than censoring them. Watch the trailer for Phullu here: Actress Jessica Chastain who was last seen in Niki Caro's The Zookeeper's Wife (2017) is in talks to play the villain in the upcoming X-Men movie, X-Men: Dark Phoenix. In 2016, X-Men: Apocalypse had the X-Men fighting the prehistoric Egyptian mutant En Sabah Nur and also saw the first group of X-Men being formed with Scott Summers (Cyclops), Jean Grey, Ororo Munroe (Storm), Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) and Peter Maximoff (Quicksilver) under the tutelage of Charles Xavier, Mystique (Raven) and Hank McCoy (Beast). The new film will focus on the Dark Phoenix saga from the X-Men comics world. Jean Grey, a student at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and a powerful mutant with telekinetic and telepathic abilities will have a personality shift when, in a mission with the X-Men team, she is protected and later imbued by an all-powerful cosmic energy called Phoenix Force. Over some time, this force overwhelms and takes control of Jean Grey's personality, making her evil (thus, Dark Phoenix) and corrupts her to such an extent that it becomes inevitable on the part of the X-Men to fight her. Sophie Turner, who had played the role of Jean Grey in X-Men: Apocalypse will reprise her role in the upcoming film and 20th Century Fox (the production studio) has reportedly closed deals with Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Nicholas Hoult to return to the franchise after their original three-picture deals expired. The other stars from X-Men Apocalypse Alexandra Shipp, Tye Sheridan and Kodi Smit-McPhee will also be seen in the latest film, The Hollywood Reporter stated. The Hollywood Reporter also said that there is speculation that in the upcoming X-Men saga, Chastain would essay the role of Lilandra, the empress of the alien empire Shiar, who gets into a conflict with the X-Men, after she pledges to imprison and execute the Dark Phoenix. Incidentally, as per the Marvel's X-Men comics worl,d Lilandra also happens to be one of the love interests of Charles Xavier and they even get married at one point of time. It will be interesting to see how Simon Kinberg, who has been associated with the X-Men films for a long time and is writing and making his directorial debut with the upcoming film, integrates Lilandra in the Dark Phoenix saga. The film is slated to release on 2 November 2018. Mumbai: A special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court in Mumbai is likely to pronounce its judgement on Friday in the second leg of the trial in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case involving seven accused including extradited gangster Abu Salem. The dastardly attacks had left 257 people dead, 713 seriously injured and destroyed properties worth Rs 27 crore. In the first leg of the trial that concluded in 2007, the TADA court had convicted 100 accused in the case, while 23 people were acquitted. The trial of the seven accused Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Tahir Merchant and Abdul Quayyum were separated from the main case as they were arrested at the time of conclusion of the main trial. Salem was accused of transporting weapons from Gujarat to Mumbai. He also handed over to actor Sanjay Dutt, who was an accused in the case for illegally possessing weapons, AK 56 rifles, 250 bullets and some hand grenades at his residence on 16 January, 1993. Two days later on 18 January, 1993, Salem and two others went to Dutt's house and got back two rifles and some rounds. The court had dropped certain charges against Salem in 2013 after the investigating agency CBI moved a plea, saying those charges were against the extradition treaty between India and Portugal. Mustafa Dossa allegedly masterminded the landing of explosives including RDX in India and sent some youth to Pakistan to acquire arms training. The court, in all, recorded statements of around 750 prosecution witnesses and 50 witnesses. Three accused including Salem had confessed to their crime during investigations carried out by the CBI over the years into the blasts case. Though the hearing in the case began in 2007, it was delayed as three petitions were pending with the Supreme Court, one each filed by Dossa and Salem, and another by CBI. The trial resumed in 2012 and concluded this March. The case (involving the seven accused) was first heard by judge Pramod Kode, who had also delivered the judgement in the first leg of the trial and convicted 100 accused and acquitted 23 in 2007. Later, judge DU Mullah presided over the TADA court, and the case is now being heard by judge GA Sanap. It was during the trial in 2013 that the Supreme Court pronounced a judgement on appeal filed by all the accused wherein key conspirator Yakub Memon's death sentence was confirmed, while that of others (all bomb planters) were commuted to life imprisonment. Sanjay Dutt and many others surrendered before the TADA court here in May 2013 after the apex court upheld their conviction. Yakub Memon was executed on 30 July, 2015 after his several pleas seeking clemency were rejected, including the post-midnight hearing by Supreme Court on the day he was hanged. On 12 March, 1993 the country's commercial capital witnessed an unprecedented terrorist attack when a series 12 bomb explosions took place one after another in about a span of two hours. The blasts took place at Bombay Stock Exchange, Katha Bazaar, Lucky petrol pump near Sena Bhavan, opposite Passport office near Century Bazaar, Fishermen's colony at Mahim Causeway, at basement of Air India Building, Zaveri Bazaar, Hotel Sea Rock, Plaza Theatre, Centaur Hotel (Juhu), Sahar Airport (Bay no.54) and Centaur Hotel (near airport). This was the first ever terrorist attack in the world where RDX (Research Department Explosive i.E cyclotrimethylene trinitramine) was used on such a large scale after the Second World War. According to the prosecution, in order to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid, members of the crime syndicate under the fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim along with other absconding accused Tiger Memon, Mohammed Dossa and Mustafa Dossa (who is presently facing trial) hatched a conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in India. The prosecution said that the object of the crime was to commit terrorist acts with an intent to overawe the Government of India, to strike terror on the people, alienate section of the people and to harm the communal harmony. It said that the conspirators smuggled fire-arms, ammunitions, detonators, hand grenades and highly explosive substances like RDX into India and stored it. According to the prosecution, Mustafa Dossa, Tiger Memon and Chhota Shakeel organised training camps in Pakistan and in India to impart and undergo weapon and arms training and handling of explosives. They also sent men from India to Pakistan via Dubai for arms training. The prosecution also said that the conspirators held 15 meetings before the execution of the blasts. A day after Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Mandsaur and met the families of the six people who were killed in police action, a farmer committed suicide in Hoshangabad district. This takes the number of farmer suicides reported in Madhya Pradesh since last week to eight. The reports come in the wake of a slew of measures announced by the state government to mollify agitating farmers and death of five protesters in police firing in Mandsaur district on 6 June. Here is what we know so far about the eight farmers who committed suicide: Narmada Prasad Prasad was a farmer who committed suicide on Thursday morning in Chaplasar village in Babai, Hoshangabad. ANI reported that he was under pressure from a moneylender. Madhya Pradesh: Under pressure from moneylender, a farmer named Narmada Prasad commits suicide in Chaplasar village of Hoshangabad's Babai. ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 Ramesh Basene The 42-year-old farmer ended his life by drinking pesticide at Ballarpur village in Balaghat district on Wednesday morning, reported PTI. He died at the district hospital, police said. Basene's wife Jankibai said that he was worried, being unable to repay a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh. The authorities however didn't confirm whether indebtedness led to the suicide. "A tehsildar has been sent to the village for inquiry," said the district collector Bharat Yadav. Labarra area police station chief Kamal Singh also told IANS: "His family is alleging debt as a reason for suicide. He had three daughters, all of whom are married, and a son. A case has been registered and investigations are on." Shomla On Tuesday evening, the sixty-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide by drinking pesticide at Pisnawal in Barwani district. Sub-inspector R Mujalde of Sendhwa police station said that as per Shomla's wife, he had taken a loan of Rs 2 lakh from a private lender and he also owed Rs 1 lakh to a bank. He was finding it difficult to repay the loans, she told the police. Dulichand Keer The debt-ridden farmer in Sehore the home district of Chouhan allegedly committed suicide by consuming poisonous substance. The 55-year-old farmer consumed poison on Monday after which a case was registered at Rehti Police Station, police said on Tuesday. Keers son Sher Singh claimed that his father ended his life due to mounting debts. He said that at time of the incident, his father was alone in the house. When Singh saw him lying unconscious, he was rushed to the government Rehti hosptial where doctors declared him brought dead. Singh said that his father had borrowed Rs four lakh from banks and another Rs two lakh from other sources due to which he remained disturbed. Kriparam Digodiya The 68-year-old farmer allegedly killed himself in Bhairopur village under Shivpur police station in Hoshangabad district, according to PTI. His body was found hanging from a tree at his farm. Family members said that Kriparam was depressed due to worries about loan repayment. He had also sold off parts of his agricultural land. Shivpur police station in-charge Monish Bais said Kriparam was claimed to have been under depression. "We are investigating further," he added. Hari Singh Jatav Jatav (40) died during treatment in Bhopal after having consumed poison, Shamshabad police station in-charge Sudama Prasad Shukla said. Shamshabad tehsildar Israr Khan said Jatav had some dispute with family members over demarcation of farmland. Krishanlal Meena On 8 June, a 45-year-old debt-ridden farmer, Kishanlal Meena, allegedly committed suicide by consuming poisonous substance at Sagoniya in Raisen district. Meena told his kin before dying that he had a debt of Rs 17 lakh, and was worried about his three daughters who were of marriageable age. Bishan Singh Rajput The 42-year-old farmer, who also held a Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree, hanged himself at Jogadakhedi in Sehore district. Rajput's younger brother said he had incurred heavy losses in farming in the past 3-4 years, and his debt burden had spiralled to Rs 10 lakh. With inputs from agencies New Delhi: Eminent agriculture scientist and National Commission on Farmers (NCF) Chairman MS Swaminathan on Wednesday said that despite some progress, issues like farmer-centric pricing, procurement, and public distribution are still to implemented. Despite progress, farmer-centric pricing, procurement, public distribution still to implement. My earlier statement https://t.co/zwisb0BHOP M S Swaminathan (@msswaminathan) June 14, 2017 Swaminthan, who is the founder of M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, also felt that the answers to the agrarian crisis lie in enhancing the productivity of small farms and ensuring adequate public procurement at remunerative prices. "The agrarian crisis, now affecting small and marginal farmers in several states, arises largely from the unfavourable cost-risk and return structure of farming," Swaminathan said on Tuesday. He also termed farm loan waivers as a temporary, short-term solution to the agrarian crisis and said it is "time that the recommendations contained in the Reports of the National Commission on Farmers, particularly the chapter on farmers of the 21st century, are implemented". Noting that his recommendations were formulated after discussion with farmers in all parts of the country, Swaminathan said: "Therefore, there is widespread demand among farmers that they be implemented without further delay." He said that long-term solutions are important to ensure that farming remains an occupation of choice among the majority of the rural population in the country. Swaminathan's remarks came against the backdrop of the ongoing protest of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, who have asked the government to write off their loans and to give a good price for their produce. On 6 June, five protesting farmers were killed in a police firing in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur town. The farmers in Maharashtra had also staged protests but called it off after the state government promised a loan waiver. India-South Korea sign Agreements to Push Infrastructure Development and Bilateral Trade Published: June 15, 2017 India and South Korea has signed an agreement for $10 billion assistance for infrastructure development projects in India, including smart cities. It includes $9 billion in concessional credit and $1 billion in Official development assistance (ODA). Part of this fund will be utilised towards Smart City projects in India. With this agreement, South Korea has become one of the first non-G-7 countries to become an ODA contributor in India. The agreements were signed during the four-day official visit of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to South Korea to attend the fifth India-Korea Financial Dialogue. South Korea strives to diversify its economic partnerships and India being worlds fastest growing major economy offers immense opportunities to Korea for diversifying its economic partnerships. This also offers India great opportunities. Both the countries have also decided to establish a mechanism at senior official levels to identify good infrastructure projects in India to make use of the funding. In the face of rising protectionism, the two countries have also agreed that there is an urgent need for them to increase efforts to stimulate investment flows, support for infrastructure development, and bilateral trade among others Background The present engagement between India and South Korea comes under the overall umbrella of the Special Strategic Partnership as declared in the Joint Statement of the Prime Ministers of both the nations in May 2015. Also, recently, a MoU was signed between both the countries for defence industry cooperation in shipbuilding. Month: Current Affairs - June, 2017 Topics: Bilateral Relations India-International Relations India-South Korea International Latest E-Books AIIMS declared results of its MBBS online entrance test on Thursday, after a government panel rejected allegations of question paper leak. The results, declared around 2:15 am, are available on the official website, aiimsexams.org, and also on the websites of other six AIIMS. The entrance examination for the MBBS course was conducted on 28 May at various centres across the country. A total of 2,84,737 candidates appeared, out of which 4,905 have qualified and are eligible for counselling session in AIIMS. "For the first time in its history, AIIMS New Delhi will be admitting 100 students for this session," Dr Ashok Kumar Jaryal, head of exams, AIIMS said. On 31 May, Anand Rai, who exposed the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, had alleged that the question papers of this year's entrance exam for the MBBS course were leaked, following which the institute had constituted the committee to probe how snapshots of the test came out in public. The AIIMS committee in its report has stated that there was no question paper leak though some candidates in an examination centre in Uttar Pradesh indulged in cheating in connivance with some officials. It also recommended a CBI probe into the matter. The sources said the premier medical institute through its internal mechanism has identified the candidates and the centre. Rai, in a series of tweets, posted images of question papers of the entrance examination. He claimed to have received the question paper screenshots from a source who said these were leaked from a college in Lucknow when the online test was on. Rai had also tagged the Prime Minister's Office in his tweet and sought a CBI enquiry into the issue. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has declared results for its MBBS 2017 entrance examination on Thursday. Students can check the official website aiimsexams.org . The MBBS entrance exam was held by AIIMS on 28 May, 2017. The list of candidates who qualify for counseling to the MBBS course are displayed with their roll numbers on AIIMS' official web portal. The MBBS entrance exam results are also available on the website of all the AIIMS branches. The results are declared for AIIMS courses at New Delhi, Patna, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Bhubaneshwar, Rishikesh and Raipur. A report from The Hindustan Times stated that the result will not be communicated to candidates by phone or any other means individually. An official notification also said that the first counseling of the shortlisted candidates at AIIMS, New Delhi is expected to be held between 3 to 6 July, 2017. As has been observed over the course of the past few weeks, the dates and times of result announcements have been frequently changed. The information above has not been independently verified. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in. A 35-year-old villager was shot dead by Indian Army personnel in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday, media reports said. The army claimed it was a case of "mistaken identity". Sources say a man shot dead by Army in Arunachal Pradesh. More details awaited. ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 According to NDTV, Thingtu Ngemu was shot dead by the troopers of 21 para-special forces during a counter-insurgency operation on Wednesday night. Operations have been intensified in the area since it is a transit route for both NSCN-K terrorists and Ulfa (I). According to the NDTV report, the army released a statement saying, "The army troops had laid an ambush in this particular area based on hard intelligence with regards to the movement of a group of hardcore terrorists. It was during this time the individual, who was killed, came into the ambush and on being challenged he made very suspicious movements and rushed towards the ambush party, which forced them to open controlled fire resulting in the individual suffering fatal injury. It is a case of mistaken identity." On 10 June, Union minister Kiren Rijiju had said most of the demands of the pro-talk faction of the ULFA are "worth considering" and a final solution is expected "very soon". "The peace talks with the Arabinda Rajkhowa faction of the ULFA is going on very well and with confidence. We genuinely feel that maximum demands by the pro-talk Arabinda Rajkhowa faction are worth considering," the minister of state for home affairs had said. But social media users on Twitter were enraged about the attack. #Army shoots innocent in #Arunachal, says case of mistaken identity. So what happens to Jawan now? Girish Kuber (@girishkuber) June 15, 2017 With inputs from PTI At least three people were injured, including the suspected gunman, in a shooting on Wednesday at a United Parcel Service facility in San Francisco, local media reported.San Francisco police on Twitter confirmed a shooting had taken place and advised people to avoid the area. The suspect was hospitalized in police custody, local media reported. Victims were taken to the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, spokesman Brent Andrew said. He said he could not say how many patients were taken to the hospital or give their conditions. It was not immediately clear if anyone had died.The shooting occurred in the area of a United Parcel Service (UPS.N) facility, CBS San Francisco and other local media outlets reported, citing authorities. A San Francisco police representative could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tom Brown) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. It isn't remotely surprising that the Narendra Modi government has trapped itself in a legal mire with respect to the rule on sale of cattle for slaughter in livestock markets. Given 1) the extent of impact the new rule will have on the meat trade industry and connected sectors, 2) the public perception about the law being a cleverly-executed backdoor cattle slaughter ban and 3) the allegations that the government is slowly pushing its 'Hinduvta agenda' by forcing vegetarian food habits on the country, the Centre was asking for trouble sooner or later on the issue. On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Modi government on a petition challenging the notification banning sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter. The apex court has given a fortnights time for the Centre to file its response within two weeks and will hear the case next on 11 July. But, remember, this isnt the first intervention of judiciary in the controversial issue. Last month, Madras High Court issued a stay on the Centres rule on cattle sale for slaughter in markets. States like Kerala and Meghalaya passed resolutions against the Centres law asserting that they will not implement it. Karnataka, West Bengal and Tripura governments too have said the rule will not be implemented in these states citing constitutional rights on states. The Centre too has realised the mess in which it has landed. It has promised to be open for suggestions on the issue and has reiterated that the idea is not to alter food habits of people and hit the businesses (read here and here). The core of the current problem is the part where cattle sale for slaughter is banned in animal markets, not the rules stipulating discipline and transparency in cattle trade and slaughter. Livestock markets are where 80 to 90 percent of the slaughter cattle sale happens in the country, according to meat traders body. Farmers bring their unused cattle to small, neighbourhood markets from where traders take the cattle to bigger mandis. Stopping this and imposing the farm-to-fork model overnight would have paralysed the industry since the availability of cattle will become a problem. It is not practical for small traders to get the stock to supply to slaughter houses. This scarcity will not only hurt the slaughter activity but also connected industries such as tanning and leather. Also, logically when the supply of cattle for slaughter is reduced, the consumers will naturally face steep price hikes and business could take a hit on account of lower demand. Particularly for states like Kerala, where meat consumption is high (according to the state finance minister, over 70 percent of the population eats beef), people saw this as government encroachment on their food habits and individual rights. Adding to the problem, the Centre also included 'buffalo' in the banned meat list. Earlier, this wasn't the case. Even when the cow slaughter ban was in place, the meat that many hotels serve as 'beef' was buffalo meat, not cow meat. The inclusion of this category came as a double shock to the meat eater and meat trader in all those states. The Centre is probably fighting a losing battle both in the court rooms and against the states since it is on weak ground on the matter. Essentially, regulating livestock markets and cattle trade is a state affair, while the Centre has the right only to intervene on matters of animal welfare. But, as reported by The Indian Express, Fahim Qureshi, the Hyderabad-based lawyer who moved the petition in the Supreme Court, has pointed out that Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act does not categorise slaughter of animals for food as cruelty on the condition that it is not accompanied by pain and suffering. The Modi government will likely be left with no option but to review the ban on cattle sale for slaughter at the livestock markets. Secondly, a government that has farmer welfare as a high priority and wants to double the farmer income by 2022, would not want to cripple the farm economy (poor farmers would be stuck with their unused cattle when markets disappear. They typically sell them in these markets and invest the money in buying new cattle) and the meat trade industry (India is one of the biggest meat exporters in the world). But, the Modi government can save face without getting into a deeper mess by doing one simple thing: Restore the sale of cattle for slaughter in livestock markets and bring in stringent rules to prevent cattle theft, the sale of unhealthy cattle and ensuring the quality of meat sold to the public. The government can stipulate minimum infrastructure and cleanliness requirements for market places and perhaps, bring in a new licensing system to weed out those who are non-compliant. Most of these rules are already in place in the notification under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act of 1960. By doing this, the government can avert major embarrassment. With at least five major meat consuming states turning against it and the promise of a long legal battle ahead, a course correction seems to be the only way out. Retaining cattle sale for slaughter in market places will bring life back to the meat industry while the government can simultaneously bring in rules to achieve the intended objectives. The current course of action will only lead to bigger problems. Chandigarh: Chaos erupted in the Punjab assembly on Thursday after the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal insisted on separate adjournment motions leading to clashes. On the second day of the budget session, Akali Dal legislators accused Punjab local government and tourism minister Navjot Singh Sidhu of using unparliamentary language. Sidhu could be seen shouting slogans against the Akali Dal leaders while they were demanding an adjournment motion on the issue of the promise made by the Congress government on a loan waiver for the farming community. The AAP legislators sought to bring a separate adjournment motion on the land dealings of irrigation and power minister Rana Gurjit Singh. However, Speaker Rana KP Singh did not allow the adjournment motions, leading to noisy exchanges. The speaker adjourned the house twice. The AAP legislators started a sit-in protest inside the assembly building, saying they wanted to highlight the wrongdoings of Rana Gurjit Singh. AAP leader HS Phoolka said they were holding their own "session" in the assembly building as they were not allowed to raise their voice inside the house. The Congress had promised a loan waiver for the debt-ridden Punjab farmers in the run up to the assembly elections earlier this year. The Congress, now led by chief minister Amarinder Singh, won 77 seats in the 117-member state assembly. Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal said the Akali Dal was bereft of issues and was unnecessarily raising the farmers' debt and loan waiver issue. He said the Congress-led government was committed to its loan waiver promise which would be announced in the budget for the state to be presented in this session. Kolkata: In a stern warning to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which is spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her government would curb its "violent agitation". "There was peace in the hills. A few leaders are doing goondagiri (hooliganism). But, one cannot do politics with guns and bombs. We will curb their violent agitation," she said while speaking at a police programme. "We are with the people of the hills. A conspiracy was hatched to disturb the peace there. We will not allow this," Banerjee said, adding, "We are ready to shed blood, but will not allow the peace to be disturbed in the hills." She also said the GJM will not be allowed to "do politics by taking away the livelihood of the people". Referring to the 8 June incident in Darjeeling during the state cabinet meeting there, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said, "I have never seen the way they (GJM) planned to attack the ministers. For two hours, they resorted to hurling bombs. There was an intelligence failure. That was why we had to take action." Darjeeling Superintendent of Police Amit Javalgi was removed from his post in the aftermath of the 8 June incident. Amid the ongoing protests in Darjeeling, West Bengal police raided Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung's office on Thursday morning. Reports said that the police recovered weapons, including a crossbow. Darjeeling: Police break lock, raid GJM leader Bimal Gurung's office #DarjeelingUnrest #Gorkhaland ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 Darjeeling: Weapons recovered during police raid at Gorkha Janmukti Morcha office #DarjeelingUnrest #Gorkhaland pic.twitter.com/PJ60QWurEv ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 Darjeeling: A Crossbow recovered during police raid at Gorkha Janmukti Morcha office #DarjeelingUnrest #Gorkhaland pic.twitter.com/MZzv8ng3y4 ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 "A raid is going on in Bimal Gurung's office since morning. Several arms have been already recovered", Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi, the Superintendent of Police of Darjeeling district told IANS. However, he refused to disclose any details about the types and quantity of arms seized by police. According to police sources, huge cache of arms and ammunition including bow and arrows, knives, axes and cartridges were seized. Responding to the sudden raid, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rahul Sinha claimed that such drastic steps may worsen the situation in the hills and has urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to call an all-party meeting in the Bengal hills to solve the situation. "Mamata Banerjee provoked the unrest in the hills and now she is making the situation even worse with these steps. She should immediately call an all-party meeting in Darjeeling to listen to their demands and sort out the situation", Sinha claimed. However, he clarified that BJP is in no way supporting the GJM's demand of a separate state of Gorkhaland. "We have never supported the Gorkhaland demand, nor do we support it now," he added. Raid at Gurung's office comes a day after the GJM leader threatened to intensify the movement for a separate Gorkhaland. The political crisis in the Darjeeling hills took a new turn after the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) snapped its alliance with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday after having joined hands with agitation spearhead GJM, saying the party has been fighting for Gorkhaland since its inception. Emboldened by the GNLF aligning with his party, Gurung on Tuesday had threatened to intensify the movement for a separate Gorkhaland even as the indefinite shutdown in the government and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) offices entered its third day. The GNLF, formed by the late firebrand leader Subhash Ghisingh, had led a violent movement for Gorkhaland in the eighties, following which the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was formed. Gurung broke away from the GNLF and formed the GJM in 2007 and subsequently emerged as the dominant force in the hills."The GNLF, since its inception in the eighties under the leadership Subhash Ghisingh, has been fighting for Gorkhaland. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a separate state of Gorkhaland," Neraaj Zimba, spokesperson of the GNLF, told PTI. He said the alliance with the TMC was never a political or ideological one, but an electoral tie-up. The TMC is trying to deflect attention from the real demand of Gorkhaland through "doles and charity", Zimba said. Six columns of army personnel have been already been deployed in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong towns with addition 600 troops being provided by Central Government on Tuesday. Referring to the all-party meeting held on Tuesday, Gurung claimed that all political outfits in the hills had decided to work together. Accusing the Mamata government of running "political dictatorship" in the hills, Gurung appealed to the tourists and people working there to reconsider the situation and take a call on staying there. "I would request the tourists and the people who have come to work here to change their mind about coming and staying here. The state government is doing dictatorship politics here. How can the tourists stay here in this situation," Gurung said. "Incidents like baton charge are happening here everyday. In this situation, how can there be work or tourism in this situation," he wondered. Gurung told PTI that he will shortly resign from the post of the GTA chief executive but the GJM MLAs and the municipal councillors will not step down. The shutdown has led to spurts of violence in the state with several state government offices torched, vandalised or forcibly shut. On Monday, protesters tried to torch the PWD office in Darjeeling and the Block Development Office (BDO) in Bijanbari and Pulbazar. A hydro project in Sonada was also ransacked by the protesters. As the movement gathered steam, GJM attempted to revive the decades-old Gorkhaland movement, a demand of separation of Nepalese-speaking districts of West Bengal into a separate state. With inputs from agencies Darjeeling: Police recovered 300-400 weapons, including arrows, and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. In the fog-shrouded hilly roads of Darjeeling, GJM activists sparred with paramilitary personnel, hurling stones from a distance. The policemen responded by throwing stones back as a car burnt nearby. It was not clear if the car was that of a civilian or belonged to the police. Police said some party activists also were also arrested in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his group's campaign for a separate Gorkhaland state would go on till it was achieved. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists", a senior police official told PTI on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from Thursday. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting", said GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from Thursday," Giri told PTI. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition". "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us", he alleged. Giri said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centre's intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, told PTI over phone. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force", he alleged. The raids came on the fourth day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite strike in government and GTA offices in the hills. The GJM's call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language of the rest of the state. Prominent among the six states to join GJM is the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Centre has dispatched 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the West Bengal government in restoring normalcy in violence-hit Darjeeling hills which witnessed incidents of stone pelting during GJM-sponsored indefinite bandh. The Centre had also sought a detailed report on the prevailing situation in the hill district from the state government. Darjeeling (WB): The Gorkha separatist campaign in the hills of Darjeeling spiralled deeper into violence on Thursday as protesters and riot police hurled stones at each other, while a series of raids uncovered weapons from premises connected to the movement's chief Bimal Gurung. The demand by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal state is fast turning into a major political crisis for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and is likely to cripple the critical tourist industry during the peak summer season. "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force", GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told PTI. He said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". In the fog-shrouded hilly roads of Darjeeling, GJM activists sparred with paramilitary personnel, hurling stones from a distance. The policemen responded by throwing stones back as a car burnt nearby. It was not clear if the car was that of a civilian or belonged to the police. Earlier on Thursday, police recovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Police said some party activists also were arrested on Thursday in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his group's campaign will not stop until it a separate Gorkhaland state is created. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official told PTI on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurung's residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from Thursday. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting," Giri, the GJM general secretary, said. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from Thursday," Giri said. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition". "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us," he alleged. "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centre's intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, told PTI over phone. The raids came on the fourth day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite strike in government and GTA offices in the hills. The GJM's call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language of the rest of the state. Prominent among the six states to join GJM is the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Centre has dispatched 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the West Bengal government in restoring normalcy in violence-hit Darjeeling hills which witnessed incidents of stone pelting during GJM-sponsored indefinite bandh. The Centre had also sought a detailed report on theprevailing situation in the hill district from the state government. Neeru Chadha becomes First Indian Women to be elected to International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas Published: June 15, 2017 Law expert Neeru Chadha has been elected to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS). With this election, she has become the first Indian women to win a crucial election to a top UN judicial body that deals with disputes related to the law of the sea. Neeru has become the first Indian woman to be appointed as a judge at the ITLOS. ITLOS comprises of 21 independent members who are elected based upon their reputation for being a person with integrity. The person should also have necessary competence in the field of the law of the sea Neeru has also earned a distinction of becoming the second Indian woman to occupy a top position at the United Nations after Lakshmi Pandit who served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly. Neeru Chadha Neeru Chadha holds law degrees including a PhD in law from the University of Delhi and the University of Michigan. She was the first woman to be appointed by the Ministry of External Affairs as its chief advisor. She served as a member of the ministrys Legal and Treaties Division. Neeru Chadha has represented the Indian government in multilateral bodies and meetings. She has represented India in United Nations, AALCO (Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation), UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law), UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law), The Hague Conference, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on a range of subjects such as human rights, humanitarian law, international trade, international terrorism and international criminal law. She was Indian governments lead counsel after Italy had filed a case at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. She also represented the country after the Marshall Islands accused India for not abiding by its nuclear disarmament obligations ITLOS ITLOs is an intergovernmental organisation under the ambit of the United Nations, established in 1996. ITLOS governs the laws on international waters and is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The ITLOS comprises of 21 serving judges. Month: Current Affairs - June, 2017 Topics: International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) Persons in News UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Latest E-Books New Delhi: All issues related to the Centre's recent notification banning sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter will be addressed "seriously and honestly", union minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday. On a day when the Supreme Court sought a response from the Centre on pleas challenging the controversial notification, the environment minister said that the government will reach out to persons, who have a "heartburn" over this issue. "The Supreme Court has given us time until 11 July, but we will file our response before it," Vardhan said. The ban on sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter has hit the export and trade of meat and leather. "We have already said that whosoever has any concern related to this issue, we (Centre) will seriously and honestly address those," the minister told reporters on the sidelines of a function at the Delhi zoo. "We will reach out to any person in India who have a heartburn on this issue," he said. A vacation bench of the apex court comprising Justices RK Agrawal and SK Kaul issued a notice to the Centre and asked it to file a response within two weeks on two separate petitions challenging the notification. It has fixed the matter for hearing on 11 July. Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that the intention behind bringing the notification was to have a regulatory regime on cattle trade across the country. The Centre had on 26 May banned the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter through an Environment Ministry notification -Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 - under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. One of the petitioners, Hyderabad-based Mohammed Abdul Faheem Qureshi, had in his plea, filed on 7 June, contended that the notification was "against the freedom of religious practice to sacrifice animals" and imposing a ban on slaughter of animals for food violates the right to food, privacy and personal liberty guaranteed to a citizen under the Constitution. By Suleiman Al-Khalidi | AMMAN AMMAN U.S. troops based in Syria's southeastern desert have expanded their footprint, rebels there say, increasing the risk of direct ground confrontation between the Americans and Iran-backed pro-government forces.U.S. special forces have been based since last year at Tanf, a strategic Syrian highway border crossing with Iraq, where the Americans have assisted rebels trying to recapture territory from fleeing Islamic State fighters.The U.S.-backed Syrian rebels in the area are in competition with pro-government forces who are also trying to recapture territory from Islamic State.On several occasions in recent weeks, warplanes of the U.S.-led coalition have struck pro-government forces to prevent them advancing, in what Washington has described as self defence.Abu al-Atheer, military spokesman for the U.S.-backed Maghawir al-Thawra rebel group, told Reuters U.S. forces had spread from their initial location at Tanf to set up a second base at Zakf, around 60-70 km (40-50 miles) to the northeast.Regional intelligence sources told Reuters the U.S. military moved in the last few days a new long-range rocket launcher system from Jordan to Tanf, for the first time in southern Syria stepping up its presence in the area.They said the (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) - HIMARS which can fire missiles as far as 300km had been deployed for the first time in southern Syria. They had been previously used to strike militants from positions in Turkey and Jordan.Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting against Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria, denied troops had set up a new base. But he said sometimes coalition forces conduct patrols and training with rebels at locations outside Tanf that could be maintained for days or weeks."We have that garrison in al-Tanf that is a temporary base and location for us to train our partner forces to fight to defeat ISIS, but that is the only base in southern Syria or location where we have coalition forces," Dillon said. Abu al-Atheer said the U.S. special forces were now patrolling distances of up to 100 km from Tanf. He said more U.S. special forces were arriving at both the original base at Tanf and the new base at Zakf, and more weapons had been delivered to rebels."The (new) base was being studied for months but now it's an official base. It has been built and expanded and God willing will be in the next few days like the Tanf base," he told Reuters.Video clips purportedly of the Zakf site, sent to Reuters by another rebel in the group, showed a convoy of military vehicles travelling on a paved road lined by long walls, a communications mast and a hut. Another showed three men in uniform next to two small military vehicles, firing a mortar in otherwise empty desert. U.S.-backed rebels are fighting to oust Islamic State fighters from their last two major bastions - Mosul in Iraq and the Euphrates River valley near Raqqa in Syria - in battles which Washington hopes could crush the group this year. The Syrian government, backed by Russia and Iran, also wants to reclaim the territory in Syria. Pro-government forces have taken up positions north of Tanf, potentially cutting off the U.S.-backed rebels from advancing.Muzahem Saloum, a rebel official close to Maghawir al-Thawra, said the Zakf location would back up Tanf and was expected to be a "first line of defence" against any attack by Iranian-backed Syrian pro-government militias. RIVALRY Tanf is located near a Syria-Iraq border crossing on the main Baghdad-Damascus highway, and the U.S.-backed rebels took it from Islamic State last year, partly to stop Iran from using it in future to send arms to the Syrian government. The U.S.-backed rebels also want to use it to take more territory along the border and to push towards Deir al-Zor, a large city on the Euphrates where the government has an enclave surrounded by Islamic State fighters. However, Syria's army has declared winning back control of the desert and relieving its besieged Deir al-Zor enclave a military priority and has advanced swiftly from Palmyra with troops and dozens of tanks. Aided by allied militias backed by Iran, it also hopes to join up with Iraqi forces advancing against Islamic State across the border to secure a land route from Damascus to Baghdad. Iranian news sites have published pictures of Qasem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite extra-territorial arm the Qods Force, visiting militia fighters at an undisclosed area on the border. Recent Syrian government advances to the Iraq border northeast of Tanf and Zakf mean the U.S.-backed rebels would have to fight the Syrian army in order to march on Deir al-Zor.U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday said air strikes against pro-government forces near Tanf in recent weeks had been in self defence, to prevent them from attacking its troops at the base.Rebel spokesman Abu al-Atheer said the goal of the government forces was "to cut our advance towards Deir al-Zor. But we are moving towards a plan to take us to Deir al-Zor even if they enter," Abu al-Atheer said."The battle is not over and we will not allow the Iranian Shi'ites to occupy our land. Our response to those who stand against us will be cruel," he added. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; additional reporting by Angus McDowall; editing by Peter Graff and Grant McCool) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. New Delhi: The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) has demanded a law giving farmers right to sell their produce at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and guaranteeing an automatic annual review of the MSP. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) not buying all the produce at MSP, the farmers were being forced to sell their produce at a loss. "I am writing this letter to draw your attention to the plight of farmers across India which has resulted in a high level of rural distress, including thousands of suicides by farmers in the past three years. "There have been increasing protests by farmers in one state after another, which have been met by your silence and apathy while the state governments of your party have let the police loose on the poor farmers," Yechury wrote in the letter. He also mentioned the farmers' death in police firing in Madhya Pradesh and the "distress suicides" committed by farmers across the country. "Under these circumstances, I am writing to you to demand that your government introduce and pass a legislation in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament which not only confers on farmers the right to sell at MSP but also guarantees an automatic annual review of the MSP which will be, at least, 50 percent more than the comprehensive production costs as established by the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for that year," Yechury said. Ranchi: Another Jharkhand farmer committed suicide on the outskirts of Ranchi on Thursday. District administration officials, however, were prompt to deny that the farmer was under any loan pressure. Baldeo Mahto committed suicide by jumping in the well of a village in the Pithoria area here. He is survived by his wife and two sons, with the elder son passing Class 10 this year. According to family members, Baldeo was in distress due to paucity of money and was concerned about his son's admission. He had taken a bank loan and also Rs 25,000 as loan under the Kisan Credit Card. Ranchi district administration officials have denied that Mahto committed suicide due to debt. "The primary report indicates that Baldeo was not under pressure due to bank loan. A team has been constituted to probe the entire incident," Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar told reporters. The Ranchi police has lodged a case of unnatural death. He is the second farmer to have committed suicide in Ranchi. On 12 June, Kaleshwar Mahto, 44, took his life due to debt. He left behind a suicide note which said he was in distress over the loan. New Delhi: The government on Thursday made it clear that it will not be an "adjudicator" in cases of alleged corruption in the judiciary and asked it to evolve a robust mechanism within to deal with complaints against judges. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also said any future move to bring a fresh law on judicial appointments will require a bipartisan decision after the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act was struck down by the Supreme Court. Responding to a question on corruption charges against judges, he said the judiciary has to address the issue of complaints against judges. "As far as the issue of corruption in the judiciary is concerned, the government does not wish to be an adjudicator. Any issue of impropriety must be addressed to the judiciary. The larger issue of impeachment (of a judge) will be dealt with by (the) Parliament," he said. The law minister also said the judiciary must address the issue of complaints through a robust mechanism, stressing this is important for the independence of the institution. Prasad's remarks on robust mechanism assume significance because a new memorandum of procedure (MOP) a guide to appoint judges to the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts has been pending for nearly one-and-a-half years due to differences between the executive and the judiciary. One of the changes suggested in the existing MoP by the government is the setting up of a secretariat to screen those who have been nominated for appointment as judges and deal with complaints against judges. The Supreme Court collegium a body of top five SC judges had sent the draft MoP back to the government in March due to disagreements over several clauses. Prasad refused to speak on the differences saying several differences have been resolved and the MoP is a "work in progress". He said though the new MoP has not been finalised, the appointment of judges continues. There is already an in-house mechanism in the judiciary to deal with complaints against judges. Differences between the executive and the judiciary escalated when the Parliament passed the NJAC Act, but it was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional and void. "Despite our reservations and 99.9 percent unanimity in (the) Parliament, we have accepted that decision," Prasad said. Asked whether a similar new law could be brought, he said, "What is to be done in the future, I cannot say. Obviously, this will require a bipartisan decision", clearly indicating that a unanimous approach by the Parliament was needed to bring a new law on judicial appointments to overturn the collegium system of judges appointing judges. He said the present government has notified maximum appointments of judges since 1989. He said 249 judges in the 24 high courts have been appointed in the last three years of the Narendra Modi government. The minister said a record 126 judges of the high courts were appointed in 2016 alone. He, however, expressed concern on the large number of vacancies in the subordinate judiciary which, he said, has a vacancy of 6,000. He also said the entire responsibility of recruitment is in the domain of the respective high courts. "Neither the Centre nor the states have much of a role to play in that," he added. Prasad said the government is hopeful of setting up of a UPSC-type exam for appointments at the level of district judges. With the apex court, too, showing its willingness, he said, "It is moving in the right directions." After being locked inside a car for over two hours on a hot Wednesday afternoon, five-year-old twin sisters died of suffocation in Jamalpur area of Pataudi on the outskirts of Gurugram, Hindustan Times reported on Thursday. The incident occurred on Wednesday when the girls, Harsha and Harshita, had gone outdoors to see puppies underneath the car a Hyundai Elantra at around 4 pm on Tuesday, the same report said. The family began to look for the girls when they realised they were missing. When they did not find the twins in and around the house, they decided to look for them near the fields where the car was parked, India Today reported. However, at around 7.30 pm, the family found the twins lying unconscious inside the vehicle, after which they were rushed to the hospital. The girls were found unconscious in the car and were rushed to a nearby hospital. They were declared brought dead by the doctors, a police officer told News18. Since the car was old, the locks were not functioning properly and the girls could not open the doors, police added. Twin sisters, 5, die after being locked in hot car in Gurgaon https://t.co/MR3oAz5L3x pic.twitter.com/VbCT7tiJ6k NDTV (@ndtv) June 15, 2017 The girls were visiting their grandparents during summer vacation along with their mother Kirti and two-year-old brother, reported The Times of India. Their father Gobind, an armyman posted in Meerut, was supposed to arrive at the village on Wednesday to take them back. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs was left red-faced after it published an incorrect photo of the India-Pakistan border in its annual report for 2016-17. A photo captioned as "floodlighting along the border" turned out to be from the Spain-Morocco border, which was originally taken in 2006 by a Spanish photographer, Javier Moyano. The home ministry used a picture of Spain-Morocco border as India's border with Pakistan, prompting the Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi to say that the ministry would apologise if there is a mistake. "If there is a mistake, we will apologise," he said. The picture with the caption 'Floodlighting along the Border' was published recently in the home ministry's 324-page annual report, with detailed information on floodlighting along the India-Pakistan border. However, later it came to light that the picture was of the Spain-Morocco border, located along the Plazas de soberania, Ceuta, Melilla and Alboran Island along the north coast of Morocco. Between Morocco and Ceuta, there is a physical border known as the Ceuta border fence. Melilla also has a physical border known as the Melilla border fence, similar to the Indo-Pak border with floodlighting. Spain and Morocco have a sea between them but there are Spanish conclaves on the north coast of Africa that have a fenced and floodlit border with Morocco. Hours after the goof was out in the public domain and was reported by several media houses, the Union Home Ministry launched an internal investigation into the error. Home Ministry orders internal investigation into using picture of Spain-Morocco border to show Indian border floodlighting, in annual report pic.twitter.com/zNvwBnaljn ANI (@ANI_news) June 14, 2017 Sources said the home ministry officials were trying to find out from where the picture was sourced. It could be from the Border Security Force (BSF) which guards major portions of the 3,323 km long boundary, sources from the ministry told PTI. Source have also told The Times of India that the home ministry's annual report has been out in the public domain for almost three months and that it will be difficult to correct the gaffe as printing of new copies of the report is a massive task. This is not the first time that the photograph was misused. It was used by another 'right-wing propaganda site' The Fearless Indian. In 2016, in an article headlined With 1.5 Lakh Lights Illuminating it, This Is How India's Border with Pakistan Looks like in the Night and from Space, Dainik Bhaskar had used it as a photograph of India-Pakistan border. The government has said that 647-kilometre of India's border with Pakistan and Bangladesh has been floodlit to prevent terrorists and immigrants from infiltrating into Indian territory. It was widely reported that the floodlighting was completed in a year. Almost 2,000 km of the border in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat is floodlit, NDTV reported. India's naval ships Shivalik, Jyoti and Kamorta are on a port visit to Freemantle, Australia from 13 to 17 June, 2017 to participate in AUSINDEX-17, which is a bilateral maritime exercise with the Australian navy. The aim of the exercise is to enhance inter-operability and cooperation between the two forces. This would be the second edition of the exercise. The first one was conducted in Visakhapatnam and the Bay of Bengal in 2015. After the success of the exercise, both the sides decided to make it a biennial event. "The visit of the Indian naval ships seeks to underscore India's peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly and harmonious countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between India and Australia," the Navy said in a statement. The maritime exercises are in consonance with India's 'Act East' policy and seem to reaffirm Australia's commitment to the trilateral talks between Tokyo, New Delhi and Canberra. During Australian prime minister Malcom Turnbull's visit to India earlier this year, both the countries committed to deepening the bilateral defence and security partnership. They also welcomed the dialogue among Australia, India and Japan. They agreed to invest in trilateral consultations with third countries to enhance regional and global peace and security. India had, on various previous occasions, made its intention of conducting joint naval war games with Japan and Australia clear. In 2015, New Delhi hosted the first ever high level trilateral meeting among the three countries. Maritime security, freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and trilateral maritime cooperation in the Indian and Pacific Ocean was discussed by the participating countries. Australia's minister for defence marise Payne has also indicated towards hosting another trilateral meet in Canberra. This came after India withdrew from the quadrilateral India, Japan, Australia and US - following a strong protest from Beijing in 2008. However, the US, Japan and India trilateral has gained momentum in recent years, with regular meetings and a variety of collective exercises, as this The Hindu article points out. Australia withdrew from the quadrilateral alliance in 2008, citing concerns about China's reaction. Beijing issued demarches to New Delhi and Canberra and lodged a protest over their participation in the naval drills. The drills and the alliance was subsequently suspended as a precaution not to anger China. However, Canberra has now indicated that it is keen for a logistics support agreement with India and has also pitched for an observer status during this year's Malabar trilateral, as The Diplomat reported. The Malabar exercise will be conducted in the Bay of Bengal in July and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force will also participate in the naval drill. These initiatives by India and Australia can be seen as a a negative development for China. New Delhi and Canberra are wary of Beijing's infringement on maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region. These common concerns have strengthened the need for greater maritime cooperation between the two nations. Australia is also a permanent member of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, which brings together the local navies of Indian Ocean region. By coming together, both the nations can prove to be a threat to China's dominance in the region. Following India's concerns about China's One Belt One Road initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed an Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC), with support from Japan. Australia, among other countries, also sent a representative for the consultation process. Beijing has been suspicious of the trilateral engagement and lodged protest over Japan's participation. It is expected to closely monitor the exercise. However, when considering whether or not this maritime activity will worry China, it must be borne in mind that the navies of Australia and India are nowhere near as well-stocked as their Chinese equivalent. Beijing is likely to worry only if the strategic quadrilateral involving Australia, India, Japan and the US as alluded to by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was to actually come to fruition. But with Donald Trump in the White House, that looks beyond even a remote possibility. Pakistans "blatant" abuse of human rights in Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the persecution of minorities, is creating a "cauldron of tumult" in the entire region, India told the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday. "Active support since 1989 to separatist groups in Kashmir and terrorist elements from different parts of the world including from territory under Pakistans control has become a central element of Pakistans state policy," India said exercising its Right of Reply in a general debate that examined country situations that require the Councils attention. "Pakistans continued mistreatment of large parts of its own population has created a cauldron of tumult that has begun to jeopardise the safety and security of its neighbouring countries," Alok Jha, counsellor (political) at the Indian mission to the UN said. Asking Pakistan to stop acting as the "epicentre of international terrorism", India asked Pakistan to "vacate illegal and forcible occupation of approximately 78,000 square kilometres of Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)". Pakistan, in a statement made earlier in the afternoon, had said that "the situation of gross and systematic violation of human rights in India-occupied Kashmir requires the Councils urgent attention". The Indian government has "broken its own record of brutality" and the situation in Kashmir is "crimes against humanity, the Pakistani delegate said. Pakistan also claimed that people are losing faith in the Indian democracy calling the elections in Jammu and Kashmir a "sham" and that the voter turnout was the lowest in 30 years. "Pakistan continues to test the patience of this Council with its false narrative over the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir," India said, adding that its neighbour rakes up the issue of Kashmir at the UNHRC for "purely propagandist purposes". People in Balochistan, among other provinces, are waging a "bitter and brave struggle" for decades various international organisations have documented how enforced disappearances "continue with impunity", particularly in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. "Religious and sectarian minorities such as Hindus, Christians, Sunnis, Ahmadiyas, Ismailis and others continue to face discrimination, persecution and targeted attacks in Pakistan," India said, adding that religious places of minorities are "destroyed and vandalised". "Blasphemy laws remain in force and are disproportionately used against religious minorities," Jha added. "Given this state of affairs, Pakistan will be well-advised to focus its energies on setting its own house in order and acting against the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on its neighbours instead of ritually raking up alleged human rights violations elsewhere," India said. This is the third time that India and Pakistan have clashed over Kashmir in the 35th session of the UNHRC. On Tuesday evening, militants carried out five attacks in three hours leaving 12 soldiers injured in what seems to be well-coordinated attacks in both south and north Kashmir. The attacks followed one after the other, leaving security forces with minimal time to react, in what was described by security forces as "throw and runaway attacks." While many quarters were pointing fingers at the neighbour, the director general of Jammu and Kashmir dispelled rumours and reportedly said that militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad is behind the series of the attacks in the Valley, which injured 12 security personnel and four rifles were snatched from the policemen. "According to our intelligence reports, Jaish-e-Mohammad is responsible for series of attacks on police and paramilitary personnel in south Kashmir on Tuesday," DGP S P Vaid said on Wedsnesday. "Although Hizbul Mujahedeen has larger presence in south Kashmir but the attacks were the handiwork of Jaish-e-Mohammad," he added. If JeM is behind these attacks then it is clear indication that the dreaded militant outfit has been regrouping in the past months in the Valley. Until last year, security agencies had reported presence of less then 10 active JeM militants in Kashmir. Security personnel had also said that majority of these militants were killed in different encounters. Unlike insurgent from other groups, JeM militants have hardly survived for a long time in Kashmir. Jaish was once considered to be the a group which could be easily infiltrated and that led to its decline in Kashmir. By mid-2013, the group was on the verge of extinction when two of its last three surviving commanders were killed, leaving the outfit with a total cadre capacity of eight militants in Kashmir, the lowest since it was formed 14 years ago, Jammu and Kashmir police told Firstpost. A senior intelligence officer, during a recent conversation with Firstpost, had said that there were reports that Jaish was trying to rebuild its cadre base in Kashmir but had little success, till last year. "We have observed that Kashmiris don't like to be associated with foreign terrorists and particularly this outfit. They don't hate them but they don't love them also for various reasons," an Army official told Firstpost recently. Recently, however, the claims of JeM's regrouping were further boosted by Al-Umar Mujahideen chief Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, who was released along with JeM chief Masood Azhar in exchange of Indian Airlines passengers in 1999, told local reporters that the series attacks both were carried out jointly by Al-Umar and JeM. Pakistan national recruiting for Jaish in Kashmir? On Wednesday a senior police officer based in south Kashmir, told Firstpost that Abu Hamas, a Pakistani national, who is among the 12 most wanted militants in Kashmir, has been actively recruiting for the group for the last few months. In September 2016, the army had blamed JeM militants for carrying out an attack on one of its bases in Uri which left 19 soldiers dead. JeM has also carried out many suicide attacks in Army installations near the Line Of Control for the past few years. In fact, this is the outfit that introduced the concept of the suicide bombing in Kashmir when it carried out its first suicide attack in April 2000. But if Tuesday's "throw and runaway attacks" were carried out by the outfit, this could well be the change of strategy for them in Kashmir. JeM was founded by Maulana Masood Azhar, a fiery orator, in January 2000 after his release in Taliban-governed Kandahar, Afghanistan, from Jammu's Kot Balwal jail in exchange for passengers of hijacked IC-814 Indian Airlines plane. Azhar was arrested in Srinagar in 1994 on charges of terrorism. Since then, JeM's signature was found in many attacks on army bases at Mohra and Tangdhar in north Kashmir, at Kathua and Samba in Jammu region, and at Pathankot airbase in Punjab. Following Tuesday's attacks, the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar on Wednesday said that the CRPF camps in Jammu and Kashmir have been put on a state of high alert. "The morale of our contingent is very high and they are trying to maintain law and order with their professional competence," he said. JNU -: , - Jammu: Police and security forces have launched a search operation in the border town of Samba along Jammu-Pathankot national highway following reports of suspected movement of four persons in the wee hours on Thursday. Some labourers informed police about movement of four armed persons in civilian clothes from Samba main chowk on the highway towards SIDCO industrial area close to Basantar river belt. Basantar river, which flows into Pakistan across the International Border (IB), is one of the main infiltration routes of militants into Jammu and Kashmir. "Search operation was launched in Samba town along the highway after some people reported about suspected movement of four persons in the wee hours on Thursday," a senior police officer said. "We searched the entire area and till now found nothing. CCTV footage showed some unarmed persons in civilian clothes," he said. The Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) is expected to declare the results for the Intermediate Class XII Arts 2017 examination on Thursday. Candidates can check their grades on the official results websites, jac.nic.in or jharresults.nic. Though an official update on the results is yet to come from JAC, media reports said that the Class XII Arts results would be announced on 15 June. If the candidates are unable to access the official website once the results are out, they can visit alternate result websites like indiaresults.com. The JAC Class XII Intermediate Arts Exam were conducted from 18 February to 7 March. Results for Class X and Class XII (Commerce and Science stream) were declared on 30 May. Nearly 8 lakh candidates appeared for both JAC Class X and Class XII examination this year, NDTV reported. Steps to obtain results: Log on to the official result website, jac.nic.in. Click on either of the links provided under 'Intermediate Examination Result 2017' and then select the option available for Arts stream. Enter your roll number and click 'submit' to check your detailed grades. Download the result and take a printout for future reference. As has been observed over the course of the past few weeks, the dates and times of result announcements have been frequently changed. The information above has not been independently verified. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in. New Delhi: The case of controversial former Calcutta High Court judge CS Karnan calls for greater scrutiny and screening of the judiciary, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday. "As regards a specific case of a specific judge, I would not like to make any comment, except observe that may be there is a case for greater scrutiny and screening of judiciary. The particular incident you have quoted only underscores the compelling need," he told reporters here. The minister was asked to comment on the failure of state machinery to implement a Supreme Court order to send Karnan behind bars for six months for contempt of court. Justice Karnan had last week ended his tenure as a fugitive from law. He has been evading arrest since 9 May after being sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court. He has the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the apex court. A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar had passed the unprecedented arrest order against Karnan. Justice Karnan was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on 11 March, 2016. He was transferred from the Madras High Court for his repeated allegations and run-ins with its then chief justice and fellow judges. The high court judge had on 15 February, 2016 stayed his transfer order, which was suspended by the Supreme Court. The apex court had even asked the chief justice of the Madras High Court not to assign Karnan any judicial work. Lucknow: BSP chief Mayawati trashed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who had lunch with around 500 Dalits in Gorakhpur and said it will neither change the face of the saffron party and will not benefit the underprivileged. Had there been even an "iota of honesty" in BJP' intentions or policies, the Saharanpur incident would not have taken such a serious turn and atrocities would not be continuing against Dalits, she said in a press release here "The failure to arrest the main accused of casteist violence in Saharanpur and victims still not getting justice are proof of BJP's anti-dalit mindset in the state and this is similar to what is going on in other states where BJP is in power," she said "Casteist BJP leaders and Chief Minister Adityanath having food with the Dalits is nothing but a political drama. Everyone is aware that it will not change the anti-dalit anti-backward face of the BJP nor will it benefit a lot of dalits or underprivileged," she added Mayawati said the members of dalit and other backward castes are still forced to live in dismal conditions as they have not been able to get their constitutional rights. It is the duty of the government to extend justice to them, she said "This is also the reason as to why the parks and memorial installed in honour of saints and great men born in these sections of society are today lying in a state of utter neglect. BSP has been continuously drawing the attention of the government towards this apathy," she said On a visit to Gorakhpur, the chief minister participated in a community feast in Harnampur village under Campiergan tehsil of the district to drive home the message that there was equality in the society and no discrimination on caste He broke bread at the 'sahbhoj' after unveiling the statue of B R Ambedkar in a park on Wednesday on an invitation from B Ambedkar Jankalyan Seva Samiti Panaji: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the central and the Goa governments over a petition filed by meat traders challenging the newly-introduced restrictions on cattle trade. Quraishi's Meat Traders' Association of Goa challenged in the Goa bench of the high court the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, contending that they violate the right to carry on trade and the freedom of religion under the Constitution. Among other things, the association challenged rule 22 which provides that purchaser of cattle shall not sacrifice the animal for any religious purpose. The Goa Animal Preservation Act, 1995 permits slaughter of bovines subject to compliance of certain conditions, and the Union government has no powers to make rules on matters pertaining to protection and preservation of livestock, the petition said. Kochi: 'Metro man' E Sreedharan on Thursday sought to downplay the controversy over the omission of his name from the list of dignitaries who will share the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Kochi Metro inauguration on 17 June. Sreedharan, who is in Kochi to oversee the final round of preparations for Saturday's event, said there was nothing unusual in the decision of not being invited on the stage as such restrictions were usual in a programme being attended by the prime minister. "Please don't make a controversy over the issue. Prime Minister's security is important," Sreedharan said, adding that the programme should be conducted as per the preparations made by the prime minister's security agencies. "I have no issues. Since I am a worker here, there is no need for an invitation," Sreedharan said when asked about the PMO's decision. The Kerala government on Wednesday shot off a letter to the PMO to accommodate three more dignitaries, including Sreedharan, the DMRC principal advisor popularly known as the 'metro man', on the dais during the inaugural function. As per the approved list from the prime minister's office (PMO), the prime minister, governor, chief minister, union minister Venkaiah Naidu, MP KV Thomas, state minister Thomas Chandy and Mayor Saumini Jain are the seven persons who will be on the dais at the inaugural function. The government also wanted the PMO to include names of the opposition leader in the state Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala and PT Thomas, the local MLA, in the list. Meanwhile, Sreedharan indicated that he would not be a part of the second phase construction of Kochi Metro. The Kochi Metro Rail Limited is capable of carrying out the construction works of the second phase of Kochi Metro, he said. Satna: Police in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh forced a nun and four girls on their way to Bhopal to get off a train, and detained them following a complaint that the girls were going to be converted. A local magistrate's court later found that there was no substance in the complaint. Sister Veena Joseph (50) of Carmelite Sisters of Saint Teresa Congregation, Bhopal, and the four girls were taken off Shipra Express at Satna station at around 11.30 am on Tuesday. Workers of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad had complained that Joseph was taking the girls to Bhopal from Jharkhand's Pakur district for religious conversion. Following the complaint, district authorities rushed to the station. Tehsildar BK Mishra said he recorded their statements before handing them over to police. The police then took them to sub-divisional magistrate Balveer Raman's court. The judge noted that the girls were from Christian families, and were going to Bhopal for studying there, so they should be allowed to go wherever they want, said inspector Sitaram Bakri of GRP. However, one of the four girls was handed over to an NGO as she is a minor. She would be handed over to her family members who had been informed, inspector Bakri said. After the SDM's court said that no case was made out, police set the nun and the other three girls free at around 11.30 pm on Tuesday. They had to spend the night with a local catholic organisation as there were no trains for Bhopal at that hour. MP Isai Mahasangh spokesperson Richard James said the organisation's representatives would meet the MP Director General of Police on Wednesday. "We will demand action against the people who literally tortured the nun and the girls," he added. "The incident proves that we can no longer move in groups in the state. A smear campaign is on to defame us for no reason," he said. Kolkata: Trinamool Congress MLA Iqbal Ahmed on Thursday appeared before the CBI for questioning in connection with its probe into the Narada 'sting' wherein a number of party leaders, including MPs and ministers, were allegedly seen taking money. Ahmed, the first of the accused to be summoned by the CBI, went to the agency office at Nizam Palace in Kolkata. The Khanakul MLA, who is also the deputy mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, had failed to appear before the CBI on an earlier date and had sought time but was again asked to appear before the investigating officers on Thursday. Narada News editor Mathew Samuel had claimed that it was Ahmed who had introduced him to the senior TMC leaders who he had paid money in the name of a fictituous company. Samuel claimed that Ahmed had taken money from him for introducing him to the leaders. The sting videos, which were released by Mathew just before the 2016 Assembly elections in West Bengal, had created a political furore. The sting operation relates to the secret filming of the TMC leaders and an IPS officer while they allegedly accepted money from the representatives of a fictitious company for extending favours to it. CBI is probing the matter on a Calcutta High Court order and has registered FIRs against 12 senior TMC leaders, including MPs and ministers and the IPS officer. The TMC leaders against whom the CBI has registered FIR include Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy, Lok Sabha MPs Saugata Roy, Aparupa Poddar, Sultan Ahmed, Prasun Banerjee and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. West Bengal Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Environment Minister Sovan Chatterjee and Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Subrata Mukherjee have also been named in the FIR. Former Minister Madan Mitra, MLA Iqbal Ahmed and IPS officer Saiyaad Mustafa Hussain Mirza have also been made accused in the case. United Nations: In a significant victory for India at the UN, international law expert Neeru Chadha has won a crucial election to a top UN judicial body that deals with disputes related to the law of the sea, becoming the first Indian woman to be appointed as a judge at the tribunal. Chadha, an eminent lawyer and the first Indian woman to become the chief legal adviser in the ministry of external affairs, won the election yesterday to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026. Chadha got 120 votes, the highest in the Asia Pacific group and was elected in the first round of voting itself. The candidate from Indonesia got 58 votes, Lebanon 60 and Thailand 86. All three candidates went to a second round of voting in which Thailand won the other seat in the Asia Pacific group. Election was held for a total of seven seats. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin expressed gratitude for the broad support of countries that resulted in Chadha's "emphatic success" at the elections to the ITLOS. "It reflects both an appreciation of India's global standing in matters of international law and the recognition for Chadha's expertise as a lawyer and negotiator on contemporary issues related to the Law of the Seas," Akbaruddin told PTI. "The Tribunal is composed of 21 independent members who are elected from among persons enjoying the highest reputation for fairness and integrity and of recognised competence in the field of the law of the sea," according to the information on the ITLOS website. Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson in New Delhi hailed Chadha's elections to the ITLOS saying, "Indian expertise on ITLOS stage! Neeru Chadha elected as 1st woman on Int'l Tribunal 4 Law of Seas w/ most votes in Asia Pacific Group." The Hamburg-based ITLOS, established in 1996, is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994. Chadha has extensive international arbitration and litigation experience, having served as an agent for the Indian government in its maritime delimitation case with Bangladesh. She was also India's agent for the case filed by Italy in ITLOS involving two Italian marines accused of shooting two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. Currently, eminent jurist from India P Chandrasekhara Rao is a judge at the tribunal. He was elected member of the tribunal in 1996 and his term will expire in September 2017. Chadha is only the second woman to be judge of ITLOS in its two decades of existence, where there have been a total of 40 judges, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said in a statement. Chadha holds law degrees including PhD in law from the University of Delhi and the University of Michigan. She was also the first woman chief legal adviser to the Indian government and has advised the government on diverse issues relating to the law of the sea involving interpretation of various provisions of the UNCLOS including determining the extent of coastal state's jurisdiction in different maritime zones, maritime delimitation with neighbouring states and legal issues relating to submissions on extended continental shelf. Chadha has also served as an agent before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case concerning the obligations concerning negotiations relating to cessation of nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament with Marshall Islands. She has represented the Indian government in various other multilateral meetings and conferences in the United Nations, AALCO (Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation), UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law), UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law). Chadha has also represented Indian government at The Hague Conference, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on subjects relating to human rights, humanitarian law, international trade, international terrorism and international criminal law. Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday said it has so far not received any response from the Centre on the presidential assent to two bills passed by the state Assembly exempting the state from the National Entrance-cum Eligibility Test (NEET). Stating this in the Assembly, health minister C Vijayabaskar, however, expressed confidence of receiving a favourable response from the Centre on the matter. Vijayabaskar was responding to DMK's K Ponmudi who sought to know if the state government would move the court to protect the interests of students from the state. "The NEET bills are with the ministry of home affairs. It has to be either accepted or rejected. Only if its negative (rejected) can we move the court," he said. Tamil Nadu government has been seeking exemption from NEET and in February the Assembly adopted two bills which seek to ensure continuation of the present system of admission to medical courses in the state. Opposition parties, including DMK, had supported the legislative measure. Chief Minister K Palaniswamy had taken up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention to obtain the presidential assent for the bills. A local police department is mourning the loss of a canine officer. On Tuesday, the Farmington Police Department posted on Facebook, It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of Figo, our brave and valiant K-9. His partner and best friend for the last 8 years is Corporal Brad Williams. Figo, age 10, died after a brief illness. The post states Figo served both the citizens of Farmington and surrounding communities well often at great peril but without hesitation as he was trained to do. Willams and Figo were the subject of a cover story in the Farmington Press in March, 2016. When Figo joined the department in 2009, it was the result of a personal donation made by local businessman Sharo Shirshekan to get Figo for the city and pay for Williams and his partner to be trained. According to Williams, the cost for dog and the training at that time was around $14,000. He is so amped to come to work with me, but he is actually a really lazy dog when hes at home, Williams said at the time. But when he sees me getting ready for work, he gets very excited. Their partnership began around seven years ago when the two met at Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana. According to Williams at that time, Figo was a 3-year-old dog that was already trained, and it was up to Williams to catch up. When we purchased Figo, I had to go to Vohne Liche for five weeks to be trained, Williams said in 2016. The dog was already fully trained and I didnt know anything, so they brought Figo down a little bit and then trained us together. Figo made it pretty easy for me. One thing Williams thought made the training so seamless is the week the two spent together before training began. According to Williams, it allowed the two of them some time to get to know each other. The week before we started training, Figo and I spent the week together, Williams said. We pretty well bonded during that time. Trained as a dual purpose dog, Figo was able to make apprehensions, track for fugitives or lost children, and detect narcotics such as meth, heroin, marijuana and cocaine. And, the 2016 story noted Figo located narcotics more than 550 times, tracked and apprehended nearly 40 fugitives and made at least that many appearances at schools and special events. Whether the two were on duty or off, they were always together. Figo not only rode with Williams, but lived with him as well. If we are not at work, Figo is at home with me, Williams said in 2016. He loves my kids. I can take him to day cares and let him off the leash. He runs around with all the kids and lets them come up to him and pet him. He has such a great personality. On Tuesday, the Facebook post stated Figo was "so devoted to Corporal Williams and would have given his life for him, the post reads. He will also be missed by Corporal William's wife and children and the men and women of Farmington PD -- most especially those he worked with on night shift. Join us with prayers for Brad and his family. EOW 06/13/2017. Godspeed Figo. Yavatmal: Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir on Thursday said Pakistan is like a "chronic disease" which the government is trying to contain. "Pakistan continues to be a chronic disease for the country (India) despite the government's sustained efforts to contain it", the minister said addressing a press conference. Ahir said the army has been giving a befitting reply to infiltrators trying to sneak into India through the LoC. "We have succeeded in creating a global opinion that Pakistan is the land of terrorists and the government there is sheltering the terrorists", the BJP MP said. He was in the city as part of Narendra Modi government's mass contact programme "Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas". The minister listed various achievements of the Modi government in the last three years. "We have enhanced the water resources through 'Jalyukta Shivar', the flagship project of the Maharashtra government, and ensured an increase in land areas under cultivation for Kharif and Rabi crops", he said. "We have cancelled 208 coal blocks, out of which 40 coal blocks have been re-auctioned to generate the revenue of Rs.3.94 lakh crore", Ahir said. He said the policies of the erstwhile Congress government were responsible for the attacks by naxals on security forces and common people. Jammu: Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in fierce retaliation by Indian troops as Pakistan Army on Wednesday violated ceasefire thrice along the Line of Control (LoC) in two sectors in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan Army resorted to shelling of mortar bombs and firing of small arms and automatic weapons on forward posts and civilians areas in the region. There have been 10 ceasefire violations in past four days and total 14 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the International Border in Jammu region since 1 January, in which one civilian died and seven others were injured. In escalated terror violence in Kashmir, militants engineered seven grenade attacks and firing incidents in the Valley on Tuesday in which 14 policemen were injured and four rifles snatched by militants from the them. Indian troops gave a strong retaliation in which 2 Pakistani soldiers were killed opposite to Bhimbher Gali sector on Wednesday, defence sources said. "Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of mortars, small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 6.40 pm in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district on Wednesday," Defence Spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta said. Before this third ceasefire violation in the day, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 9.30 am in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district on Wednesday, he said. Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively and firing is presently on, he said. Earlier, Pakistan carried out indiscriminate firing from 5.00 am to 5.45 am in Bhimbher Gali sector in Poonch along the LoC, he added. There were 3 ceasefire violation on 12 June. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was kept out of the discussions to identify a presidential candidate on Wednesday after the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party struck down a proposal for the same, reports Times of India. The proposal to include AAP had been moved by CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in the last meeting in May attended by 17 opposition parties. It was shot down in Wednesday's meeting by NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad, who cited the objectionable conduct of some AAP members as the reason for keeping them out of the discussions. The report further said that senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav had also said that AAP members had been disrespectful of opposition leaders. Some of the participants had suggested that AAP would want to support the opposition candidate in order to avoid supporting the BJP, as it had troubled relations with the ruling government over the administration of Delhi. Amar Ujala quoted Azad as saying that AAP leaders had not behaved appropriately. Other Congress leaders called AAP a branch of the RSS and the B-team of the BJP. They further said that the party had caused enough trouble in Goa, Punjab and Gujarat. The opposition parties had met in the Parliament chamber of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad. The leaders including Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge from the Congress, JD-U's Sharad Yadav, RJD's Lalu Prasad, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and NCP's Praful Patel. Derek O'Brien of the TMC, RS Bharathi of the DMK, Ram Gopal Yadav of the SP and Satish Chandra Misra from the BSP were also present. "The nitty gritty details were not discussed. No names have been short-listed yet," Azad said after the 30-minute meeting. The nominations for the presidential election were opened by the issuance of a notification by the Election Commission on 14 June. The elections themselves will be held on 17 July. Six candidates filed their nominations on the first day. They include K Padmarajan from Salem in Tamil Nadu, Anand Singh Kushwaha from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, A. Bala Raj from Mahbubnagar in Telangana, Saira Bano Patel from Mumbai, Abdul Hamid Patel from Mumbai, and Kondekar Vijayprakash from Pune in Maharashtra. The BJP, on Wednesday, stepped up its efforts to get maximum support for its presidential candidate with the three-member party panel speaking to a number of allies as well as opposition parties, amid indication that its nominee will file nomination next week. They ruled out filing of nomination by its candidate this week as the consultation process will take more time with Union ministers Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu, two members of the BJP panel, scheduled to meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday as they work to evolve a consensus. They are likely to meet Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M) following the meeting with Gandhi. With inputs from agencies New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has no "national significance" to be part of the opposition's deliberations on the Presidential election and the party should rather settle its internal problems first. Senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma, asked about the Congress and NCP decision not to include the Arvind Kejriwal-led party in the opposition's meetings for the Presidential election, said: "AAP, at this moment, has no national significance." "I don't think they should be part of such an important meeting because they are already in difficulty these days, they have internal problems. They should settle that first instead of advising others how to work," he added. On evolving a consensus candidate, he said: "The government should understand that it should be a consensus candidate. If a consensus is arrived at, it will be a good thing. Let us wait for now. Let meetings and discussions take place," Sharma said. Asked if the Congress really thought the government was serious about a consensus candidate, Sharma said: "I don't understand their thoughts, but I do understand their mindset, which is anti-nation." His comments come a day before senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu are to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday in a bid to evolve consensus on the presidential candidate. They are to also meet CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury later in the day. The Presidential Election is scheduled for 17 July. The incumbent Pranab Mukherjee's term will end on 24 July. As is now usual with Presidential elections, both the ruling coalition as well as the opposition parties have started negotiations to prop up a candidate who has a shot at winning. The calculations and the numbers which go into the Presidential election are complicated owing to the system used which incorporates proportional representation by means of single transferable vote. The Opposition parties met on Wednesday to try to arrive at a consensus on a candidate. The leaders including Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge from the Congress, JD-U's Sharad Yadav, RJD's Lalu Prasad, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury and NCP's Praful Patel, Derek O'Brien of the TMC, RS Bharathi of the DMK, Ram Gopal Yadav of the SP and Satish Chandra Misra from the BSP were present for the meeting. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was kept out of the Opposition discussions to identify a presidential candidate after the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party struck down a proposal for the same, reported Times of India. The proposal to include AAP had been moved by CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in the last meeting in May attended by 17 opposition parties. It was shot down in Wednesday's meeting by NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad, who cited the objectionable conduct of some AAP members as the reason for keeping them out of the discussions. The BJP on the other hand has formed a three-member committee comprising Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu for holding consultations with the NDA allies and the Opposition on the issue. The committee has made overtures towards the Congress, CPM and other parties to start a consultation exercise. Indian Express reported that Naidu sent word to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury to initiate consultations. He also spoke to Praful Patel of the NCP and Satish Chandra Mishra of the BSP to fix up meetings with their party supremos: Sharad Pawar and Mayawati respectively. The report further said that the NDA candidate will file the nomination papers on 23 June in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Opposition is expected to announce its joint candidate after 20 June, with the filing of nominations taking place around 24 June. At the Opposition strategy meeting, sources said, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Yechury argued that they should field a candidate at any cost as it was an ideological and political fight against the BJP. The NDA candidate Sources say that Modi could give the nation it's first dalit-tribal duo for the posts of president and vice-president. The names of Kariya Munda, a former deputy speaker from Jharkhand, and Thawar Singh Gehlot, social justice minister in Modis cabinet and a Dalit leader from Madhya Pradesh are said to be leading candidates for the NDA. Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu is also in the fray for the post. The other candidate who could land the post is current External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj. News18 said that Swaraj meets every criteria laid down by the BJP top brass in addition to having the endorsement of the Sangh. Her name will figure in Fridays talks between the NDA and the Opposition to build consensus ahead of the presidential elections. Swaraj is also the hot favourite because she could pull in votes from a few regional parties. Leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik will find it difficult to oppose her, according to a top BJP leader. The Opposition candidate Former West Bengal governor and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi is reportedly the leading candidate for the Opposition. He is a retired IAS officer and diplomat. The Left parties in particular are said to be in favour of Gandhi. "We are thinking of proposing the name of Gopalkrishna Gandhi. He does not have an affiliation to any political party," sources in the Left parties said. They added that the parties would also have no objection if JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav was picked as a candidate. "If Sharad Yadav's name comes up, we will have no objection. He is a senior Opposition leader... a man of integrity and honesty," a Left leader said on the condition of anonymity. Potential candidates who have ruled themselves out India Today said that the Shiv Sena had proposed the name of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for presidential candidate. According to Times of India, Sena considers Bhagwat the "most appropriate choice for the Rashtrapati's office if India is to be turned into a Hindu Rashtra,". However, Bhagwat has clarified that he is not in the race. While the Sena has not supported NDA's candidate in the last two elections, Amit Shah will meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday to seek his support for the NDA candidate Similarly, NDTV reported that Sonia Gandhi had requested Sharad Pawar of the NCP to stand for President but Pawar had ruled himself out as he felt that the opposition parties did not have the numbers to get their candidate elected. Six candidates have already filed their nominations On 14 June, the Election Commission had issued the notification for the presidential poll. On the first day, six nominations were received which included K Padmarajan from Salem in Tamil Nadu, who has earned the moniker of 'Election King' by contesting more than 150 elections. His name figures in the Limca Book of Records for being the "most unsuccessful candidate". Padmarajan has contested against political bigwigs like J Jayalalithaa, M Karunanidhi, AK Anthony, PV Narasimha Rao, KR Narayanan, SM Krishna, Manmohan Singh (in Rajya Sabha polls) and President Pranab Mukherjee in the presidential election. Others who filed their nominations were Anand Singh Kushwaha from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, A Bala Raj from Mahbubnagar in Telangana, Saira Bano Patel from Mumbai, Abdul Hamid Patel from Mumbai, and Kondekar Vijayprakash from Pune in Maharashtra. With inputs from agencies Pune: Two workers were killed in a blast as they were shifting some explosives at the Ordnance Factory Dehu Road (OFDR) on Thursday morning, police said. The explosion, the cause of which is not yet known, occurred in the defence ministry's ammunition factory in Khadki area of the city at around 9.20 am, said investigating official, Dilip Salunkhe of Khadki police station. The duo suffered severe burn injuries in the blast and succumbed immediately, he said. In a statement, a defence spokesperson said that military experts are conducting investigations at the blast site in which there was no damage to any buildings in the establishment. The victims have been identified as Ashok Kashinath Dubal, 51 and S Maria Rokh, 47, both local residents in Khadki. The safety team of the ordnance factory will carry out a detailed probe into the incident to ascertain the technical or human causes behind the tragedy and take remedial actions, officials said. Jaipur: Hundreds of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh farmers, demanding loan waiver, among other things, launched an indefinite 'mahapadav' (sit-in) at eight cities in Rajasthan on Thursday. "Farmers in hundreds are sitting across the state at divisional headquarters in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Bikaner, Bharatpur and Sikar. We want the government to listen and do something for welfare of farmers," BN Chaudhary, a BKS functionary, told IANS over phone. Besides loan waiver, the farmers are also demanding rise in Minimum Support Price (MSP) based on input cost, calling of special session of the state assembly for discussion of their issues, formulating farmer-friendly agricultural policies and implementation of some irrigation projects. "The state government should make it a crime if crops are purchased below MSP," Chaudhary said. He alleged that the state government also was trying to stop farmers from participating in the protest. Meanwhile, the state government has cancelled the leave of district collectors and police officials in view of the protest and has asked them to keep a close watch on the situation. Security has been tightened in areas around the 'mahapadav' sites. To pacify farmers, the state government has begun procurement of garlic and has also extended the date for wheat procurement to 30 June. New Delhi: Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said the eating habits of people cannot be controlled, but there is a need to strike a balance since a very large number of people in India revere cows. "We should not forget that a very large section of people respects and reveres cows... we can't control the food habits of people. There has to be a balance," Ravi Shankar Prasad told the media in Delhi. The media interaction was called to highlight the ministry's work since May 2014. The law minister referred to Article 48 of the Constitution, under the Directive Principles of State Policy, which says: The State shall... take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle." On 13 June, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Centre will not impose any restrictions on people's choice of food. His statement came a day after a beef party was held in Aizawl in Mizoram to coincide with his visit to the north-eastern state. As for a controversial central notification of rules that effectively ban the sale of cattle at cattle markets for slaughter, Prasad said Union Environment and Forest Minister Harsh Vardhan has already said that the Centre is ready for a review of the notification. He said Prime Minister Modi has "very strongly spoken" on the issue in the past. Talking about the "achievements" of the law, justice and legislative department under his ministry in the past three years, Ravi Shankar Prasad said these were way ahead of those under the earlier United Progressive Alliance government "in terms of scale, speed and work culture". Referring to the huge pendency of cases, the law minister said he will write to the chief justices of high courts across the country to expedite disposal of cases both civil and criminal pending for 10 years or more. The minister said he will seek to "ensure physical verification of the pending cases so as to ascertain the real pendency". He said it had been found that matters in which orders on applications have already been passed were still being counted as pending. On the finalisation of Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts, the law minister said the "work is in progress; on several issues there were discussions and consensus has been arrived at". Refusing to identify the issues that still need to be resolved before the MoP is finalised, Prasad said matters between the government and the top judiciary cannot be divulged to the media. He said non-finalisation of the MoP is in no way "impacting" judicial appointments and referred to the highest 131 appointments of judges made to various High Courts in 2016. New Delhi: Russia has not made any offer to mediate between India and Pakistan, the government said on Thursday, after Islamabad "welcomed" Russian President Vladimir Putin's reported offer to resolve bilateral tensions. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay, in a statement said: "No offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India. "It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence," he said. The response came after Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said: "Pakistan welcomes Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda." The level of quality of education in India reached a new low when it was reportedly found that a headmaster, of a primary school in Darshanpur in Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh, was running a poultry farm in the classrooms of the school during summer vacations. The Times of India reported that other livestock of the villagers were also found tethered in the school premises. The headmaster has now been suspended and an investigation has been ordered after the district magistrate found out about the incident. This incident should explain a part of the reason why a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General in March this year had concluded that the number of students enrolled in government-run primary and upper primary schools in Uttar Pradesh has declined from 3.71 crore in 2012-13 to 3.64 crore in 2015-16. Enrolments in private-unaided schools increased by 36.5 percent between 2010 and 2016, whereas government schools registered a decline of 18.6 percent. The CAG report also stated that on an average, there were 20 lakh drop-outs every year between 2010 and 2016. The CAG also found that 6.22 lakh children in the state were not provided school books during 2012-16, despite it receiving adequate funds under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). The state-run schools had a shortage of 1.75 lakh teachers as against the sanctioned strength of 7.60 lakh. With inputs from PTI With summer in full swing and people finding themselves seeking out a way to cool off in Missouris rivers, lakes and streams, its best to know before you go and research the area first. There have now been 25 reported drownings with the Missouri State Highway Patrol so far this year and 14 of them since May 1 alone. Patrol Spokesperson Corporal Juston Wheetley said there are several leading causes when it comes to drowning. The biggest cause we see for drownings is that people are over-swimming their abilities, said Wheetley. They are not prepared for the type of waterway they are in or they misread it and its stronger or some other factor comes into play that they are not ready for. So swimming ability is the biggest thing we see. Wheetley said people are taking too much risk. He said the second leading cause is that people are swimming in waterways that are fast-flowing such as creeks, rivers or anything that has a lot of turbulence in it. You cant really see under the water, because the water is murky, said Wheetley. With all these floods we have had it has washed a lot of debris and it doesnt take much to pull you under and get you snagged on some of this debris in the water. Wheetley said the third factor in drownings is alcohol. He added they do see alcohol come into play and the first thing to go is the persons judgment. People tend to take unnecessary risks when consuming alcohol while swimming, said Wheetley. When you combine all of these factors together, your ability, the type of environment you are in and alcohol does not mix well. Wheetley recommends to know the area you are going to swim in or to do research or homework on the area. The first thing is to know the area you are going to be swimming in and the second would be is always swim with a buddy, said Wheetley. Never go swimming by yourself and we recommend going in the clear rivers and streams where you can see the bottom of it. You know the depth, you know the holes, and you know what you have to work with. Wheetley said they recommend sticking with pools or lakes that have beach areas designated for swimming. They recommend staying away from anywhere that has moving water if at all possible. Most recently there has been drownings at popular swimming areas such as Johnson's Shut-Ins, Fugitive Beach, Rockford Beach and the Big River access off Mounts Road. Life jackets can make a huge difference. They can help keep you afloat, especially if you get in trouble. Wheetley added they always recommend to swim with a life jacket on, especially in areas youre not familiar with. Public safety officials also warn people of the possibilities of "dry drowning" or "secondary drowning." This delayed killer shows up in the minutes to hours after a near-drowning incident. In secondary drowning, fluid builds up in the lungs, called pulmonary edema, after a near-drowning incident. The fluid affects breathing. A person who had a drowning close call can be out of the water and walking around normally before signs of dry drowning, or second drowning, become apparent. But all dry drowning results in breathing difficulty and brain injury, just as drowning in the water does. If untreated it can be fatal. After being in the water there are definite signs to look for when it comes to secondary drowning. Some of the signs are that a person who has inhaled water can have trouble breathing, chest pain, or cough, along with sudden changes in behavior and extreme fatigue. The signs may not be easy to spot, especially in young children who may normally be fussy or tired after a long day in the sun and water. If a child struggles or has problems while in the water look for these signs, which can appear hours later. The most important thing a parent can do is trust his or her instincts. If there are any concerns, go to the emergency room immediately. It's better to be safe than sorry. Many people dont realize that people can drown even after theyre out of the water because its a rare phenomenon. The best prevention is water safety. Its recommended to keep a close eye on inexperienced swimmers and children in or near the water. It could save their life by teaching swimmers to blow water out, know their limits, and not to panic while in the water. Other forms of prevention include knowing CPR, teaching young children to be water-safe or to swim, and putting a fence completely around a swimming pool to prevent young children from falling in accidentally. It's common for cities to have laws on maintaining fences around pools. Beijing: India's Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale on Thursday said the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should not ignore the "sovereignty and territorial integrity" of member states while deepening cooperation on trade and connectivity. Gokhale, speaking at the flag hoisting ceremony of India and Pakistan at the SCO headquarters in Beijing, was referring to the Chinese-sponsored multi-billion dollar economic corridor which passes through the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan and claimed by India. "We support enhanced connectivity and unimpeded trade in the SCO region and believe that initiatives should be pursued in an inclusive and sustainable manner with due respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all members," he said. Beijing is building a $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which links Kashgar with Gwadar port in Balochistan. Indian has opposed the project citing the issue of "sovereignty". At the SCO summit last week in Astana, where India and Pakistan were admitted to the grouping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also raised the issue. Addressing the event, Gokhale said: "Now as a full member of SCO, we look forward to further deepening these relations for mutual benefit. "We would also like to deepen our cooperation in our joint fight against terrorism." Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Thursday lashed out at the Madhya Pradesh government for preventing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from entering trouble-hit Mandsaur, saying it is detrimental to democracy and wrong to create a wall between the Opposition leaders and "victims". The BJP constantly terms Rahul Gandhi as a "weak and an ineffective leader", the Sena pointed out and said if that was so, it had no reason to bar him from entering Mandsaur. Leaders of opposition parties have all the rights to meet the families of those affected by "government's brutality," opined an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana. On 6 June, five farmers were killed as the agitation by peasants demanding a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce turned violent in Mandsaur. Besides, a 26-year-old farmer had died in Badwan village, also in Mandsaur, allegedly after being beaten up by police. In the wake of the incidents, Gandhi tried to visit Mandsaur to meet the kin of the victims but was denied permission. Later, Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel was also turned back by police before he could enter Mandsaur. "First Rahul Gandhi and then Hardik Patel were stopped from meeting the families of farmers killed in police firing and were taken into custody. This shows the grim situation prevalent in Madhya Pradesh," the editorial said. "Whenever the government engages in such brutality, our democracy gives every sensitive leader the right to meet the families of victims," it said. "It is not right to create a wall between Opposition party leaders and victims in the name of the deteriorating law and order situation," the BJP's bickering ally said. Seeking to douse the smouldering embers of the farmers' unrest, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Mandsaur on Thursday and presented Rs 1 crore to the kin of three of the farmers killed in police action. The Sena asked, "would the skies have fallen if Gandhi was allowed to meet the families of victims?" "If the government has the right to allow firing on farmers and then compensate them, then Opposition leaders also have the right to meet the victims, understand their plight and wipe their tears," it said. Rahul Gandhi was detained by police at Nayagaon in Neemuch, while he was en route to Mandsaur to meet the kin of the six farmers, on 8 June. He was accompanied by senior Congress leaders and the JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav. Farmers in Mandsaur and other places in Madhya Pradesh were on a war path since 1 June, demanding a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce. Mandsaur: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is on a two-day visit to Mandsaur that saw widespread protests by farmers, on Thursday offered prayers at the Shri Pashupatinath Temple in Mandsaur for peace and harmony in the area. Chouhan told the media that he prayed for prosperity, peace and harmony in the area, that saw five farmers killed in police firing during protests. The chief minister had on Wednesday met the families of the farmers killed in police firing during the protest on 6 June. Chouhan, who has pledged to provide jobs and one crore rupees in compensation to each of the families of the dead farmers, assured them that the amount would be credited in their bank accounts. The state government will also provide compensation to the shopkeepers and other locals whose properties were damaged during the protests. Curfew was clamped in Mandsaur district earlier this month after five farmers were killed in police firing and another succumbed to his injuries during widespread protests demanding loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce. A Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP, JC Diwakar Reddy, created a hullabaloo on Thursday morning at the Visakhapatnam airport after allegedly being denied a boarding pass by IndiGo Airlines for arriving less than half-an-hour before the flight was about to take off, according to media reports. The airline later barred him from its flights in future. IndiGo will not allow Reddy on its flights, a top airline official told PTI. Reddy, a Lok Sabha MP from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, reached the airport 28 minutes before take-off, reported The Times of India. After reaching the airport 15 minutes late, Reddy sought to abuse parliamentary authority and attempted to coerce the officials to allow him to board the flight despite the boarding counter being closed. The flight 6E 608 was bound for Hyderabad. He got away with his actions as the airline agreed to accommodate him on the flight which got delayed beyond its departure time of 8.10 am. As per norms laid out by the aviation regulator, airlines close check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure. The Indian Express reported that a grainy video showing 73-year-old Reddy arguing with airline officials found its way online on Twitter. #CCTVVisuals: TDP MP JC Diwakar Reddy created ruckus at Visakhapatnam airport today,allegedly raged against staff using aggressive behaviour pic.twitter.com/JqUtcyKq0e ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 After being denied a boarding pass, Reddy became restless and abusive and threw a tantrum. According to Scroll.in, the politician entered a ticketing corner of IndiGo inside the airport and allegedly damaged furniture and a boarding pass printing machine. When contacted by The New Indian Express, the Visakhapatnam airport director G Prakash Reddy said the incident was between IndiGo officials and Diwakar Reddy. He also added he was not aware of any damage to property. Interestingly, Union civil aviation minister Ashok Ganapathi Raju, who is also from TDP was at the same airport in the VVIP lounge when the incident took place. Reddy is known to have visited the lounge to seek his help but the minister declined to interfere. However, Raju backed the lawmaker's actions. According to NDTV, Raju said, "He reached the airport on time. Perhaps the flight was overbooked." IndiGo released a statement saying, "We are investigating the matter and have no comments to offer till...we have completed a thorough investigation. Safety and security of our colleagues and customers is our highest priority," according to India Today. Usually when VVIPs fly, they send their personal staff to collect the boarding pass on their behalf, which did not happen in this case, The Times of India reported. It is not the first time that Reddy, who is well-known for his fiery temper, has been barred from boarding a flight. In October 2016, he reportedly arrived late at the Gannavaram Airport in Vijayawada and missed an Air India flight. He was caught on camera creating a ruckus in the Air India office and damaging furniture. However, speaking to ANI, Reddy denied assaulting any IndiGo officials. He said: I did not assault any official,just asked him to come out:TDP MP JC Diwakar Reddy on allegations of creating ruckus at Visakhapatnam airport pic.twitter.com/9UrMPSUYCY ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 Reddy's latest tantrum comes just two months after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaekwad assaulted a 60-year-old Air India staffer with a slipper. He was furious for not being given a business-class seat even after being informed that the flight was all-economy before he boarded. To combat such issues, the Ministry of Civil Aviation will be unveiling a "national no-fly list" by the end of June, according to The Indian Express, the list, which is still in drafting stages, will classify offences into three categories and offenders will be banned from flying for a minimum of three months. With inputs from PTI New Delhi: The CBI on Thursday "categorically affirmed" that there was no delay in providing to British authorities evidence against liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is facing an extradition case in London. The agency came out with a statement after reports that Crown Prosecution Service, which is representing India's case of Mallya's extradition, told a London court that it will require three-four weeks time to receive evidence from India. The agency tried to defend itself by giving a detailed timeline of events leading to 13 June hearing where reported comments were made by Aaron Watkins of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). "During the hearing on 13 June, 2017, when the counsel of fugitive Mallya sought a date in March-April, 2018, Aaron Watkins of CPS opposed the same. To justify a later date, the defence counsel raised the issue of delay, which is nothing but a figment of his imagination," CBI Spokesperson R K Gaur said in Delhi today. He said the hearing of 13 June was not an "extradition hearing" and its purpose was to determine further steps to be taken up in the case and to draw a timetable for extradition proceedings. "The specialist prosecutor of CPS confirmed that during the proceedings on 13 June there was no criticism of the extradition request or of the Indian government. Senior district judge fixed next case management hearing on 6 July, 2017 when the dates for the extradition hearing will be decided," he said. According to reports, Watkins told the court that CPS required additional three-four weeks time to receive evidence from India. On this statement, the reports quoted chief magistrate at the Westminster magistrates' court Emma Arbuthnot as saying, "Are Indians normally very prompt in their responses? They have taken six months so far and we haven't got any further forward in the past six weeks?" Gaur said the charge sheet against Mallya was filed on 24 January before the special judge for the CBI cases, Mumbai which issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest on 31 January. He said as the fugitive Mallya has been in London since March 2016, the request for extradition of Mallya was forwarded on 9 February to the UK authorities through diplomatic channels. "The extradition dossier contained details of evidence including the charge sheet filed under section 173 CrPC along with relied upon documents and non-bailable warrant of arrest," he said. On 18 April, the Crown Prosecution Service sought a meeting with the officials of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate following which a team led by Additional Director CBI Rakesh Asthana visited London on 2 and 3 May. The team provided all the additional documents sought and also answered the queries raised, he said. The agency in the meanwhile filed a supplementary charge sheet in a special court in Mumbai. The charge sheet along with additional evidence were sent to the UK authorities on 9 June, Gaur said. "All the evidence regarding falsities, mis-statements and false representations of Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines Limited (KAL) and officials of KAL had already been forwarded to authorities of the UK," he said. Gaur said in some sections of media it is also reported that there was a delay of six months. "Hence, it is hereby categorically affirmed that there was no delay whatsoever," he said. New Delhi: India on Thursday said Russia had not made any mediation offer to it to resolve Indo-Pak issues, and asserted that Moscow was "well aware" of New Delhi's position of bilateral resolution of all such matters in a terror-free environment. The remarks by external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay came following reports in the Pakistani press that Russia expressed its intention to mediate between the two countries. A senior diplomat in the Russian embassy in New Delhi also rejected the reports and said it was Pakistan's "wishful thinking". The Pakistani media quoted Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying "we welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda". Zakaria was asked about reported offer made by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO Summit earlier this month. Asked for his reaction, Baglay said, "No offer of mediation was made by Russia to India. Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence." The senior diplomat in the Russian embassy also rejected reports of any mediation offer. "We do not have any information of such an offer made by our president. Russia is clear in its position that Indo-Pak issues need to be resolved, bilaterally, and we will never ever suggest anything contrary to that. "It seems wishful thinking on part of Pakistan," said the diplomat, on the condition of anonymity. Tamil Nadu education minister Thiru Sengottaiyan on Thursday said that yoga will be made compulsory in all schools in the state, CNN-News18 reported. Tamil Nadu Education Minister says yoga will be compulsory in all schools in Tamil Nadu (File Photo) pic.twitter.com/gUVZhKi7Q1 News18 (@CNNnews18) June 15, 2017 "The government is holding discussions with yoga experts, as students do not only need education, but extra-curricular activities like yoga as well," the minister had earlier said. His statement comes just days ahead of the International Yoga Day which is on 21 June. According to the Union minister for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) Shripad Yesso Naik, all schools and state governments have been asked to observe yoga day. "It is not mandatory for schools to observe yoga day. I hope, all schools across the country will observe the day," he said. However, the Tamil Nadu government is planning to make it compulsory for all schools to observe yoga day on 21 June. The state education department had earlier initiated yoga classes for government and government-aided school students for a week, according to this The Hindu report. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also directed the Uttar Pradesh officials to introduce a yoga education programme in government schools, which will soon be made compulsory. "People try to create confusion, but yoga does not belong to Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians...(the aim) should be that the body is healthy. What is wrong if school children practice yoga? Dinesh Sharma, deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said. With inputs from PTI Gorakhpur: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday appealed to people to make the upcoming 'International Yoga Day' a mass movement and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting international recognition for the ancient Indian tradition. "The importance of yoga has been accepted in the Vedas and other ancient books and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has achieved the important feat of getting international recognition for it...all those having faith in the 'sanatan' traditions should be thankful to him for this," he said. The chief minister was inaugurating a yoga training camp in Gorakshapeeth in Gorakhpur . Making an appeal to make 'International Yoga Day' a "peoples' movement", he said that because of the various benefits of this ancient form, the entire world has now taken a liking to it. "On 21 June when crores of people will connect themselves with yoga, some 200 countries of the world will also be seen getting connected with it," the chief minister said, adding that it was a matter of pride for the state that the prime minister will himself participate in the programme in Lucknow on that day. Adityanath said yoga camps will be held in various places in the state also on that day. "We should all try to get connected with it. We can achieve targets through yoga which normally seem impossible to achieve...we need to strengthen the base of yoga for achieving heights of spirituality," he added. New Delhi: The war between the two factions of AIADMK once again reached the doorsteps of the Election Commission with the O Panneerselvam group on Thursday bringing in two vehicles full of affidavits in support of its claim over the party symbol. The symbol faction had a few days ago brought four truckloads of documents to the Commission staking its claim over the party. With just a few more days left for the poll panel's deadline for submitting details in connection with AIADMK's 'two leaves' party symbol, both Sasikala and OPS factions have been filing affidavits in large numbers. The Panneerselvam camp claimed to have brought 1.8 lakh affidavits in support of his faction. "Just like people chose Jayalalithaa to be the chief minister after the death of (former CM) MGR, people have accepted O Panneerselvam as the political heir of Amma (Jayalalithaa)," said former minister K P Munusamy. The OPS team also disapproved claims of Deepa Jayakumar, niece of late J Jayalalithaa, over the party symbol and flag. "Deepa does not have any relation with AIADMK. She is not even a member of the party," Munuswamy said. Representatives of MGR Amma Deepa Peravai, a political outfit launched by Deepa, filed around 50,000 affidavits staking claim to the party symbol. OPS faction's Maitreyan staged a protest at the Commission office as the security forces did not allow the vehicles, carrying affidavits, inside. However, the vehicles were allowed later. The Commission had on 23 March issued an interim order freezing the two leaves election symbol of AIADMK, saying both the camps cannot use the party symbol as well as its name for the prestigious RK Nagar Assembly bypoll. The bypoll has since been cancelled following allegations that money was used to buy votes. A fresh date for the poll is yet to be announced. The two rival factions have sought more time to submit fresh documents substantiating their claims to the party symbol. Sambalpur/Bhubaneswar: Chhattisgarh industries minister Amar Agarwal said the construction of barrages in that state on Mahanadi river was not a recent development and Odisha government was politicising the issue to "mislead" people, a charge which elicited sharp response from the ruling BJD. Construction of barrages in Chhattisgarh on the inter-state river was taken up many years ago, Agarwal said last night and asked the Odisha government to explain why it was silent all these years. Slamming the Odisha government for raising the river water issue now, he said "BJD is simply trying to politicise the issue and mislead the people. "The Mahanadi issue was raked up by the BJD all of a sudden since the party realised that it was fast losing its popularity and grip over the people. The regional party is playing with people's emotions," Agarwal said at 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' programme to mark three years of BJP-led government at the Centre at Sambalpur last night. The barrages were constructed on Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh by collecting water cess for about 15 years in advance, Agarwal told reporters. Asked whether the barrages were constructed by Chhattisgarh without obtaining Central Water Commission's approval, Agarwal said the Chhattisgarh government never received any notice from CWC on the matter. He claimed that industrial houses are not sponsoring construction of barrages on the Mahanadi river. The projects were taken up on PPP mode and funds raised through collection of water cess in advance were being utilised for the purpose. The water from the barrages were also being used for irrigation purpose in the state, Agarwal said. Reacting sharply to the Chhattisgarh minister's statement, BJD vice-president Prasanna Acharya said on Thursday that Agarwal's remarks exposed the "real face and double standards" of the BJP government in the neighbouring state. Chhattisgarh's action was "arbitrary and illegal", he said adding its leaders have been making contradictory statements on the Mahanadi river water issue and their main aim was to benefit industrial houses. Hitting out at BJP over the issue, Acharya, also a Rajya Sabha MP, said the NDA government at the Centre has been acting as a silent spectator and had not taken any concrete step to resolve Mahanadi river water dispute. New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday hit out at the Centre for using a picture of Spain-Morocco boundary as India's border with Pakistan in the home ministry's annual report, as it accused the BJP of "deceiving" people of the country. Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma said it was a "matter of shame" if the Ministry of Home Affairs used a wrong picture and asked the government why it was silent. "When BJP can't do, they deceive. MHA uses picture of Spain-Morocco border to show floodlighting along India-Pakistan border," the Congress party's official twitter handle said. Sharma said the government had been banking on its false publicity campaign. In an apparent goof-up, the home ministry in its annual report used the picture of Spain-Morocco boundary as India's border with Pakistan. The picture with the caption 'Floodlighting along the Border' was published recently in the home ministry's annual report for 2016-17, with detailed information on floodlighting along the India-Pakistan border. Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the matter was "immaterial" while lauding Pakistan during the India-Pakistan match on Wednesday. "Who is Mirwaiz, I do not know...Why are you giving them the status of a leader, I do not consider them so. It is not important for a national party to respond. Who fired crackers and who did not, it is immaterial," Sharma said. The former Union minister said one cannot stop people from acting against India. "These are immaterial matters, but it should not become a favourite national pastime because of a false debate which is being created in the country. Those who do not support the Indian team, they expose themselves," he added. After Pakistan's victory over England in the Champions Trophy match on Wednesday, Mirwaiz had tweeted, "As we were finishing taraweeh, could hear the fire-crackers bursting,well-played team Pakistan. Best of luck for the finals!" Sporadic clashes between the CPM and the BJP-RSS combine in Kerala is nothing new. But when the violence happens to be a direct fall-out of a shameful incident from outside the state, then there is perhaps more to it than meets the eye. The immediate provocation to the present bout of violence could be attributed directly to the attack on CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury at AKG Bhavan in New Delhi. For the CPM, this was perhaps a rude wake-up call before the 2019 general elections. To be attacked at its national headquarters when its politburo was in-sitting wasn't the gravest of provocations, but rather a slap on its face. But what has baffled political pundits in the state is the political immaturity shown by a party as seasoned as the CPM in dealing with the fall-outs of such a stage-managed attack. The sloganeering happened in front of a strong regional media, proof enough that the intention was to provoke things elsewhere. But the CPM still failed to see through the designs of its political opponent. From hurling country-made bombs at a few BJP offices from Thiruvananthapuram to Kazargode, and then by evoking violent response from the saffron party at many places, the CPM was literally playing into the BJP's hands. Kerala was once again put through the cycle of hartals, as much as five in the last one week alone, at different districts of the state, with both sides competing to call for it. Soon the public anger which was focused on the BJP on the evening of 7 June, post the attack on Yechury, shifted focus. The perpetrator soon became the victim, and whatever political mileage CPM was hoping to muster soon eroded over the next few days, to become anger against the ruling party for its failure to guard the law and order in the state. "You cannot say whether the BJP gained from the violence unleashed by CPM after the Yechury incident. But surely the party lost face before the people, while BJP was successful in making them believe that here is a state administration that will advocate violence and ask its own cadre to be violent," prominent political analyst A Jayashankar told Firstpost. The BJP on its part was quick in playing the victim card, and they managed to pull off the act nicely. The attack on its Nemom office on the outskirts of the otherwise peaceful state capital Thiruvananthapuram had much more implications in the eyes of the general public in Kerala than the alleged RSS attack on a CPM office in Kozhikode, a place already strewn with the red party's bloody politics it was something the BJP was well aware of. The resultant one-day strike in the state capital was also intended at magnifying what was perceived to be the violent politics of the CPM before the public eye. BJP's perception gurus were already playing their PR game to perfection. "This is State sponsored violence in Kerala. Isn't it evident that the BJP or RSS had nothing to with the attack on Yechury? It was some fringe organisation that did the mischief. Why then has CPM converted this into an attack by the RSS? The motive behind it is to unleash violence across Kerala and create a volatile situation where no one else can do normal political work," BJP state spokesperson MS Kumar told Firstpost. Second mistake It is here that CPM committed its second blunder. With no proof whatsoever, the party jumped the gun by calling the attack on Yechury an "RSS job", so much so that some of the Left-leaning dailies and television channels went to town with it, regardless of the fact that the attackers proclaimed themselves to belong to 'Hindu Sena', and even the Delhi police substantiating the claim with its findings. The CPM even rubbished the police version, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself saying the police can hardy be trusted in this matter. "See Amit Shah's visit, the political violence after that, and the attack on Yechury should all be read together. It is one game plan. That's when you see the real intentions of the Sangh Parivar or the RSS and the divisive agenda that they are trying to bring in Kerala for electoral gains," said CPM politburo member MA Baby. Though there is no proof to substantiate that claim, the turn of events after Amit Shah's visit to Kerala does indicate that such a move could not be ruled out entirely. Many feel that Shah's visit was perhaps the starting point of a chain of events where the attack on Yechury and the violence in Kerala are all part of a well-orchestrated political gameplan. If these speculations were indeed right, many analysts here feel that the CPM too is party to this, by playing along with it in the hope to scoring a few brownie political points. Sources inside the BJP say that a hugely upset Shah had made it explicitly clear at party meetings that he was fed up basking on the "success stories" of increased voteshare and capture of a few local bodies. The BJP president wanted the state unit to realise the target that had been set in front of them and to take realistic efforts to achieve them in the 2019 polls. The CPM has since been claiming that Shah's visit had made the situation in Kerala volatile, a claim made even before Shah's flight took off on its return trip to Delhi. "Amit Shah wants to create a Gujarat here, but that's not happening. That is why he is upset with the state leadership. He wants to create a communal divide to reap political benefits. But he will only keep dreaming," CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said. The political temperature was certainly rising in the state since Shah left, and the BJP was well aware of it. It was in this context that the attack on Yechury happened. Though BJP denies it, CPM leaders insist it was a orchestrated in order to instigate violence in Kerala. For CPM, the attack was just the right excuse to unleash its "tried and tested" formula of political violence, say many others. That the party was playing into the BJP's hands was something they failed to realise till the tables turned against them. "CPM had been on the defensive in Kerala for so many reasons in the last one year. The attack on Yechury helped revitalise the party cadre. You should understand that the CPM always thrives on violence to hold its party together. It's nothing new for them," said well known civil liberty activist CR Neelakandan. BJP's big push What the violence in the streets of Kerala did was to give the BJP a victim card to play with. The focus suddenly shifted from Shah's visit which was by all yardsticks a damn squib to once again the violent politics of the CPM. It is perhaps not the first time that the CPM has missed the BJP's big game plan in Kerala, by taking the bait on non-existent controversies. Even the notification on cattle sale for slaughter was misinterpreted as a ban on "beef eating" by even the intellectual bigwigs of the Left, with most of them leading protests and conducting beef festivals across the state. A week later and after a state Assembly resolution denouncing the notification, the matter has hardly struck a chord with the people of the state. On the other hand, Shah's visit, although it might not show results at the moment, certainly had its clear cut agenda. Meeting Christian bishops of almost all denominations was a well-crafted move with an eye on 2019, because the BJP knows that to even make an attempt for a few numbers from Kerala to the Lok Sabha in 2019, they would certainly need the backing of the Church, which forms a formidable 19 percent of the total population. Not just that, the Church could also play a crucial part in the larger picture that has emerged out of the ongoing clashes. Political analysts say that what used to be a CPM-Congress struggle for supremacy in the state over the last many decades is now slowly become a CPM-BJP battle. With the Congress yet to show any resolve to shrug of its sluggishness post the 2016 Assembly elections debacle, analysts say one should not be surprised if BJP takes over the mantle as the rightful opposition to CPM's brand of politics. Many say the signs of this happening are plenty. One is the spill-over of the CPM-RSS duel from Kannur to other parts of the state. That a relatively peaceful and Hindu middle class-dominated Thiruvananthapuram had become the epicenter of this battle recently was also a sure sign of the changing political dynamics in the state. "This violence has more connotations than just the attack on Yechury. This is a result of the BJP's claim that its the real counter to the CPM and not the Congress. There is undoubtedly a void which the Congress is creating with its lack of leadership and the BJP's gameplan could be to fill that. Kerala is witnessing such a churning at the moment," C Gouridasan Nair, bureau head of The Hindu told Firstpost said. It is here that political analysts fear that a large scale polarisation campaign could be unleashed in Kerala in days to come. It is very vital for the BJP to attract a major chunk of the Hindu votebank, which forms close to 55 percent of the total population of the state, something which has traditionally been with the Left parties for the past many decades. The second big chunk being the 27 percent Muslims votes of which the BJP has no hope, as the recent Malappuram by-elections results taught the party. CR Neelakandan further puts the likely scenario in perspective. "Kerala is slowly changing into a BJP or anti-BJP and CPM or anti-CPM political arenas, with the UDF hardly having any existence. This is the tactics both parties are purposely playing, to ensure they remain the two blocks with their safe zones here. Muslim League will have no option but to tag along with the Left. The crucial factor will be the stand the Church takes. That's why the BJP is making a mad rush to get the Church on their side," Neelakandan added. New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed the Madhya Pradesh government for not lodging any FIR in the killing of protesting farmers in the state. "Nine days on, 45 FIRs against protesting farmers, but not one against those who murdered six farmers in cold blood in Mandsaur," wrote Gandhi on his official Twitter account. Nine days on, 45 FIRs against protesting farmers, but not one against those who murdered 6 farmers in cold blood? #Mandsaur https://t.co/IZB3qaZR24 Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 15, 2017 Farmers in Madhya Pradesh were on protest from 1 June demanding better prices for their produce and debt relief. The agitation turned violent on 6 June when five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur. New Delhi: A 'kisan mahapanchayat' organised by the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) at Jantar Mantar on Thursday called for providing remunerative prices to farmers and the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report. The government is treating farmers like "toys" by denying them their dues while extending massive waivers to industrialists in the country, senior CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjan said. "Even if half of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission are implemented, 70 percent problems faced by the farmers will be solved," said Anjan, who was a member of the commission formed in 2004. BKU president Naresh Tikait said the government not listening to farmers was the reason behind the "discontent and unrest" simmering among them in various states. "We are not against the government but we are against its anti-farmer policies. We cannot allow the government to avoid listening to and addressing the problems faced by the farmers," he said. As a mark of protest, the BKU will organise yoga sessions on the highways in Uttar Pradesh on 21 June, the International Yoga Day, over "inaction" on part of the government in solving the agrarian crisis. The farmers' outfit also demanded a CBI enquiry into the death of farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district. The mahapanchayat was also addressed by representatives of All India Kisan Sabha, Swaraj India and Bandhua Mukti Morcha. Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav also batted for implementation of the Swaminathan Commission by ensuring remunerative prices to farmers faced with rising production costs. Swami Aginivesh, founder of Bandhua Mukti Morcha, said, "The cost of production incurred by farmers needs to be determined carefully by factoring in all the inputs as is done in industrial production." The BKU will hold their next three-day session at Haridwar beginning Friday. The Swaminathan Commission had called for working out a system for food and nutrition security, sustainability in the farming system, enhancing quality and cost competitiveness of farm commodities and also to recommend measures for credit and other marketing related steps. Mamata Banerjee's move to escalate the confrontation with the Hill-based parties on Gorkhaland makes BJP's position untenable in West Bengal. The party now finds itself pushed to an ideological and political corner. The BJP has always been ambiguous about the Gorkhaland movement. The party flirted with the idea when it needed support from the leading player, the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), to gain a toehold in the state back in the days when it was a marginal force. Former BJP leader Jaswant Singh's victory in the 2009 general elections from Darjeeling, for instance, owed entirely to the heft provided by GJM whose leader Gurung saw, in an alliance with the BJP, a chance to take his demand to a larger stage transcending the confines of state politics. The limitations of Gurung's struggle who broke away from Subhas Ghising's Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) citing betrayal of the Gorkhaland demand was defined by the fact that neither the CPM, who ruled for 34 years, nor the Trinamool Congress had had any patience for calls of separate statehood. For the BJP, the Hills provided an entry route into Bengal, a state where it had almost no presence. It saw in the Gorkhaland demand a political opportunity to exploit and managed a Lok Sabha seat in 2009 while appearing to be sympathetic to the cause. In an interview conducted ahead of the polls, Jaswant Singh had told India Today that "if the NDA comes to power, we are committed to the cause of Gorkhaland. It will be our bounden duty and my personal obligation to the people here. It is part of the BJP manifesto and manifestos of national parties like ours are not written in jest." The NDA, however, failed to come to power and Singh went on to become marginalised in national politics. He was expelled from the party in 2014 and now lies in a coma. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee swept to power and immediately sought to defang the Gorkhaland movement by promising semi-autonomy. The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) took over from the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 2011 and GJM leader Bimal Gurung was elected its chief in 2012. The crisis was dissipated, not solved. Five years after Singh made the Gorkhaland statement, the BJP appeared to have toned down its rhetoric. Its candidate SS Ahluwalia did tie up with the GJM ahead of 2014 general elections, but BJP's poll manifesto dropped any reference to the statehood issue. It was, however, forced to pencil in a non-committal reference soon after releasing the manifesto after coming under pressure from its alliance partner. According to a Hindustan Times report, a hurried BJP statement read: "Further to the election manifesto of the BJP released today the BJP reiterates that it will sympathetically examine and appropriately consider the long pending demands of the Gorkhas, the Adivasis and other people of Darjeeling district and the Dooars region." In many ways, 2014 general elections remains an epochal event. BJP did not only replace Congress as the dominant national party under Narendra Modi, it managed to increase its influence in uncharted territories. A clutch of regional chieftains fell. As soon as BJP started gaining in strength in the plains of Bengal, replacing the Left as Trinamool Congress's chief opposition, it could no longer afford to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. Even as it tries to develop organisational strength under a ferocious challenge from Mamata, the BJP is aware that any misstep on Gorkhaland will stymie its chances in Bengal. It tried to steadfastly follow a middle path between outright support for a separate state and mediation between the warring parties but this position became precarious with Mamata upping the ante against GJM. As reports came in that the TMC government has raided the premises of GJM chief Gurung and "recovered" a large cache of bows, sharp weapons and some explosives leading to calls for an indefinite strike in the Hills, incidents of arson and torching of a police station, the BJP struggled to react. In Delhi, while BJP's Darjeeling MP Ahluwalia held meetings with the home minister to call for a "committee of experts" to look into the issue, its state unit president Dilip Ghosh dismissed such suggestions outright. Ghosh, according to a report in Indian Express, said "We will not allow Bengal to be divided. Nor do we support a violent agitation in the Hills. It is for the Centre to find a solution to the problem. We are against atrocities committed on the people of the Hills by the state government." His position appeared to be in direct contradiction with BJP's Hill Committee office-bearer Suman Sharma, who told the newspaper that "I am a Gorkha first and then comes my party." Even as BJP's internal difference came out in the open, the party's national secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya struggled to explain BJP's presence at the meeting on Tuesday where all Hill parties came together to demand a separate state and passed a resolution. Vijayvargiya claimed that "BJP was part of the meeting but did not sign the resolution" and told Times of India that "whether the fact that the demand for Gorkhaland is justified or not should be discussed across the table. We have explicitly said in the meeting that we condemn the continuing police action against a democratic agitation. We do not support the manner in which the state government is trying to crush a political agitation with brute force." As Gurung demands his pound of flesh from Centre in backing his demand, the BJP is finding it increasingly difficult to keep up its political positioning on Gorkhaland. Will the BJP rewrite its strategy in the Hills to consolidate its position in the plains? The time for ambivalence as an option is fast running out. While Opposition parties realise that they dont have electoral numbers to get a president of their choice, it is now becoming clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to create history by getting a Dalit-tribal duo to fill the posts of President and Vice-President of India in July. According to senior political sources that Firstpost spoke to, Modi will not agree to a consensus candidate backed by NDA and Opposition as this is the first time when a BJP-led government has a majority in the electoral college to get right-wing candidates into the two top posts. Until 2015, when Modi appointed Draupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha as Jharkhand Governor, never had a tribal woman held a governors post in the country. Modi and BJP president Amit Shahs strategy to get Dalit-tribal duo in president and vice-president offices is meant to achieve multiple objectives. First off, the objective is to get president and vice-president who come from RSS. Secondly, BJP wants to create history by getting a tribal leader and a Dalit leader into the two posts for the first time and market its outreach to Dalits and tribals as genuine. Thus, they want to portray opposition parties as anti-Dalit/Tribal. Lastly, this is being done to target the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to widen BJP's support base. After winning UP elections, the NDA government has expanded its electoral footprint and BJP rules in 12 of the 29 states on its own and in 2 states of Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh as an alliance partner. In the last few months, Modi has managed to widen the electoral support base for his choice of candidate with smaller parties like YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh, AIADMK factions in Tamil Nadu. Barring a last-minute hitch, the two strong candidates to win nomination of NDA-led alliance are Kariya Munda, a former deputy speaker and tribal from Jharkhand who is known for his austere lifestyle and is dyed in RSS ideology, and Thawar Singh Gehlot, social justice minister in Modis cabinet and a Dalit leader from Madhya Pradesh. A source said that Gehlots name for vice-presidents post is virtually sealed but Modi has to take a final call on the presidential candidate. For several weeks, the name of Jharkhand Governor and BJP ST leader Draupadi Murmu has been doing the rounds. But Kariya Munda as a prospective candidate to be the next president has gained strength due to his decades-old ties to RSS. Mundas simple lifestyle was much talked about when he became a deputy speaker. Today, he continues to live in a mud house in village Khunti, Jharkhand. Though 80-plus, Munda comes from RSS, unlike Murmu, who directly joined the BJP. On Friday, when BJP leaders meet Opposition leaders, starting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, they are unlikely to feel modest about their electoral strength and numbers in the electoral college to get Pranab Mukherjees successor. A clear hint came from union minister Venkiah Naidu on Wednesday when he told media persons that NDA has the mandate. Opposition leaders can quibble, complain and protest Modi government's terse refusal to let go of a historic opportunity and humour them. But Modi-Shah duo are determined to make "history. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), almost a non-entity in Madhya Pradesh politics, has achieved what biggies with national recall like Rahul Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Yogendra Yadav, Swami Agnivesh, Medha Patkar, etc, and even aspiring politicians like Hardik Patel couldn't. The Left party managed to enter Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday afternoon, and reached out to the family of the farmers who were killed in police firing. This was a silent success as opposed to the hyped failures of the other political stalwarts, all of whom had tried to enter Mandsaur at the height of the crisis some with the intention to fish in troubled waters but were denied entry by the local administration given the sensitivity of the situation. How CPM scored an ace It's all about the right intentions, claimed the party. "If you want to meet someone with honest intentions, you will manage it despite all odds. But if your intentions are to have photo opportunities and to get publicity on social media, you will not get the desired result. We just wanted to meet distressed farmers to know about their problems, and we did it," Badal Saroj, CPM's central committee member and Madhya Pradesh state secretary told Firstpost. The CPM team comprising former eight-time Lok Sabha member Hannan Mollah, who is also general secretary of the partys agriculture wing All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Rajya Sabha member Somaprasad, AIKS president Amra Ram, joint secretary Vijoo Krishnan, MP Kisan Sabha president Jaswinder Singh, and others met the families of Abhishek Patidar and Chain Ram Patidar, who were both killed in police firing during an agitation at Pipaliya Mandi on 6 June. Around the same time the CPM team was entering Mandsaur safely, Congress leader and Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia was stopped at the toll entry point by the administration and asked to go back. "The local CID had been monitoring every movement. We too were questioned when they saw us in a group. But instead of taking recourse to theatrics like others did, we maintained silence. Our aim was to meet the farmers in distress and get to the root of the problem," remarked Shailendra Singh Thakur, state secretary of the CPM-backed Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU). "After the farmers' killing, leaders of Congress and Swaraj India from Delhi, and thereafter Hardik Patel all publicised their visits to Mandsaur in a big way but achieved nothing. Their intention was only to gain publicity through media," Thakur added. Prior to this, on 8 June, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had also tried to enter Mandsaur with a large number of party workers coming by road from Rajasthan, but was taken into preventive custody. Others, including Archana Chitnis, minister for women and child development in MP, met with a similar fate. "Earlier, there was curfew and now it's Section 144 in place. We can't let any political party or group enter Mandsaur and disturb the law and order situation here," a police official on duty said. While in Mandsaur, after meeting the bereaved family and other local farmers, the AIKS team drew up some findings. They are as follows: - Acute distress in the region caused by prices of crops crashing, and are about 60 percent below the corresponding prices for last year. - Demonetisation and faulty policies, like import of wheat and pulses, led to this crash; despite a good harvest, prices dropped. - Post-demonetisation, traders are paying 2 percent less on cash transactions to farmers at grain mandis. - State government officials have not visited families of the victims. The local MP and MLA didn't even pay a courtesy visit though they passed through the area. - The Mandsaur collector also reportedly said that it is impossible to pay Rs 1 crore as compensation to families of the dead, as announced by the chief minister earlier. - Intimidation of farmers using threats of police cases was also reported. Confirming the collection of data, AIKS said they will prepare a comprehensive report next. "We met families of the deceased, and spoke with farmers to know the root cause of this violent agitation. We have gathered data and are preparing a comprehensive report. AIKS has demanded an immediate end to this mockery of farmers' plight and for the payment of compensation. At least one member from the families of farmers killed should be given a government job, while their children's education expenses must also be borne by the state," said Jaswinder Singh. He added that 16 July will be observed as a protest day by the AIKS, Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan, and hundreds of other organisations of the peasantry, agriculture workers and oppressed sections of society. Besides the CPM team, the only other leader who succeeded in meeting Mandsaur's farmers on Wednesday was state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. And, it goes without saying that Chouhan, as head of state, neither needs permission nor the has the administration the authority to prevent him from going anywhere within the state. Bhopal: Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said if the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra can announce farm loan waivers, why can't the party-ruled Madhya Pradesh do the same. Scindia, sitting on a 72-hour satyagraha since Wednesday in support of farmers, also criticised the state's BJP government for not taking any action against those who fired at the farmers in Mandsaur last week, killing five of them. Following protests by cultivators in Maharashtra, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government on Sunday announced a loan-waiver for farmers and decided to form a committee to work out the debt-relief criteria. The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh had also recently announced a loan-waiver of Rs 36,359 crore for small and marginal farmers in the state. "When the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have announced to waive farm loans, why has the same party's regime in Madhya Pradesh been shying away from announcing the same," Scindia told reporters during his ongoing 'satyagraha' at TT Nagar's Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had made several promises to make farming a beneficial venture with slogans like 'Abki Bar Kisano Ki Sarkar". "The prime minister made a series of promises to make farming a profitable venture during his election campaign. Now, the Centre is saying the state governments will have to arrange funds for loan waiver on their own and that the Central government would not extend any help," he said. The Centre is not budging despite the fact that nearly 12,000 farmers are committing suicide every year, Scindia, the Congress chief whip in Lok Sabha, claimed. He also hit out at the Madhya Pradesh government for not taking action those who fired at the farmers in Mandsaur. "Ten days after the farmer killings in Mandsaur, the state government has not taken any action against the guilty. The government has failed to inform who ordered the firing on farmers. They can't say anything because the farmers were killed on the orders of the state government," Scindia said. He said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is now trying to "mollify" the families of the farmers killed by giving them a compensation of Rs 1 crore, jobs to the kin, among others. The Congress leader also said that the onion purchase by the state government has also been marred by mismanagement. Mumbai: The BJP unit in Maharashtra is prepared for mid-term polls, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Mumbai on Wednesday. Fadnavis made the remarks in reference to reports speculating mid-term polls in Maharashtra amid farmers' stir seeking loan waiver in view of the agrarian crisis. The Fadnavis dispensation had announced the long-standing demand of the waiver last Sunday. "Some people said (when the agitation was on) that they will bring the government down, will withdraw support. I said we are ready for mid-term polls. "If someone wants to impel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will be able to form the government again," Fadnavis told reporters here without naming any party. Buoyed by the BJP's success in Maharashtra local governing bodies' polls, held in the recent past, Fadnavis exuded confidence that people of the state were with the saffron party notwithstanding various agitations against the state. "This success was unprecedented and no other party achieved such success. The Congress-NCP couldn't attend the success even during their hay days. So, people believe in the government," he said. Talking to a Marathi news channel recently, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had suggested that the Shiv Sena would withdraw support to the government if the loan waiver was not announced. 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Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US later this month, the Congress on Thursday asked him to demand and obtain firm assurances from President Donald Trump on reversing his decision to tighten granting of H-1B visas, which affects Indian professionals. The party has raised serious concern over the tightening of H-1B visa rules and claimed there has been a 37 percent fall in grant of such visas to professionals from India. Senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma also asked Modi to register protest against "disparaging observations" made by Trump about India while walking out of the Paris agreement on climate change. Modi will be meeting Trump on 26 June during his visit to the United States, the first one after Trump was elected. "He should demand and obtain credible and firm assurances from US President Donald Trump that he will reverse his decision which discriminates against Indian professionals.He cannot return empty-handed," the Congress leader said. "We do not want mere statements and photographs. We want answers and also how the prime minister responds and registers our protest over the disparaging observations made about the Republic of India recently when US decided to walk out of the Paris (climate) pact. We will wait for the prime minister's response or reaction," he said. Sharma also accused the Modi dispensation of failing to fulfil its promise of creating two crore jobs every year, and asked the prime minister to make his position clear on BJP president Amit Shah's claim that it had never made such an electoral promise. He also dubbed as "futile" the prime minister's "much-delayed cosmetic" exercise of holding a meeting with Niti Ayog, the government's policy think-tank, on job creation and said it came after the government realised the seriousness of the crisis. The Congress leader has demanded that the government publish a list of Indians who have been provided with jobs since Modi came to power in 2014. "The prime minister should make it clear whether he agrees with his party president Amit Shah that the BJP had never promised to provide jobs or to create jobs," he said. "He should make his position clear. He cannot remain silent and if Amit Shah is right, this means another false promise and the complete betrayal (of the people) by the BJP," he told reporters. Sharma said the prime minister should stop making false claims and he must realise after three years in power that the time for propaganda and publicity was over. "Did the prime minister not talk about job creation for the youth of the country? When it is time for giving answers, they are making excuses," Sharma said. He said it was time to give an account of the "miserable performance of his government, his failure to provide jobs as promised". Sharma said this government was giving wrong answers and it would be better if Modi talked honestly instead of continuing to make false claims and admitted his mistake before the people of the country and apologised. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in mood for a massive restructuring at the top echelons of the bureaucracy. In his own nuanced yet firm message to an assembly of secretaries to the government of India on 4 June, he sent a chill down the spine of the bureaucracy, especially the old guard, by indicating that automatic elevation to the post of secretary based on tenure and seniority will be a thing of the past. Modi said this rather subtly by referring to his first meeting with the secretaries in 2014. Immediately after taking oath as prime minister in 2014, he had convened a meeting of all secretaries. "Exactly three years ago, I held a similar meeting with nearly 85 secretaries. Of those 85, only four are present here today. And even those four officers are on extension." What he was highlighting was the fact that within these three years, while the political leadership remained the same, the entire top bureaucracy had changed. All secretaries to the government of India had retired. This, he said, sets government's agenda behind because with an entire new set of leaders at the helm in bureaucracy political and administrative goal-setting would have be revised, revisited or rebooted every once in a while. The implicit message was that officers with less than two years for superannuation would have a slim chance henceforth of being considered for elevation to the level of secretary. Only those officers with at least a three-year stint as secretary would be considered to give them a long-enough run to actualise the vision of the government. That change is not for the future, it is already happening, the prime example of which is the appointment of Sanjay Mitra as defence secretary. Mitra, a Bengal cadre officer, was considered to be a favourite of the UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh. He served in the Manmohan PMO for seven years before going back to Bengal as chief secretary. He had on occasion taken public positions against Modi, then the Gujarat chief minister. But the Modi government sought him out and brought him back as secretary of Road Transport and Highways, before appointing him as Delhi as defence secretary last month. Secretary of Defence is a fixed-tenure posting. Mitra will serve there for two years but his appointment is meant to send a signal that merit scores over seniority. Those in attendance at the meeting said that the prime minister was quite categorical that it would be unfair to expect an official, who becomes secretary barely a year before his superannuation, to deliver effectively. In his view, such officers would be prone to "packing their bags" instead of focussing on making plans for the government. There seems to be unease at the top over the discontinuation of the practice of time-bound elevation. A section of officers, who regarded promotion as their entitlement, is quite irked with the introduction of a new methodology known as 360 appraisal for promotion. This methodology entails a complete feedback about the officers behaviour, professional competence not only on the basis of assessment of seniors but also from juniors. Many senior officers have been denied promotions after this methodology kicked in. Those working closely with the prime minister testify that the 360 methodology is quite similar to the one applied to the bureaucracy in Gujarat. Even in his stint as BJP state unit general secretary (organisation) during Keshubhai Patel's time in 1995, he introduced rigorous scrutiny for the posting of officials. "For the first time in Gujarat, in the first stint of Keshubhais regime, officers with impeccable credentials got posted," said an officer who has been working with Modi for a long time. "You see he was very keen to make the profile of state employees younger, because in 2007, the average age of state employees in Gujarat was 52 years of age. We brought it down to the early 40s," he added. The prime minister is keen to implement similar measures at the national-level and will favour younger bureaucrats with longer service to entrust them with the task of realising the governments vision. In effect, he will disabuse career-bureaucrats of the notion that they can attain the peak and continue to occupy it based solely on the length of their service. The prime minister even narrated an anecdote to underscore this new thinking. "Once, a politician who reached the pinnacle of political power by a quirk or circumstances was asked how long he planned to stay at the top. The politician replied, 'nobody scales the Everest to make a home there'." Modi told the secretaries that scaling the peak is an objective of mountaineering, but it does not apply to governance. New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP-led NDA government of being "insensitive" towards farmers as it is yet to register cases in the Mandsaur deaths and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his silence on the crisis gripping the agriculture sector. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said even after nine days no one has been booked for the deaths six farmers in police firing Mandsaur. "Nine days on, 45 FIRs against protesting farmers, but not one against those who murdered 6 farmers in cold blood? Mandsaur," tweeted Gandhi who is on vacation abroad. Nine days on, 45 FIRs against protesting farmers, but not one against those who murdered 6 farmers in cold blood? #Mandsaur https://t.co/IZB3qaZR24 Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 15, 2017 The Congress party on its official Twitter handle said, "6 farmers killed in police firing in Mandsaur. Why are eye-witness statements not taken? Why is there no action against police officials?" 6 farmers killed in Police firing in Mandsaur. Why are eye-witness statements not taken? Why is there no action against police officials? pic.twitter.com/qudHnZQDI3 INC India (@INCIndia) June 15, 2017 Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma also hit out at the NDA government for showing "apathy and insensitivity" towards farmers and the agri sector. "The farmers' issue is a matter of serious concern. This government is insensitive. An unannounced curfew has been imposed in Mandsaur. Other political parties are not allowed to enter the area. Till now, no case has been registered in the matter," Sharma said. He said the Congress party advises the prime minister to take a break from his publicity campaign and give better attention to the serious business of governance. Referring to the crop loan interest subvention scheme announced for farmers on Wednesday, the Congress leader said at best it was like "adding insult to injury". "It is a serious issue, the farmers are committing suicide but government is not doing anything and the prime minister is silent," he said. Sharma said that just crop loan concession would not help and that the government needs to come forward with a comprehensive loan waiver scheme to resolve the crisis gripping the farm sector in the country. He also termed as "height of insensitivity" of the government towards farmers after it officially justified its decision to reduce import duties from 25 percent during UPA rule to zero percent now on wheat. Citing the government's reasons for this, the Congress leader said the government's statistics and figures contradict the claim that there was low production of wheat in 2016. "There was no shortfall," he said, adding the government's argument was that traders in agricultural commodities in southern India say the cost of wheat coming from northern India is more and thus the import duty should be done away with so that wheat can be imported from Australia which would be cheaper. He also said that the government has claimed that Indian wheat has gluten and allergens whereas wheat from Canada and Australia has no gluten. "This is an illiterate statement. Wheat contains gluten irrespective of where it is produced. Only millets, Bajra are gluten-free. This government's ministers need education about what is gluten-free, and we will be very happy to educate them. They should stop insulting the wisdom of the Indian people by giving these reasons," he said. Sharma demanded that government withdraw its statement with an apology as there was no justification to remove import duty on wheat from 25 percent to 0 percent. WHY DONT YOU READ THESE? As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is delaying the announcement of its presidential candidate, speculations are rife if the presidential poll will indeed bring a change in national politics with both the ruling and opposition parties showing a willingness to work towards a consensus candidate. On Wednesday, consultation process in both the BJP and the opposition camps shifted into high gear as the filing of nominations for the presidential election began. BJP sources have said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the top constitutional post is likely to file nomination before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for the United States on 25 June. The last date for filing of nomination is 28 June. He said the 10-member opposition panel would meet again to decide on a suitable presidential nominee. He, however, did not give any timeframe. Sources said the leaders would discuss names but await a government initiative in this regard. Here's a look at what has happened so far: BJP reaches out After a prolonged silence on the issue, BJP chief Amit Shah constituted a three-member committee on Wednesday, comprising Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu which would hold consultations with NDA allies and the Opposition on the subject. They will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday. Apart from Gandhi, the BJP panel has also reached out to CPM's Sitaram Yechury, BSP's Satish Misra and NCP's Praful Patel and would be meeting leaders of these parties separately to discuss the issue of a joint candidate. They ruled out filing of nomination by its candidate this week as the consultation process will take more time with Singh and Naidu's meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday as they work to evolve a consensus. They are likely to meet Yechury just after meeting Gandhi. Naidu on Wednesday spoke to Anbumani Ramadoss of the PMK, N Rangaswamy of the All India NR Congress, BSP's Misra and Praful Patel, sources said. He will also speak to most of the regional outfits from south India. On Thursday, Naidu spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who is part of the opposition bloc, and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, a BJP ally. In the meanwhile, Jaitley will be speaking to leaders such as Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, while Singh may talk to West Bengal chief minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. The home minister (Singh) is likely to speak to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as well. The BJP will talk to all political parties in the "true spirit of democracy" to evolve a broad consensus on the presidential nominee, Naidu had said on Tuesday. Naidu, however, "appealed to all that they should go by the mandate of the people which is for this government", in what is seen as a subtle message to opposition parties to be agreeable to the BJP-led NDA's choice for the top constitutional post. Amid consultation among political parties, the BJP has given little indication of its choice for the top post. Congress and consensus candidate Amid reports of a meeting between Naidu and Gandhi, Congress added to the speculations on Thursday saying that it would prefer a consensus presidential candidate and it would be good if the government understood this. "The Congress party has tried to bring about a consensus on every important issue. But the picture is not yet clear on the issue of the presidential election," said Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma. He said it would be better if the government also understood the need for unanimity on the issue. "It will be good if there is a consensus. But I cannot say anything as of now," he said. Opposition leaders had met on Wednesday to chalk out a strategy for the upcoming presidential poll but no names were discussed in the first round of talks of a nine-party sub-group set up for the purpose, members said. As the process for the filing of nominations for the 17 July election started, 10 opposition leaders met in the Parliament chamber of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad. The leaders included Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge from the Congress, JD-U's Sharad Yadav, RJD's Lalu Prasad, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and NCP's Praful Patel. Derek O'Brien of the TMC, RS Bharathi of the DMK, Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Satish Chandra Misra from the BSP were also present at the meeting. Azad had said that the leaders of 17 opposition parties had met at a lunch hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in May, where it was decided that a sub-committee would be set up to take forward discussions on the subject. "A sub-committee was formed in which leaders of nine parties were included, as there was a need for a smaller committee," he said. Asked if the government was trying to break opposition unity, Azad said, "The government is going to talk to opposition leaders separately and not collectively. All opposition parties are totally united." So far, Naidu has reportedly already reached out to NCP leader Praful Patel for a meeting with NCP strongman Sharad Pawar and BSP's Satish Chandra Misra for a meeting with party leader Mayawati. "They will talk and we will see. They have expressed the desire to meet my leader in the next few days," Mishra had said on Wednesday. The likely names Opposition leaders like Sharad Yadav have made it clear that they will put up a joint candidate if the saffron party picks a nominee with strong Hindutva leanings. Asked about the Shiv Sena throwing up BJP leader L K Advani's name as a possible candidate, Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "You wait and see what happens." Even though no names were discussed at Wednesday's meeting, sources said the opposition leaders would try and come out with some possible names but will await the government's initiative in this regard. The BJP has not declared any names yet, however, speculation is rife that the BJP may pick from Sushma Swaraj, LK Advani and Mohan Bhagwat. But Bhagwat's open rejection of the suggestion and Advani's involvement in the Babri Masjid demolition case make them a dicey choice. All of which makes Swaraj a probable candidate. But then the BJP may not be willing to risk the PR that Swaraj has generated for the government as a minister of external affairs. While BJP is holding its cards close to its chest, the Opposition has already mooted the names of possible candidates and has even held talks with one former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. A retired bureaucrat and a scholar, he is one of Mahatma Gandhi's grandsons. The Left parties are mulling to propose the candidature of Gandhi for the post, said sources in the CPM and CPI. "We are thinking of proposing the name of Gopalkrishna Gandhi. He does not have an affiliation with any political party," sources in the Left parties said. However, they added that the parties would also have no objection if JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav was picked as a candidate. "If Sharad Yadav's name comes up, we will have no objection. He is a senior opposition leader...a man of integrity and honesty," a Left leader said on the condition of anonymity. Former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar's name is also doing the rounds, as is that of former Union minister Sharad Pawar. The NCP leader, like SAD's Parkash Singh Badal, however, has denied being in the race. While Chandrababu said he would support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call on the presidential nominee, Pawar offered no assurance and said he would be in the national capital in a few days for further talks on the matter. Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday said his party would support the NDA nominee. "Our party has decided to support a presidential candidate chosen by the prime minister. Whosoever the prime minister names, we will support that person," Paswan said from London. His LJP is a constituent of the ruling NDA. Ruling Party's confidence The BJP-led NDA is comfortably placed for the 17 July presidential polls with a majority of votes on its side, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday. Fadnavis said the NDA at present had 54 percent of the total votes in its favour and suggested more parties were "ready to cooperate" with the BJP, taking the tally of votes to 65 percent. The arithmetic in the electoral college favours the NDA, which has 48.6 percent votes of its own. It is also expected to get the support of the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS), which rules Telangana, the YSRCP of Andhra Pradesh and the AIADMK, which is in power in Tamil Nadu. However, the chief minister did not name the parties. The electoral college for the presidential polls is 11,04,546 votes. The BJP's electoral victory in the recent Assembly polls may also help determine the presidential candidate in its favour. Independent nominations While the ruling and opposition parties are still not decided, so far eight persons have filed nominations for the presidential poll, including a couple from Mumbai who would like very much if one of the became president and the other vice-president. Amongst those who have filed nominations are the Patel couples from Mumbai Saira Bano Mohammed Patel and Mohammed Patel Abdul Hamid K Padmaraja from Tamil Nadu, Anand Singh Kushwaha from Madhya Pradesh, Bala Raj from Telangana, Kondekar Vijayprakash from Pune, and Jeevan Kumar Mittal from the national capital. The nominations of all eight are liable to be rejected as none had the signatures of 50 proposers and as many seconders from the list of electors, essential for a valid nomination. With inputs from PTI New Delhi: Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu will meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday in a bid to evolve a consensus on the presidential candidate even as opposition parties are said to be keen on a fight in the 17 July election. Singh and Naidu, who are part of the three-member team constituted by BJP President Amit Shah for discussion with political parties on the presidential candidate, are set to meet Gandhi at her residence on Friday morning, sources said. This will be followed by a meeting with CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury later in the day. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also part of the team is away in South Korea. He is scheduled to return only on Saturday morning. The BJP has given no indication so far on who its candidate is but there is speculation around the names of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The name of BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi is also not ruled out in BJP circles since he is said to have the backing of RSS. It remains to be seen whether the BJP team will put forward any name to Gandhi and other opposition leaders it would be meeting or talking to in the coming days, or whether the team would merely seek the support for a BJP candidate. Sources in the opposition parties say that they are waiting for the government side to come out with the name of its nominee before they can finalise their strategy. Opposition leaders say that the choice of BJP candidate, even according to insiders, is known "only to (Prime Minister) Modi and God", to stress the point that it was Modi who was calling the shots on the issue. They feel that the government was only engaged in an exercise of consensus building for the sake of formality and, in fact, may not be keen on a consensus candidate. They point to Naidu's statement a couple of days ago that the government has the mandate and the opposition should keep this in mind when talking about a presidential candidate. At the meeting of opposition parties on Wednesday, there were suggestions mainly from Left parties that they should put up a fight by fielding a candidate because it is an "ideological battle" with BJP. They feel the BJP might be keen on having someone with ideological moorings in the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Should there be a fight, the Left parties are reportedly keen on fielding Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former Governor of West Bengal. As part of BJP's outreach, Shah is likely to meet Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai in seeking the party's support for the NDA nominee. The Sena, which has been having a cold war with BJP, has not voted with the NDA in the last two presidential elections. The Sena has been pitching for RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat for the top constitutional post and has also sought to know from the BJP why he (Bhagwat) is not acceptable. Bhagwat on his part has ruled himself out, saying he was not in the race. Meanwhile, disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday yet again backed party veteran LK Advani as the most deserving candidate for the post of President, saying he was physically fit and has the ability to "understand the complexity of the Constitution". In a series of tweets, Sinha said: "What Advaniji has, is the ability to understand the complexity of the Constitution and to take the right decision when needed without getting influenced by anyone, in the larger interest of the nation." More responses being received from citizens : Tweeting some of them 1. "What Advani ji has, is the ability to understand the complexity 1>2 Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) June 15, 2017 Sinha also said that Advani, who is 89, is "physically fit" for the post and no one has come out against his candidature. "No one is able to speak anything, be it from within or outside d party...no voice coming out against Advani's candidature. Response 2 : "No one is able to speak anything, be it from within or outside d party...no voice coming out against Mr Advani's candidature." Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) June 15, 2017 "Advaniji is much more healthy and energetic than any of the young leaders. He has kept himself maintained so that he can take responsibility of the country," Sinha said. Sinha has been sidelined in the party after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country. He was also not inducted into Modi's council of ministers though he has claimed of a long association with the BJP, since the time when the party had two members in the Lok Sabha. His proximity to Advani is said to be one of the reasons for being sidelined in the BJP. Mumbai: The BJP-led NDA is comfortably placed for the 17 July presidential polls with a majority of votes on its side, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. No one can "blackmail" the ruling party ahead of the election, Fadnavis told reporters during an interaction on Wednesday. He said the NDA at present had 54 percent of the total votes in its favour and suggested more parties were "ready to cooperate" with the BJP, taking the tally of votes to 65 percent. However, the chief minister did not name the parties. The electoral college for the presidential polls is 11,04,546 votes. Fadnavis made the remarks when asked about the Shiv Sena the BJP's ally in the Centre and in the state government insisting on fielding RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the NDA's nominee for the election. Bhagwat himself has rejected the proposal. "The UPA had only 37 percent votes when Pranab Mukherjee became president, whereas we already have more than 50 percent votes with us. So, there is no problem (for the NDA) and nobody can blackmail us", Fadnavis said without naming the Shiv Sena or any party. In the previous presidential poll held in 2012, Mukherjee had secured 7,13,763 votes as against 3,15,987 polled by his rival P A Sangma. President Pranab Mukherjee completes his five-year tenure on July 25. New Delhi: Opposition leaders met on Wednesday to chalk out a strategy for the upcoming presidential poll but no names were discussed in the first round of talks of a nine-party sub-group set up for the purpose, members said. As the process for the filing of nominations for the 17 July election started, 10 opposition leaders met in the Parliament chamber of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad. The leaders including Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge from the Congress, JD-U's Sharad Yadav, RJD's Lalu Prasad, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and NCP's Praful Patel. Derek O'Brien of the TMC, RS Bharathi of the DMK, Ram Gopal Yadav of the SP and Satish Chandra Misra from the BSP were also present at the 10-member group's meeting. Azad said leaders of 17 opposition parties had met at a lunch hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi last month, where it was decided a sub-committee would be set up to take forward discussions on the issue. "A sub-committee was formed in which leaders of nine parties were included, as there was a need for a smaller committee," he said. This was the first meeting of the group on Wednesday. "The nitty gritty details were not discussed. No names have been short-listed yet," he said after the 30-minute meeting. The ruling party has formed a three-member committee to discuss the possibility of a consensus candidate with allies and opposition parties. Azad said it had started contacting opposition leaders. "The process has just started. In such conditions, the selection of a final candidate is impossible. In the next few days this sub-committee will meet again and probably we will hold detailed discussions then," he said. The BJP panel comprising union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu has reached out to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Yechury, BSP's Misra and NCP's Patel and would be meeting the leaders of these parties separately to discuss the issue of a joint candidate. The panel would meet Gandhi on Friday. Azad said by the time the 10-member group meets, the ruling party would have consulted opposition leaders, who would then be in a better position to discuss candidates. Asked if the government was trying to break opposition unity, he said, "The government is going to talk to opposition leaders separately and not collectively. All opposition parties are totally united." RJD's Lalu Prasad stressed the election was not just for choosing the president and the vice President. "It is a preparation for the next election. The aim is to remove the BJP," he said after the meeting. Asked about the Shiv Sena throwing up BJP leader LK Advani's name as a possible candidate, he said, "You wait and see what happens." Patel said Venkaiah Naidu had called him and wanted to have formal talks with him and NCP strongman Sharad Pawar. "The government will come out with their name and then we will evolve our strategy in the next few days," he said. Misra of the BSP said Naidu had called him, too, and asked for a meeting with party leader Mayawati. "They will talk and we will see. They have expressed the desire to meet my leader in the next few days," he said. Sources said the opposition committee is likely to meet next week again to decide on a suitable presidential nominee. While the ruling party is holding its cards close to its chest, the opposition has already mooted the names of possible candidates and has even held talks with one -former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. A retired bureaucrat and a scholar, he is one of Mahatma Gandhi's grandsons. Former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar's name is also doing the rounds, as is that of former union minister Sharad Pawar. The NCP leader, however, has denied being in the race. The official notification for the presidential poll was issued on Wednesday starting the process for filing of nominations for the 17 July poll. Counting will take place on 20 July. The term of incumbent Pranab Mukherjee ends on 24 July. New Delhi: Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who is part of the opposition bloc, and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, a BJP ally, over the presidential poll. While Chandrababu said he would support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call on the presidential nominee, Pawar offered no assurance and said he would be in the national capital in a few days for further talks on the matter. The three-member committee, of which Naidu besides Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley are members, formed by BJP chief Amit Shah to consult political parties has so far reached out to Congress, BSP, NCP, TDP, CPM and AINC (NR). Formal consultations begin tomorrow with Naidu and Singh scheduled to meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury. A group of nine opposition parties, including the Congress, the Left and the NCP besides the likes of the SP, BSP, JD(U) and RJD, has maintained that they will finalise their stand only after the BJP-led NDA discloses its candidate. Many of them have made it clear that they will put up a joint candidate if the BJP nominee is seen as someone with strong Hindutva background. New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday said it would prefer a consensus presidential candidate and it would be good if the government understood this. "The Congress party has tried to bring about a consensus on every important issue. But the picture is not yet clear on the issue of the presidential election," said Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma. He said it would be better if the government also understood the need for unanimity on the issue. "It will be good if there is a consensus. But I cannot say anything as of now," he said. Asked whether there was any possibility of reaching an agreement on Pranab Mukherjee's successor, the Congress leader said, "I cannot say what the government is thinking, but I do understand their mentality, which is against the country. It will be difficult for me to say anything on what the government is thinking." Sharma said the BJP had displayed its "mental bankruptcy" the last time as well when it opposed Mukherjee's candidature and contested the presidential election. The BJP panel, set up by party chief Amit Shah, comprising senior leaders Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu, has reached out to some opposition leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The committee members will meet Gandhi on Friday while trying to arrive at an agreement. Asked about the meeting, Sharma said, "How can I make a statement even before the meeting with leaders of the ruling party." According to sources, the opposition sub-committee formed by Gandhi met in Parliament on Wednesday. Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday apprised the Congress president of the developments. While the process for the presidential election kicked off with the nominations on Wednesday, the elections will be held on 17 July and counting on 20 July. The term of President Pranab Mukherjee ends on 24 July. Lucknow: A Samajwadi Party delegation met Governor Ram Naik on Thursday and handed over a memorandum, addressed to the President, demanding waiving off farmers' loans through out the country. "The Samajwadi Party is of the view that loans of all the farmers of the country should be waived off. The BJP should fulfill its promises made during polls and implement recommendations of the Dr Swaminathan commission," the memorandum said. The delegation was led by Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chowdhury while senior leaders Ahmad Hasan, Rajendra Chowdhury and Naresh Uttam were also present. The Mandsaur firing incident in Madhya Pradesh was unfortunate and if the BJP government did not pay heed to farmers' problems, agitations will also be witnessed in states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan, they said. "The Samajwadi Party supports the farmers' demands, stands with them and condemns action against them," Samajwadi Party leader Chowdhury said. The memorandum urged President Pranab Mukherjee's intervention to stop the "anti-farmer economic policy of BJP government". They also demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government strengthen the irrigation facilities and provide 18 hours power supply in rural areas as, they claimed, was done during the Samajwadi Party regime. New Delhi: Suspended AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan on Wednesday claimed that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will attend an iftar party organised by him, a move that may further isolate Kumar Vishwas within the organisation. Khan said Kejriwal will attend an iftar party at the Ansari auditorium in the Jamia Millia Islamia University which falls under the Okhla constituency that the former represents. "The AAP's Okhla unit is organising the iftar party. This will be attended by the chief minister," Khan said. There was no confirmation from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Kejriwal attending the event. If Kejriwal attends the iftar party, it will be a clear snub to Vishwas, who has publicly differed with the AAP leadership over several issues in the recent months. The differences had come to the fore when Vishwas had refused to toe the party's official line that "manipulation" of electronic voting machines was the prime reason behind its recent string of electoral defeats. Khan had dubbed Vishwas to be an "RSS-BJP agent" and had accused him of "plotting a coup in the AAP", following which the poet-turned-politician had quit threatened to quit the party if no action was taken against Khan. As things threatened to spiral out of control, the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) had suspended Khan. Meanwhile, more dramatic scenes may play out in Okhla as sacked minister Kapil Mishra has announced that he will visit Batla House tomorrow to extend his support an an elderly lady, whom he said has been "threatened" by Khan's "goons" over property-related matters. Social media and WhatsApp messenger service have been rife with messages of "tension" building up in the area ahead of Mishra's visit. The sources of the messages could not be immediately ascertained, however, it is being read as intimidatory tactics deployed by the warring camps. Earlier in the day, Mishra launched his "mass awareness campaign" at west Delhi's Karol Bagh, where he attacked Kejriwal and Satyendar Jain over allegations of corruption which he has been levelling ever since he was ousted from the party and the government. "I was sacked the day I wrote to the Anti-Corruption Branch detailing the financial irregularities they (Kejriwal and Jain) indulged in. Until then, I was a good performer but all of a sudden I became the reason behind the AAP's poll debacle," he said, addressing a corner meeting. Mishra also claimed that it was upon his insistence that Saumya Jain, Satyendar Jain's daughter, was removed from a contractual post attached to the government's health department. "I had called Kejriwal the day Saumya was hired," he said and questioned the AAP chief's "silence" over his allegations. Rajya Sabha MP Kesava Rao has offered to return the 38 acres of government land bought by his family in May 2016 in the Hafeezpur village in Ibrahimpatnam mandal, Telangana. Under fire for allegedly purchasing the land despite the former sub-registrar of the area pointing out that it was government land, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti leader has decided to make an exit from what he now describes as a "muddy deal"'. However, Rao wants the private realty firm that sold the land to him to return the money to him with interest. Rao's offer has come even as chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao denied that his government has lost even one paisa to land sharks. If that was indeed the case, why did KCR transfer 70 sub-registrars and even hand over the case to the CID? Isn't the chief minister's statement that not one inch of government land was lost, pre-judging the case even before the investigation has begun? The claim itself is disputable given the kind of money that is being unearthed during raids on sub-registrars in the state. The Anti-Corruption Bureau found Prabhakar Reddy, a document writer of having "purchased" a whopping 161 properties in the last few years. He has even disposed off 120 of those properties. The total value of the assets was reportedly worth Rs 14 crore. But Reddy was merely the benami owner, the real owner allegedly is Kukatpally sub-registrar Srinivas Rao, who would route all financial transactions through Reddy. The raids have proven that the sub-registrar offices in Telangana are a den of a well-oiled network of corruption. Raids at Balanagar sub-registrar Mohammad Yousuf's residence unearthed disproportionate assets worth Rs 8 crore, including properties, allegedly bought in benami names. Both sub-registrars have been suspended. To show that he means business, KCR also ordered raids on 141 registration offices across Telangana. The ACB has formed a special cell to probe land registration frauds committed so far. But while that will mean cleaning up the rot at the business end of the operations, the feeling is that those with political connections are getting away scot-free. Why would huge bribes be paid to sub-registrars and their men in the registration offices unless they were helping private parties make a killing, while obviously denting the state exchequer? For KCR, to claim that the government didn't lose any money, therefore, is laughable. And it isn't just Kesava Rao whose family had bought the land. Another TRS MP D Srinivas also is in the dock for reportedly getting land that had been allotted to Dalits. Srinivas in his defence says, "This land passed several hands before I bought it. So, how did the registration department allow all those transactions." The lid was blown off the scam only after an internal audit of the registration department in March revealed sale of 693 acres of land in Miyapur, a locality on the outskirts of Hyderabad. A back of the envelope calculation revealed that the land parcel was worth Rs 587 crore. But the feeling gaining ground is that only the sub-registrars are facing the flak. PS Prasad of the Goldstone group, one of the main accused in the case, is absconding and is known to be politically connected. His two colleagues are in judicial custody but they plead that the lands are held by private parties and do not belong to the government. Different companies with links to the Goldstone group, according to police officials, are essentially suitcase companies. The modus operandi was to target lands that were once owned by members of the extended Hyderabad Nizam family or the nobles who held positions of power before 1948 when Hyderabad became part of the Indian Union. Under the Jagir Abolition Act, all unoccupied land was taken over by the Hyderabad state in the early 50s. But in many cases, the kith and kin of the nobles filed cases, contesting the nominal compensation paid in many cases or no money being paid in some instances. The scamsters would create the impression that there are multiple claimants for the same land. They would allegedly manufacture fabricated documents of the lands and register it in the name of two different sets of benamis, claiming to be descendants of the nobles. The two groups would then go to court staking claim on the land. The case would drag on for months after which one of the benami parties would withdraw, leaving the other group in possession. With the sub-registrar taking his cut to sign on the dotted line, the "government" never realised that the land was being taken out under its nose. Ironically, even while the chief minister says that the scam is a figment of the imagination of the media and the opposition parties, the public prosecutor while arguing against granting bail to the two accused from the Goldstone group said they had cheated several gullible people with forged documents and that only a detailed probe would unearth the clandestine transactions in this scam. The Opposition believes many members of the ruling TRS have their hands in the till, and therefore, want a court-monitored CBI investigation into the case, which they allege is a Rs 15,000 crore land scam. "A member of PS Prasad's family is still working as a secretary in the chief minister's office. The chief minister has to answer how this is being allowed," says Revanth Reddy, TDP leader. During the Telangana agitation, KCR promised a Bangaru Telangana (golden Telangana) if bifurcation from Andhra Pradesh happened. The pity is only some fraudsters seem to have struck gold in the last three years. Beijing: India and other BRICS members on Thursday pledged to strengthen partnership and jointly usher in a second 'golden decade' of cooperation among the major emerging economies. The pledge came during the second BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Sherpa meeting that began on Wednesday in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. Participants in the meeting reviewed the progress of BRICS cooperation in key areas such as political, security, economy, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and focused on the outcome of the upcoming 2017 BRICS Summit, which is scheduled between 3-5 September in the coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian Province, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. "The five countries are not together by chance. The consensus building is very easy among us. We think very similarly on most issues such as international relations, foreign policy and the importance of the multilateral system," Brazilian sherpa Georges Lamaziere said. "We are all in favour of openness in the economy, free trade and climate change agreement, and I think that's the most important message that BRICS is sending to the world." Indian deputy sherpa Alok Dimri said the priority of BRICS is the economic and financial market forum, which focuses on the reform of the economic and global governance system. "There are multiple dimensions and initiatives on which BRICS is working together. We have the New Development Bank (NDB), which works on infrastructure, and lots of initiatives in the fields of finance and people-to-people exchanges," he said. The NDB, established by the BRICS in 2014, was a milestone for pragmatic financial cooperation among the BRICS. "The bank can be seen as a platform for the BRICS as a whole to reach out to other countries. One of its central aspects is to support the financing of infrastructure in member countries. So it will be able to assist the Belt and Road Initiative," said Paulo Batista, vice president of the NDB. "We are confident that the Xiamen summit will be a huge success and cement cooperation and interaction among all BRICS members. We are very impressed by China's thoughtful and productive preparation work. We think that the Xiamen summit will usher in the golden decade of BRICS," said Russian BRICS sherpa and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. The second BRICS Sherpa meeting was chaired by Li Baodong, sherpa for BRICS affairs and vice foreign minister of China, and attended by sherpas and sous-sherpas of BRICS countries and representatives from the NDB. ABUJA Amnesty International criticised Nigeria's military on Thursday for dropping an investigation into senior officers accused of war crimes in the northeast during the conflict with Islamist Boko Haram insurgents.The eight-year battle with the militant group, which seeks to carve out a "caliphate" in the northeast, has been rife with human rights violations by the parties involved, including the military, Boko Haram and vigilante organisations, aid groups say. Those include extrajudicial killings, rape, the use of child soldiers and detentions of people without charge. Late on Wednesday, Nigeria's military issued a report on the findings of its investigation that said there was insufficient evidence to charge the officers, some of whom are now retired, for any abuses.The military murdered, starved, suffocated and tortured 8,000 people under the watch of certain senior officers, Amnesty International said in its 2015 report alleging the war crimes. "We stand by the findings of our research and our call for an investigation that is independent, impartial and thorough; criteria that this panel clearly does not meet," Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said on Thursday. The military panel did find that delays of trials of suspected Boko Haram members that resulted in death and denial of legal representation were unacceptable.Both the panel and Amnesty International recommended that Nigeria set up a presidential commission to investigate any accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh and Paul Carsten; editing by Mark Heinrich) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Madrid: Donald Trump should stand "on the right side of history" by reconsidering the decision to pull the US out of the Paris Accord, former United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said. "If the US withdraws, this has a much bigger political impact. I'm afraid that any leadership vacuum could be filled by others, and this is not what we want to see," Ban said, in an interview with AP. He called the choice made by the US president "misguided" and said that it responded to "a short-term vision". He also called on the public to raise its voice and said that commitment to the agreement from governors, mayors, business leaders and civil society in the US was "very encouraging". For almost a decade, Ban spearheaded negotiations to combat climate change that eventually led to the pledge of keeping global temperatures from raising another degree Celsius by 2100. Nearly 200 countries, including the US, signed the agreement in December 2015. "I sincerely hope that President Trump stands on the right side of history," Ban said in Madrid. As the world's largest economy, the US is also the planet's number one polluter, accounting for 14 percent of global emissions. "The decision has implications and effects politically and psychologically much larger than 14 percent, because smaller countries have traditionally followed Washington's leadership" said Ban, calling on the US leader to show "global vision". Ban joined more than 50 former world leaders who criticised the current US administration's view on climate change and warned of "unpredictable and possibly regrettable" consequences. They also called on other signatories of the Paris agreement to "show greater urgency and commitment in the fight against global warming". The leaders represented about half of the members of the Club de Madrid alliance, which Ban joined recently as an honorary member. Among the signatories were former Chilean president and former UN envoy for climate change Ricardo Lagos, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and former East Timor leader Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, who also headed the UN's development agency. London: Negotiations on Britain's withdrawal from the European Union will begin between British and EU officials on Monday, the British government said in a statement. "The first round of talks that will see the United Kingdom leave the European Union will start on Monday 19 June," the Department for Exiting the European Union ministry said on Monday. The announcement was agreed on Monday between Brexit minister David Davis and the European Commission's chief negotiator Michel Barnier, the ministry said. Britain voted by 52 percent in favour of leaving the European Union in a referendum in 2016. Prime Minister Theresa May in March formally notified the EU of its intention to leave, starting a two-year timetable for negotiating the exit. Britain will be the first member state ever to leave the bloc. Negotiations had been expected to begin next week but May's loss of her parliamentary majority in a general election last week raised doubts about the date. She has since said the timetable will remain unchanged but there is growing pressure on her to moderate the government's approach and favour maintaining close ties with the European single market. Beijing: China on Thursday said India and Pakistan will have to play by the rules of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) by not bringing their bilateral dispute to the forum. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said "hostility" between India and Pakistan in the SCO will not be good for the group. "In the charter of SCO, there is a clause that hostility in the bilateral relations should not be brought to the organisation," Kong said. "I believe those countries will abide by the charter of this organisation." "This organisation has its own rules and procedures. We hope that these rules are abided by all member states," Kong added. He was talking to Indian journalists on the sidelines of an SCO event where national flags of India and Pakistan were hoisted after the two countries were admitted to the group last week in Astana, Kazakhstan. China is worried that bilateral disputes between India and Pakistan could affect the forum. However, a senior Pakistani diplomat earlier said the SCO was not a forum to settle bilateral disputes. The envoys of India and Pakistan Vijay Gokhale and Masood Khalid respectively were present on the occasion at the SCO Secretariat. Addressing the event, Gokhale said: "Now as a full member of SCO, we look forward to further deepening these relations for mutual benefit." "We would also like to deepen our cooperation in our joint fight against terrorism." United Nations: UN chief Antonio Guterres has warned that any country supporting terrorism will ultimately have to pay a "high price" and offered his good offices to promote cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan to jointly fight the menace. The Secretary-General arrived in Kabul on Wednesday and held bilateral meetings with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the country's Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah. Later addressing reporters, the UN chief was asked about documents and proofs submitted by the Afghan government regarding involvement of Pakistan in "equipping and funding" terrorism and whether those documents had been considered by the world body. "Those are areas of competence of the Security Council of the United Nations. What I am supposed to do as Secretary General is to use my good offices to promote the cooperation between the two countries for them to be able to fight together the threat of terrorism," Guterres said. He noted that Ghani and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had met in Astana on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Guterres said he too had met prime minister Sharif in the Kazakh capital and his "objective is to do everything that is possible to facilitate and promote the cooperation of the two countries in addressing together the threat of terrorism". "That is important not only for the two countries but for the whole world. We have seen horrible terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, like the last ones in Kabul, horrible terrorist attacks in Pakistan and attacks around the world. It is time to unite against terrorism and that is my objective as Secretary-General of the United Nations," Guterres added. The UN chief was also asked about a number of countries in the region, particularly "Iran and China", which are beginning to support insurgent groups. Guterres strongly rejected such claims saying, "I do not subscribe to the accusations." He, however, added that his message to "any country that supports terrorism anywhere in the world is that this is the wrong thing to do and if any country supports terrorism one day in relation to other countries, sooner or later the price paid will be high in relations to terrorism within the country itself." Since his time as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Guterres has been paying a solidarity visit to Muslim communities during the holy month of Ramazan, and his visit to Afghanistan was a continuation of his expression of solidarity with them. "Peace is the solution ... the international community, the neighbouring countries [and] all those related to the Afghan crisis need to come together and understand that this is a war that has no military solution," the Secretary-General said. "We need to have peace," he added, underscoring that at the same time, the level of humanitarian assistance to the country had to be increased and conditions needed to be created for Afghanis to be able to live in dignity. While in Kabul, the UN chief met with displaced men and women from the Kapisa province, now living in a settlement on the outskirts of Kabul. In their interaction, the displaced persons underscored that security remained the prerequisite for their return to their homes and that education, including for women and girls was critical for supporting themselves and their families. They also stressed their need for medical care. Washington: US defence secretary James Mattis has confirmed that President Donald Trump has authorised him to "manage" US troop levels in Afghanistan, paving the way for sending more American forces amidst a surge in Taliban attacks in the war-ravaged country. Mattis' new authority to manage troop levels in Afghanistan will likely mean the deployment of thousands of additional US service members this summer. "At noon yesterday, president Trump delegated to me the authority to manage troop numbers in Afghanistan," Mattis said. "The delegation of this authority, consistent with the authority president Trump granted me two months ago for Iraq and Syria does not, at this time, change the troop numbers for Afghanistan," he told members of the subcommittee on defence hearing on the Department of Defence on Wednesday. "Together in the inter-agency, we will define the way ahead and I will set the US military commitment, consistent with the commander in chief strategic direction and the foreign policy as dictated by the secretary of state (Rex) Tillerson, he said during the hearing. The Pentagon chief, however, said that he has yet not decided on the final plan of deploying troops. "Our overall mission Afghanistan remains the same. To train, advise and assist the Afghan forces so they can safeguard the Afghan people and terrorists can find no haven in Afghanistan for attacking us or others. The revised Afghanistan strategy with the new approach will be presented to the president for his approval in the coming weeks," he said. The US currently has some 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. Army General John Nicholson, the top US commander in war-ravaged Afghanistan, had told Congress that he could use an infusion of US and allied troops to bolster support for the Afghan army. The decision to fix troop levels has been by welcomed by Afghanistan as it stated that it firms the commitment towards between the two nations. "Afghanistan welcomes the decision by president Trump to give Defence Secretary General James Mattis the authority to set US military troop levels in Afghanistan, a development that underscores the United States' strong commitment to our two countries' long-term joint efforts to defeat common enemies and bring about peace and stability," Afghanistan's Ambassador to America Hamdullah Mohib said. He exuded confidence that the decision will advance the strategic objectives of the US-Afghan mission and provide essential support to the brave Afghan troops fighting on the front lines of this global struggle between good and evil. "Daesh (Islamic State), Al-Qaeda and the Taliban along with more than two-dozen other terror groups threaten not just the people of Afghanistan but also the United States and other nations," Mohib said. Mattis said the US military posture in Afghanistan is part of a larger regional context in South Asia. Responding to questions, Mattis said the Afghan policy of the Trump administration is likely to be announced within weeks. "I'm talking about within weeks, not months. I will come up and brief you and any of your colleagues," he said. "I think right now what we have to look at is what kind of capabilities do we bring to them because the Afghans have proven they will fight. They have suffered horrible losses and they keep fighting. They're not fighting as well as they could if we gave them the kind of air support, more intel support that we could give them," he asserted. The Taliban has stepped up their attacks on foreign forces in recent months. Three US soldiers were killed and another wounded last Saturday when they were attacked by an Afghan soldier, who was then killed. Two US Army Rangers died in a 27 April raid on an IS compound in eastern Afghanistan. Washington: The special counsel overseeing the probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the US election is looking at whether President Donald Trump tried to obstruct justice, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing unnamed officials. In a pivotal shift in the investigation that has riveted Americans like no other for decades, senior intelligence officials have agreed to be interviewed by investigators working for the special counsel, Robert Mueller, the Post said. It quoted five people briefed on the requests and said those who have agreed to be interviewed are Daniel Coats, the director of national intelligence, Admiral Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and his recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett. The interviews could come as early as this week, the Washington Post said. The newspaper's story was met with a furious reaction from Trump's personal lawyer. The shift toward investigating the US president began days after Trump fired James Comey as FBI director on 9 May. The stated focus has been Russia's alleged efforts to tilt last November's presidential election Trump's way and whether the winner's campaign was involved in any way. Trump vehemently denies any collusion between himself or any of his associates and Russia. Mueller, himself a widely respected former head of the FBI, has now taken up the angle of possible efforts by Trump to obstruct justice in the investigation, the Post said. Quoting officials, the newspaper said one event of interest to Mueller is an exchange on 22 March, when Coats told associates that Trump had asked him to intervene with Comey to get him to back off the focus on Trump's former national security adviser Mike Flynn as part of the FBI probe of the Russia affair. A few days after the 22 March meeting, Trump spoke separately with Coats and Rogers and asked them to issue public statements to the effect that there was no evidence of coordination between his campaign and Russia. The Washington Post said both men refused the president's request. Trump's personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz issued a statement saying the FBI was behind the Post story and called the leak "outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." The lawyer did not deny the story, however. Mueller briefed Senators Wednesday on his work. "I'm going to acknowledge we had a meeting with the special counsel Mueller, but I'm not going to get into the contents," Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters later. The amendment appears intended to avoid the administration's legal case at the US Supreme Court becoming moot on grounds that parts of the executive order have expired. Challengers to the ban, who say the order is intended to discriminate against Muslims, have said in court papers that it should expire on Wednesday, 90 days after the executive order was due to take effect on 16 March. A memo issued by the White House, as the Supreme Court considered two challenges to the ban, said parts of the order put on hold would not expire before they can go into effect, and the start date would be when court injunctions were lifted. The move is part of administration efforts to have the high court rule that the controversial ban should immediately go into effect after Trump's first attempts to impose travel restrictions were blocked by lower courts. Omar Jadwat, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which has challenged the ban, said the need for the revision was a sign of the ban's legal flaws. "And yet again, these revisions underline that the one thing the president has consistently wanted throughout is a Muslim ban," he added. Lawsuits by Hawaii and Maryland challengers argued that the order violated federal immigration law and a section of the Constitution's First Amendment, which prohibits the government favouring or disfavoring any particular religion. The Trump administration has said it is needed to protect national security. Soon after the memo was issued, Acting Solicitor General Jeff Wall filed court papers saying that it resolved "any doubt" about the order's effective date. If the case was moot, the nine justices would have no reason to rule on it and lower court rulings against the administration would remain in place. The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the Trump administration more time to file papers responding to an appeals court ruling on Monday that upheld a block on the travel ban. The court's action likely delayed any decision on administration requests for the ban to go into effect until at least next week. Federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii blocked Trump's 90-day ban on travellers from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The Hawaii judge also blocked a 120-day ban on refugees entering the United States. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld the Hawaii injunction on Monday. In the second case, the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, on 25 May upheld the Maryland judge's ruling. Brussels: The European Parliament on Thursday debated and adopted a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Pakistan, as well as slamming Islamabad for breaching international law by not allowing consular access to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who been sentenced to death for espionage. The resolution, which was adopted by majority, expressed grave concern over the "roll-back in Pakistan of the respect for human rights and the rule of law," in particular the freedom granted to security forces, the use of military courts, the crackdown on NGOs, the intimidation of human rights defenders and religious minorities, and the increase in extrajudicial killings. Expressing "deep concern at the alarming rate of executions in Pakistan following flawed trials, including of minors and persons with mental disabilities, some of which are carried out while appeals are still under way," it urged the Pakistani government to prevent misuse of the "blasphemy law", which is so vaguely defined as to render it open to abuse, including to target political dissidents. It highlighted the case of Jadhav who was sentenced to death in April ,2017 by a military court without any access to consular services which is a breach of international law. Speaking during the debate in plenary in the French city of Strasbourg, British member of the European Parliament Neena Gill, said, "In 2014, the European Union allowed Pakistan to access GSP+, an exceptional tool to help kickstart the economy and encourage progress on improving human rights. It has proved its value in many countries. But I question whether this is the case for Pakistan." A delegation of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee visited Pakistan in April. "From our meetings with government officials and civil society it became glaringly clear that a lack of rule of law permeates through Pakistani society and human rights are violated instead of advanced," said Gill, the only MEP of Indian origin. "In March, military courts that can try civilians were reinstated for 2 more years. Basic rights of foreigners brought to trial are trampled on. With no access to consular rights, people who work for NGOs face harassment, arrest or worse - death," she added. "It is high time to see real progress on human rights and strengthening of the civil judiciary in Pakistan. If not, GSP+ has to be reviewed," she stressed. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday held talks in Kuwait to push mediation efforts aimed at resolving a standoff between a Saudi-led alliance and Qatar. Cavusoglu discussed with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah "regional and international developments," the official KUNA news agency said. Qatari diplomat Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has launched a mediation effort after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism. The Turkish chief diplomat held talks with Qatar's emir and foreign minister on Wednesday and plans to visit Saudi Arabia. Ahead of the talks in Kuwait, Cavusoglu said at a press conference that he will travel to the holy city of Mecca on Friday for talks with King Salman. "Although the kingdom is a party in this crisis, we know that King Salman is a party in resolving it," the Turkish minister said. "We want to hear the views of Saudi Arabia regarding possible solutions and will share with them our views in a transparent way ... We pay a great attention to our relations with them," he said. Cavusoglu said Qatari officials believe they are not the cause of the current crisis and want to know the claims of the four countries. "We are trying hard to prevent any escalation and find a quick solution to the crisis ... Resolving the crisis is not through taking (boycott) decisions but through dialogue," Cavusoglu said. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar on 5 June, accusing it of supporting "terrorism". US president Donald Trump expressed support for the allegations against Doha, which categorically denied them. The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf but is also keen to maintain its improving relations with the key regional power Saudi Arabia. Turkey is also eager to maintain workable relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia's foe with whom Doha's critics say Qatar maintained excessively close ties. By Allison Lampert | MONTREAL MONTREAL Gulf aviation officials met on Thursday to discuss the airspace standoff resulting from the Arab world's biggest powers decision to cut ties with Qatar, prompting Doha to invoke a 1944 international agreement to try to ease the logjam.Qatar has asked the United Nations aviation agency, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), to intervene after its Gulf neighbors closed their airspace to Qatar flights, but some sources were skeptical about finding a quick solution.ICAO, which regulates international air travel under the Chicago Convention, is hosting transport ministers and aviation officials from the Gulf states and Egypt at its headquarters to help resolve the dispute that erupted last week. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing it of support for Islamist militants and Iran. The UAE has also decided to blacklist Qatari individuals and entities.The Montreal meeting is the first high level gathering of countries involved in the Gulf crisis, however, it was not clear whether there would be any direct talks. A member of the Saudi delegation, led by the country's transport minister, said they would not be meeting directly with the Qatar representatives. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the closure was "unprecedented and it is in direct contradiction to the convention that guarantees rights to civil overflight", in a statement on Wednesday."We call upon the International Civil Aviation Organization to declare this an illegal act. We are not a political body, we are an airline, and this blockade has stripped us of the rights which are guaranteed to us, he said in the statement.Qatar is expected to meet separately with council members and ICAO president, according to sources familiar with the meeting. One of the sources said the talks are expected to last for two days. Qatar is asking the ICAO council to resolve the conflict, using a dispute resolution mechanism under the Chicago Convention, which governs airspace usage and is overseen by the U.N agency. ICAO does not impose binding rules, but wields clout through safety and security standards that are usually followed by its 191-member countries.Article 84 says that if two states cannot resolve a dispute related to the Chicago Convention through negotiation one can ask council to settle it. Members involved in the dispute are not allowed to vote on the matter. A council ruling can be appealed to an ad-hoc tribunal.One of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the private talks, said the airspace dispute would be difficult to resolve because it is a symptom of a larger row between the countries. ICAO, which was created after the United States invited more than 50 allies to agree to a common air navigation system in 1944, has no policing powers and has to rely on consensus to enforce its will.ICAO's decision to intervene in the Gulf airspace dispute is a rare instance of the U.N. body directly attempting to settle a row between states.In 1971, India closed its airspace to Pakistan in a row over the hijacking of a plane by Kashmir separatists. Pakistan complained to ICAO that its rights had been infringed under both post-World War II aviation agreements the Chicago Convention and the separate International Air Transit Services Agreement, which guarantees transit rights.The ICAO Council, however, merely encouraged the two sides to settle their differences, according to a history of the agency by Canadian academic David Mackenzie. (Reporting by Allison Lampert in Monteral; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Bernard Orr) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Dhaka/Bangladesh: Heavy rains have triggered a series of landslides and floods in Bangladesh and northeast India, killing at least 156 people over two days, and officials warned on Wednesday the toll could rise. Densely populated Bangladesh is battered by storms, floods and landslides every rainy season. The latest casualties come weeks after Cyclone Mora killed at least seven people and damaged tens of thousands of homes. Landslides hit three hilly districts in Bangladesh's southeast early on Tuesday, killing 100 people in Rangamati, 36 in Chittagong and six in Bandarban, said Reaz Ahmed, head of the department of disaster management. Fresh landslides on Wednesday killed one person in the district of Khagrachari and two in the coastal town of Cox's Bazar, he added. The town bordering Myanmar is home to thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees and was just beginning to recover from Cyclone Mora. Ahmed said many people were still missing in the landslide-hit districts and the death toll could rise further as rescuers search for bodies. The toll included four soldiers trapped by a landslide during a rescue operation in Rangamati, he added. Shah Kamal, the secretary of Bangladesh's disaster ministry, said there had been no rain on Wednesday and rescue operations were in full swing. "It is a great relief. Some areas in the district are still cut off but people are being moved through navy boats," he told Reuters by telephone from Rangamati. But weather officials in Bangladesh have forecast light to moderate showers accompanied by gusty or squally wind during the next 24 hours in places like Chittagong. In the Indian states of Mizoram and Assam, which border Bangladesh, at least 11 people were killed as incessant rains flooded major cities. Authorities in Mizoram retrieved nine bodies, but about seven people were still missing after landslides caused several homes to cave in, the state's urban development minister said. India was ready to support Bangladesh with search and rescue efforts if needed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office said in a statement. Outside help might not be needed, however, two Bangladesh government officials said. Kabul (Afghanistan): The Islamic State group said its fighters have captured Osama bin Laden's infamous Tora Bora mountain hideout in eastern Afghanistan but the Taliban on Thursday dismissed the claim, saying they were still in control of the cave complex that once housed the former al-Qaida leader. Earlier, Islamic State released an audio recording, saying its signature black flag was flying over the hulking mountain range. The message was broadcast on the militants' Radio Khilafat station in the Pashto language late on Wednesday. It also said Islamic State has taken over several districts and urged villagers who fled the fighting to return to their homes and stay indoors. A Taliban spokesman denied the terrorist group was in control, claiming instead that the Taliban had pushed Islamic State back from some territory the rival militants had taken in the area. The Tora Bora mountains hide a warren of caves in which al-Qaeda militants led by bin Laden hid from US coalition forces in 2001, after the Taliban fled Kabul and before he fled to neighboring Pakistan. According to testimony from al-Qaida captives in the US prison at Guantamo Bay, Cuba, bin Laden fled from Tora Bora first to Afghanistan's northeastern Kunar province, before crossing the border into Pakistan. He was killed in a 2011 raid by US Navy SEALs on his hideout in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. Pakistan complained the raid violated its sovereignty while bin Laden's presence barely a few miles from the Pakistani equivalent of America's West Point military academy reinforced allegations by those who accused Pakistan of harboring the Taliban and al-Qaida militants. Pakistan denies such charges, pointing to senior Qaida operatives it has turned over to the United States. Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that Taliban fighters pushed back the Islamic State group from areas of Tora Bora that IS had earlier captured. Mujahid claimed that more than 30 Islamic State fighters were killed in battle. He also added that a US airstrike on Taliban positions on Wednesday that killed 11 of its fighters had benefited the Islamic State group. The remoteness of the area makes it impossible to independently verify the contradictory claims. Afghan officials earlier said that fighting between Islamic State and the Taliban, who had controlled Tora Bora, began on Tuesday but couldn't confirm its capture. While the United States estimates there are about 800 Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan, mostly restricted to the eastern Nangarhar province, other estimates say their ranks also include thousands of battle-hardened Uzbek militants. Last week Russia announced it was reinforcing two of its bases in Central Asia, in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, with its newest weapons because of fears of a "spill-over of terrorist activities from Afghanistan" by the Afghan Islamic State affiliate. "The (Islamic State) group's strategy to establish an Islamic caliphate poses a threat not only to Afghanistan but also to the neighboring countries," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said. The judiciary in Pakistan has always been afflicted with flawed and discriminatory judgments, more than often denying justice to the lot seeking redressal for justice. In particular, the courts in Pakistan, even the high courts, earned infamy for passing verdicts on blasphemy laws hitting hapless members of the minority community already reeling under highhandedness in a country where institutions are largely biased and fanatical hard. Having said this, it's equally significant to state that in a recent judgment, one Justice Asif Khosa made most apt observations in a case where one Mushtaq, a Christian scavenger (what would be called a sweeper in India) facing charges of blasphemy, was given a fair hearing. The case dates back to October 2006. Mushtaq was charged for burning the Quran. Presiding over a three-member bench, Khosa held that the prosecution failed to prove the occurrence of blasphemy beyond a reasonable doubt and the police investigation was faulty and flawed . The judges further observed, for instance, that the matchbox produced in the lower courts was stated to be different from the one in the police records. Also, the burnt piece of holy scriptures from the Quran, used as evidence against Mushtaq, was not recovered by the Investigation Officer (IO) from the crime scene, but was rather provided by the complainant. This created suspicion over the authenticity, thus making it inadmissible in the court of law. Such observations, valid at face value, serve to underline the common practice of instigating and bribing the police in Pakistan to file frivolous and baseless charges for which complaints themselves provide concocted evidence. To worsen matters, the prosecution based its arguments solely on the police investigation report and usually ignored any legal loopholes or discrepancies. The lower judiciary, in the meanwhile, due to its heavy backlogs of cases, does not spend time sifting through the evidence. The result, therefore, is a travesty of justice . Khosa further expressed his shock at the lack of credible witnesses to the crime for which Mushtaq was convicted in the lower court. It's also worth underlining that given the legal and social constraints, no sane man will ever indulge in such a crime. According to the bench, mob justice and lynching is closely associated with the religious fervour that conveniently clouds any logic or reasoning. One cannot ignore the fact that religious fundamentalists in Pakistan consider it their religious right to kill anyone accused of blasphemy and ordinarily, no one is allowed to defend the poor. And it's more a mockery of the judicial system . Against this backdrop, it merits to be put on record that more than a dozen cases of mob lynching have taken place in Pakistan since the start of the year. Increasing blasphemy allegations and misuse of the law are symptoms of failed governance, and are exacerbated by Pakistan's law and order situation. Pakistan's criminal justice system ranks very low in the global context. Legal experts and human rights watchers feel there is an urgent need for drastic improvement and re-engineering. It is therefore incumbent upon more judicial officers to partake their duties with full honesty and integrity as in the case of Mushtaq discussed above. Khosa's verdict and findings were an exception. Delving deep into the evidence was not ordinary. Otherwise, trials and judgments are routinely one-sided and driven by fanaticism . Unless the Pakistan judiciary takes recourse to fair play and real justice, it cannot match international standards let alone contest the Kulbhushan Jadhav case in the International Court of Justice. The whole world knows how Pakistani lawyers were exposed for their triviality when arguing in The Hague not so long ago . The author is a retired IPS officer and a security analyst. He is also senior fellow with the India Police Foundation. The explosion of a refrigerator in a fourth-floor apartment at Grenfell Tower in London's North Kensington may have ignited the catastrophic fire, reports The Times of India. An eyewitness Safiyah Wallden said a resident was telling people that his fridge had exploded, causing a fire in his apartment. When Wallden first saw the fire around 1.15am, only a small section on the right side of the building was burning. However, the fire spread quickly after that and soon the entire building was on fire. The theory of the fridge exploding is further backed up by several eyewitnesses describing hearing a distressed resident from Grenfell Tower, Abdul Ramaz, telling neighbours his fridge had caused the blaze at the block of flats, according to ITV. The Telegraph said that residents did not hear the fire alarm on their floors. There were also no sprinklers in the tightly packed 24-storied highrise that contained 120 flats. The presence of only one stairwell further hindered evacuation. The Times of India further added that Wallden believes the casualty figures will be high as she did not see many residents among those gathered around the building. "Usually, when there is a fire in a residential building, residents gather below in groups. I went all around the building and was surprised to see there weren't that many residents. Nor were many receiving treatment in the ambulance. I think many of the 500-600 people who lived in Grenfell Tower are dead." It had also been reported that the planning documents detailing the refurbishment of the tower block did not refer to a type of fire barrier that building safety experts said should be used when high rise blocks are being re-clad. The local authority which owns Grenfell Tower in Kensington declined to confirm whether fire barriers were installed on most floors between the insulation panels attached to the exterior of the building as part of the renovation. Rydon Group, the construction company which undertook the work, also declined to say whether they had been used, but said the revamp "met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards." At least 12 people were killed in a massive blaze that engulfed the London tower block on Wednesday, raising serious questions about fire safety in Britain's housing blocks. With inputs from agencies London: A 23-year-old Syrian student, who had fled his war-torn country and arrived in the UK three years ago, was Thursday named as the first victim of the west London inferno which killed 17 people. Mohammad al-Haj Ali, a civil engineering student at West London University, was separated from his older brother Omar on the stairs as they tried to escape the devastating fire that engulfed the 24-storey residential block Grenfell Tower on Wednesday. Ali was following Omar but let go of his hand after becoming overwhelmed by the smoke. He returned alone to their flat on the 14th floor, where he was trapped for two hours. He made phone calls to friends and family at home in Syria before sending one final message that read: "The fire is here now, goodbye", The Telegraph reported. Friends and family confirmed that 25-year-old Omar, a business student, made it out alive and is recovering from smoke inhalation in Kings Cross hospital. Abdulaziz Almashi, a friend of the family and co-founder of the UK-based Syrian Solidarity Campaign, said that Ali remained trapped with the firefighters unable to reach above the 13th floor. "He survived Assad, the war in Syria, only to die in a tower block in London. There are no words," Almashi was quoted as saying by the daily. The brothers along with their family had fled Daraa in southern Syria the cradle of the revolution against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad three years ago and were granted asylum in the UK. UK Prime Minister Theresa May Thursday ordered a full public inquiry into the devastating fire reported at 1.16 am (local time) on Wednesday as police said there was little chance of finding any more survivors from the smouldering building. About 600 people were believed to have been inside the tower's 120 flats, many of them asleep, when the blaze ripped through the building. Nearly 78 people were injured, and 34 remain in hospitals across London 18 of them in critical condition. New Delhi: Maritime forces from India, Japan and the United States would participate in Malabar 2017, a joint mid-summer exercise aimed at addressing shared threats to maritime security in the India-Asia Pacific region. The exercise involving naval ships, aircraft and personnel from the three countries will feature in both ashore and at-sea training off India's eastern coast in the Bay of Bengal, a statement from US embassy said on Thursday. Training will focus on high-end war-fighting skill sets, combined carrier strike group operations, surface and anti-submarine warfare, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), helicopter operations, and visit board search and seizure (VBSS) operations, it said. The exercise would also include medical operations, maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations, damage control exercises and subject matter expert and professional exchanges. Malabar 2017 is the latest in a continuing series of exercises that has grown in scope and complexity over the years, the US embassy said. "Indian, Japanese and US maritime forces look forward to working together again to build upon and advance their working relationship to collectively provide security and stability in the Indo-Asia Pacific region," the embassy said. "Each iteration of this exercise helps to increase the level of understanding between our sailors and interoperability between our three navies," it added. Kuala Lumpur: Two Malaysian pilots were found dead after their military plane went missing, triggering a search-and-rescue mission Thursday, an air force spokesperson told AFP. The Hawk 108 fighter jet took off at 11 am and contact was lost at 11.30 am when the plane was believed to be near the border of the Malaysian states of Pahang and Terengganu. The two airmen's bodies were found in a swampy area in Chukai, a town in Terengganu, the spokesperson who did not want to be named, said. "The plane has not been found yet and we are investigating," the spokesperson said without providing more details. State news agency Bernama, citing air force chief Affendi Buang, reported that the bodies had parachutes attached to them. There have been other recent cases of military plane incidents in Malaysia. In December, a military Beechcraft B200T turboprop crashed in the town of Butterworth in northern Malaysia. In May last year, an air force Aermacchi MB339CM jet crashed in a small town in the rural state of Pahang but there were no casualties. Islamabad: Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has lashed out at the US for carrying out drone strikes "unilaterally" on a militant hideout in the tribal Orakzai Agency. "Unilateral actions, like a drone strike, etc, are counterproductive and against (the) spirit of...ongoing cooperation and intelligence-sharing being diligently undertaken by Pakistan," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday quoted General Bajwa as saying. "Pakistan Army is capable of taking effective measure if actionable intelligence is shared," General Bajwa said, referring to Tuesday's drone strike in the Spin Thall area of Orakzai Agency adjacent to North Waziristan Agency. According to media reports, a US drone fired two missiles at a compound, killing two suspected militants, including a leader of the Haqqani network, Abubakar. General Bajwa on Wednesday said the Pakistan Army would continue its efforts to consolidate gains achieved thus far and added that the army stood with all other institutions to get Pakistan rid of menaces retarding its progress and prosperity. A group of militants killed at least three policemen and wounded another during a shootout late Thursday in northwest Pakistan, officials said, with one assailant killed in the firefight. The gunmen opened fire on the officers' vehicle in Peshawar's Chamkani area just minutes before the celebratory Iftar meal that ends the day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. "At least three policemen were killed when three attackers, hiding in the nearby... fields opened fire on the police," Furqan Bilal, a senior police official, told AFP. Bilal said one attacker was also killed by police while two others fled the scene. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Bilal blamed local militants for the attack. A second police official in Chamkani confirmed the incident and told AFP that a search operation has been launched in the area. Violence across Pakistan has declined in recent years following a series of military offensives against insurgents along the country's northwestern border. But the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks, particularly in the northwest. Islamabad: Pakistan said on Thursday it welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's "intention" to play a role in helping resolve its bilateral differences with India. Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria during a weekly briefing was asked that reportedly during his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of SCO Summit, Putin offered mediation between India and Pakistan to resolve their issues. "Pakistan welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this longstanding issue on the UNSC agenda," he said. Zakarai said Putin was a world leader and a statesman and Pakistan would extend a very warm welcome to him when he decides to visit the country. Talking about ties with Russia, Zakarai said Pakistan-Russia relation was following a positive trajectory. "Both sides have signed defence agreement, held joint military exercises and Russia is investing $2 billion in the South-North gas pipeline project. There is tremendous scope for enhancing ties further, particularly in political, economic and trade, energy, defense, culture and education fields," he said. Zakarai said there was a growing realisation and concern among the regional countries and the UN on the threat to peace in the region "due to Indian unprovoked hostility on the LoC and Working Boundary." "Indian attempts to distract the world attention from the brutalities its occupation forces have unleashed on unarmed Kashmiris have endangered peace and security in the subcontinent and beyond," he alleged. To a question about External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement that Pakistan cannot take Kashmir issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), he said Pakistan was a sovereign country and reserves the right to take up any matter at any forum it deemed appropriate. "As for Kashmir, it is an internationally recognised dispute and outstanding on the UNSC agenda. Pakistan's position is consistent that we call for an early implementation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions on Kashmir, which promise the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people under a UN supervised plebiscite," he said. Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday appeared for the first time before a judicial panel probing the family's offshore properties in line with the apex court verdict in the Panama-gate case. "Today, I have just presented my stance before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT)", said the prime minister adding that all sources of his assets were already submitted to relevant authorities. "A historic day for Pakistan's judiciary, I and my whole family have presented ourselves for accountability". "Is there any family in Pakistan that has appeared for accountability other than mine", asked Sharif, stating it was the third time the family appeared before the court. "My personal businesses have nothing to do with federal treasury. And no matter how many conspiracies my rivals are hatching, they will not be successful", he said. Sharif, ahead of appearing before the JIT, met his close aides including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, reports The News International. On 8 June, the team issued summons asking the prime minister to appear before the panel on Thursday. The JIT questioned Hussain Nawaz, the prime minister's elder son, on 28 May. Hussain has made five appearances before the JIT so far. The panel has also grilled Sharif's younger son, Hassan. In its judgement of 20 April in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted the JIT and empowered it to summon the prime minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money laundering, through which four apartments in London's Park Lane area were purchased. Having just pulled itself out of the dilemma over joining Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen, Pakistan seems to be caught up in the middle of a new West Asia conundrum with Saudi Arabia asking Islamabad to pick between Doha and Riyadh. In his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was asked to choose between the two Gulf nations by the Saudi rulers, media reports said. Are you with us or with Qatar? King Salman bin Abdulaziz is known to have said Sharif in Jeddah on Monday, reported The Express Tribune citing diplomatic sources. Sharif, who was in the Saudi kingdom to find a diplomatic solution to the Qatar crisis, is known to have said "no" to the Saudis request to join their side in the current crisis against Qatar, the paper further added. Islamabad enjoys cordial ties with both Saudi Arabia and Qatar. With over 1.9 million Pakistanis living in Saudi Arabia and bilateral trade in billions of dollars, Saudi authorities have leverage over Pakistan, and they have been persistent in their demands that Islamabad assists them in the Yemeni war as well as a larger regional security alliance led by Riyadh, reported dw.com. Despite the Parliament of Pakistan's decision last year against becoming a party to the intensifying Saudi-Iranian conflict in West Asia, in April, Islamabad approved the appointment of Raheel Sharif, the country's former army chief, as head of the 39-member Saudi-led military coalition. Although Riyadh says the Muslim nations' alliance was formed to fight terrorism in the region, experts point out that it is primarily an anti-Iran grouping, the website reported. Pakistan has good diplomatic, economic and other bilateral relations with Qatar also. More than one lakh Pakistani nationals live in the country, and in December 2015, the two nations had signed a deal in which Qatar agreed to supply Pakistan with $16 billion of liquefied natural gas to ease the countrys energy crisis. A relatively tiny nation which shares its only land border with a much bigger Saudi Arabia, Qatar nevertheless punches much above its weight by having the worlds third biggest gas reserves and highest per capita income. Effect of the crisis on Pakistan's society Treading a careful path since the crisis erupted, media reports said that Islamabad has offered the Saudis to use its influence over Qatar to diffuse the situation. Sharif has also reportedly offered to visit Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey to work out a peaceful solution. As Riyadh has accused Qatar of having ties with groups funded by Iran, Islamabad is particularly sensitive to the current situation, because of the presence of a large number of Shias in the country. According to dw.com, Pakistani intelligentsia and civil society have advised Sharif to maintain a neutral stance in the present West Asia crisis as Islamabad's support to Saudi Arabia could also increase the Sunni-Shiite tension Pakistan. With inputs from PTI A suicide car bombing by Al-Shabaab militants on two neighbouring restaurants in Somalia's capital Mogadishu killed 18 persons. Later reports said gunmen were killed by security forces. The attack began around 8 pm on Wednesday evening with a suicide car bombing at the Post Treats restaurant and club, after which gunmen stormed inside the nearby Pizza House restaurant. Both venues are popular with affluent, young and diaspora Somalis and were busy on Wednesday, with customers breaking their Ramadan fast. "The operation is over now and the gunmen were killed by the security forces," said Mohamed Ahmed Arab, spokesman for Somalia's security ministry. "They have attacked business places and killed innocent civilians, 18 civilians were killed, including a Syrian national, and more than 10 others were wounded," he said. Reports said the gunmen spent the night roaming the restaurant, killing those they found trapped before security forces intervened. Gunmen were also holding at least 20 people hostage in a restaurant, police said. "The fighters are still inside Pizza House and they hold inside over 20 people. We do not know how many of those are dead or alive," Ibrahim Hussein, a police major, told Reuters. Earlier on Wednesday, police said nine people, mostly women who were hotel staff, had died in the attack. Security officials said a suicide attacker had rammed an explosive-laden car into the hotel's entrance before gunmen stormed the restaurant. "A suspected car bomb is also parked in front of Pizza House. This and snipers have made it difficult for the security forces to head inside, said Hussein. Other officials said victims inside the hotel had been safely evacuated, but there are likely to be more casualties. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attacks; the group has carried out a campaign of suicide bombings, in its bid to topple the Somali government and impose its strict interpretation of Islam. "A mujahid (fighter) with his suicide car bomb martyred himself after he rammed into the Posh Hotel, which is a nightclub. The operation goes on," Abdiasis Abu Musab, the group's military spokesman, told Reuters. Since losing large swathes of territory to African Union peacekeepers supporting the government, the group has frequently launched raids and deadly attacks in Mogadishu and other regions controlled by the federal government. The East African country has been hit by armed conflict since 1991 when clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned on each other. With input from agencies Mogadishu: Local police said that the death toll in an overnight attack by Al-Shabab on a popular restaurant in Somalia's capital has risen to 31. 2.40 pm local time Captain Mohamed Hussein says many of the victims were killed at point-blank range after the attackers hunted them down. Police say nearly 40 people were wounded in the assault that began when a car bomb exploded outside the Pizza House restaurant in Mogadishu. Security forces ended the siege on Thursday morning after the extremist snipers fired on them. Hussein says all five attackers were killed. 7.55 am local time Fighting continued through the night as Somalia's Al-Shabab Islamic extremists fought off heavily armed soldiers in a bloody siege at a popular Mogadishu restaurant. Extremist snipers fired on security troops who surrounded the restaurant building and used big guns mounted on the backs of vehicles to neutralize militants. Soldiers entered the ground floor while the insurgent attackers held positions upstairs. Senior Somali police office Captain Mohamed Hussein said at dawn on Thursday that at least one attacker was firing on troops from inside the restaurant. The roofs were blown off the Pizza House restaurant and nearby buildings from the powerful blasts. High casualties are feared in the attack on the busy restaurant. Police said the bodies of five girls thought to have been killed by militants were found in the restaurant. By Umit Bektas | CILVEGOZU, Turkey CILVEGOZU, Turkey Carrying suitcases, shopping bags and toddlers, thousands of refugees walked back home into Syria from Turkey on Thursday ahead of the Eid festival that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.Turkey has taken in some 3 million Syrian migrants since the start of civil war in 2011, making it home to the world's largest refugee population. Now Ankara is giving Syrian refugees the right to return to Turkey within a month if they want to go home to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Some said they wanted to start again in their homeland, and would return within the month if it did not work out, while others said they wanted to return to Syria for good, citing the difficulty of finding employment in Turkey."One day you can find a job, the other day you can't," said Sevsen Um Mustafa as she walked toward the border crossing with two daughters in tow. "Sometimes they make you work but they don't pay. Even if they do, it's not enough.""Even smelling the soil of Aleppo is better than here," said the former Aleppo resident. "I'd rather die there because of war than here because of starvation."The majority of Syrian refugees in Turkey live outside the government-built camps and struggle to make ends meet as the cost of food, rent and clothing usually exceeds their incomes. The government, which tightened its border security after a 2016 deal with the European Union to stem illegal migration, estimates it has spent some $25 billion on housing the refugees.BORDER CROSSING Authorities did not give any figures on how many Syrians have returned so far. A Reuters witness said at least 3,000 people crossed on foot through the dusty Cilvegozu border crossing into Syria during several hours on Thursday. Ankara introduced work permits for Syrians in 2016 but many, like 22-year-old Muhammed Ali, said opportunities are scarce."Even if I worked for the whole month, I'd have 200-300 liras ($57-$85) left over after paying the rent," said Ali, who was heading back to his hometown of Afrin, in northwest Syria after four years of working as a textile labourer in Istanbul."I had no rights of leave, no insurance. I was miserable."The offer to return applies to Syrian nationals with valid travel documents who cross through the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates, authorities said. The Eid al-Fitr holiday begins on June 25. Those who wish to return can do so until July 14. Anyone who comes back after that will be treated as new arrival and subject to the regular immigration process, a local official at the Hatay governor's office said. Facing criticism from Western allies that it was too slow to stop the flow jihadis from Syria, Turkey has fortified its 900 km (560 miles) border with fences, minefields, ditches and a wall. In August 2016 it launched a military campaign in Syria and drove Islamic State militants from its border.Authorities say thousands of Syrians have since returned to Syrian towns freed from Islamic State. Still, Turkey's biggest cities and border provinces still host hundreds of thousands of refugees.Images from Turkey's state-run broadcaster TRT also showed hundreds of refugees waiting near Oncupinar border crossing in the southeastern Turkish province of Kilis. ($1 = 3.5157 liras) (Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by David Dolan and Alison Williams) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Kabul: Amid a widening rivalry between the Taliban and the Islamic State in Afghanistan, the Taliban said it had captured five Islamic State militants in the northern province of Jawzjan, police said on Thursday. "A five-member delegation of Islamic State group under Sayed Jalal was visiting Darzab district to organise its fighters when the Taliban militants on the way back captured them," Xinhua news agency quoted the police as saying. Neither the Taliban nor the Islamic State commented on the report. Both the Taliban and Islamic State fighters have been trying in Darzab district and adjoining areas to expand their influence. Washington: The Trump administration on Thursday added three senior members of the Islamic State group to a terrorism blacklist, including the group's leader and chief recruiter in India and a recruiter for attackers who carried out two deadly assaults in Europe. The state department and treasury said the trio have committed or pose a significant risk of committing terrorist attacks that threaten Americans or US national interests. The move adds them to a list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, freezing any assets they may have in US jurisdictions and barring Americans from any transactions with them. Authorities in France and Belgium have identified one of the men, Oussama Atar, as an organizer of both the November 2015 attack in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels that together killed 162 people. The Belgian-Moroccan national is believed to have played a major role in setting up the cell that is blamed for the two strikes. The designation also applies to Mohammad Armar, who was identified as a leader and head recruiter for the Islamic State in India. The state department said Armar has recruited dozens of IS sympathizers throughout India who are plotting attacks, acquiring weapons and scouting locations for training camps. The third man added to the list is Mohammed Al Binali from Bahrain, who has appeared in numerous propaganda videos encouraging fellow Bahrainis, particularly police and soldiers, to join the Islamic State, according to the state department. WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump is being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed officials. Mueller is investigating alleged Russia interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Former FBI Director James Comey told Congress last week he believes he was fired by Trump to undermine the agency's Russia probe. (Reporting by Eric Beech) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Julia Edwards Ainsley | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump attacked what he called a "phony story" on Thursday after a report that he is under investigation for possible obstruction of justice by the special counsel probing alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," Trump wrote on Twitter, later repeating his accusation that the probe is a "witch hunt." The Washington Post, citing unidentified officials, reported on Wednesday that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the Republican president for possible obstruction of justice.Mueller is leading the Russia probe after being appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in the Department of Justice, which oversees the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Last week, former FBI Director James Comey told Congress he believed he was fired by Trump to undermine the agency's Russia investigation. A source familiar with the Mueller investigation confirmed the Post report, saying an examination of possible obstruction of justice charges was "unavoidable" given Comey's testimony, although the issue may not become the main focus of the probe. Examining such possible charges will allow investigators to interview key people within the administration including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Rosenstein and possibly Trump, the source told Reuters.The obstruction of justice investigation into Trump began days after Comey was fired on May 9, according to people familiar with the matter, the Washington Post said. After Comey's firing, the administration gave differing reasons for his dismissal. Trump later contradicted his own staff, saying on May 11 he had the Russia issue in mind when he fired Comey. Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8 he believed Trump had directed him in February to drop an FBI probe into former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, that was part of the broader Russia investigation. He declined to say whether he thought Trump sought to obstruct justice, saying that would be up to Mueller to sort out.Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, and Richard Ledgett, the former deputy director at the NSA, had agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's investigators as early as this week, the Post said. It cited five people briefed on the requests by Mueller's team who spoke on condition of anonymity. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's legal team, denounced the Post report, saying on Wednesday: "The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." It was not clear why he attributed the report to an FBI leak. The Post report did not name the FBI as its source. A spokesman for Mueller's team declined to comment on Wednesday.Moscow has denied U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that it interfered in last year's election campaign to try to tilt the vote in Trump's favor. The White House has denied any collusion, and Trump has repeatedly complained about the probe, saying Democrats cannot accept his election win.Several congressional panels are also investigating the Russia issue, which has cast a shadow over the early months of Trump's presidency. (Additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Eric Beech; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Frances Kerry) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON The U.S. State Department sanctioned on Thursday three Islamic State members, including whom it said was a leading coordinator of the Nov. 2015 Paris attacks and the March 2016 attacks in Brussels. Mohammed Al Binali, who the State Department said left Bahrain in 2014 to join Islamic State and has appeared in multiple videos urging Bahrainis to join the militant group, was also designated. (Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Ginny McCabe | WYOMING, Ohio WYOMING, Ohio An American university student who was detained for 17 months in North Korea and suffered a serious neurological injury was "brutalized" while in custody, his father said on Thursday.Despite the "severe" injury, Otto Warmbier, 22, is stable and receiving treatment at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, center spokeswoman Kelly Martin said at a news briefing at Warmbier's high school in Wyoming, Ohio. Doctors will provide further details about Warmbier's condition on Thursday afternoon. Warmbier has been in a coma since March 2016, shortly after he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea, the family said on Tuesday after he was released. He was arrested for trying to steal an item with a propaganda slogan, according to North Korean media.The University of Virginia student was "brutalized and terrorized" by the North Korean regime, his father Fred Warmbier said at the news conference, two days after his son arrived in Ohio on a medical evacuation flight. North Korea's official KCNA news agency said in a one-line report on Thursday the student was "sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK."Fred Warmbier said the family did not believe North Korea's story, that his son had fallen into a coma after contracting botulism and being given a sleeping pill. "We don't believe anything they (North Korea) say," said Fred Warmbier, who was wearing a sport coat Otto Warmbier had worn during a broadcast confession of his crimes last year in North Korea. He said his wife, Cindy, had not left their son's side since his return to the United States.'STUNNED' Fred Warmbier said he was stunned when told of his son's condition one week ago. "I don't know what being in shock is, but I'm pretty sure I was," he said, referring to being informed Otto Warmbier was in a coma. The New York Times previously cited a senior U.S. official as saying Washington had received intelligence reports Warmbier was repeatedly beaten while held captive in North Korea.Fred Warmbier said of his son's release by the regime: "They did not do this out of the kindness of their hearts." Ohio Senator Rob Portman described the North Korean government's handling of Warmbier as "abhorrent" in an interview with Fox News. "Now we know why they wouldnt allow consular access," he said. U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to Fred Warmbier on Wednesday night, Warmbier said. Trump discussed how U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Joseph Yun, the U.S. State Department's special envoy on North Korea, worked together to help secure Otto's release, Warmbier said. (Writing by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Editing by Bernadette Baum) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. London: British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives have reached a "broad agreement" with the ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party to prop up her minority government, a source told AFP on Thursday, a week after her election fiasco. The Conservative source said talks with the small Northern Irish party were progressing well as meetings in Downing Street with all of the British province's main political leaders got underway. Conservatives and the DUP are committed to strengthening British unity, delivering Brexit, combating terrorism, and delivering prosperity but "at the moment there isn't a deal," the source said. The government meanwhile said the state opening of the Parliament when May's government presents its legislation programme will take place on 21 June, two days later than planned. A Conservative source said this meant the party was "confident" it had enough votes for the programme to be approved after May suffered a disastrous setback in snap elections a week ago that saw her lose her majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, just ahead of crucial Brexit negotiations with Brussels. The Conservatives, who have 317 MPs, are looking to strike a deal with the DUP, who have 10. The state opening will be followed by days of parliamentary debate and a confidence vote that will be the first major challenge for the new government. The prospect of an arrangement between Conservatives and the DUP has caused disquiet, with the DUP's anti-abortion and gay rights stance in the crosshairs. Though on the surface, Thursday's meeting with Northern Irish parties is aimed at breaking the logjam in forming a new cross-party regional government in the province, May needs broader acceptance of a Conservative-DUP deal. Some fear the viability of Northern Ireland's fragile peace which has held since 1998 after decades of inter-community violence known as The Troubles could rest on the arrangement, with doubts around the UK government's neutrality. Questions of trust "The main concern is going to be that if there is a Conservative-DUP deal, then can the British government continue to play the role of an honest broker in the restoration of a Northern Ireland executive?" said Simon Usherwood, senior politics lecturer at Surrey University. "The risk is that Northern Ireland continues to fail to find solutions, and potentially the peace process unwinds," he told AFP. The 1998 peace accords in Northern Ireland set up a power-sharing agreement in the British province, but this collapsed in January when Irish republicans Sinn Fein pulled out, citing a breakdown in trust. An election in March saw the pro-British, Protestant, conservative DUP finish narrowly ahead of Catholic socialists Sinn Fein. If the parties cannot agree on a deal, then devolution will be suspended and the Northern Irish assembly's powers returned to the UK government. "There is very little time left. An agreement to restore devolved power-sharing government in Stormont must be reached by the June 29 deadline," said Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire. Deal or no deal? The DUP and Sinn Fein are taking part in Thursday's talks at Downing Street, along with smaller parties. Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein's leader in Northern Ireland, said any deal between the Conservatives and the DUP "cannot be allowed to undermine" the province's peace accords. Following talks inside, cross-community Alliance party leader Naomi Long said they were concerned about the Conservative-DUP arrangement. May sought to give reassurances on neutrality but Long thought the government was "compromised" by the arrangement. "In reality, the government is here simply because the DUP allow it to be so," Long said, according to the BBC. Restoring devolved government in Belfast could protect Northern Ireland "from the worst effects of that arrangement," she said. Brexit is another complicating factor in the mix. A majority in Northern Ireland wanted the UK to remain in the European Union, though the DUP backed a divorce from the bloc. Northern Ireland's frontier with the Republic of Ireland will be the UK's only land border with the EU after Brexit. London, Belfast, Dublin and Brussels all want to keep the border open, but no agreement has been reached. Baghdad: The United Nations said it will not be "engaged in any way or form" in the process surrounding the independence referendum in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region planned for September. The statement by the UN special mission to Iraq, or UNAMI, released late on Wednesday, could cast doubts on the credibility of the vote, which has already sparked wide criticism from the central government in Baghdad and several regional and Western nations. Last week, the president of the Kurdish region, Masoud Barzani, said the vote, slated for 25 September, will determine whether the Kurdish region would secede from Iraq. The balloting is to be held in three governorates that make up the Kurdish region but also in areas that are contested by both the Kurds and the central government. Those disputed areas have been under the Kurds' control since the 2014 Islamic State group's onslaught in western and northern Iraq and the withdrawal of security forces from these areas. The UNAMI statement did not say why it was distancing itself from the referendum, but added that it "seeks to rectify inaccurate news reports that UNAMI will oversee, support or observe" the vote. UNAMI "has no intention to be engaged in any way or form" with the referendum, it concluded. Baghdad says such a referendum cannot be determined by a single party and that it will lead to more problems. Turkey and Iran, which have large and sometimes restive Kurdish minorities, have also expressed strong displeasure over the vote. Some Iraqi Kurds, mainly the opposition party Gorran, have criticized Barzani, whose term in office expired in 2015 prompting a political limbo, and demanded that the referendum should be held after parliamentary and presidential polls. With a population of about 5 million, Iraq's Kurdish region already enjoys a high degree of autonomy, including its own parliament and armed forces. Since 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, relations with the central government in Baghdad have become strained over a range of issues, including the sharing of oil revenues and control of some areas, such as the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. IS militants routed the Iraqi security forces and took control of much of the country's north in 2014. Since then, the Kurdish peshmerga forces have retaken large chunks of IS-held territory, including Kirkuk, leading to more tensions with Baghdad. Qatar signed a deal with the US to buy a reported 36 F-15QA fighter jets for $12 billion on Wednesday, according to the country's Ministry of Defence. It comes at a time when the Gulf nation is mired in one of the worst diplomatic crises in its recent past. Qatar signs LOA for the purchase of the F-15QA fighter jets creating 60,000 new jobs in 42 states across the United States pic.twitter.com/tnOAC3KGma Meshal Hamad AlThani (@Amb_AlThani) June 14, 2017 What's interesting is that the deal appears to have gone ahead despite US president Donald's Trump's scathing criticism of Qatar last week. In a statement delivered on Friday, the president accused Qatar of being a "high-level" sponsor of terrorism. "The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level... nations came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar over its behaviour... I decided, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, our great generals and military people, the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding they have to end that funding and its extremist ideology in terms of funding," Trump had said. And under a week later, the deal for the fighter jets was signed. At face value, this could appear to be a case of muddled or mixed foreign policy, but there's more to it than meets the eye. While the US and Saudi Arabia share warm diplomatic relations, something underscored by Trump in recent visit to West Asia, ties (particularly defence relations) between Doha and Washington have also been strong. First off, the sale of F-15QA jets, according to the Pentagon, will increase security cooperation and interoperability between the US and Qatar. Additionally, Qatar is home to the Al Udeid Air Base, which is home to around 10,000 US troops. The base is widely referred to as Washington's nerve centre in the battle against the Islamic State. Saudi Arabia and other partners in the region who have blacklisted Qatar are yet to issue a comment on the fighter jet deal, but it appears as though the Trump administration has so far deftly managed to balance its relations with both Riyadh and Doha. Whether this balance holds in the weeks to come, however, remains to be seen. With inputs from Reuters Doha: A $12 billion deal to buy Boeing F-15 United States fighter jets shows Qatar has deep-rooted support from Washington, a Qatari official said on Thursday, adding that its rift with some other Arab states had not hurt the US relationship with Doha. Qatar is facing a severe economic and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies who cut ties last week, accusing it of funding terrorist groups, a charge Doha denies. US president Donald Trump has repeatedly echoed the accusations against Qatar, even as his defense and state departments have tried to remain neutral in the dispute among key allies. Qatar is home to the headquarters for US air forces in West Asia. On Wednesday, US defense secretary Jim Mattis signed the previously-approved warplane deal with Qatari minister of state for defence Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah. Qatar's ambassador to the United States, Meshal Hamad al-Thani, posted a picture of the signing ceremony on Twitter. "This is of course proof that US institutions are with us but we have never doubted that," a Qatari official in Doha said. "Our militaries are like brothers. America's support for Qatar is deep-rooted and not easily influenced by political changes." A Qatari defence ministry source said the deal was for 36 jets. In November, under the administration of Barack Obama, the United States approved a possible sale of up to 72 F-15QA aircraft to Qatar for $21.1 billion. Boeing, the prime contractor on the sale, declined to comment. A European diplomat in the Gulf said the timing of the deal appeared coincidental. "Presumably the US could have delayed the deal if they'd wanted to, although I don't think there's a great connect between sales and foreign policy." Qatar is an important base for the US military carrying out operations against Islamic State militants and other groups in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and beyond. Al Udeid air base in Qatar is home to more than 11,000 US and coalition troops. Qatar's state news agency said on Wednesday that two US warships arrived at Hamad port in Qatar as part of a planned joint military exercise involving marine forces. The Pentagon said the jets sale will increase security cooperation between the US and Qatar and help them operate together. It added that Mattis and Attiyah had also discussed the current state of operations against Islamic State and the importance of de-escalating tensions in the Gulf. The fighter jet deal had been stalled amid concerns raised by Israel that equipment sent to Gulf states could fall into the wrong hands and be used against it, and by the Obama administration's broader decision-making on military aid to the Gulf. Trump, who took office in January, has accused Qatar of being a "high-level" sponsor of terrorism, potentially hindering the state department's efforts to help ease the worst diplomatic crisis between Gulf Arab states for years. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is expected in Kuwait on Thursday after completing a visit to Qatar, foreign ministry sources said, in his quest to help broker an end to the dispute. Kuwait has emerged as the main mediator in the crisis. Turkey has backed Qatar in the crisis and President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said on Wednesday the rift was damaging the Islamic world and Ankara would do all it could by diplomatic channels to prevent any escalation. Washington: The Senate Judiciary Committee is launching a wide-ranging probe into the circumstances behind the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, the media reported. The committee's chairman, Senator Chuck Grassley, laid out his plan in a letter made public on Wednesday in response to requests from Democrats to investigate potential obstruction of justice surrounding Comey's dismissal by President Donald Trump last month, reports Politico. "The Judiciary Committee has an obligation to fully investigate any alleged improper partisan interference in law enforcement investigations," Grassley wrote to his Democratic counterpart, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. "It is my view that fully investigating the facts, circumstances, and rationale for Comey's removal will provide us the opportunity to do that on a cooperative, bipartisan basis." In the letter, Grassley also stressed that the committee is obligated to look into the Justice Department's handling of the probe surrounding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private e-mail use in 2016, citing Comey's testimony last week that he was concerned the department "could not credibly complete the investigation and decline prosecution without grievous damage to the American people's confidence in the justice system". "There should be no improper interference with Federal Bureau of Investigation probes to favour any elected official or candidate of either party," Grassley wrote in the letter. "The Committee has an obligation to pursue all evidence of such misconduct." Grassley and Feinstein met late Tuesday to discuss the Russia matter following testimony from Attorney General Jeff Sessions before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Politico reported. The Judiciary Committee has oversight of the Justice Department and the FBI. Washington: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis vowed that the Trump administration would not repeat the "mistakes of the past" in dealing with Afghanistan, after the president gave him the power to set troop levels in the war-torn country. Mattis said the "delegation of authority" letting the Pentagon set troop levels in Afghanistan would give the military greater agility in conducting operations. Unlike his predecessor Barack Obama, who kept battlefield commanders on a tight leash and scrutinized each deployment down to the individual soldier, President Donald Trump has been happy to defer his war fighting policy to his top brass the men he likes to call "my generals". Battlefield commanders under Obama often felt hampered by seemingly arbitrary troop caps. Currently about 8,400 US troops are in Afghanistan along with another 5,000 or so NATO forces. "This administration will not repeat the mistakes of the past", Mattis said in a statement. "We cannot allow Afghanistan to once again become a launching point for attacks on our homeland or on our allies", Mattis said. He was alluding to the former Taliban government's granting haven to Al-Qaeda in the runup to the 11 September, 2001 terror attacks in New York and Washington. Earlier, Mattis told lawmakers that he would present Trump with a new US military strategy for Afghanistan by mid-July. American military commanders in Afghanistan and the surrounding region have requested thousands of additional boots on the ground for months to boost the NATO troop presence there. "Together in the interagency, we will define the way ahead and I will set a US military commitment consistent with the commander in chief's strategic directions and his foreign policy, as dictated by Secretary of State Tillerson", Mattis told lawmakers during a hearing at the Senate Appropriations Committee. Mattis said the decision would come in consultation with other US government agencies in a more comprehensive approach to the conflict. Prior to the White House decision, Mattis had warned that the Taliban was surging, having claimed a series of deadly attacks, including against Afghan military bases and positions, and that America still was "not winning" in the country nearly 16 years after the US-led invasion there. With e-commerce industry growing rapidly and gaining lot of appreciation for its ease of use and comfort, most of the businesses are now going online and offering digital services. This is exactly where online payment services like PayPal play a huge role in helping you complete the transaction smoothly and securely. So, what is PayPal? For starters, PayPal is the biggest online payment service that is available in about 203 markets around the world. PayPal acts as a payment gateway and also allows its consumers to send or receive payments to and from merchants in more than 25 currencies across the world. . PayPal has the distinction of being one of the trusted and credible global payment service. As a consumer, you can use PayPal to shop from around the world without having to worry about how to make the payment. For example, if you are trying to buy some presentation theme for a project from a global online marketplace, PayPal makes it so much easier to make your purchase without you having to worry about your region or the currency of the payment. PayPal does all the currency conversion for the consumer and you get billed in INR if you are in India. On the merchant side, irrespective of the currency that the consumer has made the payment with, the merchant gets the payment in the currency listed in his sale. Another important reason why we think PayPal is one of the best payment services is the convenience it offers. It just takes a few clicks to make a payment you can simply login to your account and checkout. Thats it! No card details or addresses needed at the time of purchase just need to add your card details when signing up with PayPal. As consumers ourselves, what we love the most about PayPal is the protection we get from the service. Firstly, PayPal itself is highly safe and secured with its technological innovations. Secondly, it offers a very transparent buyer protection If you are a buyer and if your order is damaged, not correct, doesnt arrive or turn out to be significantly different than what it seemed then PayPal will refund your amount under buyer protection. So, your money is definitely in safe hands. If you are a merchant, one of the reasons to start offering PayPal as a payment option is its large consumer base presently there are more than 200 million people using PayPal worldwide. So, if you are not accepting PayPal at the moment, then you might be losing on some business. Furthermore, PayPal has a protection program for merchants too, which means you dont have to worry about not getting paid for your services at the end of the day. PayPal seller protection program extends protection to tangible goods such as handicrafts, fashion, art etc and intangible services like selling event tickets, giving online tuition, developing applications or buying themes. PayPal as a platform has basically created a win-win situation for both the merchant and the consumer. The service charges are also very affordable and flexible with your transaction volume. So, whether you are a consumer or a merchant, PayPal is a service that you can depend upon. The UK governments pesticide residue testing program has revealed that the proportion of bread with two or more pesticides has doubled in the past year. One of... Read More More than 30 Asia-Pacific stakeholders in the novel foods space have come to an agreement on using cultivated as the standard descriptor for novel... Read More NORRISTOWN, Pa., June 15 (Reuters) - The jurors at comedian Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial said on Thursday they were deadlocked after more than 30 hours of deliberations. "We cannot come to a unanimous consensus on any of the counts," said the jury's note to Judge Steven O'Neill in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Jurors began discussing the charges late on Monday and worked 12-hour days on both Tuesday and Wednesday. In response, O'Neill gave a standard instruction that the jurors should continue to try to reach a verdict without compromising any of their individual beliefs. Cosby, the 79-year-old entertainer once beloved for his brand of family-friendly comedy, is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Temple University administrator Andrea Constand, then 31, at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. Constand is one of dozens of women who have accused the star of the 1980s hit TV comedy "The Cosby Show" of assaulting them, often after plying them with pills and alcohol, in a series of incidents over four decades. Constand's allegations are the only ones to result in criminal charges, with many of the others too old to allow for prosecution. Cosby has denied every claim, saying his encounters with Constand and others were consensual. A hung jury would be a clear victory for Cosby, who would avoid what could have been years in prison for three counts of aggravated indecent assault. The jurors appeared unable to agree on which version of the night in question was accurate: Constand's or Cosby's. They have spent days asking to have testimony read back, including Constand's trial testimony as well as the first report she made to police in 2005. The jury also revisited Cosby's description of the night from sworn depositions he gave in 2005 and 2006 during a civil lawsuit by Constand and a police interview he conducted in 2005. Cosby did not testify. Defense lawyers during the trial emphasized discrepancies in Constand's statements to police in 2005 in an effort to undermine her credibility. Prosecutors, meanwhile, used her testimony as well as the words of a second accuser, Kelly Johnson, to portray Cosby as a serial predator. Johnson told jurors Cosby sexually assaulted her in strikingly similar fashion in 1996. In his decade-old depositions, Cosby said he gave Constand Benadryl, a common allergy drug whose side effects can include drowsiness. He called the pills her "friends" without telling her what they were, and admitted to giving other young women Quaaludes, a sedative, in the 1970s. (By Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone, Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis) Four major pharmaceutical companies are in a race to be the first to offer a drug they say may rapidly reduceand even preventmigraines to the more than 38 million Americans affected by the debilitating illness each year. Alder Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALDR), Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), Amgen(NASDAQ:AMGN) and Teva Pharmaceutical (NYSE:TEVA) have all developed migraine drugs which have completed or are currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials using a compound called calcitonin gene-related peptide (or CGRP) that contains antibodies that attack the protein in the brain that causes the severe headaches. All four anti-CGRP trials currently underway by the separate companies are positive, showing very promising efficacy for patients and good safety profiles so far. In terms of timing, Amgens drug is currently on track to be the first available to patients, Carl Cincinnato, director of Quantified Health and The Migraine World Summit, told FOX Business. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, the illness is the 3rd most prevalentand the 6th most disablingin the world and affects 12% of the U.S. population, including children. Women and children are impacted the most at 18% and 10%, respectively, while 6% of men suffer from migraines. Amgen says while the other companies are seeking federal approval, their CGRP drug called erenumab is the only one so far to file for a Biologics License Application (BLA) with the FDA. [We] cant make direct comparisons between the different drugs because there arent head-to-head comparison studies. Erenumab is specifically designed to prevent migraine by blocking the CGRP receptor in three pivotal studies, an Amgen spokesperson told FOX Business. Additionally, the California-based company says the drug has been shown to substantially reduce monthly migraine days in people at both low and high frequencies. Eli Lilly, which made headlines last year when its Alzheimers prevention drug, solanezumab, failed during a late stage trial, told FOX Business that they plan to submit their new migraine drug, galcanezumab, with the FDA later this year after the drug also showed a reduction in migraine days during trials last week. Weve recently announced galcanezumab met the primary endpoint in three Phase 3 studies, demonstrating statistically significant reductions in the number of monthly migraine headache days compared to placebo at both studied doses, Eric Pearlman, M.D. and medical fellow at Eli Lilly said. Lilly will submit a BLA to the U.S. FDA for galcanezumab in the second half of 2017, followed by submission to other regulatory agencies around the world. Additionally, the company says they have developed a drug called lasmiditan to treat acute migraines that could represent the first significant innovation in treatments in more than 20 years. Teva Pharmaceutical, an Israeli drugmaker, said they also plan to submit an application to the FDA later this year with anticipated approval and launch of their drug fremanezumab during the second half of 2018 after reposting positive Phase 3 results. With these results, Teva believes fremanezumab has the potential to address a significant unmet need for a preventative treatment option for the millions of people who suffer from the debilitating effects of migraine. Nancy Leone, senior director of communications at Teva, told FOX Business. Alder Biopharmaceuticals, however, says their migraine drug, eptinezumab, is only currently undergoing Phase 3 testing and they dont plan to submit with the FDA until the second half of 2018. During the companys Phase 2b clinical trials, their drugwhich is the only one infused by IVshowed a drastic reduction in migraines after a single administration. Approximately one-third of the patients experienced a 75% or greater reduction in migraine days as early as weeks 1-4, which was sustained through week 12. In addition, a post hoc analysis of data from that trial demonstrated a reduction in the percentage of patients experiencing migraine within 24 to 48 hours post administration. In our Phase 2 clinical trials, the safety profile of eptinezumab was similar to placebo, an Alder spokesperson told FOX Business. Alder said migraines cost employers around $13 billion annually in lost work days and a drug like eptinezumab, if approved, could have a value of between $1.5 to $2 billion. Updated Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares hit fresh all-time highs Thursday, a day after the U.S. and Qatar signed a deal that will send $12 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets to the Gulf nation. In November, the Obama administration approved the sale of up to 72 F-15QA multirole fighters to Qatar for $21.1 billion.The deal was said to remain on the table last week after a diplomatic battle broke out between Qatar and Middle Eastern neighbors such as Saudi Arabia, which has accused Qatar of supporting terrorist groups. U.S. officials have said the jets will bolster Qatars defense capabilities and increase military cooperation between the two nations. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with Qatari Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah in Washington, D.C., to sign the Boeing jet deal on Wednesday. The sale includes 36 F-15s, according to Reuters, equal to half of the initial agreement. Boeing, maker of the F-15, is listed as the primary contractor. We thank the Qatari and U.S. governments for moving forward with the F-15 agreement. We are very grateful for their continued confidence in Boeing, Boeing said in a statement. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) and BAE Systems (OTC:BAESY) are among the supporting contractors. Boeings stock touched a record high of $195.21 in recent trading, up 1.5% on the day. Lockheed Martin also showed modest gains, while the broader market posted red ink. President Trump commented on the agreement during a White House event Thursday to announce an executive order supporting apprenticeship programs. We just signed a big deal yesterday for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military equipment [thats] going to be made in this countryfor other countries, Trump said. Qatar is home to a key U.S. military base. The U.S. carries out operations against ISIS and other terrorist groups from Al Udeid Air Base, where more than 11,000 American and coalition troops are deployed. The Latest on the Greek bailout discussions (all times local): 11 p.m. Greece's finance minister says financial markets now have "much greater clarity" about the future of Greece's debts, which will help the country regain market access when its current bailout program ends next year. Speaking after a meeting of the eurozone's 19 finance ministers, Euclid Tsakalots said the country can "look forward with much greater confidence." As well as securing 8.5 billion euros ($9.5 billion) in bailout funds, which will help Greece meet a big summer repayment, Tsakalotos won a promise on future measures to ease the country's debt burden and possible IMF financial involvement in the coming year. Greece has relied on bailout money for seven years and hopes that it will be able to stand on its own feet when the bailout ends. Tsakalotos said one big benefit from the deal Thursday was that future debt repayments could be linked to Greece's growth. In essence, that could mean payments could be postponed in the event of an adverse shock. __ 9:15 p.m. Greece's European creditors agreed to give the cash-strapped country the next batch of money due from its bailout and outlined a series of debt relief measures they hope will foster growth. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the eurozone's top official, said Greece has been cleared to get 8.5 billion euros ($9.5 billion), which will allow it to meet a big repayment hump this July. He also said the International Monetary Fund was ready to provide more financial assistance to Greece via a stand-by arrangement and that Greece would get help with its debt payments in the future. Some debt repayments could be delayed by 15 years. In addition, he said Greece's growth levels could be taken into account in its repayments. Dijsselbloem said Thursday at the conclusion of the meeting of the eurozone's 19 finance ministers that an agreement was forged "on all elements." ___ 3:50 p.m. The European Union's top economy official says it's time for the Greek people to see the "light at the end of the tunnel of austerity." Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the eurozone's 19 finance ministers, Pierre Moscovici said the Greek government had respected its bailout commitments and that it's now time for the country's creditors to "take theirs." Moscovici said he hoped enough progress will emerge at the meeting of the so-called Eurogroup to prevent Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras from calling a summit of eurozone leaders to discuss debt relief for his country. Greece has been promised some form of help on its long-term debt repayments if it delivered wide-ranging economic reforms and kept a tight control on its spending. Moscovici expressed his hope that the "spirit" was there for Greece's relations with its creditors to move to a "new phase." This Eurogroup meeting, he said, may be "decisive" in that it will be "very positive for Greece and the Greek people." It needs to be a "success," he added. ___ 3:20 p.m. Germany's finance minister says he is optimistic that Greece will win the approval of its peers in the 19-country eurozone s to get the next batch of rescue money due from its bailout program. Arriving at the meeting of the of the finance ministers from the European countries that use the euro, Wolfgang Schaeuble said he was "optimistic that we will reach a result regarding the payout of the next tranche" of bailout loans. Greece needs the money to meet roughly 7 billion euros ($7.8 billion) in debt repayments in July that it will struggle to meet from its own resources. The country remains dependent on bailout loans from other eurozone governments. Schaeuble also said previous agreements to consider reducing the burden of Greece's debt repayments if the country complies with all conditions remained "the framework" for talks. Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin that she hoped to see "results" at the meeting "that will help reward Greece's efforts in such a way that further payouts are possible." ___ 2:05 p.m. More than 2,000 elderly protesters have marched through central Athens to protest further pension cuts imposed by the government as part of efforts to ensure Greece gets its next installment of rescue loans from European creditors. The pensioners, some waving walking sticks, voiced outrage Thursday at the constantly diminishing size of their pensions, which many say they can no longer survive on. "We can't live on 300 euros" they chanted. The protest came ahead of a meeting in Luxembourg later Thursday of the 19 finance ministers from the European countries that use the euro. The meeting is set to decide on whether Greece has done enough for the bailout funds to be released and provide more clarity over what sort of debt relief the country can expect when it exits its bailout program next year. ___ 1:05 p.m. The eurozone's top official says Greece will get more clarity about the sort of debt relief it will get when it concludes its third bailout program next year. However, Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the scale of the debt relief offered to Athens won't emerge at Thursday's meeting of the eurozone's 19 finance ministers. He said ahead of the meeting of the so-called eurogroup: "Today, we will give more clarity to Greece." The International Monetary Fund, which has contributed financially to the first two bailouts but not the third, has wanted more information about what may be on offer to Greece for it to get more involved in the current program. Dijsselbloem said he hoped the meeting will mark a "very positive step forward" that builds on "the huge effort that Greece has put in." Euclid Tsakalotos, Greece's finance minister, said he is "confident" about the prospects of a deal later. ___ 11:30 a.m. Greece is hoping to secure more bailout funds to meet a summer debt repayment hump as well as a debt relief deal at a meeting of finance ministers from the 19-country eurozone. The country, which has been promised help on its mountain of debt once its bailout ends next year, is again the main topic of discussion at a meeting of the so-called eurogroup Thursday. The main obstacle to an agreement is a difference of opinion between the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund over Greece's long-term debt outlook. The expectation is Greece will get the roughly 7 billion euros ($7.8 billion) due, but will struggle to clinch the outlines of a debt relief deal that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras thinks is crucial for the country's economy in the long-term. Marriott International Inc Chief Executive Arne Sorenson on Thursday urged the Trump administration to improve relations with post-Castro Cuba and recognize tourism as a strategic tool in the effort. His comment come as U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce a new Cuba policy on Friday. The policy is likely to tighten some rules on travel and trade and partly roll back former President Barack Obama's opening toward the island, U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. Marriott, the world's biggest hotel operator, already has a hotel in Cuba, and is in the process of opening another soon. "It would be exceedingly disappointing to see the progress that has been made in the last two years halted and reversed by the administration," Sorenson said in an emailed statement. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) The Queen's Speech that had been planned for Monday has been delayed until Wednesday, according to Andrea Leadsom, leader for the U.K.'s House of Commons. She announced the delay in a tweet Thursday, confirming earlier reports that the event would be pushed back. That speech by the monarch is typically part of a state opening of parliament, marking the formal start of the legislative year as the government sets out its agenda. The delay comes as the U.K. grapples with political uncertainty after last week's inconclusive election cast doubt on Prime Minister Theresa May's ability to stay in office or govern effectively. A delay to the opening of parliament has been seen as a way to give May's Conservative Party more time to negotiate with a potential ally, the Democratic Unionist Party, after it had to backtrack over the weekend on a statement it had reached a deal with the Northern Irish party. Talks continue with the DUP, a Sky News report said. Copyright 2017 MarketWatch, Inc. Greek authorities say a cargo ship carrying vehicles has caught fire off the island of Rhodes but none of the 32 people on board are in immediate danger. The Merchant Marine Ministry says the blaze broke out Thursday on the Cypriot-flagged Med Star as it was sailing two nautical miles off Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. It said 20 crew members abandoned the vessel in a lifeboat and are being towed to Rhodes, while the remaining 12 stayed on the ship to try to extinguish the fire, which broke out in one of its two engines. The ministry said a rescue helicopter, tugs, a Greek navy ship, coast guard vessels and four other commercial ships are near the Med Star to offer assistance. Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 2022 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. FAQ - New Privacy Policy Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), still recovering from a consumer accounts scandal last year, is now accused in a class-action lawsuit of executing unauthorized changes to home loans held by consumers in bankruptcy since 2015, the New York Times reported. Typically, those loan changes would need to be approved by a court and other parties involved but the paper reported that according to the lawsuit, that process didnt happen. Changes to the loans lowered customers monthly payments, but buried in the details was another change: As the monthly payments declined, the loan durations would be lengthened by decades, meaning over the long term, customers would end up forking over more money than originally agreed, the Times said. Its not clear how many times the bank made those supposed unsolicited loan changes, the Times found seven cases in several states across the country in addition to records produced by Wells Fargo that showed it submitted changes on at least 25 loans since 2015. For its part, Wells Fargo denied claims in the lawsuit, according to the Times, and said borrowers and bankruptcy courts were notified of any changes to loans. Last fall, Wells Fargo was fined $185 million and then-CEO John Stumpf resigned after the company admitted to opening bank and credit card accounts for customers without their permission to meet sales quotas. The White House lacks a unified plan to increase the government's borrowing cap as a likely September deadline is drawing near, said Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget. A failure by Congress to raise the debt ceiling could send dangerous shockwaves through the global economy. The federal government could be at risk of defaulting on obligations such as interest payments on bonds as well as temporarily halting benefit programs. The White House budget director suggested in an interview Thursday with reporters that neither the Trump administration nor Capitol Hill lawmakers have set their terms for an agreement. "It's fair to say we haven't settled on a final way to address the debt ceiling any more than the Hill has," Mulvaney said. The former South Carolina congressman added that none of this was necessarily "unusual." Under the current borrowing restrictions, the government has already been taking extraordinary measures and will likely be unable to pay its bills at some point in September. But Congress still has a recess scheduled in August that could create time pressures. Private analysts say the debt ceiling deadline could be extended into October. Mulvaney said he would like to see the debt ceiling raised in July. But Trump administration officials still have yet to resolve internal differences on the best strategy to increase the legal cap on government debt, which already exceeds $19.8 trillion. Mulvaney suggested he would like to have any increase in the borrowing authority be attached to other spending changes, a move that could attract Republican support but alienate Senate Democrats. President Donald Trump's budget proposal seeks to beef up spending on the military and border security while cutting many social programs. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has indicated he would like a "clean" bill to raise the debt ceiling, so it would not have to be tied to any spending changes, but Capitol Hill conservatives are resisting the idea. "Secretary Mnuchin believes it needs to be clean. I think the vast majority of the Republican conferences would not agree," said Rep. Mark Meadows R-N.C., chairman of the Freedom Caucus, a group of strongly conservative House Republicans. Mulvaney said Mnuchin would ultimately be in charge of handling the debt ceiling push "once we do settle on our formal policy, if we do." A 2011 standoff between Republicans and the Obama administration over the debt ceiling led to tighter controls on spending. That standoff was not resolved until the 11th hour and prompted Standard & Poor's to impose the first-ever downgrade to the country's credit rating. The administration is also engaged in talks with House and Senate Republican leaders about what kind of increase they could possibly pass. Mulvaney said the issue was not a source of division inside the White House or the Republican Party. The discussions involve whether the House should increase the debt limit enough to last through the 2018 election or the president's first term. "It would be foolish of us to come up with a policy devoid of having talked to the Hill," Mulvaney said. Congress also faces pressure to pass a budget in September for next fiscal year, as well as to address administration priorities that include a tax code rewrite and the proposed repeal of President Barack Obama's 2010 health insurance law. Failure to pass spending bills could cause a government shutdown and cause non-essential government agencies to close their doors. Trump suggested on Twitter last month that he might welcome a shutdown to help shake up the government. Mnuchin told the Senate Budget Committee this week that "at times there could be a good shutdown," though he cautioned it's not the administration's "primary objective." With action on the budget front otherwise stalled, the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved the first of 12 spending bills, an $89 billion measure that contains generous increases for veterans' programs and Pentagon construction projects. But the White House and its GOP allies much less opposition Democrats haven't come up with an overall plan for implementing Trump's promises to increase the Pentagon budget and advance more than $500 billion worth of annual domestic agency spending bills. President Donald Trump issued an executive order Thursday to expand apprenticeship programs in an effort to close the skills gap weighing on businesses and workers in the nations labor market. Were empowering these companies, these unions to go out and create new apprenticeships for millions of our citizens [to] place students into great jobs without crippling debt ... instead apprentices earn while they learn, Trump said Thursday. The order, developed with the help of the Department of Labor, will give businesses, trade unions and other third parties more flexibility to develop high-quality technical education programs that could be eligible for expedited review by the Department of Labor, according to an administration official. It will also provide more funding and create a task force of business leaders to help promote the programs across new sectors, as well as assess the effectiveness of the job-training programs currently in place. White House officials have pointed to 6 million job openings across the United Statesthe highest level since 1980, it saysand the 8.4 percent U-6 unemployment rate as illustrative of the skills gap in action. Americans want to work, but executives are having trouble finding workers with the appropriate skills to fill open positions, they say. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and Trumps special adviser, daughter Ivanka Trump, have said this week that apprenticeship programs are a way to equip workers with the necessary training so these jobs dont remain unfilled. The president has sold training programs as an affordable and secure alternative to a traditional four year degree. The administration said Thursday that 90 percent of apprentices find employment upon completing their training programs and the average starting salary is $60,000. Technical program grads also see a $300,000 lifetime increase in earnings and dont owe student loans, according to the administration. Secretary Acosta said earlier this week business leaders have been eager to work with the administration on workforce development and indicated apprentices are in demand across the labor market. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which currently offers a career-choice training program, expects its level of participants to double by the year 2020, according to Dave Clarke, the companys SVP of Worldwide Operations. Ivanka Trump met with business leaders Wednesday in a roundtable discussion on workforce development and one of the CEOs in attendance, Judith Marks of Siemens, told FOX Business the meetings with administration officials have been very positive and helpful for both sides. She also said it was important to implement these programs at the localnot federallevel because that allows businesses to work with community colleges to develop the appropriate curriculums. Next week Congress will vote on the Perkins Act, which would increase appropriations for career-technical education programs to $1.23 billion by 2022 and return oversight authority from federal officials to local ones. The bill has enjoyed the support of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has repeatedly asked Congress to pass a acleana debt ceiling bill a with no reforms attached a before the August recess, but Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said Thursday the White House hasnat decided on a strategy, just over a month before Mnuchinas recommended deadline. "There are various thoughts about how to get something passed, but I don't think we've settled on how to move forward yet," Mulvaney told reporters Thursday. "Will it be a clean debt ceiling vote? Will it be a debt ceiling vote with some type of reforms attached to it? I don't think we've settled on that.a Conservative Republican lawmakers often try to use the debt ceiling as a way to pass spending reforms. Mulvaney, a known fiscal hawk, has favored attaching riders onto the debt limit increase that would lower future spending. Meanwhile, Mnuchin has insisted countless times on raising the debt ceiling first and passing any related spending measures separately. aWe can all discuss how we cut spending in the future and how we deal with the budget going forward, but it is absolutely critical that where weave spent money that we keep the credit of the United States as the most critical issue. It is the reserve currency of the world and we need to make sure that we can raise our debt ceiling to pay our debts,a Mnuchin said during a hearing before a House committee last week. However, while Mulvaney indicated Thursday that Mnuchin was leading the discussions on debt limit strategy, he said he would acertainlya participate and added that itas not unusual for there to be disagreement among the Treasury Secretary and OMB Director. The debt ceiling has been a hot topic on Capitol Hill throughout recent weeks as the governmentas ability to pay its bills wears thin. Secretary Mnuchin assured lawmakers, and the listening public, that the government had a abackup plana should Congress fail to reach a deal before the August recess, during a hearing earlier this week. He said the government could be funded into September, but refused to give a timeframe as to exactly how long funding would last without an agreement among Republicans and Democrats. A deal will raise the United Statesa borrowing authority in order to cover the annual deficit it accrues. President Obama temporarily suspended the debt ceiling until March 2017asince then the government has been paying its bills using aextraordinary measures.a The worry now is how much longer it can sustain those measures, which, as indicated by the administration, appears to be sometime in the early Fall. A disunited front from the administration could prove problematic for reaching an agreement on the debt ceiling, which tends to be a contentious debate by nature. The government also has a tall agenda for the summer months, including passing a bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare, as well as introducing a formal bill to overhaul the U.S. tax system. The administration has insisted it will have a tax bill by the end of the year, something businesses and the markets have counted on to fuel economic growth. Many fans still remember Ann-Margret when she starred opposite Elvis Presley in the 1964 film Viva Las Vegas, which led to an affair off-camera. However, the now-76-year-old found love with husband Roger Smith and one source revealed she was an amazing nurse to the 77 Strip star while he battled myasthenia gravis for years until his death on June 4 at age 84. They were a totally devoted couple, and Ann had put her highly successful career on the back burner years ago in order to care for the man she loves, the insider told Closer Weekly. ROGER SMITH DEAD The couple married in 1967 and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary May 8. He really wanted to reach that 50-year mark, the source added. Smith retired from acting after being diagnosed in 1980. After that, he managed Ann-Margrets career and produced several of her TV specials. Ann-Margret had no problem being completely devoted to her beau over the years. Now in Roger Ive found all the men I need rolled into one a father, a friend, a lover, a manager, a businessman, she told writer Rex Reed in 1972. Its perfect for me. I couldnt exist without a strong man. The source said while Ann-Margret is doing her best to move on, she will be lost without her husband. Smith is survived by his wife, as well as a daughter and two sons from his first marriage to actress Victoria Shaw. Elizabeth Banks revealed the first agent she ever met in Hollywood advised her to get plastic surgery. The first agent I ever met in this industry told me to get a boob job, the 43-year-old announced at the Women in Film Los Angeles Crystal + Lucy Awards Tuesday night. PEOPLE Magazine reported Banks was honored for her contributions as a director, producer, and actress. I was so grateful that I didnt have enough money at the time to follow his advice. I also did not sign with him despite that. While Banks ultimately found success without going under the knife, she still faced opposition along the way. She recalled an experience she had on a panel in New York City with writer Nora Ephron and director Nancy Meyers about seven years ago. At the time, a woman from the audience mentioned she had difficulty getting her two sons interested in seeing a movie about or starring girls. I was really angry at this woman and I didnt have the words or the voice in that moment to tell her how crazy it is that youre in charge of what they do, said Banks. Youre their mother. Buy a f-----g ticket to a movie and take them and give them the experience of seeing amazing women on film. I grew up seeing amazing movies with amazing men and no one had to drag me kicking and screaming. Banks is a mother of two sons, 5-year-old Felix and 4-year-old Magnus. I get to present an example to them of a working mom who loves what she does, she said. In this room, we are creating culture. We are sending messages out to the world. Those messages matter, and presenting strong, independent women who have agency in TV and film is really important not just in this room, not just in our culture, but in the global culture. CMT is in "early talks" to pick up "Last Man Standing" after ABC axed the show in May despite high ratings, a source told Fox News. A source close to the deal confirmed to Fox News that CMT is in the "very early stages" of discussions to become the new home for the beloved Tim Allen series. However, the source warned, "It feels like a long shot." "Last Man Standing" has already proven successful for CMT. The network currently airs the sitcom in syndication. CMT recently rescued another fan-favorite show: "Nashville," which was canceled by ABC in May 2016 and then picked up by CMT a month later. Finding a new home for "Last Man Standing" has been a priority for 20th Century Fox Television, which produces the show, since it was canceled. Howard Kurtzman, president of 20th Century Fox Television, told The Hollywood Reporter in May, "If there's a way to bring it back, we will explore those opportunities." The cancellation came as a shock for many fans and Allen himself. "Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years," Allen tweeted days after ABC's announcement. ABC told Fox News at the time "this was a scheduling decision," while an online petition accused the network of booting the show over its conservative values. Mary Steenburgen credited her husband of 21 years, actor Ted Danson, for helping her overcome a dark past. My dad had a series of heart attacks when I was a little girl, and our world was shaped by these huge traumatic events, the 64-year-old actress told Closer Weekly. I spent my childhood waiting for my dad to die. From the age of eight, my response to that insanity was to bury myself in books, where if people died, they could get back up again. Two years after the Arkansas native landed her breakout role in the 1978 film Goin South, she married her first husband, English actor Malcolm McDowell, in 1980. After giving birth to her daughter Lilly McDowell, she won an Oscar for the 1980 film Melvin and Howard. I had Lilly, my first child, two and a half months before that, she explained. I was so crazy in love with my daughter that it slightly eclipsed the Oscar which in Hollywood is an almost sacrilegious thing to say. Steenburgen also gave birth to a son named Charlie McDowell in 1983. She and Malcolm McDowell separated in 1989 and divorced in 1990. She added that during tough times, she watched her future second husband on TV. I always though Ted was brilliant, she said. When I was going through sad times, Id watch Cheers at the end of the day to make me feel better. Then I discovered it was easier to just sleep with Sam the bartender. The couple married in October 1995. Today, Steenburgen said shes happier than ever with the ridiculously talented 69-year-old, who continues to support her own Hollywood career. I shoot [Foxs] The Last Man on Earth from August to February, and Ted shoots [NBCs] The Good Place from February to August, so theres never a time when were both free, she said. We help each other learn lines every night. Playboy model Dani Mathers learned to embrace the backlash she faced for secretly snapping a photo of a 71-year-old naked woman in a gym locker room and posted it on social media. She pleaded no contest to misdemeanor invasion of privacy in Los Angeles County Superior Court and was ordered to clean up graffiti on May 25. There is no doubt I regret that stupid choice, the 30-year-old told Us Weekly. I am sorry that it happened to this woman. But I am not sorry about what happened to me. I would not have this push to create positivity and try to change peoples minds about how they act without thinking. My life flipped upside down. But its a blessing in disguise. The controversy first occurred when the former Playmate photographed the woman without her consent in an LA Fitness locker room in July 2016 and posted it on Snapchat with the mocking comment, If I cant unsee this than you cant either. PLAYBOY MODEL DANI MATHERS: 'I JUST WASN'T THINKING' The posting was accompanied by a selfie of Mathers in a tank top with her hand over her mouth as if shes gasping in horror. She was immediately slammed on social media for body shaming the stranger and was consequently banned from all LA Fitness locations. Body shaming can devastate its subjects, said Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer at the time. People are mocked, theyre humiliated and in ways they can never fully get back. Under terms of the plea, Mathers will be on probation for three years and must not take photos of people or post them online without their permission. While Mathers was ordered to either serve 45 days in jail or 30 days of graffiti removal, she chose the latter. The 2015 Playmate of the Year apologized for the incident. PLAYBOY MODEL DANI MATHERS ORDERED TO CLEAN UP STREETS Im still learning how big of a deal this is, she admitted. More than anything, I hurt somebody I dont know. Its a terrible feeling to know thats something I was capable of. But I do think that it taught me a lot. Mathers revealed she received death threats since the image went viral in July 2016. I took a break for almost a year, she said. I feared anything positive I put out would be seen as disingenuous. I hope my situation shows there is a responsibility when on social media. People have been relentless. Thats a lot of why I had to step away. All I want to do is defend myself. But if I spend every moment defending myself, I wouldnt be getting anything positive done. I have to block it out. I cant feed my mind and my heart with negativity. Mathers insisted shes now involved with charity to spread awareness on anti-bullying. I work closely with Coupla Guys and Gals Give Back, she explained. Im heading their anti-bullying department. Ill be speaking at schools about the responsibility that comes with social media and telling kids about the pain we can cause if we dont think before we speak, before we post. Hundreds of felines were saved from a near catastrophe after being rescued from a serial catnapper. On Sunday, Chinese police in the city of Jiujiang arrested a man who had allegedly been collecting cats with the intent to sell them to restaurants, according to The Washington Post. But while selling cat and dog meat is legal in China, citizens were disgusted by the lengths the man went to earn a quick buck, as he had reportedly apprehended over 500 cats, locked them in small cages and stored some in the back of a truck. TAIWAN BANS EATING, SELLING DOG AND CAT MEAT The Washington Post further reports that the cat-catcher used sparrows to lure not only stray cats, but domesticated housecats in Jiujiang. The man's actions first came to light after a nearby resident, who identified himself as Mr. Yang, complained to police that his cats kept disappearing, reports The Straits Times. According to reports, police found most of the cats in cages aboard a truck, many of which were overheated and whimpering. More cats were reportedly found cooped up in a hut by a nearby highway with only a fan to cool them down. The man reportedly planned to sell the cats for 30 yuan ($6) apiece. After news of the man's arrest began making headlines, the NetEase portal a Chinese online platform was flooded with tens of thousands of comments, many from outraged citizens, The Washington Post claims. However, many critics were angry over the illegal methods the man used to procure the cats, rather than the fact that they were being supplied to restaurants, according to The Washington Post. All of the cats were eventually released, The Straits Times reports. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS China had recently enacted plans to ban the sale of dog meat at the country's annual Yulin Dog Festival, although cat meat reportedly remains on the menu, according to The New York Post. Earlier this year, nearby Taiwan made strides toward banning the sale and consumption of cat and dog meat. In April, Taiwan passed an amendment that included an $8,100 fine for owning, selling, buying or eating cat and dog meat, as well as a $65,000 fine (plus two years in prison) for acts of animal cruelty. A Georgia family was shocked to discover a restaurant served their young daughter alcohol by mistake. Alexis Smith and her husband took their 18-month-old daughter, Aaliyah, to lunch at a restaurant in Vinings. The family ordered apple juice for their daughter while they ate their meal. After lunch, as they were getting ready to leave, Aaliyahs dad took a sip of the juice out of the kids cup and his chest started burning, Smith told 11Alive. Alexis tasted the juice as well, and suspected it was alcohol, so they told the manager on duty. The manager looked into the situation and notified the family that the container had been mislabeled and the child had indeed been served alcohol by mistake. "I started crying at the restaurant," Smith told 11Alive. "As a mom, it was very emotional. Alcohol is something serious." BOMBAY SAPPHIRE GIN RECALLED FOR HAVING FAR TOO MUCH ALCOHOL Smith said the owner of the restaurant was very upset and the manager insisted on paying for their meal. The family took Aaliyah to the hospital to be checked out. Smith said her daughter was not her usual self after drinking the alcohol, and was a little off balance. Doctors observed the child for a couple of hours before determining she was in good health, according to 11Alive. However, the situation couldve been much worse. The restaurant had initially asked the family if they wanted Aaliyahs juice poured into her sippy cup, but luckily they declined. "She would have been sipping on alcohol all day and possibly died," she said. "I'm just lucky that my daughter did not consume the whole cup because she probably would not be here now." FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Based on the amount of alcohol Aaliyah consumed at lunch, Poison Control estimates her blood-alcohol level was around .067 percent, which is just under the Georgia legal limit of .08 percent, according to 11Alive. The rebounding of Californias mountain lion population has been well documented, and its no secret that the predators are making meals of area wildlife, and domestic pets, to sustain their numbers. But a trail camera, belonging to Randy Spade of Whitmore, Calif., captured a sight rarely seen a lion taking down an unsuspecting deer. I was surprised by how fast it struck, Spade, who runs 300 trail cams on 2,200 acres of land, told Field & Stream. It was in the blink of an eye. HOW TO CATCH 12 TRULY NATIVE WESTERN TROUT SPECIES Spade, a lifelong outdoorsman and an ardent deer hunter, has the cameras set up on a ranch owned by one of his dads old hunting buddies. Spade visits every Sunday to replace empty batteries and swap out full memory cards, and then he eats dinner with the landowner while scanning the weeks footage. Bears are the main thing we see, he said. Summers are hot up here. We have 30 to 40 days in a row of 100 degrees, and bears love taking a bath in those old watering troughs to cool off. But on June 4, Spade didnt find bears on the footage, while scanning clips from a watering hole where hed seen a buzzard circling earlier in the day. In the video, which you can watch above, a deer walks into the shot, triggering the camera to record. Moments later, the eyes of a mountain lion slowly creep into view. Suddenly, the cat lunges for the deer and pulls it to the ground. Subsequent clips show the lion dragging away the kill. STALKING ALASKAN BLACK BEARS ON THE BEACH Spade, his wife, and the rancher watched the scene over and over, which, according to the internal camera clock, was filmed late on May 31. Over the years, Spades cameras had recorded skunks chasing off bears, bears breaking cameras, and a lot of deer, but never a mountain lion attacking prey. What makes the footage remarkable, Spade points out, is that its not only perfectly framed, its perfectly timed. Spade later posted the video to YouTube, and, as it spread, people began to remark that he was lucky for getting the shot, which he lightly rebuffs. I say five years of checking 30 cameras year-round every Sunday is not pure luck. 50 GREAT AMERICAN SKILLS Fair enough. I look for any excuse to extend my time out in the woods, he continued, so this makes me want to get out with some new cameras. But he plans to clean his camera lenses more, he said, because you never know when youre going to get that lifetime shot. You can see the original footage of the attack, and the rest of Spades impressive collection of trail-camera footage, at his YouTube channel. ADDRESSING DANGEROUS LEVELS OF NATURE ON HIKING TRAILS Kris Millgate is a freelance writer and filmmaker based in Idaho. This article originally appeared on Field & Stream. Racist or too much Photoshop? Kim Kardashian West was called out on Twitter recently for a photo she posted advertising her new KKW Beauty Creme Contour & Highlight kit. The reality TV star announced her latest business venture via social media Wednesday, but reactions were mixed. While many fans were excited to buy her new product, others were quick to accuse her of blackface in the promo image. KIM KARDASHIAN POSES IN BIKINI AFTER 'FLU DIET' In the picture, Kardashian West appears with a heavy dose of contouring and highlighting, but many were quick to comment on how much darker the stars skin looks. Followers criticized the star for attempting to darken her skin in order to appear black. Others came to the stars defense, noting that its possibly a case of weird lighting or heavy editing. Others claimed the star likely just got a tan, and because shes Armenian, she already has a naturally darker complexion. In an interview with the New York Times Monday, Kardashian West responded to the controversy. "I was really tan when we shot the images, and it might be that the contrast was off," said Kardashian West. She says before posting the image to social media, she had no idea there were any issues with the photo. I would obviously never want to offend anyoneBut I showed the image to many people, to many in the business. No one brought that to our attention, said Kardashian West. Of course, I have the utmost respect for why people might feel the way they did. But we made the necessary changes to that photo and the rest of the photos. We saw the problem, and we adapted and changed right away. Definitely I have learned from it, she told the Times. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS This isnt the first time the Kardashian family have been accused of cultural appropriation. Multiple members of the family, including Kim and younger sister Kylie Jenner have been called out for wearing their hair in styles predominantly worn by black women. Imagine the desperation of a mother and father finding out their disabled son, whom Ill call Jay, was wrongly denied critical benefits that helped his family afford his health care. On the edge of poverty in a struggling Philadelphia suburb, the family couldnt always afford to put food on the table, let alone pay for Jays treatment. Jays parents found help at Legal Aid of Southeast Pennsylvania (LASP). Lawyers there helped them appeal the ruling and in 2016, three years after being denied, Jay was granted a disabled status and the benefits he always deserved. This familys predicament isnt unique. A new report out Wednesday from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), which helps everyday Americans navigate civil court, illustrates how civil legal crises overtake millions of Americans who cant afford a private attorney. In the past year, a staggering 71 percent of low-income households experienced at least one civil legal problem, such as an eviction notice, wrongly denied benefits, or a family court suit resulting from domestic violence. Of the Americans facing such problems, 86 percent received inadequate or no legal help because they couldnt afford it. LSC funds hundreds of legal aid offices nationwide, including LASP. But the current Administrations budget proposal would eliminate it and its legal aid funding, denying justice to millions of Americans across the country simply because lawyers are too expensive for their modest budgets. For decades, LSC has assisted Americans like Jays family as they navigate the legal system. The odds are often stacked against them: veterans trying to obtain benefits wrongly denied, tenants fighting a landlords attempt to evict them, and domestic violence survivors seeking custody of their children all rely upon the assistance that civil legal aid provides. America stands for justice for all, not just for those who can afford it. None of these men and women should be a civil lawsuit away from bankruptcy, and those who cant afford an attorney should not be forced to enter or navigate the justice system without guidance. And yet, they are. As U.S. Attorney General, I proudly advocated for the Americans with Disabilities Act. I know firsthand that legal rights mean little without lawyers to enforce them. As a founding board member of the Neighborhood Legal Services Association (NLSA) in Pittsburgh, I was delighted to stand up for people who could not otherwise afford an attorney. But now, services like NLSA which once had 75 lawyers back in the 1970s and today has only 24 are under threat. We have lost sight of the importance of maintaining this vital national service. In fact, the evidence proves that these programs work. One important study showed that access to civil legal aid is a significant factor in reducing domestic violence. Another revealed that, of all options, legal assistance is the most effective way to prevent future domestic violence. And in housing disputes, a recent analysis concluded that three out of five tenants in Baltimore had valid legal reasons to fight eviction, yet most still lost their homes because they couldnt afford an attorney and didnt understand their legal rights. LSC helps even the odds for people whose lives truly do depend on the balanced scales of justice. Dont get me wrong Im not a tax-and-spend liberal. A look at my record shows that Im not a fan of wasteful government spending. As Pennsylvanias governor, I balanced the state budget for eight straight years, reduced taxes, and left a surplus of $350 million. But when women and children are trapped with an abusive spouse or parent, or veterans and people with disabilities are denied lawful benefits, we must make investments to ensure they can defend their rights. Our common values as Americans dictate as much. Some have argued that the current budget was written through the eyes of the people who are actually paying the taxes. However, fairness requires that we also see through the eyes of people like Steve, a Vietnam veteran and Pennsylvanian who was denied Social Security disability benefits despite his diagnosed physical injuries and PTSD. He was facing foreclosure on his home because, without an income, he couldnt afford his mortgage payments. MidPenn Legal Services, another LSC-funded group, took Steves case, successfully securing legitimate benefits for Steve and enabling a loan modification that let Steve remain in his home. The same is true of the legal needs of our citizens who live in rural areas. Indeed, the farmer whose land is wrongfully auctioned off by her county government has just as much a right to a fair trial as the city-dwelling apartment tenant wrongfully evicted from his apartment. Funding for the Legal Services Corporation is a modest investment 0.01 percent of federal expenses with outsized returns. Every foreclosure or eviction prevented is one less family relying on other forms of government assistance. If we want to make fiscally responsible choices that truly help Americans, we would be wise to continue investing in the Legal Services Corporation. We can ensure justice and maintain the value of fairness under the law for all. Ultimately, the decision to eliminate the Legal Services Corporation would have dangerous consequences for a nation that values justice for all. Americans must urge their representatives in Congress to continue our bipartisan tradition of supporting funding for LSC and adequately fund it in next years budget. Everyone rich, poor or middle class deserves justice. The Washington Post is reporting that Robert Mueller is now investigating President Trump for obstruction of justice, examining not only the presidents alleged statement to James Comey in their February meeting, but also the firing of the FBI Director. If true, this development makes the argument even more compelling that Mueller cannot serve as special counsel. He has an egregious conflict of interest. The special counsel statute specifically prohibits Mueller from serving if he has a personal relationship with any person substantially involved in the investigation or prosecution. The language is mandatory. He shall disqualify himself. Comey is substantially involved in the case. Indeed, he is the central witness. The two men and former colleagues have long been friends, allies and partners. Agents have quipped that they were joined at the hip while at the Department of Justice and the FBI. They have a mentor-protege relationship. The likelihood of prejudice and favoritism is glaring and severe. So, it is incomprehensible that the man who is a close friend of the star witness against the president will now determine whether the president committed a prosecutable crime in his dealings with Muellers good friend. Mueller cannot possibly be fair in judging the credibility of his friend versus the man who fired him. Is the special counsel now motivated to retaliate against the president for ending Comeys career at the FBI? Will he be tempted to conjure criminality where none actually exist? Even worse, are Mueller and Comey now colluding by acting as co-special prosecutors to bring down the president? By meeting in advance of the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, did they plan Comeys testimony to depict Trump in the most incriminating light? These are legitimate questions that invite serious concerns. Mueller has a reputation for honesty and integrity. But even scrupulously honest people can be influenced in ways they do not recognize themselves. It is the human condition. Which is precisely why there are legal and ethical rules which demand recusal based on prior personal relationships. This conflict of interest is manifest. It is not fair to President Trump as the reported subject of the investigation, and it is certainly not fair to the American public. They deserve a legal process that is utterly devoid of partiality and bias. Even the appearance of a conflict requires recusal under the law. In all matters, prosecutors are forbidden from presiding over a case in which they have a personal relationship with a key, pivotal witness. This is the kind of disqualifying mandate which, if violated, can and should result in disbarment proceedings against a lawyer. Mueller is violating not only the special counsel statute, but the Canons of Ethics and its successor, the Code of Professional Responsibility, which govern the conduct of lawyers. Compounding the conflict is the debate over whether Comey himself committed crimes. He admitted in his testimony that he leaked the memo reflecting his alleged conversation with President Trump. It is a felony to convert government property (the memo) to personal use and then convey it to someone outside the government without authorization. Moreover, Comeys non-disclosure contract promises he will not disclose the very kind of information he leaked to the media. Doing so, subjects him to criminal sanctions and personal liability in a civil action for money damages. It matters not that he is no longer at the FBI. His agreement is a binding, enforceable and actionable contract regardless of Comeys job status. Will Mueller be tempted to ignore the evidence against his friend and choose not to investigate and/or prosecute Comey? This is yet another flagrant conflict of interest that compels Muellers immediate departure from the case. Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, is the only person who can fire the special counsel. But he, too, has a conflict of interest if Muellers investigation now includes Comeys firing. Inasmuch as Rosenstein is the person who composed the memo that formed the basis for Comeys termination and may have had conversations with the president about the reasons for firing Comey, Rosenstein now becomes an important witness. He cannot serve as Muellers boss at the Department of Justice while simultaneously acting as a witness in the case being investigated by his appointee. The only solution is for both men to voluntarily resign from the case. In the alternative, Rosenstein should fire Mueller and then recuse himself from the case. In either scenario, another top official at the DOJ would take charge of the case and appoint a new special counsel this time an impartial one who is not hopelessly conflicted. If Robert Mueller truly embraces a fidelity to the law and all its attendant principles of legal ethics, he will step down as special counsel. What is stunning about all these obvious conflicts of interest is the conspicuous silence. Where is the outrage? Why are we not hearing a cacophony of demands for Muellers resignation? President Trump should demand it. And so should the American people. Last week, when former FBI Director James Comey gave his long-awaited public testimony about his apparently rough-and-tumble relationship with President Donald Trump, he painted a bleak picture. The essence of Comeys testimony was that the president asked him to drop an investigation of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn -- Trumps former national security adviser -- and then asked him to do so in return for keeping his job as FBI director and then fired him for not obeying his order. On the other hand, Comey confirmed that the president personally, as of the time of Comeys firing, was not the target of any FBI criminal investigation. It was not clear from the Comey testimony whether this exoneration was referring to salacious allegations made by a former British intelligence agent of highly inappropriate and fiercely denied personal behavior a few years ago in a Moscow hotel room or whether the exoneration was with respect to widely reported allegations that the 2016 Trump campaign may have helped Russian intelligence agents in their efforts to manipulate the outcome of the presidential election. Nevertheless, there is no doubt the president is now a target of a federal investigation with respect to his dealings with the then-FBI director. So, how could the tables have turned so quickly on the president, and who turned them? Here is the back story. Prior to the Watergate era of the mid-1970s, the generally accepted theory of management of the executive branch of government was known as the unitary executive. This theory informs that the president is the chief executive officer of the federal government and is the sole head of the executive branch. He is also the only person in the executive branch who is accountable to the voters, as he, and he alone (along with the vice president, who is largely a figurehead), has been elected by the voters. As such, this unitary executive theory informs, everyone in the executive branch of the federal government works at the pleasure of the president. Were this not the case, then vast areas of governance could occur and vast governmental resources could be spent by people who are unaccountable to the voters. And when the government is unaccountable to the voters, it lacks their consent. The consent of the governed is the linchpin and bedrock of popular government in America. There are, of course, today vast areas of government that are not responsive to the people and that lack the consent of the governed. The administrative agencies that write, interpret and enforce their own regulations and the deep state -- the secret parts of the financial, intelligence and law enforcement entities of the government that never change, operate below the radar screen and have budgets that never see the light of day -- defy the notion that the consent of the governed is the sole legitimate basis for government in America. Yet the FBI is not in the administrative state or the deep state. It is front and center as the premier law enforcement agency of the United States government. It is far from perfect, and its leaders are as fallible as the rest of us, but we have hired the folks who work there to enforce the federal laws that implicate our freedoms and our safety. And we have hired the president to exercise his discretion as to which laws shall be enforced and against whom. Thus, under this theory, the president is constitutionally, legally, morally and ethically free to direct any person in the executive branch as to how he wants that person to perform his or her job. And the recipient of such direction is free to resign if the direction appears unlawful. That is at least the theory of the unitary executive. After the Watergate era, Congress altered the public policy of the country to reflect the independence of the Department of Justice, including the FBI. It did so in reaction to Nixonian abuses. Thus, the post-Watergate theory of the DOJ's role articulates that federal law enforcement is independent from the president. The Comey testimony revealed serious efforts to reject the public policy of independence and return to the unitary executive. Comey revealed a DOJ under former Attorney General Loretta Lynch in lockstep with the Obama White House and determined to exonerate Hillary Clinton in the espionage investigation concerning her emails, no matter the evidence. He also revealed his own view that President Trumps orders and quid pro quo offer with respect to Flynn were unlawful. Where does this leave us today? Today we have a White House under siege. The new DOJ criminal investigation that the president is no doubt the subject of will attempt to discover whether he corruptly attempted to interfere with the work of an independent FBI and whether he attempted to bribe its then-director. The White House is also the subject of five congressional investigations involving the Russians and the 2016 election, the firing of Director Comey, and the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions from much of this. And the investigation of Clinton is back from the grave for a third time to determine whether she was exonerated because of a lack of evidence, a lack of will or an Obama political imperative. These are perilous times for men and women of goodwill and intellectual honesty who are charged with enforcing our laws and running the government. The government should not be terrifying. But it must be fair and transparent. And it must always enjoy the consent of the governed. For without that consent, it is illegitimate. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull could be heard on a leaked audio tape mocking President Trump during an address to journalists which is usually off the record, News.com.au reported. A politics editor at 9 News reportedly decided to reveal the tape after Wednesdays Parliament Houses annual Mid-Winter Ball. It was beautiful, Turnbull could reportedly be heard saying. It was the most beautifully putting-me-at-ease ever. Turnbull was reportedly joking about his now-famous phone call with Trump. He went on to joke about how he is doing at the polls. "The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls. We are winning so much, we are winning, we are winning like we have never won before," he said. The report went on to say that Turnbull could be heard joking about the Russian probe. I have this Russian guy Believe me, its true, it is true. Turnbull has not issued a comment since the leak. The shooting Wednesday of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four others was a shock to the nation. But to an extent, it was also the latest -- and by far the most violent -- manifestation of hostility in American politics. The suspect was a Bernie Sanders supporter with deep anti-Trump views. Lawmakers said afterward that hateful rhetoric has been on the rise on both sides, and needs to cool. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that in the age of Trump, it is particularly pronounced on the left: "The intensity on the left is very real," he told Fox News. No matter the cause or culprit, it's undeniable the intensity has been building, especially since last year's presidential election: June 3 - Democratic congressional candidate Kim Weaver, Iowa Weaver dropped out of the congressional race against Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. "Beginning during my 2016 campaign, I have received very alarming acts of intimidation, including death threats," she said in a Facebook post. "While some may say enduring threats are just a part of running for office, my personal safety has increasingly become a concern." Weaver also wrote about other concerns, among them that her mother "has been experiencing ongoing health issues." May 20 - Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, town hall, Houston, Texas Green played recordings of threatening messages he got after calling for President Donald Trump's impeachment, according to the Houston Chronicle. "You ain't going to impeach nobody," someone said in a recording. "Try it and we will lynch all of you." "You cannot allow hate to be hidden. You have to expose hate. Hate is a means by which people can be harmed," Green said. "It's an evil. The best way to deal with evil is to expose." May 10 - Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., town hall, Willingboro, New Jersey The politician faced town hall attendees upset that a bill to repeal Obamacare repeal passed in the House. "You have been the single greatest threat to my family in the entire world," attendee Geoff Ginter told MacArthur. "You are the reason I stay up at night. You are the reason that I can't sleep." The New Jersey congressman was also labelled a "liar" by people at the town hall. May 6 - Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., town hall, Busti, New York The lawmaker, a backer of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), was booed during the event, according to The Post-Journal. "Repeal and Replace Tom Reed," read one sign. May 5 - Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, town hall, Lewiston, Idaho Labrador was loudly booed after saying that no one dies because of not having health care. A woman told Labrador that he was "mandating people on Medicaid accept dying." "No one wants anybody to die," the lawmaker said. "You know, that line is so indefensible. Nobody dies because they don't have access to health care." "In a lengthy exchange with a constituent, I explained to her that Obamacare has failed the vast majority of Americans," Labrador later said in a Facebook statement. "In the five-second clip that the media is focusing on, I was trying to explain that all hospitals are required by law to treat patients in need of emergency care regardless of their ability to pay and that the Republican plan does not change that." May 1 - May Day arrests Police made more than 40 arrests in the U.S., when tens of thousands of people protested some of Trump's policies. April 27 - Arrests after Ann Coulter cancels appearance, Berkeley, California People came out to protest Coulter's canceled appearance at the University of California-Berkeley. Six people were arrested one for obstructing an officer and wearing a mask to evade police, and another for possessing a knife, police said. April 17 - DNC chair Tom Perez, Unity Tour stop, Portland, Maine Tom Perez, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), had his name booed during a stop on a unity tour with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Claire Cummings with the Maine Young Democrats spoke about why attendees may have come to the event. "Maybe it's because you love a certain senator from Vermont," she offered. There were cheers, followed by chanting of "Bernie." "Maybe you came through because you are curious about the new DNC chairman and the future of the Democratic -" she later said. There was booing and cheering. April 17 - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., town hall, San Francisco, California The Democratic senator was the subject of boos at a town hall event, where the majority of the crowd apparently supported her, the Mercury News reported. Booing took place when she said she "was not there" on single-payer healthcare and she didn't oppose the president's missile strikes on Syria, the report said. "Youre pretty good at yelling You can sit here and pound your fists and I can show you what Ive gotten done," she told protesters at one point during the event. April 15 - 20 people arrested in Berkeley, California Police made at least 20 arrests in the California city. Trump supporters had announced plans to hold a "Patriot Day" event at noon that would feature speeches by members of the alt-right. Counter-demonstrators followed that by announcing plans for a 10 a.m. rally at the same place. Officials put up a makeshift barrier of plastic orange poles and orange fence mesh to separate the sides, but that came down after demonstrators began punching and kicking each other, while pepper spray and firecrackers were thrown into the crowd. March 31 - Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, town hall, Salt Lake City, Utah More than 1,000 people booed Stewart at a town hall as he defended GOP positions on health care, public lands and immigration. Audience members yelled, "Do your job," imploring him to investigate and denounce alleged connections between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia and to hold the new administration accountable. Stewart started the event at a high school by acknowledging that many in the crowd likely didn't vote for him, but he said he thinks it's still important to hear them one of the few comments he made that received applause. March 4 - 10 people arrested in Berkeley, California "March 4 Trump" rallies supporting the president were held in parts of the U.S. Berkeley police said 10 people were arrested after Trump supporters and counter-protesters clashed during a rally that turned violent and left seven people injured. None of the injured were hospitalized. Elsewhere, there were arrests in St. Paul, Minn., Olympia, Wash., and in Nashville. February 23 - Protest outside office of Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., Issaquah, Washington "Hundreds" of people demanded Reichert have town hall meetings, which the congressman said he stopped following the shooting of Rep. Gabby Giffords, Q13 Fox reported. Protesters, however, demanded for Reichert to "come on out." February 21 - Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., town hall, Clermont, Florida Ross was booed at the event, where people held signs reading "Boo" and "Disagree," according to the AP. February 21 - Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., event, Inverness, Florida Webster faced a rough reception at a meet-and-greet, where he was reportedly heckled. "This office is open to everybody here, and we will help you in any way possible," he said, before leaving to boos, the AP said. He didn't take questions. February 21 - Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., luncheon, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky Protesters held signs outside the event. McConnell "brushed aside" some questions at the luncheon, the Courier-Journal reported. He also received some boos on his way out. Several other GOP politicians also had events that day where they dealt with jeering crowds. February 11 - Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., town hall, Land O'Lakes, Florida More than 100 people came out for the Land O'Lakes event, in which plans to repeal and replace Obamacare were discussed, Fox 13 reported, which described the crowd as "heated." Bilirakis earlier faced angry constituents at a February 4 town hall. February 9 - Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, town hall, Cottonwood Heights, Utah Chaffetz was met by frequent, deafening boos at a town hall as constituents grilled him on everything from investigating President Trump's tax returns to Planned Parenthood. He repeatedly said, "hold on," and "give me a second," as the audience members reacted negatively to nearly all of his statements. Hundreds of people stood outside the auditorium holding signs and chanting, "Vote him out," while one woman was arrested. February 4 - Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., town hall, Roseville, CA McClintock was constantly interrupted and booed as he defended the Republican Partys national agenda during the event at a theater. Hundreds of protesters stood outside chanting "Vote him out," while those inside the theater held signs that read "Resist," "Dump Tom McTrump," and "Climate change is real." McClintock had to be escorted by police after his hour-long event. Protesters followed him, shouting "Shame on you!" February 2 - Eleven people arrested at protest over Gavin McInnes appearance at NYU, New York, NY Protesters came out to oppose a scheduled talk by McInnes, a conservative comedian, at the school in New York City. Protesters clashed with both law enforcement and McInnes's supporters, according to Reuters. February 1 - Violent protest over planned Milo Yiannopoulos talk at University of California-Berkeley Yiannopoulous, then a Breitbart News editor, was supposed to speak at the university. However, more than 1,500 protesters showed up outside where the talk was going to happen, prompting it to be cancelled by the school. A small group broke windows, hurled smoke bombs and flares, and started a bonfire. "This was a group of agitators who were masked up, throwing rocks, commercial grade fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers," UC Berkeley Police Chief Margo Bennet said. January 13 - Milo Yiannopoulos and Martin Shkreli speeches canceled, University of California-Davis Speeches by the two men were canceled after heated protests erupted at the California school. What about entertainment and celebrity rhetoric? Pop culture hasn't been safe from controversy either. A current Shakespeare in the Park production of "Julius Caesar," in which a Trump-esque Caesar is brutally stabbed, prompted outrage and the loss of sponsorships from Delta and Bank of America. The Public Theater is standing by the production. Comedian Kathy Griffin also recently made waves for a photo which appeared to show her holding the bloody, decapitated head of the president. She apologized late last month. In March, rapper Snoop Dogg made waves for a music video in which he shot a clown that looked like the president. While at the women's march in Washington in January, pop star Madonna also commented, "Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House. But I know that this won't change anything." She later said in an Instagram post that she "spoke in metaphor." During the 2016 election, a video filmed for a voting campaign emerged, in which actor Robert De Niro said he wanted to punch Trump. "He talks how he'd like to punch people in the face?" De Niro said in the clip. "Well, I'd like to punch him in the face." De Niro later doubled down on his remarks in a February appearance on The View. The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Trump questioned why his relations with Russia were being examined, while Hillary Clinton's are not, in a series of tweets posted less than a day after a report said he is being investigated for attempted obstruction of justice. Trump tweeted Thursday afternoon that while Hillary Clinton's family and Democrats dealt with Russia, only his "non-dealings" are being investigated. The Washington Post reported Wednesday evening that special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into the role Russia played in the 2016 election, is also investigating Trump for attempted obstruction of justice. A follow-up tweet from the president said "Crooked H" destroyed phones, "'bleached' emails," and Bill Clinton met with then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch days before Hillary was "cleared" of any wrongdoing in the scandal involving her private email server. COVFEFE LIVES: TWITTER COMES UP WITH FUNNY MEMES AFTER TRUMP TWEET In FBI documents released in the fall of 2016 regarding Clinton's private email server investigation, it was revealed that an aide to Bill Clinton recalled "two instances where he destroyed Clinton's old mobile phones by breaking them in half or hitting them with a hammer." Earlier in the day, following the Post's report, Trump tweeted that we are witnessing the "single greatest witch hunt in American political history." President Trump took to Twitter Thursday morning to claim he's caught up in a "WITCH HUNT" led by "bad and conflicted people" following reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating him for obstruction of justice. Trump further claimed it all stems from his critics' "phony collusion" allegations. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Muellers investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election has expanded to include an examination of whether the president attempted to obstruct justice. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice, Trump tweeted early Thursday. He later added: You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA" Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Adm. Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency and Richard Ledgett, Rogers departed deputy, all agreed to participate in interviews with Muellers investigators as early as this week, five anonymous sources briefed on the requestes told the Post. It wasnt immediately clear if others have been questioned by the FBI. Investigators are also reportedly looking for proof of possible financial crimes committed by Trump associates. The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal, Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trumps personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said Wednesday. Muellers office declined to comment. The investigation into obstruction of justice into Trump reportedly started days after former FBI Director James Comeys May 9 ouster. According to the Post, a March 22 exchange among Trump, Coats, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, alone in the White House, is of potential interest to Mueller. Coats reportedly said that Trump had asked him if he could intervene with Comey to get the FBI to back off focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of the Russia probe. President Trump will announce efforts to restrict U.S. companies from doing business with Cuban ventures controlled by that country's military and strictly enforce rules on Americans traveling to the Communist nation, according to a memo seen by Fox News. Trump will formally unveil the new Cuba policy at a speech in Miami Friday. The president is expected to emphasize that a ban on American tourism to Cuba remains in effect and announce that his administration will "strictly [enforce] the 12 authorized categories for U.S. citizens to travel to the island." Those categories include family visits, official government business, education and religious activities, health clinics, and "support for the Cuban people." The new commerce restrictions will focus on dealings with businesses owned by the Cuban military's holding company, known as GAESA. The policy calls on Americans traveling to Cuba to use "private businesses and services provided by the Cuban people, rather than businesses and services provided by ... GAESA." The memo outlining the new policy does not say whether Trump will close any embassies or break off diplomatic relations, which were restored by the Obama administration in 2015. Trump is expected to justify the new restrictions on human rights grounds. The policy directs Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to create a task force exploring ways to increase Internet access to the island. A source told Fox News the president is also expected to call for the release of Cuban political prisoners, but did not provide further details. The administration has been drafting a new policy with input from Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and Sen. Marco Rubio, both Cuban-American Republicans from South Florida. During his presidential campaign, Trump said that Obamas decision to ease trade and travel restrictions had amounted to playing right into the hands of a regime that had made no concessions in return. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the Trump administration would conduct a top-to-bottom review of U.S.-Cuba policy. Proponents of lifting the embargo say that taking a punitive approach toward Cuba has done nothing to bring about improvements in human rights in more than 50 years, and that it is time to try something new. They believe that the more contact Cubans and Americans have and the more opportunities Cubans have to form entrepreneurial ventures -- helped by Americans the more pressure there will be for the political system to change on the island. FoxNews.com's Elizabeth Llorente and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Microsoft has made a rare decision to combat attacks similar to the WannaCry epidemic that struck hospitals and banks last month. This week, the Redmond, WA.-based Microsoft said it was releasing additional updates to Windows because vulnerabilities were identified that pose elevated risk of cyber attacks by government organizations and to provide further protection against potential attacks similar to last months WannaCry ransomware. "On June 13, we made a rare decision to make critical security updates available, a Microsoft spokesperson told Fox News in a statement. ORIGINAL XBOX GAMES MIGHT COME TO PC, XBOX CHIEF SAYS This comes on the heels of the WannaCry ransomware that hit over 300,000 PCs in 150 countries last month. WannaCry is a so-called worm because it can spread to unprotected Windows machines over the Internet, making it particularly insidious. The problem for users and IT departments is that WannaCry encrypts their data making it inaccessible then demands ransom in Bitcoin to get access back. Older Windows systems are particularly vulnerable. Any patches for vulnerabilities even in outdated systems that are still in use are welcomed, especially those that can be used for remote code execution with no user interaction like we saw with WannaCry, Eric Chien, technical director of security response at Virus protection firm Symantec, told Fox News. What should you do? We encourage people to take action, the Microsoft spokesperson said an email. Customers with automatic updates enabled are protected and no additional action is requiredWe recommend those on older platforms prioritize downloading and applying these critical updates. MICROSOFT, OTHERS SPEARHEADING A 'SMART CITIES' INITIATIVE FOR EVERYONE Microsoft spelled out these countermeasures in a blog post on Tuesday. The best protection is to be on a modern, up-to-date system that incorporates the latest innovations. Older systems, even if fully up-to-date, lack the latest security features and advancements, Microsoft said. Despite Microsoft's advice, there are still plenty of systems that are not running up-to-date Windows software. More than 15 years after its release, Windows XP is still a widely-used operating system, ranked as the third most popular Windows operating system, according to Netmarketshare. In a departure from past practices, Microsoft is issuing updates for its aging Windows XP operating system too, according to the Tuesday blog post. These security updates are being made available to all customers, including those using older versions of Windows, Microsoft said in the blog post. Samsung may soon release a new Galaxy Note handset, a device that's supposed to make everyone forget about last year's Galaxy Note 7 debacle. Reports say the Galaxy Note 8 will be launched as soon as late August, and that it'll basically be a bigger Galaxy S8 version that'll offer a few extra tricks, including a stylus and a dual lens camera on the back. The same reports say that Samsung's upcoming flagship won't have the one feature that'll probably turn out to be the iPhone 8's signature trick this year, a fingerprint sensor packed into the display. Considering what Samsung did with the Galaxy S8 this year, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the Galaxy Note 8. And thanks to the folks over at TechnoBuffalo, we now have renders of what that predictable Galaxy Note 8 may look like. These renders are based on rumors, the site notes, and they're created by Benjamin Geskin. We actually have two sets of images, one that shows a Galaxy Note 8 featuring a dual-lens camera and a fingerprint sensor on the back: The more exciting version that has the fingerprint sensor built into the display, even if it the design seems unlikely right now: The colors used in these images are the same colors Samsung employed in past devices, but that doesn't mean these will be the Galaxy Note 8 colors at launch. The most recent rumors say Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 8 before the IFA show that takes place in early September in Germany. Samsung, meanwhile, has not announced any details about a future Unpacked event. A female passenger aboard a Ryanair flight claims shes mortified after footage of her giving a lap dance to a fellow passenger went viral online. Tracy Bolton, a 39-year-old mother of three, was flying from Manchester, England, to Ibiza, Spain, when she hopped on top of 31-year-old Shaun Edmondson who himself has a pregnant fiancee at home for an impromptu dance. According to a friend of Boltons who spoke with The Sun, Edmondsons friends were the ones that convinced Bolton to do the deed, as Edmondson was sad about leaving his wife at home for a bachelor party. SUPER THIN AIRLINE SEATS TO MAKE FLYING EVEN WORSE, SAY CRITICS His mates egged her on to tease him because he didnt want to leave his girl, Kristy Lawton, a friend of Boltons, told The Sun. In footage of the incident, Bolton, who had reportedly been drinking at an airport bar before the flight, can be seen straddling Edmondson and gyrating on his lap as Edmondson grabs her by the hips. According to reports, the man even asked his friends if they had any condoms. I heard them talking about it but I thought they were joking, a fellow passenger claimed. The guy was shouting, Anyone got a jelly? Sources for The Sun have further claimed that Bolton removed her pants at one point, and engaged in intercourse with Edmondson, but she has since refuted these accusations. I am absolutely mortified, Bolton reportedly wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post. What started as a bit of drunken madness has gone worldwide. I am horrified but absolutely nothing happened, she insisted. Boltons family and friends have since come to her defense, with her father claiming that people are getting the story mixed up, and Lawton reiterating that no actual sex took place. Nothing really happened, said Lawton. She did a fully clothed lap dance for a laugh, no sexy time occurred. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Tracy is one of the most straight-laced women I know, she also stated. Edmondson, meanwhile, is reportedly in the doghouse with pregnant fiancee Jenna Ross over the incident. The Sun has also obtained a statement from Ryanair, in which the airline claims to be looking into the incident. We will not tolerate unruly, disruptive or inappropriate behavior at any time and any passengers who appear to behave in an unacceptable manner may be liable for further sanctions. Four Kentucky National Guardsmen have been charged with sexual assault. Kentucky State Police announced the arrests Wednesday in a news release. They say the assault was reported on June 3. Police said the victim was given alcohol and then sexually assaulted. In a separate news release, Kentucky Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Stephen Hogan called sexual assault a "reprehensible act" and said the guard will support the victim. Police said 25-year-old Anthony R. Tubolino of Auburn was charged with second-degree rape, second-degree sodomy and third-degree unlawful transaction with a minor; 19-year-old Tyler A. Hart of Bowling Green was charged with first-degree sexual abuse and second-degree sodomy; and 21-year-old Austin L. Dennis and 22-year-old Jacob F. Ruth, both of Munfordville, were charged with second-degree sodomy. The soldiers couldn't be reached for comment. A 21-year-old North Carolina man suffered severe burns after falling into a hot spring Tuesday in Yellowstone National Park, officials said. The National Park Service said Wednesday in a news release the incident occurred in the Lower Geyser Basin off Fountain Flat Drive, just north of the Old Faithful area. Park officials said Gervais Dylan Gatete of Raleigh, an employee of park concessionaire Xanterra Parks and Resorts, was with seven other people when he fell into a spring. After he fell, the group attempted to evacuate Gatete, and then flagged down a ranger near Seven Mile Bridge on the West Entrance Road, park officials said. He was taken by ambulance to West Yellowstone, Montana, and was flown to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. Hospital spokeswoman Suzanne Winchester told the Associated Press he was in critical but stable condition. Park officials said rangers were not at the scene of the incident. It was not yet clear how he fell into the spring and the incident remains under investigation. Yellowstones thermal features are dangerous, Superintendent Dan Wenk said in a statement. We continually stress that people must stay on trails and boardwalks in geyser basins, not only to protect resources, but for their own safety. The ground in the area is fragile and thin, with scalding water just below the surface, according to the park. Last June, a man left the boardwalk and died after slipping into a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin and in August 2000, one person died and two people received severe burns from falling into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Southern Baptists on Wednesday formally condemned the political movement known as the "alt-right," in a national meeting that was thrown into turmoil after leaders initially refused to take up the issue. The denomination's annual convention in Phoenix voted to "decry every form of racism, including alt-right white supremacy as antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ" and "denounce and repudiate white supremacy and every form of racial and ethnic hatred as a scheme of the devil." Tuesday night, Southern Baptist officials who oversaw the resolutions had refused to introduce a different repudiation of the "alt-right," which emerged dramatically during the U.S. presidential election, mixing racism, white nationalism and populism. Barrett Duke, who leads the resolutions committee, had said the original document contained inflammatory and broad language "potentially implicating" conservatives who do not support the "alt-right" movement. Introducing the new statement Wednesday, Duke apologized "for the pain and confusion that we created," but said the committee had been concerned about potentially giving the appearance of hating their enemies. Duke said the committee members "share your abhorrence of racism" and were grateful for the chance to "speak on 'alt-right' racism in particular and all racism in general." The resolution was adopted after a short but emotional discussion. "We are saying that white supremacy and racist ideologies are dangerous because they oppress our brothers and sisters in Christ," said the Rev. Russell Moore, who leads the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the Southern Baptist public policy arm. "If we're a Jesus people, let's stand where Jesus stands." Charles Hedman of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in South Bend, Indiana, said far-right groups had been distributing racist material outside the convention hall Tuesday night. He said some pastors had told him they would have to leave the denomination if the convention failed to denounce white supremacy Wednesday. "We must stand strong," Hedman said. "We must all issue an apology that we didn't act on this yesterday." The initial proposal that Southern Baptists had rejected came from a prominent black Southern Baptist pastor, the Rev. William McKissic of Arlington, Texas. His resolution repudiated "retrograde ideologies, xenophobic biases and racial bigotries of the 'alt-right' that seek to subvert our government." After McKissic made an unsuccessful plea for reconsideration from the floor of the Phoenix meeting late Tuesday, pressure began building online and at the convention for the Southern Baptists to say something. Several Southern Baptists were panicked, contending that silence would be misinterpreted as support for white supremacy. The denomination was formed in the 19th century in defense of slaveholders and has been trying to overcome its racist history. A late-night call went out for convention participants to return to the assembly hall, where Steve Gaines, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, won approval to consider a new resolution on the topic Wednesday. "It shows we're willing to bring issues to the floor, real issues," said Mark Croston, national director of black church partnerships for the Southern Baptist-affiliated Lifeway Christian Resources. "We're not intimidated or afraid to speak out, even though it brings up dirty laundry from the past." The Southern Baptist Convention, based in Nashville, is the largest Protestant denomination in the country, although its membership has been shrinking, most recently dropping to 15.2 million members. Leaders have been trying to diversify, repeatedly condemning racism in formal resolutions from past meetings, rejecting display of the Confederate flag and electing more black officers. As of 2014, the denomination was about 85 percent white, according to the Pew Research Center. Duke later apologized personally to McKissic for how his original proposal was handled. McKissic was not consulted when leaders were drafting the new statement, but said he was encouraged by the outcry from white and black Christians that brought the issue to a vote. "We're turning the corner," McKissic told reporters. "I see the heart of the majority." Debate also underscored ongoing tensions among Southern Baptists whether Donald Trump, a thrice-married casino and real estate mogul, was morally fit to be president. Moore vehemently condemned candidate Trump. At the same time, several prominent Southern Baptists, including former presidents of the denomination, signed on as evangelical advisers to the Republican's campaign. They remain among the president's most steadfast supporters. When Trump won with 80 percent of the white evangelical vote, Moore faced a backlash within the denomination. That landslide support for Trump left black evangelicals feeling alienated and disappointed given their concerns about Trump's past treatment of blacks, his rhetoric about Mexicans and his promised policies. A Tennessee man who was convicted of planning an attack on a New York mosque has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison. WTVC-TV in Chattanooga reports that a judge sentenced 65-year-old Robert Doggart of Signal Mountain to 235 months on Wednesday. He was convicted in February of solicitation to commit a civil rights violation and solicitation to commit arson of a building. A judge threw out two other guilty verdicts for threats in interstate commerce. Doggart was convicted of recruiting about 10 people to attack a Muslim community called Islamberg. But the judge wrote that Doggart did not make "true threats" because he did not personally intimidate the community's residents. Doggart ran for Congress in 2014 in East Tennessee and finished with 6 percent of the vote. ___ Information from: WTVC-TV, http://www.newschannel9.com/ Police were on the hunt for 14 people, including nine Turkish security agents and three Turkish police officers, in the brawl that broke out in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit in May, officials announced Thursday. Two Canadians are also sought in connection with the melee that left nine people injured, District Police Chief Peter Newsham announced. Two Turkish Americans -- Eyup Yildirim, of New Jersey, and Sinan Narin, of Virginia -- were arrested Wednesday. Yildirim was charged with assault with significant bodily injury, aggravated assault and a misdemeanor assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner. Narin was charged with aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner Newsham said there are still suspects involved in the May 16 incident that still have not been identified, adding that photos will be released later. ERDOGAN'S BODYGUARDS ACCUSED OF ATTACKING PROTESTERS OUTSIDE TURKISH EMBASSY IN DC The agents, part of Erdogan's security detail, are in Turkey at this time. It's unclear how the arrests for the officers and agents will be carried out, but D.C. police said they will be taking "necessary steps" to apprehend the individuals. Newsham added that the agents will be arrested if they attempt to enter the U.S. "We all saw the violence that was perpetrated against the protesters," Newsham said. "We're not going to tolerate this." Newsman said the warrants were issued by the D.C. police, not the state department. Erdogan's visit sparked outrage after a video surfaced of Turkish president's security guards and supporters attacking a group of protesters outside the Turkish Embassy. Witnesses said the brawl started when the security detail started attacking people waving the flag of the Kurdish PDY party. PHOTOJOURNALIST FREED FROM CUSTODY IN TURKEY The agents were seen on video kicking and punching the protesters, some beating them to the ground. Many were visibly covered in blood. Nine people were hurt in the brawl. Initially, two people were arrested the day of the incident. American officials strongly criticized Turkey's government and Erdogan's security forces for the violence; the State Department summoned Turkey's U.S. ambassador to complain. The Turkish Foreign Ministry then summoned America's ambassador to address about the treatment of the detained security guards. Turkey's U.S. Embassy alleged the demonstrators were associated with the PKK, which has waged a three-decade-long insurgency against Turkey and is considered a terrorist group by the United States. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also said following the altercation that the U.S. should throw their ambassador the hell out of the country. Fox News' Jake Gibson, Nicholas Kalman, Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A person who raised alarms about a possible "dirty bomb" on a container ship approaching the port of Charleston in South Carolina was being questioned Thursday after searches found nothing dangerous. Coast Guard Lt. James Zorn said the Charleston office received a telephone call about a "dirty bomb" aboard the Maersk Memphis container ship around 8 p.m. Wednesday. The ship docked about a half-hour later. Zorn said the Coast Guard contacted other federal, state and local agencies and set up a unified command that ordered the evacuation of the Wando Terminal of the South Carolina State Ports Authority in Mount Pleasant and set up a 1-mile safety zone around the dock on the Cooper River. A "dirty bomb" is not a traditional nuclear weapon, but an explosive device containing radioactive or radiation-polluted material. By 3:30 a.m. Thursday, officials had scanned four suspect containers aboard the ship and determined there was no danger. Zorn said the four "diplomatic" containers were searched based on intelligence gathered and information from the caller. He did not have other information on those containers, referring questions about them to the FBI. FBI spokesman Don Wood in Columbia said he could not talk about the containers. He also would not provide details on the person being questioned or any possible charges. The terminal was allowed to resume normal operations. No injuries were reported. The Coast Guard says it has suspended a search for three boaters on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee. In a statement Thursday, the Coast Guard said several agencies searched more than 500 square miles (1,300 square kilometers) for 35 hours in an unsuccessful effort to find the boaters, though it was unclear whether they were in the water. Officials received a mayday broadcast Tuesday night. The broadcast said a johnboat hit a submerged object and began taking on water near mile marker 744, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park. Coast Guard Petty Officer Brandon Giles said the three people aboard the 16-foot (5-meter) boat were wearing life jackets. Giles says crews searched the area by boat and air. The FBI released newly acquired photos of a man who has been wanted by the FBI for 37 years for allegedly shooting a police officer. Saxonburg, Massachusetts Police Chief Greg Adams was shot and beaten during a routine traffic stop in December 1980. Donald Eugene Webb was identified as the alleged shooter. Webb was a career criminal who operated under different aliases and specialized in jewel theft. He operated out of Providence, Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts. Webbs rental car was found outside a motel in Warwick, Rhode Island, two weeks after the crime. He is accused of unlawful flight to avoid persecution. There has been a warrant for his arrest since Dec. 31, 1980. The new photographs put a renewed focus on the case. Special Agent Thomas MacDonald said these photographs present Donald Webb in a completely new way. The face of this investigation for decades was grainy black and white photos. DUNKIN' DONUTS SLAYING SUSPECT NOW ON FBI'S 'MOST WANTED' The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the whereabouts of Webb or the location of his remains. If he is still alive, he would be 85 years old. He is described as 5-foot-9, 165 pounds with brown eyes and gray-brown hair. He may have a small scar on his right cheek and right forearm. He also may have "Don" tattooed on his right hand and "Ann" on his chest. He is reportedly allergic to penicillin, a lover of dogs, a flashy dresser and a big tipper. More from Fox 25 Boston. Polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs was arrested Wednesday in South Dakota after nearly a year on the run, Fox News confirmed. FBI officials announced the capture Thursday morning with a tweet: "#ARRESTED: FLDS leader Lyle Jeffs in custody after nearly a year on the lam." Authorities followed a tip that led them to Jeffs, who was living out of his silver pickup truck. Police caught up with his vehicle at a recreation-area marina after Jeffs stopped to use the bathroom. He surrendered without incident while at a traffic stop. Jeffs is being held in a jail in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the U.S Marshall Service, Minnehaha County Jail Warden Jeff Gromer said. It's unclear why Jeffs was in Sotuh Dakota at the time of his arrest. Authorities had been searching for Jeffs since he escaped from home confinement in Utah in June 2016 while pending trial on food stamp fraud charges. GEORGIA MANHUNT: REWARD FOR ESCAPED INMATES INCREASED AS FAMILY MAKES DESPERATE PLEA Officials said he slipped out of his GPS ankle monitor and fled from a Salt Lake City house where he was on supervised home release. The group, known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is based in a small community on the Utah-Arizona border. It also has a small compound in far west South Dakota. Jeffs and 10 others from the sect were charged with fraud and money laundering in a multimillion dollar food stamp fraud scheme. The FBI had issued a $50,000 reward and a wanted poster with bold red lettering saying Jeffs should be considered armed and dangerous. It was issued a decade after his brother Warren Jeffs was featured on a similar poster. Warren Jeffs is now serving a life sentence in a Texas prison. Lyle Jeffs will likely face at least one other felony charge connected to his time on the run, U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber said. Jeffs was the last of the defendants in the food stamp fraud case still behind bars when U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart reversed his earlier decision and granted Jeffs his release on June 9. Prosecutors opposed that move, arguing Jeffs was a flight risk. Lyle Jeffs must now face the pending charges in federal court in Utah. UPS GUNMAN WHO KILLED 3 HAD FILED OVERTIME GRIEVANCE While he was a fugitive, nine of the 10 other people charged in the high-profile bust in February 2016 took plea deals while one person had his charges dismissed. Prosecutors accused Jeffs and other sect leaders of instructing followers to buy items with their food stamp cards and give them to a church warehouse where leaders decided how to distribute products to followers. They say food stamps were also cashed at sect-owned stores without the users getting anything in return. The money was then diverted to front companies and used to pay thousands for a tractor, truck and other items, prosecutors say. The defendants said they were just sharing food as part of their communal living practices. Members of the sect believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. The group is an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, which disavowed polygamy more than 100 years ago. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The search for the two Georgia inmates accused of killing two correctional officers on a prison bus Tuesday before escaping has entered its third day, as the family of one suspect begged him to surrender or face getting killed. Ricky Dubose, 24, and Donnie Russell Rowe, 43, inmates at the Baldwin State Prison in Milledgeville, overpowered and killed Sgt. Christopher Monica, 42, and Sgt. Curtis Billue, 58, on a bus that was carrying up to 33 inmates between prisons, according to investigators. The duo carjacked a driver who pulled up behind the bus and sped off in his green Honda Civic down state Highway 16 in Putnam County, southeast of Atlanta. The reward for information leading to their arrest has been increased to $130,000. Duboses family has pleaded for the inmate to turn himself in. He needs to stop (running), Rocky Dubose, Rickys father, told WSB. Ricky please stop man. Brother, they gonna kill you, if you dont give yourself up. I promise you. SECURITY FAILURE LEFT NEARLY 7 MILLION GEORGIA VOTER RECORDS EXPOSED, RESEARCHER FINDS A surveillance video of the shooting on the bus was recovered but it was not clear which inmate fired the fatal shots, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said. Signs of the fugitives turned up hours later and 25 miles north, in Madison, where they ransacked a house, ditched their prison uniforms, and took food and likely clothes too. They stole a white Ford pickup truck from a nearby industrial site sometime between 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Sills said. The Honda was found Wednesday, intentionally concealed in a wooded area near the burglarized house, Sills said. The Oconee County Georgia Sheriffs Office tweeted out the information of the stolen white Ford F250 pickup truck with a Georgia tag that reads: BCX 5372. Sills called the escaped inmates violent repeat offenders and extremely dangerous, having taken the guards 9 mm pistols. Since the car was found, the trail has gone cold. The FBI held a joint news conference on Thursday with state and local law enforcement officials in Madison. Sills said the investigation is expanding and they are asking for the publics help. Sills message to the escaped inmates was: You need to surrender. You will be apprehended. David LeValley, agent in charge of the FBIs Atlanta office said they will be putting up billboards in various states with information regarding the suspects and who to contact if they are seen. FLOYD MAYWEATHER ANNOUNCES AUGUST FIGHT AGAINST CONOR MCGREGOR Dubose has tattoos on his body that are related to the Ghost Face Gangsters, a white supremacy gang, Sills said. Rowe has been serving life without parole since 2002, and Dubose began a 20-year sentence in 2015. The duo have been cellmates more than once in Georgias prisons and have known each other for quite a while and may have planned the escape, Department of Corrections Assistant Commissioner Ricky Myrick said. Monica and Billue were both transfer sergeants at the prison. Monica had been with the Georgia Department of Corrections since 2009 and Billue since July 2007. Fox News' Terace Garnier and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Houston police are looking for three men involved in the shooting death of a 10-month-old baby boy. The baby was shot while his father was taking him for a walk at a southwest Houston apartment complex around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. "A father is taking his son out of his apartment, taking the kid for a walk," said Houston Police Department homicide Sgt. Mark Holbrook. "He walks outside and sees three black males approach him." One of the men, described as being in his 20s and wearing a white T-shirt, started shooting at the father, who ran to a convenience store across the street from his apartment complex. Police are now trying to locate the three men and are asking anyone with information to contact the HPD homicide division or Crime Stoppers. "We would love to hear anything you have to say about this," Holbrook said. "If you're involved in this, we would sure love to hear from you to find out if you intentionally killed this one-year-old or this was just an accident. But I need to know which one it is." "You can run, but you can't hide," said Khalilah Lewis, the baby's aunt. "Believe me, you're going to get caught." "If you're a real man you're not going to run and shoot no kid or no parent while they're holding their child," said Jawan Wilson, the baby's grandmother. Police say the father has told them he didn't know the men and has no idea why they would shoot at him or his infant son. Click for more from Fox26Houston.com. An attorney for a man convicted as a teenager of taking part in deadly sniper attacks that terrorized the Washington area will argue before a Maryland judge that his life sentence is unconstitutional and should be thrown out. Lee Boyd Malvo, now 32, was convicted in Maryland and Virginia when he was 17 for his role in the 2002 sniper shootings that killed 10 people and wounded three in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. On Thursday his attorney will argue that his sentence should be tossed because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles is unconstitutional. Last month a federal judge in Virginia ruled that Malvo is entitled to new sentencing hearings in Fairfax and Spotsylvania counties in light of the Supreme Court's ruling. The final Lincoln County Jail escapee was re-captured Thursday. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Brian Moody had been taken in to custody. Moody was the final inmate still on the run after four people escaped the jail through the ventilation system Monday. Authorities did not immediately identify where Moody was taken into custody. However, FOX 25 can confirm that Moody's sister, 43-year-old Angela Rainbolt, was arrested Tuesday in connection with the hunt for her brother. Moody escaped along with 31-year-old Jeremy Tyson Irvin, 27-year-old Trey Glenn Goodnight and 41-year-old Sonny Baker. Lincoln County Sheriff Charlie Dougherty said the inmates were in two different pods at the jail. They were able to access an area between the ceiling and the wall and jump over to the air vent. Moody and Baker had escaped from the jail in the same manner in March. The inmates are believed to have stolen several vehicles during their four days on the run. Irvin and Goodnight were arrested early Wednesday near Dale. Baker was arrested several hours later in the Carney-area. Irvin was jailed on a first degree murder charge while the three other men are charged with property crimes. Irvin is accused of shooting and killing Robert Godwin Jr. July 2016 near Stroud. He was arrested in September following a nine-hour standoff. Click for more from OKCFox.com. A woman's jog was cut short in a dramatic way when a raccoon attacked her, latching onto her skin and refusing to budge until she drowned the animal. Rachel Borch, 21, detailed the recent roller-coaster experience in a colorful interview with the Bangor Daily News. She said she was on a jog when she spotted the cute animal on the path. But all of sudden, the raccoon started bounding toward her on the narrow foot path, baring its teeth. Borch said she knew instantly it had to be rabid. So what next? She danced around it, trying to figure out what to do -- before she dropped her phone. GIRL GETS RABIES SHOT AFTER BEING BITTEN BY COYOTE AT PARK Imagine the Tasmanian devil, she said, it was terrifying. Borch saw the path was too narrow to run past it. By then, she says I knew it was going to bite me. Borch figured she would have the greatest ability to defend herself if she used her hands to hold it down, the newspaper continued. But before she knew it, the raccoon sank its teeth into her thumb and wouldnt let go. In the frenzy, she noticed her phone had become fully submerged in the puddle where she had dropped it. Borch, unable to unhinge the raccoon from her finger, thought holding it underwater might help. I didnt think I could strangle [the raccoon] with my bare hands she recalled, but she was willing to try. Borch dropped to her knees and dragged the biting and frantically scratching raccoon into the puddle. With my thumb in its mouth, I just pushed its head down into the muck, she said. It was still struggling and clawing at my arms. It wouldnt let go of my thumb. Borch held the animal belly-up with its head underwater for what she said felt like an eternity until finally it stopped struggling and its arms sort of fell to the side, its chest still heaving really slowly according to the newspaper. Once she was able to pull her thumb free, Borch says she just bolted as fast as I could through the underbrush, hyperventilating and in hysterics. She had to look back to make sure the raccoon wasnt still chasing her. It felt like [Stephen Kings] Pet Sematary, she recalled. Once at home, her mother, immediately drove her to the hospital to get shots. It was revealed a few days later that the animal tested positive for rabies. CHIHUAHUA FOUND IN THE GARBAGE IN MAINE Borch reportedly is set to receive one more shot this coming weekend. Click for more from the Bangor Daily News. The parents of an 18-year-old who died after a night of hazing while pledging a fraternity are suing the Sigma Nu chapter at the University of Nevada, Reno. John and Wendy Abele filed a lawsuit in the Second Judicial Court of Nevada and are seeking damages. The lawsuit points to forms of negligence and wrongdoing on the members in leadership positions at the Sigma Nu fraternity where hazing and alcohol policies were not followed, according to the filing. The lawsuit singled out and identified specific members of the fraternity who were of legal age. They knew the statements were false" and were "integral parts of the pledge process they designed and implemented. New members were made to sign documentation stating that hazing was not tolerated and that they neither misuse nor support the misuse of alcohol. The parents contend that new pledges sign these documents, but existing chapter members have no pretense of following through or abiding by them. Ryan Abele, 18, died in the fall of 2016 as part of a night where pledges Big Brothers are revealed and heavy drinking ensues. Abele died after falling down the stairs in the morning while still intoxicated, hitting his head on a concrete wall and going unconscious. Abeles blood alcohol level was .3 percent, almost four times the legal limit. He died from his injuries twelve days later. The national board of Sigma Nu revoked the UNRs charter in January and ordered it to cease operation immediately. Campus police found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The series of events related to this death do not support probable cause for any felony or gross misdemeanor crime, said University Police Chief Adam Garcia. The parents are seeking $10,000 in their settlement for medical fees, legal fees, and damages. At the time of Abeles death, the University released the following statement, Pursuant to an investigation by the Universitys Office of Student Conduct and, in an attempt at an informal resolution, the University has suspended the operations of the Sigma Nu Fraternity, Delta Xi Chapter at the University of Nevada, Reno and invoked the consequence of loss of recognition of the chapter by the University for 15 years. Representatives for the Sigma Nu National Fraternity couldnt immediately be reached for comment. Theyre [prosecution] gonna have to show the national chapter had some duty to their son that they chapter violated, that they were negligent in their duty in some way," said Ron Bamieh, a former prosecutor. He added, prosecutors will need to show that the national chapter encourages this or hasnt been disciplined appropriately in the past or had some knowledge of this type of behavior. This case comes amid a higher profile incident at Penn State University where sophomore Timothy Piazza was pledging the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. He also had fallen down a flight of stairs where he was for hours. He later succumbed to his injuries. 18 of the chapters members have been charged in his death and 8 of those with manslaughter. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 2022 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. SWAT teams rescued six correctional officers after a riot broke out at a South Carolina prison early Thursday. #Breaking Reported riot at Trenton Correctional Institution in Edgefield County https://t.co/LdZvw65OOs pic.twitter.com/hWVTuWOMBo News 12 NBC 26 (@WRDW_WAGT) June 15, 2017 The disturbance at the Trenton Correctional Institution in Edgefield County injured two of the six corrections officers rescued, WRDW reported. The injuries were not life-threatening. SOUTH CAROLINA TERMINAL CLEARED AFTER CLAIMS OF DIRTY BOMB ABOARD SHIP The riot broke out after officers tried to take a cellphone from an inmate who fought back. A few other inmates got involved and the situation started to escalate. Prisoners set several fires, which have been extinguished, and destroyed dorms, CBS News added. SOUTH CAROLINA DISAPPEARANCE: MANS VOICEMAIL CHANGED TO SPANISH, POLICE SAY SWAT teams from Edgefield and Aiken counties were able to rescue the guards who barricaded themselves inside a dorm as the riot broke out. The prison has about 600 inmates. There were no immediate reports of any inmate injuries. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Four containers at a shipping terminal in South Carolina were examined and cleared after a false threat of a "dirty bomb," Pentagon officials said Thursday. The FBI said late Wednesday it was investigating the claim on the Maersk Memphis ship at the Wando Terminal in the Port of Charleston. The terminal was evacuated, along with a section of the Cooper River. Authorities said Thursday the terminal would re-open and the safety zone was lifted. Capt. Greg Stump, the commander for the Coast Guard sector in Charleston, said a YouTube conspiracy theorist made a clam about a threat on board one of the ships, according to WCIV. Workers told Fox Carolina they were all sent home and told to leave the terminal at around 9 p.m. Boaters were also escorted off the water due to the situation, according to the station. Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report. Authorities say a central Florida teen stabbed his dog to death so he wouldn't have to take it to a shelter. Local news outlets report that 19-year-old Joshua Cox was arrested early Thursday morning after Manatee County deputies responded to his brother's Bradenton home. Deputies reported finding Cox and the 3-year-old pit bull's body in the backyard. Cox reportedly told deputies that his parent's had brought the dog down from North Carolina, but his sister-in-law said the dog couldn't stay, because it would break their lease. Cox told deputies he stabbed the animal because he didn't want to take the dog to the pound, and he couldn't shoot it within "city limits." Cox has been charged with animal cruelty and marijuana possession. Jail records didn't list an attorney. Houthi militants attacked a United Arab Emirates ship off the coast of Yemen Wednesday, injuring one crew member, the Saudi-led coaltiion said. The statement released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said that the attack began after rebels fired a missile at the Emirati ship as it left Al-Mokha, a Red Sea Port. There were no damages to the ship but one crew member was injured, Reuters reported. The attack comes after an international naval coalition said it would increase its patrols of waters off Yemen over concerns about attacks on ships in the area. Emirati ships have been targeted in the past. Saudi-led forces began their war against Shiite rebels or Houthis in Yemen since March 2015. Rebel forces hold the capital, Sanaa, with their allies. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The estranged wife of Lesotho's prime minister-elect has been shot dead, police said Thursday, raising concerns about further political instability in this tiny southern African kingdom. Lipolelo Alice Thabane, the 58-year-old wife of Thomas Thabane, was killed Wednesday night by unknown assailants outside her home in the capital, police Senior Superintendent Clifford Molefe told The Associated Press. There have been no arrests and an investigation is in the early stages, Molefe said. The prime minister is set to be inaugurated Friday after his party won elections earlier this month. The elections were held after Thabane's main rival, Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, lost a no-confidence vote in parliament in March. Lesotho has been beset by power struggles and concerns about military interference in politics. The country also has seen a number of high-profile assassinations. Thabane is a former prime minister who fled Lesotho in 2014 out of concern that soldiers planned to assassinate him. The army has denied the allegation. The opposition has alleged that the military is sympathetic to Mosisili's Democratic Congress party and its coalition partners and hostile to Thabane's All Basotho Convention party. The military denied any intention to intervene if Mosisili lost this month's election, the Lesotho Times newspaper has reported. Neither Thabane nor officials with the All Basotho Convention party could immediately be reached Friday. Lesotho's government secretary, Lebohang Ramohlanka, said plans for the inauguration continued. "As far as I know, the inauguration is still on," Ramohlanka said. South Africa, whose territory surrounds Lesotho, has played a leading role in mediating among factions in the mountainous nation of two million people. A suspect has been identified in an explosion at the entrance of a kindergarten in eastern China on Thursday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Police were investigating the situation as a criminal act and "targeted" a suspect. At least eight people were killed and 65 others were injured when a gas cylinder at a roadside foot stall exploded near the entrance of Chuangxin Kindergarten in Fengxian, located in Jiangsu province, at 4:50 p.m. local time, according to local authorities and Xinhua. Two people died at the scene and six others died at the hospital, Xuzhou government said. At least four people suffered serious injuries. No details have been given on the victims. Videos and photos from the scene showed people, including children, lying on the ground, with some covered in blood, according to the South China Morning Post. It's unclear if the explosion was deliberate. Kindergartens in China have been targeted before in apparent revenge attacks carried out by people bearing grudges against their neighbors and society. In 2010, nearly 20 children were killed in attacks on schools, prompting a response from top government officials and leading many schools to beef up security with the posting of guards and the installation of gates and other barriers. Last year, a knife-wielding assailant injured seven students outside a primary school in a northern city. China maintains tight control over firearms and most attacks are carried out using knives, axes or homemade explosives. The Associated Press contributed to this report. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday ordered a full public investigation into the London high-rise fire that killed at least 17 people, a toll that was likely to rise. May made her announcement after she toured the devastation. She earlier had promised a "proper investigation" to the cause of the fire. Forty-four households received emergency accommodation. Investigators said they did not expect to find anyone else alive after the blaze and that it was too early to speculate on how the inferno that engulfed the 24-floor building started. Tragically, now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive," Cotton told Sky News. The severity and the heat of the fire will mean that it will be an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive. JAMIE OLIVER OFFERS FREE FOOD AND SHELTER TO VICTIMS OF LONDON FIRE There's nothing to suggest the fire was terror-related, London police commander said. Specialist dogs will also be searching the 24-story building, according to Cotton. Cotton added that authorities have finally extinguished the last pockets of flame and are trying to secure edges of the building for a fingertip search. Sky News reported that some parts of the building were still too hot for firefighters to go in. PHOTOS: MASSIVE BLAZE IN LONDON HIGH-RISE More than 200 firefighters worked through the night and parts of the building were still seen as being unsafe. Now that the smoke has cleared, the public could only gape at the huge burned-out hulk in the working class, multi-ethnic neighborhood. Cotton praised her crews for containing the blaze, but added they were left "traumatized" by the experience. She said firefighters witnessed people jumping and throwing their children out of the building. Up to 600 people lived in 120 apartments in the Grenfell Tower. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also toured the area on Thursday and said "the truth has got to come out and will come out" on what happened. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said before that many questions must be answered about safety for the scores of other apartment buildings around the British capital. LONDON TOWER FIRE: WHAT DO WE KNOW? The London Fire Brigade said it received the first reports of the blaze at 12:54 a.m. and the first engines arrived within six minutes. Survivors told of frantic attempts to escape during the nighttime fire. "The flames, I have never seen anything like it. It just reminded me of 9/11," said Muna Ali, 45. "The fire started on the upper floors. ... Oh my goodness, it spread so quickly. It had completely spread within half an hour." The cause of the blaze is under investigation, but a tenants' group had complained for years about the risk of a fire. The Associated Press contributed to this report. North Korea says it released an American university student over what it calls humanitarian reasons in its first official comment since he was returned to his home state of Ohio in a coma. The state-run Korean Central News Agency on Thursday said Otto Warmbier had been sentenced to hard labor but didn't comment on his medical condition. The 22-year-old Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate, was convicted and sentenced in a one-hour trial in North Korea's Supreme Court in March 2016. He got 15 years in prison with hard labor for subversion after he tearfully confessed that he had tried to steal a propaganda banner. His father, Fred Warmbier, told Fox News that his son was "terrorized and brutalized" and has been in a coma for more than a year. "Otto is not in great shape right now," his father, Warmbier, told Fox News Tucker Carlson in an exclusive interview Wednesday afternoon from his Cincinnati home. "Otto has been terrorized and brutalized for 18 months by a pariah regime in North Korea." The elder Warmbier singled out Joseph Yun, the U.S. special envoy on North Korea, as a key player in his son's release as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Trump. "They wanted Otto home," Warmbier said. "Cindy and I believe they made this happen." Warmbiers interview will air in full Thursday night on Tucker Carlson Tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center are evaluating Warmbier, who was admitted Tuesday night in a coma, according to his family. The Associated Press contributed to this report About 100 bodies of civilians and Islamic militants remain uncollected in the rubble of a southern Philippine city because of continuing fighting between troops and gunmen aligned with the Islamic State group, an official said Thursday. Provincial government crisis committee spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong said the estimate was based on accounts by residents who have escaped from areas of Marawi city that are still mired in clashes, and aid volunteers who entered a combat zone during a four-day lull in the fighting last week. Retrieval teams have been organized, although it remains unclear when the siege by the remaining militants, estimated to number more than 100, can be quelled by troops, Adiong said. The stench of death has been reported by witnesses in still-inaccessible areas since militants launched their attack on May 23. "We need to expect the worst and to be ready to transition from a crisis mode to a recovery mode," Adiong told The Associated Press by telephone. The violence in the lakeside city has left 202 gunmen, 58 soldiers and policemen and 26 civilians dead, officials say. The most serious attack in Southeast Asia so far by IS-aligned militants has displaced most of the more than 200,000 residents of Marawi, the bastion of Islamic faith in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. Many of the militants reportedly killed in the clashes have not been recovered. While the remaining gunmen have been isolated in four areas, sporadic gunfire has been reported in other places. An Australian journalist was hit by a bullet in his neck on Thursday while covering the Marawi crisis. ABC journalist Adam Harvey, who was wearing a neck brace, told reporters he was fine as he walked out of a hospital. Harvey, ABC's Jakarta-based Southeast Asia correspondent, was hit at a provincial government compound in Marawi while interviewing children from families displaced by the fighting. The sprawling compound near an army brigade has served as a venue for daily news conferences by government and military officials and is regarded as a relatively safe area. "Thanks everyone I'm okay. Bullet is still in my neck, but it missed everything important," Harvey tweeted. Also Thursday, a suspected militant bomber was arrested in Cagayan de Oro City, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Marawi, according to police. More than 1,600 residents have been rescued from areas of heavy fighting in Marawi, many of them still shell-shocked and hungry and some wounded. Tales of love and heroism have emerged, including a group of trapped Muslim policemen who helped several Christian workers escape with them from the intense fighting. Villager Saipoding Mariga waited in tear for days to be allowed to rescue his wife, Geraldine, who was trapped in a heavily bombarded neighborhood, but was not allowed by troops because of the grave danger. Facing TV cameras, he pleaded to be allowed to enter the conflict zone to save his wife. Mariga eventually met his wife in a tearful reunion at Marawi's newly reopened Amai Pakpak hospital, where she was brought with a gunshot wound in her leg and shrapnel injuries on her body, the ABS-CBN TV network reported Thursday. "What's important is you recognize me and we saw each other again," Mariga told his wounded wife at the hospital's emergency ward. Police have identified a suspect in an explosion at the front gate of a kindergarten in eastern China that killed eight and struck as relatives gathered to pick up their children at the end of the day, local authorities said Friday. Police were investigating the explosion as a criminal act and said they had "targeted" a suspect, according to a statement issued by authorities in the city of Xuzhou and the official Xinhua News Agency. It was unclear if the suspect was apprehended and no potential motive was provided. A witness cited by state media said a gas cylinder at a roadside food stall had caused the blast. Two people died at the scene and six died after being taken to a hospital following the explosion at 4:50 p.m. Thursday at the Chuangxin Kindergarten in Fengxian. Initial reports said 59 were injured, but Xinhua and other media reported Friday that 65 were injured including eight who remained in critical condition. The blast occurred before school had let out for the day and no students or teachers from the kindergarten were injured, according to a statement from local authorities. However, videos purportedly from the scene showed children possibly relatives of the kindergartners or passers-by among the casualties. The videos posted by the state-run People's Daily showed a chaotic scene outside the entrance to the school, with children and adults lying on the ground, some of them motionless and others struggling to get up off the ground. Clothing, shoes and other items were strewn on the ground beside pools of blood. The videos showed ambulances arriving, medics wheeling people into an emergency room and medical personnel treating what appeared to be a child. Kindergartens in China have been attacked before by suspects authorities have said were mentally ill or bore grudges against their neighbors and society. A witness identified only by the surname Shi told the state-run Global Times in the hours after the explosion that a gas cylinder at a roadside food stall had caused the blast. The force of the blast sent people flying several meters (yards) into the air, Shi was quoted as saying. In 2010, nearly 20 children were killed in attacks on schools, prompting a response from top government officials and leading many schools to beef up security by posting guards and installing gates and other barriers. Last year, a knife-wielding assailant injured seven students outside a primary school in a northern city. China maintains tight control over firearms and most attacks are carried out using knives, axes or homemade explosives. An overnight attack and siege by al-Shabab extremists on a popular restaurant in Somalias capital has killed at least 31, police said. Security forces in Mogadishu ended the siege at Pizza House restaurant, a popular eatery frequented by the citys elite, Thursday morning after snipers fired on the attackers. Senior Somali police office Capt. Mohamed Hussein said many of the attacks victims were killed at point-blank range after the attackers hunted them down. The attack began Wednesday evening after a car bomb exploded at the gate to the restaurant and then gunmen posing as military forces stormed into the establishment. Al-Shabab, a Somalia-based extremist group that often targets popular areas in the countrys capital, claimed responsibility as the restaurant was under siege. Soldiers surrounded the restaurant building and used guns mounted on the backs of vehicles to neutralize the militants. Troops entered the ground floor while the insurgent snipers held positions upstairs. All five attackers were killed and after dawn the soldiers secured the building, said Hussein. The troops' efforts to take control of the restaurant were slowed by the darkness of night, forcing them to wait until morning, said Hussein. Survivors said they hid under tables and curtains as attackers continued firing in the restaurant and hunted for patrons. Attackers moved from room to room, looking for people, said a survivor. "I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again. They were killing people on sight," Saida Hussein, a university student, told The Associated Press. She said she survived the attack by hiding behind a large table downstairs. Another survivor, Aden Karie, was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain in the dark room. "He shot at me twice and one bullet struck me on the leg," said Karie as he was taken to an awaiting ambulance. The roofs were blown off the restaurant and nearby buildings from the powerful blasts. The bodies of five girls thought to have been killed by the militants were found in the restaurant, said police. Inside the building, the body of a Syrian man who worked as a chef at restaurant lay near the rubble of a blood-spattered and bullet-marked wall. The Somalia-based al-Shabab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu, including hotels, military checkpoints and areas near the presidential palace. It has vowed to step up attacks after the recently elected government launched a new military offensive against it. Al-Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The extremist group also faces a new military push from the United States after President Donald Trump approved expanded operations, including airstrikes, against al-Shabab. On Sunday, the U.S. military in Africa said it carried out an airstrike in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp. Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed that airstrike and said such attacks would disrupt the group's ability to conduct new attacks. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Spanish aid organization has rescued 420 migrants attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in packed smugglers' boats from Libya. Laura Lanuza, spokeswoman for Spain's Proactiva Open Arms aid group, said its crews on Thursday rescued most of the migrants from two packed rubber dinghies and a wooden boat that were sailing in international waters 18 miles (29 kilometers) north of the Libyan coastal town of Sabratha. Each boat had over 130 migrants aboard. In a separate operation, she said 11 people, including a 2-month-old baby with asthma, were rescued from a wooden boat. Libya is one of the prime spots for smugglers to launch boats many unseaworthy packed with migrants and refugees desperate to reach Europe. At least 1,808 have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean. The Islamic State terror network claimed its fighters captured Usama bin Ladens Tora Bora hideout in eastern Afghanistan, but the Taliban disputed the claim on Thursday. ISIS released an audio recording on Wednesday saying its signature black flag was flying over the mountain range. A Taliban spokesman denied ISIS was in control, claiming instead that the Taliban had pushed ISIS back from some territory the rival militants had taken in the area, The New York Times reported. FREED ISIS CHILD SOLDIER RECOUNTS HORRORS OF BRUTAL TRAINING, YEARS OF TORTURE The cave complex was infamous for being Usama bin Ladens hideout when he was on the run from U.S. coalition forces following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, for which he claimed responsibility. He fled from the cave to Afghanistans northeastern Kunar province, before crossing the border into Pakistan, according to the Al Qaeda captives in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. U.S. Navy SEALs are credited with killing him in his hideout in Pakistan in 2011. Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, told The Associated Press the Taliban had pushed ISIS back from some territory the rival militants had taken previously in the Tora Bora area. Mujahid claimed more than 30 ISIS fighters were killed in the battle. He also added that U.S. airstrike on Taliban positions on Wednesday that killed 11 of its fighters had benefitted ISIS. MORE THAN 100 ISIS FIGHTERS ATTACK IRAQI FORCES IN MOSUL Earlier, Afghan officials said that fighting between ISIS and the Taliban, who had controlled Tora Bora, began on Tuesday, but could not confirm that ISIS captured the hideout. Afghan Defense Ministrys spokesman, Daulat Waziri did not say if ISIS was in complete control of Tora Bora but said Afghan forces killed five ISIS fighters in the Chaparhar district of eastern Nangarhar province and pushed them out of the region. The areas remote location makes it difficult to verify any of the claims. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Lying Jemma Beale, 25, made false rape and sex assault claims against 15 different men and sent an innocent man to jail for seven years, a court was told. Beale made allegations over three years but they were grotesque inventions, jurors heard. She claimed she was attacked at a pub and outside her home, and gang raped in the street. Beale said she was raped by nine men and sexually assaulted by six. All but one were strangers. Beales first allegation was against Mahad Cassim, who had given her a lift home after a night out. He was charged with rape and jailed for seven years. But prosecutor John Price QC said: That was a wrongful conviction. Mahad Cassim was innocent. The person responsible for the grave injustice was the defendant, through her false allegation and perjured evidence. She maintains that falsity still. Mr Price said it was inherently improbable Beale was attacked so many times and so frequently. He added: Each of her reports was entirely false. In July 2012 Beale claimed she was sexually assaulted by four men with a piece of barbed wire in an alley. But jurors were shown CCTV of her walking home alone that night. Her injuries were self-inflicted, the court was told. In September 2013 Beale reported a sex assault by two men outside her home. Neither was ever identified. Two months later, she reported a gang rape by eight men. Click for more from The Sun. A US Navy sailor presumed lost at sea near Japan was found on board hiding in one of the ships engine rooms, Pentagon officials confirmed to Fox News. The sailor, who works on the USS Shiloh, was found over a week after he was reported missing, triggering a wide-ranging search-and-rescue effort that stretched over 50 hours. A Pentagon official tells Fox News Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) 3rd Class Peter Mims is expected to be flown off the ship and given a full medical and psychological evaluation. "We are thankful to have found our missing shipmate and appreciate all the hard work of our sailors and Japanese partners in searching for him," Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of Carrier Strike Group 5 and Task Force 70, said in a statement posted on the 7th Fleet website. "I am relieved that this sailor's family will not be joining the ranks of Gold Star Families that have sacrificed so much for our country," he added. Mims was reported missing June 8, sparking a wide ocean search. The search was suspended on midnight June 11, but the crew of the Shiloh continued their search on board the vessel. The Japanese Coast Guard assisted in the search that combed more than 5,500 square miles of water off Japan. It's unclear why Mims was hiding in the ship's engine room and how he survived a week there. According to information released by the Navy, Mims joined the service in February 2014 and had served aboard the Shiloh since August 2014. His awards included the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. The Navy Times was the first to report. Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report. Commission of Inquiry on Burundi says human right violation persist On 15 May, the Commission of Inquiry on Human rights in Burundi has presented the second oral briefing to the UN Human Right Council. Members of the commission say human right violations persist. Burundi Government accuses the commission of producing biased and politically oriented reports. http://www.iwacu-burundi.org/englishnews/commission-of-inquiry-on-burundi-says-human-right-violation-persist/ German grocery powerhouse Lidl arrived in the United States on Thursday, opening 10 new stores along the East Coast and putting big-name companies like Walmart, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's on high alert. The company, which has 10,000 locations in 27 countries, is hoping to win over Americans with its sweeping discounts, modern stores and curated wines. Its newest supermarkets are concentrated in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, but 90 more East Coast locations are planned for the coming year. The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Va., has been quietly testing its plans for the American market for over a year, using a prototype store in Fredericksburg, Va., to understand its newest shoppers. (Among other things, executives say Americans expect chilled beer and free bakery samples, which Lidl is adding to its U.S. stores.) But what exactly is the Lidl (pronounced lee-duhl)? And what will its U.S. stores bring to America? 1. Even lower prices in an industry that is already offering huge markdowns In an industry marked by cutthroat competition and mounting markdowns, Lidl executives say they plan to offer even larger discounts, with prices that are up to 50 percent lower than at rival stores. This week's offers, for example, include 99 cent red bell peppers, 89 cent pineapples and 39 cent butter croissants (which a spokesman says have twice as much butter as the typical croissant). The company's circular is also touting jars of peanut butter for $1.19, chicken breasts for $1.29 per pound and frozen pizzas for $2.99. The grocery business is notoriously tough - nearly 20 U.S. grocers have filed for bankruptcy in the past three years - and the introduction of Lidl and fellow German discounter Aldi, which is investing $3.4 billion to open 900 U.S. stores, is set to intensify that battle. 2. Smaller stores that feature in-house brands Lidl's first U.S. stores are about 21,000 square feet - about the size of many Trader Joe's stores, but considerably smaller than grocers like Whole Foods, Safeway and Giant. But no matter, executives say, you'll still be able to find what you need. "A lot of the supermarkets are so large, it's a challenge for people to go shopping," Brendan Proctor, the U.S. chief executive of Lidl, told The Washington Post earlier this year. "If I wanted to go in and get a bottle of ketchup - first of all, there are probably about 24 aisles in the store. I have to find what aisle it's in. I get there, I find that there's 50 types of ketchup. Who honestly needs 50 types of ketchup? We can streamline that." The company's stores have just six aisles, and 90 percent of its shelves are filled with its own brands. 3. More efficient displays and practices Lidl is able to keep prices low in part by cutting waste in every step of the process, spokesman William Harwood says. "We look at waste differently," Harwood said. "It's not just what ends up in the garbage can at the end of the day, but also about any inefficiency along the way that ends up costing the customer more." In practice, that means having paperless offices and stores that rely heavily on natural light. Another example: You won't find onions, oranges or other produce stacked in intricate (and sometimes precarious) pyramid formations. That mainstream practice is inefficient, Harwood says. It can keep prime produce buried, affect the freshness of fruits and vegetables and require employees to spend a lot of time positioning products just-so. Instead, Lidl's produce is often displayed in the same cardboard boxes they were shipped in. The boxes are stacked so the freshest items are on top. Once those sell out, employees can easily rearrange remaining boxes as necessary. 4. A chance to buy to pick up men's leather shoes for $34.99 and an inflatable kayak for $59.99 In addition to meat, fruits and vegetables, Lidl also offers a rotation of "in and out specials" that are released every Monday and Thursday. But you have to act fast. "As soon as they're gone, they're gone," Harwood said of the "Lidl surprises" section, which currently includes $8.99 leather wallets, $11.99 chest waders (a similar pair is $14.88 at Walmart.com) and $19.99 charcoal grills. 5. (Cheap) Award-winning wines It's no secret that millennials love wine - one study estimates they drank 42 percent of the country's supply in 2015 - and Lidl is hoping to lure them in with its line-up of cheap, award-winning varieties. The company plans to stock 120 varieties, starting at $2.89 a bottle, in its U.S. stores. Wine director Adam Lapierre, one of 356 certified Masters of Wine worldwide, estimates he tasted more than 10,000 bottles of wines to come up with Lidl's line-up, which includes an $8.99 bottle of prosecco that was recently named Sparkling Wine of the Year at the 2017 Indy Independent Wine Competition. Its hard to label Wesley Stace, and that is just how he prefers it. He has released 20 albums of superb English folk-pop under the name John Wesley Harding and for his last two albums, under his own name. He is a critically acclaimed author who has written four novels. Since 2009 Stace has also hosted a series of shows he calls his Cabinet Of Wonders, which brings luminaries from the worlds of literature, poetry, comedy and music into a multifaceted evening of spoken word and music. On Staces new album, Wesley Staces John Wesley Harding, he is backed by The Jayhawks for 12 songs of keen wit and insight. Stace spoke with The Weekender from his home in Philadelphia. Why did you decide to start using your given name for your recordings rather than John Wesley Harding? Its pretty simple actually. Its because Ive written four novels under Wesley Stace and Ive been making music under John Wesley Harding since the late 80s. I didnt want to put the novels out under John Wesley Harding; that seemed silly. It would just be bizarre. Its a totally fine rock-and-roll name but it wouldnt have been good for my first novel which was set in the 19th century. It was getting boring with these long introductions so I thought Id just use one name. And then I thought Ill just use my own name. Why not? I think the brand can survive. You sort of combined them in the title of the new album. The reason for that is because the last album, Self-Titled, was actually the first record I put out under Wesley Stace, but I really felt the word did not get out. I know that its a problem changing names because of segments in record stores and those computer databases muddles all these things, I understand. But people like Will Oldham puts a record out under a different name every time, so it can be done. Self-Titled was an album, coincidentally, of very autobiographical songs which was the first time I experimented in writing strictly from things that actually happened to me. So because of all these things together I suddenly thought, oh yeah, Ill put this album out under Wesley Stace. But I had so many fans who didnt know that album was out. They had no idea Id put out an album, Im still meeting these people. So I thought I could rescue a few of these people by putting John Wesley Harding in the title of this album. When did you start doing the Cabinet Of Wonders? The first one was in 2009 at Le Poisson Rouge, and then in 2010 we had our first one at City Winery and weve been at City Winery ever since. Weve done them in Philadelphia and LA and in London but generally our regular place is City Winery in New York. ... What it is is a variety showa night of vaudeville and variety with an emcee, me, who curates it, in the modern word, books it, throws it together, but throws it together very carefully. Theres poetry about everybody in the beginning; everyone is on stage at the beginning. Everyones on stage at the end, be it Salman Rushdie, Aaron Neville, Rosanne Cash, whoever it is, they sing with us at the beginning, they have a poem at the beginning, and the show is very lengthily thought out by me beforehand. The house band is incredibly good. Its a night of a thousand stars. I like a kind of Dick Cavett kind of atmosphere. Theres comedians, theres the most brilliant writers I can find, and generally three or four musicians who do two or three songs each. They always sell out and its a great show. What gave you the idea to put that together? The fact that I both write books and make music. A friend of mine suggested, Well, why dont you do them together? You always try to pull them apart. You always differentiate between them like you dont want to be the guitar-playing author, and you dont want to be the musician who comes out and reads to people. Why dont you just give in to it and just be that guy? They were right. I did try and keep those things apart; generally because I think people dont like people who do too many things. People like people to be pigeonholed. If a musician puts out a novel they just like to stick it to them. I think when my first novel came out under Wesley Stace it was actually quite useful because a lot of the people took it seriously who might not have done if it had been under my musician name. We didnt really emphasize that aspect. It was almost like I had a pseudonym, which I didmy real name. Its quite a coincidence that Ray Daviess album just came out with The Jayhawks as his backing band as well. Its a very strange coincidence really, because I dont think theyve been a backing band for too many people. What is funny about it is that Ray Davies called his album Americana, so you can tell what he wanted from The Jayhawks. He wanted the No Depression roots-rock kind of thing. Thats not what I wanted from them at all. I wanted their amazing harmonies and I wanted my record to sound like The Kinks. In a bizarre irony, if you listen to a song like Youre A Song off my album, its meant to sound like a country version of The Kinks, which is the greatest Kinks album of all: Muswell Hillbillies. Thats great. If theyre good enough for Ray Davies, theyre good enough for me. But by the same token, if theyre good enough for me, theyre probably good enough for Ray Davies. Were both just British songwriters in the end, its just that one of us has been knighted. I Dont Want To Rock And Roll is kind of a funny song to start your new album isnt it? Im not blind to the ironies of that but the I of that song is not the me of me, its like a Randy Newman song. He doesnt do the things in his songs, its an aspect to his personality that hes getting in touch with sometimes, a character which perhaps reflects a little bit of him. Thats a story about somebody feeling so disillusioned by a lover, perhaps, or a rock star whos let them down. But theyre like, I just dont want anything more to do with this. It also reflects certain negative feelings I have. I mean I just couldnt give a s*** about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I just cant believe anybody gives that stuff the time of day. Rock n roll in a museum; I dont dispute the fact that its important but I dont want to be the person looking an exhibit of Train lyrics in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame next to Robbie Robertsons shooting script for The Last Waltz. I cant stand that stuff. Its an awards ceremony mentality and Im not into it. That kind of feeling is coming through in that song a little bit. Its an ironic song of course, because the guys saying I dont want to rock n roll, meanwhile Gary Louris is about to lay the loudest guitar solo on the album on you. Thats how irony works.I think The Jayhawks sound great on the album. Fantastic. I never do things twice, ever, but I might do this again. Now I understand what we could do, I think I could take advantage of the parameters even more than I did before and do something even better this time. The next one Im just going to call Wes Hawkz with a z. A Virginia Tech student from Stafford County is gaining interesting and valuable experience in the world of outdoors policy making as she interns with the Congressional Sportsmens Foundation this summer. Emily George, 22, grew up in White Oak and graduated from Stafford High School. Shell be a college senior this coming fall, majoring in journalism with a minor in political science. She credits her parents Rhnalda and Eric George, and her stepfather Terry Perreault, whom she says, went hunting and fishing all the time for her budding outdoor passions. Gymnastics training and competition consumed most of her free time when she was younger, so much of her early outdoors exposure came on weekend excursions. By the time she was a senior in high school and transitioning to college, though, her participation in hunting and fishing activities steadily grew. She even began considering how an outdoors lifestyle could factor into her education plans and career goals. She heard about the CSFs Brad Rouse Fellow Internship Program from the Southeastern Outdoor Press Associations executive director. George is a student member of SEOPA and has published articles on a blogger site called Collegiate Outdoors. She also appeared in a piece on the January 10 edition of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, where she presented her case why Apples removal of the gun emoji from its wide array of digital icons and replacing it with a water pistol at the behest of an anti-gun pressure group was ridiculous. Lisa Snuggs, SEOPAs director, saw the CSFs recruitment advertisement and contacted George telling her, This looks right up your alley, George recalls. After I looked at the announcement, I thought the same thing, she said. Georges work facilitated her meeting several members of Congress, including Virginia 1st District Rep. Rob Wittman, at the CSFs annual Congressional Shootout. This late May event brings elected officials together with outdoors industry representatives in a spirt of friendly competition. The Shootout came during Georges first couple days on the job and it opened her eyes to the scope of the contacts in this part of the outdoors world. She said shes also involved and excited to helping put together an upcoming CSF breakfast briefing on the Hill. Gary Kania, CSF vice president, said the intern program provides an opportunity to learn the importance of the public policy process as it relates to hunting, fishing and other conservation issues and activities. The interns experience first-hand the work we do at the federal and state levels to protect and advance our traditions, Kania said. George said her work mainly involves helping around the office. Much of it entails researching issues briefs. She says shes learned much during her short time on the job, including new perspectives on topics she thought she knew well. And it doesnt just pertain to Virginia, she added; my knowledge about hunting, angling and trapping issues in all 50 states is growing. Its really intriguing. Kania oversees her efforts. He said, Emily has been a valuable member of our team, and like all of our interns, we are excited to help her learn more about our efforts for Americas sportsmen and women. She said her ultimate goal is to pursue something in outdoors journalism, primarily the writing part of the job. My dream is to one day be an editor of a big outdoors magazine, she said, but then quickly pointed out the journalism and outdoors communication worlds are changing, with increasing emphasis on technology and visuals. Consequently, shes taking courses and training on journalism that is digitally-oriented, she said. Im open for whatever comes my way; whatever Gods plan is for me. Working in Washington, D.C., is both intimidating and exciting at the same time. Getting to experience the D.C. life. Working near Capitol Hill and seeing what life is like for people working just off Pennsylvania Avenue and seeing the waves of people when Congress is in session is definitely different from what Im used to, she said. The internship comes with a stipend. Daily trips into Washington are giving George an appreciation for the depth of commitment and resources it takes to commute to this type of work something with which many in the Fredericksburg region can identify. Fire Funding Its well known that the U.S. Forest Service is increasingly hamstrung by a practice known as fire borrowing, basically taking money from forest maintenance budgets to pay for fighting catastrophic wildfires. In some years, more than half of the agencys annual budgets is spent fighting fires. Yet, active forest management, to include cutting some timber and doing controlled burns, is precisely whats needed to prevent out-of-control fires in the first place. Congressman Mike Simpson (R-ID) recently introduced the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2017 to address this issue. It would treat catastrophic wildfires like hurricanes and other natural disasters and let the Forest Service tap disaster funding. The proposed legislation is receiving praise. Ben B. Hollingsworth, Jr., president of the Boone and Crockett Club, calls it, common sense legislation to deal with keeping our federal forest lands in healthy, productive conditionSo much of the agencys funds are going toward extinguishing larger and hotter fires that could have been minimalized by maintaining roads and managing overcrowded forest stands that fuel these disasters. Lets hope this legislation becomes law. Beyond helping to curb major wildfires, active forest management will also benefit our nations forests by returning them back into productive wildlife habitat. The current situation is unsustainable. Let your elected leaders know outdoors enthusiasts support improved forest management. A judge Wednesday upheld the four-year prison sentence a jury previously suggested for a woman who was babysitting a 3-year-old girl who drowned last year in her fathers pool in Stafford County. Shelly L. Casswell, 46, of Stafford was convicted of child endangerment during a two-jury trial in Stafford Circuit Court earlier this year. She was charged in connection with the Aug. 13 death of Shaelynn Etka, who drowned in her fathers pool in Aquia Harbour while Casswell was supposed to be watching her and her 2-year-old brother. Casswell was acquitted of a more serious involuntary manslaughter charge. Her attorney, John Spencer, tried Wednesday to persuade Judge Victoria Willis to reduce Casswells sentence. He said the recommended state sentencing guidelines for Casswell called for only between seven to 11 months. Spencer also claimed hed been contacted by a juror who told him that he believed one or two years was appropriate. The juror said he went along with the four years because he was told that Casswell would only serve half, Spencer claimed. But Willis said she found no reason to overrule the jury and imposed the recommended sentence. According to the evidence at Casswells trial, the childrens father, Chad Etka, hired Casswell to watch the children that day and gave her specific instructions to not let them outside. But the little boy, Alex, got out and was taken out of the heat into a neighbors home. Casswell went to retrieve the boy and claimed that during the three to four minutes it took to do that Shaelynn somehow got into the pool. Prosecution witnesses contended that the children were unattended far longer than a few minutes. One neighbor reported seeing them outside a couple of hours before the tragedy. Two witnesses said Casswell told them shed fallen asleep when the boy got out, something she denied. Editors note: Police and prosecutors initially spelled Casswells first name as Chelie but have now corrected it to Shelly in court records. A King George residence was shot into this week in an apparent drive-by shooting, police said. Sheriffs spokeswoman Kecia Wharton said the incident took place at a home in the Rollins Fork area of the county. No one was injured. According to Wharton, a resident heard what sounded like gunshots outside her home off State Route 3 Monday night. She called the Sheriffs Office the next morning after discovering bullet holes in her house. Deputies and detectives found multiple shell casings in the roadway and bullet damage to the house and to a vehicle that was parked outside. Some of the shots had gotten into the interior of the house, which was occupied, Wharton said. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Detectives Brian Woodring or Drew Massey at 540/775-2049. UPDATE 9:15 a.m.: The Orange Sheriff's Office says the D.C. Metro police arrested Alonte M. Pernell around 4:30 a.m. Thursday on charges related to a shooting incident in Locust Grove. He is scheduled to appear in court later today to begin the extradition process. --- The Orange County Sheriff's Office is asking the public for help in finding a suspect in a shooting that prompted a lockdown of a Locust Grove neighborhood for much of the day Wednesday. The office issued a news release shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday saying it was obtaining warrants for malicious wounding and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for Alonte M. Pernell, 24, of Locust Grove. He was last seen in a gray or silver 2006 Pontiac sedan with license plate VVP-5234, the release said. The Sheriff's Office believes he may have fled to Northern Virginia, Maryland or Washington, D.C. Pernell is described as black, 6 feet, 1 inch and 189 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair in dreadlocks. Anyone with information of his whereabouts or information about the shooting is asked to call the Orange Sheriffs Office at 540/672-1200. The Sheriff's Office said it received a report around 9:35 a.m. Wednesday of gunfire on Chesterfield Road in the Somerset Ridge subdivision. A short time later, it received a second call reporting that a person had been shot and was going to get medical help. The release did not provide any more information about the shooting or the victim's condition. According to the release, deputies responded and confirmed that a shooting had occurred. They gathered evidence, secured the scene, and advised residents nearby to stay in their homes and lock their doors. With the help of Virginia State Police and Spotsylvania County deputies, they closed the main road leading into the Somerset Ridge subdivision. The Sheriff's Office said the road was closed "due to concerns that the shooter was still close by and to prevent further injury to vehicular traffic passengers." "The investigation revealed the identities of the parties involved and it was determined after hours of investigation that the shooter was no longer in the subdivision," the Sheriff's Office release said. Some Somerset residents were frustrated by what they viewed as a lack of information from the Sheriff's Office throughout much of the day. In an interview early Wednesday afternoon, Orange Chief Deputy Michael LaCasse said only that weve got a reported shooting of a person in the Somerset Farms subdivision off State Route 3 near Walmart. He declined to provide more information later that afternoon, saying only that the Sheriffs Office would email a press release later. Authorities told residents in the Somerset Farms area and Lake of the Woods to stay in their homes with the doors locked in an alert late Wednesday morning. By mid-afternoon, the Lake of the Woods Associations Facebook page announced that the shield in place notice had been lifted for the gated community. But the warning continued in Somerset Farms, and some residents said they felt left in the dark as SWAT teams and other law-enforcement officers swarmed the neighborhood. LaCasse called the situation complicated. He told the Culpeper Star-Exponent that his office did not believe the public was in danger, but continued to ask residents to stay inside because of investigative work we have going on. We are just trying to manage the scene, he told the Star-Exponent. We just need people to be patient and to hold tight until we can give them more information. Margaret Jones, who lives in Somerset Farms, told The Free LanceStar that she received an automated call before noon advising her to stay insideaway from windowswith the doors locked. The call said there was an incident in progress near Somerset Ridge and Chesterfield roads, but did not mention a shooting, she said. Jones said she received another call an hour and a half later saying the incident was under control but to remain inside. She didnt learn about the reported shooting until her niece called with the news. Then, around 6:30 p.m., Jones said she received a code red alert stating that the explosion we heard in the vicinity was a controlled explosion and that they anticipate opening the subdivision in the next hour. She said she received a reverse 911 call a little after 7 p.m. stating the subdivision had been reopened to traffic, and they feel confident the area is now safe. Jones, who has lived in the subdivision for eight years, said she appreciated the emergency calls, but is disappointed they didnt go into more detail. I understand the need for not panicking individuals, but, you know, were living here, she said. If somethings going on here, we really should know what that isat least what to look for. She said people have broken into cars and vandalized property in the neighborhood, but this is the first shooting she can recall. Janice Batts, who lives in the subdivision, also wanted more information. She said late Wednesday afternoon that she received three reverse 911 calls about an incident in the neighborhood, the last of which told her the situation was under control but to remain inside. An incident could be anything, said Batts, who saw police officers near her home. Its like youre held hostage in your own house. Somerset Farms resident Anthony Barr said deputies would not let him through the subdivisions main entrance when he tried to get home about 11 a.m. A deputy told him a shooting had occurred toward the front of the neighborhood. Barr, who found another route home, said he did not receive any emergency robocalls and that his family relied on media reports for information. I understand its an active investigation, but for folks in the neighborhood that are seeing armored vehicles driving up and down the street and not knowing whats going on is rather disconcerting, Barr said. The suspect in a shooting Wednesday morning that locked down a Locust Grove neighborhood was arrested in Washington less than 24 hours after the incident, according to the Orange County Sheriffs Office. D.C. police arrested Alonte M. Pernell, 24, about 4:30 a.m. Thursday on felony charges related to the shooting in the Somerset Farms subdivision off State Route 3 in Locust Grove. The shooting victim, a 21-year-old woman, was transported to a hospital Wednesday with non-life threatening injuries and is in good condition, authorities said. Orange Maj. Michael LaCasse said the victim and suspect were affiliated, but did not elaborate. This was not a stranger shooting, he said Thursday. The shooting occurred in a parking lot near the corner of Chesterfield and Somerset Ridge roads, he said. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to an extremity, LaCasse said, but he would not say which extremity. Pernell, who apparently lives in Somerset Farms, has been charged with malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. The investigation is ongoing, and the suspect was scheduled to appear in D.C. court Thursday for an extradition hearing. Somerset Farms was in lockdown for much of Wednesday because of the incident, and some residents complained about a lack of information from the Orange Sheriffs Office. County deputies had reason to believe the suspect was holed up in a home and blocked the subdivisions main entrance to protect residents, LaCasse said. I realized it wasnt a popular decision, but I still think it was the right thing to do under the circumstances, he said. Authorities reopened the subdivision Wednesday evening shortly after a SWAT team raided a home in search of the suspect, who was not there. Some residents heard explosions about 6:30 p.m. because the SWAT team used flashbang grenades designed to disorient suspects, LaCasse said. The 46-year-old owner of the home on Chesterfield Road has the same last name as the suspect, but it was not clear Thursday how they are related. Rosalie Acri, 79, who lives directly across Chesterfield Road from the home that was raided, said only two people live there, and she assumes they are mother and son. But she said she didnt know the neighbors and they kind of kept to themselves right from the beginning. Wednesday morning, she heard what sounded like tapping noises and thinks that may have been the gunfire. She praised the law-enforcement officers on the scene, saying one of them knocked on her patio door to say she could just holler for them if she needed anything. She said her son could not get to the neighborhood to pick her up for a dialysis appointment, but authorities offered to take her. She said she declined the offer. Deputies didnt tell her anything specific about the incident, and she said she didnt ask. If I needed to know, I think they wouldve told me, she said. I didnt really question them. They did a remarkable job, thats all I can say. Some residents complained that the reverse 911 calls urging residents to stay in their homes did not mention a shooting, only that an incident had occurred. LaCasse said hes pretty sure some of the robocalls described it as a shooting incident, but he could not verify that early Thursday afternoon. We wanted people to know it was a shooting, he said, adding that authorities are limited in what they can release while investigating what he described as a hot scene. Acri said she did not think the reverse 911 calls described the incident as a shooting, but they did tell her to stay inside. She thought that was appropriate. I mean, how much panic can you create talking about a shooting right nearby the pool here? she asked. Regardless of [whether] its a shooting or a stabbing or an argument, you know its basically the same thingdont go outside. LaCasse also said hes looking into why some residents did not receive the reverse 911 calls. He thinks, in at least some cases, its because they do not have landlines. I think its going to be an educational process on a lessons learned sort of thing, he said. An ounce of marijuana was behind the Jan. 22 slaying in North Stafford of 26-year-old Jorge Leonardo Melo, according to testimony Wednesday in Stafford General District Court. Juan Pablo Rubio, 21, and Ronald A. Silvestre Torres, 23, are both charged with first-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Judge Bruce Strickland sent the charges to a Stafford grand jury following a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors Lori DiGiosia and Ed Lustig called only two witnesses Wednesday. David Hall, a longtime friend of Melo, was with Melo that evening when he was gunned down. According to Hall, he, Melo and others were at a friends apartment that evening when Melo got a call on his cellphone. A short time later, Hall said Melo asked him to go with him to drop something off. Hall acknowledged that he knew that meant Melo was going to make a marijuana deal. They went to Madison Court to meet the would-be buyers. Hall said he and Melo got out of the vehicle while the driver stayed behind the wheel. A short time later, they encountered two people who neither of them knew. Hall said he didnt understand the ensuing discussion because he doesnt speak Spanish. But Hall said the talks appeared to be friendly. Suddenly, according to the testimony, one of the suspects tried to grab the marijuana out of Melos hand. Hall said Melo responded wrapping his arms around the man. Hall said he saw the other suspect was approaching him with a gun while he heard a shot. After hearing Melo yell, oh [expletive], Hall said he took off running. He said he ran because there would have been two bodies instead of one if I hadnt. As he was running, Hall said he saw the gunmen running in another direction. He said he went back to the scene and performed CPR on his friend, who was shot two times. Hall said he was 99 percent sure that Rubio and Silvestre Torres were the two men he saw that evening. Brian Zendajas was the other witness to testify in Wednesdays hearing. Zendajas described himself as a friend of the two suspects, who he said are members of the street gang MS-13. Zendajas, who appeared reluctant to testify, said he was with Rubio and Silvestre Torres before the incident at a nearby home on Barrett Heights Road. Zendajas, who said he was not an MS-13 member, said the two men had discussed robbing somebody and asked him if he wanted to come along. Zendajas said he declined, but heard two shots. A short time later, he said, the two suspects returned to the residence and hid the guns in the back yard. He said one of them said, we shot someone. Zendajas said he told no one about what he had witnessed until he was contacted by Stafford Detective Barry Surles about a week later. As is customary in preliminary hearings, defense attorneys Eugene Frost and John Spencer put on no witnesses. Iwo Jima memorial analogy misguided While I agree, for the most part, with Donnie Johnstons thoughts in his June 8 column [We should never forget those who saved world from Nazis], I think his analogy about the Iwo Jima memorial and civil war memorials is misguided. The Civil War monuments that are being taken down honor individuals who fought for the South, which sought to continue the institution of slavery. According to Wikipedia, The (Iwo Jima) war memorial is dedicated to all U.S. Marine Corps personnel who died in the defense of the United States since 1775. Americas entry into the war was started by Japan, not JapaneseAmericans. Many JapaneseAmericans fought honorably for America against both Germany and Japan. As a JapaneseAmerican, I am extremely proud of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which consisted almost entirely of JapaneseAmericans. In the European theater of World War II, the 442nd won more medals than any other unit of its size. In the Pacific, as members of the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Service, JapaneseAmericans provided translation, interpretation and interrogation services. I would be offended by any memorial to President Roosevelt for signing Executive Order 1099, a racially and economically motivated edict that unjustly incarcerated over 120,000 JapaneseAmericans. I, for one, would never call for the removal of the Iwo Jima Memorial. Matthew Asai Locust Grove Why didnt Reeves use in-state printer? I received a ton of postcard mailings, letters and brochures aimed at my vote in the Republican primary. I am a lifelong printer, and so relished the outpouring of printed matter, but I noted a couple of huge issues. The post office delivered multiple printed postcards/flyers from state Sen. Bryce Reeves campaign that were clearly printed and mailed from the state of Delaware, home of Joe Biden, which fields two Democratic U.S. senators, Chris Coons and Tom Carper. Republicans in Reeves district should be furious. I sent Reeves campaign an e-mail addressing my concerns, but it went unanswered. Then I got a lovely four-page letter, with a return envelope and pro-gun response, asking for a donation from [56th House District candidate] Graven Craig that was printed and mailed from New Hampshire, another state with two U.S. senators who are Democrats. As a Republican, I am ashamed. My industry is in steep decline in our area. We now have fewer than 25 percent of the printers that we had 40 years ago. I have to work two jobs to get by, but my fellow Republicans are sending printing and mailing jobs out of stateand to New England states, at that? I am pretty sure that Craig or Reeves wont be getting any donations from New Hampshire or Delaware. Perhaps they could get Biden to appear for them as a pro-gun advocate, though I doubt it. I would rather not vote at all than for these two, although I have supported Reeves in the past. Please wake up and see where the money and jobs are going. David Nestor Spotsylvania The researchers took data from 2,419 patients who were part of the Colon Cancer Family Registry, an international consortium that collects lifestyle, family history and medical information from patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Hua, Newcomb and their colleagues looked for patients in the registry who had survived at least five years past their diagnosis, surveyed them on their NSAID use and other lifestyle factors, and then followed them for another five years to track their survival. On the whole, the researchers found that regular NSAID use was linked to an increase of about 25 percent in overall survival in these patients similar to what previous studies had found. Precision prevention for survivors Because the group of survivors was so large, the researchers were able to slice up the data in multiple ways. They split the patients who regularly used NSAIDs according to the type of NSAID they used, the timing of NSAID use (before or after diagnosis or both), and by the particular genetics of their tumors, comparing all these different groups to survivors who didnt use NSAIDs. Many of these groupings didnt yield statistically significant differences in survival, Newcomb said, but one group showed a very clear difference: NSAID use among survivors without KRAS mutations in their tumors. Compared to those who had never used aspirin or other NSAIDs, survivors who didnt carry the KRAS mutation and who used NSAIDs regularly had 40 percent higher survival rates. For those whose tumors bore KRAS mutations, NSAID use wasnt associated with a difference in survival. The researchers looked at two other mutations commonly found in colorectal tumors but didnt see significant differences in survival tied to NSAID use. Research such as this falls under the heading of precision prevention, a form of the broader precision medicine approach and one that aims to tailor prevention strategies to a persons (or their tumors) unique molecular makeup. This is the first report linking KRAS subtype to NSAID use and survival, Newcomb said. One previous small study had found an association between aspirin use and increased survival in colorectal cancer patients whose tumors carry mutations in the gene known as PIK3CA. Now, with the additional information that the protective benefit of NSAIDs may be limited to those without KRAS mutations the most common colorectal tumor subtype researchers have another piece in the puzzle of who might benefit most from NSAID use. Patients whose tumors bear KRAS mutations already tend to fare worse than those with normal versions of the genes, Newcomb said. She was half-hoping the study would yield information to benefit this population in particular, but it didnt work out that way, she said. The researchers also saw a stronger link to increased survival for patients who used aspirin over other NSAIDs. But its not clear if thats because daily, ongoing use of aspirin is much more common than prolonged use of medicines like ibuprofen and naproxen, Newcomb said. That is, they dont know if its the specific drug, the dose or the frequency that made a difference. Out of crisis, a community model Community advisory boards were born in the early days of what would become a global pandemic that to date has killed about 35 million people. Rage, frustration and grief drove gay men the community first hit by the then-mysterious disease dubbed AIDS and their allies to storm scientific conferences. They demanded a voice in research decisions. Today, community involvement is the norm in HIV research and a model for other disease advocates. And HIV is no longer the certain death sentence it was for the first 15 years of the pandemic. Antiretroviral drugs that stop HIV from replicating and causing harm, developed by 1996, are considered one of the great breakthroughs in modern medicine. Today, those who have access to and can tolerate the lifelong treatment can live a nearly normal lifespan. But early hope that antiretroviral therapy, if taken long enough, would actually cure the viral infection did not pan out: Stop treatment, and HIV roars back like a kicked hornets nest. For many years, scientists all but gave up hope that a cure was possible. That perception changed in 2008, when the world learned about Seattle-born Timothy Ray Brown. A year earlier, Brown had needed a bone marrow transplant to treat acute myeloid leukemia. In what proved to be a successful attempt to also cure Browns HIV infection, his doctor in Berlin where Brown was living at the time found a stem cell donor who carried two copies of a rare gene mutation that confers natural resistance to the virus. This proof of concept that a cure was possible inspired scientists around the world to work on a variety of different and less toxic cure approaches. But Syllas research on clinical trial participation uncovered a conundrum: For those not also facing a life-threatening cancer, is it worth it to take part in experimental cure research when you know you can control your disease through already-tested drugs? When is a cure a cure? For some people in the focus groups, the answer was yes, especially for those who became infected with HIV years or even decades ago and were experiencing a phenomenon familiar to those with chronic conditions: medication fatigue. For others, Sylla said, the answer depended on the type of cure under consideration. What makes an HIV cure so challenging is that the virus integrates itself into the DNA of some of the longest-lived cells in the body. These reservoirs of latent cells seed new infections if people stop taking their medication. A so-called sterilizing cure would eradicate every single bit of virus in every single one of these cells. But most researchers believe that a functional cure would be more achievable, at least in the short term. By this they mean keeping the virus under control so that it doesnt do damage and cant be transmitted without the need for daily drugs. Scientists liken a functional cure to cancer remission. But as with cancer, it comes with uncertainties. And uncertainties raise concerns. In addition to worries about possible side effects or risks from the procedure itself, focus group participants asked: Could they trust that a functional cure would be lasting? Would they go off their meds only to have the virus return? If so, how emotionally devastating might it be to think they were cured but find that they werent a reasonable question, given the experience of one such patient in a recent study? If the virus returned, would it still respond to antiviral drugs or might it be harder to treat? How often would they have to be monitored to know whether the virus was really gone? Perhaps worst of all, could they inadvertently infect someone else if the virus returned and they didnt know it? This is very different from the old days when people were participating in treatment trials because Im probably going to die if I dont get this new thing, Sylla said. Now people can live well without participating. Sylla was clear that these focus groups' concerns do not speak for all people with HIV. In addition, the findings she presented Monday were from four Seattle groups only 31 people in total representing women, long-term survivors, Latino gay men and adults under age 30, respectively. (She and her co-researchers are writing up the results for publication based on data from all 10 focus groups across the country.) Still, focus groups give the CABs and the researchers they advise insights into questions about cure research that need to be addressed so that people with HIV can make an informed decision about whether to take part. When were asking people to participate, were asking them, Will you take a risk even when you have something that will probably manage your disease for a long time? Its a different kind of ask. Its complex, she said. The accidental researcher Sylla backed into doing this kind of research, she said in an interview before Mondays presentation. But her involvement with the HIV pandemic has been full-on since the very beginning. With degrees in social welfare and human services administration, she was living in Albany, New York, in 1982 and running a community-based suicide hotline and drop-in center for the homeless. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported the first cases of a mysterious illness striking gay men the previous June, and the hotline started getting calls from gay men who were scared. When the state health department decided to set up hotlines to address the growing crisis, Sylla wanted to be part of it. She was friends with a lot of gay men, so it felt personal. But she also was drawn to putting her skills to use where most needed. This was urgent. People were dying. Disenfranchised people were dying, she said. I believed I had the right skills to do what needed to be done, the community organizing and community education. First she was named to the planning task force for the new hotline. Then she was offered the job of running it, even though most of her friends told her it would probably go to a gay man, not a straight woman. She took it. She thought she would do the job for a year, and then AIDS would be over. Thirty-five years and a move to Seattle later, shes still at it. Partly its a way of continuing the legacy of friends who had meant so much to her and who died in the epidemic. Its also because there is still work to do. We still havent addressed the basic inequities and injustice piece, she said. Yes, theres treatment, but not everybody has access to treatment. Already shes thinking of who will have access to future cures. Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. Clara007 said: If that is the law please submit your source?? Click to expand... and hereThe testimony of James Comey proved long on atmospherics and short on ethics. While many were riveted by Comeys discussion of his discomfort in meetings with President Trump, most seemed to miss the fact that Comey was describing his own conduct in strikingly unethical terms. The greatest irony is that Trump succeeded in baiting Comey to a degree that even Trump could not have imagined. After calling Comey a showboat and poor director, Comey proceeded to commit an unethical and unprofessional act in leaking damaging memos against Trump.Comey described a series of ethical challenges during his term as FBI director. Yet, he almost uniformly avoided taking a firm stand in support of the professional standards of the FBI. During the Obama administration, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch gave Comey a direct order to mislead the public by calling the ongoing investigation a mere matter. Rather than standing firm on the integrity of his department and refusing to adopt such a meaningless and misleading term, Comey yielded to Lynch while now claiming discomfort over carrying out the order.When Trump allegedly asked for Comey to drop the investigation of Michael Flynn or pledge loyalty, Comey did not tell the president that he was engaging in wildly inappropriate conduct. He instead wrote a memo to file and told close aides. He now says that he wishes he had the courage or foresight to have taken a stand with the president.However, the clearest violation came in the days following his termination. Comey admits that he gave the damaging memos to a friend at Columbia Law School with the full knowledge that the information would be given to the media. It was a particularly curious moment for a former director who was asked by the president to fight the leakers in the government. He proceeded in becoming one of the most consequential leakers against Trump.Comey said that he took these actions days after his termination, when he said that he woke up in the middle of the night and realized suddenly that the memos could be used to contradict Trump. It was a bizarrely casual treatment of material that would be viewed by many as clearly FBI information. He did not confer with the FBI or the Justice Department. He did not ask for any classification review despite one of the parties described being the president of the United States. He simply sent the memos to a law professor to serve as a conduit to the media.As a threshold matter, Comey asked a question with regard to Trump that he should now answer with regard to his own conduct. Comey asked why Trump would ask everyone to leave the Oval Office to speak with Comey unless he was doing something improper. Yet, Trump could ask why Comey would use a third party to leak these memos if they were his property and there was nothing improper in their public release.In fact, there was a great deal wrong with their release, and Comey likely knew it. These were documents prepared on an FBI computer addressing a highly sensitive investigation on facts that he considered material to that investigation. Indeed, he conveyed that information confidentially to his top aides and later said that he wanted the information to be given to the special counsel because it was important to the investigation.Many in the media have tried to spin this as not a leak because leaks by definition only involve classified information. That is entirely untrue as shown by history. Leaks involve the release of unauthorized information not only classified information. Many of the most important leaks historically have involved pictures and facts not classified but embarrassing to a government. More importantly, federal regulations refer to unauthorized disclosures not just classified information.Comeys position would effectively gut a host of federal rules and regulations. He is suggesting that any federal employee effectively owns documents created during federal employment in relation to an ongoing investigation so long as they address the information to themselves. FBI agents routinely write such memos in investigations. They are called 302s to memorialize field interviews or fact acquisitions. They are treated as FBI information.The Justice Department routinely claims such memos as privileged and covered by the deliberative process privilege and other privileges. Indeed, if this information were sought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) it would likely have been denied. Among other things, the Justice Department and FBI routinely claim privilege inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency.Of course, Comey did not know if there was a privilege or classification claim by either the Justice Department or the White House because he never asked for review. He just woke up in the middle of night upset about Trumps name calling and released the damaging information. In doing so, he used these memos not as a shield but a sword.Besides being subject to nondisclosure agreements, Comey falls under federal laws governing the disclosure of classified and unclassified information. Assuming that the memos were not classified (though it seems odd that it would not be classified even on the confidential level), there is 18 U.S.C. 641, which makes it a crime to steal, sell, or convey any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof.There are also ethical and departmental rules against the use of material to damage a former represented person or individual or firm related to prior representation. The FBI website warns employees that dissemination of FBI information is made strictly in accordance with provisions of the Privacy Act; Title 5, United States Code, Section 552a; FBI policy and procedures regarding discretionary release of information in accordance with the Privacy Act; and other applicable federal orders and directives.One such regulation is 2635.703, on the use of nonpublic information, which states, An employee shall not engage in a financial transaction using nonpublic information, nor allow the improper use of nonpublic information to further his own private interest or that of another, whether through advice or recommendation, or by knowing unauthorized disclosure.The standard FBI employment agreement bars the unauthorized disclosure of information contained in the files, electronic or paper, of the FBI that impact the bureau and specifically pledges that I will not reveal, by any means, any information or material from or related to FBI files or any other information acquired by virtue of my official employment to any unauthorized recipient without prior official written authorization by the FBI.Had Comey taken the minimal step of seeking clearance, the department would likely have said that this was FBI information and not personal information. Comey instead decided to ask forgiveness rather than permission.Comey is also subject to bar rules on releasing information inimical to the interests of his former employer. For example, under professional rule 1.6, lawyers need to secure authority to release information that (1) reveal a confidence or secret of the lawyers client; (2) use a confidence or secret of the lawyers client to the disadvantage of the client; [or] (3) use a confidence or secret of the lawyers client for the advantage of the lawyer or of a third person.Comey actually showed both how to and how not to disclose such information. When Comey released the information, he knew that he was going to be called to Congress where he could disclose this information properly after giving the White House a chance to claim privilege. Instead, he decided to release the information early. Why?Comey gave two equally implausible explanations. First, he suggested that he wanted to get the information to investigators. However, he knew not only that he was likely to testify but that these memos would inevitably be demanded by both congressional and federal investigators. Second, he said that he wanted to ensure the appointment of a special counsel. However on that Monday, many of us were saying that such an appointment was virtually inevitable. More importantly, he could have given the memos to investigators and properly laid the foundation for a special counsel.The fact is that the leaking of the memos worked to the advantage of James Comey, not Robert Mueller. Comey was able to take over the narrative and news cycle after Trump had publicly belittled him and his record. Special counsels do not like leaks of this kind. It would have been far better for the special counsel (or Comeys own former investigatory team and congressional investigators) to have the memos confidentially.The greatest value of the memos would be to question Trump and other potential targets without their knowing of their existence. The memos could then have been used to establish false statements and pressure cooperation. Instead, Comey told possible targets, including Trump, about the evidence against them in the memos.Donald Trump continues to show a remarkable ability to bring out the worst in people supporters and critics alike. In this case, he was able to bait Comey with his tweets and cause Comey to diminish his own credibility. If the comments of Trump were grossly inappropriate, Comeys response to those comments were equally inappropriate.Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He has served as defense counsel in national security cases involving classified information and alleged leaks to t Story Highlights Republicans' satisfaction falls to 41%, down from 58% in May Overall U.S. satisfaction drops to 24%, down seven percentage points Lowest level of satisfaction since July 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Republicans' satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. took a hit since last month. Forty-one percent of Republicans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., down 17 percentage points since May. At the same time, satisfaction among Democrats and independents has remained low. Republicans' spirits received a major boost after President Donald Trump's inauguration -- their satisfaction with the country's direction registered at majority levels in three of the first four months of his presidency. The latest figure is not the first to dip below 50%, but it represents the lowest level of satisfaction among the president's party since he took office. These data are from a June 7-11 Gallup poll, during which controversy continues to swirl around the Trump administration. On June 8, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee conducted hearings with recently fired FBI Director James Comey. The former director's testimony left questions among some observers as to whether the president had tried to interfere with an investigation into his administration's ties with Russia. The recent drop in satisfaction among Republicans could reflect disappointment among the party over the continuing probes into Trump's administration. Republicans could also take a similar view of the president himself -- that continued attacks from Democrats and the media are hindering overall progress. Throughout the past year, overall satisfaction generally held near 30%, with two notable exceptions: a drop to 17% last July amid a series of deadly incidents involving police, and a brief surge to 37% just before the November election. Low Satisfaction Rates Have Plagued Each of the Six Previous Presidents Americans' satisfaction with the direction of the country has dipped to 24% or lower at many points throughout Gallup's trend across six presidencies. Gallup began tracking the question in 1979 when Jimmy Carter was president. Ratings ranged from 12% to 26% that year amid high gas prices, a struggling economy and international strife, which foreshadowed his unsuccessful re-election bid in 1980. Amid worsening views of the economy and high unemployment, Americans' satisfaction with the direction of the country fell below the 25% mark in late 1982 during Ronald Reagan's presidency. However, it improved greatly later in Reagan's two terms as the economy recovered, reaching as high as 69% in 1986. Gallup recorded sub-25% satisfaction ratings through most of 1992, as George H.W. Bush campaigned unsuccessfully for re-election after an economic recession. This followed several years of much higher satisfaction ratings during Bush's term. Satisfaction with the country's direction was also low in Bill Clinton's first year, reaching 24% in May 1993. Ratings were just as low amid a government shutdown toward the end of Clinton's first term in 1996, but satisfaction greatly improved throughout the remainder of his presidency as the economy recovered. Though post-9/11 ratings under George W. Bush were among the highest in Gallup's trend, satisfaction consistently registered below 25% throughout his final year in office -- including a record low of 7% as the federal government attempted to deal with the unfolding financial crisis in October 2008. Satisfaction was below 25% for most of Barack Obama's two terms, though these ratings somewhat improved during his final two years in office. The 37% pre-election rating in November was the highest under Obama. Bottom Line Though certainly not welcome news to a White House in its infancy, the drop in satisfaction with the country's direction is by no means a death knell to public views of Trump's leadership. Satisfaction was at about this level at this point in Clinton's first term, and at several points in the presidencies of Trump's two immediate predecessors, satisfaction was well below the current level. History has shown that Americans' dismal views of the country's trajectory can be revived. Trump will likely struggle to improve the level of satisfaction among independents and Democrats, whose ratings remain low. Perhaps the more important challenge to the president will be resuscitating the deflated satisfaction among his own party members -- because until now, Republicans have buoyed measures of Trump's success across a variety of issues. The timing of the drop could likely be related to unrelenting probes into his administration's conduct, mainly when it comes to relations with Russia. Though the president claims "total and complete vindication" after Comey's testimony, this may not be enough for Americans who remain uncertain of Trump and his cabinet's motives and conduct. Positive feelings about the country's direction could improve if the administration finds a way to put the story and investigations to bed. But lingering questions, many generated by leaks within his own administration, could dampen any hope of renewed spirits -- including among Trump's Republican base. Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics. Story Highlights Terrorism outranks migration as serious issue in most countries Concerns about both are interlinked WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Worries about terrorism and immigration levels fueled the rise of nationalist parties that shook up European politics in 2016. Across 14 European countries that Gallup surveyed last year, a median of 66% of residents say acts of terrorism by non-residents are a serious problem in their country, and 64% say the same about resident-perpetrated terrorist acts. Concerns about immigration levels are less common: A median of 55% of residents say current immigration levels are a serious problem in their countries. Terrorism, Immigration Both Commonly Perceived as "Serious Problems" in Europe Please tell me whether you think each of the following is a serious problem or not a serious problem in your country. Acts of terrorism against this country by non-residents Acts of terrorism against this country by residents Current immigration levels % % % MEDIAN 66 64 55 France 96 96 67 Belgium 92 88 66 Portugal 87 89 55 Denmark 76 70 61 Netherlands 72 66 56 Luxembourg 73 67 36 Malta 68 63 86 Germany 66 70 56 Sweden 65 64 52 Switzerland 54 48 55 Cyprus 53 49 61 Finland 40 30 51 Ireland 32 38 32 Iceland 15 15 18 Percentage who say each item is a serious problem Gallup Debate within the European Union has been growing in recent weeks about badly needed reforms to the bloc's asylum policy. The EU's governing body wants most member states to accept more refugees to take some of the burden off front-line countries such as Malta, Greece and Italy. However, this idea has been met at times with resistance or outright refusal, with some leaders voicing the fear that -- as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban put it -- migration is a "Trojan horse" for terrorists seeking entry into the EU. The threat of terrorism may be linked -- at least in the public's mind -- to public support for anti-immigration policies. The percentage of residents who say their country's level of immigration is a "serious problem" varies widely, from 86% in Malta, where it outweighs concerns about terrorism, to 18% in Iceland. Residents' tendency to view immigration as a serious problem in their country rises with their likelihood to describe terrorist attacks -- by either residents or non-residents -- the same way, even though some of the recent attacks in Europe have been carried out by native-born residents rather than recent migrants. At the respondent level among the 14 countries studied, the relationship between concerns about immigration and terrorism is statistically independent of individuals' feelings about racial and ethnic minorities in their communities. In other words, the tendency to respond similarly to questions about whether immigration and terrorism are serious problems is the same regardless of whether or not they appear tolerant of minorities in their areas. Implications As EU members debate reforms to the union's asylum policy, they should at least acknowledge the connection between immigration and terrorism in many residents' minds, while also seeking to inform themselves and their constituents with accurate information. Terrorism fears have fueled the rise of reactionary nationalist parties across Europe in recent years, posing a threat to European integration and in many cases leading to heightened anti-Muslim sentiment. However, research in behavioral economics has shown that the high-profile nature of terrorist attacks often leads individuals to overestimate the threat that they represent, thanks to a psychological bias known as the availability heuristic. For EU policymakers, the result may be fear-based decisions that lead to further divisiveness and instability in the face of challenges that make solidarity more important than ever. These data are available in Gallup Analytics. In the eyes of many, religion is seen as a vehicle for distortion. And it very well can be employed that way. From my perspective, in every faith there have been and continue to be individuals and groups who use their tradition to build and sustain structures of falsehood and deception. I feel an obligation to consistently reaffirm my intention to utilize the rituals, texts, and practices of Jewish tradition for the sake of perceiving life as clearly as I can. The most sacred name for God in Jewish tradition (often rendered as Yahweh in Christian scripture) emerges from the verb "to be." God in this sense can be imagined as Being: All that Is, Was, and Will Be. The Divine, according to this model, is not separate from the world. Rather, we are challenged to uncover holiness amidst this life, with all its struggles and imperfections. Yes, we can reach for higher and purer realms, but only from a place of first knowing and inhabiting the world in which we live. In this vein, I view religious practice as a means not to prop up falsehood, but to upend it. Otherwise, holy names and sacred texts are at best illusory, and at worst destructive. Last month I saw Ta-Nehisi Coates speak on campus, as I imagine many of you reading this did. He spoke about lies and deception about the ways in which we call things something other than they are. For instance, so many understand American slavery as a bump in the road, when in his words it was the road itself:" a massive industry that was part and parcel of much of Americas formation. Likewise, the executive order to restrict immigration from several Muslim countries is being called by other names, when in fact it is just that: a Muslim ban. At this point, not a total ban on Muslim visitors to the U.S., and certainly not on Muslim citizens of the U.S. But that night Coates warned us, based on his experience, and his parents and ancestors experience, as well as upon close examination of history, to be watchful of how a distorted reality can become the presumed normal. Just as the reality of African-Americans was shaped by generations of enslavement, followed by generations of systematic oppression and discrimination, so could this Muslim ban God forbid be part of entrenching us in seeing Muslims as lesser. We need to see clearly what is happening in order to prevent such distorted realities from taking shape. In responding to these challenging moments, we must perceive our country, its present and its past, clearly. Yes, we are a nation whose shores have been open to millions of immigrants since our founding. Yet we are also a nation whose history includes generations of slavery and genocide. We must not hide from these truths. Rather than tainting our collective identity, accepting hard truths can actually empower us to meet these challenges with clarity and courage. This is my intention as a religious practitioner. In prayer and meditation, in following the cycle of holy days and the rituals that accompany them, I work to refine the lens through which I perceive the world. It is amidst this world, with all its cracks and blemishes, that we must work to uncover holiness and blessing. Spiritual practice must challenge us. It demands us to encounter life as it is, not how we wish it were. From this awareness, we then can become partners in working for the world we wish to create. A Pinch of Salt: The election is over, I think, so what now? Life has a funny way of evening things out sometimes. Theres a 5-year age spread between Lilly Paradis and her older brothers Pierre and Tim, but the way things worked out, all three will be graduating from college at the same time. When the Oregon State University Class of 2017 marches down Southwest 26th Street to Reser Stadium on Saturday to receive their diplomas, the siblings will be walking together something none of them could have foreseen when they were growing up on the familys 60-acre vineyard near Silverton. Tim, the oldest of the three at 26, had a pretty good head start on the others until life intervened. I went to three years of school right out of high school, he said. But then I decided I wanted to get married. To save money for the wedding, he dropped out of college and went to work doing commercial masonry jobs (including some at OSU, where he helped build the Student Experience Center and Austin Hall). Pierre, now 24, was the next to finish high school, but he didnt start college right away. Instead, he took a year off from his studies to work at wineries in Australia and New Zealand. And even after he started taking classes at Oregon State, he didnt follow a straight path to his degree, taking some time to study abroad in Chile and leaving school temporarily to start a business, which he continues to run with his older brother. We do vineyard mechanical contracting services hedging, pruning, leaf removal, harvesting, he explained. We dont do hand labor, only mechanical filling a niche where theres not enough labor. At 21, Lilly is the youngest of the trio, but she quickly made up ground on her big brothers at OSU. I took a lot of college credit courses in high school, which transferred over pretty smoothly, she said. She also spent the summer of 2015 studying and living with a host family in Costa Rica, which helped her knock off her Spanish minor early. Suddenly, it began to look like Lilly might just wrap up her program in human development and family sciences before her older brothers completed their ag science degrees. I always knew I was a little bit ahead of them, but I didnt know how far, she said. But Pierre, who has been taking courses online the past two terms, was able to complete his requirements in time for a spring 2017 graduation too. That left Tim, who had re-enrolled in early 2016 after his wife completed her college career but still had a ways to go. At first, he didnt think there was any way hed be able to finish up in time to walk with his siblings. But then I accelerated my coursework, he said. Once we kind of figured out it was a possibility, I wanted to be done with school anyway, so it was kind of a win-win. Even when it became clear that all three were going to graduate at the same time, however, that didnt mean theyd get to walk together in the procession. At OSU commencement, students line up by college which meant Lilly would be walking with the College of Public Health and Human Sciences while the boys would be with the College of Agricultural Sciences. Then their father, Pete Paradis, got involved. Our dads retired, so he has more time on his hands, Tim joked. He went to work, started making some phone calls. His persistence paid off. This Saturday, with the blessing of OSU officials, the three Paradis siblings will blur the lines between the colleges to march together in the commencement procession. (If they receive their diplomas in alphabetical order by first name, Lilly, the youngest, will get hers first and Tim, the eldest, will get has last.) Im glad that they cooperated and made that work. Itll be special, said their mother, Donna Paradis herself a 1986 OSU grad. There should be plenty of family members on hand for the event, Paradis added. Were caravanning down there with a bunch of people, she said. My nephew, my brothers son, hes graduating too well have quite a few people down there for the festivities. And they might have to do it again in a few more years. The youngest Paradis child, Jori, is wrapping up her sophomore years at Silverton High and beginning to think about attending college possibly at Oregon State. Its more a joke with her than anything, like maybe she shouldnt break the pattern, her mother said. But Im certainly not going to force her. Time will tell. Once they have their sheepskins, Lilly plans to do an internship at College Hill High School in Corvallis. Her brothers intend to expand their agricultural contracting business and restart a winery that operated briefly on the family vineyard before shutting down. But in the meantime, the family has a triple graduation to celebrate. (Our parents) are pretty excited about it, Tim said. They get one party instead of three. More college students on at least one Oregon campus are smoking more marijuana now that it is legal for recreational use, a study by an Oregon State University professor found. Actually, marijuana use has increased at colleges and universities across the nation, regardless of the drugs legal status in the state, said the studys lead author, David Kerr, an associate professor in the School of Psychological Science. The study does not identify which Oregon university the data came from, only that it is a large public university. Researchers used data from the Healthy Minds Survey, an annual web-based survey examining mental health and related issues among college students, Kerr said. Only one Oregon university had data from the survey prior to and after the states legalization of marijuana, he said. The study examined six four-year universities throughout the country that also had data before and after Oregons legalization of marijuana, which voters approved in 2014 and went into effect in 2015. Researchers did not look at colleges in other states that have legalized marijuana, Kerr said. In exchange for the data from the survey, Kerr and his research team promised not to publish the names of the universities, Kerr said. The results of the study were published Wednesday in the journal Addiction. We found that there were increases in marijuana use across almost all of the universities that we examined, Kerr said. Thats consistent with some other studies showing that overall young people are just using more marijuana over time, regardless of legalization. He said students may be responding to increasingly positive attitudes about the safety and acceptability of marijuana use. According to the Pew Research Center, the share of Americans who favor legalizing the use of marijuana continues to grow. In October, 57 percent of U.S. adults said the use of marijuana should be made legal. A decade earlier, just 32 percent favored legalization. The increase in marijuana use was largely among students who also reported recent heavy use of alcohol, Kerr said. I speculate that if youre a person who has a lot of reasons for not binge drinking, such as cultural, religious or health reasons, for those people, it might be it doesnt matter what the law says because thats not the deciding factor, he said. But other people may be more open to using substances in general, so the law or social stigma may be holding them back. Researchers also found that rates of marijuana use throughout the country were generally higher among male students; students under 21; those living in Greek or off-campus housing; those not identifying as heterosexual; and those attending smaller, private institutions, Kerr said. Were just at the beginning of trying to understand this, he said. There are a whole bunch of other things related to substance use that we need to understand. He said there needs to be more research conducted on marijuana use, which can help voters and policy writers decide whats best for Oregon and the country. The Oregon Legislature has passed, without opposition, a bill that is the first in decades to actually put some teeth back in the state's public records law instead of just slowly pulling those teeth out one by one. The bill is headed to the desk of Gov. Kate Brown, who has said she looks forward to signing it. All this is worth celebrating. But something else about the passage of Senate Bill 481 is worth relishing: In a time in our national discussion when "compromise" is perceived as a nasty word, the process this bill went through to get to Brown's desk provides a needed example of a measure that survived because of compromise. Oregon law currently calls for governments to make public records available "as soon as practicable and without unreasonable day." But the law doesn't specify what exactly that means. As a result, it's not unusual for governmental entities in Oregon to delay the release of some records requests from citizens and journalists, perhaps hoping that at some point the requesting party will give up the fight. Senate Bill 481 will set a 15-day time limit for agencies to release records in most cases. But the bill also contains exceptions to that deadline for school districts, community colleges and universities when their central administrative offices are closed. It also gives some options for relief when government agencies are short-staffed or in cases when meeting the deadline would require workers to set aside other urgent work. Could a government entity abuse the wiggle room provided in the bill? Sure. Did journalists and other advocates for government transparency wish the bill had gone further? Certainly. But compromise on both sides allowed the bill to draw such universal support in the Legislature. Journalists noted that two previous attempts to reform the state's public records law had failed, and that Senate Bill 481 finally specified the expectations for responses to public record requests, a big step forward. Lobbyists for governments said the final bill struck a balance between requirements for timely records disclosures with the workloads faced by government employees. Those lobbyists had worries about earlier versions of the bill, but open discussions between the parties led to the version of the measure that won widespread backing. A couple of additional notes about this bill need to be made: First, the bill was a direct result of work tackled by a task force convened by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. The state's citizens owe Rosenblum and the members of this task force a real note of thanks. Second, although it's extremely valuable to have deadlines finally in place for records requests, it could well be that another part of the bill might provide even a bigger breakthrough for the cause of transparency in government: The bill calls for the Department of Justice to catalog the more than 500 exemptions to Oregon's public records law exceptions enacted, one by one, by legislative sessions that have slowly but inexorably pulled the teeth from the law. Now, it's undoubtedly true that some of those exemptions are justified. But our guess is that most of them are not, and should be removed. But the exemptions are scattered throughout the statutes; creating a catalog of them is an essential first step to stripping away the nonessential ones. Two other pending bills also could help the cause of open government: Rep. John Huffman of The Dalles has a bill to end certain public records exemptions and place sunsets on future exemptions. And a bill introduced by Brown would create a public records advocate. The 2017 legislative session could be the best one in 40 years for proponents of open government. We are grateful, but it seems a shame that we've had to wait this long. (mm) Jeffery Martin Lee Peak, 37, was arraigned Thursday afternoon in Linn County Circuit Court, where he faces a charge of bank robbery and first-degree theft. Peak is accused of robbing Chase Bank in Lebanon on June 6, making off with at least $1,000. Peak was ordered held on $20,000 security. According to the News Guard newspaper in Lincoln City, Lebanon police detectives on June 14, with help from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and the FBI, arrested Peak at a hotel in the coastal town. "We'll go where we need to go," Lebanon Police Chief Frank Stevenson said when asked why Lebanon officers had traveled to Lincoln City. He pointed to local law enforcement when asked how authorities had located Peak. Fire at Glenfell Tower : How does the fire brigade in Bonn prepare for such a scenario? Bonn A lot of people, long corridors and no easy access: A fire like the one in Glenfell Tower, claiming at least twelve lives and injuring more than 70 people, poses an extreme challenge for the fire brigades. How do the fire brigades in Cologne prepare for such a scenario? Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken At least twelve people have died in the fire at a 24-storey-skyscraper called Glenfell Tower in London, and more than 70 were injured. The cause for the blaze was still not known late last night. In the past there have been skyscraper fires before. In Beuel-Limperich, a high-rise building was on fire about two years ago. How does the fire brigade prepare for such an event? Usually the fire brigade works according to a special high-rise building action plan, explains Jorg Schneider of the fire brigade Bonn. For special buildings like the Post Tower or the Lange Eugen there even is a detailed procedure with a check list concept, that all fire brigade officers have access to on their tablet computers and which they will bring with them in case of emergency. These procedures are practiced regularly. In the case of a fire in a high-rise building, procedures that are planned in advance, kick into action. The action force as well as people and institutions which need to be informed are all listed in the operation control system - the alarm happens automatically and within seconds. If necessary the city can call for a crisis squad meeting within minutes. For skyscrapers and high-rise buildings built after 1980 there are strict North-Rhine Westphalian construction laws. All outer facades have to consist of fire-proof material. Buildings as high as the one in London have to have two separate safe staircases. Buildings built before that have the right of continuance and dont need to meet the current demands, says the fire man. What to do in case of a fire: Call 112. Explain what is happening, where you are, how many people are in danger. Stay calm. Let the fire brigade first responder ask you what he/she needs to know, they are professionals and can judge the situation much better than anyone else. Keep in mind that heat rises and fire needs oxygen - climbing up the stairs or opening windows can have fatal consequences - rather crawl on the floor to the safest exit. Always know where the nearest and safest exit is in a building, also in hotels or offices in high-rise buildings. Late in the afternoon on a hot March day in central Mexico, a paleontologist uncovered a jaw bone and called over to Jack Tseng. Tseng, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, was on the dig researching intercontinental immigration of fossil mammals. I thought it was a badger, Tseng said, but a colleague on the site had just finished a study of otters, and he said it was sea otter-like. But what would a sea otter be doing in central Mexico? Turns out the otter, from about 6 million years ago, may have been part of an immigration event from Florida to California. Based on the discovery, Tseng and his colleagues have written a paper to be published June 13 in the journal Biology Letters. They propose a new east-west passage for the otter, and potentially other mammals, along the northern edge of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, which runs across the country at the latitude of Mexico City. This is an entirely new idea that no one else has proposed, Tseng said. We think its very likely other animals utilized this route. The right tooth Like many breakthroughs, this one came from a fortunate tiny detail. The jawbone held several teeth. One tooth was a lower first molar, the most diagnostic tooth in a carnivore, Tseng said. If we are lucky enough to find a fossil molar tooth that is complete, there is a lot of useful information. The tooth was almost identical to a tooth from another Enhydritherium terraenovae (an ancient sea otter) fossil found in Florida. Similar finds had only been made along the coasts, in Florida and California, but paleontologists did not know how the animals got across the continent. One hypothesis was that they moved up and around through northern Canada, an 8,000 kilometer trip. Another was they made it down to Panama and crossed over to the west. The possibility of an east-west migratory route in Mexico in the Miocene geologic epoch (roughly 23 million to 5.3 million years ago) has implications for a much larger biologic event the Great American Biotic Interchange, when land bridges were formed and animals dispersed to and from North America and South America. It shows that the regions fossil sites could have recorded details of this biological interchange of historic proportions. But why dont we know more about this already? Compared to the U.S., Mexico is a blank slate in terms of paleontology, Tseng said. The region is difficult to work in because of the topography and flora, like cactus. So not many long-term field projects exist there. This is the beginning of the study, Tseng said. Now that we have this evidence of these animals moving through Mexico, we can now look for evidence of other animals doing the same. Expanding ranges Adolfo Pacheco-Castro, a PhD student at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Centro de Geociencias, and an author of the study, found the jawbone at the dig site in the Juchipila Basin, about 535 miles southeast of Laredo, Texas. The bone was taken to the university in Mexico, cleaned off and studied. We compared it to the original tooth from Florida, based on the cusps and the size, it couldnt be anything else, Tseng said. The fossils in Florida are older than those in California, so researchers speculate that immigrations went east to west. But why did they travel at all? Animals tend to expand their range when and where there is opportunity, Tseng said. As in when there is a geographic connection to suitable habitats. So as populations expand their range, they can move across a continent, or even between continents. The Miocene-Pliocene transitional period was a time of disturbance, Tseng said. The plains of America would have been like Africa, with many large mammals. But the first ice age was approaching. Many large mammals perished in the ice age from environmental and anthropogenic causes, but relatives of the smaller Enhydritherium about the size of a small to medium dog survived into modern times and still live around central Mexico today. New area of study Tseng said he expects some people will not agree with the new interpretation of an east-west corridor through Mexico for other mammals. But more research may confirm it. We are aware it is a single discovery, he said. It essentially opens up a can of worms. We are throwing a different factor in. We now have a connection between Florida and California, and its not in a straight line. Reference: Z. Jack Tseng, Adolfo Pacheco-Castro, Oscar Carranza-Castaneda, Jose Jorge Aranda-Gomez, Xiaoming Wang, Hilda Troncoso. Discovery of the fossil otter Enhydritherium terraenovae (Carnivora, Mammalia) in Mexico reconciles a palaeozoogeographic mystery. Biology Letters, 2017; 13 (6): 20170259 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0259 Note: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University at Buffalo. Original written by Grove Potter. Concerned neighbors voiced fears about camping visitors during the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse, while Albany City Councilors went ahead with plans to put photovoltaic panels atop the city's three fire stations. The council also chose to hold off on letting the city form an intergovernmental agreement with Linn County to share the cost of upgrades to the Linn County Fair and Expo Center. The eclipse issue centered on North Albany resident Charlene Morrison's plans to rent her three-acre hay field to out-of-town campers. A consortium of six of her neighbors turned up to oppose the plan, citing crowd, noise, sanitary and fire hazard concerns. But Mayor Sharon Konopa informed the group that Morrison had that day announced she was scrapping her plans, in part because she learned all the portable toilets in the valley had already been booked. Still, councilors cited an ordinance allowing for such gatherings for "special events." But City Manager Wes Hare said it was a tricky ordinance because "it didn't anticipate things like solar eclipses." "We had a meeting today and we were nervous and were very happy to hear that she was not following through with her plans," he said. North Albany resident Jerry Robinson touched upon a larger concern, anticipating an influx of visitors when he asked, "Why would they want to be here for three days when the event is in broad daylight at 10:17 a.m. on Monday August 21? Am I missing something here?" Konopa agreed that there were a lot of unknowns and a lot of uncertainty. "I think maybe it's best to not make more uncertainty by offering to let people camp in city limits," she said. The other solar issue, that of adding photovoltaic panels to the fire stations, passed with four votes, with councilors Ray Kopczynski and Mike Sykes voting against it. Kopczynski was concerned the company offering the panels might fold, while Sykes seemed to feel the business was trying to take advantage of the city. The company, PGPV LLC, formed by retired Albany firefighter Peter Greenberg, offered last month to install the panels at each station. The panels are valued at $300,000. Under the agreement, Energywise would then sell the generated electricity to the stations at 10 percent below current rates. Then, after nine years, the company would sell the panels to the city for $1 each. The proposal suggests the city would save $1,109 annually for the first nine years and then see a savings of nearly $12,000 each year after that. Energywise agreed to install the panels in order to take advantage of cost offset incentives from Energy Trust of Oregon. Such incentives are expected to drop in coming years, which is why Energywise has offered the deal. But when it came to the intergovernmental agreement with the county, the council decided it needed more specifics. The IGA would involve the city and county putting up $100,000 each for improvements at the Expo Center. These include, according to center director Randy Porter, building new horse stalls, enclosing the loading dock, painting the exterior and installing a mechanical cooling system in the Santiam Building. While Kopczynski last month said he would have to see all the details, but that "it sounds like it could be a win/win," he was more circumspect this time around. "A lot of the proposed improvements are really maintenance and not capital improvements," he said. Konopa added that the only improvement she sees that would qualify as such would be the plan to add dividers to the main hall. "It should be re-worded to include a list of items the city can choose from," added Councilor Rich Kellum. But Hare cautioned the council that trying to qualify each expense in an agreement that simply grants $100,000 would detract from the plan's spirit. "There's gotta be some level of trust," he said. "And if I can offer my two sense on something in which I will have no stake at all, in my judgement, you've already made a decision to give them $100,000, and now you're trying to haggle over specifics." "They don't get money until they give us a list," said Kellum. The council directed staff to ask the county for a list of real capital improvement items before committing to the IGA. Detectives from the Lebanon Police Department on Wednesday arrested a man suspected in a recent Lebanon bank robbery. Jeffrey Martin Lee Peak, 37, a transient, was found near Lincoln City, on the Oregon coast. He was taken into custody without incident. According to a news release, Peak is believed to have been involved in the June 6 robbery of Chase Bank in Lebanon. Reports from that evening indicate the suspect ran eastbound on Grant Street from the bank. Officers canvassed the area but did not find him. A concerned citizen later found a jacket matching the one the suspect wore during the incident, the report continued. It was collected with other evidence and sent to the Oregon State Crime Lab for analysis. From that evidence, detectives received information regarding the suspect's identity. The Lincoln City police department and sheriff's office, along with the FBI, assisted in the arrest. The case remains under investigation. Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 2 with USB Type-C port coming soon to India News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 2s India launch is nearing. Xiaomi seems to be prepping the launch of its next generation Mi Power Banks in India. The company has taken to its official Twitter handle to tease the same. Going by the tweet made by Xiaomi India's Twitter handle, "The next generation is coming! Do you know what we're talking about? RT and tell everyone to #PowerUp." The teaser also shows that the Mi Power Bank features a USB Type-C port in addition to the usual micro USB port in the place of two standard USB ports. We can see the upcoming Mi Power Bank to support Quick Charge 3.0-like rapid charging technology. The next generation is coming! Do you know what we're talking about? RT and tell everyone to #PowerUp pic.twitter.com/1qY0YOfngx Mi India (@XiaomiIndia) June 14, 2017 The Mi Power Bank that is on the cards to launch in India seems to have an LED indicator that will show you the amount of charge left on the device. From the teaser, it is clear that the thickness of the power bank has been cut down significantly to facilitate better portability. Xiaomi is a popular brand in India and their power banks are preferred by many consumers in India. There are several color options to choose from and the battery capacity of these Mi Power Banks range from 5000mAh and 20000mAh. The upcoming Mi Power Banks in India are believed to be available in both 10000mAh and 20000mAh capacities. The Xiaomi power banks have 93% conversion rate and a low power mode, which can be activated by pressing the power button twice. With the low power mode, devices such as Mi Bluetooth Headset and Mi Band can be charged. The 10000mAh Mi Power Bank 2 has been launched in China for 79 yuan (approx. Rs. 1,200). We do expect these power banks to be priced competitively in the Indian market as well. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Belkin hosts a month long Photo contest across 11 countries in Asia Pacific News oi -GizBot Bureau Belkin the market leader in tech accessories making your smart devices smarter, will be launching a month long campaign, #LiveBelkin. This campaignurges everyone to stay charged, live on the go, make a statement about themselves, and make time for life's best moments. #LiveBelkin will go live across 11 countries (Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam) from 19 June - 17 July 2017. We have 12,000 USD worth of prizes to be given away. This is a true regional hunt for those who want to live smart with their devices. 3 weeks, 3 challenges, 3 national winners (every week) Every week, we challenge the public to live smart and share their adventures on our hashtag #LiveBelkin.Participants are required to post their photo entry on either Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Every challenge is closely linked to Belkin's core product propositions - live on the go with our mobile accessories to stay charged; make a statement through Belkin's design and quality; make more time with accessories to enable phones, tablets, laptops and other smart devices to work faster and safer. All Belkin products are engineered to eliminate consumers' pain points that they face with technology. 3 weekly winners from India will be chosen based on their creativity. They will win CEA award winning Valet Charger Power Pack worth INR 7000 Grand Finale with three ultimate prizes All national winners will enter the grand finale to compete with winners from other 10 countries. The participants will have to garner support from their social network and will stand a chance to win based on the aesthetics of their photos featuring Belkin products The top three most voted photos will win the iPhone - Red edition, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Apple Watch Series 2. All prizes will be accompanied by complementing Belkin accessories that will enable winners to stay charged, save time and make a statement. Excited about the campaign, Dae Won Kim, Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Belkin, said 'Being a people's brand, we are constantly looking at ways to eliminate consumers' pain points with technology. We are here to simplify their lives so that they are able to have more time for themselves to do the things they truly like. We look forward to hearing from our consumers about how their lives are being enriched with Belkin products." Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications ISIS Defeat in Mosul 'Inevitable,' Ground Forces Commander Says By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity June 14, 2017 Iraqi security forces are making progress every day against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in west Mosul, with the defeat of the enemy inevitable, the commander of coalition ground forces told reporters today. "The fight to liberate Mosul from ISIS brutality has been hard-fought and long," Army Maj. Gen. Joseph M. Martin, commander of Operation Inherent Resolve's Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command, said in a videoconference from Baghdad. Liberation of Civilians The Iraqi security forces have liberated hundreds of thousands of civilians in Mosul since October, and life is returning to normal in portions of the city, he said. Over the last two years, Iraqi forces have liberated more than 3 million civilians, he added. "The [Iraqi forces] have taken the fight to the enemy and sacrificed their blood for the people of Iraq," he said. "I'm honored to serve by their side in this endeavor." East Mosul was liberated in January. In west Mosul, many Iraqis remain under the domination of ISIS terror, Martin said, adding that the coalition stands united, side by side with Iraq's government and people. ISIS Running Out of Options "We will continue to support them until all the Iraqis are liberated and the country is free to choose its own future," he said. The fight has cost the lives of many brave Iraqi security forces personnel and innocent civilians, he said. "There is still tough fighting ahead, and the coalition will go anywhere the Iraqis go," he added. "The military defeat of ISIS in Iraq is inevitable, and we will help the Iraqis achieve that." The enemy is encircled and running out of options, he said. Meanwhile, he told reporters, the coalition continues to support the Iraqi forces by providing joint coalition fires. Progress has been steady, but slow at times, he said. "It's metered by the diversity of the terrain and the stiff resistance they face or they don't face," he explained," but each day there's progress." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address At Least 7 Dead in Mogadishu Attack By Mohamed Olad Hassan June 14, 2017 At least seven people were killed Wednesday when suspected al-Shabab militants attacked a busy restaurant in the Somali capital popular with diaspora and government staff. Witnesses say the attackers set off a car bomb outside the Posh Treats restaurant and then sent a group of armed militants inside. "We heard a huge deafening explosion and saw a flash of light. Then, after 30 seconds gunfire ensued inside the restaurant," a witness told VOA's Somali Service. A reporter for VOA who went to the scene said he saw the bodies of at least seven people and that more people might be trapped under debris. "There is huge damage here. The explosion has leveled most of the building to the ground," he said. The Posh Treats is a busy restaurant located in the Hodan District of southern Mogadishu. It is in a building that also accommodates a salon and massage center. Somali police officer Aden Mohamed said no gunfire was coming out of the building but police wanted to confirm the restaurant was safe before rescue operations began. Government special security forces have cordoned off the entire area. This is the first suicide attack in Mogadishu during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. Al-Shabab often targets hotels and restaurants in the city as part of its drive to bring down the government and install a strict code of Sharia. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, June 15, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 28 strikes consisting of 67 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 21 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIS targets: -- Near Abu Kamal, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed two ISIS wellheads, and damaged a weapons cache, a weapons factory and a vehicle bomb factory. -- Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed eight ISIS oil storage tanks, four ISIS oil separator tanks and three ISIS wellheads. -- Near Raqqa, 11 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine fighting positions, three ISIS boats and a vehicle; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit. Strikes in Iraq In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 39 engagements against ISIS targets: -- Near Huwayjah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS boat and an ISIS staging area. -- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed a vehicle bomb factory. -- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven fighting positions, two tunnels, a mortar system and a medium machine gun; and damaged a fighting position. -- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed a mortar system. June 13 Strikes Additionally, 13 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on June 13 that closed within the last 24 hours: -- Near Raqqah, Syria, 10 strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and a sniper and destroyed a fighting position, a tunnel, an ISIS headquarters, a weapons cache, a vehicle and a vehicle bomb. -- Near Kisik, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed an ISIS tunnel and a sniper position, and damaged 12 ISIS supply routes. -- Near Mosul, Iraq, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, two vehicles, a tunnel, a weapons cache, an anti-air artillery system, a rocket-propelled grenade system and a medium machine gun. Part of Operation Inherent Resolve These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said. The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said. The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Qatar Asks US to Partly Implement $21.1Bln Deal - State Dept. Sputnik News 19:05 15.06.2017 The US sale deal of F-15 fighter jets signed by Qatar on Wednesday was approved in November and is now partially implemented as a result of a decision by Doha to proceed in that manner, a US State Department official told Sputnik on Thursday. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) In November, the State Department approved the sale of an F-15 fighter jet package to Qatar that would include 72 aircraft, support and training that are worth an estimated $21.1 billion. However, the deal signed on Wednesday amounted $12 billion. "It has been partially implemented, because that is what the Qataris wanted to do," the official said. The news of the deal broke amid ongoing tensions between Qatar and several Arab nations over Doha's alleged support for terrorism. On Friday, President Donald Trump labeled Doha as a funder of terrorism at a very high level. Trump added that during the Arab Islamic American Summit, which took place in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in May, Arab leaders had discussed with the US president the issue of confronting Qatar over its support for terrorism. On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar citing Doha's alleged support of terrorism. Several other countries, including Chad and Senegal, recalled their ambassadors from Doha, while Jordan and Djibouti said they would lower the level of diplomatic contacts with Qatar. Qatar has denied the accusations and said Doha would take no retaliatory measures. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted earlier this month to conduct investigations regarding whether Jefferson City Council members Bob Burns, Brad Cheney and Stan Neal violated state law. Complaints against the trio allege that they obtained prohibited financial benefits and failed to declare conflicts of interest regarding a controversial annexation during council votes. Well just let the chips fall where they may. I dont think theres any ethics violations. Im confident I have nothing to worry about, Burns said. Neal said he consulted extensively with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, as well as an attorney, and that he followed their advice. My goal is to be a very effective, conscientious and ethical city councilor, Neal said. Ive tried my very best, and if there is some problem, it is only by accident. Burns, Cheney and Neal all live near the Hamby annexation property, which the Jefferson City Council approved last summer before the trio was elected to the government body. The complaints allege that the councilors have conflicts of interest due to their real property interests, their participation in political action committees that essentially fought the annexation, and their financial stake in a lawsuit against the city of Jefferson and its former city recorder regarding the right to vote on the annexation. However, the councilors, when pressed by a resident during a March council meeting, said that they were no longer connected to the political action committees or the lawsuit, which was filed before they took office. The trio remains listed as chief petitioners in that Marion County lawsuit, which is currently under appeal after a judge ruled in favor of the city. Former Jefferson council member Tracy Vaughan, ousted from office in the November general election, filed the ethics complaints in March against the trio of councilors, as well as Mayor Cyndie Hightower. The ethics commission concluded that an investigation into Hightower was not warranted, and a complaint filed against her was dismissed. Public reports on the investigations will be considered by the commission during a hearing currently scheduled for Nov. 17. Putin: 'Kurdish Military Very Effective', Russia Has No Grounds to Break Ties Sputnik News 17:43 15.06.2017 Moscow will not sever ties with Kurds, President Putin said lauding Kurdish fighters' contribution to the fight against terrorism. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia has always maintained relations with the Kurdish people and there are no reasons to break these ties off, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual "Direct Line" session on Thursday. "We have always maintained relations with the Kurdish people, and I see no reasons to halt these contacts. But, first, we need to solve the common problem, which you have just mentioned. This is the fight against terrorism. We know, and I have repeatedly said this, our position here is open we know about a significant contribution made by the Kurdish fighters in the struggle against terrorism. Kurdish military units are very effective," Putin said. Russia and Iraq are cooperating very actively in general, and "these relations will be developing," Putin noted. The Kurdish problem is "acute," and Russia will form up its position regarding this issue "within the framework of international law," the president added. Earlier in June, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani set September 25 as the date for an independence referendum. The referendum will be held throughout Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as territories of the Nineveh, Kirkuk, Saladin and Diyala provinces claimed by both Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq. The Kurds, making up about 20 percent of the Iraqi population, have been seeking self-governance for decades. In 2005, Iraq's Constitution recognized Kurdistan as an autonomous region, run by the Kurdistan Regional Government, therefore making Iraqi Kurdistan the only autonomous region of the country. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistan Army Chief Slams US Drone Operation By Ayaz Gul June 14, 2017 Pakistan's military chief is sharply criticizing a suspected U.S. drone strike that killed two key Haqqani network commanders in northwestern Pakistan earlier this week. Pakistani security sources said Tuesday's pre-dawn missile attack destroyed a suspected militant hideout in the remote district of Hangu. The strike, witnesses reported, killed two men, including commander Abubakar of the notorious, Taliban-allied network. A Pentagon spokesman told VOA on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Defense had not conducted any recent strikes in Pakistan. The CIA typically oversees drone strikes in Pakistan, but the agency does not confirm them under a long-standing arrangement with Pakistan. In years past, some drone strikes have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington. Army chief General Qamar Bajwa's comments Wednesday indicated that the two countries could again be at odds over the operations. The chief called for the U.S. to share "actionable intelligence" with Islamabad, saying his forces were capable of moving against the militants. He did not directly refer to the Hangu strike. "Unilateral actions like drone strikes, et cetera, are counterproductive and against the spirit of ongoing cooperation and intelligence sharing being diligently undertaken by Pakistan," Bajwa said. He made the remarks while chairing a meeting of his regional commanders in the provincial capital of Peshawar. Tuesday's attack appeared to be the first under the Trump administration that hit a target outside Pakistan's semiautonomous, militant-dominated tribal areas on the Afghan border. It came amid repeated assertions by Pakistani leaders that counterterrorism military operations had uprooted Haqqani bases, forcing fighters to flee to Afghanistan. U.S. officials have long alleged that Taliban insurgents, particularly the Haqqani network, are covertly receiving support from the Pakistani spy agency to plot deadly cross-border attacks. The Trump administration is reviewing the U.S. Afghan policy. Some American critics, such as Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center research group, say that ramping up drone strikes against insurgents sheltering on Pakistani side could be a key component of the new strategy. Under the previous U.S. administration, hundreds of drone strikes killed fugitive Haqqani and Taliban operatives in the Pakistani tribal areas, particularly in North Waziristan. Pakistani officials maintained that the unilateral drone strikes were undermining its counterterrorism operations and fueling militancy in the region. The pace of the drone operations has significantly reduced in recent years. In the meantime, Pakistani military forces have undertaken major counterterrorism offensives and extended government authority to the volatile tribal belt. But the operations, U.S.authorities insist, have spared insurgents involved in cross-border attacks and have targeted only those militants who are attacking Pakistan. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Senate Approves Amendment With New Round of Russia Sanctions By VOA News June 14, 2017 The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment that would strengthen sanctions against Russia as a punishment for its campaign to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The provision also would require congressional review if the White House decides to relax, suspend or terminate sanctions already in place. The bipartisan agreement came in the form of an amendment to legislation the Senate already is considering on sanctions for Iran. That legislation is expected to have strong support when it goes to the full Senate, and then would have to pass the House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump. It strengthens existing sanctions targeting Russian energy projects, while imposing new sanctions on those involved in serious human rights abuses, supplying weapons to the Syrian government, carrying out malicious cyber activities and doing business with Russian intelligence and defense. Tillerson takes issue U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson criticized the new sanctions while testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, questioning how effective unilateral sanctions would be in deterring Russia. "They will be somewhat hollow and [President Vladimir] Putin will know they are hollow," he said. He called the sanctions "ill-timed" and said the administration needs the ability to "turn that heat up" on Russia, should a future situation call for it. In December, following the election, the Obama administration imposed new sanctions against Russia and expelled a number of its diplomats as punishment for meddling in the presidential election. The Trump administration has repeatedly downplayed Russian involvement in the election and denied the U.S. intelligence consensus that the Russian interference helped his campaign. The U.S. intelligence community concluded in a January report that Putin ordered an influence campaign meant to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and help Trump's chances of winning. The House and Senate, as well as a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department, are all investigating Russia's activities related to last year's U.S. elections, as well as potential links to Trump's campaign. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address MAC urges concerted stand against China ROC Central News Agency 2017/06/15 19:16:53 Taipei, June 15 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday urged Taiwanese politicians planning to take part in two upcoming forums in China to honestly reflect the voice of Taiwanese people, by taking a concerted stand at a time when Beijing is stepping up its efforts to isolate Taiwan. The MAC was referring to the 2017 Cross-Strait Forum scheduled for June 17-23 in Fujian and the annual twin-city forum between Taipei and Shanghai, likely to take place in Shanghai in July. The outgoing Kuomintang Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu () will address the opening of the Cross-Strait Forum on June 18 and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je () reportedly plans to attend the twin-city forum. Some critics have argued that their participation is inappropriate when China has just persuaded long-time ally Panama to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Commenting on the issue, MAC Vice Minister Chiu Chui-cheng () said the government's position on cross-strait people-to-people exchanges remains unchanged, but it believes all of Taiwan's political parties as well as other sectors will take a concerted stand in the face of China's efforts to de-legitimize the nation. If important opinion leaders from Taiwan plan to attend these events, they should ensure their Chinese hosts are in no doubt as to the view of the Taiwanese people, Chiu said. According to an itinerary released by the KMT, in addition to attending the forum, Hung will also meet with Yu Zhengsheng () chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Zhang Zhijun (), head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, during her trip. (By Miao Tzung-han, Hsieh Chia-chen and Y.F. Low) ENDITEM/AW NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Suzanne Suzy Krpalek Black, 60, of Happy Valley, passed away Monday at her home. A memorial mass will be at 10:00am, Friday, June 23, 2017 at St. Marys Catholic Church in Albany. Fisher Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Curtis Eugene Duff, formerly of Corvallis, died May 21, 2017 in Temple, Texas. Winnifred Engle, age 89, died Monday, June 12, 2017 at her home in Regency Park Place, Corvallis. Please share your thoughts and memories for the family at www.demossdurdan.com. Logan Andrew Lawrence died June 2, 2017. A celebration of life will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Friday June 16, 2017 at the Fusion Church in Albany. Arrangements entrusted to Weddle Funeral Services. MARTINSVILLE Rob Spilman, President and CEO of Bassett Furniture Industries, and state Sen.Bill Stanley, New College Institute board chairman, hosted a roundtable discussion with industry leaders on Tuesday at New College Institute. Spilman welcomed about 35 business leaders from the region to share updates on new and innovative academic programs and training opportunities to be offered at NCI as well as to hear valuable feedback about local industry and employment needs from the attendees. During his remarks, Senator Stanley shared the vision for NCIs future, including academic areas of focus, which include engineering/advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity/information technology, healthcare, and community/educational leadership. In addition to these four focus areas, NCI is placing a heightened emphasis on experiential, hands-on learning. NCI exists, Stanley emphasized, to retain jobs, grow more jobs, and to attract new industries to the region. He and NCI Executive Director Dr. Leanna Blevins both believe that this will be accomplished by working directly with business and industry. We want to create programs that are responsive to the needs of industry along with hands-on experiences so that our graduates are truly job ready from the moment they are hired, said Stanley. NCIs primary goal is to offer the highest quality education at the lowest price so that students can achieve the qualifications needed to fill jobs for existing and future industry needs, added Stanley. John Parkinson, CEO of Drake Extrusion Inc., highlighted the need for engineers in our community. When I look at engineers in our company, 90 percent of them are over the age of 45, which reinforces the need to create opportunities for young people to get excited and pursue these engineering degrees in order to fill future vacancies. This program is vital not only to maintain Drake but to grow it. Charles Fraley of Eastman shared the same concerns in filling vacant jobs, particularly within engineering. Fraley cited that Eastman has had success with recruiting through the Center for Advanced Film Manufacturing (CAFM), but there is still a greater need for qualified employees. Sometimes recruiting in our area can be difficult, particularly for workers with an engineering background. We are excited about NCIs new focus areas, added Fraley. Peter Basica of J. P. Superior Solutions is already utilizing services at NCI to improve his workforce. We need to do things cheaper, better, and faster than our competitors who are producing overseas. NCI is a way for me to achieve that goal through rapid prototyping. Now that my employees are doing additional training at NCI on Saturdays, their growth and advancement has been phenomenal. To me, NCI is like an incubator. NCI will really help me grow my business, said Basica. Amanda Witt, president of the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce noted that NCI is well suited to provide continuing education and training needed for local employers. I see a lot of opportunities for NCI to fill that need locally so that money does not leave Martinsville-Henry County. With NCIs new focus areas, we can keep training dollars local and invest in what we have, said Witt. This roundtable discussion was the first of several as NCI re-engages professional and community advisory committees this year. The creation of a local business advisory committee will assist in NCIs development of academic curriculum that is responsive to the needs of existing and future industries in the area. Reynolds American Inc. has set a special shareholder vote for July 19 on the $49.4 billion offer from British American Tobacco Plc for the 57.8 percent of Reynolds stock it doesn't already own. The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. in Reynolds' headquarters auditorium at 401 N. Main St. BAT shareholders are scheduled to vote at 2 p.m. July 19, which would be simultaneous with the Reynolds vote given the time difference. BAT shareholders would be asked to approve additional ordinary, or common, shares of BAT to be provided to Reynolds shareholders as part of the transaction. The meeting appears to be occurring about a month earlier than analysts had projected, but within the third-quarter closing time frame estimated by the companies. If the shareholder votes are approved, the companies said they expect a July 25 closing date about 25 months after the closing of Reynolds' $29.25 billion purchase of Lorillard Inc. Reynolds' independent directors announced Jan. 17 they had accepted what proved to be BAT's fourth offer. The overall offer was valued at $59.64 per share when adding a cash component of $29.44 a share. The value of the accepted BAT offer is up $2.4 billion from the original nonbinding offer made Oct. 20. BAT acquired a 42.2 percent stake in Reynolds in July 2004 as part of selling U.S. subsidiary Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. to Reynolds for $4.4 billion. Stephen Pope, managing principal of research firm Spotlight Ideas of London, said one potential reason for moving up the shareholder votes could be a recent jump in Reynolds' share price. "I see that as offering upside potential, and hence an opportunity for active traders," Pope said. "The technical picture is mixed, as the very short-term measures and the view of one week and one month (out) are flashing as buy or strong buy. The middle space is calling the stock a sell. "Could BAT be pushing Reynolds to get the approval pushed through so that they can be the beneficiary of upside value as against investors, be they speculative of passive?" Pope asked. Reynolds shareholders also will be asked to approve on a non-binding, advisory basis the compensation payments for Reynolds executives Debra Crew, its chief executive, and Joseph Fragnito, president and chief commercial officer of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Crew took over as Reynolds American's chief executive and president Jan. 1, succeeding Susan Cameron, who transitioned at that time to executive chairwoman and then to non-executive chairwoman April 1. Fragnito joined Reynolds on Oct. 24. Crew would qualify for $1.5 million if she stays through Dec. 31, 2019, while Fragnito would qualify for $900,000 if he stays through Dec. 31, 2020. By comparison, Crew was paid $787,525 in salary for 2016, along with incentive pay of $1.58 million and total compensation of $4.93 million. In an Oct. 19 filing, Reynolds said Crew's salary as chief executive started at $1.1 million. She is qualified for annual incentive pay of up to 160 percent of her base salary. Reynolds has said three executives, including chief financial officer Andrew Gilchrist, plan to leave upon completion of the transaction. The others are Cressida Lozano, the executive vice president of consumer marketing for Reynolds Tobacco, and Brice O'Brien, the executive vice president of public affairs and the chief communications officer. In a separate statement, BAT said Wednesday that the UK Listing Authority has approved a Class 1 circular and a prospectus on the Reynolds acquisition. The circular notice is required for requesting a special shareholder vote, while the prospectus is related to the new ordinary BAT shares. The deal breakdown is $24.4 billion in cash and $25 billion in BAT depository receipts, known as ADR. According to Investopedia, an ADR is a stock that trades in the U.S. but represents a specified number of shares in a foreign corporation. BAT said Reynolds would become its largest global subsidiary, with Reynolds shareholders owning 19 percent of BAT. There is a $1 billion breakup fee for each company. Reynolds is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,200 local employees, the majority of whom work at its Tobaccoville plant. BAT said in a Jan. 18 regulatory filing that it "has no plans to close or move the head office in Winston-Salem, nor make any significant changes to the current high-quality manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Tennessee, nor to the trade marketing team." Durante stressed Jan. 17 that BAT "has a strong track record of successfully integrating acquisitions and remains committed to Reynolds American's U.S. workforce and manufacturing facilities." BAT has identified three main areas for cost synergies that are expected to produce at least $400 million in annual savings by completion of the third year of the deal. They are in procurement, product development and "head office roles that need to be relooked at," Durante said. ROUYN-NORANDA, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Jun 15, 2017) - Radisson Mining Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:RDS) ("Radisson") is pleased to announce that it has closed a private placement totalling $483,000. The company raised a gross proceed of $ 483,000 through the issuance of 292,000 flow-through shares at a price of $0.25 and 2,562,500 hard units (the "Unit") at a price of $0.16. Each Unit consists of one class A share of the share capital of Radisson and one half-share purchase warrant ("1/2 Warrant"). Each full Warrant entitles its holder thereof to purchase one class A share at a price of $0.22 for a period of 18 months following the closing date. In accordance with Canadian securities laws, the securities issued under this private placement are subject to a four-month hold period expiring on October 15, 2017. Consequent to the closing of this private placement a tranche of 625,000 units was issued to SIDEX, s.e.c. for a subscription totalling $ 100,000 under the "2017 Field Action" program. One director of the corporation made contribution to the private placement for a total amount of $30,000 representing 120,000 flow-through shares. In connection with this closing, Radisson paid an amount of $ 7,700 in finder's fee and issued 35,000 finder's warrants entitling the holder thereof to acquire one class A share of the share capital of Radisson at $0.22 for a period of 18 months following the closing date. The closing of this private placement is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. As a result of the private placement, there are currently 110,448,857 class A shares of Radisson issued and outstanding. About Radisson Mining Resources Inc. Radisson is a Quebec-based mineral exploration company. The O'Brien project, cut by the regional Larder-Lake-Cadillac Fault, is Radisson's main asset. The former O'Brien Mine, is considered to have been the Abitibi Greenstone Belt's highest-grade gold producer during its production (1,197,147 metric tons at 15.25 g/t Au for 587,121 ounces of gold from 1926 to 1957; InnovExplo, April 2015). Facebook : Like us on facebook Twitter : @RDSMining For more information on Radisson, please visit our website at www.radissonmining.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain certain forward-looking information. All statements included herein, but other than statements of historical fact, is forward-looking information and such information involves various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in Radisson's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Current limited sampling confirms high gold values at the historic Culbert-Dubroy prospect Interpreted extension over 4 kilometers east of the recently drilled Taylor discovery and Main zone Compilation of historic data and new data revealing impressive 8 kilometer strike length including the Main Zone resource Gold enriched region covered with overburden now ready for work programs utilizing current technology Vancouver - Sunvest Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: SSS) ("Sunvest Minerals" or the Company) announces results of samples taken on an initial visit to the historic Culbert-Dubroy prospect, on the Mckinnon-Hawkins gold project located in Hawkins and Walls townships, Ontario.An initial site visit to the historic Culbert-Dubroy prospect was undertaken to examine sites, along trend with the Taylor and Main zones, previously documented to contain significant gold values. The highest gold values were received from Sample No. 1138124, which returned a peak value of 33.3 grams of gold per tonne (g/t Au), comprising a grab sample of quartz veining hosted in highly altered mafic/felsic metavolcanics, metamorphosed to biotite, hornblende schists or amphibolites.The Culbert-Dubroy prospect is located approximately 4.0 kilometers due east of the eastern-most drill hole of the Taylor Zone and the Hawkins Main Zone, which hosts a National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate of 239,100 ounces of gold (4,957,000 tonnes at 1.50 g/t Au, at a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au). The entire 4.0 kilometers strike length between the Taylor showing and the recently rediscovered Culbert-Dubroy area, is projected to be underlain by similar favorable geology and is interpreted to be high prospective for gold mineralization.Three of eleven samples returned values greater than 3.00 g/t Au (3,350, 13,800, and 33,500 ppb Au). Another sample returned 1.68 g/t Au. In total 11 samples were taken (5, 10, 16, 21, 44, 59, 1,680, 3,530, 13,800 and 33,500 ppb Au). The sampling and prospecting was completed during a brief, reconnaissance site visit to the area of historic trenching and stripping of overburden, that has not been reported to have been worked since 1988. Samples were submitted for fire assay to Act Labs Ltd. (Actlabs Group), Timmins.Company CEO Mike England commented, "These results from the Culbert-Dubroy prospect show higher grade (33.3 g/t Au) gold values from grab samples and indicate the entire 4,000 meter strike length represents an excellent target to locate additional gold mineralization. There are no known drill hole results between the Taylor/Main Zones and the Culbert-Dubroy showing. Further drilling, prospecting and trenching along with modern geophysical techniques will be directed at defining the new drill targets."Garry Clark, P. Geo, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is the independent qualified person responsible for reviewing and approving the technical contents of this press release pertaining to the McKinnon-Hawkins gold projectON BEHALF OF THE BOARDMike EnglandMike England, CEO & DIRECTORTelephone: 1-604-683-3995Toll Free: 1-888-945-4770Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect managements current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward -looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at WWW.SEDAR.COM). Dec. 23, 1919 June 9, 2017 Helen Dooley died in the early hours on Friday, June 9, 2017 after a brief illness. She was a warm and loving mother, grandmother, and great grandmother who will be missed every day. Her life was full of blessings and sorrows that shaped her into the woman that brought joy and delight to others for 97 years. Helen Gordon Dodds was born in Lawrence, Kansas to Caryl J Dodds and Annabelle Crawford Dodds. The blue-eyed tow head soon welcomed a baby brother, Jack. Her mother died when she was five years old. She lived with her paternal grandmother and Aunt Mollie. Helen graduated from Lawrence High School in 1937 and went to Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri for two years. After receiving her Associate of Arts degree, she completed her Bachelor of Science degree at Kansas State University in Home Economics. She married Donald Edwin Dooley on August 29, 1941. Helen gave birth to four children, John, Mary, Ann and Margaret. Helen and Don lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin until WWII began. In 1949, Donald was hired by Weyerhaeuser Timber Company as their first Internal Auditor. They moved to Tacoma, Washington and built a home on property by Steilacoom Lake. Helen led the organization of Chapter DV, PEO, in Lakewood in 1950. She was very involved in raising money for scholarships and loans for women as well as developing lifelong bonds with her Sisters in DV. Helen and Donald volunteered for many committees and leadership roles in the Little Church on the Prairie in Lakewood, Washington. The family camped and traveled around the western United States. In 1974, Donald accepted a position with two Weyerhaeuser-owned companies in Jakarta, Indonesia. Helen loved her two years in Indonesia and fully embraced the life of an ex-pat. Helen and Donald traveled extensively throughout their retirement. Upon their return from Indonesia, Helen was elected to the Washington State Chapter of PEO. She worked hard on the board for seven years and finished as President in 1984. Helen loved being a grandmother and great-grandmother to en grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Helen resided in Corvallis with her daughter Meg for the last nine years. She and Meg traveled and cruised to a multitude of foreign countries Helen was preceded in death by her father; mother; stepmother; brother Caryl John (Jack) Dodds; daughter, Elizabeth Ann Schmalz; and her husband of 59 years, Donald E Dooley Helen is survived by her children, John E Dooley (Laurie), Mary D Larsen (Lowell) and Margaret C Dooley. In addition, her loss will be felt by her son-in-law Richard F Schmalz and her former daughter-in-law Susan G Dooley. Donations in her memory may be made to PEO or to Stephens College. Services for Helen will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 24 at Mountain View Cemetery at 4100 Steilacoom Blvd SW in Lakewood, Washington. Helen is gone but not forgotten for she has left her imprint on the hearts of all who knew her and her hand to all the good works she completed. Please leave your condolences for the family at www.mchenryfuneralhome.com. PolyMet Mining Corp. (TSX: POM) (NYSE MKT: PLM) (PolyMet or the Company) today announced the appointment of Patrick Keenan as Chief Financial Officer of PolyMet effective June 15, 2017. Mr. Keenan succeeds Douglas Newby, who has served as CFO for nearly twelve years through a period of great transition and progress for the Company. Mr. Newby will continue to advise the Company as President of Proteus Capital focusing on project finance and strategy. I am very pleased to welcome Pat to PolyMet as we enter the very exciting and important phase of project finance and prepare to construct the first copper-nickel-precious metals mine in Minnesota, stated Jon Cherry, President and CEO of PolyMet. His strong financial background and understanding of the mining industry, including his global experience in a broad range of senior financial roles are an excellent fit for the next stage of development at PolyMet. Mr. Keenan most recently served as Senior Vice President Finance and Treasurer at Newmont. Prior to this he spent more than 20 years with Rio Tinto in a variety of roles, including chief financial officer for Rio Tintos Energy group and chief financial officer for Kennecott Utah Copper and Rio Tinto Diamonds. Mr. Keenan earned his degree in Accounting from the University of Utah and is a CPA. PolyMet has done an excellent job moving the NorthMet Project through the EIS and permitting process over the last few years. It is an exciting time to join the Company and I look forward to contributing to the overall success and development of the first copper-nickel mine in Minnesota, said Pat Keenan. Mr. Cherry added, I would also like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for the nearly twelve years of dedicated service provided by Douglas as CFO of PolyMet. During Mr. Newbys tenure as a core team member, the Company completed its Definitive Feasibility Study establishing reserves, acquired the Erie Plant and associated infrastructure, entered into the strategic alliance with Glencore, completed the final EIS, submitted all permit applications and received the USFS Land Exchange Record of Decision. Mr. Newby also oversaw Sarbanes Oxley compliance, adoption of IFRS, and listing on the NYSE-MKT and TSX stock exchanges. As President of Proteus Capital, Mr. Newby will continue to advise PolyMet on project financing and strategy. Mr. Newby stated, I am excited with the advances PolyMet has made and pleased to maintain my long-term involvement with and commitment to the project while handing the reins to someone with Pats depth of experience. We are very excited at PolyMet for the significant progress that has been made to date and look forward to the release of draft air, water, and mining permits for public review and comment. Likewise, we are excited for the opportunity to grow our team and our company as we prepare to finance and construct our project, Mr. Cherry concluded. About PolyMet PolyMet Mining Corp. (www.polymetmining.com) is a publicly traded mine development company that owns 100 percent of Poly Met Mining, Inc., a Minnesota corporation that controls 100 percent of the NorthMet copper-nickel-precious metals ore body through a long-term lease and owns 100 percent of the Erie Plant, a large processing facility located approximately six miles from the ore body in the established mining district of the Mesabi Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota. Poly Met Mining, Inc. has completed its Definitive Feasibility Study. The NorthMet Final EIS was published in November 2015, preparing the way for decisions on permit applications. NorthMet is expected to require approximately two million hours of construction labor, create approximately 360 long-term jobs directly, and generate a level of activity that will have a significant multiplier effect in the local economy. PolyMet Disclosures This news release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning anticipated developments in PolyMets operations in the future. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, potential, possible, projects, plans, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results will, may, could, or should occur or be achieved or their negatives or other comparable words. These forward-looking statements may include statements regarding the ability to receive environmental and operating permits, job creation, and the effect on the local economy, or other statements that are not a statement of fact. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements due to risks facing PolyMet or due to actual facts differing from the assumptions underlying its predictions. PolyMets forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and PolyMet does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or managements beliefs, expectations and opinions should change. Specific reference is made to PolyMets most recent Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2017 and in other filings with Canadian securities authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Companys Form 6-K providing information with respect to operations for the three months ended April 30, 2017, for a discussion of some of the risk factors and other considerations underlying forward-looking statements. The Annual Information Form contains the Companys mineral resource and other data as required under National Instrument 43-101. The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for PolyMet Mining Corp. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615006279/en/ ./ContentItem/Format PolyMet Mining today announced the appointment of Patrick Keenan as Chief Financial Officer effective June 15, 2017. Contact PolyMet Mining Corp. Media Bruce Richardson, +1 651-389-4111 Corporate Communications brichardson@polymetmining.com or Investor Relations Jenny Knudson, +1 651-389-4110 Investor Relations jknudson@polymetmining.com The Legislature sued Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday, as a fight between two branches of Minnesota government spilled into the third branch.The lawsuit filed in Ramsey County District Court seeks to undo the DFL governor's recent line-item veto of the GOP-led House and Senate's operating budgets, which has raised the imminent prospect that 201 state lawmakers and 437 legislative employees from both political parties will stop getting paid as early as July.Dayton wants to renegotiate several tax and policy measures initially settled in the recently concluded legislative session, and said he's not willing to restore legislative funding unless lawmakers agree to do so. Republican leaders of the House and Senate refuse."The vetoes impermissibly control, coerce, and restrain the action of the Legislature in the exercise of its official and constitutional powers and duties," reads the 29-page complaint. It lists "The Ninetieth Minnesota State Senate" and "the Ninetieth Minnesota State House of Representatives" as plaintiffs, with Dayton and his Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans as defendants."The line-item veto is within my constitutional authority," Dayton said Tuesday. While criticizing the lawsuit, he said he is unable to compromise on a handful of changes to state law that Republicans initiated in the recent legislative session."They're sticking with their position, and I'm sticking with mine," Dayton said. Legislators filed the lawsuit shortly after a fruitless meeting with Dayton on Tuesday morning, with Republicans saying they are simply unwilling to revisit items that Dayton just signed into law a few weeks ago when he approved a set of Republican-crafted spending bills."We're at a point where we just don't feel like we're going to be able to move forward, so the lawsuit appears to be the only direction we have at this point," said Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa.The constitutional conflict hatched last month at the end of a contentious legislative session. Dayton signed a group of bills that make up the state's $46 billion two-year budget and a $650 million tax-cut bill that was a top priority of Republicans.Dayton explained that he strongly disagreed with a number of Republican priority items within those bills, but that he signed them in order to avoid the possibility of a widespread shutdown of state government. He was also irked when Republicans included the budget of the Department of Revenue within their tax-cut bill. Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt had characterized that as an "insurance policy" to make sure Dayton signed a bill he disliked.Dayton says he has grave concerns that the new tax cuts, which will benefit Social Security recipients, business property owners and tobacco users among others, will negatively impact the state's financial health. He also wants the Legislature to reconsider a handful of specific policy changes, including licensing standards for teachers and issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants."Putting policy measures in these budget bills is putting a gun to the head of the executive branch," Dayton said.Legislative leaders contend that Dayton's action violates the separation of powers between branches of government and renders the Legislature unable to carry out its constitutional duties.Current funding for the House and Senate runs out on July 1, the start of the state's next fiscal year. Gazelka and Daudt said they would initially draw on reserve funds, but those won't last: the Senate will likely run out of money entirely within a month or two, the House after two to four months.There are 67 state senators and 205 year-round Senate employees. There are 134 House members and 232 permanent House employees. The two chambers also have a combined 85 employees who work only during legislative sessions.The lawsuit argues that disruptions to those employees are particularly challenging during the Legislature's offseason, when staff members are critical to keeping lawmakers in touch with their constituents."A legislator cannot represent the will of the People without the unabridged ability to communicate with his or her constituency," the complaint reads.Daudt and Gazelka warned of serious financial consequences for the state that extend beyond the loss of salaries and benefits for legislative workers. Gazelka said he's concerned about the Senate's ability to cover bond payments on the new Senate Office Building, which opened just over a year ago.Payments on the building amount to $8 million of the Senate's $32 million annual budget, Gazelka said, and he's planning to prioritize paychecks for Senate employees above payments on the building.If the Senate can't pay that bill, Gazelka said, the state's bond rating could suffer."This isn't a political game that might affect just a few politicians," Daudt said. "It affects our employees, their families and ultimately could affect all Minnesotans if the legislative branch is grossly weakened by this action the governor has taken or if the bond rating of the state of Minnesota is jeopardized because of this political action."Legislative leaders said they expect the case could end up in the Minnesota Supreme Court. They're hoping a judge will issue a temporary restraining order against Dayton's veto if the case isn't resolved quickly. A project dubbed by one senior Oregon manager as "the most important information technology effort in the state" has been plagued by escalating costs, a bureaucratic turf battle and technical misfires.The $166.7 million effort to automate Medicaid enrollment instead has led to delays for tens of thousands of Oregonians. The Oregon Health Authority spent three years developing the new system and has spent more than four times the initial contract.The glitches mean the agency was dispensing billions in Medicaid payouts not knowing whether the recipients were sufficiently low-income to qualify. Nearly 300,000 have been kicked off the plan since March 2016, after the agency resumed verifying eligibility, state figures show.Anxious Medicaid applicants flooded the state with as many as 120,000 calls a month as they waited to learn their status. While boosters of the technology said automation would reduce staffing costs, the Oregon Health Authority actually hired more than 600 full-time, temporary and contract employees to manually process applications and handle phone calls.Problems with the system, known by the acronym ONE, were serious enough for the state to at least consider scrapping the technology outright. An internal report from October and obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive indicated the state would replace the system with new technology obtained from the state of Kentucky.KPMG, hired by the state as a high-level troubleshooter, questioned the move. "The transfer ... from Kentucky would decommission/replace the current ONE system instead of taking advantage of investments already made in the ONE system," the firm wrote. "Decommissioning the ONE system may indicate to the public that the money spent on the system was unnecessary."State officials dismiss that characterization of the situation and are forging ahead with the next phase of the mammoth technology project. The Department of Human Services just entered into a $100 million no-bid contract with Deloitte Consulting, lead developer of the ONE system.It is the first step in a larger move to expand electronic enrollment for food stamps and other state assistance programs. Total cost: $241.3 million.At this rate, the ONE system will eventually surpass the cost of its disastrous predecessor, Cover Oregon, which failed to launch despite a $300 million investment. Cover Oregon was supposed to serve both as a health insurance exchange and benefits enrollment system.Alex Pettit, Oregon's chief information officer, said it's crucial that the state get this one right. The system will be the key public interface for the state's two largest agencies and will serve more than a million Oregonians.A one-stop automated enrollment system for the state's many public assistance programs has long been the holy grail for social services agencies. But those digital dreams don't come cheap. If all goes as planned, the total cost of the Medicaid enrollment system and its planned refinements will reach $408 million.Much of that money comes from the federal government, a powerful motivator for Oregon to see the project through at a time when its own general fund budget is tight. At a May legislative hearing, Department of Human Services director Clyde Saiki and project director Eric Smith told lawmakers the agency was eager to meet the December 2018 deadline to qualify for federal match funding."We do have a sense of urgency," Saiki said.The total bill looms much larger than other recent Oregon technology projects. For example, a major modernization project underway at the DMV is expected to take a decade and cost an estimated $90 million. The upgrades would track several million vehicles and drivers, communicate with law enforcement and verify citizenship status. Two years in, the state has spent just $5.6 million.To be sure, the ONE system is no Cover Oregon-level disaster. It was finally able to handle Medicaid eligibility checks as of March 2016, allowing the Oregon Health Authority to conduct hundreds of thousands of overdue income verifications. And a state audit released last month found that the two computer systems involved were correctly determining eligibility and sending payments to health care providers."It took a little longer," said Lynne Saxton, director of the Oregon Health Authority. "Parts of it were smoother, parts of it were rougher. Did we get the goal accomplished? Yes, we did."Agency spokeswoman Courtney Warner Crowell put it another way, writing in an email that "it has performed as expected given its complexity and breadth of functionality."Still, the prodigious technology spending has dismayed some lawmakers. Rep. Cedric Hayden, R-Roseburg, figures spending on Medicaid enrollment will soon surpass $300 million, about the same as Cover Oregon. "I'm very supportive of getting help to people who need it," he said. "But I also feel like there has to be some accountability" from state agencies dispensing that assistance.It's hard to overstate how desperate state officials were for a solution after the ugly failure of Cover Oregon. The Affordable Care Act had liberalized income rules for Medicaid in 2014, and Oregon suddenly saw participation swell more than 60 percent, to 1.1 million people.But after the state pulled the plug on Cover Oregon, it had no computer system mechanism to sort and track applicants. Under litigation with Cover Oregon developer Oracle Corp., the state faced a December 2015 deadline to stop using the company's software.Oregon needed an alternative, and officials thought they found it in Kentucky. At the time, they predicted that with $30 million to $60 million worth of fine tuning, the state could have the ONE system up and running here within months.Oregon hired Deloitte, chief architect of the Kentucky system. Together they got the ONE system running in December 2015, according to the Oregon Health Authority. It could process only new applications in those early days, and it would be another three months before the system could conduct eligibility tests for existing Medicaid participants.In Oregon, only individuals making less than $17,000 a year and families earning less than $33,000 are eligible for Medicaid.Federal law requires states to check eligibility once a year. Unable to meet that requirement, the state repeatedly got waivers from 2013 through 2016.Meantime, the backlog of overdue eligibility checks grew, peaking at 60,000, the state said. The federal waivers expired last June. But due to nagging technical issues and other problems, the state couldn't catch up. And the agency continued to dispense millions of dollars despite the uncertain status of the recipients.Oregon Health Authority officials told a legislative committee last month that the agency might have provided Medicaid benefits to some 32,000 people who no longer qualified for them.As the state waited for its automated enrollment system, the health authority hired hundreds of employees to manually sign up and re-enroll people in the system. The state's temporary workforce peaked at 535 in May 2015, in addition to 283 permanent employees.The eventual permanent number is expected to be about 400.Since resuming the eligibility checks, the state has verified 549,000 Medicaid enrollees who still qualify for the program.The technology system's issues escalated tensions between the health authority and its sister agency, the Department of Human Services, last fall. As officials debated how to split responsibility for Medicaid enrollment, eligibility checks stalled for several months."The result was that for 3-4 months, the two agencies had to sit down and try to resolve these very challenging issues," Robert L. Cummings, a principal legislative analyst, wrote in a recent report.The state brought in a mediator to restore the peace, at a cost of $47,000. The health authority is now relinquishing oversight of Medicaid enrollment to human services.At a May 25 hearing before lawmakers, the DHS chief acknowledged that top administrators at the two agencies had reached an impasse."To be honest with you, I think Lynne (Saxton) and I will both tell you that in the beginning the meetings were a little contentious, a little tense," Saiki said. "But I think once we engaged an outside facilitator, Coraggio Group, that came in, we began to have the kind of conversations we needed to have."That included identifying the problems, solutions "and where accountability and responsibility with the project lies," Saiki said.Oregon Democrats have been coming to the project's defense since Republican Secretary of State Dennis Richardson issued last month a first-of-its-kind "auditor alert," which previewed problems discovered in an ongoing review.Richardson suggested lawmakers investigate the financial consequences of keeping thousands of people on Medicaid while their eligibility was in question.Health officials and Democratic lawmakers have pointed out the state cannot legally kick anyone off Medicaid until it determines the person is ineligible, and the state received several waivers for the annual eligibility checks.But a year after those waivers expired, state employees have yet to complete eligibility checks on approximately 84,000 clients. Gov. Kate Brown gave the health authority until the end of August to work through the backlog.And at the end of May, Republicans in the Oregon House proposed a one-year budget for the health authority, to allow time for the agency to finish vetting its Medicaid rolls. Oregon's next two-year budget cycle begins in July.After winning the turf battle for control of the system, it's now on the Department of Human Services to deliver. It has taken on the difficult task of integrating the 18 systems that track food stamps and other assistance programs with the Medicaid system.Bob Cummings, the Legislative Fiscal Office's longtime technology analyst, says the agency is walking a tightrope."The history of this project's estimating to date has not been good," Cummings wrote, noting that the project's scope is still not fully defined. "While the project team has tried to make sure that there are no more surprises, the short amount of time that they've had to come up with the latest 'final' cost estimates, does not bode well for their accuracy."Lawmakers were clearly taken aback by the enormous costs at a recent hearing of the Joint Subcommittee on Human Services. After a trio of Department of Human Services officials laid out their $241 million plan, Rep. Dan Rayfield, co-chair of the committee, asked for reassurance that the price will not continue to "dramatically increase."The three officials declined to make any promises. "That's to be seen," said project manager Smith. Missouris governor may not have anything to hide, but he sometimes acts as if he does.Eric Greitens, a Republican and a former Navy SEAL, won the governorship last year in his first bid for public office. Much of his campaign funding came from donors whose identities were never disclosed, including a dark money group called LG PAC that spent $4 million on his behalf. Greitens also received a check for nearly $2 million -- then the record donation in Missouri -- from a group called SEALs for Truth. The way the money was shifted around means that the original source remains unknown in both cases.The governors secretive fundraising continued after the campaign. Corporations and lobbyists gave money to pay for his inaugural festivities, but Greitens refused to say how much any of them had given, or the total amount hed raised overall. Close associates of his have now set up a dark money group to promote his policy agenda. Eric Greitens has shown that his campaign commitment to clean up the corruption in Jefferson City was a false promise, says Progress Missouri, a liberal group.Its not just advocates on the left who are concerned. Some Republican senators upset about Greitens use of a dark money group forced debate about requiring such groups to disclose their donors at the end of the legislative session last month. Those senators quickly found themselves attacked in ads sponsored by the group associated with the governor.But money isnt the only issue. Greitens campaigned on the idea of openness, but he forced members of his transition team to sign gag orders banning them from speaking about their work. When he appears in public, Greitens sometimes brushes off reporters by telling them to make a request through staff, who in turn often tell them their requests arent a priority. This is the most reclusive, inaccessible and unengaged governor Ive ever covered, Phill Brooks, a reporter for the CBS radio affiliate in St. Louis, told. Brooks has been at the statehouse since 1970.Parker Briden, the governors press secretary, says that Greitens has given many interviews, while also holding news conferences and speaking occasionally with reporters in informal groups. But he doesnt deny that Greitens will sometimes bypass reporters by putting his message out unfiltered through social media. We really appreciate the opportunity to connect with people directly on that platform, Briden says, and it gives us the chance to let a large audience of people know that the governor is fighting for them.Briden is right when he says that increasing numbers of people are getting their news through social media. Still, in public life, its important for elected officials to remain accountable to their constituents, whose concerns are often expressed in the form of questions asked by reporters. For a self-described reformer to refuse to answer most of the questions put to him -- including the all-important question of who might be funding his agenda -- can only raise more questions. Its totally baffling, says Ken Warren, a political scientist at St. Louis University. Everyone is perplexed and frustrated by his arrogance and total insensitivity to transparency. Government isnt like a secret Navy SEAL operation. Days after Mayor Rahm Emanuel backed away from a pledge to have a judge monitor efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department, a host of civil rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit seeking to spur sweeping changes in the troubled department that would be enforced by the courts.About 15 lawyers from Chicago and New York filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago on behalf of six African-American plaintiffs who allege they were victims of excessive force and other abuses at the hands of Chicago police. The plaintiffs also include groups such as Black Lives Matter Chicago.The roughly 130-page lawsuit -- which seeks class-action status -- invokes police uses of force dating to the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the killing of Black Panther Fred Hampton in arguing that violence and racial discrimination remain structural features of the department to this day. The suit contends that police routinely beat, deploy Tasers on and shoot African-Americans and Latinos with the protection of a "code of silence" and little risk of discipline.Though the suit seeks money for the individual plaintiffs, it is distinct from most litigation filed against police because it also seeks an injunction to force the department to adopt reforms. Those reforms are not fully specified in the lawsuit but would be hammered out if the litigation succeeds.Indeed, the lawsuit's chief goal is an order empowering a judge to enforce reforms that could include those endorsed by the Obama administration's U.S. Department of Justice in its report from January criticizing Chicago police as badly trained, poorly supervised and prone to using excessive force, said Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor and a member of the plaintiffs' legal team.Without court oversight, Futterman said, "We'll be having the same conversation after the next scandal."Neither Emanuel nor his top lawyer, Edward Siskel, directly addressed questions about the suit's demands, instead saying that the administration is committed to reform and reiterating points in support of the administration's new plan, which calls for monitors to oversee changes without the court supervision the lawsuit seeks.Early this month, Emanuel backed away from his vow made in January to negotiate a consent decree -- a judicially enforced agreement for reform -- with the Justice Department. The agency investigated the Police Department following the scandal sparked 19 months ago when a judge ordered the release of video of a white officer shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times.The Justice Department said in its report that a consent decree would be the best and likely the only way to correct the Police Department's deep and long-standing problems.President Donald Trump's inauguration, however, brought in a new administration skeptical of federal intervention in local law enforcement.Since Emanuel announced his new approach, former Justice Department officials have blasted the plan, saying stable, long-term court oversight is essential to fixing a police force as large and dysfunctional as Chicago's.The mayor and allies have defended his approach by saying Emanuel's political will for change is evident in the reforms he has made so far, including embracing body cameras and moving to fix the city's primary police disciplinary agency. They have portrayed Emanuel's plan as the best option after losing a more enthusiastic partner for reform in the Obama administration.The new lawsuit seeks court enforcement -- whether the city wants it or not. But Futterman said Emanuel could also agree to work with the plaintiffs on a court-monitored consent decree.Futterman's call for cooperation echoes the recommendation that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has made -- that Emanuel should partner with advocates on a consent decree.She described the idea of negotiating reforms with a presidential administration outwardly skeptical of them as "ludicrous." Emanuel has not directly responded to Madigan's points."He wants a dance partner? He's got one," Futterman said. "If he's serious about ending police civil rights abuses in Chicago, he will agree -- as he already did before -- to binding court oversight and enforcement."At a news conference at police headquarters after the suit was filed, Siskel would not say if the Emanuel administration would consider working with the plaintiffs, saying the city is "exploring models" for reform."We wish that the Department of Justice would have followed through with their commitment to a consent decree, but we are not there," he said.Kevin Graham, president of Chicago's largest police union, said: "Despite the vast gulf between what the anti-police movement claims and what is actually taking place on our city's streets, our officers are doing a phenomenal job in extremely dangerous circumstances, day in and day out. I am confident the general public supports the police."If the lawsuit finds early success in court, it could put Emanuel in a political bind. He's said repeatedly that he is committed to serious reform, but he now has to decide how to handle a lawsuit from some of the city's best known reform advocates and his loudest critics.There is precedent for activists suing and forcing court-monitored police reform.In Oakland, Calif., litigation filed in the early 2000s by citizens led to court-enforced reforms without Justice Department intervention. Oakland, however, is not considered a complete success; scandals have continued as millions of dollars in costs have piled up over some 15 years.In Cincinnati in the early 2000s, African-American activists and civil rights groups sued the police over alleged racial profiling and sought reforms. As the litigation was pending, officers shot an unarmed man, sparking riots and a Justice Department investigation. The city settled the litigation and addressed the Justice Department's findings by entering into a court-monitored agreement for reforms.Though a federal judge stepped in to force compliance with the agreed reforms, Cincinnati's reform process is generally seen as a success.One key challenge of litigation seeking police reform is proving that the plaintiffs have legal standing, said Al Gerhardstein, a Cincinnati civil rights attorney who sued that city for reforms. U.S. Supreme Court case law, Gerhardstein noted, holds that plaintiffs suing for an injunction under federal civil rights statutes must be able to show they are at ongoing risk of harm."If the city wants to just hunker down and fight, these standing arguments are a good tool for them," he said, adding that fighting the suit would do nothing to improve police relations with residents."You might win that legal battle but at what cost?" he asked.The new suit in Chicago asserts that the plaintiffs would be in danger of future injury, as would the people represented by the groups pressing the suit.The individuals named in the suit range from a man who alleges he was thrown to the ground and beaten by police during a peaceful protest to a pregnant woman who alleges she was pinned to the ground without cause.The suit cites the Justice Department report as well as the report from the mayor's own Police Accountability Task Force in arguing that the department has a history and current practice of discrimination. It also notes dozens of other pending lawsuits and disciplinary cases in justifying calls for federal oversight."Time and again, the city has revealed that it is institutionally unable to end its years-long practice of civil rights violations. Federal judicial intervention is the only means by which the rights of plaintiffs and the class they represent will be vindicated," the suit reads. Photo courtesy of Massachusetts State Police Since 2012, Massachusetts State Police (MSP) has implemented several initiatives to make officers more visible and increase officer safety at night. Sergeant Paul Fernandes noted that most officers wear black or dark blue uniforms that are nearly invisible at night. Although MSP officers wear light blue shirts, it still does not help drivers see them once it gets dark, and this risk is even higher when parked along the side of the road. The agency turned to vehicle visibility to improve officer safety. Improving Police Vehicle Visibility The initiatives started with vehicle graphics. Fernandes said MSPs colonel went on a trip to Europe and noticed the amount of reflective blue and green graphics on patrol cars. The agency installed chevrons on the back of its Police Interceptor Utility vehicles, facing out like arrows. Next, the agency looked into replacing its light bars. MSP uses blue light bars, and a common complaint was that the light bars brightness was a distraction in itself. Fernandes noted that, as LED technology became the norm, vehicle lighting became significantly brighter. Unfortunately, this can be a strain on the eyes for motorists stopped on the side of the road. To solve this problem, MSP worked with a local manufacturer to find a solution. Its new light bar uses a steady burn in which the blue light flickers at a lower intensity when parked at a traffic stop. Its bright, it flashes, and when you go to a call its as bright as any other cruiser out there. You can see us as far away as anybody else. But what it does is, once the officer puts it in park, it automatically dims down, Fernandes said. Photo courtesy of Massachusetts State Police Photo courtesy of Massachusetts State Police Dealing with Critics Massachusetts State Police has been around since 1865, and making any changes to the agencys signature two-tone patrol cars brought backlash. Officers also voiced their concerns, noting that civilians will be able to see them coming from a mile away. Although faced with some pushback from officers in the beginning, Fernandes said he now receives positive feedback from officers, and several neighboring agencies have adopted similar initiatives to improve officer safety. Its always something that comes up with police officers, and especially highway patrol. We get in more car accidents than we do shootouts, he said. I dont have any statistical data right now to say, hey, it saved X amount of lives, but if it saves one guy, Ive done my job. Special thanks to 329 Marketing for contributing to the article. On Wednesday, in the morning, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey departed Cooktown for an official visit to Hope Vale. Following, at Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council Chambers, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey received a briefing from Council representatives. Following, at Hope Vale Indigenous Knowledge Centre, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey met staff and toured facilities. Following, at the Hope Vale Primary School (Campus of Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy), the Governor and Mrs de Jersey met staff and students and toured classrooms. In the afternoon, at the Hope Vale Primary Health Centre, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey met staff and toured facilities, before returning to Brisbane. A Collaboration with KLM to further diversify our markets in Europe by opening up air access to the Netherlands and neighbouring regions. Air Mauritius will operate an additional weekly flight to Singapore to maintain that dynamism and meet rising demand following the Asia-Africa air corridor. Government will give a voucher of Rs 200 discount on a minimum purchase of Rs 1,000 of Mauritian handicraft products with a view of increasing expenditure per tourist while at the same time giving a boost to Mauritian handicraft A major turn in the development of infrastructure in Mauritius is expected by the execution of the Metro Express project financed by the support of the Government of India. The objectives are, amongst others, to drastically reduce the commuting time for citizens, raise productivity and eliminate the inconvenience of traffic congestion. The Budget makes provision of some Rs 4.9 billion to be spent on expanding the transport network through various projects. These include: Construction of both the Jumbo-Phoenix round-about and the A1M1 Bridge A new road to connect La Vigie and La Brasserie and a direct link between the south and west through Beaux Songes A series of measures have also been announced to address the infrastructural issues at regional, local and national level. The National Development Unit will carry out various projects namely construction of drains and upgrading and reconstruction of bridges. Provision is also being made for an exceptional capital grant of Rs 500 million to local authorities so that all councils can address long outstanding minor infrastructural works in their localities. A further budget of Rs 3.3 billion would be used to partly finance all the major and medium projects comprising the following: Three new traffic centres at Piton, Ebene and Pointe aux Sables Rehabilitation of the Ste Marie bridge at Savanne, the Joli Bois Bridge at Mare Tabac, the 38 Choisy Bridge at Poste Lafayette and the upgrading of Radier St Martin at Bel Ombre as well as the construction of bridges at Richelieu and Cite La Cure Upgrading of 10 Community Health Centres and development of a New Health Care Centre at Coromandel Three administrative headquarters for the Councils of Flacq, Pamplemousses and Savanne Multi-purpose complexes at Plaine Verte and Riviere du Rempart, multi-sports complexes at Port Louis and Triolet, swimming pool at Curepipe and new leisure park at Quartier Militaire Renovation works in eight police stations around the country Acquisition of 20 fire and rescue vehicles and two high volume water pumps Installation of incinerators at Camp Le Vieux, Mahebourg, Highlands, Allee Brillant, Souillac, Montagne Longue and Quatre Bornes The project of Cote Dor City at Highlands will comprise the construction of two administrative towers for government offices to the tune of some Rs 3.6 billion. Some 250 arpents of land will be made available for commercial, business and residential spaces, as well as leisure facilities. With regards to the Urban and Rural Regeneration Master Plan, Government has made provision for the upgrading of Ebene Cybercity. Concerning the Smart City projects, a total of around Rs 2.6 billion will be invested by the end of 2017. Other projects are the expansion of hospital infrastructure and health care facilities including Mediclinics and Community Health Centres. The rehabilitation and upgrading of the farm buildings and associated infrastructure at the Government sheep farm at Salazie have been included in the budget to ensure quality in production of lamb meat. Reinforcing port facilities and air connectivity An investment of some Rs 4.6 billion will be made to transform Mauritius into a regional maritime hub. The investment pertains to: A Master Plan for the development of a quay for leisure crafts and fishing boats at Vieux Grand Port An extended Mauritius Container Terminal berth The Construction of a second breakwater The New Passenger Terminal Building at Les Salines to accommodate both Cruise, and inter-island passenger traffic As regards air connectivity, a master plan will be reviewed to bring forward the construction of a second passenger terminal while the Old Passenger Terminal will be renovated and refurbished. Provision of Rs 50 million to set up two homes that will accommodate low income elderly residents who are living alone. The homes will be equipped with all necessary facilities, amenities, safety, security and a harmonious environment where elderly residents can live an active and healthy life; Description GIS - 15 June, 2017: An interactive session between students and senior citizens to bring awareness on the ill-treatment of elderly people and strengthen intergenerational bonds, was held today at Loreto College, Port Louis to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2017. This session, organised by the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity, and Environment and Sustainable Development, brought together students of Grade 10 to Grade 12 of different colleges in Port Louis, members of the 20 Elderly Watch groups, and members of Senior Citizens Associations amongst others. Present at the opening of the session and speaking on behalf of the Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity, and Environment and Sustainable Development, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. D. Kawol, highlighted that elderly abuse is a global issue affecting the health and human rights of older people. Government is engaged towards providing several incentives and health facilities to help elders live an active and healthy life with full of enjoyment of their rights, he added. Several types of abuse namely physical, psychological, emotional and financial impact on the lives of many of the elderly population, he underlined. The statistics of reported cases on elderly abuse stood at 708 and 766 for the years 2015 and 2016 respectively and for the period of January 2017 to April 2017, 281 cases have been reported which indicate the prevalence of this form of abuse. Moreover, Mr Kawol pointed out that youngsters, as the elders of tomorrow, should be sensitised on the protection of elderly persons to prevent them from any form of abuse as they are the pillars of society and the success of the country should be attributed to them. The issue of elderly abuse therefore, requires the support of the community to stop this form of abuse, he stated. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is celebrated annually on 15 June with the aim to raise the worlds voices against abuse and suffering inflicted to some of the older generations. The theme for this year is Understand and End Financial Abuse of Older People: A Human Rights Issue. Description GIS - 15 June, 2017: Leadership, good monitoring, research and innovation are the values needed to instill a cooperative culture in Mauritius, highlighted the Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah, yesterday at the launching of the National Awards for Cooperatives 2017 held in Port Louis. The Minister underscored that the National Awards for Cooperatives is a major event contributing to the success of cooperatives. It is expected to increase dynamism among different cooperative societies urging them to give better results as regards their management and performance, added Mr Bholah. The Minister underlined that there are various discrepancies which hinder good management of cooperatives, such as deficit in strategic planning, failure to implement democratic rules, lack of participation of youngsters and women and absence of monitoring mechanism. He emphasised that the Awards comprise of different activities namely training and facilitation programmes, sensitisation campaigns, fieldworks and assessment by qualified evaluators. Minister Bholah pointed out that these have been designed so as to help cooperatives overcome their shortcomings. Cooperative societies have up to 31 August 2017 to submit their application and the award ceremony for cooperatives will be held on 10 November 2017. Cooperatives from Rodrigues are also invited to participate in this event. On this occasion, the Second edition of Top 100 Cooperatives, a booklet consisting of the guidelines and a poster for the awards were also launched. Speaking of the Top 100 cooperatives, Minister Bholah highlighted that the magazine enables visibility of cooperatives and supplements recognition. Various criteria such as leadership skills, innovative techniques, best practices, numerous services and compliance with the rules for cooperatives have been considered, he concluded. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has named 19 winners throughout three award categories Best Practices, Dream Big and Partners in Innovation marking the culmination of a three-month competition aimed at recognizing innovation among local and regional governments. The winners, which were announced at the 2017 AWS City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge at the AWS Public Sector Summit in Washington, D.C., were divided into large and small cities. Winning efforts included predicting coastal flooding in Virginia, cloud-based solutions for mapping roadwork in London, and a number of efficient data uses in smaller jurisdictions. Past winners have built open data, work order and inventory management, and IT modernization projects, among many other things. We continue to be amazed by the work that our customers are doing around the world to better serve citizens, said Teresa Carlson, vice president of Worldwide Public Sector for AWS, in a statement . This years City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge produced inspiring applications from cities, police departments, school districts, and our partners that use real-time data analytics, IoT services, and open data projects, all on the AWS Cloud. AWS is proud to recognize this years winners and showcase the innovation to improve our roads, provide digital learning to all students, and benefit first responders. Of major cities in the U.S., Louisville won the most prominent accolade, excelling in the Dream Big category for its use of machine learning, real-time traffic data, and IoT to build an adaptive traffic flow management system that can sense detrimental systemic changes to traffic and automatically adjust city infrastructure to mitigate the impact. For more information on the winners projects, click here Seattle Creates New Look for its Open Data Portal Seattle has updated the design of its open data portal , aiming to make it easier for residents to interact with the many data sets the city continues to make available. Seattle explained the necessity of improving the portals design in an online statement , pointing to how an update was needed in the wake of research showing that 25 percent of users are accessing it through mobile devices. The old design was not optimized for mobile. Ongoing feedback from residents also told showed that the site was difficult to navigate, and many visitors struggled to find what they were looking for. We are confident that this new design will greatly improve both experiences, the citys online announcement stated. As part of Seattles 2017 Open Data Plan , the city identified five main priorities. One of these goals was to increase the discoverability of our Open Data to the public. The redesign is in service of doing just that. Seattle is not alone in its efforts to make its open data sets easier to access by using a friendlier, simpler design. Many cities have started to move in this direction, one of the most prominent of which is Boston, which rolled out a major effort to accomplish this in March, dubbed Analyze Boston 12 Cities Join Chicago in Posting Climate Change Data Online In the wake of President Donald Trump announcing that the United States would withdraw from the landmark Paris Agreement, which seemingly united global efforts to reduce emissions and combat climate change, more than a dozen cities have come together to use tech to emphasize their collective ongoing commitment to long-term sustainability. These cities are doing so by posting research that was formerly on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Climate Change Website, before being removed by the Trump administration in April, on their civic websites. Chicago led this effort with the creation of the City of Chicago Climate Change is Real Website in May. The cities now joining Chicago are Atlanta; Boston; Evanston, Ill.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Houston; Milwaukee; New Orleans; Philadelphia; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; Seattle; and St. Louis. In announcing its participation in this work on its own website , Boston wrote, we know climate change is real and we will continue to take action to fight it. In an effort to facilitate other cities joining these efforts, the Chicago Department of Innovation and Technology has uploaded the relevant information to an open source website , where it can be appropriated by other municipalities. This data includes information on the basic science behind climate change, as well as the different ways that weather can be impacted from increased greenhouse gas emissions. Mayor Rahm Emanuels office announced the collaboration effort via a post on Medium FCC Proposes Stripping Municipal Governments of Siting Authority The Federal Communications Commission is weighing whether to pre-empt local government regulations pertaining to siting antennas and other infrastructure in public spaces, including power poles, street lamps and traffic signals. The National Association of Counties (NACo) recently detailed this issue with a post on its website , and its one that could become increasingly prominent as cities take steps to move toward small cell and 5G wireless , which stands to increase connectivity speeds. No actions are forthcoming, and the FCC is currently seeking input on whether the agency should take over local controls. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who assumed control of the agency under President Donald Trump, is quoted by NACo as saying he has heard that the current state of rules is impeding the fast implementation of infrastructure that can make 5G a reality. One measure the FCC is weighing is whether to deem siting applications as granted if local governments dont respond to them fast enough. Opponents to FCC overriding local controls worry that such measures will drive up the costs or processing applications by forcing local governments to hire increased staff so that they can meet the new timelines. Another concern is that FCC involvement will limit local governments abilities to negotiate with providers for services and guarantees in exchange for accessing public rights of way, and these negotiations often ensure that schools and low-income communities receive equitable connectivity. Helping or Hacking? Engineers, Ethicists Must Work Together on Brain-Computer Interface Technology (TNS) -- Google's plans to reshape a wide swath of downtown San Jose could get even bigger than previously indicated, potentially reaching 8 million square feet, according to a new staff memo prepared for a key City Council meeting next week.That could boost Google's already massive development plan by 2 million square feet, making it one-third larger than previously indicated by San Jose city officials."Preliminary discussions with Google indicate interest in planning and building a master-planned transit-oriented development that includes between 6 and 8 million square feet of office/R&D space and retail/commercial amenities," according to a city staff report.The project's development footprint could dramatically increase downtown San Jose's office market, though it's unclear how much of the project would be developed as office space."Eight million square feet is basically the size of all of downtown San Jose's office market," said Mark Ritchie, president of San Jose-based Ritchie Commercial Development.Numerous far-reaching changes loom, which would alter people's driving and access habits for an array of activities, including attending San Jose Sharks games and other events at the SAP Center. That's because some of the largest of the government-owned parcels that the city proposes to sell to Google as part of the project are the big surface parking lots next to SAP Center.Google intends to bring 15,000 to 20,000 of its employees into the project area."We're excited about the possibilities," a Google spokesperson said Monday in an interview.Google added that the potential size and transit-oriented nature of the development area were big draws.Real estate investors connected to Google or its development partner, Trammell Crow, have already spent a combined $124 million to gobble up an array of properties inside a 240-acre part of downtown. A Trammell Crow affiliate has struck deals to purchase at least five more parcels."The estimate of 8 million square feet is one of those core planning issues where they contemplate the max buildout, which you usually see with transit-oriented projects," said Bob Staedler, a principal executive with San Jose-based Silicon Valley Synergy, a development consultant.Google and city agencies also will negotiate the purchase of 16 publicly owned parcels.Google's development plan would clearly be a years-long project. City staffers said that development applications aren't likely to be submitted to the city during 2017."Diridon Station will become the Bay Area's transit hub and the premier location in the Bay Area for significant transit-oriented job growth," the staff report said. With lawn chairs in a circle and bottled water in hand, a group of about 10 Eagle, Idaho, residents tiptoed around floodwater Friday as they settled in for the evening.Some residents of Riviera Estates Mobile Home Park have decided that even without power, gas, running water and a working sewer system, there is no place like home.Rather than moving into a shelter, the residents have banded together amid a mandatory evacuation of the trailer park that began May 22. They've had no working utilities since May 15, and even with the Boise River dropping this week, that situation won't improve quickly.To Alisha Cowger, her family and her neighbors, Riviera Estates is the community they know and love and a far better alternative to being displaced in a shelter or other temporary housing for weeks. Cowger, her husband, Jerimy, and their children initially stayed in a 10-by-12-foot sheepherder's tent pitched at a friend's house before they decided they wanted to go home.Of the 28 residents who returned or never left in the first place, 14 are children. The families make up eight of the 46 mobile home lots in Riviera Estates, Cowger said.While the evacuation was labeled "mandatory," law enforcement won't forcibly remove those who returned to the park. But there are strong incentives for the residents to not stay.Water in some areas of the mobile home park is several feet deep and the residents believe one trailer's septic tank may have broken though the problem home is on the opposite side of the park from where the families sleep.First responders said they expect challenges if a crisis occurs, something the neighbors acknowledge as a concern. In an evacuated area, paramedics responding to an emergency must first work with other public safety agencies to figure out how to access the area safely, said Hadley Mayes, spokeswoman for Ada County Paramedics. They may need equipment other than a standard ambulance.From a law enforcement perspective, a response to a call for service in an evacuated area would likely be delayed for the same reason, said Patrick Orr, spokesman for the Ada County Sheriff's Office. "That's why it would be so much better for everyone involved if they would follow the evacuation order," Orr said.Cowger said she knows other people may judge or criticize her family's choice to stay, but she said she's taking proper precautions.She does not let her children play in any stagnant water, bathes them daily, and always uses soap and hand sanitizer, she said. She knows there have been warnings about potential bacteria, but said she thinks the water is no different than if a child were to go swimming at Lucky Peak Reservoir and get giardia. And the water near her trailer is flowing, not stagnant, so she is less concerned about problems like E. coli."We take precautions with the water," she said. "And we obviously don't drink the water."... We're not bad parents because we wanted to come home with our kids. They were crying because they wanted to come home."The community that has formed in the mobile home park's dry patches has bonded both the adults and children. Cowger said her four children are enjoying the "camping." The families have laid down wooden pallets to walk across, preventing their feet from sinking into the soggy grass while going in and out of their trailers.Because streets and lawns were so deeply flooded last week, river water swept in carp and minnows. Cowger said her boys sometimes attempt to catch the fish that swim across lawns and roads.On Friday, three young boys jumped on a trampoline set up on one of the only lots without water on the lawn. Another child ran through the yard wearing only a diaper, trying to keep cool in the sweltering afternoon.Resident J.R. VanHoover owns a large pot used for cooking kettle corn. With a generator, he and the other residents now use it to boil water. The women take turns boiling donated water for cooking, washing dishes, bathing small children fit well in the pot and doing laundry.Clothing dries on a series of clotheslines strung across Cowger's yard.The West YMCA on Discovery Way lets the residents use its shower facilities every day. Flushing a toilet in the park could cause another septic tank to back up onto the lawns, said VanHoover so the families must use portable toilets at home, temporarily donated by Porta Pros, a local business.Resident Clarissa Peterson used a propane grill to boil water on Friday for macaroni salad for the families, dropping ice cubes in the pasta to cool it without a working refrigerator."We're all family here," VanHoover said. "They help each other and there's people we would have never met before this."The families plan to stay until the floodwater subsides and they see what needs to be repaired. Though the Boise River will drop nearly back down to flood stage this week, a whole host of inspections must take place before power and water are restored and those can't occur until Riviera Estates fully dries out.None of the residents still staying in the mobile home park has flood insurance.The park's owner is no longer charging the families for lot rental, residents said. But with gas for generators, propane tanks for cooking, ice and other unusual expenses, the price of camping has been more expensive than the residents' $440 monthly rents before the flood. Cowger said that for her family, like many others in the mobile home park, it's still cheaper than a hotel, which they could not afford to stay in for long periods of time.The Red Cross has continued to check in on Riviera Estates, offering its residents resources and places where they might find help. A shelter at Eagle Church of the Nazarene remains on standby in case any families change their minds about staying.The aid agency has made efforts to provide the families with food and gas vouchers. Various businesses and nonprofits have donated water, food and other resources, said Chris Volmer, American Red Cross disaster program manager for southwest and north-central Idaho.Residents showed thestacks of donated bug repellent to keep mosquitoes from biting the children. Sometimes the spray works, other times it doesn't, they said.Volmer said it is common for families to not want to stay in a shelter."We want them to come (to the shelter) to get out of that environment," Volmer said. "But folks have really banded together."With tears in her eyes, Cowger said part of what keeps her in the trailer park is a sense of pride."This is mine and you don't plan (for) it," she said about the flooding. "It's hard to choose what's replaceable and what's not, but my purpose is to help other people (in the park)."2017(Boise, Idaho)Visit The Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho) at www.idahostatesman.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Volcanologists from all over the world will be gathering in Portland, Ore., for a conference on volcanoes Aug. 14-18, 2017. Emergency managers can attend for a registration fee of $150.The most dangerous volcano in North America is outside my back door, Mount Rainier sits majestically, waiting to erupt again, at some point in the future. It will be one of those low-frequency, high-impact events that no one ever thinks is going to impact them. (TNS) -- President Donald Trump has renominated former Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat and net neutrality supporter, to take one of the two open spots at the agency in a move applauded by the broadband industry and consumer groups alike.The White House announced the nomination in a late Tuesday release, months after the outgoing Obama administration renominated Rosenworcel, whose term expired at the end of December, and the Trump administration pulled that nomination in January.Rosenworcel was nominated by former President Barack Obama in 2011 and began her term in May 2012. Despite support from both Republicans and Democrats, her reconfirmation was held up in the Senate in part due to then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheelers reluctance to give Republicans a firm departure date following Trumps election win. Some speculated Wheeler would stay on through the end of his term to block Trumps ability to appoint a Republican majority at the agency.Despite Wheelers December pledge to step down immediately in exchange for Rosenworcels renomination , Republicans in the Senate allowed her term to expire. Until Tuesday night Trump had yet to nominate anyone to fill the two open seats on the FCC one Democrat and Republican each. In the interim, Republican Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael ORielly have rolled out an aggressive agenda to scale back Democratic policies including net neutrality . Rosenworcel voted in favor of the net neutrality rules in 2015.Speculation rose last month Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the only Democrat left at the agency and the only one to vote for the net neutrality rules in 2015, may step down before the FCC votes to dramatically weaken those rules later this year. Her departure would leave the FCC without the quorum necessary to conduct major business (though some have quoted agency analysts saying Chairman Pai could use obscure procedural tactics to conduct business). Clyburns five-year term ends in June.Thats one possible reason for Rosenworcels nomination, since Trump wouldnt want to tie the agencys hands with a 2-2 majority that would block Republicans from repealing net neutrality rules. But a Republican nomination may also be imminent according to Radio World , which recently reported a Trump administration source saying the White House essentially said that Republican seat was Pais to recommend. Pai is reportedly considering Brendan Carr, currently the acting FCC general counsel and a former staffer in Pais office.Senate Republicans may wait for Rosenworcels Republican counterpart to be nominated before considering her.Pai welcomed Rosenworcel back to the FCC Wednesday.I congratulate Jessica Rosenworcel on the announcement that President Trump will nominate her to serve another term on the Federal Communications Commission, the agency chief said. She has a distinguished record of public service, including the four-and-a-half years we worked together at this agency, and I look forward to working with her once again to advance the public interest.Pro-net neutrality groups including Public Knowledge praised Rosenworcels renomination.We congratulate Jessica Rosenworcel and look forward to working closely to promote competition and fairness to all Americans, the groups president, Gene Kimmelman, said Wednesday. At a time when we face enormous challenges to prevent the FCC from undermining fundamental consumer protections, we are pleased that Senate Minority Leader Schumer and his colleagues indicate a commitment to fight for competition, protecting consumers pocketbooks and consumers rights by promoting nominees who will support our cause.Broadband and cable lobbyists including the premier cable trade group NCTA, whose members include Comcast and Fox, congratulated Rosenworcel.During her first term as Commissioner, Jessica proved to be an outstanding public servant who championed policies that enable American consumers to benefit from the tremendous changes taking place in the communications and technology marketplace, NCTA President Michael Powell said. We share Jessicas passion for promoting policies that close the digital divide and ensure that all Americans, especially students, have access to the many benefits that the internet offers.Rosenworcels nomination will need approval from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee chaired by South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune.I publicly supported Commissioner Rosenworcels confirmation last Congress, and I continue to appreciate her service, Thune said last year. His committee eventually confirmed Rosenworcel, but never made it to the Senate floor for a chamber-wide vote.Rosenworcel supported the majority of Wheelers Democratic agenda, but she parted ways with her majority last fall when the FCC sought to rewrite the rules of the cable set-top box market, which would have allowed third-parties to build boxes to compete with those rented to subscribers by cable companies. The proposal gave the FCC power over licensing agreements between cable providers and the third-party device manufacturers they would have to offer their content on a provision Rosenworcel disagreed with.Her no-vote kept Wheeler from advancing the proposal , angering congressional Democrats and giving her some support from Republicans in the midst of her renomination fight. Democrat Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon said they put a hold on Rosenworcels renomination after her no vote, but quickly retracted it.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York formally submitted Rosenworcel to the White House as his recommendation to fill the Democratic seat. The White House typically nominates seats for the opposing party based on the recommendation of the Senate. (TNS) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. Changes at the Federal Aviation Administration effectively transforming the agency into a public-private partnership proposed by President Donald Trump have central Illinois lawmakers more than a little leery.What concerns them? The fate of small airports, conditions for private fliers and safety.Smaller airports might not fare well under a plan that gives more power to companies, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos said."We're not Chicago, we're not Detroit, we're not Atlanta, we're not LaGuardia. Under privatization, where the whole mission of privatization is for the private sector to make money, my concern is what happens to smaller towns that are not heavily populated, that already struggle to make sure we have the flights we need to get to the places we want to go," the Moline Democrat said. "Their priority is not going to be places like Peoria and the Quad Cities and Rockford."U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood said he had some concerns about the proposal, but the Peoria Republican said he wanted to hear more from the airport operators in his sprawling district before determining a final stance on the proposal.The public-private partnership under discussion has seen success in Canada, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said, producing a modernized air traffic control system there. But the Channahon Republican said there were also side effects."What you notice in Canada and in Europe is they have a dead general aviation sector," he said. "They charge user fees every time a guy with a Cessna decides to go fly, so it runs small people out of business."For U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, one of his largest worries is ensuring passenger safety if a private or public-private group operates the FAA."If there's ever an area where you want to make sure there's public service, it's in safety in aviation, something every person should be confident of when they board an airplane with their family," the No. 2 Senate Democrat said.But, he agreed, having the debate is worthwhile because it could help spark other needed changes."The idea is worth discussing the debate is worthy because there are things we need to do to improve aviation in America," he said. "We have been talking for too long, too many years, about modernizing our whole technology and aviation system. It's too slow, and frankly we're not moving nearly as fast as technology, so if this serves to motivate us to move more quickly and more thoughtfully, it'll be a positive experience."Ensuring that airlines don't have unfettered control over a board in any public-private reform is also crucial, Kinzinger said."If we're going to do this board, I don't want the airlines to have all the power, frankly," he said. "I'm pretty frustrated with airlines right now. There needs to be many more seats for general aviation at the table. I think there needs to be a guarantee that there's going to be enough money for modernization of smaller airports, that there's never going to be user fees on general aviation." (TNS) -- The Iowa Supreme Court has dealt another blow to traffic camera tickets in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Muscatine.Iowas high court is the second to reject requests to continue issuing traffic tickets during an appeal of an Iowa Department of Transportation order to turn off or move traffic cameras in the three cities, according to a ruling filed on Wednesday by Justice Brent Appel.Appel denied a motion to stay, or suspend, enforcement of District Court orders on April 25 and May 17. The District Court decided in favor of the Iowa DOT, ruling the agency had authority to order the cameras off or moved on April 25, and on May 17 denied a stay request for the cities to continue issuing tickets during the appeal.However, Appel granted Cedar Rapids an alternate request to continue operating the traffic camera equipment for data collection purposes without issuing citations during the appeal.Cedar Rapids stopped issuing tickets generated after April 25. The membership body for environmental health professionals released details of its submission to the Governments consultation on plans to improve air quality in the UK. CIEHs chief complaint is the Government has failed to recognize poor air quality is a national issue. CIEH asserts that solving air pollution in the UK requires action from central government rather than offloading responsibility onto local authorities, who are being set-up for failure if the proposed plans are to go ahead. The UKs Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has criticized the Governments air quality plans for unfairly shifting the burden to solve the problem to local authorities, while abdicating themselves of responsibility. The Governments proposals are woefully inadequate to tackle air pollution and place far too much responsibility on the shoulders of our over-stretched local authorities. We stand on the cliff-edge of a national public health emergency and these plans are devoid of substantive proposals, timescales for addressing the key challenges, clarity around targets or even availability of resources to support necessary actions. Tony Lewis, Head of Policy at CIEH Further grievances from CIEH focus on Clean Air Zones (CAZs) and the Governments confidence that they are the panacea to solving air pollution. CIEH is concerned that CAZ trials are taking place in only five English cities and have not been running long enough to demonstrate successful results. Also, CIEH points out, CAZs will lead to people seeking alternative routes to avoid the zones and will cause pollution in other areas. The membership body has suggested that CAZs are similar to Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), which have been operating across the UK for many years. But rather than providing a solution to air pollution, CIEH states that AQMAs have demonstrated little success and often lead to problem hotspots being relocated elsewhere. Other concerns CIEH has with the Governments Air Quality plans: Leaving local authorities to come up with novel and innovative solutions will lead to incoherent and inconsistent approaches to a national problem. The Governments cost/benefit analysis fails to consider the burden on the NHS and the health implications on people and local communities, concentrating solely on business impacts. Overlook particulate matter as the single biggest contributor to premature deaths and ill-health, placing too much emphasis on reducing NO 2 emissions. The two objectives of achieving NO 2 compliance in the short term and the wider actions necessary to improve air quality and achieve a zero-emission / low-carbon economy in the longer-term, need to be separated out. CIEH adduces a number of proposals that the Government should consider in their final air quality plans in addition to ones that have already been suggested, including: Government should provide appropriate levels of financial support to target areas where air pollution is highest and where the largest number of people are exposed. Local authorities need to be supported to develop a better understanding of the issue through more and better real-time monitoring of air quality and associated health-related data. Reduce the number of vehicles on the road or take action to remove vehicles that do not comply with EuroVI/6 or gasoline Euro 3 standards as a minimum. Remove tax incentives on diesel and transfer these incentives to Ultra Low Emission Vehicles and Zero Emission Vehicles infrastructure development. CIEH supports the moves by TfL to license only new ULEV or ZEV black cabs from 2018 and advocates national measures to ensure that this approach is taken by all local authorities across the UK. Better provision and incentives for sustainable travels plans for people to access towns, cities and workplaces via the use of public transport, cycling and walking. CIEH is of the view that national problems require properly evaluated national solutions. This means conducting robust, properly funded and appropriately evidenced research to not only work out what currently works, but to also identify innovative solutions that will work. This is not the role of local authorities and it is, therefore, unfair of this consultation to expect local authorities to fulfil that role. Government must at least lead in this respect to ensure that we do not end up with a patchwork of local schemes, providing varying solutions with uncertain outcomes and, potentially, providing barriers and a lack of clarity to not only the operators of multi-site businesses but to consumers too. CIEH will, however, support any proposals to ensure that, wherever possible, proposals for new urban developments include provision of infrastructure to support ZEVs; increase insulation standards of all new buildings to reduce energy use, restrict the use of wood burning stoves in domestic situations and require all new buildings to incorporate the use of ultra-low NO x boilers. The EAGLE project will combine and evaluate different advanced technologies to achieve its aim of developing an innovative engine able to deliver peak brake thermal efficiency of 50% while reducing particulate and NO x emissions and while using a conventional engine architecture. It will also reach real driving Euro 6 values with no conformity factor. European researchers have launched a new project to obtain a gasoline engine at least 20% more efficient than current engines and adapted for future electrified powertrains. The EAGLE (Efficient Additivated Gasoline Lean Engine) European research project is led by the French research organization IFP Energies nouvelles, with the participation of eight partners from Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Among these technologies, EAGLE will consider using hydrogen as an additional fuel to boost and stabilize ultra-lean combustion, as well as developing a pre-chamber ignition system. EAGLE will tackle several challenges focusing on: Reducing engine thermal losses through a smart coating approach. Reaching ultra-lean combustion (lambda > 2) with very low particulate (down to 10 nm) emissions by innovative hydrogen boosting. Developing breakthrough ignition system for ultra-lean combustion. Investigating a close loop combustion control for extreme lean limit stabilization. Addressing and investigating NO x emissions reduction technologies based on a tailor made NO x storage catalyst or using H 2 as a reducing agent for SCR. Another of the project objectives is to reduce heat losses during combustion by applying an insulation coating to certain parts of the combustion chamber, and to predict to what extent this technique will effectively contribute to increase the engine efficiency. For this, advanced coating materials with extremely low thermal conductivity and heat capacitance properties have to be assessed in order to ensure that the surface temperature fluctuates in phase with the temperature of the combustion gases, and so reduce heat losses. The project foresees as well the development of a catalytic converter compatible with lean combustion and the use of hydrogen as a component to reduce NO x emissions. This new concept will help the European automobile industry to reach the next objective of 50g CO 2 /km emissions and to stay within legislation on particle and nitrogen oxide emissions on hybrid vehicles. Jean-Marc Zaccardi, researcher at IFP Energies nouvelles and coordinator of the project At the present time the maximum efficiency of gasoline engines is around 40%. The remainder of the energy is lost; EAGLE researchers aim is to reduce this wasted power produced by combustion, said Alberto Broatch full professor at the Research Institute CMT-Motores Termicos of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia. The ultimate objective is to increase engine efficiency while keeping emissions within the present limits and anticipating the future standards for real driving emissions. Cedric Libert, who is responsible for the project at Renault The EAGLE project, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Program, got under way last October and will continue until beginning of the year 2020. In addition to the evaluation and simulation phases performed by the universities and the material and technology suppliers, the final assessment of the EAGLE concept will be conducted on a prototype engine manufactured by Renault. In addition to the French coordinating organization IFP Energies nouvelles and the multinational OEM Renault, the other partners involved in the EAGLE project are the companies: Saint-Gobain Centre de Recherche et dEtudes Europeen (France); Continental Automotive GmbH (Germany); Continental Automotive France SAS (France); FEV Europe GmbH (Germany); as well as the following university groups: Ballard Power Systems subsidiary Protonex has received an initial order for its fuel cell propulsion system, together with design services, from FlyH2 Aerospace, a South African-based developer of hydrogen fuel cell powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for commercial applications. Commercial details of this order are confidential. FlyH2 plans to integrate the Protonex fuel cell system into all three of its aircraft currently in the development pipeline, beginning with the UA Plant prototype drone, followed by its UA Alpha flagship aircraft. UA Plant is expected to be a 30 kilogram (66 lb.) fuel cell-powered agricultural utility aircraft with 9-hour flight endurance. UA Alpha will be a long-range, long-endurance survey and reconnaissance aircraft designed to carry advanced sensors. Specifications include a wingspan of 8.2 meters (27 feet), maximum cruising altitude of 4,250 meters (14,000 feet) and flight distance of more than 600 kilometers (370 miles). Onboard sensors will survey environmental variables used in the management of fires, pollution, erosion, alien vegetation and plant diseases. In a similar development, FlyH2s third drone, the UA Gecko, is being designed to monitor physical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, pipelines and powerlines. A fuel cell propulsion system allows for endurances comparable to an internal combustion engine, but with several added benefits. These include silent operation, increased reliability, lower vibration and less maintenance. The total cost of ownership is also expected to be lower and the aircraft will only require one fuel stop per day for all-day operations. In agriculture, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles rather than conventional piloted aircraft, which sometimes operate as low as 150 feet above the ground, reduces the risk to pilots and also avoids noise abatement issues. In addition, the enhanced reliability of fuel cell engines further protects people and property on the ground. To support integration of the Protonex fuel cell propulsion system into its UA Plant aircraft, FlyH2 has partnered with Epsilon Engineering, a South African engineering and manufacturing services provider. Project work is partially funded by the Government of South Africa as well as the South African agriculture industry. -by Tom Wakely I just returned from the Peoples Summit in Chicago. It was a jammed-packed long weekend of progressive politics. It culminated on Saturday night with remarks from Senator Bernie Sanders who gave the 4,000 plus crowd at the Arie Crown Theater a reason to believe. Now, depending on what you wanted to get out of the Summit, you had your choice of attending any of a dozen workshops or group sessions like the "Voices of Resistance Power" and learning from the likes of Jorge Aguilar with the Food & Water Action Fund. As for me, I attended, as many working group sessions as I could and listened to as many of conference speakers as I could but no way could I get to everything or hear everything I wanted to hear. However, I did manage to wake up early Sunday morning to attend the "Our Movement Moment: Beyond Neo-Liberalism and Trumpism." I particularly liked Linda Sarsour from the Arab American Association who made a point of reminding us to use everyday language, language that people could understand, language that Trump used, simple, easy to understand language like "Make America Great Again." She was right when she said that many of the voters that progressives need to reach dont have a college education and dont have an hour or so to spare for you or I to explain to them what "neo-liberalism" means. The Summit, as far as I could ascertain, was heavily weighted to reforming the Democratic Party on the East Coast and West Coast. Very little was said about the rest of the country and what we should do in deep red states, like Texas, where I live. When I got a chance to button-hole Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal after she spoke at one of the working group sessions, "Transforming the Democratic Party," I asked her this question. What kind of strategy do those of us in deep Red States use? Her response, "I dont know, you have a better idea than I do as to what needs to be done." I also spent a considerable amount of my time just mingling with people, introducing myself and listening to why they were at the Summit. I must have met and talked to a least 200 people over the course of the 2-day event and this is what I came away with. Keeping in mind that I spoke to less than 5% of the attendees, maybe even less, without exception none of them was up to the task of transforming the Democratic Party. Every one of them wanted to form a 3rd party. Whether it was joining the Green Party or the Peoples Party or forming a new party, it didnt really seem to matter to any of them. What mattered to them was electing progressives to public office and they just didnt see the Democratic Party willing to do that. That general feeling, spending the time and energy to transform the Democratic Party was a waste of time, seemed to be confirmed by my conversations with the individuals I met who had actually run for political office like me. All of us were inspired to run by Bernie Sanders last year and all of us had the same story to tell. The Democratic Party didnt left a finger to support us. Those of us in Red States all agreed, at least in the short-term, we needed to run progressive independents, like Bernie Sanders, instead of looking to the Democratic Party for institutional support. Now, on a more personal note, I found myself being constantly stopped and questioned by Summit staff asking to see my entrance badge. They were all young and their attitude was, to say the least, very hostile. My guess is that it was because they saw this old guy (Im 64) wearing a Vietnam-era veteran cap and they must have thought I was some type of alt-right subversive nut-job looking to disrupt the conference. It is unfortunate but I understand their caution and concern. In conclusion, Id like to say I was totally impressed by all the excitement and energy of the Summit. I also have only a few suggestions for next years Summit. First, a working group session focused on organizing veterans. We are a powerful force. We just need to develop strategies on how to reach them and bring them into the progressive movement. Second, I would like to see more, a lot more, time and energy placed on developing and implementing strategy in Red States. Looking to transform the Democratic Party on the East coast and West coast is fine but the real heavy lifting is going to be transforming the Democratic Party in those deep Red States like Texas. Third and perhaps the most important, is that I would like to see a working group session on generational cooperation. The Summit was overwhelming packed with young people and that is what it was all about, what it should be about, getting the under-30 folks fired up and ready for the battles to come. However, the real power, I believe, lies in generational cooperation, that is what the alt-right, and Republicans fear the most, the two most progressive group of voters in America today, the ex-hippies and millennials getting together, sharing ideas and strategy. If we ever got together, learned from each other, we could and would change the United States forever. UPDATE: Tom Withdraws Tom sent me a note yesterday telling me he had withdrawn as a candidate for 2018 for the seat occupied by Lamar Smith. It's a crowded race with lots of candidates, many of them pretty bad. We like Derrick Crowe . Tom has endorsed Rixi Melton. In 2016, Tom had he managed to do something no one else has been able to do in over 30 years-- he managed to drop Lamar Smith's percentage vote total to 56.9%, the lowest of his career. In addition, Wakelys campaign garnered more votes in 2016 than any Democrat in the State of Texas running against an incumbent congressional Republican. I entered the 2016 Congressional campaign on the heels of Senator Bernie Sanders bid to secure the 2016 Democratic Party nomination for President," he wrote to his supporters. "When Bernie lost the Texas primary, I was inclined to drop out of the race. However, I ultimately decided that I could best serve the progressive movement by running as a Movement candidate and I feel I accomplished what I set out to do. To demonstrate that a non-politician running a progressive campaign can move the needle. The fact that there are now 5 candidates running in the Democratic primary proves that the people in the 21st Congressional District were receptive to my message of Medicare for All and that the best way to create jobs and save our environment at the same time is to move from a fossil fuel economy to a renewal energy economy... [T]he question for me is, which of the remaining Democratic primary candidates has the best shot of winning the general election. In my opinion, that candidate is Rixi Melton. Like me, Rixi is not a politician. She never worked in DC or for the Democratic Party. We all are sick and tired of establishment politics and establishment economics. As Senator Bernie Sanders has repeatedly said, the Democratic Party model and strategy is a failure. It needs fundamental change and I believe that Rixi is the only candidate capable of doing that. I therefore urge all of my supporters, volunteers and donors to consolidate around the one candidate I truly believe can win the general election and that person is Rixi Melton." -DWT Two women sit at the telephone switchboard in Green River in 1950. Lily Tomlin's Ernestine the Operator was comedic gold on Rowan and Martin's "Laugh-In," which ran 1969-1973. If you don't remember it, look it up on YouTube and return to a simpler and funnier time. The character is based on the many hard-working woman employed as operators who made the telephone system work in the days before computer switching. The telephone systems in Sweetwater County had such operators, though not as snarky as Ernestine. I have been unable to find a date for the beginning of local phone systems, but an educated guess would put it at before the turn of the century. Ca... Sentenced to 40-80 years in prison A man who pleaded no contest to stabbing another man to death in Rock Springs will serve a long prison sentence unless he wins his appeal. Charles K. Carter, 28, of North Carolina, who was charged with first-degree murder after he stabbed another man in front of the Rock Springs Loaf N Jug on Foothill Boulevard, appeared in the Third District Court of Judge Nena James at a sentencing hearing. In exchange for his no contest plea, the charge was reduced to second-degree murder and he was given a 40 to 80 year prison sentence with credit given for 337 days of pre-sentence confinement. When a p... Republican leaders in the state House and Senate have nearly reached agreement on a budget for the next two years and could give it their final blessing as early as Tuesday. Were close, trying to reach an agreement this afternoon or sometime tomorrow, state Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Greensboro) said Thursday. If not today, Im certain it will be sometime tomorrow. Hardister chairs the House Capital Appropriations Committee and has acted as a conduit between the rank and file members and the chairs of the legislative committees during negotiations, he said. The chairs of major House and Senate committees spent the last two weeks working out differences in their chambers separately adopted versions of the 2017-18 spending plan. House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) said late Thursday afternoon that House conferees had sent our last offer over to the Senate and they are reviewing it. Although both houses are led by Republicans and each agreed to spend $22.9 billion in the budgets first year, their leaders crafted documents that differed on dozens of line items and policy choices, as well as on the size and particulars of state employee and teacher pay raises. Hardister, who also serves as House majority whip, declined to discuss the specifics of how the ensuing negotiations have played out. He said that several issues remained in flux Thursday so it would not be proper to discuss the process until all are resolved and a final document is ready for public scrutiny. Budget negotiations have been supervised by chairs of the major, appropriations committees. The process will result in a conference report that will have to be released for public review for two days, and then approved in two votes on separate days. That means that if legislators reach consensus by todays end, the report could be put out for public review over the weekend, and a final report adopted Monday and readopted Tuesday. Hardister said the budget negotiations have been meticulous. His area encompassed millions of dollars in capital spending for university construction projects around the state, asbestos removal in a major government building in Raleigh, and improvements at such sites as the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has been critical of both GOP-led spending plans, saying that they are too stingy in such areas as education spending and too generous with tax cuts. Whatever the two chambers come up with, Cooper could veto it. But Republicans have large enough majorities in both the House and Senate that they could override any such rejection. A Kansas abortion clinic that was among the first in the country to open after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade has been inundated with patients. Some drive 10 hours or more to get there, coming from Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and even Louisiana. But thats only if they can get an appointment. Planned Parenthood clinics in the state, including this newest one, are only able to take about 10% to 15% of the patients seeking abortions. Kansas is one of the few states in the region still providing abortions in the wake of the court's ruling. Alex Wong / Getty Images Attorney General George Jepsens office is joining a multistate probe into the marketing practices of opioid drugmakers, with Connecticut home to one of the largest in Purdue Pharma in Stamford. Jepsen did not specify any companies by name, citing the ongoing and sensitive nature of the investigation in a Thursday statement announcing his participation. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GREENWICH A local group wants Greenwichs Board of Selectmen to support the Paris Agreement on climate change. Judd Cohen from Indivisible Greenwich on Wednesday handed First Selectman Peter Tesei a letter asking the selectmen to sign what is known as the Mayors Climate Letter, a document created after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. was pulling out of the international climate change agreement. Its important for as many people and governments to sign onto this as possible, Cohen said on Thursday. Climate change is everyones concern. Were a coastal community and were an important community in the country. Our voice matters. By signing the letter, Greenwich would agree to be part of ongoing efforts to meet the agreements goals to fight the effects of climate change and to put policies in place to hold any increases in global average temperature to 2 degrees Celsius. Nearly 200 countries have signed the agreement. Tesei has generally resisted the call to involve Greenwichs government in national political debates. The election of Trump has seen the rise of groups like Indivisible Greenwich, which have clamored for more local action on national issues. The issues in Greenwich are what weve been elected to focus on, Tesei has said. On Thursday, however, he said, I am receptive to the subject. He told Cohen he has spoken with town Conservation Director Denise Savageau and would be reviewing the letter before determining whether the town would consider signing it. Greenwich has been involved in several green initiatives, Tesei said, including purchasing hybrid vehicles for the towns fleet, using LED lights in town buildings and participation as a Clean Energy Community. As a CEC, the more Greenwich and its residents move toward clean energy usage and energy efficiency, the more the town will be eligible for state grants and other incentives. On Thursday, Savageau also stressed the towns commitment to clean energy. This is an issue that matters to us and we are moving forward already on energy efficiency and clean energy, Savageau said. The commitment is already in place on that level and we take it very seriously. What happens with this particular letter, though, is up to the Board of Selectmen to decide. The letter was addressed to all three selectmen; Republican John Toner could not be reached for comment, Democrat Drew Marzullo said he wanted to see the issue taken up by the board. President Trump's decision and his reasoning was deceptive and very harmful for the environment, Marzullo said. It was bad policy, bad politics and was not legally binding. The threat to global warming on the least-developed countries is real and will result in catastrophic consequences. The U.S., by abdicating its responsibility, will now result in local towns like Greenwich to do what it can and reaffirm its clean energy commitment. I support such action. Cohen said he was hopeful there would be action taken by the town. If we turn our back on global climate change, we are turning our backs on this generation and future generations, Cohen said. The letter from Indivisible Greenwich stressed the importance of people and governments standing up at local and state levels. Connecticut, though Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy, has already signed onto the effort, as has Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and major corporations. The Mayors Climate Letter has more than 1,200 signatures and pledges to continue to support climate action to meet the Paris agreement. This is not a partisan issue, Indivisibles letter said. Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike are concerned for our environment and support the accord. Indivisible Greenwich is the local chapter of a national, non-partisan group formed to fight what it says are the Trump administrations attacks on our democratic institutions as well as actions to damage the environment and diminish Americas global standing. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD It may not be surprising that the owners of a 185-year-old home in North Stamford recently acquired a century-old newspaper in rural Vermont. For Ray and Kim Small, a historic farmhouse nestled on a rolling green parcel of land in Old Long Ridge Village is another testament to their affinity for relics. I like older buildings with character and I like fountain pens and I like putting ink on paper, said Ray Small. Kim Small grew up hunting for antiques around Fairfield County with her mother and grandmother, and her old-world trophies adorn the circa-1832 home on Rock Rimmon Road, the most prominent of which is a hand-carved carousel horse in the living room. That horse was built in 1906 by a man named (Gustav) Dentzel ... he was one of the most prominent carousel builders of the time, she said of her wooden steed. I got him when I was 10 years old and there is a photo of me throwing my arms around him with excitement. Perhaps the most significant antique the couple owns is its 128-year-old weekly newspaper, The Hardwick Gazette, which serves the Northeast Kingdom town of Hardwick, Vt. This latest adventure takes the Smalls out of their beloved North Stamford home, which they have listed for $550,000 with the Jodi Boxer Realty Group at Keller Williams. Its bittersweet, Ray Small said of the home he and his wife have owned for only three years. Our intention was to be there a lot longer, but our Vermont adventure is of course terrific. Love of home The two-bedroom, 1,720-square-foot home at 1377 Rock Rimmon Rd. has been loved by many an owner. A photo of the original owners still hangs in an upstairs bedroom. It is an heirloom passed down from owner to owner. The 185-year-old structure shows its age gracefully with exposed wood beams in the ceilings, ornate mill work around doorways and sturdy wide-plank floors throughout the home. It was once part of a village now commemorated at the historic Old Long Ridge Village in North Stamford. The Smalls believe their home was once a dairy farm, as theyve found old cow bells in the yard. A home across the street was once the pub with sables, down the road was the shoemaker and at the other end of Rock Rimmon Road was a slaughter house. All of these structures are now homes in the historic neighborhood. The couple that lived in the Smalls house before them took it down to the studs to do a complete historic revival, updating all amenities and the utilities. Its historic but everything works and nothing is falling apart, Kim Small said. It has been a very low-maintenance house for us. Still, the Smalls added a small touch of their own, enclosing a back porch to create a sunroom. The renovation was done with care, as it features the same wide-plank flooring throughout the rest of the home and windows that imitate the originals. The nature and integrity of this house have been loved by so many people, Kim Small said. This house has a lot of personality. nnaughton@stamfordadvocate.com; @noranaughton Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Grimsby Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news This is the moment an angry Audi driver blocks a lorry after a road rage incident on a roundabout near Grimsby. The driver, local security firm boss Mark Elliott, is seen pulling in front of the lorry as it negotiates the new roundabout on the A160 at South Killingholme near Immingham. He forces the lorry to stop behind his Audi convertible before gesticulating angrily at the driver in footage captured on the HGVs dashcam. (Image: Idiot UK Drivers Exposed) Mr Elliott, owner of Kempton Security, was contacted by the Telegraph after the incident went viral online. He said: Nobodys shown what happened before then. Everyone keeps sticking up for the lorry driver, but nobody has seen the scene that takes place first. People need to see both sides of the story." Asked if he wanted to explain his version of events, Mr Elliott declined, saying: Im not interested. I don't want to comment. The incident, last Thursday afternoon, has attracted widespread comment after being posted online with some criticising the Audi driver and some questioning whether the lorry driver may have been at fault. (Image: Idiot UK Drivers Exposed) The dashcam only shows the lorry pulling put onto the roundabout and then slowly making its way around the inside lane. Mr Elliotts Audi then appears on the outside lane and pulls across into the inside lane ahead of the lorry. Mr Elliott then stops his Audi a few yards ahead of the lorry, bringing it to a halt halfway around the roundabout, before leaning over the back of his seat and gesticulating angrily. A woman in the passenger seat can also be seen looking back at the lorry. The Audi then drives forward very slowly before stopping again and Mr Elliot appears to take a photograph of the lorry and driver over his shoulder before he drives off and the footage stops. (Image: Idiot UK Drivers Exposed) Writing on the Idiot Drivers Exposed site, the lorry driver wrote: 'Remember HGVs cannot pull off fast. Idiot Audi driver comes onto roundabout at high speed after I've set off (which was clear) and blasts his horn at my nearside. 'He then comes around inside and brake checks me! He then gets his phone and takes a picture of me whilst he's driving.' But another poster wrote: Sorry, we need more info before we all make assumptions. In my experience lorry drivers pull out and do so knowing the cars will stop for them. We don't know how fast the Audi driver was going and we don't know if the lorry pulled out dangerously. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to FREE email alerts from the Northern Agenda Grimsby's Liberal Democrat election candidate Steve Beasant has set out who he thinks should replace former party leader Tim Farron, following his "shock" resignation last night. Councillor Beasant, who battled it out for the Great Grimsby seat in last week's general election - winning 954 votes - has said he is "leaning towards" backing East Dunbartonshire MP, Jo Swinson. It comes after Tim Farron quit his role as party leader over personal conflicts of interests between his personal beliefs and politics. Farron, who succeeded Nick Clegg in 2015 after the party's election collapse, is an openly faithful Christian and in a statement, said he is "torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader". He conceded that he should have dealt "more wisely" with questions relating to his faith during the election campaign. Councillor Beasant has admitted that he was "shocked and saddened" by Tim Farron's resignation, describing him as a leader who "achieved a great deal" and put in place the necessary structure for the party to "move forward". He said: "I supported Tim during the election campaign and although some people feel we didn't do well, we learnt how to target seats. "We have gone up from eight MPs to 12. It takes time to come back from the position we were in back in 2015, when we were in one hell of a place. "I am very confident now after being saddened last night. Now we are in a better position than we were in 2015 but there's a lot more to do. "I didn't see anyone calling for him to go but I understand his dilemma. It's difficult for someone in that position to be a front line politician." Councillor Beasant, the North East Lincolnshire Council ward representative for East Marsh, went on to say that any one of four potential candidates to succeed Tim Farron would be a "really good choice". As well as Ms Swinson, he has backed one of former ministers Sir Vince Cable, Sir Ed Davey and Norman Lamb to do a good job as the party's leading politician. "Any one of those four would make a good leader", added councillor Beasant. He said: "I would welcome Jo Swinson if she stands. She is young, emerging and hits all of the buttons. "I haven't quite made my mind up yet but I am leaning towards Jo. (Image: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images) "Vince is great with the economy and Norman Lamb is very good with mental health and the health service. "There are four very good potential candidates for us." Councillor Beasant's tip, Ms Swinson, was first elected at the 2005 general election. Like many Lib Dem MPs, she suffered defeat in the 2015 general election to Scottish National Party candidate John Nicolson, but won back the seat from Nicolson last week. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Grimsby Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news International coffee chain Starbucks has confirmed that it will be opening its new store in Cleethorpes this autumn. The area has not had a Starbucks since the chain left Freshney Place in 2013, and it has now been granted a 10-year lease to move into a premises at Meridian Point, with 10 new jobs available. As reported last month, the store will be located next to the Magical Castle. (Image: Rick Byrne) A Starbucks spokesperson said today: "We look forward to opening a new Starbucks store in partnership with Soul Coffee in Cleethorpes at the Meridian Point. "The new store will open in Autumn, bringing 10 fantastic new job opportunities and the highest quality coffee to the local community." Acting on behalf of Maltgrade Ltd, Leeds-based property consultancy Sanderson Weatherall said that the company was "delighted" to have secured another national brand for the park. Peter Heron, retail agent at Sanderson Weatherall, said: We are delighted to have secured another national brand for Meridian Point. Starbucks will be a fantastic addition to the park, which already benefits from a collection of leading retail and leisure brands, as well as being surrounded by major tourist attractions." The exact date of the opening is yet to be confirmed by the company. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Grimsby Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news Theyre the heroes of the horror of Grenfell Tower, the scores of firefighters who continue to work their way through the smouldering tower block after battling to save lives and bring the blaze under control. And there has been a huge outpouring of respect for the men and women of the London Fire Brigade as they continued to toil two days after the blaze started. The first firefighters were on the scene within six minutes and tried in vain to stop the blaze from spreading. Forty fire engines and more than 200 firefighters and officers were called to the scene shortly before 1am on Wednesday. (Image: Getty Images) But now it is emerging they were always fighting a losing battle because of the speed new cladding outside the building caught fire and then spread turning the 27-storey tower into an inferno. So far the death toll has been confirmed at 12, but it will rise and firefighters are currently combing the building each floor and flat at a time, despite the danger of collapse. A tweet by stand-up comedian Joe Heenan caught the publics imagination when he said: It's time to teach boys & girls the guys that kick a ball about a pitch for millions of pounds a year shouldn't be their heroes alongside a picture of exhausted firefighter resting at the foot of the building. Humberside Fire & Rescue's deputy chief fire officer Chris Blacksell tweeted: "This is such a horrific incident, the scale of which is difficult to comprehend. It will be in the minds of all the #firefamily" London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton confirmed that multiple firefighters have suffered minor injuries battling the blaze. (Image: Getty Images) Stories have also emerged of the bravery of firefighters, paramedics, and police, who worked through the night to rescue residents. Witnesses on the night of the fire reported firefighters passing people fleeing the blaze on the seventh floor heading instead for the heart of the firwe and trying to clear as many people from the building as possible. (Image: Getty Images) Police also used riot shields to protect firefighters after huge chunks of burning rubble started to collapse on to them. By around 9.30am yesterday, eight hours after the fire started in a lower flat, the crews were able to to subdue what was a horrific blaze. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now Because their ladders cannot reach the upper floors the fire crews fought their way up a floor at a time, only keeping a one floor firewall against the ferocious blaze above. We have more newsletters Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Grimsby Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news High quality artwork by Healing School pupils has been recognised in a prestigious local competition, organised by Grimsby Havelok Rotary Club. The annual Young Painter of the Year competition saw some of the winners included students from Healing School; Amelia French, Year 8, who won the Key Stage 3 category, Lily Goodwin, Year, 7, who was runner up and Ajoa Agyeman and Rebekah Johnson; both in year 10 who received certificates of commendation. The pupils work had already been chosen to be displayed at the Fishing Heritage Centre in Grimsby, as part of the prize. The winners were announced at a ceremony hosted by the Mayor of North East Lincolnshire, Councillor Ron Shepherd, at Grimsby Town Hall. He also presented the prizes. Healing School principal Mark Knapton said: "Id like to congratulate all our students who entered the competition and the staff who encouraged them. "They produced high quality levels of work, recognised by the judges." The competition, now in its fifth year, was kindly sponsored by Dong Energy. We have more newsletters Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Grimsby Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news A woman was injured on Freeman Street after attempting to cause damage to the window of a business. The incident occurred Sunday, June 11, around 6.30pm, on the Grimsby Street. An ambulance was called to the scene and the woman was treated for her injuries. It is believed that it took place outside of Cottees Bar, at the Riby Square end of the the street. A Humberside Police spokesperson said: "We were called shortly after 6.30pm on Sunday, June 11 with reports of a woman causing damage to a window at a business on Freeman Street, Grimsby. "We attended and the woman was taken to hospital by the ambulance service for treatment to an injury sustained in the incident." LaRay Reed says shes after changes in policy, not money. An ex-employee is suing McDonalds for sexual harassment and discrimination, claiming that she got mocked and groped by co-workers and barred from using both of the restrooms because shes transgender. According to her complaint, LaRay Reed spent six months at a Michigan McDonalds in 2015 which she alleges was plenty of time to be insulted as a boy slash girl, told to use an extra bathroom that doubled as a storage closet, and eventually fired. BuzzFeed News lists some of the claims in her suit, and what Reed supposedly endured is appalling: Co-workers referred constantly to her anatomy, she says, and made remarks like, I would still have sex with you either way, while reaching for her body. A manager allegedly told a co-worker to grab her between the legs (instructions this crew member is said to have followed). Another time, a co-worker was asked to investigate whether she stood up or sat down in the bathroom. I had never had a problem using the ladies room until this day, she told BuzzFeed. When I came out the restroom, the manager told me I could no longer use either of the restrooms in the lobby. She was assigned to an out-of-use toilet in the back of the store, which she was also expected to clean herself. Her lawsuit claims she reported the behavior, but management did nothing. Toward the end, she says she tried dressing more like a guy in hopes of making her job more comfortable. Reeds case has gotten support from Fight for $15, the workers rights movement thats at war with McDonalds over its pay and work conditions. The group claims her allegations mirror complaints filed by other employees, and demonstrate a widespread pattern of sexual harassment, discrimination, and abuse against LGBTQ workers. McDonalds didnt issue a comment, but the burger giant holds fast to the theory that its not a joint employer, that is, not legally responsible for anything franchisees do, good or bad. That argument is being litigated in court right now, but last week President Trumps Labor Department withdrew Obama-era guidelines that said corporate chains are in fact jointly responsible, giving McDonalds claim more weight. Weve already heard many rumors about Apples next iPhone and whether it will support some kind of wireless charging. Todays report comes from Nikkei Asian Review who says that the CEO of Wistron, Robert Hwang, said: Assembly process for the previous generations of [iPhones] have not changed much, though new features like waterproof and wireless charging now require some different testing, and waterproof function will alter the assembly process a bit. This is why we still need to be skeptical with reports like these. If we wanted to speculate on exactly what Hwang said, its a possibility that he was not even referring to current iPhones when he said previous generations of iPhones in the above quote. After all, Wistron does manufacture the iPhone SE in India, which has neither wireless charging nor waterproofing. Anyway, well surely hear more contradicting reports up until hours before Apples actual announcement. All eyes will be on Apple this year as it announces the companys tenth anniversary of the original iPhone released back in 2007. Source | Via Weve already seen the Moto E4 and E4 Plus launch just a couple of days ago, but what we havent seen was these press renders of the Moto E4 with Verizons branding on them. While neither Moto nor Verizon have confirmed availability with the carrier, these renders are pretty strong proof that Big Red might, in fact, be selling the Moto E4 alongside the Moto Z4 Play and the Moto Z2 Force, expected later this summer. The renders show the Moto E4 in black and gold color options. Though, so far weve only caught word of the Moto E4 and not the E4 Plus. While the E4 Plus will make it to Amazon in the states as an unlocked device, theres no word of either device making it to US carriers other than this announcement. Verizon Moto E4 in black and gold The US Moto E4 will have a 5-inch 720p display and powered by a Snapdragon 427 with 2GB of RAM. Theres also a 2,800 mAh battery, which should last fairly long considering the CPU and 720p display. Theres also an 8MP camera and 16GB of expandable storage. Meanwhile, the US Moto E4 Plus has a larger 5.5-inch screen with the same resolution and a higher res 13MP camera and a huge 5,000 mAh battery. Other aforementioned specs are the same on the E4 Plus. Via Haiti - FLASH : Shooting at the National Penitentiary Wednesday at midday, several shots were heard at the National Penitentiary, spreading some panic in the city center of Port-au-Prince, fueled by rumor on social networks suggesting an escape of prisoners. However, Commissioner Jean Gardy Muscadin, in charge of the Directorate of Prison Administration, formally denied the evasion information evoking the beginning of a prisoner uprising following a general search. According to our information, detainees were gathered in the prison courtyard to recover among others, of mobile phones, which would have provoked the anger of the prisoners who threw stones and other objects on guards. In order to prevent the rising movement did not turn into a riot, the agents of the penitentiary used their weapons and fired in the air several times to bring order back among angry inmates. Several light casualties were reported, victims of a stone throw among the agents. Following this incident, specialized units of the National Police of Haiti were deployed in the zone according to testimonies of residents. PI/ TB/ HaitiLibre Haiti - FLASH : Reminder to the candidates that failed to the bac The Ministry of Education, reminds the general public, the educational community and the candidates concerned in particular, that the second session of the baccalaureate examinations for those that failed will be held from 21 to 24 August 2017. To this end, candidate registrations already under way since 5 June continue until June 20, 2017 of the same month in all the Departmental Directorates of Education (DE). All candidates who are registered in Terminale (philo) are entitled to take part in these exams. Documents to be submitted at the time of registration : - Card of participation in past exams or certificate of MENFP; - Two recent passport photos; - Participation fee of 750 gourdes per candidate. The Ministry wishes to recall once again that candidates that failed can not participate in the session of new candidates scheduled for July 2017 and that they must register for the session of those taht failed. This decision responds to the need to have better management of the flow of candidates for the exams of the bac and to find the Centers of exams most appropriate for the passing of the exams, specifies the Ministry. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... Arrest of the Deputy Commissioner of Government The Public Prosecutor's Office in Port-au-Prince arrested the deputy of the government commissioner Ronald Pierre, accused of selling a weapon belonging to the offense of a case filed at the public prosecutor's office. BRH injects 10 million US The Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) informs banks, stockbrokers and all other financial institutions regulated by the Central Bank as well as the general public, that it will inject US $ 10 million into the foreign exchange market from 14 June. Strike announced for the beginning of the school year On Tuesday in a press conference, Josue Merilien, the General Coordinator of the National Union of Haitian Normals (UNNOH) announced that no agreement has been reached with the government and consequently a second phase of mobilization of teachers Is scheduled for the reopening of classes in September. Visit of the site of the future village of the diaspora This week Stephanie Auguste, the Minister of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE) went to the field to assess the site where the future village of the diaspora will be built. Remember that the 75 carreaux of land available are a donation from the Town Hall of Cabaret. Vote of the amending budget soon The analysis of the project is almost completed in the Lower House. In the Senate, commissionaires met this week with the holders of several ministries. The Minister of Education reiterates Pierre Josue Agenor Cadet, the Minister of National Education, reiterated his promise to integrate the trainee teachers from the Ecole Normale Superieure into the education system in response to their demands. HL/ HaitiLibre Have you ever found yourself saying, someday I am going to do something. Eventually that changes to, I always wanted to do that. Maybe its time to act on some of these things, before you just cant. In the mid... Published on 2017/06/15 | Source Added episode 8 captures for the Korean drama "Fight For My Way" (2017) Advertisement Directed by Kim Dong-hwi, Lee Na-jeong Written by Lim Sang-choon Network : KBS With Park Seo-joon, Kim Ji-won, Ahn Jae-hong, Song Ha-yoon, Son Byung-ho, Kim Ye-ryung,... 20 episodes - Mon, Tue 22:00 Synopsis A drama about a man and a woman who live a life with nothing to show for. Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/05/22 More May 17, 1962June 12, 2017 Cindy Danielson passed away on June 12, 2017, after her short, hard-fought battle with cancer. She was born in Billings, Montana, on May 17, 1962, and then she spent her early years in Deer Lodge, Montana. In 1978, she moved to Watford City, North Dakota, when she met the love of her life, Gus Danielson. Cindy, Gus, and her son, Shane, moved to Elko, Nevada, in November 1988. Cindy was employed as an animal control officer in Elko for 22 years. She retired in 2014. Not liking the cold weather, Cindy, Gus, and their three dogs and cat became snowbirds and went to Arizona for the winter months. She enjoyed walking and four-wheeling in the desert. She loved traveling to Texas and beyond, where they befriended many. Cindys greatest joy in life was spending time with her granddaughters, Sierra and Jessie. She enjoyed animals and helped find homes for many stray dogs and cats. She loved socializing with the many people she met and especially loved riding horses with her friends. She trained her golden retrievers in Search and Rescue. Cindys passion for her golden retrievers (Charlie, Glacier, and Tank) was immeasurable. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lyle and Elsie Sandbak, and parents-in-law, Clarence and Helen Danielson. She is survived by her husband, Gus; son, Shane; daughter-in-law, Amy; and her two special granddaughters, Sierra and Jessica; sisters, Linda (Mick) Solberg, Pam (Bill) Combs, Cherie Sandbak; her brother Denny (Diane) Sandbak; nieces, nephews, and all of Guss family. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials in Cindys name to the Carson Tahoe Cancer Center. Universal may be trying to recapture its horror movie throne of the 1930s, but I dont think it succeeded. Tom Cruise plays Nick Morton, an opportunistic Army sergeant, who spends his time looking for artifacts to sell on the black market. He, along with his buddy, Chris Vail, portrayed by Jake Johnson, help release an evil mummy from her tomb. This sounds like a plot that could lead to a scary or at least an interesting film, but it doesnt. First the movie doesnt start off well. The audience is shown Crusader knights burying one of their own with a ruby, then it jumps to the tomb in modern times. The movie seems to start over by telling the audience about the girl who would become the mummy and then begins again with the introduction of Nick in Iraq. Jumping between all these different time periods just seems to make the beginning of this film chaotic rather than attention-grabbing. The best part of this the movie is the villain, Ahmanet, played by Sofia Boutella. She is gorgeous and menacing all at the same time. Although during several parts of the film I hoped she would win, because I liked her more than the humans she was battling. Unlike Rick OConnell in 1999s The Mummy, I didnt find Nick to be a likable character. Rick was a rascal and a thief, but Brendan Fraser made him very charming. Cruises Nick was dodgy and annoying. It also didnt help that I didnt believe the love story between Nick and Jenny, played by Annabelle Wallis. She was fine in her role, I just didnt believe there was any chemistry between the actors. The movie continues through its murky story by introducing Henry, portrayed by Russell Crowe. He is the head of an organization that wants to get rid of evil in the world, but he also is a famous fictional character pulled from the 1800s. The movie doesnt really explain why a Victorian Era character is in this film, except to introduce him so people will go see his solo movie when it comes to theaters. While watching this film I started to think the writers must have decided on what to put in next because the Magic 8-Ball told them to. All I imagined is the writers around a table asking questions like, should we show a skull with vampire teeth, and then the 8-Ball stating, outlook good. The special effects in the film are great and the action is good, but the plot is so jumbled and the characters arent that likable. The Mummy is rated PG-13 for violence, action and scary images, and for some suggestive content and partial nudity. The movie is 110 minutes long. Rating for The Mummy 2 popcorns out of 5 We talk to Greg Philips, CEO of DISC Profiles Australia, about what leaders should and shouldnt be doing. What are the key attributes a leader must develop in 2017? Despite opinions varying slightly, leadership specialists generally agree that todays key attributes are emotional intelligence, effective communication skills, confidence, a positive attitude, intuition, delegation skills, being approachable and being authentic. Its interesting that these attributes tend to be behavioural traits rather than formal skills. I believe that leaders must understand what people expect from a leader, why people behave the way they do, that not everyone has the same motivators and why different people have different reactions. While there are many aspects to being a great leader, every leadership attribute can be defined within just two categories - skills or behavioural. By skills I refer to things like time management, running effective meetings, managing P&Ls, etc. By behavioural, I refer to things as they are perceived by others, that we might call qualities, such as persona, confidence, consistency of behaviour, positive manner, etc. Typically, leaders today have the required skills however many lack the required behaviours. I have often asked people, Who are some leaders you admire? I then ask, What is it you admire about these leaders? The response always includes words like integrity, trustworthy, honest, reasonable, confidence, attitude, resilience, consistency, perseverance and approachable. Note that all the responses are behavioural traits. There is a great lesson here. If you want to be an influencer at any level, people will respond to the way you behave, not how clever you are! The key attributes, therefore, that a leader must have in 2017 are the correct behaviours. Are there any common mistakes leaders make in their goal to become effective leaders? Common mistakes include not being hands on, misunderstanding motivation (of others), not walking the walk, poor communication, lack of focus on training for others and their own personal development. The biggest mistake is underestimating the high cost of low employee engagement. Research results clearly demonstrate the very high cost to business of disengaged employees. A Right Management Consultants survey found that two-thirds of employees are not engaged in their jobs. Research by the Gallup Organisation found that 75% of workers are disengaged at work. Another national survey of employees found that 85% of people said they could work harder in their job. More than half claimed they could double their effectiveness if they wanted to. This research begs a final question, When will leaders get the message? A question for another time For years HR and corporate affairs teams have fought to keep employee social media activities under wraps. In the ongoing war for talent, what would be gained if they stopped? Roger Christie investigates Its nearing 15 years since LinkedIn launched and began changing the way organisations and professionals could connect within the global talent market. With over 500 million members across 200 countries, it has grown to become a source of hope and promise in the ongoing war for talent attraction and retention. The talent market has changed dramatically in that time. Yet, all this time on, how would you say your organisation actually manages this new world? Individual social media tools or platforms like LinkedIn represent just a fraction of that change which is better captured as a shift in our human desire to have greater choice, flexibility and autonomy in all we do but remain a popular choice to gain competitive edge because they are ready-made solutions. So, have you changed the way you attract and retain talent, or have you simply changed the tools you use? I would argue those organisations focusing on tools will fail in the war for talent as they seek technical band-aids to solve cultural challenges they were never designed to fix. Instead, considering how these cultural changes will influence someones decision to consider, join or leave an organisation is where the battle will be won, and where social plays a key role perhaps just not where youd think. Let me illustrate this divide between organisational practices and tools further via two opposing scenarios. If your organisation has a tools focus, its very likely this new world is being managed in a few ways. Firstly, youre still concerned about who has access to social media platforms, what they could communicate as a representative of your organisation, and the tools and policies required to manage that risk. Theres an immovable mindset to contain and control employee advocacy for the sake of corporate brand and reputation. In fact, rather than equipping and encouraging employees to share their own stories via social media channels, Asia-Pacific organisations would rather spend almost $12bn on social media advertising and control the message. The potential to reduce expenditure, let alone staff engagement and empowerment, is captured in Hootsuites recent The Social Executive report: content shared by employees at every level of the organisation gets eight times more engagement than corporate content and is reshared 25 times more frequently. As to converting those interactions into real business results? Employee social media activities convert seven times more frequently than other leads. For the past 15 years, HR and corporate affairs teams have largely focused on how best to control and restrict access to social media platforms, and how to manage the ever-blurring lines between personal and professional. How much more powerful could your organisation be in the war for talent if you viewed social as an opportunity to review traditional organisation practices and structures? Recruitment costs, brand profiling, EOC stature, grassroots advocacy, marketing expenditure all these factors stand to benefit. So, consider the alternative for a moment. If your organisation understands the need to evolve existing organisation practices and structures in response to this new world, you already recognise the very activities others are trying to supress are in fact among the most attractive and valuable resources your employees can offer. Your organisation is committed to resolving strategic challenges in a talent-short market, and view social tools and technologies as means to execute strategy. You believe staff have an important role to play in future-proofing your workforce, and seek to provide training and enablement across teams to build confidence and competence with these new tools, technologies and practices. To be clear, Im not referring to executive, sales or product evangelist roles here. Im referring to everyone all employees. As all employees with digital and social competencies the desire to use digital and social tools and technologies to network, learn new skills, share new ideas, collaborate with others suddenly provide your organisation with whole new streams of value away from their day-to-day duties. Isnt that a force worth unlocking? Read part 2 of this series here About the author Roger Christie is founder and managing director of Propel a consultancy that helps organisations get better business outcomes with social by aligning social strategy with organisation goals. ELKO Rick Shepherd, a District 2 Democratic congressional candidate in 2016, will present his ideas and plans for the 2018 Nevada Congressional race to the Elko County Democratic Central Committee during its June 20, meeting at 6 p.m. in the Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital classroom. All Elko residents are welcome to attend the presentation. Access to the room is through the hospitals cafeteria. Shepherd studied at the University of Nevada Reno and taught classes in computer technology at UNR beginning in 2001, according to information provided by the candidate. He is president and co-owner of Synux Technologies in Sparks, providing PC repairs, network consultation and other I.T. services. He considers himself a progressive along the lines of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who he supported. He is also calls himself an activist, having taken part in Occupy Wall Street and called on Nevada law enforcement agencies to rid themselves of racist officers during an NAACP meeting in Reno in July 2016. Shepherd is concerned about health care, climate change, education, the future of energy production and creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented residents. If elected, according to his website, rickshepherd.com, his first legislation would make ineligible for re-election all members of Congress in office at the time of a government shutdown. Supo on Wednesday estimated that the threat of a terrorist attack is higher than ever before in Finland due to the countrys increased visibility in jihadist propaganda and the ever-closer ties of counter-terrorism persons of interest to terrorist activities. The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) has raised its terror threat level to the second lowest level of elevated. The threat, it reminded, continues to be posed primarily by lone-wolf terrorists and small terrorist groups influenced by radical propaganda or larger terrorist organisations. Supo said it has identified approximately 350 individuals as counter-terrorism persons of interest, a number that represents an increase of roughly 80 per cent since 2012 and that is projected to continue growing as a consequence of radicalisation and the emergence and detection of new terrorist networks. Such persons of interest are believed to have more direct and serious links to terrorist activities and include a growing number of people who have either participated or expressed a willingness to participate in armed conflicts, or participated in terrorist training. Supos updated threat assessment indicates that some of the people who have left Finland to participate in armed conflicts in Iraq and Syria have risen to influential positions in, especially, the so-called Islamic State. Supo also revealed that is has become aware of more serious terrorism-related plans and projects in Finland. Finlands position has changed substantially, Pekka Hiltunen, a special researcher at Supo, summarised in a press conference according to Helsingin Sanomat. The country, he pointed out, was previously regarded as neutral and remained relatively unknown among terrorist organisations. Today, however, it is portrayed in jihadist propaganda, which is also disseminated in Finnish, as a country that is hostile towards the so-called Islamic State a fact that has increased the likelihood of an attack in Finland. Another factor contributing to the heightened threat level is the fact that terrorist organisations have widened the range of their possible targets. Efforts are made to direct attacks against all states and groups that are regarded as hostile. This increases the threat of attacks in Finland, writes Supo. The new four-tier terrorist threat scale was adopted to reflect the continuing changes in the operating environment of counter-terrorism, told Antti Pelttari, the director of Supo. The new scale, which measures the threat of a terrorist attack on a scale ranging from low to severe, will according to him enable Supo to inform people of the current threat level more clearly than before. Finland remains one of the safest countries in the world. Were doing everything we can to make sure the situation stays unchanged, he reminded on Wednesday. Supo issued its previous terrorist threat assessment in November, 2015. It at the time estimated that the threat of an isolated violent attack had increased but that the threat of an organised attack by a terrorist organisation remained low. The Police of Finland on Wednesday announced that it will step up its preparedness and increase its presence in public places and events due to the new terror threat assessment. The police are well-prepared also in light of the new assessment and wil continue their efforts to prevent terrorist attacks in close co-operation with Supo, as well as the Border Guard and Finnish Customs, assures Timo Kilpelainen, a superintendent at the National Police Board. The police will step up their efforts to maintain the situational picture, exchange information and gather criminal intelligence. Pre-trial investigations are launched to criminal plans we are and become aware of, he says in a press release. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Linda Manner Lehtikuva Ville Niinisto, the chairperson of the Green League, states that the government seems to take no issue with policies that increase inequalities as long as they are in dressed a tailor-made suit. The Finnish governments readiness to continue coalition co-operation with the newly-established New Alternative Parliamentary Group has been met with dismay by several members of the opposition. Minister of Finance Petteri] Orpo (NCP) and [Prime Minister Juha] Sipila (Centre) spoke yesterday about values and human rights, he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. Today they are prepared to continue in a government with someone who they have said has the same approach to immigration and human rights as Jussi Halla-aho, Sampo Terho. So much for those values. Niinisto also accused the two ruling parties, the Centre and the National Coalition, of being willing to compromise their values in order to push the much-discussed reform of social and health care services over the finish line. One will get its counties and the other the freedom of choice, he said. Li Andersson, the chairperson of the Left Alliance, similarly did little to mince her words in criticising the government. Juha Sipila, a man who has made a martyr out of Halla-aho and Team Halla-aho the second largest group in the opposition with access to five million euros in party subsidies. Only to ensure he has the opportunity to sell public well-being services to multinational corporations, she slammed. Sipila on Wednesday reminded that the future of the government now lies in the hands of the parliamentary groups. Weve discussed the process with constitutional experts, whose instructions indicate that if changes take place in the parliamentary basis without the government losing its majority while no changes take place in the government or the government programme, the matter can be decided by the parliamentary groups, he said. The Parliament, he added, will hopefully vote on its confidence in the new government as soon as later this week. The new coalition government would have a narrow majority in the Finnish Parliament, holding 106 of the 200 seats. Terho, however, has indicated that he is willing to consider new applications to join the proposed third member of the ruling coalition, the New Alternative Parliamentary Group. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi LAS VEGAS About 400 additional Spring Creek residents have been identified as being affected by water meter reading issues by Great Basin Water Co., joining more than 2,000 other customers who were overcharged for water usage in 2016. Great Basin revealed the issue prior to this weeks two-day hearing conducted by Public Utilities Commission of Nevada staff, the Attorney Generals Bureau of Consumer Protection and water company representatives. The PUCN could determine if residents are eligible for a refund for overcharges. The PUCN collected testimony to determine whether GBWC correctly identified customers affected by a rogue field technician who incorrectly read meters in 2016. GBWC claimed in their petition that the companys resolution of issues related to meter reading in the Spring Creek division is consistent with its tariff. The 400 additional customers were discovered last week, according to GBWC President Wendy Barnett. GBWC stated in a petition filed with the PUCN in January that the company experienced some issues with meter reading in Spring Creek in the summer and early fall of 2016. The unusually high October bills were the result of the utility charging customers for actual use that had occurred during the summer months, but not billed, explained the GBWC in the petition, adding that the company worked to resolve the issue with its customers. Witnesses were questioned Monday and Tuesday by PUCN regulatory staff, GBWC and representatives from the BCP. Among those testifying for GBWC were Vice President James Eason, Financial Planning and Analysis Manager Aleksey Dolinko, and Barnett. They were represented by attorney Laura Grainer. During cross-examination of BCP Senior Economist Patrick Morton, Grainer said the company is working to make sure the additional customers are included for reimbursement. The company is willing to continue to make adjustments where there is data to support that (appropriately), said Grainer. Morton agreed with Grainer, but said the changes from GBWC throughout the case bothered him. It seems to be constantly evolving, Morton said. It seems now that we are in the rebuttal stage and the company is trying to make its case. Morton said his concern was to identify the impacted customers and to make sure they were fairly reimbursed, further stating that April 2016 was the best starting point for refunds. The hearing comes about two months after about 200 customers gathered in the Spring Creek High School gym to air their grievances with the water company, describing experiences with billing and customer service that, according to some, left them frustrated with the GBWC. One of those customers who attended the meeting is retired utility executive and Great Basin College Foundation President Greg Brorby, who said he was impacted by the company last year. He explained in his comment posted on the docket that he was billed for using 195,420 gallons of water in October, while his household normally averaged about 59,860 gallons per month in June through October of 2016. Brorby investigated and found there were no leaks during either period, nor did we change our irrigation settings. After notifying the company of the discrepancy several times, he claimed the company corrected it on the sly without the courtesy of informing me that the bill was incorrect and that the billing had been updated. President Jessie Bahr thought this weeks hearing went well for Spring Creek customers. The PUCN staff and BCP really put in the time to understand the issues and express their continued concerns to the commission that there is likely more customers affected in this case, Bahr said. Overall, this is a step in the right direction to help our community deal with water issues we have been facing for years, Bahr added. The issue could be determined in a couple of months when the PUCN reviews and votes on a recommendation, said PUCN Public Information Officer Peter Kostes. A draft order is likely to be issued within the next two weeks, and then placed on an upcoming agenda meeting, said Kostes. Mourners console each other as Michael Keoghs coffin arrives at Saint Francis Xavier Church, where sniffer dogs had searched for bombs Sniffer dogs searched for bombs in a Dublin church before the funeral of gangland feud victim Michael Keogh. A priest called for "no rev-enge" for the killing as family and friends attended the Requiem Mass at Saint Francis Xavier Church in the north inner city. The coffin was carried into the church yesterday by female loved ones, helped by undertakers, amid security fears that innocent male pallbearers could be targeted. Fr Dermot Mansfield said it was time to "break the cycle" of violence. Gardai sealed off Gardiner Street and diverted traffic, and the force's armed response teams kept watch from nearby cars as large numbers of officers surrounded the church. Silencer Keogh was shot dead two weeks ago in his car at Sheridan Court council flats in Dorset Street. A handgun with a silencer was found in a partially burned out getaway car in a laneway off Clonliffe Avenue. Once inside the church, the coffin was placed on the shoulders of eight men and carried to the altar as a musical group performed the Christy Moore song, Ordinary Man. At the end of the Mass, mourners listened to poignant messages of love composed by Mr Keogh's 11 and 18-year-old sons, who read from the altar. "In the midst of our sorrow and bewilderment and worry and fear, you will want, as much as any of us would want, that the cycle of things that leads from one thing to the next would break and there would be no revenge," said Fr Mansfield. "It's not that everything goes well, but we try to go on in forgiveness and hope and faith and reaching out to another person. "We all want that, you all want that. Our hope and prayer today is that it is Michael's inheritance and gift to us to live our lives and to try to go forward and make life worthwhile. "I hope we can all go forward in strength and goodness." Fr Mansfield said Keogh was taken from life "out of his time". "Michael was trying to get his life around and go forward in life but he wasn't given the chance," he said. Keogh's father, Michael Snr, was helped into the church in a wheelchair. Other chief mourners were the victim's two young sons, sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews. Hitman Gardai investigating his murder are working on the basis that it was carried out by a hitman working for the Hutch crime gang. Keogh was not believed to have been involved in serious crime. Before his death, he posted on social media that he was looking forward to starting a new job. Gifts delivered to the altar at the beginning of the Mass included a blue safety helmet and a high-visibility jacket that Keogh would have worn as workwear. Other items were a protein drinks container and his motor- cycle helmet. A former Leinster youth rugby player has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a music festival performer by grabbing her bottom while whispering a lewd remark into her ear. David Poff (20, below) drunkenly groped the woman's buttocks as she walked through a crowd and told her, "give me your t**s". The victim, in her 20s, broke down in tears as she gave evidence and told a court she had felt "violated". Culprit Poff, who has played for Leinster under-19s and under-20s and Old Wesley RFC, had denied sexually assaulting the woman at the Longitude Festival in Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, on July 16, 2016. However, the victim identified him in court and said there was "no doubt in her mind" that Poff was the culprit. Judge Patricia McNamara adjourned sentencing at Tallaght District Court for a probation report. Poff, a student from Mayfield, Lower Kilmacud Road, Stillorgan, was also found guilty of public drunkenness and not guilty of breaching the peace. He had denied all charges. "Someone grabbed me from behind, grabbed my arse," the victim said. "He had a really good hold of me. He leaned over me and said 'give me your t**s'. I pushed him away and said, 'what are you at? Get your f**king hands off me'." She threw her drink on him and walked away. He allegedly shouted, "shut the f**k up, you fat bitch, you f**king slut". She reported it to a garda, pointing out Poff. "A very unpleasant incident may have occurred but it was not my client who was involved," said defence solicitor Tom Honan. "It definitely was," she replied. "I found him to be highly intoxicated," Sergeant Trevor Scanlon said of the accused. He arrested the defendant for his own safety and handcuffed him. In the van, Poff urinated on himself. Sgt Scanlon denied that Poff had asked to go to the toilet. Mr Honan asked the judge to dismiss the charges, pointing to the "dangers" of convicting the accused without corroborative evidence. Poff had no previous convictions. A Dublin grandmother was buried in a shallow grave by her killer, who later panicked, dug up her body, dismembered it with a saw and scattered her remains in the Wicklow mountains. The Herald can reveal that Patricia O'Connor (61) was struck on the head with an iron bar during a row in a house in Dublin up to two weeks ago. She died from horrific head injuries before it is believed she was transported in the boot of a car to the Kilmuckridge area of Co Wexford, where her body was initially buried in a shallow grave. Nine body parts have been found in recent days, including a head and arms in a plastic bag. Last night, a 32-year-old suspect was still being quizzed by Bray detectives over the gruesome killing after his detention was extended by 12 hours. The man is a relative of Ms O'Connor. Admissions It has also emerged that this man presented himself to Rathfarnham Garda Station on Monday afternoon, where he made certain admissions in relation to the human remains found in the Wicklow mountains. However, as gardai initially believed that the remains recovered were those of a young male they released the individual. "What he was saying didn't correlate with what the investigation team knew at the time, so gardai had no reason to detain him," a source said. When it was discovered on Tuesday afternoon that the dismembered body parts were from an adult female, Rathfarnham gardai contacted the murder suspect and met him by appointment that evening. The suspect helped gardai with their inquiries and took investigating detectives to a scene in Co Wexford. He was subsequently arrested at this location at 7.30pm. Gardai now believe that mother-of-two Ms O'Connor was killed at a property in Rathfarnham up to two weeks ago. Her killer put her body into the boot of his car and then drove to Co Wexford where he buried her in a shallow grave. However, less than 24 hours later the killer panicked and returned to the grave to dig up the body. He then placed her remains in the car and left the area. At some stage the killer dismembered the grandmother's remains with a hacksaw. After mutilating the body, he then scattered her remains in a 30km area across the Wicklow mountains. Ms O'Connor was first reported missing on June 2 but at the time her disappearance was not considered suspicious. Detectives are now searching for the weapons used in the heinous crime. Up to 10 crime scenes have been set up in Rathfarnham, Co Dublin; Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford; a large area across the Wicklow mountains; and a location near the Hell Fire Club. Ms O'Connor had a number of grandchildren and until recently had worked as a chef at Mount Carmel Hospital, Churchtown. She had been living in Mountain View Park, Rathfarnham, on and off for several years. She shared the family home with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and five grandchildren, locals said. Neighbours said Ms O'Connor had lived in Kilkenny in previous years. She originally left her Nutgrove home around 10 years ago but is understood to have returned in the last 12 months. One neighbour described how the community was left horrified as news of her death emerged yesterday. "Patricia was a lovely woman. She moved out of the area 10 years ago but returned around a year ago. "She kept to herself but she would always say hello and goodbye. She was very polite." More than 200 gardai and Defence Forces personnel were involved in the huge search operation over the last week. Torso Shortly after 1pm on Tuesday, a human head was found around 3km north of Glenmacnass Waterfall, where remains had previously been discovered. Further body parts, including an arm, were located later in the afternoon. A partial torso, a leg, a backbone and internal organs were recovered as part of the investigation. The initial discovery was made by walkers on Old Military Road at 7.45pm on Saturday. Senior sources have praised the painstaking work carried out by the investigation team which led to the arrest. "Officers have been working flat out on this case for the last few days and we got a lucky break when we identified a suspect," a source said. Twelve people have been confirmed killed in a huge fire that ripped through a west London tower block, but British police expect the death toll to rise. Up to 600 people are believed to have been inside Grenfell Tower's 120 flats when the blaze tore through the 24-storey building in the early hours of yesterday. Twenty people are in critical care after 79 injured people were taken to hospital. Many are still missing after residents were left trapped on upper floors as flames rapidly ripped up the block, after initially being told to stay in their homes. Residents who escaped spoke of others trapped and screaming for help, with some throwing children from windows and others jumping from upper floors. Some were reported to have attempted to use bin bags as makeshift parachutes. Pictures showed flames engulfing the block and a plume of smoke visible across London, while others showed desperate residents looking out of windows in the block. Tragedy In a sign of hope, survivors were still being pulled from the block 12 hours after the blaze started - but numbers of those saved are unclear. As an investigation into the cause of the fire began, residents reported that fire alarms had not sounded and that they were told to "stay put" in their flats and "put a wet towel down by the door". Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "There will be a great many questions over the coming days as to the cause of this tragedy and I want to reassure Londoners that we will get all the answers." More than 250 firefighters were called to the block on the Lancaster West Estate, in North Kensington, at about 1am. Several firefighters also suffered minor injuries. After fears were raised that the block could collapse, fire chiefs said a structural engineer was monitoring the stability of the building, which "continues to be safe for our crews to go and work in". The inferno lit up the night sky and spewed black smoke from the windows of the tower. People trapped by the advancing flames and thick smoke banged on windows and screamed for help, witnesses and survivors said. One resident said the fire alarm did not go off - bolstering the arguments of a community group, which only months ago had warned of a potential catastrophe at the housing block. "The flames, I have never seen anything like it, it just reminded me of 9/11," said Muna Ali (45). "The fire started on the upper floors... oh my goodness, it spread so quickly." Speaking to reporters, London's Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said: "This is an unprecedented incident. In my 29 years of being a firefighter I have never, ever seen anything of this scale." She said she feared more victims would be found still inside the tower. By mid-afternoon, firefighters were carrying out systematic searches throughout the charred wreckage. There was no immediate word on the cause of the blaze, but angry residents said they had warned local authorities about fire issues at Grenfell Tower. The housing block, built in 1974, was recently upgraded at a cost of 8.6m (9.7m), with work finishing in May 2016, according to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Witness Joe Walsh (58) said he saw someone throw two children out of a window from the fifth or sixth floor. Tiago Etienne (17) said he spotted about three children between the ages of four and eight being dropped from an apartment around the 15th floor. Police commander Stuart Cundy had initially given a death toll of six but added the figure was likely to rise "during what will be a complex recovery operation over a number of days". The London Fire Brigade received the first reports of the fire at 12.54am and the first engines arrived within six minutes, Ms Cotton said. Witnesses described a white, polystyrene-type material falling like snow from the building as it burned. An Irish man living in west London described how he thought yesterday's tower block inferno was another terrorist attack to hit the city. John Keeley (30), from Galway, was on his way to work in Hammersmith when he first heard that Grenfell Tower was up in flames just three miles away. "I first heard about it on the way to work at 6:30am," he told the Herald. "My initial reaction was that it sounds like a terrorist attack, along with utter shock." A total of 12 fatalities been confirmed so far with 79 people taken to hospital. Sympathy Meanwhile, President Michael D Higgins expressed his "profound sympathy to those affected". The Grenfell Action Group, a community organisation formed to oppose a nearby redevelopment project, has been warning about the risk of fire since 2013. The group has raised concerns about testing and maintenance of firefighting equipment and blocked emergency access to the site. "All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable," the group said after the fire broke out. Kensington and Chelsea Council, which oversees the area where the fire occurred and is Grenfell's landlord, said in a statement its immediate focus was helping victims and their families. It said the cause of the blaze would be "fully investigated". Serial killer Mark Nash has forged a close friendship with Dwyer as both men prepare to challenge their convictions Sick sex killer Graham Dwyer has forged a close friendship with Ireland's only serial killer Mark Nash - and the two murderers share regular coffee mornings together in Dwyer's cell in the Midlands Prison. Dwyer, who brutally knifed Dublin woman Elaine O'Hara to death in 2012, spends his mornings plotting his upcoming appeal with Nash, who is also appealing against his conviction for murdering Sylvia Sheils (59) and Mary Callanan (61) in 1997. Prison sources have confirmed to the Herald that the duo, who are both serving life sentences, are extremely close and that Dwyer has no other friends behind bars except for the 44-year-old Englishman. "Nash is Dwyer's best and only pal - no one else has any time for him," one source said. "They love drinking coffee and chatting in Dwyer's cell." The two killers have forged a close relationship in the last six months and speak almost every day. "They speak mostly about their appeals and both men are arrogant enough to think that they can get their convictions overturned," the source said. Superior "Dwyer sees himself as highly intelligent and superior and this doesn't go down well with his fellow lags." Dwyer's attitude to his fellow prisoners has infuriated them and left him isolated, the source added. "Most of the other prisoners see him as a devious pr*ck and they want nothing to do with him. He still plays poker in the recreation area of E3 but with a very small crowd." Dwyer, who has grown a ponytail since being jailed, is also telling anyone who will listen that he will get his conviction overturned, because there is no physical evidence linking him to the brutal murder. "Dwyer is very confident that he is going to get off," the source added. "He thinks he will be out by the end of the year because he says there is no physical evidence linking him to Elaine's horrific murder." Dwyer has spent the last six months poring over boxes of evidence he has had delivered to his cell. After he spends his morning drinking coffee with Nash, he reads the documents in great detail - he receives as many as eight boxes per week. The perverted killer, who has a sexual obsession with stabbing and blood, doesn't mix with the other prisoners, preferring to keep himself to himself, unless socialising with Nash or playing poker. Sources said Nash sees Dwyer as an intelligent man who may be able to help him in his own bid to have two murder convictions overturned. "Nash sees Dwyer as someone who can help him with his appeal but he also seems to really like his company. But other prisoners say he is just using Dwyer to help himself," one source said. The Midlands Prison, where most of Ireland's murderers and rapists are detained, has an inmate population of more than 870. Dwyer was convicted of murdering Elaine O'Hara (36) on August 22, 2012, despite the childcare worker's remains not being found in the Dublin Mountains until September 13, 2013. A jury found he stabbed O'Hara to death for his own sexual pleasure after sending texts to her for months about murdering her or someone else. Joked Dwyer's trial in March 2015 was one of the most high-profile in Irish judicial history. His appeal was expected to be heard early this year but it has since been delayed until later in 2017. The Herald reported last December that the Cork-born architect had assured fellow inmates that he would not be behind bars for Christmas 2017. He even joked to one inmate that he has already picked out the restaurant where he would celebrate his release. Dwyer is now devoting up to six hours a day to studying the grounds for his appeal. His family continues to visit him regularly and Dwyer has maintained a letter-writing campaign to those friends and former colleagues who have not severed links with him. However, his confidence over his appeal and his high profile have irked other prisoners. Dwyer, who is referred to as Prisoner 88335, has clashed with several inmates in the Midlands Prison. In 2015 he was injured when a rapist threw a chair at him in a row over a poker game. Dwyer (42) received injuries to his arm as he tried to protect himself. The attack was carried out by Salman Dar (34), who is serving a sentence for raping five women. In a separate incident, Dwyer was punched in the face by another rapist, Noel Maher. Sources revealed how Dwyer became "furious" when he heard that Maher (44) was spreading rumours about him. Dwyer confronted Maher on Good Friday in a rage and pushed him. However Maher - who is behind bars for sexual assaulting and raping his stepdaughter - punched the killer, sending him crashing to the ground in pain. BRISTOL, Va. BVU Authority documents show the city likely wouldnt receive any funds from the expected $50 million sale of the OptiNet division, and Bristol Virginia Vice Mayor Archie Hubbard said Wednesday that city officials take issue with those plans. A letter from BVU attorney Cameron Bell to City Council shows that BVU expects to use about $40 million to pay off debt tied to creation of the network. In addition, it expects to pay $8.7 million back to the Virginia Tobacco Revitalization Commission which provided about $30 million to create the network and $1.23 million to the federal Economic Development Administration which provided $7.3 million. The letter and related information came in response to a City Council demand for information. Council abruptly amended Tuesdays meeting agenda to include discussion of possibly withdrawing its approval of the OptiNet sale unless it received information about the deals progress and what, if any, monies were due the city. The discussion, however, was subsequently tabled to review Bells information. Based upon current information, it does not appear that there will be any remaining net proceeds of the transaction that will be payable to the city, Bell wrote. BVU will agree to keep council informed of any changes to this analysis as the parties continue toward closing. That didnt sit well with city leaders and City Councils approval is one of many required for the transaction to proceed. A previous council approved the agreement for Sunset Digital Communications to acquire and operate the fiber-optic telecommunications network. The fact that Bristol isnt in there is a problem for Bristol, Hubbard said. This whole thing remains under review. A 2009 transition agreement between the city and BVU stipulates in the event of any sale the two entities would evenly divide any proceeds once all debts were satisfied. That agreement was established to alleviate concerns about the city losing any claim to the OptiNet infrastructure during the time BVU was working to separate itself from the city. Through a series of agreements, BVU expects to pay the Virginia Tobacco Commission $3.7 million in cash plus provide a $5 million promissory note from buyer Sunset. Commission officials announced their intent last year to claw back a portion of the grant funds given to establish and expand the network. BVUs plan also includes paying the EDA $1.23 million for the federal share to allow a private company to assume operational control of a project funded by taxpayer dollars. This gets into what is the definition of a debt, Hubbard said. My personal opinion, I dont consider repaying the Tobacco Commission a debt. Thats just a bill BVU has to pay. BVU didnt pay a nickel for anything the Tobacco Commission wants to get paid back for so it really wasnt a debt. That would be a point of contention. Hubbard said the same would apply to the federal agency. In its letter, BVU contends that the Tobacco Commission must be paid back, and the agency could have required the full $30 million. The Cumberland Plateau Co., which hasnt invested any funds but is a 50 percent operating partner with BVU in its service area of Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell and Tazewell counties, also sought money while it negotiated with Sunset. According to the BVU documents, CPCs approval was contingent on receiving funding commitments from Sunset and $2 million in grant funds from the Tobacco Commission. What I object to personally is that we [city] started that damn division [OptiNet] and if it werent for us, that stuff wouldnt be in Southwest Virginia. At least not as soon as we put it out there, Hubbard said. The politicians all jumped on, after we got set up for Bristol, wanting to get credit for spreading broadband throughout Southwest Virginia. Then, to give us absolutely nothing for it is just more than I can stomach. Hubbard said those are the issues the council wants to discuss with BVU. BVU expects to use about 80 percent of the sale proceeds to pay off debt incurred to establish the network, including more than $20 million owed to the Virginia Resources Authority, which refinanced all of BVUs debt in 2010, after it became an independent public authority. VRA has granted its consent to the transaction and has further allowed BVU to partially defease only the OptiNet portion of the debt, Bell wrote. In order to defease that portion, BVU will be required to pay associated interest and expenses. VRA is working to determine the exact amounts owed on the date of closing. BVU estimates the amounts owed will be in the range of $26 million to $28 million to defease that portion of the debt. BVU must also address $13.7 million loaned to the OptiNet division by its own electric division in 2007. That amount was incorrectly removed from BVU ledgers years ago but came to light last year during an audit by the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts. The re-establishment of the inter-fund receivable/payable could affect the potential sale of BVU Authoritys OptiNet division because it will increase the amount of debt the BVU Authority must pay off with the proceeds from the sale and will reduce the amount of funds available to satisfy grantors with claims on the BVU Authority assets, Bell wrote. All these details must still be approved by the BVU Authority board, but the sale is progressing, Bell wrote. Recently, third-party consent letters were mailed, a petition was filed with the State Corporation Commission, a fairness opinion was ordered and the parties are finalizing exhibits and schedules to the agreement, Bell wrote. The parties expect to close the transaction in the coming weeks. Council is now expected to discuss the OptiNet sale during a called meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. As of today, June 15, 2017, some 500 million people throughout the European Union (EU) will be able to use their cellphones for making calls and going online in any member state without incurring so-called roaming charges ; in other words, at the same price as if they were at home. From today, it makes no difference which side of the border you're on. AFP Despite the limitations the EU has imposed, the move will mean huge savings for consumers: a decade ago, a three-minute call meant a roaming surcharge of 2 on top of the cost of a national call. The European Commission warns it will monitor attempts by telecoms operators to increase prices Over the last decade, the EU has battled against the telecoms operators to impose a deadline on surcharges for calls made by customers while traveling throughout the 28-member bloc. As a result, the cost of calls has come down 92% over the last five years, while the cost of using the internet on cellphones while overseas fell by 96% over the same period. Consumer associations in Spain have welcomed the end of roaming, describing the surcharges as abusive. The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) says the move brings the EU toward a real single market in the telecommunications sector. For its part, the Confederation of Consumers and Users (CECU) noted: This is a long-awaited change, one demanded and fought for by consumers associations. But Spanish consumer rights group Facua says that users will make zero savings, pointing out that the main operators have been steadily increasing prices over recent months in a move that, in some cases, has breached consumer protection laws. However, while it is true that some operators have increased prices in the last 18 months, it would be rash to argue that this has been an attempt to offset losses from roaming revenue: companies are now providing high quality services and are also trying to recoup costs incurred, for instance, by huge investments made in 4G technology. The European Telecommunications Network Operators Association estimates that between 2015 and 2020 the reduced cost of roaming will cost its members some 7 billion, a figure the European Commission puts at a far lower 1.2 billion, while Berec, the EUs telecoms regulatory body, puts the losses in revenue at 4.7 billion. Consumer NGO Facua says users will make zero savings, accusing operators of increasing prices The European Commission has warned that it will be monitoring attempts by telecoms operators to increase prices, even those that include extra services, in the wake of the end roaming. In some countries, there are some tendencies to increase prices. This means that the national regulators and the European Commission will have to address these issues very seriously, warns Andrus Ansip, the European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission. English version by Nick Lyne. Nearly 80 PA people have been charged for Jan. 6 riot. Three are dead. news As Spaniards swelter in the first hot spell of the year, Madrids health commissioner is recommending making paper fans to combat the rising mercury. During an interview this week, Jesus Sanchez Martos said he is not a supporter of air conditioning in schools, and suggested that children should make fans out of paper to deal with the heat in their classrooms. A Madrid classroom. CLAUDIO ALVAREZ More information New heatwave in Spain puts six provinces on orange alert Besides helping feel cooler, this activity could be part of a very relevant occupational therapy for children, making [the fans] the way we used to when I was a kid: fold, fold, fold and theres the fan, said the regional official in statements to Cadena SER radio station. Air conditioning is not the solution for everything. Classrooms could be ventilated and have drinking water available. Four days of unusually high temperatures in Spain are now giving way to an official heatwave The statements came on the same day that the Madrid health department activated a special plan to prevent negative effects from the high temperatures recorded in the region and elsewhere in Spain since early this week. On Wednesday, there were several reports of Madrid school children suffering from heat-related incidents. And on Thursday morning, 47 students from the Neil Armstrong High School in Valdemoro required medical assistance, according to a spokeswoman for the regional emergency services 112. Combating the heat in Valencia. Monica Torres Four of the teens were taken to the local hospital three due to anxiety attacks and one with a sprain. The others, ages 12 through 18, took refuge in the funeral parlor across the school because it had air conditioning. The Department of Education should urgently supply centers with what they need, said Isabel Galvin, secretary general of the Madrid Teaching Federation of the CC OO labor union, criticizing the regional governments lack of investment in school infrastructure to deal with these situations. In the meantime, four days of unusually high temperatures are now giving way to an official heatwave, according to the Spanish weather service, AEMET. Air conditioning is not the solution for everything Jesus Sanchez Martos, Madrid health commissioner The meteorology agency said that the weather event will last at least into Sunday, and mostly affect central and southwestern Spain. Highs will reach 40 to 42C in many parts of the country, while lows will not drop below 22 to 25C at night. The AEMET has issued weather alerts in 30 provinces. English version by Susana Urra. Democratic US Lawmakers Sue Trump (video) Voice of America More than 190 Democratic lawmakers sued President Donald Trump in federal court on Wednesday, saying he had accepted funds from foreign governments through his businesses without congressional consent in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The complaint said Trump had not sought congressional approval for any of the payments his hundreds of businesses had received from foreign governments since he took office in January, even though the Constitution requires him to do so. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment but has said Trump's business interests do not violate the Constitution. The Trump Organization has said it will donate profits from customers representing foreign governments to the U.S. Treasury but will not require such customers to identify themselves. At least 30 U.S. senators and 166 representatives are plaintiffs in Wednesday's lawsuit, representing the largest number of legislators ever to sue a U.S. president, according to two lawmakers who are among the plaintiffs. The Constitution's "foreign emoluments" clause bars U.S. officeholders from accepting payments and various other gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval. Read more on the source website Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom Google Ad Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox Google Ad UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Davit Harutyunyan considers EU Ambassadors statement unacceptable (video) Not the Ambassadors, but representatives of the relevant sphere should express a position on the electoral system, said Minister of Justice Davit Harutyunyan, touching upon the criticism of Piotr Switalski, Head of the EU delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, on rating electoral system. I havent heard that statement, but if he made such a statement, I think it is an attempt to interfere with our inner politics and affairs, but I consider it to be unacceptable irrespective of its intention. Davit Harutyunyan reminded that the Venice Commission is the highest body among the sphere representatives and it has already given its conclusion, The system adopted by us is in line with international standards. It is complex, as there was an attempt to develop mechanisms, which, for example, express the representation of the ethnic minorities in the parliament in an appropriate way. Of course, it was possible to simplify the electoral code, but it would have its negative consequences, and we, taking into account our inner politics, discussed and decided to take that path. To remind, today Head of the EU delegation, Ambassador Piotr Switalski made a sharp speech, "In the whole world including Armenia the ruling party tries to use the Electoral Code for serving its interests. But in the world the EC doesnt become a separating issue, and I would like the same to be in Armenia. I would advise improving the EC; as the elections showed it needs improvements. Credibility of institutions is important for Armenians. In general, the CEC is especially important for Armenians. I highly assess the Central Electoral Commission, but it should enjoy high public confidence. The matter is perceptions. I think that the CEC personnel should be enlarged, involving representatives from the civil society. I would advise Armenians to think of how to make the CEC reliable. If the CEC wants the society rely on it, it should have a reliably operating body. Watch details in the video! Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox Google Ad UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex I have advice for all of our federal politicians. It is a book to read. It is called American War by Omar El Akkad. It shows how refugee camps work, and what happens when both sides think that the other side is evil. Dennis DeBalso Conover Democrat weakness and malfeasance For a party that spent the better part of the Cold War pushing a soft policy on Russia, its nice to see the Democrats have found a reason to be concerned about Russia. Five years ago, Barack Obama mocked Mitt Romney for his tough stance on Moscow, going as far to say the 1980s wanted its foreign policy back. Democrats laughed at that line all the way until they needed an excuse as to why voters whod backed them for decades flipped to supporting Donald Trump last fall. As Katy Perry would say in her latest album, karma cashed in its receipts for decades of Democrat weakness and malfeasance when it comes to Russia. From FDR selling out Eastern Europe to Uncle Joe Stalin at Yalta to Barack Obama telling Dmitry Medvedev that hed have more flexibility post-Election Day 2012, Democrats with rare exception looked upon Russia as a reliable world partner and socialist paradise. Jimmy Carter told Americans that they needed to get over their inordinate fear of Communism. Democrats loathed Richard Nixon for exposing Alger Hiss as a Soviet spy. And if President Trumps team really wanted to have fun, they would replay the tapes of Democrats castigating Joe McCarthy for exaggerating the threat of Soviet penetration of the American government. Perhaps the most egregious example of the Democrats cognitive dissonance is their idolizing of Ted Kennedy despite his playing footsy with Moscow to influence the 1984 election. A KGB file that became public after the Iron Curtain fell revealed that Teddy wrote Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov a letter detailing specific measures to undermine President Reagans policy of peace through strength, with the goal of Reagan losing reelection in 1984. If that isnt selling out your country for politics I dont know what is. As the Democratic Party sifts through the ruins of 2016, and their string of special election losses in Kansas and Montana, the bottom line is this: Putin didnt cause Trump to win, you did. Democrats tilted the scales against Bernie Sanders and nominated an Establishment career politician. Putin didnt cost Hillary razor thin margins in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, her campaign did through their arrogance while dumping money into Texas and Georgia. With Obamas approval ratings in the high 50s on Election Day and a controversial Republican nominee, it was Hillarys race to lose. Vladimir Putin didnt cost the Democrats this election, Hillary did. Carlton Huffman Granite Falls This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ The US regression from climate action should not surprise the world. President Donald Trump has followed the footsteps of his former counterpart George W Bush by deciding to withdraw the US from yet another international treaty that commits parties to reduce carbon emissions in order to tackle global warming. USs withdrawal alone is however not the matter of concern. A recent article published in Climate Central reveals how several developed economies, for example Australia and Russia, too are faltering on climate action. Under these circumstances, the world is now looking east to fill the leadership vacuum in climate governance and push for collective efforts to combat climate change. Commentators feel that the US exit from the Paris Agreement has paved the way to global climate leadership for China and India. India and China are countries that have both displayed immense credentials, commitment and leadership potential by taking affirmative action in significantly reducing carbon emissions. Particularly in the matter of climate governance, China has been seen making a shift from its insular foreign policy towards a more internationalist stance, in the recent times. The USs withdrawal from the Paris Agreement has hastened Chinas alliance with the European Union (EU) to lead the transition to a low-carbon economy. President Xi Jinpings push for a $900 billion Belt and Road project to create markets for Chinese solar panels and wind turbines, its recent introduction of cap and trade policy, massive investments in renewable energy and cutting down on coal dependence are all evidence of Chinese aspiration for attaining influence on world stage. Though Chinas climate action is commendable, however, the country is not in a position yet to independently assume the leadership that climate governance requires. First, despite its aggressive efforts in climate action, China remains the worlds largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter, contributing twice the amount of emissions compared to the US. This does not leave China in a principled position to pursue other countries to take up more ambitious climate targets. Second, for a long time now, China has followed a hands-off approach in regional and global diplomacy. Tackling climate change and reforming global energy systems would require a more assertive leadership, as well as propose ambitious climate goals in future - a position where China is yet to demonstrate requisite potential. Third, until as recent as 2011, climate scepticism dominated the national discourse in China. Climate change was largely seen as a western conspiracy to constrain the development of China and other developing nations. Climate change has primarily been viewed by Chinas policy establishment through the lens of managing US-China relations. This raises doubts about Chinas commitment to active climate leadership. Between the US withdrawal and Chinas dubious climate credentials, immense opportunities exist for India to counterbalance the existing climate leadership equilibrium. Recently, Indias energy minister Piyush Goyal has affirmed that India would stand committed to its climate goals laid out in the Paris Agreement irrespective of what happens to the rest of the world. Coming out more strongly, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to go above and beyond the Paris Agreement on climate change. This is indicative of Indias decisive leadership on Climate Change on a global scale. India is already on the path of clean energy revolution and is making significant accomplishments in achieving its pledge to the Paris Agreement. As a strategy to reduce its emission, India has embarked on a massive renewable energy programme. Upscaling the National Solar Mission, India has set a target of 100 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar energy capacity by 2022. This is five times higher than the original 20 GW target. May 2017 has seen record drop in solar power prices to Rs 2.44/kWh. India also recently became the fourth largest producer of wind energy in the world and announced plans to cancel 14 GW of coal plants. Indeed, India is currently in a strong position not only to meet, but exceed its Paris climate targets. Even under Indias new tax regime, 18% of tax is proposed to be levied on electric cars, vis-a-vis 28% tax on conventional cars. The green power revolution is envisaged to attract millions in investment and create job opportunities, while providing a substantial boost to export of new commodities. In the aftermath of creating the largest market of solar power for itself, India has now proposed a pioneering commitment to sell only electric cars by 2030. Besides ambitious actions, climate change leadership requires an approach that goes hand in hand with the needs and interests of the poor and most vulnerable. Being the largest democracy, India is a shining example of how stronger climate actions could be successfully aligned with development imperatives. India has played a crucial role in climate negotiations during the Paris Agreement. It has strongly defended the concept of differentiated responsibilities and have argued for less stringent climate restrictions for developing countries as they need more room to grow in the limited carbon space. Given the present leadership impasse, the world would be keenly following Indias role on climate action in key upcoming forums such as the G20 and COP23. As China looks for a global partner to leverage its influence at the international stage, India is poised to utilize this potential opportunity and fill the leadership void in global climate change governance. Aparna Roy is associate fellow, Observer Research Foundation The views expressed are personal Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, a film that broke quite a few records at the Box-office and set some new benchmarks too, completes sixteen years of its release today. Starring actors Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and late Amrish Puri, the 2001 Anil Sharma directorial was a period action drama, set in 1947, the time of partition in India. Narrating a love story, Gadar revolves around Tara Singh (portrayed by Deol), a Sikh truck driver from Amritsar, who falls in love with Sakina (portrayed by Ameesha Patel), a Muslim girl hailing from a political family in Lahore, Pakistan. Gadar was widely shot in Shimla, including some portions at Bishop Cotton School. A couple of scenes were also shot at Sacred Heart School, Dalhousie. Major part of the film was shot in Pathankot, Sarna and Amritsar. On the films sixteenth anniversary today, heres filling you in on some interesting facts about the film. Believe it or not, but Sunny Deol wasnt the first choice to play the role of Tara Singh. Apparently, the director was keen on taking Govinda as the male lead but following the debacle of Maharaja (1998), which was also directed by Sharma, he changed his mind and roped in Deol. And guess what? Gadar is the highest-grossing film in Sunnys acting career. Even the female lead, actor Ameesha Patel, wasnt the first choice to play the role of Sakina. Kajol was the original choice but because of date issues, she couldnt come on board. It was only after Gadars success that Ameesha became one of the most sought after actors of her time. Unfortunately, none of the films that followed could make an impact. The story of Gadar is loosely based on the real life of Boota Singh, a Sikh ex-soldier of the British Army, who served at the Burma front during World War II. According to reports, he rescued a Muslim girl during the communal riots at the time of partition. Both fell in love and tied the knot, however, later, the girl was deported and went back to Pakistan. Boota illegally entered Pakistan to bring his wife back, but when the girl succumbed to her familys pressure, he committed suicide by jumping before a train. Gadar was the first movie, for which theatres ran an early morning show at 6am, on demand from audience . Reportedly, Gadar holds a world record for being the only movie in the world for which 10 crore tickets were sold. Gadar was made on a budget of Rs 20 crore (approx) and has already made Rs 60 crore, three times the cost. And after its theatrical run, it was acclaimed as one of the most successful movies in India at the time of its release. To give a real touch to the scene in which a train from Pakistan arrives, makers of the film had transformed the Amritsar station and given it the look of 1940s, the time when the dreadful incident actually happened. The scenes, which were shown in Lahore, were actually shot in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, including some parts at La Martiniere boys school. The steam engine that was used on the set to shoot the sequence was hired from Delhis Railway Museum. And the scene that was shot at a Live station involved real crowd and actors. Sunny Deols Gadar released on the same date as Aamir Khan-starrer Lagaan and it was one of the biggest box-office clashes. In the past too, it happened twice that films starring Sunny and Aamir released in the same month. Ghayal and Dil released in June 1990 and Ghatak and Raja Hindustani released in November 1996. According to director Anil Sharma, Gadar had done a business of 265 crores, which as per todays calculation is Rs 5,000 crore. Maybe thats why he recently said that Baahubali hasnt broken any records, as Gadar had done that back then. Gadar holds a place in the list of One of the Biggest Blockbusters in Hindi Cinema. Not just that, it remains the most watched Hindi film in India as it recorded 5.05 crore footfall in India. Follow @htshowiz for more Rachel Shelley cannot believe that it has already been 16 years since she shot for the iconic film Lagaan. The English actor, who played the role Captain Russells (Paul Blackthorne) sister, Elizabeth, speaks to us on the films 16th anniversary, and recalls the magical time she had while shooting for the film in Bhuj, Gujarat. Excerpts: How did you land the role? I gave auditions like actors usually do. But after I got a call, I was made to mime and dance to the songPrelude from The Sound of Music. Since I am not a trained dancer, a friend helped me with the moves. I remember Aamir [Khan] was there at the audition. I was really keen to return to India and work there, because I had been to the country a few times before. So the idea of working there was exciting. Paul (Blackthorne) told us that learning Hindi was tough for him. How was the experience for you? Of course it was. My biggest preparation was learning Hindi. But I was luckier than Paul. He had to speak Hindi as if he had been doing it for a while, whereas I had to speak it, as I had just come in the country (laughs). Other than that, I read a lot of historical depictions of women. I cant remember anything specific now. How did your family and friends react when you told them you will be in a Bollywood film? They were all so excited. But I remember my agent at that time said, Go ahead and do it, but you will never hear of the film afterwards. Look how wrong she was now. What was your experience of shooting for the film? I had a magical time while shooting for the film. We spent about three to four months for the shoot. I remember it was the first ever mainstream commercial Bollywood film, to use sync sound technology, which meant everyone had to be quiet while the shooting was going on. And that took time for people to get used to. Then I was also overwhelmed to see the concept of spot boys, because in Hollywood things are different, and there arent many people involved in a films shoot. And when the film bagged an Oscar nomination, what was your first reaction? I was over the moon and so excited to hear the news. I was lucky enough to be in LA at the time for Oscars. I was happy for India to have a film, which was considered for the Oscars. It was well-deserved. I was so proud of the film. It was an amazing experience. Most actors dream of going to the Oscars, and we did it. Though we didnt win, we had a saying then that you have already won an Oscar if you have been nominated for it. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Biopics based on real life stories of eminent personalities have usually been well-received by the fans and have done well at the box-office too. Last year, Omung Kumars Sarbjit, Neeraj Pandeys M.S. Dhoni-The Untold Story and Nitesh Tiwaris blockbuster Dangal, which was a superhit in India and is also doing extremely well in China, were some of the biopics that garnered both audiences love and critical acclaim. Bollywood actors and filmmakers are always on the lookout for more such films to prove their mettle. Herere some of the most anticipated and hyped biopics that fans can look forward to: Untitled biopic on Sanjay Dutt Based on actor Sanjay Dutts life, the film starring Ranbir Kapoor is already generating a lot of buzz. After leaked pictures of Ranbir bearing an uncanny resemblance to Sanjay, surfaced online, fans have been going crazy waiting to watch the film. Ranbir is reportedly going all out with this one, putting on weight and even copying the famous walk of Sanjay to get into the skin of the character. The film will release in March 2018. The Accidental Prime Minister To reinvent yourself as an actor is to challenge yourself. Looking forward to portraying #DrManmohanSingh in #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister.:) pic.twitter.com/PsVdkpjZWY Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) June 7, 2017 Veteran actor Anupam Kher is set to play the role of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the film, slated to release next year. The first look of the film was released on Twitter on June 7, 2017, by the actor himself, and undoubtedly, he completely looks the part. Based on Sanjaya Barus book by the same name, the films screenplay is written by National Award-winning filmmaker Hansal Mehta. Haseena Parkar Younger & older.Thank you @ApoorvaLakhia for giving me the opportunity to play this character & for holding my hand through out. #HASEENA pic.twitter.com/uKu6tEbcAX Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) April 24, 2017 Actor Shraddha Kapoors transformation into a 45-year-old woman, reprising the role of Haseena Parkar, sister of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, has taken everyone by surprise. For the film based on Haseenas life, Shraddha will, for the first time, share screen space with her real life brother Siddhanth Kapoor, who is portraying Dawoods role. Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, the film will release on August 18, 2017. Manikarnika Actor Kangana Ranauts ambitious project Manikarnika will see her bringing Jhansi Rani Laxmibai, one of the leaders of the first Indian war of Independence in 1857, alive on the celluloid. The story has been written by K.V. Vijayendra Prasad, who was also the writer of blockbuster films like Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The makers are aiming for a 2018 release. Mogul Based on the life of T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar, who changed the face of Indian music industry beginning in 1980s, this film will see khiladi Akshay Kumar playing the lead role. It will trace Gulshans rags-to-riches story till the time he was shot dead outside a temple in Mumbai in 1997. It will be directed by Jolly LLB 2 director Subhash Kapoor and release in 2018. Daddy Actor Arjun Rampal will be playing the role of gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli in this crime drama. The trailer was released on June 13, 2017, and Arjun is getting a lot of appreciation for his transformation. Directed by Ashim Ahluwalia, the film will release on July 21, 2017. Saina Can't wait to see you playing BADMINTON @ShraddhaKapoor https://t.co/oCaBYbaG3K Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) June 7, 2017 Directed by Amol Gupte, this film will see actor Shraddha Kapoor step into the shoes of Padma Bhushan awardee badminton player Saina Nehwal, who won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Slated for a 2018 release, Shraddha has said that it is going to be her most difficult film till date. Jhalki Actor Boman Irani will play the role of Kailash Satyarthi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 and has acted to protect the rights of more than 83,000 children from 144 countries. The film is about a little girl looking for her brother who goes missing, while working as a child labourer. The film will be directed by filmmaker Brahmanand S Siingh. Aamir Khan as astronaut Rakesh Sharma Perfectionist Aamir Khan will play the role of astronaut Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to travel to space. Fatima Sana Shaikh, who played the role of his daughter in Dangal (2016), is reportedly playing the role of his wife in the film. Jointly produced by Aamir, Sidhharth Roy Kapur and Ronnie Screwvala, the films title is yet to be finalised, with various media reports saying that it will either be titled Saare Jahaan Se Achha or Salute. Hrithik Roshan as Anand Kumar This untitled film stars actor Hrithik Roshan as mathematician Anand Kumar, the founder of the initiative Super 30, who selects 30 talented candidates each year from economically backward sections of society and trains them for the IIT-JEE entrance exam. The film is yet to go on the floors. Biopic on PV Sindhu Actor Sonu Sood is working on his next production, which is based on the life of badminton ace PV Sindhu. The actor, who turned producer with a film titled Tutak Tutak Tutiya recently, has expressed a keen desire to cast actor Deepika Padukone, daughter of famous former badminton player Prakash Padukone, in the lead role. Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal in 2016. I would love to see Deepika playing the character of Sindhu in my film. She is a fine actress. We are still in scripting stage. If the part is offered to her and she likes the script and director and has the time for it, she will surely give her nod, he was quoted as saying. Why does Azerbaijan again remind of TOS?: Artsakhpress Colonel Senor Hasratyan chief of the information and PR department of Artsakhs Defense Army commented on the border situation and the latest military exercises of Azerbaijan in an interview with Artsakhpress. The interview is fully presented below: -Mr Hasratyan, please briefly comment on the tactical situation in the contact line? -The situation is under full control of the Defense Army units. The situation is calm as compared to the developments of last years escalations in April. Of course there are ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan, but not in the previous intensity. Various caliber firearms are mainly used, while in some cases mortars. If necessary, the Defense Army takes preventive measure for suppressing the adversarys aggression. -Judging by the Azerbaijani media reports, it seems that they very often hold various level military exercises, including jointly with the Turkish military, during which armaments of their arsenal like the TOS rocket launcher are used. How would you comment on this? -Military exercises are one of the important components of strategic-professional training of the Armed Forces, and every army must use them. Its another issue in terms of to what extent the given Army uses this component and what goal it pursues with it. I wouldnt want to underestimate such events which are held by our adversary, but it is also impossible to notice the frequency of constant reports about them, the majority of which being propaganda, and therefore an impression of psychological influence is being created, rather of productive process. Regarding the usage of modern armaments during the military exercises, this is also natural. By the way, Azerbaijan was also using this kind of weapons during the military exercises before the April war; however life showed that it is one thing to use them in training, but a completely different thing in the battlefield. Our relevant services are closely following the developments in the adversarys side and take timely steps if necessary." Imagine waking up to a personalised tweet by your favourite Bollywood actor on your Twitter timeline! Well, your day is made. That sort of frenzy was seen recently, when actor Akshay Kumar sent out personalised tweets to all his followers, sharing the trailer of his upcoming film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. Along with the hashtag #ToiletEkPremKathaTrailer, there were messages such as Are you ready to be a part of the #SwachhAzaadi movement?, Intezaar hua khatam, Ek anokhi prem katha aapke liye, Thank you for supporting the film, A token of gratitude for your support, I loved the enthusiasm you have shown, I am humbled by your support. Call it a strong marketing tool or a great way to have a direct connect with fans its obviously a strategy fit for the digital age, and tech-savvy stars know it. And this is not the first time an actor has opted for this clever ploy for film promotions. Last year, actor John Abraham surprised his fans when he tweeted to them the poster of his film Rocky Handsome, with his digital signature and a customised message for each. @kallu_ksj here is the poster for Rocky Handsome, Teaser is out so watch it NOW https://t.co/Dzjw9YbZjs pic.twitter.com/bz0vr9FEJq John Abraham (@TheJohnAbraham) January 25, 2016 Actor Nimrat Kaur feels its great to stay relevant like this. So much of what we do is online whether its the release of the first look [of a film] or a poster or a trailer, everything is slowly moving towards the Internet. Fan reaction [to a project] can also be assessed instantly through the Internet. So I find this trend a great move by the actors. Its all for the good of a project. Celebrities reaching out to their fanbase directly isnt a new trend, says Omar Qureshi, Bollywood observer and film critic, adding, Actors have millions of followers a reach far greater than what most magazines and newspapers have. And with print media dipping [in popularity], the smart stars know that they have to reach out beyond their fan base, and cultivate select influencers. In the past also, actor Shah Rukh Khan happily spammed the Twitter timeline of his fans when the trailer of his film Dilwale (2015) was released on his birthday (Nov 2). Whoever wished the actor, got a return gift in the form of a personalised tweet, with the link of the trailer. The tweet read: Thank you for the birthday wishes. Here is a little return gift for you. In another customised message, Khan wrote, The Dilwale trailer is here. Watch and let me know what you think? Actor Shah Rukh Khan is known for promoting his films with a smart digital strategy. (Hindustan Times) Hrithik Roshan, too, opted for the same strategy to promote Bang Bang (2014), sending out a digitalised poster with Twitter names of the fans and autographs from him and co-star Katrina Kaif. In some cases, this personalised promotion has worked wonders for the stars, as it has pulled huge crowds to the theatres after the films release. Filmmaker Onir feels that such a strategy definitely empowers lead actors and filmmakers, helping them connect directly with the audience. However, he points out that too much of it isnt a good thing. If you go overboard and get too personal with these promotions, it can backfire, too, says Onir. When stars post highly customised messages, fans sometimes are clever enough to guess that its an agency doing it on their behalf no actor has the time to do all this for thousands of fans. Time will tell if more actors will follow this pattern and arouse their fans excitement with these personalised promotions. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Salman Khans rakhi sister Shweta Rohira will soon make her foray into showbiz . Shweta, who has been in news for her separation from actor Pulkit Samrat, will feature in a short film titled Parineeti, in which shes bagged the lead role. Talking about the film, she says, The story revolves around the relationship between a couple. It also talks about the importance of being together and working together to keep the relationship happy and joyful. Asked why she chose to make her acting debut with a short film rather than a feature film, Shweta says she felt it was the perfect launchpad for her. Though I was getting offers for films and television shows, I was not sure of my own strength and capabilities. But when this short film came my way, I loved the script as I could connect with my character. There was no way I could let this go, she says. About her character in the film, she says, I play a modern girl who understands the importance of family and relationships. Shweta will feature alongside actor Kanwaljit Singh in the film. Shweta, who will share screen space with seasoned actors such as Kitu Gidwani and Kanwaljit Singh, says it was a pleasure to work with them. It was a mind blowing experience as this was the first time I was facing the camera. Thanks to Kanwaljit sir and my director-producer Sunil Thadani, I was comfortable and was able to play my character well, adds Shweta. Follow @htshowbiz for more As many as 10 books on Indian cuisine have won the Best in the World title at the 2017 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in China. The awards are broadly divided into number one, two and three and then there are sub-categories. In the number one in the world group, Maria Gorettis From My Kitchen to Yours won the Best Television Chef Book in English, Veena Baths Paramaanna Prapancha has won the Best Foreign Cuisine Book, and The Indecisive Chicken, 8 Dharavi Women Cooks, Dharavi Biennale by Prajna Desai has been termed the Best Charity Cookbook in Asia. In the number two group, the Best Television Chef Book Outside Europe was bagged by Shipra Khanna for her Sinfully Yours. Viji Varadarajan won the Best Entertaining Book for Festivals, and Sreeja Jayaram the Best Local Cookbook for Happiness is a Stomach Full: Kerala Cooking. Cooking for Happiness by Kornelia Santoro was the Best Innovative Cookbook and Five Morsels of Love by Archana Pidathala the Best Self-Published Cookbook in the number three in the world category. The top 3 get the same respect, and have the rights to the best in the world logo and certificates. The competition is very difficult. A total of 211 countries participated this year. The awards event was in Yantai, China, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards founder Edouard Cointreau told PTI. US-based Padma Lakshmis Love, Loss, and What We Ate won in the Lifestyle, Body and Soul section and Christiane Philips Nazeemas Kerala Kitchen in the Indian and Sri Lankan cuisines section. Founded in 1995, the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards honour the best food and wine books, printed or digital, as well as food television every year. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more If you find an abandoned book on your next trip in the Delhi Metro or at a public place in the Capital, please feel free to pick it up, take it along and read it. Just try to leave it at some public place, so that someone else might enjoy it, too. And if you are wondering who left it for you, , well, you can thank Delhi Book Fairies these are some kind people who are championing the cause of promoting reading by leaving books all around the city. The idea of leaving the books around town is inspired from Hollywood actor Emma Watson, who popularised the concept of book fairies or books on the subway in the United Kingdom. Back in Delhi, authors, corporate guys, students and homemakers are all joining the cause. Keshav Chhabra, an MA student of Delhi University, who is pursuing English literature, is one such book champ. He informs, I am part of the group called The Book Fairies, which came into existence early this March. It is a global online community, and the members are called book fairies, we have presence in more than 25 countries. We regularly work in association with the Harry Potter star Emma Watsons book club Our Shared Shelf. We go around leaving books at random places in our cities. Keshav Chhabra, a post graduate student of English literature in Delhi University is the official book fairy of Delhi. (Facebook/ Keshav Chhabra) He adds, It is to re-inculcate reading habits in people that we started this group. Anyone can become a book fairy by ordering stickers and ribbons from the website ibelieveinbookfairies.com. Those who drop books are also promoted to share a picture of them with the book, on various social media platforms. I was waiting for my train at Vishwavidyalaya metro station a few days back, when all of a sudden my friend got excited having spot a book on the bench at the platform. A bit apprehensive to pick it up at first, I was really happy... Ruchika Soni Likewise, Delhi-based couple Shruti Sharma and Tarun Chauhan, as part of their independent initiative Books On The Delhi Metro, have been leaving literary surprises around the Capital. I follow Emma on Instagram, and [saw] her post on dropping books on the subway for an organisation called Books On The Subway. Being her fan right from the Harry Potter days, I contacted the public group seeking permission to start a similar trend in my city. They readily agreed and my husband and I took to dropping books almost immediately, last month, says Shruti, who is a writer. And then there are people like Surabhi Narwal, a banker, who is doing her bit independently. I think its a great idea. So, now, if I like a book and I want to share it with people, I leave it either at a coffee shop or in the metro. I got the idea from the Internet and started doing this randomly, she says. After AUD'S Strishakti, we also visited Ekta's Dastarkhwan, an all-women canteen in Jamia Millia Islamia! Thanks to @just.cartoon.things #ibelieveinbookfairies #bookfairiesdelhi #books #readersofinstagram A post shared by Book Fairies Delhi (@bookfairies_delhi) on May 19, 2017 at 11:16pm PDT From The Colour Purple by Alice Walker to Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis and The Hound of Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, there are titles from all genres that one can expect to find, if lucky! Shruti Sharma and Tarun Chauhan have founded the group Books On The Delhi Metro. (Facebook/Shruti Sharma) And the joy of unexpectedly finding a book is immense, according to those who have. I was waiting for my train at Vishwavidyalaya metro station a few days back, when all of a sudden my friend got excited having spotted a book on the bench at the platform. A bit apprehensive to pick it up at first, I was really happy when I saw a sticker on the cover that had words book fairies. So, I picked it up and loved reading it. And I left it somewhere for someone else to read it, says Ruchika Soni, a 28-year-old school teacher. Give me one good reason why would you not pick this book.? It's headed towards Dwarka, just left Uttam Nagar East. #booklovers #booksonthedelhimetro #bodm #books #delhi #delhimetro #bookish #namesake #jhumpalahiri A post shared by Books On The Delhi Metro (@booksonthedelhimetro) on May 21, 2017 at 9:24pm PDT People are also uploading about their book finds on the photo-sharing website, Instagram, and on social media websites, too. We love it when people put pictures of the books they find or they plan to drop. We also welcome people to tell us about the places they want us to leave books, and even the titles that they like to read, by tagging us on our social media accounts, says Sharma . However, some people spoil the fun and break the chain by hoarding the book. Some people dont drop it and that is not nice. I think someday they will feel the need to share the books with others, too. I hope that the trend will grow and those who love books will ultimately follow the right path, laughs Shruti. Israeli author David Grossman won the Man Booker International Prize on Wednesday for his novel A Horse Walks Into a Bar. He will share the 50,000 ($64,000) award with translator Jessica Cohen. Grossman is the first Israeli writer to win the prize. The book unfolds over the course of a stand-up show during which comedian Dovelah Gee exposes a wound he has been living with for years and the difficult choice he had to make between the two people who were dearest to him. Thank you all. I will cherish this award and this evening, Grossman said after receiving the prize at a ceremony in central London. US translator Jessica Cohen (left) and Israeli author David Grossman at the shortlist photocall for the Man Booker International Prize in London. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP) I thank first of all my wonderful, devoted, translator Jessica Cohen, the 63-year-old author said. Judge Nick Barley said Grossman attempted an ambitious high-wire act of a novel, and... pulled it off spectacularly. We were bowled over by Grossmans willingness to take emotional as well as stylistic risks: every sentence counts, every word matters in this supreme example of the writers craft, Barley added. Since he started writing in the late 1970s after being fired from public radio following anger over his critical coverage, Grossman has won numerous Israeli and international awards. His 1986 novel See Under: Love is seen by a number of critics as his masterpiece, delving into the Holocaust and the generation of Jews that followed. (From left) Translator Nicholas de Lange, Israeli author David Grossman, Danish author Dorthe Nors, French author Mathias Enard, Argentinian author Samanta Schweblin and Norwegian author Roy Jacobsen pose with their books. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP) Other works have included The Yellow Wind, a prescient, non-fiction look at Israels occupation ahead of the first Palestinian intifada that erupted in 1987. His 2008 novel To the End of the Land, published after the death of his son Uri, contemplates the effects of war while portraying Israeli life. Grossmans works have been translated into more than 30 languages and he was also decorated with Frances Chevalier de lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres in 1998. In 2011 he was part of a group of seven prominent writers from around the world to appeal to the United Nations Security Council to sanction the Syrian government over its actions in the civil war which began that year. The international edition of Britains Man Booker Prize was introduced in 2005 and up to last year was awarded in recognition of a body of work by a living author whose work was written or available in English. From 2016, the prize has been given for a single work of fiction that has been translated into English and published in Britain. The prize was won last year by South Korean author Han Kang for The Vegetarian, which sold 1,60,000 copies in the UK according to the prize organisers. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more Indias oil imports from Iran have fallen to their lowest since June 2016, shipping data shows, in possible retaliation for Tehran not awarding a gas field development to Indian companies. India, Irans top oil client after China, shipped in 487,600 barrels per day (bpd) in May, about 9 percent less compared with April and nearly 40 percent less than a peak registered in October, according to ship tracking data obtained from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts. Most Western-led sanctions against Tehrans nuclear programme were lifted in January last year, and Indias Iranian crude imports began climbing two months later in March. In the fiscal year to March 2018, though, India has said it plans to order about a quarter less Iranian crude due to a snub over development of Irans Farzad B gas field. We stood by them in difficult times. We still buy substantial amounts of oil from them, and we expect reciprocity from Iran, Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters on Wednesday when asked if India was still hopeful of getting the development rights for the Farzad B field. Following years of seeming rapprochement over the field, Iran has likely reached an agreement on the concession with Russias state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, Russian and Indian media have reported. Iran last month said India had not offered an acceptable proposal on the Farzad B development. Sri Paravaikkarasu of energy consultancy FGE said Indias lower Iran imports were a reaction of Irans decision to award the gas field to Russia and the availability of cheaper grades like those from Russia. India was one of four countries - China, Japan and South Korea being the other three - that continued to import large amounts of Iranian oil after sanctions were toughened in 2012. Some of the drop in imports from Iran may be due to lower demand. Overall, India imported about 4.2 percent less oil in May, compared with April, due to a shutdown of the 180,000-bpd Bathinda refinery for upgrades. In the first five months of 2017, Indias oil imports from Iran still jumped about 64 percent, the data showed. While Irans oil exports to India are stalling, supplies to Europe and Turkey hit their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in 2016. Iraq continued to be Indias biggest oil supplier for the second month in a row in May, followed by Saudi Arabia. Middle Eastern oil in May accounted for 65 percent of Indias overall imports, compared to 71 percent a year ago, while the import share of Africa and Latin America have risen, the data showed. The shift is likely a result of an effort led by the Middle East-dominated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut production to prop up oil prices. I was moved but not surprised to read in the newspapers that the inspector general of Police Rajnish Rai has filed a report questioning the March 30 2017 encounter in Assams Chirang district. In this joint operation by the Army, Assam Police, CRPF and SSB, two militants were killed. Rajnish Rai in a courageous report concludes that the FIR filed by Assam Police on the operation and the special situation report prepared by other special forces present a fictitious account of the joint operation by the security forces to conceal pre-planned murders of two persons in custody and present it as some brave act of professional achievement. They were picked up from their village, killed in cold blood by men in uniform, and weapons placed on their bodies thereafter. It is important for us to acknowledge with gratitude the contributions of public servants like Rajnish Rai, who are willing to stake their careers and futures to defend truth and justice, even if it involves standing against their own brothers and sisters in uniform. It is the same Rajnish Rai who was entrusted with the responsibility to assist in investigating the encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in March 2007 in Gujarat, ten years earlier. It was expected at that time by his superiors and peers that he would protect the state police and political establishment. Instead he stunned his peers and seniors by arresting IPS officers D G Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandyan and Dinesh M N in April 2007 for the fake encounter murder of Sohrabuddin, his wife Kauserbi and close associate Tulsiram Prajapati. Pandyan was Rais batch-mate, and they had been close friends, spending time in each others homes. But Rai was convinced that his friend Pandyan had committed a grave crime of custodial murder. Rai also alleged that the then home minister and the police officers loyal to him were making every effort to cover up the crimes of the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. He maintained that the Tulsiram Prajapati murder was also part of this conspiracy because he was a witness to the abduction by the police of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauserbi. Satish Verma, another Gujarat police officer, filed an affidavit in the High Court stating that the purported encounter killing of 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan was not genuine. The investigations by senior police officers Satish Varma and Rajnish Rai led ultimately to the charge-sheeting and arrest of the then home minister and several senior police officers. The winds of course changed course dramatically once the BJP-led government assumed power in Delhi in May 2014. One by one all the police officers were released from jail. All serving officers were reinstated and promoted, often to responsible positions. P. P. Pandey was released on bail in February 2015 and, in three days, was reinstated and given charge of a probe against Satish Verma, the police officer whose SIT probe had led to Pandeys indictment in the first place. In April 2016, he was appointed the acting Director General, Police, Gujarat a first in the country for a police officer charged with murder on bail to be given this high responsibility. By contrast, police officers like Satish Varma and Rajnish Rai, whose intrepid investigations led ultimately to the charge-sheeting and arrest of the then Home Minister and several senior police officers, have been consistently victimised. Rai was not posted even once to the same location as his wife, an IAS officer in Gujarat, ever since his probe in 2007. Rai was posted in distant Shillong, and Verma in Agartala. A number of charges were levelled against them, their confidential reports sullied, and they were both superseded for their promotions. But both officers are however unbroken, accepting stoically the personal and professional costs of doing what they believed was right. Rajnish Rai said to me that for him the highest satisfaction is that after the investigations that he and Satish Verma undertook, extra-judicial encounter killings of alleged dreaded terrorists came to an abrupt and absolute halt in Gujarat. Such encounters had become had become commonplace between 2002 and 2005, and it was always claimed that the men and women killed were bent on assassinating the chief minister. These would not have ended if these two officers had not demolished the long-sustained tradition of impunity from any criminal investigation for custodial killings by police persons. This alone makes all that they have suffered and lost in their careers worthwhile for them. Unsurprisingly, the government has responded promptly to Rais explosive newest report with another punishment posting, this time out of Shillong to Andhra Pradesh. Rais latest report that pulls the lid off the long tradition of custodial killings in Indias north-east shows that his spirit and valour are undimmed. Harsh Mander is author, Looking Away: Inequality, Prejudice and Indifference in New India The views expressed are personal. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON DEHRADUN. It was four years ago on this day June 16 that a devastating deluge wreaked an unprecedented havoc in Uttarakhand. Flashfloods, induced by cloud bursts and rain, ravaged the Kedarnath valley before coursing down towards Haridwar. The floods had affected more than one lakh people living in around 4,200 villages. Dozens of villages were washed away, 5,000 people died while and hundreds of others were rendered homeless. As the immensity of the disaster unfolded, the then Congress government, led by Vijay Bahuguna, caught on the wrong foot, made a slew of promises, and concrete measure to prevent any more such tragedies. One such promise was to relocate 395 villages falling in the high risk flood and landslide prone areas to safer places. Four years and three chief ministers later, the promise still remains on the paper. Not a single disaster prone village has been relocated. Soon after the June 2013 calamity, Bahuguna had ordered a survey of villages vulnerable to natural calamities. The survey conducted jointly by the Geological Survey of India and Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology found 352 villages unsafe. Later some more villages were added in the list. The tragedy became the undoing of Bahuguna who lost the chief ministers post to Harish Rawat. With their being limited resources at the state governments disposal, Rawat met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded a 13,000-crore package for relocating the villages. As the situation at the ground remains as it is, a blame game has begun. The officials blame lack of political will power and inability to find suitable alternate sites for relocation not taking place, the political leaders cite lack of funds as major roadblock. The incumbent Congress state chief, Pritam Singh, who remained a minister in the Harish Rawat cabinet, blamed the Centre for not helping out Uttarakhand. Our government had done extensive work on relocation of disaster prone villages across the state but we didnt get support from the central government. It is a well known fact that the Centre withdrew all kinds of budgetary support to the Harish Rawat government, Pritam said. He claimed that despite all odds, the previous Congress government was able to bring Chardham pilgrimage back on track within a year. This (Trivendra Singh Rawat) government should not face any problems in shifting the villages as it is run by double engine, he said in an apparent reference to the BJP governments being in place in the state and at the Centre. They , however, lack the willingness. Officials in the state disaster management department claim that the detailed project report (DPRs) for at least 73 most sensitive villages has been prepared and their relocation may begin after the ongoing budget session concludes. We expect the state assembly to ratify the budget for beginning to relocate the disaster prone villages. DPRs are ready for first phase of shifting of villages and the process will start after department gets the budget for the same, said secretary, disaster management, Amit Singh Negi. Negi said the task was huge and bound to take time. As per sources in the department, they need 8-10 crore for relocation of one village. The first two years after the disaster were devoted only to surveys and studies for identifying the disaster prone villages. Around 30 villages have been identified in Kedar valley alone. Meanwhile, of the 4,200 deaths recorded by the officials, families of almost 100 victim pilgrims are yet to get death certificates. This has deprived the families of compensation. Uttarakhand plans to make National Council of Educational Research Training (NCERT) books mandatory in schools irrespective of their affiliations for bringing uniformity in education and for dismantling the nexus of private schools and publishers. If the plan works, NCERT books will be introduced from the next academic session for standard 3 to 12. The government has taken NCERT authorities onboard for its plan to publish the books in Uttarakhand. After a meeting with NCERT authorities on Wednesday night, school education minister Arvind Pandey got the nod from them to publish these books in the state and to supply them to dealers who in turn will deliver it to the schools. Currently, schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Uttarakhand Board of School Education (UBSE) follow NCERT books. But the exception to this norm is private schools, a majority of which are affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). We have taken consent of NCERT authorities to publish books here. The plan is to have all boards adopting the same books. This will help in checking private publishers who are selling expensive books to students of private schools. It will also improve the quality of education, Pandey told Hindustan Time on Thursday. The state government spends an estimated Rs 8 crore annually in publishing books every year. This fund covers cost of re-evaluation of syllabus, research and other details. If NCERT books are accepted by all schools, the government will be able to stop this expenditure meant for publishing and for state-level research and training. Private schools engaging private publishers for high commissions in exchange of prescribing their expensive textbooks is a well-known fact. Sources claim some of the top private schools earn over Rs 5 crore annually out of this business. Pandey has held talks with some private schools for introducing NCERT books notwithstanding their affiliation. Doons Bala Hissar Academy principal Madhulika Sandhu said NCERT books are good for Science and Math but there was need to upgrade English books. I have personally found mistakes in NCERT books. The syllabus of NCERT may be good for competitions, but the language and especially English needs to be upgraded. The decision rest with the central unit of CISCE. We are here only to conduct examination, CISCE convenor, Dehradun, PS Kalra said. At the same time, the government will promote book banks in schools. For its succesfull implementation, the gap set for altering school syllabus will be at least five years. This, sources in the school department say, will come to the help of the poor and needy students who can utilize the old donated books. After a year, the books become waste. Once NCERT books are used in the syllabus of every board, we can have old books for the needy students. With this, we will bring down paper use and contribute to a healthy ecosystem, Pandey asserted. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The ministry of civil aviation (MOCA) has given IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir time till July 15 to decide the date for shifting to Delhi airports Terminal 2 from Terminal 1, which is operating beyond its capacity. In a strongly worded letter, the ministry told the three low-cost airlines that if they do not come up with a date within a month, they will be forced to shift out. As a final opportunity, the airlines operating from T1 shall discuss the issue among themselves in order to arrive at a mutually acceptable situation in a month, by July 15, 2017. In case there is no consensus by July 15, the airport operator shall be free to decide the suitable course of action, which shall be binding on these airlines, said SV Ramana, under secretary in MOCA, in the letter to the airlines. HT has a copy of the letter that has also been sent to the Delhi airport operator. Delhi has two operational terminals - T1 and T3. Though the capacity of T1 is 20 million passengers, it handles 24 million passengers annually. Seven-year-old T3 is getting congested due to an increase in the number of flights. The ministry wants T2 to become operational by October when the winter schedule starts so that T1 can be taken up for expansion. In any case, T2 should be operational before the commencement of winter schedule 2017, the letter said. T2 was renovated in early 2016 to accommodate at least two of the three low-cost airlines operating from T1. However, the airlines refused to move out fearing a rise in the operational cost. T2 was earlier used for international flights before T3 was commissioned in 2010. It had been lying abandoned since then and used only for Haj operations once a year. The airlines were also given the option to shift only some flights to T2, including the ones they would introduce in the future. But the deadlock continued, which the civil aviation minister earlier said was undesirable as it caused inconvenience to the passengers. The two terminals of Delhi airport - T1 and T3 - can together handle 62 million passengers per annum. In 2016, 55.6 million used these terminals and the number is likely to go beyond their capacity this year. The number of flights per day has also increased to 1185 in 2016 from 1050 average flight movements in a day in 2015. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Tigran Urikhanyan again doesnt show up at court hearing (video) The NA lawmaker Tigran Urikhanyan didnt show up at the court hearing into the case of Director of Analitik website Ani Hovhannisyan today as well. Already the 4th court hearing has been cancelled, as the aggrieved party, Tigran Urikhanyan, didnt appear at the court hearing. The activities of the working committee of the Council of Europe are underway in Armenia, and his presence is mandatory, explained Karmen Poghosyan, representative of Tigran Urikhanyan. The absence of the aggrieved party caused the discontent of the defense side, Last time the aggrieved party sent a note to the court, informing us that he would definitely attend todays court hearing. I propose to make a decision to take him to the court, or change the precautionary measure of my defendant or do not recognize his evidence as a proof, said Liparit Simonyan, advocate of Ani Hovhannisyan. Ani Hovhannisyan added, During 9 months of preliminary investigation Tigran Urikhanyan didnt show up for confrontation, now he doesnt appear at court hearings, but he found time to make a sharp report. I agree with my advocate, I think that my rights are violated, I am in custody illegally. You should make a decision to take him to the court hearings or change my precautionary measure. To remind, the police received a report by the RA NA lawmaker Tigran Urikhanyan according to which the director of the website periodically published on the website false information, defamation and other incriminating materials about his person, family members and his activities as a lawmaker. The director of the website reportedly demanded that the lawmaker pay her AMD 300,000 every month for stopping the publication of articles. Judge Arshak Vardanyan informed that if Tigran Urikhanyan doesnt show up at the next court hearing as well, a decision on taking him to the court hearings will be made as well as the issue of changing the precautionary measure of Ani Hovhannisyan will be discussed. Court hearing will continue on June 22. Not only do the municipal corporations of Delhi have nearly 80% of the parking lots under them, they also have 14,086 kilometres of roads under them which again is more than half of what other agencies own. This means that the biggest responsibility of implementing the Parking Policy for Delhi will be upon the MCDs. Once the final policy is approved by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, the municipal corporations will have to initiate a slew of measures, the first of which would be to introduce differential parking rates. This means that the existing rates of Rs 10-20 per hour will be changed. The draft policy will now be open to public for their comments and suggestions for 30 days after which the government will analyse the feedback received and make amendments accordingly. Once that is done, the file will go to the chief minister and then the final approval of the L-G will be sought, said transport commissioner Varsha Joshi. She explained that the policy will be a directive which will be binding on all agencies. It is a document which has been prepared after consultations with a number of agencies and experts, she said. Spearheaded by the L-G, the policy lays down a number of actions to be taken by the MCDs and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). They have been asked to identify space for commercial parking and develop vacant plots in residential areas for private parking. They will also have to develop more multi-level parking lots, delegate enforcement power to road owning agencies and create an automated parking system. The municipal corporations welcomed the move and said they would act according to the policy. We would implement the parking policy in its totality. Regular progress reports of the policies that we will have to frame will also be taken into account, said Puneet Goyal, commissioner of South Delhi Municipal Corporation. He, however, mentioned that the policy invariably means increasing enforcement manifold which is difficult with the corporations current staff strength. For that we will do capacity building to increase our resources, Goyal said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON We arent leaking any secret if we tell you to head to Old Delhis Jama Masjid area one of these Ramzan nights. We go there every year in the holy month of fasting. There is a familiarity, and yet, there is a thrill as if we are experiencing this world for the first time. Since the eateries remain open until the morning prayers, its best to get there only after midnight. Kallan Sweets Across the road from the Jama Masjid, Kallan Sweets was started in 1939 by Kallan Mian of Peshawar. People in the neighbourhood love its paneer jalebi. During Ramzan, however, we encourage you to feast on its super-thick pheeki jalebis made in pure desi ghee. If you want to pass off as an all-knowing local, go a step further and dunk thetwisty delicacy in a bowl of cold milk. Kebab Street We are wistfully told of a time when idle Old Delhiwallas sat on the stairs of the Jama Masjid and chatted over kebabs. The vendors stood at the bottom of the stairs. These days the kebab sellers line up at Urdu Bazaar, which faces the mosque. Go to Nadeem Chicken Corner for fish fry, Lalu Kababee for tikka, Tajuddins stall for seekh kebab and mint chutney, and Ahmad Chicken Corner for roast murga. Make sure to watch the cooks in action -- their arms move so fast they are a blur. Nawabuddin Khajoor Waale This booth hoards a great variety of dates during the fasting season. We cannot get enough of harmuni. Imported from Iraq, this date variety is so soft and sweet that it is nicknamed gulab jamun. Kamaal Sweet House Youll find this small shop stacked with flaky khajlas, that colossal ghee-rich puffy bread that, were told, goes best with milk. Kamaals khajlas are preferred by the areas snobs because it has its own bakery. Most other shops get their supply from east Delhis Seelampur. Haji Tea Point This tea house is much loved during Ramzan for its sevai and pheni. While sevai is roasted vermicelli, pheni is its deep-fried version. The shop serves both in bowls of milk. Asghar Bakery You must have the coconut paratha here. Sweet and milky, it looks look like a huge bun and is a perfect accompaniment to chai. Muhammed Imrans Chai Stall End the escapade in this quiet corner yes it remains quiet even during Ramzan. Imrans tea stall stands alone on the other side of Jama Masjid (gate no 2). The chai itself is not extraordinary and we are not asking you to go there for its over-sweet brew. Instead, just sit on the wooden bench and soak in the atmosphere after the noise and lights of Old Delhi. There are barely any people here at this hour. Jama Masjid look like a shadow, and Red Fort a shadows shadow. Its a magical way to end a magical night. GET THERE: Jama Masjid Best Time: After midnight Nearest Metro Station: Jama Masjid Smugglers have found unique ways to smuggle gold into country. In two days, customs at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) have seized 5kg gold worth Rs1.4 crores hidden in microwave ovens, toys, wafers and confectionery boxes. In one case, customs seized 996 gms of gold foils concealed inside the carton boxes (packing material) of wafers, confectioneries and toys. The concealment was such that it made it difficult for x-ray scanning machines to detect the gold, said a customs official. A 50-year-old passenger, who had come from Dubai, has been arrested. In another case, about 1.4 kg gold was seized from passengers in two separate cases. They had concealed the gold inside microwave ovens, and placed it near their coil (use to heat food items) to avoid detection. In another case, 465 gm gold, which was concealed in handle of the trolley bag carried by the passenger, was seized. Gold inside a microwave. Gold inside a trolley bag handle. With the temperature soaring high, we can sometimes avoid stepping out. But, the cops in the city dont have that privilege. No matter how hot it is outside, they are always on duty! Keeping this in mind, the traffic department of Delhi Police has made arrangements such as distribution of water bottles and ORS powder to help the cops cope with the heat. Delhi Police PRO and DCP (Crime) Madhur Verma says, Traffic policemen have to stand in the heat to monitor the traffic. Hence, theyll be given water bottles and Electral powder (ORS). They have been advised to stand in the shade, wherever and whenever possible, during peak hours to avoid heatstroke. Garima Bhatnagar, Joint CP of Traffic, Delhi Police. Garima Bhatnagar, Joint CP (Traffic), says, Besides providing drinking water and ORS to the traffic cops, we also advise them to take care of their health. Not just the traffic department, good samaritans in the city are also helping cops in Delhi and Gurgaon. Sonesh Bahel along with his friends Gaurav Gupta, Rashu Rathi and Anupam Wadhwa help the cops through a Gurgaon-based NGO, Human for Human. We offer juices and water in summer and tea in winter to the cops. We also distribute food items among them at night. Cops work for hours in the heat to keep us safe, so this is the least we can do, says Bahel. Manish Kaushal, a resident of Rohini, keeps 15-20 water bottles in his car. He says, On my way to office, Id see about 8-10 traffic cops standing in the heat. Its been a month since I started distributing water to them and it feels good. Like Kaushal, Megha Gupta from Mayur Vihar, along with the kids of her colony helps not just the cops but poor kids and rickshaw-pullers too. Im a teacher. During vacations, I get a lot of time to help those who work hard in the heat, she says. Deepak Rao, a traffic cop feels motivated and thankful when volunteers offer him a juice or a water bottle. He says, Working tirelessly for the whole day is our job. When someone offers us water and juice in the heat, it motivates me to work harder. I thank all those, who help us. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Even as people from across the globe watched in shock and awe the massive blaze in a 24-storey tower block in West London on Wednesday, questions were raised on the poor fire safety record of high-rise buildings that have mushroomed in Delhi-NCR. Death of firemen in two recent incidents in Delhi exposed how ill-prepared the national capital was in dealing with disasters. Besides the poor enforcement of safety and building bylaws, the fire department lacks latest technologies and manpower to operate in life-threatening situations. The scenario is no different in the newer cities of Noida and Gurgaon where plush malls and posh residential towers have mushroomed but no attention had been given to adequately equip the fire departments. The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) is equipped with just five skylifts -- one is out of order. These four skylifts, of which two are stationed in Connaught Place, are meant to serve the entire city. One of these skylifts can reach 70 metres and the other four 40 metres. Our fighting happens from inside, not outside. We focus on sending our men inside the buildings. New buildings are growing taller by the day. We cannot keep procuring taller skylifts each time, says GC Mishra, DFS Director. In Delhi, there are around 3,000 buildings taller than 15 metres. These buildings are those which have come up in authorised areas after due permissions. They have the fire clearances and it is not a trouble to fight a blaze there, says Mishra. However, the trouble starts when even the authorised multi-storeyed buildings change design to add more compartments. In those circumstances, the fire fighters find it difficult to gain access to the building from alternative entry points or make their way inside, says Atul Garg, Chief Fire Officer, DFS. Gurgaon remains vulnerable In Gurgaon, which boasts of countless skyscrapers, little has changed even 13 years after a massive blaze in a multi-storey building in DLF Cyber City just days before a multinational company was to move into this state-of-the-art building. Back then, the city lacked fire fighting infrastructure and it sought help from Delhi Fire Services which had to rush a hydraulic ladder (skylift) and fire tenders to douse the flames. Water sprayed by the Haryana fire service tenders had failed to reach even the 9th floor (30 metres) of the building. Even today, the government is largely dependent on the private sector, which has set up its own fire stations, deployed men and sourced the required infrastructure. However, what has changed in this city since Cyber Green fire incident is that the number of high-rises has crossed 1100, many of which are as high as 195 metres (60 floors). The hydraulic platforms of Haryana Fire Service can reach only the 14th floor (40 metres) of a high-rise. Plans to acquire a 100-metre snorkel remains in papers only. Equipment and personnel from the fire departments of Air Force, DLF Ltd, Honda Motorcycles & Scooters and Maruti Suzuki are often borrowed during an emergency. The DLF fire station -- NCRs first private fire station has two hydraulic platforms that can reach up to 90 metres. SK Dheri, former chief of Delhi Fire Services, who also headed DLF Fire Services, said besides firefighting equipment, the response time is a key issue. Only a select fire stations spread across the city dont ensure timely help. Poor traffic management also adds to the problem, he said. Living dangerously in Noida Equipped with only one 42-metre-high hydraulic platform that can reach only up to 14 storeys, the fire department in Gautam Budh Nagar can only pray that fire incidents do not occur in nearly 950 high-rise buildings that have 20 to 25 floors. According to officials, there are nearly 2,000 high-rises in Noida, including the Supernova in Sector 94 with 80 storeys and a height of 300 metres. As per our records, of the total 2,000 buildings nearly 950 have 20 to 25 storeys where we cannot reach with our hydraulic platform. Even the 42 metre platform cannot extinguish fire on the 14th floor as it lets firemen reach only two to three floors, that too depending on the velocity of air, said Gautam Budh Nagar chief fire officer, Arun Singh. Singh said the department has to rely on the fire safety systems installed in the buildings. Officials said even though they may get new equipment, the state government has not increased the manpower. Gautam Budh Nagar has 160 firemen against the required strength of 350. On a prayer in Ghaziabad The situation is even worse in neighbouring Ghaziabad where fire department does not have even a 42-metre hydraulic platform. The city has nearly 300 residential and commercial high-rises. The development authority has given permissions for construction of buildings up to 22-storey high. However, the fire officials could reach only up to six storeys with their current equipments. We have to borrow a hydraulic platform from Noida. We also face shortage of staff and vehicles, said Akshay Ranjan Sharma, chief fire officer. Officials also pointed out that in nearly 60-70% high-rises fire fighting equipment are not maintained regularly. Parking your vehicle on a footpath might get you arrested and secure a trip to jail. The draft Parking Policy for Delhi has suggested making parking on footpaths a cognisable offence under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. For a cognisable offence, the police can arrest the violator without a warrant. This is one of the various measures being planned as part of the lieutenant governor approved policy. Parking rates Parking rates in Delhi were last revised in 2014. The increased fee by the municipal corporations can easily be called a token amount as it costs only Rs 20 to park a car per hour. Experts have been arguing for years that the corporation should increase its parking fee to deter people from buying new cars but they claimed it was never done mostly due to political reasons. With the parking policy ready, this is going to change. While no kind of parking is going to be free, differential rates will be introduced. The civic bodies should use a wide variety of tools for dynamic pricing. They can use time variable charges such as higher rates during peak hour, progressive increase in rates per hour, differentiation in parking fees can be done according to zone, peak hour demand and rates for weekdays and weekends, the policy states. According to government estimates, Delhis municipal corporations are likely to earn an additional Rs 500-600 crore per annum by increasing parking rates. Surface parking and parking mafia Officially, there are 250 surface parking sites across the city. However, the stretches where cars are being illegally parked along roads and on footpaths are far more than the designated spaces. In some places such as Kamla Market, the parking mafia allows illegal parking, officials of North Delhi Municipal Corporation said. The policy aims to counter this by laying seven conditions for contractors. Get full details of contractor to ensure that cartelisation is not happening (to do through affidavits and physical verification). Take adequate security deposit to check misuse (NDMC takes two months advance license fee+ four months security; MCD takes annual money in advance; sites are auctioned for two years), the document read. It further suggested imposing strict penalties against misuse and made it mandatory for contractors to use hand-held devices instead of issuing paper slips. Multi-level parking lots Surface parking is seen as the cheapest form of parking as the opportunity cost of the land is not reflected in the charges. At the same time, multi-level parking (MLP) is being grossly underutilised. Citing examples of the MLPs at Sarojini Nagar and Hauz Khas, the policy talks of reducing rates at such facilities and increasing it for surface parking. On-street parking may be priced three times higher than off street. On street parking may be priced for every 30 minute per lot, increasing as per the formula 2x+10, where x is the charge for the previous hour, up to a maximum of three hours. Heavy penalties to be levied beyond three hours which could be an additional Rs 100 and increase beyond that, it said. Apart from this, some commercial roads will be declared no parking roads. It also suggested that at least 75% capacity of parking lots around commercial areas be kept for short-term parking, meaning for visitors. This is to prevent shopkeepers and office-goers from blocking such spaces throughout the day. They would be pushed to use MLPs instead. Commercial vehicles There are over six lakh transport vehicles that are registered in Delhi alone. Apart from this, thousands of cabs are plying illegally. For enforcement officials, the problem has been that most of the commercial vehicles are parked illegally along arterial roads and even in residential areas creating a safety hazard. For this, the policy states, Overnight parking of buses, trucks, tourist buses, vans, water tankers, containers, lorries etc. may be allowed only along notified roads during night hours only upon certain payment to local bodies/PWD to discourage haphazard parking. Such areas should be brought under the management of private service providers for realisation of parking charges. No parking should be allowed except on notified roads. Enforcement power Presently, Delhi Traffic Police is mandated to take action against unauthorised parking. Agencies such as the PWD, DDA or MCDs which actually own the roads and maintain them have no power to prosecute the encroachers. The new policy suggests giving enforcement powers for challaning to local bodies and the PWD under the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The MCDs have enforcement staff but due to their multifarious duties, it is recommended that they should create a dedicated enforcement cell to regulate parking in their areas by exercising these powers, it added. Number of cars Approximately seven lakh vehicles are registered in a year and the law does not prescribe any limit for purchase of motor vehicles. In order to discourage ownership of multiple cars by one individual, incremental increase in road tax will be considered. The transport department will prepare a policy to disincentivise purchase of multiple cars in the name of an individual or family and for that purpose incremental increase in road tax shall be proposed. This would need an amendment to the Delhi Motor Vehicles Taxation Act. While the contemporary view considers car as a necessity for work or to ferry an elderly parent or a child to school, it suggests that fairness lies in keeping car ownership accessible for all. Till the ownership is limited to requirement, it may remain a necessity but the ownership of multiple cars is broadly a luxury which needs to be discouraged and the next step for that purpose is to tax progressively upwards, the second, third and fourth car, the report stated. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Delhi chief minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal has asked his partys MLAs to submit a written plan by Sunday about their planned visits in their constituency. The directive comes on complaints that some MLAs were still to start meeting people in their areas. To reconnect with residents -- the lack of which was identified as one of the reasons for the partys loss in the municipal elections -- the leadership had decided that all legislators would visit their constituencies, at least on Saturday and Sunday. Kejriwal himself started meeting residents in his constituency. In a letter to party MLAs on Wednesday, the chief minister reminded that a few legislators were yet to start the exercise. I request all legislators that they should put in place a plan about their visit in their constituency with exact dates. I am of the belief that every MLA can cover each and every colony of their constituency in two months. I request all to prepare and send their plans by Sunday, Kejriwal said in his letter. Ensure public-officials meet: CM to chief secretary The CM asked the Delhi chief secretary to ensure that officials meet the public on weekdays and warned of disciplinary action against those who dont follow his directions. I had directed earlier that all officers will be available in their offices to meet public, without appointments, on all working days. However, I am told that many officers are not following this, Kejriwal wrote to chief secretary M M Kutty on Thursday. The CS should issue strict warning that any officer violating these instructions will face disciplinary action, he added. To tackle the Delhi governments apparent disconnect with the people, the AAP government decided that all ministers, including the chief minister and officers would open their doors to the public and meet people without appointment for an hour on weekdays starting June 1. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday attended an iftar party hosted by party legislator Amanatullah Khan, who was suspended recently after he accused senior party leader Kumar Vishwas of being a BJP agent, raising eyebrows in the party. The development comes at a time when there is a growing trust deficit between AAP leadership and Vishwas as a section of leaders in the party recently questioned the poet-turned politicians soft attack on BJP leaders even as he treats Congress leaders differently. Party leaders, however, maintained that the iftar was hosted not by Khan but by the minority wing of the party. Being the local MLA, Amanataullah attended the event, a party leader said. Kejriwals attendance at the event, however, was described by a section in the party as a clear message that Khan might have been suspended by the party for three months to placate Vishwas but his clout in the party has not waned. Soon after Khans suspension, who is also a member of the political affairs committee (PAC)the highest decision-making body in the party---deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had visited Khans residence. Khan also found favour from the party when he was appointed chairman of five legislative committees of Delhi assembly. Kejriwal, however, steered cleared of any controversy and said that he prayed for the well being of all and for destruction of communal forces. New Delhi A Delhi court has pulled up police for not seizing the CCTV footage of a Metro station that could have easily captured the convicted persons involved in a theft case. The court made the observation while convicting four persons who had targeted a woman during a metro journey between Chandni Chowk and Kashmere Gate in 2013. Accused Manju was held guilty of committing theft. The remaining accused- Asha, Ashok Kumar and Chander Shekhar- were held guilty of dishonestly receiving stolen property. Two other accused, Devender and Vinod, were granted benefit of doubt and acquitted of all the charges. According to prosecution, on January 30, 2013, complainant Paramjeet Kaur had come to Chandni Chowk Metro station. Accused Manju helped her in using the escalator and then later they boarded the metro together to reach Kashmere Gate metro station. But during the metro journey, Manju allegedly made Kaur smell some intoxicating substance. When Kaur regained consciousness, she found herself in Rohini sector 23. It was then that she realised that her gold jewellery, mobile phone, driving licence and three ATM cards had been stolen, police said. A sub-inspector, who had recorded the statement of the complainant, claimed before the court that he had gone to Chandni Chowk Metro Station to see the CCTV footage in order to find out as to who had administered the intoxicating substance, but the footage did not reveal anything. Even if footage was not revealing anything, such footage should have been made part of the record, said Additional Sessions Judge Manoj Jain. The court observed that all the metro stations must be fitted with CCTV cameras and the investigating agency should have taken adequate steps to obtain the CCTV footage of the relevant metro station of the relevant time which would have reflected accused Manju accompanying the complainant. Police said that the call details record (CDR) of the accused persons were analysed which reflected that they were present at Chandni Chowk and had followed the victim from Chandni Chowk till Rohini sector 23 where she was robbed and dumped. The accused had pleaded not guilty and claimed that they had been falsely implicated in the case. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The grain, chemical, and cloth markets in the Walled City were shut till afternoon on Thursday to protest against the Centres decision to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1. Traders from different market associations gathered at Town Hall Chowk to hold a demonstration in the morning. Though a full-day lockdown was called by Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal (CCSVM), the umbrella association of the mercantile community, several of them opened their shops in the second half of the day. Shops were shut from 11am to 2pm. Merchants opposing the GST implementation said, the policy will unnecessarily lead to price hike and ultimately put burden on the buyers and traders. Sanjay Bhargava, general secretary of CCSVM, said, It is unfortunate despite our representation before the finance ministry, the government did not consider our suggestions. Several markets chemical, cloth, electric goods, and food grain associations also joined the protest. For the first time, several commodities are being taxed. Earlier, there was no tax on textile and food grains items. It is not justified, he said. Renuka Gupta, another trader, said that the new tax system is being introduced without taking people, especially businessmen and traders, into confidence. The government should look into our demands. This will result into price rise. First, we suffered due to demonetisatiom now the GST will cause further damage. There is no clarity on the new tax policy and the government is planning to roll out the plan from July 1, she said. Even though women candidates giving the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) 2017 MBBS exam outnumbered men, the latter put in a better performance with 2,077 successfully clearing the exam as against 1,828 women. The results were declared on Thursday, June 15. Out of the 3,64,242 eligible candidates, 2,84,737 candidates gave the exam, with ,150,793 women candidates outnumbering 1,33,933 men and 11 third-gender candidates, an AIIMS release said. The AIIMS MBBS 2017 entrance exam was held on May 28, 2017, for 700 seats of AIIMS, New Delhi, and six other AIIMS at Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh (100 seats each). A total of 4,905 candidates qualified in the examination and were eligible for counselling sessions. However, in the first round of counselling, the number of candidates called will be about four times the number of seats available in each category. More may be called for subsequent rounds of counselling depending upon the availability of seats, the release said. A detailed schedule of counselling sessions will be published on www.aiimsexams.org, so make sure you keep track of whats happening The top 100 candidates include those who have appeared in the exam in 47 cities spread over 22 states/union territories. Nishita Purohit (18) of Surat (Gujrat) is the All India Topper of the exam. With most companies having finished their appraisal cycles by March, employees would have received their fresh pay packages from May of 2017. However, that may not be the case for many in the information technology sector. Due to visa curbs laid down by the Trump regime in the United States, stocks of IT companies in India have come crashing down in recent months. In line with this, many employees have been handed out pink slips instead of appraisal packages in the last month. The Indian IT sector, as we all know, has been heavily dependent on the West for its fortunes. The sector primarily focusing on services has grown over the years by exporting software. While this was bringing in a steady flow of dollars for a long while, it also made us vulnerable and dependent on decisions made by the recipient countries for the sector to succeed. Adding to this, Artificial Intelligence and robotic technologies have also made its presence felt in pruning the number of jobs available. Set against this backdrop is an emerging segment that has suddenly become exciting. There is spiking euphoria in the government sector ever since the 7th pay commission was announced. The commission has recommended a steep revision in pay packages and perks bringing them on par with most private sector jobs. In fact, the revision in many cases is as high as three times the existing package. Our current database with more than a million subscribers records maximum government job aspirants from the North with a share of 42%, followed by the South which records 25% of the aspirants, East with 21% and West with 12%. Uttar Pradesh and Delhi record the highest number of aspirants in the north, at 25% and 17% respectively, while West Bengal and Bihar occupy the maximum share of aspirants in the east, at 37% and 21%. Tamil Nadu, followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana account for 29%, 23%, and 36% aspirants in the south respectively. Maharashtra accounts for the highest subscribers from the west at 79%. The government job as a profession, which was for long frowned upon by job aspirants from metros, has a different story to tell in recent times. There are scores of examples of PhDs and MBA graduates applying for government jobs these days as their first choice of profession. Two of the most priced professions within the government sector have been those under the UPSC or the Union Public Service Commission and jobs in the banking sector. One can attempt examinations such as the UPSC CSE, RBI Grade B, IBPS PO and SBI PO to apply for such jobs. There are many reasons for the rising popularity of government jobs. In fact, they have a lot of qualities in common that make them so lucrative. Young job aspirants today are mavericks Most job aspirants today are not like their counterparts from a few decades ago. They want to challenge tradition and embrace what is available. Being extremely aware of the pros and cons, they are more than willing to take the plunge. They have moved from the conventional thinking of the past in simply being attracted to remuneration or foreign travel as perks for instance. Youngsters today want to discover the country and hence dont mind postings in far flung areas wanting to embrace the countrys inherent culture. Perks Government jobs offer various perks ranging from holidays, leave, PF, bonuses, gratuity, medical and travel allowance, etc. Depending on the level or grade, one can even avail of accommodation, education for children, leave travel, and much more such benefits. Most such perks are unheard of in the private sector and can be really gratifying for a working professional. Prestige One of the biggest advantages of being in this profession is the power one yields. A government job is considered to be very prestigious and commands a lot of respect. It is accompanied by increased status appeal and societal respect. Flexibility Flexibility is a fundamental quality of government jobs. It allows families to plan their lives conveniently by allowing them to factor in childrens school, their holidays and other personal demands. This, in turn, results in overall job satisfaction. Job guarantee While the press generally covers a lot of news about how officers are being transferred about by politicians and the looming job uncertainty, the reality is that a government job is highly secure unless someone does something to jeopardise their position and responsibilities. All in all, government jobs have grown in stature today to assume epic proportions. What was normally considered a small town phenomenon has breached all bastions to populate even metros as a job opportunity of choice. This trend is only bound to grow as existing myths and barriers disintegrate such as low pay parity, the vibrancy of the profession, challenges that they provide, etc. I have personally been a witness to this trend in the UPSC and banking jobs in recent times. Three years ago, 16% of MBA aspirants also prepared for banking and other government exams. In 2016, the number of MBA students preparing for them showed a steep increase to 43%. We have also observed an increase in requests by colleges to provide their final year engineering students, preparation modules for bank and government exams in addition to the campus placement modules (for Infosys, TCS, Accenture etc.) (Patil is the chief executive, co-founder and spokesperson at Oliveboard. Views expressed here are personal.) Over 5 lakh students appeared in the NDA exam for entry to the armed forces this year. Of these, two in the top 10 including All-India Rank (AIR) 1 Nangals Shashank Sharma and Muktsars Armaandeep Singh, AIR 8 are from the same institute in Chandigarh. With 25 selections of 41 students who appeared (the exam was held in September), the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI), in Sector-77 Chandigarh, a Punjab government institute set up in 2011, has been a consistent success. Twelve of the institutes students are in top 100. Students at the AFPI do their Classes 11 and 12 from Shemrock Senior Secondary School, Sector 69, SAS Nagar. Final call letter for joining the academy is issued subject to medical fitness of the applicant, an official said. Armaandeep Singh (HT Photo) Discovery channel programme triggered desire Both Shashank and Armaandeep want to join Armoured Corps in the army. An episode on Discovery Channel in 2014, featuring the NDA motivated me to join the forces. Since then, I started dreaming about how to get into the army, said Shashank, son of a BSNL employee. Prior to joining the AFPI, he was a student of Mount Carmel School, Jindwari, Ropar. The first in a family of civilians to harbour dreams of a military career, he said, At the AFPI, we rigorously followed the programme that director Maj General BS Grewal (retd) chalked out. What also helped was that we did not have our mobile phone. There was no distraction of WhatsApp and Facebook. I studied for five hours a day, he adds. Shashanks father Dinesh Kumar Sharma belongs to Manakpur village in Nangal. His mother is a teacher. Relatives inspired me Armaandeep, the son of a farmer from Muktsar, said, I was hopeful of a good position but never thought, I will get be ranked 8th, he said. A relative in the family who rose to the rank of a brigadier inspired me to join the NDA, he added. He credits the strict regime and the discipline instilled at the institute as key reasons for his success. 52 applicants per seat at the institute The first batch of cadets passed out in April 2013. So far, five batches have passed out from the institute and 63 students have joined various military academies. Admission to the institute starts in January every year with an entrance test for boys from across the state. The exam is conducted at Jalandhar, Patiala and SAS Nagar and those in Class 10 can apply. The batch starts in April. The institutes intake capacity is 48 seats, with 2,500 students apply for admission. So, 52 apply for each seat. All students of AFPI do their Classes 11 and 12 from Shemrock Senior Secondary School, Sector 69, SAS Nagar. An admission in Delhi University might demand high scores, but that doesnt limit your college life to just studying. Offering ample space to hone your skills and show your talent, each college has at least one cultural society (called cult soc in DU lingo) that helps you to fire your passion.Besides, its a cool way to find like-minded friends, bond with and earn accolades. While fucchas prepare to join their dream colleges, we list some of the top societies in the university, be it fashion, music, drama or photography. Fashion A member of I Vogue, the fashion society of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce during a showcase. (Facebook/ I VOGUE : the fashion society of sggscc) When it comes to style, members of I Vogue, the fashion society of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce (SGGSCC) know how to strut their stuff. They are known to go head to head, often making it hard to choose the best, but I Vogue stood tall past year. Glitz from Kamala Nehru College, Galore from Maitreyi College and Glamoratti from Dyal Singh College also join the ranks with brilliant showcases. Western Dance Members of Tanz, the Western Dance society of Miranda House practice before a performance. (Manoj Verma/HT Photo) Tanz, the Western dance society of Miranda House, never ceases to amaze the audience. Their electric moves and coordination are close to being flawless and winners or not, they are always the show-stoppers of an event. Zeal from Maitreyi College, Misba of SGGSCC and Verve of Sri Venkateswara College, too, make for quite a show. Hindi Music Samranjini, the Indian music society of Gargi College . (Facebook/ Samranjini) The ladies from Samranjini, the Indian music society of Gargi College have a way with their ragas. By performing raag Raageshri and Lalit, the past year saw them shine at various events. Swaranjali from Hans Raj College and Tarkaas from Institute of Home Economics are also known to bring their melodious best to stage. Choreography Members of Terpsi Chorean during a performance. (Raajesh Kashyap/HT Photo) More than just moving with the beat, choreography is about telling a story through your moves. While this does sound difficult to do, Terpsi Chorean, from Hansraj College, manages to make it look effortless, winning most points in college competitions. While they are the leading name in the field, Sparx of Gargi College and Sensation of Kirori Mal College are in the same league. Street Theatre A play by the society in progress. (Facebook/ANKUR - The Theatre Society, SGTB Khalsa College) Quirky getups, hard-hitting social issues, stellar acting and teamwork are just some of the core ingredients that make Ankur The Theatre Society of SGTB Khalsa College a winner. One of the most popular theatre societies, they have proved their merit on the street and the stage, time and again that made them a leading name in every fest. Verve, The Street Play Society of the College of Business Studies, is another name that comes as the close second in this category. Dramatics Society The Ibtida team poses for a promotional poster. (Facebook/Ibitida The Dramatics Society of Hindu College) There arent many that can compare to Ibtida dramatics society of Hindu College, founded by Hindu alumnus and filmmaker Imtiaz Ali. Maintaining its reputation, its one of DUs celebrated ECA societies. Dramatics Society of LSR, Shunya of Ramjas College and players of KMC are also famous in the circuit. Photography Society A shot by one of the members of the Pinhole PhotoSoc. (Tanveer Oberoi/Pinhole PhotoSoc) Iris of Gargi College and Projekt of LSR are great societies to be a part of if you have an interest in photography. But, if you are looking for the best, look no further than Pinhole PhotoSoc of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College. These members are a close-knit group who share love for photography and their work is simply one that is meant to amaze. Western Music The Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College. (Facebook/The Western Music Society of LSR ) The Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College for Women specialises in A Cappella, but has also proved its mettle in almost all genres of Western music that include pop, jazz etc. Be it performing for college events or during inter-college competitions, the society is known for its amazing renditions. While they remain unparalleled, Crescendo of Sri Venkateswara College and Echo of Jesus and Mary College are old names that deserve to be mentioned. Follow @htshowbiz for more. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The long-term benefits of making exercise a regular habit are well-documented. But a new study finds that it has immediate effects too. New research says working out for just 30 minutes has an immediate positive effect on womens health. The University of British Columbia study found that the positive effect lasts well beyond the activity itself, which may be good news for women concerned about their body image. Women, in general, have a tendency to feel negatively about their bodies, said senior author Kathleen Martin Ginis. This is a concern because poor body image can have harmful implications for a womans psychological and physical health, including increased risk of low self-esteem, depression and eating disorders. This study indicates exercise can have an immediate positive effect. Researchers believe the feelings of strength and empowerment women achieve post exercise, stimulate an improved internal dialogue. (Shutterstock) Martin Ginis, along with Lauren Salci, compared the body image and physical perceptions of women who completed 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise with those who sat and read. Women in the exercise group had significant improvements in their body image compared to those who didnt exercise. This positive effect lasted at least 20 minutes post-exercise. The research team further established that this effect was not due to a change in the womens mood, rather it was linked to perceiving themselves as stronger and thinner. We all have those days when we dont feel great about our bodies, noted Martin Ginis. This study and our previous research shows one way to feel better, is to get going and exercise. The effects can be immediate. Martin Ginis sees this study as a gateway to enhancing body image through exercise interventions. We think that the feelings of strength and empowerment women achieve post exercise, stimulate an improved internal dialogue, added Martin Ginis. This in turn should generate positive thoughts and feelings about their bodies which may replace the all too common negative ones. The study appears in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more By reducing the crucial intervention time after a heart attack, drone delivery of the easy-to-use kit could raise the chances of survival of cardiac arrest victims, said the report compiled by Swedish researchers. Test runs of drones in Sweden showed they can deliver a defibrillator to an out-of-hospital patient on average 16 minutes faster than a traditional emergency medical response vehicle could reach a victim. Currently, people stricken by heart attacks outside of hospitals have only an eight to 10 percent survival rate in the United States. Reducing access time to a defibrillation -- which restarts the heart with an electric pulse -- is seen as key factor to increasing survival. Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm carried out tests near the Swedish capital and concluded that a remote-controlled drone equipped with an external defibrillator, and guided by GPS and cameras, could be activated by an emergency services dispatcher. There are more than 350,000 cardiac arrests each year in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. For the study, the Swedish Transportation Agency equipped a drone with a defibrillator weighing 1.7 lbs and deployed it at a fire station just north of Stockholm. Eighteen test runs were carried out to locations within a 6.2 mile radius, with a median distance of two miles. A drone equipped with a defibrillator, and guided by GPS and cameras, could be activated by an emergency services dispatcher. (HT File photo ) The average time for the drone to arrive at the scene was 5:21 minutes against 22:00 minutes for an emergency medical services vehicle. In every case, the drone arrived quicker than an ambulance, on average slashing 16.39 minutes off the response time. Saving 16 minutes is likely to be clinically important. Nonetheless, further test flights, technological development, and evaluation of integration with dispatch centers and aviation administrators are needed, the authors of the report said. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more Ahead of the visit of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on June 17, a team of officials of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) inspected Khandsa drain on Wednesday. The district administration has also identified nine spots prone to waterlogging. Yashpal Yadav, Huda administrator, asked the engineering wing to clean the drain to reduce the possibility of waterlogging during rains. The officials also reviewed the construction of a culvert of the drain. Our aim is to reduce the possibility of waterlogging on NH-8 and its service lane. We are working on Khandsa drain for this purpose. We have to clean the sludge and also widen the 600 metre portion of the drain in Khandsa. Since monsoon is neigh, we want to clean the drain immediately, the administrator said. During his visit to Gurgaon on April 15, Khattar had inspected the progress of Khandsa drain which has been posing headaches for the district administration as it is choked with sludge and is too narrow to carry out rainwater. The drain causes backflow on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, between Hero Honda Chowk and Kherki Daula, choking traffic every time it rains. The waterlogging had resulted in a 48-hour gridlock on NH-8 last July forcing the government to do an aerial survey and order the widening of the drain in Khandsa on a priority basis. But the work on widening the drain is yet to start as Huda has not given alternative plots to families whose land and fully built-up houses have been acquired for the widening purpose. Read I Gurgaon: Khandsa residents refuse to vacate land for drain-widening The district administration had formed teams to adopt all possible measures to reduce waterlogging at nine places in the city. These places are Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Subhash Chowk on Sohna Road, Vatika Chowk on Sohna Road, Bus Stand in old Gurgaon, near Deputy Commissioner (DC) office, civil hospital and Gurgaon railway station. The teams comprise officials from National Highways Authority of India, police, revenue, public works department, irrigation, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram and Huda. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Oscar winning actor Gwyneth Paltrow says she is considering giving up her Hollywood career to focus on her lifestyle company Goop. Im not sure how Ill feel about acting going forward. Im doing just a teensy little bit here and there when I have time, but I am loving running my business, she told Extra, reports dailymail.co.uk. The 44-year-old, who has children Apple, 13, and Moses, 11, with her ex-husband Chris Martin, admitted she is instead relishing the challenge of building her own company. Gwyneth Paltrow has two kids, Apple and Moses. You know, my life has been skewing far more heavily towards my business, and it has to right now that we have so much going on, she said. Were growing so fast (at my company), and its such an exciting time to be doing what Im doing. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Owen Wilson, who will be returning to voice the animated character of Lightning McQueen in the third Installment of the Cars film franchise, has revealed that he got the role because of the 2000 classic Shanghai Noon and its 2003 sequel, Shanghai Knights. Both films went on to become blockbusters and established Owen as one of the top Hollywood stars. At a promotional event, Wilson revealed the secret behind his casting. Yeah, there is some talk. Uh, I saw Jackie (Chan) not too long ago and we were talking about it. But, its funny that you mention that because Shanghai Noon was the movie, I think, that helped me sorta become involved with Cars, because when I met John Lasseter, he and his kids had enjoyed that movie. And, he said that he had this animated movie that he thought maybe Id be good for so thats, you know, how I ended up getting cast as Lightning McQueen, he was quoted as saying. During the conference he also revealed that he will reunite with his Shanghai co-star Jackie Chan for the third installment in the franchise, Shanghai Dawn, very soon. Cars 3 will release in India on June 16. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Veteran actor Adam West will be honoured with a ceremonial bat-signal by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. Garcetti and Beck will light up the iconic signal for the the star of the Batman TV series, who passed away at the age of 88 last Friday, at 200 N Spring Street downtown in an event that will start around 9 PM PT Thursday evening, reported Deadline. The signal will be projected via spotlight onto the tower of Los Angeles City Hall. West, who was at the pinnacle of pop culture after Batman debuted in January 1966, only to see his career fall victim to typecasting after the ABC show flamed out, died after a short battle with leukaemia. On the big screen, West starred in The Young Philadelphians (1959), Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) and contributed his velvety voice to the animated Redux Riding Hood (1997), which received an Oscar nomination for best short film. A private tourist bus from Amritsar on Thursday fell into a gorge near Dhaliara, around 60 km from here, killing 10 passengers and injuring 55 others. The deceased -- two women and eight men -- are yet to be identified, Kangra Superintendent of Police S Gandhi said. The injured, eight of them children, have been rushed to Tanda Medical College in Kangra, the officer said. Gandhi, who along with district collector, was at the accident spot said the bus was on its way to Jawalaji. The cause of the accident seems to be over-speeding and poor knowledge of hill driving, the SP said. As the war between the two factions of AIADMK once again reached the doorsteps of the Election Commission, a group of legislators considered close to TTV Dinakaran met Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami in Chennai on Thursday and demanded a key role for him in the party. The legislators called on the CM after Dinakaran had reportedly met party general secretary Sasikala, who is lodged in Bangalore jail. After her arrest, the party had nominated Dinkaran as deputy general secretary. In AIADMK, general secretary runs the party. Party sources said the legislators want Dinakaran to run the party and Palaniswami the government. In Delhi, the O Panneerselvam group on Thursday brought in two vehicles full of affidavits to support its claim over the party symbol. The Sasikala faction had a few days ago brought four truckloads of documents to the Commission. With just a few more days left for the poll panels deadline for submitting details in connection with AIADMKs two leaves party symbol, both Sasikala and OPS factions have been filing affidavits in large numbers. (With PTI inputs) A farmer killed himself in Madhya Pradeshs Hoshangabad district on Thursday morning, news agency ANI reported, the seventh such suicide in seven days in a region rocked by violent farmer protests over plummeting crop prices. Narmada Prasad was a resident of Hoshangabads Babai village and was being pressurized by local moneylenders, ANI added. The details of his death couldnt be immediately ascertained. Madhya Pradesh was pitch forked under the national spotlight on June 6, when five farmers died in police firing during demonstrations to demand a loan waiver and better crop prices. Since then, seven deaths have been reported from the state as angry farmers have torched vehicles and ransacked property. The government has struggled to contain the acute agricultural crisis, despite assurances from the chief minister and promises of a partial loan waiver. The army has owned up to having erroneously killed a man in eastern Arunachal Pradeshs Changlang district close to midnight of June 14. The area is on the states border with Myanmar. A defence spokesperson said troops of the 12 Para special force were lying in ambush after receiving intelligence inputs on the movement of a group of hardcore terrorists. It was during this time the individual who got killed came into the ambush and, on being challenged, made very suspicious movements and rushed towards the ambush party, which forced them to open controlled fire, resulting in the individual suffering fatal injury, the spokesperson said. It was a case of mistaken identity, army officials said. The victim was later identified as Thingtu Ngemu. In Manipur, three Assam Rifles personnel were injured in an IED blast near the paramilitary forces post at Kasom Khullen in Ukhrul district Thursday morning. No militant outfit in the state staked claim for the blast near Bunpun village. The army launched a search operation on Thursday in the garrison town of Samba in Jammu and Kashmir after a man claimed he saw four suspected militants in the area. However, an army officer said no militants have so far found during the search near the Jammu-Pathankot highway. They were thieves who fled the area when we started the search operation, he said. A civilian, Kuldeep Raj from Sidco phase 1 area, alerted police saying he saw four suspicious persons around 4.10am. Subsequently, a search operation was launched by police and the army with their quick reaction teams. Searches were launched along the Basanter river that flows into Pakistan and said to be a preferred route of infiltration by militants from Pakistan. A jawan was killed and three others were injured when suspected militants ambushed an Assam Rifles party in Ukhrul district of Manipur on Thursday. The ultras exploded an improvised explosive device (IED) at Kashungabout 11.15 am, police said. The deceased was identified as Havildar Rohit. The three injured, who are yet to be identified, were airlifted by a helicopter to the Leimakhong Army Hospital in Imphal, they said. A large number of central forces personnel and police commandos rushed to the area to conduct search operations. The opposition in West Bengal on Thursday demanded an immediate all-party meeting to defuse the crisis in Darjeeling, that deepened following police raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, and blamed chief minister Mamata Banerjee for the deteriorating condition in the hills. All the major opposition partiesthe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congressalso asked the chief minister to start talks with the GJM. She is trying to capture political control using the police. The chief minister should immediately step out of her ego and call an all-party meeting. Fresh negotiations should also start through tripartite meetings involving GJM, the Centre and state governments, said CPI(M) politburo member and MP Mohammad Salim. The BJPs national secretary and former president of the partys Bengal, Rahul Sinha, too held the chief minister responsible for the current crisis. First, she tried to impose Bengali on the hill people, and second, then tried to suppress them through the use of force. However, it is not too late yet. She should call an all-party meeting and bring GJM to the negotiation table through persuasion, Sinha said. Protesters and police clashed in Darjeeling after a series of raids on Thursday on Gurungs premises. The GJMs activists hurled stones at paramilitary personnel, who responded by throwing back stones and firing tear gas shells. A car was also set on fire by GJM supporters. It was not clear if the car was that of a civilian or belonged to the police. The GJM supporters also clashed with the police near the outfits office in Patlabash area of Darjeeling. They threw stones at officials who retaliated by firing tear gas shells at them. The situation in the hills started deteriorating on June 8, when a clash broke out between the police and GJM supporters who were protesting Bengali lessons in school. Though the chief minister said it would not be mandatory in the hills, GJM leaders wanted a cabinet resolution to that effect. State Congress general secretary in West Bengal Omprakash Mishra said that discussions and negotiations are only ways left to resolve the current crisis. The present fiasco is a result of chief ministers approach of swinging from one extreme to another. Her ambition to have absolute political control over hills at any cost is responsible for the crisis. She should initiate discussions and negotiations and Congress will surely participate and cooperate to bring peace in the hills, Mishra told the Hindustan Times. On June 8, the situation went beyond the control of the civil administration and the state government sought the help of the army. The GJMs call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language in the rest of the state. Prominent among the six parties to join the GJM is the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. CPI(M)s Salim said that Banerjees initial mistake was to legitimise Gorkhaland by including its name in Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). The CPI(M) legislator from Siliguri in Darjeeling district, Ashoke Bhattacharya, condemned the police raids at GJM office. Such raids are uncalled for since it leads to provocations. The state government should have shown more restraint, he said. In a statement, GJM spokesperson Binay Tamang alleged, On the one hand, Mamata Banerjee keeps on harping on federal structure, and on the other hand she has imposed a virtual emergency in the proposed Gorkhaland region. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Museums that display the past are becoming passe. Starting July, rail museums at New Delhi and Chennai will not only provide a peek into the evolution of the Indian Railways but also showcase its glittering future through animated stories, short videos, interactive story boards and artists impressions. Visitors to rail museums will be allowed a glimpse of future train travel under the Nationwide Stakeholders Communication Programme, considered a pet project of railways minister Suresh Prabhu. These would include trains that use magnets to levitate (Maglev), locomotives that shoot through tubes like peas in a pod, and 3D images of futuristic stations. Officials said the programme will be made available at other rail museums located in Mysore, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Ghum, Howrah and Old Kanpur over the next three months. It would also find a place at A1 category stations, railway offices and social media websites such as YouTube. The initiative of the Indian Railways which transports approximately 23 million passengers each day aims at reaching out to its huge target audience comprising investors, stakeholders, policymakers, passengers and other citizens. However, not everybody is happy with the NDA governments plan. Predicting the future is fine, but this should not be done at museums, said JL Singh, secretary of the Rail Enthusiasts Society. Former railway board member and rail enthusiast Vinoo Mathur agreed. Museums are meant to safeguard traditional history, he said. Nevertheless, all the 17 railway zones across the country have been instructed to prepare for the nationwide launch of the programme through the installation of kiosks, screens and hardware at rail museums. They have also been asked to collaborate with private television channels to ensure that the central initiative reaches its intended target audience. While public sector undertaking Railtel has been tasked to set up technology networks, the public relations team at the railway board has been instructed to create and standardise a One-India-One-Content programme that envisions Prabhus Vision-2030/2050 statement. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Darjeeling Police raided the main office of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) near Darjeeling on Thursday, sparking a strike call that could fuel further violence in the hill town rocked by protests for a separate state. A big team led by the police superintendent of Darjeeling, Akhilesh Chaturvedi, raided the house in Patlebas, about 5 kms away from Darjeeling town and claimed to have seize bows, arrows, sharp weapons and explosives. Gurung does not stay here but lives close by. Minutes later, the GJM that controls a large chunk of the hill administration, called for an indefinite strike. The decision to impose an indefinite bandh in the hills was taken by the partys central committee, said Binay Tamang, assistant secretary of GJM. The GJM an ally of the BJP -- and other hill parties are demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland. The bandh is illegal. It is illegal to stockpile weapons that were found from the office of the GJM, said Darjeeling district Trinamool Congress president and state tourism minister Gautam Deb. Thursdays development was a direct outcome of the chief ministers resolve to crush the GJM agitation. We have compromised with them. But enough is enough. We cant compromise with a party that resorts to violence, Mamata Banerjee said in Siliguri recently. The building that was raided is used by Gurung as his main office. Even on Wednesday afternoon, he spoke to the media from this building. The police raid started around 9:30 in the morning and was continuing when last reports came in. However, vehicles were plying on the streets of Darjeeling and shops and establishments opened on Thursday for business. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Protesters set ablaze government buildings and vehicles and a World Heritage Site train station in Darjeeling on Thursday as violence erupted in Bengals picturesque hill districts where the Gorkhas are spearheading an agitation for a separate state. The flare-up came shortly after police raided an office of the ruling Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in Darjeeling and claimed to have seized arms, explosives and a night vision equipment. The GJM, which rules the hill districts under the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), called an indefinite shutdown to protest the raid. In Kolkata, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said there was a conspiracy to kill some of her cabinet colleagues during a visit to Darjeeling on June 8, the day the protests started in the hills over an alleged government move to impose Bengali in schools across the state. Though the government later said the subject will be optional, the GJM has refused to back down and renewed its demand for a separate state. Arrows and explosives were found during the raids. (Bikram Sashanker/HT Photo) On Thursday, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Darjeeling one of the most popular hill stations in India and Kalimpong district and clashed with police, officials said. They set fire to a police outpost and a sericulture department office in Kalimpong. An attempt to torch government tourist lodge was foiled by police. In Darjeeling, protesters set a vehicle on fire, the officials added. Police caned protesters and fired tear gas shells in retaliation to stone pelting by GJM supporters. The Ghayabari railway station of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, popularly known as the toy train, was set ablaze at around 9 pm but local people managed to douse the fire, officials said. The station is 31 km from Siliguri, which falls under Darjeeling district but not a part of the GTC. GJM chief Bimal Gurung, who went into hiding last week, lashed out at the Trinamool government in a video message. I am the chief executive of GTA which is equivalent to a cabinet ministers rank. The way they have vandalised my office and residence on Thursday is enough to prove the black policy of the state government, Gurung said in the message in Nepali and circulated through WhatsApp. It was carried out under the instructions of the chief minister which is highly condemnable, Gurung added. He didnt reveal his location. In a statement earlier in the day, the GJM said the police bows and arrows seized during the raid were meant for an annual archery competition . All that they have found are a few bows and a couple of dozen arrows, few rusted spades, a rusted axe, a rusted sickle and a couple of boxes of fire crackers.... all these tools are found in almost every local household. Two boxes of firecrackers were left overs from our recent municipal election wins celebrations, it said. Raids at GJM office triggered violent protests. (Bikram Sashanker/HT Photo) The Trinamool made major inroads in the hills in the municipal polls held in May, denting the GJMs absolute hold over the electorate in the council area. Many believe the GJM is trying to revive its political fortunes through the statehood agitation. Mamata Banerjee said the government was keeping a watch on the hills. We want peace in the hills, and in Bengal. If anybody wants to create trouble, the administration will take action according to law, Banerjee said at a police function in Kolkata. Her government this week called in the army to control the situation in the hill districts, visited by lakhs of tourists every year. Explosives were stockpiled in huge quantities in the hills. I have never seen so many Molotov cocktails being hurled. The attack continued for two hours, she added, referring to the first wave of violence that saw protesters set ablaze government buildings and vehicles on June 8. The opposition BJP and CPM asked Banerjee to convene an all-party meeting in Darjeeling to defuse the crisis, besides initiate tripartite talks with the Centre and GJM. Congress said they are ready to cooperate participate in any dialogue. In Delhi, a home ministry official said 400 additional paramilitary personnel have been rushed to Darjeeling to assist the local administration. The Centre had earlier sent 1,000 paramilitary personnel on a request from the state. (With inputs from HTC, Kolkata) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Darjeeling braced for more violence on Thursday morning as the police raided the offices of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and the hill party called for an indefinite strike in protest. The raid came as an indication that chief minister Mamata Banerjee was ready to crush the protests demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland that has triggered violence in the northern Bengal hills. Here are the highlights of the day: 3:25pm: There are reports (of GJM supporters) firing at police, says Siddhanath Gupta, additional director general, establishment, who was in Darjeeling. 2:55pm: Home ministry seeks report from West Bengal government on Gorkhaland issue, asks state government to maintain law and order, reports ANI. 2:45pm: Gurungs wife says police and ruling party supporters are ransacking their house. However, she did not reveal where she was, or where her husband was. 2:30pm: Police and Trinamool Congress supporters entered our house and set a car on fire around 2pm today, says Asha Gurung, GJM president Bimal Gurungs wife. 2:15pm: District magistrate of Darjeeling Joyoshi Dasgupta leaves for Patlabash to take stock of the situation. 2:10pm: They found a few bows and arrows, rusted spades and fire crackers - all tools found in local households. We were in the process of organising our traditional archery competition, says GJM. 2:00pm: GJM trying to mislead people by claiming that weapons seized were part of the traditional local culture, says Anuj Sharma, additional director general (law and order) at the state secretariat. It is not true. The weapons were stockpiled to resist and attack the police. 1:50pm: It is time for all parties to restore peace. GJM can carry out a democratic movement but their intention is different. What was the purpose of keeping so many bows and arrows and a huge amount of money in their office? asks Rajen Mukhia, TMC hill district committee president. Cash seized from the GJM office. (Bikram Sashanker/HT) 1:45pm: GJM supporters surround the police force near Gurungs residence, throw stones at them, say eyewitnesses. 1:40pm: Student, youth and women wings of GJM about to take out a rally in Kurseong. 1:27pm: We will intensify our movement against police atrocities, says Suva Pradhan, chairman of Kalimpong municipality. 1:25pm: GJM councillor from ward 16 of Kalimpong municipality Barun Bhujel arrested. 1:15pm: Negotiations should start immediately to defuse the crisis. Congress is ready to support and participate in such discussions to restore peace in the hills, says West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Om Prakash Mishra. 1:14pm: Police reinforcements head towards Patlabash as protestors vandalise police officials vehicles 1:11pm: Police resort to lathicharge, continue firing teargas shells at protestors. GJM supporters set fire to a vehicle near Patlabash. (Bikram Sashanker/HT Photo) 1:10pm: Some police officials injured in stone pelting. 1:05pm: GJM supporters set fire to a vehicle near Patlabash. 1:00pm: CPI(M) politburo member and Lok Sabha MP Md Salim says the chief minister should immediately convene an all-party meeting. She should shed her ego and initiate the process of negotiation involving the Centre, state government and GJM. GJM protestors and police officials near GJM office. (Bikram Sashanker/HT Photo) 12:50pm: GJM supporters, police clash near the GJM office in Patlabash. GJM supporters throw stones at officials while they retaliate by firing tear gas shells. 12:42pm: GJM supporters vandalise the car of officer-in-charge of Pedong police outpost. 12:37pm: The hills were quiet for the last 7 years. There was no bandh. The CM triggered the unrest by imposing Bengali and by using police to enable Trrinamool Congress to capture the hills, says Rahul Sinha, national secretary of BJP. 12:35pm: We do not support the indefinite bandh in the hills. We will make our position clear in the all-party meeting on June 20, says Mahendra Chettri, secretary of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF). 12:30pm: GJM leader Binod Pradhan arrested from Pedong for his involvement in setting fire to the police outpost. 12:28pm:The whereabouts of Bimal Gurung are not clear to anybody. 12:25pm: Supporters of GJM womens wing have started agitations in Kalimpong. 12:20pm: As soon as the bandh call was given, shops and offices in Darjeeling quickly downed their shutters. The impact of the bandh was also felt in the towns of Kalimpong and Kurseong. 12:16pm: Traffic thinning on the streets of Darjeeling. 12:10pm: GJM supporters have set fire to Pedong police outpost about 17 km away from Kalimpong town, the second biggest town of the hills. 12:00pm: GJM leaders said on Wednesday they will strike back if police take any action. Therefore, we conducted the raids, said Darjeeling police super Akhilesh Chaturvedi. What is the crisis about The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) an ally of the BJP and other hill parties are demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, which has led to unrest in Darjeeling. There have been protests, and a strike was called for by Bimal Gurung on Thursday, after the police raided the main GJM office. Weapons seized from the GJM office. (Bikram Sashanker/HT) The Gorkhaland demand is politically fueled - one that Gurung hopes use to his advantage against Mamata Banerjee. The GJM has been pushing for Gorkhaland for a long time. This proposed area of Gorkhaland includes many other regions of the plains like Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, and some parts of Bengal, in addition to Darjeeling. A large number of people, however, are against Gorkhaland, especially many Bengalis from the plains something that CM hopes to use to her advantage in 2019, to win the support of people that are rooting for the BJP in Darjeeling. The crisis that has paralysed Darjeeling, one of the countrys most popular hill stations, seems to be the result of the Gorkha Janmukti Morchas (GJM) apprehension of the Mamata Banerjee government forcing Bengali as a compulsory subject for school students in the hills. The origin of the fear which seems misplaced now lies in the May 16 announcement by Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee that Bengali should be a compulsory subject from Class 1 to 10 in the state. The statement was enough to provoke GJM, which rules the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), that interpreted it as an imposition. Nepali is the official language in the hills of Bengal, recognised as an official language of Bengal in 1961. In 1992, Nepali was recognised as one of the official languages of India. Bimal Gurung, head of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) party that seeks the creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland, takes part in a news conference in Darjeeling. (AFP Photo) The people in Mirik and other places would switch off their lights every day from 6 pm to 8 pm till June 8 as a mark of protest against the state governments decision to make Bengali compulsory, Binoy Tamang, GJM assistant secretary, said on June 4. The state government ignored the initial reactions of the GJM and chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the morcha leaders were making an issue out of a non-issue. GJM president Bimal Gurung led protest rallies in the hills between June 5 to 8, when the chief minister was present, to highlight their opposition to the states decision. They demanded that there should be a cabinet resolution stating Bengali will not be compulsory in Darjeeling. The government softened its tone after the GJM stepped up its protest. After the cabinet meeting at Raj Bhavan in Darjeeling on June 8, the chief minister clarified that Bengali will be an optional subject in the hills. But Gurung and other GJM leaders refused to take the decision just on face value and decided to intensify agitations. When the situation went totally out of control, the state administration sought army help. Peace came temporarily and on June 10, the chief minister repeated her announcement that Bengali will be an optional subject. But the GJM refused to relent, scaling up the agitation to the old demand for a separate Gorkhaland state. On June 13, the statehood demand got a push after an all-party meeting attended by all hill-based political outfits and the BJP, where an unanimous resolution in favour of Gorkhaland state was adopted. The battle of attrition reached a flash point on Thursday when the police raided the office of the GJM at Darjeeling and seized weapons, cash and radio sets from there. By the end of the day and beyond, different pockets in the hills turned into battlefields with violent clashes between police and GJM activists. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The ongoing fight between Kerala police chief and his deputy took an unpleasant turn on Thursday when the ADGP complained that he was manhandled in office whereas the DGP maintained that he was only pulled up for smuggling sensitive files. Director general of police TP Senkumar, who was reinstated last month by the Supreme Court after Kerala government removed him, has been facing hostile weather since his return, as the Pinarayi Vijayan government posted controversial IPS officer Tomin J Thachankerry, who has a couple of cases pending against him, as his deputy. In the manhandling case, Thachankerry filed the complaint with the chief secretary who later sought an explanation from the DGP. In his reply, Senkumar said his deputy had smuggled out many sensitive files, including ones concerning Thachankerry. Senkumar said the latter was only given a stern warning and not manhandled. The issue also figured in the high court two days back. While hearing a case against Thachankerry, the court had asked the government to respond to a charge whether he was appointed to keep a tab on the DGP. Two days before his reinstatement, there was a massive reshuffle in higher echelons of police that angered the police chief. After the CPI(M)-led government came to power last year, the first action it took was transferring Senkumar, who was known to be an upright officer. The government cited the mishandling of Jisha case a law student who was brutally murdered in her home in Kochi last year and inept handling of Puttingal fire tragedy in which 110 persons were killed, for the transfer. After transferring him, the government had appointed Loknath Behra, a former NIA official, as the DGP. Senkumar then moved the apex court challenging the government decision. The court ruled that his transfer was arbitrary and not in accordance with established norms. His reinstatement invited embarrassment to the government, which in turn made his stint troublesome. Senkmar is set to retire on June 30. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The government is planning to set up a single-window portal for Indian women facing abandonment or divorce or other problems from their NRI husbands. At present, different ministries such as external affairs (MEA), home and women and child development (WCD) handle different aspects of such cases. The plan is to coordinate efforts in a centralised manner, said an MEA official after the decision was taken by an inter-ministerial panel at a meeting last week. The new site will have advice on how to proceed with a case, including approaching the Indian mission, seeking help of empanelled lawyers and NGOs, etc. It will also have precautions to be taken before marrying an NRI. Currently, measures include legal and financial USD 3,000 in developed countries and USD 2,000 in developing ones assistance for women who face abandonment or divorce proceedings within 15 years. But what has been lacking is a single point for redressal. Following mounting complaints, the government had set up the inter-ministerial committee last July to look at measures to help such women. The panel is now revising the standard operating procedures for dealing with all such cases. According to the WCD ministrys annual report, during 2014 (the latest period for which data is available), the National Commission for Women, an autonomous body under the ministry and which runs a NRI Cell, registered 346 complaints from women married to NRI men. However, these figures do not reflect the true picture as not many women come forward to lodge complaint, WCD ministry officials said. Complaints are mostly about men keeping custody of their wives passport and not allowing them to travel, disappearing after leaving their wives behind in India, abandoning wives in foreign countries, forcibly keeping the child abroad and not letting the wife to contact the child, etc. In 2007, the then Overseas Indian Affairs ministry came up with a handbook on NRI marriages. One of the reasons that had triggered this was the rising number of abandoned spouses of NRI women over 13,000 in Gujarat and more than 25,000 in Punjab. In 2009, the then NCW chairperson Girija Vyas had commented that out of 10 NRI marriages, two resulted in the wife being abandoned after honeymoon. Kashmirs loss is Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhands gain. Each state is seeing a major increase in tourism as unrest continues in Kashmir. But can they handle the windfall? Reporters for HT talked to businessmen, officials, and tourists in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhands most popular hill stations. Focusing particularly on Himachal, we found that the flight of tourism from Kashmir to other states is both a blessing and a curse. Ripped off and stuck In a normal year, at least 23,000 tourists visit Manali daily during the peak season in June according to Ritesh Patial, the local tourist information officer. The town becomes a hunting ground for unscrupulous taxi operators, who overcharge tourists right under the nose of the administration. A restriction by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has added to the chaos. Almost everyone visiting Manali wants to see the famous Rohtang Pass. Three years ago, however, the NGT limited the number of vehicles passing through Rohtang to 1,200 in order to preserve its fragile ecology. Vehicle owners need permits from the Manali sub-divisional magistrate, which charges Rs550. Local taxi operators often violate the permit system to make a fast buck. After the administration blacklisted 3,000 suspected violators a couple weeks ago, taxi operators responded with a protest that brought traffic in Manali to a standstill for eight hours. These taxi companies charge tourists Rs8,000 to travel the 50-km stretch from Manali to Rohtang Pass even though the rate fixed by the administration is Rs2,400 for four-seat vehicles. Navneet Kumar, a tourist from Punjab, said he couldnt find anyone willing to accept even Rs4,000. Shortage of space, water On weekends, the tourist footfall in Shimla touches 20,000. The number of tourists has seen a steady rise over the years, said state tourism director Dinesh Malhotra. There is a need to create more infrastructure to cater to the demand. Finding a place to park, for example, is a challenge. The state capital has 14,000 registered vehicles and only 500 parking spots. Parking contractors overcharge, complained Suresh Sinha, a tourist from Bihar. The lot at the inter-state bus terminus in Shimla charge Rs50 an hour. In the summer, most hotels face water shortages. Hoteliers can use water tankers, but these often rely on unsafe sources. Problem of plenty The quaint hill town of Dharamshala, especially its buzzing suburb of McLeodganj, sees a steady stream of Buddhists and backpackers from around the world all through the year. The peak in summer, however, is a difficult time. When the sizzling sun unleashes its fury on the plains, domestic tourists throng the Kangra valley, including Dharamshala and its surrounding villages such as Bhagusnag, Dharamkot and Naddi. The tourism department said Dharamshala and McLeodganj have 400 registered hotels and guest houses. The total bed capacity is 2,500. Manali becomes a hunting ground for unscrupulous taxi operators during peak season. (File) Its inadequate, said Prem Sood, a local hotelier. On weekends, the number of visitors is between 5,000 to 8,000. We have a problem of plenty. Given the demand, the towns are seeing illegal construction, with hotels facing action for violating building laws. The municipal corporation has cut power and water to at least 12 hotels in Dharamshala. Seventy more establishments are also under scrutiny. Local residents and the administration are equally responsible, said hotelier Ashwani Sharma, locals for their greed, and the administration for not checking on the haphazard construction. He added that 90% of hotels in the town dont have a parking facility, forcing tourists to park along roads that are not wide enough. This leads to daily traffic jams in May and June. The influx of tourists puts pressure on the towns amenities. Piles of garbage greet visitors, since the town lacks a proper disposal system. So a dream trip to Dharamshala in summer could become your worst nightmare, said Sharma. Second option The summer unrest in Kashmir has also led to a 5-7% increase in tourism to Uttarakhand. The rush is evident from traffic woes in the hill stations of Mussoorie and Nainital, said Sandeep Sahani, the president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association in Uttarakhand, but we expected more. Perhaps the high-end non-religious tourist opted for Himachal Pradesh, which has better infrastructure. Unlike Kashmir, Uttarakhand offers a peaceful getaway with its pristine environs and cool climate, said AK Dwivedi, a retired official of the Uttarakhand tourism department. Uttarakhand and Himachal are ultimate gainers, but Himachal gets to take the lions share. Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said if BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra can announce farm loan waivers why the party-ruled Madhya Pradesh cannot do this. Scindia, sitting on a 72-hour satyagraha since yesterday in support of farmers, also criticised the states BJP government for not taking any action against those who fired at the farmers in Mandsaur last week, killing five of them. Following protests by cultivators in Maharashtra, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government on Sunday announced a loan- waiver for farmers and decided to form a committee to work out the debt-relief criteria. The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh had also recently announced a loan-waiver of Rs 36,359 crore for small and marginal farmers in the state. When the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have announced to waive farm loans, why the same partys regime in Madhya Pradesh has been shying away from announcing the same, Scindia told reporters during his ongoing satyagraha at TT Nagars Dussehra Maidan here. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had made several promises to make farming a beneficial venture with slogans like Abki Bar Kisano Ki Sarkar. The prime minister made a series of promises to make farming a profitable venture during election campaign. Now, the Centre is saying the state governments will have to arrange funds for loan waiver on their own and that the Centre government would not extend any help, he said. The Centre is not budging despite the fact that nearly 12,000 farmers are committing suicide every year, Scindia, the Congress chief whip in Lok Sabha, claimed. He also hit out at the Madhya Pradesh government for not taking action those who fired at the farmers in Mandsaur. Ten days after the farmer killings in Mandsaur, the state government has not taken any action against the guilty. The government has failed to inform who ordered the firing on farmers. They cant say anything because the farmers were killed on the orders of the state government, Scindia said. He said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is now trying to mollify the families of the farmers killed by giving them a compensation of Rs 1 crore, jobs to the kin, among others. The Congress leader also said that the onion purchase by the state government has also been marred by mismanagement. The sight of lifeless bodies strewn across a rusty truck might seem gruesome and inhuman but its quite common at Bassi police station in Rajasthans capital of Jaipur. In absence of a mortuary, for the last three decades the post-mortem of bodies has been conducted inside a truck confiscated a long time back by the police. Replete with dried leaves, bloodstains and pieces of torn cloths, the truck stands in the middle of the compound where the police station is situated. The post-mortem of bodies has to be conducted inside the truck because there is no mortuary near the police station. Unknown bodies which can be kept for 3-4 days are sent to the SMS Hospital which is around 25 kilometers away, Virendra Singh, station house officer, Bassi police station told HT. Singh added that when it came to instances where the relatives needed the body to be released for last rites, the situation became difficult. In such a case, the post-mortem has to be done early so that the body can be handed over to the relatives. In absence of a mortuary, the post-mortem is conducted over the open truck, said the SHO. The relatives wait for the body of their loved ones, as just a few meters away from them the body is dissected for autopsy. The police say that the foul smell coming from the body often results into inconveniences for their families living in the quarters adjacent to the police station. Foul smell coming from the body often results into inconveniences for their families living in the quarters adjacent to the police station. (HT PHOTO) The smell is definitely bothersome as a post-mortem is supposed to happen inside a mortuary not in the open. After a period of at least 30 years, a room in the local community health centre (CHC) has been zeroed in by the health department where the post-mortem will take place in the future, said the SHO. However, when HT contacted Dinesh Mittal, the in-charge of the CHC in Bassi, he said that the decision is facing flak from the residents living near the health centre. It has been almost finalised that the postmortems will take place at a room in the CHC. But the centre is located in a very crowded area and the local residents are opposing this decision as they are against shifting of a mortuary near their houses owing to foul smell, said Mittal. Officials said that recently the state human rights commission had also raised the issue and had asked the health department to shift the mortuary. The decision has been taken to shift the mortuary and a room has been identified. We have assured the opposing residents that the height of the wall near their house will be increased so that they are not bothered by the smell, Prabhudayal Sharma, sub divisional magistrate, Bassi told HT. He added that postmortem at the new facility are scheduled to start in a few days. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The case of controversial former Calcutta high court judge CS Karnan calls for greater scrutiny and screening of the judiciary, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday. As regards a specific case of a specific judge, I would not like to make any comment, except observe that may be there is a case for greater scrutiny and screening of judiciary. The particular incident you have quoted only underscores the compelling need, he told reporters in New Delhi. The minister was asked to comment on the failure of state machinery to implement a Supreme Court order to send Karnan behind bars for six months for contempt of court. Justice Karnan had last week ended his tenure as a fugitive from law. He has been evading arrest since May 9 after being sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court. He has the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the apex court. A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar had passed the unprecedented arrest order against Karnan. Justice Karnan was appointed a judge of the Madras high court in 2009. He was transferred to the Calcutta HC on March 11, 2016. He was transferred from the Madras HC for his repeated allegations and run-ins with its then chief justice and fellow judges. The high court judge had on February 15, 2016 stayed his transfer order, which was suspended by the Supreme Court. The apex court had even asked the chief justice of the Madras HC not to assign Karnan any judicial work. The US on Thursday declared Karnataka-born Islamic State operative Mohammad Shafi Armar and two others as Specially Designated Global Terrorists and imposed financial sanctions against them, the first time that American authorities have taken such action against an Indian member of the terror group. The state departments action against Armar, Oussama Ahmad Atar and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali imposed sanctions on them as they posed a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten US national security. The state departments move coincided with the US treasury department putting the three IS operatives on the Office of Foreign Assets Controls list of Specially Designated Nationals, whereby their assets were blocked and American nationals prohibited from dealing with them. The state department described Armar as a leader and head recruiter in India for the Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, ISIS. He has cultivated a group of dozens of ISIS sympathisers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps, said a statement from the state department. Armar, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka, was earlier a member of the banned Indian Mujahideen. Indian security agencies believe Armar recruited nearly three dozen Indian members for IS. He became the chief recruiter in India after his brother Sultan Armar died in March 2015. The state department also listed his numerous aliases, including Anjan Bhai, Chote Maula and Yousouf al-Hindi. The action, the state department said, was meant to alert the international community that Armar, Atar and Binali have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism. The designation would also assist law enforcement actions of other US agencies and other governments, it added. Atar, a Belgian-Moroccan national, was described as a senior leader of the external operations efforts of IS who had established a network to carry out attacks in Europe. He was a leading coordinator of the November 2015 Paris attacks and March 2016 attacks in Brussels, the statement said. He was responsible for recruiting, training and sending at least some of the individuals to Paris to launch the November 2015 attacks that killed and injured hundreds, including Americans. He also recruited and mentored two of the bombers involved in the March 2016 Brussels attacks that killed 32 and left many more wounded. Binali is a senior member of IS who left Bahrain to join the terror group in 2014. He has appeared in numerous IS propaganda videos that called on Bahrainis, specifically members of the security forces, to join IS. The treasury department said it had also acted in coordination with the Iraq government to disrupt an Islamic State financial facilitation network by designating Iraqi national Umar al-Kubaysi and his company, Al-Kawthar Money Exchange. Between late 2015 and early 2016, Al-Kawthar transferred about $2.5 million while working with another Iraq-based money exchange firm that was associated with IS facilitators. Al-Kubaysi and Al-Kawthar play an important role in ISISs financial operations by moving money both within and outside of ISIS-controlled territory, the treasury department said in a statement. We are committed to shining a bright light on anyone who would attempt to provide terrorists access to the international financial system, said OFAC director John E Smith. These actions are part of a continued effort to target individuals and entities that willfully provide support to ISIS in order to constrict this violent terror groups operational reach and shut off its access points to the international financial system. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday blamed intelligence failure for the flare up the hills and claimed there was conspiracy to kill some of her cabinet colleagues during a visit to Darjeeling last week. Banerjees comments came within hours of police raiding the office of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in Darjeeling and seized weapons, cash and radio sets. It has called an indefinite shutdown from Thursday in the hills to protest the police raid. The GJM is leading a violent agitation in an area it rules under the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), scaling up protests over the governments alleged attempts to impose Bengali language to renewing the demand for a Gorkhaland state. They had designs to attack the ministers on June 8. The administration did not get information about the brewing tension at that time. It was an intelligence failure, she said at a police function in Kolkata. She did not name the GJM. The chief minister and more than two dozen ministers were present in Darjeeling on that day when she held a cabinet meeting at the Raj Bhavan. Explosives were stockpiled in huge quantities in the hills. I have never seen so many Molotov cocktails being hurled. The attack continued for two hours, she said referring to the first wave of violence that saw protesters set ablaze government buildings and vehicles. As the violence escalated over the next few days, the Trinamool government called in the army. On June 10, the state government removed Darjeeling police chief Amit P Javalgee. The chief minister also set up a committee of three IPS officers to oversee the law and order situation in the hills. All the three officers are camping in the hills. The opposition BJP, CPI(M) and Congress have blamed the chief minister for triggering the latest bout of unrest in the hills, saying she should handled the Bengali issue carefully, and could have avoided holding a cabinet meeting in the hills. The violence has come as an embarrassment for the chief minister who had highlighted the relative peace in the volatile north Bengal hills during her tenure. Addressing residents of Darjeeling, Banerjee urged them not to be misled by subversive forces. Those who are triggering panic and spreading violence in the hills are the enemies of locals as it jeopardises their livelihood. Just ignore them, she said. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US later this month, the Congress on Thursday asked him to demand and obtain firm assurances from President Donald Trump on reversing his decision to tighten granting of H-1B visas, which affects Indian professionals. The party has raised serious concern over the tightening of H-1B visa rules and claimed there has been a 37 per cent fall in grant of such visas to professionals from India. Senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma also asked Modi to register protest against disparaging observations made by Trump about India while walking out of the Paris agreement on climate change. Modi will be meeting Trump on June 26 during his visit to the United States, the first one after Trump was elected. He should demand and obtain credible and firm assurances from US President Donald Trump that he will reverse his decision which discriminates against Indian professionals... He cannot return empty-handed, the Congress leader said. We do not want mere statements and photographs. We want answers and also how the prime minister responds and registers our protest over the disparaging observations made about the Republic of India recently when US decided to walk out of the Paris (climate) pact. We will wait for the prime ministers response or reaction, he said. Sharma also accused the Modi dispensation of failing to fulfil its promise of creating two crore jobs every year, and asked the prime minister to make his position clear on BJP president Amit Shahs claim that it had never made such an electoral promise. He also dubbed as futile the prime ministers much- delayed cosmetic exercise of holding a meeting with Niti Ayog, the governments policy think-tank, on job creation and said it came after the government realised the seriousness of the crisis. The Congress leader has demanded that the government publish a list of Indians who have been provided with jobs since Modi came to power in 2014. The prime minister should make it clear whether he agrees with his party president Amit Shah that the BJP had never promised to provide jobs or to create jobs. He should make his position clear. He cannot remain silent and if Amit Shah is right, this means another false promise and the complete betrayal (of the people) by the BJP, he told reporters. Sharma said the prime minister should stop making false claims and he must realise after three years in power that the time for propaganda and publicity was over. Did the prime minister not talk about job creation for the youth of the country? When it is time for giving answers, they are making excuses, Sharma said. He said it was time to give an account of the miserable performance of his government, his failure to provide jobs as promised. Sharma said this government was giving wrong answers and it would be better if Modi talked honestly instead of continuing to make false claims and admitted his mistake before the people of the country and apologised. The CBI on Thursday said it did not delay forwarding to British authorities evidence for extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, charged with money laundering in an about Rs 900-crore IDBI Bank loan default involving his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA). The agencys reaction came in the wake of reports that there was a delay from India in sharing Mallyas case documents with British authorities. In a statement, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) clarified that the documents related to extradition of Mallya, who has been in London since March 2016, were sent to British authorities in February this year while supporting documents were handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) much before the Tuesday (June 13) hearing in the case. The CBI statement also said the hearing on June 13 was for Case Management Review to determine further steps to be taken up in the case and to draw a timetable for extradition proceedings and that it was not a hearing for extradition. Maintaining that there was no delay whatsoever, the agency said the evidence like extradition dossier, chargesheet, non-bailable warrant, sworn affidavit of a CBI Superintendent of Police, accompanied the request for extradition of Mallya in February and the additional documents were handed over to the CPS on May 2 and May 3. The additional evidence like supplementary chargesheet (forwarded to a Mumbai court on June 2) of Rs 900 crore fraud case, evidence containing falsities, misstatements and false representations by Mallya was forwarded through diplomatic channels before the hearing on June 13. The CBI also made it clear that the British court had not criticised Indias extradition request during the hearing. During the hearing on June 13, when the counsel of fugitive Mallya sought a date in March-April 2018, Aaron Watkins of CPS opposed the same. To justify a later date, the defence counsel raised the issue of delay, which is nothing but a figment of his imagination. The specialist prosecutor of CPS confirmed that during the proceedings on June 13, there was no criticism of the extradition request or of the Indian government. Senior district judge fixed next case management hearing on July 6 when the dates for extradition hearing will be decided, the CBI statement said. It said that the request for extradition of Mallya was forwarded on February 9 to the British authorities through diplomatic channels. The Secretary of State, UK, certified the request and sent it to the Court. The Court after satisfying itself, issued an arrest warrant and Mallya was arrested in London on April 18 morning. Following the arrest, Mallya appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on April 18 and was granted conditional bail. The same day, the prosecutors of CPS sought a meeting with officers of CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED). Accordingly, a joint CBI and ED team led by Rakesh Asthana (Additional Director CBI) visited London during May 2 and 3 and provided all the additional documents sought and also answered the queries raised, the statement said. In March 2016, the ED had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Kingfisher Airlines in the IDBI bank loan default case. Mallyas company also owes around Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of 17 Indian banks. The loan default cases are being probed by the ED and the CBI. Russia has not made any offer to mediate between India and Pakistan, the government said on Thursday, after Islamabad welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putins reported move to resolve bilateral tensions. No offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India, external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said. He said Russia is very well aware of Indias position on talks with Pakistan. It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of Indias consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence, Baglay said. Relations between the neighbours, testy at the best of times, worsened with the attack on an army camp in Uri last year in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed. Since then, the two have blamed each other for a series of deadly border skirmishes that followed. The troubles between the neighbours also reached the UN last month, with India approaching the International Court of Justice after a Pakistani military court sentenced a former Indian naval officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, to death on suspicions of being a spy. The ministry of external affairs reaction came after Pakistan welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putins reported offer to resolve tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. Pakistan welcomes Russias attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said. Zakaria said there was a growing realization among countries in the region and the UN that Indias unprovoked hostility along the Jammu and Kashmir border threatened peace. Post demonetisation, traders are not inclined to entertain coins in small denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 rupees. Their anathema towards coins is largely because banks are indirectly refusing to accept them, citing paucity of storage space, manpower and machinery to count them. The banks, however, are careful not to decline any customer in writing. For, not accepting a legal tender is a crime, which can land one in trouble. On Monday, police in Vaishali district of north Bihar received a joint complaint from at least eight customers, stating that shopkeepers in Mahua block, 65 kms north of Patna, were not accepting coins of small denomination. The complainants also enclosed one such denial in writing from a businessman of Sudha milk parlour at primary health centre, Mahua. Hindustan Times has copies of the police complaint and the bizmans refusal to accept coins of Rs 2 denomination. We have received a complaint on traders refusal to accept coins. We will verify it before initiating any action, Vaishali superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar told HT. The coin problem is not confined to small-time traders alone. Leading businessmen are also facing the same problem. (HT photo) The coin problem is not confined to small-time traders alone. Leading businessman of Vaishali, KK Boobna, also faces the same problem. I have over Rs 3 lakh in coins of Rs 10 denomination, collected in course of trade over months. Banks dont accept them and neither do businessmen. As a result, its dead currency for me because I dont even earn interest on them. Besides, they weigh heavy and also occupy space, said Boobna. READ| Demonetisation pain returns: One-fourth of ATMs across India running dry again After demonetisation, bankers, on condition of anonymity, claim they have had to make space for old currency and have hardly any space to accommodate coins. Besides, most banks do not have sufficient manpower to physically count coins, which traders bring in thousands of varying denomination. Vaishali district magistrate (DM) Rachana Patil on Sunday asked Anjani Kishore Sharan, manager of district lead bank the Central Bank of India to look into the problem. READ| Demonetisation: A virtual nuclear strike to tackle a mosquito It is a cognizable offence to not accept coins, which are legal tender. Anyone, be it a trader or a banker, can be booked for doing so, Sharan told HT. The problem is not confined to Hajipur alone. Lalganj, Mahnar, Jandaha, Sarai blocks and almost all semi-urban pockets in Vaishali district face the same problem, triggered by unofficial refusal by banks to accept coins. Union minister of state for home Hansraj Ahir said Pakistan was like a chronic disease which the government was trying to contain. He said India had succeeded in convincing the world that Pakistan was the land of terrorists who are given shelter by the government in that country. Pakistan continues to be a chronic disease for the country (India) despite the governments sustained efforts to contain it, the minister said addressing a press conference on Wednesday. Ahir said the army had been giving a befitting reply to infiltrators trying to sneak into India through the LOC. He was in Maharashtra as part of Narendra Modi governments mass contact programme Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas. The minister listed various achievements of the Modi government in the last three years. We have enhanced the water resources through Jalyukta Shivar, the flagship project of the Maharashtra government, and ensured an increase in land areas under cultivation for Kharif and Rabi crops, he said. We have cancelled 208 coal blocks, out of which 40 coal blocks have been re-auctioned to generate the revenue of Rs.3.94 lakh crore, Ahir said. He said the policies of the erstwhile Congress government were responsible for the attacks by Maoists on security forces and common people. Pakistan has violated the ceasefire in Rajouri and Poonch districts thrice in the past 24-hours. In the latest violation, the hostile neighbour targeted at least a dozen Indian posts and six forward villages in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri district. Defence spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta said Pakistani army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, heavy automatics and mortars along LoC from 2pm on Wednesday. The Indian army posts is retaliating strongly. And the firing is still on, he added. An intelligence official said there was heavy shelling by Pakistan in Baba Khori, Ghania and Kalsian area of Nowshera sub-division. Meanwhile, wire reports claim that two Pakistani soldiers were killed in a fresh cross border firing between India and Pakistan along the LoC in two sectors of Rajouri and Poonch on Thursday. However, a senior army officer said that such report cannot be confirmed. On Wednesday, Pakistan army initiated indiscriminate firing of mortars, small arms, automatics RPG, recoilless rifles from 6.40pm in Nowshera. Before this, they had initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics RPG, recoilless rifles from 9.30am on Thursday in the same sector. Meanwhile, two policemen were wounded in a suspected militant attack in Hyderpora area of Budgam district late Thursday night. A youth was injured elsewhere in the district when Sashastra Seema Bal personnel opened fire at protesters who pelted stones on them. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government has made grand plans for the forthcoming International Yoga Day. The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) has been working tirelessly to make the International Yoga Day functions across the country and world a grand success. Union Governments 74 ministers would take part in the Yoga Day functions in 74 cities on June 21. Prime Minister Modi would take part in the Yoga Day function in Uttar Pradeshs capital Lucknow where AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik would also be present. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah would perform Yoga in Ahmedabad. Home Minister Rajnath Singh would attend the Yoga Day function in Himachal Pradeshs Sujanpur Tihra. Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu would be present in Delhi. Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nitin Gadkari, J. P. Nadda, Smriti Irani, Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal would take part in International Yoga Day functions at Patna, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam respectively. AYUSH Ministry is working day and night to make the International Yoga Day a big success not only at national level but also at international level. It has written letters to different Ambassadors and Embassies and urged to make the event successful. International Yoga Day is celebrated annually on 21 June since its inception in 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his UN address had suggested the date of 21 June, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world. The father of public interest litigation (PIL) and judicial activism in Indian legal jurisprudence, justice PN Bhagwati is no more. The 17th Chief Justice of India, Justice Bhagwati passed away in New Delhi on Thursday evening after a brief illness. He was 95, and is survived by his wife and three daughters. Justice Bhagwati began his career as an advocate in the Bombay high court. He became a judge of the Gujarat high court in 1960 and was subsequently elevated to the Supreme court in 1973. Justice Bhagwati is considered one of the most distinguished jurists of India since independence. He presided over the Supreme Court as its Chief Justice until his retirement in 1985. Under his leadership, the apex court developed comprehensive human rights jurisprudence. He retired as the Chief Justice in 1985. During his stint in the Supreme Court, justice Bhagwati was responsible for making a large number of innovations with a view to providing access to justice to the poor and disadvantaged. He enlarged the doctrine of locus standi before the Supreme Court and the high courts for vindicating the individual and collective rights of those denied access to justice on account of poverty or social or economic disability. Justice Bhagwati developed the strategy of PILs with a view to making human rights meaningful for the large masses of poor and disadvantaged people. He introduced the system of taking cognisance of letters that were written by social workers, journalists, law teachers and civil liberty activists directly to him. This strategy won admiration in many common law jurisdictions. Justice Bhagwati is widely regarded as the originator of Indias legal aid programme. But his flawless tenure as judge was marred by a black spot, the controversial judgment in the ADM Jabalpur case (popularly referred to as the habeas corpus case) where he decreed that during Emergency, the fundamental rights of citizens can be suspended. Two Pakistani army soldiers were killed in retaliation by the Indian Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Bhimber Gali sector of Poonch district, officials said on Thursday. Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliation by Indian troops in Bhimber Gali sector on Wednesday, an official said. The Pakistani Army resorted to unprovoked, indiscriminate shelling and firing at three places on the LoC after which the Indian Army retaliated effectively and strongly. The Pakistani army violated the ceasefire at two places in Rajouri district and in Bhimber Gali sector of Poonch district on Wednesday. Pakistan had violated the ceasefire ten times during the past four days on the LoC in Jammu region. The Indian Army says that the Pakistani Army violates the bilateral ceasefire to assist infiltration of militants into the Indian side of the LoC. The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday announced dissolving the Shia and Sunni waqf boards in the state in the wake of corruption charges against them. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has assented to the dissolution of the boards, Minister of state for Waqf Mohsin Raza told PTI in Lucknow. The dissolution process has been started after taking into account all legal aspects, the minister said. There have been serious allegations of corruption against the Shia and Sunni waqf boards related to their properties. An inquiry conducted by the Waqf Council of India had also found many irregularities in this regard. The role of the chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, Wasim Rizvi, as well as the minister for waqf in the previous Samajwadi Party government, Azam Khan, had come under scanner after the inquiry by the Waqf Council of India. Barely a fortnight after the SP suffered a humiliating defeat in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, a report by the fact-finding committee of the Central Waqf Council (CWC) indicted Khan -- one of the controversial ministers in the erstwhile Akhilesh Yadav government -- of corruption, mismanagement and misuse of office. The fact-finding committee, constituted after the CWC received several complaints from UP, was headed by Syed Ejaz Abbas Naqvi, who is also the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand waqf boards. Raza had recently handed over separate reports of the Waqf Council with regard to the two boards to the chief minister. The committee in its report elaborated on how Khan as minister allegedly misused his position to grab properties under the boards. It said Khan made a trust -- Maulana Johar Ali Education Trust -- and diverted funds from waqf properties to it. The report pointed out discrepancies in maintaining rent collection records on Waqf properties. It recommended that the Uttar Pradesh Waqf Board be dissolved immediately and all accused officials be barred from entering waqf offices pending investigation. Khan has, however, maintained that he was absolutely clean and the allegations against him were baseless. The BJPs one-seat gambit to include the Gorkhaland issue in its 2014 election manifesto to gain an edge in the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency might come back to haunt the party as it looks to expand its footprint in West Bengal. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which has launched a violent agitation in the Darjeeling hills for a separate Gorkhaland state, wants the saffron party to deliver on its promises. Bengal is just a chowkidar (watchman) of Gorkhaland, and its time for its retirement. The West Bengal assembly will never pass it (resolution for creation of a separate state); the Centre will have to do it on its own. We ensured victory for the BJP (in Darjeeling) in 2009 and 2014. This issue is part of its manifesto too. The BJP government at the Centre must now work towards ensuring it (Gorkhaland), GJM chief Bimal Gurung told HT. Gurung sent a delegation of GJM leaders to meet West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh last week to remind him of the partys commitment in the manifesto. He said he raised the statehood issue at a recent NDA meeting, and would now send a delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demand the implementation of the BJPs poll promise. The BJP had initially sought to skirt the Gorkhaland issue in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, making no mention of it in its poll manifesto. Hours after releasing the document though, it was compelled by the GJM to issue a late night statement, saying, Further to the election manifesto of the BJP released today the BJP reiterates that it will sympathetically examine and appropriately consider the long-pending demands of the Gorkhas, the Adivasis and other people of Darjeeling district and the Dooars region. With negligible presence in West Bengal, the BJP depended entirely on the GJMs support to win the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat. However, the saffron party has made significant gains in the erstwhile Left bastion in the past two years emerging as the principal challenger to the ruling Trinamool Congress. As it is, the BJP can ill-afford to be seen as a party supporting the bifurcation of West Bengal even though it has been in favour of smaller states. But those with stakes in Darjeeling are jittery. Union minister and Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia has written to Union home minister Rajnath Singh, asking him to examine the demand for a separate state. Gurung might not be accommodative of the BJPs political compulsions, though. An erstwhile member of the Gorkha Volunteer Cell, the militant wing of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Gurung had taken little time to dump his patron GNLF chief Subhash Ghising after seizing an opportunity to mobilise public opinion by setting up fan clubs for then Darjeeling Indian Idol contestant Prashant Tamang. He set up the GJM in 2007 and soon forced Ghising to shift base to Jalpaiguri. Gurung went on to become chief executive of the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) a semi-autonomous administrative body that replaced the Ghising-led Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 2012, while the GNLF founder died a disheartened man in a Delhi hospital in 2015, . The GJM swept the GTA elections in 2012. However, it was perceived to be on a slippery wicket ahead of this years elections especially after the Trinamool Congress recently won civic body polls in GJM stronghold Mirik. Gurung needed an emotive issue to regain his grip on the region, and chief minister Mamata Banerjee provided it when she announced last month that Bengali would be made a compulsory subject in schools. Though a school dropout, 54-year-old Gurung is known as a master tactician. He pounced on the controversial issue to start an agitation. We were already waging a battle for a separate state, and have now combined it with the issue of language. Nepalese is our matribhasha (mother tongue). English is the language for employment while Hindi is our rashtrabhasha. Whats the need to bulldoze a fourth language when we already have three languages? Bengali language is being forced upon our children from primary to high school. We will do whatever we can. If we have to shed blood or die for our language, art and culture, so be it, Gurung told HT. Banerjee finally realised her mistake, and clarified that Bengali would not be made compulsory at schools in the Darjeeling hills. However, her retraction came a bit late, because the GJM had already mobilised the people on the issue and used it to bring them onto the streets to demand a separate state. A 13-year-old girl on Wednesday approached police saying that her parents were allegedly marrying her off to a middle-aged man in return of 10 lakh, officials said on Thursday. The girl came to the police station when her parents were not at home and told us about her ordeal, said Ramesh Saini, station house officer at Kalwar police station. The girl, a Class 8 student, came to the police station on Wednesday and told us that she was being forcefully married to a middle-aged man, he said. She also gave us a wedding card as proof. Police informed the local administration and the girl was handed over to the child welfare committee, police said. We are investigating the matter and trying to get in touch with her parents but they havent returned yet, said Saini. The Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (RSCPCR) also took cognizance of the matter on Thursday with the commissions chairperson meeting the girl. While counseling, the girl told me that her mother was pressurizing her to marry a middle-aged man and has also taken 10 lakh for it, said Manan Chaturvedi, chairperson, RSCPCR. I have asked the police to investigate the incident and if it is verified that money has been taken then action will be taken against her mother, she told HT. The girl said that her parents live separately and as her father is an alcoholic, Chaturvedi said. The girl is being sent to a childrens home but she said that she wants to stay with me. If such is the case then I will adopt her. The girl and a couple of neighbours who helped her contact the police, will be awarded by the commission, she said. Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) a peasants wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) started its indefinite mahapadav (sit-in) demanding loan waiver, minimum support prices for farm produce and a special assembly session to discuss farmer issues on Thursday. This mahapadav is the fight for the financial independence of farmers. The farmers are not even getting the costing of produce. They are in debt and under pressure to give up farming, said Heera Lal Choudhary, vice-president BKS. Farmers are agitated as their produce is not being purchased on MSP and they are not getting water or electricity. During elections, the BJP had promised eight hours of power supply and agricultural connection on a priority basis. After three years, around 4.5 lakh connections are still pending, said Choudhary. BKS is holding an indefinite mahapadav at seven divisional headquarters Jaipur, Kota, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Bharatpur and Sikar. BKS representatives submitted an 11-point memorandum to the district administration for the chief minister. The government had appealed to farmers to ensure a good harvest, but they cheated us after a bumper production by changing their import-export policy and purchasing pulses from outside, said Choudhary. BKS is a non-political outfit working in the interest of farmers, he said. The mahapadav is a fight for the financial independence of farmers, Heera Lal Choudhary, vice-president BKS has said. (Himanshu Vyas- HT Photo ) He said both the BJP and the Congress have cheated farmers. During elections they make promises and after coming to power they forget their promises. Farmers will prosper when they get the right price. We will go to all levels to get our voices heard. Political parties will get our reply during elections, said Choudhary. Addressing the farmers at the sit-in, state BKS president Mani Lal Lebana said, This mahapadav is to give the government a chance. The government has pay commissions, but what about farmers? We are not getting the right price for our produce. The government is not listening to our demands. They will face the consequences during elections, Sua Lal, a farmer from Pachaar area of Jaipur, said. He added that this year he sold tomatoes at 2 per kg, which should have fetched him 20 a kg. We did not earn even prices of the seeds, he said. Another farmer, Kailash Sharma said, We sold pea at 3 per kg. The seeds cost 200 per kg. What have we earned? If no steps are taken by the government, we will then close villages and block roads. The state government has cancelled the leave of district collectors and police officials in view of the protest and has asked them to keep a close watch on the situation. Security has been tightened in areas around the mahapadav sites. (Himanshu Vyas- HT Photo ) Not only Jaipur, farmers from Ajmer, Jodhpur and Bharatpur too have joined the agitation. Hundreds of farmers held an indefinite dharna at Azad Park, Ajmer. The farmers submitted a memorandum to the divisional commissioner in demanding warehouses at each panchayat headquarters, 247 uninterrupted electricity supply to farmers during sowing season, and adequate representation of farmers in district committee meetings discussing agricultural issues. The farmers are under great economic crisis, said Rajendra Sharma district secretary BKS. In Jodhpur, farmers sat on mahapadav outside the district collectors office. Sangh coordinator Tulchharam Sinvar said the farmers want minimum support price for their produce. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Narada News chief executive Mathew Samuel, who conducted a sting operation purportedly showing senior Trinamool Congress leaders accepting bribes, has said he may be targeted in Kolkata by the members of the ruling party. Samuel told the Hindustan Times he would also go to Kolkata Police headquarters on Thursday, where a separate case of defamation has been registered against him. He was questioned for almost 12 hours by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday and Tuesday in Keralas Kochi in connection with the Narada sting tapes in which 12 Trinamool leaders, including MPs, MLAs and ministers, were seen accepting money. The sting was conducted over a period of two years by Samuel. Read: Narada case: Mention of Abhishek Banerjee in FIR sends Trinamool in tizzy Samuel wrote an email to the Muchipara Police, saying he and members of his family had faced odd experiences in Kochi and Delhi and registered complaints with the local police. I fear a possible threat from those leaders and their acquaintances of the TMC who were caught in corruption exposed by Narada sting operation, Samuel wrote in the mail a few days ago. Under these circumstances, I request you to ensure my security while reaching Kolkata on the 15th onwards, Samuel added. He has not received any reply from the police to his request for security cover during his visit on Thursday. A BJP protest rally in Kolkata led by BJP state president DIlip Ghosh (right). (HT Photo) The Muchipara Police have summoned Samuel in connection with an alleged extortion case registered against him at the police station. It has been alleged that he tried to extort money from DP Yadav, a former legislator from Bihar. The Muchipara Police earlier raided Samuels office in Delhi. They seized laptops, computer and phones and also questioned other employees of Narada News. Samuel and family also approached the police in March claiming threats to himself and his family. They said they were being stalked and followed after the Calcutta high court ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the 2016 sting operation. Read: Narada CEO Mathew Samuel claims there are plans afoot to eliminate him A Left rally in Kolkata to protest against the Narada scam. (HT Photo) The controversy erupted in March last year after Narada News portal uploaded a series of videos purportedly showing a number of high-profile Trinamool leaders, including former and present ministers, members of Parliament and state lawmakers, receiving money in exchange for favours to a fictitious company. The footage became a big issue during the 2016 West Bengal assembly polls, but the Trinamool managed to retain power despite a vigorous anti-corruption campaign by the opposition. The CBI filed an FIR in the Narada case on March 16 this year acting on the Calcutta high court order, which was later upheld by the Supreme Court. The central agencys officials are learnt to have probed the activities of some very influential people in the ruling party. Bank transactions and wire transfers have also been checked by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate, said an official. Read: Mamata Banerjee publicly defends the Narada accused Trinamool leaders against whom the CBI registered the FIR include Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy and Lok Sabha MPs Saugata Roy, Aparupa Poddar, Sultan Ahmed, Prasun Banerjee and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. West Bengal ministers, including urban development minister Firhad Hakim, transport minister Suvendu Adhikari, environment minister and Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee and panchayati raj and rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee have also been named in the FIR. Former minister Madan Mitra, MLA Iqbal Ahmed and IPS officer Saiyaad Mustafa Hussain Mirza have also been named as accused under Prevention of Corruption Act. Mirza, who was posted as the Burdwan superintendent of police, was also seen accepting money on the camera. A 15-year-old girl from an Uttar Pradesh village near Kanpur ran away from her home a day before her marriage, and returned only after it was called off, only to be beaten up by her family and thrown out. Geeta (not her real name), who was taken out of school when she was in class 7 and wishes to continue her studies, said her marriage was fixed for June 12 against her wishes by her father, a farmer in Biwar village of Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh, 60 km south of Kanpur. I began protesting from the day they fixed my marriage. I kept doing so till June 10. No one in the family listened to me. I was threatened and mentally tortured for questioning the decision, Geeta told the police. Having failed to convince them, she ran away a day before the ceremony. From her hiding, she forced her parents to tell the grooms family in Mahoba that she was not ready for marriage. After much deliberation the grooms family decided to call off the marriage and Geeta returned home after three days of hiding. All this time, she had moved constantly to avoid being caught by either of the families. But once home, she faced abuses and assaults from her parents and relatives, who tried to force her to get married. When she did not relent, they beat her up and threw her out of the house on June 14. Fearing for her life, Geeta approached the police and lodged a complaint, seeking protection. She has told us that her family members are still hell-bent on marrying her off to the boy from Karhariya in Khanna of Mahoba district. She says she isnt ready for the marriage, said Sunil Kumar Shukla, Biwar station officer. She has also threatened to commit suicide if her family doesnt ease pressure on her, Shukla said. Child marriages are common in Bundelkhand and most of the girls are married away when they are 15-16-years-old, especially during June-July, the marriage season. While Geeta is staying at the police station, her family is not yet ready to take her back. The police have involved local influential people to persuade the family to take her back. They have also warned the family against forcing the girl to marry as they would be jailed under provisions of child marriage act. We have met the parents and told them they must take her with them and not exert any sort of pressure. Hopefully, they will take her soon, Shukla said. A designated court of Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (Prevention) (TADA) Act will pronounce its verdict against the seven accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts today. On March 12, 1993, a series of 12 blasts rocked Mumbai, killing 257 people and injuring 713 others. Check the 12 spots, here The accused are Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Firoz Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Karimullah Shaikh, Mohammad Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Taklya and Abdul Qayyum. Special public prosecutor Deepak Salvi concluded the arguments in July 2016. A victim being carried from the Air India Building. (HT FILE) Their rules According to the prosecution, Mustafa Dossa, with his brother Mohammad, organised key meetings to discuss the blasts. Mustafa is accused of sending weapons from Dubai and Pakistan to the western coast of India, while Mohammad is alleged to have used the network to receive the consignment. Confessions, witnesses helped CBI Of the seven accused, the CBI recorded confessions of Salem, Khan and Shaikh, who gave details of the conspiracy and its execution The prosecution relied on the evidence of 686 witnesses recorded by the TADA court during the trial of 129 accused, including Yakub Memon and Sanjay Dutt. Of the 129, the special TADA court, in 2006, convicted 100 The prosecution examined 50 other witnesses in the trial. Salem was booked for delivering the consignment of arms and ammunition at various places, including the house of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt. Siddique provided logistical support arranging car and finance for transportation of the accused -- and ammunition. He also attended many of the meetings where the conspiracy was hatched. Tahir has been charged with facilitating travel of the accused to Pakistan via Dubai for training of arms and ammunitions. Shaikh and Khan have been charged with helping in off-loading of consignments sent by Dossa. The trial dilemma The TADA court had separated the trials of the accused and those declared absconding, with the ruling that evidence of witnesses recorded through the earlier trial can be used against all of them. The Supreme Court allowed the evidence to be considered (taken on record), on condition that the accused be allowed to cross-examine all witnesses. Dossas defence Mustafa Dossa, one of the accused. (HT File) Using this privilege, Dossa asked the prosecution: 1. If the evidence of witnesses recorded in the previous trial can be used against the accused, who were not declared absconders but arrested later in the case 2. The confessions of accused who were tried earlier can be used against the accused now facing the trial Dossa had earlier moved an application alleging he was never declared absconder, but was arrested at a later stage during investigation. Dossas lawyer, Rizwan Merchant, argued as his trial was separated from the main case and he was not declared an absconder, the evidence recorded in previous trial cannot be used against him. The same argument was raised by all accused, except Salem. Confession issues The Apex Court order , where all accused were given an opportunity to question all accused again, has far-reaching consequences. Hence the defence cant claim prejudice as the witnesses have been re-examined in the court, Salvi said. The key evidence against the seven accused are the confessions of the co-accused, convicts and witnesses The accused said the confession statement of the co-accused, who were part of the first trial, cannot be used against them as they were not tried together The court, during the conclusion of arguments, said the issues would be decided at the stage of final judgment Prosecutions conclusion Salvi said the accused and those absconding should not be allowed to take advantage of legal loopholes to escape punishment. Read more: In pics: The seven accused in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON More than half (53%) of elderly people across India believe they are discriminated against because of their age, while almost half (44%) said they have been abused in public, revealed a survey conducted by HelpAge India to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15. The survey, titled How India treats its Elderly, also revealed that sons and daughters-in-law are the most common perpetrators of abuse against senior citizens. This was the fifth such survey published by HelpAge India, a charity that works for the causes of elderly people. It involved interviews with 4,615 elderly people in 19 cities, including four tier-II and four tier-III cities. Read: 44% elderly abused in public spaces; in Delhi 23% experienced mistreatment: survey Pramod Borgaonkar, director of HelpAge India, said, Abuse of the elderly has increased since we began conducting this survey in 2012. Earlier, only one of five seniors reported that they faced abuse. But now, one in two does so. But the proportion of elderly people who didnt speak out against mistreatment fell from 98% in 2012 to 50% in 2014. Borgaonkar said most elderly people continue to name their sons and daughters-in-law as their primary abusers. Abuse comes in many forms, physical and mental, such as excluding an elderly relative from family discussions, refusing to feed them, or pressuring them to hand over their house or other possessions, said Borgaonkar. Read: Study finds people become more generous with age, even to strangers n the 2015 survey, one-third of respondents admitted they had been abused by a relative. About 35% perceived their daughter-in-law as their primary abuser. Of those who had faced abuse, this number was about 50%. Randeep Chopra, a senior citizen who volunteers at HelpAge, said that the elderly can sometimes invite trouble by giving away their wealth and property to their children without any security. He said that the government should give the elderly reverse mortgage loans a type of loan that requires people to mortgage their homes and doesnt require any monthly payments. The Maharashtra government had come up with a policy for senior citizens in 2013. Among other things, it recommended separate windows for the elderly in hospitals and other public buildings; old-age homes in every district; and a health insurance plan for senior citizens. But Borgaonkar said the policy remained on paper as the state was yet to issue a government resolution or budget for it. Similarly, an executive committee formed to address the concerns of senior citizens is yet to have its first meeting. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In view of the crucial upcoming Presidential elections, BJP national President Amit Shah will meet Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday. This meeting at Matoshree, the Thackerays residence in Bandra, assumes significance as the Sena has had strained relations with the BJP and even went to the extent of supporting the farmers strike against the state government, of which it is a partner. Shah who will meet Uddhav at 11 am is likely to seek his support for the NDA candidate in the presidential election scheduled next month. The BJP needs the votes of the Sena to get its nominee in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The voting for this election is scheduled on July 17 while the counting will take place on July 20, four days before Pranab Mukherjees term ends. The Sena with 18 MPs and 63 MLAs has 25,893 votes in the electoral college. From Maharashtra, the support of an MP translates to 708 votes, and an MLAs vote translates to 175 votes. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is short of the half way mark by around 24,522 votes and would need help from non-UPA parties to make up for this shortfall. In this light, it cannot afford to lose one of its allies support. The Sena, in order to embarrass the BJP, even suggested Rashtraiya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat as the NDA candidate. However Bhagwat ruled himself out. Further, the Sena, in the recent past, has twice voted in favour of the Congress presidential candidate, including incumbent Pranab Mukherjee and for Pratibha Patil on the grounds that she was from Maharashtra, even while it was a part of the NDA. Though the Sena shares power in the state and at the Centre, relations between the allies have only worsened since the BJP came to power. The situation reached break point during the Mumbai civic polls. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A video and images of Congress MLA from Sillod allegedly beating up a farmer in Aurangabad has gone viral on social media, even as the Maharashtra government recently decided to waive the loans of farmers across the state. Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi and with supporters allegedly beat up farmers over a land dispute. The MLA, however, said he had to take that step. Land belongs to Dalit brothers, don't have any connection with it. Situation at that time was such I had to take that step: Abdul Sattar. pic.twitter.com/aR8ngprCMT ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 The land belongs to Dalit brothers, I dont have any connection with it. At that time, the situation was such that I had to take that step, he said. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was prepared for mid-term polls in the state, remarks that come as both friends and foes have sought to corner his government on the issue of farm-loan waiver. Some people said (when the farmers agitation was on) that they will bring the government down, will withdraw support. I said we are ready for mid-term polls. If someone wants to impel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will be able to form the government again, Fadnavis told reporters here without naming any party. The BJPs ally in the government, the Shiv Sena, has been even more vocal than the opposition parties in pressing for a complete waiver of farm loans. On Sunday, the Fadnavis government had announced a waiver of farm loans with some riders, after which the farmers had withdrawn their strike. Buoyed by the BJPs success in Maharashtra local governing bodies polls, held in the recent past, Fadnavis exuded confidence that people of the state were with the saffron party notwithstanding various agitations. This success was unprecedented and no other party achieved such success. The Congress-NCP couldnt attain this success even during their heyday. So, people believe in this government, Fadnavis said. Talking to a Marathi news channel recently, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had suggested that his party would withdraw support to the government if the loan waiver was not announced. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday warned of a political earthquake if the Devendra Fadnavis-led government failed to waive loans of all farmers. Talking to media persons at Shegaon in Akola district, western Vidarbha, Thackeray said, The government should not attach any riders to the loan waiver. If such loan waiver does not materialise, there would be a political earthquake in Maharashtra. Lashing out at Fadnavis over his oft-repeated statement that the Bharatiya Janata Party was prepared for the mid-term elections in the backdrop of Senas threats to pull out of the alliance in the state, Thackeray asked him to give the money that would be spent for poll campaigning to farmers instead. If they (BJP) have abundant money to face a fresh election, it is better that the money is given to farmers. There is no need for a mid-term poll, we will support you (the BJP), Thackeray said . Sena has openly supported farmers strike. It has further strained the ties between the allies. During the farmers agitation, the Sena had attacked the BJP government in its mouthpiece Saamana several times. Sena MP Sanjay Raut also threatened that their party would withdraw support to the government if they did not waive loans of farmers. Thackeray maintained unwavering support to farmers. I am with farmers. We dont bother about the government and our position in the government. We want loan waiver for all farmers. The conditions for the write-off will be decided by a committee, comprising farmers and government. hinted that the rich farmers would be excluded from the loan waiver benefit. The Sena chief said that he had told state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil not to leave out needy farmers from availing the benefit while fixing the loan criteria. The Bombay high court on Thursday refused to interfere with the state governments decision to bring minority educational institutions under its online admission system for first year junior colleges (FYJC). On Thursday, a division bench of Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice Riyaz Chagla said it would hear a petition but did not grant interim relief leaving the situation unchanged at least for now. The petition was filed by PN Mehta Educational Trust, which is challenging the states decision to take charge of filling up non-minority seats in minority institutions. In all minority institutions, 50% of the seats are reserved for the minority community, while the remaining are for students who dont belong to any minority category. In January 2017, the Maharashtra government said it would take over admissions for the non-minority seats by including them in the common online admission process. The institution, which runs the Boys Town Junior College at Trimbak Road in Nasik, said this violated their fundamental right under Article 30 of the Constitution of India to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. READ: High scores will bring tough competition in FYJC admissions in Maharashtra Their counsel, senior advocate Mihir Desai, said that till last year (the 2016-17 academic year), all FYJC seats were being filled by the minority institutions themselves through individual applications of students, at the college level. This year, the notification has taken away this right of colleges. The petition asked if the state government can do so. Additional government pleader Asif Patel responded saying the junior college run by the petitioner has not been able to find students from the minority community for whose benefit it had been established. Desai said the petitioner was a Parsi religious minority institution and it was impossible for it to fill all 50% minority quota. Patel then said the college had not admitted a single student from the minority community in the past three academic years. In fact, a chart prepared by the education department showed that last year, minority educational institutions across Mumbai filled less than half of the 50% minority quota seats. According to the chart, minority institutions in Mumbai admitted 20,969 quota students, against the total intake capacity of 51,939. There could be more competition for law seats in the state this year. More candidates are scoring high in the common entrance test (CET) for the five-year bachelor of law course (LLB), according to data from the state Common Entrance Test Cell. The highest score this year is 134 out of 150. Of the 14,559 candidates who took the test, 295 crossed the 112-mark and 1,099 scored more than 100. Colleges said the scores have significantly shot up compared to last year. The cut-offs for admission will rise as students have performed better. I believe it will also improve the quality of students who take up law, said Laxmikant Dwivedi, principal, Jitendra Law College, Vile Parle. There's another reason for the stiff competition this year. More aspirants took the test 34% more than last years 11,000. A common entrance test for law courses was introduced for the first time last year, but confusion among students about the new process and little awareness meant more than 6,000 of the 10,000 seats were left vacant. The admissions had stretched on for almost six months. READ: No merit list for law courses in Maharashtra leaves aspirants in limbo Experts said the growing demand for law courses in Maharashtra is in part being driven by aspirants from outside the state. Dwivedi said law aspirants across the country were looking at Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, as a preferred destination for legal education. The financial capital is home to specialised law firms. Besides, legal inputs are sought-after in many industries, he said. Law colleges in the state have reserved 15% seats for students from outside the state. But most of these students aspire for a select few colleges ILS Law College in Pune and Government Law College (GLC) in Mumbai. Ashok Yende, in-charge director at University Law School at MU suggested the state should increase the quota to accommodate more students from outside the state. Aditya Roongta, a student at GLC, who analysed the two CET results claimed that the competition will be particularly tough for quota seats for students from outside the state. Many students who appeared for the national-level Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) also took CET. The results have improved due to better performance by OMS candidates. The majority of the high scorers belong to states other than Maharashtra," he said. While the registrations for centralised admission process for five-year LLB has started, the CET cell is yet to release a consolidated merit list of the candidates. Some students are afraid that, like last year, the admission process will be prolonged this time as well. "The state should have finished the college registration process well before admissions. It will now unnecessarily delay the entire process," said Sachin Pawar, president, Student Law Council, a city-based student group. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON After a long summer break, most schools across Mumbai reopened on Thursday morning. Students were seen going to schools in new uniforms with colourful bags and water bottles, with pictures of their favorite superheroes and cartoon characters printed on them. Many kids who were just beginning school were seen crying, with their parents trying their best to cheer them up. Students smile and wave as they ride in the school bus for their first day after the summer break. (Praful Gangurde) A woman consoles a crying boy at Sane Guruji High School. (Kunal Patil) This little girl is clearly not excited to go back to school. (Pratik Chorge) The brand new uniform was not enough to keep him from crying on the first day at Sane Guruji English Medium High School in Dadar. (Kunal Patil/HT Photo) A girl takes a nap on her way to school on the school bus. (Praful gangurde) On March 12, 1993, a series of 12 blasts rocked Mumbai, killing 257 people and injuring 713 others. A designated court of Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (Prevention) (TADA) Act will pronounce its verdict against the seven accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts today. Watch Here are the seven accused: 1. ABU SALEM Abu Salem has been charged with supplying arms, ammunition and hand grenades for the blasts. (Hindustan Times) 2. MUSTAFA DOSSA He has been charged with arranging landing of arms, ammunition and explosives at Dighi in Raigad district and participating in the blast conspiracy. (HT FILE PHOTO) 3. KARIMULLAH SHAIKH Shaikh has been charged with smuggling arms into the country through the Shekhadi coast of Raigad district. (HT FILE) 4. MOHAMMAD TAHIR MERCHANT alias TAHIR TAKLYA He has been charged with making arrangements to send other convicts to Pakistan for training (HT FILE) 5. ABDUL QAYYUM He has been charged with accompanying Abu Salem to Sanjay Dutts house to deliver arms and ammunition. (HT FILE) 6. FIROZ KHAN: Has been charged with arranging transportation and distribution of arms, ammunition and explosives 7. RIYAZ SIDDIQUI: Has been charged with transporting explosives in a van, which were later used in the blasts. Meet the Mumbai cardiac surgeon with a big heart. Dr Zainul Hamdulay, director of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at Global Hospitals in Parel, is attempting to raise Rs3.37 crore during the month of Ramzan, so he can facilitate heart surgeries for underprivileged people who cannot afford them. Dr Hamdulay has an ambitious target using the money raised, he plans to fund 100 bypass surgeries, 100 angioplasties, and 500 angiographies. Using the best stents on the market brings the cost of an angioplasty up to a lakh. A bypass usually costs Rs2 lakh and an angiography costs around Rs15,000. Our foundation has tied up with Milaap, Indias largest crowdfunding site, to raise money so the underprivileged or those below the poverty line can avail of treatment for free, he said. Dr Hamdulay is saving lives People like Dr Hamdulay are the real heroes. He is saving lives by making expensive treatments, such as bypass surgeries, angioplasties and angiographies, affordable. We are proud to be associated with his foundation, said Mayukh Choudhary, CEO and co-founder of Milaap, Indias largest crowdfunding site. The founder of Hamdulay Heart Foundation, a Nagpada-based non-profit organisation that treats cardiac ailments among the poor, the doctor said this was the first time he was attempting to raise such a large sum. Since its inception in 2010, the foundation usually manages to raise around Rs1.5 crore over the course of a year, but this is the first time we are trying to raise so much in just a month, he said. So far, the foundation has raised Rs5.10lakh over 17 days. Donations range from Rs500 to Rs10,000. As it is Ramzan, most of our donors are Muslims who are contributing their zakat 2.5% of their income, said Dr Hamdulay. Heres how the process works people approach the foundation seeking subsidised treatment for their heart ailments. Those who need either an angioplasty or an angiography are referred to Habib Hospital in Dongri, where the foundation has set up a cath lab an examination room fitted with diagnostic imaging equipment that helps doctors see the hearts arteries and chambers. Those who need a bypass are referred to Global Hospitals. One of these people is Govandi resident Akbar Sheikh, who will undergo the operation on Friday. My father had a heart attack last month. Tests showed that he had four blockages. The cost of the surgery was Rs2.10 lakh, but the most I could scrape together was Rs50,000. Thanks to the foundation, my father will be able to undergo surgery in the next two days, said his son Abu. Afzal Khan, who has been handling the foundations digital operations for the past three years, said last years donors helped fund the surgeries of 263 poor patients and screen more than 500 for heart disease. The foundation has also helped 55-year-old Munira Begum, who underwent an angioplasty on Tuesday. After she was diagnosed with coronary artery disease, doctors advised her to undergo a single vessel angioplasty. The surgery costs Rs1.30 lakh, but we had only Rs15,000, said her son Abdul Salam. Khan said Begums hospital bills will be settled by the end of the month. I set up the foundation in memory of my mother, who was at the forefront of several social initiatives. She wanted me to do something to help the poor. This is my way of giving back, said Dr Hamdulay. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON pratik.salunke@hindustantimes.com The recent arrests of two foreign nationals by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) with cocaine worth more than 50 crore have revealed that metro cities across the country are being used as landing points for smuggling the contraband, according to officials. The NCB on June 8 arrested a Bolivian national with cocaine worth 21 crore and three days later arrested a Colombian national with cocaine worth 36 crore. The accused arrested are being used as carriers, who are paid around 3,000 US dollars to get the job done, said a senior NCB officer. Investigations revealed that metro cities in the city are used as landing points owing to better air connectivity. Further, crowded metro cities make a perfect ground for the carriers to escape the eye of the agencies, said the officer. The agency is investigating the cocaine trail in the country. Investigations are on to check if the city is used as a point to circulate the drugs domestically or it is being send abroad from here, said the officer. The questioning of the accused foreign nationals revealed that the carriers are usually unaware of who they are working for. There are layers of people involved. The carriers are, at the most, communicating with a person who is himself unaware of the real drug lord, said the officer. The NCB is taking the help of translators to question the foreign nationals. It was revealed that men and women are lured for the easy money in smuggling contraband. After their arrival in the city, the handlers wait for three to four days, which is a cushion period to ascertain if the carrier is not under radar. The carrier is then told through Whatsapp to hand over the contraband to another person, said the officer. The officers were surprised to know that the Colombian national is a trainee commercial pilot. Sources said that the agency is keeping a watch on certain flights coming from a specific route. The paths known for the trade are under scanner. The stay and travel of the couriers are free. The carriers are given a part of the payment before they start, while the rest is transferred to their bank account, said the officer. Read Traffickers swallowing condoms filled with liquid cocaine: Interpol SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Elderly gay men in Mumbai will soon have a platform to connect over a cup of chai. An initiative called Mumbai Seenagers, started by a Mumbai doctor and LGBT rights activist, is meant to help gay men older than 55 socialise with each other. It is wonderful to see a large number of online and offline avenues for young gay men opening up in Mumbai. However, older gay men have their own battles to fight and most of the time, they are fighting alone, said Dr Prasad Dhandekar, who founded the group. Find out more You can write to mumbai.seenagers@gmail.com for more information. The first meeting will be held on July 15 from 4 to 6 pm. Two pick-up points have been decided. This is a private event. The personal details of people who attend will not be shared, either online or offline. This is a safe space for all, he said. Around 40 people have registered for the meet up. Our aim is to create awareness and more importantly, a safe environment, especially for those who cannot meet, go for picnics, educate themselves, said Ashok Row Kavi, a co-founder. Psychiatrists said emotional and physical loneliness is common in elderly gay men. A lot of elderly gay men are not out of the closet. Their struggles are very different from the struggles of younger gay men as a lot of them are married, said Dr Harish Shetty. This is a brilliant initiative for elderly gay men to connect with each other and begin conversations they cannot have with other people, he added. Vikram Doctor, journalist and founder of Gay Bombay lauded the initiative. It is a wonderful step. It will help gay men build their own social circle, he said. To attract foreign tourists, the Maharashtra government plans to develop Lonavla as a holiday destination. It is in the process of working out a plan, under which tourism infrastructure will be developed at the hill stations in the Sahyadri ranges. Lonavala and Khandala are twin towns situated near Pune. However, as Khandala is more popular among tourists, the state tourism department plans to focus its attention on Lonavla, which is well-known among tourists from Mumbai and Pune, but not those from outside the state. We are formulating a plan to develop the city. We plan to make arrangements for basic infrastructure and so tourists are comfortable. We will also revamp old tourist spots in Lonavla, said Jaykumar Rawal, state tourism minister. We will first develop all six of the citys parks and then revamp Tungarli lake and the Bhushi dam. We plan to make them international tourist destinations, he added. The tourism department is also promoting Lonavla as a monsoon holiday destination. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Board (MTDC) is offering attractive packages to those visiting the picturesque town during the monsoon, said a senior official from the tourism department. Tourists can also avail monsoon packages at Malshej, Chikhaldara, Bhandardara, Panchgani, he added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON While one Mumbai doctor started an initiative known as Mumbai Seenagers, aimed at helping gay men older than 55 connect, another started a fundraiser to help 700 underprivileged people get life-saving cardiac surgeries. While Mumbai commuters will be able to travel from Worli to Versova faster after the proposed extension to the sea link is completed in three years, they have also been dodging the polices e-challans only 50,000 of the 8 lakh motorists paid fines since January this year. 1. Pack your bags, head to Lonavla, Maharashtra govt is developing it as an international tourist spot To attract foreign tourists, the Maharashtra government plans to develop Lonavla as a holiday destination. It is in the process of working out a plan, under which tourism infrastructure will be developed at the hill stations in the Sahyadri ranges. 2. Mumbai doctor starts Ramzan fundraiser to help 700 poor people undergo life-saving heart surgery Meet the Mumbai cardiac surgeon with a big heart. Dr Zainul Hamdulay, director of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at Global Hospitals in Parel, is attempting to raise Rs3.37 crore during the month of Ramzan, so he can facilitate heart surgeries for underprivileged people who cannot afford them. 3. Mumbai commute to get faster: Work on citys second sea link will start by November In just three years, you may be able to zip from Worli to Versova via the Versova-Bandra sea link (VBSL), an extension of the 5.6-km Bandra-Worli sea link. 4. Mumbai Seenagers initiative gives elderly gay men safe space to connect over cups of chai Elderly gay men in Mumbai will soon have a platform to connect over a cup of chai. An initiative called Mumbai Seenagers, started by a Mumbai doctor and LGBT rights activist, is meant to help gay men older than 55 socialise with each other. 5. Mumbai traffic polices E-challan scheme faces road block, only 50k of 8 lakh motorists pay fine The Mumbai traffic polices ambitious SMS challan scheme seems to have hit a major road block with just 50,000 out of the 8 lakh motorists having paid the fine since January this year. Mumbai Minister of state for housing Ravindra Waikar, who is facing hearing by the Lokayukta in connection with an alleged illegal construction of a gymnasium in Aarey colony, has written to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to take over the gymnasium for its upkeep. MHADA has refused to take over the building, citing the ongoing hearing before the Lokayukta. The Congress said the ministers request implied that he had built the gym illegally. The Lokayukta held a hearing in the case filed by Congress city chief Sanjay Nirupam over the construction of the gymnasium in Aarey colony on the land owned by the dairy development department. Nirupam has alleged that the gymnasium was constructed illegally on the land alloted to an organisation headed by Waikar. The Lokayukta has sought clarification from the minister, who is from the Shiv Sena. During the hearing on Thursday, MHADA submitted the letters written by the organisation headed by Waikar requesting it to take over the building for maintenance. This has proved that Waikar, who has been maintaining that there was nothing wrong done by him in the case, has now admitted to have constructed the gymnasium illegally. He should be held guilty for the illegal construction even though he has admitted to hand over the building back to MHADA, Nirupam said. During the hearing on Thursday, the Lokayukta sought to hear us on whether hearing should continue against Waikar and MHADA officials. We pressed for action against the minister, said advocate Pradhyumna Waghmare, representing Nirupam. Waikar has rubbished the allegations. It is true that we have asked the MHADA to take over the building, but that does not mean it is an admission of illegal construction. It will be appropriate to speak on the issue once the actual hearing is held on the subject on July 3. READ Waikar accused of taking over two gardens in Aarey Colony Shiv Sena minister asks MMRDA to name Mumbai metro station after Bal Thackeray trauma centre Even as environmentalists and citizen groups are protesting the construction of a Metro car depot at Aarey Milk Colony, the Maharashtra government has alloted over three plots for its other Metro project. After handing over a 33.5 hectare (82.7 acre) plot for the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ metro car depot, the Maharashtra government has now given three more plots for the Andheri East-Dahisar Metro-7 corridor. Collectively, these three plots measure 20,387sqm or 5.03 acre. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is the nodal agency of Metro projects in the city, had sought land in Aarey Colony to house a labour camp, a casting yard and a Metro Bhawan a centralised operation centre. The MMRDA had written to the state government in February, and now the Dairy Development Board has formally allotted the plots to MMRDA. According to officials, a plot admeasuring 8000sqm has been allotted for six years, which will be used to set up a casting yard and a labour camp. MMRDA officials said that they required a temporary plot to keep labourers, and since the plot is close to the Metro-7 alignment, it would be convenient. Another plot, which is 4887sqm in size, has been given to set up a remote receiving station, while a 7500sqm plot has been earmarked for the Metro Bhawan. Environmentalists are up in arms against the governments entry into Aarey, which is citys last remaining green cover. However, sources claim that the plots, which have been given to MMRDA, were set aside for residential colonies of Aarey Milk Colony and not necessarily a green zone. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation hit upon an unusual idea to mark the popularity of their photo exhibition, Gedney In India, this June. The show of black-and-white images shot by American street photographer William Gedney in the 1970s and 1980s, opened at the Jehangir Nicholson gallery at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj museum, Mumbai, in March and runs until the end of June. The Foundation held a contest, asking kids aged 9 to 18 to send in their street photography, and roped in Ram Rahman, a noted photographer, curator and social activist, to pick three winners. Entries for Street Talk poured in not just from Mumbai but across the country. Rahman sorted through close to 150 images to select his top picks. I had my hands full, and curating something like this was not easy, he says. There were so many age groups, some first-timers, some who had experience and access to a better camera and guidance. I wanted to be fair. Many kids misunderstood the idea of street photography and sent in shots of pavements! Rahman ended up selecting three winners and three special mentions too. I looked for images that depicted the essence of street photography, he says. There had to be some logic to the composition, and show how the children understood the medium. Artist and photographer Ram Rahman, who judged the contest, at the Jehangir Nicholson gallery of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj museum. (Bhushan Koyande/HT) Here, then, are some of the winners... Carl Soonawala, 17, received special mention for this shot, taken of Cloud Gate, Anish Kapoors reflective public sculpture in Chicago. Carl, a student of the Cathedra & John Connon School in Mumbai says larger-than-life artworks tend to catch his attention. I hadnt seen a lot of images from this perspective, he adds. I think a good picture should possess some unique or interesting quality and should be able to stand on its own. (Image courtesy Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation ) Mangesh Mahajan, a 17-year-old student at TP Bhatia Junior College of Science, won special mention for this shot of an ear-cleaner on the streets of Mumbai. I chose it because he managed to capture a moment, says Rahman. Both his subjects have an interesting expression. (Image courtesy Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation ) Mihika Vijay Khadloya, 9, took this picture as she was rushing past a construction site to get to her dance class in Churchgate. I like the natural environment , she says. This view appealed to me because of the colours. Mihika managed to keep her composition aligned to the frame, something even adult photographers struggle with. Shes been learning about photography from her uncle Yash Keshan, who isnt very old either. Hes only 20. (Image courtesy Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation ) The state school education department will recommend punitive action against a school run by controversial preacher Zakir Naik as it was allegedly operating without government permits. It recently sent a second show-cause notice to Islamic International School, Mazgaon, founded by Naik, for running illegally. The school has close to 135 students on its rolls and conducts classes from nursery to Class 10. It was taken over by Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmis trust after the department threatened to shut it last year. BB Chavan, deputy director of education and education inspector for south zone, said that the school was not recognised by the government. At the start of the new academic year, we conduct a review of all schools, and we found Islamic International School is one of many schools that have not yet obtained an NOC, said Chavan. According to the rules, the school might have to pay a daily fine. The fine amount will increase with every passing day, said Chavan. Meanwhile, Azmi said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation was particularly targeting the schools management. As part of its admission process, Dr Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) has announced the dates for counselling in its affiliated colleges and said that the registration process will start from June 19. The university administration said that the five rounds of counselling will be organised from June 19 to August 3 and the students will have to be present at their respective institutes from August 2 to August 5. Every year, the university organises a nationwide entrance exam called Uttar Pradesh State Entrance Examination (UPSEE) and the counselling process for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Over 800 institutes are affiliated with AKTU across the state, of which 168 are located in Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad. In 2017, a total of 1,69,170 students registered for the UPSEE, of which 1,38,000 cleared the exam whose results were announced on May 30. This year, the university administration has decided to keep the process of counselling online so that students can upload the documents on the universitys portal. The administration will also verify the documents online before the counselling process. This decision has come in the wake of the university administration finding more than 5,000 students with irregular documents in the last academic session. The university administration has released the schedule of the 45-day counselling process involving over a lakh students. Registration for the first round of counselling will take place from June 19 to June 24 and the first round of online document verification and filling up subjects of choice will take place on June 20-26. The results of first round of seat allotment will be declared on June 29, said Aashish Mishra, spokesperson, AKTU. Similarly, the second round of online registration will take place on July 3-5 and the verification will be done till July 6. The results will be announced on July 9. The third round will take place on July 11-13 and the verification on July 14. The results will be announced on July 16. The fourth round of online registration will be from July 19 to July 21 and the verification will be done on July 22. The results will be announced on July 24. Online registration for the fifth and last round will be on July 31 and the verification will be done the same day. The results will be announced on August 2. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Police continue to be deployed near the plot in Indirapuram where a retired IAS officer allegedly buried the body of his wife on June 4 even as the district administration and Ghaziabad development authority (GDA) pass the buck to act on the matter. Local residents say if there is no resolution, they will move the court. The residents of Sri Krishna Lane residents welfare association (RWA) alerted police after they got to know about the burial in their locality. Additional district magistrate Priti Jaiswal, during her inquiry, found that a clause in the sale deed of the plot prohibits the purchaser from undertaking any activity there other than residential use. The clause says that other than residential use, the owner will not use the plot for any religious activity or any such activity that could lead to obstruction or problems for neighbours. We had sought a report from the GDA and they sent us a copy of the sale deed document, Jaiswal said. We have already sent a three-day notice to the retired IAS officer, Tulsi Gaur, on June 7. We have not received any reply so far. Next, we will get the notice pasted on his house and take further action. Till that time, the police will remain deployed at the site and keep a watch on the neighbourhood , she said. After the development authority sent a reply to the district administration last week, the GDA vice-chairperson Kanchan Verma said any action on the issue has to be taken by the district administration officials. The residents and the local RWA of Shakti Khand-2 had raised objections over the alleged burial and had forwarded their complaints to the administration. We have approached both agencies but there has been no action on our complaint. We will move the court but, first, we will allow the administration to complete its inquiry. If the officials do not act, then court is the only option left before us, said ML Duggal of the Shakti Khand-2 RWA. However, Jaiswal said that she will seek more details from the GDA over the clause in the sale deed and will ask GDA to act. The clause also states that any further procedure in case of any dispute, would be to appoint a mediator for resolution of the issue. Even after that, if disagreement persists, the matter has to be resolved through the court, Jaiwal said. Police said Gaur buried his wife, Sheela, in a vacant area of the plot, purportedly in accordance with her last wish. She was ailing and it was her wish that she be buried in the plot after her death, the retired official had told police. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Ghaziabad police on Thursday arrested a 20-year-old man who duped customers by posting sales advertisement of his used mobile phone on an e-commerce website. Toward that end, he got a pouch stitched and placed a thick piece of glass of the same dimensions as a mobile phone inside the pouch. He then broke the zip so that one could not open the pouch. Police said Mohammad Sohil from Murad Nagar made two IDs on the website one in his name and the other in the name of a woman and uploaded pictures of the phone. After duping four customers, he tried his luck a fifth time on June 14 and got connected to a potential purchaser, Manish Pathak, from Ram Nagar locality. Pathak wanted to meet in person at Lal Kuan intersection in the morning of June 14 to finalise the deal. Pathak paid Sohil Rs9,000 for the used phone and Sohil handed him the pouch. As the zip did not open, it took a while for Pathak to tear the pouch and discover the glass piece. The accused had fled by then, said Akash Tomar, superintendent of police (city). Police said Sohil got nearly half a dozen pouches made and had also procured the thick glass pieces from a friend, Ayaan. The accused, who studied only up to class 7, said it was Ayaan who taught him how to dupe buyers with the help of a pouch and a glass piece. Sohils luck ran out when Pathak contacted him again on the evening of June 14. He called up the accused from a different number and expressed interest in purchasing the used phone. Believing that he just might be able to dupe one more person the same day, Sohil called him to the Hapur Chungi intersection. But this time, Pathak had informed police. When Sohil arrived, he was nabbed and booked for cheating and criminal breach of trust, Tomar said. The police said that they will get in touch with the e-commerce portal. This will help them get in touch with the other persons who were cheated in a similar manner, police said. Officials said that they will also try to arrest Ayaan. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Neelam Kumari (30) had worked hard to prepare for an exam for the post of a bank probationary officer (PO) scheduled for April 29. However, two days before that, an overhead electricity cable stole her dreams of a better future and her hands. On April 27, Neelam was electrocuted by the loose, 11Kv wire and the doctors had to amputate her left forearm and her right hand. She lay bedridden in the ICU of the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi till May 20 where the doctors managed to save her legs. I was hanging washed clothes to dry in the balcony. As I put the clothes up, I heard a blast. Both my hands stuck to the electricity cable. I could not shout and could not take my hands away from the wire. I felt it pulled me towards it, leaving me immobile. After Vinay (her husband) arrived in time and pulled me away with a stick, I regained consciousness. I looked down at my hands to find them severely burnt, she said. The couple is from Bihar and had migrated to Delhi for better jobs. Initially, they lived in Mayur Vihar in Delhi, but later took a bank loan and bought a flat at DLF Ankur Vihar in Loni, Ghaziabad. After rescuing his wife, Vinay rushed her to four local hospitals in his neighbours car but none of them had the advanced treatment facilities required for a case like hers. He finally went to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where treatment started around 4pm. She lost her first hand on the ninth day of the incident and the second hand 10 days after that. The skin shreds were taken to a laboratory where the cells were found to be dead and there was no chance of revival. Since then, there have been routine checkups at the hospital even after her discharge, said Vinay, who works as a sales manager with a private company in Noida. On June 3, he lodged an FIR against the electricity department and a local builder. He said he had told the builder several times to fix the low-hanging wires and put some protective cover over them to prevent a mishap. No police officer has come to speak to us about our loss. The electricity department too doesnt seem to have addressed the issue. The same wire still hangs in front of our house, he said. The FIR was lodged under Section 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC at Loni police station. Srikant Prajapati, circle officer, Loni, said, Her husband had come to us in connection with the case. We are still investigating and will file a chargesheet. We advised him to move a consumer court for better compensation. The judicial court will allow compensation, but the case will take its own time. After HT on Thursday approached SK Gupta, chief engineer of the electricity department, he directed the superintending engineer (Loni) to hold an inquiry at the earliest. An inquiry will be initiated and we will find out who got the electricity cable installed. If there is negligence on the electricity departments part, we will take suitable action. Thereafter, we will initiate the process for compensation to the victim as allowed, considering the nature of disability suffered, he added. Vinay has been on leave from work since the incident took place. I remember I was getting ready to go to office when I heard the blast and rushed to the balcony. Since then, I have been on leave. Household chores, preparing food, sweeping the floor and washing utensils is my routine now. When the schools reopen after summer vacations, I will also have to get my eight-year-old son ready for school, he said. The couple is now exploring the possibility of getting artificial limbs to enable Neelam, who still has injuries on her back and legs, to lead an ordinary life. However, Vinay said that will require around 40 lakh. Bahut bura lagta hai... kabhi man hota tha ki zinda nahi rehna chahiye (I feel really bad... sometimes I feel that I shouldnt live anymore). Now, with support of my husband, I am recovering. I will still prepare for and hope to clear the bank PO examinations. But the electricity cable that still hangs near our balcony haunts me all day, she said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The man who allegedly masterminded a Rs54 lakh highway robbery in Ghaziabad last year and got three of his accomplices caught was himself nabbed by the police on Wednesday night. Interestingly, his arrest came after his new gang members gave information about this whereabouts to the police, much as he had done earlier. The arrested man, Hasan Ahmad, who is from Loni is accused of masterminding a highway robbery in Sahibabad in April last year. His bikers gang allegedly robbed two families who were travelling in their BMW and Innova cars on the night of April 24, 2016. The families were cornered after they crossed the Mohan Nagar intersection and the bikers fled with jewellery worth more than Rs54 lakh. When the police was under pressure to solve the case, Hasan anonymously called officials and leaked information about the involvement of his accomplices in the robbery. The police arrested the three last year. During questioning, they told the police that Hasan masterminded the robbery. Hasan had since fled to other places and formed another gang, said Akash Tomar, superintendent of police (city). With the new gang in place, Hasan allegedly robbed two cars in Sahibabad in different incidents last year and also resorted to snatching in areas on Delhis border. He thought his name had been cleared in the Rs54 lakh robbery case. However, his new accomplices did to him what he had done to his previous gang members. Following an argument over sharing the loot, his new gang members informed the police about his involvement in the previous robbery case. He was nabbed later, Tomar added. Hasan was arrested near Kavi Nagar Ramlila Ground where he had come to carry out another robbery but the information had been leaked to the police. Police found that he had six cases of robbery, attempt to murder and cases under the Arms Act against him at Sahibabad, Loni and Kavi Nagar in Ghaziabad. He also has two similar cases lodged against him at Karawal Nagar and Malviya Nagar in Delhi. Given the constitutional scheme under which the president of our republic acts on the advice of the Cabinet, its only fair, regardless of the Oppositions efforts to set up a contest, that the office is occupied by a person of the prime ministers choice. One cannot, for healthy functioning of the affairs of the State, envisage a president whos a total puppet or has an adversarial attitude towards the elected regime. In order to not repeat history as contretemps, lessons must be drawn from the seventies when Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed became Indira Gandhis rubber stamp during the Emergency; the other extreme being the Zail Singh presidency a decade later that tacitly threw its weight behind the Opposition gunning for Rajiv Gandhi over suspect defence contracts. The Election Commission has notified the July 17 election for the 15th president. For its part, the ruling BJP has constituted a three-member panel for consultations without, of course, revealing its hand on the possible candidature. Even the Congress-led Opposition initiative has been about tossing names around. They cant obviously decide to oppose or support the official candidate without knowing the governments mind. Historically, the president has had broad ideological compatibility with the PM. One manageable exception in the early years of Independence was the centre-right Rajendra Prasad to the centre-left Nehru. The thought affinity prerequisite was generally met. For in a parliamentary democracy the president doesnt run the government thats run in his name. At least on paper, he ceases to be party-aligned. As the countrys first citizen, he belongs to all Indians. The 1969 election was the closest the PMs rivals could get to installing an adversarial president. A neophyte then, Indira Gandhi refused to be so tamed. She fought the powerful Congress syndicate to ensure their candidate Neelam Sanjeeva Reddys defeat at the hands of VV Giri. The latter won on the basis of the second preference vote; a run-off that hasnt since been repeated. What carried the day for Giri was Indiras call to legislators for a conscience vote in the secret ballot. The wheel turned full circle in 1977 when Reddy became the first (and only) President to enter office unopposed. Indira then was out of power; Morarji Desai the PM. A contest will again be inevitable if the ruling sides candidate does not inspire optimal confidence at a time the Opposition, besides raring to flaunt unity and strength, perceives danger to constitutional rule from the NDAs Hindutva plank. The BJP can defang its rivals with a candidature befitting the weighty office. Thatll also keep the campaign clean unlike the 2007 election of Pratibha Devisingh Patil. Her 12th presidency based more on loyalty than merit was forever mired in controversy. If the government is indeed serious about a consensus, the model could be APJ Abdul Kalams 2002 elevation. The venerated scientist wasnt the first choice of AB Vajpayee who wanted Vice President Krishan Kant moved to the presidential quarters. Andhra chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, whose outside support to Vajpayee was his veritable lifeline, had lobbied hard for Kant who was Governor earlier of the TDP-ruled state. The proposal found favour with the Congress but ran foul with a powerful BJP faction. The naysayers considered the one-time Young Turk too independent-minded for comfort. Kalams name that Naidu subsequently proposed in tandem with the Samajwadi Party was finalised after an agreement could not be reached with the Congress on Vajpayees second choice: Maharashtra Governor PC Alexander who was principal secretary of Indira Gandhi but had uneasy ties with Rajiv Gandhi. NDA-I had lacked in the electoral college the near-majority now commanded by the Narendra Modi regime. It was Kalams stature that helped the Vajpayee dispensation garner support from parties that werent part of the ruling front. Backed by the SP, the missile man cruised home when even the Congress opted for him against the CPM-backed Capt Lakshmi Sahgal. Veteran Marxist HS Surjeet was livid. His famed influence over Sonia Gandhi did not work; the Congress backing whole hog the celebrity technocrat from the minority community. An encore of 2002 would reduce chasms in a polity plagued by distrust. That is, if both sides think out of the box, beyond partisan politics. Follow the author on Twitter @VinodSharmaView vinodsharma@hindustantimes.com President Donald Trump will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 26 to discuss a gamut of bilateral issues. The maiden meeting between the two leaders would set forth a vision to expand the bilateral partnership in an ambitious way, the White House said on Monday. Summits involving US presidents and Indian PMs are carefully choreographed by the foreign policy establishment. This summit is more likely to address the concerns of the well-heeled and politically connected: H1B visa headcount and defence trade, rigged to benefit American and Indian chaebols. The hard work necessary to forge a meaningful security partnership usually gets short shrift in such meetings. Summit engagement must go beyond the usual political power plays and photo opportunities. A game-changer can be a summit focused on a security partnership, which meaningfully address the threats as well as the opportunities shaping South and West Asia in the 21st century. The two leaders must also acknowledge the state of affairs vis-a-vis China and the Indian Ocean trade lanes and agree on a joint road map for action. Let us examine the facts and circumstances driving the convergence of strategic interests between the US and India, which today has reached critical mass. We know Chinas rise is not peaceful. We also know that China has every intention of keeping by whatever means possible - the gains it has made. In 1949, the year that communists overthrew a democratically elected government in China, the country was a small rump with limited natural resources. Since then, Chinas annexations legally and illegally - is noteworthy in one aspect a southward march to access and dominate the Indian Ocean. The Chinese Communist Party has staked its survival not on ideological battles, but on the rising living standard of its population. Access to the major trade routes and the unrelenting pursuit of energy, metals, and strategic minerals to fuel economic growth is understandable. But the fact remains, that the push southward towards the Indian Ocean, as opposed to the shorter route to the North Pacific, is the path of least resistance. China does not want a direct conflict with America. Rather than a confrontation, Chinas military and economic modernisation is designed as deterrence against American interference in its growing sphere of influence. Through systematic population shifts of Han Chinese, oligarchic corporate control, and by brutally crushing freedom movements, China has consolidated its territory-holdings annexed in the last 50 years. These areas include Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Macao. Chinese-built islands have expanded the flash point zone in the South China Sea beyond the Taiwan Straits. In Indias backyard, Chinese military and Chinese-sponsored Maoists continue to foment skirmishes and exert creeping border control into India, the Russian Far East, Mongolia, Nepal, and Myanmar. Pakistan, a client-state of China for most of its military purchases, has ceded parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to Chinese control, allowed Chinese-built roads through the ancient Khyber Pass for rapid military deployment, and facilitated Chinese military deployments inside Afghanistan. Eighteen Chinese naval bases are in various stages of completion as strategic choke points surrounding the Indian Ocean, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Seychelles, and Madagascar. Chinese hegemonic ambitions to dominate the Indian Ocean should not be taken lightly. But the fact remains, Chinas deliberate and very visible march towards the Indian Ocean is because of Indias inaction and also Americas ambivalence towards Chinese hegemony in South and Western Asia. Generations of PMs have tolerated repeated Chinese border incursions into India as well as Chinese occupation of a large chunk of Kashmir that is an integral part of India through millennia. Preferring diplomacy with China over confrontation, India focuses its animus on Pakistan, which today is a de facto vassal state of imperial China. On the other side of the equation, since Nixon established diplomatic relations with communist China, American Presidents (Ford, Carter, Reagan, and H.W. Bush) have been pre-occupied fighting the cold war against the Soviet Union where China was a necessary ally to weaken Soviet influence in Asia. In the post-cold war milieu, the burgeoning US-China trade relations and entrenched cold-warriors in Americas diplomatic and political establishment remain significant deterrents against decisive American action towards China. While American Presidents (Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama) are known for tough anti-China campaign trail rhetoric, they have predictably failed to address the Chinese threat when they are in office. At their upcoming summit, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi can choose the inevitable - political expediency consistent with their predecessors in office. In that case, the summit will achieve bonhomie and nothing more. On the other hand, the two leaders can decisively address the Chinese hegemonic control of the Indian Ocean trade lanes and forge a path to peace in South and West Asia. Indeed, the maverick persona of Trump and Modi alike offers the potential for their first summit to upend the world order and rewrite the rules that will govern the post-cold war security relations. Shekhar Tiwari is chairman of the American Hindu Coalition, a non-profit advocacy organisation. Sue Ghosh Stricklett is a lawyer The views expressed are personal Muzaffarpur Bhim Rao Ambedkar Bihar University (BRABU), Muzaffarpur, has decided to award three grace marks to students who have flunked post graduate (PG) examinations after being given low scores in the internal assessment. The decision, taken at a meeting of BRABU officials at Muzaffarpur, 71 km north of Patna, on Wednesday, will benefit approximately 2,200 of the 4,500 students who failed in the examination held in September and November 2016. More than 4,500 students, enrolled in post graduate courses for session 2014-16, have been failed in the internal assessment. The university has decided to award up to 3 marks as grace to these students, BRABU vice-chancellor (VC) Amrendra Nayaran Yadav told HT. The relaxation would help about 2,200 students facing hardship for quite some time, he said. Yadav said the officials had informed him that students were given low marks in internal assessment due to delay in sending the copy of the new regulation for the courses to the respective department. According to the new regulation, a student has to score a minimum of 15 marks out of 50 in the internal assessment to pass. However, they were assessed in accordance with the old regulations, under which one had to score 12 marks out of 30 to pass. So, the students, who had scored between 12 and 14 will be awarded grace marks up to 3, he added. To clear the examination, an examinee needs to attain pass marks in theory papers as well as in internal assessments, he said. STRAP FUTURE AT STAKE Students given low marks in internal assessment due to delay in sending copy of new regulation for courses to respective department QUOTE More than 4,500 students, enrolled in post graduate courses for session 2014-16, have been failed in the internal assessment Amrendra Nayaran Yadav, BRABU VC A state medical officer undergoing treatment in Punes hospital has sought permission for mercy killing as he cannot afford the treatment for cancer. 56-year-old, Dr Bharat Maruti Lote, takes time to speak between sentences as he struggles with the bitterness of the medicine in his mouth. For the past three months, ever since he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he sees his life slowly ebbing away. Despite being in stage one of cancer and an assurance of healing from his doctor, Dr Lote is giving up hope to live because he is unable to bear the cost of the treatment anymore. The medical officer in the state health department released a video last week, requesting euthanasia (the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease). The family has approached a lawyer to finalise a petition on euthanasia to be submitted before the Bombay High Court. Dr Lote worked for the last 26 years a medical officer at a primary health centre in Rampur village, Chiplun taluka, Ratnagiri, and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March. The family immediately began treatment at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, but the prognosis was dire. The doctor said the chances of recovery were slim, but I held onto hope," said Sangeeta, his wife. His sons Pratik (22)and Mritunjan (20) are still in college. Dr Lote has undergone three surgeries since April, the first surgery failed and was followed by a second surgery which was successful. Then he underwent a third surgery for his damaged intestine, with his costs going up to around 30 lakh. As a class one officer, Dr Lote was drawing a good salary and he has managed to withdraw 11 lakh from his provident fund, with his wife Sangeeta raising another 12 lakh from friends. Every state employee gets a cashless scheme health benefit upon admission in a hospital. To get this scheme, as well as to get his salary in advance for his treatment, Sangeeta has been doing the rounds of the state official office to release his salary for his treatment. It is agonising to see him in pain and adding to the woe is the burden of collecting money for treatment. To help him, I have been meeting officials in the health department almost daily, she says. Unable to bear the pain as well as embarrassment of having to return money borrowed, Dr Lote released a video message on June 8 pleading for euthanasia. In this video, he highlighted his financial problem and the lack of concern from the health department about his situation. "The government is not helping us out. He devoted his whole life to serving the poor in a small village. He was even awarded state honours - Na Dho Karve Award and Ahilya Joshi Award and this is how they treat one of their employees, states Sangeeta in distress. Two persons succumb to injuries in a blast at the ammunition factory in Khadki near Pune on Thursday morning. The deceased are identified as Ashok Kashinath (52) and Maria Rock (48). The incident took place at the F2 section of the factory. The hospital reported the incident to the Range Hills police station in Khadki, said Police Inspector Borade. He said that the incident occurred around 9.30 am and no external reason for the blast was suspected. The reason will be known only after the factory produces an internal report, said PI Borade. Later, the Defence PRO released a statement stating it was regular work which was being carried out.Two workers have got burn injuries and died. Military explosive experts are on the site and investigation is on. There is no damage to the buildings and the situation is under control. Pandemonium reigned on Day Two of the budget session of the Punjab assembly as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sought to corner the Congress government over farmers debt and allegations use of foul language by a minister. The slogan-shouting legislators of the two opposition parties jumped into the well of the House some of them even squatted on the floor for a few minutes prompting speaker Rana KP Singh to adjourn the House twice for 30 minutes each in a span of two hours to restore order. In the absence of Akalis top triumvirate of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Majithia, former finance minister Parminder Dhindsa led the party legislators. SAD, BJP DEMAND IMMEDIATE DEBT WAIVER The House proceedings had a stormy start as SAD MLA Ajit Singh Kohar got up to raise the farm debt waiver issue just minutes after the members assembled for the question hour. As other party legislators also started speaking up for immediate debt write-off, the speaker said they were wasting time of members who had submitted questions related to problems of their areas. The Akali MLAs did not pay heed, rushing to the well of the House shouting slogans and demanding that their adjournment motion on farm debt waiver be allowed. Leader of Opposition HS Phoolka, who belongs to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), also asked for a debate on debt waiver. However, the speaker expressed regret, saying that the notice for adjournment motion was not received on time. He asked them to discuss the issue during a resolution on farmers, but the slogan-shouting carried on, prompting local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to hit back at the Akali-BJP rule of 10 years. Baba Badal teh 40....., na khedunga na khedne dounga, loot ke kha gaye...., he hollered. The speaker expunged some of his words from the proceedings. The Congress members also started raising slogans, provoking the protesting Akalis further. And the speaker adjourned the House. AKALI, CONGRESS MEMBERS SPAR OVER FOUL LANGUAGE When the members reassembled, parliamentary affairs minister Brahm Mohindra advised them against wasting time during the question hour. There is sanctity of question hour. The members raise peoples voice. It is undemocratic to disrupt the question hour, he said. Phoolka said the members have a right to raise issues pertaining to their areas. No party can snatch their right, he said to thumping of desks by members of the ruling Congress. The speaker asked the members to go ahead with their questions, telling the Akalis to take it up during zero hour. But the protesting members were not satisfied and again rushed to the well of the House, raising slogans, before staging a symbolic walkout to register their protest. After question hour got over, SAD member Ajit Singh Kohar demanded an apology from Sidhu for abusing them and rushed to the well of the House along with his colleagues. As they raised slogans, an unruffled Sidhu kept repeating his stinging one-liners. The speaker continued with the proceedings. When you have nothing to say, just say I have been abused. They just want to create rumpus, said technical education minister Charanjit Singh Channi, backing his cabinet colleague. Amidst the din, Phoolka also urged the speaker to have the Akalis abuse charge cross-checked from the proceedings. Sidhu said he was educated and would never use foul language. Both sides continued to raise slogans. The speaker asked the leader of Opposition to go ahead with his calling attention motion on inconvenience caused to the people due to overloading of trucks, tippers and trolleys carrying sand. When Phoolka urged him to restore order, the speaker adjourned the House. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The cyber cell of Chandigarh Police has arrested three members of a gang of hackers involved in stealing peoples debit and credit card details. Ankur Sharma, 23, of Delhi, Rajesh Sharma, 43, of Zirakpur and Pawan Singh, 31, of Ghaziabad used to hack Indian as well as foreign credit/debit cards using vulnerable sites and transferred the amount to their associates in form of Bitcoins, dollars. The accused were arrested red-handed while executing live transactions in a hotel in Sector 35. A laptop and four mobile phones were recovered from their possession. The accused used to get in touch with hotels, flight-booking companies, online retail sites and used to tie up for online transaction in lieu of a fixed commission. Police said Rajesh used to liaison, while the others used to perform hacking operations. Addressing a press conference, DIG Alok Kumar, said, The accused could be involved in anti-national activities and Hawala. He added, Initial investigations have revealed that the accused used to collect money and fund anti-national activities with the money collected. They used to transfer the funds through an NGO, which is now under scanner as well. The accused have duped people in different cities in the country and used to move from city to city. To dodge the investigating agency, the accused were using proxy IP address. Police have got the accused on 10-day police remand. The accused Ankur and Pawan used to purchase data of credit and debit cards from dark sites (sites used for unethical means), shared Harinder Sekhon, in-charge, cyber cell. Police have registered a case under Sections 420 (cheating), 379 (theft) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and relevant sections of Information Technology Act at Sector-34 police station. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Khaira on Wednesday levelled fresh allegations against Punjab power minister Rana Gurjit Singh, accusing him of fraudulent land purchase at a Kharar village in SAS Nagar district. The wars of words between the two leaders intensified with Rana trashing the allegation as baseless. At a press conference in the Vidhan Sabha complex, Khaira said Rana purchased village common land at Seonk in the Kharar subdivision and later availed a loan of Rs 109 crore by mortgaging it. He said the bank last released part of the loan amount on April 17. The AAP leader said Rana and his family members have violated Section 42-A of the East Punjab Land Holdings Act, 1948, according to which neither the village common land can be partitioned nor its tile can be changed. He said it was difficult to understand as how the minister managed to get a loan of over Rs 100 crore against 458-kanal land in a village. He said the present value of the land, registered on May 18, is Rs 58 lakh only. MALIGNING MY IMAGE OR IS DESPERATE FOR POLITICAL SURVIVAL Rana and his son Rana Inderpal, who is managing director of the family-owned Rana Sugars, also addressed mediapersons at their residence. Khaira has either been speaking out of sheer ignorance to malign my image or is desperate for political survival. He has been sidelined in AAP as he was not made the legislative party leader or the party state president, the minister said. If Khaira proves the charges, I will resign, he said. Responding to the allegations of fraudulent land purchase, Rana said, The court of SAS Nagar additional deputy commissioner (ADC development) using powers of collector had ordered on July 1, 2016 that the land does not come under the definition of 2(G) and hence its ownership does not vest with the gram panchayat. The court had accepted the petition of 180 Seonk residents. The ADC declared all of them as owners of the part of land under their possession, he said. The minister also produced a copy of the order. I have not purchased the land. My brother Rana Ranjit Singh and his wife did. It was only that Kulwinder (a former employee whose name cropped up in sand mining auctions) had my power of attorney and he used it. Where is the fraud? he claimed. Inderpal said, The Rs 109 crore loan was taken three years ago by our company Superior Foodgrains in which my uncle and aunt (ministers brother and his wife) are partners. Rs 55 crore was term loan and Rs 40 crore was working capital. The loan was taken against the company itself. The land was pledged as additional security for the banks comfort . On Khairas allegation of his being a defaulter, Rana said, Yes we owe Rs 52 crore to farmers. Even the UP government owes me Rs 72 crore payment. A debt-ridden farmer at Pithoria block in the suburbs of Ranchi was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Thursday, even as the investigation into a similar incident in the same region remains inconclusive. Police said Baldev Mahato, a 40-year-old resident of Sutiambey village, had gone to sleep early on Wednesday night. When his family members woke up the next morning, he was nowhere to be found. Upon launching a search, they found Baldev lying in a near-dry well in the neighbourhood. Kaleshwar Mahto, another farmer who failed to repay a bank loan, had allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in the same area on June 10. A special investigation team (SIT) was set up to probe the circumstances surrounding his death. Chunva Oraon, Pithoria station in-charge, said police were trying to ascertain if Baldevs death was an accident or suicide. Ranchi deputy commissioner Manoj Kumar said the farmer didnt seem to have committed suicide due to loan-related troubles. The deceased was sanctioned a loan of Rs 25,000 under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme barely a week ago. He had time till next year to repay the loan. According to bank authorities, he withdrew Rs 20,000 in three instalments over the last one week. He made the last withdrawal of Rs 5,000 on Wednesday, Kumar said, adding that there was no pressure from the bank. We need time to investigate the case and find the truth behind Baldevs death. His body has been sent for an autopsy, the deputy commissioner said. Baldevs family, however, insisted that he had committed suicide over loan-related issues. Besides the KCC loan, he had also borrowed money from relatives, said Anita Devi, his widow. He was depressed because of the mounting debt. The family has about half an acre of land, where they grow beans and other vegetables. Our crops were damaged due to lack of irrigation, said Devi, who now has to feed their two children on her own. Meanwhile, the SIT formed to probe Kaleshwars death collected pieces of evidence from the river bank where the body was cremated for DNA analysis. Though the Jharkhand government doesnt have a loan waiver plan, it passed an interest subvention scheme aimed at providing agricultural loans at 1% interest on Tuesday. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Looks like the latest celeb couple to become victims of fake news are Malayalam actors Nazriya Nazim and Fahadh Faasil. A section of media reports speculated that Nazriya and Fahadh would soon become parents, joining a long list of young actor couples turning parents this year. The source of this rumour seems to have been a recent hospital visit by the Bangalore Days couple. Of course, it hasnt gone down well with Nazriya, who took to Facebook to reply to those spreading such baseless news. She posted a GIF of herself making faces and captioned it as: My reaction to rumors. A number of Malayalam film actors have turned parents this year -- actor Dulquer Salmaan and his wife Amal Sufiya were blessed with a baby girl and even actor Asif Ali and his wife had a girl. Nivin Pauly and his wife Rinna became parents for the second time as well, reported The Indian Express. Nazriya Nazim and Fahadh Faasil first met in 2014 while shooting for Bangalore Days and fell in love. They married the same year and it was Nazriya who had proposed to Fahadh. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Thala Ajiths Vivegam is among the most anticipated Tamil films. Ever since the video of the actor doing daring bike stunts were released this February, fans have been waiting with bated breath for any news about the film. The response to the teaser of the film online is a testimony to that. Now, the makers released a short song teaser called Surviva on Thursday morning and its already getting traction. Sung by films music composer Anirudh Ravichander (and shot inside a studio with him), the teaser is in English and Tamil, and quite groovy and high on energy. The much-anticipated teaser of the spy thriller, which was released on May 11, has already garnered more than 153 million views on YouTube since its release. The visuals look slick and Ajiths catchphrase Never, ever give up has already become hot among his fans. Ajith looks his stylish best in the film and has also set an example by sporting six-pack abs despite a long history of medical condition. Vivegam has extensively been shot in Bulgaria. Slated to hit the screens worldwide in August, the film with a global backdrop is said to be made on an estimated budget of over Rs 75 crore. Directed by Siva, he plays an Interpol officer in the film. Sporting army fatigues and a salt-and-pepper hairstyle, Ajith is seen in the midst of an action scene, with helicopters and army men in the background. Siva and Ajith have teamed up for the third time after Veeram and Vedalam. The film also introduces Vivek Oberoi to the Tamil film industry and is seen as the antagonist. Kajal Aggarwal and Akshara Haasan play pivotal roles in the film. Produced by Sathya Jyothi Films, Vivegam is loosely based on Liam Neesons Taken, according to industry grapevine. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Bahraini court on Thursday issued sentences of up to life in prison for 26 Shias over attacking policemen in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, a judicial source said. Twenty of the defendants were jailed for life while the rest were each handed 15-year prison terms, the source said. They were found guilty of forming a terrorist group between 2011 and 2013 and attempting to kill policemen in the Shiite village of Diraz, west of Manama. Villages of the Shias majority have been scene to frequent protests and clashes since in March 2011, when security forces crushed nationwide protests demanding political reforms. Police last month opened fire to disperse a months-long sit-in in Diraz, killing five people in the crackdown. The tiny Gulf state is a key regional ally of the United States and is home to its Fifth Fleet, but the administration of former president Barack Obama often scolded Manama over rights concerns. In another case, a court in Manama jailed a Bahraini for 10 years and revoked his citizenship for joining ISIS, a public prosecution statement said. Bomb detection units are investigating a potential threat inside a container on board a docked cargo ship at a port in Charleston, South Carolina, the US Coast Guard has said. The terminal where the ship, the Maersk Memphis, is located has been evacuated while authorities look into unverified claims made online. A 1 NM (nautical mile) safety zone has been established around the vessel while law enforcement authorities investigate the threat, the Coast Guard said on Twitter. The actions were taken out of an abundance of caution after a conspiracy theorist made a claim about a threat aboard the Memphis on YouTube, Coast Guard Sector Charleston spokesman Lt. James Zorn told local WCIV television. A man named George Webb claimed the Memphis was carrying a dirty bomb after it had been loaded in Pakistan during a recent trip, he said. However, there was no credible information the threat was real, Zorn added. The threat came at around 8 pm (1200 GMT Thursday), the Coast Guard said. China on Thursday lauded the Pakistan militarys firm support in its fight against terrorism and its backing for the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Chinas top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng met Pakistans chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat, in Beijing on Thursday, state media reported. The meeting, part of the 12th China-Pakistan defence and security consultation, comes against the backdrop of a bilateral naval drill in the Arabian Sea. Gen Fang Fenghui, chief of the joint staff department under the Chinas Central Military Commission, and Hayat conducted in-depth exchange of views on the international and regional security situations and bilateral military relations, the Peoples Liberation Army said. Rear Admiral Shen Hao, commanding officer of the Chinese naval fleet, said that in the joint maritime exercise, the two navies upgraded the coordinating and cooperative capabilities between their warships. The joint exercise also helped deepen the mutual trust and cooperation between the two navies, he said. At the top of the agenda in their talks was the CPEC. Yu called for the implementation of the consensus reached by the leaders of both countries to promote the construction of the CPEC and forge a community of shared future. Hayat was quoted by Xinhua as saying that Pakistan would like to increase cooperation between the two militaries and provide security for the construction of the economic corridor. Fang said that the bilateral military relations between the two countries have maintained a healthy and stable development momentum, as evidenced by the in-depth and pragmatic cooperation in the areas of high-level contacts, joint training, weapons and equipment, anti-terrorism operations. The European Parliament (EP) has expressed deep concern over the alarming rate of executions based on flawed trials in Pakistan and deplored the use of its military courts that hold secret hearings and have civilian jurisdiction. The EP resolution came on Thursday, days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stayed the death sentence given to Kulbhushan Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, by a Pakistan army court for alleged involvement in espionage and terrorist activities in Pakistan. India moved the ICJ, describing the charges against Jadhav as concocted and his trial as farcical. Parliament is deeply concerned at the alarming rate of executions in Pakistan following flawed trials, including of minors and persons with mental disabilities, some of which are carried out while appeals are still under way, the resolution said. The European Parliament during its meeting in Brussels also called on Pakistan to reinstate its moratorium on the death penalty, with the ultimate goal of full abolition. If Pakistan wants to remain a partner of EU in the future, it has to cease abusing human rights in their country says European Parl member pic.twitter.com/wTbonQLQr7 ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 The EP deplores the use in Pakistan of military courts that hold hearing in secret and have civilian jurisdiction; insists that the Pakistani authorities grant access to international observers and human rights organisations for purposes of monitoring the use of military courts, the resolution said. It also called for an immediate and transparent transition to independent civilian courts in line with international standards on judicial proceedings; underscores that third-country nationals brought to trial must be allowed access to consular services and protection. The EP resolution also mentioned Jadhavs case and said he was convicted by a military court in April 2017 and sentenced to death and the case was currently before the ICJ on the grounds that he was denied consular access rights. It also noted that Pakistan entered the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), which provides it with benefits from generous tariff preferences, and it should provide a strong incentive to respect core human and labour rights, the environment and good governance principles. The resolution also made it clear that the GSP status was conditional and the effective implementation of international conventions is an essential requirement under the scheme. Serbias president has formally nominated the highly conservative countrys first openly gay prime minister. Aleksandar Vucic announced on Thursday that Ana Brnabic is nominated as the prime minister-designate. Her government needs formal approval by Serbias parliament next week. Vucic calls it a difficult decision reached in the interest of Serbia and its citizens. Brnabic is currently government minister of public administration and local government. Brnabics appointment for the government last year was hailed by rights groups as historic for the Balkan country whose gay community often faces discrimination, harassment and violence. Vucic, a former extremist-turned-reformist, has promised to boost gay rights as part of efforts to move closer to European Union membership. Japan passed a controversial anti-terror law on Thursday that sparked street protests and warnings from critics that it would stomp on citizens privacy rights and lead to over-the-top police surveillance. The upper house of parliament passed the conspiracy bill early Thursday morning after a full night of debate by sleepy parliamentarians and unsuccessful efforts on the part of Japans weak opposition to block it. Thousands of demonstrators protested outside the legislature over the bill which criminalises the planning of serious crimes. The government argues it is necessary to prevent terrorism ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Japans capital. But rights groups, Japans national bar association and numerous academics have opposed the bill, saying it is so broad it could be abused to allow wiretapping of innocent citizens and threaten privacy and freedom of expression guarantees in the constitution. US surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden and Joseph Cannataci, UN special rapporteur on the right to privacy, have both criticised the law. Recent polls show the public is divided on the issue. The bills passage overcame the oppositions no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shinzo Abes cabinet and a censure motion aimed at Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda. Tokyo insists the law -- which calls for a prison term of up to five years for planning serious crimes -- is a prerequisite for implementing a UN treaty against transnational organised crime which Japan signed in 2000. Hundreds of protesters gather near the parliament building to protest against the controversial anti-terror law in Tokyo on June 15. (AFP Photo) We will uphold the law in an appropriate and effective way to protect peoples lives, Abe told reporters after the legislation passed. Three years ahead of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, we hope to cooperate with the international community to prevent terror, he added. Forced vote The bill was revised several times over the years as earlier versions met with fierce resistance and never made it through parliament. The latest bill reduced the number of targeted crimes to over 270 offences and narrowed the definition of terrorist and criminal organisations. Earlier versions of the law targeted more than 600 crimes unrelated to terrorism or crime syndicates. Critics argued, however, that the current law still gives police and investigators too much leeway. The general public could be targeted on conspiracy charges via monitoring phone and online conversations once they are suspected of being a member of criminal group, they warned. The opposition chastised Abe for trying to push the law through quickly, as he faces mounting criticism over allegations that he gave friends special consideration in a couple of unrelated business deals. This is an ultimate form of forced vote -- it shut down sensible debate in the upper house, Renho, head of the leading opposition Democratic Party who goes by one name, told reporters. The opposition has warned that petty crimes could fall under the scope of the law, and mocked Japans justice minister when he earlier conceded that, hypothetically, mushroom hunting could be targeted if the fungi were stolen to raise money to fund terrorism. This legislation is a serious violation of the constitution, said Kazuo Shii, head of the Japanese Communist Party, the second-largest opposition party. Some Japanese media have likened the bill to the World War II-era public order maintenance law under which ordinary people were arrested for political offences, exercising labour rights and anti-war activities. Firefighters searched for bodies on Thursday in a London tower block gutted by a blaze that has already left 12 dead, as questions grew over whether a refurbishment had contributed to the disaster. The death toll was expected to rise further as crews picked their way through the blackened skeleton of the 24-storey Grenfell Tower, home to around 600 people and the scene of horror on Tuesday night. Fire commissioner Dany Cotton said parts of the building remained unsafe and it would take a long time to complete a detailed search of every floor. She told Sky News there were still unknown numbers of people inside, but it will be an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive. It will take weeks before this building is cleared and truly searched properly, she said. Whole families remain missing after the fire swept up the local authority building, forcing residents to flee through black smoke down the single stairwell, jump out a window or even drop their children to safety. Questions are growing about how the flames spread so quickly, engulfing its 120 apartments in what fire chiefs said was an unprecedented blaze. The focus centres on the cladding fitted to external walls on the 1970s concrete block, as part of a 8.7-million ($11 million) refit completed only last year. According to the BBC, the cladding had a plastic core, and was similar to that used by high-rise buildings in France, the United Arab Emirates and Australia which had also suffered fires that spread. Rydon, the firm responsible for the refit, said the project met all required building regulations. Harley Facades, which fitted the panels, told the BBC: At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower. Prime Minister Theresa May said there would be an investigation into the cause of the appalling tragedy, once the last bodies had been recovered. A woman writes on a message wall near Grenfell Tower. (Reuters) Helplessly watching Grenfell Tower looms over a social housing estate in north Kensington, just streets away from some of the most expensive homes in the world in Notting Hill. The area has a large immigrant population but many families have lived in the area for years, passing their low-rent homes onto their children. Eyewitnesses told how residents in the upper floors shone their mobile phone torches to attract attention, before they disappeared from the windows, their screams of help falling silent. We saw them dying, said Adi Estu, 32, who was evacuated from her home nearby. Some desperate people reportedly jumped from the windows, while one woman, Samira Lamrani, said she saw a woman drop a baby from the ninth or 10th floor, for the child to be caught by a man below. The fire triggered a wave of mourning in a country already battered by a string of terror attacks. More than 480,000 had been raised online for the victims by Thursday morning, while local community centres were inundated by donations of clothes and food. Volunteers in Glasgow - 550 km away- sent a truck laden with nappies and other supplies. Stay home Cladding has been added to a number of buildings across London in recent years, intended to provide insulation as well as improve the appearance of older buildings. But Kostas Tsavdaridis, associate professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Leeds warned: Some materials used in facades act as significant fire loads. Although theoretically they are fire resistant, in most cases they are high-temperature resistant instead of fire resistant. But even if they are, smoke and fire will spread through the joints and connections. There were questions about why there was no sprinkler system in the Grenfell Tower which could have helped stop the fire spreading, or any central smoke alarm system that would have woken sleeping residents. Official fire service advice for residents to stay in their homes and use towels to block out smoke, while awaiting help, has also come under scrutiny. Firefighters were only able to reach the towers 12th floor of the block at the height of the blaze. Abdelaziz El-Wahabi, his wife Faouzia and their three children were among those who followed to protocol in their flat on the 21st floor. Last time I spoke to his wife, he was on the phone to the fire brigade. Ive not heard from them since, his sister Hanan Wahabi told AFP on Wednesday morning. David Collins, former chairman of the Grenfell Tower Residents Association, said the buildings management had failed to listen to residents calls for improvements on fire safety. If the same concerns were had in a wealthy part of Kensington and Chelsea they would have got resolved, but here they didnt get resolved, Collins told AFP. With smoke still swirling around the charred remains of Grenfell Tower in west London, tales of desperation, confusion and anger over alleged mismanagement have started emerging. Police confirmed 12 deaths among the 600 residents thought to have lived in the tower but expect the toll to rise significantly as the building is searched. Also 18 of the 74 injured are critical. Survivors described having to clamber over charred bodies in corridors and stairways filled with smoke to make an escape. Eyewitness spoke of trapped parents throwing their children from windows in desperate efforts to save them. Others leapt from high floors rather than succumb to the flames. Stay put advice questioned Residents questioned the official advice from the tower blocks management to stay put and await rescue. Many of those who heeded perished in the fire. Others defied the advice and made their way down a single, central staircase -- the buildings only escape route. Watch: Fire that engulfed 27-storey building in London A newsletter put out by the buildings tenant organization told tenants to follow a stay put policy and remain in their apartments during a fire unless the blaze was inside their apartment or in their hallway or until they were told to evacuate by officials. Flames and smoke billow as firefighters deal with a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London on Wednesday. (Reuters Photo) This policy is in place because Grenfell was designed according to rigorous fire-safety standards, according to the 2014 newsletter about the renovation project. New front doors in each apartment could withstand a fire for up to 30 minutes, which gives plenty of time for the fire brigade to arrive, the newsletter said. That policy, often followed in high-rise hotels, may be effective in lesser fires. In this case, however, the fire seemed to climb the exterior of the tower so quickly that it overwhelmed protective systems like fire doors. People who initially remained in place may have been unable to escape later because the hallways and fire escapes were filled with heavy smoke and flames. In Pics: London tower block fire The London Fire Brigade said crews were on the scene within six minutes of the first reports of the fire, but they were unable to reach people on higher floors to prevent fatalities. No sprinklers in the building The fire is thought to have started when a fridge exploded in a kitchen on the fourth floor. Residents of the tower had repeatedly warned local officials that the building was a firetrap and that a catastrophic event was inevitable. Survivors said there were no sprinklers in the building. Many were woken by neighbours because no alarms had been activated. There were claims that warnings about safety had been ignored. Government ministers were warned about the fire risk of cladding as far back as 1999, the Daily Telegraph reported. Ive never seen a fire like that in my life, said Joe Ruane, the former deputy chief fire officer for US Air Force bases in Britain. Ive never seen that in a residential block. The 24-story public housing complex is owned by the local government council in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea and was completed in the 1970s. It is managed by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization, which spent 10 million pounds ($12.8 million) refurbishing the building over the last two years. The renovation project included installation of insulated exterior cladding, double-glazed windows and a communal heating system. Investigators need to look at what materials were used in the project and who approved their use, Ruane said. But he said the speed with which the fire spread suggests that more than one fire protection safeguard failed. Its not just one thing, Ruane said. Its multiple issues. Residents of Karachi were surprised when they spotted a man driving through the busy streets of the Pakistani port city with a lioness in the back of his pickup truck. After a mobile phone video of the lioness in the truck in Karimabad area went viral in the city on Wednesday night, the police swung into action when people expressed concerns about their safety. Sindh interior minister Sohail Anwar Siyal too directed police to take action. Senior Superintendent Police Muqadas Haider said Saqlain Jawaid, the owner of the lioness, was arrested from his home and the big cat was taken into custody, according to reports in the Pakistani media. Jawaid told the police he had driven the lioness to a vet for a check-up as the animal was ill. He also said he had all the relevant documents needed to keep the animal at a private mini zoo. Watch | Man drives on Karachi streets with lioness in his pickup truck Police said the permit issued to Jawaid by the wildlife department of Sindh province for run a private mini zoo had expired in June last year. A First Information Report was registered against Jawaid and his documents were sent to the wildlife department for verification, officials said. The video showed pedestrians and drivers staring at the lioness, sitting in the back of the pickup truck, her tongue lolling out. The persons who filmed the video can be heard raising questions about the logic behind transporting a lioness in an open vehicle. Pakistani media also several posted photos of Jawaid with the lioness, including one that showed the big cat licking his face. Britains Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has rejected the claim that the Indian government or its extradition request was criticised by the judge during Tuesdays hearing on the extradition of controversial Indian businessman Vijay Mallya. The CPS acts on behalf of a country requesting extradition in proceedings in British courts. Mallyas case (No. 1700934281) is being heard in the Westminster Magistrates Court by chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot. CPS sources told HT on Thursday that the Mallya case was large and complex and the amount gathered by the Indian police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was substantial. The material, they said, needed to be reviewed by the CPS Extradition Team and served in an organised and structured way upon the defence team, which will be done before the next hearing on July 6 to fulfil the prima facie requirement. This evidence will show that there is a case for Mallya to answer, sources added. During Tuesdays hearing, Mallyas team served a Statement of Issues on the Court and CPS Extradition Team. That document contains the bars to extradition that Mallya will raise. For each bar to extradition raised, he will need to provide supporting evidence. This evidence is expected to be submitted at any time up to a cut-off date that has yet to be set by the court; the defence team should be working on these issues now, the sources said. Mallyas lawyer, Ben Watson, mentioned a second extradition request that India may submit. But CPS sources said whether or not a second request was made, with any further charges, it would be a matter for the Indian government. That is an issue we will deal with if it arises. At present, there is nothing concrete to consider, they added. Watson said during the hearing that the defence had not received all the documents in the case from the prosecution. Aaron Watkins, representing India, however, submitted that the material submitted so far was not insufficient. To the query from Arbuthnot, Are Indians quite prompt in their responses, Watkins said there was a good and close working relationship with the government of India. Arbuthnot set July 6 as the next date of hearing and tentatively fixed December 4 as the date when the full hearing in the extradition case will begin. Mallyas lawyer had sought a date in February or March for the full hearing to begin. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON India is ready to cooperate with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states on connectivity and trade given the initiatives take into account the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries in the group, ambassador VK Gokhale said on Thursday. We support enhanced connectivity and unimpeded trade in the SCO region and believe that such initiatives should be pursued in an inclusive and sustainable manner with due respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all members, Gokhale said. The Indian envoy was speaking at the flag-raising ceremony at the SCO secretariat on Thursday morning to complete the entry of India and Pakistan into the Beijing-led group. The two countries were admitted to the group at the end of the two-day SCO summit in Astana in Kazakhstan earlier this month. India has repeatedly flagged its sovereignty concerns with Beijing about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) the flagship project under Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). China has been frequently highlighting the links between SCO with the BRI. Indias concerns could be amplified if there is increasing overlap between Beijings focus on BRI and SCOs agenda. Gokhale also brought up the issue of terrorism and extremism in the region. Indias historical and cultural linkages with the region date back several centuries and we enjoy long-standing relations with each of the SCO members. Now as a full member of the SCO, we look forward to further deepening these relations for mutual benefit. We would also like to deepen practical cooperation in our joint fight against terrorism and extremism, he said. With Indias joining, SCO now represents 20% of the worlds GDP, 22% of the worlds area and 42% of the worlds population, Stability and progress of SCP will be beneficial for the region and the world at large, he added. Speaking to Indian reporters at the event, Chinese assistant foreign minister Kong Xuanyou said Beijing had expectations about Indias role in the organisation. But Kong also cautioned about bringing India-Pakistans history of hostility to the SCO table. In the charter of the SCO, there is a clause that the hostility between bilateral relations should not be brought to the organisation. I believe both countries should abide by this charter of the organisation, Kong said. This organisation has its own rules and procedures. We hope that those rules can be abided by all member states ... So, we should not exaggerate the differences between countries. That will not be good for the organisation and cooperation of member states, he said. Special counsel Robert Mueller, who is heading the FBIs probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election and possible collusion by Trump campaign aides, has invited top intelligence officials to interviews this week. The development is being seen as an indication that he may be investigating President Donald Trump for possible obstruction of justice. Mueller wants to speak to national intelligence chief Daniel Coats, national security agency director Mike Rogers, and former national security agency deputy director Richard Ledgett about Trumps alleged attempts to squash the FBIs probeinto fired national security adviser Michael Flynns Russia dealings. It marks a significant turning point, as characterised by The Washington Post that first reported the development. Trump is now personally under investigation, contrary to assurances he had privately received from sacked FBI director James Comey, who told the president multiple times he was not under scrutiny. There was no announcement from Muellers office or the FBI. The national security agency has said it will fully cooperate with the special counsel. The office of Trumps outside counsel who is leading the presidents defence team on the Russia probe rubbished the report as an outrageous, inexcusable and illegal leak on Wednesday. Trump himself followed up with extra vitriol on Thursday, attacking Mueller, a man widely respected on both sides of the aisle. Arguing that the obstruction of justice allegation was based on a phony story about collusion with the Russians, Trump tweeted, You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA, with the hashtag standing for make America great again. Though he did not name anyone, the reference was unmistakably to the special counsel, who is understood to have put together a formidable team of prosecutors that has unnerved the White House. The allegation of obstruction of justice is different from collusion with Russian meddling, about which he had been cleared by Comey multiple times, including in his testimony to a senate committee. Trump cited those and other clean-chits frequently to push back against the controversy that has dogged his presidency from the very start. Trump is reported to have had asked both Coats and Rogers to try and influence the FBI to give up its Flynn probe as well as publicly announce the president was under investigation personally. Both of them turned him down, as did Comey on both counts according to his testimony. Coats and Rogers have refused to discuss their conversations with Trump and did so despite considerable pressure at a recent hearing of the senate intelligence committee. The US Senate passed a legislation with near unanimity on Wednesday that proposes new sanctions against Russia and seeks to prevent the Donald Trump administration from watering down or removing those embargos already in place. The bill, which is an amendment to another bill on sanctions on Iran, passed in a 97-2 vote. It will now be taken up by the House of Representatives before it goes to Trump to be signed into law. The legislation creates a congressional review mechanism to be triggered by any move by the administration to ease or change the sanctions that were imposed by former President Barack Obama in retaliation for Russian annexation of Crimea. The new sanctions seeks to punish Russia for its role in Syria and the meddling in US elections in 2016. Charles Schumer, leaders of the Democrats in the Senate, said, This administration has been too eager, far too eager in my mind, to put sanctions relief on the table. We cannot let Russias meddling in our elections go unpunished, lest they ever consider something similar again. American allies Germany and Austria have reacted angrily to a portion of the new sanctions that proposes continued opposition to an under-sea pipeline bringing gas from Russia to Germany, which is partially funded by a consortium comprising Anglo-Dutch group Royal Dutch Shell, French Engie, OMV of Austria and Germanys Uniper and Wintershall. Putin: Sanctions made Russia stronger Russia has climbed out of recession despite continuing Western sanctions, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, adding that the restrictions have forced the country to switch on our brains to reduce its dependence on energy exports. Vladimir Putin speaks to the media after his annual televised call-in show in Moscow on Thursday. (AP) Speaking in a live call-in show televised nationwide, Putin termed the US Senates decision to impose new sanctions on Russia as a reflection of Western efforts to contain Russia, but insisted that the measures only have made the country stronger. Putin argued that Russia has done nothing to warrant the Senates move. Its evidence of a continuing internal political struggle in the US, he said. Russia has responded to the US and EU sanctions by halting most Western food imports, a move that has helped increase Russian agricultural output. Russian farmers have pleaded with the Kremlin to keep the import ban even if the West lifts its sanctions, but Putin said that if our partners lift the sanctions against our economy, we will respond in kind. An American university student who was detained for 17 months in North Korea and suffered a serious neurological injury was brutalised by the reclusive regime, his father said on Thursday. Despite the severe injury, Otto Warmbier, 22, is stable and receiving treatment at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, center spokeswoman Kelly Martin said at a news briefing at Warmbiers high school in Wyoming, Ohio. Doctors are scheduled to provide further details about Warmbiers condition on Thursday afternoon. Warmbier has been in a coma since March 2016, shortly after he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea, the family said on Tuesday after he was released. He was arrested for trying to steal an item with a propaganda slogan, according to North Korean media. The University of Virginia student was brutalised and terrorised by the North Korean regime, his father Fred Warmbier said at the news conference, two days after his son arrived in Ohio on a medical evacuation flight. North Koreas official KCNA news agency said in a one-line report on Thursday the student was sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK. Fred Warmbier said the family did not believe North Koreas story, that his son had fallen into a coma after contracting botulism and being given a sleeping pill. We dont believe anything they (North Korea) say, said Fred Warmbier, who was wearing a sport coat that Otto Warmbier had worn during a confession to his crimes last year in North Korea that was broadcast. STUNNED Fred Warmbier said he was stunned when told of his sons condition one week ago. Disbelief. Couldnt sit down. I dont know what being in shock is, but Im pretty sure I was, he said, referring to being informed Otto Warmbier was in a coma. The New York Times previously cited a senior US official as saying Washington had received intelligence reports Warmbier was repeatedly beaten while in North Korean custody. Fred Warmbier said of his sons release: They did not do this out of the kindness of their hearts. Ohio Senator Rob Portman called the North Korean governments handling of Warmbier abhorrent in an interview with Fox News. Now we know why they wouldnt allow consular access, he said. Its a real tragedy. US President Donald Trump spoke to Fred Warmbier on Wednesday night, Warmbier said. Trump discussed how US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Joseph Yun, the US State Departments special envoy on North Korea, worked together to help secure Ottos release, Warmbier said. Fred Warmbier praised the Trump administrations handling of the situation. Asked if the administration of former President Barack Obama had done enough to secure their sons release, Warmbier said: The results speak for themselves. The death toll from a cholera outbreak is approaching 1,000 in Yemen, a war-devastated and impoverished country where humanity is losing out to politics, a senior UN official said Thursday. Time is running out to save people who are being killed or being starved and now you have cholera as well adding to that complication, said Jamie McGoldrick, UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen. We are struggling because of the lack of resources. We need some action immediately, he said at a press briefing in the Jordanian capital. McGoldrick gave updated figures of more than 130,000 suspected cases of cholera and over 970 deaths, with women and children accounting for half of the numbers. What is heartbreaking in Yemen is that humanity is losing out to the politics, said McGoldrick. He said a $2.1 billion humanitarian response plan for Yemen for 2017 had only been 29 percent funded. The cholera outbreak on top of famine in Yemen was an indication to how things are falling apart with only 50 percent of health services operational. We need resources, we need money and we need them now to address the famine and to address the problems of cholera. Donors in April pledged close to $1.1 billion in aid to Yemen, which the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs calls the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. But only 25 percent of aid pledged to the UN refugee agency has been delivered so far, UNHCRs Yemen spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said Wednesday. Yemens war has seen more than 8,000 people killed and millions displaced since a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 to support the government against Shiite Huthi rebels allied with Iran. W.D. Smithers, a tireless photojournalist and amateur anthropologist, documented life along the Rio Grande in Texas remote Big Bend country. Settlement came late to the Big Bend, historian Kenneth Ragsdale once wrote about Texas relentlessly rugged southwest border country. By the time the population had penetrated most other regions in the state, the area around Terlingua Creek was still an unknown, uninhabited wasteland. Raiding Comanches and Apaches, to say nothing of the harsh desert landscapemountains, mesas, buttes and sand-choked arroyoskept out settlers during the early frontier era. The Texas & Pacific Railway finally pushed west of the Pecos River in the early 1880s, but for hundreds of square miles south of the tracks, all the way to the Rio Grande, the land remained sparsely populated and inhospitable. Horseless carriages (automobiles) were slow to round the Big Bend; into the 1930s horses, sure-footed burros, and mule-drawn stages and freight wagons remained the transport of choice. Wilfred Dudley Smithers (18951981) was born to American parents working in the Mexican city of San Luis Potosi. In 1905 his family moved to San Antonio, where young W.D. soon apprenticed for a photographer. By 1913, tired of lugging around glass negatives and an 8-by-10-inch view camera, Smithers fashioned wooden apple crates into his own sturdy, lightweight cameraa design that proved capable of withstanding the trying conditions of the Big Bend. A variety of jobs offered Smithers unique access to the border country and its people. From 1915 to 1917, during the U.S. Armys border clash with Mexican bandit and revolutionary general Pancho Villa, he worked as a teamster on an Army mule train. He followed with stints in the Cavalry and Signal Corps, all the while keeping a photographic record. Returning to San Antonio in 1920, he opened a studio and traveled often to the Big Bend on photojournalism assignments for the San Antonio Light, San Antonio Express and the Underwood & Underwood news service. He also earned money photographing traveling circus acts and serving as a guide and photographer for films shot in Texas. Smithers photographic collection, which he donated in the 1960s to the University of Texas at Austin [www.utexas.edu], centers on the hardworking Texans and Mexicans who called the Big Bend home. Mexican topics folk culture, religion, medicine, trade and domestic lifecomprise about half of the 9,000 photographs he took over seven decades of fieldwork. Smithers was especially interested in the curanderos (folk healers who roamed the desert for medicinal plants and often worked gratis) and avisadores (signal messengers that functioned as a rapid-response Mexican grapevine). He also trained his lens on Texas lawmen, bandits, smugglers, the last of the Big Bend cattlemen, and the soldiers, horsemen and airmen of the U.S. military. Scholars have criticized Smithers artistic sensibilities his images sometimes lack clarity and are haphazardly composedbut the photojournalist never viewed his camera as a creative tool. Instead he sought simply to depict daily human endeavors as they occurred before the great changes of the 20th centurybarefoot boys collecting water from the Rio Grande, liquor smugglers balancing kegs across the backs of their overtaxed mules, cowboys riding hard at days end to catch up to the chuck wagon. As Smithers recalled in his 1976 autobiography, Chronicles of the Big Bend: A Photographic Memoir of Life on the Border, I began to feel that my photography should direct itself to historical and transient subjects vanishing lifestyles, primitive cultures, old faces and odd, unconventional professions. Virginia native Steve Mauro was associate editor of Wild West for five years before he went West as almost a young man in 2012 to further educate himself in the ways of the world. Suggested for further reading is W.D. Smithers Chronicles of the Big Bend, with a foreword by Kenneth Baxter Ragsdale. Originally published in the June 2013 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here. An idyllic ghost town readily accessible from I-90, Burke, Idaho3,700 feet above sea level in the Coeur dAlene Mountains was once a crowded site of violence and intrigue. Rich ore strikes at nearby Wallace in the early 1880s lured prospectors northward into Burke Canyon, where they hit valuable silver and lead deposits. In 1888 railroad crews completed a narrow-gauge line to Burke, and within a few years smelters and stamp mills dotted the valley. The district soon drew hundreds of hopeful miners and entrepreneurs, including Wyatt Earp and brothers, who ran a tent saloon in nearby Eagle City. Built in a constricted canyon a mere 300 feet wide at its narrowest, Burke had scant room for its expanding population. Shop owners reportedly had to raise their awnings to allow trains to pass. Space was at such a premium that the 150-room Tiger Hotel, built on the canyon floor in 1887, necessarily straddled the main stream, and the railroad ran through its lobby. Only heavy sleepers were put in the rooms above the railroad tracks, noted the Spokane (Wash.) Daily Chronicle. The Tigers lobby was the heart of Burke, through which coursed the businessmen and miners that were the towns lifeblood. In a typical day during the hotels 1890s heyday five trains ran through the lobby, and its attached boardinghouse served 1,200 meals. Famous for its space-saving ingenuity, Burke is also infamous for violent clashes between striking miners and company guards in July 1892. Tensions had heated up when mine owners sought to break the strike by advertising in Midwestern newspapers for replacement workers. When groups of armed strikers met the newcomers, the owners hired Pinkerton guards to protect the replacements. On the morning of July 11 replacement workers at Burkes Frisco Mill noticed large numbers of armed union men gathering on the mountainside above them. Shots rang out, and a gun battle was soon raging. Unionists got the upper hand when they sent a boxful of stolen black powder careening down a flume into the four-story mine building, blowing it sky high. The replacement workers and guards raised the white flag, but the mine owners had the last word, expelling many strikers and prosecuting others. Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg declared martial law and sent hundreds of soldiers and national guardsmen into the canyon to keep the peace. Violence erupted again in 1899 when, during another labor dispute, armed union miners seized a train in Burke and later dynamited the nearby Bunker Hill Mine. The violence in Burke Canyon was a precursor to similar episodes in Colorado, Montana, Nevada and Arizona. While silver wealth continued to flow from the region, canyon residents suffered further trials. In February 1910 successive avalanches erased neighboring Mace and hammered Burke, killing at least 20 people in the cramped canyon. (See Disaster at Burke Canyon, by Robert C. Belyk, December 2010 Wild West.) A 1923 fire destroyed the Tiger Hotel and much of Burke. When rebuilt, most buildings were set back from the tracks to allow trains more passing room. The canyon yielded silver into the 1970s, though the volume steadily diminished. People drifted away, and in 1954 the Tiger Hotel was demolished.Most of the single mine workers stay in Wallace and drive back and forth to work, the Spokane Daily Chronicle explained. But many an old-timer will breathe a nostalgic sigh at the passing of a famous old landmark. Burkes mines had all closed by 1991, but in 2012 the Star Mine reopened. Burkes population peaked at 1,400 in 1910. About 300 people live in the canyon today. In 2001 residents rejected a buyout offer from the Environmental Protection Agency, which has declared the canyon one of the most contaminated reaches of the Coeur dAlene basin. Originally published in the June 2013 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here. The US Air Force has grounded about a third of its F-35 fighter jets after several incidents of irregular oxygen in the aircraft was reported. However, Lockheed Martin, the makers of the fighter jets will go ahead of its plan of exhibiting the same jets at the Paris air show this month. A fleet of the F-35 fighter jets has been grounded by the US Air Force on grounds of issues related to the oxygen level in the aircraft. The officials have announced that pilot's oxygen supply in the aircraft is irregular, which caused pilots facing hypoxia symptoms, which means a shortage of oxygen in the brain, The Guardian reported. The report states that the Luke Air Force Base, which houses the 56th Fighter Wing has called off its operation of local flying due to five incidents that had the pilots in the F-35A Lightning II aircraft, experiencing oxygen deprivation. Notably, the base conducts 25 flying missions on weekdays. The Pentagon spokesperson, Captain Mark Graff, has also stated that the incidents took place in the time span from May 2 until Thursday. Moreover, for all the incidents it was found that the designated oxygen system of the aircraft functioned properly and the jets could also land safely. In similar reports it has been said that the makers of the F-35 fighter jets, Lockheed Martin plans to exhibit the aircraft at the Paris Air Show that is scheduled to take place this month, inspite of the concerns that that have been reported, BBC reported. However, a representative of the company has stated that it will cooperate with the US air force to address the issue with full cooperation. It must be mentioned here that for Lockheed, has the world's largest base of F-35, where it trains pilots from all over the world. Moreover, about 35 percent of its income is generated by the F-35 account alone. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Jordan Brand has just unveiled select Air Jordan retros for the Fall season, including a couple of brand new Air Jordan 8s and the History Of Flight Air Jordan 13. Additionally, Jordan Brand will be releasing a new Chicago Bulls inspired Air Jordan 11 Low IE, a Triple Black Air Jordan 1 High Premium, and a trio of new Deconstructed Air Jordan 2s. This isnt all that Jordan Brand has in store for the coming months but you can get a taste of what to look forward to in July, August and beyond. Check out some additional images, as well as some release information, in the tweets below. For more details, click here. Air Jordans Following his IFTA win for Best Supporting Actor in the film The Siege of Jadotvville, OMara will be starring in the upcoming season of the hit Amazon Drama. Irish actor Jason OMara will be joining the all-star cast of the Amazon alternative- history thriller The Man in the High Castle, which imagines a version of New York City in which American lost World War II, and has fallen under a Nazi invasion. OMara will play the role of new character Wyatt Price, whose family have come to New York from Ireland as refugees, and now find themselves heading west to escape the Nazi regime. It is Prices belief in a brighter future for a new America that inspires him to rebel against the Nazi invasion. OMaras storyline will premiere in the third season, which will be available on Amazon Prime. No word on a definite release date yet, but due to each previous season premiering near the end of the year, rumours say we can expect season three toward the end of 2017. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The multimillion-dollar telemedicine industry is poised for a lucrative run across Texas now that some of the toughest restrictions in the nation have finally been lifted by the state. A new law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, who has championed the issue, opens a huge market that could potentially connect millions of Texans to doctors who can now diagnose patients more easily by video chat. This is welcome news in a state where elbow room is measured in the hundreds of miles and doctor shortages are chronic. Texas dwells near the bottom nationally in per-capita access to a physician, and 35 counties - with a combined population of about 115,000 people - have no doctor at all. About 1.8 million Texans, or roughly the population of West Virginia, live in a county with no obstetrician-gynecologist. "I see patients who drive an hour and a half to see me," said Dr. Katie Blalock, a family practitioner in Navasota, population 7,500. Often her patients work on farms or live in remote areas. A trip to the doctor eats up much of day, so they skip it. That, in turn, can mean a minor ailment gets worse. "I deal with that on a daily basis," Blalock said. The new law was written to address the shortage. "This is a huge step forward, a real positive for Texas," said Dr. Nancy Dickey, executive director of the Rural and Community Health Institute at Texas A&M University. She recently co-authored a report about the health crisis facing rural Texans amid hospital closings and other barriers to access. Texas was one of the last holdouts in the rapidly evolving world of virtual medicine by requiring an in-person visit between doctor and patient in most cases before allowing diagnosis. That requirement was at the heart of a bitter, six-year legal battle between the Texas Medical Board, which cited concerns of insufficient patient care, and Teladoc, a national leader in telemedicine. 3 million Texans Teladoc, headquartered in Lewisville, has more than 20 million customers nationwide, including 3 million in Texas. Previously in Texas the company used phones and high-resolution photos for diagnoses, as did other telemedicine companies in the state. Teladoc has spent about $13 million in legal fees alone in the fight. The new state law presumably renders the fight moot. UPDATE: FTC drops antitrust case against state medical board, cites new law The Texas Medical Board, made up of 19 regulators, declined to comment directly on the new law. "The litigation, although abated, is still pending," a spokesman said in an emailed statement. "The need in Texas carried the day," said Jason Gorevic, CEO of Teladoc. "This paves the way to expand." Or at least catch up with the rest of the country. Texas currently dwells near the bottom of the nation in per-capita access to a physician, ranking usually between 46th and 48th, Dickey said. In fact, 158 of Texas' 254 counties do not have a single surgeon. In 185 counties, representing more than 3 million people, there is not a single psychiatrist. Eighty counties have five or less physicians. While the traditional picture of telemedicine is one of linking a doctor to a patient in some isolated dot on the map, Dickey said it is equally useful for those in small towns who might be 30- to 45-minute drive from a specialist in a larger city. Those patients, often older and poorer, may not have the time or energy to make a drive on rural roads, said Dickey. "It is a way to take very specialized medical skills out to towns of 10,000 to 20,000 people," she said. Telehealth has become a force in medicine impossible to ignore. Kaiser Permanente, the national health system powerhouse, announced recently that its patients are now connecting with health-care professionals virtually more than they do through traditional office visits. Flip the switch But it is more than just patients who stand to gain from the new law. "We've been building a network for seven years. Now we can flip the switch," said Ron Gutman, CEO of HealthTap, a privately held California company that touts its network of 100,000 doctors that patients can access online and through video chats. Previously, his Texas clients could do an online search of symptoms or pose questions but could not connect with a live doctor. The new virtual service went live in Texas on June 1. It can be purchased through a subscription for $99 per month for unlimited consultation, but it is not covered by insurance. It also offers a one-time chat starting at $49 that the company said can be covered, depending on the doctor. Teladoc offers its services through insurance plans and does not include a direct-to-consumer option. Other industry leaders, such as American Well, also applauded the new law and announced plans to enter the Texas market with its direct-to-consumer app called Amwell, which also went live June 1. The service is covered by some insurance plans or can be bought directly for $59 per visit. "We join the industry in congratulating Texas on entering the telehealth era," Dr. Roy Schoenberg, CEO of that privately held Boston-based company, said in a statement. Care at retail stores Meanwhile, Hello Alvin, a mobile health-care network, plans to expand its footprint in Texas by offering prepaid access to medical care at retail stores. For $100 per year families can purchase unlimited online or phone access to a health professional at select stores. A video chat will cost $45 per visit. The financial rewards appear as bright as the ground is fertile. "Texas is a big state. It represents enormous opportunity for Hello Alvin," said Arif Razvi, CEO and founder of the New York-based company. Before the new law - and any business bump it may create - Teladoc was already forecasting $180 million to $185 million in revenue for 2017, up 50 percent over last year. While the reach into under-served areas is being lauded, concern remains that it is not a cure-all "Simply deploying technology is not going to fix all our health care challenge," said Dr. Thomas J. Kim, an Austin psychiatrist and internist. While a telemedicine enthusiast he acknowledges it will never completely replace a traditional exam. It also will do little to curb the uninsured rate in a state that already leads the nation. Often the uninsured in Texas live in the very regions that telehealth seeks to help. But if the subscription is too expensive or comes only through insurance plans, those people remain left out, Dickey said. Still, she said, any boost in access to care is important and symbolizes a rethinking of how medical needs are met. "I think the day has come when every little town cannot expect a bricks and mortar hospital," Dickey said. "But we have to find a way to not only get them access to care but quality access to care." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Aldi is increasing the pressure in Houston's cutthroat grocery market and elsewhere as one of its key rivals opens its first U.S. stores. The German discount grocer intends to add as many as 17 locations throughout the region and invest $34 million in store renovations here by the end of 2018. The new and updated stores will have roomier layouts and more product lines to meet a growing demand for natural and organic foods. "Houston is a fantastic market," said Kayla Waddleton, Aldi's Rosenberg division vice president. "There is so much diversity here, a lot of growth and a lot of opportunity." The Houston expansion is part of Aldi's $3.4 billion plan, announced earlier this week, to add 900 U.S. locations in the next five years. That would bring its national store count to 2,500, making it the third-largest grocery chain in the U.S. The news came as Lidl, a German discount chain that competes fiercely with Aldi in Europe, prepared to open its first U.S. stores Thursday in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The company, which did not respond to a request for comment, is expected to enter the Houston market in the coming years, with locations in Pearland, League City and elsewhere. Aldi and Lidl operate highly efficient stores with fewer products lines than traditional grocery stores, creating lower costs and faster turnover. Both companies rely heavily on private-label products to keep their prices among the lowest in the industry. "If you're in the food business, these guys are a threat," said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a New York City-based national retail consulting and investment banking firm. Aldi entered the Houston market in 2013 with nine stores. It now has 32 in the area and plans to open five more this year, including one in Fulshear early next month. The company plans to add suburban locations as well as in areas closer to the urban core. Its stores are relatively small, averaging 17,000 square feet, allowing them to occupy more retail areas than larger chains such as Kroger and H-E-B. "Because of their size and financial strength, they are able to be very nimble in finding locations," said Ed Wulfe, CEO and founder of commercial real estate firm Wulfe & Co. Aldi's expansion is expected to further challenge other grocers in the market, especially those that compete fiercely on price. Walmart and H-E-B, for example, offer some of the lowest-cost groceries in the area. "We won't be beat on price," Waddleton said. "We pride ourselves on that." Walmart, one of Aldi's main rivals, has for years worked to become even more competitive as shopping preferences change. The company has invested billions in new technology, store remodels and employee-retraining programs, and it's testing some of the upgrades in Houston-area stores. Houston's grocery market is already hotly competitive. Kroger, H-E-B, Walmart and others have grown and revamped their chains in recent years to offer more products, greater convenience and lower prices. Some have gained an edge by expanding their prepared-foods sections, testing new technology and rolling out services such as curbside pickup. James Cook, director of retail research for brokerage JLL, said discount grocery chains don't typically offer such frills, instead relying on the promise of high-quality, low-price products to snag customers. "The discount shopper is a large and growing segment of the grocery market," he said. "That's enough. You can be successful." That model has fueled Aldi's rapid expansion throughout the U.S. A recent JLL report noted that Aldi opened more stores than any other grocery chain in the country last year. The company's success aligns with a broader shift in consumer preferences toward lower-cost goods. Off-price stores and other discounters expanded rapidly in the wake of the recession, and chains such as T.J.Maxx, Dollar General and Nordstrom Rack are expected to account for much of the retail growth in Houston this year. "The growth of discounting has dwarfed the growth of department stores and upscale stores," Davidowitz said. Great actors just don't play roles, they morph in such a way to become the character. In some cases that means taking on characteristics completely alien to the performer while other roles require the actor to look inward. With a production like "The Hero," all Sam Elliott had to do was look to his own life for inspiration to become the film's central figure. He mixes elements of his long and storied career with the powerful script by director Brett Haley ("I'll See You in My Dreams") and co-writer Marc Basch to give the role a deep, dramatic soul. In the process, the film reaches beyond being merely a tale of an aging actor facing monumental changes to become a tale relatable to anyone who has reached the point in their life where there are being judged by career achievements. Haley's tale follows Lee Hayden (Elliott), a veteran actor who is only proud of one film in his long career, a much lauded western, "The Hero," completed 40 years ago. Haley judiciously provides small glimpses into Hayden's life but it's clear his has been a journeyman existence that included a failed marriage and left him with an estranged daughter, Lucy (Krysten Ritter). Hayden's uneventful life is shaken by a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He struggles with when - or slowly whether - he should tell his wife and daughter the news. His confusion is magnified by his own doubts about whether or not he's going to battle the cancer. More Information 'The Hero' Rated R for drug use, language Running time: 93 minutes 3.5 out of 5 stars 'The Hero' Rated R: for drug use, language Running time: 93 minutes xxx 1/2 See More Collapse There is some light provided by Charlotte (Laura Prepon), a Los Angeles stand-up comedian who shows a deep interest for Hayden. His rugged exterior slowly begins to soften because of the attention he gets from the young life-loving suitor. Everything Haley does in "The Hero" is designed to either be an examination of life or death. Giving the veteran actor such a young lover is both a way of showing how much Hayden's trying to hold on to the years when he was virile both as an actor and lover while emphasizing what time has taken away from him. Even Hayden's dreams are filled with images of the rapidly approaching death that haunts him. Those images are as blatant as a hanging and as subtle as a director's call for the action in a scene to end. These images often get replaced by scenes of the sea that represent the origin and sustaining of life. All of this comes across because of Elliott. Few actors carry such a distinct road map of life on his or her face as Elliott, and his life-etched features show the kind of journey so many make to their senior years. Elliot not only conveys complicated emotions with just a look from that expressive face but his deep voice sounds like the echoes of decades of life resonating off the walls of time. The look and sound of Elliott is enough to pull a person in to the point where there's no ignoring the story being told. And, he doesn't have to tell the tale on his own. Prepon brings just enough energy to make their June/November romance feel vibrant but never so enthusiastically played that the relationship seems shallow. Nick Offerman turns in a solid performance as the philosophical drug dealer who becomes the bridge for Hayden and Charlotte. It's nice to see Elliott and Katharine Ross together in any project as the real-life married couple always has seemed like a pair forged by the muses of love. The weakest link is Ritter, but she had little to work with considering she had to play the under-loved offspring. Haley should have done more with Ritter's character but his overall effort is a touching and thought-provoking story about what it is like to grow old. The passion to be wanted and to perform the craft developed through decades of hard work make for a universal theme delivered with the kind of transformative acting work that comes from outstanding veteran actors like Elliott. "The Hero" shows that sometimes the most heroic thing a person can do is live life. SIESTA KEY, Fla. - The sand on Siesta Beach on Florida's Gulf Coast is as fine as powdered sugar, a pure, sparkling white and soft as a kitten's fur - all because it's comprised of 99 percent pure crushed quartz. For that reason, and many others, it was selected this year as the best beach in America by a professor who's made a career ranking and studying beaches around the United States. "The sand is outstanding," said Stephen Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach, a professor at Miami's Florida International University. "Every time I go there, I've got to take a bag home with me. It's almost sacrilegious to walk on it with shoes on." Other beaches that made the list this year, in order of ranking, are: Kapalua Bay Beach in Maui, Hawaii; Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Grayton Beach State Park on the Florida Panhandle; Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y.; Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod in Massachusetts; Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin/Clearwater, Fla.; Hapuna Beach State Park, Big Island, Hawaii; Coronado Beach in San Diego, Calif.; and Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island, S.C. On a recent workday, Siesta Beach was packed with people, even though it wasn't particularly sunny. The turquoise water was still gorgeous, the sand still fine. The beach is about 200-300 feet wide in some places, which means people can stretch out and not feel crowded. The beach was last year's runner up and one of three in Florida on this year's top 10 list. "It's nice and clean, that's what I look for," said Jamie Gaskin, a 59-year-old retiree from Lakeland, Fla., who was scoping out the beach for a family Memorial Day party. She especially liked the two-story pavilion, which boasts a snack bar and restrooms. It's only two years old and even offers sweet crepes for breakfast and tapas dishes in the early evening. "There's plenty of tables to barbecue and to hang out. And the restrooms were nice and clean. I'd definitely recommend this," she said. Siesta Beach is on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, and is located just southwest of downtown Sarasota. The water is placid on most days - Leatherman says you can measure the waves "in inches" - and is shallow and safe for swimming, with no sharp drop-offs. Added bonuses include lots of parking, a trolley service to and from the island's adorable downtown area and plenty of lifeguards. The beach also has natural dunes, which is a bit rare for Florida, and the fine sand is excellent for building sand castles. "I look for kind of a balance between nature and a developed environment," said Leatherman, who lives on the other side of the state, closer to Miami Beach. "Fourteen million people go to Miami Beach every year. There's just too many people there. I think a lot of people are looking for more of a getaway." Leatherman, who is director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University, uses about 50 criteria to assess and rank beaches across the country. In recent years, he has given extra points to beaches that prohibit smoking, saying cigarette butts are not only environmentally damaging, but can ruin the experience for beach-goers. Safety and environmental management are other major factors, he said. He's rated beaches since 1991. The Maui beach that came in at No. 2 on the list, Kapalua Bay Beach, is smaller than Siesta Beach. It's crescent-shaped and flanked by palm trees. Unlike lots of Hawaii beaches, there aren't many waves at Kapalua, he said, making it perfect for safe swimming. "The coral reefs almost go right to the beach. There are tropical fish swimming all around." The third beach on the list, Ocracoke, is unique in both history and location. Leatherman points out that it was once the pirate Blackbeard's old haunt. And it's only accessible by a state ferry. "The only negative I have, it seems like too many cars," he said. "I wish they would turn car ferries to pedestrian ferries." Leatherman says he tries to select locations that are a bit off the beaten path, yet immensely rewarding once visitors arrive. Siesta Beach, he points out, is an outstanding place to watch the sun dip below the Gulf horizon - one more reason why it made the top of this year's list. A Houston area man has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison after being convicted of tax fraud and sexual exploitation of children, according to a news release from Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. The man, Benjamin Douglas Guidry, originally plead guilty in September 2016. U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. sentenced Guidry to 270 months for each count of production of child pornography, and additionally another 60 months for tax fraud. Guidry will also have to register as a sex offender. The IRS originally began investigating Guidry in 2015, because he claimed inflated income tax refunds for unknowing clients and then kept the extra refund money for himself, according to court records. The local accountant oversaw Rite Accounting Services in Kemah from 2011 to 2014 and Financial Precision Group in League City in 2014 and 2015. Judge Hanks called Guidry the worst kind of predator. "You solicited the trust, admiration and respect of victims and turned around and used that for your own gratification," Hanks said. The IRS executed a search warrant in May 2015 at his business, Financial Precision Group. Authorities seized several computers and boxes of documents from his workplace. When they searched his business, authorities also noticed several files on Guidry's external hard drive that may contain child pornography. They also noticed text messages that appeared to be inappropriate communications with a minor. The FBI also executed a search warrant on Guidry's home. Authorities eventually found at least 164 images and 28 videos of child pornography. A cell phone also contained at least three videos of child pornography. The accountant's cellphone revealed conversations with a female minor in which Guidry offered Taylor Swift tickets in return for "cuddling topless" and letting him "love on you." A sexual video of that female minor had objects that were found in Guidry's home, which he shared with his common-law wife. Another video dating from 2014 showed an adult male believed to be the accountant sexually assaulting the same girl, then in 9th or 10th grade, who appeared to be drugged and said, "Stop" and "I'm being raped." Agents found pain drugs in Guidry's car. For the tax offense, Guidry agreed the intended income tax loss was between $250,000 and $550,000. He will have to pay $201,454 in restitution to the IRS. Guidry remains in custody and will be transferred in the near future to a d U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility. Update: A man's body was found by recreational fishermen near the Trinity Bay area after it washed up on a beach in Baytown. Chron.com spoke with Captain Fred Ruiz with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, who said the body was discovered around 10 p.m. on Thursday June, 15. He said it is the body of a boater who went missing Monday after he and a friend went overboard while sailing near Eagle Point Marina in San Leon. "The family doesn't want to release many details right now" said Ruiz, "but based on the description and some personal artifacts known to him and only him, we can confirm it's [the missing boater]." The Harris County medical examiner has yet to officially confirm the identity of the victim, but Ruiz is confident it is the body of the missing boater. Read the full story on how one of the men was rescued below: Everything was wrong as Hollis Morgan, 36, and some friends headed out to Eagle Point Marina near San Leon, Texas on June 13. All the signs from the crazy wind, to the tide, to even the moon were saying to not go, but they set out anyway. IMPRESSIVE: Angler ties his own state record for largest catfish "The wind was blowing like crazy and it was way too rough to go, but everyone wanted to, so off we went," Morgan told Chron.com. "[We] headed south towards Hannah's reef, and about halfway there I see something in the water. First thought was a pelican. Then it waved at me!" As Morgan turned his boat around, he came face-to-face with a man in his 60s who Morgan later found out was named Mark. "I will never forget the look in [Mark's] eyes when we pulled him into the boat," said Morgan. "He'd been holding onto one of the white PVC pipes that marks reefs and shallow spots. We had him sit on a ice chest and gave him water." After a phone call to his wife to let her know he was alive, Mark explained to Morgan how he ended up in the water. Morgan told Chron.com that Mark and a friend a man in his late 50s or early 60s had gone sailing the day before. Some rope was tangled in the propeller of the sail boat and his friend went overboard trying to free it. They somehow both ended up in the water and before they could get back into the boat, it sailed off due to strong winds. Mark's friend died in his arms overnight, but while Mark struggled to survive he became separated from the body. "I am guessing he had been in the water either drifting or holding onto the pipe for 15 to 16 hours," Morgan said. "I honestly don't know how he held on to that pole for that long. I am guessing that is when he was separated from his friend." DRAMATIC RESCUE: Police save woman from submerged vehicle off Texas City Dike A spokesperson for the Coast Guard told Chron.com that Mark's wife called around 10 p.m. on June 12 after he and his friend didn't come home. A helicopter and boat were sent out to the location given by Mark's wife, but the search was called off after hours of no luck. After Morgan and his friends called the Coast Guard the following day and told them they had rescued one man, the search party returned to look for the other man's body. Meanwhile Morgan to took Mark to shore. "We booked it back to Eagle Point," said Morgan. "He puked a good bit of the ride back, probably from all the salt water he'd swallowed. His wife showed up at the marina and so did the wife and child of his friend. An ambulance showed up and took over." Morgan spoke to Mark's wife after the incident to see how he was doing and was told that he is in stable condition and doing much better. He also learned that Mark celebrated his birthday on June 14, at the hospital where he is being cared for alongside his wife and nurses, who sang him Happy Birthday and brought him cake. Captain Fred Ruiz with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed the body of Mark's friend has been found. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GALVESTON - The drowning of a woman after she rescued her 4-year-old son this week has revived a discussion about how to make beaches safer on the Bolivar Peninsula. Brenda Mosley, 35, of Palestine, was swept away in rough surf Monday after plucking her son from the water and handing him to a relative. The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Wednesday that a body discovered near Crystal Beach on Tuesday was Mosley. While lifeguards on Galveston Island flew red flags this week warning of dangerous swimming conditions, there are no lifeguards on Bolivar's beaches. The only safety measures are two sets of warning flags that the chamber issues to two businesses situated miles apart. Mosley's death has brought the simmering issue of beach safety to the fore, said Georgia Osten, a staffer at the Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. "There has been a heightened awareness, not just since the accident, but because we have these incidents happen every year," Osten said. Looking at options Those concerns led to a meeting Wednesday of Chamber President Brenda Flanagan and peninsula residents with County Commissioner Darrell Apffel, whose First District includes the peninsula. The meeting was scheduled to discuss improvements on Texas 87, the highway that runs the length of the narrow peninsula, but Flanagan used the opportunity to raise the beach safety concerns. There are no incorporated cities along the 27 miles of beach on the barrier island along the Texas Gulf Coast, leaving any safety measures in the hands of county commissioners. Apffel could not be reached for comment, but Flanagan said that improving the flag system and putting lifeguards on some peninsula beaches were among several ideas that Apffel agreed to consider. "We are looking to see what our options are and how we can expand it," Flanagan said of the flag system. The number of visitors to Bolivar, located northeast of Galveston Island and reachable by a ferry that crosses from Galveston Island or by land through Chambers County, has significantly increased since Hurricane Ike in 2008. The devastating storm scoured the peninsula of dilapidated buildings, which in many cases were replaced with beach homes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The peninsula had about 2,400 residents in 2010. Maj. Douglas Hudson, who has patrolled the peninsula since 1993 for the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, said the number of beachgoers has "drastically increased over the years." For example, Hudson said, the Go Topless Jeep Weekend has exploded from between 300 and 500 Jeeps in 2005 to between 20,000 and 25,000 Jeeps along the entire beach. Deaths at Rollover Pass Increased sheriff's patrols have allowed the peninsula to avoid a parallel increase in crime, Hudson said, but figures he provided are less clear about drownings. There have been 33 drownings or near-drownings recorded by the sheriff's office since 1995, Hudson said. Near-drownings are victims sent to the hospital who have no pulse or are near death, though the total number of fatalities isn't known because hospitals are not obligated to report deaths. There were five drownings in 2015, but the number dropped to one in 2016, and Mosley became the second so far this year. The other was a fisherman at Rollover Pass who waded into a strong current. In fact, Hudson said, most drownings are fisherman wading into fast currents at Rollover Pass, a man-made cut in the peninsula that connects the Gulf of Mexico with Galveston Bay. County commissioners this month approved a settlement agreement for the $1.75 million purchase of Rollover Pass, advancing plans to close one of Texas' most renowned fishing spots following a long legal battle. Galveston tends to have more drownings than the peninsula because the beaches drop off faster and rock groins along the seawall produce powerful rip currents, said Peter Davis, Galveston Beach Patrol chief. "They are basically safer," Davis said. Lifeguards in Galveston The peninsula averaged about 2.5 drownings per year from 1995 to 2016. That compares to Galveston, which averaged four to six drownings a year during the same period - even with lifeguards. Davis said the figure would be much higher without lifeguards, pointing out that lifeguards took 110,000 preventive actions last year. Galveston has 30 lifeguard towers along the seawall and one at city-owned Dellanera RV Park, on the western end of the island. That leaves about 18 miles of beach with no lifeguards, although the seawall beaches are by far the most popular. Those 18 miles are handled by a roving patrol. Lifeguards are also stationed on summer weekends at San Luis Pass on the western tip of the island to enforce the no-swimming law because of the fierce currents and rapidly changing sea bottom. Davis, who is president of the U.S. Lifesaving Association, said the Beach Patrol was willing to assist in any efforts to improve beach safety on the peninsula. The patrol already works with the two businesses charged with flying warning flags on the peninsula: Bolivar Peninsula RV Park, about 2.5 miles from the Galveston-Bolivar ferry landing, and Nancy's Bait Shop at Rollover Pass. Long ignored Gloria Johnson, Bolivar Peninsula RV Park manager, said she checks the Galveston Beach Patrol website every morning and hoists a colored flag reflecting the water condition up a 30-foot pole. Anyone entering the peninsula on the ferry can see the flag from Texas 87 as they pass, Johnson said, but anyone going to one of the beaches between the ferry and the RV park may not see the flag. A sign at the RV Park and pamphlets in the office explain the flag system: green, calm conditions; yellow, caution; red, unusual conditions; purple, jellyfish; and an orange triangle, poor air or water quality. Only those entering the RV park would see the sign, she said. Johnson believes the flag system should be improved, but has little faith in the county's willingness to tackle the problem. Peninsula residents have always felt ignored by the county and an effort by commissioners to give the peninsula to Chambers County in 2012 is still remembered by many residents. Said Johnson: "We are kind of the redheaded stepchild." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TAMINA -- Yellow tape still surrounds the blackened hulk of the house on Johnson Road, across the railroad tracks from the community center. A sign warns the curious to stay away from the site of an ongoing investigation. At the edge of the property, red and blue pinwheels twirl in the breeze and a pot of orange impatiens sits on a ledge -- splashes of color at a dark scene of tragedy. A fire in the predawn hours of May 12 destroyed this home and took the lives of three siblings: Terrance "T.J." Mitchell, 13; Kaila Mitchell, 6; and Kyle Mitchell, 5. Their brother, 10-year-old Adrian Mitchell, and their mother, April Johnson Mitchell, are grieving. Their grandfather, Pastor Bobby Johnson, and his son Jarvis are recovering from burns sustained when they tried desperately to rescue the children. In the days after the fire, longtime residents noted that the lack of fire hydrants in this historically black community just across Interstate 45 from The Woodlands forced firefighters to tap into a line about a mile away and truck water to the site. There's no clear evidence that hydrants would have changed the outcome, but their absence is one symptom of the substandard public services that have prevailed in Tamina for decades, even as surrounding communities grew and flourished. The homes in Tamina use septic tanks, some of which are in poor condition. A nearby utility district sells water that's stored in tanks in Tamina, then pumped through 4-inch lines to residences. The lines don't supply enough pressure for fire hydrants, even if they existed. Streets are narrow and rutted. Drainage is poor. Houses are scattered amid huge tracts of vacant land. The reasons for this state of affairs are complicated, and numerous efforts to find a mechanism to bring modern water and sewer service to Tamina have failed. But the community's leaders and supporters continue to seek a solution. "Maybe this kind of terrible tragedy is what it takes," said Nelda Luce Blair, an attorney in The Woodlands who has participated in efforts to improve conditions in Tamina. Smoke alarms coming Montgomery County Commissioner Jim Clark, whose precinct includes Tamina, agreed. "I'll be doing everything in my power to bring the parties together to make something happen," Clark said. A small but important step will be taken on the weekend of June 24 and 25, when the county fire marshal's office and Needham Fire Rescue plan to distribute and install smoke detectors in the community's roughly 200 homes. Overcoming Tamina's deeper problems, though, will require a combination of leadership, cooperation and commitment that has yet to be achieved. County government lacks the authority or resources to install new water or sewer systems. The special districts that typically provide these services in unincorporated areas didn't exist when Tamina was settled by freed slaves in 1871, and the impoverished community doesn't have the healthy tax base that would make it an attractive target for annexation. In a recent column, I suggested that Tamina needed a champion, a bold leader with influence and a wide network of connections who could forge a partnership to reinvigorate the community. Blair, who knows Tamina well, is convinced this can still happen. "There is no lack of desire, from the outside or the inside, to improve the lives of the people in Tamina," said Blair. "There are many people who have tried to make it happen over the years. I've never seen it all come together; I've never seen the stars align." Signs of progress She noted that resources such as federal grants are available, and at times arrangements to secure them have come close to fruition. Negotiations with neighboring cities and utility districts have made progress. But always, a last-minute snag seems to arise. "The thing that's going to make it happen," Blair said, "is complete cooperation all around. Everybody's got to be on the same page. Because all these folks are human, they're not always on the same page." I spoke briefly by phone Thursday with Pastor Johnson, who was en route home from seeing a doctor. He said he was recovering from his injuries, but he wasn't ready to talk about the events of that awful morning. "It's still fresh," he said. Tamina needs time to mourn the loss of three of its youngest. In the meantime, perhaps its supporters in government and business can consider how to get everyone, including the community's leaders and neighbors, on the same page. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Blanca Romero had steeled herself to spend at least another month at Texas Children's Hospital. Her baby, born four months ago without a functioning immune system, was still so vulnerable, it seemed. She'd been told the boy might need to stay at the hospital well into summer after receiving a potentially lifesaving stem cell transplant three weeks ago. Then, on Wednesday, his doctors stunned her: Sebastian, they said, was ready to go home. The stem cells Blanca donated May 25 had fully grafted in the baby's bone marrow and had already begun to fill his body with infection-fighting white blood cells. "You can leave today," one of the nurses had said. Now, a couple hours later, Blanca was rushing to pack her suitcase and clean dirty dishes and straighten up the isolation room that had been her home since the beginning of May. Her husband, Emil, got Sebastian dressed in a onesie emblazoned with the words, "SCID Won't Stop This Kid." BEYOND THE BUBBLE: Baby born without an immune system benefits from lessons learned decades ago SCID: Severe Combined Immunodeficency Disorder. That's been the enemy ever since they got the diagnosis back in February. Blanca likes to say she's been at war with the disease. The rare genetic condition is known more commonly as Bubble Boy Disease, named for the most famous child ever born with it. David Vetter, "the Boy in a Bubble," had spent 12 years behind a wall of sterile plastic at Texas Children's before dying in 1984. How to help A fundraising page has been created to help the Romero family pay for Sebastian's medical care. Visit www.gofundme.com/SIRstrong to contribute. See More Collapse Today, doctors can save most children with SCID if they catch the disease within the first three months of life. "I didn't expect to be going home this fast," Blanca said as she packed, a blend of excitement and nervousness in her voice. Dr. Cary Martinez, the boy's transplant doctor, stopped by the room. "Remember," she said, "if you notice any changes, any fever, any rash, you're going to pack your things right away and bring him in. We're not going to take any risks." Martinez has been impressed with how well the boy has done with the transplant, but his immune system is still fragile. It likely won't fully develop for several more months, she said. In the meantime, his parents will keep him isolated at home, separated from his older siblings and away from visitors. And he'll need to visit the hospital three times a week to make sure there are no complications. "We're not done fighting yet," Blanca said, scooping Sebastian into her arms. "But so far we're winning." She'd cried a couple weeks ago when the boy's thick black hair began to fall out, a side-effect from the chemotherapy treatments he'd received ahead of the transplant. Now she felt like she was going to cry again. She fastened a blue superhero cape around Sebastian's neck, then for the first time in weeks, carried him out of his isolation room. Hospital staff had gathered in the hallway. "Celebrate good times" blared from a radio and the nursing staff cheered as Blanca carried her baby through a set of double doors. Blanca bobbed to the music, smiling. Sebastian, overwhelmed by the excitement, began to wail. Emil wasn't surprised. It was the first time his son had been surrounded by so many people, he said. And none of them were wearing masks or gloves. "He's only used to blue people," Emil said, laughing. Soon, the commotion had died down, Sebastian had stopped crying, and it was time to go home. Fort Bend County's health department is investigating tuberculosis at George Bush High School, concerned about the possible spread of at least two confirmed cases. The department on Monday hopes to test more than 600 people -- mostly students but also staff members -- possibly exposed to the contagious disease. They were informed Wednesday of the need to have their blood drawn to determine if they contracted the bacterium, which can be effectively treated but is deadly if not. "We take this very seriously," said Kaye Reynolds, deputy director of the health department. "We want to get anyone who's infected but not ill on prophylactic medicine to prevent the infection from progressing and those who have active disease on the proper multi-drug regimen." Health officials would not divulge any information about the individuals initially infected, citing federal privacy laws. It is unclear if the two confirmed cases are related or occurred independently. TB expert Dr. Jeff Starke emphasized the clear-cut set of rules that guide health departments in such investigations. "They're very scientific," said Starke, a professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. "Investigators figure out exactly who individuals with TB came in contact with, the different environments they entered, how contagious they were at different times. They know who to test and in what order." Starks acknowledged that 600 people sounds like a lot. But he said the real scope of the cases won't be known until the blood has been analyzed. TB, one of history's scourges, declined steadily in the U.S. throughout most of the 20th century before increasing slightly in the mid-1980s and again recently, partly a result of complacency that the disease was on the way to eradication. There are roughly 10,000 cases annually in the U.S., including about 1,400 in Texas and 350 to 400 in the Houston area. Reynolds said the cases at George Bush are a particular cause for concern because of the potential for so much transmission. The school's enrollment is about 2,200 students. TB primarily attacks the lungs, but can affect other organs as well. Most infections do not cause symptoms latent tuberculosis and are thus not contagious. But about 10 percent progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kills about half of those infected. In those contagious, it usually takes prolonged close contact to pass on the infection, which is not spread as easily as a cold, flu or measles. It may be passed on if droplets coughed or sneezed into the air reach the lungs of another person. Tuberculosis is typically treated effectively, but it takes time. Prophylactic medicine for infected individuals without symptoms is usually taken for six to nine months; antibiotics for those with active disease can be taken for as long as two years, though the duration is usually nine to 15 months. "It's not like strep throat," said Reynolds. Test results should be back in about a week, said Reynolds. She encouraged those contacted -- emails and letters were sent Wednesday -- to come in for testing Monday. SAN ANTONIO Texas House Speaker Joe Straus chastised the Senate for fighting improvements to public education Wednesday and called for this summer's special session to include a focus on the state's beleaguered school finances. In a stinging speech that slammed the Senate's focus on school vouchers and bathroom bills, the San Antonio Republican told a hotel ballroom full of school board members that they should pressure state lawmakers, and run for election to the state's upper chamber. "In many ways, your hands are tied and state government is holding the rope," he told more than 200 attendees at the Texas Association of School Boards during their opening dinner at a conference to review legislation from the 2017 legislative session. "One of my biggest concerns coming out of this year's session is that we are starting to send the wrong signal about who we are as a state." Branding the House as the chamber that "still believes in public education," Straus said he had looked forward to speaking at the Wednesday night conference so he could be around elected officials who are "sincere, hard-working and committed to education. It's quite a change for me," he said to laughs in the Marriott Rivercenter in downtown San Antonio. Lawmakers are expected back in Austin July 18 to take up a 20-point agenda outlined by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that includes extending the existence of the Texas Medical Board along with controversial issues like abortion restrictions and reigning in local government regulations. The call also includes several education issues, such as requiring school districts find money in their budgets to give teachers a $1,000 raise and give school administrators more power to hire and fire teachers. The governor also wants lawmakers to take up controversial legislation to regulate which bathrooms transgender people should use, a matter which became one of the most high-profile bills of the Legislative session but failed to pass the House which maintained that the matter could hurt business in Texas and target transgender children in schools. "Telling Texans that our schools are beset by problems in the bathroom is not only inaccurate but it sends the wrong signal about our priorities. I don't know exactly what all the issues are with bathrooms in our schools, but I'm pretty sure that you can handle them and I know that you have been handling them," he said to applause. Patrick, who controls the Senate, has made it a priority to pass legislation that would require people use the bathroom that correlates with their sex at birth, effectively banning transgender people from using the bathroom aligning with the gender they identify with. Abbott also wants lawmakers to take up legislation to limit property tax growth after a proposal championed by the Senate that would have imposed stricter limits on raising property taxes failed to win approval in the House. School finance ought to play a role in the conversation during the special session, Straus said, "because it relates directly to property tax reform." Straus told reporters after the speech he is hopeful school finance could be added to the special session call and woven into the discussion of property taxes. He said he was encouraged the governor also wants a long-term study how to best address the state's school funding formula, which the Texas Supreme Court last year found constitutional but in need of major change. "If we're real serious about it, real property tax reform means real school finance reform," said Straus. "I'm hoping that [Abbott] will add this to the call and that we can do something significant to reduce the impact and problems with property taxes and at the same time, fund our schools better and reform a system that is badly out of whack and desperately needed." State government is spending less on public education each biennium, leaving more of the costs of educating the state's 5.3 million student dependent on local property taxes, according to the Legislative Budget Board. The House proposed a series of fixes to the state's school finance system, adding $1.8 billion in public education, including more money for English Language Learners and funds to help school districts losing money from the phase out of an outdated funding program. The legislation failed to pass during the regular legislative session after the Senate stripped out much of the spending and replaced it with a school voucher program that would allow parents of student with special needs use public school dollars to fund tuition at private schools. State senators, led by tea party Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, argue parents should have more choices in where they send their children to school. After first proposing a program allowing any student to attend private school using state tax dollars, the Senate shrunk the proposal to a program limited to students with disabilities. The House refused and asked the Senate to negotiate. After political wrangling, neither side was willing to budge, and both school finance reforms and a school voucher plan died. Straus and Patrick have been at odds all year as tension has grown between the two chambers that have different priorities and political dynamics. Before finishing the 18-minute speech that included three ovations, Straus told attendees to make their voices heard inside the Texas Capitol and "even run for Senate." A rescue team removed 67 dogs today from a residence in Cleveland, where they roamed among urine-soaked floors and feces-smeared walls. The Houston SPCA, a protection organization and shelter, obtained a civil seizure warrant from the Liberty County Sheriff's Office to take the animals from "deplorable conditions," the organization said. Some of the dogs were found in small, stacked cages; while others had medical conditions. The case will go before a Liberty County court, the Houston SPCA said, where they are hoping the owner will lose rights to the animals. AUSTIN - Larry Fitzgerald, the straight-spoken face of Texas' prison system when it reigned as the nation's busiest death chamber, died Monday after an extended illness. He was 79. Fitzgerald, an Austin native and longtime Texas radio newsman before he joined the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at a time when it had tripled in size during the early 1990s, also worked as communications director for the State Bar of Texas from 1978 to 1991. His tenure as spokesman for the prisons agency came at a time when the Texas corrections system gained international notoriety for its assembly line pace of justice for condemned criminals that drew celebrity protesters including Bianca Jagger, the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and television personalities such as Geraldo Rivera. He witnessed 219 executions during his tenure, and after his retirement in 2003 he became an expert witness for defense attorneys during the punishment phase in more than 30 capital murder cases - in which some defendants won a lesser sentence, and others did not. "He was a consummate public relations professional who was always truthful and always worked for transparency about government," said Larry Todd, who worked with Fitzgerald in the agency's public information office. "He was a great guy." Broadcast career Born Clyde Larry Fitzgerald in October 1937, the son of a government landman and a schoolteacher, Fitzgerald attended the University of Texas at Austin with eyes on becoming a broadcast journalist - a career that he launched, without ever graduating, at small radio stations in San Marcos, Taylor and Bryan. At one job in Fort Worth, he followed Bob Schieffer, who later became a legendary newsman for CBS News, Fitzgerald once said. He also did news at stations in Cleburne, Dallas and Arlington. In radio, he served in jobs ranging from disc jockey to news reporter to news director. Early in his career while working at an Austin TV station, Fitzgerald recalled that the station's owner, Lyndon Baines Johnson, then a U.S. senator who would later become president, used to come around turning off the lights to save electricity. Returning to Austin for the State Bar job, Fitzgerald worked in political campaigns for Democrats Bill Hobby, who was lieutenant governor, and for Ann Richards when she ran for governor. During Richards' tenure, Fitzgerald worked for a time as a location scout for the Texas Department of Commerce as part of the state's initial efforts to expand the number of movies that were filmed in Texas. Based in Huntsville But the job that would make him a household name in Texas and beyond was for Republican Gov. George W. Bush, starting in January 1995 - a time when the state had expanded its prison system to more than 100 lockups as it ginned up the nation's busiest death chamber. After being hired on, Fitzgerald once said he was surprised to learn his job would be based in Huntsville, not Austin, as he had thought. So he moved to Huntsville and within months was an on-air celebrity as the Texas system continually made headlines. Among them: the executions of Houston murderers Gary Graham and Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman in Texas since the Civil War to receive the ultimate sentence and the first since 1984 to be executed in America. After retiring in 2003, Fitzgerald worked for a time for the state Division of Emergency Management as it responded to floods, wildfires and hurricanes. He also worked from 2005 until 2013 as a doorkeeper in the Texas Senate. In addition to his wife of 57 years, Marianne, Fitzgerald is survived by a daughter, Kelly Anne Fitzgerald, and a son, Kevin Lane Fitzgerald, and daughter-in-law Lorraine. All live in Austin. All Faiths Funeral Services in Austin is in charge of arrangements. No services had been announced as of Wednesday afternoon. Ron Cortes/Freelance / For the San Antonio Express-News SAN ANTONIO - Texas House Speaker Joe Straus chastised the state Senate on Wednesday for fighting improvements to public education and called on this summer's special session to include work fixing the state's beleaguered school finance system. Straus said he hopes school finance is added to Gov. Greg Abbott's special session call, which currently includes 20 issues, including a committee to study school finance but not a demand the Legislature pass a series of fixes pushed by the House this session. There's gold in them thar hills - or at least there will be. On Wednesday, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Texas-based Lone Star Tangible Assets Management will partner with the state to open the long-awaited Texas Bullion Depository - the Lone Star State's version of Fort Knox. The depository will initially be located in a temporary facility owned by Lone Star in North Austin and is expected to begin receiving gold as early as January 2018, officials said. "We chose them because we believe they are the right combination of experience, financial stability and infrastructure," Hegar said during a news conference announcing the initial details of the project. Lone Star has an opening contract with the state for five years with two, one-year extension options, Hegar said. The company will be tasked with building and operating the high-security site that was first planned after a bill was passed two years ago directing the comptroller's office to create the depository. Progress had been slow since the bill was signed, but Wednesday marks the second public announcement in three days about the depository. The first was the naming of Tom Smelker as the depository administrator. Smelker currently heads treasury operations for the comptroller and will remain in that role while overseeing the depository. "It has been a more complex project than we expected," Smelker told the Houston Chronicle. "Because of the visibility, we wanted to make sure we had every t crossed and every i dotted. If their life savings are going to be brought to us, people have to trust it's going to be handled correctly." The depository was first envisioned as a new home for millions of dollars' worth of gold bullion owned by the University of Texas Investment Management Company that manages investments for the UT and Texas A&M systems. It also was seen as a place for gold owners to keep their private bullion. UTIMCO currently stores its gold in New York, and the nonprofit pays $605,000 annually in storage fees. In 2015, upon signing the bill tasking the comptroller's office with the creation of the depository, Gov. Greg Abbott declared Texas would "repatriate" the gold. UTIMCO is currently the only Texas entity that owns a significant amount of gold, but persuading the corporation to move its gold may not be easy. Previously, the UT System officials had stated the gold would be moved to Texas only if the state-run depository is a full member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's COMEX platform, where gold contracts are exchanged. Also, the fees to store the gold must be equal to or less than the cost to store in New York. Lone Star Tangible Assets Management chairman Matt Ferris said the depository would be unable to join COMEX due to a geographical restriction that requires all members to be within 150 miles of New York state. UT System spokesperson Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said that for the gold to be moved to Texas, the same conditions still apply. To work around the lack of a COMEX membership, Ferris said Lone Star intends to run the depository under the same guidelines of a COMEX member facility. "We will have access to COMEX-level liquidity, but we are also endeavoring on a journey here to create something that hasn't been done, and our goal is to eventually create liquidity of COMEX levels in the state of Texas for those large institutions over time," Ferris said. Despite the uncertainty surrounding UTIMCO's gold, Smelker said he has received "hundreds" of calls and emails from people and companies interested in storing their bullion in a Texas depository. "To some folks' surprise we've seen a lot of people calling and asking when they can bring their gold in," Smelker said. "We've received a pretty steady stream of interest in the progress of this." Amid the accusations and insults President Trump hurls at the U.S. media, it's easy to ignore that there is a real, shooting war on the press and it's happening in Mexico. So far this year, six journalists have been gunned down in various parts of the country. Another is missing in the western state of Michoacan. The most brazen case occurred exactly a month ago in western Sinaloa state, where journalist and author Javier Valdez Cardenas, known for his investigations into the drug trade, was stopped by gunmen in his car and shot to death near the offices of the weekly Riodoce, which he helped found in 2003. Sinaloa is home to Mexico's powerful drug cartel of the same name, once headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is in the United States awaiting trial. As a journalist working in Mexico for nine years, I saw the war firsthand. We were always concerned about safety, but the international press generally remained outside of the crosshairs, while reporters for local press lived under harassment and threat. Valdez had an international profile, recognized by both the Committee to Protect Journalists and Columbia University (with the Maria Moors Cabot Prize) for his work and courage to not be silenced. Press freedom The Chronicle Opinion section is sharing this commentary about the deaths of Mexican journalists and invites readers to share it on Facebook and Twitter Thursday - the one-month anniversary of Sinaloa journalist Javier Valdez's death - as part of the press freedom initiative #OurVoiceIsOurStrength #nuestravozesnuestrafuerza See More Collapse His killing sent the message that no journalist in Mexico is safe. Valdez had no illusions about that. When I interviewed him last fall about his latest book, "Narco-Journalism," he told me that he didn't need any reminders that his work could cost him his life: "I have to learn on every story how far I can go, what information I can't publish ... and I know if I cross the line they're going to kill me." Mexico is a democracy. It's not a country at war, at least not officially. Yet it ranks ninth in the world for number of journalists killed since 1992, ahead of Afghanistan, Rwanda and Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, according to CPJ. But if you look at the numbers in just the past five years, Mexico is No. 1 surpassing even Syria and Iraq in noncombat killings that CPJ says are work-related or are under investigation for being work-related. The general drug-cartel violence that has engulfed Mexico is clearly a factor. But there's another statistic that is often overlooked: Nearly 40 percent of attacks on journalists in Mexico are carried out by some state actor, that is, a government, military or police official, according to the government's own statistics. That number rises to 81 percent in the Gulf of Mexico coastal state of Veracruz, where half of Mexico's journalist assassinations have occurred in the past five years including a killing and an attempted homicide in the past two months. In Mexico, the deadliest terrain for journalists is where government and cartel interests intersect. Reporter Miroslava Breach was killed March 23 in the northern city of Chihuahua, shot eight times as she was leaving her home with one of her children. Three weeks earlier, Breach published an article about links between local mayoral candidates and organized crime. Veracruz saw a spike in killings, intimidation and threats under former Gov. Javier Duarte, who near the end of his term (2010-2016) fled Mexico, accused of money laundering and organized crime. (He was captured recently in Guatemala.) Attacks on the press in Veracruz wiped out nearly all critical reporting, guaranteeing Duarte the cover to rob the state of tens of millions of dollars for his own use, as is alleged. Javier Valdez became concerned for his safety in March after Riodoce published a story about narco-political links and copies of the weekly disappeared, CPJ's Carlos Lauria wrote Friday in the New York Times. "This is something different," Valdez told Lauria. Like all crime in Mexico, the vast majority of press killings go unpunished. Only two of 38 in the past five years have resulted in convictions. Most are never even investigated. But it makes sense when you consider that the state, which is charged with prosecuting the crimes, is also the suspect in a high percentage of attacks. Americans who take a free press for granted may not recognize the danger of a government using its powers to delegitimize and suppress media watchdogs. But Trump's cries of "fake news" and "enemy of the people" give us the perfect opportunity to consider what can happen when the vitriol spins out of control. I would never argue that the situation in the United States is anything close to what's happening in Mexico. Still, Americans should care. Mexico is also an important reminder of what can happen if we become casual about our own right to free speech. After Trump's "enemy of the people" remark, CBS anchor John Dickerson asked Chief of Staff Reince Priebus what he would say to Trump supporters, known to have acted out at rallies, "who might take license with the idea when the president says the press is the enemy and act on that declaration?" "Certainly we would never condone violence," Priebus said. But the fact that violence against the press even came up in this context is chilling. Nor do I take lightly the Trump supporters who don T-shirts printed with the words, "Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some assembly required." To some, it may be in jest. But given the events in the past few weeks in Mexico, and those journalists who have been lost to violence, I see how far it can go. Corcoran is the former Mexico-Central American bureau chief for the Associated Press and the Hewlett Fellow for Public Policy at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Reporting for this article, originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle, was supported by the Alicia Patterson Foundation. To view video of Corcoran interviewing Javier Valdez Cardenas, go to http://bit.ly/2rjucf8. Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. Psalm 71:9 What does it take to become a priority in the Texas Legislature? As someone who provides nursing home care for the state's frail and elderly, I often wonder why my residents and their caregivers never seem to be a priority of our legislators. About two out of every three Texas nursing home residents rely on Medicaid to pay for their care. That rate is set by the Legislature. Our Legislature has set a rate that is one of the lowest in the nation. It does not even come close to meeting the cost of caring for Medicaid residents by the state's own estimates. The result is that nursing homes struggle to ensure that when your loved ones call for help, someone who is qualified and compassionate will be there quickly to help them. The fact that nursing homes are not able to offer competitive wages makes it hard to recruit good, quality nurses and nurse assistants, and is why our annual staff turnover statewide averages more than 90 percent. It also makes it very hard to upgrade older facilities or offer extra amenities that can brighten the lives of our residents. But the Legislature has been reluctant to fund increases to assist with this care. In 2015, despite entering the session with a $7.5 billion budget surplus, Texas nursing homes received no increase from state lawmakers. This session, with a tighter state budget, providers did not ask for state funding. Instead, we asked the Legislature to allow us to pull down federal funds - without expanding Medicaid - through a program that has been used to help nursing homes in 43 other states. We even supported requiring that 50 percent of those dollars not be available to nursing homes unless we earned them by demonstrating improvement in the quality of care. You would think legislators would jump at the chance to get funding back to an industry that everyone seems to agree is badly underfunded and needs to improve quality, especially with a program that would not add to state spending. Some of them did. Rep. J.D. Sheffield, R-Gatesville, and Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, filed legislation to authorize it. Several legislators, including Appropriations Committee Chairman John Zerwas, R-Richmond, helped in this effort. But others still could not see their way to assist this struggling sector of health care. They thought people might accuse them of voting for a "granny tax" and that certain political groups might attack them for not being conservative enough. I am a lifelong conservative Republican, as are many who supported this bill. I believe conservatism is about taking care of your responsibilities, including helping those who truly are unable to help themselves, and using taxpayer dollars wisely and only where they will have the most positive impact. Fears among legislators were not sufficient to prevent 97 of the 150 members of the House and six of the nine members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee from voting for the bill. But fear did result in the bill failing to get the vote it deserved and the support it needed to be considered on the Senate floor before a key legislative deadline. I love caring for nursing home residents because of the opportunity it brings to do something that truly matters and positively affects the lives of so many people. I enjoy their stories about the Texas they remember. I am always moved by the love they show for their families and often for other residents and staff. I want them to feel happy and cherished even as their health fails them. I want their final years to be filled with purpose and the dignity and respect they deserve. What will it take for legislators to share this commitment, rise up above political rhetoric and fear and prioritize care of our elderly? Unfortunately, the answer may be seen in Child Protective Services, where the state has only stepped up its efforts and funding when tragedies and intolerable situations receive media coverage. Texans must demand more. We cannot wait for our elderly to suffer the way our children have before our legislators jump to action. Payne is chairman of the Texas Health Care Association board of directors. THCA advocates for better long-term care for Texas seniors. The Texas County Fair Board hosted its fourth annual Jackpot Show Sunday, June 4 at the Houston Area Chamber of Commerce Fairgrounds, and the event had the biggest turnout yet. Fair board officials said a total of 159 animals were shown by 82 youth exhibitors from dozens of communities around southern Missouri. Thats significant increase from the numbers in previous years, as 112 were shown in 2016, 111 in 2015 and 83 in 2014. The total included 61 market hogs, 50 market lambs, 25 market steers, 20 market goats and three dairy feeder steers. Grand champions in each category included Potosi resident Matthew Owings in market steer, Mountain Grove resident Rylan Nix in market goat, Richland resident Lane Evans in market hog, Dora resident Riley Collins in market lamb and Cabool resident Ty Rouse in dairy feeder steer. Judging was once again done by Jade Jenkins of Wilburton, Okla. For complete results, log onto www.houstonherald.com. A similar event was held last Sunday (June 11) in Houston: the inaugural Southern Missouri Jackpot Show hosted by Willow Springs High School Ag teacher Nathan Sanders. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. 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IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Cosplaying knows no bounds. A growing number of Muslim women are starting to cosplay, and in doing so, finding creative ways to integrate their modest clothing styles and hijabs into their costumes. Cosplay short for costume play is a form of performance art where participants dress up as characters, often at various science fiction and comic book conventions. Advertisement One popular way for Muslim women to partake is by turning their hijabs into a characters hair or wearing nude-coloured clothing and modifying traditional get-ups to be more in line with their beliefs. Kira, a Malaysian cosplayer, told Mashable that she decided to become involved in cosplay after she met another hijab-wearing Malaysian cosplayer, and was inspired to try incorporating her hijab into costumes. Around seven years ago I attended an event and saw a hijab cosplayer ... and her costume was modified to that suitable for a Muslim, she said. At that time it was hard to find [any] hijab cosplayers. Advertisement Kira, who goes by Saakira Cosplayer when shes in costume, said she began dressing up in this way in 2013. "Around seven years ago I attended an event and saw a hijab cosplayer ... and her costume was modified to that suitable for a Muslim." [Cosplay gives me a chance to] show my love for the character and at the same time, cover up, she said. Kira, who has dressed as Powerpuff Girls and Sailor Moon characters, among others, also told Mashable she analyzes the characters she picks first to make sure their clothes dont have elements from other religions. The 23-year-old is one of many cosplayers regular featured on the Facebook page Hijab Cosplay Gallery, which was created in 2013 and showcases cosplay looks from Muslim women. Advertisement Hafizah Rashid, 33, is another Malaysian cosplayer. She told Al Jazeera cosplayers need to understand their characters before they can try to portray them. She and her sisters regularly spend months working on their costumes and studying their characters before participating in conventions and competitions. I choose characters that don't reveal skin and hair. Because of that, most wear body armour," Rashid said. Malaysia has emerged as a particularly big star in the world of Muslim cosplay. The countrys first ever hijab-dedicated cosplay convention, Japan Otaku Matsuri, was held in April. The two-day long event took place at a mall near Kuala Lumpur, and attendees disguised their hijabs as hair and capes. Advertisement Twenty-year-old Nur Zainina Ruzana binti Zulkifli, who goes as Nuzaru when shes cosplaying, attended the convention and competed for the top prize dressed as a mix between Princess Kida from the Disneys "Atlantis" and a hooded character from the Assassins Creed video game series. She told Al Jazeera she likes to pick characters who inspire her. "I love Princess Kida because she's a really, really strong and tough independent woman. She stands up for what she believes in. And she's not really afraid of anything," she said. "I love Princess Kida because she's a really, really strong and tough independent woman. She stands up for what she believes in. And she's not really afraid of anything," Another Malaysian cosplayer and makeup artist, Saraswati, a.k.a. Queen of Luna, is also known for her hijab-wearing cosplays on Instagram, as she often portrays Disney princesses and other well-known characters. A post shared by Saraswati (@queenofluna) on Feb 24, 2016 at 12:47am PST Advertisement But the concept of Muslims participating in cosplay isnt limited to Malaysia. In February, Saudi Arabia held its first Comic Con. The event included a separate tent for women where they could take off their abayas and show off their costumes. And in England, Dania Khalil, who goes by the pseudonym Hijabi Hooligan, sparked headlines when she dressed up as Captain America, as many believed she was American and making a political statement during U.S. President Donald Trumps campaign. Advertisement I never meant it as a statement in any way, the 22-year-old said. But I feel quite strongly about my identity as a hijabi woman and my right to do what I love. And if I were American, then my right to be a citizen. So I don't mind if people see it as a message. These women are proving that cosplay is an unlimited hobby as long as youre willing to be creative. Also on HuffPost An NDP MP is pushing the federal government to recognize National Aboriginal Day as a statutory holiday. Saskatchewans Georgina Jolibois, who also serves as her partys deputy critic for indigenous affairs, tabled a private members bill Thursday inspired by a specific call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Advertisement The TRC report into the shameful history of Canadas residential school system called for a statutory holiday the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour survivors. Jolibois told HuffPost Canada in an email that she believes her bill could support the "spirit" of the TRC recommendation by encouraging Canadians to reflect on the dark chapter of their country's past. This holiday will further ensure the publics recognition of this history, legacy and the Treaty relationship which remains a vital component of the reconciliation process, Jolibois said in a statement. National Aboriginal Day, which was established in 1996, takes place every June 21 to coincide with the summer solstice. Though it is meant as a day to celebrate the heritage and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples, it wasnt until 2001 that the Northwest Territories recognized the day as a stat holiday. Yukon followed suit just this month in the first piece of legislation passed by the territorys new Liberal government. Advertisement If passed, Jolibois' bill would apply to workers in the federal public sector. "It is the private sectors prerogative to offer the day off to their employees. We cannot impose on provinces to adopt the bill if passed in the House of Commons due to jurisdictional limits," she told HuffPost. 'Significant' timing Jolibois, who is Dene, said the timing of her bill is significant for indigenous people because while everyone is celebrating Canada 150, few are recognizing the sad realities. She is the former mayor of La Loche, Sask., the remote community rocked by a mass school shooting last year. I have seen too much suffering in my riding in Northern Saskatchewan: suicides are frequent, women and girls continue to disappear and clean water is inaccessible in many communities, she said. National Aboriginal Day honours the First Peoples of the land while offering an opportunity to better understand and address the underlining shortfalls towards Indigenous communities." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marked National Aboriginal Day last June with a sunrise ceremony in Gatineau, Que., performed by First Nations elders against the backdrop of Parliament Hill. He also paddled the Ottawa River in a canoe with 12 Metis, Inuit, and First Nation youth. Advertisement Liberals have pledged to implement all 94 recommendations of the TRC report. Also on HuffPost Three anchors will replace Peter Mansbridge at the new version of CBC's flagship national news program, "The National." The incoming hosts will also report in the field, said Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor-in-chief of CBC News. However, the people who will fill the high-profile positions are still being decided. "As yet, no decisions have been made with respect to who will replace Peter and October 30th is the launch date, "said CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson in an email to HuffPost Canada on Thursday. Advertisement The newscast is currently being revamped to better reflect "the continuous digital news environment that we live in," McGuire said in May. After a career that has spanned nearly five decades, including 28 years at the helm of "The National" as anchor and chief correspondent, Mansbridge announced he would be stepping down from the newscast after the network's broadcast of Canada Day celebrations. "The National" managing editor Steve Ladurantaye was recently reassigned after what the CBC called "an inappropriate, insensitive and frankly unacceptable tweet" he made as part of a controversial debate over cultural appropriation. Advertisement Who do you think should replace Mansbridge? Post your answer in the comments. Scientists have developed a new drug that will "tan" your skin without exposing you to damaging UV rays. According to the team at Massachusetts General Hospital, the new drug leaves the same golden brown tan people get from the sun without causing damage. Advertisement Dr. David Fisher, one of the researchers, told BBC News there is evidence the drug will also work on fair-skinned redheads who typically burn in the sun. The drug, which is rubbed onto the skin, creates a chemical reaction that boosts melanin (dark pigmentation). "It has a potent darkening effect," Fisher explained. "Under the microscope it's the real melanin, it really is activating the production of pigment in a UV-independent fashion." Advertisement Fisher says the drug may even lower skin cancer risks for light-coloured people since dark skin is associated with a lower risk of all forms of skin cancer. Despite that fact, sunscreen is still recommended for everyone since dark-skinned people who develop skin cancer are more likely to die from it than white, Hispanic, or East Asian patients. Fisher says the new drug could be a great option for pale-skinned people who tend to stay fair as a result of sunscreen use as it will give them colour without exposing their skin to harmful sun damage. Also on HuffPost Canadians want action on climate change they are frustrated by the inability of Canada to develop a credible path forward. For years, governments that have mouthed platitudes about reducing greenhouse gas emissions while making no credible efforts to meet our international obligations. Year in and year out, Canada's GHG emissions continue to rise along with the lame promises from government. In fact, a recent report commissioned by Natural Resources Canada states that Canada is nowhere near able to meet even the limited objectives laid out by the Paris Accord. It is time for bold action. This is the reason I am proposing a national Carbon Budget Council to establish a clear path forward. The National Carbon Budget is a strategy that has worked very well in both England and Scotland for identifying the emission targets that must be met and the steps required to transform energy use. The Carbon Budget has worked well under Labour, Conservative and SNP governments. They have not only met their targets they have helped moved towards a renewable economy. Advertisement This kind of coherent strategy has been lacking in Canada. For the last number of years, all our attention has been focused on the flash points of whether to promote or oppose pipelines while no little discussion has been focused on what we need to achieve our international obligations and what steps will get us there. So how would a Carbon Budget Council work in Canada? The first step would be for the federal government to legislate the hard caps on emissions that are required to meet our international obligations. The Council would be established with credible independent experts tasked with the mandate to use the tools and investments necessary to work with industry, provinces and municipalities on ensuring that the cap is met. What is missing from the Canadian political discussion is that meeting our international targets isn't simply about making sacrifices, it is about making the most of real opportunities that are staring us in the face. And nowhere are those opportunities more possible than in Alberta. Advertisement Last month I was in Edmonton meeting with members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). They work in the oil sands and refineries of Alberta. They are also working to promote the incredible potential that lies in the province for the development of solar and wind technology. In Germany, the decision to switch from nuclear to wind and solar has created hundreds of thousands of jobs. And yet the best locations for solar in Germany don't come close to the potential of the big prairie sky country of central and southern Alberta. The Notley government has made record investments in renewables in their attempt to diversify Alberta's heavy reliance on oil and gas but where is the Prime Minister? With the downturn in the oil patch now is the time to begin the investments towards a diversified energy future. This transition of the prairie economy is not simply the job of Alberta or Saskatchewan. Our national economy has benefited for decades from the heavy investments and subsidizing of the oil sector. To meet our international obligations will require a major national effort working with oil producing regions like Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador. As NDP leader I will ensure that serious efforts are made to provide a diversified energy economy. To do this requires four essential tools: 1)The establishment of legislated caps on the production of GHGs. 2)The establishment of a national Carbon Budget Council. 3)The establishment of a Renewable Energy Crown Corporation with the mandate to invest in public infrastructure projects and public energy projects in partnership with provinces, territories, municipalities and First Nations. 4)Working with industry to achieve efficiencies. Advertisement So why a Renewable Energy Crown Corporation? By maintaining investment in the sector through public projects we can source materials and products from Canadian companies which will kick start the manufacturing sector in Canada. This federal investment corporation will be incentive for provinces, territories, municipalities and First Nation communities to sign on. My plan is in sharp contrast to the Wynne government's debacle of promoting private energy projects that jacked up the costs of hydro while giving no manufacturing benefit to Ontarians. Questions over new carbon infrastructure like pipelines will be assessed through their impacts on the legislated carbon limits. When I speak with leaders in the natural resources industry they recognize that the move to a low carbon future is coming. But they also understand that in a low carbon future our economy will still require steel, aluminum, copper and yes oil. I will work with industry on achieving efficiencies and energy savings. The Carbon Budget Council will provide accountability and assurance for that Canada is a serious partner in the fight against climate change. It is time to establish credible and legally binding targets and then lay out the steps towards achieving our international obligations. When our grandchildren will look back on this era and I want them to know that our generation stood up when it was necessary and took the steps needed to secure them a better world. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook He is one of the world's most wanted criminals. Twenty thousand children were abducted and one hundred thousand victims were slaughtered at the hands of his soldiers. For decades, Joseph Kony was infamous in human rights circles. But he became a household name after the short film Kony 2012 called for an international effort to bring the Ugandan warlord to justice. Kony 2012 attracted over 100 million views within six days. When the film went viral, thousands of Americans lobbied Congress. Advertisement The U.S. military was already partnered to support the Ugandan army in defeating Kony's militia. But the film brought broad public support for the mission. "This campaign was quite influential in the halls of power in Washington," confirms Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Center for Civic Media at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a recent BBC interview. Five years later, the U.S. and Ugandan militaries are calling off the hunt. Kony remains at large. As U.S. troops board planes home and Ugandan troops return to their bases, Kony 2012 becomes a footnote in social media history, with some calling it a lesson in the limitations of Internet activism. But while Kony may be free, his militia is broken and disorganized. Today it is a fractured band of about 100, although they still deploy brutal tactics as they struggle to survive. "Back in 2006, the LRA was the biggest threat in the region. We've seen a massive drop-off," says Paul Ronan, senior policy advisor with Invisible Children, the group that produced Kony 2012. Advertisement What remains are the meaningful programs that have shown real impact in the communities that still suffer wounds inflicted by Kony and his group. Invisible Children has been extremely effective reducing the LRA's numbers through its "come home" initiative, encouraging soldiers to defect, many of whom were abducted as children themselves. Radio programs feature recorded messages from soldiers' families, pleading with their loved ones to return. Pamphlets with family photos are airdropped along LRA travel routes. Eighty nine per cent of defectors from the LRA attribute their escape to these messages. Unfortunately, as our global attention span wanes, some of the most vulnerable are abandoned. "Many of the big NGOs have gone. Funding and attention has dried up," says Will Cragin, a public health expert with the World Health Organization who worked in Uganda and the Central African Republic, areas affected by the LRA. Invisible Children is one of the few organizations still working with these communities. However, Ronan reports they also face increased difficulty securing funds to maintain programs like the radio broadcasts encouraging defection, as well as psychological support programs for LRA victims and survivors. Advertisement Meanwhile, Kony is still out there, and some worry the U.S. and Ugandan military departure may herald his comeback. The African Union is pleading for international help to continue fighting the LRA. Public awareness helped squash an army. But it will take continued commitment to prevent history from repeating. Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. Cities have always been the hotbed of political innovation -- starting with the origin of democracy in ancient Greece. It is no accident that the words "city" and "citizenship" have the same origin. In medieval Europe, serfs gained their freedom from feudal bondage when they moved to a city; after living there for a year, they were free members of that community. Sanctuary cities today are doing the same thing -- at least they try. By embracing residents without federal status, sanctuary cities seek to reframe political membership from the national to the local scale. Advertisement Many of America's largest cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, are sanctuary cities. Inspired by their American counterparts, several Canadian cities have declared themselves sanctuary cities. Toronto was first in 2013 (although it struggles to implement the sanctuary-city policies), followed by Hamilton, London (Ontario), Montreal and others. Cities in Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and other countries around the world also have or are considering sanctuary policies. "Sanctuary cities" is a loose term that applies to cities refusing to cooperate with federal authorities to enforce national immigration law. In the U.S. and Canada, so-called don't-ask-don't-tell policies ban municipal service agencies from asking residents for immigration status and -- if they happen to find out anyway -- from providing this information to federal authorities. In this way, sanctuary cities aim to provide policing, health, housing and other municipal services to the residents who lack federal citizenship or immigration status. These cities are defining membership based on who lives in their urban community, and not who can be classified as worthy based on federal status. For undocumented immigrants, life in a sanctuary city is still highly precarious. Agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) continue to operate within city limits and detain and deport undocumented immigrants. The American Immigration Council therefore warns that the "term 'sanctuary city' is a misnomer," creating a false sense of protection from detention and deportation. Rather than providing sanctuary, these cities only help make life without papers tolerable. The city, not the nation, is the scale that defines community. Sanctuary cities, however, are more than a series of flawed municipal laws and administrative directives. They represent an opportunity to strengthen communities, foster democratic participation, and reframe political organization. Advertisement Donald Trump's attempt to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities was met with fierce defiance from city mayors before it was blocked by a federal judge. "We're going to defend all of our people regardless of where they come from, regardless of their immigration status," proclaimed New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio. Meanwhile, a recent Texan law that effectively prohibit sanctuary-city policies is publicly opposed by police chiefs from the largest Texan cities, who argue that this law will make "communities more dangerous." The 2006 immigrant marches against the Sensenbrenner Bill that brought out 100,000 people in Chicago and more than 500,000 in Los Angeles showed that undocumented people are a powerful political urban force. The only reason they are not permitted to participate in municipal elections is -- again -- their lack of national citizenship. Undocumented immigrants are claiming rights because they are making vital contributions to our urban communities: they are the workers that make our cities function; they are volunteering in community forums and organizing school meetings; and they contribute in many other ways to the public and civic life of our cities. Which brings me to the issue of scale. The city, not the nation, is the scale that defines community. More than three decades ago, the international scholar Benedict Anderson observed that national communities are "imagined" because they are too large for people to personally know and interact with each other. In the city, however, people intermingle everyday while they are shopping, commuting on the subway or bus, working in the office, visiting the ball park, or enjoying their children's school concerts. Correspondingly, political communities should also be primarily organized at the municipal scale. Urban membership should outrank national citizenship. Advertisement Cities are proving to be the last bastion of safety for the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free." This is what sanctuary cities are trying to achieve: they imagine the city as a democratic space where everyone is included and can politically participate. Sanctuary cities refuse to label some residents deserving and others unwanted because of federal status. All residents -- independent of national status -- belong in the city. The current fight in the U.S. over sanctuary city policies reflects a wider struggle over democracy and political inclusion, with cities mitigating the effects of failing national policies. When national leaders such as Donald Trump are challenging the core values of democracy, sanctuary cities are stepping in to defend the principles of liberty and inclusion at the local scale. Cities are proving to be the last bastion of safety for the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: Support by the federal government of a shield law for journalists is certainly welcomed. In fact, it is long overdue in this country. The move will bring Canada in line with other democracies such as the United States and Britain. Journalists, whose work is essential to a functioning democracy, need to be able to do their jobs without fear of facing prosecution. Advertisement The Journalistic Sources Protection Act, S-231, would help journalists protect their confidential sources by making it tougher for police to spy on journalists or seize documents that could reveal their sources. Conservative Senator Claude Carignan introduced the bill in the Senate last November after news broke that Montreal police had spied on 10 journalists in Quebec through their phones to determine who their sources were for a number of scandal-related stories. In a rare move, the governing Liberals have indicated they will throw their support behind the private member's bill, with a few minor amendments that Carignan has agreed to. Such laws are needed because when a journalist digs out a piece of information that the rich and the powerful would prefer never saw the light of day, we all benefit. Independent reporting can help us better understand our communities and our world, and make more informed decisions at the ballot box. VICE Canada reporter Ben Makuch is before the courts after he wrote about a Canadian who fought for ISIS. Makuch communicated with the fighter through a chat app, trying to understand his motivations and how he was recruited. Advertisement As disturbing as such stories are, this kind of reporting is vital to broadening awareness and our collective consciousness and it can help the effort to prevent other young men and women from being drawn to such radical ideas. Makuch and VICE are now in court fighting police attempts to seize the chats used for the story to track down the person Makuch was talking to. To many, that's an understandable desire by police. But for Makuch, it means revealing a source. If sources think that their identities will not be kept safe by a journalist, they will be less likely to talk to reporters -- and that will mean fewer crucial stories being uncovered and provided to the public. We all suffer when that happens. Our democracy suffers. Even when a source refuses to attach his or her name for a story, the reporter still does. Their names at the top of the story, along with the outlet they work for, are their signal that the source is reliable and can be trusted. Reporters rarely use unnamed sources, but when they do, it's only when the story cannot be told any other way and the story is important enough to the public interest. As part of its transparency project, the Toronto Star recently outlined such strict criteria for unnamed sources. Advertisement A shield law for journalists in this country is a welcomed first step. But all the protections to help journalists do their job are weakened if the outlets they work for are unable to survive the turmoil in the industry today. Media outlets of all types are in fights for attention and existence as the Internet continues its severe disruption of the industry. At one time, ads printed in newspapers and magazines or broadcast over the airwaves paid for the work done by the journalists. Today, that funding model is falling apart as Google and Facebook claim the ads that once paid for quality print and broadcast journalism. For that reason, while the federal government's plan to bring in a shield law for journalists in this country is a welcomed first step, much more needs to be done. Advertisement The federal Heritage Committee is due to release its report into the state of the media industry and the future of Canadian Content rules in the digital age. The report is expected to provide some ideas for guiding the Canadian media sector through the turbulent years ahead, and comes on the heels of the Shattered Mirror report this past January into the challenges facing the industry. In the weeks and months ahead, including at the Unifor Media Council meeting of journalists and media members from across Canada next week, our union will be taking an active role in finding real solutions to help our vital media sector survive and set a solid foundation for the future. A shield law will help journalist do their important work, but we also need to safeguard the survival of the outlets and the workers to get stories out to the public. The Canadian government needs to ensure both priorities are given the attention needed. Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook SharafMaksumov via Getty Images Ramadan fasting - dates for iftar in bowl on wooden table In a violent world where cruelty and suffering abound, Canada's Muslims are observing the holy month of Ramadan with deep gratitude but also sadness. Their sorrow emerges from the ongoing suffering of innocent people in places like Syria, Myanmar (Burma), Palestine, Afghanistan and Yemen, among the most tragic examples, and also from the death and injuries of innocent people in London, Manchester and other places at the hands of terrorists who kill and maim, violating the teachings of what they call their own faith, Islam. Advertisement Their gratitude springs from the fact that they live in arguably the world's best country. They enjoy freedoms of religion and expression, democratic rights, the rule of law, the support of fellow Canadians and all levels of government, security and opportunities. Canada offers excellent education and medical systems, economic opportunities and a social services network that includes old-age security as well as assistance for those without jobs or with poor health. While Canada is far from perfect -- as its indigenous people will testify -- it remains on the whole a model country. It provides a home to refugees and makes no distinction based on gender, religion or ethnicity. While Canadians accept and respect each other, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seeking to make all Canadians, from the indigenous people to the recent refugees from Syria, feel that Canada is their country and is enriched by their contributions. Trudeau welcomed Ramadan with a message that said in part: Ramadan is "a time of community, when Muslims gather with family and friends to pray and share iftar, the evening meal. For all of us, Ramadan is a reminder to appreciate the many gifts we are given, and to give generously to others, in our communities and around the world. Advertisement "This year, as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation, let us take the opportunity to honour the many cultures, traditions, and beliefs that make Canada such a wonderful place to live. Muslim Canadians help make Canada the strong, diverse, and inclusive country it is today." The prime minister hosted an iftar, with Muslim Members of Parliament as the chief guests. Muslims number some 1.5 million among Canada's 35 million people. The federal cabinet includes two Muslims, one a woman, the other a former Somali refugee who is now minister of immigration. This year, for the first time, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario hosted a Ramadan iftar in Toronto. Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowsdeswell stated: "May thoughtful and peaceful engagement be our gift to the future and our legacy to the world." She stated: "Despite the progress many have made, we must not shy away from examining the low points of our history and of our current situation... When a survey finds that an epidemic of Islamophobia exists in Ontario, as one did just last July, when the Mayor of Brampton feels the need to speak out against hateful speech at school and about prayer, as she did in March, when an Imam in Mississauga receives a death threat as Ibrahim Hindy did just last month -- this is prejudice and it is shameful." "Any attack on Muslim Canadians is an attack on all Canadians for Islam has a proud history as one of Canada's major religions," she said. Advertisement Canada Post last month issued its first Eid stamps as part of celebrating Canada's faiths and cultures. Later this year stamps for the Jewish Hanukkah and the Hindu Diwali will be unveiled along with the traditional Christmas stamps. Canadian Muslims are contributing to their country individually and as a community. They are working with Canadians of other faiths to serve all Canadians by helping institutions such as hospitals and universities. When I came to Canada, there was no mosque in the capital and no imam. Muslims prayed at a church that welcomed them. They built a mosque next door and their relations with the churchgoers were so cordial that when the church was put up for sale, the congregation sold it to a Muslim organization rather than to developers or other clients. Now Ottawa has a dozen imams and mosques with more to be built as the community grows. This year eight organizations are providing free daily iftars -- the Ottawa Muslim Association, Islam Care, Assunah Muslim Association, Centre Islamique de l'Outaouais, Sanad Collective, Turkish Association of Canada, the University of Ottawa Muslim Students Association and Carleton University Muslim Students Association. Advertisement For four years, the Shia Abudhar Ghaffari mosque has arranged an iftar-dinner where they invite Sunnis and pray behind a Sunni imam. For two years the Ottawa Muslim Association has hosted an iftar-dinner with Shias and Shia imams as guests. Several Muslims and Muslim organizations are working with people of different faiths to help fellow Canadians and the needy around the world. Canadian Muslims have much to be thankful for and they are doing so fervently in this blessed month. In his mandate letter to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau included the creation of an Office of the Community Outreach and Counter-Radicalization Coordinator. In the 2016 federal budget, the Liberal government pledged to spend $35 million over five years to set up such an office. So far, the Liberal government hasn't made any official announcement about the office, although Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale hinted to some news outlets that the so-called office would focus on "radicalization to violence of all kinds," as opposed to the previous Conservative government's strategy of exclusively targeting Muslim Canadians. Advertisement According to some media reports, it seems that the Canadian government's counter-radicalization model gets its inspiration from what the British government has already implemented in recent years: the Prevent strategy, a program that proved to be a failure at many levels and by all standards. Two NGOs, the U.S.-based Open Society Justice Initiative and Rights Watch U.K., studied Prevent and its sister program, named Channel, and found in 2016 major flaws with them both. One of the main criticisms is that these programs are based on profiling and targeting Muslims, particularly in schools, in kindergartens and in health institutions. But most importantly, there is a lack of consensus among academic experts that these counter-radicalization programs are scientifically reliable. The notion of certain "indicators" identified as risk factors that would draw individuals to terrorism has been discredited by many scholars: "Indeed, the claim that non-violent extremism -- including 'radical' or religious ideology -- is the precursor to terrorism has been widely discredited by the British government itself, as well as numerous reputable scholars." The narrative that "Muslim youth are attracted to violence and Jihad" remains very widespread. The creation of such a program relies on several false premises. It wrongly assumes that Muslim youth are prone to espouse violent ideologies or perpetrate violent crimes more than their peers. Recently, Statistics Canada released the disturbing figures about hate crimes in Canada that happened in 2015. In summary, the new figures convey to us two main points: Advertisement That Muslims communities are among the groups that saw the highest increase of hate crimes perpetrated against them. That the perpetrators of these heinous acts are young men between the age of 18 and 24. These figures are not surprising to say the least. Many grassroots groups have in the last couple of years shown and documented the rise of Islamophobic acts. Simultaneously, academics brought attention to the rise of violent right-wing extremist and racist groups in Canada. Neither the provincial or federal governments took these indicators or studies seriously and never acted upon them to present new legislation to fight this phenomenon. The narrative that "Muslim youth are attracted to violence and Jihad" remains very widespread. Meanwhile, groups like Pegida, La Meute, Soldiers of Odin and the Jewish Defense League, to name only a few, are thriving and gaining in popularity and seeing their membership increase. Their protests are also becoming more public and more provocative. Up until today, an investigative piece reported about a new violent anti-Muslim group -- III%, or the "three per cent," -- which claims that they are heavily armed and ready to wage a war on Canadian soil. After the attack on the Quebec City Mosque, last January 2017 and the assassination of six Muslim men, federal, provincial and local politicians denounced the attacks and said some comforting words to the Muslim communities across the country. Nevertheless, no concrete action was taken to tackle Islamophobia. No extra funding (of very little) was given to schools to fight Islamophobia through education programs. No new measures were adopted by local police to make arrests and ensure that prosecutions of hate crimes are successful. Advertisement The only concrete initiative that was undertaken was the introduction of motion,M-103 in the Parliament by Liberal Member of Parliament Iqra Khalid. One of the purposes of the motion was to "study how the government could develop a government-wide approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia, and collect data to provide context for hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities." The motion was never intended to be a piece of legislation, but simply a proposal to draw attention about an increasing phenomenon. The media and political backlash that ensued after this initiative couldn't be justified by the real impact this motion proposed to have. Indeed, it created a huge controversy among politicians; some of them hid behind the classic pretext that the use of the word "Islamophobia" would mean the end of freedom of expression and free speech, and the destruction of our democracy and liberal values. There has never been a public debate about the root causes of terrorism in Canada. In 2014, when two Muslim individuals attacked and killed two Canadians Forces members, one in Saint-Jean in Quebec and the other near the Parliament Hill in Ottawa, then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced Bill C-51, which became the Anti Terrorism Act 2015 -- one of the most intrusive pieces of legislation threatening the civil liberties of all Canadians. It was widely denounced by several law professors, former judges and human rights activists. Some of the politicians who last February vehemently opposed M-103 voted in 2015 for Bill C-51 and weren't that concerned about the real impact the legislation had on the freedom of expression and civil liberties. Moreover, there has never been a public debate about the root causes of terrorism in Canada. Citing Canada's successive military missions in the Middle East -- Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria -- as one of the reasons that push some young Canadians to join violent groups is practically taboo. Linking these attacks to mental-health issues, drug addictions or social and economical marginalization are brushed off as legitimization of violence. Rather, the general public is made to believe that these violent acts are solely explained by the faith and religious beliefs of the perpetrators, which happened to be Islam. This reductionist approach to define, tackle and explain terrorism continues to justify the creation of a $35-million public office. Rather, the money could have been spent on development of education programs in schools to fight hate, on special training for law enforcement forces to understand racial profiling and on NGOs that offer mental and economic support to marginalized youth. Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: PeopleImages via Getty Images Multiple exposure shot of colleagues working in a modern office superimposed over a city background Wednesday, in a ceremony at the United Nations' International Labour Organization (ILO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Canada finally joined 164 other countries in ratifying the ILO's Convention 98, a commitment to workers' right to organise and collective bargaining. As Canada's Minister of Labour, I deposited the instrument of ratification, in the presence of representatives from both Canadian employers and Canadian unions. It was a proud moment for our government, which, under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was elected on a commitment to restore fairness and balance to labour relations in this country. Advertisement When I was sworn in as Minister on January 10, I brought to my new role the kind of lived experience that allowed me to carry out my work with a first-hand understanding of the value of healthy labour relations in a workplace. Before I entered politics, I was running the largest homeless shelter in Northwestern Ontario. It's a unionized workplace, and as its Executive Director I oversaw a staff whose union advocated for them about wages, hours, conditions, and other issues. And together we worked on our common goals of excellence in service and a safe, fair workplace. I carry that experience with me every day as a Member of Parliament and as Minister of Labour. It reminds me that unions are fundamentally about people. The "labour movement" is about people who work in Canada, and who deserve to work in fair, safe spaces and earn a decent living. And when employees thrive, so do their employers. We know that healthy labour relations directly contribute to economic growth. Independent institutions like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have concluded that lower rates of unionization result in stagnating incomes, particularly in the middle class, leading to direct impacts on the growth of our economy and on inequality. When our government talks about building a strong middle class, we're talking about ensuring that people can count on good quality jobs and the ability to make a living and support their families. Unions are critical to helping achieve that goal. Advertisement This is one of the reasons I was so proud to be a part of our new Liberal government on the day last year when we introduced Bill C-4, which restores fairness and balance to the tri-partite relationship between government, employers and workers--a balance that had been upended by the previous Conservative government. That balance matters, and it's why our government shows faith in, and respect for, the collective bargaining process during collective negotiations and disputes. Now, with the long-overdue ratification of Convention 98, Canada is also sending a clear message to our friends and allies about the value of labour standards and good employment conditions for workers around the globe. By ratifying Convention 98, Canada is now signatory to all eight of the ILO's Fundamental Conventions. The International Labour Organization was established as an agency of the United Nations in 1919 to set labour standards and promote decent work for all women and men. Its Conventions are legally binding international treaties. In addition to Convention 98, which represents a commitment to protect the right to collective bargaining, the remaining core Conventions address freedom of association, forced labour, child labour, equal pay and discrimination. Standing up for healthy labour relations, not just here at home but on the world stage, affirms Canada's commitment to global diversity, openness and inclusion. As our Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland declared last week, Canada's support of the middle class, and those working hard to join it, is defining an approach to globalization that can be a model. Multilateralism and collaboration are key to the challenges we are facing. From Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Geneva, Switzerland, the ratification of Convention 98 is another step forward, with our allies, to building prosperity at home and abroad. Advertisement For anyone who loves to travel solo, it's no surprise that it's becoming more and more popular - more holidays without single supplements, more exclusively for solo travellers, more variety, more exotic destinations. But this summer, the trend is hotter than ever with Cheapflights reporting an 18% rise among flights searches for solo travellers so far this year, in particular to long-haul destinations. So where to choose? These are my top destinations for solo travellers. Advertisement Myanmar (Burma) South East Asia has been on solo travel itineraries for decades - and with searches for Bangkok up 57%, it shows we're not losing our taste for Thailand. With Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos also popular and the Philippines also rising up the lists, there's plenty of choice. But if you haven't yet found your way to Myanmar, I'd make this top of your list. More tour operators are travelling to the country than ever, so if you'd rather join a small group tour you'll be spoiled for choice. And while tourism is developing there, it's still far less commercialised than some of its neighbours - for now. Throw in ancient temples, traditional villages, beautiful scenery and some stunning Indian Ocean beaches, and there's something for everyone. Advertisement Lisbon City breaks are another great option for solo travellers, and with budget airlines galore going to Europe the trickiest part is where to pick. While Paris and Barcelona are both still popular, it's Lisbon which tops the search list though - and for good reason. With its spectacular Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology opening last year, helping kickstart the regeneration of this part of the waterfront, and buzzing nightlife on Pink Street, aka Cais do Sodre, it's worth a return visit if you've been before. Plus there's the historic Alfama and nearby Belem, the palaces at Sintra and the beach at Cascais, not to mention those pasteis de nata custard tarts. Snap up some cheap accommodation by choosing a university room during holiday time or look at one of the chic hostels which the city specialises in. Canada With celebrations for the country's 150th birthday taking place throughout the year, it's the perfect time to discover some of Canada's big attractions. Advertisement With no real language barriers and good infrastructure for exploring, it's ideal if you're new to solo travel too, along with more to see than you could fit into a single trip. As well as the urban style of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, you could explore the wild open spaces - choose between self-drive trips and group tours if you'd rather not venture off alone - plus great nature-watching options including the chance to spot grizzly bears. As a final bonus, all the national parks currently have free entry. Sri Lanka For such a relatively small island, there is plenty to discover in Sri Lanka - glorious Indian Ocean beaches in the south, plenty home to hotels with no single supplement, as well as fascinating wildlife, and history and culture galore. Advertisement You can also find solos-only group tours, or small groups with no single supplement plus private tours for solo travellers if you want to explore widely. Discover the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, along with the rock palace of Sigiriya, cave temples of Dambulla and colonial tea plantations, before spotting elephants, leopards and whales - one place where you could see the world's largest land mammal and the largest marine mammal in one trip. Cathy Winston is editor of 101 Singles Holidays Oli Scarff via Getty Images What would you most like to see changed in the UK by 2030? Unicef UK put this question to young people ahead of the launch of a new report putting under the microscope how children are faring in 41 high-income countries, including the UK. The answers we received back were varied. "A renewed investment in environmental issues and a commitment to clean energy - young people are the ones who will inherit the planet and at the moment older generations are destroying it." Advertisement Another commented: "Wider access to mental health resources, more quality jobs and focus on alternative career paths." But why 2030? The answer is the little known, but vitally important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs offer an ambitious blueprint for a more equitable and sustainable world, in which no one is left behind. Agreed in 2015, they differ from the Millennium Development Goals that preceded them as they apply to all countries - both rich and poor. Unicef's new Report Card: "Building the Future: Children and the Sustainable Development Goals in Rich Countries" is the first report to look at children's well-being in 41 high-income countries in relation to the SDGs. It focuses on 10 of the 19 goals judged as most relevant to children's prospects and development, such as ensuring health and well-being, achieving gender equality and reducing poverty. So how do high income countries do? The results are mixed. The league table reads well for those countries that frequently appear at the top of recent comparisons of human and child development - such as the Nordic countries. But no country or group of countries does consistently well and there are goals in which all need to do better for children. For example, adolescent mental health is a cause for concern in a majority of countries and rates of obesity are climbing in all but a few countries. On average, around one in five children in rich countries lives in poverty and around one in 13 young people are not in employment, education or training - with much larger proportions inactive in southern Europe and Latin America. Advertisement The UK played a leading political role in ensuring the SDGs prioritised the needs of children, and has been one of the global champions of the new framework. So how do we perform? On the SDG's health goal, the report shows that the UK has seen a reduction in neonatal mortality rates, and falls in teenage pregnancy and underage drinking - the latter which has been cut by half. However it has worrying rates of poor mental health, with one in five children reporting two or more psychological symptoms once a week. Other indicators reveal entrenched socio-economic challenges. One in five children in the UK live in relative income poverty and, using a self-reported measure, one in five children are estimated to live in households that are food insecure. In addition, the UK faces comparably high rates of young people not in education, employment or training. So what should the Government do? The UK was at the heart of efforts to get the SDGs agreed in 2015 and UK's Office for National Statistics has been involved in developing the global level indicators for monitoring progress as part of its former role as chair of the UN Statistical Commission. It must now redouble efforts to translate these Goals into tangible changes in the lives of children in the UK. To do this, the new Government needs to outline a clear strategy on how the UK will implement the SDGs, identifying clear department leads for each goal and relevant existing data sets and indicators. The UK should also cement its commitment to the Goals both at home and overseas by reporting its progress to the High Level Political Forum on the Goals in 2018, with the view to submitting at least three voluntary national SDG reviews by 2030 to create and sustain momentum for change. Of course, the SDGs don't just apply to children in the UK. Delivering on the SDGs could be a 'hallmark' of a Global Britain. Worldwide, hundreds of millions of children remain trapped in grinding poverty. The SDGs provide a guiding force for UK aid, challenging us to be good global citizens and ensure 'no one is left behind'. Advertisement Chris J Ratcliffe via Getty Images From the reactions to the General Election on Friday morning, you'd think Labour had won. Unbelievably, several prominent Labour politicians, including the main loser himself, Jeremy Corbyn, suggested they had. In interviews he called it an "incredible result" and said it was "pretty clear who won the election". "We've changed the face of British politics," he said. It's time for his critics within the Labour Party to make themselves heard. As I discussed in my previous piece, Corbyn doesn't seem to have a very good sense of history. If he did, he might not have forced his old-school socialism on the Labour Party. In fact, if he had a better sense of history, he might not have formed those political views to begin with. And if he had a better sense of history, he might show more humility than he recently has, since both James Callaghan and Neil Kinnock managed to take more seats than he did, and both had the grace and self-awareness to admit defeat and resign. Advertisement The childish I-told-you-so attitude Corbyn has shown since the results came in on Friday only proves further that he is completely inappropriate for the party and completely incompetent as a leader. He believes that his leadership has been vindicated when any half-decent Labour leader would have ground Theresa May into dust and taken the keys to Number 10. Corbyn had his best-ever chance to win against a failed Prime Minister with zero charisma and a Conservative Party in a perpetual state of civil war and he still blew it. I've worked in the media for two decades, and even I don't know how you can spin that as a "win". But we shouldn't be surprised. The delusional thinking of Corbyn and his Corbynistas is par for the course. They sneer at the state of American politics, but it's just as ridiculous to call a loss a win as it is to claim that your inauguration as president was well-attended when it wasn't. More ridiculous, in fact, and Donald Trump is almost known for being ridiculous. Since Friday, many of Corbyn's most outspoken critics have gone eerily quiet. Maybe they've been tricked into thinking that the Corbyn "surge" represents a success. Or maybe they fear reprisal from the emboldened Corbynistas. Either way, they need to recover their voice and they need to do it fast. The battle for the Labour leadership isn't over. Dan Kitwood via Getty Images The flames hadn't even been extinguished from Grenfell Tower before people started screaming that no one should "politicise" this tragedy. As I type this, though, at least 12 people are dead, and authorities expect that number to drastically climb. Most of those who perished, or who lost everything in the flames, were Black and Minority Ethnic people, and they were all poor (the nature of living on a council estate). We are talking about some of the most marginalised and oppressed people in our society dying in a hellish inferno, so the very nature of the discourse around what happened at Grenfell Tower is innately political whether we want it to be or not. The fact is, Grenfell Tower - from the residents' years of documented complaints about safety to the fact is lies in the richest borough in London - is a stark reminder of whose voices get listened to in modern Britain, whose don't, and that this dichotomy can have deadly consequences. Advertisement We don't yet know what caused the fire. But what we do know is that tenants had for years being raising concerns about how the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) - to which the local council had delegated management of the tower - were cutting corners on safety and refusing to listen to tenant concerns. They did, however, just complete a 10million regeneration project to improve the aesthetic of the building. Planning documents note this was, in part, done to improve the view from surrounding conservation areas and luxury tower blocks. This refurbishment included adding a material to the exterior of the building which may have allowed the blaze to quickly spread throughout the tower instead of being contained to the flat in which it originated, as was supposed to happen. Despite this, resident concerns about smoke coming from electrical appliances and outlets, the state of fire escapes, and the elimination of a car park - which slowed emergency response vehicles getting to the tower - were ignored in the regeneration. Rather than catering to the actual needs of residents, KCTMO focused on improving the tower block for those who lived around, not in it - who just so happened to be largely white and wealthy individuals. It's clear who had the power and privilege here, and it wasn't the tenants. What happened at Grenfell Tower is part of a larger issue of structural inequality in general, and housing in particular, in which the poor (who are often, though not always, BME) are pushed out of quality housing in favour of regenerating the city for affluent and largely white renters and buyers. Advertisement Earlier this year, the Conservative Party voted down a bill that would have required to make landlords provide liveable housing, and it's easy to understand why. By the Guardian's reckoning, 39% of Tory MPs were landlords, with nearly a quarter of MPs across all parties owning rental properties. There's very clearly a disincentive for MPs to vote in favour of this. Meanwhile, Right-to-Buy has allowed the number of council flats to fall to an all-time low and failed to replace them with adequate social housing. Throughout the capital, from Westminster to Walthamstow, poor people are being pushed to the fringes of Zone 8 and having their very real concerns about safety and quality ignored in favour if profit for buy-to-let landlords and a Tory government that wants to see social housing privatised. In the case of Grenfell Tower, we can't ignore the presence of so many poor BME people. We must look at structural inequalities that allowed this tragedy to occur. We don't talk a lot about the intersection of race and poverty in Britain, in part because the British class structure is so entrenched. There are, after all, loads of poor white people too. But studies have shown that whilst 20% of white people are low income, this number increases for ethnic minorities. Across the board, BME people are twice as likely to be low income than white people. Kensington and Chelsea is 71% white. It has a higher proportion of high earners than anywhere else in the country. More people work in banking there than anywhere else in Britain, whilst fewer people work in retail than anywhere else. The poor and BME community in Kensington and Chelsea, including those in Grenfell Tower, simply aren't the core constituency of the local council and, evidence suggests, KCTMO - who should have been putting their interest above everyone else's but clearly were not. In the last parliament only 6% of MPs and peers were BME, compared to 13% of the country. This increased to one in 13 in this parliament, but the educational disparity between MPs is still stark - 45% of Tory MPs were privately educated, and a whopping 86% of MPs are university graduates - numbers far higher than the national average. Advertisement The residents of Grenfell Tower didn't have much of a voice in Parliament, and they don't have much of a voice in the local council. Yet they were trying desperately to make their voices heard. It's why, according to Rachel Obordo - who grew up in Ladbroke Grove, where Grenfell Tower is - the constituency flipped to Labour for the first time in history, by a margin of only 20 votes. The borough's low-income residents were fed up with being ignored, and they made their voices heard. Obordo writes of a stark contrast between leafy South Kensington and more impoverished North Kensington, with everything from overcrowding to public services such as rubbish collection being better for the affluent South than the North. It seems that the local council, and the management company it employed to oversee Grenfell Tower, also cared more about the wealthy Sloanes of South Kensington than it did the impoverished BME people to the north. And now untold numbers of them are dead because of it. We have more newsletters Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Get the latest Rugby League updates, direct to your inbox City councillors have voted unanimously to give Bee Lady Jean Bishop the freedom of Hull. Mrs Bishop, who celebrated her 95th birthday earlier this year, will receive the highest honour the council can bestow at a ceremony in September or October. Today's full council vote supported a nomination by the authority's civic committee to nominate Mrs Bishop as a Freeman of the City of Kingston upon Hull. She will join a select group of individuals who have been given the honour in recent years. They include former Deputy Prime Minister and Hull East MP John Prescott, rugby league legends John Whiteley and Colin Hutton and respected Hull University academics Lord Norton and Lord Parekh. The title of Honorary Freeman is purely ceremonial and comes with no special powers. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news Brexit could put more pressure on ports at Hull and Goole because of the increased checks needed on food imports. The chief port health inspector for Hull and Goole says more staff could be needed to check food imports into the UK after the UK leaves the EU. Around 3.7 million tonnes of food products are imported through the Humber ports every year. That equates to 11 per cent of the UKs total imported food and drink. Most food imports being shipped into the estuary comes from the European Union. At the moment, EU legislation allows the free movement of imported food consignment between member states. But with the UK set to leave the EU, new entry controls similar to those currently applied to non-EU food imports could form part of any final Brexit deal. Laurence Dettman, chief port health inspector for Hull and Goole, said such a move would require a significant increase in staff to cope. He said: Before the UK entered the EU, all foodstuffs entering the UK through our ports were subject to our controls under various UK imported food regulations which required a much larger port health presence to prevent the import of unsound or unfit products. However, over the last 40 years inside the EU our resources have dramatically reduced, mainly because of the free circulation issue. If we are going to turn the clocks back 40 years ands revert back to a pre-EU regime requiring checks and inspections of a vastly increased number of imported food consignments, including food of EU origin, we are going to need more staff to carry out that work. The Hull and Goole Port Health Authority currently employs just four health inspectors and one technical officer. Mr Dettman estimated that number would need to least double if control checks on EU food imports were revived. He has written to the regions MPs and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs over concerns raised over the issue by port authority members. We are all waiting to see what comes out of the Brexit negotiations. At this stage, no-one knows what will happen but the implications of the authority are potentially very large. EU food imports currently handled in Hull include frozen and chilled meat and fish as well as fresh and dried fruit. The port also handles significant quantities of non-EU sugar and palm oil used by the food processing sector. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news He is one of the best known figures in world politics and now Kofi Annan will be heading to Hull later this year. The Ghanaian diplomat was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006 and is the founder of the Kofi Annan Foundation. He will visit Hull to deliver the Wilberforce Lecture in September as part of the Freedom Festival. Councillor Andy Dorton, chairman of the Wilberforce Lecture Trust, said: We are delighted to welcome Mr Annan to Hull. He is a prominent figure and the Kofi Annan Foundation seeks to mobilise political will to overcome threats to peace, development and human rights. "His experience in this important global issue and the messages Mr Annan will share at the lecture will no doubt resonate strongly with the purpose of the Wilberforce Lecture Trust and what we are trying to accomplish. Mr Annans visit coincides with the Freedom Festival which celebrates through artistic and cultural expression, Hulls independent spirit and historic contribution to the cause of Freedom. Former Hull East MP Lord Prescott, who has worked with Mr Annan on various global issues, invited him to Hull. He said: I am looking forward to welcoming Mr Annan to Hull. His experience with children and young people in conflict areas is world renowned and he will be able to give a valuable insight into his experiences. Mr Annan will deliver his lecture at Hull City Hall on Saturday, September 2. Tickets will be released on Friday, June 23 via the Freedom Festival website. Tickets are free and must be booked in advance. During his visit Mr Annan will also attend the opening event of the Freedom Festival, meet with the Hull Youth Parliament and visit the Ferens Art Gallery and Wilberforce House. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up for our free newsletter for crime and punishment stories sent straight to your inbox An East Yorkshire landlord has been ordered to pay almost 15,000 after he admitted failing to comply with fire safety requirements. Bernard Cartwright, from Goole, also pleaded guilty to not registering five of his properties in multiple occupation (HMO), at Beverley Magistrates Court earlier this month. The prosecutions related to HMOs in Percy Street, Alexandra Street and Sutton Street in Goole. During inspection visits, officers also found up to six unrelated tenants living in each house. Fire protection measures at the properties were inadequate as there were no fire doors, inadequate or missing smoke detectors and no fire blankets. Cartwright, 67, admitted a total of 12 offences, including failing to license a HMO for each of the properties, failing to take all such measures that were reasonably required in order to protect the occupiers from injury as well as offences of failing to comply with improvement notices issued in January 2017. (Image: Rob Stebbing) He was prosecuted alongside London-based lettings agency Easy London Accommodation Ltd, who pleaded guilty to 10 similar offences. Chris Dunnachie, private sector housing and safety manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "We are determined to ensure that tenants are protected and those who have control of houses in multiple occupation comply with the law and licence their properties where necessary. "The licensing schemes are there to ensure that the highest risk houses in terms of fire safety and amenities meet the expected standards and provide safe accommodation for tenants. "The penalties for those who flout the law are very serious and we hope that this case acts as a warning to landlords that they must take their responsibilities seriously or face the consequences." Cartwright was fined 10,800, and ordered to pay costs of 3,687.55 and a victim surcharge of 90. Easy London Accommodation were fined 9,000, given costs of 3,867.55 and a victim surcharge of 90. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news A dad-of-five who claimed a 'jihadi knifewoman' had terrorised him and his children in an east Hull street has been punished by police. Barry Oxendale, 38, caused widespread panic when he told his now ex-partner that a "crazy woman all in black" was running down Westcott Street with a knife in her hand shouting "this is for jihadi". He then claimed police arrived, tasered the woman and threw her into the back of the van - but this has now been revealed as false. He has now been given a penalty notice for disorder for causing the wasteful employment of police after a team of officers were deployed to Westcott Street to investigate. Mr Oxendale, who was picking his children up from a nursery in east Hull at the time of the alleged incident, told his ex-girlfriend Sarah Barnett, 30, about what happened. Terrified, she then posted his story on Facebook, which was then shared hundreds of times. She said: "I was panicking and I wanted to speak to my daughter to make she was alright. I didn't even know if anything happened". Miss Barnett claims she received over 70 threatening messages on Facebook following the post, which was later deleted. After becoming angered by her boyfriend's deceit, she has now ended their relationship. She said: "I wish people would see things from my point of view. I wrote a status the other day that I was sorry and I just wrote what he had told me. "I meant no harm to anybody and I would never dream of writing what I wrote unless I thought it was true." Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now Miss Barnett says she ended the relationship after checking his phone log and realising he could not have been anywhere near Westcott Street at the time he called the police. "He said he was near the flats at the bottom of Westcott Street but according to his phone log he can't have been," she said. "I can't put into words how angry I am but I've just ended a five-and-a-half year relationship over it - I think that sums up how angry I am about it all." Mr Oxendale's false allegations came on a day when Hull was already on high alert after a school was placed on lockdown following reports of an armed intruder on the grounds and three more were evacuated after hoax bomb scares. Hull Mosque leader Imam Hafiz Salik has criticised Mr Oxendale's behaviour and branded his actions as 'dangerous'. "I really condemn this," he said. "I feel like lying itself is a crime so he should be dealt with according to the law. "Lying about anything and spreading fear to the community should not be allowed. "I feel that it's dangerous and should be stopped. I've never heard of anything like what that man was describing happening in Hull." His son, Ateeq Salik, added Mr Oxendale's behaviour is not representative of Hull as he urged people to come together following recent terror attacks in London and Manchester. The 28-year-old said: "We forgive him for any mistakes he has made and we invite him to come to the Mosque and learn about Islam's position on the sanctity of human life and hopefully he will change his view and not do that again. "I believe in the people of Hull. I've lived here for over 20 years and I believe this is not representative of the people of Hull. "It's a testing time in this city and in the UK, and people carry out terror attacks to drive communities apart but the biggest thing we can do is upset their aims by uniting together as a community." Mr Salik also wanted people to be more cautious about sharing something on social media which has not been verified as true by the police. He said: "People can become emotionally charged and that can be excused to some extent but it is dangerous if you are not 100 per cent sure. "Just double check before you post it online because it can spread like wildfire and sometimes they might be true but you can cause harm to members of a particular community. "We need to highlight and report issues that take place but be extra wary about sharing information that is not true." Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news A senior Hull councillor say he is being subjected to a daily torrent of abuse from "rather sad" Internet trolls. Councillor Martin Mancey says a lot of the abuse is in response to policies designed to tackle Hull's congestion. He said: "I get a lot of abuse, on a daily basis, from some rather sad people who are not prepared to listen to reasoned argument. "I try to rise above the abuse, but as a professional highways engineer of more than 40 years, and with more qualifications in this area than anyone else in this city, I find it irritating when people go onto social media and accuse me of not having a clue about what I'm talking about." Cllr Mancey, who was the highways manager for two London boroughs before arriving in Hull in 1993, gave examples of other abuse levelled at him. "They will say things like, 'Get rid of this idiot', and 'Let's hope he's not about much longer'. There's no need." Cllr Mancey said abuse followed the implementation of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to enforce bus lanes. "There is a motoring lobby that has the view that the rights of motorists should override the rights of other road users and pedestrians," he said. "So anything that this council, or indeed any council, does to restrict those who fail to comply with the Highway Code is vehemently opposed. "It is worth considering that our commitment to reducing congestion by encouraging more people to use public transport is entirely in line with other local authorities." He fired a warning to his critics that he will not be beaten by 'trolls'. "I am thinking of the significant proportion of this city who do not have access to a car," he said. Cllr Mancey's comments come as the council continues to make a case for ANPR cameras to enforce yellow box junctions. In March, transport secretary Chris Graying brushed off Hull's request for devolved powers that would enable the council to begin enforcement, saying Brexit takes priority. In a letter to Hull City Council over the issue, Mr Grayling said: "Any change to legislation would be subject to Whitehall clearances, parliamentary time, robust evidence and a public consultation. There is no political will at this stage to extend the use of cameras to local authorities for traffic enforcement and this is even more evident with the Governments priority focus on delivering work related to Brexit. You say there is a strong case for the moving traffic powers in Hull. However, if this is the case, I would urge you to develop a robust evidence-based case to support the need for the power as this would be more likely to obtain government consideration and possible support. Cllr Mancey says efforts are now being made to make that case. "We have been trying to gather some information together that shows the extent of the problem in Hull," he said. "We've been using our existing network of cameras to collect evidence, and we've also been talking to the bus operators to get their perspective on the issue." One of the worst areas for motorists failing to keep box junctions clear is Ferensway, according to Cllr Mancey. "By failing to keep that junction clear, you are stopping buses that are travelling up Brook Street from getting into the Interchange," he said. "As well as causing delays for passengers, traffic quickly builds up in Brook Street." But Cllr Mancey says he remains "cynical" about the chances of the Guildhall being given those devolved powers. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news Former Hull FC half-back Leon Pryce admits his time at the KCOM Stadium was bittersweet. The ex-England and Great Britain international signed for the Black and Whites ahead of the 2015 campaign after a stint with Catalans Dragons and excellent careers at Bradford Bulls and St Helens. As he divulges in his new book 'Pryceless', Pryce was struggling with a knee injury when he signed for Hull and ultimately wasn't at his best during his two-year stay. Pryce told the Mail ahead of his book's general release tomorrow that he wished he could have made more of an impact on the field for FC, but says watching his team-mates lift the Challenge Cup last year and earn individual accolades was pleasing looking back. "I loved my time there, it was awesome. Rugby wise I should have done more on the field from a personal perspective but it was also good to see them get the success they deserved last year," Pryce told the Mail. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now "My time there was bittersweet. Personally I wasn't at my best but seeing my friends do so well. Seeing Tag and Danny Houghton get the accolades was nice. I always keep an eye out for their results and keep in touch with Radders and Lasty quite often. Albert Kelly is playing awesome which is good to see. "Writing the book has been a good experience and I've had a lot of fun doing it. It's nerve-wracking now that it's coming out." Pryce won every team honour in the domestic game and helped Great Britain to a famous win in Australia back in 2006. Pleased with what he achieved in rugby league, the recently retired 35-year-old says he's proud of his career. "It's not until you sit back that you can truly appreciate what you achieved. I'm quietly proud and I feel very fortunate to have played for some fantastic teams," Pryce added. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Roaming charges in Europe have been scrapped. From today, you'll be able to use your phone anywhere in Europe for the same price it costs you at home including any data costs. But that doesn't mean you can entirely relax because some phone networks will still charge people trying to share pictures and stories to friends back home. That means anything from a drive to Gibraltar to a tour of the Vatican could see you landed with a big bill and you could be in even more trouble if you find yourself relying on your phone more than normal for directions. Here are some key questions you might want answering: Is it free to use my phone abroad? No. Charging people more to use their phones in the EU has been banned not charging them at all. So can expect to be charged the same as you would be for the same calls, data and texts as you would in the UK. Where's covered? European Union countries as well as the European Economic Area countries of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Are there any exceptions to be careful of? Yes. Monaco, the Vatican City and Switzerland for example aren't in the EU, despite being surrounded by EU countries and popular with tourists. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are also not automatically covered. Turkey is another poplar destination that is not part of the EU. Many networks include these in their Europe Zones - so you might get free roaming there - but it's safest to check before you go. Is anywhere else covered? This depends on your network. Some Three deals will let you roam with no extra charges in places like Singapore, Sri Lanka and the USA, for example. Vodafone lets you roam free in Turkey and Bosnia, while EE Max customers can use their phones in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand for no extra cost. The best advice is to check with your network before travelling to see if the location is included. Is there any difference with pay-as-you-go deals? No. It's a legal ruling so applies everywhere in the EU regardless of what sort of mobile deal you have. Once you step outside the EU then you have to check your individual contracts to see what applies. Can I call my friends in Europe free now? No. Sadly the regulation specifically says you can use your phone as if it was at home while in other EU countries. That means calling people in a different country still counts as an international call. Is it cheaper to use a landline to call overseas? Providers are free to charge what they like to call abroad from the UK - be it from a mobile or a landline. That means theres no set rule about which is cheaper and you need to check with your landline and mobile providers to find out. If youre making regular calls abroad, a package or add on with your network could save you money. Can I call local numbers free while on holiday? Again, no. If you need to call the hotel, book a restaurant or call a tour guide, that will be treated as an international call even though you're in the same country as them at the time. Can you call your friends or family while you're on holiday together? Yes as long as you both have British mobile phones, calls and messages between you while on holiday in Europe are treated the same way they would be if you were still in the UK. Is there a cheaper way to call abroad? Most UK providers offer add-ons or sweeteners that make it much cheaper to use your phone overseas. You generally get a text message as soon as your phone connects to a local network explaining your options. Mobile users using handsets abroad should always check their network's roaming charges for their destination country before they travel - and see if there's a bundle or add-on that could limit the cost, said uSwitch.com telecoms expert Ernst Doku. What if your data or minutes run out? People use their phones differently while on holiday to at home sharing more often, taking more pictures, using maps, calling to check on each other or to let family and friends at home know how they're getting on. This means you are at a higher risk of going over you allowance. Alex Neill, Which? managing director of home products and services, said: "Many will reap the benefits of these changes and will no longer be put off from making calls abroad. "However, it is important that you take a close look at what is or isn't included in your current mobile deal. "Not knowing what's included could lead to some surprising charges on your next bill." Are there any tricks to get round extra charges? Facebook, Whatsapp and Skype all let you make voice calls over the internet that could be using 3G or free WiFi at your hotel or even in a cafe. If you get the chance you can download maps, music, upload pictures and videos while connected to WiFi and then switch off mobile data. You can also consider buying a local SIM card to put in your phone, or an old handset you have, to use if you need to call local people while overseas. What happens after Brexit? We don't know yet. That will be one of the things the Government will negotiate about as part of our Article 50 negotiations when they get underway although expect it to be a long way down the list. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news Delays over a hung parliament deal between the Conservatives and the DUP threatened to put back the Queen's Speech this morning. But now sources inside the Conservative party are confirming the Prime Minister could present her plan for governing without the backing of the DUP. Here, parliamentary correspondent Patrick Daly explains the move - and what it could mean for the next government. Why have the Conservatives and DUP been in talks? (Image: PA) The general election returned a hung parliament, which saw the Conservatives win the most amount of seats, but not enough to give them a majority to guarantee all their laws would pass. The Tories won 318 seats eight short of a majority. And Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party, which have 10 seats, have been in talks since last Friday to determine whether they will back the Tories in a confidence and supply arrangement. Such an agreement would see the DUP vote with the Government to pass important financial legislation, such as the Budget. But the DUP are only likely to do a deal if they get something in return. What is the Queens Speech? The Queens Speech which is, despite its name, written by the Government lays out the agenda for the coming year and any changes the Government would like to make. For a minority administration, it is difficult to have anything controversial or divisive in the speech because they cant risk losing a single vote on their own side, and they also have to persuade MPs from other parties to vote in their favour. In such cases the party with the most seats will try to get support and build consensus with another party in order to try and secure those votes in this case the DUP. As part of any arrangement, the DUP will want their part of the bargain written into the speech itself to guarantee their constituents benefit from a deal. Why is Theresa May talking about going it alone if they need the DUP? Negotiations between the Tory chief whip, Gavin Williamson, and DUP representatives have been drawn out over six days now. Yet there is still no final agreement. It took only a long weekend for the Tories and Liberal Democrats to strike a full coalition deal in 2010. With a senior Conservative source confirming the Queens Speech will go ahead on Wednesday June 21 with or without DUP backing, it is a sign that Mrs May is willing to walk away without a deal. This means the Prime Minister has just raised the stakes. Tories say they are confident of getting a deal with the DUP but Mrs May is saying she wont be held to ransom. She is willing to face having her own Queens Speech voted down and possibly a follow-up no confidence vote rather than dance to the DUPs tune over timings. What did are the Tories saying about a deal? A senior source told journalists: Talks with the DUP have been progressing well and there is broad agreement on the principles of the Queens Speech. Both parties are committed to strengthening the union, combating terrorism, delivering Brexit and delivering prosperity across the whole country. However, while talks are on-going, it is important the Government gets on with business and we are confident there will be sufficient support across the House for passing the Queens Speech. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news The legendary Spiders from Mars who famously collaborated with David Bowie were honoured in Hull city centre. Hailing from Hull, the band members Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick 'Woody' Woodmansey, joined forces with music Bowie in the early 1970s to form Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars before leaving to start their own musical exploits. A plaque was unveiled at Hull Paragon Station on Thursday afternoon to commemorate their achievements. Woody, who was supported by family, had the honour of showing the world the plaque. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now Woody said: "I'm so proud to be unveiling this plaque in Hull Paragon Station awarded to The Spiders from Mars. "The only downside is that Mick and Trevor couldn't be standing here with me. We set off from Paragon Station on lots of trips. I first met Mick here in 1968, I think it was. "We hit it off, we formed a band, and then luckily, or Bowie was smart enough, to pick three lads from Hull to help him create what's become one of his most iconic periods of music. "It's a surprise, this, but I'm really proud to be doing it for Mick, for Trevor, and their families and for Hull and the City of Culture." BBC Local Radio, BBC Asian Network and The British Plaque Trust announced the project of 47 new Blue Plaques commemorating people or places that have greatly influenced music, although ome eagle-eyed social media users were quick to point out the misplaced apostrophe in 'Woody Woodmansey' on the plaque. Radio Humberside presenter, James Piekos, said: "The Spiders from Mars were far and away the most suggested recipients of our blue plaque when we asked the audience who they thought deserved one. "We're proud to be able to honour the whole band especially at such a poignant time when the passing of David Bowie has meant a resurgence of interest in the band and their local links." Hailing from Driffield, Cottingham and Kingston upon Hull, the trio had been playing together since the late 1960s before being introduced to David Bowie. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was the fifth studio album by Bowie, which peaked at No. 5 in the UK Top 40. They enjoyed success from singles including Starman and Rock 'n' Roll Suicide. David Hatfield, TransPennine Express station manager for Humberside, said: We are thrilled that Hull Paragon has been chosen as the new home for this very special plaque. The station is the main gateway to the city and the plaque will be seen by local residents and visitors alike." iciHaiti - Tourism : Important meeting on the National Historic Park This week, Colombe Emilie Jessy Menos, the Minister of Tourism, accompanied by executives of the Ministry and members of her cabinet held an important meeting around the tourist exploitation of the National Historical Park of the North. Gave also participated in these exchanges Paul Gomis, UNESCO Representative for Haiti, Mrs. Carolina Paredes, Coordinator of the Project of Support to the Tourist Sector in the North of Haiti (PAST), Mauro Rossi, Head of the Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean World Heritage, Patrick Durandis, Director General of the National Heritage Preservation Institute (ISPAN) and Patrick Delatour former Minister of Tourism. This meeting also made it possible to follow up the discussions on the revision of the Sustainable Tourism Plan of the Historic National Park. IH/ iciHaiti Photo: Vu Oanh The event is co-hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam, Association of Sciences Research on Korea of Vietnam, and University of Languages and International Studies under the Vietnam National University-VNU Hanoi, and is sponsored by the Korean People's Association in Hanoi, Korea Tourism Organization and Jeju Airlines. Eleven students from universities teaching Korean language in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city, Da Nang, and Hue who win from the domestic qualifying round will compete for a slot at the final round in KBS hall (Seoul) this September 15th, 2017 with another 24 rivals from around the world. Last years winner was Nguyen Hoang Phuc Hoa, a second-year student from the Faculty of Korean Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Vietnam National University-VNU HCMC, had reached the third round of the final event in Korea. In the context of current strong development of the people to people relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea, the number of Vietnamese students studying Korean has sharply increased, and the quiz is expected to win more participation from local students in Korean language/studies, thus actively contributing to the development of the Korean Studies in Vietnam Quiz on Korea is a television game show organized as part of an annual international public diplomacy program by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and KBS television. The quiz tests participants on general knowledge of Korea, thus helping to spread Hallyu, the "Korean wave"./. BUDAPEST Hungary took a major step in the right direction with its National Energy Strategy to 2030, which was published in 2011. The country must now make greater use of market-based mechanisms in the energy sector to meet its goals, according to the International Energy Agencys latest assessment of Hungarys energy policies. The main objective of Hungarys energy strategy is to ensure a sustainable and secure energy sector while supporting the competitiveness of the economy. The IEA encourages the government to develop appropriate mechanisms to make sure Hungary can deliver on its ambitious goals. We applaud Hungarys achievements in reducing the carbon intensity of its economy, building energy infrastructure and strengthening energy security, most notably via gas storage, said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEAs Executive Director. Hungary has made progress in diversifying its energy supplies and increasing competition in the energy sector, but there is still more to do on both fronts. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions remain well below their 2008 levels despite the healthy recovery of industrial output. Still, the IEA encourages the government to adopt more ambitious targets for emission reductions. The IEA report also welcomes the government's efforts to strengthen energy security and commends its large investments in oil, electricity and natural gas infrastructure. Additional infrastructure investments are expected, most notably the construction of two new nuclear power generating units. The IEA report highlights Hungarys success in developing wholesale markets for gas and electricity and emphasises that undistorted energy prices enable markets to work efficiently and strengthen energy security. It recommends the development of a programme for the gradual implementation of full retail market liberalisation, while continuing to protect vulnerable consumers. While renewable energy production in Hungary has increased significantly in the last decade, its growth has slowed in recent years. Recent reforms and the introduction of a new support system for electricity from renewable sources could arrest this slowdown. The IEA encourages the government to also emphasize other renewable energy sources such as solar and geothermal in addition to bioenergy. In a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orban prior to the launch of the IEA report, Dr Birol discussed global energy security and IEA modernisation. He underscored the importance of greater energy-supply diversification among the IEAs key recommendations. Cybersecurity Deal. IPC and Continent8 Technologies team up to provide world-class cybersecurity to Philippine enterprises amid the growing and evolving cyber threats today. From L-R: IPC Director for Marketing and Digital Innovation Nino Valmonte, IPC Chief Operating Officer David de Leon, Continent8 Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Tobin, Continent8 Chief Development Officer Nick Nally. Companies worldwide are suffering from massive revenue loss due to cyber attacks. According to research firm Juniper Research, the global cost of cybercrime will reach up to $2.1 trillion in 2019 amid rapid digitization in consumer and enterprise transactions. In its bid to further strengthen its suite of web security solutions, IPC (IP Converge Data Services, Inc.), the countrys pioneer DDoS Mitigation service provider, is partnering with Continent 8 Technologies, a global ICT firm with offices in Europe and North America. With Continent 8s industry-leading services spanning the globe, and IPCs local market coverage and expertise in cloud, data center, and DDoS mitigation services, this partnership will offer Philippine enterprises highly sophisticated yet easy to deploy security solutions with truly localized support, said IPC Chief Operating Officer David R. de Leon. DDoS is a type of cyber attack that denies service or renders a companys website and servers inaccessible to users by flooding it with large volumes of malicious traffic. Hackers have launched DDoS attacks for various reasons, such as extortion, revenge, competition, diversion, and politics. Popular targets include government agencies, banks and financial institutions, online gaming sites, and software-as-a-service providers. IPC has been in the forefront of DDoS Mitigation in the country, offering protection since 2007. The company works with the worlds leading DDoS Mitigation service providers to cover all types of DDoS attacks, and manner of clean traffic delivery. In addition, IPC manages the countrys first and only locally hosted DDoS attack scrubbing center, operated by experienced and highly skilled network security professionals, 24x7. Stronger network for better DDoS prevention Continent 8 Technologies provides highly reliable co-location, security, managed services, and network solutions with its global network that spans across Europe, North America, and Asia. It deploys four global scrubbing centers Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York and London alongside a truly global network of over 25 points of presence and multiple terabits of bandwidth. This global network is backed by an MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) infrastructure where clients can connect sites and services with different bandwidth requirements in order to create a scalable, secure, and reliable IP Virtual Private Network. By applying MPLS in DDoS Mitigation, clean traffic passes through direct lines instead of encapsulated connections, thereby ensuring a faster and more seamless protection. With nearly 20 years of experience and operations, we have built a global reputation for service excellence alongside a unique global footprint of data centers and points of presence. By partnering with IPC, we bring to the table advanced DDoS Mitigation services to Philippine enterprises especially now that cybercriminals are becoming bolder in their attacks, said Michael Tobin, Continent 8 Technologies Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. A local cloud services pioneer in the country, IPC owns and operates three state-of-the-art data centers, located in Makati, Paranaque, and at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, which are all part of the ePLDT VITRO network of data centers. Out of these facilities, IPC also provides dedicated Internet access to its customers through its own robust network infrastructure. Bolstered by Continent 8s wide global network, IPC can also cater to local companies looking to extend their networks to Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world. "With the intensifying threats enterprises face today, there is a pressing need to put in place more steadfast and technologically diverse defense mechanisms. IPC urges companies to take an aggressive stance by employing the latest cybersecurity technologies. On our part, we are continuously enhancing our security portfolio to cater to the evolving requirements of the enterprise," said de Leon. To know more about protecting your company against DDoS attacks, go to ipc.ph/en/ddos/. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} This is as close to using the tools of a master as you're likely to get. Adobe has announced 'The Hidden Treasures of Creativity', a first-of-its-kind project which digitally recreating the over 100-year old paint brushes of Edvard Munch in the hope of inspiring a new generation of master painters. In collaboration with The Munch Museum in Oslo and master Photoshop brush maker Kyle T. Webster, seven of Munchs original brushes have been replicated and made available in Creative Cloud for Photoshop and Sketch users worldwide. The Munch brush project Show all 7 1 /7 The Munch brush project The Munch brush project The Munch brush project The Munch brush project The Munch brush project The Munch brush project The Munch brush project The Munch brush project The 'The Scream' painter's original brushes were photographed in 360 degrees using ultra-high-res cameras to create detailed 3D representations. They were then analysed in combination with the brushes' physical attributes like flexibility and bristle type and turned into digital brushes. Munch painted four versions of 'The Scream' and Adobe has challenged users to make a fifth one. Competition entrants will be able to submit their version by uploading it to Behance with the tag #MunchContest and the winning entry will be displayed in The Munch Museum in Oslo, while the painter will receive 5,000 and an all-expenses paid trip to Adobe MAX in Las Vegas. "There are certain pieces of art we all know and love. These works transcend time, living on to influence modern creatives, and society as a whole. But we rarely think about the tools that were used to create those masterpieces," said Simon Morris, Senior Director of Campaign Marketing at Adobe. The Hidden Treasures of Creativity is all about bringing these tools back to life and placing them in the hands of a new generation of artists. Institutions such as The Met in New York and The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam are already making their collections available online to help keep classic works of art in the public eye. This innovative project is an extension of this movement, making it possible for todays artists to rediscover and treasure the brush of a master and use it to create their very own masterpiece. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Following a triumphant loss in the General Election, fans of Jeremy Corbyn have gone crazy for anything related to the Labour leader. Naturally, booksellers are trying their best to capitalise on Corbymania, including Old Street Publishing who are rush-releasing an updated Corbyn-themed colouring book. The publisher released the original version The Corbyn Colouring Book in 2015. The new Now With Even Less Austerity version will reach bookstores at the new date of 23 June. Designed by James Nunn, the new version invited you to "relive the excitement of #GE2017 over and over again, according to The Bookseller. A Corbyn near-kiss Show all 5 1 /5 A Corbyn near-kiss A Corbyn near-kiss Britain's Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn greets a supporter campaigning in Manchester, north west England EPA A Corbyn near-kiss PA A Corbyn near-kiss PA A Corbyn near-kiss Reuters A Corbyn near-kiss Reuters Addition colouring pages to the A5 book include a Make Jam not War poster, a Wheres Theresa? spread, and a pimp your voting slip page. They will appear alongside favourites 'Obi-Wan Kenobyn', 'Jez parting the Red Sea' and the 'Sistine Corbyn. The original version sold 17,465 copies, with boosted sales of 129 percent week-on-week following the election. The new addition will cost 7.99 Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Lorde is making her return with Melodrama, with one of the most anticipated albums of the year, and is set to perform her new material on tour later in the year. The album is set for release on 16 June 2017, and so far has seen the release of singles 'Green Light', 'Liability', 'Perfect Places' and 'Sober'. Recent reports claim the album has leaked a day early, despite efforts by her team to keep it under wraps. Lorde will play a few dates in the UK from September to October at the following venues: 26 September - O2 Apollo, Manchester, 27 September - Alexandra Palace, London 30 September - Brighton Centre, Brighton 1 October - O2 Academy, Birmingham 2 October - O2 Academy, Glasgow During her dates in the UK and the rest of Europe Lorde will be supported by Khalid. Tickets will be available on general release via Ticketmaster on 16 June. Speaking about her sudden fame aged 16 in a recent interview, Lorde told Rolling Stone in a cover interview that she had an "emotional renaissance" after the release of her debut album Pure Heroine. "It kind of takes a second, I learned," she said, "to write your way out of the record you just made." Melodrama, the new album from Lorde, is out on 16 June Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Of the 186 countries assessed in a recent survey of climate vulnerability, Chad was rated most in peril. A combination of high poverty, frequent conflicts, and the risk of both droughts and floods means the central African nation is bottom of the list, just below Bangladesh and some way behind Norway, the country least vulnerable to climate change. So why Chad? For a start, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. Around 87 per cent of Chadians are classified as poor, according to the Multidimensional Poverty Index, which factors in health, education and living standards. Thats the fourth highest rate in the world. The percentage who are destitute (63 per cent), the most extreme category of poverty, is also the fourth highest in the world. This is exacerbated by the fact that the country has been in civil war or conflict for 35 out of the 57 years since it gained independence from France. The landlocked country stretches from the Sahara to Cameroon Any poor or conflict-prone country will always be vulnerable, but Chads geography means climate change is a particular risk. Chad is bigger than many Westerners may realise. At 1.28m km its larger than Nigeria and twice the size of Texas. Around 90 per cent of its 10 million people live in the southern half of the country, as most of the northern half extends well into the Sahara desert. Most Chadians base their livelihoods on subsistence farming and livestock rearing. The semi-arid rangelands of the Sahel, in the north of the country, provide pasture for livestock during the rainy season, while the fertile agricultural fields in the south produce most of the cash and food crops. When the dry season begins, pastoralists move their herds south to feed on the leftovers of the agricultural harvest. Chads changing climate Since the mid-20th century, temperatures in Chad have been increasing while rainfall is decreasing. Ninety per cent of the countrys largest lake, Lake Chad, has disappeared over the past 50 years due to a combination of droughts and increasing withdrawals for irrigation. Climate studies project things will get increasingly hot and arid throughout the 21st century, which means lower crop yields, worse pasture, and a harder life for anyone dependent on Lake Chad. Lake Chad has been disappearing because of repeated droughts and excessive use of its waters for irrigation Rural areas are most at risk from climate change because thats where most of the population, and most of the poverty, is found. However, urban areas are not safe either, as the countrys growing cities struggle to accommodate the arrival of new residents. Sanitation services like sewage, storm water drainage and waste collection are poor, according to the World Bank. In the event of floods, as happened in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the infrastructure cannot cope and untreated sewage could infect the water supply, creating a high risk of infectious diseases such as cholera. Demographic challenges Chads population is mostly young, and high youth unemployment has already caused unrest in the capital N'djamena. Vulnerability to climate is made worse by civil unrest or conflict because people cannot receive the help they need during climate-related disasters such as droughts or floods. Farchana refugee camp in eastern Chad is one of many that consume the country's limited resources Chad also hosts some 300,000 refugees from Darfur on its eastern border with Sudan, according to UN figures, while an additional 67,000 refugees from the Central African Republic are in camps on its southern border. These refugees consume Chads limited resources and sometimes compete with the local population. This creates resentment and sometimes violence between the refugees and their hosts. To make matters worse, the Boko Haram crisis in northeastern Nigeria has spilled over to the Lac region of Chad, which now has more than 60,000 displaced people registered there and several thousand more that are unregistered. This is worrying as the countrys unemployed youth, restless and with plenty of time on their hands, could be at risk of recruitment and radicalisation by Boko Haram. The way forward Despite these challenges, there are ways to mitigate the effect of climate change. For instance, farmers in Chads semi-arid Sahelian zone have been using an indigenous rainwater harvesting technique called Zai to successfully grow crops. Zai involves the digging of small pits and sowing crops in them. The pits retain water for a long period of time and are particularly efficient when there isnt much rain. The Zai rainwater harvesting technique in action (photo taken in neighbouring Niger) The Zai technique was enhanced by introducing manure and compost into the pits to provide nutrients to the crops. This helped rehabilitate soils that are heavily degraded and significantly increased the yields of food crops. Agroforestry, the combining of crops and trees in the same patch of land, can also help mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Tree roots stabilise soils and protect them from eroding during heavy rainfall, while also restoring fertility simply by producing litter which eventually makes its way back into the earth. Of course, any country would be better placed to deal with climate change if it simply became much wealthier. Chad began producing petroleum in 2003, and it now accounts for 93 per cent of all exports. However, this left the country vulnerable to declines in oil prices. So, when the price did indeed crash in late 2014, Chad suffered a significant loss of revenue. Needless to say, the impact of climate-related disasters such as droughts or floods becomes magnified if the country does not have the resources to combat them. Chad cannot rely on oil forever. Farming is still the mainstay of its economy and, in the longer term, developing sustainable agriculture and livestock farming will be key in providing employment and maintaining food security. Hakim Abdi is a sustainability scientist at Lund University. This article was originally published on The Conversation (www.theconversation.com) Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Whilst many designers have refused to dress her, US First Lady Melania Trump has worn Dolce & Gabbana on numerous occasions. The designers have embraced Melania, often posting their support for her on social media. However, the iconic Italian brand have faced a huge backlash for dressing FLOTUS in her official White House portrait. Many people said they were boycotting Dolce & Gabbana as a result. But now, the designers are playfully profiting from the fuss by selling #Boycott Dolce & Gabbana T-shirts. Available for both men and women, the T-shirts cost 185 each, so will set you back a pretty penny. The website also features a short film of a protest against the company, where crowds of people wearing the T-shirt - including Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana - shout and hold placards. Most recently, Melania was spotted in Sicily for the G7 trip wearing a Dolce & Gabbana floral jacket, with a hefty 40,000 price tag. Whether you support the designers for dressing FLOTUS or not, its hard to argue that thats not a ludicrous amount of money to spend on a jacket. Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyEats email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Come quickly, I am tasting the stars! Thats what Dom Perignon reportedly said when he invented champagne and tasted it for the first time. And few would deny that champagne is one of lifes greatest pleasures. But as much as we may enjoy a glass or three to a make a special occasion that little bit more memorable, few of us would call ourselves champagne experts. So we decided to speak to a real expert to find out all we need to know. What are the different types? Just like normal wine, you get sweeter and drier champagnes. Champagne is a dry wine, Daniel Brennan from Laurent-Perrier told The Independent. Recommended The Italian sparkling wine better than prosecco It does have a degree of residual sugar in it from the grapes, however, in order to get a nice finesse between the acidity and the sugar levels (residual sugar) a dosage is added. Demi sec has the highest amount of residual sugar [of commonly available champagnes]. The most common champagne is brut, which is also one of the driest. This is how champagne types vary in sweetness, from driest to sweetest: extra/ultra brut, brut, extra sec, sec, demi-sec, doux. What should you look for in a champagne? Really what you should look for is the appearance, Brennan says - notice the colour of the champagne and size and finesse of the bubbles. Younger champagnes will be lighter, older ones will be darker. The smaller the bubbles, the better the champagne, and you get a nice smooth consistency which means its smoother on the palette as you drink it and a more pleasant experience, Brennan explains. Garcon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Show all 7 1 /7 Garcon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garcon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garcon Wines Garcon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garcon Wines Garcon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garcon Wines Garcon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garcon Wines Garcon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garcon Wines Garcon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garcon Wines Garcon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garcon Wines He says its also worth looking at the mousse on top of the champagne when its poured - you should see a fine layer of bubbles. But as Brennan points out, its really all down to your personal preference. How should you serve champagne? From long flutes and tulip glasses to coupes and Gatsby-style saucers, there are many stylish ways to serve champagne, but which actually makes it taste best? According to Brennan, the answer is a tulip glass with enough space for the aromas but not so much that you lose all the bubbles. A coupe glass, he explains, means a lot of the bubbles are lost. Its essential to chill the bottle for an hour minimum so the champagne is served at six to eight degrees. When opening, twist the bottle, not the cork, at a 45 degree angle, and tilt the glass to stop the mousse rising. Cheers! For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Airbnb has said that it expects to boost communities in Europe, which is its biggest market, by an estimated 340bn (297bn) of economic output by 2020 and that it will support an estimated 1 million jobs across the region by that year. The home-sharing company, which was founded in 2008 and now operates in more than 65,000 cities across 191 countries, said that local hosts keep 97 per cent of the accommodation charges paid by guests and more than half of guest spending takes place in the communities where they stay. The typical host on Airbnb in Europe made 2,400 by sharing their space for 27 nights last year, according to the company. On Thursday, Airbnb, which is valued at about $31bn (24bn), also said that it was launching a new Community Tourism Programme with the aim of investing 5m in projects to help preserve and boost the best of local customs, traditions and landmarks that make communities unique. That fund will be made available to charities, non-profit agencies and community social groups to support local projects. We want to work with communities to help boost and preserve the qualities that make them unique, said Chris Lehane, Airbnbs global head of public policy and public affairs. Airbnb projects that, by 2020, an estimated 24 million stays between hosts and guests from different countries across Europe will take place using the platform. I firmly believe there is a special responsibility for platforms and technology companies to project the principles their communities hold dear, Mr Lehane said. We see it as our duty and privilege to continue working with communities and leaders in Europe and across the world to help support local families, boost communities and use technology to help bring people together. Airbnb has enjoyed an explosive expansion since its formation almost a decade ago, but has recently faced challenges in the form of regulatory crackdowns across some countries. It has also been embroiled in clashes with municipal governments in New York, Barcelona and its home town of San Francisco, but earlier this month Japans government passed a law that sets out rules for home sharing allowing Airbnb to operate. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. A tourism boom has reportedly cut into Japans supply of available hotel rooms and helped make the country one of Airbnbs fastest-growing market. Elsewhere, Airbnb is trying to diversify beyond home-sharing. In November last year it confirmed that it had a flight-booking tool and an itinerary-planning feature in the works. In February, it acquired a Canadian manager of high-end rentals and services called Luxury Retreats. Last year it also started offering travel experiences, which aim to provide tourists with access to local communities and places of interest. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The majority of skilled EU workers at the largest UK companies say they are likely to leave the country before Brexit even happens, exacerbating fears of a severe brain drain. A survey of EU nationals employed at FTSE 250 companies showed that 56 per cent said they were highly likely or quite likely to leave the UK before the conclusion of the Brexit talks. Healthcare will be the hardest hit, with 84 per cent of employees in the sector saying they would leave. Technology, media, telecoms and financial services will also see big losses of talent, according to the survey. Recommended Cameron urges May to abandon her hard Brexit stance The survey found 42 per cent of skilled EU workers had already taken action to change their immigration status since last years Brexit vote. A further 40 per cent confirmed they intended to do so in future. Law firm Baker McKenzie surveyed 250 EU citizens educated at degree level or higher. The findings of the survey will pile further pressure on Theresa May to soften her stance on immigration in order to ensure UK firms have access to skilled workers. Ms May had initially stuck to a rigid line of decreasing net migration to the tens of thousands from the hundreds of thousands. Stephen Ratcliffe, employment partner at Baker McKenzie, warned companies could face a significant skills shortage in the near future and said the situation could worsen if there were any delays to the Brexit talks. The talks have yet to get underway and have been thrown into turmoil by the UKs hung parliament, which will see the Prime Minister enter the negotiation room without the strong hand she had envisaged prior to the General Election. The survey also found that 70 per cent of EU staff felt more exposed to discrimination since the Brexit vote, with 38 per cent of those describing themselves as feeling vulnerable or very vulnerable. More than a quarter of respondents said they feared losing their job, with discriminatory hiring practices being the most-cited reason for their concern. More than half said they had not been offered any support by their employers with regard to Brexit. Mr Ratcliffe added: Last weeks election result and the current uncertainty around the immigration status of EU nationals, underlines the need for all employers especially those reliant on EU workers to address their employees concerns around Brexit as a priority. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. Failure to do so could result in a significant skills drain for businesses in the near term, regardless of the Brexit deal reached. The survey comes as the Government finds itself under increased pressure to guarantee the residence rights of EU citizens already living in the UK. The NHS is under particular threat, according to another study released earlier this week by the Nursing & Midwifery Council, which showed a 96 per cent drop in the number of EU nurses registering to work in the UK following the Brexit vote. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} British car insurers were hit with combined losses of 3.5bn last year due to new compensation rules for serious injuries, according to a report released on Thursday. A Government review earlier this year led to a deep cut in the discount rates used to calculate lump sum payouts, slashing the so-called Ogden rate from 2.5 per cent to minus 0.75 per cent. The cut means that insurers must now fork out more cash to claimants to ensure that returns over their lifetime meet the awarded compensation. Professional services firm EY said that the new formula had led to significant losses for UK car insurers in 2016. The firm estimates the overall cost of the rate change to be 3.5bn. Car insurer Admiral has been hit particularly badly, with its pretax profits falling by 105m in 2016, a 25 per cent drop. The policy, announced by the Government in February, was met with criticism from the insurance industry, with Admiral warning of price hikes because of the Governments eccentric decision. UK car insurance rates reached record highs between January and March, totalling 462bn, acccording to the Association of British Insurers. Rising reinsurance and claims costs due to the new Ogden rate and the rise in insurance premium tax to 12 per cent from this month could hike premiums by a further 9 per cent in 2017, adding 28 to the average cost of a comprehensive policy, says EY. EY also predicts further losses for the industry in 2017 due to the ongoing costs from the new rate and the need for insurers to rebuild reserve margins to offset it. However the report suggested that better news could be on the horizon for the industry if promised reforms to whiplash injury claims, which insurers say have resulted in many fraudulent claims, and a review of Ogden methodology materialise. Tony Sault, the UK general insurance market lead at EY, said: Further effects will be felt next year when annual reinsurance cover for large claims come up for renewal. Young drivers will undoubtedly have to bear the brunt of the increase due to the disproportionate number of larger claims they cause. A fundamental review of Ogden and the Governments proposed whiplash reforms are increasingly urgent for consumers and must not be abandoned in the aftermath of the general election. The Government made the rate change to reflect lower yields from investment bonds. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Health Check email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Deadly strains of bird flu have so far largely been caught by people who work closely with poultry but scientists fear the virus could mutate and cause the worlds next devastating pandemic if it begins to spread from human to human. In a bid to stay one step ahead of the disease and prepare for a potentially disastrous outbreak before it happens, researchers have created their own mutations in a lab that could allow the virus to infiltrate human lungs. Professor James Paulson of The Scripps Research Institute in California and his team conducted their experiments on a key protein that peppers the surface of the virus and binds to the cells it infects. The scientists did not alter the virus itself due to the extreme danger posed by such infectious agents, which if unleashed could potentially cause a man-made global pandemic. "We need to know what the virus could do in nature, so we can be alert and aware if we start seeing these changes," Professor Paulson told The Independent. "The virus is infecting humans, but it hasn't yet transmitted from human to human." The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science Pathogens, described how subtle alterations to the protein's genetic programming produced strains that switched their target from bird to human cells. The mutant proteins latched onto cells taken from human trachea tissue suggesting they could infiltrate human airways. Ducks culled at a farm near Nafferton, East Yorkshire where a strain of bird flu was confirmed in 2014 (Getty) (Getty Images) H7N9 avian influenza virus is widespread in chickens in China and infects human exposed to live poultry but does not yet transmit from person to person, said Professor Wendy Barclay, Chair in Influenza virology at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the research. So the question now is, could the virus recapitulate this switch in nature? Professor Barclay said the study could help create a vaccine to prevent a deadly outbreak on the scale of historical pandemics such as the Black Death, which killed more than 75 million people in the 14th century. Predicting which influenza virus will cause the next human pandemic is both of scientific and public health interest. We can't afford to make vaccines against all of them, so knowing which ones to worry about would allow efforts and funds to be focused, she said. The H7N9 strain was unknown in humans until the first cases of people catching the virus from poultry were reported in China in March 2013. So far there have been 1,552 confirmed cases of human infection including 596 deaths, according to latest figures from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation. An H7N9 bird flu patient being treated in a hospital in central China's Hubei province (Getty) (Getty Images) Most people infected develop severe and potentially fatal pneumonia. Some H7N9 sub-strains have already become resistant to antiviral drugs. The researchers altered three key amino acids, or protein building blocks, that form part of the structure of the infectious protein haemagglutinin. Avian flu viruses coated with the changed haemagglutinin may be able to infect human cells in the same way as human inflenza but while possible, this is thankfully very unlikely, said Professor Paulson. "These mutations that weve identified havent occurred. Maybe its because there are three of them," he said. Recommended London Zoo shuts down bird enclosures over avian flu fears "Its very easy for a virus to make a single mutation, and two is much more difficult. To make three is even more difficult. We take some comfort in the fact it took three mutations to really make the transformation." He added: "With these kind of changes, it might become more like a regular human influenza virus, that replicates in the upper respiratory tract, and not be so lethal." Dr Fiona Culley, a senior lecturer at Imperial College London and spokesperson for the British Society for Immunology, said the exact combination of mutations needed for bird flu to be able to attach to human lung cells was possible but relatively low. Flu viruses are known to be able to mutate their outer surface fairly readily. This is a strategy used by circulating viruses which already infect humans to slowly change their appearance to avoid existing immunity within a population (in a process known as genetic drift), she said. The authors found that certain combinations of three mutations were needed for the bird flu to be able to attach to human lung cells. Some of the individual mutations have been seen naturally, but these combinations of mutations have not, said Dr Culley. Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty They could potentially happen, but there is currently no evidence that they have ever occurred and the chances of all three occurring together is relatively low. A more positive result from the study was confirmation that such mutations made the protein less stable. Previous work on a different type of bird flu, H5N1, has shown that viruses with unstable surface proteins find it difficult to switch successfully from one host to another. For H7N9 to become a serious threat to human populations it would need other changes besides those affecting the three amino acids, Professor Barclay said. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Health Check email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Victims of the Grenfell Tower fire were spitting out black tar after inhaling smoke from the burning tower block, a nurse who treated patients at the scene has said. At least 12 people died and 74 were rushed to six hospitals as the devastating blaze ripped through the 24-storey building in Latimer Road in west London. The death toll is expected to rise as investigators trawl through the wreckage in the search for other victims in the towers 120 flats when the fire started just before 1am on Wednesday morning. Nurse Simone Williams said she had treated victims outside the building, where people were coming out shouting that it was too hot, reported The Times. Recommended Death toll set to rise as search for Grenfell Tower survives continues A lot of the injuries were smoke inhalation, people were spitting out black tar that had gone on their lungs, Ms Williams, who works at University College Hospital, told the newspaper. When alerted of the disaster, hospitals prepared treatments for cyanide poisoning, fearing toxins released by foam in old furniture in the fire may have been inhaled by the victims. Dr Malcolm Tunnicliff, clinical director for emergency and acute care at King's College Hospital in south London, said the hospital had lots of cyano kits which contain the antidote to cyanide poisoning ready and waiting to give people. The hospital dealt with 12 casualties from the fire, a mixture of children and adults, who arrived by 3.45am, said Dr Tunnicliff. Tests showed none of them had been poisoned, which he described as a relief. Grenfell Tower continues to smoulder 24 hours after start of fire However, all the patients had injuries caused by smoke inhalation, some of which were very serious, with some patients suffering critical injuries to their airways and lungs, the doctor told The Guardian. Smoke inhalation is the most frequent cause of death in indoor fires, and injuries caused by breathing in smoke often take a day or longer to become apparent. Heat can damage the lungs, gases can lead to suffocation and the smoke can also irritate the lungs and airways. Dr Vinod Diwakar, medical director for NHS England in London, thanked staff who have been pulling out all the stops in caring for the patients affected. Hospitals are continuting to treat patients, 18 of whom are in a critical condition. The fire comes just over a week after NHS staff helped keep all 48 victims taken to hospital after the terrorist attack at London Bridge alive. London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the NHS's response to the attack, tweeting: Thank you to our amazing NHS staff for your world-class treatment of those injured in Saturday's horrific attack. Dr Tunnicliff said when he was alerted of a major incident by a phone call at 2.39am, he feared another terror attack could have taken place. My first fear was: is this another terror incident? Oh God, what's happened this time? he said. Grenfell tower fire Show all 42 1 /42 Grenfell tower fire Grenfell tower fire Local residents watch as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire Getty Images Grenfell tower fire London Fire Brigade said there has been a number of fatalities from the blaze Rex Features Grenfell tower fire The fire was first reported in the early hours of Wednesday and continued into the morning Rex Features Grenfell tower fire A local resident sees the fire over the rooftops @Ebajgora Grenfell tower fire A firefighter reacts at the scene of the blaze Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Residents watch as the blaze continues Getty Images Grenfell tower fire More than 200 firefighters have been fighting the blaze PA Grenfell tower fire London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared the fire a major incident Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block of flats Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A woman runs to assist paramedics working at the fire at the Grenfell Tower Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of Wednesday morning Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the 24-storey building in West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Ambulances are stationed nearby Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Paramedics arrive with oxygen Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Emergency services believe it will take some time to establish the cause of the fire Grenfell tower fire Tens of people have been taken to five different hospitals across London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man comforts a boy after the tower block was severely damaged Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground nearby Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters are stationed at the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke engulfs Grenfell tower Rex Features Grenfell tower fire Lots of people donating water, food and clothing to St Clement's church for the residents of Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Samuel Osborne Grenfell tower fire A man speaks to a fire fighter after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze. Residents in the tower were evacuated and a number of people were treated for a range of injuries EPA Grenfell tower fire A resident of Grenfell Tower is trapped as smoke billows from the window after a fire engulfed the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in Latimer Road Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze EPA Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire The burnt facade of Grenfell Tower, the night after the fire in Latimer Road, West London REUTERS/Neil Hall Grenfell tower fire Local residents gather at a community centre near Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A resident in a nearby building watches smoke rise from Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London AP Grenfell tower fire Police and rescue services operate near the fire at Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire A man stands amid debris on the A40 after a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A view of the empty A40 highway after it was closed in both directions, due to the proximity of the fire at Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Provisions on tables at the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Grenfell tower fire Beds are laid out in the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire A pile of donated clothes, sleeping bags and water lie next to a police cordon near the burning the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Signs asking for donations are seen outside the Notting Hill methodist Chruch Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man is rescued by fire fighters after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty More than 160,000 fires were attended by emergency services in England in 2015-16. House fires were most likely to be caused by cooking and electrical appliances, while fires caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials led to the highest number of fatalities. According to government statistics, 89 per cent of households have a working smoke alarm, up from 76 per cent in 2001. People aged 80 years and above are most likely to die in a fire, with elderly patients suffering burn injuries less likely to survive treatment. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Andimba Toivo ya Toivo was a Namibian independence leader whose struggle against his countrys South African rulers landed him for 16 years in the notorious prison on Robben Island, where his steadfastness earned him the admiration of Nelson Mandela. Ya Toivo fought what was described as a decades-long war of nerves with South Africa on behalf of Namibia. South Africa assumed control of the former German colony, then known as South West Africa, through a League of Nations mandate at the end of the First World War. To Ya Toivo and his supporters, South African rule became particularly intolerable although it had always been unacceptable after the country instituted the apartheid system in 1948. An activist since the early 1950s, he had helped found the independence movement, the South West Africa People's Organisation, or Swapo, which challenged South African rule through protest and guerrilla warfare. In 1968, after being convicted of violating a terrorism law, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, where he was tortured and put in solitary confinement. He had faced possible execution but credited a lawyer, who reportedly engaged the help of American officials including senators Robert and Edward Kennedy, with helping him avoid it. During his trial in Pretoria he drew international attention to the Namibian cause, declaring: We find ourselves here in a foreign country, convicted under laws made by people whom we have always considered as foreigners. We find ourselves tried by a judge who is not our countryman and who has not shared our background. We are Namibians and not South Africans. Entering prison, he said he knew the struggle will be long and bitter [but] I also know that my people will wage that struggle, whatever the cost. Mandela arrived on Robben Island in 1964 and came to regard Ya Toivo as a formidable freedom fighter. Ya Toivo refused to participate in the behaviour grading system instituted by wardens that might have allowed him improved conditions but that would have conceded the legitimacy of South African authority. He didnt care to be promoted and he wouldnt cooperate with the authorities at all in almost everything, Mandela recalled. He was quite militant. He wanted very little to do with whites, with the warders. Nelson Mandela greets Ya Toivo at the Robben Island reunion in 2005 (Getty) At one point, Mandela took part in a hunger strike to show solidarity with the Namibian prisoners. On another, after a guard reportedly attacked him, Ya Toivo returned the assault, ending up in solitary confinement. He said he received three or four visits in all his years of imprisonment. His captors noticed his resolve. Ya Toivo would not bend when others took bribes in prison in order to get more privileges, Christo Brand, a former guard, told The Namibian in 2014 on ya Toivos 90th birthday. He was, said Brand, cut out of the same rock as Mandela. Ya Toivo was released in 1984 and went into exile. Namibian independence did not come until 1990, in part because of its small role in the Cold War. Namibian insurgents received support from the Soviet Union and Cuba. In exchange for the peace agreement that permitted independence, Cuban troops were eventually forced to withdraw from another Communist-backed African nation, Angola. After independence, Swapo became Namibias ruling party, with Ya Toivo serving as secretary general. He also served as minister of mines and energy, labour and prisons under President Sam Nujoma, a former Swapo organiser who had spent years in exile. According to most accounts, Ya Toivo was born Herman Andimba Toivo ya Toivo in the village of Omangudu, in northern Namibia, in 1924. Another report said he was born Andimba Mwandecki and was given the name Toivo ya Toivo, hope of hope, at the Finnish mission school he attended. He serving with the Allies in the Second World War, then worked as a teacher before moving to Cape Town in 1951. He became a leader in the left-wing Modern Youth Society and helped form precursors to Swapo. Shortly after he was released from prison, he attended a rally held by the radical feminist leader Angela Davis in New York, and met Vicki Erenstein, an American lawyer. They married in 1990, and had twin daughters and three adopted children. I have come to know that our people cannot expect progress as a gift from anyone, be it the United Nations or South Africa, Ya Toivo said, speaking before the court that would send him to prison in 1968. Progress is something we shall have to struggle and work for. And I believe that the only way in which we shall be able and fit to secure that progress is to learn from our own experience and mistakes. Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, freedom fighter and politician, born 22 August 1924, died 9 June 2017 Washington Post Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Police are arresting a record number of people for suspected terror offences in the UK as the security forces continue to increase efforts to combat the threat. Armed special forces troops disguised as beggars and road sweepers have been deployed at key locations in London and other cities, they Daily Mirror reported. Military sources told the newspaper the troops had been in place for some time to maintain covert surveillance and respond quickly to any future attacks. These soldiers provide a very good layer of immediate response at least to minimise casualties or stop injuries or deaths if they react quickly, one said. The operation is police-led but the director of special forces is kept in touch with developments and is in touch with his men at all times. The Ministry of Defence said it would not comment on special forces operations, which have included bolstering police forces following the Manchester and London attacks. London Bridge Terror Attack Show all 16 1 /16 London Bridge Terror Attack London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police Officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police deal with a 'major incident' at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services near the scene of the incident Screengrab London Bridge Terror Attack People run down Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services arrive at the scene near Borough market at London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack A second helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Officers are dealing with reports of stabbings in Borough Market, where armed officers attended and shots were fired. They are also at an incident in the Vauxhall area PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London REUTERS London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack A police officer escorts members of the public to safety at London Bridge Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident near London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters New figures released on Thursday by the Home Office showed terror-related arrests in the 2016/17 financial year increased by almost a fifth. Of 304 arrests, 108 resulted in a charge including 91 specifically for terror offences and 100 people were released without charge. Another 88 people were released on bail pending further investigation and the rest faced alternative action by police. The figure was the highest number on record since data collection started in September 2001. It includes 12 people arrested as part of the investigation into the Westminster attack in March all of whom were released without charge. Vigil held at Borough Market one week after terror attack Khalid Masoods car ramming and stabbing attack, which killed five victims, was followed by the Manchester bombing and London Bridge attack, while counter-terror agencies have foiled five alleged plots. The Home Office figures showed international terrorism accounted for three-quarters of the terror-related arrests, while 16 per cent were logged in the domestic terrorism bracket. Recommended Ringleader Khuram Butt was known to security services before rampage The increase in arrests was driven by a sharp rise in the number of individuals from white ethnic groups held, up from 68 in 2015/16 to 113, and the number of British nationals arrested has passed 2,000 for the first time since current records began. The report said 186 people remained in British custody for terror-related offences or domestic extremism at the end of March - an increase of 15 per cent compared with the previous year. The scale of the threat facing the country has been laid bare with figures showing police and MI5 are involved in 500 investigations involving 3,000 individuals at any one time. There are also 20,000 former subjects of interest whose risk must be kept under review, while experts have warned that the risk may be far greater than previously realised as the line between non-violent and violent extremism blurs. Security services face questions over threat assessments following revelations that perpetrators in the Westminster, Manchester and London attacks were known over extremism but had not been detained. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Fears are growing that the number of people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire could reach 100, as police announced they have opened a criminal investigation into the blaze. The probe could result in the prosecution of anyone deemed responsible for building or design failures that caused the blaze. "We as the police have started an investigation, I mentioned when I was down at the scene this morning that one of our very senior investigating officers is leading that for us," said Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy. "We as the police, we investigate criminal offences - I am not sitting here and saying there are criminal offences that have been committed, that's why you do an investigation, to establish it. Recommended Sadiq Khan confronted on live TV by furious Grenfell Tower residents "This will need to be a lot of work between us and other investigating agencies to establish what has happened and why and that is going to take a considerable period of time." Mr Cundy added that of the 17 victims confirmed to have died, only six had been formally identified. In a sign of how many people police believe did not make it out of the building alive, the commander said he hoped the final death toll "does not reach treble figures". The search for victims could take "months", he said, adding that aside from the six identified bodies, police did not know the other deceased. "We cannot release information we do not have and it is so important the information we do release is entirely accurate," he added. The missing people from Grenfell Tower Show all 23 1 /23 The missing people from Grenfell Tower The missing people from Grenfell Tower Jeremiah, son of Zainab Dean The missing people from Grenfell Tower Zainab Dean The missing people from Grenfell Tower Malek Belkadi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Tamzin Belkadi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Rania Ibrham The missing people from Grenfell Tower Jessica Urbano The missing people from Grenfell Tower Yasin el-Wahabi and Nurhada el-Wahabi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Ali Yawar Jafari The missing people from Grenfell Tower Anthony Disson The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mohamed 'Saber' Neda The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mariem Elgwahry The missing people from Grenfell Tower Hesham Rahman The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mohamednur 'Mo' Tuccu The missing people from Grenfell Tower Hamid Kani The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mary Mendy The missing people from Grenfell Tower Sheila Smith The missing people from Grenfell Tower Khadija Saye The missing people from Grenfell Tower Berikti Habtom (L) was still missing according to her sister Arsiema Alula (R) The missing people from Grenfell Tower Ligaya Moore The missing people from Grenfell Tower Dennis Murphy The missing people from Grenfell Tower Nadia Choucair The missing people from Grenfell Tower Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Sakineh Afraseiabi and Fatima Afraseiabi Labour MP David Lammy has led calls for a criminal investigation, listing claims about the lack of sprinklers and fire doors as well as issues with the cladding in the building. His friend, who lived on the 20th floor and is still missing, posted on Facebook at 3am saying that she felt faint, he said. The Tottenham MP also said those responsible should be charged with corporate manslaughter. "This is the richest borough in our country treating its citizens in this way, he said. "We should call it what it is, it's corporate manslaughter, that's what it is and there should be arrests made, frankly." Grenfell tower fire: How the disaster unfolded In other developments: :: Search teams were forced to leave the tower when the fire restarted on Thursday afternoon. :: Six bodies - all recovered from outside the building - have been taken to Westminster Mortuary. :: Of the 17 known to be dead, six were identified using items such as passports. First image of the devastation inside one of the Grenfell Tower flats :: One of the first victims was named as 23-year-old Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali. :: A total of 30 people continue to receive hospital treatment, of which 15 are still in critical care, all of whom have now been identified and reunited with family. :: Scores of families are preparing to spend a second night in temporary accommodation. Charred remains of one of the high-rise flats destroyed in the blaze As the focus turned to the cladding retrofitted to the building, experts said authorities may now need to ban the material used to cover the outside of Grenfell Tower. The cladding metal panels that were stuck on the outside of the building to help insulate and spruce up the building has been blamed for the spread of the fire up and across the building. The chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council said that such re-cladding work certainly needs to be re-considered. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The first victim of the horrific Grenfell fire has been named as Mohammed Alhajali a Syrian refugee who came to Britain to seek a better life. A friend of the victim, who was studying civil engineering at the University of the West London, said he lived on the 14th floor of the 24-storey west London tower block. The 23-year-old sought to follow his brother Omar, who is currently being treated in hospital, down the stairs of the burning building, but was besieged by billows of smoke. He is said to have been trapped on the floor for two hours while hundreds of firefighters sought to rescue residents, but failed to reach above the 13th floor. His brother, a 25-year-old business student, managed to escape the tower block and is said to be recovering in Kings Cross hospital. Grenfell tower fire Show all 42 1 /42 Grenfell tower fire Grenfell tower fire Local residents watch as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire Getty Images Grenfell tower fire London Fire Brigade said there has been a number of fatalities from the blaze Rex Features Grenfell tower fire The fire was first reported in the early hours of Wednesday and continued into the morning Rex Features Grenfell tower fire A local resident sees the fire over the rooftops @Ebajgora Grenfell tower fire A firefighter reacts at the scene of the blaze Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Residents watch as the blaze continues Getty Images Grenfell tower fire More than 200 firefighters have been fighting the blaze PA Grenfell tower fire London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared the fire a major incident Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block of flats Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A woman runs to assist paramedics working at the fire at the Grenfell Tower Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of Wednesday morning Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the 24-storey building in West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Ambulances are stationed nearby Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Paramedics arrive with oxygen Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Emergency services believe it will take some time to establish the cause of the fire Grenfell tower fire Tens of people have been taken to five different hospitals across London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man comforts a boy after the tower block was severely damaged Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground nearby Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters are stationed at the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke engulfs Grenfell tower Rex Features Grenfell tower fire Lots of people donating water, food and clothing to St Clement's church for the residents of Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Samuel Osborne Grenfell tower fire A man speaks to a fire fighter after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze. Residents in the tower were evacuated and a number of people were treated for a range of injuries EPA Grenfell tower fire A resident of Grenfell Tower is trapped as smoke billows from the window after a fire engulfed the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in Latimer Road Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze EPA Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire The burnt facade of Grenfell Tower, the night after the fire in Latimer Road, West London REUTERS/Neil Hall Grenfell tower fire Local residents gather at a community centre near Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A resident in a nearby building watches smoke rise from Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London AP Grenfell tower fire Police and rescue services operate near the fire at Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire A man stands amid debris on the A40 after a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A view of the empty A40 highway after it was closed in both directions, due to the proximity of the fire at Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Provisions on tables at the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Grenfell tower fire Beds are laid out in the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire A pile of donated clothes, sleeping bags and water lie next to a police cordon near the burning the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Signs asking for donations are seen outside the Notting Hill methodist Chruch Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man is rescued by fire fighters after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Describing his friend as kind, charitable and full of passion for his family, Abdulaziz Almashi, said: He survived Assad, he survived the war, only to be killed in a tower block in London. Mr Almashi, co-founder of the Syria Solidarity Campaign, met Mr Alhajali whilst working for the organisation, which promotes freedom, peace and democracy in Syria. When the fire reached his flat on the 14th floor, Mohammed bid his friend goodbye, saying that the fire had reached him, the organisation said. Mohammed undertook a dangerous journey to flee war and death in Syria, only to meet it here in the UK, in his own home. Mohammed came to this country for safety and the UK failed to protect him. We absolutely agree that a thorough investigation into Building Regulations should take place immediately. The brothers escaped from Syrias southern city of Daraa the birthplace of the Syrian uprising against Assad three years ago and were given asylum in Britain. The Syrian Solidarity Campaign expressed their grief at the news, writing on its Facebook page: RIP Mohammed Al Haj Ali. A Syrian refugee in the UK, Mohammed passed away in the #Grenfell tower fire yesterday. We are heartbroken for his family, who thought he had found safety in the UK. To Allah we belong and to him we shall return. The charity made an appeal for the brothers yesterday, saying: Please pray for our brothers Omar Alhajali and Mohammed Alhajali, two Syrian refugees. They were in the building fire in London yesterday. Both were set to come to our Iftar this Saturday. Omar was found in the hospital and he is in stable condition but his brother Mohamed is still missing and his family do not know his whereabouts. Mirna Suleiman, a friend of the victim, also voiced her sadness on Facebook, saying: This beautiful soul was lost today ... as long as many others. His story touched me personally because he had escaped death from Syria and came to the UK to find a new life. She added: We in the UK are not prepared for major incidents. We think it will never happen to us. Were good at putting loads of rules and regulations and making people pay service charge and housing tax but were not good at being practical and planning for the worst. At least 17 people have died in the massive fire which ravaged Londons skyline, but the Metropolitan Police said the death toll is expected to increase yet further. Commander Stuart Cundy said 17 people are currently in critical condition and police are seeking to identify and locate the people who continue to be missing. Ukrainian Board Chairman Wojciech Balczun has said that an internal investigation into a collision of a shunting locomotive and a passenger train at the Nihyn railway station of Pivdenno-Zakhidna railways in Kamianets-Podilsky district of Khmelnytsky region occurred on May 27, injuring six persons, including three children, has been finished. "We have finished the internal investigation into an accident occurred at the Nihyn station in Khmelnytsky region on May 27 when passenger train No. 139 Kyiv-Kamianets-Podilsky collided with a shunting locomotive. The conclusion of the commission is that the main reason of the accident is that the driver of the shunting locomotive ran when red lights were on and reached the route of the passenger train," Balczun wrote late on Wednesday on his Facebook page. He said that the Ukrzaliznytsia's commission established that the station duty officer did not suspend the shunting operations on time when the passenger train was moving. There are claims to the driver and driver assistant of the passenger train who did not select the optimal speed for timely stoppage of the train before an obstacle. "The guilty persons have been punished: 10 workers have been dismissed and 19 were subject to disciplinary action. In several days some staff decisions will be made. Under my request, the special safety arrangements have been introduced at all enterprises of Ukrzaliznytsia for the period of three months. We are increasing checks and supervision over movement safety. Workers and top managers will be involved in off-schedule training," Balczun said. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theresa May has visited the scene of the Grenfell Tower blaze where at least 17 people died. The Prime Minister carried out a private visit of the scene and spoke with emergency service crews but reportedly refused to meet any survivors of the tragedy and blocked media access. The decision was taken due to "security reasons", it was claimed, but local residents were furious that she did not stop to listen to their concerns. Grenfell Tower fire: How the community responded One Grenfell Tower resident reportedly told Jeremy Corbyn, who also visited the scene, Ms May was "s***", adding: "Theresa May was here but she didn't speak to any of us." The Labour leader spoke with volunteers and members of the local community during a visit to St Clements Church, which is being used as a refuge centre. Mr Corbyn promised "the truth has got to come out and it will" during the visit. Dozens of people are still missing after the 24-storey block went up in flames on Wednesday, with the death toll expected to increase as the recovery operation proceeds. Many were outraged Ms May chose not to speak to survivors of the tragedy, which left residents with nothing. Ms May announced a full enquiry would take place into what caused the inferno that ravaged the building of 120 flats. She vowed to make every effort to ensure people left homeless by the tragedy were rehoused nearby following the visit. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comforts a local resident at St Clement's Church in west London (Getty Images) (Getty) I want to reassure the residents of Grenfell Tower - all of whom are in our thoughts and prayers - that the Government will make every effort to make sure that they are rehoused in London and as close as possible to home, she said. A Downing Street spokesperson refused to comment on why Ms May did not meet with residents. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Families and friends have appealed for missing loved ones who were in Grenfell Tower when a fierce blaze ripped through the north Kensington building on Wednesday night, killing at least 12. Police have warned that the death toll is expected to rise "considerably", but there remains hope that missing people could still be found safe. More than 70 people were treated in hospital, with 18 said to be in critical condition, following the fire which saw residents jumping from windows in a desperate bid to escape the burning tower. Here are some of the appeals that have been made by friends and relatives hoping to track down their loved ones: Jessica Urbano Twelve-year-old Jessica Urbano, who lived on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower and was last heard from when she told her mum on the phone that she was on the stairs of the block with other people, remains missing. Jessica's aunt, Ana Ospina, posted an image of the young girl, said to be about 5ft tall, on Facebook, saying: Please continue to share the photo of my niece who has not yet found her. I know there are people who say they already found her, but the reality is that there has been no news of her. Ms Ospina later told the Press Association (PA): She last spoke to her mum when she borrowed a phone and told her she was on the stairs with other people. We than have had unconfirmed reports/sightings of her outside of the flats and also being put into an ambulance, but we have checked hospitals and no news. Mohamed Neda A man whose wife and son are being treated in hospital following the blaze remains missing, after he was last seen trying to help people on the top floor of the building, according to friends and relatives. Mohamed Neda, 67, and his family, who lived on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower, were described by the most wonderful family of Afghan Brits by friends who are now appealing for information on social media. We know a family that's been involved in the fire last night. They are called the Nedas and are the most wonderful family of Afghan Brits who have worked with us for many years, wrote family friend Ariana Neumann Rodger in a Facebook post. The 22 year old son, Farhad, is being treated at Chelsea and Westminster, the mother Folora Shakila is in intensive care at Kings College Hospital and the dad Mohamed 'Saber' is missing. They lived on the 20th floor and Mohamed Saber was last seen on the stairwell injured and helping neighbours. I have just seen Farhad in hospital and he is in shock and desperate for news. He has just been taken to intensive care as he was having trouble breathing. Mr Naders nephew, Zia Popal, also appealed on Facebook, writing: My Uncle Mohamed Neda is missing following the fire at Grenfell tower. He was on the top floor of the building trying to help people and went missing since. "We have already been to all he five major hospitals but they do not have him registered. Mariem Elgwahry Mariem Elgwahry, who lived on the 19th floor of the tower, has not been seen since the early hours of Wednesday morning, according to her long-time friend Emma Evans. Ms Evans said Ms Elgwahry had last been heard from when she spoke to another friend in the tower block - who was since confirmed safe - at around 2.30am. She added that her family and friends had been searching local hospitals, along with shelters and reception centres set up in the West Kensington area, but had received no news that either she or her mother, Suhar, were safe. Ali Yawar Jafari Eighty-two-year-old Hamid Ali Jafari is thought to be among those missing after he lost contact with his mother and sister, who lived with him on the 10th floor of Grenfell Tower, according to his son. The younger Mr Jafari told PA he had been to several rescue centres throughout the day since first reporting his father missing on Twitter just before 8am on Wednesday. Mr Jafari told the Telegraph: He was with my mother and sister in the lift and she said the lift stopped on the tenth floor and he said there was too much smoke and he couldn't breathe. "He got out of the lift and then the doors shut and it didn't stop again till the ground floor. Khadija Saye Khadija, a 24-year-old whose artwork is currently showing in the Venice Biennale, was in her flat on the 20th floor with her mother Mary Mendy, who is thought to be in her 50s. Labour MP David Lammy, whose wife mentors and employs Ms Saye, appealed for information about her on social media, urging people to share a photo of her and get in touch with any information. Mr Lammy said Ms Saye was a dear friend of the family, describing her as a beautiful soul and an outstanding emerging artist". His wife Nicola Green said Ms Saye was last heard from at 3am when she was direct messaging from her flat. Mohammed Abdul Hamid A colleague of Mohammed Abdul Hamid, who lived on the 17th floor of the block, appealed for information after the young man remained unaccounted for late on Wednesday afternoon. Barrie Gough wrote on Facebook: I have a valued member of my team missing who lives with his family in the Grenfell Tower on the 17th floor. Currently missing And unaccounted for. With the full permission of his family could you please help share this so we can find him safe and well. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} People are desperately searching for their loved ones who have been missing since the Grenfell Tower fire. The London Fire Brigade confirmed that at least 17 people died in the blaze and many others currently remain unaccounted for. Children are believed to be among those who are currently missing as reports suggest hundreds of people were in the 24-storey building at the time of the fire. Rania Ibrham The mother of two small children, Rania Ibrham, 30, uploaded a Facebook Live video while she was stuck in her flat on the top floor. She is seen in the footage seeking help in the smoke-filled corridor of the block before going back into her home and looking down on the street below from her balcony. Jessica Urbano Images of 12-year-old Jessica Urbano, who lived on the 20th floor, have been shared across social media. She is approximately 5ft tall and apparently last spoke to her mother when she borrowed a phone and told her she was on the stairs with other people. There have been unconfirmed reports of sightings and some suggestions she was put into an ambulance. Hesham Rahman Hesham Rahman, 57, lived on the 20th floor of the tower block and has been missing since the fire broke out. He suffers from diabetes, which makes it difficult for him to walk and last contacted his family around 3am when he told them he could smell smoke, according to Sky News. Tony Disson Sixty-five-year-old Tony Disson, a great grandfather, remains missing after he found himself trapped in his 22nd floor flat as the fire ripped through the block. Tony Disson, 65, was trapped in the bathroom of his 22nd floor flat as the fire ripped through the block in the early hours of Wednesday morning Mr Disson had desperate phone conversations with friends and relatives from his flat, during which he told a friend: Tell my sons that I love them." He was reportedly trapped in the bathroom of his flat in the early hours of Wednesday morning, telling friends he couldn't escape because the floor was too hot. Ali Yawar Jafari Ali Yawar Jafari, 82, lived on the 10th floor of the tower. His son, Hamid Ali Jafari, said his father lost contact with his mother and sister as they left the flat. The younger Mr Jafari said he had been to several rescue centres but has had no news. My neighbour said he would hold him and bring him down. But when I got outside I realised Isaac wasnt there. I have been to all the emergency centres, all the hospitals and there is no news of him. I just want help, anyone who has any information can they please come forward. Lucas James Twelve-year-old Lucas James has not been seen by his family since he went to stay the night at a friend's house on the 17th floor of the block His older sister, who asked not to be named and lives in Grenfell Tower with their mother, said she fears her younger brother may have died. Recalling the events of Wednesday morning, she said: ''My mum heard some shouting, she heard people screaming help help help. She looked out the window and saw the fire coming round to our side. ''Firemen helped us out, but my brother was visiting a friend on the 17th floor and he did not get out. We cannot find him. We've been going round hospitals.'' Khadija Saye Khadija Saye, 24, is an artist who is currently displaying her artwork in the Venice Biennale. She was on the 20th floor with her mother Mary Mendy, who is thought to be in her 50s. She is a close friend of Nicola Green, Labour MP David Lammys wife. Ms Green said: We're desperately trying to communicate with all the hospitals. We're told some people have been rescued up to the 19th and 20th floor. She was on the 20th floor. Nobody has any information at this point. Raymond Moses Bernard A family friend confirmed that Raymond Bernard, known to friends as Moses, remained missing after the fire. He lived in flat 201 with a 53-year-old woman called Karen Bernard. Mariem Elgwahry Ms Elgwahry lived on the 19th floor of the tower block and is said to be missing with her mother. She spoke to another friend in the tower block who was since confirmed safe at around 2.30am but hasnt been heard from since. Dennis Murphy Dennis Murphy apparently called his nephew while trapped on the 14th floor of the building and hasnt been heard from since. There has been no news from any centres or hospitals about Mr Murphys whereabouts. The missing people from Grenfell Tower Show all 23 1 /23 The missing people from Grenfell Tower The missing people from Grenfell Tower Jeremiah, son of Zainab Dean The missing people from Grenfell Tower Zainab Dean The missing people from Grenfell Tower Malek Belkadi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Tamzin Belkadi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Rania Ibrham The missing people from Grenfell Tower Jessica Urbano The missing people from Grenfell Tower Yasin el-Wahabi and Nurhada el-Wahabi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Ali Yawar Jafari The missing people from Grenfell Tower Anthony Disson The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mohamed 'Saber' Neda The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mariem Elgwahry The missing people from Grenfell Tower Hesham Rahman The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mohamednur 'Mo' Tuccu The missing people from Grenfell Tower Hamid Kani The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mary Mendy The missing people from Grenfell Tower Sheila Smith The missing people from Grenfell Tower Khadija Saye The missing people from Grenfell Tower Berikti Habtom (L) was still missing according to her sister Arsiema Alula (R) The missing people from Grenfell Tower Ligaya Moore The missing people from Grenfell Tower Dennis Murphy The missing people from Grenfell Tower Nadia Choucair The missing people from Grenfell Tower Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Sakineh Afraseiabi and Fatima Afraseiabi Anthony Disson Known as Tony, the 66-year-old is reported to have last been in contact with his family at around 3am while inside the building. Lee Disson, Tony's son, posted an appeal for information on Facebook and said he was still praying for him. He is reported to have lived on the 10th floor and his wife Cordelia and his four sons have been searching for him in hospitals. Mohamednur Tuccu Mohamednur Tuccu, his wife Amalahmedin and his three-year-old daughter are all missing after they came to visit relatives in Grenfell Tower, his employer said. "Mo is a part of the family. He will have been with us for 10 years next month and is due to be awarded his decade milestone. We all just want to hear that he is okay," Mr Tuccu's manager, chief executive of Red Consultancy Mike Morgan, told Sky News. Mohamed Neda Mohamed Nedas family are currently severely injured in hospital and apparently desperate to find out where he is. Mr Neda was reportedly on the top floor of the building trying to help people during the incident but has not been heard from since. Abdulaziz Wahabi, wife Faouzia and children Nurhouda, Yassin and Medhi The family of five lived on the 21st floor of the tower and were in contact with the fire brigade and seen waving out of the window during the incident. Hana Wahabi, Mr Wahabis sister, told reporters: I rang him and the fire had not reached the top of the block at that point. He said he had been told to stay inside, stay in one room together and put towels under the door. I told him to leave. He said he was going to come. Then I called him and he said there was too much smoke. Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi The Italian couple recently moved into the 23rd floor of Grenfell Tower. They havent been heard from since the fire, when Ms Trevisan apparently called her mother in Italy. I don't have no news from them since last night and their mobile phones are off, Mr Gottardi's cousin wrote on Facebook. I'm praying to God they make it out safely. The Met Police has set up a helpline for anyone concerned for their loved ones. It is 0800 0961 233. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Authorities may need to ban the cladding used on the outside of Grenfell Tower, experts have said. The cladding metal panels that were stuck on the outside of the building to help insulate and spruce up the building has been blamed for the shockingly rapid spread of the fire up and across the building. Authorities are now launching an inquiry into how the building could have been built and left in such a way as to allow it to burn so quickly and so dramatically. Grenfell tower fire Show all 42 1 /42 Grenfell tower fire Grenfell tower fire Local residents watch as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire Getty Images Grenfell tower fire London Fire Brigade said there has been a number of fatalities from the blaze Rex Features Grenfell tower fire The fire was first reported in the early hours of Wednesday and continued into the morning Rex Features Grenfell tower fire A local resident sees the fire over the rooftops @Ebajgora Grenfell tower fire A firefighter reacts at the scene of the blaze Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Residents watch as the blaze continues Getty Images Grenfell tower fire More than 200 firefighters have been fighting the blaze PA Grenfell tower fire London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared the fire a major incident Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block of flats Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A woman runs to assist paramedics working at the fire at the Grenfell Tower Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of Wednesday morning Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the 24-storey building in West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Ambulances are stationed nearby Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Paramedics arrive with oxygen Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Emergency services believe it will take some time to establish the cause of the fire Grenfell tower fire Tens of people have been taken to five different hospitals across London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man comforts a boy after the tower block was severely damaged Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground nearby Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters are stationed at the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke engulfs Grenfell tower Rex Features Grenfell tower fire Lots of people donating water, food and clothing to St Clement's church for the residents of Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Samuel Osborne Grenfell tower fire A man speaks to a fire fighter after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze. Residents in the tower were evacuated and a number of people were treated for a range of injuries EPA Grenfell tower fire A resident of Grenfell Tower is trapped as smoke billows from the window after a fire engulfed the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in Latimer Road Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze EPA Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire The burnt facade of Grenfell Tower, the night after the fire in Latimer Road, West London REUTERS/Neil Hall Grenfell tower fire Local residents gather at a community centre near Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A resident in a nearby building watches smoke rise from Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London AP Grenfell tower fire Police and rescue services operate near the fire at Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire A man stands amid debris on the A40 after a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A view of the empty A40 highway after it was closed in both directions, due to the proximity of the fire at Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Provisions on tables at the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Grenfell tower fire Beds are laid out in the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire A pile of donated clothes, sleeping bags and water lie next to a police cordon near the burning the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Signs asking for donations are seen outside the Notting Hill methodist Chruch Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man is rescued by fire fighters after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty The public inquiry may find that the cladding that was wrapped around the building was installed in such a way, experts said. That might lead to the banning of the use of cladding on the outside of buildings, or at least the kind of cladding used to insulate and pretty up Grenfell Tower. The chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council said that such re-cladding work certainly needs to be re-considered. Recommended Why the Glenfell Tower cladding was added Roy Wilsher also told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that sprinklers "may or may not have helped" at the high-rise building, saying: "It really depends how the fire developed. If it spread up the outside, it could have been difficult for sprinklers, and retrofitting of blocks that are made of steel and concrete is a difficult process but is certainly something we need to look at again." He added: "The most significant thing is the cause and why it spread so quickly and so devastatingly, affecting so many people - that's something we've not seen in our careers ... we've been to many, many fires in our times and we've not seen one like this before." The National Fire Chiefs Council clarified that it was too early to say whether the type of cladding or its construction had contributed to the fire. But a spokesperson said it was clear that the building should never have been built in that way and that it would be exploring whether the problem would require new regulations, or new ways of enforcing them. But its far from the first time that cladding has been blamed for a deadly fire. And it isnt even the first time that authorities have warned that more danger and death could result. Cladding has been blamed for spreading fires elsewhere in the world. It has been connected with fires in Australia, Dubai and elsewhere in all cases being blamed for carrying the flames out onto the outside of the building, and carrying it rapidly up and around the rest of the structure. In last years Melbourne fire, an analysis by the local fire brigade said that "The extremely vertical nature of the burn patterns to the exterior face of the wall suggest that the Alucobest aluminium cladding, along with the foam lagging and the PVC pipe of the building wall, contributed to the fire load and the rapid spread of the fire up the vertical face of the building to the floors and balcony areas located above." It concluded that "Had the external wall cladding been of a non-combustible type, the likelihood of fire spread beyond the level of ignition would have been greatly reduced." Concerns were also identified in a 2000 parliamentary report that was launched after a fire ripped through a 14-storey block of flats. It said that developers needed to work harder to ensure that cladding is non-combustible and didnt pose too much of a risk to people living inside. "We do not believe it should take a serious fire in which many people are killed before all reasonable steps are taken towards minimising the risks, the report read. "We believe that all external cladding systems should be required either to be entirely non-combustible, or to be proven through full-scale testing not to pose an unacceptable level of risk in terms of fire spread." It added: "There have been few recorded incidents of serious fire spread involving external cladding, and, although in our view any loss of life in incidents such as these should be prevented if at all possible, neither have there been many deaths." Grenfell tower fire: How the disaster unfolded Extra fire safety checks are already being conducted in similar high-rise tower blocks. Local authorities including Londons Camden, Newham, Croydon and Redbridge have all launched new reviews of their social housing. Officials said that those tall blocks were already subject to measures to keep them safe. But they would be looking again at the buildings to see if new action had been taken. Some buildings in those areas used the same exterior cladding, fitted by the same company. On one estate in Camden, for instance, Harley Facades worked with Rydon Construction the exact same pairing to install the same rain screen cladding. Elsewhere, including in Scotland, officials said they were looking to find high-rise blocks that used the same cladding as in Grenfell Tower. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jeremy Corbyn has said that the "truth has got to come out" about the Grenfell Fire. The Labour leader made the comment as he visited the scene of the fire, which killed at least 17 people and made many more homeless. Mr Corbyn was told by residents that the "country needs you". Grenfell tower fire Show all 42 1 /42 Grenfell tower fire Grenfell tower fire Local residents watch as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire Getty Images Grenfell tower fire London Fire Brigade said there has been a number of fatalities from the blaze Rex Features Grenfell tower fire The fire was first reported in the early hours of Wednesday and continued into the morning Rex Features Grenfell tower fire A local resident sees the fire over the rooftops @Ebajgora Grenfell tower fire A firefighter reacts at the scene of the blaze Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Residents watch as the blaze continues Getty Images Grenfell tower fire More than 200 firefighters have been fighting the blaze PA Grenfell tower fire London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared the fire a major incident Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block of flats Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A woman runs to assist paramedics working at the fire at the Grenfell Tower Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of Wednesday morning Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the 24-storey building in West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Ambulances are stationed nearby Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Paramedics arrive with oxygen Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Emergency services believe it will take some time to establish the cause of the fire Grenfell tower fire Tens of people have been taken to five different hospitals across London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man comforts a boy after the tower block was severely damaged Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground nearby Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters are stationed at the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke engulfs Grenfell tower Rex Features Grenfell tower fire Lots of people donating water, food and clothing to St Clement's church for the residents of Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Samuel Osborne Grenfell tower fire A man speaks to a fire fighter after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze. Residents in the tower were evacuated and a number of people were treated for a range of injuries EPA Grenfell tower fire A resident of Grenfell Tower is trapped as smoke billows from the window after a fire engulfed the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in Latimer Road Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze EPA Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire The burnt facade of Grenfell Tower, the night after the fire in Latimer Road, West London REUTERS/Neil Hall Grenfell tower fire Local residents gather at a community centre near Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A resident in a nearby building watches smoke rise from Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London AP Grenfell tower fire Police and rescue services operate near the fire at Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire A man stands amid debris on the A40 after a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A view of the empty A40 highway after it was closed in both directions, due to the proximity of the fire at Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Provisions on tables at the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Grenfell tower fire Beds are laid out in the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire A pile of donated clothes, sleeping bags and water lie next to a police cordon near the burning the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Signs asking for donations are seen outside the Notting Hill methodist Chruch Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man is rescued by fire fighters after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty "Someone has to be held accountable, someone has to be held responsible," he was told. Recommended Grenfell Tower death toll rises to 17 Mr Corbyn said that the local MP Emma Dent Coad, who was elected in a shock result last week and Labour's housing spokesperson would each speak up for residents. "I will speak up for all of you," he said. "The truth has got to come out," he said. "And it will." The Labour leader also voiced concerns that everyone who lives in a high-rise flat like Grenfell Tower will be asking about how safe they are, and asked the government to give assurances to residents. Labour MPs visited St Clements Church, where volunteers have set up a refuge centre and which has served as a base for donations and help. He met with volunteers who showed him the many donations that have arrived in the area since the disaster. "It's great that you're in place," he told them. The visit came on the same day that Theresa May first visited the site. She spoke with firefighters and police officers inside the cordoned area, before being whisked off in a car without speaking to reporters. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Negotiations to agree Britain's withdrawal from the European Union are to officially begin on Monday, The Independent understands. The Government have confirmed that Brexit Secretary David Davis will be in Brussels at the start of the week for meetings with the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier. Until now ministers have simply said that talks are expected to start next week, but with uncertainty over the stability of the Government in the wake of the election they had held back from confirming a date of initial talks. A Conservative source confirmed that talks are due to begin next week, with officials at the Department for Exiting the EU confirming that Mr Davis would be in the bloc's administrative centre for talks on Monday. In a joint EU and UK statement issued later on Thursday, officials said: "Michel Barnier, the European Commissions Chief Negotiator and David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, agreed today to launch Article 50 negotiations on Monday June 19." The move means Theresa May will be able to attend the European Council meeting at the end of next week with Brexit talks already underway. Brexit negotiations are moving ahead against a backdrop of major splits in the Conservatives over just how to approach European negotiators. General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA Chancellor Philip Hammond and Scottish Tory Leader Ruth Davidson are pushing for a more open approach that puts the economy and jobs ahead of immigration, but Brexiteer ministers are said to be threatening a walk-out if Ms May softens her approach. It comes after the Government also confirmed it would push ahead with a Queen's Speech, setting out Ms May's legislative agenda for her weakened government, with Brexit likely to be a central feature. Ms May's administration is pushing ahead with the speech despite not yet having cemented a deal with the Northern Irish DUP to prop up her minority of Tory MPs in the House of Commons. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The British Government has still not sent papers outlining its opening position for Brexit talks to the European Union, despite negotiations beginning on Monday. EU sources told The Independent Brussels had sent its positioning papers to London four days ago and while similar documents were expected in return, nothing has arrived as Theresa Mays administration struggles to get on its feet. Brexit Secretary David Davis confirmed on Thursday that talks to pull Britain out of the EU will begin on Monday regardless, despite cabinet splits over how to approach them and Ms Mays withdrawal plans not even being cemented in a Queens Speech. Chancellor Philip Hammond cancelled a speaking event in which he was expected to signal new softer Brexit proposals focusing on jobs, amid fears it might spark an internal row with other Tories demanding Ms May stick to her immigration-centred approach. It came as the Prime Minister confirmed that a Queens Speech would go ahead, but only on 21 June two days later than originally planned. It is still unclear if she has locked in the support of the Northern Irish DUP to prop her up in the House of Commons and give her the majority she needs to pass a vote approving the agenda set out in the Queens Speech. Conservatives signalled that talks with the unionists could even continue beyond the start of Brexit talks and the Queens Speech, as Sinn Feins Gerry Adams warned that any deal struck could breach the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland. How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Show all 8 1 /8 How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Weetabix Chief executive of Weetabix Giles Turrell has warned that the price of one of the nations favourite breakfast are likely to go up this year by low-single digits in percentage terms. Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Nescafe The cost of a 100g jar of Nescafe Original at Sainsburys has gone up 40p from 2.75 to 3.15 a 14 per cent risesince the Brexit vote. PA How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Freddo When contacted by The Independent this month, a Mondelez spokesperson declined to discuss specific brands but confirmed that there would be "selective" price increases across its range despite the American multi-national confectionery giant reporting profits of $548m (450m) in its last three-month financial period. Mondelez, which bought Cadbury in 2010, said rising commodity costs combined with the slump in the value of the pound had made its products more expensive to make. Cadbury How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Mr Kipling cakes Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling and Bisto gravy, said that it was considering price rises on a case-by-case basis Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Walkers Crisps Walkers, owned by US giant PepsiCo, said "the weakened value of the pound" is affecting the import cost of some of its materials. A Walkers spokesman told the Press Association that a 32g standard bag was set to increase from 50p to 55p, and the larger grab bag from 75p to 80p. Getty How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Marmite Tesco removed Marmite and other Unilever household brand from its website last October, after the manufacturer tried to raise its prices by about 10 per cent owing to sterlings slump. Tesco and Unilever resolved their argument, but the price of Marmite has increased in UK supermarkets with the grocer reporting a 250g jar of Marmite will now cost Morrisons customers 2.64 - an increase of 12.5 per cent. Rex How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Toblerone Toblerone came under fire in November after it increased the space between the distinctive triangles of its bars. Mondelez International, the company which makes the product, said the change was made due to price rises in recent months. Pixabay How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Maltesers Maltesers, billed as the lighter way to enjoy chocolate, have also shrunk in size. Mars, which owns the brand, has reduced its pouch weight by 15 per cent. Mars said rising costs mean it had to make the unenviable decision between increasing its prices or reducing the weight of its Malteser packs. iStockphoto On Monday this week, the EU sent to London its positioning papers, officially outlining its negotiating stance ahead of talks, and had expected similar documents to come back in good time before discussions begin. But with the EUs papers arriving as Ms May staved off a cabinet coup, convinced backbenchers to support her and held talks about realigning Brexit plans, nothing had been sent back to Brussels by Thursday night. One source across the Channel said it was unbelievable that the UK had still not sent the basic papers for the start of negotiations, with just over three days left before they begin. They added: The talks are beginning on Monday. There are no positioning papers yet. Its a basic thing that should happen beforehand. It doesnt bode well. The Department for Exiting the EU refused to comment. But officials in both Britain and the EU have confirmed that the first round of talks that will eventually see Britain leave the EU will start on Monday 19 June. In a joint statement issued today, officials said: Michel Barnier, the European Commissions Chief Negotiator and David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, agreed today to launch Article 50 negotiations. But it means the talks will go ahead while the different factions of the Tory party are still wrestling over how they should be conducted. Theresa May says Brexit timetable still on track Mr Hammond and Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson are pushing for a more open approach that puts the economy and jobs ahead of immigration. The Chancellors annual Mansion House speech, due on Thursday but cancelled in the wake of the Grenfell House fire, was to be a key moment setting it out. Lib Dem Sir Vince Cable branded it farcical that the speech due to outline a softer Brexit had been cancelled, taking to Twitter to slam what he called the Conservatives brexitshambles. Meanwhile, Leave-backing ministers, including International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, were reported to be ready to quit if Ms May abandoned her tough approach in the face of pressure from Mr Hammond and others. John Oliver implores Theresa May to let Lord Buckethead lead Brexit negotiations Ms May is also yet to have her legislative agenda including her Brexit plans confirmed in a Queens Speech, with the state opening of Parliament not taking place until 21 June and a vote to enshrine the agenda in law a week later. She is unlikely to win the vote without the support of the DUPs MPs. Tory sources said they were confident they would gain it, as the negotiations with the Irish unionists on a confidence and supply deal were progressing, though not finalised. Sinn Fein's Mr Adams left talks at Downing Street to tell reporters that he had informed Ms May her dealings with the DUP put her in breach of the Good Friday Agreement. Mr Adams, president of Sinn Fein, said: We told her very directly that she was in breach of the Good Friday Agreement, and we itemised those matters in which she was in default in relation to that agreement. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jeremy Corbyn and senior Labour MPs have called for homes left vacant in Kensington and Chelsea by overseas investors to be requisitioned in order to rehouse those left homeless due to the Grenfell Tower fire. The suggestion came as MPs demanded answers to residents questions during an emergency session of Parliament into the tragedy, which has claimed the lives of at least 17 people. The Labour leader, who said he was left very angry after visiting the scene, added: Kensington is a tale of two cities. The south part of Kensington is incredibly wealthy, its the wealthiest part of the whole country. Grenfell Tower fire: How the community responded The ward where this fire took place is, I think, the poorest ward in the whole country and properties must be found requisitioned if necessary to make sure those residents do get rehoused locally. David Lammy, the Tottenham MP, added on Twitter shortly after the event: Lots of homes left vacant in Kensington & Chelsea by overseas investors. I would like to see them requisitioned by Government to rehouse victims. Introducing the emergency briefing, fire minister Nick Hurd described the incident in north Kensington as a national tragedy, adding: Im sure everyones thoughts both in this room and outside are with those who have been affected, injured or have lost a loved one in the fire. Labours new MP in Kensington, Emma Dent Coad, said her constituents are traumatised and angry, demanding answers on emergency planning and whether or not warnings were heeded from community leaders regarding safety procedures at Grenfell Tower. The extraordinary gathering of MPs, which was not broadcast initially, was held in the Palace of Westminster rather than the House of Commons as Parliament has not been officially opened as a result of last weeks inconclusive snap election, which resulted in a hung parliament. The missing people from Grenfell Tower Show all 23 1 /23 The missing people from Grenfell Tower The missing people from Grenfell Tower Jeremiah, son of Zainab Dean The missing people from Grenfell Tower Zainab Dean The missing people from Grenfell Tower Malek Belkadi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Tamzin Belkadi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Rania Ibrham The missing people from Grenfell Tower Jessica Urbano The missing people from Grenfell Tower Yasin el-Wahabi and Nurhada el-Wahabi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Ali Yawar Jafari The missing people from Grenfell Tower Anthony Disson The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mohamed 'Saber' Neda The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mariem Elgwahry The missing people from Grenfell Tower Hesham Rahman The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mohamednur 'Mo' Tuccu The missing people from Grenfell Tower Hamid Kani The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mary Mendy The missing people from Grenfell Tower Sheila Smith The missing people from Grenfell Tower Khadija Saye The missing people from Grenfell Tower Berikti Habtom (L) was still missing according to her sister Arsiema Alula (R) The missing people from Grenfell Tower Ligaya Moore The missing people from Grenfell Tower Dennis Murphy The missing people from Grenfell Tower Nadia Choucair The missing people from Grenfell Tower Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Sakineh Afraseiabi and Fatima Afraseiabi Just moments before the briefing Theresa May had ordered a full public inquiry into the disaster after visiting the scene of the blaze in Kensington. Speaking at No 10 shortly after her return from the site, she added: We need to ensure that this terrible tragedy is properly investigated. When I went to the scene and spoke to the emergency services, they told me that the way this fire had spread and took hold of the building was rapid, it was ferocious, it was unexpected. So it is right that, in addition to the immediate fire report that will be produced and any potential police investigation, that we do have a full public inquiry to get to the bottom of this. People deserve answers. The inquiry will give them. Recommended Theresa May announces full public inquiry into Grenfell Tower disaster During the emergency session Mr Corbyn said he feels very angry at the loss of life in the tower block where the fire precautions did not work. He welcomed the Governments decision to establish a public inquiry but insisted it must be speedy and allow residents to fully take part, with legal aid provided if needed. Mr Corbyn added: I tell you this many residents I met there this afternoon are very angry. Theyre very angry that they have raised concerns about this building, that the Grenfell Action Group raised concerns about this building, that their concerns were not answered, questions they asked were not responded to. There are so many questions to put. Grenfell tower fire Show all 42 1 /42 Grenfell tower fire Grenfell tower fire Local residents watch as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire Getty Images Grenfell tower fire London Fire Brigade said there has been a number of fatalities from the blaze Rex Features Grenfell tower fire The fire was first reported in the early hours of Wednesday and continued into the morning Rex Features Grenfell tower fire A local resident sees the fire over the rooftops @Ebajgora Grenfell tower fire A firefighter reacts at the scene of the blaze Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Residents watch as the blaze continues Getty Images Grenfell tower fire More than 200 firefighters have been fighting the blaze PA Grenfell tower fire London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared the fire a major incident Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block of flats Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A woman runs to assist paramedics working at the fire at the Grenfell Tower Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of Wednesday morning Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the 24-storey building in West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Ambulances are stationed nearby Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Paramedics arrive with oxygen Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Emergency services believe it will take some time to establish the cause of the fire Grenfell tower fire Tens of people have been taken to five different hospitals across London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man comforts a boy after the tower block was severely damaged Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground nearby Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters are stationed at the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke engulfs Grenfell tower Rex Features Grenfell tower fire Lots of people donating water, food and clothing to St Clement's church for the residents of Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Samuel Osborne Grenfell tower fire A man speaks to a fire fighter after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze. Residents in the tower were evacuated and a number of people were treated for a range of injuries EPA Grenfell tower fire A resident of Grenfell Tower is trapped as smoke billows from the window after a fire engulfed the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in Latimer Road Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze EPA Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire The burnt facade of Grenfell Tower, the night after the fire in Latimer Road, West London REUTERS/Neil Hall Grenfell tower fire Local residents gather at a community centre near Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A resident in a nearby building watches smoke rise from Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London AP Grenfell tower fire Police and rescue services operate near the fire at Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire A man stands amid debris on the A40 after a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A view of the empty A40 highway after it was closed in both directions, due to the proximity of the fire at Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Provisions on tables at the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Grenfell tower fire Beds are laid out in the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire A pile of donated clothes, sleeping bags and water lie next to a police cordon near the burning the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Signs asking for donations are seen outside the Notting Hill methodist Chruch Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man is rescued by fire fighters after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty He said these included questions about the fire walls, the sprinkler system, the alarm system and the way the fire spread inside and outside the building. At the end of the meeting, housing minister Alok Sharma said: Can I just be absolutely clear and reiterate what Nick [Hurd] has said is that were going to be working with the local authority and the Government to guarantee that every single family from Grenfell House will be rehoused in the local area. That is a very clear reassurance which I hope colleagues will feel is useful. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams has said he told Theresa May that she is in breach of the Good Friday Agreement. Mr Adams, who is President of Sinn Fein, met the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street along with other senior figures in the party. In a statement to reporters outside afterwards, Mr Adams said: "We told her very directly that she was in breach of the Good Friday Agreement, and we itemised those matters in which she was in default in relation to that agreement." He confirmed they had also discussed the possibility of a referendum on Irish unity. Ms May is currently engaged in talks with the Democratic Unionist Party over a so-called "confidence and supply" arrangement that give the Conservatives a majority in the House of Commons and the ability to form a government. It has long been speculated that such an agreement would leave the government in breach of its duties under the Nothern Irish power sharing arrangement, signed on Good Friday in 1998. That agreement assigns the British government the role of broker between Irish republicans and unionists, a role that Mr Adams said would be compromised if the government was in some way indebted politically to the DUP. Northern Ireland voted by a narrow margin to remain in the European Union. The possibility of the re-establishing of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland as a consequence of the UK's decision to leave the EU is among the first items UK and EU negotiators have agreed to discuss when talks begin next week. Northern Ireland is currently without a government, after a surge in support for Sinn Fein at Northern Irish Assembly elections earlier this year left nationalist parties holding a majority over unionist ones the first time. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The former Conservative housing minister warned against increasing fire safety regulations to include sprinklers because it could discourage house building. As the death toll from the Grenfell Tower blaze rose to 12, it emerged Brandon Lewis, who was recently promoted to immigration minister, said in 2014 that building developers should not be forced to fit sprinklers. A sprinkler system would have "undoubtedly" saved lives at the Grenfell Tower blaze, the managing director of the Fire Protection Association told The Independent. "Whether they'd have stopped that fire spreading at the speed it did up the outside of that building is another matter," Jon O'Neill said. Grenfell Tower continues to smoulder 24 hours after start of fire "But to have had sprinklers in that building would have created an environment where it would have been easier to rescue people and increase survivability." Mr Lewis' department declined to bring in regulation forcing developers to fit sprinklers while he was in charge. He told MPs: We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation. He said the Tory Government had committed to being the first to reduce regulations nationwide. Grenfell tower fire Show all 42 1 /42 Grenfell tower fire Grenfell tower fire Local residents watch as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire Getty Images Grenfell tower fire London Fire Brigade said there has been a number of fatalities from the blaze Rex Features Grenfell tower fire The fire was first reported in the early hours of Wednesday and continued into the morning Rex Features Grenfell tower fire A local resident sees the fire over the rooftops @Ebajgora Grenfell tower fire A firefighter reacts at the scene of the blaze Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Residents watch as the blaze continues Getty Images Grenfell tower fire More than 200 firefighters have been fighting the blaze PA Grenfell tower fire London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared the fire a major incident Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block of flats Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A woman runs to assist paramedics working at the fire at the Grenfell Tower Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of Wednesday morning Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the 24-storey building in West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Ambulances are stationed nearby Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Paramedics arrive with oxygen Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Emergency services believe it will take some time to establish the cause of the fire Grenfell tower fire Tens of people have been taken to five different hospitals across London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man comforts a boy after the tower block was severely damaged Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground nearby Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters are stationed at the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke engulfs Grenfell tower Rex Features Grenfell tower fire Lots of people donating water, food and clothing to St Clement's church for the residents of Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Samuel Osborne Grenfell tower fire A man speaks to a fire fighter after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze. Residents in the tower were evacuated and a number of people were treated for a range of injuries EPA Grenfell tower fire A resident of Grenfell Tower is trapped as smoke billows from the window after a fire engulfed the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in Latimer Road Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze EPA Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire The burnt facade of Grenfell Tower, the night after the fire in Latimer Road, West London REUTERS/Neil Hall Grenfell tower fire Local residents gather at a community centre near Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A resident in a nearby building watches smoke rise from Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London AP Grenfell tower fire Police and rescue services operate near the fire at Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire A man stands amid debris on the A40 after a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A view of the empty A40 highway after it was closed in both directions, due to the proximity of the fire at Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Provisions on tables at the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Grenfell tower fire Beds are laid out in the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire A pile of donated clothes, sleeping bags and water lie next to a police cordon near the burning the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Signs asking for donations are seen outside the Notting Hill methodist Chruch Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man is rescued by fire fighters after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty He added: The cost of fitting a fire sprinkler system may affect house building something we want to encourage so we must wait to see what impact that regulation has. Earlier in the Westminster Hall debate to mark Fire Sprinklers Week, he had admitted: "Sprinklers work. We know that. No one can deny it. "The myths around sprinklers have been well explained and debunked here today. "They are an effective way of controlling fires and of protecting lives and property." Paul Fuller, chief fire officer for Bedfordshire and chairman of the Fire Sector Federation, said sprinklers could have helped. He told BBC Radio 4's World At One: "We know that sprinklers are effective. Also, sprinklers will make the environment more survivable by containing the fire and containing the smoke. "But they are not a total solution. We also have to make sure that passive protection measures - things like the structure of the building and the fire resistance of the building - are all properly in place as well." He added that the federation has been calling for a review of part B of the building regulations "for a number of years now" to ensure they "meet the needs of a modern society using modern methods of construction and who use buildings differently from the way we used to 30 or 40 years ago". In 2013 the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group called for a review of safety regulation after six people died and more than 20 were hurt in a 2009 blaze at Lakanal House in Camberwell. A government spokesman said that following the Lakanal House fire, the coroner recommended the guidance relating to fire safety within the building regulations be simplified, work he said is ongoing. The coroner also asked government to write to councils encouraging them to consider retro-fitting sprinklers, he said, adding that it had happened. The spokesman added: Our thoughts are with the residents and families of everyone caught up in this dreadful event. We stand ready to help in any way possible as the emergency services continue to stabilise the situation. The London Fire Brigade will be conducting their investigation and at this stage it would not be appropriate to comment on the cause of the fire. The agreement between Australia and Ukraine on cooperation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes took effect on June 15, the Ukrainian government press service said. "The Australian embassy to Ukraine informs Ukraine with Note No.44/17 of June 15 that Australia has completed the internal procedures needed for the enactment of the agreement," the report said. The agreement was signed in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 2016. According to the estimation of the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, the country can meet up to 30% of the Ukrainian energy sector's need for nuclear fuel. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jeremy Hunt has said he is "sympathetic" to the idea of pay rise for NHS staff and will personally raise their case with the Chancellor. The Health Secretary, who has previously vetoed even one per cent pay rises for nurses, was addressing health workers at the NHS Confederation Conference in Liverpool, and appeared to indicate there could be a relaxing of the public sector pay freeze that has been in place for seven years. That freeze has prevented nurses and other staff pay from rising by more than one per cent. "I have a great deal of sympathy for the case that nurses have made, Mr Hunt said. They do a brilliant job , they work hard and I am aware they give the health service an extraordinary amount of time for free," he said. "But we have a budget that we have to live within and public sector pay is a matter for the Chancellor and it is for the Chancellor to set pay across the public sector. "But I have had a constructive letter from Janet Davies (chief executive of the RCN) and I will meet with her and make sure that our conversation is reflected back to the Chancellor." NHS workers have been the subject of constant praise and widespread public affection in the wake of the three appalling tragedies in the last few weeks - the Manchester bombing, the London attacks and now the Grenfell Tower fire. Nurses have promised a summer of action over the freeze on the ongoing pay freeze. Even a one per cent NHS pay rise costs the public purse 500m a year. In 2014 Jeremy Hunt vetoed even a one per cent rise, prompting the Royal College of Midwives to strike for the first time in their 136 year history. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Chancellor Philip Hammond has cancelled his annual Mansion House address to City leaders in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster. Mr Hammond announced on Thursday that in light of the tragedy he had withdrawn and that his thoughts are with the families affected by the blaze. The Chancellor was set to use the speech to reassure businesses over Brexit, but there was also speculation he would signal a softening in the UKs negotiating stance, increasing tensions in a cabinet divided over the EU. Recommended UK retail sales fall more than expected in May as inflation bites There is a precedent for cancelling the speech, a key event in the calendar of both the political and financial worlds, after George Osborne delayed it last year following the murder of MP Jo Cox. Mr Hammond said on Twitter: In view of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, I have withdrawn from giving the Mansion House speech tonight. My thoughts are with the local community. It followed an announcement by Prime Minister Theresa May that there will be a full public inquiry into what caused the fire which has so far claimed 17 lives. Officials indicated that Mr Hammond would revisit the issues he had planned to address in his speech at a later date, including telling businesses they would still have access to 42bn of European Investment Bank funding after Brexit. In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier listens at the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Michel Barnier, European Chief Negotiator for Brexit reacts during a meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Member of the European Parliament and former leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage wears socks with Union Jack flag at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP, addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcoming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier gestures during speeches at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (L) speaks with European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France Getty Images But the speech, given alongside City leaders including Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, was also expected to cover any changes in the Governments approach to Brexit following the election. Mr Hammond was reported to have been in line for a move from the Treasury if the Tories had won a majority. But with the vote instead weakening Ms May, he is reported to have made his support for her conditional on a different Brexit strategy. A new approach could include staying in the customs unions and a more emollient tone on immigration, making the matter secondary to economic considerations. Damian Green says Hammond is doing 'great job' as chancellor and will continue after election But cabinet ministers who favoured Ms Mays former tougher approach towards the negotiations, including International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, are reported to be ready to resign if Ms Mays direction of travel changes. Former Business Secretary Vince Cable took to Twitter to brand the cancellation of the speech which he expected to advocate a soft Brexit as farcical, adding: brexitshambles continues [sic]. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Government believes it has enough support in the House of Commons to pass the Queen's Speech following talks with the DUP. After announcing a date for the speech setting out Theresa May's legislative agenda, a Tory source said discussions with the Northern Irish unionists had been "progressing". But the source stopped short of saying that a deal had been finalised with the DUP and left the way open for further negotiations to continue, even after the monarch has set out what laws Ms May wants to pass. Government insiders have also suggested it is possible to give extra investment to Northern Ireland without it affecting the formula for funding the rest of the UK, indicating a potential investment windfall for Ulster unionists as part of any deal. The Conservative source said: "Talks with the DUP have been progressing well and there is broad agreement on the principles of the Queen's Speech." He explained that the two parties are both committed to delivering Brexit, fighting terrorism, preserving the UK and boosting economic prosperity, giving a clue as to what will be included. The source went on: "However, while talks are on-going it is important the Government gets on with its business and we are confident there will be sufficient support across the House for the Queen's Speech." General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA The Independent understand that the Government is seeking a 'confidence and supply' arrangement with the DUP, which would see the party back Ms May in votes of no confidence and support budget votes. There is no requirement for the the Government to have definitely secured a majority in the Commons before pushing ahead with a Queen's speech, but given the deal with the DUP is yet to be set in stone, the speech is expected to be short and not too detailed. A vote in the Commons to enshrine the speech in law is not expected until a week later, giving Ms May precious days to absolutely lock in the DUP before it takes place. General election 2017: Irish PM warns May about deal with the DUP Concerns have been raised in Whitehall that any extra funding passed to Northern Ireland as part of a deal would be hugely expensive for The Treasury, because it would mean a relative amount of cash having to go to other home nations as directed by the Barnett formula. But sources indicated it may be possible to direct extra investment to Belfast without it having any implications for money required for Wales, Scotland or England. Earlier in the day ministers confirmed the date of the Queen's Speech, with Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom saying: "The Government has agreed with Buckingham Palace that the State Opening of Parliament will take place on 21 June 2017." The Conservative source also confirmed that Brexit talks are expected to start next week as well. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Government has finally announced when the Queen's Speech setting out Theresa May's legislative agenda will take place - two days later than it should have. The event had originally been due on Monday, but amid the chaos that followed the election, Downing Street refused to confirm when it would happen. The Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom announced in Parliament that it will now take place on Wednesday next week, indicating that Ms May has sealed a deal with Northern Irish unionists to prop up her Government. In a statement, Ms Leadsom said: "The Government has agreed with Buckingham Palace that the State Opening of Parliament will take place on 21 June 2017." The Queen's Speech is effectively a list of all the laws that a government wants to pass over the course of a parliament and once it is read out by the monarch, is voted upon in the House of Commons. Passing the vote is the most basic test of any administration's credibility. But due to Ms May's failure to secure a Tory majority, it was unclear the Conservatives could win the vote to enshrine her agenda in law. That ministers have now confirmed the date, signals they believe they can win a vote, and therefore must have a solid pledge that Northern Irish DUP MPs will back Ms May in the Commons. Andrea Leadsom announced the date for the Queen's Speech (OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) The announcement also saves Ms May from the embarrassment of having to delay Brexit talks too much, after previously indicating they would also begin on June 19. It would also have been humiliating for the Prime Minister to have to turn up to the European Council meeting on June 22 without having any legislative agenda for Brexit. But the prospect of a deal with the DUP, now raises further questions for the Government's approach to power sharing in Northern Ireland. John Major: People shouldnt regard peace in Northern Ireland as a given Ms May is due to meet Sinn Fein and other parties in Downing Street today to discuss the implications, after warnings from ex-Tory leader Sir John Major that a DUP deal could risk peace. Sir John highlighted the danger of "hard men still there, lurking in the corners of communities deciding they wish to return to some sort of violence". He added: "We need to do everything we conceivably can to ensure that doesnt happen and that does require an impartial British government." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Islamist extremists attacked a popular Somalia restaurant in an overnight siege and killed 31 people many at point-blank range before they were slain by security forces, police have said. Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as the five gunmen hunted for victims in the darkened Pizza House restaurant. Nearly 40 people were wounded. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, which began on Wednesday evening with a car bomb exploding at the gate to the restaurant and ended when troops secured the site after dawn, said senior police Captain Mohamed Hussein. I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again. They were killing people on sight, university student Saida Hussein told The Associated Press. She said she survived by hiding behind a large table. Soldiers in gun-mounted vehicles surrounded the building, and troops later entered the ground floor as al-Shabaab snipers defended their positions upstairs. The battle to end the siege was hampered by darkness, Hussein said. Aden Karie said he was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain. "He shot at me twice, and one bullet struck me on the leg," Karie said as he was taken to an ambulance. The bodies of five girls believed to have been killed by the extremists were found in the restaurant, police said. The body of a Syrian man who worked as a chef lay near a blood-spattered and bullet-marked wall. The car bomb that began the attack blew the roofs off the restaurant and other nearby buildings. Many of the first victims were young men who had been entering the Pizza House when the bomb went off, Hussein said. The extremists, appearing to pose as security forces, then rushed inside the restaurant. The gunmen were dressed in military uniforms. They forced those fleeing the site to go inside, witness Nur Yasin told the AP. A neighbouring restaurant, Posh Treats, which is frequented by the citys elite, was damaged in the blast, security officials said. Security forces rescued Asian, Ethiopian, Kenyan and other workers at Posh Treats as the attack continued, Hussein said. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed called the victims martyrs and noted that the attack came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The United States mission to Somalia said many of the victims had been breaking their daily Ramadan fast when the attack began. Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection and increased piety, which makes the timing of this attack all the more atrocious, the US statement said. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Somalia-based al-Shabaab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu, including hotels, military checkpoints and areas near the presidential palace. It has vowed to step up attacks after the recently elected government launched a new military offensive against it. Al-Shabaab was the deadliest Islamist extremist group in Africa last year, killing more than 4,200 people, according to the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The extremist group also faces a new military push from the US after President Donald Trump approved expanded operations, including air strikes. On Sunday, the US military in Africa said it conducted an air strike in southern Somalia that killed eight extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp. Somalias president confirmed the air strike and said such attacks would disrupt the groups ability to conduct new operations. Pressure is growing on Somalia's military to assume full security responsibilities for the country. The 22,000-member African Union multinational force, AMISOM, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020. AP Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Australian Prime Minister has performed a skit on stage ridiculing Donald Trump's mannerisms and poking fun at him over fake polls and Russia. Malcolm Turnbull gave the light-hearted speech behind closed doors to a room full of journalists in Canberra at the Australian Parliaments annual mid-winter ball. Traditionally remarks from the event are not reported upon, but a recording of the premier's routine leaked online and has now been shared around the world. In it Mr Turnbull, who leads the Australian Liberal Party, can be heard impersonating the President, who he met for the first time in New York last month. It was beautiful. It was the most beautiful putting-me-at-ease ever, he joked. The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls. We are winning so much, we are winning, we are winning in ways we have never won before." He then alludes to the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaigns links with Russia, adding: I have this Russian guy Believe me, its true, it is true. Journalist Laurie Oakes, political editor of the Nine Network, leaked details of the speech because he did not attend the event himself and therefore does not believe he should be bound by offthe-record rules. Mr Turnbull has yet to comment on the leaked recording. The relationship between the President and the Australian PM did not get off to the best of starts when Mr Trump reportedly told Mr Turnbull he had spoken with four other leaders - including Russian President Vladimir Putin and that this was the worst call by far. Mr Trump, however, derided reports of a stormy phone conversation between the two as fake news. They said we had a rough phone call we didnt really have a rough phone call. It got a little bit testy. But thats okay. The President then kept Mr Turnbull waiting for three hours before the pair met in New York. Mr Trump said after that meeting the US had a fantastic relationship with Australia. I love Australia. I always have, he said, before stating hew would absolutely visit the country as President. That will happen. One of the great, great places. One of the most beautiful places on earth, he said. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The US has sold Qatar $12bn (9.4bn)-worth of fighter jets just days after President Donald Trump accused the country of being a high-level sponsor of terrorism. The deal was signed off by the US Defence Ministry and reportedly included 36 F-15 combat aircraft. US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Qatari Minister of State for Defence Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah met on Wednesday to seal the agreement, according to one source familiar with the deal. Qatar and the United States have solidified their military cooperation by having fought together side by side for many years now in an effort to eradicate terrorism and promote a future of dignity and prosperity, Mr al-Attiyah said in a statement. The Pentagon claimed the sale would increase security cooperation between the US and Qatar. Mr Mattis and Mr al-Attiyah discussed the current state of operations against Isis and the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the Gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals, the Pentagon added in a statement following the deal. In November, the US approved the possible sale of up to 72 F-15QA aircraft to Qatar for $21.1bn (16.5bn), but it was unclear whether this was the same transaction. Boeing Co is the prime contractor on the fighter jet sale to the Middle East nation, but declined to comment. It comes after Mr Trump accused Qatar of being a high-level sponsor of terrorism on Friday, potentially hindering the US Department of State's efforts to ease heightening tensions and a blockade of the Gulf nation by Arab states and others. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Qatar remains the home of some 10,000 American troops at a major US military base. So far, the dispute between Doha and nations led by Saudi Arabia has yet to shake that partnership, though cracks are showing in responses from Mr Trump and his administration. Mr Trump's accusations that Qatar is involved in the funding of terrorist groups was one of the main allegations made by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain when they initially cut diplomatic ties on 5 June. Additional reporting by agencies Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} During Senator Kamala D. Harris' 25-year career in law enforcement, she has established herself as a formidable presence in the courtroom, on the campaign trail and ultimately in government. She grew up watching her African American dad and Indian American mother protest for civil rights in Berkeley and took that fierce fight for justice with her to law school. She served two terms as San Francisco's first female district attorney and was the first woman elected as California's Attorney General. It's the resume of hard-charging legal advocate, not unlike many others in Congress, where she is now a freshman senator from California. Those who know her also know she doesn't back down. While such attributes are often rewarded in Washington, they're not going over so well for Harris - at least with some male colleagues and cable commentators. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee responsible for investigating Russian interference with the 2016 election and connections between the country and Trump campaign officials, Harris has landed a star role in the country's political drama. She has used her prosecutorial background to ask pointed, tough questions - and for that she is being admonished. One former Trump campaign adviser on CNN called her hysterical. To those who have observed hearings on Capitol Hill, especially high-visibility televised hearings involving partisan subjects, there has been little or nothing unusual about Harris's behaviour. Members get a small amount of time to ask questions and make their points. Unfriendly witnesses are inclined to string out their answers and let the clock run. Recommended Senators accused of interrupting Kamala Harris because of her gender The result, one side rushing, the other stalling, is never pretty. The phrase, just give me a yes or no answer, is so often heard it ought to be engraved on the Capitol portico. But twice now, Harris has been interrupted and chastised by male senators for her style of questioning during the hearings. It happened first last week during questioning of Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and then again Tuesday when Attorney General Jeff Sessions was testifying. Each member of the committee had a limited number of minutes to question Sessions, who was forced to recuse himself from the Russia investigation after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose his contacts with Russian diplomats during the campaign. Sessions and Harris spoke over each other throughout the interaction; Sessions seemed eager to slowly and thoroughly deliver his response, and Harris seemed just as eager to push him along, especially when his responses weren't addressing the answers she sought. At one point, Sessions said he was not able to be rushed this fast. It makes me nervous, he told Harris. Sessions refused to answer numerous questions from the panel, citing what he called a long-standing Department of Justice policy that prevented him from commenting on private communications with President Trump. Harris asked if the policy was written down, to which Sessions gave no clear answer but instead explained the principle of it. Sir, I am not asking you about the principle, Harris interjected. I am asking - when you knew that you would be asked these questions and you would rely on that policy, did you not ask your staff to show you the policy that would be the basis for your refusing to answer the majority of questions we are asking you... At that moment, Senator John McCain, Republican-Arizona, cut in and appealed to the committee chairman, Senator Richard Burr, Republican-North Carolina. The witness should be allowed to answer the question, McCain said. Senators will allow the chair to control the hearing, Burr said, pointing to McCain. Senator Harris, let him answer. Sessions then went on to describe the principle, at length. Before Harris got her yes or no answer, Burr cut her off and said her time had expired. After the exchange, Harris tweeted: It was a simple question. Can Sessions point to the policy, in writing, that allows him to not answer a whole host of our questions today. The scene was nearly identical to one that played out during a hearing last week, when Harris was questioning Rosenstein. From him, Harris also asked for a simple yes or no answer to her question, a phrasing that is routine in hearings as members rush to ask as many questions as they can. Would he sign a letter giving Special Counsel Robert Mueller full independence from the Justice Department during his own Russia probe, she asked. Senator, I'm very sensitive about time and I'd like to have a very lengthy conversation and explain that all to you, Rosenstein responded. Can you give me a 'yes or no' answer? Harris asked. It's not a short answer, senator, Rosenstein said. It is, she said, cutting him off. Either you are willing to do that or you are not. The exchange felt like a contentious courtroom battle between a prosecutor and a key witness, one that apparently irritated McCain. He interrupted Harris and told the chairman Rosenstein should be able to answer the question. Harris continued interrogating the Deputy Attorney General, again pressing him to give a yes or no answer. Then Burr interjected. Will the senator suspend? Burr interjected. The chair is going to exercise its right to allow the witnesses to answer the question, and the committee is on notice to provide the witnesses the courtesy, which has not been extended all the way across, extend the courtesy for questions to get answered. As with Sessions, Harris never got her answer before time expired. Harris spokesman Tyrone Gayle told the Associated Press that the senator has run countless investigations, and will follow the facts wherever they may lead to get the truth for the American people. That can only happen when witnesses answer questions, he said. Both hearing exchanges have prompted women to discuss aloud and online how Harris's experiences with her fellow senators are only highlighting the treatment average women, especially women of colour, experience every day. Women of color understand what Kamala Harris is dealing with, Tanzina Vega, a CNN reporter who covers race and inequality, wrote on Twitter. Raise your hand if you've been shushed, silenced, scolded, etc. Her words were retweeted nearly 2,000 times and garnered more than 3,000 likes. I thought so, she responded. Thanks ladies. Later Tuesday night, during a segment with CNN's Anderson Cooper, former Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said Sessions knocked away some of the hysteria from Kamala Harris and some of the Democrats who wanted to make this a big partisan show. CNN political analyst Kirsten Powers quickly seized on Miller's use of hysteria, a word with historic sexist undertones grounded in a psychological disorder tied to women's physiology. Sessions denied having any role in Russia's efforts to influence the 2016 campaign (AP) How was Senator Kamala Harris hysterical? Powers asked. Miller said he thought there was no real effort to get a real question answered. I think she asked a lot of questions, Powers said. She was very dogged. I wouldn't say she was any more dogged than Senator Ron Wyden was, would you say that? (Wyden also had a contentious exchange with Sessions.) I think she was hysterical, Miller said. I don't think Senator Wyden was trying to get to the bottom of answers either. But he wasn't hysterical, Powers said. She was. The CNN commentator and Trump supporter then chimed in: Hysteria is a neutral quality, he said. And yet, replied Powers, it's just women that usually are called hysterical. Harris's treatment has not gone unnoticed. The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images The admonishments from men have in fact elevated Harris's profile, prompting comparisons with her with fellow female Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat-Massachusetts, who was censured during Sessions's confirmation hearing earlier this year and inspired the rallying cry, Nevertheless, she persisted. After a contentious exchange between Harris and Sessions during Wednesday's intelligence hearing, Harris tweeted: The women of the United States Senate will not be silenced when seeking the truth. The Washington Post Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Kansas man who robbed a bank to get away from his wife has been sentenced to six months house arrest as his punishment due to his mental health. Lawrence John Ripple, 70, walked into the Bank of Labor just down the street from police headquarters in Kansas City with a note demanding money and that he had a gun. He had written the note at home in front of his wife after telling her he would "rather be in jail than at home," the Kansas City Star reported. Recommended Man pleads guilty to robbing Kansas bank as pretext to escape wife After the teller handed him nearly $3,000 in cash, Mr Ripple waited in the lobby for police to arrive. Mr Ripple had multiple bypass heart surgery in 2015 and suffered from depression that, according to lawyers, went undiagnosed. Prior to the robbery, he lived a normal, law-abiding life as a husband and stepfather to four children. His public defender called the robbery a "cry for help". At the sentencing trial Mr Ripple said he had sought medical help for his mental health and said he "feel[s] like his old self". Criminals and their nicknames Show all 5 1 /5 Criminals and their nicknames Criminals and their nicknames Criminals and their nicknames Alphone 'Scarface' Capone (AFP/Getty) AFP/Getty Criminals and their nicknames Criminals and their nicknames Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, aka Carlos the Jackal (EPA) EPA Criminals and their nicknames Criminals and their nicknames Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber Criminals and their nicknames Criminals and their nicknames Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper (GEtty) Getty Criminals and their nicknames Criminals and their nicknames Jihadi John AP The vice president of the bank and the teller both supported a request for leniency for Mr Ripple given his mental health state. It is incredibly rare for someone who commits a bank robbery not to be sentenced to prison and Mr Ripple's sentence could have faced up to 37 months per local law. He will also serve three years of supervised probation and must do 50 hours of community service. Mr Ripple was ordered to pay $227.27 to the bank, which represents the billable hours for bank employees sent home on the day of robbery. He is also required to give $100 to a crime victims fund. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Polygamist Mormon sect leader Lyle Jeffs has been captured in South Dakota after being on the run for almost a year. The FBI had been looking for him since June 2016 when he escaped from house confinement in Utah after slipping off his GPS ankle monitor. He had been placed on house arrest while awaiting trial for his alleged involvement in a multimillion scheme to defraud the USs food stamps programme. After he escaped, the FBI had issued a $50,000 reward and a wanted poster saying that Mr Jeffs should be considered armed and dangerous. The bureau announced its capture in a Thursday morning tweet: #ARRESTED: FLDS leader Lyle Jeffs in custody after nearly a year on the lam. Mr Jeffs became the leader of his Mormon sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after his notorious older brother, Warren Jeffs, was jailed . The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images The Jeffs' church split off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1930s after the Mormon establishment rejected polygamy. Prosecutors accused Mr Jeffs and other sect leaders of instructing followers to buy items with their food stamp cards and give them to a church warehouse where leaders decided how to distribute products to followers. Food stamps were also cashed at sect-owned stores without the users getting anything in return and the money was then diverted to front companies and used to pay thousands for a tractor, truck and other items, prosecutors have said. The defendants denied wrongdoing and said they were sharing food as part of their communal living practices. Mr Jeffs was the last of the defendants in the food stamp fraud case still behind bars when US District Judge Ted Stewart reversed an earlier decision and granted his release in June 2016. Prosecutors argued Mr Jeffs was a flight risk. While Mr Jeffs was a fugitive, nine of the 10 other people charged in the high-profile February 2016 bust accepted plea deals. Charges against one man were dismissed. The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has confirmed a meeting of the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, but did not give any specific dates. "The meeting will definitely take place, we are preparing it. But we should keep you on the edge of your seats. Svyatoslav Tsegolko will make a statement soon (simultaneously with our American friends), but we are now working on a large part of the speech," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry Pavlo Klimkin told journalists in Kyiv on Wednesday, responding to a question about the possibility of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's visit to the U.S. next week. The minister also said the agenda of the meeting will include issues related to Russia's meeting its commitments under the Minsk agreements, as well as the occupied Crimea, access to the peninsula by international observers, bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and the United States and assistance to reforms in Ukraine. The minister also said they will discuss security cooperation between Ukraine and the United States, and "important political decisions in this area" will be taken. The minister also specified that the parties in preparation for the Poroshenko-Trump meeting were agreeing the format for the U.S. participation in negotiations on the settlement of the Donbas conflict. "Before the meeting it was important for us to agree with our American partners about the format of their engagement, whether this will be a parallel format or a format of interaction at certain levels with the Normandy format. A lot of important news will appear soon," Klimkin said. In his words, Kyiv and Washington will continue to search for ways to put pressure on Russia. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has given the Pentagon complete authority to set troop levels in Afghanistan, hours after his Defence Secretary suggested the US was losing the war. Defence Secretary James Mattis told Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence that the President had delegated him complete authority over the number of troops, as he had previously done for the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. The day before, Mr Mattis had told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the US was not winning the war in Afghanistan. Recommended At least seven killed by suspected bomb at historic Afghan mosque The Taliban had a good year last year, and theyre trying to have a good one this year, he said. Right now, I believe the enemy is surging. Many felt the Secretary was hinting he wanted to send more troops to the country. General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, said earlier this year that he needs a few thousand more troops in the fight against Isis, the Taliban, and other militant groups. In a statement on Wednesday, however, Mr Mattis said his newfound authority "does not in itself change the force levels for Afghanistan". "Rather, it ensures the Department of Defence can facilitate our missions and align our commitment to the rapidly evolving security situation, giving our troops greater latitude to provide air power and other vital support," the Secretary continued. Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Show all 16 1 /16 Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2001 Afghans at the Killi Faizo refugee camp desperately reach for bags of rice being handed out to the thousands who escaped the bombardment in southern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Chaman, Pakistan, December 4, 2001) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2002 Mahbooba stands against a bullet-ridden wall, waiting to be seen at a medical clinic. The seven-year-old girl suffers from leishmaniasis, a parasitical infection. (Kabul, March 1, 2002) All photos Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2003 A mother and her two children look out from their cave dwelling. Many families who, fleeing the Taliban, took refuge inside caves adjacent to Bamiyans destroyed ancient Buddha statues now have nowhere else to live. (Bamiyan, November 19, 2003) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Students recite prayers in a makeshift outdoor classroom in the Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from India and Pakistan. (Northeastern Afghanistan, September 2, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Bodybuilders in the 55-60 kg category square off during a regional bodybuilding competition. Many Afghan men, like others around the world, feel that a macho image of physical strength is important. (Kabul, August 6, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2008 A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Addicts inject heroin while trying to keep warm inside the abandoned Russian Cultural Center, which the capital citys addicts use as a common gathering point. Heroin is readily available, costing about one dollar a hit. (Kabul, February 9, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Seven-year-old Attiullah, a patient at Mirwais Hospital, stands alongside an X ray showing the bullet that entered his back, nearly killing him. Attiullah was shot by US forces when he was caught in a crossfire as he was herding sheep. (Kandahar, October 13, 2009). Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 An Afghan National Army battalion marches back to barracks at the Kabul Military Training Center. (Kabul, October 4, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Eid Muhammad, seventy, lives in a house with a view overlooking the hills of Kabul. He and millions of other Afghans occupy land and housing without possessing formal deeds to them. (Kabul, November 21, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Razima holds her two-year-old son, Malik, while waiting for medical attention at the Boost Hospital emergency room. (Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, June 23, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Young women cheer as they attend a rally for the Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani. (Kabul, April 1, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Burqa-clad women wait to vote after a polling station runs out of ballots. (Kabul, April 5, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2015 Relatives, friends, and womens rights activists grieve at the home of Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob in the center of Kabul. Farkhunda was violently beaten and set on fire after a local cleric accused her of burning a Quran. (Kabul, March 22, 2015) Paula Bronstein The number of troops in Afghanistan was capped at around 8,400 under President Barack Obama a significant drop from the 100,000 he deployed in 2011. Some in the Pentagon have complained that the Obama White Houses troop management system prevented them from acting quickly, and obscured the true number of troops in the country. In some instances, the military would call in private contractors or temporary forces to avoid exceeding Obama-imposed troop limits. Critics of Mr Trumps plan, however, feel it represents the Presidents growing leniency with the military. As a private citizen, Mr Trump railed against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, calling them a waste of lives and money. As President, however, Mr Trump has increasingly deferred to military leaders in making strategic decisions. The former businessman quickly agreed to launching an air strike on Syria in April, and subsequently handed over control of troop levels in both Syria and Iraq to the Pentagon. Ned Price, senior director of the National Security Council under Mr Obama, added that the decision to deploy troops should be made in concert with political, economic, and development agencies not just the military. Failing to do so can be a detriment to our strategic goals for the country or region in question and, in places where brave Americans are deployed, place our men and women in uniform at greater risk, Mr Price told The Independent. More than 2,300 Americans have been killed and more than 17,000 have been wounded in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001. Mr Mattis told the Armed Services Committee he hoped to brief them on a new plan by mid-July. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Law enforcement officials plan to announce charges on Thursday against a dozen members of the Turkish Presidents security detail for their involvement in a brutal attack on protesters outside the Turkish ambassadors residence here last month, two US officials said Wednesday. Authorities have already charged several others, including two Americans and two Canadians, with taking part in the skirmish. The Washington police have been investigating the 16 May incident along with the State Department and the Secret Service. The police planned to announce the charges Thursday morning, according to the two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the charges before they were made public. Washington police officials confirmed that the two Americans are Sinan Narin, of Virginia, and Eyup Yildirim, of New Jersey. Narin was charged with felony and misdemeanour assault. Yildirim, who can be seen on video repeatedly kicking a protester, was charged with two felony counts and one misdemeanour assault count. The two did not immediately return calls Wednesday requesting comment. Recommended Two arrested over brawl between Turkish protestors and bodyguards The entire security detail for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey left the country with him just hours after the incident. Members of the security team face several felony and misdemeanour counts, the US officials said. It is unlikely that Turkey would extradite the men to the United States to face the charges, but they do face the possibility of arrest if they ever return. The State Department said Wednesday that it would weigh additional action against those who have been charged, as appropriate under relevant laws and regulations. The Turkish Embassy here did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement after the incident, the embassy said that anti-Erdogan protesters had caused the violence by aggressively provoking Turkish-American citizens who had gathered to greet the president. Videos showed armed guards storming a small group of peaceful, anti-Erdogan protesters in plain sight of federal and local law enforcement officers. A chaotic scene followed in which the guards, protesters, pro-Erdogan civilians and US law enforcement tangled on the street and in a nearby park. Nine people were hospitalised. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The New York Times, after analysing videos and photos, identified at least 24 men, including armed Turkish security forces, who had attacked protesters. Another video shows Erdogan watching the attack play out from a car parked a few yards away. The New York Times Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has hit out at reports he is being investigated for possible obstruction of justice as part of the investigation into his campaign teams links to Russia. The US President, who faces allegations of obstructing the investigation for firing former FBI director James Comey, is reportedly the subject of a probe by the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, looking into possible collusion between his campaign and Moscow. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history led by some very bad and conflicted people! he added. According to The Washington Post, since Mr Comeys firing on 9 May, Mr Mueller, the special prosecutor, has started to look at Mr Trumps actions as part of the wider investigation into alleged Russia interference in the 2016 US presidential election. The move would mark a dramatic shift in the course of the investigation, which Mr Trump has so far sought to dismiss and brush away. The Post reported that five officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said the possible obstruction-of-justice investigation of the New York tycoon began days after Mr Trump fired Mr Comey. Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, and Richard Ledgett, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency (NSA), had agreed to be interviewed by Mr Muellers investigators as early as this week, said the newspaper. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Mr Trumps legal team, on Wednesday denounced the report, saying: The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal. A spokesman for Mr Muellers team declined to comment. The NSA said in a statement that it would fully cooperate with the special counsel and declined to comment further. Last week, Mr Comey testified in a Senate hearing that he believed he was fired because of the Russia investigation. Mr Comey also said he had told Mr Trump he was not under investigation. I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him, and he decided to fire me because of that, he said. Donald Trump is willing to testify under oath on Comey Mr Trump had previously told a television reporter that one of the reasons he had fired the 56-year-old was because of the ongoing probe into possible collusion with Russia something the President said was nothing more than fake news being generated by those angry about his election victory. When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, its an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they shouldve won, Mr Trump told NBC. Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Show all 8 1 /8 Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Mr Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he believed Mr Trump had directed him in February to drop an FBI probe into former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, that was part of the broader Russia investigation. Mr Comey would not say in his testimony whether he thought the President sought to obstruct justice, but added it would be up to special counsel Mr Mueller to sort that out. The administration initially gave differing reasons for his dismissal, including that he had lost the confidence of the FBI, before Mr Trump cited the Russia issue. Clearly still having the issue on his mind, Mr Trump tweeted again hours after his first outburst, suggesting that Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the election, should be under investigation instead of him. Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?" the President tweeted, adding in a second missive, "Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?" Several US congressional committees are also looking into the question of Russian election interference and possible Trump campaign collusion. On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence's office said he had hired a lawyer known for defending government officials in high-profile investigations to help Mr Pence through the various probes Mr Pence chose Richard Cullen, chairman of law firm McGuireWoods, a former US federal prosecutor who has long ties to former former FBI director Mr Comey Mr Cullen represents former FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the corruption probe into world soccer's governing body. He represented Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican and former majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, during the investigation into corrupt Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Mr DeLay was not charged. Mr Pence had been looking at hiring his own counsel for several weeks, and made his decision earlier this week after interviewing several candidates, his office said. "The vice president is focused entirely on his duties and promoting the president's agenda and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter," Pence spokesman Jarrod Agen said in a statement. As for Mr Trump, while a sitting president is unlikely to face criminal prosecution, obstruction of justice could form the basis for impeachment. Any such step would face a steep hurdle as it would require approval by the US House of Representatives, which is controlled by Mr Trumps fellow Republicans. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence Committee one of the bodies looking at the issue of Russian meddling said he would not comment on whether Mr Mueller was looking at possible obstruction of justice by Mr Trump but said Congress certainly needs to get to the bottom of the issue. Separately, the House committee said former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson would appear at a public hearing on the Russia probe on 21 June. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Democratic Senator Kamala Harris may have been interrupted again by her Republican colleagues during a hearing because she is a woman, some have suggested. When asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions about his refusal to answer questions regarding discussions he may have had with Donald Trump, Republican senator John McCain interjected, suggesting that Ms Harris should give Mr Sessions time to respond to her queries. The witness should be allowed to answer the question, Mr McCain said. Republican Senator Richard Burr, chairman of the committee, quickly responded, telling Ms Harris to let him answer. Mr Sessions testified publicly as part of the committee's ongoing investigation into whether Trump campaign officials conspired with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election. During the hearing, the attorney general a close adviser to Mr Trump during his presidential campaign rejected accusations that he may have colluded with the Russians. He also repeatedly refused to discuss his conversations with the President. Ms Harris appears to have been the only senator that was interrupted and scolded throughout the proceeding, even though many senators, including Democrat Mark Warner, the ranking member of the committee, also interrupted Mr Sessions responses to questions. A similar exchange had occurred last week at a Senate intelligence committee hearing that involved hours of aggressive questioning of top intelligence and law enforcement officials. Again at the plea of Mr McCain, Mr Burr admonished Ms Harris for cutting off Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, telling her to be more courteous in her questioning. The chair is going to exercise the right to allow the witnesses to answer the question, and the committee is on notice to provide the witnesses the courtesy which has not been extended all the way across extend the courtesy for questions to get answered, Mr Burr said. Several critics of Mr Burrs comments have raised the issue on social media of whether gender has played a role in the interruptions. On Tuesday, Democratic senator Ron Wyden tweeted that Ms Harris was again doing her job. She was interrupted for asking tough questions. I was not interrupted, Mr Wyden said. News outlets have already named Ms Harris a potential contender for the 2020 presidential election, although she has avoided discussing her future ambitions. A few hours after the hearing concluded, Ms Harris tweeted, The women of the United States Senate will not be silenced when seeking the truth, along with a link to a fundraising page for female Senators. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Russian cyber attack on the US electoral system affected almost 40 states during the 2016 election, sources have revealed. The cyber attack which targeted software used by poll workers on election day hit 39 states, sources familiar with the US investigation into the matter told Bloomberg. That number, if accurate, represents a far larger attack than previously reported. The Intercept recently published a top-secret National Security Agency document detailing an attempted launch of a Russian spear-phishing campaign on local governments in advance of the US election. The report suggested hackers had accessed at least one US voting software supplier. Recommended Russian hackers tried to hack US voting software days before election According to Bloomberg, however, the hackers accessed dozens of voter databases and at least one campaign finance database. The attack was so severe that it drove Obama administration officials to complain directly to the Russian government via a "red phone". The administration feared the hackers would delete voter rolls or otherwise tamper with the voting process in order to undermine confidence in the election. "International law, including the law for armed conflict, applies to actions in cyberspace," the White House warned in one message to Moscow, NBC reported. "We will hold Russia to those standards." The hacking efforts continued even after this warning. The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images One former US intelligence official told Bloomberg it was unlikely the Russians had learned how to actually change votes across the country in the short time after the attack. But with three years until the next election, another warned, they will have ample time to practise. Former FBI Director James Comey seemed to echo these sentiments in his Senate hearing last week. [This] it is a long-term practise of theirs, the former intelligence official said of Moscow. It's stepped up a notch in a significant way in '16. They'll be back. The Russian government has denied any meddling in the 2016 election. The US investigation into the incident started in Illinois, where hackers accessed as many as 90,000 voter records. These records include names, dates of birth, genders, drivers incenses and partial Social Security numbers, according to Ken Menzel, general counsel for the Illinois board of elections. Investigators used this evidence to uncover successful hacking efforts in 38 other states. A former Obama administration official acknowledged the scope of the hacking in a statement to Bloomberg. Last year, as we detected intrusions into websites managed by election officials around the country, the administration worked relentlessly to protect our election infrastructure, said Eric Schultz, a spokesman for Mr Obama. US intelligence agencies had previously reported that Russian hackers accessed elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards. The extent of this breach, however, was not revealed in the January report from the CIA, NSA and FBI. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Senate voted in an overwhelming majority to sign into law new sanctions on Russia, undermining Donald Trump's ability to lift them and signalling that Republicans and Democrats are putting politics aside. The bill now goes to House for a vote and ultimately to Mr Trumps desk for signature - . With a 98-2 vote, the Senate showed that it is in the national interest to penalise Russia for its interference in the 2016 election, Edward Fishman, a nonresident Fellow at the Atlantic Councils Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, told The Independent. The bill is actually regarding sanctions against Iran, with the amendment for Russia having been added in a 97-2 Senate vote on Wednesday, a move which Executive Director of the Center for National Interest Paul Saunders told The Independent was very significant. Most Republicans would have been reluctant to vote for a stand-alone Russia sanctions bill because it could be seen as a knock against the President, explained Mr Fishman. The ongoing FBI, House, Senate, and now Special Prosecutor investigations involving Mr Trump, his campaign team, and alleged ties to Russia, as well as reports that two US-based diplomatic compounds could be returned to Moscow have all triggered concern over the administrations stance. Mr Saunders said that Senate Democrats were not ready to move on Iran sanctions without the Russian amendment so the addition of it shows a political understanding between the parties. Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said that the bipartisan amendment is the sanctions regime that the Kremlin deserves for its actions. It is time to respond to Russias attack on American Democracy with strength, with resolve, with common purpose and with action, Republican Senator John McCain said. Chuck Schumer, the ranking Democrat in the Senate, said the bipartisan nature and broader coverage of the bill shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not escape reproach. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Despite how quickly the bill moved through the Senate - just one week of debate - there was little knowledge in the way of a House timeline. Mr Saunders said there is a widespread concern regarding Russia across parties but re-election in 2018 is certainly a concern for many members of Congress and that could affect the timing and how House members vote, said Mr Saunders. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had urged Congress not to pass the bill despite the need to address issues with Iran because it would limit diplomatic maneuvering, according to Foreign Policy The relationship between the United States and Russia is at an all-time low and its getting worse, he said, adding that passing the bill would not help move the constructive dialogue he built further along. The White House said it thinks the existing sanctions against Russia are effective, which could mean they do not support the Senate bill that expands them. The issue, as Mr Saunders pointed out, is the Senate bill expands sanctions on Russia to include railway, mining, energy, and finance sectors and the more you broaden [economic] sanctions, the larger the number of stakeholders involved in those sanctions. The new bill targets one of Russias big projects - a natural gas pipeline that circumvents Ukraine and directly feeds the rest of Europe. It also includes language putting sanctions on anyone involved in "malicious cyber activity," the supply of arms to Bashar al-Assads regime in Syria, and the Russian intelligence community. The legislation sends a very, very strong signal to Russia, the nefarious activities they've been involved in, Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said as lawmakers debated the measure. However, many do not expect the bill to pass the House without some changes being made, possibly softening the bill so that the Trump administration can sign it without diplomatic damage. The timing of the House vote will be key, according to Mr Saunders who agrees with Mr Tillersons assessment. A longer debate could leave room for the House Republican leadership and the White House to coordinate on a strategy and improve relations with Moscow in the interim or get leverage. If the House ultimately decides not to pass the bill, Mr Fishman said it would be a be a betrayal of their responsibility to defend America's national security. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A former CIA analyst said that the intelligence community may be "getting frustrated because the threat of Russia appears to be ignored by Congress and President Donald Trump's administration. "It would be hard to gauge, but I would imagine the intelligence community is focused on trying to counter Russia's active measures," Nada Bakos told MSNBC. Ms Bakos has over 20 years experience in the intelligence community and was a key member of the team that analysed the relationship between Iraq, al-Qaeda, and the September 11 attacks, Recommended Majority of Americans think Trump tried to interfere in Russia probe She told The Independent she has not spoken to anyone who currently works in the intelligence community, and on said on air that "it's probably a little like pre-[September 11] when there was pre-warning analysis being written and delivered to policy makers and they're not really getting any feedback or any strategies, she said. Some warning came as early as May 2001 from the intelligence community but in August of that year, then-President George W. Bush was given a briefing called Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US Russia's propaganda has continued in the US and in European elections, according to Ms Bakos. Ms Bakos was basing her comment off of her own experience and the lack of concrete policy regarding Russia's actions. The Senate did recently vote to pass a bill - with overwhelming majority - to impose expanded sanctions on Russia which target the country's influence in the energy sector. The new bill targets one of Russias big projects - a natural gas pipeline that circumvents Ukraine and directly feeds the rest of Europe. It also includes language putting sanctions on anyone involved in "malicious cyber activity," the supply of arms to Bashar al-Assads regime in Syria, and the Russian intelligence community. The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images She said "it's a good first step" but ideally wants to "see more communication on proposed domestic policies to protect us domestically from Russia's influence and covert ops campaigns." Ms Bakos' comment came just ahead of Attorney General Jeff Sessions testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating alleged ties between Russia and the Trump campaign team as well as Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Mr Sessions had formally recused himself from the FBI investigation back in March 2017, which falls under his purview in the Department of Justice, due to his role as a Trump campaign advisor. Prior to his testimony there were reports that Mr Sessions had a previously undisclosed third meeting with Russian Ambassador the US Sergei Kislyak before Mr Trump entered office. He denied such a meeting during his testimony but said he could have been at a reception which the ambassador may have also attended. I've never received any details, briefing on how hacking occurred or how information was alleged to have influenced the campaigns, Mr Sessions said under oath. He also said the claims that he participated in any collusion, that I was aware of any collusion with the Russian government...is an appalling and detestable lie". In January, 17 intelligence agencies issued a report that showed Russia did in fact hack emails of Republicans and Democrats and spread fake news from Russian state-owned outlets with the goal of denigrating Hillary Clinton. Members of the administration - including CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Defence Secretary James Mattis, and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly - have all been briefed on the Russian's interference in the election. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The head of CNN has launched an attack on Donald Trump and other politicians for creating an environment in which journalists are more at threat then most people realise. [It is] unconscionable and dangerous and they should know better, said Jeff Zucker. During the election campaign, Mr Zucker was frequently criticised for the huge amount of free air time he came to Mr Trump. The New York tycoon, who led the Republican field after he announced his candidacy, received markedly more coverage than other candidates, a move that underscored his appeal both to viewers and advertisers. Yet during the campaign, CNN was also among those media outlets that Mr Trump frequently denounced for producing what he called fake news. Mr Trump described the media as terrible people and scum. In a breakfast meeting with reporters, Mr Zucker accused Mr Trump and others of helping create a toxic and dangerous environment for the media. Audio leaked of Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull's joke impression of Donald Trump Weve been dealing with this in a very real and heightened way over the last 18 months, he said. He spoke after Montana congressman Greg Gianforte, recently pleaded guilty to body-slamming a newspaper reporter who had asked him a question the night before his special election victory. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty This is what happens when you try to delegitimise an institution that is trying to do its job, Mr Zucker said, according to the Associated Press. It is shameful on the part of the administration and other politicians to cause a frenzy against something that is guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States. It does a disservice to this country and its position in the world and allows a heightened sense of rhetoric against journalists and media organisations. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A majority of Americans are concerned that President Donald Trump tried to interfere with the investigation into possible collusion between his 2016 campaign and Russias interference in the election. Following a blockbuster Senate testimony from former FBI Director James Comey last week whom Mr Trump fired an Associated Press-NORC poll shows that 68 percent of Americans are very or moderately concerned the President or his campaign staff had inappropriate connexions with Russian officials last year. Nearly half of Americans say theyre very concerned, and just three in 10 say theyre not concerned. Mr Trump fired Mr Comey last month, citing the intelligence chiefs decision to announce last year that Hillary Clinton was no longer under investigation. That rationale, though, was quickly undercut by the President himself during a nationally televised broadcast in which he said that the Russia investigation had played a part in his decision. That disclosure was enough to get some wondering if that constituted efforts to undermine the investigation, and a series of reports since then have added to the intrigue. Memos written contemporaneously by Mr Comey after several interactions with the President say that Mr Trump urged him to drop the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn in a private dinner just a day after Mr Flynn was forced to resign and that the President urged Mr Comey repeatedly to announce publicly that Mr Trump was not personally under investigation. Mr Flynn resigned less than a month into the Trump presidency after it was discovered he had misled Vice President Mike Pence by saying he had not discussed Russian sanctions with Kremlin officials during the presidential transition period. He had done so. The White House knew about the allegations for weeks before Mr Flynns ultimate downfall. The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images The new poll also indicates that Americans dont approve of the Presidents decision to fire Mr Comey in the first place. Just 22 percent of voters overall say they thought it was a good idea, and just over half say they disapprove of the firing. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Governor of Hawaii is looking forward to the seemingly inevitable Supreme Court showdown between his states Attorney General and Donald Trumps administration over the Presidents controversial travel ban. That contest became a virtual certainty just this week when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a freeze originating in Hawaii on Mr Trumps proposed ban. Governor David Ige says that the diversity in his state is something to be celebrated not curtailed and that his state government is willing to push back against the isolationist impulses coming out of the White House. Hawaii is a very special place. We are a community of minorities. Our legacy is that we have welcomed wave after wave of immigrants to our state, and they have all contributed greatly to the sense of community, Mr Ige told The Independent. The court decisions over the travel ban have clearly upset the President, with his administration already on its second attempt to halt incoming travel from several predominantly Muslim countries. The executive order would prohibit incoming travellers from Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iran and Libya for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days while the US government reviews vetting procedure looking for possible improvements. As for the Hawaiian islands, they have an extensive history of immigration that has contributed to the rich cultural diversity there. It is one of just four US states where residents of European ancestry dont add up to a majority, and many of the residents there descend from Asian settlers who came to work on sugarcane plantations starting in the late 19th and early 20th century. Even today, more than one in six residents in the state are immigrants, providing billions of dollars in tax revenue and more than $31bn (24bn) in consumer purchasing power. Located in the central Pacific, Hawaii is geographically distant from the US, but houses the military base that fell victim to the largest military attack on American soil in history. Even after those Pearl Harbour attacks by Japan which served as a catalyst for the US to join the Second World War the state refrained from joining American mainland states in widespread detainment of Japanese immigrants there. Just 1 per cent of the island states Japanese-origin population ended up in internment camps during that war. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters It is with that backdrop that Mr Ige's administration decided to push back against the travel ban Mr Trump has championed as a means of boosting American security. Aspects of that ban that appear overtly aimed at specific nationalities and religions dont vibe with politicians in a state that is perhaps best known for its laid back surfing culture, colourful leis, and beautiful beaches. Certainly we felt compelled to take a stand against the executive order which, to us, is clearly focused on national origin and religious basis, Mr Ige said. The 9th Circuit Court decision this week affirms the decision by a federal judge in Hawaii to temporarily block Mr Trumps travel ban just before it was to be implemented. Mr Trump has said the ban is in the security interests of the US, but in their ruling the 9th Circuit Court went against the ban on statutory grounds, saying that the President had exceeded the authority Congress had granted his office to make national security judgements. An earlier decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals blocking the ban said that the executive order violated the First Amendments religious protections. The judge in that case wrote that the federal governments argument for the travel ban drops of religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination. Mr Trump has also not seemingly helped himself with tweets about the proposed bans. One in particular, sent in response to the London Bridge terror attack earlier this month, said: Thats right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, Mr Trump wrote, not some politically correct term that wont help us protect our people!. The President has repeatedly called on the Supreme Court to reinstate his travel ban and faced a awkward moment on Thursday in visiting the court to for the investiture of new Justice Neil Gorsuch, whose Senate confirmation in April was his first major accomplishment. Mr Trump was due to speak to the Supreme Court justices before the event, as former presidents have traditionally done. The Trump administration has moved to amend the start date of the travel ban which was introduced in March with the 90-day limit having been set to expire on Wednesday. The White House have said that the start dates would not start until the court injunctions are lifted. The Supreme Court has also recently given the Trump administration more time to file papers responding to the 9th Circuit Court ruling, possibly delaying any decision. As for Mr Ige, he said he wouldnt mind if the nations highest court hear arguments from his state on the matter of the ban. We look forward to the Supreme Court taking up the issue, we are committed, he said. We do believe that it has an impact on our community, and we wanted to make certain that the most important tenets of the Constitution are upheld. National Security and Defense Council Secretary of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov has said there is much to reform in order for Ukraine to meet NATO standards. "Firstly, if a referendum were held today a majority of Ukrainians would vote for accession to NATO. The opinion of Ukrainians on this question has evolved considerably over the past several years. The majority of Ukrainians understand the country needs a reliable system of collective security, both for Europe and the entire world. NATO is a vehicle providing this," Turchynov said in an exclusive interview with the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The NSDC secretary said accession depends both on Ukraine and NATO member states. "Accession is a complicated process. On the one hand, we have the necessary recourses and time to bring Ukraine's security and defense sector up to NATO standards. On the other hand, Ukraine is currently facing down Russian aggression and our allies are reluctant to get too involved in this problem," Turchynov said. "Solutions to some problems require a year. Others require decades," the NSDC secretary said. "Let me go back to what I said earlier. Accession doesn't only depend on Ukraine. Even when we report back [to NATO allies] that everything, starting with weapons, communications equipment and end with organizational structure and systems management, complies with NATO standards, it's not a fact NATO member states will unanimously vote for Ukraine to accede. It's a complicated issue involves the interests of many governments and, of course, Russia will try to prevent this," Turchynov said. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} This week, the 32-year-old came a step closer to securing that achievement when she beat three other candidates for the Democratic primary. She now faces a showdown against a veteran Republican politician known for promoting anti-LBGTQ legislation and views who has called transgender people gender confused. If she does, she would be one of just three openly transgender state officials in the entire country. It would be absolutely historic if a transgender woman was elected to help the improve the roads and make it easier for the people of Virginia to get to work, Ms Roem told The Independent, speaking from Manassas. Ms Roem, a stepmother, faces a tough challenge to win in November. She believes she can do so by knocking on "more than 20,000 doors". She won the primary by campaigning on local issues - roads, the quality of schools, and public transport. She said she had gone out campaigning with a notebook, asked people their concerns, and writing them down. I take notes so I can understand what people want, she said. She said this put her in stark contrast with the man who will her opponent in the battle for Virginias 13th District, incumbent Bob Marshall, who has held the seat since 1992. She said he was campaigning on "cultural issues". First transgender police chief at work in Argentina Earlier this year, Mr Marshall sponsored a failed effort to introduce legislation similar to that which sparked controversy in North Carolina, and which would have forced people to use bathrooms in government buildings that accorded with their original birth certificate, not their gender identity. Mr Marshall says he is proud of his conservative views (Bob Marshall) The Washington Blade said Mr Marshall was also behind the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which made a ban on same-sex marriage part of the state constitution in Virginia until a federal judge overturned the measure. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty He issued a statement to journalists referring to Ms Roem with male pronouns, and saying had always been candid about his conservative views and would run a campaign focused on those issues. Ms Roem is one of seven LGBTQ candidates in Virginia to advance to Novembers general elections. If she wins, she would be the third openly transgender state legislator to ever hold office in the US and one of only a few openly trans elected officials in the world. Mr Marshall, 73, did not immediately respond to inquiries. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Two people have been killed and at least five injured in a terrorist attack on a Shia mosque in Kabul, the Afghan Interior Ministry reports. Witnesses reported hearing a blast and gunfire at the al-Zahra mosque, located on the western outskirts of the city, on Thursday night. Ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said on Twitter that one civilian and one policeman had been killed. Four other civilians and three policemen were also said to be injured. Recommended At least seven killed by suspected bomb at historic Afghan mosque Mr Danesh said the attacker was blocked by police upon trying to enter the mosque. After engaging the police in a gun battle, however, he took refuge in the kitchen and detonated his bomb. Isis has taken responsibility for the blast, which Afghan officials deemed a suicide attack. The attack came during the holy month of Ramadan, on a night when Afghani Muslims packed into mosques around the city for prayer. Senior officials were reportedly due to attend the evening's services at al-Zahra. The blast follows a string of violent events in the city, including a suicide bombing that killed 90 and injured 400 last month. A separate suicide truck bombing on 3 June killed 150, making it the deadliest bombing since the US invaded in 2001. Neither Isis nor the Taliban have taken responsibility. Kabul's Shia majority have been a frequent target of these attacks. An assault on a Shia mosque in November killed 30 people, and an explosion at a mostly Shia demonstration last July killed 80. The mounting fatalities have made some wonder whether the US will be able to defeat burgeoning Isis and Taliban forces in the country. The Taliban have seized control of several districts across the country in the last two years, and have refused to participate in peace negotiations until all foreign forces are removed. A prominent Isis affiliate gained as many as 11,000 foreign fighters in that time period, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani reported. Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Show all 16 1 /16 Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2001 Afghans at the Killi Faizo refugee camp desperately reach for bags of rice being handed out to the thousands who escaped the bombardment in southern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Chaman, Pakistan, December 4, 2001) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2002 Mahbooba stands against a bullet-ridden wall, waiting to be seen at a medical clinic. The seven-year-old girl suffers from leishmaniasis, a parasitical infection. (Kabul, March 1, 2002) All photos Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2003 A mother and her two children look out from their cave dwelling. Many families who, fleeing the Taliban, took refuge inside caves adjacent to Bamiyans destroyed ancient Buddha statues now have nowhere else to live. (Bamiyan, November 19, 2003) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Students recite prayers in a makeshift outdoor classroom in the Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from India and Pakistan. (Northeastern Afghanistan, September 2, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Bodybuilders in the 55-60 kg category square off during a regional bodybuilding competition. Many Afghan men, like others around the world, feel that a macho image of physical strength is important. (Kabul, August 6, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2008 A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Addicts inject heroin while trying to keep warm inside the abandoned Russian Cultural Center, which the capital citys addicts use as a common gathering point. Heroin is readily available, costing about one dollar a hit. (Kabul, February 9, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Seven-year-old Attiullah, a patient at Mirwais Hospital, stands alongside an X ray showing the bullet that entered his back, nearly killing him. Attiullah was shot by US forces when he was caught in a crossfire as he was herding sheep. (Kandahar, October 13, 2009). Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 An Afghan National Army battalion marches back to barracks at the Kabul Military Training Center. (Kabul, October 4, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Eid Muhammad, seventy, lives in a house with a view overlooking the hills of Kabul. He and millions of other Afghans occupy land and housing without possessing formal deeds to them. (Kabul, November 21, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Razima holds her two-year-old son, Malik, while waiting for medical attention at the Boost Hospital emergency room. (Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, June 23, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Young women cheer as they attend a rally for the Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani. (Kabul, April 1, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Burqa-clad women wait to vote after a polling station runs out of ballots. (Kabul, April 5, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2015 Relatives, friends, and womens rights activists grieve at the home of Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob in the center of Kabul. Farkhunda was violently beaten and set on fire after a local cleric accused her of burning a Quran. (Kabul, March 22, 2015) Paula Bronstein President Donald Trump recently handed control of troop levels over to the Pentagon, after his defence secretary declared the US was "not winning" the war. The Taliban had a good year last year, and theyre trying to have a good one this year, Defence Secretary James Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Right now, I believe the enemy is surging. Many believe the delegation of authority to Mr Mattis will result in a troop increase in Afghanistan. The top US commander in the country previously claimed he needs a few thousand more troops to be successful. Mr Mattis said on Wednesday that the change "does not in itself change the force levels for Afghanistan". For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A four-year-old has been found alive after reportedly spending five days alone in the Russian woods. Dima Peskov got lost on a camping trip near Reftinskoye reservoir in the Ural Mountains, which is ridden with bears and wolves. He was found curled up under a tree suffering from dehydration and covered in mosquito bites and ticks. Dima survived by eating grass and drinking water from puddles. He has been taken to hospital and diagnosed with his pneumonia, but his condition is described as grave but stable. A mass search with more than 500 volunteers took place as police suspected Dimas father, Andrey Peskov, had murdered his son and left him in the forest. Our son is now feeling better, he understands me even though he doesnt speak, Dimas father, Andrey Peskov, told The Serbian Times. He talks back by either nodding his head or blinking his eyes. He is very strong, our son, but he spent more than four days in the woods. He is so exhausted. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty I cannot express our gratitude to everyone who helped looking for him. A huge, huge thank you. You didnt leave us alone in trouble, Mr Peskov added. Dima was lost after helping his father collect firewood. Mr Peskov said he thought his son had returned to the campsite to his mother. The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed it was investigating whether the parents were negligent. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Around 300 imams in Austria have signed a declaration calling Isis the black sheep of the Islamic faith and called for fellow Muslims to take a greater role in society. The Islamic Religious Community of Austria (IGGO) signed the declaration against extremism, violence and terror in Vienna which holds that atrocities of the IS terrorists are contrary to Islam and must be condemned most severely. These IS terrorists misuse our peaceful Islam religion to reach their political goals, it added. Around 180 imams who signed gathered outside a mosque in the city to unfurl a banner saying United against extremism and terror. IGGO President Ibrahim Olgun said in a speech that a religion that stands for peace can not have fundamentalist, terrorist or radical features and that the Islamic faith was polluted by the actions of violent extremists. The declaration said: We, the Austrian imams, will continue to do everything they can to maintain peaceful coexistence here in Austria as part of this society. Nothing will stop us from using ourselves for peace, freedom, justice, equal opportunities for men and women, and social security based on reason and solidarity, and to make our active contribution to the preservation of society. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty It quoted a passage from the Quran which said when a man kills a man, it is as if he had killed all mankind, and whoever saved a man's life is like saving all mankind. The move comes as the Austrian parliament passed a controversial law which banned burqas in public last month, which is due to come into force in October, despite the fact that only a tiny majority of women in the country wear the full-face veil. The provision will not apply to the hijab, which only covers the head and neck. The ban has been criticised as a knee-jerk reaction to the rise of the populist Freedom Party of Austria which narrowly lost the presidential election to Green candidate Alexander Van der Bellen after a rerun of the vote in December 2016. The first result in spring of that year, which was annulled after it was found some absentee ballots had been counted too early, resulted in a victory of just 0.3 per cent for Mr Van der Bellen in the second round. Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer won the first round with 35 per cent of the vote to Mr Van der Bellen's 21.3 per cent. Austria has not suffered the same extremist attacks on its own soil as its European neighbours. But some 300 people out of a population of 8.7m have travelled to Syria to fight since the civil war began one of the highest per capita numbers in Europe, according to the Guardian. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Vladimir Putin has joked that the fired FBI director James Comey is welcome to seek asylum in Russia. Speaking in his annual question and answer session in Moscow, the Russian President said it was "very strange" that the FBI official had leaked details of conversations with Donald Trump, and likened his actions to those of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. "If there is some kind of persecution, we would be ready to offer political asylum to Mr Comey if he is persecuted in the US", Mr Putin told a live audience. Recommended Vladimir Putin reveals he is a grandfather in controversial interview Comparing Mr Comey to Mr Snowden, he said the former FBI director's decision to leak details of his conversations with Mr Trump to the media had placed him in a vulnerable position and meant he had behaved more like an activist than an FBI chief. The former FBI director was sacked by Donald Trump last month over what the US President said were issues relating to the investigation over alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election. Mr Trump's decision to fire the man leading the probe into whether there was any collusion between his team and Moscow was widely condemned. Earlier this month Mr Comey testified under oath in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee and claimed Mr Trump had suggested he drop an investigation into alleged links between Russia and Michael Flynn, the President's former national security adviser who was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had misled senior officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, over the nature of his dealings with Moscow representatives. The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images During the question and answer session, Mr Putin said he did not consider the US to be an enemy of Russia and claimed he wanted a "constructive dialogue" with Washington. He cited nuclear non-proliferation, fighting poverty and tackling climate change as areas where the two countries could co-operate, but said any warming in relations would depend on the US. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Serbia's President has nominated the minister Ana Brnabic as Prime Minister, the first woman and first openly-gay politician to occupy the role in the highly conservative Balkan country. Ms Brnabic, who is an independent, became Serbia's first openly gay minister last year, making headlines around the world because of the country's poor record on LGBT rights. President Aleksandar Vucic announced Ana Brnabic is his official nomination as Prime Minister-designate. Her government needs formal approval by Serbia's parliament next week. Vucic calls it "a difficult decision reached in the interest of Serbia and its citizens." Ms Brnabic is currently government minister of public administration and local government. Her appointment into government last year was hailed by human rights groups as historic for the country whose gay community continues to face discrimination, harassment and violence. The 41-year-old new Prime Minister is a former "businesswoman of the year" in her country and was educated partly in the UK and in the US. She speaks both English and Russian. Amnesty International has identified Serbia as one of a number of countries where there is a marked lack of will to tackle homophobia and transphobia. Households headed by same-sex couples in the country are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Mr Vucic, a former extremist-turned-reformist, has promised to improve gay rights as part of efforts to move closer to European Union membership. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} US-led air strikes against Isis in Syria are causing staggering numbers of civilian deaths, a UN war crimes investigator has warned as the Raqqa offensive intensifies. Ground forces in the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) coalition are advancing on Isiss largest remaining stronghold under a hail of bombardment including incendiary weapons. After months of pushes through surrounding countryside and villages, fighting is now hitting densely populated areas where jihadis are holding hundreds of thousands of men, women and children as human shields. Paulo Pinheiro, chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told the UN Human Rights Council the imperative to fight terrorism must not come at the expense of civilians who unwillingly find themselves living in areas where Isis is present. We are gravely concerned with the mounting number of civilians who perish during air strikes, he said. We note in particular that the intensification of air strikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced. Mr Pinheiro said all warring parties must abide by international humanitarian law, which requires them to properly distinguish between fighters and civilians, take precautions against the unnecessary loss of life and act proportionately. Families escaping Raqqa have told of being caught under fire from both sides, with Isis using megaphones to order them not to leave and shooting anyone caught trying to flee, setting fire to their cars. Residents said fighters had been mining streets, booby trapping houses and digging tunnels between civilian homes in preparation for the battle ahead. Rows of flat blocks have been flattened along Seif al-Dawla street, a man road into Raqqa, while at least three mosques were reported to have been hit. Hassan Kirfou, one of more than 10,000 residents arriving at a camp for displaced people in nearby Ain Issa, said an air strike hit the mosque where he works just a few hours after he closed it for the night I saw three dead teenagers on top of each other outside the Nour mosque, he added. I dont know why they shot these areas. As far as I know there were only a few Daesh [Isis] snipers left there. Theresa May refuses three times to say if she would join US in a strike against Syria Abu Hamoud, another man escaping Raqqa city, said: The coalition strikes destroyed a four-storey apartment building. I saw 10 people trapped underneath. They used phosphorus. Human Rights Watch expressed concern over the use of the incendiary weapon by the US-led coalition, saying it raises serious questions about the protection of civilians and should never be used in populated areas. No matter how white phosphorus is used, it poses a high risk of horrific and long-lasting harm in crowded cities like Raqqa and Mosul and any other areas with concentrations of civilians, said Steve Goose, arms director at HRW. US-led forces should take all feasible precautions to minimise civilian harm when using white phosphorus in Iraq and Syria. The material can also be used for signalling and marking, or as a smokescreen for advancing troops or fleeing civilians, but humanitarian groups said its use in densely populated Mosul and Raqqa was unclear. A video allegedly shot in Raqqa on 8 June shows the use of ground-fired missiles containing white phosphorus, with Isis propaganda channels sharing footage of several other alleged incidents of its use. If it comes into contact with the skin, white phosphorus can also burn people to the bone, reactivating on re-exposure to oxygen, and can enter the bloodstream to cause multiple organ failure. SDF fighters on their way to Raqqa earlier this month (Reuters) Russian forces have also been using incendiary weapons, including cluster munitions, over rebel-held areas of Syria. UN war crimes investigators said the air campaign in Raqqa has killed at least 300 civilians so far in the city, which was captured by Isis in 2014 and became its de-facto capital. The US-led coalitions official toll of civilian deaths from its almost three-year-long operations in Iraq and Syria stands at 484, although several incidents are under investigation. The figure spiked after the start of the advance on Isiss main Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, and humanitarian groups have long been warning of the carnage being repeated in Raqqa. US Central Command (CentCom) insisted it takes extraordinary efforts to strike military targets in a manner that minimises the risk of civilian casualties and in accordance with international law, but claimed: In some incidents casualties are unavoidable. Independent monitoring group Airwars found the US-led coalition killed between 348 and 521 civilians in May alone, a rise of almost 20 per cent on the previous month. The group said that as Russian air strikes in Syria declined in number, America and its allies were killing two and a half times more civilians than Moscow according to its count. The vast majority of incidents recorded by Airwars last month occurred in and around Raqqa, prompting warnings that alarm bells should be ringing. The coalition estimates that 3,000-4,000 Isis fighters are holed up in the city, although residents warned that some militants were hiding among civilians to flee. In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: Children play underground in Syria In pictures: Children play underground in Syria A child plays in the ball pit at the 'Land of Childhood,' an underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Abdulaziz, 10, plays in the 'Land of Childhood' underground playground in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Boys look through a show window inside the tunnel that provides a safe passage for children between the two basements that form the 'Land of Childhood' in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Children play at the underground 'Land of Childhood' in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Two girls play at the 'Land of Childhood' underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Children on the ride on a ferris wheel at the 'Land of Childhood', an underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Seven-year-old Massa at the "Land of Childhood" underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Children wait in line to buy sweets at the 'Land of Childhood,' an underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef Mr Pinheiro said operations against the terror group had caused it to lose territory rapidly, freeing civilians including Yazidi sex slaves from its oppressive and genocidal rule, but added: As the operation is gaining pace very rapidly, civilians are caught up in the city under the oppressive rule of Isis, while facing extreme danger associated with movement due to excessive air strikes. Elsewhere in Syria, he said a de-escalation zones agreement guaranteed by President Bashar al-Assads allies Russia, Turkey and Iran had resulted in a discernible reduction in violence in Idlib and western Aleppo provinces. Mr Pinheiro said that initiative and UN-facilitated talks were a step in the right direction but the bloodshed in areas including Homs, Damascus and Daraa continues, including air strikes on residential areas, chemical attacks, the targeting of hospitals, suicide bombings and terror attacks. In what remains of Syrias cities and towns, the UN estimates 600,000 people remain under siege by mainly pro-government forces, being denied humanitarian aid and facing starvation as infrastructure is decimated. Ultimately, the only way to end civilian suffering is to end this war, Mr Pinheiro said. Time and time again, warring parties and influential states have failed to capitalise on the opportunities presented by respites from hostilities. And time and again, Syrian men, women and children pay the price for the continuation of the war. To bring lasting peace, he called for war crimes investigations leading to meaningful accountability for the catalogue of horrors documented by the UN. Additional reporting by Reuters Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} We come to a high pass. The trail ahead dissolves into a haphazard sea of pale rocks. An avalanche has ripped open a section of the mountain like a wound, splitting weathered rock apart to reveal the raw stone beneath. We walk quickly here, says our guide, Dawa. Without further explanation, he spins around and deftly picks his way through the rubble. We stumble after him. The loose stones grate and slide beneath my boots. The river roars in the ravine hundreds of feet below. Once weve crossed, he tells us three people were killed in a landslide at that spot last year. Were tracing an ancient salt-trading route through the Manaslu region of the Nepal Himalaya. Near the Tibetan border, around 100km north-west of Kathmandu, the remote Manaslu trek roughly circles the worlds eighth highest mountain, from which it derives its name. Opened to tourists in the 1990s, the route was temporarily closed following the 2015 Nepal earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless. The Manaslu trail cuts through its epicentre. Two years later, evidence of the quakes destruction including the avalanche site we have just crossed is everywhere. You're more likely to share the trail with a mule than with other hikers (Rose Gamble) A day earlier, we had come across an entire village of temporary shelters. A series of blue plastic tarpaulins had been stretched out to form roofs. Sheets of corrugated iron formed disorderly walls. Mules had ploughed the section of empty ground running through the centre of the village into mud. A little girl, calf-deep in clogged earth, picked her way across it. Known as Man Village, its occupants were forced to decamp there when their village was almost entirely flattened and over 40 people died. As we continue upward, Man Village retreating below into a patchwork of brown and blue, I ask Dawa if its occupants are receiving help in the reconstructing process. He looks confused. There were some aid packages that arrived initially, he explains. Its difficult, he adds. The area is very remote. And now? I ask. The government says they will help. But no, these people are very far away. They will just carry on, he replies. According to Nepals National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), just 5 per cent of the destroyed houses nationwide have been rebuilt. Around 800,000 families are living in temporary accommodation. The trail was declared a tea-house trek in 2015 (Rose Gamble) Immediately after the disaster, the international community raised $4.1bn (3.2bn) for Nepals reconstruction, but most of the homeless have yet to receive any of the promised cash. In the villages we pass, dislodged boulders the size of small cars have been wound into bamboo fences. Aid tarpaulins masquerade as shop awnings or are patched into gashes in rooftops. Mules trample out new trails through avalanche sites. With little hope of funding reaching these rural communities, tourism has become vital to recovery. The Manaslu route became a tea-house trek in 2015. Tourists, previously restricted to camping, can now stay at lodges run by villagers. Standards vary, but each tea-house we stay in offers a bed, shower and long-drop loo. The hot water is erratic; meals are basic. Rice and vegetables aside, everything is transported by mule. Every night we order dhal bhat, a local dish of rice, cumin-spiced lentil soup and unidentifiable green vegetables. In the morning we eat circles of spongy Tibetan bread and drink granulated coffee with yaks milk. On the trail, villagers flog Coke, bottled water and cheap Chinese hiking boots to a string of hikers. One woman tries to sell us Pringles. There are two treks within the Manaslu region. Both routes begin by tracing the icy coils of the Bhuri Gandaki River before climbing upward. We pass through carefully tended terraces of maize into a conservation area where groves of wild marijuana roll off the hillsides and jasmine and faded buddleia fringes the path. Strings of mules, laden with rice and tinned goods, pass by. We watch them weave into the distance, bells tinkling, until the rush of the river swallows the cries of the men goading them onward. The Tsum Valley looks like the Promised Land (Andy Iseman) (AndyIseman) After two days, the route steepens, flowers and firs dwindle to balding rock and wiry scrub and the path splits in two. Half our party head to the left to complete the 14-day Manaslu trek, which rises sharply to the Larkya La pass at 5,125 metres before dropping into a forested valley. But we head to the right, spending a tough day ascending rock-strewn terraces until we crest a ridge and the emerald-hued Tsum valley unrolls beneath us. Restricted until 2008, few travellers have made it to this remote Tibetan valley. Girdled by glacier-capped mountains, the 1,663-sq-km basin is lush with snowmelt. Fiercely protective of their verdant pastures, inhabitants known as Tsumbas practise polyandry, with one woman marrying a set of brothers so as to retain the familys land. The valley preserves a long history of Buddhism; occupants speak a unique dialect and many claim to have seen Yeti. Eyes peeled for snow-monsters, we weave between stone-walled monasteries, ducking strings of faded prayer flags. Depending on how large a loop you make of the valley, the trek takes between 16 and 21 days. It sounds lengthy, but I fell into a happy rhythm, drugged daily by the thump of my boots and lured forward by the glittering white Himalaya passing in and out of the clouds. Over the past decade, the Everest base camp trek has become crowded, while a tarmac road now circles a large section of the hackneyed Annapurna circuit. Trekking in Manaslu makes for a wilder, and far emptier, alternative. Plus you can walk in the knowledge that your presence is now, sadly, a vital part of the shattered regions recovery. The trail opens into the beautiful Tsum Valley (Andy Iseman) Travel essentials Getting there Jet Airways flies from Heathrow via Delhi to Kathmandu from 665 return. Staying there 1905 Suites is a former artists residence in Kathmandu converted into immaculate rooms its a good place to adjust to the altitude. Doubles from $150 (117), B&B. More information Treks in the Manaslu region can be booked through Magical Nepal from $90pp (70) with private guide. Manaslu & Tsum Valley permits cost $25pp (20). Meals/board around $8pp (6) per night. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} If you love wine but trailing round French vineyards or popping over to California Wine Country isn't adventurous enough for you, a trip to Croatias Peljesac peninsula might need to be on your radar. The Edivo Vina winery in Drace, about an hour north of Dubrovnik, is offering visitors the chance to slip on a wetsuit for a visit to its "underwater cellars" - including bottles stored in a sunken ship at the bottom of the Mali Ston Bay. The winery is owned by Ivo and Anto Segovic and Edi Bajurin, who take divers under the sea and explain how and why their Navis Mysterium, or "sea mystery" wine is stored this way. Wine-making begins above ground, of course, at Edivo Vina. The grapes are harvested from the vines around Drace and aged for three months on land. They are then transferred to specially made amphorae - clay jugs, based on vessels used in Ancient Greece. They have a narrow neck and two handles, and their insides are coated with a thin layer of resin. The amphorae are placed inside padlocked cages and lowered into the Adriatic Sea to a depth of 20 metres, where they stay for up to two years. The process gives the wine a pinewood aroma, according to its makers. To prevent water damage, the wine is corked and covered in two layers of rubber before being submerged. Divers check in on it every 10 days, examining each submerged amphora to make sure no seawater has penetrated into the wine. When the amphorae emerge they are covered in sea life (Edivo Vina ) (Edivo Vina) The first amphorae went underwater in 2013, but it was a three-year process to research the project. The owners believe the underwater conditions provide the perfect environment and temperature for their wine. "The sea provides natural cooling in ideal conditions and the perfect silence underwater improves the quality," they write on their website. When the amphorae emerge they are covered in shells, barnacles and other sea life, giving them a buried treasure look, which may explain their 270 price tag. The owners told Croatia Week that: Guests now have the opportunity to see first-hand the whole process of wine amphorae in a space that exudes traditional details characteristic of the peninsula. Click here to find the best hotels in Peljesac Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Few aviation-related activities are as much fun as using the emergency slides to exit an aircraft so long as this happens on a training exercise, rather than in real life. I have been lucky enough to take part in exercises at the training centres for both British Airways and easyJet. In my experience, with no high heels to remove, the most important aspect of the cabin-crew briefing is cross your arms. This helps to avoid the natural temptation to grab the sides of the slide, which will slow the procedure and could cause friction burns. The likelihood is you will arrived at the bottom with a gentle bump and a big smile. Real life isnt like that. On all the (thankfully rare) occasions when I have reported on emergency evacuations, a number of people always get hurt. So it proved, unfortunately, last Saturday, when an easyJet plane flying from Ljubljana to Stansted suddenly diverted to Cologne. The captain ordered an emergency evacuation. Afterwards, according to the airport, Nine passengers were given medical treatment. Recommended EasyJet denies asking passengers to vote whether plane should take off The reason for the extreme sequence of events: a fear that three terrorists had brought a bomb on board. There were no terrorists, and there was no bomb. The three men were arrested, questioned and released without charge. An explosion took place, but it was thankfully it was of the controlled variety, carried out by German police on a suspicious rucksack which turned out merely to contain leads and chargers for electronic gear. The episode closed Cologne airport for several hours and wrecked the travel plans of more than 3,000 people. Besides the 151 passengers on board the easyJet plane, seven inbound flights were diverted to other airports, 20 departures were seriously delayed and two flights were cancelled altogether. So what had happened to trigger this sequence of events? A spokesperson for easyJet tells me: Security related concerns were raised over a conversation which had been heard. The captain was clearly alarmed by what he was told by the cabin crew, because he chose to take the extreme option of diverting to the nearest available airfield, and deploying the emergency slides to get everyone off the plane as fast as possible. By about the time the plane should have landed at Stansted, the perceived danger had been averted, with police taking charge of the situation and arresting the three men. But it took another 19 hours before 148 of the passengers reached the Essex airport; the three suspects were flown home separately from Cologne at easyJets expense, presumably with the charred remains of their rucksack and technical gear. A back-of-a-boarding-pass calculation suggests that the total bill for easyJet will have been around 50,000, including hotels and the cost of flying out a spare aircraft to retrieve the passengers. You can probably multiply that by about 10 to cover the other delays. Of course, half a million pounds and a right old kerfuffle for thousands of people is nothing compared with the value of human life. When I reported on the diversion, one reader commented: Id sooner be late, have a fuss with baggage, and know my family and I were safe. It would be most unfair to employ hindsight and suggest the captain was rash in commanding an immediate diversion and evacuation. Time was his enemy, not his friend. But the episode is troubling in terms of how it suggests the world of travel has become jittery. An abundance of caution is the term used in the US, whenever an airport is shut down because someone has seen something that alarms them. Terrorists (the real kind, not the sort whose possibly careless talk cost them and everyone else a lot of time, and easyJet a lot of money), tend not to discuss bomb plots on board planes within earshot of other passengers. They may also take comfort from the ease with which a major airport was shut down, as evidence of the fear they have disseminated. Perhaps passengers will be more guarded in what they say when others are eavesdropping on a plane. And perhaps crew, albeit in a stressful and difficult situation, will take a moment to ask a few more questions themselves before hitting the big red emergency button. I side with Patrick Cockburn, who wrote in The Independent earlier this month: The great majority of British people have as much idea about how to identify a potential terrorist as their ancestors 400 years ago did about detecting witches. Caution is an asset for everyone who travels, and works in the industry. But when overabundant, it can create its own hazards. Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy has welcomed the adoption by the U.S. Senate of tougher sanctions against Russia, the Ukrainian parliament's press service reported. "I want to thank all the senators who supported this law, which is important for Ukraine and the entire free world. The sanctions imposed earlier by the U.S. president have now been passed by the Senate as a law. Moreover, the sanctions have been extended to the financial and energy sectors, and this law envisages the allocation of $250 million to counteract the Russian destructive influence," Parubiy, who was present in the Senate hall during the consideration of the document, said. The Ukrainian parliament speaker also met with the co-author of the law Senator Robert Portman and congratulated him on the successful vote. On June 14, 2017, the U.S. Senate passed the law on tightening sanctions against Russia. The law was supported by 97 senators out of 100. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} As the pound languishes against the euro, British travellers are now benefiting from one welcome development: the abolition of roaming charges for using their phones across Europe. The EU started putting the squeeze on intra-European roaming charges a decade ago, with a series of increasingly stringent price caps. From 15 June 2017, the final step in the European Commissions clampdown takes effect. The slogan used is Roam Like at Home, and Brussels promises no bill shock anymore. But there are still pitfalls that could leave holidaymakers seriously out of pocket. Have roaming charges been abolished? Within the 28 countries of the European Union, yes, roaming charges are no more. You do not need to set anything up; wherever you are in the EU, you will be treated as though you are in your home country. The mobile phone operator simply charges you domestic rates, or takes your roaming consumption from the allowances in your domestic mobile tariff. But there are a couple of fair-use caveats, and, as not all European countries are covered, you could still inadvertently rack up high charges. Whats the fair-use catch? Two clauses are intended to ensure fair use. The first covers data roaming. While you can make as many voice calls and send as many texts as you like at domestic prices, there are special rules for data use. Beyond a reasonably high volume of roaming data at domestic rates, you may have to pay a data roaming surcharge of about 8.30 per gigabyte (7.70/GB plus VAT). This will fall by 22 per cent next year, and continue to decline thereafter. The second clause is intended to dissuade people from taking out a contract in a low-cost country (eg Bulgaria or Romania) and using it at home. The principle is: if you spend more time abroad than at home, and you use your mobile phone more abroad than at home, the mobile operator may impose roaming charges which themselves are capped at roughly the 2016/17 levels. Each time you cross an internal EU border, you should get a text message from your mobile operator to say that youre roaming and reminding you of its fair-use policy. If Im in Spain and call a Spanish number, is it now treated as a local call? Yes, even though the European Commission says: The prices of calls from home to a foreign country, including in the EU, are not regulated. In fact, the term Roam Like at Home is not quite accurate; the correct version should be Roam More Cheaply than you do at Home. As Money Saving Expert has pointed out, calls to any EU country are now really cheap so long as you make them from any EU country that isnt the UK. What are the roaming rules for non-EU countries? This is where it gets tricky. The three non-EU countries in the European Economic Area Iceland, Norway and plucky Liechtenstein will introduce Roam Like at Home shortly after 15 June, according to Brussels. But there are many other countries and territories that are not automatically covered by the new rules, including Switzerland, Monaco, Andorra and several Eastern European nations, as well as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. There is no consistency among operators about applying the same basic European rules to these destinations. For example, O2s Europe Zone excludes Switzerland, Monaco, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. When travelling anywhere outside the EEA, you should check exactly what your operator plans to charge you. If your operator charges, hook up to free WiFi in a cafe or hotel, and use a free or nearly free calling service such as Skype or WhatsApp. Or you could use a local payphone, if you can find one... Turkey, where around 1.5 million British holidaymakers are expected to go this summer, is a particular concern: several operators apply charges that are completely disproportionate to the cost of providing the service. For example EE levies a fee of 1.50 per minute to make or receive calls and 50p for each text sent by customers on monthly contracts. Heading for Cyprus? You could inadvertently find you have joined a Turkish network, who provide services north of the Green Line on the divided island. Do roaming fees apply on a ferry or cruise? Yes, and they can be painfully high. Most European ferries and cruises in the Mediterranean, the Baltic and across the English Channel are between EU ports, but when you are offshore and using a satellite link to the ship, roam like at home does not apply. There are no caps on what the operator can charge: 3 a minute to make or receive calls is common, and data may be spectacularly expensive. To stay in touch, you could use the on-board WiFi which could still be pricey for data use and make calls via Skype or WhatsApp. Or switch to manually selected networks to make sure your phone doesnt select the ships high-tariff satellite link. Or just turn the thing off and enjoy the voyage. What happens after Brexit? No one knows. As citizens of a non-EU country, the British will have no automatic right to roam free telephonically. Abta, the travel association, has demanded we retain this highly valuable and pragmatic EU-level agreement once we leave the EU. It is possible that the UK will negotiate equivalent measures, or conversely that mobile-phone operators may reintroduce onerous charges. The eventual settlement is likely to be somewhere between the two. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Thousands of passengers flying from Britains busiest airport have taken off without their checked baggage because of a baggage systems failure. The problem affected the first wave of departures from Terminals 3 and 5. Many flights took off with no bags on board, with passengers told to pack essential items in their hand luggage. After some hours, Heathrow airport told passengers the system was now working normally, saying: "We recommend that passengers who have already departed on flights this morning without their baggage contact their airline for further updates." The failure affected American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates, but had much more impact on British Airways than any other airline because it has the large majority of flights from the affected terminals. BA is telling passengers: "We are very sorry for the difficulties the failure of the Heathrow baggage systems is causing customers and we will be working as hard as we can to re-unite those customers with their luggage as quickly as possible." "All bags will be delivered to customers free of charge." Over the May bank holiday, BAs IT system collapsed, cancelling hundreds of flights and disrupting the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers. Many were separated from their luggage, and re-uniting travellers with their bags took several days. Passengers whose checked bags are left behind can claim reasonable expenses for essential items they are obliged to buy at their destination. Flights to and from Heathrow are currently arriving and departing normally. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Holiday Pirates This travel deals site manually searches for the best holiday offers daily, finding a range of big discounts and emailing them to subscribers. At the moment you can book seven nights in Corfu, including flights for 100 per person. Zakynthos is another destination where there are regular deals. holidaypirates.com Jacks Flight Club Sign up for free to the club and get emailed the cheapest flights from the UK and Ireland including discounts, hidden offers and error fares think UK to Asia for around 250. Many are last-minute deals, but remember, with prices like this its fastest finger first. jacksflightclub.co.uk Google Flights As youd expect from the algorithm masterminds, this helps compare and track fares to get the best deal. But it also has features for the last-minute traveller, such as an option to search for flights in any number of cities for a specific date so you can see if its cheaper to go to Paris or Berlin this weekend. google.co.uk/flights Hotel Tonight This app offers last-minute deals if you need a place to stay tonight, tomorrow or within the next seven days. It splits hotels worldwide into categories such as, basic, charming, hip and high-roller, and while some deals especially in the US are not so good, it can deliver deep discounts in Europe and the UK. hoteltonight.com Kayak On the Explore section of Kayak you can enter your budget, trip length, travel time and dates and the site will come up with a range of options for you to choose from. The easy-to-use map feature is a great way to compare locations and prices for a last minute trip. kayak.co.uk/explore BA Holidays No, its not a discount specialist, but BA Holidays the package wing of British Airways can offer deep discounts for last-minute trips, pairing unsold flight inventory with empty hotel rooms. In fact, the deals can be so good that a city break with hotel included can often work out cheaper than the flights alone, and a weeks car hire in Europe can be close to free. baholidays.com Travelzoo With more than 26 million subscribers worldwide, Travelzoo features a host of deals ranging from trips abroad to day-long activities. Seven nights in a luxury spa in Crete this September comes up at 439, while people planning a trip to the capital should snap up the flash sale of Dirty Dancing tickets for just 39.50. travelzoo.co.uk Secret Escapes Youll find discounts of up to 70 per cent at Secret Escapes, which follows a similar model to Voyage Prive and Conde Nast Secret Traveller, offering flash sales to registered members. Its a great place to scout high-end discount holidays and the customer service of the site has been praised as excellent. secretescapes.com Best at Travel This companys central London call centre means someone is always on hand to help you out. Its a normal tour operator but has a last-minute deals section on the website, which can offer good discounts on upmarket breaks. Deals at the time of writing included five nights half board and flights at the St Regis Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi for 710pp, and flights plus a weeks four-star accommodation in Sri Lanka for 689pp. bestattravel.co.uk Travel Republic With about two million customers using the site to book holidays, Travel Republic is bound to have some good deals, and theres a vast amount to choose from, since it shifts flights, all-inclusives, tickets for attractions, and traditional package holidays. For its top destinations, such as Paris or the Costa Blanca, you could find flights for as little as 50, while Ibiza starts at 60 return. The site also features a lowest-price guarantee, should you spot a better offer. travelrepublic.co.uk Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Footage has emerged of fuel gushing from a tank of a United Airlines flight preparing to take off from New York to Venice. Rachel Brumfield was a passenger in a window seat on the Boeing 767 at Newark airport. While the jet was taxiing to the runway, she and her husband, Mike, saw fuel pouring from a tank in the port wing. United Airlines flight 170 had left the gate at 7.12pm for the 4,146-mile flight to Venice. It appears the fuel was leaking from the reserve tank towards the end of the port wing. Ms Brumfield told the New York Post that her husband ran to alert flight attendants, but was yelled at to sit down. When cabin crew looked for themselves, they told the pilots, who called the fire service. The flight was cancelled, and passengers and their baggage were offloaded. The couple say they were offered champagne and invited to the flight deck, where they showed the footage to the pilots. They just looked at the video and they all kind of looked at each other, like, Weve never seen anything like this, she said. They say they were not provided with a hotel room, and instead slept on the floor of the baggage reclaim area. A spokesman for United told The Independent: "While taxiing to the runway, United flight 170 travelling from Newark to Venice, Italy returned to the gate due to a fuel leak and was later cancelled. "We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience. Our team at Newark supplied meal vouchers and worked to provide customers with overnight hotel accommodation. They also re-accommodated customers on alternative flights. Passengers who were booked on the cancelled inbound flight from Venice to New York are entitled to 600 in compensation, but those on the flight with the fuel leak have no statutory right to recompense. United faced worldwide criticism in April after a passenger was dragged from an overbooked flight waiting to depart from Chicago airport. After the fiasco, Oscar Munoz, the airlines chief executive, said: Every customer deserves to be treated with the highest levels of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Always slightly depressed as you try to kill the hours before your late departure? A holiday company has proposed a solution to the problem of dead-time between hotel check-out and flight check-in. Virgin Holidays has announced plans to build a private lounge on Brownes Beach in Barbados to occupy travellers while they wait for their flight home. The Departure Beach, scheduled to open in May 2018, will have a beach bar and restaurant, complimentary towels and showers, WiFi, gaming areas and an air-conditioned lounge. It is located on a public beach (all of the beaches in Barbados are public) but the sunloungers and facilities are for booked customers only. The company explained that with the majority of international flights departing Barbados in the evening, holidaymakers suffered a lost day as hotels require check out before midday. Nicki Goldsmith, head of Caribbean and worldwide product at Virgin Holidays, said: We have been working hard to ensure weve removed as many pain points as possible for our customers. You can check in and drop your luggage at the beach lounge (Virgin Holidays) Included in the 20 day price is a transfer from hotel to beach lounge, food and soft drinks and the transfer to the airport. A bag drop facility will also be available at the lounge so passengers are able to check in before going to the terminal. Entry is free for customers staying at Savannah Beach in Barbados or those on a Virgin Cruise that terminates in Barbados. The lounge is only available for Virgin Holidays customers. Cheryl Carter of Barbados tourism marketing said: Were thrilled that Barbados has been chosen to pioneer such a revolutionary concept and as its situated on one of the most picturesque beaches on the island why would you choose to waste that last day of your holiday? This isn't the first time Virgin Holidays has done unorthodox pre-flight experiences. Its v-room lounges for customers at Gatwick and Manchester are like airport lounges - only without the need for a business class ticket to access them. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Northern Irelands Protestants have always proved useful political tools for British ministers and ambitious, desperate politicians. Churchill played the Orange card before the First World War. Callaghan was weak enough to need the provinces Protestant Unionist MPs in 1976 and offered Northern Ireland five extra seats at Westminster. They obligingly won the lot. Almost two decades later, John Major needed their support in a minority government in a vote on Spanish fishing rights an abstruse, ridiculous performance that somehow parallels Lady Mays cynical deal with the DUP. By chance this week, Ive been re-reading Lloyd Georges memoirs of the Great War, in which the Welsh wizard as deceitful as he was eloquent alludes to the results of the Curragh mutiny of 1914, in which a cadre of British officers at the armys Irish headquarters made it clear they would not march on the armed Protestants who opposed Home Rule The British government had agreed to Home Rule for Ireland, but as Lloyd George puts it with devastating accuracy, the Protestant North had reached a state of incipient rebellion and drilling for resistance to the decision of the Imperial Parliament. The Catholic South had begun to copy these tactics, and raise National Volunteers to match the Ulster Volunteers of the North ... the paradox of the situation was that Ulsters rebellion was acclaimed by a powerful section of British opinion as loyalty, while Southern Irelands preparations to defend the decision of the Imperial Parliament were denounced as sedition. Quite so. In the middle of the Great War, the Easter Rising broke out in Dublin and was savagely repressed by the army, its leaders shot by British firing squads. Lloyd George, the minister of munitions who was about to embark for Tsarist Russia with Lord Kitchener on HMS Hampshire prior to the fatal battle of the Somme, was asked by prime minister Asquith to seek a new Irish settlement. He produced some proposals for Nationalist and Protestant Unionist leaders to accept. They included bringing the Home Rule Act into operation immediately with an Amending Act and a temporary inclusion of Ulster counties under the British government. Painfully, Edward Carson and John Redmond agreed. Theresa May responds to John Major criticism over DUP deal But then a senior Unionist in the British government successfully persuaded the Cabinet that Lloyd George had put unfair pressure on the Protestants and that the Nationalists of Ireland were sullen and hostile and would not abide by the agreement. Lord Lansdowne, minister without portfolio, then spoke in the House of Lords, in words which Redmond described as a declaration of war on the Irish people. Lloyd George had been forced to cancel his trip to Russia and HMS Hampshire set off with Lord Kitchener onboard. The ship was sunk by a mine and Kitchener drowned. This final attempt at Home Rule thus saved Lloyd Georges life but it doomed Ireland to a harsh war of independence and, later, to civil war. When the Second World War broke out, the Free State of Ireland declared its neutrality while the Protestants of Ulster maintained their loyalty to the British war against the Nazis, even though Churchill was to make a duplicitous offer of unity with Northern Ireland to De Valera in return for Irelands participation on the Allied side. Typically, that offer turned out to be hinged on the agreement of the Protestants once the war was over. In the aftermath, the Protestants continued to control their own Cabinet at Stormont, but only as a province something which is undefined in UK law and which placed the Northern Ireland majority (then) as both half in and half out of the mother country. Recommended The BME vote made a huge difference at this election To this day, British readers will find that their passport declares them to be citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It also says European Union, which may soon disappear (or may not), but the passports title quite clearly separates Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) from Northern Ireland. The people of Northern Ireland are thus citizens of the United Kingdom but cannot claim, as the Protestants have, to be legally British. Or not entirely. Once Britain imposed direct rule on Northern Ireland after the brutal Protestant B Specials and the Protestant-run Royal Ulster Constabulary had been used to crush Nationalist pro-democracy demonstrations in the six counties the majority might have welcomed Westminsters decision, since it implied that the province was part of Britain. But the Protestant community developed a hard core of Carson-like militancy against Westminster and the British secretary of state in Belfast. Already at war with the IRA, the British found themselves in conflict with the Protestants. It was around this time that The Times editor (I was then his Northern Ireland correspondent) decided I should put quotation marks around the word Loyalists in my news reports. I agreed with him. Years later, under Murdochs rule, the paper decided to drop the quotation marks. This inability to grasp what loyalty really means was typical of British cynicism towards Northern Ireland, and vice-versa. A former colleague of mine in Belfast reminded me this week of an attempt by the British government of the time to enlist Protestant Unionist support in the British parliament. The Unionists drew up a big wish list for Westminster, he said. We knew they had run out of steam when one of their final demands was a tunnel, or a bridge, linking Northern Ireland to Scotland. And of course, the Protestants had run out of steam. The Good Friday agreement implied this, along with the IRA, whose veterans found themselves physically exhausted by the long war against the British. Some new and fair laws European laws, in fact were introduced into Northern Ireland. And then came last years British referendum which rendered the Irish-UK relationship far more fragile and gave the hard men of Northern Ireland the opportunity of brandishing their integrity once more. Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary Show all 11 1 /11 Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary Members of the Defence Forces and veterans attend the Easter Sunday Commemoration Ceremony at the General Post Office 2016 Getty Images Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary An Irish army commandant displays the Irish republic's proclamation during the 1916 Easter Rising commemoration parade marking the 100th anniversary at the General Post Office building Getty Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary The largest military parade in the history of the state passes the GPO as part of the 1916 Easter Rising centenary commemorations in Dublin Niall Carson/PA Wire Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary 27th March 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in the Republic of Ireland when in 1916 a rebellion was attempted to oust British rule of the country Reuters Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary 2016 Getty Images Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary Members of the Irish Air Corps perform a fly-past over the General Post Office (GPO), the scene of the 1916 Easter Rising, in Dublin during a programme of commemorative events to mark the 100th anniversary of the Rising AFP and Licensors Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary Acting Minister for Defence Simon Coveney and Members of the Defence Forces at the Easter Sunday Commemoration Ceremony at the General Post Office in Dublin, Ireland 2016 Getty Images Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary A member of the Irish Defence Force reads the 1916 proclamation, outside the General Post Office. This Easter marks the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, when Irish Rebels rose up against British Rule, eventually leading to Ireland's Independence from Britain in 1922 EPA Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary The largest military parade in the history of the state passes the GPO as part of the 1916 Easter Rising centenary commemorations in Dublin PA Wire Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary Members of the Irish army parade past the General Post Office on O'Connell street, Dublin, Ireland. Thousands of people took part in the 100th anniversary of Ireland's Easter Rising against Britain, a doomed rebellion that reduced parts of the capital to ruins and inspired the country's eventual independence Dublin Commemorates The Easter Rising Centenary 2016 Getty Images A hard Brexit might put the border under police control. A new generation of Nationalists could destroy the border posts. Destroying a new IRA would become part of the war on terror for a British government. No wonder the Democratic Unionists now waiting for Theresa Mays bribes also want a soft border for their own hard men would quickly take up the fight against a new IRA if it was hard. In reality, of course and this is a British conundrum foisted upon Northern Ireland the very terms soft and hard Brexit are ridiculous. Nobody anywhere in the UK knows what they mean. Most UK citizens have probably grasped the fact that Brexit would be a tragedy of historic proportions. For the sake of Tory party unity, Cameron called a referendum and lost. Then, for the sake of Tory party unity, May called an election and lost. Or, at least, she lost the majority which she thought she could improve on by holding this wretched election. It was highly instructive that May repeatedly announced that the British people have spoken after the narrow majority referendum, but that she wants to stay in power on a minority after the election, apparently unaware that the British people had spoken once again. Corbyns sudden popularity among the British electorate was undermined only by his refusal to confront the Brexit crisis. Perhaps aware that Labour constituencies that voted to leave the EU might be lost to him if he did, he stuck to his domestic policies, believed in the young and used social media during the election. Besides, those politicians who used the Remain card as a vote-catcher largely perished in the election. But Corbyns lack of bravery may have robbed him of a larger vote perhaps even the prime ministership and hope for Northern Ireland. Why the DUP is so controversial The depth of this mistake, and of our refusal to turn the election into a second referendum, is now shown in its coldest light by the May Tories. Once more, they turn to political and financial bribery. May will have to hand over millions of pounds to the anti-abortion, misogynist, homophobic Protestant Democratic Unionists note the quotation marks to keep her own discredited Government in place. In parliament, May will have to justify her alliance with this disreputable crew and put the Good Friday agreement in serious danger by reminding us of the fruits of Ulsters loyalty (I suspect we may have Belfasts patriotism in the Second World War trotted out). It will be a sorry business, lasting only so long as Arlene Foster and her Protestant party can be of use to her. The Catholics of Northern Ireland will have no say in this. They chose abstentionism and thus cut themselves out of the parliamentary debates. But who in Sinn Fein would ever vote for Mays Government? Its going to be cash for the provinces Democratic Unionists all the way. The amount will not be stated, but who knows we may even see the secret offer of a tunnel or a bridge between Ulster and Scotland. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Judges at the Supreme Court have ruled that women from Northern Ireland will not be entitled to free abortions on the NHS in England. Why? Because to grant them this would mean a failure to respect the democratic decision of the people of Northern Ireland, where abortion is not permitted. Its all about honouring the right to choose, providing its not individual women who get to do the choosing. Theres something especially galling about the idea of sovereignty being used to limit womens reproductive choices. We must respect borders at all costs, unless said borders belong to the female body. The right to self-determination must be acknowledged, except in cases where individual women wish to take control of their own lives. Autonomy is a wonderful thing, as long as its never granted grant to real, live, flesh-and-blood women and girls. Lets all take back control, unless one of us happens to be a pregnant woman, in which case, lets not. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA The case for Brexit the whole idea of taking back control rested on a hazy belief that British people were denied freedoms due to the interference of outsiders. When pushed, those demanding said control could rarely name any specific rights to which theyd have access were it not for the so-called Brussels elite. The British economy is being driven over a cliff edge for the sake of a self-determination that exists in name only. Theres a particularly bitter irony to the fact that one of the many things that could be sacrificed to this meaningless sovereignty could be any hope of Northern Irish women gaining actual, meaningful control over their own reproductive lives. Todays Supreme Court decision is not a direct consequence of the Tories attempts to reach a confidence and supply agreement with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party. Nonetheless, it comes within a context of political upheaval in which many fear womens reproductive rights will be used as a bargaining chip. When Jeremy Hunt talks of respect, he refers to the maintenance of political relationships which are, we are to believe, of greater importance than the relationship between the state and a womans own body. That the latter relationship is itself political is of no consequence to him. It takes imagination and empathy to understand what an unwanted pregnancy means to each individual who experiences it; Hunt doesnt appear to have either. Like take back control and strong and stable, my body, my choice is a slogan that can be repeated again and again until it seems to carry no meaning at all. Anti-abortion groups seize on this to present choice as a kind of needless indulgence. The alternative to having an abortion, they imply, is simply not having an abortion. The physical and mental reality of nine months of forced gestation, followed by the trauma and lifelong impact of giving birth, are barely mentioned at all. Anyone who has ever been pregnant can surely imagine how horrific it must be to go through such an experience against ones will. Like me, the DUPs Arlene Foster is a mother of three. I dont believe she doesnt know what she is demanding of other women when she seeks to deny them reproductive autonomy. She chooses not to think about it. Why the DUP is so controversial As with Brexit, an unwanted pregnancy isnt a situation in which no deal is better than a bad deal. You cant just have no pregnancy, any more than you can have no relationship whatsoever with EU member states. You either see it through to the end or you abort. Those are the only choices there are. Hunt knows this. Foster knows this. Everyone involved in making decisions about reproductive rights knows this. Denying women and girls NHS funding for the treatment they need will not change the social, economic and/or physical conditions of these women and girls lives. It will not lessen their need. It merely increases their suffering. And for what? In this case, out of a stated desire almost hilariously not to interfere with decisions made by the people of Northern Ireland. As though the mother and daughter at the centre of the Supreme Court ruling are not themselves Northern Irish people whose decisions should be respected. As though man-made institutions and borders are real, solid, immutable, but a womans ownership of herself? Well, thats only temporary, subject to terms and conditions. Theres something peculiarly tragic about the way in which human interdependencies mean nothing to the political establishment, except in the case of a foetuses dependence on a female body whose own needs can be disregarded. The courage of the women at the centre of this case, who wish to set a precedent which will help countless others, sets an example for self-determination which does not involve the exclusion of others. Notions of self-governance and autonomy need not be aligned with selfishness and isolationism. The women have now instructed their legal team to file an application with the European Court of Human Rights in order, in their words, to protect the human rights of the many other women who make the lonely journey to England every week because they are denied access to basic healthcare services in their own country. The female body has no borders but its own. Its time these were the ones we respected most of all. The remains of Patricia O'Connor were recovered over several days A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a woman whose dismembered body was found dispersed across the Wicklow Mountains. Kieran Green was remanded in custody for one week following a brief hearing at Tallaght District Court in Dublin, the Courts Service said. He is accused of murdering Patricia O'Connor, 61, from Rathfarnham on May 29 or 30 on Mountain View Park in Churchtown in the south of the city. The grandmother was reported missing almost two weeks ago. Green, 32 and from Mountain View Park, Churchtown, was remanded in custody by Judge Patricia McNamara until next Thursday when he is due to appear before Cloverhill District Court. Ms O'Connor's body was dismembered and dispersed across parts of rural Co Wicklow. Her remains were recovered over several days along a 20km to 30km stretch of the Old Military Road with the first gruesome discovery made last Saturday evening by a group of people near Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre. Limbs and other parts of the torso were found in other locations, including discoveries at Glenmacnass waterfall and at Lough Brea Lower on Military Road, south of Glencree. Ms O'Connor's head and hands were found in a plastic bag. Three Ukrainian servicemen injure in 55 shellings by militants on Wednesday Militants shelled Ukrainian positions in Donbas 55 times on Wednesday, the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) headquarters reported. "Three Ukrainian servicemen were wounded as a result of enemy attacks yesterday," the press center of ATO headquarters said on its Facebook account on Thursday morning. The Ukrainian part of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) said that a local resident had been killed in strikes delivered on residential areas of Sukha Balka village. According to Ukraine's officials at the JCCC, heavy artillery weapons, presumably of 152mm caliber, were fired in the direction of Horlivka overnight into June 15. "A 52-year-old man, the owner of a house on Molodizhna Street, was killed when a large-caliber shell directly hit this house," they said in a report. Allsop's largest ever online auction will see more than 270 lots offered for sale with combined guide prices of 51m over two days on July 5 and 6. It will also offer the most valuable lot ever offered at its online auctions as it is quoting between 4.75m and 5.25m for a prime south Dublin development site at Deansgrange Road, near the Deansgrange crossroads where there are a number of shops and motor showrooms. Extending to 1.85 acres, the site is zoned for a neighbourhood centre and has significant development potential. It also accommodates the vacant former Statoil offices, a service station, warehouse, yard, and two residences with a combined built area extending to 1,705 sq m (18,352 sq ft). The property is situated in a high-profile roadside location to the western side of Deansgrange Road, close to the junction with Kill Lane and adjoining Deansgrange Cemetery. Expand Close 4.75m-5.25m is being quoted for a site at Deansgrange, south Dublin / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp 4.75m-5.25m is being quoted for a site at Deansgrange, south Dublin Surrounding occupiers include MSL Grange Motors, Frank Keane Volkswagen, Windsor Nissan, Bank of Ireland, SuperValu and Deansgrange Business Park. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council granted planning permission in December 2010 for a mixed-use development consisting of eight two-bedroom residential units; a neighbourhood shop; four commercial units consisting of a delicatessen, off-licence, cafe and pharmacy; a funeral home; a creche and play area; a restaurant; and medical/healthcare centre and offices. However, the planning permission was subsequently refused by An Bord Pleanala in May 2011. Auctioneer Richard O'Neill says the Deansgrange site is the highest value property sold via Allsop's online auctions and third most valuable lot by Allsop since it began its Irish auctions. The most valuable lot at public auction was The Greenogue and Aerodrome Business Park portfolio in south west Dublin, which sold in 2014 for 6.7m. There are six other lots that are guiding upwards of 900,000. They include a portfolio of 15 apartments at 31-35 Middle Gardiner Street, Dublin 1, which are guiding 2.1m to 2.2m. Ranging in size from 43 sq m (463 sq ft) to 61 sq m (656 sq ft), they include 10 one-bedroom and five two-bedroom units that are generating combined rents of 139,600 a year. In addition, a further two units are vacant. The building also accommodates retail on the ground floor but it is not included in the sale. Located close to the junction of Summerhill and Parnell Street, it is a short walk from O'Connell Street, as well as the Rotunda Hospital, Mater Hospital and Temple Street Children's Hospital. A commercial property let to Virgin Media and with a current rent reserved of 135,000 a year has a 1.45m to 1.5m guide price. This suggests a gross yield of about 9.2pc for Unit 11-12 Goldenbridge Industrial Estate, Inchicore, Dublin 8. The property itself comprises an office and warehouse building that extends to 1,883 sq m (20,269 sq ft) and the lease will run until 2025. A mixed-use vacant property with development potential at 69-73 Harolds Cross Road, Harolds Cross, Dublin 6W, has a 1.2m to 1.3m guide price. It comprises a former public house, a retail unit, five one-bedroom apartments, two two-bedroom apartments, a studio apartment, as well as car parking to rear. The building extends to 758.15 sq m (8,160 sq ft) and sits on a 0.27 acre site. Its development potential is reflected in its full planning permission for two commercial units and 13 apartments, together with 15 car parking spaces. The property is situated to the eastern side of Harolds Cross Road, opposite to the entrance of Our Lady's Hospice and close to the junction at Harolds Cross Park. In the north Dublin seaside village of Donabate, a tranche of six apartments are for sale at 10, 23, 24, 42, 76 and 84 Ballisk Court, with a 915,000 to 925,000 guide price. Ranging in size from 44 sq m (463 sq ft) to 131 sq m (1,410 sq ft) all of them are let and generating a current gross rent of 59,760 per annum. That suggest a gross yield of 6.5pc. In Limerick City a portfolio of 11 apartments at Fishermans Quay, Grove Island, have a 900,000 to 950,000 price range. Fully occupied with a total current rent reserved of 92,760 per annum, this suggests a 10pc gross yield. The two-bedroom apartments range in size from 74 sq m (796 sq ft) to 83 sq m (893 sq ft). Grove Island is located at the junction of Corbally Road and Pa Healy Road about 1km to the east of the city centre. An office building at 11-11a Ormond Quay, Dublin 1 is for sale with a 500,000 to 550,000 guide range. The property is subject to two claims, one of which is a commercial lease, but the vendor does not accept either claim. The five-storey mid-terrace building extends to 465 sq m (5,005 sq ft) and includes residential accommodation on the top floor. A mixed-use investment at Oblate View, Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8, has a 630,000 to 650,000 guide price range. Comprising a retail unit and three offices, it extends to 886 sq m (9,547 sq ft) in total. Offices on the second floor are let to Canal Communities and Regional Addiction Services at an annual rent reserved of 15,000, with vacant possession of a retail unit and two offices. The property is situated on the southern side of Tyrconnell Road close to its junction with Ring Terrace. Surrounding occupiers include The Black Horse Inn and Applegreen. A retail investment at 1 New Street, Malahide, Co. Dublin, has a 315,000 to 335,000 guide price. Extending to approximately 55 sq m (592 sq ft), it is let to O'Farrell Cleere Auctioneers Limited at a current rent reserved of 30,000, suggesting a gross yield of 9.23pc. A choice of other multi-unit residential properties are also on sale in Portarlington, Co. Laois; Cloondara, Co. Longford; and Fethard Co. Tipperary. Government curbs have seen real estate investment slow in China for the first time in three months Annual growth in China's real estate investment slowed in May, the first fall-off in three months, as government curbs cooled an overheated market and undermined investment, taking a toll on new developments. Worries over the potential bursting of price bubbles in China's biggest cities have led to a flurry of government cooling measures in recent months as buyer demand appeared to be more resilient than expected. The growth rate of new construction starts measured by floor area, a telling indicator of developer confidence and correspondingly volatile, almost halved to 5.2pc in May from April's 10.1pc on a yearly basis, suggesting a sharp slowdown in the commencement of new projects, a Reuters calculation showed. Meanwhile growth in property investment, which mainly focuses on residential real estate but also includes commercial and office space, eased to 7.2pc in May from a year earlier, versus 9.6pc in April, Reuters calculated from the National Bureau of Statistics' data. Investors, banned from the hottest markets, are increasingly looking inland, driving up prices in more remote, smaller cities with fewer buying restrictions, leading to a surprise pick-up in May sales. The area of property sold grew 10.2pc in May, compared with a 7.7pc increase in April, reflecting a quickening in destocking of existing homes in smaller cities, a Reuters' calculation showed. Inventory floor area in the first five months dropped at a quicker pace of 8.5pc, compared to a fall of 7.2pc in the January-to-April period. "It's been very obvious in the past two months that the buying demand has spilled over to the third- and fourth-tier cities," said Joe Zhou, head of research for China at real-estate agent Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL). But such forces are unlikely to offset the fast-cooling market in bigger cities in the longer term, as regulators continued to intensify the crackdown on speculators with more measures to close loopholes. Sales in the top tier cities have dropped about 50pc from the same period a year ago, property analysts say. In May, China issued draft new rules for property sales and leasing, requiring developers to promptly publish accurate price information for new homes on sale, barring them from charging various additional fees, hoarding unsold homes or spreading false information about rising prices. Some cities have also announced more stringent measures such as introducing price caps on new units and setting a holding period before reselling a property is permitted. Analysts say developers remain cautious about growth potential in those smaller cities and are still focusing largely on bigger cities as their core revenue driver. "This kind of spill-over demand is at its peak, and probably will only last for one or two quarters," JLL's Zhou said. "Developers were too optimistic about third- and fourth-tier cities a few years back, and they wouldn't increase new starts there even if sales are a bit better now." Developers continue to be squeezed as authorities tightened controls on their funding channels. Bankers and developers told Reuters in May that China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which approves corporate debt issuance, has virtually stopped granting new quotas for offshore bond sales this quarter. Chinese home-buyers also face rising borrowing costs. Media have reported that some banks in major Chinese cities have raised mortgage rates. Nonetheless, chances that property prices would fall across the board in the future are slim because housing supply remains short in the big cities, a top state think-tank said on May 15. (Reuters) Following his election as Taoiseach earlier today, Leo Varadkar confirmed that Michael Creed will remain as Minister for Agriculture. Independent.ie understands that Agriculture Minister Michael Creed was the first to get the call from the newly appointed leader. Commenting following his appointment Creed said he was "honoured and humbled to have been reappointed as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine by the new Taoiseach and I thank him sincerely for his trust in me. " I have been privileged to serve in this Department over the past year and have strived to meet the significant challenges facing farm families, fishing communities, and the agri-food sector as a whole. "I am confident that the foundations I have laid and the relationships I have developed, since my initial appointment as Minister, will stand me in good stead as we face in to the commencement of the Brexit negotiation process. "On this special day for me personally, I wish to reiterate my unrelenting commitment to serving all involved in our agri-food and fisheries sector from primary producers to worldwide exporters, he said. Mr Creed, a Fine Gael TD for Cork North-West, had been expected to back his Cork neighbour Simon Coveney in the leadership contest, but on the day the bulk of the Cabinet declared for Leo Varadkar, Creed remained notably silent. The Macroom-based TD has since refused to say who he voted for, insisting that it was done by secret ballot. But party colleagues are in no doubt he backed Varadkar, and his silence was almost as damning as the declarations of others for Varadkar. This backing adds to a number of other issues seen to favour Creed holding his post when the new team is announced tomorrow by the incoming Taoiseach. The most significant is that he is rated to have performed well since he got the job in May 2016. He is rated well across the agribusiness sphere, is seen as understanding ordinary farmers, and there is a serious need for continuity as Brexit looms. There is also a need for geographic balance in the Cabinet with ministers from the south-west and west to balance the Dublin dominance under Varadkar. Cabinet promotion came late to Creed, who backed a botched heave against Enda Kenny in June 2010. Creed was in Luxembourg this week for a meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers. On the agenda was labelling organic foods and the EU's agriculture stance in World Trade Organisation talks. Meanwhile, Creed and other figures from the agri-industry paid tribute to former Agriculture Minister Austin Deasy who passed away after a short illness. Mr Creed said Deasy was admired for his "robust forthright approach to politics" and will be remembered fondly not only in his native Waterford but amongst the agricultural community across the country. A former Oxford don who made millions pioneering injection-free vaccines has been trampled to death while out for a morning stroll. Brian Bellhouse was walking near the village of Guestling, East Sussex, when he was attacked by agitated cattle around 11am on Monday. Another walker called emergency services after they heard him scream for help near an eleventh-century village church. Air ambulance paramedics and police performed CPR on the professor, but could not save his life. He was declared dead at the scene later that morning, five miles from his home in Winchelsea. It has been reported by the Daily Mail, that the 80 year old was trying to save his 12-year-old black Labrador, from being trampled as he feared his arthritis would prevent him from escaping. Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious, and that they had passed it on to the coroners office. This is the third cow attack in the UK resulting in serious injuries this month. One woman badly hurt her arm and shoulder after a cattle stampede in Littleborough, Greater Manchester and another woman was injured after being trampled on the Isle of Wight. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) information sheet recommends farmers should wherever possible keep cattle in fields that do not have public access, especially when cattle are calving or have calves at foot. The professor was father-in law to Labour peer and former Minister of Science Lord Drayson. He became a multimillionaire after the two founded Powderject, a pharmaceuticals business which delivers a new type of needle-free injection using compressed gas. The business later focused on the production of influenza vaccines, and was sold to US pharmaceuticals group Chiron for 542m in 2003. Professor Bellhouse came to the University of Oxfords Magdalen College in 1957, to read mathematics. The college is very sad to announce that Professor Brian Bellhouse has passed away at the age of 80, a spokesman said. He obtained his DPhil in Engineering Science in 1964, and was then made a Fellow by Examination. He was elected an Official Fellow in Engineering Science in 1966. On his retirement in 2004 he was elected an Emeritus Fellow. Brian co-founded the company Powderject in 1993 which became one of the first companies to be spun-out successfully from the University of Oxford and was based at our Oxford Science Park. Brian was a major donor to the college and endowed the Oxford-Bellhouse Graduate Scholarship at Magdalen in biomedical engineering. Press Association contributed to this report. The number of people which classified themselves as farmers in Census 2016 declined by over 12,000, according to new figures released by the CSO today. Having increased for the first time in decades in 2011, farmer numbers were likely hit by a recovery in the construction sector which saw numbers rise over the period. The decline in the agriculture sector is evident from the data with the sector accounting for just 4.6pc of total employment in 2016 compared to 31.3pc 50 years ago in 1966. A fall of 85pc. The Census figures also show that 88.2pc of workers in the agriculture sector in 2016 who were male. Expand Close Source: CSO / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Source: CSO Meanwhile, the construction sector, which saw a dramatic fall of 124,827 between 2006 and 2011, increased by 15,092 between 2011 and 2016. In total, the number of people at work increased by 199,281 to reach 2,006,641 in April 2016. The number of females at work grew by 9.0% to 929,967, while there were 1,076,674 males at work, an increase of 12.8% since 2011. The number of retired people increased by 19.2% to 545,407. Farmers get three-quarters of income from Brussels The figures come as farmers depend on cheques from Brussels to make up three-quarters of income. The latest National Farm Survey from agricultural body Teagasc shows income on farms dipped by 9pc last year, with average earnings now standing at 24,060, or less than the average industrial wage. And the snapshot of more than 83,000 farms showed farming remains highly reliant on direct payments from the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. The average direct payment per farm was nearly 18,000 last year - which was 75pc of farm income on average and almost 100pc of the income on cattle and sheep farms. Teagasc economist Dr Kevin Hanrahan raised concerns over the post-Brexit environment, with a potential 10pc drop, or 130m hole, in the CAP budget after 2019. "The UK is the second largest net contributor to the EU budget," he warned, adding the terms of the "divorce" settlement were far from finalised. Teagasc economist Dr Emma Dillon said falls in milk prices and poorer crop yields contributed to the drop in income in 2016. Milk prices fell almost 10pc last year, despite production expanding after removing quota restrictions. Four-out-of-five dairy farmers increased production but income still fell 17pc to 51,809. However, a strong "rebound" was expected with an increase in milk prices this year. Tillage farms were hard hit by poor crop yields and prices, resulting in a 10pc fall in average income to 30,816. Increase in payments under the environmental scheme Glas and suckler cow payments saw direct payments to cattle farmers rise, with income rising up to 4pc. However, the average yearly cattle farm incomes remain low at just over 12,000, and 16,000 on sheep farms. One-in-three farmers works elsewhere off-farm to supplement incomes. MEPs are today debating the merits of reauthorising weedkiller glyphosate for use in the EU, a move that is set to further politicise the ongoing row over the chemical. The European Commission has suggested a new 10-year licence for glyphosate, which has been in use since the 1970s and is marketed by agrochemical giant Monsanto as RoundUp. Cancer Two years ago the scientific community was thrown into disarray when a World Health Organisation body said glyphosate probably causes cancer in humans. The EUs food safety and chemicals agencies have said there is not enough evidence to support the claim. Socialist MEPs say recent revelations in the US cast doubt on the credibility of the studies used by EU agencies to assess glyphosates safety. Green MEPs have appealed to the EUs highest court for public access to the studies used by EU agencies. Report Banning the common weedkiller chemical glyphosate could have a damaging effect on the UK economy and farming, a report has warned. If the pesticide ingredient was not available to farmers it could result in smaller crop yields and increased agriculture costs, according to research. A decision on whether to re-licence glyphosate, a chief ingredient in popular product Roundup, will be taken by the European Commission by the end of the year. Health concerns have previously been raised about the chemical, although the EU's European Chemicals Agency has said it did not meet the criteria to be classified as a carcinogen. Greenpeace has called on the European Commission to ban it, saying it "has led to degradation of ecosystems". But a report by Oxford Economics and The Andersons Centre, in partnership with the Crop Protection Association, suggested a ban could see farming output fall in value by millions of pounds. The report said: "A ban on glyphosate use is projected to lead to falling yields and production within the UK's agricultural sector. Indeed, analysis conducted by the Andersons Centre indicates a ban could reduce the value of farm output by 940 million." An engineer has said he was scammed into leaving his job in mainland Europe after he believes he was 'catfished' by a former colleague who assumed the identity of a recruiter on LinkedIn. Sean Cleary, who has worked in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry for almost 25 years, began working in a contracted position for an engineering firm in Belgium in February 2012. The Irishman - from Trim, Co Meath - said that three months after this job at a subsidiary of Hyde Engineering began, he believes he was scammed by a workmate into handing in his resignation to management at the Brussels-based site. "The person had assumed a fake LinkedIn profile of a recruiter, who turned out to be an employee 'Martha' at Pfizer Australia," he told independent.ie. "This fake recruiter offered me a position back at Pfizer Grange Castle in Clondalkin. And I swallowed the bait." Mr Cleary said he gave a month's notice to his employers at the time but soon realised that there was no position waiting for him in Ireland. Corresponding solely through email, never meeting nor speaking to this person, Mr Cleary said the fake recruiter postponed the start date repeatedly. He said he was left without a job and regular income when he finally received a mail to tell him the job offer was no longer on the table, the effects of which he says he is still recovering from. "I managed to track down the real Martha in Australia and we talked via Skype; she was horrified," he said. "I met her in July 2013 after she and her partner returned to live in Ireland briefly after she got a job with the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI) in Stephens Green." A LinkedIn spokesperson told independent.ie that, while the company does not comment on individual cases, "there are millions of job opportunities listed on LinkedIn and incidents of job advert fraud are rare, but we take them extremely seriously". "We have technical measures in place to take down fake job adverts before they are shown to members and when this type of activity is detected on LinkedIn, we work quickly to remove it. "We also recommend members take simple precautions to protect themselves as they would elsewhere online. Job seekers should be on the lookout for any advert or interaction with a recruiter that seems suspicious, such as requests to provide financial information or perform any monetary transaction. "We encourage our members to report any messages or postings they believe are scams, and to utilise our member help centre as a resource to protect themselves from online fraud. Mr Cleary is currently working for Jacobs at BMS Cruiserath (Bristol-Myers Squibb), near Blanchardstown, but said that the experience has brought out the "inner detective in him" and made him "determined to seek justice". "I lost about three to four months pay; there's no social welfare for freelance contractors and how do I explain what happened to me to a welfare inspector? "The repercussions of what happened in July 2012 continue to affect me to this day, both in the pocket and in the head." In documents seen by independent.ie, Mr Cleary has been in contact with his former employers and the company he believed he was offered a job from. A report has also been filed to the garda and the Belgian police in relation to the incident. While full investigations have been carried out by both the firm Mr Cleary previously worked for and by the Belgian police, no criminal or civil charges have ever been brought. Another week and another investment for Limerick. This time it is financial services giant Northern Trust which said it plans to expand its Limerick operations, creating up to 400 jobs over the next five years. These jobs will be added to the 1,000 people already employed by the company at two locations in the city. It has become one of the largest employers in the Mid-West region. Limerick is riding high in terms of foreign direct investment into the city, especially compared to the problems it faced at the start of the recession when Dell shed 2,000 jobs. In fact, the economic rejuvenation of Limerick has been one of the most remarkable stories of the post-crash era. Some 5,000 IDA-backed jobs have been created in Limerick in the last five years. A total of 8,000 jobs have been announced in the last five years, on projects expected to create 3,500 construction jobs and investments totalling 1.6bn. The local authority has an ambitious development plan called Limerick 2030 which positions the city and its wider region as a major business centre for the future. The Limerick Twenty Thirty Strategic Development DAC (Designated Activity Company) is the first entity of its kind created by a local authority and plans to deliver over 500m worth of investment infrastructure across four sites in Limerick City, with the capacity to create in excess of 5,000 jobs over the next five years. Back in 2009, everything looked different. The whole country was in the depression of an economic disaster but Limerick was feeling the pain particularly hard. After years of negative publicity about crime, the city was losing multinational jobs at speed. Dell announced in 2009 that it was shedding nearly 2,000 jobs. Another 2,000 in sub-supply industries where Dell was the major customer, also lost their jobs. This happened in tandem with the devastation to the construction, retail and other indigenous sectors. Shannon Airport was to experience five successive years of shrinking passenger numbers. Shannon and Foynes Port Company saw major fall-offs in activity. The IDA was sharply criticised for not organising enough site visits to attract new foreign direct investment to the region. Former Kerry Group managing director Denis Brosnan was asked to chair a special task force to tackle the economic problems in the region. After submitting detailed reports with 30 specific recommendations, there was little optimism at first about the government implementing the changes. In a Dail debate in January 2010 Michael Noonan, then opposition finance spokesman, said Brosnan was the "most depressed individual" he had met in a long time. He pointed to the businessman's frustration and fear about a lack of follow-up to the task force recommendations. Noonan said that Brosnan made it clear people in the region had three choices. They could wallow in long-term unemployment; the government could initiate a programme which would promote emigration or the government could take initiatives to create jobs in the region. Fast forward to 2017 and the picture looks very different. Brosnan, who has given an enormous amount to seeing through change in Limerick, recently said future developments in Limerick will mean there will be no city as "advanced" in Ireland or Britain in years to come. That might sound very optimistic, but Brosnan is not someone given over to exaggeration or hubris. The economy in the region has improved dramatically. Hotels are often full during the week with corporate customers. Several have plans to expand. Unemployment, described by Noonan in 2010 as the highest in the country, has fallen back. The average price of a house in Limerick in April 2014 was 93,000. This year it is 132,000, an increase of 42pc. Shannon Airport was given operational autonomy in 2013 and each year since then it has grown passenger numbers. Last year passenger numbers were up 350,000 on the 2012 figure. This year it will have seven transatlantic destinations, its highest number in 17 years. Shannon Foynes Port Company has seen its annual tonnage rise above pre-crash levels. Its Limerick docks operation is now exporting triple what it imports. It has its own development plan in place which is looking at other revenue streams. The city council has gone ahead and begun developing assets from office space on vacant sites in the heart of the city to film studios. So how did all of this happen? How did Limerick go from being one of the whipping boys of the crash to one of the poster boys of the recovery? There are several factors at play and some of them provide useful insight into what can be done for any region. Firstly, things had to get really bad before action was taken. Putting together the task force was a good start but getting someone as respected as Brosnan to chair it was very important. The number of agencies responsible for local government and job creation were greatly reduced. One recommendation was to get rid of the job-creation role of Shannon Development and let the IDA take it over. Shannon had its own development and jobs agency but ironically, its very existence meant IDA Ireland was not as engaged as it could have been. Brosnan's task force report recommended this. It also wanted the amalgamation of Limerick City Council, Limerick County Council and for parts of Co Clare, near the city to be taken into that zone of administration. Brosnan has said: "I insulted every single agency in Ireland at the time when I said what I could see. Agencies spent their time going to one another's meetings and there were more people in agencies in Limerick than new jobs being created during the boom years of 2001 to 2008." Limerick City Council and the county council were merged and under the stewardship of Conn Murray, began working on their own development plans for the region. All the stakeholders signed a "charter of convergence and cohesion" to collaborate for the city and the region. Even towns in neighbouring areas (and counties) are beginning to think of themselves as inside the 'Limerick region' rather than ploughing their own furrow. High levels of communication and co-operation began from local government to third level education. These have all been factors in ensuring Limerick has enjoyed even more of a post-crash lift than other parts of the country. Another significant factor was having Michael Noonan as Finance Minister. Undoubtedly, his presence in such a key ministry was a help, whether it came to making introductions or having influence in ensuring there was government action. The region was blessed with having a strong FDI track record which meant it had a skillset and infrastructure, from rail and the airport, to educational with University of Limerick and LIT. It has been quick to respond to change, for example deciding to market itself as a centre for inward investment after Brexit, rather than just worry about the negative fallout of it. The retirement of Noonan this week from Cabinet will be sorely felt in Limerick. Despite the progress made, there are inevitably fresh challenges ahead. Economic progress doesn't always mean the social problems in any area get solved. The rejuvenation of Shannon Airport faces the challenge of a rapidly-expanding Dublin Airport. Limerick loses a key and influential advocate at the Cabinet table this week. Also, as so much of Limerick's recovery has been built on FDI, it could be vulnerable to major shifts in Ireland's attractiveness as an investment location in the future - a turn of the tide internationally, and jobs could start to go again. Some but not all other regions enjoy some of the advantages that Limerick has. They have motorway and rail infrastructure, a solid FDI base, a desire to bring about change and a senior minister at Cabinet. They can learn a lot from what Limerick has done. Ryanair would use 230-seat aircraft to service high-density routes where it's either slot constrained or where demand peaks at certain times of the year, if it converts some existing Boeing orders for the 737 Max jets to a larger version of the aircraft. But even if ordered, the larger jets - the biggest version available of the 737 Max - wouldn't join the Ryanair fleet for another two or three years. Speaking to 'Bloomberg' TV yesterday, Ryanair's chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs confirmed that the airline is talking to Boeing about two of the larger aircraft type, known as the Max 9 and Max 10. The Max 200 that Ryanair has on order seats up to 200, which is 11 more than the 737 Max 8, providing extra revenue combined with 5pc lower operating costs. Under aviation rules, for every 50 seats, a carrier has to have one cabin crew member. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has previously said that one of the advantages of the Max 200 was that by having up to 200 seats, the jet would not need an additional cabin crew member. Ryanair has 100 of the jets on order and also has 100 options for the aircraft type. Ryanair would carry 197 passengers on the Max 200. Having 230 seats will require an extra crew member, but the airline is thought to believe that having an extra 30 available seats outweighs the extra labour cost involved. It's likely that some holiday routes to destinations in countries such as Spain could be prime targets for Ryanair with the Max 200, for instance, while it could also look to boost capacity at airports such as London Gatwick, which is slot-constrained at peak times. Mr Jacobs yesterday cited Ryanair's Glasgow-Lanzarote route as one that could benefit from a larger aircraft. A Max 9 or 10 could also be utilised on routes to Israel, he said, where the longer sector length reduces aircraft utilisation on those services. "A bigger aircraft wouldn't change our operating model," he said. "It's just that you can get more people on it and enhance the cost per unit. We're not interested in having a varied fleet." Easyjet recently converted an order for 30 Airbus A320s into larger A321 Neos. The larger jets have 49 extra seats. Easyjet chief executive Carolyn McCall said last month that the bigger aircraft would also help it to boost capacity at airports like Gatwick, Amsterdam and Geneva, which are all slot-constrained at busy times. Last month, Mr O'Leary didn't rule out the possibility that Ryanair could be operating as many as 1,000 aircraft by 2030. The airline aims to be carrying 200 million passengers a year by 2024. The airline has a fleet of about 400 Boeing aircraft that will grow to about 600 once it receives the last jets under a current order, in 2023. National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov has said that the Verkhovna Rada must pass the bill on special confiscation, as this would significantly relax the scheme for returning the funds of former officials, obtained by illegal means, to the country. "You know that those who stole these funds from our people have started to stir. Decisive steps in the issue were a kick in the head for them. They invested much money in corrupted parliamentarians who have been blocking the adoption of the bill on special confiscation for two years. They hoped that without it Ukraine would fail to return the stolen funds," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. He said that Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) worked well, and there is a result the funds have been set to the account of the State Treasury Service. "They were shocked. Now they are hiring expensive lawyers to return the stolen funds via courts. I have started receiving letters in the NSDC from various offshore companies with the same text the core sense of which is "return our billions." This is more evidence that Ukraine is on the right way and Yanukovych's cronies are behind nominal heads of offshore structures. They have an "intellectual" approach as usual. All texts of these messages are identical and printed on the same PC," Turchynov said. "As for the bill on special confiscation, of course, it should be passed. This would significantly relax the confiscation procedure and return of the stolen funds to the budget," he said. Kyckr is hoping to benefit from the increasing focus on anti-financial crime solutions globally. Stock photo: Getty Images Kyckr, an Irish fintech company listed on the Australian stock exchange and a provider of financial crime and compliance software, has drafted in two heavyweight advisers to bolster its operations. Peter Oakes, a former enforcement chief with the Central Bank, and Bruce Quick, who has worked with global fintech companies, have been tapped to drive the minnow's expansion. The fortification of Kyckr's team come at a time when the main Irish banks are in the spotlight for breaching regulations designed to thwart money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank have been hit with multi-million-euro fines for breaching the rules. Those levies followed lengthy investigations and were a particular embarrassment to AIB given its looming initial public offering. Kyckr is hoping to benefit from the increasing focus on anti-financial crime solutions globally. The company was founded by Irishman Rob Leslie, and raised AU$5m last year to list on the ASX in Sydney. Peter Oakes, who set up the enforcement department at the Central Bank in 2010 before leaving the regulator, said he was looking forward to the new role. Emirates, hoping to shake off budget airlines coveting its long-distance customers, has set its sights on goggles. The Gulf carrier is studying ways to equip staff with augmented reality glasses that display a passenger's name and travel habits, allowing more personalized service, Emirates' Chief Digital and Innovation Officer Christoph Mueller said. Travellers may also be given eyewear to help them navigate airports or browse food menus. "We could enhance customer service tremendously," said Mueller, who was appointed last year to help modernise the world's biggest long-haul airline. "The consumer will want to interact in a completely different way." Emirates President Tim Clark has warned the company faces a "gathering storm" from budget rivals such as Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, which are expanding their north-Atlantic routes and threatening to erode the Gulf carrier's market leadership. State-backed Emirates, which helped unseat western mainline carriers years ago with bigger planes boasting swanky bars and on-board showers, is now betting an investment in new technology can help it stay ahead. Augmented Reality, available on gadgets such as Microsoft's HoloLens headset and Apple iPhones, is gaining traction at companies seeking to improve customer service and worker productivity. Fashion brand Gap lets shoppers virtually try on clothes by dressing an avatar. Car manufacturers including Jeep and BMW offer 3D versions of their vehicles on mobile devices. HP's app guides users replacing ink cartridges. Thyssenkrupp AG repairmen wear goggles to access technical data, hands-free, when fixing skyscraper elevators. Mueller is gearing Emirates' technology for a new era as the airline grapples with some of the toughest operating conditions in its 30-year history. In addition to competition from cheaper rivals, the carrier has recently been hit by weaker oil prices which have hurt demand from the Gulf's wealthiest travellers, and by tourists' growing security concerns. In March, the Dubai-based airline announced its first annual profit decline in five years and halted dividend payments to its government shareholder for the first time in at least a decade. To better compete against discount airlines, Emirates has started charging customers for picking their own seats and added fees for checked baggage. The new policies represent a fundamental shift at the lavish carrier - known for flying the largest fleet of Airbus SE's A380 double-deckers, plush suites and tongue-in-cheek ads featuring Jennifer Aniston. "We have been disrupted, which is quite obvious if you look at our performance," Mueller said at the recent International Air Transport Association annual meeting in Cancun. "We are rewriting the business model for the Emirates group." Still, it may be a while before any Emirates mixologist dons goggles. Augmented reality technology remains in its infancy outside of gaming applications such as Niantic's popular Pokemon Go, and usage at most companies is in the pilot stages. Corporate applications largely run over mobile devices rather than eyewear and it's hard to imagine how the clunky sci-fi style equipment will fit with the sleek aesthetics of Emirates."It still looks a little bit odd," Mueller concedes. "But maybe that can be overcome." (Bloomberg) Sony smartphones have always impressed in one thing: their cameras. From the very start, the lenses and sensors put into Xperia handsets were on par or better than those of Samsungs and iPhones. This is partly because Sony makes the sensors for many rival smartphones (including the iPhone). So the camera was the first thing I opened when I got my hands on the XZ Premium, Sony's new flagship phone with a 5.5-inch screen. What I found was an excellent cameraphone lens. However, the gap in image quality it once might have had over Samsungs and iPhones is now gone. The images from the 19-megapixel rear camera are as sharp as you can get from a phone. But the colours and (in particular) the contrast aren't better than you'll get on the big two (iPhone 7 and Samsung S8). That said, what it does have is considerably more tech behind its camera which contributes to features the other phones can't match. The most eye-catching of these is its super slowmotion video facility. This allows the XZ Premium to film at 960 frames per second. This is quite a huge jump on slow-motion rates available on other phones, which are usually maximised at 240 frames per second. It means you can slow down a ball in flight. The only catch is that it's a bit tricky to use this feature. The phone asks you to press the record button a second time when recording and then records one second of super slow motion by default. It took me a while to get the hang of it: I suspect most people might be put off. Sony needs to make this experience a little smoother. Even though it will mean little to many reading this review, it's worth mentioning here that Sony has built a triple-stacked sensor into this cameraphone, which gives it a lot more power than most phones. It especially helps with features such as autofocusing, which matters a great deal if you're relying on your phone to take photos at events. There's also a nice amount of storage (64GB) by default for all those photos and videos. The XZ Premium has more going on than just its camera. Least of these is its 5.5-inch ultra-HD (4K) display. 4K is great on 50-inch TVs but almost meaningless on a 5.5-inch screen. Still, pixel-peepers will love it. The phone has a very distinctive look. It's very, very shiny. The silver model I had featured a near-mirror casing. Indeed, that was its most apparent accessorising purpose outside its tech features. The downside to this is that it's a bit of smudge-magnet. The XZ's design is very angular. It has pronounced corners. The risk here is that it is more likely to tear the inside of your pocket or bag over time. (I already have some loose pocket threats caused by different smartphones, all of whose curves are more rounded than the sharp XZ Premium corners.) On the other hand, Sony's design on this phone screams 'premium'. If Samsung has the most innovative phone design at present (with its 'infinity screen'), this Sony XZ Premium definitely looks the poshest. It could even be described as 'bling'. The physical design is not all aesthetics. The XZ Premium is fully waterproof (to a depth of a metre), meaning you can take photos or shoot video underwater with it. I found the gadget's (3,230mAh) battery life to be pretty decent, usually lasting all day with fairly constant usage throughout. The XZ Premium has one other practical advantage over its Samsung and Apple (and even HTC or Huawei) rivals - its price. Sony appears to have adopted a very aggressive strategy here, pitching the XZ Premium at 699. That's a good 200 cheaper than the similarly-sized, similarly specced iPhone 7 Plus or Samsung S8 Plus. One might argue that Sony no longer has the brand-power of Samsung or Apple in the phone business. Still, it makes for real competition here. At that price, the XZ Premium is a very real alternative to both of the top two handsets. US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States 'outdated' The United States appears poised to heighten scrutiny of Chinese investment in Silicon Valley to better shield sensitive technologies seen as vital to US national security, current and former US officials have told Reuters. Of particular concern is China's interest in fields such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, which have increasingly attracted Chinese capital in recent years. The worry is that cutting-edge technologies developed in the United States could be used by China to bolster its military capabilities and perhaps even push it ahead in strategic industries. The US government is now looking to strengthen the role of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the inter-agency committee that reviews foreign acquisitions of US companies on national security grounds. An unreleased Pentagon report, viewed by Reuters, warns that China is skirting US oversight and gaining access to sensitive technology through transactions that currently don't trigger CFIUS review. Such deals would include joint ventures, minority stakes and early-stage investments in startups. "We're examining CFIUS to look at the long-term health and security of the US economy, given China's predatory practices" in technology, said a Trump administration official, who was not authorised to speak publicly. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis weighed into the debate on Tuesday, calling CFIUS "outdated" and telling a Senate hearing: "It needs to be updated to deal with today's situation." CFIUS is headed by the Treasury Department and includes nine permanent members including representatives from the departments of Defence, Justice, Homeland Security, Commerce, State and Energy. The CFIUS panel is so secretive it normally does not comment after it makes a decision on a deal. Under former President Barack Obama, CFIUS stopped a series of attempted Chinese acquisitions of high-end chip makers. Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, is now drafting legislation that would give CFIUS far more power to block some technology investments, a Cornyn aide said. "Artificial intelligence is one of many leading-edge technologies that China seeks and that has potential military applications," said the Cornyn aide, who declined to be identified. "These technologies are so new that our export control system has not yet figured out how to cover them, which is part of the reason they are slipping through the gaps in the existing safeguards," the aide said. The legislation would require CFIUS to heighten scrutiny of buyers hailing from nations identified as potential threats to national security. CFIUS would maintain the list, the aide said, without specifying who would create it. Cornyn's legislation would not single out specific technologies that would be subject to CFIUS scrutiny. But it would provide a mechanism for the Pentagon to lead that identification effort, with input from the US technology sector, the Commerce Department, and the Energy Department, the aide said. James Lewis, an expert on military technology at the Centre for Security and International Studies, said the US government is playing catch-up. "The Chinese have found a way around our protections, our safeguards, on technology transfer in foreign investment. And they're using it to pull ahead of us, both economically and militarily. I think that's a big deal," Lewis said. But some industry experts warn that stronger US regulations may not succeed in halting technology transfer and might trigger retaliation by China, with economic repercussions for the United States. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Chinese investment should not be "politically overinterpreted" or "interfered with politically". "We hope the United States can provide a good environment for Chinese companies investing in the United States," Lu told a regular news briefing on Wednesday. China made the United States the top destination for its foreign direct investment in 2016, with $45.6bn in completed acquisitions and greenfield investments, according to the Rhodium Group, a research firm. Investment from January to May 2017 totalled $22bn, which represented a 100pc increase against the same period last year, it said. "There will be a significant pushback from the technology industry" if legislation is overly aggressive, Rhodium Group economist Thilo Hanemann said. Concerns about Chinese inroads into advanced technology come as the US military looks to incorporate elements of artificial intelligence and machine learning into its drone program. Project Maven, as the effort is known, aims to provide some relief to military analysts who are part of the war against Islamic State. These analysts currently spend long hours staring at big screens reviewing video feeds from drones as part of the hunt for insurgents in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon is trying to develop algorithms that would sort through the material and alert analysts to important finds, according to Air Force Lieutenant General John NT. "Jack" Shanahan, director for defence intelligence for warfighting support. "A lot of times these things are flying around(and)... there's nothing in the scene that's of interest," he told Reuters. Verizon Communications executives descended on the Silicon Valley HQ of their latest acquisition, Yahoo, to usher in what they're heralding as a bright new era for some of the faded stars of the internet age. Tim Armstrong, CEO of the Verizon digital division now called Oath, met staff in Sunnyvale, California as the integration of Yahoo - acquired on Tuesday for $4.5bn (4bn) - and Verizon's AOL unit begins. The first steps will include a 15pc cut of Oath's combined staff - about 2,100 people - with a focus on redundant tasks, like support for two email systems. The cuts will continue through this week at locations including New York. Engineering and product jobs will be least affected, Armstrong said. Verizon acquired AOL two years ago and also has an online video app, go90. The mobile-phone company aims to attract online visitors to its digital properties to fuel advertising growth and enhance its core business of helping consumers send and receive information on their devices or watch TV. "Verizon is the giant in mobile - the service is everywhere," Armstrong said. "I'm very excited about what we are going to do with that reach." (Bloomberg) National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov has said he favors passage of a draft bill to regulate legal issues and provide reliable informational and cyber security. "We can't talk today about being fully safe against cyber attacks, but we are doing everything to strengthen our defenses. In order to stop cyber aggression we need serious resources in addition to understanding the threats we face. It's also necessary to amend legislative acts which do not ensure legal mechanism for defending society and the government in conditions of fast-developing information technology," Turchynov said in an exclusive interview with the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The NSDC secretary cited the decision to block Russian websites and social media platforms, which posed serious technological and legal problems. "Some providers required an entire month to implement the decision. In addition, there are more than enough ways to technically get around enforcing the measure which are used by cyber criminals and ordinary criminals, who sell everything from narcotics to child pornography," Turchynov said. The NSDC secretary said Ukraine is in talks with NATO on the issue of cyber security inasmuch as the problem concerns all NATO allies. "Cybernetic and informational aggression is a problem shared by a number of countries. There is cooperation working on this issue, theoretically for now, but we hope practically, as well, in the future," the NSDC secretary said. Only a year ago he was hailed as one of the boldest dealmakers in China - but yesterday, with scant explanation, Wu Xiaohui was said to be unable to perform his duties as chairman of Anbang Insurance Group. In a terse statement sent to reporters around 2am Beijing time, Anbang said only that Wu - who spent more than a decade building the company into a global juggernaut - was no longer able to serve in his post for personal reasons. The development added another layer of intrigue to the story of Anbang, whose overseas acquisition spree has slowed in recent months amid increased scrutiny at home and abroad. China's central bank was said to be looking into suspected breaches of anti-money laundering rules at the insurer late last year, while authorities temporarily banned Anbang's life insurance unit from selling new products in May. High-profile bids for American hotels, insurance assets and a Manhattan office tower owned by the family of US presidential adviser Jared Kushner have all fallen through over the past 18 months. "It looks very unlikely that Anbang will be able to continue its overseas buying spree," said Grace Zhou, a Hong Kong-based analyst at ICBC International. "Its business model is no longer viable given tightened regulatory scrutiny," Zhou said, adding that the latest shock to the firm's reputation could drive policy surrenders and make it harder for Anbang to tap international financing. The exact nature of Wu's role in any government investigation has become the subject of widespread speculation. Before Anbang's statement, Caijing Magazine, citing unidentified sources, reported that Wu had been taken away by Chinese authorities on June 9. The article, which said it was unclear whether Wu was assisting with a government investigation, was later deleted from the magazine's website. Caijing didn't answer calls and emails requesting comment, while Anbang referred to its statement when asked to comment on the Caijing report. The company on June 2 denied a Financial Times report that said Wu was barred by authorities from leaving the country. It wouldn't be the first time a Chinese tycoon has allegedly fallen afoul of Chinese authorities. Prominent financier Xiao Jianhua was taken by agents from a Hong Kong hotel earlier this year and presumed to have been brought back to China, according to local media reports. Executives of a company controlled by tycoon Guo Wengui stood trial this month on charges of loan and foreign exchange fraud, the state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported. Anbang's story begins in 2004, when it was founded as a property-and casualty-insurer selling auto policies. The firm's early shareholders included state-owned behemoths SAIC Motor and Sinopec. Anbang added a life unit in 2010 and turbocharged its expansion in 2014 by selling single-premium, high-yield policies - many of which could be redeemed in two years at a profit. With names like Anbang Longevity Sure Win No. 1, the products offered returns well above benchmark deposit rates and have proven popular with inexperienced investors. Anbang now has almost 2 trillion yuan (262bn) of assets and more than 30,000 employees. Wu first turned heads abroad when Anbang offered to buy New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel in October 2014. Chinese media likened his approach - using insurance income to fund wider ambitions - to the model honed by Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett. Anbang's targets have also included the Belgian banking operations of Delta Lloyd NV, South Korean insurer Tongyan Life Insurance and the massive Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, though that bid was dropped last year. Later that year, Anbang called off an agreement to buy a landmark Southern California hotel from Blackstone after US national security officials expressed concern over the property's proximity to a naval base. An offer to acquire US-based Fidelity & Guaranty Life failed to win regulatory approval. In March, Anbang cancelled talks with Kushner Cos, owned by the family of President Donald Trump's son-in-law. The negotiations to redevelop 666 5th Avenue had came under scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers, who cited ethics concerns over the Chinese firm's potential investment. Anbang is controlled by a group of companies owned by about 100 people with ties to Wu, many of them hailing from his home county of Pingyang on the eastern Chinese coast, the New York Times reported last year. At least 35 of Anbang's corporate shareholders can trace all or part of their ownership to relatives of Wu or his wife, according to the report. (Bloomberg) Trevor Brooks was convicted of second degree homicide in 1993, aged 24. A street altercation, he says, ended with a gun going off in his hands, killing his friend. In the dispassionate world of criminal statistics, it was simply chalked up as one of 353 killings in Baltimore that year, a record for the city at the time. Now a free man again after two decades behind bars, Brooks believes he has the solution to the citys deepening homicide crisis: an app that exchanges guns for bail. GunBail, as its called, works around Brooks assertion that there is an intersection between those who cannot afford bail and those who have access to illegal firearms. In sum, the app offers to exchange weapons in return for a reduction in bail money. Its aim is to tackle what Brooks, 46, describes as Baltimores culture of violence, something with which he is all too familiar. It is the battery that drives me, he says of his murder conviction that robbed almost half his life as a free man. The two of us were friends and neither one of us meant to hurt each other, yet someone ended up dead and that was because of the proliferation of guns in our community. A lot of my friends have lost their lives because of that. He is not alone. The Baltimore Sun, Marylands largest general-circulation daily newspaper, has tracked the citys crime data over the course of several decades. According to their figures, at the time of Brooks conviction in 1993, Baltimore was experiencing its most murderous year to date. In 2017, just as Brooks prepares to pilot his new app in partnership with Baltimore City Council, the newspapers data suggests the city is on track to surpass that. It suffered 146 homicides up until the end of May, surpassing 1993s five-month toll of 139, the worst per capita ratio in the US. A whole raft of initiatives have been trialled to combat the issue. Most have failed and the city is desperate. In May, the City Council took up a resolution that would lend support to Brooks idea, which he believes could see hundreds of guns taken off the streets every day. To surrender a gun via the app, a nonviolent inmates family takes a picture of the gun thats in their possession and sends it to GunBail. GunBail then mails a box and gun lock to them so that they can send the firearm to GunBail. GunBail subsequently arranges for the weapon to be handed over to authorities. The sticking point is getting the courts to agree to release the inmate on their own recognisance. The gun effectively becomes a sort of substitute for bail, so could particularly appeal to families who cant afford to pay. Authorities have trialled gun buybacks in the past, often recovering hundreds of guns in a single day. But Brooks says that such events have failed to attract people who are likely to commit gun crimes or retrieve weapons typically used to perpertrate them. He believes his idea targets people who are more likely to be tied up in gun violence while providing a secure method of recovery. As well as having the backing of the City Council, GunBail raised over $40,000 in the first few days of a recent crowdfunding campaign on online platform IndieGogo, but there is much still to be done. Brooks will need the backing of the citys law enforcement authorities and, although he has met with prosecutors, a spokeswoman for the states attorney told the Baltimore Sun that the programme required more development from a legal standpoint. Having attended various accelerators for underserved entrepreneurs, Brooks is convinced that, if given the green light, he can license the software across the US and, eventually, worldwide. We have to start somewhere, he says. Because one thing is clear: everything else that has been tried, has not worked. RTE broadcaster Joe Duffy has been presented with one of the Lord Mayors Awards for his contribution to Irish society. Photo: Conor McCabe Photography RTE presenter Joe Duffy was among those honoured last night for their contribution to Irish society. The Lord Mayor's Awards 2017 were held at the Mansion House on Dawson Street. Four awards were handed out by Lord Mayor Brendan Carr in the Round Room and broadcaster Duffy was over the moon to collect his gong. He said: "I'm deeply honoured for myself, RTE and the 'Liveline' listeners to receive this award." The other winners on the night were Paralympian Ellen Keane, the Dublin GAA County Board and the Workers of Dublin. Lord Mayor Carr said: "The Lord Mayor's Awards are all about saying 'thank you' not only on my own behalf but on behalf of all the people of Dublin, to citizens who, through their ordinary everyday lives, enrich this city in an extraordinary way. "It is one of the highlights of my year as Lord Mayor to present these awards." Simon Cowell has pledged to help the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire by releasing a charity single. The music mogul, who has signed the likes of One Direction, Little Mix and Fleur East to his Syco Music label, tweeted that he had been so affected by the tragedy that he wanted to be able to use his influence to help. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Simon is known for his support of various causes and charities, including being a patron of Together For Short Lives, a charity for children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions. In 2010 he produced a charity single, Everybody Hurts, for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The REM hit was re-recorded by a host of stars including Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, Cheryl, Michael Buble, Kylie Minogue and Susan Boyle. A High Court action brought by convicted murderer Graham Dwyer against the Garda Commissioner and State over the use of mobile phone records in his trial will be heard in February 2018. Dwyer was charged in October 2013 with the murder of Elaine OHara and was convicted by a jury following a lengthy trial at the Central Criminal Court in March 2015. In his High Court proceedings commenced in 2015 Dwyer claims certain provisions of the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 breach his rights to privacy under the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The Directive underlying the 2011 Act was struck down by the European Court of Justice in 2015. He claims that the ECJ ruling means that Irish legislation implementing the directive was illegal and that data collected on his phone was also therefore invalid. Many requests for disclosure of mobile phone records were made under the relevant provisions of the 2011 Act by gardai investigating Ms OHara's murder and were granted by the relevant service providers. Phone data was also admitted into evidence during the trial. During Dwyers trial, his lawyers argued the mobile phone data was inadmissible as evidence but those arguments were rejected by the trial judge. The High Court proceedings are against the Garda Commissioner, Director of Public prosecutions, Ministers for Justice and Communications, Ireland and the Attorney General. The case was briefly mentioned before the Chancery Court on Thursday morning, when lawyers for Dwyer and the state applied for a hearing date. The hearing of the action, which is expected to take 6 to 8 days, was fixed for February 20th next. In his action, Cork born Dwyer with an address in Foxrock in South Co Dublin seeks, if appropriate, damages and, if necessary, a reference of issues to the European Court of Justice. Following his conviction Dwyer for the murder of Ms O'Hara in August 2012 the married architect was jailed for life and his appeal against conviction has yet to be heard. A COMPANY director has been sent forward for trial accused of having 1.9m in crime proceeds in connection with a forestry investment business. Businessman Garret Hevey, 41, of Brookdene, Shankill, Co. Dublin had been charged in February with deception by inducing a named man to pay him 52,000stg (59,500) at Allied Irish Bank, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin on February 23 last year. He was also charged that on June 13 last year at AIB on George's Street, in Dun Laoghaire he was in possession of 1,982,825 in crime proceeds. Last month he was further charged with one offence under the Companies Act for fraudulent trading and two additional counts of deception by inducing people to pay him approximately 23,000 (26,000). He appeared again at Dublin District Court on Thursday where he was served with the book of evidence by Inspector Catharina Gunne of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau. The court has heard the case involved 2,000 exhibits. The Director of Public Prosecutions directed that Mr Hevey is to face trial on indictment, meaning his case will go before a judge and jury in the circuit court, on all five charges. Judge Michael Walsh told him he was being returned for trial to the higher court where he will face his next hearing on July 7 next. Mr Hevey, who remains on bail, has not yet indicated how he will plead. Judge Walsh warned him that if he intended to rely on an alibi in his defence he must inform the prosecution within 14 days. Defence solicitor Richard Young said his client wanted to go on a holiday within the State and a slight amendment to his bail was required. He cannot go abroad because his passport has been seized, the court heard. Judge Walsh told him that he will have to sign on at his local Garda station. In February, Heveys bail was set in his own bond of 5,000 of which half had to be lodged in court with a 20,000 independent surety of which 10,000 had to be lodged. At his first hearing, Inspector Gunne had told the court the defendant was a director and shareholder in Arden Forestry Management Ltd. It was alleged the company investors based outside the State transferred sums to the AIB account and it appeared as if they were investing in a legitimate forestry business with legitimate folios, sites and timber certificates. The court has heard that married father-of-one Mr Hevey has lived at his home for the past nine years and there is a mortgage on his property. As a condition of bail he had to hand over his passport to gardai, reside at his home address, not apply for a new passport, be contactable always via mobile phone, have no contact with alleged injured parties and sign on three times a week at his local Garda station. A co-accused, UK national David Piele, 40, a father-of-two with an address at Rectory Way, Bray, Co. Wicklow is also before the courts but has faced separate hearings. He is solely charged with deception offences. A 32-YEAR-OLD man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a Dublin grandmother, whose remains were found scattered across the Wicklow mountains. Kieran Green replied "it was self-defence" after he was charged. Judge Patricia McNamara remanded Mr Green in custody to appear before Cloverhill District Court next Thursday. Mr Green must apply to the High Court for bail on a murder charge. The accused, with an address at Mountain View Park in Churchtown, appeared before Tallaght District Court charged with the murder of Patricia O'Connor. The killing allegedly took place at Mountain View Park in Churchtown between May 29 and May 30 last. Detective Garda David Connolly said Mr Green was arrested at Bray Garda Station and he was later charged at 11.28am this morning by Garda Ross Callaghan. Gda Connolly said Mr Green was handed a true copy of the charge sheet and he replied "it was self-defence" to the charge after caution. Ms O'Connor (61) was first reported missing on June 2 but at the time her disappearance was not considered suspicious. Nine separate human remains were discovered scattered in a 30km area across the Wicklow mountains in the past number of days, including a human head and arms in a plastic bag. A family initially discovered the torso in a plastic bag near Military Road last Saturday and a major garda investigation was launched. Defence solicitor Patrick McNiece asked that Mr Green receive medical attention in custody. The court heard that Mr Green is not working and Judge McNamara assigned Mr McNiece on free legal aid. The accused, who was wearing a grey top and navy tracksuit bottoms, kept his head bowed and did not address the court during the short hearing. A DUBLIN man is the owner of a boat he is accused of stealing during an alleged drunken chase along the River Liffey, a court heard today. Emergency services were alerted to an incident at about 6am on June 1 when a boat was taken from its mooring at a south Dublin bank sailing club. Expand Close Brian Stacey. Photo: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Brian Stacey. Photo: Collins Following a pursuit on the Liffey a boat was brought to a halt and later two Dublin men were arrested and taken to Irishtown Garda station. Brian Stacey (44) of Derry Drive, Crumlin and Ronan Stephens (40) from Captains Road also in Crumlin face seven charges under the Maritime Safety Act, the Theft and Fraud Act and the Public Order Act in connection with the alleged incident. They appeared before Judge Michael Walsh at Dublin District Court on June 1 and were granted bail providing they do not take part in any boating activities on the Liffey unless with the approval in writing of gardai and the Dublin harbour master. They are accused of being under influence of alcohol and failing to stop for gardai at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club while being the operator of a boat, theft of a pleasure craft worth 11,000, navigating the craft without due care and attention and endangerment of a RNLI lifeboat crew at the Shipping Lane on the River Liffey, trespassing at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club and breach of the peace. The pair appeared again at the district court on Thursday when Garda Paul Moody asked Judge Michael Walsh for an eight-week adjournment to get directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Judge Walsh ordered the pair to appear again on a date in September. Expand Close Ronan Stephens (40) from Captain's Road, Crumlin, Dublin, leaves the Dublin District Court this afternoon where he faces seven charges under the Maritime Safety Act, the Theft and Fraud Act and the Public Order Act. He is accused of being drunk during a boat chase on the River Liffey in Dublin in the early hours of today. Pic Collins Courts. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ronan Stephens (40) from Captain's Road, Crumlin, Dublin, leaves the Dublin District Court this afternoon where he faces seven charges under the Maritime Safety Act, the Theft and Fraud Act and the Public Order Act. He is accused of being drunk during a boat chase on the River Liffey in Dublin in the early hours of today. Pic Collins Courts. Solicitor Michael Kelleher, for Mr Stacey, said he intends to write to the DPP because his client is the owner of the boat and has a receipt. Judge Walsh agreed to remove a bail condition banning Mr Stacey from the Liffey without getting permission from gardai and the harbour master. At the first hearing on June 1, Garda Paul Moody said Mr Stacey made no reply when he was charged. He said the incident began in the early hours of that morning and was on-going when he took up duty at 7am. Mr Stacey was arrested at 8.25 am at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. Garda Moody said it was alleged the incident happened at the Shipping Lane of the River Liffey at the East Link Bridge coming into Dublin city. At their first hearing, Garda Patrick Collins had told the court that the co-defendant Ronan Stephens also made no reply after caution when he was charged. He was arrested at Sir John Rogersons Quay. He was ordered not to partake in boating activities on the Liffey without the prior consent, in writing, of the harbour master and gardai at Irishtown station. There will be no prosecution in relation to the death of a 64 year old conservation officer who died while out walking his dogs. Michael McCoy of Ballinascorney Upper, Brittas, Co Dublin was found dead at Blackhill Forest in the Dublin Mountains on September 30, 2016. The circumstances leading up to his death will be heard at inquest after Gardai applied for a hearing date at Dublin Coroners Court. At a previous hearing Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan gave the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head. Expand Close Mourners follow the coffin of Michael McCoy into St. Maelruain's Church of Ireland in Tallaght. Photo: Tony Gavin / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mourners follow the coffin of Michael McCoy into St. Maelruain's Church of Ireland in Tallaght. Photo: Tony Gavin The father-of-three had been out walking his dogs near his Co Dublin home when he failed to return home. He was formally identified using DNA, Dublin Coroners Court heard previously. Mr McCoy left his home early on the morning of September 29 2016 intending to walk his two boxer dogs in the hills near his home. The alarm was raised when he failed to return home and a comprehensive search of the area commenced. Mr McCoys body was found on a forest track around 5.30am the following day. One of his boxer dogs, Sophie, stayed with his body until mountain rescue services arrived at the wooded forest track. A file was prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and criminal proceedings were contemplated, but ultimately the DPP directed no prosecution. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane set a hearing date for November 22 2017. Mr McCoy ran the Dublin and Wicklow Conservation Group and had campaigned against a string of building developments in Dublin and Wicklow. Hundreds turned out at his funeral to pay their last respects at St. Maelruains Church in Tallaght. Dwyer, who brutally knifed Dublin woman Elaine O'Hara to death in 2012, spends his mornings plotting his upcoming appeal with Nash, who is also appealing against his conviction for murdering Sylvia Sheils (59) and Mary Callanan (61) in 1997. Prison sources have confirmed to the Herald that the duo, who are both serving life sentences, are extremely close and that Dwyer has no other friends behind bars except for the 44-year-old Englishman. "Nash is Dwyer's best and only pal - no one else has any time for him," one source said. "They love drinking coffee and chatting in Dwyer's cell." The two killers have forged a close relationship in the last six months and speak almost every day. "They speak mostly about their appeals and both men are arrogant enough to think that they can get their convictions overturned," the source said. "Dwyer sees himself as highly intelligent and superior and this doesn't go down well with his fellow lags." Dwyer's attitude to his fellow prisoners has infuriated them and left him isolated, the source added. "Most of the other prisoners see him as a devious pr*ck and they want nothing to do with him. He still plays poker in the recreation area of E3 but with a very small crowd." Dwyer, who has grown a ponytail since being jailed, is also telling anyone who will listen that he will get his conviction overturned, because there is no physical evidence linking him to the brutal murder. "Dwyer is very confident that he is going to get off," the source added. "He thinks he will be out by the end of the year because he says there is no physical evidence linking him to Elaine's horrific murder." Dwyer has spent the last six months poring over boxes of evidence he has had delivered to his cell. After he spends his morning drinking coffee with Nash, he reads the documents in great detail - he receives as many as eight boxes per week. The perverted killer, who has a sexual obsession with stabbing and blood, doesn't mix with the other prisoners, preferring to keep himself to himself, unless socialising with Nash or playing poker. Sources said Nash sees Dwyer as an intelligent man who may be able to help him in his own bid to have two murder convictions overturned. "Nash sees Dwyer as someone who can help him with his appeal but he also seems to really like his company. But other prisoners say he is just using Dwyer to help himself," one source said. The Midlands Prison, where most of Ireland's murderers and rapists are detained, has an inmate population of more than 870. Dwyer was convicted of murdering Elaine O'Hara (36) on August 22, 2012, despite the childcare worker's remains not being found in the Dublin Mountains until September 13, 2013. A jury found he stabbed O'Hara to death for his own sexual pleasure after sending texts to her for months about murdering her or someone else. Dwyer's trial in March 2015 was one of the most high-profile in Irish judicial history. His appeal was expected to be heard early this year but it has since been delayed until later in 2017. The Herald reported last December that the Cork-born architect had assured fellow inmates that he would not be behind bars for Christmas 2017. He even joked to one inmate that he has already picked out the restaurant where he would celebrate his release. Dwyer is now devoting up to six hours a day to studying the grounds for his appeal. His family continues to visit him regularly and Dwyer has maintained a letter-writing campaign to those friends and former colleagues who have not severed links with him. However, his confidence over his appeal and his high profile have irked other prisoners. Dwyer, who is referred to as Prisoner 88335, has clashed with several inmates in the Midlands Prison. In 2015 he was injured when a rapist threw a chair at him in a row over a poker game. Dwyer (42) received injuries to his arm as he tried to protect himself. The attack was carried out by Salman Dar (34), who is serving a sentence for raping five women. In a separate incident, Dwyer was punched in the face by another rapist, Noel Maher. Sources revealed how Dwyer became "furious" when he heard that Maher (44) was spreading rumours about him. Dwyer confronted Maher on Good Friday in a rage and pushed him. However Maher - who is behind bars for sexual assaulting and raping his stepdaughter - punched the killer, sending him crashing to the ground in pain. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has dispatched a convoy of 18 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Donetsk, which is beyond Kyiv control, the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service said on Thursday. "Eighteen trucks carrying more than 121 tonnes of construction materials, 200 tonnes of food and 13 tonnes of hygiene items passed through the 'Novotroitske' checkpoint toward Donetsk yesterday," it said. My hand is angry with me. I have been using it too much for the past week, especially yesterday for the History exam. It's begging and pleading with me to give it a break and I keep telling it that it'll all be over soon. Prevail. I have a permanent blue ink stain on my hand, a tattoo as a reminder of my struggle. But now I am free, well kind of. I have a long, luxurious five-day break and then my last exams. Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the History paper. While I have to admit I was very disappointed that the "Sunningdale Agreement" didn't show up, the beautiful "American Gandhi", Martin Luther King Jr, graced students with his presence. I heard someone say, "I don't want to throw out all of my History books, I'm not ready to let go of the past." Well I am, I'm ready for the Leaving Cert to be a long distant memory. History, I apologise for my absence yesterday, you probably didn't notice, but I was struck with a monstrous migraine in the middle of my Biology exam on Tuesday. It was very bad luck, and the Biology paper wasn't very kind. It wasn't terrible but why were so many important chapters absent? I missed the blood, monera, protista, fungi, digestion and the heart chapters. Where were you when I needed you and studied you? I needed you, you were important to me. I thought that a genetic cross would have been guaranteed as last year it didn't make an appearance, but no. That would be too obvious. Yesterday was not just the day of the History exam, it was also a significant day in history. Leo Varadkar became the youngest Taoiseach since the Free State was founded. I really enjoyed his speech at the Dail, where the secret was out that he had attended a pilates class with Gerry Adams, who I studied in History. It put a spectacular image in my mind. I think it is amazing that the Taoiseach can be a man who wasn't even legally allowed to marry before May 2015. All in all, I think it was a pretty eventful day for Ireland and me. I can smell and almost touch the end of this journey and I look longingly forward to the freedom. The newly appointed Minister for Social Protection, Regina Doherty, has revealed her delight at her dad making it to Leinster House to witness her nomination to her new Cabinet portfolio. The former Chief Whip told RTE's Morning Ireland she wasn't sure her dad, who has been unwell, was going to be able to make it. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference "I didn't want to make a big deal of it because maybe I wasn't going to be promoted," she said. But when she met with the new Taoiseach and asked to take over his portfolio her father had made it for a short time and was in the coffee dock in Leinster House when she heard the news. "Daddy hasn't been well lately and I wasn't sure he was going to come in yesterday "I had to run down and find him.. I just wanted to get a hug, so he is very happy and proud," she said. The Meath TD tweeted a picture with her dad after her new appointment and has said she will be calling on him for advice in her new role. She captioned the picture "proudest daddy ever". She said she is "relishing the opportunity and the challenge ahead". Meanwhile her former constituency rival, outgoing junior minister Helen McEntee, wished Ms Doherty well. The constituency rivalry between the pair in Meath East is well known but Ms McEntee wished her rival every success on her promotion to the Cabinet as the new Employment and Social Protection Minister. "I wish her the very best. I think it's a special day for her and for her family. "Last night, Eoghan Murphy and Michael Ring were elevated to the cabinet as well so I think it's exciting. "I wish all of my colleagues well and obviously I'd be hoping that I'll stay where I am. "Absolutely hoping to stay where I am, fingers crossed," she said. Dressed in a grey tweed suit, mauve silk blouse and black brimmed hat, the corpse of Honor Bright lay slumped by the Ticknock crossroads. She had been shot through the heart in the early hours of June 9, 1925. Her body, which had been dumped in a ditch, was discovered by a timber carter who tried to rouse her before running for help. Ms Bright's death became a national talking point because of the scandal surrounding her final moments, coupled with a sense of shame regarding her profession. Born Elizabeth O'Neill, she lived in the Liberties and worked as a prostitute. She used to walk the streets near St Stephen's Green. The night she was murdered, she had met two distinguished gentlemen; a retired garda superintendent, Leopold J Dillon, and a country GP, Dr PK Purcell. She disappeared with them, and the next time she was seen was lying near the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains. The men were charged with her murder but were acquitted by a jury after three minutes' deliberation. Their defence counsel said they had merely succumbed "to the two things men have fallen victim to from the beginning of time - wine and woman". Since then, a startling number of women have been raped, strangled, beaten and discarded in bog land in the shadows of the mountains. Expand Close Elaine O'Hara / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Elaine O'Hara The isolated and barren landscape has concealed a multitude of murders. Read more - Comment: Shadow of death looms over Wicklow landscape on doorstep of capital While some of these killings are carefully calculated, such as that of childcare worker Elaine O'Hara by architect Graham Dwyer in 2012, others seem less focused but equally devastating. In 1991, newlywed Patricia O'Toole gave former soldier Sean Courtney a lift when he offered to direct her to a house. Inside the car, Courtney punched her and knocked her out. He shoved her into the passenger seat and drove to Mount Venus Road where he bludgeoned her to death with a rock. In many cases, women would simply vanish while completing mundane tasks like taking bus journeys home, travelling to music concerts, or getting some last-minute Christmas shopping done. Expand Close Marioara Rostas / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Marioara Rostas On December 22, 1979, Phyllis Murphy, a factory worker at Curragh Knitwear, spent the day Christmas shopping in Newbridge. She was last seen at a bus stop outside the Keadeen Hotel shortly after 6.25pm. On January 18, 1980, her body was found at Ballinagee Bridge near Turloch Hill power station. Twenty-three years were to pass before former Army sergeant and father-of-five John Crerar was convicted of battering her to death. In 1991, Patricia Doherty, a 30-year-old prison officer and mother-of-two, disappeared while on her way home from Christmas shopping in Tallaght. A man out cutting turf found her body buried in bogland at Glassamucky Brakes near Featherbed Mountain. She was still wearing her long coat, and the keys to her house were in the bog soil. In July 1982, Patricia Furlong (21) was raped and murdered in a field in Glencullen after attending the annual Fraughan festival near Johnnie Fox's Pub, while in 1987, single mother Antoinette Smith was murdered after returning from a David Bowie concert in Slane. Other women, in arguably more vulnerable positions in society, have also been targeted by predators. Romanian teenager Marioara Rostas had only been in the State 18 days in 2008 when she went missing as she was begging for money from passing motorists at the junction of Lombard St and Pearse St. Her body was found wrapped in plastic in a shallow grave in the mountains four years later. She had died of four bullet wounds to her head. Layla Brennan had been a dental receptionist but had become addicted to heroin and lost her job as a result. The 24-year-old then turned to prostitution to pay for the addiction. On the night of her death on March 2, 1999, she was walking along Nassau Street when double rapist Philip Colgan pulled up alongside, asking for directions. Colgan strangled her with her bra before dumping her body in the Dublin Mountains. In 2004, Lynette McKeown, a 19-year-old heroin addict working as a street prostitute in Arbour Hill, disappeared. A week later her naked body was found in a ditch off the N81. The fear that must have engulfed all these women in their final moments hangs heavy on the crest of the mountains, and makes the tragedy of each of these killings deafening. FINE Gael ministers and TDs celebrated Leo Varadkars election as Taoiseach with a night out in one of Dublins most infamous nightclubs. After receiving their seals of office from President Michael D Higgins in Aras an Uachtarain, most of the Cabinet including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar decamped to Copper Face Jacks. Mr Varadkar spoke briefly at the event, telling the crowd it would be his last attendance at a nightclub for a number of years. The invite only party was attended by TDs, senators, Fine Gael staff and supporters of the new Taoiseach. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Among the ministers who enjoyed the night were Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald, Rural Affairs Minister Michael Ring, Arts Minister Heather Humphreys and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy. Super junior ministers Mary Mitchell OConnor, Paul Kehoe and Chief Whip Joe McHugh also attended. And in the era of new politics Independent TDs Michael Healy Rae and Mattie McGrath were allowed in. It was a brilliant night but everybody was on their best behaviour, said a source. Mary Mitchell O'Connor's son Steven wrote on Twitter: "Brought my mother to @CopperFaceJacks" Ms Mitchell O'Connor retweeted the snap which also included the official Fine Gael handle and that of new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. A source said a number of other politicians, including the new Taoiseach, were there with many of the crew still dancing at 4am. "There was a very good atmosphere and people were very happy. Leo was there with Matt and he was in great form. Paschal Donohoe was there but it was mostly Fine Gael workers and supporters. "It was jovial it was fun." Fine Gael Senator Frank Feighan later tweeted an image of Mr Varadkar speaking at the venue. He wrote: "Copper face Jacks is rocking tonight!!" We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Independent.ie contacted Ms Mitchell O'Connor but she declined to comment. When asked if she "got the shift", the Dun Laoghaire TD laughed: "I didn't". It emerged last night that Ms O'Connor was initially offered a super-junior minister position with responsibility for equality and law reform. However, she expressed concerns about the portfolio, forcing Mr Varadkar into a rethink., who is a former primary school principal, was then given the option of a role in higher education. And what better way to start her role than by visiting Coppers - a favourite hotspot of students across the city. Read More Copper Face Jacks, on Dublin's Harcourt Street, is the country's best known club. Last year it was revealed that the club had turned its cash mountain into a whopping 54.8m. Accounts for the company that operates the venue revealed tha its pre-tax profits last year totalled 5 million - or 97,657 per week. There may be commuter chaos this evening after a vehicle caught fire on a busy motorway. AA Roadwatch has warned that traffic is heavy on the M11 Dublin/Wexford southbound road after the incident. The road has since re-opened at the Junction 5 bray North but they advised motorists to expect delays. AA Roadwatch said: "Traffic remains very heavy from before J16 Cherrywood on the M50 past J5 Bray North. WICKLOW/DUBLIN: M11 Dub/Wexford Rd southbound closed between J5 Bray North and J6 Bray/Fassaroe due to vehicle fire. https://t.co/pdsEzJTRQr AA Roadwatch (@aaroadwatch) June 15, 2017 "Its also heavy exiting at J5 Bray North heading into Bray itself, and on the Wyattville Link Rd to the N11, which is slow from Loughlinstown." They added: "To avoid the delays, exit the M50 at J15 Kilternan and take the Glenamuck Rd and Enniskerry Rd (R117)." This week's Floating Voter on the country's new Taoiseach, the cabinet changes and Varadkar and Fine Gael celebrates in Coppers. Click here subscribe to the Floating Voter on iTunes Change? What change? It's the same old, same old says INM's Philip Ryan on this week's Floating Voter. The panel of Ryan, Kevin Doyle and Niall O'Connor ask what the new faces will bring to cabinet and whether Simon Coveney has been shunted off into Foreign Affairs. Plus, as the new Taoiseach celebrated afterwards in Coppers, was this his way of reaching out to rural Ireland? Each week on the Floating Voter, INM's political team discuss the main issues affecting Irish politics, bursting the bubble around Leinster House. New episodes on iTunes and SoundCloud every week. The new cabinet at Aras an Uachtarain. Photo: Kyran O'Brien Taoiseach Leo Varadkar receives his seal of office in the State Reception Room of Aras An Uachtarain by President Michael D. Higgins. Pic Steve Humphreys Leo Varadkar used his first day as Taoiseach to tell world leaders: "This country will be at the heart of Europe." His Cabinet reshuffle saw leadership rival Simon Coveney made the effective 'Brexit Minister', while Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has been tasked with preparing "for the challenges and opportunities of Brexit". Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald, who has moved to the Department of Enterprise, is to ensure Ireland is "business-ready for Brexit". Mr Varadkar will discuss the Brexit crisis during a series of phonecalls with British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron over the next 48 hours. Expand Close The new cabinet at Aras an Uachtarain. Photo: Kyran O'Brien / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The new cabinet at Aras an Uachtarain. Photo: Kyran O'Brien The Department of Foreign Affairs, under Mr Coveney, has been given responsibility for coordinating a 'whole of government' response to Brexit. The full details remain to be worked out, but a source told the Irish Independent: "In the same way that Public Expenditure monitors spending in every department, Foreign Affairs will now oversee Brexit across government." Expand Close Click to view full size graphic / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Click to view full size graphic However, Mr Coveney was accused of "walking away from housing" at a time when it remains in deep crisis. Read more - Explainer: Whos who on Leo Vardakars Cabinet team? Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said the decision to move Charlie Flanagan out of Foreign Affairs "undermines the claims" that portfolios have been decided based on ability. Mr Flanagan has been handed the crisis-ridden Department of Justice. The only casualty in the reshuffle was Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor - but even she was given a soft landing as a 'super junior' minister with responsibility for higher education. The big winners were Mayo TD Michael Ring, who was appointed Rural Affairs Minister; Meath East TD Regina Doherty, who is Social Protection Minister; and Donegal TD Joe McHugh. who becomes Government Chief Whip. Dublin Bay South TD Eoghan Murphy, who masterminded Mr Varadkar's win in the Fine Gael leadership race, takes over the Department of Housing. Simon Harris has survived the shuffle despite speculation he could be dropped from Health as a result of his support for Mr Coveney in the contest. Here's who the country's youngest ever Taoiseach has chosen: Taoiseach Expand Close Leo Varadkar newly elected leader of Fine Gael / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Leo Varadkar newly elected leader of Fine Gael Name: Leo Varadkar Age: 38 Constituency: Dublin West Experience: Minister for Tourism and Transport (2011-2014); Health (2014-2016); Social Protection (2016-2017) Biography: Despite his youth, Varadkar is a lifelong Fine Gael activist. He is the youngest child of an Indian doctor and Irish nurse. He is a qualified medical doctor. In January 2015 he became Irelands first openly-gay cabinet minister. Easily won on confidence of his parliamentary colleagues in leadership contest but lost the membership vote. Rivals argue he is untested. Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise & Innovation Expand Close Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald. Photo: Tom Burke Name: Frances Fitzgerald Age: 66 Constituency: Dublin Mid-West Experience: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (2011-2014); Justice 2014-2017). Appointed Tanaiste on May 6, 2016. Biography: Ms Fitzgerald considered but rejected the idea of a tilt at the leadership herself. Backed Mr Varadkar in the opening days of the contest. As Justice Minister she headed the government response to Dublins gang war and the international terrorism threat. But she has struggled with a series of garda controversies from allegations about the treatment of whistleblowers, to the recording of almost a million bogus driver breath tests. Minister for Education & Skills Expand Close Education Minister Richard Bruton. Photo: Steve Humphreys / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Education Minister Richard Bruton. Photo: Steve Humphreys Name: Richard Bruton Age: 64 Constituency: Dublin Bay North Experience: Junior industry and commerce minister (1986-1987); Minister for Enterprise and Employment (1994-1997); Jobs and Enterprise (2011-2016) Education (2016- 2017). Biography: The younger brother of former Taoiseach John Bruton. A Dail veteran, Richard Bruton was first elected in 1982. Appointed as Jobs Minister by Enda Kenny in 2011, despite his ill-fated heave in 2010 against the former Fine Gael leader. An economist by profession, more than 135,000 jobs were created on his watch in the Fine Gael-Labour coalition. Brought the jobs action plan model to education initiatives. Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade Expand Close Simon Coveney Photo: Reuters / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Simon Coveney Photo: Reuters Name: Simon Coveney Age: 44 Constituency: Cork South Central Experience: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 2011-2016; Defence added to his Agriculture portfolio in 2014; Minister for Housing Planning, Community and Local Government May 6, 2016- June 14, 2017. Biography: First elected to the Dail in a 1998 by-election, replacing his late father Hugh. Euro MEP 2004-2007. Led the response to the 2013 horse meat scandal and as defence minister dispatched the Irish Navy to the Mediterranean to save migrants lives. Most recently tasked with ending the governments water charges nightmare and tackling the housing crisis. Lost Fine Gael leadership contest to Leo Varadkar but won a majority among party members. Mr Varadkar had the backing of the majority of TDs and Senators ending the race in the first 48 hours. Read More Minister for Justice & Equality Expand Close Charlie Flanagan. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Charlie Flanagan. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin. Name: Charles Flanagan Age: 60 Constituency: Laois Experience: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs May 2014-July 2014; Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 2014 to June 14, 2017. Biography: First elected to the Dail in 1987, Mr Flanagan briefly served as Minister for Children before being moved to Foreign Affairs amid a July 2014 reshuffle. Heavily involved in Brexit preparations for Brexit with intensive shuttle diplomacy around Europe to highlight Irelands unique circumstances. Has also spent much time in the North as the Irish and British governments attempt to salvage the power-sharing executive after it collapsed in January. A solicitor by training, he was previously opposition justice spokesman. Minister for Finance and Department of Public Expenditure & Reform Expand Close Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Paschal Donohoe. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Paschal Donohoe. Photo: Tom Burke Name: Paschal Donohoe Age: 42 Constituency: Dublin Central Experience: Junior Minister for European Affairs 2013-2014; Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport 2014-2016; Public Expenditure and Reform 2016-June 14, 2017. Biography: Strongly tipped as a future Fine Gael leader, Mr Donohoe did not contest in this years election. His public expenditure department was arguably more powerful than former minister Michael Noonans finance department in preparing for Budget 2017, as the bulk of the spending on public services rather than tax cuts. Was a key early supporter of Mr Varadkar once the contest officially started. Has done the new Taoiseach another favour by reaching a draft public pay deal. Budget 2018 is now his big challenge. Minister for Arts and Culture Expand Close Heather Humphreys Picture: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Heather Humphreys Picture: Tom Burke Name: Heather Humphreys Age: Undisclosed Constituency: Cavan-Monaghan Experience: Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 2014-2016; Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs 2016-June 14, 2017. Biography: Shortly after being appointed Arts Minister, Ms Humphreys was dragged into a controversy over the appointment of Fine Gael member John McNulty to the Irish Museum of Modern Art board ahead of a planned bid for the Seanad. She later headed the massively successful 1916 commemorations. After the 2016 general election got a strengthened brief adding regional and rural affairs. She launched the governments Creative Ireland initiative earlier this year. Read More Minister for Community & Rural Affairs Expand Close Michael Ring Photo: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Ring Photo: PA Name: Michael Ring Age: 63 Constituency: Mayo. Experience: Junior Minister for Sport (2011-2016) and junior for rural development 2016-2017. Biography: One of the stand-out characters from any party at Leinster House. A huge vote-getter in his native Mayo where he often rivalled his party colleague and former Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. A TD since 1994, he might well have been minister earlier had he been in any other constituency. An early backer of Leo Varadkars leadership bid. Minister for Housing, Planning & Local Government Expand Close Eoghan Murphy. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eoghan Murphy. Photo: Tom Burke Name: Eoghan Murphy Age: 35 Constituency: Dublin Bay South. Experience: Junior minister for financial services since May 2016. Biography: First elected to Dail in 2011 have been a Dublin city councillor since 2009. Seen as a key member of Leo Varadkars leadership election campaign this year. One of the so-called five-a-side football grouping of backbenchers who were critical of Enda Kennys leadership from early on. Previously worked in Vienna for the United Nations. Minister for Social Protection Expand Close Regina Doherty. Photo: Fergal Phillips / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Regina Doherty. Photo: Fergal Phillips Name: Regina Doherty Age: 46 Constituency: Meath East Experience: Government chief whip 2016-2017 Biography: A sometimes controversial figure first elected TD in 2011. Unsuccessfully contested 2007 election and served on Meath County Council. Clashed with government over pylons for an electricity inter-connector crossing her constituency. But this did not impede her promotion to the first team. Minister for Health Expand Close Health Minister Simon Harris. Photo: Frank McGrath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Health Minister Simon Harris. Photo: Frank McGrath Name: Simon Harris Age: 30 Constituency: Wicklow Previous Experience: Junior Minister at the Office of Public Works 2014-2016; Minister for Heath 2016-June 14, 2017 Biography: The youngest TD in 2011, he was appointed to Cabinet at the age of 29 last year in the difficult health department. Since then he has grappled with emergency department overcrowding and lengthy hospital waiting lists. Had a win earlier this month when a row over the ownership of the planned new National Maternity Hospital at the St Vincents campus was defused. The foundation stone of the new National Childrens Hospital has finally been laid on his watch. However, as the only senior minister to back Simon Coveney in the leadership race, was considered lucky to stay in Cabinet though in a job not many colleagues would relish. Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine Expand Close Michael Creed / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Creed Name: Michael Creed Age: 53 Constituency: Cork North-West Previous Experience: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 2016-June 2017. Biography: Mr Creed was a long time waiting for promotion to the ministerial ranks. First elected in 1989, he backed Richard Bruton in the heave against Enda Kenny in 2010. That experience perhaps explained his refusal to declare for a candidate in this years leadership contest, despite Simon Coveney also hailing from Cork. Mr Creed will have a key role in the government Brexit response given the huge economic importance of agriculture. Minister for Communications, Climate Action & Environment Expand Close Communications Minister Denis Naughten / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Communications Minister Denis Naughten Name: Denis Naughten Age: 43 Constituency: Roscommon-Galway Experience: Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment 2016- June 2017 Biography: Mr Naughten was expelled from Fine Gael in 2011 for opposing a government decision to downgrade Roscommon Hospitals emergency department. Supported the Fine Gael-led minority government last year and was appointed to the Communications brief which includes responsibility for the key pledge to roll-out high quality broadband in rural areas. Mr Naughten has repeatedly said he has no intention of re-joining Fine Gael. Is overseeing the tricky plan for pay-by-weight bin charges due back on the political agenda in the coming weeks. Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Expand Close Minister for Transport Shane Ross / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Minister for Transport Shane Ross Name: Shane Ross Age: 67 Constituency: Dublin-Rathdown Experience: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport since May 2016. Biography: Former stockbroker turned financial journalist, was a Senator for TCD (1981-2011). A former Fine Gael member and candidate he later as an Independent had a very spikey relationship with the party. Has been frequently criticised for avoiding transport disputes and devoting too much time to issues beyond his departmental brief. More recently under fire for using his cabinet post to further constituency interests something he always condemned as a journalist and senator. Minister for Children & Youth Affairs Expand Close Minister Katherine Zappone. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Minister Katherine Zappone. Photo: Tom Burke Name: Katherine Zappone Age: 63 Constituency: Dublin South West Experience: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs 2016-2017. Biography: Came to prominence as a gay rights campaigner seeking the right to have marriage to her long-time partner Ann-Louis Gilligan legally recognised. Was CEO of the National Womens Council of Ireland and an adult education advocate. Was backed by Labour for Senate nomination 2011-2016. Independent TD since 2016. Read More Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Justice & Equality, and the Department of Health with special responsibility for Disability Issues Expand Close Minister Finian McGrath Picture: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Minister Finian McGrath Picture: Tom Burke Name: Finian McGrath Age: 63 Constituency: Dublin Bay North Experience: Super Junior Minister for Disability Issues 2016-2017. Biography: A former teacher and councillor first elected as an Independent TD in 2002 and on three occasions since. He is a long-time disability rights campaigner and was supporter of the well-known Independent TD Tony Gregory. He made common cause with the diverse Independent Alliance, overlooking political differences. Often an outspoken government critic, he had early difficulties in government, which have since appeared calmed. Minister of State at the Department of Education with special responsibility for Higher Education Expand Close Mary Mitchell O'Connor TD / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mary Mitchell O'Connor TD Name: Mary Mitchell OConnor Age: 58 Constituency: Dun Laoghaire Experience: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Biography: A former primary school principal and Progressive Democrats councillor, Ms Mitchell OConnor was first elected to the Dail in 2011. Achieved brief notoriety for driving her car down the stairs of the Leinster House plinth. Appointed jobs minister after last years general election. Her Cabinet position has been considered by some to be at risk amid criticism of her performance. She has clung on but with a demotion. Chief Whip & Minister of State at the Department of Culture with responsibility for Gaeilge, Gaeltacht and the Islands Expand Close Joe McHugh. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joe McHugh. Photo: Tom Burke Name: Joe McHugh Age: 45 Constituency: Donegal Experience: Junior Gaeltacht Minister 2014-2014 and junior minister for diaspora 2016-2017. Biography: The former teacher became a Fine Gael senator in 2002 and a TD in 2007. In July 2014 he was the focus of controversy when appointed Gaeltacht Minister unable to speak Irish. He since distinguished himself by re-learning Irish to a high standard. His assignment to Irish language promotion is a signal the new Taoiseach is serious about Irish. Donegal has not had a full Cabinet minister since 1957. Now they are almost there as he will attend government meetings but cannot vote. Mr McHughs wife, Olwyn Enright, was Fine Gael TD for Laois-Offaly 2002-2011. Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Defence with special responsibility for Defence Expand Close Paul Kehoe / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Paul Kehoe Name: Paul Kehoe Age: 44 Constituency: Wexford Previous Experience: Government chief whip 2011-2016. Junior minister responsible for defence 2016-2017. Biography: The Wexford farmer has been a Fine Gael TD since 2002. A close ally of Enda Kenny, whom he served as party chief whip 2004-2011. In this role he helped defeat the June 2010 botched leadership heave against Mr Kenny. He supported Leo Varadkar in the recent party leadership election. Leo Varadkar actively sought the support of Independent TD Michael Lowry in two phone calls prior to his election as Taoiseach. The new Taoiseach said just last year the controversial former Fine Gael TD has "issues with the law". "I would hate to see a government being dependent on somebody not having to be in court or potentially being in prison. That is not what we need in this country," he said during the election campaign when asked whether Fine Gael should ask Mr Lowry for support in the event of a hung Dail. And last week, Mr Varadkar said he had no plans to speak to Mr Lowry in advance of the Dail vote. However, Mr Lowry has said the Taoiseach "clearly sought, and got, my support". During the calls Mr Lowry, who was forced out of ministerial office and Fine Gael in 1996, impressed upon Mr Varadkar the need for investment in infrastructure particularly in South Tipperary General Hospital. The former communications minister has agreed to continue supporting the Government on budgetary matters. "I made him aware of a number of issues and from his response to me I am happy that he understands my position and the problems facing the constituency. "I am particularly pleased with his approach in relation to expressing a need to invest in infrastructure such as schools, roads, hospital etc and we will be awaiting with great interest the Capital Review Programme in two months' time," Mr Lowry told his local newspaper, the 'Tipperary Star'. The Moriarty Tribunal found that it was "beyond doubt" that Mr Lowry imparted substantive information to businessman Denis O'Brien which was "of significant value and assistance to him" in securing the country's second mobile phone licence in 1995. The TD's role was described as "disgraceful and insidious". Both Mr Lowry and Mr O'Brien have always refuted the findings. In the Dail yesterday, Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin hit out at the relationship between the new Taoiseach and Mr Lowry. He said the Tipperary TD had claimed locally that "in return for his support, he will have access to the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar's office, to his officials, and to his ministers". "As Taoiseach, I hope Deputy Varadkar will put such contact to an end. He should not depend on Deputy Lowry's support," he said. Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy also criticised Mr Varadkar's dependence on Mr Lowry. "I take issue at being preached to about budget responsibility from someone who has been in the courts and dealt with Revenue with regard to his tax affairs. It is hardly the kind of ethical behaviour that should exemplify the rebuilding of this country," she said. In response, Mr Lowry accused the Labour leader of being "nasty and offensive". "I have absolutely no doubt, and I am in this House for 30 years, that his actions and words were prompted by his Deputy from Tipperary, Deputy Alan Kelly. They would be typical of his reaction to me in my county." Mr Lowry added: "When Deputy Howlin attacks me in such a manner as he did, he insults the people of Tipperary who vote for me as an elected representative of this House. "I remind Deputy Howlin that, like every member of this House here, I have a democratic mandate from the people of Tipperary who have voted for me consistently and put me as their representative in this House. "I have enjoyed their confidence and trust for more than 30 years and I hope, when the next election is called, they will re-endorse me as a member of this parliament for the constituency of Tipperary," he said. Mr Lowry's vote ensured the new Taoiseach had the support of 58 TDs. The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada's inefficient work is obstructing reform in the country, European Union Ambassador to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli said. In analyzing the work being done to harmonize Ukrainian and EU law, it appears that the relevant ministries drew up the bills long ago, and the Rada has registered these bills, but the head of the Rada committee has chosen not to move ahead because he pursues his own interests and does not want to facilitate reform, Mingarelli said while speaking at a panel discussion of the 7th national expert forum organized by Gorshenin Institute in Kyiv on Thursday. There are quite a lot of people in the Ukrainian parliament who defend their own interests and block reform, he said. The EU regularly offers its recommendations on making the Ukrainian parliament's work more efficient, Mingarelli said. If the Rada lacks political will because of the presence of people pursuing their own ends, the government would find it difficult to go ahead with reform in Ukraine, Mingarelli said. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar waves to TDs and well wishers at Leinster House. Photo: Getty New Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has spoken on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister Theresa May. President Macron and Mr Varadkar spoke about working together to advance the EU reform agenda, noting that there were many areas of common interest between Ireland and France They looked forward to seeing each other at the European Council in Brussels next week and agreed to explore options for an early bilateral meeting, a spokesperson for the Taoiseach said. Chancellor Merkel discussed the Northern Ireland talks and spoke about the renewed closeness of relations between Germany and France being a positive force for the future of the EU. They also discussed Brexit, and agreed to meet for more substantive discussions in Brussels next week. During his call with Theresa May, Mr Varadkar extended the Governments sympathies on tragic tower block inferno in London. Both leaders reiterated the shared objectives of avoiding a hard border, maintaining the common travel area and supporting the Good Friday Agreement. They also discussed the ongoing political discussions in London and in Belfast, agreeing on the need to have the Northern Ireland Executive up and running as quickly as possible, and they discussed Brexit. They noted they would each be meeting with the Northern Ireland parties over coming days and agreed that the Taoiseach would meet with the Prime Minister in the very near future to continue their discussions, the spokesperson said. Meanwhile the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his congratulations to Mr Varadkar, whose father is a native of India. Congratulations to H. E. Mr. Leo Varadkar on assuming office as Taoiseach of Ireland. @campaignforleo Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 15, 2017 I look forward to working with Taoiseach Varadkar to further strengthen India-Ireland relations, Mr Modi said. Mr Walsh recalled Priory Hall, where the original complex, built in 2007 by developer and former IRA hunger-striker Tom McFeely, was condemned by fire inspectors and evacuated by court order in 2011 as a fire safety hazard. Photo: PA Fire safety problems are "widespread across Ireland", according to a leading building surveyor. Kevin Hollingsworth, from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI), said it was "distressing" how quickly the fire spread in the London fire disaster. "We know we've got a lot of problems professionally in the industry here, especially with developments built in the Celtic Tiger period," Mr Hollingsworth told the Irish Independent. A recent report on building safety from the SCSI made multiple recommendations following findings of "significant defects". Mr Hollingsworth says one recommendation is a study on high-risk residential buildings, particularly multi-occupancy units built between 2000 and 2008. "Standards are much higher these days in high-rise buildings with sophisticated sprinkler systems and so forth, but the problem is the implementation of standards. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Emergency services personnel carry a body bag on a stretcher away from the scene. Photo: REUTERS A firefighter at the scene. Photo: Steve Paston/PA A firefighter investigates the remains of a flat. Photo: Rick Findler/PA Resident Michael Paramasivan and daughter Thea Kavanagh (5). Photo: Victoria Jones/PA A young girl wears a protective face mask near the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London. Photo: GETTY A woman waits for news. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay A man comforts a boy after the blaze. Photo: REUTERS/Neil Hall A local resident awaiting news of her friend who was caught up in a fire. Photo: PA A photo taken by local resident Natalie Oxford shows flames coming from Grenfell Tower. Photo: AFP/Getty Images Smoke rises after a fire engulfed Grenfell Tower. Photo: GETTY / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Emergency services personnel carry a body bag on a stretcher away from the scene. Photo: REUTERS "In the last three months, I have found 29 development units to have been found to be defective," he said. Mr Hollingsworth said the Government should consider the establishment of an emergency fund to tackle the most urgent and serious building defects. "There are easy things you can see like a fire alarm not working but there also things under the skin, so to speak, that will prevent the spread of fire from one unit to the next that require regular inspection," he said. Meanwhile, CJ Walsh, an architect, fire engineer and consultant with An Bord Pleanala, said the London fire was "not unprecedented", as he has seen similar have happened around the world. "We are following regulations led from England and Wales and my real concern here is there will be an inquiry into this and by the time the results have come out, everyone will have forgotten about it," he said. Mr Walsh recalled Priory Hall, where the original complex, built in 2007 by developer and former IRA hunger-striker Tom McFeely, was condemned by fire inspectors and evacuated by court order in 2011 as a fire safety hazard. "We have got serious problems that I've spotted around and Priory Hall was only the tip of the iceberg. "We need quality building control that doesn't focus on table work but on actual building experience, which nobody is paying much attention to," he said. "The ghost of the Stardust disaster is still around and people still don't know what fully happened there." Brendan Stamp, managing director with Guardian Fire, said the London disaster "highlights the importance of properly functioning fire safety regulations". "It shows the need for a proper functioning system regularly checked by what we call in the industry a competent person. It's a tragedy when you see things like this happen and it's the reason we uphold the regulations that we have to keep," he said. Willie Crowley, who was killed by dangerous driver Damien Kalinski, pictured with his wife, Claire Doyle A widow has described the last text message her much-loved husband sent her, just minutes before he was struck by a speeding motorist. Popular Kildare councillor Willie Crowley (56) died from his head injuries three days after he was struck by the car on the evening of December 15, 2015. He had been walking home from his local pub in Newbridge, Co Kildare at the time. "Willie was walking home at approximately 8.30pm in the evening, he had been out at meetings during the day and had a pint after work," his wife Claire Doyle said. "He was walking home when he was hit. He suffered severe head injuries and died three days later." Mr Crowley had a shopping list of items he needed to get for a Christmas dinner he was preparing to cook for those in need on Christmas day and had left the pub early in order to make preparations, she explained. Speaking to RTE Radio One's Today with Sean O'Rourke programme, Claire was enjoying a Christmas get-together with two friends in a local restaurant when the tragedy occurred. She said she hadn't seen her husband walk past on his way home, but he had sent her a text message when he spotted the small group in the window seat. "I was meeting two friends of mine, we went for a bite to eat. Willie had passed by, I hadn't seen him," Claire said. "He sent me a text saying, 'I see three lovely ladies in the window of the restaurant'." The accident happened just 100 yards from the couple's home. "It's the street that runs parallel to the main street, it's just 100 yards to the hall door," Claire said. "It's a commercial and residential street, it is narrow enough, it is not built for speed." Claire said a neighbour rang her brother, who in turn notified Claire. "He said 'there's been an accident and I think it's Willie'. "My brother rang me. The guards had been to our house but I had been out. "The guards came and drove me to the hospital. "It was the same room my mother had been in in 2014, she had had a brain bleed and I had been told there was no chance, but she miraculously survived after four months. "So I thought it can't be all that bad. It's a good omen [that Willie was in the room]. "I really thought he'd pull through. "He had come through cancer and chemotherapy in 2008 and 2009." Willie died on December 18, 2015. The funeral was held two days before Christmas. Claire described the experience as "very surreal" and said it felt like an "out-of-body experience". "It felt like I was organising it for someone else," she said. "I was numb, but I guess that's nature's way of protecting you. "Newbridge came to a standstill, there was an incredible outpouring of grief and tributes. "Willie was much loved by all the community." The hit-and-run driver was jailed for four years and disqualified from driving for 10 years. Damien Klasinski (29) of The Oaks, Newbridge, Co Kildare drove off after hitting Mr Crowley. The court heard he told the three others passengers in the car: What am I supposed to do?. The passengers came forward to gardai and Klasinski was arrested the next day when gardai found him hiding in a wardrobe at a friend's home. He told gardai in interview that he had panicked, saying: I am very sorry. It was an accident. I'm really hoping this man recovers. He later pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Crowley on Eyre Street, Newbridge. Claire said she thinks there should be a "tougher approach" to people with driving offences. "At the time he wasn't disqualified, the case involving that incident hadn't come up yet. "He did receive a two year disqualification for the driving offence, but sadly for Willie and for us, that didn't come up until after he had knocked down Willie. "I think there should be a tougher approach. "[Klasinski] certainly did not drive to the conditions that prevailed, it was raining, there was a narrow road and cars parked on either side. "He was speeding. "It is thought he was going 80km/h, on a small road of residential and commercial buildings, you don't drive at that speed. "He also left the scene after and didn't offer assistance." Claire paid tribute to her late husband by saying he lived up to his name Crowley, which in Irish translates to "cruadh," which means "hard," and "laoch" which means "hero". "It means hardy hero, and that's what he was," she said. Even in a society that has become almost desensitised to barbarous acts of violence, the gruesome discovery of dismembered human remains is truly shocking. It speaks of a crime that is the result of atavistic, primitive behaviour that chills all humans to the core - with the exception of textbook psychopaths. When a human torso was first discovered off the Military Road last weekend, it was at first thought to be that of a young man in his mid-20s. And the first, and most logical, assumption was that this was yet another act of savagery committed by a criminal gang. As other body parts began to be discovered over a large area, it became clear that the killer, or killers, had dumped the remains while driving across the mountains. The Dublin and Wicklow Mountains have been the scene of many gruesome discoveries throughout the decades as individual killers used the wilderness on the capital's doorstep as a dumping ground. It was just off the Military Road in Rathfarnham that the skeletal remains of a missing woman called Elaine O'Hara were discovered in September 2013, which ultimately led to one of the most harrowing murder cases in our history. But this particular investigation was different, as indeed are the circumstances of all murder cases. From the first discovery of a human torso, it was clear that this was a classic example of a crime that was both disorganised and unplanned. The common scenario found in similar cases that have been the subject of international criminological study is that the victim is known to their attacker, was unintentionally killed in a moment of violence, and that the killer then panicked. In the ensuing chaos, the panicked assailant desperately tries to cover up the crime by disposing of the body, even resorting to acts such as dismemberment which might, in difference circumstances, be considered repulsive and unimaginable. That appears to be what happened in this instance. Read more - Comment: Shadow of death looms over Wicklow landscape on doorstep of capital The victim has been identified as grandmother Patricia O'Connor, from Rathfarnham in south Dublin, who was reported missing on June 2. It is understood that the killer hit her over the head with a blunt object, claiming it was a momentary act of madness. He then panicked, put his victim's body in the boot of his car and later drove to Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford, where he dug a shallow grave and attempted to bury the body. But still in a panic, at some stage he changed his mind and returned it to the car. Later he cut up his victim's body with a hacksaw and made the journey back to Dublin across the Wicklow Mountains. As he did so, he disposed of the body parts across an area of at least 30km. When initial reports emerged in the media over the weekend that a human torso had been found, it appears the killer again began to panic. On Monday, a man walked into a Garda station and made admissions. At that stage, the gardai believed that the remains were those of a male in his mid-20s and therefore that the man was a fantasist. But as the searches for body parts continued, officers travelled to the grave that had been dug in Wexford. When the detectives saw human hair, teeth and blood they realised that they had made a breakthrough. The man was arrested and brought in for questioning. He sits in a police cell awaiting a trip to court. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar drew upon history to show examples of predecessors who took up office in mid-term and went on to be successful. Sean Lemass for Fianna Fail in 1959 and John Bruton for Fine Gael in 1994 were valid comparisons, even if the Rainbow coalition was not returned to office. In a personal capacity, the new Taoiseach said taking up this highest office was an aspiration he had believed would be beyond him if he was himself. Opposition parties congratulated him on his elevation, but showed there will be no honeymoon period as they warned against dragging this Government to the right. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin also fired a warning shot that it was now time for action. Mr Varadkar says his Government will be part of "the new European centre". Throughout his time in politics, going back two decades to his days in Young Fine Gael, Mr Varadkar has been a committed Europhile with a strong interest in European Affairs. Therefore, the priority he is putting on Brexit is to be welcomed. He has assigned the Fine Gael deputy leader and his leadership contest opponent, Simon Coveney, as Foreign Affairs Minister and assigned him responsibility for the co-ordination of Brexit activity across Government. It's about time this level of emphasis was assigned to this enormous challenge. Where Mr Varadkar did disappoint was in missing an opportunity to bring more fresh blood into the Cabinet. He promoted Eoghan Murphy, Michael Ring and Regina Doherty to full Cabinet portfolios. Joe McHugh becomes Chief Whip. But it's hardly a new broom with so many veterans kept on board. White House senior advisor Jared Kushner (R) and Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the US president, stand on the runway at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, on May 23, 2017, prior to boarding Air Force One for Rome. / AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZJACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump arrive at the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Remo Casilli White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump and her husband senior adviser Jared Kushner walk along the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., as they accompanied U.S. President Donald Trump before his departure to New York May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Ivanka Trump, daughter and assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump, walks with her husband, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, on the South Lawn prior to their departure from the White House May 19, 2017 in Washington, DC Joshua Kushner and Karlie Kloss attend the Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on March 26, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images) Karlie Kloss has shared a rare gushing caption about her boyfriend of five years. The supermodel (24) has been dating the billionaire businessman (32) for the last five years and while she normally avoids speaking about her long-term beau, she made an exception for his birthday. "My atoms love your atoms," she wrote on Instagram. "Happy birthday to my best friend and partner in crime. The past 5 years of our adventures together have been some of the best memories of my life. I love you @joshuakushner." We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference The former Victoria's Secret Angel first met Kushner in 2012 at a time when she says she was "definitely not planning on falling in love" and prefers to only give soundbites about their romance, previously describing him as a "super solid dude". Joshua definitely keeps a lower profile than his older brother Jared (36), who is one of US President Trump's closest aides and is currently under FBI investigation for potential collusion with Russia. Expand Close Karlie Kloss with her boyfriend Joshua Kushner in New York City / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Karlie Kloss with her boyfriend Joshua Kushner in New York City And Joshua has made his political alliances clear - he was even pictured pictured at the Women's March in Washington DC in January, but maintains that he speaks to his brother every day, describing him as his best friend. "It is no secret that liberal values have guided my life and that I have supported political leaders that share similar values," he told Forbes in April. "But neither political party has a monopoly on the truth or on constructive ideas for our country. It's important to be open minded and learn from differing opinions." Yvonne Keating and her new man John Conroy spotted enjoying a shopping trip at the Powerscourt Shopping Centre John Conroy and Yvonne Connolly pictured at the Dublin premiere of 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy Season 2. Picture: Robbie Reynolds Yvonne Connolly and John Conroy attend the 2016 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) Yvonne Connolly will be combining business with pleasure when she's whisked off to Jamaica this weekend by her other half John Conroy. She revealed that her award-winning cinematographer boyfriend is gearing up to start filming a new big-budget movie with his pal, actor Idris Elba. The Wire star will be making his directorial debut with a new movie, set on the holiday island entitled Yardie, and has picked John as a leading member of his camera crew. Filming has already begun in London, and the crew are getting ready for the Caribbean. Expand Close Yvonne Connolly and John Conroy attend the 2016 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Yvonne Connolly and John Conroy attend the 2016 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) "I've been great, I'm really busy. I'm heading to Jamaica on Sunday so I'm really excited about that," said Yvonne. "John is working on a project over there with Idris. It's a thing called Yardie and Idris is directing it and starring in it too. "They were out in Jamaica recently doing recces and they were shooting in London, so I've heard all about it and I can't wait to go out there. I think the movie's going to be really good." Based on the 1992 debut novel by Victor Headley, the film will tell the story of a young Jamaican man who goes on a quest for justice after the murder of his brother. Expand Close John Conroy and Yvonne Connolly pictured at the Dublin premiere of 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy Season 2. Picture: Robbie Reynolds / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Conroy and Yvonne Connolly pictured at the Dublin premiere of 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy Season 2. Picture: Robbie Reynolds Meanwhile, Yvonne said she's loving her role on TV3's The Six O'Clock Show amid speculation that she may be lined up to fill Lucy Kenn-edy's shoes. Mum-of-three Lucy is currently filming the second series of Living With Lucy and isn't sure if she'll return to the evening chat show. Video of the Day Samantha Mumba was filling in for her previously, but Yvonne has now become a regular guest presenter and said the casual nature of the work suits her perfectly. "I was on it last night and it's such a relaxed show," she said. "I enjoy going in there and having fun and I've no commitments either. I don't have a contract with them which suits me, because then I can work with other people too. Expand Close Yvonne Connolly pictured at The Kelloggs Gaa Cul Camps Breakfast Cook-Off at L'ecrivain, Dublin. Picture: Brian McEvoy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Yvonne Connolly pictured at The Kelloggs Gaa Cul Camps Breakfast Cook-Off at L'ecrivain, Dublin. Picture: Brian McEvoy "I can present and cook and just feel more footloose and fancy-free. Saying that, I never turn them down. Anything they ask me to do, I'm like 'Absolutely, I'm up for anything', and they're great craic. "Lucy is brilliant. I didn't hear about her not going back, but she's so busy with Living With Lucy and everything else." The former model was on hand yesterday to help launch the Kellogg's GAA Cul Camps with a cook-off among sporting stars in l'Ecrivain. Yvonne said that while she's vigilant about what her three children eat, she isn't super-strict. "I'm very health-conscious, but I also do believe in balance as well. My kids do get treats. They eat healthy but they get treats because they're very active kids," she said. Office-based sufferers of wanderlust look away, because we're all sorts of envious about Irish designer Emma Manley's honeymoon already! The designer married her long term love Eoin O Suilleabhain last weekend looking stunning in a Swarovski crystal embellished dress of her own creation, and is continuing to inspire us with her nuptials. Adventures in Cambodia ? have began. Kicked off with a boat tour of a floating village, aye dinner on a floating restaurant and finished with sundown a lake. Hardly your average day! #honeymoon #holidays #cambodia #floatingvillage A post shared by Emma Manley (@emmakatemanley) on Jun 14, 2017 at 6:10pm PDT Posting an envy-inducing pic to Instagram just yesterday the newlywed explained how she would be undertaking a bit of a journey to land herself and hubby Eoin in the first leg of their honeymoon in South East Asia. The couple enjoyed some Champers before taking their three flights to their first port of call, Siem Reap. The talented couturier shared a snap of the couple relaxing over a game of pool in the Tan Sour Resort when they arrived before they continued their holidays with a boat tour of a floating village, dinner, and sundown on a romantic lake. We're already pricing flights! Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli has stressed the need for a new law on elections and appointment of new members of the Central Election Commission in the country. "We need to promote the renewal of the political class... For this to happen we need an electoral law and we need a new Central Election Commission. For reasons that I cannot understand, these reforms have completely stopped," he said in Kyiv on Thursday during the panel discussion of the VII national expert forum "Points of Growth" organized by the Gorshenin Institute. The diplomat said that in his opinion Ukraine has great potential, but it faces both challenges from abroad in the form of Russian aggression, and internal ones, such as "the absence of the rule of law, which is the main obstacle to economic growth." Serbia is a highly conservative country, which is why its perhaps a bit surprising that it has nominated its first openly gay prime minister: Ana Brnabic. Heres everything you need to know. Who nominated Brnabic? Aleksander Vucic, who was prime minister before his election as president in April, announced the nomination. It was a difficult decision reached in the interest of Serbia and its citizens, said Vucic, a former extremist-turned-reformist who has promised to boost gay rights as part of efforts to move closer to European Union membership. Who is she? 41-year-old Brnabic is currently government minister of public administration and local government. The British-educated Brnabic, who is a marketing expert, had worked for US companies before she assumed her Serbian government job. If elected in parliament, I will run the government with dedication and responsibility and I will do my job honestly and with love, Brnabic told state Tanjug news agency. She is not a member of Vucics ruling populist Serbian Progressive Party but is considered loyal to him. Her appointment to the government last year she was hand-picked by Vucic who was then prime minister was hailed by rights groups as historic for the Balkan country whose gay community regularly faces discrimination, harassment and violence. What does this mean for the country? Brnabics nomination is considered part of Vucics apparent turn toward the West despite strong pressure from Russia to maintain its influence in the region. I believe she has professional skills and personal qualities, Vucic said. Im convinced she will work hard. What have opponents said? Pro-Russian nationalists have blasted the choice. The conservative Dveri group, close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, said Brnabic was obviously appointed under Western pressure. Is it possible that the ruling majority has no other candidate for the prime minister-designate but the one imposed by the West which dictates all the moves by this government? the party asked. What happens next? Brnabics government needs formal approval by Serbias parliament next week. Vucic has moved into the largely ceremonial presidential position. Leaked footage shows Donald Trump being mocked by Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. The video was taken from an off-the-record speech he gave last night at Parliament House to the media. And it was revealed by a member of the media Laurie Oakes, the political editor of Australias 9 News. The leaked excerpts show Turnbull parodying the US president whilst making fun of the Australian governments opinion polls. Turnbulls first telephone conversation with Trump in January over a refugee resettlement deal was, in Trumps words, testy. But the two leaders made a public show of friendship when they met for the first time in May. The PM said he was disappointed by the leak telling Melbourne Radio 3AW: Its a breach of protocol, its a breach of faith and all those things. On the speech, he said: But you know, its light-hearted, its affectionate, good-natured and the butt of my jokes was myself. Of course, online the leak has been met with a number of responses. Some are clamouring to hear what Trumps response will be to the situation. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference While many others have taken the opportunity to poke fun jokingly suggesting President Trump might not even remember where Turnbull is from We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Geography eh? Who needs it The Liberal Democrats face its second leadership competition in two years after Tim Farrons resignation. The question on everyones lips is: who will throw their hat in the ring? Contenders are not due to formally put their name forwards until the start of Parliaments summer break, when Farron will officially stand down but obviously Westminster is already rife with speculation. On September 16, the new leader will be announced at the Lib Dem annual conference. Norman Lamb MP for North Norfolk Health spokesman Lamb is the first MP to confirm hes considering entering the leadership race. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference It wouldnt be his first bid for the party leadership: Lamb stood in the 2015 contest to replace Nick Clegg as leader but lost out to Farron. Could he be gunning for round two? Lamb, 59, has been MP for North Norfolk since 2001 and was a minister in the business and health departments during the Tory-Lib Dem coalition from 2012-15. Seen as belonging to the centre-right wing of the party, Lamb was a close ally of Clegg, serving as his parliamentary aide when he was appointed deputy prime minister. Sir Vince Cable MP for Twickenham Cable is a potential candidate who has experience in the leadership position, as he was acting leader of the party when Menzies Campbell resigned in 2007. He also served as deputy leader from 2006-10. As long ago as 2007 Cable said he was too old to stand for the leadership, and at 74, he would face questions over whether he is the right person to take the party through an election which may not come until 2022. His record, as business secretary, of presiding over increases in tuition fees and the privatisation of the Royal Mail may alienate some members. Sir Edward Davey MP for Kingston and Surbiton Former energy and climate change secretary Davey is back in Parliament after losing his seat in the 2015 election, so maybe he has his sights set even higher: potentially the leadership. He served as a minister in the Department for Business during the coalition, before being promoted to the Cabinet as Energy Secretary following the resignation of Chris Huhne over a driving offence. He took a lead in Government in promoting measures to tackle the threat of climate change. Jo Swinson MP for East Dunbartonshire Swinson regained her seat from the SNP in the general election, and has immediately become the bookies favourite to succeed Farron. If shes successful, this would make her the partys first female leader. At 31 shes also the youngest of the possible contenders she was the youngest member of the commons when first elected in 2005. She served as a junior minister in the Department for Business from 2012-15 during the coalition, following a brief stint as parliamentary private secretary to Clegg. The violence took place last month in the US capital (Voice of America/AP) US police have issued arrest warrants for a dozen Turkish security agents and two others accused of taking part in a violent altercation with protesters on May 16 as Turkey's president visited Washington. District police chief Peter Newsham said nine agents, three Turkish police officers and two Canadians are being sought. He also said two arrests had been made on Wednesday. Mr Newsham said: "We all saw the violence that was perpetrated against the protesters. "We're not going to tolerate this." Relations were severely strained even before the melee, which came as Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived at the Turkish ambassador's residence after a White House meeting with US president Donald Trump. Video footage showed security guards and some Erdogan supporters attacking protesters, leaving nine people hurt. Adam Harvey poses for picture after he's shot and, right, an x-ray of the bullet in his neck A journalist had a miracle escape after he was hit in the neck by a stray bullet while covering the conflict in the Philippines. Adam Harvey, who previously worked for The Herald and the Irish Independent in Dublin, posted an image of an X-ray on Twitter showing a bullet lodged in his neck. His injuries are not life-threatening, a director at his current employer ABC Australia confirmed. Mr Harvey, who is from Australia, was in The Philippines where militants, alligned to Islamic State, have taken control of parts of the island of Minidinao. The correspondent told ABC he was on the frontline of the conflict wearing a flak jacket and helmet this morning before being moved back to "what was considered a safe zone". We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference "I was bending down we stopped and I opened the back door of the car to get some food and water and I felt an almighty stabbing at the side of my neck and I went down on the ground and I thought I'd been hit by a bit of shrapnel," he said. "I started bleeding and luckily we had our ABC first aid kit, so we started doing some first aid. "Then I was taken to a medical centre and they took me for observation at another hospital, then they did X-rays and discovered it wasn't a bit of shrapnel, I'd actually been shot in the neck with a bullet and the bullet was still in my neck. "But luckily it missed everything important and it was just got lodged behind my jaw." We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Mr Harvey did not lose consciousness and was advised to wear a neck brace "as a precaution". Former INM colleague Maurice Haugh posted a message of support. Media, rights groups and people in general protest to demand the Mexican government catch the killers of Javier Valdez, the fifth and most high-profile journalist murdered this year in the country's drug-trafficking ganglands, in front of the Interior Ministry in Mexico City on May 16, 2017. (Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images) Journalists hold signs condemning violence against journalists while protesting the recent murder of the of Mexican journalist Javier Valdez on May 16, 2017 in Guadalajara. (Photo: HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images) This file photo taken on November 27, 2016 shows Mexican journalist Javier Valdez speaking during the presentation of his book "Huerfanos del Narco" in the framework of the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Photo: HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images) Award-winning Mexican journalist Javier Valdez has been fondly remembered by his peers, one month after he was assassinated outside his workplace. One of the most respected journalists in Mexico, Mr Valdez (50) was known for his work on drug trafficking and organised crime. He was a correspondent for national newspaper, La Jornada and the Agence France-Presse news wire. He also founded the respected Riodoce publication and authored several books on the drug trade, including Narcoperiodismo and Los Morros del Narco. On Monday, May 15, at midday, Mr Valdez was pulled from his car and shot multiple times by a lone gunman, not too far from the Riodoce office in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan. Expand Close Media, rights groups and people in general protest to demand the Mexican government catch the killers of Javier Valdez, the fifth and most high-profile journalist murdered this year in the country's drug-trafficking ganglands, in front of the Interior Ministry in Mexico City on May 16, 2017. (Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Media, rights groups and people in general protest to demand the Mexican government catch the killers of Javier Valdez, the fifth and most high-profile journalist murdered this year in the country's drug-trafficking ganglands, in front of the Interior Ministry in Mexico City on May 16, 2017. (Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images) His death was widely mourned in Mexico. Mr Valdez's murder was the sixth one of a Mexican journalist this year. It came a day after a group of around 100 gunmen attacked seven journalists travelling through Mexico City. Sinaloa, his home state, is infamous in Mexico's drug world. It's home to the Sinaloa cartel - the world's most powerful drug trafficking organisation - which until recently, was headed by Jaoquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists says. It ranks third in the world for the number of journalists killed, after Syria and Afghanistan, according to the media rights group Reporters Without Borders. Most murders of reporters go unsolved and unpunished. Mr Valdez defied the dangers of his job by doggedly going after the cartels and traffickers. In 2011, after being honored with one of the 2011 International Press Freedom Awards, he spoke of the risks and challenges of reporting in Mexico: In Culiacan to do journalism is to tread an invisible line drawn by the bad guys, who are in both drug trafficking and the government. "Living in Sinaloa is a threat, and being a journalist is an additional threat. We learned how to live in times when bullets are flying around us." Expand Close Journalists hold signs condemning violence against journalists while protesting the recent murder of the of Mexican journalist Javier Valdez on May 16, 2017 in Guadalajara. (Photo: HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Journalists hold signs condemning violence against journalists while protesting the recent murder of the of Mexican journalist Javier Valdez on May 16, 2017 in Guadalajara. (Photo: HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images) A month after his murder, his peers around the globe have paid tribute to him, as campaigns condemning violence against journalists have beeb launched in Mexico. Christopher Sherman, Mexico Correspondent for the Associated Press said Mr Valdez "occupied a different stratum than most journalists in Mexico". "I never met Javier, but I knew his reputation," he said. "Independent voices in Mexican journalism stand out and his was unmistakably one of them. For Mexican journalists, it takes more than fluid prose, good sources and a platform. It requires a daily, even minute-by-minute, word-by-word calculation of the risks and the publics need to know." Some groups and publications have launched a campaign that encourages journalists in Mexico and around the world to write and share articles, editorials, videos, cartoons and other works that discuss Mr Valdez's murder, the dangers of reporting in Mexico, or journalist protection overall. The groups are asking that people tag their contributions with the hashtags #ourvoiceisourstrength or #nuestravozesnuestrafuerza. An Iraqi soldier carries a journalist wounded due to fighting between Iraqi forces and Isil militants in Mosul. Photo: Reuters Iraqi forces repelled a major counter-attack by Isil fighters at dawn yesterday in a district south of the Old City of Mosul, their remaining enclave in the city, a police commander said. Dozens of Isil fighters were killed in the operation to push back the militants, many of whom wore suicide vests, the commander said. Residents said the militants seized a number of blocks in the Danadan district of the northern Iraqi city before being driven out in fierce clashes. "Terrorists came from the Old City and attacked our forces using mortars and sniper shots. They managed to temporarily seize some buildings but we forced them to retreat after shelling their positions," said a federal police officer. A Reuters visuals team heading to Mosul from the northern side reported intense artillery fire in the morning. Chase Another federal police officer said an operation was still under way to chase some Isil militants who might still be hiding in some buildings. In an online statement, Isil said it killed 40 of the federal police forces deployed in west Mosul and destroyed eight military vehicles. Iraqi forces on Tuesday reported progress in the US-backed campaign to dislodge Isil from Mosul, announcing the capture of Zanjili, a district just north the city's historic centre. The Isil-held enclave in Mosul has shrunk to two districts along the western banks of the Tigris river - the densely populated Old City centre and the Medical City. EU Foreign Affairs Council to extend sanctions against Russia for one year over Crimea, Sevastopol The EU Foreign Affairs Council will extend sanctions against Russia for the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol for one year until June 23, 2018, according to the documents distributed at a council session of the EU foreign ministries in Brussels on Thursday. The EU Foreign Affairs Council will meet in Luxembourg on June 19. The measures concern EU citizens, companies established in the EU and apply only in the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, a communique said. A suicide bomber has struck outside a Shiite mosque in Kabul A suicide bomber has struck outside a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, killing at least one person and wounding five others. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said more casualties are expected after Thursday's attack. Health ministry spokesman Wahid Majroo said one body was received at a local hospital, along with five wounded people. Muslims are observing the holy month of Ramadan, during which the faithful fast from sunrise to sunset. Mosques are typically crowded in the evening hours during the holy month. No one immediately claimed the attack, but the Taliban and an Islamic State affiliate have targeted Shiites in the past. A truck bomb in Kabul on May 31 killed more than 150 people. AP Traumatised UPS workers gather outside the package delivery warehouse where the shooting took place (AP) The man who shot dead three people at a UPS warehouse in San Francisco filed a grievance complaining that he was working excessive overtime, a union member has said. Joseph Cilia, a Teamsters Union official, said Jimmy Lam's complaint, filed in March, requested that United Parcel Service relieve him of working overtime. But Mr Cilia said Lam was not angry and he could not understand why he would open fire on his colleagues at a morning meeting on Wednesday. Lam targeted three fellow UPS drivers, Mr Cilia said. Two other drivers who were wounded had been released from the hospital, he added. Police say Lam killed himself after the shooting, which happened inside one of the company's packing buildings. Workers fled frantically into the streets shouting "Shooter!" and police swarmed in, authorities and witnesses said. Amid the barrage of gunfire, some peoples sought refuge on the roof of the four-storey building, while others ran outside and pounded on the windows of a bus, witnesses said. "They were screaming Go! Go! Go!," said Jessica Franklin, 30, who was on her way to work when the bus made a regular stop in front of the UPS building. "As they got on the bus, they were all ducking." Two other UPS employees were wounded in the shooting that prompted a massive police response in one of the city's industrial neighbourhoods, about two miles from the city centre. Police have not yet released victims' names but families and friends identified one of the people killed as 46-year-old Mike Lefiti, a UPS driver. Mr Lefiti's cousin, Mack Toia, told KGO-TV he was waiting to pick up Mr Lefiti when he heard shots. He left his van and saw his cousin sprawled on concrete behind a gate. "The police officers were right on the scene just like that. I got to touch him, but I couldn't hug him," Mr Toia said. "They just pushed me away because they were trying to resuscitate him." Mr Toia said he was able to tell his cousin he loved him. Co-worker Isaiah Miggins said he saw Mr Lefiti, known as "Big Mike", as he arrived for work just before 9am, a few minutes before the shooting started. "He was a joyful man. Always happy," Mr Miggins said. On social media, heartbroken family members of Mr Lefiti recalled him as a warm-spirited man devoted to his children and family. A photo on his Facebook page shows Lefiti in his brown UPS uniform holding a trophy. He also posted photos of his UPS lorry and an award for 15 years of service to the company in 2015. Tech worker Raymond Deng, 30, who lives opposite the warehouse, said he heard up to eight gunshots. "They were all in rapid succession," he said. "It was like tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat." Police arrived in minutes. "This was a frightful scene," assistant police chief Toney Chaplin said. He said officers found two victims outside and others inside and pulled the wounded to safety as they confronted the gunman, who was armed with an "assault pistol". "The suspect put the gun to his head and discharged the weapon," Mr Chaplin said. San Francisco mayor Ed Lee condemned the violence and praised authorities for a "very proactive response." "It could have been worse," he said. "Lives were saved today." It was not immediately clear how many employees were at the building, but UPS said the warehouse employed 350 people. UPS driver Marvin Calderon told KNTV that he recognised the gunman as a fellow employee but did not know him personally. "I just started running out like crazy, like I've never run before," he said. AP CONCORD- Michael Wallace, owner of Madd Mike Laundry Detergent in Concord, is holding a fundraiser to cover funeral expenses for his nephew who was killed in a wreck over the weekend. According to Wallaces girlfriend, DeAnna Trull, 12-year-old Eric Morris was killed in a wreck in Virginia on Saturday when he and his family were driving from New York to Concord for a funeral. The funeral was for Wallaces mother, which makes her the childs grandmother. The grandmother, Hattie Mae Johnson Wallace, 73, passed away Thursday, June 8 and her funeral service was held on Sunday, June 11. Trull said Wallace received the call that his family had been in the wreck while receiving friends for his mother at Wilkinson Funeral Home that Saturday. According to ABC 13 in Virginia, the incident that killed Morris was a single-vehicle wreck. The station reported that Colonell Johnson, 60, was driving south on Interstate 85 when she ran off the left side of the road. Police said Johnson over-corrected, crossed back onto the Interstate and overturned. The force caused Morris and another 10-year-old boy to be ejected from the vehicle. The new station reported that neither was wearing a seatbelt. ABC 13 said Morris was taken to Community Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Since the wreck, the laundry company has started a fundraiser and a GoFundMe page has been created to raise money for Morris funeral expenses. Trull said the family does not have life insurance. Referring to the passing of Hattie Mae Wallace and Morris, a post on Madd Mike Laundry Detergents Facebook page says At this time our family is trying to take this all in and understand we lost 2 wonderful souls in 2 days. The company has set a goal to sell 50 buckets of detergent to get the fundraiser going. Proceeds will go to funeral expenses. It was the only thing I had to start the fundraiser, Trull said. This way everything will go straight to them. Madd Mike Laundry Detergent is located at 111 Rembrandt Drive SW in Concord. The GoFundMe page has already raised $3,215 with a goal of $10,000. People can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/lay-ej-eric-morris-to-peace. SALISBURY- The Salisbury man who opened fire in a Washington D.C. pizza shop while investigating a conspiracy theory has issued an apology letter. He said he has realized just how foolish and reckless he was in the incident. Edgar Maddison Welch, who pleaded guilty to charges of transporting a firearm and ammunition and assault with a dangerous weapon in March, fired multiple shots inside of Comet Ping Pong pizzeria after he went to self-investigate an Interest conspiracy involving Democrats in December 2016. WBTV reported that Welch submitted his apology letter to a judge this week prior to his sentencing hearing which is schedule for Thursday, June 22. The letter says that he came to D.C. with the intent of hearing people I believed were in dire need of assistance, and to bring an end to a corruption that I truly felt was harming innocent lives. The letter continued to say It was never my intention to harm or frighten innocent lives, but I realize now just how foolish and reckless my decision was. WSOC-TV reported that Welchs attorney Dani Jahn also wrote to the judge asking for a 1 year sentence and said that Welch has previously worked as an emergency medical technician and volunteered in Haiti after an earthquake in 2010. But Channel 9 also reported that the prosecutors wrote that the fact that no one was shot was entirely the product of good luckthe fortuitous facts that nobody interfered with the defendants progress and that nobody was behind the door which he ultimately shot through. The prosecutors believe a significant sentence should be required to punish Welch and deter other would-be vigilantes from attempting similar crimes against innocent subjects of the next internet-inspired conspiracy theory. They want him to be sentenced to at least 4 years. Kyiv preparing proposals to cancel roaming fees, in talks to reduce cost of education for Ukrainians in EU - Klimkin Ukraine is preparing specific proposals on the cancellation of roaming fees in the EU countries and will present them before the Eastern Partnership summit, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said. "Ukraine within the Eastern Partnership for the first time raised the issue of roaming fees cancellation and at first no one believed in it. I hope that we will come to the Eastern Partnership summit with concrete ideas on this," he said during a joint press conference with the foreign ministers of Sweden and Lithuania in Kyiv. Klimkin said at present the issue of reducing the cost of education for Ukrainian students abroad is being discussed. As reported, on June 10 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine is in talks with the EU to abolish fees for mobile communications roaming. According to him, the country is also working on introducing affordable transport links between Ukraine and the EU, attracting low-cost carriers and increasing the capabilities of border checkpoints. Dublin, June 15 (IBNS): Creating history, Leo Varadkar has been elected as the first gay Prime Minister of Ireland. He is the youngest person to hold the crucial position in the country. Leo Varadkar, son of an Indian immigrant, is set to become the first LGBTQ Prime Minister of the nation. Varadkar, 38, who came out as homosexual in 2015 in a radio interview, will be Ireland's youngest ever leader and the first from an ethnic minority background. "Its not something that defines me. Im not a half-Indian politician, or a doctor politician, or a gay politician, for that matter. Its just part of who I am. It doesnt define me. It is part of my character, I suppose," he told RTE Radio in 2015. He succeeded outgoing Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who announced his resignation last month. He defeated Simon Coveney in the Fine Gael elections. Ireland is predominantly a Catholic nation, with the largest church being the Roman Catholic Church, who has historically opposed the union of gay men and women. Image Credit: twitter.com/campaignforleo Toronto, June 15 (IBNS): The Canadian government on Thursday said it is committed to the Arctic and its people. "This includes working with international partners to address the regions unique challenges, including climate change, and to create opportunities and sustainable development for Canadas Arctic communities," the Canadian government said in a statement. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Thursday announced that on June 15, 2017, in Oulu, Finland, she will participate in an EU high-level event focused on Arctic environmental challenges and how the international community can support sustainable development. Okalik Eegeesiak, Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, will be at the meeting, where she will represent the international interests of Inuit in Canada, Greenland, Chukotka (Russia) and Alaska. Co-hosted by the EU and Finlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the event will bring together governments, industry, researchers, and Indigenous and local community representatives. The Minister will also meet with key interlocutors to discuss bilateral relations and the mutual benefits of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), among other issues. Markets on bull run; Sensex tops 800 pts, Nifty nears 18,300; IT index outperforms Indian markets traded on a bullish note during Friday's opening bell post the outcome of US inflation numbers. In the early deals, Sensex jumped even nearly 61,611, while Nifty 50 rose neared 1... November 11, 2022 | 9:41 am RateGain recognized as World's Best Technology Provider at 2022 World Travel-Tech Awards RateGain Travel Technologies Limited, a global provider of SaaS solutions for the hospitality and travel industry, has announced that it had been recognized in two categories at the recently co... November 11, 2022 | 9:19 am SJVN bags another 83MW floating solar project in Madhya Pradesh; Stock soars 2% SJVN has secured 83 MW Floating Solar Project in Madhya Pradesh. This Project has been secured at Rs3.70/unit on Build Own and Operate basis in a e-Reverse Auction (e-RA) organized by REWA... November 11, 2022 | 9:18 am Star Housing Finance gets Rs10 crore loan sanction from ICICI Bank Star Housing Finance Limited has informed to the exchanges regarding sanction of term loan facility. In a regulatory filing, the company informed that the ICICI Bank has sanctioned l... November 11, 2022 | 9:18 am Bata India stock under pressure post Q2FY23 numbers Footwear major Bata India Limited has announced results for the quarter ended September 30, 2022. Revenue from operations for the quarter stood at Rs8,297 million (a growth of 35% ove... November 11, 2022 | 9:17 am Ukraine should enforce existing laws and policies to safeguard the rights of people with disabilities. This is the conclusion reached at the All-Ukrainian Conference titled, "Equal Access: Strengthening and Safeguarding Human Rights," held on June 12-13, 2017, in Kyiv.The event was organized by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities (NAPD) in cooperation with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), through the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Affairs Canada, and the UK government. Participants included Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Building and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine Lev Partskhaladze, the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Valeriy Sushkevych, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Andriy Mahera, Director, Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine Karim Morcos, Deputy Director of the USAID Democracy and Governance Office in Ukraine Daniel Ryan, IFES Senior Global Electoral Adviser, IFES Ukraine Country Director Peter Erben, and leaders from the disability community.It is estimated by the World Health Organization that 15% of the worlds population have a disability. Access to political participation and inclusion in political processes is a critical component of citizenship for all people in Ukraine and beyond. As Daniel Ryan, Deputy Director of the USAID Democracy and Governance Office in Ukraine emphasized, "In many countries, large groups of people are excluded from involvement in political processes, due to discrimination and both intentional and unintentional barriers, whether physical, social, legal or economical. In Ukraine and around the world, USAID considers it a priority to address such barriers to political participation for historically marginalized populations, including persons with disabilities." Valeriy Sushkevych, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stated that, "In Ukraine, more than 1 million people with disabilities do not participate in elections. Electing representatives without the voice of persons with disabilities will lead to continued discrimination." Participants of the conference discussed strategies and problematic issues of ensuring the full and equal participation of people with disabilities in political and electoral processes. Special attention was given to presenting the results of adapting polling stations for persons with disabilities following the 2016 IFES- NAPD audit on accessibility of polling stations in Poltava region. Participants agreed that ensuring compliance with existing laws and policies designed to safeguard the electoral and political rights of people with disabilities is a key priority. Through the conference, participants developed of recommendations that were addressed to government authorities. Recommendations emphasized the need to ensure physical accessibility of polling stations, offer electoral information in accessible formats, and create a working group comprised of government and civil society representatives that would develop a plan to address a range of legislative, institutional and societal barriers to participation for persons with disabilities. Karim Morcos, Director, Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine further reiterated that "Global Affairs Canada, together with IFES, will continue to offer its partnership to civil society, the Central Election Commission, and other government partners in pursuit of a greater accessibility of the electoral process for persons with disabilities to increase their political participation." Additional information Contact person: Karina Kalnyk kkalnyk@ifes.org Next month, Indiana Universitys Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs will sponsor the Indiana University Education Conference. The conference will be held as a part of the 47th annual Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration, which runs July 1016 in downtown Indianapolis. The conference, to be held on Thursday, July 13, at the Indiana Convention Center, will focus on issues such as college access and retention and feature workshops presented by IU faculty. Michael Eric Dyson, well-known speaker, political analyst and bestselling author of Holler if You Hear Me, The Black Presidency and many other titles, will serve as the keynote speaker. Current statistics show that an increasing number of Black and Hispanic students are enrolling in college. However, there remains a gap in graduation rates between them and their white counterparts. Data released last spring by The Education Trust revealed that of the four-year universities analyzed, more than half (53 percent) saw the graduation discrepancy between Black students and white students either stay the same or grow over a 10-year span (2003-2013). For instance, in 2013, the number of Black students who completed their degree was 40.3 percent compared to 60.7 percent for white students. Experts believe much of the chasm can be attributed to a lack of targeted outreach and support from faculty and staff, as well as issues with finances. These issues are especially prominent among first-generation college attendees. Given IUs long affiliation with the Indiana Black Expo, Im ecstatic that we can strengthen our relationship by offering a new and vital element to the celebration that can benefit educators, the community and, most significantly, students, James Wimbush, IUs vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs, said in a written statement. Supplementing this storied event with best practices in higher education illustrates the universitys commitment to success for students of all backgrounds. Indiana Universitys sponsorship of the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration Education Conference shows how dedicated IU is to serving the community, said Tanya Bell, Indiana Black Expo president and CEO, in a media release. Im extremely pleased about this collaboration, especially with the addition of a higher education track that highlights important issues for underrepresented minority students and provides strategies to address them. Alexander McCormick, director of the National Survey for Student Engagement and IU Bloomington associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies, and Pamella Shaw, IU School of Dentistry associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion will also be among the days presenters. McCormicks workshop, Advancing Student Learning and Success in College: What the Evidence Shows, will use comprehensive survey data to discuss engagement, retention, learning and success for traditionally underrepresented students in higher education. Shaws presentation, High-Impact Practices for Access and Success, will focus on preparing students for the transition from high school to college, undergraduate success, career selection and preparation for graduate education. Other presenters include the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Strata Education Network. Prospective students who are Indiana residents can visit the IU booth on Saturday, July 15, and Sunday, July 16, in the Exhibit Halls of the Convention Center, to maintain their eligibility and complete requirements for Indianas 21st Century Scholars Program. Students can learn more about the 21st Century Scholars programs available on each of IUs campuses, and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education will provide additional information to students and families about Indianas 21st Century Scholars Program. In 2008, our country witnessed the most devastating financial crises since the Great Depression. As a result, millions lost their jobs, watched their 401ks and retirement savings diminish, and lost their homes. After months of hearings and contentious debate in Congress, I proudly voted for and President Barack Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. One of the highlights of this law was the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a consumer watchdog housed in the Federal Reserve devoted to protecting Americans from unfair and abusive financial practices. The CFPB was created to ensure hardworking Americans are not ripped off by predatory lenders and greedy institutions. The Bureau now requires banks and credit card companies to provide clear and accurate information to families and small businesses so bank loans, mortgages and credit cards are more fair and affordable. Yet at every turn, Republicans have sought to weaken, delay and erode these consumer protections. Last week, they once again voted to roll back the clock to the days when Wall Street special interests were allowed to play fast and loose with our economy, leaving hardworking Americans to foot the bill. Their harmful legislation guts the CFPB, which has helped more than 29 million consumers since its inception. It eliminates the CFPBs independent funding mechanism that has helped insulate it from partisan politics and removes most of the CFPBs supervisory and enforcement authority to oversee the largest financial firms, hindering its ability to hold these institutions accountable for their actions. This may seem like a distant concern, but its impacts are real and felt every day. Recently, CFBP investigated Wells Fargo and determined the bank opened millions of fake accounts in customers names without their permission and fined the bank more than $100 million. Since its inception, it has returned over $12 billion to millions of consumers, including many Hoosiers, who were impacted by illegal practices by banks, credit card companies and mortgage lenders. This is real money that Hoosiers have earned, and it deserves to be protected not taken by abusive lenders. I helped bring the Wall Street reform bill to the House floor as a member of the Financial Services Committee seven years ago, and I will not sit silently as House Republicans and Wall Street lobbyists dismantle it piece by piece. Washington Republicans should stop doing the bidding of big banks and lobbyists and start working for the American people. Lets call their CHOICE Act what it really is: the wrong choice. It is a dangerous step backward, and I will continue to fight against it. Rep. Andre Carson represents the 7th District of Indiana in the United States House of Representatives. Contact Rep. Carson at carson.house.gov/contact. Every day, the men and women of the United States armed forces are ready to protect our country. They bravely stand between us and the enemies who want to cause a level of destruction some people could not imagine. However, who is available for them when they need support during difficult times? Chaplains provide soldiers, sailors, airmen and other American military personnel with spiritual support and encouragement to boost their morale. They do this in addition to the traditional responsibilities of most clergy, such as delivering sermons during religious services, participating in weddings and funerals, and providing prayer and counseling. In every soldiers life they are going to face a circumstance that is bigger than they are, said Darrell Sydnor, pastor of The Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Indianapolis and a retired Army major. When you find yourself facing a problem that big, you need a source outside of yourself that you can go to when you are not confident. While he was in the Army, Sydnor was assigned to manage postal operations in Southeast Asia. However, he also accepted his call to ministry while overseas and served as an associate minister who operated much like a chaplain. He was authorized to conduct services alongside the chaplain in his unit. Chaplains are the ones who connect people to their faith and give you the opportunity to reflect on where you come from and where your spirituality is in relation to where it needs to be, Sydnor said. They help soldiers bridge that gap and connect their jobs, their families and their faith. According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Defense, chaplains and their assistants are described as providing spiritual support to soldiers, both in a deployed environment and back at home. They are part of a support network for soldiers going through a hard time or just needing someone to share their thoughts or concerns. In the Army, a Unit Ministry Team includes a chaplain, who is a commissioned officer, and at least one enlisted soldier known as a chaplain assistant. Due to the variety of demands on todays U.S. military, there is a greater need for chaplains than ever before. In fact, some officials say that new chaplain recruits are needed immediately to prevent a shortage of qualified chaplains in the armed services. Many chaplains who started serving after the Vietnam conflict or during the Gulf War era have reached the militarys mandatory retirement age of 62. Currently, the Army, Navy and Air Force all have positions available for chaplains in active duty assignments around the world, as well as opportunities in reserve and National Guard units. The Navy also provides chaplains to the United States Coast Guard and the Marine Corps. After contacting a local Army recruiting office, the Recorder was told that there are currently no Army chaplain recruiters in the Indianapolis area, although there is a U.S. Army Recruiting Team North Central, based in Chicago. The recruiter directed the Recorder to the Armys official website, goarmy.com. Viewers can visit the website and see information about how to become a chaplain, both as an enlisted soldier and through the Armys officer training program. Those who are interested in opportunities with the Air Force, Navy and National Guard can also visit official websites for those branches to find information about chaplain service. Anyone who chooses to become a chaplain would be serving in the armed forces at a time when they have become more spiritually diverse. Americas military has long sought Christian and Jewish chaplains of different denominations, and in April the Department of Defense officially recognized 221 other religions including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Unitarianism, paganism and agnosticism, along with Wicca, druidism and other faiths. Service members can also join recognized groups for atheists and humanists. In recent months, military chaplains from Indiana have been recognized with prominent awards after serving with distinction. Earlier this year Lt. Col. Obadiah Smith Jr., a chaplain with the U.S. Air Force, was awarded with the Sagamore of the Wabash by former Gov. Mike Pence for his recent service on the Veteran Affairs Commission, which advises the governor and legislators on matters related to military and veteran issues. It also administers a $9 million Military Family Relief Fund for veterans. In a recent interview, he called the experience humbling and said it has been a delight to serve a population that is often forgotten in the confines of traditional ministry. Smith, who is from Anderson, Indiana, and has served around the world as an ordained minister with the Church of God, has received military honors such as the Meritorious Service Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal, as well as other premier awards, such as the Indiana Black Expo Governors Award for Civic Leadership. Smith noted that being a chaplain offers both challenges and rewards, especially when it comes to helping reservists deal with stress. There are multiple issues, Smith said. But were humans and we undergo stress. For me and my team, that gives us the opportunity to have a visible presence and relational connectivity. For more information, visit the following sites: Army goarmy.com/chaplain Air Force chaplaincorps.af.mil Navy navy.mil/local/chaplaincorps National Guard nationalguard.com/chaplain Sanjay Dutt has apparently been one of the most controversial stars of Bollywood. He ruled the hearts of the Bollywood buffs for a very long time, but soon he was embroiled in the case of illegal possession of arms and ammunition. Furthermore, he has been quite vocal about his addiction to drugs. The actor has lived those dark days and after battling the addiction, he doesnt want others, particularly the youth to fall prey. Hence, he has been spreading awareness on the issue and trying every hook and crook to make the country drugs free. Viral Bhayani Now, taking a step ahead, the actor has collaborated with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for his big mission. He recently met the spiritual guru collaborating with whom, he wants to spread awareness about narcotics. Sanjay Dutt has been very vocal about taking up the subject and spreading awareness about it as he has experienced it himself. Its a great initiative and a cause taken by the actor as he understands the consequences of the addiction, Deccan Chronicle quoted Sri Sri as saying after meeting the Bollywood star whose biopic is in the works too. Viral Bhayani Sanjay Dutt has a big mission; he is going to take up a big mission to make this country drug free and addiction free, he added. On the work front, Sanjay Dutt is busy shooting for Sarbjit director Omung Kumars Bhoomi. Indians dont like talking about sex. It makes (most of) us red in the face, tight and fidgety and everyone wants to break away from the TV screen when King Khan plasters his wet lips on his leading ladys neck. At one point, the education minister wanted to ban sex education from school. Apparently, how India became the second-most populated country on Earth is a secret not to be disclosed. Love jihadis have always been on the loose, ostracising couples who show any kind of affection. Now under UP Chief Minister, Aditya Yoginath, they have been blessed with full authority to catch lovers by the collar and punish them. Youtube For long, proponents of conservatism and prudes have stayed away from Indias erotic temples. Many religious places around the country have erotic sculptures carved on their fringes including the 13th century Sun Temple at Konark, 5th to 10th century Ellora and 2nd Century BC Ajanta caves. The most prominent of erotic temple has been cornered by the Bajrang Sena. The right-wing activist group wants to ban the sale of Kamasutra novels from the Khajoraho Temples in Madhya Pradesh, where preserved is some of the most graphic erotic art on temples. Built by the Chandela dynasty between 950 and 1050, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986. india tour Bajrang Sena activists under the leadership Jyoti Agarwal, who is the president of the Khajuraho unit, have submitted demands of action against selling Kamasutra books and figurines inside the premises of the temple, alleging that it is against Indias culture and tradition. This allegation is slightly absurd when still standing today are temples with explicitly erotic art serve as a reminder of an Indian past divorced from todays largely conservative attitudes. Such things affect the image of Indian culture and traditions in the eyes of foreigners." Whatever has been depicted cant be allowed to happen here now. What sort of moral values are we passing on to our younger generation? These temples have religious significance. There is a Shiva temple here. How can you allow Kamasutra to be sold in the sacred premises, said Jyoti. Kamasutra and the erotica sculptures at Khajuraho have been disproportionately distorted. Popular perception is that their purpose does not extend beyond sexuality. But thats a misconception, Dr Nilima Chitgopekar, Associate Professor of History at Jesus and Mary College, told Indiatimes in an exclusive interview. She told us that sexuality and sensuality were a very important part of life at the time when Khajuraho was built. There was no hiding sexuality, said Dr Nilima. Kama or desire, often sexual desire, is one of the four goals of human life along with Dharma, Artha and Moksha. It is one of the goals man has to fulfil at a certain stage in his life, which is the reproductive stage. That is why, she told Indiatimes, that erotic sculptures are not seen carved everywhere at Khajuraho but only on the circumference of the temple. As you go higher, said the professor, you dont seem them anymore. aajtak These images which range from different sexual positions to orgies to bestiality are associated with the Kaula sect that followed Tantric philosophy. Dr Nilima told us that in Tantric philosophy, one does not have to denounce the physical and material in order to achieve salvation or Moksha it can be reached through the body. In Tantrism, you use the mundane to use the supermundane, said the associate professor of history, who has also lent her voice to the audio-visuals at Khajuraho Temple. Guides at the temple will tell you that these sculptures exist as an educational tool. Theyre trying to tell us that man must absolve themselves from eroticism and abstain from sexuality, but that is not what theyre telling us. We must remember that these sculptures are art. Part of what theyre telling us is a narrative of what society was probably like. Bestiality is depicted in some sculptures because it was probably happening at the time. One may say thats disgusting, but bestiality still exists. India used to have a very practical and pragmatic approach to sex. Over the years, the key selling point of the book, Kama Sutra written by Vatsyayana, and the Khajuraho temple have boiled down to just sex. Everything sold at the temple has sexual connotations from the keychains to the t-shirts. But in reality, there is no connection between the text and the temples. The book sure is about how a man should woo a woman with different sexual positions, but it is much more than that. It is also about nagarkars or city-dwellers, the economy of the society then and also a guide to a virtuous life. Dr Nilima said that the current market demands an excessive supply of sexuality. Rapid widespread dissemination of conservative, right-wing ideas in India do make historians and art-lovers cringe at the thought of a complete ban one day on entering the Khajuraho temple and engaging with Kama Sutra. The fear is always there, said Dr Nilima, but thankfully the temples dont only belong to India. As a world heritage site, it cannot be banned at anyones whims and fancies. One must also remember that sculptures at Khajuraho are art, and must be appreciated so, instead of being condemned. Its art from the 10th and 11th century, and not only depict society but also act as a guide on how to achieve salvation in this life. The Tricolour was draped on Ghanshyam Dhakad, the farmer who died allegedly in police custody when the final rites were performed at Barvan village of Mandsaur district. The kin of deceased farmer, who have been demanding martyrdom status for him, covered his body with the national flag, violating the code right in front of a large contingent of police and administrative officials. bccl It could not be ascertained if his pyre was burnt with the tricolour. "If the tricolour was used it was a violation of national flag code. When I was there (Barvan), the body was covered in blankets," Mandsaur District collector OP Shrivastava told TOI. He claimed that he was not present at the cremation. Photographs of Dhakad's body covered in tricolour was circulated on WhatsApp by farmers contradicting administration's claim. bccl Similar photographs of four of the five farmers killed in Pipliamandi police firing were also viral in social media. Shrivastava claimed that the matter will be examined. Farmers and Congress leaders had been demanding status of 'martyrs' for the deceased in police action. Former Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan had issued a statement seeking the same from the government on Friday. Shrivastava said he was not aware of what happened during the cremation of other victims as he has just taken over as collector. But the matter would be looked into. "At no time could be the national flag be allowed to be disgraced," he added. The farmers protest that began from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh has now spread to several districts in the state. The protests began on June 1, where farmers presented various demands to improve the conditions of their livelihood. On Tuesday, the protest turned ugly after six farmers were killed and eight others injured in two separate incidents of police firing. A.M Faruqui Here is a timeline of what has happened: June 1: A group of farmers began protests with their demands BCCL Farmers start a 10-day protest, demanding favourable prices for their crops and other produce. June 4: Farmers clashed with the state police BCCL Farmers and Police clash in Sehore, Indore and Bhopal. Six policemen are injured. Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) postpone the farmers protest after meeting with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Ujjain. However, this announcement actually intensifies the protest. Rashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh and Bhartiya Kisan Union, leading the protest, say the agitation has not been paused. June 5: Chief Minister announced relief for farmers India.com The Chief Minister began blame game at a conference. He announced an INR 1,000 crore fund for price stabilisation fund at times when prices destabilise after a bumper crop. June 6: Five farmers were killed in police farming Five farmers are killed after Police fired at farmers protesting in Mandsaur district. Farmers then block the roads and vandalise property. Authorities install curfew in vulnerable areas, and the Ministry of Home Affairs also send about 600 personnel to control the unrest. Madhya Pradesh Farmers' Protest: Toll plaza vandalised in #Mandsaur, Rs. 8-10 lakhs looted. pic.twitter.com/LW15R0k8QO ANI (@ANI_news) June 8, 2017 June 7: Collector "heckled" AP Mandsaur Collector, S.K Singh is heckled by relatives of those killed by the police. Witnesses said that stones were also pelted. After initially denying that Police firing killed the five farmers, MP Home Minister, Bhupendra Singh, has now for the first time acknowledged that the farmers died from police firing. "Death of the five farmers was due to police firing. It has been established in the probe. I have said earlier that the farmers may have died in police firing. I have conceded this earlier, various channels have also run it, he said. Meanwhile, several leaders from Opposition parties, led by Congress vice-President, Rahul Gandhi, tried to meet the protesting farmers but according to reports, they were taken into preventive detention. Leo Varadkar makes history as he becomes the youngest and the first openly gay Prime Minister of Ireland. The 38-year-old Indian origin doctor, in his first address as the countrys leader promised to build a republic of opportunity. Varadkar, the country's first Indian-origin premier, officially took over from Enda Kenny as Taoiseach, as the Irish prime ministerial title is known, after a parliamentary vote in Dublin confirmed him as leader by 57 votes to 50, with 47 abstentions. Formerly a general physician by profession, he was born to an Irish nurse and an Indian doctor, and won the Fine Gael party leadership earlier this month. He has appointed Simon Coveney, his opponent in leadership as the deputy leader of the party. "I've been elected to lead but I promise to serve", said Varadkar post election in his address to the Dail, Irish Parliament. Beat 102-103 "The government that I lead will not be one of left or right because those old divisions don't comprehend the political challenges of today. The government I lead will be one of the new European centre as we seek to build a republic of opportunity," Varadkar adduced. Post the address, he visited the President Michael D Higgins in his residence, Aras an Uachtarain, where he was given the official seals to confirm his appointment. In todays Dail proceedings, former Taoiseach Kenny nominated Varadkar to succeed him saying that he would carry out the role with integrity and skill. "As the country's youngest holder of this office, he speaks for a new generation of Irish women and Irish men," he said. "He (Varadkar) represents a modern, diverse and inclusive Ireland and speaks for them like no other, an Ireland in which each person can fulfil their potential and live their dreams," Kenny said. After winning the party leadership earlier this month, Varadkar had said, "If my election shows anything it's that prejudice has no hold in this Republic." "When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed his son would grow up to be its leader," he had said. Leo, who was born in Dublin to Mumbai-born dad Ashok Varadkar and Irish mum Miriam, came to the fore as the most favoured choice from the time he announced his candidacy after Kenny stepped down earlier this year. He had previously served as the countrys welfare minister. independent.ie A doctor from the prestigious Trinity College, Dublin, he was first elected as a councilor at the age of 24 and in 2007 went on to hold a seat in the Dail. Varadkars rival candidate, housing minister Coveney, bagged two-thirds of the party membership votes but lost out to the more popular candidate in the end. The time when Ireland became the first country in 2015 to legalise same sex marriage through popular vote was also when Varadkar came out openly as a gay. In a coming-out speech he gave in a radio interview, he had said, "It's not something that defines me. I'm not a half-Indian politician, or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter. It's just part of who I am, it doesn't define me, it is part of my character I suppose." Hailing from a family in Varad in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, Leo Varadkar kept his Indian connect alive by completing an internship at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. His partner, Matthew Barrett, is also a doctor. "Matt is just a very special person. Someone who is unconditionally on my side, which is always great. He is the kind of person who has made me a better person," Varadkar recently said. Same sex marriage and liberalization of abortion laws are areas where he has campaigned. Before winning a seat in the parliament, Leo served as a general practioner (GP), and has rapidly risen through the party ranks, holding several ministerial positions including minister for social protection and minister for transport, tourism and sports. Fine Gael is Ireland's centre-right political party, seen as taking liberal positions on several social and economic issues. People in Karachi were left flabbergasted when they saw a man driving through the busy roads of the city with a lioness in the back of his pick-u truck. Police took action after the video shot with a mobile showing a pick-up truck carrying a lioness went viral. Sindh interior minister Sohail Anwar Siyal also asked police to take action. Youtube Later Senior Superintendent, Karachi Police, Muqadas Haider told that Saqlain Jawaid, who owned to the big cat was taken into custody, according to Pak media reports. Jawaid told the police that since the big cat was ill, he had taken her to a vet for a check-up. Jawaid told that he had all required document to keep the animal at the private mini zoo. But according to police, the permit issued by wildlife department to Jawaid to run a private mini zoo had expired in last June. A FIR was registered against Jawaid and his.documents have been sent to wildlife department for verification. Meet Chicago's latest tech billionaire, Rishi Shah. The self-made man quit his job ten years back to become an entrepreneur and finally, he has landed and how! rishiushah/LinkedIn Shah's partner, Shradha Agarwal, is not far behind. Together, the duo started Outcome Health in 2006, a healthcare tech company that is now valued at a whopping 5.6 billion dollars. The background Shah, the son of an Indian-immigrant doctor in Chicago, grew up in the state's Oak Brook area. The idea that led to his startup was inspired by his sister. In an interview with local media, Shah had said, "My sister has type 1 diabetes. If she gets on an insulin pump and she is able to achieve better blood sugar control and she is checking her blood sugar more effectively, the device manufacturer wins, the insulin manufacturer wins, the blood glucometer wins, the doctor wins, but the payer wins most of all. And she wins personally." The journey Shah met Shradha Agarwal at Northwestern University where he was a transfer student. Agarwal is now the company's president. They started out with a campus magazine and went on to co-found ContextMedia in 2006 and funded it with loans. However, the duo couldn't find a lot of support for their venture, especially from doctors in the Chicago area. chicago tribune While some doctors didn't feel comfortable with digital education in their workplaces, others wished to see profits before committing to a young product. In the first year, Shah and Agarwal made $1 million in revenue. They started selling video monitoring services to doctors and hospitals without any outside funding. Because they wanted to retain ownership, they decided to pass on the offers from investors. They later changed the name of their company to Outcome Health with their first ever big investment. The company Outcome Health is ranked in the top 30 on the list of 200 non-public companies with a worth of $1 billion. Last year, it registered $130 million in revenue and announced an operating profit margin of approximately 40%. Its revenue doubled every year in last two years and an expansion was made possible after the acquisition of AccentHealth last November. Outcome Health The work Shah and Agarwal's company offers touch screen monitors to hospitals and healthcare offices across the country. It provides large, interactive video boards that help doctors in explaining a patient's health by making use of videos, graphics, and other aids. outsourcing pharma All services offered to hospitals and other medical institutions are for free. The company earns its money from insurance providers, drug manufacturers, healthcare marketers, and pharmaceutical firms. Google is revamping its Drive cloud storage tool, giving it more capabilities to save all of your data. Google The company is remodelling the web app into a more rounded backup tool. Now, instead of having files of your choosing saved to cloud storage inside the Drive folder, itll be able to monitor and backup files on any folder on your desktop or smartphone. This could be a specific sub directory, your entire documents folder, or even your whole computer. Launching the new feature on June 28, Google is calling it Backup and Sync. Supposedly, it will replace both the Drive and Google Photos app for consumers, though the company has suggested that business users stay with the current Google Drive for now. The full extent of Backup and Syncs capabilities are still not clear. Youll likely be able to open and edit common file types within the app, as you can with Drive right now. However, its not clear how the syncing will work across multiple systems once you save that file. In addition, while the feature is certainly is useful, take note that it will eat through your Drive storage limit incredibly fast, so you might be forced to upgrade from the 15 GB available on free accounts. Islamic Terrorism: Our Ally For 38 Years By Chris Kanthan June 14, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Dear Diary, I cant show this letter to the innocent people of America and the world, so its just between you and me. Imagine the shock and the outrage if I say that we have to embrace Islamic terrorism! The average person doesnt understand whats at stake and how sometimes the elites need to rely on controlled chaos for the greater good. Islamic terrorists are wonderful instruments for proxy wars they cost very little but fight fearlessly. They are a global resource that can be brought into any local conflict. They are also expendable we use them when convenient and kill them when inconvenient. If this shocks the conscience of people, it just means they havent been paying keen attention. Consider the following examples: Thomas Friedman of The New York Times wrote that we shouldnt attack ISIS in Syria 1 ; and we should even consider arming ISIS to overthrow Assad 2 John Kerry admitted, U.S. tried to use ISIS to force Assad into negotiations . 3 Israeli military chief explained, Israel prefers ISIS to Assad 4 Israeli defense minister recounted, ISIS never intentionally attacks us; and when it happened once, ISIS apologized immediately . 5 Hello! Hillary Clinton wrote, Saudi Arabia and Qatar fund and arm ISIS . 6 Joe Biden, Gen. Martin Dempsey, Gen. Wesley Clark all have stated that US allies in the Middle East arm and fund Al Qaeda and ISIS . 7 , 8 , 9 Several State Department cables have clearly laid out how Saudi Arabia is the #1 source of funding for terrorism around the world not just in the Middle East. 10 Ever wonder why we never go to war against or impose sanctions on these sponsors of terrorism? Heck we dont even condemn them! What goes through a readers mind when they see an article titled Accepting Al Qaeda 11 that is published by Council on Foreign Relations the think tank behind US foreign policy? Or when Hillary Clintons chief foreign policy advisor wrote to her, Al Qaeda is on our side? 12 I can give many more such examples, but lets hop on the time machine for a moment. Afghanistan, 1979 1989. We used the Mujahideen to defeat the Soviet Union. Was that not a good thing? Remember how the media and Hollywood glorified those Afghan fighters in the 1980s? The Afghan rebels even got to visit the White House. There are two critical factors that are often forgotten in the Mujahideen story: foreign fighters from all over the world and fundamentalist Islam. In the 1980s, more than 35,000 so-called Arab Afghans came from all over the world to fight the Russians 13 ; and we wouldnt have been able to motivate them to do so without appealing to the concept of Islam, Caliphate or jihad. Fight for Allah is far more effective than Fight for Country X. Fighters motivated by religion are also extremely useful in the battlefield since they are not afraid of death. This mindset is essential for the use of suicide bombers without whom many battles and wars would not have been won. We also learned from Saudi Arabia that indoctrination is essential to create good soldiers. So the CIA came up with clever textbooks for Afghan kids that introduced them to concepts of jihad, weapons and hatred for Russians. 14 (Since then, Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars on Islamic schools Madrassas all over the world. These schools act as breeding grounds for future activists, extremists and fighters. Saudis also print textbooks that are used all over the world. Kids learn loving messages such as Kill Shiites, Christians and Jews. 15 Saudi mosques and preachers all over the world also continue spreading extremist messages.) When the Afghan war was about to be won, it dawned on us that the Mujahideen project was a brilliant playbook that could be replicated in other parts of the world. Thats when Al Qaeda was formed. And it was perfect timing. You see, Halliburton had just discovered huge oil reserves near the Caspian Sea, but the countries around that region were all pro-Russia even after the fall of the USSR. 16 Without the knowledge of the American public, the Mujahideen were very active all throughout the 1990s in Bosnia, Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Dagestan, Chechnya etc. 17 These fighters were used for three major purposes: throw out pro-Russia dictators install pro-West leaders who would help us build oil/gas pipelines and agree to host US military bases, and disrupt Russian pipelines and other interests Azerbaijan was an easy one and we got our man in 1993. Georgia took a long time, but George Soros and his color revolution finally installed our guy in 2005. Within a year, we had a 1000-mile pipeline that linked Azerbaijan (Caspian Sea), Georgia and Turkey! Chechnya was a partial success. They were struggling for independence from Russia and thus gladly welcomed the Mujahideen who also had plenty of Saudi money and US weapons. Within a short time, the non-violent and mystical Sufism of Chechnya was taken over by Saudi Wahhabism. Al Qaeda started blowing up Russian pipelines. Russia invaded Chechnya in 1994, lost the war, and withdrew. It was fun to watch the news those days. But then Putin became the Prime Minister three years later, waged a ruthless war against the jihadists, won decisively and installed his own strongman in Chechnya 18 . Even Sufism has seen a major revival lately and Chechens have now started rejecting Wahhabism and jihadism. 19 Al Qaeda was extremely helpful in Bosnia, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo. In the late 1990s, we used trumped-up charges and NATO bombing to get rid of the pro-Russia guy in Serbia. Away from the heart of Eurasia, Islamic extremism and terrorism play major roles in Africa, Middle East and Asia to catalyze geopolitical transformations. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter In Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia, we depend on Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda and Salafists (those who follow extreme, fundamentalist Sunni Islam). In Libya, we leveraged the Al Qaeda affiliate called Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) 20 . We released its leader (Belhadj) from the CIA prison, dressed him up in a nice suit, arranged a photo-op with John McCain, and he became the freedom fighter who fought Gaddafi, the brutal dictator! In Syria, tens of thousands of Al Qaeda fighters were flown in from all over the world to topple Assad 21 . If it were not for Putins evil interventions, we would now have a Qatar pipeline through Syria, and Israel would be drilling oil in Golan Heights 22 . A tragic situation indeed. In Africa, Nigeria is a strategic country with 170 million people and a land rich in oil and natural resources. Thats where Boko Haram African ISIS comes into play. It has been extremely successful in every way. Also, thanks to Boko Haram, half of Nigeria is under Sharia Law, which is a great tool to control people. In Asia, we need to prevail upon Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Without them, we lose much of Asia to China. Sharia Law and Salafism are gaining momentum in Indonesia, which is a positive sign. 23 Philippines crazy leader, Duterte, has been too friendly with Russia and China 24 . He will lose his popularity and get replaced if the ISIS affiliate Abu Sayyaf causes enough problems. If he fights back against ISIS, we will cry human rights and Islamophobia at the UN and impose sanctions. Thailand has also been foolishly moving into the Russia-China sphere of influence 25 . Well, this peaceful, Buddhist country has been facing Sunni/Salafist extremism in the south. Thai leaders must realize that the entire tourism industry is very vulnerable a few bombings and attacks by jihadists can have serious effects. Finally, lets look at Europe. There has been a lot of problems with mass immigration terrorism, crimes etc. However, every crisis is an opportunity. Some call it the Problem-Reaction-Solution. Terrorism is the problem. Fear is the reaction. Government is the solution. Terrorism and crime give us the chance to militarize the police in EU, create an NSA for entire Europe, and even an EU army. The financial burden caused by refugees also allows us to impose austerity and cut wasteful welfare spending. Mass immigration will also result in a more homogeneous European society. Twenty years from now, there wont be much difference between France and Germany. This means much easier management of EU. Moving forward, the biggest economic challenge for us will be China. However, it has an Achilles heel the western province of Xinjiang that is predominantly made up of Muslims. With help from Turkey, we have already created in Xinjiang an Islamist movement that is calling for secession 26 . Chinas One Belt One Road is very dependent on freight trains safely traveling through that region on their way to Europe. Our future Mujahideen in Xinjiang will come in handy if China starts to misbehave. It took us about 60 years to unify North and South America to a great degree under a common financial, corporate, economic and military system. (Venezuela is the odd man out, but were working on it). It may take another sixty years to unify Europe, Russia and China. Then we will have global governance and the ultimate New World Order. No borders and no walls. One World. In bringing that to fruition, we have many arrows in our quiver trade, financial/military aid, coups, color revolutions, sanctions, wars etc. but Islamic terrorism and fundamentalism will continue playing indispensable roles, and thats why we must accept them and embrace them. Chris Kanthan is a computer geek by profession, he is a writer and an author from San Francisco, trying to raise awareness about politics, world affairs, food and health through non-partisan blog posts, often with a twist of satire. He loves traveling and has been to 35 countries around the world. He is also the author of Deconstructing Monsanto . https://worldaffairs.blog Five Men Own Almost As Much As Half the World's Population While Americans fixate on Trump, the super-rich are absconding with our wealth. By Paul Buchheit Last year it was eight men , then down to six , and now almost five. While Americans fixate on Trump, the super-rich are absconding with our wealth, and the plague of inequality continues to grow. An analysis of 2016 data found that the poorest five deciles of the world population own about $410 billion in total wealth. As of June 8, 2017 , the world's richest five men owned over $400 billion in wealth. Thus, on average, each man owns nearly as much as 750 million people. Why Do We Let a Few People Shift Great Portions of the World's Wealth to Themselves? Most of the super-super-rich are Americans. We the American people created the internet, developed and funded artificial intelligence, and built a massive transportation infrastructure, yet we let just a few individuals take almost all the credit, along with hundreds of billions of dollars. Defenders of the out-of-control wealth gap insist that all is OK, because after all, America is a meritocracy in which the super-wealthy have earned all they have. They heed the words of Warren Buffett : "The genius of the American economy, our emphasis on a meritocracy and a market system and a rule of law has enabled generation after generation to live better than their parents did." But it's not a meritocracy. Children are no longer living better than their parents did. In the eight years since the recession the Wilshire Total Market valuation has more than tripled, rising from a little over $8 trillion to nearly $25 trillion. The great majority of it has gone to the very richest Americans. In 2016 alone, the richest 1% effectively shifted nearly $4 trillion in wealth away from the rest of the nation to themselves, with nearly half of the wealth transfer ($1.94 trillion) coming from the nation's poorest 90% -- the middle and lower classes. That's over $17,000 in housing and savings per lower-to-middle-class household lost to the super-rich. A meritocracy? Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have done little that wouldn't have happened anyway. All modern U.S. technology started with, and to a great extent continues with, our tax dollars and our research institutes and our subsidies to corporations. Why Do We Let Unqualified Rich People Tell Us How To Live? In 1975, at the age of 20, Bill Gates founded Microsoft with high school buddy Paul Allen. At the time, Gary Kildall's CP/M operating system was the industry standard. Even Gates' company used it. But Kildall was an innovator, not a businessman, and when IBM came calling for an OS for the new IBM PC, his delays drove the big mainframe company to Gates. Even though the newly established Microsoft company couldn't fill IBM's needs, Gates and Allen saw an opportunity, and so they hurriedly bought the rights to another local company's OS -- which was based on Kildall's CP/M system. Kildall wanted to sue, but intellectual property law for software had not yet been established. Kildall was a maker who got taken. So Bill Gates took from others to become the richest man in the world. And now, because of his great wealth and the meritocracy myth, many people look to him for solutions in vital areas of human need, such as education and global food production. Gates on Education: He has promoted galvanic skin response monitors to measure the biological reactions of students, and the videotaping of teachers to evaluate their performances. About schools he said , "The best results have come in cities where the mayor is in charge of the school system. So you have one executive, and the school board isnt as powerful." No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter Gates on Africa: With investments in or deals with Monsanto , Cargill and Merck , Gates has demonstrated his preference for corporate control over poor countries deemed unable to help themselves. But no problem: according to Gates , "By 2035, there will be almost no poor countries left in the world." Warren Buffett: Demanding To Be Taxed at a Higher Rate (As Long As His Own Company Doesn't Have To Pay) Warren Buffett has advocated for higher taxes on the rich and a reasonable estate tax . But his company Berkshire Hathaway has used "hypothetical amounts" to pay its taxes while actually deferring $77 billion in real taxes. Jeff Bezos: $50 Billion in Less Than Two Years, and Fighting Taxes All the Way Since the end of 2015 Jeff Bezos has accumulated enough wealth to cover the entire $50 billion U.S. housing budget , which serves five million Americans. Bezos, who has profited greatly from the internet and the infrastructure built up over many years by many people with many of our tax dollars, has used tax havens and high-priced lobbyists to avoid the taxes owed by his company. Mark Zuckerberg (6th Richest in World, 4th Richest in America) While Zuckerberg was developing his version of social networking at Harvard, Columbia University students Adam Goldberg and Wayne Ting built a system called Campus Network, which was much more sophisticated than the early versions of Facebook. But Zuckerberg had the Harvard name and better financial support . Now with his billions he has created a charitable foundation, which in reality is a tax-exempt limited liability company, leaving him free to make political donations or sell his holdings, all without paying taxes . The False Promise of Philanthropy Many super-rich individuals have pledged the majority of their fortunes to philanthropic causes. That's very generous, if they keep their promises. But that's not really the point. American billionaires all made their money because of the research and innovation and infrastructure that make up the foundation of our modern technologies. They have taken credit, along with their massive fortunes, for successes that derive from society rather than from a few individuals. It should not be any one person's decision about the proper use of that wealth. Instead a significant portion of annual national wealth gains should be promised to education, housing, health research, and infrastructure. That is what Americans and their parents and grandparents have earned after a half-century of hard work and productivity. Syria - The End Of The War Is Now In Sight By Moon Of Alabama A look at recent developments in Syria. [Updated below June 14 1:00am EDT] Source: Al Watan Online - bigger June 14, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The most important change over the last days was the Syrian government forces move (red areas and arrows) in the south-east towards the Iraqi border. The original plan was to retrieve al-Tanf further south-west to secure the border crossing of the Damascus-Baghdad highway there. But al-Tanf was occupied by U.S., British and Norwegian invaders and some of their proxy forces (blue). Their airplanes attacked Syrian army convoys when they approached. The U.S. plan was to move from al-Tanf north towards the Euphrates river and to thereby capture and control the whole south-east of Syria. But Syria and its allies made an unexpected move and prevented that plan. The invaders are now cut off from the Euphrates by a Syrian west-to-east line that ends at the Iraqi border. On the Iraqi side elements of the Popular Military Unites under the command of the Iraqi government are moving to meet the Syrian forces at the border. The U.S. invaders are now sitting in the mid of a piece of rather useless desert around al-Tanf where their only option is to die of boredom or to move back to Jordan from where they came. The Russian military has made it very clear that it would intervene forcefully should the U.S. attack the Syrian line and move further north. The U.S. and its allies have no mandate to be in Syria in the first place. There is no justification or legal ground for them to attack any Syrian units. Their only option now is to retreat. The U.S. move into al-Tanf was covered by an attack of U.S. proxy forces in the south-west of Syria. A large group of "rebels", which include al-Qaeda elements and is supplied from Jordan, moved to take the city of Deraa from Syrian government control. It was hoped that this attack would divert Syrian forces from their move east. But despite the use of suicide bombers the attack on Deraa failed to overwhelm the strong defenses of the Syrian forces. It did not provide the necessary diversion. The Syrian position in Deraa was reinforced by units from Damascus which are now attacking the U.S. proxy gangs. Significant progress was made today in the southern suburbs of Deraa and the Syrian army attack will likely continue the move until it has reached the Jordanian border. The U.S. plans in south Syria, in the west as well as in the east, have failed for now. Unless the Trump administration is willing to invest significant more forces and to openly and against all laws wage war on the Syria government and its allies the situation there is contained. The Syrian forces will over time recapture all the (blue colored) land in the south that is currently held by the various U.S. proxies and other terrorist groups. In the north-west the Takfiri "rebel" groups are concentrated around Idleb and further north. These groups are sponsored by Saudi, Qatari and Turkish money. The recent spat between Qatar and other Gulf states has throw the Idleb situation into further chaos. Saudi sponsored groups are now fighting Qatari and Turkish sponsored groups. These conflicts come on top of other animosities between al-Qaeda aligned forces and those of Ahrar al-Sham. The Syrian government forces keep the province surrounded and Turkey in the north has kept its border mostly closed. The Takfiri "rebels" in Idleb will cook in their own juices until they are well done and completely exhausted. Eventually government forces will move in and destroy whatever is left of them. In the center of the map the Syrian army (red) arrows are pointing towards the central desert areas held by ISIS forces which are retreating towards the east (black arrows). Moving simultaneously from the north, west and south the Syrian government forces make fast progress with several kilometers of ground retaken each day. During the last month 4,000 square kilometers and over 100 settlements and towns have been recovered. Within a few weeks they will have recovered all the (brown) ISIS held areas up to the Euphrates river line and the Syrian-Iraqi border. Russian military bridging equipment recently started to arrive in Syria. It will be needed to cross the Euphrates and to recover the areas north of it. Meanwhile U.S. supported Kurdish forces (yellow arrows) are attacking the ISIS held city of Raqqa. The Russian military command claims ( video ) that the Kurds and the U.S. made a deal with ISIS to let its fighters leave Raqqa towards the south and east. The fast progress the Kurds are making in taking the city supports that claim. There seems to be barely any Islamic State resistance left. All ISIS forces left in Syria, those coming from Raqqa as well as those from the desert areas, are moving east along the Euphrates towards the city of Deir Ezzor. There as many as 100,000+ government aligned civilians and a Syrian army garrison have long been surrounded by ISIS forces. The besieged people are supplied by air drops. The Syrian military garrison has long held off the attacking ISIS forces. But with thousands of new Islamic State forces coming towards the city the government troops are in real danger of getting overwhelmed. Reinforcements must be flown into the city to keep ISIS off and to prevent a very large massacre. A much better alternative is a relief line on the ground. But the Syrian army race towards the city had been delayed by the U.S. shenanigans in the south. A new large ground move of government forces towards Deir Ezzor is in preparation. One can only hope that they arrive in time. Qatari, Saudi and Turkish proxy forces, directed by the CIA, have waged a six year long war against Syria and its people. With Qatar and Turkey now in opposition to the Saudis and their U.S. allies, the gang that attacked Syria is falling apart. The Islamic State is shrinking fast and nearly defeated. The U.S. attempt to gain ground in the south has been stopped. Unless the U.S. changes tact and starts a large scale attack on Syria with its own army forces the war on Syria is over. Many areas still need to be recovered by Syrian forces. Terrorist attacks within the country will continue for several years. The wounds will take decades to heal. Negotiations will have to be held over areas in the north now under Turkish or U.S. (proxy) control. Further settlements will have to be reached. But the large scale strategic war against Syria has for now ended. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter No one has won anything. The Kurds, which for while looked like the sole winner of the war, have just thrown away their gains. The U.S. supported Kurdish forces of the YPG made the lunatic error of openly asking for support from Saudi Arabia. The anarcho-marxists of the YPG, always proudly showing off their feminism, are suddenly bowing down in front of the medieval Wahhabi nutters. They thus ruined their appearance of being a progressive leftist force. This move will reinforce Turkish and Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian animosity and hostility against them. All political advances they made during the war by staying mostly neutral between "rebels" and the Syrian government is now in jeopardy. The move is crazy. The Kurdish held area is completely surrounded by more or less hostile forces. U.S. or Saudi support for the land-locked and encircled Kurdish enclave is not sustainable over any longer time-frame. The Kurds have thus again demonstrated that they are their own worst enemies in their striving for a (semi-)sovereign Kurdish state. They will be thrown back into their original areas and again be folded up into the Syrian state. [UPDATE:] Secretary of Defense Mattis was questioned in Congress yesterday about the situation in Syria. There is no transcript yet but here are some tweets from a Stars & Stripes journalist who attended: Tara Copp @TaraCopp - 3:11 PM - 13 Jun 2017 #SecDef Mattis says "pro regime" forces that have moved into S. Syria near #AnTanf base are actually #Russian 1/2 #SecDef Mattis: "I did not anticipate that the #Russians would move there (near At Tanf.) ... it was not a surprise to our intel people." The U.S. had claimed that the Syrian government aligned forces moving towards al-Tanf were "Iran backed" or "Iran led". Now the Secretary of Defense says that was a lie. They were Russians allied with the Syrian government. The Russians certainly do not take their orders from some Iranian generals. It is no wonder than that the Russian command issued strong warnings against any attacks on these forces. Mattis also exposes that he is incapable of strategic thinking. He really believed that Russian would not move to al-Tanf to cover for their Syrian comrades? It has been clear your months now that the Russians are all-in in Syria. They will not let the Syrian government fall to make nice with Mattis or Trump or anyone else. The strategic issue for them is clear and has been for a while. They will fight. They said so. It was utterly stupid to believe anything else. Al-Tanf is a tactical issue but the U.S. military elevates it to a strategic one. This is clearly not justified. We have to ask again what the possible gains for the U.S. are from defending that place in the empty desert. There is none to be had but defending it out of "principle" could evidently start a much bigger war. [T]he Tanf garrison is now surrounded by hostile forces. The U.S. forces in the area would have to fight through regime positions to get to al Bukamal, further risking escalation. What now? Is the United States prepared to protect these forces in perpetuity? Will the U.S. provide air cover for forces that clash directly with regime allied assets outside of the 55-kilometer zone? Did the previous three strikes prompt a counter-escalatory act that undermined U.S. interests? Sadly, the answer to the last question is yes. ... Strategy should drive tactics when it comes to handling Iranian-backed elements in Syria, not the other way around. ... The United States has the capability to defend a garrison in the Syrian desert. However, the reasons for doing so are devoid of any purpose, making a simple cost benefit analysis all but impossible. That insight has obviously not yet reached the Defense Department and the U.S. command on the ground. The local U.S. commander moved a U.S. HIMARS long-range artillery system from Jordan to al-Tanf. HIMARS has a range of 300 kilometers. It makes no difference from a tactical perspective if its fires from Jordan or from al-Tanf in Syria some 12 kilometers east of the border line. It is a symbolic move to "show flag" in al-Tanf but it exposes the system to a legitimate attack by Syrian, Russian and Iranian forces. As Secretary of State Tillerson rightly said : The U.S. has no legal authority to attack Syrian, Iranian or Russian forces. None at all. It is invading Syria with no legitimate reason. Syria, in contrast, has the legal authority to throw the U.S. troops out. To move the HIMARS to al-Tanf is utterly stupid grandstanding. It is high time for Washington to shut such nonsense down. This article was first published by Moon Of Alabama - Dirty Open Secret: US Created and Supports ISIS By Stephen Lendman June 14, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Its one of the dirtiest of dirty open secrets. US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) documents prove it obtained by Judicial Watch through an FOIA lawsuit. They show ISIS, al-Qaeda and like-minded terrorist groups are the major forces used as US foot soldiers in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. The myth of so-called moderate rebels was long ago discredited. Yet claiming they exist persists. The DIA documents show America, NATO, Saudi Arabia and other regional rogue states support an Islamic caliphate to challenge, topple and replace Bashar al-Assad with an imperial puppet. Longstanding US/Israeli plans call for redrawing the Middle East map by color revolutions and wars, replacing independent governments with pro-Western puppet regimes, balkanizing Iraq, Syria, Iran and other regional countries for easier control, looting their resources, and exploiting their people. In a January 2016 Iran Review article, James Fetzer discussed evidence of ISIS creation by America. In February 2015, Iraqs military downed 2 UK cargo planes carrying weapons for ISIL, he explained. In March 2015, Iraqi popular forcesshot down a US helicopter carrying weapons for ISIL in Al-Anbar province Photographic evidence proved it. In response to an April 2015 Syrian request to designate ISIL (ISIS) a terrorist organization, the US, Britain, France and Jordan refused (Source: Iran Review) Photographsshowing ISIS members sporting US Army tattoos went unreported by Western media scoundrels. A 2012 DIA document states the West will facilitate the rise of ISIS to isolate the Syrian regime. Former CIA contractor Steven Kelly said Washington created ISIL for the sake of Israel, along with assuring never-ending war in the Middle East to make the Jewish state the dominant regional power and provide a constant flow of orders for weapons from the military-industrial complex at home ISIS fighters are recruited from scores of countries, including Western ones. In October 2015, Russian lower house State Duma International Affairs Committee chairman Alexi Pushkov explained America is not bombing ISIS at allObama is lying to the American people. In November 2015, Vladimir Putin said dozens of countries are supporting ISIS, including America and other Western ones. Fetzer: There are many other sources that confirm that ISIS was created by the US and is being supported by Western powers to promote their own political agenda, where nothing coming from the administration of Barack Obama is worthy of belief. Since the nullification of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 (which precluded the techniques of propaganda and disinformation within the United States) by the NDAA 2013, there are no trustworthy (mainstream) news sources in the US In Washington, ISIS is commonly called John McCains Army(one of) the earliest advocates of (regional) military action on the phony pretext of combating ISIS. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter On Sunday, Fars News quoted Iranian armed forces deputy chief of staff General Mostafa Izadi saying: We possess documents and information showing the direct supports by the US imperialism for this highly disgusting stream (ISIS) in the region which has destroyed the Islamic countries and created a wave of massacres and clashes. Washington uses ISIS and like-minded groups as instruments for regional proxy war On Friday, Fars News quoted Irans parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, saying (t)he United States has aligned itself with the ISIL in the region. ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra (ISIS in Syria) and like-minded groups are US creations. Theyre used as foot soldiers to advance its imperium responsible for aiding Washington rape and destroy one country after another. By WashingtonsBlog June 14, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - NSA contractor Reality Winner allegedly leaked documents showing that Russia probed U.S. election systems days before the 2016 presidential election. How big a crisis is this? Washingtons Blog asked Bill Binney, the NSA executive who created the agencys mass surveillance program for digital information, who served as the senior technical director within the agency, who managed six thousand NSA employees, the 36-year NSA veteran widely regarded as a legend within the agency and the NSAs best-ever analyst and code-breaker, who mapped out the Soviet command-and-control structure before anyone else knew how, and so predicted Soviet invasions before they happened (in the 1970s, he decrypted the Soviet Unions command system, which provided the US and its allies with real-time surveillance of all Soviet troop movements and Russian atomic weapons). Binney told us: To me, this sounds more like fishing for information to find out as much as they could about the democratic party much like the Chinese did hacking the OPM [U.S. Office of Personnel Management ] files. Im sure the Chinese found more use for the data they got then the Russians did on the Democratic party because Hillary did not win. If you think about this article [the story by the Intercept], and assume its true, then hacking a few days before the election is a little late if they really wanted to influence the voting. Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi agrees : The Intercept article cites an unnamed intelligence official who cautioned against drawing too big a conclusion from the document because a single analysis is not necessarily definitive. To that I would add, even if it is all true as described. And I would also make some additional observations about what the report and Intercept article are suggesting. First and foremost would be the questions of scale and timing. There is no evidence that the Russians, or whoever carried out the probes, were able to tamper with either the actual voting process or the tabulation of votes . Indeed, the NSA report dismisses any such possibility. Second, corrupting an election in a country as large as the United States with an electoral system that is largely decentralized would require much more than a probe of 122 local officials starting a week before the balloting. So there was clearly no intention to disrupt the election or to tilt it in a certain direction based on the evidence provided by the NSA report. I would also note that there is no proof provided in the report to support the assertion that the GRU, Russian military-intelligence service, carried out the probes. Would a highly-sophisticated intelligence service behave so transparently in an operation that would certainly be regarded as highly sensitive? I think not. Cut-outs would have been used to misdirect anyone looking to determine the hand behind the hacks. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter All of which is not to say the Russian government didnt do it or order it done, but it seems to me that the revelations provided in the NSA report do not go very far beyond the kind of random probings that are part and parcel of foreign-intelligence operations as carried out by any sophisticated service. Did someone in Moscow think it might be useful to have some kind of idea of how to meddle with U.S. election technology if that type of info might prove useful down the road? Quite possibly. It should be noted that the U.S. National Security Agency illegally collects vast quantities of information on ordinary Americans but that does not necessarily imply intent to use it in a malicious way. It is a desirable capability and intelligence agencies are always working to expand their reach. Liars Lying About Nearly Everything Terrorism supporters in Washington and Riyadh close ranks against Qatar By Philip Giraldi June 14, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The United States has been using lies to go to war since 1846, when Americans who believed in manifest destiny sought to expand to the Pacific Ocean at the expense of Mexico, acquiring by force of arms California and what were to become the southwestern states. In 1898 the U.S. picked up the pieces of a dying Spanish Empire in a war that was driven by American imperialists and the yellow dog reporting of the Hearst Newspaper chain. And then came World War 1, World War 2, and Korea, all avoidable and all enabled by deliberate lying coming out of Washington. More recently, we have seen Vietnam with its Gulf of Tonkin fabrication, Granada and Panama with palpably ridiculous pretexts for war, Iraq with its nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, Afghanistan with its lies about bin Laden, Libya and its false claims about Gaddafi, and most recently Syria and Iran with allegations of an Iranian threat to the United States and lies about Syrian use of barrel bombs and chemical weapons. And if one adds in the warnings to Russia over Ukraine, a conflict generated by Washington when it brought about regime change in Kiev, you have a tissue of lies that span the globe and bring with them never-ending conflict to advance the American imperium. So lies go with the American Way of War, but the latest twist and turns in the Middle East are bizarre even by Washingtons admittedly low standards of rectitude. On the 5th of June, Saudi Arabia led a gaggle of Arab and Muslim nations that included the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain to cut off all diplomatic, commercial and transport links with Qatar, effectively blockading it. Qatar is currently isolated from its neighbors, subject to sanctions, and there have even been Saudi threats of going to war against its tiny neighbor. Salman al-Ansari, the president of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee, even tweeted: To the emir of Qatar, regarding your alignment with the extremist government of Iran and your abuse of the Custodian of the two sacred mosques, I would like to remind you that Mohammed Morsi [of Egypt] did exactly the same and was then toppled and imprisoned. It is the second time the Saudis have moved against Qatar. Two years ago, there was a break in diplomatic relations, but they were eventually restored. This time, the principal allegation being directed against Qatar by Riyadh is that it supports terrorism. The terrorist groups that it allegedly embraces are Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsis affiliation. Hezbollah and Hamas are close to Iran which is perhaps the real reason for their being singled out as many would call them resistance movements or even legitimate political parties rather than terrorists. And the Iran connection is critical as Qatar has been under fire for allegedly saying nice things about trying to respect and get along with Tehran, undoubtedly somewhat motivated by its joint exploitation with Iran of a vast gas field in the Persian Gulf. Qatars ownership of al-Jazeera also has been a sore point with the Saudis and other Gulf states as its reporting has often been critical of developments in the region, criticisms that have often rankled the Saudi monarchy and the Egyptians. It has been accused of spreading propaganda for militant groups. One of the Saudi demands to permit Qatar to again become a normal Arab Gulf state would be to close down the network. The terrorism claims by the Saudis are, of course, hypocritical. Both Qatar and Saudi Arabia are well known as sponsors of Salafist terrorism, including the funding and arming of groups like ISIS and the various al-Qaeda franchises, to include al-Nusra. Much of the money admittedly comes from private individuals and is often channeled through Islamic charities, but both Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been extremely lax in their enforcement of anti-terror and money laundering regulations. In a 2009 State Department memo signed off on by Hillary Clinton it was stated that donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide. Qatar, meanwhile, has been described as a permissive environment for terrorist financing. The Saudis also have considerable blood on their hands by way of their genocidal assault on neighboring Yemen. In addition, the Saudi Royal House has served as the principal propagator of Wahhabism, the virulently fundamentalist version of Islam that provides a form of religious legitimacy to terror while also motivating many young Muslims to join radical groups. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter The falling out of two Gulf Arab regimes might be a matter of relatively little importance but for the unnecessary intervention of President Donald Trump in the quarrel. He has taken credit for the burgeoning conflict, implying that his recent visit to the region set the stage for the ostracizing of Qatar. His twitter on the affair, posted on June 6th, read So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism! And he again came down on Qatar on June 9th during a press conference. Trumps tweets might well be regarded as simply maladroit, driven by ignorance, but they could also provide a glimpse of a broader agenda. While in the Middle East, Trump was bombarded with anti-Iranian propaganda coming from both Israel and the Saudis. An escalation of hostilities with the intention of starting an actual war involving the United States to take down Iran is not unimaginable, particularly as the Israelis, who have already endorsed the Saudi moves, have been arguing that option and lying about the threat posed by Tehran for a number of years. A war against Iran would be very popular both with the U.S. congress and the mainstream media, so it would be easy to sell to the American public. The terrorist attack in Tehran on June 6th that killed 17 is being blamed in some Iranian circles on the Saudis, a not unreasonable assumption. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack but it must also be observed that both the Saudis and Israelis have good connections with the terrorist group. But if the possibility of a possible Saudi hand is true or even plausibly so, it guarantees a rise in tension and an incident at sea could easily be contrived by either side to escalate into a shooting war. The United States would almost inevitably be drawn in, particularly in light of Trumps ridiculous comment on the tragedy, tweeting that Iran isfalling victim to the evil they promote. There is also other considerable collateral damage to be reckoned with as a consequence of the Trump intervention even if war can be avoided. Qatar hosts the al-Udeid airbase, the largest in the Middle East, which is home to 10,000 U.S. servicemen and serves as the Combined Air and Space Operations Center for Washington and its allies in the region and beyond. Now the United States finds itself squarely in the middle of a fight between two alleged friends that it doesnt have to involve itself in, an intervention that will produce nothing but bad results. Backing Saudi Arabia in this quarrel serves no conceivable American interest, particularly if the ultimate objective is to strike at a non-threatening Iran. So the fallback position is to lie about what the support for the aggressive Saudi posturing really means it is alleged to be about terrorism, which is always a popular excuse for government overreach. And the ultimate irony is that when it comes to terrorism the United States itself does not emerge without fault. As early as 2011, the U.S. was arming Syrian dissidents from the arsenals in Libya, flying in weapons to Turkey to hand over to the rebels. Many of the weapons, as well as those provided to Iraqi forces, have wound up in the hands of ISIS and al-Nusrah. U.S. advisers training rebels have conceded that it is impossible to determine the politics of many of those receiving instruction and weapons, an observation that has also been made by the Obama White House and by his State Department. So watch the lies if you want to know when the next war is coming. If the House of Saud, the Israelis and Donald Trump are talking trash and seem to agree about something then it is time to head for the bomb shelter. Will it be Iran or an escalating catastrophe in Syria? Anything is possible. Philip Giraldi is a former counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer of the United States Central Intelligence Home Comeys Lies of Omission By Mike Whitney The Democrats are not fighting Trump over his assault on health care, his attacks on immigrants, his militaristic bullying around the world, or even his status as a minority president who can claim no mandate after losing the popular vote. Instead, they have chosen to attack Trump, the most right-wing president in US history, from the right, denouncing him as insufficiently committed to a military confrontation with Russia. Patrick Martin, The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming, World Socialist Web Site June 14, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Donald Trump is not the target of an FBI investigation. Donald Trump has never been the target of an FBI investigation. The FBI is not investigating Trump for collusion, improper relations with a foreign government, treason or any of the other ridiculous things hes been falsely accused of in the fake media. In fact, the FBI is not investigating him at all. Last week, former FBI Director James Comey admitted publicly what he has known all along: that Trump was not a suspect in the Russia hacking probe and never has been. Heres the story from Politico: Comey assured Trump he wasnt under investigation during their first meeting. He said he discussed with FBI leadership before his meeting with the president-elect whether to disclose that he wasnt personally under investigation. That was true; we did not have an open counter-intelligence case on him, Comey said. (Politico) So, there was no counter-intelligence case on Trump? There was no investigation of collusion with Russia? But how can that be, after all, Trump has been hectored and harassed by the media from Day 1? His appointments have been blocked, his political agenda has been derailed, and the results of the 2016 elections have been effectively repealed due to the relentless attacks of the media, political elites and high-ranking leaders in the Intelligence Community. Now Comey admits that Trump is not guilty of anything, hes not even a suspect. Whats going on here? Why didnt Comey clear the air earlier so the American people would know that their president wasnt in bed with a foreign power? Why did he allow this farce to continue when he knew there was no substance to the claims? Did he enjoy seeing Trump twisting in the wind or was there some more sinister political motive behind his omission? Trump repeatedly asked Comey to announce that he wasnt under investigation. According to Comey, Trump emphasized the problems this was causing him and (Trump) said We need to get that fact out. But Comey repeatedly refused to publicly acknowledge the truth. Why? Comey never answered that question to Trump, but he did explain his reasoning to the Senate Intelligence Committee last week. He said he didnt want to announce that Trump was not part of the Bureaus Russia probe because it would create a duty to correct, should that change. A duty to correct? Are you kidding me? What kind of bullshit answer is that? How many hours of legal brainstorming did it take to come up with that lame-ass excuse? Lets state the obvious: Comey wanted to maintain the cloud of suspicion that was hanging over Trump because it helped to feed the perception that Trump was a traitor who collaborated with Russia to win the election. By remaining silent, Comey helped to fuel the public hysteria and reinforce the belief that Trump was guilty of criminal wrongdoing. That is why Comey never spoke out before, its because his silence was already achieving the result he sought which was to inflict as much damage as possible on Trump and his administration. Did you know that Comey was spying on Trump from Day 1? Its true, he admitted it himself. Following his first meeting with Trump on January 6, he started recording contents of his private conversations with the president-elect on a secure FBI laptop in his car outside Trump Tower. He didnt even wait until he got back to the office, he did it in the goddamn parking lot. Thats what you call eager. In his testimony he admitted that he kept notes of his private meetings with Trump from that point forward. Does that sound like the normal activities of dedicated public servant acting in behalf of the elected government or does it sound like someone whos on an assignment to dig up as much dirt as possible on the target of a political smear campaign. Isnt that what Comey was really up to? Comey is a man with zero integrity. Did you know that? He is applauded in the media and by his fellow establishment elites because he is an unprincipled sycophant who slavishly obeys the directives of his deep state paymasters. Take a look at this except from an ACLU report on Comey: Theres one very big problem with describing Comey as some sort of civil libertarian: some facts suggest otherwise. While Comey deserves credit for stopping an illegal spying program in dramatic fashion, he also approved or defended some of the worst abuses of the Bush administration during his time as deputy attorney general. Those included torture, warrantless wiretapping, and indefinite detention. On 30 December 2004, a memo addressed to James Comey was issued that superseded the infamous memo that defined torture as pain equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure. The memo to Comey seemed to renounce torture but did nothing of the sort. The key sentence in the opinion is tucked away in footnote 8. It concludes that the new Comey memo did not change the authorizations of interrogation tactics in any earlier memos. In short, the memo Comey that approved gave a thumbs-up on waterboarding, wall slams, and other forms of torture all violations of domestic and international law. Then, theres warrantless wiretapping. .(Lets Check James Comeys Bush Years Record Before He Becomes FBI Director, ACLU) Repeat: He approved or defended some of the worst abuses of the Bush administration (including) torture, warrantless wiretapping, and indefinite detention. How does that square with the medias portrayal of Comey as a man of unshakable integrity and honor? It doesnt square at all, does it? The media is obviously lying. Now ask yourself this: Can a man who rubber-stamped waterboarding be trusted? No, he cant be trusted because hes already proved himself to be inherently immoral. Would a man like Comey agree to use his position and authority to try to undo the damage he did prior to the election when he announced the FBI was reopening its investigation of Hillary Clinton? In other words, was Comey being blackmailed to gather illicit material on Trump? I think its very likely, although entirely unprovable. Even so, Comey has been way too eager to frame Trump for things for which he is not guilty. Why has he been so eager? Was he really just protecting himself as he says or was he gathering information to build a legal case against Trump? In my mind, Comey tipped his hand when he said that he leaked the memo of his private conversation with Trump to the media in order to precipitate the appointment of a special prosecutor. Think about that for a minute. Heres what he said: My judgment was I needed to get that out into the public square. So I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. I didnt do it myself for a variety of reasons, but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, so I asked a close friend of mine to do it. Listen to Comey. The man is openly admitting that leaking the memo was all part of a very clearly-defined political strategy to force the appointment of a special prosecutor. That was the political objective from the get go. He doesnt even try to hide it. He wasnt trying to protect himself from mean old Trump. Thats baloney! He was laying the groundwork for a massive and expansive investigation into anything and anyone even remotely connected to the Trump team, a gigantic fishing expedition aimed at taking down Trump and his closest allies. Thats what Comeys been up to. Only his plan didnt work, did it, because the leaked memo didnt lead to the appointment of the special prosecutor. Instead, someone had to whisper in Trumps ear that he should fire Comey and, ah ha, thats all it took. In other words, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenberg had to step in and give Comey his pink slip before the media could cry obstruction, creating the perfect opportunity to appoint hired gun Robert Mueller as special counsel. Now that the dominoes are in motion, Comey can trundle off to some comfy job at one of the many rightwing Washington think tanks while Mueller gathers together his team of superstar prosecutors to launch their first broadsides on the White House. Whoever wrote this script deserves an Oscar. This is really first-rate political theater. Now its up to Mueller to prove that Trump tried to obstruct the investigation by asking Comey to go easy on former national security advisor General Michael Flynn. (According to Comey, Trump said, I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.) It might sound like obstruction, but there are real problems with this type of prosecution particularly the fact that Trump denies the allegations. Also, Comey has acknowledged that Trump expressed his support for the overall goals of the investigation when he said, that if there were some satellite associates of his who did something wrong, it would be good to find that out. Clearly, Trump was not trying to impede the investigation. But even if he was, it is a particularly murky area of the law and difficult to prove. Heres a short clip from an article by Professor Jonathan Turley at George Washington University who helps to clarify the point: The desire for some indictable or impeachable offense by President Trump has distorted the legal analysis to an alarming degree. Analysts seem far too thrilled by the possibility of a crime by Trump. The legal fact is that Comeys testimony does not establish a prima facie or even a strong case for obstruction. It is certainly true that if Trump made these comments, his conduct is wildly inappropriate. However, talking like Tony Soprano does not make you Tony Soprano. The crime of obstruction of justice has not been defined as broadly as suggested by commentatorsThe mere fact that Trump asked to speak to Comey alone would not implicate the president in obstruction. . It would be a highly dangerous interpretation to allow obstruction charges at this stage. If prosecutors can charge people at the investigation stage of cases, a wide array of comments or conduct could be criminalized. It is quite common to have such issues arise early in criminal cases. Courts have limited the crime precisely to avoid this type of open-ended crime where prosecutors could threaten potential witnesses with charges unless they cooperated. We do not indict or impeach people for being boorish or clueless or simply being Donald Trump. (James Comeys testimony doesnt make the case for impeachment or obstruction against Donald Trump, USA Today) The fact that the obstruction charge wont stick is not going to stop Mueller from rummaging around and making Trumps life a living Hell. Heck no. Hes going to dig through his old phone records, bank accounts, tax returns, shaky land deals, ex girl friends, whatever it takes. His prosecutorial tentacles will extend into every nook and cranny of Trumps private life and affairs until he latches onto some particularly sordid incident or transaction he can use he can use to disgrace, discredit, and demonize Trump to the point that impeachment proceedings seem like a welcome relief. It should be obvious by now, that the deep state elites who launched this coup are not going to be satisfied until Trump is forced from office and the results of the 2016 presidential election are wiped out. But, why? Why is Trump so hated by these people? Trump is not being attacked because of his reactionary political agenda, but because hes been deemed insufficiently hostile to Washingtons sworn enemy, Russia. Its all about Russia. Trump wanted to normalize relations with Moscow which pitted him against the powerful US foreign policy establishment. Now Trump has to be taught a lesson. He must be crushed, humiliated and exiled. And thats probably the way this will end. Mike Wwhitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition . He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com . This article was first published by Counterpunch - The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Please read our Comment Policy before posting - It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section. Click here to comment on our Facebook page In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Information Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Information ClearingHouse endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) Privacy Statement Blood on the Tracks of the New Silk Roads Qatar chaos sends ripples of economic anxiety across the region By Pepe Escobar June 14, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Chinas cardinal foreign policy imperative is to refrain from interfering abroad while advancing the proverbial good relations with key political actors even when they may be at each others throats. Still, its nothing but gut-wrenching for Beijing to watch the current, unpredictable, Saudi-Qatari standoff. Theres no endgame in sight, as plausible scenarios include even regime change and a seismic geopolitical shift in Southwest Asia what a Western-centric view calls the Middle East. And blood on the tracks in Southwest Asia cannot but translate into major trouble ahead for the New Silk Roads, now rebranded Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). When he said, on the record, I decided the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding [of terrorism], President Trump essentially took credit for the Saudi/UAE-orchestrated excommunication of Doha, the aftermath of his now notorious sword dance in Riyadh. Trumps senior staff though maintains that Qatar never came up in discussions with the Saudis. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former Exxon-Mobil CEO and a certified old Middle East hand, has done his best to defuse the drama conscious there would be no reason for Qatar to continue hosting Al Udeid Air Base and Centcom to a hostile superpower. Meanwhile, Russia the Beltways favorite evil entity is getting closer and closer to Qatar, ever since the game-changing acquisition in early December by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) of 19.5% of the crown energy giant Rosneft. That translates into an economic/political alliance of the worlds top two gas exporters; and that explains why Doha still holding a permanent office at NATOs HQ has abruptly thrown its moderate rebels in Syria under the (economic) bus. Russia and China are bound by a complex, multi-vector strategic partnership. Beijing, privileging economic interests, takes a pragmatic view and is never inclined to play a political role. As the worlds biggest manufacturer and exporter, Beijings motto is crystal clear: Make Trade, Not War. But what if Southwest Asia is mired in the foreseeable future in a permanent pre-war footing? China and BRIs best pal Iran China is Qatars top trading partner. Beijing was actively negotiating a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) before the current standoff. Moving forward, a possible scenario is Qatar even pulling out of the GCC. Qatar is also Chinas second-largest source of liquefied natural gas (LNG), while Saudi Arabia is Chinas third-largest source of oil. Since 2010 China is ahead of the US as the biggest exporter to Southwest Asia while solidifying its position as the top importer of Southwest Asia energy. When King Salman recently visited Beijing, the House of Saud ecstatically spun a Sino-Saudi strategic partnership based on the signing of deals worth $65 billion. The partnership, in fact, hinges on a five-year Saudi Arabia-China security cooperation agreement that includes counter-terrorism and joint military drills. Much will have to do with keeping the profitable Red Sea-Gulf of Aden corridor free of political turmoil. Of course, eyebrows may be raised over the fact that Saudi Arabias Wahhabism is the ideological matrix of Salafi-jihadism threatening not only Southwest Asia and the West but also China itself. The New Silk Roads/BRI imply a key role for the GCC in a mutual investment, trademark Chinese win-win way. In an ideal world, the Saudi Vision 2030 modernizing plan breathlessly being sold by Warrior Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) could, in theory, even reign in the appeal of Salafi-jihadism of the Daesh variety all across Southwest Asia. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter What the Iranophobic MBS seems not to understand is that Beijing actually privileges its BRI-based economic relationship with Tehran. Early last year, when President Xi Jinping visited Tehran, he and President Rouhani pledged to raise Chinese-Iranian bilateral trade to a whopping $600 billion in 10 years, most of it related to BRI expansion. China and Iran have been doing serious business . For over a year now, direct China-Iran cargo trains have been crossing Central Asia in only 12 days. Thats just the appetizer for high-speed rail connectivity spanning the arc from China to Turkey via Iran in the early 2020s. And in a (distant?) future, a pacified Syria will also be configured as a BRI node; before the war, Syrian merchants were a top fixture in the trading-in-small-goods Silk Road running from the Levant to Yiwu in eastern China. BRI does Turkey, Egypt and Israel Chinas Maritime Silk Road is not about a threatening string of pearls but mostly about port infrastructure, built by Chinese companies, configuring key BRI stops from the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea and Suez all the way to Piraeus port in the Greek Mediterranean. Piraeus is owned and operated by Chinas COSCO since August 2016; this upgraded, modern container hub for trade between East Asia and the West is already the fastest-growing port in Europe. For his part, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already made it clear that Turkeys national interests involve the Suez Canal, the adjacent seas, and from there extending to the Indian Ocean. As much as Ankara has set up a base in Qatar with soldiers now flowing in it has also established a Turkish-Saudi Strategic Cooperation Council. Ankara may have been slowly and surely engaged in a strategic pivoting to Russia as in the go-ahead for Turkish Stream. Yet that also qualifies as a pivot to China expected to develop , bumps included, in all key areas, from membership of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Both Turkey and Iran a possible full member of the SCO as early as next year are actively supporting Qatar in the current standoff, including via regular food shipments. That shows once again how Beijing simply cannot allow itself to be dragged politically into what is essentially the vicious, intractable Iran-Saudi regional power war. Once again; BRI trumps everything. Egypt poses an extra problem. It aligns with Riyadh in the current standoff; after all Field Marshall President Al-Sisi depends on the House of Saud largesse. In Egypt, the new Singapore-sized capital east of Cairo is essentially being financed by Chinese investment; $35 billion by the end of last year, and counting. Extra bonuses include Beijing facilitating currency swap deals providing a much-needed boost to the Egyptian economy. Ahmed Darwish, chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, has nothing but praise to the top investor in the Suez Canal Corridor , which happens to be Beijing. And then theres the budding Israeli-Chinese connection . Israel backs the Saudi-UAE anti-Qatar blitzkrieg essentially as yet another proxy war front against Iran. China is bidding to build the Red-Med high-speed rail connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. If the proverbial sea of containers can be accommodated near Eilat, the Chinese will be able to transship cargo via the Red-Med railway directly to Piraeus an alternative route adding to the already Chinese-involved Suez Canal Corridor. Connectivity is frantic on all fronts. Shanghai International Port Group is running Haifa port. China Harbor Engineering will build a new $876 million port in Ashdod. Israel is already Chinas top supplier of advanced agricultural technology as in water desalination, aquaculture and cattle farming, for instance. Beijing wants more biomedical, clean energy and telecom technology Israeli imports. And the clincher is Israels imminent membership of the AIIB. Its fair to argue that from now on everything that happens across Southwest Asia will be conditioned by, and interlocked with, BRIs land-sea superhighway emporium from East Asia and Southeast Asia to southeastern Europe. Focused on BRIs comprehensive drive for multipolarization, inclusive globalization 2.0, and the rapid spread of information technology, the last thing Beijing needs is a throwback to the past; a foolish, manufactured standoff as the new front in an existential proxy war between the House of Saud and Iran, and with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Israel pitted against Qatar, Turkey, Iran and Russia. Talk about sleepless nights in the Zhongnanhai these days. This article was first published by Asia Times - Sanders Backs Democrats anti-Russian Warmongering By Jerry White June 14, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The Peoples Summit in Chicago, organized by the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, concluded on Sunday. The event was sponsored by the National Nurses United (NNU) and other unions that had backed Sanders bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, along with several liberal and pseudo-left organizations aligned with the Democrats. The event was a political fraud from beginning to end. The basic thread running through all of the workshops and demagogic speeches was the fiction that the Democratic Partya party of Wall Street and the CIAcan be transformed into a peoples party. In remarks Saturday night, Sanders claimed that his campaign, which came to an ignominious end with his groveling endorsement of Hillary Clinton, had pushed the Democratic Party to the left and forced it to adopt the most progressive platform in history. This fantasy flies in the face of reality. Since Trumps election, the Democrats have moved further to the right, attacking the billionaire president not for his savage austerity proposals or attacks on immigrants and democratic rights, but for his supposed softness toward Russia. Sanders lent his support to the neo-McCarthyite campaign of the Democrats and the military-intelligence apparatus, which sees Russia as the chief obstacle to US imperialisms drive for regime change in Syria and Iran. I find it strange we have a president who is more comfortable with autocrats and authoritarians than leaders of democratic nations, Sanders said. Why is he enamored with Putin, a man who has suppressed democracy and destabilized democracies around the world, including our own? Consistent with his presidential campaign and his post-election efforts to shore up the Democratic Party, Sanders made no mention of the Democrats record of militarism or the danger of a military confrontation with the worlds second largest nuclear power. Instead, he continued to advance the duplicitous line that it is possible to wage a struggle against the economic and political domination of Americas billionaire class while backing that same classs imperialist foreign policy. In an hour-long speech that never mentioned the words war, capitalism or socialism, Sanders suggested that a fundamental transformation of society would be possible if young people decided to run for state and local office as progressive Democrats. This, he said, was the real revolution that his campaign had engendered. According to Sanders, the popular support for his election campaign had forced not only the Democrats, but significant sections of the Republicans to adopt progressive ideas. We have won the battle of ideas and will continue to win the battle of ideas, he said. We have in recent years made enormous progress advancing the progressive agenda, he continued. Sometimes, what we all do is we look at today and think, Well, thats kind of the way it always was. Thats not the case. Ideas that just a few years ago seemed radical and unattainable are now widely supported, and, in fact, some of them are being implemented as we speak. As supposed evidence of this political sea change, Sanders pointed to various Democratic city and state officials who have given rhetorical support for mild reform measures, including minimum wage hikes and broader state-funded health coverage. He also pointed to the election of progressive Democrats in New York, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Sanders referred to last weeks election in the United Kingdom, in which the Labour Party gained 29 parliamentary seats, to say that the movement for economic, social, racial and environmental justice is growing worldwide. He said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had won those extra seats not by moving to the right or becoming more conciliatory, but by standing up to the ruling class of the UK. As in Sanders own campaign, in which he won 13 million votes by claiming to be a democratic socialist leading a political revolution against the billionaire class, the popular support for Corbyn is an expression of the growing political radicalization of workers and especially young people in the face of the explosive growth of social inequality and the discrediting of the entire political system. Far from standing up to the ruling class, however, Corbyn, like Sanders, has sought to contain this social opposition within the confines of a capitalist political party, in this case the Labour Party. Sanders pointed to the immense level of social discontent in the United States. While the last eight years did get better under Obama, he claimed, millions were left behind. Workers who had decent factory jobs were told, Sorry, were moving to China. Half of older Americans have nothing in the bank. Millions have no health insurance or have high deductibles. Working families are in pain and they are worried about their kids. All over, Sanders continued, people are furious. They are asking, Does anybody hear my pain? Does anybody give a damn about me and my family? Will aware of mass disaffection with the political establishment and the radicalization of millions of workers and young people, Sanders and the rest of the organizers of the Peoples Summit are concerned that the Democratic Party will not be able to play its traditional role of channeling, containing and suppressing opposition and preventing a mass working-class movement against capitalism. How was it possible, Sanders asked, that the most unpopular candidate was able to become president? He did not win the election, the Democrats lost the election, he answered. The current model and the current strategy of the Democratic party is an absolute failure, he continued. The Democratic Party needs fundamental change. What it needs is to open up its doors to working people and young people and older people who are prepared to fight for social and economic justice. The Democratic Party must understand what side it is on. And that cannot be the side of Wall Street, or the fossil fuel industry, or the drug companies. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter Sanders is by no means the first political snake oil salesman to peddle the lie that the Democratic Party ever was or ever could be anything other than a party of the capitalist ruling class. He is, however, one of the more practiced of this breed, having been at it for decades, during which he has used his facade of socialism and independence to provide the Democrats with a much needed left cover. He has spent some 30 years in Congress performing this service for the ruling class, and is now being handsomely rewarded, earning not only political prestige and media attention, but also a cool million in income last year. In fact, the Democratic Party long ago abandoned any policy of social reform and spent the last four decades undoing the New Deal and War on Poverty programs. It continues to move to the right, not the left. The Democratic Party has almost nothing to say about the biggest attack on social programs in history. It is not holding congressional hearings on Trumps destruction of Medicaid or his attacks on democratic rights. Instead, it is holding hearings to pressure or even remove Trump so that the American ruling class can escalate its aggressive policy against Russia, including preparations for war. Sanders support for the anti-Russia campaign expresses the essence of his class position as a capitalist and imperialist politician. He and the liberal and pseudo-left publications and organizations that back him, from the Democratic Socialists of America to the Nation magazine, the International Socialist Organization, Socialist Alternative and other anti-Marxist left organizations, are perpetrating a political fraud to block the emergence of a revolutionary movement of the working class. Some of these forces are urging Sanders to break with the Democrats and build a new Peoples Party along the lines of the pro-capitalist Podemos movement in Spain or Syriza in Greece. The latter, once in power, quickly betrayed all of its anti-austerity promises and set about implementing social attacks that go beyond those carried out by its conservative predecessors. Both Podemos and Syriza had representatives at the Peoples Summit. Rejecting a political break with the Democrats, Sanders told the Washington Post, Look, as the longest-serving independent member of Congress, I know something about that [third parties]. Where my energy is right now is in fundamentally transforming the Democratic Party into a grass-roots progressive party. And well see where it goes. Whatever illusions remain in Sanders will be dissipated as a movement of the working class emerges and workers begin to advance their own demands, which cannot be reconciled with war, social inequality and the maintenance of the capitalist system. June 17, 2017 Washingtons War Crimes in Syria By Bill Van Auken War crimes being carried out by Washington threaten to coalesce into a global conflict. Continue ===== Tillerson Calls for Regime Change in Iran By Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani Trumps foreign policy team is filled with hawks on Iran. Continue ===== Germany And Austria Warn US Over Expanded Russia Sanctions By Christian Krug and Kalina Oroschakoff Europes energy supply is a matter for Europe, and not for the United States of America. Continue ===== Vladimir Putin Annual Q&A Session Video (English Translation & Transcript) What advice would you give me to help my fellow Americans understand that Russia is not the enemy? Continue ===== Watch - The Putin Interviews UPDATED - Video Oliver Stone Interview With Vladimir Putin. Continue ===== The Real Conspiracy By Jonathan Cook UN was a bully to Israel Nikki Haley, U.S. envoy to UN. Continue ===== Trumps Claws Penetrating Bali By Andre Vltchek Donald Trump has found his niche. Continue ===== Britains Gambling Tories Now Risk Irish Peace By Finian Cunningham May is having to rely on a rabidly sectarian party to cobble together a government. Continue ===== With Macron as President, What to Expect? By Isabelle Metral Macron is supported by the banks. They are the ones who are installed in power. Continue ===== America Last By Tom Engelhardt When the Trump years (months?) come to an end, will the U.S. be a pariah nation? Continue ===== Trump Versus Comey: The Politics of Loyalty and Lying By Henry A. Giroux Comey implied that Trump wanted to turn the FBI into the loyal arm of corrupt political power. Continue ===== The Deplorable Witch-Hunt Targeting Trump By Stephen Lendman No legal basis exists for charging him with obstruction of justice. Continue ===== What is "the Resistance," Anyway? By Danny Haiphong One cannot separate the rise of Trump from the failures of the Democratic Party. Continue ===== Barbarians at the Gate By Mike Holmes Congress should develop empathy for this same grief and pain they inflict upon others. Continue ===== Why Bernie Sanders is an Imperialist Pig By Glen Ford Sanders is a warmonger, not merely by association, but by virtue of his own positions. Continue ===== Lynching Free Speech: The Intolerant State of America By John W. Whitehead Who will choose dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery. Continue Suicide bombing rocks mosque in Syria's Idlib Army destroys ISIS positions in Deir Ezzor ISIS leader al-Baghdadi reportedly killed in Russia-led airstrike MoD Syrian Army Boxing in US Forces in Southern Syria Came as a Shock -- Defense Secretary Mattis U.S. invasion force troops expands presence in Syrian desert, rebels say ; U.S. moves long-range rocket launchers into southern Syria ; Russia questions US Himars missile deployment in Syria : Commander of Russian forces in Syria accuses U.S. of being in cahoots with ISIS US proxies are goading the Syrian army into a clash with US air power Messy fight awaits Islamic State's next Syrian capital at Mayadeen Yemen cholera death toll nears 1,000 people Watch: Rand Paul ; US Weapons Sold to Saudis Contribute to Astounding Yemen Humanitarian Crisis Yemeni forces kill, wound 35 Saudi at borders : Qatar says fighter jets deal shows deep U.S. support: U.S. Senate's Iran sanctions are breach of nuclear deal: senior Iranian official : Iranian people impervious to outside attempts to decide their destiny: Zarif State Department Finally Releases Updated Official History of Mosaddeq Coup Read Updated Official History of Mosaddeq Coup; Full Report Al-Shabab terrorists kill 31 in pizza restaurant siege U.S. to Blame for Ethiopia Border Conflict That Killed 70,000, Says Eritrea's President Hillary Emails Reveal NATO Killed Gaddafi to Stop Libyan Creation of Gold-Backed Currency At least 100 bodies on streets of ISIS-occupied city, says Philippine official Afghanistan: 4 killed in Kabul mosque attack, claimed by so-called Islamic State Relatives demand punishment after US troops shoot dead Afghan father & 2 sons Pentagon plans to send thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan ; China kindergarten blast caused by bomb, suspect dead: Officials Kiev military casualties in eastern Ukraine conflict surpass 12,000 Putin: Russia ready to grant asylum to former FBI Director James Comey ; Senate votes for new Russia sanctions while limiting Trump's ability to lift them London fire death toll rises to 30 as anger grows over safety failings Watch: Grenfell Tower residents storm Town Hall in angry protest over deadly fire Detroit man freed after 41yrs in prison for crimes he didnt commit Courthouse guard handcuffs reporter, seizes phone for photographing arrest ; Leaked off-the-record Australian PM impersonation of Donald Trump Australian PM says Trump impersonation was 'light-hearted'; Special counsel Robert S. Mueller is investigating Jared Kushners business dealings Vice President Pence hires outside counsel to deal with Russia inquiries Mike Pences Tightrope Act; He could well be the next commander in chief. Trump Approval 50%: Alex Jones Megyn Kelly Full Interview Leaked June 15, 2016 Syria - The End Of The War Is Now In Sight By Moon Of Alabama The U.S. invaders are now occupying a piece of rather useless desert. Continue ===== Dirty Open Secret: US Created and Supports ISIS By Stephen Lendman Its one of the dirtiest of dirty open secrets. Continue ===== ===== How Saudi Arabia and UAE Work the U.S. Media to Push for War By Ben Norton The UAEs man in Washington enjoys a cozy relationship with a top Beltway pundit.. Continue ===== Blood on the Tracks of the New Silk Roads By Pepe Escobar Qatar chaos sends ripples of economic anxiety across the region. Continue ===== Liars Lying About Nearly Everything By Philip Giraldi The United States has been using lies to go to war since 1846. Continue ===== Comeys Lies of Omission By Mike Whitney Can a man who rubber-stamped waterboarding be trusted? Continue ===== Special Counsel Investigating Trump For Obstruction of Justice; Officials Say By Sari Horwitz The move by Robert S. Mueller III to investigate Trumps conduct marks a major turning point. Continue ===== Full Testimony: Attorney General Grilled on Russia Ties Video Jeff Sessions testifies on Russia ties and possible perjury. Continue ===== Vladimir Putin: The Most Powerful Person In The World By Paul Craig Roberts There is only one remaining rationale for the existence of the United States of America. Continue ===== ===== Sanders Backs Democrats anti-Russian Warmongering By Jerry White Sanders lent his support to the neo-McCarthyite campaign of the Democrats. Continue ===== Five Men Own Almost As Much As Half the World's Population By Paul Buchheit While we fixate on Trump, the super-rich are absconding with our wealth. Continue ===== 300 civilians reportedly killed in coalition strikes in Syria UN: 'Staggering' civilian deaths in Raqqa offensive ; UN investigator says US-led air strikes on ISIL stronghold of Raqqa is causing a 'staggering loss of civilian life'. Militants desperate as airstrikes batter Raqqa : Daesh militants are passing themselves off as civilians to escape detection and killing anyone who tries to flee, witnesses said. Syrian Army, Russian Air Force spoil ISIS plans to overrun Deir Ezzor city ; ISIS insurgents attempted to infiltrate two government-held neighborhoods in Deir Ezzor city, resulting in ferocious firefights between the warring parties in eastern Syria. Thirteen IS militants killed as PMUs foil attack near Iraqi-Syrian borders Houthi forces kill scores of Saudi soldiers near Yemeni border ; More than 20 Saudi soldiers were killed or wounded along the border. U.S. Senate Votes To Provide Saudi With More Arms To Kill People Of Yemen Qatar Signs $12 Billion Deal for U.S. F-15 Jets Amid Gulf Crisis; Qatar funding terrorism apparently is not a problem when it comes to Qatar funding the US military industrial complex Emirati ambassador to Trump: Remove US airbase from Qatar; Flying Cows to Qatar Is One Mans Way to Beat the Saudis ; Call it the biggest bovine airlift in history. Fact or fiction? UAE paid $3bn to finance coup attempt in Turkey: Report 9 People Killed In Suicide Attack On Mogadishu Hotel In Somali 9 Of The Worlds 10 Least Peaceful Nations Were All Targeted By U.S. Intervention : The 2017 Global Peace Index has declared Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and South Sudan to be among the least peaceful countries in the world. 5 Killed in Afghanistan As Suicide Bomber Targets Breakaway Taliban Faction Trump Gives Mattis Power to Send More Troops to Afghanistan North Korea is 'most urgent' threat to peace: Mad Dog Mattis Mattis: Russia, China Challenging US Military Dominance : The Defense Department has requested a $639 billion budget for next year. Senate votes to sanction Russia over (alleged) 2016 election meddling ; Lawmakers voted 97-2 to attach the sanctions language to a bill sanctioning Iran over its ballistic missile program and sponsorship of terrorism. Putin on War With US: 'No One Would Surviv e'; "I think no one would survive [such a conflict]," Putin said answering a question if the United States would be dominant in a "hot war" with Russia. Oliver Stone ; Israel Had More Influence than Russia on 2016 Election Oliver Stone Interviews Putin on U.S.-Russia Relations, 2016 Election, Snowden, NATO & Nuclear Arms Terrifying videos of west London tower blaze: 120 apartments engulfed, falling debris (VIDEOS) Video: Boris Johnson telling fire-safety panel Get stuffed ; Video has emerged of then-London Mayor Boris Johnson defending his cuts to fire services in London before a fire-safety panel of London Assembly Members. Gunman wounds GOP congressman, then killed by police ; A rifle-wielding attacker opened fire on Republican lawmakers at a congressional baseball practice Wednesday, wounding House GOP Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and several others. Watch; The moment a gunman opened fire on GOP baseball team: Video - GOP rep. received threatening email with subject line 'One down, 216 to go...' after lawmaker shooting What we know about Virginia suspect ; A Facebook account that appears to belong to Hodgkinson is filled with anti-Republican and anti-Trump posts, as well as expressions of support for former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. U.S. attorney general dodges Trump questions, angering Democrats ; Article of Impeachment Against Trump : Democrat Brad Sherman, circulated an article of impeachment against Trump to all House members, "seeking their input and support," The US Governments Secret Plan to Save ItselfWhile the Rest of Us Die : June 12/13, 2017 What Gives Trump The Right to Set Up Military Bases In Syria? By Ron Paul Why are we attacking its military as they are fighting ISIS? Continue ===== ===== I ran's Khamenei Blames U.S. for Creation of Islamic State By Parisa Hafezi America's claim of fighting against Islamic State is a lie," Khamenei said. Continue ===== Britain Refuses to Accept How Terrorists Really Work By Patrick Cockburn Mistaken British foreign policies empowered the terrorists. Continue ===== Israel, Saudi, UAE In Anti-Qatar Lobbying Move By Creede Newton US legislation to sanction Qatar was sponsored by 10 legislators who received more than $1m from lobbyists. Continue ===== Trump Administration Makes Its Case For Arming Saudi Arabia In Secret By Alex Emmons They have deliberately targeted humanitarian and civilian assets within Yemen. Continue ===== NBCs Kelly Hits Putin with a Beloved Canard By Ray McGovern It is possible that the hacking of Democratic Party emails was undertaken by the CIA, FBI, NSA and Clapper. Continue ===== The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming! By Patrick Martin The entire framework of the anti-Russian campaign is fraudulent. Continue ===== The Unraveling Financialization Of The U.S. Economy By Howard Kunstler Nobody in power in this country is paying attention to how close we are to that epic moment. Continue ===== ===== The Age of Anger By Chris Hedges The steady deterioration of the ecosystem will ultimately lead to total systems collapse. Continue ===== Raqqa ; 44 IS militants killed Monday : Civilians suffer as U.S.-backed forces advance against IS in Syria's Raqqa The U.S. Attacks Neighborhoods in Raqqa with White Phosphorus ; The United States, have carried out 25 raids on sections of the city of Raqqa, and have used, munitions that are internationally prohibited. NYTs New Syria-Sarin Report Challenged ; News analysis - MIT national security scientist says the New York Times pushed a fraudulent analysis of last Aprils sarin incident in Syria. Apartheid Israel Successfully Hacked ISIS Computers; Trump Leaked It to the Russians, NYT Reports U.S. Cyberweapons, Used Against Iran and North Korea, Are a Disappointment Against ISIS Iraqi forces kill 23 IS militants inside Mosuls Old City, 21 militants bodies found ; 14 killed in western Mosul; Three soldiers and eleven militants were killed on Monday, in al-Shifa district, northwes Iraq says it still has Qatari money sent to free ruling family members : Press reports had suggested some of the money had ended up in Iran, angering Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Arab neighbors of Qatar and contributing to their decision to severe ties with Doha. Watch - Qatar Airways CEO: U.S. fueling fire of Gulf Crisis Qatar hires Ashcroft to counter terror allegations ; Qatar has paid $2.5 million to the law firm of a former attorney general under U.S. President George W. Bush to audit its efforts at stopping terrorism funding Saudi Arabia becomes pro-Kurdish after Turkey sides with Qatar : News analysis - Turkeys continued isolation from the United States will be magnified by this latest development. PM Nawaz Sharif in Saudi Arabia for Gulf crisis talks; Sharif was travelling with Pakistani Army Chief and several other senior officials Trump creates uncertainty by contradicting his Secretary of State : Trump, according to White House sources, may not have known about the American troops based in Qatar when he took sides in the dispute. Al Qaeda claims Yemen army camp attack that killed 12 ; A car bomb and gun attack on an army camp in southeastern Yemen early on Monday killed at least 10 militants and two soldiers Thousands Gather In Tehran To Mourn Victims Of Attacks ; Iran has sent a letter to the UN implicitly blaming Saudi Arabia and the United States for terror attacks on Parliament and the Imam Khomeini Shrine in Tehran, Saudi Defence Minister insults Pakistan, calls them slave country : Muhammad Bin Suleiman believes that Pakisanis are the slaves of the Arabs. Apartheid Israel to reduce electricity supplied to Gaza at Abbas request ; He reportedly made the decision in order to put pressure on Hamas in Gaza. Abbas concessions kick-start Trump attempt to resolve Israel-Arab conflict ; Abbass spectacular capitulation comes just two weeks after his reportedly fiery meeting with President Trump in Bethlehem on 23 May Apartheid Israel Calls On UN To Stop Using The Term Occupation Nigeria army says it killed Boko Haram leader, frees 9 kids; A top Boko Haram commander was among many insurgents killed Sunday as soldiers fought to rescue nine children being trained at a secret camp, a Nigerian official said Monday. Somalia: U.S. special operations forces face growing demands, increased risks : Commandos climbed out of U.S. military helicopters and carefully advanced in the dark toward a ramshackle compound tucked into muddy farmland dotted by banana trees. Manchester bombing was planned for months, Libya says : Officials in Tripoli have complained about poor security co-operation with the UK, which they say must be improved to prevent further attacks. Afghanistan: US troops kill man and his two young sons ; US troops opened fire after their vehicle hit a bomb. In fight for Philippine city, a painful window on war Putin critic Alexei Navalny detained ahead of protest ; Russian protest, where reality clashes with 'media world of make believe' : Navalny was detained by police for moving the authorized venue Gazprom plans 2nd Turkish Stream pipe to bypass Ukraine : Russias Gazprom, Greeces DEPA, and Italys Edison have signed an agreement of cooperation that is aimed at establishing a route for gas supplies, which will run across Turkey and Greece to Italy A Mysterious New Cryptocurrency Is Surging After Being Endorsed by Putin; After catching the eye of both the Singapore government and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ethereumthe second-biggest cryptocurrency in the world, after Bitcoincontinues to skyrocket. The Next Financial Crisis Has Already Arrived In Europe : Did you know that the sixth largest bank in Spain failed in spectacular fashion just a few days ago? EU to sanction Hungary, Poland, Czechs on refugees: diplomats Record low turnout hangs over Macron's expected win in parliament; Fewer than half of all registered voters cast a ballot on Sunday, unprecedented in France's post-war Fifth Republic Jeremy Corbyn's Anti-War Policies Turned out to Be a Vote Winner; May is an enthusiast for the 'War on Terror' and has been one of the political world's keenest supporters of Trump's deranged foreign policy since day one. Violent 'clashes' as Protestant march outside an Irish bar in Liverpool city centre after DUP talks Ireland: UK tried to block Kenny move on unity clause ; The text spelled out that in the event of a future unity referendum in Ireland, as envisaged by the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland would automatically rejoin the European Union. The Long, Lonely Road of Chelsea Manning : Freed from prison, she talks about why she did it and the isolation that followed. Failure to list group keeps Canada in line with U.S .; The Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, currently calling itself Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has succeeded in getting itself off Canada's list of designated terrorist entities following its latest identity shift. Puerto Ricans vote in favour of being 51st US state ; Full statehood was backed by more than 97% but turnout for referendum stood at just 23% Trumps travel ban remains blocked, circuit court rules ; The court said Trump did not prove that the people he sought to bar from entering the U.S. were detrimental to national interests. US opts out of G7 pledge committing to Paris climate accord : First New Coal Mine of Trump Era Opens in Pennsylvania : CEO George Dethlefsen praised Trump's easing of regulations and encouragement for fossil fuel exploration. Maryland, District of Columbia sue over payments to Trump hotels Trump's Attorney General to testify in public Senate hearing ; Sessions 'believes it is important for the American people to hear the "truth" directly from him', the Justice Department said Americans Want More Than Just Budget Cuts; Gallup's latest update shows that 28% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the federal government, while 55% have an unfavorable opinion. Trump to Admit 30 Lies Under Oath; Trump also lied during the deposition about his business relationships with organized crime figures. ==== This Is The Real Story Behind The Crisis Unfolding In Qatar By Robert Fisk Only Shakespeares plays could come close to describing such treachery. - Continue ===== Going for Regime-Change in Doha By Abdel Bari Atwan This amounts to a conditional American declaration of war. Continue ===== Saudi Arabia is Destabilizing the World By Stephen Kinzer Saudi Arabias campaign to pull 1.8 billion Muslims back to the 7th century. - Continue ===== Israeli Chief Rabbis Endorse Ethnic Cleansing, Palestinian Servitude By Richard Silverstein Israeli chief Sephardic rabbi, told a gathering of followers that non-Jews should be expelled from Israel. - Continue ===== ===== Britain's Real Terror Apologist By Finian Cunningham Corbyn's success came amid a Tory and right-wing media campaign to denigrate him as a terrorist sympathizer. Continue ===== 79 killed in Syria IS offensive; At least 79 people, including 16 children and nine women, were killed in the first five days of an offensive against the Islamic State terror group in the Syrian city of al-Raqqa Syrian fighters seize parts of Islamic State capital Raqqa ; A US-backed Syrian force has captured a neighbourhood of the Islamic State groups de-facto capital of Raqqa after two days of fierce fighting. Fact or fiction? Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'killed in Syria air strike' ; Reports from Syrian state television say the leader of Islamic State was killed in Raqqa. Russia issues warning to US over strikes on pro-regime forces in Syria ; Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov relayed the message to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call on Saturday initiated by the US side, US working to prevent Iranian victory in Syria ; Recent escalations on the Syria-Iraq border could spark wider confrontation between the US, Iran and Russia 84 Saudi Mercenaries Killed in Yemeni Forces New Attacks; 38 killed as Iraqi forces repel Islamic State offensive south of Mosul Attacks kill 4 troops, scores of militants in N. Iraq Jordan troops killed 5 suspected infiltrators from Syria ; Iranian Military Claims Tehran Has Evidence of 'Direct Support by US to Daesh' : "We possess documents and information showing the direct supports by the US imperialism for (the ISIL) [Daesh] in the region which has created a wave of massacres" and clashes," Iran's Parliament speaker vows serious response to US Senate bill : The US Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to advance a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran Qatar hosted Taliban 'at request of US government' ; Trump accused Qatar of "historically" funding "terrorism" The US president has not provided any evidence for his accusation. Qatari FM: For Arabs, Hamas is a resistance movement; "The US views Hamas as a terror organisation. But to the rest of the Arab nations, it is a legitimate resistance movement. We do not support Hamas, we support the Palestinian people," he said. Israel, Saudi, UAE team up in anti-Qatar lobbying move ; US legislation threatening Qatar for Hamas support is tied to donations from UAE, Saudi, and Israel lobbyists. Israel plans most squatter homes since 1992: minister : Defence minister says first half of 2017 has seen most illegal expansion since before "Oslo peace process" began. Apartheid Israeli PM calls for dismantling of U.N. Palestinian refugee agency ; Netanyahu called on Sunday for the dismantling of the U.N. agency that aids millions of Palestinian refugees, accusing it of anti-Israeli incitement U.S. bombs Somalia: Kills 8 People: Pentagon Gaddafi's Son, Saif Al-Islam, Released from Jail, Can Travel as He Pleases 'Sorted' by MI5: How UK government sent British-Libyans to fight Gaddafi; Fighters say government operated 'open door' policy allowing them to join rebels Afghanistan: Seven killed, 15 injured in explosion outside mosque in Herat Militants kill 3 policemen in Pakistan ; Two attackers on a motorcycle opened fire on a police post in the city of Quetta Pakistan sentences man to death for blasphemy on Facebook Philippines' Duterte says didn't seek U.S. support in city siege ; It is unclear whether the pro-American military went over Duterte's head in seeking U.S. help. Australian government seeks authority to access peoples social media : Attorney General George Brandis is seeking cooperation from device makers and social media companies like Apple, Facebook and Google. Macron party set for big win in France : As polls closed, projections showed La Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move) set to win more than 400 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly. Austria Adopts Law Banning Burkas ; The Austrian authorities adopted on Friday the law banning wearing burkas in public places, local media reported. Tories Jump Into Bed with Corrupt, Homophobic, Racist, Religious Bigots of the Worst Kind Irelands prime minister warns Theresa May over deal with DUP ; Mr Kenny suggested that the arrangement, if poorly handled, could jeopardise the peace process in Northern Ireland. DUP terror links and other skeletons in cupboard of party propping up Tory 'coalition of chaos' Corbyn and the Jews ; British Jews have made no secret of their united political opposition to Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party under his direction. US officials slam Goldman Sachs for giving Venezuela financial lifeline ; Investment bank purchased $865m worth of bonds in state oil company PDVSA at a steep discount. Is this a sick joke? US to Help Fight Violence in Central America: During a joint training session this week in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, U.S. Marines announced that they hope to aid violence-ravaged countries in Central Americas to combat high homicide rates. Puerto Rico Votes in Plebiscite on '500 Years of Colonial Status' ; Puerto Ricans will choose between becoming a U.S. state, declaring independence or maintaining the colonial status quo as a U.S. territory. Trump accuses Comey of cowardice over 'leaks' ; "I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible," Trump Did James Comeys Document Leaks Violate The FBI Employment Agreement? : Paragraph 2 states that all materials acquired in connection with an employees official duties are property of the U.S. government Niger Republic authorities have rescued over 100 migrants in the past week abandoned by traffickers in the Sahara desert as they tried to cross into neighbouring Libya. The impoverished West African country is a way station for migrants heading to Europe and some experts believe that more African migrants die in the Sahara than at sea. Soldiers rescued 25 migrants on Wednesday morning near a well in northern Niger, the local prefect, Fatoumi Goudou, said. It was not immediately clear what their nationalities were. Another 92 migrants, most of them Nigerian, were rescued on Friday by a team from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Niger Republic soldiers, Giuseppe Loprete, head of the IOM mission in Niger, told Reuters. One of those migrants died shortly after arriving at an IOM facility in the northeastern town of Dirkou, Loprete said. The rest will soon be transferred to Agadez in central Niger before eventually being repatriated to their countries of origin. European countries have promised Niger tens of millions of dollars to combat people smuggling and the IOM said in April that the number of migrants crossing Niger to reach Libya has declined since last year, largely due to a government crackdown. Even so, many continue to take the risk. More than 40 migrants died of thirst in northern Niger this month after their truck broke down. Source: ( PM News ) Secondary school students of Bauchi State will be offered free drugs by the state government which was purchased for millions of naira. This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Nasurudeen Mohammed, disclosed this known in Bauchi while handing over the drugs to officials of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA). Mohammed, who did not give the exact quantity and cost of the drugs, explained that the purchase of the drugs was informed by shortage of the commodity in some health facilities in the state. He said that the gesture was also to complement the efforts of the State Ministry of Health considering the pathetic condition of the health sector inherited by the present administration. Mohammed noted that the action was further necessitated following the recent death of a female student of Government Girls Secondary School, Bauchi, attributed to lack of drugs. According to him, Gov. Mohammed Abubakar had in line with his administrations 5-point Health Agenda directed the ministry to purchase the drugs for the schools. The commissioner warned against diversion and pilfering of the drugs meant for the schools. He also warned the school authorities against hoarding of the drugs, urging them to ensure that dispensaries in their schools were restock. The Director, Diseases Control and Immunisation, State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BASPHCDA), Dr Ahmed Fanti, while receiving the items, commended the ministry for the gesture. Fanti, who confirmed the death of a female student over lack of medication, said that the drugs would be distributed to all the 831 public senior and junior secondary schools in the state. He said that the agency has over 1,000 health facilities in the state, adding that the facilities will also be beefed up to meet the needs of the people. I assure you that there will be no filtering, pilfering and siphoning of the drugs, and they will be delivered to the targeted beneficiaries, the director said. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has commended JAMB for blacklisting 48 Computer Based Test (CBT) centres used for the 2017 UTME. The President of the union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that the owners of the blacklisted centres should also be prosecuted. The 48 CBT centres were among more than 600 centres used for the conduct of the UTME nationwide in May. NAN reports that JAMBs Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, had on Wednesday announced the blacklisting of the centres for alleged involvement in extortion and `organised examination malpractice during the UTME. Oloyede said the decision was taken at the end of an enlarged meeting with external examiners and other stakeholders in the conduct of the examination. He also announced the cancellation of results of 50,000 candidates for alleged involvement in malpractice during the examination. The ASUU boss said the development was a step in the right direction, describing it as the way to go. What JAMB has done in that respect is a welcome development and a good decision. I will not expect it to stop at just blacklisting of such centres. The leadership of the board should go a step forward by prosecuting owners of the affected centre in order to serve as a deterrent to others. This measure will further ensure that the integrity of the examination cannot be undermined, Ogunyemi said. He added that JAMB should also strive to do a thorough check on centres and their owners before engaging them in the conduct of the UTME to avoid a re-occurrence. Source: ( PM News ) A notorious Nigerian kidnapper who made billions of naira kidnapping rich people has confessed that his charm failed him which made it possible for police to arrest him. Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwumeme Onwuamadike aka Evans, yesterday disclosed that his arrest would not have been possible if his charms had not failed him at the last minute. According to New Telegraph, Evans further revealed that he had believed in the efficacy of the charms of his native doctor, based in Nnewi, Anambra State but didnt know it would fail when he needed it most. The native doctor, according to him, is a traditional ruler. He was described as the backbone of Evans criminal activities, egging him on and telling him that no policeman born of a woman would ever be able to catch or arrest him. According to Evans, after policemen stormed his Igando residence, where he used to keep victims, leading to gang members fleeing, he had run to the native doctor. He said: The native doctor resides in Nnewi, Anambra State. He is a traditional ruler. After police busted our Igando hideout, he told me to have no fear. He said nothing would happen. He told me that nobody would be able to catch or arrest me. I believed him. I dont know what went wrong. Meanwhile, Evans Uncle, Daniel Nwosu, who is bed-ridden, said he had not seen his sister, the suspects mother, in a very long time. He stands as the head of the Nwosus family in Akamili village, Umudim, Nnewi. He said that it was only Chinwes husband, Stephen Onwuamadike, who would be able to give account of her whereabouts. In an exclusive interview with New Telegraph yesterday, Nwosu said: I dont have anything to say because I dont know anything about the boy (Evans). If I see him now, I may not even recognise him. Its been a very long time I saw him last. He doesnt come home or visit his maternal home. So, what can I say about him? You know children have a way with their mothers. Its possible she knows what Chidumeme (Evans) is into or not. It is the father or mother that can talk about their child. I dont have anything to say, but I appeal to the authorities to have mercy on him and forgive him. Children of this generation do not listen to advice; if not, why would he delve into such bad business, knowing the implications. It is because of money? See where it has got him. Although Nwosu insisted he didnt know the whereabouts of his sister, he disclosed that when he heard the news of Evans arrest via a phone call, he called Chidumemes mother to find out what was going on but she didnt pick the call. She also didnt call back. Nwosu said that he had not been communicating with Chinwe for a long time because the woman did not reach out to them. He said: I have not spoken with Chidumemes mother for a very long time and I dont know where she is and what is happening around her. She should be up there in her husbands house, but now Im hearing she is not there. I dont understand what is happening. Its unfortunate and sad. She is just who she is. I have been sick and bed-ridden for a long time. I dont go out at all hence; I dont know what is happening around here. The long distance ride to Evans maternal home led to the discovery of a house allegedly built by Evans mother for one of her brothers. The said brother is based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. However, the maternal home of the kidnap kingpin showed a quiet middle class home with a Rav 4 Jeep parked in a garage. Evans father had earlier said that his estranged wife left her matrimonial home without telling anybody where she was going to. Stephen also denied the rumour making the round that he divorced Evans mother. He said: I cannot divorce her because we took an oath on our wedding. The oath is that we will be together for better or worse, till death do us part. Death is the only thing that can separate us. I did not also disown Evans as is being circulated. He remains my son. If he is given a second chance and he returns home, I will welcome and accept him. It was sad I didnt know what he was into; if not, I would have been the one to stop him, by bringing my friends in the force to arrest and torture him to stop. Sanchi, a Kenyan socialite who has been holidaying across the length and breathe of Africa has shared her scantily-clad photos where she bared it all in its glory. Sanchi, a lady famed for having one of the biggest bums in her country appears tired of wearing clothes as she daringly undertakes an adult photo-shoot. Sanchi as seen in pictures gathered from her Instagram page bared her boobs, private part and bum live for an artist to paint it for a pictorial effect. This has left some perverts on her page drooling and lobbying painstakingly for her audience with some others fighting each other in the comment section of her wall. The pictures have set her Instagram page on fire as Sanchi remains unapologetic about her actions which appear to have become a lifestyle to her considering the nature of other pictures in her album. Sanchi who is nicknamed Bugatti is a regular guest in Nigeria as she frequents Lagos and Abuja for holidays. See more photos of the model: A Lagosian has landed in hot soup after an unbecoming act that has earned him a trial in the court of law. A 30-year old man, Sunday Ngene has been arrested and charged before a Lagos court for allegedly attacking his business rival, Edoagu James by defecating his faeces inside his office. The incident happened at 92 Ipaja road in Agege, Lagos where the victim, James rented an office where he sells Tricycles. P.M.EXPRESS reports that the motive behind Ngenes action was not clear, but their neighbours said it was a ploy to close down Jamess striving business. The suspect was said to have opened his own office at 97 of the same street where he was initially selling the same products before he had business finacial challenges. P.M.EXPRESS reports that the suspects and the victim are from the area in Enugu State before they came to Lagos and joined the business. However, it was learnt that the defendant suffered a set back where as the victim is doing well far ahead of the defendant. On the day the incident happened, it was gathered that James had disagreement with Ngene over the issue of borrowing him another money after he had earlier borrowed him money for his business. The request was turned down by James who asked him to first refund the one he gave him before. This worsened their relationship and he reportedly moved from his office to Jamess office with cutlass to attack him. When James took to his heels, he started defecating inside the office and spread the bowel on the goods James parked inside the hall office. The matter was reported to the police and Ngene was arrested and charged before Ogba Magistrates court. He pleaded not guilty. The presiding Magistrate, Mr T.O Shomade granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum. Ngene was remanded in prison custody pending when he will perfect his bail condition. The matter was adjourned till 5 July 2017. A Nigerian drug baron has been arrested in South Korea with illicit drug worth about N500 million. South Korean Police said Wednesday they have arrested a 46 year-old Nigerian for smuggling large amounts of methamphetamines, also called meth, into the country through international mail from China. The Nigerian yet to be identified is being detained by the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency in Seoul. Yonhap, the Korean news agency said the Nigerian, twice last week, and via post, attempted to smuggle into the country 605 grams of meth, worth some N556,753,500 (US$1.77 million). The drug was hidden in womens cosmetic products. Each parcel was delivered via international express mail. The volume of meth he tried to sneak into Korea is large enough for about 20,000 people, the police said. The suspect, who lives in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, and has a blue-collar job, received the mail from China through Cambodia. The police received intelligence about possible drug smuggling earlier and impounded the drugs at customs located at Incheon International Airport, it added. The police said they are investigating whether the suspect had any accomplices. It appears a Nigerian drug smuggling ring is very active in Asia, especially in India where many Nigerians have been arrested. This is a very emotional and touching story of an aspiring actress whose dream was hampered by a ghastly road accident that cost her one of her legs, but has remain undeterred. Physically-challenged upcoming Nollywood actress, Doris Samuel Akonanya played her first role as the lead act in a movie titled Susanna as shot in the South-eastern part of Nigeria. The actress who studied Theatre arts at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Anambra State has been described as a very talented lady with a strong passion about acting. Doris lost her right leg as a teenager from an accident. In spite of this tragedy she hasnt let it stop her from achieving her dreams of becoming a top actress. Already she can claim to have worked with top Nollywood figures like Chinwe Owoh, Chinwtalu Agu and Harry B. The movie Susanna is her first in a leading role. The pictures from the yet to be released film has warmed the hearts of Nigerians who are currently empathizing with her For her coming this far is testament to her mental fortitude, family support as well as her faith in God. For many people tragedy breaks their spirit but for others its builds their character a top commenter familiar with her story said on social media. See more photos: A Canadian man of Ghanaian origin has been arrested for allegedly defrauding two clients by selling packaged rice to them as an iPhone. According to reports that Andrew Boateng Gyimah was arrested in Toronto, Canada, after he was reported to the police by two of his victims. According to Canadian authorities, Andrew met up with one of his victims in an area of Islington Avenue after the victim had seen an advert he posted online. Then he gave the victim a box, which he said contained the iPhone 6. However, when the victim opened the box, all that was therein were grains of rice. Someone else had earlier forwarded this to report that he had fallen victim to the same trick by Andrew Gyimah. Andrew is now facing two counts of fraud under $5,000, two counts of false pretence under $5,000, and two counts of breaching a court order. Source: ( PM News ) The governors proposed review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy Law 1957 by the Oyo State governor Abiola Ajimobi received the blessings of the Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Saliu Adetunji, and the members of the Olubadan-in-Council. The proposal had caused controversy since it was announced by the governor, with the Otun Olubadan, Senator Lekan Balogun, and Osi Olubadan, former governor Rashidi Ladoja, heading to court to challenge the move. Governor Ajimobis Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr Yomi Layinka, told our correspondent that the Olubadan had given his royal blessing to the proposal. It is true. The monarch and the high chiefs visited the governor to give their support, he said. Among other things, the review will look into the succession system to the throne and address the issue of having more beaded monarchs in the city, with the Olubadan retaining his position as the paramount monarch of Ibadan city. Conspicuously absent at the meeting was the Osi Olubadan, Ladoja, who seemed to maintain his position against the review. According to him, only the Ibadan people could decide on when to review the succession system and not the government. My position is that it is not the responsibility of the government or the governor of Oyo State to review the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration. The declaration was first formulated in 1946. That was when Ibadan began a formal documentation of how the chieftaincy process would be. The declaration was made by the Chieftaincy Committee of Ibadan District Council. Today, we have the Olubadan who heads the Olubadan-in-Council. More or less, this represents the then chieftaincy committee. It is their job and not that of government. Source: ( Punch Newspaper ) A man who had the nerve to write the WAEC examinations for a Nigerian lawmaker, has been exposed and dragged to face the law. The case of certificate forgery against the federal House of Representatives member, Nse Ekpenyong, continued Thursday at the Federal High Court, Uyo, with the arraignment of a man who allegedly wrote WAEC examinations for the lawmaker. Mr. Ekpenyong is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and represents the Oron Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom State. He was first arraigned on March 30 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on nine count charges for allegedly forging WAEC certificate and a diploma certificate of the Abia State Polytechnic. According to a court document, the lawmaker filed the forged documents with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, when he contested the House of Representatives election in 2015. His alleged accomplice, Okon Bassey, was put in the dock, alongside the lawmaker as the court read out an amended 16 count charges against them. The EFCC lawyer, Ahmedu Arusha, told the court that the amendment of charges was necessitated by the arrest and arraignment of Mr. Bassey. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. A mild drama occurred in the courtroom when the EFCC lawyer, Mr. Arogha, applied for adjournment of the case on grounds of fairness to Mr. Bassey whom he said was just being served with the charges, but Mr. Basseys lawyer, Inibehe Edet, opposed the application, saying they were ready and willing that the case should go on. Mr. Ekpenyongs lawyer, Ekpenyong Ntekim, also opposed the EFCCs application for adjournment. Mr. Ntekim said the second defendant, Mr. Bassey, had been in the EFCCs custody since May 22 and that the Commission had enough time to prepare and prosecute the case. Mr. Ntekim, who said that his client, the lawmaker, had a constitutional right to face his trial within a reasonable time, urged the court to use its discretion and proceed with the case. The presiding judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, said the prosecution had asked for adjournment only on two occasions in the case. The court adjourned the case to October 9 and 10 for continuation of hearing. It also granted Mr. Bassey bail in the sum of N2 million. Outside the courtroom, the EFCC lawyer, Mr. Arogha, told Premium Times that by insisting on an adjournment he was avoiding the landmines that the defense lawyers were setting for him. Mr. Arogha said he had already called four witnesses in the case before the arraignment of the second defendant (Mr. Bassey) and that in order to comply with the principles of fair hearing he needed to bring back the witnesses so that they could give their testimonies before the second defendant. Whether the second defendant would want to cross-examine the witnesses after their testimonies, is entirely the defendants business, he said. Source: Naijaloaded As if the quit notice given internally by Nigerians to other Nigerians to leave their region is not enough, the Nigeria Union (NU) in South Africa, has today claimed that two communities in South Africa, have asked Nigerians to leave their territories. President of the union, Ikechukwu Anyene, said the Kuruman community in Northern Cape Province gave Nigerians till Thursday to leave. He also said the Klaafontein community, Extension 5, Johannesburg, directed landlords not to renew the rent of Nigerians in the area, blaming them for the rise of illicit drug trade and prostitution. The Nigeria union held series of meetings with the affected communities as well as police and local authorities on the recent threats to Nigerians. We have also written reports on these incidents and sent to the Nigerian Mission and the South African police. We recommended interventions before the June 16 deadline to the mission and we are waiting for their response. The union is worried that any incident involving non -South Africans are attributed to Nigerians. Source: Naijaloaded Hog Futures Weaken on Thursday Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 4:46PM CST Front month lean hog prices closed the Thursday session with 32 to 82 cent losses, but are still in the black on net for the week due to the Monday strength. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price was... HEZ22 : 84.875s (-0.47%) HEJ23 : 94.225s (-0.42%) KMZ22 : 95.500s (+0.05%) Mixed Close for Thursday Cotton Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 4:46PM CST Cotton futures worked both sides of UNCH on Thursday, and settled the day mixed. December traded in a 251 point range on the day to close 12 points red. May 23 through the new crop futures were higher,... CTZ22 : 86.44 (+0.07%) CTH23 : 84.54 (-0.02%) CTK23 : 84.18 (+0.25%) Cattle Rise on Weaker Grains Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 4:46PM CST Live cattle futures firmed up after a red midweek trade, erasing yesterdays action and going home back up by $0.72 to $1.50 in the front months. USDA reported cash sales from $149 to $150 in the South... LEZ22 : 153.075s (+0.99%) LEG23 : 155.025s (+0.57%) LEJ23 : 158.500s (+0.46%) GFX22 : 178.625s (+0.51%) GFF23 : 181.700s (+1.14%) Wheat Holds Relatively Firm Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 4:46PM CST As corn and soybean futures fell 1-2% on Thursday, wheat markets were relatively firm on 1 1/2 to 8 cent losses across the complex. MGE wheat faired the worse of the domestic classes, and went home 6 3/4... ZWZ22 : 807-0 (+0.44%) ZWH23 : 829-0 (+0.39%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.3619 (-0.41%) KEZ22 : 928-2 (+0.32%) KEPAWS.CM : 8.8355 (-0.51%) MWZ22 : 936-2 (+0.51%) Double Digit Drop in Corn Market Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 4:46PM CST Corn futures faded the Thursday session with double digit losses and closed near the low. December dropped the most on an 11 1/4 cent pullback to lows not seen since mid/late August. USDA announced a... ZCZ22 : 656-2 (+0.46%) ZCPAUS.CM : 6.5135 (-1.71%) ZCH23 : 662-0 (+0.38%) ZCK23 : 662-2 (+0.42%) Beans Close 2% in Red Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 4:46PM CST Soybean futures ended the Thursday session with losses of 22 3/4 to 29 1/2 cents, and closed near their daily low. For Jan futures that was nearly a new low for the month of November. Products were mixed... ZSX22 : 1439-2 (+0.61%) ZSPAUS.CM : 13.9431 (-1.91%) ZSF23 : 1434-2 (+0.79%) ZSH23 : 1440-0 (+0.84%) Self-storage developer Central Jersey Storage LLC has received preliminary site approval to build a facility in Millstone Township, N.J. The zoning board of adjustment voted 5-2 last month to grant a use variance and a bulk variance. The project will be developed on County Route 537, west of Interstate 195. As proposed, itll comprise 72,844 square feet split between a single two-story building and five single-story structures, according to the source. Central Jersey hasnt sought final site approval yet in case further adjustments are needed in response to neighborhood opposition. The building site borders homes on Pine Drive, and residents expressed concerns about lighting, noise and security during a March meeting, the source reported. To mitigate opposition, Central Jersey has already reduced the overall size of the facility from 83,644 square feet and changed a second two-story building to single-story, project engineer Michael Gallagher told the board on May 24. The orientation of another structure was rotated to create a visual barrier from homes. Other concessions include increasing the height of a security fence from 6 to 8 feet and lowering mounted lights below the fence line. The facility will have other security features, including alarms, keycode access, motion detectors and video cameras. The variances were necessary because self-storage isnt an allowable use in the propertys commercial zone. Though officials had some discussion about whether the facility was more appropriate in a business park, the board agreed with planner James Higgins that self-storage was more in line with commercial uses than industrial, the source reported. Nearly all of the [self-storage facilities] Im familiar with are in commercial zones, Higgins told the board. Its a commercial operation, not an industrial operation. In addition, you have a site that does not have public water or sewer service, and this use requires very little in the way of water or sewer. No date was reported on when the developer will submit a final site plan. Central Jersey Storage is based in Millstone Township. This content is from: Portfolio The online used car dealer has hit a new low, making it the most profitable short of the year. Brokers have been encouraged to attend a series of forums to be held in North Queensland by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).The seven events will be held throughout July and the ICA has invited local councillors and politicians to attend the forums, as well as encouraging other insurance professionals to attend.The forums are designed to help communities in flood and cyclone risk areas learn more about their insurance coverage.Attendees will be provided with a briefing from the ICA on issues and risks facing each location and the impact on insurance. They will also be given the opportunity to speak one-on-one to an insurance expert about their personal insurance situation.Rob Whelan, ICA CEO, said that the forums will help boost customer knowledge of the industry in areas where they need it most.Though insurers are working hard to help families and businesses rebuild and recover, the industry often hears common questions and misconceptions about insurance, especially as it relates to natural disasters, Whelan said.The forums are being held in seven key communities to provide information on insurance and risks, bust some myths and hear from policyholders.Topics covered will include how insurance works, availability of cover, the impact cyclones and floods have on premiums and advice on how to lower premiums.Over the past decade, the industry has paid more than $4.4 billion in flood and cyclone claims in North Queensland with the current cost of Cyclone Debbie at more than $800 million.More information can be found on the ICA website and the forums will be held at: Cairns Monday July 03, 6.15-9pm Innisfail Tuesday July 04, 6-9pm Ingham Wednesday July 05, 6-9pm Townsville Thursday July 06, 6-9pm Proserpine Friday July 07, 6-9pm Mackay Monday July 10, 6-9pm Rockhampton Tuesday July 11, 6-9pm Insurance law firm Moray & Agnew boosted the capability of its Canberra office as it welcomed into its ranks as new partner a pre-eminent practitioner in ACT workers compensation law, Roger Hambly. Hambly has over 20 years of industry experience, practicing exclusively in personal injuries litigation, particularly in workers compensation claims. He also had a hand in policy development and drafting of amendments to legislation related to the ACT workers compensation scheme. The firms national managing partner Michael Pitt said Hamblys expertise will boost the firms ability to achieve positive outcomes for their clients. This appointment is an important addition to our current capabilities in Canberra as well as reinforcing the importance of this area of practice to our firm and our strong commitment to providing across-the-board insurance law services to our clients on a national basis, he said. With Hamblys appointment, Moray & Agnew now has 92 partners. Related stories: Sparke Helmore named insurance specialist of the year Clyde & Co names new Australian partner Insurers are scheduled to meet with communities in Brisbane and northern NSW Norways Protector Forsikring is an insurer in a catastrophic blaze that roared through a 24-storey block of London flats, according to a Reuters report.As the insurance provider for Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Protector Forsikring ASA is involved in the tragic fire in Grenfell Tower, Protector said in a statement. Our thoughts go to the people who lived in the building and their families. Protector will work closely with the local authorities and rescue teams.At least 12 people were killed in the blaze, which engulfed the block after midnight Wednesday although the death toll is expected to rise, according to a BBC report. At least 68 people were transported to hospitals, and at least 18 of them were in critical care. Another 10 transported themselves to the hospital, according to the BBC.The cost of the fire will be covered mainly by Protectors reinsurance program, according to Reuters. London-based litigation funding and after-the-event insurance specialist TheJudge is expanding to New York.A report by The American Lawyer said the legal services market in the US has, within the past five years, warmed up to the idea of litigation finance. It noted that the British brokerage is launching in the US with hopes to grow domestic awareness of another across-the-pond legal financial product: litigation insurance for plaintiffs.The American publication described the plaintiff-side litigation insurance product as less widespread. It said: The insurance can cover costs and between 40% and 70% of attorney fees, with the largest contract TheJudge has brokered in the UK covering up to $40 million in fees and costs.Heading the operations in New York is TheJudge director James Blick, who commented that insurance is, in many instances, a less expensive alternative to traditional third-party litigation funding because the cost of the insurance policy is not tied to a percentage of a possible damages award.If the insured case is unsuccessful, the insurer pays out a substantial sum of money and collects no premium. If the insured litigation is successful, the insurer will pay out zero and will be entitled to a premium, the report quoted him as saying.The brokerage whose team includes former litigators and class underwriters said they do not charge any fees for their services, nor does their commission inflate the cost of the funding deal. We are paid a commission by the funder and/or insurer with whom we place the business, out of their premium or profit.TheJudge is the original Broker Member of the Association of Litigation Funders in the UK, is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, and is a licensed surplus / excess lines insurance producer. Julian Rigby, a Bacon County farmer, and Jasper Allen and Benjamin Swain, his sons-in-law, have agreed to pay the federal government $675,000 to settle a suit accusing them of creating false crop insurance claims.Rigby will pay the most at $350,000, while Allen and Swain will pay $300,000 and $25,000, respectively, to settle their involvement in concealing Rigbys role in farms they claimed to operate, and in collecting crop insurance for him.The case is the first recovery through the US Department of Agricultures crop insurance program in the southern district of Georgia under the federal False Claims Act, the US Attorneys Office said in an article published on Jacksonville.com.The federal government claimed that the trifecta of Bacon County farmers operated a scheme in which Allen and Swain provided losses claims under the federal crop insurance program. Under the regulations governing the program, only landlords, owner-operators or tenants are qualified for crop insurance coverage and, over two years, the two men are alleged to have fabricated claims in which they stated 100% of the losses.The complaint states that the two men have no financial risks as Rigby paid them salaries, provided the land and equipment, paid all the workers, provided a barn to cure tobacco, financed all purchases and made all the decisions. In addition, farm expenses of more than $1 million were billed to Rigby or to Alma Bright Leaf in 2008, 2009, and 2010. In addition, it states that Rigby issued many claims and harvested more than $2.9 million in crop insurance payments for 13 years.The scheme triggered the federal crop insurance program to issue checks ranging from $74,121 to $262,105 to Swain and Allen who allegedly passed the money along to Rigby. The trio were also accused of failing to return some overpayment from the insurance program.The settlements terms have ordered Rigby to pay $25,000 and his company, Alma Brightleaf Blueberry Farms Inc., $125,000 in seven days. Rigby has also agreed to repay the crop insurance program with $40,000 annually for the next five years. The future of warfare is hybrid and the future is now, expert says by Timothy MontalesThe New York Court of Appeals has denied the appeal of Karl Karlsen, the man who admitted that he killed Levi Karlsen, his son, four years ago for insurance money.In the appeal, Karl stated he was improperly denied an attorney during police interrogation and the statements regarding the circumstances surrounding his sons death were involuntary. He outlined that his statements to his estranged wife about his sons death must be precluded under the spousal privilege law. He did not waive his Miranda rights and was denied the counsels active aid, John Ciranco, Karlsens lawyer, stated, according to a CNY Central article.However, the Court of Appeals denied the pleas.Karl, 56, admitted to second-degree murder for Levis death in November 2013. Levi died when a pickup truck fell off a jack and onto his chest. The death was considered an accident until late 2012 when Karl made statements to his estranged wife and to the police that he caused the incident.Prosecutors reported that Karl had clinched a $700,000 life insurance policy on Levis life, and received the said amount following his sons demise. Following his admission, Karl was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. He is also awaiting trial in Calaveras County, California, where he is accused of killing Christina, his first wife.Like Levis death, her 1991 death was originally ruled accidental, yet authorities reopened the case five years ago after Karls arrest for the murder of his son. Karl claimed a $200,000 life insurance policy on Christina the month before her death, prosecutors stated. by Timothy MontalesLawmakers must address an insurance practice that critics argue is driving up homeowners rates, according to a statement issued by Jeff Atwater, chief financial officer of Florida, as he prepares to depart the state Cabinet at the end of June.Currently, lawmakers cannot agree on changes to the assignment of benefits practice, while insurers suggest the practice has become riddled with fraud and abuse especially in claims for water damage to homes and is increasing property-insurance costs.The Legislature needs to deal with it, Atwater stated after a Cabinet meeting.The issue revolves around homeowners who seek property repairs signing over benefits to contractors, who pursue payments from insurance companies. Insurers contest that some contractors and law firms have exploited the process by prompting litigation and higher costs, yet contractors and plaintiffs attorneys stated that the process forces insurers to pay claims properly, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.We never want to harm any individual out there in getting the absolute quick and full coverage they deserve on a claim, but the majority of this right now is costing the honest Floridian tremendous pain, Atwater addressed.Atwater, who will depart from the Cabinet on June 30 for a post at Florida Atlantic University, made the statements after David Altmaier, Insurance Commissioner, spoke to Rick Scott, Governor, and Cabinet members about the assignment-of-benefits issue. The state-supported Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has also been heavily involved in the issue.We are going to continue to see homeowners insurance companies raise their rates for our consumers in a best-case scenario, and in a worst-case scenario, just simply stop offering their products in certain regions of the state, Altmaier guaranteed.The Florida Association of Restoration Specialists acknowledged that a crisis exists with the assignment of benefits, and mentioned that insurers were trying to capitalize.Insurance companies and their adjusters like to control the claim. When they can hire their own adjusters and engineers they maintain the upper hand against their own insureds us homeowners, it was suggested.Like Atwater, Adam Putnam, Agriculture Commissioner who will run for governor next year, agreed that changes are needed.It will cost the citizens of Florida money, and it will continue to grow as a problem if unchecked, he stated. As Mar-a-Lago can be partly submerged for most of the year, the fact that its owner President Donald Trump denies climate change has raised plenty of eyebrows.However, if President Trump wants to seek flood insurance for his Winter White House, a new bill introduced in Congress by Earl Blumenauer may deny him.The PARIS Act, if passed, will deny President Trump-owned properties of access to the federally subsidized National Flood Insurance Program, according to an IFLScience article.Congressman Earl Blumenauer today will introduce legislation to ensure Donald Trump has a stake in the catastrophic consequences of ignoring climate science, an official statement by Blumenauers press office explains.PARIS has been rumoured to be an acronym for Prohibiting Aid for Recipients Ignoring Science.Blumenauer is recommending that one could not publicly dismiss the science behind climate change and establish walls and coastal defuses around beachfront properties to protect them when they are threatened with increasingly potent hurricanes, storm surges and sea level rise, and then expect the American taxpayers to foot the bill.The bill is unlikely to pass through a Republican-controlled House, so it is likely that it will not graduate from an introductory stage. Blumenauer knows the situation; hence his aim, it seems, in announcing the PARIS Act is to make a political point more than anything else. The conversion of New Yorks landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel into luxury condominiums is moving forward as planned and no delays are anticipated after the propertys owner, Chinas Anbang Insurance Group Co., said its chairman was no longer able to carry out his duties, according to a company spokesman in the U.S. Anbangs U.S. business is operating as normal; we continue to operate our properties and move forward with our development projects, the company said in a statement emailed by a representative in New York. We have a large executive team in the United States intensely focused on operating our extensive portfolio here. Anbang paid a record $1.95 billion for the Waldorf Astoria in 2015. The Art Deco icon, occupying a full city block on Park Avenue in Manhattan, closed in March to begin the conversion of most of the more than 1,200 hotel rooms to condos. A smaller hotel is scheduled to reopen at the property in a few years. The insurer said earlier Wednesday in Beijing that Chairman Wu Xiaohui was no longer able to serve in the post and had transferred responsibilities to other senior executives. The news, amid a crackdown on financial risk-taking in China, adds to the mystery surrounding a company that has been on the forefront of a global acquisition spree by Chinese companies. Anbang bought the Waldorf from Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., which retained a 100-year management contract. Hilton had owned the hotel for more than four decades and took advantage of the Chinese appetite for foreign assets rather than spend a lot of money on renovations. Anbang has purchased almost $8 billion of real estate in the U.S. alone since 2014, much of it from Blackstone Group LP and one-time majority-owned units of Blackstone, including Hilton. Anbang plans to convert the Waldorf, at 301 Park Ave., into a condominium building with 409 residences, 74 parking spaces and four commercial units, according to preliminary filings with the state attorney generals office. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics USA New York China Lawmakers reviewing the states new recreational marijuana law plan to recommend sharply higher taxes and more control for city and town officials over retail pot shops in their communities, according to a copy of a House proposal obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. The draft legislation also would make dramatic changes to the Cannabis Control Commission, which will oversee recreational marijuana under the law approved by voters in November, effectively taking control of the commission away from the state treasurer. The bill was expected to be discussed by the Legislatures Marijuana Policy Committee, which has been considering revisions to the law for several months, during an executive session on Wednesday. A vote in the full House is possible on Thursday. Under the current law, retail sales of recreational marijuana would be taxed at a maximum rate of 12 percent. The proposed House bill calls for a 16.75 percent excise tax on recreational pot, which would be assessed on top of the states regular 6.25 percent sales tax. An additional 5 percent local tax would be charged, adding up to an effective tax rate of 28 percent, more than double what the November ballot question envisioned. Medical marijuana would continue to be untaxed under the proposal, and a portion of the revenue from recreational sales would go to a state fund to support substance abuse treatment. The House bill drew immediate condemnation from the group Yes on 4, which sponsored the ballot question, with spokesman Jim Borghesani calling the tax provisions irrational. The House proposal in no way improves the measure passed by voters, Borghesani said in a statement. It weakens it and it insults voters in the process. Its irrational tax increase will give drug dealers the ability to undercut the legal market, and its removal of ban authority from local voters will give a handful of selectmen the ability to overrule the opinion of their own constituents. The House proposal would allow the governing body of a city or town such as the city council, board of selectmen or town meeting to vote to ban pot shops or cultivation facilities from their communities or to limit the number of establishments to fewer than are currently allowed. The voter-approved law requires a referendum vote by the community at a city or town election to ban or restrict pot shops, which are expected to begin opening in mid-2018. The Massachusetts Municipal Association has argued for giving greater control to local officials, saying the siting of recreational marijuana establishments is similar to other zoning decisions that are typically decided by governing bodies. Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the association, said the referendum process called for in the current law is totally unworkable, in part because of the strict timetable for elections in cities and towns. The association also has called for higher taxes to be collected on marijuana at the local level. The ballot question passed with the support of more than 54 percent of Massachusetts voters. The question called for a three-member Cannabis Control Commission appointed by the state treasurer, but the House proposal would replace that with a more independent five-member commission, with one member appointed by the treasurer, one appointed by the governor, one appointed by the state attorney general and two chosen jointly by those officials. Democratic state Treasurer Deb Goldberg has argued against taking control away from her office, in part because her staff has already invested hundreds of hours preparing for the task of regulating recreational marijuana. If approved by the House, the legislation could undergo changes when it reaches the Senate. The Senate chairwoman of the Marijuana Policy Committee, Democrat Patricia Jehlen, of Somerville, has indicated she doesnt support an extensive overhaul of the law. Seven other states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Cannabis Massachusetts Pressure is building on Anbang Insurance Group Co. as Chinese banks distance themselves from the owner of New Yorks Waldorf Astoria hotel amid a wide-ranging government probe that landed Chairman Wu Xiaohui in police custody. Chinese authorities have asked lenders to suspend some business dealings with the insurer, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who didnt provide further details. At least six large Chinese banks have stopped selling Anbang policies at their branch networks, with some taking action before the government notice, people with knowledge of their operations said. The directive strikes at the heart of Anbangs business model and raises questions about how much China will tighten the screws on an insurer with $294 billion of assets and more than 30,000 employees. Anbangs life unit distributes almost 90 percent of its products through banks, collecting premiums that Wu has used to snap up global assets from U.S. hotels to a Belgian lender and a South Korean insurer. Its like having your legs broken, said Grace Zhou, a Hong Kong-based analyst at ICBC International, referring to the reported block on Anbangs bank channels. Its their main source of revenue. The development marks the latest twist for a company that rose from obscurity to global prominence in just over a decade, helped by government-linked backers and sales of investment-like products that promised big returns to mom-and-pop savers. An Anbang representative said the companys cooperation with banks, including product distribution, remains normal. He added that direct sales, mostly via mobile apps, contribute an increasing share of Anbangs premium income. The companys life-insurance unit had 207.8 billion yuan ($30.6 billion) of cash reserves as of April 27, while its property-insurance unit held 322.6 billion yuan, Anbang said in a statement released April 28, denying media reports that it faced a 20 billion yuan shortfall. Anbang has become the highest-profile target of a Chinese government crackdown on risky practices in the insurance industry as President Xi Jinping tries to put the nations financial system on a more stable footing. The detention of Wu the latest in a long list of Chinese tycoons and senior politicians rounded up for questioning over corruption or financial crimes is likely to reinforce Xis strength before a key Communist Party leadership reshuffle this year. Wu Detention Wu faces questions in a probe that includes looking into the sources of funding for Anbangs acquisitions overseas, possible market manipulation by insurers, and economic crimes, people familiar with the matter said. The questioning doesnt mean Wu is accused of any crime or will face charges, they said. Signs of increased government pressure have been building for months. Chinas central bank was said to look into suspected breaches of anti-money laundering rules at Anbang late last year, while government-linked business associations were told by authorities at the end of 2016 that they shouldnt enter into new partnerships with the company. Authorities temporarily banned Anbangs life insurance unit from applying for new products in May. Regulators have been clamping down on insurers who rely on sales of short-term policies to fund purchases of illiquid assets like real estate. One of Anbangs most popular products in 2015 called Anbang Longevity Sure Win No. 1 offered returns of more than triple the benchmark bank deposit rate and gave holders the option of cashing in after two years. Damage Control Sales of such products have tumbled recently. Premium income at Anbangs life unit sank 88 percent in April from a year earlier, according to data posted on the China Insurance Regulatory Commissions website on Thursday. The overseas deals that vaulted Wu and his company onto the global stage have also slowed. High-profile bids for American hotels, insurance assets and a Manhattan office tower owned by the family of U.S. presidential adviser Jared Kushner all fell through during the past 18 months amid increased scrutiny at home and abroad. Anbang held a meeting of senior executives at the group and its affiliates on Wednesday to discuss how to stabilize staff morale amid the crisis, a person with knowledge of the matter said. To contain the damage, the insurer needs to maintain the level of returns it promised to clients to prevent them from surrendering their policies for cash payments, according to ICBCs Zhou. She said that will be difficult, as will selling new policies without help from banks: Its very hard for any other channel to pick up the slack in a short period of time. Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics China Kevin Loppnow has joined Locktons Milwaukee office as a property/casualty unit manager. Loppnow is an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience as a property/casualty strategist. He previously worked for Lockton in Atlanta, and has returned to the company after running Willis Towers Watsons property/ casualty operation in Wisconsin for four years. His expertise includes program design, marketplace negotiations, large deductible casualty programs and developing associates. Kansas City-based Lockton is a global professional services firm with 6,500 associates who advise clients on protecting their people, property and reputations. Source: Lockton Topics Property Casualty Property Casualty Five people, including the head of Michigans health department, were charged with involuntary manslaughter in an investigation of Flints lead-contaminated water, all blamed in the death of an 85-year-old man who had Legionnaires disease. Nick Lyon is the highest-ranking member of Republican Gov. Rick Snyders administration to be snagged in a criminal investigation of how Flints water system became poisoned after officials tapped the Flint River in 2014. Lyon, director of the Health and Human Services Department, is accused of failing to alert the public about an outbreak of Legionnaires disease in the Flint area, which has been linked by some experts to poor water quality in 2014-15. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison. The health crisis in Flint has created a trust crisis for Michigan government, exposing a serious lack of confidence in leaders who accept responsibility and solve problems, Attorney General Bill Schuette told reporters. Lyon also is charged with misconduct in office for allegedly obstructing university researchers who are studying if the surge in cases was linked to the Flint River. The others are people who were already facing charges. They are: Darnell Earley, who was Flints emergency manager when the city used the river; Howard Croft, who ran Flints public works department; Liane Shekter Smith; and Stephen Busch. Shekter Smith and Busch were state environmental regulators. The states chief medical officer, Dr. Eden Wells, was charged with obstruction of justice and lying to an investigator. Dr. Wells vehemently denies the charges, defense attorney Jerry Lax said. Messages seeking comment werent immediately returned by other attorneys in the case. Flint began using water from the Flint River while under state emergency management, but did not treat it to reduce corrosion. Lead from old plumbing leached into the water system. Some experts also have linked the water to Legionnaires disease, a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria that thrive in warm water and infect the lungs. People can get sick if they inhale mist or vapor, typically from cooling systems. There were nearly 100 cases in the Flint area, including 12 deaths, in 2014 and 2015. Lyon, Croft, Earley, Shekter Smith and Busch are blamed in the death of Robert Skidmore in December 2015. Lyon was personally briefed in January 2015 but took no action to alert the public of a deadly outbreak until nearly a year later, special agent Jeff Seipenko told a judge as the charges were filed. Lyon has admitted that he was aware of the Legionnaires outbreak for months but wanted to wait until investigators in the state Health and Human Services Department finished their own probe. He told state lawmakers that experts likely wanted to solve the problem before they raised it with senior officials in the Snyder administration. The investigation, he said, wasnt one that was easily solved. Schuette has now charged 15 current or former government officials in an ongoing probe that began in early 2016, including two emergency managers whom Snyder appointed to run the impoverished city of roughly 100,000 residents. In March, Corrine Miller, the states former director of disease control, was sentenced to probation and ordered to write an apology to residents after pleading no contest to willful neglect of duty. She is a key cooperating witness for Schuettes team. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Fraud Michigan A 5-year-old boy with developmental disabilities was found dead inside a daycare van where police said hed been left all day in the sweltering heat, and an Arkansas agency has launched an investigation into why a vehicle alarm system and other safeguards didnt prevent the tragedy. The Arkansas Department of Human Services identified the boy as Christopher Gardner. West Memphis police said he was picked up by the day care at 6:40 a.m. Monday but was never taken inside Ascent Childrens Health Services, which serves children with developmental disabilities. West Memphis is directly across the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee. There are simply no words to express the overwhelming sadness we feel at the death of this child, Ascent Childrens Health Services said in a statement. We are heartbroken and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family. The state agency said all child care services in Arkansas must follow certain safety requirements, including installing approved child safety alarm devices in vehicles used to transport more than seven passengers. According to the statement, the alarm system has to be installed in such a way that the driver is forced to walk to the back of the vehicle to reach a switch that deactivates the alarm. The department said a Medicaid contract monitor inspected the day care van in February and the alarm system was deemed to be in working order. The agency and the Medicaid contract monitor were investigating the incident. Department spokeswoman Brandi Hinkle said the facility had previously been highly compliant. Hinkle said the Arkansas Department of Health is closing the facility for the rest of the week due to a shigella outbreak, which can cause diarrhea and fever. Police told Memphis, Tennessee, television station WMC that the boy was found dead, still strapped in a booster seat, more than eight hours later when staff members prepared to load the van for children to go home. The boys cause of death hasnt been released but the heat index neared 100 degrees Monday afternoon in West Memphis. According to the television station, Christophers family members said the child had undergone two heart surgeries and was at the day care for developmental disabilities. Police would not say if charges would be filed in connection to the childs death. Ascent Childrens Health Services has nine other locations in Arkansas, including North Little Rock, Jonesboro and Benton. The companys website says Arkansas state Rep. Dan Sullivan has been the CEO of Ascent since 2004. Sullivan didnt immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press. The companys website describes the responsibilities of a van driver as being responsible for signing patients into the clinic for the day and that they are taken to their treatment rooms. It says the van driver should complete a van checklist of the vehicles condition each morning and afternoon before leaving the clinic. A third person, who is not a rider in the van, inspects the vehicle to ensure that children have not been left behind when the vehicle is returned to the clinic at the end of the day. According to KidsandCars.org, there have been over 800 child heatstroke deaths involving vehicles since 1990 in the U.S. The organization said about 7 percent of those fatalities were the result of a childcare worker leaving the child in a vehicle. KidsandCars founder Janette Fennell said that protocol for childcare workers transporting children usually involves someone picking up the child, checking them in to a facility and then taking that checklist to a manager, who also conducts an inspection to ensure all the kids are present. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Arkansas An explosion at a car dealership in Alabama has injured five employees. AL.com reports that Jasper Police Lt. David Mize says the Monday afternoon explosion happened at the customer service center of the Carl Cannon Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC dealership. Four of the injured were taken to UAB Hospital in critical condition, while the fifth was taken to Walker Baptist Medical Center with minor injuries. Their identities and current conditions have not been released. The state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blast. Jasper Fire and Rescue and the Walker County Emergency Management Agency are also investigating. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Alabama An eight-vehicle crash in Georgia has killed one person and injured 17 others. Gwinnett County Fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge says in a news release that a vehicle trapped beneath a tractor-trailer was on fire when crews arrived Monday afternoon at the crash along state Highway 316 in suburban Atlanta. He says the driver of that vehicle was killed. Rutledge says nine injured people were taken to area hospitals and two of them were in critical condition. He says eight other people had minor injuries and were evaluated at the scene. The statement says the Lawrenceville Police Department is investigating the accident. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Georgia An Atlanta doctor has pleaded guilty to falsifying medical examination records for commercial truck drivers. Court records show 72-year-old Dr. Anthony Lefteris pleaded guilty last week to counts of falsifying documents and entering false information into U.S. Department of Transportation records. U.S. Attorney John Horn says Lefteris was charged with examining commercial drivers to make sure they were fit to drive safely, but he didnt do the examinations and falsified the test results. The tests Lefteris failed to administer included vision and hearing exams, as well as urine testing. He then completed medical examination forms with false figures for those tests. Lefteris is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 28. Topics Georgia Trucking Competition and cooperation have become the new normal between China and the US, said experts attending a think tank seminar in the US on Monday (US time), warning that bilateral ties will develop smoothly if cooperation prevails, but will be risky if competition takes the upper hand. Nearly 100 Chinese and US experts exchanged views on such topics as Sino-US relations, local cooperation and the prospects of the bilateral relationship, during the US-China Think Tank Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa. The symposium was jointly organized by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) and the World Food Prize Foundation (WFPF). The key to bilateral ties is to effectively manage competition, said Cui Liru, former president of CICIR, suggesting consensus be reached on mutually beneficial cooperation. Former US Ambassador to China Stapleton Roy said disagreements are normal, and what matters is to find a solution. If disagreements are not well managed and controlled, Sino-US relations will become frustrated, he warned. "The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Florida in April has built good cooperative and working relationships, setting an example for managing and controlling disagreements and promoting cooperation, the former US ambassador said. The development of international relations doesnt stop at such descriptions as the rise of China and the decline of the US, said Tao Wenzhao, a researcher on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The US is much more powerful than China. However, the world is marching towards economic globalization, the democratization of international relations and polarization, Tao said, adding that China, a country on the rise, will neither start all over again nor overturn the existing system. The symposium participants spoke highly of China-US economic and trade relations. The 100-day action plan under the four-pronged dialogue mechanisms resulting from the meeting of Xi and Trump is a good start and has yielded fruit, said Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the CASS. China-US investment and trade enjoy great potential, according to Zhao Jinping, research fellow and director-general of the Research Department of Foreign Economic Relations, Development Research Center of the State Council. Zhao said that the investment environment in both countries can be further improved. In the future, the two countries will ink high-level bilateral agreements on investment, which will push trade and economic cooperation to a new high, the researcher added. Cooperation between China and Iowa is a good example. Iowa is the second largest agricultural base in the US with an annual agricultural output of more than $30 billion. The states economic development is highlighted by its deepened collaboration with China. Bill Northey, secretary of the Iowa Department of Agriculture, said thanks to increased agricultural trade between the two countries brought about by rising demand from China, more farmers in the state have expanded their cultivated area. Half of the states soybeans are exported to China. US enterprises are eager to cooperate with China, said Wei Jianguo, vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. Wei noted that upon their arrival in Iowa, the states agricultural machinery manufacturers asked them if China would cooperate more with the US side in agricultural machinery manufacturing. WFPF president Kenneth Quinn said trade and economic cooperation will be conducive to both. And more importantly, closer collaboration in such sectors as agricultural technology and food safety are an important part and outcome of China-US economic and trade relations. Provincial or state level exchanges now work as new engines of bilateral exchanges. In the future, the two countries will eye more exchanges on lower levels, said Yang Dali, senior consultant for the University of Chicago president. Young people in the US hold a more positive impression about China than ordinary people, and they believe that the two countries will become partners, indicating they are optimistic about the future of Sino-US relations, Yang said. Political issues used to dominate Sino-US relations, but people are delighted to see that the symposium focuses on agricultural cooperation, said Roy. As a close friend of the Chinese people, Iowa will always open its door to them, Quinn said. It has been common practice for groups operating in Mexico to subcontract all personnel in order to mitigate the impact of mandatory employee profit sharing and labour risks. This has generally been done by either setting up an intragroup service company that houses the groups employees and renders services to the other group companies, or by subcontracting third parties that render services with their own employees. Service companies recognise as taxable income the service fee received from the contractor, which covers the cost of labour plus a mark-up, and are able to deduct their payroll. Additionally, service companies should shift a 16% VAT on such fees to the contractor. In turn, the contractor is generally able to deduct the service fee for income tax purposes and credit the 16% VAT paid on such services. Several tax precedents emerged during 2016 when the Mexican tax authorities intended to reject the deduction of the service fee paid by the contractor, or disallow the corresponding VAT credit, by making an assessment of the nature of the contractor/subcontractor relation based on the provisions of the Federal Labour Law. Tax and federal courts upheld opposing positions and divergent approaches to reach their conclusions, which generated a great deal of uncertainty for the contractors, which in a couple of cases were deemed employers of the service companies employees for tax purposes. The tax authorities issued new rules for 2017 in order to clarify their position and strengthen the requirements for contractors to be able to deduct for income tax purposes the service fees paid to subcontractors, and claim the corresponding VAT credit. The reform included several amendments to the Mexican Income Tax Law, Value Added Tax Law and Miscellaneous Tax Rules. In general terms, the recent changes require the contractor to obtain certain information on the payments made by the subcontractor to its employees, including copies of payment slips and timesheets associated to the services provided to them, and regarding actual payment of the VAT to be submitted by the subcontractor to the tax authorities. Non-compliant contractors would not be able to deduct the service fees for income tax purposes and/or claim the corresponding VAT credit. It is worth noting that the new requirements included in the tax laws refer in general to subcontracting arrangements regulated under the Federal Labour Law, without making any distinction among different types of service agreements. As a result, it could be interpreted that the new legislation covers all types of service agreements, even if not related to the outsourcing of personnel. The above conclusion is very sensitive because if contractors make a distinction between personnel outsourcing contracts and other subcontracted services they may weaken their employee profit sharing planning. Contractors must meet the new requirements as of January 2017. However, the tax authorities granted an extension that allows them to meet such requirements by July 2017, regarding services subcontracted from January through to June 2017. Taxpayers must carefully review the documentation supporting their subcontracting arrangements from a tax and labour perspective to determine their tax position regarding the new requirements included for 2017 and, if deemed necessary, obtain all applicable documentation in order to submit it to the tax authorities by July 2017 to avoid risking the deduction of the service fees for income tax purposes and the corresponding VAT credit. It is also recommendable to evaluate if a ruling should be requested from the tax authorities in order to confirm which specific service contracts should be excluded from the new reporting obligations (e.g. auditors, advisers, time charters, brokerage agreements, freights, to mention a few). This article was written by Oscar A. Lopez Velarde and Santiago Diaz Rivera Bravo of Ritch, Mueller, Heather y Nicolau, S.C. Oscar A. Lopez Velarde (olopezvelarde@ritch.com.mx) Santiago Diaz Rivera Bravo (sdiazrivera@ritch.com.mx) Ritch, Mueller, Heather y Nicolau, S.C. www.ritch.com.mx On the other hand, the Labour Party made major gains, winning 29 seats with 40% of the vote share. The outcome goes against the predictions made in April that the May government would easily get a super-majority in this election. A coalition government also means even less tax certainty as Brexit negotiations loom. The general election results have come as a surprise and any hopes of any political certainty have been dashed for the time being, said Alicia Videon, partner at McDermott Will & Emery. The impact for Brexit negotiations is unclear. This is on top of a deteriorating domestic economy and global economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Officially, Prime Minister Theresa May called the snap election in the hope of gaining a sizeable majority to strengthen her hand in negotiations with the European Union. The lack of a majority in Parliament may change the agenda for corporate tax cuts as the UK government goes into talks over its withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit). In the short term, the election result will inevitably create uncertainty about the direction of corporate tax policy, said James Ross, partner at McDermott Will & Emery. However, it probably also increases the likelihood of a soft Brexit, so groups worried about losing the benefit of EU directives to minimise withholding tax on intra-group interest, dividend and royalty payments may want to hold fire before unwinding their UK holding company structures. Brexit comes before tax cuts When the Conservatives came to power in 2010, the rate of corporation tax was 28%. Subsequent cuts have lowered the rate to 20% and the May government plans to reduce it further to 17% by 2020. The Conservative Manifesto reiterated the governments commitment to a low tax model for business and individuals. The Conservatives had intended to oversee a continued reduction in the rates of corporation tax, George Bull, senior partner at RSM UK, told International Tax Review. A strong Labour opposition that wishes to increase corporation tax rates may frustrate Conservative objectives. Though the implications of the election results have a much wider impact. What is most important is not the level of corporation tax, but how we will leave Europe in terms of the Customs Union and also the impact on VAT, said Bull. Where we end up after Brexit is more important than what the corporation tax rate will be because paying a bit more on profits is simple compared to what the impact on imports and exports might be. There have been efforts to update the customs system for trade after Brexit goes through. This project had greenlight status but now the light has turned to amber, Bull continued. And this is a serious problem because a hard Brexit with a software upgrade not fit for purpose would be everybodys nightmare. Leadership troubles risk Brexit success From the outset, the UK election seemed to be a foregone conclusion. It looked like May would claim an easy victory with many predicting a super-majority for her party, allowing her to negotiate Brexit as the UKs governing party. However, the campaign trail proved treacherous for the Conservative leader and Labours standing in the polls surpassed initial expectations. It began to look like a much closer race in the last few weeks. Basically she thought strike now, lock it in and then yeah, okay it might strengthen your hand a bit in terms of the negotiations and it will dramatically strengthen your hand in control of your own party, said Steve Keen, professor of economics at Kingston University. Well, it blew up in her face in the same way that the Brexit vote did. In 2015, the combined vote of the Conservatives and UK Independence Party (UKIP) amounted to 48% of the electorate. It was widely assumed that Mays stance on Brexit would allow the party to win over the UKIP vote, whereas such voters would never turn towards Labour. But, as the campaign progressed, it became clear that the election would not be decided on this issue alone. Since the results have not produced the mandate May wanted, there have been questions raised about whether or not she will be able to lead the country. I dont think May is going to survive the result, said Keen. She has so weakened her own position that shes shot herself in the foot with what she claimed was the motivation for the election. The elections result is likely to have an impact on major decisions by UK companies and international investors, who had been proceeding on the basis of a continuing Tory majority. Businesses are likely to react with caution until a government is put in place, as concerns of Labours proposed changes to the tax regime become perhaps a little more real, said Videon. Real estate investors and others will no doubt worry of being hit by higher corporation and other taxes and a stricter anti-avoidance regime if the Tories are in fact ousted. Even if that is not the immediate result of this election, it becomes a real possibility in the near term. International investors may decide to reconsider investment into the UK as they assess what may be another very significant change in the political landscape, albeit the weakening pound may offset this. Tax planning gets difficult As the news of the hung parliament was announced, the situation reminded some people of past precedents. We had two elections in 1974 and there was a lot of uncertainty then, but I cant think of anything comparable to the levels of uncertainty right now, Bull told International Tax Review. This isnt just domestic politics because it affects Europe and constitutional questions. Its unlikely we will see a second referendum on Scottish independence now. What I would like to see in terms of tax is stability and certainty, said Bull. Its difficult enough for business to plan in an uncertain environment, and they deserve to know what their tax framework will be. Prime Minister May has made it clear that she intends to stay in office and is seeking the help of the DUP, a Northern Irish party, in getting her agenda through the House of Commons. In the past, the DUP has cut public spending to fund tax cuts in Northern Ireland, where the partys base voted for Brexit but they were outnumbered by voters wanting to stay in the EU. With the EU talks just 10 days away, the question of what kind of deal is needed on Brexit is highly relevant. At Tax Research, Richard Murphy argues that the best approach would be a Norwegian style agreement with us out of membership but working closely with the EU within the Single Market. Whether this will be on the negotiating table is another matter. Un ottobre da sogno per Antonio Conte: lex ct della Nazionale italiana, attualmente alla guida del Chelsea, nelle ultime quattro gare di Premier League ha collezionato solo successi, conditi da 11 reti segnate e addirittura nessuna incassata. Numeri da record che non sono certo passati inosservati alla Federazione inglese, la quale ha conferito al tecnico leccese lambito premio di Manager del mese. Unavventura oltremanica iniziata in sordina, quella di Conte, pur a fronte di tre vittorie nelle prime tre gare di campionato. A far vacillare, anche se solo per un momento, le certezze del patron del club londinese, Roman Abramovich, i risultati conseguiti tra la 4a e la 6a giornata, coincisi con un pareggio sul campo dello Swansea City e, soprattutto, con le due pesanti sconfitte subite dal Liverpool, sul terreno casalingo di Stamford Bridge, e dallArsenal. In particolare, la debacle interna coi Reds, aveva irritato non poco il numero uno russo, poiche occorsa proprio nel giorno della sua 250esima partita da presidente della societa. Come detto, solo un momento. Dopo lincontro dellEmirates, il tecnico salentino cambia modulo, adottando un piu equilibrato 3-4-3 e inserendo elementi di corsa come lo spagnolo Pedro. Una svolta totale perche, di li in poi, il Chelsea inanellera solo e soltanto vittorie: 2 gol allHull City e al Southampton in trasferta, 3 ai campioni dInghilterra del Leicester e 4 allo United in casa, con un meraviglioso numero zero nella casella delle reti subite. Un fantastico poker, ottenuto tra l1 e il 29 ottobre. Un cambio di marcia sbalorditivo, confermato dal 5 a 0 rifilato ai toffees dellEverton nel primo match di novembre, e una scalata che, man mano, ha portato i blues al secondo posto in classifica, a soli 2 punti dal Liverpool capolista. E allora, non poteva mancare il riconoscimento di migliore allenatore del mese, ottenuto surclassando tecnici del calibro di Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) e Mark Hughes (Southampton). Tanta, ovviamente, la soddisfazione: E un grande onore e voglio condividerlo con i giocatori e con la societa ha dichiarato Conte sul sito ufficiale della Premier League -. E la prima volta che lavoro in un altro Paese, con una cultura diversa, e portare la propria filosofia non e facile, ma ora sono contento di questa scelta. A completare la festa, la premiazione del fantasista belga, Eden Hazard, come miglior giocatore di ottobre. Due risultati importanti per il club, ottimo incentivo per la rincorsa al trono dei campioni, occupato dal Leicester di Ranieri. Il prossimo appuntamento per l11 di Conte sara al Riverside Stadium, tana del Middlesborough neopromosso. Il tempo di festeggiare e gia finito. Top News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) Facial and Body Recognition Patent Application Received a Notice of Allowance San Diego, CA - November 9, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) with GBT Tokenize Corp. ("GBT/Tokenize") received a notice of allowance for its facial and body recognition non-provisional patent application. Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking EV Stock News: Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) Enters into Agreement with Newgate Motor Group, one of Ireland's most Recognized Auto Groups, to Distribute the Mullen I-GOTM in Ireland and United Kingdom BREA, Calif. - November 9, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle manufacturer, announces today that it has entered into an agreement to appoint Newgate Motor Group, one of Ireland's most recognized dealership groups, as marketing, sales, distribution and servicing agent for the Mullen I-GO in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) AI Driven Financial Technology Patent Application Received a Notice of Publication San Diego, CA - November 3, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) received a notice of publication for its financial software patent application. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: Intellagents, a FatBrain AI (OTCQB: LZGI) Company, Announces Hiring of Insurtech Industry Veteran as Chief Revenue Officer NEW YORK, NY - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, announces the hiring of Euan King, an experienced and respected Insurtech industry leader as Chief Revenue Officer for insurance technology-focused subsidiary Intellagents. Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas: Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by Investorideas.com Newswire: Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire A survey has found that 55.7 percent of young people in China believe their lives will be positively affected by the Belt and Road Initiative. According to the survey, which was administered to 2,000 people aged 18 to 35 by China Youth Daily, 65.6 percent are confident that the initiative will create more jobs, while 82.1 percent say they hope for more plans for international talent exchange. Yang Dengyun, a junior at Beijing Institute of Technology, said he used to think the initiative was distant from his real life, but now he believes the policy is closely related to the everyday lives of himself and others. Chen Fan (pseudonym), a sophomore studying Arabic at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the Belt and Road Initiative will create more demand for minority-language speakers. I feel there are more job opportunities awaiting me; for instance, I can support various 'Belt and Road' business negotiations, Chen explained. Respondents say the Belt and Road Initiative will create more job vacancies in tourism, culture, education, engineering, construction and other sectors. They believe that energy, transportation and the internet will also be major fields. Many expect that Pakistan, Russia and Thailand will be the top three "pivot countries" involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, followed by Mongolia, South Korea, Kazakhstan and Indonesia. The Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was the first leader from Southeast Asia, and third from Asia (after Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping) to pay a visit to Washington since Donald Trump became the US President. During his three-day visit from May 29-31, 2017, he went to New York to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Vietnamese membership in the United Nations before his visit to the White House. PM Phucs mission was aimed at forging a personal relationship with President Trump, who had yet to show any consolidated view of his policies towards Southeast Asia, as well as the South China Sea. On May 31, during his meeting with PM Phuc, President Trump stated that he was glad to see more balanced trade relations with Vietnam. This new trend of seeking what Trump considers to be a foreign policy that is fairer to America might be challenging for a Southeast Asian state of much smaller size and capacity. But Vietnam aimed to show goodwill and hoped to meet somewhere or halfway with such expectations. Almost exactly a year ago, the US-Vietnam bilateral relationship reached a new high with then-President Barack Obamas visit to Vietnam and his announcement of the total annulment of the arms embargo that had been in place since the war between the two nations. In fact, Vietnams relations with the US have warmed up significantly over the past few years, coinciding with Chinas increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea and the Obama administrations Rebalance Policy. Trumps victory in the presidential election last October generated some fear in Hanoi that the promising momentum could be lost. Vietnam rarely figured in Trumps campaign speeches just like other Southeast Asian states and if it was mentioned, it was in the same category, along with China, of countries which were dumping cheap products in the American market. Trumps first decision the withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was a hard hit for Vietnam. Vietnam, being the least developed economy of all 12 TPP members, was widely believed to be the country that would benefit the most from the trade agreement. More importantly, the TPP promised to be a way to reduce Vietnams economic dependence on the Chinese trade and to escape Chinas orbit. The Trump administrations statement that the Rebalance is dead only further exacerbated Vietnams strategic anxiety. But Vietnam is a no stranger to difficult circumstances. The visit can be seen as Vietnams proactiveness in seeking engagement with the US. With the mission to seek US continuity in its commitment to regional affairs, and in particular regional disputes, PM Phuc pitched benefits for the US to keep strong ties with Vietnam. The economic agenda was tailored for Trumps business mindset. PM Phuc, who is domestically considered to be a hands-on economic reformer, was a better fit for the role than conservative Party Secretary General Trong or President Quang, who was the former Minister of Public Security. Washington should reconsider modes of strategic cooperation beyond the traditional treaty-ally framework. Hanoi will be most pressed to get the relationship straight. Despite Hanois strategic concerns, the bilateral economic relations have been going well. America remains Vietnams largest export market. However, Vietnam ranks sixth among the US largest trade deficit partners. Bilateral trade from January-May 2017 amounted to USD 16 billion, which is 9.9 percent growth in comparison to the previous year. Exports from the US grew by 22 percent compared to last year. The visit was aimed at alleviating some of the Trump administrations concerns about the growing deficit with Vietnam, which amounted to USD 32 billion last year, a fraction of the USD 347 billion deficit it holds with China. Among the deals PM Phuc signed was a USD 15-17 billion deal for the exchange of goods and services that focuses on technology. President Trump described this as a win-win outcome which meant more jobs for America, more equipment for Vietnam. Compared with the Vietnam-US leaders exchange from a year ago, this meeting was far from ideal and much more transactional. Leaders in Hanoi recognized this. With such gestures of goodwill, the Vietnamese leaders hoped to not only boost bilateral relations, but also to draw Trumps attention to geo-economic and geo-strategic developments in the region. During the previous administration, Vietnam and its Southeast Asian neighbors were considered major beneficiaries of American engagement in the region, both strategically and economically. The TPP was seen as a carrot. Under this administration, countries like Vietnam may need to come up with their own carrots to attract Washingtons attention, or at least to avoid the perception of relative loss. Vietnam remains Southeast Asias most vigilant actor thus far. Despite the challenge of Washingtons little demonstrated interests in the region, Hanoi still has a number of advantages. First, the US Southeast Asian treaty allies Thailand and the Philippines are growing increasingly distant from America and closer to Beijing. Manilas shift under Duterte is consequential, particularly for Vietnam, because of the South China Sea disputes. The recent 30th ASEAN Summit showed Manilas reluctance to even raise the maritime issues publicly. Under the changing regional circumstances, Washington should reconsider modes of strategic cooperation beyond the traditional treaty-ally framework. Hanoi will be most pressed to get the relationship straight. This means Vietnam might be the keenest to invest in this relationship and become the Trump administrations primary connection in Southeast Asia. Moreover, while the previous administrations focus on human rights was a long-term obstacle, Trumps less idealistic approach means that Hanoi is likely to be more comfortable. For America, this might be the best time to engage with Hanoi. Despite previous efforts, domestic responses to American defense engagement with Vietnam had met with a level of resistance. At this juncture, however, there seems to be consensus with Hanois domestic leadership that the region cannot afford American absence. Thus, PM Phucs trip as well as the invitation for Trump to repay the visit, signal open doors and certainly a better negotiating position. The Trump administration needs to realize that the previous lasting investments in this relationship should not be wasted over short-term business calculations. In fact, it is the Trump administration that is likely to harvest the fruits that previous administrations had carefully seeded. Vietnam is now a key actor in the region and if the US wants to retain its position in Asia, it should understand that long-term gains from this relationship are worth more than revenue. If Trumps Make America Great Again has a global meaning, then securing the supporting partners should come first. A Dublin City centre premises which houses a textile business and is used for residential purposes is a fire safety risk and must be vacated immediately, the High Court has heard, writes Ann O'Loughlin. At the High Court today lawyers for Ms Anne O'Dwyer of Duff & Phelps who was appointed receiver ove a property located at 24 Mountjoy Square, which incorporates the premises known as 24 Charles Lane in Dublin 1 said the building is potentially dangerous and is being used for a purpose which is not permitted. Mr Justice Michael Twomey was told by Nevan Powell Bl for the receiver that Dublin City Council served a Fire Safety Notice on the building in August of last year which has not been complied with. Counsel said the building not only poses a safety risk to those occupying it but also to "surrounding buildings" and "the general public." The receiver's action is against the property's owner Mr Christopher Singh and TWI Textile Machinery and Fabric Company Ltd, which partially occupies and operates from the Mountjoy Square premises. It is claimed Mr Singh of Lisnacree, Castleknock Road, Castleknock, Dublin 15 is a director and the sole shareholder of the company. Mr Powell Bl said the premises, which his client has been unable to get access to since her appointed, has been used both for residential purposes and by the company to make textiles. The Fire Safety Notice was put in place almost a year ago. However the premises is still being used for residential purposes. The notice bans it from being used as a hostel, flats or other multi-occupancy residential use, counsel said. Dublin City Council, following a recent inspection of the premises was now putting pressure on the receiver to deal with the situation and in a letter said the building "should be vacated with immediate effect," counsel said. Mr Singh it is claimed borrowed money from Anglo Irish Bank, which changed its name to IBRC after it was acquired by the State. His loans were transferred to Kenmare Property Finance Ltd DAC in 2014. The receiver was appointed by Kenmare over Mr Singh's assets, including the property at the centre of the proceedings, last March after he allegedly failed to repay a sum of 489,000 which the fund claims is due and owing. The defendants, counsel said have been interfering with the receivership and his client, who wishes to sell the building, seeks an injunction restraining Mr Singh and the company from trespassing or occupying the premises. Permission to serve short notice of the proceedings was granted, on an ex-parte basis, by Mr Justice Twomey. The case will come back before the court on Friday. The father of an American college student released by North Korea and now in a coma in hospital has said his son was "terrorised and brutalised" by his captors. Speaking from his Ohio home, Fred Warmbier told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that his son Otto "is not in great shape right now". University of Virginia student Otto, 22, landed in Cincinnati late on Tuesday and was taken by ambulance to hospital. His parents say he has been in the coma for more than a year. Mr Warmbier senior says he does not know exactly what happened to his son during his 17-month detention. Otto Warmbier was serving a 15-year prison term with hard labour after he tearfully confessed that he tried to steal a propaganda banner while visiting North Korea. Mr Warmbier's full interview will be shown on Fox News on Thursday night. Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson said there should be an investigation into what happened to Mr Warmbier, saying it was a "tragic situation". The Democrat and former US ambassador to the United Nations praised the Department of State for working to bring Mr Warmbier home. But he said the US government had to respond forcefully if it was determined Mr Warmbier's condition was not disclosed "and he didn't get proper treatment". AP Greece's European creditors have agreed to give the cash-strapped country the next batch of money due from its bailout and outlined a series of debt relief measures they hope will foster growth. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the eurozone's top official, said Greece has been cleared to get 8.5bn, which will allow it to meet a big repayment hump this July. The waters around Istanbul have turned a striking shade of turquoise. A natural phenomenon called a "phytoplankton bloom" has turned the normally dark waters of the Bosphorus and Golden Horn into an opaque tone of light blue. This is caused by microscopic organisms that have inundated the Black Sea, just north of Turkey's largest city. Berat Haznedaroglu, an environmental engineer, said this is a normal annual event. He said: "This year we got a lot of rain events that carried nutrients from the Saharan desert to the Black Sea, which created an optimal environment for this phytoplankton to bloom." Mr Haznedaroglu works at the Institute of Environmental Sciences at Istanbul's public Bogazici University. The Bosphorus, a strait that separates Europe from Asia, also connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. AP A doctor from Tongji Hospital in central Chinas Wuhan has donated a total of 26,900 milliliters of blood over the past 23 years. His good deeds remained a secret among his colleagues until his hospital received an acknowledgement from Wuhan Blood Center (WBC) on June 14, World Blood Donor Day. The doctor, Zheng Kai, started donating blood in 1994 when he was still a freshman in college. He donated 400 milliliters at the suggestion of a friend. After donating his blood for the second time the following year, Zheng found it hard to stop the practice. So far, he has averaged three donations annually for 23 consecutive years. According to WBC, Zheng has donated the maximum amount every time, though his frequency wasnt the very highest. Sometimes patients die before blood arrives, Zheng noted, saying that he would never forget those heartbreaking moments. We tend to neglect the scarcity of blood in cities, but blood is extremely precious in rural China, he went on. As a regular donor, Zheng has received awards from blood centers before. Noting that "blood donation requires a healthy body, Zheng walks 8 kilometers to his office every day. He has even acquired six-pack abs through his daily workouts. Blood donation does no harm and even cleans your blood, Zheng said, expressing hope that more people will donate their blood to those in need. IFA president Joe Healy wished the new Taoiseach success in the role and said he is looking forward to working closely with him in the future. With the right support, our farming and food industry will continue to play a significant role in contributing to the national economy. Viable farm incomes are critical to underpinning the important agri-food industry, he said. Mr Healy said he has sought a meeting with the Taoiseach at the earliest possible opportunity to have a detailed discussion on Brexit the most significant threat facing farming and the food sector in the history of the State. We are seeking the Taoiseachs personal intervention at the highest level in Europe to ensure that an outcome is delivered to secure the interests of this vital sector, he said. The IFAs listed priorities are geared towards tackling low farm incomes, underpinning the contribution of the farming and agri-food sector to the economy, including the achievement of Foodwise 2025 targets, and ensuring the well-being of rural communities. Mr Healy said the Taoiseach must place a firm policy focus on achieving the sustainable and profitable growth of family farming and rejuvenating rural Ireland through balanced regional development and the provision of services. The IFA also wants a strong Common Agricultural Policy with an increased budget post-2020 to ensure improved farm incomes and a strong, sustainable and competitive agriculture for the benefit of farmers and consumers. Securing a fair return for farmers from the marketplace, access to credit at a competitive rate, and fair treatment of farmers in financial difficulties are other listed priorities. Prompt farm scheme payments and a simplified inspection process, reform of the Fair Deal Scheme to remove discrimination against family farms, and the restoration of funding for Areas of Natural Constraint are also sought. Increased market access for the agri-food sector, while safeguarding farming interests in trade negotiations, support for sustainable growth in agriculture, and a re-balancing of power in the food supply chain to deliver a viable price for farmers are other IFA priorities, as is funding for flood protection measures. Accounts for the 12 months to the end of last June show the companys accumulated profits fell from 808,148 to 685,610. The filings show the business recorded revenues of 2.22m in 2015 but no revenue figure is provided for last year. The drop in profit reflected the spend on the business last year, with management carrying out a 250,000-plus revamp, which it added is already paying dividends. The English Market- based fishmonger rose to international prominence in 2011 when company head Pat OConnell starred in the most celebrated image of Queen Elizabeths historic visit to Ireland, when she visited the fish stall. Speaking yesterday, Mr OConnell said a new system of controlling the number of tourists in the English Market is working fantastic. The system was introduced after Mr OConnell and other traders at the English Market voiced their concerns over the impact the snap-happy tourists were having on business. Asked last year how often tourists take photos of him at the stall, Mr OConnell said: All day long every day. It gets absolutely insane some days. We dont have a problem with tourists but we do have a problem when there are 60 of them arriving at the one time and they are all standing together and your local customer cant get at the counter and they are snap, snap, snapping away. However, yesterday, Mr OConnell expressed satisfaction with the new system that limits the size of tour groups to eight persons. He said: They now have time to chat with the traders so it is working out well for everyone. The new protocols at Irelands oldest indoor market came into force in March and have been designed to facilitate and structure tours of the busy food market, while maintaining the day-to-day running of a market where up to 400 people work in 46 businesses. Numbers employed by Mr OConnells business remained static last year at 10 but staff costs increased marginally to 324,066. Directors pay for the year totalled 112,331. That included 6,095 in pension contributions. The company has financial assets worth 856,680 and tangible assets with a book value of 111,831. Don Theilers wife Janet Price, who was in her 60s, was killed on the afternoon of May 30 near the Kate Kearneys Cottage side of the Gap when she collided with a trailer full of lambs after rounding an extremely sharp turn. The couple, who are from Burien, Washington State, had spent two weeks travelling around Ireland and the day before they were due to return home to the US, they rented bikes to see the lakes of Killarney and the Gap of Dunloe. The Gap, a public road through the MacGillycuddys Reeks, is one of the most visited tourist routes in Ireland, famous since Victorian times. In a letter, Mr Theiler describes chaotic scenes on the tourist route the day his wife lost her life. The narrow road is shared by hikers, a variety of bikers, tourist pony carts, farm vehicles and automobiles, Mr Theiler tells the authorities. There are numerous blind curves, with people and vehicles travelling in both directions, he details. There is virtually no signage on the road warning people of impending dangerous conditions ahead. Yet, he felt a few measures like mirrors would make it less hazardous. Before his wife was killed, they both had to dismount their bikes and get off the road to allow cars and vans, filled with tourists, to pass, Mr Theiler said. The specific location where Janet was killed is a prime example of these especially hazardous conditions. It is a very sharp turn, virtually a U-turn. Currently there is no signage, warning lights, mirrors or other transportation control measures alerting people to the potential dangers ahead. The road is too narrow for the vehicles to easily pass one another. It is impossible to see anything or anyone coming in the opposite direction until they are virtually on top of one another. He suggests limited access system, a gate for authorised vehicles of residents and farmers, with an alternate access for pony carts, hikers and bicycles. Calling for an engineers survey to be carried out, Mr Theiler said: My family and I are determined to pursue this matter to a reasonable conclusion, in part to ensure that something positive comes out of this tragic affair. His letter to the department was also copied to local TDs and Kerry County Council. Mayor of Killarney Brendan Cronin said he fully supported Mr Theilers calls for a survey and said extra signage and mirrors must be installed. However, before changes to access, there would have to be consultation with all parties locals, ponymen, and people involved in tourism, he said. Mr Bailey, aged 60, of The Prairie, Liscaha, Schull, West Cork, denies involvement in the death of Ms du Plantier, who was found dead in Schull in December 1996. French authorities previously sought the surrender of Mr Bailey in 2010 but this application was refused by the Supreme Court in 2012. A second extradition request was transmitted to Ireland last year, seeking the surrender of Mr Bailey for alleged voluntary homicide. In the High Court yesterday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said he would give judgment on July 24 on the issues discussed at hearings in May. Mr Justice Hunt said he would make clear to the parties what arguments he regarded as left over which may have to be the subject of further hearing. These include legal matters relating to the issuing judicial authority, among others. Lawyers for the State had sought an adjournment. Counsel for Mr Bailey, Garrett Simons SC, said last month his client had a very straightforward and obvious case. He said there was no way around the Supreme Court decision in 2012 which identified an absolute jurisdictional bar to Mr Baileys extradition in relation to the alleged offence. He said section 44 of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003, which implemented the European Framework Decision on extradition between member states, was determined by the Supreme Court as an absolute bar to Mr Baileys surrender and that continued to apply. A five-judge panel of the Supreme Court refused to surrender Mr Bailey in 2012 and four of the five judges upheld Mr Baileys argument that section 44 prohibits surrender because the alleged offence was committed outside French territory and Irish law does not allow prosecution for the same offence when committed outside its territory by a non-Irish citizen. Applying for the surrender, counsel for the justice minister, Robert Barron SC, said the State was asking the High Court to refer the Supreme Courts 4-1 interpretation of Section 44 to the European Courts of Justice for determination. Mr Barron said ODonnell J, the single dissenting Supreme Court judge on the Section 44 matter, was correct in his interpretation of the framework decision and the act; That the majority Supreme Court interpretation was incorrect and it would be appropriate to have a reference from the High Court to the European Courts on the matter, Mr Barron submitted. He said it was recognised by the Supreme Court there were two interpretations and the only way it could be resolved conclusively was by the court in Luxembourg. Mr Justice Tony Hunt remarked that somebody, somewhere had apparently decided the Supreme Court got it catastrophically wrong and the way to correct it is to get the European Courts to tell the Supreme Court they got it wrong. Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) opposition to various aspects of the bill published 18 months ago to underpin a TU sector had led to an impasse that meant the legislation had stalled. But Education Minister Richard Bruton is expected to amend the Technological Universities Bill after a 74% vote in favour of the agreement. Just over 40% of TUIs 4,000 members in the IoT sector, and therefore eligible to vote, took part in the ballot. The deal is particularly significant for two consortia closest to a formal application to be designated as TU. These are the Munster Technological University project - Cork and Tralee institutes of technology - and the Technological University for Dublin Alliance, comprising Dublin Institute of Technology and the IoTs in Blanchardstown and Tallaght. A key concession to the TUI is that the previous pre-condition that two or more IoTs must complete a merger before applying to become a TU has been removed. Instead, a merger would only happen on the same date as an approved designation as a technological university. The deal also assures existing staff they will not be reassigned to another college or campus within a TU unless procedures to do so are agreed, and increased academic staff representation will be provided on governing bodies. The Department of Education gave a commitment before the ballot that, subject to political approval, these and other aspects of the deal would be worked into amendments to the bill. The exact timetable for enactment of the legislation will be finalised once the amendments are prepared and the legislation can be introduced, the department told the Irish Examiner. The bill was published in December 2015 by previous minister Jan OSullivan but TUI opposition meant it has not yet progressed to committee stage. Fianna Fail education spokesperson Thomas Byrne said party leader Micheal Martin has told Taoiseach Leo Varadkar it can and should be passed by the end of July. Although they are publicly committed to merging and to apply for TU status, Carlow and Waterford institutes of technology have many obstacles to clear before being ready to formally apply to establish a Technological University of the South East. WIT suspended merger talks in late 2014 and the process only resumed after a number of outside interventions. The controversial former Fine Gael minister came under fire from Labour during speeches for the nomination of Taoiseach in the Dail, as parties debated the election of Mr Varadkar to the role. But Labour leader Brendan Howlin took issue with reports that Mr Lowry had held two phonecalls with Mr Varadkar last week in which local needs in his Tipperary constituency were discussed. Fianna Fail leader Michael Martin said his opponents views were right wing and warned of consequences for the government support pact if there was any manipulation of issues, such as the budget. Sinn Feins Gerry Adams criticised Mr Varadkars previous role as health minister and his recent campaign to stamp out welfare fraud. While most leaders and TDs refrained from attacking the incoming Taoiseach, he was warned of the failings of the outgoing Enda Kenny administration and of what his tenure should be. Very little was known about his views despite being 10 years a TD, argued Mr Martin. He had also attempted to claim credit for some progress in previous portfolios, he added. In fact there was something almost indecent about the attempt to snatch credit from James Reilly for the few bright spots in his time as minister for health. There were also misgivings about what type of politics the new Taoiseach might promote, said Mr Martin. It is certainly true that Deputy Varadkars views would be significantly more right wing on most economic topics than the centre-ground consensus. In last years negotiations his approach was very distinct from that of his colleagues. During his leadership contest he again gave an emphasis which showed him to be, by instinct, more inclined to prioritising deregulation and tax cuts ahead of a more social emphasis. Mr Adams, though, suggested a general election might be needed. He also warned of stronger reforms needed under the Varadkar administration, including in health, justice as well as housing. Labours Brendan Howlin criticised the Fine Gael government, saying that it had the worst record in enacting legislation. Mary Mitchell OConnor Perhaps the biggest loser, Ms Mitchell OConnor is the only senior minister to have been demoted to a super-junior role. She had been in the key Department of Jobs under Enda Kennys government and it is understood she was quite upset when she was informed of her demotion by Mr Varadkar yesterday afternoon. While she will still be able to attend cabinet each week, she will work under Education Minister Richard Bruton after being given special responsibility for Higher Education. Simon Coveney While Mr Coveney has been moved from Housing to Foreign Affairs and will be given special responsibility for Brexit, he missed out on the powerful position of Tanaiste. It is understood that the Cork South Central TD had lobbied strongly to be appointed Tanaiste on a number of occasions in recent days but in the end Frances Fitzgerald retained the role. John Paul Phelan John Paul Phelan was a vocal back-bencher who out pressure on Enda Kenny and played a crucial role in drumming up support for Mr Varadkar during the leadership campaign. It had been widely expected that he would be rewarded with the much coveted role of Government chief whip. However, he remained empty-handed and on the backbenches as Mr Varadkar led his new Cabinet into the Dail last night. Others who may have be disappointed include Sean Kyne, Patrick ODonovan and Pat Breen, three Ministers of State under Enda Kenny who had been tipped for promotion. Online version of Encyclopedia of China to be released in 2018, free to use The third online version of the Encyclopedia of China is set to be released in 2018. Entries in the new version will serve the national knowledge system and will be accessible to users for free, according to Liu Guohui, executive deputy editor-in-chief of the encyclopedia program. Liu noted that online encyclopedias have become an inevitable trend, ever since Wikipedia was established in 2001 and Encyclopaedia Britannica stopped producing its paper edition in 2012. The third version of the Encyclopedia of China has an advantage over other encyclopedias in China in terms of both accuracy and authority, as more than 20,000 scholars participated in its compilation. It is projected to include 300,000 entries, twice as many as in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Liu disclosed that the third version of the encyclopedia will follow the latest trends in both content and form, and will properly reflect the latest research achievements. Being part of a global village, China must present its culture and knowledge to the world, Liu said. The new version will be available on a trial basis by the end of 2018. The unit is likely to prove attractive as it is let to TRS Global Services Ireland Ltd on a 20-year fully repairing and insuring lease from June 2007, leaving 10 years on the current contract. It is an unusual proposition in that the rent is being paid not in euro, but in dollars. The detached manufacturing facility extends to approximately 5,080sq m with adjacent occupiers including GE Healthcare, Stryker and Gilead Sciences. The current occupier is a full-service provider of repairs and services for engine owners, specialising in stationary component repairs. A BOY of privilege growing up in Castleknock, Leo Varadkar, the new Taoiseach, was the son of an Indian GP and a Waterford nurse. He attended the nearby fee-paying school, the Kings Hospital, as a day pupil and the years he spent there were formative in his journey to the Taoiseachs office. He showed incredible ability, focus, and ambition, and a remarkable willingness to be a winner. From day one, his academic focus was not in question, but from testimonies obtained by the Irish Examiner, it is clear he was driven to be the best, even in the highly competitve environment of the Kings Hospital. According to his year head, at the end of the first term: Leo is a most talented young man, who will have a very bright future with us. Socially, he has made a most encouraging start and I am very optimistic for him. A year later, the same head noted Varadkars progress with satisfaction. Leo is a quiet, positive young man, who gets on with life with a minimum of fuss. He is very cooperative in every way and I am very optimistic for his overall development in the years ahead, said his end-of-year report. But Varadkar was a reluctant sportsman, and was not keen on the schools two main sports, rugby and hockey, which were compulsory in the first two years of his schooling there. He wasnt madly keen on sport, but he had an interest in cricket, cycling, and reading. He did a bit of rowing. He wouldnt have been mad keen on rugby or hockey. He had other interests, said someone familiar with his time at the school. Beyond his academic efforts, the young Varadkar began to branch out into other activities, with debating and student politics becoming his focus. By the time of his Junior Cert year, his teachers highlighted his involvement in those outside activities. Leo is a mature young man and has enjoyed much success through his enthusiastic participation in activities such as debating. He has been a positive contributor to the student council, his year head said. To be a member of student council, you have to be elected by your peer group to be their representative, so, clearly, at this young early age, Varadkars leadership abilities were obvious to those around him. While Varadkars interest in science (he became a medical doctor) is well-known, he also had a keen interest in history. His third-year history teacher said of him: Leo continues to show exceptional perception and astuteness in all that he does. But the young Leo was stubborn and forthright in his views, which often led him into heated debates with teachers and fellow pupils. He would get involved in robust conversation in class, and he would have strong opinions on certain figures and historical periods, but he always came from a position of being informed. He had done his homework, said one. When in transition year, his European studies teacher wrote about him: He is intelligent, informed, and articulate. Leo contributed a lot to the class. Leos knowledge of detail is excellent and he combines this with an analytical approach which shows excellent comprehension. By the time he was approaching his Leaving Cert, the young Varadkars competitiveness had come to the fore and he won a number of accolades from the school. He excelled in debating and, in his last year, he won the Anderson medal for oratory. In his final year, he won the history prize, which was unusual for someone who would go on to study medicine. He also won the prize for chemistry, based on his Leaving Cert results. When he went to Trinity College Dublin (TCD), initially he studied law, but then switched to medicine. Did Leo date at the time? I wouldnt have any recollections, but there was nothing untoward. I dont think there were any issues of boyfriends, at that stage. It wasnt on the agenda, said one fellow student. It was in Trinity College that Leo found his political voice in earnest. He joined Young Fine Gael, which would become his main social outlet during his time at college. It was here that he made his first run for the county council, but failed. He resolved to never lose again. Despite his current image of being a liberal lion, Leo Varadkar, in his late teens, was an arch conservative, according to several of his friends at the time. He was very shy and awkward. The media perception of him today is very different to the reality, said one friend. He was socially awkward; obviously we have a soft spot for him, the friend added. Asked if Varadkar ever fell foul of college authorities, his friends said he and they spent their time causing trouble in the political party. We were causing trouble within Fine Gael. It has been covered about us trying to change the rules as to how to vote the leader and the various European campaigns, a friend said. But he was very conservative in his outlook and he held those views until recently. Oh, he was very conservative, all the way along, and right up until the point he came out, two years ago, the friend said. He wasnt in the Frances Fitz or Garrett Fitzgerald side of the party. He sees himself more as a Christian democrat, rather than a social democrat. But he came in from a non-political background. He does genuinely believe in public service, which his predecessor didnt always. He has become far more pragmatic, because of his leadership ambitious, one of his oldest friends tells me. But he was also tribal. In Young Fine Gael, he and other Dublin members would have gone to war repeatedly with their counterparts in UCC and NUI Galway. Patrick ODonovan and Leo clashed hugely, but they seemed to have buried the hatchet recently, the friend added. According to those around him, Fine Gael has always been his social outlet. He would have gone on holidays with branch members. It is only since he met Matt, and came out, that he seems to have a wider group of friends, which is great. It has been good for him and helped his interpersonal skills, the friend added. Twenty years on from leaving Kings Hospital, and 15 years from his days at Trinity College, Leo Varadkar, the gay son of an Indian doctor, is the leader of our once Catholic-dominated, insular country. Truly remarkable. BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China is poised to pilot green financing reform in its latest effort to honor commitments on addressing climate change, as decided at the Wednesday executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. While in Europe earlier this month, Li reaffirmed that China would stand by its commitments made to the Paris Agreement and join forces with other parties to address the challenges of climate change. "China is among the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement, and you can bank on it that we will stick to our commitments," Li said in Berlin on June 1 at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This is a global call and the consensus is there. Doing what is commensurate with China's role as the largest developing country is not only an international responsibility, but also a true calling for China in our path forward, the premier said. "China always stands by its words and sees them through. Our efforts in energy conservation and emission control will only be strengthened, not weakened," he said. China's CO2 emission per unit of GDP dropped by 26.2 percent from 2011 to 2016 and the country is on course to cut emission intensity down to 40-45 percent below 2005 level by 2020, and further to 60-65 percent lower than 2005 by 2030, when overall carbon emission of China peaks. To ensure that the country will meet its target, the Chinese government has taken a host of measures, the most recent being the green financing pilot program. Ma Jun, chief economist with the research bureau of the People's Bank of China, said last September that China's pledges to bring carbon emissions to a peak by around 2030 would need investment of 3-4 trillion yuan each year. Ma said the government is to cover around 15 percent of the total, which means that social capital would have to be mobilized on a massive scale. "There has been a high consensus ranging from the top decision-making level to the government departments related to support the country's green financing and investment and to speed up the transformation of the economy to a greener way of development," he said. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. (Xinhua) 18:51, June 15, 2017 SEOUL, June 15 -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday proposed an unconditional dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) if Pyongyang stops any nuclear and missile provocations. Moon made the remarks at the 17th anniversary event to celebrate the June 15th North-South Joint Declaration, which was made when late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and late DPRK leader Kim Jong Il held the first inter-Korean summit meeting in Pyongyang. The DPRK's determination to give up its nuclear program would become an evidence of its will to implement the inter-Korean agreement, and if Pyongyang makes the determination, South Korea will actively help, Moon said. The South Korean leader said his government will be able to comprehensively discuss various issues, ranging from the DPRK's complete denuclearization, the building of peace regime on the Korean Peninsula and the normalized diplomatic relations between the DPRK and the United States. It marked the first time that Moon mentioned the three issues, though he set a precondition of no provocations, since he took office on May 10. Moon said that though the DPRK urged the implementation of the June 15th declaration and the Oct. 4th North-South Declaration, Pyongyang advanced its nuclear and missile capability and broke what it urged. The Oct. 4th declaration was made at the second inter-Korean summit meeting, which was held in Pyongyang in 2007 between late South Korean leader Roh Moo-hyun and late DPRK leader Kim Jong Il. Though South Korea will make its own efforts, the DPRK should do its own, Moon noted. Referring to the July 4th Joint Statement in 1972 and the 1991 Basic Agreement as well as the two declarations, Moon said a series of the previous inter-Korean agreements would become a grand principle in improving inter-Korean relations under his government. The president urged Pyongyang to give up its nuclear development, adding that the DPRK's nuclear and missile developments posted a serious threat to peace and stability in the region and the world. Enditem Local Dems sweep; town rejects pot Every Democrat on the local ballot won their race Tuesday, including Jamestown resident Peter Neronhas re-election as the states top prosecutor, and local voters followed suit with the statewide trend... Voters rebuff allowing retail pot sales in shops By a margin of 157 votes, the electorate decided Tuesday not to allow local businesses to cultivate, manufacture, test or sell recreational marijuana in Jamestown. The referendum to allow the... School board agrees to contract with North Kingstown Jamestown students entering high school can continue to choose North Kingstown as their destination for grades 9-12. We are pleased to continue this historic partnership, said Ken Duva, superintendent of... In a Facebook post on June 15, the Singaporean prime minister's sister, Lee Wei Ling, insisted that recent sibling rivalry within the family extends beyond a family affair, renewing allegations that the PM had misused his official power to abuse the siblings. Lee Wei Ling, daughter of Singapore's founding father Lee Kuang Yew, and her younger brother, Lee Hsien Yang, jointly issued a stunning statement a day earlier, denouncing their older brother, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong, and his wife, Ho Ching, for abusing their power and exploiting their late father's legacy for personal gain - specifically, the political ambitions of their son, Li Hongyi. The statement claimed that they have lost confidence in their brother and they no longer trust him. Blaming the PM for his departure, Lee Hsien Yang said he now feels compelled to leave the country for the foreseeable future. Lee Hsien Loong on June 14 denied all allegations and said he was disappointed and saddened that the two siblings turned private family issues into a public affair. Lee Hsien Yang (Photo/People's Daily) "Ho Ching and I deny these allegations, especially the absurd claim that I have political ambitions for my son," Lee Hsien Loong responded through a statement issued by the PM's office. "While siblings may have differences, I believe that any such differences should stay in the family. Since my father's passing in March 2015, as the eldest son I have tried my best to resolve the issues among us within the family, out of respect for our parents." Lee Wei Ling's Facebook post contradicted her brother's response, saying that if it was merely a family affair, they would not have taken it public. She made similar allegations last year, exposing the dispute within the city-state's first family to the public. Although the accusations are vague and no evidence has been provided, it seems that at the heart of the dispute is the fate of a house in which their father lived for most of his life. The brother-sister duo accused the PM of refusing to carry out their father's wish that the house be demolished after his death, rather than becoming a monument to him. "Hsien Loong's political power is related to being Lee Kuan Yew's son and thus he has every incentive to preserve Lee Kuan Yew's house to inherit his credibility," the two siblings claimed in their Facebook statement. The PM, who is currently overseas with his family, said he will consider the matter further after his return this weekend. By continuing to browse or by clicking "Accept," you agree to our site's privacy policy. Nester Hosiery announced Wednesday that private investment firms Aiglon Capital and Merit Capital Partners have bought a stake in the company. The outdoor sock producer, which is based in Mount Airy, stated that Aiglon and Merits investment will allow Nester Hosiery to build on its domestic manufacturing strength, spur growth in its Farm to Feet brand and expand its private label business. The team at Aiglon values the strength of our domestic manufacturing and sees great potential in Farm to Feet, said Kelly Nester, Nester Hosierys chief executive. This investment gives us the resources to expand our capabilities and build on our private label and branded businesses. Founded in 1993 and focused on technology and sustainability, Nester Hosiery manufactures premium performance outdoor wool socks. The company produces private label, licensed and branded socks under its Ballston and Farm to Feet brands. Nester Hosiery currently produces socks for more than 24 leading brands, and holds the sock license for both the Woolrich brand and Rocky Brands divisions of Rocky Outdoor, Georgia Boot and Durango. We are excited to be working with the Nester family to continue growing the business and facilitating its expansion, said Richard Griffin, managing partner at Aiglon. This is our first investment from our North Carolina value fund, and we could not be happier to be partnering with a very impressive management team. Specifics of the deal, which closed June 9, were not disclosed, but the company said several Nester Hosiery senior managers joined the companys ownership group. Also, the Nester family and management team retained a significant minority stake, while the private investment firms bought a majority portion of the business. Aiglon, based in Durham, acquires and grows lower middle-market companies with at least $2 million of operating cash flow. Merit, based in Chicago, has managed more than $2 billion of capital since 1993 through six limited partnerships. (Xinhua) 20:42, June 15, 2017 BEIJING, June 15 -- The Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) said Thursday that its outstanding loans for the Belt and Road Initiative surpassed 620 billion yuan (over 90 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of the first quarter. The funds were pumped into more than 1,200 projects along the ancient trade routes, said Xie Ping, deputy governor of the bank. Its lending to international cooperation on industrial capacity was at more than 700 billion yuan. "These projects have not only helped improve the competitiveness of Chinese firms but also boosted the development of developing countries that introduced standards and technologies from China," Xie said. The Belt and Road Initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes, with industrial cooperation as a crucial part. The bank said it also has increased financial support for manufacturing improvements, small enterprises, and poverty relief. Founded in 1994, China Exim Bank is one of the country's three policy banks and works with foreign trade, offshore project contracting, and outbound investment. WASHINGTON The Republican gospel of cutting taxes and government services to the bone doesnt lead to economic growth; it leads to crisis and decline. Just ask the people of Kansas, who finally have seen the light. If House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dont heed the Kansas lesson, they deserve to have their majorities stripped away in next years midterms. And they wont be able to claim they werent warned. The states are supposed to be laboratories for testing government policy. For five years, Kansas Republican governor, Sam Brownback, conducted the nations most radical exercise in trickle-down economics a real live experiment, he called it. He and the GOP-controlled Legislature slashed the states already-low tax rates, eliminated state income tax for most owner-operated businesses and sharply reduced vital government services. These measures were supposed to deliver a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy, Brownback said. It ended up being a shot of poison. Growth rates lagged behind those in neighboring states and the nation as a whole. Deficits mounted to unsustainable levels. Services withered. Brownback had set in motion a vicious cycle, not a virtuous one. Last week, finally, the legislature still controlled by Republicans overrode Brownbacks veto of legislation restoring taxation to sane levels. The nightmare experiment is coming to an end. The return to sane taxation will go a long way toward erasing a billion-dollar deficit. More revenue-raising measures may be needed, however, since education funding under Brownback was reduced to levels that the state Supreme Court recently ruled unconstitutional. It is unclear whether a $488 million increase for the schools over the next two years which Brownback may still veto, or try to is enough to satisfy the court. Republican leaders in Congress will probably try to ignore the Kansas fiasco or say Brownbacks implementation was flawed. But that would be unfair. All Brownback did was apply what passes for mainstream Republican orthodoxy these days: Cut taxes, eliminate regulation, shrink government, then stand back and watch as economic growth soars. It just didnt work. It never works. Republicans cannot point to an instance in which this prescription has led to the promised Valhalla of skyrocketing growth. Before Kansas, they could at least argue that the program had only been attempted partially and piecemeal, never in full and unadulterated form. After Kansas, that excuse is gone. Eliminating business income taxes for owner-operated companies was supposed to induce entrepreneurs to move to Kansas from other states. It didnt. It turned out that business owners take more than taxes into account when they decide where to locate. They want good health care and first-rate schools for themselves and their employees. They want modern, well-maintained infrastructure. In short, they want a healthy, functioning public sector. It also turns out that business owners do not decide whether to expand capacity or add employees based solely on the tax rate they must pay. Much more important is whether there is enough demand to justify such growth. If there is not and the Kansas economy under Brownback was woefully sluggish then tax savings will not be put to productive use. The Kansas Republicans who voted to abandon Brownbacks dead-end policies have been described in news stories as moderate, but many are actually quite conservative. They just decided to put reality before ideology. President Trump and the Republican-led Congress, however, threaten to run Brownbacks experiment on a national scale, with predictably disastrous consequences. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney proposes amputational cuts to the social safety net and bureaus such as the State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. And Trumps tax reform plan proposes, among other cuts, to slash the top tax rate for pass-through businesses basically, owner-operated firms such as the Trump Organization from 39.6 percent to 15 percent. Claims that such action will lead to a surge in economic growth never had much credibility. Now, after the Kansas experiment, they have zero. Its tempting to say fine, go for it, let the whole country see that the policy prescriptions championed by the Republican Party lead to nothing but a world of pain except for the wealthy, who get to pad their bank accounts. But this is no academic exercise. Real people will suffer needlessly. The GOP trembles before tax-cut guru Grover Norquist, who wants to reduce government to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub. But it is failed trickle-down ideology that deserves to be snuffed out. And not just in Kansas. Last month, many law enforcement officers and their families made their annual visit to the nations capital to commemorate National Police Week. The events included a somber and touching ceremony held to honor the 394 names that were inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, which included the 143 officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2016. Two of these names were North Carolinas finest: John Thomas Isenhour, a Forsyth County deputy sheriff, and Tim Brackeen, a Shelby Police Department K-9 officer. Deputy Isenhour and Officer Brackeen both personified the honor, integrity and bravery of North Carolina law enforcement. They were the kinds of public servants who could instantly erase the doubts of anyone who would ever question the character or motivations of the men and women in blue. No one should ever forget that police officers, just like every other American, kiss their loved ones good-bye before going to work each day. But the big difference is, unlike the vast majority of us, theres no guarantee officers will return safely to their families when their shifts are over. That was readily apparent Wednesday, once again, as two Capitol Police officers were injured protecting the congressmen who were fired upon. Our police officers make these sacrifices because they have accepted the awesome responsibility of serving and protecting the public. They are serving a calling that requires them to always put the safety of others ahead their own well-being, and tragically they sometimes pay the ultimate price. In return, our nation has an obligation to ensure our law enforcement officials have the tools, resources and support to do their jobs effectively and stay as safe as possible. In areas where that support is lacking, it is the responsibility of elected officials to step up and either revisit existing laws or create new ones to help protect the very men and women who protect us. While Republicans and Democrats may not be able to agree on much these days, one notable area of bipartisan cooperation this year has been the advancement of legislation that supports law enforcement. The president recently signed two bills that I co-sponsored into law that were approved overwhelmingly by Congress: a bill that encourages state and local law enforcement to hire veterans and another that supports the families of fallen police officers by addressing the backlog to obtain survivor benefits. There is another bipartisan bill quickly moving its way through Congress that supports the mental health and well-being of officers, directing the Department of Justice to consult with the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs on best mental-health practices that law enforcement agencies could implement. The legislation recently passed the Senate unanimously and should become law soon. Additionally, I recently joined several of my colleagues to introduce the Back the Blue Act and the Probation Officer Protection Act. The Back the Blue Act is a direct response to the violent targeting of law enforcement officers. It would do a number of things, including increasing penalties for any violent criminal who targets law enforcement officers, and empowering the Department of Justice to provide grant funding to promote trust and improve relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The Probation Officer Protection Act would improve the ability for probation officers to keep themselves safe by allowing them to arrest hostile third parties who obstruct or prevent them from performing their official duties. The legislation moving through Congress demonstrates a commitment to law enforcement, but there is much more work to be done. Strengthening police-community relations, protecting the safety of police officers and ensuring police have quality training must be among Congress top priorities for the remainder of 2017 and beyond. I look forward to continuing working with leaders in both North Carolina and Washington to push for policies that will better protect our communities and recognize the great sacrifices made by law enforcement. China opposes political intervention in commercial takeovers, urging the United States to provide a level playing field for Chinese investors, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on June 14, following a report that the U.S. was considering restrictions on Chinese investment in sensitive technologies. In principle, normal business takeovers shall follow business rules and the laws of the market, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told reporters at a routine press conference. We believe there should not be undue political dimensions imposed on commercial takeovers, let alone political intervention. Lu's remarks came after Reuters reported that the U.S. may increase scrutiny of Chinese investment in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, which are vital to American national security. Citing an aide to a member of Congress, Reuters noted that Republican Senator John Cornyn is drafting legislation that would give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) more power to ban Chinese acquisitions of certain technologies. CFIUS is an inter-agency group that is authorized to review foreign transactions in order to protect national security. We also hope that the U.S. side can provide a sound environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and start businesses in the U.S., Lu added. Facts have proven that a sound trade and investment relationship between China and the U.S. brings tangible benefits to the two sides. Chinese investments in the U.S. jumped to $46 billion last year, a 200 percent increase from the previous record of $15 billion in 2015. In addition, two-way investment between the U.S. and China reached an all-time high in 2016, elevating that facet of the bilateral economic relationship, according to a report released by the Rhodium Group and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in May. The attorneys general of 11 states filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Tuesday against the Trump administration for failing to finalize energy efficiency standards for portable air-conditioners, freezers and other products. The lawsuit concerns [WP report] five final rules that the Obama administration issued shortly before he left office. The new requirements [AP report] would potentially save consumers billions of dollars, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve a significant amount of energy. The finalized standards were subjected to a 45-day review period to ensure there were no typographical errors or inconsistencies. The US Department of Energy (DOE) [official website] has failed to publish within the public-review period rendering the new standards unenforceable under law. The Natural Resources Defense Council and Earthjustice [advocacy websites] filed a separate suit [complaint, PDF] also seeking to compel the DOE to publish the efficiency standards. A priority of the Trump administration has been to roll back regulations and alter the countrys energy and environmental policies, which the current administration claims have hurt jobs and the growth of the economy. In March the Trump administration asked [JURIST report] the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to postpone ruling on the Obama administrations climate change regulations. This request came after President Donald Trump signed [JURIST report] an executive order rolling back the Obama administration policies. The Clean Power Plan [text, PDF] was challenged during Obamas presidency by certain states and industry groups that rely on the coal industry. In February Trump signed legislation [JURIST report] that rolled back coal mining regulations implemented by the Obama administration. Also that week the president signed a repeal of regulations [JURIST report] that required energy companies to disclose their payments to foreign governments. Shortly after his inauguration, Trump signed orders advancing the construction [JURIST report] of both the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access Pipeline. Australias Minister of Immigration and Border Protection [official website] on Wednesday announced [press release] a $90 million settlement in the Manus Island class action lawsuit. The settlement includes $70 million (USD $52.75 million) to be paid to the plaintiffs and $20 million in legal costs. Australia still refutes the claims in the lawsuit and states that the settlement is not an admission of guilt. Instead, it states that the settlement is required under Australias Legal Services Directions, which instructs to endeavour to avoid, prevent or limit the scope of legal proceedings. The settlement must still be approved by the Supreme Court of Victoria.The class action suit involved [CNN report] more than 1,900 detainees at Australias offshore asylum seeker detention center. The refugees were at the center between 2012 and 2016. As of April of this year, 821 people are still being detained on Manus Island. It is believed that this settlement opens the possibility for more class action lawsuits, including from asylum seekers being held on Nauru. In recent years, Australia has seen significant amounts of scrutiny over its refugee detention centers in Manus Island and Nauru. In February, a coalition of legal experts filed [JURIST report] a petition against Australia in the International Criminal Court, calling the detention centers a violation of human rights. Amnesty International (AI) accused Australia in October of using the island of Nauru as an open-air prison [JURIST report] to prevent immigration of asylum seekers. In August Australia announced [JURIST report] that Australia and Papua New Guinea intend on closing the controversial Manus Island detention center. That same month AI and Human Rights Watch issued reports [JURIST report] stating that Australia is ignoring inhumane treatment of detainees in Nauru. Papua New Guinea officials claimed in May that refugees are not being detained [JURIST report] on Manus Island, as they are given access to mainland Australia. The statement by officials followed a ruling by the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court that the Australian off-shore detention facility was illegal, in direct opposition to a ruling [JURIST report] by the Australian Supreme Court earlier this year that the off-shore detention was legal. The European Commission [official website] started infringement [press release] procedures against the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary on Tuesday for refusal to comply with the European Commissions emergency relocation scheme. The emergency relocation scheme was passed in 2015 to help relocate asylum seekers in Italy and Greece. In total, more than 98,000 people are meant to be relocated through the program. Every member state is expected to provide available places for relocation every three months. Hungary has not made any pledges throughout the program, Poland stopped making pledges after December 2015 and the Czech Republic stopped making pledges for more than a year. The three countries will have one month to respond to the European Commissions arguments. If the Commission finds the response to be unsatisfactory, the Commission may send a reasoned opinion to the member states. The Commission may then also send the case tot the EU Court of Justice. Several European countries have received criticism over their handling of the asylum seeker crisis. In January the European Commission declared [JURIST report] that the conditions on the Greek islands for asylum seekers was untenable. In March Hungary lawmakers approved [JURIST report] legislation that would prevent asylum seekers from moving about the country or leaving until their claims were investigated. In October 2015 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged [JURIST report] to the Czech Republic to stop detaining migrants and refugees. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette [official website] announced charges [press release] Wednesday against five former Flint officials for their part in the Flint water crisis. Schuette charged Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, former City of Flint Water Department Manager Howard Croft, as well as Michigan Department of Environmental Qualitys Drinking Water Chief Liane Shekter-Smith and Water Supervisor Stephen Busch with involuntary manslaughter related to their alleged failure to act in the Flint Water Crisis. If convicted, the former officials could face up to 15 years in prison, and a $7,500 fine. The charges stem from when multiple Flint-area residents died of Legionnaires disease in the time immediately following the switch from Detroit Water and Sewer Department to the Flint River. All defendants charged with involuntary manslaughter are charged in particular for the death of Robert Skidmore, 85, of Mt. Morris, Michigan. In March the state of Michigan agreed to allot $87 million to replace lead water pipes [JURIST report] in the city of Flint. In January more than 1,700 residents filed [JURIST report] a class action lawsuit against the US, claiming that the Environmental Protection Agency had failed to respond to damage claims arising from the Flint water crisis. These claims are some of the myriad of legal actions taken in response to the Flint water crisis. In December Schuette announced [JURIST report] that felony charges were filed against four former state officials connected with the Flint water crisis, with maximum prison sentences of 46 years available to the prosecutors. That same month a federal court affirmed [JURIST report] a lower court decision requiring the state of Michigan to provide bottled water to Flint residents. Last September the US Senate approved legislation to provide $100 million in emergency funding to repair pipes in cities suffering from lead contamination. The UK Supreme Court [official website] ruled [judgment, PDF] Wednesday that the governments policy of deporting foreign nationals who have committed crimes before their appeals are heard is unlawful. Section 3(5)(a) of the 1971 Act provides that a person who is not a British citizen is liable for deportation from the UK if the Home Secretary deems their deportation to be conducive to the public good. The deport first, appeal later policy allows the UK government to deport foreigners without giving them the right to launch an appeal against deportation while they are in the country. UK immigration policies have been controversial. Last month an advisor to the EU Court of Justice concluded that the UK Home Office wrongly denied residency [JURIST report] to the Algerian husband of a dual British-Spanish citizen. In February the UK Supreme Court upheld [JURIST report] immigration rules that require British citizens have a certain level of income to bring their foreign spouses into Britain. NEWSLETTER Sign up Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive. Just Style Daily Update The top stories of the day delivered to you every weekday. Just Style Weekly Update A weekly roundup of the latest news and analysis, sent every Monday. Just Style Magazine The industry's most comprehensive news and information delivered every quarter. Philadelphia, PA, USA, 06/14/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/ As the weather warms motorcyclists are more common on our streets and highways. The rest of us need to be more aware of them and be more willing to share the road with those on two wheels. All too often negligent drivers injure or kill motorcyclists because theyre distracted, misjudge distances or simply dont notice the motorcycle says Philadelphia motorcycle accident lawyer Rand Spear. Motorcycle accidents are far too common in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In Fair Haven, New Jersey, three people were hospitalized after an accident involving a car and three motorcycles last month. Local police reported the car collided with three motorcycles at a local intersection, according to NJ 101.5. The driver and two motorcyclists went to the hospital for treatment. A motorcyclist was killed in Logan Township, in Blair County, Pennsylvania, after he was struck by a pickup truck earlier this month, according to WJAC. Police stated the motorcyclist was traveling north when the truck entered his lane in front of him, causing a collision. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger on a motorcycle was killed in a motorcycle crash in late May in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, reports Penn Live. The motorcycle collided head-on with a sedan on Route 15 southbound at Route 581 in East Pennsboro Township. The motorcycle operator was sent to the hospital and was in critical condition. The sedan made a left turn in front of the motorcycle when the two vehicles collided. An off-duty Bucks County sheriffs deputy was killed in a motorcycle accident in May in East Rockhill Township, reports CBS Philly. 48 year old Keith Clymer was killed when his motorcycle hit a truck that turned into his path on Route 313. The truck driver lacked a valid drivers license because it had been suspended through at least 2023 due to multiple convictions for driving while intoxicated. He was turning into his driveway at the time of the crash and reportedly smelled of alcohol at the time of the accident. Many motorcycle accidents happen when a vehicle cuts in front of a motorcycle, often making a left turn through the lane with an oncoming motorcycle. If the vehicle driver is distracted, fatigued or under the influence of alcohol or drugs this may be the result of poor judgement or failing to make sure its safe to turn the vehicle. A driver may see the motorcycle but misjudge its speed or distance because he or she isnt used to driving around motorcycles, which because theyre smaller than other vehicles, may appear to be farther away or moving slower than they actually are. Motorcyclists can improve their chances of being seen by always using their headlight and wearing bright clothing. The seriousness of injuries may be reduced if a helmet is worn along with protective boots, gloves and pants. If you or a loved one were injured in a motorcycle accident, dont wait to speak to a personal injury lawyer about your case. Protect your rights, visit us on the web or call Philadelphia and New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer Rand Spear today at 877-GET-RAND. source: http://randspear.com/2017/06/14/accidents-come-warns-philadelphia-motorcycle-accident-lawyer-rand-spear/ Newsroom powered by Online Press Release Distribution SubmitMyPressRelease.com Like Us on Facebook It's only fair to share... Pinterest Linkedin email Print Photos Credit: Emperor Cruises Halong From the moment you enter the stately wooden doors of Emperor Cruises Halong, you instantly realize this is not your normal touristy Vietnamese cruise. You are cruising artfully among creations from one of the most famous artists in the country, Pham Luc. He was an official military artist and his work bridges two centuries while depicting war and peace throughout Vietnamese history. Walking into the crisp minimalistic design, you are met by the lacquer works of an old, Hanoian street, the national Vietnamese lotus flower in still life, and an oil on canvas artwork about Tetthe traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year. The paintings welcome you onto the sophisticated cruise, and combined with the beat of the welcome drums and sound of the gong, high-end travelers are treated to a truly royal experience. Throughout the boat are a great variety of art styles such as lacquers, oil on canvas, rice sacks, paper, and old fashioned architecture dating back to the 1930s. The rustic wooden elements create an elegant atmosphere in ancient Indochine style. You can discover the richness of Vietnamese art, culture and history through these creations because it flows in the chicest way possible. The entire art collection aboard has been handpicked by the passionate art lover, Pham Ha, who is the architect of this unique floating museum at sea, Emperor Art Cruise is the primary focus, with local artists asked to make their mark on the cruise fleet with a distinguished style that will captivate you with its authenticity. Not limited to visual art, Emperor Cruises often invites others famous artists such as violinists, pianists and musicians from across Vietnam. They come to get some inspiration and put on live performances for guests in the Hanoi Bar 1945. With 8 suites fitted with a private balcony overlooking the Bai Tu Long Bay, it breaks the mold of the usual all-inclusive Vietnamese vibe with its cool yet comfortable atmosphere. Back to the Can Chanh Palace, a stylish restaurant in the heart of the Emperor Cruises with a painting of the Emperor Bao Dai by Pham Luc, recreates the royal atmosphere of the former Can Chan Palace, where Emperor Bao Dai was used to conduct royal parties, receive VIP guests and ambassadors and host official ceremonies. Make sure to have your camera ready as you can capture picture perfect memories to take back home. Attend the Vovinam Class (Vietnamese martial arts), learn about the art of drinking tea and coffee as well as enjoying cooking class demonstration and fine wine tasting. The Hanoi Bar 1945 plays LIndochine the first classical movie filmed in the former capital Hue and Halong Bay in early 1990, with Catherine Deneuve. The Heritage Spa offers a rich selection of therapeutic relaxation, and it is all included and unlimited, just book with your butler. The experience of visiting Ha Long Bay is unforgettable, and we are sure it will remain in your fondest memories for many years to come. You will enjoy meeting Vietnamese people and tasting their delicious food, you will have fresh air all day and night, especially if you wake up early in the morning and watch the sun rise on the deck as it welcomes in a new day. Be sure not to miss visiting Ha Long Bay during your lifetime. Browse some images and videos of this stunning and marvelous place, and imagine being here yourself, experiencing the beauty of Vietnam and its kind people. Post cruise, there are plenty of other attractions in the region. Besides exploring Ha Long Bay itself, you can visit the Royal Park in Halong City, a Water Music Show, an aquarium performance by dolphins, sea lions, crocodiles, and much more. This unique cruise is only a couple of hours Noi Bai Airport, Hanoi, or 60 minutes from Cat Bi Airport, Hai Phong City. Strategically located at the base of Hon Gai in Bai Tu Long Bay, the opportunities for relaxation, adventure, art, and indulgence are seemingly endless. A worthy assessment: Kansas State University a leader in improving critical thinking skills Thursday, June 15, 2017 Kansas State University has been recognized as among the best schools in the nation for improving students' critical thinking skills. MANHATTAN A recent analysis by the Wall Street Journal shows Kansas State University is one of the best schools in the nation for improving students' critical thinking skills. According to the newspaper's analysis, Kansas State University is 12th in the nation and first in the Big 12 Conference and in Kansas when it comes to the amount of improvement students make in their ability to think critically, reason, interpret and evaluate between their freshman to senior years. Strong critical thinking skills are important to employers and highlight the value of a degree from Kansas State University, said Pat Bosco, vice president for student life and dean of students. "This survey shows how a degree from K-State gives our students an important edge when it comes to landing a job," Bosco said. "Employers seek graduates who have the strong critical thinking skills that make them ready for the job on day one. These are the skills our students are acquiring through the more than 250 programs and options that K-State offers." As the university's chief academic officer, April Mason, provost and senior vice president, said strengthening students' abilities to think critically is not just a sign of their academic growth, but also shows institutional effectiveness. "Developing critical thinkers is part of the university's 2025 plan to be a Top 50 public university," Mason said. "Moreover, it is important for determining the effectiveness of student learning and of our teaching. This is an area of great emphasis at K-State and one we will never stop seeking to better." This emphasis is highlighted by the university's Teaching and Learning Center, which declared 2017 as the "Year of Critical Thinking." The center and university's Office of Assessment have been offerings workshops and other events throughout the year on ways to improve and better assess critical thinking skills. For the Wall Street Journal's analysis, results from the Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus, known as the CLA+, from 2013-2016 were used. This standardized test, administered annually by the Council for Aid to Education, assesses students' performance in analysis and problem-solving, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical reading and evaluation, and critiquing an argument, as well as writing mechanics and effectiveness. Kansas State University no longer administers the CLA+ as it is just one of the many methods available to universities to assess students' critical thinking development, said Brian Niehoff, associate provost of institutional effectiveness. "The challenge is that the problems requiring critical thinking differ greatly across disciplines, such as architecture, agriculture, business, engineering, science, art or literature," Niehoff said. "The internal assessments administered at K-State allow for and measure specific critical thinking skills within each discipline." Niehoff said the learning gains as measured by the CLA+ showed an overall correlation with the growth in learning found from the university's other assessment measures. "We use the compiled data from all assessment methods to assist our continuous cycle of improving teaching and learning for all students," he said. Assessment methods used at the university have been recognized as a national model. The Excellence in Assessment program named Kansas State University as one of 10 exemplary colleges and universities for its commitment to the comprehensive assessment of student learning outcomes. This is the first national designation of its kind and spotlights institutions successfully integrating assessment practices across campus, providing evidence of student learning outcomes, and using assessment results to guide institutional decision-making and improve student performance. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: NATO continues to encourage both Armenia and Azerbaijan to work towards a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a NATO official told Trend June 15. The official was commenting on the recent visit of James Appathurai, NATO secretary generals special representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia, to Armenia, where he made several statements regarding the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. NATO fully supports the [OSCE] Minsk Groups efforts to that end, the NATO official said. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Appathurais recent visit to Armenia was aimed at taking stock of NATO-Armenia cooperation, on the basis of an Individual Partnership Action Plan (also referred to as IPAP) signed by NATO and Armenia, noted the official. This IPAP focuses on areas such as interoperability and defense reform. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva Trend: The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict may be discussed during the meeting of Russian and French foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov and Jean-Yves Le Drian in Moscow June 20, Spokeswoman of Russias Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said at a briefing June 15. We are in touch with our French colleagues regarding this issue, Zakharova said. The essence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts settlement is finding a compromise between the conflicts parties, which seem to be taking quite opposite stances, she added. The situation requires moving forward, and, therefore, contacts in various formats have recently intensified, Zakharova noted. Russia, as a mediator in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflicts settlement, is doing everything possible for a compromise to be reached, but not to the detriment of the peoples of the two countries, she added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15 Trend: Tactical and special exercises of combat engineer units of Azerbaijans Armed Forces were conducted in line with the plan approved by Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, said the Azerbaijani Defense Ministrys press service in a message June 15. During the exercises, the tasks on bringing units into the state of combat readiness, their movement forward to the areas of concentration and deployment on the territory, preparation for the engineering support of offensive operations were completed. The exercise directors and the Army command highly assessed the training, skills and capabilities of the military personnel. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15 Trend: Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, president of Malta, has sent a congratulatory letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. On the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan, it is with great pleasure that I convey heartfelt greetings and felicitations on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Malta to Your Excellency as well as to the Government and the people of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the president of Malta said to Ilham Aliyev in her letter. I avail myself of this opportunity to wish Your Excellency good health and serenity as well as continued progress to your nation, reads the letter. I also express my confidence that the excellent relations that exist between our two countries will continue to be strengthened. Fayez Mustafa Al-Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord of Libya, also congratulated the Azerbaijani president on the National Day of the Republic of the country. It is with great pleasure that I extend, on behalf of the government and people of the National Accord of Libya and on my own behalf, my most sincere congratulations and wishes to you and through you to the government and people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of your national holiday Republic Day, Fayez Mustafa Al-Sarraj said in his letter. Using this opportunity, I wish you robust health and happiness and the friendly people of your country progress and prosperity. I would also like to note that I am ready to work with you to strengthen friendly relations and cooperation to the mutual benefit of our peoples. Excellency, please accept the assurances of my highest consideration, reads the letter. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva Trend: Azerbaijans Ambassador to the United States Elin Suleymanov spoke about his country during one of the most popular American radio shows The John Batchelor Show, where he was invited by the famous radio host John Batchelor. Batchelor noted that he was amazed by Azerbaijan during a recent visit to the country. Suleymanov told John Batchelor about the countrys history, attitude to religion and the recent Islamic Solidarity Games, which were successfully hosted in Baku. The diplomat spoke about the role of women in Azerbaijani society, noting that the right to vote for women in Azerbaijan was provided much earlier than in many Western countries. The issues of the Azerbaijans geostrategic location and its important role in many regional projects were also touched upon. Suleymanov noted that Azerbaijan is interested in the Silk Road projects implementation, because the country is located at the intersection of two major international transport corridorsfrom north to south and east to westand plays the strategic role of a bridge between the two civilizations. Full version of the interview with Ambassador Suleymanov can be found here: https://audioboom.com/posts/6018245-azerbaijan-is-the-railroad-crossroads-of-eurasia-elin-suleymanov-elinsuleymanov-azembassy-us. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15 Trend: A memorial event for outstanding chemist, academician, ScD in Chemistry, professor, Merited Scientist Rafiga Aliyeva has been held at the Heydar Mosque. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the ceremony. A verse from Koran was recited at the ceremony. Rafiga Aliyeva made an outstanding contribution to the development of chemistry in Azerbaijan. She published more than 450 scholarly articles, 25 textbooks and study handbooks, and authored 20 patents. Rafiga Aliyeva supervised more than 20 philosophy and science doctors. She spent her teaching career at Baku State University. Rafiga Aliyeva was the only woman academician in the field of analytical chemistry in Azerbaijan. Sumgait, Azerbaijan, June 15 By Maksim Tsurkov Trend: Ethylene-polyethylene plant Azerikimya Production Union of Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR will be closed for overhaul in August, the plants Director Ogtay Niftaliyev told reporters in Sumgait. He noted that ground research and the work at the plant as part of modernization of Azerikimyas enterprises are almost completed. In August, production at the plant will be stopped for complete overhaul. In August-September, the first stage of installation of automated control systems should be completed, after which a number of new facilities are planned to be built, said Niftaliyev. He added that the reconstruction covers a period of three years. Its main goal is to increase the efficiency and capacity of ethylene and polyethylene production in order to supply SOCAR Polymer with raw materials in the volume of 150,000 tons of propylene per year. The polyethylene production will be 105,000 tons per year, and this year we are proceeding in line with the production schedule, said the director. He also expressed confidence that the plan will be implemented. FILE -- In this Dec. 28, 2001 file photo, an Afghan farmer works on his field, on the outskirts of the village of Madakhel in northeastern Afghanistan, near the mountain region of Tora Bora which is seen in the background. An Afghan official says Islamic State fighters have captured some territory around Tora Bora, the former stronghold of Osama bin Laden in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. (AP Photo/Enric Marti, File) Kenosha aldermen are working to make open burning legal in city limits, despite strong opposition from the fire chief. An ordinance sponsored by Ald. Dan Prozanski would allow open burning under certain conditions. Prozanski, who represents District 14, said his constituents want the freedom to use outdoor fire pits and fireplaces on their property. Out of the 10 largest municipalities in the state, Kenoshas the only one that doesnt allow it, said Prozanski. We have the most restrictive ordinance in the state. The matter will be taken up during Mondays City Council meeting. Prozanski said it mirrors Madisons ordinance. Currently, only chimeneas small, freestanding, front-loading fireplaces or ovens with vertical smoke vents and grills are allowed in the city for recreational use. On a conservative basis, I can tell you that in my neighborhood alone, half of the houses have (fire pits) and are using them until they get caught, Prozanski said. If police or firefighters are called to a residence for unauthorized burning, a warning is usually given for the first offense. Residents can be cited for subsequent offenses. According to city records compiled by Prozanski and Leipzig, in 2016 there were roughly 90 calls for service for illegal burning. Prozanski said Mayor John Antaramian told him he is keeping an open mind. Antaramian, who is out of the state this week for a conference, could not be reached for comment. Prozanski said he does not expect the fire department to face additional costs. Pleasant Prairie and Somers allow open burning. The proposal Under the proposal, fire pits and outdoor fireplaces would be allowed from 8 a.m. to midnight only if they: n Include a bowl with supports to ensure clearances to combustibles. n Have an enclosure to control embers. n Are not be used within 15 feet of a building or lot line. n Are used on stable surfaces. n Are not used on combustible decks. n Are used only with clean, dry wood. In addition, if smoke from a unit creates a nuisance to neighbors it must be extinguished. Fires also must be supervised at all times by a responsible adult with the ability to extinguish them. Fires would also be prohibited if air quality is poor or winds risk spreading sparks. Fire chief opposes Kenosha Fire Chief Charles Leipzig said he is strongly opposed to changing the law. It creates a risk for the public and a risk to our firefighters as well, he said. In my opinion, it will increase the amount of mitigation that well have to do. Leipzig said illegal burning is most common in the summer months. He said many people do not know about the restrictions. Adding to the problem is harm smoke causes those with asthma or cardiovascular conditions, Leipzig said. Youre going to cause issues for your neighbors that they may or may not call about, Leipzig said, adding that he understands Prozanskis frustrations. But opening it up more broadly or entirely is going to create more risk. Recent fire High winds and stray embers from a bonfire in a fire pit ignited a blaze on June 10 that caused severe damage to a garage housing a race car as well as a shed. Leipzig said he fears loosening restrictions will lead to similar incidents or worse. It burned down the garage and singed the neighbors house as well, Leipzig said. We had $60,000 worth of damage as a result of an illegal fire pit. Then becomes the argument, whats legal and not legal, but in this case more fire is bad. Prozanski said his ordinance prohibits bonfires when it is too windy. Those people burning on (June 10) were burning in 26 to 30 mph wind, something youre not supposed to do, Prozanski said. Even under the ordinance change, you can only burn if its 10 mph or less wind. They also didnt completely put out their fire. Our ordinance requires that you completely put out your fire. Third, they didnt have a flame arrester on top of their pit. Leipzig said he is proud of the fire departments efforts in recent years: Mr. Prozanski says that we are the most restrictive and other communities (allow open burning), but we have brought down our structure fires five-fold since 1994 ... from nearly 250 to 43 fires last year. We cant look and see how many of those are a result of people not burning in their yards it becomes an ambiguous argument but I will say our fire prevention is aggressive in identifying risk hazards. It was her first pageant and last chance at the title. Kaitlyn Rhey became Miss Kenosha 2017 in April before she exceeded the age limit to compete. Now, she prepares for the Miss Wisconsin pageant in Oshkosh this week. If she wins, Rhey will spend a year traveling Wisconsin to push her platform of mental health awareness. Miss Wisconsin 2016 had 192 appearances over 33,000 miles in Wisconsin. Rhey holds a personal attachment to mental health awareness. I struggled with depression at a young age, and it took me awhile to feel comfortable talking to people about it, Rhey said. After she sought counseling in college, Rhey realized she wasnt alone. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., according to the National Institute of Mental Health. They affect about 40 million adults in the U.S. age 18 or older, or 18 percent of the population. Rhey hopes she can eliminate any negative stigma about mental health and seeking proper treatment. Inspired to try She was in Nicaragua last summer when she met Paula Kuiper, Miss Wisconsin 2013, and learned about the public advocacy platform the Miss Wisconsin program offers. Inspired, Rhey chose to try her hand at pageants something she always had considered. Shes ready to go up there and represent Kenosha, said Joya (Zamora) Santarelli, co-producer of the Miss Kenosha Scholarship Pageant. Kenosha native Laura Kaeppeler Fleiss was crowned Miss Wisconsin in 2011 and Miss America in January 2012. Kaeppeler Fleiss crowned Rhey in April, after Rhey won the Miss Kenosha pageant. Santarelli, a former Miss Wisconsin, said Rhey would be an amazing ambassador for Wisconsin if she is chosen. She said pageant judges look for someone who is a strong role model for young women and young people in general. Edgy pageant This years pageant is very edgy, said Jeanne Schmal, executive director of Miss Wisconsin. That description stems from the music and costuming that will appear throughout the competition, she said. Contestants will face on-stage questioning about current events as well, she said. Preliminary competition began Wednesday night and will continue today, with the women competing in private interviews, talent, swimsuit, evening wear and on-stage questions. Miss Wisconsin will be crowned during Saturdays pageant. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 15 By Demir Azizov Trend: Construction of the Kandym Gas Processing Plant (GPP) in Uzbekistan will be boosted. It has been decided together with the Russian partner [LUKOIL] to accelerate the implementation of this project. The first stage, which was originally planned for June 2018, will be completed in December 2017, said director of Neftegaz Invest LLC (which is a part of the National Holding Company Uzbekneftegaz), Bakhodyr Siddikov, during a meeting of international press club in Tashkent. He noted that to date, more than 90 percent of delivery of the equipment has been completed, about 8,000 people are employed in the construction of the GPP and most of them are local specialists. The GPPs annual production capacity is expected to be 7.819 billion cubic meters of commercial gas, 134,360 tons of stable condensate and 212,900 tons of sulfur. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 15 By Demir Azizov Trend: Uzbekistans Uzbekneftegaz national holding company plans to increase the export of natural gas to China to 10 billion cubic meters per year until late 2020, chairman of the companys board Alisher Sultanov said during the meeting of the International Press Club in Tashkent city. It was previously reported that a medium-term agreement on the supplies of natural gas from Uzbekistan to China for 2018-2020 was signed during the visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to China May 11-13, 2017. We have a long-term contract with PetroChina International Company Ltd., Sultanov said. The medium-term agreement was signed for three years as part of the long-term contract. Earlier, it was reported that the export contract for the supplies of Uzbek natural gas to China was signed October 2011. The contract was signed by the Uztransgaz company (a subsidiary of the Uzbekneftegaz company) and PetroChina International Company Ltd. (a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)). 113 Shares Share For the most part, the sexism in medicine is not subliminal at all its quite overt. Unless youre a female physician, you probably are unaware that its still an ever-present reality for us. I want to note that there are very good men out there who are trying their best to be advocates for equality in our field even though they cannot fully appreciate the female physician plight. My father is one. My husband, an anesthesiologist, is one. The male physician-entrepreneur I met with last week to discuss a partnership in my new solo practice with his clinic system is one. These men are the Hes for Shes of medicine. And yet, the hurdles are massive even once we women have finally made it to attending status. Examples of overt sexism abound. As this article notes, the pay discrepancy for the same job and hours worked is blatant (>$100,000 difference). Physicians in specialties such as ER and anesthesia may not appreciate this, as their shifts might be salaried per hour. However, in fields that dont require a lot of face-to-face patient care and fields which weigh productivity (aka patient face-to-face volume and turnover) heavily in the pay, women are often paid significantly less. Id contend its because, in many non-procedural fields, females more often take the time necessary for patients despite the sacrifice to their productivity earnings. We women, frankly, tend to care more about the patient than our paycheck. And yes, there is evidence to back this up. A Harvard study released in JAMA this year showed conclusively that elderly patients admitted to the hospital had lower death rates and readmission rates when treated by female internists compared to their male counterparts. While the numbers are overt, the subliminal sexism is written into the RVU methods of physician reimbursement. Those who care enough to take the time to do the job well inevitably get punished financially. Lets forget about numbers. There is overt sexism we women experience daily in how we are addressed and spoken to. Frankly, a man would never tolerate, without having a complete fit, the words and tones I have had to take from coworkers, bosses and patients. Last week, I had a meeting with a hospital system in my town who has been trying to get me to agree to work for them for months without a retainer. We finally met, and I told them about starting my own solo practice instead of employment, but also to discuss how Id be happy to assist with medical directorship for their SNFist program and inpatient geriatric care improvements. The female care manager told me how she didnt think what I could offer was necessary from a physician and the male physician said, I just dont think youre going to get anyone to pay for your care out of pocket when its something Medicare covers. (Im opting out of Medicare.) I dont think theyre aware of how this came off. What they were trying to communicate is that they arent looking for a medical director at this time, and they are concerned for my financial viability solo. Thats what they would have said to me if I were a man. Never would they have insinuated that my expertise as a physician and geriatrician, something unique to this community, were not wanted or needed it very much is or that my care was comparable to the the care provided by the non-physician providers who go to the nursing homes and assisted living facilities here. Its not comparable, and my care is better because I am trained at a much higher level to care for this vulnerable population. No, Medicare doesnt actually cover the quality of care I provide. So this is blatant. This kind of thing also happens routinely to female physicians of every specialty. Lets get to the truly subliminal content. My husband opened my American Academy of Family Physicians CME advertisement in the mail and brought to my attention the fascinating pictures. Here are six of the eight pictures, including all of the pictures featuring women: I guess I dont know if these truly are subliminal because it was my husband who pointed out to me how sexist this seemed hes not one to catch subtlety. The pamphlet has a ratio of men to women pictures of 6:2. So the numbers already dont reflect the reality of family medicine. However, in the entire pamphlet, there are only pictures showing men as smiling, engaging physicians/leaders/teachers. The women pictured are either facing away or with an expression that says, I am a passive recipient, incapable of worthwhile thoughts of my own or engaging discussion. Then there is the woman staring at the painful computer CME module with the pen in her mouth. Is she a secretary enthralled by data entry? Why is there not a single picture that depicts a woman physician smiling, engaged, like someone you would want to talk with, or care for you or was capable of teaching you? And this is not a testosterone-driven surgical specialty. This is family medicine, people where women are more prevalent in the field! Also, its not like the pictures are showcasing the keynote speakers (although that is something that is also far too male-dominated). Its advertising how the AAFP envisions its audience. Even the AAFP does not view women as equally capable of being physicians, leaders and teachers. Their marketing tells us so. Still today in medicine, even in the fields full of women, the message sent is that men lead in education, discussion and patient care. But truly, its the women making the most impact in time-based fields and giving our heart and souls to do so. We are just as capable, just as engaging and its time to demand that our fields recognize this before we continue to break our backs in the trenches. Shannon Tapia is a geriatrician who blogs at Medicine on Tap. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 15 By Demir Azizov Trend: Fazliddin Salomov has been dismissed from the post of chairman of the board of Uzbekenergo JSC, an energy company in Uzbekistan, by the decree of the countrys President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a source in the company told Trend. Ulugbek Mustafaev has been appointed new chairman of the energy company. Fazliddin Salomov, who held this post since September 2016, was dismissed due to shortcomings in resolving the issues related to the reduction of accounts receivable for the supply of electricity in the Uzbek domestic market. Ulugbek Mustafaev since 2016 worked as deputy head of the administration of Uzbekistans Jizzakh region. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 15 By Demir Azizov Trend: Measures to fight radicalization are enshrined in national legislation and international agreements of Uzbekistan. In the Constitution and normative acts, religious extremism and terrorism are recognized as crimes against peace and humanity, as well as against public security, said Uzbekistans Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov at the high-level dialogue Central Asia-UN in Ashgabat. Kamilov noted that the current chairmanship of Uzbekistan in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is held under the slogan Education and enlightenment the path to peace and creation, which was proposed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his message to participants of the 43rd session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, held in Tashkent in October 2016. He stressed that the important factors in preventing radicalization of population are ensuring the interethnic tolerance, improving peoples well-being and systemic dialogue with the people. Our unity is in diversity, added the minister. Kamilov said that a mechanism has been established among the Central Asian countries for interaction of law enforcement agencies in countering terrorism and extremism. He went on to say that Uzbekistan praises the coordinating role of the United Nations and activities of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) in the fight against terrorism and extremism and advocate the early adoption of a comprehensive UN convention on combating international terrorism and the creation of a new anti-terrorism department in the UN. Twenty four people have been arrested today in Kilkenny, Carlow and Dublin and 12 suspects have been charged with offences including burglary, theft, affray and possession of controlled drugs as part of Operation Thor. Superintendent Derek Hughes of Thomastown told Kilkenny People that the Operation Thor day of action was the culmination of extensive planning and resource commitment from other areas and from the Garda College who seconded twenty five trainee gardai for the day. We are in a good place with regard to crime in Thomastown having almost halved the number of burglaries in South Kilkenny compared with last year. We are only achieving these results through close co-operation with the community who are acting as our eyes and ears on the ground. A number of the arrests in Dublin today resulted directly from keen observations by a member of the public. We are also delighted to have twenty five senior police officers from around Europe visiting Thomastown today to see how we go about our business of delivering policing services and reducing crime. A number have commented on the close co-operation between the public and the police and how it is the envy of police forces in Europe," he added. Aldi's intention to launch almost a thousand new U.S. stores is good news for consumers, but it's just the latest round of bad news for investors in the supermarket sector. In yet another challenge to entrenched grocery companies, Germany's Aldi announced that it will spend another $3.4 billion to open new stores. The company intends to have 2,500 U.S. locations by 2022, up from 1,600 today. Aldi, which sells mostly private-label brands at deep discounts, had already committed $1.6 billion to remodel 1,300 stores. Making matters worse, another German discount grocer is entering the U.S. market. Lidl is opening its first U.S. stores on June 15 and plans to price products up to 50% lower than the competition. Subscribe to Kiplingers Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplingers Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Sign up Grocery costs are falling as supermarkets fight a price war to attract and retain penny-pinching customers. The annual change in prices for food at home declined in 2016, something that hasn't happened in 49 years, according to the Department of Agriculture. Against that backdrop, Aldi's moves only make life harder for much of the competition. "The increasing presence of discount grocers like Aldi, and soon Lidl, in the U.S. adds further pressure on Walmart and other grocery retailers to maintain price competitiveness," say analysts at Stifel. Why is this bad for business? Because lower prices mean companies have to make do with thinner profit margins. The bottom line is that the Aldi and Lidl onslaught threatens chains across the spectrum, from the biggest national names to smaller regional players. Heres a look at three supermarket stocks that could use a break from Aldi. Walmart Stores Walmart Stores (symbol: WMT (opens in new tab)), for example, derives more than half of its revenue from groceries, which is why it has redoubled it efforts to offer everyday low prices. The strategy has been working so far, but it comes with costs, Stifel notes. The focus on everyday low prices has increased traffic and sales, analysts says, and yet it has also put pressure on the retailer's profitability. The increased competition from Aldi in the bricks-and-mortar world comes just as Walmart is making large investments in e-commerce to beat back the threat from Amazon.com (AMZN (opens in new tab)). Shares in Walmart's have gained a respectable 15% over the past 52 weeks. (All returns are as of June 14.) The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is up 17% over the same span. It would be easier for the stock to catch up if Walmart didn't have more Aldi's gunning for its market share. Kroger Walmart may be the world's largest retailer, but Kroger (KR (opens in new tab)) is the nation's largest supermarket operator. That leaves it widely exposed in the ongoing price war. Analysts at UBS say Kroger continues to deal with persistent food-price deflation and intensifying competition. Indeed, the chain might have to make an acquisition now that market-share gains have petered out amid intense competition and the limits of lower prices, Credit Suisse analysts write. They note that Whole Foods (WFM (opens in new tab)) would make an attractive target. Kroger acquired the more upscale Harris Teeter supermarket chain in 2014 for $2.5 billion. Whatever Kroger chooses to do, it should probably do it pretty soon. The company's stock has lost 13% over the past year. SuperValu SuperValu (SVU (opens in new tab)) really finds itself in a pinch, as its Shop N Save and Cub Foods nameplates get squeezed from Kroger and Walmart on one side and by Aldi on the other. When SuperValu suffered an unexpected loss for its fiscal third quarter ended December 3, the chief operating officer said at the time that at least two-thirds of its stores have "an unprecedented amount of new competition." Note well that Aldi has been expanding in SuperValu's home turf in the Midwest. Results in the more recent fiscal fourth-quarter report were better than analysts expected, but the retail side of the business still saw flagging sales and declining profits. That's partly why earlier this year we said SuperValu is a stock investors should avoid. Shares in SuperValu are down 11% over the past 52 weeks and have fared even worse as a longer term holding. The stock has lost 48% in the last three years. Officials at Travis Air Force Base in California have advised people there to "shelter in place" during a "real world security incident," according to official social media posts issued on Wednesday afternoon. "Travis Air Force Base is currently responding to a real world security incident. More details will be released as they become available. The public is being asked to stay away from the base to ensure emergency responders can respond accordingly," said a post on the base's Facebook page. The base's official Twitter account advised people at there to lock their doors and windows and await further information. (Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Richard Chang) By Jemima Kelly and Anna Irrera PARIS/NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) - Blockchain-based payments startup Circle Internet Financial on Thursday launched an international online money transfer service that allows people in the United States and Europe to send money to each other instantly and at no cost as it seeks to tear down borders in the payments world. The new service is part of a push by the "fintech" - or financial technology - sector to compete with established financial institutions, by using digital technologies to offer cheaper and more user-friendly services, often via smartphones. Boston-based Circle Internet operates its app-based peer-to-peer payment network using blockchain, the technology which first emerged as the system underpinning cryptocurrency bitcoin. One of the most well-funded blockchain startups, its investors include Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Baidu Inc . Circle Internet's international money transfer service, built on a type of blockchain called Ethereum, will allow customers to send payments between U.S. dollars, British pound sterling or euros on their mobile phones. There are no fees or foreign exchange mark-ups. International payments, according to Circle's chief executive officer and founder, Jeremy Allaire, should not take days to be processed and should be as easy and frictionless as sending an email. "When's the last time you sent a 'cross-border email'?" Allaire said in an interview. "The idea of cross-border payments is going to completely go away. ... Our vision is for there to be no distinction between international and domestic payments." Circle, which processed over $1 billion in transactions in 2016 and whose customer base increased more than 10-fold in the year up to last month, does not make money from its payments service, nor does it plan to, as it reckons consumers expect these services to be free. "We don't think there is any money to be made in payments anymore," said Allaire. "The entire business model of extracting a toll or having time delays around the movement of value is going away completely." Instead, the company makes money by trading bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, both on digital currency exchanges and over the counter, at a time when the value of such web-based currencies has reached record highs. Last month alone, Circle traded over $800 million in digital assets, it said in a statement. In May the company appointed trader Daniel Matuszewski to take over its trading division, following the departure of former treasury and trading operations chief Joshua Lim, the company's head of marketing confirmed. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly and Anna Irrera; Editing by Leslie Adler) June 15 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines Hammond poised to challenge May over Brexit priorities UK plans "very generous" offer to 3m EU citizens Tim Farron resigns as leader of the Liberal Democrats FRC finds audit shortcomings at three big accountancy firms Telegraph replaces chief MacLennan with Yahoo hire Overview Chancellor Philip Hammond will urge Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday to put the economy at the heart of exit negotiations, warning her of the dangers of a "hard" Brexit in a speech at Mansion House. Britain's Brexit minister David Davis will open divorce talks in Brussels next week with an offer to allow the three million European Union citizens living in Britain the same rights that they have now. Tim Farron, the leader of Britain's pro-European Union Liberal Democrat Party, resigned on Wednesday after a lacklustre election campaign in which the party lost votes and failed to break through with its promise of second Brexit referendum. The Financial Reporting Council said on Thursday that accountancy firms KPMG, Deloitte, and Grant Thornton are lagging behind their professional services peers in terms of the quality of their audits. Telegraph Media Group said it is moving its longstanding chief executive Murdoch MacLennan to the role of deputy chairman and replacing him with Nick Hugh, the company's chief operating officer and former Yahoo Inc executive. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) (Updates throughout with more detail, quotes) WELLINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned New Zealand on Thursday that low labour productivity poses long-term challenges for the country despite its solid growth prospects. The Paris-based OECD, a rich-country think tank, also backed the Reserve Bank New of Zealand's proposal to add debt-to-income limits on home loans to its policy toolkit amid concerns over high household borrowing and rising house prices. OECD Chief Economist Catherine Mann said New Zealand's robust economic growth was "enviable", but stressed the need to tackle labour productivity that lagged its OECD peers. "Improving productivity growth is a major long-term challenge for improving inclusiveness and living standards," Mann said in a report. The OECD is projecting slightly weaker growth than the New Zealand government, allowing for differences in the forecast periods. The OECD saw growth at 3.1 percent for both 2017 and 2018 calendar years, while the New Zealand government has forecast growth of 3.7 percent for 2017/18 and 3.5 percent for 2018/19. New Zealand's statistics agency said on Thursday the economy grew by 0.5 percent in the three months to March. The number was lower than the 0.7 percent growth forecast in a Reuters poll of economists and well under the central bank's forecast for 0.9 percent growth. The OECD said the New Zealand government should reduce barriers to foreign investment, lower the corporate tax rate and introduce research and development tax credits to tackle low productivity. Mann told reporters at a briefing in Wellington that debt-to-income limits on home loans would need to be deployed carefully, but could help ease pressures in New Zealand's strong housing market that pose systemic risks. "House price-to-income ratios being at this highly elevated level warrant some concern," she said. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) said earlier this month said there would be "significant net benefits" in adopting DTI limits. It is seeking feedback on DTI limits by Aug. 18. New Zealand's housing market has soared more than 50 percent in value over the last decade, raising concerns that high mortgage debt could pose a systemic risk in the event of a sharp downturn in property prices. The RBNZ already requires investors to make a 40 percent downpayment on investment properties, after ramping up loan-to-value restrictions (LVR) in 2016. The measures have helped slow the rate of house price growth in recent months, but the central bank has said any resurgence in prices could be a worry. New Zealand's national household debt-to-income ratio stands at 168 percent, above most other OECD member countries, the IMF said in a report last month. (Reporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Charlotte Greenfield; Writing by Jane Wardell; Editing by Eric Meijer) Keywords: NEWZEALAND ECONOMY/OECD HONG KONG, June 15 (Reuters) - Bain Capital plans to sell up to $400 million worth of shares in Japanese restaurant chain operator Skylark Co Ltd , IFR reported on Thursday, citing a term sheet of the transaction. The private equity firm is offering 25.5 million shares of Skylark in the base offer in an indicative range of 1,629-1,663 yen per share, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. The price is equivalent to a discount of up to 5.25 percent to Thursday's closing price of 1,719 yen per share. The deal could grow by another 1.96 million shares if underwriters exercise an upsize option to meet demand for the deal. Bain didn't immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the sale. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Nomura were hired as joint bookrunners for the stake sale, the terms showed. (Reporting by Fiona Lau of IFR; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) (Kitco News) - Changes to South Africas charter for mining companies are investment negative, as social costs of mining in the country are likely to keep rising, said Citi analysts Thursday. Shares of mining companies based in South Africa tumbled in wake of the news about the charter. Reuters reported that South Africa upped the requirement for black ownership of mining companies to 30% from 26%. Companies were given a year to meet the new target. However, the news service quoted Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane as saying officials have not decided if firms must retain that structure permanently. South Africa's Chamber of Mines said it will challenge the new mining charter in court, saying the industry was not adequately consulted and the new rules will hurt investment. The lack of meaningful engagement with the industry, and collective engagement with all stakeholders, has been most disappointing, said Mxolisi Mgojo, Chamber of Mines president. Citi listed a number of other changes, including a requirement that 1% of mining company annual turnover must go to communities and mines must be 8% owned by communities. Mining companies must pay 1% to the 30% black shareholding over and above any distribution to its shareholders. The rules require 50% black representation at board level, of which 25% must be women, Citi said. They also require 60% black representation at the senior-management level, and 88% at the junior-management level. Importantly, the notion of once empowered always empowered seems to stand, Citi said. Despite this, we view the charter as investment negative, with some targets potentially unattainable. Bank analysts said they anticipate that social costs for the countrys mining industry will continue to increase over time. We do not believe that on average investors have fully appreciated this in the risk premiums applied to SA-based mining equities, Citi added. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 14 Dalga Khatinoglu, Trend: Iran has doubled nuclear electricity generation, an official told Trend June 14 on condition of anonymity. The official at Irans Energy Ministry said that the countrys nuclear electricity generation reached 6.71 terawatt-hours during the last fiscal year. "The figure was a little more than 3 TWh during the previous year," he added. He said that the currently only the Bushehr nuclear power plant works with 75 capacity and a fourth of its capacity is idle. BP reported June 13 that Irans nuclear electricity generation increased by 75.3 percent to 1.4 million tons of OE. Irans total actual electricity generation level reached 286 TWh in 2016, the company's Statistical Review 2016 indicates. Iran inaugurated 1020-MW Bushehr power plant in 2011, but its output level fluctuated significantly for years. For instance, it generated 4.5 TWh electricity in 2014. * "Hawkish hike" from U.S. pushed yields higher in U.S. and Europe * U.S. begins process of reducing balance sheet despite poor data * Greece aid on the line as Eurogroup meets on Thursday * Euro zone periphery govt bond yields By Abhinav Ramnarayan LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers gave markets a reality check by pushing ahead with a tightening of monetary policy despite some weak economic data, pulling government bond yields off their recent lows on Thursday. Having hit multi-week lows on Wednesday, euro zone government bond yields edged higher across the board, tracking a move in U.S. Treasuries overnight after the Fed raised rates by 25 basis points and signalled it would begin selling assets accumulated over years of money printing. "They have taken a cautious approach to balance sheet normalisation, but they have begun it and it's definitely a tightening of policy," said ING strategist Martin van Vliet. "The meeting was definitely tilted towards the hawkish side." Any action by the U.S. central bank tends to reverberate across the debt markets of developed countries, as many investors have European, U.S. and Japanese government bonds in their portfolio and switch between them when there are changes in yields. Germany's 10-year government bond yield , the benchmark for the region, rose 1 basis point to 0.24 percent, off a seven-week low hit on Wednesday at 0.225 percent. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rose as much as 4 basis points from a seven-month low of 2.10 percent hit after weaker-than-expected U.S. data on Wednesday. Lower-rated Southern European government bonds - which tend to be most sensitive to any changes or tweaks on monetary policy - were up 2-3 basis points in early trade. "The periphery had rallied the most on Wednesday, led by Portugal, so maybe investors are thinking hold on, we may have gone a bit too far," said Van Vliet. Portugal's 10-year borrowing costs dropped 14.5 bps on Wednesday, their steepest one-day fall in nearly a month. Greek government bond yields remained steady on Thursday ahead of a key Eurogroup meeting later. Euro zone finance ministers will meet later in the day to discuss whether or not to approve the disbursement of aid to Greece, money that the country needs to avoid defaulting on upcoming debt obligations. Most analysts expect the aid to be approved, but said an agreement on debt relief is unlikely to be reached today. "So far each episode in the Greek drama has always ended up with a last-minute temporising solution and this time euro area finance ministers are likely to approve the disbursement of the next tranche of aid and to postpone discussions about debt relief until after the summer," BBVA strategists said in a note. An agreement on debt relief is a pre-requisite for the International Monetary Fund to participate in a deal for Greece, which in turn would pave the way for the European Central Bank to involve Greek government debt in its asset purchase scheme. For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url= <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Decision Europe: Full election coverage cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=72745 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by Hugh Lawson) June 15 (Reuters) - Canada's biggest non-bank lender Home Capital Group Inc said on Thursday it was aware of recent media reports concerning a potential refinancing transaction and that it would not comment on speculation and rumors. The company's comment was in response to a request by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), following a rise in its share price on Wednesday. Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter, that Home Capital is in talks with a syndicate of banks, including some of Canada's biggest lenders, to secure a loan of about C$2 billion ($1.5 billion) to replace a costly emergency credit line it agreed in April. Home Capital said on Thursday it would inform the market as required but does not intend to make any further comment regarding speculation. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) LUXEMBOURG, June 15 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund agreed with euro zone finance ministers on Thursday that it will "in principle" join the Greek bailout programme, but a disbursement of funds could happen only after more details on debt relief are known, the IMF chief said. Christine Lagarde said the Fund was ready to participate to the third bailout programme for Greece after a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Luxembourg which capped months of negotiations with euro zone finance ministers. The Fund could however join the programme with a financial support "in the range of 2 billion dollars" only after a full deal on additional measures of debt relief for Greece. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio) NAIROBI, June 15 (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling edged down on Thursday due to increased dollar demand from oil importers, while traders said they were on the lookout for dollar sales by the central bank. At 1050 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 103.45/65 per dollar, compared with 103.35/55 at Wednesday's close. ...........................Shilling spot rates .....................Shilling forward rates .......................Cross rates ..................................Local contributors .......................Central Bank of Kenya Index .....................Kenyan Bonds contributor pages ...............Treasury bill yields ..................Central bank open market operations .........................Horizontal repo transactions , ................Daily interbank lending rate .............................Kenya Bond pricing ..................Real time Africa economic data ...........................African economic news .................................NSE-20 Share Index .................................NSE-25 Share Index .................................NSE All Share Index ...........................FT NSE Kenya 15 Index .......................... FT NSE Kenya 25 Index SPEED GUIDES: (Reporting by John Ndiso; Editing by Aaron Maasho) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. BUCHAREST, June 15 (Reuters) - Romania sold a planned 800 million lei ($194.78 million) worth of six-month treasury bills on Thursday, with the average accepted yield at 0.51 percent, central bank data showed. Debt managers last sold six-month paper in March at an average yield of 0.71 percent. So far this year, Romania has sold 22.04 billion lei and 240 million euros of domestic bills and bonds. It has tapped foreign markets for 1.75 billion euros of 2027 and 2035 Eurobonds. Series: RO1717CTN0A8 RO1717CTN056 Issue date 19/06/2017 20/03/2017 Auction date 15/06/2017 16/03/2017 Maturity 18/12/2017 18/09/2017 Avg.yield (pct) 0.51 0.71 Avg. accepted price 99.7430 99.6424 Highest accepted yield 0.53 0.73 Tail (highest yield minus 0.02 0.02 average yield) Total bids 3.15 bln lei 1.43 bln lei Allotted 800 mln lei 600 mln lei Bid-to-cover ratio 3.9 2.4 ($1 = 4.1073 lei) (Reporting by Luiza Ilie) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. SEOUL, June 16 (Reuters) - South Korea's annual import prices rose at a slower pace in May comoared with the previous month on modest increases in petroleum products and raw materials, central bank data showed on Friday. Import prices in won terms rose 4.1 percent in May from a year ago after increasing 9.3 percent in April, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. The BOK said the slower pace of growth for May was largely due to smaller rises in sub-indices like petroleum products and raw materials. Export prices, also in won terms, increased 5.3 percent year-on-year for May, after an 8.9 percent rise in April. May *April March Feb Jan Import prices Y/Y +4.1 +9.2 +6.8 +9.2 +13.3 M/M -1.4 +0.4 -2.2 -2.1 +2.2 Export prices Y/Y +5.3 +8.9 +5.0 +5.1 +7.4 M/M -1.0 +0.7 -1.3 -1.4 +1.2 (Reporting by Dahee Kim) HANOI, June 15 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0631 GMT. June 15 USD/VND mid-point 22,405 USD/VND interbank 22,680/22,700 USD/VND unofficial 22,690/22,710 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.23/36.45 Interbank offered rates Overnight 1.8-2.5 1 week 2.3-2.7 1 month 3.3-3.7 3 months 3.9-4.5 NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources. One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co. For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on . For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom) LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Mid-sized Spanish lender Unicaja is moving ahead with a long-mooted stock market listing and could raise as much as 875 million euros ($975.89 million) from the sale of 40.4 percent of its capital, two sources with knowledge of the deal said. Unicaja, with a strong presence in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia, plans to issue 625 million new shares at between 1.1 euros and 1.4 euros per share, the sources said on Thursday. The rescue of Spanish peer Banco Popular last week had cast doubt over Unicaja's plans to list on the market. Unicaja declined to comment. ($1 = 0.8966 euros) (Reporting by Andres Gonzalez and Pamela Barbaglia; writing by Jesus Aguado, editing by Sarah White) MADRID, June 15 (Reuters) - Spain sold 4.2 billion euros ($4.7 billion) of debt at a scheduled bond sale on Thursday, with yields on all bonds lower than when they were previously put to auction despite the U.S. Federal Reserve raising rates on Wednesday. The Treasury had aimed to sell between 4 billion and 5 billion euros of debt at the quadruple bond sale. The benchmark 10-year bond, due April 30, 2027, sold 1.1 billion euros at an average yield of 1.395 percent, compared to 1.548 percent when it last sold mid May. The bid-to-cover ratio - a measure of demand - was 1.8 after 1.4 previously. The shortest maturity on offer, due April 2022, sold 1.8 billion euros for 0.215 percent and with demand 1.4 times supply. Yield was 0.369 percent when the bond last sold May 4, while bid-to-cover was 2.2. The July 2032 bond sold 685 million euros at an average yield of 1.925 percent and bid-to-cover of 1.5. The same paper last sold in April 2016 at an average yield of 2.116 percent and was 1.6 times subscribed. The longest dated bond, due January 2037, sold 630 million euros at an average yield of 2.314 percent compared to a previous yield in February of 2.604 percent. The bond was 1.6 times subscribed after 1.5 times previously. ($1 = 0.8946 euros) (Reporting by Paul Day; Editing by Sonya Dowsett) COLOMBO, June 15 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan rupee slipped on Thursday as dollar demand from importers outweighed selling by exporters, dealers said. Rupee forwards were active, with spot-next forwards trading at 152.98/153.02 per dollar at 0531 GMT, compared with Wednesday's close of 152.95/153.05. One-week forwards were trading at 153.25/35, compared with Wednesday's close of 153.15/25. "Both the state banks are on the (dollar) buying side today," said a currency dealer, requesting anonymity. "Nobody wants to trade spot next above 153.00, fearing moral suasion," said the dealer, adding seasonal demand for dollars would start from August. The rupee has been under pressure after central bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said the bank would allow gradual depreciation of the currency. The central bank has set a target of $1.2 billion in direct market purchases of dollars to boost the island nation's reserves this year. The spot rupee did not trade on Thursday. The central bank fixed the spot reference rate at 152.50 on May 5. Foreign investors bought a net 1.37 billion rupees ($8.98 million) worth of government securities in the week ended June 7. They have sold a net 39.96 billion rupees worth of securities so far this year. Sri Lankan shares were up 0.42 percent at 6,697.66, as of 0539 GMT. Turnover stood at 496.3 million rupees ($3.25 million). ($1 = 152.6500 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15 By Farhad Daneshvar Trend: At least two suspect terrorists were killed and five more detained in southeastern Iranian port city of Chabahar following an operation on Wednesday. As a result of the operation, one intelligence officer was shot dead, authorities said. Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi has said that the militants had planned to carry out terrorist attacks in the country and targeted a military base, IRNA news agency reported. Alavi added that the intelligence officer from the northern province of Gilan was killed during the armed clash, without revealing his name. However, Hassan Shaemshadi, a journalist who earlier covered Syrian developments for Irans state run TV channels, through an Instagram post last night identified the slain officer as Hassan Ashvari. On the same day, an informed source told IRNA that the militants were linked with Ansar Al-Furqan, a Sunni militant group operating in Irans Baluchestan, and said that militants had a plan to storm upcoming religious events in the county with suicide bombers. He added that the shootout began after intelligence officials in collaboration with police circled the hideout of the militants in Chabahar in the evening on June 14. Several suicide vest, arms and ammunition were seized at the hideout of the militants, the source added. In the meantime Mahmoud Alavi accused Saudi Arabia of sponsoring terrorist attacks against Iran and said his ministry has received intelligence suggesting that the Arab kingdom had hired several individuals from Irans neighboring countries to carry out suicide attacks against the Islamic Republic. Alavi further added that two out of five detainees, captured following last nights operation are foreign citizens. STOCKHOLM, June 15 (Reuters) - Sweden's central bank said on Thursday it had bought 1.5 billion Swedish crowns ($172.12 million) of nominal debt in a reverse auction as part of its quantitative easing programme. It bought 750 million crowns of 2019 bonds at an average yield of -0.733 percent and the same amount of 2028 bonds at 0.622 percent. Investors offered to sell the Riksbank 4.7 billion crowns and 1.9 billion crowns in the two bonds respectively. ($1 = 8.7146 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Stockholm Newsroom) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. ZURICH, June 15 (Reuters) - The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening 0.1 percent up at 8,857 points on Thursday, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer . The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks: CREDIT SUISSE UBS Switzerland's central bank on Thursday told the two big Swiss banks, UBS and Credit Suisse , they still need to draft credible plans for a potential insolvency, part of the country's efforts to prepare for a banking crisis. For more click or COMPANY STATEMENTS * Basilea said it concluded a license agreement with Pfizer for antifungal Cresemba (isavuconazole) for Europe, Russia, Turkey and Israel. The shares were seen rising more than 6 percent. * Arbonia said shares of Looser Holding are being canceled following the merger of the two companies. * Kuoni said it has launched a cash tender offer for its outstanding 200 million franc 1.5 percent 2013-2019 bond * SHL Telemedicine Ltd said it had appointed Yossi Vadnagra as CFO. * Implenia said it had begun concrete implementation of its Werk 1 project in Winterthur, Switzerland. * Novartis said its drug Cosentyx has demonstrated sustained improvements in signs and symptoms for both active ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis in up to 80 percent of patients at 3 years. ECONOMY * The Swiss National Bank publishes its monetary policy assessment at 0730 GMT. * Swiss producer and import prices for May are due at 0715 GMT. (Reporting by Zurich newsroom) Daily Swiss stock market report in German................ All SMI constituent stocks............................ News on major Swiss stock price moves.................. FTSE Eurotop 300 index................................ DJ STOXX index........................................ Top 10 STOXX sectors............................. Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors........................ Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors....................... Top 25 European pct gainers... , losers... Swiss mid-cap index SMI futures Swiss all-share index Market statistics Swiss market digest Sector overview All Swiss news Swiss research news All equity news INTERNET ADDRESSES: Swiss Exchange / Eurex STOXX Ltd SPEED GUIDES: )) Keywords: MARKETS SWISS STOCKS/ PRAGUE, June 15 (Reuters) - The Czech Finance Ministry did not sell any 0.00/22 government bonds in the second, non-competitive round of an auction on Thursday. The ministry sold 0.1 billion crowns worth of the paper from its own portfolio in the competitive round on Wednesday. For a story on the auction, click on Issue status: REOPENED, 3rd tranche Maturity: February 24, 2022 with 0.00 percent annual coupon Settlement date: June 16, 2017 AUCTION DATE 14/06/17 17/05/17 AVG. ACCEPTED YIELD -0.002 -0.002 AVG. ACCEPTED PRICE 100.010 100.010 HIGHEST ACCEPTED YIELD -0.002 -0.002 LOWEST ACCEPTED YIELD -0.002 -0.002 TAIL (max yield less avg. yield) 0.000 0.000 ALLOCATION AT THE CUT-OFF PRICE (%) 100.000 100.000 TOTAL INVESTOR BIDS (bln crowns) 0.100 0.000 NON-COMPETITIVE BIDS (bln crowns) 0.000 0.000 SOLD (bln crowns) 0.100 0.000 FINMIN (RETAINED "+"/SOLD "-" FROM OWN -0.100 5.000 PORTFOLIO) BID-TO-COVER RATIO (1st auction leg) 1.000 2.626 AMOUNT OUTSTANDING AFTER NEW SALE (bln 5.846 5.846 crowns) NOTE. In the second round, bonds are allotted to primary dealers at the average price and yield set in the first round. Dealers are not required to buy any bonds in the top-up round. Details of the government's debt auctions can be found on page . (Reporting by Mirka Krufova; Editing by Jason Hovet) JOHANNESBURG, June 15 (Reuters) - South Africa sold 2.555 billion rand ($199.09 million) worth of three-month Treasury bills on Thursday, at an average yield of 7.46 percent compared with 7.47 percent last week, central bank data showed. The bid-to-cover ratio rose to 2.1 from 1.6. Auction date: 15/06/2017 Settlement date: 21/06/2017 Days 91 182 274 364 Amount received (R'bln) 5.341 4.675 7.05 6.898 Amount on offer (R'bln) 2.555 2.26 2.1 2.0 Amount allotted (R'bln) 2.555 2.26 2.1 2.0 Bid-to-cover ratio 2.1 2.1 3.4 3.4 Avg discount rate (pct) 7.33 7.24 7.12 6.98 Average yield (pct) 7.46 7.51 7.51 7.51 ($1 = 12.8337 rand) (Reporting by Olwethu Boso) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. ANKARA, June 15 (Reuters) - Turkish Finance Minister Naci Agbal said on Thursday that a large rise in tax revenues contributed to an improvement in the Turkish budget in May, when there was a surplus of 6.4 billion lira. In a written statement following the release of the budget data, Agbal said measures to boost economic growth were an important factor in the 11.5 billion lira ($3.28 billion) deficit which the budget showed in the first five months of the year. ($1 = 3.5031 liras) (Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Daren Butler) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. * "Hawkish hike" from U.S. pushed yields higher in U.S. and Europe * U.S. begins process of reducing balance sheet despite poor data * Large Spain and France auctions add to upward pressure on yields * Greece aid on the line as Eurogroup meets on Thursday * Euro zone periphery govt bond yields (Writes through) By Abhinav Ramnarayan LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - U.S. policymakers gave markets a reality check by pushing ahead with a tightening of monetary policy despite some weak economic data, pulling euro zone government bond yields off their recent lows on Thursday. A rate hike was largely priced in but the Federal Reserve surprised the market by signalling it would begin selling assets accumulated over years of money-printing, potentially as early as September. Having hit multi-week lows on Wednesday, euro zone government bond yields rose across the board, tracking a move in U.S. Treasuries overnight. "The Fed has taken a cautious approach to balance sheet normalisation, but they have begun it and it's definitely a tightening of policy," said ING strategist Martin van Vliet. "The meeting was definitely tilted towards the hawkish side." Any action by the U.S. central bank tends to reverberate across the debt markets of developed countries, as many investors have European, U.S. and Japanese government bonds in their portfolio and switch between them when there are changes in yields. Large bond auctions by Spain and France put further selling pressure on government bonds as investors made room for the new supply. Germany's 10-year government bond yield , the benchmark for the region, rose 3 basis point to 0.27 percent, off a seven-week low hit on Wednesday at 0.225 percent. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rose as much as 4 basis points from a seven-month low of 2.10 percent hit after weaker-than-expected U.S. data on Wednesday. Lower-rated Italian and Spanish government bond yields - which tend to be most sensitive to any changes or tweaks on monetary policy - were up 6-8 basis points. "The periphery had rallied the most on Wednesday, led by Portugal, so maybe investors are thinking hold on, we may have gone a bit too far," said Van Vliet. Greek government bond yields remained steady on Thursday ahead of a key Eurogroup meeting later. Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said he was optimistic euro zone lenders would reach an agreement on Thursday on the disbursement of new loans to Athens that the country needs to pay back maturing debt in July. Most analysts also expect euro area finance ministers to approve the disbursement of the next tranche of aid, but believe a bigger agreement on debt relief is unlikely to emerge until after the summer. Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Thursday that there will be no figure for Greek debt relief now. An agreement on debt relief is a pre-requisite for the International Monetary Fund to participate in a deal for Greece, which in turn would pave the way for the European Central Bank to involve Greek government debt in its asset purchase scheme. For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url= <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Decision Europe: Full election coverage cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=72745 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Gareth Jones) (Adds details, context) MOSCOW, June 15 (Reuters) - Russia's top gold producer Polyus said on Thursday it had set a price range for the offering of between 7 and 9 percent of its shares, including new shares, in London and Moscow. Polyus expects to raise $400 million from the sale of new shares. Further proceeds from existing equity will go to its controlling shareholder, the family of Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov. The price range was set at $33.25-$35.30 per global depositary share in London, corresponding to a price of $66.50-$70.60 per ordinary share in Moscow. The latter will be paid in roubles, it said in a statement. This price range will result in a market capitalisation of between $8.5 billion and $9.0 billion on a pre-money, fully diluted basis, including treasury shares, Polyus added. Polyus shares were down 2 percent in Moscow at 4,367 roubles ($75.9) compared with a 1.6 percent fall in the broader MICEX index . Russian stocks fell to their lowest since November on Thursday on new U.S. sanctions. The pricing for the Polyus offering is expected on June 30, the Moscow Exchange said earlier on Thursday. Goldman Sachs International, JPMorgan, Sberbank CIB and VTB Capital are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, while BMO Capital Markets, Gazprombank and Morgan Stanley are joint bookrunners. ($1 = 57.5273 roubles) (Reporting by Polina Devitt and Diana Asonova; Editing by Dale Hudson and Katya Golubkova) * Unicaja to issue up to 687.5 mln new shares * New shares to be issued at 1.1-1.4 euro each * Bank would be valued at 1.7 blns-2.3 bln (Adds details, background) By Andres Gonzalez and Pamela Barbaglia LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Spanish bank Unicaja is moving ahead with a stock market listing that could raise up to 925 million euros ($1.03 billion), just days after rival Banco Popular had to be rescued, raising questions over the strength of Spain's banks. Unicaja will issue up to 687.5 million new shares to institutional investors at between 1.1 euros and 1.4 euros per share, it said in a statement to Spain's market regulator, confirming a Reuters report earlier on Thursday. The initial public offering would value the bank at between 1.7 billion and 2.3 billion euros, it said. The rescue of Banco Popular last week, in which shareholders and junior bondholders were wiped out, had cast doubt over whether Unicaja's listing would go ahead. Like Popular, Unicaja has a bad loan ratio above the average of its rivals and banking industry sources said its business model, mostly focused on selling mortgages in the rural Spanish regions of Andalusia and Castilla and Leon, might not appeal to investors. With 56 billion euros of assets, it currently controls 2 percent of Spanish deposits. Unicaja had been due to list before March this year as a condition for indirectly receiving public aid when it bought out smaller rescued bank CEISS. It obtained a grace period from the European Commission but the new deadline has not been disclosed. Unicaja aims to use the proceeds of the sale to repay public aid worth 604 million euros, increase its stake in CEISS and for general corporate purposes. The sale will also mean the current majority shareholders, a group of former savings banks which currently owns 86.7 percent of the lender, could see their stake fall below 50 percent if the full amount of shares are sold. ($1 = 0.8966 euros) ($1 = 0.8973 euros) (Additional reporting and writing by Jesus Aguado; Editing by Julien Toyer and Jane Merriman) * Black ownership to rise 30 pct from 26 pct * Chamber says not consulted, to mount court challenge * Industry body says rules herald uncertainty in sector (Adds Chamber of Mines, details) By Tanisha Heiberg and Ed Stoddard PRETORIA/JOHANNESBURG, June 15 (Reuters) - South Africa has raised the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent, the government said on Thursday, though an industry body said it would try to block the change in court. Mining firms in the world's top platinum producer have complained about a lack of consultation over revisions to the industry charter that sets targets for black ownership and participation in the powerful sector. The charter is part of a wider empowerment drive across Africa's most industrialised economy designed to rectify the disparities of apartheid that persist more than two decades since the end of white minority rule in 1994. The Chamber of Mines, which represents mining firms, said it would take the government to court over the charter because it had not been consulted sufficiently and feared the new rules would create regulatory uncertainty and scare off investors. Announcing the new rules on Thursday, Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said companies had 12 months to meet the new 30 percent target. The rand fell 2 percent after Zwane announced details of the revisions while the Johannesburg bourse's Mining Index extended its decline to more than 3 percent. The government has said in the past that companies must stick to ownership targets even if black shareholders sell their stakes but Zwane said it had not yet decided whether mining firms must maintain the threshold permanently. The Mining Charter was introduced in 2002 to increase black ownership of the mining industry, which accounts for about 7 percent of South Africa's economic output. Black South Africans make up 80 percent of the 54 million population, yet most of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of whites, who account for about 8 percent of the population. "NOT OUR CHARTER" Zwane told a news conference in the capital Pretoria that he had consulted widely with businesses. "We will engage with business going forward in a respectable manner. We will never take them to court," he said. The new charter stipulates that mining firms must pay 1 percent of their annual turnover to the Mining Transformation and Development Agency, which helps black communities. Under the new rules, prospecting rights must be 50 percent black owned and mining rights should be 30 percent black owned. Mining firms are required to procure 70 percent of goods and 80 percent of services from black-owned companies. The new rules also state that half of the members of mining company boards must be black, and a quarter of the overall board must be women. Officials at the Chamber of Mines said they hoped legal action would force the government back to the negotiating table. "We will not sign this charter because it is not our charter," Chamber of Mines CEO Roger Baxter told a news conference in Johannesburg. The chamber, which represents companies such as Anglo American and Sibanye Gold , did not take part in the launch of the new charter because of what it said was a lack of prior consultation. Investec co-head of fixed income Nazmeera Moola said the charter would deter investment. "This mining charter means we won't be seeing any substantial investment in the mining sector for many years to come. It is distinctly unfriendly to investment," Moola said. (Additional reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; writing by James Macharia; editing by David Clarke) * Black ownership to rise 30 pct from 26 pct * Chamber says not consulted, to mount court challenge * Industry body says rules herald uncertainty in sector (Adds closing prices, analyst, details) By Tanisha Heiberg and Ed Stoddard PRETORIA/JOHANNESBURG, June 15 (Reuters) - South Africa has raised the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent, the government said on Thursday, though an industry body said it would try to block it and other regulatory changes in court. Mining firms in the world's top platinum producer have complained about a lack of consultation over revisions to an industry charter that sets targets for black ownership and participation in the powerful sector. The charter is part of a wider empowerment drive across Africa's most industrialised economy designed to rectify the disparities of apartheid that persist more than two decades since the end of white minority rule in 1994. The Chamber of Mines, which represents mining firms, said it would take the government to court over the charter because it had not been consulted sufficiently and feared the new rules would create regulatory uncertainty and scare off investors. Announcing the new rules on Thursday, Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said companies had 12 months to meet the new 30 percent target. The rand fell 2 percent after Zwane announced details of the revisions. Johannesburg's Mining Index ended the day more than 3 percent lower, underscoring investor concerns about the charter and the uncertainties it raises. "The value destruction is hard to quantify and the uncertainty will persist. What is certain is that South Africa continues to be a terrible destination for mining investment and assets in South Africa will continue to trade at a discount," said Ben Davis, an analyst at London-based Liberum Capital. The government has said in the past that companies must stick to ownership targets even if black shareholders sell their stakes but Zwane said it had not yet decided whether mining firms must maintain the threshold permanently. The Chamber of Mines said it would also take this issue back to courts. It argues that a company should only be obliged to meet its black ownership targets once. The Mining Charter was introduced in 2002 to increase black ownership of the mining industry, which accounts for about 7 percent of South Africa's economic output. Black South Africans make up 80 percent of the 54 million population, yet most of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of whites, who account for about 8 percent of the population. "NOT OUR CHARTER" Zwane told a news conference in the capital Pretoria that he had consulted widely with businesses. "We will engage with business going forward in a respectable manner. We will never take them to court," he said. The new charter stipulates that mining firms must pay 1 percent of their annual turnover to the Mining Transformation and Development Agency, which helps black communities. Under the new rules, prospecting rights must be 50 percent black owned and mining rights should be 30 percent black owned. Mining firms are required to procure 70 percent of goods and 80 percent of services from black-owned companies. This could prove difficult for many companies, as much of the expensive and sophisticated equipment used on South Africa's increasingly mechanised mines is imported from foreign manufacturers. The new rules also state that half of the members of mining company boards must be black, and a quarter of the overall board must be women. Officials at the Chamber of Mines said they hoped legal action would force the government back to the negotiating table. "We will not sign this charter because it is not our charter," Chamber of Mines CEO Roger Baxter told a news conference in Johannesburg. The chamber, which represents companies such as Anglo American and Sibanye Gold , did not take part in the launch of the new charter because of what it said was a lack of prior consultation. (Additional reporting by Mfuneko Toyana in Johannesburg and Zandi Shabalala in London; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by David Clarke and Mark Potter) Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15 By Farhad Daneshvar Trend: Armed clashes broke out this afternoon when Iranian security forces ambushed a group of militants in the southeastern heights of Qasr-e-qand in Sistan and Baluchestan Province amid the countys recent crackdown on terrorists. Iranian media outlets have reported that police, Intelligence Ministry and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) with the support of helicopters have joined efforts to clear the region from Ansar Al-Furqan, a pro-Sunni militant group operating in Irans Baluchestan, insurgents. According to the reports, the security forces have seized massive explosives and several suicide vests following the clashes in which a number of militants were killed and wounded. Earlier on Wednesday two members of the militant group were shot dead and five more were detained in southeastern Iranian port city of Chabahar. Iranian security forces have arrested dozens of suspects over the past few days following recent terror attacks in capital Tehran. Two separate attacks shocked Tehran on June 7, leaving 17 dead and 54 injured. By Ayesha Rascoe | WASHINGTON The White House has not settled on a plan for working with Congress to raise the federal debt limit, U.S. budget director Mick Mulvaney said on Thursday, even as the deadline loomed for the government to increase its borrowing authority. The Trump administration has urged Congress to increase the debt limit before it heads out for its August recess, but Mulvaney said officials had not decided what form the legislation should take. "There are various thoughts about how to get something passed, but I don't think we've settled on how to move forward yet," Mulvaney told reporters at a briefing. "Will it be a clean debt ceiling vote? Will it be a debt ceiling vote with some type of reforms attached to it? I don't think we've settled on that." The U.S. government has a legal limit on how much it can borrow, currently set at about $19.8 trillion. The limit can be increased only by a vote of Congress. The White House has sent mixed signals on how the debt limit should be handled by lawmakers. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked lawmakers to pass a bill without any measures attached to it. However, Mulvaney, a conservative Republican, was known to favor using the debt limit as leverage to get spending cuts during his time in Congress, before he was tapped to be budget director. He downplayed any disagreements within the administration, saying it was not unusual for a Treasury secretary and a budget director to have different views on the debt limit. "It is not a source of division right now in the White House, nor is it a source of division in the party," he said. But on Capitol Hill, the House Freedom Caucus, an influential group of about three dozen conservative Republican lawmakers to which Mulvaney once belonged, has called for any increase in the debt ceiling to be linked to reforms that cut unnecessary spending and work toward balancing the U.S. budget. Freedom Caucus leader Mark Meadows said on Thursday he favored such a conditional raising of the debt ceiling by about $1.5 trillion, which he believes may be somewhat less than what the Trump administration wants. "Theres a number of us who are talking about a $1.5 trillion range, as long as there are some structural reforms, some other things that could go along with that," Meadows said in the House Speakers Lobby. Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress. Generally, conservative Republicans have attempted to use the debt limit to push fiscal reform, while Democrats and moderate Republicans have opposed such ultimatums. Lower tax revenues this year have forced the U.S. Treasury to borrow more money to cover the federal budget deficit, which may lead to the government hitting its legal debt limit sooner than expected, experts say. Mnuchin said Monday that the government would be able to pay its bills at least through early September. (Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Dan Grebler) The Herald reports: A man who claims to be John Banks son is taking the former Cabinet minister and mayor to court in a paternity case. Antony Shaw, now 47, has filed proceedings in the High Court at Auckland asking a judge to declare that Banks is his birth father. If the case is successful, the former politician could be declared Shaws next of kin with legal implications relating to potential claims against Banks will. The court action follows years of uncertainty around the identity of Shaws real father. Shaw, who has lived in Japan for the last two decades, attended Mt Albert Grammar and grew up believing his mothers Asian partner was his father. His mother is alleged to have had relationship with Banks in the late 1960s while working as a nurse in Hamilton. She eventually told Shaw about his parentage in 1999 and he tried to meet Banks in the early 2000s during a trip home from Japan to ask the then mayor are you my father, a 2001 womens magazine article alleged. At least nine people were killed in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday when a suicide bomber rammed a car into a hotel, police and witnesses said, in an attack claimed by militant Islamist group al Shabaab, Reuters reported. Gunfire followed the attack on the Posh Hotel, the only venue with a discotheque in the capital, a Reuters witness said. Witnesses said the whole district was cordoned off by police, and that sporadic gunfire could still be heard. "So far, we can confirm that nine people - mostly women who were hotel staff - have died," said Mohamed Hussein, another police officer. Hussein told Reuters the suicide attacker rammed the explosive-laden car laden into the hotel's entrance. Another police officer said gunmen had stormed a restaurant adjacent to the hotel in central Mogadishu. Al Shabaab, which has carried out a campaign of suicide bombings in its bid to topple the Somali government and impose its strict interpretation of Islam, claimed responsibility. "A mujahid (fighter) with his suicide car bomb martyred himself after he rammed into the Posh Hotel, which is a nightclub. The operation goes on," Abdiasis Abu Musab, the group's military spokesman, told Reuters. Since losing large swathes of territory to African Union peacekeepers supporting the government, the group has frequently launched raids and deadly attacks in Mogadishu and other regions controlled by the federal government. The Horn of Africa country has been racked by armed conflict since 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned on each other. The militants fired rocket shells at Syria's Aleppo neighborhood, killing at least two people and injuring four others, Sputnik reporte citing local media. According to Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the militants attacked al-Hamadaniyeh neighborhood in Aleppo city on Tuesday night. Two children were among those who were injured due to the attack, the media outlet said, adding that some houses were damaged. The shelling carried out by the militants is yet another violation of the memorandum on de-escalation zones in Syria, the news agency noted. In May, Russia, Turkey and Iran signed the memorandum on the establishment of safe zones in the country as part of the Astana talks on Syrian settlement. The four zones include the northwestern Idlib province and parts of the neighboring Latakia, Hama and Aleppo, the north of the central Homs province, Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, as well as southern Daraa and Quneitra regions. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said in a statement on Wednesday the core mission of the US-led forces in Afghanistan would remain the same, Sputnik reported. "Our core mission will remain the same: to train, advise and assist Afghan forces. We are there to help defeat a common enemy and ensure Afghan forces can safeguard the future of their country," the statement said. Earlier on Wednesday, Mattis testified at a US Senate hearing and said senior officials were outlining a new US strategy for Afghanistan. The defense secretary added that he would be able to brief Congress on the details of the new Afghanistan policy within weeks. Big Fish & Begonia A girl named Chun (Guanlin Ji and Shulan Pan) lives in a mythical realm invisible to humans. She goes to the human world, and meets a boy who treats her kindly. When the boy dies, she tries to bring him back to life, breaking the rules of her world. Directed by Liang Xuan and Zhang Chun. The Bar On a peaceful day in Madrid, a person gets shot on his way out of a bar. Soon, another person is killed in the bar's restroom. Among extreme panic and chaos, people in the bar instinctively realize that everybody is in great danger, and begin to fight for their survival. Directed by Alex de la Iglesia. A Day After Jun-yeong (Kim Myung-min) loses his daughter in a tragic traffic accident, he travels back in time to two hours before the accident. He tries to save his daughter, but fails repeatedly. One day, he meets Min-cheol (Byun Yo-han), who is also traveling through time and trying to save his lost wife. Directed by Jo Seon-ho. The Villainess Sook-hee (Kim Ok-vin), who was raised to be a killer ever since she was young, becomes a member of a secret organization of the Korean government. In the organization, she must kill others in order to survive. One day, Sook-hee begins to challenge her fate, trying to reveal the truth behind her past. Directed by Jung Byung-gil. The Mummy While transporting a mummy, Nick (Tom Cruise) gets killed in a plane crush. He is resurrected and learns that the mummy is an ancient Princess named Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), who was sealed in a crypt due to her evil cravings. She is awakened to bring malevolence and terror to the world. Directed by Alex Kurtzman. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won delivers a keynote speech during the 2017 Shanghai Forum at Fudan University in Shanghai, May 27. / Courtesy of SK Group By Lee Hyo-sik SK Group has set an example for other large business groups by implementing a range of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs to support small business partners and improve the livelihoods of marginalized people. Under the leadership of Chairman Chey Tae-won, Korea's third-largest conglomerate has placed a particular emphasis on fostering social enterprises that cater to solving various social issues. SK has been extending financial and other support to dozens of social enterprises, which hire the disabled, carry out community improvement programs, protect the environment and conduct other social projects over the past few years. The group has now begun preaching its "grow together" spirit to its counterparts at home and abroad, encouraging them to do more to fulfill their CSR. On May 27, Chey delivered a speech at the 2017 Shanghai Forum in Shanghai, urging business leaders to generate not only financial value but also social value to coexist with society. The forum is the 12th of its kind since 2005. The non-governmental and non-profit academic organization is co-hosted by Fudan University and the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS). Chey has participated every year as KFAS board chairman. "It has become more difficult not only for the West but also for Asian economies to sustain rapid growth," the SK chief said. "It is time for us to look back on what we left behind after the era of robust economic growth. Our top priority used to be generating as much financial gain as possible. But we should shift our focus to social issues." He said SK Group is looking beyond conventional CSR activities to generate social value. "It is not only creating job opportunities and looking for coexistence with its business partners," Chey said. "It is more about generating social value. We should look harder for opportunities to strengthen our core competence to grow together with business partners and other members of society in a sustainable manner." SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, second from right, greets the heads of social enterprises during the second Social Performance Incentive Award ceremony at Yonsei University in Seoul, April 20. Korea's third-largest conglomerate gave 4.8 billion won ($4.2 million) in incentives to 93 social enterprises. / Courtesy of SK Group By Lee Hyo-sik SK Group has been nurturing startups that contribute to solving diverse social issues as part of its efforts to share growth with local communities. Under the leadership of Chairman Chey Tae-won, Korea's third-largest business group has been supporting social enterprises that hire the disabled, carry out community improvement programs and conduct other social projects since 2015. Chey invested 10 billion won ($8.9 million) out of his own pocket to establish a social enterprise in 2015, and SK has been providing incentives to other social enterprises through it since 2016. It measures the social value created by enterprises and matches their contributions with monetary rewards. On April 20, the group held the second Social Performance Incentive Award ceremony at Yonsei University in Seoul, offering 4.8 billion won in incentives, dubbed social progress credits, to 93 social enterprises. It also organized a series of roundtables about the project's achievements and goals going forward, one of which was chaired by Chairman Chey. In 2016, SK offered incentives to 44 social companies, creating a combined social value worth 10.3 billion won. This year, 93 firms are estimated to have generated 20.1 billion won of social value. By Won Hee-ryong The second annual general meeting for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will begin on Jeju Island today. The AIIB is a multilateral development bank officially launched in 2016 to support infrastructure development and investment in Asia. The capital requirements needed for infrastructure development in the Asian region is expected to reach $26 trillion through 2030. With its foundation led by China, the AIIB was joined by 77 member countries in the first year after its launch, including India and some G7 countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. The AIIB is expanding its influence, swiftly chasing the Asian Development Bank, an institution with a 51-year history. This second annual meeting held on Jeju is an opportunity to discuss the success of the AIIB since its launch, and its future path. It is also expected to be a paramount chance for the AIIB to solidify its stature as a new international organization specializing in infrastructure development. Korea is a founding member of the AIIB, and is the fifth-largest shareholder with a share of 3.81 percent, following China, India, Russia and Germany. This year's meeting on Jeju is significant for Korea in that it is the first AIIB meeting held outside China, after its inaugural meeting in Beijing last year. Having achieved world-class infrastructure competitiveness through comparatively rapid economic development, Korea has become able to support infrastructure development and economic growth in Asia with its experience and knowhow. This AIIB meeting will center on the theme of "Sustainable Infrastructure." In accordance with the shift to a more nature- and human-centered, environmentally friendly development paradigm, the AIIB seeks to build green infrastructure with core values of growth, infrastructure, sustainability and the earth. Such an aim agrees perfectly with the sustainable development goal sought by Jeju, which places purity and coexistence as its core values. After Jeju's "2030 Carbon-free Island" strategy was introduced as a major example of Korea's new energy business nurturing at the 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP21), Jeju Island is actively implementing this. The carbon-free island strategy aims to replace 100 percent of provincial electricity use with new and renewable energy such as solar-power and wind-power and to operate electric cars at 100 percent, and is being initiated step by step. As a result, half of the electric cars in Korea are being operated on Jeju, and the island is seen as the fastest and most innovative region in Korea. Pertaining to the New Climate Change Regime Paris Agreement adopted by COP21, each country aims to maintain global temperature rise at below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Individual countries must also submit national climate action plans with updated greenhouse gas emission goals every five years. A global evaluation starting in 2023 to assess collective progress is also scheduled. To reach the lower carbon emission and temperature goals, countries are actively introducing green infrastructures. A successful implementation of Jeju Island's carbon-free island project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 90 percent of today's emission level by 2030. Economic benefits amounting to tens of trillions won for individuals, corporations, and the government will also follow, including the creation of 50,000 new jobs, fuel costs and certified emission reduction costs. Jeju Island is operating a "green big bang" strategy that can heighten the synergy between electric cars, energy storage systems, new and renewable energy, and smart grids. The world's largest demonstration project is also in place on Jeju Island. The Jeju "green big bang" is a global showcase of green growth and new energy business, nurturing a policy sought by the world, and is also a model applicable to 2,439 cities worldwide. Therefore, through this second AIIB annual meeting, Jeju Island will once again inform the world of its possibilities as a global test bed for future energy industries, and strengthen diplomatic and economic interconnectivity. The AIIB aims to build infrastructure in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. With reinforced economic and diplomatic interconnectivity among the 77 member countries, however, distrust and conflicts are forming. The role of the AIIB is critical in that it may lead a conversion to the state of trust and cooperation through this Jeju meeting and bring peace and co-prosperity in the region. The second annual AIIB general meeting is expected to bring about an expansion of the green big bang strategy with goals of purity and co-existence to member countries, and to connect each member country with solidarity and cooperation. More than 2,000 finance ministers, heads of international organizations, business leaders, press and scholars are expected to participate in this annual meeting. This could serve as a valuable opportunity for Korean companies to explore their possible global expansion. Companies and financial institutes related to Korea's domestic infrastructure will meet and interact with infrastructure business owners of developing countries, AIIB personnel on investment financing and overseas infrastructure managers to promote Korean companies, to showcase their technologies and business capabilities. It will be an outstanding opportunity to lead and create a potential environment for participating in future AIIB projects. Moreover, building up communication channels with China to start resolving the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) row, and thawing China-Korea relations is also strongly hoped for. Won Hee-ryong is governor of Jeju. By Park Hyong-ki SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will kick off its second annual conference under the theme of "Sustainable Infrastructure" at the International Convention Center here. Around 2,500 government officials, corporate executives and journalists will participate in the three-day forum. Ministers representing 25 countries, including Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam and India will be meeting with China's Finance Minister Xiao Jie to discuss ways to boost cooperation via the multinational development bank. As the host nation, Korea's Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon will also meet his counterparts from AIIB member states. The conference will begin with a discussion about infrastructure financing in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and on the efficient management of this. There will also be forums on ways to promote and develop renewable energy through infrastructure financing. Participants will include Polish economist Pawel Samecki, who served as the European commissioner for regional policy in 2009; Laurence Carter, senior director of the World Bank's public-private partnerships; and Rachel Kyte, chief executive of Sustainable Energy for All. The view from Crystal Cove, one of the main stops on Boracay / Courtesy of Tourism Promotion Board Philippines By Choi Ha-young BORACAY, Philippines Sunshine, beaches and scuba diving with a variety of tropical fish that look like "Nemo" are never enough to describe a trip to Boracay, a beautiful tropical island in the Philippines. Once you arrive on Boracay, you should take off your shoes to feel the soft sand of the island's iconic White Beach, complete with palm trees that go perfectly with the glorious sunset that welcomes tourists. Boracay is full of diverse leisure. You can enjoy snorkeling for a glimpse below the sparkling sea. Or, to explore the deeper water with colorful coral, starfish and sea creatures, take a 30-minute scuba-diving course. Don't worry if you aren't a good swimmer. Once you learn the basic breathing skills and safety measures, you can discover the creatures that hide behind the sea anemones and feed them. After all the activity, you can revive your aching muscles with a relaxing massage. Skilled therapists use warm lava stones and coconut oil. The two massage parlors Lim Spa and Lava Stone Shop are air conditioned, with shower booths for those who have just come from the sea. Sailing at sunset Visitors enjoy dinner at a restaurant. The beach becomes more dynamic as time goes by. For example, at around sunset, you can sail out on a peaceful yacht to enjoy the view from the sea. Visitors can also explore the island by buggy car, or visit other islands the Philippines has more than 7,000 by boat. Buggy car Restaurants along the coast provide diverse types of food, from Chinese and Japanese to hamburgers enough to satisfy a variety of tastes.Some leisure boats are equipped with over-the-water meshes, where you can sit and get a tan as you relax above the emerald green water. I recommend milk fish, also known as bangus, and also bulalo, a beef soup that tastes like the Korean dish galbitang, or short rib soup. Of course, tropical fruits such as mango, coconut and banana are a must. As the sun sets, try a bottle of the local San Miguel beer as you gaze out at the beach. Once night falls and the lights come on, there's plenty more to enjoy. Most of the bars have outside seating, where you can enjoy the spectacular night sky through clear and clean air. If you are lucky enough to catch a full moon, you will be able to stroll in the moonlight. If you get caught in a tropical shower, it will merely make your trip more memorable. Now, let's head for the bustling, colorful, historical capital city of Manila. Calesa tour to look around the traditional district, Intramuros in Manila Manila: a multilayered history Riding in a carriage, called a "Calesa tour" here, you can learn the multilayered culture of the city's Intramuros district, which reflects the nation's colonization under Spain, the United States and Japan. Spain ruled the Philippines for 300 years, spreading Catholicism across the nation. Evidence of the ordeals the city has faced is seen in Manila Cathedral, officially established in 1571. It survived the 1945 Battle of Manila, which involved the worst urban combat in the Pacific theater of World War II. U.S. bombings and Imperial Japanese Army massacres killed over 100,000 civilians. The multilayered cultural influence is also seen in the "pineapple" ornaments in this historic cathedral. "The Chinese believed the fruit attracted good luck," explained city tour guide Alvin Bolo. Rizal Park, where there is a monument to anti-Spanish national hero Jose Rizal, shows the fierocity of the struggles against Spanish rule. The Spanish military executed the nationalist activist in 1896. Even today, anti-Spanish sentiment lingers. Filipinos have relatively positive memories of American rule (1898-1946), under which there was education for the people, which explains why they now speak English rather than Spanish. Outside the city's traditional district, visitors can find a very developed, modern area of skyscrapers and shopping malls. Spend some time at Mall of Asia, and stop by the Kultura souvenir shop inside. There you can buy aromatic oils, dried mango, banana chips, natural cosmetics and unique accessories, all of good quality. The tour program was part of the Philippines Embassy's annual program in coordination with the Department of Tourism to provide an understanding of the nation's world-famous tourist attractions and cultural assets. So far, the program has taken in Bohol, Cebu and Palawan. "The Philippine Embassy, in coordination with the Department of Tourism, has been organizing annual familiarization tours for foreign diplomats based in Seoul and Korean businesspeople, in order to showcase and promote the beauty of the Philippines," Philippines Ambassador to Korea Raul Hernandez told The Korea Times. "Through these annual visits, we hope our delegates gain an understanding of the Filipino people and experience our great tropical weather, world-famous beaches and amazing sights," he said. Antique Italian espresso machines are displayed at the "Espresso Design" exhibition at KF Gallery in Jung-gu, Seoul. / Courtesy of Korea Foundation By Kim Jae-heun It has been less than 150 years since coffee was introduced in Korea. The exact date is unknown, but it is well known that the Joseon Kingdom's (1392-1910) last king, Emperor Gojong, was a big coffee aficionado. The earliest records of coffee culture in Korea date back to an icy cold January in 1884, when American astronomer Percival Lowell wrote in his journal, "We mounted again to the House of the Sleeping Waves to sip that latest nouveaute in Korea, after-dinner coffee." Twelve years later, a historical document on "A-kwan-pa-chun," or a Korea royal refuge at the Russian legation, says Emperor Gojong drank his first cup of coffee at the diplomatic venue in 1895. Today, Korea is the seventh largest coffee importer in the world after the EU, America, Japan, Russia, Canada and Algeria, according to the International Coffee Organization. Koreans reportedly drank an average of 1.2 cups of caffeine a day last year, which adds up to 438 cups a year. The consumption rate of coffee spiked by 25 percent compared to that of 11 years ago in 2006. However, instant coffee comprises more than half of the total _ indicating that extracted and drip coffee are not the most popular ways to drink the beverage. A diplomatic organization, the Korea Foundation, recently opened an exhibition "Espresso Design" at KF Gallery in Jung-gu, Seoul, to introduce the history of Italian coffee culture and its coffee machine industry that takes up 80 to 90 percent of the market. "We adopted coffee culture in the late 19th century while Italians started drinking coffee from the 16th century," said the Executive Vice President of the Korea Foundation, Yoon Keum-jin, during an interview with The Korea Times at KF Gallery, last Thursday. "The Italian coffee industry grew to such a large scale in two centuries I thought we had to know what coffee machines look like, how they were made and how they have evolved." The exhibition is promoted jointly by the Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul with the support of MUMAC, the Cimbali Group's Coffee Machine Museum, to expand Italian coffee culture through technology and design evolution of its espresso machinery. The show runs on two essential elements: Italian espresso and design and the collection of photographs focusing on today's espresso world. The design and evolution of the Italian coffee machines show not only the European lifestyle and their culture, but also the history of coffee machines typically made in Italy. LaCimbali, Milano, 1962 / Courtesy of Korea Foundation The exhibition features one of the most famous machines in the world, La Cimbali Pitagora, which is the first and only coffee machine to have won the Compasso d'Oro Award. Another espresso machine Faema E61 at the KF Gallery, is the most iconic machine in history. The wide range of coffee machines on display shows the very first espresso coffee machines from Italy that started to conquer the world. The event also follows the technological and aesthetic transformation of espresso machines from the start of the 20th century to the 1980s and a series of documents from the MUMAC historic archives are available for visitors to see. "The machines in these rooms, not only represent the coffee machine industry of Italy, but also the lifestyle, trends, designs and colors and materials used during each period, because there was big mix between all the industries. But in the end, everybody wanted to enjoy the technology and design," said Bruno Pignattelli, the Cimbali Group's export director for Asia and Middle East. "We are here because South Korea is the first market for coffee and coffee machines in Asia. There is a very important coffee lover community here and people are big fans of coffee made in Italy. They understand the design and the quality," added Pignattelli. According to the export director, espresso gives a rich personal experience through all five senses. To fully enjoy it, a person has to see the cream, smell the scent, taste the drink, and listen to the coffee to make sure it does not make a frying sound. Pignattelli advises that an over-extracted espresso will make a frying sound if a person listens carefully to the coffee right after it is served in a shot glass. Promotional poster for the "Espresso Design" exhibition / Courtesy of Korea Foundation The photograph section displays collections of the collaborative project by artists, who honor Faema's brand promise, "Express your Art" through photographs. Five renowned photographers participated in the exhibition including Amedeo Novelli, Matteo Valle and Alfredo Bini, who travelled around the world to places where espresso is actively consumed to photograph them in different perspectives. "More than 200 years ago in Venice, coffee was a symbol of friendship and love. Guys used to give chocolate and coffee to the girls. This exhibition is friendship and love from Italy to Korea," said the director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul, Angelo Gioe. "In Italy, men drink coffee when they go out for a smoke, girls drink coffee when things don't work out. A serious coffee drinker sips espresso before going to bed," added Yoon. At the end of the "Espresso Design" show, visitors can enjoy the perfect espresso prepared by the Korean barista champion Paul Bang using two state-of-the-art espresso machines, the La Cimbali M100 and the Faema E71. "In Korea, people are not used to the strong taste and scent of espresso. But nowadays, there are many specialty coffee shops opening here where people can experience the various flavors of espresso from fruity to nutty. The trend is changing and it will definitely provide more chances for Koreans to challenge espresso," said Bang. The exhibition will run until July 6. The U.S. pointman on North Korea, Amb. Joseph Yun, held secret meetings with North Korean diplomats in Oslo and New York before flying to Pyongyang to bring home a long-detained comatose American college student, a news report said Wednesday. The Olso meeting took place last month after Yun, special representative for North Korea policy, persuaded Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to approve the rare contact by assuring him that the agenda would focus only on the status of Americans detained in the North, the Washington Post reported. During the meeting, North Korean diplomats agreed to allow Swedish diplomats in the North, who serve as the protecting power for American citizens, to visit U.S. detainees, including Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old University of Virginia student held since January last year, the report said. After the North allowed Swedish officials to visit only one of the four American detainees, the U.S. pressed hard for access to the others and the North requested an urgent meeting with Yun in New York and informed him that Warmbier had fallen into a coma due to food poisoning, according to the report. Following the meeting, Yun and two American physicians flew to Pyongyang on a U.S. plane Monday under orders from President Donald Trump to demand to "see Warmbier immediately, and, 'if he was in bad shape, to demand his immediate release,'" the report cited an unidentified official as saying. While in Pyongyang, Yun also visited the three other American detainees, the report said. North Korea said Thursday that it has recently released long-detained American college student Otto Warmbier on humanitarian grounds. North Korea sent the University of Virginia student back to his home country on Tuesday for humanitarian reasons in accordance with a decision by the country's central court, the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said Thursday. Warmbier, 22, was released after 17 months of detention in the communist nation. His parents later told the Washington Post that their son was being transported on a U.S. military plane in a coma. President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook, left, applaud Lee Hee-ho, right, the widow of late President Kim Dae-jung, during a ceremony at the 63 Building on Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday, to celebrate the 17th anniversary of the first inter-Korean summit between Kim Dae-jung and then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. / Joint Press Corps Moon to push for legalization of inter-Korean pacts By Yi Whan-woo President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that he is open to dialogue with North Korea if the Kim Jong-un regime suspends its nuclear and ballistic missile provocations. In a speech to mark the 17th anniversary of the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, Moon also said the inter-Korean agreements made between the liberal Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, and North Korea's Kim Jong-il in the 2000s should be carried out regardless of any change in government. He cited a need to seek methods to legalize such agreements, while urging Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program and honor the inter-Korean accords. "I'm willing to talk with North Korea right away if it stops additional nuclear and ballistic missile provocations," he said during the event at the 63 Building on Yeouido, Seoul, to commemorate the summit between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il on June 15, 2000. "Giving up its nuclear programs will serve as proof of North Korea's determination to carry out the inter-Korean accords. And we'll actively help if Pyongyang is willing to do so." He said topics of possible discussion with North Korea would include how to suspend its nuclear program completely and normalize relations with the United States. He attributed an inconsistency in North Korea policies as the cause of the failure to stand by the accords, including two landmark declarations signed by the leaders of Seoul and Pyongyang. The June 15 Joint Declaration, which was adopted by Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il during their 2000 summit in Pyongyang, was aimed at creating a reconciliatory mood on the Korean Peninsula and taking initiatives for inter-Korean unification. During the second inter-Korean summit in 2007, also in Pyongyang, Roh and Kim Jong-il signed the October 4 Declaration. The two leaders promised to "inherit" the June 15 Joint Declaration and continue to improve cross-border relations. But Seoul-Pyongyang ties reached their lowest level under the two conservative governments of Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye. "The inter-Korean agreements are precious assets that must be respected regardless of the change in governments," Moon said. President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia was ready for a constructive dialogue with the United States, Reuters reported. "We do not view USA as our enemy," Putin said during his annual question-and-answer session with Russian citizens. Moscow and Washington can cooperate on issues including the non-proliferation of weapons and the Syria crisis, he added. By You Soo-sun The Gyeonggi Province education chief announced Tuesday a plan to abolish foreign language and autonomous high schools, stirring controversy over education reform nationwide. Seoul, where 38 percent of such schools are located, is also expected to overhaul its education system. There are 46 autonomous high schools, 31 foreign language schools and seven international schools nationwide that may lose their status and be turned into public schools, one of President Moon Jae-in's key election campaign pledges. The only official statement so far has come from Gyeonggi Province Education Superintendent Lee Jae-jeong who vowed to incrementally abolish 10 foreign language and private schools in the province by 2020. But it was Seoul that met a fierce backlash due to speculation that it will abolish 29 such schools. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education refuted these claims Thursday, noting that although abolishing autonomous private schools is a Moon administration pledge, this remains uncertain as the new education minister has yet to be inaugurated. The office's education reform plan is still under review and will be announced June 28. The argument for abolishing the schools is that they lead to excessive early competition and that they have become an increasingly determinant factor for college admission. At Seoul National University, for example, the percentage of first-year students from private schools increased from 18.3% to 44.6% from 2006 to 2016, while that of students from public schools fell from 77.7% to 46.1% over the same period according to data obtained by Rep. Yoo Eun-hye of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) last year. On the other hand, some criticize abolishing private high schools may bring about an overall degrading of the education system. Parents of students currently preparing to enter the autonomous or foreign language high schools are also opposed to the move. Still, expectations are high that the education system will be completely overhauled under the Moon administration. President Moon as well as a majority of education superintendents has expressed the need to strengthen regular high schools and do away with other types of schools. The newly tapped education minister, Kim Sang-kon, a former school superintendent of Gyeonggi Province, is known as an icon for education reform, and a majority of the incumbent education chiefs are likely to support him. However, another major deciding factor will be the election results for education superintendents slated for June 2018. South Korea's Navy announced Thursday that it will conduct an exercise this week on defending the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo. The two-day training to kick off later in the day is part of efforts to defend Dokdo from the possible aggression of "outside forces," the Navy said. It was apparently referring to Japan, which claims the sovereignty over the Seoul-controlled islets in the East Sea. This week's practice will involve a 3,200-ton Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyer and six other ships of the Navy and the Coast Guard, plus four naval and Air Force aircraft, including an F-15K fighter jet and a P-3C Orion patrol plane. A unit of marines will also stage a landing drill on Dokdo. "The training this time will be similar to previous ones in size," a Navy official said. The Dokdo defensive exercise is a regular event held twice a year since 1986, based on the scenario of an external threat. It will be the first since the launch of the Moon Jae-in administration. Japan has strongly protested the training. On Seoul's reported plan for the drill, its Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida openly said in March, "It's regrettable and unacceptable" in light of the Japanese government's stance on the sovereignty over the islets. In addition, Seoul and Tokyo have been at odds over a controversial deal on the issue of Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II. Moon, a liberal leader who was a human rights lawyer, stressed that many South Koreans still disapprove of the 2015 accord to settle the decades-old historic issue with Japan's payment of 1 billion yen ($9 million) for dozens of victims who are still alive. Koreans believe Japan has yet to fully atone for its wartime atrocity. (Yonhap) Army Maj. Gen. Yin Sung-hwan, right, poses with 2nd Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Theodore Martin after receiving the Legion of Merit, Wednesday. / Courtesy of ROK Army By Kang Seung-woo A Korean two-star general has received a U.S. military award for his contribution to the ROK-U.S. Combined Division. According to the Army, Thursday, Maj. Gen. Yin Sung-hwan, the commander of the 56th Infantry Division, got the Legion of Merit a decoration issued to members of the U.S. Armed Forces as well as to military personnel of foreign nations. The Combined Division, comprised of the 2nd Infantry Division (2ID) of the Eighth U.S. Army and the 16th Brigade from the ROK Army, was established in 2015 to effectively contain North Korea's weapons of mass destruction. Yin served as the deputy commander for one year. The division is headed by the 2ID commander. "On the basis of his excellent leadership, he made contributions to strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance by promoting joint exercises and enhancing the combined defense posture," the Army said. "He also endeavored to improve ties between Korea and American troops through various programs." It is not the first time for Yin to receive a U.S. military medal. In 2006, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the U.S. military for his one-year service at the Central Command in Florida in 2003. He has spent more than 30 years in the military and in most cases his work has had something to do with the U.S. troops. In 1992, he worked as the first Korean commander of the Joint Security Force at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjeom, assisted by a U.S. Army lieutenant as his executive officer. "The ROK-U.S. alliance has played a key role in deterring war on the Korean Peninsula and defending freedom and peace here," Yin said. "I will further try to strengthen the alliance." Currently, more than 28,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. The two Koreas still remain technically at war because the three-year war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Navy ships and Korea Coast Guard vessels conducting a regular defense exercise are seen from Dokdo, the country's easternmost islets, Thursday. / Yonhap By Kim Rahn The Navy began a regular exercise for the defense of the nation's easternmost islets of Dokdo, Thursday, prompting a strong protest from Japan. The Navy said that it was conducting the two-day exercise through today to defend Dokdo from possible aggression by outside forces, virtually referring to Japan that continues to make territorial claims over the islets in the East Sea. The training will involve seven ships from the Navy and the Korea Coast Guard including the 3,200-ton Gwanggaeto the Great destroyer, and four naval and Air Force aircraft with a P-3C maritime patrol plane and a F-15K fighter jet. A unit of the Korean Marine Corps, which is based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, will conduct a landing drill on the islets, the Navy said. "The exercise will be similar to those of previous years in size," a Navy officer said. "It is based on a scenario that the Marine Corps will repel an outside force when it attempts to occupy Dokdo." Korea has conducted the Dokdo defense drill twice a year since 1986, with the Navy, Korea Coast Guard and Air Force participating. This is the first drill since President Moon Jae-in took office. For every exercise, however, Japan, which claims Dokdo is part of its territory, has protested, and the Japanese government again expressed regret over the drill this time. Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told a Korean official at the Korean Embassy in Japan that the Japanese government could not accept the drill on Takeshima, the Japanese name for Dokdo, in light of its stance on the sovereignty over the islets, according to Kyodo News. Kanasugi also said it was regretful that Korea launched the exercise despite Japan's prior demand to halt it, according to another report by NHK. The broadcaster reported that the Japanese Embassy in Seoul also delivered the same message to the South Korean foreign ministry. But the Korean Navy said there is nothing wrong with the exercise. "Dokdo is South Korean territory. It is a regular drill to protect our territory, so it is a must," said spokesman Jang Wook. In the meantime, it was found earlier that the Japanese government is asking its citizens abroad to contact Japanese diplomatic missions if they find maps describing the islets as Dokdo instead of Takeshima, in a bid to "correct" the labeling. It also requested similar reports for maps describing the sea between Korea and Japan as "the East Sea," a name preferred by Korea, instead of "the Sea of Japan." The suspect in a nail bomb blast that injured a university professor this week told police that he committed the crime out of spite against the teacher who scolded him severely, police said Thursday. Police have detained a 25-year-old student, only identified by his surname Kim, for sending a parcel bomb to the professor's office at Yonsei University in western Seoul early Tuesday. The explosive, filled with small bolts in a drink tumbler placed in the parcel, went off as soon as the professor unsealed the box. He's being treated at a hospital for minor burns. The mechanical engineering graduate told police that he decided to design the bomb after he was "told off" by the professor about his thesis, the police said at a press briefing. He has admitted his crime. He also said he held a grudge against him for some time because the professor often rebuked him severely. The professor, surnamed Kim, has reportedly told the authorities that he doesn't want the student punished, adding that his reprimands were for "educational purposes." Police sought an arrest warrant for Kim late Wednesday on charges of illegal use of explosives. (Yonhap) By Jung Min-ho The gold bars and the underwear two Vietnamese flight attendants working for Asiana Airlines attempted to smuggle into the country. /Courtesy of the Korea Customs Service Two Vietnamese flight attendants working for Asiana Airlines, Korea's second largest carrier, have been detained after trying to smuggle 19 kilograms of gold into the country, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said Thursday. According to the KCS Incheon office, the attendants were concealing 1-kilogram-gold bars 10 on one and nine on the other in their underwear when they arrived at Incheon International Airport on June 5 from Vietnam. The KCS said this was not their first smuggling attempt, saying it has confirmed that the two succeeded in smuggling 13 kilograms of gold into Korea on three occasions in April. They will face charges of attempting to smuggle 32 kilograms of gold, worth about 1.5 billion won ($1.33 million), into the country. The prosecution will likely request an arrest warrant for the two, who have been held at Incheon Seobu Police Station. "They exploited the fact that customs officials don't check flight attendants strictly," the KCS said. "They tried with 2 kilograms of gold at first, and then increased the volume." The KCS has also secured surveillance camera footage showing the two give gold bars to a man at a parking lot in Seoul. In cooperation with customs officials overseas, the KCS is trying to confirm the man's identity and whether he was involved in a smuggling ring. This is not the first gold-smuggling attempt by Asiana's flight attendants. A Vietnamese crew was caught in October after trying to smuggle 6 kilograms of gold into the country at Incheon International Airport. The KCS said it is running a special team to tackle gold-smuggling cases, which have noticeably increased over the past few months. Last month, the KCS said it uncovered four criminal rings that smuggled 2,348 kilograms of gold into the country between 2014 and 2015. Kim Yeon-soo, vice president of the Seoul National University Hospital, vows his head to apologize its mistaken diagnosis of death of activist Baek Nam-gi during a media briefing at the hospital in Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap By Jung Min-ho Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) admitted, Thursday, it had made a mistake in determining the cause of death of an activist who died following a protest march in 2015. SNUH said it officially changed the cause of death of Baek Nam-gi to external injuries from being hit by a police water cannon from cardiopulmonary arrest from natural causes. Baek, who participated in an anti-government protest in Seoul two years ago, was knocked down by a police water cannon and remained comatose for 10 months until his death. But Paek Sun-ha, the SNUH doctor who was in charge of his treatment, sparked controversy by denying that the 69-year-old farmer died from being hit by the water cannon, which brought thousands of people to the streets in protest. Protesters criticized the doctor for toeing the line with former President Park Geun-hye by "twisting science." Apparently concerned about the same criticism, SNUH vice president Kim Yeon-soo told reporters its decision to change his cause of death is "not politically motivated." "I want to apologize to the victim's family who have suffered for such a long time," he said. "We will create an ethics committee to ensure that such incidents will never happen again." Baek Doraji, the daughter of the late activist, welcomed the decision to correct the document and expressed her relief. She also noted her family will proceed with administrative procedures for her father's death, which they hesitated carrying out because of the previous "completely nonsensical" diagnosis. They had 30 cards in their possession but did not know who made them because a contact in Malaysia supplied the cards. / Korea Times file By Lee Han-soo Two Malaysian nationals were caught in Seoul using counterfeit credit cards to buy luxury items, according to Songpa Police Station on Thursday. They had 30 cards in their possession but did not know who made them because a contact in Malaysia supplied the cards, police said. The two allegedly went on a shopping spree with the cards on May 25, buying luxury items, including smartphones, worth 5.5 million won ($4,892). Their spree was finally stopped when a clerk found that a card's information did not match that of one of the two suspects. The other man turned himself in after the arrested man pegged him as an accomplice. Police have banned them from leaving the country. The two, who had never met each other before, confessed that they were handed the cards by a contact in Malaysia to buy luxury items and bring them back for a 7 to 8 percent commission. They received instructions from their contact through We Chat, a Chinese mobile messenger, on what to buy. "The two suspects abused the fact that most Korean shops don't check if the credit card belongs to the owner," a police official told Yonhap News Agency. Opposition vows all-out struggle By Choi Ha-young Kang Kyung-wha President Moon Jae-in indicated Thursday he will appoint Kang Kyung-wha as foreign minister despite the opposition parties' objections. "As far as I know, Kang is a wonderful, courageous woman. As a career diplomat, she is widely recognized in the United Nations and in the international diplomatic field," Moon said during a meeting with his senior secretaries. "I will respect the will of the people, and hope the opposition parties will do so as well." Moon requested the National Assembly yet again to approve Kang as foreign minister by Saturday. The nominee had failed to get parliamentary confirmation due to the objections from the opposition, which allege she is incompetent and unethical. They are expected to maintain this position, but Moon may push ahead with the appointment over the weekend. For more than a week, the silver-haired nominee has been in the hot seat in the face of the opposition bloc's fierce attacks against some ethical lapses and her capabilities. The minor liberal People's Party has vowed to discontinue its cooperation with the ruling party and Cheong Wa Dae, if Moon nominates Kang without parliamentary consent. The party with 40 lawmakers has a deciding vote in the 299-seat National Assembly if the largest conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP) sticks to its anti-Moon stance. "For a cooperative political culture, I've made unprecedented efforts," Moon said during the meeting in Cheong Wa Dae. "It's truly hard for me to accept the situation that the opposition parties are even mentioning street rallies and a comprehensive boycott." On Monday, he visited the Assembly to explain the presidential office's supplementary budget bill drawn up for job creation. Before the plenary session, the President appealed to opposition leaders to adopt joint reports on his nominees Kim Sang-jo as Fair Trade Commission chief, Kim Yi-su for Constitutional Court president and Kang for foreign minister. However, the efforts failed as the three opposition parties the LKP, the People's Party and the Bareun Party refused to step back. In the end, Moon appointed Kim Sang-jo to lead the antitrust watchdog, despite the opposition bloc's disapproval. Kang, a high-ranking United Nations official with expertise in human rights, has been a major stumbling block between the ruling and opposition parties. In response, Moon dismissed the political offensives against her citing the flood of public and experts' support for her. On Wednesday, nine human rights experts involved with the U.N. issued a statement in support of her. Earlier, 63 staff members from 13 U.N. organizations, 10 former foreign ministers and 130 international aid groups announced their support for Kang, as did sex slavery survivors, women's rights groups and the union of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In line with the support, 62 percent of citizens are in favor of Kang's appointment according to a Realmeter poll released Monday. Kang's appointment is likely to aggravate the "game of chicken" between the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and opposition parties. The largest opposition LKP said: "Cheong Wa Dae's arrogance is undermining the foundation of democracy," Thursday, following its consideration of street rallies the previous day. The second-largest opposition People's Party renewed its opposition to Kang, Thursday. "If Cheong Wa Dae pushes ahead with her nomination relying on public opinion, where can we find the necessity for an Assembly hearing?" party interim leader Rep. Park Joo-sun said in a radio interview. "Following Moon's decision, the political landscape will turn unpredictable," Myongji University professor Shin Yul told The Korea Times. "The upcoming Assembly hearings over two disputed ministers-designate would be notable: Ahn Kyong-whan as justice minister and Cho Dae-yop as labor and employment minister," Shin said. To break the deadlock, DPK floor leader Woo Won-shik proposed closed-door talks with three opposition floor leaders, Thursday afternoon. Reportedly, they will discuss Moon's personnel appointments and the administration's budget bill. A visitor to Lotte World Tower's observatory in Jamsil-gu, Seoul, checks foggy air contaminated with fine dust in January 2017. / Korea Times file By Ko Dong-hwan Residents can monitor Seoul's air quality more closely after lead and calcium levels in fine dust clouds were made available online from Thursday. The National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) is showing on Air Korea, a Korea Environment Corporation website, how much the skies above Seoul and North and South Gyeongsang provinces are contaminated with the chemicals. Seoul's monitoring is done from the city's Eunpyeong-gu and the provinces from Ulsan's Jung-gu in South Gyeongsang Province. The update follows the launch of the service at Baengnyeongdo Island the nation's northwestern endpoint close to the inter-Korean border Gyeonggi Province and South and North Chungcheong provinces in 2015, and Jeju Island and South and North Jeolla provinces the following year. The figures in nanograms per cubic meter are updated every two hours, showing an average figure in units of two hours, 24 hours and one year. "The readings will be used to find the causes of air pollution above particular regions across the country and evaluate the hazardous level of the chemicals on humans," a NIER official said. Lead can accumulate in the blood, bones and cells, affecting the nervous system. It also can cause seizures and cognitive disorders. The World Health Organization defines 500 nanograms per cubic meter as lead's maximum standard for air safety. Calcium, although not harmful to health, can indicate other air contamination. A mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul was targeted late on Thursday in what the Interior Ministry called a "terrorist attack", Reuters reported. Ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said police had been sent to the scene of an apparent suicide attack and that there were casualties. The attack came as mosques around the city were crowded for a night of religious observances as part of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The Al Zahra mosque is used by Kabul's Shi'ite minority, who have been targeted by suicide bombings in the past, including an attack on a Shi'ite mosque in November that killed more than 30 people. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for that attack, as well as a previous attack last July that killed more than 80 people at a mostly Shi'ite demonstration. By Jacob Lotinga "Imagination is more important than knowledge" so said Albert Einstein in a 1929 interview. Given the mind's extraordinary capacity to be transported, it's bizarre that many of us are using this potential to inhabit North Korea's gulags and propaganda offices, thanks to a plentiful supply of escape narratives. As I let go of Jang Jin-sung's "Dear Leader," there are two key questions I feel compelled to address before starting Hyeonseo Lee's "The Girl with Seven Names." First, what magic ingredient makes these defectors' accounts irresistible? Secondly, how many more narratives do we need before human rights abuses are tackled? In today's Thought of the Times I'll investigate the curious popularity of the escape narrative. I asked Korea watchers what gave the North Korea escape story bestseller potential the combination, perhaps, of a closed state with a clear hero or heroine who has hurdles to overcome before the "happy ending"? Travel literature editor Jennifer Barclay, author of the South Korea travelogue, "Meeting Mr. Kim," says of the North Korea escape stories: "People are always inspired to read narratives of survival over adversity." Michael Breen, author of "The New Koreans," reels off a list of dramatic ingredients that the escape-from-North-Korea narrative has always offered the closed state's almost unimaginable degree of absurdity and brutality reminiscent of Orwell's 1984, the "coming of age moment where the protagonist's eyes open," what Breen calls the "terrifying all-or-nothing escape," and then the defector's struggle to adjust to life outside, still targeted by North Korean agents. But Breen notes that a changing global context has helped transform escape tales into bestsellers: an increasingly democratized world exposes North Korea's regime as "the worst kind of government imaginable." North Korea's nuclear weapons development, adds Breen, makes it a top foreign policy for the U.S. president and keeps it in the news. Paul French, author of "North Korea: State of Paranoia," complicates the picture further. In travelling and discussing North Korea, French noticed that audiences in South Korea, America and Europe appreciated the escape tales for different reasons. South Koreans, French tells me, want to know their neighbor and understand "that mad place to the north." But French found that U.S. audiences viewed the North Korea escape narrative as an "old school Cold War escape from communism." In the UK and Europe, he adds, the flight from North Korea is regarded as a personal journey from somewhere nasty to somewhere that will hopefully be a bit nicer. French notes: "Bizarre aspects of the DPRK are emphasized." The "risky" nature of the publishing industry, says Breen, helps account for the stream of North Korea narratives. Breen explains: "Publishers can't predict what will earn them money and what won't. That is why, when one book does well, you see three or four others of the same genre." Jacket designs may also play a part in selling narratives. French points out that young women Yeonmi Park, Hyeonseo Lee, Eunsun Kim grace front covers; older women and male defectors rarely do. Bradley Martin, author of "Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader," notes that "Escape from Camp 14" continued to sell briskly even after doubts were cast on defector Shin Dong-hyuk's account. Martin says: "This suggests that people buy the books mainly as escape literature." Barclay, who recommends Barbara Demick's "Nothing to Envy" as well as "The Aquariums of Pyongyang" by Kang and Rigoulot, says: "What strikes me about books like this is how much we humans can endure, and I think they help us to put our own troubles into perspective." These narratives may fascinate us, help us resist self-pity, and sell well but are human rights abuses being addressed as a result? Is the proliferation of North Korea narratives helping, or have these escapes turned into a grim escapism? This is the question I'll address in my next Thought of the Times. Jacob Lotinga is an author based in Sheffield, U.K. Write to jblotinga@yahoo.com. By Charles Park The threat of mutually assured destruction (MAD) has worked between the superpowers and kept peace throughout the Cold War. But whether it happens or not, nuclear weapons still pose a risk to human civilization. Analysts suggest that it was a miracle we avoided an accidental nuclear holocaust. Thus, it is in our interest to promote the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty). The NPT has done much to reduce the number of nuclear bombs in the world. Unfortunately, the NPT is likely to be faulty and unlikely to fully succeed in its present format. First, the NPT calls on existing nuclear powers to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons but that is not happening. They have reduced their stockpiles in terms of absolute numbers but in the last ten years, they have been renovating their nuclear stockpiles at a rapid pace. Second, the superpowers continue to engage in the nuclear arms race. The US withdrawal from the ABMT (Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty) means that the Chinese and Russians have to develop even more sophisticated nuclear missiles to overcome advances such as THAAD. The US even just announced the development of a high speed, low flying, and stealthy nuclear cruise missile. Third, the NPT does not bar nuclear powers from intervening militarily in non-nuclear states that often face significant disadvantages in conventional arms and lack the nukes to fall back on. This asymmetry is a strong motivation to pursue WMDs including nuclear weapons. Fourth, the biggest reason the NPT has failed and will continue to fail is that it does not offer a sufficient international peace regime that makes nuclear weapons irrelevant. This is precisely the reason we have failed to denuclearize North Korea. In the ongoing war of words, we call North Korea an irrational rogue state that lusts for war and destruction. We talk as if a nuclear attack is imminent or as soon as they perfect the ICBM. Ironically, we ask the North Koreans to make the rational choice and accept denuclearization. We do this without offering any replacement for the security blanket it represents. We then stack on one sanction after another, which increases their poverty and their reliance on their nuclear card. What we don't offer is anything to address the underlying motivation for the North Korean nukes. North Korea and South Korea remain regimes in contest. The Armistice has not been replaced with a Peace Treaty. North Korean conventional forces are far inferior to the US-ROK Alliance. In short, we call on North Korea to denuclearize without offering sufficient peace that will make nukes irrelevant. But perpetual war incurs exorbitant costs and risks. North Korea justifies their nuclear and missile tests as deterrence. They have given up nukes before as well as proposed a peace treaty. They could do both again. The problem has been that despite numerous joint statements, communiques, and overtures for peace, thus far, a robust peace regime has failed to materialize. And given the case of Libya and Iraq, North Korea knows they cannot trust any document on paper, even if the US agreed to remove troops from South Korea. No, the US could just as well use our bases in Japan, Guam, and other areas to stage an attack on North Korea or worse, though unlikely, use our own ICBMs. What may work to make peace and disarmament work, however, is a Comprehensive Peace Regime. One way to do that may be to back it up with a Peace Treaty backed by a UN Resolution committing member countries, specifically the UNSC, to militarily guarantee the territorial integrity of both ROK and DPRK from all external military attacks. One caution may be the possibility of internal strife killing many civilians, so military intervention may be permitted in cases where the UNSC objectively finds that mass killings are taking place above a certain threshold. The intervention would also need to be ratified by the rest of the UN body. Anyway, such a Peace Regime combined with mutual recognition, neutrality, and a gradual unification process could finally bring denuclearization, peace, and unification to the Korean Peninsula call it a Comprehensive Peace Regime. It could additionally become the template for reforming the NPT and help further advance world peace. Charles K. Park is a Korean-American microblogger on Facebook's North Korea Study Group and Barriers to Development North Korea. Moon should communicate with opposition sincerely President Moon Jae-in and the opposition parties are colliding head-on over whether the National Assembly must endorse Foreign Minister nominee Kang Kyung-wha. In a weekly meeting with his top secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday, Moon said he would do what the people want. His remarks came after the opposition-led parliament missed its deadline to issue a confirmation hearing report for Kang and meant that he would press ahead with her appointment despite the opposition's objections. There are pressing diplomatic schedules because of the Korea-U.S. summit in late June and the G20 summit early next month. It is understandable for Moon to have difficulty in preparing for the important events without a foreign minister. The urgency of the situation in which only one out of 17 Cabinet ministers has been appointed so far is also understandable. Given Moon's remarks Thursday that ''Kang is a confident and great woman. She has been recognized for her abilities as a diplomat in the United Nations and the international community,'' she may be qualified to be our foreign minister. But he would deserve criticism for being arrogant if he pushed ahead with Kang's appointment, enraptured by high approval ratings. Although more than one month has passed since he was sworn in, Moon's approval rating still hovers near 80 percent. The parliamentary confirmation hearings were introduced to let lawmakers vet candidates for high-ranking posts on behalf of the public. The system is intended to have the legislature hold the president's self-righteousness in check. If minister nominees are endorsed according to opinion polls, there would be no need to elect lawmakers. As a result, our procedural democracy would be undermined. The fundamental problem is that several of Moon's minister nominees would be disqualified if the five corrupt practices the former human rights lawyer suggested to filter out unfit candidates such as tax evasion and plagiarism are applied strictly. The labor minister-designate was even caught for drunk driving. So Moon and his presidential aides are not immune from accountability for nominating defective candidates. In particular, Cho Kook, the senior presidential aide for civil affairs, deserves criticism for vetting candidates carelessly. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party has threatened to boycott the ongoing parliamentary session should Moon appoint Kang without the legislature's endorsement. The new administration will find it difficult to have major bills, including a supplementary budget proposal, approved at the Assembly in that case. Moon's unilateral action is surely wrong-headed even as he is enjoying high popularity now. That's why he should communicate with the opposition sincerely, considering that the success of his administration relies heavily on ''cooperative governance.'' The opposition parties, for their part, ought to vet nominees thoroughly but need to cooperate in ending the current administrative vacuum as soon as possible. By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON Christine Ahn, a policy analyst with the Korea Peace Network, had what appeared to be good news as she opened a conference here with the portentous title, "Off Ramps to War: Paths to Building Peace with North Korea." Otto Warmbier, the University of Virginia student accused of having torn a banner from a wall as a souvenir on what was to have been his last day on a typical Pyongyang tour, was coming home after 17 months' imprisonment. Warmbier had been in a coma for months, the victim of beatings that had left him limp when last photographed, held up by prison guards during a tearful court appearance at which he was sentenced to 15 years' hard labor. Details of Warmbier's suffering would definitely have interfered with the message of the conference, all about the mistakes of U.S. policy toward North Korea, the need for dialogue and a "peace agreement," if not a treaty, to mark closure on the Korean War. The message was: sanctions, bad; talk, good. The stars of the show, at the Elliott School of International Affairs of George Washington University, were William Perry, defense secretary during the presidency of Bill Clinton, and Bruce Cumings, whose books on Korean history, particularly the Korean War, reflect his deep distrust of U.S. policy. Cumings quoted Perry saying, "We have to deal with North Korea as it is, not as we wish it to be," and Perry repeated the aphorism. If there was one topic that neither Perry nor Cumings wanted to discuss, however, it was "North Korea as it is" that is, a brutal dictatorship where no one guilty of disrespect, much less disloyalty, is safe, especially a young American student convicted of a stupid prank. Oh sure, North Korea does bad things, they seemed to be saying, but you have to talk to those you don't like if you're going to come to terms. These two celebrity experts preferred, however, to gloss over if not ignore the issue of human rights, which no doubt they would have thought it naive or irrelevant to mention, while blaming the U.S. for the breakdown of the 1994 Geneva framework agreement for shutting down the North's nuclear program. Clearly, they thought that deal had worked out fine, forget about the North's highly enriched uranium program (HEU) revealed in 2002. The assumption was the U.S. was to blame for North Korea kicking out the inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency who'd been monitoring the Yongbyon nuclear complex to make sure the North did not fire up the reactor needed for developing nukes from plutonium. And, of course, you had to blame the U.S. for the North's pulling out of the nuclear non-proliferation agreement. Both Perry and Cumings wanted to convey the reality that Kim Jong-un was there to stay and we had better deal with him. Perry's proposal: "We should go to China and say, Let's you and me solve the problem together.'" How different that idea was from Trump's understanding with President Xi Jinping about stopping North Korea from being bad was not clear. "If we could put together a diplomatic strategy which offered security assurances, we would have a chance of success," said Perry. The goal would be "a platform by which we can roll back" "create a dialogue" maybe "a peace agreement." Oh yes, "stopping exercises" that is, U.S. and South Korean war games "would be a reasonable basis for a freeze" of North Korean testing. Most troubling about Perry's remarks was he had nothing new to say or offer no more than the two former presidents whom he criticized in equal doses George W. Bush and Barack Obama. "We never had a negotiating strategy that made sense," he said. Nor did Perry. Cumings placed his hopes in the oft-stated desire of Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, to open dialogue. Never mind that North Korea spurned Moon's call for an end to their nuke-and-missile program. Moon is "walking a tight rope," said Cumings, between his desire for dialogue and pressure from Washington and the unpredictable Donald Trump. Good thing, as these experts spoke, we didn't know the sad saga of Otto Warmbier. No need for such a distraction from their yarns of U.S. cruelty and stupidity as portrayed at a forum on the fantasy of peace with a regime dedicated, as Perry had to acknowledge, to "the sustainment of the Kim Dynasty." Donald Kirk, www.donaldkirk.com, has been covering war and peace in Asia for decades. He's at kirkdon4343@gmail.com Employees and executives of Samsung Electronics pose after painting the wall of a welfare center in Thai Nguyen near Hanoi, Vietnam, in this November 2016 photo. Samsung workers have volunteered in Vietnam since 2013, offering education and building infrastructure such as housing and information technology educational facilities. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics By Kang Seung-woo Samsung Electronics has stood out as a dominant force in Vietnam, becoming the top vendor of mobile phones and TVs since its entry into the Southeast Asian country in 1995. The tech giant has adopted strategies focusing on regionally customized products and services. It also made massive investments in the country that is emerging as one of its key global manufacturing bases, according to market watchers. Samsung Electronics Vietnam was established in Ho Chi Minh City in 1995. Since then, it has built three manufacturing plants two for mobile phones in Hanoi and one for TVs and home appliances in Ho Chi Minh City. In particular, the latter is the 70-hectare Samsung Consumer Electronics Complex built at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park; the Korean firm invested $560 million to produce high-end smart TVs there. Customized services Samsung has appealed to Vietnamese consumers, offering various yet specialized services, including "connected TV" and "triple protection." The connected TV enables users to enjoy popular features of Samsung Smart TV without an internet connection. In other words, a TV and a mobile phone are linked through Wi-Fi, so people can view their phone photos and videos on a larger TV screen. In addition, it can send TV sounds to the mobile phone, so users can listen to them without disturbance from surrounding noise by just connecting earphones to the mobile device. The triple protection is a function designed to minimize possible damage to TVs by the unstable climate conditions in Southeast Asia, such as electrical surges, lightning and humidity. Amid the soaring popularity of K-pop in the region, Samsung launched its "TV Plus" last year a virtual channel video service in Vietnam and Thailand. The service can be enjoyed by simply linking an eligible Smart TV to the internet through a fixed-line internet or Wi-Fi connection. The service enables users who have their Samsung Smart TVs linked to the internet to enjoy a wide selection of content for free. Vietnamese users can automatically receive four popular K-pop channels. To appeal to consumers in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries with tropical climates, Samsung has introduced "Twin Cooling Plus" technology in its home appliances. It features two evaporators that manage fridge and freezer space separately to minimize temperature fluctuations, ensuring the right temperature and humidity levels are maintained to keep food fresher for longer. Considering the high use of motorbikes in Vietnam, Samsung's Galaxy J series phones feature the "S bike mode" to encourage responsible riding and ensure a tension-free ride. The mode, once enabled, automatically replies to calls with pre-recorded messages in 14 languages rather than distracting the rider with notifications. Corporate responsibility In addition to its innovations for Vietnamese consumers, Samsung has concentrated its efforts on nurturing talented researchers under the name of the Samsung Talent Program (STP). Since 2012, the STP has awarded $192,000 (214 million won) in scholarships to 420 students. Samsung plans to increase the scale and value of its scholarship program this year. Beneficiaries of the program will take courses in Java, Android, Tizen, algorithm application and Korean. They will also participate in an internship program at Samsung's R&D center in Hanoi. In 2015, Samsung also opened Samsung Nanum Villages in three underprivileged areas of Vietnam. They aim at addressing the causes of poverty and laying the foundation for economic independence by providing a "comprehensive infrastructure" needed for living, such as schools and medical facilities. Nanum means sharing in Korean. It also operates Samsung SONO School, designed to help doctors improve skills related to ultrasound diagnosis and obstetrics and gynecology. Plus, employees of Samsung Electronics in Korea have performed volunteer work in Vietnam since 2013, offering education and building infrastructure such as housing and educational facilities for information technology. Best employer On its track record, Samsung is gaining recognition among the Vietnamese people. In a 2016 survey by Swedish branding research firm Universum, Vietnam's engineering students picked Samsung as the most attractive employer. The poll interviewed 21,062 from 30 universities. In addition, Samsung also ranked second in the 2017 list of the top 500 best prosperity companies in Vietnam, announced by the Vietnam Report Joint Stock Company in April. Samsung was one of only two foreign companies to make it into the top 10 along with Japan's Honda. Officials from Samsung Electronics and the Indian government, including Samsung's IT and mobile communications CEO Shin Jong-kyun, fifth from left, Samsung Southwest Asia CEO Hong Hyun-chil, to his right, and Information Technology and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, on Shin's left, pose during a groundbreaking ceremony in Noida, India, Wednesday, to expand the tech firm's manufacturing plant. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics Tech giant comes up with innovations in South Asian country By Kang Seung-woo The Indian government's "Make in India" policy is aimed at encouraging global companies to produce their products in the South Asian country as part of its efforts to create jobs there. Samsung Electronics has gone one step further in the growing country in its own "Make for India" initiative with a view to become a bona fide local business rather than just remaining a foreign investor. The initiative is designed to create meaningful local innovations for Indian consumers. Since its entry into the Indian market in 1995, the global tech giant has made efforts to establish itself as a truly national brand by running two factories, three research and development (R&D) centers, and a design center to build the largest sales and service network of any company in the country. Plus, Samsung plans to invest 860 billion won ($763 million) there to expand its production of smartphones, which will double its capacity to 10 million handsets a month. Its monthly production of refrigerators is also set to jump to 200,000. Galaxy S8, Samsung Pay, Z4 Living up to its billing as the No.1 smartphone vender in India, Samsung has come up with innovations related to mobile phones. On May 5, Samsung launched its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, hoping the high-end devices would help the Seoul-based company maintain its lead in India, the world's second-largest smartphone market and also the fastest-growing one. According to Counterpoint Research, the market share of Samsung smartphones in India stood at 26 percent in the first quarter of the year. The Korean player was also the No. 1 premium smartphone vendor there with a 48 percent market share over the same period. Samsung is expected to remain the top selling smartphone brand in the coming quarters thanks to the popularity of its new handsets, according to global industry trackers. Cutting-edge technologies such as the Bixby voice assistant and three biometric-based log-in options are drawing rave reviews from Indian consumers, as evidenced by massive preorders of 80,000 within a week of introduction. Plus, Samsung offered its Samsung Pay mobile payment service in India from March to provide differentiated services. For the service, Samsung signed partnerships with Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, and payment gateways Visa and MasterCard. In addition, considering Indian consumers' needs, Samsung allows the consumers to link their Paytm accounts and let them pay by scanning the QR codes or by using a one-time password. It also offers peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers of funds between bank accounts. Paytm is an Indian mobile-payments app. In the future, Samsung plans to integrate the government's unified payments interface on its platform for P2P transfer of money. "This is a unique innovation. I think it will simplify matters. It will help India technologically leapfrog, and take India toward the digital economy, which is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream is all about," said Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog, or the National Institution for Transforming India, in March. Last month, Samsung also introduced the Z4, a Tizen-powered 4G smartphone that provides localized solutions. Tizen is Samsung's own operating system. The Z4 is equipped with Smart Glow, an LED notification ring bordering the lens of the smartphone's rear-facing camera. According to Samsung, its ring flash will indicate battery status, missed calls, and other notifications it believes are suitable for party-loving young Indians and it can also address the growing consumer need of capturing superior selfies from the rear camera as the flash can give users visual cues through the LED when the camera detects their face. The gadget also offers the S bike mode that lets consumers ride tension free, while encouraging responsible riding. Indian journalists and bloggers try out Samsung's new Gear VR during a launch ceremony in New Delhi, April 19. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics Innovative appliances Committed to improving the lives of consumers through its constant pursuit of ground breaking innovations and value creation, Samsung has been regularly introducing India-inspired innovations. The company's global-hit top-load washing machine, the ActivWash, was first released in India in line with the country's laundry practice people hand-wash and soak stained clothes before they go into the washer. To provide a total laundry solution to Indians, Samsung incorporated a built-in sink just below the machine's lid and a water jet, which enables them to wash out tough stains with their hands on the washboard without having to travel to the kitchen or the nearest bathroom for a prewash. Following its success in India, the washer was launched globally, with its sales surpassing 3.5 million. The Smart Convertible 5-in-1 refrigerator, released on the Indian market in May 2016, offers various storage needs for Indian consumers. For example, Indians with high vegetable consumption can turn the freezer into a fridge to store more vegetables for longer periods. In addition, its direct cool single-door refrigerators can operate on home inverters to provide uninterrupted service during power cuts with a cooling retention of nine hours. The fridge automatically adjusts cooling demand during hot weather or frequent opening of the door. The premium range of direct cool refrigerators comes with clutter-breaking designs for doors and handles that enhance the aesthetics of the refrigerators. The Samsung Neo Inverter air conditioners were designed for India's extreme weather conditions, so they can cool quickly, while consuming electricity efficiently. Next-generation TV On May 2, Samsung introduced its flagship premium lineup of QLED TVs in India, while showcasing so-called Frame lifestyle TV targeting the nation's premium TV sector. Samsung indisputably sits atop the flat TV market with market share of more than 30 percent in the populous country and it is also enjoying more than a 50 percent share in the premium TV market. The solid displays are mainly thanks to Samsung's efforts to customize features on its products for Indian consumers. One of the India-centered devices, among others, is Joy Beat TV. The product was devised for Indians who prioritize sound in their selection of TVs and it enables people to enjoy a rocking sound with an Integrated Sound Station along with brilliant picture quality. Another India-only feature is All Care Protection, an enhancement to Samsung's Triple Protection that guards against damage caused by unstable conditions, such as electricity surges, lightning and humidity. By Yoon Sung-won You Young-min, nominee to head the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning You Young-min, nominee to head the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, is drawing expectations of bringing software-centric innovation to Korea's industries, which have long been inclined to hardware and manufacturing, industry sources said Thursday. President Moon Jae-in picked You as candidate for the next minister of science, ICT and future planning this week. The 66-year-old software expert, who helped President Moon during his presidential campaign as the leader of his digital communication team, has accumulated about three decades of experience in the corporate sector. "I will concentrate on creating quality jobs and income sources," You said in a statement after the nomination. "I will do my utmost to prepare for the tangible Fourth Industrial Revolution by combining research and development capabilities and smart information and communication technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence to manufacturing industries, which we have done well so far." Cheong Wa Dae said after the nomination: "He started as a software developer and has a lot of experience in the ICT industry. He has established great leadership while working as the head of corporate research institutes and as a chief executive." A source from the IT industry here said, "The nominee understands the industry and has abundant experience. He is capable of making a balance between the government and private sector enterprises to formulate policies." Born in Busan in 1951, You graduated from Dongnae High School and majored in mathematics at Pusan National University. He started his career at LG Electronics' computing division in 1979. In 1996, he was promoted to a vice president and became one of Korea's first-generation chief information officers (CIOs). He received an award as CIO of the year in 2000. After working for 25 years at LG Electronics he moved to LG CNS, a system integration providing affiliate of LG Group, in 2004 as executive vice president. In 2006, You turned to the public sector and became a consultant to the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology under former President Roh Moo-hyun. In the same year, he was appointed as head of the Korea Data Agency and Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency (KIPA), now the National IT Industry Promotion Agency. You lectured at Dongeui University's College of Business and Economics in Busan in 2008. In 2010, You shifted his career path once again and returned to the corporate sector as the ICT chief at Korea's top steelmaker POSCO. He became president and CEO of the POSCO Research Institute a year later. As a member of Democratic Party of Korea, You ran in the 20th parliamentary election in his hometown of Busan last year but failed to win a seat at the National Assembly. For the Moon administration, it is the first time to nominate a former CEO as a minister. "You is capable of preemptively responding to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and is the perfect person who will support essential science and technology projects by improving national research and development systems," Cheong Wa Dae said. Meanwhile, You stressed cooperation with telecom companies to seek for a reduction in household expenses, which is currently one of the biggest issues in the industry. The ministry has been in a hot water under the new government's aggressive drive to force telecom companies to scrap basic fees as President Moon pledged. "I will look into diverse plans to reduce household telecom fees besides scrapping basic fees," You said. "We need cooperation from enterprises to reduce telecom expenses. We will continue to discuss it with the companies." Close-up images of dead bed bugs in Tai Po. The scale below is in millimetres. The number of infestations of the tenacious parasite is on the increase in the city, and one pest control expert believes it's only a matter of time before things get really serious, as Hong Kong is a paradise for bed bugs By Rachel Cheung Waking up several times during the night with itchy skin, Mr and Mrs E (whose names have been withheld) have not had a good night's sleep in almost a year. They have tried everything from tossing out their belongings including bedding replacing the wooden bed with a metal-framed one, and flea bombing their subdivided apartment numerous times. But they still can't get rid of their unwanted intruders, bed bugs. They're getting desperate, because Mrs E is pregnant and due to give birth any day. On a visit to their cramped apartment in Cheung Sha Wan with Francisco Pazos, head technician of pest control company nobedbugs-hk.com, Pazos lifts the blanket and immediately sees the small dark insects crawling on the bed. Many more appear as he moves the mattress. Judging by the amount of droppings, Pazos estimates there are more than a million bed bugs in the apartment, and classifies the case as an "extreme" infestation. The neighbouring apartments are likely to be crawling in them, he says. Bed bugs (Cimex hemipterus) feed on blood, are arguably the most irritating household pests, and are indiscriminate lodgers. They can be found in all types of homes, clean or dirty, big or small. Pazos next takes us to a luxurious, 3,700 sq ft Mid-Levels flat. One of two domestic helpers suspects the critters hitchhiked to Hong Kong with her employer when he returned from a trip to the mainland. The parasites have since spread to all of the bedrooms. Hong Kong is on the verge of a major bed bug epidemic, Pazos warns. "There are only two types of households in Hong Kong: those who have bed bugs and those who will have bed bugs." The Spanish expert, who has dealt with the pests for more than 10 years, says the city is a "Disneyland for bed bugs" because the high population density and small, cluttered homes are perfect breeding conditions. Seams of mattresses, crevices in furniture and cracks between floorboards are all ideal hiding places for bed bugs. Pazo says his team receives more than 500 phone enquiries a month. They visit some districts more frequently, such as Tung Chung and Ho Man Tin, but Pazos says this is not a reflection of how severe the problem is in these areas. Rather, middle-class families in these neighbourhoods are more likely to have the financial means to pay for treatment. The cost ranges from HK$1,500 to HK$18,000, depending on the type of treatment, size of the home and the level of infestation. The resurgence of bed bugs is a worldwide problem. They were almost wiped out in the 1960s through use of the pesticide DDT. The pesticide was later found to have wide-ranging harmful effects, and was banned worldwide in 2001 under the Stockholm Convention. Since then, the critters have made a comeback. "We experienced a sudden reappearance around 2000, followed by rapid population growth, mirrored across most of Europe, the US, Canada and Australia," says Dr Richard Naylor, an entomologist from University of Sheffield, in northern England, who studies the bloodsuckers' behaviour. One theory about the spread of bed bugs in Hong Kong is that they are "imported" from the mainland, where migrant workers' dormitories and trains have spread the pest rapidly across the country. "Shenzhen has a large immigrant population and many factory dorms, where bed bug infestations are often reported. Considering its vicinity to Hong Kong, the risk of bed bugs spreading from Shenzhen to Hong Kong is high," says Dr Changlu Wang, an entomologist from Rutgers University in New Jersey. New York, with a population density comparable to Hong Kong's, suffered a mass infestation in 2010, when bedbugs were reported in hotels, shops and cinemas. City authorities had received more than 8,000 complaints in 2008 alone. Statistics on the number of homes affected are difficult to obtain because many sufferers are too embarrassed to report the problem. "There is a stigma surrounding bed bugs. People believe that they are associated with dirty places, which isn't true. But because of this, people tend not to talk about the problem," Naylor says. Some people may be aware of the problem because not everyone reacts to their bite. Cheung (who didn't want her full name revealed) took her eight-year-old son to two doctors when he developed rashes on his skin. One doctor laughed off the suggestion the rash could have been caused by insect bites. "Our youngest son was being eaten alive and was misdiagnosed by two different doctors, who put him on antihistamines for several weeks," Cheung says. The drugs made him drowsy but his rashes just got worse. The cause was only discovered after another of Cheung's sons got rashes from bites, and they did some online research. The easiest way to tell if you have a bed bug problem is by looking for droppings pin head sized black dots normally found on bedsheets, Pazos says. Another way is to blow hot air from a hairdryer into the corners of a wooden bed, which will flush them out. They are typically brown and flat, and up to 4.5mm long. Bed bugs possess many qualities that make them hard to get rid of. Containing an infestation is notoriously difficult due to how quickly they grow and reproduce. "An adult female bed bug can lay about 25 eggs a week. The life cycle from egg to adult takes about six weeks, which means if a single female bug finds its way into your bed, it can keep on laying fertile eggs, and by the time it's ready to mate again, its own offspring will be reaching maturity," Naylor says. This ability to inbreed means they can mutate, and produce stronger detoxifying enzymes that can break down insecticides. They can grow a thicker protective exterior that prevents insecticides from harming them. "Modern populations of bed bugs now have widespread resistance to every major class of insecticide," Naylor says. "So it's not surprising that people are struggling to control the insects using conventional insecticides." Most of Pazos' clients have already tried terminating bedbugs with flea bombs or by employing pest control companies, to no avail. "[Flea bombing] is the worst thing you can do," Pazos says. "They feel uncomfortable and will stop feeding for a night or two, but they will come back when they are hungry. It only makes them more difficult to kill because they hide deeper inside the walls." Pazos has found another way of combating bed bugs that he says has been particularly effective. He uses an amorphous silicon gel powder, which he dusts on every surfaces of an infected apartment, and kills the insects by dehydrating them. "It is completely harmless," he says. To prove his point, a colleague dips his finger in the powder and slips it in his mouth. (Not all types of silicon gel are non-toxic, Pazos stresses.) Another, more expensive, method, is to raise the temperature of an apartment up to 60 degrees, which Pazos can do using special equipment. "It is almost like a sauna," he says. Bedbugs die when the temperature reaches about 48 degrees, but Pazos maintains the heat for three hours so it penetrates walls, furniture and mattresses. Pasoz shows how the heat treatment works, on a visit the cluttered flat of an elderly couple in Shau Kei Wan. It was one of the worst cases he had seen. When he first visited, the bed bugs, which are normally inactive in daylight, were crawling on the floor. The elderly man, who suffered the most, had thrown out the mattress and was sleeping on plastic sheets to prevent bites. "I wanted to cry seeing how my old man suffered," his wife says. It's been five weeks since Pazos and his team first visited the flat. They have since done one heat treatment and applied the silicon dust three times. Like a detective on the hunt for evidence, Pazos lifts up the wooden bed panel and, bingo, he finds fresh bedbug droppings. Despite rounds of chemical warfare and turning up the heat, Pazos job is not yet done. Tips to deal with bed bugs -Wash infested blankets and bedclothes in hot water (60 degrees Celsius) and dry in the sun or with a hot iron -Treat the bedding of infants, including cribs by physical means rather than with residual insecticide -Seal items that cannot be heat-treated in plastic bags and placed in a freezer (-18 degrees) for 24 hours to kill the bedbugs -Apply hot air or stream directly to the cracks and crevices where the insects are in order to kill them and their eggs -Clean and vacuum premises regularlyInspect bedding and clothing regularly -Maintain a non-humid environment -Avoid using second-hand furniture -Promptly replace loose wallpaper, and seal cracks and crevices -Stay alert to the presence of the insect in hotel rooms when travelling to prevent bringing the insect back home Security forces killed five PKK terrorists during a military operation in a rural area of eastern Erzurum province, a security source told Anadolu Agency on Thursday. The terrorist were killed after a gunfight erupted between military personal and the terrorists in the Senkaya district during a security operation against the PKK, according to the source who wished to remain anonymous due to restrictions on speaking to the media. Additional troops were sent to the region to support the ongoing operation. More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015. Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday the crisis between Qatar and some Arab countries should be resolved through peace and dialogue, Anadolu reported. Speaking to Agency during his visit to Qatars capital, Doha, amid a diplomatic row in the Gulf region, Cavusoglu said the efforts by Turkey so far and the future steps to be taken were discussed during his meetings with several top Qatari officials. Accompanied by Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Cavusoglu met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Economy and Trade Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani. "The situation we have been going through in this [holy month of] Ramadan is a really undesired one. There is such a crisis between sister countries and there are some steps that directly affect people. We must absolutely overcome it. We need to overcome it through peace and dialogue, Cavusoglu said, underlining that Turkey was contributing to the peace process. Cavusoglu also said he would visit Kuwait later Wednesday and meet Saudi Arabian king Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on Friday in Mecca. Last week, five Arab countries - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen - cut off ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. Qatar, for its part, has denied the accusations, calling the moves to diplomatically isolate it unjustified. Ankara has said that it stands with the tiny Gulf state against sanctions and has urged Riyadh to take the lead in finding a solution to the crisis. Turkey summoned the U.S. Ambassador in Ankara, John Bass, to the Foreign Office on Thursday after American authorities issued arrest warrants for President Recep Tayyip Erdogans bodyguards, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Anadolu reported. Earlier in the day, the U.S. authority had issued arrest warrants for 16 people, including 12 bodyguards of the Turkish president, over an incident in May outside Turkey's Washington embassy when several people were injured during a brawl; Erdogan was on an official visit to the U.S. at the time of the incident. In the statement, the Foreign Ministry said it summoned the American ambassador upon learning that the U.S. authorities have issued arrest warrants for some Turkish citizens and some of the security personnel of our president, due to the incident that took place in front of the Turkish ambassadors residence in Washington, D.C. on May 16th. Ankara told the U.S. ambassador that the decision to issue the warrants was wrong and unacceptable. It has been conveyed to the ambassador that this decision taken by U.S. authorities is wrong, biased and lacks legal basis, the statement said. The ministry also told Bass that the brawl in front of the Turkish ambassadors residence was caused by the failure of local security authorities to take necessary measures; that this incident would not have occurred if the U.S. authorities had taken the usual measures they take in similar high-level visits and, therefore, Turkish citizens cannot be held responsible for the incident that took place. The ambassador of the United States of America in Ankara has also been informed that the tolerance of the U.S. authorities towards the so-called protesters to approach as close as a few meters to the Turkish residence with flags and symbols of terrorist organization and their assault to innocent citizens, as well as the lack of any action taken against the U.S. security personnel who assaulted the security guards of our minister in front of the chancery run counter to any understanding of justice. The ministry added that the decision, which clearly was not taken as a result of an impartial and independent investigation, is unacceptable. ADS ADS Important new developments will be part of the 28th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), taking place January 15th to 19th 2018. For the third consecutive year this major event will be ringing the changes, ready to welcome prestigious exhibitors. The central aisles are extended for the arrival of Hermes, while a bigger Carre des Horlogers makes room for DeWitt, Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud and Romain Gauthier: SIHH is expanding on a par with its international renown. These new arrivals bring the total number of exhibitors to 34, with 18 Historic Maisons and 16 Carre des Horlogers brands, all dedicated to achieving excellence in the measurement of time. The epicentre of Fine Watchmaking, SIHH retains the selectiveness and exclusivity that has underpinned its success for the past 27 years. "There is no intention of extending SIHH indefinitely. It will grow within carefully measured limits so as to preserve the values of excellence that have forged its reputation. It must also meet the expectations of its exhibitors and clients, both now and in the future," commented SIHH Managing Director, Fabienne Lupo. Each January in Geneva, exhibitors unveil their finest creations. This is also where the latest trends in technical and precious watchmaking are revealed, and where the people who are shaping the industry today and tomorrow meet. Professionals, journalists and influencers, experienced and aspiring collectors all converge on this unique and eagerly anticipated event. By moving forward this way, SIHH accompanies the remarkable progression observed within the Fine Watch segment these past years. New players, new clients, new markets the luxury business is extending its boundaries and engaging in a genuine dialogue with its fans. In keeping with this spirit, SIHH opened its doors to the public for one day last year, and will be doing the same again in 2018. Make no mistake, the next SIHH promises to be as exciting, surprising and innovative as ever. Exhibiting Maisons A.Lange & Sohne, Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, Greubel Forsey, Hermes, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Panerai, Parmigiani, Piaget, Richard Mille, Roger Dubuis, Ulysse Nardin, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vacheron Constantin Carre des Horlogers Christophe Claret, Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud , DeWitt, Gronefeld, H. Moser & Cie, Hautlence, HYT, Kari Voutilainen, Laurent Ferrier, MB&F, MCT-Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps, Ressence, Romain Gauthier, RJ-Romain Jerome, Speake Marin, Urwerk Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie Palexpo - Geneva Switzerland 15th-19th January 2018 www.sihh.org Watches are not rocket science. Or are they? Watches are not rocket... Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well, thats a shame, because with some watches, youll need one to understand how to tell the time. Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well,... Clear measures should be undertaken by Europe and the international community to deal with countries that aid terrorism, Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told German public service broadcaster ARD in an interview during his two day official visit to Berlin this week. In statements reported by state news agency MENA, El-Sisi said that any action with European and international support should be resolute if the world is serious about combating terrorism. If terrorism and terrorist organisations are not dealt with decisively, terrorism will rise and grow in the upcoming years, El-Sisi said. On procedures that Germany should take to fight terrorism, El-Sisi said that the European country should impose more pressure on countries that support terrorism and extremist groups, adding that this was not only an issue of armed combat. Such pressure could lead to a halt in funding, since such groups can not support themselves. Look at the terrorist groups around the world now; they are armed illegitimately, so where do they get such equipment and training?, El-Sisi said. The president named several groups who have claimed responsibility for attacks around the world recently, including Daesh, saying that all these groups should be understood similarly. I hope that we dont limit our understanding of terrorism to Daesh only; instead we should consider that terrorism is in fact an extremist belief. What do you consider Nigerias Boko Haram and what is the difference between it and Daesh? What is the difference between Ansar Beit El-Maqdes in Egypt and Daesh? All those groups are similar and are not less dangerous than Daesh, El-Sisi said. He stressed that ending terrorism could not be achieved only through military and security solutions," but must include "intellectual, security, military, cultural, societal, and religious combat. Qatar The Egyptian President also spoke about Egypt and the Gulfs latest strife with Qatar, explaining Egypts participation in an alliance that imposes sanctions on the small Gulf country. Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and several other countries decided last week to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, with Egypt accusing the Gulf country of having links to terrorism and of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries in the region. I generally do not include names of countries in my talks, but all nations are aware of countries and organisations that fund extremist beliefs and terrorist groups. The international community should uphold its interests by creating a clear mechanism to restrain those countries and stop money from being delivered to such groups, El-Sisi said. El-Sisi also responded to several contentions by German officials that the standoff increases the risk of war breaking out in the region. Last Saturday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told a German newspaper that the dispute between Qatar and the other Arab states could lead to war. I dont expect it, El-Sisi said. Search Keywords: Short link: Do creative people artists, musicians and writers suffer from psychological disturbances more often than regular people? And if they do, are their creative productions an expression of their inner conflicts or are they an escape, a transcendence accomplished in spite of their difficulties? To shed some light on the mental issues creatives sometimes deal with hidden from public view, the UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry, in cooperation with the John A. Majda, M.D. Memorial Foundation and the UCSD Retirement Association, hosted a free, informative and highly entertaining lecture May 22, in the Conrad Prebys Concert Hall on campus. It centered on the music of the great Russian composer Peter Illich Tchaikovsky, who suffered from depression and ended up taking his own life. The speaker/performer for the evening was Dr. Richard Kogan, a Julliard graduate in piano studies, who is also a psychiatrist and co-leader of the Cornell University Music & Medicine Initiative. Dr. Harry C. Powell, a UCSD medical school professor emeritus of pathology and member of the UCSD Retirement Association executive committee, introduced the evenings program. Powell along with Dr. Sidney Zisook of the Healing Education Assessment & Research (HEAR) program, which is aimed at suicide prevention in health care providers, were jointly responsible for enticing Kogan to campus. Powell began by sharing the tragic story of former UCSD physician John A. Majda, a 1987 graduate of UCSD Medical School. Majda, who was a well-liked, successful and caring doctor, suffered from depression. He ended up taking his own life in 2007. As a result, the John A. Majda Foundation was formed by his wife and fellow doctors with the joint aim of recognizing outstanding research in the area of depression and suicide, and assisting professionals in the healing arts who might be prone to suicide. Dr. Igor Grant, Chairman of the UCSD Psychiatry Department, added to the introductions, The idea for tonights event is to try and raise awareness of depression and bring it out into the open so people can better understand and talk about it. Kogan was in town to attend the American Psychiatric Association (APA) meetings being held at the San Diego Convention Center. Dr. Michael Brophy, a psychiatrist from Dallas, Texas, who was also in San Diego to attend the APA meetings, said he came to the lecture because, I was utterly fascinated by an earlier lecture Dr. Kogan gave at the APA meetings where he discussed the life and career of composer Robert Schumann, who suffered from bipolar disorder or manic depression. Schumann unsuccessfully attempted suicide by jumping into the Rhine River, and ended up dying in an insane asylum. Tchaikovsky, who composed timeless musical masterpieces such as the 1812 Overture, and ballet scores for The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, suffered from lifelong depression. Evidence suggests that he took his own life, at age 53, by willfully drinking water contaminated with cholera. Although Tchaikovsky is discussed in length on Wikepedia, his depression and homosexuality, which for a long time were covered up by the Soviet government, are only lightly touched upon. Kogan took great pains to illuminate these issues which he has extensively researched through the reading of Tchaikovskys diaries and letters, as well as through interviews with the composers descendents. He said Tchaikovsky was hypersensitive and a loner who had great difficulties with relationships. Tchaikovsky was, however, according to Kogan, able to rise above his condition to express and release his great sorrow, hopelessness and frustration through composing music. As Tchaikovsky poignantly expressed in one of his letters, I hate myself, only work saves me. The genesis of Tchaikovskys problems, Kogan said, seems to have been his unfulfilled relationship with his emotionally distant mother, who sent him away to boarding school at an early age and who died while he was still quite young. Although Tchaikovsky was most likely homosexual in orientation, he did have one brief love affair with a female student whose name was Desiree Artot. In his letters he wrote, She is the only woman I have ever loved. And Tchaikovsky was briefly married to a woman named Antonina Miliukova. That relationship ended in disaster. Tchaikovsky wrote, I hate the sight of her naked body. Tchaikovsky was able to manage a long-term friendship with Nadezhda von Meck, the widow of a wealthy railroad baron. Because von Meck adored his music, she supported him financially and encouraged him for more than 13 years. Kogan ended his presentation with the thought that even though Tchaikovsky suffered great mental anguish, he was such a gifted and creative artist that he was able to rise above and transcend his infirmities to create monumental music that is loved around the world to this day. You can think of Tchaikovsky as a ballerina standing on her tip toes, defying gravity, Kogan concluded. For more information on the John A. Majda M.D. Memorial Foundation, which supports research on depression and suicide prevention, call (858) 246-2137 or e-mail mmacewan@ucsd.edu Art and science collaborations have been very popular lately, but Extra-Ordinary Collusion, an exhibit that opened May 20 at San Diego Art Institute (SDAI) in Balboa Park, really is extra-ordinary. For the Collusion, 25 artists from both sides of the border were paired with 22 scientists from The Salk Institute. After visiting their laboratories and learning about their groundbreaking research, the artists created works inspired by their interactions. The power behind all this is artist/esthetician/Vanguard Culture board member Chi Essary, who came up with the idea over a year ago, and brought it to Ginger Shulick Porcella, the transformational executive director of SDAI, now relocated to Tucson. Essary, a transplant from Oregon, was impressed by the high levels of art and science here, had friends in both fields, and wanted to make their work more accessible to the public. She handled all the artist/scientist pairings. I read everyones statements and really tried to match their personalities and interests, she said. The best part of opening night was talking with the artists and scientists and hearing about their Collusion interactions. If you see the exhibit, take time to read their statements on the walls, and dont miss photographer Josue Castros compelling portraits of some of the Collusionists, best seen from under the gallerys staircase, looking up. IF YOU GO: Extra-Ordinary Collusion, is on view through July 2 at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Admission: Free-$5. Discussion artist/scientist teams, 6-8 p.m. June 28. (619) 236-0011. sandiego-art.org Closeups: Six Pairs of Collusionists David Fobes and Tatyana Sharpee (Huh? Wow!) A neurobiologist who studies visual and auditory perception, Dr. Sharpee introduced Fobes to a geometrical model called the Poincare Disk, a pattern of triangles inside a circle that graphic artist M.C. Escher used in some of his drawings. Then she showed him a simpler but similar diagram (two circles intersecting at right angles) that was used as a model for Einsteins theory of the expanding universe. It was that moment of discovery and wonder that we share as artists and scientists that I wanted to evoke in my work, Fobes said. Iana Quesnell and Dr. Corina Antal (Of Mice and Men) Dr. Antal uses mice as test subjects in her search to develop better treatments for pancreatic cancer. Quesnells detailed pencil drawings describe her own Antal-inspired research. Similar to the way we communicate, cells communicate, using nucleic acids and proteins, she said. We navigate, map, and gain insight into cell functions through ever-evolving methods of visualization. Vicki Walsh and Alan Saghatelian (DNA; Glucose; Love) Saghatelian and his lab have discovered a molecule that reverses the symptoms of Type-2 diabetes. We talked about his science and my painting, and the significance of DNA in his work, Walsh said. I asked him to draw some pertinent equations and I took some photos, but we also talked about personal matters, how his beautiful young wife suffers from lupus. At some point, we became friends. Had I not said yes to this collaboration, my life would be less. Hugo Crosthwaite and Laura Tan (Once Upon a Time in a Dark Neuron Forest) Tan is researching more effective ways of treating Alzheimers disease, which she described as something like being lost in a dark forest. I did a painting like that in grad school, she said. The neurons from the brains hippocampus are the first things that degrade, and they look like trees. Crosthwaite, whose large-scale, black-on-white paintings are usually narrative, suggested she do another painting, a kind of fairy tale with an old woman lost in a forest, being led out by helpful animals--the angelic research mice. He called their piece a conjunctive narrative painting about curing Alzheimers. It was such fun working with him, Tan said. Debby and Larry Kline with Saket Navlakha (Mining a Museum: Finding Hierarchies) Navlakha uses algorithms to study similarities between biological and engineered networks, hoping to learn how to interrupt the progression of disease. The Klines use sensors to track which artworks in the exhibit hold visitors attention longest. Their installation includes video images of traffic patterns, networks of slime molds, herds of Pokemon Go players, and the artists, along with comfortable seating. Jamex and Einar de la Torre with Amy Rommel (Transdifferentiation) Genetic researcher Rommel has a novel approach to cancer: instead of attacking it, she is trying to reprogram the tumor cells into normal, non-tumor cells, a process called transdifferentiation. Her work deals with glioblastoma, a lethal form of brain cancer, and the De la Torre brothers portrayed the cellular re-wiring in a 3-D lenticular painting. L.B.H It is with great sadness we announce Charles Francis Thometz, DDS, 83, Lake Geneva, passed away peacefully in his sleep in the morning hours of June 6, 2017 at Mercy Hospital, Geneva Township. Throughout his stay in the hospital, Charles was surrounded by his family, sharing their memories, support, and prayers. Charles was born in the home of his parents, John Thometz and Louise Schick Thometz, on March 24, 1934, with his three brothers and one sister welcoming him into this world. In 1952, Charles graduated from Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. Following in his fathers and brothers footsteps, Charles earned a degree in dentistry from Loyola University in 1958. He served his country in the U.S. Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, from July 1958 to July 1960. Loving to make people smile, it was only natural that Charles pursued a career as an orthodontist after leaving the Army. He spent the rest of his working years perfecting other peoples smiles. At a Viator Club gathering in 1960, Charles met the love of his life, Mary Ann Sue Laske. After two years of blissful courtship, they married on June 2, 1962, and honeymooned in Yosemite National Park, a place he and his family would return to many times over the years. His love of nature and the outdoors was instilled in his children with their many trips to the national parks around the U.S., especially Yosemite, and summers in Lake Geneva. Charles and Sue developed the travel bug and journeyed extensively throughout Europe and South America. In 2010, they retired to the home Charles designed in Lake Geneva. Charles devoted his time to a multitude of organizations, causes and students. Charles spent numerous years teaching at Loyola University preparing the next generation of orthodontists. Career affiliations included American Dental Association, Illinois State Dental Society, the Chicago Dental Society (west side branch), American Association of Orthodontics and Midwest Society of Orthodontists. Charles spent more than a decade on the board of the Sunset Hills Association and he was a member of the Lake Geneva Evironmental Protection Agency. Charles was a devoted Christian and was a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales Church. Charles is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Sue; their four children, Timothy C. (Jen Choi) Thometz, DDS, Linda (Dave) Fromholz, James M. (Miryam-Catthy) Thometz and Michael C. Thometz; and their four grandchildren, Jessica, Jennifer, Eric and Brian. He is also survived by his siblings, Ruth and William. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Louise; and his brothers, John and Richard. Visitation was Sunday from 4 until 8 p.m. in the chapel of Derrick Funeral Home in Lake Geneva. Mass of Christian Burial was Monday June 12, at 11 a.m., at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Lake Geneva. Bishop James Scheurman officiated. There also was visitation Tuesday, June 13, from 4 until 8 p.m. at Oehler Funeral Home in Des Plaines, Illinois. A prayer service was held on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home with burial in All Saints Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a favorite charity or Yosemite Conservancy Fund (yosemiteconservancy.org). To sign the online guest registry, go to www.derrickfuneralhome.com. Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed on Wednesday evening Egypt's support for the unity of Iraq and non-interference in the country's domestic affairs to Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi. In an official statement by Egypt's foreign ministry, spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that during his meeting with Allawi in Cairo, Shoukry hailed the historic and deep strategic relations between Egypt and Iraq. The FM emphasised Egypt's keeness to develop ties with Iraq across various fields, especially political and economic. Allawi, who is in Egypt on an official visit, said he valued Egyptian-Iraqi relations and expressed his country's hope for continued work to boost ties. Both sides agreed to keep working on resurrecting a joint high committee led by the prime ministers of each country, which would aim to hold its first meeting during 2017. According to the spokesperson, the Iraqi vice president spoke on Iraq's latest domestic developments, including preparations for parliamentary elections, saying that Iraqi politics are undergoing a process of reconstruction. Shoukry said Egypt stands with Iraq in the face of its challenges, stressing that every effort should be made by the country's various factions to leave conflict behind and uphold national interests. He also congratulated Allawi on the success the Iraqi army has achieved over Daesh, offering Egypt's support and solidarity with Iraqi efforts to fight terrorism and extremism. Over the past few years, Egypt and Iraq have been enhancing political, economic and security relations. In April, the two countries signed an agreement for Iraq to sell Egypt 12 million barrels of oil over the course of one year. In May, Egypt received two million barrels of crude oil from Iraq, the first shipment to arrive as part of the deal from the country's state oil company SOMO. Search Keywords: Short link: Historic ties of north Meck span throughout region Though the north Mecklenburg area didnt see significant population growth until a few decades ago, its rich history dates back to the Revolutionary War. That was the basis of... An easier-than-expected first mammogram experience HUNTERSVILLE Scheduling a cancer screening probably ranks somewhere on your to-do list between "clean out the garage" and "donate those clothes that don't fit." Sure, you'll get to it at... Gary Friedman covering the Endeavour arrival in 2012. Photo by Gary Leonard. Gary Friedman, a stalwart of the Los Angeles Times photo staff for more than 30 years, died on Wednesday. Friends had been updating Facebook on his battle with cancer in recent months, and posted the news this afternoon that he had died. I don't have Gary's exact age. He wrote on the Times' Framework photo blog sometime around 2010 that "most people dream about doing what Ive been fortunate to do for almost 40 years, documenting the world, telling stories, informing and entertaining. Im so lucky to live this dream." He took a buyout from the Times late in 2015. His Times bio said that Gary was born in Detroit and started his journalism career at the age of 16, working for his local newspaper, the Southfield Eccentric. In 1976, he was an intern at National Geographic. "Among his honors, Friedman was the recipient of a World Press Photo award in 1981 for a series on conjoined twins," the bio reads. "He has traveled widely, covering such projects as presidential campaigns, Super Bowls, Olympic Games and the Sept. 11 attack in New York. Friedman also covered the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union and the 1992 Los Angeles riots." When I see an obituary I will post a link. [June 15 5:30 p.m. update: Here is the Los Angeles Times obituary. At this time, the name Gary Friedman is trending on Los Angeles Twitter.] Friedman for many years covered the Rose Parade from the Surfing Dogs Natural Balance float, alongside dogs on surfboards. That's where this photo comes from, taken by colleague and friend Raul Roa. Friends and news colleagues took to social media today to pay their respects to Gary. Sample: Gary Friedman, LA Times photographer, your zest for life follows to the next level. We will miss you dearly. pic.twitter.com/kXldQCdSy2 LAWRENCE K. HO (@lstomsl) June 15, 2017 Life is such a precious, precarious thing.Thanks Gary Friedman for always reminding us of this simple truth. Long may your light shine on us pic.twitter.com/ZH0n2iQ71u Genaro Molina (@GenaroMolina47) June 15, 2017 Utterly devastated and heartbroken to hear this news. Gary was a great colleague to all at the LA Times. Rest easy, GF. @GenaroMolina47 https://t.co/7G5PBluiaT kurt streeter (@kurtstreeter) June 15, 2017 RIP, Gary Friedman. We will miss your humor and outsized personality. Your portfolio of outstanding photos lives on forever #LAT pic.twitter.com/2yB4gze9jG Chris Erskine (@erskinetimes) June 15, 2017 Some of the best times I had on assignment 4 the @latimes were w genius photog @friedmanphoto. Well always have Vegas, Gary. RIP sweet man. MariaElena Fernandez (@writerchica) June 15, 2017 Gary Friedman, right, with columnist Steve Lopez last September. Photo: Gary Leonard. This article appears in the June 16, 2017 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. Russia, China Develop the ArcticWill the United States Join? by Mike Billington [Print version of this article] June 12Russia and China are escalating their efforts to develop one of the last, relatively untouched frontiers for mankind on Earththe vast expanse of the Arctics rich resource base. While Russias huge coastline on the Arctic Ocean is the primary base of operations, China is heavily engaged in building the infrastructure needed to make the exploitation of these resources feasible. Will the U.S. under President Trump engage in this process? The answer to this question will play a crucial role in the broader issue that will, to a significant degree, determine the fate of mankindwhether or not Trump will fully integrate the United States into the Belt and Road Initiative, the New Silk Road process first promoted by Lyndon and Helga LaRouche in the 1990s, and now fully adopted and implemented by Chinese President Xi Jinping on behalf of all nations on Earth. View full size Wikipedia A major physical driver for this initiative is the fact that the northeast passagethe route from Asia to Europe via the Arctic Oceanhas become increasingly viable due to the receding of the Arctic ice cap. While the green movement is quick to claim that (non-existent) manmade climate change is responsible for this recession of the Arctic ice cap, the Russian government and Russian scientists (among others) have proven that this is a cyclical phenomenon unrelated to carbonand indeed, very beneficial to mankind. Not only is trade facilitated by this recession, but Arctic resources are also rendered more accessible if the world chooses to take advantage of the new circumstances. One Belt, One Road, One Circle Hu Angang, a leading Chinese economist at Tsinghua University, coined the term One Circlereferring to the encirclement of the entire Eurasian land mass by the completion of the northeast passageto go along with the One Belt, One Road policy initiated by President Xi Jinping in 2013. The New Silk Road Economic Belt, connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa over land, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, connecting Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas by sea, can now be joined by the Arctic One Circle route, cutting shipping time by over 30% from East Asia to Europe. Beside shipping time, the resources waiting to be developedwaiting only for the human race to develop the technologies needed to facilitate such development in a harsh environment, in a manner acceptable to human habitationinclude vast deposits of gold and other minerals, as well as an estimated 30% of the worlds undiscovered natural gas and 13% of undiscovered oil, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. While issues of sovereignty apply to the resources near the borders of the Arctic nations (Russia, United States, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark), the vast territory of the Arctic is mostly outside of territorial waters, and is thus subject only to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which allows only for joint development of the resources under consensus agreements. Governing this process is the Arctic Council, comprising the six Arctic nations, with others present as observers, including China. China considers itself a near-Arctic state, and points out that the region holds the inherited wealth of all humankind. The last biennial summit of the Arctic Council took place in Juneau, Alaska in March, where Finland took over as president for the current two-year term. On his way to visit President Trump in Florida in April, President Xi Jinping stopped in Finland to discuss Finlands role in the Belt and Road, but he also arranged for Finland to represent China in meetings of the Arctic Council. While the deliberations of the Council have thus far avoided efforts to introduce geopolitical conflicts, some members of U.S. Congress have used the fact that Russia has security concerns along its extensive Arctic border, to call on the United States to prepare military capacities to challenge Russian dominance of the region. That is absurd, given that the United States has a grand total of one functioning ice-breaker, while Russia has 40, and is in the process of building or ordering (primarily from South Korea) the construction of dozens more. View full size DSME Just this week, President Putin oversaw the christening and naming of the worlds largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) ice-breaker in St. Petersburg, built for Russia by South Koreas Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Corporation. Clearly not intended for military purposes, the ship will be used at the Yamal project on the Yamal Peninsula on the Arctic, at the northern end of the Ural Mountains. This region holds huge natural gas deposits that are being developed by a consortium involving Russias Novatek, Frances Total, and the China National Petroleum Corporation. The ship is the most modern tanker of a high-ice class, and will become the flagship in a fleet of 15 similar vessels. The Yamal project aims to produce 16.5 million tons of LNG a year. Speaking at the christening, Putin said: The Yamal project paved the way for the Arctic route. It will contribute to the development of the energy industry in the whole world, as well as Russia and Europe. . . . Yamal LNG plays an important role in the development of the Northern Sea Route, and in the further study and exploration of the Arctic. I am counting on the successful launch of new, promising, large-scale projects with our French, Chinese, and foreign partners, as well as on our growing cooperation in the extremely rich Arctic Region. Russia is also building a Northern Latitude Railway to connect Yamal with the Ural regions to the south and the nations transportation arteries, ensuring year-round transport of the regions mineral resources. In another major development zone, that of the Arkhangelsk region south of Murmansk near the Norway and Finland border, Chinas Poly Group Corporation is planning a $5.5 billion development project, involving a new deep water port and a rail connection to the south. The intention is to ship coal, fertilizer, oil, and other goods from Siberia and the Urals via the Arctic, and then south by rail. Igor Orlov, the governor of Arkhangelsk, estimates that the project will generate 40,000 jobs when it is completed in 2023. A long-range intention of the Russian development of Arctic facilities is the testing of structures required for human outposts on the Moon and on Mars. U.S. Cooperation A ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in Fairbanks, Alaska on May 11 was projected to be contentious by those who are trying to sabotage President Trumps effort to establish cooperative and friendly relations with Russia. Such projections were proven futile. Among the outcomes of the meeting, chaired by the United States, was the signing of a binding agreement to facilitate cooperation in scientific research in the region, ensuring that scientists and their equipment and data can flow more freely across international borders within the Arctic. An Arctic Shipping Traffic Database has been set up, while a new Arctic Economic Council and a Task Force on Improved Connectivity are becoming operational. David Balton, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries, who represented the U.S. at the meeting, countered the neocon dreams of confrontation with Russia, saying that the Arctic remains stable and peaceful. Through the Arctic Council, we have a venue that has been doing very well in promoting international cooperation among all eight nations, including Russia, Balton said, adding that Whatever other differences may exist between the United States, Russia, and other members of the Arctic Council, and Russia related to other parts of the world, dont manifest themselves in the world of the Arctic Council. That has remained a very cooperative body. The Wilson Centers Arctic Circle Forum is hosting a conference in Washington on June 21-22, titled The United States and Russia in the Arctic. Balton will speak, along with many others from the United States, Russia, and other Arctic Council nations. It is precisely this kind of cooperationpushing forward the frontiers of development and the frontiers of human knowledgethat, like the New Silk Road, is moving the world into a new paradigm of peace through development. This editorial appears in the June 16, 2017 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. WHAT THE LYING MEDIA ARE NOT TELLING YOU LaRouche: Stop the FBI Fraud! Sto p th e Cou p Agains t Presiden t Trump! [Print version of this editorial] June 8Lyndon LaRouche has called upon the American people to shut down the coup underway against President Trump, which was fed today by the lying testimony of fired FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. LaRouche said that the coup is an FBI-type operation attempting to destroy the United States, and if it is not stopped, the world will face general warfare. On June 7, former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper revealed the actual motivation for the coup against Trump in remarks in Australia. He said that Trumps openness to peace with Russiathe platform upon which Trump was elected by the American peoplewas itself wholly against U.S. national security interests, in effect, equivalent to treason. It was already known in official Washington, well before the election, that President Obama, in collusion with the British, candidate Clinton, DNI Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, and FBI Director James Comey, had steered the United States onto a war course with Russia and China, which was meant to be fully activated with Clintons election. Trump was elected instead, triggering the coup which has followed. President Trump has kept his promise and established better relations with both Russia and China, who are seeking cooperation with the United States in developing the world, based on great infrastructure projects. That is the only issue here. Comey backed that up Thursday in a long rant against Russia as a mortal enemy, in response to a question from Senator Joe Manchin. Comey Admits Tasking to Entrap Trump Heres how the actual conspiracy worked in general outline. According to Comeys own words and their actual implication, on January 6, two weeks before Trumps inauguration, FBI Director Comey is selected by Obamas intelligence chiefs to do a J. Edgar Hoover on Trump, briefing him on salacious blackmail material fabricated by British intelligence and Clinton campaign operative Christopher Steele. It is a pure Hoover blackmail operation. Comey signals to Trump, give up your fantasy about cooperation with Russia and we wont release this. Trump doesnt budge. The very next day the whole Steele dossier is leaked all over the international news media, accusing the President-elect of perverse sexual acts with Russian hookers. Comey admitted as much in his testimony June 8, saying he was aware that that briefing could be construed as a J. Edgar Hoover moment, in response to a question from Senator Susan Collins of Maine. During his meeting with the President, Comey assures him that he is not under FBI investigation. Comey goes out and writes a classified memo about the briefing and the Presidents responses. Was this memo shared with the British? Who else was it shared with? Comey claims that he wrote it up because he thought the President would lie about the meeting. That is hogwash. Comey had already been tasked to bring down the President, to entrap him, if Trump did not back down on seeking better relations with Russia and China. That James Comey set out to entrap the President, is the only logical conclusion which can be drawn from Comeys testimony in response to questions by various Republican Senators. First, Senator James Risch: Risch: I remember, you talked with us shortly after February 14th, when the New York Times wrote an article that suggested that the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians . . . that report by the New York Times was not true. Is that a fair statement? Comey: In the main it was not true. With respect to the alleged Michael Flynn conversation: Risch: You quoted exactly what the President said, I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. . . . He didnt direct you to let it go? Comey: Not in his words, no. Risch: He didnt order you to let it go? Comey: Again, those words are not an order. Risch: You dont know of anyone being charged for hoping something? Comey: I dont as I sit here. In any truthful scenario that should have ended the matter right there. No Obstruction of Justice Various Republican senators asked Comey repeatedly, why, if the President had asked for his loyalty and had told him to drop the Flynn investigation (which was a false statements investigation that the President in all probability did not even know about), why did he not report it to the Attorney General? Alternatively, why did he not threaten to resign, as he had done previously in a confrontation with President George W. Bush? Why keep meeting with the President, telling the President he was not under investigation, while refusing to tell the public the same thing, and returning to strategize with FBI agents about what was said and what were the next steps? Comey admitted, during his testimony, that he did not do certain logical things, including telling the President to stop any improper conduct, because the FBI had decided that these conversations were of investigative interest, that is, Comey, acting as an undercover informant, had not yet succeeded in completely setting up President Trump. Comey included Assistant FBI Director Andrew McCabe in the circle of people he was briefing on all of his interchanges with the President. Unfortunately for Comey and this entire obstruction of justice scenario, McCabe testified under oath to Congress on May 11, following all of these events, that there had been no effort by Trump or anyone else to interfere with or obstruct the FBI investigation. In fact, Comey himself, in his June 8 Senate testimony, said that prior to his firing, there was no investigation of President Trump for either obstruction of justice or collusion with the Russians. End This Coup Attempt! In a statement following Comeys staged performance, President Trumps lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, denied that the President ever asked Comey to let the Michael Flynn matter go, ever pressured Comey, or ever asked for Comeys loyalty. Kasowitz appropriately emphasized these parts of Comeys testimony: The alleged Russian hacking did not change any votes. The President told Comey that if any of his satellite associates did something wrong, it would be good to find that out. James Comey admitted that he leaked all of his memos about his conversations with President Trump to the New York Times, in order to provoke the appointment of a special prosecutor. At least one of these memos was classified. This is not a battle that will go to court. Whether it continues or not is a question for the American people and their representatives. As LaRouche said, it is time for the people to speak and end this disruptive and highly dangerous, attempted coup. It is also time for the coup plotters to be investigated, including the treasonous news media. PRESS RELEASE Mekong River Commission Acknowledges that Dams in China Help, Not Harm, Downstream Water Control June 14, 2017 (EIRNS)For years, the greenies, led by such groups as International Rivers and the World Wildlife Fund, have mobilized opposition to the building of dams on the Mekong/Lancang river in China and Southeast Asia (and everywhere else). On June 6, however, the Mekong River Commission, the inter-governmental organization representing Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Viet Nam, issued a report showing clearly that the dams built by China on the Lancang (the Mekong in China) "do affect water flows in the Lower Mekong Basin," but, rather than harming them, as claimed by the greens, the dams make possible "reducing the flow during the wet season and increasing it during the dry season," both saving the downstream nations from severe droughts and reducing the danger of floods. The report states: "Since 1993, China has built six dams in the mainstream on the Upper Mekong Basin.... Operations of these dams have stirred many concerns from the Lower Mekong Basin communities on how these dams will impact their river and livelihoods..., including how changes in water flow (discharge) impact on fisheries, sediments, and downstream community livelihoods." Their study shows: "Downstream water flow in the dry season increased, easing effects of droughts.... For example, the release of water supplement from the Lancang dams eased the regional drought of 2016. The drought resulted in 16% less flows compared to the long-term average. However, because of the emergency water releases from the Chinese dams upstream, that increased dry season flows that ultimately helped to mitigate potential impacts of the drought.... These releases amounted to between 40-89% of flows along various sections of the Mekong River." Global Times today published an article reporting on the study, noting: "China will continue its efforts to enhance coordination with Southeast Asian countries, and regional cooperation along the river could be taken as a reference for other countries, India and Bangladesh included, to resolve disputes with China over water-resource exploitation." They add: PRESS RELEASE Norway Makes Itself a Target with New Radar in Arctic Pointed at Russia June 12, 2017 (EIRNS)A new radar station under construction on the Nowegian Arctic island of Vardo is causing consternation among the 2,100 residents of the nearby fishing village, and with the Russians. Many locals are worried that the radar station makes the whole area a target for Russian missiles. Vardo is just off the coast of a Norwegian peninsula that sticks out into the Barents Sea and is about 150 km northwest of the Russian Northern Fleet submarine bases that are clustered around Polyarny on the Kola Peninsula. Among the vessels based there is the Borei-class ballistic missile sub Yuri Dolgorukiy. Flight tests of Russian submarine-launched ballistic missiles are launched from the Barents Sea, as well. The radar station, which is in the process of being equipped with an advanced, state-of-the-art radar called Globus II, is there to watch the Russians, though Norwegian authorities claim its there to track space junk in orbit overhead. The Russians have made clear that they believe that its part of the U.S./NATO ballistic missile defense system and that they are treating it accordingly. "Norway has to understand that after becoming an outpost of NATO, it will have to face head-on Russia and Russian military might," the ambassador, Teimuraz Ramishvili, told Norways state broadcaster, NRK. "Therefore, there will be no peaceful Arctic anymore." MIT professor Theodore Postol says the Russians have good reason to be worried. "If you have a neighbor walking up and down the fence line with a shotgun, he can tell you its not loaded, but it raises all kinds of questions about his intentions," he told the New York Times. "It creates the appearance that the United States is doing everything it can to gain intelligence about new Russian missiles and figure out all the measures it can to counter them." In an interview with Sputnik News in early May, Postol was even more stark as to the potential danger behind the new radar station. "I believe that the deployment of the new radar in Norway is a result of mistaken American logic," Postol stated. "Its only a matter of time when the current arms escalation will resultin one form or anotherin a serious confrontation between Russia and China and the U.S. and NATO." PRESS RELEASE Trump To Host South Korea President June 29-30 While Unofficial Talks Could Begin June 14, 2017 (EIRNS)U.S. President Donald Trump will host South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House, June 29-30, to advance economic cooperation and discuss ways of strengthening the two countries "ironclad" alliance," the White House said on Tuesday. "The leaders will also coordinate on North Korea-related issues, including countering the growing North Korean nuclear and missile threats," it said in a statement. The Korean Times, citing diplomatic and security sources, reports that unofficial talks involving North Korea could be held next month and include diplomats and experts from countries involved in efforts to denuclearize North Korea, including member states of the long-suspended six-party denuclearization talks. They will be attending the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD) to be held in Singapore. The NEACD is an annual diplomatic and security forum regarded as the "Track 1.5" platform where North Korea, along with South Korea, the United States, China, Japan, and Russia, usually send senior nuclear envoys and other experts. While the event will be organized by the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) of the University of California, the dates and program have not been confirmed. Last years meeting of the NEACD was held in Beijing. Bilateral talks among the members of the six-party talks, including North Korea, could take place on the sidelines of the meeting. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and CIA Director Mike Pompeo affirmed strong Egyptian-US strategic ties during talks in Cairo on Thursday, presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said in a statement. El-Sisi stressed the strong security and military ties between Cairo and Washington, assuring that Cairo is keen to boost cooperation to face regional and international challenges, including terrorism. Pompeo said Washington seeks to "bolster strategic ties" with Cairo, namely in security cooperation. The talks, which were attended by Egyptian and US intelligence and security officials, also involved discussions of regional and international developments including counterterrorism efforts and the Qatar crisis. Egypt and other Gulf countries severed diplomatic ties, transportation and trade links with Qatar earlier this month, accusing the tiny Gulf state of supporting terrorism. Egypt and Washington have witnessed improved relations under the administration of US President Donald Trump, who has praised and vowed support for El-Sisi in a number of meetings and phone calls. El-Sisi was the first world leader to congratulate Trump on his election victory. Egypt has long been one of Washington's closest allies in the region, although relations have been strained since the Arab Spring in 2011. The US has been providing Egypt with $1.3 billion in military aid yearly since Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The military aid is accompanied by an annual economic assistance package, which amounted to $150 million in 2016. Search Keywords: Short link: PRESS RELEASE Ukraine Has Adopted Several Severe Anti-Russia Policies in the Past Weeks June 14, 2017 (EIRNS)Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko has signed a number of anti-Russian bills into law, overtly provocational to the Ukrainian people and backing the ultra-nationalist policies of the neo-nazis. On May 16, the government imposed sanctions to block Russian media and online networks from operating in the country, including VKontakte, described as the nations most popular social network. Already, sanctions had been imposed on the Russian search giant Yandex and several Russian state and private television channels. On June 12, Poroshenko signed into law a bill banning the use of the Ribbon of St. George, a symbol of victory in World War II (the "Great Patriotic War"), which is commonly used in commemorative celebrations in Russia and throughout the former Soviet Union. Sputnik reported that the law makes the carrying, manufacturing, or promoting of the ribbon punishable by a fine of about $100, and repeat offenders face more severe penalties, up to and including arrest. Last week, Sputnik reported, the government tightened language quotas (Ukrainian over Russian) on shows and movies broadcast by Ukrainian television, while a week earlier, officials announced that Kiev had worked out the legal mechanisms for introducing a visa regime with Russia, Contraception policy may not be the biggest target of the anti-science right wing climate change and evolution probably rank higher but its the field in which scientific disinformation has the most immediate consequences for public health. So its especially disturbing that President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price have stocked the corridors of health policy with purveyors of conclusively debunked claptrap about contraception, abortion, pregnancy and womens reproductive health generally. Thats the conclusion of a new article in the New England Journal of Medicine identifying four Trump appointees as carriers of the disinformation virus. What makes them especially dangerous, says the author, bioethicist R. Alta Charo of the University of Wisconsin law school, is that the alternative facts theyre purveying could influence an entire generations attitude toward contraception, for the worse. Advertisement Legislatures and even the Supreme Court have tolerated individuals making up their own definitions for abortifacient and pregnancy. R. Alta Charo, University of Wisconsin Among their themes is that condoms dont protect against HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases and that abortions and contraceptives cause breast cancer, miscarriages and infertility. None of these assertions is true. The move toward misinformation at the level of sex education is dangerous, Charo told me, because you form instincts about what is safe very early in life. These appointments are all of a piece with Trumps habit of staffing federal agencies with people actively in opposition to those agencies goals and statutory responsibilities climate change deniers at the Environmental Protection Agency, corporate executives at the Department of Labor, and so on. Theyre also consonant with policies from the White House and Prices office aimed at narrowing access to contraceptives by reducing government assistance to obtain them. As Charo observes, the rate of unintended pregnancies has come down sharply, especially since the advent of the Affordable Care Act, which mandated that health plans make birth control available without co-pays or deductibles. Price has defended reducing government assistance for contraception on the ground that theres not one woman who cant afford it on her own, but thats plainly untrue; some long-lasting contraceptives such as Nexplanon or IUDs, can cost hundreds of dollars, a discouraging obstacle for many low-income patients. Lets take a look at the four horsewomen of disinformation on Charos list. What characterizes their approach to human reproduction, she says, is rejection of the scientific method as the standard for generating and evaluating evidence. (Weve asked both Charmaine Yoest, now the assistant secretary for public affairs at Health and Human Services, and the department for comment but have received no reply.) Charmaine Yoest is now the assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS. Yoest is the former head of Americans United for Life, a prominent anti-abortion group. She and the organization promoted the claim that abortion increases a womans chance of breast cancer, a claim that was conclusively debunked by medical authorities years ago. The National Cancer Institute (a government body), declared in 2003 that thorough scientific studies consistently showed no association between induced and spontaneous abortions and breast cancer risk. The same goes for the claim by Yoests group that abortion increases the risk of serious mental health problems. This notion is the basis for state laws requiring counseling before a patient is allowed to undergo an abortion. A study by UC San Francisco published last year found that the greater risk of adverse psychological outcomes is faced by women denied an abortion. These findings do not support policies that restrict womens access to abortion on the basis that abortion harms womens mental health, the study concluded. Yoest was an architect of the strategy that led Texas to enact an anti-abortion law so extreme that it was slapped down by the Supreme Court last year on a 5-3 vote. The law placed heavy restrictions on abortion clinics, ostensibly to protect womens health, that effectively shut many down. In his majority opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer essentially called that a subterfuge: There was no significant health-related problem that the new law helped to cure, he wrote. Teresa Manning was appointed as HHS deputy assistant secretary for population affairs. Manning is a former lobbyist for the National Right to Life Committee and a legislative analyst for the Family Research Council. During a 2003 NPR interview, she said: Of course, contraception doesnt work. Its efficacy is very low. In fact, as Charo observes, hormonal methods are 91% effective, and IUDs are 99% effective. In 2001, then as Teresa Wagner, Manning was quoted in a Family Research Council news release attacking prescriptions for the morning-after pill, which she characterized as an abortion method. She said doctors prescribing the pill were accepting and, in effect, promoting promiscuity the cause of the STD explosion, as well as the well known social problems of out of wedlock pregnancy and illegitimacy. We expect more from our doctors than collaboration with abortion advocates! Valerie Huber was appointed earlier this month as chief of staff to the assistant secretary for health at HHS. Huber is an abstinence advocate and the president of Ascend, a Washington group that advocates for abstinence-only sex education. The problem there is that birth control experts have consistently found that abstinence education is ineffective at preventing teen pregnancies. In fact, just the opposite a 2011 study at the University of Georgia reported that the data show clearly that abstinence-only education as a state policy may actually be contributing to the high teenage pregnancy rates in the U.S. Hubers approach is moralistic. As public health experts and policymakers, we must normalize sexual delay more than we normalize teen sex, even with contraception, she told PBS last year. But studies consistently show that what reduces teen pregnancies is increased use of contraceptives. Katy Talento was named to Trumps Domestic Policy Council. Talento has been the author of frequent anti-birth control screeds, including several that appeared on the Federalist, a right-wing website. Among them was an article whose headline called birth control the mother of all medical malpractice, and another asserting that women who took chemical forms of birth control risked breaking your uterus for good, ruining it for baby-hosting altogether. Talentos basis for this claim was what she called a ground-breaking 2012 study ostensibly showing that women who used birth control pills for several years had higher rates of infertility and miscarriage than those who did not. But as Jon Cohen of Science Magazine showed earlier this year, the study reported nothing of the kind as its lead author confirmed. In fact, the researchers cited a study indicating that long-term use of the pill five years actually increased a womans subsequent fertility. The lead author, Robert Casper, a Toronto fertility doctor, told Cohen that while his study found that using the pill sometimes led to thinner uterus linings, that wasnt associated with more infertility or miscarriages his study group was small and predisposed to fertility problems, he explained. The benefits of the birth control pill in preventing unwanted pregnancy or in treating painful menstrual periods far outweighs the rare possible case of thin endometrium, Cohen wrote. There is no evidence that the birth control pill is seriously risky in terms of future reproductive health. As Charo observes, the alternative science underlying these appointees approach has infected public discussions of birth control and the courts. Legislatures and even the Supreme court have tolerated individuals making up their own definitions for abortifacient [that is, abortion-producing] and pregnancy, she writes, and then using them to justify refusing to fill prescriptions or offer insurance coverage for contraceptives. That was glaringly true in the Supreme Courts egregious 2014 Hobby Lobby decision, which allowed owners of private companies to refuse to cover contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act. The Hobby Lobby plaintiffs specifically objected to four birth control methods including IUDs and the morning-after pill because they produced abortions, which the plaintiffs found objectionable supposedly on religious grounds. But neither medical authorities nor the federal government classified those methods as abortifacients; the plaintiffs definition was accepted as gospel by Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the opinion, which became the basis for allowing businesses to exclude all birth control methods from their health plans. With adherents of similar viewpoints now ensconced in positions of responsibility in the Trump administration, their approach threatens to spread throughout government policy. But its no more based on legitimate science than it ever was. Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. As Corinthian Colleges Inc., ITT Technical Institute and other for-profit schools collapsed in recent years, the Obama administration overhauled regulations to make it easier to forgive loans for stranded students and to try to prevent future abuses. Now, the Trump administration is suspending those rules, which had been set to go into effect July 1. The Department of Education, under Secretary Betsy DeVos, also is launching an effort to rewrite the rules. Both moves drew criticism from Democrats and student advocates. Advertisement For Claudia Chacon, 25, of Los Angeles, a former student at Corinthians Everest College, the decision could lead to more difficulties in her attempt to get loan relief. Its been very frustrating for me because I cant get a straight answer, she said of her experience since applying to the Education Department about a year ago under the existing rules, which were scheduled to be streamlined. Were still expected to pay for something that is not usable. Chacon took out $17,000 in loans to attend an eight-month medical administrative assistant program at Everest College on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. She completed the program in 2012. But when she later tried to enroll in general education classes at Santa Monica College, she was told that her Everest transcripts were invalid because the campus had closed. DeVos said Wednesday that it was time for a regulatory reset on what she called a muddled process thats unfair to students and schools and puts taxpayers on the hook for significant costs. Fraud, especially fraud committed by a school, is simply unacceptable, she said. Unfortunately, last years rulemaking effort missed an opportunity to get it right. The Education Department indefinitely postponed rules known as borrower defense to repayment that would have made it easier for students to have loans forgiven if they were defrauded or deceived. And the department halted implementation of a key part of a new gainful-employment rule that would limit the amount of debt that students at career-training schools for-profit and not-for-profit can take out relative to the incomes they can expect to earn. Schools that exceed the limits risk losing their ability to offer federal student aid. The changes came as critics complained that for-profit colleges, which expanded aggressively starting in 2000, over-promised their ability to give graduates the skills that would land good jobs. Those students, often minorities or those with low incomes, in many cases were loaded up with federally backed and private student loans. Corinthian Colleges filed for bankruptcy in 2015 after the Education Department restricted its access to federal student aid amid concerns that the company was falsifying job placement rates for graduates. The same fate befell ITT Educational Services Inc. last year. DeVos said she planned to hold public hearings next month in Washington and Dallas as part of the effort to rewrite the rules. The Education Department said it intends to process nearly 16,000 pending student loan relief claims under the existing rules. Some borrowers should expect to obtain discharges within the next several weeks, DeVos said. The for-profit college industry had strongly opposed the new rules. Last month, the California Assn. of Private Postsecondary Schools filed suit in federal court in Washington, D.C., to block the borrower defense rules from going into effect. DeVos cited that suit as a reason for postponing those rules. Steve Gunderson, president of the Career Education Colleges and Universities, an industry trade group, commended Education Department officials for moving forward to begin conversations that will really protect students from academic fraud. Our sector has consistently supported this premise. He said Obama administration officials had conducted an ideological assault on our sectors very existence. The Trump administration is much friendlier to the industry. President Trump ran a for-profit school, the now-defunct Trump University, for which he paid $25 million to settle a class-action suit that alleged fraud. And DeVos is an advocate of for-profit schools; her government ethics forms showed she has investments in companies connected to the industry, according to the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Pauline Abernathy, executive vice president of the Institute for College Access & Success, which advocates to make higher education more affordable, blasted the Trump administrations actions as terrible news for students, taxpayers, and anyone concerned about rising student debt. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, had joined the attorneys general of seven other states and the District of Columbia in filing a motion to intervene in the Washington suit in order to keep the rules from being blocked. No student should have to worry about predatory schools destroying his or her future, Becerra said Wednesday. These new rules would help to protect them. Democratic lawmakers also criticized the Education Departments move. In March, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 10 Senate Democrats asked DeVos to explain an earlier delay in deadlines for schools to appeal debt-to-earning rates set in January. Those deadlines, in March and April, had been moved to July 1. Now the Education Department plans to review the rules, which it said are overly burdensome and confusing for schools. Under the Obama-era regulations, a schools program would get a passing rating if the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate did not exceed 20% of the students discretionary income or 8% of total earnings. Programs that exceed these levels would risk losing their ability to participate in federal student aid programs. The Education Department said in January that 1,239 of the 8,700 programs received warnings because annual loan payments were as high as 30% of discretionary income or between 8% and 12% of total earnings. Four straight years of warnings would make students in the programs ineligible for federal aid. More than 800 programs received a failing grade by having annual loan payments greater than 30% of discretionary income or 12% of total earnings. Although for-profit schools had about 66% of the programs, they accounted for about 98% of those with failing rates, the Education Department said. Programs would lose the ability to participate in federal student aid programs if they failed two years in a row. Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com Puzzanghera reported from Washington and Masunaga from Los Angeles. UPDATES: 5:10 a.m.: This article was updated with a headline clarifying that the rules being suspended are new ones set to go into effect on July 1. This article was originally published on June 15 at at 4:15 p.m. The Trump administration is suspending two key rules from the Obama administration that were intended to protect students from predatory for-profit colleges, saying it will soon start the process to write its own regulations. The move made Wednesday by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was a victory for Republican lawmakers and for-profit colleges that had lobbied against the rules. Critics denounced it, accusing the administration of essentially selling out students to help for-profit colleges stay in business. The Education Department released a statement saying that it was going to create new committees to rewrite rules covering borrower defense to repaying, or BDR, and gainful employment. BDR relieves students of all federal loans if a school used illegal or deceptive tactics to persuade students to borrow money to attend. Gainful employment requires that action be taken including possible expulsion from the federal student aid program against vocational programs whose graduates leave with heavy student loan debt. Ninety-eight percent of the programs that officials found to have failed to meet those standards are offered by for-profit colleges. Advertisement Parts of the gainful employment rule are already in effect. BDR was set to become effective July 1 but will now be postponed. The Education Department said that while new rules are drawn up, it will process applications under the current borrower defense rules. A program is considered to lead to gainful employment if the annual loan payment of a typical graduate does not exceed 20% of their discretionary income or 8% of their total earnings. Exceeding those debt-to-earnings rates means possible expulsion from the federal student aid program. DeVos criticized the regulations that were approved by the Obama administration, saying that they are unfair to students and schools and that they leave taxpayers with a big bill. Fraud, especially fraud committed by a school, is simply unacceptable, she said in her departments statement. Unfortunately, last years rule-making effort missed an opportunity to get it right. The result is a muddled process thats unfair to students and schools, and puts taxpayers on the hook for significant costs. Its time to take a step back and make sure these rules achieve their purpose: helping harmed students. Its time for a regulatory reset. It is the departments aim, and this administrations commitment, to protect students from predatory practices while also providing clear, fair and balanced rules for colleges and universities to follow. The American Federation of Teachers pushed back against the decision. The Trump administrations actions today show that the White House stands with predatory for-profit schools, not the students they rip off, it said in a statement. About the only thing worse than ripping off students with worthless degrees from for-profit colleges is denying them help to relieve their substantial debt, and allowing the schools to continue to prey on students. Given that for-profit colleges were big donors to Trump and other Republican candidates, one wonders whether this is simply a new pay-to-play scheme at the expense of our students, including our veterans, who are much helped by the rules Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wants to eliminate. Not everyone in higher education opposed the administrations move, however. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the United Negro College Fund and the National Assn. for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education which represent historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs sent a letter to DeVos this week urging her to put a hold on the implementation of the regulations and reconsider them. We remain concerned about the sweeping scope of the regulation and vague standards for determining misrepresentation that could unfairly leave HBCUs and PBIs liable for frivolous claims, unwarranted fines, and unfounded penalties, they said in the letter. Such provisions could result in significant costs that would divert precious resources better spent on serving the needs of students. The nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen and the Project on Predatory Student Lending smacked DeVos move, saying in a statement that she had put the profit margins of for-profit colleges ahead of the interests of students and their families in a craven attempt to avoid the agencys legal obligation to enforce the rules. The statement cited a part of the Obama-era rules that included a ban on the use of forced arbitration clauses in many student enrollment contracts: These clauses require students to submit any dispute that might later arise between the students and the institution to binding arbitration, a private process with little right to appeal, instead of a court of law. The rules also provide new and long-needed protections for students asserting defenses against repayment of their federal loans based on fraud or other misconduct by the students schools. Leaving early on a Friday afternoon in June? Theres a growing chance your boss has endorsed it. The percentage of companies that offer some kind of summer Friday arrangement in which companies officially permit workers, almost entirely office ones, to leave early on Friday afternoons in the summer is on the rise. According to a new survey of Fortune 1000 companies by CEB, the research and consulting firm in Arlington, Va., 42% of companies now officially sanction starting the weekend early, a doubling of the percentage who offered the benefit in 2015, when 21% of companies said they did so. Advertisement That big jump, says Brian Kropp, who heads the firms human resources practice, is because the benefit is such a no-brainer for companies to offer. As flexible work arrangements have grown and the average office worker is just a text or phone call away, many people already duck out early on Friday afternoons, especially before long holiday weekends. Making it official gives the company a way to plug their generosity without spending much at all. A lot of people already sneak out anyways, Kropp says. It sends a really positive signal to employees that my company actually cares a little about me, but its as low cost as you can get. He says the interest in offering benefits like summer Fridays comes as organizations become flatter hierarchies, with less opportunity for promotion, and as fewer companies offer big raises. Wage growth has remained sluggish even as the economy has improved and the unemployment rate has hit its lowest mark in decades. Unlike higher wages, better benefits are simple to put in and easy to take out if company performance falters, leading more employers to offer a buffet of new perks instead. Companies are looking for the alternative mechanisms they can use to engage employees, Kropp said. CEBs survey asked Fortune 1000 companies whether they offered some kind of summer Friday benefit to some employees, and said it could be defined as anything including a short day before the big holiday weekends to getting every Friday afternoon off from late May to early September. More than 220 responded. Kropp said that although some different companies answered the survey in 2015 and 2017, their results showed an increase across all industries, and the big size of the jump, versus just seeing the number tick up by a couple of percentage points, gives him confidence that the results arent simply because of sample changes. Of course, summer Fridays are hardly a benefit offered to all employees. Theyre yet another example of the bonus and benefit divide that exists as professional office workers get perks that hourly workers who are less likely to get variable pay and often receive less cushy benefits, such as paid leave dont. Letting cashiers or production line workers skip out at noon the Friday before Memorial Day just isnt in the cards for most companies. Says Kropp: This is a perk that is almost exclusively offered to office workers. Jena McGregor writes a column analyzing leadership in the news for the Washington Post. ALSO L.A., Long Beach port truck drivers and warehouse workers plan to strike Monday Nike plans to slash 1,400 jobs and some sneaker styles in company shakeup Trump team halts rules meant to protect students from predatory for-profit colleges Sometimes a view is just a view. And sometimes when youre standing on the 92nd floor of a controversial New York skyscraper with Rafael Vinoly its a window onto the architectural arms race that is rapidly reshaping the Manhattan skyline. For months Id been trying to get the go-ahead from a small battalion of gatekeepers to visit 432 Park Avenue, a tower designed by Vinoly, the prolific Uruguay-born, New York-based architect, for New York developer Harry Macklowe and L.A.s CIM Group. Its not only the most conspicuous of the new breed of so-called supertall (also known as pencil) skyscrapers that have sprung up across Manhattan in recent years but at 1,396 feet and 96 floors the tallest residential building in the city. If you dont count the spire atop One World Trade Center tower downtown which you really shouldnt, since you cant put a corner office or an apartment inside a spire 432 Park is the tallest, period. Its symbolism is similarly impossible to miss. If youre looking for an architectural emblem of rising inequality in New York City and the way the city (like London, Dubai and in recent years Los Angeles) has become an attractive place for the worlds wealthiest investors to stash their excess cash, 432 Park is it. Its condos were priced when they first went on the market a couple of years ago from $7 million to $95 million, for an average of nearly $7,000 per square foot. So far a reported 80% have sold. The building looms over nearby Central Park and a good chunk of the tri-state area. While visiting the city earlier this month I spotted it from Brooklyn while riding in a cab from JFK as well from Lincoln Center, the rooftop garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the corner of Allen and Delancey streets downtown. It seemed to be following me from neighborhood to neighborhood, much the way the late twin towers once did. Finally the email came through: How about a tour with Vinoly late on a Thursday afternoon? Id met the architect a handful of times before, most recently running into him in March at the opening concert in Frank Gehry s Boulez Hall in Berlin. At 73 he is charming and voluble, his mop of curly hair now gray. Many architects are famous for wearing severely fashionable glasses. Vinolys trademark is not the design of his frames but how many he wears at the same time: on the bridge of his nose, atop his head or strung around his neck. 432 Park rises from a relatively small site between 56th and 57th streets the site of the old Drake Hotel, which Macklowe bought in 2006 and razed to make room for a tower that would more efficiently make the land pay, in Cass Gilberts famous phrase about skyscraper economics. The building has a perfectly square footprint, 93 feet on each side. Its site includes a peninsula stretching aspirationally to the east, allowing the developers to give it a tony Park Avenue address. There are 106 apartments altogether, on floors 35 through 96; the lower floors are used for services and retail. Before heading into the lobby to begin the tour, I stood on the sidewalk along 56th Street and craned my neck to take in the tower in full. Vinolys design is ruthlessly simple. That square base is extruded nearly 1,400 feet into the air and clad in a Cartesian grid of glass and exposed concrete. (Pulling the tower in from the street at ground level allowed Vinoly to avoid setback requirements altogether.) The six large picture windows that march across each side of the tower are also square. The roof is flat. The combination of the buildings extreme height and its disciplined, minimalist form makes it a peculiar symbol. It is concentrated wealth rendered in Spartan terms, a Sol LeWitt sculpture holding stacked condos for billionaires. What the building says about inequality and the privileges of the one-tenth-of-the-one-percent shouldnt be ignored. But neither should its significant appeal in purely architectural terms. I readjusted my neck and walked into the lobby, where Vinoly was waiting with a publicist and a Macklowe Properties marketing executive. The three of them were seated around an Yves Klein coffee table filled with crumpled gold leaf. Greeting Vinoly I noted that the pair-of-glasses count on this day was four: one atop his head, one perched on his nose and two more around his neck. After chatting briefly about the price of gold leaf, we stood up and entered a smaller interior lobby. (The inner sanctum, Vinoly called it.) We then ascended smoothly into the sky inside one of the buildings four passenger elevators, each of which is outfitted with bronze doors and marble floors, with wall panels and a bench wrapped in pebbled leather. Our destination was a model apartment on the 92nd floor designed by the decorator Kelly Behun. Once we entered I found myself making a beeline toward one of the large picture windows facing south, where we took in a staggering view that included nearly every important tall building in New York, a sort of architectural encyclopedia come to life: Mies van der Rohe s Seagram Building and Gordon Bunshaft s Lever House just below us; William Lambs Empire State Building , a full 150 feet shorter than 432 Park; to the right French architect Christian de Portzamparc s 90-story One57 tower, the first of the midtown supertalls and a Vegas-style disaster of a design; the United Nations tower by Oscar Niemeyer , Wallace Harrison and Le Corbusier to the left; Renzo Piano s New York Times tower; and all the way south the stolid One World Trade, architect David Childs monument to the political and architectural mess that is the rebuilt World Trade Center site. An interior of 432 Park Avenue. (DBox) (DBox / DBox) It was also possible to see the degree to which 432 Park will soon face a crowded Midtown skyline. Visible from our perch were three towers in various stages of construction: Jean Nouvel s 53 West 53rd (1,050 feet) above the Museum of Modern Art, Robert A.M. Sterns 220 Central Park South (950 feet) and, finally, the building that will snatch the highest-residential-building crown from Vinoly: SHoP Architects 111 West 57th, which will rise 1,428 feet above Steinway Hall. SHoPs reign may be brief: The planned Central Park Tower at 217 W. 57th St., by Burj Khalifa designer Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, is set to reach 1,550 feet. Aside from the views, what immediately stood out was how solid paradoxically enough, how grounded the concrete frame and relatively low window-to-wall ratio made the interior of 432 Park seem. It felt almost like a prewar apartment. Unlike a curtain-wall tower sheathed entirely in glass, with floor-to-ceiling windows, Vinolys design gives you a ready sense of the massive structure that is holding you aloft. This is the kind of high-rise even an acrophobe could love. Ah, but what kind of acrophobe? The kind who made his money in murky circumstances in Doha, Baku, Beijing or Moscow or on Wall Street and is now looking to park it somewhere safe? The kind who might own four or five other pricey apartments around the world and visit New York a couple of times a year? Aside from the concern that they will increasingly press shadows on neighboring streets and Central Park and blot out the sky (though the skinniness of the new crop will lessen this problem), this is the main charge against the supertalls: that they symbolize a city that is setting out the welcome mat for a new class of nomadic billionaires, a New York whose landmarks are not thrumming with people and energy but vacant, full of nothing but equity. This a legitimate worry. Even after it sells out, 432 Park is expected to rarely if ever be even half full. A tower that has come to dominate the Midtown skyline will typically hold and this is a generous estimate maybe 100 residents at a time. Building Type is Christopher Hawthornes weekly column on architecture and cities. Look for future installments every Thursday at latimes.com/arts. christopher.hawthorne@latimes.com Twitter: @HawthorneLAT MORE BUILDING TYPE: Why 'unpacking' is a perfect and perfectly overused metaphor for our cultural moment The architecture of moviegoing: Can the multiplex stay in the picture? Rich history, new anxieties inside MacArthur Park building Largely lost in the legends of five of Hollywoods most accomplished filmmakers is how they all served during World War II and how that experience influenced their art. I think we forget that the true filmmakers are influenced by life, says Five Came Back director Laurent Bouzereau. When you re-watch [the movies they made after the war], you see them in a different light: My God, they were talking about themselves, or They were trying to exorcise something. Frank Capra (Its a Wonderful Life), John Ford (The Grapes of Wrath), John Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre), George Stevens (Giant) and William Wyler (Ben-Hur) each joined the governments propaganda program, putting massively successful commercial careers on hold to make message films at home or documentaries shot on location in war zones. Advertisement Film journalist Mark Harris book about their service and the aftermath, Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War, was a finalist in 2015 for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History. It is now a three-part Netflix documentary, with Bouzereau recruiting five of todays best-known filmmakers for running commentary, and Meryl Streep to narrate. Five producer Steven Spielberg discusses Wylers journey. Francis Ford Coppola takes on Huston; Paul Greengrass, Ford; Guillermo del Toro, Capra; and Lawrence Kasdan follows Stevens fascinating trek. Bouzereau says the commentators were chosen largely because they matched up with their subject filmmakers in some way. For instance, he aligns Coppolas Making Apocalypse Now was my war mind-set with Hustons hunting of elephants while making The African Queen: Those are people who lived the filmmaking experience to a degree that is almost beyond what one can imagine. Despite this Hemingway-like, adventurers approach, when Hustons documentary work was criticized as anti-war by Army officials, he reportedly responded, Well, sir, whenever I make a film thats for war, you can take me out and shoot me. While Hustons The Battle of San Pietro, presented as a you-are-there chronicle of an actual firefight, included some staged footage, Bouzereau says theres a kind of cinematic redemption in his painfully honest documentary, Let There Be Light, a portrait of post-traumatic stress disorder before it had a name. Theres this scene with this African American [veteran]; they say something to him, and he says, Well, I hope so, sir, I hope Im going to be OK. And he takes off his glasses and wipes his tears. That clip gets me each time, says Bouzereau. Theres something so real about that moment. It summarizes everything. Ford, one of the inventors of the macho western genre, put life and limb on the line to make The Battle of Midway, a documentary shot under actual fire from Japanese planes. Bouzereau says, When Ford is at Midway, on top of a platform as the bombs are dropping to get a shot, Im thinking, Greengrass would probably do the same thing. Del Toro evokes his own and Capras immigrant experiences in discussing the life and work of one of the leaders of the cinematic war effort. Bouzereau says, Nothing prepared me for the brilliant, emotional interview we did together. Everyone who came to that interview was riveted. In part because of a meeting he had with Wyler early in his career, Spielberg chose to discuss him. After the war, Wyler made The Best Years of Our Lives, a decidedly untidy look at the struggles of veterans returning home. Among its Oscars were awards for best picture and Wylers second directing honor (of three). Stevens, until the war known as a master craftsman of slick comedies and musicals, made you-are-there documentaries in the European theater. His cameras were the first to capture the death camp at Dachau. Bouzereau says Stevens Dachau footage is no longer shot with a point of view, but with the goal of being evidence. It was used, of course, at the Nuremberg trials. He grabbed the camera himself; he doesnt let anyone else do it. When he returned, the filmmaker showed little interest in his former genres. After a long layoff, Stevens worked on developing a comedy with Ingrid Bergman and eventually had to give it up: I just cant. Then you look at movies like Giant theres an incredible shot where the character Sal Mineo played has been killed during the war and theres this shot of a train stopping, and the train leaves, and theres his coffin. See the most read stories this hour calendar@latimes.com Celebrating #HarryPotter20: How Harry Potter and his blockbuster films came of age on screen The Boy Who Lived has cast his spell on the box office since Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, the first film in Warner Bros. blockbuster franchise, hit theaters in 2001. The bestselling, seven-book series was adapted into eight record-breaking films -- and a two-part play -- as the boy wizard ventured through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the wizarding world with his pals Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, taking on the enigmatic Lord Voldemort and his magical henchmen each school year. As J.K. Rowlings debut novel Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone -- the first of the books from which the decade-spanning films were adapted -- marks its 20th anniversary, heres a reminder of how Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviewed the Harry Potter films. (Spoiler alert: He didnt always like them.) 1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone film is imaginative and faithful but shuns any risk-taking (2001) As his 11th birthday approaches, orphan Harry Potter learns that hes a wizard and enrolls at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where his reputation as the Boy Who Lived precedes him during his magical training. The result is a remarkably faithful copy of the book that treats the text like holy writ (hence its 2-hour-and-33-minute length), wrote The Times film critic Kenneth Turan. From the gold in Gringotts, the safe-as-houses goblin-run bank, to the centaur lurking in the forbidden forest that adjoins Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so much is presented just as written that Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone starts to resemble one of those fiendishly exact replicas of great works of art that Sunday painters can be seen working on in galleries of museums. 2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets doesnt capture the well-balanced tone of the book (2002) In their second year at Hogwarts, Harry and his pals Ron and Hermione contend with a celebrity author professor and a well-meaning house elf named Dobby who thwart the trio in unexpected ways. The darkness that invades Chamber of Secrets underlines how well the books managed to exactly balance good and evil, dark and light, so that within their pages you seemed to be experiencing both at the same time. Not so here, Turan wrote. Because Chamber of Secrets cant seem to get the balance right, it ends up broadly overdoing things on both ends of the spectrum. The films scary moments are too monstrous and its happy times have too much idiotic beaming, making the film feel like the illegitimate offspring of Alien and The Absent-Minded Professor. 3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film comes close to capturing the essence of the books (2004) The wizarding world gets markedly darker as convicted murderer Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who is believed to have killed Harrys parents, escapes from the Azkaban prison and the soul-sucking Dementors are loosed to chase him down. Director Alfonso Cuaron takes the helm from Chris Columbus, who directed the two previous films. "[T]he final hour of the two-hour-and-21-minute Azkaban is the closest any of the films has gotten to capturing the enormously pleasing essence of the Potter books, wrote Turan, adding, Those three leads (Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione, Rupert Grint as Ron) play characters who are now 13, an age when anger and frustration are more publicly expressed. One of the benefits of Cuarons direction, his expertise with younger actors, means that the constant determination and occasional fury exhibited by the characters, especially Harry and Hermione, are completely convincing. 4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire finally gets Harry Potter right (2005) Harrys surprising inclusion in the prestigious Triwizard Tournament, as a fourth-year student, raises concerns and brings danger to the Hogwarts castle. Its taken them long enough, but the movies have finally gotten Harry Potter right, wrote Turan. It has fallen to the veteran [director] Mike Newell, eager, in his own words, to break out of this goody-two-shoes feel, to make the first Harry Potter film to be wire-to-wire satisfying. Though memorable acting is neither called for nor delivered on the part of Goblets collection of juveniles, Radcliffes Harry does get one thing exactly right. Watching him face myriad challenges, were convinced that Harrys heart will lead him to do the right thing. He does good in the most natural way and, like so much of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, thats just how it should be. 5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix cant shake an episodic feeling (2007) With the Ministry of Magic refusing to acknowledge Lord Voldemorts (Ralph Fiennes) return, fifth-year Harry is brooding at school as he contends with spooky visions and Ministry transplant Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). His knowledge of the dark magic-fighting organization, the Order of the Phoenix, and a prophecy further complicate matters. "[Director David] Yates and his team handle the films visuals well, including the impressive sets for the atrium of the Ministry of Magic and its Hall of Prophecy, as well as fine flying sequences involving either broomsticks or equine creatures called Thestrals, Turan wrote. The director also works well with the films juvenile leads, which is important, because these are the raging hormone years at Hogwarts School, and that is especially true where Harry is concerned. Looking so disgruntled in his gray hoodie that you fear he might start rapping, Harry comes off as more Grumpy Potter than the bright light of the wizarding world. 6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is well-crafted but sometimes hard to endure (2009) As dark magic spills into the Muggle world, Harrys mentor, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), tasks him with bringing down Lord Voldemort. But Harrys discovery of an old textbook teaches him more than he expected about his past. Now in its sixth episode shot over an eight-year span, with two more features still to come, this one-of-a-kind film cycle has become as comfortable and reliable as an old shoe, providing a degree of dependability thats becoming increasingly rare, Turan wrote. As directed by David Yates, who did the previous film and is on tap for the final two, Half-Blood Prince demonstrates the ways that the Potter pictures have become the modern exemplars of establishment moviemaking. We dont turn to these films for thrilling or original cinema, we look for a level of craft, consistency and, most of all, fidelity to the originals -- all of which we get. 7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1" (2010) The penultimate film sees Harry, Hermione and Ron venturing out into the real world to locate and destroy Lord Voldemorts soul-encapsulating Horcruxes as Hogwarts and the wizarding world fall to He Who Must Not Be Named. Much of the plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows involves the attempt to find and destroy a series of Horcruxes, and if you havent a clue about what they are or why theyre important, you might as well stay home, Turan wrote. There is something different, however, about this Potter movie, and that is the words Part 1' that end the title. Understandably distraught about Hallows being the last of the phenomenally popular J.K. Rowling novels, Warner Bros. has split the final effort into two films and is likely kicking itself for not having thought of that with the earlier books. (It should be noted that the studio reboots the wizarding world with the forthcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series. The first film hit theaters in 2016.) 8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" (2011) Harry goes wand-to-wand with Lord Voldemort, concluding Harrys final year at the wizarding school with the epic Battle of Hogwarts. In a classic storybook finish, however, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2' turns out to be more than the last of its kind. Almost magically, it ends up being one of the best of the series as well, Turan wrote. The Harry Potter films, like the boy wizard himself, have had their creative ups and downs, so its especially satisfying that this final film, ungainly title and all, has been worth the wait. Though no expense has been spared in its production, it succeeds because it brings us back to the combination of magic, adventure and emotion that created the books popularity in the first place. For more of The Times Harry Potter anniversary coverage, go here. Egypt's Army Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy and special representative of the UN secretary-general in Libya Martin Kobler discussed recent efforts to reach a national consensus between rival factions in war-torn Libya, Egypt's army said in a statement on Thursday The meeting, which was held in Cairo, reviewed the results of recent meetings facilitated by a national dialogue committee created by Egypt to bridge differences between various rival factions in Libya. Kobler urged continuous regional and international efforts to resolve the six-year-old crisis, while praising Egypt's efforts in this regard, the statement said. Kobler and Hegazy have met in Cairo several times this year to discuss the Libya issue. Two rival governments are competing for power in Libya the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, and the House of Representatives in the eastern city of Tobruk. Search Keywords: Short link: Kirsten Dunst didnt want to kiss anyone. She was 16 and had been playing a young innocent on-screen for a decade. Now, on the set of Sofia Coppolas The Virgin Suicides, she was supposed to film a scene in which she made out with a handful of guys. And she was riddled with anxiety. But Sof was just like, Bury your face in your hair, Dunst, now 35, recalls. So I didnt really have to make out with them. It was an older part for me the first time I was seen in a sexual way. And Im so happy that transition was in Sofias hands, because it could have been really different with another director. The experience instantly bonded the actress and the filmmaker, forging a connection so strong that the pair went on to make two more movies together. The latest, a remake of 1971s The Beguiled, debuted at the Cannes Film Festival last month where Coppola became the first woman to be named best director since 1961. Set in Virginia during the Civil War, the movie, which hits theaters June 23, tells the story of a group of women (played by Dunst, Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning) who take a wounded Union soldier (Colin Farrell) into their sheltered boarding school. The arrival of the hunky soldier turns the house upside down, as the women begin vying for his attention and sneaking into his room to try to win his affection. Advertisement Though Dunst had a one-day cameo role in Coppolas 2013 film The Bling Ring, The Beguiled marks the first time the two have really collaborated since 2006s Marie Antoinette. In the new movie, Dunst plays Edwina, a chaste schoolteacher who is perhaps the most affected by the advent of the soldier. I liked the idea of seeing her play a character thats so different from her, says Coppola, 46. The character is so innocent and vulnerable, really repressed and Kirstens not repressed at all. In their friendship, at least, Dunst certainly appears to be the more gregarious. Coppola is not verbose. Theres a gentleness to her speech, and she often swallows the ends of her sentences. Her style is also more conservative than Dunsts. She tends toward pants and high-neck blouses and carries quilted Chanel handbags. Dunst, meanwhile, usually opts for dresses and isnt afraid of showing decolletage on the red carpet. Kirsten is some sort of alter ego I connect to in myself, says the director, sharing a couch with Dunst. Also, because youre so opposite. When I met her, she was this all-American, blond cheerleader. But there was something else going on that contrasted that. And yet we already shared a sensibility and sense of humor that helps a lot. Kirsten just gets me and what Im trying to do. We dont even have to talk. Ill just look at her and shell go, OK, got it. Coppola, photographed in Beverly Hills. (Christina House / For The Times) Youree Henley, a producer on The Beguiled, says the kinship between the two became obvious the moment they showed up for an early costume fitting. There was a great shorthand and real appreciation between them, and that carried through into making the movie, he says. Sofia likes to go back to things she trusts like working with Kirsten, or Elle Fanning again after Somewhere. Because she knows what she can do with them. Beyond her trusted stars, there are other classic Coppola stamps on The Beguiled namely its gauzy, pastel-heavy visual aesthetic. Filmed at a historic plantation house in Louisiana, the movie is filled with moody nature Spanish moss and Southern live oaks. And the women are all meant to look delicate and ultra-feminine, with crown braids, corsets, bows and brooches. Ive always been visually driven thats how I relate to the world, Coppola says. I think about how you fill the frame, and we wanted this to feel claustrophobic, so we picked a tighter aspect ratio. Everything is in service of the story, so that the audience is disarmed by this pretty, delicate world. You have impeccable taste, Sof, you do, Dunst says. She describes how beautiful Coppolas home is in New Yorks West Village, where the director lives with her husband, Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars, and their two children. Though it was funny to go there after she had kids, because I was like, This is not Sofias house. I went to the bathroom and theres, like, explosions of toys. I think kids change the aesthetic quickly. Dunst, who lives in the Valley with her fiance, Fargo co-star Jesse Plemons, describes her own style as more relaxed. In her downtime, she says, she wears sweatpants and a little makeup, but thats only because I dont like my skin tone. Its so red. On The Beguiled, when Coppola mentioned that the characters should look like they were dwindling away due to a lack of food in the house, Dunst made it clear that she would have trouble looking like she hadnt been fed. There were so many fast-food restaurants where we shot Canes Chicken, McDonalds and no healthy options. So I was like, I cant, really. Dunst has starred in three of Coppolas films -- and even had a cameo in The Bling Ring. (Christina House / For The Times) But Dunst values Coppolas opinion, and is planning on seeking her guidance when she directs her first film next year, an adaptation of Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar starring Dakota Fanning. I like making low-budget films, just because I can have total control, and I wouldnt want to make a movie that I couldnt make exactly how I wanted, Coppola advises Dunst. I couldnt imagine not having final cut, the actress replies. What would be the point? Dont ever do that. Dont ever do that, the director insists. I never have, but I almost did, and Im so thankful I didnt do it. When I get input, I like being able to say, Oh, thank you, but then do it the way I want. Coppola seems to be referring to The Little Mermaid, a live-action version of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale that she dropped out of due to creative differences in 2015. Instead, she went on to make The Beguiled which, though not a massive studio film, still proved a challenge for the director. Unlike her previous work sparse, dialogue-light movies like Lost in Translation and Somewhere The Beguiled has more language and a propulsive plot line. This was kind of an experiment, and I liked trying a different style of filmmaking, Coppola says. Ive never used a lot of dialogue before, because in real life, people dont express themselves that way. They show things through gesture. Nobody can show their feelings. I try to make things based on my impression of how they are in life, which is not as tidy and organized. More impressionistic, to give you the feeling of something. I always think movies have too much dialogue. No one talks that much, Dunst agrees. I like how your films allow you to have your own experience of things. Farrell, who had never worked with Coppola before The Beguiled but was a longtime fan of her work, describes it as emotional dislocation. Shes a master of mood, the actor says. She ran the most calm and relaxed set that Ive ever been on in 20 years of making films. Her direction was very, very gentle shed have you leaning into her and nearly whispering. Since winning the directing prize at Cannes, Coppola says shes been overwhelmed by the warm reaction from industry peers. Even in my neighborhood when I walk my kids to school, strangers on the street will be like, Yes! Congratulations! she says. My mom was so proud of you, Dunst says. She cried when she heard. I mean, its a long legacy of us working together. Really? Thats sweet, the director says. I still havent gotten the trophy. But Quentin [Tarantino] told me he was bummed he never got the director award, because its actually bigger than the Palme dOr. Im excited for it. It can go in my house with all of those Calico Critters. amy.kaufman@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @AmyKinLA Cars 3 is a genial, easy-going throwback. Not just to the previous Pixar films in the series but to the early days of parent company Disney, when Walt walked the earth and sweetly earnest lessons about whats important in life inspired movies that put smiles on faces all over town. The directing debut for veteran Pixar storyboard artist Brian Fee, this warmly sentimental G-rated film about facing new realities and recapturing lost dreams has, despite its relatively adult story line, a beguilingly effortless feeling to it, as if it had nothing to prove. But though its indifferent to pushing boundaries, that hasnt stopped these further adventures of Lightning McQueen, the legendary Number 95, from subtly dealing with issues of equality and exhibiting deft plot moves that have some emotional heft to them. Advertisement As written by Kiel Murray, Bob Peterson and Mike Rich, this newest Cars takes advantage of the fact that the franchise is now a decade old, just enough time for McQueen, a racing legend if ever there was one, to begin to hear the automotive equivalent of footsteps. Not that youd know it at first. McQueen (voiced as always by Owen Wilson), uses the same I am speed self-motivation mantra against familiar rivals like Cal Weathers (racer Kyle Petty). And hes still got the same veteran team behind him, including lovable lug Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and the irrepressible Italian stallions Luigi (Tony Shaloub) and Guido (Guido Quaroni). But a new wind is blowing on the track, the next generation of high-tech, metrics-obsessed racers who call McQueen bro (when they talk to him at all) are storming the track. Leader of this pack, celebrated by numbers-crunching TV analyst Natalie Certain (Kerry Washington), is the confident, not to say cocky Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), who oozes contempt for McQueen without even trying. Though he wont admit it, McQueen is rattled, and when a mishap on the track sends him back to Radiator Springs to recuperate, he communes with the spirit of his auto guru Doc Hudson (the late Paul Newman, taped during production on Cars). This is this films first nod to the theme of mentorship, which is one of its key concerns. Watching a forklift play pedal steel guitar in an automotive country western band is its own kind of treat. More shocks are yet to come. McQueens loyal sponsors Dusty and Rusty (Car Talk legends Ray and the late Tom Magliozzi) have sprung for a state-of-the-art Rust-eze Racing Center. But theyve also sold the firm to astute businessman Sterling (Nathan Fillion), the erstwhile mud flap king of the Eastern Seaboard, who worries about things like protecting the brand. Its Sterlings idea to put McQueen in the hands of a young, tech-savvy trainer/motivator named Cruz Ramirez (stand-up comic Cristela Alonzo), who considers Number 95 my senior project and has her own ideas about whats needed to get him back on top. Determined to improve but aware that he is not the racer he used to be, McQueen, with the increasingly involving Ramirez tagging along, takes some motivational detours of his own that amuse and enlighten in equal measure. These include getting up close and personal with characters like dirt track legend Miss Fritter, The Diva of Demolition (Lea DeLaria), and the venerable Smokey (Chris Cooper), Doc Hudsons mentor, who sheds light on McQueens past as well as his future. Though the story is always paramount, Cars 3" has paid lots of attention to the visual side of things, giving the vehicles a photo-realistic look and taking tips from real NASCAR footage in how it depicts its Piston Cup races. There are also a lot of amusing visual references on screen, like a newspaper named The Daily Exhaust and an automotive tonic called Carbucha. Watching a forklift play pedal steel guitar in an automotive country western band is its own kind of treat. The cars in Cars 3 not only look spiffy, theyre so adroitly computer generated and so effectively voiced we really come to feel theyre people whose emotional issues we have no difficulty buying into more than one might expect. Even when they were directed by Pixar major domo John Lasseter (as the first two were), the Cars films were not graced with the kind of critical favor many of the studios other releases, like Wall-E and Inside Out, received. But it has become increasing evident that the kind of comfort and satisfaction these films offer is not something we can afford to take for granted. So, if you are inclined, start your engines and let the good times roll. ------------ Cars 3 Rating: G Running time: 1 hour, 49 minutes Playing: In general release See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour Movie Trailers kenneth.turan@latimes.com @KennethTuran ALSO Review: Dawson City: Frozen Time details the astonishing discovery of a treasure-trove of forgotten film Al Gore on climate change battle: The task is to summon political will After the buzz: Reflections of the last man to see Get Out in a theater Early in his career, filmmaker Bill Morrison would distress film stock with Drano to affect decay. In later films, working largely with archival footage, he meticulously stitched together glorious black-and-white images, allowing the inherent volatility of the medium to create beauty and meaning. I became enamored of the way time could ravage film on its own and see what the great ocean of time could affect rather than my own manipulations, says the filmmaker in a recent phone interview from his home in New York City. His latest nonfiction feature, Dawson City: Frozen Time, a unique film borne of Morrisons distinctive process, opens June 16 at the Nuart. The films inciting incident is the 1978 Dawson City film find, when more than 500 nitrate films from the silent era were discovered in the permafrost-filled swimming pool of an abandoned recreation center in the Yukon. The trove included narrative features, shorts, serials and newsreels, including footage of the 1917 and 1919 World Series. A more conventional filmmaker could have made a fine documentary on the discovery and its aftermath, but Morrison is not your typical documentarian. Advertisement The directors previous work includes Decasia (2002), about deteriorated nitrate film; The Miners Hymns (2010), on the fate of English miners; and The Great Flood (2012), which depicts a 1927 Mississippi River disaster. These films existed somewhere between the experimental, the avant-garde and the documentary form, and all of them show some kind of nitrate decay or damage to the emulsion, says Morrison. I was preparing myself for [Dawson City], which really combines all of them in the history and the poetry. Dawson City: Frozen Time director Bill Morrison, photographed in New York City. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) The films foundations go back to a 1997 short, The Film of Her, Morrison made about the paper print collection at the Library of Congress. I told that story, he says, essentially, using pieces of that collection and supporting archival material. I thought I could do the same thing with Dawson City in the right circumstance. The right circumstance emerged in 2013 when Morrison was invited to screen some of his films at Ottawas ByTowne Cinema. A programmer there, Paul Gordon, mentioned his day job was digital migration at Library and Archives Canada, Morrison inquired about the famous Dawson City footage and was soon looking at 35-millimeter prints on a Steenbeck. He realized that not many people had looked at the films when he returned the following year and discovered reels hed not rewound were still tails out. Gordon helped Morrison navigate some of the archives other holdings, allowing the filmmaker to secure supporting photographs and materials, and eventually became an associate producer on Dawson City. Morrison made several trips back and forth to Ottawa before telling them, You know what? I want it all, basically. I want all the newsreels, and Ill try to be selective with the narratives. The digital migration allowed the archive to ship materials to Morrison on drives, and he created his own database of the footage. Its nitrate. Its so gorgeous the way it holds the silver, and the blacks are so rich. There were great artists back then making films. Dawson City: Frozen Time director Bill Morrison I wanted a good portion of the collection to be represented, says Morrison. Its nitrate. Its so gorgeous the way it holds the silver, and the blacks are so rich. There were great artists back then making films. Sometimes that gets lost in the plots or the acting styles of silent films. He estimates that 40% of Dawson City: Frozen Time is made of footage from the film find, supported by home movies, industrial films and photographs and a small number of interviews. Morrison does all of his own research and editing. I think of the two things as inextricably linked, he explains. I have to know where everything is, what we have and what we dont have. Its really how I write. The writing came as I was doing it. I like to start with a discovery and then fill out a back story from there, Morrison says. Rather than trying to find a needle in a haystack, Id rather start with a diamond and find the mines. That approach led him to the late 19th century. Before there was a Dawson City, there was a First Nation Han settlement called Trocheck at a bend in the Yukon River, tucked into Canadas far northwest. When gold was discovered there in 1896, the Han were displaced and the town of Dawson City was established. The explosive boom and equally rapid bust form the real start of Morrisons story. He realized that the gold rush was concurrent with the birth of cinema, and the history of film in Dawson City was the history of cinema throughout the century. For Morrison, this epic tale represented nothing less than the story of capitalism as told through cinema and shown through this town. The result is an historical epic that spans the better part of the 20th century and includes a cast of thousands, including a string of surprising characters who would later find fame in Hollywood. I guess you could say the same crazy people who would try to find gold up in the Yukon are the same people who would try to find it in Hollywood, Morrison says. Another consistently vibrant component in Morrisons work is music, having worked with composers and musicians such as Michael Gordon, Bill Frisell, Dave Douglas, Vijay Iyer and others. [Music] was always something that really inspired me in cinema, recalls the filmmaker. Even Rocky, not just the theme song but how the strings worked through the fight sequences. I was really intrigued by that. Then when I saw Koyaanisqatsi, I was, Oh, music can be your narrator and you dont even need a plot, per se. I guess you could say the same crazy people who would try to find gold up in the Yukon are the same people who would try to find it in Hollywood. Bill Morrison On one of his trips to Ottawa, Morrison met with guitarist-vocalist Jonsi of the Icelandic band Sigur Ros and his frequent collaborator, Alex Somers, backstage at a concert. Later, in New York, after looking at the footage, the duo produced a demo that so impressed the director he used it with the pairs 2009 album Riceboy Sleeps as a temporary scratch track for the film. Jonsi went on tour, but Somers eventually composed the eerie, churning score for Dawson City and recommended his brother, John Somers, as sound designer. They created a soundscape that reflects both an accompaniment and a counterpoint to Morrisons images and themes. John Somers developed a program that monitored the degree of decay in each frame and created a correlative audio component, giving the film an even more haunting quality. Morrison ultimately sees the story as a grand tragedy, a mystery how did those films get into the ground? that reveals both human resilience and hubris. I liken making the film to working on a huge jigsaw puzzle, he says. You know where the edges are but you dont know how youre going to fill in the middle. In the end, everything interlocks. Theres a reason the image before it is before it, and the image after it is after it, so it makes sense visually as part of an edit, as well as historically and narratively. For audiences, Morrison says, I want you to have that sensation of having lived through the century, that you went through all the decades, that you worked up to that point. The minutiae is really the point of it. What gets saved, what gets lost, what gets forgotten, what gets remembered. See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour Movie Trailers calendar@latimes.com @LATimesMovies ALSO Dawson City: Frozen Time details the astonishing discovery of a treasure-trove of forgotten film Ethan Hawke lets us in his editing room and reveals what Philip Seymour Hoffman taught him Kevin Hart goes dramatic for the Hollywood remake of the French hit Intouchables Its been called the King Tuts Tomb of silent cinema, a celluloid find at one of the worlds far corners that dazzled the film universe, but to accomplished, ambitious moviemaker Bill Morrison, it was something more: the chance to tell the story of a lifetime, to spin a wondrous, almost indescribable tale, a complete astonishment from beginning to end. The thrilling documentary Dawson City: Frozen Time is indescribable not because its ambiguous (its totally straightforward) but because it does so many things so beautifully it is hard to know where to begin. An aesthetic knockout thats crammed with wild tales, amazing facts and unconventional personalities, a documentary thats also a detective story, a history of a particular place that turns into an examination of an art form as well as a gloss on the political history of the 20th century, Dawson City begins and ends in its namesake tiny gold rush town just south of the Arctic Circle in Canadas unforgiving Yukon Territory. Advertisement It all started in the summer of 1978 when a backhoe operator excavating for a new building behind Diamond Tooth Gerties casino in Dawson City came across reels and reels of old nitrate film dating from the teens and 1920s that had been preserved in the far norths permafrost for half a century. Once the dust had cleared and the archivists had done their work, 533 reels were saved half a million feet of film the last surviving remnants of an astonishing 372 titles, all of which had been thought lost forever. These included work by major stars like Lionel Barrymore, Lon Chaney and Douglas Fairbanks and long-forgotten features with evocative titles like A Sagebrush Hamlet and The Bludgeon. There were serials, shorts and a great deal of vivid newsreel footage, including an undreamed-of previously unseen cinematic record of one of the most controversial plays in 1919s infamous Black Sox World Series scandal. Writer-director-editor Morrison turned out to be the ideal person to explore all of this. He conveys with magnificent obsessiveness the dramatic details of how and why all that film got buried in the permafrost in the first place, what transpired when it was found, and the unexpectedly compelling history of Dawson City in particular and the 1897 Klondike gold rush in general. Its a history that encompasses numerous larger than life individuals who interact in multiple ways and reappear when you least expect them. These include celebrated dancer Klondike Kate Rockwell, President Trumps grandfather Fred, and future theatrical impresarios and key Los Angeles figures Sid Grauman and Alexander Pantages. Morrisons best known previous feature, 2002s Decasia (the most recent film named to the Library of Congress prestigious National Film Registry), dealt with the innate beauty of decaying and decomposing nitrate footage. Because of his longstanding and particular interests, Morrison had a deep affinity for the strange and startling beauty of the Dawson City found footage (much of which ended up with distinctive water damage markings), using it several different ways but always to its best advantage. Another characteristic of Morrisons work is its connection with contemporary music. For Dawson City, well aware that silent films were never truly silent but rather depended on musical accompaniment, he collaborated with Alex Somers, a composer and frequent collaborator with the Icelandic group Sigur Ros. Somers produced an exceptional score, brooding and wonderfully ominous, that elevates and enlarges the films extensive silent imagery. Though Dawson City conveys an almost unparalleled amount of information to viewers, it stays away from conventional voice-over. Rather it makes extensive use of crisp white type on the screen to tell us everything we need to know. Often that type is shown over the numerous evocative black and white period still photographs that Morrison has used to further deepen the story. Many of the most iconic images were taken by Eric Hegg, and the wild tale of how many of Heggs fragile glass plate negatives managed to survive is one of the many told here. Though its so subtly interwoven you might not immediately notice it, one of Dawson Citys narrative threads is a gloss on the nature of capitalism, grounded in gold mining information and including fascinating newsreel footage of a 1917 New York march protesting anti-black violence and a 1929 anarchist bombing of the J.P. Morgan bank that killed 38. As compelling visually as it is dramatically, Dawson Citys splendid images are its strength. Morrison has an exceptional eye for what is striking, and he uses excerpts from the recovered footage in unexpected yet complementary ways. Initially, clips are used as a witty way to illustrate story points: If the type on screen mentions a Dawson City fire (there were many), we see a variety of inferno footage. But Morrison so loves this footage he cant stop there, favoring us with montages of shots edited together just for the pure joy of expressive imagery. Its the rare film where you feel you dont want to so much as blink out of fear youll miss something exceptional on the screen, but Dawson City: Frozen Time fits that description. If you love film, if youre intoxicated by the way movies combine image and emotion, be prepared to swoon. ------------ Dawson City: Frozen Time Not rated Running time: 2 hours Playing: Opens Friday at Landmark Nuart, West Los Angeles See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour Movie Trailers kenneth.turan@latimes.com @KennethTuran ALSO Filmmaker Bill Morrison mines cinematic silver and narrative gold in the documentary Dawson City: Frozen Time Ethan Hawke lets us in his editing room and reveals what Philip Seymour Hoffman taught him Kevin Hart goes dramatic for the Hollywood remake of the French hit Intouchables Intellectually involving and strikingly made, Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe is a drama based on the last six years in the life of its protagonist, a celebrated writer whose personal essence remained unknowable despite his fame. Though interest in Zweigs work is said to be rising, the Austrian author is still relatively unknown in this country, compared to his heyday in the 1920s and 30s, when he was the most translated European writer on the planet, someone whose death made the front page of the New York Times. Today, especially for film fans, Zweig is best known for the novella that was the basis of Max Ophuls Letter From an Unknown Woman and for a sensibility and a body of work that inspired Wes Andersons The Grand Budapest Hotel. Advertisement In addition to being a prolific writer, Zweig was also, in those last years of his life, a well-known exile from Hitlers Europe, someone who had a terrible time coping with the chaos, displacement and uncertainty of being a nomad estranged from the homeland whose language had always nourished him. Co-writing (with Jan Schomburg) and directing is top German actress Maria Schrader, still remembered for starring in 1999s romantic World War II drama Aimee & Jaguar. Stefan Zweig is only Schraders second film as a director, but, armed with clear ideas of what she wanted to convey and how she wanted to convey it, shes made a movie that allows its actors to fully inhabit their characters in a potent but low-key way. This is especially true for star Josef Hader, well known in Austria as, of all things, a comedian, who is brilliant as Zweig. With a face thats muted, evocative and all but unreadable in repose, he puts us in touch with how deep the writers rarely expressed sadness and melancholy ran. Also unusual for an actor turned director, Schrader has made a visually striking film of strong formal qualities. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Wolfgang Thaler, whose credits include the Oscar-nominated Theeb, Stefan Zweig is carefully divided into six sections: a prologue, four chapters and an unsettling epilogue. I wanted the film to have an immediacy, as if we opened a window six times for 20 minutes each to be part of Stefan Zweigs life in real time, the director has said, and that is what happens. Stefan Zweigs visual qualities are especially apparent in the first of those windows, a prologue revealing a gorgeous formal banquet in the writers honor that took place in Rio de Janiero in 1936. The camera does not move during the entire scene, while plentiful movement within the frame by actors and extras provides a fine sense of drama. That master shot also makes the point, without having to say anything, that so much of Zweigs life in exile was playing a role, being onstage on a very public platform. As Zweig works the crowd with the most exquisite politeness, you also get the sense of him as a thoughtful, elegant citizen of the world, someone who believed in a borderless Europe and had a special love for Brazil, whose diverse races he saw as a vision of the future. Set only a few days later, the next sequence picks up in Buenos Aires for the intensely political PEN Congress, an international gathering of 80 writers from 50 nations. The pressure on Zweig to condemn Hitler and the rise of Nazism was intense, but, shunning actions he felt were without risk or consequences, he confound his partisans by refusing to do so. Three of the final four sequences take place in Brazil and involve his much younger second wife, Lotte (Aenne Schwarz). These vary in tone from the serious to the absurd, including a comic opera reception with a small-town mayor. The scenes also showcase Zweigs continual involvement with helping fellow writers escape from Europe, and his alternating determination, frustration and despair at the process and what it took out of him. Zweig is especially overwhelmed in a sequence in Manhattan in which he reunites with his first wife, Friderike, played by the veteran Barbara Sukowa. As the director notes, Zweigs greatest gift as a writer, his imagination and empathy, transformed from being a blessing into a curse. Finally, the reasons for Zweigs most perplexing actions, including those revealed in the films beautifully filmed epilogue, have to be remain unknowable mysteries. But its the triumph of Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe to make this insolubility not frustrating but a source of satisfaction. ### Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe No rating Running time: 1 hour, 46 minutes Playing: Laemmles Royal, West Los Angeles, Town Center, Encino See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour Movie Trailers kenneth.turan@latimes.com @KennethTuran Jurors in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial on Wednesday asked to review yet more testimony as deliberations wound down for a third day without a verdict. After nearly 30 hours of deliberating, the sequestered jury has been unable to come to a unanimous decision on the guilt or innocence of the famed entertainer. Theyre deciding on three counts of aggravated indecent assault related to a January 2004 incident in which Cosby digitally penetrated Andrea Constand after providing her with unidentified pills. The jury came back with two requests for Judge Steven T. ONeill on Wednesday it wanted to hear again trial testimony from Constand and Richard Schaffer, a police officer from Montgomery County, Pa., who was part of a team that interviewed Cosby in early 2005. Court personnel have been rereading transcripts from the proceedings out loud. Advertisement Jurors have now heard replays of testimony concerning details of the night in question from nearly every major angle given in the trial. Earlier in the week, they reviewed a deposition Cosby provided in a civil suit and an interview Constand gave to a police officer in her native Ontario, Canada. The reread of Schaffers testimony took a particularly large chunk of Wednesday as the transcript for the 45 minutes of his testimony that the jury requested was still being prepared before it could be read aloud. At 9 p.m. the judge dismissed the jury. Its been 12 hours. That is enough, ONeill said. Deliberations will begin again at 9 a.m. Thursday. Because it involves multiple accounts from each of the two principals, the Cosby case comes with an added layer of complexity. There is a relatively small set of facts about the night but many interpretations some of them not always in harmony even within one principals narrative. Still, the longer that deliberations wear on, the greater possibility of a deadlocked jury, which would ultimately result in a mistrial if the stalemate cant be broken. ONeill is expected to send the jury back to the deliberation room several times to try to resolve any tie-ups before declaring a hung jury. steve.zeitchik@latimes.com Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT ALSO Virginia gunman hated Republicans, and was always in his own little world Fed hikes key interest rate and readies plan to reduce assets in validation of economic recovery Trump administration will press Central American countries and Mexico to keep their people at home For better or worse, and in some cases both, American wine drinkers are in thrall with the Blend. The wines, composed of three, four, five or more unidentified and often disparate red varieties, emblazoned with flashy names and at times lurid identity systems, represent one of the fastest-growing segments in the country. The trend has big wine companies scrambling to capitalize on demand. The Prisoner brand, a Napa Valley blend conceived in 2000 by a young winemaker named Dave Phinney, has been sold twice in the last seven years, most recently to the worlds second-largest wine company, Constellation. And one year ago Phinney sold his own label, Orin Swift (from which the Prisoner had been freed, so to speak, in 2009) to the worlds largest wine company, Gallo. For the big wine companies, with their vast vineyard holdings and surplus juice, the trend has been downright liberating. Tied neither to variety nor place, the wines can be made from anything, come from anywhere, and consumers no longer seem to care about what they dont know. In their marketing too, wineries have been liberated: A blends anonymity grants them permission to use whatever identity system a company wants, though the Prisoner, with its dark imagery and mysterious contents the label reproduces a shadowy prison etching by Goya has inspired more than a dozen edgy, discomfiting copy-cat brands, with names such as the Banished, the Pessimist, the Troublemaker, Freak Show, Beast, Vicious, Eruption, Ravage and Apothic all of which seem more at home on a library shelf of French existentialism than nestled in a wine rack. Advertisement But make no mistake: Whats in the bottle is utterly angst-free. To a bottle, the wines project lush artificial cherry flavors, bits of vanillin and oak, soft tannins and usually a palpable level of residual sugar, serving to mask whatever flaws may lie within. Riedel Wine Glass on the display at Wine Spectator Wine Seminar Blending The Rules in n Miami Beach, Florida. (Carlos Barrios / Getty Images For SBWFF) Some wineries among them Apothic and Menage a Trois sell multiple versions, based less on the bottles contents than on a mood, with subheadings such as Dark, Velvet, Midnight and Silky. Much like flavored vodka, theyre built to broaden an already broad target. And also like flavored vodka, the wines manage to taste both confected and concocted, built in a lab rather than made in a vineyard. It has some questioning just what is the purpose of a blend at all. Blends, of course, arent new. Theyre part of a global viticultural tradition, forged in the cellars of Chianti, Rioja, Porto, Bordeaux, Champagne; all across the southern Rhone, and even the U.S. and Australia. Such traditions arose from the simple need to compose the best wine a vintage would allow. If in a warm vintage, for instance, your Grenache came in too ripe, you could leaven that exuberance with a little Mourvedre, or add some depth with Syrah, acidity with Counoise, and so on. You could correct flaws, restore balance and otherwise improve upon nature (or human error) by blending. In the 80s, Cabernet-based blends debuted with their aspirational, upmarket name brands: Dominus, Insignia, Opus One. American Rhone producers took a more prosaic approach, as those varieties became popular and producers experimented with blends, informed by French tradition and practice. Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon was the first to introduce an American Rhone blend with Cigare Volant in 1984, a Chateauneuf-du-Pape-inspired knockoff composed mostly of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. Many others have followed in his footsteps, from Tablas Creek, whose partners, the Perrin family, are from Chateauneuf, to Seth Kunins blend Pape Star. Steve Edmunds of Edmunds St. John Wines also took the Rhone Valley as his model for his blend Rocks and Gravel. For Edmunds and others, the act of blending is partly the pursuit of a platonic ideal, one which Grahm describes as seamlessness and Edmunds describes as a kind of next-level finesse that a single component might not achieve on its own. The goal is to make the wine more precise, says Edmunds, The role players elevate the base, make it more expressive. Morgan Twain Peterson of Bedrock Vineyards makes several distinctive blends, most of them built off vineyards he owns or manages (such as Bedrock, his home vineyard), all of them a century old or older and planted to multiple varieties Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Alicante Bouschet, and about half a dozen others. These hell harvest and vinify together, making field blends that are, to his mind, as distinctive as a fingerprint. No matter what goes into the wine, says Twain Peterson, it smells and tastes like Bedrock first and foremost. The signature of the vineyard is always there. Phinney says that the Prisoner started out as an homage to the field blend. But when a tank of Napa Valley Zinfandel finished fermentation with a surfeit of unprocessed sugar, he decided to blend it into something workable. The modest mistake went on to become an industry standard; that initial 285-case production is now pushing 200,000 annually. The Prisoner is no longer Phinneys, and neither, technically, is Orin Swift, but hell still be making wines for the latter brand and the wines will, by and large, adhere to the same principle. At its core, the blends ethos is designed to make the best possible wine, says Phinney. We get to keep blending until we think we have best we can make. Gallos vineyard resources, behind him, he feels, will only make the brand even better. If were not making appreciably better wine in the next 24 months, he says, we should quit. food@latimes.com ALSO: Meet Helen Johannesen, the wine director behind five hot L.A. restaurants Why one L.A. wine expert has Georgia on his mind. The country, that is Californias vineyards are coming back from the brink of disaster thanks to the winter rains When it comes to gift giving this Fathers Day, the National Retail Federation reports that Americans will spend a record $15.5 billion to celebrate the Day of the Dad. Not sure what to get yours? Check the box. Specifically, monthly subscription boxes designed to deliver a mind-boggling variety of interest-themed products on a regular basis. The best boxes or club-of-the-month-style services offer a cool, curated assortment of items (seemingly everything from artisanal salami to shaving cream to survival gear) aimed at introducing recipients to new stuff thats right up their alley or IP address, as the case may be. Its like a better version of shopping, said Liz Cadman, founder of online review site My Subscription Addiction, adding, subscription boxes are providing the new method of product discovery. And experiential gifts that provide the opportunity to try something new is exactly what 27% of dads say they want this year, according to a survey by Prosper Insights and Analytics, done for the National Retail Federation. It sure beats another tie that will go straight to the back of the closet. Here are some subscription boxes we picked out, according to personality type: The meat eater (Stephen DeVries) Four-to-six varieties of hand-crafted cured meat from around the world, delivered monthly, bimonthly or quarterly starting at $50, taxes and shipping included. CarnivoreClub.co The top chef (Mantry) (Mantry / Mantry) The manly pantry, or Mantry, delivers a themed wooden crate containing six full-sized American-made food items (think: Bacon Nation, Tailgate Tour, Bourbon BBQ) with a manual showing product origin, maker bios and recipes every two months. Starting at $49. Free shipping. Mantry.com The Boy Scout-meets-survivalist (Battlbox) Survival and tactical gear (think: antiperspirant grenades, fishing gear, tactical pens, camp stoves, utility knives) handpicked for outdoor enthusiasts, emergency preparedness experts and off-the-grid kind of guys. Starting at $24.99, shipping not included. Battlbox.com The superhero gamer guy (Geek Fuel) Gaming and Marvel-inspired collectibles, T-shirts, downloadable games, comics and books are packed into monthly shipments from Geek Fuel and designed to celebrate the superfan. Starting at $14.90 monthly. Shipping not included. GeekFuel.com The discerning dude (Bespoke Post) Themed lifestyle boxes for gentlemen who appreciate the finer things in life (think: Churchill-themed cigar box, shaving kits, weekender bags and more). Starting at $55. Free shipping. BespokePost.com The beermeister (TheProductPhotographyStudio) (TheProductPhotographyStudio / TheProductPhotographyStudio) The Craft Beer Club delivers a sampling of a dozen craft beers from small, independent American brewers and a monthly newsletter. Starting at $42. Free shipping. CraftBeerClub.com The workout beast (Everett Christopher) (Everett Christopher / Everett Christopher) A curated crate of fitness gear, apparel, supplements and training aids shipped monthly. Starting at $59.95. Shipping $6. StrengthCrate.com The sartorialist (Dani Chase/Sock Fancy) (Dani Chase / Dani Chase/Sock Fancy) Got style down to his toes? Send one, two or six pairs of fun, trendy socks monthly. Starting at $11. SockFancy.com The cheese man (Lady & Larder) (Lady & Larder / Lady & Larder) The Cheese Board Club delivers artisanal, handcrafted American cheese, cured meats, nuts, olives and spreads monthly. Complimentary crackers. Starting at $300. Free delivery. LadyandLarder.com Updated at 7:45 p.m. An earlier version of this story misstated the price for Bespoke Post box. Shipping is free. home@latimes.com Bonnie McCarthy contributes to the Los Angeles Times as a home and lifestyle design writer. She enjoys scouting for directional trends and reporting on whats new and next. Follow her on Twitter @ThsAmericanHome ALSO Youve never seen a kitchen island sink like this Is it time for America to embrace smart toilets and bidets? Youve never seen a fire extinguisher that looks like this Four people were killed in a shooting that was part of a blood feud in Upper Egypt's Qena governorate on Thursday, state-run MENA new agency reported. Unidentified gunmen with automatic weapons ambushed a vehicle the victims were riding, killing one man and three women, according to security officials. Another man and a woman were injured in the attack. Initial investigation suggests that the shooting was part of a blood feud between two families in the governorates Hogairat village. Blood feuds between families or tribes are not uncommon in Upper Egypt, particularly in Qena governorate. In 2010, Hogairat witnessed one of the worst-ever instances of a vendetta shooting in Egypt, when gunmen exchanged fire in a mourning tent, leaving seven dead. Getty statuette: In the June 14 Calendar section, a Quick Takes brief about the Getty Museum returning an ancient statuette of Zeus to the Italian government misstated the year curator Marion True resigned and the year that the museum announced it would return dozens of disputed objects to Italy. True resigned in 2005, not 2006, and the repatriation announcement came in 2007, not 2006. Uber board meeting: In the June 12 Section A, an article about a meeting of Ubers board of directors misspelled the first name of attorney Stephen Hirschfeld as Steven. If you believe that we have made an error, or you have questions about The Times journalistic standards and practices, you may contact Deirdre Edgar, readers representative, by email at readers.representative@latimes.com, by phone at (877) 554-4000, by fax at (213) 237-3535 or by mail at 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. The readers representative office is online at latimes.com/readersrep. La Canada High School students will be able to take back their mornings starting this fall, after the citys school board voted unanimously to shift the campus start time from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30. The decision to try the schedule change for one year was made last month in a special meeting to let board members review data from a survey of district parents and students. Responses indicated overwhelming support for pushing back the schedule to allow teens more brain-nourishing sleep, according to board member Brent Kuszyk. Theres definitely support for this, said Kuszyk, whose daughter Ali is an incoming freshman. My daughters very happy. A lot of the kids are. Advertisement The special meeting was an opportunity for the board to consider how the shift will affect parents, teachers and students, especially student-athletes who already miss class time to travel to away games. The district made an agreement with the La Canada Teachers Assn. to help student-athletes who miss class time. Buses transporting athletes to other schools for games also may be able to leave a bit later, said Governing Board President Dan Jeffries. We also asked if we could flag student-athletes at registration so as to minimize fifth-period missed class time, Jeffries said via email. That may have some limitations since other schedule issues are involved, but we will look at it. The May 30 decision came on the same day that SB 328 a proposal by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge) that would mandate California middle and high schools begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. passed the Senate, moving on to the state Assembly. Cardine writes for Times Community News. sara.cardine@latimes.com Twitter: @SaraCardine Heavy rains last winter poured billions of gallons of polluted runoff into the ocean, significantly increasing health risks at many Southern California beaches, according to Heal the Bays annual beach report card. The reassuring news, said Sarah Sikich, the environmental groups vice president, is that if you swim at an open-ocean beach in the summer away from storm drains and creek mouths, you statistically have very little risk of getting ill. No local beaches received failing marks from April to October 2016, the summer reporting period. Released Thursday, the annual survey of beaches statewide showed that almost half the 85 beaches that Los Angeles County monitored last year earned F grades during the wet winter. Report: Almost half of L.A. County beaches receive Fs High bacteria counts presented a significant health threat to thousands of regular ocean users, who were at risk of contracting such ailments as stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections and rashes from a morning swim or surf session, the report said. Heal the Bay, based in Santa Monica, also found that bacterial levels spiked at some of Californias most popular beaches as polluted runoff poured through storm drains and into the sea. We want people catching waves, not bugs, when they head to the beach, Sikich said. Southern California accounted for five sites that made Heal the Bays infamous Beach Bummer List, which ranks the 10 most polluted beaches in the state. Heal the Bays Top 10 Beach Bummers Clam Beach County Park, McKinleyville, Humboldt County: F San Clemente Pier, San Clemente: F Cowell Beach, West of Wharf, Santa Cruz: F Lakeshore Park, Marina Lagoon, San Mateo: F La Jolla Cove, La Jolla: D Santa Monica Pier: D Capitola Beach, Capitola, Santa Cruz County: D Luffenholtz Beach, Trinidad, Humboldt County: D Mother's Beach, Marina del Rey: D Monarch Beach, north of Salt Creek, Dana Point: D Source: Heal the Bay San Clemente Pier, a newcomer to the list, was in the No. 2 spot. Though shark sightings have closed stretches of this beach recently, swimmers might be more worried about bacteria levels. La Jolla Cove in San Diego, another new addition to the top 10, was in fifth place. This beach sits in an enclosed area with limited water circulation. The No. 6 slot belongs to Santa Monica Pier, where moist conditions, flocks of birds and storm drain runoff are likely culprits. Efforts are underway to improve water quality, including the construction of a $1.6-million cistern system to catch runoff during the rainy season. Mothers Beach in Marina Del Rey is No. 9. Unsafe levels of bacteria have resulted from a lack of water circulation. Monarch State Beach in Orange County was in 10th place. This bird-heavy stretch of sand north of Salt Creek is adjacent to the five-star Ritz Carlton resort in Dana Point. Table Rock in Laguna Beach made the 2017-2017 Heal the Bay Honor Roll earning an A+ grade during all seasons. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) In Los Angeles County, Heal the Bay analysts gave grades of A to F to 85 beaches for three testing periods in the 2016-17 report, based on levels of weekly bacterial pollution measured by health agencies. Overall, about 93% of county beaches received A grades for the summer period, a 4% increase from last years report. In Orange County, about 95% of 117 monitored beaches received A grades during the summer, while 40 beaches in Ventura County scored a perfect 100% for the seventh consecutive year. San Diego County scored top marks, with 97% of 75 monitored sites receiving A or B grades during the summer. Wet weather grades declined, however, with only 68% of sites earning A or B grades during rains. In addition, contaminated runoff from the Tijuana River at the Mexico border resulted in 21 beach closures. Despite encouraging news in dry weather, the report card states that stubborn pockets of chronic pollution still plague several popular beaches in that area. Heal the Bay officials say that swimming or surfing at a beach with a water quality grade of C or lower greatly increases the risk of contracting respiratory or gastrointestinal illnesses. They advise the public to avoid enclosed beaches with poor water circulation, wait three days before entering the ocean after rainfall and swim at least 100 yards from piers and storm drains. On the positive side, four beaches in Los Angeles County made Heal the Bays Honor Roll, which recognizes beaches that score perfect A-plus grades year round. They are El Matador State Beach in Malibu, Malibu Point, Bluff Cove in Palos Verdes Estates and Portuguese Bend in Rancho Palos Verdes. Orange County earned 14 spots on the Honor Roll, while Ventura had one. Statewide, Californias overall water quality during summer was excellent. About 97% of 416 beaches received A or B marks. During the rainy season, only 52% of beaches earned As and Bs. Heal the Bay advocates reusing storm water runoff for non-potable uses or diverting it into aquifers rather than letting it flow out to sea. The organization estimates that most of the 100 billion gallons of storm water that drenched the region last winter enough to meet the needs of 2.5 million people could have been captured and reused with the right drainage systems. We need to rethink how we handle storm water runoff, Sikich said. Heal the Bay officials also used their news conference for the report, which has become an annual publicity platform, to express concern about the Trump administrations proposal to cut $3 billion from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency s annual budget. Sikich said this possible reduction, about a third of the agencys total budget, would eliminate funding for ocean water monitoring programs in many California counties. Los Angeles, which pays for its own water quality testing along the coast, would not be affected by the cuts in the EPA budget. dan.weikel@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @LADeadline16 ALSO LAPD probing whether cadets stole and crashed two police cars, sources say Victims of shooting at San Francisco UPS facility are identified as families and co-workers mourn The report card on Californias battle against climate change The funeral for a Los Angeles firefighter who died during a training exercise was expected to draw hundreds of people Friday morning as police closed several downtown streets to make way for a procession. The memorial service for firefighter Kelly Wong will begin at 9 a.m. at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 555 W. Temple St., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The funeral procession, which was led by a fire truck bearing Wongs casket, set out at 8 a.m. from Main and First streets. Advertisement The memorial service is open to the public and is expected to draw hundreds of firefighters from numerous agencies, said LAFD Battalian Chief Jaime Moore. Were expecting a huge turnout, Moore said. Memorial service for @LAFD Fireman Kelly Wong, 29, in downtown LA. Casket was carried in a fire truck with black wreaths as bagpipes played. pic.twitter.com/3pBOrh00N0 Hailey Branson-Potts (@haileybranson) June 16, 2017 The Street closures include: Temple Street between Grand Avenue and Los Angeles Street Hill Street between 1st and Ord streets Main Street between 1st and Aliso streets First Street between Main and Spring streets will be closed from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Grand Avenue between 1st Street and the 101 Freeway on-ramp will be under a soft closure meaning drivers will be stopped and asked to wait before they can proceed beginning at 6 a.m., according to the LAFD. Wong, 29, died June 5, two days after he fell 55 to 65 feet from an aerial ladder during a training exercise at the Barclay Hotel on 4th Street, according to a preliminary investigative report from the LAFD. He landed on the trailer deck of a fire truck. Wong was climbing the ladder during a simulated fire incident when he fell, according to the LAFD. The Barclay, a six-story hotel in downtown L.A., is routinely used by the LAFD for training exercises, the report states. Wong and the other participating firefighters were wearing full protective firefighting equipment. Three people ascended the ladder; Wong went first. Fellow firefighters and paramedics treated him at the scene before he was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he died two days later, officials said. The LAFD investigation into his death is ongoing, Moore said. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is also investigating the accident, agency spokesman Luke Brown said. The investigation will include reviewing the fire departments injury and illness prevention plan, inspecting the scene of the accident and talking to witnesses. Wong had been a firefighter with the department for two years and was assigned to Station 92 in Rancho Park. He was set to transfer to Station 9, which serves the skid row area and downtown L.A. Wong was working at Station 9 at the time of his fall. Wong graduated from the LAFD Recruit Academy on Terminal Island in San Pedro in August 2015. He was the top academic performer in his class, according to the LAFD. Mayor Eric Garcetti said he had known the young firefighter for a couple of years. Wong emigrated from Hong Kong when he was 8, the mayor said. He was a hero to our city, a hero for this department, a hero for his family, Garcetti said. Wong is survived by his wife, Danielle, and infant son, Colton. Wong is the third LAFD firefighter to die this year. Capt. David T. Moorman, 50, died on Feb. 5 when he suffered a medical emergency. He was off-duty and in his home. Moorman worked with the department 27 years and was assigned to Station 96 in Chatsworth. In April, Battalion Chief Jerome Boyd suffered a medical emergency and died while driving a city vehicle near downtown L.A. The 55-year-old firefighter worked for the department for more than 30 years. Boyd was assigned to the departments Fire Prevention Bureaus Public Safety Section. hailey.branson@latimes.com Twitter: @haileybranson Times staff writers Veronica Rocha and Ruben Vives contributed to this report. ALSO Holstered pistol, dinette chairs, fake Christmas tree: Just part of the haul from Newports harbor cleanup LAPD cadets stole police cars and may have impersonated officers, chief says La Canada High will try letting teens sleep in a bit UPDATES: 8 a.m., June 16: This article was updated with details on the start of the funeral procession. This article was originally published at 12:30 p.m., June 15. The Los Angeles Police Department has long hailed its cadet program as a successful partnership between police and the citys young residents. The initiative is designed to help cadets develop life-building skills, bond with officers and volunteer at events such as Dodgers games and the L.A. Marathon. But on Wednesday night, three of those teenagers crossed paths with city police officers in a way that LAPD officials surely hoped would never happen when they became suspects. For the record: A previous version of this article said that the stolen cruisers were spotted about 11:30 p.m. The time was about 9:30 p.m. Racing through the streets of South L.A. in a pair of stolen police cruisers, three teenage cadets led LAPD officers on car chases that ended in separate crashes, Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday afternoon. Advertisement The chases sparked an investigation that revealed some of the cadets may have also stolen a bulletproof vest, two stun guns and two police radios, the chief said. Instead of learning from officers, Beck said, the cadets may have been impersonating police while driving the stolen cruisers in Central and South Los Angeles and Inglewood. The embarrassing incident has prompted a top-to-bottom review of the cadet program as well as the systems the LAPD uses to check out and track its equipment. Were going to look at this, were going to look at how they did it, and were going to make sure it cant be done again, Beck said. The teens, who were not identified because they are minors, were arrested in connection with the theft of the cruisers and other LAPD property, Beck said. All three teens are members of the cadet program and from 15 to 17 years old, Beck said. He added that all three teens were involved in the vehicle thefts but that it was not immediately clear which teens were involved in the theft of the other equipment. LAPD cruisers have to be signed out through an automated system before they are driven out of a department motor pool, but the cadets were sophisticated enough to manipulate the system by logging in with the name of a sergeant who they knew was on vacation. They gamed that system, Beck said. A police SUV rests Thursday where it crashed near the intersection of 77th and San Pedro streets in Los Angeles. (Christian K. Lee / Los Angeles Times) One of the cadets was so well-regarded within the program that the teens picture was used in recruitment materials hoping to entice other youths to join up, according to three law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation. Promotional materials with the teens picture were quickly taken down, said the sources, who requested anonymity in order to discuss the case candidly. The department became aware that two LAPD cruisers had gone missing around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, sparking an investigation that Beck said almost immediately focused on a 16-year-old female cadet assigned to 77th Street Division after officials found video of the teen fueling the car at a city gas pump. At about 9:30 p.m., two stolen cruisers were spotted near 77th Street Divisions headquarters. A chase began after the drivers ignored officers commands to pull over, Beck said. The stolen cars separated at some point, resulting in two chases that both ended in car wrecks. One of the stolen cruisers crashed near San Pedro and 77th streets, while the other collided with an uninvolved motorist near Central Avenue and Adams Boulevard, Beck said. Los Angeles police officers who were chasing one of the vehicles were also involved in a crash. No officers were injured, Beck said. One of the cadets was wearing a spare bulletproof vest used for training purposes when the crash happened, the chief said. A subsequent investigation revealed that a third car had also been taken by the cadets, but it was quickly recovered near the LAPDs 77th Street station, Beck said. Two Tasers, two police radios and a bulletproof vest were also recovered during the investigation, he said. No firearms went missing, and there were no weapons in the stolen cruisers, according to Beck. Investigators believe they have identified the primary suspects, but interviews are still being conducted to determine if anyone else was involved, Beck said. One of the cruisers was stolen from the parking garage at Central Division downtown several days ago, according to two law enforcement sources. One of the others was taken from 77th Street Division, one source said. One of the cars may have been missing since late May, according to Beck, who said investigators are still trying to piece together a timeline of the cadets alleged actions. A police cruiser crashed near the intersection of 77th and San Pedro streets in Los Angeles, (Christian K. Lee / Los Angeles Times) LAPD brass has long pointed to the cadet program as a success story. Thousands of young people between 13 and 20 have participated over the years. The goal is to foster relationships between the citys youth and police while helping participants develop skills that will aid them later in life. Currently, about 2,300 cadets are enrolled. Cadets participate in an 18-week academy training program, taking various classes while getting an introduction to police work. After completing their training, cadets can be assigned to one of the citys police stations, where they may volunteer for a wide array of tasks, including passing out fliers alerting residents about crimes in their neighborhood. The program isnt limited to teens who want to become police officers. Those who join must have at least a 2.0 grade-point average and submit a written recommendation, according to the programs website. They cannot have a serious criminal record. Beck said that he hoped news of the thefts would not taint what is otherwise a productive program. Were very proud of our cadet program, he said. I dont want the actions of these three individuals to reflect negatively on the other 2,300. Times staff writers Matt Hamilton and Joseph Serna contributed to this report. kate.mather@latimes.com richard.winton@latimes.com james.queally@latimes.com For breaking California news, follow @katemather @LAcrimes & @JamesQueallyLAT on Twitter. ALSO 2 stolen LAPD cruisers crash during chase across L.A.; officer in 3rd cruiser also crashes, police say Victims of shooting at San Francisco UPS facility are identified as families and co-workers mourn The report card on Californias battle against climate change UPDATES: 4:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information from Beck and several law enforcement sources. 2:50 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. 1:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the stolen vehicles and the investigation of the possible role of cadets 11:50 a.m.: This article has been updated with additional details about the theft of LAPD police cruisers and the departments cadet program. 10:50 a.m.: This article has been updated to say that police are investigating the possible role of police cadets. 10:20 a.m.: This article has been updated to say the suspects were juveniles. 9:45 a.m.: This article was updated with the base cost of a police SUV. 8:45 a.m.: This article was updated to say that three individuals were taken into custody. This article was originally published at 8:35 a.m. For more than five years, Los Angeles officials have turned a blind eye to drivers who park on the narrow strips of land between the sidewalk and the curb. The citys lenient stance, adopted in 2011, was never advertised. But many drivers in dense areas where parking can be fiercely competitive eventually realized that they would not be ticketed for leaving their cars on the landscaped areas that run parallel to the street. So many drivers began adopting the practice that residents in Westlake, East Hollywood and other central neighborhoods began planting saplings and erecting poles, fences and other barriers in a bid to stop their neighbors from destroying the curbs and the grass. Advertisement Those guerrilla tactics may not be necessary for much longer, City Hall officials said Wednesday. Los Angeles Unified School District police cruise through Westlake, where a growing number of drivers are parking their cars on parkways. Residents have said the practice is an eyesore and destroys the grass and landscaping. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) The citys transportation committee Wednesday approved a draft of a new law that would make it illegal to stop, stand or park on the narrow strips of land that are officially known as parkways. (Other regions, and some L.A. residents, use a variety of other terms, including verge, berm, and curb strip.) If the City Council approves the new law next week, the Transportation Department will resume ticketing in mid-August, a spokesman said. The city would do some outreach before ticketing begins again, so that drivers currently using the parkways wont be caught unaware, officials said. The proposed law is a significant step for residents who have said the lack of enforcement has destroyed some of the rare green spaces in their neighborhoods. Others have referred to the practice as destructive and an eyesore. Residents makeshift parkway barriers, including flower beds and jacaranda trees, have been knocked down by careless or aggressive drivers. Other areas have been left rutted with tire tracks and littered with trash. The proposed law caps a saga that began more than five years ago, when the city was hit with a flurry of lawsuits alleging that broken, sometimes impassable sidewalks violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. One lawsuit said the citys practice of allowing drivers to park on the sloping portion of the driveway between the sidewalk and the curb, known as the apron, also violated accessibility laws. At the advice of city lawyers, parking officials began paying closer attention to apron parking. Drivers who had parked at the ends of their driveways for years began to receive tickets citing the citys parkway law which, at the time, barred parking on all areas between the sidewalk and the curb, including aprons. After an outcry, the City Council suspended the law until city lawyers could draft separate policies for parkways and driveway aprons. Five years passed. The language introduced Wednesday aims to address that confusion. The new law would define parkway as the area between the sidewalk and the street reserved for landscaping and utilities and that is not intended for vehicle use. Deputy City Atty. Michael Nagle said drivers will be able to park on their own driveway aprons, provided their cars do not block the street or the sidewalk. That is a requirement of the California Vehicle Code, not city law, and ticketing for that offense continued while the parkway law was suspended, officials said. But Barry Johnson of the Studio City Neighborhood Council, who attended Wednesdays meeting, said the citys enforcement had been too lax. We have a city thats asking us to walk, but so many times on sidewalks, theres cars sticking over, Johnson said. The new law, he said, would be a welcome change. laura.nelson@latimes.com For more transportation news, follow @laura_nelson on Twitter. The day after a gunman killed three co-workers and then himself at a United Parcel Service facility in San Francisco, the victims relatives, fellow employees and customers were mourning their deaths in both public and private. On Wednesday night, the San Francisco medical examiners office said the victims of the morning shooting in Potrero Hill were Benson Louie, 50; Wayne Chan, 56; and Michael Lefiti, 46, according to the Associated Press. Police identified the gunman as 38-year-old Jimmy Lam, who fatally shot himself in the head as police officers closed in. Though it took hours for authorities to confirm who the victims were, word already had spread among their co-workers and family. By nightfall, a makeshift memorial in the citys Diamond Heights neighborhood was growing for delivery driver Lefiti. Advertisement Around here, Mike isnt just a UPS guy, hes everyones friend, UPS customer Barbara Branch told KBCW. People left balloons, photos and a poster calling Lefiti a gentle giant. He made you feel like you were a part of something, Judy Prejean told the station. He was just an awesome person. I just want his family to know how much he was loved outside the family. Lefiti, a Hercules resident, had attended Westmoor High School in Daly City, according to his Facebook page. He leaves behind a wife and five children. Louie, 50, was a San Francisco native who went to George Washington High School and Roosevelt Middle School, according to several classmates on Facebook. Louie coached volleyball and was referred to as Uncle Benson by several of the people he coached on Facebook. He leaves behind a wife and two daughters. The victims and the gunman were UPS drivers, said Kyle Peterson, a UPS spokesman. Chan had been with the delivery service for 28 years. Lefiti and Louie had been with the parcel service for 17 years. Lam had worked at UPS for 18 years. Grief counselors were on hand to support employees who returned to work Thursday at the San Bruno facility. Additional drivers and package handlers will be assisting employees through Saturday with orders, Peterson said. UPS Chairman and CEO David Abney released a statement Thursday. The UPS family is deeply saddened by the tragic shooting in San Francisco on Wednesday, when four employees lost their lives, the statement read. On behalf of all UPSers, I extend sincere condolences to the families of the deceased, and we pray for the speedy recovery of the injured employees. We are working to help our employees and the families of those impacted heal from this senseless tragedy, while also investigating the circumstances that led up to this event. Lefiti, Louie and Chan were killed, and two others were wounded just before 9 a.m. when Lam opened fire inside the shipping facility off 17th and Utah streets. Lam and the others were in uniform and attending a daily meeting before making deliveries when gunfire erupted, according to a company spokesman. When police arrived, they thought Lam was still inside and actively hunting co-workers. A special operations team went in after him and saw him turn his pistol on himself, police officials said. Two guns were recovered at the scene. Police announced that the building was secured shortly after 10:30 a.m. Meanwhile, officers continued searching the premises for witnesses and additional victims. This was a frightful scene, and we just wanted to make sure someone wasnt so terrified that they were hiding and we didnt know they were inside the facility, Assistant Police Chief Toney Chaplin said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting San Francisco investigators, said Alexandria Corneiro, a bureau spokeswoman. ATF is tracing the two guns found at the scene, she said. The examination will track the weapons history from its first sale at a distributor to the purchaser. Authorities said the incident was not believed to be connected to terrorism. Police Chief William Scott told The Times that investigators were uncertain about Lams motive. Police were still conducting a very active investigation on what may have caused this as well as [the gunmans] background, Scott said. Lam, a resident of San Francisco, had filed a grievance in March complaining about excessive overtime, Joseph Cilia, a Teamsters Union official, told the Associated Press. The Teamsters local represents UPS workers in San Francisco. Cilia said the gunman seemed to have targeted the three drivers who were shot and killed. I never knew Jimmy to not get along with people, Cilia said. Jimmy wasnt a big complainer. Lam had two previous arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, said Max Szabo, a spokesman for the San Francisco district attorneys office. In 2010, Lam pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years probation for DUI with a blood alcohol content level of .15 or greater and hit-and-run charges, he said. Three years later, Lam was arrested again for DUI, Szabo said. This time, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his probation. But he made a deal with the court and admitted to the probation violation, Szabo said. Lam was sentenced to 10 days of community service, and his probation was extended a month, he said. This was a terrible tragedy that has left the city shaken and in search of answers, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement. The individuals taken from us were a part of our community, and our hearts goes out to the families of the victims. Steve Gaut, a UPS spokesman, said the building where the shooting occurred processes packages for delivery in the San Francisco area. The facility employs about 350 people, but its unknown how many workers were inside at the time of the shooting, company officials said. At an afternoon news conference Wednesday, Mayor Ed Lee reassured UPS workers and the families of victims that they would be taken care of. They are happy and hardworking people, Lee said. We know them in every single neighborhood in the city. In days to come, city officials will review the incident to determine whether any safety improvements can be made. Please keep UPSers in your prayers, said Rosemary Turner, president of UPS North California District, said counselors would be on hand to provide support. joseph.serna@latimes.com For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter. ALSO 2 stolen LAPD cruisers crash during chase across L.A.; officer in 3rd cruiser also crashes, police say False alarm of active shooter at Air Force base in Northern California prompts brief lockdown Reaction to shooting at congressional baseball practice reveals a nation that doesnt just disagree. It hates UPDATES: 1:35 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from the ATF and the San Francisco district attorneys office. 11:45 a.m.: This article was updated with details on Lefiti and Louie, two of the shooting victims. 11:10 a.m.: This article was updated with information on the victims work experience and details on UPS operations. 10:35 a.m.: This article was updated with a statement from UPS chief executive. This article was originally published at 7:10 a.m. Do words kill? That is the gist of the decision facing Massachusetts Judge Lawrence Moniz in a landmark manslaughter case against a young woman who urged her 18-year-old boyfriend to commit suicide. Michelle Carter was a troubled 17-year-old high school student when she sent her depressed boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, a barrage of messages belittling him for not having the courage to kill himself. You always say youre going to do it, but you never do, she wrote. Finally he did. In July 2014, following her advice to just park your car and sit there and it will take, like, 20 minutes, Roy pumped carbon monoxide into the cab of his pickup truck in the parking lot of a Kmart. At one point, when he got out of the truck scared and already dizzy from inhaling the fumes, Carter ordered him to go back in. Advertisement The judge began his deliberations on Wednesday and has said he would announce a decision Friday at 11 a.m., eastern time. Carter faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. It was an unusual trial, short and to the point, since Carter had waived her right to a jury. The proceedings in the Bristol Juvenile Court, which lasted only one week, were live-streamed throughout. There is little dispute about the evidence in the case. The communications were preserved in the form of thousands of pages of screenshots of text messages that laid bare, typos and all, the raw emotions of the young couple. Both had a history of psychiatric illness. Roy had attempted suicide four times previously, and Carter had a history of anorexia and cutting herself. They met during a vacation in Florida in 2012, and although they lived about an hour apart, their relationship took place mainly by text messages. They discussed the possibility of dying together in a Romeo and Juliet pact. Carter sent Roy her research on various methods of committing suicide, including one in which he would rig a generator to the car to kill himself with carbon monoxide. When he had trouble finding the right generator, she offered other suggestions: Hang yourself, jump off a building, stab yourself idk theres a lot of ways. Carter, now 20, a waif-like blond with furrowed eyebrows who appeared on the verge of tears throughout the trial, did not take the stand. Instead, the defense relied heavily on the testimony of a controversial psychiatrist, Peter Breggin, a critic of the pharmaceutical industry and author of Talking Back to Prozac. He testified that Carter was involuntarily intoxicated and enmeshed in delusion by an antidepressant medication, Celexa, that she started taking a few months before Roys death, and had convinced herself that Roy would be better off dead. Youre finally going to be happy in heaven, she texted him. No more pain. No more bad thoughts and worries. Youll be free. Two years earlier, the defense argued, Carter had been urging Roy to get psychiatric help and begging him not to kill himself. You have so much to live for please dont, she wrote to him on Facebook in 2012. Defense attorney Joseph Cataldo argued, Conrad Roy was on this path to take his own life for years, he said. It was Conrad Roys idea to take his own life. It was not Michelle Carters idea. This was a suicide, a sad and tragic suicide, but not a homicide. Prosecutors portrayed Carter as a manipulative and attention-hungry girlfriend who thought Roys suicide would cast her in the role of the grieving girlfriend and enhance her social status at high school. The defendant needed something to get their attention, Assistant Dist. Atty. Maryclare Flynn said during the trials opening statements. She used Conrad as a pawn in her sick game of life and death. Although testimony about the secret life of teenagers made for compelling and at times salacious listening, the underlying legal issues have implications for future cases about free speech and assisted suicide. Unlike 40 other states, Massachusetts has no law against assisted suicide, and the prosecution appeared to go beyond the scope of the existing law, said Sharon Beckman, a law professor at Boston College. Before this case, the law says that a person is responsible for their own suicide, Beckman said. That is the default common law and applies no matter what the other person said or whether they handed them the weapon. The novelty of the case also lies in the fact that the defendant rarely saw the deceased and that most of their relationship had taken place in cyberspace. Back years ago, in order to have a relationship you had to actually see somebody or at a minimum talk on the phone, one of the prosecutors, Katie Rayburn, said during her closing argument. That is no longer required. People fall in love via the Internet and via text. People bully via text and the Internet. You can encourage someone to die via text, and you can commit a crime via text. In a Massachusetts Supreme Court decision last July upholding the states right to try Carter, the court ruled that she was virtually present when Roy died. Elsewhere, prosecutors have stumbled trying to bring convictions over suicides. Dharun Ravi, a Rutgers student, was convicted of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and other crimes in 2012 after the suicide of his roommate whom he had recorded in a romantic encounter with another man. The case was thrown out on appeal, and he pleaded guilty to lesser charges. In the case of a Missouri mother, Lori Drew, who set up a fake MySpace account that bullied a girl who later committed suicide, prosecutors decided not to bring charges against her in connection with the death. A 2008 conviction for computer fraud was later thrown out. To read the article in Spanish, click here barbara.demick@latimes.com Twitter: @BarbaraDemick ALSO Polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs captured after being on the run for a year Virginia gunman hated Republicans, and was always in his own little world Trump administration will press Central American countries and Mexico to keep their people at home In a decision the Standing Rock Sioux and its supporters lauded as a potential turning point, a federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to conduct additional environmental reviews of the Dakota Access pipeline, renewing the possibility the line could be shuttered at a later date. The ruling is the latest in the back-and-forth legal battles between the Native American tribe and the federal government over the 1,170-mile pipeline that stretches from the Dakotas to Patoka, Ill., and began transporting crude oil this spring. Last year, the Obama administration blocked the completion of the pipeline, but the move was short-lived. In January, President Trump, a staunch supporter of the pipeline, which can carry up to 520,000 barrels of oil a day, signed an executive order giving the green light for its completion. Advertisement For much of the last year, debate over the pipeline triggered massive and prolonged protests and clashes with police in Cannon Ball, N.D., where the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is located. This week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that although the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers substantially complied with federal laws in its mandated environmental reviews of the pipeline, it did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipelines effects are likely to be highly controversial. To remedy those violations, Boasberg wrote in his ruling released Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers must do additional environmental analyses. Even so, Boasbergs ruling, a voluminous 91 pages, stopped short of shutting off the pipeline. Whether Dakota Access must cease pipeline operations presents a separate question of the appropriate remedy, which will be the subject of further briefing, Boasberg wrote. A follow-up hearing is scheduled for later this month. In a statement, Energy Transfer Partners, which oversees the pipeline, called the ruling a limited remand and highlighted that it did not interfere with pipeline operations. Yet Boasbergs decision quickly won praise from the Standing Rock Sioux. The previous administration painstakingly considered the impacts of this pipeline, and President Trump hastily dismissed these careful environmental considerations in favor of political and personal interests, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II said in a statement Wednesday. We applaud the courts for protecting our laws and regulations from undue political influence and will ask the court to shut down pipeline operations immediately. During its last days, the Obama administration denied a permit for the final phase of construction of the pipeline. Trump quickly reversed the move after he entered the White House, signing an order that gave the go-ahead to a final easement, which allowed construction of the pipeline to be completed across Army Corps of Engineers land and a dammed section of the Missouri River. (In a separate executive order, Trump also made it easier for TransCanada to construct the Keystone XL pipeline, which also had stalled under the Obama administration.) In a barrage of court filings, members of the Standing Rock Sioux have argued the Dakota Access pipeline positioned nearly half a mile from the reservation places its water supply in the Missouri River and surrounding areas at risk of contamination. In a show of support, thousands of environmental activists from around the country traveled to North Dakota to demonstrate against the pipelines construction. In February, those campsites were cleared as construction forged ahead. This decision marks an important turning point, said Jan Hasselman, an attorney with Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law group that is working with the tribe. The federal courts have stepped in where our political systems have failed to protect the rights of Native communities. Still, while Boasbergs decision was viewed as a positive to tribal leaders and environmentalists, he has not always ruled favorably for their cause. In March, he denied a request by the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe to halt construction on grounds that the pipeline violated its members religious freedom. The tribe had claimed that the pipeline was a terrible Black Snake prophesied to come into the Lakota homeland and cause destruction by desecrating water used in religious ceremonies. Both the Cheyenne River Sioux and the Standing Rock Sioux reservations border Lake Oahe, the dammed section of the Missouri River in North Dakota where the pipeline was completed. kurtis.lee@latimes.com Twitter: @kurtisalee ALSO Jury in Bill Cosby sexual assault trial says it is deadlocked After a day on message, Trump slips back into old habits Can words kill? Michelle Carter on trial for urging her 18-year-old boyfriend to kill himself UPDATES: 4:35 p.m.: The story was updated with a comment from Energy Transfer Partners. The story was originally published at 3:30 p.m. Egyptian parliament member and Wafd Party spokesperson Mohamed Fouad resigned from parliament on Thursday in protest over what he says was MPs opposed to the Tiran and Sanafir deal not being allowed to properly present their viewpoint on the agreement. Fouad said that his resignation comes in protest of the undermining of his legislative role as a member of the parliament, which is granted to him by the country's constitution. "The general session [where the vote took place] was managed in a selective way that did not allow opponents of the deal to express their opinion or fairly present their point of view," the MP said in his resignation letter. Fouad added that he had been repeatedly ignored when he attempted to present for discussion in parliament several issues that affect the lives of citizens and the state, even though he had followed all legal requirements for his proposed topics to be discussed in parliament. Following a series of parliamentary hearings this week, the Egyptian parliament approved on Wednesday a maritime border demarcation deal that places the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, currently under Egyptian control, in Saudi Arabia's territorial waters. The special counsel appointed to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 presidential campaign is now examining whether President Trump tried to obstruct justice, the Washington Post reported Wednesday evening. Accusations of obstruction arose last month when Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey. Comey testified in a Senate hearing last week that he believed he was fired because of the Russia investigation. Comey also testified he had told Trump he was not under investigation. Advertisement The Post and the New York Times both reported that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III was seeking interviews with three Trump administration officials who werent involved in Trumps campaign: Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Michael S. Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former NSA deputy director. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trumps personal lawyer, responded Wednesday evening to the Post report by saying: The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal. The Post report cited anonymous sources who were briefed on requests made by investigators. It was not known whether the FBI was the source of the information. Mueller, a former director of the FBI, met Wednesday with the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee in an effort to ensure their investigations dont conflict. The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee said in a statement issued Wednesday that they look forward to future engagements with Mueller. Committee Chairman Sen. Richard M. Burr (R-N.C.) and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), the panels top Democrat, didnt provide any other details regarding the meeting. An aide familiar with the meeting said it was held to discuss the investigations, including ways that the parallel inquiries dont interfere with one another. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. The meeting comes a day after lawmakers questioned Justice Department officials about the inquiry and Muellers independence, and after a friend of Trump said the White House was considering firing Mueller. Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller last month, testified Tuesday that he had seen no evidence of good cause to fire Mueller. Also Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley said his panel would investigate the removal of Comey and any alleged improper partisan interference in law enforcement investigations. Grassley announced the investigation in a letter to California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panels top Democrat. Grassleys office said the letter is in response to a recent letter from Feinstein requesting that the committee seek details from senior FBI leadership about Comeys interactions with Trump before he was fired. The letter said the investigation would also look into Comeys testimony that Loretta Lynch, as President Obamas attorney general, had directed him to describe an FBI inquiry into Hillary Clintons email practices as merely a matter and to avoid calling it an investigation. Rep. Steve Scalise and three others shot on a Virginia baseball field in apparent act of political violence You and I agree that the American people deserve a full accounting of attempts to meddle in both our democratic processes and the impartial administration of justice.... It is my view that fully investigating the facts, circumstances and rationale for Mr. Comeys removal will provide us the opportunity to do that on a cooperative, bipartisan basis, the letter said. Feinstein has said the Judiciary Committee should investigate but had asked Grassley to keep the investigations separate. Grassley said Comeys dismissal and Comeys testimony on Lynch should be looked at together, noting that Comey took the opportunity in his testimony to clear his own name by denouncing as false the administrations claims that the FBI rank-and-file had lost confidence in Mr. Comeys leadership in the wake of the Clinton email investigation. Ive spent much of the last decade prosecuting or defending people charged with all manner of crimes. And it has always amazed me how often people talk themselves into trouble by trying to talk themselves out of it. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions is a good example. Like a lot of my clients, he talked himself into trouble, then tried to talk himself out of it and could never bring himself to just shut up. Sessions trouble started at his confirmation hearing in January, when Sen. Al Franken asked him what he would do as attorney general if he were to learn that there had been communications between the Trump campaign and Russia? That was a softball. Sessions could have said, Id let the investigation go where the facts lead, and been done with it. Franken wasnt even asking Sessions whether he, Sessions, had had communications with Russians. But Sessions couldnt help himself. He had to blurt out: I have been called a surrogate a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians. Answering a question he wasnt asked, volunteering more information than necessary and saying something provably false to boot? Thats the trifecta of criminal-suspect rookie mistakes. Advertisement I surmise that Sessions was feeling invincible at his confirmation hearing, flush with the glow of his new appointment. You even see a little grin pop up on his face when you watch the video. But not after that answer. Sessions knew hed stepped in it. You can see it in his sideways glances and bulging eyes immediately after he uttered the words. Sessions knew hed stepped in it. You can see it in his sideways glances and bulging eyes immediately after he uttered the words. So there he was again this week, back before his old colleagues for a little follow-up testimony. This time he was lawyered up and fully aware that hes not invincible and there are real legal consequences to saying the wrong thing and he still couldnt keep his mouth shut. In a nutshell, Sessions insisted Tuesday that he had done nothing wrong, and readily disclosed facts about White House and Justice Department conversations that buttressed his story. But he adamantly refused to answer questions that might undermine his story questions, for example, about whether administration officials had discussed issuing pardons to any of the targets of the Russia investigation. And he declined to invoke the legal doctrine known as executive privilege, implying that the president ordered him not to: Im not able to invoke executive privilege. Thats the presidents prerogative. Sessions selective disclosures were another classic criminal-suspect rookie mistake. Defendants always want to do this. But when you make selective exculpatory statements within the scope of a privilege, but then try to withhold inculpatory information by invoking that privilege, guess what happens? You lose the whole privilege. Heres the formulation used most often by courts: Disclosure of any significant portion of a confidential communication waives the privilege as to the whole. This is one of many dont get cute rules in criminal procedure. (Another variant: If youre a criminal defendant, you dont have to testify at your trial. But if you do testify, you dont get to take the stand, make a passionate statement accusing the prosecution of scurrilous and detestable lies and then refuse to answer questions on cross-examination.) And Sessions really screwed up. In answer to questions from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, he testified that he had talked with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein about firing James B. Comey as FBI director because the latter made public statements about the Clinton email investigation last July. Yet in practically the same breath, he refused to answer questions about whether hed ever discussed Comey with Trump, or what Trump had said about Comey. The law does not allow him to pick and choose. When your run-of-the mill white-collar perp discloses an email from his attorney in an attempt to blame his crimes on his lawyer the advice of counsel defense he thereby opens the door to all the rest of his legal communications, including the urgent memo that says, in bold-faced type, Dont trade on that proprietary information; it would be illegal. If this administration wanted to take the position that it doesnt have to tell Congress about its high-level internal deliberations, it could have done so. And then, ultimately, when special counsel Robert S. Mueller III started issuing subpoenas for grand jury testimony, the courts would decide the question. (Granted, the administration would likely lose. The governing precedent is United States vs. Nixon, which effectively ended Nixons presidency when the Supreme Court held unanimously that the presidents generalized interest in confidentiality cannot prevail over the fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of criminal justice.) But it appears that Sessions, like his boss, and like so many of us, cant help himself. The basic human urge to talk, burned into our evolutionary forebears around their hunter-gatherer campfires a million years ago on the savannah, or something, is strong. We think we can talk our way out of trouble. And its my job to tell you the cold, hard truth: You cant. Caleb Mason is a partner at Brown White & Osborn LLP in Los Angeles and a former federal prosecutor. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook MORE FROM OPINION Memo to Jeff Sessions: Youre the countrys attorney, not President Trumps The Senate is about to ram through Trumpcare. This is not a drill; its an emergency Jeff Sessions testimony was curiously uncurious about Comeys firing Former FBI Director James B. Comeys open testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last Thursday, broadcast live on national television, reflected well on our democracy. An estimated 19.5 million people watched our government at work. On the same day, Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer told an audience of lawyers, law professors and students that he was not ready to allow the public to watch Supreme Court proceedings because, he said, cameras might change the nature of oral arguments. Breyers views reflect the opinion of all the Supreme Court justices, with the possible exception of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who said during his confirmation hearings in March that he was open to the possibility of cameras in the courtroom. The Supreme Court does not currently allow any of its public oral arguments or decision announcements to be televised, live-streamed, videotaped or photographed. This blackout deprives the American people of something that is rightfully theirs: the ability to observe government officials perform important duties that only a select few can witness in person. Advertisement There may have been a period when cameras in courtrooms presented unknown risks, but that time is long past. Fifty state supreme courts already allow them, including the Texas Supreme Court, which live-streams and archives all of its oral arguments. There may have been a period when cameras in courtrooms presented unknown risks, but that time is long past. Texas Justice Don Willett, who is on President Trumps list of potential Supreme Court nominees, recently told me: My court has been webcasting for a decade. No hiccups. No regrets. No going back. We inhabit a hyper-partisan age, and theres enormous civic-education upside in We the People seeing their judges tackle fateful issues with thoughtfulness and civility. I wouldnt presume to lecture the Supreme Court of the United States, but our experience has been overwhelmingly positive. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals live-streams its arguments, as do other courts of appeals from time to time. Cameras are also allowed in courtrooms in Britain, Canada, Brazil and many other countries. There have been virtually no negative reports or safety issues resulting from this widespread use of cameras in courtrooms. With its long tradition of overruling unconstitutional state and federal laws, the Supreme Court is the most powerful judicial tribunal in the world. If any court should be televised, it is the Supreme Court. There would be many obvious advantages. As Justice Willett pointed out, the American people could watch lawyers and judges respectfully debate contentious legal issues. These arguments would set a wonderful example of how public officials can disagree without undue rancor. Students and teachers of the law in particular should be able to witness the justices historic debates over freedom of speech, freedom of religion, abortion and other legal questions. What a shame that no one will ever be able to watch the justices announce their rulings on same-sex marriage and other momentous decisions. Instead, we must rely on the accounts of a few select journalists. And now there is another compelling reason for the justices to televise their proceedings: The Supreme Court might be hurtling toward a legal showdown with the president. If this happens, the American people should be allowed to watch the landmark case. Citizens might even accept the result more readily if they can observe the arguments and the decision announcement. There are no strong arguments against televising or live-streaming court proceedings. The justices have said that it could lead to misunderstandings about how the court works and enable journalists to take snippets of arguments out of context. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy even hinted that hes afraid his colleagues might grandstand. But media distortion of the proceedings is already a possibility, and when there is debate over what happens inside the court now, there is no visual evidence to consult. In any event, the potential minor risks dont come close to outweighing the certain advantages of transparency. Some judges have voiced fears that televising court proceedings could make them targets of violence from disappointed litigants or the public at large. But there is no evidence to support this concern. Personal information about every judge is already available to the public. Some of the justices go on television voluntarily to promote their books. I asked Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals what he makes of this concern about violence. As far as I am able to determine, there has never been an incidence of violence resulting from such televising, he responded. Yet fear of violence has been a standard excuse for refusing to allow judicial proceedings to be televised. Standard and phony. Many of our countrys most important political debates and decisions take place inside the Supreme Court. We should all be allowed to witness what a few hundred lucky citizens and journalists get to see. Eric J. Segall, a law professor at Georgia State University, is the author of Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court Is Not a Court and Its Justices Are Not Judges. Twitter: @espinsegall. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook To the editor: Your arguments against a new Texas law to require that fetal remains from abortions not be treated as normal medical waste are specious. (Texas anti-abortion forces now want fetuses to be buried or cremated, editorial, June 12) An unborn baby is a human being, not an an orange or a mouse or a tree, and as a human it has whatever rights humans have. The rights are inalienable because they are inherent in human nature, not bestowed by someone else and not dependent upon the stage of development. We accord all humans our respect and treat them with dignity, regardless of age or infirmity, as fellow members of our species. Acknowledging the fact that all humans have dignity has nothing to do do with shaming women who choose to have abortions. That is a total non sequitur. Advertisement Gregory Polito, MD, Whittier .. To the editor: A few years ago, then-Gov. Rick Perry toured California to invite businesses to move to Texas. He touted his state as having low taxes, limited regulations and affordable housing. Members of the Texas Legislature convene for one session every two years, and each time they manage to pass draconian laws restricting abortions rights. Supposedly, it is all done to protect womens health and the dignity of the fetus. But really, it is a war against women. Most women in Texas probably feel these draconian laws do not apply to them, but no one can predict what healthcare she might need and when. As a woman I would never move to Texas or move my daughters or granddaughters. It is a dangerous place for women. Donna Handy, Santa Barbara .. To the editor: To counter claims that a fetus has rights and that abortion is homicide, you say the following: Science and the courts simply dont back up what abortion opponents so fervently preach. A fetus in the first and most of the second trimester cannot survive outside the uterus. In fact, under Roe vs. Wade, legal elective abortions are not performed on fetuses that are viable. Clearly you mean that viability is the point at which a fetus acquires rights and abortion becomes homicide. Thanks to modern medicine, fetuses that were not viable 20 years ago may be viable today, and its likely that medical science and technology will continue to advance. So, does what is human depend on the state of medical technology when a pregnancy occurs? Tim Powers, San Bernardino .. To the editor: I used to do what they called clinic defense for the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League, and I think its fair to say that Texas legislators are being mawkish. If not, then they need to learn calculus, because I think it can be used to reasonably argue that human life does not begin instantaneously. Assuming the state of Texas is willing to pay for the burials it would require were its action to pass constitutional muster, would it then go on to require that a womans menses be submitted to the government for inspection? I ask with the sincerest respect for those who have lost their babies to miscarriage when they wanted to see their pregnancies to term. Ronald Webster, Long Beach Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Gov. Jerry Brown doubles down on California measure changing recall process, calling it eminently reasonable By Christine Mai-Duc State Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Compton), left, and Gov. Jerry Brown talk about funding for projects under the state transportation bill, SB1, at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson. (Christian K. Lee/ Los Angeles Times) The partisan volleys have continued this week in the effort to recall state Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) over his vote to pass an increase in the gas tax. Those seeking to recall Newman submitted more than enough signatures needed to qualify the measure for the ballot, if theyre all deemed valid. Newman supporters looking to halt the recall filed a lawsuit Thursday, claiming signature gatherers had misled voters. And Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that makes changes to long-standing recall rules, an effort that Republicans have decried as an attempt by Democrats to rig the system to protect one of their own. Brown seemed to double down on that measure Friday at a press conference at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where he discussed the new gas tax, calling the new recall process eminently reasonable. The measure allows voters up to 30 days to remove their signature from a recall petition and creates a new process to review costs associated with a recall election. Brown said the bill provides an opportunity for people who have been hoodwinked to change their mind. Its all about truth and giving people the opportunity to make sure that their vote and their signature is knowingly given, Brown. The only people who would be against that are people who wanted to fool people and dont want to test it in court or in the light of day. .@JerryBrownGov responds to GOP criticism of budget trailer he signed that could make Newman recall harder. Calls it "eminently reasonable." pic.twitter.com/hSsmIPiHtP Christine Mai-Duc (@cmaiduc) June 30, 2017 Browns comments came after a roundtable discussion in which he and state Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Compton) spoke about the importance of directing transportation dollars raised by the gas tax increase to businesses owned by women, minorities and people who are disabled. Brown cast it as part of a larger question of equality and opportunity in America. But the discussion took place even as Brown mused about efforts to repeal the controversial tax package, which is expected to raise $52 billion over 10 years for road repairs and other transportation projects. If people want to not fund the roads, then they can put something on the ballot and maybe change things, Brown said. But I think most people in California want to fix the roads. Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach), who is running for governor, has filed a ballot measure to repeal the gas tax. Brown dismissed a recent poll by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, which said that a majority of registered voters oppose the gas tax increases Brown and legislators recently approved. That was a poll that said, Do you want to raise a tax? Brown said. Of course people are going to say no. Brown added that when voters are given concrete situations like education and roads, theyre more likely to support tax increases. I think Californians are always leery of taxes. Im leery of taxes, Brown said. You want to drive around on gravel roads? Ive got a gravel road out in front of my house in the country. Its not bad. But I dont think thats what people want. I think they want real, paved roads and to have paved roads youve got to spend real money. Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer says he wont run for governor, dashing hopes of GOP leaders By Phil Willon San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer speaks during a news conference about the San Diego Chargers in 2015. (Gregory Bull / AP) Republican San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who has been lobbied intensely by GOP leaders to run for California governor, on Friday rejected the idea and vowed to serve out his second term at city hall. Both House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) and state Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte had urged Faulconer to run. A fiscal conservative and social moderate who has demonstrated crossover appeal by winning over Democrats, Faulconer has been seen as the GOPs strongest potential gubernatorial candidate, and one who could help Republicans in down-ballot races if he was at the top of the ticket in 2018. But Falconer nixed the idea of a gubernatorial bid in a Facebook post Friday afternoon, saying he was deeply honored by so many encouraging him to run. Its a testament to the people of San Diego, and the progress weve made to create a fiscally responsible, prosperous city that is moving in the right direction. I made a pledge last year to serve out my second term as mayor, and thats exactly what Im going to do, Faulconer said in the post. He was facing pressure to enter the race and GOP insiders who were familiar with his thinking believed he was leaning toward running. Faulconer ultimately decided not to run because he did not see a certain path to victory, according to a top state party official who did not want to be identified because they were not authorized to speak for the San Diego mayor. The last time a GOP candidate won a statewide race was in 2006. The governors race already has attracted a handful of Republican candidates, but none with Faulconers political stature. They include conservative Orange County Assemblyman Travis Allen and Rancho Santa Fe venture capitalist John Cox. Speculation is mounting that former state Assemblyman David Hadley plans to announce a run. The Democratic heavyweights in the race include Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang. A strong GOP top-of-the-ticket candidate would be expected to increase Republican turnout next fall. Faulconers decision not to run could impact some hotly contested congressional races in California, and potentially affect Republican efforts to retain control of the House of Representatives. If a Republican gubernatorial candidate fails to make the general election, creating a Democrat-on-Democrat race in November 2018, that could depress GOP turnout and affect those targeted congressional races. It leaves the Republicans without an obvious front-runner that the donors would have confidence in, said GOP strategist Rob Stutzman, who previously advised former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and 2010 GOP nominee Meg Whitman. But it still depends on the nature of the race next November. Its too early to say. Update 4:21 p.m.: This story was updated with reaction about Faulconers decision and more information about the 2018 election. This story was originally published at 3:30 p.m. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Assembly Democrats denounce threats made after single-payer healthcare bill was sidelined Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom blasts National Rifle Assn. recruitment video, saying it could lead to violence By Seema Mehta (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom called on the National Rifle Assn. to take down a controversial new video that he argued villanizes political rivals and could lead to violence. Come after politicians. Come after policy makers. Come after ME, Newsom wrote on his Facebook page Thursday. But do not implicitly call for demonstrations of force against your fellow Americans in a country that is already reeling. You are powerful. People are listening to you. And your message could lead to tragedy. The NRA video, which urges people to join the organization, was posted earlier this month and features conservative commentator Dana Loesch talking about political rivals who she argues use the media, schools and Hollywood for sinister purposes. The video features footage of police clashing with protesters and a bloodied Trump supporter, and flashes images such as the Hollywood sign, Disney Hall and the Los Angeles Times building as Loesch repeatedly invokes an unnamed opponent she refers to as they. Loeschs concluding remarks in the minute-long video have drawn the most ire. The only way we stop this, the only way we save our country and our freedom, is to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth, Loesch said. Im the National Rifle Assn. of America, and Im freedoms safest place. Newsom is a longtime foe of the NRA. He was a primary sponsor of Proposition 63, a ballot measure voters approved in November that requires background checks to purchase ammunition, bans possession of high-capacity magazines and other gun-safety efforts. On Thursday, the NRA claimed victory when a federal judge, at their attorneys request, granted a preliminary injunction blocking a related law that would have required Californians to get rid of large-capacity magazines by Saturday or face fines and potential jail time. Newsom, the states lieutenant governor, wrote that he felt a chill down my spine when he watched the video. He said while he and the NRA have long disagreed, the video crosses the line of appropriate political debate. He described it as dangerous because it tells viewers that our fellow Americans are to be feared and even worse. How does this video advance debate? How does it bring people together for common ideals? How does it do anything but cast Americans as enemies to be defeated in a cynical ploy to sell as many weapons as possible? he wrote. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Tired of exporting campaign cash, these politicos are putting California first By Mark Z. Barabak Air Force One leaves California after another fundraising foray. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) California feeds the world with its bounty, fuels the economy with its innovation, fires the imagination with its creativity. There is one export, though, that is far less celebrated: the unceasing torrent of outbound campaign cash. For political fundraisers, California has long been the Big Rock Candy Mountain, excavated, mined and, ultimately, shafted by candidates of both parties who use the boodle to run for president in Iowa or New Hampshire, or Congress in East Podunk. Now, Democratic efforts are underway to put California first, directing more campaign cash from whence it came by focusing on seven targeted House districts in the Central Valley and southern part of the state. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Federal judge blocks California gun law By Patrick McGreevy A handgun is displayed with 10- and 15-shot magazines. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A federal judge Thursday granted a request by attorneys for the National Rifle Assn. to block a law that requires Californians to dispose of large-capacity ammunition magazines by Saturday or face fines and possible jail time. U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez wrote in San Diego that the rights of voters who approved Proposition 63 in November have to be balanced against the rights of gun owners. If this injunction does not issue, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of otherwise law-abiding citizens will have an untenable choice: become an outlaw or dispossess ones self of lawfully acquired property, Benitez wrote. That is a choice they should not have to make. C.D. Michel, an attorney for the NRA and state gun owners, welcomed the decision, which allows a lawsuit to be decided on its merits before the law takes effect. My clients are pleased the Court affirmed that the Second Amendment is not a second class right, and that law abiding gun owners have a right to choose to have these magazines to help them defend themselves and their families, Michel said in a statement. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Two California Democrats join with House Republicans to vote for Kates Law By Sarah D. Wire There would be tougher penalties for people repeatedly caught crossing the border illegally, and millions of dollars less in federal funds for so-called sanctuary jurisdictions such as Los Angeles under two House immigration bills approved Thursday. Both bills would fulfill President Trumps campaign promises if they became law, but the Senate has killed similar legislation and is unlikely to be able to reach the 60-vote requirement to pass the bills. The House voted 257 to 167, with 24 Democrats crossing party lines, to pass Kates Law, which would create harsher mandatory minimum prison sentences for people who repeatedly enter the U.S. illegally. It is named after Kathryn Steinle, who allegedly was shot and killed in San Francisco in 2015 by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant who had repeatedly entered the country illegally and was released from jail by sheriffs officials despite a request by immigration officials to keep him behind bars. Two California Democrats, Reps. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough and Eric Swalwell of Dublin, joined Republicans in voting for the bill. Swalwell grew up with Steinle and is still in touch with her family, he said. This bill is not perfect, and its shameful that the Republicans did not allow any debate. But it does improve our ability to punish individuals who repeatedly break the law and to deter those who may do so, he Swalwell said in a statement. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Committee unexpectedly opens door to Rep. Barbara Lees push to end military force authorization By Sarah D. Wire (Paul Morigi/Getty Images) In September 2001, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) was the only member of Congress to object to an Authorization for the Use of Military Force, a resolution in response to the terrorist attacks that paved the way for the war in Afghanistan. In the 16 years since, the resolution has been used by President George W. Bush, President Obama and now President Trump as justification for more than 35 military actions in nearly 20 countries around the world -- which means those presidents have not gone back to Congress for new permission to send troops into harms way. On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee opened the door to ending that 2001 authorization when it added Lees amendment to a Defense Department measure. Congress would have 240 days to debate a new authorization. At the end of that time the 2001 authorization would be repealed. Lee has lobbied hard just to get to this first step, which was approved by a voice vote in the Republican led committee. Ive been working on this for years and years and years. Im just really pleased that Republicans and Democrats today really understood what Ive been saying and Ive been explaining for the last 16 years, and that is, this resolution is a blank check for perpetual war, Lee said. Committee members broke into applause after the unexpected vote. Lee said Thursday she plans to personally call Speaker Paul Ryan and make the case for keeping her amendment in the bill when it gets to the House floor. The public wants to see a debate, Lee said. Our young men and women in harms way need to know their Congress is supporting them and backing them up, or not. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Volkswagen submits revised plan for installing charging stations as part of emission-cheating settlement By Chris Megerian (Markus Schreiber / Associated Press) Volkswagen would build more electric vehicle charging stations in disadvantaged communities under an updated plan being submitted to state regulators on Thursday. The companys subsidiary, Electrify America, revised its proposal after an earlier version was rejected as inadequate by the California Air Resources Board. The proposal is the first phase of an $800-million investment in the state, one piece of a much larger settlement over Volkswagens cheating on vehicle emission rules. Although the money is expected to yield hundreds of new charging stations and boost Californias efforts to foster the market for electric cars, its also been a source of controversy. State regulators want 35% of the money to be spent in disadvantaged communities, a target endorsed by the Legislature as well. Electrify America CEO Mark McNabb said, We will strive hard to hit it. The updated plan adds Fresno to the list of metropolitan areas, which already included Los Angeles and Sacramento, where charging stations would be installed. It made sense to get out into the Central Valley, McNabb said. We thought that was an improvement we could make to the plan. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Californias top elections officer to Trumps voting fraud panel: No By John Myers (Dylan Stewart / HS Insider) President Trumps voter fraud commission will not be getting the names and addresses of Californias registered voters. The panels request was denied on Thursday by Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who said it would only legitimize false claims of massive election cheating last fall. Padilla refused to hand over data, including the names, addresses, political party and voting history of Californias 19.4 million voters. Kris Kobach, the secretary of state of Kansas who serves as vice chairman of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, sent letters to all 50 states on Wednesday for information he said would help the group examine rules that either enhance or undermine the American peoples confidence in the integrity of federal elections processes. Padilla, though, suggested the effort is little more than a ruse. I will not provide sensitive voter information to a commission that has already inaccurately passed judgment that millions of Californians voted illegally, he said in a written statement. Californias participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud made by the President, the Vice President, and Mr. Kobach. Last November, Trump tweeted that California was one of three states where serious voter fraud took place in the general election. No state or local elections official has found any evidence to back up the presidents assertion. Kobachs request says the panel seeks only publicly available information. Basic information about California voters is routinely shared with journalists, political campaigns and researchers after a written request and payment of a fee. The letter asks for data including information regarding any felony convictions, information regarding voter registration in another state, information regarding military status, and overseas citizen information. Padilla also criticized the selection of Kobach to help lead Trumps commission, accusing the Kansas official of past efforts at racial profiling and suppressing voter turnout. His role as vice chair is proof that the ultimate goal of the commission is to enact policies that will result in the disenfranchisement of American citizens, Padilla said. The presidential commissions first meeting is scheduled for July 19. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Supporters of state Sen. Josh Newman sue to stop effort to recall him, alleging voters have been misled By Patrick McGreevy Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) faces a recall. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Supporters of state Sen. Josh Newman filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to stop a recall campaign against the lawmaker, alleging that signature gatherers have misled voters and the petition contains false information. The Democratic legislator from Fullerton faces a recall funded by the California Republican Party for voting with other lawmakers to increase the states gas tax and vehicle fees to raise $5.2 billion annually for road repairs. On Tuesday, the state party announced it had submitted 84,988 signatures to election officials, some 20,000 more signatures than would be needed if officials determine they are valid. The lawsuit against Secretary of State Alex Padilla was filed in Sacramento Superior Court by three residents of Newmans Senate district and paid for by the campaign against the recall. It alleges that signature gatherers misled voters to sign the petitions by saying they would repeal the car tax. The petition gathering campaign has misrepresented the nature of the petition by informing voters that it will Stop the Gas Tax when it will not, the lawsuit says. These statements are intentionally misleading statements of fact that are false beyond dispute and mislead voters The legal complaint, which also names several signature gatherers, alleges that the notice of intent to file the petition is inaccurate in saying that the tax bill provides billions of dollars for mass transit in Northern California without Newmans district benefiting from the revenue. The bill itself does not earmark where money will go, but the intent of lawmakers was that Newmans district would benefit, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit asks that the circulation of the petition be stopped and the recall effort, using the petition as drafted, be halted. This suit is about nothing less than the integrity of our election process; a recall election simply should not be certified when signatures were gathered based on lies to voters, said James Harrison, an attorney who filed the lawsuit. Former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, an organizer of the recall, said the lawsuit is without merit. Josh Newman refuses to accept accountability for his disastrous vote to raise the car and gas tax and instead has chosen to blame others for the recall against him with lies and frivolous lawsuits, DeMaio said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print State to pay $2.9 million to three men wrongfully convicted in Los Angeles cases By Patrick McGreevy Kash Delano Register outside a Los Angeles restaurant in November 2013 after his release from prison. (Christina House / For The Times) The state Senate has approved payment of $2.96 million to settle three claims by men who were wrongly convicted for crimes in Los Angeles and served time in prison before they were exonerated. The approval of the payments, amounting to $140 for each day served behind bars, next goes to Gov. Jerry Brown. The largest payment $1.7 million goes to Kash Delano Register, who said he was wrongfully convicted of a 1979 murder because of a flawed LAPD investigation. He served 34 years in prison. In 2013, the Los Angeles County Superior Court ordered that Register be released from prison after it found he had been denied due process of law and a fair trial because material exculpatory information and evidence was not disclosed. The court acted after lawyers and students from Loyola Law School cast doubt on the testimony of a key prosecution witness. The Los Angeles County district attorneys office later dismissed the charges, and Register was found by the court to be factually innocent. The Senate payment for 12,427 days served in custody is in addition to a $16.7-million settlement paid to Register by the city of Los Angeles. The Senate also voted Thursday to pay $886,760 to Luis Vargas, who spent more than 17 years in custody before a court ruled him factually innocent of a 1998 rape. In 2012, DNA evidence from one of the victims showed that a suspect known as the Teardrop Rapist, not Vargas, was the perpetrator of the rape. The third payment, $340,620, goes to Reggie Cole, who was found factually innocent after serving time in prison for the shooting death of a man outside a South Los Angeles house of prostitution in 1995. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Public affairs strategist Fiona Hutton hosts fundraiser for Antonio Villaraigosa By Phil Willon Antonio Villaraigosa in July (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles public affairs strategist Fiona Hutton is hosting a San Fernando Valley fundraiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa in July. Hutton, who has worked on a number of statewide campaigns, also raised money for Villaraigosa during his successful campaign for mayor of Los Angeles in 2005. The July 25 fundraiser is being held at Huttons office in Studio City. Tickets run $1,000 apiece. To be a co-host, itll cost $10,000. Along with serving as president of her company, Fiona Hutton & Associates, Hutton sits on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California joins other states asking the Trump administration for information on how its enforcing immigration law By Patrick McGreevy Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra wants more information on federal enforcement of immigration laws. ( Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) A group of nine state attorneys general, including California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday seeking records that would clarify how the Trump administration is enforcing federal immigration law. The request seeks the number of immigration detentions, deportations and detainer requests, and the rationale for each, as well as clarifying information on whether Trump is following through on comments that he will not target young people who were brought to the country illegally by their parents. The attorneys general also want to know whether immigrants in the country illegally have been detained at schools, hospitals and places of worship, which the state officials feel should be off-limits for enforcement. Mixed messages from the Trump Administration on immigration enforcement are sowing confusion and increasing anxiety among immigrants, Becerra said in a statement. Today we ask the Administration to tell us what it is doing in this area. The data could be used in a barrage of legal challenges the states have filed against federal immigration policies. Becerra noted that immigration-related arrests have increased nearly 40% since Trump became president, and there is concern that some of the arrests have included young people who were given a deferral from deportation under the Obama administration. The Presidents Executive Orders, and the steps taken by the Department of Homeland Security to implement those orders, have generated new fears and uncertainties in immigrant communities across the country, the attorneys general wrote in the request for information. The other states represented in the request are New York, Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon and Hawaii. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print This is why Californias Legislature cant fix the states housing problems By Liam Dillon An apartment complex in Hollywood (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) For 50 years, California has had a law that aims to encourage developers to build housing. But the law has failed at helping stem the statewide shortage of homes that drives Californias affordability problems. The reason? The law requires cities and counties to produce prodigious reports to plan for housing but it doesnt hold them accountable for any resulting home building. Cities and counties resent the law. To avoid complying, theyve asked the state to let prison beds count toward their low-income housing goals, among other things. And despite knowing about the laws weaknesses for decades, state lawmakers have provided no incentive, such as a greater share of tax dollars, for cities and counties to meet their housing goals. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Californias attorney general joins the fight against President Trumps sanctuary city order By Patrick McGreevy Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra led a group of 10 states Wednesday in filing an court brief supporting San Francisco and other California communities that challenged President Trumps executive order to withhold federal funds from sanctuary jurisdictions. After the local governments won a preliminary injunction against the order, the Trump administration asked the courts to dismiss the cities lawsuit. The brief filed by Becerra argues that public safety is improved when local law enforcement agencies focus on crime prevention instead of helping federal authorities enforce immigration laws. The Trump Administration does not have the right to coerce states, counties or municipalities to do the federal governments job, Becerra said in a statement. Californias state and local law enforcement officials are in the business of public safety, not of deportation. Threatening public safety funding to compel localities to do immigration work is a dangerous game that undermines public safety. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement California Supreme Court leaves in place decision upholding cap-and-trade system By Chris Megerian Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the Air Resources Board, oversees the cap-and-trade program. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) After more than four years, a legal challenge to Californias cap-and-trade program has reached an unsuccessful conclusion. The end came on Wednesday when the California Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal from business groups who consider the program to be an unconstitutional tax. The program requires companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gases, a system intended to provide a financial incentive to reduce emissions. The law that provided the programs foundation was not passed with a two-thirds vote in the Legislature, the legal threshold for new taxes, sparking lawsuits from the California Chamber of Commerce and the Pacific Legal Foundation. A state appeals court rejected their arguments in April, but they appealed. Business groups were also concerned the decision was too broad and could open the door to additional taxes. Despite the states victory in court, there are other legal questions around cap and trade. Gov. Jerry Brown is pushing lawmakers to extend the program past 2020 with new legislation. With this Supreme Court victory, now its up to us to take action extending Californias cap-and-trade system on a more permanent basis, Brown said in a statement. This story has been updated with a statement from the governor. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Rohrabacher on meeting with Manafort while he was a foreign agent: It was a nice little dinner By Sarah D. Wire (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) When former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort belatedly filed as a foreign agent on behalf of a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party this week, he listed a meeting with just one U.S. politician Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach. Manaforts years-late filing with the Justice Department details $17 million in political consulting work he did between 2012 and 2014 for the Party of Regions, a Ukrainian party considered friendly with the Kremlin. Rohrabacher told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that the March 2013 meeting happened over dinner at the Capitol Hill Club, a popular Washington Republican social club. He said Manafort billed it as a chance to get reacquainted decades after they worked together in the 1970s on President Reagans campaign. Still, he assumed Manafort had an agenda. I assume when old friends call me up and are wanting to get reacquainted and stuff I always assume they are in some way under contract with somebody, Rohrabacher said. Rohrabacher, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, has long been known for encouraging improved relations with Russia, something thats made him an outlier in the Republican Party. He said Russia and the Baltic states probably came up during dinner, but it wasnt the focus of their conversation. We discussed a myriad of things, a lot of personal stuff, a lot of different analysis of the politics of the day, Rohrabacher said. It was a nice little dinner. Three days later, Manafort contributed $1,000 to Rohrabachers reelection campaign. Manaforts modest donation didnt stand out, Rohrabacher said. Ongoing FBI and congressional investigations into Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 election, and how the Trump campaign may have been involved, have heightened interest in any connections American politicians may have had with the Russian government or its proxies. Rohrabachers opponents immediately began fundraising off the revelation that Manafort met with the congressman while serving as a foreign agent. Democrat Harley Rouda, whos running for Rohrabachers seat in 2018, called it embarrassing in a solicitation email Tuesday. We need someone who cares more about Orange County and America than supporting Russia and Putin, Roudas email stated. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democrats block Republican legislators proposal for forensic audit of UC Office of President By Patrick McGreevy Two months after a state audit found mismanagement at the University of California, Democratic state lawmakers on Wednesday blocked a Republican legislators proposal to have auditors go back in and look deeper at spending, this time with an eye for possible criminal activity. Assemblyman Dante Acosta (R-Santa Clarita) said the follow-up examination was justified after an audit in April found the UC Office of the President had failed to disclose a $175-million budget surplus to the Board of Regents and the public, was paying excessive salaries and expenses and had inadequate financial safeguards in place to prevent abuse. The lack of controls, the audit concluded, was putting millions of dollars at risk of abuse. I am fighting to return trust in the institution of the UC Office of the President for students, parents, faculty and staff, Acosta said. Only complete transparency can accomplish that goal. However, no Democratic lawmakers on the Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted to authorize a new audit, so the motion failed. Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) said the university administration should be given time to address the recommendations of its recent audit. I believe this request is premature, he said. State Auditor Elaine Howle said Wednesday in response to a legislators question that she did not find any evidence of misuse of funds. We didnt see anything nefarious, Howle told the panel. UC President Janet Napolitano said funds were not hidden, but she has agreed to adopt policies to make the budget process more transparent. Monica Lozano, chairwoman of the UC Board of Regents, told the legislative committee Wednesday that a new audit is unnecessary and may interfere with the systems implementation of recommendations from the last audit, including the hiring of an accountant to look at UC spending. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Single-payer healthcare advocates protest at Capitol with a message for Californias Assembly speaker: Shame on you! By Melanie Mason View Twitter post Backers of a measure to establish a single-payer healthcare system in California rallied at the Capitol on Wednesday to renounce Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), who shelved the bill last week. Several hundred demonstrators, many affiliated with the California Nurses Assn., the legislations sponsor, convened in the Capitol rotunda, where they unfurled a banner that blared Inaction = Death, before handing off signs with written complaints to a member of Rendons staff. The rally, on the heels of a smaller demonstration at Rendons district office on Tuesday, is a sign of how single-payer backers continue to seethe after the bill, SB 562, stalled on Friday. Patty Estefes, a retired nurse from San Jose, said the campaign for single-payer heathcare, in which the government would cover all residents healthcare costs, was her passion. Rendon sabotaged SB 562 and we want to take the knife out, said Estefes, explaining her sign, which had an image of the California grizzly bear stabbed in the back with a blade labeled Rendon. The image has become popular among supporters of the bill, although other Democrats have said the violence of the image makes them uneasy. View Twitter post A depiction of violence in any form is unacceptable and inappropriate. #StandwithRendon #StrongerTogether #DeathThreatsUnacceptable pic.twitter.com/KLF8nNvxdZ Rudy Salas Jr (@rudysalasjr) June 27, 2017 Meanwhile, another union leader, Robbie Hunter of the powerful State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, chimed in Wednesday with support for the state Assembly speaker. Working people have real fights, and they are not with a labor champion like Anthony Rendon, said Hunter, who denounced the criticism from single-payer advocates as unfair and unwarranted attacks. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Garcetti and Schwarzenegger urge cities and states to lead fight against climate change in Trump era By Michael Finnegan Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday called on cities and states to lead the nations fight against global warming as the federal government begins to reverse its climate change policies. The Republican former film star who signed a landmark 2006 law to reduce Californias carbon emissions and the Democratic mayor spoke out against President Trumps denial of climate science at a forum at Creative Artists Agency in Century City. Both argued that steps taken by cities and states to promote renewable energy could largely make up for the Trump administrations withdrawal from the worldwide Paris agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California voters could decide in 2020 whether to remove mandatory punishment for falsifying U.S. citizenship records By Jazmine Ulloa A proposed California law would let state voters decide in November 2020 whether to remove the mandatory punishment for a person who falsifies citizenship documents. The legislation by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) would make the crime a wobbler, meaning prosecutors would have the discretion to charge suspects in such cases with either felony offenses or lower-level misdemeanors. That, supporters say, would bring the penalties in line with those for similar crimes committed by legal residents who falsify government records, such as drivers licenses. Assembly Bill 222 moved out of the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday with a 5-2 vote along party lines. An amendment added Tuesday places the issue on the ballot in November 2020. Bocangera said the measure was introduced as a response to President Trumps hard-line stance on immigration and would reverse part of Proposition 187, a 1994 California ballot measure to deny public services to immigrants in the country illegally. The bill would repeal provisions in the penal code that require a person to serve an automatic five-year mandatory prison sentence or pay a $75,000 fine if they are convicted on charges of manufacturing, distributing or selling false documents to conceal someone elses citizenship or residency status. It has the support of the Los Angeles County district attorneys office, which says there are far more serious crimes that carry substantially lower penalties. Today, if an underage college student uses a fake ID to purchase a six-pack of beer, he or she can be charged with a misdemeanor, Bocanegra said in a statement. However, if an immigrant is caught using that same fake ID, he or she is automatically charged with a felony and is subject to five years in prison. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Its all good: Gov. Jerry Brown (again) signs a budget without any vetoed spending By John Myers Gov. Jerry Brown, signs bills in his Capitol office on Oct. 9, 2015. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown holds two unique records when it comes to state budgets. No governor has signed more of them, and none in modern times have been as hesitant to veto items they dont like. In the budget he signed on Monday, Brown made no changes. Its not the first time. This was Browns second consecutive budget in which he took no veto actions, and his third veto-free budget since 1982. Governors have line-item veto power to erase budget expenditures, decisions that arent subject to review by the Legislature. Previous chief executives have used their unilateral power far more often, a way to trim spending from a variety of state budget-related programs. State documents show former Gov. George Deukmejian holds the modern record for the most budget changes, issuing 367 line-item vetoes on July 21, 1983. In total amount of spending, the record belongs to former Gov. Pete Wilson, whose budget vetoes in 1998 added up to more than $1.9 million. Brown also has the distinction of issuing fewer vetoes of stand-alone legislation of any governor in the last half-century, suggesting its a sign of respect for the legislative branch of government. The governors signature on the latest state budget sets in place $183.2-billion in spending, covering a wide range of programs and services while setting aside more in cash reserves than ever before. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Campaign to recall freshman state senator submits more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot By Patrick McGreevy State Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) at the Capitol on April 20. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The campaign against state Sen. Josh Newman has turned in more than enough signatures to force the freshman Democrat from Fullerton into a recall election. Republican Carl DeMaio, a lead organizer of the effort, said the group submitted 84,988 signatures on Tuesday. More signatures are being collected but only 63,500 registered voters in the 29th Senate District are needed to put the recall question on the ballot. It shows that there is an unbelievable grass roots movement to fire Josh Newman for his disasterous vote to support an increase in the gas tax, said DeMaio, a conservative radio talk show host from San Diego. The recall drive was complicated by recently enacted legislation that allows voters to ask that their signatures not be included in the recall petitions if they felt they were misled. Elections officials in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties must now determine whether there are sufficient valid signatures to qualify the recall. Mike Roth, a spokesman for the campaign against the recall, said special interests including Chevron have helped fuel a misleading petition drive. The recall petition is a costly power grab by out-of-district special interests that wont save taxpayers a dime and wont solve any problem voters care about, Roth said. What it will do is cost up to $3 million in tax dollars that would be better spent on our schools and public safety. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print In massive shake-up, Gov. Jerry Brown breaks up Californias scandal-plagued tax collection agency By Patrick McGreevy In a move that triggers the most dramatic shake-up of the California Board of Equalization in its 138-year history, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday that strips the embattled state tax collection agency of most of its powers and duties as officials scramble to create an entirely new department by July 1. The board is the target of an investigation by the state Department of Justice, and its employees and members have been accused by auditors of mismanagement, including putting $350 million in sales taxes in the wrong accounts and improperly interfering with decisions to open field offices and transfer staff. The governor signed a bill that pares the state board from an agency with 4,800 workers to one of 400 employees, shifting the other staff engaged in the collection of sales and excise taxes to a new California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The elected, five-member Board of Equalization will also give up its role hearing taxpayer appeals to a new Office of Tax Appeals, leaving the board to advocate for taxpayers and continue setting rates for gas taxes and pipeline levies, and making sure counties fairly assess property taxes. Anticipating the governors action, officials had already started work to create a new state department by July 1. Its a short period, acknowledged Marybel Batjer, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency, who is coordinating the changes. The new department will be headed by a director appointed by the governor and requiring state Senate approval. Brown will also appoint a chief deputy and chief counsel. The recruitment is underway for those positions, Batjer said, adding that the transition will continue after July 1, obviously. Not every i will be dotted and t crossed between now and July 1. We will do our mighty best to do the most important things before July 1. Learn more on the history of the state board and whats next. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Gov. Jerry Brown approves a $183-billion state budget, though a few details are unfinished By John Myers (Justin Sullivan/Getty) Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed into law a $183.2-billion budget, a spending plan with significant boosts for public schools and a variety of programs to help Californias most needy residents. While the blueprint depends on a series of other related bills that havent reached his desk, Browns action largely ratifies the plan approved by the Legislature and ensures the state will have a budget in place for the new fiscal year that begins Saturday. This budget provides money to repair our roads and bridges, pay down debt, invest in schools, fund the earned income tax credit and provide Medi-Cal health care for millions of Californians, Brown said in a written statement released by his office. The budget boosts total state and local spending on K-12 education and community colleges to $74.5 billion, roughly $11,000 per pupil in the coming school year. It also increases funding for the University of California and Cal State University systems, and provides additional money for preschool and child care programs. Brown and lawmakers agreed to devote a portion of new tobacco tax dollars to higher payments for doctors and dentists that treat patients in Medi-Cal, the states healthcare program for the poor. Divvying up the dollars generated by last falls Proposition 56 was among one of the most contentious issues during spring budget negotiations. The budget sets aside additional money in the states rainy-day reserve fund, growing the contingency account to $8.5 billion. Brown, who rarely uses his line-item veto power in trimming budgets, left entirely intact the plan ratified by the Legislature on June 15. While the governor signed 15 budget-related bills Tuesday, a handful of other related bills have yet to make their way to his desk. Those include a plan to make an extra $6-billion payment to the California Public Employees Retirement System, or CalPERS, borrowing the money from surplus state revenues. The plan was approved by the state Senate on Monday. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Gov. Jerry Brown says GOP healthcare bill cuts right into the heart of what is already a divided nation By Sarah D. Wire Californias senators, Kamala Harris, left, and Dianne Feinstein. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) One in three California residents are covered by Medicaid, and California is thought to have the most to lose if Republicans gather enough votes to roll back major aspects of the Affordable Care Act. California would see the nations biggest increase in uninsured people by next year and face a $24-billion budget shortfall by 2026 because of reduced Medicaid funding, Californias Democratic senators and Gov. Jerry Brown warned during a call with reporters on Tuesday. The Californians call was just one of dozens of events House and Senate Democrats held Tuesday to try to stir up anger over the bill. Brown called the bill divisive, saying it puts tax cuts for the wealthy above healthcare for the poor. This is such a political bill, he said. This bill will be the most divisive maneuver, cutting right into the heart of what is already a divided nation. The bill would increase the number of people without health coverage by 22 million and push up medical costs for millions of other poor and sick Americans, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. After pledging to pass the bill this week, Senate Republicans abruptly delayed a vote until after the July Fourth recess. A handful of Republicans have announced they are leery of the bill, saying it either goes too far or doesnt go far enough, and the White House is lobbying them to get on board. Every major medical association has come out against the bill, which was written by a small group of senators behind closed doors. Sen. Kamala Harris said the bill is being rushed to the Senate floor without hearings, debate or much time for senators to review it. Its absolutely wrong, it is harmful and it is unconscionable. The bill would restructure our nations entire health care system, she said. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said its not enough to amend the existing GOP bill, and Congress needs to start over instead. She said 10 or 12 Republican senators need to defect so the bill is not revived after a few changes, as a similar bill was in the House. I am optimistic that it is doable to kill it, Feinstein said. Its the most indefensible bill Ive actually seen in 24 years in the Senate. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print National Republicans target California water needs in new ads against House Democrats By Sarah D. Wire The National Republican Congressional Committee is going after five California Democrats for votes on a water issue. The online ads are identical except for one line tailored to target each Democrat: Reps. John Garamendi of Walnut Grove, Ami Bera of Elk Grove, Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara, Raul Ruiz of Palm Desert and Scott Peters of San Diego. They specifically are about the Democrats voting against a bill to funnel dam permits through a single federal agency in an effort to speed up new water storage projects. Tell Congressman Garamendi to stop letting politics get in the way of our water, one ad says. Sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove), the bill passed the House last week, with a 233-180 largely partisan vote. Democrats need 24 seats to regain control of the House, and are expected to focus their attention in the midterms on tying Republicans to President Trump. Their list of seats they need to flip includes 9 of the 14 California seats held by Republicans. The ads, which will run online for the next week, could be the first glimpse of an NRCC strategy of trying to keep the focus on local issues in the 2018 election. California Democrats want to help radical environmentalists more than their drought-stricken constituents. If Democrats continue to sit on their hands and let this chance to capture much-needed water float on by, the NRCC will hold them accountable, said spokesman Jack Pandol. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Only a few California counties may use the new state law for sending every voter a ballot in the mail By John Myers A broad effort to close thousands of California neighborhood polling places in favor of absentee ballots and multi-purpose vote centers has yet to find traction beyond a handful of counties. Data collected by Secretary of State Alex Padillas office concludes only two counties have a plan in place to implement the sweeping change in state election law enacted last year. As many as 14 counties can do so in 2018, with Los Angeles County and others able to switch to the system in 2020. Change is hard, said Jill LaVine, registrar of voters in Sacramento County, one of the counties that has already approved adoption of the system to swap polling places for a limited number of vote centers offering several different election services. Meanwhile, leaders in the county that has done the most planning to move toward changing its election system -- Orange County -- have rejected the new law for 2018. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Nurses union uses the image of a California bear stabbed in the back after single-payer bill is blocked Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Rep. Grace Napolitano to miss House votes for several weeks while husband receives cancer treatment By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk) will miss House votes while her husband, Frank Napolitano, undergoes chemotherapy and radiation to treat esophageal cancer, her spokesman said. The congresswoman, 80, easily beat out former Democratic state Assemblyman Roger Hernandez of West Covina in the November election. She said in April that she would seek reelection in 2018, and her husbands health does not change her plan to seek an 11th term, spokesman Jerry ODonnell said. Napolitano has missed the last two weeks of House votes, though shes working some from the district, and is expected to remain in California for several more weeks to care for her husband during the treatment, ODonnell said. He did not know for sure how long Napolitano would be gone, but it is possible she might make it back for some votes during the seven-week-long treatment, he said. Napolitano said by phone she will try to return if the House votes again on the GOP health care bill. I intend to be back at work soon, Napolitano said. The House leaves Friday for a one-week break and leaves again at the end of July for the August recess. Napolitano suffered a minor stroke in 2016 that affected her ability to write and slightly slowed her walk. For the record, 8:47 a.m.: An earlier version of this post identified the type of cancer Napolitanos husband has as lung cancer. It is esophageal cancer. 8:47 a.m., June 27: This post has been updated with a quote from Napolitano. 2:45 p.m. This post has been updated to correct how many terms the congresswoman has served. 2:26 p.m. This post has been updated with more details about when Napolitano might return. This post was originally published at 2:06 p.m. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print After a career in the majority, Jimmy Gomez prepares for life in the minority in Washington By Sarah D. Wire (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Congressman-elect Jimmy Gomez has spent his entire political career as a member of the majority party. When hes sworn in as central and northeast Los Angeles newest member of Congress in the coming weeks, hell be the most junior Democrat 194th out of 194 in Congress. Hell have to find a path forward in a Congress dominated by the opposing party. Even if Democrats win back control, hell have hundreds of more senior and just as eager colleagues ahead of him in line. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Rep. Maxine Waters focuses on GOP healthcare bill at packed town hall By Andrea Castillo (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) Rep. Maxine Waters, who spoke Saturday at a packed town hall meeting in Gardena, said she worries some Americans will be forced to do what her family did if the Republican healthcare bill passes. Senate Republicans have pledged to pass a bill before the July Fourth holiday. To illustrate why she believes everyone should have access to comprehensive healthcare, the Los Angeles Democrat said she and her 12 siblings never saw a physician or a dentist their entire childhood. I was born at home in St. Louis back in the day when it was hard for minorities to get into hospitals, she said. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print This former Jeff Denham challenger wont run again, but hes launching a committee to elect Democrats By Christine Mai-Duc Two-time congressional challenger Michael Eggman says he wont try for a third campaign against Republican Rep. Jeff Denham (Turlock), but hes hoping to help Democrats running against the him. Eggman, a beekeeper and farmer, announced Monday that hes starting a political action committee to help oust Republicans in seven seats, including Denhams in the Central Valley, which Democrats have targeted for 2018. The committee, Red to Blue California, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission in March but so far hasnt reported raising any money. Andrew Feldman, a spokesman for the PAC, said the group has taken in about $50,000 and its goal is to raise at least $7 million in the 2018 cycle. Eggman will serve as chair of the committee. In a statement, Eggman said that while he lost last year, I learned a heck of a lot on the way. Now as Donald Trump threatens to upend the very fabric of what makes our country great, Im doing my part to join the resistance. In addition to Denhams seat, the committee will target Republican Reps. Steve Knight (Palmdale), David Valadao (Hanford), Ed Royce (Fullerton), Mimi Walters (Irvine), Dana Rohrabacher (Huntington Beach) and Darrell Issa (Vista). All seven were reelected in districts won by Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. The committee also plans to use some of the money to promote down-ballot candidates in each of the districts as a way of building a base of Democratic candidates. Eggman, a beekeeper and farmer who received a rare endorsement from Barack Obama in the Democrats unsuccessful quest to take back the House last year, lost to Denham by 5% in November. Spending in that race topped $14 million. Six Democrats have already filed to run in Denhams 10th Congressional District, including Josh Harder, a venture capital executive whose campaign manager worked for Eggman in 2016. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California Politics Podcast: Theres a powerful new ally of those who support a sanctuary state By John Myers Supporters of an ambitious California effort to limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities begin the week with a prominent new ally. On this weeks California Politics Podcast, we take a look at the impact of Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck endorsing the sanctuary state bill thats now under consideration in Sacramento. We also discuss the decision by Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) to run for governor, and how his conservative politics could have a big effect on how Republican voters view their choices in 2018. Im joined by Times staff writer Melanie Mason and Marisa Lagos of KQED News. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California wont be passing a single-payer healthcare system any time soon the plan is dead for this year By Melanie Mason View Twitter post A high-profile effort to establish a single-payer healthcare system in California sputtered on Friday when Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) decided to shelve the proposal. Rendon announced late Friday afternoon that the bill, SB 562 by state Sens. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), would not advance to a policy hearing in his house, dampening the measures prospect for swift passage this year. SB 562 was sent to the Assembly woefully incomplete, Rendon said in a statement. Even senators who voted for SB 562 noted there are potentially fatal flaws in the bill, including the fact it does not address many serious issues, such as financing, delivery of care, cost controls, or the realities of needed action by the Trump Administration and voters to make SB 562 a genuine piece of legislation. Rendon took pains to note that his action does not kill the bill entirely because it is the first year of a two-year session, it could be revived next year. But the move is nonetheless a major setback for legislation that has electrified the Democratic partys progressive flank. The California Nurses Assn., the bills sponsors and the states most vocal advocates for single-payer, blasted Rendons decision as cowardly. Acting in secret in the interests of the profiteering insurance companies late Friday afternoon abandons all those people already threatened by Congress and the Trump administration, Deborah Burger, the unions co-president, said in a statement. Burger continued: The people of California are counting on the Legislature to protect them now, not sometime next year, and as polls have shown Californians support this proposal by a wide majority. A solution to this health care emergency could be at hand; Speaker Rendon is standing in opposition. In a joint statement, Lara and Atkins, the measures authors, said they were disappointed the robust debate about healthcare for all that started in the California Senate will not continue in the Assembly this year. This issue is not going away, they added. Gov. Jerry Brown, who had signaled wariness about the proposals costs, said in a statement that Rendon made the case that theres clearly more work to do before anyone is in a position to vote on revamping Californias healthcare system. I recognize the tremendous excitement behind the measure, but basic and fundamental questions remain unanswered, Brown said. Updated at 6:44 p.m.: This article was updated with a comment from Gov. Jerry Brown. Updated at 5:38 p.m.: This article was updated to include comments from the California Nurses Assn. and the measures authors. This article was originally published at 4:38 p.m. Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement California politicians are in Dallas despite new ban on state employees traveling to Texas By Patrick McGreevy Sen. Ricardo Lara (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A day after California banned state employees from going to Texas on official business, a group of politicians from the Golden State was in Dallas on Friday for a major conference. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Thursday announced he was prohibiting state employees from traveling at state expense to Texas and three other states that he determined have approved laws that discriminate against gay and transgender people. Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), who is openly gay, is among those attending the annual gathering of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). A spokesman said he is using his own money, not taxpayer funds. Lara voted for the bill that enacted the travel ban. Lara felt participating in a panel discussion on immigration was important amid debate over Gov. Greg Abbotts signage of a controversial immigration law that bans sanctuary cities for immigrants in the country illegally, spokesman Michael Soller said. Texas just passed one of the nations most anti-immigrant laws with Senate Bill 4, and California went down this road with Proposition 187 more than 20 years ago, Lara said in a statement. With LGBT and immigrant rights under assault across the country, I thought it was important to join other Latino leaders and show Californias example. Like Lara, West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tem John Duran made plans to attend the Dallas convention well before Becerra announced the travel ban, which does not apply to non-state employees. Duran is the national chairman of NALEO and said the conference was scheduled for Dallas three years ago. I dont know about the LGBT laws in Texas or AG Becerras call for a boycott -- I am not only LGBT but also Latino, Duran said in an email, adding he is very angry over Texas SB 4, which requires law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials in enforcing immigration laws. I am here supporting my elected official colleagues in Texas from Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas who are joining together to sue the state of Texas, Duran said. Being a Californian who worked against Gov. Pete Wilsons Prop 187 -- I have experiences and strategies to share with them. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Texas responds to California LGBT travel ban, saying Golden State firms fleeing over taxation and regulation By Patrick McGreevy A day after California officials said they are banning state workers from traveling to Texas on official business, an aide to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott returned a verbal volley claiming mistreatment of businesses. On Thursday, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Texas and three other states were being put on a list of states that had adopted laws seen by Becerra as discriminatory to the LGBT community and therefore were off-limits for state-sponsored travel. That drew a response Friday from John Wittman, Abbotts press secretary. California may be able to stop their state employees, but they cant stop all the businesses that are fleeing over taxation and regulation and relocating to Texas, Wittman said. Becerra put Texas on the travel-ban list after the governor signed HB 3859 last week. The new law allows foster care agencies to deny adoptions and services to children and parents based on sincerely held religious beliefs. Becerra said the measure allows agencies to discriminate against children in foster care and potentially disqualify LGBT families from the states foster and adoption system. A spokesman for Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin also criticized California officials. It is fascinating that the very same West Coast liberals who rail against the Presidents executive order, that protects our nation from foreign terrorists, have now contrived their own travel ban aimed at punishing states who dont fall in lockstep with their far-left political ideology, said Woody Maglinger, Bevins press secretary. Updated at 1:35 pm to include comment from Woody Maglinger. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Rep. Tom McClintocks bill to streamline dam permits passes House largely on party lines By Sarah D. Wire Dam permits would be funneled through a single federal agency in an effort to speed up new water storage projects under a bill that passed the House on Thursday. Sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove), the 233-180 vote was largely along partisan lines. Reps. Jim Costa (D-Fresno), Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) and six other Democrats joined with Republicans to pass the bill. McClintock said the various local, state and federal agencies that must sign off on new projects dont have to communicate or set deadlines, and often require redundant information from permit applicants, which can make the application process drag on for years and drive up costs. Dam applications can go on endlessly, McClintock said after the vote. A lot of these projects become cost prohibitive. He pointed to a dam project proposed by the town of Foresthill in his district as an example. Conflicting demands from several federal agencies about a plan to install a spillway gate on the dam at the Sugar Pine Reservoir have driven up the cost, he said. The project application is still under review. So a $2-million project that was a heavy lift for a little community, but within reach, becomes an $11-million cost-prohibitive boondoggle, McClintock said. Under the bill, the Bureau of Reclamation would coordinate with other federal agencies on all aspects of a dam application and set deadlines for deciding whether to approve a project. Democrats who voted against the bill said the bureau would be able to set arbitrary deadlines for the at-times lengthy environmental reviews required for water projects, which could undermine reviews required by laws like the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. Fixing the process isnt just about saving some headaches or a few hours of time. This is about making sure millions of people in California and across America have the water they need and deserve, said Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield). Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) has filed similar legislation in the Senate, and McClintock said he is cautiously optimistic it will pass. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Gov. Jerry Brown says Senate healthcare bill has same stench as House version Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Travis Allen, a conservative and controversial Orange County lawmaker, jumps into California governors race By Phil Willon Conservative Orange County Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) is jumping into Californias 2018 race for governor, a move that could splinter the GOP vote in what promises to be a crowded and competitive race. Travis, elected to the Legislature in 2012, said he decided to run because of the years of wasteful spending and dictatorial policies pushed by Jerry Brown and the Sacramento Democrats. I am running to be the next governor of California to take back our state for the forgotten ordinary citizens of California, who will no longer tolerate the squandering of our incredible natural abundance of people, economy, and resources by limousine liberals beholden to ravenous public sector union bosses and extremist environmentalists, Travis said in a statement announcing his campaign. Outspoken and controversial, Travis has filed a ballot measure to repeal the recently approved gas tax and sponsored legislation requiring voters to show photo ID. Allen has faced criticism for claiming that a new law that barred police from arresting people under 18 for soliciting sex or loitering with intent to commit prostitution was an effort to legalize child prostitution. The purpose of the law was to treat minors as victims of sex trafficking rather than offenders. Allen, 43, worked as a certified financial planner before he ran for the Legislature. His Assembly district includes all or portions of Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Garden Grove. Allen will face stiff competition from fellow Republican John Cox, a Rancho Santa Fe venture capitalist who already has put $3 million of his own money into his campaign. Former GOP Assemblyman David Hadley of Manhattan Beach also is exploring a run, and former Los Angeles Rams football player Rosey Grier announced plans to jump into the race but thus far has not established an official campaign. The race also has attracted a cadre of Democratic heavyweights, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang. Delaine Eastin, a former state legislator and state schools chief, is also running. In California, Democrats hold a 19-percentage point advantage over Republicans in voter registration, a strong head wind against GOP candidates running for statewide office. Because of the large field of Democrats in the race, a Republican could have a good shot of finishing in the top two in the June 2018 primary if they can put together GOP support. But Allens entry into the race could divide Republican voters, reducing the odds of a GOP candidate making it to the November general election. The first- and second-place finishers in the primary advance to the general election regardless of their party. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Coastal panel spawned by 1930s oil scandal now a player in governors race By Michael Finnegan (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) When John Chiang joined the State Lands Commission, it quickly became a platform to showcase his environmental record, starting with his 2007 vote to block construction of a shipping terminal for liquefied natural gas in Ventura County. The commission has served the same purpose for Gavin Newsom, who often uses his seat on the panel to remind Californians that he opposes offshore oil drilling. Now that both Chiang and Newsom are running for governor, they are drawing rare attention to the little-known but powerful State Lands Commission, which oversees 4 million acres of land beneath California waters. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Ballot measure to expand L.A. County Board of Supervisors advances By Patrick McGreevy State Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, wants to expand the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five to seven members. Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press ( Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors would be expanded from five to seven members and an elected chief executive post would be created under a measure recommended Wednesday by a state Senate panel despite opposition from the county. Two members of the countys 2015-16 civil grand jury testified that the group felt the current government is inadequate for a county of more than 10 million residents. They said that if the county was a state, it would be the eighth-largest state in the country based on population. The board is too small to adequately serve the diverse needs of county residents, grand jury member Molly Milligan told the Senate Governance and Finance Committee, before its 5-1 vote to recommend Senate Constitutional Amendment 12. The proposed statewide ballot measure was introduced by Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). The proposal was opposed by Phyllis Marshall, the chief legislative representative for Los Angeles County, who noted that the proposal would allow voters statewide to decide the governance structure for one county. Voters in other counties do not have sufficient knowledge to vote on a constitutional amendment to change the governing structure of Los Angeles County, Marshall told the panel before the measure was sent to another policy panel on its way to a possible full Senate vote. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Kimberly Ellis blames Democratic Party hacks for losses in Tuesdays congressional races By Phil Willon Kimberly Ellis (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Kimberly Ellis, who has challenged the results of the California Democratic Party leadership election she lost, blamed party establishment hacks who are the worst in the biz for losses in congressional races in Georgia and South Carolina on Tuesday. Ellis, a progressive Bay Area Democrat who tapped into a wellspring of disaffected Bernie Sanders backers, on Tuesday night sent a tweet saying that it was time for a new coalition. That drew a sharp rebuke from veteran Democratic operative Bob Mulholland, who has criticized Ellis for not conceding. Ellis blamed her narrow May loss to Eric Bauman for state Democratic Party chairperson on voting irregularities. Ellis, who lost the race by 62 votes,has called on the party to conduct an independent audit of the election. Bauman rejected that request, saying the party already has a process in place to review contested elections. The partys compliance review commission, made up of six members who were appointed during former chairman John Burtons tenure, is currently reviewing the election. On Friday, Bauman announced that the party hired the law firm of Olson Hagel & Fishburn LLC to oversee, advise and counsel the commission during the inquiry. Let's thank Jon Ossoff, his staff and the thousands of volunteers for their effort. Let's ignore Trump and Kimberly Ellis attacks on Ossoff. Bob Mulholland (@Chico_Bob) June 21, 2017 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print These legislators are trying to make sure Jimmy Gomezs replacement in the Assembly is a woman By Christine Mai-Duc As soon as Congressman-elect Jimmy Gomez announced he was running for Congress, his Assembly colleague Cristina Garcia got to work. Garcia, a legislator from Bell Gardens who became chair of the Womens Legislative Caucus in December, called Gomez, other Assembly members, and labor and environmental groups to make it clear: If Gomez won the 34th Congressional District and vacated his Assembly seat, her priority would be electing a woman in his place. With Gomez headed to Washington after his June 6 win, Garcia said its time to put her groups plan into action. Its simple, said Garcia in a recent interview. As long as we dont have parity, were going to fight at every opportunity to try to get another woman in office. Women hold 17 out of 80 seats in the state Assembly and nine of 40 of the state Senate seats. On Wednesday morning, the Democratic arm of the womens legislative caucus announced it was endorsing Wendy Carrillo, a Democrat who ran in the 34th District primary against Gomez, and who is the only woman running to replace him so far. I am impressed by her ongoing activism for environmental justice, womens rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrants and social justice movements that are the bedrocks of a progressive democracy and welcome the tenacity she will bring to further promote these issues in the state Legislature with a womans perspective, Garcia said in a statement. Eight other candidates have filed to run for or have announced campaigns for Gomezs 51st Assembly District. The election date and its accompanying filing deadlines have not yet been set, mainly because Gomez has not stepped down, so another woman could still jump in. But Garcia is hoping her caucus announcement will head that off. If the 34th Congressional District race is going to teach us any lessons, its that we dont have the luxury of having multiple women split the field, Garcia said. More than a dozen women ran in the crowded primary to replace Xavier Becerra in the central Los Angeles District. None of them won more than 10% of the vote. So Garcia and her colleagues havent just been talking about their mission; theyve been trying to shape the field of candidates, too. Garcia said she reached out to former 34th District hopefuls to gauge their interest, solicited names of potential female candidates from interest groups, and had conversations with half a dozen women who were considering jumping in. Garcia said she didnt discourage any women, but was up front with them about the challenges each might face. Shes also encouraged women who expressed interest to work it out among themselves in hopes that they could unite behind one female candidate. Its a somewhat new tactic for the womens caucus, which has struggled to unite on political endorsements in the past and is hoping to flex more muscle in Sacramento. We are being more strategic now, Garcia said. It cant just be like, I like you and you have a great heart. Thats not good enough. You have to put in the work and be able to build a coalition and win. Carrillo said it was unfortunate that none of the women in the 34th District race made it past the primary. But, she added: Men dont get asked the question of whether theyre worried about splitting the vote. The outcome in the congressional primary, Carrillo said, had more to do with a lack of money flowing to many of the womens campaigns, something she hopes to remedy. Ive learned a lot ... [about] just what it takes to build coalitions and how best to move forward in terms of having a strategy to win, Carrillo said. Ultimately, the voters are going to decide based on issues, Carrillo said. I think that I bring a very unique perspective, having grown up in the district, in terms of advocating for labor and for education and for healthcare and all the issues that residents care for. ------------ FOR THE RECORD June 21, 2:53 p.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Cristina Garcia became chair of the Womens Legislative Caucus in January. She took over the position in December. ------------ Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Prompted by San Bernardino shooting, House passes bill to require reports to Congress after terrorist attacks By Sarah D. Wire Evacuated workers pray on the fairway of the San Bernardino Golf Club shortly after the 2015 mass shooting at the nearby Inland Regional Center. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Intelligence agencies would have to make recommendations to Congress on how to stop the next domestic terrorist attack under a bill inspired by the 2015 San Bernardino shooting. The bill, which passed the House on Tuesday without opposition, requires the Homeland Security secretary to submit a report to Congress within one year of a terrorist attack in the U.S. The report, which would be unclassified, must include details of what happened and recommendations for laws or policies that can be changed to prevent a similar attack. It would also include input from the attorney general, FBI director and the head of the National Counterterrorism Center. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), who represents San Bernardino, filed the bill about a year after the Dec. 2, 2015, shooting in which 14 people were killed and 22 were wounded by a married couple at the Inland Regional Center. Aguilar told The Times that individual members of Congress shouldnt have to press agencies for details about what happened after an attack. By nature every terrorist event is unique, and so we need something to prod the agencies to tell us why its unique and what we can do better, Aguilar said. There is no current requirement for the agencies to submit a report to Congress after a terrorist event. We think that it makes sense to do that and that it will help us learn from these events and become smarter about it. After the San Bernardino attack, the Justice Department worked with the Police Foundation, a Washington-based research group, to create a report, but it was aimed at training law enforcement on responding to an attack. We think there are more lessons to be learned, but that only happens when those agencies work with Congress on what we can change, Aguilar said. The bipartisan bill was backed by nine other Californians: Reps. Ken Calvert (R-Corona), Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley), Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), Nanette Barragan (D-San Pedro), David Valadao (R-Hanford), Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), Darrell Issa (R-Vista) and Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine). Aguilar said he is still working to line up a sponsor for the bill in the Senate. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print New super PAC targets seven California Republicans By Phil Willon Former Northern California Rep. Ellen Tauscher has launched a new super PAC targeting seven vulnerable Republicans in the states congressional delegation, hoping to aid the Democratic effort to win control of the House of Representatives in 2018. Each Republican represents a district that backed Hillary Clinton in the November election. On the Fight Back California PACs list are Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock; David Valadao of Hanford; Steve Knight of Palmdale; Ed Royce of Fullerton; Mimi Walters of Irvine; Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach and Darrell Issa of Vista. Of those, the former congresswoman served with Issa, Royce and Rohrabacher. This isnt personal, Tauscher said. But the fact is that Im a Californian, and they dont vote in the interest of my state. Tauscher represented Northern Californias 10th Congressional District for 14 years before becoming undersecretary of State during the Obama administration in 2009. Katie Merrill, the PACs political strategist, said the campaign will target the Republicans records on issues that directly affect voters in the district, such as the GOPs efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. We intend to soften the ground. So when the Democratic nominee emerges ... they are facing a significantly weakened incumbent, Merrill said. Updated at 4:02 p.m.: This story was updated to include a comment from Tauscher. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Overhaul of Californias state tax board plagued by confusion, members say By Patrick McGreevy Board of Equalization Chairwoman Diane Harkey says there is confusion around the reorganization of the board. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times) State tax board members on Tuesday said there remain a lot of unanswered questions about how their agency will transfer many of its duties to two new offices, a reorganization approved last week by the state Legislature in response to problems with the panel. About 4,400 of the state Board of Equalizations 4,800 employees will be transferred to a new California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, which will take over collection of sales and excise taxes, and an office of administrative law judges who will take over taxpayer appeals. The change was outlined by the boards executive director, David Gau, at a meeting with the panel Tuesday. I dont think anything is easy, Board Chairwoman Diane Harkey said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. I think its going to be expensive. There is a lot of confusion. Board member George Runner said there are questions about whether he can continue to hold educational events for taxpayers, while board member Jerome Horton said he wants to know whether he can continue to advocate for taxpayers. There are still some issues they need to work out, Horton said. Harkey said new bills will have to be approved with clarifying language on some issues. For instance, the newly approved legislation takes away the boards power to hear appeals after July 1 even though lawmakers want the board to continue handling the hearings until the new administrative law judges are operating Jan. 1. In addition, the board employs civil service workers who are trained for jobs that will no longer exist with the board, she said, adding that the new department is supposed to begin operating July 1. This is all still in flux. Its a huge step to take in a couple of weeks, Harkey said. Marybel Batjer, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency, has addressed the board employees, assuring them that they will be able to shift to jobs in the new department. She told The Times on Tuesday that planning has already begun for the new department, including the early stages of recruitment of its administrative staff. Meanwhile, board representatives, including Harkey, confirmed that investigators from the state attorney generals office have begun interviewing agency employees after Gov. Jerry Brown called for a probe into whether staff and resources were mishandled by the agency. Were just hearing that they are around, Harkey said of investigators. I think it scares everybody. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Californias Clean Air Act waiver should be yanked, Trumps former environmental advisor says By Chris Megerian (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) The head of President Trumps Environmental Protection Agency may not be prepared to battle California over air regulations, but the man who led Trumps transition team for the department is ready. Myron Ebell, who works at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington and helped devise Trumps environmental agenda, said California should not be allowed to set its own standards for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle tailpipes. The state has that authority under a Clean Air Act waiver granted by President Obama, one of dozens that have been issued over the years. The waiver has to go, in my view, Ebell told journalists on Monday at a training program organized by the National Press Foundation. The problem, he said, is that the California regulations are a backdoor attempt to regulate fuel economy, a power thats reserved for the federal government. California said it would push forward on greenhouse gas rules earlier this year even though the Trump administration has opened the door to rolling them back on the federal level. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had previously suggested that the Trump administration could try to revoke Californias waiver, but during a recent Capitol Hill hearing he said it wasnt currently under review. Ebell has denied mainstream science on global warming. But apart from the waiver he wants to see revoked, he told journalists that he didnt have a problem with California trying to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions. I believe in competitive federalism, he said. The only problem, Ebell said, is whether Gov. Jerry Brown tries to conduct his own foreign policy and sign international treaties. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print A new audit says some California agencies sidestepped competitive bidding rules on contracts By Patrick McGreevy Two California agencies in charge of high-tech projects failed to provide proper oversight for billions of dollars in contracts awarded without competitive bidding, according to a state audit released Tuesday. State law requires the Department of General Services and the California Department of Technology (CDT) to use the competitive bidding process whenever possible to ensure fair competition and eliminate favoritism, fraud, and corruption, State Auditor Elaine Howle wrote in a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown. The investigation examined a sample of those contracts and found nine noncompetitive requests valued at almost $1 billion that agencies likely could have avoided had they engaged in sufficient planning, Howle wrote. The auditors cited approval of a request by the California High-Speed Rail Authority for a $3-million noncompetitive contract amendment to provide financial consulting services. The proposal was submitted 17 days before the existing contract was set to expire. When justifying its noncompetitive request, High-Speed Rail stated that the financial consulting services were critical to its mission and that the vendors skills were specialized and not widely available. However, it did not provide a valid reason why this vendor alone could meet the states needs, as financial consulting services are not unique, the audit found. In all, auditors estimated that the state awarded at least $44 billion in noncompetitive contracts of more than $1 million each during the five fiscal years ending June 30, 2016. The two agencies have the power to enforce contract rules but they rarely employed them, allowing agencies to continue inappropriately using noncompetitive requests, the audit concluded. State workers also allegedly wrote reports in ways that misled about which projects were competitively bid. In one case, a $3-million contract was identified as competitively bid, to which an additional $31 million in noncompetitive contracts was added through nine amendments. Amy Tong, director of the California Deptartment of Technology, agreed with the auditors recommendations, saying the agency believes that the recommendations will strengthen CDTs oversight of information technology and telecommunication procurements, especially those acquired through the noncompetitive request process. Daniel C. Kim, director of the Department of General Services, also agreed to improve the process, writing to auditors that his agency will take appropriate action to address the issues presented in the report. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer has a big decision to make By Phil Willon Tom Steyer at a Los Angeles high school in 2014. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) For months, billionaire Democratic donor and environmental activist Tom Steyer has been acting like a candidate running for governor hobnobbing with Democratic loyalists, putting out a position paper on income inequality and continuing his aggressive efforts to combat climate change. Steyer says hes still considering jumping into the race. But he may have another target on his radar. Steyer has starting mounting his own challenge to President Trump, going so far as to call for impeachment and use his nonprofit, NextGen Climate, to encourage citizens to lobby their congressional representatives for it. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Lobbying firm fined $4,000 for violating gift limit buying dinner for former state Sen. Ronald Calderon By Patrick McGreevy Ron Calderon, shown in while still in the senate in 2014, was treated to a dinner by a lobbying firm that violated a gift limit. ( (Rich Pedroncelli / AP)) Mercury Public Affairs has agreed to pay $4,000 in fines to Californias ethics watchdog agency for violating the $10 gift limit on lobbying firms when it provided dinners worth $200 to former state Sen. Ronald Calderon and his wife. In October, Calderon was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty in a public corruption case unrelated to the Mercury dinner. The fines proposed against Mercury by the enforcement staff of the state Fair Political Practices Commission stem from violating the $10 gift limit and failing to report that Calderons wife also received a dinner, according to the investigative report. Calderon and his wife attended an April 2013 dinner paid for by Mercury at Mastros in Beverly Hills. Also present was former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, a non-lobbyist partner of Mercury, and four other unidentified people. The violation of the state Political Reform Act was found by a random audit by the state Franchise Tax Board. Mercurys $200 gift to Sen. Calderon, while not extravagant, significantly exceeded the gift limit, the investigative report said. A central purpose of the act is to prevent improper influence by lobbyists and the acts strict gift limit on lobbying firms is intended to effectuate that purpose. The commission will vote on the fines on June 29. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California bill aims to revive broadband privacy rules that were killed by Trump and Congress By Melanie Mason A woman works on her laptop in the Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library. ( Mark Lennihan / Associated Press) Several months ago, President Trump signed into law a repeal of sweeping privacy regulations limiting what broadband providers can do with customer data. Now, an Assembly Democrat is trying to resuscitate those rules for Californians. Assemblyman Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park) unveiled a measure on Monday that would largely enshrine the sputtered federal regulations into California state law. The bill would require Internet service providers, such as Verizon, Comcast and AT&T, to get permission from customers before using, selling or permitting access to data about their browsing history. Such restrictions were crafted by the Federal Communications Commission under the Obama administration. But the FCC under Trump sought to roll back those rules before they went into effect. Congress approved the repeal in March, and the president signed it. Congress and the administration went against the will of the vast majority of Americans when they revoked the FCC rules, Chau said at a news conference, adding that with his measure, AB 375, California is goi For a president prone to distraction, Donald Trump was unusually disciplined for a time. In the hours following the shooting of a Republican congressman and three other people in a Virginia park, Trump behaved as most presidents do to reassure the nation in a moment of crisis: He called for unity in a scripted and sober television appearance from the White House, steered clear of attacking political opposition and put the focus on the pain of the victims and heroism of law enforcement. Then, at the end of the day on Wednesday, as Trump sat down for dinner with his family to celebrate his 71st birthday, news broke that the special prosecutor looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election was taking steps toward investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice. Advertisement For hours, Trump again showed restraint as he and First Lady Melania Trump delivered white flowers to the hospital for Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the congressional leader wounded in the gunfire. Just left hospital. Rep. Steve Scalise, one of the truly great people, is in very tough shape - but he is a real fighter. Pray for Steve! Trump wrote on Twitter just before 10 p.m. EDT. Just left hospital. Rep. Steve Scalise, one of the truly great people, is in very tough shape - but he is a real fighter. Pray for Steve! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 Trumps restraint lasted another nine hours. By early Thursday morning, Trump slipped back into his Twitter persona the one that lashes out at enemies in all-capital letters and impugns the motives of investigators returning to the muddy fracas that aides have been trying to get him to avoid. Trump refused to let his highly paid outside counsel do the talking for him. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice, Trump tweeted before 7 a.m., a time when he is usually watching television news in his upstairs White House residence and getting ready for the day. You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! he added an hour later. They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 For decades, Trump has made a habit of unapologetically hammering critics, a tactic that electrified supporters during his campaign. The habit remains a tough one to kick. The lure of speaking to 32 million followers on Twitter and fighting back against allegations Trump sees as fundamentally unfair may be too much to resist, even as advisors and Republican strategists warn that his provocative comments may be perpetuating the cycle of leaks and accusations that launched the investigation in the first place. Hes described himself as a counterpuncher. That muscle memory, that he has that reflex to react when something like this comes up, obviously its very strong, said Jim Merrill, a New Hampshire-based consultant for three Republican presidential campaigns. Trump interrupted the window where you saw a great deal of unity in Washington, and hampered his own political interest, Merrill said. Its safe to say that oftentimes the president can be his own worst enemy, he said. Certainly, weighing in on the investigation so quickly after the shooting yesterday kind of undermines the message of unity. Even after 146 days in the White House, Trump continues to seesaw back and forth between brief moments when his administration seems in control of the agenda and longer periods when outbursts from the president create overwhelming distractions. By the middle of the day Thursday, Trump had returned to a more measured tone. He praised the two Capitol Police special agents who ran toward the gunman in Wednesdays shooting and returned fire, saving lives, and he described his visit to Scalises hospital room the night before, saying hes in some trouble after a bullet tore through his hip. After multiple surgeries on Wednesday, Scalises doctors said the congressman had suffered from internal bleeding and organ damage and was still in critical condition. Lawmakers from both parties planned to honor Scalise by wearing purple-and-gold Louisiana State University hats during the annual congressional baseball game at Nationals Park on Thursday night. And Steve, in his own way, may have brought some unity to our long-divided country. Weve had a very, very divided country for many years. And I have a feeling that Steve has made a great sacrifice, but there could be some unity being brought to our country. Lets hope so, Trump said. In these difficult hours, its more important than ever to help each other, care for each other and remind each other that we are all united by our love of our great and beautiful country, Trump said. The White House seemed to acknowledge the dual nature of Trumps give-and-take, but, at least officially, insisted that the two were not at cross purposes. Asked why Trump took to Twitter to call investigators very bad and conflicted people, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president was responding to allegations. I think theres been quite a bit of attacking against the president. I think he was responding to those specific accusations. But I think, as a whole, our country certainly could bring the temperature down a little bit. I think that was the goal that the president laid out yesterday, and hopefully we can all see moving forward, Sanders said. After Sanders spoke, Trump visited the Supreme Court to attend the investiture of Justice Neil Gorsuch, whose nomination many conservatives point to as the single most important accomplishment of Trumps five months in office. But here wasnt much time to ponder Gorsuch. Before 4 pm, Trump had his mind on an old adversary from the presidential election. Trump tapped out a Tweet about Hillary Clinton, insisting she should have been investigated for mishandling her State Department emails. Trump wrote: Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, bleached emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction? Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017 Twitter: @ByBrianBennett brian.bennett@latimes.com ALSO Trump keeps touting jobs spurred by Saudi deals. Its not clear theyll ever come Reaction to shooting at congressional baseball practice reveals a nation that doesnt just disagree. It hates Grilling of Sessions shows who benefits from Trumps troubles senators who might want his job President Trump cant stop boasting about nearly $400 billion in military and business deals his administration made during his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia last month. These deals will bring many thousands of jobs to our country, he said as he convened his first full Cabinet meeting Monday. Then he upped the tally: In fact, will bring millions of jobs ultimately. But a detailed review by The Times shows that only some of the deals have produced signed contracts, others may never be realized, and the primary goal of many of the initiatives is boosting the economy of Saudi Arabia, not the United States. Advertisement The centerpiece of the agreement a $110-billion arms deal must contend with legal, financial and political tests before it can be realized. As he announced the package of agreements at a news conference with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Riyadh last month, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir valued the commercial deals as in excess of $380 billion, coming over a period of 10 years. Tillerson said the deals included 23 foreign investment export licenses which would lead to $350 billion in direct investment, in addition to a $110-billion arms package. Both men said the agreements would result in hundreds of thousands of jobs in both nations. This is an indication of the confidence that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has in the United States investment climate, Tillerson said. The details tell a less definitive story. The two largest commercial deals announced involve initiatives launched in partnership with a Saudi government-managed investment fund. In one of the initiatives, backed by Japanese telecom giant SoftBank, a tech-focused Vision Fund would use $100 billion to buy pieces of private and public firms, focused on the so-called Internet of things, artificial intelligence, robotics and mobile communications. The fund is based on the British island of Jersey, with support from teams in London, Tokyo and Silicon Valley, and its outlays wont be limited to U.S. companies. The announcement appeared to follow up on one made by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son during a visit to Trump Tower in New York in December. At that point, he said the investment fund could create 50,000 new jobs in the U.S. A source familiar with the fund, speaking anonymously to comment on its business plan, said that SoftBank views the United States as an attractive market, but that there is no specific geographic focus for its investments. Saudi Arabias role in the fund was announced in October, before Trump took office; the announcement during Trumps visit focused on new commitments from Apple, Qualcomm and other investors. In the other initiative, U.S.-based Blackstone signed a memorandum of understanding to launch an infrastructure fund anchored by $20 billion from Saudi Arabias Private Investment Fund with a goal of ultimately investing $100 billion in projects. The money would be aimed primarily, though not exclusively, at projects in the United States. The remaining commercial deals that Tillerson and Jubeir touted appear be a mix of previously announced or updated agreements between U.S. and Saudi firms, some primarily aimed at boosting employment in Saudi Arabia. A press release from GE, for instance, said its $15-billion package would benefit both nations, but said the plans were geared toward Saudi Vision 2030, an initiative led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that aims to spur new economic development in Saudi Arabia to counterbalance the long-term decline of oil production. GE estimates that the new announcements could double its workforce in Saudi Arabia while adding, directly or indirectly, 20,000 jobs in the United States, mainly through additional exports. An announcement by ExxonMobil and Saudi-based chemical producer SABIC only commits each to study the possibility of a jointly run petrochemical complex in Texas. An estimated $50 billion in deals between U.S. energy companies and Saudi Aramco include a mix of joint ventures, memoranda of understanding, and feasibility studies for projects in Saudi Arabia that could add more than 13,000 jobs there, according to the Saudi oil giant. The White House has not produced its own itemized accounting for its $350-billion figure or an analysis of how many jobs it would create. One document that officials allowed a reporter to briefly review in Riyadh listed 31 proposed memoranda of understanding, broken down by industry sectors with estimates of economic impact. Impact estimates, the document noted, were supplied by Saudi sources and are not verified. The document estimated the total impact at nearly $275 billion, with some projects undetermined. The Trump administrations insistence that the big-ticket defense deals will boost American jobs also appears exaggerated: Assembly of the weapons has been underway for years even decades; the defense contractors have committed to do much of the work inside Saudi Arabia, not the U.S.; and based on past experience, some share of the proposed arms deals will never materialize. The arms deal does, potentially, keep assembly lines running for a longer time and offer non-economic benefits to the U.S. The Saudi deal is huge, but it unfolds over many years and has many moving parts, said Loren Thompson, a defense policy analyst at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. At the very least, it strengthens ties between Washington and Riyadh at a time when Saudi support remains crucial to U.S. geopolitical and energy goals. A senior administration official who was not authorized to speak on the record said the long-term commitments made by the Saudis announced publicly, rather than agreed to in private -- were unprecedented, particularly for that magnitude. The fact that the commitments were public makes it more likely that they will ultimately be realized, the official said. The Saudis had been seriously considering equipment from other countries, the official said. Its emblematic that you had to have confidence in the strategic relationship in order to see that through. But the direct jobs benefits are likely to be limited. Lockheed Martin Corp., for instance, said the final assembly of 150 S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopters that the Saudis hope to buy will be carried out inside the country. The program, part of deal potentially worth more than $28 billion, is expected to create 450 jobs in Saudi Arabia. Raytheon Co., maker of missiles and military electronics, announced the formation of a unit called Raytheon Arabia, to focus on helping build Saudi capability to provide defense, aerospace, and security on their own. We fully anticipate this work will enable us to expand our business in the kingdom with new programs that will benefit both local and U.S.-based job growth, said Corinne Kovalsky, a company spokeswoman. General Dynamics Corp., maker of submarines and tanks, agreed to localize up to 50% of design, engineering, manufacturing, and support of armored combat vehicles inside Saudi Arabia. Building the weapons in their own country is something that brings national pride, said Saeed Wahabi, a Saudi analyst based in Abu Dhabi. Saudis are seeing other countries like Turkey and Iran building their own, having their own military-industrial complex. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the deals will all come to fruition, defense analysts say. The Obama administration formally notified Congress of about $115 billion in offers of weapons, training, and military support services to Saudi Arabia, and only half of them resulted in agreements, according to William D. Hartung, director of the arms and security project at the Center for International Policy, a left-leaning think tank in Washington. Its not like Trump issuing a press release about $110 billion in arms offers means U.S. companies or communities will see that kind of money any time soon, Hartung said. Defense deals can take five years or more between the two nations. The Saudi air force received the first of 152 F-15 fighter jets, made by Boeing Co., in December, even though the deal was initially announced to Congress in October 2010. And a growing chorus on Capitol Hill wants the Trump administration to reconsider its commitment to arming the longtime regional ally. Earlier this month, the Senate rejected a bipartisan measure that would have blocked a small portion of the new arms package. But the 47-53 vote on the measure, offered by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, reflected concerns about further entangling the U.S. in Saudi Arabias escalating sectarian conflict with neighboring Yemen, and ultimately Iran. What do you think Iran thinks when Saudi Arabia [gets] weapons? They think to themselves, if the Saudis are getting more, we need more, Paul said ahead of the vote. I hope the Saudis heard this message loud and clear, Sen. Christopher S. Murphy (D-Conn.) told reporters after the vote, noting that 20 more senators voted to block this deal than backed a similar measure last fall. Support in Congress for cutting back on arms sales is building, he said. That day will come if the Saudis dont change their behavior. michael.memoli@latimes.com william.hennigan@latimes.com For more follow @mikememoli and @wjhenn on Twitter. Times staff writer Molly Hennessy-Fiske contributed from Riyadh. ALSO A tale of two princes: A kings son and a presidents son-in-law drive Trumps visit Trump again criticizes Qatar as his aides scramble to head off crisis with the U.S. ally Trump says Comey lied under oath, denies he obstructed justice or colluded with Russians Get live updates on our Essential Washington news feed UPDATES: June 16, 9:41 a.m.: This article was updated to clarify the comments of a source who is familiar with the Vision Fund. This article was originally published on June 15 at 1 p.m. An internationally known stem cell scientist and entrepreneur will join the ranks of candidates trying to unseat Republican incumbents in contested House races next year when he announces Thursday his challenge of 18-term Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. Hans Keirstead, a 50-year-old Democrat from Laguna Beach, said Wednesday that he will run in the 48th Congressional District, one of more than half a dozen in California that have been targeted by Democrats seeking to harness sentiment against President Trump in their fight for a House majority. Keirsteads candidacy has been sought by some national Democratic figures, who see his science and business background as a good fit for the district. It runs along the Orange County coastline from Laguna Beach to Seal Beach, and includes some nearby inland cities. Advertisement Republicans represent a plurality of the district with more than 40% of its registration, to about 30% for Democrats. A quarter of voters are registered as nonpartisan. The Huntington Beach-based Rohrabacher, who is 69, has served in the House since 1988. Part of the reason for the Democratic drought in the 48th and other districts now seen as competitive has been the partys candidates; Rohrabacher last faced a serious challenge in 2008, when he won by 10 percentage points. In November, he won by more than 16 points. Hillary Clinton won the district by almost 2 points en route to becoming the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Orange County since 1936. Several other candidates already have announced their intention to run against the veteran House member. Follow California politics by signing up for our email newsletter Nationally and in California, Democrats say they have been swamped by candidates interested in running for office to oppose Trump and Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Keirstead said that is one of his motivations. Ive come to realize more acutely than ever before the deficits in Congress and how my profile can actually benefit Congress, he said. Id like to do what Im doing but on a larger stage and I think Congress provides that, provides a forum for doing the greater good. Keirstead was a pioneer in stem cell research, first in his native Canada and, since 2000, in Southern California. He helped lead UC Irvines stem cell research program and, in his only political endeavor, served as an advisor to a successful 2004 state measure, Proposition 71, that sought to steer $3 billion into medical research. He also has started and sold several medical research companies that have invented therapies for ovarian, skin and brain cancer, as well as spinal cord injuries, rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis. Keirstead has made millions of dollars off of his business endeavors but said he will not use his own money for his campaign. Although his background gives him a network of allies to help raise money, Keirstead is likely to face criticism for leaping into politics mid-ladder, without the relationship-building that usually precedes a first run. He became a citizen in 2008, he said. County voting records show he cast ballots in general elections that year and in 2010, 2012 and 2016. The records indicate that he did not cast any ballots in the 2014 midterm elections, and he has not voted in primary elections. Asked about the missing votes, Keirstead said he had other commitments and responsibilities but stressed that the result of last falls elections show how important it is to participate in our democracy. Campaign finance records show he has not donated to federal or state candidates. In an interview, Keirstead suggested he is still studying policy positions. He said that he would prefer to improve the Obamacare insurance program rather than adopt a universal healthcare plan favored by some liberal Democrats. I think Obamacare put in place a very large system that is fantastic in some measures and very flawed in others, he said. Theres a lot we can do with the existing system rather than cripple it first as the Trump administration is doing in order to justify a replacement. On trade, another issue that has divided Democrats, he declined to take a position on the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump and some Democrats favor dumping. He also would not say whether he favored Clinton or Sen. Bernie Sanders last year. I just dont really like the labels, he said. Im trying to run as authentic Hans. I am personally tired of partisan politics where the labels are driving the decision making. I think we should be more results driven. But he was happy to criticize Rohrabacher for his advocacy of friendlier relations with Russia and for voting for the House Republican healthcare plan. And he also defended, with a laugh, his unorthodox path to politics. I can tell you without a doubt my cancer treatment, my spinal cord injury treatment, would never have been invented had I followed a step-by-step straight path in academia and business, for sure, he said. Doing things differently has been responsible for my success. And its actually encouraged me to take on bigger initiatives like running for Congress. cathleen.decker@latimes.com Twitter: @cathleendecker ALSO: Vulnerable House Republicans fear political consequences after healthcare vote Democrats moving staff to Orange County in effort to flip House seats The latest from Washington Updates on California politics The Trump administration is backing off its threat to revoke Californias unique authority to set its own tough pollution standards for cars and trucks rules that have become a crucial tool for states to combat climate change without help from Washington. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt assured lawmakers on Thursday that his agency is not currently looking to take away the power that California has used for decades to reduce emissions that cause smog and heat up the planet. Earlier this year, Pruitt had suggested that the Trump administration might try to weaken or revoke Californias authority, which would have put Washington on a collision course with the state over a crucial environmental issue. Advertisement But asked about the subject Thursday at a House hearing on the EPAs budget, Pruitt struck a very different tone, praising California for leadership on clean air. Currently the waiver is not under review, Pruitt said, referring to the legal rubric under which the state is allowed to waive federal rules and impose its own. This has been something that has been granted going back to the beginning of the Clean Air Act because of the leadership California demonstrated. Bill Magavern, policy director for the Los Angeles-based Coalition for Clean Air, said the testimony was a rare bit of good news out of the Trump administration. Californias standards have been adopted by a dozen other states, as permitted under the Clean Air Act. Those rules help form the basis for the effort by Democratic-run states and cities to continue to fulfill the U.S. commitments under the Paris accord on climate change, which the Trump administration recently quit. Meeting those goals will be difficult without the federal government behind the effort. Without Californias waiver authority, environmental experts say, getting there would probably be impossible. You start messing around with this, and the ability for states to address climate pollution starts falling apart, said Simon Mui, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The California Air Resources Board decided earlier this year to push forward with tougher standards on tailpipe emissions. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) The federal government has never tried to revoke a Clean Air Act waiver, and any attempt would be fiercely contested in court. But Pruitts earlier talk about doing so had sent shock waves through California and environmental groups. The waiver is poised to become increasingly important as the Trump administration looks at rolling back aggressive fuel mileage standards set by the Obama administration during its final weeks in office. California has vowed to push forward with tougher rules on tailpipe emissions, which are scheduled to take effect from 2022 through 2025. With the other states that have adopted Californias rules, the tougher standards hold sway over roughly 40% of the U.S. vehicle market. Even if Trump loosens federal rules, automakers would be under pressure to follow the more stringent standards to avoid having to manufacture different versions of vehicles for different areas of the country. When federal and California rules havent synced up in the past, automakers have often chosen to build cars to California standards. Under Obama administration rules, passenger cars would have to average about 54 miles per gallon by 2025, up from about 36 today. Ann Carlson, an environmental law professor at UCLA, said regulatory pressure on the vehicle industry is critical for fighting climate change because the economics havent been helping: The low price of gasoline has dampened enthusiasm for electric cars. Thats the opposite of what has happened with power generation, the other largest source of greenhouse emissions in the U.S. There, the declining costs of natural gas and renewable energy have helped make dirtier coal electricity less attractive despite Trumps efforts to roll back Obama-era regulations that discourage coal use. Electricity generation accounted for 29% of the countrys greenhouse gas emissions in 2015, the most recent federal statistics available. Transportation was close behind at 27%. Californias power to regulate auto emissions is probably the most important power any state has, Carlson said. Pruitts assurances Thursday about Californias waiver came in response to a question from Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona), who emphasized years of bipartisan support for the states authority. Only one request has ever been rejected, a decision made by President George W. Bushs administration. The remarks came at a hearing in which Republicans alternately praised the Trump administration for quitting the Paris climate deal and expressed alarm at how deeply its proposing to cut environmental programs that help their districts. Their concern reflects the Republican caucus criticism of the White House for proposing a spending plan that they fear puts clean air and water in jeopardy. Analysts noted that Trump and Pruitt could reverse course and target the waiver once their review of fuel mileage rules is complete, a process that could spill into next year. Its good news, but its only good news if they dont end up changing their minds, said Kate Larsen, an Oakland-based director at the Rhodium Group, which tracks climate policies. However, car companies dont appear to be spoiling for a fight over the waiver. Weve not asked for the agency to review that decision, said Daniel Gage, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Dan Becker, director of the Washington-based Safe Climate Campaign, suspects automakers felt they wouldnt win in court. If they attacked California, they would ultimately lose, and there would be little time left in the Trump administration for other, less dramatic changes the automakers would like to win, he said. There are still other battles looming over Californias regulatory power The state may want additional regulations to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles on its roads, for example. A request for a new waiver to allow those rules to take effect could be rejected by the Trump administration, igniting a legal war. We still have the threat down the line, Magavern said. But I dont think anybody is really gunning for that now. chris.megerian@latimes.com Twitter: @chrismegerian evan.halper@latimes.com Twitter: @evanhalper Megerian reported from Sacramento and Halper from Washington, D.C. ALSO Trump keeps touting jobs spurred by Saudi deals. Its not clear theyll ever come After a day on message, Trump slips back into old habits Reaction to shooting at congressional baseball practice reveals a nation that doesnt just disagree. It hates The head of Egypt's Education Sector Reda Hegazi announced on Thursday that the results of the year-end exams for high school (Thanaweya Amma) will be announced on 20 July, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. The examinations started on 4 June and are set to end on 24 June. "The [education] ministry called on exam graders to maintain caution and accuracy so students and parents would be reassured," Hegazi affirmed. Nearly 600,000 Thanaweya Amma students must take highly competitive exams annually in a number of subjects at the end of their final year of high school. The grades determine what universities and faculties students may attend. Last year, test questions were leaked online through a Facebook page called Chao Ming, with students protesting after the education ministry decreed they must sit in for new exams. Nearly 120,000 out of 600,000 students filed grievances against their examinations results last year. This year, Egypts new national high school booklet exam system was implemented to reduce the possibility of errors occurring in the correction process and eliminate the risk of exam leaks. The new system requires students to submit their answers in the question sheet, as opposed to the previous system where answers were submitted in a separate sheet. The new system also focus more on questions requiring short answers to cover most of the curriculum, thus moving away from structural questions and the traditional focus on memorisation. In 2015, a presidential decree stated those who leak exam questions face a year in prison as well as fines ranging from EGP 20,000 to EGP 50,000. A new take on political science: Training researchers to run for office They have built careers isolating cells, designing integrated circuits and mastering computer languages. Now they are knocking on doors, being interviewed on TV and asking perfect strangers to give them money. Across the country, scientists card-carrying members of an elite that prizes expertise are exiting their ivory towers to enter the political fray. Theres the cancer researcher from Mississippi, the integrated circuit designer from New York, the physician from Utah and the stem cell biologist from Southern California, among dozens of others. Its a move that appears to defy the first principle of their profession: logic. Unlike a law degree, a Ph.D. does not provide a well-worn path to politics. And while 79% of Americans believe that science has made life easier, their esteem for the scientific enterprise has been on a steady decline, according to the Pew Research Center. But even amidst signs that science is losing its power to persuade, a new crop of office-seekers is anything but discouraged. In districts blue and red, working scientists are putting two hypotheses to the test. First: Their facility with facts and data will make them better policymakers than the politicians currently in office. Second: Their professions reputation for pragmatism and problem-solving will mobilize and unify voters around them. Our skill set works: We analyze complex information and make it understandable to people, said Dr. Kathie Allen, a family physician who is running for the Utah congressional seat soon to be vacated by Republican firebrand Jason E. Chaffetz. People are really tired of falsehoods, she added. With careers grounded in facts and evidence, she said, scientists offer a compelling alternative for voters fed up with career politicians. Our skill set works: We analyze complex information and make it understandable to people. Dr. Kathie Allen, family physician Dr. Kathie Allen (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press) That may sound like the wishful thinking of a political newbie, but some longtime campaign strategists agree. Joe Trippi, who has worked with Ted Kennedy, John Edwards, Jerry Brown and Howard Dean, said scientists were a double threat in the current political moment. For voters dismayed by the Trump administrations attacks on climate science and proposals to slash federal funding for biomedical research, a scientist-turned-office-seeker offers a direct antidote to the status quo. And for voters craving an alternative to politics as usual, these unconventional candidates feed into a compelling insurgent narrative. If youre a scientist, your background is perfect for the time were in, Trippi said. The ranks of scientists, engineers and medical professionals in Congress has grown from 24 two decades ago to 33 today. But those members are still dwarfed by people with backgrounds in law or business, who fill roughly three-quarters of the 535 seats in the House and Senate, according to the Congressional Research Service. Theres no official tally of how many scientists have run for office. But anecdotal evidence for a surge in candidates is widespread. Rush Holt, a plasma physicist who served eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before retiring in 2014, has seen it firsthand. People who were once wary of political participation have been pushed off the sidelines and into the public square by a sense that science is too relevant and important to be downgraded or ignored, he said. Over the years, Holt has counseled a thin trickle of scientists pondering a run for public office. Now, he said, its a stampede. Im getting more interest by far than Ive gotten in previous election cycles, said Holt, who is now president of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science. He calls it a remarkable moment. Like Allen and Holt, many of the scientists eyeing a run for office are Democrats, keen to challenge a president who has questioned the value of vaccines and dismissed global warming as a Chinese hoax. Whether they come from chemistry labs or radio astronomy observatories, they can channel the frustration and anger that prompted more than 1 million people to March for Science this spring. But theyre quick to point out theyre not ideologues. Is there a better way to create policy? You take large amounts of information and distill it, and come up with a conclusion. It has nothing to do with partisanship. Patricia Zornio, biomedical researcher at Stanford University Is there a better way to create policy? asked Patricia Zornio, a biomedical researcher at Stanford University who is contemplating a 2020 challenge to Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican. You take large amounts of information and distill it, and come up with a conclusion. It has nothing to do with partisanship. If that faith in science sounds like it could easily veer toward sanctimonious bromides, the would-be candidates have been warned. We are so naive as scientists, said South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard, who also happens to be an expert on the evolution of animal communication on the faculty of Florida International University. We think the truth carries and that science always matters. The corrective, he told a group of prospective candidates recently, is to find a coach that knows more about the business than you do. Since shortly after the inauguration of President Trump, training sessions and webinars have cropped up to coach Democratic office-seekers with a scientific bent. Among the most visible have been sessions organized by 314 Action (314 refers to the value of pi). So far, the group has had inquiries from roughly 6,000 scientists and science advocates, from all 50 states. Close to 100 of them gathered in Washington, D.C., two days before the March for Science for the biggest training event to date. There, would-be candidates learned how to craft a message (make science local), recruit and organize an army of volunteers (present it as an opportunity) and canvas voters (bring dog biscuits!). They learned what to wear, how to sit for a TV interview, and how to hit up potential donors. Among the scientist dos: Introduce yourself as a different kind of politician. Mine data to find and target your districts voters. Change things up if your message isnt working. (Youre an experimentalist! Stoddard reminded them.) Scientist donts included reading your curriculum vitae, using PowerPoint slides and appending footnotes to position papers. (Footnotes! cried political communications specialist Chris Jahnke, who has coached Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. God bless you, please dont!) Do scientists have an advantage in the current political environment, with the Democratic Party awash in volunteers eager to run against the GOP? Absolutely, Democratic campaign strategist Martha McKenna told a 314 Action session. Voters think politicians talk and nothing gets done, she said. As scientists, you find solutions. Were not full of crap.... If we were a pack of liars, the jig would be up. Patrick Madden, professor of computer science at Binghamton University Its a message that resonates with Patrick Madden, a professor of computer science at Binghamton University in New York. In May, he announced a bid to challenge Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) in New Yorks 22nd Congressional District. Madden holds up his cellphone, a device more powerful than the computer that sent men to the moon. His work on integrated circuits has helped make such devices faster, better and more fun to own. Were not full of crap, he said. Things like this got better because we make stuff thats real. If we were a pack of liars, the jig would be up. Madden calls himself a firm believer in the scientific method, the engineering mind-set. These principles of being honest, being truthful and looking for solutions: its a radical idea, he said. But I think we ought to try it. Chinese scientists have just set a record in quantum physics. For the first time, pairs of entangled photons have been beamed from a satellite in orbit to two receiving stations almost 1,500 miles away on on Earth. At the same time, the researchers were able to deliberately separate the entangled photon pairs along a greater distance than has ever been recorded. The experiment, described Thursday in the journal Science, represents the first measurable proof of an idea that has long been theorized but never tested, experts said. This is the first time you have a quantum channel between a satellite and the ground that you can actually use, said Norbert Lutkenhaus, a professor at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo in Canada who was not involved in the new work. People have been talking about doing it for many, many years, but these guys actually did it. Keep reading to learn what this new work means, and why it matters. My quantum physics is kinda rusty. What are entangled photon pairs again? Great question. For starters, a photon is a tiny particle of light. In fact, it's the smallest unit that light can be broken into. It has no mass and no charge. Entangled photons are a pair of photons whose properties are linked, and remain that way no matter how far apart they get. If you make a measurement on one of the photons, you get a perfectly correlated outcome on the other member of the pair, Lutkenhaus said. And that will hold true not matter how many times you look at them. One measurement alone doesnt tell you they are entangled, you need to repeat it many times, he said. With entangled photons no matter what you measure, or how many times you measure, or which side of the pair you measure, you always get perfect correlation. How is this possible? Another great question. This one is more difficult to answer. Scientists have not been able to explain why entanglement occurs. All they know is that it exists. Einstein referred to the phenomena of entanglement as spooky action at a distance. Others have said it is kind of like the physics version of voodoo. How did the researchers beam entangled photons from space? They built a special satellite to do it. The spacecraft, nicknamed Micius after a famous 5th century Chinese scientist, launched in August 2016. Chinas quantum satellite, nicknamed Micius after an ancient Chinese scientist, blasts off from Gansu province last August. (STR / AFP/Getty Images) (STR / AFP/Getty Images) It is loaded with a special crystal that can split a single incoming photon into two daughter photons with joint properties. For this experiment, instruments on the satellite separated the entangled photons and sent them to different receiving stations on Earth. To do this, Micius had to aim at its targets with an amazing degree of precision, said Jian-Wei Pan, a physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China who led the work. Its the equivalent of clearly seeing a human hair at a distance of 900 feet away, he said. Was building a satellite really necessary? That seems kind of extreme ... It is extreme. And, experts say, challenging. Designing, launching and operating a satellite with this capability is no easy feat, Lutkenhaus said. I see this as a great engineering triumph. But, as the study demonstrates, using a satellite to send beams of entangled photons to Earth is a better strategy than using optical fibers to distribute them. The greatest distance scientists have been able to separate entangled photons using optical fibers is 62 miles. By sending the entangled photons through space, Pan and his team were able to separate entangled photons by more than 620 miles. Thats neat, but is this going to affect my life in anyway? Not immediately, but eventually, it probably will. For example, distributing entangled photons over large distances could be used to establish unhackable communications via whats known as quantum cryptography. This application relies on another strange aspect of quantum mechanics namely that the simple act of observing a photon disturbs it and causes it to change its orientation. Scientists have already been able to establish secure, quantum channels using fiber optics, but there is a limit to how far those can stretch. Using the space-based quantum channel, the authors have shown it is possible to significantly extend the distance over which one can perform such a secure communication, said Jurgen Volz, a physicist at the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology who was not involved in the work. In the time of the Internet, when more and more sensitive information is shared and exchanged via the web, this is of tremendous importance, he said. But experts say an application like that may still be 10 years away. Whats going to take so long? Although the experiment was successful, the rate of sending and receiving entangled photons described in the paper was still quite low. Of nearly 6 million entangled photon pairs generated by Micius each second, only one pair was detected at stations here on Earth. The communication rates here are not yet sufficient for a practical application, said Wenjamin Rosenfeld, a physicist at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. However, he added that the mission represents a proof-of-principle demonstration of a quantum communication protocol that could be available in the near future. Pan put it this way: This is the first baby step for quantum entanglement experiments going into space. It is really new! deborah.netburn@latimes.com Do you love science? I do! Follow me @DeborahNetburn and "like" Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. MORE IN SCIENCE How oxygen-producing pond scum could save your life after a heart attack Scientists use meteorites to show that Jupiter is almost as old as the solar system These 12 Americans had the right stuff to be picked for NASA's new class of astronaut trainees The 53rd annual Newport Beach Art Exhibition will bring together 135 artists who will display 245 works of paintings, drawings, photography and sculptures Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Newport Beach Civic Center on 100 Civic Center Drive. The variety of works, which will be for sale, come from people ages 18 to 85 who responded to the exhibitions call for artists earlier this spring. We typically have regional artists who participate but also artists from all over Southern California and afar, said Arlene Greer, a Newport Beach City Arts Commissioner. One year, we had an artist from as far away as the south of France. The free one-day show is organized by an exhibition committee and members of the Newport Beach Arts Commission, which consults with the City Council on artistic and cultural matters within the city. Twenty percent of the proceeds from art sales will contribute to the citys Arts Commission programming. Cow sculptures in the Civic Centers Cows4Camp exhibit will also be up for a silent auction during the event, with a majority of those proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House and a small amount going toward Newport Beach arts programming. The bids for Cows4Camp Saturday will coincide with online bids for the works on biddingforgood.com, which will close July 13. Curator and art advisor Dana Yarger will lead tours of the sculptures on Saturday. The event at the Civic Center will also include live music and $9 box lunches from The Bungalow in Newport Beach. A reception at 4:30 p.m. will honor participating artists with awards presented by Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon. This years juror David Kiddie, a faculty member from the Wilkinson College of Arts at Chapman University in Orange, will determine the winners for categories in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and the jurors choice. Visitors will also be able to submit ballots for a peoples choice winner at the exhibition. [The exhibition] is a great opportunity for artists who have exhibited elsewhere or artists who have never exhibited before, Greer said. The most significant benefit of this is that it brings people from all seven districts and afar to the Civic Center to enjoy a one-day exhibit where they can meet, mingle and make new friends. For more information on the Newport Beach Art Exhibition, call the Cultural Arts Office at (949) 717-3802. Alexandra.Chan@latimes.com Twitter: @AlexandraChan10 South Coast Repertory came into existence in 1965 after an inaugural summer in Long Beach under another name. The Second Step Theater opened in March after a three-show preview in Laguna Beach. Then came the Third Step in downtown Costa Mesa and the companys present location for the past four decades in Costa Mesas South Coast Town Center. SCRs 2017-18 season, its 53rd, will feature the theaters usual complement of world premieres five, including three SCR commissions along with contemporary hits and reimagined classics. Our upcoming season is both entertaining and filled with theatrical substance, says Marc Masterson, who succeeded founders David Emmes and Martin Benson as the theaters artistic director. We have music, romance, comedy, drama and relevance for the world we live in today. One of the newer shows will kick off the SCR season, although its already paid a visit to the neighboring Segerstrom Center for the Arts. That would be Once, which received 11 Tony nominations in 2012 and won eight including best musical, best actor and best book. Itll be on the Segerstrom Stage from Sept. 2-30 under the direction of Kevin Nicholson. Once will be followed by August Wilsons Gem of the Ocean, the first entry in Wilsons decade-by-decade chronicle of 10 plays, all set in Pittsburghs Hill District. Gem, circa 1904, features a 285-year-old woman. Kevin Nash will direct the drama, which is slated for an Oct. 14 to Nov. 11 engagement. If the next play, Shakespeare in Love, sounds familiar, its because its based on the 1998 Oscar-winning movie which won a ton of awards, including acting Oscars for Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench. Masterson will be in the directors chair for this one, which will run from Jan.13 to Feb. 10. Shrew! as in The Taming of the Shrew also has Shakespearean roots, but In Amy Freeds wickedly funny spin on the classic, Kate also has the upper hand. Art Manke, who directed Freeds The Monster Builder last season, will also helm this one . It runs from March 24 through April 21. Wendy Wassersteins The Sisters Rosensweig, at SCR from May 5 to June 2, focuses on three sisters from Brooklyn in the early 1990s. The scene is London where the three siblings gather for a birthday celebration and hearty reminiscing. All of the aforementioned plays will occupy the Segerstrom Stage. Opening the Julianne Argyros Stage season Sept. 24 will be Curve of Departure by Rachel Bonds, another reunion of sorts, this time at a funeral. Mike Donohue will direct. The Madwoman in the Volvo will be back Dec. 3-24 in Sugar Plum Fairy, written by and starring Sandra Tsing Loh. Bart DeLorenzo will direct this comical assault on holiday sentiment. Lauren Yees Cambodian Rock Band, ticketed for March 4-25, is billed as part comedy, part mystery and part rock concert as a father and daughter face the music of the past. Musical contributions will be by Dengue Fever. Closing the Argyros season will be Little Black Shadows by Kemp Powers, a drama set in pre-Civil War Georgia. May Adrales is directing and the play runs from April 9-29. SCRs popular Theater for Young Audiences will return with a three-production season Ella Enchanted: The Musical, Oct. 27 to Nov.12; Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook, Jan. 26 to Feb. 11, and Amos & Boris, May 18 to June 3. And it wouldnt be an SCR season without A Christmas Carol. This traditional holiday treat returns for the 38th straight year from Nov. 24 through Dec. 24 with Hal Landon Jr. donning his Scrooge raiment for the 38th time and John-David Keller directing, also for the 38th year. Season subscriptions currently are on sale with information available at (714) 708-555 or online at scr.org. The theater is located at 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. TOM TITUS reviews local theater. As Mehmet Emre, 9, got ready for school Wednesday morning, he knew he needed to look good. He opted against a T-shirt and instead selected a turquoise dress shirt with a blue polka dot bow tie. Unlike most days where the third-grader would head to class to learn from his teachers, he was among 12 students who were selected to role play during Lake View Elementarys Staff Member of the Day. Students took on jobs including principal, office manager, receptionist, custodian, health tech and teacher. For the record: An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled Mehmet Emres first name. Before Principal Jamie Goodwyn passed on the baton to Mehmet, she took him into her office to provide him with a walkie-talkie, badge and clipboard with the days itinerary. Our job is to make people happy, friendly and comfortable, Goodwyn told Mehmet. Its important to wish them a good day and provide them with an overview. That same day the Huntington Beach school was hosting the Junior Achievement of Orange County, a group of volunteers that would teach students how to balance a checking account and how to market products, it would be Mehmos duty to greet them. Even so, the student didnt show any fear in his role as he walked into the busy lounge and began introducing himself and shaking hands with teachers, parents and the volunteer staff. He welcomed them and wished them a wonderful day before everyone headed to their assigned activities. Once the bell rang Mehmet walked up and down the school halls with Goodwyn, reminding students to walk fast and get to class. When students asked him questions he didnt know how to answer, Mehmet used his walkie-talkie to contact office manager Ryan Keel for help. Nearly an hour into his role, he headed back to his office to give the announcements of the day over the intercom with the help of two Student Council representatives. Mehmet informed the school of their visitors and reminded them of the Engineering and Rocket Night later that evening. Greeting guests and speaking on the intercom was the best part for the third-grader. I like seeing new faces and I wanted to look nice because what if these people have children, they might want to come here because they think its fun, Mehmet said during a quick break before he did a walk-through of classrooms, looking for good behavior and checking the campus for any safety issues. Though he aspires to be a scientist or doctor, Mehmet said he hopes being principal for a day inspires his family and peers. Goodwyn said the activity allowed students to see a small glimpse into an adults daily life and see how careers can involve hard work and fun. It was a joy to watch the children display such passion as they took over their roles responsibilities, said Goodwyn. They truly became the professionals and understood the impact that their role had on their school. Priscella.Vega@latimes.com Twitter: @vegapriscella A 34-year-old Laguna Beach Unified School District program at Top of the World Elementary School will be suspended for a year, trustees decided Tuesday night. The board voted 4 to 1 to put the Community Learning Center, a specialized program for first- through fourth-grade students that integrates academics with community service, character development and social awareness, on hiatus for the 2017-18 school year while the district assesses its future. Trustee Dee Perry dissented. Some board members said they were concerned with the potential cost of hiring two full-time teachers between $200,000 and $240,000, according to a staff report. In May, the district reported that two teachers resigned, though no reason was given in the staff report. Trustee Peggy Wolff said some teaching strategies and student activities that were novel to CLC in earlier years, such as project-based learning and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math-centered lessons, are available in general classrooms. Im passionate about elementary schools, Wolff said. They can offer you things that are innovative, that are character building, that are bonding in your classrooms. I cant legitimately fund two more teachers. I dont know how by closing it we are really improving the educational process for children, Perry said. A majority of the 14 speakers who addressed the board pleaded with trustees to not halt the program, saying the CLC creates bonds between parents, teachers and students with a curriculum fueled by collaboration and interactive projects. Parents are required to volunteer time in classrooms and students participate in multiple field trips that have included visits to an orphanage in Mexico, according to the CLC website. CLC was the best thing I did as a parent for my kids, said resident Kim Duensing, who has a first-grade student in the program after two of her older children went through CLC. If we just look at the budget for two, three, four years, that is such a myopic view, she added. Its pretty clear from the community that we want an alternative program, whether its the alumni who have come and spoken or the wait list that is forthcoming. There are 160 people on the waiting list now. District staff said they posted the teacher openings internally for 24 days, but no employees applied to teach CLC. There are currently 35 students in the CLC program, including 20 students in grades 1 through 2, and 15 in grades 3 through 4, Leisa Winston, assistant superintendent of human resources and public communication, wrote in an email. State law prohibits school districts from involuntarily assigning teachers to work in an alternative program, such as CLC. Winston said the district considered transferring two existing teachers into CLC. In addition to the lack of teacher volunteers, the district does not need to hire additional staff based on student enrollment, Winston said. Laguna Beach Unified could use existing staff to either transfer two teachers into CLC or disburse the CLC students into the general population without hiring additional staff, Winston added. bryce.alderton@latimes.com Twitter: @AldertonBryce Imagine youre a clam in late spring, buried 10 inches deep in whey-colored Alaskan beach sand. No human eye has spied this isolated strand of beach, nor sullied its pristine condition. Do things get any better than this? Not if youre an Alaskan clam. Besides, what predator would be perceptive enough to deduce that its you and not a doorknocker 10 inches beneath the surface, lodged in a protective cocoon of alluvium? One caution. Mother Nature tends to see only the big picture. Plus, she can be one cruel mother herself or, at best, an indifferent one. Shes quite content to place you in an idyllic setting and then pull the rug out from under you. But, you must realize, this isnt about you. As a mere pawn or prawn? youve been placed on this beach to have an impact on the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey used to say. You may be a clams clam, but youre still, well, a clam and prospective aperitif. Very likely youll be dug up in due time and eaten by a famished grizzly, bleary from an eight-month hibernation bender. Does an Alaskan clams life count for anything? It does. Its an example of Mama Nature enriching her muckheap. Everything contributes to the greater good, to our cosmic chowder. Being the narcissist that I am, I wouldnt blame Mr. Clam for pitching a fit. This isnt the way things should be! he says. Its not fair! I hear ya, pal. But, according to Mother Natures scales, one 1,500-pound grizzly, by all conceivable measures, outweighs, outranks and outvalues a one-pound clam. Mother Nature grades on a curve. Fortunately for humans, we fare better than clams. We dont have to trade blows with a heartless Mother Nature. She can, after all, be crabby not to mention clammy. (OK, enough seafood references!) We answer to God, who actually tells us this: For I know the plans I have for you plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Seriously? By a country mile, it beats being welcomed to spring sunshine by a grizzlys claw, yellowed incisors and stupefying breath. Wed tumble hopelessly into a burbling cauldron of gastric juices and acid reflux. Yuck! Alaskan clams dont have much to look forward to. We humans? Well, thats a different story. Theres something in our experience more profoundly commanding than a pitiless Mother Nature. And theres more here than meets the eye. A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it, wrote 20th century theologian A.W. Tozer in his book, The Pursuit of God. God Himself is here waiting for our response to His presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality. Really? An unseen world exists for a dissolute old mollusk like myself? Indeed. Not only do we humans usually choose not to use a modicum of our limited time on this beach to inquire about this kingdom, but we also refuse to waste time with God. We sometimes write him off entirely and blithely. Then comes that inevitable day when were unceremoniously dug up by a claw and crunched to smithereens. Oops. What was that thing we were going to search out before our time on Earth was finished? Too late. All previous options no longer exist. In his book, Miracles, Eric Metaxas writes: Our existence is an outrageous and astonishing miracle, one so startlingly and perhaps so disturbingly miraculous that it makes any miracle like the parting of the Red Sea pale in such insignificance that it almost becomes unworthy of our consideration, as though it were something done easily by a small child, half asleep. Hello! Anybody there? We see the obvious and miss the miraculous. Who of us takes time to think the thoughts of Metaxas? Precious few. Our world today is wide and shallow. Very shallow. Wed be much better off narrow and deep. JIM CARNETT lives in Costa Mesa. His column runs Tuesdays. A Harter Lane home where sheriffs deputies discovered alleged squatters in possession of stolen goods in March had to be vacated again Tuesday, after a real estate agent checking on the property discovered a man and woman residing there illegally. Sgt. Alan Chu, a detective with the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station, said the man and woman were attempting to move boxes into the La Canada house when the real estate agent arrived. He saw them in there, and they went at it for a bit. There was an argument, Chu said Wednesday. The real estate agent called the station to report the incident at around 4:30 p.m. Sheriffs deputies arrived to the scene and arrested the man, 20-year-old Donte Fox, for trespassing after he refused to leave the property. Chu said the man and woman were not the same people found illegally residing at the house on March 2, when deputies executed a search warrant after spotting items stolen from another La Canada home for sale weeks earlier. In that incident, four people Keith Picou, Jeremy Gaddy, Maria Velazquez and Destiny Hershkovitz were arrested on grand theft and burglary charges, according to court documents. The woman involved in Tuesdays incident was not named in the report, Chu said. The detective did confirm, however, Fox was one of three males arrested in October 2015 by Glendale Police officers in connection with a stolen vehicle and two residential burglaries on Glendales Chadney Drive. Fox, who was 19 at the time, was the only adult named in an Oct. 23 press release issued by the Glendale Police Department following the arrest. sara.cardine@latimes.com Twitter: @SaraCardine UPDATES: 5:15 p.m.: This article was updated with information about Foxs arrest in 2015 by the Glendale Police Department for his involvement in a vehicle theft and two burglaries in October of that year. This article was originally published June 14 at 1:35 p.m. A Bahraini court on Thursday issued sentences of up to life in prison for 26 Shias over the attempted murder of policemen in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, a judicial source said. Twenty of the defendants were jailed for life while the rest were each handed 15-year prison terms, the source said. They were found guilty of forming a "terrorist group" between 2011 and 2013 and attempting to kill policemen in the Shia village of Diraz, west of Manama. Villages of the Shia majority have been scene to frequent protests and clashes since in March 2011, when security forces crushed nationwide protests demanding political reforms. Police last month opened fire to disperse a months-long sit-in in Diraz, killing five people in the crackdown. The tiny Gulf state is a key regional ally of the United States and is home to its Fifth Fleet, but the administration of former president Barack Obama often scolded Manama over rights concerns. In another case, a court in Manama jailed a Bahraini for 10 years and revoked his citizenship for joining the Islamic State Sunni extremist group, a public prosecution statement said. Search Keywords: Short link: If you like to wine a little when you cruise, heres some bad news: Royal Caribbean International has reinstated its $15 corkage fee for each bottle of wine or Champagne brought aboard. The cruise line, which formerly charged passengers as much as $25 per bottle, did away with the fee in 2014. But it has reinstated the charge, albeit lowering the cost to $15 per bottle. Royal Caribbean was one of the few major cruise lines that didnt charge the fee. Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line charge $15. Holland America Line charges $18, and Disney Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises charge $25 per bottle. Advertisement Though some cruise lines, like those mentioned above, allow you to bring a couple of bottles of wine or Champagne aboard when you embark on your cruise, others will confiscate bottles you bring on board. Some lines, such as Disney, specify that passengers can bring two bottles of unopened wine or Champagne, or six beers, on board on embarkation day and in each port of call. Many lines confiscate bottles brought aboard at ports of call and dont return them until the end of the voyage. Whats the best way to sort it all out? Check the individual cruise companys rules online before spending money on wine you might not be able to drink during your vacation. travel@latimes.com Twitter: @latimestravel ALSO Best summer camp at sea? Which cruise lines have splashy fun for kids Isla Cozumel ranks high with cruise ship travelers, CruiseCompete says You could get booted from your next cruise if you ignore these rules Listen to top artists and jump in to jam on JazzFest at Sea cruise On a Thursday night in early March, a Malawian man named Gilbert Daire was woken by the sound of people trying to drill through his wall. He was convinced that hunters had come to kill him for his body parts. When his wife screamed, neighbors came to help and fended off the attackers. But Daire no longer feels safe in the streets or at home. He worries that the hunters will return. Daire has albinism, a condition that makes him a valuable commodity in parts of eastern and southern Africa. Like elephants and rhino, they are hunted and killed for their body parts, which can fetch thousands of dollars and are often trafficked across borders. Advertisement Slayings of people with albinism are common in Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique, where body parts are used in witchcraft rituals because of superstitions that they can bring riches, success, power or sexual conquest. Children are especially vulnerable. At least 20 Malawians with albinism have been killed for their body parts since November 2014, according to Amnesty International. But the number could be higher, with many other people with albinism having disappeared. In Tanzania, at least 75 have been killed since 2000. The danger has become so significant that the United Nations refugee organization has recently begun relocating families of people with albinism in Malawi to Canada and other countries. The recessive genetic condition, which limits the bodys production of melanin and results in lack of pigmentation in skin, hair and eyes often leading to skin cancer or eye damage affects as many as 1 in every 1,400 people in Africa. Because people with the condition there are so visible in their communities, they are often forced to hide in their houses to avoid attack, abduction and slaughter. But even there they are not safe. The attacks are often brazen: Homes are invaded or people are seized in broad daylight. Toddlers and children are snatched from impoverished single mothers or while walking to school. Family members such as uncles, fathers or boyfriends are often implicated. Their mutilated bodies are often found later without hands, feet, breasts, genitals, skin, eyes or hair depending on the spells to be cast. The latest apparent victim was a 9-year-old Malawian boy named Mayeso Isaac, who was traveling to visit relatives late last month when he was attacked and abducted by a gang of 10 men. He has not been seen since and it is feared he was killed for his body parts. It was part of a familiar pattern. Other recent young victims in Malawi: 2-year-old Whitney Chilumpha, whose teeth and clothes were found dumped in a neighboring village; 9-year-old Harry Mokoshini, whose head was recovered by police; and teenager David Fletcher, whose body was found without hands or feet. Edna Cedric lost one son to body part hunters. When they later returned for his twin brother, she was ready and managed to fight them off. Deprose Muchena, a spokesman for Amnesty International, said deep-seated cultural traditions persist, including a belief in mythical powers of people with albinism and a conviction that their body parts could change lives, bringing fabulous wealth, power or good fortune. Some believe that albinos are not human, that their only value is monetary and that they have gold in their bones. Its a readiness to believe in mythical expectations about how you create wealth, Muchena said. These are false, deep-seated beliefs that need to be eliminated in society. These beliefs feed on ignorance from the lack of education that afflicts a number of people in Malawi, particularly in rural areas. Many people with albinism in Malawi live in remote, impoverished communities where education levels are low, superstitions are common, unemployment is high, and information about albinism is not available. Women who give birth to children with albinism are sometimes shunned. Killings of people with albinism also occur in South Africa, although these are less common. In February, a 67-year-old traditional healer there was convicted of murdering a 20-year-old woman with albinism and sentenced to life in prison. The healer, Bhekukufa Gumede, and four young accomplices removed the genitals, limbs and skin of the victim, Thandazile Mpunzi, and tossed her body into a shallow grave. Two of the accomplices told the court that Gumede convinced them that they would get rich if they ingested traditional medicine with the body parts. The victims boyfriend, who helped lure her to her death, was sentenced to 18 years while three others were given 20-year terms. Muchena said poor policing and an inept criminal justice system in Malawi contributed to the attacks on people with albinism there, with nobody convicted in any of the 20 known slayings there in the last three years. Even suspects found with bones or other body parts were released because of errors by prosecutors or acquitted by poorly trained magistrates. Muchena said a government task force to tackle the problem had also failed to deliver. After a series of attacks this year, Malawian police chief Lextern Kachama told local media that the president had ordered police to protect schools from the hunters and called on communities to do more. People in the communities play very crucial roles in the protection of people with albinism because they stay with them all the time, he said. To read the article in Spanish, click here robyn.dixon@latimes.com Twitter: @RobynDixon_LAT ALSO He lost a leg to a shark. Now hes trying to save the species The day road rage led to a treason charge in Zambia, as democracy falters in Africa One of South Africas top tourist destinations is almost out of water A senior U.S. naval commander insisted Thursday that American policy on the South China Sea has not shifted, despite uncertainty about President Trumps response to Chinese militarization of the disputed waters. The policy is consistent between the two administrations, said Adm. Scott Swift, who leads U.S. naval forces in the Pacific. I dont think anybody is expecting this huge reversal. Swift spoke aboard the guided-missile destroyer Sterett during its scheduled stop in Zhanjiang, a seaside steel town on Chinas far southern tip. The ship docked amid Peoples Liberation Army ships at a Chinese naval base. The port city is the naval headquarters responsible for operations in the South China Sea. Advertisement The commander stressed continuity amid concerns Trump is looking the other way on Chinas island-building in favor of its help thwarting North Koreas nuclear ambitions. Allies received some reassurance last month when a U.S. warship sailed near artificial islands China claims, the first test of Beijings assertiveness since Trump took office. (Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang accused the U.S. of trespassing near islands where China has indisputable sovereignty.) Swift stressed Americas consistent presence in the region, but also played down the focus on these freedom of navigation operations, or FONOPS. The amount of FONOPS we do is infinitesimal compared to our everyday exchanges, he said. I dont see how those operations in the South China Sea should be viewed from a Navy perspective as any more consequential than anywhere else. Swift noted U.S. ship days in the South China Sea would probably reach 900 this year, up from about 700 annually. But he attributed it to carrier strike groups temporarily in the Pacific and cautioned against assuming a regular increase. China claims almost all of the South China Sea and has intensified its grasp in recent years by converting submerged reefs into full-scale islands with runways and military installations. It vies against neighbors for stretches of the strategically vital and mineral-rich waters, through which more than $5 trillion worth of trade passes each year. U.S. Navy Adm. Scott Swift (Eugene Tanner / AFP/Getty Images) The fight is about sovereignty and security, but its also about the ability to drill for oil and fish in plentiful waters. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan all have competing claims. American officials havent taken sides on the sovereignty dispute, but they have sought to reinforce the right to sail in international waters. Trump criticized Chinas island buildup during the campaign and then spoke less about the issue once he took office. The mixed messages are still there, said Euan Graham, director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute in Australia. Officials are trying to demonstrate consistency against a pattern of inconsistency at the White House, he said. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, speaking at an international security conference in Singapore this month, attempted to find a balance. He pledged to work with China on issues the two nations care about while also criticizing its indisputable militarization of artificial islands and excessive maritime claims unsupported by international law. The U.S., he said, cannot and will not accept unilateral, coercive changes to the status quo. Swift and the ship crew sought to highlight the collaborative side. The destroyers stop marks the first visit this year of a U.S. warship to mainland China. Officials billed the five-day layover as a chance to build maritime cooperation through pleasantries such as ship tours and a cooking exchange. Each side hosted an evening reception, where sailors exchanged belt buckles and uniform ornaments. Swifts wife accompanied sailors to a special education school. He gave Vice Adm. Wang Hai a tour of the ship. The destroyer, deployed from San Diego in March, recently assisted in a training exercise with two Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers over the South China Sea. Cmdr. Sean Lewis, the ships executive officer, said they conducted three other operations there showing our presence. Chinese analysts saw the visit as illustrative of the complex, ruffled rapport between the two countries. Two tracks are happening at the same time, said Xu Guangyu, former vice president of the Peoples Liberation Army Defense Institute of China. There are actions that are provocative, yet this visit is just friendly. This reflects the internal contradiction in the U.S.-Sino relationship. Nicole Liu in The Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report. Meyers is a special correspondent. Twitter: @jessicameyers ALSO Beijing protests U.S. patrol through South China Sea Chinas claims in South China Sea are invalid, tribunal rules, in victory for the Philippines Philippine presidents swagger recedes in the face of a powerful China The birthplace of one of Mexicos most infamous drug cartels looks more and more like its graveyard. Gunmen and associates of the Arellano Felix cartel, rulers of the citys criminal underworld for two decades, are being massacred by the score. Their mangled bodies turn up in garbage-strewn lots, a dozen at a time. Killers cut out their tongues, slice off heads, and leave behind taunting messages. Two barrels of industrial acid left on a sidewalk last week are believed to contain liquefied human remains. In all, at least 57 suspected organized crime members, a majority of them believed to be part of the Arellano Felix organization, were killed in the last week, including 12 dumped in front of an elementary school Sept. 29 and eight tossed in an industrial yard Thursday. Advertisement The carnage may be a sign that the cartel named for the Arellano Felix brothers is fractured and vulnerable to contenders, inside and outside the organization, who are looking to get control of lucrative trafficking routes into the United States, according to law enforcement sources. Several forces have converged on the trafficking organization. The U.S. government has dedicated tens of millions of dollars over two decades to combating trafficking across the border with Baja California. The Mexican government also has intensified its efforts aimed at the cartel, which has splintered. Rival cartels have attacked, announcing their arrival with the savage killings and banners unfurled across busy intersections. El Mayo and El Chapo are the ones trying to enter Tijuana, read one banner, referring to alleged trafficker Ismael Zambada, and Mexicos most-wanted man, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa cartel. We are now seeing the tail end of the Arellano Felix organization, said John Kirby, a former federal prosecutor in San Diego who co-wrote indictments against several members of the organization. Theyre losing what was left of their grip on Baja California. Elements survive Not so fast, others warn. Elements of the organization, which earned its ruthless reputation by turning back all challengers, remain very much alive. Some of its deadliest assassins still roam the region. Its reputed leader, Fernando Sanchez Arellano, nicknamed El Ingeniero, a nephew of the groups founders, is believed to have a large war chest. The organization retains strong ties to law enforcement. And a contender for control has emerged from within the Arellano Felix organization. Old cartels dont seem to go away; they just seem to morph into new variants over time, said David Shirk, director of the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego. Theres strong continuity for these organizations, dating back multiple generations of smugglers. The cartel came to power in the 1980s when Colombian cocaine barons, shut out of traditional trafficking routes across the Caribbean Sea into Florida, began partnering with Mexican crime groups. The Arellano Felix brothers -- Benjamin, Ramon, Javier -- moved in from Sinaloa and provided the perfect springboard. From their Tijuana stronghold, they controlled trafficking routes into California, the biggest drug market in a country that is the biggest consumer of cocaine in the world. By the 1990s, the brothers were smuggling tons of cocaine into the U.S., mostly through the crossing at Mexicali, and killing anyone in their way. Authorities believe they killed hundreds, including prosecutors, police and judges. The cartel suffered its biggest blows in 2002, when Ramon was gunned down by police in Mazatlan. With the feared enforcer out of the way, Mexican authorities weeks later arrested his brother Benjamin, the reputed brains of the organization. Javier, often likened by authorities to the inept Fredo Corleone of The Godfather film clan, managed to keep the cartel together with the help of brutal and loyal lieutenants. But after his 2006 arrest on a boat off Baja California, one associate after another began to fall. Gustavo Rivera, an alleged top lieutenant, was arrested outside a hot dog stand in Cabo San Lucas in March. Days later, Saul Montes, identified by authorities as an enforcer, was pulled out of his car by police at the Baja 250 off-road race. In August, another reputed enforcer, Ruben Rios Estrada, nicknamed El Pit, was dragged away from the bingo tables at a local casino by federal agents. The cartels leadership is said to have passed to Sanchez Arellano, the son of an Arellano Felix sister. Not much is known about Sanchez Arellano and its unclear whether Mexican authorities even know what he looks like. They have not released a photo, as they commonly do for drug suspects. Sanchez Arellanos attempts at reviving the family legacy have been blocked by his chief rival, Teodoro Garcia Simental, nicknamed El Teo, a former cartel lieutenant who broke off earlier this year, according to law enforcement authorities. Garcia often is blamed for the spate of abductions over the last few years, which have turned the city into one of the kidnapping capitals of the world. By April, the medical community, led by physicians who had been held for ransom, was threatening to stop treating patients in Tijuana. Sanchez Arellano demanded a halt or cutback in the kidnappings because they were bringing down too much heat on the organization, according to Mexican media reports confirmed by Mexican law enforcement authorities. Garcia allegedly refused, leading to an April gun battle between the rival groups that left 15 gunmen dead. Garcia fled to Sinaloa after the shooting. Tijuana enjoyed a relatively peaceful early summer. Then in late August, four decapitated bodies were found in an empty lot. Their heads, charred from gasoline burns, were left at their feet, along with a message, We are people of the weakened Engineer, referring to Sanchez Arellano. Killing field Since then, Tijuana has turned into a killing field of burned, decapitated and mangled bodies, many bearing similar messages. I think Teos back, with a vengeance, said one U.S. federal anti-drug official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak with the media. Garcias fierce offensive suggests that he has formed alliances with outside organized crime groups, possibly the Sinaloa cartel. The powerful Gulf cartel also could be operating in the city, said Martin Rubio, the Mexican federal attorney generals top official in Baja California, who said the beheadings were the telltale signatures of the Texas-based organization. The main battle for now appears to be between the cartel leader and the renegade lieutenant. Sanchez Arellano is said to control the coastal area; Garcia, the sprawling eastern part of the city. Each leader has an army of about 100 gunmen who roam in convoys of SUVs, according to the U.S. anti-drug official. If Sanchez Arellano claims the intimidating pedigree, Garcia boasts the fiercer reputation. One of his top enforcers, Raydel Rosalio Lopez, is nicknamed Crutches because he has left so many of his victims disabled. Theyre apparently the lucky ones. Police found eight more bodies Friday. Two had been decapitated, their tongues cut out and their heads placed atop their torsos. The killers left behind another message, according to the Baja California attorney generals office. Here you go Engineer, wrote the killers. richard.marosi@latimes.com In compliance with a March agreement between the United States and Iraq, which drops the latter from the list of countries embedded in President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban, officials detained and plan to deport 114 Iraqi immigrants from the Metro Detroit area over the weekend. This is supplemented by the 85 detainees already in custody throughout the rest of the U.S. since late spring. The arrangement to remove Iraqi nationals from the country arrives on the heels of the Iraq government agreeing to accept deportees as a condition of its removal from the Muslim-majority travel ban. Reports indicate that among the individuals arrested are members of the Iraqi Chaldean Catholic community, an indigenous group historically based in northern Iraq, and Kurdish Iraqis. Consisting of just a small portion of the entire Iraqi population, members of these minority groups have been subject to threats and acts of physical violence in the past. Attorneys representing the detainees and their families say there are legitimate fears of death and persecution should these individuals be returned to Iraq. Crackdowns on Iraqi nationals residing in the U.S. have been carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. Gillian Christensen, a spokesperson for ICE, stated that most of the crimes committed by the detained individuals include offenses such as murder, rape, drug-trafficking, and weapons violations. Immigration lawyers, however, counter that their clients' convictions were served and they should no longer be punished for old crimes. The inability of U.S. immigration officials to guarantee the safety of Chaldean Christians and Kurdish Iraqis leaves many, including Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean Community Foundation, worried about the move to push for deportations. Nevertheless, U.S. officials are receiving the cooperation of Iraqi diplomatic and consular missions to coordinate the deportation of Iraqis from the country. NASA has announced its new class of astronaut trainees for 2017 and one highly-decorated candidate could be the first Salvadoran-American in outer space. U.S Army Major Frank Rubio is a father of four and as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot flew over 600 hours of dangerous combat missions in Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The Miami, Florida-native and West Point graduate is also a respected flight surgeon, earning his Doctorate of Medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Rubio and the rest of the astronaut class will report for duty in August 2017, to begin two years of training as an Astronaut Candidate. Upon the completion of the famously rigorous gauntlet of tests, he will be assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office while he awaits a potential space flight assignment. VIDEO: What Astronaut Training Looks Like Rubio is now a member of an exclusive group of Latinos in space and contributing to outer space science. Many would be surprised to know that the first black astronaut was also a Cuban man, by the name of Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez. Mendez was a cosmonaut who participated in spaceflight missions with the Soviet Union in 1980. Jose Fernandez was the child of Mexican migrant farm workers in California who dreamed of becoming an astronaut. After working long hours in the fields and putting himself through school, he went on to develop early breast cancer detection technology and became the first astronaut to tweet from space in Spanish. Espero la cosecha de mi sueno sirva como inspiracion a todos! Acabo de configurar las computadoras. Buenas noches! Jose Hernandez (@Astro_Jose) August 29, 2009 They are joined by Dr. Rafael Navarro, the only Mexican researcher at the European Space Agency. Navarro is trying to tackle a nefarious problem for space travel: how to bring water to the cold and harsh climates of Mars in an attempt to terraform it for future generations Paulin Karine Diaz, a swimsuit model and television presenter in Colombia was publicly shamed and arrested on charges of kidnapping in front of her television studios Tuesday. As she walked into the offices of "Guia Magazin" within Channel 2 Studios in Cali, Colombia, members of the state's anti-kidnapping police were waiting for her. Officers recorded her and formally read a shaken and tearful Diaz her rights and delivered an arrest warrant on charges of kidnapping and blackmail. It was revealed after years of investigation that Diaz gathered intelligence and distracted businessman Hugo Lopez Moncayo and lawyer Milton Caro Villamil, on December 30, 2011, when both were in a nightclub in Cali. Diaz and a male partner nicknamed "La Bruja" demanded the families of the victims pay a ransom of 3 billion Colombian pesos to release them. Both victims are still missing. Two people in connection with the case have already been sentenced to over 20 years in jail. Higher ups at Channel 2 in Cali have issued a statement distancing their connection to her, stating that Diaz worked for free in exchange for exposure. LA TRIBUNE - Quelle est la situation de Boeing au moment ou le Salon du Bourget ouvre ses portes ? DENNIS MUILENBURG - Alors que Boeing entame sa 101e annee d'existence, notre entreprise est plus forte et plus competitive que jamais, et lance davantage d'innovations sur le marche qu'a n'importe quel moment de son histoire. Nous disposons de solides atouts pour aborder l'avenir et conquerir une part importante des marches de l'aviation commerciale, de la defense et des services, que nous estimons a environ 7 500 milliards de dollars au cours des dix prochaines annees. Quels sont les prochains defis que vous allez devoir relever au cours des annees a venir? L'un des principaux defis sera d'honorer notre carnet de commandes qui represente pres de 500 milliards de dollars. C'est une formidable opportunite au moment ou notre activite aviation commerciale monte en puissance. Nous augmentons les cadences de production du 737, tout en mettant en service en parallele le 737 MAX, [la version remotorisee du 737, ndlr]. De nouveaux modeles entrent en service dans la famille 787, avec l'introduction du 787-10, et nous poursuivons le developpement du 777X [nouvelle version du 777 prevue a partir de 2020, ndlr]. Dans le domaine de la defense, plusieurs nouveaux programmes sont en cours de developpement. Je pense notamment a l'avion de formation T-X. Nous sommes en train de livrer egalement a l'US Air Force notre nouvel avion de ravitaillement en vol, le KC-46, dont nous acheverons la livraison des 18 premiers exemplaires au cours de l'annee prochaine. Enfin, en juillet, nous allons lancer une nouvelle activite, Boeing Global Services (BGS), qui sera entierement operationnelle au troisieme trimestre 2017. Nous considerons les services comme un important vecteur de croissance pour notre entreprise. On observe depuis plus d'un an un ralentissement des prises de commandes, notamment sur le segment des gros-porteurs. Comment l'expliquez-vous ? En fait, le marche reste sain et le flux de commandes d'avions commerciaux demeure important. Fin avril, nous avions enregistre 205 commandes nettes depuis le debut de l'annee, ce qui correspond globalement aux chiffres de l'an dernier. Nous sommes convaincus qu'en 2017, le nombre de prises de commandes sera quasiment identique a 2016 [787, ndlr]. La croissance du trafic aerien continue d'etre tres forte. La progression est de 8,8 % depuis le debut de l'annee, un rythme superieur a une augmentation historique de l'ordre de 6 % en moyenne. Notre carnet de commandes represente un volume de production de sept ans, il est tres varie et reparti entre des clients du monde entier, de sorte que nous ne sommes pas dependants d'une region en particulier. Cette profondeur et cette diversite de notre carnet de commandes nous permettent d'aborder l'avenir en toute confiance. Les cours relativement bas du prix du petrole amenent certaines compagnies aeriennes a conserver leurs avions plus longtemps que prevu et a repousser le renouvellement de leur flotte, ce qui a un impact sur les prises de livraisons, notamment des avions long-courriers. Cela vous inquiete-t-il ? Comme je vous l'ai dit, nous considerons que le marche est globalement solide. Il est juste de dire qu'il y a une certaine hesitation sur les commandes de grosporteurs mais malgre tout, nous avons engrange 43 commandes de gros-porteurs depuis le debut de l'annee. Il est vrai que certaines compagnies prennent ce type de decision de conserver et de prolonger leur flotte actuelle. Par le passe, cela concernait environ 5 a 6 % du carnet de commandes. Nous continuons d'enregistrer des prises de commandes, avec des taux d'annulations et de reports de 1 % a 2 %, nettement inferieurs aux moyennes historiques. A quel moment voyez-vous le marche des gros-porteurs redecoller ? Nous prevoyons le debut d'un tres important cycle de renouvellement des flottes de gros-porteurs au debut de la prochaine decennie. Avec le 777 et le 787, nous serons tres bien armes pour repondre present. Au cours des vingt prochaines annees, le monde aura besoin d'environ 39 600 nouveaux avions commerciaux, dont environ 9 000 gros-porteurs. Pensez-vous que le salon du Bourget sera un bon millesime en termes de commandes? Les commandes ne constituent que l'une des dimensions d'un salon aeronautique, mais nous tablons sur un flux de commandes semblable a celui des annees precedentes. L'ampleur du carnet de commandes d'Airbus et de Boeing est telle que les compagnies aeriennes doivent patienter plusieurs annees entre la commande et la livraison. Comment allez-vous augmenter les cadences de production pour pouvoir reduire le temps d'attente ? Parallelement au lancement du nouveau 737 MAX [le premier appareil a ete livre fin mai, ndlr], nous augmentons les cadences de production du 737 pour passer de 42 appareils par mois actuellement a 47 au troisieme trimestre de cette annee, puis a 52 l'annee prochaine et enfin a 57 en 2019. Malgre cette hausse des cadences de production, nous continuons d'etre surbookes. Nous connaissons la demande du marche, et les signaux que nous envoient nos clients nous donnent les moyens d'aller encore plus loin. En ce qui concerne les gros-porteurs, nous mettons actuellement tout en oeuvre pour combler l'ecart de production de notre ligne de fabrication du 777 pendant la transition entre le 777 et le nouveau 777X [les cadences vont baisser cet ete a 5 avions par mois, ndlr]. Nous avons encore du pain sur la planche, mais si l'on prend les annees 2018 et 2019, notre production est deja vendue a hauteur d'environ 90 %. Pour ce qui concerne le 787, nos cadences sont de 12 unites par mois, et nous envisageons actuellement de les porter a 14 par mois d'ici a la fin de la decennie. Dans l'ensemble, nous allons construire et livrer environ 750 avions commerciaux cette annee. D'ici a la fin de la decennie, nous livrerons plus de 900 appareils par an. On le voit, c'est une solide activite qui connait une forte croissance. Boeing a commence a presenter aux compagnies aeriennes, le B737 MAX-10, une version allongee du 737, pour repondre au succes de l'A321neo. Avez-vous prevu de le lancer au Bourget ? Nous poursuivons les discussions productives avec nos clients. Nous n'avons pas encore pris de decision quant a ce lancement, mais ces discussions nous permettent de cerner les besoins de nos clients. Si nous lancions le 737 MAX-10, son entree en service aurait lieu d'ici a 2020. Sa capacite, en nombre de sieges, serait similaire a celle de l'A321neo mais ses couts d'exploitation seraient globalement inferieurs de 5 % en raison d'un poids inferieur. Cet appareil apporterait clairement une valeur ajoutee sur le marche. Potentiellement, le 737 MAX-10 pourrait se tailler 20 % a 25 % de parts de marche sur le segment des monocouloirs au cours des vingt prochaines annees. L'annee derniere, vous avez evoque le lancement d'un nouvel avion destine au milieu du marche , un segment de marche allant de 200 a 300 sieges, avec son coeur de cible entre 220 et 260 places. Ou en est votre reflexion aujourd'hui ? Dans ce cas egalement, nous menons des discussions productives avec nos clients. Nous voyons effectivement un marche entre les familles 737 [200-210 sieges, ndlr] et 787 [242 sieges pour le B787-8 en configuration de base a deux classes, ndlr]. Plusieurs approches permettent d'aborder ce marche et nous etudions les differentes options. A quoi ressemblerait cet avion ? Cet avion pourrait compter environ 250 sieges avec un rayon d'action d'environ 9 260 km (5 000 NM). Si nous decidions de le lancer, cet avion entrerait en service a l'horizon 2024-2025. En matiere de developpement et de financement de la R&D, il s'integrerait parfaitement dans le sillage du programme de developpement du 777X. Ne craigniez-vous pas qu'Airbus vous concurrence avec une amelioration de ses A321neo et A330 ? Notre concurrent dispose tres certainement d'options potentielles pour s'adresser a ce segment du marche. Mais malgre tous les avantages qu'il presente, je ne pense pas que l'A321 reponde vraiment aux attentes des clients de ce marche. C'est a mon avis difficile en optant pour un derive d'un avion existant. Avec le lancement du 787 en 2004, Boeing a mis en place un systeme de production mondialise qui a fait la part belle a la sous-traitance. Pensez-vous que ce nouvel avion puisse etre l'occasion pour Boeing de reorganiser son outil de production en vue de l'optimiser et d'abaisser les couts ? Quand nous regardons l'avenir, nous procedons etape par etape pour transformer notre systeme de production. Une telle transformation n'a rien a voir avec le lancement eventuel d'un nouvel avion destine au milieu du marche. Si nous decidions de lancer un nouvel avion, il ne fait aucun doute que nous nous appuierions sur une transformation de notre systeme de production. Certains projets menes aujourd'hui nous permettront d'etre encore plus competitifs demain. Je pense a l'utilisation de technologies d'automatisation ou de la robotique dans nos lignes de production, ainsi qu'aux nouvelles techniques de conception numerique qui nous aideront a construire, mais aussi a entretenir nos avions. Certains de ces moyens ont deja ete mis en oeuvre sur les programmes 737 MAX et 787. D'autres sont deployes en ce moment en amont du programme 777X. En fait, plusieurs techniques d'automatisation avancees sont d'ores et deja utilisees sur la ligne du 777 alors meme que nous nous preparons pour le 777X. Notre systeme de production traverse une periode de transformation extremement importante dont nous tirerons sans nul doute parti au cas ou nous deciderions de lancer un nouvel avion pour le middle of the market . Compte tenu du succes remporte par le 737 MAX, quand pensez-vous lancer un nouveau moyen-courrier ? Aujourd'hui, nous sommes particulierement concentres sur la famille 737. Avant de penser aux prochaines generations d'avions, nous devons attendre que notre nouvelle famille d'avions soit entierement deployee et que le 737 MAX ait atteint ses cadences de production maximales. Nous venons tout juste de livrer le premier MAX, avec d'ailleurs un peu d'avance sur le calendrier et a un cout inferieur au budget. Donc, pas de nouvel avion avant 2030 ? Tout a fait. Le C919, construit par la societe chinoise Comac, a decolle pour la premiere fois debut mai. La Chine et la Russie ont officiellement lance un programme gros porteur long-courrier. Pensez-vous que la Chine puisse reellement concurrencer Boeing ou Airbus ? Tout a fait. Nous nous attendons a ce que la Chine vienne nous concurrencer sur le long terme. Il n'est guere surprenant de voir arriver de nouveaux concurrents sur le marche de l'aviation commerciale, car c'est un secteur particulierement attractif ! Comme je vous l'ai dit tout a l'heure, ce marche pesera 7 500 milliards de dollars d'ici a dix ans. Il cree des emplois dans le domaine de la fabrication et contribue aux avancees technologiques. De tels atouts ne peuvent qu'attirer de nouveaux concurrents, plus forts. Nous apprecions la concurrence, car elle nous oblige a investir de facon continue en faveur de l'innovation, et pour l'avenir. La Chine represente un marche extremement important pour Boeing. Sur les 39 000 nouveaux avions qui seront livres au cours des vingt prochaines annees, 6 800 environ seront vendus en Chine. Nous developpons notre presence localement, tout en augmentant nos parts de marche. C'est pourquoi nous esperons collaborer avec la Chine tout en etant en concurrence. Ce modele base a la fois sur la collaboration et la concurrence represente l'avenir. Vous avez attaque le systeme europeen des avances remboursables dont beneficie Airbus et aujourd'hui, vous accusez Bombardier de casser les prix de ses avions aux Etats-Unis grace aux subventions des pouvoirs publics canadiens. Que pensez-vous de la creation en Chine d'une industrie aeronautique massivement soutenue par l'Etat ? Il est tres important que nous puissions travailler dans des conditions equitables aux quatre coins du monde, et que la concurrence soit saine. Recemment, le lancement des avions C-Series de Bombardier a suscite notre inquietude en raison de pratiques de dumping et du prix auquel ces avions etaient vendus. Nous ne craignons pas la concurrence des entreprises du monde entier. Mais l'important, c'est de pouvoir l'affronter sur un pied d'egalite aux quatre coins du monde. Et quel que soit le lieu ou sont implantes nos concurrents, il est important que ce principe soit respecte. Parlons a present de vos fournisseurs francais. En etes-vous satisfaits ? Absolument! Nous travaillons avec plus d'une centaine d'entreprises francaises , dont certaines depuis plus de quarante ans. Ce sont d'excellents partenaires. Nous assurons chaque annees aux entreprises francaises un chiffre d'affaires direct et indirect de 6 milliards de dollars. Dans le secteur aeronautique, environ 30 000 emplois high-tech sont lies aux partenariats que Boeing a noues en France. Les exemples de partenaires francais de haut niveau qui participent a differents programmes Boeing ne manquent pas. Par exemple, tous les avions de la famille 737 sont equipes de moteurs signes CFM, coentreprise de Safran et General Electric. La chaine d'approvisionnement du 787 compte 37 entreprises francaises, dont les produits figurent parmi les plus innovants et les plus avances au monde. Un certain nombre de fournisseurs francais sont egalement bien places pour remporter de nouveaux contrats sur le 777X. Et si nous devions lancer un nouvel avion, nul doute que ces partenaires continueraient de travailler avec nous. En quoi peuvent-ils s'ameliorer ? Nous operons sur un marche hautement competitif, et nous continuons de collaborer etroitement avec nos fournisseurs pour reduire les couts et ameliorer les performances et le niveau de qualite attendus, tout en continuant d'investir dans l'innovation pour l'avenir. Nos fournisseurs doivent par consequent continuer d'investir pour l'avenir, afin d'optimiser leur qualite, leurs couts et leur competitivite, et pour nous accompagner dans ce voyage vers l'innovation. SpaceX et Blue Origin sont en train de remettre en question le marche des lanceurs de satellites. Pensez-vous que les geants du Web, les Gafa (Google, Apple, Facebook et Amazon) constituent une menace pour les groupes industriels traditionnels ? Meme si Boeing est plus fort, en meilleure sante et plus competitif que jamais, nous devons continuer d'aller de l'avant et anticiper l'arrivee de nouveaux acteurs sur notre marche. Le marche de l'espace est aussi attractif que celui de l'aviation commerciale. Il seduit de nouveaux entrants comme SpaceX, Blue Origin et d'autres entreprises du secteur high-tech qui travaillent sur un acces low cost a l'espace. Certaines d'entre elles ont manifeste leur interet pour des avions sans pilote, ainsi que les constellations de satellites et les reseaux de communications. Dans de nombreux cas, ces entreprises peuvent etre de nouveaux concurrents, tout en etant de nouveaux partenaires. Par exemple, nous sommes aujourd'hui associes a Blue Origin pour le developpement d'un nouveau moteur destine a notre fusee de prochaine generation en vue d'abaisser le cout de l'acces a l'espace. L'industrie americaine de la defense a signe des contrats colossaux en Arabie saoudite. Pensez-vous que la presidence Trump offre de nouvelles opportunites dans le domaine des contrats a l'exportation ? Nous voyons cela comme une force. L'administration actuelle travaille sur une serie d'initiatives favorables aux entreprises, telles que la reforme fiscale et des reglementations, de nouvelles regles commerciales, etc. C'est egalement le cas pour le budget de la defense, que ce soit pour les ventes aux Etats-Unis ou dans le monde entier. Les initiatives que nous menons sur le plan de l'aviation commerciale et de la defense peuvent contribuer a ameliorer les relations entre pays et a la construction mutuelle d'une securite economique et nationale. ____ "Boeing is stronger and more competitive than ever" (English Version) On the eve of the Paris Air Forum and of the Bourget Air Show, Dennis Muilenburg gives to La Tribune an exclusive overview of the Boeing's strategy for the years to come. LA TRIBUNE - How will Boeing be presenting itself at the Paris Air Show ? DENNIS MUILENBURG - In our 101st year Boeing is stronger and more competitive than ever, and we are bringing more innovation to the marketplace than at any time in our history. We are well positioned for the future and to seize a major portion of the commercial, defense and service sectors, which we see as an approximately U.S. $7.5 trillion over the next ten years. What are the major challenges that Boeing will face in coming years ? One of our key challenges will be to deliver on our almost $500 billion backlog. That creates a great opportunity for us as we ramp up our commercial airplane business. We are ramping up 737 production and introducing the new MAX in parallel with that. We have new airplanes entering service in the 787 family with the introduction of the 787-10 and we are continuing on the development of the 777X (the new version of the 777 slated for 2020, editor's note). In the defense sector, we have a number of new development programs under way, such as the T-X trainer aircraft. We are also delivering our new aerial refueling tanker, the KC-46, to the United States Air Force. We will complete delivery of the first 18 aircraft over the next year. Lastly, in July we will be launching a new business, Boeing Global Services (BGS), which will be fully-operational in the third quarter of 2017. We see services as a big growth opportunity for our company. For more than a year, we have seen weakening orders, particularly in the area of jumbo jets. How do you explain that ? We actually continue to see a healthy commercial airplane market and a healthy orders pipeline. At the end of April, we had booked 205 net orders, roughly the same rate as last year. We still expect overall orders for 2017 to be similar to what we saw in 2016 (787, editor's note). Traffic growth continues to be very strong. We have seen about 8.8 % growth year-to-date compared to an historical average of 6 % annual growth. We have roughly 7 years of backlog - it is very diverse, spread around the world, so we are not dependent on any one particular region. That depth and diversity of backlog gives us great confidence for the future. Relatively inexpensive oil prices are leading some airlines to keep their current fleets longer than planned and postpone the replacement of their fleets and consequently deliveries, particularly for long-range airplanes. Does this worry you? Again, we continue to see the overall market as strong. It is fair to say that we have seen some hesitancy in wide-body orders, but even with that, we have received 43 wide-body orders year-to-date. Now, it's true that some airlines are making those kind of decisions to retain their fleets and extend their current fleets. Typically, in the past, those have been around 5 to 6 % of backlog. We continue to see orders - or deferrals and cancellations of 1 to 2 %, well below historical averages. At what point could the jumbo jet market pick up again ? We see a very significant widebody replacement cycle at the start of the next decade. We are very well positioned with the 777 and the 787 to address that demand. Over the next two decades, the world will need 39,600 new commercial aircraft, nearly 9,000 of those are wide bodies. Will the Paris Air Show be a good year in terms of orders ? Orders are just one dimension of the air show, but we expect a similar orders flow to what we have seen in previous years. The volume of the Airbus and Boeing backlogs is such that companies have to wait several years between ordering and delivery. How are you going to increase the production pace to decrease the waiting time ? As we introduce the new MAX airplane we are ramping up the 737 production rate from currently 42 airplanes per month to 47 in the third quarter of this year, then 52 next year, and finally 57 in 2019. Still, against this increasing production profile, we continue to be over-sold. We actually see market demand and signals from our customers that give us a capacity to go even higher than that. With regard to wide-bodies, we are very focused on filling the production bridge on our 777 line as we transition from the 777 to the new 777X. We still have some work to do there, but when we look at 2018 and 2019 we are about 90 % sold out. As for the 787, our production rate is 12 airplanes per month and we are currently considering raising it to 14 a month towards the end of the decade. Overall, we will produce and deliver about 750 commercial airplanes this year. By the end of the decade, we will be delivering well above 900 airplanes a year. So, this is a strong, growing business. Boeing started presenting the B737 MAX-10, a lengthened version of the B737, to challenge the success of the A321neo. Is a launch planned for the Paris Air Show ? We are continuing to have productive discussions with our customers. We have not made a launch decision, but we are having very productive conversations understanding customers' needs. If we do launch the 737 MAX-10, it would enter service in the 2020 time frame. It would have roughly the same capacity, seat count, as the A321neo, but have roughly 5 % lower operating cost because of its weight advantage, so it would clearly provide superior value in the marketplace. The 737 MAX-10 could potentially take on 20 % to 25 % of the overall single-aisle market over the next twenty years. Last year you mentioned the idea of launching a new airplane for the "Middle of the Market, " a market segment ranging from 200 to 300 seats with the heart of the market being between 220 and 260 seats. What is your thinking now ? Here again, we are having productive discussions with our customers. We do see a marketplace, positioned between the 737 (200-210 seats, editor's note) and the 787 (242 seats for the B787-8 in the basic configuration, dual-class, editor's note) families. It can be addressed in several ways. We are evaluating our options. What would this airplane be like ? We see that airplane being one that could potentially be an aircraft with a capacity of about 250 seats with around 5,000 miles (9,260 km) of range capacity. If we chose to launch it, this aircraft would enter service in the 2024 to 2025 time frame. And from a development standpoint, a research and development funding standpoint, it would feather in very nicely on the backside of our 777X development program. Aren't you worried that Airbus will compete with you with the A321neo and A330neo ? Our competitor certainly has potential options for addressing this market segment, but I would argue that no matter how many plus signs you put on the A321, it can't really address that marketplace. It would be very difficult to address it with a derivative of an existing airplane. The B787 launch in 2004 was paralleled by a new production organization relying on a multitude of subcontractors around the world. Could this new airplane be an opportunity to reorganize your production system in order to optimize it and reduce costs ? When we look to the future, we are going through a number of steps to transform our production system. Such a transformation is not dependent on the potential launch of a new Middle of the Market airplane. If we launched a new airplane, certainly we would leverage that production system transformation. We already have work underway that will make us even more competitive tomorrow. This includes use of automation and robotics in our production lines, and new digital design techniques that will help us in production and in servicing our airplanes. Some of those have already been implemented today on the 737 MAX and on the 787. Others are being delivered now as we prepare for the 777X. In fact, some of those advanced automation techniques are already being used on today's 777 line, as we prepare for the 777X. Our production system is experiencing an extremely important period of transformation from which we will no doubt benefit should we decide to launch a new Middle of the Market airplane. In light of the success of the 737 MAX, when do you expect to launch a new medium-range airplane ? We are very focused on the 737 family today. Before we can think about future generations of airplanes, we are going to wait until we roll out our new airplane family and get the 737 MAX fully up to its production rate. We have just delivered the very first MAX airplane, actually ahead of schedule and under cost. But not before 2030 for a new airplane ? That is correct. The C919, the airplane by the Chinese company Comac, took off for the first time at the beginning of May. China and Russia have officially launched a long-range jumbo jet program. Do you think that China can genuinely compete with Boeing or Airbus ? Yes, we expect China to be a long-term competitor. It is not at all surprising that we are seeing new players in the commercial airplane marketplace. It is a very attractive market, which, as I said earlier, will account for US $7.5 trillion over the next 10 years. It generates manufacturing jobs and technology benefits. All of that should attract new and stronger competitors. We like to compete and competition will drive us to continue to invest in innovation for the future. China is a very important market for Boeing. Of the 39,000 new aircraft that will be delivered over the next twenty years, about 6,800 of those will be in China. We are growing our local presence in China while we increase market share there. Consequently, we hope to collaborate with China while at the same time compete with them. This model, based on both collaboration and competition, is one that we will have in the future. You have attacked the European system of refundable advances granted to Airbus and you accuse Bombardier of price slashing in the United States thanks to subsidies from the Canadian authorities. What do you have to say about the creation of an aviation industry in China that is massively supported by the government ? It is very important to be able to operate on a level playing field around the globe and for competition to be healthy. Recently, we had concerns about the Bombardier C Series introduction because of a dumping behavior in terms of pricing of the aircraft. We are eager to compete with companies from around the world. But what's important is to be able to compete on a level playing field anywhere in the world. Regardless of where our competitors are located, it is important that we operate with that principle in mind. Are you satisfied with your French suppliers ? Yes. We work with more than a hundred French companies, some for more than fourty years. They are great partners. We do around 6 billion dollars of business per year in France through our direct and indirect supply chains. In the aerospace sector about 30,000 hightech jobs are related to the partnerships that Boeing has established in France. We have a number of great examples of French partners participating in the different Boeing programs. All of our 737s, for example, are equipped with engines by CFM, the Safran and General Electric joint venture. Thirty-seven French companies are part of the 787 program and their products are among the most innovative and advanced in the world. A certain number of French suppliers are also well positioned to win new contracts for the 777X. And if we launch a new airplane, there is a strong likelihood that these partners will continue to work with us. What can they do to improve ? It is a highly competitive marketplace and we continue to collaborate closely with our suppliers to improve cost, scheduled performance and quality - and continue to invest in innovation for the future. We therefore need our suppliers to continue to lean forward to invest for the future, to drive quality and cost performance, and competitiveness, and to accompany us on this journey of innovation. SpaceX and Blue Origin are in the process of disrupting the launch vehicle market. Are GAFA a threat to conventional industrial groups ? Even though Boeing is stronger, healthier and more competitive than ever, we need to move forward and be ready for new players to enter our marketplace. The space market is just as attractive as the commercial aviation market. It attracts newcomers such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other companies in the high-tech sector that are working on low-cost access to space. Some of them have shown an interest in unmanned aircraft, satellite networks and telecommunications networks. In numerous cases these companies can be new competitors, but also new partners. For example, we are currently working with Blue Origin to develop a new rocket engine of our next generation rocket, to provide lower cost access to space. The American defense industry has obtained huge contracts in Saudi Arabia. Does the Trump presidency offer new opportunities in terms of export contracts ? We see strength there. The current administration is working on a series of pro-business initiatives, such as tax and regulatory reform, and new trade policies. We are also seeing strength in the defense budget, both for sales in the United States and around the world. The work that we do on commercial airplanes and defense products can be part of enhancing those country-to-country relationships and mutually building economic and national security. The Syrian army on Thursday retook a gas field in the country's centre from the Islamic State group, a monitor said. "Regime forces seized the Arak gas field" in the central province of Homs, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Arak, like much of the surrounding desert region of Badiya, had been in the hands of the jihadists since 2015. The army is pressing an offensive to recapture the vast region, which stretches from central Syria to the borders with Iraq and Jordan. The Arak gas field lies 35 kilometres (20 miles) northeast of the ancient city of Palmyra, which regime forces retook with Russian support in March after IS overran it in 2014. The Observatory says the Syrian army now stands 25 kilometres to the south of the town of Al-Sukhna, which lies even further northeast. The recapture of Al-Sukhna could allow the army to advance into the mostly IS-held province of Deir Ezzor. On Saturday, the army said it holds more than 20 percent of the Badiya region, after reaching the Iraqi border for the first time since 2015. The regime has lost control of many oil and gas fields since the start in 2011 of Syria's conflict, especially in the provinces of Homs and Deir Ezzor. But the army has since regained some including the Jazal oil field, some 20 kilometres northwest of Palmyra. The war has killed more than 320,000 people and displaced millions since it started in March 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Search Keywords: Short link: fever during the second trimester of pregnancy increases risk of having a child with ASD by 40 % Children born to mothers who experienced fever, especially multiple fevers, during the second trimester of pregnancy are at increased risk for developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a new study suggests. Researchers found that mothers who experienced a fever over 99 degrees F (37.22 C) during the second trimester of pregnancy had a 40 percent increased risk of having a child with ASD compared to women who had no fevers. But none of the women who used ibuprofen to treat a fever during pregnancy gave birth to children later diagnosed with autism, the researchers note. What is particularly important about our findings is that it not only strengthens the evidence for a particular pathway for ASD, but it also suggests that we may be very close to understanding how to safely mitigate or prevent some outcomes by directing prevention or intervention strategies toward this pathway, said lead author Dr. Mady Hornig of Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health in New York. An increased risk of ASD among women with prenatal fevers has been reported before, the authors write in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Whats new about this study is that it is the first large, prospective investigation showing a so-called dose-response effect. The chances of ASD rose with the number of maternal fevers, increasing by more than 300 percent if a mother had three or more fevers after the first trimester. Since fever is caused by acute inflammation, the profound difference in risk of ASD is consistent with the idea that a longer exposure of the fetus to an inflammatory environment in the womb can cause a greater disruption of brain development, said Hornig. A crosstalk of immune molecules called cytokines can reach the fetus across the placenta to affect the developing brain. The findings also provide clues to suggest women are using the wrong drug during pregnancy to bring down fever, according to Hornig. While none of the mothers who took the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) ibuprofen to treat fever during the second trimester had a child who developed ASD, mothers who took acetaminophen during this time made very little difference in their childs fever-related risk for ASD. The study analyzed data on 95,754 women participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, which is following pregnant Norwegian women and their children born between 1999 and 2009. Among its limitations is that small numbers of women used ibuprofen during pregnancy so researchers cant be confident that ibuprofen had mitigating effects. In addition, the study did not address the causes of fever, such as microbial infections. An ongoing study is testing blood samples collected at mid-pregnancy and at birth to explore the possible role of specific infectious agents and the contribution of distinctive patterns of immune response among mothers and children to understand the mechanisms creating vulnerability, the researchers note in a statement. This is a really important study that sheds light on risk factors for ASD because of its size and it looked at how the use of different medications, as well as how the timing of a fever affects the risk of ASD. I dont think previous studies have done that well enough. However, the studies have not been entirely consistent so we need to conduct more of them to sort out these effects, said Dr. Geraldine Dawson, who wasnt involved in the study. Dawson, who directs the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development in Durham, North Carolina, said she thinks its very important that fever and the medications used to treat it not be considered to be the causes of autism, but rather potential risk factors, just as cholesterol and high blood pressure are risk factors for heart disease. Fever may contribute to risk of ASD, but likely doesnt operate in isolation, she told Reuters Health. Dr. Nathaniel DeNicola, an obstetrician at George Washington University in Washington, DC, told Reuters Health it is premature to recommend any changes in medical practice based on the study. In general, obstetrical practice wont change with one study. Well need a large meta-analysis or systematic review to change our policy, he said. There has been an increase in ASD, he added, and maternal fevers may be along for the ride." Search Keywords: Short link: The UNESCO World Heritage Site, where both pyramids of King Senefru are located, has been restored to its former state Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities has succeeded in removing all encroachments made since 2011 on the Dahshur Necropolis south of Cairo, where both pyramids of King Senefru are located. Mahmoud Afifi, head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities at the mInistry, told Ahram Online that the ministry worked in collaboration with the Tourism and Antiquities Police, Cairo Governorate and General Security, to restore the archaeological site and its safe zone. Afifi said the encroachments were made during the period of low security Egypt witnessed in the aftermath of January 2011 revolution. Dahshur inhabitants had begun to use the area neighbouring the pyramids of King Senefru (the Bent Pyramid) and king Amnemhat III as a burial ground. Adel Okasha, director-general of the Dahshour archaeological site, said the security forces who cleared the area were led by Major General Mustafa Enany, Assistant Giza Security Director for the South, who completed the operation in two days. Okasha said the Dahshour inhabitants would be compensated with an area of land far away from the site, once the Ministry of Antiquities has inspected and ensured it is free of archaeological evidence. Sherif Abdul Moneim, assistant to the minister of antiquities, said that Dahshur Necropolis is a very important archaeological site because it includes the first attempts to construct a complete pyramid. The necropolis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Search Keywords: Short link: Jun 15, 2017, 3:27pm ET Ford to build Transit EV for Germany's Deutsche Post Ford is going to make an electric version of its Transit. Ford will soon become the largest manufacturer of battery-electric medium-duty delivery vehicles in Europe thanks to a new partnership with Germany's Deutsche Post. Ford announced this week that it is working with Deutsche Post subsidiary StreetScooter GmbH to create a new electric delivery truck based on the Ford Transit. The electric delivery truck will be used by Deutsche Post DHL Group. Drivetrain details were not revealed, but Ford expects to begin production of the plug-in truck next month. By next year, there will be at least 2,500 units of the Transit EV making their delivery rounds. "E-Mobility and innovative traffic solutions for urban areas are key focuses for us as we transform our business to meet future challenges," says Steven Armstrong, group vice president and president Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ford Motor Company. "As the leader in commercial vehicles in Europa, this partnership plays perfectly to our strengths and in StreetScooter and the Deutsche Post DHL Group we have a partner with enormous competence and a worldwide network. StreetScooter already operates a fleet of 2,500 small electric vans in Germany. A two-alarm fire Wednesday night at Yianni's Taverna in Lower Saucon Township drew fire crews from two counties. It was reported about 11 p.m., an hour or so after the 3760 Old Philadelphia Pike restaurant closed for the night. Smoke could be seen coming from the back of the building off Route 378 near Seidersville Road, and firefighters inside were pulling down ceiling tiles, according to reports from the scene. It was reported under control at 11:50 p.m. In addition to responders from Northampton County, the Springtown Volunteer Fire Co. in Springfield Township, Bucks County, sent an aerial truck. Yianni's is advertised as an authentic Greek restaurant and tavern offering brunch, lunch and dinner. The restaurant had been called Gus's Crossroads and is owned by the same family, according to its website. The property's history as an eatery is said to date to 1871. Freelance photographer Mike Nester contributed reporting from the scene. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Bethlehem police Thursday announced a new Internet Crimes Against Children unit, as well as the investigative task force's first arrest. Derek J. Caponigro, 43, of the 100 block of Garibaldi Avenue in Roseto, was arrested Thursday by detectives assigned to the unit, Bethlehem police Chief Mark DiLuzio said. Caponigro faces 19 charges, including indecent assault on a victim younger than 13, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children, invasion of privacy and counts related to child porn. He was arraigned before District Judge Roy Manwarig II and sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $150,000 bail, according to police. Additional charges are pending in the ongoing investigation, police said. "From videos seized during the investigation, it became apparent that Caponigro not only shared child pornography, but in fact made child pornography," DiLuzio said in a statement. "One juvenile has been identified thus far in the investigation." The Bethlehem police Internet Crimes Against Children, or ICAC, unit is part of the broader Pennsylvania ICAC Task Force commanded out of the Delaware County District Attorney's Office, according to DiLuzio. Local detectives assigned to the unit will submit monthly statistics on investigations. Through training and software provided at no cost to Bethlehem, the detectives will be able to track child porn suspects and share information on cases across jurisdictions. The investigators assigned to the Bethlehem ICAC unit are are Detective Sgt. Robert Toronzi, Special Victims Detective Thomas Galloway, Detective Sam DelRosario and Detective Michael DiLuzio. "Bethlehem Police developed this unit in response to a growing need to combat crimes against children and in response to the public's concern for the safety of young children," DiLuzio, the police chief, stated. "The police department and cooperating agencies recognized the need for such a program, heard the concerns of the public and thus this unit was established." This newly formed unit will work along with the Lehigh County Computer Crime Task Force and the Officer David M. Petzold Digital Forensics Laboratory of Lehigh County, based at DeSales University. "I would like to thank Mayor Robert Donchez, along with Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, Delaware County District Attorney's Office and PA State ICAC Task Force and the Officer David M. Petzold Digital Forensics Laboratory of Lehigh County, for their assistance and support in this new initiative by Bethlehem police to combat Internet crimes against children," DiLuzio stated. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. As many as 50 firefighters battled a smoky blaze Wednesday night at a Lower Saucon Township restaurant, authorities said. A Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal was investigating Thursday morning seeking a cause for the fire reported just before 11 p.m. at Yianni's Taverna at 3760 Old Philadelphia Pike, Lower Saucon Fire Rescue Chief Ty Johnson said. The cause and ignition point remain under investigation, Johnson said. No one was hurt. No flames were visible when firefighters arrived, but there was heavy smoke coming from the kitchen vents and the roof line, Johnson said. It took about an hour to get the fire under control and then out, Johnson said. Firefighters remained on site until after 4 a.m., he added. The restaurant's owners arrived as the the effort was underway, Johnson said. The restaurant won't be able to immediately reopen, he added. The owners posted on Facebook that the restaurant will be closed until further notice. Already on Thursday, a contractor had been to the site and begun to shore up some of the damage. We are very sad to announce there was a fire in our restaurant last night, June 14, 2017. We will be closed until... Posted by Yianni's Taverna on Thursday, June 15, 2017 A woman who answered the phone Thursday morning at building owner Gus Zannakis' home in Bethlehem Township said she couldn't speak about the restaurant. The former Gus's Crossroads was gutted in 1983 in a fire that destroyed most of the inn. Thirteen years later, an electrical fire on the top floor virtually destroyed the building and caused extensive fire, smoke and water damage. On Wednesday night, Lower Saucon was assisted by firefighters from Upper Saucon Township, Hellertown's Dewey Fire Co., Steel City, Eastern Salisbury, Nancy Run and Springtown, Johnson said. Dewey Fire Co. provided EMS services. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A Hellertown woman called borough police to report two teens broke into her apartment and stole a bottle of prescription medication while she was hospitalized. But Hellertown police said Krystl Slifer, 32, was trying to frame the teens after molesting them during a trip to sell her medication. Slifer, of the 300 block of Main Street in the borough, was arraigned Thursday on seven charges including filing a false police report and indecent assault. She is free after posting 10 percent of $7,500 bail. Slifer's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment about accusations. Slifer maintained her innocence in a series of Facebook messages. "The kids are lying in retaliation for getting caught breaking into my house. I never had sexual contact with the kids whatsoever," she wrote. "This will come out during the hearing, innocent until proven guilty." Slifer reported the "burglary" the night of May 14, police said. She claimed the 16-year-old and 17-year-old stole a bottle with 90 tablets of Xanax while she was getting treatment following a car crash. Police began investigating, and said they learned the two teens were in the car with Slifer when she crashed. The trio were on their way to Quakertown at the time, where the 16-year-old was supposed to sell some of Slifer's pills, according to police. Slifer allegedly grabbed at the teens' genitals multiple times during the trip, causing her to lose control of the vehicle and crash, police said. Police said the 16-year-old fled the crash scene, and dumped the bottle of pills and two marijuana smoking pipes on the side of the road. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the crash as a possibly DUI-related and Slifer is a suspect, Hellertown police said. Police spoke with the 16-year-old, and asked for proof to corroborate his version of events. Police said the teen showed them screenshots of Facebook messages with Slifer, where the pair discuss selling the prescription drugs for $2 a pill, as well as Slifer providing alcohol and using marijuana. Police got a warrant for Slifer's cellphone and found the same Facebook messages on her phone. Slifer is charged with solicitation of minors to traffic drugs, unlawful contact with a minor, conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver Xanax, indecent assault, unsworn falsification to authorities, filing a false police report and conspiracy to commit the corruption of minors. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Laois Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley has welcomed the abolition of phone roaming charges across the EU but warns that Brexit could mean they will make a comeback. Sinn Fein Spokesperson for Communications Brian Stanley TD said that from today roaming charges will no longer apply within the 28 EU Member States, something that has come after a decade long battle with telecoms companies. This action is very welcome but we must be conscious that in the context of Brexit people travelling on this Island may in the future again face charges. With Britain leaving the EU, someone could be charged going to Banbridge but not going to Bulgaria. These new roam like at home rules will mean the current extra charges that are presently imposed can no longer apply. "This is a victory for citizens. What this means is that from today the 15th June, current or new contracts that include roaming services will change to a roam like at home clause. The new EU rules will cover data services up to a cap, voice calls and SMS," said the Laois TD. These new rules apply to the 28 EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. We need to know what action this Government is going to take to ensure those who travel from Dundalk to Newry or from Letterkenny to Derry are not again inflicted with extra charges by telecoms companies in the future, he said. The members of the eight branches that make up Laois Macra na Feirme are looking forward to a great annual awards night towards the end of June in Portlaoise. Niamh Ryan, Laois Macra PRO said the event promises to be a celebration. "This is a fantastic night for the 8 clubs in the county to come together and celebrate the achievements of club members in Macra events throughout the year. "Medals and trophies will be presented to clubs and individuals who have won the county rounds of competitions. These winners have gone ahead to represent Laois in the National Finals against other counties throughout Ireland," Niamh told the Leinster Express. Competitions vary from sport, farming, talent and drama and personality competitions to mention a few. Members have also voted on who they think is Laois Macra Person of the year and the Eoin Doran Shield will be presented to Laois Macras Club of the year also. Drinks reception commences at the hotel when the event takes place on Saturday, June 24th from 7pm. This will be followed by a four course meal, award presentation and DJ to follow. "Macra and non-Macra members are more than welcome to join the celebrations," said the PRO. Tickets are 30 and be purchased from any of the eight clubs in the county or contacting our Facebook page Laois Macra na Feirme. A well known Irish artist was thrown out of Athy District Court this week for sketching judge Desmond Zaidan as he worked. Blaise Smith with an address listed as Scart, Dungarvan, Gowran, Co Kilkenny was before the court on Tuesday for driving without any insurance at Ballitore on September 29, 2016 last. However before his case was called Judge Desmond Zaidan noticed Mr Smith leaning against the wall with a sketch pad intently drawing the judge as he worked through the other cases on his list. Judge Desmond Zaidan stopped what he was doing and asked gardai to find out why 'that man' was drawing him. I am a human being and I am entitled to my privacy, he said. He then ordered the removal of Mr Smith from the court. Gardai asked Mr Smith to leave. When he case was later called his solicitor Conal Boyce explained the matter. Mr Smith had reason to leave the court earlier - he meant no disrespect and he is very sorry. What my client was doing was drawing you, he said. He then handed in a copy of Irish Arts magazine which features Mr Smith on the front cover. You'll see a large name printed here,he said. Judge Zaidan said that if Mr Smith is looking for models he could look elsewhere. Mr Smith then told the court that he was 'very sorry' adding that he meant 'no disrespect'. The court then heard the details of the case. He was stopped driving with out any insurance at a routine checkpoint near Ballitore. The court heard that Mr Smith has two vehicles and he had not realised that the insurance was out on one of them since June 21, 2016. I could go on here and say that he could put you in the way of a painting worth thousands by way of a fine,said Mr Boyce. Judge Zaidan said the subject could not be him and then gave Mr Smith the benefit of the Probation Act. An information morning will be hosted by Enterprise Ireland at the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth from 10.30am-12.30pm on Monday, June 26 next. Enterprise Ireland is now seeking applications for funding under four streams with varying investment levels: Major Change Projects - 2m up to 5m per project; Regionally Significant Projects - 250,000 up to 2m per project; Local and Community Enterprise Development Projects - 50,000 up to 250,000 per project and Industry Clusters - 50,000 up to 250,000 per project According to organisers the session is for those interested in obtaining further information, and those who may be interested in submitting applications under the new Regional Enterprise Development Fund. The Fund is aimed at accelerating economic recovery in every part of the country by delivering on the potential of local and regional enterprise strengths and job creation. Mick Brougham, Regional Director said that a key role of Enterprise Ireland is about supporting enterprise development. This fund will provide an important infrastructural mechanism to drive growth in developing enterprise across all regions. The fund will also support the development of industry clusters which will facilitate knowledge transfer, innovation and collaboration among organisations. These are important drivers of enterprise growth and job creation, and we look forward to supporting more regionally-based projects through this initiative. Up to 190 new jobs will be created at Donnelly Mirrors Ltd, Naas, over the next three years, the Leinster Leader reported on 22 May, 1997. The massive employment boost is a result of a new investment proposal with IDA Ireland which will see employment at the factory rise from 324 to 514. The majority of the positions will be in manufacturing, thereby providing employment opportunities for school leavers and people with technical experience. Recruitment and training for some of the new production jobs has already begun. The expansion was announced on Monday by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment Richard Bruton who described it as A huge vote of confidence by the US parent company in the commitment and skills of the local management and workforce. The company, established in 1968, produces a range of automotive mirrors for the international auto industry. Sophisticated electronic mirrors are produced for European, American and Japanese car manufacturers. READ MORE: Donnelly Mirrors 'was like nothing else we'd seen before' (Feature on 10-year reunion) News of the jobs bonanza was warmly welcomed by Sean OGorman, President of Naas Chamber of Commerce. We have a very large young population coming up and its important to target them, he said. Cllr. Charlie Byrne, Chairman of Naas UDC, described the initiative as very welcome and said, It shows that Naas is the town to come to. READ MORE: Poldy's, Donnelly's and the factory-like bank - the workplaces that kept Naas afloat And Minister of State Emmet Stagg described it as marvellous news for Naas and County Kildare. *Donnelly Mirrors, which was a huge employer in Naas, shut its doors in 2006. In an election supposedly predicated on the issue of Brexit, few Liberal Democrats expected the issues of gay sex and abortion to dominate the headlines for the Uks most unequivocally pro-European party in 2017. Tim Farrons repeated refusal to answer the question as to whether gay sex was a sin during an interview in April resulted in exceptional news coverage of the Lib Dems, but for the wrong reasons. Having led the party to a succession of impressive by-election victories and surpassing his own target to reach 100000 members 3 years early, it was up until that point going so well. Farron was forced to clarify his position in Parliament the following day, exclaiming I do not (think gay sex is a sin). Unfortunately for the Liberal Democrats, the costs of Farrons 24-hour inertia were colossal. I wont hesitate to disclose that the unfolding of this story was somewhat uncomfortable for me, worsened by Farron failing to distance himself from a statement that abortion is wrong, made in 2007. Whilst many of my compatriots dismissed these stories as irrelevant, citing Tims positive voting record on LGBT rights, I was initially less willing to swat it aside. As a former member of the Labour Party, I have borne witness to the absurd realities of blinkered party-political tribalism, and believe it to be a dangerous trait. From disposing our future prosperity through continued support of hard Brexit, through to dodging his ostensible links to the IRA, for some folk its clear that Jeremy Corbyn is incapable of wrongdoing. The obstinance of Corbyns loyalists are reminiscent of a cult. Liberal Democracy necessitates divergence from this configuration; the Liberal Democrats are the party of evidence-based policy. To examine whether Farron is liberal is to investigate the problem in the context of history, as opposed to adopting the kneejerk-beliefs of the modern day pay-per-click press. To these ends, we require some analysis of social liberalism: enter John Stuart Mills famous quote: Your liberty to swing your fist ends where my nose begins. The key question is therefore, how much of Tim Farrons evangelical fist-swinging collided with the nose of modern progressive liberalism? Let me offer an analogy. I havent eaten meat for 16 years. It is also my belief that due to the extreme carbon intensity of its production its virtually impossible to morally justify eating beef and lamb in particular. This does not mean, however, that I advocate some form of autocratic food-fascism. Equally, if Tim Farron relied upon his faith to inform his political convictions, hed be a card-carrying member of the DUP. In Tim Farron I see a true liberala man willing to stand by the courage of his convictions: from defending LGBT rights, to admitting he smoked marijuana at university in order to make a point about prohibition, its clear we have lost a brave and progressive leader. Tim was the only politician who mentioned the importance of tackling climate change in every public engagement I witnessed: one of the core reasons I voted for him as leader in 2015. Tim was undoubtedly the most inspiring politician in the UK on the refugee crisis. How many others had the fervour to travel to Lesbos, witness the situation first-hand, and roll their sleeves up to support some of the worlds most vulnerable citizens? On Brexit undoubtedly the most pertinent political issue for a generation Tim was a beacon of hope amongst a tempest of chaos and delusion. The real test is therefore whether history will kinder to Tim Farron than the publics misunderstanding of liberalism. We have lost a great leader. * Jim Hodgson is an environmentalist who joined the Liberal Democrats on 8 May 2015. During this General Election campaign I spent my time helping my local party and in the last week, helping in a target seat. It became clear that this election wasnt a Brexit election but instead a clear battle between Corbyn and May, Red vs Blue. The policies of the Lib Dems didnt seem to resonate nationally even though they were clearly sensible and credible, which lead to our partys vote share declining by 0.5% compared to 2015. From this its clear to see that tactical voting damaged the party in nine target seats leading to deposits been lost in the most extreme circumstances. With the two main parties obtaining a collective 82.4% of the vote, higher than any election since 1970, we need to focus on surviving in a two party system now more than ever. While our vote share did decline, we did however make net gains but also losing some of the partys best talent like Nick Clegg on the way. The fact that the party could still make gains in such a tough political climate for third parties is a demonstration for future survival. Targeting the right seats with a mass amount of resources from the central party and the nearby local parties shows how, as a party, we can still stand toe-to-toe with the two larger parties. Moreover the party shouldnt have got so bogged down with what should be non-issues. Farron constantly being badgered by the media about his LGBTQ stances could have done the damage in places such as Richmond Park where we lost by just 45 votes. A wobbly election campaign paralleled with the Labour vote holding up in target seats was fatal in so many places such as Cambridge. That is another challenge the party will have to deal with if we are to survive through a two party system stronger than its been in my lifetime. In the light of this election result the Lib Dems have to figure out how to carry on opposing the two main parties by carrying our liberal and tolerant values through this politically turbulent time. As a party we should continue to champion issues on the NHS, mental health and Europe as well as make a new and fresh push for a fairer voting system that would see us no longer discriminated against. While opposing our two rivals on key issues we disagree on, we should also seek to reach out to them in areas we can compromise and make deals that put the country firs;, the key area where this should take place is on Brexit. If the voice of 12 outright pro-EU MPs can fight to keep Britain in the single market alongside whats left of the moderate wing of the Labour Party and the Scottish Nationalist Party, then the Lib Dems can safely say they fought for what they believed in and got a result. In addition to lacing fresh new ideas with the longstanding liberal beliefs, theres the task that all parties are fronted with: understanding this new political territory. The young and old are more divided on issues than ever and Brexit was a political earthquake that the country is still reeling from. The Lib Dems need to be pragmatic to do what they can to survive and then thrive. This being my first general election has taught me a lot about how our tenacious party continues to not only survive but grow and, although the result could have gone a lot better sit hows that we will not be squeezed out of the argument on so many of Britains key issues. * Mark Henderson is the pseudonym for a member who wishes to remain anonymous for professional reasons. His identity is known to the Lib Dem Voice team. In an article in The Guardian Ed Davey writes: Perhaps Theresa May has a sense of mischief after all. Putting Michael Gove in charge of the Department of the Environment is much like putting a wolf in charge of the chicken coop. To say that the Gove pulse is unlikely to race too much faster over environmental concerns would, from my experience of working with him, be an understatement. He probably regards global warming as an excuse to reduce winter fuel payments. May bringing in her old enemy demonstrates her crippling weakness. This desperate attempt to buy off those who might bring her down may help her own survival for another few months. Sadly, it will do nothing to help the survival of the planet. Ed recalls his spats with Gove during the Coalition: When I was energy and climate change secretary I sat around a cabinet table with Gove, and he couldnt help playing to the Tory climate-sceptic audience. As education secretary, he tried to ban climate change from the geography curriculum. After an angry exchange of letters with me, he eventually backed down. On another occasion, he stopped Amber Rudd my then junior minister from attending a critical climate change conference under the pretence of needing her for a vote in parliament. He speculates on the damage that could be caused: Thankfully, Gove will not have primary responsibility for Britains climate change efforts, which fall mainly to the energy department. But he will take charge of our environmental and land management policies including designing a British replacement for farming subsidies and drawing these up without a genuine commitment to tackling climate change would be a huge mistake. After his promise for 350m a week extra for the NHS, we wait to see whether he seeks to keep EU farming subsidies. He could also be a danger on transposing EU environmental regulations into British law. We know he has a natural inclination to reduce regulation. This could endanger efforts to reduce air pollution or protect habitats if he fails to keep the protections on which we rely. And finally: I call on Gove to release a clear statement acknowledging climate change is real; that hell do everything he can to tackle environmental problems, such as air pollution and flooding; and that, on this at least, he might humbly listen to experts. You can read the full article here. Radical centrism is often thought to be an oxymoron since Centrists rarely appear to want to tear up the current order and replace it with something new. However, given the significant challenges facing UK (and other countries throughout the world) is it not time to be bold in what we propose? For what has been shown across the world in the past year, most notably in France and the US and recently in the UK elections, is that a policy of more of the same will not win you an election. Theresa May, while deviating from traditional Conservative policy, represented the supposedly strong and stable status quo and Corbyn represented something newer and bolder, while the Lib Dems were certainly separate from these two they did not offer anything ground-breaking. The result of the election was a reward for Labour for daring to dream of something new and different, despite the fact that many of their policies only existed in an economic dreamland. The Lib Dems certainly did well to win 12 seats in a scenario when both Labour and Conservative had vote shares which were much higher than we had become used to, however the question remains whether the Lib Dems could have been the party to inspire people. The answer lies in France with Emmanuel Macron, he dared to do something new with his movement La Republique en Marche and he inspired people. Interestingly he won despite the presence of a more radical left-wing rival from the main left-wing party in Benoit Hamon, showing how the left does not have a monopoly on inspiring voters. This should give the Lib Dems hope as if they were to be as bold as Macron and promise something radical, but still centrist, then they could certainly win over the disaffected voters who are nonetheless centrist. In our world of increasingly polarised politics it is time for the Lib Dems to evolve their policy to offer something radical and distinct from the main two parties. Then they could certainly fill the centrist hole in UK politics, given that Corbyns new socialism and Mays so called Red Toryism push both parties to the extremes. Moreover, a clearer stance on Brexit would not go amiss, since as logical as the arguments for a referendum on the terms of Brexit are, being clearly for EFTA membership or EU membership would help the message get through. Now is the time for the Lib Dems to push on from our decent showing in the election last Thursday and offer something radical and inspiring to really take the fight to both parties in an increasingly likely early election. * Luke Jeffrey is Vice-Chair of Devon and Cornwall Young Liberals and the Youth Development Officer for Tiverton and Honiton Liberal Democrats. Overall I think Thursday night was very positive for the Liberal Democrats. We made four net gains, taking us up to twelve seats. This was in the face of a race to Number 10 where more than eighty per cent of voters backed the two main parties. Weve had some excellent big beasts like Jo, Vince, Stephen and Ed returned to Parliament, as well as fantastic new faces like Layla Moran and Christine Jardine. This article is going to focus on the lessons to be learnt, but lets not lose sight of the fact that this was a result which did us credit. Sadly we lost our only seat in Wales, and Sarah Olney lost out narrowly in Richmond Park. However, from my experience campaigning in Yorkshire Id like to put forward some ideas about what went wrong in Labour-facing seats. First of all, and most frustratingly, the legacy of the coalition is still doing us damage. That is to be expected on areas like the Bedroom Tax many left-leaning voters cant forgive us yet. Of course, in seats where Labour is our main opponent this effect is exaggerated. We must continue to show voters they can trust us again. Further to that, what can we offer Labour voters that Corbyn cant? Polling shows that Brexit isnt yet the electorates biggest concern, especially for Labour voters who care about the NHS far more. So where do we have or could we have policy to set ourselves significantly apart and appeal to Labour voters? Another key issue was the partys national literature sent from HQ. This seemed to be badly targeted and was perceived as very negative by some voters I spoke to in Leeds. Sending Labour supporters leaflets warning about Corbyn in Downing Street did not help us at all. Sending Brexiteers literature about a hard Brexit was never a good idea. The other problem with our focus on Brexit is we cant provide a significantly beefier opposition to Brexit than the handful of anti-Brexit Labour MPs. They were able to run pop-up anti-Brexit campaigns in seats like Leeds NW, Cambridge and Hornsey and Wood Green, making it difficult to squeeze Remainers. Targeting was another problem. Why were we targeting Vauxhall, with a massive Labour majority, only to lose nearby Richmond by forty-five votes? Manchester Gorton was always a long shot, so why did we divert resources there away from Withington? Most painfully, Tim felt he had to resign on Wednesday after persistent attacks on his religion. Would John Humphrys ask MPs of other faiths if they ask God for political guidance? Does atheism determine Corbyns ideology? These attacks put people of faith off going into politics. I feel Tim could perhaps have been clearer about his position earlier, but Tim was understandably reluctant to discuss his faith knowing the vitriol it would unleash. Anna Soubry, whose colleagues in the Tory Party mostly opposed gay marriage, attacked Tims response as appalling and bad. Why is there one rule for Tim and another for her mates? Overall I think Tims resignation was necessary, but it was sad to see him step down. The bottom line is this: Tim said wed win eighteen seats and we won twelve. He made the right choice with an understandably heavy heart. I look forward to seeing his continued hard work in Parliament campaigning for a better Britain and of course an even better Lake District. What do you think? Have I misjudged how Labour voters felt? What else could we improve on? Id be interested to hear what you think. * A Liberal in Leeds is the pseudonym for a Lib Dem member. His identity is known to the LDV team. LIMERICK Tidy Towns has qualified for the final of Irelands Best Kept Towns competition. A delegation will travel from the Treaty City to Farmleigh in Dublin for the final of the national competition next Tuesday. There, Limerick will be up against Carrigaline, Derry City and Antrim in the category of Best Large Urban Centre. It comes after strong polling for Limerick in last years Tidy Towns contest. Helen ODonnell, Tidy Towns, described the news as a big honour for the city, especially in view of the fact there was no entry. We wondered why we had [been selected], and evidently, we found out it is based on our results in Tidy Towns last year. Its a big honour for Limerick. Were five years into Tidy Towns. We have not been lucky enough to receive any award yet. But having got into this is significant, Ms ODonnell said. Irelands Best Kept Towns competition is an all-Island initiative organised joingly by the Department of Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council. Limerick will face Derry City, Antrim and Clonakilty in its category. Ms ODonnell joked that there is a bit of family rivalry in the competition as she has a brother in law residing on Foyleside. I keep teasing him that we will beat them. Itd be nice to see Limerick beat Derry from time to time. There is an auld rivalry there, she laughed. She believes Limerick stood out in Tidy Towns last due to the fact the judges visited around the same time as a delegation in the city in its bid to be European Capital of Culture 2020. I feel this made a big difference as the local authority pulled out all the stops. Limerick was absolutely beautiful in the month of July last year, she said. While Limerick will compete in the category of Best Large Urban Centre, there are three other awards on offer: best village, best small town and best large town. Tidy Towns volunteers meet each Sunday morning and Wednesday evening to give the city a clean-up. A BAIL bond of 10,000 which went missing from a safe in Limerick Prison nearly two years ago remains unaccounted for, following two separate investigations by An Garda Siochana and the Irish Prison Service. The money disappeared from the safe in the offices of the Mulgrave Street jail in August 2015, and its disappearance was only discovered in December four months later following a financial review of the prisons accounts. The Irish Prison Service has now confirmed to the Limerick Leader that an independent forensic review of this incident concluded that it was not possible to explain with certainty how the money was lost or misappropriated. The review found that it was highly likely that the missing sum relates to a bail bond of 10,000 received on August 11, 2015. The Prison Service said a garda investigation is also complete and they returned a finding of no evidence on any criminal wrongdoing. A garda spokesperson also confirmed that no arrests have been made following the conclusion of their own investigation. Fianna Fail deputy Niall Collins, who has received a dossier of allegations from a whistleblower in relation to Limerick Prison, described the disappearance of the money as bizarre and unbelievable. That 10,000 can go missing, and presumably stolen, whilst under the control of the prison shows a real lack of internal controls, which urgently need to be reviewed and radically altered, said Deputy Collins. Members of staff at the prison who were rostered to work on that day were interviewed by the authorities, amongst others, and an extensive search was carried out for the missing money in various files in the office. It is understood that the CCTV system did not cover the general office at that time, as it is not accessible to prisoners. The Prison Service said that significant changes have been made to improve the security of this area in Limerick Prison, including a security review of safes and locks in general offices. Locks have been changed on safes, there is a tighter management of access to keys, and money boxes have also been replaced. In addition, the Prison Service said that a review of administrative staffing levels has been completed and implemented, and there has also been a review of standard operating procedures. As a result of the incident in Limerick, the Prison Service has introduced month-end prison visits to review cash count procedures across all prisons within the State. The area where the money was held in Limerick Prison is not accessible to any inmates, even those on enhanced regimes for good behaviour or those with duties that would allow them movement through other areas of the prison. It is normal practice for cash to be held at the general office of the prison as bail money, and anything up to 60,000 is paid in to prisons to secure the release of remand prisoners. In cases where a prisoner has been granted bail, the money can either be lodged with the clerk of a court district or with the prison authorities before a release from custody is permitted. Separately, eight officers in Limerick Prison currently remain disciplined for a number of offences, according to figures provided by the former Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald. Five officers have been disciplined for discreditable conduct, one officer for making a false statement, and two for a breach of social media policy. These cases do not relate to the missing bail bond. Sanctions for breaching the code of discipline can include deferral of increment or sanctions up to and including dismissal, said a prison spokesperson. The findings and results of these cases will not be made public. The number of disciplined prison officers in Limerick is the fourth highest in the State after Cloverhill prison, Arbour Hill and Portlaoise respectively, with 166 prison officers disciplined across all 13 institutions. Discreditable conduct can include borrowing money from an officer junior in rank, lending money to a superior officer, or acting as a guarantor or as surety for any officer of the Prison Service in respect of any monetary loan or other transaction. The offence also includes acting in a disorderly manner, consuming intoxicating liquor or using drugs, using obscene, abusive or insulting language, assaulting a member of the prison service, or smoking in a prohibited area. Meanwhile, deputy Collins said he hopes to raise issues in relation to Limerick Prison in the Dail next week, following receipt of a dossier. A whistleblowers dossier containing allegations of theft, fraud and tax evasion at Limerick Prison was sent to the now former Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald, the Public Accounts Committee and others to highlight certain employees alleged to have defrauded the State. A number of individuals amongst the prisons staff of 194 employees are also named in the document, which was written on Irish Prison Service-headed paper. The Prison Service confirmed it has received allegations of improper conduct at Limerick Prison, which are under investigation. Examples of alleged tax evasion and employees drinking in a public house during work hours have also been highlighted by an unnamed whistleblower. The whistleblower alleges that some staff within Limerick Prison are committing theft, fraud and tax evasion on a daily basis, yet nothing is done to them. Among the other allegations concern employees described as untouchables within the system - who use prison vans for their own personal use outside of work hours, while using the prison fuel card. The whistleblower claimed that some staff come and go as they please to matches in Thomond Park, or the Gaelic Grounds while they are still getting paid to be in work and nothing is being said to them. We are sick and tired of what is happening in Limerick Prison and we beg you for help, he wrote. Chairman of the PAC, Fianna Fail deputy Sean Fleming said they have received correspondence on the case, which they forwarded to the Prison Service. Deputy Fleming said they are awaiting a response from the Prison Service and will determine their position then. He said they are very concerned by the variety of allegations outlined in a five-page report, which was printed on Irish Prison Service paper. Among the spending allegations raised was the amount spent on television sets. The Irish Prison Service confirmed that a total of 132,677 was spent on televisions between 2012 and 2016, with 780 TVs purchased in that period for Limerick Prison. LIMERICK city still has the highest number of unemployment blackspots in the country, a new CSO report has revealed. According to Census 2016 figures released by the Central Statistics Office this Thursday afternoon, there are 18 unemployment blackspots in Limerick twice as much as any other region in Ireland. The census unemployment figures show that eight Limerick blackspots are in the top 10 worst blackspots in the country. There are 79 unemployment blackspots in the country. The Johns A electoral division is, by a large margin, the worst blackspot in the country, with a glaring unemployment rate of 58.3% an increase 1.5% since Census 2011. Galvone B, Ballynanty, Abbey C, Prospect B, and Glentworth C are next on the list of Irelands worst unemployment blackspots, with unemployment rates ranging from 40.2% to 45%. St Laurence and Kileely A electoral districts are 7th and 8th on the list, with unemployment rates of 39.2% and 38.8% unemployment rates, respectively. Rathkeale is the only Limerick county area with an unemployment blackspot, of 31.1%, a large decrease on 2011 figures at 39.3%. Sinn Fein TD Maurice Quinlivan described the figures as stark and shocking. This paints a grim picture of the unemployment problem in many parts of Limerick, which is not being reflected by government statistics. Although jobs are being created, it is clear some areas are benefitting while others continue to suffer from a lack of jobs and opportunities. The average unemployment rate in these areas in Limerick stood at 35.7%, miles apart from the national average of 12.9% outlined in the Census. V high jobless rates in Limerick in @CSOIreland report - John's A (58%), Galvone B (45%), Ballynanty (43%) worst https://t.co/IdrzAtdo80 Tom Felle (@tomfelle) June 15, 2017 In December, Fine Gael deputy leader and former Housing Minister Simon Coveney launched a progress review of the Regeneration programme. The 300-page report stated: An examination of the local economic environment provides a stark reminder of the challenge that exists, particularly in the regeneration areas. It added that the ability to address the unemployment problem in the city is key to the delivery of the Regeneration plan. Since its inception, Regeneration has spent at least 260m in St Marys Park, Moyross, Southill, and Ballinacurra-Weston. The average unemployment rate in the blackspots is at 35.7%, a decrease almost 8% since 2011. We have more newsletters Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to our free email alerts for the top daily stories sent straight to your e-mail A section of the A17 near Newark is closed in both directions following a crash. Fire crews had to rescue two elderly people from a car with hydraulic cutting equipment after it crashed into a wall at Winthorpe. Both have been taken to hospital by East Midlands Ambulance Service with serious injuries. Highways England East Midlands says the road is shut between Drove Lane and the A1. Police are on the scene directing traffic, which is affected between Newark and Coddington. A police spokesman said: "Officers are currently attending the scene of a collision in Newark on the A17 after we were called at 11.30am. "One car crashed into a wall after mounting an embankment. Two elderly people are thought to have serious injuries. "The fire service, ambulance and air ambulance are in attendance. The road is currently closed; it is not known when it will reopen." Firefighters from Newark and the town's specialist rescue team were also deployed to the incident and left at around 12.30pm. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to our free email alerts for the top daily stories sent straight to your e-mail Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue is urging people who live in high-rise tower blocks to make sure they know how to get out in the event of a fire. The advice comes after at least 12 people died and dozens injured in a fire at Grenfell Tower in London on Wednesday, June 14. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue is seeking to reassure local people about its fire prevention and response arrangements for high-rise buildings. Chief Fire Officer Nick Borrill, said: Our thoughts and sympathies go out to all those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. "Our thoughts are also with London Fire Brigade and all emergency services who responded to this very difficult incident. "At this stage we do not yet know what caused the fire and will need to wait until a full investigation has been carried out. "Fortunately incidents of this type are extremely rare. There are a number of high-rise buildings across the county, and we would recommend people who live in those buildings know exactly what to do in the event of a fire so that they can protect themselves and their families. This is particularly important for the more vulnerable members of our communities, such as the elderly, young people or those with mobility issues. We would like to reassure everybody that Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue carries out regular inspections of high-rise buildings in the county, and that our crews regularly carry out training at these locations to test our response plans. If residents have any fire safety concerns about high rise buildings, please contact us on 01522 582222 or via email communications@lincoln.fire-uk.org. Advice for people living in high-rise accommodation Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to our free email alerts for the top daily stories sent straight to your e-mail A pair of prolific shoplifters have been banned from almost every shop in East Lindsey after causing havoc for local businesses. Daniel Richard Scoffield, 28, of no fixed abode, and Kerrie Frances Smith, 27 of Roman Bank, Skegness were both issued Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) on May 30 at Lincoln Magistrates Court. The pair have been stealing from shops in East Lindsey costing local businesses money. A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said: These two individuals have been prolific shoplifters and so preventing them from entering certain shops will significantly reduce the risk of them reoffending and thus benefit those stores. Both have been given CBOs meaning they cannot enter any retail premises in East Lindsey except for Heron Foods in Lumley Road, Skegness, Whitworths Chemist in Roman Bank, Skegness and Boots Chemist, Churchill Avenue, Skegness. They are not to engage in any behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress to any person not of the same household. Lincolnshire Police urges anyone who witnesses them breaching their order to contact them on 101. A CBO focuses on more serious offenders who engage in criminal activity, as well as anti-social behaviour. It can only be issued in conjunction with a sentence that is already imposed or if the individual has a conditional discharge. The order will begin from the day it is issued and, for those under 18-years-old it will last between one and two years, being reviewed every 12 months from the day it was made. For adults over 18, the order will last a minimum of two years and can last indefinitely. Failure to comply is a criminal offence and as such can result in imprisonment and/or a fine. Tony Tye from Skegness and District Chamber of Commerce said: Its all down to Shop Watch doing a great job. The problem the town has got is they do have prolific gangs coming into Skegness thinking its an easy target. This is great way forward. People understand that if they are caught, once they are found guilty in court, their photo will go on shop fronts and social media. It gives everyone the full knowledge of who are when they step in a shop. I totally agree with it [the CBO]. Justice has been done. Its just the way forward on shoplifters. Shoplifting is something that costs us all money. Businesses will feel more safe with the order in place. All shops in Skegness and Boston will have knowledge of them. They must have been causing havoc for them to be prosecuted. These orders stop them going in shops. If theyre found guilty, its the right thing to do. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to our free email alerts for the top daily stories sent straight to your e-mail A school in Lincolnshire is doing their bit to help raise money for the victims of the London Grenfell tower fire. William Farr C of E comprehensive school are raising money for the victims next Monday June 19 and Tuesday June 20. The school based in Welton is doing its bit to help the victims of the horrific fire that tore through Grenfell tower block in London were at least 12 people died and dozens were injured in a fire on Wednesday, June 14. Gill Doyle, assistant manager for staff cover said: "We are just going to try and raise as much money as we can in two days. We want to show our support for the families and everyone affected in the tragedy. "We are just asking students, parents and the community to give as much money as they can. Our students are fantastic at this sort of thing and we know that they will rally behind it. "We did think about setting up a Just Giving page but decided to do this instead as we thought this would be a much better way to get the community rallied round to support the cause. "We just want to show the victims that they have support even from up here in Lincolnshire and that we're thinking about them." The school will have collection buckets over the two days and will also be taking donations from members of the community. Gill added: "We have some amazing students and we are very proud of how, we know, that they will respond. Money will be collected throughout the two days and we hope to fill many buckets." Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Our free email updates are the best way to get headlines direct to your inbox Lincolnshire Police and the county council have pledged support for the National Ugly Mugs (NUM) scheme - a pioneering project providing greater access to justice and protection for sex workers. People working in the sex industry are often targeted by dangerous individuals but are frequently reluctant to report these incidents to the police. When a sex worker registers with NUM, an alert can be sent out to them and others in the area to warn them of a possible threat, and potentially save a life. Descriptions and personal details can be shared between members, who are offered help in making a report to the police if they wish. Information can also be passed anonymously to police, only if consent is granted, who gather intelligence on people who target sex workers. Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones said: This project is crucial in helping to keep everyone in our communities safe by assisting the authorities in locating and arresting sexual predators. It also plays an important role in keeping some of the most vulnerable members of society safe from harm. Amy, a sex worker from Boston, gave this advice to others working in the industry: "I've been using the NUM safety checks which have warned me about potential problem clients, meaning I am able to keep myself safer. I do wish more people use it, so please girls it takes two minutes to check a number and it could save your life." NUM is formally supported by National Police Chiefs Council and the Home Office, and has resulted in the apprehension of a number of serial sex offenders. Daryl Pearce, public protection officer at Lincolnshire County Council, said: NUMs is particularly important and innovative in making sure people working in the sex industry are kept safe and supported and encouraged to report crime. This group of people are historically hard to reach, and this project reflects the key priorities that all organisations involved in reducing sexual violence in Lincolnshire, have agreed. Bill Skelly, Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable, said: I am delighted to be able to support the work of the National Ugly Mugs charity and the efforts which they go to in order to reduce the serious harm posed to sex workers and the wider public from serial sexual predators." Alex Feis-Bryce, Chief Executive of NUM, said: We are delighted that Lincolnshire Police and Lincolnshire County Council have pledged their support. It shows that crimes against sex workers will be taken very seriously and Lincolnshire Police will do their utmost to bring these dangerous offenders to justice. As well as directly resulting in the apprehension and conviction of almost 30 serial offenders nationally that the police wouldnt otherwise have known about, NUM has demonstrated its success in preventing crime and improving the safety of sex workers. * For more information visit https://uknswp.org/um/ Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to our free email alerts for the top daily stories sent straight to your e-mail Its official - a Lincolnshire constituency can now claim to be the most Conservative place in the country. Theresa Mays party may have had a bad night at the polls at the General Election on June 8, but the Tories picked up 69.9 per cent of the vote share in South Holland & the Deepings - up from 59.6 per cent in 2015. That was the highest Tory vote share for any constituency anywhere in England on the night. It means South Holland & the Deepings, where John Hayes is the MP, is now the Tory 'capital'. It is ahead of South Staffordshire (69.8%), Christchurch in the south west (69.6%), and Maldon in Essex (67.9%). Sleaford and North Hykeham also rocketed into the top 20 list of the most Conservative places in England during last Thursdays election. The Tories picked up 64.2% of the vote share there, up from 56.2% in 2015. And there were further swings to the Conservatives in its strongholds of Louth and Horncastle, Boston and Skegness, Grantham and Stamford and Gainsborough. Nationally, while Labour achieved significant swings across the country, the results show it continues to dominate most in heartland seats in the north west, London and the West Midlands. All 20 seats where it achieved the highest vote share were in one of those three regions. The pattern was very different for the Conservatives, however. In 2015, the 11 seats in which the party achieved its highest vote share were all in the south east or London. They were led by North East Hampshire, where the Tories scored 65.9% of the vote under David Camerons leadership. This time, however, the Tory vote shrank in the south and south east, while it held it much better in the east of the country and the East Midlands. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. 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Governing Law & Jurisdiction These terms shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of India and especially the Information Technology Act, 2000. All relevant rules, regulations, directions, orders and notifications will also apply. By choosing to browse this site, you agree to the site's Privacy Policy Last updated April 4, 2015 This code is designed to provide all employees of Mint with guidelines for appropriate professional conduct. It is intended not as a statement of new beliefs or a codification of new rules of conduct, but as a reaffirmation of enduring values and practices. The central premise of this code is that Mint reputation for quality products and services, for business integrity, and for the independence and integrity of our publications, services and products is the heart and soul of our enterprise. Put another way, it is an essential prerequisite for success in the news and information business that our customers believe us to be telling them the truth. If we are not telling them the truth -- or even if they, for any valid reason, believe that we are not -- then Mint cannot prosper. The company will suffer, for example, if our customers cannot assume that: Our facts are accurate and fairly presented; Our analyses represent our best independent judgments rather than our preferences, or those of our sources, advertisers or information providers; Our opinions represent only our own editorial philosophies; or There are no hidden agendas in any of our journalistic undertakings. All companies profess business integrity. But the impact of our work on the work of others, and on their lives and fortunes, places special responsibilities upon all Mint employees. The clear implication of these beliefs is that the responsibility for safeguarding and growing a company that lives up to this code lies with each and every one of us. Every Mint employee holds a position of trust. Acceptance of a position at any level or in any part of Mint includes acceptance of individual responsibility to uphold Mint policies governing legal and ethical business practices. It also includes acceptance of individual responsibility for following all legal requirements and ethical business practices, as well as the responsibility to stress proper ethical behavior among colleagues and subordinates. Moreover, it must be clear to each of us that business integrity is necessary in every business decision- and that it is not the special province of news employees, or members of the legal department, or anyone else. Business integrity requires that we make all of our business decisions, and approach all business questions, objectively and realistically, and in the long-term best interests of all of our shareholders. Editors, by virtue of their positions of authority, must be ethical role models for all employees. An important part of an editor's leadership responsibility is to exhibit the highest standards of integrity in all dealings with employees, customers and the world at large. Editors must avoid even implicit or unspoken approval of any actions that may be damaging to the reputation of HT Media, and must always exercise sound business judgment in the performance of their duties. An equally important leadership responsibility is to develop employees' commitment to our principles and ability to make sound ethical judgments. Editors must communicate the seriousness of the company's expectations of ethical conduct, as well as their own personal support for these guidelines. Ethical leadership includes fostering a working environment that encourages employees to voice concerns or otherwise seek assistance or counsel if faced with potentially compromising situations, and also supporting those who raise such concerns. Finally, what follows is not intended to be an exclusive or inclusive list of all laws, regulations and other norms applicable to Mint and with which compliance is expected. In our rapidly evolving businesses, a complex environment that often requires quick response under pressure challenges each of us. No written policy can definitively set forth the appropriate action for all business situations. Accordingly, this code emphasizes and clarifies a standard of ethical conduct that must govern all of our business dealings and relationships. Introduction: What We Stand For In our society, the press enjoys a remarkable degree of freedom. With that freedom comes the responsibility to practice our craft in accordance with the highest standards, to be accountable for what we publish, and to avoid conflicts of interest. We will strive to fulfill these responsibilities. And with good reason. Otherwise, we could lose our most important asset: the trust of our readers, online visitors, viewers, and listeners in the credibility of the information and insights we provide. In the 21st century, that news is transmitted in more ways than ever before in print, on the air and on the Web, with words, images, graphics, sounds and video. But always and in all media, we insist on the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior when we gather and deliver the news. That means we abhor inaccuracies, carelessness, bias or distortions. It means we will not knowingly introduce false information into material intended for publication or broadcast; nor will we alter photo or image content. Quotations must be accurate, and precise. It means we always strive to identify all the sources of our information, shielding them with anonymity only when they insist upon it and when they provide vital information not opinion or speculation; when there is no other way to obtain that information; and when we know the source is knowledgeable and reliable. It means we don't plagiarize. It means we avoid behavior or activities that create a conflict of interest and compromise our ability to report the news fairly and accurately, uninfluenced by any person or action. It means we don't misidentify or misrepresent ourselves to get a story. When we seek an interview, we identify ourselves as Mint journalists. It means we don't pay newsmakers for interviews, to take their photographs or to film or record them. It means we must be fair. Whenever we portray someone in a negative light, we must make a real effort to obtain a response from that person. When mistakes are made, they must be corrected fully, quickly and ungrudgingly. And ultimately, it means it is the responsibility of every one of us to ensure that these standards are upheld. Any time a question is raised about any aspect of our work, it should be taken seriously. We believe that our future depends upon preserving and enhancing this trust. Therefore, we must ensure that: 1. Our integrity is of the highest caliber. 2. We base our unique brand of journalism on accurate information, gathered honestly and presented fairly. 3. Our professional conduct is unassailable. 4. Our personal conduct, as it reflects on Mint, is beyond reproach. All members of the Mint editorial staffs must uphold these principles. This means everyone who works on the magazine, the Web site, or in future TV or radio operations (including members of the art, production, and systems departments, all Web developers and programmers, and all assistants and clerical workers), be they full-time, part-time, interns, or freelancers. Moreover, you are expected to report to the Editor violations that you or others commit. If you encounter a potential ethical dilemma that isn't covered by this Code, you must ask the Editor for a ruling. When the Editor is unavailable, check with the Managing Editor or, at a minimum, with the person to whom you report. To put it simply, when in doubt, ask. Here are the rules by which we must live: A) INTEGRITY Church and State Unquestionable integrity is at the heart of our effort to serve our audiences with the best business journalism in the world. One way we achieve this is to strictly observe an invisible wall that separates our editorial operations from our advertising and other business departments, so as to avoid any chance that one will inappropriately influence the other. In every medium, our reporters, editors, and producers prepare and place stories, graphics, and interactive features based solely on their editorial merits. Thus, we treat companies that advertise with us exactly the same as those that don't. We don't favor any company or subject of a story, or discriminate against any -- for any reason. Moreover, editors and editorial imperatives dictate the design of our products. Obviously, we make allowance for the presentation of revenue-generating elements. However, the design must always make clear the distinction between editorial and commercial material. In the spirit of that rule, for example, we do not link, for any reason other than editorial purposes, from within the text of electronic versions of our stories to an advertiser's Web site. To ensure that we honor these principles, there generally should be no contact (beyond social conversations) between the vast majority of Mint editorial and business staffers. (The Editor or a designated surrogate may grant exceptions as necessary for the running of the business.) If you ever feel any pressure from outside, or from our own business departments, to compromise editorial material -- including pressure to violate this Code, you must tell the Editor and/or Managing Editor immediately. B) OUR JOURNALISTIC STANDARDS Mint specializes in valued-added, interpretive journalism. This gives us license to go beyond a traditional, just-the-facts approach. At the same time, it puts an extra onus on us in the following areas: 1. Accuracy. For the reader to believe our interpretations, we must start with accurate information, honestly and professionally gathered. Moreover, our interpretation must flow from the facts and be reasonable. Inaccurate or sloppy reporting of material that appears anywhere under the Mint name violates the spirit of this Code. The responsibility for accuracy lies with everyone who touches the editorial product. If you have any reasonable doubts about the accuracy of our information, you have a duty to tell your immediate editor, and if necessary the Editor. 2. Honesty. All of your dealings with sources -- and with other editorial staff -- must be truthful. As an institution, moreover, Mint will always be an independent voice, with no axe to grind. We do not support political candidates or political parties. We are not Keynesians, monetarists, or supply-siders. On all matters of politics, economics, and social policy, we try to bring our own judgment to bear, based on thorough reporting and reasonable analysis. We do not do stories that are designed to hew to any ideological agenda other than our belief in free markets, free people and free societies. 3. Fairness. We give the subjects of a story -- people, companies, and institutions -- an opportunity to have their views presented. We include relevant portions of those views -- or report that the subject declines to comment. We also present differing or dissenting opinions, though they may be subordinate to the main thrust of the story. If someone complains about a story, we will investigate promptly and even-handedly. If we are right, we will stand by the story regardless of who is complaining. If we are wrong, we will say so forthrightly and make whatever amends seem appropriate. Because we do analytic journalism and commentaries, we do not strive for perfect objectivity. But we must always strive to be fair. 4. Attribution. Mint's style book is the final authority on this issue so when in doubt, please refer to the Style Book especially on how we make attributions in the paper and online. And if you are unsure of how to interpret the Style Book or if you have any doubt whatsoever, ask your immediate editor or the Editor. In general, we use the following ground rules when seeking information from sources: On the record: You are free to use all material from the interview, including information and quotations, and to identify the source. We prefer this approach. Not for attribution: You are free to use information and quotations, but you agree not to identify the source. "Not for attribution" is an acceptable method of gathering information, though not the one we prefer. You generally should have more than one source for information that you can't attribute, both to double-check its veracity and to guard against being used or misled by a single source. In situations where you wish to report, without attribution, extremely sensitive information, you should seek approval beforehand from your immediate editor, the Editor or in his absence the Deputy Editor. Off the record: You agree not to use information from the source. Or you may agree not to use the information unless you check with the source before publication. You should avoid this method unless it's the only way to interview a one-of-a-kind source. Background: The information can be published but only under conditions negotiated with the source. Generally, the sources do not want their names published but will agree to a description of their position. Mint reporters should object vigorously when a source wants to brief an entire group of reporters on background and try to persuade the source to put the briefing on the record. These background briefings have become routine in many venues, especially with government officials. Deep background: The information can be used but without attribution. The source does not want to be identified in any way, even on condition of anonymity. In general, information obtained under any of these circumstances can be pursued with other sources to be placed on the record. Make such decisions carefully because Mint generally will have to honor whatever arrangement you make. The Editor or a designated surrogate has the right to know the identity of anonymous sources -- be they not-for-attribution or off-the-record sources -- and will keep such information confidential. Routine attribution: "He said" means you got the quote from the source -- in person, at a press conference, or on the phone. "He said in a statement" or "in a report" means the quote came from a written statement or press release, or from a document such as an analyst's report. "He said in an e-mail interview" means exactly that. If the quote comes from another news outlet, you must credit it: "President Kalam told the Associated Press." Information taken from the Internet must be vetted according to our standards of accuracy and attributed to the original source. File, library or archive photos, audio or videos must be identified as such. For projects, attribution can be contained in an extended editor's note, usually at the end, detailing interviews, research and methodology. The goal is to provide a reader with enough information to have full confidence in the story's veracity. The use of such notes must be cleared in advance by the Editor. 4.a. Dealing with Lobbyists and Public Relations executives 4.a.1. Do's 1. As much as possible engage directly with relevant sources. Lobbyists and Public Relations executives must only be used as a channel to arrange for access. And not as sources themselves. If they are used as sources, then this must be clearly stated in the story. 2. In all engagements with Lobbyists and PR people state upfront that you represent Mint. State that you are talking to them in regards to a particular story. 3. Reporters must decline to convey any message from Lobbyists or PR people to senior editors, management, executives in other companies or bureaucrats and ministers. They are free to do this on their own. 4. It is recommended that you limit your relationship with Lobbyists and PRs people o a purely professional one, as mentioned in points 2 and 3 above. And even if you know them at a personal level, there is a reasonable probability that your interactions will still be taken to have professional implications. 5. If you are engaging with companies or Lobbyists and PR people that have a reputation for creating or being in trouble, kindly keep your reporting editor informed of the interaction. 6. If Lobbyists or PR people promise access or information in exchange for tone or content of coverage, reporters are expected to decline immediately and inform their reporting editors. 4. a.2. Dont's 1. Discuss aspects of how Mint has covered the Lobbyists and PR people's clients, or will cover them in the future. 2. Discuss aspects of the story you are working on or what tone it will take. 3. Ask the Lobbyist's or PR people's opinion of your or the paper's coverage of their clients. We don't care. If they wish to object they are welcome to do so to the editor. 4. Act as a go-between or an intermediary. This includes intermediating between the source and any other reporter in Mint, or any other media outlet. Your interactions are purely for the purpose of your story and your story alone. 5. Accept any conditional access or information. We will offer nothing in return for access or information. Except the possibility that it may be used in a story with attribution. Do not accept such conditions even if you plan to dishonour it later. 5. Quotations: The same care that is used to ensure that quotes are accurate should also be used to ensure that quotes are not taken out of context. We do not alter quotations. If a quotation is flawed because of grammar or lack of clarity, the writer must be able to paraphrase in a way that is completely true to the original quote. If a quote's meaning is too murky to be paraphrased accurately, it should not be used. Ellipses and parentheses should be used rarely. When in doubt please paraphrase or seek a fuller quote. When relevant, stories should provide information about the setting in which a quotation was obtained for example, a press conference, phone interview or hallway conversation with the reporter. The source's affect and body language perhaps a smile or deprecatory gesture is sometimes as important as the quotation itself. Use of regional dialects with nonstandard spellings should generally be limited to a writer's effort to convey a special tone or sense of place. In this case, as in any interview with a person not speaking his or her native language, it is especially important that their ideas be accurately conveyed. Always, we must be careful not to mock the people we quote. Quotes from one language to another must be translated faithfully. If appropriate, we should note the language spoken. 6. Anonymous sources in material from other news sources: Reports from other news organizations based on anonymous sources require the most careful scrutiny when we consider them for our report. Mint's basic rules for anonymous-source material typically apply to pickups as they do in our own reporting: The material must be factual and obtainable no other way. The story must be truly significant and newsworthy for us to use. Please flag use of such un-sourced material to your immediate editor. If the source material is ultimately used, it must be attributed to the originating provider and note their description of their sources. Further, before picking up material from other news agencies for a story of our own, and even if we are crediting that source in the story, we must make a bona fide effort to get it on the record, or, at a minimum, confirm it through our own sources. 7. Audio/Video: Mint's audio/video actualities must always tell the truth. We do not alter or manipulate the content of a newsmaker actuality in any way. Voice and Video reports by Mint reporters for online may be edited to remove pauses or stumbles. Mint does permit the use of the subtle, standard audio processing methods of normalization of levels, general volume adjustments, equalization to make the sound clearer, noise reduction to reduce extraneous sounds such as telephone line noise, and fading in and out of the start and end of sound bites _ provided the use of these methods does not conceal, obscure, remove or otherwise alter the content, or any portion of the content, of the audio. The same applies to Video. When an employee has questions about the use of such methods or Mint's requirements and limitations on audio or video editing, he or she should contact the Editor prior to the transmission of any audio. 8. Fabrications: Nothing in our news report words, photos, graphics, sound or video may be fabricated. We don't use pseudonyms, composite characters or fictional names, ages, places or dates. We don't use "industry expert" simply to hide a person's affiliation. We don't create fictional characters to embellish articles, however dry they might seem. We don't stage or re-enact events for the camera or microphone, and we don't use sound effects or substitute video or audio from one event to another. We do not "cheat" sound by adding audio to embellish or fabricate an event. A senior editor must be consulted prior to the introduction of any neutral sound (ambient sound that does not affect the editorial meaning but corrects a technical fault). We do not ask people to pose for photos unless we are making a portrait of that person. This means we don't make them recreate activities for our photograph. 9. Graphics: We use only authoritative sources. We create work only from what we know. We post or move a locator map only when we can confirm the location ourselves. We create charts at visually proper perspectives to give an accurate representation of data. The information must be clear and concise. We do not skew or alter data to fit a visual need. We credit sources on every graphic, including graphics for which Mint journalists have created the data set or database. If the graphic is created entirely based on original research then we would credit Mint Research. 10. Images : Mint pictures must always tell the truth. We do not alter or manipulate the content of a photograph in any way. The content of a photograph must not be altered in PhotoShop or by any other means. No element should be digitally added to or subtracted from any photograph. The faces or identities of individuals must not be obscured by PhotoShop or any other editing tool. Only retouching or the use of the cloning tool to eliminate dust and scratches are acceptable. Minor adjustments in PhotoShop are acceptable. These include cropping, dodging and burning, conversion into grayscale, and normal toning and color adjustments that should be limited to those minimally necessary for clear and accurate reproduction (analogous to the burning and dodging often used in darkroom processing of images) and that restore the authentic nature of the photograph. Changes in density, contrast, color and saturation levels that substantially alter the original scene are not acceptable. Backgrounds should not be digitally blurred or eliminated by burning down or by aggressive toning. When an employee has questions about the use of such methods or Mint requirements and limitations on photo editing, he or she should contact the photo editor/art director prior to the use of any image. On those occasions when we use images that have been provided and altered by a source the faces obscured, for example the caption must clearly explain it. Use of such images must be approved by the Editor or in his absence the Managing Editor. For online video, Mint permits the use of subtle, standard methods of improving technical quality, such as adjusting video and audio levels, color correcting due to white balance or other technical faults, and equalization of audio to make the sound clearer _ provided the use of these methods does not conceal, obscure, remove or otherwise alter the content, or any portion of the content, of the image. Graphics, including those for online, often involve combining various photographic elements, which necessarily means altering portions of each photograph. The background of a photograph, for example, may be removed to leave the headshot of the newsmaker. This may then be combined with a logo representing the person's company or industry, and the two elements may be layered over a neutral background. Such compositions must not misrepresent the facts and must not result in an image that looks like a photograph it must clearly be a graphic. Similarly, when we alter photos to use as graphics online, we retain the integrity of the image, limiting the changes to cropping, masking and adding elements like logos. Videos for use online can be altered to add graphical information such as titles and logos, to tone the image and to improve audio quality. It is permissible to display photos online using techniques such as 360-degree panoramas or dissolves as long as they do not alter the original images. 11. Obscenities, profanities, vulgarities: The Mint Style Book is the final word on how we use such terms. We do not use obscenities, racial epithets or other offensive slurs in stories unless they are part of direct quotations and there is a compelling reason for them. If a story cannot be told without reference to them, we must first try to find a way to give the reader a sense of what was said without using the specific word or phrase. If a profanity, obscenity or vulgarity is used, the story must be flagged at the top by the reporter, advising editors to note the contents. A photo containing something that could be deemed offensive must be approved by the Editor. We take great care not to refer readers to Web sites that are obscene, racist or otherwise offensive, and we must not directly link our stories to such sites. In our online service, we link the least offensive image necessary to tell the story. For photo galleries and interactive presentations we alert readers to the nature of the material in the link and on the opening page of the gallery or interactive. If an obscene image is necessary to tell the story, we blur the portion of the image considered offensive after approval of the department manager, and flag the video. 12. Responses: We must make significant efforts to reach anyone who may be portrayed, and especially if that portrayal is a negative one, in our stories, and we must give them a reasonable amount of time to get back to us before we move the story. What is "reasonable" may depend on the urgency and competitiveness of the story. Please make sure you consult your immediate editor when in doubt. If we don't reach the parties involved, we must explain in the story what specific efforts were made to do so. 13. Corrections & Amplifications Policy: We will adhere to a zero-tolerance policy in terms of correcting our errors. We will clearly communicate to all our readers the best way to reach us so we can promptly correct our mistakes. If we are aware of a mistake, we will correct our stories irrespective of whether a correction is being sought so that databases don't contain uncorrected stories. Not informing your editor of an error in your story, especially if it has been pointed out by anyone, is a serious violation of this code of conduct and could result in the relevant employee being subject to discipline up to and including termination. C) PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT Every judgment we make as journalists must be free of conflicts of interest -- free even of the appearance of conflicts. Therefore, we must observe the following rules: 1. Share ownership and trading. In making personal investments, all employees must avoid speculation or the appearance of speculation. No employee of Mint may engage in short selling of shares, including futures and options, such as a put option. a. Shares you own. You may not report, write, or edit a story about a company in which you or members of your immediate family own shares--nor about other companies in the same industry, unless it has been cleared in advance by the Editor. For instance, if you own shares in Reliance, you may not report, write, or edit a story about the company or its key rivals. Nor may you mention such a company on a broadcast or cable show or Web video except in passing (as in reading a list of closing market prices). Immediate family means spouse or significant other and children 18 or younger. You may, however, invest in all mutual funds and exchange traded funds that are regulated. In any instance where a conflict seems likely, you might have to recuse yourself from participating in the story. Again, when in doubt, ask. b. Shares you plan to buy. If your job is such that you write about or edit stories on a wide variety of companies intermittently, do not invest in those companies. You may, however, trade the shares of companies you don't cover, in industries you don't cover, provided you don't act on any information prior to being published in Mint. You may not engage in day trading or so-called active trading, or short selling. Nor may you accept "friends and family" shares from companies that are about to go public. Nor may you knowingly participate in unethical market-timing schemes that any mutual fund may engage in. The three-month rule does not apply to publicly available mutual funds. Additionally, you may not trade in any share or financial instrument based on information gathered by anyone at Mint before a story is published. If an article on the information is not published by Mint but the information becomes public information the above restriction does not apply. Be aware that we may report suspected insider trading to the appropriate authorities and will cooperate fully in any subsequent legal actions. Remember, as well, that people who are caught engaging in insider trading often spend time in jail. c. Special situations: There may be instances in which an editorial employee inherits stock from a non-spousal relative, or in which a newly hired employee or a person who is under contract to Mint arrives with stock holdings. In such cases, you have these options: --You can divest your holdings. --You can ask the Editor to let you keep your holdings with the understanding that you must recuse yourself from covering companies (and their industries) in which you own securities. Be aware, though, that even if you get such permission, recusing yourself extensively could limit your assignments and your ability to perform your job. 2. Reporting share ownership. You must disclose in a confidential memo to the Editor your ownership of shares individual corporations and also such holdings of your spouse, significant other, and other members of your immediate family. Your shareholdings memo does not have to disclose the number of shares you own, just the company names. You must submit this memo on your holdings to the Editor every six months using a form that will be provided to you. New editorial employees must sign this Code when they are hired--and immediately thereafter submit the required share-disclosure statement. 3. Reporting other conflicts. You must include with your financial disclosure memo a description of any other potential conflict of interest, including your other financial holdings plus any personal conflict that might arise from family connections or employment. If your spouse works at, for example, Reliance or The Economic Times, please disclose this information. If you own no securities and have no potential personal conflicts, say so in your memo. 4. Other conflicts. During the discussion of a potential assignment, you must also disclose other business activities that may conflict with your Mint work, or that may appear to. Such activities include but aren't limited to: Holding a part-time job, working as a consultant, engaging in any form of public relations in any capacity, accepting speaking fees, ghost writing material for anyone other than an independent author, accepting compensation in any form for anything other than journalistic work, writing for publications that Mint considers to be competitors, and doing commercial photography or design work for the subject of a story or a broadcast segment you'll be helping Mint prepare. 5. Plagiarism and fabrication. We don't copy the work of others. And we don't make things up. We do not plagiarize, meaning that we do not take the work of others and pass it off as our own. We must gather and verify every piece of information we present. On the rare occasion when we can't confirm a critical fact another publication has reported, we must credit that publication. If you ever have a question about the use of such material, you should consult the Editor, the deputy Editor, or your immediate editor. You should also notify all three if you feel that another publication has plagiarized your work. A Mint staffer who reports and writes a story must use original content, language and phrasing. It is okay for a Mint staffer to include in his or her work passages from a previous Mint story by another writer generally background, or boilerplate. This is acceptable if the passages are short. Regardless, the reporter writing the story is responsible for the factual and contextual accuracy of the material. We do not transmit news releases in their original form; we try and rewrite them, so that the approach, content, structure and length meet our requirements and reflect the broader audience we serve. We can use information and quotes from releases provided we clearly cite the source, but we must try check/augment it with information from other sources, and then write our own stories. A story that appears in our paper and has plagiarized work from a press release is a serious violation of our Code of Conduct. We don't publish forward-looking statements that are not attributed. For example, a statement in your story that says "Bajaj is set to overtake Hero Honda in the motorcycles market" needs to be attributed. Companies cannot make sure statements to market regulators and we must not become a vehicle for them to make such statements anonymously through us. 6. Relations with sources and other outsiders. a. Unorthodox reporting techniques. We do not practice surreptitious entry. You must not misrepresent yourself to gain access to information for a story. This doesn't preclude us from using extraordinary reporting efforts, but we always do so above board and as clearly identified Mint employees. Any other approach could compromise the use of the material so gathered, and could give rise to a legal claim. Unusual reporting techniques should have the approval of the Editor. Please get formal approval for all Right To Information requests that you might seek to make on behalf of the newspaper prior to seeking such information. "However, mystery shopping efforts that ultimately benefit the end user are allowed as long as they have been cleared by the Editor." b. Disclosure, early and otherwise. You may need to tell a source what a story is about, so that the person can provide the information you seek or respond to points in the story. But it is a violation of the Mint Code to show a pre-publication version of a story, Q&A, video or audio segment, or any other piece of journalism to anyone outside the editorial staffs. However, top editors may make exceptions on occasion -- for example, to accommodate the needs of our publicity department or of our editorial partners. Writers and editors may also read or e-mail to sources selected phrases or direct quotes before publication when there is no other practical way to ensure the accuracy of a story or a Q&A, or to secure a necessary response. You may not, however, read or send to sources entire stories or scripts, or extended sections of either, except with the permission of the Editor. As a rule, in short, you may not tell sources or anyone else outside the staff details of what is in a story, when a story will appear, or what stories will appear, before the paper's official release time, which is 6 a.m. of each publishing day. Except as otherwise authorized by the Editor, no one may give sources, advertisers, or anyone else copies of the magazine or electronic versions of magazine stories before the official release time. Additionally, you may not tell anyone about the contents of Web-only stories or of broadcast segments before they go public. It is permissible to convey deadlines in order to get the information you are seeking from a source but this does not extend to telling sources when the story will run since stories can be held by your editor(s). In addition to leading to potential securities law consequences, the unplanned distribution of information before its official release can jeopardize important legal protections we enjoy under the Indian Constitution and under state constitutions and laws. Except with the approval of the Editor, you should not do stories that involve your family, work colleagues, relatives, or friends. For purposes of this Code, a friend is someone you socialize with outside of normal business settings and is more than a social contact. When in doubt, let your editor know the nature of your non-work relationship. Finally, we must hold our own trade secrets and proprietary information inviolate. This includes not only cover and story schedules but all internal memos and discussions or decisions leading to the creation of specific stories. In addition, you should not disclose to outsiders our discussions of personnel, strategy, and tactics. c. Financial dealings with sources and subjects of stories. We do not pay for information. Period. Moreover, you may not enter into a financial relationship of any kind with a source, except with the consent of the Editor. You may do business with companies you cover for the purpose of securing normal bank loans, mortgage loans, and credit cards. In all such cases, however, you may not receive favorable terms that are unavailable to the general public using your Mint affiliation. This does not apply to any group discounts obtained by Mint for its employees. d. Gifts, meals, and entertainment. You may not accept gifts from companies, from their public relations firms or agents, or from any other supplier of information -- not a bottle of wine during the holidays, not a reduced-rate membership for your personal use. During company visits, you may accept mementos or a sample product of nominal value (less than Rs100). It is okay to accept reasonable amounts of perishable food products for a specific festival occasion when refusal or returning to sender could seem inappropriate. But you must refuse, return, or donate to charity any unsolicited gifts of more than nominal value -- the choice in the latter three instances being up to the sender, whom you must contact immediately. Obviously, you may not solicit gifts. When in doubt please inform the Editor's office of any issues in this area. In addition, you generally may accept lunch or dinner only from a source with whom you are likely to meet often enough to return the favor (the one exception being an interview over a meal with a source at the person's offices). In all other instances, you or Mint must pay your tab. It is generally acceptable to have lunch or dinner if that is part of a group press event and if it does not interfere with your work. You must use review copies of books, video games, and the like only for editorial purposes -- or else, as practicable, forward them to a person designated by the Editor for product reviews. You may not sell such materials for any reason. You may accept the use of a review or test model of a new product -- computers, software, and any other products, including subscription services -- for only as long as your reporting needs require. In most cases, this means only a few days -- and not for an extended period. Please inform your immediate editor ahead of requesting such a product. In situations where a company with whom Mint has an editorial partnership offers you favors, you must comply with the Mint Code of Business Ethics, which states in part: "No gift having more than nominal value and no loan (other than a normal bank loan) may be accepted from any person or firm having current or prospective dealings with the corporation." e. Travel. You may not accept junkets--that is, trips paid for by a source or prospective source, without specific prior approval of your immediate editor. If a trip is worth taking, Mint will typically pay for it. If it is necessary to fly on a corporate plane, we will seek to reimburse the host company for the cost. Such travel must be approved in advance by the Editor or the Managing Editor. In all cases, you will not make any commitment that promises any specific coveragequantity/tone--in Mint. f. Freelancing. If you wish to undertake a freelance assignment, have your request approved in writing by the Editor. We will not grant permission to write for any competing publication or for any work that first should appear in Mint or that would interfere with your work here. In general, you can't accept an assignment if it would inhibit Mint from doing a story. In addition, all editorial and business employees must get the Editor's permission before starting a personal blog--outside of HT Media's own web sites--that focuses on issues or topics that Mint regularly covers. You must also ensure that your personal blog--whatever the topic--doesn't mention your affiliation with Mint or HT Media, and that it never damages the reputation of Mint. News staffers should also not comment on other blogs nor respond directly to any blogs that mention their work for Mint or any Mint issues. Please bring to the attention of your editor any such references to Mint if you feel that the reference needs a response. You are also encouraged not to respond in other blogs to matters related to your coverage areas or HT Media. If you have a personal web site that is not aimed at soliciting business or advertising, it would be permissible to mention your Mint affiliation subject to approval from the Editor. Moreover, no one may undertake an assignment of any kind for a company, industry group, political party, labor union, or any third party with whom your personal affiliation might undermine the reputation of Mint for impartial and independent journalism. Mint encourages its news staff to participate in journalism-related activities, including taking guest lectures at journalism schools, provided such activities don't interfere with your work and provided it is made very clear that such activities are being undertaken in your personal capacity. We will not approve the use of Mint affiliation in any advertising that the third-party might want to use to attract students/business to their institute. g. Personal appearances. You must get prior approval from the Editor or the Managing Editor for all TV and radio interviews, speeches, panel discussions and any other public appearance as a representative of Mint, except when such appearances are arranged by Mint's publicity staff. You may generally identify yourself as a Mint employee during discussions or presentations at educational institutions. No one may accept honoraria or expenses for such appearances without the written consent of the Editor. D) POLITICAL AND CIVIC ACTIVITIES: Many companies, for a variety of reasons, participate in the partisan political process, at various levels of government. As a publisher, Mint will have a different tradition. Mint does not contribute, directly or indirectly, to political campaigns or to political parties or groups seeking to raise money for political campaigns or parties. All news employees and members of senior management with any responsibility for news should refrain from partisan political activity judged newsworthy by their senior editor or in the case of senior management, the Editor. Other political activities (including "issue oriented" activity) are permitted, but should not be inconsistent with this code. On the other hand, it is not the intention of Mint, or of this code, to dissuade employees from participating actively in civic, charitable, religious, public, social or residential organizations. Such activities are permitted, and even encouraged, to the extent that they: Do not detract from performance or effectiveness at work; Do not, by their extensiveness, cause the company to subsidize or appear to subsidize the activity; and Do not otherwise violate this code. In the event that a conflict arises or may arise between an outside organization with which an employee is affiliated and the interests of Mint, the employee should refrain from participating in the conflicting or potentially conflicting activity. No Mint employee should permit his or her Mint affiliation to be noted in any outside organization's materials or activities without the express written approval of a member of senior management or unless of course the employee serves as a representative of Mint or unless the affiliation is noted as part of a broader description of the employee's identity. E) PERSONAL CONDUCT: 1. You may not use your Mint affiliation -- including your business card or business stationery -- for personal advantage in any way. Period. Among other things, this means that you will never invoke the Mint name or your title when seeking to resolve a personal dispute with a merchant, financial institution, government agency, or anyone else. You may not court favoritism based on your Mint affiliation. You will, for instance, not try and get tickets or restaurant reservations, for personal use invoking your role at Mint. Nor will you seek entry to events that you are attending in your personal capacity using your Press identity or car stickers. 2. You must avoid high-profile roles in the public spotlight, including in political campaigns (avoid marches and demonstrations, for example) or in fundraising that could associate the Mint name with your personal causes or beliefs. 3. You should never endorse a product, with the exception of the one for which you work. 4. We respect and protect manufacturers' copyrights on all computer software used by Mint employees. You may not copy, sell, share, or trade any company-owned or leased software without the express, written permission of the copyright owner or approval by the Mint legal department. Nor may you copy software from one machine to another without the express, written permission of the copyright owner or approval of the Mint legal department. 5. Computer equipment -- including hardware, software, and any related material -- that Mint loans to you for use outside the office remains the property of Mint. You are to return any loaned equipment at the end of the assignment and/or at the end of your employment with Mint. Software on loaned equipment is owned by Mint, and you can't copy, sell, share, or trade it without Mint's written permission. 6. As long as you are an employee of Mint you must keep in mind that you are always representing the company and could be under public scrutiny. Your behavior at all events should be exemplary and you will also present yourself, in terms of what you wear and how you behave, in a manner consistent with the event, setting and people you are meeting. Working for a business information newspaper/website also places an extra burden on you to convey a professional image because you will often be in business and professional settings and your grooming and attire must be appropriate. All these norms also apply to your appearance and behavior in the office. As a representative of the paper, you will be requested to exercise sound judgment in matters such as consuming alcohol at press or public events that you are attending as a representative of HT Media. Please remember that as a member of the news media, you will achieve certain name and face recognition as part of your job and that your behaviour outside work could sometimes inadvertently reflect on your organization. There will be no alcohol consumed or stored in the office except when it is a newsroom-wide official event that has prior approval of the Editor's office. 7. As part of protecting HT Media's intellectual property, you will not allow access into the newsroom for any outsider. There will be no individual or group tours of the newsroom unless they have been cleared in advance with the Editor's office. You will not have meetings with outsiders at your desk or any other place in the newsroom except for pre-booked conference room areas. This applies in particular to meetings with other media professionals, including all Public Relations professionals and corporate executives. 8. This Code of Conduct specifically bars employees from discussing compensation or salaries of any other employee in the newsroom. Please note that employees are discouraged from sharing their personal compensation details with outsiders and the fact that someone voluntarily disclosed his/her compensation is not a reason to violate the prohibition about discussing someone else's compensation. We compensate each employee based on their experience, performance, role and expectations we have of them. Any compensation discussions that you engage in with your immediate supervisor or HR need to be about your own issues. 9. Mint takes all sexual harassment issues very seriously. Please make sure you are aware of HT Media's sexual harassment policies that are available with the human resources department. F) ACCOUNTING AND FINANCES: It is essential to the successful operation of Mint as a business, and to the preservation of investor confidence in the company, that the integrity of our books and records be resolutely maintained. The responsibility for this does not rest exclusively with accounting or other financial personnel--we all share it. Accordingly, No Mint fund, asset or liability which is not fully and properly recorded on the company's books and records shall be created or permitted to exist; No transaction shall be effected and no payment shall be made on behalf of Mint with the intention or understanding that the transaction or payment is other than as described in the documentation evidencing the transaction or supporting the payment; All employees shall comply with HT Media' accounting principles, procedures and controls, and no false, artificial or misleading entries in any books or records of the company shall be made for any reason whatsoever including expense records related to travel, telephones and other reimbursements sought from Mint. No employee will issue or authorize anyone else to issue any company document that is false or misleading; No employee will knowingly accept and treat as accurate any false or misleading document prepared by a person not employed by HT Media; and No employee will knowingly make any false or misleading statements to our external or internal auditors. Indeed, when questioned by any auditor, all employees should be fully forthcoming. G) EMPLOYMENT: Mint strives to ensure that all employees are treated with dignity and respect. Among our goals are to make benefits and services available to employees to promote their well-being, to communicate effectively with employees, to ensure equal employment treatment, to maintain a safe work environment, to assist employees in realizing their potential and maximizing their productivity, and to fairly evaluate and recognize performance. For its part, the company expects employees to perform excellent work in a cost-effective manner, to strive for quality and productivity, to follow directions and instructions, to properly care for facilities and equipment, to anticipate problems and suggest improvements, to treat other employees and clients and customers with honesty and courtesy, and to be energetic in the performance of tasks and fulfillment of goals. Mint values the talents and contributions of its employees. The company also seeks and values diversity among employees, recognizing that a mix of people enriches the company and encourages creativity and business growth. HT Media' policy is to provide equal employment opportunities and advancement consideration to all individuals based on job-related qualifications and ability to perform the job, without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religious creed, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, age or marital status. It is also HT Media' policy to provide a working environment that is free of intimidation or harassment based on any of these factors, especially sexual harassment. This also extends to what you view on your work computer and what you display in your work area within the office or what you communicate orally or through emails with other colleagues. Complete statements of policies setting forth the company's standards regarding personnel matters, and other matters relating to employment with Mint, are available from Mint human resources department. These policies meet legal and regulatory requirements of various jurisdictions in which Mint does business, and employees of Mint are required to comply with these policies. H) ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: Mint is committed to maintaining a safe work environment by eliminating all significant recognized hazards in the workplace, and to conducting business in an environmentally sound manner based on scientific understanding, customer needs and local requirements. Employees are required to comply with all applicable health, safety and environmental laws and regulations, and all related company policies. I) SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY Overview: A number of Mint employees have personal accounts on social networking sites (like Facebook, Orkut or Myspace) and may also maintain personal blogs and/or micro blogging accounts. Use of these sites is certainly permitted, and Mint realizes that these sites can be useful ways to gain information pertinent to the work we do. But it is important that employees not use such sites in any way that could compromise Mint's impartiality, editorial integrity, or code of conduct. The following guidance note sets out the principles to which Mint staff members are expected to adhere when using the Internet for social media interactions. In general: - Staff should always act in a transparent manner when compiling or altering online sources of information. - Employees should not engage in activities on the Internet, which might bring Mint into disrepute. - They should not use the Internet in any way to attack or abuse Mint colleagues, whether by name or in general. - They should not post derogatory or offensive comments on the Internet. If such comments can be traced back to a Mint employee, there is a chance of "crank" or frivolous litigation against the organisation. Such litigation may not succeed, but Mint does not wish to invite such litigation in the first place. - If an employee is recognized to be an employee of Mint (either via byline or any other way), their personal blog / Twitter account / online profiles should include the following disclaimer: "The views expressed herein are the author's own, and do not reflect the opinions of Mint in any way." - Any content / document that resides purely within the Mint system / network should not be posted online (for wider access) without the written permission of a reporting manager. On using social media sites like Facebook / Orkut / Myspace: In addition to following general online behaviour guidelines as outlined above: Mint staff should refrain from mentioning that they are employees of Mint on any personal accounts they maintain on such sites. Refrain from providing a URL or user name or avatar that refers to Mint on your personal profiles. (This includes permanent links to any blogs/columns that you may author for Mint) Editorial staff and staff in sensitive political / business beats should never indicate a political / corporate allegiance on social networking sites, either through profile information or through joining political / corporate groups. Business and political reporters in particular should be careful of divulging confidential / controversial information and opinions about their specific beats. For politics reporters, this would mean not openly supporting the Congress or the BJP; for an energy reporter, this would mean not openly supporting Mukesh Ambani versus Anil Ambani. The weight of such opinions could be misconstrued to indicate biased coverage and whether that is true or false, that misconstruction should not be allowed to exist. Editorial staff and staff in sensitive political / business beats should also be careful about joining campaigning groups. They should discuss this in advance with their reporting manager. Any rare exception to this must be approved in advance by the employees' reporting manager. For instance, it may be appropriate to join Facebook groups related to causes for reasons of research. Where this is approved, the employee should be transparent and clearly state why he/she is joining the group. Staff members are free to link to / play up Mint content on their Facebook pages as long as it is done without commentary or conflicting opinions. On using professional networking sites like LinkedIn When using professional networking sites like LinkedIn, it is important for staff to not misrepresent their designations / responsibilities on their professional profiles. Staff should not use the portal to write abusive/dismissive/damaging things about their colleagues be it on their own profiles, or as recommendations on other people's profiles. Staff should in no way refer to any information that is considered confidential to Mint. Any confusion can be cleared up with a reporting manager. Consideration towards other staff members when posting photographs / blogging / micro blogging etc . Most social networking sites allow photographs, videos and comments to be shared with thousands of other users. However, it may not be appropriate to share work-related information in this way. For example, there may be an expectation that photographs taken at a private event will not appear publicly on the Internet, both from those present and perhaps those not at the event. Mint may also have objections to such content appearing online. Staff should be considerate to their colleagues in such circumstances and should not post information when they have been asked not to. They should also remove information about a colleague if that colleague asks them to do so. Blogs, Twitter and other content-generation platforms In addition to following general online behaviour guidelines as outlined above: Mint staff should not identify themselves by their designation / association with Mint, except with blogs on the Mint web site. Where a staff member's association with Mint is recognizable by name / byline, staff should be careful of the information and opinions they disclose on such platforms. This pertains in particular to the beats that reporters cover. Business and political reporters in particular should be careful of divulging confidential / controversial information and opinions about their specific beats. For politics reporters, this would mean not openly supporting the Congress or the BJP; for an energy reporter, this would mean not openly supporting Mukesh Ambani versus Anil Ambani. The weight of such opinions could be misconstrued to indicate biased coverage and whether that is true or false, that misconstruction should not be allowed to exist. Indeed, it would be preferable if beat reporters did not maintain individual blogs about their beats. So a political reporter would ideally not have an individual blog outside the Mint ecosystem that deals with politics. Beat reporters would also do well to not Tweet indiscreetly regarding their beats or the companies they cover (indeed, it is preferable they don't tweet indiscriminately at all) because this can be construed to imply bias and prejudice. If a staff member is contacted about his / her Tweets or blog posts by the press, for comments or further explanation, he / she should speak to their reporting editor before responding. This is in line with the Mint Code of Conduct stipulation that staffers check with their reporting editor / manager about ANY interview requests that may pertain to Mint content / operations. Staff members are free to link to / play up Mint content on their blogs or Twitter, as long as it is done without adverse commentary or conflicting opinions. Again, in line with general online behaviour guidelines, Twitter and blogs should not be used to attack / abuse colleagues, whether by name or in general. Editing online content In addition to following general online behaviour guidelines as outlined above: Mint staff members should, in general, refrain from editing content in open access Wiki-web sites from computers at the workplace, because these web sites track IP addresses from which changes are made. These changes may thus be inaccurately attributed to Mint's editorial stances. 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The committee members will serve for a year. In this period, they will hear interval as well as external complaints against journalists. The committee will hear each case, only when it deems it worthy of hearing (which means trivial complaints will be dismissed). It will also send its recommendations to the editor, in writing. The committee will also present, in writing, to the board every year, a note on the cases it has heard in the course of the year. COMPLIANCE WITH THIS CODE Mint takes this code of conduct very seriously. All employees of Mint are responsible for compliance with all aspects of this code. All new employees shall be required to read this code at the outset of their employment, and to attest in writing that they have done so; all Mint employees shall be required, at the time this code is first promulgated, to read it and so attest. Such written attestations shall be required every six months. Any employee having a question about a possible violation of this code by that person or any other person, or in connection with any practice, should discuss it with his or her supervisor, or the Editor. Every effort will be made to maintain the confidentiality of such discussions. Mint is committed to this Code. At the same time, we realize that no document can anticipate all possible circumstances that may arise in the future. To reiterate: When in doubt, please ask. It may be necessary, from time to time, to clarify this set of rules or to modify them. The Editor, as necessary, will decide on any clarifications, exceptions, or modifications to this Code. We expect, however, that clarifications will be rare, and that exceptions will be narrow. Please remember: Mint's reputation is its most important asset, and anything that damages that reputation damages both Mint and all of us. 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Next week, the trustees expect to vote on a contract for Mark Rocha, an experienced college administrator who has earned accolades from the California Community College Chancellors Office but also received no confidence votes from students and faculty over course cancellations when he was president of Pasadena City College in 2013. Once approved, Rocha, 63, would replace interim Chancellor Susan Lamb, who steered City College through several crises as it struggled to retain its accreditation a five-year effort that ended successfully in January. We are impressed with Dr. Rochas qualifications and experience in higher education, said Thea Selby, president of the Board of Trustees. Throughout the search process, Dr. Rocha consistently received high rankings from our constituency groups, particularly our students. ALSO UC opens probe into interference with state audit Rocha is no stranger to emergencies. For the past three years, he has helped run the New York governors Office of Storm Recovery, a program to repair thousands of homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Thats the same year an accreditation commission cracked down on City College. The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges cited a broad range of problems, from poor fiscal controls to convoluted governance, but didnt complain about the quality of instruction. Rocha, who has taught at several community colleges and at Cal State Northridge, where he earned tenure, served as president and superintendent of Pasadena City College, where he won the State Chancellors Award for Student Success in 2012. A year later, however, Rocha was forced to defend his record at Pasadena when students and faculty passed separate votes of no confidence in the president after he canceled the colleges winter quarter. Student leaders cited poor communication with Rocha. At the time, Rocha told a packed meeting of the Board of Trustees that human beings see things through different points of view and proposed a continuing dialogue. Rocha could not be reached for comment. Rocha also served as president of West Los Angeles College in 2006. Raised in the Bronx, Rocha earned his masters degree from Cal State University Fullerton and his doctorate from the University of Southern California. He has written scholarly articles on the playwright August Wilson and taught for a year in Venezuela through a Fulbright Fellowship in 1994. Im for the little guy, Rocha told the trustees in a statement before he was selected. My parents started without anything, but they saw to it I went to college. Although City College survived its near loss of accreditation, and won a seven-year renewal this year, the college still faces difficulties. Enrollment declined significantly during the accreditation crisis, and with the loss of students came the loss of state revenue. Rocha told City College trustees that he increased enrollment and balanced the budget at both colleges he led Pasadena and West Los Angeles and that he first earned his crisis-management chops in 1994, when the Northridge earthquake destroyed the California State University campus, where he had become associate dean. I was part of a great team effort that reopened the college in 27 days in tents and trailers he said in his statement. City Colleges last permanent chancellor, Art Tyler, who was hired in 2013 to help City College manage its accreditation crisis, lasted less than two years before he was reassigned to run the colleges facilities department. Subsequently, The Chronicle learned that as chancellor, Tyler, who earned an annual salary of $289,284, traveled so often that he was absent from campus for roughly a third of his tenure. He resigned in January 2016. Lamb was named interim chancellor in June 2015, earning a base salary of $265,880. The trustees will vote on Rochas contract next Thursday at their meeting in Room 140 of the Multi-Use Building at 50 Phelan Ave. If approved, Rocha will become chancellor July 1. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Mike Lefiti was a longtime UPS driver who took pride in his work and was widely respected by his colleagues and adored by his large family, friends and relatives said Wednesday. The 46-year-old Hercules resident was one of three people killed when a shooter opened fire in the UPS distribution center on Potrero Hill in San Francisco at 8:55 a.m., relatives said. The gunman shot and killed himself when confronted by police. At least two other people were injured in the shooting. Their conditions were not known as of Wednesday evening, and other than Lefiti, none of the victims had been identified. Several members of Lefitis family converged on the emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital after learning that he had been shot. When word came around 11:15 a.m. that he had died, one of his sons bolted from the hospital and threw his arms into the air, sobbing. Inside, family members wept and held one another. Lefiti was a good-humored man who was fiercely devoted to his family and friends, said his cousin Bob Toia of San Francisco. He would always give the shirt off his back, Toia said. He was a real dedicated person to his family, to his wife, to his kids. If you needed anything, Mike was there for you. He was always there for you. Lefiti grew up in Daly City, where he graduated from Westmoor High School. Hed worked for UPS for 17 years, most recently covering a route in Diamond Heights. On his Facebook page are photos of him with a plaque celebrating 15 years of service, and another picture of his truck after it got a new paint job. Among his Samoan friends and family, he was affectionately known as Big Mike, and he was indeed a large, jovial man. On Facebook, one friend described him as the most upbeat, positive person she knew; others said he was a man who was always laughing and making everyone else feel at ease. Jessica Irvine, who lives in Diamond Heights, said Lefiti had delivered packages to her house for the last five years or so. He knew everybody in the neighborhood, she said. When he dropped off packages, he would ask about family and friends. And he always seemed to know all the latest gossip and neighborhood news. Youd walk by to go to the drugstore and have a conversation with Mike, Irvine said. He was very, very well-loved by everybody. He was very friendly and helpful and honest. Friends and customers set up a memorial of flowers and notes Wednesday outside the Safeway on Diamond Heights Boulevard where he would park his UPS truck. Throughout the afternoon and evening, dozens of people from the neighborhood stopped by the makeshift shrine, many of them crying as they knelt before photos of Lefiti in his uniform. He was more than their delivery man, neighbors said. He was everybodys big brother, said Fredrick Dionisio, a security guard at the nearby Bank of America, as he wiped away tears. Hes the guy that if youre having a bad day, hell make you laugh. Ronald Bandar said Big Mike would always honk when he spotted Bandar power-walking down the street. The two would sometimes eat lunch in Lefitis truck, and Bandar learned that Lefiti was a fan of Kim Kardashian so he recently bought him a book of her selfies as a present. He didnt have any enemies in the world, Bandar said. Toia said he last saw his cousin at their nieces high school graduation party last week. It was the typical big family event, and, as usual, Lefiti was the life of the party, Toia said. We really had a good time, Toia said. He was always laughing, making jokes. Hes like the family clown, in a good way. Toia, who works for Muni, said he raced from his job to the hospital when his brother called to tell him Lefiti had been shot. Its like a bad dream, Toia said. He was one of the good ones. He always lived his life right. Chronicle staff writer Michael Bodley contributed to this report. Sarah Ravani, Evan Sernoffsky and Erin Allday are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com, esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com and eallday@sfchronicle.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark Peterson resigned Wednesday in a plea deal cut on the same day state Attorney General Xavier Becerras office filed 13 felony charges against him in connection with his admitted use of $66,000 in campaign funds for personal expenditures. Hours after filing the criminal case, state prosecutors appeared in a Martinez courtroom and agreed to drop 12 of the charges in exchange for Petersons resignation and his agreement to plead no contest to one count of perjury for making false statements on state campaign disclosure forms. During the hearing, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Theresa Canepa found him guilty of the single felony and ordered him to perform 250 hours of community service and serve three years of probation. As part of the plea bargain, Peterson cannot run for public office during those years and must be booked in a county jail before the weekend. The actions brought a remarkably swift conclusion to a rare criminal case filed by state prosecutors against an elected county district attorney. Peterson was serving his second term in office and was seeking a third term when state prosecutors revealed last week that they were in the midst of a criminal investigation related to his campaign funds. Investigators served a search warrant at his office, and an affidavit showed they were seeking personal email, bank records, calendars and personal electronic devices that might contain evidence that Peterson engaged in perjury, embezzlement, fraud or grand theft. At the Martinez courthouse Wednesday, Petersons defense attorney, Ted Cassman, likened the case to a Shakespearean tragedy. Peterson may now be barred from practicing law. A felony conviction would be grounds for State Bar discipline, Laura Ernde, a State Bar spokeswoman, said in an email. If the offense involves moral turpitude that would mean summary disbarment after the conviction is final. Otherwise, the State Bar Court would look at the circumstances and recommend discipline up to and including disbarment. The state attorney generals office opened its criminal investigation after the state Fair Political Practices Commission fined Peterson $45,000 in December for using his political account to pay for non-campaign related expenses, including meals, gas, clothes, movie tickets, hotels and phone bills. State law requires that campaign funds be used for a political, legislative or governmental purpose. The campaign watchdog found Peterson made approximately 600 personal expenditures from his campaign account, including transferring money into his personal bank account. Peterson told commission investigators that he considered the money a loan and intended to pay it back. Commissioners opened their probe into Peterson after the district attorney notified them that he had improperly used his campaign account and was paying back the funds. Peterson disclosed the information to the commission after he was notified by the state Franchise Tax Board in October 2015 that his political account had been selected for a routine audit. He was first elected in 2010 then re-elected, unopposed, four years later. Its his 2014 campaign account for which he is charged with siphoning more than $66,000 for his personal use between 2011 and 2015, according to the criminal complaint. Last month, a Contra Costa County grand jury filed a formal accusation against Peterson related to his campaign-fund expenditures. The grand jury recommended that Peterson be removed from office. Those civil proceedings were dropped Wednesday, too, as part of the plea deal. Melody Gutierrez and Kimberly Veklerov are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com, kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez, @KVeklerov The Retreat of Western Liberalism By Edward Luce Atlantic Monthly Press. 234 pp. $24 The Fate of the West: The Battle to Save the World's Most Successful Political Idea By Bill Emmott The Economist Books. 257 pp. $28 --- Superpowers come and go, but it's rare that one puts in for early retirement. The Trump presidency, with its dismissal of friends, deference to enemies and disdain for leadership, is leaving a void at the center of that place we have long called the Western world. Yes, I know, even talking about "the West" seems so retro-imperialist, a kind of top-hat history. But in the face of a powerful authoritarian China, a paranoid Russia and an undeterrable Islamic State, defending the values of freedom and equality may be the cause of our time. These are universal aspirations that have found high expression in the Western political tradition - if not always in its practice - and now they're in trouble. It is the turmoil of the West, not of the West Wing, that should preoccupy us most. President Trump will leave office, one way or another. Any succession plans for the West will be far more chaotic and far less welcome. This upheaval is captured in two books by British journalists hailing from publications known for promoting free peoples and free markets. In "The Fate of the West," by former Economist editor Bill Emmott, and "The Retreat of Western Liberalism," by Financial Times columnist Edward Luce, the challenges to the West are outlined in detail - and they mainly come from within. Slowing economic growth, rising inequality, division among longtime allies and growing mistrust of elites are eroding the legitimacy and power of the West, giving way to crude, inward-looking nationalisms. And it's happening just as transnational cooperation is most needed. The West is a concept, not a location: the United States, Germany and Japan, for instance, can all be Western in crucial ways - cultures, currencies and cardinal points be damned. The West, as Emmott writes, is "the world's most successful political idea," one combining openness to new opportunities and a constant striving for equal voice, rights and treatment. The two may conflict at times, but both are essential. "Without openness, the West cannot thrive; but without equality, the West cannot last," Emmott writes. After World War II, the West succeeded in tempering Europe's self-destructive impulses, and after the Cold War, it seemed that the Western ideal of liberal democracy and open markets had defeated all comers. It was Fukuyama's end of history and Krauthammer's unipolar moment and all that good stuff. Yet it was "remarkably arrogant to believe the rest of the world would passively adopt our script," Luce reflects. "Belief in an authoritarian version of national destiny is staging a powerful comeback." For Emmott, the financial crisis beginning in 2008 finally revealed the internal rot, not just because of the economic pain that followed but because of the "sense of betrayal and systemic failure that it has engendered." The problem of the West, he contends, is not that some are rich and some are poor, but that those left behind don't trust in the fundamental justice of their society. The West "does not depend upon incomes or wealth being equal or even close to it," Emmott writes. "It does depend on people mostly considering their societies to be fair." Such societies have grown increasingly unfair, he maintains, thanks to democracy's tendency toward "self-entrapment" - the abuse of the political process to capture benefits and preferences for powerful industries, especially in the financial sector. Emmott credits the Occupy movement with identifying this culprit, even if it couldn't do much to stop it. For Luce, the combination of rising income inequality, vanishing economic mobility and distant technocracy has led to our moment's populist resurgence. "The election of Trump, and Britain's exit from Europe, is a reassertion of the popular will," he writes. And both authors regard the ascent of Trump, in particular, in near-apocalyptic terms. "Western liberal democracy ... is facing its gravest challenge since the Second World War," Luce argues. "America's best liberal traditions are under assault from its own president." Emmott concurs that Trump's proposals - pushing protectionism, weakening alliances, tightening immigration - threaten Western values. A longer view, one less clouded by a gauzy Atlanticism, would emphasize how the deepest of America's inequities, often along racial and cultural lines, long predate the challenges of the post-Cold War world. Yet today's disruptions matter because, even if America is not synonymous with the West, "the West would be severely diminished, even finished, without the US," Emmott writes. The Trump administration's "America first" agenda, as interpreted by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House advisers H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn, means that linkages between America's policies and its values will be incidental, and that rather than seeking cooperation with allied nations, Washington now sees the world as a horde of zero-sum competitors out for themselves. It is the sort of narrow and vulgar realism that will undercut efforts on counterterrorism, trade and, as we've already seen, climate change. Is there no other power to sustain the West but Washington? The authors look skeptically at Europe's regional and national leadership. Emmott notes that the internal processes of the European Union "feel alien and even incomprehensible" to many on the continent, while Luce isn't convinced that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is up to becoming honcho of the free world should she win reelection this year. "The spirit of Western internationalism is resting on her shoulders," he writes. "It is asking a lot of a fourth-term German leader to carry such a torch," he writes. U.S. influence matters not because Washington has always upheld the values it professes, but because just professing them matters, too. "Even where it is proved hypocritical, such as in the 'war on terror' and during much of the Cold War, the idea of America proved greater than its faults," Luce writes. "The link between an America that upheld its system at home and promoted it abroad was never broken, though often tarnished. Trump is inverting that link. The more scorn he pours on democratic traditions at home, the more he endangers them abroad." If the West is an idea, well, America is, too. And it's worth preserving. These would not be big-think books without a litany of policy recommendations - even if the recommendations here tend toward the small-bore or predictable, and thus, the disappointing. Emmott, who sees lobbying groups and special interests as agents of entrenched power and inequality, wants the United States to do away with excessive professional licensing requirements, strengthen antitrust enforcement, rein in large banks, boost infrastructure spending and deploy inheritance taxes to counteract intergenerational concentrations of wealth. Luce calls for a "new social compact" (alas, even elegant British writers succumb to policy cliches) featuring universal health care, simpler tax codes, carbon taxes, less money in politics and more job retraining for the middle class. Such proposals, aimed at redressing the domestic challenges the authors outline, seem like necessary but ultimately technical fixes to what is a more systemic problem. After all, Luce and Emmott do not envision a benign post-American world where rising powers create economic opportunities for all; theirs is a more Spenglerian view of civilizational decline. The irony of Trump's early mismanagement is that it confirms that, for all the complaints of the post-Cold War era - America the hyperpower, the drone warrior, the red-line-ignorer - the thirst for U.S. leadership remains strong. When Merkel declared that Europe must now take its fate into its own hands, there was apprehension, not triumphalism, in the statement. America long ago decided it would not be the world's policeman, but becoming its disaffected loner is no solution, either. "Trump has made it clear the post-war US-led global order is history. But what will replace it?" Luce asks. He has little faith in the Chinese leadership, and he argues that Vladimir Putin's Russia simply wants to foster division among potential rivals. Absent the United States, we are left with an odd circumstance: The nations that share Western values are not strong enough to lead, while the ones that might be strong enough do not share Western values. "Some fear that China is the coming power," Luce writes. "But chaos, not China, is likelier to take America's place." Could new leadership in the United States begin to repair the increasing frailty of the West, especially if Trump's politics of resentment fails to deliver? "It is comforting to assume, as many do, that the US system will simply revert to pre-Trump mode," Luce cautions. "The chances are at least as great that Trump will be able to pin the blame on elites, foreigners, Islam, minorities, unelected judges and other handy saboteurs. That is how populists operate." The damage Trump is inflicting on the norms of American democracy, on basic notions regarding truth, trust and discourse, is severe - and it's not like things were heavenly before he took that down escalator into the netherworld of the 2016 campaign. So there's more to worry about than China, Russia or North Korea, those "barbarians ... at the West's gates," as Emmott calls them, with a doff of the pith helmet. The American president's impact on the Western psyche will endure in some form no matter who comes next - and remember that what follows in Washington may not improve things. "Imagine how things would look with a competent and sophisticated white nationalist in the White House," Luce writes in his final paragraph, just to make matters as depressing as possible. Dean Acheson's Pulitzer-winning memoir, "Present at the Creation," chronicles the origins of those institutions and alliances that would guide the post-World War II order. These authors suggest that Acheson's beginning is reaching an end. Luce believes that we are "present at the re-creation," with Moscow and Beijing aiming to "rupture the West's claim to universalism." Emmott, more blunt, worries that we are "present at the destruction." Destruction feels too definitive, re-creation too vague. It's more of a repudiation. After all, I'm not worried that Fukuyama was wrong that Western liberal democracy has become the ultimate ideal for human government. I'm worried that he was right but that nobody cares. The Switch By Joseph Finder Dutton. 370 pp. $28 --- It could happen to any of us: accidentally grabbing the wrong laptop off the security conveyor belt at the airport. For the hero of Joseph Finder's propulsive novel "The Switch," this innocent mishap puts him in the middle of a dangerous scenario involving lies, leaks and threats to our liberties. Sound familiar? Michael Tanner, the owner of a specialty coffee company in Boston, is on his way home from a business trip when he ends up with an unsecured laptop belonging to someone named S. Robbins. That's Illinois senator Susan Robbins, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The computer contains top secret documents about an enhanced surveillance program that would make personal privacy a thing of the past. (Finder has said that Hillary Clinton's private server problems inspired this story, as did WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden and the surveillance-saturated post-9/11 world.) Tanner has every intention of returning the laptop, but when he gets a call from someone claiming to be "Sam" Robbins, the laptop's owner, Tanner intuits there's "something funky going on." When a reporter he turns to for advice turns up dead, Tanner has every reason to be paranoid. Several of the characters here feel ripped from the headlines - or "House of Cards." Robbins, for one, embodies every sleazy trait fairly or unfairly attributed to our elected representatives. She is more concerned for her own neck then the stolen documents. "If this guy ... this Tanner fellow ... got into my laptop and tells, you know, CNN what he found ... well, it's a shark in the water," she types on her BlackBerry. It's all her smarmy chief of staff, Will Abbott, needs to hear - he's a lot like Frank Underwood's creepy dogsbody Doug Stamper. The dangerously ambitious Abbott, too, feeds the myth of the D.C. swamp monster. Preserving his felonious boss' reputation is his life's work. "She'd be the senator who stole classified information and put it on a laptop and lost it. She would be accused of mishandling classified information - what if the Russians got it? or the Chinese? - but worse, she'd be ridiculed. Her career would be over," he worries. All this because Robbins was too lazy to read the documents in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) as required by law. Abbott sends a mob-linked thug to Boston to retrieve the laptop, but Tanner's lizard-sense kicks in and he does what he needs to survive. Soon, the National Security Agency is trying to locate the now off-the-grid Tanner as are the Russians who want to turn over the documents to WikiLeaks. Finder's innocent-man-on-the run tale is the literary equivalent of a popcorn movie. It sometimes feels over-the-top crazy, but it hits the mark regarding life in the 21st century. An attorney Tanner wants to hire reminds him that the United States already is a surveillance state. "Don't tell me you're disillusioned now. This is the way it is. This is the way the world works now." Thriller writers face enormous challenges in our current political climate. News stories about corruption, conspiracies and back channels rattle our nerves daily. How do writers top the shock and awe of the Comey hearings and the Russia scandal without challenging the reader's suspension of disbelief? Or do readers now prefer escapist fiction with no links to the real world? Finder, whose previous books include "The Fixer" and "Killer Instinct," strikes the right tone. By the end of "The Switch" we all buy into the premise that Michael Tanner embodies all of us, and everyone's being watched. If you feel the urge to place black tape over the camera lens on your computer, don't fight it. I did that years ago. --- Memmott is a freelance writer living in Northern Virginia. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A harrowing tale of suspense, intrigue and drama takes center stage this weekend as the Laredo Community College Fine Arts Department presents its rendition of the classic Greek tragedy, Oedipus The King. The production will make its theatrical debut at LCC today and will continue through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with a special matinee performance slated for Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theatre. Prior to the plays action, Oedipus has unknowingly fulfilled an ancient prophecy that told of his fathers murder by his own hand and his subsequent marriage to his mother, Jocasta. READ MORE: Report: Laredo woman lied to police about unwanted sexual advances because she was 'lonely' The Greek tragedy centers on the search for the now deceased King Laius murderer in order to end a plague ravaging the city of Thebes. With a vow to avenge the Kings death, Oedipus begins his quest and travels through the countryside in search of his murderer. Unbeknownst to himself and those around him, the killer he is looking for is none other than himself. Regarded by scholars as a masterpiece of the ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex was a challenging theatrical endeavor undertaken by LCC Theatre Director William Hauserman. I thought that doing an ancient Greek play would be something new and different for Laredo. I chose Oedipus Rex because I felt that it is probably the best known and most recognizable title, which might spur interest, Hauserman said. The plays production will closely imitate the ancient Greek theatre traditions. The production will use the talents of three actors who will play multiple characters. In addition to these three principal actors, there also is a chorus of 10 actors. Much like its ancient Greek counterpart, the chorus will speak their dialogue in unison, with the exception of a few lines spoken by the chorus leader. RELATED: Grocery delivery service Instacart now available in Laredo Costumes for the production consist of ancient Greek dress and a flurry of different masks to portray different characters. Understanding the historical nature of this production, I wanted to produce a play that has a compelling story and recognizable title that audiences can relate to. Clearly, this play has stood the test of time. Its a performance you wont want to miss, Hauserman said. For more information on tickets and the production, contact the LCC Fine Arts Department at 721-5334. There was no need for the film publicist to announce "I've got Sam Elliott on the phone." It was obvious who was calling, as soon as the actor - in New York on a press tour for his new film, "The Hero" - opened his mouth. Over a nearly 50-year career, the 72-year-old California native has made a name for himself in roles - many of them in Westerns - that take advantage of his rugged good looks, brushy mustache, the ability to harness both soulfulness and grit - and that distinctive, rumbling drawl. In "The Hero," which was written for Elliott, he plays a fictionalized version of himself - a cowboy actor in his 70s named Lee Hayden, who's scrounging for ever-dwindling parts while making do with commercial voice-over work. On the eve of a lifetime achievement award from the Western Preservation and Appreciation League - and after receiving some bad news from his doctor - Lee is forced to take stock of his relationships: with his drug dealer (Nick Offerman); an estranged daughter (Krysten Ritter); an ex-wife (played by Elliot's wife, Katharine Ross); and a new young lover (Laura Prepon). In real life, Elliott has had no so such work drought, with juicy roles in recent movies such as "Grandma" and "I'll See You in My Dreams" (on which he met "The Hero's" director and co-writer, Brett Haley), and on the television shows "Justified," "The Ranch" and "Grace and Frankie." And in first-time director Bradley Cooper's forthcoming remake of "A Star Is Born," Elliott will play opposite Cooper and Lady Gaga. Q: Are we in the middle of a Sam Elliott renaissance? A: I don't know. I'd rather look at my career as a continuum. It's got peaks and valleys, and I'm just on one of the peaks right now. It may be the highest peak I've been on since I've been in the business. I truly believe that "The Hero" is my best work, probably, and certainly the most fun that I've ever been involved in. Q: How much do you relate to the character of Lee? A: On some levels, I connect very deeply to him. There are a couple of obvious differences that are contrived: My wife and I have been married for 33 years, and have been together 39 years. I have a deeply loving relationship with my daughter (Cleo Cole Elliott), who I see almost daily. I don't smoke pot. And I don't have cancer. Apart from those four elements, there's a lot of me there. One other big difference: Lee has totally screwed his life up by his choices. Q: In "The Hero," Lee says, "I did one film that I'm proud of," referring to the movie-within-the-movie that lends the film its title. Aside from your new movie, is there one film - or five - that you're most proud of? A: There may be five: a film that my wife and I did called "Conagher" (1991), which was a Louis L'Amour novel that we both adapted into a screenplay, and that I produced and we both acted in. "Tombstone" (1993), probably. "Road House" (1989). "Mask" (1985). "The Big Lebowski" (1998). On some level, what makes one picture stand out from another is not so much even the work as the people and the journey. Q: Ageism is a big problem in Hollywood. Is Brett Haley - who has now cast you in two films, both of which explicitly address aging - doing something radical here? A: Revolutionary. It's a terrible thing that Hollywood does with older actors, I think, particularly women. It's always kind of mystified me that older people get short shrift - older people in general, whatever their field is. The way I look at it is, the older guy is the one that has the knowledge, the experience, something to pass on, something to teach. We put that aside for younger, more beautiful models. Q: Lee becomes romantically involved with a stand-up comic in her 30s. Is the movie part of the problem, where older actresses are replaced by younger, more beautiful models, or is it commenting on that problem? A: I think it's commenting on it, for sure. I think we earned that relationship. It's not a typical older-guy-and-younger-girl relationship. We deal with how weird it is. Lee says, "What are you doing here?" She says, "What do you mean, 'What am I doing here?' You asked me out." He says, "Yeah, I know, but this is kind of weird." There's a lot more going on in that relationship than some b------- physical relationship. Q: I loved your performance in "Grandma," as the ex-husband of Lily Tomlin's character, who quietly unloads his long-buried resentment for her past actions. Is it hard to access these two very different sides of your on-screen persona, as you have done so often: the tough guy and the softy? A: Not at all. When it feels real, it feels good to deal with it. I truly believe that if it's on the page, then it's on the stage. I remember Lily saying to me - I don't remember how many takes we did of that scene, where he's talking about her having the abortion and how he didn't get a voice in it - there was a moment when Lily leaned in close to me and said, "God, you're making me feel like a real a------ here," in true Lily fashion. What was her character doing in that movie? She was dragging her granddaughter around, looking for an abortion. My character had an opportunity to show the other side of that coin. Q: Your audition scene in "The Hero" strikes a similar emotional tone. When Lee is reading for a part in a sci-fi movie, he breaks down over a line that reminds him of his damaged relationship with his daughter. A: There are two versions of the audition speech: One, when I'm doing it with Offerman, and he's reading the part of my daughter. It's kind of a joke. Because Lee falls apart in the audition scene later in the film, it was necessary that you saw, in the reading of it with Nick, that, in fact, Lee Hayden was still a good actor. When he gets in that audition and falls apart, it's not about the fact that he can't act. When he hears himself say, "You're my daughter, and I was dead. But I'm here now" - that's what takes him down. Q: This is the fifth time you've worked with your wife. What is that like? A: It's always incredible. It was a little bizarre playing exes. Q: Like Lee, who does barbecue sauce commercials, your voice has been used to sell beef and beer. When did you realize you had something there? A: My mom put me in a cherub choir, back in Sacramento, when I was 5. I was singing baritone when I was 15. And then, not long after 17, I started singing bass. Q: Your 1976 film "Lifeguard" made you a sex symbol. Can you cop to still being one at 72? A: It's a little late for that. That's not where I'm thinking I am in this day and age, for sure. But, yeah, I guess I can cop to it. It's genetics, I guess. In "Lifeguard," I'm running around in a Speedo for a lot of the movie. Q: During her character's stand-up act, Laura Prepon makes fun of Lee's anatomy and sexual performance. Was that hard to listen to? A: Easy for me, not easy for Lee. That's not me up on the screen. It's what I do. Q: What's the hardest thing about acting? A: I don't find it hard. I get nervous going in - pretty nervous - still. Q: Even at 72? A: Yep, because I want to be good. Q: Do you get a kick out of roles that poke fun at your cowboy image? A: The narrator in "The Big Lebowski" was that. I'm a purist when it comes to the form. When I do a quote-unquote Western, I take it all seriously. But poking fun at it? Absolutely. Q: Is the Western dead? A: It's struggling. The last great Western made in Hollywood was "True Grit," the one the Coen brothers did with Jeff Bridges. There's an audience for it. Those are the people that elected Trump president. I'm not saying every Western lover voted for Trump, but Hollywood dismisses the people in what they call the flyover states. Q: Speaking of Jeff Bridges, what did you think of "Hell or High Water," the contemporary Western? A: Incredible film. Jeff's played that part before. So what? As (veteran Western actor) Ben Johnson once told me, when we were doing "The Sacketts": "I may not be a very good actor, but nobody can play Ben Johnson better than I can." I've heard people say, "There's Sam Elliott doing the same s--- again," playing another cowboy, another slow-talking, laconic whatever. So what? Nobody's ever going to confuse me with John Malkovich. But nobody's going to play Sam Elliott better than me. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO When Metallica says they love you, theyre done. Such was the muttered sentiment of one the 48,000 or so fans filing out of the Alamodome on Wednesday after Metallicas final encore song, Enter Sandman. Guitarist and frontman James Hetfield wanted to make certain the message was conveyed loud and clear after the more than two-hour concert. After all, the heavy-metal legends have a history here dating to a nightclub gig in the early 1980s. Metallica loves San Antonio, Hetfield said. It was never in doubt. Solely by attendance somewhat less than George Strait and the Eagles but better than U2 and Kiss over the years at the venue Wednesdays show likely means itll go down as the biggest concert of the year in San Antonio. The concert began with a video clip of the climactic graveyard scene from the 1966 spaghetti western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach. It signaled fun times ahead, as well as Metallicas iconic status. For its WorldWired Tour, Metallica has gone big with a massive, multipanel video screen behind the band, fireballs, explosions and fireworks. Hetfield, drummer and cofounder Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo are touring behind its latest album, Hardwired to Self Destruct. The band tore into its thrashing and ferocious opening numbers Hardwired and Atlas, Arise! The latter, with its classic British punk chords, roared like what the original Sex Pistols could have sounded like had they ever gotten to an arena stage. For 18 songs, there was little letup. Metallicas front line of guitarists wandered the giant stage and catwalks, but most eyes fixed on Hetfield, hunched over and smiling wickedly at the microphone. Surely those watching Ulrich flailing in double-time and pummeling his kit must have wondered how his arms didnt fall off. Hetfield addressed the audience often. Screams, like the music, were deafening throughout. Most fans were on their feet from beginning to end. You are Metallicas family, Hetfield said early. Are you with us? The group traveled effortlessly back in time with the ominous For Whom the Bell Tolls, now more than 30 years old. Relief from the breakneck pace and muscular tempos and riffs came in the form of minor-chord ballads such as The Unforgiven. Hammett unleashed emotional fury with his sustaining guitar solo high on the neck. The new Now That Were Dead (which sneaks some AC/DC musical cues into the guitar chords) and Moth Into Flame (about the price of fame) fit right into the mix next to the favorite Wherever I May Roam. Hammett and Trujillo performed a punishing, metallic guitar-bass duet alone, filling up the audio spectrum all by themselves, close to 10 p.m. With such a massive and high-tech stage set and cues, Metallicas song lists vary little from town to town. But San Antonio fans lapped up the shoutouts and nods to the glory days when the city reveled in its title of the heavy metal capital of the world. Metallica is no stranger to San Antonio, Hetfield said. People in San Antonio like their music heavy. The group took things back to the garage with some of its earliest classic songs (now virtual singalongs at their multigenerational concerts) like the blistering Seek & Destroy, Master of Puppets and the gloomy Nothing Else Matters, the latter which came during the encore. And on Wednesday, nothing else did. hsaldana@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate About 90 people have 12 days to vacate their homes and find a new place to live after the City of Laredo deemed a local apartment complex uninhabitable. The storm that hit Laredo about a month ago caused significant damage to some of the units, blowing the roof off the building in some areas. The entire apartment complex has been labeled unsafe for occupancy. Even the units that might not show any physical damage present a risk to the tenants safety due to possible electrical and sanitary problems, according to city officials. After receiving a temporary injunction against Dellwood Apartments, 2202 Bristol Road, the City of Laredo said inspectors have been empowered to red tag 110 of the apartments units. Most of the tenants are worried that they do not have enough time to find a new place that will fit their economic needs or that their immigration status will prevent them from renting somewhere else. Nalleli, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, has been a resident of Dellwood Apartments for a month. She said its been hard to find another place to live. READ MORE: Tenants vacate north Laredo apartment complex labeled 'unsafe for occupancy' We dont have documents We are scared because we dont have anyone else who can help, Nalleli said. She lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her husband and her two daughters, ages 1 and 2. Her husband, Eduardo, who is also an undocumented immigrant, works in a warehouse nearby, which forces them to limit their search to the Mines Road area to stay close to his job, Nalleli said. Nalleli said she is from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, but that going back to the Sister City is not an option for them. Because of my daughters, I dont want to go back, she said. Everyone is afraid to go back to Mexico. They go across and they are blackmailed or kidnapped. As of Wednesday evening, Nalleli said she still hadnt found a place to move with her family, even though they had been notified to vacate over two weeks ago. She said most landlords ask for some type of documentation to verify their legal status. Another tenant, Adriana Mendoza, 34, said she has been renting at Dellwood Apartments for 16 years. Mendoza lives with her husband and her two sons in one of the units that do not show any physical damage. The Mendoza family was packing and throwing out some of their old belongings Wednesday afternoon as they were getting ready to vacate their home. She said they were going to rent a storage unit for their furniture and were planning to stay at a ranch with a relative while they find another place to live. Mendoza said she was worried for the older residents who do not have a means of transportation, much less the possibility to find another apartment on such short notice. RELATED: Laredo mayor declares city a disaster area in wake of devastating storm There are like five or six families composed of older people who dont own a car in which they can move. These are people that live day by day, she said. We know these are old apartments, but this is what they can afford. Here, (the owner) tried to help out. Many people didnt pay the rent on time, or would pay in installments. They wont let them do that somewhere else. Another concern for her was that she, like most of the tenants, had already paid this months rent. Mendoza said it would be hard for most of them to find the money to pay the deposit for another apartment in less than two weeks. Isamar Ruiz, another long-time resident of Dellwood, said she had just applied for a place at Indian Sunset apartment complex, where the rent is $200 more expensive than what she currently pays. Ruiz and Mendoza said the owner of Dellwood Apartments had said he was working with the insurance company to make sure every tenant got Junes rent and their deposit refunded. However, they said he explained that could take one or two months. Melissa Santillana may be reached at 728-2585 or msantillana@lmtonline.com Two people were arrested over the weekend for allegedly threatening a man with a firearm that turned out to be a pellet gun, according to Laredo police. Sergio San Miguel, 49, and Christine Castillo-San Miguel, 27, were arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. San Miguel was also charged with assault. Both were behind bars as of Wednesday at the Webb County Jail. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A woman allegedly lied to police about a man making unwanted sexual advances toward her, authorities said. Elva Rosa Gonzalez, 49, was charged Tuesday with making a false report to police, a Class B misdemeanor. Laredo police said Gonzalez filed a harassment report April 26. She claimed that on April 20, the security guard of a bookstore in the 5400 block of San Bernardo Avenue made unwanted sexual advances toward her. READ MORE: Police: 'Slightly intoxicated' Laredo man cut wife, stepdaughters with knife She said to police that the guard further threatened her as she began walking to the exit, according to LPD. The report was referred to LPDs crimes against persons division. Ms. Gonzalez subsequently stated that she had lied about the entire incident and acknowledged that she made a false report when interviewed by investigators, an LPD report states. When asked why Ms. Gonzalez would make false allegations, Ms. Gonzalez stated that she was lonely and wanted the guard to call her. Six pregnant women in Harris County have tested positive for Zika, the first cases of the mosquito-borne disease to be reported locally in 2017. All of the women have since delivered their babies, but it is not yet known if any of the children were born with the birth defects that can be caused by the virus, said a spokesman for Legacy Community Health, a southeast Texas network of clinics where the women were initially tested. Legacy announced Thursday that the Centers for Disease Control has confirmed the positive tests in the women, all of whom contracted the virus while traveling south of the border. "The threat of Zika is lower this year than last in our hemisphere, but as our six latest cases show, pregnant women in Texas should remain vigilant," Dr. Ann Barnes, Legacy's chief medical officer, said in a statement. "Patient education in Harris County must continue through this year's mosquito season. Prevention must still be the key message coming from public health officials and health care providers." Dr. Peter Hotez, a Baylor College Medicine infectious disease specialist and expert on Zika, said he hopes all of the babies have been referred to pediatric neurologists for a work-up. He noted that the full neurological impact of Zika is still being determined. Zika is not considered fatal, but it has been linked to thousands of babies born with microcephaly, a condition in which an infant is born with an abnormally small head and brain. The condition can result in seizures, developmental delays, intellectual disability, feeding problems and hearing and vision problems. Hotez added that there is conflicting information about the level of birth defects caused by Zika. One recent Brazilian study reported defects in 42 percent of such babies while a U.S. study reported defects occurred in just 5 percent, 15 if the mother was infected during the first trimester of pregnancy. Numerous experts, including Hotez and the CDC, have said the Zika threat may be less this year because of decreased activity in the Caribbean, Central America and most of South America. The World Health Organization has said the virus is no longer a global health emergency. Travel alerts issued by the CDC are still in effect, however, for Cameron County in South Texas and Miami Dade County in Florida. An exact breakdown was not available, but the countries where the Harris County women traveled included Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador. Before the CDC's confirmatory results, preliminary testing for the virus was at Legacy between January and May. State Rep. Dan Huberty does not agree with the results of the legislative session nor with the fact that legislators will be returning July 18 for a special session, the district 127 representative told community members at the Atascocita BizCom meeting June 15. Huberty said the Freedom Caucus killed the Sunset Bill during the final night of legislative session, which is the prime reason for discussions to heat back up on July 18 with the bill being the first on the agenda. "Freedom Caucus ended up killing about 100 bills on the calendar and the Sunset Bill was on that calendar, and so we had a safety net we created," Huberty said. Huberty said passing the Sunset Bill is crucial to regulating doctors. "Basically what would happen is that if we didn't pass that commission, the medical board would be disband, which means every doctor in the State of Texas would not be licensed or overseen through Texas," Huberty said. The Reforming Municipal Annexation Bill was also amongst the list of bills killed that Huberty said could end up on the call list. This bill specifically addressed the City of Houston's annexation of Kingwood with the purpose of ensuring other property owners don't go through the same ordeal. Huberty also spoke on school finance reform and said he believed it is a simple fix. "We don't need a commission or Blue Ribbon Panel or whatever they call it to fix school finance. We just have to have the will to do it, and, unfortunately, the will wasn't there this legislative session," said Huberty, who served as chairman of the House's public education committee. Former Humble ISD Superintendent Guy Sconzo, who now is the executive director of Fast Growth School Coalition, also weighed in on the legislative session. "The house and the Senate might be grouped that, if you really just looked at them objectively, they really represent different planets. They are so far apart ideologically," Sconzo said. Huberty plans to speak at the State of the State Luncheon at the Kingwood Country Club on June 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. WASHINGTON - A dozen security guards for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are now wanted by D.C., police, who on Thursday declared them criminal suspects and accused them of attacking peaceful protesters during a visit to Washington last month. Jumping into an international thicket while sidestepping questions over diplomatic immunity, Mayor Muriel Bowser called the May 16 melee outside the ambassador's residence on Sheridan Circle a "vicious attack" and an "affront to our values." D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said dignitaries and protesters take to District streets nearly every day, but "rarely have I seen in 28 years of policing the type of thing I saw in Sheridan Circle," he said. ". . . We all saw the violence that was perpetrated against peaceful protesters, and it's not something that we're going to tolerate." Newsham read the names of each suspect to a room packed with media. Around him were placards with the word "WANTED" in red and photographs of the suspects. The men were identified, with the help of the State Department, by matching surveillance video from the fight to entry visas and passports. All are charged with various degrees of assault. Erdogan, speaking in Ankara on Thursday, blasted the D.C. police. "They have issued arrest warrants for 12 of my bodyguards. What kind of law is this?" the president said, according to the semiofficial Anadolu news agency. "If my bodyguards cannot protect me then why am I bringing them to America with me?" The president accused the demonstrators of being affiliated with a terrorist group, a charge they deny. He said they got too close to the residence and to him. "And the American police are not doing anything," Erdogan said. "They are not touching them. Could you imagine what the attitude would be if something similar happened in Turkey?" The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador after the charges were announced and said in a statement that the decision "lacks legal basis." It remains uncertain whether any of the suspects - members of the president's formal security force, guards and Turkish police officers - will ever stand trial in the United States. Some of them had holstered handguns as they fought with demonstrators. All returned to Turkey in the days after the visit, and Newsham referred questions about immunity and extradition to the State Department. The chief said he did know whether the United States has made a formal request for the guards to surrender, but he urged that they do so voluntarily. Newsham said the guards would be arrested "if they attempt to enter the United States." Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement the charges send "a clear message that the United States does not tolerate individuals who use intimidation and violence to stifle freedom of speech and legitimate political expression." The statement says officials will work with police and "determine if any additional steps will need to be taken." State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert would not say whether that meant the United States would seek extradition. "Our actions will be responsive and proportional to the charges," she said, while promising that the suspects will be "held accountable." The demonstrations occurred during Erdogan's visit to the White House and started on Pennsylvania Avenue, where a minor skirmish forced the Secret Service to separate Erdogan supporters and detractors. The group then moved to Sheridan Circle on Massachusetts Avenue, outside the ambassador's residence in Northwest Washington. An arrest warrant says the attack came in two waves, the first just as Erdogan arrived at the residence in his motorcade. Police said Erdogan supporters rushed demonstrators upset over the president for consolidating power and jailing opponents. Punches were thrown, and police said an anti-Erdogan demonstrator was hit in the face with a flag. Police separated the groups, but several minutes later, police said in court documents, Turkish security personnel in suits "pushed through" the police cordon and "commenced a second assault. ... The pro Erdogan group appeared to rush across the street in a nearly simultaneous coordinated throng." Several videos captured brutal assaults in which demonstrators were stomped in the head and punched as police officers struggled to restore order. Some people were seen walking around dazed and bloodied; one man was knocked unconscious. The court document notes that security guards were seen speaking into their communication devices seconds before the attack. One video shows a man lean into a car in which Erdogan was sitting outside the residence, then signal to another man. The second man then heads toward the protesters. Things quickly become chaotic, and at one point Erdogan emerges from the car and watches the scene. Newsham would not say whether Erdogan was investigated. "We don't have any information right now to suggest we have probable cause to arrest the president," he said. In addition to the security guards, police filed warrants against four other people, two of them U.S. citizens from Virginia and New Jersey and two from Canada. The two Americans were arrested Wednesday. The New Jersey resident is awaiting extradition to the District; the Virginia man appeared Thursday in D.C. Superior Court, where a judge ordered him detained until a hearing Friday on charges that include felony aggravated assault. Court documents allege Sinan Narin, joined by security guards and other pro-Erdogan civilians, beat a female demonstrator unconscious. His attorney argued that evidence was lacking, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonali Patel referenced video footage. One victim, Ceren Borazan, a 26-year-old immigrant from Turkey who studies in New Jersey, said one of Erdogan's security guards put her in a chokehold that popped a blood vessel in her left eye. Borazan - whose account is mirrored in the arrest warrant, which names the guard who allegedly attacked her - said she did not expect charges to be filed. "This tells the Turkish government and other governments that their behavior will not be tolerated on American soil," she said. --- The Washington Post's Dana Hedgpeth, Carol Morello, Anne Gearan, Keith L. Alexander and Perry Stein in Washington and Kareem Fahim in Istanbul contributed to this report. WASHINGTON - As President Donald Trump's national security team worked over the past several weeks on a promised new Cuba policy designed to roll back the Obama administration's diplomatic and economic openings to the island, a steady stream of lawmakers, business leaders and Cuba experts rushed to offer guidance to the White House. With few exceptions, their advice was: Don't do it. Farm state Republicans have appealed to Trump to help them expand Cuban markets rather than close them. A newly introduced Senate bill to lift remaining travel restrictions has attracted 54 co-sponsors, including 10 Republicans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers have called for expanding relations with the island. Major travel and agricultural companies and associations have publicly warned that a reversal would cost American jobs. U.S. and international human rights organizations, while condemning ongoing Cuban government repression, say that tightening the screws will only bolster government hard-liners, putting even more pressure on the island's nascent civil society and private sector. The Commerce and Treasury departments, which administer many Cuba regulations regarding travel and commercial activity, have explained the difficulty of a rollback after two years of business expansion and contracts. Trump's agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, told Congress last month he favored opening U.S. credit markets for Cuban agricultural imports, barred by U.S. law. On Friday, Trump plans to travel to Miami to announce a decision that senior administration officials said as recently as Wednesday had not yet been finalized. According to the Miami Herald, his speech will be delivered at the Manuel Artime Theater in Little Havana, a highly symbolic venue named after a leader of the Bay of Pigs exile invasion of Cuba in 1961, a failed U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro. Trump's rhetoric will probably be "very, very tough," said Mark Feierstein, the senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs in former president Barack Obama's National Security Council, who helped negotiate the December 2014 Obama opening that Trump has called a "bad deal." But the administration's changes are likely to leave in place the basic components of the Obama opening - diplomatic relations, along with conditioned trade and travel - while tightening each in ways that will complicate but not undo them, according to senior administration officials and several people who have lobbied them from Capitol Hill and the U.S. business community, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity about the emerging policy. The U.S. Embassy in Havana is expected to remain open but will continue without an ambassador. Existing restrictions on business dealings with the Cuban government, and especially its economically powerful military, will be made more legally explicit, and at least some planned expansions of commercial activity will be frozen. Some restrictions on American travel may be reimposed, along with limits on how often Cuban Americans can travel and send money. "We are supportive of continued economic development, as long as it is done in full compliance with our existing statutes not to provide financial support to the regime," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Congress on Tuesday. "The general approach," Tillerson said, "is to allow as much of this continued commercial and engagement activity to go on as possible, because we do see the sunny side" of "benefits to the Cuban people." The main supporters of an extensive reversal have been Cuban Americans in Congress, led by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., both of whom are expected to be with Trump in Miami. Rubio, a onetime presidential candidate who clashed repeatedly with Trump during the campaign, was noticeably helpful to the White House during last week's Senate Intelligence Committee testimony by former FBI director James Comey. After a long line of questions about Trump's private conversations with Comey, Rubio quickly changed the subject to the problem of leaks to the media. In an interview this week with TV Marti, the U.S. government-funded broadcaster to Cuba, Diaz-Balart said he was sure Trump would announce "a real change" in relations. The Cuban government headed by Raul Castro, the late Castro's brother, he said, "is a narco-terrorist tyranny, and we know President Trump understands this." The government in Havana has made no public statements about the possible changes, although a high-ranking Cuban official told CNN this week that Raul Castro is willing to negotiate a new deal with Trump. At the core of the Cuba policy debate is a clash over the most effective way to hasten a transition to democracy on the island. Obama argued that five decades of U.S. trade sanctions had failed to achieve that goal or dislodge the Castros from power. By normalizing relations and facilitating trade and travel between Americans and Cubans, he asserted, the United States would spread democratic ideals on the island, while American diplomats could nudge the government toward greater openness in a post-Castro era. The results have been uneven. Cuba's authoritarian one-party system remains largely unchanged, and dissidents say government repression has increased over the past two years. Jose Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), the island's largest dissident group, called this month in a letter to Trump for "maximum reversal of some policies that only benefit the Castro regime." But supporters of engagement say it's unrealistic to expect liberal democracy to bloom in just two years, especially with the larger U.S. trade embargo still in force. The strategy needs more time, they argue, and policymakers should trust in the power of markets and free information to deliver desired change. Cuban authorities have acceded to some American conditions, including allowing a dramatic expansion of Internet access on the island that has shattered the information monopoly once enjoyed by Cuba's state-run media. An increase in tourism and hotel construction has been one of the few bright spots in the Cuban economy. The number of U.S. visitors who are non-Cuban American more than doubled in 2016, facilitated by the restoration of commercial flights between the two countries. Among more than 4 million visitors last year, a record, 615,000 came from the United States, more than half of them Cuban Americans. More than a quarter of the Cuban labor force no longer works for the communist government, from software programmers to nail salon owners, private taxi drivers and restaurant owners. Those Cubans would take a direct hit from a policy reversal. "More than half my customers are Americans . . . the best tippers," said Dionys Diaz, 33, waiting for tourists outside Havana's iconic Hotel Nacional in a pink 1954 Chevy convertible. Diaz and his relatives - including a brother-in-law in Florida - had pooled their money to buy the vehicle and restore it, and he charges tourists $25 for rides along the Malecon esplanade. Any reversal of the opening could backfire politically, said Carlos Alzugaray, a retired Cuban diplomat in Havana, who favors U.S. engagement. "The hard-liners are going to have a field day." A major rollback, he said, "would take us back to the idea that if you punish the Cuban people, they will overthrow the government, and that's not going to happen." - - - Miroff reported from Havana. Federal authorities say polygamist religious leader Lyle Jeffs has been captured, almost exactly one year after he escaped from home confinement while he was accused in a multimillion-dollar food-stamp fraud scheme. Jeffs, who fled from federal custody last summer in Salt Lake City, was arrested Wednesday night without incident at a marina more than 900 miles away in Yankton, South Dakota, the FBI said. "We knew that this was just a matter of time," Eric Barnhart, FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Salt Lake City Division, said Thursday at a news conference. "He may not have been in physical custody . . . but he spent that whole time, I am sure, looking over his shoulder, wondering about every police officer he saw, every highway patrolman and what person would eventually give him up, and I believe all of those things played out." Following a tip about someone matching Jeffs' description, an off-duty Yankton police detective spotted his vehicle at the marina Wednesday in Yankton, called for police backup and conducted a traffic stop, the FBI said. Jeffs confirmed his identity to authorities and was taken into custody. He was being held without bond Thursday on a Federal Marshals Service hold in South Dakota's Minnehaha County, according to online booking records. His initial court appearance was scheduled for later Thursday afternoon. Investigators think Jeffs had been in the area for at least two weeks, living out of a Ford pickup truck. There was no solid evidence that anyone was helping him, authorities said, but they are investigating. "Know this - when you flee a federal indictment, the long arm of the law will eventually catch up with you and bring you back to justice," U.S. Attorney John Huber said at the news conference. Huber said Jeffs' flight "will play a significant part in the prosecution." Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will probably face another felony charge over his conduct the past year, according to prosecutors. Jeffs assumed the role of leader of the church (known as FLDS) after his brother, Warren Jeffs, was sentenced in 2011 to life in prison for child rape. The sect emerged when Mormon leaders suspended the practice of polygamy in the late 1800s, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which calls the group "a white supremacist, homophobic, anti-government, totalitarian cult." FLDS, which is not connected to the Mormon Church, branched off and continues to practice polygamy in small towns along the Utah-Arizona border. In 2016, Jeffs and other leaders were indicted on a charge of money laundering and using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for FLDS expenses. "This indictment is not about religion. This indictment is about fraud," Huber said at the time. The government, Huber said in 2016, was charging "a sophisticated group of individuals . . . who conspired to defraud a program intended to help low-income individuals and families purchase food." While awaiting trial last June, Jeffs was released from jail. But, The Washington Post reported then, he "was confined to his Salt Lake County home with few exceptions, told he couldn't contact various people affiliated with the sect, and made to wear a GPS monitoring device." Less than two weeks later, he disappeared. "He used a substance which may have been olive oil to lubricate the GPS tracking band and slip it off his ankle" on June 18, 2016, Barnhart, with the FBI in Salt Lake City, told Fox News affiliate KSTU at the time. Jeffs's attorney came up with an unusual explanation for the religious leader's disappearance, arguing in court documents that he may have "experienced the miracle of rapture." Last August, public defender Kathryn Nester filed for a continuance because Jeffs was still nowhere to be found, The Washington Post reported. According to the court papers: As this Court is well aware, Jeffs is currently not available to inform his counsel whether he agrees to the Continuance. Whether his absence is based on absconding, as oft alleged by the Government in their filings, or whether he was taken and secreted against his will, or whether he experienced the miracle of rapture is unknown to counsel. However, his absence prevents counsel from obtaining his approval and thus further prevents counsel from filing a joinder with the Motion to Continue Current Trial Date in compliance with the local rules. Nester said Thursday in an email that the reference to the rapture was meant to be "tongue in cheek." She said Jeffs would soon be transported back to Utah. ROCKVILLE, Md. - It's an argument attorneys are making across the country: Only the worse of juvenile offenders - those deemed "irreparably corrupt" - don't deserve a chance at release from prison. And on Thursday, the argument came to a case that terrorized the Washington, D.C., region 15 years ago: the Beltway Snipers. "Youth is a mitigator," an attorney for one of the snipers, Lee Boyd Malvo who was 17 at the time of the shooting spree, said in a Rockville, Maryland, courtroom. "No matter how serious the offense, no matter how heinous, no matter the impact on the community, the individual being sentencing, the question is: 'Can that person plausibly, possibly be rehabilitated? Even if we're speaking about a remote possibility far down the line?'" The attorney, James Johnston, said Malvo deserved such a chance, and asked that Malvo's original Maryland sentence from the 2002 shootings - six consecutive sentences of life in prison with no chance of parole - be vacated and a new sentencing hearing be held. Montgomery Circuit Judge Robert Greenberg did not rule from the bench after the hour-long hearing, and indicated he would issue an written opinion later. Greenberg also heard from prosecutors, who said the original sentence for Malvo should stand. In the fall of 2002 - some four months before his 18th birthday - Malvo and John Allen Muhammad spent three weeks driving around the Washington area, shooting people who were merely going about everyday routines: filling cars with gas, walking up to stores, mowing grass. Ten people were killed - six in Maryland, three in Virginia and one in Washington, D.C. "The historic and unprecedented nature of the criminal conduct in this case places the 17-year-old Lee Malvo in a separate category from almost every other juvenile defendant," Brian Kleinbord, a Montgomery County assistant state's attorney, wrote in court filings - points he emphasized in the hearing Thursday. "Malvo knowingly, willingly, and voluntarily participated in the cowardly murders of innocent, defenseless human beings," Kleinbord said in court. Malvo, now 32, is being held in the maximum security Red Onion State Prison in southwestern Virginia. Muhammad was sentenced to death for a slaying in Prince William County and in 2009 was executed in Virginia. Malvo has already made a similar sentencing argument regarding his Virginia life terms. In May, U.S. District Court Judge Raymond Jackson vacated those sentences and ordered resentencings. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring then filed notice that he would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. That process will likely delay any potential resentencing by about a year. While the hearing Thursday in Maryland addressed important Constitutional issues, it almost certainly will have no bearing on the chances of Malvo's being freed. Should Malvo ever be released in Virginia, he would be moved to Maryland to begin serving time for six murders. His Maryland sentence - the subject of Thursday's hearing - was originally imposed as six consecutive terms of life with no chance at parole. One possible outcome in the case: His terms for the Maryland murders could ultimately be converted to six consecutive terms of life with the chance of parole. Given the specifics of Maryland law, he likely would have to serve at least 20 years for each count before becoming parole eligible, according to Johnston, which means a total of more than 120 years. The 20 years-per-count would be higher than many other murder cases in Maryland, Johnston notes, owing to the prosecutors' continued assertion that Malvo deserves life-without-parole sentences. For offenders like Malvo, who are subject to staggeringly long prison sentences, the original sentences deserve to be addressed, Johnston said, because of the fundamental issues of the environment in which kids are raised, how brains develop, and how young people are generally more capable of rehabilitation. "The Supreme Court has recognized that juveniles are fundamentally different than adults in the context of criminal sentences," said Johnston, director of the Youth Resentencing Project at the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. "A young person is uniquely capable of change." He said that across Maryland, there are 13 inmates serving life-without-parole sentences for convictions in homicides dating to when they were juveniles. More than 200, he said, are serving straight life sentences for homicide convictions. Johnston said that in Maryland, the two types of life sentences amount to the same thing, because the governor must approve any parole release for both classes of inmates, and rarely if ever does so. Johnston said the ultimate solution would require broader reforms. On Jan. 12, he filed his motion on behalf of Malvo, asking the Montgomery County Circuit Court to correct an "illegal" sentence and hold a new hearing. Citing the Supreme Court opinion, Johnston wrote that sentencing courts should "decide whether the juvenile offender before it is a child 'whose crimes reflect transient immaturity' or is one of 'those rare children whose crimes reflect irreparable corruption' for whom a life without parole sentence may appropriate." National legal trends, Johnston added, make it clear that "no child may serve a life without parole penalty even for the most heinous offense without an informed sentencing decision in which the mitigating role of youth takes center stage." In response, prosecutors described the terrifying circumstances in which Malvo and Muhammad killed six people in Montgomery County. The prosecutors also wrote about the original sentence, and what family members of the victims had to say about Malvo: "The court, after considering Malvo's age, the willfulness and brutality of the crimes and Malvo's role in it, Malvo's background, and the likelihood that he could be rehabilitated, determined that the appropriate sentence was life without the possibility of parole . . . Among the family members that spoke at sentencing, perhaps the most powerful voice was that of Victoria Buchanan Snyder, the sister of James Sonny Buchanan, who emphasized the willfulness of Malvo's acts: 'I have watched Lee Boyd Malvo express enjoyment of killing to feeling bad about it; to admitting to killing my brother, Sonny, to denying it. Muhammad and Malvo, both cowards and murderers, both shot innocent people going about their daily lives. You hunted them down and shot them, in Sonny's case, in the back. I say to you, Mr. Malvo, you were old enough to know right from wrong.' " Anti-government protests in Venezuela are now in their third month, with nearly 70 people killed and 1,300 injured. Barely a day goes by without new scenes of flaming street anarchy or some horrific act of state violence. Venezuela is coming unglued. Syria is the most recent and most alarming example of a country where a standoff between peaceful protesters and the government devolved into a full-blown shooting war. Could Venezuela be headed down a similar path? Both sides in Venezuela's conflict often warn of "civil war," but they've used it mostly as a rhetorical tactic. President Nicolas Maduro justifies his crackdown on protesters with claims that he's trying to save Venezuela from "terrorists" who want to instigate an armed confrontation. His opponents say the government's intransigence is deepening the country's desperation, pushing Venezuela toward cataclysmic violence. Even Luis Almagro, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, evoked the term this week while excoriating Maduro. "A civil war by the repressive forces of the state against unarmed people is the reality of Venezuela today," he said in a statement. The street clashes in Caracas have a militarized feel to them. On the front lines, battle-hardened protesters who call themselves "the Resistance" use wooden shields, gas masks and slingshots to face off against armored National Guard troops firing tear gas and water cannons. With their ragtag combat gear, Venezuela's protesters resemble the Ukrainian demonstrators who took over the "Maidan" square in Kiev during the country's 2013-'14 revolution. Those clashes began peacefully but escalated when police started to attack the occupied site, with snipers killing protesters. The protests eventually forced the country's pro-Russian president from office. But the new Ukraine government has been fighting Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country ever since. Syria's descent into violence was far steeper and indescribably more catastrophic. Arab Spring protests against President Bashar Assad's government were brutally repressed by security forces, and the confrontation quickly built into an inferno, fueled by weapons and money from regional powers competing for influence. Many of the factors that led to civil war in these countries are absent in Venezuela's conflict, and few experts seem to think that some sort of military-level confrontation is likely. But an institutional collapse that plunges the country into homicidal chaos and anarchy is not hard to imagine. Venezuela's opposition leaders insist on nonviolence as the only acceptable path of protest, and the overwhelming majority of demonstrators have been peaceful. The latest academic research shows that nonviolent protest movements are twice as likely to achieve their objectives as those that use force. Yet Venezuela's opposition leaders appear unable to rein in more militant demonstrators eager to confront security forces with molotov cocktails and homemade weapons. After 17-year-old Neomar Lander was killed last week during a protest, the government claimed that he had mishandled an improvised explosive device he was planning to use against troops. Maduro opponents say National Guard troops shot him in the chest with a tear-gas canister. The vast majority of the dead in Venezuela have been civilians, including some shot while protesting. But members of the country's security forces have also been killed, including a National Guardsman found face down on the street in Caracas's Altamira neighborhood last week. Phil Gunson, a Venezuela-based analyst for the International Crisis Group, which seeks to defuse violent conflicts around the world, said the possibility of much more intense and widespread fighting "is clearly present in Venezuela." "But there are a number of key accelerators of conflict present in countries like Ukraine and Syria that are almost wholly absent here," he said. Venezuela is a country with a recent history of relatively stable, democratic governance, he noted. Its neighboring countries aren't trying to intervene in the conflict or threatening to do so. It doesn't need a "road map" to peace, since the country's 1999 constitution is widely accepted, although Maduro's plans to rewrite it are clearly making tensions much worse. On July 30 Venezuelans will elect delegates for the constitutional assembly, and Maduro's opponents are boycotting the event. "The election planned for July 30 could be a trigger point leading to a sharp escalation of violence," Gunson warned. There are other causes for worry, he said. Maduro and the top officials who surround him appear determined to remain in power at any cost, despite increasing regional isolation and growing signs of division within the government and the military. A more dramatic rupture within Venezuela's armed forces could be a worst-case scenario if it sparks internecine fighting. There are precedents in Venezuela for mutinies of this sort: Hugo Chavez led a failed coup attempt in 1992 that launched his rise to power. And when he was president, Chavez was briefly ousted in a 2002 coup, then restored with the backing of military officers. The problem is that Venezuela's guns aren't only in the barracks. The country is awash in illegal weapons. Maduro has also armed tens of thousands of government supporters to defend his government, and drew widespread international criticism when he announced plans to build a force of 500,000 "militia members." And although the government of Colombia has remained largely neutral in Venezuela's conflict, the two countries share a porous land border roamed by guerrilla groups, mercenaries and criminal gangs who could also play a destabilizing role. "This does not have to end in civil war," Gunson said. "But there are a number of red lights on the dashboard now, and the international community needs to act much more rapidly and decisively to head it off." Venezuelan church authorities appealed to the Vatican last week to redouble its efforts to broker an end to the crisis, while Peru on Monday proposed a new international mediation effort with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as referee. RICHMOND, Va. - Gov. Terry McAuliffe has agreed, under a civil settlement with a state prosecutor, to turn over a list of 206,000 convicted felons whose voting rights he restored last year under a now-defunct executive order. Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman, R, had been seeking the list since McAuliffe, D, restored voting and other civil rights to felons in a sweeping executive order in April 2016. Plowman filed a Freedom of Information Act request soon afterward, but the administration denied it, saying the names fell under an exemption covering the governor's "working papers." Plowman then sued the McAuliffe administration, which resulted in the settlement dated Monday that requires the governor to turn over the list and to pay $1,200 to Plowman's lawyer, Matthew Hardin. "They're giving me everything I asked for a year ago, they just dragged it out," Plowman said in an interview Thursday. "It seems a bit unreasonable that you have to actually file a lawsuit to get something that people should have everyday public access to." McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy suggested the list is meaningless because the state Supreme Court invalidated the original order and the governor has since come up with a different method for restoring rights. "We are pleased to put Mr. Plowman's needless, wasteful and currently moot lawsuit to rest," Coy said in an email. "Nothing about the old database relates to the governor's current individualized process, which the Virginia Supreme Court has upheld, and which has successfully restored over 156,000 ex-felons' rights. The governor remains committed to restoration of civil rights and hopes that Republicans will finally accept that giving people who have served their time a voice in their society is the right thing to do." Virginia is one of a handful of states that permanently disenfranchises felons. The state constitution, however, gives the governor authority to restore the right to vote, serve on a jury and run for public office. McAuliffe's predecessor, Robert McDonnell, R, had simplified and sped up that process, but McAuliffe took it to a new level. With great fanfare on the steps of the state Capitol last year, McAuliffe announced that he had restored rights to 206,000. He heralded his action as a way for Virginia to move past the Jim Crow era, noting that African-Americans have been disproportionately affected by felon disenfranchisement. Republicans were furious because the order included violent felons and those who had not paid court costs or made restitution to victims. They filed two lawsuits against what they called an unconstitutional and sloppy order. One, filed by GOP legislators, contended that the governor had exceeded his clemency powers because he restored rights en masse instead of individually. The other, from Plowman, sought the list of felons, which was of interest after a number of errors surfaced. McAuliffe had intended his order to cover only felons who had served their time and completed parole, but he had mistakenly restored rights to 132 sex offenders still in custody, as well as to several convicted killers on probation in other states. This troubled Plowman and some fellow prosecutors because the governor's order not only restored voting rights, but the right to serve on juries. It also was a stepping stone toward restoration of gun rights. In July, the legislators' suit prevailed with the Supreme Court of Virginia, which threw out McAuliffe's blanket clemency order. Since then, the governor has used a fast-track but nominally individualized approach to restore rights to 156,000 ex-felons. The governor eventually must report their names to the General Assembly, as is the case for anyone to whom he grants clemency. But Plowman, with his suit, still sought the names of the 206,000 covered by the original order. He said the list will reveal the full scope of errors related to the governor's sweeping clemency attempt - and make the case for vetting felons before restoring their rights. "I think the public has a right to know . . . what's fallen through the cracks here," he said. "We didn't create all these people that were violent and in mental hospitals and non-citizens. They were there and he chose to take action and intended to take action on all of them, and would have if we hadn't called him out on it." President Vladimir Putin joked that he's willing to offer former FBI Director James Comey asylum, comparing him to Edward Snowden, the ex-National Security Agency contractor who took refuge in Russia after being accused in the U.S. of leaking classified information. Comey's decision to release records of his conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump to the media is "very strange," Putin said during his annual call-in show on Thursday, in a response to a question from a factory executive from the southern city of Volgograd on the ex-head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - A University of Virginia student and scion of a prominent Republican family has been charged with rape and forcible sodomy in an alleged attack that left a young woman bruised and bloodied. Dalton Baril, 20, of Richmond, Virginia, turned himself in to authorities at the Albemarle County Regional Jail on Wednesday morning and appeared in court through a teleconference for a bond hearing. The video screen showed him dressed in a white-and-black striped inmate jumpsuit, his hair neatly parted. The alleged victim, also a U-Va. student, sat still in the front of the court during the proceedings as prosecutor Areshini Pather detailed a harrowing assault that occurred on the night of Feb. 1. Pather said that the two students were acquaintances when Baril spotted the young woman in Trinity Irish Pub, a bar near the campus. Although he was underage, he purchased the woman a shot of tequila, Pather said. During the encounter, Baril attempted to kiss the woman and she demurred, rejecting his advances by saying, "not in public," the prosecutor said. Afterward, they left the bar and began walking together and stopped at his apartment. Once inside, she told Baril she did not intend to stay long and entered the bathroom, Pather said. When the woman exited the bathroom, the prosecutor said, Baril had disrobed to his boxers. Again the woman told him she did not intend to stay. "Please don't make this bad," the woman told Baril, according to Pather. But Baril restrained the woman and began to assault her, biting her lip and her breast, the prosecutor said. Pather said a nurse who later treated the woman found injuries to her vaginal area and bruising on her face. Pather said that Baril sent a text message to the woman after the alleged assault, writing: "I'm sorry if I got overly excited." Baril has not yet entered a plea. A lawyer who represented him in court said that she intends to present evidence that "substantively contradicts" aspects of the prosecutor's narrative. She declined to comment after the hearing or identify herself to The Washington Post. The young woman was not identified in court, and The Post generally does not name victims of alleged sexual assault without their consent. Court documents with further details on the case were under seal Wednesday. Baril comes from a family steeped in Virginia Republican politics and has a deep connection to U-Va. He is the grandson of the late Governor John Dalton (R), a U-Va. law graduate. His mother, Mary Dalton Baril, is a U-Va. alumna and a partner in the law firm McGuire Woods. His father, Steve Baril, has given tens of thousands of dollars to Republican campaigns since 2001, records show, and ran as a Republican for state attorney general in 2005, losing in the primary to Robert McDonnell. Baril, who withdrew from U-Va. in April after the university began investigating the incident, has been cooperating with police. Baril voluntarily submitted a DNA swab. Citing Baril's cooperation, Charlottesville General District Court Judge Robert Downer set a $10,000 bond and ordered that Baril remain in his mother's or father's house. He must also be electronically monitored and refrain from alcohol or drugs. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has released a long-awaited cause of death determination for the bones found months ago in the wall of a Heights bungalow, where a woman had gone missing several years before. Their findings on cause and manner of death? Undetermined. DNA results on the skeletal remains are still pending. At least one tooth was sent to the DNA lab at the University of North Texas. But an official there at the time said it could be months before staff were able to process it. A recent cut in federal funding had contributed to a backlog at the lab, as agencies across the country tried to get in their requests before the money ran out, lab spokesman Todd Matthews said. Story continues below... And so the mystery continues: Are those the bones of Mary Cerruti? PART 1: Bones found in the wall of Heights home of woman who disappeared New tenants moving into Cerruti's home discovered the skeletal remains in March, resurfacing the question of what had happened to the woman who lived there. For more than 10 years, Cerruti resided in the small, yellow bungalow on Allston Street. She worked occasionally at a store nearby. A few acquaintances would come to visit. But she mostly kept to herself, neighbors said. She often seemed ill. She found joy in tending to a number of cats. She did attend at least one city meeting, however, when developers forged ahead with building a massive apartment building around her home. She and others in the neighborhood protested it. But they lost. Bulldozers began razing the property around her. The towering structure went up. PART 2: Mysterious bones, a missing woman and the ordinary life she lived Cerruti battled with the headaches of construction, taking photographs of it. She scrawled notes on the back of the developed images. Two 911 callers grew concerned about Mary in June 2015. A window had been broken on her home, which seemed to be filled with dead cats. A friend officially reported her missing in August. Mail piled up in her lawn. The landscaping became overgrown. Later, her house sold at foreclosure. The new owner renovated it. He offered her eclectic possessions for sale. New tenants moved in, found the remains and promptly moved out. Another pair of residents now live there but declined to speak on the matter. Clues to what happened to Mary are now few and far between. If those bones are hers, many wonder how she ended up in the wall. Some who have followed her story suspect foul play, but no crime scene was ever preserved. Houston police have declined to comment on any search they did of the home. Skeletal remains often reveal little on manner of death, forensic institute spokeswoman Tricia Bentley said. Wounds that didn't get passed onto the bone would be hard to determine. A copy of the autopsy report was not immediately available for release Thursday morning. For more of our reporting on Mary, go to houstonchronicle.com/bones. PART 3: Before she went missing, Mary Cerruti left a self-portrait at her home in the Houston Heights This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The branch of the Houston Fire Department responsible for ensuring building safety keeps inadequate records, does not examine buildings on a regular schedule and inflated its inspection numbers, all while blowing past its overtime budget, according to an audit released by the city controller's office Thursday. The fiscal 2015 - 2016 audit is the latest in a series of blistering critiques of the Life Safety Bureau and casts doubt on whether the city is complying with its fire code. Many of the 28 high-risk problems from an incomplete inspection database to poor job training were identified by the controller's office more than a decade ago. "It's not a matter of if, it's when, unfortunately, something happens," City Controller Chris Brown said. "We need to make sure that we don't let this one go another 12 years without any action." Among the latest audit findings: Just 526 of Houston's more than 5,000 apartment buildings were inspected in the last two years, well below the bureau's goal of 470 apartment inspections per month. There is no evidence the city inspected Bush Intercontinental, Hobby or Ellington airports within the last two years. Inspectors provided many hotel, motel, high-rise and apartment building owners with self-inspection checklists rather than conducting inspections themselves. The city does not require the Life Safety Bureau to inspect buildings before issuing certificates of occupancy, except in the case of hazmat facilities. The "inadequate" and at times "non-existent" recordkeeping system consists of storing inspection reports in the city's database, file cabinets and inspectors' desk drawers. The Life Safety Bureau spent $5.6 million on firefighter overtime in fiscal years 2015 and 2016, $2.4 million over budget. Story continues below the report... Mayor Sylvester Turner's spokeswoman said the mayor, who was returning from a trade mission to Israel, would not be available for comment. Fire Chief Samuel Pena, appointed last year, called the audit "helpful" and has pledged a series of reforms in response to the audit. They include working with a consultant to develop a risk-based inspection program and establish a regular inspection cycle by this summer; improving the bureau's database; requiring inspectors to log daily activities; and conducting a staffing analysis. "We understand, and the audit report makes it clear, that improved controls must be implemented to ensure that the (Life Safety Bureau) carries out its important mission and documents its performance in a timely and reliable manner," Pena said in an email. "We are working to implement many of the measures included in the audit report as quickly as possible." The controller's audit, which a Life Safety Bureau chief requested, comes at a time of frayed relations between the city and its fire department. The fire union hit an impasse last month in its efforts to negotiate a new contract with higher pay, and the fire pension board has sued the city alleging the pension reform plan signed into law last month violates the Texas Constitution. The Life Safety Bureau, part of the Fire Marshal's Office, has been plagued for decades by shoddy record keeping, poor training and questionable inspection practices, audits and departmental records show. CHEMICAL BREAKDOWN: Uncover Houston's hidden world of explosions and toxic releases That record came under intense scrutiny last year after a Spring Branch warehouse storing more than 40,000 pounds of hazardous chemicals burned down, eight years after the fire department last inspected it. Mayor Sylvester Turner responded by calling for the city to more regularly inspect buildings, including those that store hazardous materials. The bureau previously did not have an inspection schedule for facilities that store hazardous materials, according to the audit, and fire department inspectors called the Chronicle in the aftermath of the Spring Branch fire, asking for the newspaper's map of potentially harmful hazmat facilities. The hazmat team now is in the process of identifying all of the buildings under their purview, with the goal of establishing an inspection schedule, the audit said. Note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of apartment building inspections performed in fiscal years 2015-2016. Preliminary proposals for changing the citys animal ordinance call for prohibiting the use of chains to tether dogs outside; requiring outdoor dogs to have access to water and protection from the weather; and limiting roosters to one per residence, among other recommendations. Animal Care Services director Heber Lefgren briefed the City Council on Wednesday about community feedback designed to help shape major revisions to the citys animal ordinance, which was last updated in 2011. The preliminary recommendations were based on more than 1,000 surveys, in English and Spanish, and nine public meetings that ACS hosted from February through May. Six more public meetings are planned in the next few weeks. This initiative is intended to ensure continual and future growth, Lefgren said, and ensure that existing programs are consistent with the community needs. The revisions presented Wednesday fell into four categories: spay/neuter; tethering, impoundment and animal limits. Current law requires tethers to be at least 10 feet in length but doesnt specify what kind of tether. It also doesnt require a specific amount of space for the tethered animal; under a proposed change, an owner would need to provide 150 square feet of unobstructed space for the tethered dog. The current ordinance also limits animals at a single resident to eight cats, five dogs, or an aggregate number of eight pets that includes up to 3 domestic fowl. Under the proposed change, a resident could still have three fowl, but only one could be a rooster. Another recommendation would require dog owners to bring their pets inside from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.; tethering outside would be prohibited for those hours. Mayor Ivy Taylor said she was concerned about people who didnt have the means to bring in their dogs at night. Lefgren said resources would be made available to help those residents. A summary of the survey results showed that 90 percent of the respondents want pets found on the streets to undergo spay/neuter surgeries; 89 percent said they want to increase regulations to reduce the number of backyard breeders. Seventy-five percent of survey takers said they would like to see more attention to investigating cruelty and neglect, issuing citations and holding pet owners accountable. Lefgren said ACS is also recommending that all dogs deemed dangerous and aggressive be spay/neutered at the expense of the owner. Sellers of dogs would be required to post permit numbers online and on every form of advertisement to ensure theyre operating legally. Officers would also have the authority to impound pets sold at the side of the road, flea markets and garage sales if there are ordinance violations. ACS spokeswoman Lisa Norwood said part of the revision process is not only engaging with public stakeholders, but also ACS officers and law enforcement partners. Were talking about some of the highest concerns when it comes to keeping neighborhoods safe, Norwood said. The number of animals that might be on a property, those are things that can create concerns if those animals are ignored. It could be indicative of other issues, such as blood sport or dog fighting. Our charge is the dual role of not only protecting animals, but people. ACS officials expect to have final recommendations for the council in September. vtdavis@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate It took a Bexar County jury a little over three hours Thursday to find a 19-year-old guilty of murder in the fatal shooting last year of a San Antonio teenager who left a party with friends after a fight broke out. Julian Martinez, known by the nickname Juju, was convicted of killing Amanda Acosta on March 14, 2016, just days shy of her 18th birthday. Witnesses testified that Acosta went to a party with some friends at a home in the 200 block of Cavalier Avenue on the South Side, but they left after Martinez punched another teen because he was wearing a blue bandanna. A chase ensued between a black Jeep SUV in which Acosta was riding and a white Chevrolet Tahoe, and Martinez, a passenger in the Tahoe, was the one who fired the gun, witnesses testified. RELATED: Gunman on the loose after shooting at South Laredo and Trinity streets In his closing argument, prosecutor Jason Goss reminded the panel that after the defendant cold-cocked the teen with the bandanna, Martinez was heard saying, One hit quit. I didnt even need to use my gun. Goss also told them to recall other witnesses who saw Martinez brandishing a gun at the party and in photographs and video shown on social media. Goss also reminded the panel of Acostas last words, repeated this week in testimony from Jacqueline Sanchez, who cried as she told the jury that her best friend since sixth-grade said, I got shot, before she died. Its a terrible thing for a 17-year-old to say as their last words, Goss said. RELATED: Mentor accused of sexual abuse of boy during sleepovers Martinezs attorney, Philip Bozzo Jr., told jurors in his closing argument that there was no other choice than to acquit his client because there is no way to prove his client was the one who shot Acosta. Its sad that a young girl died, Bozzo told the jury. Its sad that there were enough people who testified that there was a number of gunshots and a number of guns at a party full of young people. After the verdict was read, the jury immediately began hearing the punishment phase of the trial. Murder is a first-degree felony. Martinez faces five to 99 years or life in prison. The case is being heard in Felony Impact Court, presided by Judge Laura Parker. ezavala@express-news.net Twitter: @elizabeth2863 Plainview police are investigating a sexual assault that reportedly occurred between 11 p.m. Wednesday and 5 a.m. Thursday in the 1200 block of Kokomo. A 51-year-old woman was being held in Hale County jail Thursday morning on sexual assault charges after being booked in about 6:15 a.m. Thursday, possibly in connection with the incident. Bond had not been set Thursday morning. --Brian Anthony Ruben, 28, was held in Hale County jail Thursday without bond on a motion to revoke probation or parole for possession of a controlled substance Penalty Group 1 under 1 gram. He was arrested about 9 a.m. Wednesday in the 2400 block of West 14th on the warrant issued by Nolan County. Last month, Texas became the 47th state to pass a statewide texting-while-driving ban. Now, with a special legislative session approaching, Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing for legislation that could roll back stricter mobile phone laws already in place in more than three dozen Texas cities. Complaining of a patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas, Abbott called last week for a measure that would pre-empt local ordinances that go beyond the statewide texting ban. The ban, signed into law last week and set to take effect Sept. 1, pre-empts only local regulations relating to a drivers ability to read, write, or send an electronic message. The broader pre-emption Abbott favors would block local governments from any regulation of mobile devices in vehicles, effectively nullifying tougher cellphone regulations in about 40 Texas cities including Austin, San Antonio and El Paso where drivers are required to use hands-free devices for phone calls. State Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, who authored the texting-while-driving measure, said he would oppose such pre-emption both because it could weaken mobile usage laws and because he believes the issue should be left to local governments. When it comes to driver use of cellular devices, I think the cities and the locals ought to have the right to do what they want to do, Craddick said. Police departments in several cities that currently regulate all handheld cellphone use emphasized that hands-free ordinances play an important role in public safety. Holding your phone in your hand is still some kind of distraction, Corpus Christi Senior Officer Travis Pace said. Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, the laws Senate sponsor, said she will file a proposal during the special session that would create a statewide hands-free law a measure that would accomplish the governors goal of uniform statewide legislation while strengthening restrictions on mobile phone usage behind the wheel across the state. She filed a similar measure, Senate Bill 67, during the regular session, but it never got a hearing. With the governors leadership and support, perhaps we can pass a better bill that sets a statewide standard, Zaffirini said. More than a dozen states already ban handheld cellphone use. Rep. Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, proposed an amendment to the texting-while-driving measure that would have established the broad pre-emption that Abbott favors. The amendment failed, but Rinaldi said he is considering a similar proposal next month. The pre-emption ensures that we have one uniform law and that everybody knows what it is, Rinaldi said. He added that the more stringent regulations currently in place in some cities do not necessarily ensure greater public safety. Craddick said it is difficult to predict how a pre-emption proposal might fare in the special session, but he recalled that many legislators seemed adamant during the regular session about letting cities regulate the issue. Abbotts call for the mobile phone pre-emption is one on a slate of local control issues he has put on the agenda for next months special session. The governor has also taken aim at issues such as spending, trees on private land and construction project rules and permitting. It took years, but finally Texas has a statewide ban on texting and driving. The ban takes effect Sept. 1 and prohibits drivers from reading, writing or sending electronic messages while driving motor vehicles. Fines for a first offense range from $25 to $99. Unfortunately, state lawmakers carved out exemptions for people to use their phones to control vehicle stereo systems and access mapping programs. The ban does not apply to stopped vehicles even though distracted drivers at stoplights still create accidents and delays. For example, being rear-ended at a stoplight by a driver on the phone who thought the light had turned green. Still, the ban creates a baseline for safety across the state. Credit to Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who pushed this common-sense legislation for years. The issue really hit home this spring following a fatal head-on collision in Uvalde County that killed 13 people in a church minibus. The driver of the truck that hit the minibus told a witness he had been texting while driving. This new law wont stop all texting while driving, but it will prevent some of it, and it will save lives. In signing the law, Gov. Greg Abbott also voiced his displeasure with it, saying it should have preempted local laws banning cellphone usage while driving. Abbott wants lawmakers in this summers special session to remove such local ordinances. Lawmakers should ignore Abbotts request. The state has set a minimum baseline of safety with its ban, but what harm comes from cities going above and beyond? None. Numerous studies have shown any cellphone usage while behind the wheel increases distraction. Its just common sense to put your phone away while driving. But sadly, a state law was necessary. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Local News, Crime, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: June 15 2017 Michael Perlov Sentenced To 6 Months In Jail, 5 Years On Probation, And Ordered To Pay An Additional $28,000 In Restitution. New York, NY - June 15, 2017 - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the felony conviction of Mikhail Perlov, of Brooklyn, NY for posing as an attorney and defrauding multiple victims of tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. On May 4, 2017, Perlov pled guilty to Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree (Class D felony), five counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (Class D felony), two counts of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (class E felony), one count of Practicing or Appearing as Attorney-at-Law Without Being Admitted and Registered (class E felony), two counts of None but Attorneys to Practice in the State (class E felony), and two counts of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree (class E felony). Today, Kings County Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth A. Foley sentenced Perlov to six months in jail and five years on probation, as well as ordered him to pay additional restitution totaling $28,150. The Attorney Generals investigation revealed that Perlov illegally practiced law as an unlicensed attorney in Brooklyn from 2013 to 2016. Perlov later admitted to making court appearances on behalf of his clients who believed that he was a registered attorney and paid him over $68,000 in legal fees to represent them. Despite entering into a Consent Order and Judgment with the Attorney Generals Office in September 2015 , which permanently banned him from misrepresenting himself as an attorney, Perlov continued illegally practicing law in Brooklyn. Brazenly continuing to operate an illegal law practice after being shut down by my office was the last strike for this defendant; now hes going to jail and paying additional restitution, said Attorney General Schneiderman. New Yorkers seeking legal counsel deserve to know that the professionals they hire will defend them not take advantage when theyre most vulnerable. Pursuant to the 2015 Order and Judgment, Perlov disclosed the names of 51 of his clients and was ordered to pay over $40,000 in restitution to his victims and $10,000 in penalties. As part of his sentence today, Perlov was ordered to pay over $28,000 in additional restitution to the victims. Perlov claimed to have a wide expertise and extensive experience practicing in New York, New Jersey, and Florida courts, and offered legal services related to criminal defense, commercial disputes, accidents, domestic violence, real estate and immigration matters. Perlov admitted that he maintained a law office and advertised legal services using the title attorney despite not having a license and not being admitted to practice law even after the 2015 Order and Judgment. Additionally, Perlov admitted to defrauding his victims out of thousands of dollars. The Attorney Generals investigation revealed that in one instance, Perlov promised an elderly man that he would win him millions of dollars in a non-existent civil lawsuit. Perlov not only failed to ever file a lawsuit, but on occasion, Perlov himself used the victims ATM card to withdraw money directly from the victims bank account. The OAGs investigation also revealed that in another instance, following a request from a divorce case client to freeze her husbands bank account, Perlov provided the client with a forged letter from Chase bank. As a reminder, attorneys must be licensed in the State of New York by the New York State Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration. If possible, before meeting or retaining an attorney, consumers should confirm his or her license on the OCA website: http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/attorney/AttorneySearch If you are seeking legal representation outside of New York State, contact that states licensing authority to confirm that the person is in fact licensed to practice in that jurisdiction. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Yana G. Knutson with the assistance of Legal Analyst Jacques Courbe of the Attorney Generals Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau and Assistant Attorney General Matthew S. Eubank from the Attorney Generals Brooklyn Regional Office. The Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Stephanie Swenton. The Brooklyn Regional Office is part of the Attorney Generals Regional Division, led by Executive Deputy Attorney General for Regional Offices Martin J. Mack. Local News, Crime, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: June 15 2017 Company Violated General Business Law That Requires Companies To Provide Notice Of A Breach As Soon As Possible. New York, NY - June 15, 2017 - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement with CoPilot Provider Support Services, Inc. (CoPilot), a New York corporation that provides support services to the health industry, after the company violated General Business Law by waiting over a year to provide notice of a data breach that exposed 221,178 patient records. CoPilot has agreed to pay $130,000 in penalties and to improve its notification and legal compliance program. Healthcare services providers have a duty to protect patient records as securely as possible and to provide notice when a breach occurs, said Attorney General Schneiderman. Waiting over a year to provide notice is unacceptable. My office will continue to hold businesses accountable to their responsibility to protect customers private information. CoPilots website www.monovischcp.com is used by physicians to help determine whether insurance coverage is available for certain medications. On October 26, 2015, an unauthorized individual gained access to confidential patient reimbursement data of CoPilot via the website administration interface, PHPMyAdmin. The intruder downloaded reimbursement-related records for 221,178 patientsincluding their name, gender, date of birth, address, phone number, and medical insurance card information. Of the patients affected, 25,561 were residents of New York; 11,372 of the New York patients records also included social security numbers. In mid-February 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation at CoPilots request, focusing on a former CoPilot employee whom CoPilot believed was the intruder. On January 18, 2017, CoPilot began to provide formal notice to affected consumers in New York. The notifications were issued more than one year after CoPilot learned of the breach of patient data. Although CoPilot asserted that the delay in providing notice was due to an ongoing investigation by law enforcement, the FBI never determined that consumer notification would compromise the investigation, and never instructed CoPilot to delay victim notifications. General Business Law 899-aa requires companies to provide notice of a breach as soon as possible, and a company cannot presume delayed notification is warranted just because a law enforcement agency is investigating. Pursuant to the agreement, CoPilot has agreed to pay $130,000 in penalties. It also has agreed to comply with New Yorks consumer protection and data security laws, Executive Law 63(12) and GBL 899-aa, and to update relevant policies and procedures to ensure compliance with GBL 899-aa. Its legal compliance program must include training of all officers, managers, and employees of CoPilot as to their roles and responsibilities in ensuring that CoPilot complies with GBL 899-aa and provides timely notices to affected consumers in the event of a breach. All officers and managers of CoPilot are required to review the obligations of the agreement. The agreement also states that CoPilot should not delay providing notification of a breach to consumers, unless explicitly directed in writing by an authorized law enforcement official investigating the incident for criminal prosecution, in which that consumer notice of the incident would impede the investigation. In such an event, CoPilot must request a date when notification can be provided, and if a date is not forthcoming, maintain contact with the law enforcement agency until approval for notification pursuant to GBL 899-aa is provided. Governor Cuomo: Amtrak Should Pay For Mitigation Expenses At Penn Station, Not New Yorkers Local News, Business & Finance, Travel & Local Attractions, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: June 15 2017 Cuomo: "If the MTA Board insists on continuing payments to Amtrak, I will seek a state law to stop them." Albany, NY - June 15, 2017 - Governor Cuomo today released the following statement: "Amtraks emergency track repairs this summer at Penn Station will cause significant disruption to the commuters from New York and New Jersey. Amtrak anticipates reduced track usage from July 8th to September 1st. "New York State has mobilized a multi-pronged strategy to mitigate the inconvenience of these delays. The State has accelerated construction schedules on bridge and tunnel repairs and all bridge and tunnel lanes will be open by July 8th. The State has also accelerated the conversion to cashless tolling, which eases congestion. For example, today the RFK Bridge completed the transition to cashless tolling and saw an acceleration of traffic. "The State has also expedited the construction of the Farley Building conversion to what will be the new train hall for the Long Island Railroad. It will be large, beautiful, and comparable to the Grand Central Terminal. "The MTA and LIRR will also be adding trains, express buses and ferry service. "Additional police personnel will be deployed on HOV lanes and for traffic regulation. "The resulting question is who pays for all of this. "My answer is clear and simple Amtrak must pay. The Long Island Railroad currently pays Amtrak approximately $50 million per year for rent of the tracks at Penn Station. As the tracks are not available due to Amtraks actions, they are liable for the resulting damages. "I strongly urge the MTA Board to recover these costs from payments to Amtrak. If the MTA Board insists on continuing payments to Amtrak, I will seek a state law to stop them. Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: June 15 2017 Lindsay: "Those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom deserve our unyielding gratitude." Legislator Lindsay honoring The Joseph Kovarik American Legion Post 1146 with a Proclamation for service to the community; with Post Commander Paul Capitilano and Chaplain John Bugler. Bohemia, NY - June 15, 2017 Suffolk County Legislator Bill Lindsay recently attended Suffolk County Legislator Bill Lindsay recently attended Bohemia Fire Departments Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremonies, where he presented a proclamation to The Joseph Kovarik American Legion Post 1146 for their service to the residents and community. The Joseph Kovarik American Legion Post 1146s building on Hubal Street in Bohemia was built primarily by Legionnaires. The construction that began in 1940 was dedicated on September 21, 1941 and named for Joseph Kovarik; a World War I veteran that passed away in an elevator accident in 1927. Post 1146 was honored by the Bohemia Fire Department with the Edward E. Krepela Citizen of the Year Award for their continued contributions to the community through education of our military history, honoring and memorializing our veterans, and being staunch advocates for local veterans in need. A Shabaab assault on a popular nightclub and restaurant in Mogadishu has left at least nine people dead and several others wounded. At least 20 people are still being held hostage inside the restaurant, according to local reports. Earlier today, a suicide car bomb detonated outside of a nightclub near the Posh Hotel leaving several people dead. Shortly after the blast, an assault team stormed the perimeter and entered a nearby restaurant. Somali police have stated that others died when the Shabaab militants opened fire on stunned civilians who were sitting down for Iftar [a sundown meal breaking the fast for Ramadan]. According to local reports, the jihadists stormed the Pizza House restaurant and took at least 20 people hostage. Some hostages have been reported freed, however, many others are believed to still be held by the jihadists. In a statement released on its Shahada News Agency, Shabaab said that the attack was targeting the nightclub as it is frequently visited by foreigners, government officials, and intelligence agents. The statement did not confirm a hostage situation, but it did report that the assault is ongoing. Todays attack is just the latest in a string of suicide assaults in Mogadishu so far this year. In January, Shabaab perpetrated a suicide assault on the Dayah Hotel in Mogadishu. The attack, which included two suicide bombings, left at least 28 people dead near Somalias parliament building. Targeting popular hotels in Somalias capital is a common tactic of the jihadist group. [See FDDs Long War Journal, Shabaab suicide assault at Mogadishu hotel kills at least 28.] In February and March, there was a spate of car bombings perpetrated by Shabaab inside the Somali capital. On Feb. 19, a suicide car bomb killed at least 30 people at a market in Mogadishus Wadajir district. On Feb. 27, another suicide car bomb targeted Somali soldiers at a checkpoint just outside the city. On March 13, another car bomb was detonated near the Wehliye Hotel, killing at least 13. On that same day, Shabaab attempted to ram a minibus full of explosives through a military checkpoint, but the bus was stopped before reaching its target. On March 21, Shabaab killed at least 10 people in a suicide bombing near the presidential palace in Mogadishu. The jihadist group said on its Shahada News Agency Telegram channel that the suicide bombing targeted a gathering of officers, officials, and government militias at a checkpoint near the palace. [See Threat Matrix report, Shabaab suicide bombing strikes near presidential palace.] In addition to car bombs, Shabaab has also initiated coordinated assaults and assassinations against public officials. Before the March 21 suicide bombing, Shabaab militants also launched an assault on the Somali Defense Ministry headquarters in Mogadishu. Approximately 20 militants attacked the compound before being rebuffed. Earlier that month, a local government official was assassinated in the Yaqshid district, while in February, a former MP was killed outside his house in the Dharkenley district. In April, Shabaab attempted to assassinate the newly minted defense minister in a suicide car bombing. The minister survived, but 15 people, including many in a nearby passenger bus, were killed in the blast. [See Threat Matrix report, Shabaab suicide bombing strikes near defense ministry headquarters.] Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. Pakistans Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa said today that US drone strikes and other unilateral actions are against spirit of ongoing cooperation and that any intelligence on terrorist whereabouts should be forwarded to the army for action. Bajwa made the statement despite the fact that Pakistani officials have routinely passed along actionable intelligence to terrorists to help them avoid raids, as well as supposed counterproductive drone strikes have historically been effective in killing scores of top tier terrorist leaders. Bajwas view on drone strikes were summarized in an Inter-Services public relations press release that was issued on June 14, just one day after the US killed a Haqqani network leader and two of his deputies in an attack in Pakistans northwestern district of Hangu. From the ISPR press release: COAS [Chief of Army Staff Bajwa] said that unilateral actions like drone strike etc are counterproductive and against spirit of ongoing cooperation and intelligence sharing being diligently undertaken by Pakistan. Pakistan Army is capable of taking effective measure if actionable intelligence is shared. He said that our focus now is to transform our operational achievements in FATA into enduring peace and stability for which early mainstreaming of FATA through reforms is essential and Pakistan Army fully supports all efforts towards that end. Bajwas statement is astounding for many reasons, two of which will be addressed below: > When the US shared actionable intelligence, it has been passed along to jihadist leaders Bajwa insists that all the US needs to do is share intelligence, and the Pakistan military will handle the problem on its own. Yet it is well documented that when the US has given intelligence on groups such as the Haqqani Network, Pakistani officials have passed it along to the terrorists. The Washington Post detailed two such incidents, when, in June 2011, the US passed along information to Pakistani officials on an al Qaeda facility in South Waziristan and a Haqqani Network bomb factory at a girls school in North Waziristan. Unsurprisingly, when Pakistani forces arrived, the two locations were empty. The US has continued its drone program because the Pakistani military and its intelligence service, the Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate, could not be trusted. Pakistans duplicity when it comes to supporting terrorist organizations in the region is well known. The Afghan Taliban would be a shadow of itself without the support and safe haven provided by the Pakistani government. > Counterproductive strikes have killed far more top tier leaders in the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan than the Pakistani military US drone strikes in Pakistan have killed more than 120 top tier jihadist leaders and operatives in the 396 recorded strikes in Pakistan since the program began in 2004. The jihadists killed come from a host of groups, including al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban its subgroup, the Haqqani Network, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Turkistan Islamic Party, Hizb Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Jhagvi, the Hafiz Gul Bahadar group, and the Mullah Nazir Group (FDDs Long War Journal maintains a list, here). Pakistan often views many of these strikes as counterproductive because the US is killing leaders from their pet jihadist groups, such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network, the Hafiz Gul Bahadar group, and the Mullah Nazir Group. Pakistani government and military officials have denounced strikes that have killed top leaders from these groups, which are known as good Taliban because they dont actively oppose the Pakistani state. The irony is the good Taliban support the bad Taliban, which do fight the Pakistani state. Oddly enough, Pakistani officials even protest when the US kills members of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, which has killed tens of thousands of Pakistani civilians and soldiers in terrorist attacks and during its decade long insurgency in Pakistans northwest. Despite the fact that the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan is a mortal enemy of the state, the Pakistani military has a paltry record in killing top tier leaders of the group. But US drone strikes have taken out key leaders of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, including: Hakeemullah Mehsud: Baitullahs successor Waliur Rehman Mehsud: Hakeemullahs deputy and head of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan in South Waziristan Qari Hussain Mehsud: the head of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistans suicide operations and director of suicide camps Wali Mohammed: the head of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistans suicide operations Ibn Amin: a Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan military commander in Swat who was also a senior al Qaeda leader These men were directly responsible for murdering numerous Pakistani civilians and soldiers, and had eluded Pakistani intelligence and military operations for years before they were killed by the US drone program. The killing of these top leaders even led to a schism within the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan for more than a year before the group could reorganize, with divisions that remain to this day. Pakistani military and government officials have showed their gratitude by condemning most of these strikes. However, despite Pakistans denouncement of the strikes, there is little the nation can do to halt them, short of deploying its air force and shooting down the US aircraft. In the past, the Pakistani government shut down NATO supply lines into Afghanistan in protest of the US raids. However, the US continued to target and kill top level jihadist leaders in cross-border attacks. The number of US drone strikes have decreased drastically from 117 during the peak year of 2010 to just three in 2016 and four so far this year. Pakistani objections and international criticism have at times caused the US to halt the strikes, but only for a short period of time. Even though the US hates the optics of unilateral strikes on foreign territory without warning, the US has not reduced the number of strikes in 2016 and 2017 because of fear of retribution from Pakistan or international condemnation. Instead, the reduction can be attributed to several things: the US has shifted some resources and assets to other theaters to target al Qaeda in Somalia and Yemen, as well as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria; and US intelligence incorrectly assessed al Qaedas presence in the region as diminished. Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. Weve been home for nearly 8 weeks now and Japan is starting to feel like a dream. Did it really happen? Did we really go to that beautifully chaotic, deliciously weird country, overindulging in soft creme and mochi and noodles, surrounded by cherry blossoms and miniature deer and cat cafes? I have to say, Japan is one of those countries that you may not have considered before in lieu of European destinations, and hopefully this post will change that. Because its truly a remarkable place, so resoundingly different from anywhere else weve been before, and yet, amidst the crows and chaos is a kind of elegant order, and inherent politeness and respect for people and place and not to mention some ridiculously good food. It was, quite simply, an experience Ill never forget. Let me just say: jetlag is no joke. I felt Id handled it pretty well on previous trips to Europe, but for some reason going the other direction was much harder. I would wake up raring to go at 3 or 4 am, unable to go back to sleep, and then by 3 or 4 in the afternoon was ready to crash. I had to really push myself to stay awake long enough to eat dinner. The same thing coming home, it took me a solid 2 weeks before I started feeling like myself again (of course, the cold I picked up as a parting souvenir didnt help much). Still, the trip was worth it, and Id encourage everyone to add Japan to their travel bucket list. It really is an amazing place. Like our previous travels, we didnt try to see everything (and subsequently spending much of our valuable time transporting to and from). By acknowledging that we couldnt see an entire country in 12 days, and by picking a few main destinations in which to spend our time, we were able to experience more than just a surface level glimpse of each city. With Kyoto especially, our 5 nights there were the perfect amount of time to experience it intimately beyond just the main tourist attractions. We spent a total of 12 nights in Japan: 4 in Tokyo, followed by one night at a serene ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn) in Hakone, then headed to Kyoto for the next 5 nights. The final 2 nights of our trip we spent just outside of Tokyo at Tokyo Disney (Taylor being a Disney nut and all, we couldnt miss what some call the best Disney park in the world). Ill focus on our Tokyo experience here, with a separate post on Kyoto (and Disney) later. See the bottom of this post for a list and links to our favorite spots. Tokyo is consistently ranked as one of the cleanest, safest cities, which, considering its sheer size, is remarkable. But its the truth. I never once felt unsafe, never wary of pickpockets, and was constantly amazed at just how clean the streets are. Yes, the train stations and popular areas were crowded, but it was a kind of orderly chaos that you dont see in other cities of this size. The public transit system is top notch, clean and consistently on time (we saw a few RED ALERTS pertaining to train delays and the trains in question were a mere 3 minutes behind schedule. Oh, the horror!) Taylor especially loved that everyone followed the rules. Lines, for example, are not only respected but almost revered, whether at the train station or Disney World. Its a beautiful thing. We tackled Tokyo in much the same way as we did Paris and Barcelona: for each of the days we were there we picked a neighborhood and set out to explore it. Unlike Paris and Barcelona, however, Tokyo doesnt really have any big ticket attractions: major monuments or historical must-sees like other cities (the city has been leveled multiple times in wars and earthquakes and is therefore very new overall). Other than a guided tour of the fish market, we didnt really have any specific plans or tickets purchased ahead of time, and that gave us a nice freedom to explore the areas at whatever pace we felt like that particular day. Asakusa/Kappabashi Maybe we were still a bit jetlagged and cranky, but I feel like we didnt get a full appreciation of Asakusa. Its a cute little neighborhood, with lots of little artisan shops and restaurants, with the tourist-packed Nakamise shopping street and Senso-ji shrine at the center. That street sort of overwhelmed us, I think, and maybe jaded us a bit towards the cute and calmer streets mere blocks away. Kappabashi kitchen town is a spot any cook can appreciate, though many of the stores are definitely geared towards restaurant-supply type products, I still found a few treasures. If you go, definitely stop in to the plastic food stores, you wont believe the things they make out of plastic! Shibuya/Harajuku Taylor wanted to see the Shibuya crossing, the famous multi-directional crosswalk that is one of the busiest intersections in the city. We were there on a rainy Saturday, so it really wasnt the chaotic scene I think we had hoped to witness. Someone told us the best view of the crossing was from the Starbucks, so we went in, paid way too much for a tiny cup of matcha pudding (beware of sneaky service charges) and made our way upstairs where we had to shove our way through other like-minded tourists to try to get a shot of the crossing. Needless to say, we didnt linger (also, that Starbucks must be making BANK on that location since the only reason most people are buying things is for the view). Next we headed to another corner of the intersection to indulge in one of Japans famous puffy pancakes. The most famous of which is at a place called Cafe Gram, however Id read that they only serve the pancakes at 3 set times during the day. You wait in line and get your ticket then return at the set time to get your pancakes. Sorry, but there are very few things in life worth waiting in line for, and pancakes are not one of them. Anyway, this other place, Hoshino coffee, was just opening up so we grabbed a prime table at the back of the restaurant, overlooking the crossing in what Id argue was a better view than the stupid Starbucks. The pancakes take about 20 minutes to cook, so we had plenty of time to watch the ebb and flow of umbrellad people crisscrossing the busy street. When our pancake finally arrived, piled high with bruleed bananas and vanilla ice cream, we were more than pleased with our decision. I am intent on recreating these things at home, which Id describe as something like a souffle pancake, light and airy and custardy on the inside. We ended up at another Hoshino a few days later (there are a few throughout the city) where we got one topped with bits of creme brulee and drizzled with creme caramel sauce. I highly recommend you try one for yourself. After breakfast we headed to Harajuku, the street where quirky Japanese style was born. It was pouring, and the street was packed, but despite my aversion to crowds, I still loved this area. The shops were cute and eclectic, and the crowd was young and disproportionately local. Of course, the cat cafe that we stopped in didnt hurt, either. For 600 yen you got 30 minutes in an Alice in Wonderland-themed cat paradise. For lunch we went to Afuri ramen, known for their yuzu-based ramen broth (spoiler: its as good as it sounds!) The Harajuku location already had a sizeable line, so we hopped on the subway and headed South to the Ebisu location, where we slipped in with less than a 10 minute wait. Here, like many other ramen restaurants, you order from a machine, pay, and then pass your ticket to the waiter who fills your order. Its a quick in-and-out situation, not the kind of food you linger over like it is here in the US, which I liked. Finally, we made our way down to Nakemeguro canals, a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in the city. Despite the rain, it was very busy, with hoards of people walking, herd-like, in the same direction around the canal, taking pictures and appreciating the beauty of the blossoms. We took a few pictures, but, being that it was towards the end of the day, were pretty beat at this point, so we escaped back to the quiet of our hotel to rest before dinner. Shinjuku For dinner we stopped at another department store, Isetan, and its basement food floor. While most of the food here is take out (theres not really any place to sit down and eat in the store) we stumbled across a pop-up in the middle of the floor that had a small counter with a handful of seats, selling fresh udon to order. We ordered a plate of cold noodles served with a simple soy-based broth, and slurpled while watching them make fresh noodles right before our eyes. We spent the rest of the evening exploring the brightly lit center of Shinjuku and the Kabukicho red light district (which isnt nearly as skeazy as it sounds, I never once felt unsafe here amidst the crowds). If youve seen pictures of Tokyo at night it was very likely the Shinjuku area you were seeing. I felt like I was inside a giant pinball machine. Nearby are two notable areas within Shinjuku worth checking out: Golden Gai and Piss Alley. Golden Gai alone contains more than 270 tiny bars on its six dimly lit alleys, most seating only 5 or 6 people at at time. Its a dingy enclave in the middle of a clean concrete metropolis, a glimpse into a past that has, for the most part, been paved over. Piss Alley, similarly, is a single narrow alley blocks away from bustling Shinjuku station, filled with equally tiny eateries and ramshackle Yakatori huts. Youd miss it if you didnt know it was there. Tsukiji/Ginza One of the highlights of our time in Tokyo was the Tsukiji market tour and sushi class we did with Laura and her husband Connor (who coincidentally happened to be traveling at the same time we were). The fish market is a must-see, especially for foodies, but its a bit chaotic and not something Id want to wander through myself. The tour alone was worth it in that respect, as we were guided through the maze-like aisles by someone who knew where to go and what it all meant. The sushi class afterwords was a lovely bonus too, as we learned from a real sushi chef how to make traditional Japanese sushi (hint: its really all about the rice) using fish we had helped pick out earlier than morning. It was a very educational and memorable experience and Id highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Tokyo! After our class, stuffed to the gills with sushi, we wandered up to the Ginza neighborhood, with all its high rise buildings and high end shops. We stopped in one of Tokyos oldest coffee shops, Cafe de Lambre, where the 100-year old owner still roasts the beans every morning by hand. This gem of a coffee shop, with its untouched-for-decades decor and thick, smoky atmosphere, you can get a cup of coffee brewed with Brazilian Bahia beans aging since 1973 (only 870 for a single shot), as well as fresher selections from all over the world. I honestly cant say if the 40+ year aging actually changes anything about the coffee, other than the price, that is. But it was fun to try it just to say we did. Fabric Town At the end of our trip, on our way to Tokyo Disney, we dropped our bags at the train station (another thing I love about Japan is all the stations have baggage lockers and/or baggage storage services if you want to leave your luggage and go explore) and went to Tokyos famed fabric town, which we didnt have time to do earlier. Let me say, if you sew or quilt or even if you just like fabric, this place is a must-see. Block after block of fabric stores specializing in fashion fabrics, quilting fabrics, home decor, even entire shops for just notions. Taylor picked up a few things for some future projects, including a pretty linen for a lightweight pair of summer pants. Im not a sewer, but I was so tempted by an adorable cat and macaron print fabric, among other things. For lunch we went to the Ramen Street in Tokyo station, where there are a number of different ramen restaurants all in one place, with different styles from all regions of Japan. We chose a spot that featured a vegetarian ramen with carrot noodles. It was delightful and different. I have to say, you could go to Japan and just eat in train stations the entire time, and youll find some of the best food in the city. (Also the candy shop across the way from Ramen street carries a bunch of different flavors of Kit Kats!) We stayed at the Hilton Tokyo in the Shinjuku business district, less than 15 minutes walk from Shinjuku station (but the hotel also offers a free shuttle that stops by the station every 20 minutes handy when youre dead tired from a walking all day and its raining to boot). We had a beautiful room on the 37th floor looking out over the city, as well as access to executive lounge with a private breakfast spread and other offerings throughout the day like afternoon tea (a perfect opportunity to unwind and recharge before heading out for the evening). One of my favorite parts was the Japanese healthy bento breakfast we did our last morning in Tokyo. The breakfast doesnt cost extra if you already have executive lounge access, but you do have to sign up for the breakfast in advance. The bento-style breakfast was served with all sorts of delicious morsels including a seasonal salad, miso soup, soft silken tofu, some various fish things, and a shot of fruit vinegar juice (so good). It was a light and surprisingly filling way to start our day. (Disclaimer: Hilton Tokyo provided me with a media rate and complementary executive lounge access. However all opinions expressed here are entirely my own). Our Tokyo Favorites: Hoshino Coffee Puffy pancakes with a decent view of Shibuya crossing (also a location in Ginza). My advice? Skip the Starbucks (that charges a service fee) and get to Hoshino when it opens at 10, and grab one of the window seats so you can watch the crowds while you wait for your pancakes. Afuri Ramen A unique yuzu-based broth makes this ramen incredibly unique and delicious. There are a few different locations in the city, and while the Harajuku one might be the most crowded, all of them will have lines at some point, so I recommend going early. We each got a bowl of the signature yuzu ramen, one salt and one soy based to compare. The ordering machine can be a bit confusing if you dont speak Japanese, but luckily there were locals in line that were more than happy to help out. Cat Cafe MoCHA This is the cat cafe we visited in Harajuku. With an Alice in Wonderland theme, it was utterly charming, and a great way to escape the drizzle and crowds of Takeshita street for half an hour. If you are a cat person, I highly recommend checking it out (or one of the many other cat cafes in the city). Not a cat person? There are also owl cafes all over the place (though owls kind of freak me out so we skipped those). Tsukiji Fish Market One of Tokyos most famous markets, the Tsukiji fish market is known for its early morning tuna auctions. If you want to get up at 3am to try to snag a coveted spot, go for it, but we opted to skip that in lieu of a guided tour and sushi class, which turned out to be one of the most memorable mornings of our trip. It helps to have a knowledgeable guide in the chaos of the fish market. Shinjuku Station One of the busiest train stations in the world, but its also a dining destination. You could spend two weeks eating at the different places within the station and the surrounding department stores and still not try everything available there. Also, dont miss the best matcha soft serve at a tiny place called Cha-ikedaya. This tiny place is easily mistaken for a newsstand, but if you can find it you will be greatly rewarded. Isetan Another department store with an entire floor dedicated to food. We liked this one in particular as they had a udon popup where you could actually sit down and eat your freshly prepared udon. Hilton Tokyo Located in the Shinjuku business district, while maybe not as vibrant as some of the other areas (not a ton of shops/restaurants in the immediate area) was clean and quiet and safe, and easily walkable to the bustling Shinjuku station. A perfect central location for exploring the city. The hotel had a great breakfast setup too (which we appreciated as we could eat, and then head out to explore without having to find a place to eat straight away). JR Rail Pass We purchased our 2 week rail passes ahead of time (this pass is only available for tourists and you MUST purchase it ahead of time). While it was maybe a bit more than if we had purchased each leg individually, the convenience of it was well worth it (you just need to flash your pass at the manned booth when entering the station and you can literally go in and out as many times as you need). The only time we had to visit the ticket booth was to reserve seats for the bullet trains (something I recommend doing a day or two ahead of time as seats do fill up). We also each loaded up a Suica card for use on the non-JR subway lines and buses. Pocket Wi-fi In a city like Tokyo, with its sprawling train system and un-named streets and no logical address numbering system whatsoever, Google Maps will be your constant companion. Wi-fi, in this case especially, was an absolute necessity. We went with the Premium pocket wi-fi from Global Advanced Communications, and it was fast and reliable during our entire trip. Culture The video art masters works are paid homage to through a showcase of his best work across the years Jun 15, 2017 | By AFP Relaxnews From June 30 to November 9, 2017, the Guggenheim Museums Spanish outpost in Bilbao will be showing a retrospective of the work by the American artist Bill Viola. The exhibition spans the career of this pioneer of video art, from his early videotape projects to high-definition creations from the new millennium. Bill Viola was introduced to video at Syracuse University in New York in the early 1970s. During his time at the faculty, he met David Ross (curator of video art) and assisted iconic figures in media art like Peter Campus and Nam June Paik at the Everson Museum of Art. Inspired by philosophy, poetry and mysticism, the American artist used video to explore the human condition and its processes of change, rebirth and transformation, which became recurring themes in his work. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao will explore the artists whole career with a thematic and chronological exhibition. The show starts with the artists early single-channel videotapes, including Four Songs from 1976, described by the artist as a collection of four musical stories in allegorical form. Images and sound are composed into audio-visual rhythms based on the psychological/emotional dynamics of the individual interaction with the environment. Other early pieces, Junkyard Levitation and Songs of Innocence, already evoke characteristics of Violas work with the use of repetition, slow motion and long dissolves. The arrival of the new millennium and the advent of high-definition and flatscreen technology influenced the artists work and the format of his creations. Bill Viola began producing small- and medium-format works in a series entitled Passions. He also used high-definition technology to create Catherines Room, Four Hands and Surrender, all from 2001. Alongside the exhibition, visitors will have access to an additional Didactic Space, where they can discover the artists recent work, including partnerships outside of the museum context, such as in churches, historic sites and theaters. His notebooks will also be on display. Bill Violas first feature-length film I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like, dating from 1989, will be screened July 6. The documentary The Passing Times, which sees Viola recount the creative process of The Passing (1991), will screen September 29. Bill Viola: A Retrospective runs June 30 to November 9, 2017, at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. For more information, do visit Guggenheim. Since its inception in 2010, the Badger Honor Flight has flown more than 2,000 veterans to Washington, D.C., on what is called the trip of a lifetime. Badger Honor Flight is a regional affiliate of the national Honor Flight Network. The purpose of the network is to ensure that World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and terminally ill veterans from any war have the opportunity to see the memorials that have been erected in their honor in the nations capital. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Dorothy Bollant, 81, recently got her chance at said trip of a lifetime. The current resident of All Saints Neighborhood in Madison made her honor flight on May 13, along with 88 other veterans, 87 of whom were men. Serving her country Lieutenant Colonel Bollant served in the military as a nurse from 1962 to 1982. I always wanted to travel, she said, and travel she did. Her time in the Air Force took her to places such as South Korea, France, and bases in the United States, along with a stint in southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Bollant was an aeromedical evacuation (AE) nurse on flights in and out of Vietnam. Her flights would pick up wounded military members from places such as the Tan Son Nhut air base, near Saigon, and others near Cam Ranh Bay and Danang. The flights would take the wounded to hospitals on U.S. bases in the Pacific or in the U.S. itself. Bollant and the other nurses would provide care in the air, such as giving them food and medication or talking to them. They used to think we were flight attendants, she joked. Bollant retired in 1982 after a 20-year career in the Air Force. Learning about flight When the honor flights started across the country in the mid-2000s, their original goal was to bring World War II vets to see the recently dedicated World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Over the past several years, as most of the surviving World War II veterans have gone on the flights, the network expanded its opportunities for Korean War-era and Vietnam War-era military members. From its extensive coverage and promotion, Bollant heard about the Badger Honor Flight and applied to go on one more than two years ago. She learned in January of this year she was slated to go on the May 13 flight, the 26th Badger Honor Flight. While she was happy finally getting her chance to go, Bollant thought about worrying about getting up at two in the morning. Ready for takeoff Two in the morning on May 13 arrived and Bollant and her guardian, Eileen Statz, made their way to the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison for 4:30 a.m. check-in time ahead of a 7 a.m. flight to Washington. Each Honor Flight veteran is accompanied by a volunteer guardian who helps take care of any needs that arise. After a nearly two-hour flight, the veterans arrived at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to a crowd waiting to greet them. I remember getting off and everybody is right there shaking hands as youre walking down to catch your bus, Bollant said. Youre just ready to get off and get going. The first stop was Arlington National Cemetery, but Bollant and a fellow female veteran on the flight Emma Engles, an Army veteran in Korea from Monroe went to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, near the cemetery. Its a beautiful building, Bollant said of the nearly two-decade old hemicycle memorial. Other stops on the one-day tour of memorials were the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which includes the Memorial Wall with nearly 60,000 names of those who died in the war Marine Corps Memorial, Korean War Memorial, World War II Memorial, and Air Force Memorial. Bollant described the day as constantly moving from stop to stop, bus ride to bus ride. Police escorts helped the buses smoothly get from one spot to the next. Mail call A jam-packed 10-hour day in the nations capital ended with an evening flight back home. That meant mail call time for the veterans, but this time, they didnt have to write them to get them. Bollant herself received more than 100 letters from friends and supporters, including students from St. Maria Goretti School and St. Ambrose Academy in Madison, through friend connections. She also got letters from All Saints Neighbors and her fellow members of the Madison Catholic Womans Club. I didnt think Id get any mail, Bollant said, but it was about four pounds of letters. Welcome home The day ended with what Bollant called the most emotional part when you land [in Madison] and see the crowd out there. More than 4,000 were on hand at the airport to welcome the veterans home. She said there were tears in her eyes seeing people of all ages, sometimes up to five rows, lining the terminal. You get a little emotional, she said, saying as she walked into the terminal you start shaking hands with tears coming down. The greeters had handmade signs, including one that said, Welcome home, Dorothy from one of almost 20 people waiting for her personally. About the Badger Honor Flight Badger Honor Flight provides all amenities to the veterans, including all transportation, jacket, hat, shirt, and meals. While each flight costs more than $95,000, everything is free to the veterans. The honor flight is supported by generous donations. Badger Honor Flight offers every veteran invited to go on the trip the opportunity to select his or her own guardian. All guardians must meet the requirements including not being a spouse of said veteran, being between 18 and 69 years old, and being able to assist as needed. Guardians are responsible for paying their $500 trip fee on their own, but there is a $100 discount if the guardian has served in the U.S. military. All veterans interested in flying out of the Madison hub must submit an application to Badger Honor Flight. Veterans are selected for flights on a first-come, first-served basis. Exceptions are made for terminally ill veterans from any conflict. Approximately 85 to 90 veterans go on each flight and there are four flights each year. Currently the waiting list is more than 750 veterans. For more information on Badger Honor Flight, including how to apply, go to www.badgerhonorflight.org According to many foreign companies, China is not a country where IP, especially patent rights, can be enforced. This notion may be based on the fact that compensation is not as high as expected. There are nearly 100,000 lawsuits related to IP infringement every year in China, and patent infringement lawsuits have reached nearly 10,000. In fact, the number of lawsuits with high damages is also increasing. Using practical examples of litigation cases, it is possible to see how compensation for damages in China is calculated and understand how to adduce evidence in litigation in order to obtain relatively high damages. Methods of calculating damages The general principles of the Civil Law and the main laws concerning IP rights and the relevant judicial interpretations all expressly stipulate the civil liability of compensation for damages and specify the methods of calculating compensation for damages. 1. Actual losses of the IP owner These equal the total amount by which the IP owner's sales volume is reduced as a result of the infringement or the total number of infringing products sold on the market (where the total amount by which the IP owner's sales volume is reduced is difficult to calculate) multiplied by a reasonable amount of profit for each product. 2. Profits earned by the infringer This is calculated using the total number of infringing products sold on the market multiplied by a reasonable amount of profit for each infringing product. 3. Based on the royalty This varies according to the type of right concerned, the nature and circumstances of the infringing act of the infringer, the amount of the royalty, the nature, scope and period of validity of the licence and other factors. 4. Statutory damages In trade mark infringement cases, the statutory limit has increased from Rmb500,000 (US$76,050) (the 2001 Trade Mark Law), to Rmb3,000,000 (US$456,300) (the 2013 Trade Mark Law). In patent infringement cases, the limit for statutory damages is Rmb1,000,000 (US$152,100) (the 2008 Patent Law), increased from Rmb500,000 (US$76,050) (the 2000 Patent Law). Moreover, in the recently published Draft for Comment of the Fourth Amendment of the Patent Law of China, the limit on compensation is set to be further increased to Rmb5,000,000 (US$760,500). In contrast, in copyright infringement cases, the statutory damages still does not exceed Rmb500,000 (US$76,050). Although the legal provisions prescribe the range of the statutory damages so as to prevent excessive judicial discretion, it is possible to exceed the maximum for statutory damages in specific cases based on the evidence. 5. Reasonable expenses In addition to the compensation for damages calculated in the aforementioned manner, the owner can also ask for compensation for reasonable expenses incurred in the enforcement of the right concerned. Adducing evidence The formulas mentioned above for calculating compensation for damages are used in sequence. That is, compensation for damages shall be calculated according to the actual losses suffered by the owner. When actual losses are difficult to determine, damages shall be calculated according to the profits obtained by the infringer. When both are difficult to determine, the royalty shall be the reference. When, after employing all of the above methods, damages are still difficult to determine, statutory damages is applied. However, in practice, as the burden of proof for a claim of compensation for damages is on the owners, they usually choose a method of calculation that is based on evidence. Actual losses When the owners claim based on this method of calculation, they are required to adduce evidence regarding the total number of the owners' products of which the sales volume is reduced as a result of the infringement, or the total number of infringing products sold on the market, as well as the reasonable amount of profit for each owner's product. As it is very difficult to adduce this evidence, this method is seldom adopted in civil cases. In a trade secret case that involved Wuxi Sensong Mechanic, in determining the losses of the owner of the trade secret, the court adopted the method of multiplying the total number of the infringing products sold on the market by the reasonable profit of owner's product (Case No of the first instance: (2011) Yi IP Criminal First No 5; Case No of the second instance: (2012) Xi IP Criminal Final No 0001). During the investigation of the case, the police discovered and seized various materials of the defendants and so managed to determine the total sales amount of four types of machines related to the owner's trade secret sold by the defendants. In addition, the auditing agency conducted an audit of the sales materials of the owner's products and calculated the reasonable profits of the owner's products. After multiplying the data, the amount of the owner's losses was found to be nearly Rmb7,000,000 (US$1,064,700). Two courts supported this method of calculation and the defendants were determined as guilty of breaching trade secrets. In addition to a term of imprisonment, the court imposed a fine of nearly Rmb10,000,000 (US$1,534,200) on the defendants. Although this is a criminal case related to trade secret theft, the method of calculation for determination of the losses of the owner is relevant for patent infringement civil cases. Profits obtained by the infringer Compared to the aforementioned method, the difference between the calculation of the actual losses of the owner and calculation of profits of the infringer lies in whether the reasonable profits are profits of the rightful products or profits of the infringing products. Although the profits of the rightful products are usually higher than those of the infringing products, as the profits of the rightful products relate to the trade secret of a company, the owner may voluntarily choose to calculate based on the reasonable profits of the infringing products. In addition, when calculating the profits obtained as a result of infringement, the factors contributed by other rights should be eliminated. For example, in a patent infringement suit between Honda Technology Research & Development (Honda) and Shijiazhuang Shuanghuan (Shuanghuan), the patent in question was a design patent for a bumper, and the infringing product was a front bumper installed on a Laibao vehicle manufactured by Shuanghuan (Case No of the first instance: (2007) No 1 Intermediate Civil First No 14465; Case No of the second instance: (2010) Higher Civil Final No 1746). The court of first instance exercised discretion and set damages at Rmb500,000 (US$76,050), an amount within the range of statutory damages. The court of second instance held that, according to the audit report and the consultation report submitted by Shuanghuan in another case, the sales cost and the whole profit of each Laibao vehicle and the sales volume could be confirmed. Moreover, according to the invoice issued by Baoding Dexin Company to Shuanghuan, the unit-price of the front bumper was Rmb286.32 (US$44), from which the portion of the front bumper in the whole vehicle can be confirmed. In light of these calculations, the court of second instance amended the judgment and set damages at Rmb1,720,000 (US$261,612). Royalty calculations Where right owners choose this method of calculation, they should submit evidence to prove the actual existence and amount of the royalty. In order to persuade the court to refer to the royalty, the owner should also submit other evidence to prove the value of the patent and the circumstances of the infringement. In a dispute involving the infringement of an invention patent between Shandong Joyoung (Joyoung) and Shanghai Shuaijia, (Case No of the second instance: (2007) Lu Civil No 3 Final No 38) the evidence submitted by the plaintiffs proved that Xuning Wang licensed the patent concerned solely to Joyoung for nationwide exploitation, with the licence term being as long as the valid term of the patent and a royalty of Rmb3,000,000 (US$456,300). The licensing contract had been recorded at the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO). Although the defendants had objections to the patent licensing contract, they failed to provide evidence proving that the licensing contract and the royalty amount were non-objective. Furthermore, when the court of first instance ordered the defendants to provide relevant account books, the defendants refused to do so. After consideration of the above factors, the courts determined compensation to be Rmb3,000,000 (US$460,290). Statutory damages Even when applying statutory damages, factors including the type of right and the nature and circumstances of the infringement may have significant effects on the amount of compensation. For example, in a series of cases between Shenzhen Mindray (Mindray) and Shenzhen Edan (Edan), the plaintiff initiated lawsuits for patent infringement and breach of trade secrets against the defendant based on various multi-parameter monitor products. The case references are, for the patent infringement case: No of first instance: (2011) Shen Intermediate Court Civil First No 260, 267-268, 323-326, the number of the patent concerned is ZL03139708.5. For the trade secret infringement case: No of the first instance: (2011) Shen Intermediate Court IP Civil First No 266. The accused infringing products in those cases are basically the same. During the trial, the plaintiff applied for an audit of the average profits of the defendant's eight types of multi-parameter monitor products. As the defendant refused to provide the necessary account book materials, the auditing agency conducted the audit using information such as the defendant's prospectus, the 2011 Annual Report of the defendant and the information of the infringing products disclosed on the defendant's official website. The audit established that from April 2009 to April 2011, the total gross profits of eleven types of monitor products (including the eight concerned types of infringing products) of the defendant were Rmb105,933,300 (US$16,112,454), with the average gross profit of each type being Rmb9,630,300 (US$1,464,769). The total operating profit was Rmb38,578,000 (US$5,867,713), with the average operating profit of each type being Rmb3,507,100 (US$533,430). Referring to the appraisal opinion of the audit organisation, the court concluded that the operating profits of the eight concerned types of infringing products of the defendant were Rmb25,718,400 (US$3,911,768). The court also considered the fact that three years had passed from the expiration date of the audit to the trial and during this period the illegal profits of the defendant due to the infringement continued to increase. Based on these determinations, the court of first instance awarded the plaintiff compensation of Rmb15,000,000 (US$2,281,500) for the patent infringement and Rmb20,000,000 (US$3,042,000) for the breach of trade secrets. Expenses In most cases compensation and reasonable costs are considered together and a total amount is determined. Nevertheless, in more cases, the court has determined the amount of compensation for damages and the reasonable expenses separately. For example, in trade mark infringement and unfair competition disputes between Foshan Haitian (Haitian) and Gaoming Weiji (Weiji) - (2012) Fo Intermediate Court IP Civil First No 352), the court calculated the approximate losses of the Haitian Company as a result of damage to the trade reputation according to the reasonable profits Haitian Company should make within 16 days and the reduced amount of reasonable profit. The court, exercising its discretion, determined the losses of the profits from the reduction in sales of the Haitian Company to be Rmb3,500,000 (US$532,350). The court also found Rmb3,000,000 (US$456,300) in advertisement fees paid by the Haitian Company to be a reasonable expense to eliminate the effect of the infringement. Advice on collecting evidence Duration and scope of the infringement The homepage of the defendant usually contains information about the sales area of the product, and may also mention when the product was released to the market. We would recommend having the public information on the homepage of the defendant or other websites fully notarised. Purchasing infringing products at different times, in different places and through different ways can also be useful. Product information and financial information Information such as the sales volume of the infringing products is normally difficult to obtain, so it is necessary to use other information. In the case of Mindray v Edan, for example, the total profits of the monitors were audited and calculated according to the information regarding profits recorded in the annual report published by the defendant, and the average profits of each type of monitor were calculated by dividing the above total of profits by the number of types of monitors. This means that preserving the published product information and financial information of the defendant using a notary is recommended. For some special industries, the manufacturing of products must be recorded at relevant government departments, and the yearbook of the industry may contain statistics regarding the annual sales of the main companies. In a dispute over patent infringement between Honda Company and Lifan Industry, the information from the data centre and contents of the China Automobile Industry Yearbook and other industry yearbooks provided by the plaintiff were supported by the court of first instance (case No of first instance: (2004) Hu No 2 Intermediate Civil No 5 (IP) First No 89; Case No of second instance:(2007) Hu Higher Civil No 3 (IP) Final No 101). If the alleged infringing products are sold through the internet, the sales data of the online business can be taken into consideration. In this situation, it is also advisable to preserve the sales data of the online business and notarise the evidence. In the case of Panasonic v Jindao (case No of first instance: (2015) Jing IP Civil First No 266), a design patent case where we represented Panasonic, we preserved sales data from T-mall, Alibaba, Taobao and Jingdong, the most famous online sales platforms in China, to prove the high profits of the defendant. Our claims were supported by the court of first instance and the court awarded our client Rmb3,000,000 (US$456,300) in compensation and Rmb200,000 (US$30,420) in reasonable expenses. Profit margin Methods to determine profit margin include: calculating the profit margin of the owner by adducing the annual report of the right owner, adducing the average profit margin of the industry and the total profit margin of the defendant based on the defendant's annual report. The methods of adducing evidence can include submitting the annual report of the plaintiff or defendant, and submitting newspapers or magazines which report the average profit margin of the industry. Bad faith Whether or not the defendant has demonstrated bad faith does not influence determinations regarding whether or not the claim is tenable or the calculation of actual losses or profits obtained from the infringement. However, it does relate to the nature of the infringement and it is a factor considered by the courts when determining statutory damages. The bad faith of the defendant can be proved by demonstrating that the defendant was fully aware of the infringement. The court will consider, for example, whether or not the owner sent a cease and desist letter or other warning to the defendant, whether or not the defendant took any action indicating full awareness of the plaintiff's IP, or whether or not the defendant engaged in other infringing acts or acts of unfair competition in order to confuse the public. Value of the IP The value of the IP is another factor that may influence the court's determination regarding statutory damages. In trade mark infringement cases, it is very important to prove the reputation of the trade mark and the value of the brand. In patent infringement cases, the innovation degree, awards given and popularity of the patented products may influence the judge's evaluation, and the costs for the development of patented technology and royalty may also be taken into consideration. Reasonable expenses Fees for the purchase of infringing products, fees for the preservation of evidence with a notary and fees for the translation of litigation documents are normally awarded by the court if valid invoices can be provided. As for attorney fees, depending on the facts of the case and the standard price charged, the court typically awards a portion of these fees. In addition to the relevant invoices, the entrustment contract and standard and detailed rules regarding the attorney fees should be submitted to prove the expenses incurred and thus bolster a request for compensation of attorney fees. Advice on evidence preservation The aforementioned evidence collected independently by the owner can be used to calculate profits obtained by the defendant from infringement and to prove the circumstances and nature of the infringement, thus influencing the amount of statutory damages determined by the court. Applying for evidence preservation with the court is also a useful way of obtaining evidence to receive high compensation. Even though the application for evidence preservation may not be approved, it is still worth trying. When applying for evidence preservation, it is advisable to: Conduct an investigation into the operational situation of the defendant in advance and try to locate and learn the details of relevant financial materials. Engage in full communication with the court, explaining the details of the case, the necessity of the evidence preservation and the high likelihood of infringement. In addition to applying to the court for preservation of the financial materials kept at the defendant's premises, the owner may also consider applying for the extraction of evidence kept at state offices, for example, tax departments. However, the probability of the court permitting this type of evidence collection is not high and, if allowed, obtaining this evidence is not easy. A judicial audit should be performed if the financial materials of the defendant can be successfully preserved. In conclusion, IP owners can trust in China's protection of their IP rights. In order to protect their legal rights and interests to the greatest extent, the owner may obtain evidence from all areas and try to enforce their own rights under the present judicial system. A favourable litigation result requires the joint efforts of the owners and their lawyers, and a mindset that infringement will not be tolerated. New Delhi : In an apparent goof-up, the home ministry in its annual report used a picture of Spain-Morocco boundary as Indias border with Pakistan, prompting the Union home secretary to say that the ministry would apologise if there is a mistake. The picture with the caption Floodlighting along the Border was published recently in the home ministrys annual report for 2016-17, with detailed information on floodlighting along the Indo-Pak border. However, it came to light today that the picture was of the Spain-Morocco border, located along the Plazas de soberania, Ceuta, Melilla and Alboran Island along the north coast of Morocco. Between Morocco and Ceuta, there is a physical border known as the Ceuta border fence. Melilla also has a physical border known as the Melilla border fence, similar to the Indo-Pak border with floodlighting. Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said the ministry will find out if the picture was not that of Indo-Pak border. "If there is a mistake, we will apologise," he said. Sources said the home ministry officials were trying to find out from where the picture was sourced. It could be from the Border Security Force which guards major portions of the 3,323 km long boundary, they said. PTI As Monica Vinader is fairly well-known for its vibrant gemstone statement pieces, it might come as a surprise to some that the luxury British jewellery brand has a penchant for dainty and contemporary rose gold numbers as well. Versatile and unique, these pieces are perfect for the avid rose gold fan, throwing off vibes of chic minimalism and feminine sophistication. Theres a piece for every occasion, be it a glitzy cocktail event, a fun and flirty date night, or even just a normal workday at the office. Complete your outfit with the stunning Nura Reef Bracelet, a versatile piece that is perfectly balanced for both casual ensembles and formalwear. Or feast your eyes on the alluring Baja Fringe Cocktail Necklace in Rose Gold Vermeil with Diamonds, which exudes a sultry elegance that will no doubt catch any eye. From rings to bracelets to earrings to necklaces, you are bound to find something in the selection of blushing rose gold pieces that Monica Vinader has to offer. Dont forget to ask about personalised engraving its what they do best. Head up to the gallery to check out the instantly wearable rose gold pieces from Monica Vinader, prices and launch dates included! Monica Vinader is located at ION Orchard #B1-09 and Takashimaya Ladies Accessories Department, Level 1. Both stores offer complimentary, same-day in-store engraving services. Angela Goh Photos: Monica Vinader Read more: Sleek & Feminine: 10 Rose gold watches to dream about 10 Diamond-studded gold rings to impress any minimalist 11 Elegant ways to layer your minimalist jewellery Financial media around the world spent last Wednesday celebrating Banco Santander's purchase of failing Spanish lender Banco Popular, billing it as a successful first test of the eurozone's new system for dealing with failed banks. Known as the "Single Resolution Mechanism," (SRM) it is supposed to be a clear, predictable process for winding down banks without tapping taxpayer funds. When Santander bought Popular for 1 after shareholders and junior creditors were bailed in, markets simply shrugged, leading observers to conclude the system had passed with flying colors. For now, the Banco Popular acquisition does help clear some of the lingering uncertainty over eurozone Financials, and it has clearly helped sentiment-both positive. However, over time, we believe there remain several details to iron out, and we'd caution against presuming the SRM will magically fix the next banking crisis whenever it occurs. The SRM has been around since 2014, but until now, it remained largely untested. Italy had a chance to use it when determining how to address Monte dei Paschi di Siena and other struggling lenders, but instead the government got special permission to inject state funds into the bank to keep it afloat (a move the European Commission just rubber-stamped June 1). The SRM requires banks' junior bondholders to take losses as part of any formal resolution. In Italy, this was politically untenable since most junior bondholders are retail depositors-normal mom and pop savers-who were sold bonds pitched as safe, high-yield alternatives to a traditional bank account. When a smaller Italian bank failed in 2015, wiping out bondholders, there was a huge public backlash. One saver committed suicide, blaming the bank in his note. This tragedy and the general outcry took a bail-in for the much larger Monte Paschi off the menu. No such drama surrounded Banco Popular. Consistent with the SRM, shareholders, junior bondholders like contingent-convertible (coco) bondholders and even holders of AT-2 bonds-higher in the pecking order than cocos-were wiped out (depositors and senior bondholders were spared). Instead of injecting capital into Banco Popular to allow it to remain a going concern, regulators brokered its sale to Santander, which is raising 7 billion in new capital to handle Popular's obligations. Spanish stocks ticked down on June 7, the day the deal was announced, but Spanish Financials rose 0.3%.[i] Investors didn't panic, depositors didn't flee banks, and the entire process seemed seamless. On the surface, this seems positive, and we believe eurozone stocks should overall benefit from the improved confidence it brings. Investors have been preoccupied with eurozone bank balance sheets for years, and having evidence the financial system can handle a large bail-in without experiencing material disruptions is a plus. However, in our view, Banco Popular's resolution doesn't answer some key questions that have surrounded SRM from the start. Here are three main issues that appear to remain outstanding. What are the ECB's criteria for declaring a bank insolvent? According to the ECB's official statement, "The significant deterioration of the liquidity situation of the bank in recent days led to a determination that the entity would have, in the near future, been unable to pay its debts or other liabilities as they fell due."[ii] In other words, the bank was illiquid-it didn't have enough cash on hand or coming in to pay the bills each day. However, we haven't seen any evidence that it was technically insolvent, owing more than its assets were worth. As of Q1 2017, Popular had a Tier-1 capital ratio of 10.02% and 11.9% total capital.[iii] Its 147.9 billion in assets exceeded its 136.8 billion in liabilities-it did not owe more than it owned.[iv] This is the textbook definition of a solvent bank, and it stretches credulity that it would have become technically insolvent merely two months later, particularly as its net interest income and nonperforming loan ratios improved in Q1.[v] Treating illiquid banks as bankrupt even if their balance sheets don't fit the traditional definition of bankruptcy potentially raises more questions than it answers in the long run. Like the next one... 2. Are national central banks still lenders of last resort? One of central banks' primary responsibilities is providing liquidity to solvent banks that experience a liquidity pinch. Through the ECB's Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) program, illiquid banks can receive funding from national central banks if they post acceptable collateral, making national central banks the lenders of last resort. It doesn't appear Popular used this feature as the end neared this week, and we can't help but wonder why. Do eurozone central banks now consider this type of funding to be a taxpayer bailout? Did Popular simply not have the necessary collateral? Or did Popular not qualify since its large non-performing loan portfolio was such a well-known albatross? ELA has kept Greek banks alive for years, and there were plans in the works to extend it to French banks in the event of chaotic election results in April and May. If central banks aren't free to pump banks with liquidity during the next crisis, that could compound a panic, the opposite of their intent. 3. Will Italy still be considered a special case? While the Banco Popular bail-in previews how resolutions will work in countries where institutional investors are banks' main bondholders, we still don't know whether the new rules will apply uniformly across the eurozone-including in Italy. If Italy's concerns about retail bondholders prevent further bank bail-ins, investors could start seeing the SRM's decisions as arbitrary and unpredictable. This could also have unintended consequences during the next crisis. In 2008, the US Fed and Treasury seemingly picked winners and losers on a whim, with no apparent consistency. They arranged for JPMorganChase to buy the illiquid Bear Stearns, then forced Lehman Brothers to fail when it was in a near-identical predicament. They brokered sales of several large banks, then quasi-nationalized insurer AIG, wiping out shareholders in the process. The lack of predictability, in our view, made the panic much worse than it would otherwise have been if they had used a consistent playbook. Europe potentially risks similar if SRM is applied haphazardly. 4. How will regulators handle possible unintended consequences on other institutions? After the bail-in, investors fled Spain's smallest publicly traded bank, worried it would be the next shoe to drop-and resurrecting questions over whether SRM would make bail-ins a self-fulfilling prophecy. While its shares eventually recovered somewhat after market regulators implemented a ban on short-selling it, easing the speculative frenzy, it still shows how the SRM isn't guaranteed to prevent panic. Nothing is, but it is conceivable that if the ECB isn't ready to act as lender of last resort, SRM could serve as a playbook for future bank runs. In our view, none of these questions should diminish the potential for eurozone Financials stocks over the foreseeable future. They are much longer term and might not come to a head for years or even decades, depending on when the next financial crisis occurs-impossible to know today. So for now, we too can appreciate the immediate reduction in uncertainty, and we think the confidence boost is a positive for eurozone stocks. But we would encourage investors to bear these questions in mind the next time the eurozone must deal with a raft of bank failures. TODAYS WORD is exponential (ek-spoh-nen-shuh l). Example: There was an exponential increase in the circumference of trouser cuffs in the 1960s and 1970s. WEDNESDAYS WORD was divisive. It means tending to cause disagreement or hostility between people. Example: The decision to hold the meditation seminar next to the train whistle enthusiasts convention was divisive, to say the least. Juneteenth celebration On Saturday, the Old School Gang will celebrate Juneteenth from 3-6 p.m. at the Twin Rock Charity League Center at 570 Mary Hunter Drive in Bassett. The event will feature an ancestors recognition service, a heritage presentation, an ancestors history quiz and other highlights. All proceeds will help buy Christmas and Kwanzaa meals for 15 families with children. 60 seats are available and tickets are $10. For more information, contact Old School Gang President James Esters at 629-1340. BHS reunion committee seeks classmates The Bassett High School Class of 1977 Reunion Committee is searching for classmates. If you are a member of that class or know someone who is, go to Facebook.com and search for the John D. Bassett High School Class of 1977 Reunion for more information. Country breakfast Sanville Ruritan Club will have a country breakfast from 6-10 a.m. Saturday at the club building. Meals will cost $6 each, and include sausage, bacon, eggs, apples, hashbrowns, biscuits, gravy, coffee and orange juice. Take-out plates will be available, and call-in orders will be accepted. For more information, call 340-4587. TODAY IS: National Lobster Day Today is a good day to celebrate (or perhaps eat) the noble lobster. With a maximum weight of about 45 pounds, the lobster is the heaviest crustacean in the world. While a live lobster is usually greenish brown in color, over the years, lobstermen have caught a number of lobsters with unusual color variations. One genetic mutation causes about one out of every two million lobsters to be blue. Another mutation can cause yellow lobsters the odds are about one in 30 million. Rarest of all are albino lobsters, which are estimated at one in 100 million. TRIVIA QUESTION: In the early 2000s, Apple released the iBook G3 laptop. About 12-18 months after purchase, iBook G3 owners began reporting an unusual problem with their laptops. What was the problem? WEDNESDAYS TRIVIA ANSWER: The bristlemouth is an unassuming and fairly unattractive little fish. It grows to about three inches long, and it is usually found at ocean depths exceeding 1,000 feet. While it doesnt make much of an impression, it does have a surprising claim to fame. What is unusual about the bristlemouth? The answer: It is believed that there are more bristlemouth on Earth than any other kind of fish. In fact, there may be more bristlemouth on Earth than any other vertebrate (possessing a backbone) genus. Scientists believe that the total number of bristlemouth could be as much as one quadrillion. To put that in perspective, the average American working full-time would have to work 250 million years to earn 1 quadrillion pennies. NORTHAMPTON -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield had 21 unused churches to sell six years ago following a wave of closures. Now it's down to nine one-time sanctuaries considered surplus and listed for sale. And if efforts in Northampton are successful, the list could fall to seven. Mayor David Narkewicz took to social media this week promoting the former St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 3 Elm St., to potential developers. calling all developers: dioscese seeking buyers for St. Mary's parish property in vibrant downtown #NorthamptonMA https://t.co/lRPKps2SQH David Narkewicz (@MayorNarkewicz) June 13, 2017 His interest came a few months after the diocese formally put the 1.5-acre property, valued at more than $2 million, on the market. "Obviously, we would like to see it redeveloped in a way that would fit with the history and the character of the building as well as the downtown," he said. Narkewicz said he's toured the building with city economic development staff and met with the diocese and its real estate agent. Narkewicz's advocacy came as the diocese is in the "final throes" of negotiations and due diligence on the way to selling the former St. John Cantius Parish at 10 Hawley St., also in Northampton, said diocese spokesman Mark E. Dupont. Developers Michael R. Sacenti of East Longmeadow, a principal with New England Urban Senior Living, and David L. Sanders, founder of HPD Cambridge in St. Louis, plan to build about 60 one- and two-bedroom senior living apartments at the Hawley Street site. Narkewicz said the St. John Cantius project has received its permits and is an example of what he'd like to see happen at St. Mary's. The main church building will be preserved, he said, keeping the historic look and feel of the neighborhood and saving the building for those who have a deep attachment to it. The diocese closed 65 Roman Catholic churches in the 2000s. Of those, the diocese put 13 church buildings to use, often as sites for new, merged parishes. The diocese had 21 churches for sale in June 2010, but not all the closed churches are on the market. For example, the fate of Mater Dolorosa Church at Lyman and Maple streets in Holyoke is still a matter of contention. The dioceses says it's in a dangerous state of near collapse and has tried and failed to get a demolition permit while also talking with a community group looking to buy it. The diocese, which covers Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties, doesn't like to discuss the sale of real estate in detail before deals are final. But Dupont expressed some satisfaction that the properties -- which can be hard to convert to other uses and thus tough to sell -- are moving on the market. "We have done remarkably well in what has been a challenging real estate market over the years," Dupont said. In West Springfield and in the Willimansett section of Chicopee, the diocese has been able to sell buildings to other churches. "Those are good sales for us," Dupont said. Proceeds from the sales go to the parish that takes over the territory of the closed church, he said. The following former Catholic churches are listed for sale on the website of Colebrook Reality Services in Springfield. Colebrook handles the diocese's real estate sales. Churches are listed with their former religious names. St. John Cantius: St. Mary of the Assumption Church: Holy Family St. Catherine of Alexandria St. Mary's The Morning Star Holy Trinity Church: St. Bartholomew: St. Thomas: St. Francis Cabrini: In addition, the diocese is looking to rent out a school and to sell off a rectory: St. Mary Elementary School: Blessed Sacrament Rectory The 10,544 square-foot St. Mary of the Assumption Church was built in 1881 and the adjacent 4,860-square-foot rectory was built in 1910. Northampton has assessed each building at just over $1 million, for a total of more than $2 million. The property covers just under 1.5 acres at the intersection of Elm and State streets. In 2009, the diocese consolidated its Northampton parishes -- St. John Cantius, St. Mary's and Blessed Sacrament, which is also on Elm Street -- into one place of worship at the former Sacred Heart Parish on King Street. The church is now called St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. The St. Mary's property is in a prominent location on busy Route 9, overlooking the bustling downtown. It is adjacent to Smith College and catercorner from the Academy of Music. Smith has no plans to acquire the property, said Stacey Schmeidel, the college's director of media relations. "We look forward to a positive relationship with the new owner," she said. Meanwhile, some Catholic church properties in Connecticut likely will come on the market soon. The Archdiocese of Hartford has announced plans to close 26 of its 212 parishes, including St. Martha in Enfield. The Hartford diocese said it will try and put those buildings to new uses, but may sell some of them. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment that would strengthen sanctions against Russia as a punishment for its campaign to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The provision also would require congressional review if the White House decides to relax, suspend or terminate sanctions already in place. The bipartisan agreement came in the form of an amendment to legislation the Senate already is considering on sanctions for Iran. That legislation is expected to have strong support when it goes to the full Senate, and then would have to pass the House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump. It strengthens existing sanctions targeting Russian energy projects, while imposing new sanctions on those involved in serious human rights abuses, supplying weapons to the Syrian government, carrying out malicious cyber activities and doing business with Russian intelligence and defense. SPRINGFIELD -- TechSpring, Baystate Health's digital health care laboratory in downtown Springfield, has received $80,000 in state money from the the Massachusetts Digital Health Initiative. Christian Lagier, managing director of TechSpring, said the money will help pay for the lab to do more outreach efforts, like its "Tap into TechSpring" networking events and its practice of opening its offices in the MassLive Building at 1350 Main St. in Springfield as co-working space for startups. He calls it innovation community building. "From day one it has been our goal to open up the health system and connect it with the community," Lagier said. "Things continue to go in the right direction. All curves are up. We continue to do more projects. We are having more impact on the health care system and we have more people in the space." Founded in 2014, TechSpring works with entrepreneurs on ways to get health care technology to fade into the background and take up less time. The goal is to have systems that a doctor or nurse can use while interacting with a patient or that facilitate communication. An example is a new mobile app for doctors to make medical records easier to update. Another app lets obstetricians and maternity nurses keep better tabs on women with high-risk pregnancies and to give these expectant moms more feedback and advice as they progress toward delivery. TechSpring has hosted business showcases featuring things like a mobile app that teaches kids how to manage allergy symptoms. It makes a game of avoiding certain foods and making sure life-saving medicine is on hand. Boston-based 3Derm, one company at the last showcase in April, created a robot dermatologist that can take a 3-D image of a spot on a patient's skin and get it checked out remotely by a specialist. This cuts down on the wait times for busy dermatologists. TechSpring's advantage in the world of digital health care is that it can link innovators with Baystate Health, its doctors and its hospitals and medical practices. This gives the innovators a real-world testing ground covering both urban and rural health care settings. TechSpring also partners with Valley Venture Mentors and its small-business development programs and accelerators in Springfield. The Massachusetts Digital Health Initiative is a public-private partnership to accelerate the competitiveness of the state's digital health care industry. It brings together leaders from technology, health care and government to address gaps in the digital health care ecosystem. The PULSE@MassChallenge digital health hub in Boston will also receive $170,000 from the initiative. Gov. Charlie Baker made the grant announcements Wednesday during the PULSE@MassChallenge Finale event at Boston's Wilbur Theater. The event celebrated the class of 31 startups that participated in the organization's inaugural accelerator program. "Baystate Health's TechSpring is supporting and facilitating the growth of innovations which will make our health care system more efficient and accessible," state Sen. James T. Welch, D-West Springfield, said in a statement. "This grant funding will allow the innovators at TechSpring to build on the work they've been doing and ensure Springfield has a strong foothold in the emerging digital health industry." State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, said in a statement: "Supporting Baystate Health's TechSpring health care innovation center is key to keeping Springfield as a regional player for future digital health care companies starting or moving to Massachusetts, thanks to the Baker administration." State Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said in a statement: "Digital Health Initiatives improve health care quality and create economic growth in this robust tech sector. It's great that Western Massachusetts is part of this health care revolution." (Updated at 8 p.m. to include Elizabeth Banks' apology) Pittsfield actress-director Elizabeth Banks caused a stir after criticizing blockbuster director Steven Spielberg for never making a movie with a female lead. "I went to 'Indiana Jones' and 'Jaws' and every movie Steven Spielberg ever made," said Banks after accepting an award on Tuesday night from the non-profit Women in Film. "And by the way, he's never made a movie with a female lead... Sorry, Steven, I don't mean to call your ass out, but it's true." Movie-lovers were quick to pounce. In 1974, Spielberg's first theatrical film,"The Sugarland Express," starred Goldie Hawn. Eleven years later, he directed Whoopi Goldberg in the Oscar-winning "The Color Purple." His last film, "BFG," starred Ruby Barnhill and his upcoming movie, "The Papers," features Meryl Streep as the country's first female newspaper publisher, Kay Graham of The Washington Post. Banks tweeted an apology on Thursday night, posting "I messed up. When referring to Steven Spielberg at the Women in Film awards, I framed my comments inaccurately. I want to be clear from the start that I take full responsibility for what I said and I'm sorry. ... When I made the comments, I was thinking of recent films Steven directed, it was not my intention to dismiss the import of the iconic #TheColorPurple.". Elizabeth Banks "I went to every movie Steven Spielberg ever made" Except to the one with Black People, huh @ElizabethBanks?#TheColorPurple 990-6907XB71 (@kinoptika) June 15, 2017 @ElizabethBanks So the The Color Purple was a flop? Saints (@SaintsBoro) June 15, 2017 The annual Seoul International Book Fair kicked off at COEX in southern Seoul on Wednesday. The event aims to bring a breath of fresh air to Korea's publishing industry and further promote reading to the public. Book reading in Korea has been declining to the point that people do not even read a single book a month. Last year, the average Korean read a total of 8.7 books a year, down one from the previous year. To try and reverse this trend, the fair provides various special exhibitions as well as seminars. When Jim Ahrens noticed he had faster, more reliable internet service he didnt conjure up a catchy history-making line that would shame telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bells "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." Instead, the lobbyist who lives north of Craig in a home touching the Missouri River sent a note to the states Public Service Commission, thanking them and letting them know the new fiber optic internet was up and running. Twelve years after Ahrens and some other residents along the Missouri River between Cascade and Craig approached providers about improving telephone service, fiber optic internet is trickling in, replacing a copper wire system. Ahrens noticed his internet improve on June 2, his neighbors, the Misners learned about it the day before. Phil Drake , [email protected] Full Story: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2017/06/12/residents-welcome-new-broadband-lines-near-dearborn/390401001/ Working parents of young children pay dearly for child care in Montana. A recent analysis from the Montana Budget and Policy Center pegged the annual average cost of full-time care for a 4-year-old at nearly $8,000 a year. Low-income families all too often find high-quality preschools out of reach; regardless of income, those who live in Montanas most rural communities have similarly limited options. So we should all applaud Montanas recent progress on expanding quality preschool programs. Hopefully, these first shaky steps will lead to more stable footing that will soon allow Montanas preschools to be off and running. Full Editorial: http://missoulian.com/opinion/editorial/montana-in-midst-of-expanding-quality-preschool/article_90f0e935-8e4e-52f7-81bf-b7d5199b9107.html A fellow student said the suspect, identified as Kim, "was usually reticent," and the professor "is a rational person" but "meticulous when he examines his students' theses." The suspect reportedly told police that the professor, who was his supervisor, had scolded him over his thesis. "We're investigating what precisely motivated him," police said. Police on Wednesday sought an arrest warrant for a graduate student at Yonsei University who is accused of parcel-bombing his professor. Kim told police that he had planned the attack after seeing a recent bombing attack in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the St. Petersburg attack, an improvised explosive device packed with steel scrap, glass shards and ball bearings blew up in a subway car, killing 14 people and injuring about 50 others. Kim made an improvised explosive device with a cocktail shaker packed with gunpowder and bolts and installed a detonator and a trigger on the outside. Kim had visited St. Petersburg with other students on May 13-22 for a short-term training program sponsored by a Russian academic organization. Kim told police that he had made the device with his own expertise without using online instructions because they are mostly for more powerful explosives. He bought gunpowder from a stationery shop and stole bolts and the cocktail shaker from the school lab. Kim have arrived at the lab to work at 3 a.m. Tuesday, and returned home after leaving the IED in front of his professor's office around 7:40 a.m. He told police that he went to the lab in the early morning to create an alibi. At just 188 square feet, or 17.5 square metres, that works out to a staggering $3,500 per square foot. To put things in context, apartments in New York went for an average price of $1,750 per square foot, in mid-2016. BY YVETTE TAN Full Story: http://mashable.com/2017/06/15/hongkong-parking-lot/?utm_cid=hp-h-3#TB.mwZ2qhmq4 Wednesday in Helena, a Montana based charity The Montana Guardian Fund http://www.montanaguardianfund.com was launched dedicated to providing financial assistance to the families of fallen law enforcement officers. The launch of the charity coincidentally comes about a month after Broadwater County Sheriffs Deputy Mason Moore was shot and killed in the line of duty. Moore leaves behind a wife and three children who not only have to mourn a loss, but deal with a financial burden of a sudden loss. That is where The Guardian Fund hopes to step in. "So many people I think probably see a tragedy like the death of Deputy Moore and say I wish I could help I wish there was something I could do. We see the Guardian Fund as something you know that could coincide with that," said Sheriff Tony Harbaugh from Cuter County. Organizers hope to raise $2 million over the next year. The charitys website is not quite ready yet organizers recommend going to your local sheriffs department with any questions or donations to avoid falling for a scam. Checks can be mailed to: P.O. Box 1182 Miles City, MT 59301. By Alyssa Flores Full Story: http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/35667832/new-charity-supports-mt-fallen-officers *** New Non-Profit Provides Funds to Families of Fallen Montana Officers The Montana Guardian Fund http://www.matr.net/article-77454.html Technical support offered by the U.S. Department of Energy and several other organizations could help the city of Missoula achieve the goals of its climate plan, becoming carbon neutral by its self-imposed deadline of 2025. To get there, however, the city will need to reduce the energy consumed by several municipal buildings, such as City Hall and the Missoula Art Museum, and consider a future investment in renewable resources and potential offsets. Getting there would save local taxpayers money in the long-term and position the city as a leader in fighting climate change, even as Washington looks the other way. By Martin Kidston Full Story: http://www.missoulacurrent.com/outdoors/2017/06/missoula-energy-carbon-goals/ *** Lefty Cities Say They Want to Fight Climate Change, but Wont Take the Most Obvious Step to Do It http://www.matr.net/article-77474.html *** Missoula, Montanas Mayor Engen joins 292 climate mayors pledging to implement Paris Accord locally By Sherry Devlin Full Story: http://www.missoulacurrent.com/outdoors/2017/06/missoula-climate-change-mayors-letter-engen/ On Tuesday, June 13, the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) announced the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce as a finalist for the distinction of Chamber of the Year. Chamber of the Year is the nations only award that recognizes the leadership role chambers have in their communities. The Kalispell Chamber was notified as eligible to receive the award in March 2017 based on its demonstrated organizational strength and localized impact on key community priorities such as education, transportation, business development, tourism, and quality of life. "Its a special honor to be recognized by the Chambers national trade association for the work our organization performs in this community," said Joe Carbonari, chairman of the Kalispell Chambers Board of Directors. Eligible chambers across the nation are assessed into one of four different categories based on performance areas such as net revenue, membership retention, and area population. The Kalispell Chamber submitted an application that examined the organizations strategic goals, sound financial practices, organizational structure, communication strategies, and community betterment projects. The application was scored by a panel of ACCE staff and volunteer chamber executives, which landed the Kalispell Chamber as one of three finalists in Category 2 sized chambers and one of just 15 chambers total who are selected as finalists. There are approximately 7,000 chambers of commerce across the country. In addition, the Kalispell Chamber was also announced on Wednesday, June 14 as a Grand Award winner for ACCES Award in Communication Excellence. The winners of Chamber of the Year and the overall winner for the Award in Communication Excellence will be announced at the ACCE National Convention on July 18 in Nashville, Tennessee. On Monday, congressman-elect Greg Gianforte pleaded guilty to assaulting Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs and was sentenced to 40 hours of community service. On May 24, the night before the election, Gianforte threw Jacobs to the ground and punched him in response to a question about the Republican health-care plan. That night, his campaign released a statement claiming that the "liberal journalist" had grabbed Gianfortes wrist and caused them both to fall. That statement was not true. It was presented by Gianforte spokesman Shane Scanlon and flatly contradicted, in the hours that followed, by a Fox News crew that had been in the room and seen the attack. Kids, remember the moral of this story: If youre going to falsify your account of a crime, make sure there are no witnesses. The Republican Party seems to have learned that lesson. According to the McClatchy news organization, GOP strategists hope to make the 2018 midterm elections a referendum on the media. Without a prominent Democrat to position themselves against, they plan to direct voters hostility against reporters and news organizations. "If you can pick a fight with them," consultant David Woodard told McClatchy, "I think it kind of helps you, and I dont think many people care." By Dan Brooks Full Story: https://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/do-you-want-an-anti-media-gop-controlling-your-news/Content?oid=4335687 Three new affordable apartment buildings open in Missoula Montana Department of Commerce http://commerce.mt.gov/ Director Pam Haxby-Cote http://commerce.mt.gov/About/WelcomeMessage spoke Wednesday with a crowd gathered at the grand opening of Missoulas Sweetgrass Commons, a new 27-unit affordable, accessible, and sustainable housing community. "We all know that the availability of affordable housing is a key ingredient to growing Montanas economy," Haxby-Cote said. "This new development will provide opportunities for hard working people and their families to be able to afford to live in the heart of Missoula." For the next 46 years, Sweetgrass Commons will remain affordable for families earning between 40-60 percent of Area Median Income. That means that people earning about $14.20/ hour ($29,580/year) or less can afford to live and work in the downtown area. The property is close to public transit, grocery stores, schools, and community spaces. Full Story: http://commerce.mt.gov/News/PressReleases/commerce-celebrates-opening-of-100-affordable-homes Le sujet de la violence domestique a ete au centre du debat lors de louverture des travaux parlementaire du 24 septembre 2019 au parlement. Reponse PNQ sur la violence domestique du 24 septembre 2019. (19,5 KiB, 309 hits) Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Six South Korean citizens are being held captive in North Korea, according to the government's latest assessment. Three of the six are North Korean defectors who have South Korean passports. Some were kidnapped by North Korean agents while either proselytizing or helping defectors on the Chinese side of the border. But Kim Jung-wook, a Baptist missionary, was arrested in October 2013 after sneaking into North Korea from Dandong, China in a crackpot mission to spread the gospel. He was charged with spying and sentenced to life in prison. Kim Kuk-gi and Choi Chun-gil, also both South Korean missionaries, were also charged with spying in 2014 and sentenced to life. Kim Won-ho, a defector who became a missionary, was abducted on the Chinese side of the border in March last year, as was Koh Hyon-chol in May. He was paraded before the state media in July that year. Another defector with South Korean citizenship was also abducted around the same time. Another presumably human bone fragment was found in the third-floor restaurant area of the wreck of the ferry Sewol on Wednesday. Last Friday, a bone fragment was also found there. The National Forensic Service will carry out DNA tests. The central area of the third floor has been frequently mentioned as one of the most likely places to find more remains of missing passengers who perished when the ferry sank in April 2014. The European Union's top economy official, France's Pierre Moscovici, said Greece has respected its commitments for economic reforms and that it is now time for its creditors to "take their's." Greece's European lenders agreed Thursday to release another $9.5 billion of a desperately needed bailout installment, while holding out the hope of debt relief. All sides reached a deal in Luxembourg Thursday after months of often bitter negotiations. The Greek people need to see the "light at the end of the tunnel of austerity," Moscovici said. Greece has implemented more tough spending cuts and tax hikes in exchange for the bailout installment. Without it, the country would have been facing possible bankruptcy next month. Greece has been demanding debt relief from its creditors, saying it can never get its economy growing again without some help. Germany, Greece's biggest lender, has opposed restructuring the Greek debt, insisting on more austerity. But as part of the compromise with Greece, eurozone ministers agreed to provide debt relief when the current bailout program ends next year. In a surprise move Thursday, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde announced she will recommend that the IMF join the Greek bailout. The IMF was part of the first two bailouts, but refused to be a part of the third until there was some kind of debt relief. Morgan County Veterans Day Parade slated Nov. 11 Audio Article The Morgan County Veterans Day Parade will be held on Friday, Nov. 11. The parade will form at the Commons, in McConnelsville, at 9:30 a.m. and set out at 10 a.m. The American Legion Post 24 will render honors at the monuments at the Commons, Riecker Building, the Square, at... A concert with two purposes Audio Article Wednesday, Nov. 30, a concert with dual purposes is being held at the Twin City Opera House in McConnelsville, Ohio. Its a thank-you to healthcare workers, who can attend for free, and its a benefit for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. In September 2021, Rick Shriver contracted COVID-19. He collapsed... BOE reminder of early voting hours and polling location change Audio Article Remaining early voting hours at the Morgan County Board of Elections are as follows: from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov, 2 through Friday, Nov. 4; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5; from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6; and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.... Lions Club announces annual Wreaths Across America Audio Article On Saturday, Dec. 17, the Chesterhill Lions Club will be joining with National Wreaths Across America in the laying of wreaths at each of the seven cemeteries located in Marion Township. The mission is to honor the local veterans who have served our nation so their families can rest assured... Governor DeWine awards $6.7 million for domestic violence survivor programs Audio Article Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced that he is awarding $6.7 million to support the work of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) to offer mobile and health advocacy services and temporary residential services for domestic violence survivors across the state. The announcement comes during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.... CDC committee vote wont change Ohio school vaccine requirement Audio Article Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA has released the following statement: The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation for the COVID-19 vaccine to be added to the formulary or schedule of vaccines for children does not mandate this vaccine for school children. Ohio law determines... Panama opens new chapter with China From:Xinhua | 2017-06-14 09:35 PANAMA established diplomatic ties with China yesterday, with the government of the Republic of Panama recognizing there is but one China in the world and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory. In Panama, President Juan Carlos Varela announced the change, which entails breaking off formal relations with Taiwan, saying in a televised address that it represents the correct path for our country. At the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Panamanian Vice President and Foreign Minister Isabel de Saint Malo signed a joint communique establishing diplomatic relations, followed by a champagne toast. The communique says Panama and China are recognizing each other and establishing ambassadorial-level relations the same day. The government of the Republic of Panama recognizes that there is but one China in the world, that the government of the Peoples Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory, the communique reads. Wang said he was sure relations between the two countries would have a bright future. Saint Malo said she hoped the new relationship would lead to trade, investment and tourism opportunities. The communique says China and Panama, in keeping with the interests and desires of both their peoples, have decided to recognize each other and establish diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level. The two governments agree to develop friendly relations between the two countries on the basis of the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each others internal affairs, equality, mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence, the communique says. It says Panama severs diplomatic relations with Taiwan as of this day and undertakes not to have any more official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan. The communique also says the Chinese government appreciates this position of the government of Panama. At a press briefing, Wang said Panama is an important Latin American country and the Chinese people value the traditional friendship with the Panamanian people. He said the political decision made by Varela and his government meets the fundamental interests of the country. Both China and Panama agreed that the one-China principle is the fundamental premise and the political basis on which the two countries can establish diplomatic ties and develop bilateral relations, Wang said. We both agreed that the establishment of bilateral ties will bring broad prospects for us to expand the comprehensive cooperation of mutual benefits, he said. The two sides will engage in friendly exchanges of various levels and areas, and deepen political mutual trust, Wang said, adding that China welcomes Panamas active participation in the Belt and Road initiative. They will also have communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, help deepen friendly cooperation between China and Latin America as well as the Caribbean area, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and promote peace, stability and development in the world, he said. Saint Malo said the decision to establish ties with China was made on the basis of the two countries interests, and both sides will chart a roadmap for developing bilateral ties. It will open a new chapter for relations, she said. She said Varela had directed government departments to discuss cooperation in tourism, trade, culture, immigration, agriculture, education and maritime affairs, and set the stage for developing bilateral trade. Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be distressing not only for the person involved, but also for their friends, family, and coworkers. We have located the best cancer blogs that provide groundbreaking treatment news, general information, and support for everyone impacted by cancer. Share on Pinterest Cancer blogs provide support for individuals with cancer, as well as their friends and families. According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2016, around 1,685,210 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the United States, with around 595,690 people dying from the disease. Overall, 8.2 million cancer-related deaths were reported worldwide in 2012. The most common cancer types include breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, thyroid cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, endometrial cancer, and pancreatic cancer. Healthcare professionals are there, first and foremost, to give you accurate information about treatment strategies for your particular type of cancer. However, cancer associations, charities, and blogs are also useful sources of support, helping you to live beyond the disease. Here are Medical News Todays selection of the 10 best cancer blogs. CureSearch Share on Pinterest CureSearch for Childrens Cancer are a national nonprofit foundation that have played a significant role in breakthrough research for childrens cancer for more than 25 years. CureSearch are committed to putting an end to childhood cancer and helping children to receive cancer treatment, and their families to receive support. In the U.S., around 43 children are diagnosed with cancer every day. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children. CureSearchs blog celebrates those children who have survived cancer as well as detailing the experiences of children fighting the disease, along with their families. News of research that paves the way for new therapies is also included on the blog. CureSearchs blog includes first-hand accounts of cancer, such as Gabrielles experience of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Christians devotion to funding childrens cancer research after being diagnosed with Wilms tumor as a toddler, and Crystals narrative of her baby daughters diagnosis of bilateral retinoblastoma. Visit CureSearchs blog. A chemical currently being used to ward off mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus and a commonly used insecticide that was threatened with a ban in the United States have been associated with reduced motor function in Chinese infants, a University of Michigan study found. Researchers at the U-M School of Public Health and U-M Center for Human Growth and Development tested children in China and found exposure to the chemical naled via their mothers during pregnancy was associated with 3-4 percent lower fine motor skills scores at age 9 months for those in the top 25 percent of naled exposure, compared to those in the lowest 25 percent of exposure. Infants exposed to chlorpyrifos scored 2-7 percent lower on a range of key gross and fine motor skills. Girls appeared to be more sensitive to the negative effects of the chemicals than boys. Naled is one of the chemicals being used in several U.S. states to combat the mosquito that transmits Zika. Chlorpyrifos, around since the 1960s, is used on vegetables, fruit and other crops to control pests. Both are insecticides called organophosphates, a class of chemicals that includes nerve agents like sarin gas. They inhibit an enzyme involved in the nerve signaling process, paralyzing insects and triggering respiratory failure. However, they may adversely impact health through other mechanisms at lower exposure levels that are commonly encountered in the environment. In the children studied, naled affected fine motor skills or the small movements of hands, fingers, face, mouth and feet. Chlorpyrifos was associated with lower scores for both gross (large movements of arms and legs) and fine motor skills. "Motor delays in infancy may be predictive of developmental problems later in childhood," said first author Monica Silver, graduate student research assistant and research fellow in the School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences. "The findings may help inform policy as the debate over use of these chemicals continues." The only studies to date on naled health impacts have taken place in occupational settings, not with exposure in the general population, Silver says. Previous chlorpyrifos research has found ties to delayed motor development in children and a host of health issues for those who handle the chemical, including nausea, dizziness and convulsions. The U-M researchers examined the umbilical cord blood of about 240 mothers, looking for exposure to 30 different organophosphate insecticides, five of which showed up in at least 10 percent of the samples. In addition to naled and chlorpyrifos, they found methamidophos, trichlorfon and phorate. The cord blood was gathered from 2008-11 as part of a cohort study designed by co-author Betsy Lozoff of the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development to investigate the relationships between iron deficiency and infant neurodevelopment. The researchers followed the development of the babies using the well-known Peabody Developmental Motor Skill Assessment at 6 weeks and 9 months. No deficits were noted at 6 weeks. The test provides gross, fine and total motor scores, and more specific subtest results including reflexes, stationary (body control), locomotion (movement), grasping and visual-motor integration (eyes and hands coordinated). Use of the Peabody tool is unique to this study. Previous research in the environmental health field has primarily relied upon motor portions of larger developmental assessment tools, while this one focused strictly on motor skills, giving a more comprehensive view. Chlorpyrifos has been banned for residential use in the U.S. since 2000, and for all use in some European countries. In 2015, the Obama Administration proposed a total ban in the U.S. but two months ago the head of the Environmental Protection Agency determined there was not enough scientific evidence to support the action. While China is the world's largest user of pesticides, the researchers say exposure to the chemicals is a worldwide concern, especially as the U.S. and other countries brace for another season with the Zika virus. "Zika is a very serious public health threat. This information helps to highlight that the way we go about combating Zika and other vector-borne diseases needs to be thought out more completely in order to minimize other unintended consequences," said John Meeker, U-M professor of environmental health sciences who was senior author and principal investigator on the project. "For example, a focus on a more holistic integrated pest management approach may allow for the same or even improved effectiveness in reducing disease while using smaller amounts of these potentially harmful chemicals." Integrated pest management uses education and a range of other tactics to avoid insect infestations (e.g., get rid of standing water near homes), and taking precautions against getting bitten (e.g., avoiding out-of-doors in early morning or after dusk, wearing long-sleeved clothing). While exposure to chlorpyrifos and other pesticides used on crops is widespread and may be unavoidable in some situations, the research team said consuming organic produce when feasible, and thoroughly washing all fruits and vegetables before eating them can help to reduce exposure. The study was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Child Health and Development and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Article: Prenatal naled and chlorpyrifos exposure is associated with deficits in infant motor function in a cohort of Chinese infants, Monica K. Silver et al.,Environment International, doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2017.05.015, published online 8 June 2017. While premature babies sometimes display developmental impairments, a study by a group that includes a University of Florida researcher indicates that not all preemies perform poorly in school. The study examined birth and public school records of 1.3 million children born in Florida between 1992 and 2002 and found that premature infants in public schools often performed at levels comparable to children born at full term on tests of kindergarten readiness and standardized math and reading tests. In fact, the study showed that about two-thirds of those born extremely prematurely - at 23 to 24 weeks gestation - later were considered ready to enter kindergarten. Additionally, nearly 2 percent were categorized as "gifted" by middle school age. While these extremely premature babies often scored low on standardized tests, preterm infants born 25 weeks or later performed only slightly lower than full-term infants. In fact, as the length of pregnancy increased after 28 weeks, the differences in test scores were negligible. The study is published in JAMA Pediatrics by a group led by a team of Northwestern University physicians and economists that also includes Jeffrey Roth, Ph.D., research professor emeritus in the UF College of Medicine's department of pediatrics' division of neonatology. "The conventional wisdom is that extreme prematurity is very deleterious to educational accomplishment," said Roth. "The fact that two thirds of these kids showed up ready to start school is very reassuring. When physicians talk with parents about the prospects for their newborn infant, they can say that some very premature babies do brilliantly. That's comforting to both parents and physicians." The study's lead author echoed those thoughts. "What excites me about this study is that it changes the focus for the clinician and families at the bedside from just focusing on the medical outcomes of the child to what the future educational outcomes might be for the child born early," said Craig Garfield, M.D, also an attending physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and an associate professor of pediatrics and of medical social sciences at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine. The study examined birth certificates from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics for all babies born from 23 to 41 weeks' gestation. Researchers then matched the certificates with Florida public school records from the Florida Department of Education. Those included scores on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test, or FCAT, for students in third through eighth grade. Roth said Florida's willingness to link health and education data makes it an ideal location for conducting this kind of longitudinal analysis and one of the few places in the United States where such a large study could take place. Roth acknowledged that a weakness of studies that use these kinds of administrative data sets is that birth and school records do not contain other information about important events in a student's life that may affect cognitive performance. "We have a snapshot at birth and we have a snapshot at school," he said. "We don't yet have a lot of information about what happened in between: What illnesses did these premature children contract? Did they live near a toxic waste site? How good was their pre-school? What elements in their environment could be optimized to help them develop academically over the long term?" While the study noted that degree of prematurity was associated with worse educational outcomes, Roth said the results were generally encouraging in that most babies born extremely premature end up performing reasonable well in school. "Our future work in this area will focus on what parents and service providers can do to help future premature children to achieve their full potential," Garfield said. The study was led by faculty members at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and the Institute for Policy Research in Evanston. Funding support was provided by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the Smith Richardson Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. Advertisement Entry Into the Nervous System Transformation of the Endocrine Cells Identifying a Biomarker Parkinson's Disease Dr. Rodger Liddle, who is the senior author of the study, said that there was abundant evidence obtained about the presence of deformed alpha-synuclein present in the gut even before it is identified in the brain, though the mechanism behind the misfolding was unknown. The gastroenterologist said that this study provided conclusive evidence that Parkinson's disease developed in the gut rather than the brain.Alpha-synuclein has been in the center of a lot of research as it is one of the important components of lewy bodies, which are the protein deposits that are present in the brain cells of Parkinson's disease patients, killing the brain cells from inside. Alpha-synuclein has a spiral structure which is disrupted and becomes sticky, leading to aggregation.The major hurdle that the research team from Duke University had to overcome was to identify how thetraveled past the intestine, where there are no nerve cells, into the central nervous system. The research team sought to answer this in their study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (2015), which detailed how the endocrine glands in the gut, which are primarily associated with digestion, also have nerve like properties.These endocrine glands present in the gut communicate with the nervous system by physically connecting with the nerve cells, instead of communicating indirectly using hormones. This provides a channel of communication, which was demonstrated by a time lapse video put together by the research team. The endocrine cells moved towards the neurons within a span of a few hours and established connection with them, which was demonstrated by the development of fibers between them.The most startling aspect of the video developed by Liddle and colleagues was that the endocrine cells began to behave like nerve cells, even though they were not nerve cells. This showed that the endocrine cells could establish a direct communication mechanism with the nervous system and the brain. This insight into the mechanism of movement of the misfolded alpha synuclein into the brain was possible due to the discovery of alpha-synuclein in endocrine cells.The next step in this research being conducted by Dr. Liddle and his research team is to isolate the gut endocrine cells from Parkinson's disease patients and to identify if the misfolded alpha-nuclein protein is present in these cells. This will help in determining if alpha- synuclein is afor the development of Parkinson's disease.The misfolded protein could also be used as a target for future therapy for Parkinson's disease, though there are already research studies that are associated with preventing the folding of alpha synuclein they are only in the initial stages of study, there is currently no effective treatment measures for Parkinson's disease.Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the central nervous system which leads to a progressive movement disability. The disease primarily affects thepresent in the nervous system and current treatment measures are focused on delaying the progression of the disease.An understanding of the mechanism of development of this disease will help in developing therapeutic strategies that prevent the progression of the disease and could improve symptoms associated with the condition. There are more thanwith this condition, however, lack of effective treatment affects the quality of life lead by these patients. Identifying the biomarker for the condition will help in developing therapeutic strategies to prevent this condition.Source: Medindia Advertisement "This new agent is intensely accumulated in pancreatic cancer and finds very small metastases with PET/CT imaging," explained Christian Lohrmann, MD, lead author of the study from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY."There are promising data that HuMab-5B1 could become a theranostic drug used in both targeted imaging and therapy, which could eventually improve the prognosis for pancreatic cancer patients."The researchers evaluated the antibody with and without radiolabeling with zirconium-89 (89Zr-DFO-HuMab-5B1).With further validation, 89Zr-DFO-HuMab-5B1 could lead to a host of improvements in pancreatic cancer management--more accurate staging of tumors, better surgical guidance, restaging of metastases and potential drug selection for CA 19-9 targeted therapies.The high uptake of the antibody alone suggests that it could be used by itself, or radiolabeled, or coupled with another molecular compound to treat high-risk pancreatic tumors that are inoperable or metastatic.For this study, nine patients with CA 19-9-positive metastatic malignancies underwent a series of four whole-body PET/CT scans one the first day of injection with the imaging agent, then again on day two and around days four and seven.Subjects also received a diagnostic computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis within the four weeks leading up to baseline PET/CT. Results of the CT scan were used to verify the results of 89Zr-DFO-HuMab-5B PET/CT imaging.Maximum standard uptake values normalized for body weight were analyzed for agent uptake in tumors. The agent was well tolerated and led to no serious side effects.Significant uptake was detected in local tumor recurrences as well as in metastases (for example in the lymph nodes, lungs, bone and peritoneum lining of the abdominal cavity). Uptake was analyzed for a total of 52 lesions. Highest uptake was shown on day seven in the lymph nodes.Results of the study showed that PET/CT imaging with the monoclonal antibody led to the detection of tiny tumors in the peritoneum and mesenteric lymph nodes that were not found by CT alone.Source: Eurekalert Forget about crossing the seven seas to travel to Paris, London, or Spain. On home ground, we just got the country's first ever astronomy resort. Do you even know what that means? It simply means, now we get to take our love for the stars to a whole other level of gazing! Nicholas Buer for National Geographic Located in Rajasthan, Astroport Sariska lies quietly between the Aravalli range and the Sariska National Park. Because of it being the second darkest sight in the country, the newly opened resort makes for the best option to us to observe the dance of the stars, planets and other celestial objects in the night sky. Complete with professional Dub telescopes, cameras and binoculars, the resort is all set to cater to the astronomical and whimsical fantasies of their guests. And you can take it up a few notches by making your own telescope and sundial from scratch to figure out your own zodiac signs and the current cycle in your zodiac. Who needs astrologers anymore? And because there's a national park located just next door, you can spend your days amidst the wildlife of the land. Astroport Sariska Astroport in its larger view aims at providing employment or creating entrepreneurs in the field of astronomy. Astroports are fully equipped to execute these trainings and provide certifications that can be used later to earn a livelihood, reads the information on their website. The resort currently offers two types of accommodations for its guests. One is the Galaxia which houses two king-size beds which can accommodate up to six people at time. The total cost with meals here amounts to approximately INR 13,000. The second accommodation is the Nebula which has 8 queen-size beds and can accommodate anywhere up to ten people at a time. It is priced at INR 22,000, including meals. Astroport Sariska So, is you've been saving up for an incredibly breathtaking vacation, be it with someone special or with a bunch of close friends, this is where we suggest you should head. What can be more exhilarating really than spending a vacation amidst the wildlife, the desert and the stars? And let us know if you meet Beja Baruwala there we have a few queries for him. If you are a tourist travelling in India, chances are that you won't see a single monument or wall which does not reek of romance or creativity. It will either be some romantic Bablu or some love-stricken Pappu expressing their love for their significant other. In other cases you would usually see graffiti or paan stains filling up rest of the empty spaces. But, if you travel to Iceland, you will see something totally unexpected and bizarre to say the least. While, some of us are still novel to sexting and are hesitant about asking for nudes', there were some tourists who went a step ahead and carved their love for nudes' on an ancient hill. If you ever plan to visit country's famous moss-covered hills, chances are that you will come across these invaluable words Send Nudes' Esquire (Gunnar A Birgisson) These words were crafted by tearing clumps of moss from the ground' and have found its way to the hill near Nesjavellir, which is located on the south portion of the island. We don't know if we should call it the best or the worst part, but this graffiti' will supposedly stay there for decades, possibly at least 70 years, while the moss grows. Gunnar Birgisson, a tour guide who spotted this artwork told The Independent, I think someone was trying to be funny. He further added, But they don't realize they are vandalizing nature and possibly causing this to spread. So how did he figure that it's a work of tourists and not locals? He said that there are many words written on the hill and while some of them are in Icelandic, words like Life' and Send Nudes' suggests that it was done tourists. Max Pixel Well, a man has got do to what a man has got to do! We can't blame them for taking chances and trying their options out. So guys, let us know what is the craziest thing you have done as a tourist, and FYI stealing things from the hotel or pissing in the pool does not count. Alternate Foreign Minister G. Katrougalos carried out a working visit to Norway on 13 and 14 June, during which he met with his counterpart, European Affairs Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen. During their meeting they discussed a number of issues, including the future of Europe, proposals for social Europe, and the Brexit, as well as the EEA countries' funding mechanism, and in particular the cooperation programmes with Greece. The Alternate Foreign Minister also met with the Acting Minister of Immigration and Integration, Per Sandberg, whom he briefed on the latest developments in Greece and the European Union, and the two ministers exchanged views on the trends in and challenges of migration on a global level. Mr. Katrougalos also met with Labour Minister M. Bakke and attended a briefing by the Norwegian think-tank FAFO on the Norwegian social model and welfare state. Speaking at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), on the subject of "The future of Europe, Greek prospects and perspectives," Mr. Katrougalos stressed that "if the European Union is to continue to exist, it has to become more social and democratic." All of Mr. Katrougalos' meetings took place in an excellent atmosphere that reflects the high level of cooperation and exceptional bilateral relations between the two countries. Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a particular pleasure to be presenting, for the first time, the digital, interactive Greek Diaspora Map here in Thessaloniki, which has always been the heart of the Greek Diaspora. The Greek Diaspora Map is a unique digital record and representation of the Greek presence abroad and was initiated in 2015, with the assistance of the Foreign Ministry's missions abroad, whose personnel I want to thank publicly for their response. And I also want to thank South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX). As we implement a platform commitment we made two years ago, the Greek Diaspora along with others is gaining a modern, interactive and openly accessible tool, a vehicle for further strengthening its relations with the homeland, and a dynamic network for interaction between Greeks living abroad. Ladies and Gentlemen, In a multifaceted international environment, networking is one of the key skills and challenges of the 21st century; a need to which this initiative responds. The updating, gathering and recording of all the data regarding locations and addresses of the Greek communities, the organizations, clubs, associations, chambers of commerce, media outlets and other structures of Diaspora Hellenism, as well as of individual distinguished Greeks of the Diaspora, was carried out under the guidance of Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and was delivered to the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad. The database itself was developed by South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX), in the context of the broader "Greek Diaspora Project," which produced the first digital map of the Greek Diaspora. This map is a means of support for Greek scientists who, due to the economic crisis, moved abroad in their thousands, and it can help convert this 'brain drain' into 'brain circulation' between the Diaspora and the homeland, with the aim of capitalising on their experience and knowledge, and eventually bringing them back to our country. There are many benefits from the creation of this digital map, because, for the first time, the Greek Diaspora is depicted accurately and in real time in all its breadth. For this reason, I extend an open invitation to the Greek Diaspora to contribute to the effort and thus optimise the potential of the Greek presence beyond our country's borders. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Greek presence even in the farthest reaches of this world, which this map reminds us of, encourages us to fight back against every adversity. The survival of the Greeks of the Diaspora and their subsequent prosperity and progress in foreign environments are evidence of fortitude and faith. Ladies and Gentlemen, The government, and the prime minister in particular, attaches great importance to the promotion of Thessaloniki and the region of Southeast Europe as a centre of international political initiatives. And this is exhibited by tomorrow's Greece-Israel High Level Cooperation Council and the Greece-Cyprus-Israel trilateral summit meeting. Thus, in my assessment, conditions have matured for us to discuss the Government House and its use, and I would propose that it be the headquarters for all of the Diaspora organizations (World Council of Hellenes Abroad, Diaspora Museum) and, at the same time, that it be granted to the citizens of Thessaloniki as a centre for culture, tradition and the arts, with the participation of the local administration, the Vice-Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, and the University, within the framework of the government's more general policies. Ladies and Gentlemen, The digital map of the Greek Diaspora is part of a broader collaboration between the Foreign Ministry and the University of Oxford - SEESOX, which we will expand today with the signing of a relevant Memorandum of Cooperation. At the same time, however, it is a manifestation of educational and cultural diplomacy, which often travels more easily than tradition diplomacy. Educational and cultural diplomacy creates relationships with nations and peoples; relationships that exist beyond changes in governments and policy, and above all it is the only form of diplomacy that can reach young people and a wider range of people who are interested in culture. It speaks to people's hearts. Capitalising on our historical and cultural wealth, this digital map, like our institutional cooperation with internationally recognized academic institutions abroad, allows us to dynamically promote Greek studies as a foundation of Humanism and headspring of Western Civilization, and to pursue the establishing of university chairs of Ancient Greek, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at universities abroad. Our immediate next steps include the enrichment of the digital map with data from the Education Ministry (Greek community schools) and cooperation with the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Cyprus, so that we can make this into a digital map of all Hellenism. Ladies and Gentlemen, Cutting-edge technology, in-depth research and expertise from SEESOX and the political will and vision of the Foreign Ministry brought Hellenism closer together today. The only thing separating us anymore is the push of a button. It is my hope and wish that this digital map will bridge any distances and keep Greek communities vibrant in a digital galaxy. Thank you. The committee of experts will rectify the errors in the satellite survey of the areas conducted by the Forest department and Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre two months ago. BAD AXE With help from the state, Huron County is beefing up its indigent criminal defense services. If the state follows through with what it has promised, the new system should cost the county no more than $80,000, said Steve Allen, county corporate counsel, in an update to the Huron County Board of Commissioners this week. The county could save on time spent providing court-appointed attorneys by current court personnel when all of the new standards are in place, Allen told the Tribune. The changes are mandated by the state because of a 2008 study that showed the 10 Michigan counties examined met minimal constitutional requirements for indigent criminal defendants. Michigan was ranked 44th out of 50 states in per capita indigent defense spending. So in 2013, Gov. Rick Snyder signed the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act into law. It requires: Education and training for public defense counsel. Initial interviews and proper accommodations for those interviews. Investigators and experts to work on cases. Representation at first court appearance. Independence from the judiciary (judges will no longer appoint public defenders). A cap on public defender work loads. Review of assigned counsel. Economic incentives and disincentives. The county owes the state a plan for the first four requirements by Nov. 20. Allen has put together a work group to address the requirements that includes court personnel, local defense attorneys, staff from the Huron County Prosecutors Office, and Commissioner John Bodis, who chairs the safety committee. A sheriffs officer is also being kept up to speed on the need for security and confidentiality during interviews, Allen told the Tribune. The average cost for Huron County Circuit and District court-appointed counsel from 2010, 2011 and 2012 (minus what defendants paid back) was $80,000. Any costs for the new system exceeding $80,000 will be covered by the state. Allen said the state has also pledged funds for renovating a Polycom room in the jail to fix noise issues and make the door lockable. That room will be used for defendant/attorney interviews. If they dont pay it, we dont have to do it, Bodis told the board. A Polycom system can also be used in lieu of transporting prisoners from the jail to the courthouse. Of the available models used to apply the changes, Allen said, the county will start with a managed assigned counsel approach. That calls for a person or entity to administrate the system. That person would also make sure that the defense attorneys are educated. The administrator will decide whether the client qualifies for a court-appointed attorney, and will assign the attorney. Other options are: 1. The public defender office model, in which a county would hire a public defender and staff for a separate department, structured similarly to the prosecutors office. 2. A regional public defender office model, where for example, Huron could join with Tuscola and Sanilac counties in a single office. Allen said its best to start with an administrator and some staff to gauge costs before moving to another model, if necessary. He said the county will keep the people in the loop that weve been using. The county has already implemented part of the requirements, Allen told the Tribune. A lawyer is present for all indigent arraignments, and client/attorney interviews are conducted. Training and education for lawyers are also being implemented, he said. CARO One of the key players in making a decision on the location of the proposed new state hospital to replace the Caro Center in Tuscola County is facing manslaughter charges in connection with the Flint water crisis. State Attorney General Bill Schuette filed criminal charges against Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon as well as four others. As the director of the Health and Human Services Department, Lyon oversees the departments budget and makes operational decisions. If Lyon is found guilty, involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and/or a $7,500 fine. Besides manslaughter, Schuette also charged Lyon with misconduct in office, a felony, subject to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. Schuette along with Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, Flint Water Investigation Special Prosecutor Todd Flood, and Chief Investigator Andrew Arena announced the charges Wednesday. Tuscola County officials are concerned how the charges against Lyon would impact their efforts to convince him to support building the new state hospital in the county. Im not sure of how this (criminal) aspect will play out in making the decision of the hospitals location, said Tuscola County Controller Mike Hoagland. While this is going on, will he be suspended from duties? And, if so, who will make the decision on the location? Im concerned and worried about this with a decision on the state budget expected to be made soon. Since Tuscola County officials learned Gov. Rick Snyders proposed 2018 budget outlined $115 million to replace the 104-year-old Caro Center at 2000 Chambers Road with a new 200-bed psychiatric hospital, they have lobbied hard to have the next hospital built in their county. A packet of data and financial information to support keeping operations in Tuscola County was personally given to Lyon earlier this month by several county officials. According to State Rep. Edward Canfield, R-Sebewaing, he is not sure of the procedure for this situation, if Lyon can and will keep working as the case moves forward. With the presumption of innocent until proven guilty, I would think he would continue to work, said Canfield. And, Im sure there are others in his office who have been working with him on reviewing a location that could help. Ultimately, the governor will make the final decision on location. Schuette alleges the investigation showed Lyon received notice of a deadly Legionnaires Disease outbreak in Genesee County nearly one year before he informed the public, and after being informed about a potentially fatal health risk, Lyon allegedly deliberately failed to inform the public of thee outbreak, which resulted in the death of Robert Skidmore on Dec. 13, 2015, and others becoming ill. Its also alleged Lyon participated in covering up the source of Genesee Countys Legionnaires Disease outbreak by repeatedly attempting to prevent an independent researcher from looking into the cause of the outbreak. MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- The Pentagon will field its new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle to soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division and Marines with II Marine Expeditionary Force, officials said Wednesday. In early 2019, the Army will field 500 JLTVs to an infantry brigade combat team with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. At the same time, the Marine Corps will equip an infantry battalion with II MEF at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, with 69 JLTVs, officials from the JLTV program office said during a demonstration here to show off the U.S. military's robust new vehicle, which will replace about one third of the Humvee fleet. In August 2015, Oshkosh Corp. beat out Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense contractor, and AM General LLC, maker of the Humvee, for a $6.7 billion contract to build the first 17,000 JLTVs for the two services. Related content: "These were three very capable commercial companies that made some decisions about how to best provide those requirements. The government tested and evaluated them, and eventually we selected what we believe is the very best value for the taxpayer," said Army Col. Shane Fullmer, program manager for the Joint Program Office. The JLTV will come in two variants -- a two-seat utility version and a four-seat general purpose version. The two-seater has a payload of 5,100 pounds; the four-seater, 3,500 pounds. The four-seater can be configured into a Heavy Guns Carrier for crew-served weapons such as a .50 caliber machine gun, or a Close Combat Carrier armed with a TOW missile system. On the test track, program officials demonstrated the JLTV's relatively comfortable ride compared to the Humvee as it negotiated extremely rough terrain and steep, 60-degree grades. "The Humvee will beat you up so bad," said Peter Klema, a test technician with Oshkosh Defense, who spent 13 years in the Army as a mechanic. "After eight hours in a Humvee, you feel like you have been eight hours in a Humvee. In this, you feel like you have been driving in your car -- a lot less body fatigue." The JLTV has a significantly higher profile than the Humvee. The heavy, clamshell-style doors offer front and rear protection when open. Each seat is equipped with a five-point safety harness. "When we first developed the Humvee many years ago, it had great payload and great performance ... but no protection at all," Fullmer said. After entering combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, "we realized we needed more side and underbody protection," he said. "We were able to put on pretty proficient side protection, but because the way the Humvee was designed, it was very difficult to give any real, substantial level of underbody protection." Then came the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, which "gave very, very good side and underbody protection" but did not perform well in off-road conditions, Fullmer said. The JLTV combines the protection of the MRAP and the maneuverability of the later MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle with the transportability of the Humvee, he said. The JLTV program could be worth up to $30 billion, as the Army and Marine Corps plan to buy a total of nearly 55,000 of the combat vehicles. The Army plans to field more than 49,000 JLTVs. The Corps originally planned to buy 5,500 JLTVs, but Marine leaders are considering increasing the buy to 9,091 JLTVs, program officials said Wednesday. Both services will continue to use the Humvee, especially the ambulance variant since there is no ambulance version of the JLTV, Fullmer said. The Army continues to examine the possibility of an ambulance variant for the JLTV, but armoring the capsule on the back of the vehicle is a challenge because of the extra weight it adds, program officials say. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Related Video: The Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday shelved a proposal that would have cut the Individual Unemployability benefit for elderly and disabled veterans. "To withdraw this benefit from people who rely on that money would be very difficult to do," VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin said at a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing. Shulkin said that the proposal to cut IU came from an effort to make more efficient use of department funding, but it soon "became clear that this would be hurting some veterans, and I'm really concerned about that. I'm not going to pursue policies that hurt veterans." The proposal to cut the benefit, which VA officials said averages about $1,600 a month, to about 330,000 veterans provoked furious opposition from those receiving it and from veterans service organizations. Related content: The American Legion applauded "Secretary Shulkin's reversal on cutting funds" for the benefit. "Since the president's FY-18 Department of Veterans Affairs budget request was submitted, we have been inundated with calls by veterans and family members who expressed alarm over the proposed cuts to their benefits and livelihoods," Legion National Commander Charles E. Schmidt said in a statement. However, Carl Blake of the Paralyzed Veterans of America said he isn't sure that Shulkin has totally backed away from the IU cut proposal. He notes that the projected $3 billion in savings from the proposed IU cuts were slated to be used to expand the VA Choice program on private care. "If we assume that's not going to happen," he said of the proposed IU cuts, "that's $3 billion that has to be addressed. So where do we go from here?" John Rowan, national president of Vietnam Veterans of America, called on members of Congress and the VA to join in a public announcement that the IU cut proposal has been scrapped and will not be revived. He said such a move is necessary to ease the concerns of elderly vets who fear they could lose their homes from the loss of income. "They've been climbing the walls," he said. The veteran service organizations have been deluged with calls from IU recipients who urged them to fight the proposal. Carlos Fuentes, legislative director of the 1.7 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars, said VFW members had sent 40,000 letters of protest to members of Congress. He called the IU proposal an effort to "balance the budget on the backs of our nation's veterans." Members of Congress were apparently feeling the pressure. Earlier this week, a House Appropriations subcommittee began considering language on the VA budget but left the IU cut proposal out of the markup. On Monday, a letter from 57 members of Congress went to Shulkin urging him to kill the IU cut proposal, according to AMVETS. In a statement, AMVETS said the letter showed the organization was making progress in its efforts to kill the IU cuts that "would leave hundreds of thousands of disabled senior citizen veterans destitute, desperate, and at increased risk of homelessness and suicide." The proposal in President Donald Trump's $186.5 billion VA budget for fiscal 2018, an increase of six percent, would have changed eligibility rules for the IU program. Under current rules, the IU program awards payouts at the 100 percent disabled rate to veterans who cannot find work due to service-connected injuries, even if their actual rating decision is less than that. The proposal would have cut off IU benefits once the veteran reached the eligibility age for Social Security. In defending the proposed IU cuts last month to Congress, Shulkin said that the move was a "hard decision" but added, "I don't think we can continue to only expand services and not look at the ones we are delivering." The plan to cut financial support for aging and disabled vets triggered a flurry of emails to Military.com suggesting that there could be a political backlash for Trump if the cuts went ahead. "Make that guy in the White House keep his promise to all of us veterans, lest we all fall by the wayside and be left on the battlefield," said a former Army staff sergeant who served in Vietnam. "Please don't do this to us," said a sailor who served on ships in the Tonkin Gulf in Vietnam. "My wife and I already live our later years in constant uncertainty. We thought our VA benefits were fairly safe." "I have become aware that President Trump's VA budget sets to screw Vietnam veterans first in line by eliminating the unemployability benefit for those of us who actually served and sacrificed who have reached the age of Social Security benefits," said a former Navy lieutenant who flew the EP-3E version of the P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft in Vietnam. "What can we do? Based on this, veterans would be in better shape if a Democrat had been elected," said another vet. "I voted for Trump because of promises of helping the veterans, not taking away. I surely hope I don't regret voting for him." -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. After more than three months of congressional hearings and investigations surrounding allegations of Marines sharing nude images of female troops without their consent, the Marine Corps is getting ready to finalize charges against one service member. That Marine may go before a special court-martial, an intermediate-level trial reserved for those facing charges that carry a sentence of 12 months in confinement or less, according to information provided by the Marine Corps. Officials said they could not release additional identifying information or specifics about the charges, as they are still pending. It was reported in April that Master Sgt. Theophilus Thomas, 39, assigned to Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, was arrested by local authorities and charged with disclosure of private images. The Jacksonville Daily News reported that Thomas is accused of posting nude and partially clothed photos of a 24-year-old woman. It's not clear, however, whether Thomas' arrest falls under the scope of the broad Marine Corps effort to investigate and eradicate what is often called "revenge porn." Related content: Marine officials launched a wide-scale effort to investigate allegations of online non-consensual photo-sharing and other misogynistic behavior March 4. The effort came after a story by reporter Thomas Brennan revealed that a closed Facebook page, Marines United, had been used to share a drive full of compromising images, and that members of the page were even stalking female troops offline. In an address to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in The Service, or DACOWITS, on Wednesday, Naval Criminal Investigative Service Supervisory Special Agent Russ Alberti said NCIS has reviewed nearly 131,000 images on 171 web sites, determining that some 10,000 explicit images depicted members of the military. From those images, roughly 100 victims, meaning individuals whose compromising images were posted publicly, have been identified, Alberti said. The NCIS task force launched to do this work has been dubbed Task Force Purple Harbor, he said. "The name was selected to remind victims of the safe harbor and to indicate the joint, or purple, nature of the team," he said. For all this work, success at finding perpetrators has been muted. Agents never got access to the Marines United drive or verified any of the photos within it. And to date, just 65 active-duty Marines have been identified as candidates for punitive action. Of those, according to figures provided by the Corps, six are still under investigation by NCIS and Marine Corps Criminal Investigative Division, and 59 have been sent to their commanders for action, as their cases lacked sufficient evidence to prosecute. Of those 59, one has been administratively separated, five have received nonjudicial punishment, and 20 have received adverse administrative action of some kind. Another seven have been evaluated by their commanders and received no administrative action. Alberti said the cases are made more challenging by the fact that much of the online activity NCIS investigated was anonymous, and images were often duplicated and shared. While NCIS received a surge of reports of illicit Facebook activity involving troops when the investigation was made public, reporting has slowed to a trickle, he said. But while relatively few troops appear to face career repercussions for disturbing and objectionable online activity, the greater value of the efforts of Marine leadership may come in the attention they're drawing to an insidious cultural problem. "I've gone personally, as all my leaders have gone, and spoken to literally tens of thousands of Marines and made them understand what their responsibilities are," Commandant Gen. Robert Neller told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. "The social media things that we've seen were just indicative of a problem within our culture, that we did not properly respect or value the contributions of women in our Corps, and that's the problem we have to fix." -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go. Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune... It looks as if the second time's the charm for President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of the Navy. The Senate Armed Services Committee has set a date -- June 22 -- for Marine Corps veteran and banker Richard V. Spencer to appear before the committee for a confirmation hearing. While this is typically a rote step in the process, it's a milestone that three Trump picks for military service secretary never reached. Spencer was tapped for the post June 3 after months of rumors that placed him as the top candidate for the job. He was Trump's second nominee for the position after the first, businessman Philip Bilden, withdrew from consideration in late February, citing challenges with divesting his financial interests in order to pass government ethics scrutiny. Meanwhile, the Army is 0-for-2 with secretary picks. Trump's first pick, billionaire Vincent Viola, withdrew in February, citing financial concerns similar to those raised by Bilden. In May, Trump's second choice for the job, Tennessee state senator and decorated Army veteran Mark Green, withdrew from consideration after critics stoked outrage over his previous political stances on LGBT issues. So far, a new nominee for secretary of the Army has not been named. Spencer's own financial disclosure report, a requirement for the confirmation process, was certified by the U.S. Office on Government Ethics on June 9. The form shows 18 different board of directors positions held at private organizations, including the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, where he serves as vice chairman. The only position Spencer has held in the federal government in the previous 12 months is a membership role on the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel, according to the report. It lists $100,000 in income from his role as director of Global Atlantic Financial Group, as well as dividend income from investments in several hundred stocks and bonds, many valued in the millions of dollars. Spencer, who served in the Marine Corps as an aviator from 1976-1981, is from Wilson, Wyoming. He is an adviser for the Center for a New American Security and has also served on the Department of Defense Business Board. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @HopeSeck. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday that President Donald Trump is still fully engaged on Afghanistan despite his delegation of authority on strategy and troop levels to the military. "We will define the way ahead, and I will set the military commitment" in Afghanistan, Mattis said in repeating an earlier statement. He added, "He [Trump] has not delegated all authority to me. He maintains strategic oversight. "I assure you this is not a carte blanche for me," Mattis said in testimony to the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, wrapping up a weeklong series of hearings for him and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford on Trump's proposed fiscal 2018 Defense Department budget. In testimony Wednesday to the defense subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Mattis confirmed published reports that Trump had given him authority to set troop levels in Afghanistan. Two months earlier, Trump gave Mattis similar authority over U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. Trump's actions are in marked contrast to those of former President Barack Obama, whose White House was accused by former Defense Secretaries Robert Gates and Leon Panetta of "micromanaging" the military. Mattis sought to ease committee members' concerns that Trump is relinquishing his commander-in-chief's role on civilian control of the military. He stressed that a new strategy for Afghanistan emphasizing a "regional approach" worked out with Pakistan and India and in concert with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would be presented for Trump's approval in mid-July. The strategy will be "one that takes into account Afghanistan as part of South Asia," Mattis said, adding that "9/11 taught us the cost of not paying attention to this problem." House and Senate members were generally supportive of Mattis' new authorities, citing Trump's inexperience. At the Senate hearing Wednesday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Trump has "no military or political experience whatsoever." In a crisis, "I'm hoping in those few minutes he picks up the phone and calls you," Durbin told Mattis. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, "I'm glad that Trump is smart enough to understand that you know more than he does and he is empowering you to make us safe." Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., voiced concerns about civilian control of the military and said Trump's delegation of authority to set troop levels to the military gave him pause. "Usually, these numbers have not been set by delegated authority." In his testimony Thursday, Mattis said that the mission for U.S. troops in Afghanistan "remains the same -- train, advise and assist," but he indicated earlier in the week that the new strategy would emphasize airpower to ease pressure on the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. His new strategy is a work in progress, Mattis said, and "does not at this time change the troop numbers in Afghanistan." The authorized U.S. troop level in Afghanistan is about 8,400 but the SecDef said the current number of troops on the ground is a "little under 10,000," possibly because of overlap in troop rotations. Mattis has expressed support for the long-standing request of Army Gen. John Nicholson, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, for 3,000-5,000 more troops, but he said again Thursday that a decision awaits the presentation of a new strategy to Trump next month. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Related Video: As the military services moved to admit women into previously closed special operations and ground combat jobs in 2016, Army officials were tasked with looking for ways to get the best performance out of female troops in order to minimize injury and boost their opportunities to succeed. And they discovered one unlikely culprit that was holding some women back: chronic iron deficiency. While it's well known that women tend to be more iron-deficient than men for various reasons, the scope of the problem, and its impact on overall performance, was eyebrow-raising. About a quarter of the women who enter the Army training pipeline have an iron deficiency, said Scott McConnell, who discussed Army Training and Doctrine Command's efforts to improve training at the quarterly meeting of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services on Wednesday. After several weeks of training, that figure can double, he said. "That impacts your body's ability to carry oxygen to the vital organs. And so iron deficiency can actually be reflected in poor aerobic fitness levels and physical performance," McConnell said. In February 2016, the Army announced it would begin providing iron-rich multivitamins to female soldiers. And, McConnell said, the move has made a difference. "The statistic we have is that the iron supplements can actually shave two minutes off the two-mile run time," he said. As services address the challenge of preparing female troops to meet stringent physical standards designed for men, they're gaining new insights about the way nutrition affects performance -- insights that have the potential to benefit the total force. Since the services began opening previously closed jobs last year in response to a mandate from then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter, it has become clear that it's completely possible for women to meet minimum infantry requirements. To date, 14 female Army officers, 16 noncommissioned officers, and 21 junior enlisted soldiers have been assigned to infantry positions in the active component and Reserve, according to Army data presented Wednesday. On the Marine Corps side, nine officers and 63 enlisted women have graduated military occupational specialty school for previously closed fields, including one in the rifleman MOS. At the same time, it's evident that women face greater physical hurdles just because they're built differently than men and have different average capability ranges. And that's where tools such as nutrition, supplements and smart training can help. While the Corps has not announced a specific new supplement regimen, the service is working to overhaul its entire approach to fitness and health with the new Force Fitness Division activated this year. Part of what the division will do, officials have said, is review meal options in chow halls with an eye to making offerings healthier and more conducive to peak performance. Brian McGuire, the Corps' deputy force fitness branch head, told DACOWITS members Wednesday that the service is also looking to offer "post-exercise nutritional supplementation" to boost Marines' performance and recovery. Officials are also setting up some young officers at The Basic School with wearable devices that measure biometrics and performance and may serve as a warning measure against heat sickness and other injuries. And while standards to enter various ground combat jobs are the same whether you're male or female, the Marine Corps is making some changes to the way it trains in order to avoid injury while maximizing performance. "We have reduced running mileage," McGuire said. "Because lather, rinse, repeat shows us that shorter, harder, faster has equal or greater benefit than longer, slower, less intense." On the Army side, McConnell said other aids, such as the calcium-rich performance nutrition bar introduced as a bedtime supplement for recruits earlier this year, are also proving useful. "We have found that when soldiers have food in their stomach, they are actually less susceptible to heat injuries," he said. "That's actually one of the other aspects of this nutrition bar, and who would have thought, in the 21st century, that we're kicking over that rock and understanding something that we did not understand." -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. A sailor believed to have fallen overboard off Okinawa a week ago has been found alive and on the ship, officials with the U.S. 7th Fleet announced Thursday. Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Mims, a gas turbine systems technician, was discovered aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh as it patrolled the South China Sea -- four days after the Navy called off an exhaustive search for him that spanned 5,500 square miles in the Philippine Sea. Mims had been labeled missing since June 8. The Shiloh was about 180 miles east of Okinawa when he was determined to be gone. Shortly thereafter, the Navy launched a massive search, aided by ships from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Japan Coast Guard. According to the release from the 7th Fleet, the crew of the Shiloh continued their search aboard the ship even after the ocean search was formally called off. Related content: Officials did not immediately release information about the conditions under which Mims was found. But Navy Times, which first reported his discovery Thursday, said he was discovered in an engineering space. Navy officials said the sailor will now be transferred to the carrier Ronald Reagan for a medical evaluation. After that, according to the release, a recommendation will be made for his follow-on care. It's not clear if punitive actions are expected; officials have launched an investigation into the entire incident. "We are thankful to have found our missing shipmate and appreciate all the hard work of our Sailors and Japanese partners in searching for him," Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of Carrier Strike Group 5 and Task Force 70, said in a statement. "I am relieved that this Sailor's family will not be joining the ranks of Gold Star Families that have sacrificed so much for our country," he added. According to information released by the Navy, Mims joined the service in February 2014 and had served aboard the Shiloh since August 2014. His awards included the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. She retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard and served in Kuwait during the Iraq War. It's no secret that Russia vies to stake claim in parts of Syria and prop up the murderous Bashar al-Assad regime. The United States leading an allied coalition in the region not only ensures we defeat a terrorist enemy that wishes to do us harm, but also allows us to counter the expansion of a near-peer threat that seeks increased global reach. The United States striking ISIS in its stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, has broader implications for the Middle East. Similarly, U.S. forces helping take back the ISIS-held town of Marawi in the southern Philippines has broader implications for Asia. I welcomed news this weekend of American special operations forces providing support in the southern Philippines, where more than 200 people have been killed as the Philippine government seeks to take back Marawi. ISIS took control of the city three weeks ago, using innocent civilians as human shields and causing thousands to flee the area on the southern Island of Mindanao. I have long called for the U.S. government's counter-ISIS strategy to take a more global approach and encompass Southeast Asia. After continued pressure and writing on why the U.S. cannot ignore ISIS' expansion in the region, I was pleased to receive a commitment from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to work with me to address the issue of ISIS' expansion into Southeast Asia. ISIS has been telling its fighters since 2016 to go to Southeast Asia if they cannot make it to the Middle East, but radical Islamic extremism has a long history in the region. Following the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. special operations forces worked hand-in-hand with Philippine soldiers to root out the same al-Qaida-linked groups that have now pledged allegiance to ISIS. In total, 17 U.S. service members were killed serving under the operation, including Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Jack Martin, who was born in my home state of Iowa and killed by a roadside bomb in the southern Philippines. A 2016 report praised the U.S. mission, which included upward of 600 U.S. troops at one time. Ranging from advising and assisting combat operations against terrorists who sought to strike the U.S. homeland, to helping construct schools, the Joint Special Operation Task Force showed great success. Unfortunately, ISIS filled the void after U.S. operations were reduced in 2014. Since that time, both Russia and China have sought collaboration to conduct counterterrorism operations in the region, but either country would be simply unacceptable to replace the U.S. as a partner with the Philippines. The Philippines is of strategic importance to the U.S., and the countries have a long history together. With the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, U.S. troops are now approved for placement throughout the Philippines as we seek to grow our Asia-Pacific footprint and counter a rising China. Our annual bilateral training exercises are a symbol of security in the region. The news this weekend that U.S. and Philippine forces are once again working side-by-side in a fight against terrorism is hopefully a strong signal that previously troubled relations are back on track. This is a good thing, not only because of the strategic importance of having a strong relationship with the Philippines, but because it is also a matter of national security that we address terrorism there. As ISIS continues to expand its operations in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and other Southeast Asia nations, it is clear this threat is not subsiding anytime soon. Al-Qaida used the Philippines as a safe harbor to plan the horrific attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and we cannot let ISIS do the same. Thankfully, with Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea all joining the U.S. coalition to counter ISIS, we have partners to call upon. As we continue to watch this administration shape its counter-ISIS strategy, it is my hope it realizes the significant threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia, and likewise the signal to the region our support sends. The risk of not helping is far too great. If we turn our back on those who need our support in the region, Russia and China appear eager to take our place, or ISIS can continue to grow in its new safe haven. Neither is an acceptable option. -- If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration. Global professional services company Accenture aims to achieve gender balanced workforce by 2025, with an equal representation of men and women in percentage terms. Currently, Accenture has 1,50,000 women, amounting to nearly 40 per cent of its global workforce. "Diversity makes our business stronger and more innovative and, most important, it makes the world a better place," Accenture's chairman and CEO Pierre Nanterme said. Nanterme further noted that "with this new goal, we are sending an important message to our people and our clients confirming our commitment to a gender-balanced workforce." The company said it has promoted its largest percentage of women (30 per cent) to the managing director level in 2016 and aims to grow its percentage of women managing directors to 25 per cent globally by 2020. "We embrace diversity as a source of creativity and competitive advantage," said Ellyn Shook, chief leadership and human resources officer at Accenture. "As we work towards '50 by 25,' our ultimate goal is to create a truly human environment where people have a real sense of belonging, where they can show up every day, be who they are and be their best, both professionally and personally." The company also collaborates with business houses and the government to further gender equality in the workplace, with commitments that include the White House Equal Pay Pledge, Paradigm for Parity and Catalyst CEO Champions for Change. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Asian Development Bank and three other financial institutional investors are eyeing up to 26 percent stake in PTC Energy, according to a source familiar with the development. The transaction is expected to value PTC Indias wholly-owned subsidiary between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore. The renewable power generator has signed non-disclosure agreements with the Manila-based multilateral agency and three others for diluting the companys shareholding. The parent company will not raise any capital from the exercise, the source said. The other investors PTC Energy has signed pacts which include a US-based private equity fund and a Canadian pension fund. PTC Energy will dilute up to 26 percent of its equity. It is open to just one investor picking up the entire 26 percent stake or more than one. Accordingly, the investor will get or not get a seat on the board but PTC India will always maintain at least 51 percent stake in PTC Energy, the source said. ICICI Securities is advising PTC Energy on the transaction that the official said had stiff conditions including a 5-year lock-in for the new investors. PTC Energy ended financial year FY17 (April-March) with a wind power capacity of 288.8 MW. It has a 2021 year target of reaching an installed renewable power capacity of 2,000 MW. While the current portfolio includes only wind power, it aims to have 25 percent of its 2021 capacity coming from solar. The company has scaled back its power capacity addition target for 2017-18 to 300 MW from 500 MW, owing to uncertainties in the power sector. The company wants to bring in some solar power for the first time to its portfolio the target being 25 MW-50 MW for the ongoing financial year the source said. PTC Energy is making it very clear to the new investors that there will be a 5-year lock-in. So, even if one of the investors is a private equity company, it knows it cannot force PTC Energys hands to buy back its shares or give an exit route before the expiry of the period, the source said. The source said an initial public offering of the company was the only exit route that was being offered to the new investors. PTC Energy plans to go for an IPO in two-three years and the investors, in case of an IPO, will be free to exit. But the 5-year clause is being inserted so that the company can focus on its expansion and not be forced to divert its attention mid-way, the source said. Any incoming investor will also need the approval of PTC Energys board of directors if it decides to sell its stake to another entity at the end of five years. The company wants to time its IPO when it has a 1,000 MW-1,200 MW renewable power portfolio. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, renewable power has come to occupy most of the mindspace of the government and the investors -- exemplified by the 2016-17 achievement of renewable power capacity addition overtaking conventional power capacity addition for the first time ever in a given year. The country added 12.5 GW of renewable energy capacity compared to 10.2 GW from conventional sources in the financial year gone by. Indias 2022 target includes 100 GW of solar -- 60 GW ground mounted and 40 GW rooftop. Wind is expected to contribute 60 GW with biomass and small hydro accounting for the remaining 15 GW. Small hydro refers to a hydel unit of up to 25 MW. PTC Energys fund raising exercise seems modest given Sumant Sinha-led ReNew Power Ventures was valued at USD 2 billion this February when it had an installed capacity of 1.5 GW and 1.8 GW under construction. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Public sector Central Bank of India has been placed under the RBI's watchlist on Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) owing to high bad loans and negative return on assets. IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank and Dena Bank have already come under the PCA initiated by the Reserve Bank, which is a noose-tightening on fresh loan disbursal as well as dividend distribution. "Reserve Bank of India, vide its letter dated June 13, 2017, has put the bank under Prompt Corrective Action in view of high NPA (non-performing assets) and negative return on assets (RoA)," Central Bank of India said in a regulatory filing today. The bank further said: "We believe that corrective measures arising out of the PCA will help in improving overall performance of the bank." For the fiscal ended March 2017, the bank has reported a net loss of Rs 2,439 crore, against a loss of Rs 1,418 crore in 2015-16. Net non-performing assets (NPAs) also jumped to 10.20 per cent of net advances for the fiscal from 7.36 per cent year ago. The return on assets were at (-)0.80 per cent. PCA is a framework devised by RBI that monitors key areas like capital, asset quality and profitability of banks. As part of the PCA framework, among others, there are a few threshold levels with regard to a bank's common equity tier-I (CET 1) capital, and upon breach of a certain level, a bank may become a likely candidate for resolution via different methods like amalgamation, reconstruction and winding up. If there is a default on part of a bank to meet depositors' obligation, a possible resolution process can even by resorted without any reference to the PCA module. Earlier in April, RBI revised PCA framework with a clause that if the bank does not show improvement, then it could be either merged or taken over by other bank. Banks are still complaining to the government that cash crunch situation continues and that they are not getting enough from the currency chest. They have approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cater to high demand of cash. Sources say, the State Bank of IndiaState Bank of India (SBI) wrote a letter in May to RBI expressing serious concerns with regards to chronic cash shortage for quite some time now. SBI had raised a similar concern in April, 2017 as well. SBI in the letter stated that only 51 percent of its ATMs are able to dispense cash and that shortage of currency is most severely felt in states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Karnatatka, Tamil Nadu, UP and Maharashtra. Meanwhile, States of Kerala, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh were worst hit with less than 30 percent ATMs dispensing cash, say sources and this remains a major concern for SBI. SBI in the letter stated that the cash withdrawals were increase on account of holidays, marriage season and agriculture operations. SBI has requested the RBI to increase currency supply at the earliest, say sources. Bio-pharmaceutical firm Biocon said the latest verdict by US Supreme Court in the case of Amgen versus Sandoz will help biosimilar makers expedite the launch of the lifesaving drugs without waiting an additional six months after exclusivity period ends. "We are pleased with the US Supreme Court decision as it clarifies that the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) was intended to facilitate the entry of biosimilar drugs into the market and not grant an additional six months of exclusivity to innovators, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD of Biocon in an e-mail interaction with Moneycontrol. The Courts ruling opens the possibility for patients gaining quicker access to new and potentially lifesaving biosimilars, Mazumdar-Shaw said. Two of the Biocons biosimilars pegfilgrastim and trastuzumab are now under review by the US drug regulator, while the company is in the process of filing biologics license application (BLA) in US for insulin glargine shortly. Pegfilgrastim is used to stimulate the level of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy; trastuzumab is used in the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Biocon, which has been spending heavily on research and development for years, has the first-mover advantage and is much ahead over other Indian drug makers when it comes biosimilars. The company is expecting to roll out its first ever biosimilar in US market in FY19. The latest judgement can speed-up that process. By reducing the uncertainty around the introduction of biosimilars in the US, this development augurs well for the continued expansion of the US biosimilars market, Mazumdar-Shaw added. The US Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment ruled in favour of Sandoz, the generic unit of Swiss pharmaceutical major Novartis overturning an earlier court's ruling. In 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that biosimilar developers must give the 180-day notice after FDA approval. California-based biotech company Amgen sued Sandoz in 2014 in US District Court in San Francisco, alleging that the Novartis unit infringed its patent for Neupogen (filgrastim) and violated the Affordable Care Act provision governing biosimilars. Amgen contended that Sandoz and other biosimilar developers had to wait 180 days from FDA licensure before launching biosimilar drugs even after getting an approval by the US FDA as per the provision under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA). The BPCIA requires biosimilar drug developers to give reference drug makers 180 days notice that they will launch a biosimilar version. The 180 days provision gives six extra months of exclusivity over and above the 12-year exclusivity granted to reference drug developers under the BPCIA, severely impacting the access of biosimilar drugs to patients and also millions of dollars worth savings for exchequers. Biosimilars are identical copies of original biologic drugs that have active properties similar to the reference biological product requiring large clinical trials on patients to establish safety and efficacy before approval by regulatory agencies, unlike small generic molecules that can be launched by doing bioequivalence studies. Biosimilars are said to be cheaper by 30-40 percent over innovator biologic drugs. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Hospital chain Fortis Healthcare on Thursday said the company is still evaluating on possible fund raising options and its board is yet to take any firm decision. The company is still evaluating the best possible way to raise the fund and no firm decision in this regard has been approved by the Board till date, the company said in a statement to stock exchanges after CNBC-TV18 reported that Fortis Healthcare and IHH deal is now in advanced stage of negotiations and due diligence, quoting unnamed sources. The CNBC-TV18 report said that IHHs top global management is in India to meet the Fortis promoters and is likely to buy controlling majority stake in Fortis Healthcare. "The board of the company had approved the enabling fund raising options up to Rs 5,000 crore including but not limited to qualified institutional placement, foreign currency convertible bonds or any other method," Fortis Healthcare said in its filing. Fortis will use the funds to reduce the debt which to the tune of Rs.2,220 crore as on March 2017 IHH, Asias largest healthcare provider backed by Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah operates hospitals in India through its subsidiary Parkway Pantai. Shares of Fortis rose 5.7 percent to close at Rs 197.80 on BSE, even as the benchmark Sensex declined 0.3 percent live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More There is a common thread tying together Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, TVS and Mahindra in India. For these companies scooters generate significantly higher volumes than motorcycles even though the geared offerings outnumber the automatics. Only a handful of automatic scooters collectively control 57 percent of the volumes of five of the nine mass market two-wheeler manufacturers that India has. Their share has risen consistently over the years fueled by new launches and upgrades. While Honda has nine motorcycles in its portfolio 67 percent of its volumes come from just five scooters. Last year the company clocked 4.75 million in unit sales but 3.18 million of those came from scooters. The Delhi-based scooter-making behemoth, which retails the popular brand Activa, controls more than half of the domestic scooter market. Honda is extremely strong in the scooter market so much so that its motorcycles get dwarfed. But it has at least a couple of very strong bike brands which have picked up pace in recent months, said a Mumbai-based analyst tracking the sector. Honda started in India with scooters in 2001 with the Activa and subsequently launched its first motorcycle Unicorn in 2004. Shine and Unicorn are the strongest two bike brands of the company. Similarly, until FY16, one of worlds best-known bike brands Yamaha sold motorcycles far more than scooters in India. However, this equation changed last year as scooters outstripped motorcycles. But here again this feat was achieved by just four scooters even though Yamaha sells nine motorcycles from the same showroom. Yamaha scooters witnessed a growth of 38 percent last year and accounted for 56 percent of the companys total domestic volumes. The story is identical for Suzuki, TVS Motors and Mahindra which have laid greater emphasis on gearless mobility to drive volumes. While Italian niche brand Vespa (owned by Piaggio) sells only scooters in India under its banner, Bajaj Auto does not have any scooters in its line-up and depends only on motorcycles. Last year scooter volumes jumped 11 percent to account for 32 percent of the domestic two-wheeler market, recording its highest share ever in India. This means one in every three two-wheelers sold in India is a scooter, up from one in five a few years ago. The growth in scooters, however, has come at the cost of motorcycles. Since 2011-12 motorcycles sales have risen only 10 percent, from 10.07 million units to 11.09 million units. But in the same five-year period scooter volumes have more than doubled. From 2.55 million units recorded in 2011-12 scooters closed last year at 5.60 million units, a growth of 119 percent, according to data supplied by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Easy availability of finance, congested traffic conditions in cities, improving road network in the hinterlands and easy riding dynamics has fueled demand for scooters over the last few years. Their share is expected to go higher from here even as it continues to replace the traditional 100cc entry-level bike. Almost all drugs manufactured by Ipca Laboratories at its facilities at Pithampur, Silvassa and Ratlam have been banned from the US market by the country's health regulator. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) cited violation of current good manufacturing norms for taking the step against the company. The USFDA has refused admission to all drugs made at the company's Pithampur and Silvassa facility, Ipca Laboratories said in a Bombay Stock Exchange filing. All drugs except API Chloroquine Phosphate made at Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh) unit have also been denied entry in the US, it further said. The ban on all drugs made at Pithampur (Madhya Pradesh) and Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) will continue "until the company can demonstrate that the drugs manufactured from these manufacturing sites and intended for the US market are in compliance with the current good manufacturing practice regulation (CGMP) ," Ipca Laboratories added. However, it said the US health regulator will reconsider the exception for Chloroquine Phosphate made at the Ratlam facility, if shortage and/or medical necessity implications change. Last year, the USFDA had issued warning letter to the company over violations of manufacturing norms at the three facilities. Shares of Ipca Laboratories closed 0.86 per cent down at Rs 513.15 on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Representative Image live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Dassault Aviation, makers of the Rafale jet, along with Reliance Defence interacted with players from the aerospace industry to promote Business-to- Business interactions between the French and Indian aerospace manufacturers. "The ambition is to develop a complete supply chain allowing the completion of the existing ambitious Rafale (50 per cent) offsets obligations," a statement from Dassault Aviation said. In September last year, India signed a 7.87 billion euros with France to acquire 36 Rafale jets for the Indian Air Force. The 50 per cent offset clause means that Indian businesses, both big and small, will gain work to the tune of over three billion Euros. This B2B interface between the French and domestic entrepreneurs aims to deepen existing links, create new opportunities of collaboration and work towards establishing a defence manufacturing eco-system in India, the statement said. More than 200 delegates from over 60 Indian and 25 French companies participated in the event organised in cooperation with Rafale Industrial Partners like Thales, Safran and MBDA. As part of this cooperation between the Indian and French companies, Indian partners will benefit from the technological know-how transfers opportunities. India has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to USD 118 per tonne on import of a chemical used for corrosion control and paper bleaching from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and three other countries. The duty has been levied to protect domestic manufacturers of the chemical from "material injury" due to the cheap imports. The revenue department has issued a notification specifying the levy on import of hydrogen peroxide -- other than of food and electronic grade with concentration of 90 per cent and above -- from Bangladesh, Taiwan, Korea, Pakistan and Thailand. The duty -- in the range of USD 27.81-117.94 per tonne of the chemical -- will remain in place for five years. Earlier, National Peroxide Ltd and Hindustan Organic Chemicals had approached the Directorate General of Anti- Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) for initiation of an anti- dumping probe and imposition of a related duty concerning imports of hydrogen peroxide. On completion of probe, the DGAD makes recommendations to the revenue department on whether to impose the levy or not. The investigation found that the chemical has been exported to India "below its normal value... (and) the domestic industry has suffered material injury". Hydrogen peroxide has strong oxidising properties and is therefore a powerful bleaching agent that is used as a disinfectant, an oxidiser, and in rocketry and bipropellant systems. It also finds application in odour and corrosion control, biodegradability improvement, disinfection, paper and pulp bleaching, among others. There are three grades of hydrogen peroxide -- food, technical and electronic. The domestic industry does not have the capability to manufacture food and electronic grades. DGAD, in its final findings, said the domestic industry accepted that it does not produce the chemical having concentration above 90 per cent. Premier space organisation Isro has a very limited -- rather insignificant -- requirement of the chemical with 90 per cent and above concentration. Countries initiate anti-dumping probe to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose the duty. These duties are in compliance with the rules of global trade body World Trade Organisation. The duties also ensure fair trade by providing a level- playing field to the domestic industry. They are not a measure to restrict imports or cause an unjustified increase in the cost of products. The Civil Aviation Ministry has requested the Finance Ministry to defer the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax to September, reports the Hindu. The airlines claim it will be difficult for them to make the switch to the new indirect tax regime by July, when the GST is set for a pan-India implementation. At the heart of airlines' request lies their difficulty in changing the global ticketing system, which is being used by travel agents to book tickets, in such a short time. We have asked the Finance Ministry to give further time for implementation of GST, expressing the airlines view that effecting a change in the global ticketing system would require time, a senior Aviation Ministry official told the Hindu. This official added that the letter to the Finance Ministry was sent on Monday. A few domestic airlines, including the state-owned carrier Air India and Jet Airways, feel they need additional time to change the system before they could on-board GST properly. The government is determined to keep its July date for GST rollout. On Monday, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia had tweeted saying rumours claiming a different date for GST rollout are not to be believed. The aviation ministry has also asked for equal treatment of direct international flights and connecting flights with regards to taxes. The official mentioned that, in a letter to Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, the Aviation Ministry has expressed concern that the GST structure would give more advantage to foreign carriers than the domestic ones regarding international travels and input tax credit. The input tax credit for the economy class is only effective on services, and not goods. There has been constant speculation about the implementation date of GST. Several sections of the industry have been complaining about shortage of time along with the West Bengal government. The Granite industry today urged the government to lower the GST rate of 28 per cent on granite polished slabs as higher taxes would impact the labour- intensive sector. According to JIGANI Granite Industries Owners Welfare association, prices would go up after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1. The industry has cut down the production by about 50 per cent in May and June, anticipating lower granite demand with rise in price for end user post the GST rollout, it said in a statement. "The GST Council has announced a tax of 28 per cent on granite polished slabs, which was earlier 14.5 per cent," the association said. Granite sector is a labour intensive sector and employs over 75,000 people directly and indirectly in and around Jigani and Bangalore area, it said. "We request the government to lower the rate of GST to flat 12 per cent on granite slab products," it said. Spokesperson Lalit Rathi said majority of factories are of small scale and several granite units are already struggling to sustain operations following the decline in exports due to global slowdown and demonetisation. Moneycontrol Research The ignorance and uncertainty ahead of the GST implementation was palpable as we connected with dealers across industries. While large organised players may be nearly ready for GST, the same is not the case with many smaller entities. The unpreparedness of certain segments is prompting some of them to spread rumours about a delay in GST implementation. While a few are not yet aware of the applicable GST rate for their products, a large section are still uncertain about the transitional stocks. Some of the dealers we spoke to are continuing with their business without worrying about GST as they do not want to lose market share, but many of them are de-stocking to avoid the looming uncertainty. Treatment of Transitional Stock The key cause for de-stocking is on account of the tax treatment of the pre-GST stock, or the transition stock. In the transition period the stock of raw material/semi-finished/finished goods may be lying at the factory/warehouse or the dealer premises. If goods are in the factory with excise invoice or with registered dealers (First Stage Dealer or Second Stage Dealer), where excise invoice is available, full credit for the excise paid in the past twelve months will be available. For other dealers which are not registered with Central Excise department, even those dealers who do not possess the duty paying documents can take the credit on the basis of a formula prescribed by the government. As per the guidelines, credit to the extent of 60 percent of CGST (Central GST) shall be available where GST rate exceeds 18 percent. In cases where the GST rate is below 18 percent, only 40 percent deemed credit will be available against CGST and SGST dues. Further, the government will refund 100 percent excise duty for goods costing above Rs 25,000 and bearing a brand name of the manufacturer and are serially numbered like TV, fridge or car chassis. Traders and retailers can file declarations within 90 days claiming tax credit for transition stock after the GST rolls out from July 1. At the sales end, if VAT invoice is available, full credit will be made available for purchase made in the past 12 months. However, in the absence of tax invoice, the rules mentioned above would apply. So what does this mean for the channel? If GST rate is higher than the current VAT rate, dealers would seek an upward revision in prices of transition stock, or seek compensation for the loss of margin or reduce purchase and reduce inventory. Manufacturers will also take back goods from the dealers and keep it in the warehouse where excise invoice is available. They would reduce the goods moved to warehouse without excise. Companies will be willing to take goods from the manufacturer (against excise invoice) but not from traders (as they can claim only to the extent of 60 percent or 40 percent of CGST). Inventory of inter-state purchase would be discouraged as CST would not be available as credit. So What does our Channel Checks Indicate? For automobile manufacturers the rate post-GST goes up marginally for small cars and shouldnt impact demand significantly. In models, where there is a reasonably long waiting period, the concept of stocking is largely irrelevant, and GST wouldnt impact sales. But for not so popular brands, de-stocking is significant and so are the discounts to clear the inventory. However, auto ancillary dealers catering to the after-market appears to be much less prepared compared to car dealers. The tyre dealers we contacted were not sure if they would receive compensation from the companies as the prevailing VAT rate at 13.5 percent is much lower than GST rate at 28 percent. While some of the players are not de-stocking as they are unwilling to lose the business opportunity, most dealers are de-stocking in the absence of clarity. Some of the battery dealers we spoke to mentioned they weren't getting supplies from companies leading to involuntary de-stocking. For them also, the VAT rate at 13.5 percent is much lower than the GST rate of 28 percent. The cement dealers we spoke to are de-stocking. They fear that the old stock will not get tax credit beyond September and hence they would not like to stock more in the lean season of rains. Overall, our channel check suggests, a lack of clarity and fear are resulting in de-stocking. Sales at least for a quarter or two if not more for many businesses might feel the GST adjustment impact. Representative image India's oil imports from Iran have fallen to their lowest since June 2016, shipping data shows, in possible retaliation for Tehran not awarding a gas field development to Indian companies. India, Iran's top oil client after China, shipped in 487,600 barrels per day (bpd) in May, about 9 percent less compared with April and nearly 40 percent less than a peak registered in October, according to ship tracking data obtained from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts. Most Western-led sanctions against Tehran's nuclear programme were lifted in January last year, and India's Iranian crude imports began climbing two months later in March. In the fiscal year to March 2018, though, India has said it plans to order about a quarter less Iranian crude due to a snub over development of Iran's Farzad B gas field. "We stood by them in difficult times. We still buy substantial amounts of oil from them, and we expect reciprocity from Iran," Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters on Wednesday when asked if India was still hopeful of getting the development rights for the Farzad B field. Following years of seeming rapprochement over the field, Iran has likely reached an agreement on the concession with Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, Russian and Indian media have reported. Iran last month said India had not offered an acceptable proposal on the Farzad B development. Sri Paravaikkarasu of energy consultancy FGE said India's lower Iran imports were a "reaction of Iran's decision to award the gas field to Russia and the availability of cheaper grades like those from Russia." India was one of four countries - China, Japan and South Korea being the other three - that continued to import large amounts of Iranian oil after sanctions were toughened in 2012. Some of the drop in imports from Iran may be due to lower demand. Overall, India imported about 4.2 percent less oil in May, compared with April, due to a shutdown of the 180,000-bpd Bathinda refinery for upgrades. In the first five months of 2017, India's oil imports from Iran still jumped about 64 percent, the data showed. While Iran's oil exports to India are stalling, supplies to Europe and Turkey hit their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in 2016. Iraq continued to be India's biggest oil supplier for the second month in a row in May, followed by Saudi Arabia. Middle Eastern oil in May accounted for 65 percent of India's overall imports, compared to 71 percent a year ago, while the import share of Africa and Latin America have risen, the data showed. The shift is likely a result of an effort led by the Middle East-dominated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut production to prop up oil prices. It said this growth is occurring as non-bank finance companies increasingly target the home-loan segment, posing greater downside risk if there is a correction in property prices. RBI lowered the risk weight for housing loans above Rs 75 lakh to 50 per cent from the earlier 75 per cent, while for loans between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 75 lakh, the risk weights were cut to 35 per cent from 50 per cent. The standard asset provisions, or the amount of money to be set aside for every loan given, on home loan was lowered to 0.25 per cent from the earlier 0.40 per cent. The RBI also removed the previous distinction of risk weights based on loan-to-value ratios for loans in the same category. Over the next 12-18 months, the rating agency expects overall system bank credit growth to remain muted given banks weak balance sheets amid continued asset quality deterioration. As of March 2017, annual bank credit growth was 7.6 per cent, down from 10.2 per cent the previous year. "Although lower risk weights would boost sluggish credit growth while limiting the effect on banks capital position, we believe competition for housing loans has significantly increased among banks and non-bank finance companies," the report said. Since 2015, housing loan growth has been roughly double that of overall bank credit. Fortis Healthcare and IHH deal is now in advance stage of negotiations and due diligence, sources privy to the details told CNBC-TV18. IHHs top global management is in India to meet the Fortis promoters. The Asias largest healthcare group is likely to buy controlling majority stake in Fortis Healthcare. The deal is likely to trigger an open offer for Fortis shares. The valuation for Fortis Healthcare is likely to be over Rs 12,500 crore. Fortis has a market cap of close to Rs 10,000 crore. SRL, which a part of Fortis, wont be demerged before the deal. SRL is likely to be demerged and monetized by the new promoters, the sources said. RHT Health Trust, the business trust that Fortis has in Singapore, could be bought back as the part of the deal to strengthen Fortiss balance sheet. Airport The Expert Appraisal Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has accorded permission for GMR Group's proposal for the Rs 2,629 crore expansion plan of Rajiv Gandhi international airport here. GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) which manages the airport is in the process of expanding the current design capacity from the existing 12 million passengers per annum to 25 million passengers per annum. The airport handled over 15 million including over three million international passengers last year. "After detailed deliberations, the EAC recommended the project for environmental clearance and stipulated specific conditions along with other environmental conditions while considering for accord of environmental clearance (for airport expansion programme)," the EAC said in the minutes of the meeting held last month. "The estimated capital expenditure for the proposed expansion of the RGI airport project is Rs 2629 crore," it said. According to the proposal submitted by GHIAL, the project is expected to be financed through a combination of internal accruals and debt which is to be in the range from 70-80 per cent and balance to be through internal accruals. Project construction is expected to generate more than 5,000 direct employment and double the figure indirect employment which will span across 5-6 years. The indirect employment generation of about 4,000 persons is envisaged for utility services along with other 5,000 to 6,000 in commercial and support services, it added. As per the master plan, the ultimate capacity of the airport is estimated to reach upto 40 MPA with dual runway connected by two cross taxiways, multiple rapid exit taxiways, two integrated passenger terminals and large dedicated cargo terminals, according to the GMR website. GHIAL signed the concession agreement with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) in December 2004 for a period of 30 years. The airport is operated and managed by the GMR Group, which holds a majority stake in GHIAL through its holding company GMR Airports Limited (GAL). Rating agency India Ratings in its recent report said GHIAL operates above the created capacity of 12 million pax and is compelled to start a capex programme in FY18. The current capacity with optimisation measures has the ability to handle about 18 million passengers per annum, it said. GHIALs revenue increased to Rs 1156 crore in FY17 from Rs 645 crore in FY16, due to the resumption of ad-hoc user development fee collections, which were halted in FY15 through a regulatory order. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Having stood by Iran in its tough times, India expects Tehran to reciprocate by awarding rights of the coveted Farzad-B gas field to its discoverer, ONGC, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. Upset with the USD 5.5 billion master development plan submitted by ONGC Videsh Ltd - the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) - Iran has signed an initial pact with Russia's Gazprom for developing Farzad-B gas field. "We value relationships. During difficult days of Iran, when the entire west imposed sanctions, we stood by them and bought substantial amount of crude oil. We also returned every penny when the banking channels reopened," he said. Now, Iran has to reciprocate. "We have that much expectation from Iran. I hope Iran will comply with that," he said. "Our relationship with Iran is not based on a single commodity or a single transaction." With Tehran delaying the award of rights to develop the 12.5 trillion cubic feet gas field to its discoverer, OVL, India decided to cut oil imports from Iran by a fifth in 2017 -18. Iran retaliated by first cutting by one-third the time it gave to Indian refiners to pay for oil they buy from it as also raising ship freight rates, and now by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russian gas monopoly Gazprom. The MoU was signed between Gazprom and National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) in Kremlin on March 28 when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The agreement spans Farzad-B, the North Pars and Kish fields. Iran has been unhappy with the USD 5.5 billion investment plan of OVL as it will have to reimburse all of the money that is invested, together with a fixed rate of return. Tehran wants the investment to be lowered and OVL commit to buying gas at a price fixed by it. OVL, on the other hand, says it will take up development only if the terms are economical and cannot absorb any cost and the price of gas should be comparable to rates in current market. Sources said Indian refiners have cut oil imports from Iran by a fifth to 1,90,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2017-18 from 2,40,000 bpd in the previous fiscal. Iran, India's third biggest oil supplier, used to give a 90-day credit period to refiners like Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) to pay for the oil they would buy from it. Now, Tehran has reduced this to 60 days, essentially meaning that IOC and MRPL would have to pay for the oil they buy from Iran in 60 days instead of previous liberal term of 90 days, they said. Iran oil sale terms were the most attractive for Indian refiners. Besides a liberal credit period, it also shipped the oil to India for a nominal 20 per cent of normal ocean freight. Other Middle-East sellers offer not more than 15-day credit period. Sources said NIOC has also decided to cut the discount it offers to Indian buyers on freight from 80 per cent to about 60 per cent. Since the lifting of western sanctions, Iran has played hardball over award of the field which was discovered by OVL. The two nations were initially targeting concluding a deal on Farzad-B field development by November 2016 but later mutually agreed to push the timeline to February 2017. Now, the deal is being targeted to be wrapped up by September after the two sides agree on a price and a rate of return for OVL's investments. Farzad B was discovered by OVL in the Farsi block about 10 years ago. The project has so far cost the OVL-led consortium, which also includes Oil India Ltd and Indian Oil Corp (IOC), over USD 80 million. The field in the Farsi block has an in-place gas reserve of 21.7 tcf, of which 12.5 tcf are recoverable. New Delhi is keen that the gas from the field comes to India to feed the vast energy needs. 7. Anadarko Petroleum | Fine: Rs 33,477 crore | The firm tried to avoid paying fines for environmental contamination. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More State-owned oil firms IOC, BPCL and HPCL today signed an agreement to jointly set up the world's largest refinery and petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra at a cost of USD 40 billion. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will be the lead partner with 50 per cent stake while Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) will take 25 per cent stake each, IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh said. The three oil refining and marketing companies signed the joint venture agreement here this evening. Speaking on the occasion, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said though India is the world's third largest energy consumer after US and China, its per capita energy consumption is one-fourth of the world average. "Domestic oil demand is likely to climb to 500 million tonnes by 2040. Against this, our domestic refining capacity currently is 230-235 million tonnes. We need to plan capacity addition to not just meet this demand but also of export market," he said. Already, 55 million tonnes of brownfield refinery expansion has been finalised at existing refineries and a new 9 million tonnes unit is planned at Barmer in Rajasthan, he said. He said the 60 million tonnes capacity refinery at Babulwadi, Taluka Rajapur in Ratnagiri district is being set up keeping in mind the future fuel demand and the export potential of the country. The refinery will have an accompanying mega petrochemical plant, Singh said adding the petrochemical plant would include an aromatic complex, naphtha cracker and polymer complex. The project will take five-six years after land acquisition and all clearances, he added. The entire refinery will include three crude units of 20 million tonnes each. IOC has been looking at West coast for a refinery as catering to customers in West and South was difficult with its refineries mostly in the North. HPCL and BPCL have also been looking at a bigger refinery because of constraints they face at their Mumbai units. The refinery will produce petrol, diesel, LPG, ATF and feedstock for making petrochemical that are basic building blocks in plastic, chemical and textile industries. Fifteen million tonnes a year is the biggest refinery any public sector unit has set up in one stage. IOC recently started its 15 million tonnes unit at Paradip in Odisha. Reliance Industries holds the distinction of building the biggest refinery in India till now. It built its first refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat with a capacity of 27 million tonnes, which was subsequently expanded to 33 million tonnes. It has built another unit adjacent to it for exports, with a capacity of 29 million tonnes. Being on the West coast will provide the unit a natural advantage of easily sourcing crude oil from the Middle-East, Africa and South America, officials said, adding East coast was not being considered as shipping crude oil there will add at least USD 1 per barrel to cost. Also, moving products to consumption heartland from west will not be difficult. India has a refining capacity of 232.066 million tonnes, which exceeded the demand of 194.2 million tonnes in 2016-17 fiscal. According to the International Energy Agency (EA), this demand is expected to reach 458 million tonnes by 2040. IOC has 11 refineries with a total capacity of 81.2 million tonnes while BPCL has four refineries with a total capacity of 33.4 million tonnes. HPCL has three refineries with a total capacity of 24.8 million tonnes. Mutual funds' assets under management (AUM) from B15 grew to Rs 3.41 lakh crore in May 2017 from Rs 2.32 lakh crore in May 2016, according to the data available on the Association of Mutual Funds in India website. Contribution of small towns -- known as beyond the top 15 cities (B15) -- to mutual funds' asset base in India surged 47 percent on year. AMFI data showed that 18 percent of the assets of the mutual fund industry came from B15 locations in May 2017. MF experts attribute the growth in the assets to a positive sentiment in domestic markets along with well-timed initiatives by SEBI to re-energise the mutual fund industry, particularly higher commission to distributors for going to B-15 cities. In May, BSE Sensex rose 4 percent while Nifty went up 3.4 percent. To increase penetration and popularise mutual fund products in rural areas, SEBI, in 2012, had mandated fund houses to go to 'B15' cities and for this the regulator had allowed fund houses to charge an additional 30 basis points in the total expense ratio if new inflows from B15 cities are at least 30 percent of gross new inflows in the scheme or 15 percent of the average assets under management, whichever is higher. After SEBI's push, many fund houses revised their commission structure for distributors in B15 to incentivise them to get more people to invest in mutual funds. High commission is paid mainly for equity-oriented funds and monthly income plans where the fund houses feel they can earn enough for themselves, before passing on the rest to distributor as commission. A major portion of the products sold within this fast growing pocket of the industry are equity funds unlike the top 15 space, where institutional dominance tilts the balance towards fixed income products, mutual fund officials said. In May, 54 percent of the assets from B15 locations were in equity schemes, while equity-oriented schemes accounted for 31 percent of the T15 assets in May 2017 and 27 percent in May 2016. The higher concentration in debt in T15 locations was due to the presence of institutions in this segment. B15 cities are those which are beyond these top 15 cities New Delhi (including NCR), Mumbai (including Thane & Navi Mumbai), Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Panjim, Pune and Surat. Meanwhile, as per SEBI, equity mutual funds added over 6.5 lakh folios in the last month. Besides, 26 percent of assets held by individual investors was from B15 locations and about 10 percent of institutional assets were from B15 locations. Institutional assets were concentrated in T15 locations, accounting for 90.03 percent of the total. The shares of B15 assets individual and institutional categories increased since May 2016. The share of T15 assets individual categories decreased marginally. Currently, 42-player MF industry manages assets worth Rs 19.04 lakh crore as on May 31. The Model PPP (public private partnership) policy for affordable housing is out and open for public comments till June 30th, 2017! The PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) scheme was earlier confined to making affordable homes on government land. The new Model PPP policy is an attempt to rope in private developer owned land and offer the same PMAY incentives. What this means is that the government would now grant benefits - through interest subsidy and direct per beneficiary amount - to private players even if the project is planned on private land. Under the scheme, a bonus payment would be given to the private developer for every housing unit, after an eligible allottee accepts the allotment. A ministry document highlights that land availability and its high cost has been the big challenge for private developers to enter affordable housing segment on their own, in any meaningful way. The document also acknowledges that private sector participation will enhance access to construction capital as well as reduce construction costs and enable time-bound delivery of affordable units. Here are six proposed ways in which private developers can now join hands with the government for the creation of affordable housing stock under PMAY: # The first one is the Government Land Based Subsidised Housing or GLSH. Under this model, the public authority will provide land on a long-term lease to the selected private developer. The private developer will be responsible and held accountable for designing, building and financing of affordable housing stock and associated services, at a pre-determined cost and within a predetermined time. The public authority will undertake to compensate the private developer for the housing stock on the satisfactory completion and handing back of the units. # The second model is the Mixed Development Cross-subsidized Housing or MDCH. In this model, the developer will not receive any payment from the public authority for building affordable units. Instead, the private developer will be allowed to build and sell high-end housing on a portion of the land allotted. The private developer could even be allowed to utilise the entire land for high-end housing in exchange for providing affordable housing at another location. The land for this alternate location will have to be arranged by the private developer and he will also be required to provide affordable housing free of cost. Higher FAR, TDR, as well as fast track clearances for the development of high-end housing, is also being promised under this model. # Under the third model called the Annuity Based Subsidised Housing (ABSH) Model, the government will provide land and the developer will receive revenue from the government in the form of regular annuity payments for a period of time (say 15-20 years) instead of a lump sum amount at the time of handover. The developer will be required to maintain the housing project during this period and transfer it back to the public sector or its nominees at the end of the period. The public authorities will monitor the quality of the maintenance and there will be rewards and penalties linked to the long-term quality of service received by the home buyers. # Under the fourth model called the DBFMT Annuity cum Capital Grant based Subsidised Housing (AGSH), a proportion of project cost (say 40-50 percent) is paid to the private developer during the construction phase itself. The remaining amount is paid to the developer as an annuity during the next 15 to 20 years after the successful completion of the project. Developers will be responsible both for the construction as well as maintenance and their rewards will continue to be substantially linked to the long-term performance of the asset. # Under the fifth model, called the Direct Relationship Ownership Housing (DROH) Model the land will be allotted by the government and that will constitute a significant subsidy. The private developer will have to recover the cost of affordable housing directly from allottee. This recovery could be a lump-sum payment at the time of transfer of housing unit to allottee or in the form of equated monthly installment (EMI) for a fixed period of time. The developer will also be responsible for the maintenance of the project for a pre-determined period. # The sixth model is called the Direct Relationship Rental Housing (DRRH) under which the allottee will not get ownership, but only the right to rent the housing unit. Rental payments will have to be made directly to the developer. The units will continue to be owned by the developers. The private developer will undertake to recover the cost of affordable housing directly through the rentals from allottee. The developer will also be responsible for the maintenance of the dwelling units for a pre-determined period. The real estate fraternity has said it is ready to extend support to the new affordable housing initiative. We are excited about the governments recent move to extend PMAY to private land as it brings each and every Indian closer to owning a home which is a basic necessity of life. Our PM's dream of Housing for All by 2022 is a daunting task taking into account the current shortage of homes and high land prices. With India housing 92 percent to 95 percent private developers who are building residential projects, we feel this is a much-needed reform and will provide a great platform to showcase sustainable partnership between public and private sector, said Jaxay Shah, president, Credai. He said that Credai member developers had extended support to affordable projects post Budget 2017 by committing 375 affordable projects in April 2017. With this new amendment, we expect this number to further increase, he added. Parveen Jain, president of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) said that while the scheme is commendable, it needs to be seen how many states finally take it up. Getting a single window clearance is also a big challenge for developers. The new model PPP policy is a laudable step in the right direction as it will open new vistas and widen the opportunities for private players with land. This will also fast track the process of getting affordable houses made for the larger population. All the six proposed schemes in which the private players can join hands with the government towards creating affordable housing stock are well thought through and have good take-away for the developers. Such policies along with the ones announced recently like RERA etc. are indeed laudable but must be backed up with strong and clear implementable frameworks so that a win win situation can be created without losing time, said JC Sharma, managing director of Sobha Developers. vandana.ramnani@nw18.com India's Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan poses after an interview with Reuters in New Delhi, India, May 5, 2016. To match Interview INDIA-ENERGY/ REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - RTX2D2M5 live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Oil giant Saudi Aramco wants to enter into exclusive talks with India to buy a stake in the planned 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) refinery on the South Asian nation's west coast, India's oil minister said on Wednesday. The proposed talks come as Saudi Arabia seeks to secure customers for its oil amidst a global supply glut. With the 1.2 million bpd refinery, the world's largest, India wants to have a greater say in the global fuel trade, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi. The country's top refiner Indian Oil Corp will initially hold a 50 percent stake in the project, while Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp will own 25 percent each. Automation solutions provider Siemens today said its cyber security solution will protect CLP India's power plant automation system. Siemens has developed comprehensive cyber security solutions for critical infrastructure, power and industrial control systems, the company said in a statement. According to the statement, these solutions conform to the latest international standards such as NERC-CIP (North American Electric Reliability Corporation critical infrastructure protection) and VGB, the European technical association for power and heat generation. Siemens will be implementing a cyber security solution for power plant automation at the Paguthan (Gujarat) plant of CLP India, the Mumbai-based wholly-owned subsidiary of CLP Holdings Limited, which is one of the largest investor-owned power businesses in Asia. The cyber security solution being implemented by Siemens will support CLP India's efforts to bolster cyber security at its power plant by detecting threats and minimising the risk of advanced cyber attacks. The solution detects, analyses and raises alarms of the threats that move laterally from Information Technology (IT) to Operational Technology (OT) networks. The solution also includes dedicated end point protection to prohibit execution of malicious applications. "Digitalisation, of which cyber security is a key component, will have a huge role to play in India's demand for reliable, efficient and clean power growing by increasing amount of urbanisation and industrialisation. We look forward to collaborating with our customers in their digitalisation endeavours," Prashant Jain, Head, Power Generation Services, Siemens, said in the statement. Even as Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday said on Twitter that the company is in talks with the Indian government for relaxation of import duties for making its electric car in India, a senior government official told Moneycontrol that the proposal is indeed under consideration. He further added and a final decision is yet to be taken whether to give relaxation or not on import duties or not to Tesla. They (Tesla) have been talking to several government departments. Thats been on for a while. There is keen interest from areas such as electronics manufacturing but the final decision will be that of the government, a senior government official who did not wish to be named told Moneycontrol. In discussions with the government of India requesting temporary relief on import penalties/restrictions until a local factory is built Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 14, 2017 Responding to a Delhi based startup entrepreneurs query on Twitter regarding Teslas India plans, Musk tweeted this on Thursday: Tesla is in discussion with the government of India requesting temporary relief on import penalties/restrictions until a local factory is built, he said. Last month, Musk spooked Indian buyers when he hinted that there could be a delay in delivering Teslas Model 3 electric car, following an information he received that local laws mandates sourcing 30 percent of parts locally. Tech entrepreneurs such as Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and GoQii founder Vishal Gondal have been reported to have booked a Tesla Model 3 car. The issue of import duties has not come up the first time. The Indian government last month tweeted a clarification of the sourcing rules through its Make in India Twitter handle, marking Musk in the tweet. In 2015, during his maiden visit to the United States after assuming office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited a Tesla facility in Fremont, California. There were also reports of Tesla considering setting up an assembly unit in India for its Model 3 post Modis visit. The company was also said to be in talks with the Indian government to rationalize import duty on electric cars and was seeking to develop a separate category for electric vehicles. In addition to the design, manufacturing, and selling of electric cars, Tesla also does the same for electric vehicle power train components, and battery products. Prime Minister Modi was said to be a big fan of these non-polluting means of producing energy as part of the Indian governments Clean India initiative. neha.alawadhi@nw18.com Bull's Eye, CNBC-TV18's popular game show, where market experts come together to dish out trading strategies for you to make your week more exciting and compete with each other to see whose portfolio is the strongest. Remember these are midcap ideas not just for the day, but stocks that look attractive in the medium-term as well. This week, Kunal Saraogi, Sumeet Jain and Jay Thakkar battle it out for top honours. Below their top stock picks and analysis: Sumeet Jain of Destimoney Securities Buy Godrej Industries with a stoploss at Rs 632 and target of Rs 674 Buy Rajesh Exports with a stoploss at Rs 649 and target of Rs 686 Buy Prestige Estates with a stoploss at Rs 258 and target of Rs 281 Buy L&T Finance with a stoploss at Rs 133.50 and target of Rs 147 Jay Thakkar, Head-Technical and Derivatives Research, AnandRathi Share & Stock Brokers Buy Greaves Cotton with a stoploss at Rs 160.70 and target of Rs 173.80 Buy Bank of India with a stoploss at Rs 136.90 and target of Rs 146.90 Buy Reliance Infrastructure with a stoploss at Rs 464.90 and target of Rs 491.60 Buy Prestige Estates with a stoploss at Rs 259.80 and target of Rs 282.50 Kunal Saraogi of Equityrush Buy Ceat with a stoploss at Rs 1830 and target of Rs 1900 Buy City Union Bank with a stoploss at Rs 190 and target of Rs 200 Buy Geojit Financial Services with a stoploss at Rs 100 and target of Rs 110 Buy IIFL Holdings with a stoploss at Rs 600 and target of Rs 635 Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com told CNBC-TV18, "I have three ideas, all for buying. The first is Voltas which is now having a small consolidation and breaking out from that. It in any case is in a sustained strong up move. So, we are going with the flow." "The second is Motherson Sumi. It is a very strong stock, it paused and that pause is now coming to an end with a renewal of the up move. Finally Colgate, a part of my favourite FMCG Group. After a long consolidation, it is beginning to move up. So, for the day, there are buying opportunities and that is where the focus should be." "Reliance Industries has been holding the market for the day today. It is a buying opportunity for investors and long term position holders. I dont know about the intraday move because we have already had a decent move there and I have no idea what the impact of the news conference could be on the short term. However, it is a long-term buying opportunity, there are more ambitious targets ahead. If you dont have it in your portfolio, buy it now," he added. Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments and moneycontrol.com. business Go long on Reliance Industries, buy ITC at around Rs 285-290: Ashwani Gujral Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com is of the view that one may go long in Reliance Industries. A French dairy farmer who collects milk from his cows is seen in his farm in La Planche near Nantes,dairy live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More ICICIdirect has initiated coverage with a buy rating on Prabhat Dairy and expects the stock to hit Rs 140 as it is a strong player to bet on value addition in dairy industry. The stock was up 4.5 percent intraday Thursday. The research house believes that with improving capacity utilisation levels and initiatives undertaken to expand the distribution as well as procurement network, Prabhat is all set to take off with its gears in place. It expects company's revenue and adjusted PAT to grow at a CAGR of 14.3 percent and 45.1 percent, respectively, in FY17-19 with an operating margin of 10 percent in FY19. With the end of the investment phase and increasing capacity utilisations across categories, earnings visibility and improving return ratios provide comfort, it feels. Established in 1998, Prabhat Dairy has evolved from a specialty dairy ingredients company to an emerging brand in the dairy industry. It sells its products as ingredient products or co-manufactured products to institutional clients, which currently constitute 70 percent of its sales; and retail consumer brands (Prabhat, Prabhat Milk Magic, Prabhat Flava, Volup), which comprise the remaining sales. ICICIdirect feels structural shift in dairy industry will provide a huge opportunity for the company. Changing customers' preferences and spending patterns are leading to two major structural shifts in dairy industry shift from loose milk to branded products and from liquid milk to value added dairy products (VADPs), it said. With a growing urban population, higher disposable income and rising health consciousness, the organised dairy industry is expected to grow at 19.6 percent CAGR in 2016E-20 to Rs 2.5 lakh crore with increase in market share from 22 percent to 26 percent, according to ICICIdirect. Increasing share of VADPs and high focus on B2C will drive growth, the research house feels. The share of VADPs (ex-SMP) in Prabhat's sales portfolio was 46.0 percent in FY17. ICICIdirect estimates it will reach 48.4 percent by FY19 aided by an increase in capacity utilisation. To tap the opportunity in the high growth cheese industry (around 31 percent CAGR in FY16E-20), Prabhat has commissioned the third largest cheese plant in India at its Shrirampur plant with a capacity of 30 MT per day in 2015. Additionally, the share of the consumer business in the company has grown from mere 11 percent in FY12 to 30 percent in FY17. Prabhat is determined to increase it to 50 percent by FY20, it said. Currently, ghee, curd, UHT, flavoured milk, etc, are key focus areas for the B2C segment. Eventually, the company plans to launch cheese & paneer also in the B2C segment. At 15:15 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 121.50, up Rs 3.25, or 2.75 percent on the BSE. Posted by Sunil Shankar Matkar Anna Hazare One of the most popular anti-corruption crusader of the 21st century, Kisan Baburao Hazare aka Anna Hazare today turned 79. Hazares journey has been nothing short of an adventure. A 1965 war veteran, he sold flowers, drove trucks for the army, transformed a village, fought against the Central Government for implementation of 'Jan Lokpal Bill'. Here is the journey of the Gandhian who never gave up: Early life 1938 - Eldest among six siblings, he was born in a small village Bhingar, Maharashtra to Baburao Hazare and Laxmi Bai. Later, his parents moved to Ralegan Siddhi. 1947: When he was nine, A relative took him to Mumbai to study as Ralegan Siddhi had no primary school. - Due to financial reasons, Hazare had to give up studies and sell flowers at Dadar Station in Mumbai. Stint with the Indian Army 1963 - In spite of his small physique, he was inducted into the Indian Army. 1964-65: While undergoing rigorous training in the army, he once thought of committing suicide but later after reading Swami Vivekananda's book decided against it. 1965 - During the Indo-Pak war, he was stationed in Khem Karan sector and survived an enemy attack in which most of his comrades died. This was the turning point of his life and he decided that he would devote his life to the betterment of the society. Ralegan Siddhi 1975: After taking voluntary retirement from the army, he returned to Ralegan Siddhi. He witnessed widespread poverty in the village due to water scarcity and rampant alcoholism. - He came in contact with Vilasrao Salunkhe who was working on soil and water conservation. Hazare decided to introduce such a project in Ralegan Siddhi. Hence, the Watershed Project was born in the village. Now, instead of 300 acres of land, more than 2000 acres of land could be irrigated. - He made the villagers take an oath that they would fight alcoholism. As a result, more than 35 liquor facility were shut in the village. - He also set up a youth association which worked towards the abolition of alcohol and banned the sale of tobacco, cigarettes, and beedies. - Hazare also established a grain bank, dairy, cooperative society and self-help groups for women. Right to Information (RTI) In 2003, Hazare went on a fast-unto-death in Mumbai's Azad Maidan for enforcement of the RTI Act in Maharashtra. Within 12 days, the Bill was passed and notified by the State Government. Later, this Bill became the draft for the RTI Act passed by the Government of India in 2005. Fight for Lokpal Bill Anna Hazare's long fight against corruption came into limelight in 2011. Under the banner of India Against Corruption, he sat on a fast at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for the passage of the Lokpal Bill in the Parliament. Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Kiran Bedi and many other prominent names were his partners in the movement. He gave an ultimatum to the Central Government that if by August 2011 the Bill is not passed he will sit on a fast-unto-death. The government ignored his warnings which eventually gave birth to a nationwide movement against corruption. After a year-long protest, the Lokpal Bill was passed by the Indian Parliament. The movement also gave birth to Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party which emerged out of the erstwhile 'India Against Corruption'. Rift with Arvind Kejriwal Anna Hazare expressed displeasure over Arvind Kejriwal joining politics who was seen as his closest aide during the Lokpal Bill protest. Awards and recognitions 1990 - Hazare received the prestigious Padmashri Award from former president R. Venkatraman 1992 He also received the prestigious Padmabhushan Award from former president R. Venkatraman for his social initiatives. And his fight still continues Continuing his fight for people, Hazare still participates in public protests, most recently being the sit-in protest in February 2015, against the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. His NGO BVJA is working for the decentralisation of power and laws related to the same. Karnataka government would provide legal help to IT employees who have lost their jobs in the recent layoffs by the software companies told Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge to reporters yesterday, as per the Financial Express report. The minister said that it is difficult for an employee to understand the various aspect of the labour laws. Employee unions have said that they do not have the necessary resources to support the affected employees. The report said that the government is trying understand the concerns of the employee and then take up the issue with the IT companies. The government has received representations from different IT employee unions to take action against companies that have reportedly layoffs employees. IT minister reiterated the need for employees to get upgraded with the latest technology and reskill themselves to stay relevant. State government has also plan to set up centres of excellence in emerging technology like big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and animation. The state is keen to become the skill capital and to safeguard that jobs remain in Bengaluru, he said. Akhilesh Yadav The Samajwadi Party (SP) will be celebrating the International Yoga Day on June 21 with 'cycle yatras' across Uttar Pradesh to spread the message of environment conservation. "SP National President Akhilesh Yadav has asked all the district presidents and office-bearers of the party to undertake cycle yatras on Yoga Day to spread the message of environment and health awareness," said SP spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury. "The leaders of the party will perform yoga at the district headquarters and the workers will ride bicycles in their constituencies," he added. The move is being seen as a counter to the BJP's Yoga Day programme in Lucknow, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to participate along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. When the SP was in power in the state, it had shunned the International Yoga Day celebrations. Sushma Swaraj A new candidate, and a strong one, has emerged in the race for the President of India. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reportedly is in the contention to be NDAs candidate to succeed President Pranab Mukherjee. Throughout her political career, Swaraj has donned many a role at the state, national and global level. She started out with Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad in the 1970s before becoming joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Swaraj, in fact, gave up her practice in Supreme Court and went on to become a minister in Haryana cabinet at 25. Since then, she has served as Chief Minister of Delhi, I&B Minister, Health Minister and the Leader of Opposition. As the External Affairs Minister, she has nurtured great rapport with global leaders. Shes one of the few Indian ministers who uses social media to the fullest. In fact, she has taken up and resolved crucial issues using Twitter. She has many a time intervened to bring home Indians stranded abroad. Swarajs quick-on-feet and timely actions both on and off Twitter distinguish her from fellow politicians. Swaraj's role was crucial in bringing back Indian national Uzma Ahmed from Pakistan. Uzma's husband Tahir Ali had confiscated her passport in a bid to prevent her from returning to her homeland. Swaraj stepped in and Uzma returned to India on May 25. The External Affairs Minister had in the past took Amazon to task after the ecommerce giant was found selling doormats depicting Indian tricolour on its Canadian website. She asked Amazon to withdraw all such products immediately and directed the Indian embassy to look at the issue with Amazon Canada. Back at home, Swaraj who hails from a family of swayamsewaks, garners huge support from across party lines. After undergoing a kidney transplant, she received a huge respect from fellow Members of Parliament during Budget Session. Shes also known for her oratory skills and legislative acumen. Achilles Heel Given the admiration for her among political parties, Swarajs candidature will likely gain support from Opposition parties. Her nomination, may not find takers in the Congress. In the past, Swaraj contested Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in polls. Also, Swaraj hasn't been in pink of the health of late. On December 10, she underwent a kidney transplant operation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. Besides, she has been suffering from diabetes for sometime now. Other contenders for the Presidential post include Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu , senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Speaker Meira Kumar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and former JDU chief Sharad Yadav. The popularity of bitcoin has spiked interest of investors and corporates in cryptocurrencies, in turn encouraging more such currencies like ethereum, blackcoin, litecoin, etc. to come up. Moreover, cryptocurrencies provide faster and secured transactions while charging a minuscule amount for it. Following bitcoins mechanism, cryptocurrencies require solving complex algorithms, termed as mining to reach a consensus on the ledger and validate a transaction. Cryptocurrencies work on a decentralized, distributed ledger called the blockchain, and the process of mining talked above is used to create records on it. This structure of production and dissemination makes it possible for anyone to mine bitcoin, making this currency completely different from fiat money. Ethereum vs Bitcoin Bitcoin is secure and transparent because of the blockchain technology it uses. The blockchain solves the problem of double spending, counterfeiting, and verifies every transactions validity while storing it in a public ledger. Henceforth, nobody can decipher the users identity, but the transaction can be seen by anyone. Must read: Apart from crazy rallies, cryptocurrencies have other perks too Ethereum, which came into being only in 2014, is doing exceptionally well But it was easier for Ether and other altcoins like Litecoin, Zetacoin etc., as they could tap into an existing cryptocurrency community built by the senior player bitcoin which came into being back in 2009. Altcoins mainly try to target any limitation in bitcoin and thus, come up with alternatives as the name suggests. Smart Contracts As an altcoin, ethereum offers smart contracts which are absent in bitcoin mechanism. Smart contracts are computer protocols capable of automatically verifying and enforcing the terms of a contract. It eliminates the complex processes and human intervention needed to make the concerned person or organization accountable. Ethereum is basically bitcoin plus. While bitcoin is purely a digital currency and nothing more, ethereum has a host of additional features, said Aditya, an open-source program developer. In contract code account, smart contract is initiated by the user when a transaction is sent to it from an externally owned account. This process eliminates middle-man business that consumes a lot of resources in business transactions or legal bindings. Ethereum has two types of accounts externally owned account for sending and receiving payments, and contract code account to use smart contract. Timing advantage Each bitcoin transaction has to verified by miners to be confirmed. Hence, users have to wait till they have finished the mining process. The bitcoin protocol has been structured in a way that mining of each block requires around 10 minutes. Ethereum runs on a slightly different blockchain system than bitcoin and has a block time of 12 seconds in contrast with bitcoins 10 minutes for adding a new block to the chain and confirming actions quicker. This quick time is enabled by ethereums GHOST protocol, said Aditya. The timing problem is to be solved soon as the bitcoin community recently reached a consensus on the scaling issue that earlier capped the block size to 1 megabyte. The block size was increased to 4 megabyte and Segregated Witness-- a new way of verifying transactionswas activated. Earlier, blocks had signatures required at the time of validation by nodes in the bitcoin network. It created a bulk and accounted for 60 percent of the size of blockchain, according to bitcoin core developer Pieter Wuille. Segregated Witness is about ignoring them [the signatures] where possible, he said during a talk on the new mechanism. For a bitcoin transaction, only a bitcoin address and a private key is needed. While the address is public and acts as an input, the private key is secret and can initiate transaction. In the transaction, an input amount is sent to an output address. But there are no stored coins, only balances; the transactions result in decrease or increase of balance amount. The Centre today told the Supreme Court that its notification banning the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter was aimed at having a "regulatory regime" on cattle trade across the country A vacation bench comprising justices R K Agrawal and S K Kaul issued notice to the government and asked it to file its reply on the pleas within two weeks and fixed the matter for hearing on July 11. During the brief hearing, Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha, representing the Centre, told that bench that the intention behind coming out with the notification was to have some kind of a regulatory regime. "The intention was to bring in existence some kind of a regulatory regime for cattle trade," he told the bench. He said the notification would also check irregularities in cattle markets and it would not have any impediment on the genuine cattle traders across the country. When one of the petitioners requested the bench to stay the notification, Narasimha said the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has already granted an interim stay on it and it would not be enforced as of now. The counsel appearing for one of the petitioners told the apex court that due to the notification, serious problems have cropped up in places like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other nearby states. One of the petitioners before the apex court has claimed that provisions in the notification were unconstitutional as they violated the fundamental rights including freedom of conscience and religion and right to livelihood. The Centre had last month banned the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter through an Environment Ministry notification -- 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017' under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. One of the petitioners, Hyderabad-based Mohammed Abdul Faheem Qureshi, had contended in his plea that the notification was "against the freedom of religious practice to sacrifice the animals" and imposing a ban on slaughter of animals for food violates the right to food, privacy and personal liberty guaranteed to a citizen under the Constitution. It also claimed that states like Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura and Karnataka have said that they would not implement the Centre's ban as it would impact the livelihood of those involved in this business. "It is also to be noted that slaughtering of animals for food, the foods and culinary made out of such animal flesh and offering sacrifice of animals is a part of cultural identity of such communities, which is protected from any legislative or executive encroachment under Article 29 of the Constitution of India which is not been subjected to any restriction by the framers of the Constitution," the petitioner had said. A complete ban on sale or purchase or re-sale of animals would cast a huge economic burden on the farmers, cattle traders who find it difficult to feed their children today, the plea had said. The cattle also needs to be fed as it was an offence under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 to starve an animal or failure to maintain it and the notification would also "give way for cow vigilantes to harass farmers and cattle traders under the blessing of impugned regulations", it said. It had also sought the apex court's direction to declare these rules of Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Regulation Of Live Stocks, Markets) Rules and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care And Maintenance Of Case Property Animals) as ultra vires and unconstitutional. It is depriving the citizens food of their choice and is in violation of the right to livelihood under Article 21 of the Constitution and also inconsistent and violative of section 28 of the parent Act, the plea said. With growing passenger numbers, the civil aviation ministry is looking at the possibility of increasing the bilateral rights for flights from Turkey and neighbouring China. A bilateral air service agreement allows airlines from either country to have a stipulated number of seats on their flights to each other's jurisdiction. Both Turkey and China are believed to be looking for increase in the number of flight seats. The bilateral rights of China and Turkey "are under consideration and no final decision has been taken yet," a senior ministry official said today. India and China are among the fastest growing aviation markets. Last fiscal, India's international traffic rose over 8 per cent to 5.92 crore passengers. As many as 3.27 lakh passengers flew into India from China and 3.3 lakh passengers travelled to China from the country, as per official data. Total passengers between Turkey and India stood at 4.68 lakh during the same period. India Economy India today called for enhanced connectivity and unimpeded trade among SCO member states with due respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity besides deepening cooperation to fight terrorism and extremism. Speaking at the flag raising ceremony of India and Pakistan at the headquarters of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) here, Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale highlighted India's sovereignty concerns without directly referring to USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "We support enhanced connectivity and unimpeded trade in the SCO region and believe that initiatives should be pursued in an inclusive and sustainable manner with due respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all members," he said. He said India would also like to deepen practical cooperation in its fight against terrorism and extremism. The envoy also offered India's readiness to share its expertise in a host of areas including space and IT. "We are ready to share our expertise with fellow SCO members in areas like IT, Space, renewable energy, agriculture, banking and human resource development," he said. "With India's joining, SCO now represents 20 per cent of the world's GDP, 22 per cent of the area, 42 per cent of the world's population. Stability and progress of the SCO will be beneficial to the region and the world at large. India stands ready to contribute to further enhancing the stature and influence of the SCO," he said. "Together with other members, we are ready to harvest new opportunities to realise the full potential of our mutually beneficial cooperation," he said. He offered India's full support to China for successful and productive Presidency of the SCO. China took over as the rotating Presidency of the organisation from Kazakhstan. Indian and Pakistani flags were formally raised at the SCO headquarters today. Later, Gokhale along with Pakistan's Ambassador to China Masood Khalid, Assistant Foreign Minister of China Kong Xuanyou and SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov beat a huge drum representing Shanghai spirit. Terming the entry of Pakistan and India into the SCO as a historic day, Khalid said it is beginning of a new journey for Pakistan. "This is a moment of fulfilment, of accomplishment, and of success. It will remind us in future that it was on this day that we had pledged together to work for a shared vision of common development," he said. Pakistan will work to uphold the Shanghai Spirit and the SCO Charter to promote peace and stability in the region, further harness the potential of SCO for regional security, connectivity and economic integration and develop people to people contacts and cultural interaction, he said. "Let us all pledge on this day that we will leave no stone unturned in the attainment of greater good of our people through cooperation and understanding as SCO family," he said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has left for a four-day visit to South Korea to participate in the economic dialogue. It is the 2nd Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Jaitley will have one-on-one meetings with the South Korean industry leaders including the CEO of Samsung Electronics, and the Chairman of Hyosung Group, among others. On the first leg of his visit, Jaitley will arrive in Seoul and his first engagement would be a meeting with Han Minkoo, Minister of National Defence, Republic of Korea, an official statement said. Jaitley holds portfolio of defence and corporate affairs and will have a meeting with the Deputy PM and Finance Minister of Korea. He will interact with Korean official delegation as part of India-Korea Strategic Economic Dialogue in the afternoon. During the visit, he will have a meet the representatives of the Korean financial industry. Later, the chairman of the KB Bank, Korea will call on the visiting Finance Minister of India. Jaitley will call on the President of Korea. In the evening on June 15, Jaitley will leave for Jeju to participate in the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of AIIB. The following day, he will participate in the Opening Ceremony of the 2nd Annual Meeting of Board of Governors' of AIIB followed by the Governors' Business Session. Later in the afternoon, Jaitley will participate in AIIB Workshop on 'Energy Strategy of the AIIB'. As part of the visit, industry body Ficci, along with Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is organising a seminar, where Jaitley will address businessmen from leading companies and SMEs as well as corporate and institutional investors. The seminar will focus on the key achievements of the government and long-term investment opportunities in India. Ground staff work next to a parked Air India passenger plane at an airport in Madurai The much-awaited airport near the temple-town of Shirdi near Ahmednagar is expected to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister by July end, according to an Indian Express report. This airport, partly funded by Saibaba Sansthan Trust, is a good news for Saibaba devotees as it is going to cut down Mumbai to Shirdi travel time to 40 minutes. By train or road the 238 km long trip generally takes more than 5 hours. The airport, situated 14 kms from Shirdi, would initially have the traffic of four flights a day according to Suresh Kakani, the vice-chairman and MD of Mahrashtra Airport Development Company (MADC). He is also expecting 700-800 passengers flying in and out daily, Kakani told Indian Express. This is the first airport project by MADC which is responsible for operating it as well. The airport will be connected to major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Visakhapatnam as per the agency. The authorities were planning to start international flights to Shirdi by October ahead of the festivities as lot of foreign tourists and pilgrims go there, Vishwas M. Patil, the chairman of MADC, told Times of India. The airport, which took seven years to materialize, has a 2,500 metre long runway, a terminal building, ATC tower and four watchtowers among other things. Sanctioned in 2010 to promote religious tourism, the airport is yet to have some crucial things in place. It still does not have the following: Operating license from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), permanent water connection and source of power, food-supply resources, etc. Plans of extending the runway, four hangars for private jets, etc. are also in store. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick speaks to students during an interaction at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Mumbai, India, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Picture Uber CEO Travis Kalanick along with former company executives Emil Michael and Eric Alexander have now been personally sued by the Delhi rape survivor in a California District Court for accessing the her personal medical records. The victim, now a resident of Texas, had earlier sued Uber Inc. for failure to provide her safety. The lawsuit was represented by Wigdor LLP, a New York based law firm, and was learnt to have been settled. In a fresh lawsuit filed this week, the survivor has demanded damages in an amount to be determined at trial, plus prejudgment interest, to compensate her for all physical, monetary and economic harm, Douglas Wigdor, partner at Wigdor LLP has stated. The survivor accused Ubers senior executives for violating her for a second time by unlawfully obtaining and sharing her medical records. A Spokesperson of Uber in an email response to Moneycontrol said, "No one should have to go through a horrific experience like this, and we're truly sorry that she's had to relive it over the last few weeks." The NY based law firm has alleged that Uber senior executives passed around her medical records and went on make 'numerous statements to each other and other employees at Uber that the victim was fraudulently claiming that she had been raped in collusion with a rival of Uber.' Rival Ola in India said in a statement earlier this month that Uber had hit an all time low on morality. "It is a shame that the privacy and morals of a woman have to be questioned in an attempt to trivialize a horrific crime. It is despicable that anyone can even conceive an attempt to malign competition," Ola had said. Alexanders actions were just a sampling in a long series of inappropriate, discriminatory actions that he, Kalanick, and Michael took for years without any consequences, the lawsuit states. The accused driver registered with Uber was found guilty by an Indian court of raping the Delhi executive in December 2014, and is serving life imprisonment. Uber had faced a backlash in India post the incident, which also led to a ban in the Indian capital of Delhi. It was discovered that the accused driver had about four other pending criminal cases against him that put a question mark on Ubers vetting process for its driver network. Alexander and Michael have quit Uber earlier this month after reports surfaced that alleged that both had access to victims medical records. CEO Kalanick is also on an indefinite leave of absence. The lawsuit comes just days after an internal investigation into Ubers work culture was made public. The report, authored by a law firm where the former Attorney general Eric Holder is a partner, recommended at least 40 changes in the companys work ethics related to sexual harassment, diversity, and gender discrimination. Also read: Law firm recommends Uber to restrict alcohol budget, office romances Rising above party politics, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to invite the leaders of all the political parties, including former chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, to its 'International Yoga Day' function on June 21. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to send the invitation to the leaders of all the political parties, former chief ministers and Assembly speakers, a senior government official told PTI today. The main function on June 21 will be held at the sprawling Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan in the state capital here. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adityanath will lead around 55,000 yoga enthusiasts in performing 'asanas' (yoga postures) at the maidan, he added. The programme, which is being organised by the AYUSH Ministry, is also likely to be attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other Union and state ministers, said the official. Former chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Mayawati (BSP), Narayan Dutt Tiwari (formerly with the Congress), Kalyan Singh (BJP) and former governor Motilal Vora would be invited to the function among others. Lucknow District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma, who is overseeing the preparations for the function, said he had received the list of those who would have to be invited and added that the invites would be sent out soon. U.S. President Barack Obama's motorcade arrives at the Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace, which has been illuminated for Republic Day, before an official state dinner for Obama at the palace in New Delhi January 25, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (INDIA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR4MUHS K Padmarajan has fought 171 elections over the last 29 years but never won any. Not disheartened by his record, he has now filed for the Presidential nomination papers this time. The 57-year old homeopathic doctor-turned-businessman from Salem, Tamil Nadu, known as the Election King, Padmarajan holds the Limca World record for being the most unsuccessful candidate in elections. He hopes one day to get into the Guinness World Records as well. His election effort have cost nearly Rs 20 lakh -- this is for the election deposit; he does not spend a single penny campaigning -- but everytime he contests an election, he prays that he loses it. Padmarajan's fail record is without parallel: he has unsuccessfully contested elections against four prime ministers, 11 chief ministers, 13 union ministers and 15 state ministers, having filing nominations across the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and New Delhi since 1988. In total, he has contested eight presidential elections, 28 Lok Sabha elections, 35 Rajya Sabha elections and 51 Assembly and other local body elections so far. Some of the commendable names on his opponents list include Presidents Pranab Mukherjee, Pratibha Patil, APJ Abdul Kalam and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, among others. The highest number of votes Padmarajan was ever able to garner was 6,273 during the Tamil Nadu 2011 Assembly elections. Last year, he wanted to contest against Narendra Modi in Vadodara, but his nomination was rejected. What drives him to keep losing elections? Padmarajan wants to prove a point: that elections can be fought by anyone, however only those with money can win them. In an interview to AIB, he said he would name his party Election King Failure Party if he were to form one. Voting for the Presidential Elections this time will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 17 at places fixed under the rules. The vote count will be on July 20, four days before incumbent Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 24. The new President is set to assume office the following day. Extensive damage is seen to the tower block that was destroyed in a fire disaster, in north Kensington, West London, Britain June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls - RTS177HD The death toll in a devastating fire that engulfed the 24-storey residential block in west London rose to 17 on Thursday, even as many people were still unaccounted for with police saying there was little chance of finding any survivors from the smoldering building. London Fire Brigade fire fighters worked through the night to try and account for whole families that are still missing in the huge fire at the Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate in Latimer Road. The fire was reported at 01:16 AM (local time) yesterday. About 600 people were believed to have been inside the tower's 120 flats, many of them asleep, when the blaze ripped through the building. Police confirmed 17 deaths among the 600 residents thought to have lived in the tower but expect that toll to rise significantly as the building is searched. Scotland Yard said the death toll of 17 is expected to rise further as the emergency services have lost hope of rescuing any more people alive from the building. Nearly 78 people were injured, and 34 remain in hospitals across London 18 of them in critical condition. "There is going to be a long and complex recovery operation. I do anticipate the number of fatalities will sadly increase," said Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Mundy. Responding to a question, he said there was "nothing to suggest the fire had anything to do with terrorism". London fire commissioner Dany Cotton said it was not safe for fire crews to go all the way out to the edges of the building. "The fire is now out, there are small pockets of smoldering. You will see wisps of smoke coming out all day due to the heat of the building and the remaining contents. There are, as we believe, still unknown numbers of people in the building," Cotton told Sky News. "Due to the severity of the fire and the way things are, it will take a long time for us to be able to do that search to properly identity anyone who is left in the building, tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. "The severity and the heat of the fire will mean that it will be an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive," she said as she indicated that the search operation could take weeks. Firefighters worked through the night to dampen the fire. Crews using an aerial platform were going "floor by floor" shining lights into the building, BBC reported. Almost all of the building had been searched but crews were still trying to put out "pockets of fire" in hard to reach places and "unknown numbers" remain inside, London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Steve Apter said. Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, who praised the efforts of the fire crews and said her "thoughts and prayers" are with the families of the victims. "Prince Philip and I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of firefighters and other emergency services officers who put their own lives at risk to save others. It is also heartening to see the incredible generosity of community volunteers rallying to help those affected by this terrible event," she said. British Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a "proper investigation" after the building went up in flames early yesterday morning amid growing concerns about how the fire could have spread so rapidly. Speaking in Downing Street, she said, "When it's possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken." More than 1 million pounds have been raised to help those affected by the massive blaze which ripped through the building. Volunteers and charities helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. Gurdwaras, mosques, and churches opened their doors to the people rendered homeless, which included hundreds of nearby housing blocks that were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Bhupinder Singh, one British Sikh volunteer handling donations, said, "It is times like this that the best of our community comes out. This is where you find out how good it is to live in England and how good it is to be a Londoner." Questions have been raised about why the fire appeared to spread so quickly and engulf the entire building instead of being contained within a few flats. One focus of the investigation is expected to be the building's rain-screen cladding that was installed for better insulation during the nearly 10-million-pound refurbishment work carried out on the building last year. Construction firm Rydon, which carried out the refurbishment, said on its website, "Rydon completed a refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for KCTMO (Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) on behalf of the Council, which met all required building control, fire regulation and health & safety standards." "We will cooperate with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their enquiries into the causes of this fire at the appropriate time," it said. Concerns have also been raised about fire alarms not going off and the lack of sprinklers. The building, dating back to 1974, is owned by the local government council and houses some of the poorer sections of the working class in the North Kensington area of London, one of London's richest boroughs in terms of funding and amenities. Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it had received complaints about the refurbishment works after a residents' action group said its warnings about safety had fallen on "deaf ears". The local Grenfell Action Group had claimed, before and during the refurbishment, that the block constituted a fire risk and residents had warned that access to the site for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted". Appeals are being made on social media for news of friends and family who are still missing and the Indian High Commission in London has also made an appeal on Facebook for any Indians caught up in the tragedy to make contact. Children and a baby were seen being thrown out of the windows to be caught by emergency workers and members of the public below. London Fire Brigade said it had rescued 65 people as flames engulfed the block, and had managed to reach all 24 floors, though a full search of the building has not been completed. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear today before a Supreme Court-appointed team probing the Panamagate graft case, an unprecedented development that will make him the first sitting premier to depose before such a panel. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) chief Wajid Zia had summoned the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team today with all documents relevant to the case. Ahead of his deposition befor the JIT, Sharif held consultations with his close aides and family members this morning. It is expected that finance minister Ishaq Dar will accompany him to the deposition. Sharif has already barred his party activists from join him or receiving him at the Judicial Academy in Islamabad where he would be questioned. The summons were issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned last Saturday from Kazakhstan where he had attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted a JIT and empowered it to summon the prime minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money-laundering, through which the four apartments in London's posh Park Lane area were purchased. Sharif has denied any wrongdoing. The Joint Investigation Team had questioned Sharif's sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings. His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the youngerson, was summoned twice. The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s. On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six- member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons' alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case. The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time. It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would appear before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases. It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or would be called again like his two sons. Media reports had also said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar may also be questioned today by the JIT before Sharif's appearance. The JIT probing the offshore holdings of Prime Minister Sharif and his children has also summoned his younger brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to appear before it on June 17. Qatar Airways said that it was largely unaffected by the decision of several Arab countries to ban the Doha-based carrier from using their airspace. "Qatar Airways' global operations continue to run smoothly, with the vast majority of our network unaffected by the current circumstances," said chief executive Akbar Al- Baker. The Qatari carrier released a statement saying it had operated some 1,200 flights in the past week, 90 percent of which took off within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure times. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt are among several countries that suspended ties with Qatar last week, including the suspension of all flights to and from Doha and an airspace ban on Qatar Airways. Yesterday, the four Arab countries said the air embargo only applies to airlines from Qatar or registered there. Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse gas-rich Doha of supporting Islamist extremists in what is the worst crisis to grip the Gulf in years. Qatar denies the allegations. Earlier this week, Qatar Airways announced profits of USD 540 million in the fiscal year which ended in March. But analysts warn the profitable carrier could take a hit should the diplomatic crisis drag out. Qatar Airways on June 7 announced the cancelation of all flights into Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain, just weeks after having been hit by a new US travel ban on laptops and tablets in passenger cabins. By CNBCTV18.COM The probe now seeks to determine whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials told the Post. Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election has widened, The Washington Post reported, citing officials. The probe now seeks to determine whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials told the Post. A spokesman for Trump's lawyer told NBC: "The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." People familiar with the matter told the Post that the obstruction of justice probe started in the wake of Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey. Mueller's team will interview Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Richard Ledgett, former deputy director of the NSA, the Post reported, citing five people briefed on the interview requests. Education Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu. Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu. Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events: International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu. EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu. Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary. June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets June Homecoming: Participant $18 per person; Sustainer $25 per person; Benefactor $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary. Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary. The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events: SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available for information call 610-275-1960 Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above) SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m. Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m. Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m. Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. 4 p.m. computers are available during those hours. Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863. Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376. Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com. The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes: Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020. CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313. The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events: Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m. Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m. Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m. Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30. Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301. For Kids & Families The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443. Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950. Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required. The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950. Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus. Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage. Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun. Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train. Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world! Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class. Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org. Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583. Community Events at the Ambler Y: -YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register. Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org. Health Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot. The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net. The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863. The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information. Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245. Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net. Spring Aquatic Programs UDHS Pool: -Summer is just around the corner Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required. Shallow Water Aerobics Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR. Adult Swim Instructions Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR -Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21. -Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m. -Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons. -Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates. Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994. SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com. Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org. Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs: FITNESS CLASSES Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month. Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30 9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly. SUPPORT GROUPS Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000. Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30 7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047. New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. 12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30 4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931. Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325. Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes. Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com. Librarytalk Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744 www.upperdublinlibrary.org APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS: Storytimes: Please register in the library. o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m. o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m. o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6. APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS: North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS: NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org. One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register contact info above. Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744. o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register. Meetings: Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m. Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m. Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org. For children and teens at Blue Bell: * Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian. * Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages. * Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages. * Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages. * Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m. * May 14 Despicable Me * June 11 Alpha and Omega * Special Events * April watch for date of spring/Easter events * April 14 at 4:30 p.m. Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children. * April 14 at 7 p.m. Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided. * April 16 at 1 p.m. Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King. * April 16 at 1:30 p.m. Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes? * April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button. * April 30 through May 3 Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults. * May sign up for Science in the Summer * June sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children * June sign up for Summer Reading, all ages For adults at Blue Bell: * Daytime Book Discussion Group fourth Tuesday, Jan April at 1:30 p.m. * April 26 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester * Night-time Book Discussion Group third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. o April 19 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester * Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked? *Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs * Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class. * Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class. * Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m. * Giant Book Sale, April 29 May 3 o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults! o Held during library hours. o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m. o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join. * Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series o May 11 at 1 p.m. Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society * Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room. * Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read. * Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome. * Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome. *Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older. * Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours * Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours * Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday! Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library. * Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian. * Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages. * Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages. * For adults: * Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn. * Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net * Special Events: * April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian. * April 19 at 7 p.m. Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m. * April 21 at 7 p.m. Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades. *May 2 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time. *May 10 Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m. *May 12 at 1:30p.m. Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. *May 17 Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m. *June 13 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time. Meetings and Lectures The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833. The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313. Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200. The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/. LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings. Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment. The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org. Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org. The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org) -Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them. The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter. For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps. Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin. Special Events The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County. The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065. Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org. The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org. The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members. Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex. The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com. The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348. The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org. Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163. The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu. The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com. The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net. Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd. The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages. 13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries. Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler. The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family. The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler. JPRN Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike. Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies. Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately. Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways. Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table. Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443. Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m. Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374 Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall: -Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store. Music and Theater The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html. Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free. The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org Religious News The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276. Reunions St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net. Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572. Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779. Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411. Support New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149. PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931. The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296. Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656. Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group every other Wednesday, 7 8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information. CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7 8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich, The Dusty Miller that I grew in planters on this years patio garden was the clear champion of the season. Not only did the plants survive a huge deer incursion without suffering a nibble, but theyve also now held up... Friends In Pink is still on the radar and growing every year Letter to editor: Voting is necessary to protect democracy June 15, 2017 Open Thread 2017-23 News & views ... Posted by b on June 15, 2017 at 17:34 UTC | Permalink Comments next page Jeannette Close has been named the associate publisher at New SV Media and will head up all advertising and circulation at the Morgan Hill Times, the Gilroy Dispatch and the Hollister Free Lance. She is based out of the Gilroy Dispatch office in downtown Gilroy. The next five years are going to be explosive. There is a lot going on in South Valley and San Benito County and I am excited to join the SV Media family as we are about to expand and grow alongside the communities we call home, said Close. Close began her career in community journalism in San Diego more than 20 years ago and then travelled north, where she joined Silicon Valley Community Newspapers as advertising manager, later becoming its associate publisher after it was sold. Most recently, Close headed up the advertising operations at the Press Banner in Scotts Valley and the San Lorenzo Valley. I love the direct contact you get with the community at local newspapers, said Close, who used to collect newspapers from around the world when she was a 13-year-old kid in her hometown of Peoria, Illinois. Its great when people come into the office to talk about stories weve written and to learn how our reporting has made a difference to them. Close looks forward to getting out in the community to meet with local businesses, leaders and newspaper readers. We are not a big corporation, said Close. We are locally owned and each of the papersMorgan Hill Times, Gilroy Dispatch, Hollister Free Lancehas an important legacy in the communities they serve. We want to provide good journalism and, for our advertisers, an opportunity to reach and tell their story to new and returning customers. We aim to give local businesses an avenue to promote themselves that is within reach financially and takes advantage of all the business development tools we have to offer. Drop Jeannette Close a line at [email protected] Editors note: A previous version of this story reported the mayors seat will continue to be elected by the voters at large under the chosen district-based system. City Attorney Don Larkin clarified this has not yet been determined. The council will determine how the mayor will be elected under the district system in the coming weeks. Starting November 2018, voters in Morgan Hill will begin electing their city councilmembers in a district-based election process. Thats a sharp change from the current and long-standing at-large system where every eligible voter within the city limits can choose who they want to represent the entire community. The sitting council unanimously approved this change at the June 7 meeting, not because they wanted to but because theyre certain its the only way to avoid a costly lawsuit that would force them to alter the election system anyway. In fact, councilmembers think the district-based system will have the opposite of its intended effect, and will make it more difficult for voters to gain adequate representation. Morgan Hill is now following a similar path as other nearby jurisdictions that have switched to by-district voting, prompted by threats from attorneys who claim the at-large system violates the California Voting Rights Act. The at-large system results in vote dilution and prevents under-represented groups such as Latino voters from influencing the results of elections, reads a May 2 letter to Morgan Hill City Manager Steve Rymer from the law firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho. City Attorney Don Larkin recommended the council switch to a district-based election system at the June 7 meeting, based on the high improbability that the city could keep its current system in the face of legal challenges now that it has been threatened. The California (VRA) has a strong preference for district elections, Larkin told the council. If someone can show there is polarization (of minority voters), they can sue No city has ever successfully defended itself from claims of minority polarization under the CVRA. Under a by-district or district-based election system, each elected officialin this case a city councilmembermust reside within the designated councilmember area boundary within the city limits, and is elected only by the voters in that area. City staff and councilmembers will spend the next three months conducting public meetings trying to get as much community input as possible as they establish four or five (depending on whether the mayors office remains elected at large) new council districts within the city limits. The council will likely consult with a demographer to help draw the city up into four districts of equal populations. The next public meeting on the matter will take place 7 p.m. June 21 at council meeting chambers, 17575 Peak Ave., the focus of which, Larkin said, is to begin gathering input from the community. This outreach is the most crucial part of the process, according to councilmembers who devoted the bulk of the June 7 discussion to determining the best methods to reach every voter in Morgan Hill. I suggest we start now with informing the community, Councilmember Caitlin Jachimowicz said. Between June 21 and Aug. 23 will be three more public hearings devoted to the task of dividing up the city into four council districts. A council subcommittee or citizens advisory committee (which one is yet to be determined) will oversee the drawing of draft district maps from June 29 to July 7. Draft maps will be published July 14. The district-based election system will roll out for the November 2018 election, in which the seats occupied by Councilmembers Rich Constantine and Jachimowicz will appear on the ballot. Councilmembers Larry Carr and Rene Spring will continue to serve the city at large until their seats next appear on the ballot in November 2020, after which those seats too will be elected within their respective new district. The council has not determined if the mayor will continue to be elected at large under this system, but it is currently leaning that way, Larkin said. Another option is to make the mayors office essentially a fifth council seat elected from within a city district equal in size and representation to those designated to the other four seats on the body. Attorney Mike Baller, who signed the May 2 letter from Goldstein, Borgen, said the council will not meet its requirements under the CVRA if it keeps the mayors seat elected at large. If the city is trying to shield itself from being sued, this plan (an at-large elected mayor) will not do it, Baller said. Under the current system, the mayors seat is up for election by the voters every two years, but the seat is equal in voting power to the other four councilmembers, who face election every four years. In many other cities, the office of mayor is assigned to a sitting council member, by a majority of the council as a whole, often on a rotating basis. Council: No other choice Councilmembers at the June 7 meeting had no praise for the new system, and were sharply critical of the May 2 letter signed by attorneys with the Goldstein, Borgen firm. All four councilmembers presentMayor Steve Tate was absentdeclared their only choice was to switch to a by-district system. The May 2 letter is rubbish, said Councilmember Rene Spring. Im all for being an inclusive city, but (this) will set wrong expectations, and its probably unlikely it will lead to the results those pushing the changes are hoping for, Spring said. I dont think it will raise the inclusiveness. That will come with great candidates stepping up. Jachimowicz added, Going to district elections does not mean more people will have a voiceA law firm will get a large sum of money from the city. Larkin explained to the council that the May 2 letter, titled Demand for Compliance with California Voting Rights Act, started a 90-day timeframe during which the city cannot be sued as long as the council chooses to change to a district-based system. Because the council made that decision June 7, any damages, fees and other costs claimed by the attorneys are capped at $30,000. Larkin said these costs could include the drafting of the demand letter and any oversight the firm might conduct to ensure the city is drawing adequate district maps. The letter from Goldstein, Borgen states the firm represents Latino citizens and voters of the City of Morgan Hill. It does not specify who these clients are. Based on our review of election returns and demographic information it is clear that disproportionately few Latinos, and other candidates favored by non-Latino voters, have been successful in winning election to the Morgan Hill City Council, the letter states, in part. For instance, none of the five current members of the City Council (including the mayor) is a Latino. Morgan Hill attorney Armando Benavides, who unsuccessfully ran for seat on the council in the 2016 election, was one of three local voters who expressed support for the councils change to a by-district system. Benavides, who is Latino, declined to say if he is one of the clients represented by Goldstein, Borgen. Benavides was an advocate for MHUSD board of trustees change in 2015 to a by-district election system. Its a better opportunity for all the communitys needs to be considered, because each councilmember has a particular district they have to account for, Benavides said of the councils June 7 decision. Federal prosecutors say Justin Nojan Sullivans attorney in his murder case should not be allowed to intervene in his federal sentencing. In May, Attorney Victoria Jayne filed motions for a limited appearance and to intervene in the federal case. Jayne, along with attorney Matthew Cabe, represents Sullivan in his murder case. Sullivan, 21, is accused of killing a neighbor, John Bailey Clark, who was 74 years old when he died, on Dec. 18, 2014 , and burying him in a shallow grave behind Clarks home. District Attorney David Learner will seek the death penalty against Sullivan if hes found guilty. He is charged with first-degree murder. Sullivan is expected to be sentenced on the terrorism charge on June 27 at the federal courthouse in Asheville. Sullivan pleaded guilty in November to one count of attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Jaynes motion for limited appearance is so she can argue for the motion to intervene in Sullivans federal case. She said in her motion that the federal government intends to present evidence during Sullivans sentencing hearing as to the pending murder charge. Federal officials filed a response in opposition to Jaynes request two weeks ago that says Jayne should be prevented from presenting arguments and facts that contradict the factual basis negotiated by Sullivans defense attorney in his federal case, Fredilyn Sison, and adopted by the Sullivan under oath. A federal indictment against Sullivan said he used a .22-calibur gun he stole from his father to murder Clark and hid the gun in a crawl space under his house, along with a black ski mask, a lock pick kit and an unregistered silencer. The response says Sullivans parents told officials they were at their second home in Georgia during the time Clark was killed. Federal documents say Sullivan intended to carry out a mass casualty attack on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). The federal response says forensic analysis of a shell fired in an FBI laboratory from the gun had identical tool markings to the gun shell found at the Clark murder scene. The shell was found on the floor next to Clarks bed, it says. Clark was killed in his bed, it says. Clark was shot in the head three times, officials have said. The federal response, in part, says Sullivan conspired with ISIS member Junaid Hussain to commit terrorist acts transcending national boundaries. It says Sullivan had a text conversation with Hussain that was recovered from Sullivans phone. The response says Sullivan deleted the conversation as FBI agents entered his house. The response says evidence the federal government received from the SBI related to the Clark murder, including autopsy reports and reports of forensic analysis of evidence obtained from both the Clark murder scene and Sullivans home, were given to Sison. The response also says the governments analysis of Sullivans laptop revealed a library of jihadist ISIS videos, writings and songs exhorting followers to commit attacks wherever they are in the world. The government also interviewed witnesses it says can prove Sullivan committed the Clark murder in a manner he later discussed in a text message, according to the federal response. However, Sullivan and his defense in the federal case generally disputed or at least did not admit statements which concluded he murdered Clark, the federal response says. The response says Jaynes motion doesnt say whether her arguments objecting to potential evidence to be offered by the federal government at Sullivans sentencing hearing are shared by Sison or conflict with Sisons planned representation of Sullivan. The federal response to Jaynes motion says Sullivan should not be permitted to be represented by two different counsel for the purpose of making inconsistent objections and argument. The response says the government objects to two different counsel for the same defendant arguing different positions. Also contrary to Attorney Jaynes Motion, the agreed recommendation for a life sentence in this case is not based solely on the Defendants attempted mass casualty attack on behalf of ISIS, but includes other facts showing the Defendants history and characteristics such as his murder of Mr. Clark and solicitation of the (undercover federal agent) to kill his parents, the response says. The federal response says Sullivans murder of Clark and his willingness to hire someone to kill his parents show that he is not just a misguided youth fantasizing about murder on the Internet, but a killer from whom society needs protection. When the federal agent who was communicating with Sullivan before he was arrested in 2015 said he would get caught committing the murder Sullivan urged him to commit, Sullivan wrote people kill people all the time and get away with it. [J]ust shoot then leave. [W]ear a mask and do it at night, the response says. The federal response says the conclusion is that Sullivan was writing from his own experience when he said the undercover agent could get away with murder. While Attorney Jayne would separate the Defendants crimes neatly into categories of federal and state offenses; the Defendant did not do so. Instead, the Defendant practiced murder on Mr. Clark an elderly recluse with diminished capacity while embracing the violent terrorist philosophy of ISIS. The Defendant then used his experience killing Mr. Clark to cajole a person he was recruiting to commit a murder of his own, the federal response says. The response goes on to say, Finally, the Clark murder is evidence that the Defendant was ready, willing and able to commit the mass murder he was planning with the UCE and Junaid Husain. But for the FBIs intervention, the Defendant would have purchased an AR 15 semi-automatic machine gun at the Hickory Gun Show and committed an Orlando-style mass casualty shooting in North Carolina. Also, but for the FBIs investigation of the Defendants terrorist activity, Mr. Clarks murder would have gone unsolved. The response says for those reasons, the federal government has the right to present the circumstances of Clarks murder in the federal case. A federal judge has yet to rule on Jaynes motion. Sharon McBrayer is a staff writer and can be reached at smcbrayer@morganton.com or at 828-432-8946. Emma Wall: Hello, Dan. Dan Kemp: Hello, Emma. Wall: So, quite a big day today. We've had the general election results. We started the morning in a bit of turmoil. But by this afternoon, actually, things calmed down and we do know who is going to be the Prime Minister and we do know who is going to be in government. Who is that? Kemp: Absolutely. So, we have the same Prime Minister we had when I went to bed last night. So, Teresa May is back in power. And so, again, not much has really changed. She didn't have a big majority beforehand. She has got an even smaller majority now. So, she is faced with a lot of the constraints that she had before, but of course now has to keep the DUP happy as well. So, she has got a few things on her mind, but really very little change for investors. Wall: And that's the key point here, isn't it, because if you look to the FTSE 100 today and you weren't aware of the news headlines, you'd have no idea that it was a momentous day? The FTSE 100 has moved up and down by a percentage point and indeed, the FTSE 250 has also had ever so slight flicker. I mean, it does not look like it's been a big news day, a big macro news day. Kemp: No. Exactly. And there's a lesson for us that we don't have to worry about the big macro news unless it really impacts long-term valuations. It makes very little difference. Sometimes the market noise, the market movements, create opportunities to buy things cheaply, but really macroeconomics has very little to do with investment. And so, it's a great example of why people should stop worrying about macroeconomic events, stop trying to predict the political events and really focus on the long-term, focus on valuations. Wall: So, for focusing on valuations, what is your opinion of the U.K. stock market at the moment? Because we have had a significant rally over the last year, well, since Brexit, does that mean that people should stop to take those gains or have we got further to rumble on? Kemp: Well, of course, that is to some extent predicting the future, which I try desperately not to do. But if we just look at it from a long-term valuation point of view, U.K. equities look pretty good value still, clearly, not as good as they were and that's annoying. There were less things to buy. But still reasonable valuation in the context of the world's equity markets. Certainly, they look more attractive than the U.S. equity markets. So, there's still opportunities there. But really, people should be thinking about how long they are prepared to invest for. Because whenever we get these periods of very strong upward movements, there's normally some sort of a correction and it maybe that we are borrowing returns from tomorrow and there may be some painful event. And so, if you want to invest in the next couple of years, then you want to be thinking about being a little bit cautious, not just your U.K. equity exposure but across the board. But if you have a long-term investment horizon then what happens over the next year or two is unlikely to matter. And so, really maintain your focus there, know that over the long-term U.K. valuations look pretty good and stay in there. Wall: Dan, thank you very much. Kemp: You're welcome. It is fair to say that few people predicted the outcome of last weeks snap election. Financial markets dont usually like surprises. There were significant corrections in both currency and stock markets following similar upsets last year, after the EU Referendum and US Presidential election. But markets barely moved after the result of the general election which ended not with the predicted Conservative landslide, but with a hung parliament. Why have they been so quiet? Prior to the EU Referendum, bookies were pricing in a 90% chance of the vote going Remain. Similar odds were given on the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton beating Republican rival Donald Trump for the US presidency. Both were wrong. Following the Brexit vote sterling fell by more than 10% overnight and, initially 8.7% was wiped off the value of the FTSE 100. Markets were similarly volatile after Trumps presidential win: with a fall in US stocks to begin with, followed by a big market surge, as people started to price in the effects of his promised economic stimulus. With last weeks general election bookies were pricing in a 78% chance of a Conservative majority, according to Betdata, with just a 18% chance of a hung parliament. But overnight, when it became clear the latter was the outcome, sterling fell just 2% - from $1.29 against the US dollar to $1.27. The next day, the FTSE opened up 1% - and changed little during the following day. Gilt yields barely moved. The Result Meant Only Limited Change Trevor Greetham, head of multi asset with Royal London Asset Management said: What happened last week was hardly anything. Even for sterling this was a small move down and the FTSE 100 went up slightly in response. He said although the result was unexpected, the market could see from the way the voting went, that a minority Conservative government was the likely result. In other words the Conservatives would remain in charge, and there may be limited political change. However, the markets may have look more favourably on the changes that would occur as a result of the Conservatives moving from majority to minority government. From a Brexit perspective, this may weaken their negotiating power, and could suggest a softer Brexit deal. Paul Mumford, fund manager of the Cavendish Opportunities fund said this may be a relief for many, particularly those working in the City, and may have contributed to a calmer market reaction. The UK governments negotiating power weakens by having a smaller majority. This might cost the countrys economy more, but from a corporate point of view it might bring a little relief. Mumford added that the main UK stock market index is more affected by any move in sterling, than by the domestic political situation. The FTSE 100 has a lot of overseas earners that benefit from a weaker sterling. Sterling might stay lower for longer than it would have had the Tories won a big majority, he added. However, it is possible that Theresa May can continue to press ahead with the current Brexit strategy, said Greetham. This is what we expected before the snap election. But we should watch out for moments of stress in the negotiations, as this could result in another slide of the pound. In this scenario, what the market is most worried about is the risk of leaving without a deal. But it is hard to imagine the deal so bad, that no deal becomes the better option. No deal is the worst deal you can imagine, said Greetham. What If The Brexit Terms Change? The hung parliament increases the chances of more cross-party involvement in the Brexit negotiations. This could result in the UK staying in the single market, Greetham added, although he added such an outcome is still far from likely. As both party leaders want to leave the single market at the moment that will require a rebellion from the ranks of both Tories and Labour party to get a softer Brexit. But it seems to be at least plausible at the moment that this could happen. This could mean a stronger pound, but this may have a knock-on effect on share prices. If you got a soft Brexit, and the pound went up 10%, it means quite low returns for multi-asset funds, because all of the overseas assets will be priced down. Many of the FTSE 100 shares are mainly overseas, so they will probably struggle, said Greetham. The Danger of a Coalition Breakdown As a result of losing their majority, the Conservatives now have to rely on the support of 10 Democratic Unionist Party MPs. Rather than being a full coalition this agreement is being done on a supply and confidence basis, which should ensure DUP support for key legislation, such as passing the Budget and Queens Speech. Mrs May will remain as prime minister but DUP support will be central to the survival of a Conservative Party administration. If this arrangement breaks down, the market will see more volatility. Greetham says investors are likely to be concerned whether the Labour Party, under Jeremy Corbyn can for a minority Government - and if so, what implication his policies might have on corporate profits. If there is a Corbyn coalition, you will see a major market movements: including a much weaker pound, and a big reaction in the stock market. Greetham says he expects the shares Royal Mail or water companies to be negatively affected, as the Labour Party manifesto contains plans to re-nationalise these industries. Greetham said: It is general the rule that if the government nationalises companies, they dont do it at current market prices, they do it in a lower level. Its likely the share price of Royal Mail and water companies would fall on fears of a Labour-led government. Even in the event of a Labour-led coalition with the SNP or Liberal Democrats, Greetham said he expect these sectors to be impacted - even though these other parties do not support nationalisation. I think the pound could be weakened as well with the uncertainty, as this may be hard for a coalition to manage, he added. The Labours manifesto proposed a series of tax hikes, with a 45p rate of income tax on those earning more than 80,000 and a 50p tax rate for those on 123,000 or more. It also included a corporation tax hiked from 19p to 26p in the pound. A hike in corporation tax would have a negative effect on company earnings and sentiment, while a rise in personal taxation would send out a negative signal for companies seeking expansion in the UK, said Cavendishs Mumford. This could further impact stock markets. Mount Pleasant, SC (29464) Today Thunderstorms - some locally heavy downpours are possible, especially late. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Thunderstorms - some locally heavy downpours are possible, especially late. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. As UPS workers were gathered for a regular Wednesday morning exercise meeting at their San Francisco distribution center, a man wearing the delivery companys trademark brown uniform burst in and opened fire, killing three people and wounding at least two others before fatally shooting himself in the head, police said. The gunfire erupted at 8:55 a.m. inside the UPS building on Potrero Hill during the companys Wednesday Wellness gathering, sparking panic as workers ran for their lives. As dozens of police officers and firefighters descended on the building at 320 San Bruno Ave. between 16th and 17th streets, the hundreds of people who work at the center were rushing from the building. For hours, area residents were told to shelter in place while police searched the four-story building, looking for any additional assailants. Some victims were dragged from the building into the street, and two bodies lay in the intersection at 17th Street and San Bruno Avenue outside the building, covered with yellow tarps. As co-workers bolted from the building, the gunman apparently fired more shots at people outside. The incident ended when police officers encountered the shooter inside the sprawling building. During the face-to-face confrontation, the man raised what police officials said was an assault pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. Police identified the gunman as Jimmy Lam, 38, of San Francisco. Officers towed a 2012 BMW coupe from outside the building that is registered to Lam. Officers later raided Lams apartment in San Franciscos Inner Richmond District. Neither police nor the company would confirm that the killer worked for UPS, but a union official told the Associated Press that Lam had filed a grievance complaining that he was working excessive overtime. This person took his life because our officers confronted him, said Assistant Police Chief Toney Chaplin. The officers did what theyre trained to do. The San Francisco Medical Examiner identified the victims as Wayne Chan, 56, and Benson Louie, 50, of San Francisco, and Michael Lefiti, 46, of Hercules. About 90 minutes after the shooting at the building, used as a processing and distribution center for UPS parcels, police declared the scene contained. Some of those shot were taken to San Francisco General Hospital. Near the emergency room door, a woman in jeans and a sweatshirt who declined to give her name said she was waiting for news from doctors about the condition of her father, who she said was a UPS employee. My dad is in there and he was shot, the woman said, shaking her head. It was later learned that the womans father had died of his injuries. A co-worker who said he had been inside the building when the gunfire broke out said he recognized the shooter as a UPS employee. Another UPS employee, who gave his name only as Nick, said he had been on the third floor of the building when he heard a series of what he described as metal on metal noises. Then he saw people running from the floor and heard people shouting. People were screaming, Go. Go. Get outside, he said, and Nick ran with his colleagues. Once outside the building, Nick said he looked back and saw the shooter fire more shots across the street. He said he saw one person get shot. Chaplin said police had recovered two guns, including an assault pistol either semi- or fully automatic that the killer used to take his own life. About six hours after the shooting, Chaplin said officers were still interviewing scores of witnesses to determine exactly what happened and when. He said two people were in the hospital with bullet wounds and three others were injured in the stampede for the exit. Among the dead was Lefiti, who grew up in Daly City, lived in Hercules and had two sons and a daughter. When word came that Lefiti had died, one of his sons ran from the hospital, sobbing. Lefiti worked mostly in the Diamond Heights area of the city, where one frequent customer, Jessica Irvine, said he was very, very well-loved by everybody. He was very friendly and helpful and honest. At the Diamond Heights Safeway, where Lefiti frequently parked his UPS truck, friends and customers set up a shrine with flowers, candles and photographs. He didnt have any enemies in the world, said one neighborhood resident, Ronald Bandar. As the horrific scene unfolded at the UPS building, several people believed to be UPS employees stood on the rooftop parking area at the building with their hands raised, apparently to indicate they were unarmed and needed assistance. A man who lives a half block from the UPS center and who identified himself only as Chino said he had seen several people, their bodies covered with blood, dragged from the building by uniformed officers or firefighters and loaded into ambulances. I was sick to my stomach, seeing those bodies, Chino said. They were looking pretty bad. Dozens of police cars, sheriffs cars and Fire Department vehicles were in the area, along with several ambulances. Officers with drawn rifles stood in the street. Relatives of UPS workers gathered in the surrounding streets. One woman, who declined to give her name, said her husband worked at the building and was in a meeting with colleagues when the gunman entered and started shooting. He called her soon after the shooting to say, Im OK, she said. Someone came up and just started shooting, she said her husband told her over the phone. When the shooting started, she said her husband told her he ran for his life. Hes a mess right now, she said. I get to take my husband home and someone else doesnt. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was sending a team to the crime scene to help in the investigation. California Highway Patrol officers and San Francisco sheriffs deputies also assisted. Mayor Ed Lee, in a statement, said he wanted to thank our brave officers of the San Francisco Police Department and our dedicated employees at 911 and San Francisco General Hospital. I also want to offer my condolences and thoughts for the individuals and families affected. We all know the familiar faces of our local UPS drivers and delivery persons. We are always saddened when someone loses a life to gun violence. Even one shooting and one victim is too many. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Sarah Ravani contributed to this report. Evan Sernoffsky, Filipa Ioannou, Hamed Aleaziz and Steve Rubenstein are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, fioannou@sfchronicle.com, haleaziz@sfchronicle.com and srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky, @obioannoukenobi, @Haleaziz and @SteveRubeSF Fredrick Nichelson is originally from Memphis, Tennessee. So when he came to Texas more than 30 years ago, he hadnt heard of Juneteenth. Now, the Dallas resident and founding member of the jazz group Fingerprints will join in the celebration this weekend hosted by the Midland African-American Roots Historical Cultural Arts Council. Fingerprints will perform with special guest Tom Braxton Saturday at the Carver Center Auditorium. The show will be preceded by the free Family Community Concert with Tom Braxton and Pervis Evans at 3 p.m. at the Midland County Public Library Centennial branch. For Nichelson, he hopes the concert invites all people to celebrate. IF YOU GO: Fingerprints with Tom Braxton, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Carver Center Auditorium, 1300 E. Wall St. $20. rootscouncil.com. See More Collapse I feel a duty to keep music real and to perpetuate live music. That keeps the spirit alive, he said. So I hope that the show can spread that to people who come, regardless of their background. The Dallas-based band has celebrated 25 years of music mixing jazz sounds with classic R&B and soul grooves through original music and covers. In many ways, Nichelson finds that the bands music connect younger generations to older ones. I think young folks know a little bit more about older music today. I can see the generational gap close because a lot of popular music is sampled from covers well play, he said. There are so many interpolations of 70s songs in todays hip-hop. They hear that and then start connecting the dots. The band was formed at North Texas State -- now University of North Texas -- in 1986 by Nichelson and guitarist Roy Machado. Through the years, the band has gone through many iterations, one that included Odessan Robert LaCroix as guitarist. With Saturdays concert, Fingerprints will feature Nichelson, longtime members Tim Jones on vocals and Claud Hardrick on saxophone and Kennan Wylie on drums. A new album is in the works, but in the meantime, Fingerprints will help usher in this years Juneteenth celebration and use music as something more than just a show. It is an important mission for the group to be able to share our music for the benefit of all people, and particularly we want to encourage young people to use music as a way to find positive expression in their lives, Nichelson said. Marilyn Nieves/Getty Image A Midland man will spend more than 21 years in prison after assaulting an Ector County Correctional Center guard, escaping from a halfway house and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas. U.S. District Judge Robert Junell on Wednesday sentenced Iry James Williams, 38, to 260 months in federal prison, according to a press release. The sentencing includes consecutive terms of 100 months incarceration for assaulting a public servant, 100 months incarceration for escaping and 60 months incarceration for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The husband of a deputy sheriff charged with murder in the choking death of a man at a Denny's restaurant had a history of anger management problems and a prior arrest for burglary, according to court records. Terry Thompson, 41 - who is charged along with his wife, Deputy Chauna Thompson, 45 - had "previously been under the care of a psychiatrist and demonstrated problems controlling his anger and temper," according to court papers filed in a contentious custody battle between the couple in 2000, before they were married. A new mugshot has been released for the woman police say left two young children to die in a vehicle for 15 hours in one of the most "horrific" cases of child endangerment Kerr County has ever seen. Amanda Hawkins, 19, was transferred to Kerr County Jail after being arrested in San Antonio and held at the Bexar County Jail on a $70,000 bond for two charges of abandoning or endangering a child, according to previous reports and new online jail records out of Kerr County. We are collating signatures to petition ... GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here. America's relationship with Cuba is about to be rolled back. President Trump expected to announce cooling of relations with Cuba Announcement to happen in Miami Friday Trump expected to roll back some of President Obama's policies Watch LIVE coverage of President Trump's news conference, scheduled for 1 p.m. President Trump is expected to appear in a Cuban neighborhood in Miami Friday to announce a scaling back of relations between the two countries. The White House said the president will end individual travel to Cuba as part of tourism, saying the policy was "ripe for abuse." Travelers will have to be part of a group. However, the White House also says family visits will not be impacted, and airlines and cruises to Cuba will be allowed to continue. Business deals can still be conducted, but the Treasury Dept. can review them to make sure they will not benefit the military. The goal of the new policy is to restrict business with Cuban companies owned by the military. For instance, U.S. citizens will also not be allowed to stay in hotels owned by the military. However, tourists will be able to bring back merchandise from Cuba. One Obama policy not expected to change is the rollback of the "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" status for Cuban immigrants. Before President Obama left office, he stripped the nearly-automatic pathway to citizenship for those Cubans who arrived on U.S. soil, which had been in place since the 1960s. Officials say more than 36,000 Cubans face deportation orders because of that decision and the Trump administration's push to deport criminals. Of those immigrants, 29,000 have been convicted of a crime, and another 7,000 are non-criminal immigrant violators. Trump is also expected to call out the Castro regime on human rights abuses, saying the government has not improved its record. Those supporting Trump's expected announcement likely have Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, to thank. Both men are Cuban-Americans who opposed former President Obama's 2014 policy shift on Cuba. In fact, Rubio has called for years to toughen America's relationship with the communist country. Under Obama, more Americans were able to travel to Cuba, and leading U.S. air carriers and cruise ships to market direct flights. Americans were also able to bring more goods back from Cuba. Diplomatic relations were restored, and America opened an embassy in Cuba. President Obama visited Cuba in 2016. While Obama's policy change was popular in some areas of the country, it was not popular in Miami, where the Communist revolution is still a wound among Cubans. The long-standing American policy since that takeover in 1969 was to starve the communist system of cash, hoping to incite the population to overthrow it. Human Rights Watch is against President Trump's impending announcement. While HRW says the Cuban government's repressive practices have not changed, restoring restrictions probably won't lead to improvements. "The fact that Obamas approach hasnt led to political reform in Cuba after just a few years isnt reason to return to a policy that proved a costly failure over many decades, said Daniel Wilkinson, HRW's managing director for the Americas. Amnesty International agreed with HRW's assessment. Information from CNN and the Associated Press was used in this report. Citing possible litigation, Hale County Sheriff David Mull has declined comment on a June 7 incident at the sheriffs office where a 23-year-old woman was arrested and strip-searched after being mistaken for her older sister. I kept telling them they had the wrong person, Breanna Martinez says, but they didnt bother to check IDs until after I had been arrested and strip-searched. The whole thing is just so very discouraging. Martinez was in the lobby of the sheriffs office attempting to use a special ATM machine to leave money in her husbands commissary account when she was arrested about 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, June 7. Martinez was waiting for help with the out-of-order ATM machine when an unidentified deputy sheriff took her into custody on outstanding Justice of the Peace warrants for speeding and no drivers license. Instead of Martinez, those warrants were issued against her sister, who is five years older. Ironically, Martinez had been released from custody a week before in connection with a probation revocation. They really should have known who I was because I worked in the kitchen while in custody, Martinez said. But they werent interested in checking IDs. I tried to tell them I was clear (of outstanding warrants and charges) when they released me a week earlier, but all they said was that I was under arrest and had to go with them. Once in the book-in area, Martinez said officers took away her phone and other belongings including a debit card in her name and she was strip-searched by a female officer in preparation of being added into the general jail population. Martinez said she was told to shut your mouth when she grew heated trying to tell officers they had the wrong individual. Although it seemed much longer, Martinez said after 30 to 45 minutes, officers realized they had the wrong person in custody. After that, they said it was all a big misunderstanding and they became real polite, Martinez admits. But it shouldnt have happened in the first place. All they had to do was check my ID. We really dont took that much alike, and I had to get out to do my job. Following the incident, Martinez consulted attorney Paul Holloway concerning possible legal action. Although the summer solstice wont occur until 11:24 p.m. CDT Tuesday, June 20, Mother Nature turned on the heat early this year with three triple-digit days already this month and even more in store this weekend. My mid-afternoon Wednesday, the thermometer at the Plainview Herald an official National Weather Service cooperative observer reached 100 degrees, mirroring the afternoon highs on Saturday and Monday. Tuesdays high just missed the mark, at 99 degrees. The local forecast calls for a high of 98 on Thursday, following by highs of 102 on both Friday and Saturday, although theres a chance the mercury could bubble higher. Lubbock could see highs in the 106 to 109 range on Friday and Saturday. The National Weather Service in Lubbock explains: The summer heat will continue across West Texas over the next few days. High temperatures will continue in the mid- to upper 90s and reach over 100 by late week. Most areas will likely remain dry, however a few thunderstorms could develop (Wednesday) afternoon and event, as well as Thursday, mainly off the Caprock. High temperatures as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, as reported by the Texas Tech Mesonet System, include Abernathy, 98; Aiken, 99; Dimmitt, 96; Floydada, 96; Hart, 96; Lubbock, 101; Silverton, 97; Tulia, 96; and Turkey, 101. Looking ahead, forecasters say isolated to scattered thunderstorms will be possible again late Thursday afternoon and evening along with additional risks of large hail and damaging wind. Rain chances will then decrease toward the weekend. The National Weather Service reports that while rainfall chances will decline toward the end of the week, temperatures will continue to be well above normal across the entire region. Sunday presents the possibility of precipitation as a decently strong cold front undercuts the upper ridge as a strong short wave trough moves across the northern Plains. A wind shift to the southeast on Monday could provide another opportunity for storms with a moist upslope flow, if the ridge comes into play. While the area is expected to see temperatures drop to near seasonal norms late this weekend, a low-level flow is expected to return to the south and southwest. That means the heat will be returning by Tuesday. MERIDEN A speech on forgiveness and an essay exploring gun laws since the Columbine High School massacre took home the top prizes at Maloney High Schools 126th annual Hicks Speaking Contest. The contest, held at Maloney last month, is named for Ratcliffe Hicks, born in 1843, who formerly served as the city attorney of Meriden. Hicks serves as a model for every senior in the class of 2017 whether they are a finalist in the contest bearing his name or not, Maloney English teacher Dan Gaffney told the crowd at the contest. Hicks was considered a brilliant scholar with a love of learning...I challenge all of you to be like Ratcliffe Hicks. Do something you love to do and do it well. The winner of the speaking contest was Ciara Herget, whose speech Parts focused on forgiving her sister and reclaiming her own identity through the process of forgiveness. Herget said her sister suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and described the process of coming to terms with their troubled relationship. I knew in order to heal these broken parts in me I had to forgive her, Herget said. I realized that my sister is not a bad person. Shes just a deeply broken person. Erik Sanders placed second in the contest with a speech on humanitys future and life outside earth, followed by Brenda Matos with a speech about hidden talents, and Allison Neville, who spoke of her decision to study special education in college. Jonathan Goodman, Maloneys valedictorian, took home the top prize in the essay contest in a piece titled The Real Tragedy of Columbine, which explored the evolution of gun laws after the Columbine High School shooting, in which two Colorado teenagers killed twelve students and one teacher at their high school. Goodman posits the real tragedy of the massacre is a lack of legislation to prevent future mass shootings. Other essay finalists included Madison Papallo, who placed second with an essay on lessons she learned from her grandparents; Mia Atterberry, who placed third with an essay on racism; and Andrew Jacob, who took fourth place with an essay on morality in America. ltauss@record-journal.com 203-317-2231 Twitter: @LeighTaussRJ The Singing Women of Texas, Texas Baptists affiliated choir, will perform during the morning worship service at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, June 25, at First Baptist Church in Plainview. The appearance is comes during the groups Texas Lone Star Mission Tour in June to benefit charities around the state. The Singing Women of Texas was founded in 1994 as a one-performance choir. Twenty-three years later, there are eight chapters across the state comprised of church staff members, church choir members, and music educators. All eight chapters of the Singing Women of Texas will come together for this tour. Visit texasbaptists.org/swot for more information about the Texas Lone Star Mission Tour. The youth at First Presbyterian Church are collecting canned goods, monetary donations, toilet paper and soap for FISH. To help, drop off items at 2101 Utica from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Thursday or Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Phone 296-2604. Catholic Charities of Lubbock and the Youth and Family program provide youth skills-building counseling through the S.T.A.R. program. S.T.A.R. (Services to At Risk Youth) offers short-term services to youth ages 0-17 and their families who are dealing with conflict at home, school attendance issues, delinquency, or have a youth who runs away from home. S.T.A.R. services are not for families with an open CPS investigation or youth who have been adjudicated delinquent by a juvenile court. All services are without charge. Call 806-296-7044 and ask a youth case manager for more information. Plainview Habitat for Humanity is a Christian, nonprofit housing organization that seeks to put Gods love into action by building homes, communities and hope. It is currently accepting applications. Visit www.plainviewhabitat.org for application criteria and information. To contact its team, email plainview_habitat@yahoo.com or write Plainview Habitat for Humanity, PO Box 1125, Plainview, TX 79073 Covenant Health Plainview hosts the cancer survivors prayer support group We Fight to Live from 7-8 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month in Room B. The sessions will consist of a monthly topic and presenter, and a structured segment, allowing time for group sharing. The support group is open to those with a cancer diagnosis and anyone affected by their diagnosis. The group is led by Andrea Ingram, a cancer survivor, as well as Sherry Wall, hospital mission services. There is no charge for the group. For more information contact Andrea Ingram at 806-293-7614 or Sherry Wall at 806-291-3364. The Apostolic Lighthouse Church, 1504 Houston in Plainview, invites the public to pray at the church from 6-7 p.m. each Friday. You need not be a member of the church to come and pray. For those who are homebound or sick, the church ministry will come and pray for you at your home. Call Pastor Armando Cardenas at 806-729-4057 for information. Alvin Petty will pick up garage sale-types of items, with proceeds going to the Ideal Village Chapel Scholarship Fund. Call 806-685-2604. Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images With top prospect Matt Chapman set to be officially called up on Thursday, the As are preparing to designate third baseman Trevor Plouffe for assignment, The Chronicle has learned. Plouffe, signed to a one-year, $5.25 million deal during the offseason, is batting .214 with seven homers and 14 RBIs and six errors in 58 games and his playing time had been diminished the past two weeks. He started just one game on the teams just-completed road trip to Tampa Bay and Miami. Shootings memorial: A memorial ceremony, hosted by Alameda for Black Lives, will mark the anniversary of the June 17, 2015, mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., that resulted in nine deaths. Participants will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the southwest corner of Webster Street and Atlantic Avenue in Alameda. Information: www.alamedaforblacklives.org. Saturday Nuclear weapons march: Womens March to Ban the Bomb, in support of U.N. negotiations on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Demonstrators will meet at 11:30 a.m. at El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com. In San Francisco, marchers are planning to meet at noon at U.N. Plaza. For information: bln.sf.ca@gmail.com. In San Jose, marchers will meet at 11:30 a.m. at Winchester and Stevens Creek. For information: http://bit.ly/2s6WWpz. Anti-Trump discussion: Hosted by the Freedom Socialist Party, a conversation on countering racism and fascism. The event begins at 2 p.m. A $3 to $5 donation is requested at the door. The event is at New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk St., San Francisco. For information: (415) 864-1278 or www.socialism.com. Nuclear weapons film: A screening and discussion of The Nuclear Requiem, on the challenges of controlling nuclear weapons. The free, two-hour event starts at 3:30 p.m. at the Los Altos Public Librarys Orchard Room, 13 S. San Antonio Road. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com. Wednesday Refugees event: A community briefing, Helping Refugees Today: What We Need to Know, What We Need to Do, presented by immigration and refugee resettlement professionals. The event is from 6:30-8 p.m. at St. Marks Lutheran Church, 1111 OFarrell St., San Francisco. Information: gracecathedral.org/refugees. Thursday Coal film: A free screening of From the Ashes, a National Geographic documentary about coal, followed by a discussion on the environment and climate. The film begins at 7 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. For information: www.nocoalinoakland.info. June 24 Climate change: Hosted by the Older Womens League of California, a discussion and postcard writing to elected representatives to push for climate change support. The event is from 10 a.m.-noon at the Northern Police Station Community Room, 1125 Fillmore St., San Francisco. For information: info@owlsf.org. July 2 Impeachment march: Nationwide marches will call for President Trumps impeachment. The march in San Francisco begins at 1 p.m. along the Embarcadero and will head to Powell and Market streets. For information: http://bit.ly/2sYoEER. A state judicial agency has opened disciplinary proceedings against a Napa County judge for swiping a couple of $50 card holders from the San Francisco City Club during a Judges Night dinner last year. Superior Court Judge Michael Williams later returned the card holders to the club with a letter of apology, the Commission on Judicial Performance said Wednesday. The letter read, I have no excuse but that I had a couple of glasses of wine and was not thinking of what I was doing. The commission said it soon received a letter from Williams that said he had taken the holders on an unexplainable impulse but had returned them. He said he had planned to use them to hold some joke business cards that he and a friend had printed 40 years earlier. His conduct violated rules of judicial ethics and could have been charged criminally as petty theft, the commission said. Williams, a former machinist and Peace Corps volunteer, was appointed to the court by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012 and elected without opposition to a six-year term in 2014. He had been an attorney in the county public defenders office from 1986 to 1996, then served as research attorney and general counsel for the county courts before he became a court commissioner in 2001. He handled traffic-court hearings, family-law matters and similar cases for the next 11 years before becoming a judge. The commission said Williams attended the City Club dinner, sponsored by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, in March 2016 and took the business card holders from a table as he was leaving. Several weeks later, a lawyer told Williams he had been seen on video taking the holders and suggested that he return them, the commission said. He sent them back the next day. The commission said it would hold a hearing and decide whether to administer discipline, which could include a private or public reprimand or a suspension. Williams lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing JPMorgan Chase & Co. of violating the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against fathers when they ask for parental leave. The ACLU filed its complaint Thursday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If the EEOC finds merit in the case and the parties are unwilling to settle, it could give the green light to bring a federal lawsuit against the bank. For whatever reason, companies are not complying with the law, and we do hope that this case serves as a wake-up call, said ACLU attorney Galen Sherwin. JPMorgan said it received the complaint and is reviewing it. The plaintiff in the ACLUs case is Derek Rotondo, an Ohio-based employee who says that before the birth of his second child, he applied for the 16 weeks of parental leave JPMorgan Chase provides if an employee is the primary caregiver of a new child. If the employee is the non-primary caregiver, he gets two weeks. The bank touted those 16 weeks in its annual report to be shareholders last year. Becoming a parent is both joyful and stressful so we want to do everything we can to support our employees through this life-changing event, Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said in the report. When Rotondo, 32, put in for leave in May, JPMorgan informed him by phone and in writing that it starts from the presumption that the primary caregiver is a childs birth mother, according to the complaint. For Rotondo to get that designation, hed have to show that his wife was returning to work within 16 weeks of giving birth or that she was medically incapable of taking care of the baby. Because his wife, who works as a teacher, was healthy and had the summer off, Rotondo couldnt qualify as primary caregiver. I consider myself really a dad first everything else comes second, he said in an interview. This time is very important for me to spend with him to get to know each other. By granting caregiver leave automatically to women but not to men, JP Morgan is violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bans sex discrimination in employment, Rotondos lawyers say. They cite recent guidance from the EEOC that distinguishes between post-partum medical leave and parental leave to bond with and care for a new child. Medical leave can be limited to women affected by childbirth or related conditions, the EEOC said in 2015. However, parental leave must be provided to similarly situated men and women on the same terms, according to the agency. We recognize that both women and men would like to be involved in the care of their children early on, and were expecting employers to think carefully about whether they are in fact discriminating against men, Chai Feldblum, an EEOC commissioner, said Tuesday. Sex discrimination in parental leave policies is an area where the case law is still developing, she said. Were just coming into an era where fathers are demanding significant parental leave. JPMorgans policy relies upon and enforces a sex-based stereotype that women are and should be caretakers of children, Rotondos complaint says, whereas men are not and should not be caretakers and instead do and should return to work shortly after the birth of a child. JPMorgan Chase is explicitly giving care-giving leave to women on different terms than men, said attorney Peter Romer-Friedman of Outten & Golden, who brought the case along with the national ACLU and its Ohio branch. In 2013, a client of Romer-Friedmans filed an EEOC complaint against CNN, which he said offered 10 weeks of paid leave to mothers who had given birth, but (other than in cases of adoption or surrogacy) only two weeks to new fathers. The client and the network reached a settlement in 2015, and the company now offers six weeks of paid postpartum medical leave to mothers as well as six weeks care-giving leave to new parents regardless of gender. Its too soon to say whether courts will embrace the EEOCs view of what constitutes a discriminatory parental leave policy, said Julie Yap, a Sacramento-based partner at law firm Seyfarth Shaw who defends employers in discrimination cases. Until theres a critical mass of cases that result in judicial opinions, I think its anyones guess whether well get a consensus from circuit courts or the Supreme Court, said Yap. In the meantime, she said, theres risk in straying from what the EEOC has set forth. The EEOC, meanwhile, is about to undergo a makeover. President Donald Trump is slated to nominate a new general counsel for the agency, and by July enough of its Democratic commissioners terms will have expired for him to install a Republican majority. Industry groups hope a new GOP makeup will bring changes to the agencys approach and to some of its past stances. Its impossible to predict what the position of the EEOC will be once there is a majority of Republican commissioners, said Feldblum, a Democratic appointee. I dont see any indication so far that on this issue there is a Republican-Democratic divide, but well have to wait and see. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A $500 million refinery in South Texas that was supposed break ground in a few months has fallen behind schedule as project managers review different technology and engineering plans. This is a fluid process as we added more of the components and looked at the multiple options, said Raven Petroleum CEO Christopher Moore. The refinery in Duval County the largest new one built in the U.S. in 40 years would process 55,000 barrels a day of crude. Raven Petroleum purchased an 832-acre piece of land in the southwest corner of Duval County in July, and Moore revealed his plans in November. Although Moore originally planned to file the necessary permits by the end of March, he said he needs another 4 to 8 weeks to finish the engineering review. He added that any changes to the engineering could shorten or lengthen that, and that he planned for the air permit application to be filed with the TCEQ in 60 to 90 days. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed this week that Raven Petroleum hasnt yet filed air quality permit applications with the agency. Tricia Cortez, a representative from the Rio Grande International Study Center, a member of grass-roots organization South Texans Against the Refinery, said the lengthening of the time frame for the project and the lack of communication with the community keeps calling into question at least for us their credibility and wherewithal to build this project. We can only speculate that they dont have their investors in place, that they dont have their funding in place as they led others on, as they have led others to believe or have continued to do so, Cortez said. Thats one of my best guesses about whats happening. Again, we just dont know. Moore said his project is still self-funded but that the next tranche of funding has been negotiated, although he would not name who was providing it. Thats going to come from a combination of private investment and also possible private equity, Moore said. Moore said hes holding a community meeting July 20 when hell take questions from residents. Cortez said residents are most concerned about potential health hazards from such a facility. Were still taking it seriously, she said. Even though, as I mentioned, even though he doesnt seem qualified to do this, doesnt seem reliable we are still taking this seriously. rdruzin@express-news.net @druz_journo Texas lawmakers slashed funds this legislative session intended to promote the Lone Star State as a destination for domestic and international travelers a move tourism officials say could severely dampen the states economy and put jobs at risk. Lawmakers in Austin cut the states tourism funds in half from a budget of $67.7 million in 2015 to $34 million to market Texas as a travel destination and conduct research about the states tourism economy during the next two years. #SsangYong Motor-court receivership SsangYong Motor graduates from court-led debt rescheduling program SsangYong Motor Co. said Friday it has graduated from the court-led debt rescheduling program 1 1/2 years after it was placed under court receivership amid the COVID-19 pandemic. ... U.S. supports helping N. Korean people, but Pyongyang ultimately responsible: State Dept. The United States supports and is taking steps to help the people of North Korea despite differences with the North Korean regime, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. ... Billions in investment capital have flowed into the Permian Basin in the last year as the regions oil and natural gas resources continue to draw the global spotlight. Not all of that capital is destined to fund drilling holes in the ground, however. A sizable piece of that capital is finding its way into the midstream sector, developing infrastructure to move production to market. Blackstone Energy Partners, for example, is spending $2 billion to buy Midland-based EagleClaw Midstream Ventures. There is an inherent link between upstream activity and midstream investment that is very organic, Sam Pitts, managing director, EnCap Flatrock Midstream, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. For every dollar spent by producers on the upstream we believe a corresponding 15 to 35 cents is required to take hydrocarbons from their natural state, condition them to a marketable state, and move them downstream, said Pitts, who recently spoke at Hart Energys Midstream Texas conference at the Horseshoe Pavilion. He said his company is augmenting the need for greenfield construction with merger and acquisition opportunities and identified opportunities on the demand end, developing terminals to serve the export market. With the uptick in drilling that has taken place since the rig count bottomed in the first half of 2016, we are seeing a broadening of the opportunity set beyond what had been an industry largely focused on the Permian and STACK regions, he said. Kelly Swan, spokesman for WPX Energy, doesnt see investing in upstream or midstream assets as an either/or situation. But the business opportunity always starts with the rock, he told the Reporter-Telegram by email. You can see that from all the acreage acquired for over $30 billion over the past two years. Midstream is a critical piece of the puzzle, however. As the Delaware Basin in particular continues to unleash its riches, Swan said his Tulsa-based company has a strong, very strong outlook for its holdings in the region, expecting our activity in this basin to be the catalyst for the future of the company. As a result, WPX has made what Swan called a strategic long-term move in forming a joint venture with Howard Energy Partners of San Antonio to jointly develop oil gathering and natural gas processing infrastructure in the Stateline area. Swan said takeaway capacity from its Delaware Basin holdings is not currently an issue, but could be later based on the sheer level of activity from all the players. Were working hard right now to have everything in place for our expected growth in volumes. Brad Bynum, co-founder and present of Howard Energy Partners, told the Reporter-Telegram by email the agreement marks his companys entrance into the Delaware Basin. Swan said the strategic partnership is groundbreaking. He cited comments from Rick Muncrief, WPXs chairman, president and chief executive officer that the move is a bold and innovative way to lay a well-defined path for our expected volumes and create an additional platform for generating shareholder value. Todays agreement breaks new ground on both fronts. For starters, our forward-looking action gives our long-term Delaware development a competitive advantage. Second, were looking at the bigger picture and how to extend value creation beyond the drill bit by creating a premier Delaware midstream service provider. The joint venture with Howard, expected to close in the third quarter, will support WPXs drilling operations in the Stateline area, which represents 50,000 net acres, or 37 percent of WPXs approximate 135,000 net acre position in the Delaware. It includes crude oil gathering assets already under construction as well as a planned natural gas processing complex that is expected to go into service in two phases in 2018 and 2019. WPX will retain all the natural gas and water systems that it acquired when it acquired RKI Exploration & Production in 2015, Swan said. Under the agreement, it will be a 50-50 joint venture between the two companies. Howard Energy will complete construction of the assets and serve as operator. WPX already has installed approximately half of the planned 50-mile crude gathering system that initiated service in late 2016 and currently has 40 wells tied in, some of which are awaiting completion before starting deliveries into the system. WPX will receive $300 million upfront from Howard, which will fund the first $263 million of capital expenditures, including a $132 million carry for WPX. The transaction values WPXs Stateline oil gathering and gas processing projects at $863 million. To fund its portion of the joint venture, Howard Energy has partnered with GIC Private Limited, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, as well as its existing unit holders Alinda Capital Partners and Alberta Investment Management Co. Bynum said his company has raised approximately $2.2 billion dollars over the last six years. Its diversified mix of financial partners from publicly traded companies to investment firms, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds is a big differentiator from other midstream players, he said. Like Pitts and Swan, he sees upstream and midstream as part of the same value chain. There is currently a very deep pool of capital available for both E&P and midstream investment opportunities in the Permian Basin, Bynum said. Great drilling economics in the basin drive attractive financing opportunities across the value chain for E&P, service and midstream companies. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Brown Mark feels like he's been weight-lifting with his legs for the past month, mainly due to jumping around on stages across the country with his fellow bandmates in The Revolution. Known worldwide for being the late Prince's band in the early to mid-1980s, The Revolution will bring an electric set list to the Aztec Theater on Friday, giving die-hard fans and newbies to Prince's catalog a taste of what it was like to hear a pure rendition of the Purple One's chart-topping hits, live. The main lineup returns, with Wendy Melvoin on guitar, Lisa Coleman on keyboards/piano, Mark on bass, Bobby Z on drums and Dr. Matt Fink on keyboards. Mark spoke with mySA.com in late May during a "much-needed" break from the tour, which has garnered "overwhelming" support from fans of Prince's funk-tinged, pulsating tunes such as "1999," "Let's Go Crazy" and "Kiss." Mark said fans can expect tons of hits, as well as deep cuts from some of the albums the band was featured on. The band has also pulled some tracks that were locked away for decades in Prince's well-publicized vault. "Tell them to get their vocal chords ready, 'cause we're gonna ask them to sing all night long." Mark said "It's like inviting a bunch of friends to your house, that's what kind of party it is." RELATED: 22 fun things to see and do this weekend in San Antonio The tour started as a few shows in Minneapolis at First Avenue, the nightclub that became iconic from the hit movie and soundtrack "Purple Rain," but when tickets for the shows sold out in four minutes, Mark said he knew fans needed these shows as much as the band did. "When we played those shows, I choked up every single night," Mark said in a news release, "But now, I'm past that stage of it now I'm looking at my happy times, remembering being a kid, joining this huge band and starting out a journey in my life I did not ever expect." This tour is about healing, Mark said, citing the band's devastation following news of Prince's death on April 21, 2016. He said he wants fans to help the band carry the torch of something great. "Prince said that music is medicine," drummer Bobby Z said in a news release. "People need it, and we need it, and we can make it as authentic as we can. In honor of him, we'll give it everything we've got." During the shows, Wendy and Mark each do about one-third of the singing, with a guest filling in the for the remainder. As for Prince's iconic guitar licks, Wendy is more than up for the challenge. "Wendy's got it covered. She's not Prince but she does Wendy and she does an excellent job. She brings it home," Mark said. He described the current era of the Revolution as a "freight train that's jumping off the tracks," noting that each musician is more seasoned and skilled in their roles than ever before. "You can feel the energy coming from the speakers," he said. "We mean what we're playing." Working with the Purple One Mark was living in Minneapolis in the late 1970s when he first heard Prince's music. He was driving around town when "Soft and Wet," came on the air. Mark had never heard anything like the track before in his life. "I said, 'Whoa this is different," he said. Prince, known for playing most, if not all, instruments on many of his records, set a standard for many aspiring musicians when he hit the Minneapolis scene. Mark said he himself tackled the bold effort of producing an entire record by playing all the instruments. When he joined the band a few albums later, Mark filled a unique position as a member of The Revolution. He recalls getting a chance to see a side of Prince that most people don't. Prince Rogers Nelson was known for his mystique and had a very controlled public image. But that mystery didn't always translate over to his work life as a member of The Revolution, Mark said. "We were the only band he was in," said Mark, setting the band apart from Prince's work with other groups. "We would fight him on tunes and arrangements and chord structures and we would help him create. That's why we sound so different." Mark recalls a time when he and Prince spent time roller-skating in a park. Prince, donning lavender shorts and leg warmers, would chat with Mark about girls and crack jokes. Mark said Prince's transformation into a "superstar" was gradual, and that his sense of humor had always been there. "The people that he does let into his world ... they got to really witness a different part of him," he said. Mark was living in San Francisco when he learned the news of Prince's death, which was "emotionally devastating" for the bass player. "I cried for three days (and) went right to Minneapolis," said Mark, reuniting with his fellow Revolution bandmates in mourning. He said the group developed a strong familial bond with each other, due in large part to the massive success of Prince and The Revolution's music. In terms of the music, Mark said the band would sometimes jam for 10-15 hours a day, working on new grooves and sounds, new chord progressions and various dynamics for the band. Some of that music was locked away in Prince's vault. Later this month, Prince and the Revolution's "Purple Rain" will have several reissues released, with expanded editions of songs such as "Computer Blue" and B-Sides like "Erotic City," according to Billboard.com. The reissues will also grant fans the chance to hear tracks never released before such as "Electric Intercourse" and "Velvet Kitty Cat." Many new fans may gravitate toward Prince's work with The Revolution first, and Mark said he finds the thought of that surreal. The music's impact on fans is evident in stories like Mark meeting fans who were struggling with suicide or drug addiction. He said those fans told him the music saved them, and it blows him away every single time. When he takes the stage with the rest of The Revolution come June 16, he hopes fans will experience what it was like to be near Prince with a high-energy, powerful set of music. "His spirit and his presence ... you'll feel it through us." twhite@mysa.com Twitter: @tylerlwhite This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Theres no reason a modest Mexican cafe cant take over the chic former home of Mezcaleria Mixtli at The Yard in Olmos Park. The space is certainly manageable enough, with seating for about 30 people at a handful of tables and a long, empty bar that dominates the room. But after two months in the space, Sabor CocinaBar still feels like an operation too small for the building, like a half-finished work in progress. The bar part is still BYOB, pulling temporary duty as a place to display daily dishware, glasses and paperwork. The service crew has been an overtaxed army of one on my visits, and the little tables along the front window barely have room for two people and their lunch paraphernalia. Room to have a few drinks, maybe. Except there are no drinks. Not that kind, anyway. Contributing to an unfinished feeling is a hit-or-miss kitchen thats using commercial tortillas for tacos, using storebought chips for ceviche and chilaquiles and using dirty fryer oil throughout a whole lunch visit. The fryer oil sabotaged Sabors chile relleno, leaving an acrid pall over the otherwise delicate egg batter and well-roasted poblano pepper at its heart. The picadillo option (theres also cheese) brought moist ground beef with a strong tomato and onion presence, better than much of what passes for picadillo in this city, but far from the more creative nuts and dried fruits that punctuate better versions of chiles rellenos. Most of all, that overworked oil struck at the soul of otherwise well-dressed fried shrimp and fried tilapia tacos. No cascade of purple cabbage slaw, veggie rice, cilantro or avocado can hide the burnt taste of frying gone bad. More Information Sabor CocinaBar star 5313 McCullough Ave., 210-314-7760, saborcocinabar.com Quick bite: Small Olmos Park spot with fresh-Mex breakfast, lunch and weekend dinner, specializing in enchiladas, chilaquiles and rich sauces. Hit: Tampiquena de Res, Enchiladas Mixtas Miss: Tilapia ceviche, fryer oil problems Hours: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday. 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday. Price range: Breakfast waffles, pancakes, chilaquiles and plates, $6.50-$11.25; breakfast tacos, $1.50-$1.99; lunch specials, $7.25-$8.95; appetizers, $5.95-$10.95; salads, $7.95-$8.95; enchiladas, $10.95-$12.95; entrees, $8.25-$15.95. Alcohol: None. BYOB is allowed. **** Superior. Can compete nationally. *** Excellent. One of the best restaurants in the city. ** Very good. A standout restaurant of its kind. * Good. A restaurant that we recommend. (no stars) We cannot recommend this restaurant at this time. See More Collapse On another visit, the oil was fresh and clean for a much better fish taco experience. But inconsistency is a gamble, and this isnt a poker game. And lets be honest: tilapia needs all the help it can get. Sabors tilapia ceviche, for example, is more like a tuna salad in construction, a thoroughly mixed and mushy dress of avocado, lime, cilantro, oregano, onion, tomato and pepper. The full coronation dress seemed like overcompensation for the ceviches humble tilapia base, a fish thats barely serviceable grilled or fried and one that has no business being this close to raw. Shrimp cocktail here left me wondering whether it was intended to be American style, as it had six boiled shrimp rimming a glass filled with ketchup cocktail sauce, or whether it was just an under-realized Mexican-style shrimp cocktail minus all the sauce-tossed surprises that make it cool in the first place. Either way, I was left with most of a big glass of sauce and nothing to do with it. Two more runs at the taco menu met with underwhelming results. Sabors Taco Del Patron followed the carne asada model of seared beef, then added an alambre-style toss of bacon with queso fresco. The result was a drier, chewier, more expensive version of the taco you can get for $2 and change across San Antonio on better tortillas. Another taco variation, Taquitos Dorados, turned out to be just three average chicken flautas cut in half and dressed with pico de gallo for $7.95. The best taco at Sabor was also the simplest: a $1.75 scramble of eggs and mild chorizo in a toasted flour tortilla, part of a breakfast menu that goes until 11 a.m. on weekdays and through lunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Sabor has a thing for chilaquiles, with five varieties for breakfast and weekend brunch in an earthen rainbow of red, green, orange and brown sauces with queso fresco, all of them hobbled by basic storebought chips. A Chilaquiles Divorciados plate of rojo and verde sauces used the shops tangy tomatillo sauce to nice effect, over chips baked halfway between crisp and enchilada soft. The rojo, by contrast, was spare and pale, leaning too much on heat over flavor. They come without eggs here, so spend the $2.50 to add a few fried or scrambled eggs to the mix. Utterly outside the Mexican cafe mission, Sabor makes a decent if monochromatically beige plate of chicken and waffles. It starts with a Belgian waffle that balances the deep pockets and fluffy center of the style with ramparts just starting to turn crispy. The soft, knobby breading on the chicken takes it a step beyond just a boneless, skinless chicken nugget. Still, at $11.25 for one waffle and two chicken strips, I wouldnt come back to Sabor for a blue-collar breakfast like this. There are bright spots here. At lunch, Sabor can stand shoulder to shoulder with the value kings of San Antonio Tex-Mex with enchilada plates at $7.25 and four variations of grilled chicken for $7.99. One of those plates, Pechuga Poblana, overcame the limited gifts of white-meat chicken with a nice sear and a creamy sauce that balanced a rich, velour texture with points of light from sweet roasted pepper. Sabor makes six kinds of enchiladas, and its Enchiladas Mixtas plate is a good way to get a handle on three of them. The most compelling of the trio was covered with a light, tart cilantro cream, nudging out a mahogany mole with too much sugar and a chipotle cream sauce that needed twice the volume of smoke and heat. All three were filled with reasonable moist shredded chicken tinga with a blush of tomato. But the one enchilada to rule them all: The Azteca. Its a corn tortilla drenched in a low, smoky blend of chile pasilla and chile guajillo folded over melting queso fresco an enlightening lesson in how the word chile got folded into the word enchilada in the first place. I got a taste of that Azteca enchilada as part of a grilled Tampiquena de Res plate, a generous strip of well-grilled skirt steak with onions and peppers, a choice of enchilada, a small guacamole salad, a bowl of charro beans, a roasted red jalapeno and tortillas. In other words, a full steak dinner with starch, vegetables, spice and variety. At $15.95, its the priciest thing on the menu, but its still a good value. In a city with enough taqueria, Tex-Mex and Mexican cafe options to fill a 365 Days of Tacos series, Sabor CocinaBar will have to grow into its space and its mission more thoroughly and consistently before it warrants a one-star recommended rating. msutter@express-news.net Twitter: @fedmanwalking Tilman Fertitta went all but overboard to salute the commissioning in Galveston of the USS Gabrielle Giffords LCS 10 Littoral Combat Ship and its spunky namesake. Fertitta hosted the Commissioning Chairman's Gala at his San Luis Resort and invited VIPs to a pre-party on his Boardwalk yacht, berthed next to the 422-foot vessel. The warship is named for the former Arizona congresswoman, who was shot in 2011 in Tucson, Arizona, but survived the assassination attempt. Airbnb is putting down permanent roots in Seattle with a major new office that makes the vacation rentals company the latest well-known tech brand to grow rapidly in the region after establishing an initial beachhead. The company signed a six-year lease for two floors at the 8th + Olive building in downtown Seattle, totaling 40,000 square feet with room for approximately 300 people, Airbnb's Vice President of Engineering Mike Curtis tells GeekWire. The announcement comes less than a year after GeekWire reported on Airbnb's initial Seattle presence at the WeWork office in Westlake Tower. The expansion in Seattle gives Airbnb greater ability to poach people from a large number of companies, including one of its competitors, Bellevue, Wash.-based travel giant Expedia Inc., which acquired HomeAway in 2015 and has been positioning the Austin, Texas-based company as more of a direct rival to Airbnb. Expedia is planning its own move to the downtown Seattle waterfront in the coming years. As of now, Airbnb has about 50 people working out of WeWork in Seattle, and Curtis said the company plans to start building out the new space toward the end of the year. As Airbnb's Seattle office grows, the company wants to base entire projects out of the office. "We are trying to find parts of the technology and products we are building that we can actually have live here, instead of just being extra people working on something that's primarily being driven in San Francisco," Curtis said. "We want to have it so that this office can be a true technology center, where we can have big parts of what we need to build actually being driven and run from Seattle." That is already happening to a point. A couple examples of work being done in the Seattle office include the infrastructure behind the company's customer service operation as well as messaging between guests and hosts. In order to grow the number of projects based in the Seattle office, Airbnb is ratcheting up hiring not just for engineers, but also for product, design, data science and many other roles in the Seattle office. Curtis said the depth of talent in the area makes it possible to build an office with a variety of disciplines. Airbnb has expanded its ambitions greatly in the last year or so. The company's bread-and-butter is acting as a place for travelers to connect with hosts renting out a room, house or apartment. In November, Airbnb announced Trips, which allows travelers to book activities, take guided audio tours, get recommendations from locals and more using the Airbnb app. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said last year the company also plans to add flights, car rentals, and other services to the app, signaling the company's big ambitions to become a one-stop travel shop. "Airbnb eventually wants to be able to offer the entire trip, not just the place that you stay," Curtis said. On the backend, Airbnb is investing heavily in machine and deep learning capabilities to improve how it matches travelers with hosts. "When you think about Airbnb, it's a two-sided marketplace, where every guest is completely unique and has unique and distinct needs for what they want to get out of a travel experience," Curtis said. "On other side, you have hosts, be they home hosts or experience hosts, who offer completely unique experiences. In the center of that, the huge amount of technology that we've built and everything that we work on, is how do you create a great match between that traveler and the host that is going to provide that great experience for them." Airbnb is headquartered in San Francisco, and along with its Seattle office, it has engineering centers in Portland and Beijing. The Seattle office is led by Airbnb engineering manager Ari Steinberg, who oversaw Facebook's Seattle engineering office before launching a travel startup, Vamo, that was acquired by Airbnb in 2015. Ian McAllister, who founded and led the AmazonSmile charity program as part of his long tenure at the Seattle-based e-commerce giant, co-founded the Airbnb Seattle office but has since gone back to Amazon, where he is now director of international expansion for Alexa. GREENWICH Nine Greenwich High students participated in the National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland, College Park this week. Juniors Michelle Xiong, Jake Karetsky, Bennett Tiedy, Catherine Veronis, Sara Stober, Flora Dievenich Braes, Sofia Dodaro, Katherine Hurst and Nicole Wood presented in Maryland after competing in local National History Day competitions and placing in the top two entries at the state level. The competitors at this level are some of the hardest working students of their generation, said Cathy Gorn, National History Day Executive Director of the national contest finalists. The work they produce is astounding in its breadth and scope of historical research. Once again, they amazed me, the NHD staff, and the judges with their dynamic and creative projects. None of the Greenwich High School students were among the national winners announced Thursday. In the Connecticut competition, Xiong took first place for her website "Governor Ralph Lawrence Carr: A Politician's Stand for Japanese American Rights During World War II." The team of Karetsky, Tiedy, Veronis and Stober claimed first for their documentary "What Damage We Can: Taking a Stand Against Imperial Japan." Dievenich Braes, Dodaro, Hurst and Wood took first place for their performance "Constance Baker Motley: Standing With the Civil Rights Movement to Advance the Case for Equality." emunson@greenwichtime.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Laredoans can now cross off going to the grocery store from their to-do lists. An online grocery delivery service, Instacart, launched recently in Laredo and its $99 annual fee has been waived for new Instacart Express members for one year. The San Francisco-based grocery delivery service was founded in 2012. Instacart first entered Texas in 2014, opening with Austin, and has since expanded to several cities. Laredo is the 10th market in Texas to be introduced to Instacarts delivery service. We work with a variety of local retailers to provide the freshest, highest quality groceries to our customers, Chad Shepler, Instacart general manager, said in a news release. Instacart uses existing resources to carry out its service by partnering with local retailers and connecting with part-time workers who fill orders and deliver them to customers. Laredo area residents can now order from H-E-B and Petco. The online delivery service reaches a broader customer base than physical stores are capable of. This in turn has a positive effect on sales, the company said. READ MORE: Police: 'Slightly intoxicated' Laredo man cut wife, stepdaughters with knife It helps them out, especially with more sales from customers, Jose Carlos Luna, Instacart shift lead in Houston, said. Theres some customers that get injured or dont have the opportunity to get their grocery shopping done so it helps out retailers to get that sale in and keep their business going. Instacart is available in six Laredo ZIP codes: 78043, 78042, 78040, 78041, 78046, 78045. Customers can place their order either on the website, instacart.com, or in the Instacart mobile app. Just like the aisles of a grocery store, customers will find products organized into categories. After selecting items, customers proceed to checkout and choose a delivery time. While Instacart brings the store to consumers, it also brings new job opportunities. The online delivery service has already begun generating local jobs since launching Thursday. On average, Instacart shoppers can earn $14 to $17 an hour. As far as we know, for Laredo we just hired around 30 shoppers, Luna said. So as soon as this becomes bigger, wed like to think its going to be to the point we have 100 shoppers. For now we have enough shoppers if any customers decide to use the service. RELATED: 18 things on locals' wish list for a new Laredo water park The free one-year trial is offered for a limited time and includes free, unlimited, same day deliveries on orders over $35. However, if new members dont want to order $35 worth of groceries, they will receive a delivery fee of $5.99. Following the initial year, an annual subscription is $99. Instacart also offers a monthly subscription fee of $14.99 or a fee of $5.99 for individual orders. Areas of service include Laredo, Ranchitos Las Lomas, Laredo Ranchettes, Nye, El Cenizo, Rio Bravo, La Presa, Webb, Botines, Ranchos Penitas West, Santo Tomas, Las Tiendas and Islitas. BRIDGEPORT - A local man was arrested after police said he threatened a woman and her children with a gun. Michael Hernandez, 24, of Park Street, was charged Wednesday with carrying a pistol without a permit, first-degree threatening and second-degree reckless endangerment. An Arizona State University professor moved NASA T-shirts from the boys' section of a big-box store into the girls' area and snapped a picture for Twitter over the weekend. Katie Hinde's simple action to tell the world that girls, not only boys, can be rocket scientists sparked an explosion of controversy in the Twitterverse. Hinde intended to make a feminist statement, pointing out the presence of sexism and gender stereotyping in retail that makes pink-princess clothing for girls' areas and emblazons boys' clothes with super heroes, race cars and all the cool science stuff. Many got her point and praised her on Twitter. As of Wednesday morning, her June 11 tweet had more than 132,000 likes. Many also criticized her for a host of reasons. A common theme among the attacks was that she created extra work for the store employees. "Did you make the employees' jobs more annoying? Yes. Yes you did," wrote one. "So the people who work there will have to put them back in the proper places? White feminist privilege much? How about online ordering?" shared another. Some people said she should have addressed the issue with management rather than move the clothing herself; others suggested letter writing. People accused her of being upset over something so small. The thread of comments goes on and on and is filled with tangential conversations about everything from the movie "Wonder Woman" to whether a non-Native American using the term "spirit animal" is cultural appropriation. Who would have guessed Hinde's tweet would instigate such a lively discussion? "I was completely shocked by the magnitude of the response, didn't expect that at all," Hinde wrote in an email to SFGATE. "But I also think that some of the pushback has been important- the store (which I never tagged) has worked to improve science and action clothes for girls, that finding ways that protest to minimize impact on staff/workers is important." RELATED GALLERY: Gender neutral vintage toy ads Hinde said that she meant to keep the name of the store out of it so her statement focused on the issue and not the store, but Twitter users were quick to identify the store as Target and the retail giant responded on Twitter, pointing out that Target actually sells NASA T-shirts for girls. Hinde returned to the "big-box store" the next morning to investigate. "The NASA shirts in the 'boys' sections were placed in three different locations (2/3 were prominently on the main aisles visible from 20+ feet away) and positioned at three different eye levels for typical heights in early childhood, middle childhood, and adulthood," she explains what she found in a post on her blog Mammals Suck. "For the girls' staff told me that they definitely had them in the store... somewhere. Turned out, the girls' NASA shirts were in one location at the back of one section, facing a divider, away from the main path. WASHINGTON The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russias role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said. The move by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Trumps conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators also have been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said. Trump had received private assurances from former FBI Director James Comey starting in January that he was not personally under investigation. Officials say that changed shortly after Comeys firing. Five people briefed on the requests, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Dan Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Adm. Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Muellers investigators as early as this week. The investigation has been cloaked in secrecy and its unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI. The NSA said in a statement that it will fully cooperate with the special counsel, and declined to comment further. The office of Director of National Intelligence and Ledgett declined to comment. The White House now refers all questions about the Russia investigation to Trumps personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz. The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal, said Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Kasowitz. The officials said Coats, Rogers and Ledgett would appear voluntarily, though it remains unclear whether they will describe in full their conversations with Trump and other top officials, or will be directed by the White House to invoke executive privilege. It is doubtful the White House ultimately could use executive privilege to try to block them from speaking to Muellers investigators. Experts point out that the Supreme Court ruled during the Watergate scandal that officials cannot use privilege to withhold evidence in criminal prosecutions. The obstruction-of-justice investigation into the president began days after Comey was fired May 9, according to people familiar with the matter. Muellers office has taken up that work, and the preliminary interviews scheduled with intelligence officials indicate his team is actively pursuing potential witnesses inside and outside the government. The interviews suggest Mueller sees the attempted obstruction-of-justice question as more than just a he said, he said dispute between the president and the fired FBI director, an official said. Probing the president for possible crimes is a complicated affair, even if convincing evidence of a crime is found. The Justice Department has long held that it would not be appropriate to indict a sitting president. Instead, experts say the onus would be on Congress to review any findings of criminal misconduct and then decide whether to initiate impeachment proceedings. Comey confirmed publicly in congressional testimony March 20 that the bureau was investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Comeys statement before the House Intelligence Committee upset Trump, who repeatedly has denied that any coordination with the Russians took place. Trump had wanted Comey to disclose publicly that he wasnt personally under investigation but the FBI director refused to do so. Soon after, Trump spoke to Coats and Rogers about the Russia investigation. Officials said one of the exchanges of potential interest to Mueller took place March 22, less than a week after Coats was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the nations top intelligence official. Coats was attending a briefing at the White House together with officials from several other government agencies. When the briefing ended, as the Post previously reported, Trump asked everyone to leave the room except for Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Coats told associates that Trump had asked him if he could intervene with Comey to get the bureau to back off its focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its Russia probe, according to officials. Coats later told lawmakers that he never felt pressured to intervene. A day or two after the March 22 meeting, Trump telephoned Coats and Rogers to separately ask them to issue public statements denying the existence of any evidence of coordination between his campaign and the Russian government. Coats and Rogers refused to comply with the presidents requests, officials said. It is unclear whether Ledgett had direct contact with Trump or other top officials about the Russia probe, but he wrote an internal NSA memo documenting the presidents phone call with Rogers, according to officials. As part of the probe, the special counsel also has gathered Comeys written accounts of his conversations with Trump. The president has accused Comey of lying about those encounters. Mueller is overseeing a host of investigations involving people who are or were in Trumps orbit, people familiar with the probe said. The investigation is examining possible contacts with Russian operatives as well as any suspicious financial activity related to those individuals. Last week, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he had informed Trump that there was no investigation of the presidents personal conduct, at least while he was leading the FBI. Comeys carefully worded comments, and those of Andrew McCabe, who became acting FBI director, suggested to some officials that a probe of Trump for attempted obstruction may have been launched after Comeys departure, particularly in light of Trumps alleged statements regarding Flynn. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but thats a conclusion Im sure the special counsel will work toward, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether thats an offense, Comey testified last week. Mueller has not publicly discussed his work, and a spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment. Accounts by Comey and other officials of their conversations with the president could become central pieces of evidence if Mueller decides to pursue an obstruction case. Investigators also will look for any statements the president may have made publicly and privately to people outside the government about his reasons for firing Comey and his concerns about the Russia probe and other related investigations, people familiar with the matter said. Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that he was certain his firing was a result of the presidents concerns about the Russia probe, rather than over his handling of a now-closed FBI investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server as secretary of state, as the White House initially had asserted. Its my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation, Comey said. I was fired, in some way, to change or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. The fired FBI director said ultimately it was up to Mueller to make a determination whether the president crossed a legal line. In addition to describing his interactions with the president, Comey told the intelligence committee that while he was FBI director, he told Trump on three separate occasions that he was not under investigation as part of a counter-intelligence probe involving Russian meddling in the election. Republican lawmakers seized on Comeys testimony to point out Trump wasnt in the FBIs crosshairs when Comey led the FBI. After Comeys testimony in which he acknowledged telling Trump that he was not under investigation, Trump tweeted that he felt total and complete vindication. It is unclear if McCabe, Comeys successor, has informed Trump of the change in the scope of the probe. Devlin Barrett, Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Sari Horwitz are Washington Post reporters. If you're a white woman selling burritos, the culture cops will shut you down for "appropriating the culture" of Mexicans who have been oppressed by the white man. This really happened in Portland, Oregon, which is to left-wing crazies what Florida is to clueless criminals. Kali Wilgus and Liz Connelly went to Puerto Neuvo, Mexico and picked up all the tortilla-making techniques they could from "every tortilla lady there in the worst broken Spanish ever, and they showed me a little of what they did." Connelly thought she and her business partner were going to get a little good publicity for their pop-up food truck when she told Willamette Week that they even peeked into the windows of every kitchen they could and then came home to make their own version, going through a trial-and-error process until they got it right. That's when the liberals at Mic.com and The Portland Mercury weekly paper went after them. In a piece that the Mercury has since removed from their website, self-described "Burritogate Provocateur" Jagger Blaec wrote that "two white women - Kali Wilgus and Liz 'LC' Connelly - decided it would be cute to open a food truck after a fateful excursion to Mexico." "So let's recap the story thus far: These two white women went to Mexico, ate tacos, and then decided they would just take what the locals clearly didn't want to give them," Blaec continued. "If that wasn't bad enough, they decided to pack up all their stolen intellectual property and repackage it." That's when Portland's militant progressives could no longer tolerate their own intolerance of women whose white privilege of taking out loans, paying for licenses, insurance and equipment allowed them to physically make their own food for sale. Outrage ensued and the liberals pressured the "criminals" to shut down their business, which the owners told Williamette Week they were forced to do after two days of non-stop threats. Blaec labeled the closing of Kooks Burritos "a victory." Let's think about this for a minute. If a chef travels to Alaska and sneaks a peek at the Inuit recipe for Suaasat, a traditional soup made from seal, whale, caribou, or seabirds... wait, bad analogy. The angry Left would have an entire menu of opposition to that one. Let's try another... If a chef travels to Alaska and sneaks a peek at the Inuit recipe for Akutak and fermented cod for his restaurant, should he be forced to close his restaurant and delete the restaurant's social media accounts? So Mexican food is no longer white people food unless the white people buy it from the Mexican people? Why? Because cultural appropriation covers anything a white person would like to enjoy but has its origins in another culture, especially one which was oppressed by white people anywhere in the world. The real truth is that a lot of us white folk actually appreciate food from other cultures. It doesn't mean we've appropriated the culture, it just means we like the food and we know others will, too, so we add our own twist and serve it or sell it to others. It's not like white people are appropriating African-American culture by claiming to be black and taking jobs as NAACP chapter presidents. Ok, there is that one in Spokane... but she's the only one. What happened to the concept of America as a melting pot in which many cultures are appreciated by others? At Pitzer College, white women are being shamed into giving up hoop earrings and winged eyeliner because, as student Alegria Martinez puts it, it's culturally offensive to the "black and brown bodies who typically wear hooped earrings." Perhaps Martinez could take a class in Egyptology, where she would have learned that winged eyeliner and hoop earrings go back thousands of years. She is appropriating the culture of dead Egyptians and Mesopotamians. I guess militant progressives should force Martinez to close all of her social media accounts and send her makeup and hoops to Cairo. Rick Jensen is Delaware's award-winning conservative talk show host on WDEL, streaming live on WDEL.com from 1pm ---- 4pm EST. Contact Rick at rick@wdel.com, or follow him on Twitter @Jensen1150WDEL. Little did Ernesto Pulido know that he was breaking the law when he disturbed the nests of egrets and black-crowned night herons while trimming trees for the U.S. Postal Service in 2014. He was charged with a misdemeanor violation of the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and because he showed remorse, was only fined $3,000 to cover the cost of rehabilitating the injured baby birds. He could have been fined $15,000 and faced six months in jail. Most people are totally unaware of the Act and that it is one of the oldest wildlife protection laws on the books. Simply stated it's a law that protects birds from people. In 1916 the United States entered into a treaty with Great Britain (acting on behalf of Canada) whereby the two countries agree to end the hunting of insect-eating birds and established hunting seasons for game birds. In order to implement the treaty, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was passed in 1918 by Congress which makes it illegal to "pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill," or "sell" a migratory bird or any of its parts, including nests, eggs, and feathers except under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to Federal regulations. The Act mostly came about because birds were needlessly being killed for their feathers which made great fashion accessories. Entire birds were stuffed and attached to the tops of hats. Birds were also being served in restaurants. In 1936, the USA signed a similar treaty with Mexico. Japan and the Soviet Union were added in the 1970s. !n 1972 an amendment to the Act added protection for an additional 32 families of birds including eagles, hawks, owls and corvids. Since then more species have been added to include almost every native species in the USA with a few exceptions like the House Sparrow, the European Starling and the domestic pigeon. Some of the birds don't actually migrate but are still protected under this Act. For a complete listing of protected birds just enter "MBTA List" in your browser and it will pull up the list from the US Fish and Wildlife website. It wasn't until 2013 that the Department of Justice enforced the Act for the first time by penalizing a wind farmer for killing Golden Eagles and other birds at two sites in Wyoming. The farmer was fined $1 million. A second wind farmer was penalized a year later and fined $2.5 million. So what does all of this mean to you? Let's say a bird builds a nest above your front door and drops poop everywhere. Can you remove the nest? No - it's illegal. Can my son take bird eggs to school for show and tell? No - it's illegal. We collect bird feathers. Is this okay? No - it's illegal. I found a nest and I brought it in the house. Illegal. We found a dead Blue Jay and we want to have it "stuffed" for display. Guess what? Illegal. We live on a farm and randomly shoot birds for fun. Is this legal? No, no, no. In July 2007, a man was sentenced to six months in a federal halfway house, five years probation with no contact with firearms, and a fine of a $65,000 fine for killing protected birds on his property. Although this law may seem a little silly to the average person, it does serve a purpose. It reminds us that we must learn to live in harmony with wildlife and not purposely disrupt or cause harm to other living beings. TWRC Wildlife Center serves a great purpose as well. We help wildlife that has been injured, orphaned or displaced and return them to the wild. Your donations help us keep the doors open and allow us to provide this service to the public free of charge. Please see our website for more information on what we do and how you can help. www.twrcwildlifecenter.org. Arguing that letter-grade ratings in Children At Risk's 2017 school report card don't give a fair picture of its students' achievements, Pasadena ISD points to efforts to address the challenges of educating the district's large number of at-risk youths. Under Houston-based Children At Risk's current guidelines, only 15 of PISD's 45 elementary schools, three of its 10 middle schools and one of its five high schools rated above a C. In the elementary category, five schools received an F - Williams, Richey, Jessup, DeZavala Middle and Keller Middle. The nonprofit group did single out one district school, Jensen Elementary, led by Principal Judy Diaz, as a "Gold Ribbon" campus, a recognition which identifies schools that rank at an A or B and where more than 75 percent of students are economically disadvantaged. The school was ranked as a B minus. Of the district's high schools, Pasadena Memorial was rated as a B plus, Dobie received a C and Pasadena, Sam Rayburn and South Houston each received a D plus. Pasadena ISD spokesman Art Del Barrio said the district's stance on an A-F grading system used by Children At Risk as well as the Texas Education Agency is contained in a resolution approved earlier this year which states that such a system "creates a false impression about students, ignores the unique strengths of each school and unfairly reduces each student's worth to the school's assigned worth." This district is calling on the state legislature to repeal House Bill 2804, passed in 2015, which uses a A-F grading system that puts most of the weight upon state standardized tests. Children At Risk uses a similar system, although it states on its website that its criteria factors in economic breakdowns for each campus within a district. PISD trustees, like the more than 300 districts throughout the state that passed similar resolutions, want lawmakers to allow districts to develop their own assessment system using customized curriculums which meet student needs. In a statement following passage of the resolution, PISD superintendent DeeAnn Powell wrote that "the A through F grading system is not an accurate representation of the school district and our talented students, many of whom come from diverse backgrounds." "Our understanding right now is that they have looked at it further and there are going to be some changes, but they haven't trickled down to the districts yet," Del Barrio said. Until the A-F system is used by the state in the fall of 2018, schools will continue to be graded on a pass or fail system. The district is calling for a ranking method which takes into account more than standardized test scores or the percentage of students taking advanced placement classes. According to district figures, 80 percent of students receive free or reduced-price lunches, a stark difference from neighboring districts like Pearland, which has a 28 percent rating for students receiving those lunches and Clear Creek ISD where that percentage is 22 percent. "When a system gives you a comparison against other districts and campuses with the same percentage of economically disadvantaged (students)," Summers said, "that is what puts you on an ideal scale versus just taking it as flat rate without considering those other things." Among Pasadena ISD's middle schools, Children At Risk gave Bondy the highest rating - B plus - and Park View the lowest, a D. Southmore and Jackson were rated as a B minus and Thompson, San Jacinto and Beverly Hills got a C plus. South Houston and Queens were rated a D plus. In the elementary category, three campuses - South Belt, Meador and Moore - received As and Atkinson and Golden Acres each rated as A minus. The PLC approach Mindful of gaps in learning among students, the district uses the Professional Learning Community method, which fosters a collaborative system for educators to develop more individualized teaching tools to meets students' needs, said Donna Summers, PISD's director of research and evaluation. "Literacy is our primary emphasis, especially in younger grades, to build that knowledge base and that foundation they may not have walking in the door and adding to it every year," she said. For districts with many students on the lower end of the economic spectrum, filling in holes in learning remains an ongoing challenge. "You have a lot of kids coming into pre-K whose parents have never read to them and so they don't even know their alphabet," Del Barrio said. Del Barrio, who taught math in the Rio Grande Valley, where a high percentage of his students were considered at-risk, says conscientious teachers look for ways to create equity in learning. "Every teacher is going to have their way of identifying gaps and their own technique in filling them, and by identifying gaps and filling them, that's how the district resolves the problems of economically disadvantaged children - and what these children have missed - and getting them caught up," he said. Regardless, he said, "You have kids in school that want to learn and are going to learn and teachers that are there every single day, rolling up their sleeves trying to figure out how they're going to help that kid learn. As long as you have teachers out there giving it their all every day it doesn't matter whether you are in an affluent district or a poorer district, those kids are going to learn. It's up to the teacher to engage them." For more information about Children at Risk and its 2017 ratings, visit http://childrenatrisk.org. For the group's comments on Jensen Elementary School, visit http://bit.ly/2rvjEL2. On Tuesday, the Spring ISD board of trustees approved its 2017-18 budget, which includes a 2 percent pay increase for district employees and funds for an additional 83 new employees. It results in a 4-cent tax rate increase, bumping the current rate ($1.47) to $1.51 per $100 valuation. "The budget for this coming school year is the result of nearly nine months of work since the process started last September with a comprehensive stipend review as part of the district's strategic compensation work," Superintendent Rodney Watson said. The budget includes hiring 60 new bus drivers and increases bus drivers' hourly rate and offers attendance and recruitment incentives. The additional drivers are needed to drive the 60 new buses approved by voters to replace aging vehicles and expand bus service to a 1-mile radius. It also funds the expansion of the district's full day Pre-K from five campuses to seven (adding Smith and Anderson Elementary schools). The full-day prekindergarten expansion and the addition of 60 bus drivers result from 2016 bond initiatives. "It is important for our community to know the district's strong commitment to our full-day Pre-K expansion," Chief Financial Officer Ann Westbrooks said. "Although we are only adding two campuses to the full-day schedule this year, the cost of sustaining full-day Pre-K at the original five campuses is now fully funded by our district's M&O budget." The budget increases the starting teacher salary to $52,275 and provides additional staff and stipends for gifted and talented teachers. Additionally, it calls for two new technology positions assigned to the eSchool student data management system and a new performing and visual arts assistant director. "GT students are a special ed group on their own," Lupita Hinojosa, the district's chief of school leadership and student support services said, noting that the increase was a legal fulfillment. She also noted that teachers' salary increase partially stems from a potential hike in medical premiums. The $389 million operating budget, which includes $307,130,929 in the general fund, $55,299,484 in the debt service fund and $26,879,475 in the child nutrition fund, will be supported by the new tax rate. The operating budget is estimated to require a Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate of $1.04-the same as last year-with an increased Sinking (I&S) tax rate of $0.47 to reflect a four-cent increase from the recent sale of bonds approved in the 2016 bond election. President Donald Trump once vowed to get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency "in almost every form," leaving behind only "tidbits." On Thursday, the man he appointed to lead the EPA went to Capitol Hill to defend a budget proposal that would begin that promised dismantling. "I believe we can fulfill the mission of our agency with a trimmed budget, with proper leadership and management," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told members of a House appropriations subcommittee, adding in his prepared remarks that the Trump administration's proposal "supports EPA's highest priorities" while aiming "to reduce redundancies and inefficiencies." The "trimmed" budget he referenced would amount to a cut of more than 31 percent, or $2.4 billion annually - a larger percentage than at any other federal agency. The administration wants to rid the EPA of thousands of employees and sharply reduce or eliminate a range of national and regional programs. Pruitt encountered swift resistance Thursday from members of both parties, who described the EPA's work in their districts as both vital to environmental protection and an economic engine in many areas. "I'll get straight to it. The fiscal year 2018 budget request for EPA is a disaster," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., adding that it would "surely impact EPA's ability to fulfill its critical mission of protecting the air we breathe and the water we drink." The subcommittee's chairman, Rep. Ken Calvert of California, and several other Republicans also were quick to distance themselves from many of the administration's proposals, saying Congress is unlikely to go along with such deep - and deeply unpopular - cuts to environmental programs around the country. "You have a tough job here today," Calvert said. "This budget proposes to significantly reduce or terminate programs that are vitally important to each member on this subcommittee. . . . This is perhaps not how you personally would craft EPA's budget, but it's a budget you have to defend here today." The White House has proposed nearly halving grants that support state and local efforts to address everything from pesticide exposure to air and water quality. It would slash nearly a third of funding for the Superfund cleanup program, which helps restore some of the nation's most polluted sites. Dozens of other programs would be zeroed out entirely, including funding for radon detection, lead-risk reduction, environmental justice and projects along the U.S.-Mexico border. Also slated for elimination are efforts aimed at restoring the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound. The agency also would have fewer funds for prosecuting environmental crimes or researching climate change and other issues. At times, even Pruitt himself seemed not to strongly defend pieces of the Trump administration's proposals. When Lowey asked how the administration could justify eliminating a program aimed at investigating the link between chemicals and possible endocrine system problems in humans and animals, Pruitt did not try to do that. "You raise a very, very, important question," he replied, noting that the 20-year-old program has had a "significant impact" and asking for the lawmaker's input on how it could be "restored and/or addressed in a different way." Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, said the EPA's program aimed at cleaning up the Great Lakes region, which Trump would defund entirely, had helped communities revitalize waterfront areas and created jobs. "Cleaning up the lakes isn't about correcting mistakes from the past, but creating new opportunities and a brighter future for our shoreline communities," he said, adding that the proposed budget "would cripple our collective efforts, halt the progress we're making and undermine investments we have made." "You've said it well," Pruitt responded. "We recognize the importance of the Great Lakes. We recognize the importance to the citizens in that region. And we're going to work with Congress to ensure that those objectives are obtained." Pruitt did make clear Thursday that he plans to continue to shrink the EPA's 15,000-employee workforce, though he said reductions likely can be accomplished through attrition, buyouts and an ongoing hiring freeze, rather than layoffs. "About 20 percent of the agency is eligible for retirement today, and that's going to increase over the next several years," Pruitt told lawmakers. "That's how we're going to address the proposed cuts to personnel." The Trump administration's efforts to take a sledgehammer to the EPA budget have drawn widespread criticism from environmental groups and from a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including even some Republicans who think the agency overstepped its regulatory authority under President Barack Obama. This week, former EPA scientists, lawyers, economists and policy experts who have joined together as the Environmental Protection Network called the pending budget proposal an unprecedented attack on the agency. The group detailed how Trump's sharp cuts, if enacted, could undermine virtually every core function of the agency. "We're people who worked at EPA over years and decades. We've seen lots of different policy approaches, lots of different policy viewpoints," said George Wyeth, a former EPA lawyer who left the agency in January after nearly three decades. "[But] when you look at a budget proposal of this kind, it raises serious concerns about the agency's capacity and integrity." He said the rationales given by Pruitt and the administration - that the proposed cuts will merely refocus EPA's attention on its core duties of safeguarding clean air and water - "are inconsistent with what you see in the budget yourself." WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to conduct further environmental reviews of the Dakota Access pipeline but stopped short of halting oil-pumping operations pending further hearings beginning June 21. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg handed a limited victory to Native American tribes in North Dakota that had challenged the administration's effort to speed the project, and his dense, 91-page opinion directed both sides to appear before him next Wednesday to decide next legal steps. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "substantially complied" with federal environmental laws, Boasberg wrote, "it did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline's effects are likely to be highly controversial." Boasberg's decision comes just weeks after Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners had begun pumping crude oil through the 1,170-mile line carrying North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a distribution point in Illinois. "Whether Dakota Access must cease pipeline operations" while the additional reviews are done "presents a separate question of the appropriate remedy, which will be the subject of further briefing," Boasberg ruled. David Debold, an attorney for Dakota Access, and Daryl Owen, a lobbyist representing Energy Transfer Partners, did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Four Sioux tribes in the Dakotas have asked the court to shut down oil-pumping operations. Boasberg in February rejected emergency requests by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes grounded in cultural preservation and religious freedom claims, the latter of which was based on the tribes' argument that the pipeline would desecrate the Missouri River and Lake Oahe, integral parts of their religious practices. The newest battle was triggered by one of President Donald Trump's early executive orders, directing the corps to expedite approval. The tribes and environmental groups said the administration's actions violate administrative procedure and treaty obligations. Jan Hasselman, an attorney with the environmental group Earthjustice and lawyer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, called the ruling "a significant vindication" of the tribe's position, recalling how Trump in a speech last week in Cincinnati took credit for the project's opening, saying, "Nobody thought any politician would have the guts to approve that final leg. I just closed my eyes, and I said, 'Do it.' " Hasselman said, "That is a perfect metaphor for this president and this project: They have closed their eyes to the impact of oil spills on some of the poorest people in the nation. It wasn't right, and now we know it wasn't lawful." "I was hoping for something with teeth," said Chase Iron Eyes, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and lead counsel in a group defending Lakota rights. "It's a victory in a sense that the law should be followed in other pipeline projects. ... For now we'll keep hoping for something that prevents the flow of oil." The pipeline has been the focus of legal maneuvering and protests for months. Authorities reported 761 arrests resulting from protests before the pipeline began commercial operations June 1. Opponents, who say the pipeline endangers their water supplies, said leaks began even earlier. As preparations for service began, the pipeline and a feeder line leaked more than 100 gallons of oil in western North Dakota in separate incidents in March, and the Dakota Access line leaked 84 gallons of oil in northern South Dakota in April. Boasberg's opinion focused on tribes' call for the courts to declare the administration's actions illegal, arbitrary and capricious. In late 2016, President Barack Obama ordered the Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the river and lake, to ask Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline company, to submit environmental impact statements on alternative routes. But Trump on Jan. 24 ordered the engineers to speedily issue the final easement the company needed to finish construction in the national interest. On Feb. 8, the Army issued the easement. Boasberg said that while federal law typically allows a court to order a halt to operations, such a move in the Dakota pipeline case "would carry serious consequences that a court should not lightly impose." In such cases, he wrote, "courts have discretion to depart from that presumptive remedy," calling for further legal arguments. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FAIRFIELD Senior events were held at Fairfield Ludlowe High School Wednesday after seniors worked with Headmaster Greg Hatzis to show their respect for school staff after a mess senior prank gone amiss. The prank which resulted in smashed watermelons strewn about the schools stairwells, bathrooms and senior lounge and a gallon of maple syrup coating a busy stairwell triggered Hatzis to cancel senior events in late May. But after the senior class did a series of deeds to show gratitude for custodians that cleaned up the pranks mess, the senior picnic and yearbook signing were held Wednesdsay. They gave them (custodians) the respect they deserve as professionals, Hatzis said. He said seniors showed who they truly are in apologizing to the school community and custodians and that he knows them as an incredible group of young people who have contributed a vast amount during their four years at Ludlowe. The single prank incident doesnt define them, Hatzis added. The headmaster had wrote in a letter to parents following the prank that he might reconsider canceling the events but that it would depend on how students reacted. Working with Hatzis, students sent thank you notes to FLHS faculty and staff, made baked goods for custodians and staff and donated to a food drive for local charities. On the morning of the senior picnic, about 30 seniors also helped custodians set up chairs for graduation, which Hatzis said got the job done in record time. At the senior picnic, seniors cheered for custodians as they entered the picnic and got food first to show gratitude. Seniors also volunteered to help clean up after the event. In a second letter to seniors and parents June 9, Hatzis wrote, It was heart-warming to learn of the initial response of our seniors who are willing to do these things and I hope that more will continue to volunteer. I am proud of the attitude of the senior class to engage in constructive and positive behaviors in the wake of the unfortunate events from May 23. I look forward to these events as well as the other events leading up to the graduation ceremony. lweiss@hearstmediact.com; @LauraEWeiss16 Marvin Wright, president of his high school senior class, spent two weeks working on his graduation speech, staying up till 5 on the morning of the event to finish. But later that day, the principal of Southwest Edgecombe High in Pinetops, North Carolina, told him he would be giving a different address, a five-sentence paragraph prepared by the school administrators. He gave him no explanation. "I felt robbed of a chance to say my own words," Marvin, 18, told The Washington Post. His mother, classmates and teachers urged him to give his speech anyway. When he stepped onto the stage at the end of the commencement ceremony Friday, he opened up a folder under the podium containing the school's prepared remarks: --- I would like to thank all of our friends and family for being here tonight. I would also like to address my fellow graduates one last time before we leave this gym. Although we may all never be in the same room at the same time again, we will always share the memories that we created within these walls. And no matter what we all do after graduation, never forget that this is one place that we all have in common, this place is home. Congratulations graduates, we did it! --- But instead of delivering those words, he took out his cellphone and read a copy of his original speech, with his friends in the audience nodding to him in encouragement. Sitting behind Marvin, the principal, Craig Harris, immediately turned to another staff member, whispering with a look of disapproval, video footage shows. After the applause and final procession, all of the students lined up to receive their official diplomas. But one folder in the stack was missing: Marvin's. His senior adviser informed him the principal had removed the diploma because Marvin had read the wrong speech. "All my friends were outside with their big yellow folders taking pictures and I was still inside, trying to get my diploma," Marvin said. "I was really hurt and embarrassed, basically humiliated." The teenager and his mother, Jokita Wright, accused the school of not only censoring a student's words but then retaliating against him by withholding his diploma. The mother complained to the principal, who explained to her that her son had missed a deadline to submit the speech to the school. Marvin says he never knew about it. Marvin did not receive his diploma for another two days, when the principal dropped it off at his home at the request of the superintendent. The principal handed him the diploma, saying only, "If your mom has any questions just give me a call." Then he left. Edgecombe County Schools Superintendent John Farrelly called Marvin on Monday to apologize for the way the school handled the situation on commencement day. "I have communicated with the family to apologize on behalf of the school," Farrelly said in a statement to the Wilson Times. "The diploma never should have been taken from the student." Farrelly said he did not have any problems with the content of the teenager's speech but was concerned about Marvin's use of a cellphone and the decision to change course at the last minute. "There is an expectation that is communicated to all graduation speakers that the prepared and practiced speech is the speech to be delivered during the ceremony," Farrelly said. "That was made extremely clear to the speakers. The student did not follow those expectations." In the fall, when Marvin was elected senior class president, his adviser informed him he would have to write a graduation speech. He says he wasn't given any guidance, so he sought out tips from the previous year's senior class president, and listened to numerous commencement speeches online for ideas. His English teacher told him she approved of the speech. Marvin even left a copy of the remarks on his principal's desk for review on commencement day. Still, administrators insisted he should read the address they prepared. But Marvin gave the speech he wanted to give, recounting memories he shared with his classmates through elementary, middle and high school. Though he stumbled a few times - distracted by the conversations taking place behind him and struggling to read from his phone - Marvin's speech was welcomed with cheers and laughs from the audience. In his approximately five-minute address, he thanked God, the family members of the graduates, the school's faculty and his mom - who was watching in the bleachers in tears. "This is it," Marvin said. "We have finally made it." He talked about playing at recess in elementary school, dealing with the "transition period" of middle school, when "things didn't work out in our favor." Finally, he talked about his senior year. "Everything seemed different," he said. "Teachers became mentors, friends became family, and Southwest Edgecombe High became home." "I am no expert in this journey we call life, but we all have the ability to make a difference and to be that change the world needs," he continued. "The past 13 years have equipped us for a time as this to stand bold in who we are. So I say to my classmates, cherish these last few minutes we spend here and the memories we have created and get ready for the journey ahead." Marvin was his mother's last child to graduate high school. His relatives drove to watch him speak and receive his diploma. While she's glad he gave an address in his own words, Jokita Wright wished her son could have left the school that day with the diploma he rightfully earned, she said. "He can't get that day back," his mother said. "That was a special moment for me, it was a special moment for him." Luckily, Marvin received the diploma just in time for the day he needed it most. On Monday, he officially committed to entering the U.S. Navy, after which he hopes to study pediatric surgery. The high school graduate will report for duty on Oct. 10. --- God is continuing to bless me. Posted by Marvin Wright on Monday, June 12, 2017 --- Video: On June 9, North Carolina high school senior Marvin Wright had his diploma withheld after he refused to read a speech written by his school's administrators. The class president eventually received an apology from the superintendent. (Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post) URL http://wapo.st/2sCOC3A Embed code LONDON -- Through the night and deep into the day, the crackling fire raged, sweeping through apartments and destroying lives like an out-of-control inferno from an earlier century, or perhaps from a less affluent part of the world. But this was London. This was 2017. And Wednesday's fire was unlike any seen here in recent memory, a blaze that transformed a 24-story high-rise that was once home to about 500 people into a charred ruin on the city's otherwise gleaming skyline. The fire marked a fresh trauma in a city already roiled by terrorist attacks, an unhappy and divisive political campaign, and the lingering uncertainty over Brexit, all of which seemed to endow the tragedy with an extra measure of dismay. But it was also, residents of the Grenfell Tower public housing development bitterly said, the specific and predictable result of years of warnings that had gone unheeded, an emblem of a city that is neglecting its most vulnerable residents even as it increasingly caters to the whims of the ultra-rich. In one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of London - a short amble from the homes of celebrities and royals - people living in one of the city's increasingly in-demand havens of affordable housing jumped from 20 floors up after being trapped by the advancing flames. Children banged on closed windows as they were enveloped by the thick black smoke. A woman dropped her baby, desperately hoping someone would catch the infant in the street below. By early evening, police said that 12 people had died and more than 70 had been injured. But with many people still unaccounted for, authorities said the toll was almost certain to rise. The scenes of a skyscraper engulfed in flames on a picture-perfect, blue-sky day evoked memories of New York in September 2001. But there was no reason to think terrorism was a factor, authorities said. The investigation, they said, would take time to assess what officials hinted could amount to a series of failures that, together, amounted to what London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton described as "an unprecedented incident." "In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never ever seen anything of this scale," she said as the building continued to belch smoke that could be seen for miles around. At least 40 fire engines responded to the scene, where 200 firefighters waged a futile battle to contain the blaze. As fiery debris rained from above, they raced into the building wearing breathing tanks and searched floor by floor for survivors even amid concerns that the structure could collapse. Outside, residents who had survived praised the firefighters but blamed the fire on official neglect. They said they had repeatedly raised fire safety concerns, which they said included the building's inadequate escape routes, the absence of an integrated alarm system and a renovation last year that they worried had left their building clad in panels that were shiny and new but not up to code. "Anyone who earns below 10 million pounds a year is not human in this borough," said James Wood, a resident of an adjacent public-housing development who claimed that he and people from Grenfell Tower had lobbied the local council to take the issue seriously, to no avail. "They don't care about fire safety." The Web page of the Grenfell Action Group, a residents' organization, testified to the long-standing concerns, with blog entries stretching back years that warned of the dangers. "All our warnings fell on deaf ears," the group said in a post added Wednesday morning, hours after the fire broke out. "We predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time." The target of the group's ire - the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization, which runs public housing in the area on behalf of the local council - issued a statement late in the afternoon in which it acknowledged that residents had earlier raised concerns and vowed to "co-operate fully with all the relevant authorities in order to ascertain the cause of this tragedy." Nick Paget-Brown, who leads the borough council, also acknowledged that residents had had long-standing concerns. He did not discuss them specifically, saying, "There are always concerns about fire safety in high-rise buildings." Paget-Brown told the BBC that there would be "a thorough investigation into why the fire started and why it spread so quickly." Although officials would not speculate, experts said Wednesday that their focus was on the building's exterior cladding, which is supposed to be fireproof but which witnesses said had burned like paper, quickly transmitting the fire from unit to unit and from floor to floor. "It appears that the external cladding has significantly contributed to the spread of fire at Grenfell Tower," said Angus Law, an expert with the Building Research Establishment Center for Fire Safety Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. Law said that British regulations are intended to halt the spread of fire between units and floors in high-rise buildings, but that when that fails, "the consequences are often catastrophic." Grenfell Tower, built in 1974, contained 120 units of publicly subsidized housing, with low-income and disabled residents given priority. It was one among a cluster of high-rises that stick out from the northern tip of leafy and stately Kensington, marking an unofficial western entry point to central London. The first hint that something was wrong came just before 1 a.m. when, according to a fourth-floor resident interviewed by the BBC, a neighbor knocked on the door to say his "fridge had exploded." Experts said firefighters should have had time to extinguish the blaze before it spread to other units. Instead, it leapt within minutes to other floors - but somehow never triggered any building-wide alarms. Hundreds of residents, many of whom were asleep when the blaze broke out, were forced to flee over the coming hours down a cramped, dark and smoky stairwell - the building's only escape route. Adeeb, who declined to give his last name, said he learned of the fire only when his daughter woke him in their ninth-floor apartment. "She said, 'I can see fire,' and I opened the door and could see smoke," said Adeeb, who is from Syria but has lived in Britain for 16 years. "It was like a horror movie. Smoke was coming from everywhere." Adeeb, who is on crutches, hobbled to safety with his wife and three daughters. One daughter was later hospitalized. Others were not nearly as fortunate. Several residents said emergency responders had ordered them to stay inside, in keeping with the building's protocol for fires. But the protocol assumes that a blaze will be contained, not that it will consume the entire building. Throughout the morning, witnesses reported harrowing scenes as residents trapped on top floors leaned out windows, flashing their cellphone lights and calling frantically for help. Wood, a 32-year-old graphic designer who lives in an adjacent building, said he saw a woman on about the 13th floor holding a baby out a window until all hope of a rescue had passed. "She dropped the baby," he said. "I'm hoping it was into someone's arms. But I don't think the mother made it." Wood also said he saw children, about 5 years old, banging on a closed window. "And then it was black smoke. It was all up in flames," he said. "I know they didn't make it." --- Video: A fire tore through a 24-story apartment building on June 14 in west London, shortly before 1 a.m. The London Fire Commissioner said "a number" of people have been confirmed dead. (Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post) URL http://wapo.st/2szoeHI Embed code This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Patrick Sanders stood in front of his apartment building on Monday night, feeling the heat from a block and a half away as sky-high flames wracked a downtown storage facility. The fire, at long-time Southeast Texas business Ace Safety Apparel, lit up downtown about 11 p.m. Monday night and caused Laurel Avenue from Orleans Street to Park Street to be closed all day Tuesday. Sanders said he was asleep when his landlord texted him pictures of the fire, asking what was happening. "I went outside our building door and watched for about 5 minutes," Sanders said. "The flames were at least 50 to 100 feet above the building." Firefighters walked through fallen brick and half of a standing building on Tuesday investigating the cause. Capt. Brad Penisson, with the Beaumont Fire Department, said the building that burned down was a smaller warehouse, primarily used for storage, behind the main building. "The structure is a total loss," Penisson said. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire, and the main building, which faces Liberty Avenue, sustained no damage, according to Penisson. "From my vantage point, it seemed pretty big," Sanders said. Ace, which started in Kansas City in the early 1900s and has had a location in Beaumont since the '70s, specializes in customized uniforms and supply services. The company has another location in Houston. Penisson said that as of Tuesday investigators were not sure what caused the fire. The store's manager declined to comment Tuesday afternoon. SFlores@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/_saraeflores The Olton City Council during a special called meeting Wednesday voted to terminate Police Chief Joe Banda, who has been on administrative leave since January. According to Thursdays Olton Enterprise, the councils vote of 5-0 to dismiss Banda came after a pair of closed sessions as well as a public hearing on a complaint against the chief. The termination took effect immediately. The public hearing was called for comments on a March 14 complaint alleging multiple incidents of failure to perform duties and comply with directives by Banda as Olton police chief. The complaint includes nine specific charges, which Mayor Mark McFadden enumerated at Wednesdays meeting, according to the Olton Enterprise in articles published in its print edition and on Facebook. Those charges, as reported by the Enterprise, include: --Failure to property train and supervise employees. --Failure to establish and maintain a good working relationship with the Lamb County sheriff and his personnel. --Failure to complete and provide documentation of criminal cases to the district attorneys office in a timely manner. --Failure to follow proper training procedures for officers firearms certification. That including allowing one officer to fire anothers personal rifle using City of Olton ammunition. That resulted in the rifle exploding. --Insubordination for failing to comply with a written directive to confirm an appointment and appear for a duty evaluation with a specific physician. --Failure to properly maintain police equipment, including radios, vehicles and firearms. --Failure to properly store and maintain proper chain-of-custody with evidence at the police department. --Failure to property educate, inform and train officers on enforcing city ordinances --Insubordination for failing to comply with a written directive from City Manager Marvin Tillman dated Jan. 25, 2017, for a complete incident report and supporting documents relating to the suspension of an Olton police officer. McFadden allowed Banda up to 10 minutes for a final statement in response. It was made by Terry Boone, an attorney with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, who admitted that the police chief was subject to termination as an at-well employee. However, McFadden noted that Banda has been the chief and on the force here for about 15 years. During that time, hes never gotten a pay raise, and he has never gotten a performance review. No one has ever had a criticism of him and his performance until now. What every employee needs and deserves are a couple of things. Did you tell me what I was doing wrong? Did you give me a chance to fix it? Did I not fix it? Well, we are missing two out of three in this case. Near as I can tell, and the city has not shown me otherwise, no one ever sat down and said, This is what you are doing wrong or We are unhappy with this or We need you to work on that. You are certainly not giving him a chance to fix it. Thats unfair. No employee deserves to be treated like that. Boone then addressed the specific complaints. Boone noted that Banda was not given the authority to select and purchase ammunition for the department. Instead, that task was handled by the city administrator which resulted in the use of reloaded ammunition, resulting in the failure of the previously mentioned rifle. Boone added that the department was under staffed and under budgeted, which made it impossible to conduct proper training activities. Boone added that while Banda declined to see the specified doctor for his evaluation, Banda received a fitness-to-return-to-work certificate from another city-approved doctor. Tillman, Oltons city manager, remains on 60-day paid administrative leave which began May 12. That was a week after Tillman was indicted on a pair of felony charges involving the theft of city property. He also faces possible criminal action involving accusations that he stole city-owned tires and impersonated a peace officer. Tillman is free on a pair of $5,000 bonds for two third-degree felony theft charges, for theft of property valued at more than $2,500 but less than $30,000. One charge stems from an accusation that Tillman exercised control over a 72.4-acre tract of land owned by the City of Olton for a decade without making required lease payments. The other alleges that he stole water from the City of Olton over a three-year period without making a deposit and monthly payments. Both charges were enhanced since the alleged crimes were facilitated by Tillmans status as a public servant. NORWALK Police are investigating three car break-ins at Connecticut Avenue parking lots Wednesday. Police were dispatched to Costco at 779 Connecticut Avenue at 3:44 p.m. on a report of car break-in. The door lock had been torn out from the drivers side of a white van parked there. Nothing was reported stolen from that vehicle. At 4:30 police were called to Home Depot on a complaint that a work van had been entered and several thousand dollars worth of tools were stolen. The van driver said that he had been in the store for only about 15 minutes and when he returned, multiple tools were missing. The missing tools included: a table saw, framing gun, nail gun, power saw and screw gun kit. The total value exceeded $2,000. Police say the van had been left unlocked. At 6 p.m. police were contacted to investigate a theft from a work van parked at Home Depot at 600 Connecticut Ave. The van operator said that he had been to the store earlier in the day, and when he came out he discovered that a black work bag was missing. The bag contained business checks, drivers license, lottery tickets and business invoices. Police say the van had been locked, but a window was left open. Detectives are investigating the break-ins. Anyone with information is asked to call 203-854-3011. Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media file NORWALK The president of Norwalks public teachers union has filed a formal complaint with the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission against the citys Board of Education and its Finance Committee. In the complaint, Mary Yordon, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers, alleges the Board of Education and its Finance Committee violated the states Freedom of Information Act three times through actions taken in advance of a June 8 Finance Committee meeting when budget cuts were approved based on a consensus reached via email prior to the meeting by committee and board members to fill a hole in the forthcoming years district operating budget. MOSCOW - Facing a wave of popular unrest not seen in years, Russian President Vladimir Putin took to the nation's airwaves Thursday to assure citizens that their lives will be getting better. Judging from the questions the Kremlin leader fielded over four long hours, Russians aren't feeling it. Just three days after tens of thousands of people turned out in more than 180 cities across Russia to express their dissatisfaction with the government, Putin used his annual "Direct Line with the President" call-in show to say that the Russian economy is showing signs of growth after a long recession and that "in general things will start moving to where people feel a change for the better." The questions that came in from viewers across the country reflected little of that. A Siberian teacher asked him how she's supposed to live on $280 a month. The residents of a Moscow suburb complained about a giant pile of garbage that they said is visible from space. A 22-year-old cancer patient from a polar mining town demanded to know why health care is in a shambles. "Please do not lose hope, I will see how to help including you personally," Putin told her. "We will work on your problem and on the hospital in your town. I promise!" Putin also touched on the political turmoil in the United States over Russian meddling in the 2016 elections. Commenting on the testimony of former FBI director James Comey, Putin said, "It sounds and looks very strange for the head of a special service to record a conversation with the commander-in-chief and then pass it to the media through his friend. And how is the FBI director different from Mr. Snowden then?" That was a reference to Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker who took refuge in Russia in 2013. "If some persecution is launched against [Comey] in this context, we will be ready to grant him political asylum in Russia as well," Putin deadpanned. The carefully choreographed show has traditionally been a showcase for Putin to show he understands his people's problems, and how he'll get to the bottom of them. But unedited texts from viewers that popped up on the bottom of the screen revealed the anger and frustration some Russians feel about their leader and the system he has created. "Putin, do you really think people believe in all this circus with staged questions?" read one. "All Russia believes you have sat on the throne too long," read another. Yet another asked when Putin would get around to firing officials who have faced corruption allegations, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. If Putin saw these comments - he said he was watching them - he did not react. When a young man in the Moscow studio where Putin sat asked a sharply worded question about official corruption, the Russian leader shot back, "Did you prepare that yourself, or did someone suggest it to you?" "Life prepared me for it," the man responded. More than 1,700 people were arrested in protests on Monday, the most widespread in Russia since Putin returned to the presidency in 2012. The nationwide rallies were spearheaded by anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny, who was jailed for moving a Moscow demonstration from its designated venue to a central street where it disrupted official Russia Day festivities Answering a reporter's question about Navalny at a nationally televised meeting with the press after the show, Putin, as he always does, avoided mentioning the opposition leader's name, and instead said "those who violate the law have to answer for it." Another reporter asked Putin how he feels when protesters chant, "Putin must go." "When I hear that, I look at what happens in other countries," Putin said. "It's normal." In recent months, Russia has seen rallies by long-distance truckers angry about road tolls and by apartment owners angry about a plan to relocate as many as 1.6 million Muscovites. March saw an earlier huge anti-corruption demonstration. This mood of defiance is not likely to prevent Putin, whose approval rating hasn't been below 80 percent in three years, from winning reelection next March, but pollsters say Russians feel that their leaders are unaccountable. And the Kremlin agrees. "As always, unfortunately, people often say that it can be easier to get through to the president than to the leaders of their own regions," Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, acknowledged in remarks to reporters on Wednesday. Putin did not say Thursday whether he plans to run for a new, six-year term next March. He also refused to answer a viewer's question about whether he had chosen a successor. "First of all, I'm still working," Putin said. "Secondly, the electorate should decide that, the Russian people." Answering questions about U.S. and European sanctions imposed over Russia's intervention in Ukraine, Putin said the West has been trying to isolate Russia "for centuries." A farmer praised him for counter-sanctions, thanks to which Russian agriculture has never had it so good. Nearly two million Russians submitted questions, and Putin answered only 73, some of which were true softballs - "What was the biggest fish you've caught?" Some, though they broke news - Putin has a new grandson - did little to move the needle on public affairs. Others appeared to get immediate action. Shortly after a woman called to complain to Putin that victims of a flood in the southern Stavropol region had failed to receive promised compensation, the regional governor reportedly submitted his resignation. As he did in his 14 previous Direct Lines, Putin appeared to be taking the side of ordinary citizens against an unfeeling and ineffective bureaucracy. To the impoverished Siberian teacher who asked how she's supposed to survive on $280 a month, Putin responded, "I also don't see how!" When someone asked if he knows how ordinary people live, Putin told a story about how his father "had to count each kopeck he spent on electricity." And when a a video call from a remote northern region broke off, Putin quipped: "Even the equipment can not stand it." State-run media fawned over Putin's performance. "We're always amazed at how many statistics Putin knows by heart," tweeted the NTV national television network. Wrapping up the show, Putin remarked that clearly people were less upset about corruption than in previous years, "judging by the questions people are asking," apparently ignoring the angry texts popping up on the screen. He said he read a text in which the sender wrote "everything will be OK." "I'll say it to you, then," Putin said with a smile. "Everything is going to be OK. I can confirm this." --- The Washington Post's Natalya Abbakumova contributed to this report. The Post reports: --- The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said. The move by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to investigate Trump's conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said. --- Former FBI director James Comey, in his testimony last week, quite clearly was laying the factual predicate for a possible obstruction charge - detailing Trump's efforts to persuade Comey to drop the investigation of Michael T. Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, and when that did not work, firing Comey with a false pretextual explanation. The president and his surrogates are already on the warpath, falsely suggesting that Comey engaged in improper or illegal conduct in leaking his memos and, putting out the line via Kellyanne Conway, that members of Mueller's legal team had given to Democratic politicians (and therefore were biased). None of that will prove successful, in large part because there reportedly are a parade of other witnesses. ("Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers's recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's investigators as early as this week.") These witnesses are likely to provide an account not unlike Comey's in which the president wanted them to interfere with Comey's Russia investigation. No wonder Trump is still ruminating about firing Mueller. His aides correctly point out that this would be politically disastrous, fueling impeachment fever. But Trump certainly has one thing right: His presidency is imperiled so long as Mueller compels witnesses to testify, accumulates written evidence and traces the myriad of ties between the Trump team and Russians. Onlookers have assumed that any obstruction was intended to prevent evidence of "collusion" or Russian infiltration of Trump's campaign from surfacing. However, the subject matter of the underlying investigation may extend to financial crimes, putting Trump's and his associates' international business dealings under the microscope. The addition to Mueller's team of a prosecutor including Andrew Weissmann, Supreme Court advocate and criminal law expert Michael Dreeben, and others experienced in complex fraud and international bribery cases suggests that the probe may be looking at more than "collusion" between Russian officials and Trump team members. For example, "it appears he has recruited an experienced Justice Department trial attorney, Lisa Page, a little-known figure outside the halls of Main Justice but one whose resume boasts intriguing hints about where Mueller's Russia investigation might lead. Page has deep experience with money laundering and organized crime cases, including investigations where she's partnered with an FBI task force in Budapest, Hungary, that focuses on eastern European organized crime. That Budapest task force helped put together the still-unfolding money laundering case against Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash, a one-time business partner of [Paul] Manafort." News reports speculate that Mueller could be investigating potential money-laundering by Trump team members. It bears repeating that only Mueller and his team know the exact contours of an investigation. A counterintelligence inquiry into Russian interference now extends - as these things inevitably do - to possible financial dealings of Trump and his associates and possible "procedural" crimes (e.g. obstruction, perjury, lying to the FBI). The president might want to consider finding an actual expert in criminal law to represent him; this investigation is extensive, serious and possibly career-ending for a growing list of figures, which now certainly includes the president. The Trump administration has asked China to act against several Chinese entities suspected of doing illicit business with North Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday. North Korean ally China is the "capstone" of an international pressure campaign to hold North Korea to account for rogue missile and nuclear development, Tillerson said during testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But Tillerson was explicit that Washington also believes that Chinese businesses and individuals are helping North Korea evade a yoke of international sanctions. "Our expectations have been very clear with the Chinese. Their cooperation, I would say, has been notable, but it has been uneven," Tillerson said. "We continue that dialogue with the Chinese, specifically around their actions that support revenue streams to North Korea, but also taking action against entities inside of China that may be supporting revenue streams as well," Tillerson said. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the Trump administration has given China a list of about 10 such suspect entities and has demanded action. Tillerson appeared to confirm that report and added that Chinese compliance would be a central topic during meetings he will have with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and their Chinese counterparts next week in Washington. "We have made it clear to them, and we have provided them a list of entities that we believe they need to take action against," Tillerson said. "We have asked that they take the action, but President Trump has also been very clear with President Xi that if they either don't want to take the action or they do not take the action, we will act on our own." Later, in testimony to a panel of the House Appropriations Committee, Tillerson said the United States assesses that China's complicated relationship with North Korea is changing and that China increasingly sees Pyongyang as a liability. The combination of North Korean advances in nuclear weapons and long-range missiles means that "there's no runway left," for lengthy or ineffective diplomacy, Tillerson said. "We have to reverse what North Korea is doing," and China understands the imperative, he said. "They have affirmed their policy is a denuclearized Korean Peninsula," Tillerson said. Chinese diplomats recently worked alongside the United States to approve additional new United Nations Security Council sanctions. Although mild, those penalties served as a warning that Chinese patience is thinning. "There is a critical window of opportunity for the nuclear issue of the [Korean] Peninsula to come back to the right track of seeking a settlement through dialogue and negotiations," China's U.N. ambassador, Liu Jieyi, told the Security Council, according to Reuters. "It is incumbent on all parties concerned to exercise restraint and to do more to help ease the tension and build mutual trust." A Texas woman who was raped in India by an Uber driver is suing the ride-hailing company after its executives allegedly obtained and shared her medical records without permission, according to court filings. The woman behind the suit is identified only as Jane Doe. She accused Uber, as well as three current and former executives, with intruding into private affairs, public disclosure of private facts, and defaming her character. The suit was filed in a federal court in northern California. Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Detention Officer Colleen Peake has long dreamed of working as an investigator. The 43-year-old joined the Harris County Sheriff's Office 10 years ago, and began working as a jailer. She got her peace officer's license in 2010, but it went unused as she climbed the detention officer ranks on the civilian track within the department. That changed Wednesday, when she and 62 of her colleagues graduated from a modified sheriff's office academy, making them fully sworn peace officers working in the jail as "detention deputies." "I'm nervous; I'm excited," said Peake, shortly before giving a graduation speech. "I've been waiting for this for a long time." The graduation means a cut in pay and a demotion as she goes from a managerial position to the sworn position among the rank-and-file, but it puts her on track to pursue a longtime goal of working as a peace officer. (Story continues below ...) Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the decision to expand the ranks of detention deputies gives employees like Peake a career path that keeps them in the sheriff's office, while boosting morale and saving money. "They're [state] certified but they weren't working in a police capacity for us," Gonzalez said. "If we don't retain them somehow, they're just going to go on to the next step in their career and they're going to go elsewhere." The move comes as the sheriff's office has weathered numerous scandals over inmate treatment and hemorrhaged employees in years past, many of whom said they were burned out by costly mandatory overtime shifts at the jail. The long hours and lack of clear path for advancement were among the main reasons many employees listed for leaving the department. "We wanted to create a gateway where we could bring them to a different role now and recognize their past accomplishments," Gonzalez said. Employment retention will grow even more critical next year, when the sheriff's office shoulders the responsibilities of running a new Joint Processing Center that combines intake for both Harris County and Houston police. Calling Gonzalez's move "a step in the right direction," Harris County Deputies' Organization President David Cuevas said the decision remedied a problem created previously when the department hired detention officers who'd earned peace officers licenses elsewhere but weren't able to transition into a policing role. "These detention officers need to have ability to fulfill their dream of becoming certified deputies," Cuevas said. "It's not their fault historically our department has not utilized the basic peace officers' training they've earned through outside academies." In response to inmate overcrowding and escalating overtime he inherited when he took office Jan. 1, Gonzalez said he ordered a hard look at staffing operations at the jail. After adjusting scheduling, the department saw its monthly overtime expenditures fall from $2 million in January to $1.2 million in May, according to the Harris County Budget Office. The department also appears to be turning the corner on its retention problems. "We're really grateful they started getting some of that in line," said William Jackson, the county's budget officer. "They're solving their own problems within their own budget, internally." County budget officials said the addition of detention deputies will help make jail operations more efficient, especially since the newly sworn deputies can transport inmates to the hospital or fill other positions that require a peace officer. The new graduates completed a modified, shorter academy, refreshing their shooting skills, passing a physical training test, and taking week-long update on writing reports and changes in the law. They will return to work in the sheriff's criminal justice command. For Peake, graduation to a job as a certified peace officer means she can pursue her goal of some day working as an investigator. She'll have to pass more rigorous physical training requirements, brush up on some more classes, and spend at least two years working patrol. She's looking ahead to what comes next. "I would like to do cold cases," she said. "I don't know if I'll ever get there ... but I'm intrigued by cold cases." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A former San Antonio day care worker pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of producing child pornography, which he admitted creating at his then-workplace. Nicholas Andreas Gonzales Malven, 30, who worked at La Petite Academy day care on Spring Time Drive and was around children at a YMCA in Washington State, was arrested here in July 2016 after an investigation by the FBI, and admitted sending images of his hand molesting a child at the day care and sent them to a sexual partner, and then to an undercover FBI agent. In a statement after Gonzales arrest last year, a spokeswoman for La Petite Academy said Gonzales was no longer with the company and that La Petite cooperated with the FBI. Court records said the FBI learned of Gonzales from another suspect in a related child-porn investigation who was arrested on July 28, 2016. That individual, identified as 34-year-old Michael Kiper of San Antonio, had been involved in child pornography over an extended period, using various Internet programs, services, and phone applications, the court records said. Kiper also told the FBI that he met with Gonzales for sex and they watched child porn together, the court papers said. While reviewing Kipers phone, agents learned that Gonzales had been communicating with Kiper through Grindr, a social media app geared toward gay and bisexual men, and text messaging. They also learned, court documents said, that Gonzales had sent images of what looked like an adult hand, with a circular tattoo on the forearm, pulling the boys pants down and sexually touching him while the child was asleep or while the toddler was being helped to go to the bathroom. Gonzales plea documents said the FBI obtained consent from Kiper to use his phone and continued communicating with Gonzales, who texted a detailed description of how he had molested the child. On July 29, 2016, the FBI raided Gonzales Northwest Side apartment and he admitted receiving, sending and viewing child pornography for the past 5 years, the plea documents said. He also admitted that he produced five images he sent to Kiper while he was working at La Petite. A forensic examination of his phone turned up the images, the plea deal said. Gonzales faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison, followed by up to a lifetime of federal supervision, on each count. Sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 11 before Senior U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra. Kiper pleaded guilty to child porn charges and was sentenced in May to 20 years in prison followed by 20 years of federal supervision. gcontreras@express-news.net Twitter: @gmaninfedland This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Police are asking the public's assistance in locating and identifying four persons of interests in the slaying of a man last month near downtown. Brandon Lee Medina was stabbed to death around midnight on May 12 in the parking lot of Lulu's Cafe in the 900 block of North Main Avenue. Police found him dead at the scene, covered in blood with someone's t-shirt covering his wound. READ MORE ON THIS: Man fatally stabbed at Lulu's Cafe overnight; police detain suspect covered in blood blocks away According to a police report on the stabbing, a witness saw two suspects chasing Medina near the location. The witness then saw Medina collapse and the two suspects flee into a nearby motel. Another witness told police they went to check on Medina, and when they saw he had been stabbed, they attempted to stop the bleeding with their own shirt. Officers later discovered a "trail of blood" leading to a room in the motel into which the suspects fled," according to a police report. READ ALSO: Middle school employee allegedly had sex with 14-year-old boy during sleepovers The suspects' vehicles are described as a gold Chevy Impala and a bronze or tan SUV. Police are now looking for the four individuals pictured above as they have been listed as persons of interest in Medina's murder. Anyone with information on the persons of interest is asked to contact the San Antonio Police Department's Homicide Unit at 210-207-7635. Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com cdowns@mysa.com Twitter: @calebjdowns Let's see: Whom can we blame? First of all, let us all agree that we stand together against violence, whoever the target; that it doesn't matter what party you are. The gunman is responsible for this atrocity, and we are united in condemning him. Are we done agreeing now? Can we talk? Isn't everyone already talking? The gunman reportedly supported Bernie Sanders. So blame the left. Sanders. Hillary Clinton. All the people out there who don't just disagree with the president but demean him, spew hate. Hey, wait a minute. Want to talk about spewing hate? Who started this? Who got inaugurated and didn't even pause before he started calling people names? Talk about demeaning. Talk about raising the temperature of political debate. Talk about surrounding yourself with people who advance by winning and win by fighting and see compromise as the work of swamp-dwellers. The tweeter in chief is hardly the mouthpiece of compromise and cooperation. Wait a minute. James Hodgkinson took a gun and shot at Republicans. Maybe he saw the photo of Kathy Griffin holding a fake Donald Trump head and was inspired. Or maybe it was the Public Theater production of "Julius Caesar" that inspired him. It doesn't matter if you didn't see actually see the production; you can blame them anyway. Ah, but how did he have that gun? When I used to be on the radio and it was a lazy Sunday with not many folks calling in, I knew I could always rely on that old faithful segment: "Gun Owners, Pull Over." And I would begin my eminently reasonable rant about how you wouldn't drive without a license and you can't get a license without both a written test and a road test, and you have to keep getting it renewed, and have your vision checked - and all that to operate a vehicle, the primary purpose of which is transportation, not killing. Excuse me, I mean "protection." I was set for the afternoon. Here is my prediction. Consider me a cynic, but this is not the moment that will bring us together. I'm as guilty as the next. We are too far gone. This is not the moment that will make me forget my horror that the attorney general of the United States responded to the FBI director's statement that he did not want to be alone with the president by asking no further questions, investigating nothing, hearing nothing, offering nothing. Jeff Sessions focused on himself, on simply trying to stay alive another day in the wild world of Donald Trump, figuring Comey could figure out something to do on his own. And Comey did, evoking aspects of "Deep Throat," the Watergate FBI leaker whose identity took decades to ferret out. The leaker of Comey's documents had to be Comey himself, and this is what Comey had to do to get a special counsel appointed - because Sessions, who had always stood up for integrity in his years in the Senate, was in no position to protect him. Sessions had to go along with firing Comey, because if he recused himself again - which apparently infuriated the president the first time - who knows what would have been Sessions' fate. But to pretend like any of us would really believe that James Comey was fired for mishandling the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails? Mishandle the Clinton investigation he did, and it was enough (though we can blame many factors, as is always true in a close election) to elect the Wizard of Trump. But that is not why he was fired. How dumb do they think we are? So, thank God it wasn't worse today. I say that a lot lately. Thank God London wasn't worse. Thank God Manchester wasn't worse. But if you are one of those who lost a loved one, it could not have been worse. What a terrible way to live. Days like today should bring us together, but you need leaders who see it as their role and their destiny to do so. I will never forget President Ronald Reagan's stirring words on the day of the Challenger disaster. He set the bar high. Sadly, no one is even aiming for it. To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. Eric Gay /Associated Press The Texas Legislature once again proved it has no intention of reforming the school funding system or correcting the fact that the state contributes less revenue to the system than local taxpayers. Instead of focusing on improvements for all 5.3 million Texas schoolchildren, the political process died because a few elected officials in Austin insist on opening the states wallet to unregulated, unaccountable private schools. One year ago, the Texas Supreme Court ruled the states school funding system is constitutional bringing to an end decades of legal wrangling between school districts and the state. However, do not assume in this situation that constitutional equates to good. In the Supreme Courts opinion, the justices wrote that the school finance system in Texas was byzantine, with immense room for improvement and ill-suited for 21st century Texas. The court implored the Legislature to take action. Forewarned is forearmed. So perhaps the country is lucky that President Trumps allies have floated the possibility that he might fire special counsel Robert Mueller. This speculation allows citizens to reflect on the consequences of such action. Trump has already taken the country to a darker place than even his sharpest critics would have imagined six months ago. He has brought to the White House the values of a failed Atlantic City casino owner turned reality-TV star. We dont have to believe former FBI Director James Comeys account of Trumps threats and blandishments. We can just watch the news and follow our Twitter feeds to see that, in many of his public statements, Trump has been deceitful. Trump creates his own version of normal. So lets briefly review this most abnormal chain of events: The president was informed on Jan. 26 that the FBI was investigating his national security adviser, Michael Flynn. The next day, Comey says Trump summoned him to dinner to ask for his loyalty. Trump decided he had to fire Flynn on Feb. 13, saying even as he did so that Flynn had done nothing wrong and shouldnt be punished. (Message: Ill protect you.) He allegedly told Comey the next day, I hope you can let this go. After Comey didnt let it go, Trump fired him too. He initially gave a false explanation about why, and then admitted it was because of the Russia thing and apparently bragged about it to the visiting Russian foreign minister. What is Trump so afraid of in the Russia investigation? Truly, we dont know. But as prosecutors sometimes say about those under investigation: We may not know what he did wrong, but he does. Trumps behavior in office has been disruptive, to put it mildly. But with the appointment of Mueller, the near-universally praised former FBI director, it seemed the country would have a chance to take a breath and return to something like normal order. But no. The presidents friends are now pressing the argument that Mueller must go, too. If so, this crippling scandal could veer into a much more dangerous phase of presidential lawlessness. Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law professor who headed the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel during the George W. Bush administration, struck the right note of astonishment that were even discussing this topic: This seems like such a bad idea for the nation, and for the president that I have a hard time believing it is a live possibility. Justice Department regulations specify that a special counsel can only be removed for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause, and that the specific reason must be spelled out in writing. Since the Justice Departments ethics office has already decided that Mueller doesnt have a conflict resulting from his law firms representation of Trump family members, that argument looks soft. So do the others, given Muellers reputation for probity. Perhaps Trump could argue that Muellers appointment was compromised because it was triggered by Comeys leak of one of his memos about Trump. The FBIs Prepublication Review Guide does raise some questions about Comeys actions, but not Muellers. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein assured Congress Tuesday that he would obey a presidential order to fire Mueller only if it were lawful and appropriate. Trump could conceivably then fire Rosenstein and keep issuing the order until someone carried it out. The protection against lawless behavior in a democracy, in the end, isnt the institutional framework set forth in our Constitution, but the will of public officials to make that system work and the ability of the public to put aside factional differences and support the rule of law. If Trump is wise, hell leave Mueller in place and let this investigation run its course. But if he tries to sack the special counsel, he will be making a bet that the country is too weak and disoriented to stand together behind its constitutional structure of law which, really, would be the saddest outcome of all. David Ignatius writes a column for the Washington Post. Reach him at davidignatius@washpost.com Federal Judge Orlando Garcias ruling on immigration detainers places in stark relief a key reason why Texas sanctuary cities law faces serious legal jeopardy. One odious feature of the states Senate Bill 4 is that it penalizes local authorities who dont honor immigration detainers by federal authorities. It also creates penalties for local governments that don't allow police to ask about immigration status. Various groups and cities have challenged the law in court or are contemplating doing so. Garcia ruled that Bexar County violated the constitutional rights of a Mexican citizen when he was held on detainer for immigration authorities after his criminal charges were dismissed. And what makes this such a significant ruling is that Garcia, who serves in the Western district of the U.S District Court in San Antonio, is the same judge who will hear the consolidated lawsuits challenging the sanctuary law generally. Immigration violations are generally a matter of civil law. Therefore, Garcia wrote, routine detention of such individuals made it inevitable that it would engage in warrantless detention of individuals who were not suspected of any criminal offense. The states legal maneuvering to have the sanctuary cities suits heard in the same court has not helped it in this first round with this detainer case. A bad ruling on the consolidated suits against the sanctuary law might be reasonably anticipated. But that might be the strategy. Texas is virtually certain to appeal any ruling against the law. That appeal will go to the highly conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. However, this, too, might be a gamble since that appeals court ruled against the state in the matter of its voter photo ID law. This court ruling by Garcia aside, the sanctuary cities law is unreasonable on its face. It relies on a threat from criminal immigrants that has little relation to truth most undocumented immigrants avoid detection from authorities for obvious reasons. And, as Garcia noted in this detainer case, the states edict to hold immigrants for 48 hours raises serious constitutional questions. Yes, immigrants are also protected by the U.S. Constitution. Moreover, the law actually creates a more unsafe environment because it means undocumented immigrants will be reluctant to come forward to report crimes and otherwise cooperate with local police. Garcias ruling will likely be just one of a string of losses to come on this law. Bexar County should not appeal this specific detainer case. LONDON REWE Group has won the 2017 NACS Insight European Convenience Retail Sustainability Award, sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company, and Valora has won the 2017 European Convenience Retail Technology Award, sponsored by Verifone Inc. Both awards were presented during the NACS Insight Convenience SummitEurope awards dinner in London on June 14. The European Convenience Retail Sustainability Award is given to a convenience retailing company that has pursued a sustainability initiative that has significantly improved commercial performance, competitiveness, customer perception, staff engagement and prospects for continued financial strength. REWE Group wins the NACS Insight European Convenience Retail Sustainability Award REWE Group is an industry leader in developing and implementing sustainable strategies and making sustainability a core aspect of the companys mission. Since implementing its sustainable practices nearly a decade ago, REWE Group views sustainability as both a process and a fundamental attitude that is firmly ingrained in its corporate culture. Judges agreed that REWE Group is committed to being an industry pacesetter and instilling sustainability into the collective conscious of society. This commitment is based on REWE Groups 2010 Guidelines for Sustainable Business Practices, which exemplify that sustainability is a fundamental element of its business strategy. As part of its sustainable business practices, REWE Group assumes responsibility for its employees, works fairly with partners and suppliers, promotes more sustainable product ranges, acts in an environmentally and climate-friendly manner and serves as an advocate of biodiversity and a sustainable society. Focusing on sustainability not only helps protect our world and resources, it is also good for business, and REWE Group demonstrates its commitment through its four pillars of sustainability: green products; employees; energy, climate and the environment; and social involvement, said Ern Sherman, vice president of industry affairs for The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola is proud to recognize REWE Group, which shares our passion for making a lasting, positive difference for businesses and communities. The European Convenience Retail Technology Award recognizes a convenience retailing company that is pursuing a significant and compelling technology initiative that benefits European consumers, and is making long-term investments in technology innovation. Valora wins the European Convenience Retail Technology Award Valora, with more than 2,500 convenience and foodservice stores in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Lux and France, is leading technology innovation in the industry with its k kiosk mobile loyalty application. Valora owns a broad network of kiosk formats across Europe, offering everyday convenience store merchandise, with more than 900 k kiosk locations in Switzerland in highly trafficked areas. Valoras k kiosk app provides consumers with unique coupons, stamp cards and the highly innovative share and care feature. This feature creates a community of k kiosk app users interacting with each other; they have the ability gift treats like coffee, beverages and snacks to friends who also use the app technology. The award is a true recognition of our strong commitment to generate added value for our customers through new digital solutions, said Michael Mueller, CEO of Valora Group. With about 1.4 million daily customer contacts across the group, we are dedicated to drive customer loyalty through innovation. In order to do so, we are continuously building up digital talentwithin our company and with the help of service providers such as Dealini, Liquid Barcodes and Nothing Interactive who supported us in the k kiosk app project. Verifone is committed to innovative technologies and solutions, and applaud companies that are using technology to help gas stations and convenience stores enrich the consumer experience, said Brad McGuinness, senior vice president of global petroleum systems for Verifone. We are delighted to recognize Valora for improving upon an award-winning software platform with further enhancements, showing that they are ahead of the curve with mobile technology in Europe. At the June 14 NACS Insight International Convenience Retail Awards ceremony, winners were also announced for the International Convenience Retailer of the Year and the European Convenience Retail Leader of the Year Award. Now in its fourth year, the NACS Insight Convenience SummitEurope brings together convenience and fuel retailing industry professionals from around the world to discuss new ideas and gain new commercial connections. This years event kicked off in Zurich on June 10 with education and store tours and ends on June 15 in London. A coalition that included NACS sent a letter to Congress asking that interstate rest areas not be commercialized as part of infrastructure legislation. ALEXANDRIA, Va. This week, a diverse coalition from restaurants and fuel retailers to city governments, trucking firms and blind entrepreneurs asked key lawmakers to oppose efforts to commercialize interstate rest areas as Congress considers infrastructure legislation. The Trump administration's recent proposal to allow the sale of food, fuel and other commercial services at interstate rest areas would drain local businesses of customers, communities of much-needed jobs, and city governments of critical tax revenue by putting established businesses in direct competition with state governments. At the same time, it would give the state an unfair competitive advantage by granting the state direct access to highway motorists, the groups said in letters to Congress. Further, upending long-established policy prohibiting commercial rest areas threatens the livelihood of the nations blind merchants, who service the vending machines at rest areas, and would hinder the U.S. Department of Transportations goal of expanding commercial truck parking capacity nationwide. Congress effectively privatized highway services in 1960, when Congress prohibited states from offering commercial services at rest areas along the Interstate Highway System specifically so that private sector entities would grow and provide services to the traveling public," said Lisa Mullings, president/CEO of the National Association of Truck Stop Owners (NATSO). Established businesses including travel plazas, convenience stores, restaurants and hotels are already meeting the needs of highway travelers. Commercializing Interstate rest areas would create far more problems than it will solve. In many rural communities located near interstates, gas stations, restaurants, convenience stores, truck stops and hotels represent the largest amount from local taxpayers, contributing more than $22.5 billion in state and local taxes. These funds help support schools, police and fire departments and other vital public services. The letters (House Letter, Senate Letter) to Congress were signed by: NACS Asian American Hotel Owners Association International Franchise Association National Automatic Merchandising Association National Council of Chain Restaurants National Federation of the Blind National Franchisee Association National League of Cities National Restaurant Association National Tank Truck Carriers NATSO Petroleum Marketers Association of America Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America In the past, NACS has opposed efforts to commercialize rest stop areas and will continue to oppose these efforts," said Paige Anderson, NACS director of government relations. By Hubert Horan, who has 40 years of experience in the management and regulation of transportation companies (primarily airlines). Horan has no financial links with any urban car service industry competitors, investors or regulators, or any firms that work on behalf of industry participants On June 13th Uber announced that its Board had accepted all of the management process recommendations of a study led by Eric Holder of the law firm Covington & Burling.[1] Uber also announced that CEO Travis Kalanick would take a temporary leave of absence and that SVP Emil Michael, Kalanicks closest confidante, had been dismissed. The intent had been to turn the tide of highly negative stories on Uber since the beginning of the year. Earlier installments in this Naked Capitalism series refrained from predicting Ubers future. However, given a business strategy that depended on achieving global industry dominance, the critical question was always : could Uber achieve that dominance before it burned through its massive $13 billion war chest? Until recently it seems likely that it might, but recent events now strongly suggest that the answer may be no. While Ubers finances are currently secure (in April it was reported to have roughly $7 billion in cash on hand out of the $13 billion originally provided by investors), it is increasingly difficult to see how Uber can survive in the longer term. For any company to rebound from a major crisis, it must have correctly identified its major problems and workable solutions, and installed strong, positive leadership that staff and other stakeholders can trust to navigate near term turmoil successfully. Uber has done none of these things. For an immature company like Uber that has always been highly unprofitable to survive a crisis, it must have a clear, widely understood plan that will rapidly reverse the multi-billion dollar losses of recent years, as well as maintain the goodwill of customers, suppliers and outside industry observers through the turnaround process. Recent events have badly undermined goodwill. There is no evidence that Uber has a credible profit turnaround plan. None of the alternative strategic paths that one can imagine appear to have much chance of success. Mature companies facing crises of culture and executive leadership usually have the cash flow and management depth that will give them the time needed to make major personnel and strategic changes. Uber does not have that time, as it has been burning through its cash for seven years, and its executive ranks have been decimated. Before laying out Ubers existential crisis, lets quickly summarize recent events. Uber has endured six months of intensively negative publicity that goes well beyond the sexual harassment issues that the Holder study was intended to address A February 19th blog post by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler triggered the Holder report.[2] Fowler described her own sexual harassment by senior Uber executives and argued that the Ubers refusal to take any action reflected a systemic toleration of sexual harassment. But Uber has faced a huge range of other bad publicity this year, including a major lawsuit from Alphabet (Google) alleging that Uber conspired with a former employee of its Waymo driverless car unit to steal critical intellectual property, news that Uber developed software (Greyball) that was used to obstruct law enforcement efforts in Philadelphia and Portland to determine whether Uber was violating local laws, 2016 financial results showing negative EBITDAR contribution of $2.8 billion (suggesting actual losses of over $3 billion), reports that Uber software changes led to passenger overcharges and driver underpayments, reports that SVP Emil Michael tried to silence a woman who filed an HR complaint after a management dinner in Seoul led by Kalanick where escorts were provided for the male Uber executives in attendance, and video showing Kalanick verbally abusing an Uber driver who complained how he had been hurt by recent unilateral Uber compensation changes. After Fowlers blog post appeared, a spate of news stories described a senior management culture that was highly insular and slavishly loyal to Kalanick. The New York Times said that Kalanicks inner circle, known as the A-Team internally, had been expunged of people who had not demonstrated their complete commitment to Kalanicks approach to competition and growth, described senior management as a Hobbesian environment. It confirmed Fowlers observation that the A-team was immune to internal scrutiny.[3] A Financial Times story depicted senior management as the cult of Travis.[4] Ubers board has never exercised any independent oversight over management because Kalanick and two close friends (co-founder Garrett Camp and Ryan Graves, Ubers first employee) control 9 of the 11 board seats. A spate of executive departures that have left Ubers management in serious disarray generated more bad publicity. In addition to this weeks Kalanick and Michael moves, Uber had recently lost its President of Ridesharing (the nominal number 2 position), the CFO, the President of its Asia-Pacific operations, the EVP Engineering, the VPs of Public Policy/Communications, Product Growth and Mapping development and the Head of Driverless Car Development. Some of these were the dismissals of individuals who were PR liabilities in a post-Fowler world; others might be best characterized as rats fleeing a sinking ship. Uber has been unable to fill its Chief Operating Officer position, which has been open since March, perhaps because of the lack of people who would be attracted to a Hobbesian environment at a ccompany losing billions of dollars. Ubers original whitewash plan has gone badly wrong Ubers commissioning of the Holder study followed the standard crisis management playbook. It allowed the company to claim the review would be rigorous and independent, but Holder (and Covington & Burling) had done considerable work for Kalanick and Uber prior to the Fowler blogpost, so it wasnt really independent. Predictably, it was not seriously threatening either. The review was narrowly limited to the discrimination and harassment charges in Fowlers blog post since Uber wanted to focus public attention to diversity and inclusion issues, not core governance issues or the possible causes of intellectual property theft, obstruction of justice, or profitability problems. Board member Arianna Huffington, a strong Kalanick ally, led the review. She gave multiple press interviews claiming the sexual harassment problem was limited and would soon be under control. Yes, there were some bad apples, unquestionably. But this is not a systemic problem.[5] Immediately prior to the planned June 6th public release of Holders findings, Uber announced that 20 staff had been fired (none members of Kalanicks A-Team), that two women had been hired into management positions, and that a female Nestle executive would become an independent Board member. The Holder management process recommendations were entirely generic steps such as rethinking Ubers value statement, enhanced Board oversight, increased leadership training, reducing alcohol use at company events, and implementing a more formally structured complaint system. On June 7th, Kara Swisher of Recode published a story revealing that Eric Alexander (Ubers President for Asia-Pacific and an A-Team member) had somehow obtained the records of a police investigation of a 2014 rape of a Uber passenger by an Uber driver in India, and those records were shared among Alexander, Kalanick and Michael for over a year.[6] Those executives debated whether the evidence could be used to undermine the victims testimony, and whether the incident had been concocted by a competing taxi company, although Uber eventually settled with the victim and accepted a six month ban from operating in Delhi. This information was apparently leaked to Swisher by an Uber employee who realized that the outside lawyers had not been provided (or ignored) this information. When Swisher contacted Uber to confirm the account, the release of the Holder study was suddenly postponed, and Uber quickly announced Alexanders dismissal. A new Uber Board meeting was held on Sunday the 11th and lasted all day. Board members had only five days to rethink their plan, but realized that punishment for the rape documents would have to reach the top of the company. When those managers resisted, the Board increased pressure by leaking their demands to the press. Emil Michael was Kalanicks closest confidante and was considered the most powerful member of the A-team. In addition to his involvement with the Seoul escort and Indian rape incidents, he had led efforts in 2014 to intimidate Ubers strongest media critic by threatening to releasing information about her personal life. He had been in charge of Ubers disastrously failed attempt to enter the China market, but there were never negative repercussions because all of this was at Kalanicks direction. Uber announced Michaels departure on Monday, but Bloomberg reported that Michael believes that a weak board of directors, a lax internal legal team, coupled with his tight friendship with co-founder Kalanick, ultimately led to his downfallnot the scandals.[7] There were apparently major disagreements among board members about sanctions on Kalanick. Uber announced his leave of absence Tuesday morning without disclosing its expected duration There was also no explanation of how his responsibilities might change after he returns. Recent events have badly undermined public goodwill towards Uber and the narrative explaining Ubers path to profitability is no longer credible As discussed in parts eight and nine of this series, Ubers public goodwill depended in large measure upon a carefully developed PR/propaganda campaign designed to explain its inevitable success, and divert attention from the lack of evidence of profitability or competitiveness. Among other things, that narrative claimed Ubers global dominance would be driven by cutting edge technological innovations that were so powerful they could overwhelm incumbent competitors anywhere in the world and could eventually displace car ownership, that startup losses would soon give way to robust profits just like other technologically driven startups, that its meteoric growth was the result of consumers choosing their vastly superior services in competitive markets, and resistance to Ubers growth was entirely due to people fighting to preserve a status quo dominated by an Evil Taxi Cartel and corrupt regulators. Until the events of this year, no one in the mainstream media bothered to scrutinize, much less question Ubers story. But enough doubts has been raised in the last couple years as to whether Uber was really an avatar of economic progress so that Fowlers description of a deeply flawed company was immediately and universally accepted. Last weeks Indian rape revelations effectively killed the effort to convince outsiders that the companys only problem was a few bad actors who liked to hit on female staff and should similarly destroy any remaining perception that Uber management can be assumed to be wise or trustworthy. It is not clear whether Uber will enjoy even a brief respite from its tsunami of negative publicity, as there may be further leaks of past bad behavior. In addition, court findings that Kalanick or other A-Team members had actively conspired in the Google IP theft would be far more damaging than any of Fowlers statements. Uber has no ability to earn profits within a competitive taxi industry Uber could restore its credibility by presenting a convincing strategy to reverse its enormous losses. But no one at Uber has a credible plan and none of this weeks actions move Uber closer to developing one. As previous installments of the Naked Capitalism Uber series have documented in detail, Ubers real problem is that it is a staggeringly unprofitable company with fundamentally uncompetitive economics. It lost $2 billion in 2015, $3 billion in 2016, and another billion in China. It is a higher cost, less efficient producer of taxi service than traditional operators; all of its growth is explained by these multi-billion dollar subsidies as it has flooded markets with additional capacity offering unprofitably low fares. It has none of the scale or network economies that allowed other startups to quickly grow into profitability. In its fifth year of operation Facebook had achieved 25% profit margins; in Ubers fifth year its profit margins were negative 149%. Absolute Uber losses have continued to worsen with recent growth. Margins improved somewhat in 2016, but only because Uber unilaterally reduced driver compensation by $1 billion, leading to news reports of drivers sleeping in the cars in order to make ends meet. Uber never had any hope of profitability in a competitive market, even at its present scale. Ubers original strategy for investor returns required global industry dominance but this may no longer be achievable Travis Kalanicks goal was to build Uber into a globally dominant urban transport company. Its $68 billion valuation reflects the hope thatonce dominantthe ubiquity of the Uber platform and market power over passengers and suppliers would give it the kind of power Facebook and Amazon now enjoy. But those companies achieved quasi-monopoly power by inventing entirely new products that people hugely valued or by figuring out how to provide services massively more efficiently than any existing competitor could. Ubers strategy was always to skip the hard create real economic value parts of this process, and focus strictly on the pursuit of artificial market power that global dominance would provide. As noted, Ubers $13 billion investment base was used to fund the predatory competition needed to drive more efficient competitors out of business. This was 1600 times the investment funding Amazon needed prior to its IPO because Amazon could fund its growth out of positive cash flow. By contrast, Ubers carefully crafted narrative allowed it to pursue predatory competition for seven years without serious scrutiny of its financial results or whether its anticipated dominance would improve industry efficiency or consumer welfare. Uber was always an all-or-nothing bet on achieving global dominance. A year or two ago few doubted that Uber would eventually achieve it. But its failure in China and serious pushback in many other overseas markets have effectively killed the global part, and the growing losses combined with all the other recent negative events may have killed the perception of inevitable dominance at home. The Boards attempt to fix management culture cannot possibly work but will succeed in killing the culture that drove the companys growth Kalanicks critical contribution was the creation of this tightly controlled, monomaniacal management culture willing to destroy anyone and anything standing in its way. The bad behavior that has been widely reported in 2017, such as theft of intellectual property and obstruction of justice, has existed over Ubers entire history. Earlier examples include willful lawbreaking, competitor sabotage, journalist intimidation, and willful falsehoods, including ones designed to deceive drivers about their actual compensation. Kalanicks management culture, while repulsive on many levels, was actually brilliantly aligned with its business strategy and its investors objectives. Companies that can make money in competitive markets by creating real economic value do not have to create ruthless, hyper-competitive cultures where there are no constraints on management behavior as long as they are totally loyal to the CEOs vision and can rapidly capture share from more efficient competitors. None of Ubers bad behavior was aberrantit was a completely integral part of its business strategy. Without this culture, Uber would have never grown as rapidly as it has, and would have never had any hope of industry dominance. The actions announced this week to reform Ubers culture will inevitably fail. Major cultural change in large companies is extraordinarily hard in the best of cases, and this may be one of the worst places to attempt it. The announced changes are based on the false presumption that the cultural problem is due to a few bad apples and is limited to diversity and inclusion type issues. They are also based on the false assumption that the company has solid cash flow and management resources that can keep the business strong while the areas affected by the toxic managers undergo some turmoil. However, a longstanding culture where nothing is valued except the companys growth and everyone in senior management believes that the rules and norms do not apply to them, cannot be suddenly modified to incorporate values such as empathy, inclusiveness and respect for others. Kalanicks tight control of the Board and management ensured absolute focus on his strategic goals and approaches. The Board has weakened that control but has failed to replace it with any other means of ensuring strategic focus. If the board somehow fosters cultural changes, or more likely, expends considerable energy in trying to do so. the focus on industry dominance will be lost. If they dont take hold, the drumbeat of negative publicity will continue and Uber will lose even more of its public support. No one at Uber can answer the question of how they can reverse multi-billion dollar losses and become profitable because there is no good answer and all of Ubers potential paths forward are likely to fail Ubers narrative that its powerful business model will inevitably achieve global dominance is no longer credible and can no longer divert public attention from Ubers dismal economics. If journalists or Uber staff ask Board members or senior managers to lay out the companys strategy and the how it will reverse multi-billion dollar losses, no one has any plausible answers. There are several hypothetical paths. While Uber has enough cash to pursue any of them for a while, none have any serious chance of success. Ubers could stick with its original plan based for achieving investor returns, which was always based on exploiting market power once dominance was achieved. But no one can say this out loud, so it cant be used to motivate staff, or convince journalists that Uber has emerged from recent crises with strong, positive management that has abandoned the bad behavior of the past. And without ruthless focus and leadership it has virtually no chance of succeeding this way. A new strategy based on limiting growth to big but not dominant in combination with some variety of cost cuts and price increases cannot possibly work given actual Uber economics. It is big but not dominant in many markets now yet the company is massively unprofitable. Driver compensation has already been cut to the bone. Many of Ubers drivers are locked into expensive vehicle financing commitments and cannot quit tomorrow but the number of people willing to work on Ubers terms is rapidly shrinking. Major capacity cuts and price increases cannot lead to profits. This would quickly kill the brand loyalty low fares had built and would accelerate negative press and the overall downward spiral. Ubers massive $68 billion valuation is also a major obstacle going forward. Uber could hypothetically undertake a major restructuring, refocusing on a smaller set of markets but this would require a radical downsizing of the valuation and investor expectations. Ubers investors have told themselves (and the rest of the world) that their investment in the taxicab industry would produce fabulous wealth, but never clearly explained where these huge returns would come from, or why no one else in taxicab history had ever discovered them. It will be interesting to see how these investors react once people start to ask whether that $68 billion could completely disappear. [1] Covington & Burlings 13 page summary of its recommendations to the Uber Board are available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1s08BdVqCgrUVM4UHBpTGROLXM/view. The law firm of Perkins & Cole conducted a linked review of individual sexual harassment claims [2] Fowler, Susan J., Reflecting On One Very, Very Strange Year at Uber, 19 Feb 2017. [3] Issac, Mike, Inside Ubers Aggressive, Unrestrained Workplace Culture, New York Times, 22 Feb 2017. [4] Hook, Leslie, Uber: the crisis inside the cult of Travis, Financial Times, 9 Mar 2017. [5] OBrien, Sara, Arianna Huffington: Sexual harassment isnt a systemic problem at Uber, CNNMoney, 23 Mar 2017. [6] Swisher, Kara, A top Uber executive, who obtained the medical records of a customer who was a rape victim, has been fired, Recode, 7 Jun 2017. [7] Newcomer, Eric & Stone, Brad, Ubers Michael Is Said to Blame Board, Not Behavior, for Ouster, Bloomberg, 12 Jun 2017 What Duck Sex Reveals about Human Nature Der Spiegel Wells Fargo Is Accused of Making Improper Changes to Mortgages Gretchen Morgensen, NYT. They just reach right into your pocket and take out your money. Because they can. That is what they do. And will any executives go to jail? Kidding, right? Fed raises rates, unveils balance sheet cuts in sign of confidence Reuters. A punchbowl the size of a thimble Uber: 14 Bosses, One Corporate Game of Thrones? WSJ. the worlds most valuable startup. For some definition of valuable. Ubers turmoil compounded by David Bondermans sexist quip FT The forger who fooled the art world Spectator. If this guy had moved to Silicon Valley, he could have made real money. Planning documents for tower in fatal fire omitted safety barriers Reuters. Third World stuff in the neoliberal heartland is not incongruous at all. Fifty years old but do ATMS have a future FT British Elections Brexit Why Greece is Germanys de facto colony Politico EPP attack Socialists on tax transparency New Europe (MT). Syraqistan Attacks on Western cities prompt insurers to adapt Reuters Belleville Shooting The Seven Stages of Gun Violence Stonekettle Station (WobblyTelomeres). Imperial Collapse Watch New Cold War Would Trump Voters Choose Him Again? WSJ Our Famously Free Press Health Care Health chief, 4 others get Flint manslaughter charges The Detroit News. Includes The Interim Report of the Flint Water Crisis Investigation as an embed. More like this, please. Funding for clean water Development and Cooperation (MT). Judge: Dakota Access Pipeline needs further environmental review The Hill Heres the latest report card on Californias battle against climate change LA Times (DJ). Class Warfare How Sex Is Orchestrated on Reality Shows Like Bachelor in Paradise Vulture The Abortion Battlefield Marcia Angell, NYRB How to wipe out mosquitoes and eradicate malaria? A mutant fungus may hold the answer South China Morning Post Resistance to last-ditch antibiotic has spread farther than anticipated Nature Antidote du jour (via): Bonus antidote: Some days, you sit next to the bear. Other days, the bear sits next to you. See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. Seeking out new functions for superconducting nanoelectronics (Nanowerk News) A team of researchers at the University of Tokyo and their collaborators discovered that a two-dimensional semiconductor with a broken inversion symmetry demonstrates rectification, or the property of a diode, under a magnetic field applied in a certain direction (Science Advances, "Nonreciprocal charge transport in noncentrosymmetric superconductors"). This finding provides important insights essential for developing the next generation of superconducting nanoelectronics materials. Rectification property in the superconducting state. In general, a magnetic field applied in a specific direction in a system in which the spatial inversion symmetry is broken generates rectifying characteristics, but the rectification property is larger in the superconducting state, compared to the normal conducting state. (Image: Ryohei Wakatsuki, Yu Saito) Superconductivity is a property in which electrical resistance disappears; it has been the focus of much basic and applied research around the world as a next-generation technology that could enhance energy conservation. The integration of superconductors is expected to play an important role in next-generation computing systems, such as in the area of superconducting quantum bits; thus, there is much demand for the development of new functions of superconducting nanoelectronics for these purposesespecially superconductors with a rectifying property, i.e., superconducting diodes. Although recent research has revealed rectification in a normal conductor crystal with a broken inversion symmetry, not much research has been conducted on the rectification property of a superconductor lacking inversion symmetry. The research group led by graduate students Ryohei Wakatsuki and Yu Saito, Professor Yoshihiro Iwasa, and Professor Naoto Nagaosa at the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, and their collaborators fabricated an electric double-layer transistor (EDLT) structure, a kind of field effect transistor, using a high-quality single crystal of molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), a layered material that is a type of atomic film material. The capacity of electrons induced by the strong electric field to accumulate on the surface of a single crystal of MoS 2 in this structure makes it possible to realize synthetically the extremely thin, one-atomic-layer-thick ultimate two-dimensional superconductivity. In the current study, the researchers measured the electric conduction characteristics of a MoS 2 -EDLT device with a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the surface. They observed extremely large rectifying characteristics in the superconducting state by measuring the second harmonic component of electric resistance to examine rectification. Moreover, the scientists applied theoretical calculations for superconducting fluctuation currents to explain the mechanism of the enhanced rectification property, and showed that the phenomenon could occur in any superconductor with a broken inversion symmetry. A simple platform to achieve polymorphic graphene quantum dots (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have demonstrate a simple platform to achieve architectural polymorphs of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) by maneuvering the intra/intermolecular interactions of the constituent GQDs in binary solution systems. The team from UCSD's Heller Lab published their findings in Advanced Materials ("Polymorphic Architectures of Graphene Quantum Dots"). The team explored GQDs composed of multiple aromatic rings designed to alter bandgap and surface states as a constituent material in optoelectronic devices. Architectural diversities of GQDs crystals with reaction times. ac) SEM images of GQDs with reaction times required to produce superlattices such as truncated hexahedron and octahedron. df) SEM images of A8GQDs with reaction times required to produce shapes such as edge-truncated hexahedron, truncated octahedron, and cuboctahedron. TEM image of truncated octahedron shown in the inset of (e). Scale bars, 200 nm. ( Wiley-VCH Verlag) (click on image to enlarge) The scientists delineate a simple synthetic platform to achieve the architectural diversities of GQDs-based structured materials in a binary solution system. By examining the conventional driving force to crystallization, the GQDs polymorphs can be further diversified by exploiting the intimate association of GQDs with solvents, resulting in the highly faceted structures by forming efficient molecular packings and tuning the cohesive energies of crystal facets. The structured GQDs superlattice is constructed by forming layer-by-layer internal structures and also exhibit structurally-guided photoluminescence behaviors associated with regulated charge transfer during the crystallization, which are determined by comparison with the structural evolution and amplification of photoluminescence emission intensity as crystallization proceeds. The team points out that the exquisite regulation of GQD pair potentials can further achieve the architectural diversities of a GQD superlattice: truncation by bonding with hydrocarbon ligands and one- or two-axial growth by maneuvering the intimate associations with solvents. Novel application of CRISPR/Cas9 in plants - Visualizing DNA in living cells (Nanowerk News) A research team around Andreas Houben from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben and Holger Puchta from the Botanical Institute of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology developed a method to visualize defined genomic sequences in living plant cells and demonstrated its ability to reveal dynamic movements of chromosome ends (The Plant Journal, "Live cell CRISPR-imaging in plants reveals dynamic telomere movement"). This method allows the analysis of the spatio-temporal organization of the genome. It holds the potential to improve our understanding of how genome structure and function are intertwined. Living nucleus of the plant Nicotiana benthamiana shows red fluorescent labelled telomere sequences. (Image: Steven Dreissig, IPK) The spatial and temporal organization of genomes is important for maintaining and regulating cell functions such as gene expression, DNA replication and repair, and proper segregation of genetic material during cell division. Therefore, elucidating how the genome is spatio-temporally organized inside the nucleus is imperative to understand how genes and non-coding DNA sequences are regulated during development. Mapping the functional organization of the genome can be achieved by visualizing interactions between different genomic elements in living cells. While fluorescence-tagged nuclear proteins can be readily imaged in living plant cells, in vivo visualization of defined DNA sequences turned out to be technically difficult, explains Andreas Houben, head of the research group Chromosome Structure and Function of the IPK. The discovery of the bacterial originated CRISPR-Cas9 system (type II clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats CRISPR-associated caspase) revolutionized the field of the targeted genome editing in the last five years and has become a routine technology. By harnessing this system for live cell imaging in plants, our team shows the potential of this technology reaches far beyond the controlled induction of mutations, explains Steven Dreissig, IPK scientist and first author of the study. We demonstrate reliable imaging of telomere repeats located at the ends of the chromosome arms in living cells of Nicotiana benthamiana, a close Australian relative of tobacco, and pave the way for potential visualization of multiple genomic loci. Furthermore, we show that CRISPR-Cas9 can be combined with fluorescence-labelled proteins to investigate DNA-protein interactions in living cells, adds Holger Puchta, Director of the Botanical Institute in Karlsruhe. Find the newest releases to watch from National Geographic on Disney+, including favourite documentary series and films Free Solo, The Rescue, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth and The World According to Jeff Goldblum. A Clonmel native, Dr. Rawan Abdelhaq, has recently returned from a Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) mission where she was overseeing care to Syrian and Palestinian refugees in the south of Lebanon. Rawan is a past pupil of the the Loreto Secondary School in Clonmel and her parents are Ahmed Abdelhaq and Faten Abdelhaq. The project was located in the Beeka Valley where I was overseeing the administration of care to Syrian, and some Palestinian refugees. My job was within technical reference section of the mission; specifically focusing on non-communicable diseases. This meant dealing with pre-existing conditions within the population such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension. said Rawan. Lebanon has long been a place of refuge for those fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Syria and Israel, but due to a policy which prohibits the setting up of formal refugee camps, many people are forced to live in informal settlements with little to no access to healthcare. The Beeka valley is quite close to the Syrian border and there are hundreds of thousands of refugees living there in informal settlements. I had worked a lot with chronic diseases throughout my training, but here it was much more difficult without access to the types of diagnostic equipment that would have been on hand at home. said the former Loreto pupil. MSFs work in the Bekaa Valley primarily consists of clinics at informal camps providing treatment for chronic diseases, reproductive healthcare and mental health counselling for the many refugees who have been affected by traumatic events. The traumatic effects of the war can be seen on the faces of most patients. Small things would often set patients off and at times they will burst into tears during consultations. Have you ever met a Syrian who isnt upset? was the response when I spoke with them to ask what the matter was. They dont talk about what theyve been through very often, but when they do its in a very matter of fact way. This is the hand weve been dealt. Syria once had an efficiently functioning health system, but after six years of continuous conflict it has been crippled, and Syrians, especially those in northern Syria, have had limited to no access to healthcare since. These people who have fled Syria were leading very normal lives in a very normal country, where they had medical conditions just like everyone else. So heart disease, diabetes and similar non-communicable diseases were being looked after by regular GPs and specialists. Then when the conflict broke out these people were running for their lives and it became very easy for them to forget about the other aspects of their health. They don't see chronic diseases as very acute, immediate or life-threatening compared to trauma injuries, whereas they actually can be if neglected and can cause serious damage quite quickly," she continued. A fluent Arabic speaker and from a Palestinian-Irish family, Rawan spent a lot of her childhood in Jordan, where she explains that there are many cultural similarities to those in neighbouring Lebanon where she was based. Rawan also explains how she first became interested in the work of MSF. It was a long time ago when I saw the news on TV. I was about thirteen or fourteen. I remember watching a news report with my younger brother and we were both talking about how the work that MSF were doing was really 'cool', as we thought at the time. But we were both talking about different things, I was talking about the MSF worker and their medical work, he was talking about the reporter covering the story." They were the first organisation that I heard of that were doing this medical work and it really piqued my interest. Then I went into medicine and learned a lot more about the organisation in college through the Friends of MSF Society in UCC. The more I learned the more I was drawn to MSF for their principles of impartiality and independence. The whole idea of being able to bear witness to and speak out for populations in need, is also a huge factor for me in working for MSF, that others don't really seem to do. The whole experience was incredible and Im really going to miss all those I met and worked with while in the Beeka valley. MSF is really making a difference in the area. Without their presence, the quality of life for those refugees residing in the valley would be considerably lower. she said. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organisation which provides emergency medical care in almost 7O countries worldwide. So far in 2017, Irish field staff in both medical and non-medical roles is responding to crises in countries such as South Sudan, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Ethiopia. For more information on the work of MSF, visit msf.ie (Natural News) Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey published a video on Facebook last week urging civilians to make sure they can properly defend themselves in the event that war breaks out. The five-minute long clip, which has quickly gone viral not only on Facebook but all across the Internet, was posted in response to the deadly workplace shooting that occurred just two days prior in nearby Orlando. When Sherriff Ivey says war, he doesnt mean a massive battle fought with ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs, but rather a war against mass shootings and deranged lunatics who are out to destroy human life. Whats next is to fully understand that this is war, and you better be prepared to wage war to protect you, your family, and those around you if attacked, he argued. Sherriff Ivey went on to emphasize the fact that shooters feed off of fear, and in many ways depend on people running and hiding as opposed to standing tall and fighting back. What they dont count on is being attacked themselves, having to become defensive to save their own lives, the Sherriff said. (RELATED: GUNS SAVE LIVES: Rampaging knife murderer in Minnesota mall was stopped by guess what? A man with a concealed gun) In the video, which currently has nearly 20,000 views, Sherriff Ivey urges citizens to train in self-defense and for those who have concealed carry permits to carry a gun on them at all times. No matter who you are or what your position is on guns, theres no denying the fact that the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun or a knife is an armed and well-prepared citizen or law enforcement officer, Ivey said. To many people, what Sherriff Ivey says in his video is just common sense. It seems as though the news media is reporting on a mass shooting every other month nowadays, and whats worse is that theres no way average citizens can ever see them coming. Sadly, what starts out as a normal day in the office could turn into a day of shooting and violence in the blink of an eye. Therefore, it only makes sense to do as Sherriff Ivey says to arm up and to prepare for war. But incredibly, some leftists and gun control advocates are attacking Sherriff Iveys video, calling it, among other things, controversial. He is also being accused of being a fear monger and riling up vigilantes. Indeed, most politicians in Washington DC and even some in the police force believe that arming up and preparing for war, as Sherriff Ivey says, is not the answer to gun violence. Rather, they naively think that more restrictions on firearms will make our neighborhoods and cities safer. Leonard Papania, the police chief in Gulfport, Mississippi, is one example of a police officer who doesnt believe citizens should be given easier access to firearms. In a piece published last year in the New York Times, authors Campbell Robertson and Timothy Williams quoted Papania as saying, We are a gun society and we recognize that, but we should be writing gun laws that maker us safer. Do you want every incident on your street to escalate to acts of gun violence? With all due respect, the scenario that Police Chief Papania described last year for the New York Times is simply not accurate. The most common argument that gun control advocates use is that if we have more guns on the streets, then the United States will turn into the wild west with violent shootouts happening on every other block. Unfortunately for the left, these arguments are nothing more than fictional scenarios stolen from 1960s western films. The fact of the matter is that when more people are allowed to carry firearms, society is generally safer. On the contrary, when strict gun laws are implemented, there are less good guys with guns out on the streets and more of a chance that a mass shooter will be successful. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution makes it clear the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon. Sources SHTFplan.com NYTimes.com (Natural News) Little Cole Hartman was dealt a bad hand right from the beginning. Born with fragile X syndrome, he had both physical and mental disabilities. When his mom died while he was just a toddler, he was adopted by Jeremy Hartman and his wife Elizabeth. Then, when he was just 8 years old, his dad came in from mowing the lawn of his Castaic, California, home one day, to find Cole with his head in a running washing machine. It is believed that he may have had his head in the water for as long as 25 minutes. Though paramedics were able to get Coles heart beating again, he remained in a coma and had to be put on a ventilator. When the medical team at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center informed Mr. and Mrs. Hartman that their son, though not brain dead, would never regain normal neurological function or wake up, they made the difficult decision to take Cole off life support and donate his organs. He died 23 minutes after being removed from the ventilator. That was four years ago. Now, the district attorneys office and homicide detectives with the LAPD have launched an investigation to determine whether anesthesiologist Dr. Judith Brill may have given little Cole a dose of fentanyl high enough to be fatal to hasten his death and facilitate organ transplantation. Since Cole wasnt brain dead, his organs could only be retrieved after his heart stopped beating on its own. This type of donation is known as donation after cardiac death (DCD), and puts major pressure on the transplant team since organs start deteriorating as soon as the ventilator is switched off. [RELATED: Accused murderer receives liver organ transplant while others die.] No charges have been brought at this time, and Dr. Brills lawyer, Mark Werksman, calls the allegations factually wrong and patently offensive. In an email to the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Werksman said, [Brills] only concern was to assure that this child, who had drowned and was never going to recover, would not suffer any pain following the removal of life support. Thats not what Denise Bertone, a coroners investigator specializing in the deaths of children, believes. Bertone fought for four years to get Coles death investigated after becoming suspicious that fentanyl administered by Dr. Brill had caused his death. She begged then-chief medical examiner/coroner Dr. Mark Fajardo to test the boys blood, but he refused. The cause of death was listed as near-drowning. According to a lawsuit subsequently filed by Bertone, Dr. Fajardo only agreed to test the boys blood after repeated emails and complaints from her. Though the results showed fentanyl in Coles system, Fajardo refused to change the cause of death. When Fajardo left his position, Bertone approached the acting chief medical examiner, Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, about reopening the case, and he agreed. A pediatric toxicologist determined that fentanyl was responsible for the death of this patient, and that the dose was not consistent with a therapeutic dose for the management of pain and discomfort. The death certificate was subsequently changed, and fentanyl toxicity was added as a cause of death. Law enforcement was asked to investigate. [RELATED: Stay up-to-date at Medicine.news] Bertone alleges that her supervisors moved her off investigating the deaths of children because she refused to back down and continued to push for Coles death to be investigated. Meanwhile, Dr. Brill is deeply troubled by the allegations levied against her. She is highly respected as an expert in the treatment of gravely ill children, and was involved in writing the states guidelines for pediatric critical care. She also did extensive humanitarian work with children in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Sources: GovtSlaves.com LATimes.com NASA released another otherworldly image from the Cassini mission to Saturn. Cassini perfectly captured Saturn's moon called Iapetus, named after the Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini who discovered the moon in 1671. Visible in the image is the Cassini Regio, a dark region covered in "dark, dusty material." The material reduced the reflectivity of the area, making it stand out in photographs against the rest of the surface. However, the dark material baffles scientists since they still cannot tell how the dark material got there. Iapetus and Its Contrasting Sides Some say it could be due to an eruption from the core of Iapetus. While some believe it could be remnants from impacts from other bodies. There were also bright points on Iapetus and it's called Roncevaus Terra. The two regions highlight the photograph taken by Cassini due to their contrasting properties. "Cassini Regio on Iapetus (914 miles or 1,471 kilometers across) is covered in a layer of dark, dusty material creating a stark contrast to the much brighter region that surrounds it," a NASA official said in a press release. "This leads to the moon's distinctive, two-toned appearance." Cassini Dives Recently, the Cassini mission also completed its 8th dive through Saturn's rings. The dive is part of its mission before its Grand Finale "death dive" on Sept. 15 where the spacecraft will voluntary plunge to its death signaling the end of the mission. During the 8th dive, the spacecraft captured the southern hemisphere of Saturn in high resolution. Part of the mission is to investigate how winds, atmosphere and cloud structure on Saturn change due to the changing seasons. The next dive is scheduled on June 16 and it will focus on observing the ultraviolet and infrared images of the planet's aurora. The next dive will also try to observe the relationship between Saturn's rings and the atmosphere. California is ordering immediate spillway inspections at about 70 aging dams that it believes might not be sound enough to protect downstream communities in a flood. Supervising engineer Daniel Meyersohn at California's dam-safety division said Wednesday that a state records review is identifying large, aging dams that have people downstream for on-site spillway reviews. Meyersohn said the state is sending letters to dozens of those dam owners ordering them to carry out extra design reviews and site inspections. The orders are part of stepped-up state reviews after this winter's failures of both spillways at the Oroville Dam, the nation's tallest. That crisis forced the evacuation of newly 200,000 people in February. A full report on the spillway failure hasn't been completed, but a consultant's report delivered to the state's water resources department indicated a "high velocity flow" of water that went under the slab and caused it to lift, eventually leading to cracks. Construction crews have been working on the damaged spillway at Oroville Dam for the past four months. This week, workers cleared concrete left behind after controlled blasts on what remains along part of the spillway chute. The top 1,000 feet of the upper chute are expected to be replaced next year. Meyersohn said some of the dams targeted for extra inspections date back to California's 19th-century Gold Rush. One of the worst civil engineering disasters in U.S. history occurred in Southern California in 1928. More than 450 people were killed when a dam in San Francisquito Canyon, about 40 miles northwest of, collapsed on March 12, 1928. More than 12 billion gallons of water swept across the region on a deadly five-hour march to the ocean near Oxnard, collecting mud, debris, bridges, buildings utility poles and anything else in its path. When it comes to single disasters in California, only the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires accounted for more fatalities. In a push to prevent tobacco and e-cigarette companies from targeting youth and minorities, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is considering adopting a slew of provisions that restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products and electronic and menthol cigarettes. The board did not reach a consensus on several provisions presented to them by county health staff during a lengthy public hearing on Tuesday, but supervisors unanimously agreed that more regulations in the county are needed. It is likely that the board will take steps to restrict sales in July. This is about saving a generation from getting addicted to more advanced marketing and products that the tobacco industry has come up with, Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond said. As one of our speakers said, community health is not for sale. Several cities in the Bay Area have already adopted or are considering bans on menthol and flavored tobacco products, which studies show disproportionately target communities of color and children. Oakland is currently considering one, as is San Francisco. A ban was considered in San Leandro earlier this month but ultimately rejected. The issue in Contra Costa is not whether the county should adopt a ban. Rather, it is how far an eventual ban should go in limiting sales. The board considered banning sales of menthol cigarettes at stores located 500 feet or 1,000 feet from a school, playground, park or library. There was also discussion on whether vape products should be included in the eventual ban. A point of contention presented itself when supervisors discussed the possibility of banning pharmacies in unincorporated areas from selling tobacco products, a provision that only Supervisor Karen Mitchoff opposed. A ban on flavored products, such as cigarillos that come in cherry and watermelon flavors, appeared to have unanimous support, though there was no official vote during the public hearing. There are some things that Im absolutely supportive of, and others where I think we need to take an incremental approach because were balancing the impact on youth versus the rights of adults to make decisions for themselves, said Supervisor Candace Andersen. Mitchoff, especially, seemed reluctant to pass some of the more stringent provisions of the smoking ordinance including outlawing vapor and hookah lounges and some dedicated smoke shops in the unincorporated county until more research has been conducted. She said she feared that passing the weighty ordinance without additional studies would open the county up to litigation, a threat that was made to leaders several times from tobacco and electronic cigarette advocates. If youre really serious about public health...you will send this (ordinance) back to committee for further review, especially considering the unintended consequences of your action, warned Mark Block, the founder of Electronic Vaping Coalition of America. The EVCA is prepared to file suit in case this ordinance is passed. Block and other tobacco proponents attempted to frame the ban as an infringement on personal freedom, and claimed that banning menthol and flavored tobacco would result in an underground black market and contribute to more crime. A ban on menthols is not unprecedented in the Bay Area. The City of Berkeley already bans menthol cigarette sales within 600 feet from schools, a policy that was adopted after a nationwide study found that youth who smoke menthol-flavored cigarettes are significantly more likely to show signs of addiction. The same study also found that communities of color are targeted more aggressively with menthol cigarette advertisements than white counterparts. And, while smoking across the United States is on the decline, menthol cigarette sales have increased steadily, according to several reports. Menthol cigarettes lead to greater addictability and are disproportionately killing African Americans, explained Dr. Phillip Gardiner, a UC Berkeley researcher and co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. Were talking about a starter products that are harder to quit. The flavored tobacco ban stems from studies that show that the cheap and brightly-colored packages of some cigarillos attract children. Sales of Swisher Sweets and blunt wraps, which come in flavors like watermelon and cherry, have increased steadily in youth populations. Cristina Rodriguez, who came to support the ban, was disappointed that the board did not adopt the ordinance on Tuesday. I wish I could tell you that were going to win this, but were up against something big with a lot of money and a lot of power, she said. All we can do is hope. Five people are set to be sentenced in wage theft case involving four Bay Area Chinese restaurants. The East Bay Times reports state investigators say the owners stole $4.5 million in wages from employees they forced to work 12-hour days from 2009-2013. Stage investigators say they also cheated California out of $2 million in taxes. Authorities say the former owners and managers of Golden Dragon Buffet in Brentwood, New Dragon Buffet in San Leandro, Golden Wok Buffet in Roseville and Kokyo Sushi Buffet in Hayward committed the crimes. A grand jury indicted eight owners and managers on 28 charges, including conspiracy, wage theft and workers compensation fraud. Authorities say three of the defendants are believed to have fled to China. The other five have agreed to plead guilty to some of the charges. Sentencing is Friday. Families of several UPS workers were visibly shaken Wednesday as they waited in horror near the San Francisco building where an employee opened fire, killing three people before taking his own life. Most said they had heard from loved ones inside, but some had not. Even the ones who had been told their loved ones were safe said they wouldnt feel better until they were reunited in person. "Scary, very scary," said Maria Olmedo, whose 21-year-old son works as a loader at the UPS facility. Olmedo rushed to the scene as soon as she heard about the shooting. "I was at work; it popped up on the news, and I immediately came." Olmedo said workers there let her know her son wasnt hurt. Maria Hernandez stood nearby, waiting for her daughter. "She didn't see anyone, the person; she just heard shots," Hernandez said. "She knows there were people down. I didn't talk to her for a long time, but she's OK." Some had a far longer and more anxious wait for information as they began to hear descriptions of the shooting. A family assistance center opened at 100 Kansas St., but many family members stayed close to the scene. The gunman who San Francisco authorities say shot and killed three UPS co-workers before killing himself Wednesday told some of his colleagues to get out while targeting others that he apparently felt had belittled him, NBC Bay Area has learned. A fuller picture is emerging of the chaos that erupted right after a routine morning meeting at the UPS processing facility in San Franciscos Potrero Hill where four people, including the shooter, died and two others were injured. After that briefing, about 9 a.m., Jimmy Lam, 38, began firing at co-workers, killing Benson Louie, 50, and Wayne Chan, 56, both of San Francisco, as well as Mike Lefiti, 48, of Hercules. Two other workers were injured one shot in the arm, the other in the leg. Authorities say the incident could have been far worse, given the weaponry Lam had and the many rounds of ammunition he had stowed in a backpack. There are people he could have shot, but he did not take the shot, one law enforcement source said Thursday. According to authorities, Lams son was taking a test that morning and his wife was out of town. Lam was apparently going down a flight of stairs in the building when he was met by as many as four tactical officers, headquartered around the corner of the building. He was holding a Mac-10 assault pistol at the time and appeared to challenge the officers, authorities say. He was urging them to come forward it looks like he was at the end of his rope at that point, one source said. Other authorities with knowledge of the investigation said the man briefly pointed the Mac-10 machine pistol at the officers and then turned the weapon on himself. Police officers kicked the weapon out of his hands after Lam fell to the ground. Officers also recovered a second weapon a semi-automatic handgun and a backpack filled with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, authorities say. At least one of the weapons was not registered to Lam, sources told NBC Bay Area. Police searched Lams duplex home on Fourth Avenue in the Inner Richmond on Wednesday, seizing a computer and several bags of evidence. Neighbors recalled that Lam was regularly seen in his brown uniform, using his cell phone outside his home and smoking out of his upper floor window. They said he kept to himself and did not greet neighbors as they passed by. Records show Lam's only criminal contacts were related to drunken driving cases in 2010 and 2013. He had recently filed a grievance over overtime practices at the facility. His complaint was unresolved at the time of the rampage. Investigators raided the home of a United Parcel Service driver who opened fire during a meeting with co-workers at a distribution center in San Francisco, killing three people before fatally shooting himself. Police were seen carrying dozens of bags out of Jimmy Lam's apartment in the city's Inner Richmond neighborhood Wednesday afternoon in the hopes of determining what prompted the 38-year-old to shoot three UPS employees. Lam filed a grievance in March complaining of too much overtime and requesting that the package delivery company relieve him of working extra hours going forward, said Joseph Cilia, an official with a Teamsters Union local that represents UPS workers in San Francisco. Cilia said it was a routine filing for drivers when they worked 9 1/2 hours more than three times a week. "The overtime has increased over the years," Cilia said. "So there are quite a few drivers where overtime is expected during Christmas and seems to be more frequent throughout the year than it used to be in past history." During a Wednesday morning meeting, Lam walked up to driver Benson Louie and shot him. As his co-workers frantically fled the room, he shot Wayne Chan in the back, and then walked up to him and "finished him." Mike Lefiti was fleeing from the building when Lam went out onto the street and shot him, Cilia said witnesses told him. "It's senseless. I don't understand why," said Cilia. "He always greeted me when I saw him. Nothing out of the ordinary." Authorities have been digging into Lam's past, confiscating a computer tower among the items they hauled out of the duplex as they search for a motive. Sources told NBC Bay Area that Lam may have been upset with his boss. At the scene, police seized two guns, including a Mac 10-style machine pistol, and a backpack filled with ammunition and three magazines, sources said. NBC Bay Area has also learned that at least one of the guns found at the scene was unregistered. It was not clear if any weapons or ammunition were recovered from Lam's home. Neighbors said theyd seen him around in his uniform, but he usually kept to himself, sometimes smoking out his duplex window. Lam's only previous brushes with the law involved driving under the influence. He was convicted of DUIs in 2010 and again in 2013, records show. The shooting occurred the same day a gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers at a congressional baseball practice in Virginia, wounding U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and several others. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A man died from his injuries after crashing the car he was driving into a telephone pole in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Wednesday evening. Police say the crash happened in the area of 100 Herring Pond Rd. around 7:30 p.m. The driver was taken to Beth Israel Hospital in Plymouth, where he died from his injuries. He has since been identified as 19-year-old Bourne resident Jason Comoletti. Initial investigation showed Comoletti lost control of the vehicle while attempting to turn a corner and crashed into the pole. A group of Jewish students visiting Chicago from Michigan were enjoying she the city Wednesday until they discovered their van was broken into and their luggage stolen--including several precious religious items. A set of small black leather boxes with handwritten passages from the Bible, some passed down through generations surviving the Holocaust, were missing. They're gifted to Jewish boys at 13 year sold. Tefflin "Probably the most important gift a Jewish person can receive in their lifetime," Ari Strulowitz, of Camp Nageela Midwest, told NBC 5. After a day of sightseeing-- the students returned to their van--parked in a West Loop lot--with luggage missing from 10 of the boys. Their tefillin and prayer shawls inside. Yitzchok Ehrman, CEO of Agudath Israel of Illinois, helped the group organize the trip--which they had been planning for years. For the students, he says, it has little to do with the monetary value. "Tefillin is something that connects us directly with God," he says. Despite searching alleyways and trash cans--no sign of the stolen luggage. The group was forced to go back to Michigan without answers. "Something so special is ending up in the, just in the wrong hands," Ehrman said. In the wake of bombshell revelations that his administration deliberately misclassified hires to skirt state rules, Northern Illinois University President Dr. Douglas D. Baker announced his resignation from the school Thursday. Baker, who took over as president in 2013, made the announcement at Thursdays Board of Trustees meeting. Calling the reaction to the Inspector General report a significant distraction, Baker said that he will leave the university effective June 30. I intend to leave the university on June 30, 2017, Baker said in a statement on the schools website. I regret that we have reached this point, as this is a job I love in a place I have come to call home. But I truly do believe that at this point, this course of action is best for the University. Bakers decision comes on the heels of an Inspector General report, sent to the university in late 2016 and released publicly on May 31, detailing hires made by Baker and his staff at the University. Those hires, which paid the employees over $20,000, were supposed to be subject to competitive bidding in accordance with state laws, but the jobs were improperly classified as affiliate positions in order to get past that requirement, the report said. At the very least, he disregarded known rules and policies relating to procurement and affiliate employment in 2014 and 2015 when he continued to approve extensions of affiliate appointments, the report concludes. According to the Chicago Tribune, two of the nine employees involved in the hiring made more than $400,000 for 15 and 18 months of work. The university board will consider a transition agreement later today, and will provide an update after the closed session, the school's website said. The suspect in a Shelton bank robbery is in custody after a two-hour standoff on Pleasantview Avenue in Stratford early Thursday morning, according to police. Police said 24-year-old Bryce Laister, whose last known address was in Bridgeport, was wanted in connection with bank robberies at the Stop and Shop Peoples Bank in Shelton and New Haven and authorities had four outstanding arrest warrants in Connecticut and three from out of state. Authorities had received information that Laister was staying at a home on Pleasantview Avenue, so members of the U.S. marshals fugitive task force, Stratford police and Shelton detectives responded to the home at 6 a.m. to try and find him. The homeowner answered the door and confirmed Laister was upstairs. When authorities entered the room, Laister pulled a handgun and that led to a standoff with officers. Around two hours later, officers on scene were able to negotiate a peaceful surrender and Laister was taken into custody by Stratford Police. Later in the day, Shelton Police charged Laister in connection with the Shelton Peoples Bank armed robbery on May 30. He was charged with first-degree robbery, third-degree larceny, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal use of a firearm and second-degree breach of peace. Laister was held on a $500,000 bond. He is accused of robbing the Peoples Bank inside Stop and Shop at 898 Bridgeport Ave, in Shelton around 12:30 p.m. on May 30. Police said he has a semi-automatic pistol and demanded cash from both tellers on duty, then left with the cash. In Stratford, Laister faces additional charges, including first-degree threatening, having a pistol without a permit and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. Correction: An earlier version of the story listed the suspect's name as Bruce Leister. Governor Dannel Malloy doesnt want to give any attention to those who refuse to believe the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was real. The governor said in a society with 24 hour news and instant access to social media, every opinion carries some level of weight, which he doesnt like. "We live in a world where having an opinion, even one that you know is not true, brings to you some attention, some light," Malloy told NBC Connecticut. "I think in many ways I think we live in a knowledge and truthfulness corrupted world where knowledge and truthfulness are not whats required to get your fifteen minutes of fame." The comments come just days before an interview between NBC News Megyn Kelly and "InfoWars" Founder and Host Alex Jones will air. Jones has embraced conspiracy theories including that the tragedy and Sandy Hook and the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 were carried out by the government. Malloy said the mass shooting in Newtown in December 2012 was unlike any other in American history because of the young victims. "How lethal it was and how by and large babies, tiny children, and that has its impact on folks. It was senseless and it was committed by someone known in the community," Malloy said. The governor said he wants the legacy of Sandy Hook to be that more common sense gun legislation leads to safer streets. Gun crime has been on the decline since 2013 when the Connecticut General Assembly approved new laws with restrictions on gun purchases, ammunition and mandates for background checks. New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts adopted similar laws in the aftermath of Sandy Hook. Even with that, the governor says there is still more work to do to keep people safe. "The idea that you can still buy a gun at a gun show is an incredibly scary proposition," the governor said. "We now know that ISIS tells people that if they want to acquire a gun in America, go to a state that allows gun sales without background checks. I mean, how stupid do we have to be?" As for the families that are living without their children, Malloy said theyve become some of the strongest advocates for important causes and they deserve to be respected and listened to across the country. "I think the families have been incredible, courageous and hardworking and supportive of one another for the most part and supportive of community for the most part and then some of these folks have just gone an extra distance to really advocate on behalf of children, on behalf of mental health issues and on behalf of making sure that sick and deranged people, or people with ill-intentions dont get guns, so they have been marvelous and in many ways triumphant in at least their heroism," Malloy said. Nicole Hockley, who lost her son 6-year- old Dylan at Sandy Hook Elementary School, emceed the Sandy Hook Promises event to honor "promise champions" in Washington on Wednesday. The mother said so-called Sandy Hook hoaxers who claim the tragedy never happened have "wreaked hell in our lives." "All I've done is have a child murdered and I'm trying to create something positive out of that. And for someone to attack me for that I just can't understand that mentality at all," Hockley said. Hockley told NBC Connecticut she does not engage with conspiracy theorists because she does not want to feed fuel to the fire. But she did reach out to NBCs Megyn Kelly, whose controversial interview with Sandy Hook denier Alex Jones airs Sunday. "She's been very respectful and very gracious. We have a difference of opinion here. She believes in what she is doing, I believe in what I am doing and I believe she is making the wrong decision by broadcasting this interview," Hockley said. Sandy Hook Promise, an anti-gun violence group, said it had asked Kelly to step down as host of its Wednesday-night gala in Washington. The group cannot support Kelly or NBC's decision to give a platform to Jones and hopes NBC reconsiders its plan to broadcast the interview, said Hockley. "What I think we're doing is journalism," Kelly said in a statement. "The bottom line is that while it's not always popular, it's important. I would submit to you that neither I nor NBC News has elevated Alex Jones in any way. He's been elevated by 5 or 6 million viewers or listeners, and by the president of the United States. As you know, journalists don't get the choice over who has power or influence in our country." For more on Kelly's response, please click here. Mark Barden lost his 7-year-old son Daniel in the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. "I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone and all I can see it is probably just too intense...too hard for someone to wrap their head around," Barden said. Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, founded the organization with Barden. "The fact that anyone could believe that what we live with every day is not true or that my son never lived or that my son never died or that I'm some crisis actress is reprehensible, deplorable and completely unacceptable," Hockley said. What no one can deny is the spirit of Sandy Hook Promise. "The ultimate goal of Sandy Hook promise is to teach people that gun violence is preventable when you know the signs," Hockley said. Connecticut lawmakers who call for more gun control in the United States also spoke at the gala in Washington, DC on Wednesday. "They really want to make the world safer, more knowledgeable, more caring," Senator Richard Blumenthal said about the foundation. Senator Chris Murphy echoed Blumenthal's statement and added that the group does well not politicizing issues. "You got Republicans here, you got Democrats here. What Sandy Hook Promise does so well is to try to depoliticize this issue. Yes they care about background checks, but they're also just trying to make sure that families and educators know how to identify the signs of serious mental illness," Murphy said. Hockley said Sandy Hook Promise goes around the country to educate people on the signs of risky behavior and that it has helped stop multiple school shootings and suicides already. The foundation promises to keep alive the memories of the 26 lives lost in 2012. "It's emotional for me and it's never going to go away and I wouldn't want it to go away. I keep my little Daniel close to my heart all the time. There's not a minute that goes by that my heart isn't breaking and that I don't desperately miss my little boy," Barden said. The man who state authorities called the "mastermind" of rental scams pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony charge of defrauding Southern California customers who were looking for affordable rental homes and apartments. As part of a plea agreement, Richard Rodriguez of Alhambra received a three-year suspended jail sentence and five years supervised probation in exchange for pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud customers of his rental listing business, Superior Consulting in Rowland Heights. Superior is just one of numerous rental listing agencies run by Rodriguez over the last 20 years. "As a term and condition of probation, he has to provide restitution to the over one thousand victims and he's no longer allowed to be in any location where rental services are offered," Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Jessie McGrath said. The NBC4 first exposed Rodriguez and his "rental listing" businesses in 2012. The I-Team reported that Rodriguez or his employees asked customers to pay them $200 cash, and in return they promised to provide listings of affordable apartments and homes to rent. Reina Gonzales says she was "lured" into Rodriguez's rental scheme when she called a number on a Craigslist advertising an affordable apartment. She was told to come into Superior Consulting and fill out some paperwork. When she arrived, Gonzales says they asked for $200 cash and gave her a list of apartments she says didn't exist or were not for rent. "He stole my money," Gonzales said about Rodriguez and his employees. "I want Richard Rodriguez to serve time, all of the workers. I want justice." Gonzales is one of the 1,095 customers identified by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office who are now entitled to a refund of the $200. If Rodriquez violates the terms of his plea agreement, he would have to serve the remainder of his three-year jail sentence, according to McGrath. "I think this is the first time that he's really had to face the music that if he engages in this type of activity, he's going away for a long time," said McGrath. "If he's even seen in one of these businesses, he's going away for 3 years." The I-Team has identified at least six rental agencies, in three counties, where Rodriguez and his associates conducted business over two decades. Local and state officials said Rodriguez may have victimized thousands of people during that time. Rodriguez already served 49 days behind bars before pleading guilty. And customers like Reina Gonzales may eventually get their money back if he meets the restitution terms of his plea deal. He has five years to pay back his victims according to the Assistant District Attorney. "I don't want to see other people victimized. And getting a hammer over him to keep him from doing this will protect those other people, I certainly hope," McGrath said. Seven of Rodriguez's employees were also charged with a felony. One of them, Frank Bennett Jr., turned himself into authorities last month. His case was postponed until July 18. The other defendants are still at large and the authorities have issued warrants for their arrest. The accused DUI driver and U.S. Navy sailor behind the wheel of a truck was driving approximately 81 miles per hour on the Coronado Bridge four seconds before his car flew off the bridge and crashed into a crowded park below. California Highway Patrol (CHP) Investigator Snider detailed the moments leading up to the crash on Oct. 15, 2016, when Richard Anthony Sepolio, 25, was behind the wheel of his truck. The vehicle plunged 60 feet off the Coronado Bridge transition ramp, landing on a large crowd below in Chicano Park. Four people were killed in the fiery, chaotic crash: Cruz Elias Contreras, 52; AnnaMarie Contreras, 50; Andre Christopher Banks, 49; Francine Denise Jimenez, 46. A judge is set to decide if the case will move to trial once testimony concludes. Snider testified that in the second before the crash, data by the air bag system on the truck shows the car collided with a barricade before hitting the last barricade and going airborne. However, the defense questioned the reliability of that narrative. The car was going an estimated 63 miles per hour before the crash, Snider testified. "As the vehicle impacted, as it transitioned across the roadway from the left barrier to the right barrier, as we can see by the marked tire marks, the vehicle was slipping sideways slightly as it moved to the second contact," Snider explained at the preliminary hearing. "Because of that slippage, what was recorded on the speedometer was not necessarily the true vehicle speed," he said. Four seconds before the crash, it was estimated to be going 81 miles per hour. The only signs of braking were at one second prior to the event, Snider testified. Sepolio, an active duty service member stationed in Coronado, has been jailed since October 2016. In early November 2016, a San Diego judge rejected a request from Sepolio's attorney to release the suspect into the care of the U.S. military, ordering him to stay in jail. That day, the judge set Sepolio's bail at $2 million. Sepolio was seriously hurt in the crash, suffering injuries to his back, ribs and hands. Prosecutors said his injuries prevented officials from performing an accurate breathalyzer test and that blood drawn later provided a more accurate measurement. An hour after the initial tests, a blood sample was drawn and Sepolio's BAC was measured at .08. Prosecutors have also said Sepolio was distracted behind the wheel, sending a text message on his cellphone. Sepolio's defense, San Diego attorney Paul Pfingst, known for his work on high-profile cases, has argued that his client was not drunk and was not texting. "The breath tests that were taken shortly after the accident show that his blood alcohol level was below the legal limit, Pfingst said in court last year. The defense attorney also said Sepolio took his cellphone out after he crashed to call for help, but he was not texting prior to that. Sepolio pleaded not guilty to multiple charges related to the fatal crash, including four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and counts of driving under the influence causing injury or death. Pfingst said that prior to this, Sepolio had no criminal record and had been proudly serving his country. The attorney has argued that Sepolio was "forced off the bridge by another vehicle," which ultimately led to the tragic crash. However, in prior court proceedings, the San Diego County District Attorneys Office maintained there is no evidence the defendant was forced off the bridge. If convicted on all counts, Sepolio could face a maximum sentence of 23 years and eight months in prison. A fire that spread through grasslands in the Banning Pass area of Southern California is now 75 percent contained and crews expect to fully surround it by Friday afternoon. Authorities say the blaze that erupted Thursday before noon has burned 105 acres of land but no homes are threatened. The fire is about 85 miles (136.8 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. At its peak, 190 firefighters and 10 aircraft fought the flames. Temperatures hit the 90s in the area and could reach 100 on Friday. In rural Riverside County, a 28-acre fire near the community of Nuevo was 70 percent contained. No homes are threatened. Several other fires of no more than a few acres were reported around Southern California but authorities managed to quickly get a handle on them. The term "bollard" may not come up often in daily conversation, but examples of it are increasingly appearing across the Southland as protection for pedestrians against automobiles that become weapons -- either accidentally or deliberately. As horrific as was the deadly attack last week when terrorists in a van aimed at pedestrians on the London Bridge, it was only the most recent in a series of crude assaults using a truck or car as a deadly weapon against pedestrians. In the past year, it's taken lives on the promenade in Nice, France; at a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany; and in America at Ohio State last fall, when an angry man drove into students, then emerged with a knife. In the three years prior to the London Bridge attack, a study by the federal Transportation Security Administration found 173 deaths in 17 incidents it described as "vehicle ramming attacks." Bollards are engineered posts or other structural devices that can stop a vehicle. Small ones serve to guide vehicles through parking lots at low speed. The stoutest are designed to arrest a 15,000-pound vehicle traveling 50 mph. A Southern California firm that manufactures bollards, Calpipe, is seeing such an increase in demand that it intends to double its Rancho Dominguez manufacturing space, said division supervisor Carlos Gonzalez. "I definitely see bollards becoming more common fixtures in a lot more areas across the nation," Gonzalez said. Calpipe recently installed bollards on the Santa Monica pier, replaced the existing bollards at the Hollywood Bowl, and is currently is working on major projects for AT&T Park in San Francisco and Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Last month in New York City's Times Square, Calpipe bollards stopped a car driven onto a sidewalk. "We're very proud our product stood up to the test and did what it was designed to do,"" Gonzalez said. For security applications, the challenge is to anticipate where a terrorist might strike. "You can't defend everywhere," said Rob Reiter, Calpipe's security consultant. "But you can certainly make soft targets harder -- pretty inexpensively." For the past two decades, Reiter has focused on defending against "vehicle incursions" -- deliberate terror attacks amounting to only a small minority of them. Many involve cars going through storefronts facing parking lots after a driver has mistakenly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake. Ten people died in Santa Monica in 2003 when an an 86-year-old man made a wrong turn and drove his Buick through an outdoor farmers market two blocks before stopping. Four years ago, a disturbed man drove onto the Venice Boardwalk, striking 18 and killing a newlywed from Italy on her honeymoon. Nathan Campbell was convicted of second degree murder. Still pending is civil litigation alleging the city of Los Angeles is liable for failing to have installed preventive measures that would have kept Campbell's car away from the throngs on the boardwalk. Bollards began appearing around government facilities in the wake of the 1995 truck bomb attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and more so after the 9/11 terror attacks six years later. In many locations, including the perimeter of Staples Center and LA Live, large concrete planter boxes serve the function of separating roadways from areas where pedestrians gather. Reiter believes bollards -- had they been in place -- could have protected pedestrians on the London Bridge. After the terror attack, concrete barriers were installed between the sidewalk and roadway. Traveling to Cuba is easier now than before with commercial flights between Miami and the island. The changes implemented during the Obama administration have allowed many like Tony Barroso to travel there more easily. "I would definitely like to go back," Barroso said. "My plans are being there next year." In November, then president-elect Donald Trump criticized the changes, tweeting: "If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate the deal." On Friday, the President is expected to be in Miami to announce what could change the policy again. "When it came to travel while my father was alive, he was very passionate against any moves toward the relaxation of sanctions against Cuba," said Greg Guiteras, CEO of Lorraine Travel. Thats why he at first, stood on the sidelines when the changes happened, he said. But when a major airline asked him to support their efforts to expand travel to Cuba, Guiteras decided to try to tap into that market. "We invested efforts, finances, resources and the clicks didnt come in, the bookings didnt materialize," he said. Tourism to Cuba is still prohibited. Under President Obama, there was an easing of travel restrictions, allowing people traveling from the U.S. to self-certify their trips under one of 12 authorized categories. To read more about those categories, click here. "Weve heard that theres little to no enforcement," Guiteras said. But if President Trump changes US policy this week, travelers could be impacted. Thats why Guiteras would recommend that his clients take steps to protect their money. I wouldnt sell you a trip to Cuba without insurance first, he said, adding that the insurance you buy should have a cancel for any reason clause to make sure you can recover most of your money. Guiteras and his family are keeping an eye on what happens this week. So is Barroso, who is planning to wait to hear what the president says Friday, before starting to plan another trip to the island. With this new administration, Im going to see and play it day-by-day, he said. I dont have any other choice. If you purchase a ticket with a major airline, there is a good chance youll be able to get your money back or, at the very least, receive a credit if the policy changes impact your flights, Guiteras said. If you buy a cancel-for-any-reason insurance policy, its important to keep in mind that those plans will only refund up to 75% of the total cost of your trip. President Donald Trump declared Friday he was restoring some travel and economic restrictions on Cuba that were lifted as part of the Obama administration's historic easing. He challenged the communist government of Raul Castro to negotiate a better deal for Cubans and Cuban-Americans. Announcing the rollback of President Barack Obama's diplomatic opening during a speech in Miami, Trump said Cuba had secured far too many concessions from the U.S. in the "one-sided" deal but "now those days are over." He said penalties on Cuba would remain in place until its government releases political prisoners, stops abusing dissidents and respects freedom of expression. "America has rejected the Cuban people's oppressors," Trump said in a crowded, sweltering auditorium. "They are rejected officially today rejected." Though Trump's announcement stops short of a full reversal of the Cuba rapprochement, it targets the travel and economic engagement between the countries that has blossomed in the short time since relations were restored. The goal is to halt the flow of U.S. cash to the country's military and security services in a bid to increase pressure on Cuba's government. Embassies in Havana and Washington will remain open. U.S. airlines and cruise ships will still be allowed to serve the island 90 miles south of Florida. The "wet foot, dry foot" policy, which once let most Cuban migrants stay if they made it to U.S. soil but was terminated under Obama, will remain terminated. Remittances to Cuba won't be cut off. But individual "people-to-people" trips by Americans to Cuba, allowed by Obama for the first time in decades, will again be prohibited. And the U.S. government will police other such trips to ensure there's a tour group representative along making sure travelers are pursuing a "full-time schedule of educational exchange activities." Trump described his move as an effort to ramp up pressure to create a "free Cuba" after more than half a century of communism. "I do believe that end is in the very near future," he said. Trump's move was a direct rebuke to Obama, for whom the diplomatic opening with Cuba was a central accomplishment of his presidency. The new president's action is broadly opposed by American business groups. "U.S. private sector engagement can be a positive force for the kind of change we all wish to see in Cuba," said Myron Brilliant, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce executive vice president and head of international affairs. "Unfortunately, today's moves actually limit the possibility for positive change on the island and risk ceding growth opportunities to other countries that, frankly, may not share America's interest in a free and democratic Cuba that respects human rights." In Cuba, Granma, the official organ of the nation's Communist Party, covered Friday's speech in a real-time blog, saying "Trump's declarations are a return to imperialist rhetoric and unilateral demands, sending relations between Havana and Washington back into the freezer." On the stage in Miami, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said the U.S. would no longer have to witness the "embarrassing spectacle" of an American president glad-handing with a dictator. "President Trump will treat the Castro regime as a malevolent dictatorship that it is," Diaz-Balart said. "Thank you, President Trump, for keeping your commitments. You have not betrayed us you kept your promise." Obama announced in December 2014 that he and Cuban leader Raul Castro were restoring diplomatic ties between their countries, arguing that a new approach was needed because the policy the U.S. had pursued for decades had failed to democratize the island. Less than a year later, the U.S. Embassy in Havana re-opened. The U.S. severed ties with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel Castro's revolution, and spent subsequent decades trying to either overthrow the Cuban government or isolate the island, including by toughening an economic embargo first imposed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The trade embargo remains in place under Trump. Only the U.S. Congress can lift it, and lawmakers, especially those of Cuban heritage, like Sen. Marco Rubio, another Florida Republican, have shown no interest in doing so. Rubio staunchly opposed Obama's re-engagement with Cuba, and he lauded Trump as he took the stage. "Today, a new president lands in Miami to reach out his hand to the people of Cuba," Rubio said. What to Know Signal problems yet again forced a suspension of part of the C line from Brooklyn to Manhattan This time, the signal problem was at High Street, which has seen the same issue in recent weeks The MTA has been plagued by train breakdowns, signal problems and other issues as of late Signal problems mucked up subway travel on the A and C lines from Brooklyn to Manhattan for more than four hours Thursday, the fourth time in just a few weeks that such issues have snarled service. The MTA said the problems at High Street had been cleared by about 2:15 p.m. (an initial advisory about the service changes came shortly before 10 a.m.) and A and C service had resumed with delays. [NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More For much of the day, some northbound A and C trains had to run on the F line from Jay Street-Metro Tech to West Fourth Street-Washington Square because of the issues, which are becoming an all too common blight for straphangers. Last Friday, the MTA was forced to shut down the entire C line for hours because of signal problems at Jay Street-MetroTech. Late last month, a similar signal problem at High Street also shut down the line for hours. These Hospitals in NYC and Surrounding Area Received Lowest Grades in New Safety Report Riders have become increasingly frustrated by power outages, signal problems and other breakdowns. According to the Associated Press, the number of delays in the city's subway system has tripled in five years. And on Thursday, the Citizens Budget Commission suggested signal probems may have actually worsened when the MTA focused more energy on new projects like the Second Avenue Subway than maintaining the current system. The group says the MTA itself estimated that it needed $20 billion on subway maintenance -- but has wound up spending just $12.4 billion. The MTA, according to Jamison Dague, director of instrastructure studies for CBC, is $7 billion short when it comes to good repair. Dague says that the MTA could modernize its nearly 80-year-old signal system more quickly. "A faster pace of work and installation of this is possible," he said. But the MTA pushed back, responding, "The CBC's report is a superficial glance at MTA spending that ignores the $32 billion record investment after decades of neglect will both expand service and make essential repairs and upgrades." Gov. Cuomo has previously conceded the subway system is "at its breaking point." He says decades of underfunding and inattention to maintenance created the current situation, but promises changes will come with the $32 billion modernization plan. Riders say they just want better service. "Five minutes is a lot. Everything is about time, efficiency," said Toran Miller of Crown Heights. "Five minutes is a big difference." What to Know The father of Otto Warmbier, who was imprisoned in North Korea and returned in a coma, says the family is "adjusting to a different reality" Drones carrying heart defibrillators could soon swoop in to help bystanders revive people stricken by cardiac arrest Anita Pallenberg, a model and actress who had children with Keith Richards and served as a muse for The Rolling Stones, has died at age 75 Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here. Special Counsel Looking Into Possible Obstruction of Justice by Trump, Reports Say The special counsel appointed to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 presidential campaign is now examining whether President Trump tried to obstruct justice, The Washington Post reports. Accusations of obstruction arose last month when Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. Comey testified in a Senate hearing last week that he believed he was fired "because of the Russia investigation." Comey also testified he had told Trump he was not under investigation. The Post and The New York Times both reported that Mueller was seeking interviews with three Trump administration officials who weren't involved in Trump's campaign: Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Michael Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former NSA deputy director. Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's personal lawyer, responded to the Post report by saying: "The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." Family of Freed North Korea Hostage Now Has Different Reality The father of an American college student who was imprisoned in North Korea and was returned to his home state of Ohio in a coma says the family is "adjusting to a different reality." Fred Warmbier told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that his son, Otto, was "terrorized and brutalized" during his 17-month detention and has been in a coma for more than a year. "The day after he was sentenced, he went into a coma," the father said in an interview scheduled to air Thursday night. He said he and his wife, Cindy, only learned of their son's condition last week. The 22-year-old University of Virginia student was medically evacuated from North Korea and arrived in Cincinnati. He was then taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman did not provide an update on his condition, but said his parents planned to hold a news conference. 5 Rebels Killed After Taking Hostages, Killing at Least 17, in Somalia's Capital, Officials Say Somali survivors described harrowing scenes of the night-long siege of a popular Mogadishu restaurant by al-Shabab Islamic extremists that was ended by security forces. At least 17 people, including foreigners, were dead, police and an ambulance driver said. Survivors of the attack were led by soldiers from the Pizza House restaurant building. The injured were taken by ambulances. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility as the restaurant was under siege. Soldiers surrounded the restaurant building and used guns mounted on the backs of vehicles to neutralize the militants. Troops entered the ground floor while the insurgent snipers held positions upstairs. GOP Health Care Law Could Cost Nearly 1 Million Jobs, Report Finds The American Health Care Act, the GOPs answer to Obamacare, could end up costing the U.S. economy close to 1 million jobs, researchers predicted. If the bill passes, it would initially boost jobs and increase economic output, "however, cuts in funding for Medicaid and health subsidies then begin to deepen, triggering sharp job losses and broad disruption of state economies in the following years," said Leighton Ku, director of the Center for Health Policy Research, who led the study team. Health care jobs are an enormous part of the U.S. economy making for 18 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product or GDP. Hospitals, clinics, doctors and health care services are major sources of jobs, too. Drones Carrying Defibrillators Could Aid Heart Emergencies It sounds futuristic: drones carrying heart defibrillators swooping in to help bystanders revive people stricken by cardiac arrest. Researchers tested the idea and found drones arrived at the scene of 18 cardiac arrests within about 5 minutes of launch. That was almost 17 minutes faster on average than ambulances a big deal for a condition where minutes mean life or death. Drone-delivered devices weren't used on patients in the preliminary study, but the results are "pretty remarkable" and proof that the idea is worth exploring, said Dr. Clyde Yancy, a former American Heart Association president who was not involved in the study. Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death worldwide, killing more than 6 million people each year. Most happen at home or in other nonmedical settings and most patients don't survive. Drones are increasingly being tested or used in a variety of settings, including to deliver retail goods to consumers in remote areas, search for lost hikers and help police monitor traffic or crowds. Anita Pallenberg, Muse for The Rolling Stones, Dies at 75, Spokesperson Says Anita Pallenberg, a model and actress who had children with Keith Richards and served as a muse for The Rolling Stones, has died. She was 75. A spokesperson for Richards told The Associated Press that Pallenberg died at St. Richard's Hospital in the city of Chichester, located in southeast England. The cause of death was not revealed, but the statement released Wednesday said Pallenberg "had been ill for some time" and that her family was by her side. "A most remarkable woman. Always in my heart," Richards said in a statement. Pallenberg was born on April 6, 1942. She served as inspiration for the Stones' "Miss Amanda Jones" and "You Got the Silver." She appeared in films like "Barbarella," ''Candy," ''Le Berceau de Cristal" and "Performance," which included Mick Jagger. Soupman, of Seinfeld's 'Soup Nazi,' Files for Bankruptcy A company that sells soup from the recipes of the chef who was the real-life model of the Soup Nazi on "Seinfeld" has filed for bankruptcy less than a month after its chief financial officer was arrested on charges he cheated the government out of employment-related taxes. Soupman Inc., based in Staten Island, sells soups made from the recipes of Al Yeganeh. Yeganeh and his soup stand were the inspirations behind the "Seinfeld" television show character, who shouted the catchphrase "No soup for you!" The company's CEO, Jamie Karson, said "the combination of legacy liabilities and recent company developments have made it necessary to seek bankruptcy protection." Karson said its products, including jambalaya, lobster bisque and chicken gumbo, would still be available in stores. Last month, CFO Robert Bertrand was charged in Brooklyn federal court with failing to pay Medicare, Social Security and federal income taxes for company employees. The government said he paid employees unreported cash and gave some workers large unreported stock awards from 2010 through 2014. What to Know Sessions didn't answer a number of questions from senators during his testimony but he didn't invoke executive privilege to avoid doing so The global obesity problem now affects 1 in 10 people in the world, and in many countries it is increasing faster in children, a study shows Oprah has zero political ambitions as she denied any speculation during an interview on The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" podcast Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here. Democrats Fuming Over Sessions' Refusal to Answer Questions Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn't answer a number of questions from senators during his testimony but he didn't invoke executive privilege to avoid doing so. Sessions told the Senate Intelligence Committee he had a different reason for not answering certain questions: It's how such matters have been handled in the Justice Department for years. That led to a series of frustrated and sometimes tense exchanges with critics of President Trump on the panel, NBC News reported. Sen. Mark Warner, D., Va., asked the attorney general if he had confidence in former FBI Director Robert Mueller's appointment as special counsel to probe whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. Warner cited reports that a friend of Trump's suggested that he was considering removing Mueller from the investigation. Sessions responded that he had confidence in Mueller. But he refused to discuss the reports "because I know nothing about the investigation." Cosby Imitates 'Fat Albert' on Second Night of No Verdict The jury has wrapped up a second day of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial. As Cosby left the courtroom, he yelled out, "Hey, Hey, Heyyyy!" mimicking his signature cartoon character "Fat Albert." Cosby is accused of drugging and violating a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He says their encounter was consensual. The jury has deliberated a total of about 16 hours over two days. During the day, the jury asked for the testimony of the police officer who took Cosby's accuser Andrea Constand's initial report. Jurors wanted the testimony of Detective Dave Mason read back to them. Almost 200 Congressional Democrats Sue Trump Over Foreign Payments Democratic lawmakers are suing President Trump over foreign money flowing into his global business empire. Almost 200 senators and representatives are plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging Trump is violating the so-called emoluments clause of the Constitution. It's being filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the lawmakers said. The plaintiffs argue they have standing to sue because the clause says only Congress may approve foreign gifts and payments. Although Trump turned over control of his real estate development, management and marketing company to his adult sons and a senior executive, he did not divest from it. That means he stands to benefit financially from the Trump Organization's profits, including from foreign governments. Obesity Rising in Nations Rich and Poor, Especially in Kids, Study Shows The global obesity problem now affects 1 in 10 people in the world, it is rising in countries rich and poor, and in many countries it is increasing faster in children than adults, according to a new study. The researchers estimated more than 107 million children and 603 million adults are obese. The research found obesity has tripled in children and young adults in countries like China, Brazil and Indonesia. Those numbers are particularly troubling because it means more young people are on track to become obese adults and develop problems like diabetes, heart disease and a range of cancers, some experts said. The study was led by a team at the University of Washington in Seattle. It was published online by the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at a food science and policy meeting in Stockholm. Oprah Winfrey Talks Politics: "I Will Never Run for Public Office" Oprah Winfrey has zero political ambitions. The TV titan host denied any speculation during an interview on The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" podcast. "I will never run for public office," said Winfrey, who was promoting HBO's drama "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." "That's a pretty definitive thing," she said. Theoretically, does Winfrey think she could defeat President Trump if he sought a second term in 2020? "I don't know. I don't know the answer to that," the 63-year-old talk show host said. "But, I'll never have to know the answer to that, because I will never run for public office." Trump said in 2009 that Winfrey would be his ideal running mate, predicting that the hypothetical ticket would "win easily." Winfrey supported Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton. Kim Kardashian Discusses Fame, Missteps at Forbes Summit Kim Kardashian West takes her status as a role model seriously, and says part of that is owning up to her past mistakes and not letting online hatred distract her from her goals. The reality show star spoke to The Associated Press before taking the stage as one of the keynote speakers at the annual Forbes Women's Summit. Her wide-ranging conversations touched on how hurtful comments affect her, her still-growing brand, how the robbery in Paris has changed her life and husband Kanye West's photographic ability, or lack thereof. Kardashian West told the AP she is aware of her detractors, but said she has a bigger message of positivity to share. "I obviously have made my fair share of mistakes like everyone else, but I hope to never repeat those mistakes, and just learn from what I've done," she said. Two people were found shot to death in the driveway of a home in New Jersey on Tuesday afternoon, Union County officials said. The circumstances surrounding the shooting in Roselle were unknown Tuesday, and authorities have released few details, but witnesses told News 4 New York that a landlord shot his girlfriend and then killed himself. The Union County Homicide Task Force responded to the home on Chestnut Street shortly before 2:30 p.m. The bodies were found in a driveway between two homes, officials said. The Union County Prosecutors Office has not released the names of the victims. Three other people who live in the home were not hurt. Neighbor Charlene Matthews said nothing like this ever happens where she lives. I was very shocked because its a very nice neighborhood, Matthews said. School right here, police station down the street, and also kids were practicing over there in the field. Friends and family were in tears Tuesday as they learned about what happened on the normally quiet block. Witnesses said the landlord of one of the homes shot his girlfriend. They said they heard two bullets fired around the time of the shooting. Candace Rodriguez lives down the street. Its shocking, its sad, Rodriguez said. You dont think something like this happens where you live. Authorities set up tents as they investigated into the evening. Two cars were towed away from the home, and police opened the street back up to traffic on Tuesday night. SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A group of Copiague High School seniors say officials went too far by prohibiting them from attending graduation after their school was vandalized during a senior prank. Jada Cornwall says shes just one of the dozens of students who have been barred from the commencement ceremony and the high school's campus. I understand that we as a class did something wrong, but to take something that were supposed to remember for the rest of our lives away, thats too harsh, Cornwall said. Cornwall and the others were part of what was supposed to be this years senior prank, but school officials say the incident last Friday went too far. In a statement, Copiague Superintendent Kathleen Bannon told News 4 New York that students broke into the high school, ransacked an office and vandalized the halls with eggs and shaving cream. Cornwall says she wasnt even in the building at the time of the prank, but parked across the street. She says police took the IDs of students and gave them to the principal. The next day those students spent six hours in the library as punishment and were eventually informed they wouldnt be allowed to attend graduation. Several seniors spoke to News 4, but didnt want their names revealed or faces shown. They said theyve issued written apologies and even offered to do community service anything to walk in the graduation ceremony. Im sorry for taking part in the prank, one senior said. I just wish I could take it back. I think we all learned our lessons that its not okay to do that anymore, another senior said. We just want the opportunity to walk. The school district wont confirm that students are being barred from the graduation, citing student privacy. The students also say they've been barred from the high school's campus. They say that they'll be in the streets outside the school next Monday, when the school board meets. They plan to encourage the school board to allow them to don their caps and gowns. Two people, including a 5-year-old child, were killed and three other people were injured when an SUV collided with a box truck on the George Washington Bridge on Wednesday night, fire officials said. The GMC Acadia with New Jersey plates crashed into the rear of the truck on the New York City-bound upper level of the bridge around 10 p.m., officials said. One of the victims had to be extricated from a vehicle. Five people who were in the SUV were taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. The 5-year-old and a man in his 30s died. Officials have not released the names of the two people who died. Three other passengers, including a 1-year-old child, a woman in her 30s and a woman in her 70s, had minor injuries. The crash backed up traffic on the bridge late Wednesday night. Delays of 60-to-90 minutes were reported on the bridge shortly after 11 p.m. All lanes of the upper level eastbound and one lane of the upper level westbound were closed for several hours. The bridge completely reopened around 2:30 Thursday morning. What to Know A long-delayed stairway that will improve access for rail commuters at Penn Station opened Thursday The new entrance is part of the first phase of the redevelopment of the historic James A. Farley Post Office It was initially scheduled to open last year The first phase of Moynihan Station, a long-delayed stairway concourse that will improve access for rail commuters at Penn Station, has finally opened. New Jersey Transit announced Thursday the West End Concourse entrance was open at 31st Street and Eighth Avenue, across the street from Penn Station. The stairway will give commuters a new exit and entrance point at the western end of Penn Station, to ease overcrowding on the platforms. It also offers a digital sky and large windows so commuters can see the trains below. Commuters say it can take up to 10 minutes just to get from the platforms to the main station area in the morning. The new space greets riders with signs directing people to various tracks and large LED screens displaying schedule information. City attractions like the American Museum of Natural History and Central Park also are touted. The $300 million concourse is part of the first phase of the redevelopment of the historic James A. Farley Post Office, and initially was scheduled to be opened last year. The building eventually will be named the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall in honor of the late Democratic U.S. senator from New York. U.S. officials are blaming the North Korean government for a series of cyberattacks dating to 2009 against media, aerospace, financial sectors and infrastructure in the United States and around the world. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning this week, saying the cyberattacks were carried out by actors within the North Korean government who are known as "Hidden Cobra." "DHS and FBI assess that Hidden Cobra actors will continue to use cyber operations to advance their government's military and strategic objectives," the alert said. U.S. officials are distributing internet addresses to help networks defend against any attacks. The FBI said it has high confidence that the internet addresses are linked to systems infected with Hidden Cobra malware to further exploit networks. The cyberattacks targeted weaknesses in Microsoft Corp. operating systems and Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash software, which were patched in January and June, respectively. The joint alert was issued Tuesday, the same day that American student Otto Warmbier, who was released from serving a 15-year sentence in a North Korean prison for participating in alleged acts against the government, arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio. The U.S. remains in a standoff with North Korea over its nuclear program. The U.S. has issued sanctions, but Pyongyang has not made any move to give up weapons that it says are a deterrent to any invasion. Thousands of U.S. troops are based in neighboring South Korea, and the Demilitarized Zone between the North and South is one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world. If only buildings could talk, the church at the corner of 12th and Lombard Streets in Center City Philadelphia would have a lot to say. Especially Thursday, when the National Trust for Historic Preservation will announce its designation of Philadelphia as a "National Treasure." "St. Peter Claver Catholic Church tells an American story of faith, resistance and triumph. St. Peter Claver also tells a contemporary story of gentrification, displacement and lack of protection of the citys historic resources," says Faye Anderson, director of All That Philly Jazz, a place-based public history project that is documenting Philadelphias golden age of jazz. She is one of a number of African Americans in the city who have been vocal about preserving St. Peter Claver. "The Archdiocese of Philadelphia wants to put the Mother Church of Black Catholics on the auction block," she told NBC10. "In the wake of the development boom, historic black churches have fallen victim to Philadelphias culture of demolition. If St. Peter Claver is erased from public memory, it would make a mockery of Philadelphias designation as a National Trust by the National Trust for Historic Preservation." The church, dedicated in 1892 and owned by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, was the first Catholic Church in Philadelphia where blacks could worship without having to sit in the balcony or back pews; the only one, in those days, in which they need not wait for the white congregants to receive Communion before they did. It became the Mother church for black Catholics in the city and remained that until 1986 when the Archdiocese first suppressed it (limited worship at the site), and then officially shuttered it in 2014. If they close St. Peter Claver, they might as well close Independence Hall, parishioner Grace Jones told the Daily News back in 1986. It is our heritage. When in 2016 the Archdiocese headed to Orphans Court to attempt to remove the racial restriction from the deed that requires the black Catholic communitys consent before the property can be sold, they were met with opposition from not only from Catholics, but other African Americans who acknowledge the sites historic significance to the citys black community. The efforts of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to sell the first African American Catholic church in Philadelphia is exactly why Mayor (Jim) Kenney's efforts to preserve Philadelphia 's history is important, says Anthea Butler, associate professor of Religion and African Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Gentrification and rampant construction at the expense of erasing the history of Black Catholics in Philadelphia to pay for the legal cases and financial problems of the Archdiocese would be one more indignity for the Black Catholic community in Philadelphia to face from an indifferent Archbishop. (An NBC10 request for comment from the Archdiocese has not been answered yet.) It remains to be seen which buildings will be protected by Philadelphias designation as a National Treasure designation, but Anderson intends to be at Thursday morning's announcement to make sure St. Peter Claver isnt forgotten. Meanwhile, Advocates for the Descendants of St. Peter Claver Parishioners met Wednesday at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church on 43rd Street for an informational meeting. Arlene Edmonds history buff, Philadelphia journalist, co-author the African American Catholic Youth Bible and longtime advocate for the churchs preservation was there and tidily sums up the group's efforts to preserve the church: If the future of Black Catholic life in Philadelphia matters, then the legacy of St. Peter Claver, Mother Church of Black Catholics in Philadelphia matters. Authorities are investigating an explosion at the front gate of a kindergarten in eastern China as a criminal act, while the death toll rose to eight. The official Xinhua News Agency said Friday that police have identified a suspect in the explosion. It was unclear if anyone was arrested, and no further details were provided. Dozens were injured in Thursday's blast at the Chuangxin Kindergarten in Fengxian as relatives were picking up their children at the end of the school day. Xinhua says two people died at the scene and six died after being taken to a hospital. Eight people remained in critical condition. Kindergartens in China have been targeted before in apparent revenge attacks carried out by mentally ill people or those bearing grudges against neighbors and society. House lawmakers are taking a first look at a bill that would allow school districts in Delaware to raise taxes without the approval of local residents. The bill to be considered in committee on Wednesday allows local school boards, starting in tax year 2018, to increase the rate or amount of a tax originally authorized in an election without going back to voters. The increase would be limited to the higher of a rate equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, or a rate of 3 percent every two years without a further election or referendum. If a school board sought a tax increase higher than those provisions it would have to hold a referendum approved by the taxpayers. Puerto Ricos governor campaigned in Washington Thursday to make the U.S. territory the 51st state, touting a vote that showed 97 percent support for statehood and brushing aside critics who questioned its legitimacy. More than 500,000 people on the island voted for statehood in a non-binding referendum this past weekend. But eight out of 10 eligible voters did not vote, a historically low turnout. The main opposition party and other parties boycotted the referendum, calling it a waste of resources in a time of financial crisis. A waste of resources is not having equal rights," Governor Ricardo Rossello told NBC following an appearance at the National Press Club. "A waste of resources is being on a Medicaid cliff because of the people of Puerto Rico, the citizens of Puerto Rico, dont have the same access to resources than in the United States." Rossello said that there have been two plebiscites in the past five years and the previous one had "similar results" with an 80 percent voter participation rate. The 2012 vote delivered 61 percent support for statehood, though half a million people left ballots blank, according to The New York Times. Puerto Ricans on the island are U.S. citizens, but cant vote in presidential elections and have a non-voting member of Congress. They are also exempt from paying federal income taxes, but pay into Social Security and Medicare and receive less federal funding than U.S. states, The Associated Press has reported. They also pay local taxes. Unemployment is 12 percent on the island, where millions have fled a 10-year recession. Its up to the U.S. Congress to decide whether to take up the issue of Puerto Ricos status. During his appearance at the National Press Club, Rossello was accompanied by Reps. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Darren Soto, D-Fla. "As part of the democratic exercise last Sunday on our island, today we are making sure that Congress and other international organizations such as the OAS [Organization of American States] receive the message that Puerto Ricans are claiming equal rights as American citizens," Rossello said. "It is up to this generation of Puerto Ricans to demand the end of the undignified colonial relationship, and begin a process of transition for the incorporation of Puerto Rico as the new state in the union." U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) crews offloaded about 18 tons of cocaine seized from across the eastern Pacific Ocean in San Diego Thursday. Crews used interceptor boats to go after drug smugglers from different parts of south and central America for the past three months. Several suspects were taken into custody to face prosecution in the U.S. "When they go out at night in rough seas in the dark, they don't know what they're going to face," said commanding officer of USCG Cutter Waesche Capt. James Passarelli. "And despite those fears, despite those challenges, despite the dangers, the crew will take that on." Crews had mostly finished off-loading an estimated 36,000 pounds of cocaine, valued at more than half a billion dollars, Thursday morning from the Cutter Waesche. One member of the U.S. Coast Guard, Danielle Sanchez, said this was her first deployment and she was glad to make a difference, she told NBC 7. "I think it's awesome to see all these drugs, and actually see all the drug smugglers," said Sanchez. "We are the first people on scene with the law enforcement. It's amazing -- I never thought I'd be able to do this." The Waesche worked along with seven other cutters to make more than 17 drug seizures from March to June 2017, usually in dark, rough waters. The cutters include crews from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Waesche, Hamilton, Mohawk, Dependable, Valiant, Active, Campbell and Confidence. The load of cocaine was seized from 15 interceptions of suspected drug smuggling vessels, known as pangas, along with three cases of seized bales of cocaine dumped by suspected smugglers, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. "Our nation faces significant threats posed by transnational organized crime networks that spread violence and instability throughout the Western Hemisphere," said Capt. Passarelli in a statement. "The crew of Waesche meets those threats head on as far from the U.S. border as possible." Last year, USCG crews seized more than a record 400,000 pounds of cocaine. They are currently on track to pass that record again this year. Neighbors in one Prince William County, Virginia, community have been fighting to curb speeding on their street for years, but they say a recent crash involving alleged street racing shows just how much of a threat the problem really is. "They need to do something down here before somebody actually dies," Terry Metcalf told the News4 I-Team. Metcalf's SUV was parked in his driveway on Featherstone Road May 3 when a car veered off the roadway and slammed into it. "All we heard was a loud boom, look out and my car is moving," said Metcalf, whose home security cameras captured the whole thing. The video shows two cars that appear to be racing when they pass another car. The teen driver narrowly missed a tree before slamming into Metcalf's SUV, parked in his driveway. "The officer told me [the teen] said he'd been run off the road, and I said, 'Wait, let me run back in the house and see if I have it on video.'" Then he realized what a close call it really was. He and his wife had just returned home from shopping and went inside instead of unloading the car. The crash happened just four minutes later. "If I had been in the back of the car pulling the mulch out, I wouldn't be here," said Metcalf. "My anger was overcoming me at that point because I knew this was going to happen." The speed limit on the stretch of road is 25 mph, but Metcalf said drivers often double that. "They're not really hot rods," said Metcalf. "They're just kids with whatever car they're driving." He has wanted a stop sign or speed hump for years. In 2015, the county conducted a traffic study and declared the road eligible for a speed control measure. But the News4 I-Team found there's nothing fast about that solution. Immediately following the crash in May, the homeowners' association president Todd Washam sent a letter to the county supervisor, and it wasn't the first. He sent the News4 I-Team more than a dozen emails, dating back more than a year, which document his fight to get a speed table installed right near Metcalf's house. A speed table is basically a longer, flatter speed hump, which slows drivers down but is friendlier for emergency vehicles. Prince William County found a speed control device was needed during a study in December 2015. "I spent eight years working for Congress," said Washam. "And I thought they were slow in getting things done." Featherstone Road belongs to Virginia's Department of Transportation, but Prince William County is responsible for making the improvement. "County government can't just come into a road and plop something down in the middle of their property, so we have to work with VDOT as well," said county spokesman Jason Grant. According to Washam's emails, VDOT first denied the speed table, worried about traffic to a nearby marina. Then the marina wrote a letter supporting it. Next, VDOT argued a speed table would deter use of a nearby park, but the park actually has its own speed table near the entrance. "It was just insane, it makes no sense," said Washam, adding that he spoke with officials from the county and the state almost weekly. "Finally, a gentleman from VDOT called me about a year ago, and he said, 'I'm sorry. I didn't realize what was going on in your community and I will start to move forward with this application,'" recalled Washam. It took Washam another three months to get the required 75 percent of his neighbors to sign off, then the county had to secure funding, and winter temperatures also caused a delay. "I don't know who the buck stopped with, so I just kept pushing and pushing," Washam said. Finally last month, the Board of Supervisors approved it, six days after the crash in Metcalf's yard. "In March is when we advertised we're going to hear this, well before that accident occurs," said Grant. "But certainly it solidifies it's a good thing we're doing this." In the meantime, police stepped up patrols to slow drivers down, Metcalf said. The crash scared him so much, he now waits until officers are there running radar before he'll mow part of his lawn. "When we're there, typically nothing's going to happen 'cause they see us," said Prince William County Police Officer Nathan Probus. "Thankfully, we do have some evidence regarding the crash." Without Metcalf's video, the teen driver wouldn't be charged with street racing. He's also facing reckless driving and child endangerment charges, since his two young siblings were in the back seat during the crash. "I mean it's just plain stupid," said Metcalf. "If he had been a little bit over this way and hit that tree, I don't think he'd have survived at the speed he was going." No one in the car was seriously injured. The county has scheduled installation of the speed table for Friday. Neighbors said they would believe it when they saw it, and crews arrived to install it Friday morning. "I am pleased to see the speed table has been installed on Featherstone Road," Woodbridge Magisterial District Supervisor Frank J. Principi said in a statement. "It is extremely unfortunate that it has taken this long to address the speeding, but I am hopeful that the enhanced police enforcement, speed study, stop signs, and speed table will prevent speeding on this road. I will continue to work with the residents in the surrounding neighborhoods to install additional traffic calming devices." Reported by Jodie Fleischer, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Jeff Piper. Police in Leesburg, Virginia, say a missing mom and her two children may be in Mexico. But investigators are hoping someone locally has information about their whereabouts. Andrea Varela-Crespo and her children, 6-year-old Andreva Cartaya-Varela and 3-year-old Leonard Cartaya-Varela, were last seen May 19 at a home on the 700 block of Vermillion Drive NE. Varela-Crespo, 34, and her children were reported missing by family members. Police believe the family left the United States and are currently in Mexico. Police say Varela-Crespo has sole custody of her children, but family members are concerned because they haven't heard from her. A police spokesman said the department released information about Varela-Crespo's case Thursday, just in case someone in the Leesburg area has seen the family. But there was no indication the family is in immediate danger. Anyone with information about their location is asked to call police at 703-771-4500. A 70-year-old Kansas man who said he robbed a Kansas City bank so he could get away from his wife was sentenced Tuesday to six months of home confinement. A federal judge also sentenced Lawrence John Ripple to three years of supervised probation, including 50 hours of community service, the Kansas City Star reports. Ripple went to the Bank of Labor a block from police headquarters last September. He gave a note to a teller saying he had a gun and was demanding money. After the teller handed him the cash, Ripple waited for police. [LA GALLERY UPDATED 12/27] Crimes Caught on Camera in Southern California Court records indicate Ripple wrote the robbery note in front of his wife and told her he would rather be in jail than at home. Ripple told the judge Tuesday that heart surgery left him depressed and unlike himself before he robbed the bank. He had no criminal record, was a good father to four step-children and was in a stable relationship with his wife. Ripple's public defender said he has since been properly diagnosed, is on proper medication and feels like his normal self again, the Kansas City Star reports. [WEIRD LA GALLERY UPDATED 6-9-16]SoCal Weird News Police arrested a 17-year-old juvenile for driving almost double the speed limit on a Vermont highway. Williston police stopped the driver on Interstate 89 in South Burlington, Vermont around 1:12 a.m. on Thursday for driving 105 MPH in a 55 MPH zone. The driver was arrested and processed for the criminal offense of gross negligent operation. The driver was issued citation to appear in Chittenden Juvenile Court, as well as a $507 ticket. A 24-year-old woman was abducted at gunpoint in Windsor, Connecticut early this morning and found in Springfield, Massachusetts. As the investigation continues, police are searching for at least one of the men who drove her over the state line in a stolen car. A friend of the victim called Windsor police at 2:20 a.m. to report that two men took the woman against her will from a home on Maple Avenue and left in a vehicle with Massachusetts plates. Windsor police alerted other departments to be on the lookout for a silver Subaru and Connecticut state police chased the vehicle north onto Interstate 91 into Springfield, Massachusetts around 2:45 a.m., according to police. The driver of a stolen car threw a male and female from the car on the Memorial Bridge, according to police, and they believe a gun was thrown from the car in the same area. Investigators said they believe the woman knew one of the men. The driver continued to evade police, crashed near East Columbus Avenue and Emery Street and ran from the scene, police said. Police were able to find the victim, who sustained a minor injury, according to Windsor police. "We were able to locate the victim shortly after and she is OK -- suffered some minor injuries. And we are in the process of interviewing her, trying to determine the identity of the suspects, locations and things like that, Capt. Tom LePore, of the Windsor Police Department, said. Police have not yet found the driver, but they did find the male passenger, who was arrested on a default warrant. Members of the Trump administration are in northern Maine this week, touring a newly formed national monument near Mount Katahdin. President Donald Trump has directed Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to review 27 national monuments, including the Katahdin Woods and Waters, to determine if former presidents followed the Antiquities Act when they made those designations. Governor Paul LePage, a fierce critic of the Katahdin monument, urged President Trump to include it in his list of sites to be reviewed. In August, Secretary Zinke will submit a recommendation for the monuments, and has signaled that he supports keeping the Katahdin Woods and Waters publicly owned. He said Thursday he may even recommend Congress take steps to make it a National Park. "It's beautiful country, with enormous potential," said Zinke. The former landowners donated the land to the federal government, in the hopes it would become a national park. Lucas St. Clair, a spokesman for the family, said it would bring much-needed jobs to the area, that has suffered since paper mills went out of business. But Governor LePage isnt convinced that the Katahdin region will become a tourist destination. He told a Congressional committee that the growth in Maine is along the coast, not in mosquito land. The Katahdin region got recent publicity when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife vacationed there, and met with local business owners. Many in the business community have voiced their support for the national monument, or national park, but some residents agree with the Governor and are fearful of federal control. LePage said he would like to prioritize timber harvesting and economic development in the area. Zinke said he wants to include local and state perspectives in the management of the land. "I this solution should be made in Maine, not made in Washington," said Zinke. The Secretarys next stop is expected to be in Massachusetts, where he will review another controversial monument: the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, off of Cape Cod. Investigators say they have found "compelling" information in the disappearance of a Massachusetts teen lifeguard who was last seen 17 years ago. "We did find some compelling information at the campground that will lead us back there in the next several subsequent days," said Dr. Sarah Stein, a private investigator for the Bish family. Sixteen-year-old Molly Bish vanished from Comins Pond in Warren in June 2000. Her remains were found three years later about five miles away in the woods of Palmer. Molly's mother, Magi Bish, is holding on to hope relentlessly searching for her daughter's killer. "As a mother you always have hope that something will happen, that there will be an answer," said Bish, Molly's mother. "You just can't steal someone's child and then to harm her in such a way, there's got to be justice." Cold case investigators were using ground-penetrating radar to look for a car they believed was buried in the West Brookfield area. They announced Thursday afternoon that they found compelling anomalies underground at multiple areas of interest. "We did find very compelling areas of interest," said Stein. "Items on the surface of the ground that lead us to believe that something is buried." Peter Massey is a criminologist at the University of New Haven who volunteered to use his radar equipment to search for clues in Molly's case. "The patterns are somewhat consistent with what we're looking for," said Massey. A Maine woman drowned a rabid raccoon in a puddle after it attacked her while she was jogging in the woods. The Bangor Daily News reports that Rachel Borch, 21, said she was forced to kill the animal when it bit her thumb and wouldnt let go. It had blocked her way on the foot path in Hope before lunging at her and attacking. She couldnt find a way to release the raccoons grip, and couldnt bring herself to attack it herself, so she stuck her hand into a nearby puddle until the animal drowned to death. Her father retrieved the animal and wrapped it in a dog food bag before handing it over to the Maine Warden Service. The raccoon tested positive for rabies, and Borch has received multiple shots since the attack as a precaution. The Senate overwhelmingly approved a new package of sanctions to punish Moscow for meddling in the 2016 presidential election, passing the measure 97-2 on Wednesday. Also Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee, having warned lawmakers the U.S. relationship with Russia is at an all-time low and deteriorating further. He's also cautioned against taking steps that might close off promising avenues of communication between the two former Cold War foes. Tillerson was noncommittal about a package of new Russia sanctions during testimony Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said he's still reviewing the proposed penalties that Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed upon after lengthy negotiations. But it's important, he stressed, that President Donald Trump have the flexibility "to turn the heat up" on Russia if necessary. At the same time, he also said he doesn't want to preemptively shut down a potentially productive conversation. As an example, Tillerson said talks with Moscow on stabilizing war-ravaged Syria are progressing, but it's too early to tell if the discussions will bear fruit. Imposing more sanctions could lead the Russians to curtail the dialogue, he said. Top lawmakers on two Senate committees Banking and Foreign Relations announced the sanctions deal late Monday amid the firestorm over Russia's meddling in the presidential election and investigations into Moscow's possible collusion with members of President Donald Trump's campaign. The plan calls for strengthening current sanctions and imposing new ones on corrupt Russian actors, those involved in human rights abuses and those supplying weapons to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The package also would require a congressional review if a president attempts to ease or end current penalties. And, penalties would be slapped on those responsible for malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government. If the Trump administration decides to oppose the new sanctions, they could be in a bind. The package is to be added to a bill imposing penalties on Iran that the Senate is currently debating. So the White House would have to reject stricter punishments against Iran, which it favors, in order to derail the parts of the legislation it objects to. "The amendment to the underlying Iran sanctions bill maintains and substantially expands sanctions against the government of Russia in response to the violation of the territorial integrity of the Ukraine and Crimea, its brazen cyberattacks and interference in elections, and its continuing aggression in Syria," said Republicans and Democrats on the committees. A vote on the Russia sanctions is scheduled for Wednesday, and the measure is expected to get strong bipartisan support. The legislation was worked out by Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, of the Banking Committee, and Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., of the Foreign Relations panel. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., also participated in the negotiations and pushed for provisions that bar punished individuals from using family members to get around the sanctions. "This amendment also takes appropriate steps to ensure that current sanctions cannot be unilaterally unwound by this administration," Shaheen said. The legislation also allows new penalties on key elements of the Russia economy, including mining, metals, shipping and railways. House and Senate committees are investigating Russia's meddling and potential links to the Trump campaign. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is conducting a separate probe. Then-President Barack Obama in late December ordered sanctions on Russian spy agencies, closed two Russian compounds and expelled 35 diplomats the U.S. said were really spies. Those penalties were on top of existing U.S. sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine, which have damaged Russia's economy but had only limited impact on President Vladimir Putin's behavior. Authority dismisses claims over application for 2,000 home site WEST Berkshire Council has denied it was misled over the deliverability of Sandleford Park. Developer Bloor Homes submitted plans for up to 2,000 homes and two primary schools on land off Monks Lane, Newbury, in December 2015. However, 18 months later the plans have still not been approved as the council and Bloor continue to disagree over key issues, including the number of access roads and funding for new schools. The council is adamant that the site can only work with four access roads, but Bloor insists it can be delivered with two. The delays to the Sandleford application was the primary reason plans to build up to 401 homes in North Newbury near Vodafones headquarters were allowed on appeal. At a recent West Berkshire Council meeting, Wash Common resident Peter Norman asked whether it was time for the council to re-appraise its housing strategy. He said that there was a chance that all three of the councils shortlisted strategic housing sites North Newbury, Siegecross and Sandleford would be built, resulting in a loss of green space. Mr Norman asked: Are we not in danger now of seeing all three of those sites developed and has the council not been misled over deliverability of Sandleford? The councils portfolio holder for planning and housing, Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley), answered: With regard to Sandleford I dont think weve been misled over deliverability. When we put out the call for sites in 2012, North Newbury was not worked up as a site and was never taken forward. I think it is inevitable within the new call for sites that we will see several sites come forward that could be viewed as strategic sites. Jonathan Ananda By Express News Service CHENNAI: Wednesday saw the launch of four automobiles from two different manufacturers in the ultra-premium price band. For a segment that saw downturn in sales during 2016, the luxury auto segment seems well on its way to a strong recovery thatWednesdays launches underline. Industry sources estimate that 39,000 cars costing above Rs 25 lakh would be sold in 2017, growing at 15 per cent year-on-year, up from 34,000 in 2016, when sales growth declined by five per cent. Mercedes-Benzs launches are two SUV models in their AMG line the firms flagship performance brand. The Mercedes-AMG G 63 Edition 463 and Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 are priced at Rs 2.17 crore and Rs 1.58 crore, respectively. After the launch of the E 220d at the start of the month, managing director Roland Folger had told Express that the SUV launches are part of the firms strategy to simultaneously strengthen its high performance portfolio under the Mercedes-AMG badge. This year (2017) will see us celebrate the 50 years anniversary of the AMG brand, and in India too, you will see some focus here, Folger had said, adding the AMG is resulting in an influx of new young customers, being more performance oriented. This growing demographic of young and thick-walleted customers is the prime driver for the segments rapidly reviving fortunes. Ducattis launches, the Monster 797 and Multistrada 950, only underscores the trend. Priced at Rs 7.77 lakh and Rs 12.60 lakh respectively, the bikes arehigh-performance motorcycles with 803 cc and 937 cc engines. The motorcycle-maker is planning three such bikes this year. With GST set to lower taxation on luxury vehicles, both manufacturers and customers could gain. Currently, luxury cars attract high total taxation, up to 55 per cent. GST will bring this down to 43 per cent (28 per cent plus 15 per cent luxury cess). Combined with the already resurgent demand, 2017 could be a landmark year for the segment. CHENNAI: Wednesday saw the launch of four automobiles from two different manufacturers in the ultra-premium price band. For a segment that saw downturn in sales during 2016, the luxury auto segment seems well on its way to a strong recovery thatWednesdays launches underline. Industry sources estimate that 39,000 cars costing above Rs 25 lakh would be sold in 2017, growing at 15 per cent year-on-year, up from 34,000 in 2016, when sales growth declined by five per cent. Mercedes-Benzs launches are two SUV models in their AMG line the firms flagship performance brand. The Mercedes-AMG G 63 Edition 463 and Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 are priced at Rs 2.17 crore and Rs 1.58 crore, respectively. After the launch of the E 220d at the start of the month, managing director Roland Folger had told Express that the SUV launches are part of the firms strategy to simultaneously strengthen its high performance portfolio under the Mercedes-AMG badge. This year (2017) will see us celebrate the 50 years anniversary of the AMG brand, and in India too, you will see some focus here, Folger had said, adding the AMG is resulting in an influx of new young customers, being more performance oriented. This growing demographic of young and thick-walleted customers is the prime driver for the segments rapidly reviving fortunes. Ducattis launches, the Monster 797 and Multistrada 950, only underscores the trend. Priced at Rs 7.77 lakh and Rs 12.60 lakh respectively, the bikes arehigh-performance motorcycles with 803 cc and 937 cc engines. The motorcycle-maker is planning three such bikes this year. With GST set to lower taxation on luxury vehicles, both manufacturers and customers could gain. Currently, luxury cars attract high total taxation, up to 55 per cent. GST will bring this down to 43 per cent (28 per cent plus 15 per cent luxury cess). Combined with the already resurgent demand, 2017 could be a landmark year for the segment. By Express News Service BENGALURU: In April 2016, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) assured citizens that despite reclassification of zones and revision of tax, citizens will not have to pay more than 20 per cent over what they were paying earlier as property tax. But by the time the clarification came, around two lakh people had already paid the tax. They were assured that the excess money collected would be adjusted against the tax for the following year, but evidently, that has not happened. Over the last three days, a mad scramble was seen at the BBMP head office with people thronging there to get the excess amount adjusted against this years property tax as Thursday is the last day to avail the 5 per cent rebate. But the chairman of the BBMP Standing Committee on Taxation and Finance, M K Gunashekhar, feels it fit to pride himself for getting 10,22,000 property owners to pay tax this year, as against 7 lakh property owners this time last year. He swears that there is no software glitch in their system. But the taxpayers are not buying the argument. A pointer to this is the fact that the Joint Commissioners office is flooded with people who say they have been fleeced. He said he has held four meetings with National Informatics Centre (NIC) officials, who developed the software. I gave them a list of 20 problems in the software, and they have managed to solve some of them, he asserted. Gunashekhar says they have a target of collecting `2,600 crore in property tax this year and have collected `1,206 crore so far. BBMP will reach the target in the next ten months, albeit at the cost of hundreds of citizens running from pillar to post to get their money back. Express found many such cases though the civic authority is in denial. BBMP Joint Commissioner (Revenue) M Venkatachalapathy admitted that several tax payers had faced problems. Even as many people still throng BBMP offices with complaints, he said the number of such grievances had in fact greatly reduced. He claimed that the main reason for the huge number of complaints was that many people had paid the tax during the period between April 4 and mid-June in 2016. At the time, the new software came into place and the method of tax computation changed. People themselves are also to blame, as many have entered the wrong zone or category for their properties, or, at times, had entered the wrong unit of measurement, he claimed. He also admitted that he had received complaints of the presence of touts outside some BBMP offices and asked people to not take their help. Situation at ward offices Nagarathnamma, the revenue officer at Sarvagna Nagar ward office, told Express that in case of excess property tax payment, the ward offices cannot help. We write to the IT department in such cases. At our end, we can only correct names and other basic details, she said. Assistant revenue officer Veena said that Sarvagna Nagar alone has had around 200 citizens approaching them over payment of excess property tax. In cases where the money has been debited more than once, the officials hold a meeting with bank officials and auditors. If it is established that BBMP indeed received more money as tax, it is adjusted against the property tax for the following year, she said. An officer at the Gandhinagar office said about 25 people still visit the offfice every day with property tax issues. On Wednesday, many people were seen visiting until afternoon. However, the office was locked around 2.30 pm and no officials were to be seen. The officer confirmed that everyone had to leave on account of some other work related to hoardings. Wednesday was the penultimate day to avail the 5 per cent rebate. At the BBMP head office, it is a common sight to see people waiting outside for hours, some of them on a daily basis, waiting for the officials concerned to return from the field visits. BENGALURU: In April 2016, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) assured citizens that despite reclassification of zones and revision of tax, citizens will not have to pay more than 20 per cent over what they were paying earlier as property tax. But by the time the clarification came, around two lakh people had already paid the tax. They were assured that the excess money collected would be adjusted against the tax for the following year, but evidently, that has not happened. Over the last three days, a mad scramble was seen at the BBMP head office with people thronging there to get the excess amount adjusted against this years property tax as Thursday is the last day to avail the 5 per cent rebate. But the chairman of the BBMP Standing Committee on Taxation and Finance, M K Gunashekhar, feels it fit to pride himself for getting 10,22,000 property owners to pay tax this year, as against 7 lakh property owners this time last year. He swears that there is no software glitch in their system. But the taxpayers are not buying the argument. A pointer to this is the fact that the Joint Commissioners office is flooded with people who say they have been fleeced. He said he has held four meetings with National Informatics Centre (NIC) officials, who developed the software. I gave them a list of 20 problems in the software, and they have managed to solve some of them, he asserted. Gunashekhar says they have a target of collecting `2,600 crore in property tax this year and have collected `1,206 crore so far. BBMP will reach the target in the next ten months, albeit at the cost of hundreds of citizens running from pillar to post to get their money back. Express found many such cases though the civic authority is in denial. BBMP Joint Commissioner (Revenue) M Venkatachalapathy admitted that several tax payers had faced problems. Even as many people still throng BBMP offices with complaints, he said the number of such grievances had in fact greatly reduced. He claimed that the main reason for the huge number of complaints was that many people had paid the tax during the period between April 4 and mid-June in 2016. At the time, the new software came into place and the method of tax computation changed. People themselves are also to blame, as many have entered the wrong zone or category for their properties, or, at times, had entered the wrong unit of measurement, he claimed. He also admitted that he had received complaints of the presence of touts outside some BBMP offices and asked people to not take their help. Situation at ward offices Nagarathnamma, the revenue officer at Sarvagna Nagar ward office, told Express that in case of excess property tax payment, the ward offices cannot help. We write to the IT department in such cases. At our end, we can only correct names and other basic details, she said. Assistant revenue officer Veena said that Sarvagna Nagar alone has had around 200 citizens approaching them over payment of excess property tax. In cases where the money has been debited more than once, the officials hold a meeting with bank officials and auditors. If it is established that BBMP indeed received more money as tax, it is adjusted against the property tax for the following year, she said. An officer at the Gandhinagar office said about 25 people still visit the offfice every day with property tax issues. On Wednesday, many people were seen visiting until afternoon. However, the office was locked around 2.30 pm and no officials were to be seen. The officer confirmed that everyone had to leave on account of some other work related to hoardings. Wednesday was the penultimate day to avail the 5 per cent rebate. At the BBMP head office, it is a common sight to see people waiting outside for hours, some of them on a daily basis, waiting for the officials concerned to return from the field visits. Gopinath Rajendran By Express News Service Aadhi is returning to Tamil cinema after two years with Maragatha Naanayam thats releasing this week, and among the first things he says about the film is that its not hero-centric. The film appealed more to the moviegoer in me, says Aadhi. The story revolves around five characters. The film will see him team up again with Nikki Galrani with whom he paired up in his last Tamil outing, Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka. Ive been part of films where, after diplomatically exchanging pleasantaries, the heroine goes into her caravan, but Nikki is a lot of fun. She and I chat a lot on the sets. My comfort with her creates a certain energy in the scenes we do. The film is releasing in both Tamil and Telugu, and has garnered good buzz ahead of its release. Its all because of the audio launch which we organised sooner than usual, he says. While there are heroines who effortlessly balance work in both Tamil and Telugu cinema, there arent too many heroes like Aadhi. He smiles, and says, I think scripts are of two types: heart-driven and mind-driven. The latter results in commercial films. The former is where the filmmaker tries to make a difference to cinema. The Tamil and Telugu industries have filmmakers in both categories, but in Telugu cinema, the budget is bigger and piracy isnt really an issue. Im glad Im relevant in both. Aadhis connections with cinema go a long way. His father, Ravi Raja Pinisetty, is a well-renowned director who has done more than 50 films. His brother, Sathya Prabhas Pinisetty, is also a director. So, theres no dearth for advice. Though I go with my gut feeling about scripts, Id be a fool not to use my dads experience, he says. Thats why he thinks hes able to figure out the good roles from the bad. I have a knack for finding negative roles especially, like the one I did in Allu Arjuns Sarrainodu. It was a character who was willing to do anything to protect the image of his family. Its not like I played an alcoholic or a womaniser. In fact, Ill be doing a similar role in Pawan Kalyans next film too, says Aadhi, who has been getting bombarded with negative roles ever since he made his debut in Tamil cinema with Mirugam. But the actor isnt in a hurry to do films. Im complicated that way (laughs). To me, its all about doing what Im happy with. With Tamil audiences being more open to innovative content than they ever have been, Im now planning to do more films. Hes done drama (Mirugam), horror (Eeram), historic fiction (Kochadaiiyaan), and masala Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka, Ayyanar). And now, hes doing fantasy adventure with Maragatha Naanayam. Aadhi says its no accident. After Mirugam, I sat in my house for a year and a half because I didnt again want to do a similar role. In our industry, when a film clicks, we get approached with similar roles. My wait paid off when I got Eeram. The most exciting thing about being an actor is being able to turn into different personalities, and if Im not doing that, I shouldnt even be an actor. Aadhis Telugu film, Ninnu Kori, is also ready and releasing in July. Hes also doing a Tamil film thats based on a real incident which shook Tamil Nadu, and is in advanced discussions to do a Malayalam film too. In addition to all these projects, hes a part of Ram Charans next and Pawan Kalyans next. The wait definitely seems to have paid off for the actor. Aadhi is returning to Tamil cinema after two years with Maragatha Naanayam thats releasing this week, and among the first things he says about the film is that its not hero-centric. The film appealed more to the moviegoer in me, says Aadhi. The story revolves around five characters. The film will see him team up again with Nikki Galrani with whom he paired up in his last Tamil outing, Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka. Ive been part of films where, after diplomatically exchanging pleasantaries, the heroine goes into her caravan, but Nikki is a lot of fun. She and I chat a lot on the sets. My comfort with her creates a certain energy in the scenes we do. The film is releasing in both Tamil and Telugu, and has garnered good buzz ahead of its release. Its all because of the audio launch which we organised sooner than usual, he says. While there are heroines who effortlessly balance work in both Tamil and Telugu cinema, there arent too many heroes like Aadhi. He smiles, and says, I think scripts are of two types: heart-driven and mind-driven. The latter results in commercial films. The former is where the filmmaker tries to make a difference to cinema. The Tamil and Telugu industries have filmmakers in both categories, but in Telugu cinema, the budget is bigger and piracy isnt really an issue. Im glad Im relevant in both. Aadhis connections with cinema go a long way. His father, Ravi Raja Pinisetty, is a well-renowned director who has done more than 50 films. His brother, Sathya Prabhas Pinisetty, is also a director. So, theres no dearth for advice. Though I go with my gut feeling about scripts, Id be a fool not to use my dads experience, he says. Thats why he thinks hes able to figure out the good roles from the bad. I have a knack for finding negative roles especially, like the one I did in Allu Arjuns Sarrainodu. It was a character who was willing to do anything to protect the image of his family. Its not like I played an alcoholic or a womaniser. In fact, Ill be doing a similar role in Pawan Kalyans next film too, says Aadhi, who has been getting bombarded with negative roles ever since he made his debut in Tamil cinema with Mirugam. But the actor isnt in a hurry to do films. Im complicated that way (laughs). To me, its all about doing what Im happy with. With Tamil audiences being more open to innovative content than they ever have been, Im now planning to do more films. Hes done drama (Mirugam), horror (Eeram), historic fiction (Kochadaiiyaan), and masala Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka, Ayyanar). And now, hes doing fantasy adventure with Maragatha Naanayam. Aadhi says its no accident. After Mirugam, I sat in my house for a year and a half because I didnt again want to do a similar role. In our industry, when a film clicks, we get approached with similar roles. My wait paid off when I got Eeram. The most exciting thing about being an actor is being able to turn into different personalities, and if Im not doing that, I shouldnt even be an actor. Aadhis Telugu film, Ninnu Kori, is also ready and releasing in July. Hes also doing a Tamil film thats based on a real incident which shook Tamil Nadu, and is in advanced discussions to do a Malayalam film too. In addition to all these projects, hes a part of Ram Charans next and Pawan Kalyans next. The wait definitely seems to have paid off for the actor. Thushara Ann Mathew By Express News Service CHENNAI: My journey into the world of food and cooking began when I was in Class 6. Since both my parents were teachers and would often be busy with work, I would cook basic dishes like khichdi and burji for myself. My love for food turned into my passion when I moved to Delhi for my higher studies. I had to cook for myself and that is when I started to explore. I was exposed to a lot of fresh ingredients and spices as I stayed very close to Azadpur Mandi, which was one of the largest vegetable markets. I decided to pursue a career in food and in 2003, I joined the Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar. It was a completely new experience for me. A new city, new cuisine and dishes like ghugni (snack), dalma (rice), and chhena poda (sweet) were all completely different from what I was used to in Delhi. I was 18 when I entered the industry and I worked with The Oberoi, Kolkata. There again I came across a completely new and different burst of flavours and dishes like rasgullas, sandesh (sweet), jalebis, kala jamun and much more. From Kolkata, I went straight to Kerala, in 2010 for a year, where I fell in love spices like the black pepper, cinnamon, mace, etc. We got fresh fish right out of the water. We were also part of an Ayurveda camp, wherein we had to cook food according to the prescriptions given by doctors for guests who were on medication. I also learnt to make sadhya, (means a feast), karimeen polichathu and Kerala sambar. In 2011, I went to the US and worked at the Steakhouse. There I learnt the fine tuning of steaks with expensive meat products. I also got the opportunity to work for the Carnival Cruise Lines. I travelled to different parts of Mexico, South America and Europe, where I got my hands on the best tomatoes, wines and cheese. I have been with Marriot Chennai since May 2017. I am so glad to have got such wonderful opportunities to travel to different places and explore so much of food, because it has really helped me grow as a chef. I have noticed that Chennai has a mixed set of cuisines, like Udipi, Chettinad, Andhra and so on. I am yet to master South Indian cuisine, but I am quite confident about the North Indian cuisine. Butter chicken, mutton rogan josh, chole, rajma chawal and karimeen pollichathu are some of my best dishes. Meen Pollichathu Ingredients Cleaned fish steaks/filet: 20 pieces, 1 kg (measured after cleaning) Turmeric powder: 10 gm Pepper powder: 20 gm Small onion: 200 gm Crushed ginger: 50 gm Crushed garlic: 50 gm Green chilli: 20 gm Chilli powder: 50 gm Coriander powder: 50 gm Tomato: 200 gm Coconut milk powder: 20 gm Salt: 20 gm Curry leaves: 5 gm Coconut oil: 30 ml Banana leaf: 1 big Method Make gashes on both sides of the cleaned fish. Marinate the fish pieces with turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt. Keep aside for 10-15 minutes. Fry the marinated fish pieces till it's half done. Heat oil and add sliced small onion. Add crushed ginger, garlic and chopped green chilli. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Add chilli and coriander powder. After 2-3 minutes, add a tablespoon of hot water and mix well. Add chopped tomato, curry leaves and salt and mix. Add a few drops of hot water and cook till tomato becomes soft. Add cup of medium thick coconut milk and mix well. Cook till the masala becomes thick. Clean the banana leaves and wilt it slightly by placing it on the gas flame and flipping the sides. Put masala on the leaves and place the fried fish atop it. Cover it with another layer of masala. Wrap the leaves and make a parcel. Tie it with banana fibre or cooking thread. Roast the wrapped fish on a hot tava, flip and cook till both sides are done. Keep it covered for another 5 -10 minutes and open the parcel and serve. Method Marinate the chicken leg in hung curd, salt, lemon juice, garlic-ginger paste, garam masala, fenugreek powder, chilli powder and roast in clay oven. Make tomato gravy using ripped tomato, fennel seed, cashew nut, khoya, whole spices, salt and garam masala. Heat oil in a pan, add chopped garlic and chili powder. Add shredded chicken and tomato gravy. Add salt, garam masala, sugar and fenugreek powder with chili powder. Give a final touch with cream and butter and serve hot. Ingredients Chicken leg: 200gm Curd: 50gm Garlic: 10gm Ginger: 10gm Garam masala: 10gm Red chili powder: 10gm Fenugreek powder: 10gm Mustard oil: 10ml Lemon: 1 piece Tomato: 100gm Cashew nut: 50gm Fennel seed: 10gm Bay leaf: 5gm Green cardamom: 5gm Cinnamon: 5gm Star anise: 5gm Khoya: 20gm Garam masala: 10gm Coriander powder: 5gm Salt: 10gm Sugar: 5gm Cream: 10ml Butter: 10gm Oil: 10ml CHENNAI: My journey into the world of food and cooking began when I was in Class 6. Since both my parents were teachers and would often be busy with work, I would cook basic dishes like khichdi and burji for myself. My love for food turned into my passion when I moved to Delhi for my higher studies. I had to cook for myself and that is when I started to explore. I was exposed to a lot of fresh ingredients and spices as I stayed very close to Azadpur Mandi, which was one of the largest vegetable markets. I decided to pursue a career in food and in 2003, I joined the Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar. It was a completely new experience for me. A new city, new cuisine and dishes like ghugni (snack), dalma (rice), and chhena poda (sweet) were all completely different from what I was used to in Delhi. I was 18 when I entered the industry and I worked with The Oberoi, Kolkata. There again I came across a completely new and different burst of flavours and dishes like rasgullas, sandesh (sweet), jalebis, kala jamun and much more. From Kolkata, I went straight to Kerala, in 2010 for a year, where I fell in love spices like the black pepper, cinnamon, mace, etc. We got fresh fish right out of the water. We were also part of an Ayurveda camp, wherein we had to cook food according to the prescriptions given by doctors for guests who were on medication. I also learnt to make sadhya, (means a feast), karimeen polichathu and Kerala sambar. In 2011, I went to the US and worked at the Steakhouse. There I learnt the fine tuning of steaks with expensive meat products. I also got the opportunity to work for the Carnival Cruise Lines. I travelled to different parts of Mexico, South America and Europe, where I got my hands on the best tomatoes, wines and cheese. I have been with Marriot Chennai since May 2017. I am so glad to have got such wonderful opportunities to travel to different places and explore so much of food, because it has really helped me grow as a chef. I have noticed that Chennai has a mixed set of cuisines, like Udipi, Chettinad, Andhra and so on. I am yet to master South Indian cuisine, but I am quite confident about the North Indian cuisine. Butter chicken, mutton rogan josh, chole, rajma chawal and karimeen pollichathu are some of my best dishes. Meen Pollichathu Ingredients Cleaned fish steaks/filet: 20 pieces, 1 kg (measured after cleaning) Turmeric powder: 10 gm Pepper powder: 20 gm Small onion: 200 gm Crushed ginger: 50 gm Crushed garlic: 50 gm Green chilli: 20 gm Chilli powder: 50 gm Coriander powder: 50 gm Tomato: 200 gm Coconut milk powder: 20 gm Salt: 20 gm Curry leaves: 5 gm Coconut oil: 30 ml Banana leaf: 1 big Method Make gashes on both sides of the cleaned fish. Marinate the fish pieces with turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt. Keep aside for 10-15 minutes. Fry the marinated fish pieces till it's half done. Heat oil and add sliced small onion. Add crushed ginger, garlic and chopped green chilli. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Add chilli and coriander powder. After 2-3 minutes, add a tablespoon of hot water and mix well. Add chopped tomato, curry leaves and salt and mix. Add a few drops of hot water and cook till tomato becomes soft. Add cup of medium thick coconut milk and mix well. Cook till the masala becomes thick. Clean the banana leaves and wilt it slightly by placing it on the gas flame and flipping the sides. Put masala on the leaves and place the fried fish atop it. Cover it with another layer of masala. Wrap the leaves and make a parcel. Tie it with banana fibre or cooking thread. Roast the wrapped fish on a hot tava, flip and cook till both sides are done. Keep it covered for another 5 -10 minutes and open the parcel and serve. Method Marinate the chicken leg in hung curd, salt, lemon juice, garlic-ginger paste, garam masala, fenugreek powder, chilli powder and roast in clay oven. Make tomato gravy using ripped tomato, fennel seed, cashew nut, khoya, whole spices, salt and garam masala. Heat oil in a pan, add chopped garlic and chili powder. Add shredded chicken and tomato gravy. Add salt, garam masala, sugar and fenugreek powder with chili powder. Give a final touch with cream and butter and serve hot. Ingredients Chicken leg: 200gm Curd: 50gm Garlic: 10gm Ginger: 10gm Garam masala: 10gm Red chili powder: 10gm Fenugreek powder: 10gm Mustard oil: 10ml Lemon: 1 piece Tomato: 100gm Cashew nut: 50gm Fennel seed: 10gm Bay leaf: 5gm Green cardamom: 5gm Cinnamon: 5gm Star anise: 5gm Khoya: 20gm Garam masala: 10gm Coriander powder: 5gm Salt: 10gm Sugar: 5gm Cream: 10ml Butter: 10gm Oil: 10ml Aishik Chanda By Express News Service Simmering since 1907, the separate Gorkhaland agitation has flared up again. Mamata Banerjees 3-language policy making Bangla compulsory in schools in West Bengal and the Gorkha Janmukti Morchas opposition to it have combined to cause a volatile situation. Aishik Chanda explains The hill districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal are on the boil again over Mamata Banerjees decision to make Bangla compulsory in all schools of the State regardless of mediums or boards. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the party ruling the autonomous council Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) that governs the two districts, has taken to the streets, and burnt police vehicles, government offices and enforced an indefinite shutdown of government offices, banks and courts, terming the fight as that of Gorkha existence against what it termed Bengals slavery. Though the West Bengal chief minister said Bangla would not be imposed on the Nepali-speaking hills of north Bengal, the GJM wanted a Cabinet resolution regarding the same. With the GTA elections slated to be held in October, the GJM called the autonomous council a failure and demanded a Gorkhaland State. On the other hand, Banerjee constituted a six-member committee to conduct a special audit of the GTA to check misappropriation of Central funds to the autonomous council in the past five years. What sparked the recent agitation in Darjeeling hills? Mamata Banerjee declared in a Facebook post on May 16 that students have to opt for three languages out of a pool of seven official languages of West Bengal from Class I till Class X, of which one has to be Bangla. She called this the 3-language policy of the State government and said it will be implemented in all schools in the State irrespective of their medium or board. The other two languages can be chosen from English, Hindi, Nepali, Santhali, Punjabi or Urdu. Has there been any official notification on making Bangla compulsory? No. There has been no official circular regarding the implementation of the 3-language policy from the State government. The Jan Andolan Party (JAP), the GJMs rival in Kalimpong district, has distanced itself from the agitation and refused to call it a language movement as no government order has been passed on making Bangla mandatory. Is there any link between the agitation and polls in the recent past and the near future? Maybe. Trinamool Congress broke into the GJM bastion and formed the board in Mirik municipality and won a few seats in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong municipalities. The electoral setback had forced the GJM on the back foot in the hills. Also, the current term of the GTA is ending in July and the election to the 45-member body is expected in October. The TMC aims to break into this. Currently all members in the body are from the GJM. According to JAP chief Harka Bahadur Chhetri, Mamata Banerjees untimely decision to implement Bangla came as a boon in disguise for the cornered GJM. What is the Gorkhaland statehood movement? It is a century-old demand for separation of Nepali-speaking hills from Bengal. The present Gorkhaland statehood demand comprises Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts along with Bhaktinagar, Malbazar, Chalsa, Nagrakata, Banarhat, Birpara, Madarihat, Jaigaon, Kalchini and Kumargram blocks of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts of north Bengal. Were Darjeeling and Kalimpong historically a part of Bengal? No. Darjeeling was a dominion of Chogyal of Sikkim and was overrun by Nepal in 1780. The region was annexed by the British during the 1814 Anglo-Nepal War and was ceded by Nepal to British India in the Sugauli Treaty of 1815. Kalimpong was a part of Bhutan and was ceded to the British in the Sinchula Treaty of 1865 after the 1864 Anglo-Bhutan War. The present Darjeeling district as part of Bengal came into being in 1866. However, administratively it was classified as a Non-regulated area before 1861 and 1870-74 and as Regulated area between 1862 and 1870. It was termed as Scheduled district in 1874, as Backward Tracts in 1919 and Partially-excluded area from 1935 till 1947. When did the agitation for Gorkhaland begin? The Hillmen Association of Darjeeling submitted a memorandum demanding a separate administrative setup of the hills to Morley-Minto Reforms in 1907, chief secretary of Bengal and secretary and viceroy of India in 1917 and to the Simon Commission in 1929. Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha Leagues N B Gurung met Jawaharlal Nehr in 1952 at Kalimpong demanding separation from Bengal. Indra Bahadur Rai of Pranta Parishad met Indira Gandhi at Darjeeling demanding a separate State. Did the Gorkhaland statehood demand witness bloodshed? Yes. The Gorkhaland statehood movement turned into an armed rebellion led by Subhash Ghising of Gorkha National Liberation Front after large number of statehood agitators were killed in CRPF firing during a rally in Kalimpong on July 27, 1986. According to some estimates, more than 1,200 Gorkhas were killed during two years of violent armed rebellion. The GNLF made truce with the governments of West Bengal and India in 1988, leading to the formation of the autonomous Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) led by Ghising. The movement saw peace from 1988 till 2007. Did the Indian Idol show renew the Gorkhaland movement in 2007? Yes. Kolkata Police constable Prashant Tamang won Indian Idol Season 3 in 2007 after Subhash Ghisings security guard Bimal Gurung mobilised Gorkhas to vote for Tamang. After gaining immense popularity, Bimal Gurung formed the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha with the single-point agenda of forming the Gorkhaland state. Gurung eventually replaced Ghising as DGHC chief, which was renamed by the Left Front government as Gorkha Territorial Administration with the same powers. What is the Madan Tamang murder case? Influential veteran Gorkha leader Madan Tamang of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) was hacked to death in public at Darjeeling allegedly by GJM activists on May 21, 2010. Prime accused GJM chief Bimal Gurung and 17 others were tried at the Calcutta High Court and are currently out on anticipatory bail in the murder case. What are ethnic development boards? Stating that the Gorkhas were not indigenous to the Darjeeling hills and were better off than the native communities, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee formed the Lepcha Development Board in 2011 for betterment of the Lepcha tribe, who along with Limbu and other Animist and Buddhist tribes are said to be indigenous to the hills. Over the next six years, she formed 16 other development boards for different ethnicities of the hills. The GJM has always argued that the ethnic boards were a conspiracy to divide the Gorkhaland movement. Does Gorkhaland creation require the West Bengal Legislative Assemblys approval? No. As witnessed during Telangana formation, creation of a new State does not require the approval of the parent State. So, if the Centre, which is witnessing peak of animosity with Mamata Banerjee since demonetisation, brings a Bill in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for creation of Gorkhaland, they State may become reality. However, the Centre fears that granting statehood to Gorkhaland would intensify other statehood movements across the country. Darjeeling district Area 2,095.40 sq km Population 15,95,163 (including plains of Siliguri subdivision) Major towns Siliguri, Darjeeling, Mirik, Kurseong, Naxalbari Assembly seats Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri, Matigara-Naxalbari Lok Sabha seat Darjeeling Kalimpong district Area 1,053.60 sq km Population 2,51,642 Major towns Kalimpong, Gorubathan, Algarah Assembly seats Kalimpong Lok Sabha seat Darjeeling Simmering since 1907, the separate Gorkhaland agitation has flared up again. Mamata Banerjees 3-language policy making Bangla compulsory in schools in West Bengal and the Gorkha Janmukti Morchas opposition to it have combined to cause a volatile situation. Aishik Chanda explains The hill districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal are on the boil again over Mamata Banerjees decision to make Bangla compulsory in all schools of the State regardless of mediums or boards. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the party ruling the autonomous council Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) that governs the two districts, has taken to the streets, and burnt police vehicles, government offices and enforced an indefinite shutdown of government offices, banks and courts, terming the fight as that of Gorkha existence against what it termed Bengals slavery. Though the West Bengal chief minister said Bangla would not be imposed on the Nepali-speaking hills of north Bengal, the GJM wanted a Cabinet resolution regarding the same. With the GTA elections slated to be held in October, the GJM called the autonomous council a failure and demanded a Gorkhaland State. On the other hand, Banerjee constituted a six-member committee to conduct a special audit of the GTA to check misappropriation of Central funds to the autonomous council in the past five years. What sparked the recent agitation in Darjeeling hills? Mamata Banerjee declared in a Facebook post on May 16 that students have to opt for three languages out of a pool of seven official languages of West Bengal from Class I till Class X, of which one has to be Bangla. She called this the 3-language policy of the State government and said it will be implemented in all schools in the State irrespective of their medium or board. The other two languages can be chosen from English, Hindi, Nepali, Santhali, Punjabi or Urdu. Has there been any official notification on making Bangla compulsory? No. There has been no official circular regarding the implementation of the 3-language policy from the State government. The Jan Andolan Party (JAP), the GJMs rival in Kalimpong district, has distanced itself from the agitation and refused to call it a language movement as no government order has been passed on making Bangla mandatory. Is there any link between the agitation and polls in the recent past and the near future? Maybe. Trinamool Congress broke into the GJM bastion and formed the board in Mirik municipality and won a few seats in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong municipalities. The electoral setback had forced the GJM on the back foot in the hills. Also, the current term of the GTA is ending in July and the election to the 45-member body is expected in October. The TMC aims to break into this. Currently all members in the body are from the GJM. According to JAP chief Harka Bahadur Chhetri, Mamata Banerjees untimely decision to implement Bangla came as a boon in disguise for the cornered GJM. What is the Gorkhaland statehood movement? It is a century-old demand for separation of Nepali-speaking hills from Bengal. The present Gorkhaland statehood demand comprises Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts along with Bhaktinagar, Malbazar, Chalsa, Nagrakata, Banarhat, Birpara, Madarihat, Jaigaon, Kalchini and Kumargram blocks of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts of north Bengal. Were Darjeeling and Kalimpong historically a part of Bengal? No. Darjeeling was a dominion of Chogyal of Sikkim and was overrun by Nepal in 1780. The region was annexed by the British during the 1814 Anglo-Nepal War and was ceded by Nepal to British India in the Sugauli Treaty of 1815. Kalimpong was a part of Bhutan and was ceded to the British in the Sinchula Treaty of 1865 after the 1864 Anglo-Bhutan War. The present Darjeeling district as part of Bengal came into being in 1866. However, administratively it was classified as a Non-regulated area before 1861 and 1870-74 and as Regulated area between 1862 and 1870. It was termed as Scheduled district in 1874, as Backward Tracts in 1919 and Partially-excluded area from 1935 till 1947. When did the agitation for Gorkhaland begin? The Hillmen Association of Darjeeling submitted a memorandum demanding a separate administrative setup of the hills to Morley-Minto Reforms in 1907, chief secretary of Bengal and secretary and viceroy of India in 1917 and to the Simon Commission in 1929. Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha Leagues N B Gurung met Jawaharlal Nehr in 1952 at Kalimpong demanding separation from Bengal. Indra Bahadur Rai of Pranta Parishad met Indira Gandhi at Darjeeling demanding a separate State. Did the Gorkhaland statehood demand witness bloodshed? Yes. The Gorkhaland statehood movement turned into an armed rebellion led by Subhash Ghising of Gorkha National Liberation Front after large number of statehood agitators were killed in CRPF firing during a rally in Kalimpong on July 27, 1986. According to some estimates, more than 1,200 Gorkhas were killed during two years of violent armed rebellion. The GNLF made truce with the governments of West Bengal and India in 1988, leading to the formation of the autonomous Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) led by Ghising. The movement saw peace from 1988 till 2007. Did the Indian Idol show renew the Gorkhaland movement in 2007? Yes. Kolkata Police constable Prashant Tamang won Indian Idol Season 3 in 2007 after Subhash Ghisings security guard Bimal Gurung mobilised Gorkhas to vote for Tamang. After gaining immense popularity, Bimal Gurung formed the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha with the single-point agenda of forming the Gorkhaland state. Gurung eventually replaced Ghising as DGHC chief, which was renamed by the Left Front government as Gorkha Territorial Administration with the same powers. What is the Madan Tamang murder case? Influential veteran Gorkha leader Madan Tamang of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) was hacked to death in public at Darjeeling allegedly by GJM activists on May 21, 2010. Prime accused GJM chief Bimal Gurung and 17 others were tried at the Calcutta High Court and are currently out on anticipatory bail in the murder case. What are ethnic development boards? Stating that the Gorkhas were not indigenous to the Darjeeling hills and were better off than the native communities, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee formed the Lepcha Development Board in 2011 for betterment of the Lepcha tribe, who along with Limbu and other Animist and Buddhist tribes are said to be indigenous to the hills. Over the next six years, she formed 16 other development boards for different ethnicities of the hills. The GJM has always argued that the ethnic boards were a conspiracy to divide the Gorkhaland movement. Does Gorkhaland creation require the West Bengal Legislative Assemblys approval? No. As witnessed during Telangana formation, creation of a new State does not require the approval of the parent State. So, if the Centre, which is witnessing peak of animosity with Mamata Banerjee since demonetisation, brings a Bill in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for creation of Gorkhaland, they State may become reality. However, the Centre fears that granting statehood to Gorkhaland would intensify other statehood movements across the country. Darjeeling districtArea 2,095.40 sq kmPopulation 15,95,163 (including plains of Siliguri subdivision)Major towns Siliguri, Darjeeling, Mirik, Kurseong, NaxalbariAssembly seats Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri, Matigara-NaxalbariLok Sabha seat Darjeeling Kalimpong districtArea 1,053.60 sq kmPopulation 2,51,642Major towns Kalimpong, Gorubathan, AlgarahAssembly seats KalimpongLok Sabha seat Darjeeling Fayaz Wani By Express News Service SRINAGAR: Two days after launching multiple attacks on security forces in south Kashmir, militants on Thursday shot dead a policeman in volatile Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. A police official said militants fired from point blank range towards a policeman identified as constable Shabir Ahmad Dar outside his home at Bogund area in south Kashmirs Kulgam district this afternoon. The policeman sustained multiple bullet injuries and was evacuated to nearby hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The deceased was survived by his and 13 months old son. After the incident, police and paramilitary personnel laid siege around the area to nab the attackers. However, no arrests were reported during the operation. The militant attack took place two days after militants launched five attacks on police and CRPF men in south Kashmir on Tuesday injuring 12 security personnel and snatching four rifles from policemen. J&K Police Chief S P Vaid blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad for the attacks. Their claim was corroborated by militant outfit Al-Umar Mujahideen chief, Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, who along with Jaish chief Masood Azhar was released in exchange of IA passengers in 1999. He called a local newsgathering agency in Srinagar and claimed that the attacks were carried out jointly by Al-Umar and Jaish-e-Mohammad. Hizbul Mujahideen, which is dominant in south Kashmir, had also claimed responsibility for the attacks. According to security agencies, over 120 militants are active in four districts of south Kashmir Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian and the majority of the militants are locals and belong to Hizbul Mujahideen. The south Kashmir comprising four districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam is emerging as stronghold of militants. South Kashmir was also the epicenter of over five month long unrest in the Valley last year following killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016. Pak troops breach border ceasefire Defence spokesman in Jammu Lt Col Manish Mehta said Pakistani troops resorted to indiscriminate firing from small arms and automatic weapons on army positions and civilian areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Naushera sector in Rajouri districts from 2 pm. He said Army men strongly and effectively retaliated and the firing between the two sides continued till 3.30 pm. Mehta said Pakistan army against breached border ceasefire at 5.30 pm by firing on army posts and civilian areas in Naushera sector. He said the army men are effectively returning the fire and the exchange of heavy gunfire and mortar shells was going on when reports last poured in. SRINAGAR: Two days after launching multiple attacks on security forces in south Kashmir, militants on Thursday shot dead a policeman in volatile Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. A police official said militants fired from point blank range towards a policeman identified as constable Shabir Ahmad Dar outside his home at Bogund area in south Kashmirs Kulgam district this afternoon. The policeman sustained multiple bullet injuries and was evacuated to nearby hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The deceased was survived by his and 13 months old son. After the incident, police and paramilitary personnel laid siege around the area to nab the attackers. However, no arrests were reported during the operation. The militant attack took place two days after militants launched five attacks on police and CRPF men in south Kashmir on Tuesday injuring 12 security personnel and snatching four rifles from policemen. J&K Police Chief S P Vaid blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad for the attacks. Their claim was corroborated by militant outfit Al-Umar Mujahideen chief, Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, who along with Jaish chief Masood Azhar was released in exchange of IA passengers in 1999. He called a local newsgathering agency in Srinagar and claimed that the attacks were carried out jointly by Al-Umar and Jaish-e-Mohammad. Hizbul Mujahideen, which is dominant in south Kashmir, had also claimed responsibility for the attacks. According to security agencies, over 120 militants are active in four districts of south Kashmir Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian and the majority of the militants are locals and belong to Hizbul Mujahideen. The south Kashmir comprising four districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam is emerging as stronghold of militants. South Kashmir was also the epicenter of over five month long unrest in the Valley last year following killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016. Pak troops breach border ceasefire Defence spokesman in Jammu Lt Col Manish Mehta said Pakistani troops resorted to indiscriminate firing from small arms and automatic weapons on army positions and civilian areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Naushera sector in Rajouri districts from 2 pm. He said Army men strongly and effectively retaliated and the firing between the two sides continued till 3.30 pm. Mehta said Pakistan army against breached border ceasefire at 5.30 pm by firing on army posts and civilian areas in Naushera sector. He said the army men are effectively returning the fire and the exchange of heavy gunfire and mortar shells was going on when reports last poured in. By ANI NEW DELHI: While the Congress branded the AYUSH ministrys no sex, no meat advisory for pregnant women as impractical, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to its defence saying that it was just an advice, not a coercion. It is not a directive or coercion but only an advice to the pregnant mothers. I dont know why we rake up a controversy out of nothing, BJP leader Shaina N.C. told ANI. Contradicting BJPs stance, Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed termed the advisory as immature. It is an impractical and immature advisory. It doesnt seem right if such advisory comes from any government agencies because in this case they only become laughing stock, Ahmed told ANI. The ministry of AYUSH had released a booklet called 'Mother and Child Care' recommending pregnant women to shun non-vegetarian food, avoid sex after conception, avoid bad company, have spiritual thoughts and hang beautiful pictures in room to have a healthy baby. The Ministry, however, on Wednesday termed the reports incorrect and said that it was just a suggestion or an advisory not a prescription. Speaking to ANI, Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, Dr. Ishwara Acharya, said, "This was just a suggestion or an advisory, it's not a prescription for pregnant women in India to not have sex, meat or be in bad company if you want to have healthy babies". In a statement, the AYUSH ministry said, "Some reports have appeared in the print and electronic media since June 13, 2017 concerning the publication 'Mother and Child Care' of Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), an autonomous body under the Ministry of AYUSH. Unfortunately, many of these reports are seen to be inaccurate, and some are even seen to misrepresent facts." The Ministry said that nowhere in the booklet 'no sex' has been mentioned. "Some news reports carry an assertion that the booklet puts forward the 'prescription' that 'pregnant women in India' should 'say no to sex after conception'. This is far from the truth. In fact, the words 'no sex' do not feature at all in the booklet," it added. The booklet was released by Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik in the run-up to International Day for Yoga. NEW DELHI: While the Congress branded the AYUSH ministrys no sex, no meat advisory for pregnant women as impractical, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to its defence saying that it was just an advice, not a coercion. It is not a directive or coercion but only an advice to the pregnant mothers. I dont know why we rake up a controversy out of nothing, BJP leader Shaina N.C. told ANI. Contradicting BJPs stance, Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed termed the advisory as immature. It is an impractical and immature advisory. It doesnt seem right if such advisory comes from any government agencies because in this case they only become laughing stock, Ahmed told ANI. The ministry of AYUSH had released a booklet called 'Mother and Child Care' recommending pregnant women to shun non-vegetarian food, avoid sex after conception, avoid bad company, have spiritual thoughts and hang beautiful pictures in room to have a healthy baby. The Ministry, however, on Wednesday termed the reports incorrect and said that it was just a suggestion or an advisory not a prescription. Speaking to ANI, Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, Dr. Ishwara Acharya, said, "This was just a suggestion or an advisory, it's not a prescription for pregnant women in India to not have sex, meat or be in bad company if you want to have healthy babies". In a statement, the AYUSH ministry said, "Some reports have appeared in the print and electronic media since June 13, 2017 concerning the publication 'Mother and Child Care' of Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), an autonomous body under the Ministry of AYUSH. Unfortunately, many of these reports are seen to be inaccurate, and some are even seen to misrepresent facts." The Ministry said that nowhere in the booklet 'no sex' has been mentioned. "Some news reports carry an assertion that the booklet puts forward the 'prescription' that 'pregnant women in India' should 'say no to sex after conception'. This is far from the truth. In fact, the words 'no sex' do not feature at all in the booklet," it added. The booklet was released by Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik in the run-up to International Day for Yoga. By Online Desk Former Chief Justice of India, Justice PN Bhagwati, considered a pioneer of judicial activism in the country for introducing the concept of PILs, died here today after brief illness, family sources said. He was 95. Justice Bhagwati was the 17th Chief Justice of India and served in the highest judicial post from July 12, 1985 to December 20, 1986. The funeral will be held on June 17, they said. Bhagwati was 17th Chief Justice of India, and held the highest judicial post between July 1985 and December 1986. He was a former Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court and was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in July 1973. As a Supreme Court judge, Bhagwati introduced the concepts of public interest litigation (PIL) and absolute liability to the Indian judicial system. As a champion of PILs, he had ruled there was no need for a person to have any locus standi (the right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a court) to knock the doors of a court on the issue of fundamental rights. He was also instrumental in furthering the cause of prisoners when he ruled that they too enjoyed fundamental rights. One of the important judgements pronounced by him was in the Maneka Gandhi passport impounding case in 1978 in which he elaborated the concept of right to life, and ruled that a persons movement cannot be restricted. He had ruled that a person had full right to hold a passport. The regional passport officer, New Delhi, had issued a letter dated 2/7/1977 addressed to Maneka Gandhi in which she was asked to surrender her passport under section 10(3)(c ) of the Passport Act in public interest within 7 days from the date of receipt of the letter. Maneka Gandhi had later filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the constitution in the Supreme Court challenging the order of the government of India claiming it violated her fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution. He was the lone dissenting judge in the Minerva Mill case who upheld the 42nd Constitution amendment during Emergency. It was struck down by a majority verdict. In the Minerva Mills case, the Supreme Court provided key clarifications on the interpretation of the basic structure doctrine. The court had ruled that the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution is limited by the Constitution. Hence Parliament cannot exercise this limited power to grant itself unlimited power. Controversially, Bhagwati is also known for his judgment as part of the bench in the 'Habeas Corpus case', during the Emergency under former prime minister Indira Gandhi. In the ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla case, he decreed that during the Emergency, a person's right to not be unlawfully detained can be suspended. He apologised 30 years later for his "act of weakness." Justice Bhagwati is the brother of economist Jagdish Bhagwati and neurosurgeon SN Bhagwati. Former Chief Justice of India, Justice PN Bhagwati, considered a pioneer of judicial activism in the country for introducing the concept of PILs, died here today after brief illness, family sources said. He was 95. Justice Bhagwati was the 17th Chief Justice of India and served in the highest judicial post from July 12, 1985 to December 20, 1986. The funeral will be held on June 17, they said. Bhagwati was 17th Chief Justice of India, and held the highest judicial post between July 1985 and December 1986. He was a former Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court and was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in July 1973. As a Supreme Court judge, Bhagwati introduced the concepts of public interest litigation (PIL) and absolute liability to the Indian judicial system. As a champion of PILs, he had ruled there was no need for a person to have any locus standi (the right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a court) to knock the doors of a court on the issue of fundamental rights. He was also instrumental in furthering the cause of prisoners when he ruled that they too enjoyed fundamental rights. One of the important judgements pronounced by him was in the Maneka Gandhi passport impounding case in 1978 in which he elaborated the concept of right to life, and ruled that a persons movement cannot be restricted. He had ruled that a person had full right to hold a passport. The regional passport officer, New Delhi, had issued a letter dated 2/7/1977 addressed to Maneka Gandhi in which she was asked to surrender her passport under section 10(3)(c ) of the Passport Act in public interest within 7 days from the date of receipt of the letter. Maneka Gandhi had later filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the constitution in the Supreme Court challenging the order of the government of India claiming it violated her fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution. He was the lone dissenting judge in the Minerva Mill case who upheld the 42nd Constitution amendment during Emergency. It was struck down by a majority verdict. In the Minerva Mills case, the Supreme Court provided key clarifications on the interpretation of the basic structure doctrine. The court had ruled that the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution is limited by the Constitution. Hence Parliament cannot exercise this limited power to grant itself unlimited power. Controversially, Bhagwati is also known for his judgment as part of the bench in the 'Habeas Corpus case', during the Emergency under former prime minister Indira Gandhi. In the ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla case, he decreed that during the Emergency, a person's right to not be unlawfully detained can be suspended. He apologised 30 years later for his "act of weakness." Justice Bhagwati is the brother of economist Jagdish Bhagwati and neurosurgeon SN Bhagwati. By PTI NEW DELHI: The case of controversial former Calcutta High Court judge CS Karnan calls for greater scrutiny and screening of the judiciary, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today. "As regards a specific case of a specific judge, I would not like to make any comment, except observe that may be there is a case for greater scrutiny and screening of judiciary. The particular incident you have quoted only underscores the compelling need," he told reporters here. The minister was asked to comment on the failure of state machinery to implement a Supreme Court order to send Karnan behind bars for six months for contempt of court. Justice Karnan had last week ended his tenure as a fugitive from law. He has been evading arrest since May 9 after being sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court. He has the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the apex court. A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar had passed the unprecedented arrest order against Karnan. Justice Karnan was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on March 11, 2016. He was transferred from the Madras High Court for his repeated allegations and run-ins with its then chief justice and fellow judges. The high court judge had on February 15, 2016 stayed his transfer order, which was suspended by the Supreme Court. The apex court had even asked the chief justice of the Madras High Court not to assign Karnan any judicial work. NEW DELHI: The case of controversial former Calcutta High Court judge CS Karnan calls for greater scrutiny and screening of the judiciary, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today. "As regards a specific case of a specific judge, I would not like to make any comment, except observe that may be there is a case for greater scrutiny and screening of judiciary. The particular incident you have quoted only underscores the compelling need," he told reporters here. The minister was asked to comment on the failure of state machinery to implement a Supreme Court order to send Karnan behind bars for six months for contempt of court. Justice Karnan had last week ended his tenure as a fugitive from law. He has been evading arrest since May 9 after being sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court. He has the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the apex court. A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar had passed the unprecedented arrest order against Karnan. Justice Karnan was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on March 11, 2016. He was transferred from the Madras High Court for his repeated allegations and run-ins with its then chief justice and fellow judges. The high court judge had on February 15, 2016 stayed his transfer order, which was suspended by the Supreme Court. The apex court had even asked the chief justice of the Madras High Court not to assign Karnan any judicial work. By PTI LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court today granted two weeks to the Uttar Pradesh government to file its reply on a petition questioning the cognisance of offence under POSCO Act against former minister Gayatri Prajapati in a gangrape case. The matter will be heard after two weeks. A vacation bench of Justice S N Shukla here passed the order on the petition field by Prajapati. He had challenged the cognisance order passed on June 5 by the Additional Sessions judge court summoning him for trial under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. However, during arguments, his counsel Mridul Rakesh confined his plea against POSCO Act only. The counsel argued that from the statement of the victim recorded under section 164 of CrPC, no offence under POSCO Act was made out. Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General V K Sahi submitted that there were other materials as well as further statement of the survivor which certainly covered ingredients of Section 5 of POSCO Act. "Therefore, without perusal of those documents, it would not be appropriate for the court to interfere with the summoning order," added Sahi demanding two weeks' time to file counter affidavit in the matter. LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court today granted two weeks to the Uttar Pradesh government to file its reply on a petition questioning the cognisance of offence under POSCO Act against former minister Gayatri Prajapati in a gangrape case. The matter will be heard after two weeks. A vacation bench of Justice S N Shukla here passed the order on the petition field by Prajapati. He had challenged the cognisance order passed on June 5 by the Additional Sessions judge court summoning him for trial under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. However, during arguments, his counsel Mridul Rakesh confined his plea against POSCO Act only. The counsel argued that from the statement of the victim recorded under section 164 of CrPC, no offence under POSCO Act was made out. Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General V K Sahi submitted that there were other materials as well as further statement of the survivor which certainly covered ingredients of Section 5 of POSCO Act. "Therefore, without perusal of those documents, it would not be appropriate for the court to interfere with the summoning order," added Sahi demanding two weeks' time to file counter affidavit in the matter. Anuraag Singh By Express News Service BHOPAL: As many as two farmers committed suicide within 24 hours in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday even as chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the families of the farmers allegedly killed in police firing in Mandsaur. The CM sanctioned a compensation of one crore rupees to each of the families of the deceased. With the two recent deaths, at least five farmer deaths have been reported from the state over the last 48 hours. 50-year-old Ramesh Basene allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide at Ballharpur village in Lalbarra area of Balaghat district on Wednesday. His family alleged that he ended life because he had outstanding loans worth Rs 2 lakh. In Pisnawal village of Barwani district, 60-year-old Somla allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide on Tuesday. While the deceased farmers wife alleged that he had committed suicide under pressure to repay a private loan of Rs 2 lakh, police investigation revealed that his two sons had misbehaved with him demanding division of ancestral land, due to which he was under severe depression. Another farmer, 55-year-old farmer Padam Singh Bagri allegedly attempted suicide on the Collectorate premises in Dewas district on Wednesday. He had gone to the Collectorate to complain after his nephew had allegedly grabbed his land. He is now out of danger. As the news of farmer deaths continued to pour in, the CM met the family of Ghanshyam Dhakad, who had died at the MY Hospital in Indore recently allegedly due to police torture in Bhaugarh area of Mandsaur. The CM then informed the bereaved family about the rupees one crore compensation being transferred to their bank account. The CM also met families of other deceased farmers, including the kin of Satyanarayan in Lodh village, kin of Abhishek Patidar in Barkheda Pant village, kin of Chainram Patidar in Nayakheda village of Neemuch district, besides kin of deceased farmers in Budha village of Mandsaur. He also visited Pipliyamandi and Suvasra in Mandsaur district where met traders whose shops were damaged during the recent violent stir by farmers. The CM assured them that due compensation would be provided to them. Taking a dig at the CM for using a helicopter to go to Mandsaur, the Opposition Congress questioned why Chouhan was allowed to meet the farmers when Congress leaders were stopped from doing the same. Congress launches 72-hour Satyagraha Spearheaded by partys chief whip in the Lok Sabha and Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Congress 72-hour satyagraha against the June 6 killing of five farmers in Mandsaur district started at TT Nagar Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal on Wednesday. Addressing the gathering, Scindia recounted his Monday visit to the MY Hospital in Indore, where seven victims of the June 6 police firing were undergoing treatment. Scindia said, Not only were the innocent farmers shot in the chest and other parts of the body by the police, the cops even took out money and cellphones from the pockets of the deceased and the injured. A 28-year-old youth who was shot told me that the in-charge of the police station, Anil Singh Thakur, beat him up after the youth was injured in police firing. The cop didnt stop there, but even took the youths wallet containing Rs 8,000 and a cellphone worth Rs 3000, said Scindia. He also questioned why the state government in the official notice for constitution of judicial probe panel had not mentioned about the police personnel who killed the farmers. He also said that long queues of farmers waiting with their produce at agricultural mandis in Ujjain and Dewas showed that the CMs announcement of buying the produce of farmers at Minimum Support Price (MSP) was nothing but hogwash. We will meet farmers at our 72-hour satyagraha and collect their suggestions, based on which a blueprint for a bigger statewide movement for justice to farmers will be finalised, said Scindia. BHOPAL: As many as two farmers committed suicide within 24 hours in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday even as chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the families of the farmers allegedly killed in police firing in Mandsaur. The CM sanctioned a compensation of one crore rupees to each of the families of the deceased. With the two recent deaths, at least five farmer deaths have been reported from the state over the last 48 hours. 50-year-old Ramesh Basene allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide at Ballharpur village in Lalbarra area of Balaghat district on Wednesday. His family alleged that he ended life because he had outstanding loans worth Rs 2 lakh. In Pisnawal village of Barwani district, 60-year-old Somla allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide on Tuesday. While the deceased farmers wife alleged that he had committed suicide under pressure to repay a private loan of Rs 2 lakh, police investigation revealed that his two sons had misbehaved with him demanding division of ancestral land, due to which he was under severe depression. Another farmer, 55-year-old farmer Padam Singh Bagri allegedly attempted suicide on the Collectorate premises in Dewas district on Wednesday. He had gone to the Collectorate to complain after his nephew had allegedly grabbed his land. He is now out of danger. As the news of farmer deaths continued to pour in, the CM met the family of Ghanshyam Dhakad, who had died at the MY Hospital in Indore recently allegedly due to police torture in Bhaugarh area of Mandsaur. The CM then informed the bereaved family about the rupees one crore compensation being transferred to their bank account. The CM also met families of other deceased farmers, including the kin of Satyanarayan in Lodh village, kin of Abhishek Patidar in Barkheda Pant village, kin of Chainram Patidar in Nayakheda village of Neemuch district, besides kin of deceased farmers in Budha village of Mandsaur. He also visited Pipliyamandi and Suvasra in Mandsaur district where met traders whose shops were damaged during the recent violent stir by farmers. The CM assured them that due compensation would be provided to them. Taking a dig at the CM for using a helicopter to go to Mandsaur, the Opposition Congress questioned why Chouhan was allowed to meet the farmers when Congress leaders were stopped from doing the same. Congress launches 72-hour Satyagraha Spearheaded by partys chief whip in the Lok Sabha and Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Congress 72-hour satyagraha against the June 6 killing of five farmers in Mandsaur district started at TT Nagar Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal on Wednesday. Addressing the gathering, Scindia recounted his Monday visit to the MY Hospital in Indore, where seven victims of the June 6 police firing were undergoing treatment. Scindia said, Not only were the innocent farmers shot in the chest and other parts of the body by the police, the cops even took out money and cellphones from the pockets of the deceased and the injured. A 28-year-old youth who was shot told me that the in-charge of the police station, Anil Singh Thakur, beat him up after the youth was injured in police firing. The cop didnt stop there, but even took the youths wallet containing Rs 8,000 and a cellphone worth Rs 3000, said Scindia. He also questioned why the state government in the official notice for constitution of judicial probe panel had not mentioned about the police personnel who killed the farmers. He also said that long queues of farmers waiting with their produce at agricultural mandis in Ujjain and Dewas showed that the CMs announcement of buying the produce of farmers at Minimum Support Price (MSP) was nothing but hogwash. We will meet farmers at our 72-hour satyagraha and collect their suggestions, based on which a blueprint for a bigger statewide movement for justice to farmers will be finalised, said Scindia. By Express News Service BHOPAL: With two more farmers allegedly taking their own lives in Hoshangabad and Shivpuri districts in the last 24 hours, the number of suicides in Madhya Pradesh rose to seven in the last 72 hours. A 50-year-old farmer Narmada Prasad Yadav is said to have consumed poison in Chaplasar village of Hoshangabad district Thursday. His family alleged he was being harried by a moneylender for the Rs 50,000 he had borrowed a year ago. Yadav did pay up Rs 20,000 but the moneylender had impounded the farmer's tractor anyway. Sub-divisional police officer S N Chouhdhary said a case has been registered under Section 174 of the CrPc and the police would record the statements of the farmer's family. In another incident, a 55-year-old farmer Kalla Kewat allegedly hanged himself from a tree in Bineka village in Indar area of Shivpuri district. His kin alleged that Kalla had borrowed Rs 80,000 from some villagers, but his three crops had failed, leaving him broke. According to the Indar police station in-charge Suresh Babu Sharma, this matter too has been lodged under Section 174 of CrPC and an investigation is underway. Leveraging the spike in suicides, alleged or real, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia stepped up pressure on chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to immediately announce a waiver of farmers' loans. The chief ministers of UP and Maharashtra dont call themselves farmers sons, but they have given loan waivers to farmers. Whats stopping the Madhya Pradesh CM," asked Scindia. Presently spearheading a 72-hour satyagraha in Bhopal over the farmers' distress, Scindia asked how many more suicides would have to occur before the CM announces a loan waiver. Scindia said, There will be several issues in the 2018 Assembly polls in MP and farm loan waiver will be just one of them. It was the UPA government at the Centre which waived farmers loans worth Rs 72,000 crore in 2008-09. You can at least expect the same from the Congress in the state as well. BHOPAL: With two more farmers allegedly taking their own lives in Hoshangabad and Shivpuri districts in the last 24 hours, the number of suicides in Madhya Pradesh rose to seven in the last 72 hours. A 50-year-old farmer Narmada Prasad Yadav is said to have consumed poison in Chaplasar village of Hoshangabad district Thursday. His family alleged he was being harried by a moneylender for the Rs 50,000 he had borrowed a year ago. Yadav did pay up Rs 20,000 but the moneylender had impounded the farmer's tractor anyway. Sub-divisional police officer S N Chouhdhary said a case has been registered under Section 174 of the CrPc and the police would record the statements of the farmer's family. In another incident, a 55-year-old farmer Kalla Kewat allegedly hanged himself from a tree in Bineka village in Indar area of Shivpuri district. His kin alleged that Kalla had borrowed Rs 80,000 from some villagers, but his three crops had failed, leaving him broke. According to the Indar police station in-charge Suresh Babu Sharma, this matter too has been lodged under Section 174 of CrPC and an investigation is underway. Leveraging the spike in suicides, alleged or real, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia stepped up pressure on chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to immediately announce a waiver of farmers' loans. The chief ministers of UP and Maharashtra dont call themselves farmers sons, but they have given loan waivers to farmers. Whats stopping the Madhya Pradesh CM," asked Scindia. Presently spearheading a 72-hour satyagraha in Bhopal over the farmers' distress, Scindia asked how many more suicides would have to occur before the CM announces a loan waiver. Scindia said, There will be several issues in the 2018 Assembly polls in MP and farm loan waiver will be just one of them. It was the UPA government at the Centre which waived farmers loans worth Rs 72,000 crore in 2008-09. You can at least expect the same from the Congress in the state as well. By PTI JAMMU: Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in fierce retaliation by Indian troops as Pakistan Army today violated ceasefire thrice along the Line of Control in two sectors in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan Army resorted to shelling of mortar bombs and firing of small arms and automatic weapons on forward posts and civilians areas in the region. There have been 10 ceasefire violations in past four days and total 14 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the International Border in Jammu region since January 1, in which one civilian died and seven others were injured. In escalated terror violence in Kashmir, militants engineered seven grenade attacks and firing incidents in the Valley yesterday in which 14 policemen were injured and four rifles snatched by militants from the them. Indian troops gave a strong retaliation in which 2 Pakistani soldiers were killed opposite to Bhimbher Gali sector today, defence sources said. "Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of mortars, small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 1840 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today," Defence Spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta said. Before this third ceasefire violation in the day, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 0930 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today, he said. Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively and firing is presently on, he said. Earlier, Pakistan carried out indiscriminate firing from 0500 hours to 0545 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector in Poonch along the LoC, he added. There were 3 ceasefire violation on June 12. JAMMU: Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in fierce retaliation by Indian troops as Pakistan Army today violated ceasefire thrice along the Line of Control in two sectors in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan Army resorted to shelling of mortar bombs and firing of small arms and automatic weapons on forward posts and civilians areas in the region. There have been 10 ceasefire violations in past four days and total 14 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the International Border in Jammu region since January 1, in which one civilian died and seven others were injured. In escalated terror violence in Kashmir, militants engineered seven grenade attacks and firing incidents in the Valley yesterday in which 14 policemen were injured and four rifles snatched by militants from the them. Indian troops gave a strong retaliation in which 2 Pakistani soldiers were killed opposite to Bhimbher Gali sector today, defence sources said. "Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of mortars, small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 1840 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today," Defence Spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta said. Before this third ceasefire violation in the day, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 0930 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today, he said. Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively and firing is presently on, he said. Earlier, Pakistan carried out indiscriminate firing from 0500 hours to 0545 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector in Poonch along the LoC, he added. There were 3 ceasefire violation on June 12. By Express News Service ELURU: In a major haul, 1,000 kg of ganja was seized at Gopalapuram and Devarapalli on Wednesday. According to police, Mende Venkateswara Rao of Rajahmundry and Konchada Santhosh of Palasa procured ganja from the agency area in Srikakulam district. While the ganja was being transported by the duo to Hyderabad in a Skoda car, it collided with a lorry at Gopalapuram. Venkateswara Rao died on the spot in the incident. Santhosh was grievously injured. While retrieving the body of Venkateswara Rao from the ill-fated car, the police found 200 kg of ganja in it. The contraband was seized. Santhosh was shifted to Kovvur government hospital. A case was registered. The ganja worth J80 lakh which was seized from a van at Devarapalli on Wednesday | Express In another incident, the police seized 800 kg of ganja from an Eicher van at Devarapalli. Pilla Srinu and Sirgadam Sai of Sankaram village in Anakapalli mandal and Konala Nukaraju of Pakalapadu were smuggling the ganja in the van to Hyderabad to hand over it to Krishna, a ganja smuggler. The market value of the seized ganja which is of fine quality, was estimated at `80 lakh. According to the police, ganja is being smuggled to Hyderabad from the agency areas of North Andhra every week. Following a tip-off, the police asked the van driver to stop the vehicle on the national highway. But he tried to speed away. Then the police forcibly stopped the vehicle and arrested trio. Devarapalli Sub-Inspector P Vasu seized the contraband. Jangareddigudem DSP J Venkatrao told newsmen that Krishna of Hyderabad, the kingpin of ganja smuggling, was involved in several cases. He used to supply ganja to Maharashtra and other places in the country. The police are on the lookout for the kingpin of ganja smuggling, the DSP added. ELURU: In a major haul, 1,000 kg of ganja was seized at Gopalapuram and Devarapalli on Wednesday. According to police, Mende Venkateswara Rao of Rajahmundry and Konchada Santhosh of Palasa procured ganja from the agency area in Srikakulam district. While the ganja was being transported by the duo to Hyderabad in a Skoda car, it collided with a lorry at Gopalapuram. Venkateswara Rao died on the spot in the incident. Santhosh was grievously injured. While retrieving the body of Venkateswara Rao from the ill-fated car, the police found 200 kg of ganja in it. The contraband was seized. Santhosh was shifted to Kovvur government hospital. A case was registered. The ganja worth J80 lakh which was seized from a van at Devarapalli on Wednesday | ExpressIn another incident, the police seized 800 kg of ganja from an Eicher van at Devarapalli. Pilla Srinu and Sirgadam Sai of Sankaram village in Anakapalli mandal and Konala Nukaraju of Pakalapadu were smuggling the ganja in the van to Hyderabad to hand over it to Krishna, a ganja smuggler. The market value of the seized ganja which is of fine quality, was estimated at `80 lakh. According to the police, ganja is being smuggled to Hyderabad from the agency areas of North Andhra every week. Following a tip-off, the police asked the van driver to stop the vehicle on the national highway. But he tried to speed away. Then the police forcibly stopped the vehicle and arrested trio. Devarapalli Sub-Inspector P Vasu seized the contraband. Jangareddigudem DSP J Venkatrao told newsmen that Krishna of Hyderabad, the kingpin of ganja smuggling, was involved in several cases. He used to supply ganja to Maharashtra and other places in the country. The police are on the lookout for the kingpin of ganja smuggling, the DSP added. By Express News Service BENGALURU: The floor test in connection with the no-confidence motion against Legislative Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy will be held on Thursday morning. As expected JD(S) has left everyone guessing on whom they are going to support, as their decision will decide who will win the trust vote. By Wednesday evening, the party issued a whip to its members to attend the proceedings on Thursday but did not specify how the members are to handle the vote. A second whip with more clarity is expected to be issued on Thursday morning. Though JD(S) president H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday indicated that they would support the BJP, there was uncertainty on Wednesday. After a meeting of party MLCs on Wednesday afternoon, senior sources said JD(S) was likely to remain neutral and not take part in the vote at all. There is a certain thinking that Shankaramurthy has had enough time as chairman and others should get the chance. If we vote for Congress, then it will be seen as aligning with them for 2018 Assembly elections and aligning with BJP brings with it its own share of problems, so we are most likely to stay neutral, a source said. JD(S) MLC Ramesh Babu said, Overall, there is a feeling that we should support the BJP, but a clear picture will emerge only by Thursday 10 am, he said. BJP is likely to assess the situation in the morning and if the numbers are against them, then Shankaramurthy, whose tenure ends on June 21, 2018, will resign without going through the ignominy of losing the vote. In case of Shankaramurthys resignation, JD(S) MLC Basavaraj Horattis chance of becoming chairman increases considerably. BJP legislators are expectedly angry with the JD(S) and said this was yet another instance of backstabbing. If we do not win this, then we know how to exploit chinks in their armour. We had an understanding, but they seem to have changed their mind in less than 24 hours, a BJP legislator said. The BJP has also issued a whip to its members to be present for the vote. If JD(S) with their 13 seats pull out, then BJP will have only 23 votes along with two independents D U Mallikarjun and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. This is well below the Congress, which has 33 votes and the support of three independents M D Laxminarayan (who has promised to vote for BJP only if JD(S) supports it), Raghu Achar and Yashwantrao Patil. However, the vote of the independents becomes irrelevant if JD(S) decides to stay neutral and not take part in the vote. BENGALURU: The floor test in connection with the no-confidence motion against Legislative Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy will be held on Thursday morning. As expected JD(S) has left everyone guessing on whom they are going to support, as their decision will decide who will win the trust vote. By Wednesday evening, the party issued a whip to its members to attend the proceedings on Thursday but did not specify how the members are to handle the vote. A second whip with more clarity is expected to be issued on Thursday morning. Though JD(S) president H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday indicated that they would support the BJP, there was uncertainty on Wednesday. After a meeting of party MLCs on Wednesday afternoon, senior sources said JD(S) was likely to remain neutral and not take part in the vote at all. There is a certain thinking that Shankaramurthy has had enough time as chairman and others should get the chance. If we vote for Congress, then it will be seen as aligning with them for 2018 Assembly elections and aligning with BJP brings with it its own share of problems, so we are most likely to stay neutral, a source said. JD(S) MLC Ramesh Babu said, Overall, there is a feeling that we should support the BJP, but a clear picture will emerge only by Thursday 10 am, he said. BJP is likely to assess the situation in the morning and if the numbers are against them, then Shankaramurthy, whose tenure ends on June 21, 2018, will resign without going through the ignominy of losing the vote. In case of Shankaramurthys resignation, JD(S) MLC Basavaraj Horattis chance of becoming chairman increases considerably. BJP legislators are expectedly angry with the JD(S) and said this was yet another instance of backstabbing. If we do not win this, then we know how to exploit chinks in their armour. We had an understanding, but they seem to have changed their mind in less than 24 hours, a BJP legislator said. The BJP has also issued a whip to its members to be present for the vote. If JD(S) with their 13 seats pull out, then BJP will have only 23 votes along with two independents D U Mallikarjun and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. This is well below the Congress, which has 33 votes and the support of three independents M D Laxminarayan (who has promised to vote for BJP only if JD(S) supports it), Raghu Achar and Yashwantrao Patil. However, the vote of the independents becomes irrelevant if JD(S) decides to stay neutral and not take part in the vote. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said Niti Aayog has extended all support to Nava Kerala Mission that focusses on education, health, environment and housing. The support from the Centre has come during a meeting between the government and Niti Ayog officials. In the meeting, Niti Ayog member V K Saraswath expressed the Centres willingness to support the ambitious project of the state government. Apart from Pinarayi, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and secretaries from various departments, NITI Aayog director Neeraj Singhal and advisor-in-charge of Kerala Yogeswary were present at the meeting. Pinarayi said the Centre should allot more funds to the state considering the significance of the projects that are being implemented. On the states demand for assistance for the waterway connecting Kovalam and Kasargod, Saraswat said the issue was of much importance and would be taken up with the Centre. The Chief Minister and the Finance Minister told the meeting the state had to get ` 700 crore from the Centre as part of the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said Niti Aayog has extended all support to Nava Kerala Mission that focusses on education, health, environment and housing. The support from the Centre has come during a meeting between the government and Niti Ayog officials. In the meeting, Niti Ayog member V K Saraswath expressed the Centres willingness to support the ambitious project of the state government. Apart from Pinarayi, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and secretaries from various departments, NITI Aayog director Neeraj Singhal and advisor-in-charge of Kerala Yogeswary were present at the meeting. Pinarayi said the Centre should allot more funds to the state considering the significance of the projects that are being implemented. On the states demand for assistance for the waterway connecting Kovalam and Kasargod, Saraswat said the issue was of much importance and would be taken up with the Centre. The Chief Minister and the Finance Minister told the meeting the state had to get ` 700 crore from the Centre as part of the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. Baibhav Mishra By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: The 45-year-old widow, who was allegedly gangraped and brutally murdered in Kankadahada block of Dhenkanal, paid the price for backing her niece, who was accused of adultery by her husband. She was gored and killed by two men, one of whom happened to be her nieces husband, Hari Patra. Dhenkanal police, on Wednesday, arrested Hari along with Raghu Lohar, who is co-accused in the gangrape and murder. Two others, Ananda Patra and Sadashib Lohar, who stood guard outside the victims house, have also been arrested, Dhenkanal SP Basant Panigrahy said. All the accused are in their mid-20s and live in the same village, Balikuma. About 60 km from Dhenkanal town, Balikuma comes under Kamakhyanagar tehsil. It is primarily a tribal village located inside the forests, where Maoists once held sway. Three days before the gory incident, Hari had a tiff with his wife accusing her of having an affair with another youth, who was the brother-in-law of the victims elder son. The prime accused took the matter to the village heads and a kangaroo court directed Hari to abandon his wife. Since the 45-year-old widow stood by her niece, Hari was infuriated. On Monday night, Hari and Raghu went to the victims house to exact revenge and gangraped her while her second son was around. Afraid that she might point fingers at them later, they assaulted her with an iron rod and cooking utensils, which were inserted into her private parts. She was left bleeding profusely. It was her son, who raised an alarm and she was rushed to the nearby Primary Health Care Centre. But she succumbed on the way. While the brutality of the incident sent shockwaves, police investigation was aided by the statement of the victims son. A mobile phone, which was found from the crime scene, confused the cops as it belonged to a fifth person, Sanjay Patra, a native of Balikuma. Panigrahy said Sanjay lives in Dhenkanal and was on a visit to his village for Raja. He was invited by Hari and Raghu for a feast on the intervening night of June 12 and 13. While Sanjay was asleep, Hari had taken his mobile phone, which was left behind at scene of the crime. During interrogation and confrontation, Sanjays role was eliminated. Preliminary investigation reveals that the kangaroo courts decision and the widows support to her niece may have led to the incident, Panigrahi said. While gangrape is strongly suspected, police are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the details. A case has been registered basing on the deceaseds elder sons complaint. The victim was widowed three years back and her elder son was staying separately. BHUBANESWAR: The 45-year-old widow, who was allegedly gangraped and brutally murdered in Kankadahada block of Dhenkanal, paid the price for backing her niece, who was accused of adultery by her husband. She was gored and killed by two men, one of whom happened to be her nieces husband, Hari Patra. Dhenkanal police, on Wednesday, arrested Hari along with Raghu Lohar, who is co-accused in the gangrape and murder. Two others, Ananda Patra and Sadashib Lohar, who stood guard outside the victims house, have also been arrested, Dhenkanal SP Basant Panigrahy said. All the accused are in their mid-20s and live in the same village, Balikuma. About 60 km from Dhenkanal town, Balikuma comes under Kamakhyanagar tehsil. It is primarily a tribal village located inside the forests, where Maoists once held sway. Three days before the gory incident, Hari had a tiff with his wife accusing her of having an affair with another youth, who was the brother-in-law of the victims elder son. The prime accused took the matter to the village heads and a kangaroo court directed Hari to abandon his wife. Since the 45-year-old widow stood by her niece, Hari was infuriated. On Monday night, Hari and Raghu went to the victims house to exact revenge and gangraped her while her second son was around. Afraid that she might point fingers at them later, they assaulted her with an iron rod and cooking utensils, which were inserted into her private parts. She was left bleeding profusely. It was her son, who raised an alarm and she was rushed to the nearby Primary Health Care Centre. But she succumbed on the way. While the brutality of the incident sent shockwaves, police investigation was aided by the statement of the victims son. A mobile phone, which was found from the crime scene, confused the cops as it belonged to a fifth person, Sanjay Patra, a native of Balikuma. Panigrahy said Sanjay lives in Dhenkanal and was on a visit to his village for Raja. He was invited by Hari and Raghu for a feast on the intervening night of June 12 and 13. While Sanjay was asleep, Hari had taken his mobile phone, which was left behind at scene of the crime. During interrogation and confrontation, Sanjays role was eliminated. Preliminary investigation reveals that the kangaroo courts decision and the widows support to her niece may have led to the incident, Panigrahi said. While gangrape is strongly suspected, police are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the details. A case has been registered basing on the deceaseds elder sons complaint. The victim was widowed three years back and her elder son was staying separately. By AFP MOGADISHU: A suicide car bombing and armed assault by six Shabaab militants on two neighbouring restaurants in Somalia's capital Mogadishu ended Thursday morning with at least 18 dead, the government said. "The operation is over now and the gunmen were killed by the security forces," said Mohamed Ahmed Arab, spokesman for Somalia's security ministry. He said the six attackers -- one suicide bomber and five gunmen -- "attacked business places and killed innocent civilians: 18 civilians were killed, including a Syrian national, and more than 10 others were wounded." The attack began at around 8pm (1700GMT) on Wednesday evening with a suicide car bombing at the Posh Treats restaurant and club, after which gunmen stormed inside the nearby Pizza House restaurant. The Syrian national is believed to have been a chef at Pizza House. Both venues are popular with affluent, young and diaspora Somalis and were busy as customers broke the Ramadan fast. Islamist attacks often increase in tempo during the holy month but Wednesday's was the first major assault by the Shabaab this Ramadan. 'I could not stop my tears' The gunmen spent the night roaming the restaurant killing those they found trapped before they were eventually killed by security forces whose operation had been slowed by the darkness. Survivors and witnesses described chaos after the bomb went off. "I was about to have dinner when the blast threw me to the ground," said Abdikarim Ahmed, a customer at Posh Treats. "I rushed to the nearby exit and went out. I could see the chaos caused by the blast and shrapnel everywhere." Abdukadir Mohamed, who was close by, said it was the loudest blast he had ever heard in years living in Mogadishu. "It was very close. I could see the huge fire it caused, the dust, destruction, everything. Both Pizza House and Posh Treats were on fire. The whole area looked like a different place," he said. Others spoke of finding dead relatives and friends. "One of my neighbours was among the dead, a young innocent girl. When I saw her body this morning I could not stop my tears," said Abdiwahid Ali. Worshippers in a neighbouring mosque were thrown to the ground and felt the walls shake and windows shatter. "You cannot recognise this area," said Hawa Ahmed, a local resident and a regular at Pizza House, who had opted not to visit last night. "Where there were two beautiful restaurants, this morning there is complete devastation and death, blood and body parts everywhere." 'Nightclub' targeted The Shabaab, an al-Qaeda aligned militant group that carries out regular suicide bombings and raids in the capital against civilian, government and military targets, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted a "nightclub" frequented by "foreigners, government and intelligence officials". Pizza House, where most of the civilian victims were killed, is a popular outdoor spot for iftar, the breaking of the Ramadan fast. Posh Treats in a converted villa across the road is a liberal hangout with shisha pipes and a disco, a rarity in Mogadishu. The austere Shabaab group, which wants to impose a Taliban-style rule on Somalia, has been fighting for the last decade to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Mogadishu and has also launched attacks in Kenya and Uganda, both contributors to a 22,000-strong African Union force in the country. Although pushed out of the capital in 2011 the group still controls parts of the countryside, where a drought threatens to tip into famine this year. MOGADISHU: A suicide car bombing and armed assault by six Shabaab militants on two neighbouring restaurants in Somalia's capital Mogadishu ended Thursday morning with at least 18 dead, the government said. "The operation is over now and the gunmen were killed by the security forces," said Mohamed Ahmed Arab, spokesman for Somalia's security ministry. He said the six attackers -- one suicide bomber and five gunmen -- "attacked business places and killed innocent civilians: 18 civilians were killed, including a Syrian national, and more than 10 others were wounded." The attack began at around 8pm (1700GMT) on Wednesday evening with a suicide car bombing at the Posh Treats restaurant and club, after which gunmen stormed inside the nearby Pizza House restaurant. The Syrian national is believed to have been a chef at Pizza House. Both venues are popular with affluent, young and diaspora Somalis and were busy as customers broke the Ramadan fast. Islamist attacks often increase in tempo during the holy month but Wednesday's was the first major assault by the Shabaab this Ramadan. 'I could not stop my tears' The gunmen spent the night roaming the restaurant killing those they found trapped before they were eventually killed by security forces whose operation had been slowed by the darkness. Survivors and witnesses described chaos after the bomb went off. "I was about to have dinner when the blast threw me to the ground," said Abdikarim Ahmed, a customer at Posh Treats. "I rushed to the nearby exit and went out. I could see the chaos caused by the blast and shrapnel everywhere." Abdukadir Mohamed, who was close by, said it was the loudest blast he had ever heard in years living in Mogadishu. "It was very close. I could see the huge fire it caused, the dust, destruction, everything. Both Pizza House and Posh Treats were on fire. The whole area looked like a different place," he said. Others spoke of finding dead relatives and friends. "One of my neighbours was among the dead, a young innocent girl. When I saw her body this morning I could not stop my tears," said Abdiwahid Ali. Worshippers in a neighbouring mosque were thrown to the ground and felt the walls shake and windows shatter. "You cannot recognise this area," said Hawa Ahmed, a local resident and a regular at Pizza House, who had opted not to visit last night. "Where there were two beautiful restaurants, this morning there is complete devastation and death, blood and body parts everywhere." 'Nightclub' targeted The Shabaab, an al-Qaeda aligned militant group that carries out regular suicide bombings and raids in the capital against civilian, government and military targets, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted a "nightclub" frequented by "foreigners, government and intelligence officials". Pizza House, where most of the civilian victims were killed, is a popular outdoor spot for iftar, the breaking of the Ramadan fast. Posh Treats in a converted villa across the road is a liberal hangout with shisha pipes and a disco, a rarity in Mogadishu. The austere Shabaab group, which wants to impose a Taliban-style rule on Somalia, has been fighting for the last decade to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Mogadishu and has also launched attacks in Kenya and Uganda, both contributors to a 22,000-strong African Union force in the country. Although pushed out of the capital in 2011 the group still controls parts of the countryside, where a drought threatens to tip into famine this year. By PTI BEIJING: Police have identified a suspect in an explosion at the front gate of a kindergarten in eastern China that killed eight and struck as relatives gathered to pick up their children at the end of the day, local authorities said Friday. Police were investigating the explosion as a criminal act and said they had "targeted" a suspect, according to a statement issued by authorities in the city of Xuzhou and the official Xinhua News Agency. It was unclear if the suspect was apprehended and no potential motive was provided. A witness cited by state media said a gas cylinder at a roadside food stall had caused the blast. Two people died at the scene and six died after being taken to a hospital following the explosion at 4:50 p.m. Thursday at the Chuangxin Kindergarten in Fengxian. Initial reports said 59 were injured, but Xinhua and other media reported Friday that 65 were injured including eight who remained in critical condition. The blast occurred before school had let out for the day and no students or teachers from the kindergarten were injured, according to a statement from local authorities. However, videos purportedly from the scene showed children possibly relatives of the kindergartners or passers-by among the casualties. The videos posted by the state-run People's Daily showed a chaotic scene outside the entrance to the school, with children and adults lying on the ground, some of them motionless and others struggling to get up off the ground. Clothing, shoes and other items were strewn on the ground beside pools of blood. The videos showed ambulances arriving, medics wheeling people into an emergency room and medical personnel treating what appeared to be a child. Kindergartens in China have been attacked before by suspects authorities have said were mentally ill or bore grudges against their neighbors and society. A witness identified only by the surname Shi told the state-run Global Times in the hours after the explosion that a gas cylinder at a roadside food stall had caused the blast. The force of the blast sent people flying several meters (yards) into the air, Shi was quoted as saying. In 2010, nearly 20 children were killed in attacks on schools, prompting a response from top government officials and leading many schools to beef up security by posting guards and installing gates and other barriers. Last year, a knife-wielding assailant injured seven students outside a primary school in a northern city. China maintains tight control over firearms and most attacks are carried out using knives, axes or homemade explosives. BEIJING: Police have identified a suspect in an explosion at the front gate of a kindergarten in eastern China that killed eight and struck as relatives gathered to pick up their children at the end of the day, local authorities said Friday. Police were investigating the explosion as a criminal act and said they had "targeted" a suspect, according to a statement issued by authorities in the city of Xuzhou and the official Xinhua News Agency. It was unclear if the suspect was apprehended and no potential motive was provided. A witness cited by state media said a gas cylinder at a roadside food stall had caused the blast. Two people died at the scene and six died after being taken to a hospital following the explosion at 4:50 p.m. Thursday at the Chuangxin Kindergarten in Fengxian. Initial reports said 59 were injured, but Xinhua and other media reported Friday that 65 were injured including eight who remained in critical condition. The blast occurred before school had let out for the day and no students or teachers from the kindergarten were injured, according to a statement from local authorities. However, videos purportedly from the scene showed children possibly relatives of the kindergartners or passers-by among the casualties. The videos posted by the state-run People's Daily showed a chaotic scene outside the entrance to the school, with children and adults lying on the ground, some of them motionless and others struggling to get up off the ground. Clothing, shoes and other items were strewn on the ground beside pools of blood. The videos showed ambulances arriving, medics wheeling people into an emergency room and medical personnel treating what appeared to be a child. Kindergartens in China have been attacked before by suspects authorities have said were mentally ill or bore grudges against their neighbors and society. A witness identified only by the surname Shi told the state-run Global Times in the hours after the explosion that a gas cylinder at a roadside food stall had caused the blast. The force of the blast sent people flying several meters (yards) into the air, Shi was quoted as saying. In 2010, nearly 20 children were killed in attacks on schools, prompting a response from top government officials and leading many schools to beef up security by posting guards and installing gates and other barriers. Last year, a knife-wielding assailant injured seven students outside a primary school in a northern city. China maintains tight control over firearms and most attacks are carried out using knives, axes or homemade explosives. By Associated Press SAO PAULO: A former Brazilian congressman imprisoned on corruption charges on Wednesday denied allegations he ever received hush money. Eduardo Cunha was once speaker of the country's lower house and is now serving a 15-year sentence. He told Federal Police on Wednesday that he never received money to keep silent about the kickback-corruption scandal at state-owned oil company Petrobras. The scandal has ensnared dozens of high-level politicians and executives. The O Globo newspaper last month reported the existence of a tape recording in which President Michel Temer appears to condone the payment of bribes to Cunha. Prosecutors have said that in the recording Temer is heard authorizing a meatpacking company executive named Joesley Batista to pay Cunha the equivalent of about $150,000 a week to prevent him from reaching a plea bargain deal. Temer said the incriminating audio recording was "manipulated and doctored with (bad) intentions." Cunha led the impeachment proceedings against former President Dilma Rousseff on charges of manipulating the fiscal budget. Her ouster put Temer into office. "His silence was never up for sale," Cunha's attorney Rodrigo Sanchez Rios told reporters. "Neither President Temer or any of his representatives approached him to buy his silence." Call to Rios' office for more details went unreturned. The recordings increased the calls for the resignation of Temer whose administration is beset in several corruption scandals. The attorney general is considering pressing charges against him for allegedly receiving bribes, over the audio recording and for allegedly trying to obstruct a colossal investigation into billions of dollars in inflated contracts and kickbacks to politicians. Last week, he received a boost from a decision by the country's top electoral court to reject allegations of illegal campaign finance and keep him in office. Temer has denied wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office. SAO PAULO: A former Brazilian congressman imprisoned on corruption charges on Wednesday denied allegations he ever received hush money. Eduardo Cunha was once speaker of the country's lower house and is now serving a 15-year sentence. He told Federal Police on Wednesday that he never received money to keep silent about the kickback-corruption scandal at state-owned oil company Petrobras. The scandal has ensnared dozens of high-level politicians and executives. The O Globo newspaper last month reported the existence of a tape recording in which President Michel Temer appears to condone the payment of bribes to Cunha. Prosecutors have said that in the recording Temer is heard authorizing a meatpacking company executive named Joesley Batista to pay Cunha the equivalent of about $150,000 a week to prevent him from reaching a plea bargain deal. Temer said the incriminating audio recording was "manipulated and doctored with (bad) intentions." Cunha led the impeachment proceedings against former President Dilma Rousseff on charges of manipulating the fiscal budget. Her ouster put Temer into office. "His silence was never up for sale," Cunha's attorney Rodrigo Sanchez Rios told reporters. "Neither President Temer or any of his representatives approached him to buy his silence." Call to Rios' office for more details went unreturned. The recordings increased the calls for the resignation of Temer whose administration is beset in several corruption scandals. The attorney general is considering pressing charges against him for allegedly receiving bribes, over the audio recording and for allegedly trying to obstruct a colossal investigation into billions of dollars in inflated contracts and kickbacks to politicians. Last week, he received a boost from a decision by the country's top electoral court to reject allegations of illegal campaign finance and keep him in office. Temer has denied wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office. By PTI UNITED NATIONS: In a significant victory for India at the UN, international law expert Neeru Chadha has won a crucial election to a top UN judicial body that deals with disputes related to the law of the sea, becoming the first Indian woman to be appointed as a judge at the tribunal. Chadha, an eminent lawyer and the first Indian woman to become the chief legal adviser in the ministry of external affairs, won the election yesterday to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026. Chadha got 120 votes, the highest in the Asia Pacific group and was elected in the first round of voting itself. The candidate from Indonesia got 58 votes, Lebanon 60 and Thailand 86. All three candidates went to a second round of voting in which Thailand won the other seat in the Asia Pacific group. Election was held here for a total of seven seats. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin expressed gratitude for the broad support of countries that resulted in Chadha's "emphatic success" at the elections to the ITLOS. "It reflects both an appreciation of India's global standing in matters of international law and the recognition for Chadha's expertise as a lawyer and negotiator on contemporary issues related to the Law of the Seas," Akbaruddin told PTI. "The Tribunal is composed of 21 independent members who are elected from among persons enjoying the highest reputation for fairness and integrity and of recognised competence in the field of the law of the sea," according to the information on the ITLOS website. Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson in New Delhi hailed Chadha's elections to the ITLOS saying, "Indian expertise on ITLOS stage! Neeru Chadha elected as 1st woman on Int'l Tribunal 4 Law of Seas w/ most votes in Asia Pacific Group." The Hamburg-based ITLOS, established in 1996, is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994. Chadha has extensive international arbitration and litigation experience, having served as an agent for the Indian government in its maritime delimitation case with Bangladesh. She was also India's agent for the case filed by Italy in ITLOS involving two Italian marines accused of shooting two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. Currently, eminent jurist from India P Chandrasekhara Rao is a judge at the tribunal. He was elected member of the tribunal in 1996 and his term will expire in September 2017. Chadha is only the second woman to be judge of ITLOS in its two decades of existence, where there have been a total of 40 judges, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said in a statement. Chadha holds law degrees including PhD in law from the University of Delhi and the University of Michigan. She was also the first woman chief legal adviser to the Indian government and has advised the government on diverse issues relating to the law of the sea involving interpretation of various provisions of the UNCLOS including determining the extent of coastal state's jurisdiction in different maritime zones, maritime delimitation with neighbouring states and legal issues relating to submissions on extended continental shelf. Chadha has also served as an agent before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case concerning the Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to cessation of nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament with Marshall Islands. She has represented the Indian government in various other multilateral meetings and conferences in the United Nations, AALCO (Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation), UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law), UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law). Chadha has also represented Indian government at The Hague Conference, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and ay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on subjects relating to human rights, humanitarian law, international trade, international terrorism and international criminal law. UNITED NATIONS: In a significant victory for India at the UN, international law expert Neeru Chadha has won a crucial election to a top UN judicial body that deals with disputes related to the law of the sea, becoming the first Indian woman to be appointed as a judge at the tribunal. Chadha, an eminent lawyer and the first Indian woman to become the chief legal adviser in the ministry of external affairs, won the election yesterday to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026. Chadha got 120 votes, the highest in the Asia Pacific group and was elected in the first round of voting itself. The candidate from Indonesia got 58 votes, Lebanon 60 and Thailand 86. All three candidates went to a second round of voting in which Thailand won the other seat in the Asia Pacific group. Election was held here for a total of seven seats. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin expressed gratitude for the broad support of countries that resulted in Chadha's "emphatic success" at the elections to the ITLOS. "It reflects both an appreciation of India's global standing in matters of international law and the recognition for Chadha's expertise as a lawyer and negotiator on contemporary issues related to the Law of the Seas," Akbaruddin told PTI. "The Tribunal is composed of 21 independent members who are elected from among persons enjoying the highest reputation for fairness and integrity and of recognised competence in the field of the law of the sea," according to the information on the ITLOS website. Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson in New Delhi hailed Chadha's elections to the ITLOS saying, "Indian expertise on ITLOS stage! Neeru Chadha elected as 1st woman on Int'l Tribunal 4 Law of Seas w/ most votes in Asia Pacific Group." The Hamburg-based ITLOS, established in 1996, is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994. Chadha has extensive international arbitration and litigation experience, having served as an agent for the Indian government in its maritime delimitation case with Bangladesh. She was also India's agent for the case filed by Italy in ITLOS involving two Italian marines accused of shooting two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. Currently, eminent jurist from India P Chandrasekhara Rao is a judge at the tribunal. He was elected member of the tribunal in 1996 and his term will expire in September 2017. Chadha is only the second woman to be judge of ITLOS in its two decades of existence, where there have been a total of 40 judges, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said in a statement. Chadha holds law degrees including PhD in law from the University of Delhi and the University of Michigan. She was also the first woman chief legal adviser to the Indian government and has advised the government on diverse issues relating to the law of the sea involving interpretation of various provisions of the UNCLOS including determining the extent of coastal state's jurisdiction in different maritime zones, maritime delimitation with neighbouring states and legal issues relating to submissions on extended continental shelf. Chadha has also served as an agent before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case concerning the Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to cessation of nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament with Marshall Islands. She has represented the Indian government in various other multilateral meetings and conferences in the United Nations, AALCO (Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation), UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law), UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law). Chadha has also represented Indian government at The Hague Conference, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and ay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on subjects relating to human rights, humanitarian law, international trade, international terrorism and international criminal law. By Associated Press SEOUL: North Korea released US student Otto Warmbier "on humanitarian grounds", state media said Thursday, two days after he was evacuated from Pyongyang after falling into a coma while imprisoned in a labour camp. The 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Cincinnati spent more than a year in North Korean detention after being arrested for stealing a political poster from a hotel. His family have said he was "terrorised and brutalised" by Kim Jong-Un's regime. "Otto Frederick Warmbier, who had been in hard labour, was sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a one-line statement. Warmbier's release came after a flurry of secret diplomatic contacts between Washington and Pyongyang, which culminated in Joseph Yun, the State Department's special envoy on North Korea, travelling to Pyongyang to secure Warmbier's release. "Joseph Yun went to Pyongyang to accompany Mr Warmbier home," Thomas Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters in Seoul Wednesday. Warmbier's parents Fred and Cindy have said that they were told their son had been in a coma since March 2016, allegedly after falling ill from botulism and being given a sleeping pill. "Otto is not in great shape right now," Fred Warmbier told Fox News Wednesday. Warmbier had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour, a sentence the US decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime, accusing the North of using him as a political pawn. The New York Times reported a senior US official as saying the authorities recently received intelligence indicating Warmbier was repeatedly beaten while in custody. The release came amid tension between Washington and Pyongyang following a series of missile tests by the North, focusing attention on an arms buildup that Pentagon chief Jim Mattis on Monday dubbed "a clear and present danger to all." The North has occasionally jailed US citizens and released them only after visits by high-profile political figures, including former president Bill Clinton. SEOUL: North Korea released US student Otto Warmbier "on humanitarian grounds", state media said Thursday, two days after he was evacuated from Pyongyang after falling into a coma while imprisoned in a labour camp. The 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Cincinnati spent more than a year in North Korean detention after being arrested for stealing a political poster from a hotel. His family have said he was "terrorised and brutalised" by Kim Jong-Un's regime. "Otto Frederick Warmbier, who had been in hard labour, was sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a one-line statement. Warmbier's release came after a flurry of secret diplomatic contacts between Washington and Pyongyang, which culminated in Joseph Yun, the State Department's special envoy on North Korea, travelling to Pyongyang to secure Warmbier's release. "Joseph Yun went to Pyongyang to accompany Mr Warmbier home," Thomas Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters in Seoul Wednesday. Warmbier's parents Fred and Cindy have said that they were told their son had been in a coma since March 2016, allegedly after falling ill from botulism and being given a sleeping pill. "Otto is not in great shape right now," Fred Warmbier told Fox News Wednesday. Warmbier had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour, a sentence the US decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime, accusing the North of using him as a political pawn. The New York Times reported a senior US official as saying the authorities recently received intelligence indicating Warmbier was repeatedly beaten while in custody. The release came amid tension between Washington and Pyongyang following a series of missile tests by the North, focusing attention on an arms buildup that Pentagon chief Jim Mattis on Monday dubbed "a clear and present danger to all." The North has occasionally jailed US citizens and released them only after visits by high-profile political figures, including former president Bill Clinton. By ANI LONDON: In a beautiful gesture symbolic of accommodating religious sentiments, a professor at the University of Washington offered to conduct examinations after sunset for his Muslim students, who are fasting during the holy month of Ramzan. This decision was taken Bryan White, a biology professor at the aforementioned university after learning of a students dip in concentration due to the lack of food intake. Owing to religious norms, the student, who has been fasting, was not able to concentrate on her studies, and therefore saw a dip in her grades. Upon confrontation, her professor, Dr. White, decided to conduct the examination in two batches-one in the morning for his regular students and the second one post sunset, thus giving his Muslim students a chance to have a meal before appearing for their examination. To me, this was a very simple thing. It's not uncommon for me to be at work until midnight anyway. I want them (the students) to think, 'this class really cares about each other, The Independent quoted Dr. White saying to the Seattle Times. This move has been largely lauded by the Muslim students, as it is believed to have instilled a greater sense of confidence in them. Following this move, two other professors have the university have also offered to conduct two separate sessions. LONDON: In a beautiful gesture symbolic of accommodating religious sentiments, a professor at the University of Washington offered to conduct examinations after sunset for his Muslim students, who are fasting during the holy month of Ramzan. This decision was taken Bryan White, a biology professor at the aforementioned university after learning of a students dip in concentration due to the lack of food intake. Owing to religious norms, the student, who has been fasting, was not able to concentrate on her studies, and therefore saw a dip in her grades. Upon confrontation, her professor, Dr. White, decided to conduct the examination in two batches-one in the morning for his regular students and the second one post sunset, thus giving his Muslim students a chance to have a meal before appearing for their examination. To me, this was a very simple thing. It's not uncommon for me to be at work until midnight anyway. I want them (the students) to think, 'this class really cares about each other, The Independent quoted Dr. White saying to the Seattle Times. This move has been largely lauded by the Muslim students, as it is believed to have instilled a greater sense of confidence in them. Following this move, two other professors have the university have also offered to conduct two separate sessions. By IANS Forty-six years after John Lennon gave the world Imagine, his wife Yoko Ono, who had contributed by way of the concept and the lyrics of the song, is now being given due credit as a songwriter along with the former Beatles legend. The National Music Publishers Association, at its annual meeting in New York on Wednesday, made the surprise announcement when Ono and her son Sean Ono Lennon came to pick up the organisations new prize of naming the 1971 number Imagine as the song of the century. At the ceremony, a BBC interview from 1980 featuring Lennon and Ono, was played in which the former Beatles star admits that Ono provided not just inspiration for the iconic song, but a lot of the lyrics too. "A lot of it - the lyric and the concept - came from Yoko," John said in the video, according to the BBC. "But those days I was a bit more selfish, a bit more macho, and I sort of omitted to mention her contribution. "But it was right out of Grapefruit, her book (of poetry). There's a whole pile of pieces about 'Imagine this' and 'Imagine that,'" Lennon said. The Washington Post reported that Lennon, in a tone that suggested he was embarrassed at his earlier sexism, says in the video: If it had been a male, you know Harry Nilssons Old Dirt Road, its Lennon-Nilsson. But when we did [Imagine] I just put Lennon because, you know, shes just the wife and you dont put her name on, right? More than forty years later, due credit is finally being given. An excited Sean Ono Lennon spoke to Billboard magazine about the announcement. When they officially acknowledged - through my father's account - that my mother co-wrote Imagine, the song of the century, it may have been the happiest day of mine and [my] mother's life," he was quoted as saying. The addition of credit, though underway, is likely to face some opposition, said NMPA CEO David Israelite, who explained that according to US Law a song becomes devoid of copyright and enters the public domain 70 years after the death of its last creator. Adding Yokos name would extend that time period, during which it will continue to earn revenue for its rights holders. Yoko, however, already has rights to Lennons estate, and the income distributed from royalties, therefore, will not significantly be altered, reported the BBC. Imagine was created by John Lennon (and Yoko Ono) in 1971 after he split from the Beatles. The song topped the charts after Lennon was shot dead in 1980. Forty-six years after John Lennon gave the world Imagine, his wife Yoko Ono, who had contributed by way of the concept and the lyrics of the song, is now being given due credit as a songwriter along with the former Beatles legend. The National Music Publishers Association, at its annual meeting in New York on Wednesday, made the surprise announcement when Ono and her son Sean Ono Lennon came to pick up the organisations new prize of naming the 1971 number Imagine as the song of the century. At the ceremony, a BBC interview from 1980 featuring Lennon and Ono, was played in which the former Beatles star admits that Ono provided not just inspiration for the iconic song, but a lot of the lyrics too. "A lot of it - the lyric and the concept - came from Yoko," John said in the video, according to the BBC. "But those days I was a bit more selfish, a bit more macho, and I sort of omitted to mention her contribution. "But it was right out of Grapefruit, her book (of poetry). There's a whole pile of pieces about 'Imagine this' and 'Imagine that,'" Lennon said. The Washington Post reported that Lennon, in a tone that suggested he was embarrassed at his earlier sexism, says in the video: If it had been a male, you know Harry Nilssons Old Dirt Road, its Lennon-Nilsson. But when we did [Imagine] I just put Lennon because, you know, shes just the wife and you dont put her name on, right? More than forty years later, due credit is finally being given. An excited Sean Ono Lennon spoke to Billboard magazine about the announcement. When they officially acknowledged - through my father's account - that my mother co-wrote Imagine, the song of the century, it may have been the happiest day of mine and [my] mother's life," he was quoted as saying. The addition of credit, though underway, is likely to face some opposition, said NMPA CEO David Israelite, who explained that according to US Law a song becomes devoid of copyright and enters the public domain 70 years after the death of its last creator. Adding Yokos name would extend that time period, during which it will continue to earn revenue for its rights holders. Yoko, however, already has rights to Lennons estate, and the income distributed from royalties, therefore, will not significantly be altered, reported the BBC. Imagine was created by John Lennon (and Yoko Ono) in 1971 after he split from the Beatles. The song topped the charts after Lennon was shot dead in 1980. RECORDER REPORT ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Wednesday, reported 135 Covid-19 deaths, the highest number of coronavirus deaths since June 2020, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said. According to NCOC data, the national tally of active Covid-19 cases recorded at 76,757 with 4,681 more people tested positive for the deadly virus. The NCOC said that 3,645 people recovered from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours taking the national tally of recoveries to 641,912, which is almost 90 percent. Out of 135 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, 126 were under treatment in various hospitals and nine died at their respective quarantines centres or homes.Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) recorded the most Covid-19 deaths in past 24 hours as 79 coronavirus patients died in Punjab and 49 in KPK. Out of 15,754 coronavirus deaths recorded in the country since the pandemics outbreak in Pakistan, Punjab with 7,141 deaths is on top followed by Sindh with 4,530 deaths, KPK with 2,732 deaths, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) with 619 deaths of which two died in the past 24 hours, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) with 410 deaths of which three died in past 24 hours, Balochistan with 219 deaths of which two died in past 24 hours, and Gilgit Baltistan (G-B) with 103 deaths. Out of the total 135 deaths reported in past 24 hours, 45 died on ventilators during treatment. Gujranwala with 88 percent ventilator occupancy is on top with the maximum ventilators occupied followed by Multan with 81 percent, Lahore with 79 percent and ICT with 51 percent. Nationwide 504 ventilators were occupied, while no Covid-affected person was on ventilator in G-B and Balochistan. The maximum Oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per medical requirement of Covid patient) was also occupied in four major areas of Swabi 95 percent, Gujranwala 85 percent, Peshawar 74 percent, and Charsadda 93 percent. In past 24 hours, 48,092 tests were conducted across the country, including 10,176 in Sindh, 22,781 in Punjab, 6,874 in KPK, 5,493 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,230 in Balochistan, 535 in G-B, and 1,003 in AJK. A total of 10,878,086 corona tests have been conducted so far, while 630 hospitals are equipped with Covid-related facilities. Some 5,056 corona patients were admitted in hospitals across the country. Around 734,423 coronavirus cases reported in Pakistan since the pandemic outbreak include the deaths, recovered and under treatment Covid-19 patients, Sindh with 269,840 cases is on top, followed by Punjab with 255,571 cases, KPK with 101,045 cases, ICT with 67,491 cases, Balochistan with 20,499 cases, AJK with 14,837 cases, and G-B with 5,140 cases. RECORDER REPORT ISLAMABAD The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has worked out a reduction in ex-depot prices of petroleum products for the second half of April owning to downward trend in global oil prices in current months. Sources said that OGRA has recommended a reduction in price of petrol by Rs0.49 per liter and Rs1.55 per liter in rate of high diesel oil (HSD) with effect from April 15 to April 30. These two pol products are the major revenue to generate general sale tax and petroleum levy (PL). The oil and gas regulator computed the new rates based at 17 percent GST and PL rates notified on the POL for first half of April. Sources said that the government may not reduce the ex-depot prices of petrol and HSD as it did not pass on full impact of increased global oil prices in recent months. The government may increase the rate of PL which reduced to Rs11.23 per litre on petrol and PL on HSD to Rs15.29 per litre after charging Rs30 per litre for many months. Currently, the government is also charging levy on kerosene and LDO at the rate of Rs1.74 and Rs1.38 per litre, respectively. There was no levy on these two products before. If recommendations of the OGRA accepts, new ex-depot rate of HSD would be fixed at Rs111.53 per litre instead of Rs113.08 per litre at present. Likewise, the ex-depot petrol price would be set at Rs109.86 instead of current price of Rs110.35 per liter. Championship game berths on the line for Island football teams The stakes dont get much higher for the Portsmouth, Middletown and Rogers high school football teams this weekend. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Mainly clear skies. Low 44F. S winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low 44F. S winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. New research conducted at the University of Kansas Medical Center could make treatment for gastrointestinal cancers safer- while also helping to mitigate the dangers of nuclear accidents and terrorist attacks. The research, led by Subhrajit Saha, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at KU Medical Center, began more than five years ago when his team embarked on a quest to understand the biology behind radiation-induced gastrointestinal syndrome (RIGS)- a serious risk for people being treated for stomach, pancreatic, colorectal and other cancers in the abdominal area. RIGS prevents the body from absorbing nutrients and often causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. RIGS occurs primarily when radiation treatment for these abdominal cancers destroys healthy tissue in the GI tract, especially the outer layer of the intestines, known as the epithelium. And when the epithelium is lost, bacteria can spill into the body and cause sepsis, which can kill a patient. Because there is no drug treatment for RIGS, doctors must turn to radiation to treat their patients, which requires them to use extreme caution up to the point of compromising on the necessary treatment. This is of specific concern to cancer patients as more than half of patients treated with abdominal radiotherapy are affected by RIGS. "That's why when the colon is involved, doctors don't want to treat with radiation," said Saha. "And often they can't use aggressive doses of radiation even for other organs in the area because of the sensitivity of the epithelium. They have to be very, very careful." RIGS also occurs when people are subjected to radiation through a nuclear accident or a nuclear attack. "This is hugely significant- the government has been investing in research for an effective countermeasure for terrorism involving radiation," says Saha. "The problem is, it's hard to treat someone post-radiation because the damage happens so fast, and the patient typical dies in seven to 10 days." Macrophages, the Pac-Men for cellular debris, help intestinal stem cells regenerate While Saha was still at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, his research team began with the knowledge that one reason RIGS is so hard to treat is that the abdominal area of the body has a high turnover of intestinal stem cells. Cells like these that divide quickly are especially susceptible to damage from radiation because their DNA gets more exposed. To figure out how to get around that, the researchers needed to know more about the biology of the epithelium, specifically how intestinal stem cells (ISCs) renew and proliferate. They published their first discovery six years ago, after they injected radiation-injured mice with stromal cells, a mixture of different cell types that make up connective tissue, and found that they stimulated intestinal stem cell regeneration and lessened the damage done by RIGS. Now they knew that ISCs depend on the stromal niche to reproduce new cells, and of the different types of stromal cells, the macrophages were critical. Macrophages are white blood cells that eat up cellular debris, especially infected cells. "We knew that macrophages are the missionaries of the immune system," said Saha. "But we learned they also assist in organ growth, repair, and regeneration." The question was how? Solving the mystery of intestinal stem cell renewal The first question for Saha, who had by then moved to KU Medical Center, was whether macrophages can help intestinal stem cells self-renew and multiply. The researchers had read studies showing that WNT proteins- a family of proteins that regulate the proliferation of cells, and related signaling- were very important for the intestinal stem cell renewal and proliferation. Moreover, they have found that macrophages also release these WNT proteins. To learn more, the researchers set up a mouse model to halt the release of all 19 varieties of WNTs specifically produced by macrophages. They found that mice without macrophage-derived WNT were much more sensitive to radiation and had more severe intestinal injury from radiation compared to mice who had not been treated. "This told me that macrophage-derived WNT is important for intestinal resistance to radiation," said Saha. For Saha, this discovery made for one of his best days in the lab, but it also was just the first finding. Additional studies showed that damage could be repaired in mice treated with macrophages capable of releasing WNT proteins. The intestinal epithelium was repaired, and the intestinal stem cells were also rescued. Multiple subsequent studies have since reinforced their findings. They have confirmed that WNT release by macrophages is essential to the regeneration of intestinal stem cells and repair of epithelial tissue. Interestingly, in mice not exposed to radiation, WNTs don't seem critical to keeping the intestines healthy. But where there is a need for regeneration, they become critical. "We were very much surprised," Saha said. "Macrophages are known for immune system surveillance, but now we know that they can get involved in organ repair." It's all in the packaging Working in collaboration with Andrew Godwin, Ph.D., deputy director of the University of Kansas Center Center, and his team, Saha's team also observed that macrophages release the WNTs via extracellular vesicles, tiny sacs of membrane released from the surface of cells. "That was not known," said Saha. "Now we know how WNTS are transported in the system." Armed with this knowledge, researchers can begin to think about developing therapies using macrophage-derived WNT to allow doctors to treat gastrointestinal cancers more aggressively and lessen the damage done in the event of a nuclear mishap. Saha's team is currently working to develop small molecules that can modulate these macrophages to augment their role in regeneration. "We are confident that we can come up with an answer for the mitigation of acute radiation syndrome very soon," he said. Researchers with the National Center for PTSD at the VA Boston Healthcare System found that engaging in risky behavior--itself a symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder--could in turn lead to worse PTSD symptoms. This sets up a pattern of repeated stressful experiences, they say, that could have harmful consequences for those with PTSD. As Dr. Naomi Sadeh, corresponding author on the article, explains: "For individuals with PTSD, exposure to new stressful events will often prolong their symptoms and can even make them worse. So these findings suggest that treatment providers should ask trauma-exposed veterans about reckless behavior to make sure they are not engaging in harmful behaviors that could make their PTSD symptoms worse." The results appeared in a May 2017 issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress. Recent research has found evidence of a link between risky behavior and PTSD. Because of this relationship, "reckless and self-destructive behavior" has been added as a symptom of PTSD in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the handbook used to diagnose psychiatric conditions. The new study assessed more than 200 veterans with PTSD diagnoses for both PTSD severity and reckless behavior at the beginning of the study, starting in 2006, and again four years later. Nearly three-quarters had engaged in reckless or self-destructive behavior at least once in the five years before the study. The most common behaviors identified in this study were dangerous alcohol or drug use, drunken driving, gambling, and aggression. The researchers found a correlation between risky behavior and higher PTSD severity at both time points. The results lend further evidence that risky behavior is common among trauma-exposed veterans. "These types of high-risk behaviors appear to be common among veterans who have experienced trauma, and put veterans in harm's way by making it more likely that they will experience stress and adversity in the future," says Sadeh. But the study revealed more about the relationship between PTSD and risky behavior. In the time between the two tests, 82 percent of participants experienced at least one potentially traumatic event. These events included experiencing the sudden death of a friend or loved one; being threatened with or being the victim of a physical assault; being involved in a motor vehicle accident, or witnessing any severe accident; experiencing a life-threatening or disabling event affecting a loved one, or coping with a life-threatening illness. Not only did the presence of risky behavior at baseline correlate with future PTSD symptoms, but it was also tied to the likelihood of experiencing new traumatic events. This led the researchers to suggest that risky behavior may lead to worse PTSD symptoms in the future by leading to a greater number of stressful life events. The findings suggest that many veterans with PTSD continue to experience stressful events that may prolong or worsen their PTSD symptoms, even years after the initial trauma. The study authors write, "Driving while intoxicated, for example, increases the likelihood of experiencing a traumatic motor vehicle accident, overt aggression can elicit assaultive behavior from others, and drug use can increase exposure to drug-related crime and physical injury." In other words, risky and harmful behaviors could lead to more trauma and, in turn, worse PSTD over time. The results are of particular interest to VA. In addition to having much higher rates of PTSD, veterans are also more likely to engage in risky behavior. Veterans are at around 50 percent higher risk of suicide than civilians. They are also more frequently incarcerated for violent offenses and more likely to drive recklessly. Veterans also have higher rates of binge drinking and pathological gambling than their non-veteran counterparts. VA and other health care systems need to focus on more assessment and treatment of problematic behavior in trauma-exposed individuals, say the researchers. They write, "Considering the number of veterans who have been diagnosed with PTSD and are reintegrated into society, understanding how reckless behaviors relate to the maintenance of PTSD symptoms is an important area of study." Twins girls Abby and Erin Delaney are 10 months old and were conjoined at their head until an 11 hour separation surgery last week at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia in south eastern Pennsylvania. The North Carolina girls who underwent this surgery were born with their heads connected. Like most identical twins the two embyros tend to split into two in early pregnancy. In case of conjoined twins the separation is not complete. Jesse Taylor, a plastic surgeon who co-led the operation with neurosurgeon Gregory Heuer in their statement said that this was a very complex surgery and this would require a long and complicated recovery phase before the two are completely normal and ready to go home. The twins are recovering at present in their Pediatric Intensive Care Unit under close monitoring they said. 10-Month-Old Twins Joined at the Head Successfully Separated Play Conjoined twins who are connected at their heads are called craniopagus twins. Conjoined twins occur rarely as such with once in every 200,000 births. Of these only 2% are craniopagus say experts. This is a rare form of conjoined twins. The survival of either twin or both depends on the extent and type of connection between the two say the expert team. Most craniopagus twins do not survive say experts. Riley and Heather Delaney, the parents of Abby and Erin, became aware that Heather was carrying craniopagus twins when she was 11 weeks pregnant. Heather Delaney travelled to Pennsylvania for her prenatal care right after that to ensure a better outcome for her babies. It was still too soon to know if the twins would separate or what would be their fate at birth. The hospital facility at Philadelphia, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia CHOP, specializes in mothers who are pregnant with babies who have congenital conditions. Abby and Erin were delivered by C-section 10 weeks before the expected dates of delivery on July 24, 2016. They weighed around 2 pounds each. Since then they were intensively cared for and their separation was planned meticulously. This surgery is a complex one involving high risks say other experts in the field. It requires a team of neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, pediatric surgeons, critical-care physicians and anesthetists. Brain scans and 3D models of the brain are extensively studied to find the best and safest possible method to separate the connection say experts. The complexity of the operation is directly dependent on the extent of the connection and on where the babies are joined including the blood vessels and brain tissues that the twins are sharing. Separation surgeries are also ethical issues say experts in the field. Both twins may not survive the ordeal and one of the twins may receive poorer blood supplies or tissues compared to other. One of them may have more neurological problems compared to the other. It may be some time before we know the outcome of this surgery in terms of neurological success said the team. The surgery on 6th of June included a team of thirty doctors, nurses and other medical personnel. This was a first operation of its kind for this hospital. The hospital has separated 22 other pairs of conjoined twins over the last six decades but this was the first craniopagus twin they worked on. Extensive planning went into the surgery with each baby being colour coded green or purple. The team worked on a single body before separation followed by splitting into two teams once the babies were apart. First the shared blood vessels and linings of the brain (dura mater a membrane protecting the brain) were separated. A major part of the brain, the saggital sinus was then separated. Then the girls were split as were the teams who performed the reconstruction surgeries said Heuer. The twins are likely to go home later this year but may require further surgeries. Three executives from Japan loom large in a cramped courtroom here at least their photos do, mounted on a white poster board propped in front of the jury. "They were the key decision-makers," one attorney said during opening arguments to a lawsuit brought by a local widow against a giant Tokyo-based medical device maker. Theresa Bigler's case is the first to go to trial in the U.S. stemming from a series of deadly superbug outbreaks across the country that were linked to contaminated medical scopes. She is suing Olympus Corp., claiming that one of its tainted devices caused the infection that led to her husband's death in August 2013. The Olympus executives, her attorneys say, remained silent for too long about a design flaw that hindered cleaning of these reusable scopes. The executives, however, will not be testifying. "Each is currently under criminal investigation and would potentially risk their freedom to attend," Olympus said in a May 22 court filing. Each executive invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in depositions late last year in Tokyo. Jurors were shown this poster of three Olympus Corp. executives, who declined to appear at a Seattle trial due to a separate U.S. criminal investigation into scope-related infections. (Chad Terhune/California Healthline) Richard Bigler, 57, was one of at least 35 patients in American hospitals to have died since 2013 after developing infections tied to Olympus duodenoscopes flexible, lighted tubes used to peer deep inside the body. More than 25 patients and families, from California to Pennsylvania, have sued Olympus alleging wrongful death, negligence or fraud. Several members of Biglers family testified this week, tearfully recalling how they thought the funny, affectionate husband, father and grandfather was beating pancreatic cancer diagnosed in late 2012 then he contracted the infection. His wife told jurors Wednesday that he declined so rapidly, neither she nor her four children had a chance to say goodbye. Only months later, when she read a newspaper account of an outbreak of drug-resistant infections blamed on the scopes, did she realize what had happened and confirm it with the Seattle hospital, Virginia Mason Medical Center, said Bigler, who lives in Woodway, outside Seattle. Richard Bigler at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle in August 2013 with his wife, Theresa. (Courtesy of the Bigler family) The Seattle case may serve as a bellwether for future litigation. It also offers a preview of the evidence federal prosecutors in New Jersey could use against Olympus in a possible criminal case. Olympus said it's cooperating with the prosecutors, who have declined to comment on their investigation. In his opening argument in the Seattle courtroom, plaintiff's attorney David Beninger said the company put sales ahead of safety to achieve market dominance. Olympus controls 85 percent of the U.S. market for gastrointestinal scopes. It's a "don't ask, don't tell policy," Beninger said. "Keep selling, no telling." At Virginia Mason Medical Center, 39 people were infected from contaminated Olympus scopes and 18 of them died. The Seattle hospital said the patients who died had other underlying illnesses. Bigler, a small-business owner who loved the outdoors, had been battling pancreatic cancer when he underwent a scope procedure in 2013. Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). Olympus attorney Mark Anderson defended the company's scope as a medical breakthrough and cast blame on the hospital for failing to follow the company's cleaning instructions. "Mr. Bigler missed out on life events as a result of the care he got at that hospital. There is an issue about whether they were properly cleaning these scopes. But no, the data doesn't show that it is a product defect," Anderson told the jury. An investigation by federal, state and county officials concluded that Virginia Mason followed proper cleaning procedures. In an unusual strategy, the hospital and Bigler family have teamed up against Olympus at trial and both sides are seeking damages. The hospital and the family have focused primarily on the executive pictured on the left of the plaintiffs poster board, Susumu Nishina. He told the company's U.S. managers in February 2013 not to issue a broad warning to American hospitals despite reports of scope-related infections in Dutch, French and U.S. hospitals, internal emails show. Those emails, introduced as evidence in the trial, were first reported in July 2016 by Kaiser Health News and the Los Angeles Times. Nishina and the two other executives who declined to testify, Hisao Yabe and Hiroki Moriyama, hold top roles in regulatory affairs, quality assurance or medical manufacturing. All three have declined to comment. William Rutala, an infection control expert at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said that Olympus asked him twice to testify on its behalf for this trial but that he refused because of the company's failure to ensure patient safety. (Chad Terhune/California Healthline) An expert witness called to the stand last week testified that Olympus would have realized its scopes were defective if it had sufficiently tested its cleaning and disinfection process before putting the devices on the market in 2010. "I found there was completely inadequate premarket validation testing. It was essentially nothing in my opinion," William Rutala, an infection-control expert at the University of North Carolina, told the jury. Rutala has served as an expert witness for Olympus in the past during litigation involving other types of scopes. He said that the company asked him twice to testify on its behalf for this trial but that he refused because of the company's failure to ensure patient safety. "I have been deceived. I thought there were meaningful data associated with [reprocessing] validation," Rutala testified. "This device was intrinsically defective." Other documents released at the trial show that Olympus received a complaint from Virginia Mason as early as January 2011 about "patient debris" trapped inside the tip of the scope that was "extremely difficult" to remove. During the trial, a company official said there was no evidence of infection or other devices becoming contaminated so Olympus didn't report the matter to federal regulators. Outbreaks at European and U.S. hospitals started to occur soon after. In 2012, after an outbreak at a Dutch hospital, an independent expert hired by Olympus and the hospital concluded in a report that the scope's design could allow blood and tissue to become trapped, spreading bacteria from one patient to the next. The expert's report called on Olympus to conduct a worldwide investigation and recall all of its scopes if similar problems turned up. Nishina disputed many of the expert's findings in his own 2012 report, released publicly for the first time as evidence in this case. The Olympus executive said the engineer's report includes "many unscientific views, and isn't valuable to be trusted." Nishina said the expert has a "prejudiced imagination" and "the endoscope has been confirmed to be sufficiently reprocessable following the instruction manual," according to the report. Olympus records presented at trial also show two hospitals with patient infections that haven't been publicly disclosed until now. MetroHealth system in Cleveland reported antibiotic-resistant bacteria in two patients after they were treated with an Olympus duodenoscope. A spokeswoman declined to provide details, citing patient confidentiality. Olympus also listed Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., as having three infections at some point from 2010 to 2015. The hospital didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. By 2013, Olympus executives in the U.S. were complaining internally about Tokyo's response to the infections, according to company documents filed in court. Some U.S. hospitals and clinics had asked about a safety alert the company issued to European customers that year. "I was pushing [Olympus Japan] to take a position on this EU [European Union] action, but as you can see from my communications with [Japan], they feel that no universal communication is required," Laura Storms, vice president of regulatory and clinical affairs in Center Valley, Pa., wrote in a Feb. 6, 2013, email to a U.S. colleague that was introduced as evidence. "Therefore, it places us in an awkward position," she added. "However, this is part of the bigger problem, in my viewpoint, of lack of leadership and direction from [Olympus Japan]." With the Tokyo executives absent, however, Storms has been the company's chief defender during several days on the witness stand. She emphasized that the company thoroughly investigated each report of contamination or infection and regularly sent company employees to hospitals to provide training and technical assistance. But Beninger, the plaintiff's attorney, pressed Storms as to why she didn't tell doctors at Virginia Mason about previous outbreaks in the Netherlands, France, Germany, New York, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania that had already been reported to the company. "I told them we did have complaints," Storms said. A new study from the Center for Vital Longevity at The University of Texas at Dallas has found that the amount of amyloid plaques in a person's brain predicts the rate at which his or her cognition will decline in the next four years. The study, published in JAMA Neurology, used positron emission tomography (PET) scans to detect amyloid in 184 healthy middle-age and older adults participating in the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study. Amyloid plaques, a sticky buildup that gradually gathers outside of neurons and is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, are believed to start accumulating in the brain 10 to 20 years before the onset of dementia. "We think it is critical to examine middle-age adults to detect the earliest possible signs of Alzheimer's disease, because it is becoming increasingly clear that early intervention is the key to successful prevention of Alzheimer's disease," said Michelle Farrell, a PhD student at the center and the lead author of the study. The study presents some of the first data on amyloid and its cognitive consequences in adults ages 40 to 59. For these middle-age adults, the study found that higher amyloid amounts were associated with declines in vocabulary, an area of cognition that is generally preserved as people age. The results suggest that a new approach might be needed to provide physicians and patients with information about the future for someone with amyloid deposits. Amyloid PET scan results are typically presented as either positive or negative, but the new findings suggest that the amount of amyloid in the brain provides useful prognostic information about how rapidly cognition may decline in the future. Neuroscience eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today "Our understanding of the earliest and silent phase of possible Alzheimer's disease is increasing rapidly. Providing physicians and patients with more information about the magnitude of amyloid deposits will provide valuable information that will permit better planning for the future," said Dr. Denise Park, director of research at the Center for Vital Longevity, Distinguished University Chair in Behavioral and Brain Sciences and senior author of the study. Park heads up the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study, which is a multi-year research project aimed at understanding what a healthy brain looks like and how it functions at every decade of life from age 20 through 90. Each of the nearly 500 volunteers in the study undergo tests every four years. While most studies of amyloid and its relationship to Alzheimer's disease have focused on older adults over age 60, the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study also studies middle-age adults to find the earliest possible signs of Alzheimer's disease. In the JAMA Neurology research, the three middle-age adults who had the highest amyloid amounts and greatest vocabulary decline were also found to have a double dose of the ApoE-4 gene implicated in Alzheimer's. This means they received a copy of the gene from each of their parents. Only about 4 percent of the population carries this genetic combination, and the finding hints at the possibility that subtle symptoms of cognitive decline related to amyloid may be detectable as early as middle age in this vulnerable population. Source: http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2017/6/15-32601_Study-Uncovers-What-Alzheimers-Marker-Means-for-Mi_story-wide.html?WT.mc_id=NewsEmail As we bask in the summer heat, it is easy to take for granted that humans are also prepared for the cold of winter, with overcoats in the closet and home heating systems ready to be fired up as an added assurance against falling temperatures. Not all warm-blooded animals are this fortunate. Mice, for example, rely on a specialized organ between their shoulder blades to produce heat when confronted with cold temperatures. This organ is composed of special fat cells, called brown adipose tissue, or brown fat for short. This week in Nature, a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania detail a molecule that acts as a molecular pilot light required to turn on the brown fat furnace. Brown fat burns sugar and fat to produce radiant heat in the body. Researchers have turned their attention to these cells because some of the sugar and fat they burn is stored in the body and might otherwise lead to increases in white fat, the form that increases in obesity. "To harness the fat-burning potential of brown fat we must better understand how the body burns fuel to stay warm and how this relates to the storage of excess fuel as white fat in obesity," said senior author Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD, director of the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism (IDOM) and the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor in Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases In mice, the furnace relies on a molecule called uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), which acts like a heating element. Mice without the UCP1 gene cannot survive even short exposures to near-freezing temperatures. The pilot-light-like molecule is called histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3). Lazar, co-first author Matthew Emmett, an MD/PhD student in his lab, and their IDOM colleagues found that mice lacking HDAC3 in their brown fat were unable to turn on the UCP1 gene and were just as susceptible to the deleterious effects of cold as mice that did not have the gene. The study showed that HDAC3 acts much like a pilot light on a gas furnace -- the HDAC3 pilot light is required to turn on the brown fat furnace even when the UCP1 gene is intact. HDAC3 functions on the epigenome, the molecular component of the cell nucleus that specifies which genes are expressed -- and just as importantly, which ones are not -- in different cells of the body. The Penn team analyzed and integrated massive datasets of DNA sequences, which facilitated the discovery of the mechanism by which HDAC3 acts as the brown fat pilot light. This bioinformatics portion of the study was performed by co-first author Hee-Woong Lim, PhD, an IDOM postdoctoral fellow, and research assistant professor Kyoungjae Won, PhD. Studies in the last five years have confirmed that adult humans also have brown fat. Although it is not located between the shoulder blades as it is in rodents, it is also activated by cold temperatures, albeit not sufficiently enough to substitute for clothes and heaters. Brown fat in adult humans is more diffusely distributed, with concentrations of cells in visceral areas such as the carotid and mammary artieries, the heart and lung, and such other solid organs as the pancreas, kidney, and spleen. Subcutaneous brown fat depots can also be found in the vicinity of neck muscles, the clavicles, and abdominal wall. These studies have also shown that people with obesity have less brown fat than lean people. Since brown fat burns sugars and fats within the body, it may be possible to boost metabolism for weight loss and diabetes control by dialing up the brown fat thermostat. Surprisingly, however, the mice lacking HDAC3 in brown fat did not become obese. Whatever the link, the new work from Penn suggests it will be critical to make sure that the brown fat pilot light and furnace functions are kept in good working order. Source: https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2017/june/molecular-pilot-light-prepares-bodys-heating-system-for-the-cold A plant found throughout Southeast Asia traditionally used to treat arthritis and rheumatism contains a potent anti-HIV compound more powerful than the drug AZT, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Natural Compounds. The chemical, patentiflorin A, is derived from the willow-leaved Justicia, and was identified in a screening of more than 4,500 plant extracts for their effect against the HIV virus. The discovery is one of the results of a multi-year research partnership made up of scientists from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Hong Kong Baptist University, and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology working together as an International Cooperative Biodiversity Group. These groups, funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, look for natural products that may have applications in health and medicine, and also work to support sustainable use of these resources in low-income countries. Lijun Rong, professor of microbiology and immunology in the UIC College of Medicine; Harry Fong, associate director of the World Health Organization Program for Traditional Medicine; and Doel Soejarto, professor emeritus of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy in the UIC College of Pharmacy, led the UIC team. Rong is an expert at identifying antiviral agents, Soejarto is a renowned plant scientist, and Fong is a well-known pharmacologist. The willow-leaved Justicia extract had been taken from the leaves, stems and roots of plants that had been collected in Cuc Phuong National Park in Hanoi, Vietnam more than 10 years ago by Soejarto. The UIC/Hong Kong/Vietnam ICBG analyzed the extract along with thousands of others as part of their efforts to identify new drugs against HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and cancer. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today Rong and his colleagues zeroed in on patentiflorin A because of its ability to inhibit an enzyme needed for HIV to incorporate its genetic code into a cell's DNA. AZT, the first anti-HIV drug developed and marketed in 1987, and which remains the cornerstone of HIV drug cocktails today, inhibits this enzyme, called reverse transcriptase. In studies of human cells infected with the HIV virus, patentiflorin A had a much more significant inhibition effect on the enzyme. "Patentiflorin A was able to inhibit the action of reverse transcriptase much more effectively than AZT, and was able to do this both in the earliest stages of HIV infection when the virus enters macrophage cells, and alter infection when it is present in T cells of the immune system," said Rong. It also was effective against known drug-resistant strains of the HIV virus, making it a very promising candidate for further development into a new HIV drug. "Patentiflorin A represents a novel anti-HIV agent that can be added to the current anti-HIV drug cocktail regimens to increase suppression of the virus and prevention of AIDS," Rong said. The researchers were also able to synthesize patentiflorin A. "If we can make the drug in the lab, we don't need to establish farms to grow and harvest the plant, which requires significant financial investment, not to mention it has an environmental impact," Rong said. Haute couture can be credited for enhancing more than catwalks and red carpets. New research from the University of California, Berkeley suggests that the 3D or "stereoscopic" vision of dressmakers is as sharp as their needles. Stereoscopic vision is the brain's ability to decode the flat 2D optical information received by both eyes to give us the depth of perception needed to thread a needle, catch a ball, park a car and generally navigate a 3D world. Using computerized perceptual tasks, researchers from UC Berkeley and the University of Geneva, Switzerland, tested the stereoscopic vision of dressmakers and other professionals and found dressmakers to be the most eagle-eyed. The results, published in the June 13 issue of the journal Scientific Reports, show dressmakers to be 80 percent more accurate than non-dressmakers at calculating the distance between themselves and the objects they were looking at, and 43 percent better at estimating the distance between objects. "We found dressmakers have superior stereovision, perhaps because of the direct feedback involved with fine needlework," said study lead author Adrien Chopin, a postdoctoral researcher in visual neuroscience at UC Berkeley. What researchers are still determining is whether dressmaking sharpens stereoscopic vision, or whether dressmakers are drawn to the trade because of their visual stereo-acuity, Chopin said. To experience what it means to have stereoscopic vision, focus on a visual target. Now blink one eye while still staring at your target. Then blink the other eye. The background should appear to shift position. With stereoscopic vision, the brain's visual cortex merges the 2D viewpoints of each eye into one 3D image. Neuroscience eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today It has generally been assumed that surgeons, dentists and other medical professionals who perform precise manual procedures would have superior stereovision. But previous studies have shown this not to be the case. That spurred Chopin to investigate which professions would produce or attract people with superior stereovision, and led him to dressmakers. A better understanding of dressmakers' stereoscopic superpowers will inform ongoing efforts to train people with visual impairments such as amblyopia or "lazy eye" to strengthen their stereoscopic vision, Chopin said. In addition to helping people with sight disorders, improved stereoscopic vision may be key to the success of military fighters, athletes and other occupations that require keen hand-eye coordination. An estimated 10 percent of people suffer from some form of stereoscopic impairment, and 5 percent suffer from full stereo blindness, Chopin said. For example, the 17th-century Dutch painter Rembrandt, whose self-portraits occasionally showed him with one lazy eye, is thought to have suffered from stereo blindness, rendering him with flat vision. Some vision scientists have posited that painters tend to have poorer stereovision, which gives them an advantage working in 2D. For the study, participants viewed objects on a computer screen through a stereoscope and judged the distances between objects, and between themselves and the objects. Researchers recorded their visual precision and found that, overall, dressmakers performed markedly better than their non-dressmaker counterparts in visual acuity. It was long thought that gastric ulcers and other digestive woes were brought about by stress. But in 2005, clinical fellow Barry J. Marshall and pathologist J. Robin Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for recognizing the role of Helicobacter pylori in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Now physicians can point their collective fingers at H. pylori when it comes to a host of gastric maladies in their patients. With this in mind, researchers from the Mel and Enid Zuckerman School of Public Health at the University of Arizona conducted a study into whether U.S. physicians consistently adhere to American College of Gastroenterology guidelines for caring for and managing patients with H. pylori infections. Guidelines include when and how to test for H. pylori, as well as when and how to treat the pathogen once someone has been infected. Caring for and managing these patients is important not only because of the serious potential morbidity associated with H. pylori infections, but also because these infections are linked to gastric cancer. Through an online survey of gastroenterologists in the U.S., the researchers found that physicians' adherence to a number of the current ACG guidelines was low. The results were published online April 27 in the journal Preventive Medicine. Eyal Oren, UA assistant professor of epidemiology and one of the senior authors of the study, says that most physicians followed the guidelines for testing patients they suspected of having H. pylori infection when the patients came to them with likely risk factors, such as a previously diagnosed peptic ulcer or dyspepsia. "You shouldn't be testing everybody, but if there are reasons to believe that a test for H. pylori may come back positive, and it does come back positive, you should go on to treat," says Dr. Traci Murakami, previous gastroenterology fellow at the UA and graduate of the clinical and translational research graduate certificate at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman School of Public Health, now an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and lead author of the study. In fact, the researchers found that a higher proportion of physicians than in years past treat patients after a positive H. pylori test, with 84 percent of the respondents indicating they would do so, Oren says. However, only 58 percent of physicians checked to ensure that the bacterium has been eradicated after treatment, according to the study. This finding is of particular concern, Murakami says, because if the bacterium is not eradicated after the recommended therapy, it could indicate potential resistance to drugs of choice. "Only half of gastroenterology physicians check for eradication," Murakami says. "I think that's key because knowing if a patient eradicated the H. pylori versus whether they still have the infection may indicate that they may have a more resistant type of H. pylori that didn't respond to the initial antibiotic and would require different antibiotics to eradicate it." Also of concern, the study found that 6 percent of physicians weren't asking patients about antibiotics that they previously had taken. That information could alert the clinician to the potential for drug resistance. Nor were physicians testing for resistance, according to the study. However, testing for drug resistance is not cheap or simple, so it's not routinely done, Oren says. Given that H. pylori is a human pathogen and linked to an increase in gastric cancer risk, some have called for its global eradication. However, some people are colonized with H. pylori from birth and experience no ill effects from it until much later in life, if at all. No matter, the researchers concluded that the "adaptation of a 'test, treat and retest strategy' to confirm eradication after treatment is an area that could be improved." H. pylori is a risk factor and designated as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization. "If we could identify it early and identify it in more people, we might be able to reduce the risk of people developing stomach cancer in the future," Murakami says. Each year, invasive fungal infections sicken an estimated 2 million people worldwide and kill nearly 800,000 - but a team of international scientists have discovered a new approach for antifungal drug treatments. Researchers from USC and France identified that a gene-regulating protein, Bdf1, is critical for the survival of the pathogenic fungus, Candida albicans. "We have shown that Bdf1 is an important new target for drug design," said Charles McKenna, a senior author of the study who is a professor of chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "Our findings show that compounds that bind to this target will disrupt the growth of the fungus, opening the way to novel drug treatments for fungal disease." The French scientists who led the study with McKenna were Jerome Govin and Carlo Petosa, both at the University of Grenoble Alpes. Rising health threat The fungus, C. albicans, is an aggressive pathogen that in healthy individuals is normally held in check by the immune system. However, people with a weakened immune system, including patients who have cancer, HIV or autoimmune diseases, are susceptible to the infection, which can be life-threatening, McKenna said. The team's findings, published on May 18 in the journal Nature Communications, may prove timely. Fungal infections such as candidiasis are increasingly resistant to drug treatments. Each year, an estimated 46,000 patients in the United States become infected with invasive candidiasis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "When susceptible people develop candida infections, the fungus may enter the bloodstream. If treatment is unsuccessful, it has a very high mortality rate - in the 40 percent range," McKenna said. "We have a very limited number of drugs that are effective in treating such systemic infections. Unfortunately, like many other pathogens, C. albicans is increasingly resistant to the few available drugs, raising the stakes for patients, and fresh approaches are urgently needed." Converging bioscience McKenna noted that his team's discovery was made possible through convergent bioscience, an emerging fusion of multidisciplinary research to accelerate health-related discoveries from the bench to the bedside. By drawing from a diverse network of scientists, engineers and students, the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience program fosters biomedical discovery, innovation and real-world solutions to fast-track detection and cures for diseases ranging from microbial infections to Alzheimer's and cancer. Drug Discovery eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today This fall, USC will open the hub for this new initiative, Michelson Hall - a 190,000 square-foot, high-tech research facility that is supported by a $50 million gift from retired spinal surgeon Gary K. Michelson and his wife, Alya Michelson. The facility will house the new USC Center for Drug Discovery with McKenna as its director. Disrupting fungal gene expression Many scientists are studying alternative approaches for possible treatments to diseases such as cancer by manipulating gene expression. The USC-Grenoble team is the first to prove that this approach is feasible to target fungal infections. "The idea is that if you shut down this specific protein, Bdf1, you totally disrupt the whole process of gene expression and it becomes impossible for the fungus to grow," said Govin. "If you knock out the gene that makes the Bdf1 protein, then the fungus doesn't grow. Moreover, the fungus is no longer virulent when injected into mice." The challenge for the scientists was finding a compound that shut down the Bdf1 protein without mistakenly affecting any similar proteins in humans. "Using a technique called X-ray crystallography, we showed that the fungal Bdf1 protein and corresponding human proteins are very different at the atomic level," said Petosa. "This showed that compounds could specifically inhibit the fungal protein without affecting the human bromodomain proteins." By screening a large library of chemical compounds at the California Institute for Biomedical Research, the researchers have already identified one compound in particular that selectively inhibits Bdf1. The finding holds great promise for future drug development. "It shows that a whole new class of antifungal drugs is possible," said McKenna. Parents of prematurely born babies often fear their children may go on to struggle in school, but findings from a new large-scale study from the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University and Northwestern Medicine should reassure parents. The large-scale study found that two-thirds of babies born at only 23 or 24 weeks were ready for kindergarten on time. Unexpectedly, nearly two percent of them even achieved gifted status in school. While these extremely premature babies often scored low on standardized tests, preterm infants born 25 weeks or later performed only slightly lower than full-term infants. In fact, as the length of pregnancy increased after 28 weeks, the differences in test scores were negligible. The study was published today, June 12, in JAMA Pediatrics. It is believed to be the first analysis of its type in the nation. "What excites me about this study is that it changes the focus for the clinician and families at the bedside from just focusing on the medical outcomes of the child to what the future educational outcomes might be for a child born early," said first author Dr. Craig Garfield, associate professor of pediatrics and of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The longitudinal study analyzed more than 1.3 million babies born in Florida from 1992 to 2002 with gestational ages of 23 to 41 weeks who later entered Florida public schools between 1995 and 2012. The scientists matched the babies' vital statistic records with their Florida public school records to examine the association between being born early and educational performance. "Many studies look at premature babies but very few of them look at their educational outcomes into middle school in such a large population," said Garfield, who also is an attending pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. "What's special about this study is it speaks to the importance of administrative data sets and the ability to combine different data sets in ways that allow us to ask questions and get answers about how our children are doing in the long-run." "While some people might be troubled that very premature infants tend to score well below their full-term peers on standardized tests, I believe that the glass is more than half-full," said senior author David Figlio, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. "Most infants born at 23 to 24 weeks still demonstrate a high degree of cognitive functioning at the start of kindergarten and throughout school." Also part of the study was Jeffrey Roth, research professor emeritus in the University of Florida department of pediatrics' division of neonatology within the College of Medicine. "The conventional wisdom is that extreme prematurity is very deleterious to educational accomplishment," Roth said. "That said, the fact that two thirds of these kids showed up ready to start school is very reassuring. When physicians talk with parents about the prospects for their newborn infant, they can say that some very premature babies do brilliantly. That's comforting to both parents and physicians." While this study's data is strong, it does not account for some of these infants' medical issues related to preterm birth or provide information about why these children performed well in school, such as their biological make-up or if they received extra support from family or schools, Garfield said. Nevertheless, most babies born prematurely ended up performing reasonably well on standardized tests through middle school. "Our future work in this area will focus on what parents and service providers can do to help future premature children to achieve their full potential," Garfield said. For people with headache, seeing the neurologist by video for treatment may be as effective as an in-person visit, according to a study published in the June 14, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Headache is the most common neurologic disorder, yet is often not diagnosed or people don't receive adequate treatment," said study author Kai I. Muller, MD, of the Arctic University of Norway in Troms. "New technology is available to diagnose and treat people through telemedicine, but few studies have looked at whether it is effective for people with headache." The study involved 402 people with non-acute headaches, or headaches that came on gradually, who had been referred from a primary care doctor to a neurologist. Half of the participants then had a traditional office visit with a neurologist at a hospital in northern Norway. The other half came to the hospital but saw the neurologist through video conference. Participants completed questionnaires about the impact their headaches had on their daily life and about the level of pain at the beginning of the study and again after three months and one year. Neuroscience eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today The researchers found no differences between the people treated using telemedicine and those who had traditional office visits. The study was what is called a non-inferiority study, which is designed to show that the new type of treatment is not clinically worse than the current type of treatment. To assess the safety of using telemedicine, the researchers looked to see whether participants had secondary headache a year after the visit. Secondary headache is a headache that is a symptom of a disease or another underlying condition. "We wanted to make sure that the neurologists were not missing any underlying diseases that were causing the headaches when they were treating people via telemedicine, but there was only one person in each group who had a secondary headache, so there was no difference in the diagnosis and treatment," Muller said. The researchers estimated that in every 20,200 consultations by telemedicine, one diagnosis of secondary headache would be missed. "Northern Norway covers a huge area and it is broken up by mountains, valleys and fjords into many sparsely populated places, so traveling to see a doctor can be cumbersome and expensive for many people," Muller said. "But telemedicine may be valuable for people all over the world who are suffering with headaches and want to see a specialist without any extra hassle or inconvenience." Muller noted that having all of the participants come to the hospital made the study conditions less realistic. He said that other weaknesses of the study were the lack of a placebo group and blinding, but that those would be difficult to implement. The aroma is so extraordinary it's like "a punch in your mouth" says Luqi Wu, one of several Chinese businessmen standing in a cellar in southwestern Spain surrounded by thousands of hanging ham legs. While he samples the product, three of his colleagues learn to cut the ham as finely as possible -- a crucial detail that they will put into practice back in Shanghai at tasting events for their own customers. The world's top pork consumer, China has started getting a serious taste for Spain's world-famous "jamon" which is sold there as a luxury product and is getting one over on its French and Italian competitors. "At the beginning, customers were just looking for elegant products because they're rich," says Wu, a sales manager at Jiarui Fine Foods, a Chinese company that specialises in importing luxury gastronomy products. "But more and more they want to learn more and educate themselves and to know why it's so good and why it's got such a high price." - 3,000 euros a ham leg - The Italians got into the Chinese market early on with their Parma ham. But Spain soon caught up and is now leading in sales of dry-cured ham in the Asian powerhouse, making 1.8 million euros ($2 million) in sales last year excluding Hong Kong, according to the French Federation of Pork Industries (FICT). By comparison, Italy made 1.4 million euros in 2016 and France tailed far behind with just 30,000 euros, as there is only one producer in the country equipped with the necessary authorisation to sell ham in China compared to 13 in Spain. So it was that in March, several Jiarui Fine Foods employees travelled to the village of Jabugo in the southern hills of Andalusia, invited by the Cinco Jotas brand that specialises in high-quality ham. In pasturelands covered in oak trees, herds of purebred black Iberian pigs gobble the last acorns of winter -- the very food product that gives the ham its unique hazelnut taste after a three-year maturing period. There, Cinco Jotas workers give the Chinese sales managers a run-down of how the dry-cured ham is made. They will use this knowledge to attract customers in China where classic dry-cured ham sells for 10 to 20 percent more than in Spain, and the highest quality ones command even fatter margins. A leg of "pata negra" ham, the most sought-after, can go for up to 3,000 euros in Hong Kong. Like 12 other Spanish ham makers, Cinco Jotas got authorisation to sell its ham in China at the beginning of the decade, and the world's most populous country has now become its number one market after Spain. According to Jialin Shen, head of Jiarui Fine Foods, the overall market for high-quality ham in China is between 20,000 and 30,000 units a year. Rene Lemee, head of Cinco Jotas's international department, travelled to China 16 times last year and has a dozen sales managers working there. In his office hangs a world map with China at the centre, "to understand their point of view." And the effort has paid off as sales of Spanish dry-cured ham in China have doubled between 2012 and 2016, says Jesus Perez Aguilar, spokesman for the Inter-professional Association of Iberian Pork. "China has become the second foreign market for Spain's porcine sector, after France," he says. He adds that sales abroad took off after Spain suffered a crippling economic crisis in 2008 when a domestic property bubble burst, compounding the global financial crisis, pushing the companies to seek new export markets. But for Ibericos Torreon, a medium-sized company based in Salamanca in the northwest -- another major producing region -- success was not immediate. The firm was forced to patiently go from trade fair to trade fair to introduce their product to the Chinese, who were more used to adding pork in soups or fragrant dishes rather than eating it on its own. But "in the last two years, sales have taken off," says Laura Garcia Hernandez who manages exports for the company, refusing to reveal specific figures. The risk of being copied in a country infamous for creating counterfeits does not appear to worry Spanish producers who say their dry-cured ham is the fruit of a specific climate, vegetation and animal. "What is made in Spain is very exclusive to the peninsula," says Santiago Martin, chief executive of Embutidos Fermin, another producer of dry-cured ham. Still, the sector is working on creating a certification along the lines of Europe's protected designation of origin, to try and avoid any future problems. Spain's mini-cuisine or Tapas as it is called is a small or rather not so small portion of food that Spaniards love to have along with a drink. And while the Spaniards love this 'mini-food' culture, tapas is well recognized worldwide as a symbol not only of the Spanish gastronomy but also of its traditions and lifestyle. Therefore, World Tapas Day is celebrated every year on the third Thursday of June as an occasion to commemorate and enjoy the Spanish gastronomy across the globe. It is a unique occasion to enjoy tapas specialties and indulge in the authentic bites of the Spanish cuisine. "Tapas is not a special kind of food, it's a way of enjoying food. You can share it with your friends, have it in a casual way, it's a very flexible concept. Usually tapas are of traditionally Spanish cuisine, but now, some chefs are creating very sophisticated tapas and some are very simple, like just some olives - that's a tapas. Tapas are a combination of gastronomy and the Spanish lifestyle," said Mr Ignacio Ducasse, Director Tourism Office of Spain In India, in an exclusive interview to News18.com at an event held in New Delhi on Wednesday to mark the beginning of the celebrations of World Tapas Day. During the event, Mr Ducasse also revealed that Spanish tapas was something like the street food in Delhi and Mumbai. When asked if there were any similarities between the two since Indian street food too are small meals, he said, "There is similarity in concept. In Spain we have restaurants that can be upscale but we have thousands of bars which is a place you enjoy a drink, small tapa for yourself, have something to eat anytime in the day. You don't have to go there to have a meal. So, it works the same way, you are hungry, you don't have to go to a restaurant to have a full meal, you just have a little samosa or a little appetizer." When asked what kind of response the Board has received to the World Tapas Day celebrations in India, Mr Ducasse said, "Worldwide this is the third year, we started celebrating in India last year. Of course, last year it was a beginning, we were presenting this concept and I feel this year we are having a much bigger impact an hope that this will grow and we will have more people working with us to celebrate food and lifestyle." This year, in order to celebrate the Spanish small plates simultaneously in Spain and 31 countries around the globe, the Spanish Tourism Board collaborated with 733 restaurants and more than 100 sponsors and partners. In India, celebrations are being held from 13th to 25th June in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi at the Four Seasons Hotel, Caperberry and Fava restaurants and Sevilla restaurant at The Claridges respectively. At the event held in the city recently, the Ambassador of Spain Mr Mr Jose Ramon Baranano addressed the media and spoke at length about tapas, its origin and advantages. While addressing the press he said, "The original tapas comes maybe 400-500 years ago and it has a humble start. It was just a piece of bread put on top of a glass of wine in order to preserve the wine from being spoilt from dust or flies. Later, they added some ham, cheese. That's how the concept of tapas came into being. Today, it has completely changed. Today, it is a much more elaborate cuisine, they have moved from simple to sophisticated." On the advantages of the mini-cuisine, the Ambassador said, "Tapas have a lot of advantages, they are light, easy and quick to make and another interesting issue is the price. Tapas is much cheaper than the traditional food, which means it is mostly in the reach of everybody. The best thing about tapas is friendship because it is more about the way you go out with friends." So, as people across the globe celebrate World Tapas Day, it is an occasion for you too to indulge in and bond over some authentic Spanish tapas recipes. Itanagar: A villager from Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh, bordering Myanmar, was shot dead by the Army, which it says is a case of mistaken identity. "The Army troops had laid an ambush in this particular area based on hard intelligence with regards to movement of a group of hardcore terrorists. It was during this time the individual who has got killed, came into the ambush and on being challenged he made very suspicious movements and rushed towards the ambush party, which forced them to open controlled fire resulting in the individual suffering fatal injury. It is a case of mistaken identity," the army said in a statement issued on Thursday. The incident took place on the intervening night of June 14 and 15. Army sources said they have increased vigil in the area as it serves as a transit route for terrorists. : Loan waivers are not a cure for farm crisis but just a prescription for a short-term relief, according to veteran journalist, who is one of the most respected voices in the country on rural economy issues.Speaking to's, Sainath explained why our farmers are so angry, delved into the root cause of the debt crisis, demands for loan waivers and strikes, and talked about the way forward to seek a long-term solution.Sainath said the only way to help farmers is to implement a proper farm credit functioning system, but it will take time and deliberations. He said that the central government should call a 10-day special session of the Parliament to debate the issues, hear representations by farmer bodies and take a call on the Swaminathan Commission Report, which was released exactly 10 years ago but has been gathering dust since then.Our governments, he said, are instead more interested in taking shortcuts like loan waivers, which do not even reach their intended beneficiaries most of the time.He gave the example of the last loan waiver in Maharashtra in 2008 by then agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, where he says the six richest districts in the state took home more than half the value of the loan waiver."In our country, we have developed semantics such that if a poor person gets 5 paise, it is called subsidy, but if a rich person gets Rs 5 billion, it is called incentive," he said.Farm loans make a very small share of the non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks, Sainath says, but the country focuses on their bad debts instead of the lakhs of crores that corporates owe to the banks. The RBI had recently pulled up 12 unnamed individuals who are responsible for 25% of NPAs in the country.Sainath said that the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a bank that was specifically set up for agriculture credit, too had recently accepted that nearly 70% of its loans went to the agriculture business or the corporate sector and not farmers.In Maharashtra, 53% of NABARD loans are disbursed in Mumbai and not the rural belts, he says. "Around 53% of outlay is for the city of Mumbai and its suburbs. Who are all these posh, hungry and starving farmers residing in Malabar Hills and Cuffe Parade?" he asked.According to the veteran journalist, the biggest issue for the farmers is the Minimum Support Price (MSP) promised by the government and not the loan waivers. In the run up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, NDA had promised farmers will be paid the cost of production plus 50% for their crops, but has not delivered. "Now, the Centre has calmly passed the buck on to the states," he said.The demonetisation move has also aggravated the situation for farmers, says Sainath, claiming that cooperative banks took a big hit due to slowdown in trade farm activity and the adverse effects of it are unfolding now. He said he does not see any plan and anybody equipped to deal with the issues. Pointing out at the Maharashtra cabinet, he said not one of the ministers is from a rural background or an expert on farmers' issues.However, he said that only the Modi government is not to blame as successive governments in the last 30 years have not done anything to address issues. He says that before Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Pranab Mukherjee and Sharad Pawar too claimed to have doubled agricultural credit, but the money never goes to farmers.Sainath said the largest number of farmer suicides had taken place when Pawar was the agriculture minister. "Although the number of suicides has come down, it is only because the farmer population has come down and not because of government policies," he said.Of this, the three states Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh - accounted for 68% of all farmer suicides in the country in 2015.On the politics playing out in Madhya Pradesh over farmer protest, Sainath says that there are always political overtones in such protests. Farmer protests also took place under previous UPA, Congress, UF and NDA governments, he pointed out."There is plenty of politics on both sides. I am just waiting for someone to blame ISI for it," he said, adding that everything that goes wrong is someone else's conspiracy. : A special CBI court hearing fodder scam cases has directed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav to personally appear before the court on Friday in Ranchi.Earlier the counsel of Lalu applied for his exemption from personal appearance but the court rejected it. Though the court allowed former chief minister Jagannath Mishra, one of the accused in fodder scam cases along with Lalu, to be represented by his lawyer on health grounds.After rejection of application, Lalu Yadav took a flight and reached Ranchi as the court proceedings are scheduled for Friday morning.The court will hear case no RC 64A/96 of the fodder scam which is related to illegal withdrawal of Rs 95 lakh from Deogarh treasury.During the investigation, it emerged that forged vouchers were used to withdraw money on the behalf of animal husbandry department for purchasing fodder and other items for livestock.Special CBI judge Shivpal Singh on June 9 had directed Lalu Yadav to face charges under Prevention of Corruption Act (13D), IPC (120-B) and Section 420.The Special CBI court resumed hearing after the Supreme Court accepted the CBI plea to continue criminal conspiracy charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav in fodder scam cases.Earlier, the Jharkhand High Court had dropped the charges of criminal conspiracy against Lalu. The HC had ruled citing the law on double jeopardy that once a person has been convicted or acquitted, he cannot be tried for the same offence again.But the SC quashed this decision and allowed the CBI to pursue cases of criminal conspiracy against the accused in all four fodder scam cases separately.The SC also ruled to conclude trials in all the cases within nine months. Chennai: A government doctor was arrested in Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu for performing sex determination tests. A Dhandapani, an assistant surgeon at Sivagangai medical college, was caught after the health department received a tip-off about his unlawful activities. Sources from the health department said they sent two patients as decoy to Sivagami Surgical Clinic. One of the patients underwent a test and the doctor revealed the sex of the foetus as male and charged Rs 3,000. The other patient was asked to meet him after a month. A senior official from the health department told CNN-News 18: We received many complaints against this doctor. He lost his wife three years ago and since then he has been indulging in unlawful activities. After watching him for three months, we confirmed the charges and today, we planned a decoy. We have recovered cash, seized the scan machine and recovered the documents and suspended the licence of the clinic." Under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostics Act, a person can be imprisoned up to three years and fined Rs10,000. Since Dr. Dhandapani violated the PCPNDT Act, he is temporarily suspended. He will be produced in court on Friday and then action will be taken against him, added the source from the health department. In August last year, a quack was arrested for performing sex determination tests in Tiruvannamalai district. Anandhi was raided while she was preparing to perform abortions for five waiting patients. It was alleged that she was going to abort the foetus if it were a female. : The humble almond may be funding terror in the Kashmir Valley.An FIR based on The National Investigation Agency's probe into terror funds, accessed exclusively by, has pointed to an unholy trinity of almond traders, valley separatists and terrorists.According to the investigation, Pakistan's ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba are using cross-border trade of California Almonds, which is duty-free, to transfer funds to terror organisations.The NIA has found a definitive terror money trail that is meant to fund unrest in India via proceeds from this cross-LoC trade. Top sources told CNN-News18 that that a major portion of these proceeds were diverted to fund terrorist activities in the valley.Almond traders are helping Pakistan generate and distribute money meant for terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir. (Thus, almond traders are helping Pakistan generate and distribute money meant for terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir. Over 70 traders are being probed for being on the ISIs payroll and working as terror conduits.After the recent NIA raids, the agency is now looking into the terror funding received by Hurriyat leaders and their association with terror outfits Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba. CNN-News18 has learnt that several crores may have been handed over to terror and separatist elements to fuel protests and violence in the Valley. Washington: An Indian-origin man has been arrested in the US after he went on a violent, naked rampage, threatening to shoot staffers at an Indian eatery all because the restaurant put onions in his food. Police arrested Yuba Raj Sharma, 43, after the confrontation at the All India restaurant, in Oakland, Pittsburgh, and charged him with terroristic threats, indecent exposure, resisting arrest and public drunkenness. The argument began when servers put onions in Sharmas order, WPXI-TV reported. He returned the next day drunk and angry, restaurant owner Ravinder Singh told police. According to the criminal complaint, Sharma was so drunk and difficult that he became dead weight as police tried to put him in a patrol car. The owner of the restaurant told police that Sharma visited twice this week. The owner said Sharma was eating there and acting belligerent, according to the complaint. The owner said Sharma was intoxicated when he returned on June 6, and was told that he was not welcome at the restaurant, according to a police report. That is when Sharma became angry and irate refusing to leave, the report said. According to the complaint, Sharma told the owner that he was going to shoot him, then the owner saw Sharma make a motion that he had a gun in his pants. After 911 was called, Sharma pulled down his pants exposing himself while verbally taunting the owner and another staff member, police documents said, according to Action 4 News. The owner initially did not want to pursue charges, but changed his mind after Sharma continued to shout back toward the restaurant and ignore police commands, the complaint said. Ultimately, the owner told police that he no longer felt safe in his restaurant and wanted to pursue charges, the complaint said. Sharma was so drunk that police said he was speaking nonsense, and at one point, he told an officer that he got into an argument with staff because they put onions in his food, according to the complaint. Washington/New Delhi: The fugitive chief recruiter for the Islamic State in the Indian subcontinent Mohammed Shafi Armar was today named a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' by the US, becoming the first Indian leader of the dreaded terror outfit against whom America has slammed sanctions. The US State Treasury Department, while updating its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), has included in it Armar, a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka, clearing the way for sanctions against him. An Interpol Red Corner notice is also pending against the 30-year-old Armar, who has many aliases like 'Chhote Maula', 'Anjan Bhai' and 'Yousuf al-Hindi'. Armar's name has now been added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department which enforces economic sanctions programmes, primarily against countries and groups of individuals, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers. The sanctions can be either comprehensive or selective, using the blocking of assets and trade restrictions to accomplish foreign policy and national security goals of the US. This is for the first time that the US has slammed sanctions against an ISIS leader in India. "Mohammed Shafi Armar is a leader and head recruiter in India for the Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, ISIS, the State Department said. "He has cultivated a group of dozens of IS sympathisers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps," said the statement. Armar was said to have left for Pakistan along with his elder brother after crackdown on Indian Mujahideen cadres. After a fight with Bhatkal brothers, including Riyaz, the founder of IM, in Pakistan, Armar is believed to have created Ansar ul Tawhid, which later pledged its allegiance to the IS. There have been many reports of him having been dead in a drone attack or crackdown by the allied forces. However, every time intelligence agencies began giving credence to such reports, his name or voice cropped up in intercepts. Tech savvy, Armar has been operating on Facebook and other personal messenger services to contact, brainwash and recruit youths from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. His links to the IS were also the highlight of the interrogation of Yasin Bhatkal, who was arrested near the Nepal border in 2013. Armar first came on the radar of investigation agencies when the NIA was probing suspected Islamic State cadres in Ratlam of Madhya Pradesh. During the interrogation of alleged IS operatives, it emerged that Armar was motivating and radicalising Muslim youths in India. He was said to have been recruiting youths for the Jund ul Khalifa-e-Hind through online radicalisation. The NIA had charge-sheeted him along with five others for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror strikes in the national capital and also during ardh kumbh in Haridwar. The National Investigation Agency had told a special court that these accused were planning to assemble Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) using extracts from "match sticks". The United Arab Emirates had deported three Indians who were allegedly working for Armar. It emerged during the interrogation of IM suspects that he was a self-proclaimed ally of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, chief of the IS. Two other ISIS leaders in Europe and the Middle East, Oussama Ahmad Atar and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali were also listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the US. Oussama is a senior leader of IS external operations efforts and has established a network to carry out attacks in Europe. "He was a leading coordinator of the November 2015 Paris attacks and March 2016 attacks in Brussels, the State Department said. The Belgian-Moroccan national was responsible for recruiting, training, and sending at least some of the individuals to Paris to launch the November 2015 attacks, which killed and injured hundreds, including Americans, it said. He also recruited and mentored two of the bombers involved in the March 2016 Brussels attacks that killed 32 and left many more wounded. Mohammed Binali is a senior member of ISIS who departed Bahrain to join the terrorist group in 2014 and has since appeared in multiple ISIS propaganda videos calling on Bahrainis, specifically members of Bahrains security forces, to join ISIS, it said. Aurangabad: Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi, the MLA from Sillod constituency of Maharashtra, accompanied by his aides beat up three farmers over a land dispute. The incident, which took place on June 12, came to light after a video was released by the victims. CNN-News18 has the video, showing the attack on the farmers. We have given a written complaint against Abdul Sattar, his son Sameer and two others, but the police are yet to register an offence, said one of the farmers. The farmers Shaikh Khaleel Shaikh Ibrahim, Shaikh Mukhtar Shaikh Sattar and Shaikh Rahim Shaikh Karimhad levelled allegations against the MLA claiming that his workers were sowing in their farm. The enraged MLA turned up at the farm with around 25-30 men, thrashed the farmers and threatened with dire consequences if they try to cultivate the land again. Talking to CNN-News18, MLA Abdul Sattar defended his action by claiming that this was a BJP conspiracy. This is a conspiracy of the BJP. These farmers sold the land to a Dalit and were not handing it over to him. They were going to beat up the Dalit and I prevented that from happening, said Abdul Sattar. The MLA, however, did admit to abusing the farmers and said, Yes, I abused the farmers but only to make them vacate the land belonging to a Dalit. Sources at the Sillod Police station confirmed that no case had been filed yet and investigations were underway. The farmers met the Superintendent of Police and handed over a memorandum demanding action against the MLA and his accomplices. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday admitted that violence in Darjeeling on June 8 was due to an intelligence failure as police failed to control restive Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters who attacked troops and indulged in arson to demand a separate state of Gorkhaland.Speaking during an event organized by the Bengal Police, she said, I must say that there was an intelligence failure in Darjeeling on June 8. There was a conspiracy to attack my cabinet ministers by them (GJM).Banerjee was holding a cabinet meeting in Darjeeling a first in 45 years when GJM protesters laid siege to vast swathes of the town for hours, attacked and injured policemen and vandalized public property. The protesters were marching towards the venue of the cabinet meet.They (police) failed to gather information about the conspiracy these goonds (hooligans) planned to attack my ministers and policemen, including female officers, she said, adding that action has been taken against the erring officers. Darjeelings SP and two station in charges had been shunted for failing to control the protests.A vehicle set ablaze by GJM supporters in Darjeeling during protests on June 8.She exhorted her supporters to save the hills and avoid the protests, coining the slogan Goonda hatao and pahar bachao (boycott hooligans and save hills) to deliver her message.Recalling GJMs violent protests, she said, I have seen many political struggles but I have never seen such violence before. They (GJM supporters) continuously attacked us for two hours with molotov cocktails. I am not going to tolerate this. Law will take its own course of action.On June 8, situation had turned out of control after Mamata Benerjee held her first scheduled cabinet meeting in the hills. Angry over what they called was a political stunt by Mamata to gain support in the hills in the name of administrative meeting GJMs Bimal Gurung had called for a 12-hour bandh.The protesters clashed with police, which resorted to baton charge and burst tear gas shells to disperse the agitators who tried to march to the venue of the cabinet meeting.Two columns of Army were deployed in Darjeeling town after the protests. Since then Darjeeling has witnessed massive protests which badly affected normal life in the Hills. New Delhi: The CBI on Thursday categorically affirmed that there was no delay in providing to British authorities evidence against liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is facing an extradition case in London. The agency came out with a statement after reports that Crown Prosecution Service, which is representing India's case of Mallya's extradition, told a London court that it will require three-four weeks to receive evidence from India. The agency tried to defend itself by giving a detailed timeline of events leading to June 13 hearing where reported comments were made by Aaron Watkins of the Crown Prosecution Service. "During the hearing on June 13, 2017, when the counsel of fugitive Mallya sought a date in March-April, 2018, Aaron Watkins of CPS opposed the same. To justify a later date, the defence counsel raised the issue of delay, which is nothing but a figment of his imagination," CBI Spokesperson R K Gaur said. He said the hearing of June 13 was not an "extradition hearing" and its purpose was to determine further steps to be taken up in the case and to draw a timetable for extradition proceedings. "The Specialist Prosecutor of CPS confirmed that during the proceedings on June 13 there was no criticism of the extradition request or of the Indian government. The senior district judge fixed next case management hearing on 6 July, 2017 when the dates for the extradition hearing will be decided," he said. According to reports, Watkins told the court that Crown Prosecution Service required an additional three-four weeks to receive evidence from India. On this statement, the reports quoted chief magistrate at the Westminster magistrates' court Emma Arbuthnot as saying, "Are Indians normally very prompt in their responses? They have taken six months so far and we haven't got any further forward in the past six weeks?" Gaur said the charge sheet against Mallya was filed on January 24 before the Special Judge for the CBI cases, Mumbai which issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest on January 31. He said as the fugitive Mallya has been in London since March 2016, the request for extradition of Mallya was forwarded on February 9 to the UK authorities through diplomatic channels. "The extradition dossier contained details of evidence including the charge sheet filed under section 173 CrPC along with relied upon documents and non-bailable warrant of arrest," he said. On April 18, the Crown Prosecution Service sought a meeting with the officials of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate following which a team led by Additional Director CBI Rakesh Asthana visited London on May 2 and 3. The team provided all the additional documents sought and also answered the queries raised, he said. The agency in the meanwhile filed a supplementary charge sheet in a special court in Mumbai. The charge sheet along with additional evidence were sent to the UK authorities on June 9, Gaur said. "All the evidence regarding falsities, mis-statements and false representations of Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines Limited (KAL) and officials of KAL had already been forwarded to authorities of the UK," he said. Gaur said in some sections of media it is also reported that there was a delay of six months. "Hence, it is hereby categorically affirmed that there was no delay whatsoever," he said. Two Pakistani soldiers were killed after the Indian Army retaliated to the unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan army.The Pakistan army on Wednesday violated ceasefire thrice along with the Line of Control in two sectors in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir. They resorted to shelling of mortar bombs and firing of small arms and automatic weapons on forwarding posts and civilians areas in the region.There have been 10 ceasefire violations in past four days and total 14 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the International Border in Jammu region since January 1, in which one civilian died and seven others were injured, reported PTI.In escalated terror violence in Kashmir, militants engineered seven grenade attacks and firing incidents in the Valley Tuesday in which 14 policemen were injured and four rifles snatched by militants from them.Indian troops gave a strong retaliation in which 2 Pakistani soldiers were killed opposite to Bhimbher Gali sector on Wednesday, defence sources said."Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of mortars, small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 1840 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today," Defence Spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta said.Before this third ceasefire violation in the day, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 0930 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today, he said.Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively and firing is presently on, he said.Earlier, Pakistan carried out indiscriminate firing from 0500 hours to 0545 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector in Poonch along the LoC, he added.There was 3 ceasefires violation on June 12. Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government has given its nod for the dissolution of Shia and Sunni Waqf Boards as per the recommendations of a Central Waqf Council (CWC) committee. The government also accepted the proposal of the committee, led by Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand Waqf Boards in-charge Syed Ejaz Abbas Naqvi, to recommend a CBI inquiry against Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and officials of the Waqf Boards. The actual dissolution of the Waqf Boards will, however, take at least three weeks during which the government will send notice and seek reply from the parties involved. Speaking to News18, Minister of State for Waqf Mohsin Razasaid said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given his nod for the dissolution of Waqf Boards after reports of corruption and anomalies were found to be true. The report recommended dissolution of the UP Waqf Board immediately and prohibition on the entry of the accused in Waqf offices pending investigation. It will take around 20 days to finally dissolve the Waqf Boards as per the procedure. Waqf Council Member Syed Ejaz Abbas visited both Waqf Boards in Uttar Pradesh from March 21 to 24 and submitted the reports to the council. During his visit it was found that the UP Sunni Waqf Board and Shia Waqf Board were unable to perform the duty under the Waqf Act. The boards reportedly abused their powers and failed to comply with the directions issued by the Central Waqf Council. The report by the fact-finding committee of the Central Waqf Council also alleged that Azam Khan misused his position as a minister to acquire properties under the boards. It also says that Azam Khan started a trust named Maulana Johar Ali Education Trust, through which he diverted funds from Waqf properties to it. The report also pointed out discrepancies in maintaining rent collection records of Waqf properties. Speaking to ETV, Waqf and Minority Affairs Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said, As per the findings in the report by the CWC, the government has recommended a CBI probe against Azam Khan and officials of both the Waqf Boards. The CWC had probed these charges and recommended removal of the chairpersons and further investigation in this regard. I have written to CM Yogi Adityanath for removing both the chairpersons of the Waqf Boards and further investigation against them as well as the former cabinet minister Azam Khan, as recommended, he added. A saree is probably one of the most beautiful and elegant garments that has happened to women and to the fashion industry. While back in the day, sporting sarees was usual, be it casually or at a special occasion, things have changed drastically over the years. Now, women don the traditional Indian drape occasionally, mainly at social events, given the complicated draping and the uneasiness and difficulty in going about the day in the six-yard wonder. And even though not many women and girls take to wearing sarees on a daily basis, there is no denying the fact that nothing makes a woman look as graceful and beautiful as does a saree.And while a saree is considered to be one of the most versatile garments, most women wear the attire in the traditional manner, sticking to the Nivi drape which has its origins in the state of Andhra Pradesh that features the pallu draped over their left shoulder and several neatly done pleats in the front. However, there are several different ways of draping the garment which aren't very popular.So, to popularise the uncommon, never-heard-before regional drapes and styles in which one can wear a saree, Bengaluru-based Boder & Fall - a digital platform championing India's garment, textile and craft community, is doing their bit one online photo at a time.Therefore, in order to 'focus on the sari's importance' and its 'relevance as one of India's most tangible cultural contribution', the organisation has released a preview of images that showcase women donning regional Indian drapes in various differnt styles. And this online project is part of a larger project titled The Sari Series: An Anthology of Drape - a non-profit film series features over 80 short films that demonstrate how to wear the regional drapes which will be released in the fall of 2017.This online preview of the yet-to-be-release film series is an effort to bring to the world hundreds of ways in which women in India don the gorgeous attire and a way to highlight the lesser-known, classic Indian textiles and weaves.A part of Google Arts and Culture's #WeWearCulture project which looks at documenting fashion from around the world, this online exhibition which features over 60 images depicting saree drapes from 15 states.According to a Border & Fall Press Release while elaborating on the partnership and project's relevance, founder Malika Verma Kashyap said, "We are delighted to be part of #WeWearCulture, and to offer a preview of our project months before the films are released. The platform is built to disseminate art and culture, and our project shares these very same goals. #WeWearCulture offered us an incredible and unique opportunity to partner with Google, and to share with the world."Here are a few Indian regional drapes that the online exhibition features. Take a look.The Saktapar saree which has its origins in Odisha, is "woven with an ikat weave" and are "traditionally woven in red and black yarn-resist cotton and have a have distinct three border checkerboard pattern".The telia rumaal saree from Andhra Pradesh was originally "designed as a neck scarf for the Middle Eastern market, but was later adapted on the loom to become a sari". As its caption reads, "This sari is woven with the complex double ikat weave (both the warp and weft threads are dyed prior to weaving), and is traditionally woven with vegetable dyed lightweight silk that has been treated in oil to retain its colour."The Mysore silk sarees "are prized for their softness, rich colors, and use of pure silk and gold zari".One of the most popular and loved sarees, the Banarasi saree, made in Benaras, Uttar Pradesh, is still considered by many as "an essential trousseau requirement". Although there was a brief period of unpopularity for the Benarasi saree, it has regained its lost popularity over the years after consistent efforts by saree enthusiasts and fashion designers to revive the lost love for Benarasi.Parsi Gara Sari which has its origins in present day Iran, is "developed in many colours, often depicting symbols of nature and pictorial scenes". "The gara embroidery is an exquisite and intricate hand embroidery made by Parsis," reads its caption.The Bagh print saree "is a traditional hand block print made with natural, vegetable dyes" which often feature "replicated geometric and floral patterns in red and black over a white background."(Image Courtesy: Bon Duke) Kolkata: Darjeeling MP and Minister of State SS Ahluwalia on Thursday demanded that the West Bengal government should immediately issue a notification mentioning that Bangla is not compulsory in schools across the hill districts. The statement came after meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. While addressing the media for the first time on the issue in New Delhi, he said, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is responsible for the current situation in the Hills. She should immediately issue an official notification clarifying that Bangla language is not compulsory across all the schools in the Hills. Speaking to News18, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) General Secretary Roshan Giri - who accompanied Ahluwalia to meet Singh said, We briefed our home minister about the atrocities of ruling party in the Hills. We informed him the way Mamata Banerjee government is trying to suppress the voice and identity of people in the Hills. Home Minister assured us that he will consult the matter with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added. Bangla and Nepali languages are both listed in the 8th schedule and therefore it is unfair to impose only Bangla language in the Hills. Today whatever is happening in the hills Mamata is responsible for this, Ahluwalia said. While condemning the police raid at the (GJM) office in Darjeeling in the morning, he said, The police raided a political office (GJM) without informing the concerned leaders. They broke open the door and harassed supporters of GJM. This is not acceptable in a democratic structure. This shows that the state Chief Minister is finding it difficult to digest the immense popularity of GJM in the Hills during the recently held municipal elections. Her party was involved in terror in other districts during the municipal elections but she could not do anything in the hills and therefore she is now trying to disturb the peace of people living in the Hills, he said. We requested him for an immediate intervention of central government in the formation of a separate Gorkhaland. The central government should come out with a concrete solution for the formation of Gorkhaland. We are not backing off now and we want a separate state, Giri said, while rubbishing reports of any tripartite meeting in June 19. There is no such meeting on June 19. This is just a rumour, he said. Earlier, hours after police raided Gurungs office and seized arms, cash and electronic gadget, Yuva Morcha leaders in Kalimpong set a government resort on fire besides attacking Darjeeling SPs (Akhiesh Chaturvedi) vehicle and the para-military forces with petrol bombs. On June 13, movement for a separate Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties including TMCs ally GNLF extend their support and unanimously passed a resolution demanding a separate state. Bengaluru: The Janata Dal (Secular) has proved it still had king-maker powers in Karnataka in a unique tussle for power between the Congress and the BJP in the state legislature. The occasion was a first-of-its-kind no-confidence motion against Legislative Council Chairperson D H Shankaramurthy. The Chairman, a BJP MLC, has been in that post for nearly seven years, and it was the first time that such a no-trust vote was moved against a sitting chair. The ruling Congress, which had recently added numbers in the Council, thought it had enough strength to win the motion and install their own person as chairperson that would make proceedings in the Council far easier for the government. It would give them some amount of muscle in deciding priorities in discussions, it would also give them more influence next year even if the Congress doesnt win a majority in the Assembly elections in 2018. But the move, by Congress MLC V S Ugrappa and nine others, was ill-timed, hastily planned and executed which in the end proved a major embarrassment for the party. Notice was given 14 days before to move the no-trust vote, as mandated, but charges against the Chairman had not been expressed. This allowed the JDS to back the BJP at the last minute and save Shankaramurthy. The JD (S) decided to vote for Shankaramurthy to continue as Chairman, and the trust vote was defeated 37-36 All the Congress had needed was one vote in its favour, which it didnt get. The Chairman has shown bias, gives opportunity to his partymen to speak more, rather than the treasury benches. He also has violated protocol and put up photos of people affiliated with his party in his chamber, Ugrappa told the House. But these allegations found the support of his own partymen. While the defeat of the vote was embarrassing for the Congress as its the ruling party, it also brought into focus the role of the JD (S). JD (S), with just 13 members in the 75-member Council, tilted the balance in favour of the BJP. A JD (S) MLC is the deputy chairperson in the Council and he conducted the discussion. A simple, unanimous 'no' to the no-trust vote showed the rest of the parties who is boss. JD (S) leader Basavaraj Horatti told mediapersons later that the party decided to go with the BJP purely because the Congress was too late in asking for its support. BJP had asked us long back. Congress spoke to our party high command just this morning, when the vote is to take place in a couple of hours. We dont know how they assumed we would support (them), Horatti said. The JD (S), however, is a past-master in swinging its support. In 2004, the party had supported the Congress to form a government in Karnataka when the election resulted in a hung Assembly. The government didnt last long, and JD (S) chief H D Kumaraswamy pulled the plug to ally with the BJP and crown himself chief minister with the BJPs support in 2006. This government, too, did not last a full term, the JD (S) pulling the plug yet again in 2007. Both times, the JD (S) had the least strength in the Assembly. With Karnataka set for a keen battle for the Assembly next year, the JD (S)s prowess is likely to put it back in the reckoning in case there is a hung Assembly yet again. Both national parties, the Congress and the BJP, would be worried about being at the mercy of external support yet again. New Delhi: After two days of uncertainty, Metro Man E Sreedharan has been finally invited for the inauguration of the Kochi Metro. Sources said the PMO informed the Kerala chief ministers office that Sreedharan and opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala are invited to the event. However, the state governments request to also include MLA P Thomas as a guest was rejected. Earlier in the day, Sreedharan refused to be drawn into the controversy over him not being invited for the inauguration of the Kochi Metro, saying the security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is more important. There is no need to make this into a controversy. The security of the Prime Minister is important and has to be done according to what the agency says, Sreedharan told reporters in Kochi. I am not sad. Sreedharan, who is the principal advisor to the Kochi Metro project, was seen in the morning making last minute checks ahead of the inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 17. His omission by the PMO from the list of dignitaries for the inauguration was seen as an insult by many sections to a man who spearheaded not just the Kochi Metro, but also the Kolkata Metro, Delhi Metro and Konkan Railway projects and had become famous as Indias Metro Man. Earlier, the communique received by the Kochi Metro from the PMO didn't have the names of Sreedharan and Elias George, Director, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. "The final list is made by the PMO (Prime Minister's Office). We have no role in this," Elias George had said, according to news agency IANS. The PMO's decision not to have Sreedharan on the list of guests was met with severe criticism. People took to social media, chastising the PMO's move for "ignoring the man behind the success of Metro". Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala had said the inauguration of Kerala's dream project, Kochi Metro, should have been conducted without any controversies. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to the PMO, asking it to include the names of aforementioned dignitaries for their efforts in building the Kochi Metro infrastructure. A Tawainese company that assembles Apple's iPhones and other electronics is considering building a plant in Wisconsin that could employ thousands of people and give Gov. Scott Walker a huge political boost as he prepares to run for re-election.A person with direct knowledge of the negotiations who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the state is in talks with Foxconn. At least one other upper Midwest state, Michigan, is also pursuing the plant.Read more: Top 5 Upcoming Smartphones With 8GB RAM by Samsung, Xiaomi and Others President Donald Trump alluded to negotiations with an unspecified company during a visit to Milwaukee on Tuesday, saying Walker might get "a very happy surprise very soon." Trump said "we were negotiating with a major, major incredible manufacturer of phones and computers and televisions."Foxconn assembles smartphones and other devices for Apple, Sony, Blackberry and other brands - mostly in China, where its plants employ about 1 million people.Read more: Cheaper 'Nostalgic' Alternatives to Nokia 3310 You Can Buy Walker's administration deferred comment to the state's chief economic development agency. Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation spokesman Mark Maley said the agency doesn't comment on pending or potential opportunities."It's great for Wisconsin for a lot of reasons," said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, who noted that Wisconsin is already home to similar electronic manufacturers."I am assuming Foxconn was attracted by the fact there's already a skilled workforce here and there's a foundation to produce more such workers through the tech colleges and the other parts of the education system," Still said.Foxconn, founded in 1974, announced in January that it was considering investing $7 billion in a U.S. factory to produce display panels that would create as many as 50,000 jobs. The company was purchased last year of Japan's Sharp Corp.Walker made a brief, previously unannounced trip to Japan the weekend of June 2 to pursue an undisclosed economic development opportunity. That same weekend, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was also in Japan.Snyder has been increasing pressure on Michigan lawmakers to approve tax incentives for large-scale business expansions in the state as it tries to convince Foxconn to locate in his state.Michigan's state Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof said this week in advocating for the incentives to lure Foxconn that "we should put our best foot forward so that we don't lose all of it or part of it to a neighboring state."Foxconn CEO Terry Gou said in January that a decision would depend on factors including whether a state where the factory might be built would be willing to provide low-cost land or power. He also said Pennsylvania was a leading candidate, but that the company was in discussions with other states.A Foxconn partner, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, said after a December meeting with then-President-elect Trump that the company was considering a $7 billion investment in the U.S. Japanese government-led consortium bidding for Toshiba Corp's chip business will include South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc, sources familiar with the matter said - a move likely to add firepower to the group's bid in the hotly contested auction.The sale has seen much last-minute jockeying by suitors, leaving the conglomerate little time to come to a decision by its shareholders meeting at the end of this month. Read more:Read more: Top 5 Upcoming Smartphones With 8GB RAM by Samsung, Xiaomi and Others Toshiba is seeking a minimum of $18 billion for the world's second-biggest producer of NAND chips and wants to get the deal done as quickly as possible to help it cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at now-bankrupt nuclear unit Westinghouse.Given the jockeying, Toshiba has given up on choosing a winning bid on Thursday to negotiate the deal, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Sources had said the company was aiming for a Thursday decision, though a spokeswoman insisted the deadline for the decision was the second half of June.A state-backed fund, the Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ), has been at the centre of trade ministry efforts to forge a successful bid that will keep the highly prized unit under domestic control. But the nature of its partnerships appears to be going through drastic changes compared to just last week.Standard & Poor's said on Thursday it remained poised to cut Toshiba's CCC- long-term credit rating "because its plan to sell its memory business has yet to materialize and additional losses or financial burdens might still arise in connection with its U.S. nuclear power business.""Drawn-out talks over its sale raise the risk of further clouding the timing and amount of the sale if the market or conditions in which the business operates worsen more than the company assumes," S&P said.INCJ was part of a proposed bid tabled by U.S. chipmaker Western Digital last week that also includedU.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP, sources familiar with the matter have said.But other sources have also said INCJ is in talks with Bain Capital about bidding for the unit, as the U.S. private equity firm appears willing to put in more money than rivals.The Asahi newspaper reported on Wednesday that INCJ was now in a consortium that included Bain, KKR, SKHynix as well as the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ).Western Digital, which jointly operates Toshiba's main chip plant but is now in a bitter dispute with the conglomerate over whether the auction can proceed without its consent, was not included.The INCJ bid would also exceed 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), the newspaper said.A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday that SK Hynix would be providing a loan to help finance the bid although it would not be taking a direct stake. Another person briefed on the matter said the Asahi report was correct on the participants in the consortium.The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to talk to the media on the matter.Mana Nakazora, chief credit analyst at BNP Paribas, said the complexity of the situation now meant that the auction could only be settled with the government's intervention."While the makeup of the Japan-U.S. consortium may well change, it's increasingly unlikely that thereare other options," she said.FIERCE BATTLEOther suitors are also making last-minute pitches.One source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday that Western Digital was still in talks with the trade ministry over their consortium. The California-based firm has decided to raise its offer to at least 2 trillion yen, a separate source said on the weekend.The CEO of Foxconn told Reuters on Monday the Taiwanese firm was leading a group including Apple Inc, computing giant Dell Inc and Kingston Technology Co.The highest reported bid so far is one from U.S. chipmaker Broadcom and its partner, U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake. They have offered 2.2 trillion yen, sources have said.According to the Asahi report, INCJ, DBJ and Bain would each invest 300 billion yen in a special-purpose company to buy the unit, Toshiba Memory Corp.Toshiba itself would contribute up to 100 billion yen and other Japanese firms a combined 140 billion yen, while KKR is considering putting in 100 billion yen, the Asahi said. It added that SK Hynix would lend 300 billion yen to the project and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ 400 billion yen.Toshiba, SK Hynix, INCJ, Bain, KKR and a spokesman for the core unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc declined to comment. The trade ministry and DBJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Shares in Toshiba ended down 4 percent on Wednesday, hurt by a newspaper report that the conglomerate would not be able to file its annual report by the end of this month. US officials are blaming the North Korean government for a series of cyberattacks dating to 2009 against media, aerospace, financial sectors and infrastructure in the United States and around the world.The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning this week, saying the cyberattacks were carried out by actors within the North Korean government who are known as "Hidden Cobra."Read more: Top 5 Upcoming Smartphones With 8GB RAM by Samsung, Xiaomi and Others "DHS and FBI assess that Hidden Cobra actors will continue to use cyber operations to advance their government's military and strategic objectives," the alert said.US officials are distributing internet addresses to help networks defend against any attacks. The FBI said it has high confidence that the internet addresses are linked to systems infected with Hidden Cobra malware to further exploit networks.Read more: Motorola Moto C Plus With Massive 4000mAh Battery to Launch in India Soon The cyberattacks targeted weaknesses in Microsoft Corp. operating systems and Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash software, which were patched in January and June, respectively.The joint alert was issued yesterday, the same day that American student Otto Warmbier, who was released from serving a 15-year sentence in a North Korean prison for participating in alleged acts against the government, arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio.The US remains in a standoff with North Korea over its nuclear program. The US has issued sanctions, but Pyongyang has not made any move to give up weapons that it says are a deterrent to any invasion.Thousands of US troops are based in neighboring South Korea, and the Demilitarized Zone between the North and South is one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world. Melbourne: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has made fun of U.S. President Donald Trump and alluded to his ties with Russia, according to a leaked tape of an off-the-record media event. Turnbull, who had a frosty first telephone call with the U.S. president early this year, was recorded mimicking Trump at a media ball at Parliament House in Canberra late on Wednesday, which was strictly off the record. "The Donald and I ... we are winning in the polls. We are! Not the fake polls. We are winning in the real polls. You know, the online polls. They are so easy to win," Turnbull said in the leaked recording, adding: "I have this Russian guy..." An Australian journalist later broadcast the recording saying because he had not been at the event, he was not bound by the confidentiality rule. Turnbull later told the 3AW radio station he was disappointed by the leak, which he said was a breach of protocol. He said his "affectionately light-hearted" speech was a "good humoured roast" in which he was the butt of his own jokes. The U.S. embassy in Canberra said it understood that the Mid-Winter Ball was the equivalent of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, an annual Washington event at which the media and president traditionally rib each other. "We take this with the good humour that was intended," the embassy said. Turnbull was one of the first foreign leaders Trump spoke to after he took office on Janaury 20. During their telephone call, the president became irritated about an agreement made by his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, to accept as many as 1,250 refugees held in Australian processing centres on remote Pacific islands. In return, Australia would resettle refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Trump broke off what was supposed to be an hour-long call after 25 minutes and later tweeted that the refugee agreement was "dumb". Vice President Mike Pence visited Australia in April and made clear that while Trump was not happy about the refugee agreement, the United States would honour it. The two leaders were all smiles during their first face to face meeting in New York last month, when they declared that they "get along great". Washington: The Trump administration is beginning an inter-agency policy review of relations with Pakistan, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said, underlining that the president has specifically asked questions about the level of support and funding to Islamabad. We are beginning an inter-agency policy review towards Pakistan. This (continuation of US aid to Pakistan) is going to be one of the considerations, Tillerson told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on the State Departments annual budget proposals. He made the remarks while responding to a question from Congressman Dana Rohrabacher as to why the US continues to give financial assistance to Pakistan. Are we still giving money to Pakistan? Dr Afridi (who helped locate Osama bin Laden)is being held in a dungeon there, and the Pakistanis continue we know the ISI continues with the notorious support of terrorist elements in Afghanistan. Why are we still giving Pakistan any aid at all? Rohrabacher asked. Tillerson said this is one of the things being considered by the inter-agency review. The president has asked the question specifically about our level of support and funding to Pakistan. No decision is to be taken until we complete that policy review, Tillerson said. As you well can understand and appreciate, Pakistan and our relationship with them touches on some much broader issues relative to stability in Afghanistan and how we achieve that, but also stability in the Indo-Pacific region. It is a very complex relationship we have with the government of Pakistan, but your concerns are all well founded, said the Secretary of State. Hoping that the Trump administration will take a realistic view of the region, Rohrabacher said Pakistan is acknowledged by most people he has dealt with as the source of terrorism in that part of the world. And if we dont succeed in Afghanistan, it will be because of the ISI in Pakistan, Rohrabacher said. With that said, Afghanistan looks like its not going in the right direction. And there are some creative ways to handle this. We continue to have troops involved there, but some people are calling for more troops. I hope that we look for other methods rather than sending American troops into Afghanistan, the Congressman said. The Afghan policy is under review as well, he said. I mention that in the context of Pakistan because you cannot work one without the other. In the interim, though, we have had inter-agency discussions with the president about how to preserve the opportunity for a long-term solution in Afghanistan where we do not leave Afghanistan, where we never allow Afghanistan to become the platform for terrorism to be launched against the United States or certainly others, Tillerson said. That work we expect to complete over the coming weeks, review it with the president, make a final policy decision. But it has not been going well in Afghanistan. There are steps we need to take to at least prevent further deterioration while we get our new policies in place, he said. What the US is following now are the policies of the prior administration, and some steps need to be taken to stem the effects of those while the Trump government gets its policies in place, Tillerson said. Joining Rohrabacher, Congressman Ted Poe said Pakistan is playing the US. We give them money. That money ends up in the hands of bad guys in Afghanistan who hurt Americans. And I personally think that Pakistan should not get any American money, he said. They get USD 500 million a year not counting the military. They should be designated as a state sponsor of terror. And they also should be removed from the major non-NATO ally status that they have, Poe said. But I know this has been a discussion for years to try to get Pakistan on board to do the right thing. They dont. What are we going to do? he asked. New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appeared on Thursday before the Supreme Court-appointed joint investigation team (JIT) probing allegations of money-laundering against his family. Sharif is the first sitting PM to be questioned by investigators. "The day that creates history & sets a much required & welcome precedent for others to emulate," Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz tweeted along with pictures of the PML-N leader and his top aides just before leaving for the Judicial Academy - the JIT's temporary secretariat - amid tight security. A report in Dawn News said that the JIT had prepared the questions for Sharif and his children last month itself, and has grilled the Hussain Nawaz and Hassan, Sharifs sons. The report further cited that the PM has been summoned as a witness, not as accused. However, sources told Dawn News that the JIT would ask him how he and his children acquired properties and set up various businesses in different parts of the world. Investigators may also ask the PM about the factual variations in speeches he delivered on different forums after the Panama Papers surfaced, including his address to the nation, his speech in the National Assembly and his statement before the Supreme Court, reported Dawn News. Sources said investigators may put questions developed in the light of the statements of his cousin Tariq Shafi and other witnesses. The report further said that The JIT has also summoned Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in connection with the probe, while Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani, the author of the Qatari letter, has reportedly offered investigators the opportunity to come to Qatar to record his statement. The son-in-law of the prime minister retired Captain Mohammad Safdar has also been summoned by the JIT on June 25. Beijing: Welcoming India and Pakistan into the SCO, China on Thursday dismissed apprehensions that their differences could disrupt the unity of the grouping saying its charter strictly prohibits members to bring their bilateral hostility into the organisation. "As a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), we are very happy about the membership of India and Pakistan," China's Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said at a ceremony at the SCO headquarters in Beijing to formally admit the two nations as new members of the grouping. China, a dominant member of the now eight-member group, hosts the headquarters of the organisation. The SCO headquarters held a ceremony on Thursday to hoist the flags of India and Pakistan. Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale and his Pakistan counterpart Masood Khalid attended the ceremony which included jointly beating a huge SCO cooperation drum heralding the admission of their respective countries into the grouping. India and Pakistan were formally admitted as members at Kazakhstan capital Astana at the SCO summit held on June 8-9. China, Russia and Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan besides India and Pakistan are the members of the grouping. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are the observers. China takes over the rotating Presidency of the group this year from Kazakhstan. Kong, who attended the ceremony, in a brief chat with reporters allayed apprehensions aired by the state-run Chinese media that entry of India and Pakistan could disrupt the unity of SCO. "In the charter of the SCO there is a clause that the hostility between the bilateral relations should not be brought to the organisation. I believe both the countries will abide by the charter of the organisation," he said. "SCO has its own rules of procedures. We hope that those rules can be abided by all member states," he said, adding that India-Pakistan differences should not be exaggerated. "Between our member states our interests far outweigh our differences. So, we should not exaggerate the differences between the countries as it is not good for the organisation and cooperation between member states. After becoming members, we all become members of the big family," he said. China believes the entry of India and Pakistan "will guarantee very good cooperation in the organisation," he said. "Both countries are important in the region and China, Pakistan and India are in similar stage of development. We face similar challenges. Therefore, we hope that through this organisation we can work together to overcome these challenges," he said. Also, he said, China has certain expectations of India's role in the SCO. "We have expectation for the role of India in this organisation. We hope that the Indian side will give attention to its membership in this organisation and pay attention to it." In his interaction with media, Gokhale also said SCO is important for India as it consist of China, Russia and Central Asian states. Asked about how SCO can help India and Pakistan to resolve their differences, he said both the countries have bilateral channels. "We are having number of bilateral channels. I see this as another opportunity and a platform. It helps because it enhances number of points of contacts. I think it is a good day for both the countries," he said. For his part, Khalid said "it is important that India and Pakistan have joined the region." "We are part of the region. As far as Pakistan is concerned we will make all possible efforts to promote peace and stability in the region and work together as active partners within the SCO to pursue common objectives of development, peace and security. I think historic day that way," he told PTI. About the utility of SCO to address contentious issues between India and Pakistan, the Pakistan's envoy said, "I hope so. It provides a multilateral platform where both of our countries will be there. They will be represented. There will be opportunities for interaction." The Lynchburg Juneteenth Coalition is taking a step back from the festival it usually holds every June but will still offer a weekends worth of programming that begins Thursday. Juneteenth symbolizes the end of slavery and the beginning of freedom and has become a day thats celebrated all over the U.S. It is observed each year on June 19 to mark the anniversary of when Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 with news that the Civil War had ended and the enslaved were free. We have the opportunity to look back at this nearly half-century journey of progress, [to] pay homage to those who have gone before us, who have paved the road for us, says Judith Johnson, a civil rights advocate who works with the Juneteenth Coalition. We as a collective, from all walks of life, are part of this victory to celebrate freedom. Thats the feeling of this whole thing. Instead of holding the festival, Johnson says theyve decided to put all of their effort into an honors reception for high school seniors and their parents, highlighting the students who have accomplished great things. That event, dubbed The Honors and Scholars, is a red carpet reception that honors students who have been awarded scholarships by local sororities, fraternities and community organizations. It will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Miller Center Theater, 301 Grove St. Activities continue with the Charles R. Drew Annual Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. Friday at the Community Donor Center, 1900 Tate Springs Road, and Legacy on the Lawn Outdoor Yard Sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Legacy Museum of African American History, 403 Monroe St. Johnson says theyve asked local congregations to recognize Juneteenth on Sunday, while also sharing the history of their churches. Thats important for people to know, she says. Legacy Museum exhibit focuses on history of African-American music The exhibit, which opens Saturday and remains up through the summer of 2017, features information, photos, albums and other artifacts that, together, tell the story of Lynchburg's changing music scene, as well as music's role in both the local and national black culture. The Legacy Museum also will be open from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, with its current exhibit, A History of African American Music, on display. In years past, the Juneteenth festival included free HIV testing. This year, Johnson says they are encouraging people to participate in National HIV Free Test Days; those will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. June 27, 28 and 29 at the Walgreens on Wards Road and are sponsored by the Coalition for HIV Awareness and Prevention of Central Virginia (CHAP) and Horizon. For more information about the testing, call (434) 847-8035. For more information about the Juneteenth Coalition, call (434) 528-2747 or email juneteenth150@gmail.com. Bold solutions needed to meet renewable power generation target Our prowess in the energy sector has been a double-edged sword. It has promoted wide scale development of a domestic petrochemical industry, attracted commercial and manufacturing investors and has boosted the number of citizens gaining access to reliable and affordable electricity. It has also contributed to the inefficient allocation of resources; including financial resources. The current prices of electricity, water, state-owned transport, fuel and waste (for residential customers) are all distorted. We do not pay the true value of any of these commodities. Quite naturally, we have no incentive to conserve or to be efficient. Niles is Business Unit Manager of Research and Policy at the Economic Development Advisory Board (EDAB), Ministry of Planning and Development. He was speaking during day one of the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobagos Clean Energy Conference, held on June 8 and 9 at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, Mt Hope. The theme of the inaugural Clean Energy Conference was Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in a Hydrocarbon Economy. Niles made it clear, however, that his recommendations on Renewables and Energy Efficiency were his own and did not necessarily reflect those of the other EDAB members. He argued that bold solutions are needed if Government is to meet its target of ten percent renewable power generation by 2021. This will require the development around 150 MW of renewable energy resources; the re-introduction of a robust Nationwide Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency Campaign coupled with an Energy Smart Exchange Programme. Niles said this should be done via the re-introduction and execution of a public awareness campaign, designed to continuously supply the public with energy efficiency and energy conservation tips, recommendations and best practices through radio, TV, and print advertisements. This can be coupled with a programme to promote energy efficiency through an exchange of key energy inefficient household items for more energy efficient products such as ACs, water heaters, stoves (electric) and light bulbs. This initiative should be accompanied by robust energy certification/ labelling regime. He cautioned that the campaign must, however, be supported by a policy framework that encourages conservation and efficiency. Niles explained that this is where adjustments to the electricity rates, to reflect the true price for the commodities we use, would help to achieve this goal. He recommends: Implementation of a ti me-of-use tariff to increase Demand-Side Management at peak load periods. This will assist in evening out the grids load as much as possible; Implementing a surcharge, equivalent to the true cost of electricity production, to high volume residential and commercial customers; Appropriate revision and implementation of the tax incentives outlined in Finance Act No.13 of 2010 related to the conduct of energy audits, the operation of Energy Service Companies and the installation of energy efficient technologies - perhaps accompanied by mandatory periodical energy auditing for commercial (including hotels) and industrial manufacturing consumers; (In addition), the introduction of tax incentives to encourage the uptake of Industrial Energy Efficient technology; inclusive of provisions/incentives that encourage the use of waste heat and combined heat and power, should also be considered; and The introduction and enforcement of bans and/ or tax disincentives on the importation, purchase and use of inefficient technology are also necessary. What about people who cannot afford to pay higher electricity rates? Niles called for a strong safety net that provides support based on the needs of the vulnerable in our society. Niles reflected that TTs fortunes in the petroleum sector have contributed to dependence upon a non-renewable resource and a lack of conscientious resource management. This needs to change, and it needs to change now. We have to create an enabling environment that promotes and encourages activities that are environmental sustainable, economically viable and social inclusive. With respect to the energy sector, our focus must be on energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy - in that order. This does not mean that all three objectives cannot be pursued simultaneously but the proposed prioritisation helps to send a clear message that technology by itself, cannot and will not solve the problem we face. Behaviour change is necessary, Niles declared. Turning his attention to equally bold solutions in renewable energy, Niles said this sector has the potential to stimulate job creation, contribute to the creation of export-oriented industries and reduce emissions of harmful greenhouse gases. However, we will not reap the full rewards of renewable energy if we do not use it efficiently and/or conserve when possible. That said, I also recognise that the current environment; where electricity prices have been artificially depressed, acts a disincentive to the acquisition of renewable energy devices. This should be corrected across every tariff bracket or as aforementioned, for high volume and commercial customers. Niles thanked the Energy Chamber and the European Union for facilitating the conference, saying the issues raised were both timely and necessary. Sadly, however, most of the policy prescriptions mentioned in this address are not new ideas. With that in mind, though important, I would implore us all to move beyond talking about a clean energy transition and begin to make or lobby for the changes required to ensure a sustainable future for TT, Niles stated. ABOUT THE EDAB: The EDAB is a Cabinet-appointed body that advises the Prime Minister on matters of economic policy, in order to spearhead the development of strategies and policies geared toward the implementation of an Economic Development Framework for Trinidad and Tobago. Two of the primary tasks of the Board relate to: 1) Helping to shape the development plan for Trinidad and Tobago (TT) over the next 15 years; and 2) Working to advance the diversification agenda. One component of its work relates to a desirable future for TT and entails making recommendations related to a green economy transition, particularly as it pertains to policy changes that can reduce negative environmental impacts and enhance resource efficiency. Five broad areas have been identified with respect to the development of policy recommendations, to support a green economy transition: (i) Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation (ii) Renewable Energy (iii) Waste Management (iv) Sustainable Transport; and (v) Environmental Conservation including protected areas. Oil and Gas Law Conference looks at sectors use of local content She says last weeks Second Oil and Gas Law Conference at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre was testimony to the abiding faith of the faculty in the oil and gas sector in this country and the region. Antoine said just last year the faculty was worrying whether the conference would lose some of its buzz but this year it was re-energised not to mention bpTTs recent gas finds in this country. She added that while the faculty fully supports the need for diversification, it believes that the oil and gas sector remains a key industry in the country and the region and decided to continue staging the conference. Day One of the two-day conference was themed Exploring the legal framework for Oil and Gas Law, while the second day focused on The Trinidad Experience: Setting the Context and Lessons Learnt. She said when the first conference was held three years ago, it was because of the facultys recognition that the oil and gas and energy sector is a deeply significant one and the faculty needed to be at the forefront of developing its jurisprudence and scholarship. She said despite the short time since that first conference, it had grown, and in addition to an impressive roster of participants from this country it had also attracted participation regionally as well as internationally. She said the first Oil and Gas Conference was a resounding success and confirmed the view that a law space to discuss key issues about oil, gas and energy is sorely needed in the region. What better institution than the University of the West Indies, the thought leader in the region, and primary research and scholarship engine to initiate and guide this. In addition, she said recent oil and gas discoveries in the region had seen several territories trying to develop their own oil and gas industries, with Guyana being the most significant. The UWI Law faculty believed it had an obligation to offer intellectual leadership to these efforts and equally that the conference should pay some attention to helping to build the capacity of Guyanas sector, a view she said was happily shared by the facultys stakeholders. She said the fact that the conference chairman, Alicia Elias-Roberts is Guyanese, seemed to suggest that all of the pieces were coming together. She said the focus of the second conference, held from June 8-9, was on local content in the oil and gas sector and examined the extent to which the sector was making use of local labour, goods and services. It is essential to project the role of local content within the broader socio-economic goals of the country. The government must seek to create value beyond the petroleum sector itself and must access resources and capability. A comprehensive understanding of the role and principles of this local content is therefore vital. The conference also looked at the good governance issues in management of energy resources which she said were always important: issues such as preventing and curbing corruption and the particular weaknesses of emerging economies where this was concerned. According to Antoine, the issue was centered around the need to develop a technocratic management elite in an emerging economy which would be independent from political influence. A team that would be able to manage the oil and gas resources for the nation, as opposed to a political elite operating in collusion with global energy producers to further their own interests at the expense of the society they are supposed to serve. She pointed to Brazil as an example. She said the conference would provide lessons for non-lawyers, adding, Of course I am not suggesting that lawyers dont need to know about corruption and the like or do not act in their own self-interest, but we are inclusive it is multi-disciplinary. The conference also explored the role of environmental accounting and regulations in shale gas exploration. The conference has been attracting increasing interest from foreign universities, international organisations and many top law firms in the region. There was a delegation from Coventry University in the United Kingdom, including some of the top lecturers in the universitys Law faculty as well as some students. Antoine said the UWI Faculty of Law has a Memorandum of Understanding with Coventry University. She welcomed back bpTT as the premiere sponsor of the conference, noting that the company was a sponsor of the first conference. In fact, she said the company was more than a sponsor but a mentor as well, and thanked the other sponsors, Shell and EOG resources. Giselle Thompson, vice president, Corporate Operations at bpTT, seconded Antoines view that despite the need for Trinidad and Tobago to advance its diversification, the oil and gas sector remained important as a bridge in that transition. She said bpTT had benefitted from this countrys stable political and legal environment, as well as its broad commitment to the sanctity of contracts. She said bpTT had recently announced the conclusion of negotiations with the National Gas Company (NGC) for a new gas sales agreement to replace a 20-year agreement which expires in 2018. This agreement is important because it was a prerequisite to continued investments, the first of which is the Angelin Project. In the long term, it will serve as the basis for future investment decisions. She added that bpTTs recent announcement of the discovery of two trillion cubic feet of natural gas in its Savannah and Macadamia exploration wells served to underscore the point that this country continues to have a strong future in the energy sector. Success in exploration, the completion of key agreements and the sanction of our latest project, Angelin, set a strong platform for activity and growth over the medium to long term. With these projects, along with activities by other operators in the sector, it is important for us as a country to continue to strengthen the legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure that they are responsive to the needs of the industry and that the country derives maximum benefits. She said that future success also depended on strengthening collaboration across the sector and progress was already being made in this area through the establishment of the Trinidad and Tobago Upstream Operators Association. Stronger collaboration across the sector, she said, will allow everyone to improve efficiencies and reduce waste and costs as the industry tried to reset its operations to survive in a very tough energy world. Head of Legal for Shell Trinidad and Tobago, Michael Short, said that oil and gas companies in this country, working with the government, are radically rethinking and retooling to find significant opportunities to reverse the current declines in production. He said their successes were highlighted in recent headlines, and oil and gas lawyers, such as those attending the conference, had a chance to work on those projects and to make a difference and ensure that Trinidad secures the energy future for the next generation. The organisers of the conference did manage to attract a lawyer from Guyana, barrister at law, Nigel Hughes, a partner in the firm Hughes Fields and Stoby. Stoby is also director of the Guyana Oil and Gas Association, a body he formed to ensure the responsible development of Guyanas new oil and gas industry. He urged the conference to understand and forgive, the muted enthusiasm of the citizens of Guyana who are uncertain whether the country has the capacity to efficiently manage and protect the newly found energy resource for the short, medium and long-term benefits of the country and the region. He said outside Guyana there is wild excitement over the historic oil and gas discovery at Liza and the potential for even greater discoveries. However, he said the reality was that Guyana has no history of managing oil and gas and has set itself the rather ambitious target of beginning production between 2019 and 2020, a decision which may have been driven by considerations other than the best expert industry advice. He said this was exactly why the Guyanese people deeply appreciate and hope to benefit from Trinidad and Tobagos long history and experience in the oil and gas industry and from the Oil and Gas Conference. The need for collaboration and synergies is selfevident. Scary trip, water taxi stalls in Gulf Newsday spoke with a passenger, who identified herself as Kim, about the incident. Even before boarding, I was sceptical about its seaworthiness because the Trini Flash hasnt been in service for months. Then from the time we left Port of Spain, I knew something was wrong because the engine was much slower and louder, she said. The crews failure to communicate with passengers earned them a failing grade from Kim. It was very unprofessional of them not to provide an update on the situation. After we had been stalled for a while, other passengers asked what going on. A crew member just said, It back working. Thats when the boat started to move slowly. No further explanation, no announcement over the PA (public address) system, nothing. Before the Trini Flash started moving again, Kim got scared that the burning smell meant something was on fire, so she reached for the life jacket under her seat. But she couldnt get it out. The clip keeping it in place was stuck. She said, I asked a crew member how to get out the life jacket. He just pointed to a leaflet in front of me but that doesnt tell you how to loosen the clip, only how to put on the life jacket. What kind of help is that? Kim lamented that faulty vessels mean the sailing times have gotten longer and longer. If you dont count the 15 minutes we sat in the water near to Petrotrin, this sailing took an hour and 20 minutes. It used to be 45 minutes when the water taxis were working properly. Now the average is 90 minutes. This is getting ridiculous now, Kim said. The water may have been calm during this particular sailing but Kim compared the service and lack of information to very choppy waters. Newsday attempted to speak with Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan about this incident but calls to his phone went unanswered. This is not the first time the Trini Flash has had problems. Back in February, the National Infrastructure Development Company announced that it was removing the water taxi from service due to prolonged sailing times. Fr Harvey grateful for support Harvey, who is still nursing pains in his knees from the assault, said, I am satisfied that everything hat has gone on so far, from the point of view of the police and my own friends in Gonzales and Port of Spain, they have been doing more than I can ask them to do. For now, he said, it is a matter of waiting for an outcome. I am confident that something will happen. The last two young men who tried something some time ago, one is dead and the other is languishing in prison. Harvey said his doctor has told him his knee pains should ease in a few days. Police returned to the crime scene yesterday to source video footage from homes outfitted with cameras. They are also awaiting the results of fingerprints swabbed at the scene to compare against offenders on file. Harvey was at St Martins RC Church in Gonzales when, at about 5 am, he was accosted by three men, one armed with a gun, who robbed him of $1,000, a watch and a cellphone. The men threatened to kidnap Harvey, and bound his hands with tie straps and gagged him. He managed to untie himself and a report was made to the police. The investigation is being led by Snr Supt Radcliffe Boxhill and ASP Ajith Persad. Get the news faster. Tap to install our app. Access Newser even faster. Click here to install our app on your desktop. X China's goal of boosting its nuclear technology sector took a big step forward on Wednesday with the creation of three new companies in the UK by China General Nuclear Power Corporation. Hinkley Point C nuclear power station site is seen near Bridgwater in Britain, Sept 14, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] The newentities are:Bradwell Power Corp, which will be responsible for the 100 percent Chinese-built Bradwell B nuclear plant; General Nuclear System Ltd, which will shepherd China's Hualong technology through the exacting five-year UK approval process; and General Nuclear International, which will manage CGN's projects in the UK. He Yu, CGN chairman, said: "The unveiling of three companies is a solid step forward for CGN to expand its operation in the UK.With its new subsidiaries unfolding, the company is confident that it will grow steadily in the field of nuclear technology in Britain." The United Kingdom will formally assess the Hualong One technology as part of a deal reached last year,in which Chinese investment will help build the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, in which France's EDF is a major participant, and which will feature French technology. CGN and EDF have been working together for more than 30 years on nuclear development and construction in China. Under last year's agreement, CGN and EDF will collaborate on three UK nuclear plants: Hinkley Point C, in Somerset; Sizewell C, in Suffolk; and Bradwell, in Essex. CGN intends to use Hualong One technology at Bradwell, which could be the first nuclear plant in a developed economyto use Chinese technology. Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will use French technology. EDF holds 66.5 percent of the shares in Hinkley Point C, and Chinese enterprises led by CGN hold 33.5 percent. The companies will seek to get the Hualong One technology approved in the UK via an assessment known as the Generic Design Assessment process. It usually takes about five years to complete. China hopes that UK approval of its technology will open the door to its use in other countries because the UK's appraisal regime is considered by industry experts to be the strictest in the world. "We plan to submit the preliminary security report to the British government by mid-November and wrap up all the first phase examination work by then," He said. The Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency, the UK's nuclear regulators, will conduct the assessment. All nuclear operators in the UK must work within thenation's strict regulatory framework, and all reactor designs must satisfy the safety, security and environmental requirements of the GDA process. The proposed Bradwell project is in an early pre-planning stage, something that is likely to continue for many years, via investigative work and public consultation, before detailed proposals will be produced, allowing a planning application to be made. CGN's investment in the Hinkley Point C project is the largest Chinese investment to date in Europe and will comprise an initial investment of 6 billion pounds. It is likely to generate 25,000 jobs and the power station will meet 7 percent of Britain's power needs when it goes online in 2025. The plant is expected to have a lifespan of 60 years. Last year,Liu Xiaoming,China's ambassador to the UK, described the Hinkley Point C contract as an example of "the golden fruit" that comes from China-UK collaboration. In all the time humans have been exploring the ocean, there have until now been just nine recorded sightings of conjoined aquatic mammals. That's only partly why the Washington Post calls a recent catch in the North Sea "a one-in-a-billion discovery." Dutch trawlers on May 30 discovered a two-headed harbor porpoise among their catch. Believing it would be illegal to keep the deceased specimen, they returned it to the water after first snapping four photos, per National Geographic. When Dutch researchers got hold of the images, they were amazed to see the first known conjoined twin harbor porpoises, with two fully-formed heads and a single well-developed body, estimated to be about 27.5 inches long and weighing at least 13 pounds, according to a Deinsea study that notes five of the nine previous cases (this makes 10) involved fetuses. It isn't clear why the twins formed as they did, but researcher Erwin Kompanje notes even "normal twins are extremely rare in cetaceans" because "there is simply not enough room in the body of the female" for two. Citing the presence of hair on the upper lip, an umbilical opening, a flat dorsal fin, and a tail that had not yet stiffened to allow for swimming, Kompanje believes the males were born alive. As for how long they might have survived, Kompanje thinks not very: the inadequacy of a single heart may have done them in, or they could have drowned as two brains tried to control the movement of one body. Though he describes losing the creature to the watery depths as a "real horror," Kompanje tells New Scientist that "any extra case ... brings more knowledge." (This fisherman also got a big surprise.) It was a brutal display of violence that played out in broad daylight in Washington, DC, and now US authorities are charging members of the Turkish president's security detail. Police in Washington on Thursday will announce charges against 12 of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's guards who beat and kicked anti-Erdogan protesters on May 16, reports the New York Times. Seven of the men will face felonies, reports the AP. The catch? All have since returned to Turkey, and the chances of their extradition are slim to none. But the men would face arrest if they ever tried to return to the US. Police already have arrested two Turkish-Americans: Sinan Narin of Virginia and Eyup Yildirim of New Jersey, both accused of taking part in the violence against protesters that left nine people hospitalized. The Times, which did a detailed analysis of video of the melee, reports that Yildirim can be seen kicking a female protester multiple times. He is being held without bail in Newark, and a public defender said Wednesday in court that he was receiving death threats over the incident. Turkey's official line on the violence is that it was the protesters who provoked Erdogan supporters at the scene and set off the fracas, but video of the day doesn't support that. All this is playing amid strained ties between the US and NATO ally Turkey. (Another video from the scene shows Erdogan himself watching it unfold.) Anderson Cooper recently bit Anderson Cooper and pulled him to the ground. The Anderson Cooper doing the biting was a police dog in Norfolk, Va. The Anderson Cooper who was bitten was the CNN host. It was all thanks to his interest in Spike's K9 Fund, a nonprofit that Cooper did a story on two years ago. It works to get bulletproof vests on police and military dogs at a cost about $2,500 each. Cooper has since been a donor and fundraiser and just this week aired a 7-minute segment about the organization and its co-founder, Jimmy Hatch, the Virginian-Pilot reports. It was while filming the segment for CNN's weeklong Champions for Change series that Cooper's canine namesakea dog Cooper had outfitted with a vestbit Cooper's elbow, though without injury to the host. "Jimmy somehow convinced me to suit up so I could experience the power and discipline of these dogs," Cooper explained of the protective suit he had donned, something a suspect being attacked by a dog obviously would not have. Hatch, a former Navy SEAL who founded the K9 Fund after seeing military dogs shot to death in Iraq and Afghanistan (one of whom, he says, saved his life), asked Cooper if he felt how "intimate" the dog's bite was. Hatch tells the Virginian-Pilot Cooper responded with a look that seemed to say, "What the hell is intimate about a dog trying to rip my arm off?" In the first two days after Cooper's CNN segment aired, donations to the nonprofit jumped to more than $30,000; typically, it gets just a few hundred dollars a week. "He's done so much," says Hatch. (Read more Anderson Cooper stories.) Police in Arkansas are investigating how day care workers could have left a 5-year-old boy in a sweltering van for hours, NBC News reports. Christopher Gardner Jr. was found unresponsive, strapped into a booster seat at 3:30pm on Monday. That was more than eight hours after the van had arrived at Ascent Children's Health Services, per WMC, and only as it was time to drive the kids home. Administrators at the day care center for special needs children fired four workers Wednesday for failing to follow procedures, reports CNN. "There are simply no words to express the overwhelming sadness we feel at the death of this child," Ascent CEO Dan Sullivan says in a statement. "We are heartbroken." Workers are required to walk to the back of the van and check each seat, and then verify the van's roster with a class attendance sheet to ensure all the kids are accounted for, reports ABC News. West Memphis police tell CNN that temperatures in the parking lot were 91 degrees on Monday when they arrived, and that Christopher may have been asleep when the van arrived at the facility. They say the temperature inside a nearby sealed van was measured at 141 degrees, notes NBC. "I just need some answers," says Christopher's mother, Ashley Smith, per ABC. "I just want justice for my son." Great-grandmother Carrie Smith tells WMC that Christopher "suffered in that van." She says they had a routine when Christopher came home each day. "When he got off the van he'd say, 'Granny, have you got me a cookie today?'" (Two toddlers died last week after being left overnight in a hot car.) The latest territorial conquest by the Islamic State will be familiar to anyone who remembers the US hunt for Osama bin Laden: the mountainous Tora Bora region of Afghanistan. The New York Times reports that ISIS has gained control of the complex of caves and tunnels once used as a hiding spot for bin Laden. (One assessment calls the al-Qaeda's leader escape from there in the wake of the 9/11 attacks one of the US military's biggest military blunders.) The Times sees it as a "strategic and symbolic victory" for ISIS over the Taliban, adding that ISIS sought to seize control of the area after the US dropped the "mother of all bombs" on a previous underground stronghold elsewhere in Afghanistan. Newsweek similarly sees the move as significant, one that is "not only indicative of the group's power, but of a lack of preparedness on the side of U.S.-backed government forces." ISIS released an audio recording boasting of the victory and saying its flag was now flying over the area, the AP. Taliban leaders dispute that the battle is lost, but residents fleeing the area say Taliban fighters were doing the same, and a local Afghan police official confirmed that Tora Bora is now in ISIS hands. (The Islamic State also made a powerful statement with its recent attack inside Iran, even as it is losing territory in Iraq and Syria.) Rebel Wilson has emerged victorious in her fight against Bauer Media. After two days of deliberation, a six-person jury ruled the Australian actress the winner of her defamation suit against the Australian publisher, which printed eight articles in 2015 falsely claiming she had lied about much of her life story. Damages will be decided by a justice, the Guardian reports, but outside court after the ruling Thursday Wilson said: "The reason Im here is not for damages, its to clear my name. And the fact the jury has done that unanimously and answered every single of the 40 questions in my favor I think proves what Ive been saying all along." Though the publisher insisted the articles were not defamatory, Wilson said she had never lied. She testified for six days and was in court every day of the three-week trial, the BBC reports. Bauer, which publishes Australia's Women's Weekly as well as Australia's Woman's Day magazine, said it would "consider its options" after the verdict came down. Wilson, 37, says an "obsessed and weirdly jealous" former classmate had given the false information to reporters, and during the trial the jurors were read emails in which one magazine writer expressed doubts about the anonymous source's story. Her lawyer questioned why the publisher couldn't produce anyone to whom Wilson had supposedly lied, saying, "The reason why they came up with nothing, of course, is obvious. Rebel Wilson has not lied." Wilson says that as a result of the articles, she was fired from two animated films, Kung Fu Panda 3 and Trolls, and that she lost roles after the articles came out. (Read more Rebel Wilson stories.) Yellowstone officials keep warning visitors about the dangers of the park's hot springs, but curiosity seems to be stronger than fear. A 21-year-old suffered severe burns this week when he fell into a spring in the park's Lower Geyser Basin, reports East Idaho News. Gervais Gatete of Raleigh, NC, had to be airlifted to a hospital in Salt Lake City. It's still not clear what happened, reports the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, but Gatete had been with seven other people when he fell in about midnight Tuesday. They got him into a car and eventually flagged down a park ranger, who summoned medical help. "Yellowstones thermal features are dangerous," park superintendent Dan Wenk says in a statement. We continually stress that people must stay on trails and boardwalks in geyser basins, not only to protect resources, but for their own safety." Gatete, who works for Xanterra Parks and Resorts, might consider himself lucky. Late last year, a man slipped into a hot spring elsewhere in the park and was essentially dissolved in the scalding liquid. (Read more Yellowstone National Park stories.) Lyle Jeffs literally slipped from the FBI's grasp last summer, so the agency will likely hold on a little tighter now that he's back in custody after a year on the run. Jeffs, the 57-year-old brother of polygamist Warren Jeffs and a leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was captured in South Dakota late Wednesday and is being held at Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls, report the Salt Lake Tribune and Fox 13. Details about how he was captured weren't immediately made public. Apart from evading police, he's accused of involvement in a scheme to convert food stamps into cash for the church. One of 11 FLDS leaders arrested in Utah in February 2016, Jeffs was charged with fraud and money laundering. But weeks after a judge approved home monitoringeven though prosecutors claimed he was a flight riskJeffs is thought to have used olive oil to slip out of an ankle monitor. Nine other church leaders have since pleaded guilty to charges and escaped jail time, while one had his charges dismissed, per the AP. But the FBI, which offered a $50,000 reward for information on Jeffssays he will stand trial. He could face an additional charge of fleeing to avoid prosecution. (Read more Warren Jeffs stories.) European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker chairs a meeting of the EU executive body in Brussels, Belgium May 10, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] Ruling out the possibility of renegotiating the Paris climate agreement, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday pledged that the EU will cooperate with China in tackling global warming despite the US withdrawal from the pact. Juncker told the European Parliament that implementing the Paris deal was a key topic at his summit meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on June 2. Hours ahead of the meeting, US President Donald Trump announced that United States would drop out of the Paris agreement, in which his predecessor Barack Obama had put tremendous efforts. "As the European Union, we will step up our climate diplomacy and collaboration with other partners," said Juncker at a debate on Trump's withdrawal. "For instance, climate action was a key topic of the EU-China summit." Juncker has said that China, the EU and Canada will be organizing a major conference in September to implement the Paris agreement and accelerate the clean energy transition. China and the EU have both included deepened cooperation on climate change in their documents on the summit though they had not made public an anticipated joint statement on climate change during the summit. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said last week that while preparing for the summit, the Chinese side acted in a positive, practical and flexible manner and engaged in negotiating a joint statement with the EU on climate change. "Although negotiation at the working level over the text of the statement was not finished in time, it did not stop China and the EU from reaching consensus and achieving positive outcomes at the summit," she said. "China and the EU have so much consensus on combating climate change that having not released a joint statement won't hamper bilateral cooperation in this regard." Hua said China stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the EU in such fields as combating climate change, clean energy and green and low-carbon economy and promoting the implementation of the Paris agreement and working for progress on global climate governance. Juncker also said the EU is disappointed and regrets the decision by Trump, but the abandonment of Paris agreement by the US administration will not mean the end of the accord. "I am convinced that it will make the rest of the world more united and determined to work towards the full implementation of the Paris Agreement," Juncker said. "The European Union will not renegotiate the Paris agreement. The 29 articles of the agreement must be implemented and not renegotiated." Juncker said climate action does not need more distractions as the world has spent 20 years negotiating. "Now it is the time for action, now it is the time for implementation," he said. Juncker said the European Union will be ready to send a clear message on climate change at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, in early July. "We will work hard to have a clear message coming out of the G20 summit in July or at least from 19," Juncker said. European Parliament President Antonio Tajani also said climate change is one the most pressing global challenges that the world faces. "Simply put, the US administration's decision is a mistake. By working together with nations around the world we can successfully deliver a cleaner and safer planet to our citizens," he said. NPR's Steve Inskeep calls it "world class trolling." Vladimir Putin joked on Thursday that Russia would be happy to offer asylum to James Comey if he runs into legal trouble in the US, reports the Guardian. It came during Putin's annual live call-in show with Russians as he belittled the notion that Moscow interfered in the US election. Putin said Comey reiterated the allegation during his recent Senate testimony, "but again gave no evidence." And Putin went on to compare the former FBI chief to Edward Snowden. "It sounds very strange when the head of the security services writes down a conversation with the commander-in-chief and then leaks it to the media through his friend," said Putin. "How, in that case, does he differ from Snowden?" By Putin's reckoning, Comey's behavior makes him more of a "human rights defender" than an FBI chief. "And if he faces pressure, then we are happy to offer him political asylum, too," he said sarcastically. Putin also took a video call from a man in Arizona who asked advice on how to fight "racist Russophobia" in America. Putin said he didn't have specific advice, "but I want to thank you for your position, and we know that we have a lot of friends in the United States." The Washington Post notes that one thing Putin apparently couldn't control during the nationally televised show was pop-up questions from viewers that appeared on screen. It rounds up some memorable ones, including, "Putin, do you really think that the people believe in this circus with fake questions?" Read about what else Putin touched on (one topic: grandkids) during his 4-hour show here. (Read more Vladimir Putin stories.) A prominent Chicago theater critic is under fire for publishing a review of Steppenwolf's production of Pass Over that many are calling racist. In fact, a petition signed by more than 3,000 people so far calls for Hedy Weiss of the Sun-Times to stop being invited to showsmeaning she would no longer receive free tickets, but could purchase her own ticket if she wanted to attend a performance in order to review it. Weiss criticized Pass Over, a "riff on Waiting for Godot" by Antoinette Nwandu that includes a scene in which a bigoted cop confronts the two black main characters, for featuring what she called a "simplistic, wholly generic characterization of a racist white cop (clearly meant to indict all white cops)" that "is wrong-headed and self-defeating." Steppenwolf's artistic director responded to the controversy in a Facebook post on behalf of the company Wednesday, Chicagoist reports. The post notes that "some of the critical responses from this work have been shocking" and have revealed a strong racial bias, and calls Weiss' review "particularly egregious." The petition accuses Weiss of publishing other reviews with racist, homophobic, or body-shaming views, and posts here and here catalog some past controversies; Weiss infamously once wrote that Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner exhibited "the classic style of a self-loathing Jew." A PerformInk blog takes not just Weiss but other critics who wrote about Pass Over to task, noting that one critic used the n-word multiple times in her review while another seemed to be wondering why the play didn't focus more on black-on-black crime. Weiss has yet to respond to the petition, but Broadway World notes that the Chicago Tribune theater critic did weigh in, noting that he believes "engagement with different points of view is always preferable to trying to shut them down or ban their free expression." (Read more racism stories.) Both sides of the aisle came together in the Senate on Thursday to overwhelmingly pass legislation that puts new sanctions on Russia while limiting President Trump's ability to remove them, the Hill reports. "Any idea of the president that he can lift sanctions on his own for whatever reason are dashed by this legislation," CNN quotes Sen. Chuck Schumer as saying. The legislation, which was passed by a 98-2 vote, seeks to punish Russia for its meddling in the US election and actions in Ukraine and Syria. NBC News reports the sanctions target Russian individuals who give weapons to the Assad regime, violate human rights, or are involved in the defense and intelligence industries. They also target Russia's shipping, mining, and railway industries. If the legislation passes the House, it would head to Trump for signing. The White House hasn't weighed in on the legislation but says it's "committed" to the existing Russian sanctions. The Trump administration had considered lifting Russian sanctions in the past, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson opposed the new legislation, worrying it could hurt the US' ability to have a "constructive dialogue" with Russia. Regardless, GOP senators believe Trump would sign it, with Sen. Bob Corker saying: "Look, this bill is going to become law." The two dissenting votes were Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders says he's worried the legislation, which also includes sanctions against Iran, could hurt the Iranian nuclear deal. (Read more Russian sanctions stories.) Scientists have inched closer to indigenous built wearable electronic devices Kolkata : Just imagine India-made smart textiles that can sense what goes on around you, store data and communicate for necessary action! Well, scientists have inched closer to indigenously built wearable electronic devices, thanks to unique properties of silk. A team of experts at the Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur has fashioned a hybrid material based on silk protein called silk fibroin. This novel material has the potential to spawn prototype textile-based smart electronic devices for soldiers and defence personnel as well as for biomedical applications. "We have designed a hybrid photodetector using zinc oxide nanostructures on gold-nanoparticle-embedded silk protein for applications that combine electronics and light," Samit K. Ray, currently officiating as the Director of S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata (on lien), told IANS. A photodetector operates by converting light signals to a voltage or current. "The hybrid material can store data and can detect light, both in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength range, thereby offering greater sensitivity and scope of detection," Ray said. The USP of the hybrid material is its flexibility, stretchability, biocompatibility and biodegradability. "These properties are due to a combination of silk fibroin and semiconducting zinc oxide in presence of gold nanoparticles," Ray noted. "Bombyx mori silkworms are the main producers of silk fibroins worldwide in the form of cocoons. These fibroids are attractive due to their high mechanical strength, toughness, thermal stability and biocompatibility/ biodegradability," elaborated Ray. Although 95 percent of commercial electronics and computing systems deploy silicon as the semiconductor material, the team opted for zinc oxide instead, Ray said. "Conventional silicon chip is usually considered to be rigid, as brittle and breakable as window glass. Zinc oxide nanorod array embedded in silk platform is flexible and can withstand mechanical stress and bend. "Moreover, the zinc oxide, under mechanical stress, generates electrical energy. This means these devices can be powered by the energy generated when a soldier is moving about," Ray said. This was important for crafting self-powered, flexible photodetector (light detector) devices, according to Ray. "In remote locations where power sources are scarce, the wearable technology can power up by the mere movement of the user," added Ray. Narendar Gogurla and Subhas C. Kundu are the co-authors of the study published in the journal Nanotechnology. Japan's anti-terrorist conspiracy bill: All you need to know Tokyo : The upper house of Parliament in Japan on Thursday approved anti-terrorist conspiracy bill that penalises the planning of crimes with the aim to prevent terrorism. Despite opposition's rejection to it, the legislative assembly, in which the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a majority, gave a green signal to it. The government defended the bill with a view to prevent terrorism, specially when Japan is all set to host Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Officials also say it is a prerequisite for implementing a UN treaty against Transnational Organized Crime which Japan signed in 2000. The lower house had cleared the Bill on May 23. Must know things about Japan's anti-terrorist conspiracy bill: # The Bill will allow investigators to charge an individual or organisation which conspires to engage in terrorism or other serious crimes. # The Bill was revised thrice earlier this year over concerns about its content which opposition claimed it could be abused to allow wiretapping of innocent citizens and punish activities protected by the constitution. # The latest version of Bill reduced the number of targeted crimes to some 270 and narrowed the kinds of groups covered to terrorist and criminal organisations. # The general public can be targeted for conspiracy through monitoring phone and online conversations. Sorry! This content is not available in your region A firefighter directs a jet of water at a tower block severely damaged by a serious fire, in north Kensington, West London, Britain June 14, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] LONDON With smoke still swirling around the charred remains of Grenfell Tower in west London, residents and community leaders demanded to know Wednesday how a ferocious fire could have swept through the high-rise apartment block with such speed that it killed at least 12 people. The anger was particularly strong since activists had warned just seven months ago that fire safety procedures were so lax that only a catastrophic blaze would bring the scrutiny needed to make the building safe. Fire and police officials have not specified what went wrong, but extensive video footage shows the flames climbing the exterior of the building at a remarkable pace. "I've never seen a fire like that in my life," said Joe Ruane, the former deputy chief fire officer for US Air Force bases in Britain. "I've never seen that in a residential block." The 24-story public housing complex is owned by the local government council in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea and was completed in the 1970s. It is managed by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization, which spent 10 million pounds ($12.8 million) refurbishing the building over the last two years. The renovation project included installation of insulated exterior cladding, double-glazed windows and a communal heating system. Investigators need to look at what materials were used in the project and who approved their use, Ruane said. But he said the speed with which the fire spread suggests that more than one fire protection safeguard failed. "It's not just one thing," Ruane said. "It's multiple issues." Some residents suggested that Grenfell Tower's policies were to blame for the disaster. A newsletter put out by the building's tenant organization told tenants to follow a "stay put" policy and remain in their apartments during a fire unless the blaze was inside their apartment or in their hallway or until they were told to evacuate by officials. This policy is in place "because Grenfell was designed according to rigorous fire-safety standards," according to the 2014 newsletter about the renovation project. New front doors in each apartment could withstand a fire for up to 30 minutes, "which gives plenty of time for the fire brigade to arrive," the newsletter said. New Delhi: It has been a month since Kolkata based model turned actress Sonika Singh Chauhan breathed her last followed by a tragic car accident took place near Lake Mall on Rashbehari Avenue in South Kolkata. Chatterjee who was behind the wheel had been admitted to ICU and got released days after his stabilisation. From Chatterjee's arrest to his instant release on bail, a bunch of controversial happenings took place till the date. Meanwhile, latest media report suggests that Vikram Chatterjee is nowhere to be seen and police are unable to contact him for questioning. Though his lawyear Rajdeep Majumdar is trying to convince people that his client is not at all trying to escape the scene, his absence at his Swinhoe Street house raised the doubts further. On May 31, Kolkata Police moved the Alipore court seeking the addition of Section 304 of the IPC which is culpable homicide not amounting to murder, a non-bailable offense which could land the actor in jail for up to 10 years. At present, Chatterjee is out on bail, as the charges slapped against him included bailable offenses under Section 304A - causing death due to negligence, rash driving and damage to public property. Moreover, Vikram's anticipatory bail plea which was to be heard before on June 5, now gets postponed for a July hearing. Also Read: Sonika Singh death: Drunk actor Vikram is behind this tragic accident? Though the officials have enough evidence from the video, CCTV footage and bills of the pubs to prove that he was drunk when his car met with an accident, the police are not likely to move for his arrest as yet. Even a couple of days after Sonika's death the actor had addressed a press conference to claim that he was neither drunk not speeding his car which may be considered at the reason of the accident. But after a huge protest by his friends and colleagues Vikram finally admitted to drinking. Sonika who was a gem of Mumbai modelling circuits beside her tollywood career had also been hosting a prime time show on a national channel. On the other hand, Vikram who is currently working in a bunch of bengali soap has also tried his hands in the movies like 'Khoj', 'Elar Char Adhyay' and 'Ami Ar Amar Girlfriends'. Also Read: Sonika Chauhan dies in car accident, Vikram Chatterjee admitted in ICU Meanwhile, both Sonika and Vikram's friends are running social media campaigns seeking justice for their respective stars. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Muzaffarnagar: Two youths have been arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl for two months in Shamli district and impregnating her, police said on Thursday. The two accused had been sexually assaulting the 15-year-old victim for nearly two months and had also threatened her of dire consequences if she informed anyone about it, they said. Her family members came to know about it after she became pregnant, a police official said. Read more: Woman allegedly raped in Jaipur-Bandra Express on pretext of berth A case has been lodged against the accused on a number of charges, including rape and under Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO Act), 2012 and a probe is on, police said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday attended an iftar party primarily organized by the partys Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan. It was cler rebuff to senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas. Khan, who was suspended from the party to pacify Vishwas, ushered Kejriwal to the event, held on the lawns of the Jamia Milia Islamia University, which falls under the Okhla constituency that the former represents. Abdul Wajid Khan, partys councillor from ward no 102 of the South MCD was also present at the event, along with party supporters. The event was organised by the AAPs Okhla unit. Fundamentalist forces are rearing their heads in the country. I hope they are defeated and people of all communities live in peace and amity, Kejriwal said in an address to the gathering. Both, Kejriwal and Khan left the venue in the same car, parrying questions by the media on whether it should be considered a signal to Vishwas, who has publicly differed with the AAP leadership over several issues in the recent months. In what is being seen as the leaderships resolve to further corner Vishwas, newly-appointed AAP treasurer Deepak Bajpai took a dig at the poet-turned-politician, suggesting that he had stayed in a beach-view five star hotel in Goa during the state polls there. Stop this pretence. Stop defaming the party volunteers and look within and answer the questions, Bajpai tweeted. The differences had come to the fore when Vishwas had refused to toe the partys official line that manipulation of electronic voting machines was the prime reason behind its recent string of electoral defeats. Khan had dubbed Vishwas an RSS-BJP agent and had accused him of plotting a coup in the AAP, following which the poet-turned-politician had threatened to quit the party if no action was taken against Khan. As things threatened to spiral out of control, the partys Political Affairs Committee (PAC) had suspended Khan. On Wednesday, former AAP Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey had also questioned Vishwas, who is also the partys Rajasthan in-charge, for attacking the Congress but remaining silent on the BJP. Also Read - AAP's fresh crisis: Kejriwal's Dilip Pandey attacks Kumar Vishwas For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Jammu: Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in fierce retaliation by Indian troops as Pakistan Army on Wednesday violated ceasefire thrice along the Line of Control in two sectors in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan Army resorted to shelling of mortar bombs and firing of small arms and automatic weapons on forward posts and civilians areas in the region. There have been 10 ceasefire violations in past four days and total 14 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the International Border in Jammu region since January 1, in which one civilian died and seven others were injured. In escalated terror violence in Kashmir, militants engineered seven grenade attacks and firing incidents in the Valley Tuesday in which 14 policemen were injured and four rifles snatched by militants from the them. Indian troops gave a strong retaliation in which 2 Pakistani soldiers were killed opposite to Bhimber Gali sector on Wednesday , defence sources said. Also Read | J-K: Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC in Krishna Ghati, Indian Army retaliates strongly Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of mortars, small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 1840 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today, Defence Spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta said. Before this third ceasefire violation in the day, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics RPG, Recoilless Rifles from 0930 hours in Naushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district today, he said. Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively and firing is presently on, he said. Also Read: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat says work is religion for soldiers Earlier, Pakistan carried out indiscriminate firing from 0500 hours to 0545 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector in Poonch along the LoC, he added. There were 3 ceasefire violation on June 12. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi/ Washington: The fugitive chief recruiter for the ISIS in the Indian subcontinent Mohammed Shafi Armar was on Thursday named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US, becoming the first Indian leader of the dreaded terror outfit against whom America has slammed sanctions. The US State Treasury Department, while updating its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), has included in it Armar, a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka, clearing the way for sanctions against him. An Interpol Red Corner notice is also pending against the 30-year-old Armar, who has many aliases like Chhote Maula, Anjan Bhai and Yousuf al-Hindi. Armars name has now been added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department which enforces economic sanctions programmes, primarily against countries and groups of individuals, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers. The sanctions can be either comprehensive or selective, using the blocking of assets and trade restrictions to accomplish foreign policy and national security goals of the US. This is for the first time that the US has slammed sanctions against an ISIS leader in India. Also Read: Indians believed abducted by IS in Iraq may be in Mosul: Kin Mohammed Shafi Armar is a leader and head recruiter in India for the Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, ISIS,? the State Department said. He has cultivated a group of dozens of ISIS sympathisers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps, said the statement. Armar was said to have left for Pakistan along with his elder brother after a crackdown on Indian Mujahideen cadres. After a fight with Bhatkal brothers, including Riyaz, the founder of IM, in Pakistan, Armar is believed to have created Ansar ul Tawhid, which later pledged its allegiance to the ISIS. There have been many reports of him having been dead in a drone attack or crackdown by the allied forces. However, every time intelligence agencies began giving credence to such reports, his name or voice cropped up in intercepts. Tech savvy, Armar has been operating on Facebook and other personal messenger services to contact, brainwash and recruit youths from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. His links to the ISIS were also the highlight of the interrogation of Yasin Bhatkal, who was arrested near the Nepal border in 2013. Armar first came on the radar of investigation agencies when the NIA was probing suspected Islamic State cadres in Ratlam of Madhya Pradesh. During the interrogation of alleged IS operatives, it emerged that Armar was motivating and radicalising Muslim youths in India. He was said to have been recruiting youths for the Jund ul Khalifa-e-Hind through online radicalisation. The NIA had charge-sheeted him along with five others for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror strikes in the national capital and also during ardh kumbh in Haridwar. Also Read: Qatar ensures Gulf citizens to stay despite crisis, boasts of 'business as usual' The National Investigation Agency had told a special court that these accused were planning to assemble Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) using extracts from match sticks. The United Arab Emirates had deported three Indians who were allegedly working for Armar. It emerged during the interrogation of IM suspects that he was a self-proclaimed ally of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, chief of the ISIS. Two other ISIS leaders in Europe and the Middle East, Oussama Ahmad Atar and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali were also listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the US. Oussama is a senior leader of ISIS external operations efforts and has established a network to carry out attacks in Europe. He was a leading coordinator of the November 2015 Paris attacks and March 2016 attacks in Brussels, the State Department said. The Belgian-Moroccan national was responsible for recruiting, training, and sending at least some of the individuals to Paris to launch the November 2015 attacks, which killed and injured hundreds, including Americans, it said. He also recruited and mentored two of the bombers involved in the March 2016 Brussels attacks that killed 32 and left many more wounded. Mohammed Binali is a senior member of ISIS who departed Bahrain to join the terrorist group in 2014 and has since appeared in multiple ISIS propaganda videos calling on Bahrainis, specifically members of Bahrains security forces, to join ISIS, it said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A power drunk Congress MLA allegedly thrashed a farmer in his neighborhood over a land dispute. Sillod Congress MLA Abdul Sattar and his supporters allegedly beat him up over a land dispute. The MLA clarified that the land belongs to a Dalit family and he has nothing to do with it. But the situation had coerced him to take the step, he said. Land belongs to Dalit brothers, don't have any connection with it. Situation at that time was such I had to take that step, Sattar said. The police also rushed to the spot. Land belongs to Dalit brothers, don't have any connection with it. Situation at that time was such I had to take that step: Abdul Sattar. pic.twitter.com/aR8ngprCMT ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 The incident took place amid protest of farmers where the Congress party is trying to corner the BJP government over the interest of farmers. Maha: Sillod Cong MLA Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi, along with supporters, allegedly beat up farmers in his neighborhood over land dispute (12/6) pic.twitter.com/VfBIgW9PM6 ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Congress to launch fight-for-right yatra on Thursday For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Kollam (Ker): In a gruesome incident, a woman was allegedly beaten up by her husband in Alapuzha district demanding more dowry and poured acid on her causing grievous injuries. According to a statement given to police by the 31-year-old woman, her husband and mother-in-law used to often quarrel with her and torture her for not bringing in enough dowry. The woman claimed that at the time of her wedding, nine years ago, her parents had promised to give Rs two lakh in cash and 20 sovereigns of gold as dowry. But they could give only gold and due to that she was tortured. On June 6, the woman's husband allegedly hit her on the head with a firewood and as she lay on the floor with blood oozing out, he threw acid at her, police said. Read more: Mumbai: Woman throws acid on ex-boyfriends face for ignoring her Though she managed to protect her face, acid fell on her ears, neck and back causing burn injuries. She was taken to ataluk hospital by her mother whom she had called for help, they said. On the basis of the woman's complaint at a Punalur police station in Kollam on June 10, her husband and mother-in-law was booked for cruelty and causing grievous hurt by use of acid, police said. Since the incident occurred at Chengannur, the case was transferred and re-registered. Investigations have begun, Chengannur police sources said, adding efforts are on to nab the woman's husband who is absconding. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putins intention to play a mediators role in resolving its issues with India. Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria during a weekly briefing was asked that reportedly during his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of SCO Summit, Putin offered mediation between India and Pakistan to resolve their issues. Pakistan welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russias attention and intention to play a role in this longstanding issue on the UNSC agenda, he said. Zakarai said Putin was a world leader and a statesman and Pakistan would extend a very warm welcome to him when he decides to visit the country. Talking about ties with Russia, Zakarai said Pakistan-Russia relation was following a positive trajectory. Both sides have signed defence agreement, held joint military exercises and Russia is investing USD 2 billion in South-North gas pipeline project. There is tremendous scope for enhancing ties further, particularly in political, economic and trade, energy, defense, culture and education fields, he said. Zakarai said there was a growing realisation and concern among the regional countries and the UN on the threat to peace in the region due to Indian unprovoked hostility on the LoC and Working Boundary. Indian attempts to distract the world attention from the brutalities its occupation forces have unleashed on unarmed Kashmiris have endangered peace and security in the Sub-Continent and beyond, he alleged. To a question about External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajs statement that Pakistan cannot take Kashmir issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), he said Pakistan was a sovereign country and reserves the right to take up any matter at any forum it deemed appropriate. As for Kashmir, it is an internationally recognised dispute and outstanding on the UNSC agenda. Pakistans position is consistent that we call for an early implementation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions on Kashmir, which promise the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people under a UN-supervised plebiscite, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Russia has not made any mediation offer to resolve Indo-Pak issues, India said on Thursday and asserted that Moscow was well aware of New Delhis position of bilateral resolution of all such matters in a terror-free environment. The remarks by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay came following reports in the Pakistani press that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his intention to mediate between the two countries. A senior diplomat in the Russian embassy in New Delhi rejected the reports and said it was Pakistans wishful thinking. The Pakistani media quoted Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying we welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russias attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda. Zakaria was asked about reported offer made by Putin during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO Summit earlier this month. Read here: Pakistan welcomes Russias intention to mediate in resolving issues with India: Nafees Zakaria Asked for his reaction, Baglay said, No offer of mediation was made by Russia to India. Russia is very well aware of Indias consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence. The senior diplomat in the Russian embassy also rejected reports of any mediation offer. We do not have any information of such an offer made by our president. Russia is clear in its position that Indo-Pak issues need to be resolved, bilaterally, and we will never ever suggest anything contrary to that. It seems wishful thinking on part of Pakistan, said the diplomat, on the condition of anonymity. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Twitter is buzzing with news alerts from India and rest of the world. Here are the latest updates from the micro-blogging site in one scroll: A #7:42 PM Ceasefire violation by Pakistan in J&K's Naushera sector along the Line of Control, from 5:30 pm. Indian army retaliating.- ANI #7:26 PM First-ever calligraphic exhibition depicting verses of GitaA held in China.- PTI #7:25 PM ED seizes foreign assets worth Rs 7 crore of a Delhi-based jeweller in connection with Panama Gate- PTI #7:23 PM Russia very well aware of India's position to address all outstanding issues with Pak bilaterally in terror-free environ: MEA- PTI #7:13 PM ED seized Rs 7 Crore of Mehra Family of the Mehrasons Jewellers, Delhi in Panama Leak case. First seizure under sec 37A of FEMA,1999- ANI #7:13 PM Petrol price cut by Rs 1.12 per litre, diesel by Rs 1.24 per litre with effect from June 16.- PTI #6:42 PM Bureaucractic Reshuffle: 22 joint secretaries appointed in various central govt departments - PTI #6:40 PM Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu spoke to NCP Chief Sharad Pawar and TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Presidential Election, on Thursday- ANI #6:16 PM The PMO IndiaA says Metro ManA E SreedharanA will share stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Kochi MetroA inauguration on Jun 17- PTI #6:15 PM Chhattisgarh: Security forces defuse 10 kg improvised explosive device, planted by naxals in Kanker's Badgaon- ANI #6:12 PM Arms recovered from a naxal hideout in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur, information about which was revealed by an arrested naxal on June 13th- ANI #5:58 PM Miscreants torched a Government bus in Paglajhora, Kurseong West Bengal- ANI #5:57 PM It's outcome of training&hard work. Good we are getting medals in new events: Heena Sidhu on winning gold at ISSF World Cup mixed team event- ANI #5:55 PM BP's Bob Dudley says BP-RIL agree to progress on R-Series gas field development in KG-D6 block.- PTI #5:53 PM TTV Dinakaran meets Sasikala in prison in Bengaluru- ANI #5:43 PM At least seven dead, 59 injured in China kindergarten blast: state media- AFP #5:38 PM 24 including students injured, after their bus overturned in Shimla's Kelti, shifted to hospital for treatment- ANI #5:37 PM Policeman Shabir Ahmad Dar succumbs to his injuries after he was fired upon by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam (Bogund)- ANI #5:38 PM In rare instance, Prez withdraws gallantry medal given in 1997 to Pb police SI Gurmeet SinghA after he was jailed for life in 2006 for murder- PTI #5:38 PM J&K: Terrorists attack police station in Kulgam, cop shot dead #5:25 PM In relief to foreigners who visit India for medical tour, govt decides to standardise cost of such services through a portal- PTI #5:18 PM Defence Ministry orders to pay Disability Pension to disabled soldiers/officers who took premature retirement, prior to 2006- ANI #5:06 PM Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath addresses a public gathering from a bullet proof glass in Bihar's Darbhanga- ANI #4:41 PM PM Modi at inauguration of PT Usha's Usha School of Athletics via video conferencing- ANI #4:37 PM We are investigating the matter, no comments to offer till completion of a thorough investigation: IndiGo statement on ruckus by TDP MP- ANI #4:33 PM Rajouri: Ceasefire violation by Pakistan along LoC in J&K's Naushera sector, from 02:00 pm on Wednesday. Indian army retaliating. Firing on- ANI #4:33 PM Explosion strikes entrance to kindergarten in eastern China; casualties reported- ANI #4:21 PM London fire death toll rises to 17, police say.- PTI #4:04 PM Anil Kumble will remain India head coach for the West Indies tour, confirms BCCI- PTI #3:58 PM Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav picked in the Indian team which will tour West Indies for five ODIs and a T20- PTI #3:52 PM Sukma (Chhattisgarh): 14 naxals involved in Burkapal attack arrested from Chintagufa and Chintalnar areas by security forces- ANI #3:42 PM Sensex drops 80.18 points to end at 31,075.73; NiftyA falls 40.10 points to 9,578.05.- PTI #3:40 PM All conspiracies of our political opponents will fail; No corruption allegations levelled against me, says PakistanA PM Nawaz Sahrif.- PTIA #3:35 PM Delhi money laundering case: HC issues notice to ED on bail plea of arrested businessman Yogesh Mittal(close associate of advocate R Tandon)- ANI #3:21 PM Narada News CEO Mathew SamuelA appears before police in Kolkata for questioning in connection with alleged extortion call to an ex-Bihar MP- PTI #3:18 PM Civil aviation ministry writes to Finance Minister asking for the GSTA roll out to be deferred till September 1, 2017.- ANI #3:17 PM Delhi: 4 unidentified armed men loot jewellery worth Rs 60-70 Lakh from a store in Malviya Nagar's M Block Market, investigation underway.- ANI #3:15 PM Lucknow bench of Allahabad HC pulled up Lucknow Development Authority for not taking action agnst illegal construction raised by G Prajapati- ANI #3:15 PM Villager killed in Arunachal's Changlang on night 14-15 June. PRO Def Guwahati Lt Col Suneet Newton says "It's a case of mistaken identity"- ANI #3:06 PM Kerala government had sent a letter to Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday, requesting to include their names.- ANI #3:01 PM PMO informs Kerala CMO that names of opp leader Ramesh Chennithala & "metro man" E Sreedharan has been included for Kochi metro inauguration- ANI #2:54 PM Home Ministry seeks report from West Bengal government on Gorkhaland issue, asks the state govt to maintain law and order - ANI #2:53 PM Man shot dead by Army in Arunachal Pradesh: Sources - ANI #2:38 PM J&K: Ceasefire violation by Pakistan along LoC in J&K's Naushera sector, from 02:00 pm today. Indian army retaliating. Firing presently on - ANI #2:30 PM It started drizzling at Edgbaston ahead of second semi-final match of # ChampionsTrophy between India & Bangladesh - ANI #2:17 PM India ranked 60th globally and 1st in Central and Southern Asia in Global Innovation Index 2017 - ANI #2:03 PM Karnataka: Congress loses trust vote against legislative council chairman DH Shankaramurthy by one vote. 37 votes in favour, 36 against. - ANI #1:37 PM We've taken note of the letter written by Mukul Rohatgi to not to continue. We'll take appropriate step & decision in this regard: RS Prasad - ANI #1:22 PM Tamil Nadu government announces free education for transgenders in Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. - ANI #1:14 PM London fire commissioner says authorities 'genuinely don't know' how many victims died in building blaze. - ANI #1:13 PM Darjeeling: A media vehicle set on fire by alleged Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters, stones pelted on security forces. - ANI #1:00 PM No summon has been issued to Baba Ramdev, his remark on 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' is being presented wrongly: SK Tijarawala,Spokesperson - ANI #12:48 PM Madhya Pradesh: Shutdown by traders in Bhopal protesting against # GST - ANI #12:47 PM 2 died, 2 injured in a blast at Khadki Ordnance Factory in Maharashtra's Pune earlier today. - ANI Maharashtra: 2 died in a blast at ordnance factory in Pune, more details awaited. - ANI #12:35 PM Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh has expressed his condolences and assured all possible help for the victims. - ANI Himachal Pradesh: 10 died, at least 30 injured after a bus carrying pilgrims from Punjab, met with an accident near Dhaliara in Kangra. - ANI #12:23 PM Darjeeling: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's Patlabash office sealed. - ANI #12:14 PM There were reports that E Sreedharan's name was missing from list of ppl who would be on stage with PM Modi during Kochi metro inauguration - ANI Don't make it into controversy. Security of PM is important,must follow what security agency says. I am not disappointed: E Sreedharan - ANI E. Sreedharan inspects newly constructed Kochi Metro train station, checks preparations before inauguration ceremony - ANI #12:04 PM A Recovered arrows, mechanised bows, prohibited arms, explosives, other contrabands, huge amount of cash, 2 people detained: # Darjeeling SP - ANI Got info they (GJM) gathering arms to attack police, that's why tried to conduct raid at several places: Akhilesh Chaturvedi, # Darjeeling SP - ANI #12:00 PM At least 18 killed in Mogadishu restaurant attack: government #11:52 AM GJM has given indefinite strike to protest against police highhandedness. Tourists have almost left: Roshan Giri, GJM gen secy - ANI #11:49 AM Nawaz Sharif is accused of corruption in the Panama Papers leak case which the JIT is probing - Republic Panama Papers leak case: Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif appears before the Joint Investigation Team - Republic #11:37 AM Four suspected Pakistani ISI agents who were caught in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, taken to Jodhpur after questioning: Sources - ANI #11:36 AM South Korea sack national football team coach Uli Stielike -AFP #11:28 AM We have sought an appointment with the Governor, he is out of town, will meet him soon as he is back: MK Stalin on cash for vote MLA sting Today again I was denied permission to raise MLA sting issue in assembly by speaker, in protest we staged walkout: MK Stalin - ANI #11:25 AM That's why we need # Gorkhaland, our rights, culture, heritage, traditions, nothing is respected: Binay Tamang, assistant gen secretary, GJM - ANI We are tribals, about to hold our traditional archery competition. They showed our traditional equipment as weapons: Binay Tamang, GJM - ANI #11:22 AM Cash for vote MLA sting: DMK and Congress stage walkout from Tamil Nadu assembly - ANI #11:17 AM Police recovered arms, arrows and cash from Gorkha Janmukti Morcha office. - ANI #10:59 AM Madhya Pradesh: Under pressure from moneylender, a farmer named Narmada Prasad commits suicide in Chaplasar village of Hoshangabad's Babai. - ANI #10:58 AM Supreme Court issues notice to Centre on a PIL filed by a Hyderabad based NGO on cattle slaughter notification. - ANI #10:39 AM Darjeeling: GJM calls for indefinite shutdown in protest against police raid at their office - ANI #10:33 AM Islamic extremist rebels fight Somali soldiers through night in bloody Mogadishu restaurant siege. - ANI #10:33 AM Delhi: A man arrested from Shastri Nagar area for allegedly printing fake notes of 2000. Rs. 1.78 lakh fake currency recovered. - ANI #10:29 AM Cricket is a politically neutral institution, it should be seen through the prism of sports only: WR Para, PDP on Mirwaiz's tweet on Pak win - ANI #10:14 AM CBI to probe TMC leader Iqbal Ahmed in connection with the Narada Sting case. - ANI #10:04 AM Tamil Nadu: DMK's MK Stalin and other MLAs reach assembly ahead of 2nd of the assembly session - ANI #10:02 AM North Korea says US student Otto Warmbier released 'on humanitarian grounds' - AFP #10: 00 AM Rajasthan: Four died, 10 injured after car crashed into a tree in Jaisalmer's Fatehgarh - ANI #10:00 AM Darjeeling: Police break lock, raid GJM leader Bimal Gurung's office - ANI #9:49 AM Land belongs to Dalit brothers, don't have any connection with it. Situation at that time was such I had to take that step: Abdul Sattar. - ANI Maha: Sillod Cong MLA Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi, along with supporters, allegedly beat up farmers in his neighborhood over land dispute - ANI #9:38 AM MP Minister GS Bisen and LS BJP MP Bodh Singh Bhagat argue on stage during a "sabka sath, sabka vikas" programme in MP's Balaghat - ANI #9:37 AM J&K: Search operation in Samba after a civilian reported seeing some suspicious men. - ANI #8:29 AM Strong 6.9 magnitude quake hits Guatemala and southern Mexico, killing five people and knocking down homes - AFP #7:57 AM Union official: Gunman in San Francisco UPS warehouse shooting had filed overtime grievance. - ANI 7:49 AM Manipur: Flooding after heavy rain in Imphal, many houses submerged - ANI #7:38 AM Mumbai: 21 yr old Sanchita from Patkar college Goregaon allegedly commits suicide after failing first year BCom exams - ANI #7:28 AM Kandhamal(Odisha): Family carry body of girl on stretcher after hospital did not provide ambulance. Later police arranged van after 1.5 kms - ANI #6:54 AM Hospital says Rep. Steve Scalise still in critical condition, will need more operations after shooting. - AFP #6:14 AM President Trump makes surprise visit to hospital where Rep. Scalise is being treated after shooting. - AP #5:35 AM California congressman tells AP that a mistaken report of a shooting led to Air Force base lockdown. - AP For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: College students who go to sleep and get up at different times during the week may be damaging their academic performance, says a US study. Regularity in sleep timings going to sleep and waking at around the same time daily including weekends included was related with a better grade point average (GPA) among the college students in the study, the researchers found. College students who sleep starved themselves during the week and then binge slept on weekends had poorer grades than those whose schedules were more consistent, senior author Dr Charles Czeisler, director of the Sleep Health Institute at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, told Reuters Health by e-mail. Importantly, it didnt matter how much sleep the students got overall. The sleep timings of the students itself was a forecaster of bad academic performance. It did not matter even if students made up for lost night-time sleep with naps during the day, according to the results published in Scientific Reports. Czeisler and colleagues examined the sleep of 61 full-time undergraduates ages 18 to 24 for 30 days. Students concluded sleep diaries and the researchers used the Sleep Regularity Index (SRI), an instrument they developed, to analyse the students sleep patterns. The index is scaled so that someone who sleeps and wakes at the same time each day scores 100, and someone who sleeps and wakes at random times scores 0. Those who ranked in the top 20 per cent were labelled as regular sleepers and those who scored in the bottom 20 per cent were irregular sleepers. Both groups averaged about seven hours of sleep daily, though irregular sleeper also reported inferior sleep quality. Regular sleepers slept for 55 per cent of the clock night the hours between 10pm and 10am and only 1 per cent of the clock day, whereas irregular sleepers only slept for 42 per cent of the clock night and 11 per cent of the clock day. ALSO READ | Sleeping more on weekends may prove harmful for your overall health As a result, irregular sleepers faced considerably less daytime light and relatively more light at night, which sparked a delay in secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin in the body, according to the researchers. These differences led to a shift in the body clock of in irregular sleepers which was equal to traveling west for almost three hours, Czeisler said, which could be a possible explanation for their poorer academic performance. For students whose sleep and wake times were inconsistent, classes and exams scheduled for 8am were occurring at 5am body time a time when cognitive performance is impaired, he said. Greater sleep regularity was associated with improved GPAs. Every 10-point increase on the sleep regularity index was linked with an average increase of 0.10 points in GPA. At the end of the study, irregular sleepers averaged GPAs of about 3.24 out of a possible 4.0, and regular sleepers averaged 3.72. The study doesnt prove that irregular sleep causes poorer academic performance, the researchers note, but it could be an indication of other daily habits that hamper with the students performance in college. Increasing contact with daytime light and decreasing exposure to laptops and other light-emitting devices before sleeping at night might improve sleep regularity, they advise. ALSO READ | Want your child to get adequate sleep? Go strict and enforce bed time rules Sleep specialist Dr Rafael Pelayo of the Stanford Sleep Medicine Centre in California told Reuters Health that while its possible some people can tackle sleep irregularity better than others; many students may be underperforming and not realise it. I compare it to having a race car, Pelayo said. The manufacturer may recommend high-octane gas, but you can put cheap gas in it and if youre stuck in traffic, you wont notice a difference. But if you put it on a race track, you will. The real question is, Could you do better academically if you had better quality sleep? Usually students say when they go to bed or wake up depends on what day it is. When theyre on different timetables every other day and on the weekend, Pelayo noted: The brain gets thrown off. Its like always being jetlagged youre never quite at your best. Instead, he advises, pick the earliest time you must wake up, and make that your daily wakeup time for the whole week. Do the same for bedtimes by sleeping at the same time every day. Do that for several weeks to get into a rhythm, because making your sleep predictable is going to make you feel better and do better. New Delhi: A bizarre-looking two-headed porpoise has been discovered by the fishermen off the coast of the Netherlands. The fishermen were shocked to see the creature, which was later identified as a conjoined harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). The porpoise has two fully grown heads and a single body and this has been termed a case of partial twinning, or parapagus dicephalus. Researchers have called the creature extremely rare as the male porpoises are only the 10th known case of conjoined twins in cetaceans. This group of animals also includes whales and dolphins. The anatomy of cetaceans is strikingly different from terrestrial mammals with adaptations for living in the sea as a mammal. Much is unknown, says Erwin Kompanje at the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, and one of the authors of the paper describing the find. Adding any extra case to the known nine specimens brings more knowledge on this aspect. The porpoise was probably already dead when it was caught. The fishermen soon returned the twins to the ocean. However, they clicked a series of pictures of the creature for research. They returned it to the ocean as they believed it would be illegal to keep it. According to Kompanje, researchers will not be able to directly examine the porpoise as it has now been lost in the ocean, however, the pictures can help them. Kompanje says the porpoise died shortly after death as its tail had not stiffened, a necessary factor for newborn dolphins to be able to swim. A flat dorsal fin was another sign of their age and it shouldve been turned vertical soon after entering the ocean water. Also, the hair on the creatures upper lip should fall out shortly after birth. Normal twins are extremely rare in cetaceans, adds Kompanje. There is simply not enough room in the body of the female to give room to more than one fetus. Most conjoined twins may go unnoticed by science due to the vast size of our oceans. Conjoined twins will be more common than the 10 cases we know at this moment, but we are unaware of them because they are born at sea and are never found, says Kompanje. Watch: Massive 'sea monster' washes ashore in Indonesia, people mistook it to be a stranded boat For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Like an Indiana Jones adventure, Scientists have asserted that they rediscovered the whereabouts of the lost Eight Wonder of the World in New Zealand. In earlier times, the silica terraces on Lake Rotomahana drew thousands of tourists to New Zealands North Island. It was damaged by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886 but now the researchers might have finally rediscovered it under layers of ash and mud. The terraces were created by geothermal springs (hot springs and geysers). In 2011, a team including researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Waikato University, GNS Science and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory had unearthed a part of the Pink Terraces. However, in 2016, their whole work was published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, they withdrew from earlier assertions and reported the terraces were likely ruined. Now, two researchers said that they have isolated the area where the terraces may lie preserved 10-15 meters (32-49ft) below the surface. According to The Guardian, Rex Bunn, one of the researchers told that They became the greatest tourist attraction in the southern hemisphere and the British empire, and shiploads of tourists made the dangerous visit down from the UK, Europe, and America to see them. Bunn further added: But they were never surveyed by the government of the time, so there was no record of their latitude or longitude. Both the researchers have utilised the field diaries of the German-Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter. Interestingly, these diaries describe vividly the location of the terraces before the eruption of 1886. Discussing the research, Bunn said: Our research relied on the only survey ever made of that part of New Zealand and therefore we are confident the cartography is sound. Hochstetter was a very competent cartographer. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Lets face it: It can be overwhelming to keep up with new digital-marketing strategies, social media, drip campaigns and all the other emerging opportunities in the world of marketing technology. There's so much to choose from, it now has its own blended term -- martech. While the worlds biggest corporations dedicate entire teams to social-media monitoring and feedback, startup leaders must run much tighter ships. The Chief Marketing Officer often is the same person as the CEO and the CFO. Those challenges make it more difficult to stay on trend when it comes to marketing outreach -- much less effectively adopt and implement these strategies. Still, martech holds tremendous growth potential for startups whose leaders can make time to explore it. The only caveat: People choose small businesses for a reason. Dont begin to rely so heavily on marketing automation that you lose your personal touch. In the bigger picture, the time startups invest in marketing automation will streamline operations and help companies grow faster (and often in profound ways). Here are a few reasons to consider making the move to integrate automation in your marketing plan. 1. It levels the playing field. New startups often feel like minnows trying to outswim and outsmart sharks in a game of survival. Reports reveal that nearly half of small-business owners manage marketing efforts on their own, all while carrying out other duties from human resources to sales. Marketing automation helps bring some balance by offering incredibly savvy and sophisticated tools that also are incredibly easy to use and set. Dont know much about analytics or lead-nurturing?" Thats OK. Companies such as GetResponse and Act-On do, and they can help reach out, clear out and make marketing decisions for you. Best of all? Those decisions happen automatically, based on specifications you set during your onboarding process. That can add hours to your day, not to mention thousands (or millions) in sales when well-utilized. Related: 7 Tools to Automate Your Marketing Tasks (Without Blowing the Budget) 2. It creates a valuable database. The information gathered during marketing automation goes far beyond contacts and potential customers. It's actual data -- big data. It's the type of knowledge that can help you make smarter decisions about how to move your business forward. Marketing automation can help you determine which style of language or tone works best with different audience segments, which audiences are more likely to buy certain products and when your customers are most likely to shop. It even can help you understand where you might be losing customers who drop off during their digital journeys. Why do they abandon their shopping carts? How can you give them more incentive to complete the sale and drive conversion-rate growth? Basically, its like employing a full-scale marketing agency. Except its a lot cheaper, and its always at your disposal -- no matter how small your company is right now. Related: 5 Misconceptions Small-Business Owners Have About Big Data 3. It helps turn leads into sales. Are you nurturing your prospects? If youre running a startup, chances are good you dont have time for this crucial business-development function. Nurturing your leads requires more than an ongoing touch-base or check-in. It means helping steer your prospect toward your desired goal or outcome. Nurtured leads show a 20 percent increase in sales compared to non-nurtured leads. Marketing automation can help you manage redirects when someone has left an item in an online shopping cart and even send product discounts or other incentives if a customer fails to buy after your first reminder. It's all based on a series of simple "if/when" statements you establish when you create your campaign. In essence, automation turns you into a savvy marketing professional with an endless number of hands to hold tight to your customers throughout their buying journeys. Related: How to Automate Your Social-Marketing Efforts 4. It can save time and (make) money. In todays fast-paced business world, its nearly impossible to reach out to potential business partners manually -- at least not efficiently. Marketing automation can help here, too. Once you create your list, marketing-automation tools can do much of the work for you. They even can help create content and determine its effectiveness for future campaigns. That means no more hiring freelancers, working with mail servers or responding to individually to every inquiry. Martech can handle those tasks -- and a lot more -- starting around $50 per month. Once you see its benefits, you'll want to move on and allow Martech to create custom forms and landing pages as well as manage your responses to leads generated by those assets. Related: 9 Ways to Save Time and Money With Marketing Automation 5. Its scalable. It probably goes without saying, but like many other cloud-based services today, marketing automation is scalable. You can pay based on your current number of contacts, and the service will grow along with you. Related: 9 Tools to Run and Scale Your Marketing Agency Marketing automation holds tremendous potential for any startup. Ultimately, marketing automation should help customers better understand your brand, your vision and your products. Its one more way to extend your presence and keep the big fish circling elsewhere. Related: 5 Ways Marketing Automation Helps Startups Succeed The Art of the Follow-Up Death to Automation: Bring Back the Humans Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FAIRFIELD The porch is the first thing that stands out about 72 Willow St. Really more of a veranda, the covered space runs the length of the 4,787 square-foot white, clapboard and wood house and looks out onto the street in Fairfields historic Southport section. Its an ideal spot for people watching, reading, or just quietly sipping an iced tea. Its got that old, genteel feel, said the propertys listing agent Victoria Fingelly. Indeed, the veranda, like much of the house which is currently listed for sale at $2,975,000 feels a bit frozen in time. Theres a fireplace in nearly every downstairs room and, off of the veranda, theres a grand reception hall with oak flooring and paneled walls. It all feels like something out of a 1940s drawing room melodrama, to the point where one half expects Gene Tierney to swan in holding a martini glass. The house does have a rich history. According to town records, it was built in 1796 by Paul King Sheffield, a Stonington native who engaged in privateering during the Revolutionary War. According to the book The History of Fairfield, Fairfield County Connecticut From 1700 to 1800, by Elizabeth Hubbell Schenk, the Willow Street house was the childhood home of Sheffields son, Joseph Earl Sheffield, who served in the Coast Guard at the age of 12, then went on to raise himself to honor, wealth and distinction. The web site Historic Buildings of Connecticut is a bit more specific about Joseph Sheffield, whom it said grew up to be a wealthy railroad magnate and philanthropist. He eventually moved to New Haven and gave Yale University a building and a $130,000 endowment for its scientific school. The school was renamed the Sheffield Scientific School in 1861. Though some of its original features remain, the Sheffields Willow Street home was significantly renovated in the 1850s, and Fingelly said she believes it was redone again in the 1920s. The home was updated again recently, with the addition of a modern chefs kitchen opening up to the family room. The result is a home that feels modern and old-fashioned all at once. On the one hand, the kitchen has a subzero refrigerator and freezer, ceiling speakers, a skylight and other contemporary features. Then, upstairs, several rooms feature original coal fireplaces, which, at this point, are mainly decorative. The house has five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, and an extensive wine cellar. It sits on a bit more than half an acre, with its own horse and buggy barn. Fingelly said what sets the home apart are some of its old-fashioned touches such as the fireplace or the cupboard under the main staircase. One of her favorites is the old-style fire hose in the upstairs hallway a holdover from the early 20th century when, she said, it was kept handy in case of emergencies. Its actually a good idea when you think about it, she said. Do you know of a house or apartment building with an interesting story? Contact acuda@ctpost.com. Charity calls on Canadians to mark Canada 150 + and support Indigenous students Private donor and government to match donations up to $150,000 SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER, ON, June 15, 2017 /CNW/ - Indigenous students given financial support for post secondary education have a 96 per cent graduation rate and 53 per cent go on to pursue a second degree, master's or PhD. These findings are part of a study of students involved with Indspire, an Indigenous-led charity that invests in the education of Indigenous people. In celebration of National Aboriginal Day (June 21) and Canada's sesquicentennial, Indspire is calling on Canadians to invest in Indigenous youth education to help them achieve their highest potential. Roberta L. Jamieson, O.C., I.P.C., LL.B., LL.D. (Hon), President and CEO of Indspire, pictured with Indigenous youth. (CNW Group/Indspire) "The dedication of the students involved in Indspire's programs demonstrates the potential and hope these young people have", says Roberta Jamieson, President and CEO, Indspire. "Canada's 150th provides an opportunity for Canadians to recognize this potential and invest in their education. These young people are not just future Indigenous leaders but future leaders of our country." Many people believe that Indigenous students are guaranteed government funding for all of their education. This is a myth. According to the Canadian Federation of Students, from 2006 to 2011, more than 18,000 Aboriginal people were denied funding, representing approximately half of those who qualified. Funding shortfalls often see priority given to shorter college programs over professional or graduate programs. Indspire supports students through its Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries and Scholarship Awards (BBF). While the organization receives requests from thousands of students each year, it can meet less than 11 per cent of the need. Private donors, Bill and Penny Eakin, will match all donations made to the "Building Brighter Futures" campaign up to $150,000. Each matched donation will then be matched again by the Government of Canada providing real impact on this pressing need. According to Statistics Canada, in 2011, 48 per cent of Aboriginal people had a postsecondary qualification compared to almost 65 per cent of non-Aboriginal students aged 25 to 64. The key barrier: lack of financing. However, the students involved with BBF prove that financial support has strong benefits. The results of the study are as follows: 96% of the students Indspire supports graduate 46% of graduates achieved an undergraduate degree 42% of graduates are employed 53% are pursuing another post-secondary degree, including a master's or PhD program 61% of employed graduates are serving Indigenous populations In 2016-17, Indspire awarded over $11.6 million through 3,764 scholarships and bursaries to Indigenous students across Canada. To donate, please visit: www.BuildingBrighterFutures.ca About the Survey The survey was sent to a sample of 779 Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries and Scholarship Awards recipients who indicated in fiscal year 2014 and 2015 they were in their final year of study. There was 365 completes representing a 47 per cent response rate. The survey canvased demographics, education, employment and reciprocity. About Indspire Indspire is an Indigenous-led registered charity that invests in the education of Indigenous people for the long-term benefit of these individuals, their families and communities, and Canada. In partnership with Indigenous, private and public sector stakeholders, Indspire educates, connects and invests in Indigenous people so they will achieve their highest potential. For more information on Indspire, visit www.indspire.ca SOURCE Indspire For further information: Maxine McDonald, Media Profile, [email protected] / 416-342-1843; Dishni Jayasuriya, Media Profile, [email protected] / 416-342-1827 Related Links https://indspire.ca/ ATLANTA, June 14, 2017 /CNW/ -- The Canadian American Business Council (CABC) is marking Canada's 150th anniversary by publishing With Faith and Goodwill, a beautiful hardcover volume that curates 150 years of Canada-U.S. friendship and cooperation. The book explores the relationships between the Presidents and Prime Ministers of each era and the challenges and opportunities they faced together. To bring those stories to life, the CABC is assembling former U.S. Presidents and Prime Ministers to speak about their time in office. The second in this series takes place tomorrow where former President Jimmy Carter and former Prime Minister Joe Clark will reflect on the Canada/U.S. relationship at the Carter Center in Atlanta. The Canadian American Business Council looks forward to this timely conversation between distinguished leaders. Event details: Thursday, June 15, 2017 Cecil B. Day Chapel The Carter Center 453 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30307 Media arrival time: 8:30am Event start: 9:30am For more information, please contact: Virginia Beckett [email protected] SOURCE Canadian American Business Council TORONTO, June 15, 2017 /CNW/ - Home Capital Group Inc. ("Home Capital" or "the Company)(TSX:HCG), in response to a request by Market Surveillance (IIROC), makes the following comment on trading activity in Home Capital stock on Wednesday, June 14: Home Capital is aware of recent media reports concerning a potential refinancing transaction. The Company has previously indicated that it is pursuing additional financing and strategic options. As a general policy, the Company does not comment on speculation and rumours. The Company will inform the market as required but does not intend to make any further comment or release regarding speculation. Caution Regarding Forward-looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Please refer to the Home Capital's 2016 Annual Report, available on Home Capital's website at www.homecapital.com, and on the Canadian Securities Administrators' website at www.sedar.com, for Home Capital's Caution Regarding Forward-looking Statements. About Home Capital Group Inc. Home Capital Group Inc. is a public company, traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (HCG), operating through its principal subsidiary, Home Trust Company. Home Trust is a federally regulated trust company offering residential and non-residential mortgage lending, securitization of insured residential mortgage products, consumer lending and credit card services. In addition, Home Trust offers deposits via brokers and financial planners, and through its direct to consumer deposit brand, Oaken Financial. Home Trust also conducts business through its wholly owned subsidiary, Home Bank. Licensed to conduct business across Canada, Home Trust has offices in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Manitoba. SOURCE Home Capital Group Inc. For further information: Investors: Laura Lepore, Assistant Vice President, Investor Relations, (416) 933-5652, [email protected]; Media: Boyd Erman, Longview Communications Inc., (416) 649-8007, [email protected]; or Peter Block, Longview Communications Inc., (416) 649-8008, [email protected] Related Links http://www.homecapital.com CALGARY, June 15, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, WestJet launched its new route between Quebec City and Montreal, the airline's first non-stop flight within the province of Quebec. WestJet will operate four flights daily connecting the two cities. "WestJet's introduction of our first-ever point-to-point service within Quebec brings lower fares and an elevated inflight experience to 'la belle province' and is the next step in our mandate to become a truly national carrier," said Charles Duncan, President, WestJet Encore. "The communities of Montreal and Quebec City will enjoy having a choice of air carriers on this popular route, as WestJet provides another convenient option for residents who travel within the province for business and leisure. As always, we are committed to making air travel in Canada better." "By adding more service from Quebec City, WestJet shows its commitment toward the passengers of the Greater Quebec City area," said Mr. Gaetan Gagne, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aeroport de Quebec inc. "WestJet's increased presence in the Quebec-Montreal corridor will give more access to more destinations through its network and that of its airline partners. More competition in the market has a direct impact on the price of airfare, for the benefit of the travellers in our community." "This new flight between Montreal-Trudeau and Quebec City is another proof of WestJet's commitment to enriching our airline network," said Philippe Rainville, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aeroports de Montreal. The new route is the second of three the airline announced earlier this year bringing more choice, competition and lower fares to the Quebec market. The routes are part of a significant investment in Quebec's travel and tourism market, with increased service and new routes to and from MontrealPierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport as well as Quebec City's Jean Lesage International Airport. On March 15, WestJet launched twice-daily service between Montreal and Halifax. And, on October 15, WestJet will begin twice-daily service between Montreal and Boston. Overall, the airline is adding 105 more flights per week in the province, a capacity increase of 74 per cent. The Quebec-City/Montreal route is operated by WestJet's regional airline, WestJet Encore, on its fleet of Canadian-made Bombardier Q400s. WestJet is proud to support this iconic Canadian company based in Montreal and flies the fourth largest fleet of Q400s in the world. By mid-2018, the regional airline will have a total of 45 aircraft. Details of WestJet's new non-stop service: Route Frequency Departing Arriving Effective Montreal Quebec City Four times daily 7:45 a.m. 12:15 p.m. 4:10 p.m. 8 p.m. 8:40 a.m. 13:10 p.m. 17:05 p.m. 8:55 p.m. June 15, 2017 Quebec City Montreal Four times daily 6:15 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 2 p.m. 5:38 p.m. 7:07 a.m. 10:22 a.m. 2:52 p.m. 6:30 p.m. June 15, 2017 About WestJet We are proud to be Canada's most trusted airline, powered by an award-winning culture of care and recognized as one of the country's top employers. WestJet, and our regional airline, WestJet Encore, offer scheduled service to more than 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Through our partnerships with airlines representing every major region of the world, we offer our guests more than 150 destinations in more than 21 countries. Leveraging WestJet's extensive network, flight schedule and remarkable guest experience, WestJet Vacations delivers affordable, flexible travel experiences with a variety of accommodation options for every guest. Members of our WestJet Rewards program earn WestJet dollars on flights, vacation packages and more. Our members use WestJet dollars towards the purchase of WestJet flights and vacation packages on any day, at any time, to any WestJet destination with no blackout periods even on seat sales. For more information about everything WestJet, please visit westjet.com. Recent recognition includes: 2017/2016 Canada's Most Trusted Airline (Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria) 2017 Best Airline in Canada and Travellers' Choice Winner Mid-Sized and Low Cost Airlines North America (TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice awards for Airlines) 2016 Canada's most reputable company for Corporate Social Responsibility (Reputation Institute) 2016/2015/2014/2013/2012 Ranked top three for Canadian Brands (Canadian Business Magazine) 2016/2015/2014/2013 WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard ranked #1 in Canada (MoneySense magazine) 2015/2011/2010/2008/2007/2006/2005 Canada's Most Admired Corporate Culture (Waterstone Human Capital) 2015 Best Employers in Canada (Aon Hewitt) Connect with WestJet on Facebook at facebook.com/westjet Follow WestJet on Twitter at twitter.com/westjet Subscribe to WestJet on YouTube at youtube.com/westjet Read the WestJet blog at blog.westjet.com SOURCE WestJet For further information: Media contacts: To contact WestJet media relations, please email [email protected] Related Links http://www.westjet.com The victims are Dennis Igbobo, Elvis Osas, Earnest Ugiagbe, Bright John, Lucky Iyare, Gift Osagie, Godday Ruth, Ovioma Gift, Otoboh Fabour, Believe James, Endurance Idemadia and Marian Josiah. Seven girls using hijab to disguise themselves and evade arrest were among the 12 persons intercepted by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Katsina on their way to Europe.This brings the total number of persons apprehended by the NIS to 40 in the last four months as they tried to cross various legal and illegal routes to Agadez in Niger Republic en route Libya then Europe.While parading the rescued victims, the Comptroller of Immigration in the state, Mohammed Yaro Rabiu, said the hijab was a decoy intended to camouflage and get easy passage at the border. All the rescued victims are Nigerians from Edo State and will be handed over to NAPTIP for further action, he said.According to Daily Trust, some of the victims said that they were pushed by hardship and the search for better opportunities. Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudemeje George Onwuamadike also known as Evans, has blamed his arrest on his charm which he claimed failed him.Speaking with newsmen, kidnap kingpin said he was assured by a Chief priest in Anambra State that he would never be apprehended by law enforcement agents.Evans disclosed that he didnt know what went wrong with his charm that made it possible for the police to arrest him.According to Evans, The native doctor resides in Nnewi, Anambra State.He is a traditional ruler. After police busted our Igando hideout, he told me to have no fear. He said nothing would happen. He told me that nobody would be able to catch or arrest me. I believed him. I dont know what went wrong.The 36-year-old father of five was last Saturday arrested in Lagos by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force.Following his arrest, Evans father, Stephen Onwuamadike had alleged that his estranged wife manipulated Evans into crime. The Nigeria Union in South Africa, on Wednesday claimed that two communities in the country, have asked Nigerians to leave their territories.President of the union, Ikechukwu Anyene, said the Kuruman community in Northern Cape Province gave Nigerians till Thursday to leave.He also said the Klaafontein community, Extension 5, Johannesburg, directed landlords not to renew the rent of Nigerians in the area, blaming them for the rise of illicit drug trade and prostitution.The Nigeria union held series of meetings with the affected communities as well as police and local authorities on the recent threats to Nigerians.We have also written reports on these incidents and sent to the Nigerian Mission and the South African police.We recommended interventions before the June 16 deadline to the mission and we are waiting for their response.The union is worried that any incident involving non -South Africans are attributed to Nigerians, Anyene said. The Police force has deployed 600 men and 90 vehicles to patrol the Abuja-Kaduna highway as part of efforts to combat kidnapping. The Police force has deployed 600 men and 90 vehicles to patrol the Abuja-Kaduna highway as part of efforts to combat kidnapping.Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Federal Operations Habila Joshak said the tactical operation, which is a continuation of Operation Maximum Safety, consists of 500 regular officers and men, and 100 intelligence officers.The DIG explained that 60 of the patrol vehicles will be dedicated to patrolling the Kaduna-Abuja highway, while the remaining 30 will patrol the Kaduna-Zaria axis of the road.Joshak urged the team to safeguard the highway for motorists and commuters.He said: I assure Nigerians that we will not have any situation that will overwhelm us. We will be robust in our actions as we wont only be on the highway, but Nigerians will see our actions.We have done it before and we will do it again. There will be no more kidnapping on this road.The personnel, deployed from 11 state commands, will be stationed at Rijana, a notorious hub for kidnappers and cattle rustlers. South East leaders of Thought on Wednesday in Abuja expressed hope for a peaceful and united Nigeria in spite of hate speeches emanating from some quarters.Spokesperson of the group, who is also the governor of Ebonyi, Mr Dave Umahi, stated this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.He dismissed the assertion that the meeting with the acting president was about the activities of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).The meeting is not about IPOB. It is about the need for security of lives and properties of Nigerians all over Nigeria and to stress the need for a united, honest, fair and equitable Nigeria.That was what the meeting was about.It was a wonderful meeting and the message we are taking back is that there is hope for a united and peaceful Nigeria and everybody should work hard.We emphasis the need for everybody to restrain from making hate statements.We should be making statements that bind us together, statements of love, statements of unity, statements of hope and of course we should also work very hard.On the right to agitate for better society, Umahi said the meeting stressed the need for peaceful agitation.He said: Even you, you agitate, your wife agitates at home that the feeding money is not enough. So is the agitation for fundamental right. But it is the manner you go about it.So, this is not an issue that cannot be resolved.In his ongoing consultative meeting with leaders across the country, the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo had on Tuesday met with leaders of thought from the Northern part of the country. Chief Ayo Opadokun, former leader of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, has given ex-Chief Security Adviser (CSO) to former Head o... Chief Ayo Opadokun, former leader of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, has given ex-Chief Security Adviser (CSO) to former Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, seven days to retract his comment that he and other Yoruba leaders took bribe from those who killed Chief MKO Abiola or face libel suit. He also questioned the mental state of Al-Mustapha over resurrection of his old allegations of 2011 , adding that Al-Mustapha may have been mentally affected by his long stay in prison while undergoing trial for the murder of late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. Opadokun, who already denied the allegation, dared Al-Mustapha to produce the tape he said he had to prove that he and others collected money. He told newsmen on Wednesday in Lagos that he will set the records straight against the attempt by Al-Mustapha to malign the character of notable and patriotic leaders of NADECO, some of whom were now late. Opadokun insisted that Al-Mustapha was only trying to soil the image of credible Yoruba leaders to make himself look clean. His words: I was incarcerated in Ikoyi prisons for 24 calendar months under late General Sani Abacha for my political views and leanings, only to be released by General Abdulsalami Abubakar after Abachas death. Upon my release, my leader and chairman of NADECO, late Pa Abraham Adesanya informed me that the new administration of Abdulsalami Abukakar was meeting with various groups across the country on the way forward and has requested a meeting with the leadership of NADECO, of which I was chosen to be a member of the team. The members were late Pa Abraham Adesanya, late chief Francis Okpozo, Arthur Nwankwo, Bola Ige and Ayo Opadokun, he recalled. According to him, the team met with the head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and his Chief of Staff and deputy, Commodore Mike Okhai Akhigbe with then Colonel Leo Ajiborisa, the staff officer to the head of state, who took the minutes of the meeting which held in the villa eight days after the death of General Abacha. Opadokun stated that the team told the head of state that the only way forward was for the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Abiola to be released from detention and allowed to form a Government of National Unity (GNU) and thereafter convoke a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). After the conclusion of the meeting, we were driven straight from the villa to the airport, he said. Opadokun insisted that at no time was he a member of a team of Yoruba leaders other than NADECO members who met and discussed on the way forward with the Abubakar administration after the death of General Sani Abacha. Opadokun lamented that Al-Mustapha who should have been consigned to the dustbin of history because of the role he played in holding the country hostage , was now being given cheap popularity which his spurious allegation was meant to achieve in the media. The Nigerian Army confirmed that troops from one Division in Kaduna State arrested a notorious and wanted leader of an armed banditry, Sani Ibrahim, alias Burtu, on the Kaduna-Abuja road on Wednesday.Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, Director of Army Public Relations, who confirmed the arrest in a statement on Thursday said, the suspect was picked up when the troops cordoned armed bandits camp at Rijana forest.According to Usman, Ibrahim has been on the wanted list of the security agencies in Kaduna State for a long time.He explained that due to disturbing resurgence of armed banditry and kidnappings along Abuja-Kaduna road, the troops carried out clearance operation at the Rijana forest.He said one motorcycle and 25 goats were recovered from the camp.Similarly, the army spokesman said the troops mounted ambush on Zamfara border with Kebbi where they neutralised three armed bandits and recovered 134 cows and 13 sheep.He said that operations were ongoing. Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudemeje George Onwuamadike also known as Evans, has blamed his arrest on his charm which he claimed failed hi... Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudemeje George Onwuamadike also known as Evans, has blamed his arrest on his charm which he claimed failed him. Speaking with newsmen, kidnap kingpin said he was assured by a Chief priest in Anambra State that he would never be apprehended by law enforcement agents. Evans disclosed that he didnt know what went wrong with his charm that made it possible for the police to arrest him. According to Evans, The native doctor resides in Nnewi, Anambra State. He is a traditional ruler. After police busted our Igando hideout, he told me to have no fear. He said nothing would happen. He told me that nobody would be able to catch or arrest me. I believed him. I dont know what went wrong. The 36-year-old father of five was last Saturday arrested in Lagos by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force. Following his arrest, Evans father, Stephen Onwuamadike had alleged that his estranged wife manipulated Evans into crime. Reno Omokri, the ex-aide to former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has described the Presidency led by Muhammadu Buhari as dishonest and untr... Reno Omokri, the ex-aide to former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has described the Presidency led by Muhammadu Buhari as dishonest and untruthful over its statement on the dismissal of the charges of false asset declaration brought against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki. It could be recalled that the Presidency tagged the judgement as a mockery of the anti-corruption war, a travesty of justice pedestrian and outrageous. However, in a statement issued on Thursday morning by Omokri on his Facebook page, the erstwhile Presidential aide said going by the records of lies and dishonesty the current federal government has on its trail, having the guts to point accusing fingers at Saraki is the real travesty and outrage. He said: The Presidency calls the discharge of Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki by the Code of Conduct Tribunal an outrageous travesty of justice. This is the same Presidency that was quiet when a Kano court freed the killers of evangelist Bridget Agbahime after the Kano state Attorney General withdrew the charges against them. I guess that was not a travesty of justice to them. This is the same Presidency that sees nothing wrong with President Muhammadu Buhari hiring 13 SANs for his defense in the case challenging the authenticity of his WAEC certificate. I do not need even one SAN if someone accuses me of not having my WAEC certificate. All I have to do is present it. If it is lost all I have to do is apply to WASC or Cambridge University for a letter acknowledging that I sat for and passed my WAEC/GCE. This is coming only two days after the National Judicial Council exposed the Buhari Presidency as liars who lied about their appeal in the case of reinstated Justice Adeniyi Ademola and five other judges. That Presidency with such a record of dishonesty has the guts to point fingers at Saraki is the real outrage and travesty! The only thing good about this Presidency is Professor Yemi Osinbajo. Yesterday General Abdulsalami Abubakar turned 75 years old. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari, his former boss and military senior (who joined the army years before Gen. Abubakar) says he is 74. If I talk they will say I am a wailer! In any case, we have a President who told us last October 1st that (and I am using his exact words), Investors from all over the world are falling over themselves to come and do business in Nigeria. This is despite the fact that under Buhari, foreign investment into Nigeria has fallen to a nine year low. Well I guess a man who can tell such a blatant lie can be relied upon to state his real age. Inconclusive age; Inconclusive certificate; Inconclusive elections; Please, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, find time to advise your younger brother to be more honest during this years October 1 speech. The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has strongly condemned groups that have resorted to hate speech along ethnic lines. The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has strongly condemned groups that have resorted to hate speech along ethnic lines. The Emir, while condemning ethnicity/tribalism, noted that Nigerians must stop thinking along ethnic lines and embrace the creation called Nigeria. He gave these charges via a series of posts on Instagram on Wednesday. According to him, Fulani. My grandfather was an Emir also fulani my uncle and guardian was also the immediate late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero and therefore I represent all that has been talked about this afternoon. He said the language of the generation older than him was to use regions to refer to themselves, but that he is a Nigerian. My grandfather was a Northerner, I am a Nigerian, he wrote. The problem with this country is that in 2009, we speak in the language of 1953. Sir Olaniwun can be forgiven for the way he spoke, but I cannot forgive people of my generation speaking in that language. Let us go into this issue because there are so many myths that are being bandied around. Before colonialism, there was nothing like Northern Nigeria, Before the Sokoto Jihad, there was nothing like the Sokoto caliphate. The man from Kano regard himself as bakane. The man from Zaria was bazazzage. The man from Katsina was bakatsine. The kingdoms were at war with each other. They were Hausas, they were Muslims, they were killing each other. The Yoruba were Ijebu, Owo, Ijesha, Akoko, Egba. When did they become one? When did the North become one? You have the Sokoto Caliphate that brought every person from Adamawa to Sokoto and said it is one kingdom. They now said it was a Muslim North. The Colonialists came, put that together and said it is now called the Northern Nigeria. Do you know what happened? Our grandfathers were able to transform to being Northerners. We have not been able to transform to being Nigerians. The fault is ours. Tell me, how many governors has South West produced after Awolowo that are role models of leadership? How many governors has the East produced like Nnamdi Azikiwe that can be role models of leadership? How Many governors in the Niger Delta are role models of leadership? Tell me. There is no evidence statistically that any part of this country has produced good leaders. You talk about Babangida and the problems of our economy. Who were the people in charge of the economy during Babangida era? Olu Falae, Kalu Idika Kalu. He added, we talk ethnicity when it pleases us. It is hypocrisy. You said elections were rigged in 1959, Obasanjo and Maurice Iwu rigged election in 2007. Was it a Southern thing? It was not. The problem is: everywhere in this country, there is one Hausa, Ibo, Yoruba and Itshekiri man whose concern is how to get his hands on the pile and how much he can steal. Whether it is in the military or in the civilian government, they sit down, they eat together. In fact, the constitution says there must be a minister from every state. So, anybody that is still preaching that the problem of Nigeria is Yoruba or Hausa or Fulani, he does not love Nigeria. The problem with Nigeria is that a group of people from each and every ethnic tribe is very selfish. The poverty that is found in Maiduguri is even worse than any poverty that you find in any part of the South. Pa Stephen Onwuamadike, the father of billionaire kidnapper Evans, has denied claims alleging that his decision to disown his son drove h... Pa Stephen Onwuamadike, the father of billionaire kidnapper Evans, has denied claims alleging that his decision to disown his son drove him into social vices. Evans had earlier blamed his father as the reason why he took to crime. However, Pa Onwuamadike, in a fresh interview that he never disowned Evans; saying if he had known he was involved in criminality, he would have done all he could to stop him. The Septuagenarian also claimed he did not divorce Evans mother as they took an oath on their wedding day. I cannot divorce her because we took an oath on our wedding. The oath is that we will be together for better or worse, till death do us part. Death is the only thing that can separate us. I did not also disown Evans as is being circulated. He remains my son. If he is given a second chance and he returns home, I will welcome and accept him. It was sad I didnt know what he was into; if not, I would have been the one to stop him, by bringing my friends in the force to arrest and torture him to stop, he said. Meanwhile, Daniel Nwosu who is Evans uncle claimed he has not seen the suspects mother in a long time. He said: I dont have anything to say because I dont know anything about the boy (Evans). If I see him now, I may not even recognise him. Its been a very long time I saw him last. He doesnt come home or visit his maternal home. So, what can I say about him? You know children have a way with their mothers. Its possible she knows what Chidumeme (Evans) is into or not. It is the father or mother that can talk about their child. I dont have anything to say, but I appeal to the authorities to have mercy on him and forgive him. Children of this generation do not listen to advice; if not, why would he delve into such bad business, knowing the implications. Is it because of money? See where it has got him. I have not spoken with Chidumemes mother for a very long time and I dont know where she is and what is happening around her. She should be up there in her husbands house, but now Im hearing she is not there. I dont understand what is happening. Its unfortunate and sad. She is just who she is. I have been sick and bed-ridden for a long time. I dont go out at all hence; I dont know what is happening around here. Meanwhile the mother of Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, a.k.a Evans, the notorious billionaire kidnapper recently arrested in Lagos, has gone into hiding after news of her son's arrest reached their hometown of Umudim in Nnewi, Anambra state. Evans mother who is popularly called Lady Nwosu was described as a no-nonsense woman. It was gathered that she assists vendors in selling their wares for a commission. Though there were reports that Evans' mother knew he was a criminal and he even bought her a car, the reality at the Umudim village seemed to tell a different story as it was discovered that Lady Nwosu only rides a motorcycle popularly called Nwanyi Nnewi. Lady Nwosu has not been seen at the canteen where she sells since Tuesday. A woman told the paper that Lady Nwosu went into hiding after people began coming in to sympathise with her over her son's arrest. The woman who spoke on the condition of anonymity said: She went into hiding because people were trooping in to sympathise with her over the arrest of her son. Some came for a different purpose; to make mockery of her and to see the face of the mother of the arrested kidnapper. Even you newsmen were troubling her. She has been crying since news of the arrest reached her. I do not know where she has gone to but I think it is good for her. Her disappearance coincided with the disclosure by the Obi of Evans' village of Umudim, Chief Benneth Okafor, that the arrested kidnap kingpin was not known in his community as he hardly visited home, neither did he have any investment in the community. While we remember the bravery of two officers at a Zenith Bank robbery in Owerri, Imo State, some officers of the Nigeria Police Force have decried the alleged abandonment of their family members by the police authorities, and other stakeholders.The officers, who spoke with a news medium on condition of anonymity, said that meager welfare package, poor equipment and absence of a good insurance policy discouraged them from giving their best.Many of them reportedly said they would never lay their lives on the line.A police inspector in Lagos said he saluted Chukwudis bravery after seeing a clip of the robbery.He said, Honestly, some of us are ready to do the work, but once you die on duty, nobody cares for your family. Even in the barracks, you live, your family will be thrown out. Many policemen run away when they see robbers because they know that if they die, their family will suffer. It is not as if we are not trained to confront robbers.The police authorities need to do something that will encourage officers to serve the country well. The policemen died in the course of duty and deserved special rewards.The police dont have working life insurance scheme. It is only the Lagos State Government that considers such for policemen that die in the course of duty. The police only have N300,000 to give to your family members and it may take years before it gets to them. Our salaries are nothing to write home about. A police constable earns between N40,000 to N45,000. As an inspector, I dont earn up to N70,000 and Im almost two decades old in service. Marketers yesterday spoke of financial constraints, begging the Federal Government to pay them N800billion spent on fuel import. The cash... Marketers yesterday spoke of financial constraints, begging the Federal Government to pay them N800billion spent on fuel import. The cash also covers interest on bank loans.The marketers , which are owing banks over $1.2 billion, appealed to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for urgent intervention.In a communique after their meeting in Lagos, signed by their legal adviser, Mr. Patrick Etim, the marketers, including the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), said Osinbajo met with them on May 22, with Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu and Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele in attendance. The meeting was on how to pay the debt.After the meeting, Osinbajo, the marketers said, directed the Minister of Finance to resolve the problem.The communique reads: This debt has greatly impeded our ability to operate, our operating funds have been eroded, curtailed our ability to access funds from the financial institutions and some of our members have resorted to staff retrenchment due to inactivity, the marketers said. Besides, our worst fear is that AMCON at some point may take over our firms as a result of this debt. It is for these reasons and other challenges facing the downstream petroleum subsector that we seek governments intervention to approve immediate payment of the debt.The foreign exchange differentials, which arose as a result of the initial devaluation of the naira by the last administration from the initial N165/S$1 and the interest payable due to delayed reimbursement by the government, both of which the Federal Government had approved for payment to marketers, have not been fully settled by the appropriate Federal Government agencies.The recent further devaluation of the naira from N195 to N285 and later to over N305 to S$1, while the Federal Government agencies based their reimbursement calculation on N197 to S$1, has left members our association with additional debt burden in excess of N300billion. The downstream subsector is now saddled with a debt burden of over N400billion, which keeps rising because the banks are still charging interests on it until the total debt is fully liquidated.As a result of the unpaid interest and foreign exchange differentials, we are becoming insolvent and financially handicapped to continue operating profitably. Commercial banks, the original and actual owners of these funds are already hard hit by our inability to return these funds within the contract tenure of 45 days and have, in line with the Central Bank of Nigerias guidelines, classified marketers accounts in all the banks in the federation. In addition, properties provided by marketers as securities for these funds are in the process of being auctioned including some storage facilities such as tank farms.We have indeed made several spirited efforts to get the government agencies involved to pay up fully, adhering to the principle of full restitution to all participants in the then premium motor spirit (PMS) import scheme but the major challenge on the economy has impeded complete success hence we are making a direct appeal to Acting President to intervene.According to the communique, the marketers are unable to pay because their bank debts form part of what they too are being owed by the government. Their inability to pay or service the loans, they said, was hindering their business and threatening the affected banks operation and the financial industry.Governments debt, which arose from arrears of unpaid imported petrol supplied to the country as a result of the contract the Federal Government entered with marketers mandating them to import and supply petrol to the market on the condition that it (government) shall pay the difference between the landing cost and the selling price of petrol (as fixed by government) provided that the landing cost is higher than the selling price.The government approved the landing cost which fluctuated as it depended mainly on the international price of petrol and the exchange rate of naira/dollar. A key term of the governments contract with marketers is that the under-recovery payments shall be paid to marketers within 45days of submission of documents evidencing discharge of petrol cargo and trucking out from storage. It was also agreed that after 45 days the government shall pay the interest charges on the loans taken by the marketers to finance the importation of cargoes of petrol.The problem of the banks is compounded by the fact that they provided billions of dollars to finance the importation of cargoes of petrol. They opened Letters of Credit at approximated exchange rate of N197/$1.00. Petrol was supplied and sold by marketers at the then prevailing government approved pump price and the repayment was calculated using the above exchange rate. As at 2016, the banks have not liquidated the Letters of Credit from 2014 because of lack of foreign exchange from the government.The outstanding matured Letters of Credit are currently over $1.2billion. Because many Nigerian banks were involved in raising this fund, the entire Nigerian banking system is at risk on account of these transactions, they added, noting that the debt prevents banks from providing loans to them for future petrol imports and even to players in other sectors of the economy, the marketers said.They said the banks were in quandary over the debt. Besides, should the banking sector collapse, it will cost the government over N2trillion to revive it. But there is little evidence that the government sees the risks in further delaying the payments under the subsidy scheme.The banks are worried that financing new petrol imports when outstanding loans, interests and charges have not been paid will be foolish especially when it is clear that the imports will represent an unmitigated loss to the importers based on the landing costs. Therefore, honouring contract agreements by the government would help boost local and foreign investments.Nigeria is currently not experiencing scarcity of petroleum products because NNPC has increased importation and supply of products, however, NNPC cannot sustain it without marketers importing. My first confrontation with bribe was with a big contractor in Rivers State. After awarding the contract, he brought a billion naira. I screamed said the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi at a forum in Lagos.Amaechi speaking at a gathering to discuss the place of social media in Nigerias political and socio-economic development said he rejected the bribe because of his principled stance on corruption.My first confrontation with bribe was with a big contractor in Rivers State. After awarding the contract, he brought a billion naira. I screamed.I asked, where did you get the money? and he said from what he got (from the contract) and I said look, that means you overquoted the contract.I said the only reason you are giving me N1 billion was because if the contract was N32 billion, you made it N37 billion.I have been special assistant to the governor for two years; speaker, eight years; governor, eight years; minister nearly two yearsthats nearly twenty years.So I know Nigerian politics well. Very, very well, he said.Speaking on social media in Nigerias political and socio-economic development Amaechi said that in spite of its positive uses, the social media is capable of destroying Nigeria if not checked.Social media can destroy this country, true or false? Just look at Biafra, and thats why Nnamdi Kanu can say all he is saying and still get a forum.Most politicians pay young men to post all sorts on social media. he said.While commenting on attacks launched against him on social media, the minister said falsehood spreads online because Nigerians do not verify information.I was governor for eight years, for about seven years people used to say this man is arrogant, how did they suddenly say this man is corrupt?, he said.PDP used to say Amaechi is our response to Fashola. So when did they suddenly say Oh, he didnt do anything.And I say to people, because somebody just went to pay AIT money and, on social media too, theres no rule. AIT came to put some things on their television, then social media came to write nonsense.The first time they attacked us we came out with document. But they (social media users) dont verify.On the controversial $43 million Ikoyi fund, Mr. Amaechi said people claiming that he owned the money were peddlers of false information.When they said that I owned $43 million Ikoyi money I made just a one-page reply: I dont even own a house in Lagos.I thought people would have said, Ah, eight years as governor, he should be a very rich thief, so he should be able to get a property in Lagos and use it as a form of investment. Nobody!Many people started celebrating, Its Amaechis money, its Amaechis money. But people who know me know (that) if I have money, you will know.When people meet me and I am not able to spend, it is just basically because I dont have money The important thing is, money doesnt govern me.But social media twist it the other way; so the problem with social media (users) is that they misinformthey dont verify their information, they have no rules. Only decent ones.Mr. Amaechi said he was principled and Nigerians do not value principled people.Nigerians say I am stubborn, am I stubborn?, he asked.His question generated echoes of Yes! from the audience.Stop there, he continued, Let me tell you why you are wrong: once you are a principled man, then you are stubborn.Nigeria doesnt have any word called principle, Mr. Amaechi said.It just shows that we need to go back to our value system, so that we can put a place where we can add principlewhere they can give you money and you look at the man and tell the man, keep the money.Commenting further, Mr. Amaechi said the removal of Goodluck Jonathan as Nigerias president, was a bigger threat than Biafra.The removal of President Jonathan was a bigger threat than Biafra. Nigeria was inching towards the civil war. So, forget the talk about secession; Nigeria cannot breakup, Amaechi said.He also said that the social media would play an important role in the 2019 general elections. The Transparency International (Nigeria), has described the acquittal of Senate President, Bukola Saraki at the CCT as a sad day for the na... The Transparency International (Nigeria), has described the acquittal of Senate President, Bukola Saraki at the CCT as a sad day for the nations anti-corruption war. It said the victory of the senate president was a calculated attempt to downplay the anti-corruption fight in Nigeria. The Head of the Nigeria chapter of TI, Auwal Musa-Rafsanjani said that what transpired at the CCT was a clear indication that Nigerias corrupt elite were united and will stop at nothing to circumvent the system. Musa-Rafsanjani in a statement stated, that, It is another sad day for the anti-corruption fight in Nigeria. I think Nigerians are sad that this has happened. It just goes to show that Nigerias corrupt elite are united. To take advantage of the system is their thing; they will continue to connive against the Nigerian people. They have no regard for ethno-religious or party affiliation, the corrupt Nigerian elite are united in perpetuating violence and plundering our resources to perpetuate themselves in power. You can see how they were celebrating this kangaroo verdict, which is a calculated attempt to demoralise the anti-corruption community in Nigerias attempt to fight corruption. Even those people like (Col. Sambo) Dasuki (retd,) and all those who helped themselves to our collective patrimony during the President Jonathan era, who are standing trial for corruption, may be set free by this judiciary, but we must never give up. We must continue to fight until we rid this nation of the traces of corruption. Meanwhile, Human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) has lauded the acquittal of Senate President Bukola Saraki by the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Suspected kidnap kingpin Chukwudemeje George Onwuamadike alias Evans is not finding it funny in police custody. He is weeping that he is... Suspected kidnap kingpin Chukwudemeje George Onwuamadike alias Evans is not finding it funny in police custody. He is weeping that he is being held among common poor criminalsThe kingpin, who was arrested on Saturday at his 3, Fred Shoboyede Street, Magodo, Lagos home, is being kept in a maximum security cell.It was gathered that Evans broke down yesterday, lamenting the state of the police cell.A source said he lamented that after making billions, owning gold, diamond and living like a king, he finally ended up in a cell with poor suspects.It was gathered that he told his interrogators he has two other detention camps in Lagos.He was also said to have confessed that he started off as an armed robber in Sokoto State.The source said: He has been weeping uncontrollably because he is in a cell with common poor criminals despite all the wealth and mansions he owned.He has started talking. He has given us locations of other detention camps he had in Lagos. Aside Igando, he had two others and detectives would visit the place. He also said that his very first robbery was in Sokoto State and that they killed the victim.He is still being interrogated and more details would come out after the camps have been visited.Meanwhile, it was learnt yesterday that Evans has been excommunicated from Nnewi for over five years because of the terror he unleashed on wealthy indigenes of the town.It was also learnt that his second in command, Felix Chinemerem, a native of Amanagu in Abia State, was also declared wanted in 2014, after his criminal activities led to the killing of many innocent people.It was learnt that Chinemerem took part in the kidnap of a prominent Nigerian, which prompted policemen to storm the community and allegedly shot randomly, killing villagers.After the incident, the villagers were said to have moved to kill him but he fled and had not been seen since then. Musa, a 43-year-old businessman from Port Shepstone, KZN, has declared that one wife is not enough. Musa, a 43-year-old businessman from Port Shepstone, KZN, has declared that one wife is not enough. Speaking to Daily Sun he said his four wives Busisiwe MaCele, Nokukhanya MaYeni, Thobile Mseleku and Mbali MaNgwabe are happy to be married to him. He said although some people have criticised him, he wanted to change peoples perceptions of polygamy. I want to show men that you can be in a polygamous relationship and also be considerate. My wives impose restrictions on me. I have to be home an hour earlier than them so I can prepare to spend time with all of them, he said. His wives have nothing but love and praise for him. Thobile said: I knew what I was getting into and didnt have a problem with it. I also come from a polygamous family. She said the other wives are like sisters to her and they all rely on each other for advice and help. There was jubilation yesterday in Ilorin, the hometown of Senate President Bukola Saraki in Kwara State following his acquittal by the Co... There was jubilation yesterday in Ilorin, the hometown of Senate President Bukola Saraki in Kwara State following his acquittal by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja.Scores of All Progressives Congress (APC) flocked to the streets, drumming, singing and dancing.The APC secretariat was a beehive as a jubilant crowd of women wore multi-coloured customised T-shirts to celebrate the moment.Kwara APC chairman Alhaji Isola Balogun Fulani said it was clear the false assets declaration allegation against Saraki was politically-motivated.The entire APC members and all peace-loving people of Kwara State are very happy. We knew that this is a politically-motivated charge, but God has vindicated us, and it is a plus to democracy. This also allows us to have confidence in the judiciary.We are going to the Emir of Ilorin to rejoice with him and thank him forsupporting our leader, the Senate President. From there, we will move to the Governor of Kwara State to thank him for his support from the onset up to the end of this time and to also pray for him.Former APC women leader and chairperson, Kwara state local government service commission, Alhaja Sarat Adebayo, said the ruling was a welcome development.We appreciate President Buhari for doing justice to the whole issue. The judgment is a welcome development to Kwarans as a whole, she said.The ABS Mandate Constituency office of Dr. Saraki also thanked God for the outcome of the case. Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello yesterday urged the Senate to ensure the red chamber is made up of men of high calibre, integrity and g... Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello yesterday urged the Senate to ensure the red chamber is made up of men of high calibre, integrity and good character to retain its high esteem.He spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.The governor claimed that Senator Dino Melaye, who is representing Kogi West, was not fit for the Senate.He said: You see, I would rather admonished Nigerians that when a child lacks proper parental care and home upbringing, he constitutes social menace in the society. And if the society does not take steps to check and correct such a child, they can turn into criminal and take into criminality then it will be left to government to check such criminality. And if government does not, such a child can cause a serious embarrassment. That is what is happening in Kogi State.Then talking of the Senate, let me rather admonish the Senate that that is an institution that is held in a very high esteem and I think the Senate and indeed the National Assembly is made up of men of high calibre and of high integrity and good character.I think it is necessary that that wonderful House should as matter of urgency and as a matter of fact check any social deviant that exists within them before they could be adjudged birds of the same feather. I know they are not of the same feather.But he said there is no crisis in the state, stressing that Kogi State is living in peace.Projects are ongoing, we are all happy over there, salaries are being paid as at when due and we are making serious progress. he saidOn the claim by Melaye that the governor has earmarked N1 billion to remove him, Bello said: That is figment of his imagination. The good people of Okunland and indeed West Senatorial District have learnt from a bitter mistake of not taming and curbing that social deviant and they have decided to take lawful steps in recalling him.He said he was in the Villa to brief the Acting President on the latest development in his state.I came to brief the Acting President of development in my state. We all know Mr. President is taking a rest and the men at the helm of affairs needs to be periodically briefed. He is pleased with the development in Kogi State, he stated. The Sokoto State Government has denied that Governor Aminu Tambuwal paid N91 Million to 90 Islamic clerics popularly known as Alfas, to pra... The Sokoto State Government has denied that Governor Aminu Tambuwal paid N91 Million to 90 Islamic clerics popularly known as Alfas, to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari in Mecca. Tambuwals spokesman, Imam Imam, said the reports were untrue and misleading. He quoted the story published by PM News on Twitter and wrote: Very very untrue and misleading. Nothing of such has happened in Sokoto please. Thanks. PM News had claimed the Sokoto State Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Alhaji Mani Katami, said: This is to enable him to come back to Nigeria to continue with the good work he is doing for the country. The clerics are also going to pray for sustainable peace, unity and socio-economic prosperity of Nigeria. Buhari travelled to the UK on May 10 for further medical check-ups. The Director-General, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Prof. Oshita Oshita says more than 40 experts from different countries will gather in Nigeria for peace, conflict resolution conference in Nigeria in July.Oshita said this in a statement made available to newsmen by his Media Assistant, Abu Michael on Wednesday in Abuja.The Indigenous People of Biafra on a Peaceful Protest over the Arrest of the Director of Radio Biafra yesterday along Ikwerre road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Photo: Nwankpa ChijiokeOsita said that over 40 scholars from outside and within the country would converge on Abuja to brainstorm on the place of restorative and community justice in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.He said that intellectuals from Great Britain, U. S., Egypt, Kenya and South Africa among others would be meeting at the 5th International Africa Peace and Conflict Resolution Conference scheduled for July 26 and July 27He said that the Minister of National Reconciliation, Bangui, Central African Republic was also expected at the conference.Oshita said that the conference was being planned in collaboration with the Centre for African Peace and Conflict Resolution of California State University and Sacramento, U. S.According to him, other partners include Institute for Peace Studies and Practice of the University of Ibadan, the Nigeria Defence College; and Society of Peace Studies and Practice.Others he said are Justice Development and Peace Commission in Kano, and UFUK Dialogue Foundation.The director-general said that about 50 scholars had submitted abstracts of their presentations, adding that sponsorship for various events and application for participation remained open.He said the conference was important to Nigeria as a country in many ways, adding that many of the scholars would dwell on the essence of peace, resolution of conflicts and social justice.The conference, according to him, will also create the desired awareness on restorative and community justice.The statement quoted Dr Willie Eselebor of the University of Ibadan as commending IPCR for the planning, adding that such conference was important for peace to be guaranteed in thw country.All hands must be on deck by members of the planning committee and the partners to enhance the image of the government and the country, he said.Eselebo said that Nigeria and the entire African continent stand to benefit immeasurably from the conference. Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday took a look at developments in some parts of the country, urging elders to speak out against wh... Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday took a look at developments in some parts of the country, urging elders to speak out against what is wrong.He asked them to condemn divisive comments because violence pays no one.The Acting President spoke when he met with some Southeast elders at the Presidential Villa in Abuja as part of his ongoing consultations with leaders from the region and the North.The meeting was informed by the quit notice served on easterners in the North by the Arewa Youth Groups.Osinbajo said the meeting was urgent and crucial because of the current loud voices of hate speeches and divisive comments. The situation, he said, required urgent attention from all.He said this was not the time to hide under any ethnic or religious platform to support comments that divided rather than united the nation.Urging leaders to raise their voices against the strident divisive speeches, he said: Violence and war are not going to do anyone any good. Wars today hardly end. No one who has seen the face of wars even on television will wish it for anyone. We shoudnt tolerate hate speeches or divisive comments.He reiterated the governments resolve to deal with any one who threatened the countrys peaceful coexistence.There is no doubt on the resolve of government to allow anyone get away with hate speeches and divisive words. Our emotion should not be allowed to run wide so as to threaten the existence of anyone anywhere in Nigeria. We will do everything within our power to protect the life of every citizen anywhere and in any part of the country, he said.At the meeting are Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, David Umahi, Okezie Ikpeazu, Willy Obiano, and Rochas Okorocha of Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Anambra and Imo.Others are the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno, former Senate President Ken Nnamani, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Senator Joy Emodi, Professor Viola Nwuleri.Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Umahi said there was hope for a united Nigeria.On whether messages from the meeting will be accepted by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), he said: The meeting is not about IPOB; it is on the need for security of lives and properties all over Nigeria and the need for a united, honest, fair and equitable Nigeria. That is what the meeting is about.It was a wonderful meeting and the message we are taking back is that there is hope for a united and peaceful Nigeria and everybody should work hard.We emphasise the need for everybody to restrain from making hate statements. We should be making statements binding us together, statements of love, statements of unity, statements of hope and of course we should also work very hard.On what message the group is taking back to agitators, the governor said Everybody has a right to agitate but we emphasis the need for peaceful agitation. Even you agitate, your wife agitates at home that the feeding money is not enough, so it is a fundamental right but is the manner you go about it. So it is not an issue that cannot be resolved. The Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has given insight into the meeting Igbo leaders had with the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo ye... The Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has given insight into the meeting Igbo leaders had with the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo yesterday at the Presidential villa, Abuja. Recall that the Acting President had met with South East governors and leaders of the region in continuation of consultations on how to douse off the tension created, by the three months ultimatum by Northern youths asking Igbos to vacate their region and the call by Biafra agitators calling for the secession of the country. Featuring on Channels television programme, Politics Today, Okorocha said the South-east tabled some grievances before Osinbajo who promised to address them. He said, The focal point was talking about the unity of this country, which is paramount. Nigerias unity is not negotiable. Igbo have expressed dissatisfaction with lopsided appointments, infrastructure deficit, the Second Niger Bridge. No one supports secession of any form. We support a Nigeria that is indivisible and indissoluble. On if people of the South East have been marginalised by the current government, Okorocha said, I would say so, in terms of lopsided appointments and the South-east needs attention, which is understandable. The acting president did a good analysis of political appointments so far, but theres need to look at that side of the country and give them a sense of belonging. Commenting on agitation for Biafra and October 1 eviction order by Arewa youths, the governor said separatist groups were out for their selfish gains and not for the populace of their region. Sovereignty within the Nigerian nation is unacceptable. You cannot ask someone to leave the North and go back to the Southeast, you cannot ask someone to leave the country, it makes no sense. It was a faulty statement. These are groups of people. It was Arewa youths, not the entire north and when you talk of IPOB, its not the entire South-east that wants to secede; its not the entire South-east talking. Ive personally condemned those statementsLets see it as youthful exuberance. Former Edo State Governor has explained why he accepted the N200m severance package approved for him by the Edo State House of Assembly. Former Edo State Governor has explained why he accepted the N200m severance package approved for him by the Edo State House of Assembly.He spoke in the current edition, described by the MD/Editor-In-Chief, Azu Ishiekwene, as perhaps one of the most exhaustive in the magazines nearly two-year history.I was never going to talk about it (the severance package), he said, but I have to say it now so that you can understand where Im coming from.The former labour leader delved into his decades of service as a union leader without a kobo as severance benefit, the legal challenge he mounted to remove his predecessor and his legacy, among many other explosive subjects.He said he withdrew his support for former President Goodluck Jonathan because he believed that a Jonathan second term would have ruined the country.Before the 2015 general election, Oshiomhole was the only South South governor in the opposition party and some expected that Oshiomholes hands might be tied by his geographical kinship with the former president.In the current edition of The Interview Oshiomhole said, Competence that was expected was not there. The level of fairness was not there. And even if you talk about sentiments, the sentiment of servicing the geo-political zones, the South South had nothing to boast of. Even the road to Yenagoa did not show that a president came from there!He also said he referred to a private meeting where he advised, through Jonathans former Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadomhe, that the former president should not contest after 2011, but his advice was ignored.I said, Oshiomhole recalled, let Jonathan complete YarAduas second term and hand over to a northernerThe edition also features an interview with the Chairman of ThisDay editorial board and author, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, who spoke on his new book and his tenure as the spokesperson of former President Umaru YarAdua, especially in the final, turbulent days of that government.The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Ishaq Oloyede; and the survivor the Abuja UN building bomb blast, Member Feese, also shared rare insights on their experiences. MTN and Airtel Nigeria have explained why the sacked workers in the recent restructuring of the organisations.The two companies told the House Committee on Telecommunications, chaired by Rep Saheed Fijabi (APC, Oyo), yesterday that some of the staff were disengaged due to inability to fit into the new technological developments.Responding, the acting Human Resource Executive of MTN, Ajibola Opeoluwa-Calebs, said the reports that all the staff that left the company in the last one year were sacked were not true.He said out of the 368 staff that left the company in the last one year, 194 left on their own volition, while the rest were disengaged due to various reasons, including inability to effectively fit into the companys new technological development.He also told the lawmakers that as a result of the disengagement, additional vacancies were created and that the firm would soon employ 240 staff to replace them, saying the first phase of the employment would see 150 positions filled.We had a special arrangement with some of our employees, in April, who had been with us for some time and wanted to go and use their skills elsewhere. A total of 194 people left voluntarily, while 65 people were disengaged with the discretion of the management. Others were disengaged before April, he said.Not satisfied with the position that 194 staff voluntarily left MTN, the committee demanded the list of all the staff.Also speaking, Airtels director of human resources, Gbemiga Owolabi, said a total of 90 staff left the company in the last one year, out of which 66 resigned, six were exited because they were involved in some issues, while 14 were disengaged. Lesotho first lady, the wife of Prime Minister Tom Thabane was shot dead late on Wednesday night, just hours before Thabane was due to be inaugurated as Lesotho's leader.According to Eye Witness News (EWN), Lipolelo Thabane was one of two women shot in what appeared to be a random shoot out, but details on the shooting remain slim.The shooting was confirmed by the family.Lesotho held elections earlier this month for the third time in five years. Former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili reportedly admitted defeat to Thabane on Friday, EWN reported. Thabane's All Basotho Convention (ABC) won 48 parliamentary seats, leaving it short of 61 seats needed to form a government.Thabane reportedly said he would form a coalition government. After governing from 2012-2015, Thabane fled to South Africa after an assassination attempt. EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP -- The physician husband of a radio host slain in New Jersey in 2012 has made his initial court appearance on unrelated weapons charges. James Kauffman didn't enter a plea during Wednesday's hearing. Another hearing will be held Monday to determine whether he will remain in custody until his trial. Kauffman was arrested Tuesday at his Egg Harbor Township office. Authorities say he brandished a handgun as agents executed search warrants at his office and home, but a hostage negotiator persuaded him to surrender. Atlantic County prosecutors say the search warrants were issued as investigators probe "all leads pertaining to suspected criminal activity." But the raids weren't linked to the slaying of April Kauffman, who was found dead inside her bedroom of their Linwood home on May 10, 2012. No one has ever been charge. Separately, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said the medical files seized from Kauffman's office can't yet be returned, but that they will be when their investigation is complete. "Any files that are deemed to have no evidential value will be returned as soon as (possible)," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. If patients need files due to a medical emergency, they may call 609-909-7800. The Associated Press and Jeff Goldman contributed to this report. EAST RUTHERFORD -- The bond sale to fund the American Dream Meadowlands megamall is again delayed, Bloomberg reported. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. did not price the $1.1 billion in bonds on Wednesday as it was expected to, according to three people Bloomberg spoke with. A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined to comment to the publication. The publication noted that sometimes the process can be drawn out if bankers need time with buyers and to consider inquiries from potential investors. It could still come as soon as Thursday, Bloomberg reported. The sale itself was long-debated in court after a non-profit group claimed it violated state regulations. A three-judge appellate panel dismissed the claims and paved the way for the bond sale. The megamall, first launched Xanadu in 2003, was intended to bring economic revitalization to the area. Since then, the project has seen several developers and several redesigns. An indoor theme park and water park are planned for the mall, as well as tenants including Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and a miniature city for children. Triple Five most recently announced a March 2019 opening date. Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde. FORT LEE - Police have identified two victims who died in an accident with a truck on the George Washington Bridge Wednesday night as a father and his 5-year-old daughter from Monmouth County. Hector Pedercini, 50, and his daughter, Marianna, died after the GMC Acadia the father was driving struck a box truck stopped for traffic on the bridge about 9:30 p.m. Three other people in the vehicle survived: a 1-year-old girl, a 40-year-old woman and a 64-year-old woman. The women are Hector Pedercini's wife and mother-in-law. The 1-year-old is his other daughter, police said. The family is from Howell, police said. The 59-year-old driver of the 2008 International Truck was not injured. The crash occurred on the eastbound side, heading into Manhattan, said Joe Pentangelo, spokesman for the Port Authority Police Department. Pedercini and his daughter were taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where they died, Pentangelo said. The spokesman said the left front of the GMC struck the right rear of the truck. He did not know the cause of the accident or how fast Pedercini was traveling. "I don't know what his speed was, but the investigation should yield that," Pentangelo said. Scene of double fatal accident at #GWB Weds night. 30yo, 5yo in SUV died. pic.twitter.com/FImL4g33Ux Tony Aiello (@AielloTV) June 15, 2017 Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. CARLSTADT - A smattering of details about the pilot crop up in a handful of online media reports. The man was from the Western United States and worked for Hawaii-based Trans-Pacific Jets for about one year. He was older than his 33-year-old co-pilot and had 15 to 20 years of flying experience. The man worked for a variety of charter companies. According to public records, the aircraft he flew was built in 1981 and owned by A&C Big Sky Aviation LLC in Billings, Montana. Still, a full month later, authorities have not released the name of the pilot of the LearJet 35 that crashed May 15 in Carlstadt on approach to Teterboro Airport. The fiery accident killed First Officer Jeffrey Alino of Union, who was identified by fingerprints, and Alino's piloting partner, who remains unidentified. "It's weird," said Joe Orlando, spokesman for the borough of Carlstadt. "You would think after all this time we would have heard something. I can't figure out why we only have one name." While Alino was identified through print analysis, Bergen County and federal officials have said the pilot's remains were too badly burned for anything other than DNA testing. A cockpit voice recorder, which was recovered by the National Transportation Safety Board after the crash, was found intact and should contain the voices of both pilots. However, neither the recorder nor a transcript of its contents have been made public. "We have an idea of who both pilots are," Jim Silliman, a senior NTSB investigator, said a day after the fatal crash. "But confirmation is something we don't have right now." At the time of the accident, county officials said investigators would rely on DNA testing to confirm the man's identity. Those tests are being conducted by a state forensics team in Trenton, a county official said. Asked this week why, a month later, the pilot's name still has not been released, a spokesman stated in an email: "DNA testing can take a long time when there is no body." Orlando, who was at the accident scene, concurred. "The scene was pretty brutal," Orlando said. The U.S. Department of Justice in 2005 published a guide on genome research so families of victims could understand how DNA is used to identify their loved ones. "The process of identifying a victim might be relatively quick or it can be quite lengthy," the department states in "Identifying Victims Using DNA: A Guide for Families." DNA can be isolated from human remains found at a disaster site and then matched to DNA known to be from the victim - such as the victim's prior bloodwork or personal items. "In some instances, not every victim can be identified," states the Department of Justice. Forensic scientist and DNA expert Lawrence Kobilinsky, who has not worked on the Teterboro case, said Tuesday he finds it odd the pilot's name has not been released. "I would find it hard to believe in a plane crash there is no identifiable DNA," said Kobilinsky, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "If the fire department put out the fire in a reasonable amount of time, there is usually teeth or bone -- those are good sources of DNA," Kobilinsky said. Kobilinsky said if a fingerprint was recovered from one victim, there should have been recoverable DNA from the other. "Did the fire burn hotter in one area than another?" Kobilinsky asked. "Usually it does not." A blaze would have to roar for hours at temperatures of at least 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit to completely disintegrate a human body, the professor said. According to an NTSB preliminary report, the LearJet was on approach to Teterboro when it turned late and banked hard during an attempted landing, clipped some buildings and burst into flames as it crashed on Kero Road. In addition to the late turn, investigators are looking at high winds prevalent in the Northeast that day. The NTSB may take up to a year to release a final report. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. MOUNT HOLLY TWP. -- Tiffany Henry, 17, was excited when the Rancocas Valley Regional High School yearbooks were given out Friday. She was even more excited when she flipped through the pages and saw a photograph of her and two friends from their prom. "I was happy I was finally featured in the yearbook and then I looked at the names," Henry said. The photo caption had the name of another African-American student instead of hers. "I said, 'that's not me,'" she recalled. "I felt very embarrassed and upset." Maybe to some students, their first thought would be that it was just a simple mistake and didn't mean anything. But for Henry, it fit into a pattern of several experiences she's had in the school district of other students or staff mixing her up with other African-American students. In her senior year, she said, a teacher who had had her in his homeroom for several years repeatedly called her the name of the only other black student in the class. She recalled in middle school, students always saying that she and another black student looked like twins. As if to prove her point, when she showed the yearbook mistake to a friend Friday, she said the friend's response was "Oh, you do kind of look like her." Confusing people of the same race is an example of a microaggression, defined by Merriam-Webster as a "comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group." Similar mix-ups have made headlines in past years, like the Golden Globes labeling photos of America Ferrera as another Latina actress, Gina Rodriguez, or a KTLA reporter confusing Samuel L. Jackson for Laurence Fishburne live on tv. Jackson told the reporter the same thing that Henry's mother, Donna Reed, told the yearbook advisor when she got her on the phone: "All black people don't look alike." Reed said the advisor said the school could give her a sticker to correct the name in Henry's yearbook and any other copies that remained on file in the school, but she couldn't have a refund for the $100 yearbook. After an NJ Advance Media reporter contacted administrators for comment on the issue, Superintendent Christopher Heilig said the school has offered Reed a refund, the stickers and an apology letter. "We apologized to the student's mother who reached out to us to identify this error and assured her that this was an honest mistake made by our students who put the high school yearbook together as part of a class," Heilig said. "These students learn editing and layout and design through the process of creating our yearbook, and therefore, the finished product is almost rarely error-free." Heilig called the opinion that the mistake was race-related "disheartening." "The district recently went through an extensive strategic planning process, and one of our greatest strengths identified by all of our stakeholders was an appreciation of diversity," he said. "However, since we take such allegations with the utmost seriousness, an investigation will be conducted by the administration." Rancocas Valley Regional High School has approximately 2,000 students. State education data shows the racial breakdown of the school is 56 percent white, 29 percent black, 9 percent Hispanic, 5 percent Asian and less than 1 percent Pacific Islander or American Indian. Henry has approximately 460 classmates in the 12th grade. "As a senior, I feel like people should know who I am," Henry said. "It's not like I sit in the corner and don't talk to anyone." Henry said she is an honor student, part of two honor societies and participates in clubs and activities. When she's not doing school-related activities, she is a competitive ice skater and volunteers with the Special Olympics. When she spoke with a reporter Wednesday, she was on a train on her way to her freshman orientation at Boston University. Henry wishes that all the yearbooks could be corrected and redistributed, but she knows that's unlikely. Instead, she wants the school to give her mother what she asked for: an email apologizing and correcting the mistake, to be sent to everyone who received a yearbook. "They didn't know who she was and didn't care," Reed said of the school. As a black woman, she said, "no matter how you shine it, they won't see it the way I see it." Both Henry and Reed think that the school should be doing a better job checking the yearbook, if mistakes like these happen often. "She was devastated. That was her senior yearbook," Reed said. "I think the school should be accountable and pay attention to what's going on." Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Long-term care insurance doesn't sound very sexy. You should keep reading anyway, because long-term care insurance can be an essential part of your financial plan. As long as you pay the premiums. Joe Becker, 90, of Martinsville, bought his long-term care policy when he was a spry 72. For 18 years, twice a year, he paid the $2,372.91 premiums. More than $75,000 in all. Then he had a health emergency -- shortly after losing his wife of 54 years -- and he was late on a payment. The insurance company, Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania (SHIP), cancelled his policy. We're thrilled to report SHIP had a change of heart. Becker's policy has been reinstated. Here's what happened. Becker's neighbor Pete Hamerslag first notified Bamboozled of the problem. He said in April 2016, Becker, who is known for walking around his neighborhood, had a fall. Becker broke several ribs and had some moments of confusion at the time. So when Hamerslag learned that Becker missed a long-term care insurance payment and the policy was cancelled, he did what he could for his neighbor. Pete Hamerslag (left) and Joe Becker (right) pose for a photo at Becker's home. He investigated. Hamerslag learned Becker's premiums used to be taken directly from his bank account twice a year. "At some point that changed," Hamerslag said at the time. "Joe's son, who was the alternate person receiving notice of a missed payment, told me that he reminded Joe to pay and assumed it got done." But it didn't. Hamerslag contacted SHIP in writing, including Becker's check for the unpaid premium. The company denied the reinstatement request, and it returned the uncashed check. But here's where it got hinky. SHIP said it would only reinstate the policy if either state regulations or the policy's language required it to, but it wasn't specific about terms or rules. The company wouldn't be more specific when Hamerslag tried to get more information, Hamerslag said. It did say Becker could file an official request for reinstatement, for which it required updated medical records. Hamerlag helped Becker send the reinstatement forms, plus a letter from Becker's physician of 25 years. "I saw him on July 11th and he was confused, malnourished, dizzy and weak," the doctor wrote, confirming Becker was confusion at the time. "I am not surprised given his recent stresses of losing his wife, his fall, fractured ribs and his age." Hamerslag said the doctor's was key because it offered a strong argument that Becker suffered from "Cognitive Impairment." That's a phrase in the policy's language that is offered as a reason why a lapsed policy could be reinstated. Adding to the confusion was that Becker, in 2015, told the insurance company to stop his auto-draft premium payments because he planned to change bank accounts. But he never changed the account. Records show Becker asked the company to re-start the auto-draft -- but he never returned the needed form. Despite the added information, the company again denied the reinstatement. Hamerslag sent another letter, saying the doctor's statement showed Becker had cognitive impairment at the time of the missed payment. "I suspect their real reasons are that they have profited from Joe for 18 years and now that he is approaching the age when he might need the policy, they can get out of it," Hamerslag said at the time. And there was another denial. We asked the company to take another look, and we looked more closely at the policy and the letters from SHIP. SHIP's letter said "Cognitive Impairment," as defined by the policy, "means a deficiency in a person's short or long-term memory, orientation as to person, place and time, deductive or abstract reasoning, or judgement [sic] as it relates to safety awareness." That sounded a lot like what Becker's doctor described. SHIP's letter also said: "Mr. Becker was not diagnosed as having a Cognitive Impairment or Loss of Functional Capacity at the time his Policy lapsed," noting the doctor's letter didn't have an actual diagnosis. Hamerslag wasn't ready to give up, saying the doctor clearly raised the issue of a cognitive problem. He used this analogy: Under the Miranda Law, if a suspect in custody raises the issue of an attorney, even if he doesn't say the magic words, "I want an attorney," law enforcement is obligated to determine if that's what the suspect means. Hamerslag said this was no different, and he filed a complaint with the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI). He collected information about Becker's condition during the "key time frame" from seven neighbors and friends, plus another letter from the doctor with more information about Becker's temporary condition. That seemed to put things over the top. Hamerslag reported to us that the DOBI investigator called to say SHIP agreed to reinstate the policy, pending Becker's payments to bring the policy up-to-date. "I'm not sure what prompted the company to do the right thing, but at least it did," Hamerslag said. Joe Becker, 90, at his Martinsville home. SHIP had no comment for this story, but a letter to Hamerslag from the DOBI investigator said the definition for cognitive impairment for Becker's policy "describes it an a deficiency in a person's short or long-term memory," and "the official diagnosis on the medical records does not need to use the exact phrase 'cognitive impairment.'" Becker said he's glad the company "changed their attitude." "I had actually given up on them," Becker said. "I hope I don't need long-term care but I'm over 90 now. I might need it someday." Becker -- along with Bamboozled -- is very grateful to Hamerslag. "I can't thank him enough," Becker said. "He's a neighbor that volunteered all his time and this went on for months. He's helped me in so many ways and it's wonderful there are people like him who are willing to devote the time and energy to help other people for no reward." Amen, brother. And hey readers, help there be more Pete Hamerslags in the world. Your neighbors will thank you, and just maybe someone you love will have their own Pete Hamerslag someday. Open. Outspoken. It's Ophthalmology off the Gridan honest look at controversial topics in the field. Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, invites a range of experts to guide listeners through their areas of expertise, inserting thought-provoking questions along the way. From disruptive treatments and technologies to tried-and-true ophthalmic practices, Ophthalmology off the Grid lends a curious perspective to topics new and old for an honest look at ophthalmology today. St. Tammany Parish schools Superintendent Trey Folse visits a school on the first day of classes in 2015. The federal government plans to pour $125 million into the fight against a mysterious disease that has ravaged corals in Florida and much of the Caribbean, and now poses a dire threat to the treasured reefs off the Louisiana and Texas coasts. Once elected, members of the Public Service Commission typically have an easy time hanging onto their jobs. Voters dont know much about them or their work, and the only real money in the campaigns has traditionally come from utilities and others Hulu to shoot Mars-mission drama series 'The First' in New Orleans Today Mostly clear. Low around 60F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight Mostly clear. Low around 60F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow Mainly sunny. High 79F. Winds light and variable. DENVER Council Bluffs is once again competing to be recognized as an All-America City, with this years effort focused squarely on the initiatives the community has implemented to promote early childhood literacy. Even as representatives prepared to travel to Denver in the past couple weeks, the community has made new strides toward the aim of having every child able to read by the end of third grade, at which point students are expected to start reading to learn instead of simply learning to read. The United Way of the Midlands is planning a day of action on June 21 to promote literacy-focused volunteer projects across the Council Bluffs-Omaha metro area, making use of the summer solstice to read to children across the community. In addition, United Way said in a release that it offers year-round volunteer opportunities to promote literacy in Council Bluffs and elsewhere in the metro area. The nonprofit said that about 2,100 students in the city in grades 2-11 still are not reading at grade-level. Raise Me to Read a joint initiative of the Iowa West Foundation and United Way of the Midlands also announced this week that welcome baskets with a book and literature from Raise Me to Read are now being given to new mothers at CHI Health Mercy Hospital through the work of Joanne Sklenar-Smith, the director of maternal child care at the hospital. The All-America City Conference began Wednesday with an opening reception, where Council Bluffs was presented its Pacesetter Award. Four other Iowa communities will join Council Bluffs in the All-America City competition: Ames, Des Moines, Dubuque and Davenport-Quad Cities. Conference workshops will be held Thursday and Friday, with each community giving a brief presentation to award judges on Thursday. Friday will wrap up with the presentation of the All-America City Awards. Council Bluffs is represented at the conference by 10 ambassadors: Ashley Kruse, communication director, City of Council Bluffs Kathleen Rapp, vice president of grants and initiatives, Iowa West Foundation Kathy Hanafan, school attendance supervisor, Green Hills Area Education Agency Martha Bruckner, superintendent, Council Bluffs Community School District Matt Walsh, mayor, City of Council Bluffs Melissa Mayo, director of Classroom Ready, United Way of the Midlands Nancy Schulze, director, Raise Me to Read Pete Tulipana, president and CEO, Iowa West Foundation Sarena Dacus, executive director, FAMILY Inc. Wendy Schultz, chief of staff, City of Council Bluffs Among those attendees from Council Bluffs, Bruckner, Rapp and Schulze will present on school readiness, summer learning and leadership respectively during workshop panels. Bruckner will make the three-minute presentation to the judges which, along with submitted materials from the community, will be evaluated to determine whether Council Bluffs makes the final cut as an All-America City. Last year, the presentation was more elaborate involving a skit sharing the communitys story with judges but the conference this year has been adjusted to better emphasize the exchange of information among communities along various domains stressed for the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, such as school attendance. Finalists this year were selected based on the communities making measurable progress in early reading for low-income children through school readiness, school attendance, summer learning and grade-level reading, according to the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and National Civic League. It would just be great to be able to bring this home, Schultze told The Nonpareil in April. Council Bluffs has been a finalist three out of the last four years, and Walsh said he hopes the city brings home the award this year, calling the achievement a big deal for the community. Gov. Kim Reynolds and acting Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg are one step closer to officially seeking office in the 2018 election. A press release from the Kim Reynolds for Iowa Committee notes that the Governor and Lt. Governor intend to be candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor in 2018. A final decision and formal announcement will be made in the coming months. Reynolds took over as governor in late May after the U.S. Senate confirmed Terry Branstad as the U.S. ambassador to China. The release noted Reynolds and Gregg have hired Phil Valenziano as campaign manager, Angie Hughes as finance director and Matt Leopold as political director. The announcement also included the campaign website, www.reynoldsgregg.com, and social media sites. Reynolds named Gregg her acting lieutenant governor shortly after taking over. The acting part of the title comes in response to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller opinion that Reynolds did not have the power to appoint a lieutenant governor that would be in the line of succession. Senate President Jack Whitver is currently next in the line of succession. Whitver represents District 19, which includes all of Polk County. Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett has said hes considering a primary challenge against her. Other Democrats who have announced campaigns or are considering running include Andy Maguire, former head of the Iowa Democratic Party, state Rep. Todd Prichard and former Des Moines School Board president Jon Neiderbach. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The following editorial was published in The Des Moines Register on June 10: A child-protection system that allows two 16-year-old Iowa girls to die one from starvation and the other from malnutrition is a system thats in urgent need of repair. But where to begin? To hear the Iowa Department of Human Services tell it, massive cuts in staffing over the past seven years havent lessened the agencys ability to protect Iowas children. Yet there are two dead girls both home-schooled and both from the states foster care system to account for. On May 12, Sabrina Ray was found unresponsive and suffering from severe malnutrition inside her adoptive home in Perry. According to authorities, DHS had been monitoring the girls home due to past complaints of abuse, but the extent of that monitoring is unclear. Investigators said they found no evidence of abuse, but by the time she died, Sabrina weighed just 56 pounds. Her parents now face criminal charges of kidnapping, neglect and child endangerment resulting in a death. Like Sabrina, Natalie Finn was adopted out of foster care. She was living with her adoptive parents in West Des Moines last October when she died of starvation. Her mother has been charged with first-degree murder and her father faces charges of kidnapping and neglect or abandonment. Understandably, state lawmakers are now examining the manner in which foster parents are recruited and trained by the state. Theyre also focusing on staffing levels at DHS and the high caseloads of state social workers and child-abuse investigators. Although every Iowa lawmaker can credibly claim theyre supportive of Iowas children, some of the legislatures inquiries seem more like political theater than a diligent effort to identify and address any shortcomings in the system. These are the same lawmakers who repeatedly cut the budget at DHS, knowing full well that their actions were likely to result in some sort of harm to the people DHS is charged with protecting. As Sen. Matt McCoy, a Des Moines Democrat, pointed out during a legislative hearing last week, there are 1,135 fewer people working for DHS today than there were when Gov. Terry Branstad took office in 2010. That alone is cause for alarm, despite the departments assurances that the number of child-protection workers within the agency has remained level. McCoy says some DHS caseworkers are handling as many as 50 to 70 cases at a time. DHS officials flatly deny that and say that on average workers are handling a little over 13 cases at any given time, a slight decrease from a few years ago. Is that average the result of data manipulation, as McCoy alleges? Its possible. He says payroll data shows that in 2016, 156 of Iowas child-protection workers collected more than $5,000 each in overtime pay. In 2015, one social worker earned more than $40,000 a year in overtime pay by working 60-plus hours per week, he says. Apparently, its going to take an independent investigation just to get a handle on actual caseloads, which should not be the case. The Iowa Legislatures oversight committees might be able to get to the bottom of this particular issue, and the Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group, hired by DHS to conduct a review of Iowas child welfare system, may shed additional light on the matter. But the parameters of the Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group review seem limited. Its expected to entail six on-site visits at a total cost of just $39,550. Fortunately, the state ombudsmans office is conducting its own investigations and unlike the practice group, its not doing so at the behest of DHS itself. Wendy Rickman, division administrator of adult children and family services at DHS, has told lawmakers that 99.7 percent of the Iowa children in foster care are free from any kind of maltreatment. Thats an impressive statistic, but to be entirely accurate, Rickman should have added the phrase, as far as we know. After all, the day before she died of malnutrition, Sabrina Ray would have been counted among the 99.7 percent. Its entirely possible that DHS now has too few staffers to reliably determine just how much abuse is occurring in these homes. Its easy to claim there are few cases of child abuse in Iowa if many of the people charged with spotting abuse have been saddled with unmanageable caseloads. Aside from caseloads and staffing levels, legislators and other investigators need to examine the laws and regulations that make it possible for children in state-subsidized adoptive homes to go off the grid removed from the public school system as home-schooled students who then have little or no interaction with the outside world. Both Sabrina and Natalie were home-schooled at the time of their deaths. In 2013, legislation eliminated the reporting requirements that had been imposed on Iowas home-school families. Iowa is now one of only 11 states that dont require families to give notice to the state if they are home-schooling, which means no one knows who in Iowa is home-schooling their children. The state doesnt even have statistical information that would indicate how many children are being home schooled. Some lawmakers are now calling for a new requirement that home-schooled children in foster care meet semiannually with a teacher and/or health care professional. That idea has merit, but more is needed. It will likely be several months before the public has a better handle on DHS interaction with the families of Sabrina Ray and Natalie Finn. In the meantime, Gov. Kim Reynolds will have to replace former DHS Director Charles Palmer, who resigned shortly after the details of Sabrinas death were made public. The department is in desperate need of a leader who is more than a proxy for the governor. It needs a leader who is willing to fight for the agency, its funding, its workers and all the vulnerable Iowans who depend on DHS to keep them out of harms way. A Hershey village employee was arrested early Thursday after a caller reported having been threatened with a shotgun. According to the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, deputies were called just before 2:30 a.m. to the 700 block of West Second Street in Hershey, where a woman reported that her boyfriend had assaulted her and pointed a shotgun at another person. The woman and the other person were able to leave the scene before deputies arrived. The deputies telephoned the suspect, identified as Ronnie Stewart Jr., 50, of Hershey. Officials asked Stewart to come outside the residence and he was detained. Deputies searched the home to see if anyone else was inside and found items related to drug paraphernalia and several firearms, according to the sheriffs office. Two of the guns previously had been reported stolen, according to the sheriffs office. Stewart was arrested on suspicion of third-degree domestic assault, terroristic threats, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and possession of a stolen firearm. An investigation of the incident continues. Stewart is the maintenance superintendent for the Village of Hershey. In March, he pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence, stemming from an incident last December. A request for comment from the village had not been returned as of noon Thursday. Close to 250 students from seven high schools across Sydney, including four Intensive English Centres, came together today to celebrate the completion of the NRLs current In League In Harmony program, a six-week program conducted throughout term two. Students celebrated the occasion by participating in a range of activities, including a Harmony Walk, wheelchair and touch rugby league matches, as well as receiving certificates for completing the In League In Harmony program. Former NRL player Joe Galuvao attended the day, along with NSW Minister for Multiculturalism, Ray Williams and NRL General Manager of Community Programs, Ellen Beale. NRL Head of Government and Community Relations, Jaymes Boland Rudder said the program had progressed in impact and exposure over several years. "The message of social cohesion and recognition amongst multiple nationalities and communities is an important one," Mr Boland-Rudder said. "The In League In Harmony program, through the spirit of rugby league, continues to unify hundreds of students throughout Sydney and beyond each school term and as a game, we are determined to continue to promote and empower young people to be positive advocates within their own communities and others." "Our Government is committed to maintaining social cohesion and to safeguarding our peaceful way of life," added Minister Williams. "We are proud to work with the NRL to promote harmony and the code is a positive force in Western Sydney communities. "Sport is beyond what's happening on the playing field; it is about what it can give back to communities." The NRLs In League In Harmony community program is a six-week program which aims to promote social cohesion amongst communities. Students who participated in the program and attended the gala day came from the following schools: - Casula High School - Bonnyrigg High School - Narara Valley High School - Fairfield High School (IEC) - Evans High School (IEC) - Marrickville High School (IEC) - Lurnea High School (IEC) All the latest team changes and rumours ahead of Round 15 of the NRL Telstra Premiership. Match Draw Widget [2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 15: Rabbitohs vs Titans Rabbitohs: Aaron Gray is out, replaced by Braidon Burns on the wing. Jason Clark and Anthony Cherrington are both pressing their claims for a spot in the final 17. Titans: Winger Anthony Don is in some doubt, with 19-year-old rookie Phillip Sami in line to make his NRL debut if Don is a late withdrawal. Match Draw Widget [2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 15: Storm vs Cowboys Storm: No late changes for the Storm, who will be missing five players on State of Origin duty. Cowboys: Former Junior Kiwis prop Braden Uele has travelled to Melbourne with the North Queensland squad and could make his NRL debut. Match Draw Widget [2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 15: Sharks vs Wests Tigers Sharks: Five players away on State of Origin duty, but no late changes expected. Wests Tigers: Luke Brooks is named to return from a hamstring injury to partner Tui Lolohea in the halves. Jack Littlejohn is among the reserves on standby. Match Draw Widget [2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 15: Eels vs Dragons Eels: Centre Michael Jennings is an outside chance to return from a quadriceps injury. He has been named in the four reserves of the 21-man squad. Dragons: No late changes expected for St George Illawarra. Official NRL team lists TWEET ME DISCLAIMER *COMMENTS, LINKS, AND CUT AND PASTE ARTICLES, ARE NOT ALL ENDORSED BY THE PUBLISHER. THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed. MORE DISCLAIMERS This is a commercial free blog. Money is nice, but being able to speak my mind is better. "Real talk: Daniel Rubin has a great little piece up wherein he chats with The Field Negro, the Philly-based blogger who sharply ponders all things black on a daily basis. (Seriously, if youve never checked in with TFN, you should: Its author, Wayne Bennett, is a fantastic read who can cut through bullshit like a hot knife through butter, which is a far grosser analogy than I wanted to make, but there you have it.)" ~Philebrity~ "One of the most precocious and hilarious Black political minds on the net. Ive been a long-time fan!" ~Asad Malik~ "..While most of what he writes is tongue-in-cheek, his space is a safe house for candid discussions about race, especially in the comments section, where people of all colors meet." ~~Daniel Rubin, "The Philadelphia Inquirer"~~ "To white people, Bennett's musings are like kitchen-table talk from a kitchen they may otherwise never set foot in. To African Americans, he is part of a growing army of black Internet amateurs who have taken up the work once reserved for ministers and professional activists: the work of setting a black agenda, shaping black opinion and calling attention to the state of the nation's racial affairs." ~~Richard Fausset, "L.A. Times"~~~ ~Erik Hare, "The Twin Cities Daily Planet"~ "That's why I love the blog " Field Negro " so much. Field, as he's known to his fans, has the sense of reality that it takes to call out the ( CowPuckey ) of blame beating by those who are in positions of power and their lackeys. Because of his handle and his unabashed way of writing about racial issues, Field is often cited as a "Black blogger." What he is, however, is a first-class detector of blame deflection and an excellent student of history. If you want to write about the past and future of repression there's really no other perspective to take - which is why everyone should read Field."~Erik Hare, "The Twin Cities Daily Planet"~ 411 On The Field field negro Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Raised in the house, but field certified. Jamaica is the land of my birth, but I consider myself a citizen of the world. I currently practice law in the city of "brotherly love". View my complete profile "Half a century after Little Rock, the Montgomery bus boycott and the tumultuous dawn of the modern civil rights era, the new face of the movement is Facebook, MySpace and some 150 black blogs united in an Internet alliance they call the AfroSpear. Older, familiar leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, are under challenge by a younger generation of bloggers known by such provocative screen names as Field Negro, thefreeslave and African American Political Pundit. And many of the newest struggles are being waged online." ~Howard Witt-The Chicago Tribune~ "I had no idea, for example, of the extent of the African-American blogging world out there and its collective powers of dissemination.But now, after reading thousands of anguished, thoughtful comments posted on these blogs reflecting on issues of persistent racial discrimination in the nation's schools and courtrooms, what's clear to me is that there's a new, "virtual" civil rights movement out there on the Internet that can reach more people in a few hours than all the protest marches, sit-ins and boycotts of the 1950s and 60s put together." ~Chicago Tribune Reporter, Howard Witt~ IF YOU ARE BRAVE ENOUGH TO FLAUNT IT. Come visit my store on CafePress! HOBART Indiana education leader Jennifer McCormick said there will be 10 million jobs available in the next decade, and Indiana students have to be prepared to fill them. She said her office is working closely with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to get students prepared for the workforce. "We have identified four academic areas that we will focus on, and they are science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), career and technical education, reading and college dual credit courses," McCormick told a crowd of educators and business leaders. McCormick was one of several speakers Thursday at the sixth annual READY NWI Summer Institute at Hobart High School hosted by Hobart schools Superintendent Peggy Buffington, who also is co-chairwoman of READY NWI. READY NWI is an acronym for Regional Education and Employer Alliance for Developing Youth in Northwest Indiana. That organization is committed to ensuring that high school students graduate prepared academically, socially and financially to further their education without the need for remediation and to obtain degrees and other certifications that directly meet the needs of Northwest Indiana employers. McCormick and others at the summer institute said they are impressed with READY NWI's work, and commended the organization for making strides in talking to local employers and understanding their employee needs. Participants said employers need workers with sound literacy and numeracy skills who are highly skilled in critical thinking and problem-solving, and the ability to work in teams and adapt to rapid changes in technology. "Indiana is very diverse," McCormick said. "Southern Indiana is different from Northern Indiana. Indiana services 1.2 million students. Of that number, 47 percent are students who receive free and reduced (cost) lunch, 15 percent are special needs and 13 percent are high-ability, and you know what that means in the classroom. We also service 5,000 migrants. There are 275 languages spoken (in the home) that have been reported." McCormick participated in a panel discussion along with Mike Barnes, of Indiana Workforce Development, and Josh Garrison, with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. The discussion was moderated by Linda Woloshansky, president and CEO of the Valparaiso-based Center of Workforce Innovations. All three believe that agencies have to work together for successfully getting students from the classroom into the workforce. Barnes said some employers don't believe that educators are listening. Barnes and Garrison also said that one of the barriers is that educators and employers don't "speak the same language." "Trying to make a connection with workforce is something that higher education is always trying to do," Garrison said. During the conference, Brenda Emerson talked about the success of the Elkhart Area Career Center, and local officials addressed the growing concern about drug issues in Northwest Indiana. A 2012 Lowell High School graduate is part of Naval Forces Central Command keeping watch over one of the worlds most volatile regions at Naval Support Activity, Bahrain. Airman Alexander Rastall is an aerographer's mate at the Manama, Bahrain, Navy base, forward-deployed to the Arabian Gulf in the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet. The area of operation for the Navys 5th Fleet encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse comprises 20 countries, including three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen. Im excited to be here, Rastall said. This so much more interesting than what I was expecting. I get to learn about the Middle East in person. Rastall, a Lowell native, is receiving firsthand experience working in a foreign country and being part of a team vital to our nations defense, keeping the worlds waterways open and safe from hostile forces. This is my first deployment. I was not expecting to be in Bahrain. The people here are friendly. This very different from my small town in Indiana, Rastall said. I would like Bahrainis to come to America to see the Midwest. The U.S. Naval Forces Central Commands mission is to conduct maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and strengthen partner nations' maritime capabilities in order to promote security and stability in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Rastall realizes the significance of serving his country abroad and is very proud of the work he is doing as part of Naval Forces Central Command, Bahrain. I joined the Navy to better myself and give myself a better opportunity for a good life, Rastall said. I always wanted to serve. There is a family tradition of Navy and Marine Corps service. Police kept a promise by citing hundreds of motorists who failed to wear seat belts or properly restrain children riding in vehicles during the recent traffic safety initiative. The Click It or Ticket initiative ran from May 12 to June 4, according to a news release. Officers working with the Lake County Traffic Safety Partnership issued 626 seat belt violations, 47 child restraint violations, one open container violation, 151 license violations, 27 traffic light and stop sign violations, 276 speeding violations and one texting violation. They also made four operating while intoxicated arrests, one habitual traffic violator arrest and 39 criminal misdemeanor arrests on warrants and charges such as possession of marijuana, carrying a handgun without a permit and operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock device. Gary police issued 273 seat belt citations and 43 child restraint citations. They also made 42 arrests, including one for a felony drug warrant. Hammond police wrote 1,110 citations, including 714 for seat belt or child restraint violations. Hammond police will continue to monitor for seat belt and child restrain violations and aggressive driving in June. The department also received a grant to enhance enforcement of impaired driving laws through September. The Porter County Traffic Safety Partnership issued 265 seat belt citations, nine child restraint citations, six driving while suspended citations, two speeding tickets and eight other citations. Officers also sought charges in two misdemeanor cases, one felony case and two misdemeanor driving while suspended cases. They issued 48 warnings for speeding and 39 warnings for other violations. The Click It or Ticket initiative is funded though the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The institute distributes funds to more than 250 law enforcement agencies in Indiana, according to a news release. MERRILLVILLE Brandon Washington loves everything "Star Wars." Every day, the 10-year-old does battle against two autoimmune diseases lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Managing the lupus includes weekly injections of a chemotherapy medication. He goes into kidney failure, said Terry Niedziela, his maternal grandmother who is raising Brandon and his two younger brothers. On Thursday, during the Make A Dream Come True luncheon at Innsbrook Country Club, the young Schererville resident received gifts that will allow him and his brothers to enjoy activities other youngsters might take for granted. In addition to coloring books and a Spiderman toy, those gifts included movie packages that feature popcorn as well as admission; funds to enroll in swimming lessons at the Southlake YMCA in Crown Point; an overnight stay at Chicagos Hyatt Hotel and passes for five Windy City museums. Since 1992, the Northwest Indiana Chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors has sponsored Make A Dream Come True for a youngster from Lake, Porter or LaPorte counties who is medically challenged, said Connie Bernardi, chapter president. The group works with Dr. Clark Kramer, of Merrillville, and his staff to select a recipient. Due to the HIPPA laws, Kramer has to ask families of his patients if they would like to participate in the chapters Make A Dream program. To fund the Make A Dream project, the organization sells raffle tickets for $10 each. The raffle includes a host of prizes donated by area organizations and businesses, Bernardi said. In 25 years, weve raised over $67,000 for Make A Dream, she said. They are such a deserving family, Bernardi added. Diagnosed with lupus at 18 months of age, Brandon doesnt dwell on his medical challenges. During Thursdays luncheon, he answered questions about attending Watson Elementary School, played video games on a tablet and at times tried to fend off his active 3-year old brother, Tommy Nemecek, who also attended with their grandmother. The boys 9-year old brother, Anthony Washington, was home recovering from open heart surgery he recently underwent at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, to correct a congenital heart condition. Anthony will be able to do some of the activities in late July, said Terry Niedziela. Now that it has become obvious that the primary function of the U.S. Congress is to continuously investigate everything Trump, it may now be appropriate to add to their list of investigative duties. I could recommend a few. Let's start with Barack Obama/Eric Holder for Fast & Furious, Hillary Clinton for classified emails and the Clinton Foundation, Bill Clinton/Loretta Lynch for obstruction of justice, Obama/Susan Rice for spying/unmasking private citizens and Obama for the IRS scandal. All these duties should keep them busy enough to never be able to do the work for the American people that elected them. Who would want more jobs, lower taxes and better health care? Evidently, no one in Washington! Jack Gillen, Valparaiso Ever take a look at your Facebook friend list and wonder how many of these people are actually my friends? Well, artist Tanja Hollander did, and after thinking about if for a while, she decided to find out the answer to that question by visiting all of her 626 Facebook friends. She documented the experience in an epic 5-year-long project called Are You Really My Friend? It all started on New Years Eve 2010, when, after conversing with some of her online friends, Maine-based artist Tanja Hollander stared wondering what her relationship with all the people in her Facebook list was. She asked herself if friendships formed online were as real as offline ones and if many of her friends were actually just acquaintances. Am I really friends with all these people? Tanja told herself, and she immediately knew she had to find out. Photo: Tanja Hollander/Are You Really My Friend? The plan was pretty straightforward, she had to go visit all her 626 of her Facebook friends, spend time with them, and take photographs of them for an art project. She ended up traveling an average two weeks per month, for a period of five years, but she actually managed to visit all the people in her friends list, documenting every encounter on her Facebook and Instagram accounts. Photo: Tanja Hollander/Are You Really My Friend? When her epic journey ended, in 2016, Tanja Hollander had visited four continents, 12 countries, 43 U.S. states and had been welcomed in over 400 homes. Most importantly, she had found the answer to the question that started it all. Photo: Tanja Hollander/Are You Really My Friend? One thing is for certain, the artist told Upworthy. There isnt a difference between online friendships and offline friendships. Its something that weaves in and out of everything we do, from work to friendship everything, literally. There are some people that I see in person more often than friends that exist only online, but that doesnt mean Im closer to the people I see every day. Social media is just a different way of communicating. Photo: Tanja Hollander/Are You Really My Friend? Speaking with Aplus, Hollander said that Are You Really My Friend? proved to be a way to create a very intimate experience with people that otherwise feel like they only exist in a virtual reality. As for photographing her friends in their own homes and often staying with them, the artist claims that it brought her closer to them in a way that most people will never experience with all of their Facebook friends. Photo: Tanja Hollander/Are You Really My Friend? I feel connected to all the pictures on a different level than just friendship, they are part of this giant social experiment and art piece I made, Hollander said. Thats maybe hard to explain. I think there are friendships that are important at various times in our life, and thats OK. There doesnt need to be a hierarchy like there was in 6th grade. The epic art project also became the subject of a documentary which was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter earlier this year. It consists of footage shot by Tanja Hollander during her 5 years of globetrotting, not knowing what she should do with it. Are You Really My Friend?, the documentary was officially released on March 18. Squire Patton Boggs is promoting economic development in Sudan with a focus on lifting US sanctions opposed on that northern African state. The US and Sudan last year agreed on a five-part program to lift the economic embargo next month, contingent on the final approval of the Trump Administration. To remove the sanctions, Sudan promised to improve human rights especially in its Darfur region and resolve conflicts with political opponents and militant groups. SPB receives a $40K monthly retainer from Sudan. Saudi Arabia also is pushing for the end of US sanctions to reward Sudan for its backing of Arab and Islamic issues, according to media reports. If you are looking for a job, or a change of job, in Offaly today, here are five different positions available in the county today. Production Line Supervisor Carroll Cuisine - Tullamore, County Offaly Carrolls of Tullamore is a leading supplier of Finest Irish Hams, Poultry and Chilled Readymeals. We are Irelands fastest growing brand and were recently awarded a Best in Fresh Award for supply of Meat to the Retail Trade. Requrements: Supervisory experience is essential for this role; Food production experience is essential for this role For more details on this position, click here Community, Education and Youth Worker Offaly Local Development Company is currently seeking to recruit a Community, Education and Youth Worker. The successful applicant will have experience working with disadvantaged communities and marginalised individuals in a developmental capacity. A relevant 3rd level or Professional Qualification in related fields is desirable. For more details on this position, click here Store person Condron Dismantlers - Tullamore Computer skills needed for this job. Customer friendly and good communication skills. For more details on this position, click here Counter Staff Apache Pizza Tullamore. - Tullamore, County Offaly. Part-time Serving customers, managing money, cleaning duties, making packaging, answering the phone, taking phone orders and online orders, also customer queries. For more details on this position, click here I.T. Customer Services / Sales Support NIS Limited. IT, Software & Telecoms, Sales, Sales support, Customer Service based in Tullamore Some of the Requirements are 2+ years of customer support experience, Familiarity of the IT Sector beneficial, Experience using MS Office, Experience using CRM Systems For more details on this position click here Agricultural News This Week on SUNUP - Kim Anderson Has News on a Possible Future Rally in the Wheat Market This week on SUNUP - Oklahoma State University Extension Grain Market Economist Dr. Kim Anderson joins host Lyndall Stout for another conversation, examining the current wheat harvest conditions and price outlooks. Anderson says wheat prices in the state took a hit and then quickly recovered some at the start of this week. Anderson says this was a knee-jerk reaction in the market triggered by another year of high production around the world. However, after the crop condition report from USDA came out Monday, revealing HRS wheat was in much worse condition than the markets thought, the prices improved. Anderson has been monitoring the pulse of the July KC Contract, hoping it climbs above the $4.50 level, which for the moment it seems to have dipped down. "It's critical that we hold that $4.50 level," Anderson said. "We've got to hold $4.50." Cautiously optimistic about prices, Anderson says if the July contract could inch up to $4.70 - $4.75, he is confident prices could have a clear shot at reaching $5.00 later in the year. His advice though to farmers is not to get greedy. He advises wheat growers to stagger their selloff of their grain, a third at a time, and to take advantage of rallies when they happen. You can watch their visit tomorrow or Sunday on SUNUP- but you can hear Kim's comments right now by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below. Beyond Dr. Anderson's weekly chat - the SUNUP crew has a very full lineup for your viewing this weekend: This week on SUNUP, we are coming to you from Caddo County, where wheat harvest is underway. We start the show talking machinery and wheat field fires with John Weir and John Long. - In Cow-Calf Corner, Glenn Selk discusses water needs for cows and calves during weaning. - Derrell Peel explains China's role in U.S. beef exports. - In the Mesonet weather report, Al Sutherland says one site topped 103F. Gary McManus shows us where drought has moved back into the state. - Then Kim Anderson, has news on a possible future rally in the wheat market. - In Naturally Speaking, Dwayne Elmore explains the benefits to wildlife of only cutting a meadow once. - Finally, we revisit a Caddo County family that recently transitioned from the third to the fifth generation of wheat farmers. Also, Shannon Ferrell has advice for planning farm transitions. Join us for SUNUP: Saturday at 7:30 a.m. Sunday at 6 a.m. on OETA-TV You can watch their visit tomorrow or Sunday on SUNUP- but you can hear Kim's comments right now WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady NSI Top Agricultural News LINCOLN (AP) Law enforcement officers in southeastern Nebraska say a traffic stop on Interstate 80 led to the discovery of 118 fraudulent credit cards. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner told the Lincoln Journal Star that a sport utility vehicle driven by a 49-year-old from Hollywood, Florida, was stopped around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on the Interstate in Lincoln on suspicion of speeding. Deputies said they searched the SUV and found the credit cards inside a bag hidden in the wheel well. The driver and a 31-year-old passenger from Grand Island were arrested on suspicion of criminal possession of a financial transaction device. Wagner said that the investigation is ongoing and that deputies are trying to determine to whom the card accounts belong. Copyright 2017 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Nebraska State Patrol troopers took a number commercial vehicles out of service Wednesday during surprise inspections in Columbus. Authorities conducted 61 inspections, found 237 violations and took 30 vehicles and one driver out of service, the patrol said. Vehicles are placed out of service for a variety of reasons, including bad brakes or tires, or other problems that pose immediate safety risks. The driver was taken out of service for not having a valid drivers license. Officials issued a total of $3,775 in fines. The troopers targeted commercial vehicles that might not travel outside the city or pass through weigh stations as part of their regular routes. During the surprise inspections, troopers check for compliance with federal safety regulations and enforce laws pertaining to weight, size, registration, and permits associated with commercial vehicles, the patrol said. NORFOLK, Neb. An 8-year-old boy is having an asthma attack. A woman is having a baby. A 17-year-old male suffers a serious burn. These were the scenarios that 27 high school students were exposed to Tuesday as part of a two-day camp hosted by the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing Northern Division in Norfolk. The camp in its fifth year was made possible through the Nebraska Generation Link to Learn program funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant includes mentorship, scholarship and clinical activities, connecting high school students to nursing students and registered nurses throughout the school year. We want them to have some exposure to what nursing really is, not just giving shots, said Liane Connelly, assistant dean and associate professor for the College of Nursing Northern Division. Thats certainly something nurses do, but they do an awful lot more than that. Students from across northeast Nebraska saw that reality as they rotated through sessions on Tuesday. The camp concluded Wednesday. For many of the activities Tuesday afternoon, high-fidelity mannequins and other equipment were used to simulate different scenarios that a nurse might encounter. For example, the SimNE van a mobile simulation unit was set up so students could practice caring for a burn victim. Students were asked to intubate the patient and start an IV while monitoring his breathing. They then had the opportunity to debrief after the exercise about what went well and what could have gone better. My favorite thing so far is the truck, said Zoe Conley, a high school senior from Wakefield. I find it amazing how technology has come that far where we can practice on a mannequin and its like a real-life situation sort of, but this way youre not actually putting anyone in harm. An obstetrics simulation and a pediatric simulation were part of the activities, too. The technology also impressed Emma Krysl of ONeill. It was really cool how (the instructor) could just sit back and he could change everything, Krysl said. The mannequin was already set so the blood pressure is going to go up, and its heart rate is going to go up and its oxygen is going to go down and then when you put the mask on, its going to go back to normal. I thought that was really cool. In addition to the mannequins, the college showed off its new HoloLens virtual reality goggles that allow students to interact with holograms. While the school is still in the process of setting up the necessary software for the devices, they will eventually help students learn about anatomy. Videos showed the students how the goggles can be used to see the entire body as well as isolated body parts, and show how specific conditions affect the body. On Wednesday, students participated in escape rooms designed to teach about asthma, cold stress in newborns, a motor vehicle accident and depression. Plenty of information was given out about college preparation throughout the camp, too, which was helpful for students who will have to soon make a decision about where they would like to go and what they would like to study. Krysl and Conley said they found the information helpful as theyre considering going into nursing. We really just want to give them the opportunity to explore and learn what nursings about, Connelly said. Maybe they consider it as a career for them, maybe not. I told them this morning that as of tomorrow afternoon if theyve decided nursings not for them, Im going to say, Hooray, because really its going through that decision making process. This is for me. This isnt for me. We just want to help them. DES MOINES (AP) The governor has appointed a law professor with experience in child protection and family law to lead the troubled Iowa Human Services Department. Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a press release Wednesday that 64-year-old Jerry Foxhoven will begin work today as the department director. He replaces Charles Palmer, who announced his retirement last month. The department has been scrutinized for months over its handling of child abuse cases, particularly cases involving the deaths of two teenage girls. The department also has been criticized for privatizing the states Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled. Foxhoven has been an administrator for the Iowa Child Advocacy Board and director of the Joan & Lyle Middleton Center for Childrens Rights. Hes been a Drake University Law School professor since 2006. Copyright 2017 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Washington (AP) Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley said Wednesday that his panel will investigate the removal of former FBI Director James Comey and "any alleged improper partisan interference in law enforcement investigations." Grassley announced the investigation in a letter to California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panel's top Democrat. Grassley's office said the letter is in response to a recent letter from Feinstein requesting that the committee seek details from senior FBI leadership about Comey's interactions with President Donald Trump before he was fired. The letter said the investigation will also probe Comey's testimony that Loretta Lynch, as President Barack Obama's attorney general, had directed him to describe an FBI probe into Hillary Clinton's email practices as merely a "matter" and to avoid calling it an investigation. "You and I agree that the American people deserve a full accounting of attempts to meddle in both our democratic processes and the impartial administration of justice ... It is my view that fully investigating the facts, circumstances, and rationale for Mr. Comey's removal will provide us the opportunity to do that on a cooperative, bipartisan basis," according to the letter. Feinstein has said the Judiciary Committee should investigate, but had asked Grassley to keep the investigations separate. Grassley said Comey's dismissal and Comey's testimony on Lynch should be looked at together, noting that Comey "took the opportunity in his testimony to clear his own name by denouncing as false the administration's claims that the FBI rank-and-file had lost confidence in Mr. Comey's leadership in the wake of the Clinton email investigation." Otto Warmbier was a 21-year-old University of Virginia economics major with a bright future when he signed on for a short tourist trip to North Korea in December 2015. Not until Tuesday was he finally flown home to Cincinnati, gravely ill and reportedly in a coma. He was arrested, tried on spurious charges and evidently subjected to horrendous mistreatment by North Korean authorities. This was outrageous behavior even by the standards of one of the worlds most vicious and isolated regimes. It should not go unpunished. Warmbier attempted a foolish but harmless prank: trying (unsuccessfully) to pilfer a propaganda poster from the hotel where he was staying. For this he was sentenced to 15 years hard labor on a charge of hostile acts against the state following a one-hour trial in March 2016. He had not been seen in public since then, and Swedish diplomats representing the United States in Pyongyang were denied access to him. Now it appears that Warmbier may have been gravely ill for much or all of that time. His parents told the Washington Post that North Korean representatives suddenly informed U.S. officials last week that the student was in a coma. He was said to have lost consciousness after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill an account that strains credulity. Not until he can be examined by medical specialists in the United States will it be clear what condition Warmbier is in and whether it can be remedied. As it is, his family has had to endure more than any family should have to bear, as Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, put it. The harm done to an innocent student is the result of North Koreas odious practice of seizing Americans to use as political pawns. Three other U.S. citizens are being held by the regime, including two who were teaching at a private school and one who worked in a special economic zone. President Donald Trump should make their release a priority. The United States should also move quickly to step up sanctions on the regime of Kim Jong Un, which has been racing to develop missiles that can reach the United States with a nuclear warhead. The Trump administration has asked China to act against some 10 entities; if Beijing does not respond promptly, the United States should act unilaterally. 1962: When CPI said donating blood to jawans was anti-party activity India oi-Vicky By Vicky Many from the Communist Party of India have spoken out against the Indian Army and its Chief General Bipin Rawat. It comes as no surprise that this bashing takes place on a daily basis. In this regard it would be interesting to recall what took place in 1962 when China was at war with India. The former Chief Minister of Kerala V S Achutanandan who was a CPM politburo member at that time was sacked for suggesting that they should organise a blood donation camp for the Indian Army soldiers. The pro-India line he took was declared anti-party by the Communists. It was an known fact that during the 1962 war, the CPI had supported China. They cited ideology and put the same above the nation. The government at that time had sent many comrades to jail. Achutanandan who was also thrown into jail suggested that the narrative must change against the party. He was part of the jail committee in the Thiruvananthapuram central jail. During one meeting he suggested that donating blood to the jawans and contributing money from the sale of prison ration would help them overcome the image of them being Chinese agents. The proposal was immediately shot down by O J Joseph a communist leader. VS however did not give up and tried at the next meeting. This led to a scuffle between him and Joseph. The jail authorities had to intervene and subsequently the news leaked to the media. Jyoti Basu who was part of the West Bengal CPI ordered an inquiry into the incident. The row escalated and VS dropped his plan. In 1965 a party worker filed a complaint with the party leadership. In his complaint he spoke about the anti-party activities of VS. A probe was immediately order and VS was found guilty. The Kerala committee of the party ratified the probe findings and came to the view that the views taken by VS was anti-communist. VS was then demoted from the central committee to the branch level. The CPM while demoting VS said that he had decided to donate blood to the jawans without consulting with the party. His move amounted to helping the Indian government and hence the action was anti-party. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 8:21 [IST] Report tabled The Lavasa Committee report on allowances was tabled before the Cabinet on Wednesday. The matter was supposed to be taken up, but the agenda was not fixed as Jaitley was absent. The matter would be taken up on a priority basis said a Finance Ministry source once the minister is back. He would set the agenda for the Cabinet and this matter would be the first thing to be taken up as the minister also realises that there is no point in dragging it anymore, the officer also informed OneIndia. To be put forth before PM The matter has reached a boiling point and the 11 month wait is becoming unbearable for the employees. The staff have been waiting for a long time and the anxiety has grown. During the dharna there was visible anger. There was also talk that all employees would not report to wok if no decision is taken by the end of this month. The matter has reached such a stage that it would be taken up directly with the Prime Minister. We are trying to put the matter before Narendra Modi before the 25th of June. We want him to clear it before he leaves for his US trip on June 25, the source also added. Paying allowances will have positive impact The timely disbursement of allowances to employees will boost the demand and consumer spending. This in turn would give a huge push in terms of manufacturing activity. This would have a positive impact on jobs and revenue generation which will boost overall growth. Savings of employees will expand There would be an impact on the aggregated demand in the economy which will trigger higher consumption if the allowances are disbursed. The household income will expand leading an expansion on the savings of employees if the higher allowances and HRA is given as per the 7th Pay Commission. AIIMS fee structure for education could be modelled along lines of IITs, IIMs AIIMS MBBS Entrance Result 2017 declared, how to check India oi-Vicky By Vicky The AIIMS MBBS Entrance Result 2017 have been declared. The results can be viewed on the official website. There was a delay because the AIIMS had constituted a committee on May 31 to probe the alleged paper leak in the exam following the complaints by activist Dr Anand Rai. The government however rejected the allegations following an inquiry. The list of candidates who qualify for counseling to the MBBS course has been displayed on the official portal along with the roll numbers. AIIMS would however not intimate unsuccessful candidates individually about the result of the entrance test. A notification from AIIMS MBBS said that no correspondence in this regard will be entertained. However, the marks/ Percentile Scores of individual candidate are made available on AIIMS Website aiimsexams.org. How to check AIIMS MBBS Entrance Result 2017 Go to aiimsexams.org Click on the results link Enter required information Click on submit View result Take a printout OneIndia News Amit Shah to meet 'opposing' ally Uddhav Thackeray India ians-IANS By Ians English Mumbai, June 15: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah will meet ally Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray with the main agenda of discussions likely to centre around the upcoming presidential election, party officials said here on Thursday. The meeting will take place at the Thackeray residence, 'Matoshri' in Bandra east on Sunday during the three-day visit of Shah to Mumbai to celebrate the BJP's three years in power at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting assumes significance for the BJP as the Shiv Sena is the most vocal critic of the party, the Prime Minister and also its Maharashtra alliance partner Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. In an embarrassment for the ruling BJP, its ally Shiv Sena has virtually joined ranks with the state opposition parties demanding complete loan waiver for farmers and on other major issues confronting the state. Shah is expected to mollify Thackeray and ensure his support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the upcoming presidential election. In fact, even as the Shah-Thackeray 'summit' was announced on Thursday, the Shiv Sena fired missives at neighbouring Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is grappling with a farmers' agitation. The Sena is upset over the Chouhan government's refusal of permission to various opposition parties, including Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and Gujarat reservations leader Hardik Patel, to meet the families of the victims killed in the recent police firing during the farmers' agitation in Mandsaur. "This is wrong... If this continues, it could prove damaging for the country's democracy," the Sena opined in an edit in the party mouthpieces 'Saamana' and 'Dopahar Ka Saamana' on Thursday. IANS Social Worker-Politician rahulborole Is Working Day & Night To Help The Needy With Food, Masks & Water Congress MLA assaults farmers in Maharashtra India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar A Congress leader along with his supporters has allegedly beaten up farmers in his neighborhood over a land dispute in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra. Maha: Sillod Cong MLA Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi, along with supporters, allegedly beat up farmers in his neighborhood over land dispute (12/6) pic.twitter.com/VfBIgW9PM6 ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi, MLA from Sillod constituency, told ANI that he had to get physical with farmers. "The land belongs to Dalit brothers, I don't have any connection with it. At that time, the situation was such that I had to take that step," he said. Moreover, images available with media show the assault took place in presence of police. The incident happened as the Maharashtra government recently decided to waive the loans of farmers across the state. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 11:20 [IST] Cop martyred in Kashmir after terrorists shoot him at point blank range India oi-Vicky By Vicky A policeman in Jammu and Kashmir was martyred after he was shot at point blank range by terrorists. The police personnel, Shabir Ahmed was at his home in Kulgam when the incident occurred. Sources say that Ahmed was off duty and hence was at home. The police have launched a manhunt for the killer. It is a clear case of a terror strike, police officials said. The incident comes in the wake of the Hizbul Mujahideen ordering strikes against police personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. The Hizbul had warned police personnel in the state to leave the force and join the freedom movement. The outfit had said that the people of Kashmir must not serve the government. In the warning the terrorist group said that they could hide with their families in Kashmir or Kanyakumari. Hide wherever you want, we will track you down, the Hizbul had also said. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 17:44 [IST] Why is the DMK continuing to oppose the imposition of Hindi? - 50 years of struggle and the truth! DMK leaders walk out of assembly; to raise MLA bribing issue in Madras HC India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar DMK working president MK Stalin on Thursday once again staged a walk out as Speaker denied him permission to raise cash for vote issue in the ongoing session of Tamil Nadu assembly. Stalin after walking out of the session told media that in protest against the Speaker P Dhanapal's decision DMK members have staged a walk out. He said 'Today again I was denied permission to raise MLA sting issue in assembly by Speaker, in protest we staged walkout.' According to reports, the opposition DMK is going to raise the issue in the Madras High Court. Also, he has sought an appointment with the Governor, C. Vidyasagar Rao, who is out of town. The three-week long session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly started on Wednesday amidst rumblings in the ruling AIADMK. DMK stalled the proceedings of the House for over 45 minutes on the first day of the session, demanding a discussion on allegations of the ruling faction of the AIADMK bribing its MLAs to retain their support. In the sting video, a private TV channel had captured videos of SS Saravanan, an AIADMK MLA, speaking of the ruling faction of the AIADMK bribing MLAs to retain their support. However,Saravanan, now a member of the led by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, categorically denied that he had made such a statement. He stated that it was not his voice on the video which had been filmed on some other occasion and doctored. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 12:17 [IST] Farmers stir: Maharashtra BJP prepared for mid-term polls, says Fadnavis India oi-PTI Maharashtra, June 15: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that the BJP is set for mid-term polls. His remarks came in reference to reports speculating mid-term polls in Maharashtra amid farmers' stir seeking loan waiver in view of the agrarian crisis. "Some people said that when the agitation was on they will bring the government down, will withdraw support. I said we are ready for mid-term polls. If someone wants to impel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will be able to form the government again," Fadnavis told reporters without naming any party. Buoyed by the BJP's success in Maharashtra local governing bodies' polls, held in the recent past, Fadnavis exuded confidence that people of the state were with the saffron party notwithstanding various agitations against the state. "This success was unprecedented and no other party achieved such success. The Congress-NCP couldn't attend the success even during their hay days. So, people believe in the government," he said. Talking to a Marathi news channel recently, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had suggested that the Shiv Sena would withdraw support to the government if the loan waiver was not announced. PTI Two of 8 cheetahs released in acclimatisation enclosure at MP's Kuno National Park: Official Two cheetahs make their first kill at Kuno National Park Farmers stir: MP CM prays for peace, harmony in Mandsaur India ians-IANS By Ians English Mandsaur, June 15: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday offered prayers at the Shri Pashupatinath Temple for peace and harmony in the Mandsaur region. Chouhan told the media that he prayed for prosperity, peace and harmony in the area, that saw five farmers killed in police firing during protests. The Chief Minister had on Wednesday met the families of the farmers killed in police firing during the protest on June 6. Chouhan, who has pledged to provide jobs and Rs one crore in compensation to each of the families of the dead farmers, assured them that the amount would be credited in their bank accounts. The state government will also provide compensation to the shopkeepers and other locals whose properties were damaged during the protests. Curfew was clamped in Mandsaur district earlier this month after five farmers were killed in police firing and another succumbed to his injuries during widespread protests demanding loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce. IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 16:25 [IST] Bharat Jodo Yatra will proceed to Srinagar, come what may, says Rahul Gandhi as march enters Maharashtra Demonetisation deliberate move by 'PayPM' to help his friends: Rahul Gandhi From Italy, Rahul has a no jobs message for PM Modi India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Currently, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is vacationing in Italy. But that did not stop Rahul to tweet and attack the Centre. On Wednesday, Rahul slammed the government for not having created jobs for the youth. "Startup India, Stand up India, Right turn India: but no jobs for the youth of India," said Rahul on his official Twitter account. Startup India, Stand up India, Right turn India: but no jobs for the youth of India!https://t.co/2EiQjdK9x6 Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 14, 2017 On Tuesday, Rahul tweeted that he will be travelling to Italy to meet his grandmother and maternal family. However, he did not reveal when he would be coming back to India. Will be travelling to meet my grandmother & family for a few days. Looking forward to spending some time with them! Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 13, 2017 Rahul's mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi hails from Italy. After the tweet, social media users slammed the Congress VP for once again leaving the country at a crucial time when politics over farmers' protests is heating up. On Wednesday, Rahul was in the news as a Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh was sacked from the party for addressing him as "Pappu" on a WhatApps message. Pappu is the term Rahul's critics are known to use when denouncing him. On Monday, Rahul visited Bengaluru to relaunch the Congress-owned newspaper, The National Herald. Last week, Rahul attempted to visit Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh after police firing killed five farmers during a protest. However, MP police foiled his attempt to reach his destination. Thus he had to meet the families of dead farmers near the Rajasthan-MP border. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 12:28 [IST] District Administration seal and take possession of GJM party office in Darjeeling Gorkhaland agitation: Gurung says he is ready for dialogue with Mamata Banerjee GJM protest: Police raid GJM chief Bimal Gurung's office, recover arms and ammunitions India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Police broke the lock and raided Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung's office on Thursday and recovered huge cache of arms and ammunitions including bows and arrows. Report says the raid was carried out amid heavy deployment of security forces and the situation in hill city remains tense. The raid comes ahead of a protest rally planned by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters. According to police sources, huge cache of arms and ammunitions including bow and arrows, knives, axes and cartridges were seized from the house. However, he refused to disclose any details about the types and quantity of arms seized by police. Police said some party activists also were arrested today in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. Bimal Gurung had slammed the police for their action against GJM supporters on Wednesday. Gurung, said 'Police work like TMC cadre, even if all CRPF personnel of country sent here our fight won't stop. ' At the beginning of the protest for separate Gorkhaland, Gurung had projected himself as the "chief minister of the hills" and challenged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to stop the agitation in the area. "As the chief minister of West Bengal, she is trying to show her strength. But she must not forget that I am an elected member of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). I am the chief minister of the hills, I challenge her to stop the agitation in the hills," Gurung said. Another regional party Gorkha National Liberation Front broke alliance with the TMC. The GNLF justified joining hands with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha and spearheading a bandh in Darjeeling for a separate Gorkhaland. (With agency inputs) DigiLocker users can now store Ayushman Bharat health records: Here's how to do it Health ministry set to launch 'Mission Parivar Vikas' in 146 districts India pti-PTI New Delhi, June 15: The Health Ministry is all set to roll out the 'Mission Parivar Vikas' programme to improve family planning services in 146 districts that house 28 per cent of the country's population. The districts, in the seven states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam, have a total fertility rate of 3 and above and have been identified as high-focus districts to accelerate access to high quality family planning choices based on information, reliable services and supplies. TFR the number of children who would be born per woman has a direct correlation with maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate. "These 146 districts spread across seven states are an obstacle in population stabilization," Union Health Minister J P Nadda said. Under the programme, the government will study each district to find why fertility rates are higher and will take measures to address them. "The greater the TFR, the more will be the MMR and IMR. Hence, reducing TFR would lead to decrease in maternal mortality and morbidity and infant mortality and morbidity," Nadda said. As part of the programme, the health ministry will distribute a kit containing products of family planning and personal hygiene among newly-wed couples. The kits will be distributed by ASHA workers to encourage inter-spousal communication and consensual decision-making with regards to their reproductive and sexual health as well as delay the birth of the first child and space the second, a senior health ministry official said. 'Saas Bahu Sammelans' will be held to facilitate improved communication between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law and bridge the gap in their attitudes and beliefs about reproductive and sexual health. Besides, special buses called 'SAARTHI-Awareness on Wheels' will travel through these districts to generate awareness as well as sensitize the community and disseminate family planning messages. Messages about the same will be disseminated with the help of local actors who can make an impact in the community. The government will also augment sterilization services through enhanced HFD compensation scheme, roll out injectable contrace. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 17:34 [IST] Talented, driven and great potential: President Putin is all praise for India and Indians The Western bias and why it cannot digest Indias success India, Russia reject Pak claim of mediation offer by Putin India oi-PTI New Delhi, June 15: Russia has not made any mediation offer to resolve Indo-Pak issues, India said on Thursday and asserted that Moscow was well aware of New Delhi's position of bilateral resolution of all such matters in a terror-free environment. A senior diplomat in the Russian embassy in New Delhi rejected the reports and said it was Pakistan's wishful thinking. The Pakistani media quoted Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying "we welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda". Zakaria was asked about reported offer made by Putin during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO Summit earlier this month. Asked for his reaction, Baglay said, "No offer of mediation was made by Russia to India. Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence." The senior diplomat in the Russian embassy also rejected reports of any mediation offer. "We do not have any information of such an offer made by our president. Russia is clear in its position that Indo-Pak issues need to be resolved, bilaterally, and we will never ever suggest anything contrary to that. "It seems wishful thinking on part of Pakistan," said the diplomat, on the condition of anonymity. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, June 16, 2017, 0:17 [IST] Yogi wants Yoga Day to be a peoples' movement India pti-PTI Gorakhpur (UP), Jun 15: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today appealed to people to make the upcoming 'International Yoga Day' a mass movement and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting international recognition for the ancient Indian tradition. "The importance of yoga has been accepted in the vedas and other ancient books and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has achieved the important feat of getting international recognition for it...all those having faith in the 'sanatan' traditions should be thankful to him for this," he said. The chief minister was inaugurating a yoga training camp in Gorakshapeeth here. Making an appeal to make 'International Yoga Day' a "peoples' movement", he said that because of the various benefits of this ancient form, the entire world has now taken a liking to it. "On June 21 when crores of people will connect themselves with yoga, some 200 countries of the world will also be seen getting connected with it," the chief minister said, adding that it was a matter of pride for the state that the prime minister will himself participate in the programme in Lucknow on that day. Adityanath said yoga camps will be held in various places in the state also on that day. "We should all try to get connected with it. We can achieve targets through yoga which normally seem impossible to achieve...we need to strengthen the base of yoga for achieving heights of spirituality," he added. PTI Mamatas unnecessary promise triggered fresh round of Gorkhaland agitation: CPI India pti-PTI Hyderabad, June 15: The Communist Party of India on Thursday blamed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the violent agitation for a separate Gorkhaland state, saying her unnecessary promise earlier was the cause for the fresh round of protests. "Unneccessarily, Mamata Banerjee has given them some sort of hope on statehood earlier. That's the reason it has again come up," CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy told PTI. "Real issue is: unnecessarily, promise given by her and I think that created this kind of problem," he said. "Otherwise, during the Left Front government the agitation for separate Gorkhaland State) was not violent, except for one time." He said that "the Left parties were opposed to the statehood demand from the very beginning. Reddy said there can be negotiation with the agitators "even for some more rights, self-governing acts, but not for a separate state.There can be a dialogue after some time when things cool down," he said. Reports from Darjeeling in West Bengal said protesters and riot police hurled stones at each other and a car was set ablaze after a series of raids today on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, whose separatist campaign is spiralling deeper into violence. Earlier today, police recovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. PTI We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. Draupadi Murmu is India's first tribal and youngest President ever Draupadi Murmu becomes 15th President of India with 64% votes against Yashwant Sinhas 36% Next President of India: BJP chief Amit Shah to meet Uddhav Thackeray India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah to meet Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday to seek support for NDA's Presidential nominee, reports said. According to reports, Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said the BJP chief would meet Uddhav Thackeray. The meeting between the two leaders to attract attention in the wake of Shiv Sena's stand to pitch RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's name for President. However, the BJP has rubbished reports of Bhagwat's as the Presidential nominee. Electoral College: Here is how the next President of India will be elected Last week, Shiv Sena had said it might take an 'independent' stand in the run-up to the presidential election on July 17. It may be recalled that Sena MP and 'Saamana' Executive Editor Sanjay Raut said the National Democratic Alliance and the BJP, in particular, should think of the RSS chief if it wanted to fulfill its dream of achieving a "Hindu Rashtra". The notification for the Presidential elections has been released by the Election Commission of India. The presidential election is due on July 17, while the last date for the nomination is June 28. OneIndia News Next President of India: How BJP set a trap for the opposition India oi-Vicky By Vicky On Friday, Union Ministers and senior BJP leaders Rajnath SIngh and Venkaiah Naidu will meet with Congress president Sonia Gandhi to discuss a candidate to be elected as the next President of India. The Left parties which were part of the opposition meet on Friday however warned the Congress that the BJP is trying to set a trap. Left parties felt that the meeting with the BJP should not take place as it was a trap being set by the ruling party. Electoral College: Here is how the next President of India will be elected The BJP wants to keep the opposition guessing. Moreover the BJP wants the opposition to believe that it is proposing a consensus candidate, Left parties argued. They have a strategy and we are falling for it, leaders from the Left pointed out. They felt that this strategy was devised to keep the opposition guessing and in turn they would have no time to decide on their candidate. Many in the opposition feel that the BJP had proposed the name of Draupadi Murmu to keep the opposition guessing. She is a tribal from Odisha and is currently the Governor of Jharkhand. By floating her name around, the BJP has managed to keep the BJD in Odisha guessing. If Draupadi Murmu is the BJP's choice for next President of India, the BJD will not vote for the opposition's candidate. Moreover many in the opposition would find it hard to vote against a tribal candidate. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 6:51 [IST] Next President of India: Opposition firm on Gopal Krishna Gandhi India oi-Vicky By Vicky The Left parties are pushing for the candidature of Gopal Krishna Gandhi to be the next President of India. The name of the former governor of West Bengal has been doing the rounds for the past month and if the opposition stays united, then he could end up being their candidate. Gandhi's candidature would however depend on who the BJP choses as its nominee. The opposition has been seeking a consensus candidate and this would depend on who the BJP led NDA chooses. Electoral College: Here is how the next President of India will be elected While the official statement after the Wednesday's opposition meet was that no names were discussed, sources say that the Left parties pushed for the candidature of Gandhi. The Congress which had okayed Gandhi's name last month has however decided to wait for the meeting with the BJP on Friday. BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu will meet with Sonia Gandhi on Friday to discuss the presidential elections. A panel of ten opposition leaders have been assigned to pick the presidential candidate. If during the Friday meeting, the BJP seeks an opinion from the opposition, then the name of Gandhi is likely to be proposed. During the opposition meet various names were discussed. The name of Sharad Pawar was ruled out as he himself did not show interest. The name of Meira Kumar was discussed, but dropped as many said she would be a weak candidate. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 5:45 [IST] Next President of India: This is BJP's Brahmin-Dalit combination India oi-Vicky By Vicky With a little over a month to go before the next President of India is elected, the BJP has been exploring the possibility of a Brahmin-Dalit combine. BJP sources tell OneIndia that the possibility of appointing a Brahmin as President and Dalit as Vice-President is being explored. While the name of Jharkhand Governor, Draupadi Murmu is also under consideration, various other possibilities are also being discussed the source said. The BJP leader said that the name could be announced latest by June 20. The candidate would file his or her nomination by June 23. The BJP wants the process to be completed before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for the US on June 25. Electoral College: Here is how the next President of India will be elected There are several names under consideration, the BJP says. These names would be conveyed during the meeting between Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu and Sonia Gandhi to be held on Friday. When asked about the Brahmin-Dalit combine for President and Vice President, the source said that there were at least four to five names under consideration. During the initial round of deliberations, the BJ came up with the names of Uttar Pradesh Governor, Ram Naik, Lok Sabha Speaker, Sumitra Mahajan and senior BJP leader, Murli Manohar Joshi for the post of next President of India. The name of Union Minister Thawarchand Gehlot was proposed as the vice presidential candidate. The post of Vice President would fall vacant in August. OneIndia News Next President of India: Will die, but won't support Bhagwat says Lalu India oi-Vicky By Vicky Will perish, but won't support the candidature of Mohan Bhagwat as the next President of India is what RJD chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had to say. Ideological samjhauta nahi kar sakte. Mar-mitt jayenge lekin ye sambhav nahi hai (I cannot make an ideological sacrifice. We will perish but this is not possible)," he said. Electoral College: Here is how the next President of India will be elected The statement comes in the wake of hectic discussions on choosing a candidate as the next President of India. The opposition held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the candidate. While many names had cropped up during the meet, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azaad suggested that they wait until the BJP led NDA comes out with the name of their candidate. On the grand alliance comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress parties in Bihar, Lalu asserted that it is 'very much intact'. Yadav's comment comes on the same day when Shiv Sena reiterated its support for Bhagwat as next president of the country. However, the RSS chief has repeatedly said he is not in the race for the post. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 6:58 [IST] NIA celebrates 4 million hits India oi-Vicky By Vicky The website of the NIA which is a hub of information has received 4 million hits in the past 4 months. The country's premier investigating agency says that it touched a milestone when it crossed more than 4 million hits since the time the website was revamped in January. In a statement, the NIA said that the user-friendly nature of the website, nia.gov.in, and the plethora of information it hosts are the main reasons behind its massive popularity. The information posted on the website is being used by a host of people to obtain information related to terrorist organizations and terror-related cases in India. Those accessing the NIA data include journalists, researchers, various government organizations as well as foreign law-enforcement agencies, the statement read. The website not only carries information about the most wanted terrorists, but is also unique because of NIA's practice of uploading, on the website, chargesheets of the cases sent up for prosecution by it. These charge-sheets have become an invaluable source of information for persons and agencies interested in the subject, the NIA also said. The NIA website has become an important medium of interface between the Agency and citizens and the Agency has been receiving a wealth of information from the general public through its dedicated email id: info.nia@gov.in, the statement also read. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 7:12 [IST] DigiLocker users can now store Ayushman Bharat health records: Here's how to do it Panama leak case: ED seizes assets worth Rs 7 crore from Delhi jeweller India oi-PTI New Delhi, June 15: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday seized foreign assets worth Rs 7 crore of a Delhi-based jeweller in connection with its probe into foreign exchange violation in the Panama Papers leak case.The business entity was identified by the ED as Mehrasons Jewellers. The agency said that it was the first instance of seizure of foreign assets after the Foreign Exchange Management Act was amended recently and the ED was empowered to take action in cases where illegal assets were stashed abroad. According to Panama Leaks, the family had a couple of offshore entitites in Bahamas and British VirginIslands (BVI) and the registered agents were changed more than once for offshore entities. AK Mehra had in April 2016 was quoted as saying that he had incorporated these companies under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme and transactions were "duly declared to tax authorities and shown in the Income Tax returns of all members". The ED statement said that it came to light that "huge amounts were sent out of India by mis-utilising the scheme of Liberalized Remittance Scheme of RBI in the garb of making investments abroad" by the Mehras. The amendment was made by the government in Section 37A of the FEMA. The Panama Papers, that was brought to the fore by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists a few years ago, had about 500 Indian names in it. They were alleged to have stashed assets abroad illegally. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 21:11 [IST] PWD slaps Rs 27 lakh fine on AAP for unauthorised occupation of bungalow India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jun 15: The Delhi government's Public Works Department has slapped a fine of Rs 27 lakh on the Aam Aadmi Party for "unauthorised occupation" of a bungalow in Rouse Avenue in New Delhi. The PWD has issued a notice to AAP national secretary Pankaj Gupta over its continued occupation of 206, Rouse Avenue as party office. Sources in the government said that as on May 31, the fine, which is essentially penal rent, amounts to Rs 27,73,802. The fine amount, which is 65 times the license fee, will pile up further if the party doesn't vacate the premises, the sources said. In April, the PWD had issued a notice to AAP's National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal asking him to immediately vacate the office, which it said that was allotted in "violation" of rules. The party had then said that it would seek a legal recourse against this action as other political parties too have been allotted bungalows to use as office space. The three-member Shunglu committee, formed by the then Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to examine over 400 files pertaining to the decisions taken by the AAP government, had pointed out "irregularities" in allotting the office. In November 2015, the AAP government had approved a policy for land allotment to state parties. The AAP government had allotted a bungalow to the AAP on Rouse Avenue in 2016 which was earlier allotted to former AAP minister Asim Ahmed Khan, who was sacked over corruption charges. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 10:49 [IST] SC refuses to stay centre's new Cattle rules India oi-Vicky By Vicky The Supreme Court has refused to stay the new Cattle rules formulated by the Union Government. The court also issued notices to the centre returnable by three weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on July 11. The centre told the Supreme Court that the rules were brought in to check irregularities in the cattle market. The rules are not meant to put an impediment on cattle traders, the centre also submitted. The new notification sets out guidelines and rules for the upkeep of the animal markets and seeks to ensure that the welfare of the animal is protected when being traded. The notification states no person shall bring cattle to an animal-market without submitting a written declaration signed by the owner of the cattle or his duly authorised agent to the member secretary of the new committee. The name and address of the owner of the cattle, with a copy of the photo identification proof, has to be given. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 10:54 [IST] Sorry sight: Only 6% of criminal cases against MPs, MLAs ended in conviction, say govt data What is Centre doing to cure selfie disorder? BJP MPs query embarrasses their own govt Stigma of killing farmers is on Chouhan: Scindia India pti-PTI Indore, June 15: Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia who is on a 72 -hour satyagrah since Wednesday said that if BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra can announce farm loan waivers why the party-ruled Madhya Pradesh cannot do this. Taking swipe at Chouhan, who recently called off his indefinite fast, Scindia said, "It is one of the worst days. Farmers were killed by the security forces. But what does this government do? It undergoes a fast. If the government indulges in this act, then what will people do? What kind of expectations will they have of this government?" He said the stigma of the death of six farmers due to police firing lies at Chouhan's doorstep. Scindia, also criticised the state's BJP government for not taking any action against those who fired at the farmers in Mandsaur last week, killing five of them. Following protests by cultivators in Maharashtra, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government on Sunday announced a loan- waiver for farmers and decided to form a committee to work out the debt-relief criteria. The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh had also recently announced a loan-waiver of Rs 36,359 crore for small and marginal farmers in the state. "When the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have announced to waive farm loans, why the same party's regime in Madhya Pradesh has been shying away from announcing the same," Scindia told reporters during his ongoing 'satyagraha' at TT Nagar's Dussehra Maidan. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had made several promises to make farming a beneficial venture with slogans like 'Abki Bar Kisano Ki Sarkar". "The prime minister made a series of promises to make farming a profitable venture during election campaign. Now, the Centre is saying the state governments will have to arrange funds for loan waiver on their own and that the Centre government would not extend any help," he said. The Centre is not budging despite the fact that nearly 12,000 farmers are committing suicide every year, Scindia, the Congress chief whip in Lok Sabha, claimed. He also hit out at the Madhya Pradesh government for not taking action those who fired at the farmers in Mandsaur. "Ten days after the farmer killings in Mandsaur, the state government has not taken any action against the guilty. The government has failed to inform who ordered the firing on farmers. They can't say anything because the farmers were killed on the orders of the state government," Scindia said. He said that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is now trying to "mollify" the families of the farmers killed by giving them a compensation of Rs 1 crore, jobs to the kin, among others. The Congress leader also said that the onion purchase by the state government has also been marred by mismanagement. PTI Coastal Andhra to get heavy rainfall in next 2-3 days: IMD Hyderabad land scam: TDP suspends MLC India ians-IANS By Ians English Amaravati, June 15: Andhra Pradesh's ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Thursday suspended Legislative Council member G. Deepak Reddy, who was arrested last week for his alleged involvement in a land scam. Taking a serious note of the allegations against Reddy, TDP national president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu suspended the MLC, a close relative of TDP MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy. According to party sources, Naidu conveyed to party leaders and ministers during a meeting of TDP coordination committee that those facing allegations of corruption had no place in the party. Naidu made it clear that there was no question of tolerating anybody bringing bad name to the party. Last week, Hyderabad police arrested Reddy and his two associates for their alleged involvement in fraudulent land transactions. The city court sent them to jail for two weeks. The MLC and his associates were allegedly involved in encroachment of land worth over Rs 160 crore in Asifnagar and Banjara Hills areas in the city. Reddy is the second MLC suspended by the party following corruption charges in less than a month. Last month, Vakati Narayana Reddy was suspended following a cheating and loan default case registered against him and his firm by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI had conducted searches at the MLC's house in Nellore town and also at his office VNR Infrastructures in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The agency has registered a case against him and his firm for obtaining a loan of Rs 190 crore from IFCI using "fabricated" documents and later defaulting on repayment. IANS Counter-productive for bilateral ties': Indian HC on harassment' of guests invited to iftar The iftaar that never happened: BSF jawans were killed while buying bread This Ramzan, RSS hosts Iftar party in Ayodhya, UP, for religious harmony India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Lucknow, June 15: On Wednesday the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Muslim wing, Muslim Rashtriya Manch, hosted an Iftar party in the temple town of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The Iftar party was hosted to bring peace and harmony among various religions and communities in the tourist town. Senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar also attended the party. In 2002, the MRM was formed by the RSS in an attempt to reach out to the Muslims on various issues including the Ram Mandir dispute in Ayodhya. The guests at the party were served various delicacies including desserts and fruit juices. "Hindus and Muslims are brothers and we are trying to promote religious harmony. Iftar party was a hit and everyone enjoyed the food. We had a good time together," said a member of the MRM after the end of the party. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 13:21 [IST] Treating the untreatable India oi-Oneindia By Bharat N Sastry "Bharat, how many patients do you have?" Maria asked. "Can you please take care of this patient whom I am looking after now?" It was a surprising question coming from a seasoned doctor at my hospital, who had never before asked me to take care of one of her patients. It was a 62-year-old man who was found unresponsive in the group home he lived in after he had choked on a piece of sausage and had remained critical since. What complicated matters was that not only was the patient unresponsive to treatment but that he was also a potential organ donor. She informed me that United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) had been informed according to hospital policy, as was the norm in the case of patients who had decided to donate their organs. "I can take any one of your patients in return," Maria offered. I hesitated as some of my patients were also not doing very well of late. In particular, the three patients who were assigned to comfort care only, meaning a withdrawal of all treatment and keeping them on pain killers, so they die peacefully. For three consecutive days, I spoke to the anxious family members of three different patients with all the courage I had and informed them that their loved ones were dying. The first of those was an 82-year-old woman, Mrs MS, who had mild dementia and had recently suffered a stroke, and was discharged, but was admitted a couple of days ago after a massive heart attack. What made matters clear in her case was the fact that she had, in her days of clear mental state, executed an advanced directive NOT TO RESUSCITATE, meaning that in case she was unresponsive to regular medical help, no extraordinary procedures should be performed in order to keep her alive or bring her to back to life. She had clearly decided not to live in a vegetative state. Though such a decision may be in line with the wishes of the patient, it can be very painful for their friends and family who care for them. Her three daughters were no different. They tried holding back tears in front of a stranger, a doctor, who was telling them that their mother is not going to be alive in a matter of hours to days. I explained to them that their intelligent mother had wisely executed that advanced directive since she didn't want to live this way. They tearfully agreed and she was kept on comfort measures only. The second patient was a 78-year-old man, Mr AR, of had suffered a heart failure and whose condition was worsening and had no hopes of recovery. I had to talk to two of his brothers who were slightly older than him, one of whom was blind and they were living together in a townhome supporting each other. When I told the brothers that their younger brother was dying, the eldest, who had the clear vision, was in tears and said he cannot see his 'baby brother' dying. The third patient, Mr FS, the oldest out of three, was a 90-year-old man with chronic heart failure and a cryptic coagulation disorder. It was equally draining emotionally as with the loved ones of the other two. But his mature daughter didn't need anything from me after I gave her the information that her father was not going to survive. It was in the middle of caring for these three patients that Maria had made her request. But I agreed to take care of her patient. The moment I walked into the 62-year-old's cubicle in critical care, I noticed that he was totally dependent on the ventilator. I checked for eye movement which was not there and noticed that he was not on any kind of sedation. His pupils were fixed and didn't show any reaction to light. "Hello..Mr GS..." I called out his name, "Can you hear me?" to which his response was a motionless silence. Somehow, I felt nobody was in there. I called Brook, the nurse taking care of the patient, and told her there was some crusting in the eyes, and that his eyes need to be kept moist and closed since his corneas may be harvested. She came back immediately with a small tube of artificial tears. "Knock Knock".. a lady in her late thirties, who was slightly more made up than usual hospital visitors appeared at the door. She introduced herself as one of the Nurse coordinators for the UNOS. She asked me whether I am familiar with the requirements of the UNOS in facilitating organ donation. I told I was not, except for the first time when it was introduced at the time of orientation to the hospital. She handed me a small booklet which briefly covered the standard hospital policy observed throughout the state and protocol to be observed to declare brain death. I went through the protocol and was satisfied that I had not forgotten. Another coordinator from UNOS was sitting at the nurses' station. She was looking less friendly than the first lady and almost, ordered me to get a cerebral perfusion scan immediately so that they can hasten the process of organ donation. I tried to hide my irritation with this hands down approach and told her that I have just assumed the care of the patient. I also told her that since it was only slightly more than 36 hours after stopping any kind of sedation, it would be too premature to do either a brain death protocol or perfusion scan. She had most probably sensed my irritation and hesitated a bit. I told her since surgical harvesting of organs effectively removes all functioning organs from his body, we have to make sure that these protocols, which are there for a reason must be followed. "Oh, one more thing, doctor. I was told that you want to speak to the family members of Mr GS. Can you defer it until the declaration of brain death?" the second coordinator from UNOS asked. I told her since the patient was living in a group home for non-functional, or quasi-functional individuals who were totally dependent on other for activities of daily living, it was definitely appropriate to talk to the next of kin before the declaration of brain death. I added that according to my understanding, the patient didn't have a driving license, and was not capable of taking a conscious and educated decision regarding organ donation. The day went fast with rounds and seeing new admissions and checking up on all four of my dying patients. Heart of Mr GS in critical care who was about to donate his organs was still ticking. There was a change in the nursing staff and, Danny, the 50-year-old Philipino nurse was there taking care of him now. I transferred the calls to my cell phone in case there was any new development in the night. I went to the Telemetry floor and met all three patient's families by the bedside and made sure they were pain-free. Mr GS's brother and sister-in-law had flown in from Texas that evening. They were very calm, courteous and understanding as I explained to them how Mr GS had ended up in this situation, and that in the light of observations so far, it was almost certain that he was brain dead. They agreed to sign the papers necessary for organ donation. Around 11 PM, when I was getting ready to go to bed, Caroline the night hospitalist called, to tell me that Mr GS had a low urinary output, and drop in haemoglobin, which was unusual. After she told me the other details I asked her to start the patient on vasopressin. She informed that she had already done so. Next morning, Mrs MS, my patient who had suffered a heart attack died peacefully 48 hours after starting on comfort measures. Family members were extremely sad, but her daughters thanked me and the nurses, for what we had done. Meanwhile, my concentration went back to Mr GS and I ordered a scan to check on him. Mr GS had his cerebral perfusion scan which was suggestive of brain death in appropriate clinical setting. At about 72 hours after stopping all sedation, I performed the second brain death protocol and we were convinced that there was no response. In the absence of any brain stem reflexes, 2 EEGs showing no cerebral wave activity, cerebral perfusion scan suggesting brain death, and 6 minutes of stopping mechanical ventilation failing to trigger any respiratory activity, I declared Mr GS brain dead. I had a feeling I saw tears in the eyes of Brook, the nurse who was taking care of Mr GS since morning. I conveyed the news to the UNOS representatives. They looked a little relieved and hurried back to their temporary office with open computers, established in the far corner of doctors' dictation area in critical care. I was told probably they were not going to harvest his heart because of the cardiac arrest he suffered en route to the hospital. When I returned in the morning, I had my sign-out from the night before. Mr AR, the gentleman with refractory heart failure and LV had died peacefully in the night, and Mr GS was taken in the morning to the OR for organ harvesting. Surgeons from all over the country had flown to our little midwest town and were currently operating on our patient. Before I could take the lunch break, around quarter to noon, Cynthia, the nurse looking after Mr FS, called me to tell me that his monitor was showing a flat line. I rushed to his room and saw that his daughter was sitting by his bedside holding his hand. I told her "I am sorry, your father passed away". "I know," she said softly and turned to me and Cynthia. "I thank you both and all the nurses who made really painless and peaceful". Suddenly I felt empty, just like the family members of my patients who lost their loved ones. I have seen deaths of my patients, held hands, given hugs, and consoled families. I have seen deaths of my family members as a grown up man. However, four patients dying on my watch within four days was overwhelming. Driving back home that evening, I was sad and tried to console myself that in the unfortunate event of having to declare another patient brain-dead, I am better informed now, and have the experience of going through the protocols. I reached home, finished my late supper and went to bed thinking about the next two days work and planned the journey to Orlando for a reunion, and the excitement of meeting old friends. I remembered that all of us from the Class of 84 had turned fifty, now! I think it is a good thing to start at 50 something afresh. After returning from the reunion, I was told that both kidneys, liver and corneas of Mr GS were harvested and at least four patients were given a lease of life with his organs. Also, tissues were collected for studies. Our critical care nurses received a 'Thank you' card from the UNOS. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 18:15 [IST] Blast at Pune ordnance factory: 2 killed India ians-IANS By Ians English Pune, June 15: At least two persons were killed and two injured in an explosion at the ordnance factory here on Thursday morning, police said. The explosion, the cause of which is not yet known, occurred in the Ministry of Defence's Ordnance Factory Dehu Road (OFDR), in Khadki area of the city, around 9.30 a.m., said an official of Khadki Police Station. Two persons, believed to be workers shifting some explosive material, perished in the blast. IANS UP government misses 'pothole' deadline, says drive will continue India oi-IANS By Ians English Lucknow, June 15: With the deadline over on his promise of making Uttar Pradesh roads pothole-free, state chief minister Yogi Adityanath seems to be falling behind his target. With the deadline ending on Thursday night, the ground situation, though better, leaves much to be desired. According to government statistics, the task to make the roads "gaddha mukt" has only been completed on 60 per cent of the roads. The work was assigned to nine departments. The maximum repair work was given to the public works department (PWD), which comes under Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. It said it has completed repair work on 66,039 km of the total 85,000 km of roads assigned to it. The State Highways Authority had been given a target of 1,189 km of which 70 per cent work is complete. The National Highways Authority of India had been tasked with repairs of 60 km of roads, of which 81 per cent work (48.85 km) is completed. An official told IANS the Panchayati Raj department has performed abysmally and only accomplished 6.56 per cent of the target till June 15. Of the 3,890 km of roads assigned to it, only 255.12 km has been repaired. Officials said that besides lack of coordination, resource crunch was one of the main reasons for failing to meet the target. Similarly, the Mandi Parishad has faired badly and only 1,811 km of the set target of 10,193 km has been repaired. However, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the results are good. Of the 1,703 km, some 1,624.91 km has been repaired, an official further said. The sugarcane department asked to work on 3,716 km roads has only met 12.31 per cent of the target. The municipal corporations and other urban bodies had been assigned to repair 6,455 km roads but have managed work on only 1,071.09 km. A senior Minister in the state government conceded that work has been "far from satisfactory" and said he was hopeful the Chief Minister would not only note the laxity but crack the whip. "The system has been subverted by the past governments and for sure it will take time to ensure that tasks are done and timelines met," he said. The poorest performance was shown by the state's irrigation department which has so far not even started work on the 9,668 km it was tasked with. Interestingly, both the PWD and Irrigation department, which have fared badly, are headed by Keshav Prasad Maurya. Maurya however has assured that roads will be fixed soon. Chief Minister Adityanath had promised pothole-free roads by June 15 and said action will be taken against the departments that fail to meet the deadline. IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 18:57 [IST] Where is BJPs poriborton? Assam asks as floods create havoc India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Guwahati, June 15: More than a year ago when the Bharatiya Janata Party unseated the then ruling Congress to form its first government in Assam, the air was pregnant with the cry of poriborton. Poriborton in Assamese stands for change. People were tired of the Congress' "lethargy" as it failed to bring development in the state. So, they hoped that the new government under the leadership of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal would bring systematic changes in administration. After two consecutive monsoons since 2016, all dreams of poriborton have been washed away by the rains. Like this time, last monsoon also saw floods across the state, killing more than a hundred people and destroying properties worth crores. On Tuesday, after capital city Guwahati was submerged under water due to incessant rains, the poriborton slogan of the BJP sold by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself during the election campaigns proved hollow. Along with flooding of streets and several prominent residential areas, three persons, including a child died due to rains. While the boy and a man died due to electrocution, the body of another person was recovered from the Bahini river on Wednesday. According to latest reports, 13,000 people have been affected in four districts across the state due to floods over the last couple of days. The four districts are Kamrup Metro, Darrang, Lakhimpur and Hailakhandi, as per reports. The entire Guwahati looked like an island, due to waterlogging. The BJP during its poll campaign in early 2016 promised to solve the waterlogging issue in the city by working on storm water drainage system and waste management. The residents allege that like the old regime of the Congress, the BJP too is not serious to solve the waterlogging problem. Experts insisted that the government must treat waterlogging as an engineering problem to tackle it. Moreover, the administration needs to immediately stop illegal and haphazard construction across the city to bring some resemblance for future course correction. "The yearly havoc created by floods in Assam is one of state's major problems. The government needs to understand it, otherwise days are not far away when the entire state would be drowned in floods," said activist Arman Ali. OneIndia For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 6:30 [IST] Act responsibly in S China Sea: Vietnam urges China International pti-PTI Hanoi, Jun 15: Vietnam urged China on Thursday to take responsible and constructive actions in the disputed South China Sea following a Pentagon report that highlighted Beijing's military buildup in the strategic waters. Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters that her government has legal basis and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea and that acts by foreign countries on the islands without Vietnam's permission were illegal. "It's our view that China as a major power in the region and in the world needs to act in responsible and constructive manner in maintaining peace, stability in the region as well as in the East Sea on the basis of respecting international law," she said, referring to the South China Sea. In an annual report released earlier this month, the Pentagon said that as of late last year, China was building 24 fighter-sized hangars, fixed-weapons positions, barracks, administration buildings, and communication facilities on each of the three largest outposts Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs. Each has runways that are at least 8,800 feet (2,680 meters) long. Once complete, the report said China will be able to house up to three regiments of fighters in the Spratly Islands. China has also built up infrastructure on the four smaller outposts, including land-based guns and communications facilities, the report said. Vietnam, along with China and the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan claims parts of or all the Spratly islands, which are believed to sit on rich natural resources and occupy one of the world's busiest sea lanes. PTI Six dead, 10 injured in a blast near Mosque in Kabul International oi-Vikas By Vikas A blast was reported from Dasht-e-Barchi area in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday evening. Six people were killed and 10 others injured in the explosion. Reports say that the explosion took place near the al-Zahra mosque around 9 pm local time. The mosques are usually crowded in the evenings in the wake of Ramzan. The attackers chose Mosque as a target to inflict maximum damage. On May 31, a massive blast tore through the diplomatic quarter of the Afghan capital killing at least 80 people and wounding more than 460. Earlier in May, security agencies had warned that Taliban insurgents and regional affiliates of the Islamic State were planning to attack high-profile targets in the city. OneIndia News Xi Jinping tells Chinese army to prepare for war, fight and win it Chinese nationals' killing not linked to China Pakistan Economic Corridor, says Pakistan International oi-IANS By Ians English Islamabad, June 15: Pakistan on Thursday said the abduction and murder of Chinese nationals had no link to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The government further said it was in contact with Chinese authorities regarding the killing of Chinese nationals. "The government is taking the matter very seriously," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said, adding that the abducted nationals had no link to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Lee Zing Yang (24) and Meng Li Si (26)- who were suspected of illegal missionary work- abducted from Jinnah Town in Quetta on May 24 and later murdered by the Islamic State group. The Chinese government said it would work with Pakistani authorities to investigate reports that the two were missionaries. IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 17:59 [IST] Xi Jinping tells Chinese army to prepare for war, fight and win it China advises India-Pak to avoid hostility at SCO International ians-IANS By Ians English Beijing, June 15: China on Thursday said India and Pakistan will have to play by the rules of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) by not bringing their bilateral dispute to the forum. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said "hostility" between India and Pakistan in the SCO will not be good for the group. "In the charter of SCO, there is a clause that hostility in the bilateral relations should not be brought to the organisation," Kong said. "I believe those countries will abide by the charter of this organisation." "This organisation has its own rules and procedures. We hope that these rules are abided by all member states," Kong added. He was talking to Indian journalists on the sidelines of an SCO event where national flags of India and Pakistan were hoisted after the two countries were admitted to the group last week in Astana, Kazakhstan. China is worried that bilateral disputes between India and Pakistan could affect the forum. However, a senior Pakistani diplomat earlier said the SCO was not a forum to settle bilateral disputes. The envoys of India and Pakistan Vijay Gokhale and Masood Khalid respectively were present on the occasion at the SCO Secretariat. Addressing the event, Gokhale said: "Now as a full member of SCO, we look forward to further deepening these relations for mutual benefit." "We would also like to deepen our cooperation in our joint fight against terrorism." (Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based correspondent of IANS. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com) IANS ISRO to take cooperation with European, Israeli space agencies to higher orbit European Parliament expresses concern over flawed military court trials in Pak International oi-Vikas By Vikas Expressing concerns over the military courts hearing in Pakistan, the European Parliament has urged Islamabad to check freedom granted to the security forces and initiate impartial probe into killings by the forces. In a resolution, the European Parliament called for an 'immediate and transparent transition' of cases under military courts to civilian courts. The European Parliament resolution also expressed concern over the use of blasphemy law in Pakistan, which it believes is paving way for religious intolerance. European Parl resolution further called on Pak to repeal sections 295-A,295-B & 295-C of Penal Code to prevent misuse of blasphemy charges ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 The European Parliament during its meeting in Brussels also called on Pakistan to reinstate its moratorium on the death penalty, with the ultimate goal of full abolition. Protection of human rights in very bad condition in Pak, defenders of which face unfair trials, are killed or disappear:Member European Parl pic.twitter.com/yucB0yN4oj ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 The EP resolution also mentioned Jadhav's case and said he was convicted by a military court in April 2017. EU has to put pressure on Pak to repeal legislation of death penalty to make sure it respects human and labour rights: Member European Parl pic.twitter.com/giUZqLfH9A ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, June 16, 2017, 1:00 [IST] Media trial may affect Mallya's extradition proceedings say officials International oi-Vicky By Vicky Home Ministry officials have expressed concern over the media trial of liquor baron Vijay Mallya. Home Ministry officials say that the media trial could affect the extradition proceedings that are on in London. In many sections there is a media trial on. He is already been portrayed as a convict and this could impact the proceedings, officials feel. He could cite a witch hunt by the media and the court in UK could take a serious note of this, an official informed OneIndia. Meanwhile officials rejected the contention that India was not prompt in its response in the case. The papers regarding the case were given to the British High Commission in Delhi last week itself, officials confirmed. On Tuesday Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot at Westminster magistrates' court noted that there were delays in the evidence arriving from the government of India. This observation was made after Aaron Watkins representing India said that the Crown Prosecution Service needed 4 weeks times to receive the rest of the evidence India and also to review it. Are Indians normally prompt in their responses. They have taken six months so far and we haven't got any further forward in the past 6 weeks, the judge observed. If there is still no sign of the evidence, then April 2018 is a possibility for the full hearing. If we have everything, then it may look like December, the judge noted. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 5:55 [IST] Republican Senator calls for reducing aid to Pak, says ISI supports Haqqani network International pti-PTI Washington, Jun 15: Pakistan's spy agency ISI supports the Haqqani network and the country's government could do away with the leadership of the terror outfit if it wishes, a top US Senator said on Thursday as he demanded a reduction in the US' aid to Pakistan. Republican Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Pakistan was welcome to buy US arms with its own money, but not through the American tax payers' money. "Pakistan's intelligence services (ISI) we know support the Haqqani Network. We know that the government of Pakistan, if they wished, could do away with the leadership of the Haqqani Network," Corker told Indian reporters at a fund raiser organised by the US-India Security Council . Corker, who leads the Senate in formulating America's foreign policy, was instrumental in blocking sale of F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan with the US aid. "I mean we should be reducing the amount of aid that goes to Pakistan because we've always said the Pakistani relationship has been one where people have said we don't want it to be a transactional relationship. We'd like for it to be a real relationship. But the fact is, it's a transactional relationship," he said in response to a question. "And that's not really the kind of relationship that will be. It's not a relationship you can count upon. We'd like for their behaviour to change and I'd like to see that happen before we spend a lot more money in dealing with them," said Corker, who would be playing a key role in approval of US aid to Pakistan in the next year's budget. The 64-year-old Senator from Tennessee rued that over the years the US had supported Pakistan with a lot of aid and money "that has not really produced the kind of results that it should". "I'm very disappointed in the relationship. We should be reducing the amount of aid that goes to Pakistan," he said as he explained the relationship between the Haqqani network and the intelligence community. Members of the US-India Security Council, a non-profit organisation with the mission of increasing interaction between the security communities of the two countries, urged Corker to lead a delegation of Senators and defence industry representatives to India. Corker said he was looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month when he vists Washington. The Haqqani network has carried out a number of kidnappings and attacks against US interests in Afghanistan. The group is also blamed for several deadly attacks against Indian interests in Afghanistan, including the 2008 bombing of the Indian mission in Kabul that killed 58 people. PTI US agrees $12 billion jet deal with Qatar amid diplomatic crisis International ians-IANS By Ians English Washington, June 15: The US has agreed to sell $12 billion worth of American F-15 fighters to Qatar amid an ongoing diplomatic crisis between Doha and the neighbouring Gulf countries, the media reported. "Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis met on Wednesday with Qatari Minister of State for Defence Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah to discuss concluding steps in finalising the Foreign Military Sales purchase of US-manufactured F-15 fighter aircraft by the State of Qatar," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Roger Cabiness told CNN. "The secretary and the minister also discussed mutual security interests, including the current status of operations against IS, and the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the Gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals," Cabiness added. The Qatari defence ministry issued a statement Wednesday hailing the F-15 deal. "This agreement underscores the longstanding commitment of the State of Qatar in jointly working with our friends and allies in the US," CNN quoted al-Attiyah as saying in the statement. He also praised the US-Qatar relationship, saying the two countries had "solidified their military cooperation by having fought together side by side for many years now in an effort to eradicate terrorism." The announcement comes after a week three Gulf countries Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates along with Egypt moved to cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, host to the one of the Pentagon's largest military bases in the Middle East, after claiming that Doha funds terrorist groups. More Arab and Muslim-majority African countries later joined the diplomatic blockade, even as several powers have called for resolving the crisis. US officials Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have called for the crisis to be de-escalated and on Wednesday while appearing before the House foreign affairs committee, reports CNN. Speaking to the House armed services committee Monday, Mattis called the diplomatic situation very complex, acknowledging the large US military presence and close US-Qatar military relationship. IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, June 15, 2017, 11:08 [IST] Why ISIS operatives are converting to Christianity India oi-Vicky By Vicky Operatives of the Islamic State have come up with a new tactic to avoid the scanner of security agencies in India. Once recruited into the ISIS, they convert to Christianity, investigations by the National Investigation Agency has learnt. The revelation was made during the interrogation of Abid Khan, a resident of Bengaluru. He told the NIA that he had converted to Christianity so that he could go to Syria and be part of the ISIS. He also said that his conversion was tactical. He said that he was on his way to Indonesia to meet his girlfriend. From there they had both planned on leaving for Syria under a Christian name. NIA officials say that this is a new tactic. ISIS operatives realise that the scanner on them would be less if they travel on a passport bearing a Christian name. Moreover the scanner on anyone traveling to Syria is very high. The operatives feel that if they travel with a Christian name there is a better chance that they are not detected. Abid Khan, 23 a resident of 19-18th Cross, Govindpura, near Rashedia Masjid, Byrappa Layout, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru, Karnataka was arrested for his alleged links with the ISIS. After he came in contact with four persons he decided to join the ISIS, the NIA says. The NIA also states that he converted to Christianity after joining the outfit. This was a tactical move on his part as he wanted to evade arrest, the NIA also says. OneIndia News The battle of Kherson is not over, but Russian forces have entered a new phase, the Institute for the Study of War says. euronews (in English) 10 Nov 2022 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Upworthy 19 Aug 2022 A federal judge declined to stay her order that Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina appear on Tuesday before a special grand.. Fox 16's Chanley Painter takes us to Greers Ferry Lake where they're gearing up for one of the biggest water sports festival in.. KLRT Fox 16 Little Rock 04 Oct 2019 Wibbitz Top Stories 07 Oct 2022 DOJ Says Trump Didnt , Turn Over All Documents. 'The New York Times' reports that the U.S. Justice Department has told.. Rumble 08 Nov 2022 Australian actor Rebel Wilson announced overnight the birth of her first child. She said her daughter, via surrogate, was a.. CBS 13 Sacramento 20 Feb 2021 A growing number of suicides across the armed forces has raised cause for concern over the last five years. Now, there's hope for.. Selahaddin Gulen, who was wanted in Turkey on charges of membership in a terror organization, was seized in an operation by.. VOA News 31 May 2021 Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has asked Yoruba people to stop eating beef because the South-West region is losing N2.5 billion daily to the consumption of the meat from cattle. Governor Akeredolu, who was represented by his special adviser on agriculture, Akin Olotu, stated this while speaking at a meeting with stakeholders in the states education sector in Akure. According to him, the people in the South-West should consider using chicken meat for their ceremonies because it is healthier than beef, and that it will enhance the regions economy. He said, The president said grow what you eat and eat what you grow. I have been a serious advocate and I am reemphasising it, please let us use chicken for our ceremonies. Yes, I mean broilers. They are cheaper. I met with the traditional rulers and I told them that those before you have to encourage that. Why am I saying this? There is a N2.5 billion beef market in the southwest every day. It means every day in the southwest, we send [The sum of] N2.5 billion out of the south-west? That is the bedrock of poverty in the region. We have a region that is not retaining money. Dont let any politician tell you any abracadabra, if we dont reverse that trend, we will continue to remain on the same spot. This comes a few days after the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had banned the consumption of beef and the keeping of cows in the South-East. Opalesque Industry Update - The Board of Directors of Singapore eDevelopment Ltd said that its Global Systematic Multi-Strategy Fund (GSMS Fund) managed by Hengfai Asset Management Pte Ltd (HFAM), a wholly owned subsidiary of SeD's investment-arm SeD Capital Pte Ltd, achieved a gross and net return of 15% and 10%, respectively, in its first year of operation. The net returns are calculated by its fund administrator, Maples Fund Services. Launched on 1 June 2016, the GSMS Fund adopts an "all-weather" strategy that seeks to produce consistent risk-adjusted returns regardless of market volatility. The GSMS Fund employs a systematic approach focusing on liquid exchange traded securities that are diversified across asset classes, geographical regions and time-frames. HFAM intends to allow investors the option to receive 100% of the net profits (after all fees) on an annual basis or to reinvest all profits back into the fund. HFAM also intends to offer the GSMS Fund to global fund of funds. HFAM is a registered fund management company regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. As at the date of this announcement, HFAM manages two (2) live funds, namely, the GSMS Fund and Global Opportunity Fund. As announced by the Company on 15 May 2017, HFAM also intends to manage two (2) additional funds, namely, Global Property Development Fund and Global High Yield Income Fund. The Company will make subsequent announcements to update its shareholders when there are material updates as may be necessary or appropriate. The acquisition of HFAM is part of the Group's efforts to develop new revenue streams and is in line with the Group's pursuit of providing capital services and creating opportunities to accelerate SeD's corporate recovery. Incorporated on 9 September 2009 and listed on the Singapore Exchange Catalist (SGX:40V) in July 2010, Singapore eDevelopment Limited is involved in (i) property development and investments primarily in the United States and Western Australia; (ii) Information Technology-related businesses; (iii) development, research, testing, manufacturing, licensing and distribution of biomedical products; and (iv) investment activities. Global Electronic Endoscopes Market Outlook 2017 : GIVEN IMAGING, Smiths Group, Aesculap, Inc, Karl Storz, ConMed Electronic Endoscopes http://bit.ly/2rM9Nip http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-electronic-endoscopes-sales-market-report-2017/ www.spiremarketresearch.com Global Electronic Endoscopes Market 2017-2022A market study Global Electronic Endoscopes Market examines the performance of the Electronic Endoscopes market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Electronic Endoscopes market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Electronic Endoscopes market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Electronic Endoscopes Market 2017 report includes Electronic Endoscopes market Revenue, market Share, Electronic Endoscopes industry volume, market Trends, Electronic Endoscopes Growth aspects. 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We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWebsite: Global Nuclear Medicine Therapeutics Market Outlook 2017 : IBA Group, Triad Isotopes, Siemens Healthcare, NTP Radioisotopes Nuclear Medicine Therapeutics http://bit.ly/2rckGLI http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-nuclear-medicine-therapeutics-sales-market-report-2017/ www.spiremarketresearch.com Global Nuclear Medicine Therapeutics Market 2017-2022A market study Global Nuclear Medicine Therapeutics Market examines the performance of the Nuclear Medicine Therapeutics market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Nuclear Medicine Therapeutics market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWebsite: PCB Design Software Market expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.9% through 2026 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-854 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-854 www.futuremarketinsights.com Future Market Insights delivers key insights on the global PCB design software market in a new report titled PCB Design Software Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 20162026. The global PCB design software market is anticipated to grow from US$ 1,409.3 Mn in 2016 to US$ 4,755.1 Mn by 2026, registering a CAGR of 12.9% in terms of revenue during the forecast period (2016-2026). In this report, the global PCB design software market is tracked in terms of value, and is calibrated to obtain the market revenue estimates.PCB design software is used by engineers for designing the printed circuit board on a device, using various features that aim to address issues an engineer faces such as those related to signal and power integrity, while designing a PCB and ease the overall designing process. PCB design software is integrated with other related software such as PLM, which helps engineers to better understand designs and layouts of PCBs.Request For Sample@Need to ease the design process and growing complexity of circuits are factors anticipated to drive growth of the global PCB design software market over the forecast period. Growth in the end-user industries are further expected to push the demand for global PCB design software market during the forecast period. However, rapid introduction of new technologies and pirated software are major challenges expected to be faced by market players in the global PCB design software market during the forecast period.Segmentation highlightsThe overall global PCB design software market is segmented on the basis of type, end-user, and region.The section - market analysis, by type, comprehensively analyses the market on the basis of type and presents an in-depth analysis of the market size in terms of value for 2016-2026. In 2015, the mainstream software segment dominated the global PCB design software market, followed by the high-end software segment. Moreover, mainstream software segment is anticipated to expand at the fastest CAGR of 13.7% over the forecast period in the global PCB design software market in terms of revenue, followed by high-end software segment.The section - market analysis by end-user, analyses the global PCB design software market on the basis of types of end-users in the global PCB design software market and the data is provided in terms of value for 2016-2026. The defence industry segment is expected to expand at the highest CAGR of 14.4% in terms of value during the forecast period.In terms of market share, consumer electronics industry segment and defence industry segment together accounted for around half of the revenue share of the overall market in 2015 and consumer electronics industry is expected to dominate the global PCB design software market throughout the forecast years.Send An Enquiry@Regional projectionsThe section - market analysis by region, includes an in-depth country level analysis of all global regions namely, North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and Middle East & Africa, provides market data in terms of value for 2016-2026. In 2015, market in North America region dominated the overall global PCB design software market, followed by the market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan region. The PCB design software market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan region is forecast to expand at the highest CAGR over the forecast period.Vendor insightsKey players reported in this study on the global PCB design software market include Cadence Design Systems, Inc., Mentor Graphics Corporation, Zuken Inc., Altium LLC, ANSYS, Inc., Synopsys, Inc., WestDev Ltd. and Autodesk Inc.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Carrageenan Gum Market will hit at CAGR of 4.3% during 2016-2024 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2995 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-2995 www.futuremarketinsights.com In spite of recording global sales of over 60,000 metric tonnes in 2016, Future Market Insights predicts that the global demand for carrageenan gum will witness a considerable decline. A latest research report published by Future Market Insights projects that by the end of 2024, the global consumption of carrageenan gum would have soared moderately at 4.3% CAGR and surpassed 88,000 metric tonnes. The report further reveals the real reason behind sluggish sales of carrageenan gum in the world.According to the report, titled Carrageenan Gum Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2024, the common fallacy that renders carrageenan gum as harmful ingredient has been instrumenting the decelerated growth in its global sales. Misconceptions arising from ambiguous status of carrageenan gum as a viable food ingredient has restrained the market from attaining a steady growth. The global carrageenan gum market, which is presently valued over US$ 700 million, is hence anticipated to register a 4% CAGR and bring in close to US$ 1 billion by the end of 2024.Request For Sample@Limited availability of raw carrageenan is also expected to keep curbing the production of carrageenan gum in the world. A majority of carrageenan gum produced across the globe gets consumed by food and beverage manufacturers. The report reveals how more than half of global carrageenan gum revenues are accounted by food & beverage industries. Presence of carrageenan gum is also gaining traction in production of personal care products & toiletries. In 2016, nearly ten thousand metric tonnes of carrageenan gum were consumed by this segment. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical manufacturers are expected to lower their participation in the global consumption of carrageenan gum, owing to the ingredients speculative status and prolonging FDA approvals. Carrageenan gum will also be used in production of animal feed and pet food products, revenues from which are projected to surpass US$ 200 million by the end of 2024.A regional analysis of global carrageenan gum market projected higher demand for carrageenan gum in Europe. Apropos the report, Europe will contribute to more than 35% of global carrageenan gum revenues throughout the forecast period. Revenues emanating from Europe are also expected to rise at 4.4% CAGR, while the regions carrageenan gum consumption will register growth at 4.8% CAGR. Meanwhile, North America and Asia-Pacific will collectively account for almost 50% of global carrageenan gum revenues through 2024. Latin Americas carrageenan gum market, on the other hand, will bring in nearly US$ 120 million in revenues. Middle East & Africas carrageenan gum revenues, however, will be registering the slowest CAGR over the forecast period.Send An Enquiry@A majority of carrageenan gum manufacturers in the world are based in the US. Companies such as CP Kelco ApS, FMC Corporation, E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., Ingredient Solution Inc., and Cargill, Incorporated are prominent players in the global carrageenan gum market. The market is also witnessing higher participation from companies namely, Compania Espanola de Algas Marinas S.A. (CEAMSA), W. Hydrocolloids Inc., Altrafine Gum, Kerry Group, Extractos Naturales Gelymar S. A., and Marcel Trading Corporation.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Global and China Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange (IP PBX) Market 2017: Cisco, Avaya, Asterisk, 3CX and Huawei Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange https://goo.gl/USslr9 https://goo.gl/0N7ayY The Market Research Store report offers majority of the latest and newest industry data that covers the overall market situation along with future prospects for Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange market around the globe. The research study includes significant data and also forecasts of the global market which makes the research report a helpful resource for marketing people, analysts, industry executives, consultants, sales and product managers, and other people who are in need of major industry data in a ready-to-access format along with clear presentation of graphs and tables.Browse Complete Report with TOC @The report comprises the current size of the Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange market. It also provides with different types of product segments of the global market. Furthermore, the Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange market research report gives an in-depth information about the overall market and various product segments and their growth trends. The future market forecasts about the global Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange market are also covered in the research report. 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The report helps to plan and develop precise marketing, market expansion, market-entry, and other business strategies through identifying the major market prospects and opportunities.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The data in the report is clearly presented which can be easily integrated into presentations and internal reports.About Us:QYResearch Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. QYResearch Group also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. QYResearch Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651 Bone Densitometers Therapeutics Development and Professional 2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/875138-united-states-bone-densitometers-market-outlook-to-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/875138-united-states-bone-densitometers-market-outlook-to-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/875138-united-states-bone-densitometers-market-outlook-to-2022 Summary"United States Bone Densitometers Market Outlook to 2022", provides key market data on the United States Bone Densitometers market. The report provides value, in millions of US dollars, volume (in units) and average prices (USD) within market segements - Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) and Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS).The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for each of these market segements, and global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants. Based on the availability of data for the particular market and country, information related to pipeline products, news and deals is available in the report.Extensive interviews are conducted with key opinion leaders (KOLs), physicians and industry experts to validate the market size, company share and distribution share data and analysis.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Scope- Market size and company share data for Bone Densitometers market segements - Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) and Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS).- Annualized market revenues (USD million) and volume (units) data for each of the market segements. Data is provided from 2008 to 2015 and forecast to 2022.- 2015 company shares and distribution shares data for each of the market segements.- Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the United States Bone Densitometers market.- Key players covered include Hologic, Inc., Swissray Medical AG, GE Healthcare Limited, Diagnostic Medical Systems SA and Others.Key points to buy- Develop business strategies by identifying the key market segments poised for strong growth in the future.- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies.- Design competition strategies by identifying who-stands-where in the market.- Develop investment strategies by identifying the key market segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.- What are the key distribution channels and whats the most preferred mode of product distribution - Identify, understand capitalize.ACCESS REPORT @Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 21.1 List of Tables 31.2 List of Figures 32 Introduction 42.1 What Is This Report About? 42.2 Bone Densitometers Market Segmentation 42.3 Definitions of Markets Covered in the Report 53 Bone Densitometers Market, United States 63.1 Bone Densitometers Market, United States, Revenue ($m), 2008-2015 63.2 Bone Densitometers Market, United States, Revenue ($m), 2015-2022 83.2.1 Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) Market, United States, Revenue ($m), by Segment, 2008-2015 10CONTINUED1.1 List of TablesTable 1: Bone Densitometers Market, United States, Revenue ($m), USD Constant, Historic, 2008-2015 7Table 2: Bone Densitometers Market, United States, Revenue ($m), USD Constant, Forecast, 2015-2022 9Table 3: Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) Market, United States, Revenue ($m), USD Constant, Historic, 2008-2015 11Table 4: Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) Market, United States, Revenue ($m), USD Constant, Forecast, 2015-2022 13CONTINUED1.2 List of FiguresFigure 1: Bone Densitometers Market, United States, Revenue ($m), USD Constant, Historic, 2008-2015 6Figure 2: Bone Densitometers Market, United States, Revenue ($m), USD Constant, Forecast, 2015-2022 8Figure 3: Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) Market, United States, Revenue ($m), USD Constant, Historic, 2008-2015 10Figure 4: Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) Market, United States, Revenue ($m), USD Constant, Forecast, 2015-2022 12CONTINUEDFOR ANY QUERY, CONTACT US @Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs. WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTD Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India Ph: +91 841 198 5042 info@wiseguyreports.com Global Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring Market 2017: Armstrong, Shaw Floors, Bruce, Krono and KaHrs Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring https://goo.gl/8230cu https://goo.gl/nqJAnZ The Market Research Store report offers majority of the latest and newest industry data that covers the overall market situation along with future prospects for Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring market around the globe. The research study includes significant data and also forecasts of the global market which makes the research report a helpful resource for marketing people, analysts, industry executives, consultants, sales and product managers, and other people who are in need of major industry data in a ready-to-access format along with clear presentation of graphs and tables.Browse Complete Report with TOC @The report comprises the current size of the Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring market. It also provides with different types of product segments of the global market. Furthermore, the Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring market research report gives an in-depth information about the overall market and various product segments and their growth trends. The future market forecasts about the global Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring market are also covered in the research report. In addition, the overall market potential is further described in the report along with different countries around the globe.The latest and the newest trends of the Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring industry are also included in this report. Moreover, overall global market size, the market size by product segment, growth rates of the global market along with and different product segments of the market, and various product segments with their value and volumes evaluation are also included in the research report.The Market Research Store report offers the global market potential rates of the Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring market along with various product segments. The research report provides an overview of the current market situation, historic development, and future outlook of the Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring market. It also tracks the industry developments trends and identifies the global market opportunities. The report helps to plan and develop precise marketing, market expansion, market-entry, and other business strategies through identifying the major market prospects and opportunities.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The data in the report is clearly presented which can be easily integrated into presentations and internal reports.About Us:QYResearch Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. QYResearch Group also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. QYResearch Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651 Energy Management Information System Sales Global Market Especially In United States, China, Europe and Japan, 2017 Market Research Report http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=936930 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=936930 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Energy Management Information System Sales Global Market Especially In United States, China, Europe and Japan, 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies sales (consumption) of Energy Management Information System in Global market, especially in United States, China, Europe and Japan, focuses on top players in these regions/countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these regions, coveringABBSiemens AGSchneider Electric SAHoneywell1EAlertonAmerican Auto-MatrixApogee InteractiveAutomated EnergyAutomated LogicBarrington SystemsCentaurus SystemsCimetricsComvergeTridiumMarket Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Energy Management Information System in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaSplit by product Types, with sales, revenue, price and gross margin, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoInformation Processing SubsystemFault Handling SubsystemEnergy Management SubsystemTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Split by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Energy Management Information System in each application, can be divided intoIndustrialChemicalOtherTable of ContentsGlobal Energy Management Information System Sales Market Report 20171 Energy Management Information System Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Energy Management Information System1.2 Classification of Energy Management Information System1.2.1 Information Processing Subsystem1.2.2 Fault Handling Subsystem1.2.3 Energy Management Subsystem1.3 Application of Energy Management Information System1.3.1 Industrial1.3.2 Chemical2 Global Energy Management Information System Competition by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Global Energy Management Information System Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Global Energy Management Information System Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Energy Management Information System Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Energy Management Information System (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Energy Management Information System Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Global Surgical Sutures Absorbable Segment Estimated to Grow Impressively at a CAGR of 2.8% till 2025 MRRSE http://www.mrrse.com/sample/2994 http://www.mrrse.com/surgical-sutures-market http://www.mrrse.com/ The surgical sutures market has been in current times witnessing beneficial rise due to their enterprising and profitable usage in the medical sector. To further elaborate about this opportunity, a new study has been included into the vast online repository of Market Research Report Search Engine (MRRSE), with the title Surgical Sutures Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 2025. The study aims to present a high-quality evaluation of the key factors such as products, applications, as well as the active regions.Request for sample report:According to this report, the CAGR of absorbable sutures segment is projected to grow at a value of 2.8% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025, owing to the many viable applications and advantages. Another important data revealed in this study is that the gynecological surgeries segment is also poised to portray high growth through the period between 2017 and 2025.Initially, the report presents the preface and evaluates the report scope and market segmentation. Later, the research highlights, assumptions and research methodologies are all introspected carefully. For the benefit of the reader, the executive summary is highlighted through the global market share analysis related to each region for the year 2015. Data on the opportunity map together with the market and product overview is also available. By evaluating the key industry developments, market dynamics and drivers alongside the restraints the study helps the investor in building smart businesses.Within this functional report, there is the crucial analysis of the products such as absorbable sutures, natural sutures, synthetic sutures, as well as non-absorbable sutures with nylon sutures, poly-propelene sutures and stainless steel sutures. Whereas the applications are split into general surgeries, gynecological surgeries, cardiovascular surgeries, orthopedic surgeries and other surgeries.Geographically, the study also contains the analysis of the important regional expanse of the market such as Middle East & Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and North America. Few of the countries seen in this report are U.S., Canada, Europe, U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe, India, China, Japan, Australia, Rest of Asia Pacific, Brazil, Mexico, Rest of Latin America, GCC Countries, South Africa and Rest of Middle East & Africa.Additionally, the study emphasizes on the opportunities, Porters analysis and value chain analysis to provide useful data. Several top players are also studied in this evaluation such as B. Braun Melsungen AG, Medtronic plc, Teleflex Incorporated, Johnson & Johnson, Smith & Nephew plc, Acelity L.P. Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., Con Med Corporation, and Integra Life Sciences Corporation. Thus, the useful data about successful regions, strategies and companies can help investors increase their revenues.Browse Full Global Surgical Sutures Market Report with TOC :About UsMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite: Demand of Construction in Algeria Industry : Technology, Applications, Growth and Status 2017 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1153935 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1153935 Albany, New York, June 14, 2017 : Timetrics Construction in Algeria Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021 report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights into the Algerian construction industry, including:The Algerian construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activityAnalysis of equipment, material and service costs for each project type in AlgeriaCritical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, and the risks and opportunities they present to participants in the Algerian construction industryProfiles of the leading operators in the Algerian construction industrySummaryIn real terms, the Algerian construction industry posted positive growth during the review period (20122016). Growth was supported by large-scale investments through the five-year plan 20102014, under which the government allocated DZD20.7 trillion (US$278.3 billion) to develop various projects in the transport, housing, energy and education sectors.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @The industry is expected to expand over the forecast period (20172021), albeit at a relatively slow pace. The industrys expansion over this period is expected to be mainly supported by government investments under the ongoing Five-Year Investment Plan 20152019, under which the government will invest DZD21.6 trillion (US$215.0 billion) in construction projects until 2019, with particular emphasis on transport, hospital and water infrastructure.The industrys output value in real terms recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.99% during the review period, and is expected to post a forecast-period CAGR of 5.22%.The Algerian economy is heavily dependent on revenues from oil exports, as it one of Africas main oil producers. However, the collapse of oil prices in mid-2014 has weighed on the countrys economic performance. As prices remain low, the government aims to diversify the economy by reducing its dependence on oil. This is expected to drive private and foreign investments in the countrys non-oil sectors over the forecast period, including construction.ScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in Algeria. It provides:Historical (2012-2016) and forecast (2017-2021) valuations of the construction industry in Algeria using construction output and value-add methodsSegmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by project typeBreakdown of values within each project type, by type of activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by type of cost (materials, equipment and services)Analysis of key construction industry issues, including regulation, cost management, funding and pricingDetailed profiles of the leading construction companies in AlgeriaReasons To BuyIdentify and evaluate market opportunities using Timetric's standardized valuation and forecasting methodologies.Assess market growth potential at a micro-level with over 600 time-series data forecasts.Understand the latest industry and market trends.Formulate and validate strategy using Timetric's critical and actionable insight.Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures.Evaluate competitive risk and success factors.Make an Enquiry of this report @Key HighlightsEfficiently developed transport infrastructure is vital for the economic growth of Algeria. Accordingly, with an aim to enhance regional connectivity, the Ministry of Transport announced plans to construct a 173km railway line between Laghouat and Ghardia in March 2016. This project is part of the governments plan to develop a 425.0km railway line from Laghouat to Hassi Messaoud. The project is expected to commence in 2018 and complete in 2021.To ease congestion and overseas trade, in February 2017 the government approved the development of a deep-water port in El Hamdania, 80km to the west of Algiers. The project includes the construction of a 20.0m draft facility and 23 berths. On completion, the port is expected to have an annual handling capacity of 6.3 million TEUs.In March 2017, Sonatrach Group, the countrys state-owned energy company, announced plans to invest over DZD5.7 trillion (US$50.0 billion) in oil exploration-related infrastructure during 20172021. The company plans to drill an average of 100 new wells every year until 2021.To meet growing demand for housing in Constantine, North-Eastern Algeria, the City Council of Constantine announced plans to develop a major residential complex in November 2015. The project involves a total investment of DZD158.1 billion (US$1.6 billion), and includes the construction of 20,000 residential units, access roads and parking facilities. The project is scheduled to complete in 2020.The government has announced plans to achieve 22.0GW in renewable energy generation by 2030, and is looking to take advantage of growth potential in the solar sector and generate 13.5GW of the total target energy from solar resources.ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMoz90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States Future Outlook: Health Insurance Market By Key Players And Application, Forecast To 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/health-insurance-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=5312 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Health Insurance Market: OverviewThe improving GDPs of several nations across the globe has favored the growth of the global health insurance market in recent years. Health insurance companies have been benefitting from the rising per capita incomes, the emergence of the middle class, and growing number of people with a relatively high income.The research report by Transparency Market Research has also studied using a SWOT analysis and a Porters five forces. The research report includes an explanation of the various factors determining the trajectory of the global health insurance market in the coming few years. Analysts have also factored in opinions of various market experts and leaders to give the readers a fair understanding of the overall market. Additionally, the document includes recommendations for the new entrants and existing players to improve their businesses with the wealth of valuable knowledge about the market.Obtain Report Details @Health Insurance Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe efforts invested by several companies to make their product offerings as transparent as possible has fared well over the past few years. This move has made it easier for buyers to compare and understand the terms of insurance and the products being sold to them. Additionally, the integration of solutions through data analytics, cloud computing, and other modeling techniques is also projected to encourage the growth of the global market in the near future.Despite the positive outlook of the global health insurance market, it faces some tough challenges such as intense competition and tough profit margins. The undulating economic conditions have also led a considerable about of uncertainty in the global market.Health Insurance Market: Region-wise OutlookThe U.S. is the leading health insurance market in the global market due to its unmatched healthcare system in the world. The growth of the market is predominantly being aided by the strong presence of leading players such as Anthem Inc., Aetna Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc., Humana Inc., and Cigna Corp. These players occupy a share of about 80% in the private and public sector of insurance in the U.S. The companies are exploring opportunities of digitizing access to insurance schemes and communication about the same with their consumers to reach out to a wider audience. Options such as providing distributors and consumers with self-service features are also likely to open up a plethora of opportunities for the global market. Furthermore, marketing the products in an easily comprehensible manner is also expected to be the strategy of leading players in the coming years. The only threat for the new entrants is the high level of competition in the U.S. health insurance market.Asia Pacific is expected to a lucrative market as the region has shown a remarkable progress in its GDP. Furthermore, the improving disposable incomes and the enhancement of health security standards are also expected to boost this market in the region in the near future. The growing middle class and an increasing number of high net worth individuals in Asia Pacific are also expected to give the health insurance market the much-needed impetus.Fill The Form To Gain Deeper Insights On This Market @Key Players Mentioned in the ReportSome of the leading players operating in the global health insurance market are Cigna Corporation, AIA Insurance Group, UnitedHealth Group Inc.,Allianz SE, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd., Express Scripts Holding Company, AXA, Aviva plc, Aetna, Inc., Apollo Munich Health Insurance, and International Medical Group.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Disposable Blood Bags Market Dynamics, Segments And Supply Demand 2016 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/disposable-blood-bags-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=19598 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Disposable blood bags is a term primarily associated with storage, collection, transportation as well as transfusion of blood along with its components viz. RBCs, WBCs, and platelets. These components, in particular, require sophisticated disposable blood bags. Moreover, disposable blood bags have greatly replaced glass bottles for the collection and storage of blood and its components, which would drive the global market for disposable blood bags. Demand for disposable blood bags is rising, due to the increase in demand for sterile processes of transportation and transfusion of blood and its components. The market for disposable blood bags is expected to expand at a significant rate in the next few years. However, lack of unprofessional staff to handle the disposable blood bags can prove to be a restraint for the market, especially in low-to-medium-income countries of the world.Obtain Report Details @However, growing incidence of blood-related illnesses and rising demand for transfer bags are factors expected to drive the global disposable blood bags market during the forecast period. Moreover, the increasing number of blood transfusion procedures is expected to fuel the demand for disposable blood bags during the forecast period. Furthermore, rising incidence of accidents in developed as well as developing countries is poised to augment the demand for blood transportation and transfusion. This is likely to propel the global disposable blood bags market. Different types of disposable blood bags are available all over the world; for example, CPDA blood bags, CPD/SAGM blood bags, and transfer bags.The transfer bags segment is projected to witness rapid growth in the near future. This can be primarily attributed to the storage capacity of these bags, which ranges from 150 ml to 1000 ml. This enables the separation of blood components in a more sterile manner and eliminates the requirement for cleaning processes. The disposable blood bags market is anticipated to expand at a high rate in the next few years, owing to increase in the number of accidents/trauma incidents. Moreover, scientific improvements and increase in the requirement for blood transfusion and transportation worldwide would promote the market growth.The disposable blood bags market can be segmented on the basis of product type, end-user, and geography. Based on product type, the disposable blood bags market can be categorized into CPDA blood bags, CPD/SAGM blood bags, transfer bags, and others. The product type segments can be sub-segmented on the basis of usage into single, double, triple, and quadruple blood bags. Furthermore, based on end-user, the disposable blood bags market can be segmented into surgery and/or operation units, emergency units, intensive care units (ICUs), ambulatory centers, and others.Globally, North America was observed to be the leading market for disposable blood bags, due to extensive use of blood tests alongside a large number research and development activities in the region. Additionally, the U.S. and Canada have been successfully utilizing a large number of blood bags. This, in turn, would boost the market for disposable blood bags in North America during the forecast period. Moreover, presence of well-established health care organizations, government initiatives in promoting the use of disposable blood bags, and constantly improving sterility aspects would further propel the market in the region in the near future. Europe is likely to be the second leading market for disposable blood bags in the next few years, owing to enhanced health care processes and growing concerns about health in the region.Fill The Form To Gain Deeper Insights On This Market @Asia Pacific is estimated to be the rapidly expanding market for disposable blood bags during the forecast period. Major factors that would drive the disposable blood bags market in Asia Pacific include the increasing number of accidents/trauma, and the rising number of blood transportation and transfusion procedures. China and India are emerging economies in the region and hence, they would increasingly contribute toward the growth of the market for disposable blood bags in Asia Pacific. In Latin America, Mexico and Brazil are the countries with significant potential for growth of the market, due to development of medical organizations and rising disposable incomes in the two countries.Key players operating in the global critical care diagnostics market are Poly Medicure Limited, Grifols, S.A., Macopharma Bharat Transfusion Solution, Fresenius Kabi India Pvt. Ltd., TERUMO PENPOL Pvt. Limited, HLL Lifecare Limited, and Span Healthcare Private Limited.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Sand Blasting Machines Market growing at 3.5% over coming few years. https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/129 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/129 https://www.gminsights.com https://gminsights.wordpress.com Sand blasting machines market size is forecast to hit USD 485 million, growing at 3.5% by 2022. Robotic sandblasting technology is projected to open new avenues for the market growth. The market has enjoyed substantial surge due to increased usage in industrial and domestic applications. Increased expenditure in this new technology by the key market participants is likely to influence market growth positively in the near future.Robotic blasting technology has seen wide acceptance where the standard automation solutions does not suffice the needs of part complexity, complex process requirements, and quality control needs. This new technique has been implemented to broaden the scope of sand blasting. Manual sand blasting operation leads to potential health hazards. Various industries like aerospace, consumer electronics, automotive, medical, etc. have adopted robotic blast systems for numerous applications such as material removal, coating removal, surface preparation, shot peening, mold cleaning, and stress relief. Growing demand from these sectors is anticipated to boost market growth during the forecast time frame. Application areas like 3D printing offering a carved or handmade look have started adopting the new technology at a fast pace.Request for a sample of this research report @Silica is a traditionally used abrasive material. Inhalation of this material may lead to health issues including silicosis and other lung diseases. Other abrasive materials including water, crushed glass, walnut shells, etc. have gained prominence owing to Government regulations in many nations to prohibit the use of blast cleaning abrasives comprising over 0.1% free silica. Considering the risk of lung diseases, shot blasting machines are gaining popularity as they use metallic shots and grits as abrasives. This is likely to restrain market growth a bit.Mini sand blasting machines market share is projected to surpass USD 90 million, at a growing CAGR of more than 4% and to lead the application segment in coming few years owing to their inherently portable feature and use in household tasks. Industrial sand blasting machines market is projected to be worth USD 390 million during the estimated time frame. Growing trend of replacing manual labor for accomplishing domestic tasks is likely to further the growth by 2022.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @The demand in Asia Pacific market is anticipated to top due to extensive contribution in volume and revenue generation globally by Chinese market together with increasing use in infrastructure, construction, and automotive sectors. Europe is expected to hit USD 95 million by 2022, with gains estimated of 2.5% during the forecast period.The report features comprehensive analysis of the extremely fragmented market with key players profiled in the report including Airblast B.V, Kramer Industries, Sintokogio Group, Clemco Industries Corp, Norton Sandblasting Equipment, Midwest Finishing Systems Inc., Torbo Engineering Keizers GmbH and SANdBOT (JetSystem Group).About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:Connect with us: Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter Air Humidifier Market in Industrial sector growing at 5.5% CAGR from 2016 to 2023 https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/620 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/620 https://www.gminsights.com https://gminsights.wordpress.com Industry TrendsGlobal Air Humidifier Market size contributed greater than $851 million in 2015 and it is projected to surpass $1.31 billion by end of 2023 registering CAGR of 5.3%. They are expected to witness heavy demand in cold regions as heating systems cause sore eyes, sinus congestion, chapped skin & lips and sinus passages. Further, these equipments help in minimizing static electricity efficiently. Rising acceptance of air humidifiers in industrial applications are predicted to boost air humidifier industry trends all across the globe in future.Dry climatic situations are highly susceptible to output of static electricity and can cause heavy obstruction to production device and various other electronic device operations. Also in heavily explosive segments, dry air and its resulting static charge can prove to be hazardous.Increasing demand for air humidifiers from clinics is anticipated to propel air humidifier market trends during forecast timeframe. Factors like proliferation and prevention of biological pollutants are contributing to the growing demand for these systems.Request for a sample of this research report @Product TrendsGlobal industry is segmented into various products like Cool-Mist air, Warm-Mist air, dry air and Ultrasonic system .Warm-Mist air humidifier market size is predicted to cross $581 million mark by end of 2023. Expansion of segment is credited to pure air provided by the systems.Ultrasonic system segment is predicted to display substantial expansion due to its low maintenance need and safe functioning.Simple deployment process and user friendly features are anticipated to stimulate product demand in future. But dry air can create production problems or can cause wear & tear of materials like leather, paper, chemicals, textile, fiber and wood.Technology TrendsGlobal air humidifier market was segmented into different technologies like whole- house systems and portable systems .Whole-house systems are predicted to experience steady growth due to characteristics like low level of control and high energy consumption which can also affect its demand.Portable air humidifier market share was more than 85.1% for 2015 and is predicted to increase in future. Expansion of the segment can be attributed to factors like portability, convenience and mobility displayed by the systems.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Application TrendsGlobal industry is segmented into various applications like industrial applications, commercial applications and residential applications.Accurate level of air humidity is predicted to ensure high output and this aspect is predicted to be main driver across residential applications segment.Humidification is predicted to be main factor for individual comfort in different indoor settings like residential as well as commercial surroundings.Maximum power use along with less functional costs are predicted to enhance the demand for the air humidifier systems across different industrial sectors like operation theatres, data centers, clinics and production centers. These systems provide effective humidity control and high standards of compliance.Regional TrendsGlobal air humidifier industry is segmented into main geographical regions like North America, MEA ,APAC, Europe and Latin America.Europe air humidifier market contributed greater than 25.1% of total industry revenue for 2015. It is anticipated to register CAGR of about 5.1% during forecast timeframe. The growth can be contributed to cold atmospheric conditions.North America air humidifier industry, primarily driven by U.S. air humidifier market , contributed more than $301 million to global industry for 2015.Competitive TrendsKey industry participants profiled in the report include DriSteem, Heaven Fresh, Stadler Form, Armstrong International Incorporation, Carrier, Nortec Humidity, LG Electronics, Honeywell International Incorporation, Aprilaire, Winix Incorporation, Neptronic, Philips, Boneco Ag, Guardian Technologies, Crane USA and Vornado Air LLC.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:Connect with us: Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter Global Confectionery Ingredients Market estimated high revenue by 2016-2024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/confectionery-ingredients-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/confectionery-ingredients-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/confectionery-ingredients-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com https://zionmarketresearch.wordpress.com/ Zion Market Research, the market research group announced the analysis report titled Confectionery Ingredients Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts 20162024Global Confectionery Ingredients Market: OverviewChocolate industries extensively used confectionery ingredients. It is good for health hence consumers largely prefer them. Companies focus on new product innovations and better taste also brings large customer pool. People are becoming more health-conscious hence they choose natural ingredients. It is gaining more attention as its health benefits are rising. Confectionery ingredients are used in many foods and beverages industries such as sugar confectionery, gums, chocolate, and others. It is used to furnish chocolates and other products with caramel, fillings, cereal bars, aerated confectionery, and spreads.Request Free Sample Report @Global Confectionery Ingredients Market: Growth FactorsConfectionery ingredients are in highly demanding in the various industries such as gums, chocolate, sugar confectionery, and others, which comprise aerated confectionery, fillings, cereal bars, caramel, coatings, and spreads. In addition, changing consumer preference and lifestyle may boost the global market growth. Additionally, huge investment on the innovations and R&D further contributed to the global market growth. Moreover, increasing consumer awareness about health benefits of chocolates is expected to strengthen the confectionery ingredients market in future. In addition, growth in the natural ingredients demands also propels the global confectionery ingredients market growth. Changing eating habits and gifting chocolates on the celebrations drive the global market growth.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Confectionery Ingredients Market: SegmentationThe global confectionery ingredients market is classified based on applications as gums, chocolate, sugar confectionery, and others. Of these, the chocolate segment is the dominating in the global market. Based on types, the global confectionery ingredients market is categorized as sweeteners, dairy ingredients, oils & shortenings, hydrocolloids, starches & derivatives, flavors, emulsifiers, cocoa & chocolate, malts, and others. On the basis of form, the global market is divided as dry and liquid. Furthermore, the global confectionery ingredients market is fragmented as natural and synthetic.Global Confectionery Ingredients Market: Regional AnalysisGeographically, the global confectionery ingredients market is segregated as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Europe accounted for the largest market share owing to increasing demand for confectionery ingredients. Asia Pacific is another region, which is growing at a faster rate due to increasing disposable income of the people. In addition, emerging economies such as China and India are gaining popularity for confectionery ingredients as growing urban population and changing lifestyle. The abundance of human capital and evolving consumer eating habits in North America contributed to the largest market share.Browse detail report @Global Confectionery Ingredients Market: Competitive PlayersMajor players in the global confectionery ingredients market are E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Barry Callebaut, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Olam International, Incorporated, Ingredion Incorporated, and Cargill.Confectionery Ingredients Market by Geographical Analysis: North America( U.S.), Europe( UK, France, Germany), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India), Latin America( Brazil), Middle East and AfricaOur value reports provide full, in-depth analysis of the parent market including most significant changes in market dynamics; the report also presents the detailed overview on segmentation of this market. We managed to present as many important pieces of information in essential form thanks to our report You will learn more about former, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and value, assessment of niche industry developments and Market share analysis. We have not forgotten to present key strategies for major players, emerging segments and regional markets and last but not least, testimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog: Global Dairy Processing Equipment Market size demand will increase by 2016-2024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/dairy-processing-equipment-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/dairy-processing-equipment-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/dairy-processing-equipment-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com https://zionmarketresearch.wordpress.com/ Zion Market Research, the market research group announced the analysis report titled Dairy Processing Equipment Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts 20162024Global Dairy Processing Equipment Market: OverviewMilk is a nutritious food product and possesses short lifespan, and hence is needed to be handled carefully. It is highly perishable and is a good medium for the growth of microorganisms. Dairy processing equipment allows milk to be preserved for the longer period; hence, it reduces the chances of food-borne diseases. Dairy processing equipment is widely used to process milk and production of various milk products such as butter, cream, yogurt, cheese, and others. This processing equipment is globally used in the dairy industries as consumers demand nutritional and packaged dairy products has increased. The shift of preferences from raw milk to processed milk also created off-farm jobs such as marketing, the collection of milk, transportation, and processing of milk.Request Free Sample Report @Global Dairy Processing Equipment Market: Growth FactorsConsumer preferences for healthy products with low cholesterol, low fat, low sugar, and availability of new flavors drive the dairy processing equipment market. A major driver of the global dairy processing equipment market is the rise in the dairy production and change of taste & preferences of consumers. However, key dairy manufacturers in dairy processing equipment market focus on new launches, technological advancements, and technologically advanced dairy processing equipment, which is anticipated to fuel the growth of the global market. Increasing disposable income, changing lifestyle and increase in demand for healthy dairy products is expected to fuel the demand for dairy processing equipment.Global Dairy Processing Equipment Market: SegmentationThe global dairy processing equipment market is segregated based on the application as milk powder, protein concentrates, yogurt, cheese, cream, and others. On the basis of types, the global market is fragmented as pasteurizers, homogenizers, membrane filters, separators, churning equipment, dryers, and others. Moreover, the global market is classified based on geography as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Dairy Processing Equipment Market: Regional AnalysisAsia Pacific is the leading region major imports of dairy products. In addition, China acts as a lucrative market for international dairy processors benefitting from the rising consumer demand that may drive the global dairy processing equipment market in the coming years. However, growth in the dairy processing equipment in this region is owing to rising disposable income and increase in population. Further, technological advancements and new strategies adopted by the key players such as collaborations, company expansions, product launches, and others may fuel the global market.Global Dairy Processing Equipment Market: Competitive PlayersLeading players in the global dairy processing equipment market are A&B Process systems, SPX Corporation, GEA group, Feldmeier Equipment, Inc., the Krones group, Alfa Laval Corporate AB, Tetra Laval group, and IDMC Limited.Browse detail report @Dairy Processing Equipment Market by Geographical Analysis: North America( U.S.), Europe( UK, France, Germany), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India), Latin America( Brazil), Middle East and AfricaOur value reports provide full, in-depth analysis of the parent market including most significant changes in market dynamics; the report also presents the detailed overview on segmentation of this market. We managed to present as many important pieces of information in essential form thanks to our report You will learn more about former, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and value, assessment of niche industry developments and Market share analysis. We have not forgotten to present key strategies for major players, emerging segments and regional markets and last but not least, testimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog: Global Corn Wet-Milling Market to observe high growth by 2016-2024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/corn-wet-milling-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/corn-wet-milling-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/corn-wet-milling-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/corn-wet-milling-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com https://zionmarketresearch.wordpress.com/ Zion Market Research, the market research group announced the analysis report titled Corn Wet-Milling Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts 20162024Global Corn Wet-Milling Market: OverviewA process of refining corns is known as corn wet-milling. Shelled corns can be processed by two types, namely, dry mills or wet mills. By using corn wet-milling process, corns can be separated into four components such as germ, starch, gluten, and fiber. Corn wet-milling process comprises various production stages such as milling & germ separation, cleaning, fine grinding & screening, steeping, and separating starch & gluten. Next step is followed by conversion of starch to syrup and then fermented by dextrose that provides products such as polylactic acid, ethanol, and amino acids, which are used in the biodegradable products. Corns are indecently milled by using milling process to remove germs from components that contain at least 85% of corns oil. Corn wet-milling also produces several feed products such as corn germ meal, wet corn gluten feed, and corn gluten meal. However, primary products of the wet-milling process include edible oil and starch.Request Free Sample Report @Global Corn Wet-Milling Market: Growth FactorsIncreasing demand for corn wet-milling for its rising advantages fosters the global corn wet-milling market growth. Growth in the multi-functionality of corn drives the global market growth. Dent corn is highly used in foods & beverages for manufacturing high fructose corn syrup; this positively impacts the global market growth. Gluten meal is largely used in the animal feed and is expected to influence the global corn wet-milling market growth. Wet-milling products are rich in amino acids protein, digestible fiber, methionine, cysteine, and high level of energy. Conversely, strict government regulatory implemented over increasing quality standards and health & safety restrain the global market to some extent.Global Corn Wet-Milling Market: SegmentationThe global corn wet-milling market is categorized based on products, equipment, application, and corn type. The products include as gluten meal & feed, ethanol, starches, sweeteners, and corn oil. The equipment segment comprises centrifuge system, milling, and steeping. The application segment further consists of feed area, starch modification, refinery, steepwater, ethanol production, food, mill, and others. Moreover, the corn type includes waxy, and dent.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Corn Wet-Milling Market: Regional AnalysisThe geographical segmentation of the global corn wet-milling market consists of North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is the leading region due to consumption of corn wet-milling products by the various industries such as animal feed, textiles, personal care, food, pharmaceuticals, and others in this region. Additionally, Europe is following the same trend in the global market due to high consumption of corn wet-milling products. North America contributed the largest market share in the global corn wet-milling market due to increasing customer base and rising demand for processed food. Emerging economies such as Japan, China, and India also show substantial growth in corn wet-milling market. Furthermore, increasing disposable income and active participation of government for the development of corn wet-milling also open up new growth opportunities in the Middle East and Africa.Global Corn Wet-Milling Market: Competitive PlayersKey players operating in the global corn wet-milling market include Global Bio-Chem Technology Group Company, Agrana Beteiligungs AG, Agri-Industries Holding Limited, and Ingredion Incorporated. Other influencing players in the global market are Roquette Corporate, Incorporated, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Grain Processing Corporation, Cargill, and Bunge Limited.Browse detail report @Corn Wet-Milling Market by Geographical Analysis: North America( U.S.), Europe( UK, France, Germany), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India), Latin America( Brazil), Middle East and AfricaOur value reports provide full, in-depth analysis of the parent market including most significant changes in market dynamics; the report also presents the detailed overview on segmentation of this market. We managed to present as many important pieces of information in essential form thanks to our report You will learn more about former, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and value, assessment of niche industry developments and Market share analysis. We have not forgotten to present key strategies for major players, emerging segments and regional markets and last but not least, testimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.Inquire more before buying this report @About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog: Global Functional Flours Market predicts rise in demand by 2016-2024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/functional-flours-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/functional-flours-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/functional-flours-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/functional-flours-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com https://zionmarketresearch.wordpress.com/ Zion Market Research, the market research group announced the analysis report titled Functional Flours Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts 20162024Global Functional Flours Market: OverviewFunctional flours are extracted from grain or non-grain sources, which are further modified to enhance its values. The sources through which the functional flours are made are selected based on various quality parameters such as grain size, functionalities, and other properties. Functional flour is majorly used in bakery and household purpose as the cost is slightly more if compared to the normal flours.Request Free Sample Report @Global Functional Flours Market: SegmentationThe global functional flours market is broadly segmented based on various factors such as the type of flour, application, and basis of the source. Based on the types flours, it is categorized as specialty flour, pre-cooked flour, and various other types. Functional flours are also segmented based on the sources this includes cereals, rice, corn, wheat, legumes, soybeans, lentils, and other cereals. Further, functional flours market is widely diversified into various regions, which include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Rest of the World.Global Functional Flours Market: Growth FactorsIncreasing intake of healthy food products and people following healthy food habits is driving the growth of the global functional flour market. Manufacturers introducing the wide variety of functional food products and simultaneously branding those products effectively has also fuelled the growth of the global market. People adopting premium food products due to their nutritional values has fostered the demand of the functional flours. Growing demand for healthy and low-fat alternatives and the presence of untapped opportunities in the market may augment the growth of the global market. Changing consumer lifestyles and growing spending capability are some of the factors responsible for the augmented demand of functional flours, which indirectly motivates the growth of the global functional flours market. High demand from the end users has effectively increased the graph of the global functional flours market. On the other hand, stringent government rules in terms of food safety to produce gluten-free and fortified flours is somewhere hampering the growth of the functional flour market.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Functional Flours Market: Regional AnalysisAsia-Pacific region holds the dominance in the global functional flour market. The position of the region may retain due to increased per capita income and growing demand for functional foods. Progress in food service and food processing industry. Europe and other regions are expected to grow in moderate speed due to average selling pricesGlobal Functional Flours Market: Competitive PlayersSome of the major players dominating the global functional flours market include Associated British Foods PLC, Agrana Beteiligungs-AG, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Bunge Limited, Parrish and Heimbecker, Limited, The Scoular Company, Cargill, Incorporated, General Mills Inc., The Hain Celestial Group Inc., and Sunopta, Inc.Browse detail report @Functional Flours Market by Geographical Analysis: North America( U.S.), Europe( UK, France, Germany), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India), Latin America( Brazil), Middle East and AfricaOur value reports provide full, in-depth analysis of the parent market including most significant changes in market dynamics; the report also presents the detailed overview on segmentation of this market. We managed to present as many important pieces of information in essential form thanks to our report You will learn more about former, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and value, assessment of niche industry developments and Market share analysis. We have not forgotten to present key strategies for major players, emerging segments and regional markets and last but not least, testimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.Inquire more before buying this report @About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog: Impact of Existing and Emerging Emission Control Catalyst Market Trends 2014-2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-137 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-137 www.futuremarketinsights.com Emission control and reduction are among the priorities of all the commercial, industrial, and government sector companies. Growing concerns towards mitigation of the ill effects of carbon emissions or pollution are leading to manufacturing and process industries adopting new methods, technologies, materials, and processes. Emission control catalysts are used in catalytic convertors to lessen harmful emissions to the environment. A catalytic convertor houses a typical honeycomb structure coated with emission control catalysts such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Emission control catalysts can be segmented on the basis of their application as mobile and stationary.Mobile applications include automotives. These catalysts are also called automotive catalysts. Stationary applications include thermal or conventional power plants, and other industries.Request For Report Sample@Mobile application presently is the largest segment for emission control catalysts due to the increasing demand for light and heavy commercial vehicles across the globe. Catalytic convertors are mostly used in the automotive industry while stationary emission control systems utilise selective catalytic reduction, catalytic incineration, filters, and catalytic oxidation. Passenger vehicles and cargo trucks are the main source of vehicle pollution followed by two and three wheeler vehicles. Emission control catalysts or convertors are now increasingly being used for NOx reduction from power plants, reduction of sulphur, and removal of toxins from exhaust smoke.Europe is the most lucrative emission control catalyst market. The heavy presence of automobiles manufacturers, power sector companies, and industrialisation across various geographical locations in Europe are the major driving factors for the emission control catalyst market. Europe witnessed 8.8% growth in commercial vehicle registrations. This prominent market was the global leader in FY 2013, and is expected to continue its growth trajectory in the future. Supportive government regulations to curb the ill effects of pollution offer a smooth roadmap for emission control catalyst enterprises to penetrate in European market. Industrial pollution in Europe is the next major setback for the government, as it costs them billions of dollars. Germany, Poland, UK, and Italy possess major refineries and heavy power segments which contribute major damage to the European nations. In such a scenario, the European market is in need of effective solutions that possess the capability to curb the pollution. Therefore, Europe is seen as the most lucrative market for business enterprises operating in the emission control catalyst market.Other prominent markets are North America followed by MENA and APAC region. North America contributes a major share to global pollution. USA is the leading market as the highest contributor to air pollution in North America region. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Texas are the states reporting the highest air pollution levels in USA. Many prominent locations in USA are witnessing ozone depletion which is a major cause of concern for government officials. As such, this situation makes emission control catalysts an urgent need in these pollution chronic regions. MENA is the next potential region for the emission control catalyst market. Presence of mining industries and oil borne locations are the major driving factors in MENA region. India, China and Singapore are the prominent destinations for emission control segment. Development in the automobile sector, oil refineries and maritime transportation are the main driving factors in APAC.Request For TOC@Increasing automotive fleet and stringent environmental regulations on the international platform are the prime driving factors for growth in emission control catalyst consumption. The global emission control catalyst market is expected to grow between 7% and 9% CAGR over the next five years. Though the market seems promising for business enterprises operating in emission control catalysts, the emergence of battery-powered vehicles could be a major setback to this flourishing industry. Some of the major players include Johnson Matthey, BASF, Umicore, Faurecia, Nett Technologies, and others. Companies are investing in R&D to offer first class products to different end use industry verticals. Acquisitions and mergers are the strategies adopted by key market players to strengthen their position on the global market platform.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Now Available - Worldwide Ortho-Xylene Market Report 2014-2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-157 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-157 www.futuremarketinsights.com Xylenes are petrochemicals produced by catalytic reforming and coal carbonization in the manufacture of coke fuel. They are used in various industries and medical technology as a solvent. It occurs naturally in coal, wood tar and coal among others. Xylenes are mainly produced as a part of the BTX aromatics. They are derived from various sources within a refinery including pyrolysis gasoline, toluene disproportionation and reformate among others. Reformate accounts for over three fourths of mixed xylenes market. There are three types of xylenes, viz., ortho-xylene, meta xylene and para xylene.Ortho-xylene is a commercial isomer of xylene. It is a hydrocarbon based on benzene with two methyl substituents bonded to the aromatic ring. It is liquid at room temperature. It is used extensively for producing phthalic anhydride (PAN)-primarily dio-octyl phthalate for PVC. The major use for PAN is for producing plasticizers which are largely used in automobile and construction industry. In addition, it is used in solvent based paints. It is extracted by means of distillation from xylene stream in a plant designed for para-xylene production. It is a constitutional isomer of m-xylene and p-xylene. Moreover, it is produced with its isomers paraxylene, metaxylene and ethylbenzene. Friedel Crafts alkylation of toluene yields a mixture of ortho-xylene .This reaction gives a pure form of o-xylene. Furthermore, it is used in alkyd resins having wide applications in the coating industry. It has a large demand in the petrochemical industry.Request For Report Sample@The growing construction industry coupled with burgeoning development in the automobile industry is expected to drive the demand for ortho-xylene within the forecast period. Additionally, the growing paints and adhesive industry is expected to fuel the demand for ortho-xylene further over the next few years. However, acute inhalation or exposure to ortho-xylene in humans results in irritation of eyes and neurological effects. Furthermore, chronic exposure of ortho-xylenes results in central nervous system effects, cardio-vascular and kidney effects. It reacts violently with oxidants causing fire and explosion hazard. Thus, stringent regulations on use of ethylene are expected to hamper the ortho-xylene market in near future.In Asia, prices of xylene are anticipated to weaken due to weak downstream conditions in the purified terephthalic acid and paraxylene sectors. Global manufacturing coupled with supply chain and access to feedstock are the key strengths of the companies involved in the ortho-xylene market.Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing regional market within the forecast period on account of the growing chemical industry and in turn, rapid industrialization. China dominated the otho-xylene production in 2011 and this trend is expected to continue within the forecast period. In India, Reliance Industries is a manufacturer of ortho-xylene with a capacity of 150 KTA. Consumption of ortho-xylene in Eastern Europe and Russia is expected to be strong on account of the thriving construction industry.Request For TOC@The major players in the ortho-xylene market are Creasyn Finechem (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Inc., DynaChem Inc, Minda Petrochemicals Ltd, Shell Chemicals, Sonoco Chemicals, U.S. Petrochemical Industries Ltd. and Puritan Products, Inc. among others. Ortho-xylene projects by major companies are planned in China, Taiwan and Singapore within the forecast period.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Diabetic Gastroparesis Treatment Market Predicted to Rake US$ 3,769.3 Mn by 2024 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/diabetic-gastroparesis-market.asp http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/diabetic-gastroparesis-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/10082 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com The global diabetic gastroparesis treatment market has been segmented on the basis of product type into drugs and surgical treatment products; on the basis of disease indication into compensated gastroparesis and gastric failure; and on the basis of distribution channel into hospital pharmacies, private clinics, drug stores, retail pharmacies, and e-commerce. Among product types, the drugs segment dominated the market with maximum revenue share of 66% in 2015 followed by the surgical treatment product segment with 34% share. Enhanced development of novel products such as the domperidone drug for the treatment of gastric motility disorder are expected to fuel the growth of the drugs segment over the forecast period. The hospital pharmacies segment is estimated to account for the highest market revenue share of 48.0% in the global diabetic gastroparesis treatment market by the end of 2016.Browse Complete Report @According to the latest market report published by Persistence Market Research titled Diabetic Gastroparesis Treatment Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2016 2024, revenue from the global diabetic gastroparesis treatment market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period (20162024). Diabetic gastroparesis is the symptom of delayed gastric emptying affecting patients suffering from Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes. The disease primarily has no cure but its symptoms are treatable via various types of drugs and devices. The global diabetic gastroparesis treatment market was valued at US$ 2,650 Mn in 2015, which is expected to increase to US$ 3,769.3 Mn by 2024. The report analyzes the global diabetic gastroparesis treatment market in terms of market value on the basis of product type, disease indication, and distribution channel; and provides information regarding regional market dynamics, regulations, current trends, market estimations, and forecast.Rising prevalence of Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes with high unmet medical needs, growing demand for minimally invasive treatment for refractory gastroparesis, and availability of reimbursement for in-patient hospital stays are driving growth of the global diabetic gastroparesis treatment market. Increasing use of diabetic gastroparesis drugs to control symptoms such as nausea and vomiting is anticipated to fuel growth of the global diabetic gastroparesis treatment market over the forecast period. However, usage of non-prescription drugs to control the symptoms restricts diagnosis of stage 1 and stage 2 gastroparesis. Lack of clinical evidence on improvement offered by prescription drugs and termination of clinical trials are factors expected to hamper growth of the global diabetic gastroparesis treatment market over the forecast period.Request to view table of content @The report covers the global diabetic gastroparesis treatment market across five key regions namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), and Middle East & Africa (MEA). North America is expected to remain the dominant market throughout the forecast period, driven by rise in healthcare expenditure, increasing demand for metoclopramide agents in the management of diabetic gastroparesis disease, increasing research on antibodies and other innovative prokinetics drug delivery formats, and technological advancements. Revenue from the diabetic gastroparesis treatment market in North America is expected to register a CAGR of 4.4% over the forecast period. Asia Pacific is expected to remain the second-most lucrative market for diabetic gastroparesis treatment, with an estimated CAGR of 4.5% over the forecast period.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the top companies profiled in the report are Janssen Global Services, LLC, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic, C. R. Bard, Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Evoke Pharma, and Alfa Wassermann SPA. Leading market players are continuously introducing novel products to enhance their product portfolio, increase market share, and expand customer base.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Dairy Blends Market show exponential growth by 2024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/dairy-blends-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/dairy-blends-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/dairy-blends-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/dairy-blends-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com https://zionmarketresearch.wordpress.com/ Zion Market Research, the market research group announced the analysis report titled Dairy Blends Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts 20162024Global Dairy Blends Market: OverviewA mixture of concentrated cream mixed with butter is known as dairy blends. They are made up of butter blends or processed butterfat, which is free from saturated fat. Dairy blends contain vegetable oil, hence it is spreadable and can consume with bread. They can blend with other ingredients such as sugar, salt, aroma, flavorings, and vegetable oils that depend on taste and preferences of the consumers. Dairy blends enhance the absolute and real taste of the products. However, blending with other protein sources offers nutritional benefits to consumers.Request Free Sample Report @Global Dairy Blends Market: Growth FactorsDairy blends are cost-effective in nature; hence, this is a major driving factor of the market. It contains less fat as compared to margarine and butter. Import of the dairy products involves high price but dairy blends involve much lower price comparatively. Dairy blends also used in the other ingredients such as vegetable fats, butter, sugar, dextrin, and cocoa powder are expected to boost the global dairy blends market growth. Many soy proteins are very cost-effective compared to dairy proteins. Hence, various dairy manufacturers mix dairy blends with soy or other proteins in order to improve the flavor of the product. This is anticipated to foster global market growth.Global Dairy Blends Market: SegmentationThe global dairy blends market is classified based on application, type, and form. The application segment includes chocolates, ice cream, bakery products, infant food, dairy products, and others. The formed segment comprises liquid and powder. Moreover, the type segment includes milk concentrate blends, whey protein blends, skim milk blends, and whey protein concentrate blends.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Dairy Blends Market: Regional AnalysisThe geographical segment in the global dairy blends market includes North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America accounted for the largest market share in the global market. The United States shows considerable growth in the global market as it is anticipated to be the largest dairy commodity exporter across the world. Asia-Pacific and South America are emerging niche markets for dairy blends. Service of whey in these regions may also boost the growth of global dairy blends market. However, South Korea, China, and Thailand are growing markets for dairy blends owing to their large customer base. Additionally, Japan, Canada, and Mexico may follow the same trend in the future.Global Dairy Blends Market: Competitive PlayersLeading players operating in the global dairy blends market are All American Foods, Inc., Hormel Specialty Products, Anchor, Lactopur, Advanced Food Products, Friesland Campina, Landell Mills-sure, and Abbott Nutrition. Other players include Agri-Mark Inc., Cargill, VIV Buisman, Agropur Ingredients, Pacific blends, Cape Food Ingredients, SPX Flow, Bakels Edible Oils, and others.Browse detail report @Dairy Blends Market by Geographical Analysis: North America( U.S.), Europe( UK, France, Germany), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India), Latin America( Brazil), Middle East and AfricaOur value reports provide full, in-depth analysis of the parent market including most significant changes in market dynamics; the report also presents the detailed overview on segmentation of this market. We managed to present as many important pieces of information in essential form thanks to our report You will learn more about former, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and value, assessment of niche industry developments and Market share analysis. We have not forgotten to present key strategies for major players, emerging segments and regional markets and last but not least, testimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.Inquire more before buying this report @About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog: Global Bottled Water Processing Market 2016 Industry Analysis & Forecast 2024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/bottled-water-processing-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/bottled-water-processing-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/bottled-water-processing-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com https://zionmarketresearch.wordpress.com/ Zion Market Research, the market research group announced the analysis report titled Bottled Water Processing Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts 20162024Global Bottled Water Processing Market: OverviewWater will always remain the healthy choice of drink and bottled water will be the healthiest choice for the packaged beverage as compared to any other soft drinks. In the recent years, the consumer interest for the bottled drinks is related to their health, safety, convenience and its value. There are other consumers interested in the taste of the bottled water. The global market highly depends on the technology and the equipment used for the production of the bottled water. The major driver for the global market is the scarcity of the drinking water and the contamination of the different water bodies.Request Free Sample Report @Global Bottled Water Processing Market: SegmentationThe bottled water processing market is globally segmented into its equipment, technology, application, and region. On the basis of the equipment, the global market is categorized into filters, fillers and cappers, shrink wrappers, case packing equipment, bottle washers, blow molders and labeling. Based on the technology, the global bottled water processing market is divided into ultrafiltration, chlorination, UV exposure and packaging, reverse osmosis, microfiltration and bottle washing and filling. On the basis of the application, the global market is segregated into the flavored water, mineral water, still water and spring water. The global bottled water processing market is regionally diversified into Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa.Global Bottled Water Processing Market: Growth FactorsThe major segment growing at a fast pace in the global bottled water processing market is the filter segment which is used for the purification of the water. The segment that dominated the market is the reverse osmosis segment and the still water segment. To increase the market share, different manufacturers of the bottled water processing are launching new exotic flavors and are introducing bold and attractive packaging to attract the consumers. The other factors that are contributing to the global market growth include the research and development made in the advanced processing equipment. Some other factors that contribute to the global market growth are the increasing health concerns among consumers and the increased requirements of purity in the sectors of beverages. The factor that is restricting the growth of the global market is the huge capital expenditure required for setting up new production facilities.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Bottled Water Processing Market: Regional AnalysisThe region that dominates the global bottled water processing market is the North American region. The country that accounted for the major share in the North American region is the US. The Asia Pacific region is also growing fast in terms of bottled water processing market. The countries that are contributing to the market growth are China and India. In the European region, Germany and Italy are the major consumers of the bottled water. The major factors that driving the global market in the Asia Pacific region include high consumption, the shifting trends of the drinking habits, bulk water purchases and the increasing disposable income.Global Bottled Water Processing Market: Competitive PlayersThe major market players of the global bottled water processing market includePall Corporation, Dow Chemical Co., Velocity Equipment Solutions Inc., Liquid Packaging Solutions Inc., General Electric, Seychelles Environmental Technologies, Inc., Norland International Inc. and Axeon Water Technologies.Browse detail report @Bottled Water Processing Market by Geographical Analysis: North America( U.S.), Europe( UK, France, Germany), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India), Latin America( Brazil), Middle East and AfricaOur value reports provide full, in-depth analysis of the parent market including most significant changes in market dynamics; the report also presents the detailed overview on segmentation of this market. We managed to present as many important pieces of information in essential form thanks to our report You will learn more about former, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and value, assessment of niche industry developments and Market share analysis. We have not forgotten to present key strategies for major players, emerging segments and regional markets and last but not least, testimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog: Dry Powder Inhaler Device Market: Recent Study including Growth Factors, Applications, Regional Analysis, Key Players and Forecasts 2022 Dry Powder Inhaler Device https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/request-sample/170123 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/report/global-dry-powder-inhaler-device-sales-market-report-2016 Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are powdered medicines sealed in containers and are breath-activated, i.e., the powdered medicine is sucked out while inhaling out of the mouthpiece of the device. This method is more effective than the other kind wherein the canister is pushed down in order to release the medicine with pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) or commonly called, puffers. Dry powder inhaler device helps in rendering medication directly to the lungs, and are widely used to treat respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, COPD, and emphysema.Get Sample Copy Of Report@Also, many a time, DPIs such as inhalable insulin Afrezza have also been prescribed by healthcare professionals for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The two key types of the most common DPI which comprises of multiple doses of medicines are accuhaler and turbuhaler. Prior to inhaling the powder from the mouthpiece, one must load a said dosage by sliding grip with a thumb along a disc-shaped device, i.e., accuhaler, or by twisting the bottom grip on a tube-like device, i.e., turbuhaler.A few of the powdered medicines are available as other types of DPI, which includes handihaler, breezhaler, aerolizer, spinhaler, and rotahaler devices. All of these devices come with capsules filled with the powdered medicine which should be loaded into the chamber within the device. The inhaled drug delivery systems are separated into three primary categories, such as pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs), DPIs, and nebulizers, and each of this class with its exclusive strengths and weaknesses. In a recent analysis done on the dry powder inhaler device market, it suggested that only 14% of over 1500 physicians surveyed have enough knowledge of inhaled therapy and out of these, less than 50 percent actually knew thoroughly the right inhalation maneuvering needed from a DPI device.Advantages of Dry Powder Inhaler: Formulation stableness Minimum to no patient coordination needed Propellant-free design and environmental sustainabilityDisadvantages of Dry Powder Inhaler: Possibility for dosage uniformity issues Manufacturing can be complex and not very cost-efficient Deposition efficacy dependant on patients inspiratory flow.How to use the Dry Powder Inhaler:The use of DPI in a right manner is of utmost importance and this assists that the appropriate amount of medicine is rendered to the lungs and also will help in minimizing the side effects. One must keep his/her head upright while using the inhaler and also always rinse the mouth with water, gargle and spit immediately post using any inhaler which has an inhaled corticosteroid to lessen the possibilities of side effects.Read More:About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on Global industries, companies, products, and trends.koregaon park, pune UK Pensions Market 2017 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1157480 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/1157480 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Report UK Pensions Market 2017 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Pensions MarketSummaryThe pre- and post-retirement markets have seen some big changes over the last few years. The state pension has been changed from a two-tier to a flat-rate model. The state pension age is steadily increasing to relieve pressure on the government, as the UK population is aging and individuals are living longer. Auto-enrolment will continue to be a big driver of growth in work- and trust-based pensions, as will buyouts as employers look to de-risk. By February 2018, all businesses will have to provide a pension to eligible employees, and by April 2019 the total minimum contribution will be 8%. This means that more individuals will be paying into a pension, and they will be contributing more. New pension freedoms have given customers more flexibility in how they take money from their pensions. The impact has been that fewer individuals are opting to buy an annuity, instead opting for income drawdown or cash withdrawals. There is a greater need for advice, but there is an advice gap where those with small pots are going without as independent financial advisors concentrate their business on wealthier individuals following the Retail Distribution Review.Get Sample Copy of this report @Scope- This report explores the pre- and post-retirement markets.- It discusses recent legislation such as changes to the state pension, auto-enrolment, the Retail Distribution Review, and the new pension freedoms.- It explains the impacts of legislation with regards to market sizing, distribution, how people are saving their pensions, and how people are taking their pension pots at retirement.- The size of the pensions market has been forecast to 2021.- There is also a focus on how technology and robo-advice can encourage pension saving and understanding of pension options.View Report @Reasons to buy- Understand the impacts of recent legislation on consumer behavior in the pre- and post-retirement markets.- Discover how technology and robo-advice can be used to encourage individuals to save pensions and give advice at retirement, ultimately increasing customer engagement.- See how the UK pensions market is forecast to grow over the next five years.Table of ContentsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY 31.1. The pensions market has undergone large reforms 31.2. Key findings 31.3. Critical success factors 32. THE STATE PENSION 32.1. Introduction 32.2. Pressure is increasing on the state pension 32.2.1. The UKs aging population is putting pressure on the state pension 32.2.2. To relieve pressure, the state pension age is increasing 32.2.3. The state pension has moved to a flat rate model 32.2.4. The triple lock has been in force since 2011 32.2.5. The triple lock may be scrapped following the upcoming general election 33. SAVING FOR RETIREMENT 33.1. Pension saving is more important than ever 33.1.1. Individuals must make their own pension savings outside of the state pension 33.1.2. The UK pensions market grew by 10.7% during 2013-16 33.1.3. Personal pensions and SIPPs have driven growth in the individual pensions market 33.1.4. Workplace pensions have remained flat 33.1.5. Trust-based pensions have grown due to auto-enrolment 33.2. Auto-enrolment has been introduced to increase pension savings 33.2.1. All employers will be required to provide a pension to eligible workers by February 2018 33.2.2. Minimum auto-enrolment contributions will reach 8% by 2019 33.2.3. Non-eligible individuals or those opting-out may not have sufficient savings at retirement 33.2.4. 1.23 million UK businesses will be required to provide a workplace pension by 2018 33.2.5. Auto-enrolment will put pressure on UK businesses 33.2.6. NEST is the government pension scheme for auto-enrolment 33.2.7. Restrictions on NEST pensions have been lifted, which could disrupt the pensions market 33.3. The pension market is predicted to be worth 17.5bn APE by 2021 33.3.1. The UK pensions market is forecast to grow significantly over the next five years 34. PENSION FREEDOMS 34.1. Pensions freedoms have made accessing a pension more flexible 34.1.1. Changes have been made to the way individuals can access their pot at retirement 34.2. Transfers from a defined benefit scheme have increased 34.2.1. Individuals can transfer from a defined benefit to a defined contribution scheme 34.2.2. Transferring to a defined contribution pension takes the responsibility off employers 34.2.3. Defined benefit pensions are in steady decline as employers look to derisk 34.2.4. The number of TVAS reports being carried out has risen since the reforms 34.2.5. The FCA is keeping a close eye on advisors when it comes to recommending transfers 34.3. Defined contribution pensions have become more flexible 34.3.1. The annuity market has declined since the new pension freedoms 34.3.2. Income drawdown is now the preferred retirement income product over annuities 34.3.3. Income drawdown has moved from a capped to a flexi-access model 34.3.4. A pension pot can be taken as cash in a single or multiple withdrawals 34.3.5. Pension pots can be left untouched to grow tax-free 34.3.6. There are new restrictions on pension contributions if withdrawals are made 34.4. Taxation of pension death benefits is now more generous 34.4.1. Taxation of a pension is dependent on the age at which the scheme member dies 34.4.2. Anyone can now be a nominated beneficiary of a pension 34.5. Pensions will remain a key savings product 34.5.1. Pensions force a long-term savings culture 34.5.2. The Lifetime ISA is not expected to be a popular alternative to a pension 34.5.3. Individuals should not ignore other assets they can benefit from in retirement 3MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Remote Patient Monitoring Devices Market US$ 1,502.9 Mn by 2024 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/remote-patient-monitoring-device-market.asp http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/remote-patient-monitoring-device-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3287 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com The global remote patient monitoring device market is segmented on the basis of Product Type (Cardiac Monitors, Respiratory Monitors, Hematological Monitors), Application (Cardiac Arrhythmia, Diabetes, Ischemic diseases, Hypertension, Sleep apnea, Chronic respiratory diseases, Hyperlipidemia), End User (Hospitals, Homecare Settings, Long-term Care Centers, Others), and Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, APEJ, and MEA).Browse Complete Report @By product type, the cardiac monitors segment is expected to remain the largest segment and is anticipated to reach US$ 765.4 Mn by the end of 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 6.9% over the forecast period. By the end of 2024, the respiratory monitors segment is projected to reach US$ 435.0 Mn, expanding at a CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period. By application, the cardiac arrhythmia segment is estimated to reach US$ 307.7 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 6.8% over the forecast period. The diabetes segment is projected to reach US$ 196.8 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 5.6% over the forecast period. By end user, the hospitals segment is anticipated to reach US$ 690.1 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 6.6% over the forecast period. The homecare settings segment is anticipated to reach US$ 347.3 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 6.2% over the forecast period.Among regions, North America is estimated to dominate the global remote patient monitoring device market with 31.4% revenue share of the overall market by the end of 2016. The Europe remote patient monitoring device market is anticipated to reach US$ 341.1 Mn by 2024. By 2024, North America and Europe markets are expected to account for over four-fifth share of the global remote patient monitoring device market revenue.According to the latest market report published by Persistence Market Research titled Remote Patient Monitoring Device Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 20162024, the global remote patient monitoring device market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.7% and is estimated to reach US$ 1,502.9 Mn by 2024, creating incremental opportunity of US$ 657.1 Mn between 2016 and 2024. Persistence Market Research analyzes the overall performance of the global remote patient monitoring device market and provides key insights on the factors and trends likely to influence the market during this eight-year period.Rising prevalence of cardio vascular diseases, respiratory disorders, and diabetes in the general population are major factors driving the growth of the global remote patient monitoring device market. Increasing healthcare expenditure and increasing availability of effective treatment solutions for chronic diseases is also projected to boost revenue growth of the global remote patient monitoring device market. Other factors boosting market growth include an increasing awareness among people to self-monitor before disease advancement and government reimbursement issued on homecare settings facilities.Request to view table of content @Lack of trained professionals to help with remote patient monitoring devices is expected to hinder market growth of the global remote patient monitoring device market. Insufficiency in maintaining the privacy and security of the stored data, lack of uniformity in device functionality, and lack of general awareness on patient monitoring devices are the key restraints challenging the market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some key companies covered in the report include Boston Scientific Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Abbott Laboratories, Nihon Kohden Corporation, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., LifeWatch AG, Medtronic, and St. Jude Medical. These companies are primarily focused on enhancing their product portfolio through research and development initiatives and through the introduction of innovative technologies in order to gain higher market share and to strengthen their respective positions in the global market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Wealth In Indonesia: HNW Investors 2017 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1157481 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/1157481 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Report Wealth in Indonesia: HNW Investors 2017 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Wealth MarketSummary"Wealth in Indonesia: HNW Investors 2017" analyzes the investment preferences and portfolio allocation of Indonesian HNW investors. The report is based on our proprietary Global Wealth Managers Survey.Get Sample Copy of this report @HNW investors have predominately accumulated their wealth through business interests, with property and manufacturing key wealth generators. Investors show strong demand for advisory mandates, but a significant proportion of wealth remains unmanaged. Defensive investments dominate the average portfolio, and while this is not expected to change we do forecast a decrease in demand for cash, while demand for fixed income is expected to rise. Tax planning is most sought after, but demand for pension and financial planning is on the rise.Specifically the report -- Profiles the average Indonesian HNW investor in terms of their demographics and analyzes the expat opportunity in Indonesia.- Analyzes which wealth management mandates are preferred among Indonesian HNW investors and how demand will develop looking forward.- Examines the allocation of Indonesian HNW investors portfolios into different asset classes and how this is expected to develop in the future.- Analyzes product and service demand among Indonesian HNW investors.View Report @Scope- Indonesian HNW individuals tend to be older than their regional peers.- The expat opportunity is less developed than in Asia Pacific, but wealth managers reaching out to HNW expats from South Korea or Singapore will find them to be a lucrative target market.- The countrys HNW investors engage multiple wealth management firms, which is symptomatic of a relatively underdeveloped and risk-averse wealth market.- A lack of expertise and time are the top drivers for Indonesian HNW investors to seek professional advice, while non-financial investments are the main reason they self-direct.- HNW demand for equity, fixed income, and alternatives is forecast to rise over the next 12 months, while demand for cash and near-cash products is expected to decrease.- A multi-service strategy - encompassing tax, financial, and pension planning - is becoming increasingly important as demand for these services is on the rise.Reasons to buy- Develop and enhance your client targeting strategies using our data on HNW profiles and sources of wealth.- Give your marketing strategies the edge required and capture new clients using insights from our data on HNW investors drivers for seeking investment advice vs self-directing.- Tailor your investment product portfolio to match current and future demand for different asset classes among HNW individuals.- Develop your proposition to match the product and service demand expressed by Indonesian HNW investors and react proactively to forecasted changes in demand.Table of Contents1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 31.1. Entrepreneurship is the leading generator of HNW wealth 31.2. Key findings 31.3. Critical success factors 32. PROFILING THE INDONESIAN HNW INVESTOR 92.1. Indonesian HNW investors skew heavily towards males and are typically older than their Asia Pacific peers 92.1.1. The majority of Indonesian HNWs are family business owners and entrepreneurs 102.1.2. A lower proportion of Indonesian HNW individuals are directors or chairmen 112.1.3. The majority of Indonesian HNW investors have established their fortunes in either property or manufacturing 122.2. Expats form a small proportion of the overall HNW population 132.2.1. The number of HNW expats in Indonesia is below the Asia Pacific average 132.2.1. Most HNW expats are from South Korea or Singapore 153. INDONESIAN HNW INVESTMENT STYLE PREFERENCES 163.1. Indonesian HNW investors use several wealth management firms to save them time and to benefit from their expertise 163.1.1. Indonesian HNW investors are more likely to spread their wealth across multiple wealth management firms than their regional peers 163.1.2. Indonesian wealth managers are chosen for the time they save their HNW clients and their expertise 173.2. The large pot of Indonesian HNW wealth that remains unmanaged is a significant opportunity 183.2.1. A majority of Indonesian HNW investors portfolio is not placed with a professional wealth manager 183.2.2. Indonesian investors opt for advisory asset management to save time and cap costs, whereas discretionary asset management is about optimizing returns 203.2.3. Significant investments in non-financial assets mean a noteworthy proportion of HNW wealth is self-directed 213.3. Already high demand for advisory wealth management will increase further among HNW Indonesians 233.3.1. Indonesian wealth managers are experiencing the most demand for advisory mandates 233.3.2. A majority of Indonesian wealth managers expect demand for advisory and execution-only mandates to increase in the next two years 244. ASSET ALLOCATION TRENDS AMONG INDONESIAN HNW INVESTORS 264.1. Investors reliance on cash looks set to subside as equities and bonds come to the fore 264.1.1. Indonesian HNW asset allocation currently over-indexes with cash and bonds compared to elsewhere in Asia 264.1.2. HNW demand for equities will increase as investors seek higher returns 274.1.3. Already popular bond investments are forecast to further increase in popularity 294.1.4. Cash and near-cash allocation will likely fall as real returns deteriorate 314.1.5. Property will become a slightly more attractive option for risk-averse investors 334.1.6. Although only a small component of HNW portfolios, demand for alternatives is forecast to increase 354.1.7. Demand for commodities has fallen since 2014 as prices have trended downwards 375. HNW PRODUCT AND SERVICE DEMAND 405.1. Tax advice should be a staple in every wealth managers service proposition 405.1.1. Inheritance planning solutions are sold rather than bought 405.1.2. The outlook for financial, pension, and tax planning is relatively positive 41MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Europe Renewable Energy Policy Handbook 2017 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1157482 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/1157482 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Report Europe Renewable Energy Policy Handbook 2017 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Renewable Energy Policy Handbook MarketSummary"Europe Renewable Energy Policy Handbook 2017 is among the latest country specific policy reports from GlobalData, the industry analysis specialist that offers comprehensive information on major policies governing renewable energy market in the region.Get Sample Copy of this report @The report provides the current and future renewable energy targets and plans along with the present policy framework, giving a fair idea of overall growth potential of the renewable energy industry. The report also provides major technology specific policies and incentives provided in the region.The report is built using data and information sourced from industry associations, government websites and statutory bodies. The information is also sourced through other secondary research sources such as industry and trade magazines.View Report @Scope- The report covers policy measures and incentives used by Europe to promote renewable energy.- The report details promotional measures in Europe both for the overall renewable energy industry and for specific renewable energy technologies that have potential in the region.Reasons to buyThe report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner. It will allow you to -- Develop business strategies with the help of specific insights about policy decisions being taken for different renewable energy sources.- Identify opportunities and challenges in exploiting various renewable technologies.- Compare the level of support provided to different renewable energy technologies in Europe.- Be ahead of competition by keeping yourself abreast of all the latest policy changes.1 Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 22 Executive Summary 53 Introduction 74 Renewable Energy Policy, Austria 85 Renewable Energy Policy, Belgium 146 Renewable Energy Policy, Bulgaria 207 Renewable Energy Policy, Croatia 258 Renewable Energy Policy, Czech Republic 299 Renewable Energy Policy, Denmark 3410 Renewable Energy Policy, Finland 3911 Renewable Energy Policy, France 4412 Renewable Energy Policy, Germany 5213 Renewable Energy Policy, Greece 6414 Renewable Energy Policy, Ireland 7315 Renewable Energy Policy, Italy 7916 Renewable Energy Policy, Netherlands 8817 Renewable Energy Policy, Norway 9718 Renewable Energy Policy, Poland 10419 Renewable Energy Policy, Portugal 11420 Renewable Energy Policy, Romania 11921 Renewable Energy Policy, Russian Federation 12522 Renewable Energy Policy, Slovakia 13023 Renewable Energy Policy, Slovenia 13824 Renewable Energy Policy, Spain 14425 Renewable Energy Policy, Sweden 15626 Renewable Energy Policy, Switzerland 16327 Renewable Energy Policy, Turkey 17228 Renewable Energy Policy, UK 18029 Renewable Energy Policy, Ukraine 19730 Appendix 204MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Market Size of Bonded Abrasives, Forecast Report 2015-2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-357 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-357 www.futuremarketinsights.com An abrasive is a material that when rubbed against a surface, producesthe desired surface finish and shape. Abrasives are usually minerals that are often available in a wide range of shapes, sizes and types. They are usually used to clean, grind, scour, abrade or remove the solid material usually by using impact or by the rubbing action. Abrasives are mainly classified as bonded abrasives, steel abrasives, coated abrasives, loose abrasives grain and raw super abrasives, among others. The abrasives material or the abrasives product finds various applications in industries such as electrical & electronics, machinery, metal fabrication and transportation among others.Bonded abrasives are the natural or synthetic abrasive grains which are usually bonded into a solid form. Bonded abrasives are usually made of the abrasive grains that are closely sized and molded or pressed to produce a wide variety of the products. Bonded abrasives are usually in the shape of a wheel. The products range of the bonded abrasives also includes the snagging wheel, mounted wheel, grinding and the cut-off wheel, cones and plugs. Bonded abrasives are mainly used for precision grinding, cutting, rough grinding, lapping, sharpening and light grinding among others.Request For Report Sample@The growing automobile industry is expected to boost the overall growth of the bonded abrasives market. Bonded abrasives are widely used in giving the required surface finish as well as the desired design to the automobiles. The increasing demands for the advanced technology based machineries are further expected to boost the demand for the bonded abrasives. The bonded abrasives help in the super finishing of the machine shaft in order to achieve the required roughness. The bonded abrasives are used in providing the smooth finish to the various tools and the machineries that are manufactured. The bonding abrasives are used in the polishing as well as deburring of the bore holes on the machine blocks. Regular maintenances of the workshops further boost the overall demand for the bonded abrasives market. The increasing use of the bonded abrasives for de-scaling and for the rust and dust removal has augmented the overall growth for the bonded abrasives market. The bonded abrasives are also widely used in the medical sector. Bonded abrasives are used to sharpen the dental tools. The bonded abrasives are also used for smoothening of the edges of the dental tools such that it is extremely convenient for the doctors to use the dental tools on the patients.The bonded abrasives segment accounts for the largest share within the global abrasives market. North America is expected to be the largest market for the bonded abrasives. The growing demand especially in U.S is expected to boost the growth of the global bonded abrasive market. Europe is expected to be the next largest consumer of the bonded abrasives especially due to the growing demand especially in Germany. Asia Pacific is expected to be fastest growing market for the bonded abrasives market mainly due to the presence of various end-use industries especially in China and India.Request For TOC@Norton, 3M, Baystate, Tyrolit, Treibacher and Noritake among others are some of the key participants of the global bonded abrasives market. Companies are extensively conducting research in order to develop and introduce new products in the market such that they can efficiently cater the needs for the specific application.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Q1 2017 Long-Term LNG Contracts Review - US Signs Two LNG Export Contracts http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1142799 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/1142799 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Report Q1 2017 Long-Term LNG Contracts Review - US Signs Two LNG Export Contracts provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Long-Term LNG Contracts MarketIn Q1 2017, the biggest LNG supply contract was signed between Magnolia LNG LLC and VGS Group on January 11, 2017. As per the contract, LNG will be supplied from the Magnolia terminal in the US to the Krishna Godavari Floating terminal in India, for a 20-year period. The second biggest contract was signed by Texas LNG LLC for supply of 3.1 mtpa of LNG from the Brownsville terminal in the US for the period 20212041. Other key companies to sign contracts in the quarter include Petronas LNG 9 Sdn Bhd, Qatargas Operating Company Limited, and Polish Oil and Gas Company.Get Sample Copy of this report @ScopeDetails of long-term LNG contracts signed in Q1 2017 by country and companyComparison of LNG contracted capacity and share by importing countries between Q1 2017 and Q4 2016Comparison of LNG contracted capacity, and share by key seller and purchaser companies between Q1 2017 and Q4 2016Count of contracts and contracted capacity signed by key purchaser companies during 2015 to 2017View Report @Reasons to buyObtain information available on the long-term LNG contracts globally for Q1 2017 and Q4 2016Identify countries and companies involved in signing of the long-term LNG contracts for both the quartersFacilitate decision making on the basis of long-term LNG contracts dataKeep abreast of recent long-term LNG contracts signed across the globeTable of Contents1. Table of Contents 11.1 List of Tables 21.2 List of Figures 32. Q1 2017 Long-Term LNG Contracts Review 42.1. Biggest New Long-Term LNG Contract in Q1 2017 42.2. Key Highlights 42.3. Regional Contract Briefs 42.4. LNG Contracted Capacity by Key Importing Countries in Q4 2016 vis-a-vis Q1 2017 62.5. LNG Contracted Capacity by Key Exporting Countries in Q4 2016 vis-a-vis Q1 2017 82.6. LNG Contracted Capacity by Key Purchaser Companies in Q4 2016 vis-a-vis Q1 2017 102.7. LNG Contracted Capacity by Key Seller Companies in Q4 2016 vis-a-vis Q1 2017 122.8. Annual Count of Contracts and Volumes Signed by Key Purchaser Companies 143. Appendix 163.1. Abbreviations 163.2. Methodology 163.2.1. Coverage 163.2.2. Secondary Research 163.3. Contact Us 173.4. Disclaimer 17MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Synthetic Resin Teeth Market Professional Survey Report 2017 https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/55903/request-sample https://goo.gl/9VOcTK http://planet.infowars.com/technology/global-polymers-for-implantable-medical-devices-market-2017 www.fiormarkets.com www.9dimenreports.com www.universalmarketresearch.com Global Synthetic Resin Teeth Market 2017, presents a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Synthetic Resin Teeth market globally, providing basic overview of Synthetic Resin Teeth market including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure, Synthetic Resin Teeth Market report provides development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structuresDownload Sample Report @SCOPE OF THEN REPORT:This report studies Synthetic Resin Teeth in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringDensplyYamahachiHeraeus KulzerHuge DentalShofuGc DentalDavis Schottlander & DavisVita ZahnfabrikNew SteticRuthiniumIvoclar VivadentSDMFRabbitPigeonDimeiCaiyu DentalGet Full Report With TOC @By types, the market can be split intoSynthetic Resin Teeth Containing Inorganic FillerSynthetic Resin Teeth Without Inorganic FillerBy Application, the market can be split intoRepair Broken TeethImplanted TeethBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaRead More Posts:ABOUT USFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.Contact UsMark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:Blog: Flue Gas Desulphurization Market Set to Grow Exponentially During the Forecast, 2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-440 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-440 www.futuremarketinsights.com Sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions are caused by combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil. Waste materials including tires, municipal solid wastes, industrial process waste, etc. are the other major contributors of sulphur dioxide emissions. All the prominent industrialized nations around the globe have formulated regulations concerning mitigation of carbon and sulphur dioxide emissions. Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) is a technology which removes sulphur dioxide (SO2) from the flue gas emitted from fossil-fuel power plants prior to its release into the atmosphere.Flue gas desulphurization market report assesses the market opportunity for flue gas desulphurization devices, equipment, or machinery. FGD technology is based on the chemical reaction between the warm exhaust gases and limestone which reduces up to 92% of sulphur dioxide from the flue gas. FGD technology is mainly used in coal-fired power stations to remove sulphur dioxide in the flue gases. FGD technology is also referred as sulphur dioxide scrubbing process.Request For Report Sample@Flue Gas Desulphurization Market SegmentsFlue gas desulphurization market can be segmented by method, by type and by application. On the basis of methods of treatment, the flue gas desulphurization market can be segmented into scrubber, SNOX and wet sulphuric acid process. Scrubber method can be further bifurcated into dry and semi-dry process. Based on the solid or flue gases generated by the industry processes, FGD technology can be classified by type as once through and regenerable. Once through system disposes the waste sorbent and regenerable system recycles the sorbent. Regenerable systems are costlier than the once through systems. Both the systems can be further categorized as wet, dry and semi-dry. Cost of maintenance and operation is higher in dry FGD as compared to wet FGD. However, dry FGDs are available at cheaper rate than wet FGDs. FGD technology segmentation by application are cement manufacturing plants, chemical industries, iron and steel industries, power generation and others. Major benefits of FGD Technology are SO2 removal efficiencies from 50-90%, reusable reactive products and inexpensive reagents.Flue Gas Desulphurization Market: Key DriversThe key market drivers of FGD technology is the government regulations in emission control, increase in electricity demand, growth in reagent and equipment replacement market and increase in the number of coal-fired power plants, particularly in APAC countries due to increase in energy demand. Installation coal-fired power plants is a major trend in China and is anticipated to have an increasing demand in India also, in the coming years due to increase in industrialization. Existing and old systems in industrial processes are the key drivers of reagent and equipment replacement market.Request For TOC@Regional Outlook on Flue Gas Desulphurization MarketAPAC is expected to exhibit a steady growth during the forecast period. Due to the regulatory programs such as Clean Air Interstate rule (CAIR), various state programs such as North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act will have a positive impact on the demand for FDG installations in electricity utility boilers. Europe and other developing nations are into a decision of reducing nuclear power due to its negative impact on environment which will in turn increase the construction of coal-fired power plants increasing the demand of FDGs. The key market players in FGD market are Alstom S.A., Ducon Technology Inc., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Marsulex Environmental Technologies, Siemens Energy, Babcock and Wilcox.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Agriculture Equipment Market Explores New Growth Opportunities By 2015 - 2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-523 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-523 www.futuremarketinsights.com Agriculture equipment are the machine tools used in the various stage of agriculture such as harvesting, planting, threshing and agro processing. Agriculture equipment are replacing traditional tools: for traditional practice in land development, tillage and seed bed preparation plough and blade harrow were used but current practice includes tractors, mould board plough and power tiller.Agriculture Equipment Market: Drivers & RestraintsGrowing population at faster pace is the main driver for agricultural equipment market as it spurs the need of food which aggressively demand for better equipment for agriculture. Though agriculture equipment help in the cultivation but farmers are in having financial issues to replace the old equipment with new machinery, which hindered the growth of the global agriculture equipment market. Asia Pacific is one of the major user of tractor.Request For Report Sample@Agriculture Equipment Market: SegmentationOn the basis of product type, agriculture Equipment market is broadly segmented as:TractorCombine HarvesterThrasherRotavatorSelf-Propelled Vertical Conveyer ReaperZero Till Seed DrillMulti Crop PlanterPower TillerLaser Land LevelerRice TransplanterPower SprayPower WeederDrip Irrigation EquipmentSprinkler Irrigation EquipmentOn the basis of process, the market is segmented into:Land Development, Tillage, Seed Bed PreparationSowing & PlantingWeed Inter CultivationPlant ProtectionHarvesting & ThreshingPost-Harvest & Agro ProcessingAgriculture Equipment Market: Region Wise OutlookAsia Pacific region is expected to dominate the market during the forecasted period aided by China and India the fastest growing agriculture equipment market. Growing population will increase the demand of food in these countries, which in return increase the demand of better harvesting machinery. Europe and North America agriculture equipment market is expected to show a moderate growth. With rapid technological advancement and growing population agriculture Equipment market is expected to increase at a double CAGR during the forecast period.Request For TOC@Agriculture Equipment Market: Key PlayersSome of the players in the market we identified includes, CNH Industrial NV, AGCO Corp, J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited, Iseki & Co. Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, Deere & Company and Kubota Corporation.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Global Vibration Monitoring Equipment Market 2017 - SKF, GE, Rockwell Automation, Emerson, Schaeffler AG Vibration Monitoring Equipment http://bit.ly/2ozMpkf http://bit.ly/2pU1zoi Global Vibration Monitoring Equipment Market Research Report by Type, Manufacturers, Application, Type, and Regions, Forecast till 2022Scope of Vibration Monitoring Equipment Market:A market study based on the "Vibration Monitoring Equipment Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Vibration Monitoring Equipment Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Vibration Monitoring Equipment industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Vibration Monitoring Equipment market on the basis of this analysis.Do Request For Sample Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In This Research Report -SKFGERockwell AutomationEmersonSchaeffler AGHoneywellSHINKAWA ElectricNational InstrumentsMeggittSPM InstrumentFluke (Danaher)SiemensRIONExpertHighlights of Global Vibration Monitoring Equipment Market reports:The global Vibration Monitoring Equipment market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Vibration Monitoring Equipment production volume, data regarding demand and Vibration Monitoring Equipment supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Vibration Monitoring Equipment such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Vibration Monitoring Equipment market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Vibration Monitoring Equipment across the globe.Do Enquiry Before Purchasing Report, Here :Global Vibration Monitoring Equipment Market report usually covers 15 Section. They are as follows:Section 1 explore about Vibration Monitoring Equipment, product scope, market opportunities, Vibration Monitoring Equipment market overview, market risk, Vibration Monitoring Equipment market driving force;Section 2 analyzes the top Manufacturers Profiles of Vibration Monitoring Equipment , with price, revenue, and sales of Vibration Monitoring Equipment, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, displays the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with shares, revenue and market sales in 2016 and 2017;Section 4, Shows the global Vibration Monitoring Equipment market by regions, with revenue, sales and market share of Vibration Monitoring Equipment market from 2012 to 2017;Section 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, analyzes the Vibration Monitoring Equipment market by region, by manufacturers, by application and by type, with shares, revenue and market sales by key countries in these regions;Section 10 and 11, shows Vibration Monitoring Equipment market by type and application, with sales market growth and shares rate by application, type, from 2012 to 2017;Section 10 and 11, shows Vibration Monitoring Equipment market by type and application, with sales market share and development rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Section 12, Vibration Monitoring Equipment market forecast, by application, type and region, with revenue and sales, from 2017 to 2022;Section 13, 14 and 15, describes Vibration Monitoring Equipment sales channel, dealers, traders, distributers, Research Findings and appendix, conclusion and data sourceAbout Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA SWOT Analysis of Global UAV Software Market Sales 2017 ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001775394/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/global-uav-software-sales-market-report-2017 http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001775394/discount http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW0001775394/buy/4000 Global UAV Software market competition by top manufacturers/players, with UAV Software sales volume, Price (USD/Unit) , revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingAirware3D RoboticsLockheed MartinGeneral AtomicsDreamhammerDrone VoltDroneDeployEsriQualcommDelair-TechPix4D SAPrecisionHawkSenseFlySkyward IOThalesRequest a Sample atGeographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units) , revenue (Million USD) , market share and growth rate of UAV Software for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast) , coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaBrowse Complete Report atOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units) , revenue (Million USD) , product price (USD/Unit) , market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoDesktop SoftwareApp-Based SoftwareOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of UAV Software for each application, includingMilitaryCommercialGet discount on report purchase atKey Point from Table of Contents:1 UAV Software Market Overview2 Global UAV Software Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application3 United States UAV Software (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4 China UAV Software (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5 Europe UAV Software (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6 Japan UAV Software (Volume, Value and Sales Price)7 Southeast Asia UAV Software (Volume, Value and Sales Price)8 India UAV Software (Volume, Value and Sales Price)9 Global UAV Software Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data10 UAV Software Maufacturing Cost Analysis11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Global UAV Software Market Forecast (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and ConclusionPurchase Complete Report atContact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comOrganization: ReportsWebPhone: +1-646-491-9876ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. The market research industry has changed in last decade. As corporate focus has shifted to niche markets and emerging countries, a number of publishers have stepped in to fulfil these information needs. We have experienced and trained staff that helps you navigate different options and lets you choose best research solution at most effective cost.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 LiDAR Industry Global Market Shares, Insights, Development and Revenue Strategies The Insight Partners http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000399 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/lidar-market-research-2025 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPTE100000399 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/discount/TIPTE100000399 Market Research Report on LiDAR Market to 2025 Global Analysis and Forecasts by Type, Component and Application by The Insight Partners, says Global LiDAR market is expected to witness growth during the forecast period due to rising demand for 3D imagery in several end-use applications including construction, transportation, defense, and power transmission among others.Sample Copy atA LiDAR i.e. Light Detection and Ranging is a remote sensing technology that makes use of light to measure ranges. This is done by measuring scattered light. LiDAR, unlike radar, makes use of shorter wavelength whereas radar makes use of radio waves for measuring targets.Complete research report is available atThe report aims to provide an overview of Global LiDAR Market along with detailed segmentation of market by segment type, component, application, and five major geographical regions. Global LiDAR market is expected to witness growth during the forecast period due to rising demand for 3D imagery in several end-use applications including construction, transportation, defense, and power transmission among others.The objectives of this report are as follows:- To provide overview of the global LiDAR market- To analyze and forecast the global LiDAR market on the basis of type, component and application.- To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall LiDAR market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM), which are later sub-segmented across respective major countries.- To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend.- To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.- To profiles key LiDAR players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies.Inquire before buying atSome of the important players in LiDAR market Teledyne Optech Inc., Faro Technologies, Inc., Quantum Spatial, Inc., Velodyne LiDAR, Inc., Riegl Laser Measurement Systems GmbH, Leica Geosystems Ag, Trimble Inc., Quanergy Systems, LeddarTech, and 3D Laser Mapping Inc among others.Major Points from Table of Content1 Introduction2 Key Takeaways3 LiDAR Market Landscape4 LiDAR Market Key Industry Dynamics5 LiDAR Market Analysis- Global6 LiDAR Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 Type7 LiDAR Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 Component8 LiDAR Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 Application9 LiDAR Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 Geographical Analysis10 Industry Landscape11 Competitive Landscape12 LiDAR Market, Key Company ProfilesInquire for discount copy atAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one-stop industry research provider of actionable solutions. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are specialist in industries such as Technology, Media, and Telecommunication.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Food Safety Testing Services Market size in terms of volume and value 2014-2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-257 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-257 www.futuremarketinsights.com Governments around the world have massively increased their focus on ensuring food safety. The threat of foodborne illnesses has led to stringent regulations from food testing authorities worldwide. The global food trade has increased manifold in the last decade or so, and manufacturers have become increasingly reliant on food testing mechanisms to ensure that they are following all the regulations and guidelines.The growth of the global food industry is dependent on fool-proof food testing mechanisms. Lack of proper food testing can increase the risk of food poisoning and other foodborne diseases. In the recent past, several incidents have happened wherein improper safety mechanisms have led to the outbreak of foodborne illnesses. The authorities in the developed world have enforced stringent quality checks on their food imports and many food products have been outrightly banned for failing to meet the safety guidelines. Increase in the focus on food safety has also led to product recalls from some of the leading names in the food industry.Request For Report Sample@Positive Outlook on the Global Food Safety Testing Services MarketThe global food safety testing services market is anticipated to expand at a steady rate through 2020. Growth in developed regions, such as North America and Western Europe, and stringent regulations on the quality of food exports in developing countries are projected to be the key drivers for the growth of this market. However, lack of proper testing mechanisms in developing economies can pose a challenge to the growth of the global food safety testing services market.Global Food Safety Testing Services Market: SegmentationThe global food safety testing services market is segmented into GMOs, pathogens, toxins, pesticides, and others. Food type segmentation includes fruit and vegetable, meat and poultry, convenience food, and others. Among these segments, the food safety testing services market for pathogens is anticipated to witness the fastest growth on account of rising number of foodborne outbreaks due to Salmonella. Other segments of the global food safety testing services market are also expected to witness steady growth during the forecast period.Key Regions for Food Safety Testing MarketNorth America is currently the dominant region of the global food safety testing services market, and it is expected to remain the key region through 2020. Stringent regulations on enforcing food safety guidelines in the U.S. And Canada have fueled the demand for the food safety testing services market in the region. The enaction of Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in the U.S. has augured well for the growth of the global food safety testing services market.Other key regions for the global food safety testing services market include Asia Pacific and Western Europe. It is anticipated that development of new food safety regulations will fuel the food safety testing services market in Asia Pacific in the next five years. It is anticipated that Asia Pacific's food safety testing services market will witness a very high growth rate in the next five years.Visit For TOC@Key Players for Food Safety Testing Services MarketSome of the leading names in the global food safety testing services market include SGS S.A. (Switzerland), Bureau Veritas S.A. (France), Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Ltd. (U.K.), and Intertek Group Plc. (U.K.)ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Emerging Opportunities in Optical Imaging Market with Current Trends Analysis 2015-2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-402 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-402 www.futuremarketinsights.com Optical imaging is an emerging non-invasive technology that enables detailed and more precise assessment of tissues, organs and even molecules. Optical imaging uses visible light and photons to obtain exhaustive images of tissues and organs as well as smaller structures such as cells and molecules. Compared to other imaging technologies such as X-ray and MRI, which use ionizing radiation for obtaining images; optical imaging proved to be much safer and efficient. Optical imaging has also been observed to be of great potential for disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Optical imaging uses various colors and spectra of light in order to measure and perceive the varied properties of a tissue or an organ, simultaneously. However, other imaging technologies are restricted to just few measurements. Although, optical imaging technology is in the early phase of development, they offer a wide range of technological advantages (such as multi-applicability and non-invasiveness) over existing imaging technologies.Based on technologies, optical imaging market is segmented as follows:Optical coherence tomography (OCT)Diffuse optical tomography (DOT)Super-resolution microscopyPhotoacoustic imagingTerahertz tomographyHyperspectral imagingRaman spectroscopyRequest For Report Sample@Optical imaging technologies have immense scope of application; some of the areas of application are as follows:OphthalmologyDermatologyOncologyNeurologyDentistryDrug developmentIn terms of geography, North America closely followed by Europe is the leader in optical imaging market owing to the rising geriatric population and high adoption rate. The elderly population has grown radically around the world. According to the WHO, population above 65 years has grown the highest. This population is expected to rise from 13% in 2010 to 53% by 2020. Another report published by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests that, the number of people above 65 years to every 100 people of the working age is expected to increase greatly from 22 in 2010 to almost 35 in 2020. This huge base of elderly population would also face various ophthalmologic, neurologic and dermatologic complications; which would alternatively drive the demand for advance imaging diagnostic technologies. Moreover, owing to the remarkable economic development and rising incidence of diseases such as cancer and diabetic retinopathy; other regions such as Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Latin America are also expected to be the potential markets in the near future.The key factors contributing to the growth of the optical imaging market are high demand for radiation free imaging modalities; and rising incidence of neurological as well as ophthalmologic disorders. Moreover, ability to provide in-depth images of components of eyes; mucosal membranes, surface tissues, vascular systems and gastrointestinal tract are also driving the growth of the overall optical imaging market. Furthermore, colossal application scope of the advance optical imaging products; operator and patient safety as well as patient comfort are also some factors that are driving the growth of the optical imaging market. However, market restraining factors such as high installation and development cost coupled with stringent reimbursement policies might impede the growth of the optical imaging market.Visit For TOC@Some of the major companies involved with the optical imaging market are ASE Optics Inc., Bioptigen Inc., Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, ChemImage Corporation, Cytoviva Inc., Headwall Photonics Inc., Heidelberg Engineering GmBH, Michelson Diagnostics, Optical Imaging Ltd., Raytheon ELCAN Optical Technologies, PerkinElmer Inc., Somanetics Corporation, St. Jude Medical Inc., Topcon Medical Systems Inc. and Volcano Corporation.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Global and United States Li-Fi Market Propelled by Improvements in Technologies: Forecast 2017-2022 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1075337 http://www.researchmoz.us/2017-2022-li-fi-report-on-united-states-and-global-market-status-and-forecast-by-players-types-and-applications-report.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Latest Research Report titled " 2017-2022 Li-Fi Report on United States and Global Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications " features Key Market Players, Survey, Growth, Challenges and Forecast.The latest report to be added, titled 2017-2022 Li-Fi Report on United States and Global Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications, focuses on the market details for the U.S. as well as the leading players in the market so far. The report also provides a professional and in-depth analysis on the global Li-Fi market while formulating insights on its current state of affairs.The global Li-Fi market is explained, beginning with a basic overview which includes definitions and different specifics related to the technologies and equipment used in Li-Fi systems. This section also includes a categorized distinction of major and minor factors that influence the global Li-Fi market. The report also examines the different policies that regulate processes in it. The overview also includes a description of the value chain structure of the global Li-Fi market and a status update for the different major regions of this market.Get a Sample Research PDF with TOC:The report moves into the cost analysis of manufacturing processes within the global Li-Fi market. This includes an inspection of all the manufacturers and developers and their pricing structures. The report also offers details on the pricing and channels of distribution of equipment suppliers in the global Li-Fi market. The report additionally gives a critical assessment on the global Li-Fi market with regards to additional costs such as labor costs and the overall manufacturing costs and process analysis.Browse Report details at:The global Li-Fi market is displayed with respect to its market size, for which the report uses the parameters of value and volume. The market is segmented on the basis of products, into LED lights, photo detectors, microcontrollers, and others. The report also divides the global Li-Fi market on the basis of applications or end users, into underwater communications, automobiles, hospitals, indoor networking, and others.The report also provides a detailed and exhaustive examination of the global Li-Fi market in terms of market size for the global channels, along with region-specific channels of the U.S. and South America, North America, Japan, China, India, Korea, and the MEA. The market size for each region is explained with respect to their sales revenues and the sales values in terms of applications and market players, growth rates in volume and value, and the sales price in terms of types, applications, and companies.The report describes the competitive landscape of the global and U.S. Li-Fi market by describing all of its key players. Each major company from the U.S. is assessed through their company profiles, volume of sales, product specifications, gross margin, product pictures wherever applicable, sales price, and sales revenue. These key U.S. competitors include General Electric, Oledcomm, LVX System, pureLiFi, Philips, Axrtek, Avago Technologies, Casio, ByteLight, Lightbee, IBSENtelecom, Luciom, LightPointe Communications, Panasonic, Outstanding Technology, Renesas Electronics, Plaintree Systems, and Supreme Architecture.About UsResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at: ASEAN Confectionery Market Value Share, Analysis and Segments 2015-2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-as-420 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-as-420 www.futuremarketinsights.com ASEAN Confectionery Market OverviewItems in confectionery market consists of candies, chocolates, toffees, lollies, bakery items;basically food items that are rich in sugar and sweet content. Mostly confectionery market items consists of food products like butter, cocoa, honey, milk, flour, fruits, honey, nuts, sugar syrup and more. They are consumed globally, mostly by all regions and countries and are expected to grow in developing countries. Confectionery market is growing in mostly all the South East Asian countries and saw a tremendous growth in the last couple of years.ASEAN Confectionery Market SegmentationThe confectionery market is segmented into three segments Chocolates, Sugar confectionery and Gum. Chocolates constitutes the significant part of confectionery market. Cocoa and sugar are the raw materials for chocolate and latex is the raw material used for gum.Worlds largest cocoa processor Barry Callebauts production has also moved to Asia pacific and Latin America because of its low production costs and great future opportunities.Its factories are in Malaysia and Thailand. Nestle has acquired a majority stake in Chinese confectioner Hsu Fu Chi.Request For Report Sample@Europe constitutes the biggest share of confectionery market, followed by Asia Pacific confectionery market. ASEAN region has become an attractive place to do business. Some big MNCs have shifted their base(plants) for the production of chocolate to Indonesia to improve efficiency and reduce costs in supply. Indonesia has the most consumption of confectionery items as compared to other South East Asian countries. Flavors GmbH (WILD), another company is opening its branch center in Singapore to serve the hub for the ASEAN region. Main markets in South East Asian countries include Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia for confectionery market.ASEAN Confectionery Market DynamicsRising disposable income, higher population, high GDP growth and consumer spending are the major key drivers of ASEAN confectionery market. The biggest constraint to ASEAN confectionery market could be rise in raw material cost and uncertain consumer behaviour. Also health issues, increasing government regulations, could also be the biggest challenge for confectionery market. Chocolate segment expected to grow the most under ASEAN confectionery market. On special occasions and celebrations, sale of confectionery items increase because people gift each other and its consumption and demand increase. Vietnam is gradually cutting down the import tax imposed on products of ASEAN, countries in accordance with the ASEAN Free Trade Area, AFTA, regulations. As a result, the Vietnamese confectionery market is vibrant compared to other nations.ASEAN Confectionery Market Distribution ChannelMostly confectionery items are sold in retail stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores. Multinational flavor companies and smaller local manufacturers are active in South EastAsia confectionery market. The latter offers good distribution expertise and local connections. Innovation by producers playing a great role in experimenting with flavors, taste, size which is driving a growth of this market. Enterprises operating under Vietnamese confectionery market use modern technology of foreign countries such as Germany, Italy, Japan and Austria to make their products, and apply non-chemical preservation techniquesVisit For TOC@ASEAN Confectionery Market Key PlayersKey players in this confectionery market are Ferraro, Hersheys,Lindt, Wrigleys, Perfetti Van Melle and ChupaChupa. Product innovation and consistent in quality are the reasons for their success. Dunkin Donuts has signed a franchisee agreement to develop a brand in Vietnam with Vietnam Food and Beverage Co. domestic confectionery companies have simultaneously launched many new products in confectionery market. Pioneers of the campaign included famous companies such as Kinh Do, Bibica, Kotobuki, and smaller producers like Nguyen Tran and ThanhPhat, etc. ierce competition was found between Malaysian Khongguan biscuits and Vietnamese productsABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Clear Brine Fluids Market : Size, Share, Overview and Development Scenario 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1595 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1595 https://www.tmrresearch.com/clear-brine-fluids-market.html Global Brine Fluids Market: OverviewThe global clear brine fluids market is poised to rise at a steady pace in the coming years as the overall oil and gas industry is expected to undergo a major change. The increasing investments in ensuring energy security in developed countries and the burgeoning drilling and completion activities are expected to make key contributions to the rising revenue of the overall market.Global Brine Fluids Market: Drivers and TrendsThe ongoing exploration, drilling, and production activities in the oil and gas industry have led an increased consumption of clear brine fluids. These fluids are extensively used for drilling as well as completion processes. The booming oil and gas industry across the globe and persistently rising rigs have consistently provided the global clear brine fluids market a massive fillip. Furthermore, the discovery of shale gas and ongoing extraction of it have also increased the sales of clear brine fluids.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The rapid depletion of natural resources such as natural gas and crude oil has increased the turned the attention of several industrial players towards unconventional sources of energy such as coal bed methane (CBM), tight gas, shale oil/gas, and gas/methane hydrates. Additionally, the spike in the prices of oil and gas have created a dire need for alternative sources of energy, thereby fuelling the demand for clear brine fluids.Global Brine Fluids Market: Market PotentialCompanies in the global clear brine fluids market are focused on expansion to improve their outreach in the overall market. For instance, Great Lakes Solutions, a business owned by Chemtura Corporation, started its new pilot plant in El Dorado in January 2017. The plant is a commitment to developing products that are characterized by innovation and improvement. With the same intention, the facility is expected to mitigate the gap between tradition laboratory experimentation and full-scale commercial production. The plant is located on top of worlds second largest brome-rich brine reserve. This expansion strategy is expected to give this company an edge over others, allowing them to make reliable value additions to their product portfolio.Request TOC of the Report @Global Brine Fluids Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global clear brine fluids market is fragmented into Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Presently, North America dominates the global market due to the growing shale gas activities in the U.S. Additionally, increasing efforts by the governments across the U.S. towards encouraging energy security measures is also expected to support the regional markets growth.Asia Pacific is also expected to be a key regional player in the global clear brine market are China is poised to account for a sizable share in the global recoverable shale gas market. Furthermore, the Middle East and Africa is also expected to be a close contender in the global market as it houses an important oil and gas industry in the world. Despite the plunge in crude oil prices, the relentless demand for energy across the globe is projected to offer the oil and gas industry in the Middle East and Africa lucrative opportunities for growth. Subsequently, the region is expected to show a consistent consumption clear brine fluids.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Key Players Mentioned in this Report are:Some of the leading players operating in the global clear brine fluids market are TETRA Technologies Inc., Israel Chemicals Ltd., Albemarle Corporation, Egyptian Mud Engineering & Chemicals Company (EMEC), Geo Drillings Fluids, Inc., Zirax Ltd., Halliburton, and Chemtura Corporation. The competitive landscape will be characterized by strategic mergers and acquisitions by players in order to strengthen their position in the coming years.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Coated Fabrics Market : Share, Key Players and Growth Rate Report 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1598 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1598 https://www.tmrresearch.com/coated-fabrics-market.html Global Coated Fabrics Market: OverviewCoated fabrics are composite materials prepared by spreading bonding agents on one or both sides of the fabric and coating it with rubber compounds as per the requirement of the final end-use application. The final product is not only flexible, strong, heat resistant, and washable, they can also be electrically conductive or insulating as per desire. In the automotive industry, coated fabrics are used to manufacture air bags and seat covers. As the automotive industry touches new peaks in the near future, owing to rising population across the world, the demand for coated fabrics is anticipated to increment at a rapid rate during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025.Global Coated Fabrics Market: Key TrendsApart from being utterly useful for the thriving automotive industry, coated fabrics are also used to make protective clothing for labors, which extends the horizon of its demand into several other flourishing industries. Strict government regulations such as European Unions Directive 89/686/EEC and Australia's Model Work Health and Safety Act are urging industries towards industrial protective clothing adoption. Food and beverage, chemical processing, agriculture, and law enforcement are some of the most prominent end-use industries for coated fabrics, after automotive. Conversely, this industry is facing stiff challenge from alternative materials including leather, plastic, uncoated fabrics, and rubber sheeting, which will hinder the growth rate to a certain extend during the forecast period.Request Sample Copy of the Report @In terms of products, the global coated fabrics market can be segmented into polymer, rubber, and fabric-backed wall coverings. Out of these, polymer coated fabrics serve maximum demand as it is relatively inexpensive as compared to other fabrics and offer desirable resistance to water, abrasion, and fire. As the regulations for safety spreads into several other emerging economies, the global polymer coated fabrics market is expected to flourish.Global Coated Fabrics Market: Market PotentialWith technological advancements, the application of coated fabrics now extends to defense, marine, and aviation industries. Herein, coated fabrics are now extensively used for their attributes of barrier protection, air retention, abrasion resistance, and high strength to weight ratio. This factor will open new opportunities for the players in the global coated fabrics market. Moreover, consistent research and development in the field is sure to extend the application of coated fibrics into other fields and further expand the market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Coated Fabrics Market: Regional OutlookNearly all regions are extending the demand for coated fabrics, with Asia Pacific growing at the best rate owing to vast population and a thriving automotive industry. Prosperity of healthcare industry is also expected to positively reflect on coated fabrics market in this region, especially in the emerging economies of India, China, Malaysia, and South Korea. In Europe, with stringent industrial safety regulations in the U.K, France, and Germany, protective clothing segment is most fruitful. Since the implementation of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), OSHA, and ASTM, similar shift in the market is seen in the region of North America too, wherein the U.S. is extending the demand for coated fibrics to produce protective clothing for firefighting and law enforcement. In gulf, construction is at an all-new peak in the countries of UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which serves the primary demand for coated fabrics to be used as safety clothing for the construction workers.Global Coated Fabrics Market: Competitive AnalysisSaint-Gobain, Omnova Solutions, Canadian General Tower, Trelleborg, and Takata Corporation are some of the leading companies currently operational in this market, which is fragmented in nature with the presence of several local players.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Foam Blowing Agents Market - Preventive methods and Market Trends 2017 - 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1604 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1604 https://www.tmrresearch.com/foam-blowing-agents-market.html Global Foam Blowing Agents Market: OverviewFoam blowing agents are essentially used for enhancing the existing properties of polymers. Their very function is to provide the polymer matrix a cellular structure, which, in turn, strengthens the foam. Polymeric foams are known to have low density, low heat transfer, and optimum flexibility amongst other advantages. The various foam blowing agents available in the global market are water, hydrocarbons, azodicarbonamide, methyl formate, inert gases, and methylal.Global Foam Blowing Agents Market: Drivers and TrendsThe demand for foam blowing agents has been on an upswing due to the growing automotive industry. These agents are extensively used in the production of various automotive parts such as side skirts, wiper cowls, roll pans, and bumpers. The demand for foam blowing agents is anticipated to be on the rise in the coming years due to their growing application in the automotive and construction industries. The growth of the booming polyurethane, polystyrene, and other product-based foam industries are fuelling the growth of the global foam blowing agents market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The exponential rise in the global population has given the construction industry a significant boost in recent years. Demand for housing, hospitality, flooring material, and effective sound furnishing are expected to boost the demand for foam blowing agents in the near future. The foam blowing agents market is also expected to witness a good growth rate due to the emergence of the packaging and medical devices industry.Global Foam Blowing Agents Market: Market PotentialCompanies in the global foam blowing agents market are focused on developing eco-friendly blowing agents to minimize the impact on the environments. Currently, Lapolla Industries Inc. is working on commercializing Solstice, a liquid blowing agent that has the reputation to prevent ozone depletion and minimize global warming. The product is being developed by Honeywell International Inc., which is known to have fewer hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Lapolla and Honeywell are working in collaboration to develop products that bear a social and an environmental responsibility. Such efforts are expected to add value to the global market and work in favor in its favor in the coming years.Request TOC of the Report @Global Foam Blowing Agents Market: Regional OutlookIn terms of geography, the global foam blowing agents market is divided into Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and North America. The research report states that Asia Pacific foam blowing agents market is projected to lead the pack due to the protean construction industry, which is currently focused on making infrastructural developments.Presently, emerging countries of South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and India are undergoing major changes in terms of infrastructure, which is expected to increase the uptake of foam blowing agents in the regional market. Furthermore, significant technological advancements and phenomenal pace of industrialization in Asia Pacific, which is seen through the rise of industries such as medical devices, packaging, and automotive are expected boost the consumption of foam blowing agents.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@North America is also projected to show a steady growth in the global foam blowing agents market due to rising activities in the packaging and pharmaceutical industries. On the other hand, Europe will show a sluggish market growth in the global market.Key Players Mentioned in the Research Report are:The competitive landscape in the global foam blowing agents market is quite consolidated with the major share in the market held by a few companies. The research report states that the leading players operating in the global foam blowing agents market are Haltermann GmbH, ZEON Corporation, Sinochem Group, AkzoNobel N.V., Daikin Industries Ltd., Arkema S.A., Honeywell, Solvay S.A., Exxon Mobil Corporation, and DuPont.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Enhance your business with SEO and Digital Marketing with CanopusInfosystems http://canopusinfosystems.com/ http://canopusinfosystems.com/ Canopus Infosystems is offering SEO and Digital Marketing services for the potential clients to expand their business in the digital market. So that every single user will be in reach of their services. This includes various techniques to drive the keywords on top of search results.Canopus Infosystems, one of the leading Indian company in the mobile and web application development industry and digital marketing experts. Their motive is to create well-designed, interactive and dominant applications for organizations of any size worldwide. 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Road, Opp. OrbitMall,Indore M.P.INDIA 452010Phone: +91 731-2551963Email: sales@canopusinfosystems.com Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI Market Regulations and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-858 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-858 www.futuremarketinsights.com Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an advanced imaging technique used in medical field to produce high quality images of the soft tissues, organs of the human body. This device capture the images of body organs and tissues by applying the magnetic field and this images will give the information about whole human body system in both diseased and healthy condition.Different types of magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) are available based on field strength. In this high field Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) gives more cleared images compared with remaining MRIs.The images which are given by this MRI systems are having more information regarding tissues and ligaments and body organs when we compare with the images of X-ray, computed tomography (CT) scan and ultra sound techniques.Request For Report Sample@Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is increased due to raising geriatric population, technical advancements like low field strength, high field strength MRI systems and increasing health awareness in developed countries and no reported side effects of the use of the systems.Magnetic resonance imaging is an advanced and safe technique when compared with CT scan and X-ray technique. Because ionizing radiations are using for capturing images in CT.However, patients who had heart surgeries and surgeries with implanted metals at the ligaments has to take precautions while using Magnetic resonance imaging systems.Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)Market: SegmentationGlobal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is further segmented into following typesBased on field strengthLow Field MRI SystemMid Filed MRI SystemHigh Filed MRI SystemBased on ApplicationAbdomen MRIBrain MRIMRA or Vascular MRIPelvic MRISpine MRICardiac MRIBased on ArchitectureOpenMRIClosed MRIMagnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)Market: OverviewWith rapid technological advantage in capturing high quality images of soft tissue, ligaments and other body organs the use of High field strength MRI use will increase and the market is expected to have a double digit growth in the forecast period (2015-2025).Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)Market: Region- wise OutlookDepending on geographic regions, the global Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and Middle East & Africa.The use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) market is high in North America because it is highly developed region, having good healthcare setup and people are having good awareness about health care. In Asia pacific region china and India also having rapid growth health care set up and the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems. Europe also having good growth in this market.Visit For TOC@Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in Global Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are Siemens, Philips Healthcare, Toshiba medical systems, GE healthcare, Hitachi Medical systems, Esaote SpA and Sanrad Medical Systems Pvt. Ltd.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Ice-cream and Frozen Dessert Market Strategies and Forecasts, 2015 to 2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-912 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-912 www.futuremarketinsights.com Ice-cream and frozen dessert belongs to frozen food industry. Ice-cream and frozen dessert are primarily consumed after meal or served as a refreshment and can be enjoyed between the meal courses. Ice-cream and frozen dessert are mainly made up of milk and cream, and often combined with fruits, nuts and flavours. Rising consumer disposable income coupled with increasing inclination of people towards sweet dishes is expected drive the growth of Ice-cream and frozen dessert market across the globe.Ice-cream and Frozen Dessert Market SegmentationIce-cream and frozen dessert market is segmented on the basis of types includes regular Ice-cream and low fat ice-cream. Among both of these segment regular Ice-cream is expected occupy the major contribution on the pie. However low fat ice cream is predicted to account for healthy CAGR in next five to six years. Shifting consumer preferences towards consumption of healthy food is expected to support the demand of low fat Ice-cream in the near future. On the basis of type frozen desserts segmentation includes sherbet, frozen yoghurt, frozen ice, frozen tofu and others. Among all of these segments frozen yoghurt is expected to be the major contributor in terms of revenue followed by sherbet. Introduction of frozen yoghurt in various flavour and in innovative packaging is attracting children a lot which is expected to fuel the growth of frozen yoghurt in the near future.Request For Report Sample@Ice-cream and frozen dessert market is segmented on the basis of end user which includes household and hotel/restaurant/cafe. Among both of these two segments hotel/restaurant/cafe is expected to account for major share in terms of revenue contribution. Rising consumer preferences for outside dining coupled with increasing inclination of teenager towards the consumption of frozen food is expected to support the demand of ice-cream and frozen desserts market during the forecast period. Moreover, household is expected to show a substantial growth in the near future. Increasing availability of ice-cream and frozen dessert in packaged form and in variants for household consumption is expected to support its growth during the forecast period.Geographically, North America is expected to be the major contributor in terms of value followed by Europe. However, these region is predicted to be a mature market and is expected to show a stable growth in the near future. Introduction of new variant in flavours coupled with offering low fat products may fuel the growth of Ice-cream and frozen dessert market in these region. In developing countries of Asia Pacific region, China is expected to dominate the market in terms of Ice-cream and frozen dessert consumption followed by India. Moreover Japan is expected to show a substantial growth during the forecast period. Increasing consumption of flavoured yoghurt especially in countries such as China and Japan is predicted to support the growth of ice-cream and frozen dessert market across Asia Pacific region during forecast period.Ice-cream and Frozen Dessert Market DriversRising disposable income coupled with shifting consumer eating habits is expected to drive the demand of Ice-cream and frozen dessert in the near future. Moreover, increasing availability of flavoured yoghurt especially in developing region is predicted to be major factor supporting the growth of Ice-cream and frozen dessert market during the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Ice-cream and Frozen Dessert Key PlayersSome of the major players operating in ice cream and frozen dessert market includes Baskin-Robbins, Nestle SA, Unilever, Danone Groupe SA, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., Cielo USA, Kraft Foods Group Inc. among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Synthetic Biology Market Growth, Trends and Value Chain 2016-2026 by FMI http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1226 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1226 www.futuremarketinsights.com Synthetic Biology is one of the breakthrough technologies developed by mankind from chemistry, biology, computer science and engineering which ultimately changed the approach towards therapeutics. It has a varied areas of applications in biofuels, industrial enzymes, vaccine and antibody production, bio-based chemicals and synthetic biology life science research. Synthetic biologists develop such biological systems using by molding the core components (genetic circuits, part of enzymes and metabolic pathways) and understanding their performance while using these smaller parts or devices into the specific integrated systems. The production of new medicines is now done by using synthetic biology on a cellular, molecular and genetic level to address the emerging health issues.Synthetic Biology Market: Drivers & RestraintsInternationally, companies have started investing in Synthetic biology as many governmental bodies are turning towards biomass and climate change. In past few years synthetic biology has gained industrial interest which has a large scale applications and potential of new gene editing techniques are some of the drivers for this market. Traditional medicines are being replaced by genetically engineered products, DNA sequencing and DNA synthesis technologies. This market though has a potential there with any advances there are risks and hindrance like government regulations and policies, biosafety and biosecurity issues, bio-war but these issues are being addressed by the regulatory bodies and research institutions. The synthetic biology market has changed the complete approach towards traditional ways of combating with newer diseases and genetic challenges with the advanced computing and design systems.Request For Report Sample@Synthetic Biology Market: SegmentationSynthetic Biology market is basically can be classified into products, technology and applications.The Synthetic Biology market based on product can be subdivided into following:Core Products.Synthetic DNASynthetic GenesSynthetic cellsDNA & RNA Purification KitsRecombinant ProteinsThe Synthetic Biology market based on technology can be subdivided into following:MutagenesisDNA sequencingGenome engineeringThe Synthetic Biology market based on applications can be subdivided into following:Pharmaceutical CompaniesResearch OrganizationsChemical IndustriesUniversitiesSynthetic Biology Market: Market OverviewSynthetic biology market is a technology which has now a massive demand in the biotechnology sector, chemical and biofuel industries and their products will outstrip the products of the other industries in the near future. There is progress towards making this technology useful in the therapeutic areas from which the society can be directly benefited. The success of synthetic biology in DNA sequencing and synthetic microbes in vaccines, faster and efficient modular DNA assembly methods has proved to be a potential market and thus there is a significant investment done by the pharmaceutical and healthcare companies.Synthetic Biology Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic regions, global radiofrequency ablation system market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa.Europe is a leading market followed by North America, Europe has invested in developing synthesis of biologically based or biologically inspired systems. In North America Defense is a major contributor in the investment done in the past years. In Asia, India and China are said to progress in developments over future to be a part of the Synthetic biology market. The success of this market will depend upon the conversion from basic research to applications which will rise the future opportunities to understand the natural biological systems. Thus the market for synthetic biology is showing no sign for slowing down but managing the future social, ethical and legal responsibilities will lead to innovation.Visit For TOC@Synthetic Biology Market: Key PlayersThe major key players in the synthetic biology market are Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Agilent Technologies, GEN9, Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC., Amyris Biotechnologies, Epoch Life Science Inc., Gevo Inc., Intrexon Corporation, Sangamo Biosciences and Gingko Bioworks.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Deep Brain Stimulator Market Forecast By End-use Industry 2016-2026 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1338 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1338 www.futuremarketinsights.com Deep Brain Stimulation (DMS) is a neosurgical procedure which helps to treat a variety of disabling neurological symptoms. It involves the implantation of a battery-operated medical device called neurostimulator which sends electrical signals to specific parts of brain that control movement and affective disorders like pain, mood, weight and awakening. This procedure also helps in treating essential tremor, a common neurological movement disorder. DMS system consists of three components: a thin, insulated wire, called a lead or electrode that is placed into the brain, the neurostimulator which puts out the electric current and is generally placed under the skin near the collarbone and another thin, insulated wire, called an extension which connects the lead to the neurostimulator. The neurostimulator device is also referred to as brain pacemaker. FDA approved DMS as a treatment for essential tremor in 1997, for Parkinsons disease in 2002. Before this procedure, a neurosurgeon uses either MRI or CT scanning to detect the exact target area within the brain where the electric signals will generate the Parkinsons disease symptoms.Deep Brain Stimulator Market: Drivers and RestraintsIncreasing incidence of Parkinsons disease is the main driving force for the fast growth of deep brain stimulation device market. Deep brain stimulation does not involve destruction of any part of the brain and thus, has fewer complications than thalamotomy and pallidotomy.Moreover this electrical injection is adjustable and can be changed as the persons disease change or his or her response to medication change. No further surgery is needed to make the adjustments. All these has led to the growth of deep brain stimulation device market. However, with any surgical procedure there involves risk. The implantation of any foreign object in the body leads to increased risk of infection. If the battery fails then the device would stop working properly (the battery normally lasts 3 to 5 years).DMS placement may even lead to allergic reaction to the DMS parts. These may obstruct the deep brain stimulation device market to grow.Request For Report Sample@Deep Brain Stimulator Market: SegmentationDeep Brain Stimulator Marketis segmented based on product type, application, end user and geography.Based on product type, deep brain stimulatormarket is segmented into the following:Single Channel Deep Brain StimulatorDual Channel Deep Brain StimulatorBased on application, deep brain stimulatormarket is segmented into the following:Parkinsons diseaseEssential TremorChronic PainDystoniaTourette syndromeBased on end user, deep brain stimulatormarket is segmented into the following:HospitalsAmbulatory Surgical centersNeurological clinicsDeep Brain Stimulator Market: OverviewGlobally deep brain stimulation devices market are the main causes of mortality. Parkinsons disease is the most common neurological movement disorder after Alzheimers. Deep brain stimulation devices market is expected to grow at a healthy rate during the forecasted period 2013-2019. Rise in the number of neurological movement diseases like Parkinsons disease, essential tremor, Alzheimers disease has led to the huge growth of deep brain stimulation devices market. Parkinsons disease includes symptoms like tremors, stiffness, rigidity and walking problems.Deep Brain Stimulator Market: Region-wise OutlookRegion wise, the global deep brain stimulator marketis classified into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America region has a sizeable market share in the global deep brain stimulation market. Countries like US, Canada, Europe, Germany, UK, France and Spain has led North American and European market of deep brain stimulation device to grow at a faster rate. Increasing awareness regarding the application of deep brain stimulation device contributes its larger share in this region. However, emerging economies like India and China with their growing disposable income and advanced technological awareness enabling them to enter into this market and contribute towards its growth.Visit For TOC@Deep Brain Stimulator Market: Key PlayersKey players pertaining to Deep Brain Stimulator market includes Medtronic Inc., St. Jude Medical, Boston scientific. These companies hold huge amount of share in global deep brain stimulation devices market. Functional Neuromodulation, a startup backed by Medtronic and the National Institutes of Health, will advance its deep brain stimulation implant into a Phase III trial to treat Alzheimers disease patients. St. Jude Medical has received a CE mark for its latest neuromodulation technology-the Infinity Deep Brain Stimulation System to treat movement disorders. Key players across all locations use deep brain stimulation device market to treat Parkinsons disease, essential tremor thus, leading to the growth of this particular market.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Genomic Medicine Market Expansion Projected to Gain an Uptick During 2016 to 2026 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/genomic-medicine-market.asp www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11323 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11323 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com The National Human Genome Research Institute defines genomic medicine as an emerging medical discipline that involves using genomic information about an individual as part of their clinical care (e.g., for diagnostic or therapeutic decision-making) and the health outcomes and policy implications of that clinical use. Genomic medicine is a type of precision medicine in which genomics, epigenomics and other related data is used to accurately aid in individual disease diagnosis. Genomic medicine has novel applications in the fields of oncology, pharmacology, rare and undiagnosed diseases, and infectious disease. Genomic medicine paves way for personalized medicine into clinics and has immense potential to reach the physicians and patients. Genomic medicine has been used for advanced sequencing in cancer pharmacogenomics, rare disorder diagnosis and for tracking of outbreaks of infectious diseases.To view complete report @Genomic Medicine Market: Drivers & RestraintsBacked by government investments in precision medicine initiatives such as a multimillion dollar investment by President Obama in January 2015 which aims to improve how to treat and prevent a disease by laying emphasis on its genetic makeup is expected to boost the market growth. Clinical validity and utility of genomic medicine tests is a major issue witnessed in the global market. Also, lack of awareness among healthcare professionals, sluggish adoption of genome medicine, fluctuating regulatory landscape are the factors which could hamper growth of the global genomic medicine market.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @Genomic Medicine Market: OverviewGenomic medicine is gaining momentum with expanding applications ranging from risk assessment and diagnosis in healthy individuals to genome-based treatment for patients with complicated disorders. Oncology is a major application of genomics medicine during cancer screening process as diagnostics for genetic and genomic markers. Oncology segment is expected to account for a major share in the global genomic medicine market. Genomic medicine is increasingly being used not only for research purpose but also in clinical applications. In clinical applications, genomic medicine will potentially enhance patient care.Genomic Medicine Market: Region wise OverviewGeographically, global Genomic Medicine market is classified into regions viz. North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, Middle East and Africa (MEA). Owing to the presence of large number of academic as well as research institutions in the U.S. which are working on genomic medicine to discover next-generation genomic medicines, North America region is projected to lead the global genomic market in terms of value during the forecast period. Also, the presence of several universities offering educational programs coupled with opportunities in scientific research of genomic medicine in the North America and Europe is expected to have positive impact on the regional markets. The genomic medicine concept still in its nascent stage is yet to receive an impetus from the emerging market which are anticipated to hold smaller shares in the global market.Request to View Tables of Content @Genomic Medicine Market: Key PlayersThe key research institutes in global genomic medicine market are BioMed Central Ltd., Cleveland Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Center for Genomic Medicine to name a few. The focus of the top players will be on the identification of effective drug candidates particularly in cancer treatment based on the molecular structure of tumors.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Myelofibrosis Treatment Market Estimated to Record Highest CAGR by 2022 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/myelofibrosis-treatment-market.asp http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11341 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11341 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Myelofibrosis or osteomyelofibrosis is a myeloproliferative disorder which is characterized by proliferation of abnormal clone of hematopoietic stem cells. Myelofibrosis is a rare type of chronic leukemia which affects the blood forming function of the bone marrow tissue. National Institute of Health (NIH) has listed it as a rare disease as the prevalence of myelofibrosis in UK is as low as 0.5 cases per 100,000 population. The cause of myelofibrosis is the genetic mutation in bone marrow stem cells.To view complete report @The disorder is found to occur mainly in the people of age 50 or more and shows no symptoms at an early stage. The common symptoms associated with myelofibrosis include weakness, fatigue, anemia, splenomegaly (spleen enlargement) and gout. However, the disease progresses very slowly and 10% of the patients eventually develop acute myeloid leukemia. Treatment options for myelofibrosis are mainly to prevent the complications associated with low blood count and splenomegaly.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @The global market for myelofibrosis treatment is expected to grow moderately due to low incidence of a disease. However, increasing incidence of genetic disorders, lifestyle up-gradation and rise in smoking population are the factors which can boost the growth of global myelofibrosis treatment market. The high cost of therapy will the growth of global myelofibrosis treatment market.As myelofibrosis is considered as non-curable disease treatment options mainly depend on visible symptoms of a disease. Primary stages of the myelofibrosis are treated with supportive therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. However, there are serious unmet needs in myelofibrosis treatment market due to lack of disease modifying agents. Approval of JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor Ruxolitinib in 2011 is considered as a breakthrough in myelofibrosis treatment. Stem cell transplantation for the treatment of myelofibrosis also holds tremendous potential for market growth but high cost of therapy is foreseen to limits the growth of the segment.On the basis of treatment type, the global myelofibrosis treatment market has been segmented into blood transfusion, chemotherapy, androgen therapy and stem cell or bone marrow transplantation. Chemotherapy segment is expected to contribute major share due to easy availability of chemotherapeutic agents. Ruxolitinib is the only chemotherapeutic agent approved by the USFDA specifically for the treatment of myelofibrosis, which will drive the global myelofibrosis treatment market over the forecast period.Geographically, global myelofibrosis treatment market is segmented into five regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. Northe America is anticipated to lead the global myelofibrosis treatment market due to comparatively high prevalence of the disease in the region.Request to View Tables of Content @Some of the key market players in the global myelofibrosis treatment market are Incyte Corporation, Novartis AG, Celgene Corporation, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Ulc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Eli Lilly and Company, Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc., AllCells LLC, Lonza Group Ltd., ATCC Inc. and others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Nano Copper Oxide Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1613 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1613 https://www.tmrresearch.com/nano-copper-oxide-market.html Global Nano Copper Oxide Market: OverviewNano copper oxide is referred to as a brownish-black or reddish nanoparticle, which is available in variety of forms according to the applications it serves. Nano copper oxide is basically a sold in powder or generally in discrete form in the market. It has various unique chemical and physical characteristics such as antimicrobial activity, low cost, relatively stable, photovoltaic properties, and superconductivity. They display very interesting electrical, mechanical, catalytic, and optical properties. They further possess photoconductive and photovoltaic properties as their crystal arrangements have a thin band gap. They are used in heat transfer fluids, microelectronics, solar energy converters, batteries, gas sensors, and semiconductor devices. Nano copper oxides are produced for specific end use and are almost 100 times finer in quality than copper oxide with absolutely different physical properties.The report examines the growth of the global nano copper oxide market that occurred in the last over the last few years and is likely to occur in the coming years. The research publication additionally explains the causes of the fluctuations in the global market. It does this by assessing of the facets and the different trends that have been prevalent from past few years and also the aspects that are anticipated to maintain a strong impact on the market over the coming years. The Porters five forces analysis has been considered by analysts to present a clear picture of the vendor landscape to readers. Agreements, mergers, acquisitions, and other dealings have been further mentioned in the study. It focuses on the strategies, products, and market share along with position of the companies operating in the market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Nano Copper Oxide Market: Trends and ProspectsThe global market for nano copper oxide is expected to witness stable growth over the coming years owing to growing investments for research and development in the field of nano technology. Rising penetration of nano copper oxide in several end-sue industries and its high physio-chemical properties are further expected to trigger the growth of the global nano copper oxide market over the forecast period. These oxides are basically added in small amount in order to improve the end products performance. However, it has high toxic levels that has negative impacts on aquatic life and human health. As a result of this, the market for nano copper oxide might face hindrances in terms of growth. The mounting demand for the energy storage segment closely followed by paints and coatings, catalysts, and electronics and electrical is expected to drive the growth of the market over the coming years. Players operating in the market are likely to be presented with significant opportunities owing to investments which are being made for innovations in this field.Request TOC of the Report @Global Nano Copper Oxide Market: Regional OutlookRegion-wise, Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness strong growth in the near future owing to rising demand for nano copper oxide from end-use industries in the region. Several new players are trying to venture in the market, mainly in India, China, and ASEAN. Robust industrialization coupled with growing disposable income of consumers is expected to drive the growth of various end-user industries, thus benefitting the nano copper oxide market in the region in return.Global Nano Copper Oxide Market: Vendor LandscapeCompanies such as American Elements, Inframat Corporation, Hongwu International Group Ltd, NaBond Technologies Co., Limited, Nanoshel LLC, and US Research Nanomaterials, Inc., among others are striving to gain an established position in the market.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Non-woven Adhesives Market Research Report and Forecast 2017 - 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1616 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1616 https://www.tmrresearch.com/non-woven-adhesives-market.html Global Non-woven Adhesives Market: OverviewNon-woven adhesives are referred to as thermoplastic adhesives which include a base antioxidants, plasticizers, tackifiers, and polymer. These types of adhesives are soluble, fusible, and heat resistant. Non-woven adhesives are basically used for medium/low load assemblies under reasonable service situations. Although they have a good resistance power against oil but poor against water. Over the last few years, the properties of non-woven adhesives have been improved by several toughening ways so that the variants are found suitable for structural uses. Several hygiene products such as feminine protection, adult incontinence, training pants, and diapers are manufactured by using these adhesive solutions. These non-adhesives are favored for several industrial applications owing to the superior properties they possess such as excellent processability, cohesion strength, high elasticity, softness, and low odor.The report examines the growth of the global non-woven adhesives market that occurred in the last over the last few years and is likely to occur in the coming years. The research publication additionally explains the causes of the fluctuations in the global market. It does this by assessing of the facets and the different trends that have been prevalent from past few years and also the aspects that are anticipated to maintain a strong impact on the market over the coming years. The Porters five forces analysis has been considered by analysts to present a clear picture of the vendor landscape to readers. Agreements, mergers, acquisitions, and other dealings have been further mentioned in the study. It focuses on the strategies, products, and market share along with the position of the companies operating in the market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Non-woven Adhesives Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe primary factor that is expected to drive the growth of the global non-woven adhesives market is the development of new products with improved and additional features to the present product types. Other factors that are anticipated to supplement the growth of the global non-woven adhesives market are growing demand for non-woven products, rising demand from emerging economies in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific, and huge investment opportunities in these regions. Manufacturers can also capitalize on the opportunities arising from the rising standards of living in emerging nations. However, factors such as stagnant growth in the baby diaper industry in matured markets, fluctuations in the prices of raw materials, and strict regulatory approval process required for production.Incontinence problems among the aged population has stirred the demand for more comfortable and fit, better absorption, and product with thinner cores. Thus, this has intensified the demand for non-woven adhesives across the industrial sector.Request TOC of the Report @Global Non-woven Adhesives Market: Regional OutlookRegion-wise the global non-woven adhesives market can be segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World. Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit extreme potential owing to the growing demand for hygiene products, especially disposable diapers. The demand for adult incontinence products in Europe and North America is anticipated to rise over the coming years, thus supplementing the growth of the market in these regions. Product penetration in developing countries is likely to increase as they shift towards using safe and hygienic products, thus aiding the market growth for non-woven adhesives.Global Non-woven Adhesives Market: Companies Mentioned in the ReportSome of the leading companies in the global non-woven adhesives market are 3M Corporation, Adtek Malaysia SDN BHD, Beardow Adams Ltd., Evonik Industries AG, H.B. Fuller Company, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, and The Dow Chemical Company.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com 2017-2022 Flexible Solar Cell Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1157782&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com This report studies the Flexible Solar Cell market status and outlook of global and United States, from angles of players, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global and United States market, and splits the Flexible Solar Cell market by product type and applications/end industries.The global Flexible Solar Cell market is valued at XX million USD in 2016 and is expected to reach XX million USD by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.The Asia-Pacific will occupy for more market share in following years, especially in China, also fast growing India and Southeast Asia regions.North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Flexible Solar Cell. United States plays an important role in global market, with market size of xx million USD in 2016 and will be xx million USD in 2022, with a CAGR of XX.Get a Free Sample Copy of this Research Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Flexible Solar Cell in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaThe major players in global and United States Flexible Solar Cell market, including Solbian, Global Solar, Enecom, MiaSole, PowerFilm, Solar Quotes, RS Components, Stored Energy Products.The On the basis of product, the Flexible Solar Cell market is primarily split intoCopper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS)Amorphous Silicon (a-Si)OthersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversElectronicsIndustrial UseAerospaceUtilityOthersQYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Department Stores in Germany 2016-2020 | Now Available at Researchmoz.us http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=840985 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=840985 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Department Stores in Germany 2016-2020" to its huge collection of research reports.The retail industry can be divided into two broad segments on the basis of the channel of operation: brick-and-mortar retail format (or, store-based retail formats/offline retail format), and online retail format. Online retail is a part of B2C e-commerce and typically refers to commercial activities over the Internet. The retail industry is also classified into traditional retail and organized retail, on the basis of the business structure and retail space formation. Major retail formats of the organized retail sector are specialized stores, department stores, supermarkets, and hypermarketsTechnavios analysts forecast the department stores in Germany to grow at a CAGR of 0.69% during the period 2016-2020.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the department stores in Germany for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the retail sales of products to individual customers by the department stores in Germany.Technavio's report, Department Stores in Germany 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsBreuningerC&AGALERIA KaufhofKarstadt WarenhausWoolworthOther prominent vendorsGaleries LafayettePeek & CloppenburgHemaLudwig BeckMllerAproposMarimekkoZaraMitsukoshiManufactumStrauss InnovationMarket driverFavorable micro-location and concept of having everything under one roofFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeChanging buying behavior due to increasing internet retailing and e-commerceFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendOmni-channel capabilities to support department storesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Impact of Existing and Emerging Cloud-RAN (Radio Access Network) Market Trends And Forecast 2014-2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-52 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-52 www.futuremarketinsights.com Cloud-RAN,orCentralized-RAN (C-RAN) is an advanced cellular network architecture for mobile network infrastructure that can support 2G, 3G and 4G system and meet wireless communication benchmarks. Cloud-RAN is outpacing traditional cellular network system as it doesnt require RF (radio frequency) equipment, antenna, BTS (baseband unit) and digital processor to be deployed in the cell site. Traditional cellular network architecture demands more power, space, additional big cell towers and directional antennae to support new air interface technologies such as LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and multi-frequency bands. Moreover, enhancement of traditional cellular network in a wireless network to support data traffic demand becomes economically unsustainable. In contrast, Cloud-RAN enhances mobile communications and helps cellular network operators in delivering qualitative and effective mobile communication services at a reasonable cost.Cloud-RAN ensures centralization of baseband processing in one location. To connect to RRH (remote radio heads), fibre optical cables are required.Cloud-RAN is based on new technologies,viz. cloud computing thatcan take advantage of advanced remote antennae or radio head techniques and SDN (software-defined network) approaches.Request Report Sample@Cloud-RAN offers various benefits like reduction in cost of network operations. The three types of cost reductions are energy consumption, site rental expenses and operational & maintenance cost of network. These savings can be balanced against cost incurred on fibre optical cables required to meet fronthaul capacity and latency requirements. Cloud-RAN also enhances capacity due to coordinated multipoint and ensures speedy performance. Aforementioned benefits of Cloud-RAN architecture automatically increase the value of service to end-users. However, initial high investment required to deploy Cloud-RAN architecture acts as one of the major challengesfor the growth of Cloud-RAN market.The Cloud-RAN market can be categorizedinto component, services and geography.The market is segmented on the basis of thenatureof its components, which includes six major categories -BBU (Baseband Units), RRU (Remote Radio Units), optical transport network, servers, processors and measurement device. On the basis of services segment, the Cloud-RAN market can be categorized into network services, custom services and system integration services. The market can also be segmented on the basis of major geographies, into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Eastern Europe and Middle East & Africa.Cloud-RAN is a global multi-billion dollar market which is expected to exhibit a considerable growth in CAGR, from 2014 to 2020. The key drivers include need to reduce increasing data traffic and Capex&Opexexpenditure, which are the biggest revenue generators for the Cloud-RANmarket. The key restraint to this market is high initial cost of deployment and dependency on availability of fibre. Major players in Cloud-RAN market focuses on partnerships, joint ventures, and acquisition &merger strategies in order to outperform their competitors. For instance, in 2013 Intel Corp. acquired Mindspeed Technologies and extended its offerings with new mobile system services i.e. Cloud-RAN.Visit For TOC@Some of the key players identified in the Cloud-RAN market are Ceragon Networks Ltd.,Actix Ltd., Aricent Technologies, JDSU, 6WIND, MTI Radiocomp, Altera Corp., Mindspeed Technologies, Inc., Intel Corporation, VitesseSemiconductor, Telco Systems, VPI Systems, Telco Systems and TEOCO among others.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/309 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/309 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ http://globalresearchtrends.blogspot.in/ Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a highly non-reactive thermoplastic fluoropolymer. It is chemically inert to most alcohols, acids, aromatic and aliphatic organic compounds, and chlorinated solvents. It offers properties such as low coefficient of friction, excellent intrinsic fire resistance, operability over a wide range of temperatures, good resistance to UV and radiation, capability for thermoforming, and can be easily joined by welding. Polyvinylidene fluoride is processed by various methods such as machining, injection and extrusion. It is widely used in coatings, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic films.Request Sample of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Market:Polyvinylidene fluoride hoses, pipes and tubes are used in the automobile fuel systems owing to the properties such as impermeable nature and chemical resistivity. In addition to this, PVDF fittings are also used in household and commercial buildings. This has rapidly increased consumption of polyvinylidene fluoride and boosted growth of the PVDF market over the last few years. Polyvinylidene fluoride membranes are highly preferred in various processes, including corrosive chemicals for pumps, manufacturing equipment and transportation containers due to excellent chemical resistance and freedom of operability at elevated temperatures.Polyvinylidene Fluoride Market TaxonomyOn the basis of application, the global market is classified into:PipesFittingsPolyvinylidene Fluoride Market,Polyvinylidene Fluoride Industry Insights,Trends, Outlook,Opportunity Analysis,PVDF marketCoatingsSheetsTubesFilmsPowderMembranesCablesOn the basis of product type, the global market is classified into:AlphaBetaGammaDeltaOn the basis of end use industry, the global market is segmented into:Oil & GasChemical processingNew energiesConstructionPolyvinylidene fluoride is used in oil & gas industry due to the enhanced properties such as low permeation, low surface energy, non-sticky and non-flammable nature, excellent chemical resistance, excellent aging, environmental stress crack resistance, consistent mechanical behavior over time and superior ductility /flexibility at low temperatures. Polyvinylidene fluoride coatings provide excellent chemical resistance at elevated temperature range. PVDF films are used for windmills which provide better resistance to tough environmental conditions and lower friction for turbine generators and windmill blades.Polyvinylidene Fluoride Market Outlook Increasing Demand for Durable and Light Weight Materials to Fuel Market GrowthExtensive use of polyvinylidene fluoride in the chemical processing, construction and oil & gas industry has led to rapid increase in the consumption of PVDF. This has amplified the growth of polyvinylidene fluoride market over the last few years. Asia Pacific is projected to be one of the major contributors to the polyvinylidene fluoride market. This is mainly attributed to rapidly growing urbanization coupled with increasing demand for advanced thermo plastic products in the region. In 2015, demand for plastic in China rose by 10% as compared to the previous year. Also, India has a well-established base for raw materials required for the plastic industry. This has attracted many polyvinylidene fluoride manufacturers to establish manufacturing units in the region. This trend is expected to be followed over the forecast period.Request to view the table of Content:Volatile price of polyvinylidene fluoride resin is one of the growth inhibitor for polyvinylidene fluoride market. Expansion in various geographies is one of the key strategies followed by the top players to maintain their position in the extensive use of polyvinylidene fluoride in the chemical processing, construction and oil & gas industries has in turn led to rapid growth of PVDF market over the last few years. Some of the major companies operating in the global polyvinylidene fluoride market are Daikin Industries ltd, Zhuzhou Hongda Polymer Materials Co. Ltd., (Japan), Shanghai 3F New Materials Company Limited, Kureha Corporation, Quadrant Engineering Plastics Products, Solvay S.A., Shanghai Ofluorine Chemical Technology Co. ltd., Dyneon GmbH and Zhejiang Fotech International Co. Ltd.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:Visit Blog : 2017 Global 3D Metrology Industry Analysis & 2022 Forecast Now Available at OrbisResearch.com http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/323445 http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/2017-market-research-report-on-global-3d-metrology-industry http://www.orbisresearch.com/contact/purchase/323445 Description:In our aim to provide our erudite clients with the best research material with absolute in-depth information of the market, our new report on Global 3D Metrology Market is confident in meeting their needs and expectations. The 2017 market research report on Global 3D Metrology Market is an in-depth study and analysis of the market by our industry experts with unparalleled domain knowledge. The report will shed light on many critical points and trends of the industry which are useful for our esteemed clients. The report covers a vast expanse of information including an overview, comprehensive analysis, definitions and classifications, applications, and expert opinions, among others. With the extent of information filled in the report, the presentation and style of the Global 3D Metrology Market report is a noteworthy.Request a sample of this report @The Global 3D Metrology Industry report provides key information about the industry, including invaluable facts and figures, expert opinions, and the latest developments across the globe. Not only does the report cover a holistic view of the industry from a global standpoint, but it also covers individual regions and their development. The Global 3D Metrology Industry report showcases the latest trends in the global and regional markets on all critical parameters which include technology, supplies, capacity, production, profit, price, and competition. The key players covered in the report provide a detailed analysis of the competition and their developments in the Global 3D Metrology Industry. Accurate forecasts and expert opinion from credible sources, and the recent R&D development in the industry is also a mainstay of the 3D Metrology Market report.Browse the full report @The report also focuses on the significance of industry chain analysis and all variables, both upstream and downstream. These include equipment and raw materials, client surveys, marketing channels, and industry trends and proposals. Other significant information covering consumption, key regions and distributors, and raw material suppliers are also a covered in this report.Purchase a copy of this report @Finally, the 3D Metrology Market report ends with a detailed SWOT analysis of the market, investment feasibility and returns, and development trends and forecasts. As with every report on Orbis Research, the 3D Metrology Industry is the holy grail of information which serious knowledge seekers can benefit from. The report which is the result of ultimate dedication of pedigree professionals has a wealth of information which can benefit anyone, irrespective of their commercial or academic interest.Major Points From Table of Contents Chapter One: 3D Metrology Market Overview Chapter Two: Global 3D Metrology Market Competition by Manufacturers Chapter Three: Global 3D Metrology Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017) Chapter Four: Global 3D Metrology Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017) Chapter Five: Global 3D Metrology Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type Chapter Six: Global 3D Metrology Market Analysis by Application Chapter Seven: Global 3D Metrology Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis Chapter Eight: 3D Metrology Manufacturing Cost Analysis Chapter Nine: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers Chapter Ten: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders Chapter Eleven: Market Effect Factors Analysis Chapter Twelve: Global 3D Metrology Market Forecast (2017-2022) Chapter Thirteen: Research Findings and Conclusion Chapter Fourteen: AppendixFor any enquires before buying, connect with us @ enquiry@orbisresearch.comAbout Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019For more information contact sales@orbisresearch.com Lawngevity Lawn and Urban Tree in Fremont is preparing for emerald ash borer to begin to affect local ash trees. The insect, originally from Asia, feeds on and kills North American ash trees. It was found near Detroit in 2002, and it has been spreading ever since. In 2016, it was found in Omaha and Cass County, causing the quarantine area to expand to five Nebraska counties: Dodge, Washington, Douglas, Sarpy and Cass. Asian ash trees have a resistance to it, explained Kevin Popken, owner of Lawngevity. Ash trees here in America have no resistance at all to it. Popken estimated that about 20 percent of canopy trees in Fremont are ash trees. While emerald ash borer is by far the most concerning, Popken said people should also be aware of Japanese beetles, gypsy moth and pine wilt. Thats a lot of your large canopy trees that will be gone, so were working to treat those to where theyll survive, Popken said. Popken said there are several treatment methods that work well, and theyll recommend what is best for a customers ash tree. He noted that treatment will have to be redone after a year or two. But the concern for the loss of trees at Lawngevity expands beyond the ash tree issue. Last summer, Lawngevity began offering a discount toward the cost of planting a new tree when a tree is removed. Our concern is were losing so many trees, Popken said. Were about to lose a lot more with the emerald ash borer coming through, and so we really want to be encouraging people to be planting It probably wont be something thats going to affect us a lot in our lifetime, but we have to start replacing some of those large canopy trees. Often, customers are not excited to replace a large, problematic tree, he said. However, hes more concerned that canopy trees will become all too rare. The reality is though, by the time that becomes a large tree, itll be someone elses problem, Popken said. But (later) generations will have an issue with it not being there if they dont replace them. Popken said the reaction has been good, but not everyone wants a new tree. Because of this, customers can donate a tree to be planted somewhere outside of their own property, like a school or park. Because Dodge County is now in the quarantine area, hardwood firewood cannot legally be transferred from Dodge to the unquarantined area. A million ash trees in Nebraskas communities are at risk, according to the Nebraska Forest Service. To help prevent the spread from Douglas County to Fremont, he advises to burn (firewood) where you buy it. If they need firewood for the state lakes, ideally they would buy it here, and then burn it here, and not be moving in and out of areas, Popken said. Its easy for people to forget that. Lawngevity has more mulch than ever at a low price, in part because of the quarantine, Popken said. They are now offering colored mulch as well as natural mulch. With more trees like this going down, were going to have a lot of wooden material that has to be processed on site because of the quarantines, Popken said. In May, Debby and Mike Houser had a cottonwood tree removed from their property on Big Island Road along the Platte River and near the Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area. Because theyll be replacing the tree, theyll get the discount. Lawngevity also takes care of their lawn. Our yard is beautiful this year, Houser said. The chemicals are working great. Everythings beautiful with Lawngevity. Steve McDunn, who works at Lawngevity, said most days are a thrill. Cutting down the cottonwood tree from Housers yard, including cleanup, took about three hours. McDunn said he expects to start seeing the effects of emerald ash borer in Fremont in the next couple years, so he had a large ash tree in his front yard treated in May. To better represent the companys tree service, they also go by the name Urban Tree. Lawngevity has been in business since 1983, but they added the Urban Tree name when they expanded the service options. We certainly have a lot of experience, weve been in business for 34 years, Popken said. We have four certified arborists on staff. Since we do both trimming and removals as well as plant health, people can know theyre getting an unbiased opinion on the condition and health of their tree. Popken is on the board of the Nebraska Arborist Association and has been elected president. His position as president will begin in February 2018, and he currently chairs the organizations education and certification committees. Towns like Fremont require arborists to be certified to do tree work in the community he said. Popken oversees the process for people aiming to become certified arborists. Hes been on the board for about five years. Trees are important, Popken said. The more we take out without replacing lowers the level of oxygen, plus the cooling effects and other benefits of trees. Global Ophthalmic Chair Industry 2017-2022 Growth, Trends and Size Research Report Deep Research Reports http://www.deepresearchreports.com/contacts/inquiry.php?name=348166 http://www.deepresearchreports.com/contacts/purchase.php?name=348166 http://www.deepresearchreports.com/contacts/inquire-before-buy.php?name=348166 The Global Ophthalmic Chair Industry Research Report includes companies engaged in manufacturing, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information.The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Ophthalmic Chair manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.Complete report on Ophthalmic Chair market spreads across 109 pages profiling 09 companies and supported with 134 tables and figures @Key Companies Analysis: - Medical Experts, Reichert, RQL, Teyco Med, US Ophthalmic, bon Optic, Frastema, Inmoclinc, CSO Costruzione Strumenti Oftalmici, Fiorentino A.M., Luneau Technology, S4Optik, Medi-Plinth, Reliance Medical and Maximizer profiles overview.The Global Ophthalmic Chair Industry provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Ophthalmic Chair market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The Global Ophthalmic Chair Industry focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Ophthalmic Chair industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered. With the tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Place a Direct Purchase on this Report @Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Ophthalmic Chair3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis4 Production Analysis of Ophthalmic Chair by Regions, Technology, and Applications5 Sales and Revenue Analysis of Ophthalmic Chair by Regions6 Analyses of Ophthalmic Chair Production, Supply, Sales and Market Status 2010-20177 Analysis of Ophthalmic Chair industry Key Manufacturers8 Price and Gross Margin Analysis9 Marketing Traders or Distributor Analysis of Ophthalmic Chair10 Development Trend of Ophthalmic Chair industry2017-202211 Industry Chain Suppliers of Ophthalmic Chair with Contact Information12 New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Ophthalmic Chair13 Conclusion of the Global Ophthalmic Chair industry 2017 Market Research ReportList of Tables and FiguresGet more details on this report @About Us:Deep Research Reports is digital databank of syndicated market reports for worldwide and China businesses. deepresearchreports.com offers market research reports to businesses, entities and organizations with an objective of assisting them in their decision making process. Our collection of 500,000+ industry & nation research reports shields 5000+ micro markets. We provide 24X7 available, online and offline support to our clients.Contact:Ritesh TiwariUNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZMagarpatta city, Hadapsar,Pune, Maharashtra 411013, IndiaTel: +1-888-391-5441sales@deepresearchreports.com Cellulosic Thickeners Market to Perceive Substantial Growth During 2017 2025 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/cellulosic-thickeners-market.asp http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/13432 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/13432 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Global Cellulosic Thickeners Market: OverviewCellulosic thickeners is a hydrophilic white powder in pure form, which dissolves in cold water, forming a clear viscous solution or gel. Cellulosic thickeners are used extensively in wide range of applications such as biodegradability, lack of toxicity, and abundant raw material. Cellulose thickeners are also named as cellulose gum, which are used as emulsifiers, suspending agents and thickeners in cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. Cellulosic thickeners are also used in chromatography as stabilizers for reagents and in therapeutics as bulk laxative with antacid properties. Cellulosic thickeners are also added to hair shampoo, liquid shop, and toothpaste in order to create their characteristic thick consistency. Cellulosic thickeners can be engaged as a mild glue which can be washed away with water. The increasing application of cellulosic thickener is driving the overall global cellulosic thickeners market to grow at significant CAGR in near future.To access full report @Global Cellulosic Thickeners Market: DynamicsThe cellulose thickeners are used in various application such as pharmaceuticals, as a lubricant in eye drops and in oil & gas industry as an ingredient of drilling mud. Cellulosic thickeners, in the form of HPMC, MC, HEMC, is an odorless and tasteless white powder and also used as cellulose, Which can be obtained from wood or cotton in a water insoluble natural polymer. Cellulose after adding in specific material, enhances the properties of that material. Now a days cellulose thickeners are widely used in surgical and dental implants. Cellulose films are used as temporary substitute for human skin in case of burns, ulcers, and decubitus. Other new applications of cellulose thickeners are to maintain tackiness in food, cosmetics, etc., as a nonwoven fabric or paper for old document repair, as food additives and others. The growing demand of cellulosic thickener in such wide range of applications are fueling the growth of cellulosic thickener. Development of new derivatives and new applications of cellulose is expected to create raw material scarcity for the production of cellulosic thickeners. This scarcity of raw materials may hamper the market growth. Development of new applications in pharmaceutical and medicine field is expected to provide opportunities for the players in cellulose thickeners market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global Cellulosic Thickeners Market: SegmentationThe global cellulosic thickeners market can be segmented on the basis of thickeners agent type, application and region basis. On the basis of thickeners agent types, the cellulosic thickener can be segmented by sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, and other cellulosic thickeners. on the basis of application cellulosic thickener can be further segmented into cosmetic & personal care, toiletries & household, paints & coatings, paper & paperboard, food & beverage, pharmaceutical & others(ceramic, construction, adhesive). On the basis of region, cellulosic thickeners can be segmented, North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia pacific and the Middle East & Africa.Global Cellulosic Thickeners Market: Regional OverviewThe cellulosic thickeners are segmented among five regions Europe, North America, Asia pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. North America and Europe are mature markets consequently innovation in the product line is expected to be the key strategy for the market players in this region. Asia pacific is the largest shareholder of global cellulosic thickeners market due to increasing rate of industrialization in this region. The increasing application of cellulose thickener in cosmetic industries as well as other industry is driving the market of cellulosic thickeners market worldwide. Cellulosic thickeners are expected moderate growth in region such as Middle East & Africa Market. Countries like China and India are emerging market for the cellulosic thickeners due to increasing manufacturing unit.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global Cellulosic Thickeners Market: Key PlayersThe global key vendors of cellulosic thickeners are Dow Chemical Company, DuPont (EI) de Nemours, Cabot Corporation, Croda International plc, FMC Corporation, Imperial Chemical Industries, International Paper Company, Kraft Foods Incorporated, Rhodia SA, TIC Gums Incorporated, Goodman Fielder Limited, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Eastman Chemical Company, Ciba Specialty Chemicals Incorporated.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Precast Construction Market to Witness Exponential Growth by 2025 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/precast-construction-market.asp http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/13681 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/13681 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Precast Construction Market IntroductionPrecast construction, also known as prefabricated construction, finds application in the construction of structures or buildings where most of the structural components are standard and made in plants located away from the construction site. They are then transported to the site for installation. Precast construction involves mass production of components and hence offers several advantages, such as optimum time management, increased efficiency, consistent quality and cost effectiveness. Besides these factors, precast construction gains an edge over conventional construction due to its relatively high durability, ease of installation and reduced product maintenance. Structures are successfully erected at a much faster pace with the use of precast construction; thereby increasing its market demand. The aesthetic superiority, coupled with lesser maintenance and increased durability offered by precast construction are driving global demand for the precast construction market.To access full report @However, structures made using precast construction display lesser flexibility in their designing basics as compared to those made with conventional construction. Also, linkages or connections linking precast construction products (structural links) could pose design issues. Furthermore, in order to achieve economies of scale, structures ideally need to be of a regular shape, which has been a constraint in the applications of precast construction globally.The plan of a building or structure is affected by the replication of forms, which is a characteristic of precast construction. It has also been frequently observed that panel linkages are costly and complex in nature. Also, the on-site installation of panels needs skilled labor. Besides, precast construction also mandates the use of cranes to lift construction parts, which incurs further installation costs. With regard to application of the precast construction panels on-site, there is a need of skilled labor and heavy-duty machinery, which has been making the application of precast construction uneconomical, and hence posing a concern for the precast construction market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Precast Construction Market SegmentationOn the basis of product type, the global precast construction market is segmented as follows:Columns and beamsFloors and roofsGirdersWallsStaircasesLintelsPaving slabsOthers (door & window components, manholes and water & sewer system products)On the basis of type, the global precast construction market is segmented as follows:ModularManufacturedOn the basis of application, the global precast construction market is segmented as follows:ResidentialNon-residentialPrecast Construction Market DynamicsPrecast construction technology has been found to be environment-friendly; hence, the technology has gained widespread approval from all over the globe. Besides the techno-economic benefits, precast construction delivery has been inducing users to switch to this new technology from the conventional one.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @In the North American region, especially the U.S., new market participants could make a foothold after a relatively comfortable entry in smaller, niche construction segments in the near future. However, hurdles could be expected during market entry in the most important industry verticals as existing market participants in the precast construction market have the benefit of an established customer base and in-depth market knowledge, apart from their existing brand image at least at a local level. Besides, some of them have vertically integrated enough to produce cement and concrete, thereby gaining considerable advantages in terms of production cost and infrastructural efficiency, which would be inaccessible to new entrants. Thus, it could be expected that in the near future, new precast construction companies would successfully enter only niche U.S. sub-markets.It has been observed that growth in the worldwide demand for modular construction has been encouraging growth of the precast construction market and this trend is expected to continue for the next few years, as building contractors and construction companies are opting for precast construction in the modular construction business.Precast Construction Market ParticipantsExamples of some market participants in the global precast construction market are as follows:Acs actividades de construccion y servicios S.A (Spain)Komatsu Ltd. (Japan)Bouygues Construction (France)Larsen & Toubro Limited (India)Taisei Corporation (Japan)Balfour Beatty plc (UK)Kiewit Corporation (US)Laing ORourke (UK)Julius Berger Nigeria Plc (Nigeria)Red Sea Housing Services (Saudi Arabia)The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, types and applications.The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedValue ChainRegional analysis includes:North AmericaLatin AmericaAsia PacificJapanWestern EuropeEastern EuropeMiddle East & AfricaThe report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts, and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides an in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macroeconomic indicators and governing factors, along with market attractiveness within the segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and various geographies.Report highlights:Detailed overview of parent marketChanging market dynamics in the industryIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and valueRecent industry trends and developmentsCompetitive landscapeStrategies of key players and products offeredPotential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective on market performanceMust-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Wood Adhesives and Binders Market : Key Players and Production Information analysis with Forecast 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1640 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1640 https://www.tmrresearch.com/wood-adhesives-binders-market.html Global Wood Adhesives and Binders Market: OverviewWood adhesives and binders are used to bind two or more wooden surfaces together to create panels. They are known for their high bond strength, thermal and chemical resistance, and durability, which provides customers with cost-effective end results. These adhesives and binders are used for various industrial and consumer applications such as in flooring, plywood, windows and doors, furniture and subcomponents, and cabinets. Melamine-urea-formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde, isocyanates, phenol-formaldehyde, soy-based, epoxy, silicone, and ethyl vinyl acetate are some of the commonly available product types.Global Wood Adhesives and Binders Market: Key TrendsThe robust growth of the construction industry is providing a significant boost to the growth of the global wood adhesives and binders market. The rising disposable income of people around the world is leading to an increasing spending on the interior designing of homes and offices, which in turn is translating into the greater uptake of wood adhesives and binders. However, the turbulent prices of petrochemical feedstock, which acts as raw materials, is creating a bottleneck in the development of the global market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Moreover, stringent government regulations against volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions are hampering the growth of the market. VOC emissions during commercial and industrial applications of these adhesives have serious environmental and health implications. On the other hand, the birthing of bio-based products is unfolding tremendous growth opportunities for the market.Global Wood Adhesives and Binders Market: Market PotentialTo enable the transition from polymer-derived adhesives and binders to bio-based products, it is imperative that the adhesive properties in terms of bond strength and heat and water resistance are similar and that the alternatives can compete in terms of pricing. As a result, manufacturers and researchers are strongly focusing towards research and development activities to introduce reliable solutions. In June 2015, Swedish researchers suggested the use of xylan dispersions, with the addition of dispersing agents such as polyvinyl alcohol and crosslinkers, as a wood adhesive.Request TOC of the Report @In January 2017, researchers from the Kansas State University patented the first plant-based resin, which is made up of corn, soybean, and other plant oils. According to researchers, this resin can be used for labels, tapes, and other adhesive uses and can also provide shiny coatings. Such innovations are likely to revolutionize the global wood adhesives and binders market in the near future.Global Wood Adhesives and Binders Market: Geographical SegmentationNorth America will represent a substantial share in the market throughout the forecast period. The growing emphasis on interior remodeling due to upgrading consumer lifestyles is facilitating the growth of the market in the region. The rebound of the construction industry after the economic downturn in 2008 is further supplementing the growth of the market. The U.S. will be a major revenue contributor to the growth of North America.Asia Pacific is expected to progress at a remarkable CAGR during the same period. The booming construction industry and the rising disposable income of the populace are bolstering the growth of the region. The growth of the Latin America wood adhesives and binders market can be attributed to the increasing construction activities in the residential sector.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Global Wood Adhesives and Binders Market: Competitive LandscapeSeveral players in the global wood adhesives and binders market exhibit a high degree of integration throughout the value chain. Prominent participants are focusing towards business expansion through mergers and acquisitions. Some of the key players in the market are 3M Company, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, H.B Fuller Company, BASF SE, Avery Dennison Corporation, Huntsman Corporation, and Dow Chemical Company.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Aromatic Solvents Market : Key Trends and Forecast Research Report 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1643 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1643 https://www.tmrresearch.com/aromatic-solvents-market.html Global Aromatic Solvents Market: OverviewAn aromatic solvent is one that contains an aromatic hydrocarbon such as xylene, naptha, ethane, propane, or toluene. It is an organic chemical meant to dissolve solid materials to form a homogenous solution. It is produced mainly via distillation of crude petroleum stock in the oil refining industry and primarily finds application as thinners and diluents in coatings, paints, adhesives, and cleaners to speed up the drying process. An aromatic solvent is also used to thwart corrosion in the oil and gas industry. Further, these aromatic solvents are used in the production of other intermediate chemicals such as cumene, ethyl benzene, phthalic anhydride, naphthalene, and maleic anhydride.Global Aromatic Solvents Market: Key TrendsAt the forefront of driving growth in the aromatic solvents market is the booming paints and coatings industry. Aromatic solvents dissolve or disperse various components such as binders, additives, pigments, and extenders that find application in manufacture of paints and coatings. In addition, high solvency rates aid in forming an enhanced homogenous solution in comparison to other solvents.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Another factor driving growth in the market is the continued growth in the automotive industry which has pushed up demand for adhesives and sealants, manufactured from aromatic solvents. These solvents help maintain the right evaporation rate of adhesives, which in turn brings about perfect setting of adhesive polymer on the base surface. Countering the growth in the global aromatic solvents market is the strict environmental regulations imposed on VOC emissions and the preference for non-aromatic and biobased solvents.Global Aromatic Solvents Market: Market PotentialDepending upon the types of products, toluene presents maximum opportunity to the manufacturers because of its spike in applications in adhesives, paints and coatings, inks, pharmaceuticals, and other chemical formulations. Xylene is another product that spells profits for savvy companies as those solvents are used in the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients and to clean pharmaceutical equipment. They are mostly used in the rubber, artificial leather, glue, and rotogravure printing industry.Request TOC of the Report @Some of the important end-user industry for aromatic solvents are automotive, pharmaceuticals, paints and coatings, and oilfield chemicals. Crude oil and natural gas, for example, carry a lot of impurities and corrosive products such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and free water that deteriorates the inner walls of wells and pipelines. Continued oil and gas extraction can result in the internal surface of pipelines to corrode. Aromatic solvents can thwart it while performing fractional distillation in the oil and gas industry.Global Aromatic Solvents Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the key segments of the global aromatic solvents market are Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and the Rest of the World. Among them, Asia Pacific dominates the market in terms of volume on account of the high growth in the chemical industry. Latin America too is expected to witness some degree of growth in the aromatic solvents powered by the demand from Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@The markets in North America and Europe are slated to see lackluster growth in the years to come owing to stringent environmental regulations. Middle East and Africa (MEA) is another region that will see slow growth due to the economic transition in the region at present.Global Aromatic Solvents Market: Competitive AnalysisThe global market for aromatic solvents is fragmented in nature. To assess the competition in the market, the report profiles important market participants such as Exxon Mobil Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell plc, LyondellBasell Industries N.V., Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, BASF SE, Celanese Corporation, and Eastman Chemical Company.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Rare Earth Metals Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/293 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/293 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ http://globalresearchtrends.blogspot.in/ Rare earth metals are seventeen chemical elements that occur together in the periodic table. The group consists of yttrium and the 15 lanthanide elements (lanthanum, cerium, gadolinium, terbium, praseodymium, neodymium, europium, erbium, thulium, promethium, samarium, dysprosium, holmium, ytterbium, and lutetium). Cerium is a silvery-white metal is the most abundant of the rare earth elements and has numerous applications. Cerium oxide is used as a catalyst in catalytic converters which are used to reduce emissions in automotive exhaust systems. Cerium is also used in magnesium, iron and aluminum alloys.Request Sample of Rare Earth Metals Market:Owing to unique luminescent, magnetic and electrochemical properties, the rare earth metals elements have contributed in the creation of many technologies in performing with reduced emissions, reduced weight, and energy consumption. It is also characterized by enhanced efficiency, speed, durability, performance, miniaturization and thermal stability. Military uses of these metals include precision-guided weapons, night-vision goggles, GPS equipment, communications equipment, batteries, and other defense electronics. Rare earth metals are also used in magnetic resonance imagery (MRI) contrast agents, x-ray tubes, nuclear medicine imaging, portable x-ray machines, for genetic screening tests, medical cancer treatment applications and dental lasers.Rare Earth Metals Market TaxonomyOn the basis of product type, the global market is classified into:Cerium,NeodymiumLanthanumPraseodymiumYttriumEuropiumSamariumOn the basis of applications, the global market is classified into:PhosphorsPolishingMetals AlloysMagnetsAdditivesBatteriesCatalystsYttrium is used in cancer treatment drugs, TV sets and for enhancing strength of alloys. Lanthanum is widely used in camera and telescope lenses. Lanthanum containing compounds are used have various applications in carbon lighting, which include studio lighting and cinema projection. Samarium is used in powerful magnets used in many defense, transportation and commercial technologies. It is also used in combination with other compounds for intravenous radiation treatment which can kill cancer cells and is also used for the treatment of lung, breast, prostate and other forms of bone cancer. As samarium is a stable neutron absorber, it is used in controlling rods of nuclear reactors.Rare Earth Metals Market Outlook Increasing Demand for Recyclable and Environment Friendly Materials to be the Major Market DriverAsia Pacific is expected to be the most potential market for Rare Earth Metals companies. Asia Pacific is projected to witness relatively high growth in terms of value over the forecast period. This is mainly attributed to the major rare earth metal resources found in countries such as China and India. According to The Wall Street Journal China produces around 90% share of the total rare earth metals globally. This has attracted many industries depending on the rare earth metals. According to Scientific American, India is authorizing a plant which will produce up to 5,000 tons of rare earth metals in a year. This would help India to contribute around 5 percent to the global supply of the rare earth metals used in cars, cameras, iPhones and wind turbines. This trend is expected to be followed over the forecast period.Request to view the table of Content:Rising demand of cleaner energy sources and increasing applications are some major factors boosting the growth of rare earth metals market. Fluctuating prices is one of the growth restrainers in the rare earth metals industry globally. Renewable energy applications of rare earth metals include hybrid automobiles, next generation rechargeable batteries, wind turbines and biofuel catalysts. Some of the major companies operating in the global rare earth metals market include Lynas Corporation, Avalon Rare Metals Inc, Greenland Minerals and Energy, Iluka Resources Ltd., Alkane Resources Limited, Rock Tech Lithium Inc., Artemis Resources Limited and Great Western Minerals Group.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:Visit Blog : Waterborne Coatings Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/269 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/269 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ http://globalresearchtrends.blogspot.in/ A coating is a layer applied on the surface of an application, usually referred to as the substrate. The coating may cover complete substrate, or any part of that substrate. Waterborne coatings are coatings that use water as a solvent to disperse a resin. These coatings are considered eco-friendly, and can be applied easily on the substrate. These coatings contain up to 80% water, with the remainder accounted for by other solvents such as glycol ether. These coatings are considered to be environment-friendly as U.S. and European regulations require waterborne coatings to have a VOC content of less than 3.5 pounds per gallon of water. The key properties of waterborne coatings include low VOC, very low odor, and non-flammability. Waterborne coatings dry at a very fast rate and can be re-coated as well.Request Sample of Waterborne Coatings Market:Waterborne coatings are used in a myriad number of applications, as they are perfect primers due to their good resistance to heat and abrasion; provide excellent adhesion; have low toxicity and flammability due to low VOC levels and HAP emissions; and are used in relatively small quantities as they cover large surface areas as compared to equal quantity of solvent-borne coatings. In most cases, these coatings cost less than solvent-borne coatings and require no additives, thinners, or hardeners.Waterborne coatings such as acrylic coatings, polyester coatings, polyurethane coatings, alkyd coatings, and epoxies are used in a wide spectrum of applications such as architectural, marine, protective, and automotive.Waterborne Coatings Materials Market TaxonomyOn the basis of resin type, the global Waterborne Coatings market is segmented into:Acrylic CoatingsPolyester CoatingsPolyurethane CoatingsPolyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) CoatingsPolyvinylidene Chloride (PVDC) CoatingsAlkyd CoatingsEpoxy CoatingsPolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) CoatingsOthersOn the basis of application, the global Waterborne Coatings market is segmented into:ArchitecturalMarineProtectivePackagingAutomotiveWoodGeneral IndustrialOthers (Coil, etc)Acrylic-based waterborne coatings is the fastest-growing resin type. This is due to increasing demand for these resins in architectural and automotive applications. There is a large demand for architectural coatings in Asia Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa regions due to the growing urbanization and increasing infrastructure developments in commercial, residential, and industrial sectors in these regions. The low interest housing loans in Asia Pacific region, is the key driving force for growth in demand for architectural coatings.Waterborne Coatings Market Outlook Asia Pacific is the largest, and fastest-growing region in waterborne coatings marketAsia-Pacific is the largest, and fastest-growing region in the global waterborne coatings market. The growing construction and automotive end-use industries is the major driving factor for growth of the waterborne coatings market in the region, with India and China being the key growth engines. As per stats released by Indian Brand Equity Foundationpart of the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of Indiathe real estate market is expected to be valued at US$ 180 billion by 2020. The automotive sector in the India has attracted FDI worth US$ 15.79 billion during April 2000September 2016, as per statistics released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). This, along with rapid economic growth in the region creates a highly conducive environment for market growth.. The growth in the sales of automobiles, and increasing use of waterborne coatings in automobiles due to their ability to protect the vehicles against UV radiation, and bad weather is also adding up to the growth of these coatings in the region.The fluctuating raw materials prices of different pigments, additives, resins is the main restraining factor for this market growth. The lack of awareness on the uses and benefits of waterborne coatings is the major challenge which is need to be focused in this market.Request to view the table of Content:Some of the major players operating in the global Waterborne Coatings materials market are BASF SE, AkzoNobel N.V., Axalata Coating System LLC, PPG Industries, The Valspar Corporation, Sherwin-Williams Company, Nippon Paints Co. Ltd., Kansai Paint Co. Ltd., Tikkurila OYJ, and Berger Paints India Ltd.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:Visit Blog : Furfural Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/321 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/321 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ http://globalresearchtrends.blogspot.in/ Furfural is an organic compound derived from plant materials such as corncobs, oat, wheat bran, rice husk, bagasse, and saw dust. It is usually produced from agricultural wastes rich in pentosans that are hydroysed to produce furfural and its byproducts. Furfural is a colorless oil that readily dissolves in various organic solvents and is slightly soluble in water. It exhibits chemically similar properties as that of other aldehydes and aromatic compounds. It can be readily hydrogenated to tetrahydrofurans derivatives, which when are heated with acids results into solidified polymer or thermosetting polymer. Hence, it is commercially considered as a renewable, non-petroleum based chemical feedstock. Due to these properties, it is widely used in application industries such as petroleum, agriculture, paints & coatings, and pharmaceuticals. Increasing environmental concerns of fossil resources has led to rise in production of renewable alternatives as suitable biomass-based platform chemicals. The U.S. Department of Energy has also selected furfural as one of the top 30 platform chemicals derived from biomass. Furfural production was pioneered in 1921 by the Quaker Oats Company using oat hulls, corncobs, and bagasse. In 2014, around 300 to 700 kilotons of furfural was produced worldwide, of which China contributed a major share. Significant improvements in the production methods of furfural and its increasing incorporation in a wide range of applications have resulted into furfural emerging as a widely used biomass-based chemical.Request Sample of Furfural Market:Global Furfural TaxonomyThe global furfural market is classified on the basis of the following segments:By applicationFurfural alcoholSolventsOthersBy raw materialsCorn cobRice huskBagasseOthersBy end-use industryPetroleumAgriculturePaints & coatingsPharmaceuticalOthersPrevalent Scenario in Furfural MarketIncreasing inclination of the populace towards renewable energy to replace fossil resources is a major factor driving growth of the furfural market. Due to its key attributes of thermosetting properties, physical strength, and corrosion resistance, furfural has emerged as an immediate alternative to furan-based chemicals. Also, it is derived from abundantly available biomass, which makes it a highly preferred biomass-based chemical. Furfural is mainly used to produce furfuryl alcohol, which is widely used in manufacturing polymers, textiles, and construction materials. The raw materials for furfural production are the agricultural wastes which are widely available in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The abundant availability of raw materials and low cost labor available in these countries is another factor driving the furfural market in Asia Pacific. Hence, it is also widely used in production of agricultural formulations such as herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and other synthetic chemical compounds. The rising trend of incorporation of natural or bio-based chemicals into pharmaceutical industry has led the manufacturers to invest in technologies to broaden the furfural application into pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. However, inefficient technology resulting in low yields and complex production process of furfural restrains the growth of the market. However, increasing government initiatives for use of bio-chemicals into different applications create opportunities for the furfural manufacturers to invest into research and development of the furfural products and their applications. For instance, the government of Alberta has taken initiatives to link the consumer facing brands with biochemicals and conventional petrochemical industries, which has resulted in increase in investments in the biochemical sector in Alberta. Various research studies are being conducted for low costs production of furfural, though they are not commercially operational processes. Moreover, changing prices of raw materials pose threat to the growth of the market. Asia-Pacific region dominates the furfural market due to abundantly availability of raw materials and rapidly growing infrastructure industry. Europe records for fastest growth rate due to increasing incorporation of bio-based chemicals in petroleum refineries and pharmaceutical industries in the region.Request to view the table of Content:Fragmented MarketThe global furfural market is highly fragmented due to the presence of many established and local players across the world. Major players involved in the market include Hongye Holding Group Corporation Ltd., Arcoy Biorefinery Pvt. Ltd., Corporation, Ltd., Central Romana, KRBL Ltd., Illovo Sugar Ltd., Lenzing AG, Penn A Kem LLC, Tanin Sevnica d.d., Linzi Organic Chemicals Inc. Ltd., Tieling North Furfural (Group) Co., Ltd., Silvateam S.p.A., and Xingtai Chunlei Furfuryl Alcohol Co., Ltd.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:Visit Blog : Chatbot Market | Industry Outlook Research Report 2016-2023 Added By DecisionDatabases http://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/download-sample-17661 http://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/buy-now-17661 www.decisiondatabases.com DecisionDatabases.com offers Chatbot Market Research Report. This Report covers the complete Industry Outlook, Growth, Size, Share and Forecast Till 2023. The report on global chatbot market evaluates the growth trends of the industry through historical study and estimates future prospects based on comprehensive research. The report extensively provides the market share, growth, trends and forecasts for the period 2016-2023. The market size in terms of revenue (USD MN) is calculated for the study period along with the details of the factors affecting the market growth (drivers and restraints).The Rising popularity of interactive online channels and Growing adoption across multiple industry verticals are the major factors pushing the market uphill. But High cost and technical complexities and Lack of awareness might restraint the growth in the coming years.Get FREE Sample Report Copy @The comprehensive value chain analysis of the market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activity involved. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report aptly measures the potential value of the market providing business strategists with the latest growth opportunities.The report also covers the complete competitive landscape of the worldwide market with company profiles of key players such as Amazon.com, Inc., Apple, Inc., Facebook, Inc., Google, Inc., Haptik, Inc., Helpshift, Microsoft Corporation, and Yahoo, In.. Geographically, the Chatbot market has been segmented into regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific And Rest of the World. The study details country-level aspects based on each segment and gives estimates in terms of market size.The report classifies the market into different segments based on type and end-user. These segments are studied in detail incorporating the market estimates and forecasts at regional and country level. The segment analysis is useful in understanding the growth areas and probable opportunities of the market.Table Of Contents Overview1. Introduction2. Executive Summary3. Market Analysis4. Chatbot Market Analysis By Type5. Chatbot Market Analysis By End-User6. Chatbot Market Analysis By Geography7. Competitive Landscape Of The Chatbot Companies8. Company Profiles Of The Chatbot IndustryBuy Complete Global Chatbot Market Research Report At:About Us:DecisionDatabases.com is a global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains.Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed.3rd Floor,Fountain chambers,Nanabhai Lane,Fort, Mumbai - 1E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.comPhone: +91 99 28 237112Web: Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) Market: Toyobo, Kuraray, Unitika, Gunei Chem, Evertech Envisafe Ecology, Taiwan Carbon Technology Revenue, Overlook, Forecast to 2022 Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) Market http://www.globalinforeports.com/request-sample/245661 http://www.globalinforeports.com/report/united-states-activated-carbon-fiber-acf-market-by-manufacturers-states-type-and-application-forecast-to-2022 http://www.globalinforeports.com/check-discount/245661 http://www.globalinforeports.com/send-an-enquiry/245661 http://www.globalinforeports.com http://www.globalinforeports.com/blog Activated Carbon Fiber is a type of carbonated fiber that is made of cellulosic, PAN, phenolic, and pitch fibers, and it is new type advanced material which is different from granular or powder activated carbon.Get a Sample of Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) in United States market, to split the market based on manufacturers, states, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers: Toyobo Kuraray Unitika Gunei Chem Evertech Envisafe Ecology Taiwan Carbon Technology Awa Paper HP Materials Solutions Sutong Carbon Fiber Jiangsu Tongkang Anhui Jialiqi Nantong Senyou Kejing Carbon Fiber Nantong Beiergeand Many Others...Market Segment by States, covering: California Texas New York Florida IllinoisBrowse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers: Pitch based activated carbon fiber Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based activated carbon fiber Viscose Staple based activated carbon fiber OthersMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Solvent recovery Air purification Water treatment Catalyst Carrier OthersThere are 17 Chapters to deeply display the United States Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) Market.Chapter 1, to describe Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by States, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the manufacturers of Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF), with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the United States market by States, covering California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Florida, with sales, price, revenue and market share of Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF), for each state, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5 and 6, to show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, to analyze the key States by Type and Application, covering California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Florida, with sales, revenue and market share by types and applications;Chapter 12, Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) market forecast, by States, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and growth rate forecast, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, to analyze the manufacturing cost, key raw materials and manufacturing process etc.Chapter 14, to analyze the industrial chain, sourcing strategy and downstream end users (buyers);Chapter 15, to describe sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers etc.Chapter 16 and 17, to describe Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Pitch based activated carbon fiber1.2.2 Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based activated carbon fiber1.2.3 Viscose Staple based activated carbon fiber1.2.4 Others1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Solvent recovery1.3.2 Air purification1.3.3 Water treatment1.3.4 Catalyst Carrier1.3.5 Others1.4 Market Analysis by States1.4.1 California Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.2 Texas Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 New York Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Florida Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Illinois Status and Prospect (2012-2022) ..ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @GIR Market Research is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. GIR Market Research is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs- After 97 years, the May Brothers Building is open, again with big ambitions. The Milady Coffeehouse opened in May at the May Brothers Building on the southeast corner 6th and Park Avenue in Fremont. Its the first thing youll see as you walk into the three-story building, but its only part of what the building will offer to the community. Some people come in here and just see a nice coffee shop and a nice venue, Glen Ellis said. I see it as the first piece. The second floor will become the home of Fremont Creative Collective, a non-profit with the goal of helping aspiring entrepreneurs. It will a be a space that will cause collisions of minds, said Ellis, brainchild of the building project and founder of Fremont Creative Collective. We want to start making Fremont a better place by creating small companies. Ellis said. Im a strong believer, and I know a lot of economists believe, that jobs, growth, does not come from corporate, it comes from small businesses. So thats what were trying to do here: encourage people to step out of their comfort zone and start their own company. Ellis said 12-15 people have already come in looking for help with a big idea. On the second floor, entrepreneurs will be able to rent offices for work space. Other offices will be leased to entrepreneur-friendly lawyers, marketers, accountants, etc. Were truly going to be building an entrepreneur ecosystem here in the building, Ellis said. This coffeeshop, this venue, is all part of the formula. You cant really have an entrepreneur ecosystem without something like this feeding it. Milady Coffeehouse gets its beans from Hardy Coffee Company out of Omaha, so the beans are roasted locally. The Aroma Coffeehouses in Omaha also get their beans from Hardy Coffee Company. The company helped Milady Coffeehouse get started. They roast them and theyre in the cup for ten days or less, Nancy Ellis, Glens wife, said. Theyre very fresh, and thats one of the things that makes the coffee special. The building will also be the home of Sycamore Education, the school content management company Ellis created. With five children at the age of 38, he left a stable computer programming job in Kansas City to create the company. Sycamore Education is a web-based information management system for schools, managing things like report cards, transcripts, attendance records and libraries. Today, it has about 25 people on staff and serves schools in 43 countries. Sycamore Education has outgrown its location on Military Avenue, and will be moving into a space on the first floor. At the time we started looking for more room, we were kind of being pulled to Omaha, Lincoln, Ellis said. Thats where the technology creative headquarters are in Nebraska, but we are going to create that environment here. The coffeeshop is a first, necessary step to attract people to the building toward the goal of creating an entrepreneur hub. But its also part of a goal to attract more people downtown in general. Theres also a void downtown, Nancy said. (We want to) just have people rediscover downtown. Its just a little gem that needs attention. With that in mind, the Milady Coffeehouse will be a local downtown weekend evening option. Its open until 10 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 7 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. It opens at 6 a.m. every day. Last year Fremont Creative Collective began holding an artisan market in the parking lot behind the May Brothers Building. Once a month, the artisan market showcases the most creative artists, handcrafted goods, and up-cycled art that Fremont and the surrounding communities have to offer. Remaining dates this year are July 15, Aug. 12, Sept. 9 and Oct. 14. The building will also often host a movie night on a large projector screen. Other events, like open mic nights, are happening constantly. For some occasions, including movie night, a concession stand will open. The Pioneer Theatre, the main, large area near the coffeehouse, will also host open mic nights and local bands. Already, impressive professional artists are scheduled to visit the May Brothers Building. Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts, a rock and '60s soul band from Rockford, Illinois, will visit Aug. 9. On Aug. 20, Sofia Talvik, from Sweden, will perform. The Well Pennies, a folk/pop duo, will visit on Nov. 24. In 1868, the May brothers, Joseph, Jacob and William, opened a retail grocery store on the southeast corner of 6th and Park Avenue. Charles May later joined the business. Soon, it became a wholesale grocery business. After 52 years, in 1920, H.P. Lau out of Lincoln bought the company, and the May Brothers name left the location. But Glen Ellis is a history buff. So, after the May Brothers name had been gone for nearly twice as long as it was around, hes brought the name back to the same location. The May brothers drank Milady Coffee, owned by the H.P. Lau Company which eventually bought May Brothers and renamed the building. Thats why the name Milady Coffeehouse was chosen by the Ellises. The May brothers are considered the founding fathers of Fremont. Similarly, the Ellises are well on their way to founding a start-up community in Fremont. It all starts over a cup of coffee. Air-Cooled Turbogenerators Market: GE, Siemens, Shanghai Electric, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Toshiba, Fuji Electric - Forecast, Application Analysis To 2022 Air-Cooled Turbogenerators Market http://www.globalinforeports.com/request-sample/245665 http://www.globalinforeports.com/report/united-states-air-cooled-turbogenerators-market-by-manufacturers-states-type-and-application-forecast-to-2022 http://www.globalinforeports.com/check-discount/245665 http://www.globalinforeports.com/send-an-enquiry/245665 http://www.globalinforeports.com http://www.globalinforeports.com/blog A turbo generator is the combination of a turbine directly connected to an electric generator for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also used by steam-powered turbo-electric ships.Get a Sample of Air-Cooled Turbogenerators Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Air-Cooled Turbogenerators in United States market, to split the market based on manufacturers, states, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers: GE Siemens ANDRITZ Ansaldo Energia Brush Shanghai Electric Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Toshiba Harbin Electric Bzd WEG Power-M BHEL Fuji ElectricMarket Segment by States, covering: California Texas New York Florida IllinoisBrowse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Air-Cooled Turbogenerators Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers: 2-pole air-cooled generators 4-pole air-cooled generatorsMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Gas Turbine Power Plant Steam Turbine Power Plant OthersThere are 17 Chapters to deeply display the United States Air-Cooled Turbogenerators Market.Chapter 1, to describe Air-Cooled Turbogenerators Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by States, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the manufacturers of Air-Cooled Turbogenerators, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the United States market by States, covering California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Florida, with sales, price, revenue and market share of Air-Cooled Turbogenerators, for each state, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5 and 6, to show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, to analyze the key States by Type and Application, covering California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Florida, with sales, revenue and market share by types and applications;Chapter 12, Air-Cooled Turbogenerators market forecast, by States, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and growth rate forecast, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, to analyze the manufacturing cost, key raw materials and manufacturing process etc.Chapter 14, to analyze the industrial chain, sourcing strategy and downstream end users (buyers);Chapter 15, to describe sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers etc.Chapter 16 and 17, to describe Air-Cooled Turbogenerators Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Air-Cooled Turbogenerators Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 2-pole air-cooled generators1.2.2 4-pole air-cooled generators1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Gas Turbine Power Plant1.3.2 Steam Turbine Power Plant1.3.3 Others1.4 Market Analysis by States1.4.1 California Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.2 Texas Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 New York Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Florida Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Illinois Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force..ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @GIR Market Research is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. GIR Market Research is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs- Pharmerging Contract Manufacturing Market Forecast and Segments, 2016-2026 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2482 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2482 www.futuremarketinsights.com Pharmerging markets indicate the most promising emerging markets in the pharmaceutical domain. Most of these markets are currently exhibiting growth rates moderate to high indicating sustainable demand prospects. The global pharmaceutical market is projected to expand at CAGR of 47% between 2015 and 2026 to reach US$1.5 trillion by 2026. This indicates revenues from companies at ex-manufacturer price levels excluding rebates and discounts. Industry experts note that the U.S. and pharmerging markets are expected to account for more than 60% of sales and 80% of sales growth over the next five years. Contract manufacturing of pharmaceuticals is witnessing steady acceleration in pharmerging markets given high demand for medicines in these countries. For example, consumer medicines form a substantially large portion of pharmerging markets and manufacturers want to source the production of these medicines in the target market themselves. Given the growing complexity in supply-chain of highly potent drugs (both small molecules and biologics); there is a growing trend of outsourcing early-stage analytical, formulation, and commercial development of the medicines. This shift offers CDMOs more opportunities to partner and offer services within the drug product lifecycle. Specifically experts notes that outsourcing the bulk manufacturing of drugs is gradually gaining traction in countries in Asia-Pacific.Pharmerging Contract Manufacturing Market: Drivers and RestraintsGrowing demand for generics in pharmerging markets due to affordability issues is the single most important revenue growth driver of the CMOs in pharmerging markets. Favorable government policies promoting localization are expected to create pull factors for generally manufacturers of generic products rather than originals. Companies having large portfolios, integrated distributors, strong stakeholder relationships, and quick decision-making processes in place are expected to witness dynamic growth compared to others. Other success factors of CMOs include proven record of accomplishment in continuity of supply, unchallengeable quality, competitive pricing and presence of adequate skilled workforce.Request Report Sample@Barriers include non-availability of adequate sterile infrastructure to manufacture injectable drugs and other aseptic formulations. Availability of skilled labor to assist manufacturing of highly potent APIs, cytotoxic drugs, other biologics are factors expected to halt production. Other barriers include limited access to foreign capital, lack of transparency in emerging markets and fluctuations in government policies.Pharmerging Contract Manufacturing Market: SegmentationGlobal pharmerging contract manufacturing market can be segmented in multiple ways. A few these segmentation approaches are based on Product, Class, Therapeutic Area, and, CMO type.Based on the product class, the pharmerging contract manufacturing market is segmented into the following:Branded DrugsBranded GenericsGenericsBased on the drug class, market is segmented as:Small molecule DrugsGeneric DrugsHighly-potent drugs and cytotoxic drugsLarge Molecule DrugsMonoclonal AntibodiesVaccinesInterferonInsulin and analogsOthersBased on the therapeutic class, the market is segmented into the following:CardiovascularOncologyDiabetesInfectious DiseasesOthersPharmerging Contract Manufacturing Market: Market OverviewThe market for CMOs is gaining traction across regions and market given CMOs are increasingly being considered strategic partners, in production through sharing greater amounts of the portfolio volume, and less as step-in organizations to smooth out manufacturing peaks.Geographically, pharmerging contract manufacturing market is classified into regions viz. Latin America, Europe, APAJ, Middle East and Africa. In terms of geography, Europe accounts for the largest market share followed by APAC. Favorable policies, regulations and sophisticated healthcare infrastructure with increasing FDA approvals is expected to drive revenue growth of the market in the near future. Markets in Asia Pacific represent the fastest growth for generic drugs owing to growing number of CMOs, CROs and CDMOs coupled with development of favorable infrastructure across countries in the region. It is predicted that much traction in solid dosage contract manufacturing could be noted in markets such as China and India as more facilities in these countries receive U.S. and EU CGMP certifications and approvals. Much activity is expected to be noted on both clinical and commercial phases over the near term in these pharmerging markets.Visit For TOC@Few key players in pharmerging contract manufacturing market are Cipla, Piramal Healthcare, Aurobindo, Jubilant Life Sciences, Zydus Cadila, Alkem, Intas, Lupin, Torrent, FDC, etc. apart from includes and others. Some of Chinas leading CMOs include Asymchem Laboratories, Beijing Second Pharmaceutical, Chongqing Huapont Pharmaceutical, Porton Fine Chemicals, Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical, etc. These players are entering into strategic collaborations, mergers & acquisitions, and product portfolio expansions, which are their key sustainability strategies to maintain their profit margins in the long run. Also many startup companies have entered in this lucrative market space to capitalize over the opportunities present in therapeutic laser system market.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Biosimilar Market to Cross US$ 11 Billion by 2021 Biosimilar Market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/biosimilar-market-report https://www.marketresearchengine.com/ New York, June 15: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Biosimilar Market By Manufacturing Type Analysis (In-house Manufacturing, Contract Manufacturing Organizations); By Application Analysis (Oncology, Blood Disorders, Chronic & Autoimmune Diseases, Growth Hormone Deficiency, Infectious Diseases); By Product Analysis (Recombinant Non-Glycosylated Proteins, Recombinant Glycosylated Proteins, Recombinant Peptides) and By Regional Analysis Global Forecast by 2016 - 2022How Big is the Global Biosimilar Market?The Biosimilar Market is expected to exceed more than US$ 10.90 Billion by 2021 at a CAGR of 26.3% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Report:A biosimilar is a biologic remedial item which is right around an indistinguishable duplex of a unique item that is made by an alternate company. Biosimilars are formally affirmed variants of unique "trailblazer" items, and can be fabricated when the first item's patent lapses or gets due. Biosimilars are created in living cells with a multi-step procedure. They should be taken care of and controlled under precisely checked conditions. Biosimilars are utilized to forestall, treat, analyze, or cure an assortment of genuine and ceaseless sicknesses including malignancy, unending kidney illness, immune system issue, and irresistible maladies. The biosimilar market is fragmented on the premise of item, assembling sort, and application. Research and development in biosimilar markets and new signs and patent expiry of biologic items has opened globally a new gate of chances for players in the biosimilar market.The major driving factors of Biosimilar Market are as follows: Expanding Government Support and Initiatives to Develop and Promote Biosimilars Developing Pressure to Curtail Healthcare Expenditure Growth in population of senior citizens Increasing Pressure to reduce or cut Healthcare Expenditure Increase in clinical trial activities and awareness Low cost of biosimilar drugs increases the demand for useThe restraining factors of Biosimilar Market are as follows: Complexities in assembling and creative procedures by biologic medication producers.The Biosimilar Market is segmented on the lines of its product, application, manufacturing type and regional. Based on product segmentation it covers recombinant non-glycosylated proteins, recombinant glycosylated proteins, recombinant peptides. Based on application segmentation it covers oncology, blood disorders, chronic & autoimmune diseases, growth hormone deficiency, infectious diseases, other applications. Based on manufactured type it covers in-house manufacturing, contract manufacturing organizations. The Biosimilar Market on geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geographic market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for Biosimilar Market and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2020.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for Biosimilar Market.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets onBiosimilar Market with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Sandoz International GmbH (Germany), Pfizer Inc. (U.S.), Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (Israel), Amgen Inc. (U.S.), Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd. (India), Samsung Bioepis (South Korea), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Switzerland), Celltrion, Inc. (South Korea), and Biocon Ltd. (India). Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary, business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Biosimilar Market has been segmented as below: (Accordingly)By Manufacturing Type Analysis: In-house Manufacturing Contract Manufacturing OrganizationsBy Application Analysis: Oncology Blood Disorders Chronic & Autoimmune Diseases Growth Hormone Deficiency Infectious Diseases Other ApplicationsBy Product Analysis Recombinant Non-Glycosylated Proteinso Insulino Recombinant Human Growth Hormoneso Granulocyte Colony-stimulating Factoro Interferons Recombinant Glycosylated Proteinso Erythropoietino Monoclonal Antibodieso Follitropin Recombinant Peptideso Glucagono CalcitoninBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862Website:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast Report To 2022 Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/request-sample/406934 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/report/global-data-protection-and-recovery-solutions-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/send-an-enquiry/406934 The Global Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market Research Report 2017 renders deep perception of the key regional market status of the Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Industry on a Global level that primarily aims the core regions which comprises of continents like Europe, North America, and Asia and the key countries such as United States, Germany, China and Japan.The report on Global Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market is a professional report which provides thorough knowledge along with complete information pertaining to the Data Protection and Recovery Solutions industry propos classifications, definitions, applications, industry chain summary, industry policies in addition to plans, product specifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures, etc.Get Free Sample Copy of Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market research report @The potential of this industry segment has been rigorously investigated in conjunction with primary market challenges. The present market condition and future prospects of the segment has also been examined. Moreover, key strategies in the market that includes product developments, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, etc., are discussed. Besides, upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also conducted.Report Includes:-The report cloaks the market analysis and projection of Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market on a regional as well as Global level. The report constitutes qualitative and quantitative valuation by industry analysts, first-hand data, assistance from industry experts along with their most recent verbatim and each industry manufacturers via the market value chain. The research experts have additionally assessed the in general sales and revenue generation of this particular market. In addition, this report also delivers widespread analysis of root market trends, several governing elements and macro-economic indicators, coupled with market improvements as per every segment. Furthermore, the report contains diverse profiles of primary market players of Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering:CommvaultEMC CorporationIBM CorporationHewlett-Packard EnterpriseSeagate Technology LLCVeritas Technologies LLCAcronisActifioArcserve LLCVeeam Software AGUnitrendMarket segment by Type, Data Protection and Recovery Solutions can be split into:Email ProtectionEndpoint ProtectionRecovery ManagementCloud PlatformsMarket segment by Application, Data Protection and Recovery Solutions can be split into:Energy & UtilitiesGovernmentHealthcareManufacturingRetailOthersBrowse full report of Global Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market with Table of Content @The report is generically segmented into six parts and every part aims on the overview of the Data Protection and Recovery Solutions industry, present condition of the market, feasibleness of the investment along with several strategies and policies. Apart from the definition and classification, the report also discusses the analysis of import and export and describes a comparison of the market that is focused on the trends and development. Along with entire framework in addition to in-depth details, one can prepare and stay ahead of the competitors across the targeted locations.Every regions market has been studied thoroughly in this report which deals with the precise information pertaining to the Marketing Channels and novel project investments so that the new entrants as well as the established market players conduct intricate research of trends and analysis in these regional markets. Acknowledging the status of the environment and products up gradation, the market report foretells each and every detail.So as to fabricate this report, complete key details, strategies and variables are examined so that entire useful information is amalgamated together for the understanding and studying the key facts pertaining the Global Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Industry. The production value and market share in conjunction with the SWOT analysis everything is integrated in this report.TOC:11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2017-2022)11.1 Global Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market Size (Value) by Regions (2017-2022)11.1.1 United States Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.2 EU Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.3 Japan Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.4 China Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.5 India Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.6 Southeast Asia Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.2 Global Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market Size (Value) by Type (2017-2022)11.3 Global Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market Size by Application (2017-2022)12 Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market Dynamics12.1 Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market Opportunities12.2 Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Challenge and Risk12.2.1 Competition from Opponents12.2.2 Downside Risks of Economy12.3 Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market Constraints and Threat12.3.1 Threat from Substitute12.3.2 Government Policy12.3.3 Technology Risks12.4 Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market Driving Force12.4.1 Growing Demand from Emerging Markets12.4.2 Potential Application13 Market Effect Factors Analysis13.1 Technology Progress/Risk13.1.1 Substitutes13.1.2 Technology Progress in Related Industry13.2 Consumer Needs Trend/Customer Preference13.3 External Environmental Change13.3.1 Economic Fluctuations13.3.2 Other Risk FactorsEnquiry about Global Data Protection and Recovery Solutions Market Report @QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on Global industries, companies, products, and trends.Jia Wang, Room B1510, ShijiKemao Building, No.66,Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing, 100190,China Taurine Market Trends and Segments 2017-2027 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2746 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2746 www.futuremarketinsights.com Taurine also known as 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid is an amino acid present in most of the mammalian tissues and cells having high concentrations in tissues. Taurine is an organic compound having properties like antioxidant, detoxifier, bile acids and membrane stabilizer. Taurine is named after bull/ ox as it was isolated from ox bile first. Taurine is useful in cardiovascular function, development of skeletal muscle, cranial nervous system and retina. Taurine is derived from amino acid with thiol group known as cysteine. Taurine is obtained naturally from meat and fish. Daily intake of taurine is restricted to 500-2000mg to avoid the complications such as rise in blood pressure to strokes and seizures to heart disease. Taurine have different applications in industries like cosmetic industry, healthcare industry and food industryMarket Segmentation:Taurine market is segmented on the basis of application in different industries such as food industry, cosmetic industry etc. Taurine is mainly used in energy drinks like Red Bull which in turn supports neurological development and helps regulation of water and mineral levels in the body. Taurine combined with caffeine is helpful in improving mental performance. In cosmetic industry taurine can be used in products like shampoo and skin care products for anti-aging and reduce fine lines, wrinkles etc. Taurine can be used in toothpaste and mouthwash to give consumers an energy boost. Taurine also be used as supplement in bodybuilding as it increases alertness, strengthens heart, reduces blood pressure and helps prevent dehydration.Request Report Sample@Taurine market is further segmented on the basis of regions as North America, Middle East and Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan and Japan.Market Regional Outlook:On the basis of regions, the Taurine market has been segmented into North America, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific region and Japan. China is a leading manufacturer of taurine with more than 40 manufacturers in the country contributing to the maximum production of taurine globally. Countries like China, India and Brazil etc. are creating more opportunities for the Taurine market due to fast growing chemical industries.Market Drivers and Trends:The trends towards energy drinks is increasing globally which is driving global energy drinks market. Taurine is used in energy drinks to boost the physical activity, body building etc. Consumption of Energy drinks such as Red Bull which contains taurine is increasing trend in many developed as well as developing countries which is driving taurine market. Cosmetic industry is also rising due to awareness of healthy skin, taurine is used in some of the cosmetic products which helps in energizing the skin and reduce wrinkles and fine lines. As a result of health awareness trend of body building and fitness is also increasing, which is also driving the taurine market as it is also used in different health supplements. Use of taurine in in health benefits such as cardiovascular health, hydration etc. helps in driving the taurine global market due to demand of taurine in different food as well as pharmaceutical market.Visit For TOC@Taurine Market Key Players:Some of the key players in the Taurine market include Qianjiang Yongan Pharmaceutical Co. ltd., The Honjo Chemical Corporation, Fuchi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Jiangyin Huachang Food Additive Co. Ltd., Jiangsu Yuanyang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Qingdao Aufeng International Company Limited, Hangzhou FST pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shandong Fangming Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Shayang Tianyi Medicine Industry Co. Ltd., Tycoon (China) Company Limited etc. are among these.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Software-Defined Storage Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021 Market Research Reports http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=908362&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/united-states-eu-japan-china-india-and-southeast-asia-software-defined-storage-market-size-status-and-forecast-2021.htm Qyresearchreports include new market research report "United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Software-Defined Storage Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.The global market for Software-Defined Storage has been marked on several factors that are on the verge or have already impacted the growth of the market in several contexts. The report further pronounces different statistics and data pertaining to the global Software-Defined Storage market. The core aim of the report is to detail out certain positive and challenging impression regarding the market so that potential investors have a good view regarding it. Different facts and figures have been put forth to give a comprehensive transcript of the market to the readers of the report. The market intelligence report additionally adds facets such as prospects, limitations, and drivers for measuring the outcome of them on the market both the regional and global level. The study further delivers a short-lived yet exclusive essential of the market in question, which contains numerous clarifications of the primary facets which are anticipated to trigger development in the market or reason negative influence.This report goes into extra depth of the global market for Software-Defined Storage by exactly gaging the assembly and business shackle of the well-suited market. This is projected to supplementary aid in the dissemination of accurate data and data on innumerable causes of the equivalent market such as info relating to doctrines of the government in the district and global level, construction and circulation structure, industrial capacity, volume traded, and income made among others.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The research report is incomplete without an exhaustive estimation of the seller background of the global Software-Defined Storage market, which comprises the facts and statistics, accomplishments and formations of the cream of the crop in the global Software-Defined Storage market. The market study also conveys a comprehensive review of the key areas detailed in the report of the global market for Software-Defined Storage. For every stretch, the report expresses the array of growth so far and consent on what suppliers can do for ensuring success over the coming years.Browse Press Release of this Research Report:Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Software-Defined Storage1.1 Software-Defined Storage Market Overview1.1.1 Software-Defined Storage Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Software-Defined Storage Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Software-Defined Storage Market by Type1.3.1 SDS server1.3.2 Data security and compliance software1.3.3 SDS controller software1.3.4 Data management1.3.5 Storage hypervisor1.4 Software-Defined Storage Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Surveillance1.4.2 Data backup and disaster recovery1.4.3 Storage provisioning and high availability1.4.4 Others2 Global Software-Defined Storage Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Software-Defined Storage Market Size (Value) by Players (2015-2016)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 VMware (California, U.S.)3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Software-Defined Storage Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Fujitsu (Tokyo, Japan)3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Software-Defined Storage Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 IBM (New York, U.S.)3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Software-Defined Storage Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Scality (California, U.S.)12 Software-Defined Storage Market Dynamics12.1 Software-Defined Storage Market Opportunities12.2 Software-Defined Storage Challenge and Risk12.2.1 Competition from Opponents12.2.2 Downside Risks of Economy12.3 Software-Defined Storage Market Constraints and Threat12.3.1 Threat from Substitute12.3.2 Government Policy12.3.3 Technology Risks12.4 Software-Defined Storage Market Driving Force12.4.1 Growing Demand from Emerging Markets12.4.2 Potential Application13 Market Effect Factors Analysis13.1 Technology Progress/Risk13.1.1 Substitutes13.1.2 Technology Progress in Related Industry13.2 Consumer Needs Trend/Customer Preference13.3 External Environmental Change13.3.1 Economic Fluctuations13.3.2 Other Risk FactorsList of Tables and FiguresFigure Software-Defined Storage Product ScopeFigure Global Software-Defined Storage Market Size (2011-2016)Table Global Software-Defined Storage Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure Global Software-Defined Storage Market Share by Regions in 2015Figure United States Software-Defined Storage Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure EU Software-Defined Storage Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure Japan Software-Defined Storage Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure China Software-Defined Storage Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure India Software-Defined Storage Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure Southeast Asia Software-Defined Storage Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure Global Software-Defined Storage Market Share by Type in 2015Figure SDS server Market Size (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Data security and compliance software Market Size (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure SDS controller software Market Size (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Data management Market Size (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Storage hypervisor Market Size (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)QYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States Worldwide Biosimilars Market 2016 Trend, Analysis and Overview ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/global-biosimilars-market-2016-2020 http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001345914/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001345914/buying Biosimilars are defined as the follow-on versions of original biological medicines. These are separately developed after the patent protecting the original product has expired. Biosimilars are intended to have the same MOA as original biological drugs and are designed to treat the same diseases as the innovator's product. They have many similarities, but are not identical to, the reference biopharmaceutical product.Publisher's analysts forecast the global biosimilars market to grow at a CAGR of 55.52% during the period 2016-2020.For more information about this report:Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global biosimilars market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sale of products such as somatropin, erythropoietin, colony-stimulating factors (CSF), interferons, interleukins, insulin and insulin analogs, follicle stimulating hormones (FSH), monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), and low molecular weight heparins (LMWH).The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEAPublisher's report, Global Biosimilars Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- Biocon- Celltrion- Dr. Reddy's Laboratories- Hospira- Sandoz- STADA- Teva PharmaceuticalsRequest Sample Copy atOther prominent vendors- 3SBio- Accord Healthcare- AET Biotech- Allergan- Alvartis Pharma- Amega Biotech- Amgen- Apotex- Aspen- AstraZeneca- Aurobindo Pharma- Baxter- Bharat Serums- Bio Sidus- Biogen- Bionovis- Bioton- BioXpress Therapeutics- Boehringer Ingelheim- Boston Oncology- Cipla- Coherus Biosciences- Daiichi Sankyo- Emcure Pharmaceuticals- Gedeon Richter- GeneScience Pharmaceuticals- GSK- Hetero Drugs- iBio- Intas Pharmaceuticals- JCR Pharmaceuticals- LG Lifesciences- Lonza- Merck- Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma- Momenta Pharmaceuticals- Mylan- Natco Pharma- Novartis- Pfenex- Pfizer- Ranbaxy Laboratories- Roche Holding- Samsung Biologics- Sanofi- Synthon- Wockhardt- Zydus Cadila HealthcareInquire for Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Latest trends in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Washing Machines Market Report 2017 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1151619 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/1151619 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Report EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Washing Machines Market Report 2017 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"In this report, the EMEA Washing Machines market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split EMEA into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, With sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Washing Machines for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)Europe: Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Benelux;Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran;Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @EMEA Washing Machines market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Washing Machines sales volume (K Units), price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingWhirlpoolLGElectroluxSamsungPanasonicToshibaHitachiSharpGEBoschHaierMideaQishuaiLittle DuckAucmaView Report @On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoDrum-Type Washing MachineWave-Type Washing MachineAgitator-Type Washing MachineOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume (K Units), market share and growth rate of Washing Machines for each application, includingCommercial UseHousehold UseIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Wireless Projector Market Research Report to 2022 http://www.researchtrades.com/request-sample/1121904 http://www.researchtrades.com/checkout/1121904 http://www.researchtrades.com/report/global-wireless-projector-market-professional-survey-report-2017/1121904 http://www.researchtrades.com This report studies Wireless Projector in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringOptomaEpsonDELLBenQPanasonicEpsonLGViewSonicAcerSonyCASIOASUSRicohPhilipsHitachiGet sample copy @By types, the market can be split into720P1080P4KOtherBy Application, the market can be split intoCommercialResidentialEducationOtherBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaBuy a copy of this report for single user price of $3500 @Key elements for this report:1 Industry Overview of Wireless Projector1.1 Definition and Specifications of Wireless Projector1.1.1 Definition of Wireless Projector1.1.2 Specifications of Wireless Projector1.2 Classification of Wireless Projector1.2.1 720P1.2.2 1080P1.2.3 4K1.2.4 Other1.3 Applications of Wireless Projector1.3.1 Commercial1.3.2 Residential1.3.3 Education1.3.4 Other1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Wireless Projector2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Wireless Projector2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Wireless Projector2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Wireless ProjectorView this report @Who we are:Research Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights.Reach at us:Address: Flat No.10, Wing C, S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1, Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us:+91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb: Market Research on Zika Virus Testing Market 2017 and Analysis to 2027 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2913 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2913 www.futuremarketinsights.com One of the biggest public growing threat is the rapid emergence of mosquito borne virus called as Zika virus. Zika virus was first identified in rhesus monkey in the year 1947 in Uganda. Later in 1952 the virus was identified in humans. The virus is a single-stranded RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family, and is transmitted by two species of Aedes genus, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. These are the same mosquito species that also spread dengue and chikungunya virus. The virus can also be vertically transmitted during fetal/perinatal period or by unprotected sexual contact. In case of perinatal transmission the virus can pass from mother to fetus through trans-placental transmission which can lead to the most common birth defect of brain called as microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. Eye defect, hearing problems and impaired growth are some of the issues commonly associated with the infection of Zika virus in fetus. Apart from this several evidences of Guillain-Barre syndrome, have also been reported in patients carrying the virus. Guillain-Barre syndrome is an uncommon sickness of the nervous system which leads to ascending paralysis. However, the risk is found to be higher in pregnant womens during their first trimester of pregnancy period. Symptoms associated with the infection of Zika virus includes, fever, rashes, joint pain, conjunctivitis, muscle pain and headache. These symptoms last for several days to weeks. Africa, America, Asia and Pacific regions are likely to be dominated regions witnessing outbreaks of Zika virus.The first largest outbreak of Zika virus was reported in the year 2007 across the Pacific island of Yap, in the Federated States of Micronesia. In 2016, World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the local transmission of Zika infection in more than 20 countries and territories across the Americas. Currently a number of Zika virus testing assays are available in the market some of which have received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) while some of them are used for Research Use Only (RUO) and are used as Laboratory Developed Test (LDT). Currently, a number of diagnostic tests are available in the market for the diagnosis of Zika virus in humans. This includes, Zika ELITe MGB detection test, Sentosa SA ZIKV RT-PCR, LightMix Zika rRT-PCR test and many more. All these tests allow qualitative detection of RNA from Zika virus from body samples such as urine, human serum and plasma. The market for zika virus testing is expected to rise over the forecast period owing to continuous increase in population exhibiting symptoms of Zika virus over the forecast period.Request Report Sample@Zika Virus Testing Market: Drivers & RestraintsExpanded disease surveillance efforts undertaken by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is expected to spur the market for Zika virus testing in the U.S. In august 2016, FDA announced screening of all donated blood and blood products for Zika virus across the world. This would help prevent increased chances of getting infected through transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs). Substantial spending by U.S. government and FDA to add Zika screening program across all the hospitals and blood banks in U.S. is expected to spur the market for Zika virus testing over the forecast period. Furthermore, increasing efforts by various manufacturers to develop Zika virus screening tests is expected to accelerate the market growth in the coming years. Major demand for Zika virus testing is expected to come from Florida attributed to increasing number of patients exhibiting symptoms of Zika virus. Lack of awareness in the developing countries and inaccurate results from available diagnostic tests may affect the revenues for Zika virus testing market globally over the forecast period.Zika Virus Testing Market: SegmentationZika virus testing market is segmented by test type, route of administration, end user and geography:By Test TypeNucleic Acid Amplification Test/ Molecular TestsZika Virus Antibody Test/ Serological TestBy End UserHospitalsDiagnostic CentersPathology ClinicsZika Virus Testing Market: OverviewAccording to WHO, since 2007, 67 countries and territories reported the evidence of Zika virus transmission. At present, the diagnosis of Zika virus in humans is dependent upon the molecular detection of viral RNA. However, presence of RNA only during the viraemia i.e. presence the virus in blood, and close clinical association of Zika symptoms with dengue and other infections, has resulted in lare number of undiagnosed cases.Accessibility of better diagnostic testing services (i.e. rapid near-patient tests) across several haeltcare facilities is expected to fuel the market for Zika virus testing over the forecast period.Zika Virus Testing Market: Region-wise OutlookOn the basis of region presence, Zika virus testing market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Asia pacific excluding japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa. Continuous spread of Zika virus across several countries in North America is expected to increase the demand for Zika virus testing services over the forecast period. WHO estimated that as of July 2016, in the U.S. CDC reported 12 birth defects related cases and six pregnancy losses. Furthermore, increasing efforts by HHS, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to raise the fund for development of diagnostic assays for Zika virus detection is expected to drive the market growth of Zika virus testing over the forecast period. Also the Zika virus outbreak in several Latin American countries is rapidly growing. For example in Brazil alone the virus is known to affect 21 states out of 26 states. Rapid local transmission of Zika virus across the globe is expected to result in more number of diagnostic assays performed thus driving the revenues.Visit For TOC@Zika Virus Testing Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market players in the Zika virus testing market are, ELITechGroup Inc. Molecular Diagnostics, Abbott Molecular Inc., ARUP Laboratories, Vela Diagnostics USA Inc., Roche Molecular Systems Inc., InBios International, Inc., Luminex Corporation, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., Hologic, Inc. and Focus Diagnostics, Inc.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Bobbi Holm remembers the one and only time she ever had the opportunity to see an eclipse. It was in 1979, and although the event itself is hard to remember, she can remember the feeling of excitement brought by it. On Aug. 21, people all throughout the continental United States will have the opportunity to witness something that truly might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. A solar eclipse. A solar eclipse is a type of eclipse that occurs when the moon passes directly between the sun and earth, causing the moon to block out a portion or all of the sun. The solar eclipse will travel all across the continental United States, and that path of totality is very narrow, its maybe 60 to 80 miles wide, said Holm, who works as a Naturalist at the Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area. That band starts in Oregon and then goes through Idaho, crosses Wyoming, comes through Nebraska, down through Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky before going out to sea over South Carolina. Holm said the most miles of totality where a full solar eclipse is visible occur in the state of Nebraska. An eclipse of some sort happens a few times a year, she said. But they are usually partial and they dont always come right to your area. An eclipse itself is not super rare, but a total solar eclipse or a total lunar eclipse right in your own back yard is very uncommon. They happen worldwide probably four to six times yearly, give or take. Holm said that people can find a plethora of information about the predicted solar eclipse online. People can look at maps, pinpoint an area near them that will serve as the best viewing location and find out all about the event in general. On Sunday Fathers Day Holm is hosting an event at 2 p.m. at the Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area to help people learn more about the strange phenomenon. Holm said that she plans to provide information about solar eclipses through a Power Point presentation, explain why one is so special and then provide a few hands-on activities; which will include basic information about astronomy and moon phases. It wont be anything too in-depth, Ill try to keep it pretty simple, she said. In addition, Holm will explain how to safely view a solar eclipse. It is vital that nobody look at a partial solar eclipse without using a pin-hole viewer, wearing special glasses specifically meant for looking at solar eclipses or wearing special welding masks. You cannot look at a partial eclipse at any time or youll burn your retinas, she said. You can only look at it when its a total eclipse at the height of its eclipse, which last about 2 to 2 minutes. Holm said that in Fremont, residents will likely be able to see upward of 99 percent sun coverage during the peak of the eclipse. It will get quite dark here, you will definitely notice a difference with the light, it will be very interesting, she said. By traveling an hour or so south of Fremont, people will have a chance to see a full solar eclipse. Holm is one of these people planning to make the drive. They say that seeing something like this is just really memorable, Holm said. I am really looking forward to seeing the corona of the sun. Its basically seeing its atmosphere shimmering around the sun, and you can only see that during a solar eclipse because the sun is so bright usually. She encourages people to take the time to appreciate the spectacle. If the weather is clear it will definitely be worth it, she said. We need to hope for clear skies. For more information about Sundays Solar Eclipse Anticipation event being held at the Fremont State Lakes, people are encouraged to contact Holm at 402-727-2922. Veno-Occlusive Hepatic Disease Therapeutics Market Trends and Segments 2017-2027 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2944 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2944 www.futuremarketinsights.com Veno-occlusive hepatic disorder or veno-occlusive disorder is the obstruction of small microscopic veins of the liver. The blood gets blocked only in small veins, the blockage do not get affect the larger veins. As the blood flow of the liver is blocked, the blood is congested in the liver and reduces the amount of blood entering the liver thereby damaging the liver cells. The liver gets enlarged due to congestion. Finally leading to cirrhosis of the liver. The common causes for veno-occlusive disorder is use of certain drugs that can cause serious effects on the liver, radiation therapy or ingestion of certain alkaloids etc. The patients who have undergone transplants have suffered from veno- occlusive disease. There is no specific treatment for veno occlusive disease, the primary goal is to normalize the flow in the blood vessels by controlling vasculitis and fibrin deposition.Veno-Occlusive Hepatic Disease Therapeutics Market: Drivers & RestraintsVeno occlusive disease is said to occur due to radiation and chemotherapy given during transplantation, therefore the rise in incidence and prevalence rate of cancer is the major factor responsible for the growth in the global veno- occlusive hepatic disease therapeutic market during the forecast. The rate of the allogeneic transplants have increased which is one of the factor influencing the growth of the global market. The patients suffering from liver diseases are at high risk of developing veno-occlusive disorder, therefore the rise in rate of liver disease is another factor that can influence the growth of the global market. Furthermore, revenue growth in the global veno-occlusive disease therapeutics market is expected to fuel by factors such as rise in prevalence of viral hepatitis, unhealthy lifestyle, obesity and excessive consumption of alcohol through 2027.Request Report Sample@Some factors that can restrain the growth of the global market during the forecast are rise in the cost of the procedure, less availability of super specialized professionals. Strict FDA approvals and stringent government regulation are also the factors that can hinder the growth of the global market.Veno-Occlusive Hepatic Disease Therapeutics Market: SegmentationVeno-occlusive hepatic disease therapeutics market is classified on the basis of type of drugs, type of disease and end-user.Based on types of drugs, the veno-occlusive hepatic disease therapeutic market is segmented into the following:AntimicrobialsAntiviralsAntithromboticAnti-ischemicAnti-inflammatoryOthersBased on types of disease, the veno-occlusive hepatic disease therapeutic market is segmented into the following:HepatitisCancerBone marrow transplantationOther diseasesBased on End-User, the veno-occlusive hepatic disease therapeutic market is segmented into the following:HospitalsResearch InstitutesAmbulatory Surgical CentresBased on geography, the veno-occlusive hepatic disease therapeutic Market is segmented into following:North AmericaLatin AmericaWestern EuropeEastern EuropeAsia Pacific excluding JapanJapanMiddle East and AfricaVeno-Occlusive Hepatic Disease TherapeuticsMarket: OverviewThe global veno-occlusive hepatic disease therapeutic market is expected to expand at a significant growth rate across regions. Major players in this segment are working on their research and development process to build advanced products. Number of agents have shown improvements in clinical trials. Also the major players are working in segment to develop drugs which have antithrombotic, anti-ischemic and anti-inflammatory action altogether.Veno-Occlusive Hepatic Disease Therapeutics Market: Region-wise OutlookA geographic condition regarding veno-occlusive hepatic disease therapeutics market, it has been segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and the Middle East & Africa.North America region is expected to dominate the global market closely followed by Europe due to factors like higher spending on healthcare, developed regulatory framework, prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle etc. Asia Pacific region is anticipated to show a remarkable growth in the global market through 2027 due improving healthcare infrastructure, increase prevalence of liver cancer in Asian countries, increase in disposable income etc.Visit For TOC@Veno-Occlusive Hepatic Disease Therapeutics Market: Key PlayersSome of the major players operating in the global veno-occlusive hepatic disease therapeutics market are Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Norgine Pharmaceuticals Limited, Novartis AG, Genitum among others worldwide.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems Market to Witness Exponential Growth by 2025 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/day-night-vision-data-display-systems-market.asp http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/14617 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/14617 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems are widely used in the military and aerospace industry which require data storage and visualization of Day/Night-Vision helmets or goggles. The information is displayed on the screen of the lenses, mirror or screen created specifically for viewing the data and also stored the data in a drive. The Day/Night-Vision equipments are of various types including night vision goggles, Day/Night-Vision helmets, periscope, guns and rifle scope, night vision binocular and others which has applications in various industries such as military, aerospace, aviation, police, security and surveillance and others.To View Complete Report @ :This technology is initially developed for military purposes and later found application in air force and civil aviation. With the advancement of technology, this technology have found applications in several other industries. Most of the equipments has a display attached in it where some products such as periscope used in tanks has a separate visual screen which can be removed. Portable display units has gained a significant market share which is used in combat operations. These portable displays can be installed anywhere away from the equipment. These displays usually has a range of 50 to 100 meters and come with a receiver which receives signals transmitted by Day/Night-Vision equipment. Some of the displays has large ranges and can catch signals coming from few meters to kilometers. Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems market is expected to witness an escalating demand among various industries because of its broad applications and features.A sample of this report is available upon request @Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems is used by pilots, military personnels and police. This technology has gained importance due to its varied applications. The military of all the developed and most of the developing countries have Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems and using the same for various purposes. North America is the largest market and manufacturer for Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems. Many new applications are springing in the market every day which requires Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems because of its unique properties.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems market is expected to grow during the forecast period due to its versatile benefits and vast usage. However, Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems comes along with some restraints. Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems is costly and sold to only organizations with legitimate registrations in their respective country. The cost of research and development of these products is great and hence the products turns to be costly. The demand of Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems is always low as compared to the supply due to the high prices. Accuracy and efficiency is also a constraint for Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Veterinary Ultrasound Scanner Market with Current Trends Analysis, 2017-2027 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3356 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3356 www.futuremarketinsights.com The veterinary ultrasound scanner is used In Health & Care.The veterinary ultrasound scanner mainly works by Pulse echo method and Doppler Effect. These two different methods are widely used in diagnostic. Analytic imaging is necessary for determination and administration of numerous fundamental issues in veterinary medicine, veterinary ultrasound scanner gave quick outcomes and was not so much costly but rather more adequate and instructively significant to the general population. Veterinary ultrasound scanner system is non-intrusive fast system likewise gave important clinical data. This framework additionally helps patient to discover their issues in early stages for treatment of various infections and additionally determination of pre-birth. Mechanical advances in the course of recent years have made veterinary ultrasound scanner gear very convenient.Veterinary ultrasound scanner market: Drivers and RestraintThe worldwide market of veterinary ultrasound scanner framework is relied upon to be driven by headway in PC programming that takes into consideration enhanced imaging in a littler bundle and shortening exam times by lessening the quantity of steps required. Ultrasound framework can be effortlessly transported and require less space can likewise be key variables which will build its request in the market. Veterinary ultrasound scan system has less availability of trained and experienced operators can restrain the market of the veterinary ultrasound scanner. Unawareness of these technologies in rural areas can also consider as speed breaker for veterinary ultrasound scanner marketRequest Report Sample@Veterinary ultrasound scanner market: SegmentationThe global market forVeterinary ultrasound scanner segmented by product type, modality, end user, and geography:Segmentation by Product TypeErgonomicsPortableHand-heldExplorationMulti-purposeophthalmicSegmentation by modalitySpecial reduction imagingSpatial compound imagingHarmonic imagingMulti-beam formation technologySegmented by End UserVeterinary HospitalsVeterinary Center for ResearchAnimal husbandrySegmented by geographyNorth AmericaLatin AmericaWestern EuropeEastern EuropeAsia Pacific excluding JapanJapanThe Middle East and AfricaVeterinary ultrasound scanner Market: Overviewveterinary ultrasound scanner showcase makes incredible chance to grow their wings. Makers constant created veterinary ultrasound scanner strategies and they likewise present the assortment of veterinary ultrasound scanner reliably in the market. Income of the veterinary ultrasound scanner advertises increment step by step with great qualities.By product type global market can be categorized into two parts such as ergonomicsand exploration, then further these parts divided into various subdivision by their characteristics and functionalityBy product modality,Veterinary ultrasound scanner devices are functionally based on different type of technology such as harmonic imaging, spatial compound imaging, etc. which are used in diagnosis.By end users, the Veterinary ultrasound scanner market is segmented into the veterinary hospital, veterinary center for research, and animal husbandry.Veterinary ultrasound scanner Market: Region-wise OutlookTopographically, North America rules the worldwide market for veterinary ultrasound scanners because of expanding the interest of indicative test for creatures. Additionally, developing mindfulness among individuals about veterinary ultrasound scanners for pet animals will likewise complement the market in the North American locale. Europe speaks to the second position in the worldwide market because of mechanical progression and expanding mindfulness among individuals. Asia-Pacific is considered as a developing business sector in the global veterinary ultrasound scanners showcase because of vast number of creatures (dairy animals, wild ox, goat) are experiencing different maladies. Also, the market for veterinary ultrasound scanners is at an introductory stage in Asian nations. It is normal that Asia Pacific will contribute a critical piece of the overall industry amid the estimate time frame because of expanding social insurance foundation. Rest of the World (Line) is considered as an undiscovered market in the worldwide veterinary ultrasound scanners showcase because of weak medicinal services framework in African nationsVisit For TOC@Veterinary ultrasound scanner Market: Key Market ParticipantsSome of the major players stand in global Veterinary ultrasound scanner marketsuch are Accutome, BCF Technology, Biocare, Biomet, BMV Technology, DRAMINSKI, DRE Veterinary, etc. Companies are involved in collaboration agreements for R&D to exploit maximum revenue potential in global cosmetic lasers market.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Calcium Citrate Malate Market Segments and Key Trends 2017-2027 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3865 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3865 www.futuremarketinsights.com Calcium plays a significant component of the body. Calcium helps to maintain and promote the proper functioning of various body parts such as bones, joints, nerves and muscles among others. Deficiency of calcium content in the body directly affects the bone and joint health. Calcium citrate malate is an important component which helps to replenish the calcium content in the body. Calcium citrate malate consists calcium and organic acids such as malic acid and citric acid, which help to increase the absorption of calcium in the body. Calcium citrate malate along with vitamin D helps to prevent bone and joint diseases, as it helps to retain calcium and maintain the bone mass density along with other health benefits. Moreover, calcium citrate malate can suffice requirement of calcium with or without adequate food intake. Calcium citrate malate is most commonly used as calcium supplements. It also forms major component in fortification of food and beverages.Global Calcium Citrate Malate Market: Drivers and RestraintsWith increasing health conscious behaviour, consumers are drifting towards healthier food products. Hence, driving the calcium citrate malate market with growing application in health supplements. Calcium citrate malate has potential to reduce the risk of fractures. Hence, with increasing incidence of bone related diseases among women such as osteoporosis, demand for products to overcome osteoporosis is expected to gain traction, which is expected to bolster the overall calcium citrate malate market growth. Moreover, calcium citrate malate also possess various other significant properties such as high aqueous solubility, enhanced bioavailability along with increased absorption, thus finding profound application in the manufacturing of health supplements and fortified food and beverages products.Request Report Sample@Furthermore, with increasing demand for bone & joint supplements among geriatric population, the demand for calcium citrate malate is expect to accelerate during the forecast. Calcium citrate malate market caters to broad range of age groups to various optimal health benefits. Moreover, calcium citrate malate is also reported to cater potential to help in preventing kidney stones. Although still this benefit is at introductory stage. Hence gaining traction in the health supplements market due to its versatile nature.However, there are various other compound apart from calcium citrate malate by which calcium can be incorporated into food and beverages product in fortified form, which are cost efficient. Hence, may restrain the growth of calcium citrate malate market particularly in fortified food and beverages products. It is also reported to have certain side effects if consumed in excessive amount such as constipation, nausea, weight loss and loss of appetite.Global Calcium Citrate Malate Market: SegmentationOn the basis of form, calcium citrate malate is segmented into:-TabletsCapsulesPowderOn the basis of industry, organic hair care s market is segmented into:-PharmaceuticalFood & BeverageGlobal Calcium Citrate Malate Market: Region wise OutlookThe global calcium malate market is categorised into seven regions, namely, Western Europe, Eastern Europe Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, Latin America and North America. Asia Pacific region accounts for major share of the market. With increasing incidences of bone related disease among women, demand for calcium citrate malate supplements is expect to record significant growth. North America accounts for significant share of the market. As majority of the population in North America comprises baby boomer generation, attaining the age of 55yrs in the recent years. Thereby, fuelling the demand for bone & joint supplements to prevent the age related diseases. This is further leading to a bright prospect for growth of calcium citrate malate market. Owing to rising preventive health awareness among consumers, demand for calcium citrate malate products is expected to propel in Europe.Visit For TOC@Global Calcium Citrate Malate Market: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players identified in the global calcium malate market across the value chain includes:Panvo Organics Pvt Ltd.GlaxoSmithKline PlcRevital LimitedAlbion Laboratories, Inc.Posy Pharmachem Pvt. Ltd.BioveaNutraBio Labs, Inc.Dr. Paul Lohmann GmbH KGAbout Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Now Available - Worldwide Carnauba Wax Market Report 2017-2027 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3868 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3868 www.futuremarketinsights.com Natural waxes are obtained through ecological process of biogenesis without any involvement of chemical process. Natural waxes can be derived from plant as well as animal source and represents renewable source of wax. Thereby, gaining traction among wax manufacturers. Carnauba wax is plant-based resin wax, which is obtained from palm leaves of Copernicia prunifera, found exclusively in Brazil. The wax is attained by beating the dried leaves of palm and then refining it. Carnauba wax is considered to be naturally occurring hardest wax. Due to its durability and high melting point, carnauba wax finds extensive use in various sectors such as cosmetics, automobiles, pharmaceuticals among others. Carnauba wax consists various exclusive properties such as it swells when exposed to water, has potential to retain oil and exhibits prominent glossy characteristics differentiating it from other naturally occurring wax. Apart from natural source, carnauba wax can also be obtained organically by filtering the highest quality of untreated carnauba wax.Global Carnauba Wax Market: Drivers and RestraintsIncreasing inclination of consumers towards naturally-derived products is driving the market for carnauba wax. Carnauba wax is hypo allergic in nature and easy to swallow hence finds extensive use in pharmaceutical industry for pills coating. As food & beverage industry is under continuous innovation, product such as carnauba wax that exhibit excellent emulsifying properties and binding capacity for oils, are gaining traction. Moreover, due to its high melting point and glossy characteristics it is becoming a desired natural additive choice among manufacturers of cosmetic industry for manufacturing of lip balms, lipsticks, mascaras among others. Thus, broad spectrum applicability of carnauba wax is propelling the market growth. Moreover, due to its hardness and viscosity modifier properties, it is extensively used as polish wax in automobile industry. Carnauba wax is gaining traction among consumers over the bee wax due to broad base of application hence accelerating the market growth.Request Report Sample@However, the tropical variety of carnauba wax may cause some side effects such as skin rash, contact dermatitis, inflammation of hair follicle. Thereby, restraining the growth of carnauba wax market. Moreover, owing to less commercialisation, carnauba wax market offers low profitability margins to the manufacturers across the globe.Global Carnauba Wax Market: SegmentationCarnauba wax is used in the manufacturing of chewing gums, coated chocolates, lip balms, lipsticks, and dental floss, owing to its glossy and stabilizing characteristics. Moreover, due to its hardness characteristics it is extensively used as polish wax for car, furniture and surf board.On the basis of end-use, carnauba wax market is segmented into:-Food & BeveragesAutomobilesPersonal CarePharmaceuticalOthersOn the basis of source, carnauba wax market is segmented into:-NaturalOrganicOn the basis of form, carnauba wax market is segmented into:-PowderFlakesPelletGlobal Carnauba Wax Market: Region wise OutlookThe global carnauba wax market is categorised into seven regions, namely, Western Europe, Eastern Europe Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, Latin America and North America. Brazil accounts for the major share of the market as carnauba wax is exclusively cultivated in the North-eastern Brazil. Asia pacific region is considered to be prominent segment for growth due to opportunistic investment and manufacturing hub for various industries under which carnauba wax finds extensive use. North America exports its major share of carnauba wax from Brazil.Visit For TOC@Global Organic Hair Care Market: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players identified in the global carnauba wax market includes:Strahl & Pitsch, Inc.Poth Hille & Co LtdKoster Keunen, LLC.CalwaxKahl GmbH & CO. KGFrank B. Ross Co., Inc.Akrochem CorporationAbout Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and IndiaCONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Rising Geriatric Population around the World is Propelling the Global Nerve Monitoring Devices Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/nerve-monitoring-devices-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11198 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Nerve monitoring devices are various implements used to supervise the function of the nervous system during surgeries. Since neural function is absolutely vital and the risk of inadvertent damage to nerves during several surgeries is moderately high, nerve monitoring devices have gained widespread acceptance in recent years. Nerve monitoring devices monitor the integrity and ensure the continued function of a few key areas, in order to avoid irreparable nerve damage.The global nerve monitoring devices market is propelled by the increasing number of neural surgeries and the increasing geriatric population, among other factors. The report presents the expected qualitative and quantitative impact of the driving and restraining factors influencing the global nerve monitoring devices in the 20162024 forecast period, in addition to data on the competitive and commercial dynamics of the nerve monitoring devices industry.Browse Market Research Report @The major driver of the nerve monitoring devices market is, naturally, the increased number of neural surgeries performed around the world. Due to advancements in our knowledge about the nervous system, increasingly complex neural surgeries can now be performed with near-absolute safety. This has led to a consequent rise in the demand for nerve monitoring devices.The rising geriatric population around the world is also a significant factor propelling the global nerve monitoring devices market. The elderly are more prone to nervous diseases than their younger counterparts, and the former are also more likely to require surgical interventions than the latter. Both these factors lead increased demand for nerve monitoring devices, since they are used in both neural and other surgeries that present a risk of nerve damage.Apart from these, the major driving factor propelling the global nerve monitoring devices market is increasing awareness among the global population. The broadening population pool of patients who can afford advanced medical treatments is also boosting the global nerve monitoring devices market.The global nerve monitoring devices market is led by North America. The increasing demand for neural surgeries in the region, the high purchasing power of patients in the region, and the firm establishment of major medical research avenues have been the primary drivers for the North America nerve monitoring devices market. The high geriatric population of the region has also helped the expansion of the nerve monitoring devices market.For more information on this report, fill the form @Europe was the second-largest market for nerve monitoring devices in 2015. Several governments in Europe have proactively encouraged medical research, which has boosted the neural surgery sector. The Europe and North America markets for nerve monitoring devices are also helped immensely by the heavy public health-care expenditure, as well as the presence of sufficient reimbursement schemes.In the coming years, though, the increasingly urbanized Asia Pacific market for nerve monitoring devices is expected to emerge as a major regional player in the global market. As health-care infrastructure spreads across developing economies such as China, India, and Japan, advanced medical procedures and devices will become easily available, driving the market for implements such as nerve monitoring devices.Major players operating in the global nerve monitoring devices market include Medtronic, Nihon Kohden Corporation, Inomed, Dr. Langer Medical GmbH, EMS Biomedical, and Natus Medical Incorporated.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global and Regional Portable Air Compressor Market Research Report Forecasts 2022 Portable Air Compressor Market https://goo.gl/1ACbuO https://goo.gl/c3Z6TA Global Portable Air Compressor Market Professional Survey Report 2017 is a composition of first-hand data, quantitative and qualitative valuation by industry analysts, contributions from industry experts along with their latest verbatim and every industry players through the value chain. The experts have further evaluated the overall sales and revenue generation of this market.The report focus on Global and regional market, providing information on major players like manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, traders, customers, investors and etc., major types, major applications from Global and major regions such as Europe, North American, South American, Asia (Excluding China), China and etc. Data type include capacity, production, market share, price, revenue, cost, gross, gross margin, growth rate, consumption, import, export and etc. Industry chain, manufacturing process, cost structure, marketing channel are also analyzed in this report.Get Complete Report @The Portable Air Compressor report is offers a clear picture of the current and future trends, developments and opportunities. The report, prepared by a highly seasoned team of analysts and data experts, carries an array of tables and graphs besides qualitative analyses. Starting with a discussion on the current state of the Portable Air Compressor market, the report goes on to discuss the dynamics affecting each segment within it. The report segments the market to up to three levels and studies each of these in great detail. The result is a set of sharp insights and recommendations that will help companies stay ahead of the next new trend in the industry.The regulatory environment, being such an intrinsic part of the Portable Air Compressor market, does need special focus. The report collates information relating to current and future policies and regulations that could directly or indirectly affect business operations. The report is an invaluable business intelligence repository for new and existing players in the Portable Air Compressor market.This report also presents product specification, manufacturing process, and product cost structure etc.Production is separated by regions, technology and applications. Analysis also covers upstream raw materials, equipment, downstream client survey, marketing channels, industry development trend and proposals. In the end, the report includes Portable Air Compressor new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, investment return analysis, and development trend analysis. In conclusion, it is a deep research report on Global Portable Air Compressor industry.For sample request click onIn addition, market share evaluation in terms of revenue for major companies is also covered in the report. The scope consequently aids market players in order to identify major marketsin terms of growthand assist in making appropriate decisions. In this report, key players in the Power Cable market have been acknowledged with the help of various primary sources and secondary sources including primary and secondary interviews and yearly reports of major market competitors. Primary sources mainly comprise industry experts from core and associated industries, technology developers, major suppliers, distributors, service providers, manufacturers, and bodies correlated to all the segments of this value chain of Portable Air Compressor industry. On the basis of this research, the market shares have been assessed and validated.This research study comprises extensive secondary sources, databases, and directories in order to recognize and accumulate data useful for a practical, market-oriented, and marketable study of the global Portable Air Compressor market.This research report offers in-depth analysis of the market size (revenue), market share, major market segments, different geographic regions, forecast for the next five years, key market players, and premium industry trends. It also focuses on the key drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges in the embedded computing system market.About Market Research Store:Market Research Store is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Market Research Store is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United States Micro Actuator Market to Develop Rapidly by 2024 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/micro-actuator-market.asp http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/10945 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/10945 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Transducers are those devices which helps to convert one form of energy to another form of energy. Actuator is a type of transducers which helps in producing mechanical movement through converting a source of energy. Here the source of energy may include electric current, pneumatic pressure or hydraulic fluid pressure. Whereas micro actuator helps to transmit a measure or fixed amount of energy for the operation of other mechanism. In other words it is mainly used to produce small forces in entities of small sizes and motions at over small distances. Growing advancement in industries such as automotive, healthcare and wellness is expected to drive the demand of micro actuator in the forecast period.To View Complete Report @ :On the basis of types micro actuator can be segmented as electric micro actuators, functional material based micro actuators, shape memory alloy (SMA) micro actuator, and others. Electric micro actuator can be further sub segmented as electromagnetic micro actuators and electrostatic actuators. Among both these sub segments electromagnetic micro actuator is expected to account for larger market share as compared to electrostatic actuator. Rising wide application of electromagnetic micro actuator devices especially in space crafts is expected to support the demand of electromagnetic micro actuator across the globe. Furthermore, functional material based micro actuator is further sub segmented as piezoelectric micro actuator. Rising application of piezoelectric devices in various applications ranging from energy generation in medical instrument, or gathering of pedestrian traffic to power localized street lightening or portable devices to power the sensors in vehicles is expected to support the demand of functional material based micro actuator in the forecast period. Moreover, shape memory alloy (SMA) micro actuator is further sub segmented as electroactive polymer (EAP) based micro actuator. Rising considerable attention for the use of sensors for micro fabricated devise is driving the growth of electroactive polymer (EAP) based micro actuator in the near future. In addition, the others segment of micro actuator includes bimetallic thermal actuator and magnetostrictive actuators.A sample of this report is available upon request @The micro actuator market can also be segmented on the basis of region which includes North America, Latin America, Easter Europe, Western Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Japan. Among all the regions North America is expected to account for the highest market share followed by Europe. In North America United States is expected to be the major contributor as compared to other countries in the region. Rising demand of automotive products and, health and wellness industry is expected to support the growth of micro actuator market across the region. Moreover, Asia Pacific is expected to register a substantial growth in the forecast period. Among all the countries in Asia Pacific China is expected to be the major contributor. Rising number of aging population have led to the increased production of innovative medical instruments, which is expected to support the growth of micro actuator market in China in the forecast period.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Rising wide number of application in automobile industry, health and wellness industry and other industry such space crafts or industries where heavy machineries are required is expected to support the demand of micro actuator market across the globe. Moreover, rising demand of micro fabricated sensors in above mentioned industries is also expected to support the growth of micro actuator market across the globe in the forecast period. However high cost incurred in manufacturing of micro actuator devices may hamper the growth of micro actuator market in the future.The key international players operating in micro actuator market includes IBM Corporation, ST Microelectronics, Agilent Technologies, Stmicroelectronics Ltda, NanoSniff Technologies Pvt. Ltd., SAES Group and others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Super Capacitors Market 2017 - Cap-XX Limited, AVX Corporation, Evans Capacitor Company, Skeleton Technologies, Nesscap Energy Inc. https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/55256/request-sample https://goo.gl/VWM23L http://www.openpr.com/news/550116.html www.fiormarkets.com www.9dimenreports.com http://swiftnary.com/ Global Super Capacitors Market 2017, presents a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Super Capacitors market globally, providing basic overview of Super Capacitors market including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure, Super Capacitors Market report provides development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structuresDownload Sample Report @SCOPE OF THEN REPORT:In this report, the global Super Capacitors market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (M Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Super Capacitors for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanKoreaTaiwanGlobal Super Capacitors market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Super Capacitors sales volume, Price (USD/K Units), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingCap-XX LimitedPanasonic CorporationNesscap Energy Inc.Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.Maxwell Technologies, Inc.Skeleton TechnologiesAxion Power International, Inc.Graphene Laboratories, Inc.Nippon Chemi-Con CorporationMouser Electronics, Inc.AVX CorporationEvans Capacitor CompanySPEL Technologies Private LimitedAccess Full Report With TOC @On the basis of product,Double Layer CapacitorPseudocapacitorOn the basis on the end users/applications,Consumer ElectronicsIndustrialAutomotiveEnergyMedicalAerospace & DefenseIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.READ MORE POST:ABOUT USFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:Blog: North America Clinical Data Analytics Market to register a Healthy Growth by 2021 http://www.researchtrades.com/request-sample/1093219 http://www.researchtrades.com/checkout/1093219 https://goo.gl/N9wTjH http://www.researchtrades.com There is a massive explosion of data happening in the healthcare industry. Our estimates show that this industry will be generating almost 240 petabytes of data in 2014 alone. An important point of consideration is that all of this data is not structured. It comes in a huge range of data types, varying from doctor?s transcripts to laboratory results. This raises 3 penultimate questions:Ask for sample of this report @1) How can this data be effectively used?2) How to use it to provide better patient service?3) What analysis can be drawn to streamline different departments?With the world population growing at an alarming rate and with threats of new kinds of viruses, like the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS), it has become necessary to make strategies and policies which can benefit the health of an entire population. To address these concerns, healthcare groups are looking towards analytical solutions for effective population management. Clinical Data Analytics helps healthcare professionals to analyze such unstructured data and frame policies which can be used to take measures to monitor the health of the population.Buy a copy of this report for single user price of $3335 @Though they are still at a nascent stage, Clinical Data Systems are increasingly gaining traction among healthcare groupsto help face the challenges posed by population health management.Table of Contents:1 Introduction1.1 Research Methodology1.2 Key Findings1.3 Executive Summary2 Current Market Trends2.1 Market Overview2.2 Technology Snapshot2.3 Industry Usage2.4 Factors Driving The Market2.5 Factors Restraining The Market2.6 Growth Prospects2.7 Industry Value Chain Analysis2.8 Industry Policies2.8.1 Hipaa2.8.2 The Privacy Act 1988 (Australia)2.8.3 Privacy Legislation Of The National Association Of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (Napra) (Canada)2.8.4 Eu Clinical Trials Directive2.9 Porter?S Five Forces3 Market Insights3.1 Introduction3.2 North America Clinical Data Analytics Market Share By End-Use-Sector3.2.1 Pharmaceuticals3.2.2 Healthcare Providers3.2.3 Biotechnology3.2.4 Academia3.2.5 OthersView entire TOC @Who we are:Research Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights.Reach at us:Address: Flat No.10, Wing C, S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1, Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us:+91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb: Streptococci Testing Market - Global Industry Analysis, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/streptococci-testing-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11516 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Streptococcal infections are caused by a microorganism called Streptococcus which is a non-motile, microaerophilic, grampositive spherical bacterium. Several disease causing strains of the bacteria include streptococci (groups A, B, C, D, and G). Each group causes specific types of infections and symptoms. Group A strain of the bacteria are the most virulent species for humans and cause wound and skin infections, strep throat, scarlet fever, tonsillitis, blood infections (septicemia), pneumonia, Sydenham's chorea., rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis.Obtain Report Details @Streptococci are known to originate from several natural sources, including humans and diverse animals. These bacteria often colonize on the mucosal surfaces of the mouth, nasal passages, intestinal tract, and pharynx. Moreover, the bacteria may also cause contamination of drinking water due to feces. Food products which are at high risk of contamination include milk and dairy products, steamed lobster, eggs, potato salad, ground ham, rice pudding custard, and shrimp salad. Some streptococci are commercially important for the production of cheese and yogurt, though are known to be potent pathogen.The bacteria species which do not cause any infection and are used in food industry include S. lactis, S. diacelillactis S. cremoris, and S. thermophilus, the latter being the most well-known. The factors affecting the incidences of sore throats (pharyngitis) include seasonal variation, patients age, and geography. Pharyngitis most of the times is bacterial, though can be viral. Children ranging from 5 to 15 years of age are most susceptible to the infection by group A strep during the winter or early spring season. Symptoms of this infection include stomach aches, headaches, vomiting, nausea, and listlessness.The global streptococci testing market can be segmented based in tests type, end users and geography. Antibody tests include the antistreptolysin O titer (ASO), anti-DNase-B (ADB) test and Streptozyme. ASO test helps in determining a kidney disease glomerulonephritis, scarlet fever or rheumatic fever. ADB test is performed to determine a previous infection of a group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus. Streptozyme is a screening test used to detect antibodies to several streptococcal antigens. Diagnostic tests include throat culture and rapid antigen test. Diagnostic tests are used to confirm the infection where in the sample from the infected area is used as culture, a means of growing bacteria artificially in the laboratory.The cause of a sore throat is usually diagnosed on the basis of a physical exam and lab tests. A throat culture also known as strep test helps in detection of the presence of group A strain of streptococcal bacteria by using a throat swab. This strain is the most common cause of strep throat infection. Various other infections caused by these bacteria include pneumonia, meningitis and tonsillitis. Rapid antigen test can detect strep bacteria in minutes by looking for substances (antigens) in the throat. The rapid strep test detects the presence of a carbohydrate antigen which is unique to group A Streptococcus.The downside to the rapid test is that it cannot detect the presence of Group C and G which can also cause streptococcal pharyngitis. On positive rapid strep test, the treatment is started with appropriate antibiotics to prevent long-term damage and recurrence. End users segment include hospitals, private labs, physicians offices and public health labs. Geographically, the global streptococci testing market is segmented into four major regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World.Make an Enquiry @The key players contributing to Streptococci market include Abbott Diagnostics, Beckman Coulter, bioMerieux, DiaSorin, Hologic, Qiagen, Roche Diagnostics, Novartis Diagnostics, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Sigma Aldrich, and Thermo Fischer Scientific.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Green IT Services Market Report 2017, Trends, Analysis, Share, Estimates and Forecasts to 2022. According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Green IT Services Market is valued at $5.39 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% to reach $7.81 billion by 2022. The desire to enhance efficiency and save the money by corporate and IT sector is the key factor fueling the market growth. Diverse initiatives by the government to encourage green technologies have also given much needed boost to the market growth. Broadening the reach of green IT services in other IT domains can be a key opportunity for the market. In requisites of revenue North America and Europe are the biggest regional markets for green IT services. This is due to the wide focus on the green projects by Government and administration in these regions. Some of the key players in global Green IT Services market are Hewlett-Packard, Accenture plc, Cap Gemini S.A, Computer Sciences Corporation, Dell Inc., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, IBM Corp., BT Global Services plc, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, SustainableIT Inc., Fujitsu Ltd., Qualcomm Inc., Terremark Worldwide Inc., Symantec Corp., Affordable Internet Services Online Inc. (AISO) and Green IT Inc. For More, Please Visit: http://www.strategymrc.com/report/green-it-services-market Services Covered: Eco-footprint assessment Eco-innovation planning services Project management and Sustainability program service Integrated facilities designing services Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) for IT system service IT infrastructure system designing services Sustainable IT education program services System design and Business process services IT system design services Solutions Covered: Workplace innovation solution Green business solutions Energy reduction solution Sustainability compliance solutions Equipment manufacturers solutions Purchasing solutions Real estate development solutions Waste reduction solutions End Users Covered: Education Healthcare Information technology Government Others Regions Covered: North America o US o Canada o Mexico Europe o Germany o France o Italy o UK o Spain o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o Japan o China o India o Australia o New Zealand o Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the World o Middle East o Brazil o Argentina o South Africa o Egypt What our report offers: - Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments - Market share analysis of the top industry players - Strategic recommendations for the new entrants - Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets - Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations) - Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations - Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends - Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments - Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements For More, Please Visit: http://www.strategymrc.com/report/green-it-services-market We offer wide spectrum of research and consulting services with in-depth knowledge of different industries. We are known for customized research services, consulting services and Full Time Equivalent (FTE) services in the research world. We explore the market trends and draw our insights with valid assessments and analytical views. We use advanced techniques and tools among the quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify the market trends. Our research reports and publications are routed to help our clients to design their business models and enhance their business growth in the competitive market scenario. We have a strong team with hand-picked consultants including project managers, implementers, industry experts, researchers, research evaluators and analysts with years of experience in delivering the complex projects. STRATISTICS MRC 17049 King James Way, Gaithersburg, MD, 20877, USA This release was published on openPR. Permanent link to this press release: Copy Please set a link in the press area of your homepage to this press release on openPR. openPR disclaims liability for any content contained in this release. 3D Printing & Additive Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023 https://marketsizeforecasters.com/get-sample/64092/?utm_source=OPR-NL https://marketsizeforecasters.com/enquire-for-discount/64092 http://www.satprnews.com/author/jignesh-thakkar/ https://marketsizeforecasters.com/united-states-aerospace-3d-printing-market http://marketsizeforecasters.com/ 2017 Global 3D Printing & Additive Market Status, 2011-2023 Market Historical and Forecasts, Professional Market Research Report a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the 3D Printing & Additive market.3D Printing & Additive Manufacturing is a layer-by-layer process of producing 3D objects directly from a digital model. 3D Printing & Additive Manufacturing produce functional parts and discussed benefits that have been realized in the medical, aerospace & defense sectors, and aerospace & defence are mainly discussed in this report.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the 3D Printing & Additive Market in Global industry, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Global 3D Printing & Additive Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers Stratasys, 3D Systems, Arcam Group, Renishaw, ExOne, Optomec, SLM Solutions, EnvisionTEC, VoxelJet AG, Sciaky Inc, EOS e-Manufacturing SolutionsRequest a sample copy of Global 3D Printing & Additive Market Research Report @Global 3D Printing & Additive Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Global 3D Printing & Additive Market Segment by Type, covers Plastics Material, Ceramics Material, Metals Material, Other MaterialThe listed pricing for this Global 3D Printing & Additive Market report starts at $ 3480. Request Discount for Global 3D Printing & Additive Market Research Report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into Commercial Aerospace, Defense, Space, OthersFor More Info on Market Research:Related Reports: -United States Aerospace 3D Printing Market Report 2017In this report, the United States Aerospace 3D Printing market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2023.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter Analgesics Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/analgesics-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=12113 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Analgesics, or painkillers, are used to reduce and treat aches and pains. Internal and external analgesics are used to combat pain resulting from inflammation, cancer treatments, physiological injury, neuropathic conditions, surgeries, wounds, and phantom aches. The most prominent therapeutic classes of analgesics are local anesthesia, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and opioids. The growing incidence of cancer worldwide and the rise in chronic diseases are mainly responsible for the consistent growth of the global analgesics market.Obtain Report Details @The research publication offers clients a comprehensive summary of the global analgesics market and elucidates the various factors driving and hampering its growth during the forecast period. The report also evaluates the chief players competing in the global market for analgesics and profiles them on the basis of a number of key attributes, such as company and business overview, recent developments, product portfolio, business strategies, and financial strength.The increasing therapeutic benefits offered by analgesics, in addition to effective and fast relief from pain, have significantly driven the demand for analgesics over the years. The development of innovative drugs and rising awareness about these treatment options have also supported the analgesics market. Moreover, the rise in recurring aches and pains owing to an increase in the prevalence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and other chronic and acute diseases has propelled the demand for analgesics. Other key factors positively impacting the global analgesics market include the growing prevalence of pain worldwide, the rise in effective treatment options, a surge in the aging population, and the growing acceptance of analgesics by a wider target audience.Eli Lilly and Company, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Bayer AG, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Pfizer Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Reckitt Benckiser plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, and GlaxoSmithKline PLC are some of the major companies actively participating in the global analgesics market. In the quest of increasing their share in the analgesics market, an increasing number of firms have been adopting acquisitions as their main development strategy.The global analgesics market has been categorized into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World based on geography. North America is presently the leading market for analgesics and is projected to retain its dominant position through 2024. Recent regulatory changes in the U.S., accompanied by new marketing strategies by analgesics companies, have greatly benefited this regional market. After declining sales owing to frequent recalls, the analgesics market in the U.S., in particular, has been stabilizing on account of the return of prominent brands, the rising occurrence of aches and pains, the rise in the average age of the population, and an alarming rate of obesity. These demographic and lifestyle developments have significantly propelled the North America analgesics market.Make an Enquiry @The Europe analgesics market is also anticipated to expand in the coming years owing to the rapid commercialization of new drugs and an increasing geriatric population. Although analgesics form one of the largest product areas in over-the-counter drugs, this segment has been negatively affected by the growing trend of improving health instead of merely treating symptoms. An increasing number of consumers in the U.K., for instance, have restricted their consumption of analgesics with this trend in mind, thereby negatively impacting the sales of analgesics.In contrast, consumers in several Asia Pacific countries seem relatively less concerned over the possible side-effects of analgesics. A higher willingness to self-medicate instead of visiting a trained physician for mild pain and fever is a trend that is common in a number of countries, more prominently in India. Moreover, the immensely stressful lifestyles in most urban parts of the region have resulted in consumers looking for quick and easy solutions to combat pain. This, combined with the surge in purchasing power, has enabled the demand for as well as sales of analgesics to remain steady over the years.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Community Acquired Pneumonia Market Worldwide Industry Volume By 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/community-acquired-pneumonia-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=4314 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ Global Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) Market: OverviewThe report offers in-depth insight into the key drivers and restraints, current diagnostic trends, emerging treatment modalities, regulatory landscape, market share and size of major segments, and competitive landscape. The strategically motivated insights help various stakeholders gain a better understanding of the market dynamics and identify imminent investment pockets.Increasing prevalence of specific risk factors for CAP in patients has contributed to rising incidence of the infection across various regions. The infection accounts for a significant number of hospital admissions every year. Fuelled by substantial economic and clinical burden of the infection worldwide, a host of treatment modalities to manage CAP has recently emerged. They focus on managing antimicrobial resistance for the most common pathogens, particularly among geriatric population, and evaluating the various vaccination options to prevent these infections. In addition, advancement in diagnostic technologies has increased awareness related to disease incidence, especially in developed nations, thereby fuelling the growth of the market.Obtain Report Details @Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has been a leading cause of mortality among people with infectious diseases and affects people of all age groups. CAP is mainly bacterial in nature and can be caused by a wide range of microorganisms; the most common being streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). Other pathogens include Haemophilus influenzae, mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Legionella sp.Global Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) Market: Trends and OpportunitiesRising prevalence of CAP across various regions and the increasing awareness regarding the related diagnostics and therapeutics are the key factors propelling the market. An expanding ageing population, especially in developed countries, is associated with comorbid disease conditions, which has stimulated the demand for advanced CAP treatments. In addition, the concomitant incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among adult population has increased the morbidity of CAP in some regions, catalyzing the market growth.However, the rising case of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has hindered the efficacy of antimicrobial treatments and vaccines. This is likely to impede the growth of the market to an extent. Nevertheless, numerous clinical studies in understanding the etiology of the infection and the launch of new biomarkers that help in better risk stratification of patients affected by CAP are crucial developments creating promising opportunities for market players. In addition, the release of the newer pneumococcal conjugate vaccines is anticipated to expand the treatment modalities of CAP.Global Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) Market: Regional OutlookEurope and North America are prominent markets for community acquired pneumonia. The growth of the regional markets is expected to be driven by robust healthcare infrastructure and increasing awareness about the availability of advanced biomarkers and diagnostic tests. The advent of new treatment therapies, including vaccines, is anticipated to boost the regional market.Meanwhile, Asia Pacific is expected to expand at an impressive CAGR over the forecast period. Expanding healthcare infrastructure, driven by booming medical tourism in developed and developing countries, and substantial government funding to augment healthcare facilities are the key factors spurring the demand for CAP treatments in Asia Pacific. Furthermore, increasing discretionary spending on healthcare in various countries is expected to propel the Asia Pacific market in the coming years.Companies mentioned in the reportMajor players operating in the CAP market include KYORIN Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., AstraZeneca Plc, BioAegis Therapeutics, Inc., Biotest AG, and Pfizer Inc. Key strategies adopted by companies to consolidate their presence across major regions are mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and collaborations.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Find the Best Business Phone Number Quickly & Easily https://secure.fastpbx.com/numbers www.FastPBX.com https://www.fastpbx.com A new website update is making it possible for business owners and entrepreneurs to choose from local, vanity, or toll free phone numbers in just a few minutes. Visit the FastPBX website to start browsing the endless selection of available phone numbers.FastPBX is making it easier for professionals to get a phone number that suits their needs quickly with their choice of toll free, vanity, and local numbers. When visitors navigate to this new page on FastPBXs site they will be able to search for available numbers in different cities within the United States. Once selected, the visitor will be prompted to submit fields of information before reserving the selected phone number.Business owners need an easy way to get their business off the ground, said a FastPBX media representative, and this new tool will do just that by bringing entrepreneurs and small business owners closer to reliable business communications.Whether you have an office or not, these phone numbers can be routed to your mobile phone to begin fostering a credible image for your new clients. Professionals thinking about starting a new business or in need of a new business phone number are encouraged to visit the phone number selection web page and explore the tool at their own convenience.FastPBX currently offers business phone service to medium-sized and small businesses across the country. Their 24/7 U.S. based support team ensures that customers are taken care of as soon as possible and a 30-day money back guarantee with no contracts gives users the confidence they need to give FastPBX business phone service a try. Backed by reliable technology, FastPBX is becoming a leading provider of business phone systems and the number one choice for business owners everywhere. Learn more about how this innovative technology can help grow your businesses by visiting FastPBX.Visit new page for numbers -FastPBX was founded to provide solid communication solutions for medium and small businesses looking for affordable and reliable business phone systems without having to rely on a premise-based pbx system. Today, FastPBX is a hosted pbx system that provides business phone systems and hardware to medium-sized and small businesses all over the country. With plug and play capabilities, this PBX system makes it easy to upgrade your business phone systems without sacrificing your budget or time. Their 24/7 U.S based support allows users to get the most value and optimize their business communications hassle-free. To find out more about FastPBX business phone systems, visitFastPBX12151 SW 128th CT #104, Miami 33186, FL, USA305 2053292 Stuck for what to get your tech-enthusiast dad for Fathers Day? Choose the Most Secure Hard Drives and SSDs ever made W9B5YZ www.istorage-uk.com Ultra-secure iStorage diskAshur is the latest gadget to have: Super speed USB 3.1, PIN authenticated, hardware encrypted portable data storage drives with unique EDGE technology.(London, June 2017), With Fathers Day just around the corner, are you stuck for ideas on what to get for your ultimate gadget and tech loving dad? With a dad who always wants the latest device and with state of the art James Bond type features, look no further than iStorage and their new diskAshur range of colourful hard drives and solid state drives perfect for storing family and work documents without the fear of the data getting lost or stolen!iStorage, the award winning and trusted global leader of PIN authenticated, hardware encrypted portable data storage devices, launches their new range of USB 3.1 the diskAshur hard drive and diskAshur solid state drives all of which are designed, developed and assembled in the UK.Featuring Enhanced Dual Generating Encryption (EDGE) technology making them THE most secure data storage drives available on the market super spy like!EDGE Security Features:One of the unique and underlying security features of the GDPR compliant diskAshur hard drive and diskAshur SSD is the dedicated hardware based secure microprocessor (Common Criteria EAL4+ ready), which employs built-in physical protection mechanisms designed to defend against external tamper, bypass laser attacks and fault injections. Essentially the drives feature technology that encrypts both the data and the encryption key, giving you confidence that private information is secure and protected.So in short, without the PIN, theres no way in! and you cant get more James Bond-esque than this!Ideal for users looking for an easy to use secure solution for storing all their data, elegantly designed and available in 4 striking colours (Phantom Black, Ocean Blue, Fiery Red and Racing Green) meaning theres plenty of technological features to get to grips with. In capacity options from 128GB to 2TB, there will be space for all the family.The science bit:With software free set up and operation, the diskAshur HDD and diskAshur SSD is platform/device independent meaning it works across all operating systems including all versions of MS Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Chrome, Thin Clients, Zero Clients and embedded systems.In fact, the drives will work on any device with a USB port!Additionally, with an ultra smooth fascia that doubles up as shock-absorbers, the drives being water and dust resistant (IP 56 certified) and supplied with a stylish and sturdy travel case, the iconic contemporary design also features an integrated cable which can be conveniently stored away when not in use.In addition to EDGE technology, the following common features are included:* Brute Force Hack Defence Mechanism - Intelligently programmed to protect against all forms of Brute Force Attacks. Upon the 15th consecutive incorrect PIN entry, the diskAshur drive assumes it is being attacked and will delete the encryption key and lock itself, rendering all data previously stored on the drive as lost forever. At this point the drive can be reset to factory default settings and redeployed.* Self Destruct Feature: Users can pre-program the diskAshur drives with a unique Self Destruct PIN which, once entered, instantly deletes the encryption key rendering all data previously stored on the drive as lost forever.* Unattended Auto-Lock Feature: Set the drive to automatically lock after a pre-determined amount of time where the drive has not been used.* Wear Resistant Epoxy Coated Keypad: Designed with protection in mind, the diskAshur range offer a wear resistant epoxy coated keypad which hides key usage to avoid tipping off a potential hacker to commonly used keys.For more information on iStorage or to find out how the iStorage EDGE range of diskAshur HDD and diskAshur SSD can help protect your familys confidential data, please visitor contact +44 (0) 20 8991 6260.End.About iStorage LimitediStorage is the trusted global leader of award winning PIN authenticated, hardware encrypted data storage devices. Delivering the most innovative products to securely store and protect data to military specified encryption levels; safeguarding valuable business information whilst ensuring compliance to regulations and directives.About EDGE technology - Enhanced Dual Generating Encryption technologyA dedicated hardware based secure microprocessor (Common Criteria EAL4+ ready), which employs built-in physical protection mechanisms designed to defend against external tamper, bypass attacks and more.About the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)The European Union will have the power to fine companies 20 million or 4% of their global turnover if they are found to be in breach of the new government legislation. GDPR, which comes into force on 25th May 2018, compels organisations who process or hold personally identifiable information of EU residents, to implement adequate security measures to protect personal data loss or face tough fines.iStorage LimitediStorage House13 Alperton LanePerivaleMiddlesexUB6 8DHUKFor further information or to request samples for review, please contact:Holli Cheung, Media and Communications, iStorage Limited at holli.cheung@istorage-uk.com or telephone +44 (0) 20 8991 6286. Printed Cartons Market - Regional Outlook and Forecasts 2017 to 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/printed-cartons-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20711 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Printed Cartons Market: IntroductionOver the last few years, product packaging emerged as a critical factor in customers decision making process, as customers with their preference of choices directly communicates with the brand. Packaging is not only used for protecting the product but also aids to enhance the brand visibility, which in turn escalates brand value. Cartons are considered one of the essential packaging solution available to brand owners and product manufacturers. Manufacturers on the other hand also come up with innovative packaging demand to solution providers in order to get hold of target customer eye-balls and retain its competitive edge in the market. This practice has intensified on the need of customization in terms of overall packaging and required prints. Printed cartons are an example of similar market development, which gained momentum in terms of demand and manufacturers overall focus. Printed cartons offers unique blend of packaging that amalgamates the ability to bear heavy loads and appealing print designs.Browse Market Research Report @Printed Cartons: Market DynamicsPrinted cartons market growth is attributed by impressive growth in consumer products market across different geographies. Food & beverages industry which reported over 15% annual growth in emerging Asian markets, analyzed to be the key contributor to printed packaging carton demand. On similar lines, cosmetics industry acted as a catalytic factor to the escalated demand for printed carton across the globe. It is noteworthy that the demand for cosmetic products viz. a viz. packaging products required for packaging including printed carton remained above manufacturing sector growth across all prominent geographies of the world.Food & beverage as well as cosmetic manufacturers need high load capacity packaging solutions along with assurance of product safety as well as attractive prints, which eventually is an attribute of printed cartons and thus the global projected growth for printed carton is likely to be in the vicinity of 5% over short term period. In a dynamics consumer products market, printed cartons provided brand owner and product manufacturers a competitive edge, even helped packed products to find space at front shelves of modern retail format. Thus, a larger chunk of brand owners are emphasizing on printed cartons and have moved to these newer packaging formats. Apart from food & beverage and cosmetic products, printed cartons are widely as a packaging solutions for the tobacco, and electronics products, and on the backdrop of growth in end use industry presents a substantial opportunity for global printed cartons market.For more information on this report, fill the form @Printed Cartons: Market SegmentationThe global printed cartons market is segmented on the basis of material, feature, applicationBased on the material, the global printed cartons market is segmented into:Corrugated boardPaper boardCoated paperKraft paperBased on the feature, the global printed cartons market is segmented into:RecyclableBio degradableDisposableBased on the application, the global printed cartons market is segmented into:FoodBeveragesCosmetic & personal careHomecareTobaccoLiquorOthersPrinted Cartons Market: Regional outlookIn terms of geography, the global printed cartons market has been segmented into five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. Among these regions, Asia pacific is anticipated to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period accounting for over a quarter share of the global printed cartons market. Growth in Asia Pacific is attributed by growth of food & beverages, cosmetic & personal care industry in the region. Within the Asia Pacific, like several other products India and China will continue to pull in the interest of investors on the backdrop of increasing demand. North America, particularly US and Western European countries will continue to post current growth of rate of 3-5%, largely contributed by retail sector and improving trade balance. Latin America is anticipated to be an interesting market for investors in printed cartons, as the demand is anticipated to unfold, though a conservative sentiment also prevails in the market. If the market did not unfolded as anticipated, then the Latin American market for printed carton is likely to reflect slightly higher growth than the Middle East & Africa region, which is poised to reflect least growth across all geographies.Printed Cartons Market: Key playersSome of the key players in the global printed cartons market are Elopak Inc., Evergreen Packaging Inc., Refresco Gerber N.V., SIG Combibloc GmbH, IPI s.r.l., International Paper S.A., Sealed Air Corporation, Smurfit Kappa Group, DS Smith Packaging Limited, WestRock Company etc.About TMRTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Easy Peel Film Packaging Market Will Generate New Growth Opportunities by 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/easy-peel-film-packaging-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=18812 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Easy Peel Film Packaging Market: IntroductionThe revenue form the packaging industry sales globally is expected to continue to show strong growth as both increased consumption and demand for consumer goods and food has driven the needs for more sophisticated packaging, such as easy peel film packaging, supported by growing middle class and rising disposable income. Packaging film and even packaging product manufacturers are offering products with additional focus given to the convenience aspect for consumers, ultimately creating profitable market opportunities for companies providing easy peel film packaging. Easy peel film packaging has been one of the most innovative product offering from packaging companies, vastly benefitting the food and beverage industry in a very short span of time.Browse Market Research Report @Moreover, easy peel film packaging allows the customer to handle the product safely and with ease and also ensure consumers that the packaging can be separated from the product without leaving any residue and that it can be fully emptied, minimizing the wastage of the content. Easy peel film packaging is also moisture resistant, enhances product quality and also benefits both consumers with convenience and aids manufacturers in relation to its sustainable, and easy disposal nature. In addition, easy peel film packaging is also an economical solution for manufacturers, as it reduces the shipping and logistics cost during transportation, ultimately maximizing the profitability margin of suppliers.Easy Peel Film Packaging: Market DynamicsGrowth in demand for easy peel film packaging is anticipated to remain steady for various reasons. Firstly, the food & beverage industry is constantly striving to offer its products that not only make the packaging attractive but also offers convenience. Secondly, rising investment in product innovation, among packaging film and machinery manufacturers, expansion of production capacity to meet the demand is expected to drive the demand of easy peel film packaging throughout the forecast period. The trend of replacing conventional rigid plastic film with easy peel film packaging has been rather safe and economical option for packaging manufacturers, as they consume relatively less space during inventory and transportation. Moreover, offering customized easy peel films with dimensions and printing options as per the customer requirement is the new trend observed in the global easy peel film packaging market. Easy peel film packaging can be used for various types of plastic containers and cups and leaves no residue behind. The packaging form is non-sticky and perform well with all sorts of temperature. Despite growth opportunities, the manufacturing cost of such packaging is relatively high, resulting into low profitability margins for packaging film suppliers.For more information on this report, fill the form @Easy Peel Film Packaging: Market SegmentationThe global easy peel film packaging market is segmented on the basis of application, material, packaging and region. On the basis of application, the global easy peel film packaging market is segmented into food & beverage, medical application segment, industrial application segment and other consumer products segment. The food and beverage segment is further sub-segmented into seafood products, frozen food, dairy products, bakery & confectionary, microwaveable food products, and beverages. The medical application segment is further sub-segmented as syringes, catheter packaging film and infusion bags. Further the industrial application segment is sub-segmented into toner containers, ink cartridges and other industrial products. The consumer products is further segmented into air fresheners, deodorizers, washing detergents, wet wipes and other consumer products. Demand of easy peel film packaging from food application segment is anticipated to offer lucrative opportunities to the global easy peel film packaging market in terms of growth prospects. Moreover, on the basis of material type, the global easy peel film packaging market is segmented into linear low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and others. On the basis of packaging type, the global easy peel film packaging is segmented into cups, trays, pouches and other containers.Easy Peel Film Market: Regional outlookEasy peel film packaging market has been segmented on the basis of region into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin America. Among these region, North America and Europe are expected to collectively dominate the market throughout the forecast period. However, many packaging film suppliers and converter companies are investing in Asia Pacific to tap the growing unmet demand and potential, easy peel film packaging offers to packaging film manufacturers in the region. Furthermore, Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness maximum CAGR over the forecast period primarily driven by China, Japan and India. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are expected to witness sluggish growth and over the forecast period. In Latin America, Brazil and Mexico are expected to create maximum incremental opportunities in terms of revenue for companies involved in easy peel film packaging.Easy Peel Film Packaging Market: Key playersSome of the key players in the global easy peel film packaging market are J-Film Corporation, Evonik Industries, Mitsui Chemicals, Bemis Company Inc., Shrinath Rotopack Pvt Ltd, Tilak Polypack Pvt Ltd. A majority of easy peel packaging companies are largely headquartered in Europe and North America. However, China and India based packaging film manufacturers are looking to grab most of the opportunity offered in terms of revenue from the global easy peel film packaging market.About TMRTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum Market By Analysis of Major Industry By 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/collagenase-clostridium-histolyticum-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=4474 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ Global Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum Market: OverviewCollagenase clostridium histolyticum is primarily used in the treatment of Dupuytrens contracture and Peyronies disease. Thus, the global market for collagenase clostridium histolyticum is gaining traction due to the rising prevalence of these two diseases, especially in developed countries. Collagenase is an enzyme that helps in breaking down the chord of thickened tissue and permits straightening of fingers. Some of the primary medications available in the market based on this enzyme are Xiapex (Europe), Xiaflex (U.S.), and Collagenase Santyl.The report identifies and meticulously examines the trends and opportunities impacting the growth of the global collagenase clostridium histolyticum market. It extensively covers the entire value chain of the market along with the suppliers and distributor analysis. For a clear understanding, the report segments the market on the basis of geography and provides data for the market across each segment. The key players in the market are profiled along with their business strategies, market shares, latest developments, and revenue and cost structures. The report includes a separate section of recommendations by industrial experts for both established as well as emerging players in the collagenase clostridium histolyticum market.Obtain Report Details @Global Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum Market: Drivers and RestraintsBesides their conventional use in the treatment of Peyronies disease and Dupuytrens contracture, collagenase clostridium histolyticum is used in various medical areas such as wound care, necrotic tissue, burn management, and pain management. In addition to this, over the past few years, an increase has been witnessed in the number of clinical studies, especially in developed countries, focused on discovering other usages of collagenase in human healthcare. Therefore, its widening scope of applications is providing a fillip to the global collagenase clostridium histolyticum market. The market is thriving due to the lack of other standard and reliable medicines and therapies for the treatment of Dupuytrens contracture and Peyronies disease.On the other hand, the presence of stringent regulatory approval framework and high prices of collagenase are acting as stumbling blocks for the global collagenase clostridium histolyticum market. Moreover, a raft of side effects is associated with the use of collagenase clostridium histolyticum. They include, itching on the treated hand, blisters at the site of injection, painful sexual intercourses, painful erection, and swollen and painful glands in the area around elbow and underarms. However, increasing research and development activities for the introduction of safer drugs and therapies are likely to unfold tremendous growth opportunities for the global collagenase clostridium histolyticum market.Global Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum Market: Geographical SegmentationIn terms of geography, the report divides the global biofuels market into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. North America will be a prominent market for collagenase clostridium histolyticum, thanks to high awareness among the populace regarding diseases such as Peyronies and Dupuytrens and their medications. Rapid clinical advancements are also contributing to the growth of the region. Europe will also account for a substantial share in the market, owing to the rising prevalence of the aforementioned diseases. The presence of advanced healthcare infrastructure is also responsible for the prominence of both the regions.Global Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum Market: Competitive LandscapeThe global collagenase clostridium histolyticum market is highly competitive and consolidated in nature owing to the presence of a handful of large players. The majority of key companies are involved in mergers and acquisitions and collaborations to strengthen their position in the market. Players are also paying high attention to clinical advancements in order to provide improved and safer drugs. Some of the prominent participants in the global collagenase clostridium histolyticum market are Healthpoint Ltd., BioSpecifics Technologies Corp., Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc., Actelion Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc, Smith & Nephew Plc., Advanced Biofactures Corporation, and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Global Sanger Sequencing Service Market 2017 - Source BioScience, GenScript, Thermofisher, Nucleics https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/67756/request-sample https://goo.gl/kR0tTa www.fiormarkets.com www.albaniantimes.com DNA sequencing refers to the methods and technologies that used to determine the orders of nucleotide bases in a DNA molecule, namely adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T). DNA sequencing enables us to perform a thorough analysis of DNA because it provides us with the most basic information of all: the sequence of nucleotides. The knowledge of DNA sequences has formed the basis of basic biological researches and clinical genetic diagnosis. There are also numerous applied technology fields such as biotechnology, forensic science and biological systematics that are heavily dependent on the information generated through DNA sequencing.Request For Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Sanger Sequencing Service in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversSource BioScienceGenScriptThermofisherNucleicsGenHunter CorporationLGC LimitedSciGenom LabsFasteris SACeMIA SAMicrosynth AGQuintaraBioEurofinsGenewizMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversType 1Type 2Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoBioscience CompaniesHospitalsInstitutionsAccess Full Report With TOC @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Sanger Sequencing Service market.Chapter 1, to describe Sanger Sequencing Service Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Sanger Sequencing Service, with sales, revenue, and price of Sanger Sequencing Service, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Sanger Sequencing Service, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Sanger Sequencing Service market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Sanger Sequencing Service sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice-108, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: Global Tongue Depressors Market 2017 - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Russia, France, UK, Korea, Germany https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/67757/request-sample http://www.fiormarkets.com/report/global-tongue-depressors-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-67757.html www.fiormarkets.com www.albaniantimes.com This report studies the Tongue Depressors market. A tongue depressor is a tool used in medical practice to depress the tongue to allow for examination of the mouth and throat. The most common modern tongue depressors are flat, thin, wooden blades, smoothed and rounded at both ends, but, historically, tongue depressors have been made of a variety of materials. Since they are inexpensive and difficult to clean, wooden tongue depressors are labeled for disposal after a single use.Request For Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Tongue Depressors in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversUSACanadaJapanChinaRussiaFranceUKKoreaGermanyAustraliaMiddle EastSouth East AsiaSouth AmericaMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversType 1Type 2Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoHospitalsClinicsAcademic & Research InstitutesOthersAccess Full Report With TOC @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Tongue Depressors market.Chapter 1, to describe Tongue Depressors Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Tongue Depressors, with sales, revenue, and price of Tongue Depressors, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Tongue Depressors, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Tongue Depressors market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Tongue Depressors sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice-108, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: The Baby Food Market in Netherlands 2017 Report provides Extensive and highly Detailed Current and Future Market Trends http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1157450 http://www.researchmoz.us/baby-food-market-reports-178.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG http://deep-research-report.blogspot.com/ ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " The Baby Food Market in Netherlands 2017 " to it's Large Report database.The Baby Food Market in Netherlands 2017Summary"The Baby Food Market in Netherlands 2017" is an analytical report by GlobalData which provides extensive and highly detailed current and future market trends in the Netherlands market.The baby food market in Netherlands is well established and consumption levels are high, but sales have been adversely affected by lower numbers of births and by the generally sluggish economy. Consumption in all sectors has declined since 2010. However, a few areas of growth have emerged, including toddler milks, pouches, and finger foods. Retail sales are expected to rise but consumption is forecast to decline. Per capita intake is also likely to fall although it will remain at a high level by international standards. All sectors except drinks will see some increase in retail value. Milks should continue to benefit from higher use of products for toddlers, wet meals from product innovation, including principally pouches, and finger foods from a move towards more sophisticated savory snacks.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:What else does this report offer?- Consumption data based upon a unique combination of industry research, fieldwork, market sizing work and our in-house expertise to offer extensive data about the trends and dynamics affecting the industry.- Detailed profile of the companies operating and new companies considering entry in the industry along with their key focus product sectors.- Market profile of the various product sectors with the key features & developments, segmentation, per capita trends and the various manufacturers & brands.- Overview of baby food retailing with a mention of the major retailers in the country along with the distribution channel.- Future projections considering various trends which are likely to affect the industry.Read All Baby Food Market Research Reports @Table of ContentsIntroductionExecutive SummaryDefinitionsBackground to the MarketMarket OverviewSector AnalysisProduction and TradeCompany ProfilesDistributionEconomic BackgroundProspects and ForecastsAppendixAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket Ghumare90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at: Global Wireless Infrastructure Market 2017 - Ericsson, Nokia (ALU+MOTO), Juniper, Cisco, CommScope https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/67759/request-sample https://goo.gl/lmviLJ www.fiormarkets.com www.albaniantimes.com Wireless Infrastructure can be defined infrastructure required to facilitate wireless networking. Wireless networking is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise (business) installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment locations and communicate with each other.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Wireless Infrastructure in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Request For Sample Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversEricssonNokia (ALU+MOTO)JuniperCiscoCommScopeHUBER + SUHNERCorningMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, covers2G/3G4G5GMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoMilitary UseCivil UseAccess Full Report With TOC @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Wireless Infrastructure market.Chapter 1, to describe Wireless Infrastructure Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Wireless Infrastructure, with sales, revenue, and price of Wireless Infrastructure, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Wireless Infrastructure, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Wireless Infrastructure market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Wireless Infrastructure sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice-108, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: Global Assembly Automation Market 2017 - FANUC, ABB, Yaskawa, Kuka, Hanwha, Hirata, ThyssenKrupp https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/66920/request-sample https://goo.gl/sjx4po www.fiormarkets.com www.albaniantimes.com Automated assembly refers to a manner of producing goods by use of automated machinery or assembly robots and a systematic approach to assembling goods that operates at least partly independently from human control. In most cases, automated machinery is used to produce products using standardized parts added in a specific series of motions or activities along what is commonly called an assembly line. In many technology firms, medical research and clinical companies and factories, automated assembly is an important part of the process.Request For Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Assembly Automation in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversFANUCABBYaskawaKukaHanwhaHirataThyssenKruppATS AutomationVelomatBastian SolutionsMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversRobot Automation EquipmentOther Automation EquipmentCentral control systemMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoAutomobile3C IndustryOthersAccess Full Report With TOC @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Assembly Automation market.Chapter 1, to describe Assembly Automation Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Assembly Automation, with sales, revenue, and price of Assembly Automation, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Assembly Automation, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Assembly Automation market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Assembly Automation sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice-108, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: Juice packaging market trends research and projections for 2017-2024 https://www.gminsights.com/request-toc/upcoming/1508 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/1508 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/red-and-white-grape-juice-concentrate-market https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/breakfast-drinks-market https://www.gminsights.com https://gminsights.wordpress.com Global Juice Packaging Market size is expected to witness a significant growth in the forecast timespan. There are numerous factors which have impacted the product market. Packaging has been an integral part of every industry, particularly in the food and beverage industry. The rising consumer awareness about health and wellness has propelled the packaging industries to find healthier alternatives for packaging. Upsurge in the production of eco-friendly packaging material will also lead to the market growth. Governments have encouraged the use of eco-friendly materials which has fueled the market growth.The increasing disposable income of people and trend of nuclear families has resulted into an augmented demand for healthy packaging options. The key driver behind the market growth is the escalating demand from the developing economies. Juice consumption has greatly increased in countries such as China and India, which will favorably affect the market. The trend of sustainable packaging is intensifying globally, which will propel the juice packaging market. Technological advancements and innovations in raw materials have also boosted the packaging industry.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @The changing consumer lifestyle has enhanced the demand of packaged juices. The market has charted a significant growth trajectory due to the ease of availability and consumption of packaged juices. The shelf life of juices is extended with packaging ensuring healthy consumption. Juice packaging is done according to the safety and health regulations which has ensured hygienic conditions under which packaging is done. The manufacturers have constantly been engaged in producing attractive packaging, which has further driven the industry.However, there are some restraints which can affect the juice packaging market adversely. The fluctuating costs of raw materials and government constraints on the use of plastics for juice packaging can hinder the growth of the market. Environmental impact from the carbon footprint produced while manufacturing of packaging material can also hamper the market growth. Costs involved in the transportation of raw materials can impede the market growth.Make an inquiry for buying this report @Packaging ensures protection of juices from contaminants such as dust, germs and other environmental factors such as moisture, heat, etc. It provides tampering resistance and aids in secure and reliable transportation of products. It reduces damage after production and helps in safe distribution of the products across the value chain. PET bottles, glass and cartons are widely used for packaging of juices. The principal factors considered during packaging of juices are aroma barrier, gas barrier and light barrier, to maintain the quality of the product.The juice packaging market can be segmented into raw materials, technology, opening type, packaging type and regions. Based on raw materials, the market can be divided into cardboard, glass, brick carton, plastic and metal. Plastic is the most common type of material used for packaging of juices. Based on technology, the juice packaging industry can be classified as hot filling process, blow-fill-seal process and aseptic filling process. On the basis of opening type, the market can be segmented into clip opening, straw hole opening and lid opening. Based on packaging type, the market can be bifurcated into flexible packaging and rigid packaging. Flexible packaging includes pouches and bag-in-box packaging. Rigid packaging includes cans, cartons and bottles.Based on region, the market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. U.S. has the major market share owing to the huge consumption of packaged juices. The market in Europe is also expected to grow at a robust rate. The consumption of packaged juices has been remarkably increased in Asia Pacific, which will drive the market growth.There are several players in the juice packaging market due to the high competition and presence of local and international suppliers. Some of them are Amcor Ltd., Mondi plc, Plastipak Holdings, Inc., Ball Corporation, Bemis Company, Inc., Sonoco Products Company, Smurfit Kappa Group, Silgan Holdings Inc., Tetra Pak International S.A., D.S. Smith plc, Ardagh Group, Graham Packaging Company, Printpack, Inc., CKS Packaging, Inc., Packman Industries, Genpak, LLC, etc.Browse related reportsRed And White Grape Juice Concentrate Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa), Application Development Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017 2024Breakfast Drinks Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa), Application Development Potential, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017 2024About Global Market InsightsGlobal Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog: Global Conveyor Belts Market 2017 - Continental AG, Bridgestone, Habasit, Ammeraal Beltech, Fenner, Yokohama https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/66963/request-sample https://goo.gl/ZCyLUX www.fiormarkets.com www.enrollpress.com Conveyer belts are primarily employed for carrying objects, from one point to another. The belts typically comprise two or more pulleys to rotate a belt in continuous circles. The material to be transported in placed on the belt and is carried to the end point on the belt. Commonly, two pulleys are employed for functioning of one conveyor belt one of the pulleys is rotated and it drives the other pulley while it is rotating. The belts are generally used for transportation in close distances, generally within a building.Request For Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Conveyor Belts in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversContinental AGBridgestoneHabasitAmmeraal BeltechForbo Movement SystemsFennerYokohamaIntraloxZhejiang Double ArrowBandoMitsuboshi BeltingBaoding HuayueZhejiang SanweiYongLiShandong PhoebusWuxi BotonZhangjiagang HuashenHSIN YUNGFuxin ShuangxiangAnhui ZhongyiQingDao Rubber SixHebei YichuanSmiley MonroeMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Access Full Report With TOC @Market Segment by Type, coversHeavy weight Conveyer BeltLight Weight Conveyer BeltMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoMiningIndustrialFood Production IndustryAgricultureLogistics/warehousingConstructionOtherThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Conveyor Belts market.Chapter 1, to describe Conveyor Belts Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Conveyor Belts, with sales, revenue, and price of Conveyor Belts, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Conveyor Belts, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Conveyor Belts market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Conveyor Belts sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: Locate365 Launches Family Location Monitoring Services Focused on the Safety of Families http://www.locate365.in The Tech Start-up Empowers smart families to observe each others location, estimated time of arrival, route they have taken, etc. and be available to each other in time of need. Its Services Break the Traditional Way of Interaction between families and Make a new Level of Deeper and Data-driven family EngagementTraditionally families are concerned about the safety of each other and first few question they ask each other in any conversation is Where are you?, When will you reach?, What are you doing?. Whether it is parent asking kids when they are away at night or spouse asking each other about when they will reach home from office. Similar questions are asked even if the family members are living across cities.Locate365 - location monitoring services, launched by a Mumbai-based tech start-up, aims to address these questions affirmatively and comprehensively. Locate365 services are delivered through the Mobile App that sits on family members mobile phone. Locate365 app, sitting on the device being used by the family members, is both the source of data for monitoring and ensuring care for the member as well as giving visibility on the location of other family members. Locate365 app has the ability to enforce family rules on digital device of the child.Family Members need to create a group and share invite code with other members so that they can join their group. Once members join the group, they can start viewing each others location. They can view the present location, history, routes taken, expected time of arrival, etc. on the App.Family Members can also share their dynamic location with other people outside their family group for pre-defined time as well via SMS, WhatsApp, E-Mail, etc. Receiver of the message will click on the link in the received message that will open in the browser and allow him/her to view the senders location for allowed period.Family members can communicate distress situation by clicking on the panic message that sends the time of alert as well as the location details that can be viewed directly on the Google Maps.Locate365 has an advanced battery saving feature option in the app that reduces the battery drain dramatically.Users can start using the service quickly and learning curve is very flat. On screen help is provided in the app that appears once on all screens. It can be switched on again by choosing the relevant option in the help section.Elaborating on this, Sudhanshu Tewari, Founder, Locate365 added, "Having the technology to be with family members in their every day journey is empowering and fulfilling! This service helps create safety bubble around individual family members that is the need of present day society"SpecificationsThe App based service allows family members to track current location, history, routes taken, speed of travel, etc. of other members in Family Group. The App allows to create Family Support Group that allows them to monitor driver, maids, etc. for specific period every day. Flash Groups that get deleted automatically after the defined period are meant to share location for events like family functions, birthdays, etc.The app transforms into a comprehensive parental control app delivering the premium paid Locate365 Protect services with the consent of the users and then it also offers options to track voice calls, SMS, app usage, web browsing, location monitoring, etc. Besides monitoring, it allows the parents to set multiple rule of digital interaction like maximum usage time, content categorization based filtering out of objectionable content, blocking unknown numbers for safety, etc. The 'Family Rules for Digital Interaction' can be viewed for compliances from a Web console or from the Parent App.Pricing and AvailabilityLocate365 is available for free whereas Locate365 Protect is free on a ten days trial. The applications Locate365 is available on the Google Play store and Apple Appstore.About Locate365Founders are experienced professionals having their undergrad roots from prestigious tech institution i.e., IIT Kanpur.For more information, visitMedia Contact:Sudhanshu Tewarisudhanshu@locate365.inFounder, MyValuePack Retail Pvt. Ltd.2nd Floor, Thomas VillaRoad No 27, SION(E), Mumbai, India Global Raid Card Market 2017- Adaptec, Areca, LSl, Intel , 3Ware , Lenovo https://goo.gl/NH4R1O http://qyresearch.us/report/global-raid-card-market-2017 http://qyresearch.us/ http://askthereporter24.com/ The Raid Card Market 2017 examines the performance of the Raid Card market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Raid Card market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Raid Card market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Raid Card Market 2017 report includes Raid Card industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Raid Card Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Raid Card Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Raid Card Market 2017:1 Adaptec2 Areca3 LSl4 Intel5 3Ware6 Lenovo7 IBMRaid Card Market Segment Split by Product TypeRAID 0RAID 1RAID 2RAID 3RAID 4RAID 5RAID 6RAID 7OtherRaid Card Market Segment Split by ApplicationPersonal UseEnterprise UseOtherAt the beginning, the report covers the top Raid Card manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Raid Card report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Raid Card industry, Raid Card industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Raid Card Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Raid Card research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Raid Card market revenue worldwide.Finally, Raid Card market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.QY Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profit making venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.QY Market Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profitmaking venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.Read more-S no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Telephone Numbers:+1(857)2390696+91 9130855334Email ID: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Latest Market News- Interactive Whiteboard Market By End-use Adoption (Education, Corporate, Government) : Global Industry Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2024 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=732501 Albany, New York, June 15, 2017 : The IWB market report provides analysis for the period from 2014 to 2024, wherein the period from 2016 to 2024 is the forecast period and 2015 is considered as the base year; 2014 is included as historical information. The report covers all the major trends and technologies that would play a key role in the IWB markets growth over the forecast period. It also highlights the drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence the markets growth during the said period. The study provides a holistic perspective on IWB markets growth in terms of revenue (in US$ Mn), across the Asia Pacific, Latin America, North America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA) regions.The market overview section of the report demonstrates market dynamics and trends such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities that influence the current nature and future status of this market. The impact analysis of key trends has also been provided for every geographic region in the report in order to give a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario of the IWB market, globally. Moreover, the report provides an overview of various strategies of key players in the IWB market.The report segments the global IWB market on the basis of type into resistive membranes, electromagnetic, infrared, ultrasonic, and laser scanner IWBs. By end-use adoption, the market has been classified into education, corporate, and government. Furthermore, according to size the IWB market is divided into small, medium-sized, and large IWBs. The report also provides in-depth cross-segment analysis of the IWB market and classifies it into the macro and micro levels, thereby providing valuable insights.The report also highlights the competitive landscape of the IWB market, thereby positioning all the major players according to their geographic presence and recent key developments. The comprehensive IWB market estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews, and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the IWB markets growth.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Smart Technologies Inc., Promethean Limited, Seiko Epson Corporation, Hitachi, Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Julong Educational Technology Co. Ltd, Mimio, Inc., and LG Electronics, Inc. are some of the major players operating within the global IWB market, which have been profiled in this study. Details such as financials, business strategies, recent developments, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players have been duly provided as part of company profiling.IWB MarketBy TypeResistive MembraneElectromagneticInfraredUltrasonicLaser ScannerBy End-use AdoptionEducationCorporateGovernmentBy SizeSmallMedium-sizedLargeBy GeographyNorth AmericaEuropeLatin AmericaAsia PacificMiddle East and AfricaResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMoz90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States Global Biometric ATM Market Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2017 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1135862 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1135862 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Biometric ATM Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Biometric ATM market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Biometric ATM in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Biometric ATM market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingSiemens AGHitachi Ltd.Honeywell International.Inc.Panasonic CorporationMagal Security Systems.Ltd.Cisco Systems, Inc.Robert Bosch GmbHTyco International Plc.Diebold Inc.Glory ltdOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoFingerprint RecognitionIris RecognitionPalm RecognitionVein RecognitionFace RecognitionVoice RecognitionOthersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Biometric ATM for each application, includingDepositsWithdrawalsIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Table of ContentsGlobal Biometric ATM Market Research Report 20171 Biometric ATM Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Biometric ATM1.2 Biometric ATM Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Biometric ATM Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Biometric ATM Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Fingerprint Recognition1.2.4 Iris Recognition1.2.5 Palm Recognition1.2.6 Vein Recognition1.2.7 Face Recognition1.2.8 Voice Recognition1.2.9 Others1.3 Global Biometric ATM Segment by Application1.3.1 Biometric ATM Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Deposits1.3.3 Withdrawals1.4 Global Biometric ATM Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Biometric ATM Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Biometric ATM (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Biometric ATM Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Biometric ATM Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Global Biometric ATM Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Biometric ATM Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Biometric ATM Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Biometric ATM Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Biometric ATM Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Biometric ATM Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Biometric ATM Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Biometric ATM Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Biometric ATM Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Biometric ATM Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Biometric ATM Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Biometric ATM Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Biometric ATM Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Biometric ATM Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Biometric ATM Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Biometric ATM Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Biometric ATM Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Biometric ATM Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Biometric ATM Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Southeast Asia Biometric ATM Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Biometric ATM Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Biometric ATM Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Biometric ATM Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Biometric ATM Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Biometric ATM Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Biometric ATM Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Biometric ATM Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Biometric ATM Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Biometric ATM Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Biometric ATM Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Biometric ATM Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Biometric ATM Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Biometric ATM Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Biometric ATM Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Biometric ATM Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Biometric ATM Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Biometric ATM Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Global Truffle Market 2017 : King & Truffle, ERREGI S.R.L., ACEITES DEL, Fernando de Inza Munoz Truffle http://bit.ly/2sDnEJc http://bit.ly/2sD3fDM A market study based on the "Truffle Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Truffle Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Truffle industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Truffle market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This Research ReportGUSTI D'ITALIA S.R.L, NORCINERIA LUCANA, Qingdao Colorful Farm Food Co., GLOBAL PRIME GROUP (PTY) LTD, King & Truffle, ERREGI S.R.L., ACEITES DEL, Fernando de Inza Munoz, Truffle & Wine, Oregon White Truffle Oil.The report studies the industry for Truffle across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Truffle market & dynamics of demand and supply of Truffle into consideration. The 'Truffle' research study covers each and every aspect of the Truffle market globally, which starts from the definition of the Truffle industry and develops towards Truffle market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Truffle market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Truffle market. The geographical segmentation of the Truffle industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Truffle is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Truffle market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Truffle market worldwide.Enquire Here :The global Truffle market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Truffle production volume, data regarding demand and Truffle supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Truffle across the globe.About Us :Worldwide Business are a trusted brand in the research industry with capability of commissioning complex projects within a short span of time with high level of accuracy. At Worldwide Business, we believe in building long term relations with our clients. Our services cover a broad spectrum of industries such as Automotive and Aerospace, Medical Devices, Technology, Machinery & Manufacturing.Contact Us :Worldwide BusinessUnited States Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Industry Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2016 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=895736 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=895736 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Market Report 2016" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies sales (consumption) of Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment in Europe market, especially in Germany, UK, France, Russia, Italy, Benelux and Spain, focuses on top players in these countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these Countries, coveringGE HealthcareSiemens HealthcarePhilipsNeusoft CorporationChina Resources Wandong Medical Equipment Co., Ltd.Mindray Medical International LimitedShanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co., Ltd....Market Segment by Countries, this report splits Europe into several key Countries, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment in these countries, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeGermanyFranceUKRussiaItalySpainBeneluxTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Split by product type, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoType IType IIType IIISplit by application, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment in each application, can be divided intoApplication 1Application 2Application 3Table of ContentsEurope Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Market Report 20161 Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment1.2 Classification of Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment1.2.1 Type I1.2.2 Type II1.2.3 Type III1.3 Application of Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 31.4 Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Market by Countries1.4.1 Germany Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 France Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 UK Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Russia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 Italy Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 Spain Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.7 Benelux Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Europe Market Size (Value and Volume) of Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment (2011-2021)1.5.1 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)1.5.2 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)2 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.1.2 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)2.2.2 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)2.3 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment (Volume and Value) by Countries2.3.1 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Countries (2011-2016)2.3.2 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Revenue and Market Share by Countries (2011-2016)2.4 Europe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment (Volume) by Application3 Germany Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 Germany Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Value (2011-2016)3.1.1 Germany Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)3.1.2 Germany Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)3.1.3 Germany Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)3.2 Germany Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers3.3 Germany Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type3.4 Germany Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Application4 France Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 France Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Value (2011-2016)4.1.1 France Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)4.1.2 France Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)4.1.4 France Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)4.2 France Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers4.3 France Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type4.4 France Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Application5 UK Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 UK Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Value (2011-2016)5.1.1 UK Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)5.1.2 UK Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)5.1.5 UK Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)5.2 UK Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers5.3 UK Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type5.4 UK Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Application6 Russia Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6.1 Russia Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Value (2011-2016)6.1.1 Russia Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)6.1.2 Russia Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)6.1.6 Russia Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)6.2 Russia Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers6.3 Russia Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type6.4 Russia Medical Imaging Diagnostic Equipment Sales and Market Share by ApplicationMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Nutritional Needs, Healthy Physical And Mental Development Of Baby Food and Formula Market In Untied State From 2016 - 2020 Market Research Report http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=850942 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=850942 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Nutritional Needs, Healthy Physical And Mental Development Of Baby Food and Formula Market In Untied State From 2016 - 2020" to its huge collection of research reports.Infant formula is either a partial or a complete replacement for breast milk for infants aged under one year. It is available in concentrated liquid, powder, or ready-to-use formats. It is provided to meet nutritional needs and encourage the healthy physical and mental development of infants. Baby food products are provided to children up to four years of age. These are easy to prepare, soft, and have the right nutrient balance for the healthy overall development of babies. The different kinds of baby foods include cereals, soups, juices, and snacks comprising grains, vegetables, and fruits in mashed form to enable easy consumption. Manufacturers of baby food and infant formula provide a number of products in various forms of packaging, flavors, sizes, and nutritional value.Technavios analysts forecast the baby food and formula market in the US to grow at a CAGR of 2.71% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the baby food and formula market in the US for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the retail sales of baby and toddler food and formula in terms of revenue and volume.Technavio's report, Baby Food and Formula Market in the US 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsAbbott'sDanoneHeroKraft HeinzMJNNestlTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Other prominent vendorsAmara Baby FoodBaby GourmetFrisoGreenZooHealthy SproutsInitiative FoodsLittle Duck OrganicsMorinagaNorth Castle PartnersParent's ChoiceStonyfield FarmMarket driverRising urbanization and economic development.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeFalse claims and product recalls by vendors.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIncreasing use of organic baby foods.For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Global Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/222 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/kidney-dialysis-equipment-market-222#3a https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/kidney-dialysis-equipment-market-222 https://blog.coherentmarketinsights.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/coherent-market-insights The Global Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market was valued at US$ 13,930.3 million in 2015 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period (20162024), as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights. Increasing number of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients, growing prevalence of diabetes & hypertension (major causes of kidney failure), rapid growth in the aging population are expected to be major factors driving growth of the global Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market over the foreseeable future.Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious medical condition, wherein either one or both kidneys are damaged, causing improper blood filtration, irregular blood pressure, electrolyte imbalance, and lower red blood cell production in the body. As a result, waste produced in the body by filtration process remains in the body and may further lead to other health problems such as gall stones, abdominal pain, and painful maturation. The incidence of chronic kidney disease increases with age and is mainly prevalent in the age group of 65 years and above. Diabetes and high blood pressure are among the most common causes of CKD. According to America Kidney Fund, diabetes cases accounts for 44% of all kidney failures or improper functioning of kidney. In 2012, there were around 239,837 kidney failure patients out of an estimated 29.1 million diabetics. It is observed that around 40% people having diabetes will be affected by chronic kidney disease. High blood pressure (HBP) leads to 28.4% of kidney failure cases. Other risk factors for chronic kidney disease include cardiovascular disease, obesity, high cholesterol, and lupus.Request Sample Copy of Research @According to the University of California, incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the U.S. is 5% annually, while only 20% of kidney donors are available every year. The need for kidney donors in the U.S. is increasing by 8% annually. Globally, Taiwan, U.S., Japan, Mexico, and Belgium are the countries with highest prevalence of ESRD. Kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the U.S. According to American Kidney Fund, in 2015, around 31 million people in the Global Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market U.S., i.e. 10% of the adult population suffered from chronic kidney disease (CKD). Chronic kidney disease is one of the most common among women than men, however, 50% of men when compared to women with chronic kidney disease have chances of turning chronic kidney disease kidney failure, also known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Kidney failure risk is higher in some racial and ethnic groups. According to Kidney National Foundation, when compared to whites, African Americans are at 4 times higher risk, Native Americans at 1.5 times higher, Asians at 1.4 times higher risk of contracting the disease. Non-Hispanics are 1.5 times higher risk to be diagnosed with kidney failure as compared to Hispanics.Browse report summery withTOC:Key take aways of the Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market:The global Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6% during the forecast period (20162024) as there exists a huge unrealized market especially in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and AfricaHemodialysis will dominate the market throughout the forecast period, accounting for 83.7% market share in 2016 and expected to remain dominant with 80.3% in 2024 owing to easy affordability and low price.In Clinical Dialysis Centers will dominate the market throughout the forecast period accounting 93.8% market share in 2016 and is expected to dominate with 92.7% in 2024.Some of the major players involved in global Kidney Dialysis Equipment Market are Baxter International, Inc., Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co., Nipro Corporation, B. Braun Melsungen, Nikkiso Co, Ltd., Asahi Kasei Corporation and NxStage Medical, Inc.Read Full Report:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit Coherent Market Insights Blog @Connect with us on LinkedIn @ Global Aquaculture Market 2017 : Cermaq, Selonda, Dalian Jinshan, Hendrix Genetics, Dalian Keybridge Aquaculture http://bit.ly/2rjN5eJ http://bit.ly/2ruMhb8 A market study based on the "Aquaculture Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Aquaculture Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Aquaculture industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Aquaculture market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This Research ReportCooke AquacultureCermaqGuolian Aquatic ProductsNireus AquacultureHUONDalian ZhangzidaoShanwei Good Harvest Aquatic ProductsHainan Xiangtai Fishery GroupHendrix GeneticsSelondaDahu AquacultureDalian JinshanZhanjiang Evergreen Aquatic ProductShandong Homey AquaticGuangdong DafengShandong Oriental OceanDalian KeybridgeTassal group Ltd.The report studies the industry for Aquaculture across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Aquaculture market & dynamics of demand and supply of Aquaculture into consideration. The 'Aquaculture' research study covers each and every aspect of the Aquaculture market globally, which starts from the definition of the Aquaculture industry and develops towards Aquaculture market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Aquaculture market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Aquaculture market. The geographical segmentation of the Aquaculture industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Aquaculture is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Aquaculture market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Aquaculture market worldwide.Enquire Here :The global Aquaculture market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Aquaculture production volume, data regarding demand and Aquaculture supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Aquaculture across the globe.About Us :Worldwide Business are a trusted brand in the research industry with capability of commissioning complex projects within a short span of time with high level of accuracy. At Worldwide Business, we believe in building long term relations with our clients. Our services cover a broad spectrum of industries such as Automotive and Aerospace, Medical Devices, Technology, Machinery & Manufacturing.Contact Us :Worldwide BusinessUnited States Worldwide Fosfomycin Calcium Market by Type & Application 2015 - 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/fosfomycin-calcium-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=4511 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ Global Fosfomycin Calcium Market: OverviewFosfomycin calcium is a bactericidal agent with low toxicity levels and low cross-resistance level with other antibiotics. Known simply as fosfomycin or oral fosfomycin, it acts as an anti-infective agent by killing sensitive bacteria present in the affected body part. This substance exhibits high level of activity when used against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. White or yellow colored in the powdered form, fosfomycin can be used as an additive in drinking water and animal feed.A clear, lucid analysis of the crucial factors accelerating and inhibiting the growth of the global market for fosfomycin calcium has been provided in the report. The major market trends and developments in the competitive landscape have been discussed, alongside a detailed analysis of the key market vendors and their business tactics such as partnerships, product innovation, and mergers. An analysis of the value chain, detailed descriptions of the key product and application segments, and market attractiveness are also included in the report.Obtain Report Details @Global Fosfomycin Calcium Market: Drivers and RestraintsSeveral studies such as clinical trials and case reports that incorporate data for patients of all ages, ranging from children to elderly populace suffering from disorders such as cystitis, pyelonephritis, gastrointestinal infections, and UTIs have revealed the efficiency of fosfomycin calcium. It has also been found to be useful in treating infections caused by several multidrug-resistant bacteria including penicillin-resistant pneumococci, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and methicillin-resistant S.aureus. Tobramycin is used in combination with fosfomycin calcium in the treatment of lung infections in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis.Moreover, when 28 patients with chronic sinusitis were administered with fosfomycin calcium as a nebulized treatment, it led to reduction of symptoms in 22 of them. Fosfomycin calcium can also be a viable alternative replacing fluoroquinolones in the treatment of chronic bacterial prostatitis, finds a small study that was presented at Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy held in San Diego during 2015.In this study conducted by Ilias Karaiskos, MD, from the Hygeia General Hospital in Greece, a daily dosage of 3gms for a week, and then 3gms per 48 hours for a 6 week period was given orally to 20 patients. 85% of these patients, displayed signs of improved or resolved infection. The positive results of such research projects could pave the way for further expansion of the market in the future.However, side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and gastrointestinal disturbances incurred by fosfomycin calcium-drugs might inhibit the growth of the global market for fosfomycin calcium. Nonetheless, the expansion of the market is assured by the ceaseless efforts of the market players who are attempting to explore the emerging markets.Global Fosfomycin Calcium Market: Regional OutlookAsia Pacific, being the fastest growing region, promises considerable growth opportunities. India and China, exhibiting high demand for fosfomycin calcium are expected emerge as the key contributors to revenue generated by the Asia Pacific market. Countries such as Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa, France, and Spain have been using fosfomycin calcium on a large scale. North American region is also likely to register significant growth, thanks to the adoption of fosfomycin calcium in the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI). Europe has also been displaying increasing demand for fosfomycin calcium, which is sold for oral use under different brand names.Companies mentioned in the research reportFarmaSino Pharmaceuticals (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., Ercros S.A., AdvaCare Pharma, China Sinopharm International Shanghai Co., Ltd., Serendex Pharmaceuticals A/S, Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., SINTOFARM FARMACEUTICI S.p.A., and Mingshui Fukang Chemical Co., Ltd. are some of the major companies operating in the global market for fosfomycin calcium.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Global Territorial Border and Coastal Surveillance System Market Research of Major Key Players Airbus, CONTROP,Saab forecast till 2021 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/486077-global-territorial-border-and-coastal-surveillance-system-market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=486077 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/486077-global-territorial-border-and-coastal-surveillance-system-market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/486077-global-territorial-border-and-coastal-surveillance-system-market HTF Market Intelligence released a new research report of 78 pages on title 'Global Territorial Border and Coastal Surveillance System Market 2017-2021 with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies. The study covers key regions that includes Americas, APAC, EMEA and important players such as Elbit Systems, FLIR Systems, General Dynamics etc.Request a sample report @SummaryAbout Territorial Border and Coastal Surveillance SystemInternal and external security threats, such as terrorism, civil unrest, illegal border infiltration, piracy, drug trafficking, and critical infrastructure demolition, urge countries to focus on fortifying maritime and border security. As coastal and border regions form the primary line of defense for any country, investments in maritime and border security are expected to result in substantial growth during the forecast period. In addition, several border conflicts among nations and increasing claims over natural resources and strategically important regions are expected to lead to a substantial increase in military spending in the market.Research analysts forecast the global territorial border and coastal surveillance system market to grow at a CAGR of 6.20% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global territorial border and coastal surveillance system market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the new installations, shipments, sales, volume, retrofit, replacement, spares, and aftermarket services.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography: Americas APAC EMEABuy this report @Research analysts report, Global Territorial Border and Coastal Surveillance System Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors Elbit Systems FLIR Systems General Dynamics Lockheed Martin ThalesOther prominent vendors Airbus CONTROP Saab TERMA Textron SystemsMarket driver Intensification of maritime disputes among countries For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge Susceptibility toward cyber breach and hacking For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend Open architecture surveillance systems For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this report What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be? What are the key market trends? What is driving this market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?You can request one free hour of our analysts time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.Get Customization in the Report, Enquire Now @Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Research MethodologyPART 04: Introduction Market outlinePART 05: Market landscape Market overview Global territorial border and coastal surveillance system market Five forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by application Global territorial border and coastal surveillance system by application Global airborne-based territorial border and coastal surveillance system Land-based territorial border and coastal surveillance system Naval-based territorial border and coastal surveillance system marketPART 07: Geographical segmentation Territorial border and coastal surveillance system by region Territorial border and coastal surveillance system market in Americas....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837sales@htfmarketre)port.com+1 (206) 317 1218 (US Authorized Generics is set to Garner Staggering Revenues by 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/authorized-generics-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20609 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ A generic drug is a duplicate copy of original branded drug, which has same dosage form, active pharma ingredients (API), strength, route of administration, and also same intended use as the branded one. Regulatory authorities and governments have mandated that an authorized generic drug has to medicinally correspond to the branded drug and sanctioned as an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An authorized generic is the branded companys individual product, but repackaged and marketed as generic drug either via subsidiary or third party. These are already approved as a New Drug Application by the FDA, only they are promoted via private label. The authorized generics market grew rapidly in the past few years as these provide consumers with branded quality drugs at generic prices. Presently, there is a growing trend of original maker giving approvals to a subsidiary or a private label distribution company to sell its brand name drug as a generic drug at a subsequently low price.Browse through Authorized Generics Market report to know what factors will shape the market by 2024:An example of authorized generic drug is Azithromycin Pak which is sold under by the company name Greenstone. Pfizers original branded drug Z-pak was approved by the FDA. Before patent expiry of Z-pak, Pfizer allowed Greenstone to sell Z-pak using authorized generic name Azithromycin Pak. Greenstone is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer.The global authorized generics market is expected to witness strong growth. Authorized generic drugs are priced at significantly discounted rate i.e. 50% to 70% as compared to branded counterparts. Additionally, many of the popular branded drugs of pharma companies are losing patent protection rights, which is also termed as patent cliffs. This would pave the way for entry of new complex generics in the market. These factors are likely to drive the authorized generics market in the near future. Other factors driving the market are health care plans by governments across the world, rapidly increasing cost of branded drugs, and aging populations. On the other hand, possibility of side effects, and lack of regulatory awareness about products and quality management are factors likely to restrain the global authorized generics market.The global authorized generics market can be classified based on product type, application, end-user, and region.In terms of product type, the global authorized generics market can be segmented into biosimilars, simple generic, super generic, and others. Based on applications the market can be classified into cardiovascular, anti-infective, anti-arthritis, central nervous system, anti-cancer, respiratory, and others.Geographically, the global authorized generics market can be divided into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America accounted for the largest share of the market, primarily due to technological advancements, rise in demand for generic drugs, increase in overall cost of branded drugs, and presence of key players. Europe held a significant share of the market attributed to advancements in generic drugs, rise in various types of cancer, and blood related disorders. Asia Pacific, however, has been exhibiting high growth rate on account of growing demand for generic drugs, rise in geriatric population, increase in disposable income, and government initiatives to support generic drugs. Rapidly rising population in the region has increased demand for better health care and induced both private and government players to meet the demand. Developing economies such as India and China have also made a significant contribution to the rise of the global authorized generics market by focusing on establishing a better health care infrastructure.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Authorized Generics Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:Key players in the market are Teva Pharmaceuticals, Sandoz, Allergan, Mylan, Sun Pharmaceuticals, and STADA Arzneimittel. Other prominent vendors in the market are Abbott, Amgen, Apotex, Aspen, AstraZeneca, Aurobindo Pharma, Baxter, Berlin-Chemie, Biocon, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, Cipla, Coherus Biosciences, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly and Company, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Eurofarma Laboratories, Gedeon Richter, Gilead Sciences, and GlaxoSmithKline.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Transfusion Diagnostics Market Explores New Growth Opportunities By 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/transfusion-diagnostics-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20588 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Blood transfusion is a process of receiving blood products or blood into the circulatory system intravenously. Blood transfusion is used in different medical conditions for replacement of lost component in the blood. Earlier blood transfusion included whole blood; however, modern medical methods can use only a component of blood for transfusion. Blood transfusion is among the most common procedures used for patients in hospitals. Hence, it becomes imperative that clinicians have knowledge about the appropriate administration of blood products, along with the symptoms, signs, and transfusion reaction management. Different blood products that can be transfused in the human body are red blood cells, platelets, plasma, albumin, and immunoglobulin preparations.Browse through Transfusion Diagnostics Market report to know what factors will shape the market by 2024:The blood transfusion process is as follows: blood sample is taken and sent to hospital laboratory where tests are performed to ensure that the donor blood is compatible with patient's blood. This process is called cross-matching. Risks associated with blood transfusion are viral infections, allergic reactions, fever, hemolytic reactions, and iron overload. Everything possible should be done to reduce these risks during blood transfusion. Hence, before blood transfusion, several steps are taken to ensure the quality of blood products, compatibility, and safety to the recipient. A definite diagnosis is required for both the donor and recipient blood. Red blood cells are the most common blood products to be transfused. One of the transfusion diagnostics incudes molecular blood group diagnostics. Molecular blood group diagnostic enables safer blood preservation and on-demand supply for patients who have antibodies against clinically relevant, rare or weak antigens. Blood group serology is another blood transfusion diagnostic used to avoid side effects caused due to administration of incorrect blood preservatives or immunizations.Based on type, the transfusion diagnostics market can be segmented into instruments, reagents and others. In terms of application, the market can be segmented into blood grouping, disease screening, and others. Based on distribution channel, the market can be segmented into hospitals, laboratories, blood banks, plasma fractionation facilities, military blood banks, and others. Blood banks and hospitals are the major segments of the transfusion diagnostics market.Increasing prevalence of diseases which require complete blood transfusion is one of the major drivers of the transfusion diagnostics market. Rising number of accidents due to road rash or other reasons which lead to blood loss is also likely to propel the market. Another factor driving the transfusion diagnostics market is the rising emergency situations for blood transfusions during surgical blood loss. Rising number of diseases due to improper blood transfusion without diagnosis of blood also fuels the growth of the transfusion diagnostics market. Alternative treatments and better techniques for blood transfusion are the major restraints of the transfusion diagnostics market. More advanced, efficient, and reliable transfusion diagnostic techniques are expected to create significant opportunities in the market.Geographically, the transfusion diagnostics market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America accounted for the largest share of the blood transfusion diagnostics market owing to increasing health care awareness and technological advancement in the region. Europe is the second largest market for blood transfusion diagnostics due to large geriatric population in the region. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market for blood transfusion diagnostics due to increasing adoption of improved health care technologies, emerging health care infrastructure, and rising accidents, diseases, and other emergency situations which require blood transfusion.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Transfusion Diagnostics Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:Major players in the blood transfusion diagnostics market include Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Beckman Coulter, Quotient Limited, Novartis AG, Abbott Diagnostics, Diagast, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Immucor, Inc., BAG Health Care, DiaSorin, Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc., Grifols, S.A., Hologic/Gen-Probe, Biokit, Bio-Rad Laboratories, and Quidel Corporation.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: If you are planning a trip to Bali, Indonesia why not book your room in a newly opened hotel. Best Western Hotels & Resorts has opened a charming new upscale resort in Ubud, Balis cultural heart and an increasingly popular tourist destination. Nestled within a lush forest, yet close to the main attractions of Ubud, Best Western Premier Agung Resort Ubud is the perfect place to unwind and discover Balis true soul. The classical charm and beauty of the Island of the Gods is captured exquisitely by the resorts interior and exterior design, which is open-plan and features many traditional touches, such as wooden floors and Balinese furnishings. These are complemented by an array of modern amenities and facilities, including complimentary Wi-Fi, ensuring that guests at Best Western Premier Agung Resort Ubud have the best of both worlds. This intimate, low-rise resort features just 75 spacious rooms, all with comfortable beds, working space, state-of-the-art technology and a private balcony or terrace. Guests can cool off in the outdoor swimming pool, soak up the tropical sun on the large pool terrace, work out in the well-equipped fitness center, or enjoy soothing treatments at the on-site spa, which harnesses organic herbs and ingredients produced by an onsite farm. There is also a light, spacious restaurant that serves exquisite local and international cuisines in a semi-al fresco setting, plus a casual coffee shop, which is the perfect place to unwind and connect with friends and family. Nestled in the islands central uplands, Ubud is home to a wealth of activities and experiences. Guests at Best Western Premier Agung Resort Ubud are able to visit local attractions such as the Ubud Monkey Forest, the ancient Goa Gajah, or "Elephant Cave", and the beautiful Tegallalang Rice Terraces. Alternatively, guests can simply browse the towns many markets, craft shops and galleries. The resort is situated approximately one hour and 15 minutes from Balis Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, and a similar distance from the beaches and nightlife of Kuta. Global Savory Ingredients Market to observe high growth by 2016-2024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/savory-ingredients-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/savory-ingredients-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/savory-ingredients-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/savory-ingredients-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com https://zionmarketresearch.wordpress.com/ Zion Market Research, the market research group announced the analysis report titled Savory Ingredients Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts 20162024Global Savory Ingredients Market: OverviewThe savory ingredients are nothing but flavor enhancers which consists of properties that alter the flavors of the food items without having the need to contribute the separate ones of their own. In the savory products such as frozen savory meals and snacks, the savory flavors act as an important ingredient during the manufacturing process. By using the savory ingredients a pleasant aroma and taste are produced. The overall essence of the food product is improved when savory food ingredients are used thus the market is expected to increase widely in the future.Request Free Sample Report @Global Savory Ingredients Market: SegmentationThe global savory ingredients market is segmented into its type, application, origin, form and region. On the basis of the type, the market is segregated into hydrolyzed vegetable protein, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce powder, yeast extracts, hydrolyzed animal protein, nucleotides, and others. The application areas where the savory ingredients are used include feed and food. There are two origins of the savory ingredients which are synthetic and natural. On the basis of form, the market is categorized into powder, liquid, paste, spray and others. Region-wise, the global market is diversified into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Rest of the World.Global Savory Ingredients Market: Growth FactorsNowadays, the consumers prefer consuming foods that are more convenient to cook and have good taste, thus driving the savory ingredients market. Factors such as the disposable incomes of the people along with the busy lifestyles have altered the food habits owing to which the food consumption patterns have also changed. People are now looking out for food options that take less time for cooking and is tasty, thus giving a positive momentum to the market growth. The savory ingredients are cost effective owing to this the manufacturers are using them as stabilizers, thickening agents and emulsifiers in various food products. There is also rise in demand for the yeast extracts. They are natural savory ingredients that are used to produce bread, wine, and beer. They are rich in valuable nucleotides, vitamin B complex, and amino acids and thus they are majorly used as flavor enhancers. The factor that is affecting the market negatively is the health hazards that are involved in using the savory ingredients in the food products.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Savory Ingredients Market: Regional AnalysisThe region that is dominating the savory ingredients market is the Asia-Pacific region. The factors that are contributing towards this growth are the increased demand for the ready-to-make food products, increased working population, a rise in disposable income and urbanization. This growth is majorly witnessed in countries such as China, Vietnam, and Japan owing to the rise in the purchasing power of the consumers. The South East Asian countries such as South Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand are also contributing to the market growth. Europe holds second place in the savory ingredients market.Global Savory Ingredients Market: Competitive PlayersThe key market players in the savory ingredients market include Angel Yeast Co., Ltd., Sensient Technologies Corporation, Tate & Lyle Plc., Diana Group, Vedan International Holdings Ltd., Givaudan S.A. and Lesaffre Group.Browse detail report @Savory Ingredients Market by Geographical Analysis: North America( U.S.), Europe( UK, France, Germany), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India), Latin America( Brazil), Middle East and AfricaOur value reports provide full, in-depth analysis of the parent market including most significant changes in market dynamics; the report also presents the detailed overview on segmentation of this market. We managed to present as many important pieces of information in essential form thanks to our report You will learn more about former, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and value, assessment of niche industry developments and Market share analysis. We have not forgotten to present key strategies for major players, emerging segments and regional markets and last but not least, testimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.Inquire more before buying this report @About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog: Business Analytics Software Market - Shares And Strategies Of Key Players http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/business-analytics-software-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20516 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Business analytics software helps in interpretation and analysis of business data through continuous exploration and investigation of historical business performance to gain decisive insights for business planning. Through the application of statistical methods and tools in business performance data, a business analytics software conducts predictive analysis to derive decision making insights and inputs. A business analytics software thus helps an organization optimize its business operations and facilitates informed and strategic decision making. It also helps uncover patterns and relationships between data streams and leads to automation of tasks and processes for real-time responses in decision making. The outputs are mostly used by managers, security personnel, financial analysts, and key decision makers of organizations. Demand for cloud-based business analytics software is high in small and medium sized enterprises owing to its low cost and enhanced usability. Furthermore, demand for social media analytics, a part of business analytics, is also rising significantly due to the increase in popularity of social media marketing.Obtain Report Details @Organizations are increasingly opting for business analytics software in order to gain strategic and competitive advantage over their competitors. This is one of the major factors driving the global business analytics software market. Additionally, the software aims to help organizations make quick and informed decisions through the analysis of the historical business data. This has been driving the market for business analytics software. Currently, there exists need for quick decision making and immediate actions in response to situations considering the competitive nature of businesses. This highlights the importance of the business analytics software. Furthermore, increase in volume and diversity of data in organizations has given rise to the need for analytical software to derive meaningful patterns, relationships, and insights from unorganized data. The features of business analytics software meet such requirements, thereby boosting the growing demand and adoption of business analytics software across varying scales of companies. However, in order to efficiently operate, business analytics software require sufficient volumes of meaningful data. This requires effective data warehousing, which may be a challenge for small organizations to implement considering the high costs involved. These challenges are likely to hamper the market for business analytics software during the forecast period. Nonetheless, increase in social media marketing by organizations is expected to offer growth opportunities for the business analytics software market during the forecast period.The global business analytics software market has been segmented on the basis of deployment, end-use industry, application, and geography. In terms of deployment, the business analytics software market has been divided into cloud and on premise. Based on end-use industry, the business analytics market has been segregated into BFSI, government, manufacturing, IT and Telecom, retail, health care, capital markets, education, media, utilities, and others. In terms of application, the business analytics software market has been segmented into supply chain analytics, workforce analytics, spatial analytics, behavioral analytics, marketing analytics, risk and credit analytics, pricing analytics, transportation analytics, and others. Based on geography, the business analytics market has been divided into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and South America.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Major players operating in the global business analytics software market include SAS Institute Inc., Tableau Software, SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, Adobe Systems Incorporated, International Business Machines Corporation, Salesforce.com, Qlik Technologies, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Tibco Software, Fair Isaac Corporation, and JDA Software Group, Inc.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Cladding Systems Market - Research Report, Drivers and Restraints, Regional Overview http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cladding-systems-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=21680 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Cladding is mainly a nonloadbearing layer or coating attached to the external part of a house to shed water and safeguard the home from the effects of varied weather. Cladding systems are important components in the artistic demand of the home and directly affect both property value and building cost. The main roles of cladding are to control the inflow of water vapors and the infiltration of weather elements, while providing a robust, artistically attractive appearance. It is also used to protect buildings fire resistance, sound, and thermal insulation, and provide the ability to maintain a clean surface in polluted and dusty environments.Obtain Report Details @Cladding systems include vertical or horizontal boards, smaller overlapping panels, or sheet materials such as tiles and shingles. In addition, these systems use diverse approaches to prevent rain and wind entering through the linkages. Cladding can be directly attached to the frame or to a middle coat of boards or parts to prevent condensation while permitting water vapor to escape.The global cladding systems market is experiencing growth owing to factors such as rise in non-residential building and infrastructure activities, growing residential construction, and the high durability of cladding systems. Besides this, new construction and remodeling is anticipated to upsurge the demand for cladding systems during the forecast period. The evolution in the construction industry around the globe as well as government rules and regulations regarding zero-energy building codes are also major factors expected to impel the cladding systems market after the economic slowdown. However, high installation and raw material cost is the major factor that can hamper the global cladding systems market growth. In addition, the high repairing and maintenance cost is the major challenge for the cladding systems market.The major supportive trend for the global cladding systems market includes increased populations and development in emerging nations, growing demand for protective systems, rise in demand for fiber cement, and increased demand for sustainable cladding resources. These factors are anticipated to open new opportunities for the cladding systems markets growth in the coming years.North America is anticipated to dominate the market during the forecast period due to the growing inclination of companies toward capital-intensive projects in this region, along with the availability of technical knowledge. However, Asia Pacific is also estimated to have a positive impact during the forecast period. The market for cladding systems in Asia Pacific is anticipated to develop significantly in the coming years due to the expanding economy and speedy growth in the infrastructure sector in this region.The global cladding systems market can be segmented on the basis of component, application, and material. By component, the cladding system market is categorized into roofs, walls, doors and windows, and others. The application-based segmentation includes residential, commercial, industrial, and others. Furthermore, on the basis of material, the cladding systems market segmented into metal, vinyl, fiber cement, brick and stone, stucco and EIFS, and others.The metal cladding system is an important segment type and is expected to supplement the growth of the cladding systems market in the near term. This is primarily due to the long life and attractive appearance of metal cladding systems, which are more cost-effective than other cladding systems. It is also environment friendly and can be completely recycled. Metal cladding is primarily used in nonresidential constructions, specifically in the commercial and industrial sectors.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The major players in the global cladding systems market include Alcoa Inc., Tata Steel Limited, Etex Group, Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA, James Hardie Industries PLC, Boral Limited, CSR Limited, Axiall Corporation, Nichiha Corporation, and Cembrit Holding A/S.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.qContact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Olive Oil Market: More Regions Showing Surge in Demand, observes TMR http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/olive-oil-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1321 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Transparency Market Research speaks in detail regarding the factors of influence on the demand and supply of olive oil in the world, in Olive Oil Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 2024. Olive oil is one of the more popular types of oil in several end-user industries. The food and beverages industry is currently the dominant end user of olive oil, due to the large scale use of olive oil in cooking and in certain types of beverages. The nutritional value of olive oil is exceptionally high and these factors are gaining in traction among general consumer groups across the world.Obtain Report Details @The primary factor currently responsible for the growth of the global olive oil market is the increasing use of olive oil by common consumers as well as end users. While the primary application of olive oil in the food and beverages industry is not only increasing in quantity, but also in diversity, the exploration of different types of olive oils is also improving consumer choices and considerations.Currently, extra virgin olive oil is finding a very high level of preference among consumers and end users, in comparison to the other type based segments of the global olive oil market: refined olive oil, olive pomace oil, virgin olive oil, pure olive oil, light olive oil, and extra light virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil scores very high in preference among consumers that are especially health conscious, due to the lower calorie count as all as the under 1% acidic content. The increasing use of extra virgin and virgin olive oils is currently a core reason for the proliferation of the global olive oil market.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @From a regional perspective, although olive oil demand had been strong in Europe and North America in the past, new research is showing a consistent and high rate of increase in the demand for olive oil from emerging economies from Latin America, the MEA, and Asia Pacific. Countries such as Australia and the U.S., meanwhile, are nearing standardization of olive oil, joining a common global movement for the increasing use of olive oil in food and beverages. The market for olive oil in North America looks especially bright for the coming years.The leading players in the global olive oil market over the recent times, have included Salov, Borges, Ybarra, Deoleo, and Sovena Group. The leading players in the market are well-established in the regions that score high on olive oil consumption. A large number of the global leaders are also showing increasing interest in emerging economies and their release of new products in these regions.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Single Board Computers Market - Trends, Growth Propellers, Segmentation And Top Players http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/single-board-computers-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=22073 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com A Single Board Computer is an electronic device installed on single circuit board with micro- processors, memory and other input/output features required for normal functioning of a computer. The Single Board Computer are made by increasing density of integrated circuits. This reduced circuit configuration also reduces the overall cost of the system by reducing number of bus drivers and connectors, by eliminating number of circuit boards required. By merging all the functionalities on a single board, a smaller system popularly known as Single Board Computer is obtained.Obtain Report Details @Increase in the growth of wireless communication infrastructure and consistent developments of product designing along with increasing demand of Single Board Computer applications in ATM machines, industrial computers, medical equipment automation equipment are the major driving factor for the growth of Single Board Computer market. Easy availability of Single Board Computers and standardized form factors will increase the demand of innovative devices in the market. Increased computing power, high flexibility, lowered power consumption and higher efficiency are the key drivers to drive the market demand of Single Board Computer market. Connectivity via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Wi-Fi, are few technological innovation in the field of Single Board Computer trusted communication industry. The consumer need of Single Board Computer differ depending on the deployed environment, application and industries thereby creating demands for various designing needs. Other growth factors includes initiative to develop the designs of devices such that the users have the access to latest software and hardware components at the outset. Major restraint for Single Board Computer market is technological drawbacks as application platforms cannot be aligned to replace latest technology processor as the whole system is integrated on a single board, thereby restricting immediate application or usage for a considerable duration. Another restraining factor affecting the growth of this Single Board Computer market is inefficient cooling process. Multicore Single Board Computer in todays marketplace is the new upcoming opportunity for Single Board Computer market. Customized Single Board Computer is an upcoming embedded platform that contains a carrier board and Computer on Module.Single Board Computer market is segmented by technology as aTCA (Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture), compact PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), VME (Versacard Multibus Eurocard), VPX (Virtual Path Cross-connect), VXS and Mezzanine. aTCA, LTE (Long term Evolution) and WiMax are the leading technologies during the forecast period. Additionally, SBC market has been segmented as end user majorly in medical industry, precision agriculture, military & aerospace, defense, retail & hospitality, transportation and digital logistics, intelligent systems, communications and networking, embedded control subsystems and industrial automation & control among others. Furthermore, Single Board Computer (SBC) market is also segmented by processor type as ARM cortex, Intel, Power Architecture of NXP semiconductors and others. Others include processors of Qualcomm, Samsung, Rabbit. By geography, the Single Board Computer market has been segmented into various regions namely Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa (ME&A) and South America. North America leads the Global Single board computer market followed by APAC and Europe. APAC region is estimated to grow at a very high growth rate due to steady economic growth. China , Japan and India are the emerging market in APAC region. The US region has the highest adoption rate for Single Board Computer market.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Various key players of Single board computer market include AAEON Electronics, Inc. (Taiwan), ADES Corporation (Taiwan), Armor Link International (Cyprus), Emerson ( Missouri, U.S.), Eurotech (Italy) , GE Intelligent Platform (Virginia, U.S.), Versa Logic Corp. ( Tualatin), Digi International (Minnetonka) , Wandboard, Advantech (Munich, Germany) , Eurotech Group (Udine, Italy), Kontron (Augsburg) , Adlink Technology (Taiwan), Radisys (Hillsboro, United States), Mercury Systems (Chelmsford), Olim ex (Bulgaria), UDOO, Arbor Solutions (Taipei), American Portwell (Arizona), and NET Burner (San Diego) among others.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Ethernet Switches Market - Growth Catalysts, Market Trends And Key Players http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ethernet-switches-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=22133 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Switch is a particular device that is used in a computer network for connecting two devices electrically. It is being used to communicate between network devices by plugging in multiple data cables. Switches also helps in the flow of data through a network by transmission of network packet to multiple devices. A specific network address is maintained for identification of network devices connected to a switch helping in the regulation of flow of traffic thereby maximizing the security and efficiency of the network. An ethernet switch is a central hub that are wired to computers and network devices within an ethernet. It is the extreme temperature and high vibrations durability that has helped in the growing application of ethernet switches in industrial environment as well. The global market for ethernet switches has been segmented into type, applications and geography. The various types based on which the global market for ethernet switches has been segmented includes unmanaged switch, partially managed switch and fully managed switch. Automotive, healthcare and telecommunication among others form the major application areas based on which the global ethernet switches market has been segmented.Obtain Report Details @Global ethernet switches market on the basis of geography has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa.The rise in efficiency and effectivity of the transmission has been a major factor that has driven the demand for ethernet switches market globally. Use of ethernet switches helps in providing connection via a dedicated wire having a single transmitter in the collision domain improving the overall utilization. Reduction in usage of broadcast domains has also been another major driver that has positively impacted the demand for ethernet switches market globally. In addition to this, the benefit compared to the costs involved is quite high providing more number of ports as compared to routers at a cheaper cost. Moreover, use of switches provides changes in configuration along with adjustments in speeds that further helps in the rising demand for this market. Along with this, growth of IoT (Internet of Things) technology and increasing application of ethernet in process automation sector has also been some other major drivers that has a positive impact on the overall market. Considering all these factors that has positively impacted the demand for this market, there are also certain restraints involved that poses challenges to its growth. One such major limitation involved with the application of ethernet switches is the technological complexity involved that makes it vulnerable towards security attacks. Moreover, it is the complexities involved with the design and configuration of ethernet switches that poses challenges for transmission of multiple packets forming another crucial factor that restrains the growth for this market. It is the growing internet penetration in remote places will provide huge opportunities for this market in the coming years.Geographically, it is North America and Europe that forms the major markets for the ethernet switches market globally. Growing application along with rise in demand for quick transmission of data forms some of the major drivers that boosts the demand for ethernet switches in this region. Asia Pacific forms another major region that contributes to the growth of ethernet switches market with China, Japan and India being some of the major regions that boosts the demand. Growing internet penetration along with rising application of data transmission has been some of the crucial factors that has positively impacted the demand for ethernet switches market in this region.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Some of the major players operating in the ethernet switches market include Beckhoff Automation (Germany), Rockwell Automation (The U.S.), Siemens (Germany), Cisco (the U.S.), Schneider Electric (France), General Electric (The U.S.), Honeywell International (The U.S.), Eaton Corporation (The U.S.), Hitachi (Japan), Parker Hannifin Corporation (The U.S.), Omron (Japan) and B&R Automation (Austria) among others present in the market globally.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Kombucha Market 2017 Top Manufacturers - KeVita, The Humm Kombucha, Red Bull, Townshend's Tea, Buchi Kombucha https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/62186/request-sample https://goo.gl/K0giaC www.fiormarkets.com www.9dimenreports.com The report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. Whats more, the Kombucha industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Download Free Sample Report @In this report, the global Kombucha market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Kombucha in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Kombucha market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer,Covering Top PlayersGT's KombuchaKeVitaBrew Dr. KombuchaThe Humm KombuchaLive Soda KombuchaRed BullKombucha Wonder DrinkTownshend's TeaCelestial SeasoningsKosmic KombuchaHIGH COUNTRYNessAlla KombuchaReed'sBuchi KombuchaAccess Full Report @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoHerbs & SpicesFruitOriginalOthersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Kombucha for each application, includingAge 40If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.Contact UsMark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: South African presence at DRC Mining Week in Lubumbashi indicates strong interest in DRC mining sector 1200+ mining pros to gather for mining conference and expo http://www.drcminingweek.com Renewing the presence of the South African National Pavilion at the DRC Mining Week positions South African companies as leading players in the mining and power sectors and will allow them to enhance their presence in the region, and for new companies to increase the South African foothold in the DRC. This is according to Eric Bruggeman, CEO of the South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC), that is bringing a strong delegation of South African suppliers to the DRC Mining Week conference and exhibition, that is taking place in Lubumbashi, in the hub of the mining province of Katanga, from 23-24 June.The SACEEC is a public/private partnership between the capital equipment industry and the South African Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) and currently services more than 140 member companies in manufacturing and allied services, representing a major proportion of the capital equipment industry in South Africa.According to Mr Bruggeman: the DRC is potentially one of the richest mining countries in Africa. The country was the worlds fourth largest producer of industrial diamonds during the 1980s, and diamonds continue to dominate exports, accounting for nearly half of exports.He continues: trade relations between South Africa and the DRC are showing positive growth from a relatively low base, with bilateral trade being heavily skewed in South Africas favour due to limited productive capacity on the part of the DRCs economy. In response to the extended period of globalisation, the focus has now swung to localisation and South Africa and South African companies are looking at ways to provide long-term and meaning partnerships with companies within the DRC.He says Lubumbashi, where the DRC Mining Week is taking place, is the second largest city in the DRC and sets the stage for a business-to-business forum of facilitated sessions and meetings with key stakeholders. The SACEEC will also be looking at establishing a business centre in Lubumbashi to assist South African companies doing business in the country.South African companies at DRC Mining Week include:SACEEC members as part of the SA National Pavilion:- AZMET Engineering Services- AZ-Armaturen Lubricating Plug Valve and Sampling Valves- WEBA Chutes Chute designed- Fabchem Dome plates, PumpsSACEEC members as individual exhibitors:- FL Smidth- Aard Mining EquipmentSA Companies as part of the National Pavilion:- African Mixing Technologies Pumps & agitators- Hose manufacturers Boreline, flatlay- APE Pumps Pumps- Nitralife Nitrogen generators- Tru-Trac Rollers Conveyor Equipment- Turner Morris - DRIVE units, generators, Bio-mixers, Conveyors- OE Bearings SRB Brandsplit Roller, Bearing housing support, Hanger units, FlangesThe full interview with Mr Bruggeman can be viewed on the event website.DRC Mining WeekAround 1200 mining professionals are expected to gather for the practical annual mining and industrial expo again as the award-winning DRC Mining Week conference and exhibition returns to Lubumbashi, in the heart of the DRCs mining hub, from 23-24 June. While retaining its main focus on mining, the event will also broaden its scope to include a focus on related and complementary sectors such as agriculture, energy and construction.Industry recognition and supportAs with previous editions of the event, DRC Mining Week has secured impressive industry support through the diamond sponsorships of Engen and FBNBank and the platinum sponsorships of Gecotrans, Sodexo, Standard Bank and Tenke Fungurume Mining, while Aggreko, Atlas Copco, Axishouse, Copperbelt Energy, Earth Networks, ERG, Ivanhoe Mines-New Horizons and Vodacom are confirmed as gold sponsors.Earlier this year, DRC Mining Week was recognised for its support of the Kinsevere Community School Project in Lubumbashi when it was named a finalist in the Social Responsibility category of the AAXO ROAR Organiser and Exhibitor Awards, which honour excellence in the exhibition and events industry on the continent.DRC Mining Week:Pre-conference Power Focus Day: 22 June 2017Conference and expo: 23-24 June 2017Site visit: 22 June 2017Location: The Pullman Lubumbashi Grand Karavia Hotel, Lubumbashi, DRCDRC Mining Week is organised by Spintelligent, a leading Cape Town-based organiser of exhibitions and conferences across the continent in the infrastructure, real estate, energy, mining, agriculture and education sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include African Utility Week, Agritech Expo Zambia, Kenya Mining Forum, Future Energy East Africa (formerly EAPIC), Future Energy Nigeria (formerly WAPIC), Future Energy Central Africa (formerly iPAD Cameroon), iPAD Nigeria Mining Forum and EduWeek. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group.Senior communications manager: Annemarie RoodbolOffice: +27 21 700 3558Email: annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.comWebsite:PO Box 321, Steenberg, 4794, South Africa Global Direct Laryngoscopes Market is expected to reach USD 522.7 Million with CAGR of 4.9% by 2022 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/statistical-reports/enquiry/2142 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/statistical-reports/global-direct-laryngoscopes-market-2142 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/statistical-reports/direct-laryngoscopes-market-2143 Global Direct Laryngoscopes Market, By End-Users, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% and is expected to reach USD 522.7 Million by 2022. Among the major end users hospitals and surgery clinics command the major market share of 80.2% in 2015.This large share is primarily attributed to need of skilled professionals, improving healthcare infrastructure, and worldwide increase in number of surgeries along with increasing use of direct laryngoscopes in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and rising number of laryngoscopy procedures worldwide.Make an enquiry before buying this Report@The global direct laryngoscopes market statistical report by end users published by Market Research future contains a brief overview of global direct laryngoscopes by end users. On the basis of end users the market has been segmented as hospitals and surgery clinics, emergency medical services, military and security forces and other small scale end users. Hospitals and surgery clinics commands the largest share and is expected to grow continuously at a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecasted period of 2017-2022. Use of direct laryngoscopes in emergency medical services (EMS) is comparatively less with only 10% market share and is expected to remain constant throughout the forecasted period. Military and defence services are expected to further lose their market share from 6.2% in 2015 to 5% in 2022. This is majorly due to need of skilled professionals to perform this surgery. Along with that, availability of alternate techniques such as video laryngoscopes, have made the task reasonably easy and effective. The report analysed the global direct laryngoscopes market and presents systematic data of market share on the basis of end users and its growth rate for 2015 to 2017, along with forecast till 2027.Browse Report Details @Market Research future through this report aims to provide understanding of the global direct laryngoscopes market on the basis of end users, and also assists identification of ongoing trends along with anticipated growth during the forecasted period. For this research extensive primary research was conducted to gain a deeper insight of the market performance. Various industry experts and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) were contacted from every end user segment of global direct laryngoscopes market.Browse Related Report on Direct Laryngoscopes Market:Global Direct Laryngoscopes Market, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% during the forecasted period at USD 522 Million. Among the various region North America contributes the largest market share of 47.8% towards global direct laryngoscopes market.Browse Report Details @The global direct laryngoscopy market on the basis of types of techniques, includes direct and indirect techniques. Direct laryngoscopy has proven to be a standard method for tracheal intubation procedures commanding the shares of 40.2% while indirect methods commands the maximum shares of 59.8% in the various region considered for study purposes.At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Thraki Palace S.A., owned by the Palakidis family, announced that the former Thraki Palace Thalasso Spa Hotel & Conference Center, located in Alexandroupoli, will undergo an extended renovation to become the newest Ramada hotel in Greece. Scheduled to open on 30 June 2017, the 149-room hotel is located on a beautiful private beach, just 4 kilometers east from Alexandroupolis city center, and features a large convention facility which can accommodate up to 2,300 delegates. Following an extensive renovation, the hotel will feature a number of upgrades, including guest rooms and suites with flat-screen TVs, upgraded bedding, modern furniture and stunning views of the Aegean Sea. Other features will also include the new Thalasso & Spa Center, a 2,400 square meter space providing guests with a wide selection of beauty and wellness treatments, along with a state-of-the-art fitness club. Were excited to be joining the Ramada family and are looking forward to providing visitors to Alexandroupoli with the high-quality accommodation and services that the brand is known for, said Apostolos Palakidis, Vice President Thraki Palace S.A. At Wyndham Hotel Group, we are focused on offering travelers the right place to stay, however they choose to travel and wherever their journey takes them, said Edwin Broers, Regional Vice President Central and Eastern Europe, Wyndham Hotel Group. We have ambitious growth plans for Greece, and we are delighted to add the new Ramada Plaza Thraki to our growing family of hotels in the country. Ramada Plaza Thraki will participate in Wyndham Rewards, the simple-to-use, revolutionary loyalty programme from Wyndham Hotel Group that offers members a generous points earning structure along with a flat, free-night redemption rate the first of its kind for a major hotel rewards programme. Source: Travel Daily News Medical Imaging Systems Market Outlook 2016-2017 : GE Healthcare (U.K.), Aramark (U.S.), Esaote SpA (Italy) Medical Imaging Systems http://bit.ly/2s7ZXrt http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-medical-imaging-systems-sales-market-report-2017/ www.spiremarketresearch.com Medical Imaging Systems Market 2017-2022A market study Global Medical Imaging Systems Market examines the performance of the Medical Imaging Systems market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Medical Imaging Systems market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Medical Imaging Systems market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Medical Imaging Systems Market 2017 report includes Medical Imaging Systems market Revenue, market Share, Medical Imaging Systems industry volume, market Trends, Medical Imaging Systems Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Medical Imaging Systems Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Medical Imaging Systems Market 2017:GE Healthcare (U.K.)Siemens Healthcare GmbH (Germany)Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands)Aramark (U.S.)Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Japan)Fujifilm Holdings Corporation (Japan)Hitachi Medical Systems America (U.S.)Esaote SpA (Italy)Dragerwerk (Germany)Medical Imaging Systems Market : By TypeType 1Type 2Medical Imaging Systems Market : By ApplicationApplication IApplication IIFirstly, the report covers the top Medical Imaging Systems manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Medical Imaging Systems report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Medical Imaging Systems industry, Medical Imaging Systems industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Medical Imaging Systems Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Medical Imaging Systems research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Medical Imaging Systems market revenue worldwide.Finally, Medical Imaging Systems market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWebsite: The Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) holds a business roundtable in Berlin - June 16th Cuppping Invitation The Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) and the Brazil Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) will hold a specialty coffee business roundtable and promotional activities in Berlin, Germany, on June 16. The activities are part of the Brazil. The Coffee Nation project that the two entities carry out in partnership.The cupping session will be held on June 16th at 3pm at Andraschko Kaffee Manufaktur Gmbh & Co. , Industriestr. 18, 12099 Berlin.During the business roundtables, institutional presentations about BSCA and the Sector Project will be made, highlighting the sustainable nature of speciality coffee production in all of Brazils coffee-producing regions. BSCA members will showcase their products and organise cupping sessions for previously invited potential buyers.In addition to promoting the Association and the excellent Brazilian products, the business roundtables have the goal of providing a new way for members to do business. The choice of Berlin, which will have the participation of 12 members, was due to this European capital being a target market of Brazil. The Coffee Nation.According to BSCA, the activities of the Sector Project developed in partnership with Apex-Brasil have greatly expanded the visibility of Brazilian coffees around the world, which arouses greater interest from buyers and, also, of Brazilian exporters who start looking toward new international markets. The consequence of this scenario is that we have annually recorded steady growth in the image of the product and of the volume of business conducted with products from companies participating in Brazil. The Coffee Nation, highlights the Associations Executive Director, Vanusia Nogueira.APEX BrasilThe Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad, and to attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy.The Agency carries out several commercial promotion initiatives, such as commercial and prospective missions, business rounds, support to the participation of Brazilian companies in major business fairs, and visits of foreign buyers and opinion formers to assess the Brazilian productive structure, among other business platforms aimed to strengthen the Brazil brand. The Agency supports more than 12,000 companies from 80 different industries, which in turn export to 200 markets.Apex-Brasil also acts to promote the competitiveness of Brazilian companies in their internationalization process, especially in market intelligence, business training and image promotion, as well as foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction.Trade & Investment Promotion Section (SECOM)The Trade & Investment Promotion Section (SECOM) of the Embassy of Brazil in Berlin, supports Brazilian exporters seeking to sell their products to Germany by connecting them with potential importers, coordinating trade missions, and providing information about opportunities and challenges in the German market. Additionally, SECOM gathers and disseminates information on investment opportunities in Brazil and advises potential German investors.Trade & Investment Promotion Section (SECOM)Wallstr. 57 - 10179 BerlinTel.: +49 30 72628 115/116/220Contact: Guarani de MoraisE-Mail: secom.berlim@itamaraty.gov.br EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Report 2017 Market Research Reports http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1118347&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/emea-europe-middle-east-and-africa-nuclear-imaging-equipment-market-report-2017.htm Qyresearchreports include new market research report "EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split EMEA into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, With sales (Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Nuclear Imaging Equipment for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)Europe: Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Benelux;Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran;Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria.EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Nuclear Imaging Equipment sales volume (Units), price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingSiemens Healthineers (Germany)Philips Healthcare (Netherlands)GE Healthcare (U.S.)Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Japan)Neusoft Medical Systems (China)Mediso Medical Imaging Systems (Hungary)Digirad Corporation (U.S.)CMR Naviscan Corporation (U.S.)SurgicEye GmbH (Germany)DDD Diagnostics (Denmark)Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSPECT SystemsHybrid SPECTStandalone SPECTHybrid PET SystemsPlanar ScintigraphyOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume (Units), market share and growth rate of Nuclear Imaging Equipment for each application, includingOncologyCardiologyNeurologyOtherIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of Contents1 Nuclear Imaging Equipment Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Nuclear Imaging Equipment1.2 Classification of Nuclear Imaging Equipment1.2.1 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 SPECT Systems1.2.4 Hybrid SPECT1.2.5 Standalone SPECT1.2.6 Hybrid PET Systems1.2.7 Planar Scintigraphy1.2.8 Other1.3 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-20221.3.2 Oncology1.3.3 Cardiology1.3.4 Neurology1.3.5 Other1.4 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market by Region1.4.1 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Middle East Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Africa Status and Prospect (2012-2022)Browse Complete Report with TOC @2 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Competition by Manufacturers/Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application2.1 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers2.1.1 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share of Major Players (2012-2017)2.1.2 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Revenue and Share by Players (2012-2017)2.1.3 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sale Price by Players (2012-2017)2.2 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment (Volume and Value) by Type/Product Category2.2.1 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.3 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sale Price by Type (2012-2017)2.3 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment (Volume) by Application2.4 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment (Volume and Value) by Region2.4.1 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4.2 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4.3 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Price by Region (2012-2017)3 Europe Nuclear Imaging Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Players, Countries, Type and Application3.1 Europe Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 Europe Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 Europe Nuclear Imaging Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.2 Europe Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type3.3 Europe Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Market Share by Application3.4 Europe Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume and Value (Revenue) by Countries3.4.1 Europe Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume by Countries (2012-2017)3.4.2 Europe Nuclear Imaging Equipment Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)3.4.3 Germany Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.4 France Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.5 UK Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.6 Russia Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.7 Italy Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.4.8 Benelux Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4 Middle East Nuclear Imaging Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Region, Type and Application4.1 Middle East Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 Middle East Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 Middle East Nuclear Imaging Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.2 Middle East Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type4.3 Middle East Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Market Share by Application4.4 Middle East Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume and Value (Revenue) by Countries4.4.1 Middle East Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume by Countries (2012-2017)4.4.2 Middle East Nuclear Imaging Equipment Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4.4 Israel Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4.5 UAE Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4.6 Iran Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5 Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price) by Players, Countries, Type and Application5.1 Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Value (2012-2017)5.1.1 Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.2 Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.2 Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type5.3 Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Market Share by Application5.4 Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume and Value (Revenue) by Countries5.4.1 Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales Volume by Countries (2012-2017)5.4.2 Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)5.4.3 South Africa Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.4.4 Nigeria Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.4.5 Egypt Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.4.6 Algeria Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6 EMEA Nuclear Imaging Equipment Manufacturers/Players Profiles and Sales Data6.1 Siemens Healthineers (Germany)6.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors6.1.2 Nuclear Imaging Equipment Product Type, Application and Specification6.1.2.1 Product A6.1.2.2 Product B6.1.3 Siemens Healthineers (Germany) Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.2 Philips Healthcare (Netherlands)6.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors6.2.2 Nuclear Imaging Equipment Product Type, Application and Specification6.2.2.1 Product A6.2.2.2 Product B6.2.3 Philips Healthcare (Netherlands) Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.3 GE Healthcare (U.S.)6.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors6.3.2 Nuclear Imaging Equipment Product Type, Application and Specification6.3.2.1 Product A6.3.2.2 Product B6.3.3 GE Healthcare (U.S.) Nuclear Imaging Equipment Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.3.4 Main Business/Business OverviewQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States Color Masterbatch Market: Global Survey, Trends, Outlook, Overview and 2022 Forecast https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/statistical-reports/enquiry/2198 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/statistical-reports/color-masterbatch-market-one-2198 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/statistical-reports/color-masterbatch-application-market-2273 The Global Color Masterbatch Market has been assessed as developing business sector and expected that the market will touch high development figures amid the gauge time frame. With the end goal of this review, MRFR has portion the worldwide shading masterbatch showcase by sort into white masterbatch, standard shading masterbatch, dark masterbatch, added substance masterbatch and othersRequest a Copy of Sample Report @Access the market data and market information presented through 11 numbers of pages of the project report Color Masterbatch Market (Single User Only PDF $299).Significantly the color masterbatch is utilized as a part of market are dark and standard shading masterbatch. Dark masterbatch comes in minimal effort color giving different shades of dark. They are intended to give properties like conductivity and light solidness. There are likewise added substance masterbatches which are utilized by plastic makes to enhance the properties of polymers, for example, lessen weight of item and keep from direct UV light which causes corruption of plastic. Masterbatch contains 45-65% of added substances and now and again 80% in extraordinary cases. White masterbatch are accessible in little shades of 14mm to 70mm and gives high splendor even on less stacking.Black Masterbatch represented the biggest share of the overall industry of in 2015, with a market estimation of over USD 1,000 million and is anticipated to develop emphatically amid the conjecture time frame. Standard Color Masterbatch was the second-biggest market in 2015 it is anticipated to develop at a quick pace. In any case, White Masterbatch was anticipated to be the third-biggest market in 2015.Further, regarding volume, Black Masterbatch again rules the market with great measure of a piece of the overall industry in 2015 and is anticipated to develop at a CAGR of 5.29%. Standard Color Masterbatch, was the second-biggest section in 2015, However, White Masterbatch is foreseen to be the third biggest fragment in 2027.Browse Full Report Details@Market Research future through this report means to give comprehension of the worldwide shading expert bunch advertise on the premise of sorts, and furthermore helps recognizable proof of progressing patterns alongside foreseen development amid the guage period. For this report, broad essential research was directed to pick up a more profound understanding of the market execution. Different industry specialists and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) were reached and met to get a thought of global color master batch market.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Global Color Masterbatch Market, By Type, and Forecast to 2027 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.Related Report on Color Masterbatch Market:The Global Color Masterbatch Market is segmented into consumer products and retails, material, bundling, car and others. Shading masterbatch have seen different progression till date because of appeal from application industry. The requirement for shading masterbatch is to enhance a usefulness and visual interest of items.The market is additionally fragmented in light of utilization and is separated into customer products and retails, material, bundling, car and others. Bundling industry expends huge measure of white and standard shading masterbatch, be that as it may it has been evaluated to be the biggest section in piece of the pie in 2015. Bundling segment utilize shades of hues to give useful interest to draw in the purchaser consideration. Developments in bundling materials like against shrinkage, warm safe, hostile to microbial and hostile to haze have expanded the interest for masterbatches in nourishment bundling division. Car division holds the second biggest portion as far as piece of the overall industry. This development is ascribed towards developing car division which encourages the utilization of plastics masterbatch to lessen weight of vehicles and increment fuel effectiveness and let down carbon impressionsGlobal Color Masterbatch Market, By Application (USD Million) (2014-2027)Browse Report Details @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Wet Waste Management Market Global Size and Major Key Players (Veolia Environment S.A. (France), Stericycle (U.S.), Waste Management Inc. (U.S.), Many More) Foresight to 2022 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2348 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/wet-waste-management-market-2348 Wet waste refers to the organic waste, usually heavy due to dampness. Wet waste can be segregated as biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Wet waste management is the process of composting the waste for use as manure, biogas etc.The global wet waste management market is majorly driven by the rising awareness for wet waste management. The market is also driven by the introduction of new wet waste management technologies such as the waste to energy solutions. Awareness for environmental sustainability and increase in the use of eco-friendly fuels in the residential and commercial segments, are contributing to the growth of the market. Rise in government initiatives for spreading wet waste management awareness, is further expected to propel the market growth. However, the growth of this market is restrained by lack of participation from industries and sectors such as commercial, food & beverage, and healthcare. Lack of treatment plants and landfill sites is also projected to hamper the growth of the global wet waste management market over the forecast period.Get a Sample Report @Access the market data and market information presented through more than 85 market data tables and figures spread in 111 numbers of pages of the project report Wet Waste Management MarketKey Players Clean Harbors Inc. (U.S.), SUEZ Environment Co. S.A. (France), Veolia Environment S.A. (France), Republic Services Inc. (U.S.), Waste Management Inc. (U.S.), Republic Services Inc. (U.S.), Covanta Energy Corporation(U.S.), Advanced Disposal Services, Inc. (U.S.), Stericycle (U.S.), Progressive Waste Solution Ltd. (Canada) and others.Study Objectives of Global Wet waste management market To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 5 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the global wet waste management market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To analyse the global wet waste management market based on various factors such as supply chain analysis, and Porters five force analysis To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to regions and their respective key countries To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segments by waste type, service & equipment, source and region To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Wet waste management marketBrowse Full Report Details @Regional AnalysisAsia-Pacific is dominating the global wet waste management market, owing to the number of government regulations related to waste management and technological developments in waste management. In the developed region of North America, wet waste management market is matured, owing to the increased environmental concerns and safety.Intended Audience Distributer & Supplier companies End Users consultants and Investment bankers Government as well as Independent Regulatory AuthoritiesProduct Analysis Product matrix which gives a detailed comparison of the market for different recycled product typesAdditional Information Regulatory Landscape Pricing Analysis Macroeconomic IndicatorsGeographic Analysis Geographical analysis across 15 countriesCompany Information Profiling of 10 key market players In-depth analysis including SWOT analysis, and strategy information of related to report title Competitive landscape including emerging trends adopted by major companiesThe report for Global Wet waste management market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Wet Waste Management Market Research Report - Global Forecast to 2022 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Microgrid as a Service Market Technological Advancements 2025 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/microgrid-as-a-service-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23453 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Microgrid is a portable version of the traditional power grid system that can operate either independently or in conjugation with a localitys main electric grid system. Microgrids are majorly installed with the primary objective of providing backup power or to boost the power of main grid during peak demand.The global microgrid as a service (MaaS) market is anticipated to witness a robust growth rate during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025 owing to its increasing demand from remote areas to maintain reliable supply of energy.The global Microgrid as a Service market is expected to witness a progressive growth in the coming years due to rising demand for efficient energy transmission coupled with increasing demand for renewable energy across various industrial, residential and commercial sectors among others.Obtain Report Details:Microgrid as a service provides electricity at a reasonable rate due to the usage of renewable energy sources and helps in reducing the financial losses that takes place from electricity outages in case of emergency situation.Rising demand for low cost power distribution systems is one of the most important factors anticipated to accelerate the demand for microgrids during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.In addition, initiatives taken by government across different parts of the world under its SGIG (Smart Grid Investment Grant) program to encourage the modernization of nations electric distribution and transmission system is also predicted to boost the demand of microgrids in the coming years.However, lack of proper training program and awareness among various end user segment about the benefits of MaaS coupled with complexity involved in design and planning of technologically advanced microgrid system is predicted to inhibit its adoption rate to some extent in the coming eight years.For the purpose of providing detailed research report, the global Microgrid as a Service market is segmented on the basis of grid type, service type, end user and geography. On the basis of grid type the market is segmented into grid connected type and remote grid type.Among the different types of Maas available in the market, the remote grid is expected to grow at a higher rate owing to its facilities to manage the distributed energy better and achieve greater control in meeting energy demands as compared to remote grid type.On the other hand, based on service type, the market has been classified into operation and maintenance service, engineering and design, monitoring and control and software as a service.The software as a service is expected to witness the most prospective growth rate during the forecast period due to single point of accessibility of the microgrid owners that reduces the risk of project failures which results in safer, cost efficient and more reliable microgrid system.MaaS also finds its application across various end user segments including residential, commercial, industrial, government and education and others. Among various end user segment, the industrial sector is expected to grow at a highest CAGR during the forecast period.Attributes such as better and reliable power supply, lower energy cost, fuel independence are some of the primary factor that have increased the adoption of microgrid as a service in the industrial sector.Geographically, the global Microgrid as a Service market has been further classified into into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. North America held the largest share of the MaaS market among the different regions in 2016.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Microgrid as a Service Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:The Maas market of North America is majorly driven by the U.S owing to increasing adoption of smart grid system. On the flip side, the Asia Pacific Microgrid as a Service market is expected to witness a high growth rate during the forecast period owing to the increasing demand for continuous, reliable and uninterrupted power supply in order to support the rising demand of power from the rapidly growing residential, commercial and industrial sectors.Some of the key vendors operating in the global Microgrid as a Service market includes Eaton Corp. PLC ( Ireland), General Electric (The U.S.), Schneider Electric SE ( France), Siemens AG (Germany), Duke Energy Corporation ( The U.S.), ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Northern Power Systems Corp. ( The U.S.), NRG Energy Inc. (The U.S.) among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Solar Photovoltaic Material Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share 2024 | Research Report http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/solar-photovoltaic-material-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=23870 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Solar Photovoltaic Material Market: OverviewSolar photovoltaic materials are the materials that are used in manufacturing of solar panels or modules which are installed for generating electricity. Solar photovoltaic materials are basically of two types crystalline and thin film. Crystalline is further divided into polycrystalline and gallium arsenide whereas thin film is of three types namely amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium diselenide. Out of all the solar photovoltaic materials, polycrystalline is the most dominant material because of its good efficiency and easy manufacturing process. Thin film materials like cadmium telluride and copper indium diselenide is expected to grow in the near future.This 140 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Solar Photovoltaic Material Market. Browse through to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market @The report estimates and forecasts the solar photovoltaic material market on the global, regional, and country levels. The study provides forecast between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) with 2015 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the product segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage. The study includes drivers and restraints for the solar photovoltaic material market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period.The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the solar photovoltaic material market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources. Furthermore, the report analyzes substitute analysis of solar photovoltaic material and global average price trend analysis.Global Solar Photovoltaic Material Market: SegmentationThe study provides comprehensive view of the solar photovoltaic material market by dividing it into end-user and geography. The solar photovoltaic material market has been segmented into crystalline, polycrystalline, cadmium telluride, copper indium diselenide and others. End-user segments residential, commercial, and industrial have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends.Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for solar photovoltaic material in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report comprises country-level analysis in terms of volume and revenue for end-user segments. Key countries such as the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., China, India, Japan, South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual end-users in all the regions and countries.The report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the solar photovoltaic material market. It comprises qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein end-users and countries have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market. The report comprises price trend analysis for solar photovoltaic material between 2016 and 2024.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Solar Photovoltaic Material Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Global Solar Photovoltaic Material Market: Competitive AnalysisThe report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Major players profiled in the report include BASF SE, Mitsubishi Material Corporation, Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation LLC, LDK Solar Co. Ltd., Okmetic, Wacker Chemie AG , Applied Materials, Inc, Shin-Etsu Chemicals Co., Ltd., Atecom Technology Co., Ltd., Topsil GlobalWafers A/S, Silicor Materials, Inc., Targray Technology International, Inc. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable).Secondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report. In-depth interviews and discussions with wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Fuel Dispensers Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Growth 2024 | Research Report http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/fuel-dispenser-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=12305 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Fuel Dispensers Market: OverviewFuel dispenser also known as a petrol pump or gas pump, is a machinery that pumps gasoline, petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG, and other fuel types into vehicles at the filling station. Filling station is a service station where fuel dispensers are found. Here the fuel dispenser pumps the fuel from underground storage. Fuel dispensers are mainly of two types suction fuel dispensers and submersible fuel dispensers.This 166 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Fuel Dispensers Market . Browse through to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market @These are the different systems based on which fuel dispenser works. In suction type, the dispenser consists of motor and suction system included in their case so that the dispenser works independently. In submersible type, the dispenser do not consist of motor and suction system included in their case so the dispenser cannot work independently.Global Fuel Dispensers Market: Scope of the StudyThe report estimates and forecasts the fuel dispensers market on the global, regional, and country levels. The study provides forecast between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (Units) and revenue (US$ Mn) with 2015 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the product segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage. The study includes drivers and restraints for the fuel dispensers market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the fuel dispensers market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources.The report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the fuel dispenser market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein applications and countries have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market. The report comprises price trend analysis for fuel dispenser between 2016 and 2024.Global Fuel Dispensers Market: SegmentationThe study provides a comprehensive view of the fuel dispenser market by dividing it on the basis of fuel types and geography segments. The fuel dispensers market has been segmented into petrol, diesel, CNG, compressed hydrogen and others based on fuel type. Fuel type segment have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends.Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for fuel dispensers in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report comprises country-level analysis in terms of volume and revenue for fuel type segments. Key countries such as the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K., Spain, Italy, India, China, South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual fuel types in all the regions and countries.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Fuel Dispensers Market . Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Global Fuel Dispensers Market: Competitive AnalysisThe report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report includes Tokheim Group S.A.S, Piusi S.p.A., Wayne Fueling Systems LLC, Gilbarco Inc. and others. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable).About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Frequency Synthesizer Market: Key Players and Production Information analysis with Forecast 2025 Frequency Synthesizer Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/frequency-synthesizer-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23504 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Frequency synthesizer is an electronic circuit which is used for generating any range of frequencies from an oscillator or a single fixed time base. This is the most accepted way of generating accurate and stable RF signals for use in mobile phones to radios and signal generators. A frequency synthesizer uses the technique of frequency mixing, frequency division, frequency multiplication and direct digital synthesis to generate new frequencies that have the same accuracy and stability as the master oscillator. The frequency synthesizer is used to generate variable frequency output from a standalone device. The main features of this device are low phase noise performance, stability, high switching speed, output frequency range and many more. The global Frequency Synthesizer market is segmented on the basis of type, application, component and geography.On the basis of type, frequency synthesizer is segmented into direct and indirect. Direct frequency synthesizer is further divided into direct analogue frequency synthesizer and direct digital frequency synthesizer. This direct analogue frequency synthesizer is also called a mix filter divide architecture due to its one or more popular architecture for this form. Direct digital frequency synthesizer are widely used to generate signal frequency. Direct analog synthesizer have several drawback like it requires considerable amount of critical circuitry, significant number of spurious signal due to which it is not used these days. Indirect frequency synthesizer can also be segmented into indirect analogue frequency synthesizer and indirect digital frequency synthesizer. The indirect analog frequency synthesizer is expected to dominate the market due to its better phase noise performance, good signal and clarity.Obtain Report Details @The rising use of mobile phone is a major driving factor for Frequency Synthesizer market. The upcoming technologies like 5G are expected to accelerate the growth of Frequency Synthesizer market for telecommunication application. The product portfolio of the major manufacturers in this market cater mainly to the demand of the aerospace and defense industry, research and measurement and many more. In addition the use of RF capable chips and CIS help in widespread adoption in telecommunication sector. However, the need for high capital investment is required to manufacture frequency synthesizer is one of the key restraining factors that impede the growth generated in this market. In spite of this, the market opportunities for this product lies in the fact that newer techniques are getting developed for frequency synthesizes that will help to improve the performance and widen the scope of the market.On the basis of component Frequency Synthesizer market is segmented into phase detectors, oscillators, loop filters, mixer and others. On the basis of end user industry the market is segmented into telecommunication, aerospace, research and measurement and others. In military and aerospace frequency synthesizer is used in electronic warfare, signals intelligence and radar. In telecommunication it is used in Wlan, Cellular, Satcom, Software Defined Radio (SDR) and others.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Frequency Synthesizer Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@The global Frequency Synthesizer market is further categorized based on geography into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. North America is expected to dominate the market in the forecast period whereas Middle East and Africa is expected to grow at highest rate. The expansion and evolution of telecommunication sector is expected to fuel the growth of the market.The key vendors of Frequency Synthesizer market are Texas Instruments Inc. (The U.S.), Ultra Electronics (The U.S.), Analog Devices Inc.( The U.S.), Programmed Test Sources Inc. (The U.S.), Mercury United Electronics Inc.( The U.S.),EM Research Inc.( The U.S.), MicroLambda Wireless Inc. (The U.S.), Sivers IMA AB (Sweden), Qorvo Inc. (The U.S.) and many more. These players have adopted different strategies like new product launch, business expansion, partnership and mergers to cater to the various need of consumers.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to rovide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Hardware Encryption Market: Development Insight and Manufacturers Challenge Competitors Hardware Encryption Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/hardware-encryption-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23498 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Encryption is the process of scrambling sensitive information that is only readable by the intended recipient. Encryption is mainly performed by hardware or software devices using a series of algorithm or mathematical operations for generating the cypher text or the encrypted data. The recipient for whom the message is encrypted must have an electronic key for decrypting the data using a similar device further converting the data to its original readable form known as the clear text. This process of hardware encryption involves file being written in the drive that is further encrypted automatically using specialized software. After this as the file is read from the drive, there is a special software that automatically decrypts it further making it understandable by the recipient and functioning as any other normal computer.Hardware encryption as a technology prevents data from being accessed by unauthorized persons thereby providing an extra layer of security against hackers or from online threats. The global market for hardware encryption has been segmented into circuit design, product, application and geography.The global market on the basis of circuit design has been segmented into FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). On the basis of product the global market for hardware encryption has been segmented into USB flash drives, external hard disks, solid state drives and internal hard disks among others. Consumer electronics, healthcare, IT & telecom and aerospace & defense forms the major application areas for this market globally.Obtain Report Details @Global hardware encryption market on the basis of geography has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa.It is the optimization of the encryption feature with the rest of the drive that forms one of the major drivers aiding in the growth of this market. Use of software encryption involves lot of steps that is avoided in case hardware encryption further making the whole process faster leading to its rising applications globally. Another major factor pushing the growth of this market includes the all-time activation of these hardware encryption making it easier for the driver to meet the various government standards especially in applications across service sectors such as banking and financial institutions among others. This system further requires minimum configuration and interaction with users without effecting the overall performance of the system.This is especially helpful in case of protecting sensitive data without being worried about the data getting stolen or compromised by the hackers. After considering all these drivers, there are also certain restraints that has a negative impact on the overall market. One such factor is the high costs associated with its implementation while another factor being this hardware encryption tied to only one device rather than a complete system. Moreover, the updates in case of hardware encryption is also possible through device substitution further making it difficult for implementation. It is the growth of Internet of Things (IoT) technology and cloud services that is expected to provide numerous growth opportunities for this market in the coming years.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Hardware Encryption Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Geographically, it is North America followed by Europe that forms some of the major regions contributing to the overall growth of this market. Advent of cloud based services along with growth in IoT technology has also contributed to being some important factors contributing to the growth. Asia Pacific is another major region along with being one of the fastest one to grow globally with China, Korea, India and Japan being some of the key countries contributing to the growth. Growing internet penetration along with rise in demand for smartphones and tablets has also been some important factors contributing to the growth.Some of the key players that are operating in the global hardware encryption market include Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (South Korea), Toshiba Corporation (Japan), Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (The U.S.), Micron Technology Inc. (The U.S.), IBM (The U.S.), Kingston Technology Corporation (The U.S.), Seagate Technology PLC (Ireland) and Western Digital Corporation (The U.S.) among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to rovide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Qatar Airways will reveal the first aircraft featuring its revolutionary new First in Business Class experience on the opening day of this years Paris Air Show, taking place from 19 to 25 June at Le Bourget in Paris. With the launch of the first aircraft in its fleet fitted with the revolutionary, award-winning new Qsuite, Qatar Airways First in Business Class concept will allow visitors a unique preview of the on-board offering. Qsuite is a unique and patented seat design that will bring the First Class experience to the airlines Business Class cabin, setting a new standard for Premium Class travel and redefining industry expectations, in tandem with the airlines already award-winning Business Class service. The Paris Air Show will be the first time the seat has been displayed in an aircraft. Qatar Airways patented new seat design has already gained industry recognition after receiving the Best Airline Innovation of the Year award at the 2017 ULTRAS (Ultimate Luxury Travel Related Awards) for its launch of Qsuite. Qsuite features the aviation industrys first-ever double bed available in Business Class, with privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room. In addition, TV monitors on the centre four seats can move to allow colleagues, friends or families travelling together to transform their space into a private suite for four to work, dine or socialise together. New and patented features within Qsuite provide the ultimate customisable travel experience for Qatar Airways Business Class passengers, enabling them to create an environment specific to their own needs. Individually-crafted suites contain luxurious details such as hand-stitched leather and satin rose gold finishing, bringing an additional level of luxury, privacy and style to Qatar Airways Business Class offering. To further complement the customisable on-board seating experience that passengers will now enjoy, Qatar Airways is also launching a new food and beverage concept to accompany the current Business Class dine-on-demand service. The delights of this new menu will also be on offer during the air show. The new Business Class menu will now offer an additional selection of snack sharing dishes available throughout the flight, allowing travellers to turn dining at 35,000 feet into a social experience. A wake-up Express Breakfast for early morning arrivals will also be available for those who choose to sleep a little longer by making the most of the Do Not Disturb option available on the door of their private Qsuite. Known for industry firsts, Qatar Airways is the national carrier of the State of Qatar, and is one of the fastest-growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Solar Panel Positioning Robots Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share 2025 | Research Report http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/solar-panel-positioning-robots-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=25862 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Solar panel positioning robots are basically the tracking systems installed along the solar panels, which actually allow the photovoltaic cells to face the correct direction in an appropriate angle (toward the sun). It is essential for a solar panel to face the correct direction in order to collect maximum solar radiations and achieve the maximum efficiency. Thus, automated solar panel positioning robots are highly useful. Trackers in the current scenario are able to hold up the solar panel and adjust the tilt with the help of their own motors.Browse Market Research Report @In general, trackers are of two types: single-axis trackers and dual-axis trackers. Dual-axis trackers make finer angle adjustment at the cost of more number of motors and hence, they have high hardware installing cost. Solar panel positioning robot is a wandering robot equipped with the motor, which is required to change the angel of the solar panel. The robot rails along the tracks which are laid down few feet above the ground along the series of solar panels.The increase in environmental concerns, especially caused by high levels of greenhouse gases, steady increase in the demand for energy led by rise in population, and high prices of non-renewable sources of energy as compared to renewable sources are factors boosting the renewable energy sector, particularly the solar energy sector. Solar energy is easily accessible and it can be trapped effortlessly. The race of solar power to grow into the competition with conventional energy source (fossil fuels) has been accelerated by the consistence price drop of Photovoltaic cell modules in recent years. This drop in prices has presented an opportunity for growth of the solar market. Hence, the automation of positioning of these panels is witnessing high demand.Solar panel positioning robots are mostly employed in large-scale solar power plants, as these robotic systems require more space for installation than conventional dual-axis trackers. Thus, in the commercial sector i.e. in hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, and offices complexes; large-scale installation of these robots may be required. Companies using the solar panels for the heat generation purpose would also require these robotic systems to enhance the efficiency of solar panels.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Solar Panel Positioning Robots Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Countries promoting the usage of solar energy by giving subsidies and reducing the taxes present potential markets for solar panel positioning robots. Countries in Europe such as Germany, Italy, France, the U.K., and Belgium are witnessing a rising trend toward the use of solar energy. Countries in Asia such as China, India, and Japan are also installing large-scale solar power plants to satisfy their energy needs. This may create opportunities for growth of the solar panel positioning robots market in the region. The U.S., which also contributes significantly in harnessing of solar energy, is also likely to be a potential market for solar panel positioning robots in the next few years.The potential key players in the market for solar panel positioning robots are companies operating in the market for solar tracking systems and automation of renewable energy; for example, Nextraker, Firelake Capital, LINAK, Morgan Solar, Ecoppia, Alion Energy, Susten, Ravin, Scorpius Tackers.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Hermetic Packaging Market: Market Competition, Value chain Analysis and Forecast 2025 Hermetic Packaging Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/hermetic-packaging-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23492 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Hermetic packaging is defined as an advanced level packaging technique which has it primary applications in passive and active electronic devices and it also has usage in semiconductor and electronics industry. Increasing demand for solutions primarily for high reliability and often advanced performance applications, and are extensively used in defense, aerospace and military along with commercial applications are fueling the demand for hermetic packaging across different regions. The hermetic packaging market has been segmented into by type which includes ceramic-metal sealing, reed glass, transponder glass, passivation glass among others. The market has been segmented into by end use industry which includes automotive, aerospace and defense, healthcare, telecommunication, industrial equipment, among others. The geographical segmentation of the hermetic packaging market includes, Asia Pacific, Europe, South America, North America and Middle East and Africa (MEA).In order to prevent any sort of outside physical and chemical or environmental contamination and to protect highly sensitive electronic components used for critical applications which include aerospace, military and defense is one of the major driving factors for the market. Hermetic packaging prevents liquids and gases from entering the package cavity where the die is mounted. Additionally, owing to the hermetic package materials, these are able to withstand and work in higher temperatures. Furthermore, hermetic packaging prevents the semiconductor component from any sort of corrosions more efficiently than any other equivalent plastic packaging.Obtain Report Details @There is different sort of hermetic packaging technique possible which includes multilayer ceramic packages, metal can packages, pressed ceramic packages. In case of multilayer packages, the ceramic tape layers are primarily metalized, laminated and then fired to create the package body. Moreover, pressed ceramic packages are usually a three part construction which includes base, lid and leadframe. Furthermore, metal can packages consist of a metal base with leads exiting through a glass seal.Transistors, lasers, sensors, photodiodes, MEMS switches among others are some of the prime application area of hermetic packaging. Increasing demand for high end packaging techniques in automotive and telecommunication industry is one of the prime factors behind d the growth of hermetic packaging market. Additionally, rising application of hermetic packaging in the medical industry is another major factor fueling the market. High electrical insulation, mechanical stability, protection against corrosion and prevents chemical contamination and pressure transmission are some of the major attributes of hermetic packaging which in turn is increasing the usage of hermetic packaging across different end use industries.Semiconductor components are primarily made of gallium arsenide (GaAs) or silicon (Si) are highly sensitive and require protection against, soiling, damage, aggressive chemical substances or humidity. In order to avoid any sort of contamination the application of the hermetic packing is growing in different industrial components. Strict rules and regulations regarding the packaging materials and increasing packaging cost are some of the restraining factor for the market. Growing adaptation of hermetic packaging across research and labs instrument application along with aeronautics and space and automobile are some of the major opportunities for the market.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Hermetic Packaging Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@In 2016, Asia Pacific accounted for the largest market share in terms of revenue for the hermetic packaging market, followed by North America and Europe. China is leading the market for hermetic packaging in Asia Pacific. Additionally, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and India are holding prominent position in the hermetic packaging market in Asia Pacific. In North America, the U.S. accounted for the highest market share I n terms of revenue, followed by Canada and Mexico. Moreover, Germany, Italy, the U.K., France is major contributors contributing of the hermetic packaging market. In South America, Brazil and Argentina both are anticipated to encounter positive development over the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.In Middle East and Africa (MEA), there has been positive development and advancement in the field of semiconductor and electronics packaging and other industries for instance; healthcare, automotive and high growth of industrial sector is fueling the demand for hermetic packaging market.There are some of the major players of the hermetic packaging market operating globally which include Texas Instruments Inc. (The U.S.), and AMETEK, Inc. (The U.S.), Amkor Technology, Inc. (The U.S.), Schott AG (Germany), Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (The U.S.) among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to rovide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Fetal Doppler Monitoring System Market SWOT Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecasts To 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/fetal-doppler-monitoring-system-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20951 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Fetal doppler monitor, commonly known as baby heartbeat monitor, is a handheld ultrasound transducer used to detect the fetal heartbeat for prenatal care. Fetal doppler monitor provides information about the fetus, which is similar to that of fetal stethoscope, and it acts as an indicator of stress. The stress usually occurs during birth and labor period, which can be detected using the ultrasound probe and electrocardiography. Over the counter sale and use of Doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors are used for listening to the heartbeat of a fetus. These are legally marketed as prescription devices and should be used under supervision of health care professionals. Doptone is a type of handheld portable ultrasound tool used for fetal monitoring. The tool is beneficial due to its waterproof technology. However, fetal monitoring increases the risk of C-section due to high rate of technological uses, which can develop many complications for the fetus and the mother during pregnancy.View Report @Increase in number of childbirth, awareness program for preventing the complications in childbirth, and demand for at-home fetal heart monitors are important driving factors of the global fetal doppler monitoring system market. In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared the usage of Doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors and fetal ultrasound imaging should be by trained health care professionals, and they are not intended for over the counter sale or use. Cost of treatment or ultrasonography and sensitivity of child toward ultrasound devices are expected to hamper the fetal doppler monitoring system market growth.The global market has been segmented based on monitoring process type, end-user, and geography. In terms of monitoring process type, the fetal doppler monitoring system market is classified into electronic fetal monitoring, external fetal monitoring, and internal fetal monitoring. In terms of end-user, the market for fetal doppler monitoring system is classified into diagnostic laboratories, hospitals, and research & development. In terms of geography, the market is distributed over North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa.Geographically, North America dominates the global market due to increase in advent of technology of ultrasound monitoring devices and growth in child development plan. Early-phase diagnosis and treatment of disease during pregnancy is driving the medical biotechnology market which in turn is expected to drive the fetal doppler monitoring system market in North America. Europe is the second leading market for fetal doppler monitoring system as there are favorable government policies regarding health care infrastructure and awareness of population development. The Asia Pacific market is expected to grow at a higher rate due to rise in population, changing lifestyle, rise in awareness between patients, and increase in per capita expenditure. In addition, economic growth is supporting the health care infrastructure improvement in developing countries such as India and China.The major players operating in the global fetal doppler monitoring system market include Medline Industries, Inc., Bionet Co., Ltd, Huntleigh Healthcare Limited, Promed Group Co., Ltd., ELCAT, Hadeco, Inc., Shenzhen Biocare Bio-Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., Advanced Instrumentations, and SonoScape Medical Corp.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Fetal Doppler Monitoring System Market Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Thorium Reactor Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share 2025 | Research Report http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/thorium-reactor-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=25868 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Discovered in 1828 by Sweden-based chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius, thorium is a naturally-occurring radioactive material found in small amounts in rocks and soils. It is about three times more abundant than uranium. Thorium exists in a single isotopic form - Th-232 - that decays slowly. Monazite, a rare earth phosphate mineral, is the common source of thorium. It contains up to 12% thorium phosphate. Monazite is found in igneous and other rocks with richest deposits in areas concentrated by waves and current action with other heavy minerals. World monazite resources are estimated to stand at about 16 million tons of which 12 million tons are in heavy mineral sands deposits on the south and east coasts of India.Browse Market Research Report @Thorium is not fissile; therefore, it is not directly usable in a thermal neutron reactor. However, it is fertile and upon absorbing a neutron transmutes to uranium-233 (U-233), which is an excellent fissile fuel material. All thorium fuel concepts therefore require that Th-232 first be irradiated in a reactor to provide the necessary neutron dosing to produce protactinium-233. The Pa-233 that is produced can either be chemically separated from the parent thorium fuel and the decay product U-233 then recycled into new fuel, or the U-233 may be usable in-situ in the same fuel form, especially in molten salt reactors (MSRs). Therefore, thorium fuels need a fissile material as a driver so that a chain reaction can be maintained. The only fissile driver options are U-233, U-235, or Pu-239, these are not easily available.A basic design principle in thorium fuel systems is that of heterogeneous fuel arrangement, wherein a high fissile fuel zone called the seed region is physically separated from the fertile thorium part of the fuel known as blanket. Such an arrangement is better for supplying surplus neutrons to thorium nuclei so they can convert to fissile U-233. This principle applies to all the thorium-capable reactor systems. There are seven types of reactors into which thorium can be introduced as a nuclear fuel: Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTRs), Boiling (Light) Water Reactors (BWRs), Pressurized (Light) Water Reactors (PWRs), Fast Neutron Reactors (FNRs), Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs), and Accelerator Driven Reactors (ADS).A thorium fuel cycle offers several potential advantages over uranium fuel cycle. These include much greater abundance on earth, superior physical and nuclear fuel properties, and reduced nuclear waste production. Since 2008, nuclear energy experts have shown key interests in thorium to supply nuclear fuel in place of uranium in order to generate nuclear power. Thorium is key in developing a new generation of cleaner and safer nuclear power. Considering its overall potential, thorium-based power can mean a 1000+ year solution or a quality low-carbon bridge towards sustainable energy sources. This would help eradicate a large portion of the mankinds negative environmental impact.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Thorium Reactor Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Research and development activities of thorium-based nuclear reactors are primarily being carried out in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Brazil, India, China, France, the Czech Republic, Japan, Russia, Canada, Israel, and the Netherlands. In 2013, Thorium Power Canada planned and proposed development of thorium power projects for Chile and Indonesia. India has one of the largest supplies of thorium in the world, with comparatively poor quantities of uranium. The country estimates to meet about 30% of the demand for electricity through thorium by 2050.The major reactor manufacturing companies are General Electric, Mitsubshi Heavy Industries, Terrestrial Energy, Moltex Energy, ThorCon Power, Terra Power, Flibe Energy, Transatomic Power Corporation, Thor EnergyAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Oil and Gas Cyber Security Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size 2024 | Research Report http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/oil-gas-cyber-security-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=22844 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Oil and Gas Cyber Security Market: OverviewTodays hyper-connected world is highly prone to cyber-attacks and industries are increasingly taking measures to bulwark their systems and data. The oil and gas industry is no exception. To increase efficiency of operations, they are digitally connected these days. While this has its obvious advantages, it also has its ill-effects heightened risk of cyber-attacks. This has necessitated the need for proper cyber-security measures and has, in turn, spawned an entire market altogether oil and gas cyber security market.Browse Market Research Report @A report by Transparency Market Research studies the global market for oil and gas cyber security by factoring in various crucial aspects. It takes into consideration both historical and current data to gauge the size of the market. It sheds light on the growth drivers and restraints to understand the future trajectory of the market. The report also leverages market-leading analytical tools to fathom the current competitive dynamics and profiles leading players along with their strategies.Global Oil and Gas Cyber Security Market: Trends and OpportunitiesInsider misuse, crime ware, miscellaneous errors, cyber espionage, web application attacks, denial of service, physical threat/loss of property, and payment skimmers are to name a few common cyber-attack threats in the oil and gas industries. To counter them, cyber security systems are deployed in oil and gas operational sites. They monitor the processes during plant shutdown and help uncover utilities interruption, facilities terrorism, production disruption, undetected spills, and hydrocarbon installation terrorism. Effective cyber security systems in place ensure seamless operations right from exploration and production of oil and gas to their delivery to end-users sans mishap or other hitches.The global market for oil and gas cyber security can be split broadly into physical security and network security. Sector-wise, upstream, midstream, and downstream are the three primary segments in the market. Depending upon application again, the market can be bifurcated into the onshore and offshore groups.The different types of cyber security challenges in the upstream sector include breach of confidential information or data pertaining to drilling operations, planned projects, production sharing contracts (PSC), block diagrams, tenders, field production information, and drilling methodologies. The upstream segment is considered most prone to cyber-attacks. Cyber-threats in the midstream oil and gas sector is mostly related to supply chain logistics, distribution networks, storage information, pipeline data, and pipeline and transportation information. In the downstream, major cyber-security challenges pertain to refinery information, consumer data, end-user distribution, retail data, and industrial plants and manufacturing data.Global Oil and Gas Cyber Security Market: Regional OutlookFrom a geographic standpoint, North America and Europe are key markets in the global market for oil and gas cyber security. This is because the two continents are home to advanced countries that invest heavily in sophisticated cyber security systems to avoid breaches. The U.S. and Canada, for instance, are pulling out every stop to ensure cyber security in the development and production of shale gas. Europe and North America are also home to numerous key manufacturers of cyber security components such as hardware and software to ensure safety of different operational processes in the entire oil and gas value chain. These players are now making efforts to tap into the promising China and India markets in Asia Pacific in order to up their revenues and profit margins.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Oil and Gas Cyber Security Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Companies Mentioned in the ReportSome of the key players operating in the global market for oil and gas cyber security, listed in the report are Siemens AG, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Parsons, Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Symantec Corporation, Intel Corporation, and Accenture.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Bio-based Isoprene Market: Latest Trends,Analysis & Insights 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/bio-based-isoprene-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=17033 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://depthresearchreport.blogspot.in/ A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Bio-based Isoprene Market. The study, titled Bio-based Isoprene Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Global Bio-based Isoprene Market: OutlineIsoprene with formula C5H8 is a colorless volatile liquid produced by various plants. Many trees and plants such as poplars, oaks, legumes and eucalyptus emit isoprene into the atmosphere. Isoprene is also known as 2-methyl-1, 3-butadiene which is used as a chemical raw material. It is used as a starting material for a host of synthetic polymers, especially synthetic rubbers. A very small proportion of bio-based isoprene is used in the production of fragrance intermediates and flavors. Isoprene along with other unsaturated compounds is used to manufacture polymeric materials.Browse Market Research Report @Isoprene is produced naturally from plants through methyl-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway i.e. MEP pathway in the chloroplasts of trees and plants. One among the two end products of this pathway such as dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMADP) forms isoprene by the catalytic reaction by isoprene synthase. Through industrial process, isoprene was isolated from natural rubber by thermal decomposition. Industrially, it is readily available as a byproduct of thermal cracking of oil or naphtha as a side product in the ethylene production. Major fraction of isoprene produced worldwide is converted into polyisoprene. It is produced mainly from the petroleum derived feedstocks leading to inherent risk of volatility in prices and demand of oil. Moreover, it is expensive and environment unfriendly. These factors led to the use of bio-based products to manufacture isoprene.Global Bio-based Isoprene Market: Trends and OpportunitiesRising interest is seen in the production of isoprene from the genetically engineered micro-organisms. This new technology increases the fermentative capabilities of micro-organisms through a process of genetically engineering DNA. This process improves enzyme activity leading to increased yield of isoprene. This technology has huge potential in the market for manufacturing bio-based isoprene. Bio-based isoprene has applications in various end-user industries. It is used in the production of footwear, medical appliances, mechanical instruments and sporting goods. The major application of bio-based isoprene is in manufacturing rubber tires. It is also used in manufacturing various adhesives and elastomers. Surgical gloves such as nitrile, vinyl and latex gloves are also manufactured using bio-based isoprene. Transportation jets and jet fuels also make use of bio-based isoprene for its production.The growing rubber industry and demand for rubber products is the major driving factor of global bio-based isoprene market. The rising awareness for environmental friendly products is also expected to boost demand for bio-based isoprene for a host of applications.Global Bio-based Isoprene Market: Regional OutlookNorth America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW) are the key segments for global bio-based isoprene market. Asia Pacific, especially China and Latin America is the expected to fuel demand for bio-based isoprene due to large number of rubber industries in the region. North America and Europe are also expected to boost demand for bio-based isoprene for various applications such as adhesives and elastomers among others.Global Bio-based Isoprene Market: Key Players Mentioned in the ReportThe major companies profiled for global bio-based isoprene include: DuPont, Amyris, Good year Tire and Rubber Company, Genencor, Michelin, BioXcell, Ajinomoto Co. Inc, Bridgestone Corporation, PolymerOhio Inc, GlycosBio and Danisco among others. Companies into manufacture of bio-based isoprene have altered various enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway to enhance both the yield of isoprene and the rate of production. Technological advancements along with changes in the enzymatic pathways have improved the quantity and efficiency of isoprene and have reduced the production of by-products DuPont developed an innovative fermentation process for producing bio-based isoprene monomers from biomass using metabolically engineered E. coli strains.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Bio-based Isoprene market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog : Microgrid as a Service MarketResearch Report by Regional Analysis, Key Players, Share, Size and forecast 2025 Microgrid as a Service Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/microgrid-as-a-service-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23453 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Microgrid is a portable version of the traditional power grid system that can operate either independently or in conjugation with a localitys main electric grid system. Microgrids are majorly installed with the primary objective of providing backup power or to boost the power of main grid during peak demand. The global microgrid as a service (MaaS) market is anticipated to witness a robust growth rate during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025 owing to its increasing demand from remote areas to maintain reliable supply of energy.The global Microgrid as a Service market is expected to witness a progressive growth in the coming years due to rising demand for efficient energy transmission coupled with increasing demand for renewable energy across various industrial, residential and commercial sectors among others. Microgrid as a service provides electricity at a reasonable rate due to the usage of renewable energy sources and helps in reducing the financial losses that takes place from electricity outages in case of emergency situation. Rising demand for low cost power distribution systems is one of the most important factors anticipated to accelerate the demand for microgrids during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. In addition, initiatives taken by government across different parts of the world under its SGIG (Smart Grid Investment Grant) program to encourage the modernization of nations electric distribution and transmission system is also predicted to boost the demand of microgrids in the coming years.Obtain Report Details @However, lack of proper training program and awareness among various end user segment about the benefits of MaaS coupled with complexity involved in design and planning of technologically advanced microgrid system is predicted to inhibit its adoption rate to some extent in the coming eight years.For the purpose of providing detailed research report, the global Microgrid as a Service market is segmented on the basis of grid type, service type, end user and geography. On the basis of grid type the market is segmented into grid connected type and remote grid type. Among the different types of Maas available in the market, the remote grid is expected to grow at a higher rate owing to its facilities to manage the distributed energy better and achieve greater control in meeting energy demands as compared to remote grid type. On the other hand, based on service type, the market has been classified into operation and maintenance service, engineering and design, monitoring and control and software as a service. The software as a service is expected to witness the most prospective growth rate during the forecast period due to single point of accessibility of the microgrid owners that reduces the risk of project failures which results in safer, cost efficient and more reliable microgrid system.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Microgrid as a Service Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@MaaS also finds its application across various end user segments including residential, commercial, industrial, government and education and others. Among various end user segment, the industrial sector is expected to grow at a highest CAGR during the forecast period. Attributes such as better and reliable power supply, lower energy cost, fuel independence are some of the primary factor that have increased the adoption of microgrid as a service in the industrial sector.Geographically, the global Microgrid as a Service market has been further classified into into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. North America held the largest share of the MaaS market among the different regions in 2016. The Maas market of North America is majorly driven by the U.S owing to increasing adoption of smart grid system. On the flip side, the Asia Pacific Microgrid as a Service market is expected to witness a high growth rate during the forecast period owing to the increasing demand for continuous, reliable and uninterrupted power supply in order to support the rising demand of power from the rapidly growing residential, commercial and industrial sectors.Some of the key vendors operating in the global Microgrid as a Service market includes Eaton Corp. PLC ( Ireland), General Electric (The U.S.), Schneider Electric SE ( France), Siemens AG (Germany), Duke Energy Corporation ( The U.S.), ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Northern Power Systems Corp. ( The U.S.), NRG Energy Inc. (The U.S.) among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to rovide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Carpet Back Coatings Market SWOT Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecasts To 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/carpet-back-coatings-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16994 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Carpet Back Coatings Market: SummaryCarpet back coatings is primarily a backing process and is an important production step which is done to improve and enhance the stability of various textile floor coatings including rugs and carpets. Backing of floor coatings has advantages such as soundproofing, stepping elasticity and heat insulation. There are various types of coatings used for textile floor covering which include pre-coatings, foam coatings, textile back coatings, heavy coatings, reinforcement and back finish among others. Various methods used for backing carpets include secondary backing, embossed gel foam backing and felt backing.Gel foam backings are the most accepted carpet back coatings as they possess excellent mechanical quality, good water resistance and have a non-slippery effect. A gelling agent along with a vulcanization agent coupled with ammonium acetate gel foam is used as secondary backing. Tufted carpets are pre coated after tufting, primarily to anchor the needled piled loops in the carrier layer of the carpet permanently. The pre coating material consists of a variety of components, which include x-SBR latex (dispersion that contains a copolymer, which is obtained from styrene, butadiene and carbonic acid), fillers, water, and additives, which include thickeners, anti foam, foam stabilizers etc. The pre coatings can be applied to carpets and other textile floor coatings by two processes, one which include slop padding and the doctor blade technique.View Report @Global Carpet Back Coatings Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe primary driver for the carpet back coating market is the need for carpets in households and workspaces. This is owing to the high disposable income of the people, changing lifestyle of the consumers especially in the Asia Pacific region. Carpets are increasingly used for decorating and enhancing the feel of a room whether in houses or in offices. The growing construction industry coupled with growing remodeling activities is anticipated to boost the market for carpet back coatings. Competition from hard floor coatings and the harmful effects observed during the manufacturing of carpet back coatings may restrict the carpet back coating market. Manufacturers of carpet back coatings are investing in a number of research and development projects to improve the quality of the various carpet back coatings as well as improving the quality of carpets. Research is also being carried out in order to find eco friendly alternatives especially for modern customer needs.Global Carpet Back Coatings Market: Regional EvaluationThe major markets for carpet back coatings include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). The North American region is the largest market for carpet back coatings owing to the increase in the demand for carpets. This is due to home renovations in the region coupled with improvements in the retail market segment. The demand for carpet back coatings is sluggish in Europe due to the economic crises that took place in the region. Most of the demand for carpet back coatings and carpets comes from various refurbishment projects in the European region. However, the market in Europe for carpet back coatings is expected to rise at a slow pace during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific region is expected to have maximum demand for carpet back coatings due to the high disposable income of consumers along with increasing investments for various commercial projects and high demand from major countries like Japan, India, China, Korea and Indonesia.Global Carpet Back Coatings Market: Key PlayersThe key companies profiled for the company back coating market include China Flooring Holding Company Limited, Duochem, Amtico International, Ceramica Cleopatra Group and Balta Industries among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Carpet Back Coatings Market Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Mobile Value Added Services Market Forecast 2016-2017 : America Movil, AT&T, Sangoma, BlackBerry, CanvasM, InMobi Mobile Value Added Services http://bit.ly/2tqS262 http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-mobile-value-added-services-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022/ www.spiremarketresearch.com Mobile Value Added Services Market Size 2016-2017A market study Global Mobile Value Added Services Market examines the performance of the Mobile Value Added Services market Forecast 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Mobile Value Added Services market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Mobile Value Added Services market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Mobile Value Added Services Market 2016-2017 report includes Mobile Value Added Services market Revenue, market Share, Mobile Value Added Services industry volume, market Trends, Mobile Value Added Services Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Mobile Value Added Services Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Mobile Value Added Services Market 2017:America MovilAT&TSangomaBlackBerryCanvasMInMobiOne97 CommunicationsOnMobile GlobalAstute SystemsValue First Digital MediaMobME Wireless SolutionsPyro NetworksAricent IncConvergysChina MobileChina UnicomMobile Value Added Services Market : By TypeSMSMMSMobile MoneyMobile InfotainmentMobile Value Added Services Market : By ApplicationPersonal UseCommercial UseFirstly, the report covers the top Mobile Value Added Services manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Mobile Value Added Services report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Mobile Value Added Services industry, Mobile Value Added Services industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Mobile Value Added Services Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Mobile Value Added Services research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Mobile Value Added Services market revenue worldwide.Finally, Mobile Value Added Services market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWebsite: Retort Packaging Market SWOT Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecasts To 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/retort-packaging-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=6266 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Retort Packaging Market: SnapshotThe global market for retort packaging has gained significant traction in the past few years owing to the wide usage in the packaged food industry. Retort packaging has also gained wide adoption and preference among manufacturers as well as consumers due to its properties such as compactness, low weight, and lower environmental impact. As compared to traditional packaging, retort packaging products are less bulky and have less packaging weight, making them lighter for shipping, which in turn offers real cost savings and reduces waste for both end-consumers. Such versatility of retort packaging is expected to drive its adoption in the near future.Transparency Market Research estimates that the revenue generated from sales of retort packaging across the globe will value over US$13 bn by the end of 2016. Over the period between 2016 and 2024, the global retort packaging market is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 7.5%.View Report @Retort Pouches to Constitute Lions Share in Market RevenueOf the key retort packaging product varieties examined in the report, namely pouches, trays, cartons, cans, and bottles, the segment of retort pouches is anticipated to command a share of 45.8% in the global market in 2016. The segment of retort pouches is also expected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period; demand will be chiefly driven owing to the flexible nature of these packages and the use of heat resistant plastics suitable for processing at temperature of around 127 C for their manufacturing. The segment of retort pouches is expected to witness 1.8 times rise in its revenue share in the global market from 2016 to 2024.The consumption of retort pouches has not only witnessed increased adoption at the consumer end but also as the manufacturer end of late. The rising popularity of this trend can be attributed to the increasing availability of the transparent AlOx-coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, an environmentally friendly packaging material, which can be used in microwaves as well. Moreover, the stand-up variety of retort pouches use less than 5% of the packaging material as compared to aluminum trays and cans, while also meeting the sterilization requirement of the package at lower temperature. This leads to cost cutting for packaging manufacturers and enhances the overall profitability for the companiesGet accurate market forecast and analysis on the Retort Packaging Market Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Flourishing Food and Beverages Industry to Ensure Dominance of Asia Pacific MarketAsia Pacific is expected to be the most promising region in terms of incremental opportunities and is expected to dominate the global retort packaging market, with a share of 34.0% in the overall revenues of the global market in 2016. The region will be followed by Europe and North America. Europe and North America are highly regulated and likely to create a substantial demand of retort packaging worth nearly US$7,500 mn in 2016, approximately 7.0% higher than the previous year. The markets for retort packaging in Latin America and Middle East are estimated to collectively represent slightly over 9% of global retort packaging market value in 2016.Asia Pacific is estimated to represent the global retort packaging market with CAGR of over 7.8% between 2016 and 2024. The market in Asia Pacific is expected to gain immense growth opportunities from the flourishing food and beverages industry. High demand for ready-to-eat food products coupled with increasing disposable incomes in countries like India and China is expected to further propel the growth of the retort packaging market in the region over the forecast period. Furthermore, high investments in new manufacturing facilities and food institutes in Asia Pacific is also expected to fuel demand for retort packaging over the forecast period. The trend of increasing consumption of convenience foods is expected to also fuel the demand retort packaging in other regional markets over the forecast period.Some of the key participants in the global retort packaging market are Amcor limited, Bemis Company, Inc., Sealed Air, Coveris Holdings S.A, Mondi Group, Sonoco Products Company, Berry Plastic Group, Inc., Ampac Holdings LLC., Winpak Limited Company, Clondalkin Group, and Flair Flexible Packaging Corporation.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. has recently renewed its global partnership with Lufthansa that first launched in 2013. The agreement has since resulted in added convenience and exclusive benefits for Lufthansa.com passengers renting a Hertz vehicle at any location around the world. Lufthansa.com customers will continue to enjoy attractive car rental offers from Hertz while accessing special discounts and new exclusive benefits. In addition, members of Lufthansa's frequent flyer program Miles & More will be able to earn a minimum of 500 miles on their Hertz rentals. When joining Hertz's complimentary loyalty program Gold Plus Rewards, Miles & More members will start saving time on every rental, benefit from extra perks, and have their status matched with Gold Plus Rewards' equivalent tiers. Michel Taride, Group President, Hertz International, said: "We are confident that the renewal of our alliance with Lufthansa will be very welcomed by travelers seeking convenience, high quality and reliability for their trips. Lufthansa's extensive route network across 83 countries, together with our truly global footprint and leading presence in the US, are certainly a perfect match for both leisure and business travelers." Heike Birlenbach, Senior Vice President Sales Lufthansa Hub Airlines and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Hub Frankfurt, added: "We are very pleased to extend our cooperation with Hertz, our strong partner in the mobility sector, on lufthansa.com. With Hertz we offer our customers a compelling and high quality car rental product at all Lufthansa destinations worldwide." Hertz has been successfully partnering with Lufthansa's Miles & More for more than 23 years, providing its 25 million members with special discounts and award miles on car rentals. In addition, Hertz 24/7 powers the Lufthansa CarPool, a fleet of car sharing technology enabled vehicles for Lufthansa's employees in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. Hertz also operates as Lufthansa's exclusive partner for the provision of corporate car rental services to the airline's employees globally and, when occasional flight disruptions take place, provides car rental vehicles on demand for customers and crew. Founder member of Star Alliance and one of the world's leading airlines, Lufthansa serves both business and leisure travel customers via its global web portal Lufthansa.com in more than 83 countries and in twelve languages. Non-lethal Biochemical Weapons Market SWOT Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecasts To 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/non-lethal-biochemical-weapons-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=20858 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Non-Lethal Biochemical Weapons Market: SnapshotThe rising occurrence of political unrest and armed violence has compelled governments to look for methods of countering boisterous crowd but without causing injuries. Because non-lethal biochemical weapons optimize the risk of unintended or incidental casualties, there use in dispersing crowd in policing situations has increased. The global non-lethal biochemical weapons market will therefore witness lucrative opportunities in regions exhibiting a high defense expenditure. For instance, the demand for non-lethal biochemical weapons is high in India, South Korea, China, and Turkey is considerably high as these countries showcase a high budget allocation to the defense sector. Besides the market is also expected to gain from the increasing research and development in this sector.On the downside, stringent regulations, opposition from human rights association, and the declining budget allocation for the defense sector in developed economies will pose threat to the market. Nevertheless, Transparency Market Research (TMR) forecasts the global non-lethal biochemical weapons market to exhibit a CAGR of 8% between 2016 and 2024. At this pace, the market is projected to reach US$2.32 bn by the end of 2024, from a valuation of US$1.17 bn in 2015.View Report @Middle East and Africa Exhibit Strongest Demand for Non-lethal Biochemical WeaponsAsia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle-east and Africa constitute the key regional segments in the global non-lethal biochemical weapons market. Among these regions, the demand witnessed in the Middle East and Africa is the highest. The region held a dominant share of 35% in the overall market in 2015, trailed by North America. This trend is forecast to remain constant through the course of the forecast period, during which Asia Pacific will also emerge as a lucrative market.The rising allocation to the defense budget and the use of innovative weaponry to counter policing situations are expected to bolster opportunities the non-lethal biochemical weapons manufacturers in Asia Pacific. The demand from the military forces segment is forecast to be the highest in the region. Besides this, the demand for directed energy variant of non-lethal biochemical weapons will be considerably high in North America.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Non-lethal Biochemical Weapons Market Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Military Forces to Remain Dominant End-use SegmentBased on end-use, the global non-lethal biochemical weapons market can be bifurcated into law-enforcement agencies and military forces. Among these, the demand witnessed in the latter segment is the highest. As per TMR, the military forces segment accounted for over 82% of the overall market in 2015 and is expected to remain dominant through the course of the forecast period. The rising use of non-lethal biochemical weapons by military forces is ascribable to the increasing need for crowd control across emerging nations. In addition, these weapons offer advanced methods of countering challenges to internal security. This is a crucial factor driving the demand for non-lethal biochemical weapons in countries such as India, Brazil, Ukraine, and Israel.Some of the key players operating in the global non-lethal biochemical weapons market are Lamperd Less Lethal (Canada), BAE Systems, Inc. (United Kingdom), QinetiqGroup, Inc. (United Kingdom), General Dynamics Corporation (United States), TASER International,Inc. (Arizona), Moog, Inc. (New York), Raytheon Company (United States), Chemring Group PLC. (United Kingdom), Textron Systems, Corp. (United States), and LRAD Corporation (United States).About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Terrestrial Trunked Radio Market: Industry Insights, Trends and Forecast upto 2025 Terrestrial Trunked Radio Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/terrestrial-trunked-radio-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23474 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Terrestrial trunked radio is a modern public access mobile radio technology and digital private mobile radiotechnology for transport, security services, medical and fire services among others. In short, terrestrial trunked radio is commonly known as TETRA digital radio.All communications over terrestrial trunked radio are reassuringly secure and private. The fully digital terrestrial trunked radio technology provides low noise and better consistence of voice quality.Across the globe, various terrestrial trunked radio manufacturers are focusing on building secure, reliable and efficient communications to meet the growing need of consumers. With the increasing penetration of Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) organization, the demand of terrestrial trunked radio has increased significantly, leading to a significant rise during the forecast period. In addition, the rising uptake of TETRA network in defense and military applications and the rising demand of consumer electronics are also boosting Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) market extensively.However, Terrestrial Trunked Radio market is anticipated to witness a stable growth during the forecast period.On providing details overview, global Terrestrial Trunked Radio market has been segmented on the basis of frequency range, components, device, end use industry and geography. On the basis of frequency range, global Terrestrial Trunked Radio market has been fragmented into 385-389.9MHz and 395-397.9MHz, 410-420MHz and 420-430MHz, 450-460MHz and 460-470MHz, 870-876MHz, 915-921MHz and 921 MHz and above among others.Obtain Report Details @This wider range of frequency are used to monitor and resolve radio frequency interference of various public mobile services, private land mobile and broadcasting among others. Increasing demand of simplex and duplex calls, group calls, pre-emptive emergency and priority calls among others owing to the increasing trend of digitalization is the major factor anticipated to increase the demand of terrestrial trunked radio at an exponential rate during the prediction period. In addition, global Terrestrial Trunked Radio market is classified on the basis of components into hardware and software. The application of software for automatic position messaging solution, remote radio monitoringand data information and accessing voice is leading to increased demand of software component in the global Terrestrial Trunked Radio market.By device type the Terrestrial Trunked Radio market has been segmented into portable and Vehicular. On the basis of end use industry the market for Terrestrial Trunk Radio has been bifurcated into defense and military, mining, security and safety, medical and telecommunication among others. In addition, across the globe, demand of terrestrial trunked radio is increasing owing to higher level voice encryption to meet the security needs of public safety organizations. This in turn is anticipated to drive the demand of Terrestrial Trunked Radio Market in coming years.Furthermore, terrestrial trunked are also designed with the ability to transfer data at quicker rates than seen earlier in mobile communications.Moreover, increasing demand of mission critical communication and radio communication devices from analog to digital is also expected to rise the demand of installation of terrestrial trunked radio across the globe.This in turn is anticipated to drive the demand of global Terrestrial Trunked Radio market in the coming years.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Terrestrial Trunked Radio Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Additionally, terrestrial trunked radio is used to support for next generation public protection and disaster relief communications infrastructure. The growing need for efficient critical communications in home security, defense, fire department and emergency medical services is anticipated to drive the growth of Terrestrial Trunked Radio market.On the flip side, high Infrastructure cost for installation of tetra networks and terrestrial trunked radio is likely to affect the installation of terrestrial trunked radio. Moreover, various terrestrial trunked radio constraints coupled with slower data transfer rate by modern standards are anticipated to affect the demand of the global Terrestrial Trunked Radio market in coming years.Geographically, global Terrestrial Trunked Radio market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle- East and Africa, Latin America. In 2015, Asia Pacific held the major market share in the global Terrestrial Trunked Radio market across various regions. Additionally, increasing population and huge acceptance of Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) networks and cumulative focus on critical communications operations are driving the growth of this market in Asia Pacific region.North America is estimated to be the second largest market for Terrestrial Trunked Radio market currently, followed by Asia Pacific. In Europe, owing to significant economic development in Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) network, demand of various countries which includes Germany, Netherlands and France among others are expected to create better opportunity for the Terrestrial Trunked Radio market in coming years.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market: Latest Trends,Analysis & Insights 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/zeolite-molecular-sieve-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=17000 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://depthresearchreport.blogspot.in/ A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market. The study, titled Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market: OverviewMolecular sieve is a specialty material used to separate small-sized molecules from a mixture, whereas zeolite molecular sieve is a special class of molecular sieve that uses aluminosilicates as its skeletal composition. Zeolite molecular sieve has small-sized holes that block large molecules and allow small molecules to pass through it. Hence, it can be used as a desiccant. A molecular sieve can adsorb water up to 22% of its own weight. The adsorbed product remains trapped as it is able to penetrate the pore and fill the space in absence of another material. Molecular sieve can be further classified into microporous, mesoporous, and macroporous materials depending upon size of molecular sieve. Microporous materials have pore diameters less than 20 angstrom (A), the mesoporous category lies in the middle with pore diameters between 2 and 50 nanometers (nm), and macroporous materials have pore diameters greater than 500 A.Browse Market Research Report @Zeolite molecular sieve is a microporous material where size of molecular sieve lies between 3 and 4 A. Zeolites are highly crystalline material with anionic framework. Thus, they can be used as an adsorbent for liquids and gases. Zeolite molecular sieve with a pore size of 3 A blocks molecules with size more than 3 A; hence, it can be used in diversified applications such as purification of gas streams, drying reaction starting materials, and in the chemical laboratory for separating compounds. The ratio of silica to alumina in zeolite molecular sieve is close to two, which provides it with characteristic features such as fast adsorption speed, good crushing resistance, frequent regeneration ability, and good pollution resistance.These properties help improve durability and efficiency of sieve. Zeolite molecular sieve is used in the petroleum and gas industry for selective adsorption of water from gas so that the latter can be used in applications where moisture from gas can corrode the equipment. This sieve can also be used to filter air supplied for breathing apparatus by removing particulates and compressor exhaust products from breathing air supply.Environmental effects of detergents can be manipulated by replacing sodium tripolyphosphate with zeolite molecular sieve. This type of zeolite molecular sieve can reduce surface tension. This, in turn, assists detergents by producing demineralized water through calcium ion exchange, thereby avoiding deposition of dirt. Zeolite molecular sieve can also be used in soil conditioning. Extensive research and development activities are being conducted to use silver zeolite as an antibacterial agent in medicines. In April 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of sodium aluminosilicate for direct contact with consumable items. As a result, it is employed in personal care and pharmaceutical industries. Zeolite molecular sieves have high selectivity for ammonium ions; therefore, they are widely used to combat eutrophication and other effects in waterways. Zeolite molecular sieves have also been used to remove heavy metal ions present in water due to industrial activities.Global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market: Regional OutlookDiversified applications of zeolite molecular sieve are likely to significantly propel its market growth during the forecast period. Raw materials required for production of zeolite molecular sieve are abundantly available in China, which makes it the leading producer of zeolite molecular sieve. Additionally, India is a frontrunner in the manufacture of zeolite molecular sieve. This country also exports zeolite to various economies. Asia Pacific accounts for major share of the zeolite molecular sieve market. The market for zeolite molecular sieve is projected to rise in regions, such as the Middle East and Africa due to increasing use of zeolite molecular sieve in petrochemical industries. High cost of zeolite molecular sieve can act as barrier for growth of the zeolite molecular sieve market.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Zeolite Molecular Sieve market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market: Key PlayersKey manufacturers of zeolite molecular sieve include Tricat Group, Luoyang Jiandong Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., Sorbead India, Pingxiang XINTAO Chemical Packing Co. Ltd, N Shashikant & Co., and Patalia Chem Industries.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog : Timing Devices Market: Trends, outlook and Opportunity Analysis 2025 Timing Devices Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/timing-devices-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23465 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Timing Devices are instruments which are used for the purpose of measuring the elapsed time intervals in segments like hour, minute, second and fraction of second. Small timing devices are being manufactured as pocket instruments and wrist instruments, typically with the mechanical movements and in terms of hands to display the elapsed time. Large timing devices are being manufactured in the medium of table and the panel-mounted units, which includes demonstrational timers. Timing devices are actually electrically powered with a kind of digital display. Like the clocks and the watches, timers do have a basic pattern of mechanical, electrical and electronic movement which is used for the purpose of measuring time. They do have a special type of mechanism for the purpose of starting, ending and resetting the indicator hand, which allows the measurement of the elapsed time intervals.For purpose of doing in depth analysis, the Timing Devices Market has been segmented on the basis of product types, material, end user and geography. Based on the product types the market has been segmented mainly into five types; they are like oscillators, resonators, clock generators, clock buffers and jitter attenuators. By material the Timing Devices Market has been segmented mainly into three types they are like crystal, ceramic and silicon types. By end user the market has been segmented mainly into six types they are like automotive, industrial, healthcare, consumer electronics among others. Moreover, this report also provide cross functional analysis of all the above mentioned segments across different regions such as Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.Obtain Report Details @Some of the key factors which is responsible for the growth of this market is the growing demand for the oscillators and the increasing spending on the oscillators in consumer electronics, automotive and industrial segment. Increased adoption of timing ICs in smartphones and tablets are also one of the major reason for driving the demand for this market. Thus, the continuously growing need for the microwave components in both the military and the civilian radar and in different communication applications is the main factor estimated to act as a catalyst for the demand of various types of Timing devices during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. In addition to that rapid growth of usage in the shipboard radar is also anticipated to increase the demand of Timing ICs in the upcoming years. In turn this is also expected to affect the Timing Devices market in a positive manner during the forecasted period of 2017-2025.Cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry is acting as a restraining factor for the Timing Devices market from achieving its full potential. The biggest challenge that MEMS Oscillators are facing that they synthesize the output frequency from a few MEMS resonator designs only .The presence of a PLL in between the MEMS resonator and the output does not actually generate a good quality signal as the quartz based design. This is acting as a restraining factor in the growth of Timing Devices market.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Timing Devices Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@By type of products, oscillators held the largest market share because of its growing usage in portable electronics and wearable electronics. However, resonators is projected to achieve exponential growth during the forecast period. Miniaturization of electronic devices and growing demand for the semiconductor clocks in wearable devices makes it the most appropriate choice for various end user segments.Geographically, the Timing Devices market is being primarily driven by Asia Pacific region. Rising demand of Timing ICs in automotive and consumer electronics industry is driving the Asia Pacific region. Rapidly growing demand of MEMS and Crystal Oscillators in broadcast transmitters and mobile phones is expected to drive the Timing Devices market rapidly. This region is anticipated to maintain its dominance in the market during the forecasted period from 2017-2025 owing to the presence of huge number of consumer electronics equipment manufacturers in countries like China, South Korea and Japan among others.Some of the leading players operating in the Timing Devices market includes Texas Instruments Incorporated (The U.S.), Asahi Kasei Corporation (Japan), Rakon Limited (New Zealand) , Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (The U.S.), IQD Frequency Products Ltd. (The U.K.), TXC Corporation (Taiwan). SEIKO Epson Corporation (Japan) among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to Provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Industrial Laser Market: Market Competition, Value chain Analysis and Forecast 2025 Industrial Laser Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/industrial-laser-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=22439 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The global industrial laser market has been on a steady growth path in the 21st century. Industrial lasers are used throughout the industry in a number of applications. This can include material processing as well as other applications. Material processing consists of cutting, drilling, welding all of which require high-powered industrial lasers. The adoption of industrial lasers is increasing by the day as they can be easily automated to control both robots and computers. The global industrial laser market has also proved invaluable in the field of fiber optics as these lasers can access locations that were previously impossible to.The global industrial laser market is highly vibrant, dynamic, robust and growing. Ever-evolving technology is the main factor driving the global industrial laser market. Credit must be particularly given to the innovations taking place in fiber lasers as they have a major role to play in the growth of the global industrial laser market. The consumer electronics industry is only anticipated to record a CAGR in single digits for the forecast period. Even though solid-state and CO2 lasers are used the most, greater growth can be safely assumed in the fiber laser and disk laser segment of the global industrial laser market. The demand for small power along with high output power should boost the demand for fiber lasers. Another crucial advantage of fiber lasers is their high reliability as opposed to other laser types. Fiber lasers provide nanosensor pulses and high peak power that allow optimum marking and engraving. Fiber lasers can also cut with extreme precision at faster cutting speeds.Obtain Report Details @The need for stringent emission monitoring in the oil & gas industry, bio-instrumentation demand from the medical industry, and the need for sensing instrumentation and quantum cascade laser tech should help the global industrial laser market record positive growth in the forecast period. Rising application of industrial lasers will increase the volume of demand, leading to a drop in both manufacturing cost and selling price. This may impact the profitability of a number of telecommunication and optical storage component suppliers. In the medical industry, cosmetology and dermatology are widely anticipated to emerge as the biggest drivers of the global industrial laser market.The global industrial laser market has been segmented into seven major regions viz. APEJ, Japan, MEA, North America, Latin America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. APEJ is anticipated to dominate the global industrial laser market for the period studied. The largest country in the APEJ industrial laser market is China and it is predicted to record substantial growth throughout the forecast period. This is primarily on account of large-scale state support encouraging the growth of the industrial laser market. Western Europe and North America are likely to grow moderately during the study period. Key market players from the APEJ region are investing heavily in R&D to try and break the stranglehold of western multinationals on the global industrial laser market and make it more competitive.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Industrial Laser Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@A few of the companies actively involved in the global industrial laser market are TRUMPF, IPG, Coherent, Prima, Hans Laser, IPG and Wuhan Golden Laser.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to Provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Business Analytics Software Market Research Report by Regional Analysis, Key Players, Share, Size and forecast 2024 Business Analytics Software Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/business-analytics-software-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20516 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Business analytics software helps in interpretation and analysis of business data through continuous exploration and investigation of historical business performance to gain decisive insights for business planning. Through the application of statistical methods and tools in business performance data, a business analytics software conducts predictive analysis to derive decision making insights and inputs. A business analytics software thus helps an organization optimize its business operations and facilitates informed and strategic decision making.It also helps uncover patterns and relationships between data streams and leads to automation of tasks and processes for real-time responses in decision making. The outputs are mostly used by managers, security personnel, financial analysts, and key decision makers of organizations. Demand for cloud-based business analytics software is high in small and medium sized enterprises owing to its low cost and enhanced usability. Furthermore, demand for social media analytics, a part of business analytics, is also rising significantly due to the increase in popularity of social media marketing.Organizations are increasingly opting for business analytics software in order to gain strategic and competitive advantage over their competitors. This is one of the major factors driving the global business analytics software market. Additionally, the software aims to help organizations make quick and informed decisions through the analysis of the historical business data.Obtain Report Details @This has been driving the market for business analytics software. Currently, there exists need for quick decision making and immediate actions in response to situations considering the competitive nature of businesses. This highlights the importance of the business analytics software. Furthermore, increase in volume and diversity of data in organizations has given rise to the need for analytical software to derive meaningful patterns, relationships, and insights from unorganized data. The features of business analytics software meet such requirements, thereby boosting the growing demand and adoption of business analytics software across varying scales of companies. However, in order to efficiently operate, business analytics software require sufficient volumes of meaningful data. This requires effective data warehousing, which may be a challenge for small organizations to implement considering the high costs involved. These challenges are likely to hamper the market for business analytics software during the forecast period. Nonetheless, increase in social media marketing by organizations is expected to offer growth opportunities for the business analytics software market during the forecast period.The global business analytics software market has been segmented on the basis of deployment, end-use industry, application, and geography. In terms of deployment, the business analytics software market has been divided into cloud and on premise. Based on end-use industry, the business analytics market has been segregated into BFSI, government, manufacturing, IT and Telecom, retail, health care, capital markets, education, media, utilities, and others. In terms of application, the business analytics software market has been segmented into supply chain analytics, workforce analytics, spatial analytics, behavioral analytics, marketing analytics, risk and credit analytics, pricing analytics, transportation analytics, and others. Based on geography, the business analytics market has been divided into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and South America.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Business Analytics Software Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Major players operating in the global business analytics software market include SAS Institute Inc., Tableau Software, SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, Adobe Systems Incorporated, International Business Machines Corporation, Salesforce.com, Qlik Technologies, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Tibco Software, Fair Isaac Corporation, and JDA Software Group, Inc.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to Provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: All Flash Storage Market Research Report by Share, Size, Growth & Forecast 2024 Illuminated by New Report All Flash Storage Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/all-flash-storage-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=21629 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com All flash storage is a repository system that provides extended storage to keep data safe and secure. It is in the form of hardware that is also called solid state storage disk (SSD). All flash storage transfers the data faster than other storage systems at any given point of time and also helps maintain lower power consumption. Flash storage uses flash memory to maintain the data for a longer period of time. A flash storage is a solid state storage drive system that contains multiple flash memory drives, unlike the spinning hard disk drives present in other storage systems. Flash array is a type of nonvolatile memory that can be deleted and reprogrammed. The memory blocks can be erased in a flash so it can be termed a type of erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).In contrast to hard drives, solid-state drives have better performance capabilities, particularly in terms of speed. Hard drives take more time to fully boot up to the machine they are attached to; however, flash storage can easily get started and running in a few seconds. Flash storage can handle workloads quickly, which makes them great for complex data sets and operations. Businesses that require fast processing of applications and quick access to stored data tend to use flash storage in place of other storage devices.Obtain Report Details @The all flash storage market has been experiencing a higher rate of growth during the last few years as a result of the improved popularity of all flash storage technology in the enterprise segment. Moreover, all flash storage is available for many devices, such as computers, laptops, and smartphones. The important drivers of all the flash storage market are increased storage performance and reliability, as these devices have no moving parts; also, the scalability offered by all flash storage is helping enterprises alter their storage capacities. However, the higher cost associated with all flash storage could be viewed as a restraint. The cost structure of all flash storage could be improved with the help of data reduction technologies to lower the expenditure. The ease of use offered by all flash storage systems with the help of innovative management interfaces and faster operations is expected to drive the market during the forecast period.All flash storage market can be segmented according to application, end user, industry verticals, and region. The application segment is further divided into two types: consumer data storage and enterprises data storage. The end users of all flash storage are small and medium enterprises, large enterprises, data centers, and others. In terms of end-use industries the all flash storage market is divided into multiple segments, such as healthcare, government, telecom & IT, defense, and aerospace. All flash storage market is divided into five segments in accordance with region: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the All Flash Storage Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Some of the major players associated with the all flash storage market are Dell EMC, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Oracle Corporation, IBM Corporation, NetApp (SolidFire), Pure Storage, Inc., Nimbus Data, Tintri, Violin Memory, Inc., Hitachi Data Systems, SanDisk (Western Digital Corporation), Cisco Systems, Inc., and Kaminario.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to Provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Medical Computer Carts Market Growth Report 2016- 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/medical-computer-carts-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=21572 www.transparencymarketresearch.com Medical computer carts can be defined as medical carts used by medical staff for several day to day activities such as checking electronic medical records, distributing drugs, charting and EMR, medication dispensing, and nursing education. These are suitable for large hospitals, health clinics, pharmacies, and psychiatric hospitals.The global medical computer carts market has witnessed strong growth in the past few years driven by increased adoption of electronic medical record systems (EMR) in hospitals, research institutes, and diagnostic labs, etc. This high-tech system is used to collect, store, and display patients health statistics. Medical computer carts offer ergonomic features and workflow solutions to accommodate and reduce the laborious routine tasks associated with providing enhanced personal and patient care. The capability to move carts from room to room supplements caregivers highly mobile workflow. Mobile carts allow a single computer system to be used in many places in a hospital, lab, and clinic, thereby saving space and time especially in older structures whose setup does not easily accommodate costly new technology solutions.View Report @It can lower fatigue, frustration, and stress with a medical/nurse staffs every task at work. This enhancement of health information technology is anticipated to drive the medical computer carts market. Growing significance of fast and easy availability of critical medical equipment and supplies are the key factors that increase demand for medical computer carts in the health care sector. Lack of awareness among medical staff and high cost are the factors restraining the medical computer carts market.Medical Computer Carts Market SegmentationMedical computer carts are obtainable with or without on-board power systems. Hence, based on product type, the medical computer carts market is classified into powered cart and non-powered cart. Medical computer carts have extra features such as height setting for standing or sitting use. Non-powered carts dominated the market in the past few years. The powered cart segment is expected to gain significant share of the global market in the next few years led by upgraded battery management technology. In terms of application, the medical computer carts market has been segmented into doctors use, nurses use, and others. The doctors use and nurses use segments are expected to dominate the market. Usage of mobile carts in hospitals and private clinics is increasing, followed by nurse staff in labs and clinics.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Medical Computer Carts Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Medical Computer Carts Market: Region-wise OutlookGeographically, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America holds major share of the medical computer carts market, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. However, Latin America and Asia Pacific hold significant growth potential in the medical computer carts market due to rise in geriatric population, rising prevalence of various disorders, growing medical tourism, increasing government initiatives for investments in health care, and growing demand for quality health care in this region. Most of the medical computer carts products and services in these regions are driven by developing countries such as Singapore, China, India, Mexico, Brazil, and South Korea.Medical Computer Carts Market: Key PlayersThe medical computer carts market is highly competitive due to the presence of a number of small and large scale players in the industry. Key players operating in the medical computer carts market include AFC Industries, Ergotron, Rubbermaid Medical Solutions, Altus, Anthro Corporation, Cura Carts, CompuCaddy, Lund Industries, Modern Solid Industrial, GCX Corporation, Enovate Medical, and Scott-Clark Medical.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Sensor Devices for Mobile Health Care Market: Analysis and Segment Forecasts To 2025 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sensor-devices-mobile-health-care-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23000 www.transparencymarketresearch.com Mobile health, also known as mHealth, is medical care provided using mobile devices. Sensor is a type of device that detects and responds to inputs from physical environment. Advances in telecommunication and sensor manufacturing have brought new technologies and applications in mobile health care. The primary reason to use sensors in mHealth is to improve the quality of and provide easy access to health care services. Integration of sensor device into electronics enables health care providers to gather medical data, provide home care, and other preventive digital health programs. Mobile-based health care solutions can also decrease service cost.View Report @The global sensor devices for mobile health care market is expected to witness robust growth during the forecast period owing to maturation of technology leading to miniaturization of sensor devices. Major factors propelling the market are low cost of sensors, integration of sensors into consumer devices, surging geriatric population, rise in awareness about health and fitness, increase in remote patient monitoring, and prevalence of chronic and lifestyle diseases. Surge in penetration rate of mobile and smartphone and reimbursement policies are the other factors likely to drive the global market from 2017 to 2025. Regulatory issues, privacy and security concerns, lack of clarity in health communication, and standard protocols are projected to restrain the global sensor devices for mobile health care market during the forecast period.The global sensor devices for mobile health care market can be segmented base on product type, application, and region. In terms of product type, the global market can be divided into microphone sensors, camera sensors, accelerometer sensors & geolocation facilities, and others. Based on application, the global sensor devices for mobile health care market can be segmented into health and wellness monitoring, safety monitoring, home rehabilitation, early diagnosis of disorders, efficacy assessment (clinical trials), and others. The health and wellness segment is expected to witness high growth owing to rise in awareness about fitness and health and prevalence of chronic disease.Geographically, the sensor devices for mobile health care market can be segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. North America is expected to dominate the global market in terms of value and volume, followed by Europe. Growth of the market in North America is attributed to rapid innovation of technology, rise in enthusiasm in individuals about gathering quantified data about their health, and prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the mobile health care market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @The sensor devices for health care market in Asia Pacific is expected to experience fastest growth rate owing to improving technology, rise in geriatric population, health awareness initiatives undertaken by governments, change in lifestyle, and rise in awareness about health and fitness. China is expected to be the fastest growing market due to factors such as low cost, easy availability of the devices, and growing population.The massive potential of the worlds smallest sensor device integrated into consumer devices is the future of the global market. Hence, to maintain a significant position in the global sensor devices for mobile health care market, the key players are adopting various strategies such developing a technologically advanced and highly efficient product, mergers and acquisitions, and geographical expansion to enter into untapped market. Key players operating in the global market are Apple, Inc., Fitbit, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Samsung, and Medtronic MiniMed.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Asthma Therapeutics Market Set For Expansive Growth By 2025 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/asthma-therapeutics-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=22982 www.transparencymarketresearch.com Asthma is a chronic disease of airways of the lungs and characterized by various symptoms such as bronchospasm, and pulmonary airway obstructions. The symptoms of asthma include coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, and breath shortness. Asthma is considered to be caused by a combination of environmental factors and genetic factors. The few environmental factors include exposure to allergens and air pollution. The symptoms can be prevented by avoiding exposure to allergens and irritants. In asthma, the pulmonary airway muscles get swollen, which in turn cause symptoms leading to bronchospasm and airway obstruction. Some healthy people can develop asthma symptoms during physical activity or exercise. This condition is called exercise-induced asthma (EIA). Patients with family history of asthma and allergies are more prone to developing asthma. It has been proved that there is no cure for asthma, but it can be controlled by early and effective asthma treatment. The medications in treatment of asthma includes corticosteroids, long acting beta-agonists (LABA), anti-inflammatory agents, and leukotriene modifiers. Asthma patients are at great risk of developing infections such as pneumonia and influenza and hence are vaccinated annually. Asthma mimicking symptoms have been found in a host of diseases in children. Hence, diagnosis and treatment of asthma in children has remained a challenge. Asthma-related fatalities in children are mostly preventable through proper education and awareness and timely treatment. Hence, spreading awareness about treating asthma in children presents an opportunity for asthma drug manufacturers.View Report @Asthma and COPD are a major burden on the economy of a nation, especially in the U.S. and China due to high incidence of these diseases as well as rise in the number of smokers. This has fueled government initiatives to educate the people regarding awareness about asthma, and their management as well as funding by various government and non-government agencies. Usage of biologics in asthma is a relatively new treatment phenomenon; however, noteworthy advances have been made, leading to effective treatment for select patients, particularly those with severe disease symptoms. Ongoing development of new biologics such as Benralizumab byAstraZeneca and Lebrikizumab by Roche is set to provide the impetus to the growth of the global asthma therapeutics market. Moreover, the FDA approval for GSKs Mepolizumab in November 2015 as an add-on maintenance treatment of patients with severe asthma aged 12 years and older is likely to drive the market during the forecast period. A report by the American Lung Association in 2014 indicated that nearly 47% of the U.S. citizens live in counties with frequently unhealthy levels of either ozone or particulate pollution. Hence, rise in environmental triggers is anticipated to increase demand for asthma therapeutics during the forecast period. Rapid urbanization, air pollution, change in lifestyle, and rise in smoking population has resulted in higher occurrence of asthma symptoms in urban regions of the world, thereby fueling demand for asthma therapeutics.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the asthma therapeutics market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @The global asthma therapeutics market has been segmented based on drug class and region. In terms of drug class, the asthma therapeutics market has been categorized into bronchodilators, anti-inflammatory agents, monoclonal antibodies, and combination drugs. The combination drugs segment is projected to account for the largest share during the forecast period. Large share of this drug class is attributed to preference of combination therapies for prescription by doctors and launch of new triple combination therapies during the forecast period. Availability of popular and preferred generics such as salbutamol is attributed to the second largest share of the bronchodilators segment. New launch of anti-inflammatory agents, especially in China, is considered to support the growth of the global asthma therapeutics market.In terms of region, the global asthma therapeutics market has been segmented into five key regions: Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to dominate the market due to greater awareness and higher prices of asthma drugs. Asia Pacific is anticipated to hold the second largest share due to high prevalence of asthma in countries such as China and India. China is estimated to account for the largest share of the asthma therapeutics market in Asia Pacific owing to factors such as improvement in diagnosis rate, rapidly aging population, increase in smokers, and high levels of pollution. Major players in the global asthma therapeutics market include Astrazeneca plc, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, F Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Merck & Co. Inc., and Novartis AG.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Kilimanjaro will become the 3rd destination of flydubai in Tanzania when the carrier starts flights from 29 October. The relaunched service to the carriers third point in Tanzania, along with Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, will see flydubais network in Africa expand to 12 destinations. flydubai began operations to Tanzania in 2014 and has seen a steady growth in passenger numbers. Kilimanjaro will be served with six flights a week three of which are via a stop in the capital, Dar es Salaam. In addition, the carrier will increase direct flights to Zanzibar from three to eight flights a week. Commenting on the launch of flights, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, said: With the addition of the service to Kilimanjaro and more direct flights to Zanzibar, flydubai will operate 14 flights a week, marking a 133% increase in capacity to the market compared to the previous year. This is a healthy indication of the rising popularity of Tanzania as a preferred tourist destination and we are happy to be connecting the market to Dubai. Kilimanjaro International Airport is located between the regions of Kilimanjaro and Arusha in Northern Tanzania. The airport is the major gateway to the Kilimanjaro region, a main international tourism destination that includes Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. Only a few international carriers operate to Kilimanjaro and flydubai will be the first airline to provide direct air links from the UAE. We are committed to opening up underserved markets and flydubais service to Kilimanjaro will introduce more options for travel with a Business and Economy Class service, together with added cargo capacity available through our Cargo Division. We expect to see healthy flows of trade and tourism on this route from the GCC and Eastern Europe via our hub in Dubai, said Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President Commercial (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa). flydubai has seen a 3.5% increase in passengers numbers travelling between the UAE and Africa in 2016 compared to 2015, a positive record for this emerging market. flydubai has built up a comprehensive network in Africa with flights to Addis Ababa, Alexandria, Asmara, Djibouti, Entebbe, Hargeisa, Juba, Khartoum and Port Sudan, as well as Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. The 12 points will be served with more than 80 weekly flights for the summer period. For the full timetable and fares, visit: www.flydubai.com/en/plan/timetable. Head & Neck Cancer (HNC) Market to Maintain Healthy Growth By 2025 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/head-neck-cancer-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=22919 www.transparencymarketresearch.com Head & neck cancer is characterized as a group of cancers, which initiate in squamous cells that line the mucosal surface of head and neck. It is also called squamous cell carcinoma. In the head & neck cancer, different types of malignant tumors develop in and around the larynx, throat, nose, mouth, and sinus. If the cancer is found only in the squamous layer of cells, it is known as carcinoma in situ (CIS). If the cancer grows beyond the squamous cell layer and moves deeper, it is called invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Nose, throat, and ears are the most common body parts affected by the head & neck cancer. The common symptoms include headache, common cold, change in voice, soreness in the mouth, and swelling of jaws. More than 70% of head & neck cancers are caused by alcohol and tobacco consumption. Other factors include exposure to radiations, infection by human papilloma virus (HPV) Type 16, and consumption of preserved and salted food.View Report @Introduction of advanced chemotherapy and other treatment options and increase in per capita income of people are major factors driving the head & neck cancer market. However, high cost of targeted therapies and low awareness in developing economies about technologically advanced and novel therapies are factors expected to hamper the market for head & neck cancer during the forecast period.The global head & neck cancer market can be segmented on the basis of type of cancer, diagnostic technique, type of treatment, and end-user.Based on cancer type, the market has been segmented into salivary gland cancer, oropharyngeal (oral cavity) cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, and others. The oropharyngeal cancer segment accounted for the maximum market share in 2016. This can be attributed to the increasing consumption of tobacco and alcohol and chewing of betel nuts. Rising incidence of exposure to radiations and increasing intake of processed and raw meat as well as preserved food are the major factors anticipated to boost the oropharyngeal cancer segment of the head & neck cancer market by 2025.Based on diagnostic technique, the global head & neck cancer market has been divided into biopsy, blood tests, diagnostic imaging equipment, endoscopy screening, and dental diagnostic equipment. The diagnostic imaging equipment segment has been further divided into PET/CT scan, MRI, and X-ray. The endoscopy screening segment has been sub-divided into pharyngoscopy, laryngoscopy, and others. In terms of revenue, the diagnostic imaging equipment segment held the maximum market share in 2016. This is due to the rising incidence of oropharyngeal cancer. X-ray and MRI segments are expected to continue to lead the market during the forecast period, owing to the rising demand for cost-effective and non-invasive diagnostic techniques.Based on treatment type, the global head & neck cancer market has been segmented into surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and others. The radiation therapy segment has been further classified into internal therapy and external therapy. Radiation therapy is the most preferred type of therapy. The segment accounted for the maximum share in the global head & neck cancer market in 2016. The radiation therapy segment and the surgery segment are expected to dominate the head & neck cancer market during the forecast period, due to the rising prevalence of head and neck cancer. On the other hand, the targeted therapy segment is expected to expand at the maximum CAGR during the forecast period, due to the increasing investment in research and development of targeted therapy by key players in the market and the rising demand for an effective and safe therapy with less side-effects.Based on end-user, the global head & neck cancer market can be segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and clinics. The hospitals segment held the leading share in the global head & neck cancer market in 2016, owing to favorable reimbursement policies and the availability of well-qualified and specialized staff in hospitals. Government funding to improve the health care infrastructure in emerging economies and long-term procedures of chemotherapy and other surgeries are factors likely to propel the hospitals segment of the market for head & neck cancer by 2025.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the head & neck cancer market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Geographically, the global head & neck cancer market can be divided into five regions viz. North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America accounted for a major share of the global market in 2016, which is attributable to technological advancements in the medical sector in the region. However, the market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at the maximum CAGR from 2017 to 2025, owing to the improving health care facilities in China and Japan and rising awareness among the people about diseases such as cancer. In terms of revenue, North America is estimated to remain dominant in the global head & neck cancer market during the forecast period. The rising investment by key players in R&D activities for cancer treatment with a technologically compatible and superior therapeutic approach is a major factor expected to boost the head & neck cancer market in North America during the forecast period.Prominent players in the global head & neck cancer market are DentalEZ, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Siemens Healthcare Private Limited, AdDent Incorporated, GE Healthcare, AB SCIENCES, Bayer AG, Boston Biomedical, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Prominent players in the market in developed countries are focusing on the targeted therapy segment of the head & neck cancer market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Homeopathic Products Market Dynamics and Growth Rate 2016-2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13049 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/homeopathic-products-market.html www.transparencymarketresearch.com Homeopathic Products Market: OverviewHomeopathy is a medical practice and philosophy based on the principle that human body has the capacity to heal itself. Established in Germany in the late 1700s, homeopathy has been extensively practiced all over Europe. Homeopathy considers symptoms of illness as usual responses of the body as it tries to regain health. Homeopathy is based on the principle that like cures like. According to this principle, if a substance produces a symptom in a healthy person, giving a very small amount of the same substance to that person may cure the illness. Homeopathic medicines contain extremely dilute amounts of natural substances that are used to treat a variety of ailments. Homeopathic medicines are manufactured by a process of serial dilution and succession (vigorous shaking).Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Homeopathic Products Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Homeopathic Products Market: SegmentationHomeopathic medicine can be classified on the basis of type of treatmentAuto-isopathyClassical homeopathyClinical homeopathyComplex homeopathyHomotoxicologyIsopathyPluralistic homeopathyOn the basis of originPlant kingdomAnimal kingdomMineral kingdomTypes of homeopathic medicinesClassical medicinesConstitutional medicinesPolychrestsIsopathic medicinesAllergodesNosodesSarcodesTautodesComplex medicinesHomeopathic Products Market: Regional DynamicsGeographically, the global homeopathic products market is divided into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). In terms of geography, North America followed by Europe is the largest market for homeopathic products due to increasing interest of people in homeopathic and herbal medicines, rising number of disorders and diseases and favorable regulatory framework. In countries such as the Brazil, the U.K., India, Mexico and Cuba homeopathy is incorporated into the health system and covered by public health insurance.However, the Asia Pacific market is also growing at a considerable rate due to development of healthcare industry, increasing awareness of people in homeopathy and herbal medicines and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. According to a study by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) 2011, the size of the domestic homeopathy market was around 523 million US Dollars in 2010 and was expected to exceed 160 million US Dollars in the next three years.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:The global homeopathic products market is witnessing strong growth due effective and efficient treatments available in homeopathy for various diseases. Homeopathy is proved to be effective in many cases of chronic and acute diseases. Even though there is lack of clear understanding of working of homeopathic medicines, but there is clear evidence that the medicines are active and can be curative. In India, homeopathic medicine has fully incorporated with both traditional ayurvedic and western medicine. African homeopathic medicine market is also growing at a fast rate due to its affordability and effective system of medicine that fits with many traditional African spiritual beliefs. According to WHO, homeopathy is the second largest system of medicine with a growth rate of 20-25% every year. The growing popularity of homeopathy and its legal acceptance has been seen in 66 countries.Homeopathic Products Market: Competitive OverviewThe homeopathic medicine market is developing significantly due to the participation of many new players in this market. New participants are focusing on new technologies and introducing new product into the market. Also, the market is expected to witness a high growth rate due to growing demand for homeopathic medicines. Some of the major players in homeopathic medicine market are Hahnemann Laboratories Inc., Hylands Homeopathic, Natural Health Supply, Nelson & Co Ltd and SBL.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Povidone Iodine Market Key Drivers, Growth Opportunities and Trends 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11612 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/povidone-iodine-market.html www.transparencymarketresearch.com Povidone Iodine Market: OverviewPovidone Iodine is a stable chemical complex of polyvinylpyrrolidone and elemental iodine. It is universally preferred iodine antiseptic. It is a widely used antiseptic for topical application in the prevention and treatment of infections in wounds. Povidone Iodine is used in first aid of blisters, minor cuts and burns among others. It is extensively used in the medical field. It is completely soluble in cold and mild-warm water; glycerol and isopropyl alcohol. Povidone Iodine has applications in the field of nanomaterials as well. Povidone Iodine is also known as Wokadine, Pyodine and Betadine.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Povidone Iodine Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Iodine is a recognized as a widely used bactericide that has proven to be effective against viruses, protozoans, fungi, and molds. However, iodine causes irritation at the application site. Povidone Iodine overcomes the drawbacks of iodine primarily because the iodine in it is carried in a complex form and as a result the concentration of free iodine in it is very low. Povidone Iodine has applications such as a scrub for pre- and post-surgery skin cleansing; for treating and/or preventing wound or ulcer infections, as well as in cuts and burns. It is also used in deceits ulcers and stasis ulcers for treating infections.Povidone Iodine Market: DriversHigh awareness regarding general well-being is driving the healthcare market. Additionally, growth in aging population is likely to boost the healthcare market. Presence of strict government mandates in Europe and North America and a well-developed healthcare industry is expected to help boost the use of povidone iodine during the reports forecast period. Thus, the growing healthcare industry coupled with the increasing awareness regarding hygiene will likely drive the demand for povidone iodine market over the next few years. However, there are various substitute products available for povidone iodine in the market. Chlorhexidine-alcohol is one of the major substitutes for povidone iodine. Thus, the presence of substitute products may be a factor that may restrain the growth of the povidone iodine market within the forecast period.Povidone Iodine Market: Region-wise OutlookFrom the demand standpoint, North America was the top region in povidone iodine market. U.S. generated the highest demand for Povidone Iodine owing to sizeable demand from the healthcare industry coupled with appreciable demand from the nanomaterials sector. Stringent regulation in Europe regarding healthcare and hygiene are expected to drive the demand for povidone iodine in the near future. European countries such as Germany and the UK were the major consumers of tri-isopropanolamine in this region.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:Rising global population and the expanding base of geriatric persons has been either directly or indirectly helping the growth of the market. This trend is expected to continue until the end of the reports forecast period. Several countries in Asia Pacific have demonstrated rapid economic growth over the past decade. This trend is projected to only grow stronger through the next few years. The Asia Pacific povidone iodine market was followed by markets in the Rest of the World.Key players in the povidone iodine Market are H&P Industries, Inc.,Glide Chem Private, Medline Indusries Inc and RN Laboratories among others. There are many large and small scale industries present across various geographies.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Animal Parasiticides Market Research by Key Players, Growth, Regions and Forecast to 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=10841 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/animal-parasiticides-market.html www.transparencymarketresearch.com The demand for animal parasiticides is growing due to the increasing awareness of zoonatic diseases. With the rising concern towards animal welfare is one of the major reasons behind the growing popularity of animal parasiticides. The market has been segmented by products into ectoparasiticides, endoparasiticides, endectocides, tablets, oral liquids, sprays, injectables, spot on and pour on, ear tags, collars. Furthermore, the market is also segmented by animal types such as Cats, Pigs, Dogs, Cattle, Sheep and Goats. The market by geography has been segmented into Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and Rest of the World (RoW).Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Animal Parasiticides Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Spot-ons and pour-ons accounted the largest market share of the global animal parasiticides market in 2014. The growth in this segment can be attributed to rising popularity and use of spot-on and pour-on formulations in animal parasiticides market. Furthermore, growing demand for ectoparasites for food-producing animals and companion animals is also expected to stimulate the growth of the market. Availability of wide array of parasiticides product by major players, rising demand for animal-based food and animal protein are some of the driving factors for the animal parasiticides market. In addition, rising animal welfare awareness is increasing the adaption of animals such as dogs and cats among others. Increasing livestock farming as a source of income in developing nations are fueling the demand for animal parasiticides. However, there are some of the restraining factors may hinder the growth of the market in near future such as stringent rules and regulations of authoritative bodies in use of parasiticides in food- producing animals in some of the countries. Moreover, time consuming and expensive procedures of new product development are some of the restraining factors for the market.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:Europe is leading the market for animal parasiticides followed by North America, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World. In developed nations, implementation of animal welfare acts is one of the major driving factors for the animal parasiticides market. The emerging market in Latin America and Asia Pacific is contributing in the positive growth of animal parasiticides market owing to the increasing population of companion animals and livestock. Moreover, increasing per capita expenditure on animal health along with improving infrastructure of animal welfare is some of the major factors fueling the demand for animal parasiticides in these regions. With growing awareness towards animal healthcare, countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand in developing nations like Asia pacific is expected to depict a significant growth over the forecast period from 2015 to 2021. Argentina and Brazil are potential market for animal parasiticides across Latin America.Some of the key players operating in the animal parasiticides market are Ceva Sante Animale S.A., Vetoquinol S.A., Virbac SA in France, Bayer Aktiengesellschaft in Germany, Novartis AG in Switzerland, Merial Limited, Eli Lilly and Company, Zoetis Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. in U.S.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Healthcare Scanners Market : Industry Research and Forecast Analysis 2016 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16211 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/healthcare-scanners-market.html www.transparencymarketresearch.com Healthcare scanner are used to Imaging of different body part which create visual representations of the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues. The healthcare industry is continuously evolving as new and emerging technologies to improve and extend lives. Healthcare scanner market will play a key role in the future of medical diagnostics and therapeutics. Imaging systems enable medical professionals to make processes within the human body visible so that they can diagnose pathological changes and precisely target therapeutic procedures. Demand for such systems is expected to be particularly strong in developing economies. Scanners are used for different disease conditions such as cancer, heart disease, Parkinsons disease etc. According to American Academy of neurology Alzheimers disease is ranked as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. 5.4 million Americans are currently diagnosed with Alzheimers disease and the number will triple to 16 million by the year 2050.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Healthcare Scanners Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Different type of scanner functions differently, such x-ray scanners use ionizing radiation for imaging whereas ultrasound scanner use sound wave to create images of the inside body. Other healthcare scanners use radio wave, magnetic field and radiopharmaceuticals for imaging of inside body. Effective, safe, and high quality imaging is important for medical decision-making. The growing focus on R&D to provide high-quality imaging for better diagnosis and treatment of diseases is a critical factor that drives the global demand for healthcare scanner market. The improved health care policy and increasing availability of medical equipment has been increased the global imaging-based procedures.The factors such as growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer etc., growing number of diagnostic imaging procedures, increasing number of geriatric population, improving healthcare infrastructure in emerging markets, technological advancement and growing awareness for early diagnosis will drive the overall healthcare scanner market globally. However, high cost of diagnostic imaging systems, procedures and risk of high radiation exposure, are some factors that will hinder the overall healthcare scanner market growth globally.Healthcare Scanners Market is segmented By Product Type, By Application, By End Users and By Geography. By Product type includes Positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scanners, Computed tomography (CT) scanner, Ultrasound Scanner, X-Ray film Scanner. In medical imaging, especially X-ray based examinations and ultrasonography, are crucial in a variety of medical treatment. By Application includes cardiology, Neurology, Cancer, Respiratory and others. By End Users includes Hospitals, Clinics, Ambulatory surgery centers and Diagnostic centers. By Geography it includes North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:Geographically, the market is dominated by North America, followed by Europe, Asia Pacific. Growth in the North America segment is primarily driven by aging baby boomers, high end-user purchasing power, sophisticated healthcare infrastructure, and reimbursement policies. According to Epilepsy foundation the average incidence of epilepsy each year in the U. S is estimated at 150,000 or 48 for every 100,000 people. Asia pacific is expected to grow at a highest rate due to booming healthcare sectors, increasing incidence of chronic diseases, rising awareness about the benefits of early disease diagnosis, growing medical tourism in APAC countries, and increasing government initiatives will fuel the overall healthcare scanner market in Asia Pacific. Emerging markets, including China, India, Australia, South Africa and Brazil have become attractive destinations for companies engaged in the development and marketing of healthcare scanner products.Some of the Key players in this market includes General Electric Company, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Philips Healthcare, Toshiba Medical Systems, Mediso, Cubresa, Fujifilm Holdings, Shimadzu Corporation, Carestream Health, Hitachi Medical Corporation and others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Atrial Septal Defect Market Size and Forecast 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=17066 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/atrial-septal-defect-market.html www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Atrial Septal Defect Market: OutlookAtrial septal defect is one of the most common congenital cardiac diseases and usually affects women more than men. It is characterized by a hole or defect in the interatrial septum that separates the hearts two upper chambers, i.e., atria. The opening in the septum usually closes when the baby is born, but in few cases if the opening does not close, the hole is referred to as atrial septal defect. Huge and long-term atrial septal defects may lead to serious heart and lung damage. In some cases, extra blood volume can overfill the lungs and increases the blood pressure of the lungs, leading to pulmonary hypertension. Most of the congenital heart diseases are caused by certain genetic defects. The three most common types of atrial septal defects are ostium secundum atrial septal defect, ostium primum atrial septal defect and sinus venosus atrial septal. Various symptoms associated with atrial septal defect are as follows:Difficulty in breathing (dyspnea)Frequent respiratory infectionsSwelling of legs and feetHeart palpitationsFatigueGet accurate market forecast and analysis on the Atrial Septal Defect Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Global Atrial Septal Defect Market: Key SegmentsBased on diagnosis, the atrial septal defect market can be segmented as follows:Electrocardiogram (ECG): ECG records the electrical activity of an individual and identifies heart problemsChest X-ray: With the help of X-ray, condition of the heart and lungs are detectedCardiac catheterization: In this test, a catheter is inserted into the heart via vein and any congenital heart defects can be diagnosed including amount of oxygen in the bloodTransesophageal echocardiography (TEE): The test provides an ultrasound image to provide a clearer image of the atriaPulse oximetry: This test helps to detect whether oxygenated blood is mixing with deoxygenated blood, thereby confirming any type of heart defectThe medications which are used to reduce the signs and symptoms of atrial septal defect include beta blockers (Lopressor, Inderal), anticoagulants (Coumadin) and anti-platelet agents (aspirin). In some instances, surgery is also done to repair an atrial septal defect such as open-heart surgery and cardiac catheterization.Global Atrial Septal Defect Market: Regional AnalysisBased on geography, the atrial septal defect market can be segmented into four major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). Out of these regions, North America holds a leading position in the market followed by Europe. The prime factors which are driving the growth of atrial septal defect market in these regions are high prevalence of genetic heart disorders, and growing awareness of the population regarding atrial septal defects. Moreover, technological advancement in the treatment of congenital heart diseases is also accentuating the growth of the market. Asia Pacific is the most lucrative market for the growth of atrial septal defect market. The advantageous factors which would propel the growth of the market in Asia Pacific are presence of large population base and emerging economies such as China, Malaysia, India and Vietnam. Furthermore, favorable reimbursement policies and increasing disposable income of the Asian population would further boost the growth of atrial septal defect market in the coming years.Global Atrial Septal Defect Market: Companies Mentioned in the ReportVarious pharmaceutical companies are constantly trying to come up with novel therapeutic developments for the treatment of atrial septal defect. Some of the top major players operating in the atrial septal defect market are Asklepion Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Actelion Ltd., Novo Nordisk A/S, Abbott Laboratories, INO Therapeutics, LLC and others.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Cholera Treatment Market Growth Report 2016- 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16190 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cholera-treatment-market.html www.transparencymarketresearch.com Cholera disease spreads because of contamination of water and food and is closely associated with poor sanitation and lack of clean drinking water. The global disease burden is around 35 million cases and 100 000 130 000 deaths per year. In recent time the frequency of cholera epidemics has increased. The disease is caused by Vibrio cholerae a rod-shaped waterborne bacterium. The toxins released by bacterium causes loss of intravascular and extravascular fluids and essential electrolytes in the small intestines.Cholera disease is generally characterized as acute, profuse watery diarrhea of one or a few days duration. In extreme condition the patients may suffer severe dehydration within 34 hours. Rehydration is the mainstay of treatment of Cholera or antibiotics are indicated for severe cases only.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Cholera Treatment Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.According to reports published by W.H.O Cholera control should be the main priority in the endemic areas. Right now there are only two types of oral cholera vaccines available. These oral vaccines should be used in conjunction with other preventive measure in areas where the disease is endemic. The vaccination provides an immediate short-term response while to completely overcome the disease other interventions such as availability of clean water and proper sanitation should be put into place.To control endemic cholera vaccination should be targeted at individuals with higher risk, the best way to counter cholera can be periodic mass vaccination campaigns, for example such as pre-school and school aged children, HIV-infected individuals and pregnant women. Older age individuals may also be taken into consideration for cholera vaccination. Currently protection induced by current cholera vaccines is 2 years, therefore initial vaccination of 2 dose should be followed by a booster dose after every 2 years.In recent times W.H.O. and its partners are considering newer ways to complement the traditional methods. The oral cholera vaccines have proven to be effective against the disease, the evidence provided by the use of cholera vaccines has paved way for investigation for mass vaccination for protection against cholera disease. As of now there are three types of oral cholera vaccines available Crucell, Dukoral and ShanChol, which are approved by W.H.O. Out of these three vaccines one is monovalent and the other two are bivalent vaccines. Several other oral cholera vaccines are under development. Currently the demand for cholera vaccines is uncertain as it depends on the immunization strategy which may vary total demand requirement.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:The W.H.O strongly recommends monitoring for confirmed cases of cholera disease must be integrated in already existing surveillance programs so that the impact of the disease and vaccination could be monitored.The global market for Cholera Vaccines is segmented into type of product type, vaccines type, end-user and region:Global Cholera Vaccine market segmentation on the basis of product type:SuspensionInjectableGlobal Cholera Vaccine market segmentation on the basis of vaccine type:Monovalent VaccinesDivalent VaccinesGlobal Cholera Vaccine market segmentation on the basis of end-user:HospitalsDrug StoresRetail PharmaciesGeographically cholera disease is a rare disease in the U.S. and other countries who have good sanitation system and clean water, however it is more prevalent in other parts of the world like developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America which do not have such kind of sanitation system and clean water.Key players in cholera vaccines manufacturing are Janssen Global Services, LLC, Shantha Biotechnics Pvt. Ltd, EuBiologics Halfkin Bio-Pharmaceuticals Corporation Ltd.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Silicon Nitride Powder Market Outlook 2016-2021 Denka, Toshiba, UBE, Hefei Morke, Wuan Yongxing, Fujian Meishibang Silicon Nitride Powder Market http://bit.ly/2s5sAp5 http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-silicon-nitride-powder-market-outlook-2016-2021/ Silicon nitride is a chemical compound of the elements silicon and nitrogen, with the formula Si3N4. The nitridation of silicon powder was developed in the 1950s. However, use of low-purity raw silicon caused contamination of silicon nitride by silicates and iron. The diimide decomposition results in amorphous silicon nitride, which needs further annealing under nitrogen at 14001500 C to convert it to crystalline powder; this is now the second-most important route for commercial production. The carbothermal reduction was the earliest used method for silicon nitride production and is now considered as the most-cost-effective industrial route to high-purity silicon nitride powder.Ask For Sample Copy of Report :This report provides detailed analysis of worldwide markets for Silicon Nitride Powder from 2011-2015 and provides extensive market forecasts 2016-2021 by region/country and subsectors. It covers the key technological and market trends in the Silicon Nitride Powder market and further lays out an analysis of the factors influencing the supply/demand for Silicon Nitride Powder, and the opportunities/challenges faced by industry participants. It also acts as an essential tool to companies active across the value chain and to the new entrants by enabling them to capitalize the opportunities and develop business strategies.GCCs report, Global Silicon Nitride Powder Market Outlook 2016-2021, has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global Silicon Nitride Powder market collected from specialized sources. The report covers key technological developments in the recent times and profiles leading players in the market and analyzes their key strategies. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. The major players in the global Silicon Nitride Powder market are Denka, Toshiba, UBE, Hefei Morke, Wuan Yongxing, Fujian Meishibang, Jiangsu Ansaimei, Yantai Tomley, among others.Browse full Report here:The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Rest of World. In this sector, global competitive landscape and supply/demand pattern of Silicon Nitride Powder industry has been provided.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA Renal Cell Carcinoma Market Research Report | Analysis and Forecast up to 2025 Renal Cell Carcinoma Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/renal-cell-carcinoma-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=25928 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Renal cell carcinoma, also known as adenocarcinoma, refers to the cancer of kidneys in which malignant cells are found in the renal tubules. It commonly occurs in adults and the geriatric population. Among the types of kidney cancer, renal cell carcinoma is highly prevalent and accounts for 8090% of the total cases as opposed transitional cell carcinoma which constitutes 5 -10% The renal cell carcinoma market is expected to develop at a decent rate due to the increased incidence reported worldwide. Surgical removal is not the singular solution, especially after the cancer has reached metastatic phase. Therapies with increased effectiveness and limited side-effects such as such as immunotherapy and targeted agents are required in such cases.Drivers of the renal cell carcinoma market include changing lifestyles, increased levels of smoking & tobacco consumption, misuse of certain painkillers, obesity, and the growing geriatric population. The rising incidence of renal cell carcinoma and comparative lack of availability of effective therapies available point toward the scope of this market. However, the high cost of the medicines and threat of generic entry may hinder the market. Chemotherapy is not effective in renal cell cancer and results in multiple side effects such as nausea & vomiting and weight & hair loss. It can also suppress production of new blood cells, leading to fatigue, anemia, easy bruising or bleeding, and increased risk of infection. Hence, chemotherapy is now replaced with targeted agents and immunotherapies.View Report The renal cell carcinoma market is segmented according to type of therapy into the following divisions: surgery, chemotherapy, biological therapy, hormone therapy, targeted agents, and radiation therapy. Among these, biological therapy and targeted agents are highly popular. The chemotherapy sector is further divided by therapeutic drug class into the following segments. RTK (Receptor Tyrosine Kinase) inhibitors, VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) inhibitors, mTOR (mammalian Target of Rapamycin) inhibitors, and TKI (Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors). Sunitinib is commonly prescribed as it targets multiple receptors which, however may result in multiple side effects, thereby offering scope to emerging low cost drugs.Geographically, the renal cell carcinoma market is distributed over North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America and Europe dominated the global market due to unhealthy lifestyles, obesity, and hypertension in these regions and excessive smoking in the U.S. Asia and South America exhibit minimal incidence of renal cell carcinoma. Rising awareness and disposable incomes are anticipated to propel the renal cell carcinoma market. Japan and Italy, known for their extensive geriatric population, are predicted to dominate the market. On the other hand, in Asia Pacific, the market is in its developmental phase due to the increasing capacity of individuals to afford high cost medicines and growing geriatric population. Rapid economic development in India, China, Singapore, and Malaysia been projected to motivate the renal cell carcinoma market. According to a study by NCBI named Racial Disparity in Renal Cell Carcinoma Patient Survival according to Demographic and Clinical Characteristics published in 2012, the African population runs a comparatively higher risk of developing renal cell carcinoma. Thus, countries with dense African population display potential for the development of renal cell carcinoma market.Key players in this market include Pfizer, Exelexis Inc., Eisai, GlaxoSmithKline plc. F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Novartis International AG, and Bayer AG. Pfizer is leading the market; however GlaxoSmithKline plc. and Novartis are extending their global presence with increased distribution channels.Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Renal Cell Carcinoma Market during 2017- 2025About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global SD-WAN Router Market Outlook 2017-2022 Konishi Chemical, Nicca Chemical, Jiangyin Changsheng, Zhangjiagang Gangda SD-WAN Router Market http://bit.ly/2sEkmVQ http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-sd-wan-router-market-outlook-2017-2022/ A WAN edge router is a device that routes data packets between different locations of a WAN, giving an enterprise access to a carrier network. Also called a boundary router, it is contrasted with a core router which only sends packets within a single network. SD-WANs can work as an overlay to simplify the management of existing WAN edge routers, by lowering dependence on routing protocols. SD-WAN can also potentially be an alternative to WAN Edge routers.Ask For Sample Copy of Report :This report provides detailed analysis of worldwide markets for SD-WAN Router from 2011-2016, and provides extensive market forecasts (2016-2021) by region/country and subsectors. It covers the volumes, prices, historical growth and future perspectives in the SD-WAN Router market and further lays out an analysis of the factors influencing the supply/demand for SD-WAN Router, and the opportunities/challenges faced by industry participants. It also acts as an essential tool to companies active across the value chain and to the new entrants by enabling them to capitalize the opportunities and develop business strategies.The report has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global SD-WAN Router market collected from specialized sources. The report covers key technological developments in the recent times and profiles leading players in the market and analyzes their key strategies. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. The major players in the global SD-WAN Router market are Plover Bay Technologies (HK), Cisco (USA), Silver Peak Systems (USA), Riverbed Technology (USA), Talari Networks (USA), Viptela (USA), Aryaka Networks (USA), Versa Networks (USA) etc.Browse full Report here:The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Rest of World. In this sector, global competitive landscape and supply/demand pattern of SD-WAN Router industry has been provided.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA The Latin American Travel Association (LATA) has revealed the results of the 2017 LATA Travel Trends Report. LATA surveyed 3641 consumers about their travel habits. 19% of respondents had travelled to Latin America in the last two years with the largest share (25%) falling into the 65+ age category followed by the 25-34 age category (representing 21%) and the 55-64 age category (representing 18%). Although the age spread is varied, its worth noting that the over 55s account for a significant 43%. When asked what elements were included in their holiday, the most popular attribute was culture, history and heritage which was selected by 56% of participants who had visited the region. This was followed by wildlife and nature (46%) and walking and trekking (30%). When asked what words or phrases most apply to Latin America, those who had travelled to the region chose the following four descriptions: beautiful (79%), distinct culture (78%), exciting (63%) and breathtaking (58%). Those that hadnt travelled to the region werent quite so enamoured and opted for distinct culture (65%), beautiful (58%), out-of-the-ordinary (48%) and exciting (46%). Competitor destinations Looking at competitor destinations, Asia stands out with 21% of respondents who have holidayed in Asia over the last two years having considered, and discounted, a Latin American alternative. The types of trips taken bear a striking similarity to the types of trips taken in Latin America, with key themes including culture, history & heritage, walking & trekking and wildlife & nature. 13% of those who have travelled to the Caribbean, 11% of this who have travelled to Africa and 7% of those who have travelled to North America or Australasia in the last two years considered and discounted Latin America as an alternative travel destination. Travel industry results Over 40 UK tour operators were surveyed of which 59% are Latin American specialists. In terms of types of holidays sold, the three most popular categories included wildlife and nature (86%), culture, history and heritage (81%) and luxury (78%). Looking specifically at the Latin American region, over 62% of tour operator respondents reported a growth in bookings in 2016 (vs 2015). For the first quarter of 2017, 81% of tour operators have seen a growth in bookings to Latin America compared to the same period 2016. An overwhelming 76% of bookings are made directly with the tour operator (rather than via a travel agent). The most popular type of booking to Latin America was 1. multi-destination trips, 2. Tailor-made holidays and 3. highlights tours. Customer demographics The largest share of tour operator sales to Latin America in the last two years is amongst the 55-64 age group accounting for 29%, followed by the 45-54 age group (23%) and the 65+ age group (20%). 52% of bookings are couples, 18% families, 17% groups and 13% solo travellers. Barriers to booking 47% of tour operators claim that the main barrier to booking a Latin American holiday is cost, 18% claim it is due to distance a/o length of travel and 15% cite concerns around the zika virus. Growth destinations Destinations seeing the largest amount of growth over the last two years include Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia. Travel agent feedback LATA surveyed 254 travel agents. When asked how confident they felt when selling trips to key destinations, Latin America came at the bottom of the list behind Europe, North America, Asia, the Caribbean, Australasia and Africa. The same applied when asked to rank the destinations in terms of the ease of earning commissions. In this instance, Asia came out on top, followed by Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Australasia, Africa and then Latin America. When asked what one factor would help sell more holidays to Latin America, 52% cited a better knowledge of the destination. Similarly, when asked what the travel industry could do to help sell more holidays, 52% opted for training (to increase product knowledge). Read the full report here Malaysia Medical Tourism Market | Latest Trends and Forecast Analysis up to 2024 Malaysia Medical Tourism Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/malaysia-medical-tourism-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=20159 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Malaysia Medical Tourism Market: OverviewIn terms of revenue, the Malaysia medical tourism market is expected to register a CAGR of 30.5% during the forecast period, 20162024. The primary objective of the report is to offer insights on the market dynamics that can influence growth of the Malaysia medical tourism market over the forecast period. Insights on key trends, drivers, restraints, value forecasts and opportunities for companies operating in the Malaysia medical tourism market are presented in the report.Malaysia Medical Tourism Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe Malaysia medical tourism market is expected to witness significant growth rate in terms of value owing to high quality treatment at low cost, strong health care infrastructure, low language barrier and increasing government initiatives for medical tourism contributes to growth of the Malaysia medical tourism market. Moreover, excellent recuperation facilities and transportation are creating high potential growth opportunities for players operating in the Malaysia medical tourism market. Revenue from the medical tourism market in Malaysia is expected to expand at the relatively higher CAGR due to rising number of medical travelers to Malaysia and introduction of advanced treatment facilities in Malaysia. To understand and assess opportunities in this market, the report offers market forecast on the basis of medical procedure types carried in Malaysia. The report provides analysis of the Malaysia medical tourism market in terms of market value (US$ Mn) and volume (In number of procedures).This exhaustive report includes a 360 view of the Malaysia Medical Tourism Market. Browse through this 105-page report to know what factors will shape the market during the period 2016-2024The Malaysia medical tourism market is segmented on the basis of procedure type:Cardio (Internal medicine)Cardiothoracic SurgeryOncologyFertility treatments (IVF)Orthopedic treatmentDental treatmentOphthalmologyAesthetics / Cosmetic SurgeryNeurologyRegenerative Therapy (Stem cells)Medical check ups (Health screening)OthersThe report begins with the market definition, followed by definitions of the different procedure types and subsequent sub segments. The market dynamics section includes TMRs analysis on key trends, drivers, restraints, opportunities and macro-economic factors influencing the growth of the Malaysia medical tourism market.?Malaysia Medical Tourism Market: Scope of the ReportNext, the report analyses the market on the basis of regions and presents forecast in terms of value for the next 10 years. In addition, we have considered Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) growth to understand the predictability of the market and identify growth opportunities for companies operating in the Malaysia medical tourism market. Another key feature of this report is the analysis of key segments in terms of absolute dollar opportunity. This is usually overlooked, while forecasting the market. However, absolute dollar opportunity is critical for assessing the level of opportunity that a provider can look to achieve, as well as to identify potential resources from a sales and delivery perspective for services offered by medical tourism in Malaysia. To understand key segments in terms of their growth and performance in the Malaysia medical tourism market, Transparency market research has developed a market attractiveness index. The resulting index would help providers identify existing market opportunities.?Malaysia Medical Tourism Market: Competitive ScenarioIn the final section of the report, a competitive landscape has been included to provide a dashboard view of key companies operating in the Malaysia medical tourism market. This section is primarily designed to provide clients with an objective and detailed comparative assessment of key providers specific to a market segment in the Malaysia medical tourism market and the potential players. However, this section also includes market strategies and SWOT analysis of the main players operational in the Malaysia medical tourism market.Detailed profiles of players operating in Malaysia medical tourism market are also included in the scope of the report to evaluate their long- and short-term strategies. Key players included in this report are KPJ Healthcare Berhad, Pantai Holdings Berhad, Prince Court Medical Centre, Dentalpro Group, Sunway Medical Centre, IJN Health Institute, Island Hospital, LohGuanLye Specialists Centre, Mahkota Medical Centre, and Tropicana Medical Centre., among others.Request a sample of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Malaysia Medical Tourism Market during 2016- 2024About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: United States Automotive Tire Pressure Monitoring System Market by Manufacturers, States, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 https://www.reportsworldwide.com/report/united-states-automotive-tire-pressure-monitoring-system-market-by-manufacturers-states-type-and-application-forecast-to-2022 https://www.reportsworldwide.com/enquiry?report_id=39941 ReportsWorldwide has announced the addition of a new report title United States Automotive Tire Pressure Monitoring System Market by Manufacturers, States, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 to its growing collection of premium market research reports.A tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is an electronic system designed to monitor the air pressure inside the pneumatic tires on various types of vehicles. TPMS report real-time tire-pressure information to the driver of the vehicle, either via a gauge, a pictogram display, or a simple low-pressure warning light. TPMS are provided both at an OEM (factory) level as well as an aftermarket solution. The target of a TPMS is avoiding traffic accidents, poor fuel economy, and increased tire wear due to under-inflated tires through early recognition of a hazardous state of the tires.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Automotive Tire Pressure Monitoring System in United States market, to split the market based on manufacturers, states, type and application.To view a detailed description and Table of Contents please visit:Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers Schrader (Sensata) Continental ZF TRW Lear ACDelco Pacific Industrial Bendix Huf CUB Elecparts Sate Auto Electronic Denso Baolong Automotive NIRA Dynamics Orange Electronic Shenzhen AutotechMarket Segment by States, covering California Texas New York Florida IllinoisMarket Segment by Type, covers Indirect Tire Pressure Monitoring System Direct Tire Pressure Monitoring SystemMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into Passenger Vehicle Commercial VehicleTo Get Sample Copy of Report please visit @About ReportsWorldwide.comReportsWorldwide.com is a leading provider of global market intelligence reports and services. With research reports from top publishers, consulting and advisory firms, ReportsWorldwide.com offers instant online access to a growing database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, geographies and trends.Press Contact:Abigail CrastoSenior Vice President101, Arch StreetBoston, MA 02110USPhone +1 (617) 398-4994Fax +1 (617) 398-4995abigail@reportsworldwide.com Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) Market | Key Trends and Forecast Research Report 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/clinical-decision-support-system-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=4332 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) Market: OverviewA clinical decision support system (CDSS) refers is used in the healthcare sector to aid healthcare professionals in decision making tasks. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers utilize CDSS in the preparation of a diagnosis and its review. Such an evaluation of data assists the prediction of potential events ranging from medication interaction to disease symptoms.The global market for CDSS can be broadly segmented into machine learning and knowledge base. The knowledge based CDSS generate results via the use of if-then algorithms. Regular updating of databases is carried out by trained professionals. The non-knowledge based CDSS, on the other hand, runs on artificial intelligence. CDSS can either be a standalone system or be integrated with other systems such as computerized physician order entry (CLOSE) and electric health record (EHR) systems.The report by Transparency Market Research (TMR) reveals crucial information about the recent developments and competitive scenario in the global CDSS market. The primary catalysts and deterrents of the growth of the market, market size, market projections have been discussed in the report, alongside relevant statistical analysis. The progress of the leading market players has also been mapped.View Report -Global Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) Market: Drivers and RestraintsSome of the prominent advantages offered by CDSS include vast storage capacity, cost-effective efficiency, and ease of access on mobile devices. CDSS can be used at various stages such as prior to diagnosis, post diagnosis and during diagnosis to map the patient's progress from past records to the present data.Several supportive government initiatives are encouraging the growth of the global market for CDSS. For instance, it was observed that after the Healthcare Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in 2009, the adoption of CDSS has increased significantly. The greater adoption of cloud computing technology, expansion of healthcare infrastructures, and increasing patient awareness have been some of the driving forces of the global CDSS market.On the other hand, the complexity associated with the integration of CDSS, lack of interoperability, and data security and privacy issues can inhibit growth. However, as more organizations such as the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC) and Healthcare Research and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) are making investments in CDSS implementation and development, the global market for CDSS will continue to thrive on account of the consequent opportunities.Global Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) Market: Regional OutlookBy geography, the global market for CDSS can be segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the Rest of the World (RoW). With Canada and the U.S. as the prominent contributors, North America is expected to lead the global CDSS market over the next few years. Favorable policies of the government, early adoption of IT across several industry verticals, and the rising incidence of diseases have been promoting the expansion of the CDSS market in this region.Europe also possesses vast potential for growth. Italy, Germany, France, and the U.K. are likely to assist the advancement of the CDSS market in this region. Although believed to be at a nascent stage, the CDSS Market in Asia Pacific is one with maximum growth opportunities. The growing healthcare infrastructure, rising awareness about efficiency in healthcare, greater adoption of advanced technologies, and increasing government funds have been some of the major growth drivers of the market in Asia Pacific. The Middle East and Africa, and Latin America are also slated for monumental growth.Companies Mentioned in the ReportSome of the major companies operating in the global market for CDSS are Epic Systems Corporation, Zynx Health, Medical Information Technology, Inc., Wolters Kluwer N.V., McKesson Corporation, Siemens Healthcare, and Philips Healthcare.Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) Market during 2015- 2023About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: A new report about vacation days reveals that more than half of American employees left unused last year. The 662 million days left unused last yearand their implications for individual employees and workplaces alikeare not felt evenly across America. Project: Time Off's new report, Under-Vacationed America: An Analysis of the States and Cities That Need to Take a Day, provides a look at the vacation behavior in all 50 states and the 30-largest metro areas in the country. Idaho, New Hampshire, and Alaska hold the top spots for the states with the most workers leaving vacation unused. Looking at cities, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, CA, and Tampa, FL are home to some of the most under-vacationed employees in America. Unfortunately, many of the areas seeing the worst vacation usage are home to cultures where employees report hearing negative or mixed messages about time off. Where just 17 percent of workers nationally say their company sends negative or mixed messages, the majority of the states in the top ten for leaving unused vacation are more likely to agree, most notably Alaskan workers at 28 percent. There are some states and cities that are better at vacation usage. Maine, Hawaii, and Arizona top the list of states with employees who are least likely to leave vacation time on the table. For cities, Pittsburgh, PA, Chicago, IL, and Phoenix, AZ are home to employees who take more of their earned time off. The places where employees use the most vacation tend to have work cultures that encourage time off, enjoy lower fear and anxiety about being away, and are less susceptible to the stress and pressures of being away. Five States with the Most Unused Vacation STATE % WITH UNUSED DAYS UNUSED VACATION DAYS DIRECT SPENDING POTENTIAL Idaho 78% 3.1 million $433 million New Hampshire 77% 2.7 million $552 million Alaska 73% 1.7 million $651 million South Dakota 73% 1.8 million $404 million Oklahoma 69% 9.7 million $690 million Five States with the Least Unused Vacation STATE % WITH UNUSED DAYS UNUSED VACATION DAYS DIRECT SPENDING POTENTIAL Maine 38% 2.6 million $700 million Hawaii 39% 3.3 million $4.4 billion Arizona 41% 11.4 million $3.2 billion Alabama 41% 10.1 million $818 million Wisconsin 44% 10.6 million $1.6 billion Five Cities with the Most Unused Vacation CITY % WITH UNUSED DAYS UNUSED VACATION DAYS DIRECT SPENDING POTENTIAL Washington, D.C. 64% 17.3 million $3.8 billion San Francisco, CA 64% 12.8 million $3.1 billion Tampa, FL 62% 5.1 million $1.2 billion Los Angeles, CA 62% 32.5 million $6.4 billion Boston, MA 61% 11.6 million $2.4 billion Five Cities with the Least Unused Vacation CITY % WITH UNUSED DAYS UNUSED VACATION DAYS DIRECT SPENDING POTENTIAL Pittsburgh, PA 40% 4.6 million $696 million Chicago, IL 44% 18.2 million $3.5 billion Phoenix, AZ 44% 8.2 million $1.6 billion Orlando, FL 45% 4.7 million $3.4 billion Miami, FL 45% 10.2 million $2.4 billion See report for full rankings. Nationwide, U.S. workers took an average of 16.8 days of vacation in 2016, turning the trend line in a positive direction after losing almost a week of vacation time since 2000. This was up from 16.2 days in 2015. This, however, is a far cry from the 20.3 day long-term average from 1976 to 2000. While Americans are taking more vacation time, there is also a slight increase in the number of days left unused. In 2016, 662 million vacation days were left on the table, four million days more than 2015. However, forfeited vacation daystime that cannot be rolled over, banked, or paid outare down eight percent to 206 million forfeited days. Those forfeited days have a cost. Last year, employees gave up $66.4 billion in lost benefits, which translates to an average of $604 per employee. Affiliated Medical Billing has changed its name to Yeo & Yeo Medical Billing & Consulting, announced Thomas E. Hollerback, president and CEO of Yeo & Yeo CPAs & Business Consultants and its affiliates. The name change will create a unified name for all three of the firms affiliates: Yeo & Yeo Medical Billing & Consulting, Yeo & Yeo Computer Consulting and Yeo & Yeo Financial Services. (Ken Corwin was born in the village of Pioneer in Michigan to Marvin and Lucille Corwin. The family moved to Midland in 1951. After serving in the Army for three years, he returned to Midland where he worked at various jobs. In December of 1963 he met Sharon Schmidt who was employed in the 256 building at Dow. Their story continues.) Sharon was second to the last child of 10 children born to Rudy and Alma Haas Schmidt of Standish. The Schmidt family consisted of four girls and six boys. They had five boys and then I came along so they were really excited, Sharon said. Sharon grew up in Standish. I knew everybody in town, she said. Dad was a farmer and also had his own business tiling farmers fields. Rudy Schmidt had worked for a fellow who had a tile machine but by 1927 he came to the erroneous conclusion that the tile business wasnt going to last and Rudy bought the business from him. Rudy built up his tiling business to include three tiling machines and putting in over 1 million feet of tile in fields each year. One year Rudy received an award from Buckeye Machines in Findlay, Ohio, for putting in the most tile in farmers fields. The Schmidt family attended Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Standish and Sharons mom, Alma, played the organ. Sharon began playing the organ in church when she was 13 years old and continued for the next 40 years. After graduation from Standish-Sterling High School, Sharon attended the Northeastern School of Commerce in Bay City. One week after graduation from there she began working at The Dow Chemical Co. in Midland in 256 Building and later worked for the Job Evaluation Department. While in the Job Evaluation Department, she would often help pass out paychecks to the workers since the clock room was also in the 256 building. Sharon worked at Dow from 1961 to 1966 when she made the decision to be a stay-at-home mom and raise their four children: Wendy, Gina, Rodney and Vicki. Ken said, Vicki was supposed to be Ricki. Ken and Sharon met in December 1963 but their romance didnt immediately take off. We would date on and off and then I went to Europe in 1964, Sharon said. The Dow Chemical Co. would charter a plane for their employees so we went. They set everything up including a tour guide. She especially remembers Switzerland where she ate in a restaurant that served her a fish with an eye staring at her. Ken, in the meantime, had decided to go with friends to California but ended up in Denver, Colorado. The whole project ended disastrously. He came back to Midland. Now both back in Midland, Ken and Sharon began dating again. When Thanksgiving came, they drove to Standish to spend the holiday with her family. When they got there, Ken said, I couldnt believe all the cars that were parked everywhere. Sharon said, The entire family always got together for the holidays. At Christmastime, Ken and Sharon again drove up to Standish for the holiday. The meal was held in the basement and Ken said to Sharon, Lets go upstairs. He proposed. She was screaming and screaming and shaking her hand with the engagement ring on it, Ken said. On May 22, 1965, they were married in Bethlehem Lutheran Church, which Sharon had attended all her life. Their first year of married life they lived in the basement of her folks home in Standish and then bought a home in Estey, where they lived for four years. From there, they moved to Midland and bought his dads house on Jefferson. Today they live on Sturgeon Road. Ken reminisced about the years they attended Bethlehem Lutheran in Standish and how everyone stayed after church to have coffee and doughnuts. The Mens Club was active in putting on chicken dinners. A 250 gallon fuel oil tank was converted into a barbecue and pig roasts were an annual event. Both remember when the Schmidt family got together for Christmas at the old Holiday Inn in Midland with 150 family members attending. Now the family group that gets together is so large that we meet at the Cheese House in Pinconning, Sharon said . Last summer their daughter Vicki had a cousin get-together and 12 cousins and their spouses showed up to reconnect with family members. She had to be pushed into doing it and only 20 showed up, but its a start and everyone had such a good time theyre looking for more cousins to show up this year, Sharon said. Today, Ken and Sharon attend St. Johns Lutheran church in Midland on George and Carpenter streets. Sharon was in the bell choir for 12 years. Ken said, Shes my ding-dong girl. Their four children are grown now, but they have happy memories of the long drives every Sunday to attend church in Standish at Bethlehem Lutheran. The kids sat in the back seat and we listened to polkas on the radio all the way up and all the way home, Ken said. Thats all that was on the radio on Sundays then. In the beginning, Ken worked a while with Sharons dad helping to tile fields for farmers. In February of 1966, Ken went to work for The Dow Chemical Co. and retired in 1995. But never one to sit still, Ken got a job after retirement driving a lab shuttle going from doctors offices with blood samples to West Branch and Houghton Lake. Right now Ken is using a cane to help take the pressure off his knee. He had an accident and hit the ground so hard that he blew his knee out. Times change. Towns turn into cities. Children grow up and leave home to start their own families. Highways and airplanes shrink distances between places. Sometimes all we have are memories of times gone by. The writer Frederich Buechner once compared our memories to a room. We may go to that room whenever we like and find the memory or memories that we want to relive. Our entire life may be contained in that room eventually. Ken and Sharon Corwins room of memories is still filling up and they will fill that room up together as their love story continues. Can the city of Midland close to the public a one-mile stretch of South Saginaw Road, as requested by The Dow Chemical Co.? City planners say technically, yes. The question of whether city officials should close the road is next in line. On Tuesday, city planners reviewed Dows request, sent to the city on May 18, to close about one mile of South Saginaw Road between Mark Putnam and Salzburg roads in the southeast part of town. Dow secured a 7-0 vote from planners for conditional approval of its plan. Members Lowell McLaughlin and James Bain recused themselves from voting; McLaughlin said he had been directly involved with Dows plan to close the road, and Bain noted prior employment with Dow. The vote serves as a recommendation that heads to the city council, which has the final say. The soonest date for a public hearing is July 24. A four-fifths vote from city council is required for Dows plan to go through. Planners made their recommendation based on a technical review of whether the plan to close the portion of the road is possible. Police and fire: The departments say travel and response times could be compromised. Both are supportive of Dows plan, but only under the condition that gates be opened during emergencies. (Dow previously said it would do this: If the quickest route is the closed portion of Saginaw Road, Dow will open the road to emergency vehicles, Rich Wells, Dows Michigan Operations site director, told the Daily News.) A contingency requires an agreement between the departments and MidMichigan Medical Centers emergency medical services and Dow, and approval by the city attorney, if the city council approves the plan. Public services: Dial-a-Ride, street sweeping and snow plowing would require rerouting. They are not concerned by that, Kaye said of department officials. They can work with the closure as proposed. Utilities: Water utilities in the area would remain underground, but require easements. The Lingle Drain would require easement protection. These are listed as contingencies in planners conditional approval. Engineering: The department referred to OHM Advisors for review, which is generally accepting of the traffic study Dow commissioned DLZ to conduct. DLZ recommended changing one eastbound lane on Bay City Road to a dedicated right turn lane, whereas OHM recommended adding a new lane for right turns. A contingency requires a dedicated right lane be secured or constructed to the satisfaction of the city engineering department. Things that are technical issues that need to be addressed, but none of which have risen to the level that any department has raised an objection to the proposal, Kaye said. Kaye said from the citys end, the most important community benefit is an improved Dow site and public safety. What we essentially have, in the past, was two separate companies with a public street through the middle. Now we have one (company) with a public street through the middle, which from a public perspective is a difference, Kaye said. City staff thinks it makes sense from a public perspective not to introduce traffic that is unmonitored and that has very close approximate access to chemical plant operations, according to Kaye. With Dow being a global company, and taking full ownership of Dow Corning last summer, another benefit according to the city is increased competitiveness. They are not arguing or suggesting that by closing this road they will automatically have new investment, new construction, new employment on the site, but they are saying it will improve their chances of attracting that, Kaye said. We simply are improving our chances. No guarantee comes with that, however. Kaye said city staff considered increased truck, employee and general traffic for Dow and other businesses in area, trains crossing (with 46 movements per week over South Saginaw Road and 10 over Waldo Avenue, most at night, according to the city), past chemical releases that have affected South Saginaw Road, and other factors. A contingency requires Dow to provide assurance to the city that all of its trucks will be directed to access the Dow facility via M-47 and Salzburg Road, and that truck access will not be provided via the north gate off the retained portion of South Saginaw Road. City staff also considered the idea of Dow building a bridge or tunnel rather than close the road. Either is cost-prohibitive according to Dow, which estimates costs to build at more than $15 million and $30 million, respectively. From the citys perspective, doing so would lessen public safety and would be neither reasonable nor suitable, according to Kaye. Putting things over or under a road, particularly in regard to the types of materials that would be crossing, increases exposure to the public, he said. What about giving Dows plan a trial run? Swapping traffic lights for stop signs at downtown intersections was beneficial ahead of the streetscape project, according to Kaye. But doing the same for Dows plan at Waldo Avenue isnt as simple or realistic. Because the Waldo and Bay City Road intersection requires a number of improvements, simply putting some barricades at the end of these streets and rerouting traffic would not be a situation that would actually replicate the conditions that would be faced in the future, Kaye said. Its not a viable option available to us. Planners conditional approval requires Dow to pay for all necessary street and signage improvements, as well as other costs, if the city council approves the plan. Dow has said it would pay those costs. Rich Wells, site director for Dows Michigan Operations, said the closure is part of the companys transformation plan. He cited the pending $130 billion merger with DuPont Co., and Dows move last summer to take full ownership of Dow Corning. Its also part of Dows growth agenda, he said, referring to a $400 million investment at its Michigan Operations site planned in the next decade. We really believe if we do this right, including by vacating the road and combining our site, we can become the premiere chemical manufacturing facility in the Midwest, Wells said. And really oomph up this place and help capture the growth thats out there. This is just the next chapter in what we hope to be a very, very long and successful relationship between Midland, Michigan, and The Dow Chemical Co. Five residents spoke during public comment. They all favored Dows plan. City planners agreed the closure would heighten safety. They were optimistic of Dows planned future investments in Midland. Read more about Dows plan at http://www.dow.com/michigan/siteconsolidation For more Daily News coverage, go to http://bit.ly/2qF8qzE and http://bit.ly/2sbt3oa Read resident input at E-City Hall on the citys website (under the Closed Topics tab), at http://bit.ly/2rsdETj Brandon Fisher, of Midland, a graduate of H. H. Dow High School, joined more than 3,700 Kansas State University students who have earned semester honors for their academic performance during the spring 2017 semester. Students with at least 12 graded hours and whose grade point average for the semester is 3.75 or above receive semester honors. They also receive commendations from their deans and the honors are recorded on their permanent academic records. NEW OPENINGS All Eyez on Me 140 min.; R (language/drug use throughout, violence, nudity, sexuality) A dramatization of the life of rapper, actor, poet and activist Tupac Shakur. Cars 3 109 min.; 2-D/3-D; G Lightning sets out to prove to a new generation of racers that he's still the best race car in the world. 47 Meters Down 89 min.; PG-13 (intense peril, bloody images, brief strong language) Two sisters vacationing in Mexico are trapped in a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean. Rough Night 101 min.; R (crude sexual content, language throughout, drug use, bloody images) A male stripper hired by some girl friends for a wild bachelorette party winds up dead. ONGOING Baywatch 116 min.; R (language throughout, crude sexual content, graphic nudity) Lifeguard Mitch Buchanan and his brash new recruit uncover a Bay-threatening criminal plot. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie 84 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG (mild rude humor throughout) Two students hypnotize their principal into thinking he's a dimwitted superhero. Cars 3 109 min.; 2-D/3-D; G Lightning sets out to prove to a new generation of racers that he's still the best race car in the world. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul 90 min.; PG (rude humor) Greg's scheme to get to a video gaming convention throws a Heffley family road trip off course. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 136 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG-13 (sci-fi action violence, language, brief suggestive content) The Guardians embark on a trans-cosmos odyssey to learn more about the true parentage of team leader Peter Quill. It Comes at Night 97 min.; R (violence, disturbing images, language) A family seeks refuge in the home of another family during a horrific world-wide plague. Megan Leavey 116 min.; PG-13 (war violence, language, suggestive material, thematic elements) A young Marine corporal and her military combat dog save lives during their deployment in Iraq. The Mummy 107 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG-13 (violence, action, scary images, suggestive content, partial nudity) An ancient princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, and isn't happy about it. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 129 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG-13 (adventure violence, suggestive content) Captain Jack Sparrow squares off against his old nemesis Captain Salazar. Wonder Woman 141 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG-13 (violence/action, suggestive content) An Amazon princess-warrior leaves home for London and becomes engaged in intrigue during WWI. AT THE NORMAL THEATER Obit 93 min.; unrated A documentary look at The New York Times team entrusted with writing obituaries of icons and world leaders. (7 p.m. June 15, 1 p.m. June 17) High Society 110 min; unrated Cole Porter's musical version of "The Philadelphia Story," with Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. (7 p.m. June 16 and 18) My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea 75 min.; PG-13 (images of peril, sexual references, drug material) An earthquake causes a high school to float into the sea, where it slowly sinks like a shipwreck. (10 p.m. June 16-17) Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House 94 min.; unrated A New York City couple buys a home in the country that needs more work than they dreamed. (7 p.m. June 17) William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet 130 min.; PG-13 (contemporary violence, sensuality) Baz Luhrmann's modernized take on the classic Shakespeare tragedy. (7 p.m. June 19) BLOOMINGTON An Indiana man who allegedly told a bank teller he needed to steal money to pay his son's medical expenses was in court Thursday for a bond hearing. Zachary Finchum, 31, of Fort Wayne, must post $30,035 to be released on financial institution robbery charges in connection with Wednesday's robbery of PNC Bank on West Market Street in Bloomington. According to a statement read in court by McLean County Assistant State's Attorney Samantha Vazquez, Finchum passed a note to a bank employee stating that he needed $30,000 for medical care for his son who has cancer. Finchum went on in the note, said Vazquez, to say he was willing to harm others if necessary and was "prepared to die." A weapon was not displayed and no one was injured in the incident. Illinois State Police stopped Finchum a short time after the late morning robbery as he was heading east in a Lincoln town car on Interstate 74 near Leroy. Police found a satchel with $3,000 in the car, said the prosecutor. During his interview with police, Finchum said he picked Bloomington from a Google Maps search as the location to rob a bank. "He was cooperative and admitted he robbed the bank. He said he had no money and no food," said Vazquez. Finchum confirmed for Associate Judge Amy McFarland that he had no money to post toward his bond. A June 23 arraignment is scheduled. BLOOMINGTON With no sign of when the state will pay money owed to the McLean-DeWitt Regional Vocational System, the District 87 school board approved a loan of $244,000 to the system. District 87 serves as the administrative agent for the Regional Vocational System, which provides career and technical education to students from 16 participating schools. The district has had an agreement with the system for more than 20 years authorizing an interfund loan of up to $70,000 to ensure the system could maintain a positive balance in its operating funds. But because the state is so far behind in paying money owed to the vocational system, it needs a loan estimated at $244,000 this year. Both Tom Frazier, director of the vocational system, and David Wood, District 87's chief financial and legal officer, said they are confident the system will eventually get the money it's only a matter of when. The vocational system has vouchers that have been approved and are awaiting payment by the comptroller. Among reasons for their confidence is that the state risks having to return money to the federal government if it does not meet its obligations to provide this funding, explained Frazier. Under the agreement, the vocational system will repay the loan in full from the money received from the state. While supporting the loan, Superintendent Barry Reilly expressed frustration that such a loan was needed because of the state's failure to meet its obligations in a timely manner. The reality is that District 87 has been a good steward to build fund balances to be able to do this, said Reilly. Not every district can do that. Because its money comes from grants that must be spent within a specified time, the vocational system cannot build up fund balances, explained Frazier. The Bloomington Area Career Center, which is also affected by the state delay, has built up balances to take care of the cash flow because it also receives tuition money, which can be carried over from year to year, he said. Speaking of the continuing budget impasse, Reilly said most school district associations are putting their support behind Senate Bill 1, which has passed the Senate and House but has not yet been sent to the governor. Opponents have criticized the bill for its focus on Chicago Public Schools, but Reilly said, I think it's worthy of our support. We shouldn't expect to get everything we want. Reilly said the bill deserves support because the evidence-based funding model in the bill is the way to go. In another matter, Reilly expressed concern that the city of Bloomington is considering another tax increment financing district, this time for a development that would include the former Bloomington Junior High School, which the district sold long ago. Reilly said, Our preference is for shorter term incentives that phase out after a few years rather than long-term property tax abatements. The vast majority of our funding comes from local property taxes, said Reilly. That's our bread and butter. Geekologie has shut down. Thank you to everybody. Now go be happy. BLOOMINGTON The Bloomington Planning Commission voted Wednesday in favor of a proposal to add bicycle lanes on Washington Street after listening to 20 people comment during a two-hour-long public hearing. Commission members voted 7-3 to recommend amending the city's 2015 bicycle master plan to add Washington Street from Lee Street to St. Joseph Drive. The final decision will be made by the City Council, possibly at its July 10 meeting. During the hearing 13 people spoke in favor of the amendment. They included representatives from Connect Transit, West Bloomington Housing Collaborative, Friends of the Constitution Trail and Bike BloNo. Bloomington-Normal YMCA also sent a letter in support of the measure. City staff collected feedback about the proposal via several public meetings, emails, letters, phone calls and monitoring the use of two temporary "pop-up" bike lanes drawn using chalk paint on Washington Street between Kreitzer and Mercer avenues. Of the 217 total responses as of noon on Wednesday, 143 indicated support of the amendment, said Bloomington Public Works Director Jim Karch. The city also received a petition signed by 22 people opposing the amendment. The signatures were from people living on the 1200-1700 blocks of East Washington. The inclusion of Washington Street in the bicycle master plan would create a large "rectangle" of roadways already included in the master plan that would allow bicyclists to get to major destinations like Illinois Wesleyan University, downtown Bloomington, State Farm, Eastland Mall, and two hospitals, said Karch. The commission also voted 9-1 to recommend the council review the impact of losing two traffic lanes on Washington Street at the intersections of Mercer Avenue and Regency Drive in order to add bicycle lanes. "Taking out two lanes without making provisions for turning" is what commission member J Balmer said prompted him to add that measure for council review. Commission chairman David Stanczak voted against adding Washington Street to the bike master plan, saying he was concerned that the loss of two traffic lanes at those intersections and several others farther west would create traffic congestion resulting in public safety issues. Stanczak also did not like the possible loss of 19 parking spaces downtown to accommodate the addition of bike lanes. "I supported it because I see as a resident of the area people using their bicycles to commute to and from work," said commission member Kevin Suess who lives on Kreitzer Avenue near Washington Street. He disagreed with some neighbors who expressed their concerns about the street not being safe for bicyclists because of the amount of traffic on the east-west arterial and the speed at which traffic travels through the area. "As a parent of two children, having them cross Washington is a safety concern to me," said Suess. "Research shows that this type of infrastructure helps calm traffic. Traffic calming is good for pedestrians, but the bicyclists will be safer as well." In answering commission member Justin Boyd's question about whether bike lanes would hinder emergency vehicles on Washington Street, Bloomington Fire Chief Brian Mohr said in a written response that he doesn't see the bike lanes having "a significant impact" as long as public education about distracted driving continues. Safety concerns expressed were about collisions that could result from vehicles backing out of driveways, bicycles having to use the traffic lane where vehicles are parked in the shared parking/bicycle lane and issues with the narrower driving lanes, said Karch. Others said different routes, including on Grove Street, already exist for bicyclists in the area, and that they thought the project wastes city funds. "Let me say clearly and plainly that what occurred caused harm to many of our students and staff who recognized this as an act of antisemitism," the principal said. An ex-employee is suing McDonald's for discrimination and sexual harassment, claiming that she was verbally abused, groped, and barred from using both the men's and women's bathrooms during the six months that she worked there. According to the suit, La'Ray Reed experienced an onslaught of insults at the McDonald's she worked at in Michigan in 2015, from being referred to as a "boy slash girl" to having coworkers say things like "I would still have sex with you either way." She alleges her manager told a coworker to grope her between her legs (which the coworker did), and was also eventually banned from using both the men's and women's bathrooms. "I had never had a problem using the ladies room until this day," Reed told BuzzFeed. "When I came out the restroom, the manager told me I could no longer use either of the restrooms in the lobby." The manager said Reed could use an out-of-order toilet in the back of the restaurant that she was also expected to clean. Upper management apparently did nothing, even after Reed complained. Eventually, Reed was fired. Fight for $15, the workers' rights group currently in a legal battle with McDonald's, is stepping up to support Reed's case. The group has said Reed's complaints are similar to those of other employees, which shows that the restaurant has a "widespread pattern of sexual harassment, discrimination, and abuse" against LGBTQ employees. McDonald's on-going defense is that it is not a "joint employer" of its individual franchises, and so the mega corporation shirks legal responsibility for what happens at its many locations. This issue is currently being argued in court, but it's not looking great for workers as just last week the Trump administration's Department of Labor rolled back Obama-era guidelines holding corporate chains to greater accountability for employment practices. [h/t GrubStreet] Image via Getty This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions Iran calls on U.S. to fulfill commitments under nuclear deal 06/15/17 Source: Press TV Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the US needs to honor its commitments under the landmark nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries. Reza Najafi, Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA (file photo) Reza Najafi made the remarks while speaking to reporters in Vienna on Wednesday after an IAEA Board of Governors meeting, which focused on a report by the agency's chief, Yukiya Amano, on the implementation of the Iranian nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). During the session, "we said the way the US is dealing with its commitments under the JCPOA is not acceptable to Iran, and the US needs to live up to its obligations, Najafi said. The envoy said Iran's nuclear program was going ahead as per the JCPOA and that the latest IAEA report showed Iran's commitment to all of its obligations. The Iranian delegation, however, stressed during the meeting that the JCPOA would be "sustainable" only if all parties fulfilled their obligations stipulated in the deal, he added. Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China - plus Germany signed the JCPOA in July 2015 and started implementing it in January 2016. Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran. During his presidential campaign, US President Donald Trump had promised to ditch the nuclear accord which he referred to as a "disaster" and "the worst deal ever negotiated." The IAEA, which is monitoring the implementation of the JCPOA, has confirmed Iran's commitment to its obligations under the agreement. Iran in talks to sell excess heavy water Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian envoy said Iran was in talks with potential buyers to sell its excess heavy water. As part of the JCPOA, Iran is expected to keep its heavy water stockpile below 130 metric tonnes. The deal says all excess heavy water "will be made available for export to the international market based on international prices and delivered to the international buyer." The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in October last year that Iran had sold 32 tonnes of heavy water to the United States and delivered 38 tonnes of the nuclear substance to Russia. Ali Akbar Salehi also said in November 2016 that the country had transferred 11 tonnes of heavy water to Oman as part of its obligations under the JCPOA. Secretary of State Tillerson: U.S. Will Work To Bring Peaceful Transition In Iran 06/15/17 Source: RFE/RL Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson told House Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, June 14, that the United States policy towards Iran is based on support of internal forces who can bring about peaceful change. Secretary Tillerson spoke before the House Foreign Affairs Committee (watch the video) He was speaking at a hearing on the State Department policies and budget priorities, when Representative Ted Poe of Texas asked him about sanctioning Iran's Revolutionary Guards and U.S. policy towards Iran. Secretary Tillerson responded: "Well, our Iranian policy is under development. It's not yet been delivered to the president. But I would tell you that we certainly recognize Iran's continued destabilizing [role] in the region. Their payment of foreign fighters, their export of militia forces in Syria, in Iraq, in Yemen, their support of Hezbollah... And we are taking action to respond to Iran's hegemony." At this point, Tillerson explained Trump administration's possible responses towards Tehran's behavior and actions. "Additional sanctions, actions have been put in place against individuals and others. We continually review the merits both from the standpoint of diplomatic but also international consequences of designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in its entirety as a terrorist organization. As you know, we have designated Quds. Our policy towards Iran is to push back on this hegemony, contain their ability to develop, obviously, nuclear weapons and work towards support of those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government. Those elements are there, certainly as we know." Secretary Tillerson had already mentioned Iran in his opening remarks at the committee hearing. "The regime in Iran continues activities and interventions that destabilize the Middle East: support for the brutal Assad regime, funding militias and foreign fighters in Iraq and Yemen that 2 undermine legitimate governments, and arming terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, which threaten our ally Israel. We and our allies must counter Iran's aspirations of hegemony in the region." On Thursday, Iran's first reaction to Tillerson's remarks was delivered the foreign ministry. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi called US foreign policy towards Iran "confused" which could "easily be manipulated by wrong information." Specifically, he called Tillerson's remark about U.S. supporting internal elements for a peaceful transition,"unacceptable" and "interventionist". "Since the 1950s, the United States tried to meddle in Iranian affairs by different strategies such as staging a coup or supporting military intervention. All of their attempts failed," said Qassemi in response to the Rex Tillerson's remark in House Foreign Relations Committee. In the past four decades, the Islamic Republic has embarked on expanding its political, religious and military power throughout the Middle East. Particularly since the start of unrest in Syria, Iran has gradually intensified its interventions throughout the region, while holding nuclear negotiations with major powers and specifically with the U.S. These Iranian policies have caused deep concern among the region's Sunni countries and Israel. Israel hopes that the Trump administration will get tougher with Iran and has offered a plan to curtail Iran's presence in Syria. Set Microsofts Surface Pro (2017) next to its predecessor, the Surface Pro 4, and I defy you to tell the difference. With the same dimensions and weight, the two are virtually indistinguishablea kickstand that reclines further and a few cosmetic changes are all that separate them. What sells the new Surface Pro, though, is on the inside: a dramatic upgrade to the processor and graphics that propels it to the head of the 2-in-1 class. Microsoft built the Surface Pro around a new 7th-generation Kaby Lake processor and its associated Iris Plus integrated graphics, and boy, do they shine. Especially in graphics, the new Surface Pro (2017) almost doubles the performance of the two-year-old Surface Pro 4, and challenges notebooks like the original Surface Book and 15-inch HP Spectre x360, both of which use a dedicated graphics chip. Microsoft demands a hefty premium for that kind of performance, though. (For full specifications and prices of the new Surface Pro, see our separate article.) Not only is the fancy Alcantara-bound Signature Type Cover sold separately ($160), but the more sensitive Surface Pen is as well ($100). Add that to the whopping $2,199 that Microsoft asks for our review model, and you have to ask yourself, do I really want a Surface tablet, or could I save upwards of $700 buying a slightly heavier notebook? Mark Hachman / IDG Quickcan you tell the Surface Pro 4 from the new Surface Pro (2017)? The new ones on the left. Subtle changes distinguish the Surface Pro (2017) Because the new Surface Pro is so nearly identical to the Surface Pro 4, most differences are trivial: The front-facing camera now fades into the tablet bezel, for example, and the Surface Pro features a softer, rounded profile. (I only noticed these differences after Microsoft pointed them out, and I bet most users simply wont be aware of them.) The Surface Pro is also the first of Microsofts Surface products to ship with the Windows 10 Creators Update. The Signature Type Covers are pleasingly fuzzy, though the fabric tends to compress a bit, especially on the bottom, and collect dust. The color options are nice: platinum, burgundy, and cobalt blue, as well as the standard black. The new $100 Surface Pens ship in the same colors. The specifications should sound familiar. The new Surface Pro measures 11.5 x 7.9 x 0.33 inches, the same as the Surface Pro 4, and weighs between 2.37 and 2.41 pounds. Our calipers found the Surface Pro 4 to be 0.327 inches thin, versus 0.345 inches for the Surface Pro. Mark Hachman / IDG A cleaner exhaust grille is one of the subtle touches that distinguishes the new Surface Pro (2017). Oh, and theres a headphone jack, too. As tested, our versionwith a 2.5GHz Core i7-7660, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of speedy NVMe storageweighed 1.74 pounds for the tablet alone, and 2.40 pounds with the Signature Type Cover keyboard. Thats the same weight and dimensions as the Surface Pro 4, already one of the lightest Windows tablets on the market. And dont forget about the integrated Iris Plus Graphics 640 on the Core i7 model (HD Graphics 620 for the Core i5), which adds some real oomph. Likewise, the screens are identical: a 12.3-inch PixelSense display, with a resolution of 2,7361,824 (267 PPI). Heres one difference: the Surface Pro includes an enhanced color profile, like the Surface Studio, versus the standard sRGB color display. Under Enhanced mode, the colors pop a bit more, while in sRGB they appear a bit more washed-out. (The Surface Studio includes a Vivid color mode, which Microsoft says is different than the Enhanced mode. It takes the mid-tones as close to P3-D65 color gamut as possible while leaving skin tones as is, according to a spokeswoman.) Mark Hachman / IDG The microSD slot returns to the new Surface Pro, hidden behind the kickstand. Internal differences are slight as well. Both tablets contain 802.11ac, along with Bluetooth 4.0 for the SP4 and Bluetooth 4.1 for the new Surface Pro. The benefits of the upgraded Bluetooth will become more apparent once Microsoft releases the planned Surface Pro with LTE variant later this year, as Bluetooth 4.1 signals dont interfere with LTE. The cameras of both the new Surface Pro and the older Surface Pro 4 appear identical (5MP on the front, 8MP on the rear), and an appropriate resolution for the form factor. The SP4s rear-facing camera delivered richer color, however, and camera fans should consider the 13MP camera within the Samsung Galaxy Book instead. Most importantly, the Surface Pros front-facing camera is Windows Hello-enabled and lightning-quick, thanks in part to a second front-facing sensor that isnt present on the Surface Pro 4. Mark Hachman / IDG No USB-C connectors here. Fortunately (or not, depending upon your perspective) Microsoft sticks with the traditional Surface I/O complement: the Surface connector, a miniDisplayPort connector, and a full-sized USB-A connector. A microSD card slot hides under the kickstand, as before. The Surface connector allows Surface owners to attach peripherals that theyve already owned, like the standalone Surface Dock and charger. I think thats a smart decision, whereas the Samsung Galaxy Books wholesale commitment to USB-C is a mistake. In any event, you know what youre buying when you purchase a Surface. A mini-Surface Studio Externally, the key difference between the two Microsoft tablets is that the new Surface Pro kickstand now folds back to 15 degrees off the horizontal, what Microsoft calls Studio mode. This refers to Microsofts Surface Studio, the massive all-in-one desktop whose touch display also dramatically reclines to just a slight angle. If you own a Surface Dial, the new Surface Pro also allows you to use the device directly on the screen, something that had previously been reserved just for the Surface Studio. Mark Hachman / IDG The new Surface Pro (2017) reclines further than the older Surface Pro 4. Fortunately, the hinge is strong enough to take your palms weight, though it can sag a bit. Both the increased keyboard pitch and the Surface Dial integration are designed with inking in mind, either using the existing Surface Pen or the upgraded model. I didnt notice the Dial slide down the screen as it does on the Studio, though it simply takes up a bit too much real estate to be as useful as it is on Microsofts massive all-in-one. Though Microsoft upgraded its Surface Pen to increase the levels of pressure to 4,096, it did so by making the Pen slightly less useful. The new Pen does away with the pen clip. Instead, Microsoft depends on the magnetic strip on the side of the Pen to secure it, which simply proves impractical over time. I still wish there were a pen loop! Otherwise, the upgraded Pen still uses a AAAA battery with a one-year lifespan. Just as importantly, it retained its ability to erase digital ink, a feature not every stylus includes. It inks just as well as the original Pen and comes with tilt support as well, generating a broader ink stroke. Microsofts new Pen also reduces inking latency to 21 ms. That was impossible for us to confirm, but digital ink flows off the Pen without any noticeable lagmore important as Microsoft makes pen navigation a more integral part of Windows. Mark Hachman / IDG The new Surface Pen is just as comfortable to hold as the new model. Remember that the upcoming Fall Creators Update includes a Find My Pen feature. Other than the fabric, I cant discern any major difference between the Surface Pro 4s keyboard and that of the new Surface Pro. (For some reason, however, Microsoft did away with the Insert key.) I preferred the Surface Pro 3 keyboard, and the way in which my fingers simply glided over the keys. But neither the keyboard nor the new Surface Pros trackpad hide any flaws, and theyre both efficient and comfortable to type upon for long periods of time. Mark Hachman / IDG I enjoy the surface Dial, but it feels a little forced upon the Surface Pro. Performance: Blazing fast, but at a price Heres one of the most impressive features of the new Surface Pro: From a graphics perspective, it offers the performance of the original Surface Book, together with its custom, discrete-GPU base. It vastly outperforms the two-year-old Surface Pro 4though with a few caveats. For one thing, our older Surface Pro 4 used a Core i5, rather than a top-of-the-line Core i7. And the performance increases, as impressive as they are, are largely confined to graphics-intensive applications. In the generic PCMark 8 Work benchmark, for example, I noted just a 10 percent improvement over the Surface Pro 4. From a performance standpoint, then, upgrading from the Surface Pro 4 to the Surface Pro makes sense only if you plan to use the Surface Pro for games, image rendering, or similar tasks. IDG Microsofts Surface Pro (2017) is powerful enough to smoothly play some older games, like Batman: Arkham City. Still, the Surface Pro isnt a machine that just checks the boxes, using components with minimal performance in the service of simply filling out a spec sheet. Looking back over our database of tested products, for example, its internal Samsung KUS040202M-B000 NVMe provides among the fastest read speeds weve tested: 1,702 MBps, according to the CrystalMark 5.0.3 benchmark. The new Surface Pros performance, though, comes at a significant price. According to our testing, the Surface Pro 4 doesnt suffer any thermal degradationthe tablet runs at the same performance level throughout. While testing the new Surface Pro under prolonged load (such as a looped benchmark or game) its fan turns on and the tablet will clock down, reducing performance in 3DMark, for example, by about 24 percent to over 33 percent. The rear of our tablet, near the top, also gets quite hot. Microsoft told us that it only expected a drop of about 20 percent or so, and advised us that we may have a defective device. We plan to rerun these benchmarks with a new Surface Pro, and well update the review when we do. In the following graphs, weve compared the new Surface Pro (2017) to several Windows tablets, ultrabooks, and laptops, with a range of processors and graphics options. Weve highlighted the new Surface Pro (2017) in bright red, and the Surface Pro 4 in a darker red. Weve also used different colors to showcase the Microsoft Surface Book, both the original 2015 edition (yellow) and the 2016 Performance Base (orange). Otherwise, We always run the PCMark suite of benchmarks, which measure three different workloads: Work, Home, and Creative. Both the Home and Creative workloads include Web browsing and light gaming, while the Creative benchmark throws in media transcoding as well. The upshot here is as the workloads become more graphics-intensive, the Surface Pros value increases. IDG IDG Though you might expect the Surface Book to top the list of Microsoft products, remember that the Surface Pro 2017 is using a more modern processor. That apparently makes a difference in the Creative benchmark. IDG From there, we move on to measuring more specific tasks. Maxons Cinebench measures how well a processor and graphics chip render scenes, and we use it to push the Core i7-7660Us two cores and four threads to their ultimate. Again, the Surface Pro 2017 performs surprisingly well. You cant consider the Surface Pro to be a gaming laptop by any stretch, but the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (not included), a Core i5 notebook with a GTX 1050 Ti GPU, reports a Cinebench score of 478. IDG We also test how the processor fares over time using the Handbrake benchmark, which transcodes a major Hollywood film from a MKV format into something that could be watched on a plane. Again, the Surface Pro is at the top of the heap. IDG Finally, we tested using 3DMarks SkyDiver, a traditional benchmark for midrange laptops and some gaming PCs. Microsofts choice of the Core i7/Iris Plus combo works great here, though Microsofts Surface Book with Performance Base still rules the roost. But look at how the new Surface Pro tablet beats the original Surface Book! Again, though, our results were thermally dependent. If we stressed the system for a length of time, enough to turn the fan on, the Surface Pro would generate sharply lower 3DMark benchmark scores. Its worth noting that the Surface Pro 4 does not suffer from thermal throttling, and we checked it again to make sure. IDG Benchmarks are benchmarks, though. Dont expect to be able to play the latest Battlefield game at its highest detailed settings. Im a fan of playing older single-player games on the cheap, though, and games like the original Tomb Raider reboot topped 42 frames per second on 1080p/High settings. Batman: Arkham City also generated 48 fps on 1080p settings, with even better frame rates when you dialed down the resolution a bit. My only concern is how the thermals would hold up over prolonged gameplay. IDG IDG Of all the surprises that the Surface Pro (2017) offered, one of the most interesting was in battery life. Given that the dimensions of the new Surface Pro left little, if any, room for additional battery cells, it still surprised me that its 45Whr battery ran down over the course of eight hours, substantially more than the Surface Pro 4. Still, thats way short of the 13.5 hours Microsoft promised, even though we both test using video rundowns that loop video until the machine dies. (If it matters, Microsoft used a Core i5 in its tests, not the Core i7 machine we tested. Differences in screen brightness could also help explain the discrepancies, as well as the possibility that Microsoft inadvertently loaned us a defective machine.) Conclusion: The competition is catching up By leaving the new Surface Pro largely unchanged from its predecessor, Microsoft may imply that it cant be improved upon. I disagree. The obvious thermal issues are one area where the new Surface Pro has regressed, and I still believe that Lenovos X1 Tablet offers a superior kickstand design. That might be academic, of course, because Microsoft now offers a true notebook: the Surface Laptop. Despite Microsofts claim that its Surface Pro is a laptop, the Surface Laptop undeniably offers the superior lapability experience. Were obligated to point out these flaws. On balance, however, Microsoft has crafted a winning Windows tablet. The new Surface Pro is pricey, though a $999 Core i5 version Microsoft sells may be far more affordable. The Surface Pro absolutely excels under short, bursty applications, though performance tends to suffer when the fan kicks in. Though the battery life falls short of the 13.5 hours Microsoft promises, its still better than the older Surface Pro 4. I thought about whether the new Surface Pro (2017) deserved a full four stars, and finally decided against it. True, other tablets lack the Surface Dial integration and dont lean back quite so far. That, for me, doesnt change the game. Microsoft has simply made an improved Surface Pro 4 for Surface Pro 4 fans. Meanwhile, through each successive generation, competition has grown more intense. Thats fineMicrosoft intended to break trail with its Surface devices, but always acknowledged that it was leading other hardware makers into the market. Its possible that Microsoft may simply offer incremental improvements to its tablets going forward. Thats left a window of opportunity to the competition. I endorsed Microsofts leap into the Surface Pro 3, and still believe that the Surface Pro 4 represents Microsofts best Windows tablet. At the time, however, I wondered whether the others would catch up. They have. I still recommend the new Surface Pro (2017), but Id also encourage you to check out the competition. Updated at August 3, 2018 with some details and clarifications. Parliament has passed the Customs Amendment bill, despite protests from the minority arguing that the bill breaches the constitution. The law seeks to scrap duties on both old and new spare parts brought into the country. During the consideration of the bill Tuesday June 13, 2017, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu argued that the bill flouts the constitution and disrespects ECOWAS leaders. But the Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, however, disagreed arguing that the bill was properly put before the House. The bill was consequently passed on Wednesday June 14, 2017 to scrap the duties on spare parts exempting duties on vehicle tyres. Ghanas Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, during his presentation of the 2017 national budget statement and economic policy in Parliament, announced among others some twelve tax scrapping and in some cases a reduction. The Finance Minister announced that the import levy on spare parts will be abolished Source: kasapafmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Everyones wish is to have an ultra flexible, high resilience polyurethane foam mattress covered with Belgium jacquard quilts that provides excellent relaxation and body support to sleep on. However, if you are planning to purchase an anti-stress pressure reducing memory foam mattress made of advanced hypo-allergenic fungi and anti-microbial visco-elastic foam in Accra [Makola market] and its environs, then you have to think twice or visit an accredited manufacturer for your orthopedic mattress. Finished product of mattresses sold in the market of Accra looks eye-catching to the buyer but what is under the mattress toppers will amaze you. Peacefmonline.com investigations have exposed local mattress manufacturers at Tudu, a suburb of Accra in the Greater Accra Region who repackage already used wet rotten mattresses for the market. Our reporter who spent hours at the manufacturers location with a hidden camera gathered that the young men buy the garbage dumped rotten mattresses from local sanitation officers and repackage it differently to look attractive for innocent buyers. They however transport the polish on dirty mattresses to big stores in Makola market and some parts of Accra for sale with accredited companies logos stitched to them. An anonymous eyewitness of the illegal mattress manufacturers proceeds told our reporter that Big cars always come here at dawn to transport the mattresses. This thing has been going on for long but we dont know who to report to. They [Manufacturers] are dangerous as well so we get scared to report them. Peacefmonline.com also gathered that, the illegal producers also repackage used pillows from landfill site. Worn-out Mattress Transformed To New Ones Worn-out Mattress Transformed To New Ones Worn-out Mattresses Worn-out Mattresses Worn-out Mattresses Worn-out Mattress Gentleman sitting behind already transformed mattress Gentleman sitting behind already transformed mattress 0 Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007 Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Lawyer for DSP Emmanuel Basintale and three other colleagues who were indicted in a Ghc1.3 million gold scam, Kissi Agyabeng has accused the Ghana Police Service of treating his clients unfairly. He is demanding that the police service apologise and reinstate his clients because they (police) have made a mistake. The then commander-in-charge of the East Legon Police Station, DSP Emmanuel Basintale, and six other junior police officers were arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for their alleged involvement in a gold fraud in March, 2017. Three months after the arrest and interdiction of the suspects, the victims claim nothing has been done in terms of prosecution. speaking in an interview on Citi Eyewitness news, Wednesday, Lawyer Agyabeng said: they (police) have been treating them (clients) as suspectsThey (clients) should be part of the solution rather they have been unfairly rolled in as part of the problem. They started in the investigation; they effected the arrest, they took the statement of these suspects who are now on the run and they put them before courtand if you will turn around, demonise them and make them suspects and free the actual suspects only for you to turn around months later and declare the same suspects that you freed as wanted men, you clearly have made a mistake, you should accept that mistake, apologise to my clients and reinstate them but not to engage in conducts of insisting that you are right when clearly you are wrong. Service enquiry DSP Emmanuel Basintale and his three other colleagues are to face a police service enquiry for misconduct following their alleged involvement in a GH1.3 million gold deal. However, according to Lawyer Agyabeng, conducting a service enquiry will be an illegality and a violation of C.I 76. It is a figment of someones imagination because the police service regulation 2012; CI76 says that disciplinary proceedings should be held within three months of interdiction and if after the three months no enquiry has been instituted, then automatically, the IGP should revoke the interdiction and reinstate the officers to assume duties again. There is no discretion about it. So if you sit down for the three months to expire; anything done after the three months period is unlawful; its illegal. It is a police service, they should uphold the law instead of breaking it..." Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Parliament on Wednesday threw the searchlight on the threat of global terrorism, querying how prepared the nation was to deal adequately with the phenomenon should it strike in the wake of recent attacks in some neighbouring countries in the West Africa. Members queried the level of the security of the House itself, the hotels, the shopping malls, the universities and the beaches among others and citing the reason for terrorist attacks in some East African countries, pointed out that the nation was not safe because it also contributed to peace-keeping missions across the world, for which some of those countries had been attacked. The issue took centre-stage following a statement by Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu and Ranking Member on Foreign Affairs. He said: Right Honourable Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to make this statement which seeks to denounce terrorism, solidarise with sister nations affected in these horrific times and share some perspectives on the global fight against terror. Mr Speaker, depraved terrorists are determined to make 2017 another year of senseless terror. Only last week, the Parliament and Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini in Iran were attacked killing 17 people and leaving 52 injured. Before this, Britain came under another attack in as many months when terrorists armed with a van and knives inflicted mindless horror on pedestrians on London Bridge and the Borough Market leaving eight dead and 48 injured. This happened at a time Britain and the world were yet to recover from the shock of the Manchester Arena bombing that claimed the lives of 22 persons and injuring 116 concert goers most of whom were teenagers. Preceding this was the vehicle and stabbing attack at Westminster that left five dead and 49 injured. Earlier in April, Russia was at the mercy of a suicide bomber who blew up Saint Petersburg Metro on the day Vladimir Putin was due to visit the city, killing 16 people and injuring 64. Mr Speaker, other nations such as the United States of America, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, India, Australia, Colombia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria, Egypt, Mali and Libya have not been spared this evil visitation. Indeed, thus far, in 2017 alone, Wikipedia's tracking of terrorists attacks on its Lists of Terrorist Incidents concludes as follows: January recorded a total of 156 incidents, February recorded a total of 117 incidents, March recorded a total of 106 incidents, April recorded a total of 99 incidents, May recorded a total of 152 incidents with June so far recording 47 incidents. In essence, 2017 has so far recorded a scaringly mind boggling 677 terrorists incidents and we are only in the middle of the year. Without a scintilla of doubt, the global fight against terror must engage the attention and effort of all of mankind including this Parliament. Mr Ablakwa reminded the House that an attack on any citizen of the world and on any nation must equally be an attack on us, and we share a common humanity and these incidents diminish humanity in its universality, and it ought not to be lost on Ghanaians that the effects of this terror jamboree even when we are not directly victims impacts adversely on our daily lives. The downright humiliation we go through at airport checkpoints when travelling since 9/11 is a clear example. The invasion of our privacy by Governments and the global intelligence community has left all of us virtually naked in the current scheme of things. The North Tongu Legislator cautioned against the temptation to assume that because Ghana has so far escaped unscathed, it may not be a target of terrorist organisations, which might make the nation opt for a business as usual approach. The reality is that modern terrorism is a messy free for all without boundaries and limitations and no country or nationality stands immuned, Mr Ablaka said, and urged the House to ensure that it offered all the assistance Members could marshal to support all three arms of Government in protecting the nations territorial integrity and guaranteeing safety of all Ghanaian lives. Mr Speaker, in this fight against global terror, we must begin to make some honest admissions. We must concede that we have not been that successful in this fight because we are not confronting certain hard truths. Though there can be no justification for terrorism, all nations must commit to building a fair and just world. We cannot continue to actively fund and resource terrorist groups to fight our enemies on our behalf in myopic suicidal proxy wars in Syria, Libya and Iraq and still expect to achieve positive results in the war against terror. He commended the nine Arab countries who last week cut diplomatic ties with Qatar demanding that Qatar stops funding terrorist groups, and called for more of this to happen even to the greatest of nations who stand implicated in tacitly supporting terrorist organisations and their warped ideologies when it suits these nations. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A Kumasi-based businessman has been fingered as a key suspect by the family of the 78-year-old hotel owner who was stabbed to death on Monday. Relatives of late Anthony Owusu Adomako, who suspect contract killing, have since filed a complaint with the police. They cite the businessman (name withheld) as a close business associate of the murdered hotel owner. Relatives point to previous violent exchanges between Mr Adomako and his business partner as grounds for their suspicion in the callous murder. They say before his death Mr Adomako accused the suspect of cheating him in a business deal amounting to some thousands of Ghana cedis. A few weeks before the attack that cost the life of Mr Adomako, a disagreement erupted between the two over the failure of the businessman to fully honour his part of that deal, the relatives say. The proprietor of Coconut Guest House died on arrival at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital after a masked man stabbed him several times in the lobby of the hotel at about 11 p.m. on Monday. A receptionist on duty had led the assailant at knife-point from the reception to the lobby where Mr. Owusu Adomako was relaxing after close of work. The 52-year-old receptionist reportedly locked the deceased and the assailant in whilst he sought help unsuccessfully from outside. Police have confirmed receipt of information from the family which is likely to influence their investigations but they will not give details. Public Relations Officer at the Ashanti Regional Command, ASP Juliana Obeng, says the family has given police some clues. They [family] have spoken to us but it is something that we want to keep under our sleeves, she said. According to her, police could sooner or later go after the businessman who Nhyira News sources say owns a chain of businesses scattered across the Ashanti Region capital and other parts of the country. We are in touch with the family...They have given us some leads and at the appropriate time we are going to move on that lead or that piece of information that the family has given us, she said. Meanwhile, the Coconut Guest House remains closed. Source: JFM/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul says Ghana remains vulnerable to the threat of terror attacks despite indications the country is safe. He told Parliament Wednesday, "Ghana is not as safe as we think." Mr. Nitiwul was contributing to a statement on the floor of parliament by North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on global terrorism. Mr. Nitiwul says the security agencies are increasing patrols along the borders and expanding intelligence sharing as part of efforts to keep the country safe. He urged citizens to report suspicious activities of persons and groups including religious groups. While there have been no recent attacks in Ghana, terror groups in West Africa have demonstrated their capability and intent by mounting attacks. In 2015 and 2016 in Cote dIvoire, Burkina Faso and Mali, terrorist groups targeted beach resorts, hotels, cafes and restaurants visited by foreigners. Groups associated with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Islamic State of Libya and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) present a threat to the wider region. In 2015, a 25-year-old graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Nazir Nortei Alema left the country to join the swelling ranks of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a terrorist organisation. With a degree in Geography and Rural Development, he is one of the 10 suspected Muslim youth from Ghana who have finally taken the decision to join the terrorist grouping, Mohammed Nazir Nortei Alema was reportedly killed in battle in the Syrian city of Homs in 2016. According to sources close to the family, another Ghanaian ISIS recruit who gave his name as Mr Yusif, a graduate of the University of Mines in Prestea, announced Mr Nazirs death to the family through an email. Dominic Nitiwul Source: myjoyonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Dr Sheikh Amen Bonsu, National Chairman of the Ghana Muslim Mission, (GMM) has called on Ghanaians especially Muslims to desist from taking the law into their owns hands and engaging in mob justice. He said justice was only to be administered by the law enforcement agencies and not individuals, condemning the act, especially when the Holy Quran preached against taking the lives of other human beings. He said Islam was a religion of peace and the Holy Quran enjoined Muslims to be law abiding people and should live in peace with everyone, wherever they found themselves. Dr Bonsu made this observation at one of the Ramadan tefsir series organised for members of the GMM in the Greater Accra Region over the weekend. He said Ramadan was a period where Muslims were to submit totally to Allah, through continuous prayers as well as supplications, recitation of the Holy Quran and dig righteous deeds. He said Allah when he created man breath into him his spirit which later became the human soul, and as such every Muslim must ensure that the God given soul in him or her was in a pure state. Dr Bonsu said let us ensure that our hearts are always pure, in order to always be close to our maker. Let us worship Allah in all we do, and be mindful of our deeds whereever we are, having in mind that we would be accountable for our deeds one day. Fasting in the month of Ramadan as part of the five pillars of Islam also seeks to boost the immune system since science has also proven that keeping fast also helps reduce toxic substances in the body. Dr Bonsu encouraged members to try and keep fast to help their immune system. He encouraged them to ensure to keep and apply the good morals that Ramadan brings, and abstain from all acts of evil even after the month of fasting was over. He also urged Muslims to keep on praying for the nation, in this holy month. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Seidu Fuseini, a Fulani Herdsman based in Tatale in the Northern Region has allegedly absconded with 40 cows and a motorbike belonging to some of the residents who gave him the cattle to take care of. The herdsman is suspected to have rustled the cattle to either Togo, Benin, Nigeria or Burkina Faso. Mr Kalingnu Yaachie, one of the owners of the cattle mentioned other owners as;, Giwah Npong, Maliya Bayim, Kofi Ali Jimba, Badalibu Mensah, Kwabena Yaw Boy and Tafaribow Tating. Mr Yaachie who was briefing the media at Tatale in the Tatale/Sanguli District of the Northern Region indicated that the Fulani man had been taking care of their cattle for the past 10 years and they least expected him to abscond with their animals. Narrating his personal ordeal, Mr Yaachie said the Fulani man borrowed his motorbike to travel to Kparibotabu, a village in the district to pick up his wife, but never returned. He said when he followed up to the herdsmans house the next morning, he realised that the house was empty, and both the cattle and motorbike were nowhere to be found. He said he then returned and reported to the Tatale Police before mounting a search. Obore Gariba Yankosor II, the Paramount Chief of Tatale Traditional Council Area said the activities of the Fulani herdsmen in the area were becoming a worry especially coming at the heels of an attack that was mounted on the traders of the Tatale Township a month ago. He said recently Armed Robbers suspected to be Fulanis attacked traders in the Tatale market and collected their phones, money and killed four residents during a shoot-out. Obore Yankosor II therefore appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to register all the Fulanis in their areas and issue them with identity cards so that they would be able to monitor their activities. He also advised the residents who have their cattle with Fulanis to have their photographs so that whenever they escape with their cattle they can look for them both in Ghana and neighbouring countries with the photographs. He appealed to the people in Togo to assist the owners of the cattle to arrest the Fulani man if he is seen in their area. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mr Kwame Takyi, has made major changes in the Ghana Immigration Service, affecting some long serving Senior Officers at some of its commands. In the latest shake-up, thirty-three Senior Officers with various portfolios at designated Commands in the Immigration Service were affected. DSI Michael Amoako-Atta, the Acting Head of Public Affairs Unit of GIS, told the Ghana News Agency that Chief Superintendent Chief /Superintendent Samuel Basintale who had served in the KIA Sector Command as the Second-In-Command for a long time has now been moved to Operations at the Headquarters. The Officer-In-Charge of Intelligence at the KIA Sector Command, Chief Superintendent. Beatrice Okpoti moves to Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region as the OIC of Intelligence and Chief Superintendent Thomas Ewuntomah of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region heads to the office of the Comptroller-General. Other affected Officers, he said, are the second in charge of Cape Coast in the Central Region, Chief Superintendent Ahmed Musah, who joins the Enforcement Unit in the Greater Accra Region as the Officer In-Charge and Superintendent Nana Annor Asemah who was the OIC of Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region heads to the Tema Regional Command. DSI Amoako-Atta said Supt David Asiedu Asante of the Aflao Sector Command in the Volta Region, is now the OIC of Zebila in the Upper East Region while Supt. Dilys Baye of Kumasi has been transferred to the Tema Regional Command. Supt. Emmanuel Ntim Dankyi of the KIA Sector Command is now headed to Oda in the Eastern Region as the OIC, Supt. Vera Arizie of the KIA Sector Command moves to Operations at the Headquarters and Deputy Superintendent of Immigration (DSI) Philip Kpende of the Administration at the Headquarters is now transferred to Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, he added. He said Chief Superintendent, Lydia Achel, OIC/INTEL Kumasi has been moved to KIA as OIC/INTEL, whiles C/SUPT. Fred Baah Dudoo, 2IC/Koforidua heads to KIA as second in command. According to DSI Amoako-Atta the changes take immediate effect. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) would be in place within two weeks, the Minister of The Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery has announced. He said the Ministry had forwarded the list of competent persons for appointment as GRB Board Members to the Presidency, which was currently receiving attention from the Council of State. Mr Dery made this known on Wednesday in Accra during a familiarization tour of the GRB. The Minister, who is currently embarking on a familiarization tour of Departments and Agencies under his Ministry, was accompanied by his Deputy, Mr Henry Quartey and the Chief Director of the Ministry, Mrs Adelaide Anno-Kumi. The tour has already taken the team to the National Peace Council and the Narcotic Control Board. The GRB was established under the Ghana Refugee Law 1992 (PNDC Law 305D), and is charged with the management of activities relating to refugees in Ghana. Mr Dery said the government wanted to handle things based on facts; adding that you first have to understand the problem before attempting to find the solution. He said there was no country which had problem free refugee administration situation; stating that at least for us in Ghana we are alive to our obligation as a member of the international community and we do not throw people out, the way some of our people are being thrown out of other countries. As I speak to you today 63 Ghanaians are expected from the US. I believe that if we were also less considerate we probably would have sent some people out. He said the Ministry had had discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) and the European Union about legal and illegal migrations, during which he made it clear to them that Ghana was not only a source but also a destination for refugees. He appealed to Ghanaians to help combat the human trafficking situation in the county. Mr Kofi Anani, the Executive Secretary, GRB said by the close of 2016 about 80 per cent of refugees living in Ghana had returned to their home. He said currently, there were about 14,000 refugees living in Ghana, of which two-thirds were living in the four refugee camps: Buduburam in the Central Region, Fetentaa in the Brong Ahafo, Krisan and Ampain in the Western Region. He said of the total number of refugees in the country, 50 per cent were willing to go back, whereas 48 per cent were undecided with the two per cent not willing to go back. He explained that some of the refugees were living with families and friends in the cities and towns. Mr Anani said due to resource constraints, the GRB was finding it very difficult to meet all the needs of the refugees in the various camps. He said the GRB was working in collaboration with the World Bank and the UNHCR to see how best they would address the refugee situation in Ghana. He said the composition of the GRB Board was urgent in order to enable Refugee Status Determination to be carried out. He mentioned that there were some outstanding appeals by rejected asylum seekers; stating that appeals against the Boards decisions had been outstanding for a long time. He said their current office space, which is a rented facility was inadequate and unsuitable; stating that the Ghana Refugee Board was unstaffed. Dr Anani said the Buduburam Verifcation Committee, which had been dissolved now, was unable to sit due to lack of resources; he therefore, appealed to the Minister to ensure that it was reconstituted. He announced that the GRB in collaboration with the UNHCR would be observing the World Refugee Day Celebration on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. An elated Dr Anani also announced to the gathering that for the first time since the establishment of the Ghana Refugee Board, approval had been received from government for the purchase of an official vehicle. Mr Tetteh Padi, GRB Programme Coordinator, cited the case of former refugees from Benin (mostly Togolese) who had been formally integrated in Benin but had now relocated to Ghana and were seeking refugees status. He said the Board was facing logistical constraints such as vehicles, which was hampering their operations. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Professor Ama Ata Aidoo, a renowned Writer, on Wednesday called on the Government to close all witches camps in the country and resettle the women with their families by the end of the year. She expressed worry about the ill-treatment most women who were labeled as witches went through in society which infringed on their fundamental human rights. Professor Aidoo made the call during her contribution to a panel discussion at the 2017 National Dialogue organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on the theme; Restoring the Ghanaian Identity: Our Values; Our Passion. The forum provided a platform for Ghanaians to discuss values that defined them as people and called for restoration of these cherished values to engender national development. Some eminent personalities that took part in the panel discussion included Professor Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe, Professor Steven Adei and Mr K .B Asante. The meeting was chaired by Nana Kobina Nketsia V, Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area. Prof. Aidoo cited a 67-year-old woman who was recently lynched at the Pelungu Market in the Upper East Region on Monday, May 29, and said such inhuman practices must be condemned by all well-meaning Ghanaians so as to create a safe environment for the citizenry. She said those practices were negative and must not be tolerated and called for all hands on deck to fight against the menace. On the issue of mob justice, she said it was atrocious to visit instant justice on individuals perceived to have offended society and that those actions did not define the dignified Ghanaian. She explained that values such as obedience to the rule of law, tolerance, nationalism, respect, courtesy, discipline, hard work, and decency amongst Ghanaians had dwindled and there was the need to restore and build those positive values for national development. Mr K.B Asante, a Senior Statesman, said law breakers must be dealt with in accordance with the law without shielding offenders. He said leaders must set examples worthy of emulation by being punctual, accountable, disciplined and eschew corrupt practices adding that those were but a few values that could build their integrity. Professor Steven Adei, Dean of Arts and Sciences of Ashesi University, proposed a seven strategic approach to instill positive values in people beginning from the home, schools and institutions. He mentioned core fundamental values such as responsibility, tolerance, discipline and courtesy, mobilising progressive forces for a positive crusade, and strengthening institutions that are mandated to champion the efforts of restoring the national identity. Prof. Adei said there was need to strategically incorporate the fundamental values into a national programme which the Government and leadership of religious organisations and corporate institutions must rally behind to build a stable nation. He said the NCCE must be supported to effectively deliver its core constitutional mandate especially carrying out civic education in the schools and society. The event brought together people from all walks of life including security agencies, the diplomatic corps, representatives of religious institutions, traditional rulers, students, and the Council of State. The participants urged the government to introduce civic education at the basic level to inculcate civic responsibility in pupils. They called on parents to instill positive societal values in their children such as punctuality, honesty, accountability, and fairness. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghana stands to lose United States assistance and possible sanctions as the nations consistent ranking as a tier-two watch list country in child labour continues. The country has been ranked in the second tier for the second year in a row, and has thus been noted by the US Department of State for not fully meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in person, including child labour. The revelation was made by the Chief of Party of the USAID Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SFMP), Maurice Knight, at a durbar at Apam in the Gomoa West District in the Central Region, to commemorate this years World Day against Child Labour. The durbar, dabbed Eliminating Child Labour and Trafficking in our Vulnerable Community is Our Duty, was a USAID Ghana/Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SFMP) programme that featured school children, fishermen and fishmongers in and around Apam. The campaign against child labour and slavery aims at educating parents in fishing communities on dangers of child labour in fishing, with the ultimate goal of keeping children in fishing areas in the classroom. Clarifying what the US State Department means by child labour, Mr. Knight said, When we speak of child labour and slavery, we are not talking about children who are helping their parents with their chores before and after school. It is the exploitation from traffickers and others who promises parents of children as young as five years old that they will provide children with an education and an apprenticeship, and then exploit or sell those children into modern day slavery. It is estimated that there are over 2.7 million child labourers in Ghana, and that the largest employers of child labour in Ghana are in the fishing, cocoa and artisanal mining sectors. He has urged the government of Ghana to seriously improve on its efforts aimed at stamping out child labour in the fishing, mining and farming sectors to create a better future for the children of Ghana. The District Chief Executive of the Gomoa West District, Hon Bismark Baisie Nkum, called on chief fishermen, chairmen of landing beach committees and all fisher folks to rally behind the campaign by monitoring and reporting any act of child labour and trafficking identified in the fishing communities to the police or the District Assembly for necessary action to be taken. Hon. Nkum further advised parents to eschew trafficking, noting they should realize that the immediate solution to (their) poverty is not selling (their) children for money which will end them into slavery or child labour in different communities. Source: citifmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The people of Lesotho are mourning the tragic loss of their first lady, Lipolelo Thabane. The estranged wife of incoming Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane was shot dead this morning, just two days before his inauguration. The 58-year-old was traveling home with a friend when both women were shot by an unknown assailant, the police say. The police add that details surrounding the killing are still sketchy but an investigation is already on to arrest those who have a hand in it. The incoming prime minister and his late wife had been living separately since 2012 after they filed for divorce which hasnt been granted yet. But she won a high court battle against her husband to secure the privileges of a First Lady, instead of Mr. Thabanes youngest wife, Liabiloe, reports the AFP news agency. Samonyane Ntsekele, the secretary-general of Mr. Thabanes All Basotho Convention party, told AFP that the prime minister was devastated by the shooting. Everyone is traumatised by these developments, he said. Thomas Thabane was last week Friday elected Prime Minister of Lesotho after he emerged as the winner of 48 parliamentary but short of the 61 needed to form a government. Source: Reuters Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Maverick politician Kennedy Agyepong, will soon runaway from the country if the current state of purported insecurity persists, Alhaji Bature Iddrissu, Managing Editor of the Al Hajj Newspaper has asserted. He said the current insecurity in the country is making Ghana descending into a failed state and Kennedy Agyepong will be among the first batch of persons to vacate the country and lose their investments if security finally breaks down. Kennedy Agyepiong will soon leave the country for America. If security breaks down he will lose all his businesses and run to America, he disclosed on Adom TV on Monday. Alhaji Bature said the lawlessness in the country involving party vigilante groups has reached its peak calling on security agencies to endeavor to nib such acts in the bud. For almost 2 months the MCE for Savelugu has not been able to gain entry into her office because party footsoldiers have locked her out. She operates from the comfort of her home. How can we run a country like that? Look at what is happening at the Tamale Teaching Hospital is that what the NPP and Nana Addo promised Ghanaians, he asked. While indicating that the upsurge in lawlessness is as a result of the work of President Nana Ado Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he alleged that he himself is lawless cataloging how he unleashed thugs on members of his own party he disagreed with. What is happening in the country is frightening. He sits down here and run down the National Security Minister . The lawlessness is too much. See how vigilante groups are harassing public servants and state institutions. I am telling you that Ghana is on a time bomb. A country is not ruled on violence. There is breakdown of law and order that enforcement of common traffic regulations cannot be done, he added. Source: mynewsgh.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Felix Mensah Nii Annang-La, has laughed off a projection by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that it will return to power in 2020. According to the Mayor, the partys hasty declaration of a comeback, less than six months into the administration of President Nana Akufo-Addo, shows that the leadership of the NDC was still offering false hopes to its followers. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said, My memory serves me very right because it is less than six months since the election. We all remember the NDC leaders in and out of the EC strong room constantly telling their followers that the party was in a comfortable lead even though they knew they were losing. And we saw how eventually they had to confess and apologize to their followers that they were doing a political talkit is the same people who are today telling their followers that the NPP will be handing over power in 2020. Mr Annang-Las was reacting to the NDCs claims at a rally in Ashaiman that the party will return to power in 2020. At that rally, organized as part of the Silver Jubilee of the NDC, which had seen its Founder, former President Jerry John Rawlings, tell it to the face of the party that greed and corruption was what had cost the NDC the 2016 election. Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, longstanding NDC MP for Nadowli and Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, had said at the rally that the reason why the NPP will lose power in 2020 is that the party will suffer internal wrangling at the end of the tenure of President Akufo-Addo. I would advise Hon. Alban Bagbin to diagnose his own backyard first, before he seeks to remove the spec from the eyes of the NPP. We all know that the NDC at the moment is divided between the Rawlings faction and the Mahama faction. Rawlings wants Mahama and even the entire leadership of the party outhe has said publicly that they need to change the leadership. The NDCs mother, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings is estranged from the party and will never return. The foot soldiers of the NDC are angry over the neglect that they suffered for 8 years by their own government. The NDCs stronghold, Volta Region, has rejected the party and all indications are that, Volta is coming along with the NPP, so between the NPP and the NDC, which one looks like it is beset by wrangling? He asked. According to Mr Annang-La, even the timing of the proclamation of a come-back is so propaganda given and borne out of wishful thinking. The NPP has been in power for less than six months and already, practical efforts are underway to fulfill all the partys campaign promises. Just yesterday it was in the news that the 275 million dollars to be allocated to the 275 Constituencies is ready and about to be disbursed, he said. The Mayor said President Akufo-Addo would win the 2020 elections by even wider margin because Volta is coming onboard. In the 2016 election, the NDC had lost by a huge margin of almost 1 million votes, with voters in their stronghold of Volta, mostly abstaining from the polling stations in anger. Contrary to the prayers and wishes of the NDC that President Akufo-Addo will be too weak by the time of the 2020 elections, the 73 year-old President is actually looking fitter and fitter as the days go by, he said. According to him, God willing, President Akufo-Addo will stand again in 2020 and when he does, we all know that his incorruptibility alone will nail the NDC in opposition for another 4 years. If I were a member of the NDC, I would either be jumping ship and joining NPP or will be psyching myself up to remain in opposition for at least 8 years. He dismissed insinuations that President Akufo-Addo is too old, citing that most African Presidents and even world leaders are septugenarians. United States President, Donald Trump, is over 70 years, Nigerian President Buhari is over 70. The Presidents of Eritrea, Djibouti , Mali , Sudan , Uganda , Congo , South Africa , Cote divoire , Angola , Equatorial Guinea , Namibia etc are all above 70, the Tema Mayor said. He pointed out that Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is 78, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria is 79, Paul Biya of Cameroon is 83 , Mohammed Benji Caid Essebsi of Tunisa is 90 while Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is 92 adding that What therefore is the big deal about President Akufo-Addo being 73? The Tema Mayor advised the NDC party not to resort to cheap propaganda against the government but rather work hard and be a responsible opposition. The NDC as a party has a problem and the problem is that, it does not know its problem, he said. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video General Secretary for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has described as welcoming news the Supreme Court orders, asking the Auditor General to retrieve stolen state money. The Supreme Court has ordered the Auditor General to, with immediate effect begin surcharging persons found to have misappropriated monies belonging to the state. The seven-member panel of justices, presided over by incoming Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, did not give any reasons for their judgment but indicated they make available the full details of the decision in some few hours. The order of the court follows a suit filed by pressure group Occupy Ghana in June 2016 seeking an order directing the Auditor-General to issue Disallowances and Surcharges to and in respect of all persons and entities found in his relevant, successive Reports to have engaged in misappropriation of state funds. Occupy Ghana in 2014 wrote a letter to the Auditor General reminding it to surcharge such persons or face them in court. Reacting to the Supreme Court ruling, Asiedu Nketiah on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show averred that even though it is welcoming news for the country, there should be a structure for Parliament to use to retrieve stolen state monies from the culprits. According to him, as former member of Parliamentary Appointments Committee and Public Accounts Committee, there is no structure for Parliament to use to retrieve the stolen state money after resolution has been passed by Parliament on the Auditor Generals report. Retrieving stolen state money is welcoming news and I fully support the ruling of the Supreme Court . . . Parliament doesnt have the powers of court to order the culprits to pay back the money, and so Occupy Ghana took advantage of the Constitution where it mandates the Auditor General to take those culprits to court before it presents its report to Parliament for resolution, he stressed. He added that the Supreme Court ruling will help to hold those public servants who are found culpable responsible for their crimes and not the sector minister as they are usually tagged as the only corrupt officials in public service. He however urged this government to instruct the Auditor General to work closely with state prosecutors in a manner which will help to gather proper information during the Public Accounts Committee sitting to prepare criminal docket for prosecution. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The NDC, on Saturday June 10, 2017, celebrated its 25th anniversary. The anniversary which was under the theme "Mirroring the Past Into the Future" saw in attendance the party's founder Jerry John Rawlings, Ex-President John Dramani Mahama, and National Executives among other dignitaries. Addressing a gathering during the function, the founder, Mr. Rawlings advised the party leadership and members to return to the core values of the party. He urged them to ensure the principles of probity, accountability, transparency, reconciliation and unity within the party. Speaking on 'Kokrokoo' on Peace FM regarding the 25th anniversary of the NDC, PNC General Secretary, Atik Mohammed expressed disgust over the emergence of the party. He says the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is a "mistake" in Ghana's political history. According to him, the NDC came into being as a result of a coup d'etat and so referred to the party as a "gang of coupees". He noted that during the PNDC era, the party didn't set out to become the National Democratic Congress and for that matter, he strongly believes the party is a "reluctant democratic entity". A mistake in our political history has come to stay called the National Democratic Congress . . . Its a huge mistake in our political history . . . When you look at how the NDC came into being. They overthrew a constitutional government; a democratically elected government . . . They didnt set out to be a political party," he stated. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Emergency services in London have confirmed that at least 12 people have died as a result of the Grenfell tower blaze, with that number expected to rise as firefighters continue to search through the debris. At least twelve people are dead and dozens are still missing after a fire ripped through a London apartment complex. #9News pic.twitter.com/Q1feY6uJNX Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) June 14, 2017 Commander Stuart Cundy of the Metropolitan police said that a full search of the building was being conducted, but that he did not anticipate that any survivors would be found. The thoughts of all of us from the emergency services and from all of London, our thoughts will be with those so affected by a fire on a scale that is unprecedented, he said. According to the ambulance service, at the current time there are 68 patients being treated in six hospitals, with 18 in critical care wards. The sadness about the death toll and those critically injured is wrestling with a growing anger as residents argue they had raised concerns about fire safety numerous times in the years prior to the blaze, including during recent renovations. Housing activists in the city have blamed the fire on a combination of government cuts, local authority mismanagement, and sheer contempt for council tenants and the homes they live in. Early reports on the blaze blame an aluminium composite in the cladding panels which were recently added to the structure. Its clear that something caused that building to go up in flames so rapidly and spectacularly like that. Mayor Sadiq Khan issued a statement suggesting an independent review will take place. There are genuine concerns, reasonable concerns, that have been raised in the course of the night and its really important that these questions are answered. I will be demanding answers and I can assure you I will be ensuring there is independence in relation to it. Across London we have many, many tower blocks and what we cant have is a situation where peoples safety is put at risk because of bad advice being given or if it is the case, as has been alleged, of tower blocks not being properly serviced or maintained. Well keep you updated. Source: The Guardian. Photo: Getty Images. Well, heres a thing. Robert Mueller the former FBI director appointed as special counsel to take over the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election is now investigating Trump himself for possible obstruction of justice. And all of this on his 71st birthday! Happy birthday, Donald! This comes after former FBI director James Comey said in his testimony before Congress that he believed Trump fired him as a way of blocking the agencys Russia probe. He didnt explicitly allege that Trump had obstructed justice, suggesting that it was Muellers job to work that out. The scoop is from the Washington Post, who cite five anonymous sources. Three high-level members of Americas security community are being interviewed as soon as next week, the Post claims. Trumps legal team aint too keen on this report, as you might imagine. The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal, a spokesman for Mr Trumps legal team, Mark Corallo, said. Even if Trump is found to have obstructed justice, that doesnt mean hes being sent to the slammer. Quite unlikely, actually. But it could give fuel to impeachment proceedings. Considering Republicans absolutely dominate Congress right now, impeachment would really only happen if they wanted it to. But its certainly enjoyable regardless insofar as it has probably ruined his birthday, especially. Source: ABC. Photo: Getty Images. Fancy yourself slightly more useful than a cock-flavoured lollipop? Confident in your wrench-dodging abilities? Reckon you could throw a ball at someone so hard you make them bleed their own blood? The legendary tournament final between Average Joes and the Globo Gym Purple Cobras mightve aired on ESPN 8 The Ocho way back in 2004, but dont for a second think that that means the arch rivalry is at any level other than boiling point. The gang from Dodgeball is back together, ready to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge all over again. This time? Its for charity. Omaze has put up a campaign where one lucky winner will be flown to the ultimate dodgeball showdown, joining either Ben Stiller and the almighty Purple Cobras, or the plucky, if not slightly pudding-ish, Average Joes in a battle for the ages. The charity-driven competition is raising funds for the Stiller Foundation, which supports impoverished children and provides access to educational opportunities and support in places like Haiti. But the real kicker here? The cast of the film got back together for a promotional video. And it is good. Were talkin Stiller as the dastardly White Goodman, apparently fully recovered from his food-related relapse and back down to fighting weight once again. Were talkin Vince Vaughn as Peter LaFleur, a little older, a little greyer, but just as bullish and cocky. Were talkin Christine Taylor as Kate Veatch, still throwing up in her mouth at Whites repulsive advances. Hell, even Justin Long as Justin Redman returns to do a little seriously underrated physical comedy. Nice to see Blazer back in the Cobras squad, but Im severely worried about Blade and Lazer. What happened to them? Are they still with Globo Gym? Did they finally break away from the cult of White? So many questions. In a rarity, this promo happens to be open to everyone in Australia, not just US residents, so you can get squarely around it by heading on over to the Omaze page. Theres plenty of other neat prizes on offer, and all the cash you donate is going to a worthy cause. Now, if we can get Steve the Pirate back on board, well really be talkin. Source: Omaze. Photo: Omaze. The horrifying blaze that overtook Londons Grenfell Tower apartment building early on Wednesday morning, British time, was likely the result of flammable cladding installed during a refurbishment in 2015. Alarmingly, Australia is a big user of this kind of cladding. The tragic outcome in London was a fire that spread incredibly rapidly on the outside of the building, trapping people on the buildings upper levels. There have been 17 confirmed deaths from the fire, and more than 60 people are in hospital. According to the BBC, the cladding had a polyethylene (plastic) core, meaning it was much less fire-resistant that other types with mineral cores. Many witnesses describe seeing the cladding spreading the fire upwards, and falling away in flaming strips. Its raised serious concerns on home soil. According to an ongoing audit in Victoria, over 20 buildings in Melbourne contain the material. And a 2015 inquiry by the NSW Shadow Minister for Better Regulation Yasmin Catley found that there are 2,500 buildings that are covered in the shoddy cladding in NSW alone. Disturbingly, the state government has not revealed which buildings are affected. Senator Nick Xenophon spoke to The Project about the issue, which is spread across Australia: Xenophon is calling for a national audit, and Catley has urged the NSW government to do the same. She also wants the government to identify the buildings and put measures in place to prevent an avoidable tragedy like the one in London. Source: The Project / SMH. Image: Gurbuz Binici / Getty Images Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has called for an audit of the exterior cladding materials used in all Australian high-rises, following the catastrophic blaze which engulfed Londons Grenfell Tower. While the cause of the inferno is not yet known, a recent exterior refurbishment included new aluminium composite material cladding. Thats similar to the illegally-used material which exacerbated the Lacrosse apartment fire in Melbourne back in 2014. Speaking to Today this morning, Xenophon warned of the risks of non-compliant building materials, saying when you have firefighters saying this stuff makes our job almost impossible to do, that is very disturbing. Xenophon is currently serving on a Senate committee focussing on dodgy and dangerous building projects, which is expected to deliver a fully-fledged report on the issue a little later this year. Rydon, the building company which completed the Grenfell Tower refurbishment, issued a statement in the aftermath of the fire, saying work met all required building control, fire regulation and health & safety standards. However, experts and eyewitnesses have noted the insane speed and ferocity of the fire. Fire engineer Jeff Wilkinson labelled the disaster the worst hed seen in three decades, and that something serious has gone wrong here. Wilkinson said he was reminded of instances where fire has spread up the gap between the external cladding panel, but that in itself shouldnt have caused the fire to have spread the way it has. An eyewitness who identified himself as Mark said it was burning like paper, it wasnt the building, it wasnt the structure. That cladding it was just like throwing fuel on the fire. Residents had previously alleged serious fire safety hazards within the building. 12 fatalities have been confirmed after the disaster, with dozens more injured. Source: News.com.au / Sky News Australia / SBS / Sydney Morning Herald. Photo: Carl Court / Getty. Victoria has allocated a solid $500,000 to mental health funding for the LGBTI community as a direct middle finger to the Federal Governments canned-but-not-quite plebiscite on same-sex marriage. Two birds, one stone. The funding will particularly focus on projects for vulnerable groups, including young people, Aboriginal people, and those in regional communities. A full $100,000 has each been allocated to Headspace, Switchboard Victoria (a peer-based telephone counselling service for LGBTI people and their families), Kunghah (an Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander gathering of the LGBTI community) and the new Victorian Pride Centre, the latter of which will use the funds to establish a virtual platform of mental health resources and information for socially or geographically isolated youth LGBTI people. Another $50,000 has been allocated to Drummond Street counselling service to help reduce its waiting list, while the final $50,000 has been set aside to support other services experiencing increased demand. Malcolm Turnbull needs to rule out this Liberal Party opinion poll that is nothing but damaging and divisive, said Minister for Mental Health Martin Foley. Were ensuring our hard working mental health organisations have additional funds to ensure those who need support get it. He said the particular focus on online services was to ensure LGBTI people in rural or regional communities had access to support if needed. Were supporting online resources because we know the fight for equality is beyond the tram lines. Despite the Senate blocking the same-sex marriage plebiscite late last year, last months Federal budget still included $170 million allocated for it. Marriage equality advocates have long campaigned to squash the plebiscite, on the grounds that it will do very real damage to an already vulnerable community if you open debate to whether or not LGBTI people should be treated the same as everyone else (they should). Hiba Casablanca, an advocate for LGBTI youth, told PEDESTRIAN.TV that this extra funding is crucial if the plebiscite goes ahead. We need mental health services to counter the negative effects that would come from the plebiscite and, I guess, the debate of LGBTI peoples lives, she said. I think what we know [about the damaging effects of the plebiscite] is just the tip of the iceberg. Theres still young GBTI people in rural communities who find it challenging to get the support they need. Its important that as a community we take that responsibility very seriously and invest in supporting LGBTI people, particularly those who are more vulnerable. Photo: Torsten Blackwood / Getty. PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with the RSPCA Victoria to help yall make the right decisions when it comes to getting a pet pooch. Find out more HERE. Keep scrolling to see the celebs choosing rescue dogs over designer dogs that may have come from unethical puppy farms. Happy tears welcomed and encouraged. LIAM HEMSWORTH + DORA A post shared by Liam Hemsworth (@liamhemsworth) on Feb 3, 2016 at 7:30am PST Rescued from Los Angeles Wylders Holistic Pet Centre with help from main bae Miley Cyrus, the big ol labradoodle really is Liams best friend. I know this because I read it in a magazine, not because I stalk his Instagram relentlessly. CARA DELEVINGNE + LEO ?????? puppy love ?????? A post shared by Cara Delevingne (@caradelevingne) on Mar 15, 2016 at 9:26am PDT The supermodel credits her maternal instincts for rescuing her cross-breed hound Leo. RUBY ROSE + RU + CHANCE I feel love A post shared by Ruby Rose (@rubyrose) on Feb 29, 2016 at 6:01pm PST Chance the black chihuahua was saved from being euthanised and uses a wheelchair-type harness as she suffers from paralysis. Ru, which 10/10 has the cutest lil name ever, is also a rescue dog. On ya, Rubes. MARGOT ROBBIE + BOO RADLEY Our little rescue pup, Boo Radley ?? A post shared by @margotrobbie on Feb 7, 2017 at 8:10pm PST Stahp it. Cannot. CANT. MILEY CYRUS + MILKY Baby Milky #peaceforpits A post shared by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on Nov 4, 2015 at 12:36pm PST Miley quite literally runs a zoo of adopted pets because this is her house, this is her rules, and she cant stop and she wont stop etc. AMANDA SEYFRIED + FINN And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep. A post shared by Amanda Seyfried (@mingey) on Jan 12, 2016 at 10:46am PST It was hard to choose just one pic of Amanda and her rescue doggo, Finn, let me tell you. She told People: Im obsessed with my dog. Hes become my son and my light source and kind of a savior to a lot of people, a lot of my friends. NINA DOBREV + MAVERICK DO(G)BREV Ninas rescue dog has its own Instagram, which you can follow HERE for the cuteness overload. ELLEN DEGENERES + AUGIE + KID A post shared by ED Ellen DeGeneres (@edbyellen) on Jan 31, 2016 at 3:48pm PST Ellen put the rumour mill into overdrive when she announced her and Portia de Rossi had adopted a kid a rescue dog named Kid, that is. IAN SOMERHALDER + NIETZCHE A post shared by iansomerhalder (@iansomerhalder) on Jan 3, 2015 at 5:55pm PST Back in 2013, Ian saved his dog, Nietzsche (pronunciation is anyones guess), from traffic while on set for The Vampire Diaries. Hes a huge advocate for finding shelter dogs homes. SOPHIA BUSH + FRANKIE FINKLESTEIN #tbt the day I busted outta the shelter with Mom! Who was she kidding, Ill foster her and see! Ha! #FosterFailure #FrankenWinner #FrankieFinklestein A post shared by FrankieFinklestein (@frankiefinklestein) on Dec 1, 2016 at 8:29am PST Sophia, general ambassador for yall to become better humans, is all about #AdoptDontShop and good I reckon there are a lot of people out there willing to take advice from Brooke Davis. CHRIS PINE + WEDNESDAY WELD Chis Pine, you so fine, you so fine you blow my mind. His adopted doggo is a big ol babe too. LISA VANDERPUMP + GIGGY + HARRY VANDERPUMP Thank you for a beautiful stay in New York @marmaranyc ! A lovely little jewel of a boutique hotel ?? A post shared by Lisa Vanderpump (@lisavanderpump) on Dec 10, 2016 at 4:34pm PST The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star is what youd call a dogessieur. Her efforts to bring attention to and end Chinas disgusting Yulin Dog Festival are out-bloody-standing, and she has her own dog rescue organisation, Vanderpump Dogs. The two puppers above arent her only two, trust us. VanderYAS, amirite? MISCHA BARTON + ZIGGY STARDUST I love Cali ?? Ziggy and I are sending you all love Xoxo A post shared by Mischa Barton (@mischamazing) on Aug 3, 2016 at 3:03pm PDT Mischas rescue dogs an independent pom. KRISTEN BELL + LOLA Thank u @RachaelRay for donating $10k to my fav, @bestfriends! Hope youll join #SantaPaws2016 & support your local rescues work, too xo @nutrish A post shared by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on Dec 24, 2016 at 1:09pm PST Kristen has three rescue dogs incl. Lola (above) Sadie, and Mr. Shakes, one of which she adopted while aiding with the Hurricane Katrina devastation. If you didnt love her before you bloody well do now. Ah, meh heart. MEH SOUL. Find out more about adopting with the RSPCA Victoria HERE. Photo: Instagram / @mileycryrus. Pubes. Weve all got em. And if you dont, youre too young to be reading this. Please, log off and go back to being twelve. I mean that. Its all downhill from here Billy Pubic hair is a natural part of being human. But like accidentally queefing in a yoga class or enjoying Numb Linkin Park in earnest, a lot of us feel shame when it comes to our pubefros. There are a few reasons why. Our pubic hair starts to sprout (often ferociously) during puberty. This is a hard enough time as it is. Our bodies are growing upwards and outwards at a cracking pace. Our skin becomes oily, our sweat smelly and our moods apathetic. A fair few of us therefore associate pubes with awkwardness. Others think pubic hair is unhygienic. This is plainly incorrect. Youve got hair on your bits for a reason. Ripping up your carpet can actually increase your risk of contracting nasty infections, as it can create cuts and microscopic tears bugs burrow their way into. And of course, some people feel strongly about obliterating their pubes is cause of cultural beauty standards. The vast majority of your bog-standard porn features hairless muffs. Whats in fashion (like high-cut bikinis) also encourage hairlessness. Heck, Posh Beckham even once said a Brazilian wax should be compulsory from age 15. Recent studies of hair removal in young Australian women show that almost 50% of female uni students remove most or all of their hair. Young men do it too, with two-thirds of both gay and hetero Aussie blokes removing pubic hair, mainly to improve perceived attractiveness. Regardless of the politics behind going bald, its insanely popular, and laser hair removal is the latest technology many women (and men, but mainly women) swear by. Basically, hair removal laser and IPL targets the pigment in the hair shaft. Like a lightning rod this guides the energy down into the hair follicle unit, where the heat from the laser or IPL pulse destroys the hair follicle bud and thereby reduces hair growth until the hair follicle bud reforms. Its a bloody booming business. Laser Clinics Australia performs almost 3 million treatments per year across their 80 clinics and thats just one company in Straya. The service is often spruiked as permanent, with many businesses promising that your hair wont grow back, or if it does, it will be markedly sparser. Dr. Adam Sheridan, a Dermatologist and Mohs Micrographic Surgeon, has also seen an upwards swing in the amount of people coming to his practice who have had laser hair removal, too. Anecdotal evidence abounds regarding increased uptake, he says. And as this occurs it becomes the new norm. Most Dermatologists have experience with patients concerned with what is actually entirely normal hair growth ie women of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Indian descent who are now feeling they must accord with the Australian norm of no hair on face; breasts, axillae, legs arms and bikini areas. There are increasing numbers of people of all genders, ages and races are engaging in laser hair removal. But it raises a hairy question. What happens when trends change? Whats the go if (or rather, when) the gonad goatie makes a full-blown come back? Will we all start wearing merkins? Many will continue to grow completely normal hair when they cease regular treatments others may have patchy growth. Who knows. says Dr Sheridan. Its fun to speculate, but best not to judge. Laser Clinics Australia recommends between 8-10 treatments to see permanent hair reduction, and add that most people need approximately 3 maintenance treatments per year. Dr Sheridan agrees that laser hair removal reduces hair, but isnt sold on it being totally permanent. There is a fair bit of semantics at play with this, says Dr Sheridan. Laser hair removal reduces hair growth over an extended period, but it is incorrect to say that any laser causes proven and consistent permanent hair reduction or removal. While that might disappoint the baldies among us who want to stay that hairless forever, its sort of promising for if fashion changes. Even then, if youre someone who takes to laser well and it does never come back you can always vajazzle. Photo: Sex and the City. For those of you who are yet to make the worthwhile pilgrimage to Perth, all you really need to know is that the states offensively beautiful. Were talking, that looks like a heavily Photoshopped tourism poster, levels of beautiful and as a born n bred local / self-appointed Perthonailty, I aint got no issue attesting to that claim. That being said, Perth is, yknow, Perth. As Tim Winton perfectly summarised in Cloudstreet, its a small town trying to be a big city. The occasional development, however, progresses it forward several steps in becoming a somewhat thriving metropolis. The latest establishment to do just that is undoubtedly TRIBE Hotel. Located on Walker Avenue in the legit-close-to-errythang suburb of West Perth, TRIBE is the new kid on the hotel scene and fuck me sideways, is it making waves. Upon entering its threshold, you cant help but be pretty floored by its design-driven layout. Those responsible for such a gawjus building? Idle Architecture Studio. Award-winning Aussie interior designer Travis Walton, in collaboration with art director Marsha Golemac, are the genius duo responsible for the chic as shit, internal spaces, from the ground up. The first floor is really where the magic happens. With features like phone-charging spots, its courtyard and contemporary living zones are decked out to the max. Were talking Moroso feature chairs, Jean-Paul Gaultier cushions, lighting by Tom Dixon and a damn-fine collection of work by Australian contemporary artists. If youre heading over for business, itd be hard to imagine NOT closing a deal in the space. TRIBE Foods acts as a cafe by day and bar by night. The coffee situation has been sorted by locals Mano a Mano, so take solace in knowing your morning caffeine hit is in good hands. In terms of food, the menu focuses on sustainable / seasonal / ethical eating under the stewardship of Tobie Puttock (River Cafe, Fifteen Restaurant). Oh, and the all-day breakfast offering is outrageously decent. The grog offering is also A+. Theyve stocked a range of local and top-tier imported beers / wine, as well as a hefty cocktail list. What about the rooms themselves? Theyre phenomenal, IMO. Sure, most are a bit on the smaller side, but they more than compensate with intricately thought-out, space-saving solutions. Custom-designed bed bases allow you to keep your dishevelled suitcase outta sight / mind. The Smart TVs provide free Foxtel and movies. The bathrooms are stocked with signature Kevin Murphy products. Hell, youre even given complimentary Nespresso pods and T2 tea in your room. The best element of TRIBEs rooms has to be their beds. The mattress is orgasmic to sleep on an experience only heightened by the premium linens and bespoke cotton throws adorned atop it. Lastly, TRIBE offers free wi-fi throughout the building (they reckon that should be a given, and we couldnt agree more), so gone are the days of Insta chewing up your data from all those scenic uploads. Forget everything you think you know about Perth, folks. Photos: Rhiannon Taylor / Supplied. IOWA CITY Getting retail space for a small-business owner in Iowa City's bustling downtown is tough. Getting an arts studio or a spot dedicated to showcasing art may be even tougher. Enter RADInc. in the heart of downtown Iowa City. Its name is an acronym for Retail Art Design Incubator. In the space that long held The Den and its mix of college apparel, sundries and head shop paraphernalia now sits a business unlike anything else in downtown. RADInc., in its role of a retail incubator, sells items made by local artisans and businesses who cannot afford a storefront in downtown Iowa City or make enough money with traditional consignment deals, said Simeon Talley, one of the businesses founders. So far, RADInc. has sold items from over 30 different business owners. As an art incubator, the second floor of the space is dedicated to supplying local artists a shared studio space for a relatively low price. It also has plenty of space for art exhibitions for local artists and traveling exhibitions. The space also has room for events behind the retail space. Since opening March 23, the space has hosted 18 different special events, including film screenings, meetings, workshops, play rehearsals, dance parties, concerts and even the launch of a local nonprofit. "What RADInc. means to us is to establish a less-expensive entry point for creative entrepreneurs and local artists of all types into the downtown Iowa City market," Talley said of the idea that guided he and RADInc. co-founder John Engelbrecht. RADInc. would not be able to exist without the space being available at a deep discount. The building that currently holds RADInc., also occupied by a leasing office for the new southeast Iowa City housing project The Quarters and the new bubble tea shop Encore Life, is currently owned by Old Capitol View LLC and managed by Kevin Monson of Neumann Monson Architects. Talley said RADInc. was able to obtain a discounted lease agreement because of the possibility that the building could be demolished or redeveloped after the lease expires. That means the lease, and the existence of RADInc., is likely to be anywhere between 12 and 15 months. Monson said that there were no "firm plans in place right now" with the building, but that "letting some startups test their wings seemed appealing." "We didn't envision exactly who would take the spaces, but we did envision a plan that could work very well for them and let them serve as an incubator of businesses and ideas," Monson told the Iowa City Press-Citizen (http://icp-c.com/2rus97z ). Engelbrecht said that "trying to find these cracks in the real estate landscape is important. I think Iowa City is a town that wants art to be accessible, I think it wants to make a home for artists. I think that's what the future is for art in Iowa City: continuing to find these cracks. Every time I look, real estate prices are going up and up." The space RADInc. occupies is relatively large: 3,000 square feet on the first level and 1,100 square feet on the second floor. The second floor was once a head shop. Now with the boards ripped off of the seven large windows that look out onto Washington Street, the space and its abundance of natural light have been converted into a shared studio space for up to eight artists. These stations and the space as a whole are open nearly 24/7 to the artists and cost $100 a month. "It wouldn't be possible for artists to rent a space for that much in a normal real estate situation," Englebrecht said. As the director of the Iowa City artists-run nonprofit organization Public Space One, which provides space, education and support for local artists, Englebrecht knows firsthand the value of having such a space in the heart of downtown Iowa City. "Artists need space to work, and space to show work," he said. "That's something downtown Iowa City doesn't have much of and an issue they haven't solved yet." It's on the second floor where painters, designers and even a University of Iowa professor with 3-D printers can set up shop and get to creating art. There's even white cube gallery space where artists can show work. On Saturday nights, the space can be reserved for artists to host parties or show their art to the public. The first floor is where items from local fashion designers like jackets, shirts and bow ties are on sale. There's also enough room to screen a movie at the opposite side of the entrance and host an elaborate graffiti-laden art display in between the two ends. Traveling arts project Wastedland 2 features a screening of a film about graffiti artists by the same name. Before screening the movie, filmmaker Andrew H. Shirley helped install the art installation aimed at turning RADInc. into a graffiti wonderland. The immersive film installation was set to show Shirley's film that Saturday night. "It's important that there are people like Simeon and John who still care about community and culture on a grassroots level. They're engaging the public and creating dialogues by supporting artists like this," Shirley said, as he helped install everything from a makeshift fort to a massive wooden sculpture that looked like an alien with a dozen eyes shaped into a 10-foot-tall vase. Shirley has been touring with the film and these pieces of work by multiple artists to towns like Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Portland, Oregon. "They're engaging the public, creating dialogues, by supporting art. The biggest thing we have in this country right now is division, political division and a polarization of ideas," Shirley said. "What this does is make a neutral ground for people to talk and make art, to provoke critical thinking." The idea for a small-business and art incubator had been percolating for a while, Talley said. He envisioned opening a similar concept about a year ago, but the space fell through at the last minute. Nate Kaeding, then the retail development director for the Iowa City Downtown District, informed Talley about the space on Washington Street being available for a deeply discounted rent. Talley and Englebrecht jumped at the opportunity. To transform the space from The Den to a haven for artists before opening in March. Talley said he, Engelbrecht and a score of volunteers put in the "sweat equity" themselves as they spent weekends painting, removing carpet and moving furniture. Now, the space is still constantly evolving and changing. "This space as a whole is still a work in progress. It's an experiment. It's not a cookie-cutter thing," Englebrecth said. Talley said the space will host more pop-up shops for local small businesses like it did for Iowa City-based home goods maker Modela and Cedar Rapids-based furniture store Mad Modern. Talley said they also plan to start a newsletter curated to those starting a new business, and this month will host a conversation series that brings business owners to the store to discuss how they started their brick-and-mortar stores. Most of all, the two RADInc. leaders are trying to make sure to share the value of the space with as many people as possible in the time that they have. Talley said he hopes the space serves those who miss Chait Galleries, the downtown Iowa City art gallery that displayed art from local and national artists for decades before it closed in March. "We're not Chait, we're a very raw space," Talley said. "But when they closed, it left a massive hole for visual art in downtown Iowa City. We want to fill that hole as much as we can." He also wants to help local small-business owners who need a venue to sell their wares. "Younger brands or younger artist who don't have the financial resources to take the risk of spending $6,000 or $7,000 a month, there's this gap for them in between farmers market and pop ups and traditional retail space," Talley said. "RADInc. wants to bridge that gap a bit." For Englebrecht, he hopes RADInc. serves as a model for future business and artistic endeavors. Noting past attempts to establish a downtown arts center and the current push by the nonprofit organization ArtiFactory to establish one in downtown Iowa City or the Riverfront Crossings district, Englebrecht hopes RADInc. will again spark a discussion about funding or building an arts center in Iowa City. "This could be a model for future things that exist in the real estate environment. Maybe we could do something like this where we're paying actual rent," Englebrecht said. "Or maybe we'll find an open-minded landlord who says, 'I value promoting art over making my $3,000 a month.'" Senators voted 98-2 Thursday to add financial sanctions on Russia and Iran to send a message that the United States will not tolerate their sponsorship of terrorism and meddling in other nations internal affairs, according to Sen. Joni Ernst. Well, everybody knows that Ive always thought Russias not our friend, the Iowa Republican told reporters Thursday during her weekly conference call. The legislation, which now goes to the U.S. House, would require a congressional review before a president attempts to lift those sanctions. Its similar to legislation the GOP backed when it thought President Barack Obama overstepped his authority in negotiating to end sanctions on Iran. The legislation called for sanctions on Iran, which Ernst said continues to be the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism around the globe. Through an amendment, senators added the Russia sanctions, to add weight to their concerns over Russias support of the murderous Syrian regime, military intrusion in Ukraine and malicious cyber activity, Ernst said. Its also a response to Russian attempts to interfere in the U.S. electoral process, she added. So we are trying to show some strength and send a clear message to Iran and Russia that they cannot do these types of actions, Ernst said. The wonderfully bipartisan vote is an example of how senators can work together to get things done despite divisions on overarching political and philosophical issues such as health care and tax reform, Ernst said. She pointed to a bill she introduced with Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on military pay. Its the second time they have been primary sponsors of legislation. Even members that might be greatly ideologically different, were still coming together to work on things that are important to us, she said. Even if its only 2 percent of things that we will agree on, lets work on the 2 percent and then we will find a path forward for the other 98 percent, she said. In the wake of the shooting of a congressman and four others Wednesday, Ernst said she hopes senators and the nation will continue to remember that we need to come together. We can do that by providing leadership and showing folks that no matter what divides us we will fund a way forward on the things that unify us, she said. SIOUX CITY | An 80-year-old man was injured when a pickup truck hit him while he was driving a riding lawn mower Wednesday. The crash took place while the man was cutting his lawn in the 2900 block of 14th Street after 5:30 p.m. Sioux City Police said the man came into the roadway to turn around his mower and was struck by a westbound pickup. The pickup dragged the mower several feet before it came to a complete stop. The unidentified man was taken to Mercy Medical Center--Sioux City for treatment. He was alert and conscious when crews put him into the ambulance, according to authorities. The crash is under investigation. Which Michigan bands are leading the airwaves this fall? Five albums made a splash on the latest Local Spins Hot Top 5 Chart, representing the local and regional releases that received the most radio airplay at Grand Rapids WYCE. WATERLOO A Texas man has been arrested after authorities found a load of cocaine on Tuesday night. Dominique Laray Roberson, 28, of Houston, was arrested for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and violation of the drug tax stamp act. Man vacuums meth at Iowa car wash to conceal shipment from narcotics officer WATERLOO | A Minnesota man was apparently trying to use a car wash vacuum cleaner to hide a He was taken to the Black Hawk County Jail, and his bond was set at $105,000. According to court records, officers with the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force were involved in an investigation of cocaine entering Waterloo from Texas. Police seized cocaine from Roberson and then executed a search warrant at Motel 6 on La Porte Road and found more cocaine, records state. Iowa meth investigation ends in gunfire WATERLOO | Authorities are investigating a Sunday morning drug investigation that ended in g In all, police seized more than 500 grams of cocaine, records state. Trinseo, a hard-plastics supplier to the manufacturer of Legos, has bought soft-plastics maker API Applicazioni Plastiche Industriali SpA. Read more Trinseo, the $3.7 billion-in-yearly-sales, Berwyn-based company that makes hard plastics the kinds used in smartphone cases, Legos, car consoles, and refrigerator liners says it has agreed to pay $82 million in cash for soft-plastics maker API Applicazioni Plastiche Industriali SpA and its factory and research lab in Mussolente, near Venice, Italy. The API deal, Trinseo's first acquisition since the company was spun off by Dow Chemical Co. in 2010, will help its Performance Materials business division sell more to manufacturers around the world, Chris Pappas, Trinseo's president and CEO, said in a statement Thursday. The sale is a "natural evolution," said API vice president Lorenzo Brunetti, whose father, Sergio Brunetti, founded the works 60 years ago to make thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), which are used in plastic wraps. API general manager Sandro Gusi said his company had been looking for a deep-pocketed global partner such as Trinseo since it began expanding to international markets 10 years ago. Brunetti called the deal "a fantastic example" of a "forward-thinking" American industrial group backing an Italian enterprise to jointly target global markets, while also securing a "future for the people we care for the most: our dedicated and talented employees." Other examples of Pennsylvania investors who have backed family-owned manufacturers in northern Italy in recent years include John Leoni's Mount Union-based Bonney Forge, which has expanded the BFE metallurgical plant near Bergamo, and Republic Bank chairman Vernon Hill and his wife, Shirley, a designer, who have recapitalized and updated marketing and sales for the centuries-old, family-owned Venice artistic glassblower Seguso. Trinseo and API products "are complementary," said Trinseo senior vice president Hayati Yarkadas, who heads the company's Performance Materials group. While Trinseo sells its rigid plastics to auto, medical-materials, and consumer-products makers, API supplies softer plastics that are often inserted or attached to Trinseo items. "The potential for the combined product offering," Yarkadas added, makes the deal "an engine for growth in Trinseo." API makes soft-touch polymers including TPEs, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) used in plastic wraps, two-component polyurethane (2KPU) used in paints, and bioplastics. Customers include vehicle, footwear, appliance, furniture, clothing, packaging, medical, and other manufacturers. Trinseo (formerly Styron) makes acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plastics used in hard molded and shaped items such as Legos; polycarbonate, polypropylene, polystyrene, and other plastic polymers; synthetic rubber; latex binders; and other materials used by vehicle and tire, consumer-electronics, appliances, packaging, medical-device, construction-materials, and other manufacturers. Trinseo's largest shareholders, at about 5 percent each, are AJO LLC, the Philadelphia-based quantitative investments firm headed by Theodore Aronson; and Vanguard Group, the Malvern-based mutual-funds company whose index funds are among the largest owners of most U.S. companies. Tredici, Greg Dodge's stylish Italian/Mediterranean wine bar at 13th and Sansom Streets, has gone over the top for its Bryn Mawr location, opening Friday, June 16 in the new Bryn Mawr Village (915 W. Lancaster Ave., 484-381-0268). The center, just west of Merion Avenue, is home of branch locations of La Colombe, Bryn & Dane's, and Turning Point. It's one of the most glamorous Main Line newcomers in memory. For Enoteca Tredici, Boxwood Architects worked with skylighted 25-foot ceilings, installing globe lights, two live 16-foot ficus trees, Carrara marble counter tops, charcuterie and raw counter up front, and touches of black and gold, all set on herringbone hardwood floors. The 18-seat bar is ringed by casual standing space for cocktails, and assorted dining areas, including one glassed-in room with a high-top table that can seat 30. The menu builds on those served in Washington Square West and in Washington, D.C., by adding 8-inch pizzas inspired by sister restaurant Zavino. There's a "secret" menu item, too: a take on Jean-Georges Vongerichten's truffle pizza.) Flatbreads and pastas are in the mid- to high-teens, and most mains start at $19 (burger) and linger in the $20s. Hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; brunch will be added soon. There's free self- and valet parking. The Acts Retirement-Life Communities board of directors chose Jerry Grant to serve as new president and CEO. Read more Acts Retirement-Life Communities named Gerald T. Grant, who has been with the Montgomery County organization for more than 30 years, its new president and chief executive. Grant, Acts' longtime chief financial officer and more recently its chief operating officer, succeeds Mark Vanderbeck, who died suddenly last month while on a business trip to Georgia. "Acts is fortunate to have someone of Jerry's character and experience with the organization," John L. Esterhai, Jr., Acts board chairman, said in a news release. Based in West Point, Acts describes itself as the largest not-for-profit owner, operator, and developer of continuing-care retirement communities in the United States. It has 22 CCRCs in eight states, with 9,100 residents and more than 6,000 employees. American Airlines, which operates more than 400 daily flights in Philadelphia, reverses it decision to cut two inches of legroom in the economy cabin of its new Boeing 737 Max aircraft. "This is the right call," the airline said. Read more American Airlines, which has a hub in Philadelphia, has revised its decision to shrink legroom in the economy-class cabin by 2 inches, after receiving complaints from the flying public. Instead of reducing the "pitch" the front-to-back space between rows by 2 inches on three rows of the new Boeing 737 Max jets, the airline said it had decided to reduce the pitch by 1 inch, from 31 inches to 30 inches. The rest of the main-cabin rows will be at 30 inches. "We have received a lot of feedback from both customers and team members," American said in a statement. "It is clear that today airline customers feel increasingly frustrated by their experiences and less valued when they fly." The new aircraft will still have 172 seats 12 more than the 160 seats on the plane now made possible by using a thinner, lighter seat and a better design, with the result that distance between seats will "feel more spacious, so a 30-inch pitch will feel more like today's 31 inches." the airline said. American, which operates more than 400 daily flights out of Philadelphia International Airport, has ordered one hundred 737 Max jets, a new version of the Boeing 737-800. The first four will arrive in the fall, with more to come next year. Frontier and Spirit Airlines' aircraft have the least legroom, at 28 inches. Virgin America, JetBlue, and Alaska have the most in economy class, between 31 and 32 inches, according to SeatGuru, a website that offers aircraft seat maps and seat reviews. American's reversal comes after public hearings on Capitol Hill into the forced dragging of a United Airlines passenger, David Dao, off a plane by security officers in Chicago on April 9. "There are larger issues here," U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.,) said last month before a Senate transportation subcommittee. "Passengers feel like they're being treated as self-loading cargo. We have all experienced firsthand or heard from our folks back home about an explosion of fees for services, airline IT systems failing and causing prolonged confusion and delay. "And adding insult to injury," Nelson said, "American Airlines is slashing legroom in its new Boeing 737 jets to squeeze more passengers on its planes. While these are certainly not new complaints, they seem to be getting worse in the public's eye." American president Robert Isom said this week that the airline wants to help turn around that perception, and "that includes reviewing decisions that have significant impact on the flying experience. We've reassessed what's appropriate." The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ventured into the legal weeds this week by blocking an electric company from using herbicides to clear trees under a power line, a decision that could force the state's utilities to rethink their vegetation-control practices. The head of the state's utility-industry association called it a "troubling decision." On Wednesday, the PUC ordered West Penn Power Co. to forgo using herbicides on a property about 25 miles northeast of Pittsburgh after a homeowner complained the chemicals would contaminate his family's drinking water. By a 3-2 vote, the commission rejected a hearing examiner's recommended decision that the homeowner failed to prove the utility had violated the law. West Penn's proposed use of herbicides to treat tree stumps to prevent their regrowth was consistent with PUC precedent and the utility's own approved vegetation-management plan, the commission acknowledged. "Simply finding that the planned method of clearing the right-of-way is consistent with a plan is insufficient to provide a fair result in the present case," Commissioners David W. Sweet and Gladys M. Brown, the commission chair, acknowledged in their joint motion to block the herbicide application. They were joined in the vote by Andrew G. Place, the vice chair. Commissioners John F. Coleman Jr. and Robert F. Powelson, in a seven-page dissent, said the decision created uncertainty for utilities and put the PUC in a position of micromanaging the companies' day-to-day operations. "The record for this case is devoid of any evidence that the health and safety of Pennsylvania's citizens, or its environment, has been harmed by the commission's current regulatory scheme and [utilities'] use of herbicides as part of their vegetation management obligations," Coleman and Powelson said in their statement. Utilities' methods of managing vegetation are an endless source of public friction. Regulators press companies to step up tree-trimming practices to reduce power outages caused by falling limbs, but customers often push back about aggressive and unsightly pruning methods. The West Penn case brought by Robert M. Mattu, a retired brickmason in Leechburg, had attracted little attention because it was filed as an individual complaint against the utility. In March, Administrative Law Judge Katrina L. Dunderdale recommended dismissing the complaint. But with the PUC's ruling, it now takes on larger policy implications. On Wednesday, the commission gave consumer and business advocates 30 days to comment on the ruling. West Penn Power could appeal the case to the courts. "We are still digesting the Public Utility Commission's recent decision and evaluating our options," the utility's spokesman, Todd Meyers, said in an email Thursday. Mattu, 64, said he feared that West Penn's proposal to treat tree stumps with Garlon and two other herbicides to prevent regrowth would cause the chemicals to leak into the two drinking-water wells of his house, located about 70 feet from the company's right of way across his property. "I've lost a lot of sleep over this thing, and now I'm happy," Mattu said in a telephone interview Thursday. "I've got a quarter-million-dollar home here on 10 acres of land, and if they take my water, what am I going to do?" He lives with his wife, and his son and two grandsons live next door. West Penn Power has operated a 138,000-volt transmission line across the land since 1968. Mattu bought the property in 1978. He said the utility had previously cleared vegetation beneath the power line without the use of herbicides. Mattu said he first took his concerns to local and state elected officials, whom he said were unresponsive, so he filed a complaint with the PUC. Later, he hired a local lawyer to argue his case. "This is just costing me money that I shouldn't have to pay," he said. West Penn said that its use of the herbicide was consistent with best industry practice, and that without it cut tree stumps quickly re-sprout. The company said it attempted to address Mattu's concerns by sending a forestry specialist and a representative of Dow, the herbicide's manufacturer, to the property. It also offered to test his water before and after applying the herbicide. The utility association said that it is still studying the decision, but that it injected uncertainty into the ways utilities manage the thousands of miles of power lines they operate. West Penn alone is spending about $40 million this year to trim trees and maintain right-of-ways on about a fifth of its 26,000 miles of power lines. "We're concerned because we need predictability in these things, and the regulations say you need to follow industry best practices," said Terrance J. Fitzpatrick, president of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania. "I think it's clear that was what was done here." The commissioners who voted to block the use of herbicides said it was a "fact-specific" decision and not intended to create a "bright line test" by which future cases should be evaluated. "Under appropriate circumstances, a landowner should be able to seek an exception to the utility's proposed use of herbicides, and if the utility still refuses, the landowner should be able to seek relief from the commission," they said. A jogger on the South St. Bridge on Nov.17, 2016 with the city bathed in the light of the setting sun. Read more The threats to Philadelphia's rich architectural past, which has been under severe pressure from a sustained building boom, will be recognized Thursday when the National Trust for Historic Preservation declares the city a "National Treasure." Coming just two years after Philadelphia was singled out as the first World Heritage City in the United States, the designation is intended to focus attention on the city's growing preservation crisis. It is the first time the trust has identified an entire city as a National Treasure, although parts of three other cities Miami, Detroit, and Louisville have been singled out for similar attention. The trust, a private group that advocates for maintaining America's heritage buildings, decided to get involved in Philadelphia after Mayor Kenney asked for its help, said president Stephanie Meeks. Like many cities, she explained, Philadelphia has policies that often make it easier to demolish older buildings than reuse them. "We're going to look at ways the city can unlock the economic potential of its historic buildings," she said. "Philadelphia is one of the country's most historic cities." Philadelphia has lost a spate of high-profile historic buildings in recent years, most notably the art deco Boyd Theater on Chestnut Street, but the trust's announcement will be made at one of the success stories, the bottling plant designed for the Henry F. Ortlieb Brewing Co. in Northern Liberties. Two years ago, the KieranTimberlake architecture firm renovated the modernist building to use as its headquarters. Kenney is scheduled to attend the announcement. The National Treasure designation, like the World Heritage title, does not come with any additional funding for preservation. But a trust spokeswoman said the organization plans to increase its focus on Philadelphia, which a news release called a "veritable almanac of American history." It will also make its staff available to help rethink its preservation policies. Despite the city's architectural riches, the news release noted that "much of the fabric that represents the city's rich and multilayered history is currently unprotected by preservation regulations or incentives, leaving thousands of Philadelphia's iconic historic places threatened by demolition pressure or incompatible new construction." Kenney came into office promising to strengthen the city's commitment to its architectural heritage, but he was almost immediately plunged into a crisis when Toll Bros. announced plans to demolish a section of Jewelers Row, America's oldest and most intact diamond district, to erect a 29-story condo tower. In that case, the city's Historic Commission declined to act on a nomination to preserve two of the targeted buildings. In April, Kenney announced the formation of a task force to look into ways to protect the city's architectural patrimony from rapid development. He has also promised to increase funding for the Historic Commission so it can hire more staff and begin to act proactively to prevent demolitions. Many preservation advocates say the city needs to do an inventory to determine which buildings should be prioritized for protection. The task force is scheduled to hold its first meeting July 20. MASON CITY | Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank and Community Kitchen of North Iowa were inducted recently into the Food Bank of Iowa Hall of Fame. Each was recognized for having distributed more than one million pounds of food to needy families through the Food Bank of Iowa. Linda Duvall, head of the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank, said she was proud of the award and glad the food bank is able to serve the community like it does. The food bank served nearly 23,000 people last year, serving people from 61 communities in 14 counties. Amanda Ragan, executive director of the Community Kitchen, which served nearly 52,000 people last year, said her organization and the food bank have an effective partnership. "We serve different purposes but provide a good balance for the community," she said. Community Kitchen focuses on serving individual meals. The Food Bank provides groceries for the needy. Both Duvall and Ragan said the key to the success of both organizations is the volunteers who help make it happen. The Food Bank of Iowa serves 290 food banks. Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank and Community Kitchen of North Iowa were two of 12 to receive Hall of Fame recognition. Another Philadelphia charter school is closing this month amid allegations of financial and academic problems. Delaware Valley Charter High School in Logan, which lost its bid before the state Charter Appeal Board to remain open, has decided to close this month rather than take its case to Commonwealth Court. The move leaves 450 students looking for new schools for the fall. Charter officials also say the school may not have enough money to pay 70 staffers for their work in June. Acting Delaware Valley CEO Harold Kurtz said Philadelphia School District officials maintain the charter owes so much money for pension payments and other funds that the district is withholding the school's charter payment for June. Uri Monson, the district's chief financial officer, said Delaware Valley owes the district more than $700,000, including overpayments for tuition in prior years, which is more than Delaware Valley's charter payment of $470,790 for June. In an email to the state Department of Education, Monson wrote that in light of "the history of the failure of closed charter schools to repay monies" owed, the district withheld the June payment. Kurtz decried the district's decision to withhold the monthly funding, calling it the final indignity. He said Delaware Valley is appealing to the state to obtain the money, but noted that Monson's email asked the department to decline the appeal. Kurtz said the charter school had been trying to make the end of the current academic year as normal for students as possible. Graduation was scheduled for Thursday for 135 seniors, and the school year will continue until Wednesday for ninth through 11th graders. District spokesman Kevin Geary said the district wanted "to support students and families during the challenging time of this school's closing." He said Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. sent a letter to Delaware Valley parents on May 25 saying that the district would help them find new schools. An information session for parents was scheduled for Wednesday at Martin Luther King High School. The state Charter Appeal Board voted unanimously last month to uphold a School Reform Commission decision to not renew the school's charter due to fiscal problems and poor academic performance. Among other things, the board's 42-page decision said Delaware Valley had ended four fiscal years with negative fund balances of more than $400,000 to $700,000 per year, and had failed to make numerous payments to the state teachers' retirement system. When a charter school fails to make pension payments, the money is deducted from funds the district receives from the state. The district then recovers the money by withholding the amount from charter payments. Artie Lange, seen here in Philadelphia in 2012. Lange was arrested in March on drug possession charges. Read more A New Jersey court has reportedly issued a bench warrant for comedian Artie Lange after he missed a recent court date in connection with a drug possession arrest earlier this year. According to the Hudson Reporter, a representative of the Hoboken Municipal Court's office confirmed Wednesday that a bench warrant was issued for Lange, 49, due to the comedian missing a June 7 court hearing. Lange, a former Howard Stern Show regular, was arrested in March in his Hoboken, New Jersey condo's parking garage for alleged possession of heroin, cocaine, and paraphernalia. The charges were later reduced to disorderly persons offenses. Lange addressed the situation on social media Wednesday night, writing in a tweet pointed at Hoboken Police that the missed court date was a result of "bad communication" with his lawyer, and that he means "no trouble": In a followup tweet, Lange said he "never tried to avoid this," and that he does not "want ppl [sic] stressed out." He also indicated he would see the police "soon": The bench warrant that has reportedly been issued for Lange gives police the ability to arrest Lange if they "have an encounter with him" during their regular duties, a Hoboken Police Department representative told the Hudson Reporter. Police, however, are not "actively looking" for the comedian. Lange, a Union, New Jersey native, has long struggled with drug addiction, which contributed to a 2010 suicide attempt (his second, following an initial attempt in 1995) in which the comedian stabbed himself nine times. The comedian attended a rehab program in 2011, and later released the memoir Crash and Burn in 2013, which detailed his experiences with addiction, suicide, and recovery. His popular Artie Quitter Podcast launched in 2015. Most recently, Lange appeared in HBO's Crashing alongside fellow comedian Pete Holmes. Following his arrest in March, Lange claimed he had been fired from the show, which HBO denied in a statement, writing that season two of the show had "not yet been written" at the time. Holmes, meanwhile, told the New York Times he would "absolutely" have Lange back on the show in future seasons. Locally, Lange last played the area this past weekend at the Borgata in Atlantic City. His next scheduled area performance is Sept. 16 at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono. One of many piles of trash and needles in the gulch that runs along Gurney Street in Kensington and Fairhill that is home to 75 to 125 heroin addicts. Read more After more than seven months of negotiations, city officials and Conrail signed an agreement Thursday morning to address Philadelphia's most notorious stretch of squalor a railway hellscape littered with 500,000 used syringes, and populated by scores of people openly injecting heroin. The problem has festered in Kensington and Fairhill for more than two decades. At a morning news conference at City Hall, Mayor Kenney said the railroad gulch cut by the Conrail line that runs along Gurney Street is frequented by "thousands of addicts" who have converged on it after visiting the surrounding open-air drug market. As a result, he said, the quality of life for nearby residents has been significantly diminished. "We're not having a celebration today," Kenney said. "I'd be remiss if I didn't say that for [the residents], this announcement is long overdue, They deserved faster action from all of us standing up here today." Under the agreement, more police officers, some on bicycles, will be assigned to the area, and the city and the railroad will clean up the mess, starting next month. Maria Gonzalez, president of the Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises (HACE), which develops residential and senior housing in the area, said she was very excited and happy that "finally, something is going to happen." "This is going to be a tremendous transformation of the community and could be the start of the revitalization of that entire neighborhood," she said. U.S. Rep. Robert Brady (D., Pa.) was hailed as the key to jump-starting negotiations, which had frequently stuttered and stalled. The congressman "pushed this thing to where it needed to be, and to get it done," said Kenney. Brady ordered the players to his office in early April and, over a hoagie lunch, blasted both sides. "I wanted to know how and why they couldn't get it done," Brady said. "There's people dying there." Determining who was responsible for fixing specifics was harder than it first looked. "We had to decide who was going to clean what, all that hazmat kind of stuff. It had to be more than just clean up and walk away," Brady said. "But we got it done, and it's a long-term thing." At the time of the announcement, the community had not been alerted to the deal. The city has scheduled a neighborhood meeting for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Iglesias del Barrio, 240 E. Cambria St. The railroad gulch, which cuts through Philadelphia's poorest neighborhoods, became the focus of intense national and international interest this year as the opioid crisis continued to grow. Last year, the number of fatal drug overdoses climbed to 907 in Philadelphia. A celebrity TV doctor, national news programs, and international film crews this spring swarmed the neighborhood, which has long been infected by what the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has called the East Coast's biggest open-air drug market. The DEA maintains it is the epicenter of the nation's purest and cheapest heroin. Under the terms of the agreement, the city and Conrail will bolster the police presence along the tracks and in the neighborhood. Police Commissioner Richard Ross said an additional 30 bicycle officers will patrol the area, and more officers will be assigned to the narcotics strike force in East Division . Conrail has promised to dispose of the mountains of used needles, clear the vegetation from around the tracks, and remove tons of trash that rogue contractors and local residents have dumped into the half-mile gorge. The city has agreed to haul away the waste, which includes televisions, recliners, mattresses, and hundreds of tires. The month-long cleanup is set to begin no later than the end of July. The city previously estimated Conrail's share of the costs could reach $5 million. "It's our property, and we will maintain it," said Jocelyn Hill, a former city Law Department regulatory lawyer who is now public affairs director for Conrail. "We're about to spend a hefty amount to clean it up. We want to keep it that way." Talks between the city and Conrail began two years ago but failed to deliver an agreement. The railroad last staged a major cleanup of the corridor in spring 2015. The pact announced Thursday began to gain traction when Conrail reached out to Brady in April to broker negotiations. About the same time, the city cited Conrail for violating city health codes and property maintenance statutes. The city on Thursday dropped the citations. The site known as El Encampanento will be paved over. The apocalyptic zone that Mehmet Oz of the Dr. Oz television show recently called "Hell on Earth" is slated to become a parking lot that will serve a new 50-unit senior housing complex, called Casa Indiana, to be built by HACE at Second and Indiana Streets. The current encampment, on land owned by Conrail, is home to about 75 heroin-addicted people who sleep under the Second Street Bridge. Conrail will knock down the plywood shacks that serve as a grotesque parody of a hospital, where a "doctor" helps inject users too squeamish to shoot heroin and fentanyl into their own bodies. Also part of the plan is a community services and job training center with a focus on veterans. The turf under the bridges is brutally scarred and unwelcoming. Under the plan, the terrain will become more inhospitable. Conrail agreed to install broken concrete and rock to discourage future encampments, according to the deal. The mounds will block off caverns where homeless drug users go to hide or die. Reinforced fencing will be erected around the perimeter by Conrail to try to prevent people from entering the area. The city has agreed to install Jersey barriers, where possible, to protect the Conrail fences from being breached by trucks intent on illegal dumping. The city will also put fencing on city-owned bridges to deter people from throwing trash over the sides. The biggest factor in cleaning up the site will be relocating the scores of people addicted to heroin who call the gorge home and the hundreds more who go there to shoot up every day. The agreement states that the city's health and human services agencies will work with Conrail and police to remove people from the tracks "and offer any and all available services to these individuals." "While Conrail works to clean, secure, and maintain its property, we are going to be focused on helping the individuals who frequent the area along those tracks get treatment and supportive housing," said city Managing Director Mike DiBerardinis. "For too long, lives were unnecessarily lost along those tracks." The city has budgeted an additional $250,000 for fiscal year 2018 to provide more supportive housing resources in the area, which officials call the Gurney Street Corridor. But it will cost more than a quarter of a million dollars to pay for enough beds for all the soon-to-be displaced homeless drug users. The city will work to get people into treatment or shelters. "If you ask me, there's still not enough money on the table," said Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez, who represents the district. She warned the situation is "likely to get worse before it gets better." "Aesthetically this is important, but the human side of this we still haven't put our heads around," she said. "I can't even begin to say how much work is still ahead of us." Not everyone was optimistic about the future of the people who frequent and live in the gulch. Charito Morales, a Kensington-area activist and registered nurse who has spent years voluntarily bringing food to the addicts in the encampment and cleaning their wounds, was livid Thursday morning, saying she was unaware of any plans to relocate the addicts once cleanup begins. "The city never talked to us about where the people will go," Morales said. "There's no plan for moving them none, none, none. Is the city ready for another problem? Because it's coming. All these people will move to Bridesburg. I met with the city three times and they promised help. But guess what? There's no solution for these individuals. "It's a shame. And now it'll be crazier." Staff writer Alfred Lubrano contributed to this article. DA Kevin Steele speaks about the Cosby verdict after the sixth day of deliberation after a mistrial was declared Saturday June 17th, 2017. Read more Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial ended in a mistrial Saturday, after jurors told the judge they remained unable to reach a verdict. Question: Why was a mistrial declared? Answer: Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O'Neill dismissed the panel of seven men and five women because they had deliberated more than 52 hours but could not reach an unanimous decision. Before issuing his ruling, the judge asked each juror to stand and confirm individually that they were "hopelessly deadlocked" on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Cosby in an alleged 2004 attack on Andrea Constand. They had first reported being deadlocked on Thursday. "I remind everyone that this is not vindication or victory," O'Neill said. "A mistrial is merely the justice system at work." Q: Is this the end of case? A: No. District Attorney Kevin R. Steele immediately told the judge he would retry the case. "There was no pause or hesitation about that," Steele said later at a news conference. "We're moving forward." In declaring the mistrial, O'Neill reminded Cosby: "You remain charged and remain on bail in this county for three counts of aggravated indecent assault." Q: When will the new trial begin? A: O'Neill indicated that he would like to set a retrial date within 120 days. But it was unclear when the trial would be, or whether it could be delayed by pre-trial motions. Under Pennsylvania law, retrials must be within one year of the mistrial. "The judge is the one that's going to dictate all the dates here," Steele said. "When he tells us to be there, we'll be there and we'll have our witnesses there and ready to go." Q: What was the split among the jurors? A: That remained unknown Saturday. Jurors were not polled on the reason for their deadlock or the split among them, and their names remain sealed. Before dismissing the jurors, O'Neill encouraged them not to speak to reporters about the details of their deliberations, which he said could impact any retrial. Q: What factors will play into launching a retrial? A: The retrial promised by Steele would present challenges unique to Cosby's case. This jury was selected in Pittsburgh and then sequestered in Norristown after defense lawyers asked for a more diverse jury pool than what they would get in Montgomery County, which they complained was tainted by pretrial publicity. Starting over, it is unclear if lawyers would return to Allegheny County to choose another jury. Q: How much will the retrial cost? A: The cost of Cosby's trial is unknown. The bill footed by Montgomery County includes overtime for sheriff's deputies to provide extra security and safeguard jurors, as well as the cost of transporting and sequestering jurors for two weeks. But Steele said the cost did not factor into his decision to to pursue a retrial. "You can't put a price tag on justice," Steele said. "And if you do, you're saying that because somebody is wealthy or famous that they don't deserve the same kind of justice that everybody else does." Follow every development in Bill Cosby's case with our day-by-day recaps and explainer on everything you need to know about the case and its major players. Thirty hours and four days into their efforts to deliver a verdict, jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual-assault trial Thursday finally raised the specter that one of the most closely watched celebrity trials in decades would end in the most ambiguous way: a deadlock. In a message time-stamped 11:06 a.m., the seven men and five women informed Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O'Neill that they had been unable "to come to a unanimous consensus" on any of the three counts of aggravated indecent assault Cosby faces for his alleged 2004 attack on Andrea Constand. O'Neill sent the jurors back with instructions to keep trying. The jurors then cloistered themselves for an additional nine hours. Unlike previous days, they did not emerge not to ask questions, request testimony, or complain that they were hopelessly stuck. Around 9 p.m., as they neared their 40th hour of deliberations, they returned, looking less fatigued and more focused than the previous night but still without a resolution. So the judge dismissed them, sending them back to the nearby hotel where they have been sequestered. "I don't have to tell you: You're exhausted and deliberations should be with a fresh and well-rested mind and body," he explained. He ordered them to resume deliberations Friday morning. As word of the impasse broke Thursday, Cosby's lawyers quickly moved for a mistrial, a request the judge denied. Like their client, they remained silent and stoic as O'Neill sent jurors back to the deliberation room. Prosecutors stayed largely out of sight, as did Constand. But outside the room and the Norristown courthouse, the news of a deadlock and its potential implications on a case that took nearly two years to prepare and was years in the making sparked a powder keg of emotions. A few other Cosby accusers who had gathered in anticipation of a verdict burst from the courtroom in tears. Protesters lined the walkway outside the courthouse chanting "Free Cosby Now" and holding signs alleging that his prosecution was motivated by racism. News helicopters droned overhead. Within minutes, a pair of drummers showed up. Andrew Wyatt, the 79-year-old entertainer's garrulous spokesman, bounded to a bank of microphones near the courthouse entrance to declare victory. "This deadlock shows the 'not guilty' Mr. Cosby has been saying the entire time," Wyatt told the scores of reporters. "He is just happy to know that he has 12 people of his peers who understand the facts of this case don't add up." Asked if his celebrations might be premature, the spokesman remained ebullient: "When the Golden State Warriors beat the Cavs, that was a win. A win is a win." Then it was Gloria Allred's turn. The lawyer representing many of the more than 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct quickly poured water on Wyatt's claim. "This is not a vindication of anybody," she said before the rows of television cameras. "This is not the end. It's not over until it's over. And it's not over yet." Meanwhile, Lili Bernard a California artist and Cosby Show guest star who contends Cosby drugged and raped her in the early 1990s confronted the growing crowd of Cosby supporters. Grabbing one demonstrator's hands, staring him in the eye, and shouting that Cosby had sexually assaulted her, Bernard, who is black, sought to counter the claims his prosecution was tainted by racism. "I experienced it firsthand when he drugged me, when he raped me, when he threatened me to silence," she said. When Zakia Tuck, a 27-year-old black woman from Philadelphia, hoisted a sign reading "Mr. Cosby is innocent. Facts!!!" she was quickly challenged by another Cosby accuser. "You're believing in a fictitious character," Jewel Allison told Tuck. "When you see him walk into the courtroom, do you see Cliff Huxtable? Do you see Fat Albert? No. He's just a man." Even accuser Linda Kirkpatrick, who had lingered behind in the courthouse hallways, telling onlookers she hoped to avoid the chaos outside, lost her cool. Upon hearing Cosby's tour manager telling someone on her cellphone, "It's working," she lashed out. "His [expletive] was working when he raped us!" she shouted before telling herself to calm down and apologizing those gathered around her. What none could know for sure was if the jurors were closer to convicting or acquitting, if there was one holdout or multiple people unable to settle on a verdict. O'Neill tried to break the impasse with what's known in state law as a Spencer Charge or so-called dynamite charge. In it, judges convey to jurors the importance of reaching whatever verdict they can in a given case. "While you should not hesitate to reexamine your own views or change your opinion if your opinion is erroneous, do not feel compelled to surrender your honest belief," O'Neill told the panel. "If after further deliberations, you are still deadlocked on some or all the charges, you should report that to me." Jurors showed little reaction to the judge's instruction. After three days and 30 hours of deliberation, the panel had asked to revisit nearly every critical piece of evidence from the trial that began nearly two weeks ago ranging from Cosby's 2005 deposition and police statement, in which he denied assaulting Constand, to Constand's own recollections of the 2004 night she said he attacked her. It is not uncommon for jurors to report an impasse and then reach a verdict later. Or for a jury to receive more than one Spencer Charge. If jurors declare themselves to be hopelessly deadlocked, the judge would call a mistrial. Should that happen, it is not yet clear whether prosecutors would seek to retry Cosby. The defense team declined to comment afterward, as did the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. Constand, meanwhile, appeared to exhibit the same calm she displayed over her two days on the witness stand last week, when she testified that Cosby drugged and molested her during a visit to his home in Cheltenham. Shortly after the jury's note, she tweeted a video of herself shooting hoops with a mini-basketball in a courthouse hallway as the Harlem Globetrotters' theme played in the background. A collegiate basketball standout, Constand had just landed a job with Temple University's women's basketball program in 2002 when she met Cosby, the school's most famous alumnus and a trustee. Her video clip Thursday ended with her shot swishing through the makeshift net and a message: "Always Follow Through." Follow every development in Bill Cosby's case with our day-by-day recaps and explainer on everything you need to know about the case and its major players. Jewel Allison (center), and Victoria Valentino (left), two of the many accusers of Bill Cosby, have a discussion with a Cosby supporter outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown. (CLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer) Read more With jurors still inside the Montgomery County courthouse, trying to get past what they said was a 30-hour deadlock on sexual assault charges against Bill Cosby, opposing camps outside the courthouse faced off in an emotional maelstrom. To Bill Cosby's supporters, word of the jury deadlock was good news. To Cosby's accusers, it was heartbreaking. While the judge ordered jurors to keep trying to reach a unanimous verdict, a few women who have accused the entertainer of sexual assault rushed out of the courtroom together and huddled on a bench, holding hands. One cried. Outside, the two sides met. Lili Bernard, one of the accusers, came outside to talk to the Cosby supporters who were chanting "Free Cosby now" and holding signs alleging that the charges against him were racially motivated. "I'm going to have a conversation with you," Bernard said, as cameramen and onlookers gathered around. She took the protestors' hands, looked them in the eye, and shouted that Cosby had raped her. And Bernard, who is black, said the case had nothing to do with racism. "I experienced it firsthand when he drugged me, when he raped me, when he threatened me to silence," she shouted. Some questioned Bernard and her story questions similar to those Cosby's defense attorneys presented during the weeklong trial. Why did you wait years to come forward, they ask her? They also appealed for Cosby's age and health: How can you send a blind man to prison? Bernard told them: "I feared for my life, I feared for my safety, and then I became suicidal." Around 2 p.m., with the jurors still deliberating, the alleged victim in this case, Andrea Constand, tweeted a video of herself shooting hoops from an office in the courthouse. The video ended with the message: "Always follow through." Outside, her fellow accusers were persistent. Jewel Allison, the Cosby accuser who broke down in tears upon hearing the jury was deadlocked, also confronted pro-Cosby supporters. She said she has been accused of protecting white women. "That's all I have to say to you these white women aren't lying," she said. She clutched the hand of 27-year-old Zakia Tuck, a black woman from Philadelphia who had a homemade sign that said "Mr. Cosby is innocent. Facts!!!" "I saw this sign. It hurt me," Allison said. Allison told the young woman, "You're believing in a fictitious character. When you see him walk into the courtroom, do you see Cliff Huxtable? Do you see Fat Albert? No. He's just a man." As the Cosby accusers and supporters mingled, dozens of news crews circled the area. More than a dozen county employees on their lunch breaks gathered across the street to watch. Then, noise came from around the corner. Attention turned to two drummers walking behind a woman with a bubble machine and a sign that said "Perseverance to all survivors." Earlier, Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt had hailed the initial note about deadlock as victory and justice for the 79-year-old entertainer. Gloria Allred, the high-profile attorney representing many of Cosby's accusers, cautioned that the jury's initial stalemate was not the final word. "There have been cases in which juries were deadlocked and sometimes they have, on that second go-around, reached a verdict." Meanwhile the 12 jurors from Allegheny County, who have been sequestered here for nearly two weeks, remained locked away in the deliberation room, trying to end their deadlock. The First Amendment right to protest the government ends when you use a bolt cutter to breach a security fence and enter a restricted area, a federal judge told six people he found guilty Wednesday for their actions during a chaotic protest outside last summer's Democratic National Convention in South Philadelphia. "A fence is a fence is a fence," Senior U.S. District Judge Michael J. Baylson told the six out-of-towners after finding each guilty of trespassing on restricted federal grounds, a misdemeanor. "As a matter of common sense," said the judge, "when an adult sees a fence, it is clear that is a restriction." In a sea of hundreds of protesters, one of the six defendants, Travis Martin, 29, of Houston, used the bolt cutter to pierce a hole in an 8-foot chain-link security fence around 10:45 p.m. July 27 in Franklin D. Roosevelt Park near Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, authorities said. Martin and his codefendants then entered through the hole and were quickly arrested by Philadelphia police, according to evidence presented in the three-day nonjury trial. That was the night when President Barack Obama addressed thousands of convention delegates and dignitaries in the Wells Fargo Center, more than a quarter-mile from the designated protest area. "They were all together, they conspired to breach the fence. Their entire conduct that evening is captured on video," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said in her closing argument, referring to Fox29 footage replayed during the trial. She argued that the defendants created an environment that could have endangered the president and others. Although he acknowledged the defendants' constitutional right to protest and sympathized with their displeasure at being kept at arm's length from the convention arena, Baylson agreed with Williams that they literally crossed a line when they breached the fence. "Basically, I have to conclude that the defendants decided to take the law into their own hands," he said. "The president of the United States deserves protection." Baylson fined five of the defendants $500, which must be paid in 30 days: Lincoln Bohn, 25, of Montecito, Calif; Jacob Van Buskirk, 24, of Tacoma, Wash.; Dan Nguyen, 19, of Gaithersburg, Md.; and Natalie Frazer, 27, and Megan Munk, 28, of Forks, Wash. The judge deferred sentencing Martin until Sept. 28, saying he needed more time to decide Martin's fate because he had wielded the bolt cutter. The maximum sentence for entering a restricted federal area is five years in prison and a $100,000 fine, but Baylson said he might not send Martin to prison. Acting U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen said federal prosecutors were "pleased with today's convictions and the resulting sentences. The actions that brought these protesters into court today as defendants were not about exercising their First Amendment rights during the Democratic National Convention but infringing on the rights of others." Lappen made reference to the big news story of the day Wednesday, saying that his office was "committed to the safety and security of the public and of our public officials. Sadly, today's result and security concerns are underscored by the tragic events of this morning's shooting in a Virginia park targeting members of Congress." Defense attorneys had argued that the six DNC demonstrators should be found not guilty because they had no way of knowing that the parkland they entered had been restricted due to the convention, and because the city had announced that nonviolent protesters would receive only civil citations. The defense attorneys noted that 157 other protesters received citations, including four who climbed the same fence the previous day. The use of the bolt cutter is irrelevant, they said, because no one was charged with using the tool. "I'm disappointed in the verdict," said Center City attorney Paul Hetznecker, who represented Bohn. "I don't think the federal government should be prosecuting individuals who cross over into a restricted area that's a quarter-mile away from the site of the Wells Fargo Center in an effort to thwart First Amendment rights." "I'm obviously disappointed," added Center City attorney David M. Walker. who represented Martin. "We had hoped for an acquittal. They were basically expressing their First Amendment rights in a different way. They were outside a fence that they believed was unlawful and they wanted their voices heard." Raymond Finney Jr., 25, had been missing for two days when his father and aunt were found shot to death in their Kensington home last month. The search for Finney came to an end last week when his body was found in the Schuylkill. Police say they believe he committed suicide, and they are calling his brother Leonard a "person of interest" in the father's and aunt's slayings. On May 26, Raymond Jr. was reported missing to police. His family had not seen him that day after he left for his job as a city sanitation worker, and a passerby found his backpack and cellphone near the Schuylkill at 24th and Walnut Streets. On May 28, his mother, Tasmara McLaughlin of Brewerytown, went looking for him at the Kensington home where he lived with his father and aunt. In the rowhouse on the 1900 block of East Clearfield Street, she found Raymond Finney Sr., 48, dead in an upstairs hallway and his sister Florence "Tina" Pompey, 53, dead in her second-floor bedroom. She ran out screaming. Police said Raymond Sr. had been shot once in the head and once in the stomach. Pompey had been shot once in the head. Medics pronounced both dead at the scene at 9:05 a.m. Homicide Capt. James Clark said there was no sign of forced entry at the home. While Raymond Jr. was missing, McLaughlin was frantic. "I can't think about nothing but where is my son?" she said before his body was found. "That's what I think about every morning." On the afternoon of June 9, police pulled the body of a man from the Schuylkill in Grays Ferry. Authorities this week identified him as Raymond Jr., nicknamed "Scooter." Clark said police believe he committed suicide. The Medical Examiner's Office said the cause and manner of death were yet to be determined. "Now, my baby is gone," McLaughlin said Wednesday. Raymond Jr. had three children, ages 5 months and 2 and 4 years, who live with their mother in South Philadelphia, McLaughlin said, adding that the couple remained friends after their breakup. "He was a proud daddy of all three of his babies," she said. Clark said police believe Leonard shot his father to death because he thought Raymond Sr. caused his other son to commit suicide. They believe Pompey was shot because she was a witness, Clark said. Police questioned Leonard in the shooting deaths after he was taken into custody June 2 on an alleged parole violation in a robbery case. Clark said police are building a case against him. McLaughlin insists Leonard had nothing to do with his father's and aunt's deaths. She said Leonard, who lived with her in Brewerytown, "loved his aunt, never had no fights, scuffles, nothing. He never would have hurt his father or his aunt." McLaughlin also had a 17-year-old son with Raymond Sr. She and Raymond Sr. ended their relationship about 17 years ago, she said. Charmaine Dupree, one of Raymond Sr.'s other sisters, said Thursday that she had a feeling that Leonard might have killed his father and aunt. "Deep in my heart, I really think so," Dupree said. She said Leonard, who at one time also lived in the Kensington house, was angry at Pompey for having thrown him out and allowing Raymond Jr. to stay. As for her slain siblings, Dupree said: "My sister and my brother, they were beautiful people." Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams was in federal court Wednesday for a final pretrial hearing, in which the judge outlined an ambitious schedule for Williams' trial on bribery and campaign expense fraud charges. "Usually, I pick a jury in one day," said U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond, describing his plans for the beginning of jury selection Monday at the federal courthouse. Diamond allowed that he wouldn't require Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Zauzmer to have his first witness on standby Monday. But Diamond made no such promises about proceeding with opening statements if he, Zauzmer, two fellow prosecutors, and defense lawyer Thomas Burke finish picking a jury of 12 jurors and four alternates. Much of Wednesday's 30-minute hearing involved the usual pretrial housekeeping issues: the number of prospective jurors each side will be allowed to strike without cause, the questions jurors will be asked to determine if they can fairly decide the case, and the trial schedule. There were no courtroom fireworks, and Williams, 50, nearing the end of his second term as the city's top prosecutor, seemed relaxed and confident as he chatted with his lawyer. Williams and Burke declined to comment after the hearing, as did Zauzmer and fellow prosecutors Vineet Gauri and Eric Moran. Diamond said a panel of 140 prospective jurors from the nine counties comprising the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will be questioned in the large ceremonial courtroom that links the courthouse and the adjacent federal office building. In court, Zauzmer estimated it would take two to three weeks to present the government's case; Burke said the defense would take less than a week. Prosecutors allege that the financially pressed Williams accepted bribes from two businessmen who wanted his help for associates facing criminal charges. Williams also is charged with stealing $20,000 intended for his mother's nursing home care and using it to pay his mortgage and electricity bills. Prosecutors allege that Williams defrauded his own political action committee by using its funds for his personal expenses, and that he cheated the city and federal governments by using vehicles meant for official or law enforcement use for his personal needs. Earlier this year, Williams dropped out of his campaign for a third term. By agreement with the state Supreme Court, he has suspended his law license and has turned over the daily operation of the District Attorney's Office to First Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Martin. Mariana Molosag (center) flanked by other immigrants takes the oath of citizenship on Flag Day at the Betsy Ross House Read more As we sit down in the Starbucks, Mariana Molosag insists on paying for the bottled water. "It's a special day for me," she says, smiling. Ten minutes earlier, in the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House, her dream had come true when she took the oath of citizenship at a naturalization ceremony on Flag Day. It couldn't get more special for Molosag, who was born 31 years ago in Balti, Moldova, population about 10,000 then, lower now. A Soviet satellite until 1991, Moldova has a population of 3.5 million and dropping, with Europe's poorest economy, according to the CIA World Factbook. Although poor, the nation does require students to study three languages Russian, Romanian (same as Moldovan), and either French or English. Molosag was a child when Moldova was under the Soviet heel. She was not deprived, but had no idea of what went on beyond the borders because TV carried only Moldovan and Romanian programming. "My mom tells me how it was" under Soviet rule, she says in lightly accented English. "They had jobs, they had everything, but they did not have freedom. They didn't even have the right to be themselves." Everything was the same, from attire to thought. Her first taste of the world outside was provided by a student volunteer from the U.S. "The student taught policy debate," says Molosag. "I didn't know anything about it; this helped me so much." Although a good student, she had been shy. The debate helped her blossom. "Plus, he started showing us different cultures, like in America, and it made me realize this is a country where I want to be." Nine years ago, while a university student in Moldova, she was able to come to the States to work for an American company, "like a training program," she tells me. The intent was to study and return, but Cupid interfered in the form of Josh Myers, who is now her husband. They live in the Northeast and both work in construction, for different companies. As we sit sipping bottled water, I ask Molosag if she can recall what was in her mind at the moment she swore allegiance and became an American citizen. She thinks for a second. "I can do everything right now. Everything is in my hands. It doesn't matter who I am, what my background is, where I am coming from, I am a citizen," she says firmly. I tell her she is describing the American Dream. "I believe in the American Dream," she responds. "This is the thing I know for sure, you can be anything you want to be. But you have to work for it, which I am willing to do." Her plans are to finish school she had been studying international economic relations and she feels destined to do something big, perhaps build something with her own name on it. That's a down-the-road goal. Her immediate goal is to "raise a good citizen." Her 2-year-old daughter, Cordelia, speaks three languages, and Molosag deeply understands the benefit her daughter enjoys just by being an American. "Everyone looks at you equally," she says, "and I know because when I was looking for a job, nobody asked me where my parents are from or what they do. They look at you as a person." Molosag sounds as if she's reading from a Catalog of Immigrant Cliches: the things we've always heard, but which the bitter or disillusioned no longer believe. Immigrants see beyond the current ugliness of our politics to the promise of America. Immigrants believe the cliches. That belief empowers them, makes them optimists. Wednesday afternoon, in the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House, our nation embraced 13 new Americans 13 for the stars and stripes in the flag designed in Philadelphia. All of the speakers welcomed the new Americans from Eritrea, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, and Nepal, among others. City Councilman Mark Squilla told them they have joined "the family." Retired Army Gen. Carter Ham thanked them: "You make us stronger." Grateful immigrants, such as Mariana Molosag, may not know it, but they are as valuable to America as America is to them. They are keepers of the American Dream. VENTURA | A Ventura man could face up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted of a felony charge of domestic assault. Jason Henry Hoff, 45, is charged with domestic abuse assault, third or subsequent offense, as an habitual felony offender, according to trial information filed last week. Hoff struck a woman in the face, pushed her head into a mirror and punched her in the back of the head causing visible injuries on June 4 at a residence in Ventura, court documents state. He was arrested that day and charged with felony domestic abuse assault, third or subsequent offense. The Cerro Gordo County Attorney's Office has now amended the charge to include the habitual felony offender status, which increases the possible maximum punishment. Hoff has three prior felony convictions that include forgery and drug violations. Hoff's arraignment is set for June 27. He is being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail on $10,000 cash-only bond. He also has a contempt of court hearing set for June 22 on 15 counts of violation of a no contact order. Between June 8-12, Hoff made repeated phone calls from the jail to the woman he is accused of assaulting, court records state. Mary Pieper ATLANTIC CITY Standing before the all-male City Council with the state's overseer, Timothy Cunningham, to their left, the three female leaders from the Bungalow Park, Chelsea Heights, and Venice Park sections of Atlantic City made their intentions crystal clear. Either the 2,421 signatures they and 119 volunteers had collected and turned in to the city clerk Wednesday twice the required number, they say would result in a Council ordinance giving residents the right of a referendum if the state moves to sell or lease the municipal water authority, or, "We go to court," said Carol Ruffu of Chelsea Heights. Sheila Hull-Freeman of Bungalow Park urged the Council not to avoid acting just because the state, with its vast powers over the city due to a takeover law, might try to prevent a resolution from being introduced, or might veto it afterwards. "We have stood strong with our city government, always respecting the sovereignty of our city government even when no one else did," Hull-Freeman said. "We really need our city government to accept the resolution put forth on behalf of all the signatures collected. "If it has to go beyond this point, " she added, "we will see you in court." Added Alma Johnson of Venice Park, turning to look at Cunningham: "We are sick and tired of it." It was striking to see the three assert power before the all-male Council and state overseers. The middle-class enclaves they represent along the back bays and canals are often overlooked in discussions of the casino-dominated town. Ruffu said the grass-roots effort had grown in momentum as petitions were circulated door to door with the rallying cry of stopping Gov. Christie from moving to sell the Municipal Utility Authority, valued at $100 million. The petitions are about twice what is required by law up to 15 percent of the number of city voters who voted in the last Assembly election to force an initiative and referendum. "We came out on Saturdays. We had help from faith-based churches, residents working in their neighborhoods, volunteers from Food and Water Watch and the Green Party. Boston, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C.," Ruffu said. "This was viewed nationally as a movement, and all eyes were on Atlantic City," she said. "The citizens went out there, the voters of Atlantic City turned in 2,421 signatures, and I'm very proud of that." Council President Marty Small Sr. said that if the clerk certifies the required number of signatures, the Council would vote on a resolution that would authorize a referendum on any sale or dissolution of the MUA. "We'll put it on the agenda for a vote," he said. "The state can overrule anything we can do. We're going to move forward for the people of the city of Atlantic City." Cunningham called the petition drive "premature," and said the state had not made any decisions regarding the utility. On his last visit to the city, Christie seemed to have softened his stance on a sale, noting the desire of residents to keep it in public hands. Several water companies with political ties have expressed interest. "We haven't done anything," Cunningham said. "We haven't made a determination of what to do." The Municipal Stabilization and Recovery Act, in addition to giving the state veto power over Council actions, says any referendum would be considered advisory. But Lena Smith of Food and Water Watch, who has been organizing in Atlantic City for a year, said civil rights attorneys were prepared to challenge that part of the law in court. She said the petition drive was not premature, but proactive. "This ordinance is about getting back the rights that were lost when the state takeover law was passed," Smith said. "It's about citizens' civil rights. We want to make sure we have the right to control our water, which the state takeover law does not clearly state we have the right to do." Camden County freeholder Carmen Rodriguez speaks Thursday at a press conference announcing that the county's health department and the Mosquito Control Commission are partnering to distribute fish throughout South Jersey in an effort to prevent mosquito-borne diseases from spreading. Read more If the mosquito population is kept under control this summer, it will be fish that South Jersey residents have to thank. Officials from the Camden County Mosquito Control Commission and the county Health Department announced Thursday that the two agencies, as they did last summer, are joining forces to distribute hundreds of thousands of little fish in stagnant bodies of water throughout the region. The officials spoke in a garage-like building at the commission in Lindenwold. Behind them stood four long, gray tanks holding fathead minnows and killifish, water filtering in and out of the tanks. The fish can individually consume hundreds of mosquito larvae per day, helping to keep mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile, encephalitis, and Zika from spreading. The fish are not meant to be eaten. The agencies released about 200,000 of the fish last year but expect to release more this season because they started earlier. Last year, they began releasing the fish in July. This year, they began in April. Throughout the summer the fish will be released into stagnant bodies of water where mosquitoes are often found, such as abandoned pools in backyards, said Jack Sworaski, the county's director of environmental affairs. "It's not streams, it's not rivers," he said. "That's moving water. That's not the issue. Standing water is the issue." The fish, which are too small to be caught, will be released in counties throughout South Jersey. The Mosquito Commission receives the fish from the state hatchery in Hackettstown, and representatives from South Jersey counties come to the commission to pick up the fish and distribute them, Sworaski said. The state is paying for the county's initiative, which has a price tag of about $3,000 because of equipment and distribution costs, officials said Thursday. In addition to distributing the fish throughout the area, Camden County also sprays different streets and neighborhoods in the county early each morning to reduce population growth in residential areas. One person, a 56-year-old man from Passaic County, has died this year from encephalitis, according to the Health Department. There have been three deaths in the last two years because of the West Nile virus. Though Zika has not yet been found in any New Jersey mosquitoes, officials are ready for the possibility. It's possible that mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus could travel to the South Jersey region late in the summer, said Carmen Rodriguez, a Camden County freeholder and liaison to the Health Department. Everyone from New Jersey who has been infected with Zika was infected while abroad. "We don't want these diseases," Rodriguez said. "These diseases are very bad." A Pittsburgh man found guilty of rape, assault and robbery charges was sentenced Thursday by a Philadelphia judge to 40 to 80 years in prison for the New Year's Day 2015 rape of a 33-year-old woman retrieving her car from a parking garage just north of Center City, at 17th and Callowhill Streets. Common Pleas Court Judge Roger F. Gordon ordered Steven Woodson, 35, to begin serving his sentence after he completes an 8- to 16-year prison term from Allegheny County where he was convicted of violently assaulting a sheriff's deputy. Woodson, in a brief statement before sentencing, insisted that he was innocent of the crime. According to Assistant District Attorney Kelly Harrell, the victim left her car in the parking garage on New Year's Eve and returned the next morning to retrieve the vehicle. Woodson, who was lurking in the garage, grabbed the woman from behind, choked her and beat her unconscious and dragged her between two cars where he sexually assaulted her when she came to. Harrell said the woman escaped and ran screaming into the street where she was rescued by two passersby, one of whom chased Woodson for a distance. Police with a tracking dog arrested Woodson a block away. Middletown Township residents, you have been warned. There is a predator in your midst. The red fox. The charming yet pesky creatures, with beautiful red fur and long, bushy, white-tipped tails, are out in force in the Bucks County township. Police say they're chasing old dogs, terrifying cats, feasting on rodents, and prompting residents to call the animal control officer to complain. >>READER PHOTOS: Red foxes around the Philadelphia region "Two weeks ago my neighbor texted me that she observed our indoor/outdoor cat running with a fox on her tail. We got her inside just in time," Kate Elizabeth commented on the police post. In February, a fox went after her 16-year-old dog until their much-younger basset hound came to the rescue, she added. The fox, which is mainly nocturnal, poses no serious problem to humans. But if approached near their den, foxes will become defensive. Kits are becoming active, will get more vocal, and soon will be out hunting with their mothers, according to police. "Not sure what visits my pond for a drink, sure isn't as pretty as this picture," June Bostwick commented on the police Facebook post. "Got to go look up coyote." She might want to Google gray fox. The animals are native to Pennsylvania, with a gray coat, buff-colored underfur, and a bushy tail marked by a long black streak and black tip. And they climb trees. Not all residents are concerned about the opportunistic feeders or sympathetic. "Haha, just like the newer residents to the area to call police to complain about wildlife. Go back to NYC," a Facebook user named Marylynn Mc wrote on the department's page. She has a point. Foxes were here first. "If you have a fox population in the area, your best bet is to keep your cat indoors, and to stay outside with your small dog versus leaving them in your yard unsupervised," Animal Control Officer Katie Brennan stated in the post. "Smaller animals kept outside such as pet rabbits, guinea pigs, and any poultry are at risk and should be kept in the appropriate enclosure to maximize their safety." Brennan suggested contacting a licensed wildlife removal company to trap any problematic foxes. But if dealing with a mom with kits, just wait until they leave the den, then block the area. "If there seems to be a problem with a potentially sick fox or group of sick foxes, you should call the Pa. Game Commission at 610-926-1966 so that they can dispatch out an officer if needed," police posted. A red fox in Langhorne on Sweetwater Drive. Courtesy of Al Pearlman. See more reader photos of red foxes here. New Jersey's legislative leaders said Wednesday that they had agreed on a school-funding plan for the coming year, reaching a compromise on a source of budget drama, though not resolving the state's long-running funding woes. It was not immediately clear whether Gov. Christie, who can veto spending from the budget, supported the deal announced Wednesday evening by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D., Hudson). They said the agreement would send additional money to underfunded schools in 2017-18, in part by stripping some aid from schools receiving more state money than the funding formula provides. But the agreement is not a complete fix. While Sweeney and Prieto would provide an additional $146 million to underfunded districts, officials say the state's formula is at least $1 billion underfunded. And while Sweeney had been pressing to phase out so-called adjustment aid given to districts to ensure that they would not receive less money under the 2008 funding formula, but intended to be temporary the deal announced Wednesday would shift just a portion of it. In the statement, Sweeney called the agreement a "landmark first step toward restoring fairness to the School Funding Reform Act for schoolchildren and taxpayers" that would help fast-growing districts. In addition to sending the $146 million to underfunded schools, Sweeney and Prieto said they agreed to spend an additional $25 million to expand preschool programs. A spokesman for Christie did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Republican governor has urged lawmakers to change the state's school-funding system. But his proposal which failed to gain traction last year focused on shifting aid from urban to suburban districts, not increasing spending. Christie can exercise a line-item veto on spending in the state budget. Lawmakers must pass a budget by June 30 for the coming fiscal year. Sweeney and Prieto did not spell out which districts would receive more funding under their plan, although Sweeney mentioned Kingsway Regional School District in Gloucester County, which has been pressing for aid, and Chesterfield School District in Burlington County. They also did not specify which districts would receive less. Of the $146 million, $46 million would come from districts that receive adjustment aid above what they are owed by the state. Cuts to districts would be capped at 1.5 percent of their school budgets, according to Sweeney and Prieto. Sweeney earlier this year threatened to shut down state government over school funding, pushing for long-term changes to a system that he argued was not just underfunded but unbalanced. Along with increasing funding by $500 million over five years, Sweeney proposed eliminating adjustment aid, which amounts to about $545 million, according to his office. But Prieto had resisted cutting aid, saying last month that it would be "very difficult to take any money away" from districts, which had already set their budgets for the coming year. On Wednesday, Prieto said the agreement would "not hurt children while providing immediate relief to the most troubled school districts." The underfunded Kingsway Regional School District in Gloucester County could get an extra $820,000 from the state if a new funding deal passes. Read more TRENTON Secretaries and custodians who recently lost jobs in the Kingsway Regional School District may soon be hired back if lawmakers and Gov. Christie agree on a deal that would portion out extra aid to some districts around the state. "For the first time in a very long time, I'm optimistic," Superintendent James Lavender said Thursday. His Gloucester County district would get an additional $820,000 in state aid a 9.2 percent increase under an agreement reached Wednesday by New Jersey's top lawmakers, who had been in a stalemate over how to address a chronic funding shortfall and imbalance in distribution of aid among the state's public schools. In Burlington County, meanwhile, Michael Harris was considering technology and STEM lab investments that he might have to cut. "We're a pretty big loser," said Harris, superintendent of the Southampton Township School District, which could see a $200,000 or 9.3 percent decrease in state aid in its $13 million budget. "We're frustrated." The deal to send an additional $146 million to districts like Kingsway, which has been underfunded by the state for years, is contingent on shifting $46 million from districts that receive more aid than the state funding formula says they should, such as Southampton Township. The remaining $100 million will be found within the fiscal 2018 state budget. In February, Christie proposed $35.5 billion in total spending. It also depends on Christie. The Republican governor, who has line-item veto power over the state budget, expressed some reservations Thursday. "The governor is willing to consider the proposal, but he has some concerns about fairness," spokesman Brian Murray said. Lawmakers must pass a budget by June 30 for the next fiscal year. Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) said Thursday that they would not do so until they came to an agreement with Christie on school funding. "This is something that's worth fighting over," Sweeney said at a Statehouse news conference. "Obviously, he gets a say in this, too, if we want to get it signed." Sweeney and Sen. Paul Sarlo (D., Bergen), the Budget Committee chairman, said the proposal, which would also add $25 million for expanded preschool programs, was the start of a multiyear process that would correct inequities in how the state awards aid and ramp up funding to schools through the state's funding formula. Some GOP lawmakers complained Thursday that schools in Democratic-led legislative districts would benefit more under the plan than those led by Republicans. Sarlo said there was "no favoritism" behind the proposed aid changes. "It's just straight-up running the formula," he said. The formula, passed in 2008, calculates how much state aid districts should receive based on the local community's property-tax base and the needs of students in the district. But it hasn't been funded. If the state were to fully fund districts under the formula and account for enrollment growth, it would cost close to an extra $2 billion, Sweeney said Thursday. He argued the state can fill that hole if it adds funding each year and raises new revenue. On the day a new governor replaces Christie in January 2018, lawmakers will introduce a millionaires' tax, Sweeney said. He said that levy would raise an additional $600 million. The state also must draw down so-called adjustment aid, Sweeney said money that was awarded to districts to ensure they didn't lose funding under the 2008 formula, but that was intended to be temporary. Sweeney said that aid totals about $600 million. "It was a political reality, in order to get the necessary votes," Sarlo said of adjustment aid. But the proposal to take it away is drawing blowback. The new funding plan "helps many students in New Jersey, but it does so at the expense of other New Jersey students, which makes the cost too high," Wendell Steinhauer, president of the New Jersey Education Association, said in a statement. The teachers' union "will not stop fighting to protect every student, in every district, from Steve Sweeney's sick scheme," Steinhauer said. The New Jersey School Boards Association also expressed opposition to the proposed cuts, though less vehemently. "While we support the legislative leadership's goal to help underfunded districts, we cannot support a reduction in aid for any school district, particularly at this stage of the budget cycle," the association's executive director, Lawrence S. Feinsod, said in a statement. Districts finalized their local school levies last month, Feinsod said. Of the NJEA, Sweeney said: "When districts are laying off teachers and teachers are winding up with 35 kids in a classroom, I don't hear the screams of unfairness." The proposal would cap cuts to districts next year at 1.5 percent of their budgets. "We took a small percentage out of districts that are overfunded, because we don't want to hurt them," Sweeney said. Harris, in Southampton Township, said the proposed $200,000 cut to his district would be "painful" and questioned why some other districts weren't cut. For Lavender, at Kingsway, the $820,000 slated for his district wouldn't entirely reverse recent budget cuts or cover what it's owed under the formula. "Nobody ever thought I was going to receive a check for $10 million today," he said. But a potential infusion now "really helps us meet immediate needs." Nobody in President Trump's orbit stirs up headlines quite like Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of the right-leaning media outlet Newsmax and his longtime friend. Since the early days of the administration, Ruddy has fashioned himself into something of an unofficial spokesman for Trump, a freelance translator of sorts with a unique insight into the president's thought process and the workings of his inner circle. Put differently, he's a Trump whisperer. Ruddy has been a ubiquitous presence in Trump's sphere over the past several months, the "Zelig" of the administration, as the Atlantic's Rosie Gray wrote. He converses regularly with Trump and White House officials, and says he has given the president advice on everything from health care to Chinese relations to fake news. On more than one occasion this year he has stirred controversy by inserting himself into conflicts among Trump's staff. But what has really put Ruddy on the radar lately are his frequent media appearances, in which he is fond of telling reporters, candidly and on-the-record, what Trump is thinking or rather, what he thinks Trump is thinking. That was the case this week, when Ruddy made the explosive assertion on PBS NewsHour that Trump was pondering whether to fire Robert S. Mueller III, the former FBI director tapped by the Department of Justice to oversee the probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. "I think he's considering perhaps terminating the special counsel," Ruddy said Monday, adding that he believed the move would be a mistake. "I think he's weighing that option." The remark made waves not only because Ruddy has become one of Trump's most sought-after and loquacious confidants, but because he had visited the White House just an hour before heading to the PBS interview, leading some to speculate that he was testing the waters for Trump, as the Washington Post reported. Though no one in the administration specifically disputed Ruddy's claim, White House press secretary Sean Spicer responded that Ruddy had not met with Trump that day, saying he "speaks for himself." As Washington buzzed about whether Trump would indeed give Mueller the ax, Ruddy went on to give more interviews about the possibility of such a move. He also criticized the White House press office's response, saying "it's amateur hour over there." The dust-up was nothing out of the ordinary these days for Ruddy, who seems to have grown more bold about offering his perspective. What sets Ruddy apart from other Trump allies is his dual role as a newsman and a close friend of the president. As the head of a prominent conservative news organization with a monthly audience in the millions, his takes on the West Wing carry more weight than they might otherwise. He is quoted almost weekly in the Washington Post, the New York Times and other outlets, and makes regular rounds on cable news. Ruddy goes out of his way to say he speaks only for himself, even if his remarks come suspiciously soon after a meeting with the president or White House insiders. "I'm a newsman, so I'm going to give my views," Ruddy told the Post Wednesday. "I've never on a very confidential matter ever gone on a show and quoted the president on it. People sometimes make the false jump that 'he met with the president, therefore he must be talking on his behalf.' I've never spoken on his behalf." But it's not always easy to tell why, or for whom, Ruddy so readily offers his insights. "Perhaps Ruddy tries to have it both ways," CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter wrote Tuesday. "He trades on his access to Trump but emphasizes that 'I am not speaking for the president.' " Ruddy, 52, grew up on Long Island, studied history at St. John's University in New York, and received his master's in public policy from the London School of Economics. His journalistic career kicked off in the early 1990s, when he made a name for himself covering the Clinton White House for the New York Post. His reporting and subsequent book about the suicide of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster won him star status among conservative commentators. He founded Newsmax in 1998, catering mostly to right-leaning baby boomers through the outlet's website and a series of newsletters that quickly gained scores of subscribers, as he told Bloomberg in a 2014 profile. He met Trump shortly after. Both lived part time in Palm Beach, Florida, and would bump into each other intermittently, Ruddy said. Their friendship grew in the mid-2000s after Ruddy joined Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. Over the years, Trump and Ruddy would discuss their views on a range of issues and occasionally bounce ideas off one another. In the run-up to the 2012 election, Ruddy said, Trump expressed his frustration with Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, and said he was mulling a run of his own. Ruddy encouraged him. "I don't think he had really figured out what his political approach was going to be," said Ruddy, who identifies as a Reagan conservative but is not a registered Republican. "I would say, if you run you've got to officially announce, and if you do, I'll donate to your campaign. That was the Rubicon for him, the announcement." Since its founding, Ruddy's Newsmax empire has steadily expanded. By 2014, it ranked as the most trafficked conservative news site on the Internet, topping 11 million visitors per month, as Bloomberg reported at the time. That year, Newsmax opened a new headquarters in Boca Raton, right down the road from Trump. Ruddy, then on the verge of launching NewsmaxTV, told Bloomberg that he was making a play to upend the conservative media landscape by shaving off Fox News viewers. By 2017, Breitbart News had surpassed Newsmax as the Web's leading conservative site, with more than 17 million visitors in January to Newsmax's 7 million, as The Post reported. On top of that, it was Stephen K. Bannon, a former Breitbart chairman, and other Breitbart staffers who won seats in Trump's White House, not Ruddy. But Ruddy and Newsmax's loyalty to Trump seem to have paid off in different ways. Ruddy said he has maintained an open line with the president since Day One. "He'll reach out to me and I'll reach out to him," Ruddy said. "I've been doing Newsmax for years, and the president used us as one of his platforms to reach his base. I'm not interested in looking for a job from the president and I'm not looking for financial gain from the president." Republican operative and Trump ally Roger Stone echoed those remarks in the Atlantic earlier this year. "Newsmax is one of the earliest promoters of Trump," he said. "They were in fact promoting Trump for president in 2012. Ruddy has always been a Trump promoter when others were not yet taking his candidacy seriously or his potential candidacy seriously." The squabble over the possible termination of the special counsel was not the first time Ruddy's comments to the media have caused rumblings in Trump's White House. In February, Ruddy set off a media storm when he told reporters at Mar-a-Lago that Reince Priebus, Trump's chief of staff, was "in way over his head." He made the statements shortly after meeting with Trump for drinks, prompting questions about whether Trump was threatening Priebus through Ruddy. But Ruddy said later that he was only giving his opinion. A meeting with Trump, Ruddy and Priebus followed, and they appeared to smooth things over. Another major reveal came in March, shortly after Trump baselessly accused President Barack Obama of wiretapping him. That weekend, Ruddy spoke with Trump twice and described the conversation in a column for Newsmax. He wrote: "I haven't seen him this p off in a long time. When I mentioned Obama "denials" about the wiretaps, he shot back: 'This will be investigated, it will all come out. I will be proven right.' " Trump has not publicly bristled at any of Ruddy's commentary, even if it causes trouble for those around him. Ruddy said that may be because he always tries to be forthcoming with the president. If anything, he said, Trump seems to welcome his outspokenness. "People who know us tell me that they think that because I'm honest with him in my assessments," Ruddy said. "I think at the end of the day he respects it and values it." "We've had many frank discussions where we disagreed," he added, "and it hasn't changed the nature of our relationship one iota." Everything is happening so fast or at least that's how it feels trying to follow politics these days. You've seen the headlines about President Trump and his policies but what do they mean for Philadelphia? What does that mean for you? We've launched a newsletter to explore just that. You can sign up to get the weekly Trumpadelphia newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday. CHARLES CITY | Since the first Iowa detection in 2010, emerald ash borer (EAB) continues to expand its range across the Iowa landscape, including Floyd County. With confirmed detections now in 50 counties, the exotic pest that attacks and kills ash trees has now reached more than half of Iowa's counties, according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The recent finds involve ash trees in Charles City (Floyd County), Cresco (Howard County), Belle Plaine (Benton County), Alta (Buena Vista County) and rural southwestern Milo (Warren County). Insect samples were submitted from these sites and positively identified by the USDA. Mason City prepping for emerald ash borer arrival MASON CITY The City Council reached consensus Thursday night on a plan to contend with eme EAB-infested ash trees display canopy die back beginning at the top of the tree and progressing downward. S-shaped feeding galleries under dead or splitting bark, D-shaped exit holes, water sprouts along the trunk and main branches and bark that is stripped off is a result of woodpeckers hunting for EAB larvae. The adult beetle is metallic green in color and measures approximately one-half inch long and can be observed during the summer months. The larvae are the damaging stage and burrow through the inner layer of bark, feeding on the vascular tissue that moves life-sustaining water and nutrients throughout the tree. Starved trees usually die within two to four years. A federal quarantine, enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, remains in effect and prohibits the movement of all hardwood firewood and ash articles out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states without a valid compliance agreement or permit. Iowans are also encouraged to use locally-sourced firewood. The Iowa EAB Team provides diagnostic assistance to landowners. Anyone who suspects an infested ash tree in a county not known to have EAB is urged to contact the Iowa EAB Team at 515-745-2877. If at first you don't succeed ... Give a second thought to trying again, and ultimately decide to abandon any attempt at it in the name of keeping yourself and your family safe from harm. That is precisely what Kim Weaver, a Sheldon Democrat who lost in a bid last year to unseat Iowa's Rep. Steve King from his 4th District seat in Congress, chose to do. In a message posted Saturday to her Facebook followers, the Des Moines native and mother of three cited death threats she received as justification for dropping her second-try bid in 2018 to remove King from the House of Representatives. "I have received very alarming acts of intimidation, including death threats. While some may say enduring threats are just a part of running for office, my personal safety has increasingly become a concern," Weaver wrote. The threats, she said, occurred during her 2016 campaign, and have continued since her announcement she would run again. What? This is the stuff of Third World banana republics, where strongmen make a show of democracy but don't live up to its spirit. It is wrong in those places, and it is downright antithetical to the idea of America. We have no reason to take Weaver at anything but her word, and are appalled a candidate for office could be so mistreated. That it comes as no real surprise should be an even greater source of righteous outrage stretching beyond district boundaries. Typically, our focus is on Iowa's 2nd District, served now and for the past decade by Rep. Dave Loebsack, a Democrat, meaning politics in the state's three other congressional districts falls outside the realm of day-to-day interest. Except now and again, that is, when people like King, and 1st District Rep. Rod Blum, do or say something to draw attention from outside the areas they represent. Blum had a spate of such moments this spring, prompting criticism here and elsewhere for walking out of a television interview when the questions got tough. King, meanwhile, has made his entire career off such moments. His "other people's babies" remark earlier this year, about the relative roles of white people and people of color or immigrants in making America great again, is the sort of verbal fireball we've come to expect from King, and it has made him the darling of Fox News and the alt-right. From our perspective here in the opposite corner of the state, King hasn't had any legislative accomplishments to speak of during his 14 years in Congress. Seven terms ought to be enough to have a chairmanship of something besides an obscure subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. Saying King needs to go isn't meant as an endorsement of Weaver, per se. Considering she also cited her mother's health and her own as factors in dropping her bid for election, she may not have been the best suited to take on King. But the fact is, Weaver or practically anyone else, for that matter would be a refreshing change for Iowa. Democrats, independents and embarrassed Republicans in the 4th District deserve representation from a thoughtful human being regardless of party. Iowans elsewhere in the state deserve to be free of the guilt by association of him being elected and re-elected. For the good of democracy, King should have stepped up and declared in no uncertain terms, threats and intimidation against political candidates has no place in the 4th District, Iowa or the United States of America. Instead, he chose Sunday to cast doubt on the truthfulness of Weaver's claims, practically ensuring his next opponent or candidates elsewhere will face the same. So here is hoping some brave and reasonable soul will step to the plate and stand up not only to King, but also to people who think threats to a candidate's safety have a role in our politics. Because both deserve to be told, you are not welcome here. This editorial appeared in the June 7 edition of the Burlington Hawk Eye. Star Telecom Alliance Resources, Inc. becomes the first company to assemble mobile phones in the Philippines. This is the parent company of Filipino smartphone brand Starmobile. Since we started five years ago, it has been the companys goal to contribute to the local economy and provide employment by assembling phones in the Philippines, Starmobile COO Michael Chen said in an official statement. Assembly vs Manufacturing It should be noted though that the company buys the parts such as the board, screen, connectors, case and others from abroad. These are then assembled here in the country. A video of the assembling process shows how workers use machines to precisely assemble the parts into a Starmobile UNO B208. The packaging of the device also happens in the facility. The company aims to manufacture all the different parts of mobile phones within the facility itself in the future. Video of Starmobile UNO B208 Assembly in the Philippines Advantages Assembling phones locally has a lot of advantages for both the company and the customers. The company will save a lot in shipment fees. Meanwhile, customers are assured that parts of their phones are available in case of a defect. This also increases job opportunities in the country and improves the morale of Filipinos in terms of science and technology. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Standing side by side on Wednesday night, a bipartisan pair of congressmen smacked down Donald Trumps efforts to shut down the Russia investigation by firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is now reportedly criminally investigating the president for obstructing justice. GOP Congressman Leonard Lance was particularly emphatic in his support of Mueller, saying he trusts him and believes he will run an honest investigation. Video: Bipartisan pair of congressmen offers support for Robert Mueller pic.twitter.com/rUdlBzivKd Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) June 15, 2017 Responding to a question from MSNBCs Chris Hayes regarding whether Mueller a Republican and former FBI director should continue to run the investigation, Rep. Lance said: I do trust Mr. Mueller, and I was the first Republican in Congress to say that Attorney General Sessions should recuse himself in any matter regarding Russia. And I think that the appointment of Mr. Mueller by the deputy attorney general in his capacity as acting attorney general was an excellent appointment. The statement from the GOP congressman comes hours after it was reported that Donald Trump lost his favorite talking point and is, in fact, under criminal investigation for obstructing justice an unprecedented development in a young presidency filled with explosive revelations. The news is also more likely to push Trump toward forcing Mueller out as he continues to look for a way to lift the cloud of the Russia scandal that has hovered over the White House since he took office. But as the scandal continues to close in on Trump and the 2018 midterm elections approach, its likely the number of Republicans defending Mueller and abandoning the president will only increase. Republicans may have spent the first few months of Trumps presidency cowardly refusing to hold him accountable, but even they are starting to recognize his days in the White House may be numbered. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) explained why Donald Trump is on the verge of going down for obstructing justice with six little words, No one is above the law. Rep. Lieu tweeted: No one is above the law. https://t.co/tAQQU49ZE5 Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) June 14, 2017 Trump offered up the strange and unconstitutional notion that the doesnt apply to him before he took office. In a November 2016 interview with The New York Times, Trump claimed that he is above the law. The Trump administration has acted like they were above the law with the Muslim ban executive order and other actions that they have taken. The President doesnt just believe in an imperial presidency. He believes in an unlimited imperial presidency that is above the Constitution. Donald Trump is Richard Nixons view of presidential power on a powerful mixture of steroids and crack. As Rep. Lieu pointed out, no one is above the law. Trumps view of power had gotten him in trouble repeatedly, but this time he has crossed a line that can and may get him thrown out of office. Donald Trump is about to learn that no president is above the law. RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., June 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Accent Computer Solutions, Inc., a leading Southern California information technology (IT) consulting and cloud services provider, announced today that it has been named to After Nines Inc.s ChannelE2E Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs list. This list and research identifies and honors the top 100 managed IT services providers (MSPs) worldwide in healthcare, government, financial services, manufacturing, and additional vertical markets. Accent Computer Solutions, Inc. was ranked among the top vertical market MSPs in Financial Services/Banking. Only four IT support companies in California were named to this list for their proficiency in this sector. Were honored to be recognized for our expertise in providing information technology solutions to financial services firms, said Marty Kaufman, president of Accent Computer Solutions, Inc. The credit goes to my remarkable team for delivering the best possible IT service to our clients. After Nines Inc. congratulates Accent Computer Solutions on this years honor, said Amy Katz, CEO of After Nines Inc. MSPs across the globe are zeroing in on vertical market opportunities. Competition is intensifying. The best-of-the-best surfaced in this years report. The ChannelE2E Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs list and research was overseen by Content Czar Joe Panettieri (@JoePanettieri). The full list and associated report can be found online here: http://www.channelE2E.com/top100 About Accent Computer Solutions, Inc.: Accent Computer Solutions, Inc. is a managed IT services and IT support provider to small and midsize companies throughout in Southern California. The company is headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California, with IT professionals strategically located throughout San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties, as well as Arizona, Texas, and Louisiana. With over 50 employees, Accent helps small to medium-sized businesses, as well as multi-location enterprises, get the best possible results from their information technology investments. Accent reduces the cost and risk of information technology by providing proactive IT services & support, IT outsourcing, strategic IT consulting, cloud computing, IT infrastructure upgrades, business telephone/VoIP, and connectivity solutions. For more information, visit www.AccentOnIT.com, or call (909) 204-4801. About After Nines Inc. and ChannelE2E: ChannelE2E, powered by After Nines Inc., tracks every stage of the IT service provider journey from entrepreneur to exit. Through exclusive blogs, research and crowdsourced databases, our content guides VARs, MSPs, CSPs, ISVs and the broader IT channel through the five stages of business: Startup, growth, sustained performance, pivot and exit. ChannelE2E also tracks the top IT automation tools and technologies that drive partner profitability. For content, research and crowdsourced database information, please contact Content Czar Joe Panettieri (Joe@AfterNines.com). For sponsorship information please contact President and CEO Amy Katz (Amy@AfterNines.com). Visit ChannelE2E daily (www.ChannelE2E.com) and follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ChannelE2E) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/ChannelE2E). Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Someone leaked the Trump/RNC talking points on the obstruction of justice investigation, and they show that Republicans are beyond screwed. Here are the leaked Trump talking points: Trump is going to say that there is no obstruction of justice. Criminal leakers are to blame for everything, and Hillary Clinton and Loretta Lynch should be investigated for obstruction of justice. The whole defense comes down to denial, blaming leakers, and Hillary Clinton. The argument that the investigation is a distraction that is preventing them from carrying out their agenda should be tossed in the trash since an overwhelming majority disapprove of this president, his party, and their agenda. These talking points are terrible, and outside of the Fox News/true believers cult of Trump are likely only to make things worse for Republicans. When the White Houses best defense is complaining about Hillary Clinton while ranting about leaks, they will better off not saying anything. The talking points are bad and likely only to make things worse for Trump. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print While it is unknown if there are tapes, a new report of a memo from a former NSA official documents Trumps attempts to influence the NSA and interfere in the Russia investigation. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported, The special counsel also plans to interview Rick Ledgett, who recently retired as the deputy director of the NSA, the person added. While Mr. Ledgett was still in office, he wrote a memo documenting a phone call that Mr. Rogers had with Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. During the call, the president questioned the veracity of the intelligence communitys judgment that Russia had interfered with the election and tried to persuade Mr. Rogers to say there was no evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russian officials, they said. There is a clear pattern emerging of Trump calling intelligence officials and interfering in the Russia investigation. If President Trump and his campaign did not collude with Russia, he and his administration should be welcoming the investigation to put any false accusations to rest. Trumps repeated attempts to undercut and discredit the investigation look like the acts of a man who has something to hide. The case for obstruction of justice isnt Comey versus Trump. It is Trump versus Comeys testimony, Comey memos, intelligence community witnesses, and an NSA memo. That is just the information that is publicly known. It is likely that there is, even more, evidence that the public has yet to hear about. The special counsel has witness testimony and physical evidence to weigh when evaluating if Trump obstructed justice. The President wants America to believe that the man who lied to them about everything from the crowd size at his inauguration to President Obama spying on him is to be believed over a mountain of evidence. Trump didnt know it at the time, but his phone calls left a paper trail that could lead straight to obstruction of justice. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Just like a lover who suddenly takes their phone everywhere, Republicans have Trumpcare on lockdown because if the public found out what was in it before they shoved it through, the public outcry would be too costly politically. Republicans want to cheat and not lose their relationship with you in the process. The secret: If you thought being in an employer plan would protect you from the evils of Trumpcare, you are sadly mistaken. Trumpcare V2.1 will impose annual limits on as many as 27 million Americans and lifetime limits on as many as 20 million. And its not just in states with waivers, which is to say your Democratic governor cant protect you. A new Center for American Progress analysis of the Senate healthcare bill, aka Trumpcare, shows it could lead to a return of annual and lifetime benefits not just in states with waivers. They explained, This week Axios reported that the emerging Senate bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will allow states to waive coverage of essential health benefits for small employer and individually purchased plans. In waiver states, this cut in benefits would be catastrophic for people who are sick or have a pre-existing condition and need prescription drugs, treatment for opioid addiction, or other services that could be excluded. The waivers would impact people with employer coverage, even in non waiver states: But the waivers would have a much broader impact, affecting millions of workers with employer coverage in every stateeven nonwaiver states. As The Wall Street Journal reported, the waivers of essential health benefits would also eviscerate important financial protections that apply to large employer plans. Nationally, they estimate that Trumpcare would erode or eliminate financial protections for about 27 million workers and their dependents, The Center for American Progress combined the results of a survey by Willis Towers Watson and census data to estimate the number of people with employer-based coverage who would be affected in each state. Nationally, we estimate that the Senate bill would erode or eliminate financial protections for about 27 million workers and their dependents. Yes, CAP is liberal, but they note that the nonpartisan CBO recently confirmed that the bills waivers for essential health benefits would have this broader impact on employer plans. They gave an example of how this could happen, Suppose that Utah obtains a waiver that eliminates all essential health benefits. Walmart, which is headquartered in Arkansas but has operations in all 50 states, could choose to apply Utahs standardor lack thereofto all of its plans for all of its employees. In this indirect way, Walmart could impose annual and lifetime limits on any benefit for all of its employees nationwide. CAP then applied the results of a survey of large employers in which 20% said they would impose annual limits and 15% said they would impose lifetime limits if ACA protections were repealed, calculated an estimated number of people who had employer-sponsored insurance in 2015 and subtracted those enrolled in the small-group market. They ended up with an estimate of annual caps in benefits hitting almost 27 million people and lifetime limits on about 20 million. President Trump declared the House version of Trumpcare to be mean two days ago, and told Senate Republicans to make it better. Since these cuts are the conservative dream, Trump means to make it less Republican, not because Trump has an ideology or a principle hes trying to live up to but because he needs to be loved and the people are angry. The people do not want their Obamacare taken away. The people want Republicans to work with Democrats to tweak Obamacare, as any major piece of legislation requires over time. Trumps task to Republicans was to find a nicer way of killing people, basically. A way that they can sell with less pushback. Better branding on bankruptcy and death, if you will. Republican supporters have long used the argument that they have employer based insurance, so screw you if you have to buy your own because you own your own business or are self-employed as a contractor. Trumpcare takes that argument away from them, because now Trumpcare is coming for those with employer based insurance too. Trumpcare is taking aim at an estimated 27 million people with employer-based insurance. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print The world is laughing at Donald Trump as Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull mocked Trump for his brags about poll numbers and winning while pointing out that Putin is the reason why Trump won the election. Audio of PM Turnbull at a media dinner taking aim at Trump: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said, The Donald and I we are winning and winning in the polls. We are winning so much We are winning like we have never done before. We are winning in the polls. We are. Not the fake polls. Not the fake polls. Theyre the ones we are not winning in. We are winning in the real polls. You know the online polls. They are so easy to win. I know that, do you know that? I kind of know that. They are so easy to win. I have this Russian guy.. Other world leaders are mocking Trump for his obsessive need to brag about the polls, at least the polls that he believes are real, and the fact that Putin got him elected president. America is doing the opposite of winning under Trump. Trump has transformed the only super power in the world into a punchline for other world leaders. Donald Trump has turned what once was the most powerful office in the world into a total joke in less than 150 days. It seems like everyone outside of the Republican Party knows that Trump is president because of Putin. Trump promised that he would make America great, but the only thing he has accomplished is turning our proud country into a joke that others mock. La Degustation Boheme Bourgeoise a place of revival of traditional Czech cuisine with classic ingredients and forgotten techniques. This journey into Czech history and culinary culture is manifested in a choice of two extensive tasting menus. In fact, Head chef Oldrich Sahajdak's mission is to makea place of revival of traditional Czech cuisine with classic ingredients and forgotten techniques. This journey into Czech history and culinary culture is manifested in a choice of two extensive tasting menus. In fact, as the name of the restaurant would suggest , does do a la carte nor a lunch menu. Not that such parameters made a difference to the establishment's success - is held high as a paragon of exceptional fine-dining, and bookings have to be made well in advance. Mummy and I were greeted by sleek yet cozy interiors with subtle primal elements, like the chandelier made from glass bones, brown leather seats, glass walls styled like bricks, and the wall of the open kitchen designed to look like cobblestones. We were then presented with a black square envelope, which we opened to reveal the two tasting menus to choose from. Mummy and I opted for the smaller of the two, the 6-course tasting menu, and we chose to pair our meal with a selection of fruit and vegetable juices. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Isolated thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Rain will be heavy at times. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Rain will be heavy at times. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Completion of Initial Product Shipment from New Junction Avenue Facility Coincides with Grand Opening Event OSLO, Norway, June 15, 2017 - Thin Film Electronics ASA ("Thinfilm") (OSE: THIN), a global leader in NFC (near field communication) mobile marketing and smart product solutions, today announced that the fab at its new Junction Avenue facility is now operational and that the first product lots have shipped. The milestone coincides with Thinfilm's grand opening event at the former Qualcomm-owned site, attended by more than 200 guests including the Mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo. In October of 2016, Thinfilm announced it had leased the property at 2581 Junction Avenue for 12 years from Lowe Enterprises Investors and its joint venture partner, Vista Investment Group. Over several months, Thinfilm transitioned its sheet-based manufacturing operation from its former Zanker Road facility to the new site, and employees officially moved in on April 24. Thinfilm's manufacturing team has been actively ramping up the new fab and, as of June 15, has attained the following milestones: All processing tools recommissioned Cleanroom modifications complete, with resumption of 24/7 operations Redundancy in place for all critical processing tools in the fab EAS lots fully manufactured at Junction Avenue site have completed processing and have shipped NFC lots fully manufactured at Junction Avenue site have initiated processing; expected completion by end of Q2 The tool redundancy matches the sheet-based expansion initiated at the Zanker Road site, which equates to 40 million units of NFC die front-end capacity annually, and over 60 million units of EAS die front-end capacity annually. EAS volumes will be supplemented by the start of roll-based manufacturing by the end of 2017, which is on schedule. Roll-based manufacturing of EAS and NFC will further increase capacity to the billions of units annually. "Scaling our NFC manufacturing capabilities to ultra-high volumes is a critical step in meeting the growing demand we see among today's leading consumer brands. Our new roll-to-roll manufacturing line - and the state-of-the-art fab that houses it - will enable us to do just that," said Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm. "Thinfilm is proud to bring silicon and manufacturing back to Silicon Valley, and we look forward to providing our innovative NFC solutions to many more customers around the globe." About Thin Film Electronics ASA Thinfilm is a global leader in NFC mobile marketing and smart-packaging solutions using printed electronics technology. The Company creates printed tags, labels, and systems that include memory, sensors, displays, and wireless communication - all at a cost-per-function unmatched by conventional electronic technologies. Thinfilm offers end-to-end mobile marketing solutions that feature hardware, label/packaging integration services, and comprehensive cloud-based management, reporting and analytics. Collectively, these components deliver a powerful 1-to-1 digital marketing platform through which brands of all sizes can connect directly with consumers, all with the simple tap of a smartphone. The resulting disintermediation of search engines, online marketplaces, and social platforms empowers brands to control messaging, enhance consumer dialogue, build loyalty, increase engagement, and drive sales. Thinfilm's roadmap integrates technology from a strong and growing ecosystem of partners to bring intelligence to everyday, disposable items. Its mission is to effectively extend the traditional boundaries of the Internet of Things to fuel the Internet of Everything. Thin Film Electronics ASA is a publicly listed company in Norway with global headquarters in Oslo, Norway; US headquarters in San Jose, California; and offices in Linkoping, Sweden; San Francisco; London; and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.thinfilm.no. This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to 5-12 vphl (Norwegian Securities Trading Act). For more information on Thinfilm please contact: Bill Cummings SVP Corporate Communications Thin Film Electronics ASA +1 408-503-7312 bill.cummings@thinfilm.no Back in January I reported here on social science research that concluded that conservative politicians are better looking than liberal politicians, but do you really need social science to prove this? Heres one data set: However, while conservative politicians may be better looking, theres new social science that concludes liberal thinkers and writers are better looking than conservative thinkers and writers. Heres a news summary: Lonnqvists team of researchers looked at the 100 most recent authors of articles found in two right-leaning scholarly American magazines (Claremont Review of Books and First Things), and in two left-leaning magazines (New York Review of Books and The Humanist Magazine). The team obtained professional portraits of each of the 400 authors, and research assistants were then asked to rate the individuals based on physical attractiveness, placement on the continuum RightLeft and placement on the continuum ConservativeLiberal. Hey wait a minuteIm a Claremont Review of Books author! So Im in this sample. Ive just been called ugly by a social scientist. (A Finnish social scientist at that.) There is this additional bit though: The results showed that the more attractive scholars came from the liberal publications, though the authors on the right were viewed as better groomed. So in other words, we bathe more often than liberals. I could have also told you that without a regression analysis. The study appeared in the journal Personality and Individual Differences (though Im confused: I thought, according to liberals, were all equal and there are no individual differences). The whole article is behind a paywall, but I was able to hack my way through. Heres my favorite part: Science in action. This lookist aggression and marginalization will not stand! Nigerias crude oil exports are set to reach 1.84 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, PREMIUM TIMES has gathered. The new figure is slightly higher because of a recovery in Forcados exports, according to the nations loading programmes seen Wednesday. Forcados exports resumed at the end of May after a nearly complete shutdown since February 2016. Meanwhile, the grades operator, Shells local subsidiary SPDC, issued an initial June schedule of 197,000 bpd. It, however, increased the schedule to 252,000 bpd. By the resumption, Nigeria returns to the status of Africas largest oil exporter, a title it lost to Angola in 2016. The loss followed militant attacks on the nations oil infrastructure in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. Production has since improved, following peaceful negotiations with leaders from the region. Angolas July exports are expected to be 1.55 million bpd, Reuters reports. With a force majeure in place on Bonny Light, and loading delays of as much as 10 days, Nigerias export plans for June and July are likely to change. Share this: Twitter Facebook Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani, has apologised after photos of a veteran Hausa movie actor he posted online sparked angry reactions from the mans family. Ailing Hausa film legend, Kasimu Yeros family reacted furiously to Mr. Sanis decision to post the insensitive pictures after he visited Mr. Yero. The pictures of the actor in shorts exposing his frail body shared by Mr. Sani did not go down well with the family. They condemned it as invading his privacy for political reasons and depicting their family as not being responsible for his upkeep. The veteran actor, who is currently battling an undisclosed illness, is fondly remembered for his role as Uncle Gaga in the now rested 80s situational comedy, Cock Crow At Dawn, and as one of the lead characters in Abubakar Imams Magana Jari Ce. The viral photographs were taken when Mr. Sani and his team visited the actors Marafa, Kaduna State residence on Sunday. But Mr. Sani, who shared the pictures on his social media handles, while announcing his visit to the bedridden actor, maintained that it was done in good faith. The senator also said his conversation with the actor centered on his career and life after television. But, Mr. Yeros family members will have none of it. They accused the senator of ridiculing their father by posting the images online. Speaking anonymously in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, one of the daughters of the actor insisted that the senator did not visit their father in good faith. She noted, No man will take the pictures of an ailing man like my father only to share it on his social media handles. All that has transpired saddens me and my family is unhappy with the humiliation that Mr. Sanis visit has caused us. The senator should be one to even caution his photographers against sharing my fathers pictures online for our familys sake but alas, he was one of the people who personally shared it on his Twitter and Instagram. Mr. Sanis Special adviser on Politics and Ideology, Suleiman Ahmed, gave details of the visit in a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES. According to him, a staff of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and a member of the Yero family facilitated Mr. Sanis visit. The visit was conducted with two journalists from Rariya and Daily Trust and in the presence of one of Kasimu Yeros daughters. The discussion was centered on the artistic contribution of Kasimu Yero and at no time did the actor ask for any personal favour or even disclose that he was ill. However, Mr. Yero asked the Senator to sponsor the reproduction of a new Magana Jari Ce. After the meeting, the Senator made a post on the visit to Kasimu Yero in appreciation of the role Kasimu Yero in promotion of culture and art. This indicated that the visit was in good faith, the statement said. The Senator wishes to reiterate that the visit was not meant to ridicule the family of Alhaji Kasimu Yaro or belittle their responsibility and catering of him, in this regard, we wish to apologize to the family if the visit had portrayed them in a bad light. The details of the visit were covered by Daily Trust of June 12, 2017 and also Rariya, we are not aware of the assertion that there was solicitation by any group or individual on behalf of the Senator. The senator is still availing himself to funding reproduction of Magana Jari Ce, which Kasimu Yaro said is his wish. Mr. Yero has stated his side of the story in an audio sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday. He said, It is only but fair to welcome anybody who says he is coming to visit me. Sen. Sani approached me and said he was here to greet me. I was happy and when we got talking. I asked him if it there was any way we could reproduce some of our films that portray the typical northern culture. He agreed and asked me to write a proposal and promised to get me sponsorship. He subsequently gave me the sum of N100, 000 as a gift and I thanked him. The next day my children told me that the pictures I took with Mr. Sani have gone viral and I looked a shadow of myself. I told them I was not aware of the pictures. I never gave out my account number looking for assistance as displayed on some social media platforms. Share this: Twitter Facebook French English Paris, 15th June 2017 - Atos, through its technology brand Bull, has won a contract with GENCI (Grand Equipement National de Calcul Intensif) to deliver one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, planned for the end of 2017. A successor of the Curie system installed at the TGCC (Tres Grand Centre de Calcul of the CEA in Bruyeres-Le-Chatel), the Bull Sequana supercomputer has an overall power of 9 petaflops and can carry out 9 million billion operations per second. It will be used for research purposes in France and Europe. The announcement was formalised yesterday at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. A supercomputer to speed up academic and industrial research The new supercomputer will be made available to French and European researchers for use in academic and industrial fields that require extremely high computing and data processing power. The applications for intensive computing are many and varied, such as climatology, where the supercomputer will help to model past, present and future meteorological conditions with incredible accuracy within the framework of international activities carried out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). When applied to life sciences, the high-performance computer will make it possible to work on the scale of basic chemical processes in molecular systems, thus paving the way for major advances in the personalisation of medicine. In the energy industry, the supercomputer will not only optimise the process of combustion in motors and turbines, but also develop alternatives based on electricity with new-generation batteries in the wind, tidal and, in future, fusion power sectors. In astrophysics, only a supercomputer with this kind of power is capable of simulating the entire universe, thus putting us in a position to better understand its origin and evolution. The equivalent of 75,000 PCs connected together Based on the platform of the latest generation of the Bull Sequana X1000, which will eventually be capable of achieving an exaflop (a billion billion operations per second), the first instalment of this supercomputer will have a peak computing power of 8.9 petaflops and a distributed memory capacity of almost 400 terabytes. An extension of its configuration is planned for 2019, when its computing capacity is set to increase to more than 20 petaflops. Consisting of more than 124,000 computing cores, the supercomputer will benefit from the patented direct liquid cooling (DLC) technology used to cool the system down to room temperature, creating an energy saving of up to 40% compared to air cooling. "The design of Curie's successor illustrates the expertise of Atos engineers, confirming Atos' European leadership in the supercomputer domain. Following on from the Curie supercomputer, deliveredin 2011 and already amongst the most powerful in the world, we are proud of the renewed trust that GENCI has placed in us to accompany them each day in their development of academic and industrial research" states Philippe Vannier, Group Advisor for Technology at Atos "GENCI welcomes the acquisition of a new Atos supercomputer, which will actively help us to maintain the scientific competitivity of our French researchers. This highly anticiapted acquisition indeed marks an acceleration in French investment in research organisations. This will also be of great advantage to f industrial companies, especially SMEs and start-ups. This high-performance equipment spearheads our commitment in the European research infrastructure PRACE (PartneRship for Advanced Computing in Europe) in which GENCI is highly involved in representing France" says Philippe Lavocat, CEO of GENCI. The Atos group, leader of the supercomputer in Europe, has 22 supercomputers in the TOP500 of the most powerful machines in the world. Specifications of the new supercomputer: All of the computing nodes consist of 9 Sequana cells and are equipped with the latest generation of Intel Xeon Skylake-EP processors and Intel Xeon Phi(TM) KNL manycore processors for a total of over 124,700 cores; The peak computing power is in the range of 8.9 petaflops (6.86 petaflops in x86_64 technology and 2.08 petaflops in accelerator technology); The distributed memory capacity is in the range of 400 Tb; The patented direct liquid cooling technology makes it possible to cool the machine with hot water, reducing energy consumption by up to 40% in comparison to using air to cool. The entire solution functions under the new Bull SCS 5 environment based on the Linux Red Hat 7.x operating system. The solution also includes a cluster of Lustre multi-level storage capable of releasing a minimum output of 300 Gb/s (500 Gb/s over time) for a minimum required data storage of 5 Pio. Atos at ISC Atos is a Platinum Sponsor at the ISC High Performance Annual Conference that takes place in Frankfurt from 19th-22nd June 2017, and will exhibit the full breadth of its High Performance Computing offer on booth #D-1126. Follow the developments online at @Atos, @Bull_com About Atos Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with approximately 100,000 employees in 72 countries and annual revenue of around 12 billion. The European number one in Big Data, Cybersecurity, High Performance Computing and Digital Workplace, The Group provides Cloud services, Infrastructure & Data Management, Business & Platform solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. With its cutting-edge technologies, digital expertise and industry knowledge, Atos supports the digital transformation of its clients across various business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Energy & Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications, Transportation. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index. www.atos.net Bull is the Atos brand for its technology products and software, which are today distributed in over 50 countries worldwide. With a rich heritage of over 80 years of technological innovation, 2000 patents and a 700 strong R&D team supported by the Atos Scientific Community, it offers products and value-added software to assist clients in their digital transformation, specifically in the areas of Big Data and Cybersecurity and Defense. www.bull.com | Follow @Bull_com For more information, please contact: Atos - Jose de Vries +31 6 30 27 26 11 jose.devries@atos.net @josee_devries GENCI - Severine SAINT HUBERT +33 1 42 50 04 15 Severine.saint-hubert@genci.fr The Nigerian government is drafting a law to establish a National Blood Service Commission and a network of 17 trauma care centres across the country. The commission is expected to enhance the performance of the National Blood Transfusion Service, NBTS. The draft, which is being prepared by the Federal Ministry of Health, will soon be presented to the Federal Executive Council as an Executive bill. The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at an event organised by the ministry to commemorate the World Blood Donor Day. According to the minister, the bill will grant the NBTS the autonomy it requires to carry out its mandate in consonance with global best practices. In addition to this, regularisation of the appointments of core technical staff previously engaged on the programme is being pursued in order to ensure that relevant skill sets are available to optimize service delivery at the Blood Service. The NBTS will thus have a proper mandate to provide safe, quality and adequate blood in an equitable and cost-effective manner to all people resident in Nigeria. This will be executed through a network of 17 centres spread across the six geopolitical zones, including the FCT. This is consistent with this years campaign and brings to fore the urgent need to foster collaborations with relevant agencies such as the Nigerian Red Cross Society, NEMA, Nigerian Police Force, Federal Road Safety Corps, Civil Defence Corps & the Nigerian Defence Forces in order to develop an Emergency protocol/ guidelines for action during emergencies, he added. The minister observed that insufficiency of blood for transfusion has been one of the reasons for high causalities and delay in attending to victims at health facilities in Africa, especially in Nigeria. Mr. Adewole urged Nigerians to be voluntary blood donors as the increase in emergency cases across the country calls for a sufficient and sustainable blood bank. He said emergencies increase the demand for blood transfusion and make its delivery challenging and complex. He said adequate safe blood units during emergencies reduces mortality arising from severe acute blood losses following obstetric emergencies and trauma, especially during road traffic accidents, bomb blasts and collapsed buildings. With a population of over 180 million, the estimated blood need in Nigeria is about 1.8 million units of blood per annum. Unfortunately, much less is donated leading to avoidable deaths and morbidity particularly among women folk, newborn children, victims of road traffic accidents and insurgencies. He stressed that this situation can improve if up to one per cent of our countrys adult population commit themselves to voluntary non-remunerated blood donation on a regular basis. The minister said voluntary non-remunerated blood donation accounts for only 10 per cent of Nigerias total blood collection, while family replacement donations and commercial donations account for 30 and 60 per cent respectively. This situation needs to be reversed as we move towards the attainment of 100 per cent voluntary non- remunerated blood donation by the year 2020, he urged. The World Blood Donor Day is celebrated around the globe on June 14 with events that help raise awareness on the need for safe blood and blood products world-wide, as well as to appreciate all those who voluntarily give their blood to save the lives of others. The theme for this years campaign focuses on blood donation in emergencies with the slogan What can you do? Give blood. Give Often. The campaign underlines the role everyone can play in helping others during emergency situations by donating blood. It also reinforces the message that it is important to give blood regularly, so that the blood stock is adequate before an emergency arises. Alemu Wondimagehnehu, World Health Organisation Representative in Nigeria, in his goodwill message pledged the agencys continual support of NBTS initiatives for ensuring that safe, lifesaving blood and blood products are available for all, particularly those in emergency situations. He noted that this years theme was very relevant considering the rising cases of road traffic accidents, armed conflicts, natural or man-made disasters which all increase demand for blood transfusion. Many people die because the lack blood and blood products or risk infections when transfused with unsafe blood. The serious humanitarian crises facing Africa in recent decades have revealed inadequacies of national health systems in most countries to manage health emergencies including the timely availability, security and the accessibility of blood and everybody can play a role in emergency situations by giving blood as blood transfusion is an essential component of emergency healthcare, he said. He, however, acknowledged that progress has been made in improving the availability and safety of blood in the African region. The 2016 report on the status of blood safety and availability in the WHO African region shows that several countries have improved their blood availability and safety in tandem with the World Health Assembly and regional committee resolution on blood safety. Share this: Twitter Facebook One of Nigerias foremost civil society organisations, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) is currently embroiled in crisis between its Lagos chapter and the national body. A report of the Disciplinary and Compliance Committee hearing of the CDHR obtained by PREMIUM TIMES detailed cases of victimisation, financial impropriety, and indiscipline against executives of the state chapter. But the Lagos State chapter of the association accused the national body of a witch-hunt because of its refusal to mobilise members to support the founder of The Synagogue Church Of All Nations, T.B Joshua, at the churchs ongoing criminal trial in a Lagos court. On Tuesday, the chapter responded to an invitation by officers of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, by staging a rally outside the Police Departments premises insisting they would not succumb to intimidation by the national body. On Wednesday, the executives of the Lagos chapter of the CDHR received a notice from the national body restricting them from using the entire facilities at the national secretariat, including the office spaces allocated to Alex Omotehinse, the chairman, and Muyiwa Kushimo, the secretary who was recently suspended. Graft, indiscipline, misconduct PREMIUM TIMES learnt the problem began in mid-2016 when the Lagos chapter suspended its treasurer, Abiodun Nwafor, after she accused its leadership of financial malfeasance. Mrs. Nwafor had alleged that the state chairman, Mr. Omotehinse, was receiving money from the public and spending the said money without informing her office. She also accused Mr. Omotehinse of reprinting the unions forms, selling them, issuing fake receipts and receiving monies to his pocket without proper account. She further stated that her predecessor, Judith Ogele, refused to hand over to her financial documents more than six months after leaving office. In response to Mrs. Nwafors allegations, the Lagos chapter constituted a committee to investigate her claims. The committees a second committee was constituted after the complainant rejected the findings of the first one reported that the allegations were unfounded and recommended the suspension of the complainant. But a review of the case by the Disciplinary and Compliance Committee (DCC) showed that the Lagos chapter committee which suspended Mrs. Nwafor acted beyond its brief. The DCC also established that Ms. Ogele, the immediate past branch treasurer, refused to hand over the books of accounts, receipt booklets, and cheque book to her successor. It appears in the eyes of the two committees and the BCC (Branch Coordinating Council) that the aspects of the complaint or allegations that were unfounded constituted the acts of indiscipline; that cannot be correct, the DCC report, signed by Debo Adeniran, the committee chairman stated. Even when the entire complaint is unfounded, it cannot, prima facie, amount to an act that violates the spirit or letter of the CDHR Constitution. Or is it that what seems like a call for answerability or accountability amounts to an act of indiscipline in the interpretation of the committees and the BCC? We do not see any complaint here that is too extraneous or inappropriate. It puts to question how the committee arrived at a conclusion that the complaints were unfounded. If it was held that the allegation of financial misappropriation by some officers was unfounded it does not constitute a fundamental breach of the CDHR Constitution by the maker of the allegation. We reprimand impunity in strong terms. A situation where members of CDHR cannot complain of perceived wrongdoing or injustice for fear of victimization must not be encouraged but condemned absolutely. While the DCC cleared Mr. Omotehinse of allegations of fraud and financial misappropriation, it reprimanded him against his direct involvement and dealings with finance. On claims by Mrs. Nwafor that Mr. Kushimo assaulted her and hit her on the chest, the DCC said it was a serious violation of the spirit and letter of the CDHR held. Kushimos conduct is an affront or attack on the respect for the dignity of the petitioner, especially as a woman; the act amounts to gross abuse and violence against a woman; a degrading treatment that is far from expectation by a Comrade, the report said. In its final resolution, the DCC recommended that the indefinite suspension handed to Mrs. Nwafor be set aside; Mr. Kushimo and Ms Ogele be suspended for 10 months and six months respectively; and Mr. Omotehinse pen letters of apologies to both the branch and Mrs. Nwafor through the National Executive Committee. The T.B Joshua factor Last week, the police invited Mr. Omotehinse for an interview in its investigation of a case of conspiracy, fraud, stealing, threat to life, and indecent assault, following a petition by Mrs. Nwafor During the Lagos chapters rally on Wednesday, Mr. Omotehinse said the crisis in the CDHR began after he turned down a directive from the national president, Malachy Ugwumadu, to attend court hearings involving The Synagogue Church of All Nations. The church is currently facing a criminal trial instituted by the Lagos State government before an Ikeja Division of the Lagos High Court after a 2014 building collapse in the church killed at least 116 people. The government sued the church and its engineers in 2015 for criminal negligence, after a coroners inquest found that the church failed to secure government approval before adding four additional floors to a two storey guest house in its premises. The only problem we have is Malachy, because we refused to mobilize our members to be attending TB Joshuas (church) trial every hearing, Mr. Omotehinse told PREMIUM TIMES. They called us that they need our members, at least 100 members, that theyll be giving them N1,000 each, that every hearing date that we must be appearing with our members, and we should carry placards, that TB Joshuas trial is persecution. And we say its not possible for a group like us. Let him honour court first, if he honours court, if truly we discover they are trying to persecute him, well rise for him. Our members mobilized counsels to the court, even some of them that went with him were complaining that they were not properly briefed. But we, as a group, we cannot attend such trial. Thats why he became hostile, began to instigate members against us. Mr. Omotehinse admitted that although Mr. Joshua is currently the main financier of the CDHR, his philanthropy which included a donation of a bus in 2013, N9.5 million in 2016, and bags of rice at Christmas periods was not enough to call out members. We sympathize because of his philanthropy, but it does not mean that because youre a philanthropist and were a beneficiary of your kindness, wed now support you, said Mr. Omotehinse. But Mr. Ugwumadu told PREMIUM TIMES that the national bodys actions were based on the report of its disciplinary committee and had nothing to do with Mr. Joshua. Dont forget this is an organization led by Beko Ransome-Kuti, Professor Iyayi, Femi Falana, the integrity of what we do is at the heart of the organization, said Mr. Ugwumadu, a lawyer. So all those things they are saying its too cheap when a person will hear that. It is on the basis of some very serious fraudulent activity that we now had to set up a disciplinary committee to try some of them, and it is in response to that they are now trying to turn the narrative and give the impression that there is anything other than the investigations against them. They became violent and attacked some of our members who insisted they must obey NEC decisions. That is what led them to Panti, I mean, you dont go to Panti to write about T.B Joshua, you go to Panti when there are criminal allegations under investigation against you. Share this: Twitter Facebook The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, PACAC, Itse Sagay, has expressed shock at the acquittal of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, by the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Mr. Sagay, septuagenarian professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said it was incredible Mr. Saraki got absolved and, therefore, advised the federal government to appeal the ruling. The CCT on Wednesday cleared Mr. Saraki of false asset declaration, charges brought against him by the federal government. The tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar, ruled that the prosecution failed to establish prima facie case against Mr. Saraki, thereby upholding a no-case submission made by the defendants counsel, Kanu Agabi. I was shocked myself by the ruling, Mr. Sagay told PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday evening. The amount of evidence amassed against him (Mr. Saraki) was considerable; so, I am surprised it was said no prima facie had been made against him. Its shocking thats all I can say. The federal government arraigned Mr. Saraki before the CCT in September 2015, shortly after he defied his party, All Progressives Congress, to contest and win the National Assembly leadership. As if he was sure he would lose at the CCT, he had exhausted all avenues, up to the Supreme Court, to avoid the trial, which, however, resulted in his favour on Wednesday. From the simple analysis of the evidence of the prosecution, we find it difficult to accept the seriousness of the witnesses. All the evidences were so discredited, unreliable that no reasonable court will attach probate value to them. Since the essential ingredients of all the charges were not proved as required by law, this tribunal has no option to discharge and acquit the defendant in view of the manifestly unreliable evidence of the prosecution witnesses, said Mr. Umar, whom Mr. Saraki had several times accused of bias. However, Mr. Sagay disagreed with Mr. Umar. If you look at this case, the prosecution was very organised. Evidence was brought out very clearly. In fact, I would say mountains of evidence. So, nobody can blame poor prosecution in this case. So, what is the problem? A Nigerian factor? We dont know, said. Mr. Sagay. In the wake of the ruling, many Nigerians criticised the CCT and expressed sentiments Mr. Sarakis acquittal made mess of the much vaunted Buhari anti-corruption war. The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, had, in a leaked letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, said the outcome of the Saraki trial was key to the assessment of the administrations anti-graft war. Speaking further in his interview with PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday night, Mr. Sagay held back comment on the countrys judiciary, but said the anti-corruption war required serious review. It is a thing that will be under a very serious review to assess the whole anti-corruption fight; to see who is for it; who is subverting it. He dismissed views Mr. Sarakis trial was politically motivated in the first place, saying a crime is a crime. What I say is this: do not commit a crime so that no one will politically motivate your trial. Be clean. Who can come after me now politically? Nobody can charge me politically no matter how politically motivated he is against me, because I have nothing. Asked to advise the government on what next to do, Mr. Sagay said: obviously it (Sarakis acquittal) has to be appealed against for the sake of the judicial system. The whole thing sounds incredible. Share this: Twitter Facebook The Nigerian Army on Wednesday made public the findings of a Special Board it set up to investigate alleged human rights abuse levelled against its personnel by Amnesty International, AI. The findings were presented by Nuhu Angbazo, ta major general, who is the Chief of Military/Civil Affairs at a news conference in Abuja. The nine-member board headed by A.T. Jibril, a retired major general, was inaugurated by the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, a lieutenant general, on March 8. AI had accused the army of human rights abuse, excessive use of force and extra-judicial killing of terrorists in the North-East and members of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in the South-East. Although the board did not find the army culpable of the accusations, it noted that the Boko Haram terrorists, for instance, were not allowed access to legal representation. It noted that the right to counsel is fundamental to basic fairness that should be recognised even with respect to terrorism cases. The board found that the process determining the legal status of Boko Haram detainees in all military detention facilities appear to have been left to the Nigerian Army alone. We note in particular the difficulty encountered by the Nigerian Army in transferring detainees in Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri detention facility to the Maiduguri maximum prisons to ease congestion in the facility. The board found that a common feature in all the detention facilities visited was the delay in the legal processing and trial of Boko Haram detainees. The board also indicated in the findings that some of the terrorist detainees, at the time of the arrest, were malnourished and in poor state. This could be misconstrued as evidence of deliberate starvation. On the alleged killing of members of IPOB and their subsequent alleged burial in a shallow pit, the board in its finding did not find the army wanting. It stated that the board interacted with the Anambra Governor, Commissioner of Police, State Director, DSS and some residents. They testified that no one was killed during the incident (IPOB protest) at Onitsha bridgehead but police report showed that 14 people were arrested on the day May 29, 2016. The board received the names and contact details of the five ring leaders of the protest who were arrested and handed over to the police on that day, the report said. On the allegation of war crimes against some senior officers, the board found nothing incriminating against them. They include retired major generals John Ewansiha, O.T. Ethan, A, Mohammed, A.O. Edokpayi and R.O. Bamigboye, a brigadier general. According to Mr. Angbazo, the board recommended quarterly high-level meeting on access to justice for insurgents for the purpose of creating a platform for enhance better collaboration between Federal Ministry of Justice and security authorities. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook The All Progressive Congress, APC, in Bebeji Local Government Area of Kano State, says it has expelled Abdulmumuni Jibrin, the member of the House of Representatives who was suspended for accusing the leadership of the House of budget fraud. Mr. Jibrin represents Bebeji Federal Constituency. The chapter of the party said Mr. Jibrin was expelled for taking part in anti-party activities. Reading the resolution expelling Mr. Jibrin Thursday, the party chairman in the local government, Sani Ranka, told journalists in Kano the party had taken all constitutional steps to make Mr. Jibrin step back from anti-party activities, to no avail. He said the party formed a five-member committee to meet with Mr. Jibrin, but the lawmaker refused to meet the panel. Before taking this final decision, we formed a disciplinary five-man committee and they went to him on 11-4-2017, he saw them briefly but without any tangible talks and they went back on 13-4-2017 he then refused to see them, he said. Mr. Ranka said after reporting back to the party executives, the partys caucus agreed to expel Mr. Jibrin from the party. The party accused the suspended member of factionalizing the party, creating new unconstitutional leadership, going against the government of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and indiscipline against the national headquarters of the party and the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari. Mr. Jibrin could not be immediately reached for comments. Share this: Twitter Facebook Etisalat Nigeria Limited, Nigerias fourth largest telecommunication firm, appears to be swimming deeper in troubled waters as Mubadala Development Company of United Arab Emirates, the companys largest shareholder, has pulled out its investment and headed out of the country, those familiar with the matter have told PREMIUM TIMES. Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi Government-owned investment and development company, controls about 70 per cent of the shares in Etisalat along with Etisalat UAE mobile, with Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS, promoted by Hakeem Bello-Osagie, owning the remaining 30 per cent. The UAE investor has hinted Etisalat Nigeria as well as the industry regulator, Nigerian Telecommunications Commission (NCC) of its decision to opt out of the joint ownership of the company, our sources said. I can tell you that Mubadalas withdrawal takes effect from today (Thursday), one source said, asking not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter. With the withdrawal of its largest investor, the board of Etisalat Nigeria might be dissolved, with the creditor banks effectively taking control. One of our sources said the ultimatum given the telecom company to pay up its debt expires today or tomorrow. To continue to run the company, the consortium of banks will most likely present a holding company with telecommunication operating experience to NCC for approval. The banks do not want the services of the company to cease, one of our sources said. So they are setting up a vehicle to keep whatever remains of Etisalat afloat. The banks may approach the NCC tomorrow or latest next week. Mubadala could not be reached for comments Thursday evening. Repeated telephone calls to its Abu Dhabi headquarters were unanswered. An email enquiry is yet to be responded to as at the time of publishing this report. Etisalat has been facing huge financial crisis following pressures on it by a consortium of some foreign and Nigerian banks, led by Access Bank, to recover a $1.72 billion (about N541.8 billion) loan facility the company obtained in 2015. The loan, which involved a foreign-backed guaranty bond, was for Etisalat to finance a major network rehabilitation and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria. Its inability to meet its debt servicing obligation agreed since 2016 compelled the consortium of banks, prodded by their foreign partners, to take up the matter with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NCC. The intervention of the two regulatory authorities persuaded the banks to suspend their decision to take over the mobile telephone company, giving it opportunity to renegotiate and reschedule the loan. But Mubadalas decision to pull out of the company is likely to push the troubled firm deeper into survival crisis. The Chairman of the company, Hakeem Bello-Osagie, did not answer calls made to him by PREMIUM TIMES Thursday. But an official of the company, Seyi Osunfedo, later called back to say she was not aware of the latest action by Mubadala. I cant confirm that information for now, she said. As you are aware, discussions have been ongoing for some time now with various authorities to find ways to resolve the crisis. I am not aware that that decision has been taken. Asked whether Etisalat stands a chance of surviving should the UAE investor fail to rescind its decision to leave, Ms. Osunfedo said, I dont think there is any difficulty that cannot be surmounted. A spokesperson for Access Bank, Abdul Imoyo, did not answer or return multiple calls. He also did not respond to a text message. Also, the spokesperson for the NCC, Tony Ojobo, did not respond to calls. He however responded to a text message, saying he was in a meeting. Etisalat, which commenced business in Nigeria in 2009, acquired the unified access license, including a mobile license and spectrum in the GSM 1800 and 900 MHZ bands from the NCC in January 2007. The company is rated by the NCC as Nigerias fourth largest telecoms operator, with about 21 million subscribers or about 12.9 per cent of the telecom market share as at January 2017. MTN takes the lead with 60 million, or 40 per cent market share; Globacom, 37million, or 24.6 per cent; and Airtel 34.6 million, or 22.8 per cent. Share this: Twitter Facebook The Nigerian Navy on Wednesday alerted Nigerians on the activities of fraudsters currently operating fake online recruitment sites. A statement issued by the Navys Director of Information, Suleiman Dahun, in Abuja, made this known. Mr. Dahun, a captain, said for the avoidance of doubt, the portal for registration of candidates for the 2017 NN Recruitment Exercise has not been opened. Therefore, innocent members of the public are advised to steer clear of these fraudulent sites. Furthermore, information will be conveyed to the public on the commencement of the recruitment exercise in the mass media, he said. Mr. Dahun said that the 2017 recruitment form would be free of charge whenever registration commenced. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook The Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC, on Wednesday urged an Ikeja High Court to dismiss a garnishee order in respect of a N96.8 million judgment in favour of a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mr. Obanikoro had in 2010 sued the NBC, bottlers of Coca Cola, Fanta and Sprite, at an Edo High Court for damages over a fatal accident involving his daughter, Abidemi. Mr. Obanikoros co-applicants in the suit are his daughter, Abidemi Obanikoro, and Agnes Akele, the wife of his driver. On May 13, 2007, Abidemi, her friend, Ibukun Adeniyi, Mr. Obanikoros driver and a police orderly had set out from Lagos to Igbinedion University, Okada in Edo, Abidemi and Adeniyis school. During their trip, a NBC vehicle which was alleged by the applicants to be driven recklessly crashed into the senators vehicle killing all occupants with the exception of Abidemi. Abidemi, who was badly injured, was immediately flown to South Africa for life-saving medical treatment. In 2010, Obanikoro sued the NBC for damages at the Edo High Court, Auchi. because the accident occurred within its jurisdiction. On June 2, 2016, the Edo High Court granted a judgment in favour of Mr. Obanikoro and his co-applicants to the tune of N96.8 million. The court had ordered that N1.5million should be awarded to Obanikoro as expenses incurred on behalf of his late driver and police orderly. It awarded 184,236.52 dollars (N76.69 million) as cost for medical expenses for Abidemis treatment in South Africa and 48,779.66 South African Rand (N1.07 million) for her hotel accommodation in South Africa. The court also awarded N10 million to Akele for the pain and suffering over the death of her husband, the driver of the car. Obanikoros daughter was also awarded N10 million as general damages for her pain and suffering while N500,000 was awarded as costs of the action. Although the NBC appealed the amount awarded in favour of the applicants, Mr. Obanikoro, through his lawyer, Lawal Pedro, had registered the judgment before the Lagos High Court because NBCs headquarters is located in Lagos. The one-time senator subsequently got a garnishee order from an Ikeja High Court against five banks where the NBC had accounts and the NBC appealed the order. During proceedings on Wednesday, counsel to the NBC, Ademola Olawoye, in an application requested that the court should set aside the garnishee order as it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. He argued that any adjudication on the case should be stalled pending the outcome of the appeal at the Court of Appeal. Mr. Olawoye argued that since an appeal had been filed in respect of the judgment delivered by Edo High Court, no other court could adjudicate on the matter. The counsel to the applicants, Lawal Pedro, however, told the court to disregard the argument of the NBC, noting that there was no evidence before the court that they had appealed the N96.8 million judgment. He drew the courts attention the fact that the appeal form which was presented to the court by the NBC as proof that they had filed an appeal at a higher court had no official Court of Appeal stamp and appeal number. The order for stay of proceedings purportedly obtained by the judgment-debtor cannot prevent a garnishee proceeding. Garnishee actions are separate proceedings and cannot be affected by stay of execution of the judgment obtained from the Edo High Court, Pedro said. Mr. Pedro urged the court to disregard the argument of the NBC and allow the garnishee order to be executed. Justice Kazeem Alogba adjourned the case until July 11 for ruling. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook The Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has hailed the victory of president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Mr. Okowa said in a statement in Asaba on Wednesday by his chief press secretary, Charles Aniagwu, said Sarakis long and tortuous trial was victory for democracy and rule of law. Mr. Okowa said it was obvious the case against Mr. Saraki was a distraction to governance, but expressed gladness that the Senate did not allow the trial to hinder its performance. He said Mr. Sarakis victory depicted that the judiciary remains the bastion of hope for everyone seeking redress and added that he is glad Senator Saraki has been vindicated. This judgement is good for our democracy as it will further enhance Nigerians faith in the judiciary. the governor said. While congratulating Mr. Saraki, Mr. Okowa challenged the Senate President and members of the National Assembly to always protect the rule of law and fundamental rights of Nigerians. Share this: Twitter Facebook The Nigerian Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, on Thursday said troops from the armys One Division in Kaduna State have apprehended the alleged leader of an armed banditry syndicate, Sani Ibrahim. Mr. Usman, a brigadier-general, said the suspected bandit fondly called Burtu had been terrorising travelers along Kaduna-Abuja express road. Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Usman said the alleged bandit was shot in the leg before he was arrested. The suspect was picked up on Wednesday when the troops cordoned armed bandits camp at Rijana forest, he said. According to Mr. Usman, the culprit had been on the wanted list of the security agencies in Kaduna State for a long time. He stressed that due to the overwhelming resurgence of armed banditry and kidnappings along Abuja-Kaduna highway, the troops carried out clearance operation to dislodge the bandits at Rijana forest. One motorcycle and 25 goats were recovered from the camp, he said. In a similar attack, troops mounted ambush on Zamfara border with Kebbi where they neutralized three armed bandits and recovered 134 cows and 13 sheep. He added that operations were still ongoing. Share this: Twitter Facebook FORM 8.3 PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code") 1. KEY INFORMATION (a) Full name of discloser: Kames Capital Plc (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a): The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates: Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree John Wood Group Plc (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken: For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 14/06/2017 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer? If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" NO If YES, specify which: 2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security. (a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any) Class of relevant security: Ordinary Share Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 6,523,158 1.712 0 0.00 (2) Cash-settled derivatives: 1,368,440 0.3591 0 0.00 (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell: 0 0.00 0 0.00 TOTAL: 7,891,598 2.0711 0 0.00 All interests and all short positions should be disclosed. Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions). (b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options) Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages: 3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in. The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated. (a) Purchases and sales Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit (b) Cash-settled derivative transactions Class of relevant security Product description e.g. CFD Nature of dealing e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit Ordinary Share Sale Reducing a long position 55,999 6.9075 GBP (c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options) (i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit (ii) Exercise Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit (d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities) Class of relevant security Nature of dealing e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable) 4. OTHER INFORMATION (a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer: Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none" None (b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to: (i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or (ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced: If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none" (c) Attachments Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? Date of disclosure: 15/06/2017 Contact name: Stephen Adams Telephone number: 0131 549 6714 For any issues relating to this disclosure please contact 0131 549 3288 or kamestradeoperationsmb@kamescapital.com Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service and must also be emailed to the Takeover Panel at monitoring@disclosure.org.uk. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129. The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk. The Federal Government is to investigate how some of the 200 tonnes of date fruits donated by the Kingdom of Saudi to Nigerian Muslims found their way into the markets. The Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Khadijat Abba-Ibrahim, in a statement apologised for the unfortunate turn of events. This is not the spirit in which the 200 tonnes of dates was given, she said. The minister expressed disappointment for the unfortunate turn of events and said the matter was being investigated to avoid a repeat in the future. She explained that the fruits were distributed from a warehouse belonging to Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the presence of the Charge dAffairs, Yahya Mughram. She explained that the commission for refugees, migrants and Internally Displaced Person drew up the list of recipients which included IDPs camps as well as prominent Mosques. It is important to note that once the dates were delivered to their final destinations the ministry of foreign affairs became devoid of any subsequent responsibility. It is therefore disappointing to learn that some of the consignment is being sold for profit The Ministry apologises unreservedly to the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for this unfortunate turn of events. We assure all that the situation is being investigated to avoid a repeat in the future, she said.(NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday met with South-east leaders of thought over recent ethnic tensions in Nigeria. While addressing the leaders, Mr. Osinbajo said he has held some and would hold more similar consultations with other leaders and political office holders from northern and south-eastern Nigeria. These consultations are extremely necessary, and important, especially because of the recent events in our country and Im sure that most of us have followed this quite closely. Read the full speech by the acting president below. Let me first say how deeply grateful I am that you have responded so well and so quickly at very very short notice to this invitation. Yesterday I kicked off a series of consultations and engagements with Leaders of Thought from the Northern States of Nigeria. It was a very useful meeting and todays meeting is the second in the series with you, the Leaders of Thought from the Southeast. After this, I will meet with Religious and Traditional Leaders again from the Southeast and on Monday I will be meeting with Religious Leaders also from the North. And then in the final consultations next week, I will be meeting both with state Governors and finally with all of the groups that I have met with from the North, the South and well be joined I hope then, by the Governors also and we all hopefully be in the same room for further engagement and consultations. I want to say again a very very big thank you for your making the time to come to this particular meeting. These consultations are extremely necessary, and important, especially because of the recent events in our country and Im sure that most of us have followed this quite closely. You are all aware that there have been loud and sometimes hostile agitations by young people in the Southeast calling for secession from Nigeria. And then there was the recent ultimatum issued by a group of young people also from the North, asking all persons of Southeast origin living in the North to leave by October 1 this year. Both of these expressions and agitations from both sides, have been attended with some controversial and very hateful approach including patently illegal and violence-inducing remarks. I firmly believe that we ought to address these agitations and proclamations urgently and decisively. Burying our heads in the sand and expecting the storm to blow over of their own accord is not an option. But equally not reasonable is falling for the temptation for any kind of tit-for-tat whether it is in the language used or it is in the kinds of gestures that have been expressed. This has never worked or moved anyone closer to a peaceful or sensible resolution. And so its in our bid, as government, to deal with these pressing issues and grievances, that weve convened these series of consultations, with various groups. Its the right and responsible thing I think for us as leaders not to shy away from the responsibility to ensure and uphold peace and security in our country. And its my view that the responsible role of those of us who are privileged to be leaders in our society is to chart progressive and lofty courses for our people, for the ordinary people. As leaders, we carry the burden to secure the peace, progress and prosperity of our people. And that is why our voices ought to be heard and heard loud and clear at moments like this in the defense and articulation of what is truly beneficial to the nation and the people, and what is right and patriotic. Our dear nation has gone through very m any difficult times. Weve survived bloody coups, several rounds of ethno-religious violence, weve emerged even from a long and bloody Civil War. All of us here have seen close-up what violence can do to a country. I believe I speak for us all when I say that no one here is keen to see Nigeria embroiled in violence or bloodshed of any kind. Especially not when we are only just emerging from a brutal insurgency that has consumed more than 20,000 of our brothers, sisters and children, as well as the better part of a decade in the Northeast of Nigeria. One thing is clear violence and war are not going to do anyone any good. They are terrible and they mean no good. They are easy to start but near impossible to end. In fact, history has shown us especially contemporary history that wars today hardly ever end. They just simply go on. Indeed, youre all aware of the Igbo proverb that says that a man who rushes into battle does not realize that battle entails death. We are witnesses to the unspeakable devastation that war continues to inflict across the world. No one who has seen the horrors of war even merely on television would wish it on their worst enemy. It is also clear that wars sometimes start, not with bullets, but with words. Hateful, incendiary speech, opening floodgates of blood. The tongue, like the pen, is often mightier than the sword because it is what pushes the sword into action. When we throw words like stones in a marketplace we do not know who or what it will hit. Knowing this, under no conditions whatsoever should we tolerate or excuse or justify hate speech or hateful conduct of any kind, especially where such is illegal. Let me of course acknowledge that as part of living together in this space called Nigeria, misunderstandings and frustrations are inevitable. Because resources are limited there will always be a striving to get what is perceived as the best seat at the table. All of that is normal and to be expected, especially in a democracy, like ours. A healthy democracy ought to be a theatre of energetic striving by all parties and stakeholders. But things should never descend to a level where mutual suspicions override the desire to live together in peace and harmony. Yesterday I made it clear, very clear that hate or divisive speech, or divisive behaviour, where it is illegal, will be met with the full force of the law. And I want to say it again today that let there be no doubt whatsoever of the resolve of government to ensure that no one will be allowed to get away with making speeches that can cause division especially violence. We will take very seriously any attempts to cause violence or to disrupt the peace of Nigeria and it will certainly not be tolerated. And the reason why it cannot be tolerated is that the very many innocent men, women, children and the vulnerable amongst us deserves safety and security and our own emotions must not be allowed to run wild in such a way as to endanger the lives of so many. And I believe that all are clear that were resolute in our determination as government to protect every Nigerian, everywhere in the country. Everywhere in this country, it is the primary duty of government to ensure the security of lives and property and we take that duty very seriously indeed. We will do everything within our power to defend and uphold the terms of our constitution, which declares that we are one nation under God. It also guarantees the free mobility of people, goods and services throughout the country, as well as full residence rights for every citizen in all and any parts of the land of their choice. It is also the aspiration of the Constitution to ensure a country in which, and I quote, loyalty to the nation shall override sectional loyalties. And it is the responsibility of the Government to create the conditions for the attainment of these ideals. There is something that President Buhari is fond of saying, and hes repeated it am sure so many of us have heard it: that without peace and security there can be no development. That the first obligation that we owe if we want to develop, is to ensure peace and security. We cannot develop a country that is not in the first place safe and secure for all people. For this reason, we take extremely seriously our constitutional responsibilities as your government. Those responsibilities also include listening to, consulting, and engaging with you; giving every citizen and every part of the Federation a sense of belonging and significance. And that is why we are here today. I expect that our conversations here today will be frank and constructive, open and that all our deliberations will go towards ensuring that our country is a better place, a more peaceful place to live in. This is an important moment for all of us and for our country, and I hope that at the end of it we will all be satisfied that we have accomplished something significant not just for ourselves but for the future. By the grace of God, we will leave to coming generations a peaceful, secure and prosperous nation; a nation in which all citizens, regardless of their ethnic, religious affiliations, or their ages or gender will feel deep and enduring pride. Thank you very much again for making out time to come and I hope that our deliberations will be very fruitful and like I said, please let us be as frank as possible God bless you. Share this: Twitter Facebook The Senate on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to look into the report of the National Conference held in 2014. This was sequel to a motion entitled The Need for National Unity and Peaceful Co-existence in Nigeria, sponsored by 107 senators. In the motion, the senators called for the consideration of the confabs report to determine the solutions to the current tension across the country. Leading debate on the motion, Adamu Aliero (Kebbi-Central), who was a member of the conference, said the report of the body was the best route to resolving the issues affecting the country. We have to live together and the corporate existence of this country cannot be negotiated. Nigeria must remain one indivisible and indissoluble entity. I agree that there are problems; there are challenges and those challenges should be addressed, Mr. Aliero, who chaired the Conference Committee on Public Finance and Revenue, said. And that was why in 2014 the then president, Goodluck Jonathan, decided to convoke what was called a National Conference and it was a conference where all the ethnic nationalities, states and geopolitical zones were represented. All the issues affecting the unity and stability of this country were thoroughly discussed under the leadership of Justice Idris Kutigi (retd) and co-chaired by Bolaji Akinyemi. A lot of recommendations were made to address these challenges. I will recommend that the Senate should ask for those recommendations to be tabled before the National Assembly because a lot of recommendations on all the agitations in all the geopolitical zones were addressed. I dont know why we are not asking for those recommendations to be brought to us. They should be implemented where necessary. Supporting the motion, Jonah Jang (Plateau-North), said he was one of those who fought in the civil war to keep Nigeria united. The former governor of Plateau State reminded his colleagues that no nation has fought two civil wars and survived, and Nigeria would not be a different case. The deputy president of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, in his remarks, explained that the report was sent to the Seventh National Assembly towards the close of the legislature, the reason why it was dropped. Other senators who contributed to the debate took turn to shed light on some of the challenges facing the nation. According to some of the lawmakers, the causes of regional unrest in the country were mainly due to the socio-political and economic challenges. They also called for the application of law against persons and groups making offensive statements, which they believe could worsen the conflicts in the country, while others called for the outright restructuring of the federal system of the country. The lawmakers stated that the unity of the nation was not negotiable and further encouraged Nigerians to live together in unity and harmony as one indivisible, indissoluble sovereign nation under God. They urged all Nigerians to discontinue all actions capable of threatening the corporate existence of the nation. The motion was unanimously adopted by the senators. The 494-member confab, which was convoked by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, came out with far reaching recommendations on the polity, economy and other areas of the nations life. Mr. Jonathan subsequently set up a seven-member committee headed by the then attorney general to advise government on all matters necessary for the effective implementation of the Report. The administration also forwarded the report to the National Assembly for further action but the legislature could not take action on it before its tenure ended in June 2015. Among the recommendations were the rotation of the office of the president between the north and the south and among the six geo-political zones as well as the creation of 19 new states, including an additional state for the southeast geo-political zone. Share this: Twitter Facebook Governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam, on Wednesday assured Igbos living in his domain that they had no cause for panic over recent eviction threat issued to them by a coalition of northern Nigerian youth, known as Arewa Consultative Youth Forum. Yobe is one of the 19 northern states, and has a large population of Igbo in virtually all of its 17 local government areas. It is also one of the remotest states away from the southern part of the country. The governor made these statements via a press statement issued by his spokesman, and special adviser on media, Abdullahi Bego. Describing the eviction threat as unfortunate, unlawful, and unwarranted, Mr. Gaidam implored the youth of the 19 northern states to channel their energies and resources towards ventures that will better Nigeria, rather than resorting to issues that will further polarise the nation. Like other Nigerians, the Igbos have a right that is fully guaranteed by our constitution to live in any part of the country of their choice. As a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural society, part of our nations strength lies in the diversity of its people. It is what has moved every successful nation forward. In Yobe State, the Igbos, like the people of other ethnicities, have lived and engaged peacefully with their neighbours, the statement said. Many Nigerians, state governors, religious and ethnics groups have continued to condemn the controversial eviction order. The Northern Governors Forum led by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State condemned threat, and said the Arewa youth group was unknown. But the spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Ango Abdullahi, came out to back the action of the Arewa youth, saying that (NEF) was disappointed with the northern governors forum for coming out to condemn the youth. Mr. Abudullahi, a former Vice Chancellor of the Ahamadu Bello University, Zaria, said whoever feels Nigeria is not conducive for him let him quit, and added that what the Arewa youth did was not a sin. The NEF disowned Mr. Abdullahis statement, saying he acted on his own. Share this: Twitter Facebook Supporters and loyalists of Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday trooped out in their hundreds on a wild jubilation in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, following the acquittal of Mr. Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). The supporters sang and danced at the All Progressives Congress, APC, secretariat in the state capital, and other strategic places in the city. Others in various customised T-shirts also stormed the streets to celebrate Mr. Sarakis victory at the CCT. The Kwara state chairman of the APC, Isola Balogun-Fulani, expressed delight at the judgement. He said, We are very happy. We knew that this is a politically motivated charge, but God has vindicated us, and it is a plus to democracy. This also allows us to have confidence in the judiciary of Nigeria. We thank everybody and well-meaning Nigerians who had supported us from the first time this thing started up to the end of this case. We are very happy and that is why you see us rejoicing. He added that the crowd was heading towards the palace of the Emir of Ilorin to rejoice with him and thank him for supporting their leader, Mr. Saraki. From there, we will move to the Governor of Kwara State to thank him for his support from the onset up to the end of this time and to also pray for him that with him in the helm of affairs, Kwara State is progressing and we hope that Insha Allah with the end of this case, Kwara State will continue to progress, he said. Mr. Balogun-Fulani added that Mr. Sarakis victory would spur him to perform better. Even without settled mind, he has been performing creditably. We are sure that with his settled mind he will do more and perform credibly to the interest of all Nigerians at large, he said. On her part, former APC women leader and chairperson, Kwara state local government service commission, Sarat Adebayo, praised President Muhadmmadu Buhari for the judgement. We appreciate President Buhari for doing justice to the whole issue, she said. The judgement is a welcome development to Kwarans as a whole. We appreciate everyone that stood by us when the case lasted. Also, a pro-Saraki group, ABS Mandate Constituency Office, also expressed gratitude to God for the outcome of the CCT judgement. A statement by the group, signed by Kayode Omotose, praised Governor Ahmed and members of the state executive council and the Speaker Kwara House of Assembly, Ali Ahmad, for their support for Mr. Saraki. While assuring Kwarans that Mr. Saraki shall remain focused in the development of every nook and cranny of the state, the group also called for continuous prayer for the senate president. Meanwhile, Mr. Sarakis residence in Ilorin, located at the Government Residential Area, GRA, was a beehive of activities on Wednesday. Share this: Twitter Facebook Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers in Port Harcourt on Tuesday called for true federalism in Nigeria to enable each part of the country to develop according to its ability. The governor made the call when he hosted the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr William Symington, his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, said in a statement. He explained that Rivers people wanted true federalism because they wanted a country where all the federating units were allowed to develop according to their resources. Mr. Wike said that the demand for true federalism meant that Rivers people believed in one united Nigeria, where no section was denied the control of its own resources. He urged the U.S. Government to set up a visa office in Port Harcourt to cater to the South-South and the Southeast geo-political zones. We are clamouring for true federalism, when you talk of true federalism, they think you dont want to be part of the country. We talk about true federalism as practiced in America, a true presidential system where all the federating units will be allowed to enjoy their resources and contribute to the centre, Mr. Wike said. He said the people believed that there must be a country called Nigeria in which everyone would work together to achieve unity and progress. The governor said Rivers people sought to be treated with equity, fairness and justice. He said that the right framework should be established to ensure that all the states excelled at their own pace. Mr. Wike said that the visa office would be in the spirit of equity and justice as the Abuja office served the North, while the Lagos office served the South-West. He said Rivers was safe for investments and promised that his administration would partner investors to enable them to benefit from their investments. Forget about the media propaganda, this state is an opposition state, therefore dont expect them to say it is the best. But we are the best state, we are doing everything to ensure that investors do profitable business under the ambit of the law, the governor said. The ambassador commended Nigerians for their unity and added: Nigeria will be great and I expect a super power and a super partner. Share this: Twitter Facebook The Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, has given two reasons he believes made traders across the South-East adhere to the stay-at-home order by IPOB and MASSOB, the two major separatist groups in the region. In a video posted on YouTube Wednesday, Mr. Okorocha tackled misconceptions that he said many Nigerians held about why some Igbo decided to shun commercial activities on May 30, the 50th-anniversary of the commencement of civil war. Most people believe that the South-East supported the sit-at-home order by IPOB. That is not true, Mr. Okorocha said in the video. The first reason the governor gave was that the order had a semblance of compliance because it came amid 2017 Democracy Day May 29 celebrations. The sit-at-home order by IPOB came a day after Democracy Day and our people in their natural characteristics would want to enjoy holidays as much as they can be extended, he said. Secondly, Mr. Okorocha said residents feared that the exercise could be hijacked by the criminals. The traders all over the country had fears that hoodlums could take over the moment to destroy their goods and properties, he said. So, it is not true that the sit-at-home order was purposely obeyed as a mark of support for IPOB. The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, had issued separate calls for all Nigerians of Igbo extraction to respect the significance of the Civil War by staying away from work. At least 500,000 Igbo were said to have been killed during the war, which broke out in 1967 and ended in 1970. In the video, an obviously tensed Mr. Okorocha implored Nigerians from the South-East to appreciate the need for a united Nigeria and shun agitation for statehood, which he said occasionally turns violent. The governor said the Igbos are well integrated across the country and concluded that most vocal succession voices were allegedly pursuing their selfish aggrandisement. Share this: Twitter Facebook Traders in Enugu State under the auspices of Enugu State Amalgamated Market Traders Association (ESAMATA) on Thursday unanimously endorsed the re-election of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in 2019, saying the governor has performed creditably in just two years in office despite the daunting economic challenges in the country. The traders took the decision at a solidarity rally they organized in honour of Governor Ugwuanyi for entrenching good governance in the state and his unprecedented support especially in assisting them grow their various businesses. In his address, the President-General of the market association, Temple Ude, stated that the traders are very happy and at home with Governor Ugwuanyi for his visionary leadership and the empowerment programme initiated by his administration, where 100 lucky traders win N50,000 each month, saying that the vision is most favourable to traders doing business in Enugu State. Mr. Ude added that the idea was to stimulate the economy of the state as well as alleviate the sufferings of the people, stating that the cordial relationship existing between the governor and traders in the state is equal to none when compared to other states in Nigeria, especially in the south east states. Your Excellency, no government in the past has ever attempted to establish the existing relationship between traders and government. Traders in Enugu State have resolved that if tenure elongation is democratic, they will sponsor a bill that Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi should be cleared for third term in office. Sir, we are committed in showing loyalty and sacrifice to your government, hence you have done much to traders in Enugu State, the president- general said. He noted that Governor Ugwuanyi has created an enviable security outreach in the 17 local government areas with the establishment and equipping of the Neighborhood watch associations in all the nooks and crannies of the state, and has equally remained regular in the prompt payment of workers salaries, disclosing that such feat has gone a long way in encouraging traders to do business in the state. We are convinced that even with the current economic hardship you still positively navigate the affairs of the state for the betterment of the people of Enugu State. We have unanimously endorsed your re-election come 2019, Mr. Ude said. Responding, Mr. Ugwuanyi thanked the traders for the gesture, love, goodwill, solidarity and support, adding that he feels highly honoured that they shut down the markets in the state to gather in their numbers to show appreciation for the empowerment scheme that we launched for traders in Enugu State last February. Governor Ugwuanyi explained that the Traders Empowerment Scheme, designed to boost economic activities in the state and improve the lives of the ordinary members of the society, was in line with our promise to deploy government resources and services to create fair and equal opportunity for every citizen to make a living, create wealth and enjoy life in a peaceful and secure environment. I must sincerely, thank traders in Enugu State for their support, enthusiasm and active participation in the scheme and I want to assure you this is only the beginning of our own appreciation for the immense support and affection that you have continued to show this administration since inception. We have indeed resolved to do all that is necessary to better the lot of traders in Enugu State and in this regard, I promise that we will never allow anyone to harass, oppress or exploit you as you go about your legitimate businesses. Be assured that we will deal with any such case, promptly, decisively and comprehensively as soon as it is brought to our notice. We are discussing with financial institutions, international corporations and other relevant organizations on the ways and means of extending easier and more convenient lines of credit and other facilities to traders in Enugu State. We are also working to upgrade the capacity of the Enugu State Marketing Company to arrange special import services for traders just as we are committed to the continuous development and equipment of markets in Enugu State as part of the efforts being made to create a more conducive environment for business and commercial activities to thrive in the state, Governor Ugwuanyi said. Share this: Twitter Facebook The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Saliu Adetunji, and members of the Olubadan-in-Council, on Wednesday endorsed the proposed review of the Olubadan chieftaincy declaration. According to a statement by Yomi Layinka, media aide to Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state, the endorsement came during a meeting with the governor on Wednesday in Ibadan. The governor had, on May 19, inaugurated a seven-man judicial commission of inquiry, headed by a retired High Court judge, Akintunde Boade, to review the existing chieftaincy declaration and other related chieftaincies in Ibadanland. According to Mr. Layinka, while speaking at the end of a meeting, the Olubadan said he and all his chiefs were in full support of the exercise, saying it would bring development to the ancient city. Our visit (to the governor) today, as you can see, is to put paid to the rumours and misgivings about the review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy declaration, the royal father said, according to the statement. We have come to show our sincere support to the governor and to let him know that we are on the same page with him as the review is for the progress of Ibadan and its people. Also speaking, the Otun Olubadan, Lekan Balogun, who was one of the two High Chiefs that had dragged the governor to court over the issue, attributed his action to what he called communication gap. According to him, the exercise was aimed at modernizing the methods of ascension to the Olubadan throne. Mr. Balogun, according to the statement, said, Change is the only constant thing in life. There is nothing that is above change. All the furore which had resulted from governments move was due to communication gap but that has been resolved now. Life is dialectical; things must be changing and we must all be growing with it. The government is quite right to have set up machinery to look into the law and see how it can be made better. We believe it is a welcome development, especially with the kind of governor we have who is keenly interested in the growth and development of Ibadanland. The high chief said the benefits inherent in the review were many, noting that the Olubadan would henceforth enjoy the company of beaded crown chiefs whenever he had any outing. This, he said, would raise the status of Ibadan as one of the most important cities in Yoruba land. The benefits to be derived from the review are enormous. Even if we dont want to pre-empt the future, we will wait till things are resolved fundamentally. But, we know that Olubadan will no longer be moving alone any longer, he said. Of course, there will be high chiefs with the nomenclature of Obas, the Olubadan wont be on his own anymore. When royal majesties (in other cities) go out, they are always in company with beaded crown Obas. Another member of the Olubadan-in-Council, Owolabi Olakulehin, said virtually all the neighbouring Yoruba states had adopted the system being contemplated for Ibadan through the review. Other members of the Olubadan-in-Council at the meeting were the Otun-Balogun, Olufemi Olaifa; Ashipa Olubadan, Eddy Oyewole; Osi Balogun, Tajudeen Ajibola; and Ekaarun Olubadan, Amidu Ajibade,. Others included, Ashipa Balogun Olubadan, Lateef Gbadamosi; Ekaarun Balogun, Kola Adegbola; and Ekerin Olubadan, High Chief Abiodun Kola-Daisi. Meanwhile, a prominent Ibadan High Chief, Rashidi Ladoja, was absent at the meeting. Mr. Ladoja, a former governor of Oyo state, had challenged Mr. Ajimobi on the proposed review, dismissing it as a dangerous proposal that could trigger unrest across the city. Share this: Twitter Facebook The All Progressive Congress, APC, in Osun has described as false, the reasons adduced by erstwhile aspirant for the Osun West senatorial seat, Ademola Adeleke, for his withdrawal from the partys primary election conducted on Wednesday in Osogbo. The publicity secretary of the party, Kunle Oyatomi, said in a statement that Mr. Adelekes withdrawal and resignation were purely a reconsideration as well as an admission of his apparent weakness to confront a tough challenger with substantial grassroots backing. Mr. Adeleke had alleged that he withdrew from the APC primaries because of manipulation and interference by some political power brokers in the party, which saw the clearance of his rival, Mudashiru Hussein, who was disqualified both by the screening and appeal committees. He also cited the decision of the party not to conduct the primary election in Iwo, the headquarters of the Osun West Senatorial District, but chose Osogbo, thereby exposing the process to a potential nullification. Mr. Oyatomi however said Mr. Adelekes allegations were baseless and unsubstantiated. He also said Mr. Adeleke was not conversant with the established procedure for the nomination of a candidate to contest an election in the APC. Contrary to his erroneous claim of obvious manipulations and interference, paragraph 16(d) of the 2014 Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for Public Office makes it clear that the National Working Party (NWC), acting on behalf of National Executive Committee (NEC), is the ultimate authority on the qualifications of candidates to contest a primary election, said the partys spokesman. This is more so if an appeal is lodged by any aggrieved aspirant or candidate. Therefore, the decision of the NWC cannot be seen as manipulation as this has been the standard practice of our great party since its formation. Second, the claim that the primary was not held at the Senatorial District headquarters is baseless. For one thing, there is no such thing as a senatorial district headquarters in the 1999 Constitution. As such, there is no provision either in the Constitution of the APC or the 2014 Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for Public Office that the primaries must be held at a particular venue. For example, the presidential primary in 2015 was held in Lagos. It could have been held in Osogbo or anywhere else in the country. Third, available records now reveal that Otunba Adeleke was never a member of APC in the state, as there is no evidence of his registration as a member in his Abogunde/Sagba Ward 2 in Ede North LGA. There are also no records of his involvement in party meetings at all levels. Rather, there is a petition, dated the 9th day of June, 2017, which is to the effect that Otunba Adeleke is not a member of the APC. At best, his only affiliations with the party were his occasional appearances with his late brother, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, at party functions, particularly the campaigns. The fact that he is a member of the Adeleke family therefore cannot and does not confer membership of the APC on him. This is like the case of Fadeyi Oloro, a popular Yoruba artiste, who always attends APC functions, without being a member of our great party. In any event, at the Security Stakeholders Meeting held just yesterday, where Otunba Adeleke was represented by his brother, Dele Adeleke, he did not object to the arrangements for the primary, but rather concurred with the outlined procedure, including the venue, security and logistic arrangements. Mr. Adeleke has already secured the ticket of the Ali Modu Sherif faction of the Peoples Democratic Party to contest the election slated for July 8. Share this: Twitter Facebook SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liquid Robotics Wave Glider, the worlds most experienced ocean surface robot, is honored to participate in the historic homecoming and celebration for the Polynesian Voyaging Societys Hokulea canoe after its three-year, 40,000 nautical miles Malama Honua voyage. On the final miles of this historic journey, Wave Gliders will provide real-time weather, environmental and navigation data for the Hokulea and her sister canoes as they sail into Oahu, Hawaii. This data will complement the traditional art and science of Polynesian wayfinding with modern technology for enhanced knowledge and safety. Liquid Robotics joins the World community to applaud this historic voyage to spread the 'lei of hope' in support of a more sustainable world, said Roger Hine, co-founder and chief technology officer of Liquid Robotics. We are committed to doing our part in advancing ocean exploration and observation with our sustainable technology, complementing the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of the Polynesian ancestors. Hokuleas homecoming celebration includes a three-day Malama Honua Fair & Summit and Hokuleas Education outreach. Liquid Robotics is honored to speak on the topic of Community-based natural resource management integrating TEK with green modern technology and participate in community outreach to foster Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) youth education. With origins on the Hawaii Island and the Companys Engineering & Test Facility in Kawaihae Harbor, these activities complement a history of community partnership and underscore the Companys dedication and continued support to the local Hawaiian communities, government and academia. Utilizing the wave and solar powered Wave Glider in programs like Aloha Aina (Love of the Land) enables these organizations to gain the scientific data needed to safeguard their coastlines, environment and ensure sustainability for future generations. For more information on the Hokuleas historic homecoming visit www.hokulea.com. About Liquid Robotics, a Boeing Company: Liquid Robotics designs and manufactures the Wave Glider, the first wave and solar powered unmanned ocean robot. With our partners we address many of the planets greatest challenges, by transforming how to assess, monitor, and protect the ocean. We solve critical problems for defense, commercial, and science customers. Visit www.liquid-robotics.com to learn more. Liquid Robotics and Wave Glider are registered trademarks of Liquid Robotics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing. A diverse crowd of foodies filled downtown west Dearborn Wednesday as 26 restaurants offered palate-pleasing samples during the annual Taste of Dearborn sponsored by the Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce. The wristband ticketed event, which ran from 5:30 to 10 p.m., provided shuttle buses from the check-in center at Bryant Library to Fairlane Town Center for Big Fish Seafood Bistro, P.F. Changs and Archimedes Lounge at the Edward Hotel, and along Michigan Avenue from Andiamos on the east to Yogurtopia on the west end. Event facilitator John Zadikian said his personal guess is that the event drew about 900 people. I saw a number of veteran event-goers and first-timers enjoying the wide selection of food, the ease with which the event flowed and everyone having a night of fun, friends and food, he said. Attendee Sandy Butler said it was good to see people downtown. It was great to see Dearborn so alive, Butler said. So many young people and others having a good time, getting along and being courteous. Annual attendee Mary Beth Oravec thought the crowd was lighter than in past years, but said it was a beautiful night. She said she was disappointed that some of the newer restaurants did not participate. Famous Hamburgers sliders and additions were great, Oravec said. Dearborn Brewing was the most congenial. Food fan Samantha Killewald also praised Famous Hamburgers, 22207 Michigan Ave. The way they had it set up was nice, Killewald said. Platters of little mini burgers, little mini shakes, already made up so there wasnt really a line you could just go grab it. I think that was our favorite. She and her husband Brian also like Common Grace Coffee, 22225 Michigan Ave., where they enjoyed java with honey, dark chocolate and cardamom. Participant Charlotte Perez said she liked the chicken at the Bangkok 96 booth at the Bryant Library. I actually told the owner she should do that all the time, Perez said. We eat there all the time. We love it. Diner Shondra Tipler raved about the salmon prepared by Sous Chef Filip Palushaj of Giulio and Sons, which was served in the Archimedes Lounge in the Edward Hotel. Its absolutely delicious, she said. Its fresh you can tell all the ingredients are fresh, and you can almost taste everything in it. Its very tender. Its very tasty. Butler agreed. I loved the salmon at The Edward it was excellent, she said. It was very moist and tasty. Butler said she has attended most of the Taste of Dearborn events, and said this years weather was the best ever. Its just a perfect night, Butler said. Everybodys looking around, they are seeing all of Dearborn, and how beautiful it is, and clean. Participant Mary Bugeia said it is a great way for people to see what Dearborn has to offer. Its the best way to sample all the restaurants without going in and ordering a whole meal, Bugeia said. You can go, just taste certain things, check out their service and staff. I think this is great. Bugeia said she was also pleased with the diversity of the crowd and the presence of young people. Oravec said they have attended faithfully every year. We are looking forward to seeing a vibrant and growing west downtown next year, she said. The proposed state funding plan compromise lawmakers released Thursday will have big winners and losers among local South Jersey school districts. But the big question is: Will it get enough support in the Legislature to pass? The proposed plan is scheduled to take effect for the 2017-18 school year, even though school districts already have approved their budgets. Local education advocates have already expressed concern, as have some state legislators. State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, whose districts would lose almost $6 million, said it would create absolute chaos and he would not support it. The plan must still be approved by the state Senate, Assembly and Gov. Chris Christie. It includes $100 million for new aid in underfunded districts and $46 million in reallocated Adjustment Aid taken from districts deemed overfunded by the state formula. There is also $25 million to expand preschool. Christie spokesman Brian Murray said in an email the hovernor is willing to consider the proposal but has some concerns about fairness. Districts could lose no more than 1.5 percent of their total budget, but that would still add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in some local districts. State Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, helped develop the plan and called it a landmark first step toward restoring fairness for children and taxpayers. At a news conference, Sweeney said the goal is full funding for all districts that could be achieved by a millionaires tax. Estimates call for at least an additional $1 billion. A group of 17 education advocacy groups issued a statement Thursday saying aid should not be cut to any district next year: In many cases programs and textbooks have been ordered, and hiring and firing have occurred, it said. After seven years of flat funding and/or cuts, no school in the state could be expected to adjust to a budget decrease at this late date. Cuts will hurt students. Locally, the biggest winners would be Atlantic City, Egg Harbor Township, the Atlantic County Institute of Technology and Hammonton, which would get an additional $6 million, $1.6 million, $1.4 million and $1 million, respectively. It is unclear in Atlantic City what impact the $6 million might have on the extra $32 million the district is already approved to receive under the special law passed to assist the district due to loss of ratables. School officials were cautious in their optimism. Both EHT school board budget Chairman Pete Castellano and ACIT Superintendent Philip Guenther said they wont make any plans for more money until it is approved. Guenther said they could adjust tuition to sending districts depending how the money is allocated. The biggest losers locally would be former Abbott districts of Vineland, Millville and Pleasantville, which would lose $2 million, $812,000 and $832,000, respectively. Bridgeton, which has been underfunded, would see an increase of $2.5 million. In Cape May County, almost every district would lose some aid, with Middle Township taking the biggest hit at $633,000. Upper Township would lose almost $569,000 Lower Cape May Regional would lose $470,000, Lower Township would lose $410,000, Wildwood would lose $280,000 and Dennis Township would lose $248,000. LCMR Superintendent Chris Kobik and Wildwood Superintendent J. Kenyon Kummings said they would like to see more specifics, but the biggest problem would be trying to cut a large amount of funds from a completed budget with contracts in place. Our biggest expense is salaries, Kummings said. People have contracts for next year. We would have to give them 60 days notice to terminate. Its just not a professional way to do things. My hope is they come up with a different solution, Kummings said. Van Drew said the proposal is not as bad as earlier plans, but is still excruciatingly unfair. How can they expect districts to make these adjustments after the budgets are done, he said. He said while enrollments have decreased, the districts still need the funds. He said he could support a plan that just left aid flat for those districts while raising it for underfunded districts. Its unseemly public policy to take from one district to give to another, he said. I will keep pushing. ATLANTIC CITY Despite state regulations allowing them to operate here, local Uber drivers say they are still facing challenges, including threats of tickets from city mercantile inspectors. Uber driver Lance Zeaman, of Linwood, said hes been told by the mercantile office he could still receive citations if he continues to operate in the city without a commercial drivers license. But new regulations that took effect May 1 should have cleared the way for drivers to operate in the city without fear of being cited for not having a commercial drivers license, he said. Atlantic City Director of Licensing and Inspection Dale Finch said the city is following the new regulations. The citys understanding of the new regulations and how to follow them has evolved this week. When asked Monday about Uber drivers, Finch said he was waiting for guidelines from the Motor Vehicle Commission on how to regulate ride-hailing services such as Uber. On Tuesday, Finch said even without the completed regulations, he had been informed that the city cant impose regulations on the drivers and cannot issue tickets simply because they dont have a commercial drivers license. In any case, Finch said, the city hasnt issued any tickets since May 1 and cannot issue tickets for not having a commercial license. But Zeaman, who heads the United Drivers of South Jersey, a Facebook coalition for drivers, said he and other drivers have been harassed. We definitely have an issue here, Zeaman said. Theyre trying to intimidate us or trying to dissuade us from coming into Atlantic City to do business. Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation in February that set safety standards and consumer protections for the companies and drivers who use apps to pick up passengers. Atlantic City issued more than 300 tickets to ride-hailing-service drivers in 2016 and 49 summonses to drivers from January to the end of April of this year, Finch said. Brian Ahrens, deputy director of communications at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, said the commission is still in the process of completing those state regulations, but the statute says transportation networks are legally permitted to operate among municipalities and they cannot impose their own regulations. Finch has said the ride-hailing regulations will hurt the taxi industry in the city. Atlantic City has 250 taxi medallions, he said, and taxi drivers each pay an annual fee of $60 plus a $150 annual fee for each medallion. The topic was brought up at the Wednesday City Council meeting, when Atlantic City Yellow Cab Co. owner Murray Rosenberg stepped up to the podium during public comment, speaking on the legislation. They dont carry commercial insurance, they use personal cars, he said. This statute ... simply says all bets are off. You dont have any rules or regulations. With municipalities imposing regulations on services such as taxis or limousines, Rosenberg said the transportation networks and the legislation will hurt his business. After the meeting, Finch said he would like to be able to regulate the ride-hailing services, but the legislation stands for now. Finch has said the ride-hailing regulations will hurt the taxi industry in the city as well. Atlantic City has 250 taxi medallions, he said, and taxi drivers each pay an annual fee of $60 plus a $150 annual fee for each medallion. Sean Conner, the Uber public affairs manager in New Jersey, sent a letter to the city Tuesday morning reinforcing that companies like Uber are operating within legal standards in the city, and requested the city reinforce the correct procedures to code enforcement officers. Gary Crager, another local Uber driver, said he has also heard threats against operating the ride-hailing service in the city. Everybody is adjusting to the process, Crager said. Were the ones caught in the middle of the whole thing. New Orleans, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unlike the hundreds of HR software companies in town this week spending tens of thousands of dollars on extravagant booth displays at the New Orleans Convention Center, one company will instead donate the money to local charities and build its booth using cardboard boxes: Viventium. Viventium a transformative, living, and purely cloud-based HCM solution that provides actionable business insight is donating to two local charities that put its SHRM conference concept of Daring to Live Remarkably into action every day. At Viventium, we are hyper-focused on people, and our team wanted our presence at this years SHRM conference to align with who we are as a company. Donating to local charities that are doing remarkable work rather than spending all of that money on a fancy convention booth is one way we can extend our corporate culture into the community, said Viventium CEO Gary Trainor. Viventium will present a $10,000 check on June 18 at 3:30 p.m. CT on the exhibit floor to Second Harvest, a charity that provides emergency food assistance and disaster relief in New Orleans and throughout the region. A simultaneous live broadcast will take place on Second Harvests Facebook page. Were thrilled that Viventium, an HR software company in town for a convention, is taking the time to recognize the remarkable work that Second Harvest is doing in peoples lives in New Orleans and across the country, said Second Harvest President and CEO Natalie Jayroe. Viventium will also deliver $10,000 worth of wish list items to the New Orleans Women & Childrens Shelter at its Liberty Street shelter on June 20 at 5:30 p.m. CT. Shelter representatives said the goods will meet about a years worth of their needs for many items. We are grateful to Viventium for their donation, which will help impact the lives of so many women and children in New Orleans, said NOWCS Executive Director Dawn Bradley-Fletcher. About Viventium Viventium Software Inc. is a transformative, living, and purely cloud-based HCM solution for business management that provides a remarkable user experience and design anyone can use with ease, unbeatable analytics, and insight into your business. No one dares to provide HCM client service like Viventium we are truly in it with you. We notify our clients about potential problems and areas for improvement before they even know issues within their companies exist. Our unmatched software is built with you and for you, so you get a truly one-of-a-kind, remarkable experience that enables you to fulfill your companys true potential. Viventium Software Inc. Bringing HCM to life one remarkable experience at a time. About Second Harvest Food Bank Second Harvest Food Bank is leading the fight against hunger and building food security in South Louisiana by providing food access, advocacy, education, and disaster response. Second Harvest provides food to community members in need through 582 partners and programs across a 23-parish service territory, from the Mississippi border to the Texas state line. Second Harvest serves as the largest charitable anti-hunger network in the state. With our communitys help, we can make food security a reality for every household in South Louisiana. About New Orleans Women & Childrens Shelter The largest shelter for homeless women and children in the metro area, New Orleans Women & Childrens Shelter has served more than 900 women and children since 2007. A large majority (95 percent) of the children at the shelter are under the age of 10. An amazing 80 percent of the families helped since 2007 have transitioned to sustainable, independent living. Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4372f445-da64-43c3-9cb7-ac58130c4ad9 Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/798241fd-1880-4edc-87b3-e1ded15f66f6 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Macarthur Minerals Limited (TSX-V:MMS) (the Company or Macarthur Minerals) is pleased to announce that it has expanded its lithium brine project portfolio, staking the Reynolds Springs Lithium Brine Project in Nevada on which it has located lithium at surface of up to 300 parts per million (ppm) lithium (Li). Photos accompanying this announcement are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/09a4e55f-7d29-4ab7-97b4-9652cfda432a http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5a6efbfb-69d5-400a-b1b6-a8d81bcc7734 The Company has staked 210 new unpatented placer mining claims at its new Reynolds Springs Lithium Brine Project (Reynolds Springs Project) in the Railroad Valley, Nevada. Three surface samples at the Reynolds Springs Project returned 260 to 300 ppm Li (Figure 1). David Taplin, President, CEO and Director of Macarthur Minerals commented: Macarthur Minerals is excited about its staking of new claims in the Railroad Valley in Nevada. The new claims forming the Reynolds Spring Project are located on the Railroad Valley playa, which historically records the largest lithium soil anomaly in the State of Nevada. The Railroad Valley claims were chosen because the Valley has geological attributes that closely match the Clayton Valley, which hosts North Americas only producing lithium mine, Albemarles Silver Peak Lithium Mine. Macarthur Minerals believes based on a sampling program conducted in the Railroad Valley, it has staked some of the most prospective ground for lithium in that Valley. Reynolds Springs Project Geological Setting The new claims are located near the town of Currant, in Nye County, Nevada. The Reynolds Springs Project is located approximately 180 miles (300 km) North of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 330 miles (531 km) South East of Teslas new Gigafactory (Figure 2). Railroad Valley is a large topographically closed playa (dry Salt Lake bed) basin located in East-central Nevada. The basin is fault bounded with numerous active thermal springs (anomalous in lithium) emerging along the faults. The fault sets have strike lengths of 25 30 miles (42 50 km) and are parallel to each other, about 8-12 miles apart. The faults that bound the basin form an elongate rectangular shaped basin of about 300 square miles (830 square km) in size. Numerous thermal springs emerge along the basin bounding fault systems which form the North-West and South-East flanks of the playa basin. Thermal waters which discharge from the springs carry moderately anomalous values of Lithium. Water samples collected from Reynolds Springs by Macarthur Minerals consulting geologists averaged 230 parts per billion (ppb) Li and 445 ppb boron. This about twice the concentration for these elements detected from water samples collected at other springs that were sampled in the valley. The mountains that surround the basin contain outcropping rock units are also anomalous in lithium. This closely matches the geologic criteria for the United State Geological Survey (USGS) deposit model for Clayton Valley type lithium brine deposits. Macarthur Minerals believes that the combination of anomalous lithium in soils (+250 ppm) and anomalous lithium in thermal spring waters (230 ppb Li) indicates that the Reynolds Springs Project area is favorable for further exploration. Historical Data Prior to staking the claims, Macarthur Minerals completed an analysis of USGS historical soil, rock and groundwater data collected across California, Nevada and Utah. Sediment samples collected in the 1980s, during the United States Department of Energys National Uranium Resource Evaluation Program (NURE) were of particular interest. Spatial analysis of the historical data shows Railroad Valley to be the largest lithium soil anomaly in the State of Nevada. A total of 19,165 soils samples were collected by NURE across Nevada and analysed for Uranium, Lithium and other elements. Eighty-seven (87) samples returned lithium values in excess of 100 ppm. A cluster of 20 samples greater than 100 ppm were collected from Railroad Valley. The other area identified from the NURE dataset that had similar elevated lithium levels was the Clayton Valley which hosts North Americas only producing lithium mine, Albemarles Silver Peak Lithium Mine. In comparison, approximately 108 samples were collected from the Clayton Valley and surrounding the Silver Peak mine. A total of nine samples reported assays greater than 100 ppm with samples ranging from 102 to 431 ppm Li. Reconnaissance soil sampling in the Railroad Valley by Macarthur Minerals consulting geologists narrowed the area of interest to the Reynolds Springs area on the North-West flank of the playa basin. A total of five widely spaced reconnaissance soil samples were collected from the Reynolds Springs area. Analysis of these samples by ALS Chemex Labs using the ME ICP41 and ICP61 methods returned a range of values for the five samples ranging from 80 350 ppm Li (average 256 ppm Li) and a range of 20 720 ppm B (average 342 ppm Boron). The water and soil sample results mentioned above were compared to results from other reconnaissance samples collected elsewhere in the Railroad Valley. This demonstrated that the Reynolds Springs area appeared to be enriched in lithium. As a result of that analysis, a total of 210 new 20-acre unpatented placer mining claims were staked as indicated in Figure 1. Next Steps for the Reynolds Springs Project The Company has recently completed a 210 point geochemical soils sampling program across the Reynolds Springs Project (concurrent with the claim staking). Samples have been submitted to the laboratory for assay and will be reported when data is available. Following analysis of this wide spaced sampling program, the Company will consider an infill sampling program across areas considered highly prospective for lithium. Macarthur Minerals is also currently undertaking a review of hyperspectral ASTER satellite imagery of Railroad Valley to identify additional prospective areas. The Reynolds Spring Project is located only 110 miles (183kms) from the Companys Stonewall Project in the Lida Valley, Nevada. The close location of the Reynolds Springs Project and Stonewall Project will allow sharing of resources and expertise for exploration of both projects. The Company is considering entering into joint ventures to assist in the exploration of both projects. QUALIFIED PERSON Mr Randy Henkle, a Registered Member of the Society of Mining and Exploration and a Professional Geologist licensed in British Columbia, Canada, is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101. Mr Henkle has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. ABOUT MACARTHUR MINERALS LIMITED (TSX-V:MMS) Macarthur Minerals Limited is an exploration and development company that is focused on developing its lithium exploration interests in Australia and Nevada. Macarthur Minerals is the majority shareholder of Macarthur Australia Limited, which is intended to be listed on the ASX, which owns significant iron ore and lithium projects in Western Australia. On behalf of the Board of Directors, MACARTHUR MINERALS LIMITED Cameron McCall Cameron McCall, Chairman Company Contact: David Taplin, President, CEO and Director dtaplin@macarthurminerals.com Tel: +61 407470044 www.macarthurminerals.com THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements Certain of the statements made and information contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements in this press release reflect the current expectations, assumptions or beliefs of the Company based upon information currently available to the Company. With respect to forward-looking statements contained in this press release, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the timely receipt of required approvals, the reliability of information, including historical mineral resource or mineral reserve estimates, prepared and/or published by third parties that are referenced in this press release or was otherwise relied upon by the Company in preparing this press release. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct as actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include fluctuations in exchange rates and certain commodity prices, uncertainties related to mineral title in the project, unforeseen technology changes that results in a reduction in iron ore demand or substitution by other metals or materials, the discovery of new large low cost deposits of iron ore, uncertainty in successfully returning the project into full operation, and the general level of global economic activity. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. Such statements relate to future events and expectations and, as such, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and except as may otherwise be required pursuant to applicable laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. TORONTO, Ontario, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Bioceutical Corporation (the Company or BCC) (CSE:BCC) (OTC:CBICF) today announced that further to its press release of April 4, 2017, the Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary CGX Life Sciences, Inc. (CGX), has completed the acquisition of a 51% interest in IMT, LLC and Fall River Developments, LLC (FRD), Massachusetts registered companies active in the cannabis space. In compliance with Massachusetts regulations, while not cultivating or selling cannabis products themselves, IMT and FRD, pursuant to long-term management agreements, provides material support to Cannatech Medicinals Inc. ("CMI"), which is licensed to directly cultivate, produce, own, possess and sell cannabis and cannabis-infused products. Transaction highlights BCC is supporting the development of a new cultivation facility with 2.25 million grams of flower per annum capacity, as well as 500,000 grams per annum high-margin concentrates capacity. One dispensary location has been secured and is licensed for development, with zoning permits for two additional dispensaries being applied for. Transaction provides access to an adult use market anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 113% to over US$1 billion by 2020 (source: Arcview/Frontier Data - http://mwne.ws/2nTgq0I). The transaction considerations are as follows: -- A cash payment of US$5.1 million (approximately CAD$6.8 million) -- Cash payments of US$0.8 million (approximately CAD$1.1 million) each for the right to manage 51% of two additional dispensaries will be made once zoning and other required permits have been granted. -- A cash payment of US$5.1 million (approximately CAD$6.8 million) -- Cash payments of US$0.8 million (approximately CAD$1.1 million) each for the right to manage 51% of two additional dispensaries will be made once zoning and other required permits have been granted. The transaction includes a 51% interest in the existing real estate and partially built out production facility, valued at US$1.6 million (approximately CAD$2.1 million). BCC will provide a line of credit for up to US$10 million (approximately CAD$13.2 million) to IMT and FRD towards completion of the cultivation/production facility and up to three dispensaries, as well as for general working capital purposes. Advances shall bear interest at the annual rate of eight percent (8%) and the repayment of LOC Note obligations shall have a priority over any distributions to the owners of limited liability company membership interests of IMT and/or Fall River. Management commentary We are now fully set to complete the development of the Massachusetts assets and benefit, with a select group of other licensees, from an early mover advantage in what industry experts anticipate to become a sizeable adult use market, stated Scott Boyes, CEO of BCC. Completion of this acquisition shows how we are executing successfully on our expansion strategy. Based on current assets, assets under development, and our announced transaction pipeline, we are building a presence in four states, with, once completed, over nine million grams per annum of cultivation capacity, over 1.2 million grams per annum of cultivation capacity, and an expanding network of up to ten dispensaries. This makes us one of the larger branded, multi-state cannabis companies in the U.S., a market that continues to expand at a rapid pace. Beth Stavola, President of BCCs U.S. operations, added We will be introducing our very successful Health for Life and MPX brands into Massachusetts, as well as our well-established best-practices in terms of cultivation, production, retail and marketing. The Massachusetts dispensaries will be modeled on our recently relocated and reopened Mesa North dispensary, which, as we reported previously, recorded record sales during its first week of operations. Additionally, our strong track record in developing and executing successful marketing campaigns will serve as a model to generate brand recognition in Massachusetts, a key factor supporting market share growth in this early stage market. Expansion and timelines The Company has finalized plans for completion of the 2.25 million gpa cultivation and 500,000 gpa production facility, and anticipates first harvest in late spring of 2018. Commencement of sales at the first to be developed dispensary is anticipated for late spring 2018. Management estimates that completion of the production facility and the first dispensary will require approximately US$7.3 million, the funds for which will be made available to the Massachusetts operation through an 8% per annum facility as described above. Development of each additional dispensary, upon receipt of the required permitting, is estimated at US$1.3 million. Stock Option Grants A total of 2,000,000 stock options to purchase common shares of BCC were granted to employees and consultants of subsidiaries of the Company on June 14, 2017 at an exercise price of $0.39 per common share, expiring on June 14, 2020. Under BCCs stock option plan (the Plan), an amount equal to 9.07% of the issued and outstanding common shares or 23,335,000 common shares have now been reserved for issuance, including the above grant, and the Company may grant an additional 2,396,047 options under the Plan representing 0.93% of the issued and outstanding common shares. About The Canadian Bioceutical Corporation BCC, an Ontario corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiaries in the U.S., provides substantial management, staffing, procurement, advisory, financial, real estate rental, logistics and administrative services to two medicinal cannabis enterprises in Arizona operating under the Health for Life (dispensaries) and MPX (high-margin concentrates wholesale) brands. The successful Health for Life (H4L) brand operates in the rapidly growing Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) with a population of 4.6 million people. The award winning Melting Point Extracts (MPX) brand is carried by over 40% of Arizona dispensaries. The Company is supporting development of a third licensed dispensary in Arizona. Additionally, BCC is expanding its U.S. footprint, acquiring additional assets supporting cultivation, production and up to three dispensaries in Massachusetts and three to-be-developed dispensaries and a concentrate production facility in Maryland, as well as a cultivation and production wholesale business in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both Massachusetts and Nevada are implementing legalization of adult use. The Company also leases a property in Owen Sound, Ontario, for which an application to Health Canada has been made for a cannabis production and sales license. In addition, the Company will continue its efforts related to its legacy nutraceuticals business. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, the Transaction and BCC's objectives and intentions. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic and social uncertainties; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; those additional risks set out in BCC's public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; and other matters discussed in this news release. Although BCC believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, BCC disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. On behalf of the Board of Directors The Canadian Bioceuticals Corporation Scott Boyes, CEO BUDAPEST, Hungary, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Executives from Hungary's leading companies gathered on Thursday 8th June, to practice how to lead commercial recovery after a major data breach. CEOs and executives from Hungary's leading companies participated in a simulation of a major data beach run by Cyber Rescue, the leading consultancy based in London, UK in collaboration with DBH Group. DBH Group and Cyber Rescue have signed a collaboration agreement in March 2017. Under the agreement they will provide cyber recovery services in the CEE region. The event was also supported by the American Chamber of Commerce on 8th June at the Kempinski Hotel. "The number of major data breach events increased significantly over the last year and effected major commercial as well as political organizations. Hungarian business leaders have wisely recognised they must be ready to lead commercial recovery if hackers breach their defences," said Sandor Erdei, CEO of DBH Group. "This simulation helped CEOs reflect on why information security is so important, by rehearsing the decisions they might confront during a major data breach," he concluded. "Reputations are ruined, revenues are compromised and operations are overwhelmed, when executives are unprepared for the cascade of commercial consequences that can follow a major breach," said Kevin Duffey, Managing Director of Cyber Rescue. "I was very impressed by the professionalism shown by the leading Hungarian CEOs who participated in this simulation," he concluded. DBH Group provides investment and business services to thousands of companies in Central and Eastern Europe, and beyond. Headquartered in Budapest, the DBH Group delivers accountancy, serviced office, investment, IT services, project management and startup incubation services. Website: http://www.dbh-group.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/335013/ Cyber Rescue is the leading consultancy helping CEOs lead commercial recovery when hackers have breached their defences. Headquartered in London, Cyber Rescue's consultants have trained executives from hundreds of organisations across Europe, such as Vodafone, Swedbank, and LDSC, established by the Mayor of London to make London the safest place to innovate online. Website: http://www.cyberrescue.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyber-rescue-alliance/ Further information contact: Kevin Duffey, Managing Director, +44(0)7920-766530, kevin.duffey@cyberrescue.co.uk Further information, contact: Edina VARADI, Marketing Manager, +36-30-208-3203 edina.varadi@dbh-group.com SOURCE DBH Group The expanded leadership team--built by Juhl to transform Essence into a digital-first full service agency--is charged with integrating offline capabilities into the agency's offering, while continuing to look at all media through a data lens. "For years, Essence has harnessed granular event-level data to deeply understand audiences, moments and outcomes to deliver world-class digital advertising," said Juhl. "Our firm intent is to apply the very same techniques, combined with machine learning and new modelling approaches, to inform targeting decisions and measurement across all media channels. This requires us to bring on leaders with a broad range of skillsets and experience." To that end, Steve Williams has been named CEO of North America; he currently holds this title at Maxus. Williams is charged with driving innovation, client satisfaction and employee satisfaction throughout the region. Having cut his teeth in the full-service agency environment, previously Williams built out OMD UK Group, and, with his move to the US in 2012, he led PHD USA as President. Rob Reifenheiser, current CEO of The Americas, will transition into the newly created role of Executive Director; helping Essence with the important task of winning, onboarding and integrating complex multi-agency clients across both the agency and GroupM. Nick Baughan will become CEO of EMEA, after serving as CEO of Maxus UK. He will be responsible for leading the 260+ person region and its impressive client roster (the Financial Times, Google, FrieslandCampina). Since joining the UK office of Maxus in 2012, Baughan tripled the size of the company while simultaneously securing its status as the highest-rated agency on The Sunday Times' "Top 100 Employers to Work for" list. As announced yesterday, Jenny Bullis, Essence's current CEO of EMEA, is moving into the role of Chief Strategy Officer for [m]PLATFORM. Damian Blackden joins as Chief Strategy Officer; he currently holds the title at Maxus. Blackden will design the agency's proposition, which will include bridging digital and analogue by applying Essence's digital-first techniques to all channels. He's a digital pioneer who conceived and launched Zenith's digital business and has since held leadership roles at UM and Omnicom Media Group. Given the agency's evolved proposition, Essence is also announcing the creation of two new practices: Strategy & Analytics, which brings together its current Strategy, Analytics and Data Strategy disciplines; and Experience Design, consisting of the agency's existing Creative and Digital Tech teams. Simeon Duckworth will step into the role of Global Head of Strategy & Analytics, responsible for driving Essence's proven analytical capability into a fused discipline of cross-channel communication strategy. He has worked in the space for over 20 years in both media and creative, most recently as Head of Data and Analytics Strategic Development at GroupM. Prior, he spent nearly 15 years at Mindshare as its Global Head of Analytics and Research, and Head of Futures. Garrick Schmitt has been named Global Director, Experience Design, charged with further bridging Essence's regional creative teams across North America, EMEA and APAC. He most recently co-founded Junior, a company that invented digital products and services, and before that spent 15 years at Razorfish, culminating as Managing Director and North American Lead of Service Innovation. "We have felt incredibly well-supported by GroupM since joining their ranks a year and a half ago," added Juhl. "And, this new infusion of truly top-tier talent into Essence is yet another example of WPP's ongoing commitment to our success." Williams, Baughan and Blackden will report directly into Juhl, and Reifenheiser will continue to, as well. Duckworth and Schmitt will report into Andrew Shebbeare, Chief Product Officer. Schmitt has already joined the agency. Williams, Baughan, Blackden and Duckworth will be transitioning into their new roles over the coming months. The new members join Juhl's existing leadership team which includes Shebbeare; Cathy Carl, chief marketing officer; Dan Dobson-Smith, chief learning and culture officer; Jennifer Remling, chief talent officer; Kyoko Matsushita, APAC CEO; Nick Byrd, chief finance officer and Richard Mooney, global operations director. About Essence Essence is a global digital-first agency that blends data science, objective media and captivating experiences to build valuable connections between brands and consumers. Clients include Google, FrieslandCampina, and the Financial Times. The agency is more than 750 people strong, manages over $1B in media spend and deploys campaigns in 71 markets via offices in Chicago, Delhi, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Part of GroupM, Essence is majority owned by WPP, the world's leading communications services group. Visit essencedigital.com for more information and follow us on Twitter at @essencedigital. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/523479/Essence_Christian_Juhl.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/327027/Essence_Logo.jpg Related Links http://www.essencedigital.com SOURCE Essence PARIS, June 15,2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Do not distribute, directly or indirectly, in the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. Price of the French retail offering ("French Public Offering") and the international offering ("International Offering", and together with the French Public Offering, the "Global Offering"): 14.30 per share Initial size of the Global Offering: 80,820,728 existing shares sold by Societe Generale (the "Selling Shareholder") (the "Firm Shares"), representing 20% of the ALD's share capital, amounting to approximately 1,156 million (excluding any exercise of the over-allotment option) Over-allotment option: the stabilizing manager, on behalf of the underwriters, has been granted an option to purchase additional existing shares sold by the Selling Shareholder that represent up to 15% of the Firm Shares, i.e. a maximum of 12,123,109 additional shares (the "Option Shares" and together with the Firm Shares, the "Offered Shares"). Assuming the exercise in full of the overallotment option, the total size of the Global Offering is approximately 1,329 million Market capitalization: approximately 5,779 million, on the basis of a Global Offering price of 14.30 per share and 404,103,640 shares composing ALD's capital ALD's shares are expected to start trading on the regulated market of Euronext Paris on 16 June 2017 on an as-if-and-when-delivered basis The settlement and delivery of the Global Offering is expected to take place on 19 June 2017 The IPO is intended to enable ALD to gain visibility and reputation in the mobility ecosystem as well as to access to new means of financing and to increase its capacity to accelerate its development and to seize new growth opportunities in both the corporate and B2C markets ALD, a global leader in full service vehicle leasing and fleet management services, managing more than 1.4 million vehicles, today announces the success of its initial public offering (the "IPO") on the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Compartment A). (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/518717/ALD_Logo.jpg ) Mike Masterson, CEO of ALD, said: "I am delighted with the success of ALD's IPO. This is an important milestone in the Group history. ALD's constant focus on operational excellence, innovation and customer service has been instrumental in its success over the years, and I am confident that the visibility gained through the IPO will help the company reinforce its ties with its partners and customers. ALD's listing will provide extra flexibility to accelerate our expansion and enhance our position as a global leader in the provision of mobility solutions. I look forward to continuing the journey of ALD's development together with our talented ALD staff and management team". TERMS OF THE GLOBAL OFFERING The price of the Global Offering is set at 14.30 per share. The Firm Shares offered in the Global Offering were allocated as follows: 78,206,875 shares were allocated to the International Offering (representing approximately 1,118 million or approximately 96.8% of the Firm Shares). 2,613,853 shares were allocated to the French Retail Offering (representing approximately 37 million or approximately 3.2% of the Firm Shares). On the basis of the 80,820,728 Firm Shares sold by the Selling Shareholder, representing 20% of ALD's share capital, the gross proceeds from the Global Offering represent an amount of approximately 1,156 million (before any exercise of the over-allotment option) on the basis of the Global Offering price set at 14.30 per share. The stabilizing manager, on behalf of the underwriters, has been granted an option to purchase additional existing shares sold by the Selling Shareholder that represent up to 15% of the Firm Shares, i.e. a maximum of 12,123,109 Offered Shares. In the event of the exercise in full of the overallotment option, the total size of the Global Offering will amount to approximately 1,329 million. STABILIZATION J.P. Morgan Securities PLC (or any entity acting on its behalf), acting as stabilizing manager on behalf of the underwriters, may (but is under no obligation to) carry any and all stabilization operations deemed useful aiming to support ALD's share price in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, in particular the provisions of EU Parliament and Council Regulation 596/2014 of 16 April 2014 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 of 8 March 2016. There is, however, no obligation for the stabilizing manager to undertake such transactions and such transactions, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time and without warning. Stabilization transactions are intended to support the market price of the shares and may support a price higher than that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. In the event that the stabilizing manager undertakes stabilization transactions, such transactions may take place at any time during 30 calendar days following the determination of the Offering Price, or any time between 15 June 2017 and 14 July 2017, according to the indicative timetable. The stabilizing manager will ensure that the public and the competent market regulators are informed in accordance with Article 5.5 of the Regulation and Article 6 of the Delegated Regulation. Therefore, during the stabilization period, the persons designated as responsible ensure adequate public disclosure of the details of all stabilization transactions no later than the end of the seventh daily market session following the date of such transactions. The Joint Global Coordinators, Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners, on behalf of the underwriters, may decide to over-allot up to the number of shares covered by the Over-Allotment Option increased, as the case may be, by a number of shares representing 5% of the aggregate amount of the Offering, in accordance with Article 8 (b) of the Delegated Regulation. In compliance with Article 7.1 of the Delegated Regulation, stabilization transactions may not be effected at a price greater than the Offering Price. TIMETABLE Commencement of trading of the ALD shares is expected to start on 16 June 2017, on the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Compartment A) on a listing line under the ticker symbol "ALD AIW (as-if-and-when-delivered") and continue until and including the settlement date. The date of the settlement and delivery of the Offering is expected to occur on 19 June 2017. Commencement of trading of the ALD shares is expected to start on 20 June 2017 on the regulated market of Euronext Paris on a listing line called "ALD". REASONS FOR THE OFFERING The listing of the shares on the regulated market of Euronext Paris is intended to enable ALD to gain visibility and reputation in the mobility ecosystem as well as to access to new means of financing and to increase its capacity to accelerate its development and to seize new growth opportunities in both the corporate and B2C markets. The Selling Shareholder will receive the net proceeds from the sale of the Firm Shares and, if the Over-Allotment Option is exercised, from the sale of the Option Shares. UNDERWRITING SYNDICATE Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited, JP Morgan Securities plc and Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, are acting as Joint Global Coordinators on the IPO, and BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays Bank PLC, acting for its investment bank ("Barclays"), Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, HSBC are acting as Joint Bookrunners. BBVA, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, ING, RBC Capital Markets, Unicredit Corporate & Investment Banking are acting as co-lead managers. Rothschild is acting as financial adviser to Societe Generale. LOCK-UP UNDERTAKINGS ALD has agreed to a lock-up undertaking during the period beginning from the date of the underwriting agreement (15 June 2017) and continuing to and including the date which is 180 days after the settlement date of the Offering, without the prior written consent of the Joint Global coordinators, subject to certain exceptions. Societe Generale has agreed to a lock-up undertaking during the period beginning from the date of the underwriting agreement (15 June 2017) and continuing to and including the date which is 180 days after the settlement date of the Offering, without the prior written consent of the Joint Global Coordinators, subject to certain exceptions. FREE FLOAT Following the Global Offering, ALD's free float will amount to 20% of its ordinary shares that compose the share capital which may be increased up to 23% of the ordinary shares composing the share capital in the event the over-allotment option is exercised in full. INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC Copies of the prospectus that has been granted visa number 17-252 by the AMF on 2 June 2017, consisting of a an English-language registration document filed with the AMF on 11 May 2017 under number I.17-042, an English-language securities note and an English- and French-language summary of the prospectus (included in the securities note) are available free of charge and upon request to the Company (Tour Societe Generale Chassagne , 15-17 Cours Valmy, 92 800 Puteaux) and on the Company's (www.ald-ipo.com) and the AMF's (www.amf-france.org) websites. ALD draws the public's attention to Chapter 4 "Risk Factors" of the registration document and Section 2 of the securities note. Such risks as discussed therein, should they materialize, could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition, results of operation or prospects, as well as on the market price of the shares. ALD ALD is the operational leasing and fleet management business line of Societe Generale the largest providers in Europe and a company of reference on its market: Operates directly in 41 countries, Employs over 6,000 staff, Manages 1.41 million vehicles (at 31 March 2017). Combining professionalism and quality of services provides companies with value-added integrated solutions at both national and international levels. For more information, you can follow us on LinkedIn or visit www.ALDAutomotive.com. Disclaimer This announcement does not, and shall not, in any circumstances constitute a public offering or an offer to subscribe shares nor an invitation to the public in connection with any public offering. No communication or other information related to this transaction or to ALD may be distributed to the public in any jurisdiction where approval or registration is required. No steps have been or will be taken by the company in any country (other than France) where such steps would be required. The purchase of ALD shares may be subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. ALD assumes no responsibility for any violation of any such restrictions by any person. This press release does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of Directive 2003/71/CE of the European Parliament and Council dated November 4, 2003, to the extent implemented in the relevant member states of the European Economic Area (together, the "Prospectus Directive"). This press release is an advertisement. In France, an offer of securities to the public may only be made pursuant to a prospectus which has received an AMF visa. With respect to the member states of the European Economic Area other than France (the "Member States") having implemented the Prospectus Directive into law, no action has been or will be taken in order to permit a public offer of the securities which would require the publication of a prospectus in one of such Member States. Consequently, the securities cannot be offered and will not be offered in any Member State (other than France), except in accordance with the exemptions set out in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in the relevant Member State(s) or in the other cases which do not require the publication by ALD of a prospectus pursuant to the Prospectus Directive and/or applicable regulation in the Member States. The distribution of this press release is not made, and has not been approved, by an "authorized person" within the meaning of Article 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. As a consequence, this press release is addressed to and directed only at persons who (i) are located outside the United Kingdom, (ii) have professional experience in matters relating to investments within the meaning of Article 19(5) ("investment professionals") of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotions) Order 2005, (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 or (iv) are persons to whom this press release may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). The securities of ALD are directed only at Relevant Persons and no invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire the securities of ALD may be proposed or made other than with Relevant Persons. Any person other than a Relevant Person may not act or rely on this document or any provision thereof. This press release is not a prospectus which has been approved by the Financial Services Authority or any other United Kingdom regulatory authority for the purposes of Section 85 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. These materials are not an offer for sale of nor an invitation to purchase or to subscribe for ALD securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction (other than France). ALD securities may not be offered, subscribed for, pledged, sold or otherwise transferred in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and in compliance with any applicable state securities laws. ALD shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act and ALD does not intend to undertake a public offering of its securities in the United States. Any shares sold in the United States will be sold only to "qualified institutional buyers" (as defined in Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act) pursuant to Rule 144A. Circulation of this press release in certain countries may result in a violation of applicable law. The information contained in this document does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in Canada, Australia or Japan. This press release should not be published, circulated or distributed, directly or indirectly, within the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. From the announcement date of the Global Offering price and during a period ending 30 calendar days later (i.e., according to the expected timetable, until July 14, 2017, included), J.P. Morgan Securities PLC , acting as stabilizing agent may, without any obligation, in compliance with laws and regulations, in particular EU Parliament and Council Regulation 596/2014 of 16 April 2014 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 of 8 March 2016 on market abuse, effect transactions with a view to maintaining the market price of the ALD shares on the regulated market of Euronext Paris. In compliance with Article 7.1 of the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 of 8 March 2016, the stabilization activities shall not in any circumstances be executed above the Global Offering price. Such stabilization activities may affect the price of the shares and may conduct to the fixing of the market price higher than the one which would otherwise be fixed. Even if stabilization activities were carried out, J.P. Morgan Securities PLC may, at any time, decide to stop such activities. Information of the competent market authorities and the public will be made in compliance with Article 5 of the above mentioned Regulation. In compliance with the provisions of Article 8(b)) of the above mentioned Delegated Regulation, the Joint Global Coordinators, Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners, acting on behalf of the underwriters of the Global Offering, may, over-allot in the context of the Global Offering at the number of shares covered by the over-allotment option, plus, if applicable, 5% of the Global Offering (excluding the exercise of the over-allotment option). The contents of this announcement have been prepared by and are the sole responsibility of ALD. None of Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited, JP Morgan Securities PLC, Societe Generale, Barclays Bank PLC, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, HSBC France, Merrill Lynch International, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, ING Bank N.V., RBC Europe Limited and Unicredit Bank AG, Milan Branch or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to ALD, its subsidiaries or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited, JP Morgan Securities PLC, Societe Generale, Barclays Bank PLC, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, HSBC France, Merrill Lynch International, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, ING Bank N.V., RBC Europe Limited and Unicredit Bank AG, Milan Branch are acting for ALD, and no one else in connection with this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than ALD, for providing the protections afforded to their clients, or for giving advice in connection with this announcement or any matter referred to herein. Contacts: ALD - Investor Relations: Hans van Beeck +33(0)1-57-29-36-60 investor.relations@aldautomotive.com ALD - Media: Agnes Catineau, Hugues Boeton +33(0)1-53-96-83-83 ald@brunswickgroup.com This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire. SOURCE ALD S.A 300 companies from the 16 CEE countries filled 500 exhibition booths at the Expo. Some 1,200 professional buyers from 6 countries and regions, as well as 30,000 visitors attended the show. The entire sector covered by the exhibition generated deals including potential ones worth US$35 million this year. The cross-border e-commerce fair, participated by 65 exhibitors from CEE countries, yielded US$29.6 million in trade deals. The five-day expo offered companies from the 16 CEE countries a platform to show their products and learn more about the Chinese market. "The success of this event shows that the markets of Ningbo and CEE countries are a good match. CEE countries have a lot of medium- and small-sized enterprises; it is the same in Ningbo and all of Zhejiang province. We have similar backgrounds and mutual concerns; that's why we can make it work," said Danhua Yu, director of the Expo's committee office. Sterica Fudulea, State Secretary of Ministry of Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship of Romania, visited Ningbo for the third time to attend the event, and remarked that he has been impressed by the city's growth during each trip. "Ningbo now serves as a crucial platform for offering trade links for CEE countries to China and the rest of the world. It's an amazing achievement." About the China-CEEC Investment and Trade Expo The China-CEEC (Central & Eastern European countries) Investment and Trade Expo is a major project that was set forth in the Belgrade Guidelines, Suzhou Guidelines and Riga Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries. It is also the first expo that is focused on trade and investment between China and CEE countries. SOURCE CEEC Organization Committee Office For more about the Reading Ambassadors, visit: mediaroom.scholastic.com/readingambassadors . For more about the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, visit: www.scholastic.com/summer . As part of the initiative and to ensure students have access to books throughout the summer, Scholastic will donate 500 books to the elementary school(s) of each Reading Ambassador's choice. In addition, to show their commitment to summer reading many Reading Ambassadors will host reading celebrations and discuss the importance of summer reading through in-school events in their states. Scholastic thanks the following Governors, Governors' Spouses and Lieutenant Governors for serving as Reading Ambassadors for the 2017 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey Alaska First Lady Donna Walker American Samoa First Lady Cynthia Malala Moliga Arizona First Lady Angela Ducey Arkansas First Lady Susan Hutchinson Connecticut First Lady Cathy Malloy Delaware First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal Guam First Lady Christine Sonido Calvo Hawaii First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige Idaho First Lady Lori Otter Illinois First Lady Diana Rauner Indiana First Lady Janet Holcomb Iowa First Lady Christine Branstad Kansas First Lady Mary Brownback Maine First Lady Ann LePage Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan Massachusetts First Lady Lauren Baker Michigan First Lady Sue Snyder Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton Mississippi First Lady Deborah Bryant Missouri First Lady Sheena Greitens Montana First Lady Lisa Bullock Nevada First Lady Kathleen Sandoval New Hampshire First Lady Valerie Sununu New Jersey First Lady Mary Pat Christie New Mexico First Gentleman Chuck Franco New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper North Dakota First Lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum Northern Mariana Islands First Lady Diann Torres Ohio First Lady Karen W. Kasich Oklahoma First Gentleman Wade Christensen Oregon First Gentleman Dan Little Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf Rhode Island First Gentleman Andy Moffit South Dakota First Lady Linda Daugaard Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp Utah First Lady Jeanette Herbert Vermont First Lady Diana McTeague-Scott Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe Washington First Lady Trudi Inslee West Virginia First Lady Cathy Justice Wisconsin First Lady Tonette Walker Wyoming First Lady Carol Mead QUOTES: First Lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe, Chair of Governors' Spouses Program for the National Governors Association: "My fellow Reading Ambassadors and I are honored to serve the students of our respective states by encouraging them to read over the summer months, helping our children discover new worlds through reading, and empowering them to become lifelong readers. We have worked hard in Virginia to close the summer nutrition gap by expanding access to summer meals for kids. The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge has helped us combine books and healthful meals to keep kids growing and learning all year long." Richard Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO, Scholastic: "We thank our Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge Reading Ambassadors for helping students and their families learn about the importance of reading during the summer while also encouraging all children to discover the power and joy of reading. Our Reading Ambassadors' commitment delivers a powerful message to the children within their states that, in addition to their teachers and families, state leadership is also supporting their growth as readers." For more information about the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com. References: (1) The Kids and Family Reading Report: 6th Edition conducted by YouGov and Scholastic, 2016. SOURCE Scholastic Inc. Related Links http://www.scholastic.com ROOSENDAAL, The Netherlands, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A&B Groep: European telecom providers seek compensation by increasing other costs The abolition of roaming charges within the EU does not automatically lead to lower calling charges or reduced expenses for companies. Calling abroad has not become cheaper, and is sometimes even more expensive. The costs for out-of-bundle calls have increased, new subscriptions are more expensive and companies are charged higher fees due to complex contracts. Moreover, roaming charges are still applied in other European countries. Calling from Switzerland, for example, has even become more expensive than before. This is the conclusion of the telecom consultancy experts of A&B Groep. As of today, people abroad can use their standard bundle to call and use the internet from abroad. Under the title 'Roam Like at Home', the EU has put an end to the high fees charged by mobile providers for voice, SMS and internet use abroad, also known as roaming. The abolition of roaming charges is a step in the right direction, but the telecom expense management consultants of A&B Groep believe that this is not enough. They believe that companies will not be able to save as much in costs as previously thought. It was implied in recent months that roaming would be free of charge, but practice proves this to be a false implication. A&B Groep gives five examples which clearly illustrate that the new regulations do not by definition lead to lower costs: Calling other countries is not cheaper The abolition of roaming does not mean that calling abroad will be cheaper today then it was before. The charges for calling abroad - for example, from the Netherlands to another EU member state - have not changed. In fact, some providers have even increased their charges for calling abroad. As Ron Rijkenberg, CEO of A&B Groep, asks: "Why did the European Commission avoid dealing with this 'real abolition' of telecom country boundaries?" He clarifies his question with a practical example: "There is a person in the Netherlands. His colleague in Belgium uses his or her mobile telephone to call that person's mobile telephone. The call is charged a higher fee than when the Belgian colleague first crosses the border with the Netherlands and then calls from the Netherlands. That roaming call has a lower charge than the international call." Roaming still applies to countries outside the EU Besides the various EU countries, there is an entire group of European countries where roaming charges are still applied. Jorg Wiedijk, global marketing director of A&B Groep, gives an example: "We work for a large European customer with subsidiaries throughout Europe. It now appears that the charges for calling from Switzerland to a EU country have even been increased over the past months. The same applies for calls made from a EU country to Switzerland." Out-of-bundle charges drastically increased As of today, people in another EU country can use their standard bundle to call and use the internet. The current EU packages - as options in business telecom contracts - are voided by these new regulations. Jorg Wiedijk explains: "The perception that everything is now cheaper will lead to increased usage of data. The use of such data will now also be charged on to the national allowance. The data package limits are therefore reached sooner, as a result of which the out-of-bundle charges will be charged when those limits are exceeded. Those rates have been drastically increased over the past months." Existing contracts remain valid Companies with existing contracts always receive an adjusted fee plan, as a result of which people will likely have to pay much more. Also, optimisation of telecom contracts is not always possible during the term of the contract. The outside calling fee package charges can therefore lead to an increase of costs. Obscure calculation methods The European telecom markets are obscure and complex. This enables telecom providers to charge higher tariffs, without the companies being able to know whether their contractual agreements are being billed correctly. The analysts of A&B Groep conclude that an average of 11% of all telecom invoices do not tally with the underlying contracts. They state that the real problem lies in the sheer complexity of the European telecom market. Companies are faced with the complexity of the European and global telecom markets, which makes it very difficult for them to conclude beneficial contracts with telecom providers. For example, an internationally active company is forced to enter into contracts with several providers, even if those providers operate under the same name. Ron Rijkenberg on this issue: "There are numerous telecom providers. Global providers also operate in separate countries, all of which have their own laws and regulations. Reaching a global deal is therefore nearly impossible. Finding the best possible telecom contract for the entire company is an extremely difficult and complex undertaking. Here at A&B Groep, we intend to use a very fine toothcomb to assess each of our customers' invoices in the months to come." About A&B Groep Ever since its incorporation in 1999, A&B Groep has been a leading consultancy firm in the field of telecommunications. A&B Groep assists companies in the optimisation of telecom contracts and the management of complex telecom issues. A&B Groep advises more than 500 companies worldwide. Whether for fixed telephony, mobile telephony or data networks, the consultants of A&B Groep relieve companies of all telecom-related issues, provide insight and help them save on telecom expenses. A&B Groep offers its flexible Telecom Expense and Mobility Management platform as a Software as a Service solution (SaaS). The application of GTEM Solutions [Global Technology Enterprise Management] means that organisations save on telecom and IT expenses, that telecom contracts are optimised and that the experts of A&B Groep provide effective support in managing the telecom and IT environment. For more information, please go to www.ab-groep.eu SOURCE A&B Groep SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Access Emanate, a Ketchum company, today announced its rebrand to Access Brand Communications (Access), with a deepened focus on simplifying integrated communications for brands. In addition, the company announced the appointment of Bob Osmond as general manager of the company's New York office. "Marketers continue to be challenged in effectively implementing integrated communications. Connecting the dots between PR, digital and experiential channels can be overwhelming and costly," said Susan Butenhoff, CEO of Access. "Throughout our 25-year history, Access's DNA has been to uncomplicate the complicated. We are known for translating the benefits of products and services from enterprise technology to consumer packaged goods and unearthing the keen customer insights that drive successful brand campaigns. By blending our teams by design with digital, content, influencer and creative staff, we are streamlining the process to help clients deliver on the promise that is inherent in our name access to audiences with meaningful experiences that earn impact." Access Communications merged with Emanate in September 2015 to combine Access' market-leading technology and challenger brand expertise with Emanate's extensive brand knowledge to create an agency with deep domain expertise in how digital technologies are redefining the brand and consumer relationship. Through expanded digital, content, design and video offerings, as well as strategic planning capabilities, Access has implemented integrated brand campaigns for leading technology innovators and household brand names alike. Bob Osmond Joins Access to Lead New York Office Bob Osmond brings more than 20 years of award-winning credentials in deep technology and consumer brands, new business acquisition, talent management and mentorship to Access. His blend of business-to-business and consumer brand-building experience mirrors the history of Access and he will be an important part of achieving the agency's growth goals. Bob will report to Access President, Matt Afflixio. "Access is grounded in the core belief that every relationship is earned, whether it's with clients, media, influencers or our clients' customers," said Osmond. "This is particularly relevant in an environment where distrust of institutions is at an all-time high and where consumers and business buyers alike have tremendous power in helping to build brands. I am impressed with the world-class team and roster of clients who have placed their confidence in us and ready to contribute to our agency's abilities to continue to earn that trust every day." Bob has rejoined the Ketchum family after serving as executive vice president of client service at DiGennaro Communications. Previously, Bob was Ketchum's SVP and global account director for leading consumer and technology brands. His work with agency teams has received industry recognitions including Cannes Lions, PR Week, PRSA Silver Anvil, Sabre and Compass Awards. About Access Brand Communications For 25 years, we've helped companies' access new audiences in new ways. We do this by approaching "integrated" communications differently. We blend earned media, digital and experiential teams seamlessly to deliver surround-sound experiences that are compelling, consistent and custom-built for each client and their audiences. By making the complicated uncomplicated we help clients navigate disruption in their markets so that change is less painful and more profitable. Access Brand Communications, a Ketchum company, has offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and London and is part of the Omnicom Public Relations Group. Learn more at http://accesstheagency.com. About Omnicom Public Relations Group Omnicom Public Relations Group is a global collective of three of the top global public relations agencies worldwide and specialist agencies in areas including public affairs, marketing to women, fashion, global health strategy and corporate social responsibility. It encompasses more than 6,000 public relations professionals in more than 330 offices worldwide who provide their expertise to companies, government agencies, NGOs and nonprofits across a wide range of industries. Omnicom Public Relations Group is part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. that includes more than 200 companies in a wide range of marketing disciplines including advertising, public relations, healthcare, customer relationship management, events, promotional marketing, branding and research. SOURCE Ketchum Related Links http://accesstheagency.com HERSHEY, Pa., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) announced today that Michele Buck signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace by working collectively across organizations and sectors. The collaborative of more than 150 chief executive officers pledged to cultivate a trusting environment where all ideas are welcomed and employees feel comfortable and empowered to discuss diversity and inclusion. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cf06115d-9492-483a-b3be-c4f94d717328 We are proud to sign the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion commitment and join other industry leaders who are working to catalyze further conversation and action around diversity and inclusion, said Michele Buck, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hershey Company. This is consistent with our efforts to foster a diverse, representative workforce at all levels of our company. By bringing together people with diversity of thought, interest, skill and experience, we are enriching our legacy as an organization and helping to cultivate a sustainable business for the future. As Hershey continues to grow globally, it is building on a strong foundation of people and purpose to further both its success and the greater good. The signatories commit to providing a trusting environment where employees feel empowered to discuss complex and sometimes difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion, where successfuland unsuccessfulpractices can be shared across organizations. With more than 18,000 employees globally, signing the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion is consistent with Hersheys belief that inclusion is core to the companys workplace culture and that Hershey is representative of the communities it serves. The pledge builds on Hersheys progress made toward its goal to be a premier industry leader in diversity and inclusion by 2020, including the Paradigm for Parity pledge and accolades from DiversityInc and the Human Rights Campaign. Paradigm for Parity Hershey recently pledged to support Paradigm for Parity, a movement of business leaders, board members and academics who are committed to achieving a new norm in corporate America in which women and men have equal power, status, and opportunity. Women have always been at the heart of Hershey, from Milton Hershey School co-founder Catherine Hershey to Michele Buck, who became the companys first female president and chief executive officer in March. I am proud of Hersheys industry-leading female representation across our executive team, where women also hold the chief financial officer, chief legal officer and chief growth officer positions. Four out of 12 positions on Hersheys board of directors are also held by women, said Kevin Walling, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. DiversityInc 28 Noteworthy Companies for Diversity Hershey was recognized by DiversityInc, a premier diversity publication, as one of 28 Noteworthy Companies, and a contender for its Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. Hershey was also recognized on the Top 15 Companies for Veterans list. This is the second consecutive year Hershey earned honors on both lists. Human Rights Campaign (HRC) 2017 Corporate Equality Index 100% Awards This index is a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertaining to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. Hershey earned a top score of 100 percent and the distinction of being listed as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality for the third year in a row. Hershey continues to build a workplace that welcomes and respects a multitude of perspectives to fuel innovation and create a stronger and better business. For more information, visit https://careers.thehersheycompany.com/us/en/. About The Hershey Company The Hershey Company, headquartered in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery company known for bringing goodness to the world through its chocolate, sweets, mints and other great-tasting snacks. Hershey has approximately 18,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 80 brands around the world that drive more than $7.4 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers. Building on its core business, Hershey is expanding its portfolio to include a broader range of delicious snacks. At Hershey, goodness has always been about more than delicious products. For more than 120 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on giving underserved children the skills and support they need to be successful. Today, the company continues this social purpose through 'Nourishing Minds,' a global initiative that provides basic nutrition to help children learn and grow. From neighborhoods across the United States to the streets of Shanghai and Mumbai and villages of West Africa, our goal is to nourish one million minds by 2020. To learn more - Visit: www.thehersheycompany.com Follow: BALTIMORE, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (ADX) announces that after 35 years with the Company, and its sister fund, Adams Natural Resources Fund, Inc. (PEO), Nancy J. Floyd Prue, Executive Vice President and a member of the Company's senior management team, has retired. Ms. Prue joined the Company in 1982 as a research analyst. In 1986, she joined the research team at PEO and served in various capacities, including as President from 2012 to 2015. She served as Executive Vice President, Director of Shareholder Communications for ADX and PEO from 2015 until her retirement. Mark Stoeckle, CEO of Adams Funds, said, "I would like to thank Nancy for her outstanding service to the Company and our shareholders over the past 35 years. Nancy has made numerous contributions to this organization and has been instrumental in building Adams Funds into what it is today. She will be greatly missed. We wish her all the best in retirement." Ms. Prue graduated summa cum laude from Villanova University. She earned an MBA and JD from the University of Baltimore. Ms. Prue is also a graduate of Wharton Business School's Advanced Management Program. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a member of the Baltimore CFA Society, of which she is a past president, and a member of the Maryland State Bar Association. She is also a member and past president of the National Association of Petroleum Investment Analysts. Since 1929, Adams Funds has consistently helped generations of investors reach their investment goals. Adams Funds is comprised of two closed-end funds, Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (NYSE: ADX) and Adams Natural Resources Fund, Inc. (NYSE: PEO).The Funds are actively managed by an experienced team with a disciplined approach and have paid dividends for more than 80 years across many market cycles. The Funds are committed to paying an annual distribution rate of 6% or more, providing reliable income to long-term investors. Shares can be purchased through our transfer agent or through a broker. For more information about Adams Funds, please visit: www.adamsfunds.com. Contact: Lyn Walther Director of Shareholder Communications Adams Funds 410.752.5900 or 800.638.2479 [email protected] SOURCE Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. Related Links http://www.adamsfunds.com BALTIMORE, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Adams Natural Resources Fund, Inc. (PEO) announces that after 35 years with the Company and its sister fund, Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (ADX), Nancy J. Floyd Prue, Executive Vice President and a member of the Company's senior management team, has retired. Ms. Prue joined ADX in 1982 as a research analyst. She transitioned to PEO in 1986 as Vice President-Research, and was promoted to Vice President in 2005, and Executive Vice President in 2009, when she was made a member of the portfolio management team. She was elected President of the Company in 2012 and served in that role until 2015. She served as Executive Vice President, Director of Shareholder Communications for PEO and ADX from 2015 until her retirement. Mark Stoeckle, CEO of Adams Funds, said, "I would like to thank Nancy for her outstanding service to the Company and our shareholders over the past 35 years. Nancy has made numerous contributions to this organization and has been instrumental in building Adams Funds into what it is today. She will be greatly missed. We wish her all the best in retirement." Ms. Prue graduated summa cum laude from Villanova University. She earned an MBA and JD from the University of Baltimore. Ms. Prue is also a graduate of Wharton Business School's Advanced Management Program. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a member of the Baltimore CFA Society, of which she is a past president, and a member of the Maryland State Bar Association. She is also a member and past president of the National Association of Petroleum Investment Analysts. Since 1929, Adams Funds has consistently helped generations of investors reach their investment goals. Adams Funds is comprised of two closed-end funds, Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (NYSE: ADX) and Adams Natural Resources Fund, Inc. (NYSE: PEO).The Funds are actively managed by an experienced team with a disciplined approach and have paid dividends for more than 80 years across many market cycles. The Funds are committed to paying an annual distribution rate of 6% or more, providing reliable income to long-term investors. Shares can be purchased through our transfer agent or through a broker. For more information about Adams Funds, please visit: www.adamsfunds.com. Contact: Lyn Walther Director of Shareholder Communications Adams Funds 410.752.5900 or 800.638.2479 [email protected] SOURCE Adams Natural Resources Fund, Inc. Related Links http://www.adamsfunds.com PITTSBURGH, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, manufacturer of the Rachael Ray Nutrish line of pet food and treats, announced today that is has acquired Triple T Foods of Frontenac, Kansas, a family-owned, super premium pet food co-manufacturer that employs approximately 200 people. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. With this acquisition, Ainsworth strengthens its manufacturing capacity and capabilities to support future growth of the Nutrish brand while maintaining and building upon Triple T's current co-manufacturing relationships. "We are thrilled to welcome Triple T Foods to the Ainsworth Family," said Jeff Watters, President and CEO of Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. "As one of our most trusted co-manufacturers for more than a decade, Triple T's similar family-minded culture and enduring commitment to food safety and product quality make this acquisition a very natural fit for both organizations." Mr. Watters went on to explain that Triple T Food's location in the central United States provides convenient access to key pet food ingredients within the nation's grain and protein belts. "This acquisition is a logical evolution in our supply chain, creating an even more robust national footprint for Ainsworth that accelerates our five-year strategic plan to become the leader in super premium pet nutrition," Mr. Watters said. "Moreover, by adding Triple T to the Ainsworth Family, we will be better positioned to deliver on our vision of 'Pet Store Quality. Supermarket Easy.' providing consumers with the very best in pet nutrition, at a reasonable price, right where they shop for the rest of their families," he said. Triple T Food's President, Kurt Terlip commented, "Over the past 15 years, Triple T Foods has produced products for Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. This acquisition has been about securing a good fit for both organizations - from an operations and supply chain perspective as well as a cultural standpoint," Mr. Terlip said. "We are excited about today's news as this acquisition is a great match for Triple T and Ainsworth on all of these fronts and will allow our newly combined organization to grow faster and more efficiently than either could do on its own," Mr. Terlip said. Mr. Terlip will be stepping down from his position as President of Triple T Foods, however Ainsworth will maintain a strong management team from Triple T, including Mr. Terlip's son, Colin, who will manage all operations in Frontenac, KS. About Triple T Foods Founded in 1992, in Frontenac, KS, Triple T Foods has been manufacturing a broad spectrum of dry pet foods, including super premium brands. Triple T's commitment to manufacturing the highest quality, best value products and implementation of rigorous testing programs allowed Triple T Foods to become a trusted co-manufacturer of choice for many industry leading brands. Triple T Foods' manufacturing facility is SQF Level 3 and HACCP certified and continues to invest extensively in food safety and regulatory compliance. Triple T Foods recognizes that its customers' brands reputation is key for their success, and has strived relentlessly to protect that image in the market place. About Ainsworth Founded in 1933, Ainsworth Pet Nutrition is a fifth generation, primarily family-owned and operated company headquartered in Western Pennsylvania and focused entirely on pets. With a goal of changing the way consumers shop for Super Premium pet food, Ainsworth's mantra is "Pet Store Quality. Supermarket Easy." They achieve this promise by providing consumers with the high-quality pet food where they currently shop for the rest of their families. The company makes multiple brands and types of dog and cat food, including the Rachael Ray Nutrish line, as well as Super Premium retailer specific brands. Ainsworth Pet Nutrition is committed to food safety and prepares all of its dry pet food in the United States using high-quality, natural ingredients with added vitamins and minerals. To learn more, visit www.ainsworthpets.com. About Nutrish and Rachael's Rescue In 2008, daytime television host, best-selling author and pet-food lover, Rachael Ray partnered with nutrition experts from Ainsworth Pet Nutrition to develop a line of super premium recipes for pets called Rachael Ray Nutrish. Every Nutrish pet food recipe is natural, made with simple, wholesome ingredients plus essential nutrients, and never contains any artificial preservatives, flavors, or poultry by-product meal. Available at grocery, mass, and online retailers nationwide, the line also features real meat-first varieties and recipes for pets with ingredient sensitivities. A portion of proceeds from each sale is donated to the Rachael Ray Foundation, which helps animals in need through Rachael's Rescue (www.rachaelsrescue.org). So, not only are Nutrish products great for your pet, they're great for countless other animals, as well. CONTACT: Ainsworth Pet Nutrition Media Contact: Samantha Bridger: 724-272-1757 SOURCE Ainsworth Pet Nutrition Related Links http://www.ainsworthpets.com WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, applauded the U.S. Senate for passing a bipartisan plan to codify existing Russian sanctions and require the President to obtain congressional approval to waive or remove any sanctions against Russia. To address Russian meddling in our elections, sanctions will be imposed on several new entities, including "individuals conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government." AJC urges that these provisions tacked onto the equally laudable and necessary Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act be quickly considered by the House and signed into law by the administration. "Beyond its illegal annexation of Crimea, and its destabilizing activities in eastern Ukraine, Russia continues to engage in illicit activities around the world," said Jason Isaacson, AJC Associate Executive Director for Policy. "Russia employs cyber intrusions, social media disinformation and other forms of propaganda, and corrupt financial practices to buy influence and spread distrust in democratic institutions. The United States must take further action to combat this hostile Russian behavior." For decades, AJC has been a consistent voice for human rights and democracy in the former Soviet Union. During this month's AJC Global Forum, some 700 advocates met with members of Congress from across the United States to promote similar legislation in the House and the Senate. AJC's Director of Russian Affairs conducts frequent assessment visits in the region, and AJC leadership delegations regularly conduct high-level consultations with political and community leaders. The first non-Ukrainian Jewish organization to call for recognition of an independent Ukraine, AJC maintains close contact with Ukrainian officials, U.S. and foreign diplomats in the country, the Ukrainian Jewish community, and other civil society figures. "Russia's hostile actions continue to pose a threat to international order," said Isaacson. "Through strong bipartisan support, the Senate has shown that countering Russian aggression is not only in America's national interest, but also a global necessity." SOURCE American Jewish Committee Related Links http://www.ajc.org NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC is deeply concerned that Secretary of State Tillerson, despite his department's previous commitment to fill the positon of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, may actually eliminate it. During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the State Department budget, Tillerson suggested that the position may not be necessary for the U.S. to deal with anti-Semitism around the world. Questioning the utility of the anti-Semitism envoy comes amidst consideration of the Administration's proposal to severely cut the State Department budget. "The State Department's special envoy on anti-Semitism has been a living embodiment of our country's commitment to fighting this evil," said Jason Isaacson, AJC Associate Executive Director for Policy. "Eliminating or even curtailing the office's essential functions would raise questions about the administration's commitment to combating anti-Semitism, and diminish U.S. global leadership in this cause at a time of rising threats to Jewish communities abroad." In April, AJC urged Tillerson to fill without further delay the position of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. The vital position, created by Congress in 2004, has been vacant since the new Administration took office in January. To further strengthen the capacity of the position, AJC is supporting the bipartisan Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act of 2017 (H.R. 1911 and S. 1292). It would elevate the envoy position to the rank of Ambassador, to report directly to the Secretary of State. The proposed legislation would establish the position as the primary advisor and coordinator for U.S. Government efforts to monitor and combat anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incitement in foreign countries. Isaacson called on Secretary Tillerson to maintain the anti-Semitism envoy and to welcome the congressional proposal. "The anti-Semitism envoy's relatively modest but essential office should be exempt from any budget cuts and the appropriately qualified individual appointed promptly to fill it," said Isaacson. The Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism has kept the U.S. at the forefront of international efforts to raise consciousness about the rising menace of anti-Semitism and press governments and multilateral institutions to take action to safeguard vulnerable Jewish communities. SOURCE American Jewish Committee Related Links http://www.ajc.org NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Express today announced a $100,000 grant to the National Park Foundation's Centennial Campaign for America's National Parks for Capturing LGBTQ History, a project led by New York City's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) to chronicle and communicate the robust narrative of the Stonewall uprising to visitors at Stonewall National Monument. The grant, which is part of the National Park Foundation's effort to raise $2 million to fund essential projects at the new national park site will provide critical support for the extensive historical research and outreach needed to establish the foundation for interpretive materials and programs for the site. This grant complements the more than $13 million in funding American Express has provided to park-related causes over the past three years. Funds have been used to preserve sites within national parks, increase volunteerism, and encourage people of all backgrounds to rediscover their parksparticularly in urban areas. "For more than four decades, American Express has pledged to save and sustain places that exemplify our nation's rich and diverse history," said Timothy J. McClimon, president, American Express Foundation. "As the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement, Stonewall represents a struggle fought by millions of Americans. We are proud to help preserve the legacy of this meaningful site for future generations." "We're grateful to American Express for helping the park collect oral histories that will bring the events of Stonewall to life and create a rich visitor experience," said Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation. "American Express' grant highlights the crucial role private support plays in enhancing our national parks and connecting people to the important American stories they share." "Since our founding, The Center has unwaveringly served, celebrated and empowered the LGBTQ community with a demand for justice and a steadfast commitment to honor the legacy of those who sparked a revolution at Stonewall and proclaimed, 'enough is enough,'" said Glennda Testone, Executive Director of The Center. "We are proud to help cultivate and share this integral part of American history with generations to come, elevating the voices and preserving the contributions of those who resisted fear, inspired a movement and who remind us to embrace our differences and shared humanity in our march towards equality and justice." "The National Park Service is committed to telling stories that reflect all of American history. The struggle for LGBTQ rights, represented through Stonewall National Monument, expands an ongoing narrative about the fight for civil rights and equality under the law," said Commissioner Joshua Laird of the National Parks of New York Harbor. "I'd like to express our gratitude to American Express for its long-standing support of places connected to our nation's rich history and to the National Park Foundation for its ongoing commitment to our national parks. This grant will help the National Park Service preserve the story of Stonewall for generations to come." Stonewall National Monument honors an important chapter in the country's civil rights journeyreflecting the diversity of the American experience and the array of historical sites stewarded by the National Park Service. The events of June 28, 1969, at The Stonewall Inn, located in Greenwich Village in New York City, marked a significant turning point in the fight for LGBTQ rights. At this site, police conducted a raid that had become routine at gay bars, often resulting in harassment and arrests. Unlike previous raids, the crowds held their ground in demanding civil rights and refused to disperse. The protest, which expanded to neighboring streets and into nearby Christopher Park, grew to several thousand people and lasted for six days. Within two years, the uprising inspired citizens across the country to form LGBTQ rights groups in almost every major city. Today, The Stonewall Inn is recognized as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. Designated on June 24, 2016, Stonewall National Monument, located in Christopher Park and part of New York City's Historic Greenwich Village, sits across the street from The Stonewall Inn and is open to the public. It is one of 417 units of the National Park System. About American Express American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. About the National Park Foundation The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America's national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and INSPIRE the next generation of park stewards. In 2016, commemorating the National Park Service's 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for America's National Parks, a comprehensive fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national treasures for the next hundred years. About National Parks of New York Harbor You may be surprised to learn that there are 12 National Parks and affiliated sites comprising 24 unique destinations in New York City and northern New Jersey. The National Parks of New York Harbor includes nearly 27,000 acres and welcomes more than 18 million visitors each year. The Parks offer year-round programs, recreational opportunities, natural habitats, historic buildings and museum collections. About The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center Established in 1983, New York City's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center empowers people to lead healthy, successful lives. The Center celebrates diversity and advocates for justice and opportunity. Each year, The Center welcomes more than 300,000 visits to our building in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan from people who engage in our life-changing and life-saving activities. MEDIA CONTACTS: Jocelyn F. Seidenfeld, American Express, 212-640-0555, [email protected] Alanna Sobel, National Park Foundation, 202-796-2538, [email protected] Mindy Anderson, National Parks of New York Harbor, 212-668-2208, [email protected] SOURCE National Park Foundation Related Links http://www.nationalparks.org The Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet High School cheerleaders teamed up with 50 ASC staff members, caregivers and volunteers to dance for travelers to raise awareness and donate funds for the Alzheimer's Association. As performers strutted their stuff, airport employees and onlookers boogied in the background while reading large signs with Alzheimer's facts printed on them. Visit ASC's Facebook page to watch the full video: https://www.facebook.com/ascseniorcare/ The Alzheimer's Association's offers a free helpline which allows families and individuals with Alzheimer's to connect with a licensed social worker. A $25 donation helps support one helpline call, and according to Anne Murray, the Coordinator for the Alzheimer's Association for the Longest Day, last year the association received over 7,000 calls. American Senior Communities is a proud partner with the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Indiana and The Longest Day Greater Indiana. About American Senior Communities American Senior Communities is a world-class health organization dedicated to compassionately serving each resident with quality care and excellence through health solutions that foster independence and self-esteem. Our senior living communities are designed to specifically serve today's seniors through a multitude of lifestyle choices with integrated services and amenities. To learn more about how caring people make the difference at American Senior Communities or to find a location near you, please visit www.ASCSeniorCare.com. SOURCE American Senior Communities Related Links http://www.ascseniorcare.com NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Appboy, the global leader in lifecycle engagement technology, today announced the addition of VML, full-service global marketing and advertising agency and No. 5 on AdAge's 2017 Agency A-List, to Appboy Accelerator, a program that enables agencies to easily supplement their portfolio of services with Appboy's CRM and lifecycle engagement technology. Together, VML and Appboy help brands build trust and humanize connections with customers through highly relevant, personalized communication. Today brands are challenged by the demands of an ever-changing marketing landscape and need to meet consumers where they are on various devices and channels throughout the day. Appboy equips brands with the tools to seamlessly gather and manage a single view of each customer backed by data collected across systems, then use that information to reach their audience with highly relevant, personalized cross-channel messaging. As a result, the entire customer journey is supported creating long-term beneficial relationships between brands and their audiences. VML is broadening creative boundaries to deliver award-winning ideas and marketing solutions for their clients. Both VML and Appboy understand the challenges brands encounter in today's marketing landscape. By joining Appboy Accelerator, VML will continue to lead the charge in evangelizing the benefits of lifecycle engagement as a strategic technology solution for agencies to drive ROI and deep engagement for their clients. "At VML, we're helping the largest brands in the world view the customer relationship as a one-on-one experience, at scale," said Marc Schumer, Director of Channel Partnerships at VML. "With Appboy Accelerator, we can increase our speed to market due to ease of use of the product, and ultimately impact long-term customer engagement for brands. This partnership makes it simple for our clients to design, execute, and understand advanced digital marketing strategies." "Brands today need to harness humanized connections with intelligent predictive analytics, insights, and experimentation capabilities to drive engagement," said Myles Kleeger, President and Chief Revenue Officer of Appboy. "Appboy Accelerator empowers agencies to evolve traditional communications and creative strategies to create experiences that enrich customer relationships anywhere, anytime." With Appboy Accelerator, agencies can easily advance their portfolio of services to drive disruption for brands resulting in impactful growth, at scale. For more information on Appboy Accelerator or to sign up today, visit: www.appboy.com/accelerator. About Appboy Appboy is the leading lifecycle engagement platform for marketing, growth, and engagement teams. We empower brands to humanize connections with customers, resulting in better experiences and increased retention, lifetime value, and ROI. With Appboy, brands seamlessly gather and manage actionable customer data, allowing them to reach their audience with targeted, personalized cross-channel messaging experiences. Appboy is a venture-backed company of more than 150 employees, with offices in New York City, San Francisco, and London. About VML VML is a contemporary marketing agency that moves brands forward by inspiring a human connection. VML's clients include Bridgestone, Colgate-Palmolive, Electrolux/Frigidaire, Ford, the Kellogg Company, Kimberly-Clark, New Balance, PepsiCo, Sprint, and Wendy's. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VML joined the world's largest communications services group, WPP, in 2001. VML has more than 2,600 employees with principal offices in 28 locations across six continents. CONTACT: Larisa Zdepski, 1-646-386-7424 SOURCE Appboy Related Links http://www.appboy.com/ BOSTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile app intelligence provider Apptopia, is announcing today, the hiring of Amit Phansalkar to the position of chief data officer. The hire comes amidst the most explosive product growth the company has seen to date. Amit will lead the vision and strategy for Apptopia's data and drive innovation in its products with data science, significantly increasing the value we provide our customers. His focus will be on adding layers of machine learning to the company's framework, making Apptopia's predictive analytics and data driven insights the most trusted in the industry. "Through a deep understanding of mobile app usage, we can expose user journeys, behaviors, and intent, enabling us to continue to help companies grow their mobile market share," said Phansalkar. "I wanted to join Apptopia because they have the right people in place working toward solving problems in the app economy, but also because of the large amount of data the company has amassed, which is easily transformed into decision making tools." Amit has more than 15 years of experience building products and systems using large quantities of data and served as the global director of data sciences and advanced analytics at Millward Brown Digital. Previously, he was also the CDO at MassMutual where he built a data venture. He comes to Apptopia directly from DataXu, where he created the company's media investment strategy products. Phansalkar also co-founded nonprofit Botlab which combats adtech fraud, and he co-chairs the data science board at I-COM. "Amit is joining us at an exciting time for Apptopia as we've recently launched, Acquisition Pro, a powerful tool to help advise any company's mobile user acquisition spend. This launch also includes features like Retention, Audience Intelligence, and Demographics," said Cofounder & COO Jonathan Kay. "We couldn't be happier to bring Amit aboard as we continue to build tools to help make app data more actionable for our customers. His extensive experience in the industry allows him to step in and have an immediate impact on the future of our business." About Apptopia Apptopia provides competitive intelligence for the mobile app economy. It provides downloads, active users, revenue, demographics, audience intelligence, and SDK data for every mobile app and publisher in the world. Apptopia was founded by CEO Eliran Sapir and COO Jonathan Kay on the belief that the mobile app community requires transparency to level the playing field and make way for innovation and industry advancements. Mobile publishers and developers, service providers, and investors use Apptopia on a daily basis to understand and monitor competitors, inform business strategies, and identify emerging consumer interests and trends. Follow us on our: Blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook Media Contact: Adam Blacker [email protected] 617.963.0965 SOURCE Apptopia Related Links http://www.apptopia.com LAKEWOOD, N.J., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNEX Manufacturing, Inc., the trusted industry leader in providing innovative order picking solutions, announces the company has been named to Food Logistics Top 100 Green Supply Chain Provider Awards for 2017. This is UNEX Manufacturings second appearance on this prestigious list. UNEX was chosen for helping clients lower energy usage and costs, while improving efficiencies and speeding fulfillment. UNEX solutions do not require any energy to use them, which saves a tremendous amount of costs, while improving visibility and accessibility at pick points for faster picking operations, said Brian C. Neuwirth, VP of Sales and Marketing at UNEX Manufacturing. Flexible rack configurations with carton flow maximizes space for new and existing SKUs, eliminating the need for more warehouse space and reducing pick paths. This space optimization can lead to green savings. We are pleased to be recognized once again for our outstanding ability to reduce energy usage within client operations. The future viability of the worlds food supply chain is dependent upon our ability to integrate sustainability from farm to fork, says Lara L. Sowinski, editorial director. Transportation and logistics comprise a significant part of that supply chain, and we commend those companies in our industry that embrace their role as environmental stewards, while raising the sustainability bar for their peers. Implementing environmentally friendly material handling equipment can include no-noise, non-powered products, which lack any use of electricity, thus saving energy costs. UNEX gravity-powered conveyor moves products smoothly and quickly without being motorized. UNEX also offers flow racks that can be used in return lanes to send cartons back through the warehouse for reuse, saving on packaging materials and boxes. Well-designed pick lines that minimize product handling, reduce search and lower picking time also help UNEX customers to reduce errors and ensure reliable flow. For grocers, UNEX optimizes space in the freezer cooler area with Span-Track, instead of requiring companies to have to expand that section of their operation. This helps them avoid dramatically increasing energy consumption that comes along with larger freezer cooler areas. Food Logistics annual Top Green Providers recognizes companies whose products, services, or exemplary leadership is enhancing sustainability within the food and beverage industry. Each year, the criteria for earning a spot on the list become more stringent for applicants. For example, the editorial staff evaluates a companys participation in such programs as the EPAs SmartWay and other recognized sustainability programs; facilities that are LEED-certified, and/or feature solar panels, LED lighting and other energy saving installations and retrofits that produce measure reductions in GHG emissions, to name a few. This years Top Green Providers list includes grocers, 3PLs, cold storage providers, pallet and packaging manufacturers, software and technology companies and others whose products and services are elevating sustainability to a competitive advantage. The Food Logistics 2017 Top Green Providers will be showcased in the June issue, as well as online at www.foodlogistics.com. About Food Logistics Food Logistics is published by AC Business Media, a business-to-business media company that provides targeted content and comprehensive, integrated advertising and promotion opportunities for some of the worlds most recognized B2B brands. Its diverse portfolio serves the construction, logistics, supply chain and other industries with print, digital and custom products, events and social media. About UNEX Manufacturing, Inc. Founded in 1964, UNEX is the trusted industry leader in order picking solutions that maximize space usage, increase pick rates and improve ergonomics. UNEX offers a full range of order picking solutions, including their patented carton flow solution Span-Track, a full line of gravity conveyor products tailored to the order picking process and UNEX Flow Cells for durable, modular and portable storage for the manufacturing floor. Using an extensive distribution channel, the company ensures local support is available for every customer, no matter the location, exceeding customer expectations through continuous improvement, customer service and empowered employees. UNEX is an ISO-certified company committed to quality and bringing value to customers in the wine & spirits distribution, food & beverage, retail and manufacturing industries. For more information, visit: www.unex.com. DRAPER, Utah, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In an historic Turgrass growing move, nano-technology based fertilizer supplier Aqua-Yield and the nation's #1 selling Turfgrass, Harmony Brands, announce a first-of-its kind promotional partnership. Under the agreement, Aqua-Yield will have direct access to sell its fertilizer to Harmony growers across the United States. The promotional partnership ultimately means Turfgrass with less "inputs"; less water, less fertilizer and an end product that is much more environmentally friendly. The Turfgrass, supplied to and then distributed by Harmony, will ultimately find its way to our nation's largest and best-known retailers, including; Home Depot, Lowe's and WallMart. Jim Doyle, CEO of Harmony Brands stated; "The partnership between Harmony and Aqua-Yield is a perfect fit. We are confident that their state-of-the-art technology and products will be beneficial for one of the most important parts of our business; Harmony Turfgrass growers. Aqua-Yield is a relatively young company, but their unique patented technology has provided impressive results to some innovative growers that are in the Harmony network over the past three years." Clark T. Bell CEO and co-founder of Aqua-Yield added; "The idea of providing nano-technology-driven fertilizer deliver systems to homeowners was a pipe dream, but we, along with the forward thinkers at Harmony, completely understand the value of providing our patented technology on this scale, so that all can reap the benefits of increased environmental protections and more beautiful and longer-lasting Turfgrass lawns." With the agreement in place, Aqua-Yield's patented fertilizer, which delivers nanotechnology-based liquid fertilizer to the plant's roots, cells and leaves, will be available to Harmony's growers as early as the next growing cycle. This partnership is a continuing effort by Harmony and Aqua-Yield to provide healthy lawns and outdoor living environments. Mike Pope, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer for Harmony Brands, said, "At Harmony, we have a long-standing commitment to our retailers to constantly improve the products we offer for sale. This commitment carries particular importance when it comes to production conservation efforts. The Aqua-Yield technology is an environmentally safe solution that our growers can feel confident and comfortable using. We have seen that the results are beneficial not only for our large retail customers, but now equally as important to the homeowner." Jonathan Brown, Sr. Vice President of production at Bethel Farms, participated in the development and testing of products utilizing the Aqua-Yield technology on turf, citrus and other crops. Mr. Brown said, "We've had the pleasure of witnessing results of the Aqua-Yield technology on both Turfgrass and citrus production for the past three years. We saw yields consistently increase, alongside a promised and delivered lessening of the overall environmental impact. Bringing this technology to these major retailers across the nation will have positive results for everyone involved." Mr. Brown continued; "Since 2014, Bethel Farms Turfgrass soils CEC levels have seen an average increase of 50%, this has been due to utilizing Aqua-Yield patented nanotechnology. You just cannot argue the results." Clark T. Bell also stated; "It takes someone with an idea and other, well-established companies like Harmony, to bring those ideas to fruition, all in the effort to provide better products to homeowners, all while taking provident care of our environment and recognizing finite valuable resources. This partnership may be the most important ever, when it comes to homeowners and their confidence in growing and utilizing Turfgrass lawns for the beautification and safety of their landscaping." Aqua-Yield is a rapidly-growing sustainable fertilizer technology company. Co-founded in 2014, Aqua-Yield has introduced the "smallest innovation in agricultural history". Aqua-Yield's technologies deliver materials directly to the plant's cells leading to a much higher overall efficiency. Aqua-Yield's process introduces liquid nanotechnology to agriculture leading to significant advantages for the grower. Results of the company's unique technologies include; higher yields, lower cost inputs, shorter crop cycles, less environmental impact and an increase in nutrient impact. For information on Aqua-Yield visit www.aquayield.com For information on Harmony, visit www.harmonybrands.com Contact: Clark T. Bell, 801-449-9220, [email protected] This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. SOURCE Aqua-Yield Related Links http://www.aquayield.com The goal of the business plan is to cultivate tremendous value upon sale of the Property, while maintaining strong annual returns for investors. This will be executed through a value-add repositioning, experienced property management and operational efficiency. "ArborCrowd is the engine that brings successful real estate investments with the industry's best sponsors and crowd investors," said Ivan Kaufman, Co-founder and CEO, ArborCrowd. "The long-standing relationships that ArborCrowd has developed with institutional real estate investors has enabled us to attract a network of successful leaders who know how to source, manage and execute some of the best multifamily deals in the country." ArborCrowd's investment model is unlike other crowdfunding platforms the quality of the real estate is at the core of the business. Other models pool investors' money into funds that are blindly allocated to different assets. ArborCrowd created a better way to invest by providing investors the transparency and knowledge to choose what deals their money goes into. "Looking at just the returns of a property are not enough. ArborCrowd will only post what we believe is a strong investment offering. In order to be confident in the deal, we hone in on the depth and breadth of the sponsor's experience," said Adam Kaufman, Co-founder and Managing Director, ArborCrowd. "This commitment to only presenting high caliber deals is proving to be successful as all our previous deals funded quickly with ArborCrowd's last equity raise oversubscribed in just three business days." Lago Paradiso Deal Highlights The Property was acquired in May 2017 for $69.7 million. Lago Paradiso is a lakefront apartment complex that consists of 27 buildings with 424 one and two bedroom units currently 97 percent occupied. The business plan is to create value by increasing rents through renovations, and by implementing new property management and operational expertise. Robbins Electra and its affiliates own and operate more than 22,000 units. This extensive management experience, particularly in Florida, means the Sponsor is well equipped to manage rent escalations while leveraging proprietary systems to improve operational costs. Key benefits for ArborCrowd investors, include: Basis: As an off-market transaction, the Property was acquired at a favorable purchase price. As an off-market transaction, the Property was acquired at a favorable purchase price. Proven Plan: Prior to the acquisition, 14 units were renovated and re-leased at higher rents. The current plan is to significantly expand this proven approach and accelerate renovations to generate even more cash flow and increase overall property value. Prior to the acquisition, 14 units were renovated and re-leased at higher rents. The current plan is to significantly expand this proven approach and accelerate renovations to generate even more cash flow and increase overall property value. Cash-on-Cash: The projected cash-on-cash return remains strong during the renovation period, approaching 10 percent in the second year. Once renovations are complete, the new units are expected to enable an even stronger cash-on-cash return throughout the holding period. The projected cash-on-cash return remains strong during the renovation period, approaching 10 percent in the second year. Once renovations are complete, the new units are expected to enable an even stronger cash-on-cash return throughout the holding period. Experienced Management: The deal sponsor is an affiliate of Robbins Electra, one of the fastest growing operators in the country. The key principal of the Property, Joseph Lubeck , is CEO and Co-Manager of Robbins Electra and has executed similar business plans with aggregate deal capitalization in excess of $3 billion since 1991. Lago Paradiso is located 20 miles southwest of Miami's Central Business District and South Beach. This helps to strengthen the demand for the Property. Key stats of the area: Miami and South Florida is base to more than 1,100 multinational corporations, including American Airlines, Cisco, Exxon, FedEx, Microsoft, Sony, Visa and Wal-Mart. and is base to more than 1,100 multinational corporations, including American Airlines, Cisco, Exxon, FedEx, Microsoft, Sony, Visa and Wal-Mart. The metro area has high demand as occupancy rates are 97 percent with rents increasing in the past 5 years. [1] The Property's rent price point appeals to the middle and working class one of the most stable tenant bases in multifamily. This base also achieves the highest rate of lease renewals. Overall, Miami ranked in the top 10 nationally for 2016 renewal rates. [2] To learn more about the Lago Paradiso and access the full business plan including market reports, property details, financial projections and timelines, go to: https://www.arborcrowd.com/offerings/. To register or invest now, go to: https://invest.arborcrowd.com/accounts/register/. Follow @ArborCrowd on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for the most recent updates and industry trends. About ArborCrowd ArborCrowd breaks down the barrier of entry into real estate investing. By allowing people to co-invest with successful real estate deal-makers in the industry, ArborCrowd enables millions of investors to maximize their financial returns. At every step of the deal process, ArborCrowd stays alongside investors and takes the weight of managing properties off their shoulders. ArborCrowd is part of the Arbor family of companies that includes Arbor Realty Trust, Arbor Commercial Mortgage and AMAC. Media Contact Kara Yi Phone: +1 (646) 695-0659 Email: [email protected] Investor Relations Phone: +1 (844) 365-1200 Email: [email protected] [1] Reis, Inc. [2] RealPage MPF Research. Article: "Apartment Lease Renewal Rates Hit 10-year High" SOURCE ArborCrowd Related Links http://www.arborcrowd.com CHICAGO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Arc Worldwide received eight awards at the 2017 PRO Awards. Of those eight honors, the agency received gold awards for "Intelligent Point of Sale" for Intel and "Sip Share Win" for Coca-Cola/McDonald's. "It's always a huge honor to win," said Chris Cancilla, Arc's Chief Creative Officer, "but what I'm most excited about is the diversity and breadth of our work. To be winning across content, digital and cross-channel, as well as more traditional shopper categories, speaks to the total shopping experiences we're creating for our clients." Arc won three awards in all for the agency's work for Intel. The ambitious "Intelligent Point of Sale" system re-invented the PC shopping experience and was awarded gold for "Best Use of Shopper Marketing" and silver for "Best Digital Campaign." Additionally, Arc's "Conflict Free Retail" received a bronze award in the "Best Campaign on a Budget" category, which highlights outstanding campaigns of $250,000 or less. Arc's work for Intel was also recently recognized at both the 2017 Effie and Reggie awards. The Coca-Cola/McDonald's campaign "Sip Share Win" received a gold award in the "Best Use of Content Marketing" category and a silver in the "Best Cross-Channel Engagement" category. The program transformed the act of ordering a Coke into an interactive music experience. Notably, the campaign featured James Corden and Selena Gomez hitting the drive thru in the first-ever Carpool Karaoke-branded product integration. "Sip Share Win" was also recently honored at the Effie awards. In all, the agency received two gold awards, two silver awards and four bronze awards over the course of the night, turning eight of its nine finalists into PRO Award-winners. Winning campaigns also included work for MillerCoors, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Bridgestone. Arc has been a steady growth engine for Leo Burnett Group in recent years, as marketers' demands for innovative shopper solutions have increased both online and in-store. Responding to these client needs and the agency's growing capabilities, last month Arc announced seven new executive appointments to its leadership team, as well as new offices in New York City and Northwest Arkansas. Arc's client roster includes Procter & Gamble, MillerCoors, Intel, Bridgestone, Kraft-Heinz, Alcon, Coca-Cola and Walmart. Now in its 27th year, the PRO Awards, presented by Chief Marketer, is the world's leading recognition program for excellence in brand activation and promotion marketing. The PRO Award-winning campaigns are chosen from a panel of 30 leading brand-side marketers from over 1,000 global entries. Contact: Michael Cowen 312.220.3953 [email protected] SOURCE Arc Worldwide WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoBuy, the disruptive car-buying company focused on delivering fresh, high-quality used vehicle inventory to dealers, today announced it has served over 100,000 private car sellers and appraised over one billion dollars in inventory through its bricks and mortars locations and its WEPAYTHEMAX.com website. AutoBuy, which provides consumers with a hassle-free and value-driven way to sell their vehicles, is on a mission to help dealers close the gap when it comes to acquiring pre-owned inventory, including the hard-to-find 2009-2012 model years. The company is a major supplier to two of the nation's largest auction houses, Manheim and Adesa, and its uniquely high-quality inventory is available to dealerships across the country via simulcast and in-lane sales. "AutoBuy is the missing link in the pre-owned vehicle equation: dealers know the profitable inventory they need from the data and market research they now have at the tips of their fingers but, until AutoBuy, this inventory has been difficult to acquire," said Mark Maida, CEO of AutoBuy, and a 40 year veteran of the auto remarketing industry. The company also announced that the growing number of consumers selling vehicles through AutoBuy's six bricks-and-mortar locations and consumer-facing website, WEPAYTHEMAX.com, has increased its available inventory by over 110% since 2016. All of which is driving significant revenue growth nearly 70% year over year and expansion: the company plans to open four new locations in Florida in 2017. "AutoBuy purchases inventory from consumers for the sole purpose of resale to auto dealers, either directly or at auction," said Anthony Maida, Founder and President of AutoBuy. "This allows us to offer rare, fresh inventory that hasn't been seen on countless pre-owned websites and that needs little to no reconditioning in fact, the average sale time for our vehicles is 7.5 days." CARite of Cocoa, Florida has been purchasing vehicles from AutoBuy since its inception, with AutoBuy vehicles representing about 40% of CARite's inventory. "AutoBuy has been a huge part of our success this year. Its vehicles are not only among the highest quality we sell, but they also have a 'time-to-lot' that is half that of any others with drastically reduced reconditioning costs," said Owner Gabriel Peer-Drake Sr. "Plus, because they are freshly purchased from consumers, they lack the drawbacks of other used inventory which often arrives with 'hidden problems' or a history of being unsuccessfully marketed online. AutoBuy vehicles are unique, diverse and unusually low mileage vehicles that I can't buy anywhere else, allowing me to create my own fast-selling vehicle marketplace." AutoBuy's popularity with consumers is key to its successful model and it is the only company in the auto remarketing industry to have achieved a near-perfect Google review score1. AutoBuy streamlines the often onerous and stressful car-selling experience for private owners with its quick, easy 'come-to-you' mobile appraisal service (at home or office); and, because its pricing is not restricted to local market values, AutoBuy offers consumers a better price for their vehicles, versus other models like CarMax. All of which translates into a frontline-ready pipeline of pre-owned cars for dealers and auction houses. Manheim Auto Auction in West Palm Beach works with AutoBuy in a program where Manheim focuses on reconditioning the vehicles and AutoBuy on acquiring inventory from consumers. "AutoBuy has truly cracked one of the key auto remarketing challenges by developing a model that is completely unique in the industry and that has helped us grow our incremental sales 172% year over year," said Robert Zakaib, General Manager of West Palm Beach Manheim Auto Auction. "The inventory we receive from AutoBuy is incredibly diverse because they have solved the most complicated part of the vehicle transaction the trade-in. AutoBuy is able to focus on offering consumers a fair market price which, in turn, means they have a direct funnel of quality vehicles that we can offer to dealers at auction." ABOUT AUTOBUY Founded in 2010, and based in West Palm Beach, Florida, AutoBuy is a bricks and clicks automotive company that is upending traditional automotive remarketing with a completely unique model that offers auto retailers and auction houses a marketplace of fresh, high-quality used vehicles, without the hassle of reconditioning. With six bricks and mortar locations across Florida and its WEPAYTHEMAX.com website, the company offers consumers a speedy, convenient, safe, and hassle-free way to sell their vehicles for the maximum market price. The company, which has over 100 years of auto remarketing expertise on its team, has appraised over a billion dollars of used vehicle inventory and served over 100,000 private car sellers, and is the only remarketing company to achieve a near perfect Google review score with consumers. Media Contacts: Melanie Webber, [email protected] Cassandra Cavanah, [email protected] _______________________________ 1 Based on over 1000 reviews across six locations SOURCE AutoBuy Related Links http://wepaythemax.com SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- One Legal, a North Bay based legal technology company, has today announced an extended partnership with Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal), the Bay Area's leading provider of civil legal aid to the most vulnerable members of the community. This joint venture adds a revenue-sharing element to the ongoing donation of the firm's technology, and has been launched in response to steep budget cuts proposed in the current draft of the federal budget for 2018. Headquartered in Oakland and serving seven Bay Area counties, BayLegal may be faced with losing up to one-fourth of its total funding in the coming year. Next year's proposal eliminates the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), an independent agency established by Congress, which provides financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. Last year, BayLegal received $4.1 million from LSC, and client services will be severely cut if they cannot supplement the difference moving forward. With the Giving Back program, One Legal is stepping up to fill the gap made by federal budget cuts. In addition to providing no-cost access to its legal services and products to BayLegal, One Legal will invite law firm customers to enroll in a program whereby 5 percent of the net revenue arising from their use of the One Legal platform is donated directly to BayLegal. It is one of the most generous corporate/non-profit partnerships ever announced in the legal sector. "We have both an opportunity and a responsibility," One Legal President, Robert DeFilippis said. "Our organization is well aligned with BayLegal's mission and I believe many of our law firm customers are as well. We're just connecting the dots with our Give Back program." "Access to needed legal services isn't just a matter of justiceimportant as that is," said BayLegal Executive Director, Alex R. Gulotta. "For many of the underserved of our communities, it is food, shelter, employment, family." The California State Bar reports that for every one legal aid staff attorney there are more than 8,000 vulnerable people in the state who qualify for free legal assistance, which makes this an ideal opportunity for leaders in the industry to explore new areas of corporate social responsibility that have a real impact close to home. SOURCE One Legal Related Links http://www.onelegal.com/ HOUSTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dozens of families in one of the areas where the country's digital divide is the widest will be getting free internet access thanks in part to BBVA Compass' steadfast commitment to using the power of digital to create opportunities in its communities. The City of Pharr, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, in collaboration with the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, announced on May 12 the creation of the Pharr Life Net pilot program, which will give 50 families broadband access and bilingual training and technical support. The BBVA Compass Foundation was an early supporter of the plan to bridge the digital divide in the Rio Grande Valley, and became the largest corporate sponsor of the strategic plan/feasibility study that led to the Pharr Life Net pilot program. The bank also offered to make its online financial education program available to the students and parents involved. The pilot will be carried out under the leadership of Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez, the mayor of Pharr, and PSJA ISD Superintendent Daniel King. "The digital divide affects our communities in profound ways and we know it's particularly pronounced in the Rio Grande Valley, which is an enormously important market for us," said Onur Genc, the CEO of BBVA Compass, which operates the most bank branches along the border. "We're committed to finding ways to bridge that divide so that we can connect all of our communities to a brighter future." In July 2016, the Federal Reserve advised financial institutions that efforts to close the digital divide could be considered favorably in the Community Reinvestment Act exam, which measures how well banks are meeting the credit needs in low- to moderate-income, or LMI, communities. It argued that closing the digital divide will open up opportunities for LMI individuals to gain access to safe financial services and products. BBVA Compass was ahead of the curve. It recognized the link between the digital divide and financial inclusion in 2015, when the bank's economists published exhaustive research that found that internet access is now the dominant factor in financial inclusion, overtaking other variables such as race or education levels in determining whether someone participates in the traditional banking system. They developed a Financial Inclusion Metropolitan Index to gauge the financial inclusion levels in more than 250 cities. The McAllen area, of which Pharr is part, was ranked last. A springboard to action Since the economists' study was published, BBVA Compass has moved into action, including its support for the feasibility study for Pharr Life Net. Jordana Barton, senior advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said Pharr Life Net is the first comprehensive approach to closing the digital divide on the border. It provides a blueprint for bringing together all of the resources across the Rio Grande Valley and replacing the current patchwork system that leaves too many people behind. The Pharr Life plan calls for an additional 250 homes to receive broadband internet in the coming months. "What's been missing is a robust regional network that connects all of the major anchor institutions and provides the infrastructure to cost-effectively provide broadband or WiFi service to LMI residents," Barton said. "Pharr Life Net is that prototype, and will serve as a model that could be rolled out along the border. BBVA Compass was very forward-looking in funding the engineering study. It understood that there's a structural barrier that's preventing people's upward economic mobility." Pharr Life Net evolved out of the call from a collective impact group, the Digital Opportunity for the Rio Grande Valley, for a regional, intergovernmental fiberoptic network. The DO4RGV includes representatives from the Dallas Fed, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors and several city governments, among other entities. Smartphone pilot Pharr Life Net was not, in fact, the first time BBVA Compass has stepped into the breach of the digital divide. Spurred by its economists' 2015 study on the effect of internet access on financial inclusion, the bank launched a small pilot in 2016 to put internet-connected smartphones in the hands of some of society's most vulnerable. The bank coordinated with select nonprofit community organizations in Austin, Texas, Riverside, Calif., and Birmingham, Ala., to provide financial literacy education to their clients. The clients were offered the opportunity to receive free prepaid smartphones with one month of service on a network that has a wide selection of free WiFi hotspots if they applied for the BBVA Compass ClearSpend prepaid card. The card comes with a budgeting app that empowers users by tracking spending. The goal with the pilot was to test the ways BBVA Compass can make an impact on the digital and financial inclusion of underserved communities through mobile internet access, using innovative mobile technologies to deliver banking services affordably with no compromise in quality or convenience. "This program is powerful because we are approaching the issue of financial inclusion holistically," said Julieta Falcon, the Underserved and Multicultural Segment Manager for BBVA Compass. "We are providing banking services and also stepping in as an educator of digital financial services and as a mobile phone provider. Our bankers are seeking out the underserved and giving them end-to-end the education, knowledge, training and tools they need to build financial stability. It's going to help us learn more and better ways to serve these consumers. Above all, we hope this pilot proves that BBVA Compass is a conscientious bank that's leaning into a digital future and leveraging its creativity to tackle some of society's most pressing issues." Barton, of the Fed, said efforts like that are precisely what the central bank is looking for. "We're going to have an even greater unbanked population if we don't find new ways to reach low- to moderate-income people," she said. "What we're calling for is for banks to be more innovative in thinking about how to do that." To learn more about BBVA Compass, visit: www.bbvacompass.com For more news visit: www.bbva.com and newsroom.bbvacompass.com About BBVA Group BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group is the largest financial institution in Spain and Mexico and it has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States; and it is also the leading shareholder in Garanti, Turkey's biggest bank for market capitalization. Its diversified business is focused on high-growth markets and it relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices. More information about BBVA Group can be found at bbva.com. About BBVA Compass BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 657 branches, including 342 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 63 in Arizona, 61 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 19 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and ranked 5th nationally in the total number of SBA loans originated in fiscal year 2016. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com. For more BBVA Compass news, follow @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visit newsroom.bbvacompass.com. SOURCE BBVA Compass Related Links http://www.bbvacompass.com In conjunction with the launch of Deezer Family, the streaming platform released findings from research which explores the connection of music tastes and discovery habits between generations. The results, from 2,000 respondents, revealed that, while family members of all ages shared many of the same habits, there were a few notable differences and surprises. Consistent with the results, Deezer Family offers members the ability to keep their music tastes from tainting one another's personalization within Deezer, by keeping their own personal soundtrack - a feature known as Flow - but also by offering them a Family Mix to share with one another. Talkin' 'Bout My Generation The increase in streaming use and new technologies have evolved the way different generations discover and engage with new music, primarily among the younger generation. In fact, 40% of Millennials said they discover music today through streaming apps, the internet or social media, although only 15% of Baby Boomers said they discover music this way. And while nearly 75% of Gen Y'ers said they discovered music as a child through radio, Millennials discover through the internet and by watching TV and films - more than any other age group. We Are Family Family has a huge impact when it comes to music discovery and influence, with 23% of Millennials saying their sibling(s) impact which artists they like and dislike and nearly 20% of Gen Y gives credit to their children for that honor. When surveyed, a surprising 48% of people showed loyalty to their clan and said nobody in their family has bad taste in music talk about "We are family!" Stop, Hey, What's That Sound? When surveying across generations, Deezer found music has the power to bring family members of all ages together, while its Family Plan aims to have the same effect. Many share the same favorite songs, with Millennials showcasing knowledge for both the classic and new remixes of songs from pop culture, while the use of music streaming and their family upbringing has helped refine their overall tastes: Regardless of how emotional Sean Combs' tribute to Notorious B.I.G., "I'll Be Missing You," is, The Police's original tune is more well-known amongst Gen Y, with 81% associating them with the song. However, 31% of Millennials think of Puffy when they listen to it. tribute to Notorious B.I.G., "I'll Be Missing You," is, The Police's original tune is more well-known amongst Gen Y, with 81% associating them with the song. However, 31% of Millennials think of Puffy when they listen to it. Of those who are familiar with Por Ti Volare, by Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli , over 30% of Millennials credit films, such as Step Brothers and Blades of Glory , for turning them onto it. , over 30% of Millennials credit films, such as and , for turning them onto it. When asked who released "Make You Feel My Love," 19% of Millennials answered Adele, while 36% Gen Y correctly identified Bob Dylan as the original artist behind the 1997 hit remix. As a whole, 35% of all respondents thought Garth Brooks was the correct artist. was the correct artist. When asked which singer they most associate with "I Will Always Love You," 74% identified Whitney Houston , with only 19% identifying the true angel behind the tune, Dolly Parton . "Regardless of where and when music is discovered, we believe it has the power to create some of the best family moments and memories," said Jorge Rincon, VP of North America at Deezer. "We're so excited to bring Deezer Family to the U.S. market so all families can build their own personal Flow while continuing to share their favorite hits with each other." Deezer Family Plan includes: Premium+ Access Up to six family members can enjoy over 43 million tracks, zero interruption, and offline listening at just $14.99 per month Up to six family members can enjoy over 43 million tracks, zero interruption, and offline listening at just per month Personalized, Individual Profiles Each family member can jam out simultaneously whenever and wherever, with access to their own personal Flow, which predicts the music they want to hear based on their musical preferences Each family member can jam out simultaneously whenever and wherever, with access to their own personal which predicts the music they want to hear based on their musical preferences Family Mix A bespoke mix that plays the combined music tastes of all family members A bespoke mix that plays the combined music tastes of all family members Deezer Kids ' Just for Kids' includes the best audio content for little ones, from nursery rhymes all the way to the latest hits for tweens and teens Just for Kids' includes the best audio content for little ones, from nursery rhymes all the way to the latest hits for tweens and teens Multiple Devices Each family member can use two devices per profile and up to three connected devices on the main account, for a total of 13 devices Upgrade your current Deezer account to Deezer Family or sign up for a free trial of Deezer Premium+. To learn more, visit Deezer.com/offers/family About Deezer Deezer connects 12 million active users around the world to over 43 million tracks. Available in more than 180 countries worldwide, Deezer gives instant access to the most diverse global music streaming catalogue on any device. Deezer is the only music streaming service with Flow, the unique mix of all your old favorites and new recommendations in one ever-changing stream. Based on an intuitive, proprietary algorithm and created by people who love music, it's the only place to hear all your music back-to-back with fresh discoveries tailored to you. Deezer is available on your favorite device, including smartphone, tablet, PC, laptop, home sound system, connected car or smart TV. Making music happen since 2007, Deezer is a privately held company, headquartered in Paris with offices in London, Berlin, Miami and around the world. Deezer is available as a free download for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows devices or on the web at deezer.com. For the latest news on Deezer go to Deezer.com/company/press SOURCE Deezer Related Links http://www.deezer.com/us NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential securities fraud at Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation ("Booz Allen" or the "Company") (NYSE: BAH). The investigation focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws. Specifically, after market close on June 15, 2017, the Company filed an 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing that on June 7, 2017, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company "was informed that the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a civil and criminal investigation relating to certain elements of the Company's cost accounting and indirect cost charging practices with the U.S. government." On this news, Booz Allen's share price has declined during after market trading. If you invested in Booz Allen and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here : www.faruqilaw.com/BAH. There is no cost or obligation to you. You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. CONTACT: FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP 685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor New York, NY 10017 Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq. [email protected] Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330 Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner. SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Related Links http://www.faruqilaw.com ATHENS, Greece, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Box Ships Inc. (the "Company") announced that the Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Annual Meeting") of the Company originally held May 31 and adjourned until today, has been further adjourned until June 23, 2017 to allow additional time for the solicitation of proxies. The meeting will re-convene at the premises of the Company at 15 Karamanli Ave. 166 73 Voula, Greece, on June 23, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. local time. The business scheduled for the re-convened Annual Meeting remains the same as set forth in the Company's Proxy Statement for Annual Meeting of Shareholders dated April 19, 2017. Shareholders of the Company will consider and vote upon the following proposals: To elect one Class B Director and one Class C Director of the Company to serve until the 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders ("Proposal One"); To consider and vote upon a proposal to ratify the appointment of Deloitte Certified Public-Accountants S.A., as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017 ("Proposal Two"); To grant discretionary authority to the Company's board of directors to (A) amend the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation of the Company to effect one or more consolidations of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock, pursuant to which the shares of common stock would be combined and reclassified into one share of common stock ratios within the range from 1-for-2 up to 1-for-1,000 (the "Reverse Stock Split") and (B) determine whether to arrange for the disposition of fractional interests by shareholder entitled thereto, to pay in cash the fair value of fractions of a share of common stock as of the time when those entitled to receive such fractions are determined, or to entitle shareholder to receive from the Company's transfer agent, in lieu of any fractional share, the number of shares of common stock rounded up to the next whole number, provided that, (X) that the Company shall not effect Reverse Stock Splits that, in the aggregate, exceeds 1-for-1,000, and (Y) any Reverse Stock Split is completed no later than the first anniversary of the date of the Annual Meeting ("Proposal Three"); and To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof . Adoption of Proposal One requires the affirmative vote of a plurality of the votes cast at the Meeting by the shareholders entitled to vote at the Meeting. Adoption of Proposal Two requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the Meeting by the holders of shares of stock entitled to vote thereon. Adoption of Proposal Three requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of all outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon. Shareholders who have not already done so are encouraged to vote on the proposals. Shareholders who have already voted need not take any further action. About Box Ships Inc. Box Ships Inc. is an Athens, Greece-based international shipping company specializing in the transportation of containers and the provision of commercial management services to shipping companies. The Company's common and preferred shares trade on OTCQB Venture Market and Other OTC Markets under the symbols "TEUFF" and "TEUCF", respectively. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "forecast," "estimate," "expect," and "intend," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Box Ships' current expectations and actual results could differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Box Ships does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. Investors should read the risk factors set forth in the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2016, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 13, 2017, and future periodic reports filed with the SEC on or after the date hereof. All of Box Ships' forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by all such risk factors and other cautionary statements. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof. Contacts Box Ships Inc. [email protected] DresnerAllenCaron Michael Mason (Investors) [email protected] (212) 691-8087 SOURCE Box Ships Inc. Related Links http://www.box-ships.com NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- There is a revolution occurring and it's not of the political sort. Brand loyalty is a thing of the past, retail doors are closing at an alarming rate, and power and influence have shifted into the hands of consumers, who now have the ability to take down a brand or a retailer in 140 characters or less. "We are experiencing a renaissance in which the consumer is transitioning from relying on brands for information to actually telling brands what they expect and need, ultimately providing brand direction," stated the beauty industry professionals in the Fashion Institute of Technology's Master of Professional Studies program in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management at the program's annual Capstone Research Presentation, sponsored by Shiseido Americas, on June 13 in New York City. Consumer Research Survey and Key Findings The FIT 2017 Millennial Consumer Expectation and Brand Perception Survey discovered that an emotional connection is what really motivates millennials to purchase a branded product. According to the survey: 48% are more likely to buy from a brand if they know the people behind it 47% want a brand to take ownership for its mistakes 47% want a brand to take their feedback into account In other words, millennials seek a bond of trust between the brand and themselvesa combination of transparency, experience, and communitydefined by the researchers as The Trust Loop. The graduate students further examined the data, conducted extensive global research, and interviewed industry executives, focusing on two thesis areas: (1) Brand Expressionthe DNA of brand; and (2) Brand Experiencehow brands are presented at retail. The following are highlights of their findings, theories, predictions, and business imperatives. Brand Expression: Brands used to be a mark of quality, but in today's volatile world, trust, purpose, connection, and community have become the key brand attributes valued by millennial consumers. According to the students' research, "Brands in the future must win the hearts, minds, and now most importantly, the trust of their consumers." The question is how? The answer can be found in a new theory devised by the students: the Brand Humanization Theory. It is composed of the following three elements and corresponding business recommendations. Brand Actualization: 1) Develop an identifiable purpose for being that goes beyond a mission statement. It's why you do what you do. 2) Think small, act big; small is the new big . 3) Foster a strong brand community . 1) Develop an identifiable for being that goes beyond a mission statement. It's why you do what you do. 2) Think small, act big; . 3) Foster a strong brand . Personalization of Scale: 1) Treat each customer as a market of one . Great examples are Netflix and Spotify. 2) Engage rather than target customers. 3) Use consumer data to improve their lives and offer convenience. 1) Treat each customer as a . Great examples are Netflix and Spotify. 2) customers. 3) Use consumer data to Inside Out Organization: 1) Emphasize employee relationship management. 2) Cultivate a work environment where ideas freely flow between employees at all levels. 3) Empower employees to be internal influencers, rather than hiring external influencers, to reach consumers in a more authentic way. When adopted, the Brand Humanization Theory will create what the researchers describe as Community Fluiditya symbiotic relationship between the brand and its community that allows the brand to be agile and responsive while remaining true to its core DNA. Brand Experience: Retail is at a tipping point. The rise of e-commerce has fundamentally changed how consumers choose to interact with and experience brands. In addition, mall traffic is down 13 percent, and year-to-date, 3,000 retail doors have closed and nine retailers have declared bankruptcy; yet the U.S. is still over-stored compared to other major global markets. The research further revealed that consumers are evolving faster than retailers, resulting in what the study defines as the Consumer Experience Gap. As only the most adaptable retailers will survive, the students took their cue from the Darwinian evolution theory of VISTA and developed five retail imperatives for today and tomorrow. V ariation: Demonstrate greater flexibility with store locations and formats. Variation is needed to provide more relevant, unique, and localized shopping experiences. All stores do not, and should not, have to look alike. Demonstrate greater flexibility with store locations and formats. Variation is needed to provide more relevant, unique, and localized shopping experiences. All stores do not, and should not, have to look alike. I nheritance: Liberate the role of retail associates via training and empowerment so they can transmit the brand's DNA to better connect and serve customers. Liberate the role of retail associates via training and empowerment so they can transmit the brand's DNA to better connect and serve customers. S election: Prioritize the consumer over consumption, providing experiences that transcend transaction via immersive brand experiences, social spaces, and holistic lifestyle hubs. Prioritize the consumer over consumption, providing experiences that transcend transaction via immersive brand experiences, social spaces, and holistic lifestyle hubs. T ime: Recognize that time will soon be the #1 currency for future shoppers. Recognize that time will soon be the #1 currency for future shoppers. A daption: Consumers will evolve into seekers, pursuing discovery of new experiences that lead to a sense of fulfillment. Anticipating consumer expectations will be the ultimate marker of success and survival in the future. This study challenges retailers to select consumer experience over consumptionand the research supports that conclusion. Fifty-seven percent of U.S. consumers say they want stores to serve a higher function than simply selling product. Because tomorrow's brands will be much more than product, retailers and brands need to think beyond the shelves. Video of the event, white papers, and infographics of The Future of Brands research are posted for public view here. High resolution photos can be downloaded here. About the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) The FIT Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management (CFMM) program, one of seven advanced degree programs in FIT's School of Graduate Studies, was developed in collaboration with industry as a leadership development program for outstanding mid-career executives. Global luxury firms including Chanel, Shiseido, Estee Lauder, LVMH, and global consumer packaged goods companies including Coty, L'Oreal, and Unilever, nominate talented emerging executives to participate in the two-year program. The CFMM program has become the beauty industry's recognized think tank, producing high-level annual research presented to industry executives and organizations, and during specialized panels, symposia, and forums in both academia and industry. Visit fitnyc.edu/cfmm for more info. The Fashion Institute of Technology, a college of the State University of New York, has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology for more than 70 years. With a curriculum that provides a singular blend of hands-on, practical experience, classroom study, and a firm grounding in the liberal arts, FIT offers a wide range of outstanding programs that are affordable and relevant to today's rapidly changing industries. The college offers nearly 50 majors and grants AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees, preparing students for professional success and leadership in the global marketplace. Visit fitnyc.edu. About Shiseido Americas Corporation Shiseido Americas Corporation is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Shiseido Company, Limited (TSE:4911), a leading global beauty company. Led by President and CEO Marc Rey, Shiseido Americas' portfolio of prestige beauty brands includes Shiseido, NARS, Cle de Peau Beaute, bareMinerals, and several prestige fragrance brands including Issey Miyake, Narciso Rodriguez, and Dolce & Gabbana. Shiseido Americas is headquartered in New York City and employs more than 5,000 individuals in the United States, Canada, and throughout Latin America. In 2016, Shiseido Americas acquired Laura Mercier Cosmetics and ReVive Skincare brands, further strengthening the company's position as a leading player in the beauty industry. In early 2017, Shiseido Americas acquired MatchCo, a technology company and JWALK, a creative agency. Cheri Fein Executive Director of Public and Media Relations 212 217.4700; [email protected] SOURCE Fashion Institute of Technology Related Links http://www.fitnyc.edu CLEARWATER, Fla., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Monday June 12th, United for Human Rights, a non-profit organization sponsored by the Church of Scientology, hosted an in-depth briefing on human rights violations in Africa. Mr. Joseph Yarsiah, Youth for Human Rights (YHR) Director for Africa, spoke to a core group of YHR staff and volunteer at the United for Human Rights Center about how learning his human rights quite literally saved his life! After growing up during a civil war in West Africa at the age of 9, Mr. Yarsiahs young mind was already engraved with horrific images of child-soldiers killing families. The killings included people of all ages and creeds; and he soon learned that guns dont discriminate when you are in their gun-sight. In 2005 Mr. Yarsiah decided to look online for help where he found Youth for Human Rights International, attended a human trafficking awareness conference that was being held in Ghana, and found what soon became to be his new passion for life, fighting for human rights. For 12 years Mr. Yarsiah traveled all over Africa and the United Stated advocating for everyones 30 human rights from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. My rights and yours collectively will usher in and support the next civilization. Unless we defend the rights of others today, we risk protecting ours alone in vain, stated Joseph Yarsiah at Monday nights briefing in the United for Human Rights Center in Downtown Clearwater. The evening concluded with a meet-and-greet with Mr. Yarsiah, and a call-to-arms of the volunteers to bring human rights awareness to Clearwater, Tampa Bay and all of Florida. United for Human Rights Florida has partnered with over 500 schools, educators and organizations over the past two years since it opened its headquarters in downtown Clearwater to teach the community their human rights, and inspire them to become advocates for peace. For more information about United for Human Rights or to schedule a tour of the Human Rights Center, please call (727) 467-6960 or email info.fl@humanrights.com. United for Human Rights: United for Human Rights (UHR) is an international non-profit, non-religious educational program which promotes the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UHRs purpose is to teach youth their human rights and create advocates for tolerance and peace. UHR is sponsored by the Church of Scientology. L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology Founder and strong supporter of human rights wrote, Very few governments have implemented any part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These governments have not grasped that their very survival depends utterly upon adopting such reforms and thus giving their peoples a cause, a civilization worth supporting, worth their patriotism. The BGL report, now available online, examines how brands remain relevant as own-brand eCommerce becomes a necessity, supported by findings from a roundtable discussion involving leading industry executives in the eCommerce space. "eCommerce (and increasingly 'unified commerce' delivered direct to consumers) is paramount for brands in order for them to decrease reliance on traditional retail models," said Dave Barr, a co-founder of LYONSCG and roundtable contributor. "We have to consider the customer journey across all channels, both physical and digital, and it needs to be unified." Brian Linneman, a former Cabela's senior executive and report participant, added: "The consumer is inundated with messaging. Brands must break through the clutter and engage their target audience. If they don't, they are just another product on a website or store shelf." eCommerce has been a hotbed of M&A activity as private equity, brand owners, and retailers look to acquire fast-growing Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) platforms to more rapidly expand digital talent and technology, product assortment, and demographic reach. The merger of Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's underscores the retail industry's seismic shift. PetSmart will log the largest eCommerce acquisition so far on record with Chewy.com, a move to deepen its penetration in the growing online market for pet food and supplies. Wal-Mart is aggressively growing its eCommerce footprint on the heels of its transformative acquisition of Jet.com, picking up ModCloth, Moosejaw, and Shoebuy in less than six months to expand its assortment in upscale merchandise categories and broaden its reach to more affluent consumers. Investors are partnering with marquee online brands to participate in the channel's upside. KUIU, a technical hunting gear and apparel brand selling exclusively through its own website, secured a minority investment from Main Post Partners in April 2017 to accelerate global expansion and continue the company's mission to reinvent retail in hunting. Through only word-of-mouth marketing, the enthusiast brand has cultivated a loyal following based on the pillars of quality, value, and transparency. "One of the most powerful tools for a consumer direct brand is the ability to reengage the customer through education, marketing, and involvement in the design and development of new products," said KUIU's founder Jason Hairston. "Every aspect of our customer engagement has to be a remarkable experience." Other notable recent private equity investments include Blue Nile (Bain Capital Private Equity as majority investor) and Glansaol Beauty (Warburg Pincus), formed through the acquisitions of Julep, Clark's Botanicals, and Laura Geller. BGL is a leading advisor to branded companies sold through all channels with special emphasis on eCommerce-driven business models. SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company Related Links http://Www.bglco.com WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the Republican Party in South Dakota to drop its sponsorship of an event this evening featuring notorious Islamophobe and anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist John Guandolo, and co-sponsored by the anti-Islam hate group ACT for America. [NOTE: The event is co-sponsored by Pennington County Republicans.] CAIR: South Dakota GOP Hosts Event with Islamophobic Conspiracy Theorist and Anti-Islam Hate Group http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2017-06-15/human-rights-racial-justice/protests-planned-for-event-held-by-anti-muslim-group/a58050-1 Last Saturday, ACT for America sponsored a series of anti-Islam rallies nationwide that were far overshadowed by counter-demonstrators who outnumbered the Islamophobes and their white supremacist and anti-government allies. CAIR Calls Nationwide Anti-Islam Rallies a 'Bust,' Says Counter-Protests Far Overshadowed Hate Marches https://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14406-cair-calls-nationwide-anti-islam-rallies-a-bust-says-counter-protests-far-overshadowed-hate-marches.html "Following yesterday's terror attack on members of Congress and their staff in Virginia, it is more important than ever to repudiate the promotion of conspiracy theories and bigotry targeting any segment of our society," said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. "We call on the Republican Party in South Dakota to drop its sponsorship of this hate event and to instead reach out to that state's Muslim community to help promote mutual understanding and religious inclusion." McCaw noted that CAIR recently welcomed a decision by the Mesa Police Department in Mesa, Ariz., that a recent "training" by Guandolo will be the "last time" for such an event. CAIR Good News Alert: Arizona Police Department Says 'Last Time' for Training by Anti-Muslim Conspiracy Theorist John Guandolo https://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14326-cair-good-news-alert-arizona-police-department-says-last-time-for-training-by-anti-muslim-conspiracy-theorist-john-guandolo.html Among his many bizarre and Islamophobic claims, Guandolo has falsely claimed that: U.S. mosques are planning armed attacks on law enforcement authorities and churches, the Black Lives Matter movement is funded by "enemies of the United States ," ," when a Delaware Imam (Islamic religious leader) touched his nose during the pledge of allegiance before a legislative session it was part of "civilizational jihad," former CIA Director John Brennan was a secret Muslim, was a secret Muslim, Muslims are "obligated" to lie, Muslim hotel managers, cabbies and 7-11 workers seek to take over America, it is "unprofessional" for officials to seek information about Islam from Islamic religious leaders (imams). CAIR recently said Guandolo is putting local Muslim communities at risk by making the false claim that, "Mosques/Islamic Centers are organizing for armed confrontation with law enforcement, shoring up physical defenses where they see likely confrontation and increasing their pre-attack surveillances of churches and other targets." John Guandolo: Indict Journalists - Muslim Hotel Managers, Cabbies, 7-11 Workers Seek U.S. Takeover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-NMLtiwfZM Audio: Islamophobe John Guandolo Claims Mosques, MSA Chapters Seek 'Overthrow' of U.S. Government https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=645fIfXjdp8 Video: John Guandolo Claims Muslims are 'Obligated' to Lie, Talking to Imams is 'Unprofessional' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juQj8FDINz0 Audio/Video: Islamophobes John Guandolo, Chris Gaubatz Smear Mosques, Say BLM is Funded by 'Enemies' of U.S. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR4VgC0Yf_Y CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: John Guandolo http://islamophobia.org/islamophobic-individuals/john-guandolo/75-john-guandolo.html Video: Islamophobe John Guandolo Claims CIA Director John Brennan is a Secret Muslim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aieUdwZoYMg Guandolo: Delaware Imam Touching His Nose is Part of Civilizational Jihad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq2IL2oJsQE Backgrounder on Islamophobe John Guandolo: The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that tracks hate groups in America, describes Guandolo as "a disreputable character, who regularly attacks the U.S. government, claims that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency is a secret Muslim agent for the Saudi government and says that American Muslims 'do not have a First Amendment right to do anything.'" According to the SPLC, "Guandolo works closely with ACT! for America, the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in the country." ACT for America's anti-Muslim bigotry was highlighted recently in a Washington Post expose. SEE: This group believes Islam threatens America: 'It's a spiritual battle of good and evil.' https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/this-group-believes-islam-threatens-america-its-a-spiritual-battle-of-good-and-evil/2017/02/16/3e5108c2-ed57-11e6-9662-6eedf1627882_story.html Last year, a Texas college canceled a similar event. The college's decision came following a request by CAIR's Dallas-Fort Worth chapter. SEE: Texas College Cancels Controversial Law Enforcement Training Event Led by 'Anti-Muslim Conspiracy Theorist' http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-college-cancels-controversial-law-enforcement-training-event-led-by-anti-muslim-conspiracy-a7061731.html Ex-FBI Agent John Guandolo to Host Anti-Muslim Training at Texas College http://imagine2050.newcomm.org/2016/05/31/fbi-agent-guandolo-islamophobia-training-texas-college/ CAIR-Dallas Asks College to Cancel Law Enforcement 'Training' by Islamophobe John Guandolo http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13562-cair-dallas-asks-college-to-cancel-law-enforcement-training-by-islamophobe-john-guandolo.html In 2015, CAIR welcomed the withdrawal of an FBI representative from an event in Texas that was initially sponsored by the anti-Muslim hate group ACT! for America and featured Guandolo. SEE: FBI Withdraws from Texas Event Initially Sponsored by Hate Group and Featuring Anti-Muslim Conspiracy Theorist http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/12832-fbi-withdraws-from-texas-event-sponsored-by-hate-group.html Virginia's Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy rescinded its approval of in-service training credits for state law enforcement scheduled to attend a training Guandolo was conducting in Culpeper, Va., after being made aware of his anti-Islam rhetoric. SEE: Virginia Agency Pulls Accreditation for Anti-Muslim Training http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/12387-virginia-agency-pulls-accreditation-for-anti-muslim-training.html A sheriff in Kansas decided not to partner with a citizens group sponsoring a Guandolo training after being informed of his conspiracy theories. When a journalist at Kansas' Wichita Eagle covered the controversy, Guandolo accused the reporter of material support of terrorism. SEE: Kansas Sheriff Won't Partner on Training by John Guandolo http://www.cair.com/press-center/cair-in-the-news/12503-kansas-sheriff-wont-partner-on-training-by-john-guandolo.html A number of Arizona police departments decided not to send officers to one of Guandolo's trainings. CAIR: Arizona Police Departments Drop Out of Islamophobic Training http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/12655-arizona-police-departments-drop-out-of-islamophobic-training.html Guandolo left the FBI shortly after reports surfaced that he had allegedly engaged in a sexual relationship with a key witness in a corruption trial targeting a member of Congress. In addition he is documented as having falsified his credentials and work experience. Major General Tony Cucolo, Commandant of the US Army War College, informed CAIR in an email: "Mr. Guandolo's claim (in print) that he teaches at the Army War College and any other references (e.g., online) identifying him as an adjunct instructor here are simply untrue." The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is asking Muslim community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/civil-rights/report-an-incident/view/form.html CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. La mision de CAIR es mejorar la comprension del Islam, fomentar el dialogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprension mutua. Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational Subscribe to CAIR's Email List http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe Subscribe to CAIR's Twitter Feed http://twitter.com/cairnational Subscribe to CAIR's YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/cairtv CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected] SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Related Links http://www.cair.com PETACH TIKVA, Israel, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE MKT: CANF) (TASE: CFBI), a biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that address cancer, liver and inflammatory diseases, announced today that the Company's CEO Dr. Pnina Fishman will participate in the Bio International Convention, which will take place on June 19 through 22, 2017 in San Diego, California. Dr. Fishman is scheduled to take part in over 40 one-on-one meetings with potential partners including companies interested in Can-Fite's drug candidates for in-licensing and commercialization. "Our two advanced stage drug candidates, Piclidenoson for auto-immune diseases and Namodenoson for cancer and liver diseases, address significant unmet needs in global markets. Having successfully entered into a select few strategic geographic distribution partnerships, we are evaluating additional out-licensing opportunities as we move into Phase III studies," stated Dr. Fishman. The BIO International Convention is hosted by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. About Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE MKT: CANF) (TASE: CFBI) is an advanced clinical stage drug development Company with a platform technology that is designed to address multi-billion dollar markets in the treatment of cancer, inflammatory disease and sexual dysfunction. The Company's lead drug candidate, Piclidenoson, is scheduled to enter Phase III trials in 2017 for two indications, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. The rheumatoid arthritis Phase III protocol has recently been agreed with the European Medicines Agency. Can-Fite's liver cancer drug Namodenoson is in Phase II trials for patients with liver cancer and is slated to enter Phase II for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Namodenoson has been granted Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. and Europe and Fast Track Designation as a second line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Namodenoson has also shown proof of concept to potentially treat other cancers including colon, prostate, and melanoma. CF602, the Company's third drug candidate, has shown efficacy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction in preclinical studies and is being prepared for an IND submission to the FDA and a Phase I trial. These drugs have an excellent safety profile with experience in over 1,000 patients in clinical studies to date. For more information please visit: www.can-fite.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements, about Can-Fite's expectations, beliefs or intentions regarding, among other things, market risks and uncertainties and Can-Fite's ability to satisfy all the conditions to the closing of the proposed offering, its product development efforts, business, financial condition, results of operations, strategies or prospects. In addition, from time to time, Can-Fite or its representatives have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in writing. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "plan," "may," "should" or "anticipate" or their negatives or other variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. These forward-looking statements may be included in, but are not limited to, various filings made by Can-Fite with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases or oral statements made by or with the approval of one of Can-Fite's authorized executive officers. Forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results as of the date they are made. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause Can-Fite's actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause Can-Fite's actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the factors summarized in Can-Fite's filings with the SEC and in its periodic filings with the TASE. In addition, Can-Fite operates in an industry sector where securities values are highly volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond its control. Can-Fite does not undertake any obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contact Can-Fite BioPharma Motti Farbstein [email protected] +972-3-9241114 SOURCE Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. Related Links http://www.can-fite.com Greenberg led the national and global sales teams as the President & CEO of Shelcore toys. Most recently, Greenberg served as the Principal and Business Development Advisor for Radiate (R88) LLC, a sales and marketing agency in Basking Ridge, N.J. "Over his career, Rick has introduced and led several European toy companies to the U.S. market," Roger Balser, Managing Director, said. "We are looking forward to Rick leading Carrera's expansion to meet the many robust opportunities in this unique area of the toy and hobby industry." As the CEO & President of Shelcore Toys, Inc., Greenberg oversaw a toy manufacturing company with 67 global markets, based in Somerset, NJ. Greenberg has negotiated long-term licensing agreements with Universal, Disney, Nickelodeon, DHX Media, WWE, and others, before selling Shelcore in 2006. "Carrera slot car racing is steeped in tradition and is a hobby that brings families together. It's all about speed, competition and action and Carrera is infusing the latest trends to captivate today's tech-savvy children as a great hobby and brings families together." SOURCE Carrera of America SHANGHAI, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For the tens of millions of refugees seeking asylum worldwide, reaching a country willing to take them in is only the first step to resettlement. Rebuilding career opportunities are often challenging in societies where their previous backgrounds may go undervalued. italki For one group of refugees in Istanbul, teaching online Arabic lessons with students across the world has become a way to overcome these obstacles. Along with their language and culture, they have been able to share their stories with people who can learn from their struggles and perseverance. Their reflections after more than 300 lessons show the deep impact teaching has had on their self-esteem and optimism. "Displacement is a challenge that I faced, but I'm not the only one," said a Syrian teacher named Abdullah, who has been living in Istanbul for three years. "Now when some students are having problems, I can say, 'Oh I faced that, this is not a big deal, I can help you.' Now as a displaced guy, I'm really proud of myself." Abdullah is one of 12 refugee teachers teaching Arabic lessons on language learning platform italki. Through online video chat, he has been able to connect with students for language lessons, with the intimacy of face-to-face learning experiences. As a professional and volunteer Arabic teacher in Istanbul, he believes online lessons are an important way to expand his horizons as an educator and share his knowledge with a wider range of learners. "What italki offered me is new students from another continent, far away from me, who want to learn my language," he said. "I feel that it's valuable for me. I care now about the language." This project was made possible by a collaboration including italki, NGO Small Projects Istanbul, and Vassar College. Their effort to connect refugee teachers with interested students has shown how diverse organizations can work together to make a difference. The project began in 2015, when team members at italki contacted Small Projects Istanbul to discuss how the company could contribute to the organization's work with refugees. The two organizations added Vassar College after discovering a common interest in connecting students at the college for exchanges with refugees. Students at Vassar then established an initiative at Vassar called Conversations Unbound. italki and Conversations Unbound proceeded to coordinate with Small Projects Istanbul to welcome refugees with teaching backgrounds onto the company's learning platform. Vassar College then made online conversation practice with the teachers a curriculum requirement for students enrolled in Arabic courses. Now one semester and several hundred lessons later, organizers across the three organizations point to the teachers' improved esteem and sense of opportunity as key accomplishments of the program. "Beyond the benefit of providing work and income, the project has contributed to the growing confidence and revived hope in the teachers' lives," said Shannon Kay of Small Projects Istanbul. Elise Shea, Vassar undergraduate and founder of Conversations Unbound, emphasized the value of this experience for the students who took part. "This program seeks to show that the world wishes to learn from the refugee, not the other way around. The refugee teaches us and we want to learn," Shea said. Participating students spoke to the practical value of learning with native speakers and the personal connections they made. "It's super helpful, as someone who wants to learn Arabic, to have these practice sessions with a native speaker," one Vassar Arabic student said. "It's certainly nice to get to know and meet someone who's labeled as a refugee, beyond what the news is telling us, or beyond what your stereotypes might be, and just make a person to person connection," offered another. In addition to the students at Vassar, dozens of Arabic learners have reached out to schedule lessons with the teachers through italki's online teaching marketplace, fulfilling organizers' hopes that hosting them on the platform would lead to long-term work. Along with the benefits of having a stable income, the teachers have expressed appreciation for the experiences they have been able to share with their students. "To me, teaching online means a lot, because I am helping people to connect with each other across the globe, and making it possible to share ideas," said Syrian teacher Rahaf. "I'm more involved with students now. I care about them, and I feel like when they are getting more and more from their Arabic, step by step improving their Arabic, I feel like 'Wow, I'm improving myself,' I feel happier," Abdullah said. italki continues to work closely with the teachers to support their independent work on the platform, and hopes to expand the program to other schools in Vassar's network going forward. To learn more, go to italki Refugee Outreach. Media Contact: Joe Fang [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg image2.jpg image3.jpg Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7W9D9XBdfk SOURCE italki Related Links http://www.italki.com In his well-rounded career spanning over the last 26 years, Mr. Stewardson has garnered valuable experience in corporate leadership handling many aspects of business including purchasing, commercial logistics, project management, operations, account development, and new business sales. Prior to joining FutureDial, he served as President, EMEA at Teleplan International; Executive Director, EMEA at Ingram Micro; and VP EMEA, Technology Supply Chain for DHL amongst other leadership positions. "Charles brings vast knowledge of the wireless market across the European region to our company during a time of significant growth within our industry," notes FutureDial's CEO, George Huang. "FutureDial is extremely fortunate to have an executive of Charles' caliber to help drive business in this critical market." FutureDial's Chief Commercial Officer Stephen Manning states, "Charles' tenure within the wireless industry in Europe will most certainly yield high dividends in terms of business development and new opportunities for FutureDial. We are pleased to have him join the team and are excited about the insight to our customers' needs he brings to the table in addition to his business acumen within our industry." About FutureDial Founded in 1999, FutureDial is the leading provider of device processing solutions for the mobile device supply chain. FutureDial's easy-to-use, automated platform reduces the number of operator touches, saving time and money for Mobile Device Buy-Back Trade-In companies, Third-Party Logistics Providers (3PL), Wireless Carriers and Mobile Device Manufacturers (OEMs). By simplifying processes, consolidating work flows, and giving insight into business operations, FutureDial makes these businesses more efficient, profitable, and responsive to their customer needs. For more information, please visit www.futuredial.com or email to [email protected] Media Contacts: Bruce Brunger Suzanne Hirsh, Dee Gibbs, Marketing Communications Manager Sr. Account Mgr Founder & CEO FutureDial, Inc. Liberty Communications US Liberty Communications US (408) 245-8880 Ext 206 (415) 429-5652 +44 20 7751 4444 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE FutureDial Related Links http://www.futuredial.com ALBANY, New York, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The global market for Chlamydia Infection Diagnostics and Therapeutics has an essentially consolidated competitive landscape, with the leading five vendors in the diagnostics segment cumulatively holding a more than 58% of the overall market while companies in the therapeutics segment accounting for a nearly 24% of the market in 2016, observes Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a recent report. Competitive rivalry in considerably low in the market despite the presence of a large number of players, especially on a global front. Leading players in the market benefit from products that are approved by key government agencies. Expansion of operations across high growth potential regional markets, product launches, collaborative agreements, and acquisitions are some of the key growth strategies adopted by global players to strengthen and secure their position in the market. Transparency Market Research estimates that the global chlamydia infection diagnostics and therapeutics was valued at US$1,195.5 mn in 2016 and will expand at a CAGR of 6.0% from 2017 to 2025 to reach US$2,002.2 mn in 2025. Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests to Continue Acquiring Massive Share in Diagnostics Segment In terms of key diagnostics available in the global chlamydia infection market, the segment of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) held the dominant share of over 69.8% in 2016. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, NAATs are the most sensitive tests for diagnosis of chlamydia infection and are FDA-cleared. In terms of geography, the North America market accounted for a massive 55.5% of the global chlamydia infection diagnostics market and over 44.5% of the chlamydia infection therapeutics market in 2016. Europe held the second highest share of the global chlamydia infection diagnostics and therapeutics market in 2016 and is expected to remain a key contributor to the overall development of the market in the next few years. Inquire for a Sample Copy of this report @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=8212 Rising Awareness and Increased Availability of Testing and Treatment Products to Drive Market Some of the key drivers of the global chlamydia infection diagnostics and therapeutics market are the vast rise in academic research, increase in strategic collaborations between global market leaders and leading research institutes, and the increasing prevalence and incidence rate of chlamydia infection globally. According Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2015, total number of chlamydia infection cases reported to CDC was 1,526,658 the U.S. Numbers are also rising at a staggering rate across other parts of the globe. The rising demand for rapid and effective diagnostic tests and therapeutics to treat this rapidly rising patient pool is significantly contributing to the growth of the chlamydia infection diagnostics and therapeutics market globally. Availability of well-defined reimbursement policies from public and private health insurance firms and high awareness among young people in developed regions such as North America and Europe is also a key factor boosting the market for chlamydia infection diagnostics and therapeutics. Growth of the market is also attributed to the rising commercialization of advanced products by top market players Social Stigma Associated with Voluntary Screening of Chlamydia Infections to Hinder Market Growth The global chlamydia infection diagnostics and therapeutics market is negatively affected by the low awareness about chlamydia diagnostic tests in low- and middle-income countries, and the stigma associated with voluntary screening for chlamydia; the negative societal impact may hamper the growth of the market. The most susceptible population for chlamydia infection is between ages of 16 to 25, this age group has fear of social embarrassment which leads to untreated or undiagnosed chlamydia infections. This review of the global chlamydia infection diagnostics and therapeutics market is based on a recent market research report published by Transparency Market Research, titled "Chlamydia Infection Diagnostics and Therapeutics Market (Product Type - Diagnostics (Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs) and Direct Fluorescent Tests) and Therapeutics (Macrolides, Quinolones, Sulfonamides, Tetracycline, and Aminopenicillins); End Users - Hospitals, Specialty Clinics, Diagnostic Centers Therapeutics, Hospital Pharmacies, Drugstores, Retail Pharmacies, and Online Pharmacies) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025." Browse Related Research Reports: Healthcare API Market (Services - Electronic Health Record Access, Appointments, Remote Patient Monitoring, Payment, Medical Device (Wearable); Deployment Model - On-premise, Cloud-based; End-Users - Healthcare Payers, Healthcare Providers, Patients, Vendors) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/healthcare-api-market.html Nucleic Acid Aptamers Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/nucleic-acid-aptamers.html About Us: Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S. based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMR's global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations. Contact Us: Transparency Market Research 90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY 12207 Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: sale [email protected] Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Blog: http://www.tmrblog.com/ SOURCE Transparency Market Research ARLINGTON, Texas, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RagingBull.com has named veteran journalist Chuck Jaffe as its new editor, as part of an aggressive plan to change the site's editorial strategy to give investors insight into the minds of traders. Chuck Jaffe A consortium of traders and technical analysts who double as newsletter editors and seminar leaders, RagingBull.com plans to offer readers fresh insights at the start of every trading day, with Jaffe overseeing the editorial copy. In hiring independent journalists to work with its traders, RagingBull.com will institute an ethics/disclosure policy for both its traders and journalists; between the new editorial plan and the journalistic integrity of the content, Jaffe promised that the site would be "fresh air in the stifling environment of investment newsletter web sites." "This site is by traders and for traders, and we will celebrate that by giving our readers news they can use straight from the desk of experienced traders, but without the veiled conflicts of interest that make it hard to trust most trading stories," Jaffe said. "Our readers will get insight into what our traders are thinking and doing, at the time of day when it is most useful to them, and with complete disclosure so that they can be clear about whether a trader's insights might be colored by current holdings or potential moves." "We wanted the eye and the ethics of a journalist to help us create a more useful free site for traders and potential traders," said Jeff Bishop, co-founder of RagingBull.com. "Too much of what passes for trading advice on the Internet is stale and played out, or is driven by an undisclosed personal agenda to move a stock. We want traders coming to RagingBull.com before the start of the trading day to get something useful." To that end, the site will undergo a makeover unveiled in July -- so that it features each day what Jaffe calls "the daily five," five specific trading-oriented pieces of content that a trader can access at 8:30 each weekday morning, "just before the gates open and it's time for them to go rage at the market." Features will include "Today's Trade," (a look at a move the trader is watching for once the market opens), "Why not?" (where traders discuss why they're not following the herd), "Sucker's Bet," (where traders warn readers away from technical traps) and more, short, punchy, accessible and often actionable stories for the trading public. "We plan to leverage RagingBull's experts so that traders can come to the site to find something interesting, trustworthy and potentially useful in their day's trading," says Bishop. "If we can deliver that in just a few minutes of reading time each day, people will see the expertise of the RagingBull trading team and have good reason to join the full RagingBull community." About Chuck Jaffe: Chuck Jaffe is a syndicated financial columnist and the host of the "Money Life with Chuck Jaffe " podcast/radio show. He spent the last 14 years as senior columnist at MarketWatch.com, and the decade prior to that as personal finance and mutual funds columnist at The Boston Globe. He is a past president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and is the author of three personal-finance books. About RagingBull.com Originally established in 1997 and relaunched this year under new leadership, RagingBull.com aims to be the premier destination for both new or experienced active traders who are looking for stock picks, stock ideas, how to get started trading stocks, and overall stock market education. RagingBull.com features the work of both veteran and exciting young traders, including Jeff Bishop, editor of Top Stock Picks; small-cap momentum expert Jason Bond; biotech trader Kyle Dennis; large-cap trader Petra Hess; and penny-stock pro, Jeff Williams. Interviews with RagingBull.com experts to comment on short-term and daily stock moves are available. Media Contact: Darlene March - March Media Relations [email protected] 714-887-8021 SOURCE RagingBull.com Related Links http://RagingBull.com KANSAS CITY, Kan., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingulate Therapeutics, LLC, a privately held clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new and innovative products for the treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), today announced that it has moved the location of its Kansas City headquarters. Cingulate previously had offices at the University of Kansas Bioscience and Technology Business Center in Kansas City, KS. The move is intended to accommodate Cingulate's growth in transition into a clinical stage development company. Cingulate is developing two (2) proprietary, first-line medications, CTX-1301 and CTX-1302, for the treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) seeking indications for all patient segments: children, adolescents and adults. CTX-1301 and CTX-1302 are designed to deliver a rapid onset, last the entire active day, and minimize the afternoon crash while allowing normal sleep and appetite. The Company recently announced that it has initiated an in vivo proof of concept trial of its compound CTX-1301 and intends to submit Investigational New Drug (IND) applications to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for both CTX-1301 and CTX-1302 by the end of 2017. "Cingulate is proud to have partnered with the University of Kansas Bioscience and Technology Business Center for the last three years and will continue to support their efforts in Lawrence and Kansas City for years to come. Having initiated human trials earlier this quarter and with the need to accommodate growth in pursuit of aggressive clinical development plans we are excited to move our Kansas City operations to the Heartland House, the former headquarters of Aratana Therapeutics," said Shane J. Schaffer, PharmD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cingulate Therapeutics. GR Underwood, President of the Bioscience & Technology Business Center, said, "Our mission has been to deliver jobs to the local economy by helping cutting edge businesses establish themselves and flourish. We are proud of Cingulate's maturation into the clinical stage and are excited to see the future developments that come out of their expanded headquarters." The new Kansas City location is at 1901 Olathe Blvd. in Kansas City, KS. About Cingulate Therapeutics Cingulate Therapeutics, LLC is a privately held clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new and innovative products for the treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Cingulate is developing two (2) proprietary, first-line medications, CTX-1301 (Dexmethylphenidate) and CTX-1302 (Dextroamphetamine), for the treatment of ADHD intended for all patient segments: children, adolescents and adults. CTX-1301 and CTX-1302 utilize an innovative, flexible core tableting technology with a Target Product Profile designed to deliver a rapid onset, last the entire active day, and minimize the afternoon crash with minimal impact on sleep and appetite. The Company has initiated Proof of Concept Phase I clinical trials and plans to implement the full clinical plan for both CTX-1301 and CTX-1302 in early 2018. Cingulate anticipates filing INDs for CTX-1301 and CTX-1302 via the accelerated 505 (b)(2) regulatory pathway. The company has offices in Kansas City, KS and Morristown, NJ. About the Bioscience & Technology Business Center The Bioscience & Technology Business Center (BTBC), located on the West Campus of the University of Kansas, is the largest university-affiliated business incubator in the Midwest. The system currently boasts 43 companies with 230 employees and a total annual payroll of $13 million. The BTBC was founded in 2010 as a public private partnership between the University of Kansas, the City of Lawrence, Douglas County, and The Chamber, Lawrence, Kansas, to generate economic development in the region. The incubator has 90,000 sq. ft. in northeast Kansas and is home to multiple technology-based clusters, including ag tech, animal health, human health, software, and engineering. For Investors & Media: Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc. Jonathon Brzezinski, Ph.D.: [email protected]; 212-375-2681 Janine McCargo: [email protected]; (646) 604-5150 SOURCE Cingulate Therapeutics, LLC NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hunt Mortgage Group, a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States, announced today that it has opened a new production office in Charlotte, North Carolina and that Jonathan Mettel has been hired to lead the local effort. As Vice President, Mettel will be responsible for originating small balance and conventional agency business as well as placing Hunt Mortgage Groups proprietary products in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. He will report to Owen Breheny, Managing Director at Hunt Mortgage Group. The new office will be located at 525 North Tryon Street, Suite 1600, in Charlotte. The Mid-Atlantic region is a rich region with strong dynamics and solid underlying real estate fundamentals, noted Breheny. A local presence enables us to better serve the rapidly growing needs of area developers and investors. This is the eighth new Hunt Mortgage Group office weve opened in the past year. Prior to joining Hunt Mortgage Group, Mettel served as Vice President, Regional Business Development Officer, at PennyMac Commercial Real Estate Finance where he managed the conduit business channel in the Eastern United States and originated Freddie Mac Small Balance Loans throughout the country. Before that he was Vice President of Production at B2R Finance, where he led the wholesale lending business. Prior to joining B2R at its early stages in 2013, Mettel held a variety of positions within the industry both as an originator and production manager. His past positions include Managing Director with American Real Estate Capital, the commercial real estate lending arm of Great American Life Insurance Company, Bridger Commercial Funding, a nationwide CMBS lender, and Bayview Financial where he was instrumental in launching a new CRE lender, Silver Hill Financial, from start-up operations to billions of dollars in production. We are making strategic additions to our organization to expand our market reach and capitalize fully on our expanded financing capabilities, added Breheny. Jonathan is a seasoned financial services executive with deep experience in commercial real estate. We are pleased he has come on board to open an office in Charlotte and serve clients in this important region. Mettel holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from the University of Florida and a Masters in Hotel & Restaurant Management from Florida International University. About Hunt Mortgage Group Hunt Mortgage Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hunt Companies, Inc., is a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States. The Company finances all types of commercial real estate: multifamily properties (including small balance), affordable housing, office, retail, manufactured housing, healthcare/senior living, industrial, and self-storage facilities. It offers Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA in addition to its own Proprietary loan products. Since inception, the Company has structured more than $21 billion of loans and today maintains a servicing portfolio of more than $12.5 billion. Headquartered in New York City, Hunt Mortgage Group has 198 professionals in 23 locations throughout the United States. To learn more, visit www.huntmortgagegroup.com. CALABASAS, Calif., June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bio Supply Management Alliance (BSMA) has announced collaboration with the City of Fremont and the Biomedical Manufacturing Network to advance the supply chain of the bio-pharma industry in California by providing a platform for imparting education, sharing technology, enabling executive networking, and fostering workforce development. The primary focus of this alliance is to enable the development and growth of start-ups, as well as small and mid-sized biomedical companies. Devendra Mishra, the Executive Director of BSMA observed, "The common goal of advancing the bio-pharma industry aligns BSMA with the Biomedical Manufacturing Network and the City of Fremont where education and innovation form the nexus. BSMA represents an extraordinary executive management resource in biopharma as well as world-class academia. Its member companies will be enthralled to share experience and knowledge with those of our partners." For ten years the Biotech Supply Management Alliance (BSMA), the first industry initiative dedicated to bringing together the stakeholders of the global biotech industry supply chain, continues to foster its mission to accelerate the profitable growth of companies by developing, advancing, and disseminating best practices, knowledge, and research. Visit BSMA website for details of our activities The three organizations are joining forces to organize the 10th Annual BSMA Conference on October 12 in Foster City, titled "INNOVATIONS & TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMING THE BIO-PHARMA SUPPLY CHAIN." Over the last nine years, the conference has been recognized to be the most informative, interactive, technology-enabling and solution-sharing event in the bio-pharma space where drug manufacturers lead, academia provide research and suppliers/Service providers support. For highlights of the preliminary program, click here Members of the BioMedical Manufacturing Network and City of Fremont members will receive significant registration discounts for the conference. CONTACTS : BSMA: Devendra Mishra City of Fremont: Kelly Kline BioMedical Manufacturing Network: Gregory Theyel Related Images image1.png image2.jpg image3.jpg Related Links http://biosupplyalliance.com/ http://www.biomedmfg.org/ SOURCE Bio Supply Management Alliance Related Links http://www.biosupplyalliance.com RALEIGH, N.C., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Clean, an integrated branding agency, today announced it has been selected as Agency of Record for Durham Distillery, a Durham, North Carolina-based maker of gin, specialty liqueurs, and its sixth and latest product, Cold Distilled Cucumber Flavored Vodka. Clean will provide integrated marketing support including creative, media planning and buying, and public relations across the distillery's full brand portfolio. The win adds to the recent momentum for Clean, whose current client roster includes Lenovo, Lonerider Brewery, multiple tourism accounts, and hospitality brands including the Carolina Ale House restaurant group. Since launching in Fall 2015, Durham Distillery has skyrocketed onto the regional and national craft spirits scene, winning more than 30 awards for its Conniption American Dry and Navy Strength Gin varieties and Damn Fine Liqueurs, including USA Today 10Best's No. 2 Craft Gin Distillery and last month a Double Gold at the highly acclaimed San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The distillery, led by former scientists and husband-and-wife team Melissa and Lee Katrincic, employs a unique scientific method in its small-batch distillation process to honor classic traditions with a contemporary twist to create drinks of the "new" South. "We have been huge fans of Durham Distillery since its launch and couldn't be happier to help ramp up consumer awareness," said Clean CEO Natalie Perkins. "Few spirits makers win the industry and consumer accolades Melissa and Lee have in just the first 18 months of operation. Durham Distillery is a brand poised to break out, and we are excited to partner on the success to date and going forward." About Clean Clean is a Raleigh-based integrated branding agency with a diverse client portfolio featuring Lenovo, John Deere, Red Hat, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Wilmington Tourism, and Lonerider Beer. The agency offers integrated marketing solutions including branding, advertising, digital marketing, graphic design, public relations, media planning, and content. A woman-owned business, Clean has been awarded HUB certification by the State of North Carolina. cleaninc.com Contact: Dan Strickford 919.987.3623 [email protected] SOURCE Clean Related Links http://cleandesign.com CLEVELAND and NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cleveland Clinic and Oscar Health announced today they will offer co-branded health insurance plans to consumers in northeast Ohio, marking Oscar Health's expansion into Ohio and Cleveland Clinic's first entree into the health insurance market with a product bearing its name. Beginning this fall, pending regulatory approvals, consumers in five northeast Ohio counties Cuyahoga, Summit, Lorain, Medina and Lake will be able to purchase new Cleveland Clinic | Oscar individual health plans. These health plans are anticipated to be sold on the Ohio health insurance exchange as well as off the exchange, with coverage to begin on January 1, 2018. Cleveland Clinic and Oscar Health will work together to integrate their clinical and member-facing care approaches to offer consumers a seamless, guided health care experience. Cleveland Clinic and Oscar Health aim to help members navigate the system with ease, to deliver world-class care, and to ensure quality coverage with affordable costs. "Together, Cleveland Clinic and Oscar Health intend to offer a different approach, one that breaks down the complexities between providers and insurers, allowing our patients to easily navigate the healthcare and health insurance systems, get the highest quality care at a reasonable price, and improve their overall health," said Steve Glass, Cleveland Clinic's Chief Financial Officer. "Cleveland Clinic's guiding principle of 'Patients First' shapes everything we do, including our relationships with insurers, which is why we look for insurance plans with innovative, patient-centered policies." Cleveland Clinic and Oscar Health share values that prioritize the patient/member experience, and will work together to ensure every patient/member interaction delivers easy, guided care. "This is a rare opportunity to work with Cleveland Clinic to deliver the simpler, better, and affordable health care experience that consumers want," said Mario Schlosser, Oscar Health's CEO and Co-Founder. "Oscar was founded to help restore the focus of our health care system on the needs of the consumers. By linking Oscar's member engagement platform to a world-renowned, physician-led health system like the Cleveland Clinic, we can align incentives and focus on the things that matter most: keeping members healthy; making it as easy as possible for them to find care when they need it, in the right clinical setting; and driving health care costs down." Every member will be matched with both a Cleveland Clinic Care Team (comprised of a primary care provider, physician assistants and other allied health professionals) and an Oscar Health Concierge Team (made up of a nurse and three care guides). These clinical and concierge teams will work together across the continuum of care to ensure that each patient/member's health and wellness needs are proactively met. Anytime a patient/member needs to seek care, they will be able to have the option of a virtual visit through Cleveland Clinic's Express Care Online and Oscar's Virtual Visits with no co-pay. Smartphone technology will help analyze their health needs, understand their care options and costs, and guide them to the right medical options. "We are looking to build a new relationship among payers, providers and patients," said Cleveland Clinic Chief of Staff Brian Donley, M.D. "This relationship goes beyond the traditional approach of getting sick and seeing the doctor. Instead, it's about getting people the right care, at the right place, at the right time. It's about avoiding an unnecessary trip to the doctor or a stay in the hospital, whenever possible, through better patient education, better access to care, better care coordination, better behaviors and, ultimately, better health. We intend to hold this up as a solution that others can look to, as the healthcare industry continues to tackle issues of access, quality, value, experience and, of course, cost. As you take better care of people, you will begin to reduce the overall cost of healthcare." Cleveland Clinic will continue to work collaboratively with other health insurers. About Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Among Cleveland Clinic's 51,000 employees are more than 3,500 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 14,000 nurses, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic's health system includes a 165-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 10 regional hospitals, more than 150 northern Ohio outpatient locations including 18 full-service family health centers and three health and wellness centers and locations in Weston, Fla.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2016, there were 7.1 million outpatient visits, 161,674 hospital admissions and 207,610 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic's health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/ClevelandClinic. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org. About Oscar Health Oscar Health is a technology-driven, consumer-focused health insurance startup in the individual and small group markets founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York City. Oscar, the first health insurance company to make telemedicine services completely free for members, uses technology, data and personalized service to guide members through the health care system and empower them to choose quality, affordable care. Oscar's member experience includes a dedicated Concierge team that proactively reaches out to members to help them with their care, simple plan designs and clear enrollment tools, and a tightly integrated, curated network of first-rate physicians and hospitals. Members can easily manage their care and access their health history and account information through a beautiful mobile and web app experience. Backed by a renowned set of investors and advisors, Oscar currently serves nearly 100,000 individual and small group members in New York, California, and Texas with plans for continued expansion going forward. Oscar Health's legal name is Oscar Insurance Corporation of Ohio. Say hi or learn more at hioscar.com or follow us at https://twitter.com/OscarHealth. Editor's Note: Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request. SOURCE Oscar Health Related Links https://www.hioscar.com "Our 9-year Cask Strength is complex and uncommonly smooth at 117 proof. Finishing it in the Alabama style rounds out and even softens the bold flavors into a surprisingly smooth finish," said Ron Call, Whiskey Master at Clyde May's. "Our first Cask Strength, an 8-year, was very well received, and we believe an extra year of aging reveals more complex flavors than last year's release." The 9 Year Cask Strength will be in national distribution by the fall and will retail for a suggested price of $99.99. For more information about Clyde May's the whiskey and the man and to get delicious cocktail recipes, visit the website at www.clydemays.com. About Clyde May's Clyde May's Whiskey, produced by Conecuh Ridge distillers, LLC was created by Clyde May, an Alabama farmer and war hero, in the late 1940s. Clyde lived in Alabama's Conecuh Ridge and was a moonshiner by trade but a craftsman by heart. Using copper stills, fresh Alabama spring water and the finest local grains, he vowed to make the best whiskey Alabama had ever tasted. Clyde aged in charred oak barrels and experimented with grains, stills, and processes until he perfected his own unique finishAlabama Style. He added oven-dried apples to his barrels and the resulting hint of apple made his whiskey particularly smooth. That smoothness is what sets Clyde May's apart. Clyde eventually paid the price for his passion, spending eight months in a federal penitentiary. Undaunted, he set up a new still the same day he was released. In 2001, Clyde's son recreated his father's famous recipe and began legally distilling his father's brand while maintaining the same traditions that made his father's whiskey famous. Clyde May's Whiskey is the Official State Spirit of Alabama. Contact: Caitlin Miranda [email protected] SOURCE Clyde May's Whiskey Related Links http://www.clydemays.com CHENGDU, China, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On 18:00, June 13, New Zealand local time, the maiden flight between Chengdu and Auckland, operated by Sichuan Airlines and departing from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, arrived at its destination at Auckland Airport in New Zealand, symbolizing the official commencement of the direct flight between the two cities. Chengdu Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Chengdu Luo Qiang, who was visiting New Zealand to conduct foreign communication and investment promotion activities, joined Minister of Customs of New Zealand Tim Macindoe and Deputy Mayor of Auckland Bill Cashmore to attend the welcoming ceremony of Sichuan Airlines' "Chengdu-Auckland Inaugural Flight". During his address at the welcoming ceremony, Lou Qiang relayed congratulatory notes from the Chengdu Municipal Government for the success of the maiden flight, and expressed appreciation to friends and associates that have been caring for and supporting the new flight route. He said that at present, Chengdu is endeavoring to strengthen its functions as western China's economic center, science and technology center, financial center, cultural innovation center, foreign communication center and comprehensive international transportation hub, as well as accelerating the establishment of interior China's open-type economic core and an international friendship gateway city. The availability of the Chengdu-Auckland non-stop route further enhances Chengdu's flight network to Oceania, and will surely stimulate deeper exchanges and cooperation between Chengdu and Auckland in areas like commerce, trade, tourism and culture. Such new convenience will galvanize personnel interactions between southwestern China and New Zealand, contribute considerably to pragmatic collaborations between the two sides, enhance China-New Zealand relations and reinforce joint efforts in establishing the "Belt and Road". Auckland is the largest city, economic center and transportation hub of New Zealand. The Chengdu-Auckland international route is Chengdu's first direct flight to New Zealand and third non-stop connection to Oceania. Chief Executive Officer of Auckland Airport Adrian Littlewood, Consul-general of New Zealand in Chengdu Alistair Crozier, board chairman of Sichuan Airlines Corporation Li Haiying and other distinguished guests attended the maiden flight ceremony. SOURCE Chengdu Municipal Government FRANKFURT, Germany, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore today announced expanded MMX Multi-Platform measurement along with major upgrades to Mobile Metrix in Germany with the introduction of data from its recently launched mobile consumer panel. This upgrade will allow comScore to expand the measurement of mobile audiences in Germany to enable more robust reporting of visitation, engagement and demographics, including segments for age and gender. "As part of our continued commitment to improve data accuracy and adapt to the rapid growth of mobile in the German market, we are thrilled to announce the introduction of mobile panel data which will enable more granular insights into audiences and their content consumption across devices and platforms," said Jacques Tchenio, Vice President Sales, Germany and France at comScore. "This marks an important step forward in advancing measurement in the industry, and we look forward to delivering even more valuable data and insights that advertisers, agencies and publishers need to develop their digital strategies and understand the competitive, multi-platform landscape." comScore MMX Multi-Platform combines data from desktop and mobile consumer panels with data from the comScore census network. This approach provides an unduplicated, persons-based measurement of total digital reach. Mobile Metrix combines comprehensive measurement of mobile panels with census-level data to provide detailed insights into mobile media usage across apps and mobile browsing. Further, comScore measurement continues to evolve to address consumers' changing behaviours and new technologies. This includes the ability to measure and credit traffic from third-party apps and content distributors such as Facebook Instant Articles, to ensure publishers are able to consistently account for their digital audience across devices. MMX Multi-Platform Measures Holistic View Across Desktops, Smartphones and Tablets In April 2017, Google Sites ranked #1 overall with 55,972 million unique visitors/viewers, followed by Facebook with 42,744 million and Microsoft Sites with 40,409 million. The mobile audiences for Facebook, Axel Springer SE and Deutsche Telekom were particularly noteworthy, being the only ones in the top-10 to represent more than 80 percent the size of their desktop audiences. Although there is some overlap, mobile added respectively 28 percent, 39 percent and 46 percent to these properties in April 2017. 4 percent of Germany's Total Digital Population in April 2017 accessed the internet via 'mobile only', while 60 percent of its users accessed the internet using both mobile and desktop devices. Top 10 Properties from Desktop Computers and Mobile Devices in Germany April 2017 Total Germany Age 6+ on Desktop and Age 18+ on Mobile Source: comScore MMX Multi-Platform Rank Property Total Unique Visitors/Viewers (000) Total Digital Population Desktop Mobile Total Internet: Total Audience 58,564 56,289 37,648 1 Google Sites 55,972 54,823 27,090 2 Facebook 42,744 33,298 26,519 3 Microsoft Sites 40,409 37,142 6,849 4 Amazon Sites 36,578 29,686 16,597 5 eBay 34,662 26,440 18,147 6 Axel Springer SE 34,393 24,798 20,328 7 Deutsche Telekom 30,832 21,101 18,108 8 Hubert Burda Media 29,307 22,079 13,463 9 United-Internet Sites 25,517 20,472 8,310 10 Yahoo Sites 25,395 20,018 8,910 Mobile Apps Drive Engagement, Leading the Way in Time Spent An analysis of the German mobile app and mobile web properties revealed that mobile time spent on the top 100 mobile app properties was ten times larger than the time spent on the top 100 mobile web properties, indicating that apps are the preferred method for the most engaged and loyal visitors to interact with content and services. Facebook and WhatsApp Messenger rank #1 and #2 among the most engaging apps, with 16.8 percent and 16.1 percent share of time spent amongst the Top 100 Mobile Apps in April 2017. Top 5 Mobile Apps Ranked by Share of Time Spent on Top 100 Mobile Apps Total Germany Age 18+ April 2017 Source: comScore Mobile Metrix Property % share of "Top 100 App minutes" Average Minutes per Visitor Facebook 16.8% 801 WhatsApp Messenger 16.1% 660 Spotify 7.4% 1,071 YouTube 6.6% 314 Slidejoy 5.2% 3,467 This latest development in Germany, along with France and Argentina, expands comScore's advanced mobile measurement solutions to a total of 14 markets across the globe, as we continue to expand our global mobile measurement footprint. To learn more about MMX Multi-Platform and Mobile Metrix, please contact us. About comScore comScore is a leading cross-platform measurement company that measures audiences, brands and consumer behaviour everywhere. comScore completed its merger with Rentrak Corporation in January 2016, to create the new model for a dynamic, cross-platform world. Built on precision and innovation, our data footprint combines proprietary digital, TV and movie intelligence with vast demographic details to quantify consumers' multiscreen behaviour at massive scale. This approach helps media companies monetise their complete audiences and allows marketers to reach these audiences more effectively. With more than 3,200 clients and global footprint in more than 75 countries, comScore is delivering the future of measurement. Shares of comScore stock are currently traded on the OTC Market (OTC:SCOR). For more information on comScore, please visit comscore.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including, without limitation, comScore's expectations as to the financial and operational effects of comScore Viewability, validated Campaign Essentials (vCE) and comScore's entire suite of advertising products. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, comScore's ability to project the financial impact of the partnership or comScore's ability to achieve its expected financial and operational results. For additional discussion of risk factors, please refer to comScore's respective Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings that comScore makes from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available on the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made. comScore does not intend or undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or new information after the date of this press release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. SOURCE comScore Related Links http://www.comscore.com DENVER, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Furniture Row is pleased to offer a complimentary design service to assist shoppers in making their design dreams a reality. Working with a local design consultant at Furniture Row, 4720 Monroe St., Toledo, OH 43623, it's never been easier to discover creative new ways to customize and stylize a home using texture, contrast, color, and patterns. "Taking advantage of our complimentary interior design services helps take the worry out of putting a room together," said Taylor Haake, Interior Design Consultant of Furniture Row in Holland. "Whether working together in our stores or through an in-home visit, it's easy to share ideas, explore styles, find design solutions and turn dreams into reality." The Design Studio inside Sofa Mart at Furniture Row was created to make the design experience simple, inspiring, and affordable. Speaking with a professional designer, such as Taylor, can be a beneficial tool in assisting Holland residents with bringing their design aspirations to life. For more information, please visit http://www.furniturerow.com/shared/location/FurnitureStoresInToledoOHFurniture%20Row%20Shopping%20Center/100061 About Furniture Row Companies The specialty stores of Furniture Row (Denver Mattress, Sofa Mart, Oak Express, and Bedroom Expressions) provide home furnishings, mattresses, and linens all at one convenient location. Family-owned and operated with more than 330 stores in 30 states, Furniture Row is one of America's largest furniture and bedding retailers. Real Furniture. Real Value. Visit www.FurnitureRow.com. Contact: Andrea Terrones / Furniture Row Marketing [email protected] SOURCE Furniture Row Companies Related Links http://www.furniturerow.com Recently, a parent left DaDaABC a message on social media, "my kid has had four classes on DaDaABC and we've seen his progress. Thanks to DaDaABC's fixed one-on-one model, my kid has a lot of interactions with his instructor, and he's more confident." In EdTech industry, fixed one-on-one teaching model is a significant feature of DaDaABC, with particular emphasis on "fixed." Fixed one-on-one model can be applied to all aspects throughout a student's learning path at DaDaABC. There are five steps in a learning cycle: professional consulting, scientific assessment, learning plan setup, class participation and study result tracking. All these five steps are based on the fixed one-on-one model, and each step has its meaning and contribution in the cycle. In the consulting session, a professional consultant walks through the advantages and characteristics of DaDaABC. Before the first class, the student will be evaluated on various aspects including English proficiency level and skills, and then the system arranges the best matching instructor for the student, as well as a personalized learning plan. Once selected, the instructor is fixed for each class in that learning cycle. This fixed one-on-one teaching model eliminates the drawbacks of changing instructor all the time, and students are more likely to benefit from the instructor' teaching style that they're familiar with. On the other side, instructors' compensations are ensured when they have fixed students. Instructors will have continuous class hours since their students are fixed, as a result, their class hours are sufficient to earn a stable compensation. "We give our instructors sufficient trust to let them manage the pace of each class, and we hope this can inspire instructors creativity. They may come up with different approaches while teaching students in different ages with different personalities. We hope our instructors can get a sense of achievement through classes and interactions with students," said Joyce, the education VP at DaDaABC. Not all online education companies are able to use fixed one-on-one model. If the instructors had to face different students all the time, they wouldn't be likely to build a long-term friendly relationship with their students, and they might have less sense of accomplishment compared to instructors who have fixed students. Thanks to the fixed one-on-one teaching model, instructors are able to fully grasp a student's progress of learning and adjust teaching content timely based on the student's characteristics. DaDaABC's fixed one-on-one teaching model is one of the most efficient and practical learning models that was brought out through years of constantly exploring. DaDaABC learned and inherited the advantages of offline education, and made its online classroom more efficient than offline. "I think DaDaABC does not only give me the opportunity to pursue a career, but also let me discover my potentials. I really like spending time with my students, and I feel my work pay back when I see their progress. At the beginning, a lot of students don't like speaking English, and as classes go, we are more familiar and they start talking to me a lot. It is amazing to see their changes. I first thought teaching at DaDaABC would be a part-time job, but now I believe teaching English will be my career that I truly want to do in my lifetime," said Adams, a DaDaABC instructor from Liverpool. In order to make aspiring instructors qualified for teaching, DaDaABC provides a series of comprehensive trainings to its instructors. Being an official partner with American TESOL Institute (ATI), DaDaABC offers online training courses for aspirant instructors worldwide to help such individuals become qualified ESL online English instructors. DaDaABC aims to offer not only a working opportunity to English native speakers worldwide, but also a passionate career for aspiring instructors to connect and help Chinese students in English-learning. About DaDaABC Founded in 2013, DaDaABC is the most innovative English training institution in China, and was established to provide what has become one of China's most successful intelligent English learning platforms for children. Winner of over 15 awards and recognitions in 2016, DaDaABC developed a leading English training system focused on one-on-one online tutoring and encourage youngsters to learn and practice while having fun with instructors, and announced a total capital raising of 500 million RMB in Series B and Series B+, which will be used in market expansion, curriculum development and learning experience improvement. DaDaABC has been helping students from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany, and other non-English speaking countries. For more information, please visit: http://www.dadaabc.com/teacher/job SOURCE DaDaABC Related Links https://www.dadaabc.com/teacher/job Philanthropy Fridays: "You Give, We Give" Guests who donate to Dickey's charitable foundation, Barbecue, Boots & Badges, will receive a gift card as a thank you for their donation. All uniformed first responders also receive 50 percent off their meal. Giveaway Saturday: Guests register for a chance to win free barbecue for a year. Kids Eat Free Sundays: Kids eat free with an adult purchase of $10 or more. To join Dickey's Big Yellow Cup Club and receive members-only specials and discounts, click here. This is Owner/Operator Dr. Thomas "Doc" Driver's fourth Dickey's Barbecue Pit location. All of his locations are in the Kitsap Peninsula area and he has been with Dickey's since 2014. "We are excited about our growth in Washington and this opportunity to bring more delicious, smoked-on-site barbecue to the folks in Bremerton," said Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "We congratulate Doc on another grand opening and look to forward to further expansion with him." The new Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Bremerton is located at 4716 Werner Road, 98312. The phone number is 360-627-7073. To find the location nearest you, click here. Find Dickey's on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant. The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and home style sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. The fast-casual concept has expanded to nearly 600 locations in 44 states. In 2016, Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" list and in 2017 again won a top 10 on the list. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise Times, and Nation's Restaurant News. For more information visit www.dickeys.com. Media Contact: Bryce Nayden [email protected] SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue Related Links http://www.dickeys.com PUNE, India, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Market Research Future published a half-cooked research report on Digital Banking Market. The global market for Digital Banking Market is majorly driven by factors such as easy access, convenience, fast and efficient operation among others. Increasing number of smartphone users and internet users is driving the market of Digital Banking. Digital Banking Global Market Overview Digital banking is a concept which enables the banks and their customers to carry out banking activities seamlessly such as - the end-to-end processing of banking transactions, operation etc. Technology proliferation in various parts of banking system and arrival of smartphone is helping the bankers to move their traditional banking system to modern. Easy availability, maximum utility and low cost are some of the important factor for the high adoption of digital banking in current environment. According to the recent Market study report - "Global Digital Banking Market Research Report- Forecast to 2022", published by the Market Research Future; the global Digital Banking market is expected to grow at CAGR of around 8% during the years 2016 to 2022. While commenting upon this deep diving study report presented through more than 100 market data tables and figures widely spread over 110 pages, the MRFR Research Analyst further adds, The Global Market of Digital Banking around the world is growing rapidly. The Global Digital Banking Market is majorly driven by factors such as easy access, convenience, fast and efficient operation among others. High technology proliferation and support heavy investment by the companies operating in the technology service are helping in the development of efficient cashless system. Many banks around the world are adopting cashless policies for various areas such as payments, transfers among other things. Increasing use of internet and smartphones to do the banking transaction are result of digital banking which makes the task easy and more transparent. Request a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1986 Digital Banking Global Market Key Players Identified in the report as the major player operating in the market of Global Digital Banking are- Urban FT, Inc. (U.S.), Misys (U.K.), Kony, Inc. (U.S.), Backbase (Netherlands), Technisys (Subsidiary of FMC Technologies) (U.S), Infosys (Bangalore), Cachet Financial Solutions, Inc. (U.S), Innofis (Spain), Mobilearth (Canada), among other Other prominent players operating in this market are- Nymbus, NLS Banking, IDEALINVENT Technologies, Capital Banking Solutions and among others. Digital Banking Global Market Synopsis & Scenario Banks are constantly adapting new applications to cater to the needs of their customers by providing services like ATM, internet banking, mobile banking, SMS banking among others. This study identifies some dynamic trends that contribute the market growth & the factors that challenge the market growth; such as - the high usage of digital devices in management, growing market of smartphones and tablets, growing demand for security and growing cloud-based solution are some major key trends in the market of digital banking. Whereas factors such as existing digital immigrants (someone who has not grown up using technology like Internet & mobile phones) among the population and lack of internet infrastructure in various countries are some of the major restrains which is expected to slow the growth of market. Browse Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/digital-banking-market-1986 Digital Banking Market Regional Analysis North America is dominating the market of digital banking. High density of smartphone users and technologically advanced countries such as U.S. and Canada gives North America a competitive advantage over the other regions. Europe stands as second biggest revenue generator in this market. Rich financial sector of U.K., France and Germany among other countries are the major contributor in the growth of digital banking in Europe region. Also, high literacy rate and knowledge towards internet and mobile application are some of the factor which is supporting the market of digital banking in Europe. Asia-Pacific has emerged as fastest growing market due to the growing economy of India, China among other countries, and green earth initiatives. Also, the government of these countries is also helping the market by adopting new policies regarding digital economy. Browse Related report The Global Mobile Payments Market is expected to grow at approx. USD 3,300 Billion by 2023, at 32% of CAGR between 2017 and 2023 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/mobile-payments-market-2922 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members. Contact Akash Anand, Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India +1 646 845 9312 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Market Research Future Related Links https://www.marketresearchfuture.com SAN MATEO, Calif., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arcadia Data, provider of the first native visual analytics software for big data, today announced that Database Trends and Applications (DBTA), published by Information Today, Inc., has included the company in the fifth annual DBTA 100: The Companies That Matter Most in Data. The list salutes the top companies in data management and analysis. From longstanding industry veterans, to new big data vendors disrupting the status quo, the DBTA 100 recognizes companies based on their presence, execution, vision and innovation in delivering products and services to the marketplace. Its an honor for Arcadia Data to be included in the Database Trends and Applications Top 100 list. Our company is comprised of collective minds with one mission, to build the de facto visual analytics and BI application platform for big data, said Steve Wooledge, vice president of marketing at Arcadia Data. We pride ourselves in the ability to connect business users to powerful visual analytics across all of their data to accelerate insights, and also enable organizations to build data-centric applications directly within their modern data platforms. We are more than thrilled that Database Trends and Applications recognizes our efforts and accomplishments in providing value to our customers. Were excited to announce our fifth annual list, as the industry continues to grow and transform. Today, more than ever, businesses are looking for ways to manage and leverage their information resources to create new opportunities and deliver a real competitive advantage. A fundamental change is taking place where every business is also moving towards becoming a data business," remarked Thomas Hogan, Group Publisher at Database Trends and Applications. "This list seeks to highlight those companies that have been successful in establishing themselves as unique resources for data professionals and stakeholders." DBTAs recognition comes after Arcadia Data was named to CRNs 2017 Big Data 100 list in May. Additionally, Arcadia Data was recently named by Gartner as a 2017 Cool Vendor in Internet of Things Analytics. The DBTA 100 is compiled annually by the editorial staff at Database Trends and Applications. This years selections can be viewed here. About Arcadia Data Arcadia Data provides the first native visual analytics software that runs within modern data platforms for the scale, flexibility, performance and security users need to glean meaningful and real-time business insights and design data-centric applications in the era of big data and IoT. Arcadia Enterprise is purpose-built to analyze large volumes of data without moving it, filling the gap between self-service BI and advanced analytics for use cases like cyber security, connected devices, and customer intelligence. The Arcadia Data platform is deployed by some of the worlds leading brands, including Procter & Gamble, HPE, Royal Bank of Canada, Kaiser Permanente and Neustar. To learn more, visit Arcadia at www.arcadiadata.com. Follow Arcadia Data at @ArcadiaData. BOSTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dispatch, the enterprise technology company that is empowering the home services industry to meet the rising demands of the modern customer, today announced a partnership with ServiceMaster, one of the leading home services providers in the United States. The partnership will make Dispatch the software platform of choice for ServiceMaster's home warranty and pest control brands. Dispatch also announced the completion of a $12 million Series A funding round led by GrandBanks Capital and ServiceMaster, with participation from Assurant, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Promus Ventures, Recruit Strategic Partners and Salesforce Ventures; also joining the round were Huff Capital and Ray Lane. This investment and partnership with ServiceMaster will propel Dispatch in its efforts to make home services more convenient and efficient for service providers, brands and customers. "The home services industry is a highly fragmented market that has struggled historically to provide homeowners with a quality customer experience. There's a communication gap between the 1.2 million service professionals, the brands they work for and the customers they serve," said Dispatch CEO Avi Goldberg. "By seamlessly integrating into an enterprise's existing technology systems and delivering real-time information about the service experience, Dispatch provides insights into the performance of their service providers. With this, brands can exceed customer expectations and strengthen brand loyalty." The Dispatch platform is designed to simplify the home services experience from all angles, improving the experience for brands, service providers and customers. Currently, with more than 20,000 service providers on the platform, Dispatch services more than 50,000 homes a day. Through a single platform, Dispatch users can schedule appointments, receive job status updates, share real-time location information, communicate directly with the customer and accept payments. This single-platform approach allows service professionals to reduce job completion time and increase efficiency, while allowing enterprises to gain valuable insight into every aspect of the "last mile" of the service delivery process, which is often the most critical to the homeowner who's waiting for the technician to arrive. "We're in the business of delivering an excellent customer experience, and a crucial component of that is knowing exactly what happens on the day of service, from scheduling the technician's visit to diagnosing the problem to fixing what's not working and following up with the customer after the service is completed," said ServiceMaster CIO Jamie Smith. "In home services and other industries, we've had access to data for a long time, but getting access to that last mile of the service delivery process has been a challenge. Working with Dispatch has enabled us to bring online customer interactions that until now have remained offline." In alignment with its new customer service initiative ServSmartsm, ServiceMaster has launched the Dispatch platform within its American Home Shield and Terminix businesses. This partnership will bring transparency to the last mile of home services for thousands of customers AHS and Terminix serve every day. In the initial deployment of Dispatch's platform, AHS and Terminix have seen early successes in overall field operations, such as an increase in Net Promoter Scores across their customer base and a reduction in the total time it takes to complete a job. Added Russell MacTough, Managing Director at Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, "Dispatch is building an operating system for the $450 billion home services market. We believe Dispatch will change the industry as we know it and are excited to be a part of this revolution." About Dispatch Dispatch is the Boston-based enterprise software company whose mission is to help the home services industry meet the rising demands of the modern customer. Dispatch powers modern service by seamlessly connecting brands to an army of expert-on-demand local contractors, providing those contractors an intuitive platform to assign and manage jobs, and communicating service details automatically to the customer via their mobile device. Dispatch links the people, process, and data to create a modern service experience that delights customers, empowers contractors, and promotes a positive brand image for the enterprise. About ServiceMaster ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV) solves the homeowner's dilemma. Every day, they visit more than 75,000 homes and businesses through their extensive service network of expert professionals. Technology powers their trusted experts to engage with their customers so they can order, buy and receive services when, where and how they want them. Their well-recognized brands include American Home Shield (home warranties), AmeriSpec (home inspections), Furniture Medic (furniture repair), Merry Maids (residential cleaning), ServiceMaster Clean (janitorial and residential floor cleaning), ServiceMaster Restore (disaster restoration) and Terminix (termite and pest control). About Salesforce Ventures Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. Salesforce Venturesthe company's corporate investment groupinvests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Intelligent Customer Success Platform, helping companies connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Portfolio companies receive funding as well as access to the world's largest cloud ecosystem and the guidance of Salesforce's innovators and executives. With Salesforce Ventures, portfolio companies can also leverage Salesforce's expertise in corporate philanthropy by joining Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in more than 200 enterprise cloud startups in 14 different countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures. Media Contact: Jonathon O'Leary, 929-341-0421 SOURCE Dispatch Related Links http://www.dispatch.me SUGAR LAND, Texas, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Growing demand for product from the Canadian oil sands is driving much of the project growth in Western Canada this year, notably for energy-related infrastructure. Industrial Info is tracking more than $27 billion in active projects set to begin construction in Western Canada in the second half of the year, including nearly $15 billion in Oil & Gas Industry projects. Particularly relevant is the growth in oil and gas transmission. Earlier this week, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) announced in its 2017 Crude Oil Forecast, Markets and Transportation report that Canada will need enough pipeline capacity in the next 13 years to transport an additional 1.3 million barrels per day (BBL/d) of oil sands product to markets across North America. Within this article: Details on a variety of project starts slated for Western Canada for the remainder of the year, including those from industry heavyweights such as Kinder Morgan Incorporated, TransCanada Corporation, Pembina Pipeline Corporation, Brion Energy Corporation, Cenovus Energy Incorporated, AltaGas Limited, Royal Vopak N.V., SaskPower and Electricitie de France S.A. For details, view the entire article by subscribing to Industrial Info's Premium Industry News, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.com. Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to [email protected] or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com. William Ploch 713-783-5147 SOURCE Industrial Info Resources Related Links http://www.industrialinfo.com WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the global trade association representing the payments technology world, will host its annual TRANSACT Tech ATL on June 20 at the Georgia Tech Student Center in Atlanta. With nearly 200 executives from financial institutions, technology companies, investment and VC firms, as well as analysts and industry consulting firms, TRANSACT Tech ATL brings together industry leaders and c-level executives that best exemplify the growth of FinTech development and education. Program topics include retail technology, investing in payments, the merchant perspectives on payments, cybersecurity of the future, and the evolution of the processors. Space is limited, and registration is open at: http://www.electran.org/TTATL. "ETA is nurturing innovation and building bridges among entrepreneurs, investors, and payments industry leaders," said Jeff Sloan, CEO of Global Payments and ETA President & Chairman. "Following last month's enormously successful TRANSACT event in Las Vegas, TRANSACT Tech is the perfect platform for payments and technology companies to connect and discuss the changing payments landscape." In the past year, FinTech has proven to be more than a buzzword. From partnerships between banks and startups to peer-to-peer lending, financial institutions, merchants and tech companies are linking up to revolutionize this growing industry. TRANSACT Tech ATL is the best opportunity for established industry titans to connect with innovative disruptors, and to delve deep into the future of financial services. "Savvy payments professionals and merchants recognize they must stay educated about new commerce technology," said ETA CEO Jason Oxman. "TRANSACT Tech ATL presents an exciting opportunity for all the players in the industry to find the connections and resources they need to keep their businesses relevant, secure and growing." The program includes speakers from leading payments innovators: Patrick Bragg , Digital Payments Lead, Chick-fil-A Mark Bunney , Strategic Partners, Ingenico Group Peter Fitzpatrick , Sales Director, Agreement Express Kim Goodman , Chief Executive Officer, Worldpay US Ben Hawksworth , CIO, Global Business Solutions, First Data Francis Limousy, Principal Advisor, UL Transaction Security Joe Mach , President North America, Verifone Tommy Marshall , Fintech Lead - North America , Accenture Jason Oxman , CEO, ETA Seth Pelletier , Senior Product Manager, Payment Solutions, Aaron's, Inc. Thomas Phillips , CIO, Elavon Guido F. Sacchi , EVP & CIO, Global Payments Jeff Sloan , CEO, Global Payments and ETA President & Chairman and Bill VanCuren , SVP & CIO, NCR Corporation TRANSACT Tech ATL is the latest in ETA's series of networking and educational events in the fast-growing technology hubs around the country including TRANSACT Tech San Francisco and TRANSACT Tech NYC. Whether you are looking to capitalize on business connections, build strategic relationships or secure new opportunities, TRANSACT Tech ATL is the tool for you. Register today at http://www.electran.org/TTATL. For media inquiries, contact Meghan Cieslak at 202-677-7406 or [email protected]. About ETA The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is the global trade association representing more than 500 payments and technology companies. ETA members make commerce possible by processing more than $5 trillion in purchases in the U.S. and deploying payments innovations to merchants and consumers. SOURCE ETA Related Links http://www.electran.org VANCOUVER, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Evasc Neurovascular Enterprises ULC announced that it has closed a CAD $10 million Series A venture capital financing round, led by Yonghua Investment Management Co., Ltd. ("Yonghua Capital") of Shanghai, China. Several of Evasc's existing investors also participated in the financing. Together with previous seed financing rounds, a total of CAD $27 million has been raised to date for the development and commercialization of the eCLIPs System. The new funds will be used towards achieving strategic milestones related to the eCLIPs Aneurysm Treatment System in three key areas: Expand use cases to demonstrate efficacy for: to demonstrate efficacy for: Flow disruption at bifurcations, to eliminate the need for embolization coils Sidewall aneurysms, to broaden eCLIPs' use to 95% of cerebral aneurysms Improve ease of use updated design for simplified deployment as well as use in smaller catheters, to accelerate accessibility and adoption by interventionists updated design for simplified deployment as well as use in smaller catheters, to accelerate accessibility and adoption by interventionists Clinical trials & regulatory approvalcontinuation of the current EESIS trial and preparation for FDA IDE trial, to further demonstrate the superior efficacy of eCLIPs and gain approval for sale in the USA "We are excited to welcome Yonghua Capital to the Evasc team. This new funding will allow us to accelerate our plans to transform the cerebral aneurysm repair industry, enabling a much higher level of patient care and successful treatment outcomes than is currently possible", said Dr. Donald Ricci, President and Chief Executive Officer of Evasc. About the eCLIPs Aneurysm Treatment System In development since 2008, eCLIPs is a patented endovascular device designed to treat 95% of cerebral aneurysm cases, and is currently targeted for use in challenging wide-neck bifurcations. eCLIPs combines the best properties of stents and diverters, and can be used for coil retention and to enhance flow disruption. eCLIPs avoids dangerous entry into the dynamic, fragile environment of the aneurysm sac, while protecting and providing a platform for endothelial growth across the bifurcation neck. To date, eCLIPs has been used to treat cerebral aneurysms in over 40 patients in Canada and 8 European countries. About Evasc Neurovascular Evasc Neurovascular is a privately held medical device company focused on the development of disruptive endovascular treatments for cerebral aneurysms. Evasc received approval for use of eCLIPs in Canada under the Special Access Program in 2013, and received CE mark approval in 2015. Evasc is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. About Yonghua Capital Yonghua Capital is one of China's most competitive private equity investors. As the primary investment vehicle of Yongjin Group, Yonghua Capital has rich experience in private equity investment and commits to become the most trustworthy financial service provider in the China capital market. Yonghua Capital has invested in over 100 outstanding companies, among which nearly 60 of which have been listed on stock exchanges. Evasc Neurovascular is on the web at www.evasc.com. SOURCE Evasc Neurovascular Enterprises ULC TAMPA, Fla., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun24, a Florida based non-profit, announced this week an expanded partnership with Caritas Uganda, the social service arm of the Catholic Church, to distribute more than 40,000 low-cost solar lights to poor families. "Our partnership with Sun24 is easing a great need of the poorest of poor in my country," said Father Michael Mukasa, Caritas Kiyinda Mityana Diocese, Uganda. Under this expanded partnership, all 22 dioceses in Uganda will receive 2,000 solar lights, free of cost, to distribute to families without electricity. The Church will sell the lights at a very low price, enabling it to purchase more lights to distribute. By not buying kerosene, the families will save far more the than the purchase price. "With its unparalleled infrastructure, the Catholic Church distributes to the poorest of poor in the most remote areas," said Kevin McLean, President of Sun24. "These families have no access to quality solar products." The small solar light a self-contained unit with an LED light in front, a solar panel on the back, and a battery inside. It is twice a bright as the kerosene lamp it replaces, provides four hours of light per night, and lasts over three years. "We are transparent in partnering with the Catholic Church," said McLean. "We hope others copy and even improve upon our model." 600 million sub-Saharan Africans lack electricity. Most use filthy kerosene lamps that are unhealthy (lung disease), dangerous (fires) and expensive (for fuel). Kerosene lamps have an outsized impact on climate change, emitting both carbon dioxide and black carbon. "There are no magic bullets that will solve all of our greenhouse gas problems, but replacing kerosene lamps is low-hanging fruit," Kirk R. Smith, renowned environmental scientist. "In my diocese, few homes have electricity. Kerosene lamps cause many fires and lung disease. Kerosene is expensive. The Sun24 solar lights are a blessing," said Father Emmanuel Tamale, Kiyinda Mityana Diocese in Uganda. About Sun24: Sun24 is a non-faith based nonprofit that has distributed, or committed to distribute, over 170,000 solar lights in Africa. For more visit sun24.solar About Caritas Uganda: is the social service arm of the Catholic Church. Contact: Kevin McLean, President Sun24, +1-813-505-3340, [email protected] SOURCE Sun24 Related Links https://sun24.solar/ Opening Detroit's economy to exports can help revitalize and boost its ailing economy. Export Portal is lending its hand to Detroit small businesses, farmers, and entrepreneurs who are seeking new ways of reaching out to a global audience. As an online marketplace with a global clientele of buyers seeking high-quality products from the US, verified sellers and manufacturers use the portal as their online showroom. According to Export Portal CEO Ally Spinu, "We fully support and encourage entrepreneurs who are expanding their market internationally. This is an amazing opportunity for the people of Detroit, the United States, and the rest of the world to take advantage of the burgeoning technology in this private blockchain trade space." Export Portal encourages the State of Michigan as well as businesses, farmers, and entrepreneurs across the nation to invest its resources on exporting quality products to the rest of the world. Entrepreneurs who have never exported to foreign markets can generate employment through the Export Portal ecosystem. Export Portal utilizes the best private blockchain trade solution to help secure a safer, smoother, and faster transactions on a global scale. This private blockchain system protects thousands of businesses from being hacked or scammed by fraudulent companies. A private blockchain system prevents previous instances of international transactions where an entrepreneur lost $24,000 because a manufacturer provided subpar, unverified products. A future Detroit conference is set to call on all Detroit businesses to explore the growing Chinese middle class and take advantage of the "China opportunity". Unlike some e-commerce companies that do not have proper business and product quality assurance, Export Portal uses a meticulous verification process and guarantees its buyers that the businesses they trade with and products they purchase are all verified. Their system ensures that while all information is disseminated to all parties involved, the details are protected and tamperproof. The rapidly growing Chinese middle class market cannot wait for top quality American-made products. Export Portal is on the forward tip of the Fourth Industrial Revolution changing the way all businesses worldwide can trust one another because it is in the DNA of our platform. EXPORT PORTAL - THE ONLINE TRADING WEBSITE WITH BUYER PROTECTION For more information, visit ExportPortal.com or call at (800) 289-0015. Contact: John Zahaitis Telephone: (800) 289-0015 Email: [email protected] Website: http://exportportal.com/ SOURCE ExportPortal.com Related Links http://exportportal.com DUNDEE, Scotland, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Exscientia, an innovative company at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery, is delighted to announce that its Chief Executive Officer Andrew Hopkins has been named Chemistry World 'Entrepreneur of the Year'. Chief Technology Officer, Jeremy Besnard also won the 'Rising Star in Industry' Award at the Chemistry Means Business 2017 Awards, hosted by the UK Royal Society of Chemistry in Manchester this week. The 'Chemistry Means Business' Awards are an annual flagship event for the industry, which bring together start-ups, small and medium enterprises, multinational organisations, and academic entrepreneurs from across the UK and Europe to celebrate the achievements of the industry's most innovative key players. Award winners are chosen by a panel of senior scientists and industry executives, and selected for their contribution to innovation and commercial success. Exscientia's CEO, Andrew Hopkins said, "Jeremy and I are thrilled to have been given these prestigious awards from the Royal Society of Chemistry. This is great recognition of the world-class science we have developed at Exscientia; and the exciting progress this science has enabled us to make in accelerating the drug discovery process in many disease areas. I am particularly pleased for Jeremy, a co-inventor of the original Exscientia technology; therefore his award is richly deserved." About Exscientia Exscientia is at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery and design. By fusing the power of AI with the discovery experience of seasoned drug hunters, we are the first company to automate drug design, surpassing conventional approaches. Our innovative platform enables breakthrough productivity gains with new approaches to improve drug efficacy. It is delivering a pipeline of efficacious, bispecific small molecules, as well as highly selective single target candidates, for multiple indications. Each bispecific small molecule is a single compound with integrated pharmacology against two distinct targets. This offers an innovative strategy to address efficacy challenges. Exscientia has also extended its capabilities to phenotypic-driven drug discovery, where complex disease profiles are addressed. Exscientia is developing candidate molecules through collaborations with leading biopharmaceutical companies; current partners include Evotec (immuno-oncology), Sanofi (metabolic diseases), Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals (CNS). For more information, visit http://www.exscientia.co.uk or follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/exscientialtd About the Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry is the world's leading chemistry community, advancing excellence in the chemical sciences. With over 54,000 members and a knowledge business that spans the globe, we are the UK's professional body for chemical scientists; a not-for-profit organisation with 175 years of history and an international vision for the future. We promote, support and celebrate chemistry. We work to shape the future of the chemical sciences - for the benefit of science and humanity. About Chemistry Means Business Chemistry Means Business, held on 13-14 June 2017, is the Royal Society of Chemistry's flagship event for the chemistry-using industry, uniting SMEs, multinational organisations, investors and academic entrepreneurs from across the UK and Europe. It is an open event, comprising of talks, workshops, panel discussions, partnering meetings, and an awards ceremony. To find out more about the Industry & Technology awards night at Chemistry Means Business, visit http://rsc.li/awards-night Media Enquiries Mark Swindells - Chief Operating Officer Email: [email protected] Mark Swallow / Pip Batty - Citigate Dewe Rogerson Email: [email protected] Tel: +44(0)20-7638-9571 Images available on request SOURCE Exscientia HARRISBURG, Pa., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This is the final weekend for the PA Tax Amnesty program. Individuals and businesses have until midnight, June 19 to pay delinquent taxes and have all penalties and half the interest waived, Acting Secretary of Revenue C. Daniel Hassell said today. "The clock is ticking for those with back taxes to visit backtax.pa.gov or call 844-727-8283 to take advantage of this program," said Hassell. "We encourage anyone with delinquent state taxes to apply now and settle their debt with the state." The program will not be extended and after June 19, 2017, a five percent penalty will be added to the amount owed. The department will also continue enforcement actions that recover nearly $600 million a year. An application and full payment must be received by midnight, June 19, 2017, to be considered for tax amnesty. Payment is accepted by check, money order, credit/debit card, or electronic funds transfer. The program offers tax amnesty to more than 30 taxes administered by the Department of Revenue including the corporate net income tax, employer withholding tax, sales tax, and personal income tax. The tax amnesty began on April 21 to provide an estimated $100 million in net revenue for the current year fiscal budget. Notices about tax amnesty were mailed to delinquent taxpayers from all Pennsylvania counties and every U.S. state. As an incentive to those who have been flying under the radar, individuals and businesses with tax liabilities unknown to the department only have to file and pay taxes dating back to Jan 1, 2011. Taxpayers can apply or get more information at backtax.pa.gov or by calling 844-PA-STATE-TAX (1-844-727-8283). The call center has extended hours and is available Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Monday from 8:00 a.m. to midnight. MEDIA CONTACT: Kevin Hensil, 717-787-6960 Editor's Note: Click here to download broadcast quality video for use in your stories. Click here for additional information regarding the 2017 Tax Amnesty Program. SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Related Links http://www.state.pa.us AutoGravity joined forces with the Fletcher Jones Auto Group to launch FJ Drive, the nation's first and only mobile app that allows customers to secure financing for any new Mercedes-Benz right on their smartphone. Real time inventory extends the partnership by empowering users to shop for specific vehicles sitting on the dealership lot. Guests can choose any Mercedes-Benz model and browse all available cars for their store of choice. Easy to use filters, including model year, body type and color, make finding cars simple and intuitive. Guests apply for financing and review their lease or loan offer in the app before picking up their car at the Fletcher Jones showroom. "AutoGravity works with leading dealer groups that share our passion building cutting-edge technology to reinvent the car shopping and financing experience in an increasingly digital world," said Andy Hinrichs, founder and CEO of AutoGravity. "We are excited to bring inventory to FJ Drive, making it more convenient to access seamless digital car financing anywhere and anytime." Based in Irvine, California, AutoGravity uses industry-leading technology to revolutionize auto financing by connecting car shoppers directly with top lenders and dealers. With AutoGravity, car shoppers can apply for financing on their smartphones and see up to four personalized auto finance offers within minutes. AutoGravity empowers car buyers to walk into the dealership with offers in hand. "Fletcher Jones is a leader in innovation. We blaze the trail by enhancing our world-class in store experience with cutting-edge technology that puts our guests in the driver's seat," said Keith May, President of Fletcher Jones. "We constantly strive to enhance our world-class in store buying experience with this latest innovative technology, giving our guests even more real-time information to make their bespoke purchase decision." AutoGravity is reinventing the car financing journey through AutoGravity branded iOS, Android and Web apps, and partners with select OEMs, lenders and dealerships to offer branded experiences, powered by AutoGravity. Both FJ Drive and AutoGravity are available for download on Apple devices from the App Store and Android devices from the Google Play Store. About AutoGravity AutoGravity is revolutionizing the way people buy and finance cars. Harnessing the power of the smartphone, AutoGravity technology provides a new level of transparency, convenience and speed to the car shopping and financing process. AutoGravity partners with the world's leading banks and financial services companies to give car buyers direct control over their car financing options while connecting them to a nationwide network of trusted car dealerships. Available on iOS, Android and Web, AutoGravity empowers car buyers with up to four binding offers in minutes. Based in Irvine, California, AutoGravity was founded by an international team of digital natives and auto industry veterans. For more information on AutoGravity, please visit www.autogravity.com and follow @AutoGravityHQ on Twitter. About Fletcher Jones Motorcars With nine Mercedes-Benz centers including the Nation's #1 Mercedes-Benz dealer, Fletcher Jones Motorcars of Newport Beach, Fletcher Jones Auto Group spans four states and seventeen dealerships. Pioneering a revolutionary approach in which "guests", not "customers," are treated with a five-star hotel level of experience, Fletcher Jones' drive for innovation and excellence is now extended with a FJ app providing convenience. SOURCE AutoGravity Related Links https://www.autogravity.com DALLAS, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Generational Capital Markets, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce The M&A Advisor honored the company with the Private Equity Deal of the Year Award (from $10MM - $50MM) at the 9th Annual International M&A Awards on June 12, 2017, in New York City. The recognized deal was the acquisition of Generational Capital Markets (GCM) client Dock Edge +, Inc., by Canada Metal (Pacific) Ltd., a subsidiary of Branford Castle Partners. The deal closed on September 12, 2016. GCM Managing Director Chris Heckert advised Dock Edge + in the transaction. "I am honored by this award," said Heckert. "This transaction was a great example of the benefits of international M&A and I look forward to seeing this partnership continue to grow." The M&A Advisor is the world's premier think tank and leadership organization for M&A, restructuring and corporate finance professionals. It hosts the International M&A Awards every year to recognize the top international deals, dealmakers and firms conducting important transactions in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Australia. This year's finalists were from more than 60 companies and represented every major market in the world. An independent judging committee of 23 top M&A industry experts determined the ultimate recipients of the awards. "Since the introduction of the International M&A Awards in 2009, we have continued to witness the growth of cross-border M&A outpace that of domestic dealmaking volume. And we attribute this to the new generation of global M&A experts whose intimate knowledge and expertise in the cultural, financial and legal arenas are redefining our industry," said David Fergusson, President and Co-CEO of The M&A Advisor. "The 2017 International M&A Award winners represent the best of the international M&A industry in 2016 who earned these honors by standing out in a group of very impressive finalists." GCM President Brenen Hofstadter added, "Hearty congratulations to Chris! The deal was tough, and the competition in this award category was even tougher. It was great to be there to see him receive this prestigious award." About Generational Capital Markets Generational Capital, LLC is a Dallas, Texas-based merger & acquisition advisory firm. Generational Capital wholly owns Generational Capital Markets, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. More information can be found at www.gencm.com. Generational Capital and Generational Capital Markets are part of the Generational Group and are affiliated with Generational Equity, LLC. Generational Equity's website is www.genequityco.com and its online newsroom is www.gecpress.com. GCM received The M&A Advisor's 2016 Corporate and Strategic Acquisition of the Year Award, as well as the 2016 Materials Deal of the Year for its work on the Stern Rubber Company transaction. It has also been recognized for the 2016 M&A Deal of the Year (for deals valued $10mm - $25mm) for the acquisition of Pro Trans Logistics Inc. by Action Resources. For more information: Carl Doerksen 972-232-1125 [email protected] SOURCE Generational Capital Markets Related Links http://www.genequityco.com Omaha, Nebraska, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Susan Butera is ready to take the marketing efforts of AccuQuilt to the next level as Chief Marketing Officer. Butera brings with her over 15 years of experience in brand building as well as a passion for brand strategy to the company. She says, The team here at AccuQuilt has done a great job at setting a strong foundation and moving the business forward down the field. I am excited to help them get the ball through the goal line. Susan knows a thing or two about branding and marketing. She began her career at BBDO Worldwide, the well-known NYC Advertising agency, working on such brands as Hellmanns Mayonnaise, Pizza Hut, Pepsi, and GE. She brings her know-how with her to this position as CMO of AccuQuilt. When asked how she approaches branding a company, she replied, For a brand to be successful, it must have a story to tell. My approach to branding is to amplify that story. Some may think that AccuQuilt is in the fabric-cutting business, but I believe it is in the story-telling and memory-making business, because quilts tell stories and preserve a moment in time. Her last position before joining AccuQuilt was as Vice President of Marketing at Edible Arrangements where she was responsible for overseeing all brand marketing initiatives. That included national advertising strategy and implementation, PR, and social media. She partnered with many other divisions of the organization to align and exceed corporate sales objectives. AccuQuilt President Greg Gaggini said, Were thrilled to welcome Susan to AccuQuilt, and feel certain shell drive our marketing strategy to exciting new places. Shes a great fit for the company. When asked what the most important thing shes learned in her career so far, Susan summed up her philosophy and gave a peek into the reasons behind her success by replying, That the customer will always guide you on where and how far you can go. It is important to move with your customer, and not fight against your customers natural trend. About AccuQuiltBetter Cuts Make Better Quilts Headquartered in Omaha, Neb., AccuQuilt offers quilters, fabric crafters and retailers a premiere line of fabric cutters, dies, quilting patterns, and other quilt and fabric cutting solutions that help quilters quickly and accurately cut shapes for quilting and fabric crafts. AccuQuilt also offers quilters a wide variety of rich educational resources to enhance their quilting experiences. Cutting with AccuQuilt cutters is a natural evolution of fabric cutting methods. First scissorsthen rotaryfinallyAccuQuilt for fast, easy, accurate fabric cutting. For more information, visit accuquilt.com or call 888.258.7913. Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e1d33c4a-0076-48fe-9c6b-2b1460b5feb1 DALLAS, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the sale of its client, Cubed Group Inc., to CompassMSP LLC, a company backed by a number of private equity investors. The acquisition closed March 2, 2017. Details were not disclosed. Cubed Group, based in Coral Gables, Florida, is a full-service provider of managed information technology, hardware, and networking solutions. Founded in 2004, it offers enterprise-level IT practices and solutions to small and medium businesses. "We are proud of what we have built at Cubed Group, and we are delighted to join the CompassMSP team to continue our growth," said Cubed Group CEO William Sanchez. "We are an extension of our customers' operations team we're their IT and telecom partners and this combination with Compass will enable us to continue delivering high quality services to our customers including in the area of cloud services and security services." Sanchez will stay on with CompassMSP as Regional Vice President, Miami. CompassMSP, a portfolio company of Bilgola Capital and other investors, entrepreneurs and technology executives, is an emerging managed service provider (MSP) that provides comprehensive managed IT, private/public cloud, and cyber security services. In addition to Cubed Group, CompassMSP recently acquired WorldwideIT, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, to unite companies with complementary services and to deliver a broad portfolio of capabilities to small and medium businesses in the southeastern U.S. These acquisitions are part of CompassMSP's plans to build a premier provider of managed services including on-premise, private cloud and public cloud services for small and mid-sized businesses. Generational Equity's Senior Managing Director Terry Stidham established the relationship with Cubed Group, and Managing Director Julie Sandoval's team, led by trusted affiliate Mario Dieckmann with support from Generational Equity VP Rebecca Gruman, successfully closed the deal. "Working with the sellers and buyer was a pleasure," said Dieckmann. "Both sides were articulate and professional throughout the transaction." About Generational Equity Generational Equity, part of the Generational Group headquartered in Dallas with over 200 professionals located throughout North America, helps business owners release the wealth of their business by providing merger, acquisition and strategic growth advisory services. Their four-step approach features exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, and M&A transactional services. The M&A Advisor recently named the company its 2016 Investment Banking Firm of the Year. For more, visit http://www.genequityco.com or the Generational Equity press room. For more information: Carl Doerksen 972-232-1125 [email protected] SOURCE Generational Equity Related Links http://www.genequityco.com DALLAS, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Generational Equity sister company, Generational Capital Markets, Inc. (GCM), Member FINRA/SIPC, was honored by The M&A Advisor with the Private Equity Deal of the Year Award (from $10MM - $50MM) at the 9th Annual International M&A Awards on June 12, 2017, in New York City. "This is a huge achievement, especially given the global competition we faced," said Terry Johnson, Generational Equity Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer. "We're all very proud to work alongside GCM. They're a great success story and a key business in the Generational family of companies. My congratulations to Brenen Hofstadter, Chris Heckert, and the entire GCM team on this well deserved recognition." The award-winning deal was the acquisition of GCM client Dock Edge +, Inc., by Canada Metal (Pacific) Ltd., a subsidiary of Branford Castle Partners. The deal closed on September 12, 2016. GCM Managing Director Chris Heckert advised Dock Edge + in the transaction. "I am honored by this award," said Heckert. "This transaction was a great example of the benefits of international M&A and I look forward to seeing this partnership continue to grow." The M&A Advisor is the world's premier think tank and leadership organization for M&A, restructuring and corporate finance professionals. It hosts the International M&A Awards every year to recognize the top international deals, dealmakers and firms conducting important transactions in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Australia. This year's finalists were from more than 60 companies and represented every major market in the world. An independent judging committee of 23 top M&A industry experts determined the ultimate recipients of the awards. "The 2017 International M&A Award winners represent the best of the international M&A industry in 2016 who earned these honors by standing out in a group of very impressive finalists," said David Fergusson, President and Co-CEO of The M&A Advisor. About Generational Equity Generational Equity, part of the Generational Group headquartered in Dallas with over 200 professionals located throughout North America, helps business owners release the wealth of their business by providing merger, acquisition and strategic growth advisory services. Their four-step approach features exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, and M&A transactional services. The M&A Advisor recently named the company its 2016 Investment Banking Firm of the Year. For more, visit http://www.genequityco.com or the Generational Equity press room. For more information: Carl Doerksen 972-232-1125 [email protected] SOURCE Generational Equity Related Links http://www.genequityco.com BOGOTA, Colombia, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Genius Plaza - an education technology social enterprise working to ignite the genius in every child - launched the Genius Explorer program at Virtual Educa 2017, The International Conference on Education, Professional Training, Innovation, Cooperation and Development taking place in Bogota, Colombia. Genius Explorers is an English language program with courses for students ages seven to sixteen. The blended learning program allows students to become protagonists of their own learning using digital and print resources to learn English, and create their own games, eBooks, videos, and exercises. Earlier this year, Genius Plaza conducted a pilot of the Genius Explorer program in Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Guatemala to evaluate how its blended technology method, developed by certified language arts teachers, could improve learning. Third grade classes using Genius Plaza saw a median percentage impact of 76% increase in performance. Those schools who saw greater impact offered five days of classes, versus two or three. For eighth graders, the median percentage impact was 37%, attributed to similar factors and challenges with reporting. Schools with the smallest increases were higher performing and lower poverty schools. Schools with the greatest increases were lower performing, higher poverty schools. "The research we conducted during the pilot program indicates the Genius Plaza platform had a significant impact for students who are most in need," said Dr. Madlene Hamilton, a research and policy analyst who has worked with Stanford University, University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, and George Washington University, and who worked with Genius Plaza in conducting the research. "The commitment and passion demonstrated in each of the schools we worked with continue to inspire us to provide the best quality content to communities around the world, especially the most underserved," said Ana Roca Castro, Founder and CEO of Genius Plaza. "We gathered key learnings from the pilot which we incorporated into creating this final program, and we are confident that we are offering a solution that will help students learn English effectively." About Genius Plaza Genius Plaza is the first multicultural education company that provides culturally relevant math and language arts resources, combined with a research-based didactic approach, and state-of-the-art parent engagement tools in eight languages. Genius Plaza brands include Plaza Bilingue and Genius Explorers. SOURCE Genius Plaza Related Links http://www.geniusplaza.com WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students at the Fayette County Public Library in Fayetteville, Georgia, will speak with a NASA astronaut living and working aboard the International Space Station at 11:45 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 19. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Expedition 52 Flight Engineer Jack Fischer will answer questions from K5 through 12th grade students from Fayette County and surrounding areas. Fischer launched to the International Space Station in April. He is scheduled to return to Earth in September. As part of its Summer Reading Program, Fayette County Public Library applied to host the downlink, which allows educational organizations to host conversations with astronauts living and working in space. The library's Summer Reading Program theme this year is "Build a Better World." For more information on the downlink, contact Gina Martin at 770-305-5342 or [email protected]. The library is at 1821 Heritage Park Way in Fayetteville. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of NASA Education's STEM on Station activity, which provides a variety of space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators. For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv For more information, videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation Katherine Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1288 [email protected] William Jeffs Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 [email protected] SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov AMSTERDAM, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SaaSplaza has attained the Microsoft Gold competencies for Datacenter, and Cloud Platform for the third year running. The competencies highlight SaaSplaza's unrelenting focus on delivering exceptional Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Azure Services to the worldwide business community. SaaSplaza is committed to enabling digital transformation for our partners and customers by empowering them with agility, efficiencies and differentiations achieved in the Cloud by eliminating limitations. That means serving customers 24/7 in a service minded, insightful, always-on and controlled manner. Our investment in strong competencies is a key part of this commitment. "As a Global 2-Tier Cloud Service Provider, SaaSplaza was at the forefront in adopting the Azure Cloud Service, thus bringing many years of expertise to run business critical applications in hybrid cloud scenarios that leverage the rich features of Azure," says Berend-Jan van Maanen, SaaSplaza CEO. "Today we deliver global solutions in our 13 Azure location across the world, resulting in reduced latency and optimal performance. Making the right choices in design, deployment and ongoing support requires strong competence and attention to detail, and it pays off in improved customer experience and overall cost of ownership. We see strong demand for Disaster Recovery and migrations from on-premise to Azure which accounts for over 70% of our new business, including Dynamics 365 and PaaS services for a variety of applications." "By achieving a gold competency, SaaSplaza has proven its commitment and expertise in specific technology areas, which places them among a small percentage of Microsoft partners worldwide," said Gavriella Schuster, corporate vice president, Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft Corp. "For customers looking for a partner to help meet their unique business needs, choosing a company that has attained Microsoft competencies is a smart move. These organizations have highly qualified experts with access to Microsoft technical support and product teams." "We are extremely proud of achieving Microsoft Gold Partner status for a growing number of Microsoft competencies. It's evidence of our commitment to Microsoft technology. In 2016 SaaSplaza achieved a major milestone to migrate services from our data center in Singapore to Azure in Asia (source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ow6NPmRsGo). The migration resulted in improved application performance and scalability and the project underpins our strong collaboration with Microsoft," says Berend-Jan van Maanen. SaaSplaza also holds the Silver competency for the new Microsoft Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions. Together with the Gold Cloud Platform and Datacenter competencies, SaaSplaza has rock solid expertise in deploying and managing Microsoft Dynamics applications and Azure services. About SaaSplaza SaaSplaza is the world's leading global provider of Microsoft Dynamics Cloud and Azure Services. SaaSplaza enables digital transformation in the cloud for over 800 enterprise customers and Microsoft Dynamics partners around the world, managing more than 1600 Microsoft Dynamics and other business critical applications. SaaSplaza holds several Microsoft Competencies and achieved Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle status for an unprecedented third year in a row, putting the company in the top 1% of Microsoft Dynamics Partners worldwide. SaaSplaza is headquartered in Amsterdam and offers global support from offices in Sydney, Singapore, Shanghai, Munich, San Diego and Toronto. Follow SaaSplaza on Twitter: https://twitter.com/saasplaza @SaaSplaza SOURCE SaaSplaza DALLAS, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Goodnight Midstream, the professional fluids management company, today announces multiple acquisitions and the addition of key personnel to support the Company's on-going expansion in the Permian Basin. Following these transactions, Goodnight now offers produced water gathering and disposal from 10 facilities in seven counties across the basin. Goodnight acquired the produced water gathering and disposal business of Black Mountain Disposal in Glasscock and Reagan Counties, as well as four water disposal facilities formerly operated by MTN Energy strategically located in Andrews, Ector, Gaines and Loving Counties. "The closing of these acquisitions represents a significant milestone in Goodnight's Permian Basin expansion," said Patrick Walker, Chief Executive Officer. "These facilities allow us to support our customers' growing water handling needs as activity continues to increase. The acquired facilities are connected to extensive networks of both producer owned and existing Goodnight owned gathering systems. We look forward to expanding our network of water gathering pipelines and saltwater disposal facilities in the years ahead to meet our customers' goals of driving down lease operating costs while increasing safety and reliability." As a part of its commitment to expand operations in the Permian, Goodnight is pleased to announce the hiring of Mark King as Director of Operations for the Permian Basin. Prior to joining Goodnight Midstream, Mr. King served as Director of Operations for Energy Transfer Partners. King has over 25 years of experience in the Midland region and has a proven track record delivering reliable support to Permian producers. Goodnight's Permian team also includes a growing staff of operators and pumpers to ensure quality of service in support of existing and new facilities under construction. "Mark's leadership qualities and experience will help us to continue to deliver the reliable service that our producers have come to expect from Goodnight," said Rich Rehm, Chief Operating Officer. "As producers accelerate development and expand to larger, more water intensive completions on multi-well pads, they need service providers with redundant, high volume water gathering and disposal capabilities to ensure that their wells keep flowing. Goodnight strives to be the preferred partner in delivering reliability through high quality field personnel, experienced engineering, and a strong balance sheet." The acquisitions were financed by Goodnight's credit facility, operating cash flows and equity investments from Tailwater Capital, LLC, an energy-focused private equity firm based in Dallas. About Goodnight Midstream Goodnight Midstream provides trusted professional fluids management services to its oil and gas producing customers. The Company owns and operates an extensive network of water gathering pipelines and saltwater disposal wells focused on gathering and disposing of produced saltwater for oil and gas producers. Goodnight's midstream approach minimizes environmental impact and improves health and safety while lowering lease operating expense and improving reliability for its customers. Goodnight is supported by a team of highly experienced engineers and operating professionals. In addition to Goodnight's leading position in North Dakota, Goodnight is rapidly expanding in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. For more information, please visit www.goodnightmidstream.com. Contact: Julie Walter [email protected] Goodnight Midstream, LLC SOURCE Goodnight Midstream Related Links http://www.goodnightmidstream.com COLUMBIA, Md., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation today announced that it is collaborating with a top Ivy League University and Catalyst to present a one-hour webinar, Innovating in the Ivy League:How America's Top University Uses Inclusion to Increase Innovation. Research shows that the more inclusive we are, the more innovative we can be. Inclusive leaders create psychological safety for their teams by demonstrating behaviors such as empowerment, accountability, courage and humility. This sense of safety is important for a learning environment and is a critical driver of innovation. This complimentary session will occur on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. ET. The webinar will feature a panel discussion including an Ivy League University representative and an expert from Catalyst, a leading research institution specializing in diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The webinar will focus on how an Ivy League University plans to use inclusion to cultivate innovation among their staff. Panel members include the following: Samira Abdul-Karim , BlessingWhite, A Division of GP Strategies (Facilitator) , BlessingWhite, A Division of GP Strategies (Facilitator) Sarah Staley , Harvard University's Center for Workplace Development (Panelist) , Center for Workplace Development (Panelist) Tolonda M. Tolbert , Ph.D., Catalyst (Panelist) Register to join us today at: http://impact.gpstrategies.com/InnovatingIvyLeagueRegistration. About GP Strategies GP Strategies Corporation is a global performance improvement solutions provider of training, eLearning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers. Additional information may be found at www.gpstrategies.com. 2017 GP Strategies Corporation. All rights reserved. GP Strategies and the GP Strategies logo design are trademarks of GP Strategies Corporation. SOURCE GP Strategies Corporation Related Links http://www.gpworldwide.com GroundTruth's proprietary Blueprints location technology offers customers precise targeting to gauge business health, shape product design and drive sales. To signify the precision and scale of their data, Siegel+Gale developed a new brand positioning that leads with how to create, sell and innovate by building your business off something real - location. Siegel+Gale also developed a new messaging toolkit and digital experience for the GroundTruth brand. "There are countless ways businesses can utilize location data," said Nancy Hansell, strategy director, Siegel+Gale. "GroundTruth's new brand expresses their unique ability to reach people in the moments that matter. That's significant because location reveals your behavior, your priorities and what's truly important in your life. The rebranding effort reinforces how harnessing the power of location reveals customer behaviors, business health and intentions like never before." "When faced with the question of whether to rebrand, we knew we had to jump on the opportunity to elevate our technology and evolve outside the ad tech space," said Monica Ho, chief marketing officer, GroundTruth. "This rebrand comes at a pivotal time in our growth and allows us to tell a bigger story around location, setting us up for the next ten years of innovation." Siegel+Gale developed an identity system inspired by GroundTruth's new brand values: be real, be inventive and be relentless. Visual identity elements include: The logo resembles a location marker and a GT monogram representing GroundTruth's mission to create location as a category; The bright, neon color palette reflects the personality, tone and energy of GroundTruth; Integrated everyday real-world imagery ties into the role of people and place; The sanserif typeface adds a traditional tone to the brands aesthetic; The emoticon toolkit brings a simple character set to life in everyday communications. "We developed an iconic and energetic visual identity for GroundTruth to express what differentiates them: the ability to build off real moments with precision and accuracy to drive business results for customers," said Austyn Stevens, creative director, Siegel+Gale. About GroundTruth (formerly xAd) GroundTruth is a global location technology company that drives results with real data. We believe in the power of place. Build your brand, increase sales and more by building off what real people are doing in the real world, mapped using our proprietary Blueprints technology. GroundTruth delivers superior consumer insights by seeing more people and places than anyone else, with an unrivaled first-party database of 95 million active monthly users and 17 million active daily users, across 100 million places and points of interest. GroundTruth currently serves 21 countries globally. Learn more: www.GroundTruth.com . About Siegel+Gale Siegel+Gale (www.siegelgale.com) is a global brand strategy, design and experience firm. Using facts, intuition and creativity, we blend science with art, unlocking the power of simplicity to help organizations realize their full potential. Since 1969, Siegel+Gale has championed simplicity for leading corporations, nonprofits and government organizations worldwide. We have offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Dubai and Shanghai, but we're willing to fly just about anywhere. We're also not alone. As part of the DAS Group of Companies, we have strong partners all around the world. About the DAS Group of Companies The DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), is a global group of marketing services companies. DAS includes over 200 companies in the following marketing disciplines: specialty, PR, healthcare, CRM, events, promotional marketing, branding and research. Operating through a combination of networks and regional organizations, DAS serves international, regional, national and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries. Contact: Patrick Gough Marketing Director, Siegel+Gale [email protected] 1.212.453.0492 Molly Muldoon Associate Public Relations Director, Siegel+Gale [email protected] 1.212.453.0491 SOURCE Siegel+Gale Related Links http://www.siegelgale.com JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- GuideWell Connect, a leading provider of consumer sales, marketing and engagement solutions for health plans across the country, today announced a partnership with Pareto Intelligence, an affiliate of HealthScape Advisors. Pareto Intelligence is an analytics and technology solutions company that supports health care plans and providers with revenue, cost, quality and risk-adjusted payment models. With the partnership, GuideWell Connect enhances its end-to-end member engagement solution to include analytics and intervention management capabilities to identify and close diagnostic coding gaps, understand member economics and monitor financial performance. "Pareto's relentless focus on illuminating predictable insights and achieving high return on investment fits perfectly with GuideWell Connect's approach to the how, when and why of our member engagement platform," said Mark Stryker, vice president of business development at GuideWell Connect. "By focusing together on activities that drive both health plan financial performance and member health outcomes, we can provide our mutual health plan clients with new levels of accessibility and action in terms of interacting with members." John Steele, managing partner at Pareto Intelligence said, "Pareto's analytic solutions and expert advisory identify and prioritize members to improve risk documentation completeness, and also evolve sales and marketing strategies by pinpointing the key drivers of performance to further shape member retention and acquisition strategies. GuideWell Connect's member engagement engine and approach is a natural extension that combines Pareto's strategy and targeting with GuideWell Connect's proven execution." About Pareto Intelligence Pareto Intelligence's focus is providing health plans and providers actionable solutions to improve financial performance and compliance in regulated and risk-bearing markets. Pareto Intelligence was launched by HealthScape Advisors, a management consulting firm specializing in the business of healthcare. That means Pareto's pedigree is deep expertise and a pragmatic approach to executing solutions. For more information, visit www.ParetoIntel.com. About GuideWell Connect GuideWell Connect applies an end-to-end approach to advancing consumerism in health care, partnering with clients to combine data analytics with next-generation capabilities that drive results. It connects health plans, health systems and provider groups with their customers at the right time and the right channel. GuideWell Connect is a subsidiary of GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation (GuideWell), a not-for-profit mutual holding company and the parent to a family of forward-thinking companies focused on transforming health care. For more information, visit www.GuideWellConnect.com. SOURCE GuideWell Connect Related Links https://www.guidewellconnect.com/ SALT LAKE CITY, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Catalyst, a leader in healthcare data analytics, decision support and outcomes improvement, announced today that Duncan Gallagher has accepted an appointment to the company's Board of Directors, and officially joined the Board of Directors on May 12. Gallagher brings over 30 years of experience as a healthcare CFO and finance leader, including his most recent role as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and CFO of Allina Health, a $4 billion not-for-profit health system based in Minneapolis. Allina Health's more than 90 clinics, 12 hospitals and related healthcare services provide care for nearly 1 million people across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In his seven years as CFO at Allina Health, Gallagher was instrumental in establishing the health system as a national leader in shifting the healthcare payment model from fee-for-service to one based on value and care quality. In the process, Allina demonstrated that the shift not only is better for patients, but can be financially viable for health care systems. "I am thrilled to be joining the board of Health Catalyst, a company that I regard as a trendsetter in enabling the shift to a more sustainable, effective and affordable healthcare system," said Gallagher. "In my time at Allina, we made significant progress with care outcomes improvement and cost savings thanks in part to our unique relationship with Health Catalyst. I look forward to working with the company's leaders to share that experience and help other health systems execute on the historic opportunity to transform healthcare." Allina Health signed a landmark $108 million 10-year shared-risk agreement with Health Catalyst in 2015, creating a national model for the use of data in improving quality and lowering the cost of patient care. Gallagher played a central role in pioneering the outsourcing of Allina's entire analytics department to Health Catalyst while tying the company's profit from the agreement to its delivery of measureable cost savings. "We are thrilled that Duncan accepted our invitation to join the board," said Dan Burton, Chief Executive Officer of Health Catalyst. "He is one of the most capable, forward thinking CFOs in healthcare today, and he shares our view that valuestrustworthiness, integrity, fairness, reliability, predictability and stewardshipare more critical than technical knowledge. We are honored that he has agreed to share his experience and insights by participating on our Board of Directors." Before Allina Health, Gallagher spent 10 years as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating/Financial Officer with Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health, a $4.1 billion not-for-profit healthcare system which owns 21 hospitals and manages several others under contract. Before that, Gallagher was a partner at Big Four accounting firm KPMG. His educational background includes an undergraduate degree from the University of South Dakota, and Master of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. The Health Catalyst Board of Directors now includes the following members in addition to Gallagher and Burton: Board Chairman Fraser Bullock, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor at Sorenson Capital; Michael Dixon, a partner in Sequoia Capital; Promod Haque, Senior Managing Partner of Norwest Venture Partners; Todd Cozzens, Managing Director of Leerink Capital; John A. Kane, former Chief Financial Officer of IDX Systems (now GE Healthcare); Anita Pramoda, CEO and founder of Owned Outcomes; and Dr. Penny Wheeler, President and CEO of Allina Health. About Health Catalyst Health Catalyst is a next-generation data, analytics, and decision support company committed to being a catalyst for massive, sustained improvements in healthcare outcomes. We are the leaders in a new era of advanced predictive analytics for population health and value-based care with a suite of machine learning-driven solutions, decades of outcomes-improvement expertise, and an unparalleled ability to integrate data from across the healthcare ecosystem. Our proven data warehousing and analytics platform helps improve quality, add efficiency and lower costs in support of more than 85 million patients for organizations ranging from the largest US health system to forward-thinking physician practices. Health Catalyst's technology and professional services help to keep patients engaged and healthy in their homes and workplaces, and to optimize their care when it becomes necessary. We are grateful to be recognized by Fortune, Gallup, Glassdoor, Modern Healthcare and a host of others as a "Best Place to Work" in technology and healthcare. Visit www.healthcatalyst.com, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. SOURCE Health Catalyst Related Links http://www.healthcatalyst.com HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) has announced the appointment of Greg Wojciechowski to its Board of Directors. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/159931a4-052e-42c5-a05a-125103f14cf8 Wojciechowski, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) for the past 15 years, joined the BDA Board this month. On behalf of my fellow directors, I am delighted to welcome Greg to the Board, said BDA Chairman Kiernan Bell. He has impeccable credentials and highly relevant experience and knowledge as CEO of the BSX, and is one of the jurisdiction's finest ambassadors. We could not be more pleased to have him join us in our work to empower Bermudas economy, encourage inward investment, and promote Bermudas reputation globally. A Bermudian, Wojciechowski also serves as Chairman of Bermudas Financial Intelligence Agency and ILS Bermuda Ltd, and sits on the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). Im delighted to join the Board of the BDA and work with my fellow directors to drive forward the agencys goals. Hopefully my business-development experience at the BSX will add a beneficial perspective, he said. The BDA plays an essential role in our jurisdictions outreach to attract more business to the countrya mission that impacts all of us. Im proud to help engage other corporate stakeholders to support the critical work BDA is doing for our domestic economy. Under Wojciechowskis leadership, the 46-year-old BSX has driven the development of Bermudas domestic capital market and attracted global capital market support, particularly in the insurance-linked securities and cat-bond sector. The BSX has also garnered numerous international endorsements, and been recognised by the US Securities Exchange Commission, Canadas Ministry of Finance, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, the London Stock Exchange, and the UK governments HM Revenue and Customs, among other bodies. Wojciechowski previously served as the BSXs Chief Operating Officer and prior to joining the Exchange held management positions at several US brokerage firms. He was educated in the US, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. CONNECTING BUSINESS The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business in Bermuda smooth and beneficial. BOSTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Population health management (PHM) models are difficult to develop and replicate due in large part to unique, local market circumstances. This is forcing healthcare organizations (HCO) to begin their PHM journey from different starting points in a complex, diverse, and competitive market. The fragmented, regionalized nature of the healthcare market creates challenges for HCOs and their supporting vendors to deliver consistent, replicable PHM solutions that are scalable across the industry. The PHM road they travel varies accordingly. Amidst the challenges, HCOs are taking a variety of approaches to deploy PHM strategies and models that are producing positive results. Recognizing there will never be a one-size-fits-all model that generates positive outcomes across all metrics, there is much to be learned from these early adopters now that they have been implementing PHM strategies for five or more years. The latest report from Chilmark Research, Driving Speed to Value: Three Diverse Approaches to PHM, delves into three case studies to examine the clinical and technology models in force to enable a PHM strategy. We tackled this research project with a lens toward increasing PHM speed to value and helping to identify optimal health IT (HIT) enablement. This report combines the findings from these case studies with additional primary and secondary research to distill common themes and provide recommendations for other HCOs considering or already deploying a PHM strategy of their own. The approaches taken by our three case study HCOs to PHM highlight a stark contrast in PHM strategies and technology models. Trenton Health Team: Community collaborative and health information exchange that relies on a single-sourced HIT vendor Community collaborative and health information exchange that relies on a single-sourced HIT vendor Partners Healthcare: Large regional health system that has taken an extremely broad build-and-buy HIT portfolio approach Large regional health system that has taken an extremely broad build-and-buy HIT portfolio approach Marshfield Clinical Health System: Vertically integrated health system that has developed and deployed a proprietary electronic health record and PHM integrated technology platform After reviewing the impetus within each organization for initially undertaking a PHM strategy, we then describe their clinical model and outcomes achieved. The report takes a close look into the enabling PHM technology solutions at each organization, reviewing both the timeline for, and the drivers of, technology and vendor decisions that each organization made along their journey. Each case study concludes with the critical lessons learned by each organization. While many factors are external and outside the HCO's power to influence, there are steps an HCO can take to drive speed to value in deployments. HCO recommendations are consolidated in this report around two general themes: Develop Enterprise-Level Thinking Become a Methodology-Driven Organization "To balance the challenges of deploying PHM models, there is a growing body of case studies and industry toolkits to help HCOs just beginning to develop their PHM strategy. HCOs need to be aware of this small but emerging collection of best practices, lest they risk reinventing the wheel at their own cost," said Jennifer Rogers, Chilmark Research analyst and author of this report. "As an industry, we can increase the socialization of toolkits and case studies so that HCOs can more clearly define all aspects of PHM model design. This will in turn enable HCOs to optimally deploy IT and ultimately increase PHM speed to value." Anyone interested in better understanding the factors within HCO control as they consider formulating their PHM strategies, applicable lessons learned and recommendations, as well as a sampling of additional no-cost resources for PHM and VBC best practices, will gain strategic insight from reading Driving Speed to Value: Three Diverse Approaches to PHM. HCOs, payers, healthcare IT vendors, consultants, investors, patient advocates, and others will also benefit from this in-depth research report. The report is available to subscribers of the Chilmark Advisory Service or may be purchased separately. For more information, visit www.chilmarkresearch.com/reports. Direct inquiries for purchase should be addressed to Sean Campbell at [email protected]. There was also a webinar recorded on May 17 available for viewing on the report sales page. About Chilmark Research: Chilmark Research is the only industry analyst firm focusing solely on the most transformational trends in healthcare IT. We combine proven research methodologies with intelligence and insight to provide cogent analyses of the emerging technologies that have the greatest potential to improve healthcare. We do not shy away from making tough calls, and are respected in the industry for our direct and thoughtful commentary. For more information visit: www.chilmarkresearch.com/ Media Contact: Jennifer Rogers [email protected] 801-733-9386 SOURCE Chilmark Research Related Links http://www.chilmarkresearch.com/ NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- HealthStartNJ, established by New Jersey Health Foundation (NJHF) to support student ventures at universities with which it has affiliations, made its first financial investment of $57,000 in DuelPrep, Inc., a startup company working to develop an interactive app to help medical students and physicians study for their medical board exams, announced James M. Golubieski, president of NJHF. DuelPrep, Inc., was founded by Dan Nguyen and Gerard D'Onofrio, 4th year Rutgers New Jersey Medical School students and recent Rutgers Business School MBA graduates. "Studying for medical board exams is a very intense, time consuming experience for medical students and physicians," explained George F. Heinrich, M.D., vice chair and CEO of HealthStartNJ. "The DuelPrep mobile application offers a time efficient, affordable approach to studying using test questions representative of those on the actual exams." According to Mr. D'Onofrio and Mr. Nguyen, participants can engage in either single player practice modes or multiplayer games as they prepare for the standardized exam of their choice. Medical students and physicians are required to pass these examinations before being permitted to practice medicine in the United States. HealthStartNJ funds students involved in health-related research, projects or programs at Kessler Foundation, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Rowan University, Rutgers University and Stevens Institute of Technology. For more information, contact Mike Wiley, vice president, at [email protected] or (908) 731-6612. About New Jersey Health Foundation New Jersey Health Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports health-related research and education programs in New Jersey through HealthStartNJ, its Grants Program and its affiliate, Foundation Venture Capital Group, which makes private equity investments in health-related start- up companies in New Jersey headed toward commercialization. SOURCE New Jersey Health Foundation Related Links http://www.foundationventure.com SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- HelloMD, the nation's largest community of medical cannabis patients, experts and trusted brands, announced that its telemedicine services will be available throughout New York State effective today. This marks the first major expansion of the company's telemedicine services outside of its home base of California. New York's medical cannabis program considers telemedicine visits as valid patient-provider engagements, allowing certified providers to prescribe cannabis-based medicine through this highly efficient mode of doctor-patient consults. HelloMD Announces Launch of Services Into New York State The state of New York has experienced growing pains since opening its program to patients in January 2016. However, with the recent addition of chronic pain to the list of qualifying conditions and a growing supply of certified Doctors, Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses, the program has seen a spike in demand. Other qualifying conditions in New York include cancer, HIV, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies, and Huntington's disease. "The state of New York approved medical marijuana use in 2014, and subsequently passed the New York Telehealth Amendment Act in 2015, but there is still exceptionally limited telemedicine and medical marijuana access presently in New York," said Mark Hadfield, Co-Founder and CEO of HelloMD. "With the extension of HelloMD's services into New York State, we are providing enhanced patient access and experience with highly qualified physicians to all New Yorker's with a qualifying condition, all within the comfort and privacy of the patient's home." HelloMD recently announced the launch of their Product Marketplace, a highly-scalable, retail destination that will allow the 150,000+ members of its health & wellness community to learn about and place orders for medical cannabis products from leading retailers. This new functionality adds to an already robust feature set that enables cannabis patients to connect with doctors, experts and trusted brands, to uncover the right cannabis solution for them. This announcement also comes on the heels of HelloMD's crowdfunding campaign launch with SeedInvest, opening an investment opportunity in the company to any and all interested parties. About HelloMD HelloMD is one of the nation's largest online community of medical cannabis patients, experts, brands and trusted retailers, offering today's cannabis patient a full turnkey experience. At HelloMD.com medical cannabis consumers can consult with a doctor via real-time video, obtain answers to questions from a network of doctors and experts, as well as research then buy cannabis products from within the HelloMD Marketplace. For more information about HelloMD, or to join its growing member community, visit www.hellomd.com or follow us on Facebook (@HelloMDcompany) and Twitter (@HelloMD_com). Media Contacts Michael Litchfield / Jennifer Price E: [email protected] T: 415-793-6618 / 609-638-2558 SOURCE HelloMD Related Links http://www.hellomd.com PUNE, India, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading automotive interior components supplier International Automotive Components (IAC) continues its consistent global expansion and dedication to delivering innovative vehicle interiors with the opening of a new regional and global engineering center in Pune, India. Marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the 2,415-square-meter (25,569-square-foot) facility officially opened today and will focus on application development engineering to support the vehicle interior needs of domestic and global customer programs. This opening increases IAC's presence in India to six locations throughout the country and 28 design, technical, and commercial centers around the world. "The newest IAC facility in Pune will further enhance our global integrated engineering solutions focused on the development of exceptional automotive interiors," said IAC Senior Vice President of Asia Operations Gajanan Gandhe. With the ability to accommodate up to 150 employees, the dedicated engineering facility will provide design engineering and application development support to domestic vehicle manufacturing programs for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), such as Mahindra and Tata, as well as to IAC locations worldwide. The facility opening frees up approximately 650 square meters (7,000 square feet) of space at IAC's existing Chaklan II, India facility, which will be repurposed to expand its manufacturing operations providing additional production capacity and product offerings. "IAC's efforts in India align with our global strategy of providing customers with the regional program support needed, but also allows our North American, European and Asian engineering teams to work around the clock on customer projects," said IAC Chief Operating Officer Terry Gohl during the facility's ribbon cutting event. IAC is driven by a culture of relentless continuous improvement and over the past 12 months has executed steady growth around the world. In addition to the new engineering facility in Pune, IAC broke ground on a manufacturing plant in Poland in February 2017, began production at a new Czech Republic plant in July 2016, and entered the South American market with a new plant in Brazil in June 2016. Event photos are available for download at http://bit.ly/2szWiUg. ABOUT IAC International Automotive Components (IAC) is a leading global supplier of automotive components and systems, including interior and exterior trim. The company's 2016 sales were $6 billion. Headquartered in Luxembourg, IAC Group operates 77 manufacturing facilities in 18 countries. The company has approximately 100 total locations in 21 countries, including 28 design, technical and commercial centers, and employs more than 31,000 people globally. For more information, visit www.iacgroup.com. SOURCE IAC Related Links http://www.iacgroup.com WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Commercial construction is in high demand across the country and contractors are confident in the trajectory of the industry, according to the USG + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index ('Index'), launched today. Nearly all contractors surveyed 96 percent expect revenues to grow or remain stable this year compared to 2016, with 40 percent expecting an increase and only 3 percent expecting a decrease in revenue. The Index is a new quarterly economic indicator designed to gauge what drives the commercial construction industry and its leaders, including specific issues like backlog of work, new business pipeline, revenue projections, workforce issues, and access to financing. Given the sector's importance to the U.S. economy and the outsized role it could play in years to come, the data contained in the Index will be vital to better understanding trends, challenges and opportunities. The research was developed with Dodge Data & Analytics (DD&A), the leading provider of insights and data for the construction industry, by surveying commercial and institutional contractors. "This first-of-its-kind Index was born out of a need to understand the issues that affect commercial construction. The Index will deliver critical insights into the future health of the industry," said Jennifer Scanlon, president and chief executive officer of USG Corporation. "USG is committed to providing solutions for our customers in order to help the entire industry make strong contributions to the U.S. economy. Through the Index we are able to identify areas of strength and pinpoint areas of improvement where industry leaders must focus." Two-thirds (66 percent) of contractors said they expect to employ more workers in the next six months, indicating growth in a sector that employs approximately 3 million Americans. But 61 percent of Index respondents reported difficultly finding skilled workers. The contractors reported the biggest shortages in the concrete, interior finishes/millwork, masonry, electrical and plumbing trades. "The commercial construction industry is a vital engine for the American economy," said Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber. "The projected growth uncovered in this research is good news for employers and workers, but there is reason for concern in the lack of qualified talent available in vital specialties. To get our economy growing to its full potential, we must ensure that we have a workforce that is ready to fill the available jobs. Each quarter, this first-of-its-kind research will make us smarter about future challenges and inform solutions for our country's leaders." The report looks at the results of three leading indicators backlog levels, new business opportunities and revenue forecasts to generate a composite index on a scale of 0-100 that serves as an indicator of health for the contractor segment on a quarterly basis. The Q2 2017 composite index score was 76, representing continued health in the sector. This composite score is up two points from a 74 in the Q1 survey, driven primarily by a bump in the ratio between actual and ideal backlog. New business and revenue results also saw slight increases quarter-over-quarter. The composite scores from the three drivers of confidence were: Backlog: 81, up four points in Q2 over Q1. C ontractors' current average backlog levels represent 81 percent of their ideal backlog levels, up from 77 percent in Q1. On average, contractors currently hold 9.9 months of backlog, while the ideal amount is 12 months. New Business: 77, up two points in Q2. Nearly all contractors continue to report high or moderate confidence in the market. Well over half of contractors (59 percent) reported high confidence in new business over the next 12 months (up from 51 percent in Q1), indicating a shift to higher levels of confidence among some respondents. Revenues: 71, up two points in Q2. An overwhelming 96 percent of contractors expect revenues to grow or remain stable in 2017 over 2016. Of those expecting revenue increases, the actual percentage of expected increases varies widely. Forty percent expect revenue increases of 7 percent or more in the next 12 months. The Index findings are compiled using survey results from contractors within a DD&A panel of more than 2,700 decision makers from across key facets of the commercial construction industry. This first public report was developed using research from previous quarters, which puts into context the state of contractor sentiment in the U.S. building industry. About the Index The USG + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index is a quarterly economic index designed to gauge the outlook for, and resulting confidence in, the commercial construction industry. USG Corporation and the U.S. Chamber produce this Index, along with Dodge Data & Analytics (DD&A). Each quarter, researchers from DD&A source responses from their Contractor Panel of more than 2,700 commercial construction decision-makers in order to better understand their levels of confidence in the industry and other key trends. This panel allows DD&A to provide findings that are representative of the entire U.S. construction industry by geography, size, and type of company. Click here to see the full methodology. Please note the Commercial Construction Index report is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to support an investment decision with respect to USG, nor is it intended to be used for marketing purposes to any existing or prospective investor of USG. This report is not a forecast of future results for USG and actual results of USG may differ materially from those of the commercial construction industry. Where the Index is Available The inaugural Index is, and each quarterly Index published going forward will be, available on the USG website at www.usg.com/news as well as on the website www.CommercialConstructionIndex.com. About the U.S. Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. For more information, visit www.uschamber.com. About USG Corporation USG Corporation is an industry-leading manufacturer of building products and innovative solutions. Headquartered in Chicago, USG serves construction markets around the world through its United States Gypsum Company and USG Interiors, LLC subsidiaries and its international subsidiaries, including its USG Boral Building Products joint venture. Its wall, ceiling, flooring, sheathing and roofing products provide the solutions that enable customers to build the outstanding spaces where people live, work and play. Its USG Boral Building Products joint venture is a leading plasterboard and ceilings producer across Asia, Australasia and the Middle East. For additional information, visit www.usg.com. Contacts: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Megan Van Etten (202) 463-5682 [email protected] USG Corporation Kathleen Prause (312) 436-6607 [email protected] SOURCE U.S. Chamber of Commerce; USG Corporation Related Links http://uschamber.com NEW YORK, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Travel With Us, the 16-year-old Indian Sub-continent specialist tour operator, has opened an office in the New York Metro area and is ready to work with even more US Travel Agents! Managing Director, Shyam Saigal, will now travel back and forth between India and New York, and Marian Goldberg Marketing Communications will now handle public relations and travel industry sales. According Saigal, the New Delhi-headquartered, family-owned and operated, full-service DMC, spanning two generations, "lives by the philosophy that travelling can never be confined to a 'mere visit.'" In other words, Travel With Us goes to great lengths to offer pioneering itineraries to India, Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal, and Sri Lanka with more depth and more complete and fulfilling experiences. In Varanasi, as the sun rises, travelers take an early morning boat excursion on the holy river Ganges to see the bathing Ghats and cremation site. In Udaipur, guests don't just visit the magnificent City Palace overlooking Lake Pichola, they continue 12 miles more to the 8th Century ruins of the Nagda Jain temples. In Jaipur, guests ascend the hill like real Indians, on elephant back, to visit Sheesh Mahal and other palaces within the Amber Fort. In Chennai, tour participants go beyond the sightseeing tour of Mahabalipuram, whose seashore is famous for its 7th Century rock temples; they also meet with silk artisans in nearby Kanchipuram, a city itself famous for its silk and for its 1000 temples dating to the 2nd Century. Additionally, TWU specializes in luxury train excursions: The Golden Chariot, the Palace on Wheels, the Maharaja Express, the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, and the Deccan Odyssey all introduce travelers to the true heritage of India in superior comfort and elegant style. However, in addition to truly knowing their destination and product, the TWU team are experts in planning, logistics, and problem resolution. "They are the extension of their travel agent partners," said Marta Anicic, a Tzell Travel Specialist. Marta used Travel With Us to arrange a 40-person group trip called, "Retracing the steps of Buddha." The tour was led by a renowned meditation master, and Marta was more than satisfied. "TWU arranged internal Indian flights, buses, trains, hotels, entrance fees, meals, anything you can imagine that this high demand group asked for. When one woman on the tour injured her leg in a restaurant, Shyam called her immediately." After she received medical attention, Shyam and his son Mohit, also an employee of the company, stayed with her until, the now rescheduled, flight back took off. "She was denied boarding at first because she told the gate agent that she couldn't walk, but Shyam the successfully resolved that issue as well." Travel With Us creates special itineraries, customized tours, stopover packages, and programs for Meetings, Incentives and Conferences that feature or focus on: Nature & Adventure, Fairs & Festivals, Ayurveda & Yoga, and gourmet & culinary indulgences. They will also arrange just hotel bookings! Pricing varies greatly depending upon the level of service, details & quantity of private experiences, number of travelers, mode of transportation, distance traveled, etc. Travel agent commission starts at 10% and goes up with volume. Net rates for groups are also available. For more information visit: http://www.travelwithusindia.com/ and http://www.trvlwithus.com/ Photos: https://www.prlog.org/12646454 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE Travel With Us to India Related Links http://www.trvlwithus.com SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the initial set of keynote speakers for Open Source Summit North America 2017, taking place September 11-14 in Los Angeles, CA. Open Source Summit is the premier open source technical conference in North America, gathering 2,000+ developers, operators and community leadership professionals to collaborate, share information and learn about the latest in open technologies, including Linux, containers, cloud computing and more. This is the first year for Open Source Summit, which combines the existing LinuxCon, ContainerCon and CloudOpen conferences under a new name with the all new Open Community Conference and Diversity Empowerment Summit. Confirmed keynote speakers include: Jono Bacon , Community Manager, Author, Podcaster , Tanmay Bakshi , 13 year old Algorithm-ist & Cognitive Developer, Author and TEDx Speaker , Bindi Belanger , Executive Program Director, Ticketmaster , Christine Corbett Moran , NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow, CALTECH , Nir Eyal , Behavioral Designer and Bestselling Author of "Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products" , Dan Lyons , FORTUNE columnist and Bestselling Author of "Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Startup Bubble " , " Ross Mauri , General Manager, IBM z Systems & LinuxONE, IBM , Linus Torvalds, Creator of Linux and Git Zeynep Tufekci , Professor, New York Times Writer, Author and Technosociologist , Jim Zemlin , Executive Director, The Linux Foundation The full agenda of sessions will be announced next week. Registration is discounted to $800 through June 24, and academic and hobbyist rates are also available. Applications are also being accepted for diversity and needs-based scholarships. Members of the press who would like to request a complimentary press pass to attend should contact Dan Brown at [email protected]. Open Source Summit North America is made possible by Diamond Sponsors IBM and Intel; Platinum Sponsors Cisco, Google Cloud Platform, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Red Hat and SUSE; and Gold Sponsors Cloud Native Computing Foundation, {code} by Dell EMC, CoreOS and VMware. Additional Resources YouTube: The Linux Foundation Event Experience (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WUeelICQ2U ) LinuxCon North America 2016 Event Recap (https://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/linuxcon-north-america) About The Linux Foundation The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world's top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org. The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Media Contact: Dan Brown The Linux Foundation 415-420-7880 [email protected] SOURCE The Linux Foundation Related Links http://www.linuxfoundation.org SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Intersolar North America, the most-attended solar industry event in North America, will feature new, in-depth conference tracks on solar finance, smart renewable energy and cutting-edge PV and energy storage technologies at its 10th annual event in San Francisco July 10 to 12. High-level conference speakers will discuss key themes, technologies and advancements in the solar and energy storage industries, as well as financial tools and legislative actions currently shaping the North American market. The Intersolar and ees North America conferences will take place at the InterContinental Hotel, and information on the full program and registration is available online. This year, Intersolar and ees North America will offer 41 conference sessions and 20 workshops. Visitors will have a myriad of opportunities to learn about exciting industry topics including technological advancements, financing projects, smart renewable energy (SRE) and more. Drawing on the input from Intersolar and ees' roster of conference partners, the two co-located events will feature a dynamic collection of sessions this year focused on trends currently impacting the solar industry. Key discussion themes at the conferences include: Unique Finance Tools : A new day-long Intersolar Finance Symposium , as well as sessions such as " Financing Energy Storage Projects , " " PV Plants: System Configuration , " " Energy Storage in the Golden State " and the Intersolar Asset Management Summit , this year's event will provide more coverage of solar financing methods than previous years. Emerging Technologies : At discussions like " Ne t Metering and Potential Future Alternatives " and " The Future of PV " p anel s , industry experts will dive into the latest PV and energy storage technologies pushing the boundaries of efficiency and reliability. Smart Renewable Energy : With sessions such as " SRE: Digitalization/ Energy Clouds/Big Data " and " Using Storage to Enable Vehicle Charging , " attendees will gain an inside look at how data and connected systems could boost solar's reach into many aspects of daily life . The "Digitalization/Energy Clouds/Big Data" session looks towards the future, assessing the role of digitalization in an increasingly intelligent energy ecosystem. Industry O pportunities and C hallenges : The policy landscape is constantly changing, and several conference sessions will provide updates on current legislation. For example, the "Net Metering and the Potential Future Alternatives" panel responds to the critical role of net metering thus far in solar development and considers alternative options in the face increasingly restrictive state tariffs. The selection of conference tracks, workshops and panels this year reflect the current challenges and opportunities facing the solar and storage industries and will discuss the strides these markets have made. Additionally, this year's conference also features two one-day, multi-part summits organized in collaboration with the SunSpec Alliance. The four-part Intersolar Finance Symposium will break down the economic benefits of moving to solar-plus-storage, and discusses financially profitable approaches that take into account new revenue streams for grid support and upcoming regulatory shifts. The Intersolar Asset Management Summit, also featuring four sessions, will examine the evolution of asset management, and equip attendees with valuable insight into how to secure investment capital and achieve profitability. Networking Opportunities Connect Solar and Storage Industries In response to popular demand, Intersolar North America increased the number of off-site events and tours this year. These events give attendees the chance to see unique solar installations in action and provide valuable networking opportunities. Intersolar North America attendees can visit some of the largest and most unique microgrids and PV installations in the United States on day trips to Napa Valley and Alcatraz or register for a tour of Tesla's Silicon Valley factory. They can also sign up for the German-American Green Business Breakfast or the Solar Summerfest, a unique networking event and party benefitting the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA). Additional information, including event details and registration, is available online. The current solar landscape is focused heavily on integrating solar and storage in order to increase solar power capacity. Because of this, the partnership between Intersolar North America and ees North America has never been more important. The two stand-alone events bring solar and energy storage professionals together and further advance solar-plus-storage. With the full conference pass, attendees gain access to both the Intersolar and ees conference sessions and proceedings, as well as admission to Solar Summerfest. All Intersolar North America and ees North America attendees are invited to attend the opening ceremony and reception at 5:30pm on July 10 at the Intercontinental Hotel. SOURCE Intersolar North America DALLAS, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ISN is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Perth, Australia on July 1 to meet the growing demand for its contractor management expertise in Western Australia and across the region. With offices in Sydney and Auckland, ISN has had a presence in the Asia Pacific region for almost 10 years. Growing ISN's Presence in Western Australia ISN Opens New Office in Perth, Australia "Our new office in Perth allows us to better serve our expanding customer base in Western Australia," says Brian Callahan, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ISN. "Over the years, we've met with many Australian companies that want to protect the safety of workers on their job sites, and we look forward to helping them improve their contractor management processes." Jenny Buckley, Director of ISN's Australia and New Zealand offices, also says, "Today's leading companies need safe contractors to support their safety culture. With our experience helping Hiring Clients and contractors alike, we've seen what works, and the team in our Perth office is eager to share those best practices." Making Zero Accidents a Reality Between 2003 and 2015, over 3,200 workers lost their lives in work-related incidents in Australia. While the number of yearly fatalities decreased over the 15-year period, an increasing number of companies across industries particularly energy, construction, manufacturing and mining have been partnering with ISN to strengthen their health, safety and environmental (HSE) practices in an effort to make zero accidents a reality. About ISN ISN's contractor management platform, ISNetworld, is one of the leading solutions assisting companies with meeting regulatory and compliance requirements. ISN collects health and safety, procurement, quality and regulatory information for more than 65,000 contractors and 500 Hiring Clients across capital-intensive industries in more than 85 countries. Using ISNetworld as an integral part of their management systems, Hiring Clients are able to connect with safer, more reliable and sustainable contractors and suppliers around the globe. ISN serves as a forum for sharing industry best practices and benchmarking resources, leading efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of contractor management systems. For more information, visit www.isn.com. Contact Brian Callahan Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer +1 214 303 4900 Toll-free USA 1800 158 131 Free-call Australia [email protected] SOURCE ISN Related Links http://www.isnetworld.com CIAM Pioneer One of Two Providers that "Lead the Pack" with Highest Score Possible In Privacy Controls, Analytics and CIAM Vision, Among Others PORTLAND, Ore., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Janrain, the company that pioneered the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, today announced it has been named a leader in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)--evaluated in both current offering and strategy--by independent research firm Forrester in The Forrester Wave: Customer Identity and Access Management Q2 2017. Janrain manages more than 1.5 billion consumer identities for 2,100+ global brands across a wide range of global industries, including banking, insurance, manufacturing, retail, healthcare/life sciences, media/communications, travel/transportation, and utilities/energy. The report recognizes Janrain as an early entrant in the CIAM market, having been founded in 2002. Janrain has a CIAM vision that is "more differentiated than other solutions" in this report while supporting "a broad range of security certifications including SOC2 and Privacy Shield." Janrain, the only CIAM provider to obtain the CSA Security, Trust & Assurance Registry (STAR) Level 2 certification, has also obtained independent certification of its privacy practices from TRUSTe, having met all the criteria for a clean SOC2 Type II audit for Security, Confidentiality and Availability Trust Principles. Other certifications include ISO/IEC 27001:2013, the HIPAA/HITECH Security Rule, and soon PCI. "We believe the Forrester Wave report on CIAM clearly validates Janrain's industry leadership, especially in the areas of security, privacy and scalability as we continue to break new ground with an ongoing series of industry firsts," said Jim Kaskade, CEO of Janrain. "Not only is Janrain the first CIAM provider to be GDPR ready, the first to provide Consent Lifecycle Management for GDPR, and the first to integrate a fraud score into a CIAM solution, but we're the only CIAM provider to support its clients in 65 countries with 200+ cloud data centers, while offering 99.999% availability for its clients' mission critical applications." With respect to strategy and market presence, Janrain earned scores of 4 or 5 (out of 5) for the following criteria: CIAM vision Partner ecosystem CIAM installed base Verticals and geographies In terms of current offering, Janrain earned scores of 4 or 5 for the following criteria: Social registration and login Privacy controls Analytics Integration and APIs Scalability and availability Administration Security certifications and standards support "Getting such marks from Forrester and other important research firms shows you can't select a CIAM vendor without considering Janrain. Couple this with our ongoing list of industry-first innovations and proven impact we have on our client businesses, this should render the vendor selection decision a much easier one," Kaskade added. "Our clients report a 60% reduced threat exposure, 10X improvement in customer experience, 3X boost in registrations and login activity, and 50% reduced time to market for application developers. This is what drives Janrain's success. If you need a CIAM vendor that satisfies complex, global, and mission critical requirements, we're your only choice." For more information about this report, please visit: About Janrain Founded in 2002, Janrain pioneered Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) and is widely recognized by industry analysts as a global CIAM leader. The Janrain Identity Cloud provides identity management, security and activation solutions that enable seamless and safe customer experiences across their digitally connected world, while providing enterprise organizations with deep customer insights. Janrain's identity capabilities include social and traditional login and registration, single sign-on, customer profile data storage and management, customer segments, customer insights and engagement solutions. The company powers brands like Pfizer, Samsung, Whole Foods, Fox News, Philips, McDonald's and Dr Pepper. Janrain is based in Portland, Oregon, with offices in London, Paris and Silicon Valley. For more information, please visit www.janrain.com and follow @janrain. Media Contact: Chris Blake MSR Communications Phone: 1-415-989-9000 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Janrain Related Links http://www.janrain.com Boston, MA, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Baker-Polito Administration, along with Jewish Vocational Service (JVS), and Social Finance, a Boston-based non-profit, launched the Massachusetts Pathways to Economic Advancement Project, a Pay for Success (PFS) initiative that will help limited English speakers in Greater Boston make successful transitions to employment, higher wage jobs, and higher education. One of our administrations top priorities has been to expand workforce development opportunities for everyone in the Commonwealth and to help individuals obtain the skills needed to participate in Massachusetts nation-leading innovation economy, said Governor Charlie Baker. The Pathways to Economic Advancement Project is a forward-thinking public-private partnership that will help match employers with potential employees, and employees with the skills employers need, strengthening the Commonwealths workforce. Providing critical English-language skills and vocational training limited English speakers will bolster our workforce and increase economic development opportunities across the Commonwealth, said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. We are excited for this collaborative program to launch, and look forward to working with our project partners. Shortly after taking office, the Baker-Polito Administration created the cross-secretariat Massachusetts Workforce Skills Cabinet (WSC) to align education, economic development and workforce issues, and to strategize around how to meet employers demand for skilled workers in each region of the state. Through the WSC and initiatives like the Pathways to Economic Advancement Project, the administration has worked to advance economic opportunities for all in Massachusetts. This is another example of our administration's investments to address workforce skills needs across the Commonwealth, said Administration and Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore. The projects funding model is an innovative way to address the workforce skills gap in Massachusetts, and with the results based payment structure, we are ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent in a responsible way. "This is a great example of how a public-private partnership can help close the workforce skills gap using outcome oriented approaches," said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Ronald L. Walker II. Were proud to be the home of the first PFS project dedicated to workforce development, said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash. As a leader in innovation, the Commonwealth understands how important workforce investments are to build a strong, talented workforce and remain competitive. This program will provide limited English speakers with new opportunities to succeed. This innovative program will combine nonprofit expertise, private funding, and independent evaluation to increase access to workforce development services, including vocational training, English language classes, job search assistance, and college-transitioning programming for approximately 2,000 adults over three years. The project is being carried out by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, represented by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, and the Executive Office of Education, in conjunction with partners including JVS, Social Finance, the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (GPL), Economic Mobility Corporation, and Jobs for the Future. PFS provides a tool for results-based government financing, leveraging private capital to fund experienced service providers and enable government to respond to identified needs. Investors are repaid based on the level of measurable success of the program. This data-intensive approach helps governments target funding towards approaches that work, while limiting risk on new policy programs. This is the third PFS initiative launched in Massachusetts, and the first PFS project in the nation to focus exclusively on workforce development. JVS, one of Greater Bostons largest community-based workforce development and adult education providers, will offer four distinct program tracks that draw on its expertise integrating adult education with job readiness and employer relationships. Each program track will accommodate varying language levels, personal resources, employment objectives, and educational goals among program participants. This innovative source of private and public capital, where government pays only for what works, enables JVS to scale our proven workforce development model, reduce waiting lists, and prepare thousands of talented immigrant workers to meet the demands of our booming economy. We are thrilled to be part of the Commonwealths groundbreaking effort to creatively expand funding for high-quality human service delivery, and look forward to successfully delivering great results for our clients, investors, and partners, said Jerry Rubin, President & CEO of JVS. Social Finance raised $12.43 million from 40 investors including financial institutions, donor advised funds, individuals, and foundations, to fund JVS services. "Social Finance is proud to be a part of the nations first Pay for Success project to focus exclusively on workforce development," said Tracy Palandjian, Social Finance co-founder and CEO. "This public private partnership would not have been possible without the support of impact investors committed to using their capital to advance the core values of our country, including Prudential Financial, Maycomb Capital, CJP, Living Cities, and others. This initiative will contribute to the economic mobility of immigrants and refugees and to the vitality of the Massachusetts economy for years to come. Since 2011, GPL has provided technical assistance to the Commonwealth in developing and launching three of the nations 17 Pay for Success projects. The Massachusetts Pay for Success project not only allows the Commonwealth to expand important services for English language learners, it will serve as a model for other jurisdictions seeking innovative solutions to developing their workforce, said Professor Jeffrey Liebman, Malcolm Wiener Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and GPL Director. For more information on the Massachusetts Pathways to Economic Advancement Pay for Success Project, please visit: http://socialfinance.org/content/uploads/MAPathways_FactSheet.pdf For additional quotes from project partners, please visit: http://socialfinance.org/content/uploads/MAPathways_QuoteSheet.pdf ### Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a1fdc858-eed4-4ff8-9a4c-ef434d82e818 The Lifetime Achievement Award is given each year to a leader in Catholic healthcare who has inspired and mentored many others, and whose leadership extends past the Catholic health ministry to influence and impact the community at large. "This award is a wonderful recognition of John's extraordinary leadership and service to Catholic healthcare across America," said Sister Barbara Arceneaux, Regional Minister, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady North American Region. "He is a visionary for innovation, an embodiment of Catholic health values and a voice for the vulnerable. We continue to flourish under his steady guidance and the vast perspective and experience he brings to our ministry in Louisiana." Finan has more than 40 years of experience in healthcare leadership and has served as the CEO of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Louisiana since 1996. He leads the largest Catholic health system in the state, serving over 40 percent of the population. The health system is comprised of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales, St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, Our Lady of the Angels Hospital in Bogalusa, and several nursing homes and outpatient facilities. For decades, Finan has faithfully advanced Catholic healthcare ministry. He is known nationally for his leadership, having served as former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Health Association, Chair of the Board of Governors at the Clinical Center at the NIH, member of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees, and Vice Chair of the Board of Mercy Health System in St. Louis. His influence has also been felt locally through his experience as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and Chair of the Board of Loyola University New Orleans. He is also a member of the boards of the Public Affairs Research Council and Blueprint Louisiana. Finan received a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University at New Orleans and his MBA from Loyola University of the South. About the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System is one the largest healthcare systems in Louisiana and is the leading healthcare provider for more than half the state's population. The health system is a non-profit, Catholic organization sponsored by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we serve patients statewide through a network of hospitals, clinics, physicians, elderly housing and integrated systems. Our five hospitals include Our Lady of the Angels in Bogalusa, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales and St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe. For more information, visit www.fmolhs.org. SOURCE Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System Related Links www.ololrmc.com CINCINNATI, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TradeGlobal, a subsidiary of Singapore Post Limited and a leading provider of global end-to-end eCommerce solutions, today announced that it was selected by KIDBOX to provide scalable fulfillment services. KIDBOX is the first kids' style box offering premier brands, significant savings and a mission to clothe one million children in need. KIDBOX leverages TradeGlobal's extensive logistics network and flexible operations model to meet customers' high expectations for fast and seamless shipping and returns processing. "We chose to work with TradeGlobal because their industry expertise and operational capacity will enable us to deliver a premium experience for our customers well into the future," said Miki Racine Berardelli, Chief Executive Officer of KIDBOX. "Their scalable operations will be a key component of our success as we continue to grow our business and expand our services, brand partnerships and product categories." Founded in 2015, KIDBOX provides parents with more time, while taking the hassle out of shopping and styling. KIDBOX offers brand-name apparel and accessories at unbeatable prices, coupled with a personalized service designed for kids and their unique tastes. In support of its mission to donate clothing to one million children in need throughout the United States, the brand outfits a child in need for every KIDBOX purchased. "KIDBOX is a data science-driven children's apparel service that continues to break new ground," said Blake Vaughn, covering President and COO of TradeGlobal. "Our agile solutions will allow them to expand quickly and efficiently to keep up with demand. We could not be more excited to serve as a catalyst for their growth, and we look forward to what lies ahead for this innovative brand." About TradeGlobal TradeGlobal, a subsidiary of Singapore Post Limited, is a leading end-to-end eCommerce provider, delivering best-in-class solutions to the world's most recognizable fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands. Unifying website development, digital marketing strategies, creative services, omnichannel order management, fulfillment, logistics and customer care across domestic and international boundaries, TradeGlobal provides the technologies and operations that empower businesses of all sizes to evolve and expand. For more information, visit www.tradeglobal.com. About KIDBOX KIDBOX, a VC-backed startup that was founded in 2015, is the first kid's style box to use a data science algorithms to deliver a personalized and curated selection of quality brand-name apparel and accessories. Offering clothing brands that parents know and trust at an average of $14-16 per item, KIDBOX provides convenience, value and quality with risk-free, complimentary at home try-ons for each box. For every KIDBOX purchased, KIDBOX will donate an outfit through a partnership with K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers, the largest non-profit dedicated to collecting and distributing new clothing to children in need in the United States. KIDBOX is headquartered in New York with a Tel Aviv-based tech and data science center. Media Contact: Jessica Ison TradeGlobal [email protected] (513) 830-0117 SOURCE TradeGlobal Related Links http://www.tradeglobal.com ROSWELL, Ga., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark has joined Georgia Tech's Center for the Development and Application of Internet-of-Things Technologies (CDAIT). As a member of this global, non-profit research and development center with a seat on the Executive Advisory Board, Kimberly-Clark will help guide research into the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) marketplace that addresses critical societal issues including privacy, trust, ethics, regulation and policy. This follows the announcement by Kimberly-Clark Professional about Onvation Technology, a smart restroom management system that harnesses the machine-to machine connectivity of IoT to provide customers with up-to-the-minute monitoring of restroom conditions from any device or location, 24 hours a day. Onvation Technology is a patent-protected system that delivers real-time data and alerts so building managers can identify and fix restroom problems before they become complaints. "Onvation Technology is Kimberly-Clark's first foray into the IoT world," explains Renee Pearson, Global Director of IT Innovation. "By joining CDAIT, we are taking an active role in shaping the future of IoT innovation and better understanding how to continue leveraging the convergence of the physical and digital worlds to bring actionable data, analytics and insights to businesses." Kimberly-Clark is building on its long-standing partnership with Georgia Tech, dating back more than 35 years. The two organizations have partnered together from a research perspective, and Kimberly-Clark sponsors key programs within the institution including Women in Engineering, the Renewable BioProducts Institute, the Center for Bio-Inspired Design, and the Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology. Kimberly-Clark employs more than 100 Georgia Tech alumni. "We are looking forward to actively collaborating with Kimberly-Clark's experts in the IoT space," highlights Alain Louchez, Managing Director of CDAIT. "In particular, their significant involvement in the IoT Security and Privacy Working Group will provide a very useful perspective in a complex and critical area." Currently, CDAIT's activities are focused on horizontal domains through six Working Groups, i.e., education and training; start-up ecosystem; thought leadership, security & privacy; standards & management; and research. "Kimberly-Clark has a strong track record of transforming insights and technologies into innovative products and services that improve the lives of nearly a quarter of the world's population," says Clay Mahaffey, Global R&D Director for Kimberly-Clark Professional. "By partnering closely with our fellow CDAIT board members and Georgia Tech's faculty and students, we aim to build on this history of innovation and explore the many dimensions of IoT and their applicability in today's world." "We are honored to welcome Kimberly-Clark to our board," says Jeff Evans, Chair of the CDAIT Executive Advisory Board and Director of the Information and Communications Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. "With their experience and expertise, we'll keep pushing IoT research and insights even further." About Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust Kimberly-Clark's brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in 80 countries. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the Company's 145-year history, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter. About CDAIT CDAIT (pronounced "sedate") is a global, non-profit, partner-funded center within the Georgia Institute of Technology ("Georgia Tech") located in Atlanta that fosters interdisciplinary research and education while driving general awareness about the Internet of Things. It aims at efficiently identifying, understanding and solving for its sponsors challenges and problems that may arise along the whole IoT value chain. CDAIT bridges sponsors with Georgia Tech faculty and researchers as well as industry members with similar interests. To learn more about CDAIT, visit www.cdait.gatech.edu. [KMB-B] SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Related Links http://www.kimberly-clark.com CHANTILLY, Va., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Koniag Information Security Services, LLC (KSS) announced today that it was awarded a Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) from the General Services Administration (GSA) for SBA Certified 8(a) businesses. KSS received four awards in Constellation I including North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) functional areas: 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services, 541512 Computer Systems Design Services, 541513 Computer Facilities Management Services, and 541519 Other Computer Related Services. KSS specializes in providing Business Optimization, Technology Solutions, and Critical Infrastructure and Physical Security services to its federal government customers. "This contract provides Federal Agencies more access to the specialized services and expertise KSS offers," said Rick Lester, President of Koniag Information Security Services, LLC. The 8(a) STARS II GWAC is designed to promote small business utilization when purchasing information technology (IT) services or IT services-based solutions for the federal government. This program is reserved exclusively for 8(a) small business concerns. Federal agencies can issue task orders under the $4 Million competitive threshold on a sole-source basis. Benefits of using the GSA 8(a) STARS II GWAC include: 8(a) socioeconomic credit transferrable to the agency Access to prequalified 8(a) small, disadvantaged businesses Shortened procurement lead time A low contract access fee (0.75 percent) built into the ceiling prices About Koniag Information Security Services, LLC. Koniag Information Security Services, LLC (KSS) an SBA 8(a) certified Alaska Native Company (ANC) provides high-end technical support services for a variety of requirements including: Telecommunications & Special Applications, Data Analytics, Data Integration, Software Development, Cyber Security, Emergency preparedness and Physical Security. We have built a reputation for consistent performance and forging long term partnerships with our clients. For more information, please visit www.koniaggss.com. Media Contact: MaryAnn Hoadley Koniag Government Services 703-488-9303 [email protected] SOURCE Koniag Information Security Services, LLC Related Links http://www.koniaggss.com LOS ANGELES, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lear Capital, Inc., a leading provider since 1997 of premium coin acquisitions including gold and silver for individual investors, today announced that it has appointed effective immediately John Ohanesian as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Ohanesian will provide day to day leadership for Lear's overall business operations as well as work closely with the Board and Founder Kevin DeMeritt on Lear's strategic focus and future growth. "We are thrilled to welcome John Ohanesian, a highly-regarded leader in the direct to consumer marketing and sales industry, to Lear," said Mr. DeMeritt. "John's proven leadership and experience in all facets of business from new business/product development through strategy formulation and market expansion will further enhance Lear's market share and breadth of offerings. The combination of John's expertise, Lear's current portfolio of products coupled with Lear's existing creative and organizational strength, all of which leverage our proprietary market driven approach, is powerful, and we look forward to John's contributions to its growth." "The demonstrated effectiveness of Lear's go to market strategy and history of consumer satisfaction attracted me to the Company," said John Ohanesian. "I've spent my entire professional life in the direct to consumer industry and I believe the marketing and strategic opportunities supporting the Lear product line is more than compelling. I'm excited to accept this opportunity to lead Lear to its full potential." Mr. Ohanesian is a true expert in the direct to consumer arena, having led the transformation of Bosley, Inc., from a small private business into the worldwide leading brand in hair restoration. During his 20-years at Bosley as President & CEO, Mr. Ohanesian was responsible for growing the brand to over 90 markets, leading expansion into international territories including Canada, Mexico, and Japan. It was also his business creativity which grew the Bosley line of hair care products into 35,000 salons across North America. Never one to rest on past success, Mr. Ohanesian continued to evolve the Bosley business model to adapt to a changing economy, consumer preferences, and new technology. While at Bosley, he established as Co-Founder & CEO the Aderans Research Institute, Inc., the research and development arm of Bosley. Focusing on follicular regenerative medicine, Aderans deployed a team of scientists, engineers, and administrators to oversee pre-clinical trials as well as Phase I and Phase II FDA clinical trials that resulted in two critical approvals. For the last 6 years Mr. Ohanesian has served as CEO of Cosmedica, LLC, which he founded to promote and market products in the direct-to-consumer, advertising-driven, appointment-based retail medicine space with a particular focus on aesthetics, beauty, and wellness industries. Mr. Ohanesian also currently serves as the strategic advisor to a number of companies including Theradome, Inc., a medical device company located in Silicon Valley, focused on laser-based hair restoration therapies utilizing a direct to consumer marketing strategy. Its signature product, the LH 80PRO, is the only clinical grade FDA-cleared women's over-the-counter device for individual use. Mr. Ohanesian is a graduate of Sonoma State University; he also earned a Masters, from California State University, Long Beach. As an active member of the philanthropic community, Mr. Ohanesian notably served as the Administrator, Olympic Health Services (1982-84), for the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, CA. More recently, Mr. Ohanesian has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Center Theatre Group, City of Hope National Cancer Institute/Beckman Research Center; and The Archer School for Girls in Brentwood (Los Angeles), Ca., and currently serves as a member of the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation based in Seattle. Lear Capital has assisted individual investors diversify into physical gold & silver with over $2 Billion in trusted transactions, earning an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a Four Star Rating on Trustlink.org. Lear has unparalleled expertise with bullion and premium coin acquisition and with adding gold or silver to existing IRA or 401(k) accounts. Lear takes pride in our VIP service, and the research team provides special reports and data to get answers to frequently asked questions. Contact: Mary Boston 805-907-8224 SOURCE Lear Capital NORTHBROOK, Ill., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- M. Holland Company, a leading distributor of thermoplastic resin, today introduced its MHX digital platform, a unique digital toolbox designed to help M. Holland customers manage their business. MHX (acronym for "M. Holland Experience") is an online platform that gives customers unprecedented access to business and ordering information, including order history, price approximation, weight data, Certificates of Analysis, and more. "As our customers' personal lives are continuously made more convenient by digital experiences, M. Holland is bringing similar levels of connectedness to the professional setting," said Edward Holland, president and CEO of M. Holland. "We take plastics personally, and have designed MHX to be just thata personal experience between our customers and our company." "What makes MHX unique is how it was designed," said Marc Fern, commercial vice president at M. Holland. "We employed User Centered Design (UCD) techniques, with customers directly involved in its design and testing. We're automating the high-frequency tasks involved in managing transactions, literally putting our customers' business at their fingertips." The initial launch of MHX will deliver: Anytime access to order history Consolidated pricing approximation and weight data Purchase order and sales order information Order tracking, including order status, facility destination, and confirmed delivery dates Order information, such as product details, price, and weight Invoice information Certificates of Analysis Shared visibility with customer service representatives, enhancing communications. "This is just the beginning of an exciting digital journey," added Fern. "We have a large catalog of additional tools and capabilities we'll be adding to the initial MHX platform in the months and years ahead. Our ultimate vision is for MHX to become a seamless connection between M. Holland and our customers and suppliers." MHX is immediately available to M. Holland customers. Email [email protected] or call 800.229.6333 for details. ABOUT M. HOLLAND M. Holland is the largest privately held international distributor of plastic resin. We help suppliers find the most strategic channels for their material, help customers improve their sourcing and supply chains, and help our people lead rewarding careers. Since 1950, a deep commitment to personal relationships has formed the core of our heritage, our culture, and our vision. Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, M. Holland sells in excess of 1.4 billion pounds of resin to more than 4,000 customers annually. To learn more, visit www.mholland.com. Follow M. Holland on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. CONTACT Caitlin New INK (for M. Holland) [email protected] 512.382.8990 SOURCE M. Holland Company Related Links http://www.mholland.com NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Madison Realty Capital (MRC), an institutionally-backed real estate investment firm focused on real estate equity and debt investments in the middle markets, provided a $23.3 million first mortgage acquisition loan collateralized by a prime mixed-use development site located at 182-188 Spring Street in SoHo. The borrower acquired 182-186 Spring Street through a bankruptcy auction, and closed simultaneously on the adjacent townhouse located at 188 Spring Street, including its air rights. The total consideration for the acquisitions is $31.565 million. "We're seeing an uptick in distress-related financing opportunities that engage the full flexibility and creativity of the MRC platform. In this case, we completed a time sensitive financing transaction to facilitate a complex acquisition that combined a bankruptcy auction purchase with a non-distressed acquisition to create an irreplaceable assemblage," said Josh Zegen, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of MRC. "The deal was presented to MRC because of our successful existing relationship the borrower, and their recent experience with our rapid underwriting and execution capability we closed a $52 million construction loan for them in 2016. We believe this is an incredibly well-located assemblage with great prospects for successful redevelopment into luxury condominiums and class A retail." The borrower plans to build high-end residential units above ground-floor retail space on the assemblage, in a development totaling approximately 37,278 gross square feet. This property, in the highly desirable SoHo neighborhood, is situated in a market with little to no developable land, very limited condo inventory, and limited new retail boxes. The site is located on the corner of Spring Street and Thompson Street, near several renowned restaurants, high-end retail stores, and subways. Existing structures at 182 Spring Street are substantially demolished, and demolition is already complete at 186 Spring Street. 188 Spring Street currently includes a vacant four-story, 2,239 SF, single family townhouse, which is also expected to be demolished. About Madison Realty Capital (MRC) MRC is a New York-based real estate investment firm that pursues real estate equity and debt investments in the middle market. Founded in 2004, MRC has invested in approximately $6.0 billion of transactions in the multifamily, retail, office, industrial and hotel sectors. Media inquiries, contact Great Ink Communications: (212) 741-2977 Tom Nolan [email protected] Eric Waters [email protected] SOURCE Madison Realty Capital MORRISVILLE, N.C., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Magstim Group, Inc., the pioneer in trans-cranial magnetic stimulation and intraoperative nerve monitoring, today announced that it has appointed Lothar Krinke, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Dr. Krinke will serve on the Board of Directors of Magstim. He will be responsible for Magstim and Technomed. Lothar led Medtronic's global Deep Brain Stimulation business as General Manager for six years during a rapid growth phase after heading up several functions in its Neuromodulation business. His experience is broad, including serving as Vice President of Business Development at Celera Genomics, as well as Vice President in AT Kearney's New York office and as Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company. He completed his post-doctoral training at the California Institute of Technology and holds a Ph.D. from the University at Albany. "I am thrilled to join Magstim. Patients suffering from depression urgently need treatment options and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive technology that can help many people around the world. There are many patients that do not know about this option, and we want to change that and give them hope. Magstim has pioneered the field of TMS and intraoperative monitoring for years and I am honored to bring the organization to the next level of excellence," said Krinke. "Lothar will transform Magstim into a world class growth business," said Matt Mackowski, the Chairman of the Board. "His experience leading a global neuromodulation business and his passion for innovation, customer satisfaction and development of high performance teams make him the ideal leader for our company." Telegraph Hill Partners (THP) acquired the Magstim Company in 2015. In 2016, THP also acquired Technomed, a key player in the Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring Business. About Telegraph Hill Partners Telegraph Hill Partners, based in San Francisco, CA, is a private equity investment firm specializing in life science and medical device businesses. The firm targets investments in private companies that demonstrate strong financial performance and innovative products or services. Additional information can be found at http://www.thpartners.net/. About Magstim Magstim is the leading provider in advanced Neurostimulation products, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation solutions, tDCS and Neuronavigation. The company's trans-cranial magnetic stimulation device has FDA approval for treatment of major depressive disorder. Additional information can be found at http://www.magstim.com/ About Technomed Technomed is an innovator in intraoperative nerve monitoring accessories, and has over 35 years experience in development, manufacturing and commercialization of bio-electric accessories. Technomed offers a full line of high-quality electrodes for the IONM, EMG, and EEG markets, and provides turnkey services that transform ideas into customized products. Additional information can be found at http://www.technomed.nl/ For Journalists: Ryan Ferrell [email protected] (312) 506-5202 SOURCE Magstim SPARKS, Md., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- McCormick & Company, Inc. (NYSE: MKC) will conduct a conference call and webcast of its Second Quarter 2017 financial results on Thursday, June 29, 2017, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time. Lawrence Kurzius, Chairman, President & CEO; Mike Smith, Executive Vice President & CFO; and Kasey Jenkins, Vice President Investor Relations will be hosting the call. What: McCormick & Company presentation of Second Quarter Fiscal 2017 Results When: June 29, 2017, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time Where: ir.mccormick.com How: Live over the Internet: Log onto the Web at ir.mccormick.com , click on "Webcast" and follow the directions to listen to the call. If you are unable to attend the live webcast, the presentation will be archived on our web site at ir.mccormick.com. To listen to an audio replay, call 877-660-6853 in the United States or 201-612-7415 internationally. When prompted, enter the conference ID number 13662931. The replay will be available until 12:00 midnight Eastern time on July 20, 2017. About McCormick McCormick & Company, Incorporated is a global leader in flavor. With $4.4 billion in annual sales the company manufactures, markets and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavorful products to the entire food industry retail outlets, food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. Every day, no matter where or what you eat, you can enjoy food flavored by McCormick. McCormick Brings Joy of Flavor to Life. For more information, visit www.mccormickcorporation.com. For information contact: Investor Relations: Kasey Jenkins (410-771-7140 or [email protected]) Corporate Communications: Lori Robinson (410-527-6004 or [email protected]) SOURCE McCormick & Company, Inc. Related Links http://mccormick.com TORONTO, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited (Pink Sheets:POLXF) (the Company) reports financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2018, the period ending April 30, 2017. All figures are reported in U.S. dollars. Q1 ending April 30, 2017 Q1 ending April 30, 2016 Sales 1,260,085 1,457,975 Net Income 149,159 75,808 Income per common share - basic 0.04 0.02 - diluted 0.04 0.02 Weighted avg. common shares Outstanding - basic 3,399,978 3,380,678 - diluted 3,512,178 3,551,311 While management is pleased with the results of the first quarter, with EBITDA increasing to $248,778 compared with $142,404 for the first quarter of fiscal 2017, a strong focus still remains on reducing utility costs while continuing to ensure continuance of sales. Interest from a number of companies, which we believe could turn into a reasonable sales increase and associated profitability, has been revived and promising results are being generated from one potential customer while another new potential customer is also showing strong interest, but of course there is no assurance that these potential sales will be realized. Managements attendance at a recent conference resulted in new potential opportunities which will be explored. Efforts also continue assisting customers with registration of our products which offer the opportunity of increased sales. Financial results will continue to be affected by foreign exchange gains and losses which are beyond managements control. We are very excited about the potential development of our new Dextran product where a number of potential customers have shown interest, said George Usher, President and CEO, adding Our success in maintaining profitability for four years running has been very satisfying, and we plan to continue to reduce operating costs and increase sales going forward. The Companys publicly traded shares continue to be quoted on the OTC Pink Sheet platform (www.otcmarkets.com/stock/POLXF/quote). The company continues full disclosure of its financial and operational results, which can be accessed by visiting the company website at www.Polydex.com. Product information is available at www.dextran.ca. Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited (OTC/Pink:POLXF) (the Company) has completed an amalgamation with two of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Polydex (Chemicals) Canada Limited and Dextran Products Limited, as previously announced in its Annual Information and Disclosure Statement for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2017. The amalgamated entity will continue as Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited. In order to facilitate the amalgamation, the Company previously changed its jurisdiction of incorporation from Bahamas to the Province of Ontario, Canada by filing Articles of Continuance under the Business Corporations Act. As a result of the continuance, the Company is subject to the laws of Ontario as if it had been originally incorporated under Ontario law. The foregoing continuance and amalgamation did not affect the Companys stock, which continues to be quoted on the OTC Pink Sheets under the symbol POLXF. Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of biotechnology-based products for the human pharmaceutical market, and also manufactures bulk pharmaceutical intermediates for the worldwide veterinary pharmaceutical industry. Company website: www.Polydex.com Note: This press release may contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited, including, without limitation, statements regarding expectations about future revenues or business opportunities or potential research projects. These statements are typically identified by use of words like may, could, might, expect, anticipate, believe, or similar words. Actual events or results may differ materially from the Companys expectations, which are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties including but not limited to changing market conditions, future actions by the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory authorities. Other risk factors discussed in the Companys financial reports may also affect the actual results achieved by the Company. MCHENRY, Ill., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Breastfeeding in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be uniquely challenging. In an effort to support moms and babies in the NICU, Medela has announced that Calmita, its research-based hospital feeding solution, will now be available in the U.S. hospital market. Featuring technology that enables newborns to apply their natural feeding behavior, Calmita helps to develop their ability to breastfeed. Calmita is designed with an integrated vacuum-controlled valve that allows the infant to decide when to drink and when to pause, which creates their own sucking rhythm to efficiently remove just the right amount of milk at a pace that is right for them. Research findings have shown that preterm infants who were fed using Calmita had a significant increase in breastfeeding in the hospital and met discharge criteria significantly earlier than those fed with a conventional teat.[i] [ii] "As part of our commitment to supporting every mother's ability to provide breast milk to her baby, we're proud to include Calmita to our hospital product portfolio," says Melissa Gonzales, managing director for Medela in the U.S. market. "With Calmita, we can provide a solution that supports earlier successful feedings in the hospital, which can shorten length of hospital stays, reduce costs, and more importantly, encourage bonding with baby." Difficulties with breastfeeding can occur with preterm infants who may not have fully developed the ability to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing, or the neuromuscular ability to remove milk from the breast directly.[iii] For infants fed orally, there is greater physiological stability during breastfeeding compared to bottle feeding with a conventional nipple, as breastfeeding requires the infant's natural feeding behavior.[iv] [v] Unlike conventional nipples, Calmita allows the infant to apply their natural feeding behavior. This allows them to create their own sucking rhythm, thereby efficiently removing just the right amount of milk at a pace that is right for them. To learn more about Calmita and intraoral feeding in the hospital, visit http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/for-professionals. About Medela Founded in 1961, Medela is led by Michael Larsson and concentrates on two business units: "Human Milk," providing research-based breast milk feeding solutions, and "Healthcare," engineering and manufacturing medical vacuum technology solutions. Medela is headquartered in Switzerland and has 18 subsidiaries, distributing its products to more than 100 countries throughout the world. For more information, visit www.Medela.com. About Medela LLC Medela's US-based manufacturing and development facility is headquartered in McHenry, Illinois. Every year, more than one million mothers in the U.S. rely on Medela's technology. As the #1 breast pump brand*, Medela provides the best in research-based breast milk feeding products and clinical education to support moms' breast milk feeding journey. The company is fully dedicated to supporting mothers so that they can provide breast milk to their baby for as long as they choose. For more information, visit www.MedelaBreastfeedingUS.com. *QuintilesIMS ProVoice Survey; Nov-Oct 2016. Medela wordmark and logo and Calmita are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. [i] Simmer K., Kok, C., Nancarrow, K., Hepworth, A.R., & Geddes DT. Novel feeding system to promote establishment of breastfeeds after preterm birth: A randomized controlled trial. J Perinatol 36, 210215 (2016). [ii] Geddes, D.T., et al. ISRHML Conference (2012). [iii] McGuire,W., Henderson,G., & Fowlie,P.W. Feeding the preterm infant. BMJ 329, 12271230 (2004). [iv] Howard,C.R. et al. Physiologic stability of newborns during cup- and bottle-feeding. Pediatrics 104, 12041207 (1999). [v] Aguayo, J. Maternal lactation for preterm newborn infants. Early Hum Dev 65 Suppl, S19-S29 (2001). SOURCE Medela Related Links http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com SAN DIEGO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA) announced today that its subsidiary Kannaway LLC, the first hemp lifestyle network to offer cannabidiol (CBD) hemp botanical products, is holding its largest exclusive Red Carpet event in the Company's history in New Orleans, Louisiana this weekend. The Red Carpet event provides a unique opportunity to network with top Kannaway leaders, the Company's executive team and fellow Kannaway business owners. Attendees will hear from several executive team members, including Kannaway CEO Blake Schroeder, President Brad Tayles and CEO of Kannaway parent company Medical Marijuana, Inc., Dr. Stuart Titus. Additionally, high-level Kannaway Brand Ambassadors Damien Callais and Jeff Lessard, who recently became one of the first two Brand Ambassador's to reach the Company's National Director Rank, will present tools for building a successful hemp oil business through Kannaway. The Company will also reveal important additions to the Kannaway brand at the event, including a new CBD hemp oil formulation. "We are expecting the largest Red Carpet turnout yet in the history of our Company in New Orleans this weekend, which is testament to the rapid growth and successful path of our organization, plus the growing desire for our CBD products across the globe," said CEO of Kannaway Blake Schroeder. "We look forward to welcoming our Kannaway family and attendees who are coming to learn from some of the best on how to build a business that can enhance the wellbeing of others worldwide." The New Orleans Red Carpet event is scheduled from 1 pm to 4 pm on Saturday, June 17. Advance tickets to the New Orleans Red Carpet event are available now for just $30. The day of the event, the price of tickets will increase to $40 at the door. Prior to the Red Carpet event, Kannaway will host a Business Opportunity Meeting. This meeting will run from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm the day of the show. There is no charge for this portion of the event, and interested prospects who attend can choose to buy a ticket to the ensuing Red Carpet event. Please visit here to learn more about Kannaway's New Orleans Red Carpet event and to purchase tickets. About Kannaway, LLC Kannaway, LLC, is a network sales and marketing company specializing in the sales and marketing of hemp-based botanical products. Kannaway currently hosts weekly online sales meetings and conferences across the United States, offering unique insight and opportunity to sales professionals who are desirous of becoming successful leaders in the sale and marketing of hemp-based botanical products. About Medical Marijuana, Inc. We are a company of firsts. Our mission is to be the premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate and purchase value-added companies and products, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. We strive to create awareness within our industry, develop environmentally-friendly, economically sustainable businesses, while increasing shareholder value. For details on Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s portfolio and investment companies, visit www.medicalmarijuanainc.com . To see Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s video statement, click here. Shareholders are also encouraged to visit the Medical Marijuana, Inc. Shop for discounted products. FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) DISCLOSURE These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. LEGAL DISCLOSURE Medical Marijuana Inc. does not sell or distribute any products that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act (US.CSA). These companies do grow, sell, and distribute hemp-based products and are involved with the federally legal distribution of medical marijuana-based products within certain international markets. Cannabidiol is a natural constituent of hemp oil. CONTACT: Public Relations Contact: Andrew Hard Chief Executive Officer CMW Media P. 888-829-0070 [email protected] www.cmwmedia.com Corporate Business Contact: Medical Marijuana, Inc. OTC Symbol: MJNA Toll Free: 888-OTC-MJNA (888-682- 6562) www.medicalmarijuanainc.com www.facebook.com/mjnainc SOURCE Medical Marijuana, Inc. Related Links http://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com LOS ANGELES, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The agenda at Meetings Quest, which will take place June 2829, will include educational sessions on event security and contract negotiations. Hosted by Meet AC and held at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Meetings Quest is the nation's longest-running series of educational and networking events for meeting planners. On June 28, the Meetings Quest Opening Celebration will take place on the city's iconic Boardwalk and beach. The evening will kick off at LandShark Bar & Grill, where attendees will have a chance to stick their toes in the sand and enjoy food, beverages and live music. For those attendees wanting to see more of Atlantic City, Meet AC will provide complimentary rolling-chair tours of the Boardwalk. On June 29 , Meet AC President and CEO Jim Wood will welcome attendees to Meetings Quest. The event will continue with a full morning of educational programming. In the first session, "Your Market, Your Contracts and How You Negotiate Them," Jonathan Howefounding partner of Howe & Hutton and general counsel for Meeting Professionals Internationalwill discuss the key elements that need to be considered when negotiating hotel and venue contracts. In the second session, "Crisis Management and Event Security," Steven Hacker , the former president of the International Association of Exhibitions & Events, will provide an overview of the steps to take when organizing an event and how to respond should an event be affected by a crisis. The morning will conclude with an inspirational keynote address from seven-time Olympic medalist Shannon Miller, the most decorated Olympic gymnast in American history. Miller will discuss how the gold-medal mindset leads to victory, whether at the Olympic Games, in an exhibition hall or a boardroom. Meetings Quest in Atlantic City will conclude with an afternoon appointment-based trade show, a drawing for cash prizes and a Departure Lounge, where attendees will have a final opportunity for business networking. Click here to read more. For further information, visit MeetingsQuest.com or call (877) 577-3700. Tweet this: Meetings Quest in Atlantic City to address hottest topics in event planning @MeetingsQuest @MeetAC bit.ly/2jgC1vd Media Contact: Jennifer Lee Phone number: (877) 577-3700 SOURCE Meetings Quest Related Links http://www.MeetingsQuest.com NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mesothelioma Victims Center says, "We set our highest priority to those that fall in the category of US Navy Veterans who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma. We simply want them to receive the very best possible financial compensation for this rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure. We are specifically urging a US Navy Veteran who has mesothelioma to call us anytime at 800-714-0303 if their exposure to asbestos took place at a Navy Shipyard. US Navy Veteran-Shipyard "We also make it a priority to ensure a US Navy Veteran is literally talking to some of the nation's most skilled mesothelioma attorneys because to receive the very best possible mesothelioma compensation, a Navy Veteran will need the nation's top mesothelioma attorneys. "This group of people with mesothelioma is as what we refer to as 'extreme exposure' to asbestos victims. In most instances, the asbestos exposure took place below deck in a confined area of the ship while it was at a shipyard for an overhaul or retrofit. The Navy sailor would be assisting shipyard workers for up to 10-12 hours per day, and in many instances the Navy Veteran had to remain on the ship to sleep. We have spoken first hand with dozens of individuals that were in this circumstance that would wake up in the morning thinking they had been covered in snow. In reality-it was asbestos that they were covered in and had been breathing all night as they slept." http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com If the Mesothelioma Victims Center had just one vital tip for a US Navy Veteran with mesothelioma or their family it would be: "Please call us at 800-714-0303 to make certain you are talking directly with some of the nation's most skilled, experienced, and capable mesothelioma attorneys as opposed to a local car accident attorney." "The best mesothelioma compensation settlements are a result of the nation's top full-time mesothelioma attorneys who specialize in financial compensation for US Navy Veterans. Also, we need to emphasize we are not talking about a possible $1,100 per month VA disability check; we are talking about a compensation settlement that could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or more," says the group. Most US Navy Veterans who were exposed to asbestos at a shipyard were exposed at one of the following US Navy Shipyards: Norfolk Naval Shipyard http://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Shipyards/Norfolk/ Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Bremerton, Washington ) http://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Shipyards/PSNS-IMF/ ) http://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Shipyards/PSNS-IMF/ Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Maine http://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Shipyards/Portsmouth/ New London, Connecticut Submarine Base: http://www.navymwrnewlondon.com/ Submarine Base: http://www.navymwrnewlondon.com/ Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard: http://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Shipyards/PHNS-IMF/ Brooklyn Navy Shipyard- Brooklyn, New York -Closed 1966 -Closed 1966 Boston Navy Yard- Boston, Massachusetts -Closed 1974 -Closed 1974 Philadelphia Naval Shipyard- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -Closed 1995 -Closed 1995 Long Beach Naval Shipyard- Long Beach, California -Closed 1997 -Closed 1997 Hunters Point Naval Shipyard- San Francisco, California -Closed 1974 According to the CDC, the states indicated with the highest incidence of mesothelioma include Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, Washington, and Oregon. However, based on the calls the Mesothelioma Victims Center receives a US Navy Veteran with mesothelioma could live in any state including New York, Florida, California, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, or Alaska. High-risk work groups for exposure to asbestos include US Navy Veterans, power plant workers, shipyard workers, oil refinery workers, steel mill workers, manufacturing/factory workers, pulp or paper mill workers, plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, machinists, miners, construction workers, insulators, rail road worker, roofers, or firemen. As a rule, these types of workers were exposed to asbestos in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, or 1980's. US Navy Veterans make up about one-third of all US Citizens who are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com The Mesothelioma Victims Center says, "When it comes to obtaining the best mesothelioma settlement, the quality of the attorney matters, as we would like to explain anytime at 800-714-0303. Please don't shortchange yourself when it comes to mesothelioma financial compensation." http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com For more information about mesothelioma please refer to the National Institutes of Health's web site related to this rare form of cancer: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mesothelioma.html Media Contact: Michael Thomas 800-714-0303 [email protected] SOURCE Mesothelioma Victims Center Related Links http://mesotheliomavictimscenter.com MIAMI, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaire & Heffernan, LLC is currently accepting scholarship applications from Florida high school seniors actively engaged in trying to make the world a better, safer, and more charitable place. The scholarship recognizes promising young students whose involvement in their communities reflects the values revered by the leading Miami injury lawyers. "We're excited to announce this year's scholarship. As attorneys, we understand that community service is no mere gesture. It has a real and measurable impact on our neighbors, loved ones, and friends," stated Mark Kaire, an attorney and founder of Kaire & Heffernan, LLC. The recipient of the community-oriented scholarship will receive $1,000 to cover the cost of their tuition; however, that's not all. The Miami injury law firm will also make a $500 contribution to a local 501 (c)(3) non-profit where the scholarship recipient volunteered their time. "This is just one small way for us to give back to the community. For the students and local organizations working hard to make a positive impact on the neighborhoods we call home, this is our own special way of saying 'thank you,'" stated attorney David Heffernan. To be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant must be currently enrolled as a senior in a Florida high school with a minimum 3.0 GPA and accepted to an accredited 4-year college or university program. They must also be a resident of Florida and the United States of America as well as have volunteered at a local Florida 501 (c)(3) non-profit. For a complete list or scholarship requirements, click here. Students who would like to be considered for the scholarship should also submit a short essay (1 to 3 pages) describing his or her experiences while volunteering or working with a non-profit organization in their local community. The essay should describe how the experience has helped to define the student's values or impacted the student's education and life. "We are happy to consider a wide range of non-profit organizations and volunteer activities. It is not necessary for the organization related to the practice of law," stressed Kaire. Last year, the law firm awarded its first scholarship to Madeline Mae, a graduate of Melbourne Central Catholic High School (MCC). Along with graduating at the top of her class, the inspirational teen served as a youth ambassador for the National Voices for Equality, Education, and Enlightenment (NVEEE). The organization helps prevent bullying, violence, and suicide among youth, families and communities through direct service, mentoring and prevention education. "Madeline is a true example of what this scholarship represents," stated Kaire. "We are proud to honor the many bright minds and caring hearts we find in the schools, colleges, and universities throughout Florida," stated Heffernan. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is July 17th, 2017. Questions about the scholarship should be sent to [email protected]. Applications can be found at this link. About Kaire & Heffernan, LLC: The dedicated team of personal injury lawyers prides itself on helping others. From auto accident and medical malpractice victims, to the parents of children who have suffered catastrophic injuries, the firm spends its days pursuing justice. They see firsthand the real price of careless behavior and believe that young people can make a valuable contribution to the safety and wellness of their communities. Through the scholarship, the firm enjoys being able to shine a spotlight on the good work that they do in positively changing the world around them. For more information on the firm, visit www.kairelaw.com. Media Contact: Mark Kaire 305-372-0123 SOURCE Kaire & Heffernan, LLC Related Links http://www.kairelaw.com MilliporeSigma provides a complete solution for the iPSC workflow, including novel reprogramming kits, iPSC culture media and stem cell antibodies and characterization kits. The addition of the EBiSC portfolio strengthens MilliporeSigma's existing distribution relationship with PHE as a distributor of its European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures (ECACC) portfolio. "This partnership will give customers greater access to a comprehensive suite of human iPSCs for disease modeling," said Udit Batra, CEO, MilliporeSigma. "This is a great addition to our authenticated cell line portfolio and strengthens our offering across the iPSC workflow." Under the terms of the agreement, MilliporeSigma will employ its sales, marketing and e-commerce expertise to distribute the EBiSC Human iPS Cell Bank. The distribution agreement includes all geographies except Japan. Financial details were not disclosed. Following the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in 2015, the global distribution agreement became an important part of the company's life science business, driving growth and offering premier brand tools for disease modeling and drug screening. EBiSC is a European public-private partnership project designed to address the increasing demand by stem cell researchers for quality-controlled, disease-relevant, research-grade iPSC lines, data and cell services. Its goal is to establish a centralized European cell bank providing researchers across academia and industry with access to scalable, cost-efficient and consistent high-quality tools for development of new medicines. All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany news releases are distributed by email at the same time they become available on the EMD Group website. In case you are a resident of the U.S. or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service. About the Life Science Business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany The life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada, has 19,000 employees and 65 manufacturing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products enabling scientific discovery. Udit Batra is the global chief executive officer of MilliporeSigma. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany completed its $17 billion acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich in November 2015, creating a leader in the $125 billion global life science industry. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company has six businesses Biopharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Life Science and Performance Materials and generated sales of 15 billion in 2016. Around 50,000 employees work in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for patients, to foster the success of customers and to help meet global challenges. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70 percent interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day. The company holds the global rights to the name and the trademark "Merck" internationally except for the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials. SOURCE MilliporeSigma NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mochidoki, the locally made artisanal mochi ice cream brand that creates bite-sized desserts, is making its New York summer debut with pop up parlors throughout the city and the release of their new creation Mochi Pops! Through the summer, mochi lovers can visit these pop up parlors and choose from Mochidoki's 20 rotating flavors, from classics like Vanilla Chocolate Chip and Matcha Green Tea to modern creations like Mango Thai Basil, Passionfruit, Salted Caramel, and many more. Mochi "Pop" It Like It's Hot! Mochidoki has unveiled its latest creation Mochi Pops. Available exclusively at Broadway Bites and Garment District markets by UrbanSpace, each pop features mochi ice cream, dipped in chocolate or condensed milk and sprinkled with delectable toppings like Pop Rocks, Caramel Cornflakes, Candied Orange Peels, Crushed Oreos, or Rainbow Sprinkles. Mochidoki offers six signature mochi pops, including Pop On The Rocks Passionfruit mochi ice cream, dipped in condensed milk and topped with strawberry pop rocks, Crispy Caramel Vanilla Chocolate Chip mochi and condensed milk crusted with caramel cornflakes and Pop L'Orange Mandarin Orange Cream mochi with candied orange peel and chocolate. Perfect for indulgent, on-the-go noshing, the signature mochi pops are priced at $4 each. Adventurous dessert goers can create their own pop by selecting the ice cream flavor and their favorite toppings. Mochidoki Parlor Locations: Broadway Market Co. (SOHO) Open daily, closed Tuesday's. Location: 483 Broadway (b/t Broome and Grand St.) UrbanSpaces "Broadway Bites" (Chelsea/Garment District) June 1- July 14; open daily Monday Sunday 11am 9pm Location: Greeley Square Broadway, between 32nd and 33rd Street. ** Mochi Pops available UrbanSpaces Garment District (Midtown West) June 7 July 20: Monday Saturday 11am 8pm, closed Sunday Location: Broadway, from 39th to 40th ** Mochi Pops available Food Emporium (UES) June 14 early September, open daily Location: 1175 Third Ave at 68th Street NYC Blizzard Event (UWS) Sunday, July 16; 10am 1pm Location: Grand Bazaar NYC; 100 West 77th Street at Broadway Buy tickets: http://bit.ly/2qoagTP Mochi Ice Cream is a spoonful of ice cream wrapped in a delicate layer of soft and chewy mochi, rice dough. These bite-sized treats are indulgent yet guilt-free, starting at just 110 calories each. Every bite combines premium ice cream with the chewiness of mochi for a unique hand-held dessert experience. For those unable to visit the parlor locations, Mochidoki ships to your door step. Collections are available to purchase online at www.mochidoki.com for $10 each, plus shipping. For more information or to place your Mochidoki order visit www.mochidoki.com. About Mochidoki Mochidoki, a fresh and modern approach to a Japanese inspired dessert, was founded in 2014 by Ken Gordon, a (native) New Yorker with the dream of satisfying America's growing appetite for innovative frozen desserts. The culinary experts at Mochidoki create delicious mochi ice cream using only natural ingredients to satisfy every adventurous sweet tooth with unique flavor and texture combinations. The gluten-free dessert is available for purchase online, featuring a selection of over twelve flavor options. Mochidoki also offers pre-selected collections, each featuring four unique flavors. Flat rate, nationwide shipping is available. Visit Mochidoki online at www.mochidoki.com, like on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram, #mochidoki, #mochistack. Media Contacts: Evoke Marketing 212-802-1411 Jessica Del Guercio | [email protected] Caroline Vaccari | [email protected] SOURCE Mochidoki SAN DIEGO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Molecular Assemblies Inc., a company developing a proprietary enzymatic DNA synthesis technology, today announced that it has expanded its board of directors with the appointment of Sean Freeman, NuVasive head of strategy and corporate development, to its board of directors. "Sean's extensive business development experience in both strategic partnerships and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) combined with his financial acumen will serve Molecular Assemblies well as we further develop and commercialize our enzymatic DNA synthesis technology," said Molecular Assemblies President and CEO Michael J. Kamdar. "We are excited to welcome Sean to our board." Mr. Freeman brings to Molecular Assemblies more than 20 years' experience securing licensing deals and strategic partnerships, and in international deal making. He has closed more than $100 billion in transactions in various capacities as a venture investor, investment banker, and corporate M&A lead. As head of strategy and corporate development for NuVasive, Mr. Freeman oversees the company's inorganic activity, including the management of its strategic venture portfolio. Mr. Freeman previously worked as senior vice president of business development for Cole-Parmer Instrument Company, and as head of corporate ventures and M&A at Life Technologies, a leading multinational life sciences company that was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific. Previously, Mr. Freeman was an investment banker in Merrill Lynch's Mergers & Acquisitions Group in New York. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree at the Wharton School and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation. "Molecular Assemblies' enzymatic approach to developing long, high-quality DNA represents an exciting and meaningful advance in DNA synthesis - one that may hold the key to delivering the promise of genetic engineering and enabling tomorrow's innovations - from new vaccines to biofuels to information storage and beyond," Mr. Freeman said. "I am pleased to join the board, and look forward to working with a highly talented team to further grow the company." "We are very pleased to welcome Sean to our board and look forward to benefitting from his significant experience and to his contributions to our team," said Board Chairman Larry Stambaugh. About Molecular Assemblies Molecular Assemblies, Inc. is a San Diego-based company focused on developing an enzymatic DNA synthesis technology designed to power the next generation of DNA-based products. The company's patented enzymatic method, based on making DNA the way nature makes DNA, produces long, high quality, sequence-specific DNA reliably, affordably and sustainably. Molecular Assemblies' technology will enable the reading and writing of DNA for industries including industrial synthetic biology and precision medicine, as well as emerging applications of DNA for data information storage, nanomachines and bio-based electronics. For more information please visit molecularassemblies.com. Contacts Molecular Assemblies Media Michael Kamdar, CEO Endpoint Communications (858) 733-1308 Susan Thomas (619) 540-9195 [email protected] SOURCE Molecular Assemblies, Inc. Related Links http://molecularassemblies.com LONDON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mooreland Partners (www.moorelandpartners.com), the leading independent investment bank providing M&A and private capital advisory services to the global technology industry, today announced that it acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Mobkoi on its sale of a majority interest to You & Mr Jones. Founded in 2014, Mobkoi provides brands and agencies with an integrated mobile marketing service that includes bespoke media planning and buying, as well as custom creative solutions, and optimized campaign delivery. Mobkoi has grown from its base in London to include offices in France and Germany, and currently works with more than 1,000 publishers in 35 markets. The company has an impressive and growing portfolio of more than 100 premium brands including Bally, Bentley, Canon, GE, Maserati, Mulberry, and Nespresso. "Mooreland prides itself on bringing world class M&A advisory services to founder owned and operated businesses. Our mission is to help entrepreneurs find the right strategic partner. Mobkoi is a new breed of mobile marketing company that applies best of breed technology to premium brand building," said Stephen Schweich, Managing Director at Mooreland Partners. "Founded by former Havas Global CEO, David Jones, You & Mr Jones is an organization with the experience and global relationships needed to accelerate Mobkoi's international expansion and take the company to the next level." You & Mr Jones is the world's first Brandtech group. Its mission is to help businesses build brands better, faster, and cheaper using technology. You & Mr Jones sits at the intersection of the dramatic growth in mobile, a tech revolution that has empowered people to create, produce and share unprecedented amounts of content, the impending revolution in AI, AR, and VR and frustrated global companies looking for brand and tech-literate partners. You & Mr Jones is headquartered in New York and has offices in 12 cities including San Francisco, London, Bangalore, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Sydney, Mexico City, Cape Town, Hong Kong, and Paris. ABOUT MOORELAND PARTNERS Founded in 2002, Mooreland Partners is a leading independent M&A and private capital advisory firm serving the global technology industry with offices in London, New York, and Silicon Valley. Mooreland's team of 50 professionals delivers industry domain and transaction expertise across all major technology sectors including enterprise software, industrial technology, mobile, digital media, consumer and fintech. Learn more at www.moorelandpartners.com; read our blog. All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. MEDIA CONTACT [email protected] SOURCE Mooreland Partners Related Links http://www.moorelandpartners.com Power-packed Honey Buns During this period, packages of Mrs. Freshley's single-serve Chocolate Cupcakes, Grand Iced Honey Buns, and Original Jumbo Honey Buns will feature FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood graphics with unique markers that activate an interactive, augmented reality display using the Blippar smartphone application. After purchasing a specially marked Mrs. Freshley's snack and downloading the Blippar app, fans can scan or "blip" the package imagery to register and unlock an exclusive FINAL FANTASY game code. This code generates a virtual quintet of power-packed honey buns that can be used in play. Users can scan up to 3 packages a day, with a total of 10 redemptions over the course of the promotion. Chance to Win a Trip to San Diego Blipping the package automatically enters users into the Mrs. Freshley's FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood Sweepstakes. One lucky grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to San Diego to attend the nation's premier comic convention July 18 - 22, 2018. More than 100 other FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood prizes will be awarded. Users will receive one sweepstakes entry per day. "Video games are extremely popular, especially with our fan base," said Meredith Butler, Mrs. Freshley's brand manager. "FINAL FANTASY is a well-known franchise that delivers a quality experience from each game's release. Combining Mrs. Freshley's innovation and quality with FINAL FANTASY's amazing graphics, strong characters and trendsetting style makes for a natural partnership that fans are sure to love." You can find FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood Mrs. Freshley's treats in convenience stores and vending machines nationwide. To keep up with the promotion, follow Mrs. Freshley's on social media @MrsFreshleys or Facebook.com/MrsFreshleys. For official sweepstakes rules, please visit www.mrsfreshleys.com. About Mrs. Freshley's Mrs. Freshley's, an award-winning brand synonymous with innovation, quality and great taste for more than 20 years, is available in grocery retailers, convenience stores and the vending market nationwide. A Flowers Foods brand with more than 50 different snack cakes and pastries, everyone is sure to enjoy Mrs. Freshley's go-to classics or find a new favorite. Visit www.mrsfreshleys.com for product information, recipe ideas and more. FINAL FANTASY, FINAL FANTASY XIV, FFXIV, SQUARE ENIX, and the SQUARE ENIX logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. STORMBLOOD is a registered trademark or trademark of Square Enix Co., Ltd. For more information: Greer Hackett The Zimmerman Agency [email protected] SOURCE Mrs. Freshley's Latvian English Russian Riga, Latvia, 2017-06-15 16:50 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On 15 June 2017, the meeting of ABLV Bank shareholders was held, at which the new Council of the Bank was approved. During the following 5 years, Olegs Fils, Janis Krigers, Janis Butkevics, and Aivis Ronis will hold the positions in the Council. Olegs Fils and Janis Krigers were members of the Banks Council before. Olegs Fils has been the Chairman of the Council since 2011. In the new Council, Olegs Fils retains the position of the Chairman and Janis Butkevics the position of Deputy Chairman of the Council, whereas the two newly elected Members of the Council are going to strengthen the capacity of the Council in the field of international law and international relations. Aivis Ronis has substantial experience in diplomatic service, state administration and management of international organisations of cooperation, including the banking industry; he has been Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Transport of the Republic of Latvia, and president of the Association of Latvian Private Banks. He has received high government awards. Janis Butkevics is a lawyer with considerable experience in international law, he has been representing the interests of entrepreneurs as an expert in the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Chairman of the Council Olegs Fils is satisfied with the newly elected Council: The Council of the Bank has many significant functions supervision of the Board, supervision of the work of Audit Committee, approval of the strategy of the Banks operation, remuneration policy and other documents vitally important for the operation of the Bank proposed by the Board. This is why I am glad to see that experts of such a high level have joined the Council it is going to enable the Council to work more effectively. This announcement contains inside information. ABLV Bank, AS is the largest independent private bank in Latvia. The banks major shareholders Olegs Fils, Ernests Bernis and Nika Berne directly and indirectly hold 87.03% of the bank's voting share capital. ABLV Group includes ABLV Bank, AS; ABLV Bank Luxembourg, S.A.; ABLV Capital Markets, IBAS; ABLV Asset Management, IPAS; Pillar Holding Company, KS; ABLV Consulting Services, AS; ABLV Corporate Services, SIA; Pillar Development, SIA, and other companies. ABLV Group has representative offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Kiev, Odessa, Minsk, Almaty, Baku, Tashkent, Hong Kong, Limassol, and New York. ORLANDO, Fla., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MultiTaction, leading provider of advanced data visualisation solutions, will announce a major upgrade to its engagement software, MT Showcase, at the largest North America AV show, InfoComm, in Orlando. MT Showcase is the ideal solution for marketing products and services to prospective clients in executive briefing centres, entrance lobbies or trade show environments and is popular in environments including museums, universities and retail. MT Showcase provides users with an intuitive platform for showcasing rich media content, and can be used to either tell a story by driving the interaction, or allow the user to self-explore and discover content. The software uses a layered display stage allowing for complete customisation of vivid backgrounds, menu systems and overlay animations. The unique web-based editor makes live updates possible, allowing for immediate changes to displays in real time, making it easy for organisations to engage clients or employees with pre-prepared rich media assets. The intuitive interface also allows for complex looking visual designs, removing the need for costly professional services. Aruba Networks, who have a wide range of data networking solutions for enterprises worldwide, is using MT Showcase to deliver tailored and fully immersive experiences for potential customers at its briefing centre in Silicon Valley. James Copello, Head of Global Audio Visual Services at Aruba Networks commented: "We chose MT Showcase because of its flexibility and 'uncomplex complexity' to create customised interactive multimedia experiences. We have had really great feedback from customers and people who have experienced MT Showcase on the MT iWall. Customers love the connection between the physical and digital world, it's something unique numerous people have never seen anything like it before, and it's a very powerful engagement tool." MT Showcase is built with modification in mind and its plug-in extensible architecture allows for custom visualisations to be created and added to a base archive of solutions. The software can also be used in conjunction with MT Codice to create unparalleled visual interactions using physical objects to connect with touch screen displays, and trigger multimedia reactions with videos, pictures and documents. Jonathan Priestley, Senior Vice President of MultiTaction said: "All sales and marketing professionals make significant efforts to tailor their pitch for prospective clients, but with MT Showcase, this personalisation can be taken to a whole new level. Within one hour, completely custom applications can be created that drive richer conversations. In the past, this would have been a 10-day professional services engagement now customers can do it all themselves." MultiTaction will be demonstrating MT Showcase at booth 3181. For further information, please contact Pete Malcolm on +44 (0) 20 3633 4000 Visit MultiTaction's website, YouTube page and LinkedIn. About MultiTaction MultiTaction is a leading developer of advanced visualization and collaboration software. The company's solutions are in use by some of the largest corporates in the world. In addition, the company also manufactures a completely unique touch platform that can be seen in some of the most advanced universities and museums globally. With solutions deployed in over 50 countries and offices across the United States, Asia and Europe, MultiTaction is a global business celebrating 10 years of growth and success in 2017. www.multitaction.com "All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them." SOURCE MultiTaction Related Links https://www.multitaction.com SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rythm, a neurotechnology startup, announced the official launch of Dreem today, a pioneering sleep solution that monitors, analyzes, and acts on your brain to enhance your sleep. Dreem represents a completely new category of product that merges cutting edge neuroscience research and disruptive technology to push the understanding and enhancement of sleep forward. The headband monitors brain activity and uses auditory stimulation as a medium to help fall asleep faster, get deeper sleep, and wake up refreshed. After 3 years of development and tests, Dreem is now available for pre-order at https://dreem.com/. One-third of the population does not sleep well or sufficiently, and this can manifest in multiple ways, including non-restorative sleep, difficulties falling asleep, waking up at night, and waking up at the wrong time. There are many intersecting causes behind these challenges stress, environment, physical issues, lifestyle, not sleeping well, and that manifest in multiple ways: non-restorative sleep, difficulties to fall asleep, waking up at night, waking up not at the right time, bad hygiene or habits during the day. Currently, there are no obvious solutions to this epidemic. Existing solutions, like sleeping pills, are invasive and not good for health. Other solutions that are less invasive, like wearables, are inaccurate and do nothing to improve the quality of sleep. Dreem is a completely new kind of product that merges the latest innovations in neuroscience research and advanced technology to create an effective, non-invasive sleep solution that works through the night and during the day to help you sleep better. "Rythm started with one single idea to monitor and influence brain activity based on auditory stimulation to enhance sleep quality," said Hugo Mercier, CEO & Co-founder at Rythm. "Now after our successful beta program, we have validated the science and learned from more than 500 users on what the headband can do. The launch of Dreem is a breakthrough moment and we are thrilled to get our product to consumers so they can get on the path to better sleep." The Dreem Headband Dreem takes highly complex technology and puts it into a miniaturized, comfortable, and autonomous headband, replicating the sophistication and accuracy of lab equipment in the bedroom. Using dry polymer EEG electrodes, Dreem accurately monitors brain activity during sleep and independently analyzes it on an internal CPU. The front of the device incorporates a bone-conduction technology, which emits subtle, precise sounds directly into your inner ear to improve sleep. This way you can hear the sounds without the hassle of using headphones while you're sleeping. Beyond enhancing brain activity to boost deep sleep, Dreem provides accurate, in-depth analyses of users' sleep patterns, providing tangible suggestions on how they can improve their sleep. Dreem was designed in collaboration with fuseproject, an award-winning design studio led by internationally acclaimed designer Yves Behar. The most important element of its design is its wearability -- allowing users to sleep comfortably, while holding the brain monitoring sensors directly against the right points around the head, as well as the containment of the complex internal technology. Through hundreds of iterations, the final Dreem design keeps the internals on the top of the head where there is no pressure during sleep, and the sensors lie in the flexible fabric band that comfortably wraps around the head. Aesthetically, Dreem is designed to feel like loungewear. The fabric comes in soft, neutral colors, looking more like apparel than traditional wearable tech, and is removable for easy cleaning. Foam inserts keep the headband soft and comfortable, with just the right amount of elasticity in each section to ensure it works effectively without feeling uncomfortable. It also includes a touchbar on the headband so the user doesn't need to turn their phone on if they are already in bed, although all the device's settings can be changed in the app. The Benefits Dreem is a complete platform to improve sleep. It comes with a number of key features that go above and beyond other sleep products to help you sleep better. Fall Asleep Faster: Dreem's Words feature uses scientifically proven mental and breathing techniques to significantly accelerate the process of falling asleep. The Air setting addresses sleeplessness by synchronizing the user's heart rate and breathing frequency to bring them down to levels conducive to sleep. Finally, the headband also aids falling asleep with a meditation-based feature called Flow. Early tests with users show decrease in sleep onset by up to 30%. Get Deeper Sleep: One of the key benefits of using Dreem is its ability to enhance the quality of your deep sleep or slow-wave sleep. As one of the most restorative stages of sleep, deep sleep is responsible for key physiological functions like hormone regulation, cellular regeneration, and memory consolidation. With sound stimulation that synchronizes with your brain activity, Dreem enhances the quality of your deep sleep by up to 31%. Wake Up Refreshed: Dreem also ensures you wake up refreshed. Waking up too early or abruptly during one of the deeper stages of your sleep is disruptive to a good night's rest. With an alarm clock that is personalized to wake you during the lighter stages of your sleep, you'll be awake refreshed and alert at the optimal stage during your sleep. This is only possible because of the headband's ability to monitor sleep accurately. Once you are awake, you can go to the Dreem app to explore the landscape of your night's sleep. Based on clinical grade accuracy of the headband, you'll get actionable and personalized insights that were developed by leading sleep experts. These insights evolve constantly because of our machine learning algorithms that learn about your daily activities and sleep habits. Everything is optimized so you can improve your sleep throughout the day. The Dreem App is divided into multiple categories, with easy-to-understand metrics and visuals to make sense of the data. "Everybody can benefit from better sleep and we wanted to launch a product that could work for anyone, regardless of their issue," said Mercier. "Our goal was to launch a complete, comprehensive solution with multiple features so that it can help as many people as possible. We know with Dreem we have a long journey ahead. With the announcement of Dreem we've achieved a major milestone towards that goal." Rythm also announced today that it has raised a total of $22 million from billionaire French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, entrepreneur and biotech investor Dr. Laurent Alexandre, and one of the top French insurance leaders -- MAIF. In addition, Dreem was built with the support of Rythm's prestigious scientific advisory board, including internationally recognized scientists from the fields of sleep research, neuroscience and mathematics, who have helped guide the company's development and success. Board members include: David Eagleman, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience, Stanford University, Founder & CSO, BrainCheck, and cofounder & CSO, NeoSensory; Christof Koch, PhD, CSO & President of Allen Institute for Brain Science; Emmanuel Mignot, MD, PhD, Director of Stanford Sleep Center; and Cedric Villani, PhD, winner of the 2010 Fields Medal and Director of Henri Poincarre Institute. "Rythm has developed technology that has the potential to change how people perceive their sleep, while also giving users new tools to improve their well-being," said Rythm scientific advisory board member Emmanuel Mignot, the Director of the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine. "The vision of the company and the team behind Dreem is exceptional. To have a solution like Dreem that makes sophisticated medicine accessible to anyone represents a powerful step forward." Dreem costs $499/499 and is now available for preorders at https://dreem.com/. Those who order in the first 30 days will receive an early bird price of $399/399 with shipping included until July 15. The products will ship to customers in the Fall. About Rythm: Rythm is a leading neurotechnology company. Bringing together the world's foremost experts in hardware, software, and neuroscience, Rythm builds consumer technology that stimulates brain function to enhance individual health and performance. The company's first product, Dreem, is sleep solution that uses brain activity and sound stimulation to increase the quality of sleep in a non-invasive way. Based in Paris and San Francisco, Rythm has raised substantial funding from investors, awards and government grants to support a world-class team of more than 70 people. For more information, visit www.dreem.com. SOURCE Rythm IRVINE, Calif., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Proove Biosciences, Inc. announces a new peer-reviewed study demonstrating the accuracy of Proove Opioid Risk to help primary care physicians predict patients at-risk for opioid abuse. This study, entitled, "Validation Study of a Predictive Algorithm to Evaluate Opioid Use Disorder in a Primary Care Setting" has been accepted for publication by the journal Health Services Research & Managerial Epidemiology. This study data was presented as part of a presentation by Proove collaborators entitled, "Utilizing Precision Medicine Technologies to Avoid and Treat Prescription Opioid Abuse." Panelists included Lynn Webster, MD, FACPM, FASAM; Ramsay Farah, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACPM, FASAM, CPE, CMRO; and Katrina Lewis, MD, BSc. Researchers teamed with Proove scientists to conduct a multi-center study in 27 primary care clinics involving 1,689 patients. This study demonstrates that Proove Opioid Risk is a stable predictor of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in a primary care setting with 83.2% accuracy. Compared to questionnaires like the Opioid Risk Tool (ORT) or Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain-Revised (SOAPP-R) which struggle to accurately identify patients at low risk, Proove Opioid Risk has a sensitivity ranging from 91.8% to 100% in its low risk range of scores. Dr. Ashley Brenton, Director of R&D at Proove and lead author states, "The CDC Guidelines targeting primary care physicians are not enough, as the CDC readily admits synthetic opioid deaths have only increased 72% since their publication. Clearly, physicians need better tools. This study validates that Proove Opioid Risk is a stable predictor of opioid abuse in primary care, and confirms other published studies showing this profile's high accuracy." Proove CEO Brian Meshkin explains, "This study adds to the mounting evidence that precision medicine can accurately identify at-risk patients and guide treatment to reduce pain. It's a false choice to suggest that we must only choose between restricting opioids to reduce abuse and thereby hurting chronic pain patients, or allowing opioids liberally prescribed to control pain and thus expand opioid abuse. We can reduce pain and opioid abuse at the same time." About Proove Biosciences: Proove Biosciences is the leader in precision medicine for the condition that lies at the nexus of health pain. Proove delivers precision medicine solutions for the nation's most prevalent and expensive health condition by investing heavily in research that has won awards from leading medical societies and been published in peer-reviewed journals. Discovered by NIH-funded scientists, Proove has translated into clinical practice the genetic variants and phenotypic factors contributing to pain sensitivity and chronic pain risk. Proove's medical advisory board is led by those NIH-funded researchers and the company has licensed some of its technology from leading academic centers, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Utah, and other institutions. Positioned as The Healthcare Decision Company, Proove's patented technology platform combines genetic, clinical, environmental and lifestyle information to help clinicians better evaluate pain sensitivity, assess risk for opioid use disorder, predict therapeutic response to pain medications, and assess drug metabolism for the many medications used in chronic pain patients. Based in Irvine, California, Proove has been recognized on the Inc. 500 and the Deloitte Technology Fast500 as one of the fastest growing companies in North America. For more information, please visit www.proove.com or call toll free 855-PROOVE-BIO (855-776-6832). SOURCE Proove Biosciences, Inc. Related Links http://www.proove.com WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Despite improvement in the amount of vacation days Americans used last year, more than half (54%) of employees still left time on the table in 2016. The 662 million days left unused last yearand their implications for individual employees and workplaces alikeare not felt evenly across America. There are profound geographical differences in U.S. states and cities that influence employees' time off perceptions and behavior. Project: Time Off's new report, Under-Vacationed America: An Analysis of the States and Cities That Need to Take a Day, provides a look at the vacation behavior in all 50 states and the 30-largest metro areas in the country. Idaho, New Hampshire, and Alaska hold the top spots for the states with the most workers leaving vacation unused. Looking at cities, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, CA, and Tampa, FL are home to some of the most under-vacationed employees in America. "Across America, vacation has become the unintended victim of a 24/7 work culture, but there are specific parts of the country living on the edge of burnout where employees particularly need to take time off," said Project: Time Off Senior Director and report author Katie Denis. "The states and cities that have the dubious honor of being at the top of the unused vacation list would do well to realize that employees who take time off are happier, healthier, and more productive." Unfortunately, many of the areas seeing the worst vacation usage are home to cultures where employees report hearing negative or mixed messages about time off. Where just 17 percent of workers nationally say their company sends negative or mixed messages, the majority of the states in the top ten for leaving unused vacation are more likely to agree, most notably Alaskan workers at 28 percent. There are some states and cities that are better at vacation usage. Maine, Hawaii, and Arizona top the list of states with employees who are least likely to leave vacation time on the table. For cities, Pittsburgh, PA, Chicago, IL, and Phoenix, AZ are home to employees who take more of their earned time off. "The places where employees use the most vacation tend to have work cultures that encourage time off, enjoy lower fear and anxiety about being away, and are less susceptible to the stress and pressures of being away," added Denis. Five States with the Most Unused Vacation STATE % WITH UNUSED DAYS UNUSED VACATION DAYS DIRECT SPENDING POTENTIAL Idaho 78% 3.1 million $433 million New Hampshire 77% 2.7 million $552 million Alaska 73% 1.7 million $651 million South Dakota 73% 1.8 million $404 million Oklahoma 69% 9.7 million $690 million Five States with the Least Unused Vacation STATE % WITH UNUSED DAYS UNUSED VACATION DAYS DIRECT SPENDING POTENTIAL Maine 38% 2.6 million $700 million Hawaii 39% 3.3 million $4.4 billion Arizona 41% 11.4 million $3.2 billion Alabama 41% 10.1 million $818 million Wisconsin 44% 10.6 million $1.6 billion Five Cities with the Most Unused Vacation CITY % WITH UNUSED DAYS UNUSED VACATION DAYS DIRECT SPENDING POTENTIAL Washington, D.C. 64% 17.3 million $3.8 billion San Francisco, CA 64% 12.8 million $3.1 billion Tampa, FL 62% 5.1 million $1.2 billion Los Angeles, CA 62% 32.5 million $6.4 billion Boston, MA 61% 11.6 million $2.4 billion Five Cities with the Least Unused Vacation CITY % WITH UNUSED DAYS UNUSED VACATION DAYS DIRECT SPENDING POTENTIAL Pittsburgh, PA 40% 4.6 million $696 million Chicago, IL 44% 18.2 million $3.5 billion Phoenix, AZ 44% 8.2 million $1.6 billion Orlando, FL 45% 4.7 million $3.4 billion Miami, FL 45% 10.2 million $2.4 billion See report for full rankings. Nationwide, U.S. workers took an average of 16.8 days of vacation in 2016, turning the trend line in a positive direction after losing almost a week of vacation time since 2000. This was up from 16.2 days in 2015. This, however, is a far cry from the 20.3 day long-term average from 1976 to 2000. While Americans are taking more vacation time, there is also a slight increase in the number of days left unused. In 2016, 662 million vacation days were left on the table, four million days more than 2015. However, forfeited vacation daystime that cannot be rolled over, banked, or paid outare down eight percent to 206 million forfeited days. Those forfeited days have a cost. Last year, employees gave up $66.4 billion in lost benefits, which translates to an average of $604 per employee. Methodology GfK conducted an online survey from January 26-February 20, 2017 with 7,331 American workers, age 18+, who work more than 35 hours a week and receive paid time off from their employer. These data were weighted and scaled. The geographic data below represents all 50 U.S. states and the 30-largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the country, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. For a complete methodology, please see the report. About Project: Time Off Project: Time Off is an initiative to win back America's Lost Week of vacation. We aim to shift culture so that taking time off is understood as essential to personal well-being, professional success, business performance, and economic expansion. The initiative is supported by the Project: Time Off Coalition, a broad-based group of organizations focused on changing America's thinking and behavior about vacation time. Learn more at ProjectTimeOff.com. SOURCE Project: Time Off Related Links http://www.projecttimeoff.com/ WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Youth Tobacco Survey results, released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), show that we are well on our way to finishing smoking for good. The dramatically low numbers of eight percent for past 30-day cigarette use by high school students, a decline of 1.3 percentage points from 2015 and a 4.7 percentage point decrease since 2013, are no accident and show the combined power of public-education campaigns targeted to youth, like truth and the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) The Real Cost campaign as well as the CDC's "Tips From Former Smokers." The data also show an incredible 4.7 percentage point decline in high school e-cigarette prevalence, now at 11.3 percent vs. 16 percent in 2015. While the number of high school students who use e-cigarettes is still too high, this rapid decline is a positive indicator that much youth e-cigarette use has been experimental and that the current offering of products may be less appealing to youth than feared. However, with rapid and continuous innovation in electronic nicotine products taking place, the results underscore the urgency for full implementation of FDA regulation of e-cigarettes to maintain this momentum in preventing all use of nicotine products by young people. Despite this good news on a national basis, the total tobacco product use for high school students (20.2 percent) is still too high and the patterns of youth tobacco use across the U.S. remain very uneven. We must not forget there are many states in this country where the numbers tell a different story. Where you live, how much money and privilege you have makes a big difference in whether you smoke. The high school smoking rate in West Virginia is more than double the rate in California. LGBTQ young adults smoke at twice the rate of the average population, and individuals with mental illness account for 40 percent of cigarettes smoked in the U.S. The data released today are another battle won for public health in the long effort to end the epidemic that still kills 540,000 people a year in our country. At the same time, it is no doubt an alarm for the tobacco industry who continue to spend $9.1 billion a year to market their deadly products and aggressively oppose federal, state and local efforts to curtail tobacco use. The industry now has added incentive to continue to adapt their products and tactics especially among their "best customers" in effort to find the more than 1,300 replacement smokers to fill the gap left by those who will die each day from tobacco-use. We have made significant progress in bringing both youth and adult smoking rates to historic lows. Now is the time to dedicate our efforts to making sure that no population or geography is left behind in our endeavor to claim what could be the most important public-health victory in modern times for our nation. About Truth Initiative Truth Initiative is a national public-health organization that is inspiring tobacco-free lives and building a culture where all youth and young adults reject tobacco. The truth about tobacco and the tobacco industry are at the heart of our proven-effective and nationally recognized truth public-education campaign, our rigorous and scientific research and policy studies, and our innovative community and youth engagement programs supporting populations at high risk of using tobacco. The Washington, D.C.-based organization, formerly known as Legacy, was established and funded through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more about our work speaking, seeking and spreading the truth about tobacco, visit truthinitiative.org. SOURCE Truth Initiative Related Links http://www.truthinitiative.org/ "Getting the right gift for my father is never easy, which is why I prefer to make it with my bare hands," Offerman said as he set out to create something special for his father Ric. "My father taught me everything I know, including practical skills such as wood crafting, good manners, and fine taste in whisky." Let Nick's thoughtful, hand-made attempt to surprise his Dad inspire you to think big when it comes to gifting this year. He can even offer you a bit of sage advice during a live Reddit "Ask Me Anything," on Friday, June 16th at 9am EST. Tune in for a lively conversation about whisky, wood and fathers. Ultimately your effort will likely pale in comparison to the skillful hands of the Offermans, but if you pair your gift with Lagavulin Single Malt Scotch Whisky you are certain not to fail. So raise up a glass to the man who raised you! Grab your dad, pour yourselves a dram of Lagavulin and enjoy responsibly. Check out the My Tales of Whisky YouTube channel (www.YouTube.com/MyTalesofWhiskyOfficial) for the complete My Tales of Whisky series. However you enjoy #MyTalesofWhisky, Diageo, the makers of Lagavulin Scotch whisky, and Nick Offerman, remind you to enjoy your whisky in moderation. About Nick Offerman Offerman is an actor, writer, and woodworker best known for his role as 'Ron Swanson' on NBC's hit comedy Parks & Recreation. Offerman recently starred alongside Michael Keaton in The Weinstein Company's "The Founder" and opposite Sam Elliot in Brett Haley's "The Hero." Upcoming, he will be appear alongside Alison Brie and Dave Franco in Jeff Baena's "The Little Hours", out June 30th and he is one of the co-producers of the Wendell Berry documentary "Look & See" which opens at the IFC Center in New York on June 30th. He will also reunite with his Parks & Rec co-star Amy Poehler as a co-host and executive producer for The Handmade Project, an unscripted competition series celebrating craftiness and creativity. His previous comedy special "American Ham" was released on Netflix in 2014 and his special "Summer of 69: No Apostrophe" with wife Megan Mullally aired on EPIX in May. Offerman is a New York Times Bestselling author and in October 2016 released his third book, Good Clean Fun, about his very own Offerman Woodshop. About Lagavulin Since 1816, Lagavulin Single Malt Scotch Whisky has been made in a picturesque huddle of buildings on Lagavulin Bay. Perhaps the most beautifully situated of distilleries, Lagavulin makes arguably the most intensely flavored, smoky and rich whisky of all. For many, this is the definitive Islay malt. About Diageo: Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan's and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray and Guinness. Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people and its brands, visit www.diageo.com. For Diageo's global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit www.DRINKiQ.com. Celebrating life, every day, everywhere. SOURCE Lagavulin Related Links http://www.diageo.com LONDON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Corporation plc (NYSE: NE) today announced that its report of drilling rig status and contract information has been updated as of June 15, 2017. The report, titled "Fleet Status Report," can be found on the Company's Website www.noblecorp.com, under the "Investor Relations" section of the Website. About Noble Corporation plc Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. The Company owns and operates one of the most modern, versatile and technically advanced fleets in the offshore drilling industry. Noble performs, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of 28 offshore drilling units, consisting of 14 drillships and semisubmersibles and 14 jackups, focused largely on ultra-deepwater and high-specification jackup drilling opportunities in both established and emerging regions worldwide. Noble is a public limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 08354954 and registered office at Devonshire House, 1 Mayfair Place, London, W1J 8AJ England. Additional information on Noble is available at www.noblecorp.com. SOURCE Noble Corporation Related Links http://www.noblecorp.com NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP ("BLB&G") today announced that it has filed a securities class action lawsuit on behalf of City of Sunrise General Employees' Retirement Plan against FleetCor Technologies, Inc. ("FleetCor" or the "Company") (NYSE: FLT) and certain of its senior executives. The action, which is captioned City of Sunrise General Employees' Retirement Plan v. FleetCor Technologies, Inc., No. 1:17-cv-02207 (N.D. Ga.), asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in FleetCor securities during the time period of February 5, 2016 to May 2, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, FleetCor misled investors with regard to the sources of and reasons for its earnings and growth. The Complaint also alleges that FleetCor falsely stated that the Company discloses its fees to customers clearly and that it focuses its business on helping employers control spending and save money. In truth, the Company owes its ostensible success to overcharging customers, disseminating misleading marketing materials, and engaging in predatory sales practices. In addition, FleetCor's contracts did not clearly disclose the Company's fees and FleetCor's improper business practices did not help customers control spending or save money. If you wish to serve as Lead Plaintiff for the Class, you must file a motion with the Court no later than 60 days from today. Accordingly, the deadline for filing a motion for appointment as Lead Plaintiff is August 14, 2017. Any member of the proposed Class may move the Court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice. Members may also choose to do nothing and remain part of the proposed Class. If you wish to discuss this Action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact Avi Josefson of BLB&G at 212-554-1493, or via e-mail at [email protected]. Information about BLB&G can be found online at www.blbglaw.com. SOURCE Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP Related Links http://www.blbglaw.com CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today guidance for its second quarter ending July 1, 2017. Nucor expects second quarter results to be in the range of $1.00 to $1.05 per diluted share. This range is a decrease compared to the first quarter of 2017 consolidated net earnings of $1.11 per diluted share, but compares favorably to the second quarter of 2016 earnings of $0.76 per diluted share. The forecasted second quarter results would represent Nucor's best reported second quarter performance since 2008. Included in the first quarter of 2017 results were inventory related purchase accounting charges of $9.8 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, associated with the recent acquisitions of Southland Tube and Republic Conduit. We expect decreased performance of our steel mills segment, particularly of our sheet mills and bar mills, in the second quarter of 2017 as compared to the first quarter of 2017. Market conditions for hot-rolled sheet products have been more challenging than we expected earlier in the quarter when we provided our qualitative guidance due to aggressive competition. As anticipated, our plate mills are expected to have improved profitability in the second quarter of 2017 as compared to the first quarter of 2017. The performance of our downstream products segment is expected to improve in the second quarter of 2017 as compared to the first quarter of 2017, but we expect the performance of this segment in the second quarter of 2017 to be decreased from the second quarter of 2016. Nonresidential construction markets continue an overall positive trend, but conditions in the second quarter of 2017 have not been as robust as previously expected. Our raw materials segment's performance is expected to increase in the second quarter of 2017 as compared to the first quarter of 2017 due to the profitable performance of both of our direct reduced iron facilities. Imports continue to negatively impact the U.S. steel industry. Through the first five months of 2017, finished steel imports have increased an estimated 14% compared to the same period last year and account for an estimated 26% share of the U.S. market. However, several recently completed and ongoing trade cases are helping to stop the flood of dumped and subsidized products from foreign producers. Final determinations in the cut-to-length plate trade cases are having a positive impact as steel imports of these products have decreased in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year. In May, the government issued final determinations in the U.S. industry's trade cases against cut-to-length steel plate imports from twelve countries because of injury that has occurred from unfairly traded imports in this market. We believe that these final determinations will address all dumping and subsidies associated with these cases. Trade cases addressing imports of steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) and steel wire rod are also in progress. We believe these cases should provide positive results as they work their way through the legal process over the next several months. Last month, the U.S. Commerce Department announced final antidumping duties in the rebar case against Japan and Turkey, as well as final countervailing duties on rebar imports from Turkey. Also in May, the government determined that there is a reasonable indication that the U.S. steel industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod imports from ten countries. As a result, the government will continue its wire rod antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, and is expected to issue preliminary duty determinations in the coming months. Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel products, with operating facilities primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel -- in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural section tubing; electrical conduit; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; steel grating; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and HBI/DRI; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America's largest recycler. Certain statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. The words "believe," "expect," "project," "will," "should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify those forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressure on sales and pricing, including competition from imports and substitute materials; (2) the sensitivity of the results of our operations to prevailing steel prices and the changes in the supply and cost of raw materials, including scrap steel; (3) market demand for steel products; and (4) energy costs and availability. These and other factors are discussed in Nucor's regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in Nucor's fiscal 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Item 1A. Risk Factors. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of this date, and Nucor does not assume any obligation to update them. SOURCE Nucor Corporation Related Links http://www.nucor.com CHICAGO and ATLANTA, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Before posting pictures of your late-night revelry or complaints about your job on social media, think again 70 percent of employers use social media to screen candidates before hiring, up significantly from 60 percent last year and 11 percent in 2006. The national survey was conducted online on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll between February 16 and March 9, 2017. It included a representative sample of more than 2,300 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes in the private sector. "Most workers have some sort of online presence today and more than half of employers won't hire those without one," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. "This shows the importance of cultivating a positive online persona. Job seekers should make their professional profiles visible online and ensure any information that could negatively impact their job search is made private or removed." What Are Employers Looking for? Social recruiting is becoming a key part of HR departments 3 in 10 employers (30 percent) have someone dedicated to the task. When researching candidates for a job, employers who use social networking sites are looking for information that supports their qualifications for the job (61 percent), if the candidate has a professional online persona (50 percent), what other people are posting about the candidates (37 percent) and for a reason not to hire a candidate (24 percent). Employers aren't just looking at social media 69 percent are using online search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing to research candidates as well, compared to 59 percent last year. Ponder Before You Post Learn from those before you more than half of employers (54 percent) have found content on social media that caused them not to hire a candidate for an open role. Of those who decided not to hire a candidate based on their social media profiles, the reasons included: Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos or information: 39 percent Candidate posted information about them drinking or using drugs: 38 percent Candidate had discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion: 32 percent Candidate bad-mouthed their previous company or fellow employee: 30 percent Candidate lied about qualifications: 27 percent Candidate had poor communication skills: 27 percent Candidate was linked to criminal behavior: 26 percent Candidate shared confidential information from previous employers: 23 percent Candidate's screen name was unprofessional: 22 percent Candidate lied about an absence: 17 percent Candidate posted too frequently: 17 percent Your online persona doesn't just have the potential to get you in trouble. Cultivating your presence online can also lead to reward. More than 4 in 10 employers (44 percent) have found content on a social networking site that caused them to hire the candidate. Among the primary reasons employers hired a candidate based on their social media profiles were candidate's background information supported their professional qualifications (38 percent), great communication skills (37 percent), a professional image (36 percent), and creativity (35 percent). Don't Delete, Instead Police Debating removing your social media profiles while job searching? Think twice before you hit delete. Fifty-seven percent of employers are less likely to call someone in for an interview if they can't find a job candidate online. Of that group, 36 percent like to gather more information before calling in a candidate for an interview, and 25 percent expect candidates to have an online presence. Got the Job? Stay Vigilant Just because you got the job doesn't mean you can disregard what you post online. More than half of employers (51 percent) use social media sites to research current employees. Thirty-four percent of employers have found content online that caused them to reprimand or fire an employee. Survey Methodology This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,380 hiring and human resource managers (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between February 16 and March 9, 2017 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 2,380, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2.01 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies. About CareerBuilder CareerBuilder is a global, end-to-end human capital solutions company focused on helping employers find, hire and manage great talent. Combining advertising, software and services, CareerBuilder leads the industry in recruiting solutions, employment screening and human capital management. It also operates top job sites around the world. Owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA), Tribune Media (NYSE:TRCO) and McClatchy (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com. Media Contact Rachel Nauen 773-353-3803 [email protected] http://www.twitter.com/CareerBuilderPR SOURCE CareerBuilder Related Links http://www.careerbuilder.com CHICAGO, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cobalt Holdings, Inc., a Managed Services Broadband Provider that provides fiber-optic network, wireless and Wi-Fi services to the hospitality industry in Cancuns Riviera Maya, today announced the appointment of Steve Burks to its senior management team. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/02a8967e-d526-41a2-963e-b63c66ec67bb Steve Burks joins Cobalt Holdings as Senior Advisor - Resort Marketing, for Cobalts Mexico operating subsidiary, Cobalt Broadband Services S.A. DE C.V. Burks has 25 years of resort experience in leadership roles with Marriott, Disney and Bluegreen. He also has marketed to resorts in the Mayan Riviera with his own marketing company and on NBCs Today Show and many other media outlets. I am very excited to bring Cobalts value proposition to a region that has limited broadband connectivity, Burks said. In particular, we are providing guaranteed bandwidth to the areas more than 500 hotels and resorts with more than 200,000 rooms. We are the only provider that will design, build, maintain and, most importantly, finance each resort project in exchange for a small per-room per-day charge. We have worked with Steve in the past, and he is a proven performer, with deep industry contacts in the region, said Larry Malone, President of Cobalt Holdings, Inc. Our objective is to bring world-class Managed Broadband Services to the region, including completing a dedicated fiber-optic network with international connectivity to the rest of the world. About Cobalt Holdings Cobalt Holdings, Inc. is a privately held broadband development Company, with headquarters in Lake Bluff, Illinois. Through its Mexico operating subsidiary, Cobalt Broadband Services S.A. DE C.V., the Company provides fiber-optic network, wireless and commercial-grade Wi-Fi services to the hospitality industry in Cancuns Riviera Maya. Company management has more than 150 years of combined telecommunications experience in emerging markets around the world. For more information, go to: www.cobaltholdings.net. WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will host a workshop in Charleston, W.V., at the Holiday Inn & Suites Charleston West, July 25, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations supervised by the OCC. The Operational Risk workshop focuses on the key components of operational riskpeople, processes, and systems. The workshop also covers governance, third-party risk, vendor management, and cybersecurity. The workshop fee is $99 and open to directors of national community banks and federal savings associations supervised by the OCC. Participants receive a pre-workshop reading package and course materials, and assorted supervisory publications. The workshop is limited to the first 35 registrants. The workshop is taught by experienced OCC staff and is one of the 35 offered nationwide to enhance and expand the skills of national community bank and federal savings association directors. For information, including a complete list of available workshops, or to register for a workshop, visit http://www.seiservices.com/occ or call (240) 485-1700. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") charters and oversees a nationwide system of national banks and federal savings associations and assures that these banking institutions are safe and sound, competitive, and capable of serving the banking needs of their customers in the best possible manner. OCC press releases and other information are available at http://www.occ.gov. To receive OCC press releases and issuances by e-mail, subscribe at http://www.occ.gov/subscribe/occ-email-list-service.html. NR 2017-66 SOURCE Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Related Links http://www.occ.gov "The One North team is truly thrilled to be recognized as a leading innovator in Chicago's tech community," said John Simpson, CEO at One North Interactive. "This award is a testament to the impressive work of our passionate employees, and the long-standing partnerships with our B2B clients." One North provides digital strategy, experience design and technology solutions to professional services firms in a range of industries, including legal, consulting, architecture, engineering, construction and finance. It manages more than 600 web solutions that earn more than 152 million page views every month. The agency's innovative approach to how clients should engage in continuous, incremental improvements in digital platforms, as well as its uniquely collaborative brand, creative and user experience teams, has resulted in numerous award-winning websites. One North was recently honored with two Communicator Awards for excellence in digital marketing for its work with clients Navigant and Bradley. The firm was also voted by readers of the National Law Journal as the No. 1 Website Design Service. "The range of industries represented in this year's Moxie Awards is a perfect illustration of our tech ecosystem's biggest strength," said Built In co-founder and CEO Maria Christopoulos Katris. "Our entrepreneurs are solving real problems in industries they understand." The Moxie Awards have brought together the city's most innovative entrepreneurs and outstanding digital technology startups for the past six years. A combination of a panel of judges and community voters determine the winners. This year, nearly 14,000 votes were cast among the award's 14 categories. View the entire list of Built In Chicago's Moxie Award winners here. About One North Interactive One North is a B2B digital agency that partners with professional services organizations to create powerful digital experiences aimed at achieving marketing and business development goals. The firm specializes in brand, digital strategy, experience design, technology and managed hosting. It holds deep expertise within the legal, consulting, finance, accounting, engineering and construction industries. More than 90 multidisciplinary One North professionals collaborate to produce award-winning work and build strategic partnerships, including with Sitecore as a Platinum Solution and Hosting Partner. For more information, visit www.onenorth.com or connect on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. SOURCE One North Interactive Related Links http://www.onenorth.com NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 7 p.m., the 2017 New York Fashion & Lifestyle Festival (NYFLF) was launched on the 63rd floor of One World Trade Center, hosted jointly by Globe Fashion Week Inc. and WG Empire. This year, NYFLF celebrated the fashion spirit with the grand opening of WG Empire at the iconic building One World Trade Center. In the meantime, the WTC building lighted up with the NYFLF hot pink color. NYFLF is the annual grand celebration event aims to provide opportunities for emerging designers and artists to showcase and connect with media, buyers and investors. This year, NYFLF partnered with The United Nations Children's Fund NextGen (UNICEF NextGen), highlighting charity, aside from the theme of fashion and art. Guest Speakers featured WTC representative Peter Trivelas and WG Empire CEO Chujun Wang. "A key goal of the 2017 NYFLF is to support emerging fashion designers and artists around the globe. Many talented emerging designers are unable to afford showing at New York Fashion Week. June, less busy on the fashion calendar, proves a suitable month for NYFLF to attract and invite industry individuals. Many emerging New York designers/artists, on the other hand, are in need of such platforms. After a selection process, admitted emerging artists are able to display their works at NYFLF," said Todd Hessert, Co-founder of Globe Fashion Week, Inc. Participants include Lanyu (designer), Narval New York (designer), Gemma Hoi (designer), Trixie Zarate (designer), Yang Mai (artist), Lin Wang (artist), Coralraincan (artist), BoboSnap (stylist), etc. Influential industry guests were invited, including Fiona Dieffenbacher, director of the BFA fashion design program at Parsons; Nicole Zhao, CEO of LANYU; Ryan Serhant and Fredrik Eklund, stars from the famous Million Dollar Listing and Sterling McDavid, chair of UNICEF Next Generation and so forth. "NYFLF invite investors who take interest in fashion and art, connecting them with emerging brands at NYFLF. The festival serves the commercial function and meanwhile makes charitable contributions. On behalf of NYFLF, I would like to thank World Trade Center and WG Empire to partner up, and to thank Dior Makeup, The Fragrance Group, La Prairie, Lady M, Cava Oinos, Pisco 100, Cusquena, B&H Photo and The Starling Project for being our sponsors. Together, we work to support causes of The United Nations Children's Fund," said Todd Hessert Jiang, creative director of NYFLF. About Globe Fashion Week, Inc. Globe Fashion Week is a leading full-service runway showcasing, strategic marketing, brand consulting and public relations company that is exclusively devoted to the fashion industry in New York, London, Milan, and Paris. For more information, visit GlobeFashionWeek.com. Contact Information Todd Hessert Co-founder of Globe Fashion Week, Inc. [email protected] Related Images image1.png image2.png image3.jpg image4.jpeg SOURCE Globe Fashion Week Related Links http://GlobeFashionWeek.com Dear Mr. Furukawa, On behalf of the Board of Directors of Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc. (the "Company"), I am writing in response to your letter of June 1, 2017. We value the constructive conversations we have held with you over the years and appreciate your continued feedback, perspective and interest in the Company. Considering our longstanding history of respectful engagement with you, we were surprised to see your concerns aired in a public letter without first giving us an opportunity to discuss these matters with you privately. We remain open to continuing an ongoing engagement with you, just like with any of our other stockholders. However, in light of the numerous misleading and inaccurate statements and statistics in your public letter, we feel compelled to set the record straight. First and foremost, we remain steadfastly committed to acting in the best interests of the Company and all of its stockholders. As we announced earlier this week, we have authorized a new $10 million stock repurchase plan and have increased our quarterly dividend. These actions were set in motion and referenced in our public filings and earnings calls long before your June 1 letter. They were also heavily informed by extensive and ongoing stockholder discussions over a period of many months, and in-depth evaluations of the Company's balance sheet and capital needs. They demonstrate our continued commitment to thoughtfully and appropriately deploying capital to deliver immediate value to our stockholders. The announced repurchase plan on June 13th is the fourth authorized by the Board in as many years, and a clear illustration of the Board's belief in efficiently deploying capital. Over the past four years the Company has repurchased $12.9 million of its stock and paid out $15.1 million in cash dividends. Going forward, we will continue to opportunistically utilize these tools to close the valuation gap between our share price and book value. Contrary to your statement that the Company has a "history of trailing market returns", relative to the two indices you selected, we have generated significantly greater returns. During the period from our initial public listing, through April 30, 2017, the Company has generated a total stockholder return of 107.15%, significantly more than the returns generated by the FTSE AREIT Mortgage REIT Index and Russell 2000 Index of 46.90% and 46.01%, respectively. During the period since our public listing on July 1, 2013, we have created net earnings of over $70 million, or approximately $6.73 per share. As disclosed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have also substantially outperformed the SNL U.S. Finance REIT Index during the period from our initial public listing through the end of 20161: The underlying cause of this discrepancy between your view and the reality of our financial performance results from your selective inclusion of data over a period that extends back over four years before Owens Realty Mortgage was even a publicly listed company. The metric you cite, total return to stockholders, includes public stock price appreciation as an input variable, and as this variable would not apply to the Company's pre-public predecessor (thereby artificially depressing the output), your attempted inclusion of pre-public, non-traded limited partnership performance data results in a highly misleading depiction of the value the Company has actually generated for its public stockholders. With respect to the Management Agreement, as we announced earlier this week, our Compensation Committee has been engaged in a months-long internal analysis related to our external management structure, including possible amendments to the Company's management agreement that would replace the current management fee payable to the Manager with a management fee based on a stockholders' equity calculation that is similar to industry standards, or an internalization transaction. In an effort to conduct a thorough review, the Compensation Committee hired a leading independent consultant, FTI Consulting, as an external compensation advisor at the outset of this process. Ultimately, the conclusion the Compensation Committee reaches will be the product of a vigorous and analytical evaluation designed to maximize value for our stockholders. Although we appreciate your ideas about how to increase stockholder value, we have serious concerns regarding the consequences of liquidation, including adverse economic consequences, negative tax implications, and the potentially significant downward pricing pressure that arises in many liquidations. The Board has been proactive - and will remain focused on closing the gap between the Company's stock price and book value. The Company's stock repurchase program and increased quarterly dividend announced earlier this week are the most recent proofs of this commitment. We also continue to believe the Company's current strategy of disposing real estate assets in a responsible manner and reallocating the balance sheet from primarily real estate to commercial loan investments are the best methods of maximizing net returns and eliminating the valuation gap. We would like to reiterate that the Board values and will continue to welcome and take into account the views and opinions of all of our stockholders. Once again, we thank you for your feedback and perspective. Regards, William C. Owens Chairman of the Board 1This graph is a comparison of the cumulative total stockholder return on shares of the Company's Common Stock, the Russell 2000 Index, and the SNL U.S. Finance REIT Index, a published industry index, from July 1, 2013 (the day we commenced trading on the NYSE MKT) to December 31, 2016. The graph assumes that $100 was invested on July 1, 2013 in our Common Stock, the Russell 2000 Index and the SNL U.S. Finance REIT and that all dividends were reinvested without the payment of any commissions. There can be no assurance that the performance of the Company's shares will continue in line with the same or similar trends depicted in the graph below. The information included in the graph and table below was obtained from SNL Financial LC, Charlottesville, VA 2017. About Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc. Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc., a Maryland corporation, is a specialty finance mortgage company organized to qualify as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") that focuses on the origination, investment, and management of commercial real estate mortgage loans. We provide customized, short-term acquisition and transition capital to small balance and middle-market investors that require speed and flexibility. Our primary objective is to provide investors with attractive current income and long-term shareholder value. Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc., is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, and is externally managed and advised by Owens Financial Group, Inc. Additional information can be found on the Company's website at www.owensmortgage.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements about the Company's plans, strategies, prospects, and anticipated events, including the transactions or other items discussed in this Current Report, are based on current information, estimates, and projections; they are subject to risks and uncertainties, as well as known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, readers should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "target," "assume," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believe," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in the Company's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including those appearing under the heading "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and each subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the Company or matters attributable to the Company or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. Important Additional Information The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Company's stockholders in connection with matters to be considered at the Company's 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the "2017 Annual Meeting"). The Company has filed a definitive proxy statement and white proxy card with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with its solicitation of proxies from the Company's stockholders. STOCKHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ SUCH PROXY STATEMENT, ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Information regarding the identities of the Company's directors and executive officers, and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, are set forth in the proxy statement and other materials filed with the SEC in connection with the 2017 Annual Meeting. Stockholders can obtain the proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement, and any other documents filed by the Company with the SEC at no charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. These documents are also available at no charge in the "SEC Filings & Reports" section of the Company's website at www.owensmortgage.com. SOURCE Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc. Related Links http://www.owensmortgage.com PHILADELPHIA, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, The Pew Charitable Trusts announced 22 exceptional early-career researchers as Pew scholars in the biomedical sciences. Each scholar will receive four years of flexible funding to pursue foundational research. "Pew is proud to support these investigators as they use novel approaches to illuminate the mechanisms of human biology and disease," said Rebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts. "This impressive group has demonstrated the curiosity and courage that drive great scientific advances, and we are excited to help them fulfill their potential." The 2017 scholarsall of whom hold assistant professor positionsjoin a thriving community of more than 900 biomedical scientists who have received awards from Pew since 1985. Each year, current scholars come together to discuss their research and learn from peers in fields outside of their own. "Innovation is critical for scientists trying to crack some of the toughest questions in human health," said Craig C. Mello, Ph.D., a 1995 Pew scholar, 2006 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine, and chair of the national advisory committee for the scholars program. "Pew's biomedical programs not only provide young scientists with the flexibility to pursue creative ideas; they also spark interdisciplinary thinking and collaborations that can open new paths in the search for answers." The scholars are chosen from nominations made by some 180 leading academic and research institutions. This year's class includes scientists using cutting-edge techniques to study the factors controlling gene expression, the behavior of our brains' neurons, and communication among the various bacteria in our bodies. Better understanding of such fundamental processes will lay important groundwork for potential treatments of neurological disorders, kidney disease, and other illnesses. Five members of the 2017 class of scholars will receive awards with support from the Kathryn W. Davis Peace by Pieces Fund. They were selected for their commitment to investigating health challenges in the brain as it ages. The 2017 Pew scholars in the biomedical sciences are: Mohamed S. Abou Donia, Ph.D. Princeton University Chemical Biology Jose L. Avalos, Ph.D. Princeton University Systems Biology Eiman Azim, Ph.D. Salk Institute for Biological Studies Neuroscience Erhu Cao, Ph.D. University of Utah Biochemistry Ibrahim Cisse, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Biophysics Michael A. Crickmore, Ph.D. Boston Children's Hospital Neuroscience Rachel J. Dutton, Ph.D. University of California, San Diego Microbiology Michael M. Halassa, M.D., Ph.D. New York University Neuroscience Jorge Henao-Mejia, M.D., Ph.D. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Immunology Ya-Chieh Hsu, Ph.D. Harvard University Stem Cell Biology Gene-Wei Li, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cell Biology Anna Victoria R. Molofsky, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco Neuroscience Shaeri Mukherjee, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco Microbiology and Immunology Alan C. Mullen, M.D., Ph.D. Massachusetts General Hospital Cell Biology; Molecular Biology Carolyn M. Phillips, Ph.D. University of Southern California Molecular Biology Kaoru Saijo, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley Immunology Robert Spitale, Ph.D. University of California, Irvine Chemical Biology David Veesler, Ph.D. University of Washington Virology Elizabeth Villa, Ph.D. University of California, San Diego Biophysics Bin Wu, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University Biophysics Naoki Yamanaka, Ph.D. University of California, Riverside Endocrinology Nilay Yapici, Ph.D. Cornell University Neuroscience Visit the program page to read the scholars' full abstracts and learn more about the program. The 2017 classes of Pew-Stewart scholars for cancer research and Pew Latin American fellows were also announced today. The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Learn more at www.pewtrusts.org. Matt Mulkey, 202-862-9864, [email protected] SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts Related Links http://www.pewtrusts.org PHILADELPHIA, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today the 2017 class of Pew Latin American Fellows in the Biomedical Sciences. Ten pioneering postdoctoral scientists from Latin America will each be awarded two years of funding to conduct research at laboratories and academic institutions in the United States. The 2017 fellows are from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, and their research interests range from the design of mosquito control tools to combat the spread of malaria to how obesity, cancer, and other diseases develop. "Pew is delighted that these rising talents will join our truly global scientific collaboration," said Rebecca W. Rimel, Pew's president and CEO. "They bring with them new ideas, insights, and curiosity that will again demonstrate that science and discovery know no borders." The fellows will conduct their research under the mentorship of some of the most distinguished researchers in biomedical science, including alumni of the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. An important element of the program is additional funding provided to awardees who return to Latin America to launch their own research labs after the completion of their fellowships. About 70 percent of program participants have taken advantage of this incentive and are conducting work on regional and global health challenges in nine Latin American countries. "Almost 150 young scientists have returned to their home countries and established independent research labs, providing critical groundwork for biomedical research across Latin America," said Torsten N. Wiesel, M.D., the 1981 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine and chair of the program's national advisory committee. "The 2017 class is again made up of researchers of outstanding promise who will no doubt continue to enhance the growing biomedical research community in the region." The 2017 Pew Latin American fellows and their U.S. mentors are: Cesar L. Cuevas Velazquez, Ph.D. Laboratory of Jose R. Dinneny, Ph.D. Carnegie Institution for Science Plant Biology Heverton Dutra, Ph.D. Laboratory of Flaminia Catteruccia, Ph.D. Harvard University Immunology and Microbiology Ana Fiszbein, Ph.D. Laboratory of Christopher Burge, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computational Biology Maria E. Inda, Ph.D. Laboratory of Timothy K. Lu, M.D., Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Synthetic Biology Rafik Neme, Ph.D. Laboratory of Laura Landweber, Ph.D. Columbia University Evolutionary Biology Ana S. Peinetti, Ph.D. Laboratory of Yi Lu, Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Bioengineering Jose E. Soto Laboratory of Jorge Galan, V.M.D., Ph.D. Yale University Microbiology Djalma Souza Lima Junior, Ph.D. Laboratory of Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH Immunology Silvio G. Temprana, Ph.D. Laboratory of Hillel Adesnik, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley Neuroscience Mauricio A. Torres, Ph.D. Laboratory of Ling Qi, Ph.D. University of Michigan Physiology Visit the program page to read the fellows' full abstracts and learn more about the program. The Latin American fellows program, launched in 1990, is part of Pew's strategy to invest in young scientists who are exploring questions fundamental to advancing human health. New classes of the Pew-Stewart scholars for cancer research and the Pew biomedical scholars were also announced today. The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Learn more at www.pewtrusts.org. Matt Mulkey, 202-862-9864, [email protected] SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts Related Links http://www.pewtrusts.org SINGAPORE and LONDON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TBWA\Worldwide today announced Philip Brett, president, TBWA\Asia, has been promoted to chief operating officer, TBWA\Worldwide. Brett will remain in Singapore until autumn to ensure a smooth transition before returning to London to drive the company's performance and innovation agenda. Following Brett's appointment, Ian Pearman, CEO of AMVBBDO, has been appointed president, TBWA\Asia, based in Singapore. With his new role effective August 1, Pearman will have responsibility for all countries in Asia and is charged with further advancing the agency's collective position across the region. Australia and New Zealand continue to be led by Paul Bradbury, CEO, TBWA\Oceania. Pearman joined AMVBBDO in 1996 as a graduate trainee, rising through the ranks to CEO in 2010, where he has driven innovation, transformation and new services. The agency has topped the billings league for 20 years and during Pearman's seven-year CEO tenure AMVBBDO has won over 40 Agency of the Year awards, as well as a place in the top 40 "Best Companies to Work For" rankings in The Sunday Times. "Phil and Ian share an innovation and product mindset, the ability to build bridges, and a thirst to drive ideas into action," said Troy Ruhanen, president and CEO, TBWA Worldwide. "We are beyond lucky to have two of Omnicom's best as part of The Disruption Company and I am thrilled to see them both step in to new growth roles." Andrew Robertson, president and CEO, BBDO Worldwide added, "I watched Ian grow through the ranks, and saw him, as CEO, drive the digital transformation of our offer, an aggressive innovation agenda, and the introduction of new services for our clients. I'm pleased for Ian and for Omnicom. It's a textbook case of how to manage and develop talent." Expanding Brett's remit beyond Asia is an important strategic move for TBWA\Worldwide. After 21 years of focus on the Asia region, Brett's primary responsibility in the COO role is to operationalise the company's numerous product and platform initiatives across the globe by implementing best practices and innovation. Said Brett, "It has been a pure privilege to spend the last two decades building TBWA\Asia into one of the most dynamic agency groups in Asia. I've worked with many of the world's best brands, and the most talented, creative and innovative people I have grown to love and respect. It's now time for the next opportunity and I am thrilled to return to London and to work closely with Troy to help write the next chapter of TBWA. I can do so with a clear conscience that Ian will be at the helm. His expertise in running London's largest agency over the last seven years will add enormous value, further advancing the Collective's position and strengthening its offering." Under Brett's leadership, Asia has played a major role in creating new products and operating models within TBWA, such as Disruption Live, which was birthed in Hong Kong and Singapore. His remit now will be to take what he's driven throughout Asia and scale it across the company. Added Ruhanen, "Many companies have great ideas of how to innovate, but lack the focus and energy to make them business realities. The future of our business is around product and platforms, and so we need a clear focus on operationalizing transformative ideas. Phil has the business acumen to both identify the best ideas across the collective and bring them to life." Brett's passion and drive to establish a competitive network across Asia has resulted in the group winning some of the region's most valuable brands, including the global portfolio for Singapore Airlines, Standard Chartered Bank, and Singapore Tourism Board, who remain key clients today. Brett joined the TBWA\Group in 1992 out of London and moved to Singapore in 1996 to establish Tequila across Asia. In 2003, Brett was made regional managing director of Tequila, having set up 10 agencies across the Asia Pacific region. In 2009, his remit widened to run TBWA\South & Southeast Asia, before being named TBWA\Asia president in 2015. In 2016 he was named Creative Agency Network Head of the Year by Campaign. Commenting on his appointment to the role of TBWA Asia president, Pearman said, "It has been an incredible privilege to be part of AMVBBDO for 21 years and to have been able to carry the flame. The opportunity to move up within Omnicom like this is fantastic. Andrew and Troy are the two people in this business I most admire, and to be able to work for both of them in the space of one career makes me one lucky man. The optimism, ambition and rich variety of the Asia region makes it a brilliant canvas for TBWA's unrelenting focus on creativity and innovation, and I look forward to partnering with Phil to turbocharge that entrepreneurial spirit to the benefit of TBWA's clients and people." About TBWA\Worldwide TBWA\Worldwide (www.tbwa.com) is a top-ten ranked global advertising collective that holds Disruption at its core to develop business-changing ideas for brands. TBWA has 11,300 employees across 305 offices in 98 countries and also includes brands such as Auditoire, Digital Arts Network (DAN), eg+ worldwide, The Integer Group, TBWA\Media Arts Lab and TBWA\WorldHealth. TBWA's global clients include adidas, Apple, Gatorade, Henkel, McDonald's, Michelin, Nissan, Pernod Ricard, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore Airlines, Sotheby's and Vichy. Follow TBWA on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook. About Omnicom Group Inc. Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. SOURCE TBWA Worldwide Related Links http://www.tbwa.com KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rain Boot Media, a company dedicated to creating kid-friendly apps with an artist's flair and important messages, has introduced Ladybug Band, a fun and lively read-along digital storybook app that encourages kids to get up, dance and make music. The educational and wholesome app is available from the App Store and Google Play for $1.99. Ladybug Band features original color- and texture-rich illustrations by story author and artist Becky Pashia, and illustrator Noelle Stoffel, that accompany a read-along, narrated rhyming story. Designed to engage fine and gross motor skills, each page has items for kids to touch, trace or shake. At the end of the story, they can "join" the Ladybug Band and make their own recordings, playing instruments or singing the main vocal. The app even includes an original song, "Coconut Jamboree" (available on iTunes and Spotify) written and performed by Mason Pashia. "We want to inspire creativity in kids and nurture their abilities to solve 'problems' and challenges," explains Rain Boot Media Chief Executive Officer, Becky Pashia. "In the book, kids have to figure out what to 'do' on each page. This is where learning happens." Rain Boot Media was founded by Pashia with a goal of offering wholesome and educational apps where original stories come to life on digital devices through fun narrative, beautiful illustrations and custom games -- all designed to inspire creative thinking skills in kids. Pashia has painted and taught painting for more than 25 years. She is most well-known for her atmospheric landscape paintings, and has experimented with both visual and fine arts over the course of her career. With Rain Boot Media, Pashia takes her craft to a new level, blending visual and fine arts with digital media. The company's first app, the holiday-themed "One Present, Please?" debuted in November 2016 and featured an original story written by Pashia, illustrations by Stoffel, coloring pages, hidden pictures, puzzles and mini games. The app conveys a wholesome message of giving and receiving in a clever way. For more information, visit RainBootMedia.com. Apps are available from the App Store, and Ladybug Band is available on Google Play. SOURCE Rain Boot Media Related Links http://rainbootmedia.com First Quarter 2017 Highlights Q1 2017 Q/Q Change Y/Y Change Revenue $156.6 -32.5% -39.9% Gross Profit $1.7 -65.4% -96.1% Operating Loss ($17.8) N/A N/A Net Loss ($23.2) N/A N/A Revenue of $156.6 million exceeded the high end of the guidance range of $130 million to $150 million ; Gross margin was 1.1%, compared to 2.1% in Q4 2016 and 17.1% in Q1 2016; Net loss was $23.2 million , compared to net loss of $25.5 million in Q4 2016 and net income of $5.7 million in Q1 2016; Total external module shipments were 266.8 MW while module shipments to the Company's downstream projects were approximately 44.3 MW; Total external wafer shipments were 259.2 MW, compared to 305.9 MW in Q4 2016 and 351.0 MW in Q1 2016; Recognized revenue of $2.2 million from sale of rooftop projects in China with aggregate capacity of 2.3 MW; Signed agreements to sell a 6.75 MW of utility project in North Carolina and 1.3 MW of utility projects in Holyoke, Massachusetts with revenue expected to be recognized in Q2 2017; Connected two ground-mounted projects in the UK with a combined capacity of approximately 10 MW; revenue is expected to be recognized in Q2; As of June 2, 2017 , the Company had a solar power project pipeline of over 1.4G W, of which 613.1 MW are "shovel-ready" ; LED sales of $9.6 million increased by approximately 3 % compared to Q4 2016 with gross margin of approximately 30.9 %; and Total borrowings increased by $ 54.3 million to $678.6 million compared to Q4 2016. Mr. Xianshou Li, ReneSola's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "First quarter results were generally in-line with our expectation, as we continued to gain traction from our downstream project efforts and LED distribution business, while affected by challenging market conditions of our solar power product business. We continue to execute our strategy to shift our business focus from manufacturing to downstream project development, and I am excited about the progress we are making. For the second quarter of 2017, we expect downstream project sales to increase when compared to the first quarter of 2017 due to continued growth in our project pipeline and our solid execution in project monetization." Li continued, "We remained focused on managing our working capital, controlling costs and improving our balance sheet. We believe these measures have prepared us well to develop sustainably as we progress through the current industry down-cycle." First Quarter 2017 Financial Results Revenue of $156.6 million was down 32.5% q/q and down 39.9% y/y, but exceeded the guidance of $130 million to $150 million. The decline in the year-over-year revenue was primarily due to lower module ASP's and reduced product shipments to external customers. Gross profit of $1.7 million was down 65.4% q/q and 96.1% y/y. Gross margin declined to 1.1% from 2.1% in Q4 2016 and from 17.1% in Q1 2016. The sequential margin decline was primarily due to lower module ASP's as well as annual maintenance of our polysilicon plant. Operating expenses were $19.5 million, representing 12.4% of revenue, down from $26.8 million in Q4 2016 and $32.3 million in Q1 2016. Sales and marketing expenses were $3.8 million, down from $7.3 million in Q4 2016 as we reversed certain warranty expenses to reflect the declining module ASP. Operating loss was $17.8 million, compared to operating loss of $21.8 million in Q4 2016 and operating income of $12.2 million in Q1 2016. Non-operating expenses of $9.1 million included net interest expense of $8.9 million and loss on derivative of $0.3 million, partially offset by foreign exchange gains of $0.2 million. Net loss was $23.2 million, compared to net loss of $25.5 million in Q4 2016 and net income of $5.7 million in Q1 2016. Loss per ADS was $1.16[1]. [1] The Company executed a ratio change for its American Depositary Receipt ("ADR") program effective on February 10, 2017. As a result, the number of the Company's shares represented by each ADS was changed from two (2) shares to ten (10) shares. Balance Sheet, Liquidity and Capital Resources The Company had cash and cash equivalents (including restricted cash) of $144.4 million as of March 31, 2017, compared to $133.2 million as of December 31, 2016. Total borrowings were $678.6 million, increasing by $54.3 million from $624.3 million as of December 31, 2016. First Quarter Operating Highlights The Company remains focused on developing, operating and selling high-quality solar power projects. Our business activities are centered on building a pipeline of distributed generation and utility-scale projects in attractive locations worldwide. In the first quarter, the Company continued to monetize its existing solar power project pipelines as part of its development cycle. Project Sales The Company recognized revenue of $2.2 million from the sale of rooftop projects of 2.3 MW in China's domestic distributed generation market in Q1 2017. The Company also signed agreements to sell a utility-scale project located in North Carolina with a capacity of approximately 6.75 MW and two utility-scale projects in Holyoke, Massachusetts with a combined capacity of approximately 1.3 MW in Q1 2017. The Company expects to recognize revenue from the sales of these projects in Q2 2017. The Company connected two ground-mounted projects in the UK with a combined capacity of approximately 10 MW with revenue expected to be recognized in Q2. Project Pipeline As of June 2, 2017, the Company had a pipeline of over 1.4 GW of projects in various stages, of which 613.1MW are projects that are "shovel-ready". The shovel-ready projects include (i) projects that are overseas and that ReneSola has the legal right to develop based on definitive agreements, and (ii) projects in China that are owned by ReneSola and have been filed with National Development and Reform Commission or third-party projects that the Company has signed definitive agreements to provide EPC services to. The Company identified a number of opportunities in China's domestic distributed generation market, and had 306.8 MW of such projects in shovel-ready stage in its pipeline as of June 2, 2017. The Company continues to focus on developed markets which are expected to have stable returns and healthy cash flow. The following table sets forth our shovel-ready projects pipeline by location: Project Location Shovel-ready (MW) USA 99.5 UK 14.3 Japan 17.5 Canada 8.9 Turkey 116.0[2] France 37.1 Poland 13.0 China DG 306.8 Total 613.1 [2] With the start of operation, ReneSola holds 50% of the economics in the projects, which are held for sale and expected to be sold in the normal course upon connection or shortly thereafter. The Company currently has over 270 MW project pipelines under construction and plans to construct over an aggregate of 550 MW of projects in the year of 2017. During the construction phase, the projects will be financed by construction loans, as well as installment payments from buyers. Modules and Wafers During the first quarter, total external module shipments were 266.8 MW, down 19.3% from Q4 2016 and down 23.9% from Q1 2016. Total wafer shipments were 259.2 MW, down 15.3% from Q4 2016 and down 26.2% from Q1 2016. LED LED revenue of $9.6 million was up by approximately 3% from $9.3 million in Q4 2016. Gross margin was approximately 30.9%. The sequential slowdown in LED revenue growth was largely due to short-term adjustment to product offerings, coupled with inventory management in the quarter. ReneSola remains optimistic about the growth prospects in LED business. The market for energy efficient products is large and growing rapidly. LED lighting is one of the most effective products for reducing electricity consumption. The Company believes it can leverage its brand name and global distribution footprint to build an attractive, high margin business. The Company expects LED business to grow into a meaningful financial contributor in the years ahead. Outlook For Q2 2017, the Company expects revenue in the range of $180 to $200 million, external wafer shipments in the range of 220MW to 240MW and external module shipments in the range of 230MW to 250MW. For full year 2017, the Company expects revenue in the range of $900 million to $1,000 million. Conference Call Information ReneSola's management will host an earnings conference call on June 15, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (8:30 p.m. China Time). Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows: Phone Number Toll-Free Number United States +1 8456750437 +1 8665194004 Hong Kong +852 30186771 +852 800906601 Mainland China +86 8008190121 +86 4006208038 Other International +65 67135090 Please dial in 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the passcode to join the call. The passcode is 35984787. A replay of the conference call may be accessed by phone at the following numbers until June 23, 2017. To access the replay, please again reference the conference passcode 35984787. Phone Number Toll-Free Number United States +1 6462543697 +1 8554525696 Hong Kong +852 30512780 +852 800963117 Mainland China +86 8008700206 +86 4006022065 Other International +61 281990299 Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of ReneSola's website at http://www.renesola.com. About ReneSola Founded in 2005, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2008, ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) is an international leading brand and technology provider of energy efficient products. Leveraging its global presence and expansive distribution and sales network, ReneSola is well positioned to provide its highest quality green energy products and on-time services for EPC, installers, and green energy projects around the world. For more information, please visit www.renesola.com. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains statements that constitute ''forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Whenever you read a statement that is not simply a statement of historical fact (such as when the Company describes what it "believes," "plans," "expects" or "anticipates" will occur, what "will" or "could" happen, and other similar statements), you must remember that the Company's expectations may not be correct, even though it believes that they are reasonable. The Company does not guarantee that the forward-looking statements will happen as described or that they will happen at all. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 20-F. The Company undertakes no obligation, beyond that required by law, to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made, even though the Company's situation may change in the future. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: In China: ReneSola Ltd Ms. Rebecca Shen +86 (21) 6280-9180 x106 [email protected] The Blueshirt Group Asia Mr. Gary Dvorchak, CFA +86 (138) 1079-1480 [email protected] In the United States: The Blueshirt Group Mr. Ralph Fong +1 (415) 489-2195 [email protected] RENESOLA LTD Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets (US dollars in thousands) Mar 31, Dec 31, Mar 31, 2017 2016 2016 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 26,634 37,336 38,687 Restricted cash 117,783 95,866 151,339 Accounts receivable, net of allowances for doubtful accounts 108,230 116,677 176,391 Inventories 153,220 143,976 181,659 Advances to suppliers-current 15,727 14,943 28,316 Amounts due from related parties 9,385 13,066 95 Value added tax recoverable 10,956 3,260 20,573 Prepaid income tax 1,115 1,081 1,900 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 16,002 22,838 15,901 Project assets 75,574 48,177 34,949 Deferred convertible notes issue costs-current - Derivative assets 2,716 - Assets held-for-sale 8,540 7,558 - Deferred tax assets-current, net 2,242 Total current assets 543,166 507,494 652,052 Property, plant and equipment, net 486,278 491,255 603,248 Prepaid land use right, net 31,923 31,850 37,179 Deferred tax assets-non-current, net 19,168 15,539 14,121 Advances for purchases of property, plant and equipment 1,824 846 1,288 Deferred project costs 19,153 16,375 20,874 Project assets-noncurrent 6,103 6,710 - Other long-lived assets 18,706 18,337 10,144 Total assets 1,126,321 1,088,406 1,338,906 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Convertible bond payable-current Short-term borrowings 647,587 595,434 735,610 Accounts payable 221,580 223,303 301,976 Advances from customers-current 36,701 21,998 24,985 Amounts due to related parties 4,575 1,257 3,189 Other current liabilities 59,655 62,126 62,727 Income tax payable 302 315 124 Derivative liabilities 371 343 Warrant liability 158 Total current liabilities 970,771 904,433 1,129,112 Convertible notes payable-non-current Long-term borrowings 31,057 28,836 1,551 Deferred revenue 32,566 32,243 32,376 Warranty 28,114 35,059 38,070 Deferred subsidies and other 20,943 20,824 23,116 Other long-term liabilities 939 866 15 Total liabilities 1,084,390 1,022,261 1,224,240 Shareholders' equity Common shares 476,658 476,658 477,419 Additional paid-in capital 8,420 8,229 7,707 Accumulated loss (493,215) (469,975) (429,544) Accumulated other comprehensive income 50,068 51,233 59,084 Total equity attribute to ReneSola Ltd 41,931 66,145 114,666 Total shareholders' equity 41,931 66,145 114,666 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 1,126,321 1,088,406 1,338,906 RENESOLA LTD Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Income (US dollar in thousands, except ADS and share data) Three Months Ended Mar 31, 2017 Dec 31, 2016 Mar 31, 2016 Net revenues from third parties 148,267 207,502 260,696 Net revenues from related parties 8,343 24,572 Total net revenues 156,610 232,074 260,696 Cost of revenues (154,889) (227,103) (216,191) Gross profit 1,721 4,971 44,505 GP% 1.10% 2.1% 17.1% Operating (expenses) income: Sales and marketing (3,776) (7,268) (13,500) General and administrative (12,450) (12,277) (13,269) Research and development (5,707) (5,362) (8,190) Other operating income 2,458 2,737 2,694 Impairment of long-lived assets and advances for purchases of property, plant and equipment (4,625) Total operating expenses (19,475) (26,795) (32,265) Income (loss) from operations (17,754) (21,824) 12,240 Non-operating (expenses) income: Interest income 312 293 777 Interest expense (9,248) (7,368) (9,860) Foreign exchange gains (losses) 161 4,916 2,945 Gains (losses) on derivatives, net (332) 2,002 (602) Investment(loss) gain on disposal of subsidiaries (75) 7 Gains on repurchase of convertible bonds 213 Fair value change of warrant liability - 420 Income (loss) before income tax, noncontrolling interests (26,861) (22,056) 6,140 Income tax (expense) benefit 3,621 (3,407) (407) Net income (loss) (23,240) (25,463) 5,733 Less: Net income (loss) attributed to noncontrolling interests Net income (loss) attributed to holders of ordinary shares (23,240) (25,463) 5,733 Earnings per share Basic (0.12) (0.13) 0.03 Diluted (0.12) (0.13) 0.03 Earnings per ADS Basic (1.16) (1.26) 0.28 Diluted (1.16) (1.26) 0.28 Weighted average number of shares used in computing loss per share Basic 200,538,902 201,774,449 203,163,310 Diluted 200,538,902 201,774,449 203,163,310 Mar 31, 2017 Dec 31, 2016 Mar 31, 2016 Net income (loss) (23,240) (25,463) 5,733 Other comprehensive income (loss) Foreign exchange translation adjustment (1,165) 233 (2,493) Other comprehensive income (loss) (1,165) 233 (2,493) Comprehensive income (loss) (24,405) (25,230) 3,240 Less:comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interest - Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Renesola (24,405) (25,230) 3,240 RENESOLA LTD Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow (US dollar in thousands) Three Months Ended Mar 31, 2017 Mar 31, 2016 Operating activities: Net profit/(loss) (23,240) 5,733 Adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activity: Inventory write-down 1,615 0 Depreciation and amortization 20,920 21,218 Amortization of deferred convertible bond issuances costs and premium 33 Allowance of doubtful receivables, advance to suppliers and prepayment for purchases of property, plant and equipment (28) (1,108) Gain (loss) on derivatives 332 (56) Fair value change of warrant liability (420) Gain from settlement of certain payables Gain from advances from customers 0 Share-based compensation 191 225 Gain (loss) on disposal of long-lived assets 676 1,208 Gain on disposal of solar project (2,527) Impairment of goodwill Impairment of Intangible assets Impairment of long-lived assets Reversal of firm purchase commitment Gain on disposal of subsidiaries Gain on CB repurchase (212) Changes in assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable 6,295 (15,263) Inventories (11,209) 2,489 Project assets and deferred project cost (26,691) (3,227) Advances to suppliers (522) (9,728) Amounts due from related parties 3,793 509 Value added tax recoverable (7,593) 4,413 Prepaid expenses and other assets 7,051 10,415 Prepaid land use rights, net 204 230 Accounts payable (4,044) (1,196) Advances from customers 12,441 (3,465) Income tax payable (41) 1,548 Other current liabilities (3,360) (15,696) Deferred revenue Other non-current assets Other long-term assets Warranty (7,241) 1,854 Deferred taxes assets (3,366) (1,044) Other long-term liabilities 65 (319) Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (33,752) (4,386) Investing activities: Purchases of property, plant and equipment (11,441) (2,240) Advances for purchases of property, plant and equipment (865) - Cash received from government subsidy - Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment 63 - Advance from disposal of property, plant and equipment 2,905 Changes in restricted cash (21,076) (10,211) Net cash received (paid) on settlement of derivatives 284 420 Proceeds from disposal of subsidiaries 5,140 Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (30,130) (6,891) Financing activities: Proceeds from bank borrowings 269,850 264,262 Proceeds from related parties 3,340 - Repayment of bank borrowings (222,513) (227,058) Proceeds from exercise of stock options Paid for CB repurchase (25,931) Cash paid for ADS/s repurchase (733) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 50,677 10,540 Effect of exchange rate changes 2,503 1,379 Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (10,702) 642 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period/year 37,336 38,045 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period/year 26,634 38,687 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080506/CNTU030 SOURCE ReneSola Ltd. Washington, DC, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Restaurant Association (NRA) and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) applaud President Trumps Executive Order expanding and streamlining apprenticeship programs. The Executive Order will streamline the administrative process of the current apprenticeship program by shifting the certification from the Department of Labor to industry; encouraging apprenticeships in colleges, high schools and other entities; and most importantly will double funding for apprenticeship programs. Apprenticeships create more affordable education and job training, especially for those Americans who want to work in the hospitality, restaurant and foodservice industry. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation has already begun creating and implementing our apprenticeship program and with todays Executive Order we will have even more opportunities to help employees in the hospitality industry move up the ladder for fulfilling and rewarding careers, stated Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. Last year, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation was awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Labor to create the first ever federally registered hospitality sector apprenticeship program. Together with the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), the NRAEF launched the Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship project. Through this project, we will identify at least 450 apprentices in the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry, and put them on a defined pathway to management-level positions through on-the-job paid training and standardized instruction. We are excited about working with the Administration to help create more job and career opportunities in the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry through apprenticeship. The Foundation has already begun working with the industry to develop and implement an apprenticeship program that provides the skills and training needed for career advancement across multiple management positions, stated Rob Gifford, Executive Vice President, National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. ### About the National Restaurant Association Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of more than 14.7 million employees. We represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. We operate the industry's largest trade show (NRA Show May 19-22, 2018, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart). For more information, visit Restaurant.org and find us on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube. About the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation: As the philanthropic foundation of the National Restaurant Association, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundations mission of service to the public is dedicated to enhancing the industrys training and education, career development and community engagement efforts. The NRAEF and its programs work to Attract, Empower and Advance todays and tomorrows restaurant and foodservice workforce. NRAEF programs include: ProStart a high-school career and technical education program; Restaurant Ready partnering with community based organizations to provide opportunity youth with skills training and job opportunities; Military helping military servicemen and women transition their skills to restaurant and foodservice careers; Scholarships financial assistance for students pursuing restaurant, foodservice and hospitality degrees; and, the Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship Project a partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Association providing a hospitality apprenticeship program for the industry. For more information on the NRAEF, visit ChooseRestaurants.org. Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f843d202-d530-47b8-a466-15c0b26b2422 PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC) launches a new public service campaign encouraging our community to "Help Someone Else" by becoming a blood donor. Using humor and a lovable character, the campaign launches with video spots that highlight a serious community challenge that new life-saving blood donors and regular donations are always needed to sustain the lives of thousands of people in Rhode Island and Southern New England. Even though over 37 percent of the population are eligible to donate blood, only about 5 percent give regularly, a challenge blood centers across the country face. Rhode Island Blood Center The campaign personifies how a character whose name is "Mr. Someone Else," is singlehandedly sustaining the blood supply by giving over 200 donations a day, every day, or roughly 75,000 donations a year, the same number of donations RIBC requires to meet the needs of the hospitals and patients they serve. Kara LeBlanc, Communications Manager of RIBC, explains, "Ensuring a healthy and steady blood supply takes a massive community effort from donors to drive sponsors and media support. It's easy to become complacent and think someone else is taking care of that need." More donors are needed to share the non-profit's mission of providing a safe, plentiful and cost-effective blood supply. This is one of the first major marketing campaigns from a blood center in the U.S. that will reach people in every type of media with one sustained message: "Help Someone Else. Become a Donor," the campaign's tagline. LeBlanc says, "The call to action has a dual meaning to help the small number of people who are giving blood regularly, which the character represents, and, most importantly, to help someone else who needs those blood products to live." The campaign launches with video and web introduction to Someone Else at helpsomeoneelse.org, with many more aspects being rolled out, including an active Instagram presence at someoneelse_ri, radio spots, a billboard, educational print ads, digital web banners, and local appearances by "Someone Else" himself. As people become familiar with our hero "Someone Else," there will even be an option for volunteers to text him to let him know when they are going to help out. Blood donations are needed for emergency procedures, surgeries, various genetic diseases and to save the lives of trauma victims. Most frequently though, blood is used to save the lives of people battling cancer. In many cases, a single donation can help save three lives by being split into red cells, platelets and plasma. It's no coincidence the center launches the campaign at the start of summertime, which is notoriously the most challenging times for blood centers in the U.S. to meet collections goals. LeBlanc explains, "That is because high schools and colleges that normally hold drives are out of session. Plus, more people are vacationing or enjoying the nice weather, so blood donation is not top-of-mind even though the need for blood is just as critical." Blood center staff will be handing out stickers to donors with the hashtag #IHelpedSomeoneElse encouraging selfies on social media with life-size cutouts of Someone Else and to have donors encourage their friends and family to join the cause. LeBlanc adds, "Blood donation is one of the most heroic forms of volunteerism. It's unique and beautiful and lifesaving, and it can only come from one human being to another. That's something to be proud of and celebrate with others." The blood center is also hoping to attract more people and donations with a new donor rewards program that offers more choices (from gift cards to t-shirts and apparel) and is based on a donor's personal donation frequency. The center kicks off the new program with a summer bonus. Anyone who attempts to give at a mobile blood drive or one of RIBC's six donor centers two times between now and Labor Day can choose a $10 gift card. Creative for the campaign was conceived by NAIL Communications. "We wanted to change the way people think about blood donating. Our Someone Else character uses humor to give a human face to a very real problem the assumption that our community blood supply is being taken care of by others," said Jeremy Crisp, Managing Partner. "The campaign endeavors to serve both as a thank you to all the people who currently donate, and as a catalyst for those who haven't yet." Media for the campaign is being handled by PriMedia, Inc. "Our goal was to work closely with as many of the major media outlets in the state to collaboratively take on the challenge of informing the public of the need for more blood donors and donations," said Rick Boles, Vice President of Media and Operations. "Our team focus has been to create a plan to reach as many potential donors with the 'Help Someone Else' messaging to increase awareness and donations across the state." For more on the Someone Else public service campaign, on becoming a blood donor, the RIBC rewards program and who your blood donations help, visit ribc.org.news. Contact: Kara LeBlanc Marketing Communications Manager, Rhode Island Blood Center P: 401-453-8555 E: [email protected] SOURCE Rhode Island Blood Center Related Links http://ribc.org Two-day auction attracts 7,250+ bidders from 50 countries; 66% of equipment sold online EDMONTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. conducted its third Edmonton auction of the year this week, selling 5,500+ equipment items and trucks for CA$72+ million (US$54+ million) over two days (June 13 14, 2017). More than 7,250 people from 50 countries registered to bid in the auction, including 5,350+ people who registered to bid online. Approximately 66 percent of the equipment (CA$47+ million or US$35+ million) was sold to online bidders. Canadian buyers purchased 89 percent of the equipment, with bidders from Alberta (59%), British Columbia (13%), and Saskatchewan (8%) being the biggest Canadian buyers. International buyers from such countries as Belgium, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates purchased 11 percent. "We are beginning to see slight signs of improvement in the Alberta market as contractors get back to work," said Ryan Eacrett, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. "Typically our June sales are a little smaller in size as spring and summer work picks up, but this week we saw strong participation from around the globe online and from local bidders onsite resulting in solid pricing, particularly for construction assets. This week we also sold some great lakefront real estate in Buffalo Lake, AB that achieved strong pricingit's usually a good sign for the economy when people are willing to spend money on recreational property." Equipment in the auction was sold for 950+ owners. The selection included 200+ compactors, 80+ excavators, 50+ dozers, 50+ skid steers, 55+ dump trucks, 45+ loaders, 20+ cranes, 25+ agricultural tractors, 185+ truck tractors, 580+ trailers and much more. All items were sold without minimum bids or reserve prices. Specific equipment highlights: Two 2012 Caterpillar 740BEJ ejector 6x6 articulated dump trucks sold for a combined CA$592,500 A 2012 John Deere 870G LC VG hydraulic excavator sold for CA$325,000 A 2003 Caterpillar 627G motor scraper sold for CA$320,000 A 2007 Caterpillar D7R XR Series II crawler tractor sold for CA$315,000 A 2010 Temisko LB-T3W-54 100-ton tridem double-drop steerable lowboy sold for CA$305,000 A 2005 Caterpillar 815F compactor sold for CA$300,000 A 2012 Kenworth T800 T/A tri-drive w/ Manitex 4596T boom truck sold for CA$295,000 A 2012 Western Star 4900SA tri-drive sleeper hydro vac truck sold for CA$225,000 Auction quick facts: Edmonton, AB (June 2017) Gross auction proceeds CA$72+ million (US$54+ million) CA$72+ million (US$54+ million) Amount sold to online bidders CA$47+ million (US$35+ million) CA$47+ million (US$35+ million) Total registered bidders (onsite and online) 7,250+ 7,250+ Online registered bidders 5,350+ 5,350+ Number of lots sold 5,500+ 5,500+ Number of sellers 950+ About Ritchie Bros. Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a multitude of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, oil and gas, mining, and forestry, the company's selling channels include: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial auctioneer offers live auction events with online bidding; IronPlanet, an online marketplace with featured weekly auctions and providing its exclusive IronClad Assurance equipment condition certification; EquipmentOne, an online auction marketplace; Mascus, a leading European online equipment listing service; and Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty, offering privately negotiated sales. The company also offers sector-specific solutions including GovPlanet, TruckPlanet, and Kruse Energy Auctioneers, plus equipment financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. For more information about the unprecedented choice provided by Ritchie Bros., visit RitchieBros.com. Photos and video for embedding in media stories are available at rbauction.com/media. SOURCE Ritchie Bros. NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a three-year, $3 million campaign, Rutgers University has achieved a historic goal to establish a chair named in honor of prominent feminist Gloria Steinem. The chair a collaboration among Rutgers' Institute for Women's Leadership, School of Communication and Information and the Department of Women's and Gender Studies at the School of Arts and Sciences will focus on the ways information technology and new media are reshaping culture. "We know that new media are transforming our governance," Gloria Steinem said, "and also that they may be short on facts and context. I'm very proud that the late Alison Bernstein, a visionary scholar who directed Rutgers' Institute for Women's Leadership, committed this chair to inclusiveness and accuracy. I'm also proud that Rutgers is not only one of the oldest and most respected public universities, but has a student population that looks like the nation. I've come to believe it's as good as Harvard with democracy added." The Steinem chair, funded by more than 425 donors, including a dozen foundations and a matching pledge made possible by Rutgers President Robert Barchi, will immerse students in debate and scholarship about new media, social change and power structures. "This chair is a testament to Gloria Steinem's distinguished career as a journalist, public intellectual and women's rights activist," said President Barchi. "The women's movement has radically changed how we think of issues concerning fairness and equity, and after 50 years, Gloria Steinem remains at the forefront of the feminist cause. I'm pleased and honored to affirm my personal support and congratulate those who led the effort to make the chair a reality." The idea for the chair originated in 2014 with Bernstein, who became director of Rutgers' Institute for Women's Leadership in 2011. Despite Bernstein's untimely death from cancer in 2016, her quest to create the first academic position named for a preeminent living feminist grew into a shared mission. Contributors included the Ford Foundation; the NoVo Foundation; the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation; the George Lucas Family Foundation; Harvey Weinstein and the H. Weinstein Family Foundation; Frank A. Bennack Jr., executive vice chairman of the board, Hearst Corporation; Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook; and Mortimer Zuckerman, owner and publisher of the New York Daily News and U.S. News & World Report. SOURCE Rutgers University NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP ("Scott+Scott"), a national shareholder and consumer rights litigation firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against JBS S.A. (OTCQX: JBSAY) ("JBS" or the "Company") and certain of its senior officers and executives regarding violation of federal securities laws. If you purchased JBS American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") between June 2, 2015 and May 19, 2017, you are encouraged to contact a Scott+Scott attorney at (844) 818-6980 for more information. The deadline for filing lead plaintiff papers in the lawsuit is July 21, 2017. JBS is a Brazilian food company that processes meats, such as beef, pork, lamb and chicken, as well as the hides, and exports its products throughout the world. On March 17, 2017, it was widely reported that Brazilian federal police raided the offices of JBS and other meatpacking companies in a crackdown on alleged bribery of health officials known as "Operation Weak Flesh." In May 2017, JBS's Chairman and CEO admitted to paying high-level government bribes and the President of Brazil accused the Company's Chairman and CEO of insider trading. On June 1, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that JBS's holding company "would pay 10.3 billion reais ($3.2 billion) over 25 years after admitting to paying roughly $150 millionmostly in bribesto politicians." On June 9, 2017, Reuters reported that Brazil's federal police raided JBS offices to investigate the alleged use of insider information in financial market dealings. Since market close on March 16, 2017, the price of JBS ADRs has plummeted over 45%. What You Can Do If you are an investor in JBS ADRs and you wish to discuss this lawsuit, or have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Rhiana Swartz at (844) 818-6980, or at [email protected]. Shareholders have until July 21, 2017 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. About Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities, antitrust, and employee retirement plan actions throughout the United States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals, and other entities worldwide with offices in New York, London, Connecticut, California, and Ohio. CONTACT: Rhiana Swartz Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP (844) 818-6980 [email protected] SOURCE Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP Related Links http://scott-scott.com The session will highlight how technological innovation, evidence-based protocols, and collaboration can provide patients and caregivers with access to care and guidance when needed. The panel will also discuss the core elements of pioneering proof-of-concept solutions that help patients and their caregivers focus on better managing these conditions. In the U.S., one in five adults struggles with their emotional or mental health each year. For example, in the case of Alzheimer's, every four seconds someone is diagnosed with the disease, contributing to dementia care costs that are forecast to reach $1 trillion in the U.S. in 2018. The impact of emotional and mental health conditions is global, however, and decades of research demonstrates that struggles with these conditions can contribute to other medical health issues, as well as impair productivity at work. "Alzheimer's Disease and mental health conditions are the costliest public health concerns that could have enormous negative social and financial impact worldwide if unaddressed," said Patel. "Now is the time to invest in approaches that encourage a blend of human insight and technological innovation. I am honored to discuss these ideas at the Digital Health Summer Summit." "Investment in mental health and other chronic health conditions makes economic sense," said Dr. Pande. "The World Health Organization has found that for every dollar invested in scaling up the right treatment for depression and anxiety, we see a return of four dollars in better health and ability to work. Companies and organizations need to understand the compelling social and economic reasons to invest in the mental health of people around the world." The Digital Health Summer Summit is located within the BIO International Convention and is focused on new trends and ideas, cutting-edge products, and innovative strategies to improve digital health businesses. The Summit will take place at the San Diego Convention Center on June 19-20, 2017. For more information, visit summersummit.digitalhealthsummit.com. About Seniorlink, Inc. Seniorlink is a leading provider of care collaboration solutions. We serve consumers and caregivers by partnering with risk-bearing provider and payer organizations to augment existing care management capabilities through solutions that leverage human touch and technology. Our team of compassionate, experienced professionals use our proprietary platform, Vela, to encourage real-time collaboration among the extended care team that results in better outcomes at a lower cost. Backed by nearly two decades of care expertise, Seniorlink leads the way on delivering high-quality care. It was the first Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) provider in the nation to receive NCQA accreditation for case management (CM) and is the first to pursue CM with Long Term Services and Support (LTSS) Distinction. More information about Seniorlink can be found at www.seniorlink.com. About AbleTo Inc. AbleTo is a technology-enabled provider of behavioral health care. AbleTo has been treating patients for over five years, and improves patient outcomes and lowers costs by providing treatment that integrates behavioral and medical health care. AbleTo's structured therapy programs strengthen medical recovery and self-care among members with chronic or complex clinical needs. AbleTo analytics, coupled with our highly-trained engagement team, identify members with unmet, often undiagnosed, behavioral health needs. A proprietary communications platform connects individuals and their care teams with AbleTo licensed providers who deliver weekly sessions by phone or video. AbleTo programs are clinically proven to improve both behavioral health and medical outcomes while lowering overall spending for high-cost, high-risk members. AbleTo's investors include .406 Ventures, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners/Sandbox Industries and HLM Venture Partners. For more information, visit www.ableto.com. SOURCE Seniorlink, Inc. Related Links http://www.seniorlink.com A range of new features, which includes group subscriptions and news feeds showing suggested and trending topics, allow users to access information in an easier manner. In addition to the platform's public and private groups, AgFuse now offers invitation-only "Ghost" groups, which are ideal for companies or organizations seeking a central networking spot that isn't public. These upgrades complement the AgFuse iOS app. The AgFuse Android app will be released later this summer. AgFuse empowers farmers and the agricultural community to connect with everyone from farm organizations and experts to suppliers and the media. The farming community is using AgFuse to find information, experts' insights, and useful products as well as to network, share and interact. In just a few short years, AgFuse has quickly expanded and now has members from 63 countries. Founder Pat Rogers explained the reason for the surging popularity of the website, "Increasing numbers of agricultural professionals now have access to high-speed internet and mobile devices. This is true not only in this country, but also internationally. The truth is agricultural production is built around access to evolving information, and we're providing the data platform to spread and grow this information." Through AgFuse, the farming community can maximize the value of existing tools, and this translates into tangible, real-world successes. Daniel Hunter, a salesman with Carolina Irrigation Solutions, is using AgFuse as a platform to communicate with leads and customers. Hunter explained, "We have utilized AgFuse to make irrigators aware of the potential hazards of streaking in corn, while letting them know we can provide options for them through our company." Josh Branch, a beginning cotton, soybean and corn farmer in Bennettsville, South Carolina, said, "I use AgFuse to stay up to date on timely issues that affect my operation. Since the site is customized based on my crops and location, all of the posts and articles are relevant to me. It's great to have all of that information and a network of farmers at my fingertips." About AgFuse AgFuse was created to provide farmers and the farming community with an easy and intuitive social media platform. Through AgFuse, agricultural professionals can promote their products, interact with one another, share ideas and tips, publish research, and more. Learn more by visiting http://agfuse.com or https://twitter.com/agfusenetwork. SOURCE AgFuse Related Links http://agfuse.com Belt and Road offers new opportunities for global companies Singapore, Myanmar and Malaysia are the 3 countries from Southeast Asia among the 11 countries that have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China on B&R. Among these, Malaysia has seen solid progress in its cooperation with China. The number of Malaysian buyers who attended the Canton Fair has increased by 5.6 percent over the past three years, while the number of buyers from Myanmar and Singapore increased by 30.8 percent and 8.2 percent respectively. Since the B&R was launched in 2015, private enterprises from the two countries have signed 15 memorandums in the fields of investment, infrastructure, construction, finance, E-commerce, solar panel manufacturing, port construction, natural gas pipelines and desalination. Liow Tiong Lai, Minister of Transport of Malaysia and president of the Malaysian Chinese Association, recently told China News Service that the B&R will strengthen Malaysia's competitiveness in global markets, as it will stimulate Malaysia's potential in terms of economic development. Traders from Southeast Asian countries within the B&R including Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia are gradually occupying more of the spotlight at the Canton Fair. During the first and third phases of the 121st Canton Fair, the international pavilion welcomed a total number of 620 exhibitors from 42 countries, among which 364 companies are from B&R countries. Growing number of participants from B&R countries at the Canton Fair At the 121st Canton Fair, Malaysian companies demonstrated signature products with distinctive local features from food to small appliances, including vacuum cleaners, white coffee, teh tarik and durian cake. Hu Henry, a representative Malaysian exhibitor, said that B&R has brought new business opportunities and sales growth to participating countries, and that it is promoting trade cooperation among neighboring countries. Dato' Chong Chong Tik, managing director of Malaysia ES Event Management, noted that Canton Fair can help Malaysian traders explore the Chinese market and Malaysian products go global. Canton Fair, the largest trade event in China and one of the major fairs that forecasts international trade industry dynamics, has followed the Initiative, and stepped up its promotion in B&R countries, playing a crucial role in promoting trade and encouraging exchanges among these countries. Currently, 45 chambers of commerce and business associations from 32 B&R countries now cooperate with the Canton Fair. Maggie Pu, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Canton Fair, remarked that they have sent more than 100 teams to over 50 B&R countries since the first visit to Malaysia and Kuwait took place in1996. "We will continue to seek mutual benefit under the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration with companies from B&R countries as well as business partners worldwide to contribute to the modern 'Silk Road'." For more information, please visit http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/index.aspx About Canton Fair The China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is held biannually in Guangzhou every spring and fall. Established in 1957, the fair is now a comprehensive exhibition with the longest history, highest level, largest scale and largest number of products as well as the broadest distribution of buyer origins and the highest business turnover in China. SOURCE Canton Fair Related Links http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/index.aspx NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Growing Mega Cities and Increasing Adoption of Machine-Roomless Technology to Drive Growth The elevator market in Southeast Asia is at the growth stage. Of the four countries covered in the study, Thailand led the elevator demand in Southeast Asia by revenue and market share. This is followed by Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines in descending order. Although the Philippines has the lowest share, it is expected to register the fastest growth in the region's elevator market. Additionally, the market dynamic is expected to change at the end of the forecast period of 2021 with Vietnam and Indonesia. Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04948753/Southeast-Asian-Elevator-Market-Forecast-to.html The Southeast Asia region has observed rapid growth in its urban population, particularly in developing countries. Building construction development, especially in the residential and commercial units, will drive a greater demand for new elevators. On the other hand, elevator modernization works are expected to be driven by the increasing focus on development of smart and green buildings or cities. Growth of mega cities in Southeast Asia is a key market trend and opportunity. As a greater number of people migrate into these mega cities, the population densities are expected to increase. This is likely to drive the demand for tall buildings, which makes the need for elevators unavoidable. Next, the growing acceptance of machine-roomless elevators in recent years due to their attractive pricing and lack of need for machine rooms at the top level of the buildings has prompted higher demand for such elevators. Going forward, the market will experience consolidation of market participants, whereby large and international elevator companies will acquire local brands in Southeast Asia. The market trends have been analyzed for a study period of 2016 to 2021. In addition to market revenue and unit shipment, key trends have been provided in each of the four countries covered in this study. Companies mentioned in the study include Hyundai Elevator, Kone, Mitsubishi Elevator, OTIS, Schindler, Sigma, and ThyssenKrupp Elevator. Key Questions this Study will Answer: How is the elevator market growing in the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia? Which are the leading elevator companies in these Southeast Asian countries? What are the key success factors and how is it different in each Southeast Asian elevator market? Where are the key opportunities and elevator customer segments in these countries? Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04948753/Southeast-Asian-Elevator-Market-Forecast-to.html About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. http://www.reportlinker.com __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday June 13, federal, state and local officials violently burst into the offices of Sovereign Health's Culver City, Palm Desert and San Clemente facilities to serve search warrants for alleged financial and other irregularities. No arrests were made in the "raid," which was executed by an odd mish-mash of law enforcement officials whose actions seemed aimed more at harassment than enforcing the law; one official from the Department of Health Care Services presented business cards with a crossed-out phone number; the new number was messily penned in. The "agents" also handed out sheets to patients with contact information for other behavioral treatment centers. "The way they executed these search warrants was a disgrace," said Sovereign CEO Tonmoy Sharma, M.B.B.S. MSc. "All they had to do was tell our senior management what they needed and we would have gladly complied. We have nothing to hide. Instead, they burst into our facilities, upsetting patients who are already fragile and dealing with trauma. They threatened our unarmed staff at gunpoint. And they didn't even seem to know why they had busted into our facilities." The CEO said that the "raid" looked fishy from the outset. "They completely by-passed our accounting and financial staff, and instead, trained weapons on employees who perform duties such as patient intake. They snatched away the laptops of the writers who create content for our websites, and tried to break down the door of a room where a patient was receiving neurofeedback, scaring them to death," Sharma said. "They also searched my home and took medical books, but bypassed a large safe which I offered the combination. This whole thing was ridiculous, so Mickey Mouse." Sovereign General Counsel Seth Zajac commented that on Tuesday, agents herded all the legal staff into separate offices and would not allow them to witness the raid activities. He commented that the actions of the law enforcement officials were extremely troubling and unethical. Sovereign Health has vigorously defended its reputation by initiating legal actions against entities that have needlessly disrupted company business and upset the firm's clients. In 2016, the company filed a formal complaint against the director of the California Department of Social Services that details a pattern of harassment by officials from the agency's Community Care Licensing Division, and filed a lawsuit against Health Net, Inc. and several of their affiliates to end discrimination against rehabilitation providers. Also in 2016, Sovereign was also compelled to file another lawsuit against the Department of Health Care Services for an incident earlier this year; two agents burst into the company's adolescent treatment center, roughed up an employee who was cooperating with their requests, and unprovoked drew a weapon in the presence of teen residents at the facility. Sovereign has always been committed to providing the highest quality clinical care to patients, yet the company continues to be targeted by various oversight agencies. "Tell me, where is the 'Care' in the Department of Health Care Services?" commented Haroon Ahmad, Sovereign media and public relations specialist. "This is the second time in a matter of months that so-called enforcement actions have caused unnecessary trauma to our patients and disrupted our business of caring for people who are dealing with very serious substance use and mental health issues." He added that Sovereign, like many behavioral health treatment centers nationwide, are under siege from officials and sectors of the public who try to ban treatment facilities in certain neighborhoods. "We call it NIMBYism Not in My Backyard when people try to legislate treatment out of existence," Mr. Ahmad said. "The media is constantly reporting on the opioid epidemic and the nationwide shortage of available beds, yet local politicians and others have mobilized to push treatment facilities out of neighborhoods. We've been joining the San Clemente public in protesting against the NIMBY mentality. This and our legal push back against the authorities makes us a target." Sovereign, CEO Sharma said, will carry on with business as usual at all their facilities. "We are not letting the retaliatory actions of bullies get in the way of the important business of providing top-notch care for our patients with addiction and mental health issues," CEO Sharma said. "We know what is behind this pattern of harassment and strong-armed tactics. We will not be intimidated and we will prevail." About Sovereign Health Sovereign Health has qualified for the Joint Commission's Gold Seal accreditation since 2013 and consistently ranks as a top provider of behavioral health services, according to the independent eBasis report ratings from McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. In McLean's quarterly reports for 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, Sovereign has surpassed 50 other treatment centers nationwide in several important health care measures. Sovereign Health's facilities are licensed in accordance with state regulations. The Joint Commission is the nation's leading health care standards-setting and accrediting organization, and sets a very high bar for qualifying for the Gold Seal designation. Sovereign's extensive national network of nine facilities across five states also enjoys the distinction of being accredited to provide concurrent mental health and substance use treatment, a rarity in the field. Sovereign Health's mission is to provide a broad spectrum of high-quality behavioral health treatment services for adults and adolescents, including support services for family members. One factor that differentiates Sovereign from other treatment providers has been the company's ability to offer separate mental health and addiction or dual diagnosis treatment programs at its facilities. For more information, visit www.sovhealth.com. SOURCE Sovereign Health Related Links http://www.sovhealth.com A new website, HeroesRaisingtheBar.com , launches alongside the program and will encompass all of Stoli's LGBT activities from events and partner programming to the newly minted "Heroes of Diversity" video series, which looks to inspire action by rolling out interviews exploring the personal journeys of extraordinary people who became community leaders, including: - Twiggy Pucci Garcon, ballroom runway legend, actor and diversity educator - Laith Ashley, transgender model and entertainer - Stuart Milk, global equality leader - Jai Rodriguez, TV and film personality In addition to the above episodes, Stoli is calling for online nominations of Heroes of Diversity nationwide. A short description (500 words or less) explaining why someone is deserving of being highlighted on HeroesRaisingtheBar.com is the only requirement of the panel, led by the brand's North American LGBT manager and ambassador Patrik Gallineaux. "LGBT bars and bartenders really were leaders in the modern equality movement, serving as original community centers and safe spaces," offered Gallineaux. "Raising the Bar is our vow to the community to not only continue our support, which started in the 1980s, but to amplify it. This is our purposeful mission of recognizing our current incredible network of partners and of scouting out new ones who can take their local programs from great to game-changing with our help." Over the last five years, Stoli has donated more than $1,000,000 and offered product and on-site event support to over 30 national and local LGBT and ally associations, including pride organizations across the country, CenterLink, the Harvey Milk Foundation, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association (NLGJA), and the Los Angeles LGBT Center in support of its leadership lab, which educates individuals on how to create change for global equality. Last month, Stoli Group USA CEO Patrick Piana received a Diversity Honors Award from the Harvey Milk Foundation for outstanding corporate contributions towards equality. For more information, visit HeroesRaisingtheBar.com or follow Stoli on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Stoli, on Instagram @Stoli and on Twitter @Stoli. About Stoli Group USA, LLC Stoli Group USA is the proud importer and marketer of the Stolichnaya brand of premium vodkas and Stoli Ginger Beer, ultra-premium elit Vodka, Louisiana-distilled Bayou Rum, Kentucky Owl Bourbon founded in 1879, Achaval-Ferrer from Argentina, and Arinzano wines of Spain. Formed in 2013, Stoli Group USA is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of SPI Group in Luxembourg. Media Contact: Patrick Rizzuto, Golin for Stoli Vodka 212.373.6015 [email protected] SOURCE Stoli Group USA, LLC English French JCDecaux Top Media wins the exclusive advertising concession for Tocumen International Airport in Panama Paris, 15 June 2017 - JCDecaux S.A. (Euronext Paris: DEC), the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, announces that its subsidiary JCDecaux Top Media has won the exclusive advertising contract for the Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, following a competitive tender. Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen S.A. (AITSA) chose to put its confidence in JCDecaux and Top Media, who signed a merger agreement last 23rd of december, to be responsible, as of 1st August 2017, for installing, managing and marketing the advertising displays (interior, exterior, hallways and approach roads) for Terminal 1 and the upcoming Terminal 2, which is currently under construction and will open in 2018. Combining JCDecaux's expertise as the number one airport advertising company worldwide with that of Aerotop, Top Media's subsidiary currently the advertising concession holder at Tocumen International Airport, the joint venture JCDecaux Top Media will offer advertisers a brand new media opportunity. A solution focused on digital, innovation, high-impact formats and serving passengers, while also supporting AITSA's development in order to bring its commercial ambitions to fruition. The major hub for Panamanian airline Copa Airlines, Tocumen International Airport is the busiest airport in Central America, with 14.7 million passengers in 2016, and is one of the main transit airports for America and the Caribbean, with 70% of its passengers taking connecting flights. Serving 83 destinations in 29 countries across the Americas and in Europe, the airport will handle 26 million passengers and be able to accommodate the A-380 once Terminal 2 is operational. This new contract affords JCDecaux the opportunity to add a fourth airport from the Latin American top 10 to its portfolio, after having also won bids for advertising contracts at Lima (Peru), Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia (Brazil) international airports within the last two years. It will also strengthen its unrivalled global presence in 222 airports across 37 countries, including 12 of the world's top 20. With this unique network in mind, and in order to offer advertisers and their agencies increasingly contextual and targeted premium opportunities that connect the different environments of airports, urban transit and cities across the world, the Group recently conducted an unprecedented analysis of airport advertising effectiveness. Released on 27 October 2016, "Global Shopper Connections2" is an international study that investigates the shopping habits, brand preferences and motivations of upscale global shoppers when travelling abroad. Franklin Carrillo, Vice President Marketing of AITSA, said: "We are very pleased to benefit from the expertise of JCDecaux Top Media for the setup of an innovative and modern media solution at Tocumen, which will enhance our passengers' experience and position us at the forefront of commercial strategy among international airports. Our ambitions are fully in line with the new operator's and we are confident in its ability to accompany the rapid growth of this major travel hub of the Americas." Jean-Charles Decaux, co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: "We are extremely proud to have won the exclusive concession for Panama's international airport, which is a hub for the Latin American region and has high ambitions in terms of growth and modernisation. We are excited to be able to provide AITSA with the expertise, operational excellence, knowledge of the market and sales strength of JCDecaux and Top Media within JCDecaux Top Media, in order to offer innovative, premium advertising solutions that will benefit passengers as much as the advertisers and their brands. By winning this bid, JCDecaux has once again shown its ability to join forces with the world's most ambitious airports, seize the opportunities for organic growth and consolidate the outdoor advertising sector in Latin America." Key figures for JCDecaux 2016 revenue: 3,393m JCDecaux is listed on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris and is part of the Euronext 100 and Euronext Family Business indexes JCDecaux is part of the FTSE4Good and Dow Jones Sustainability Europe indexes N1 worldwide in street furniture (559,070 advertising panels) N1 worldwide in transport advertising with more than 220 airports and 260 contracts in metros, buses, trains and tramways (354,680 advertising panels) N1 in Europe for billboards (169,860 advertising panels) N1 in outdoor advertising in Europe (721,130 advertising panels) N1 in outdoor advertising in Asia-Pacific (219,310 advertising panels) N1 in outdoor advertising in Latin America (70,680 advertising panels) N1 in outdoor advertising in Africa (29,820 advertising panels) N1 in outdoor advertising in the Middle-East (16,230 advertising panels) N1 worldwide for self-service bike rental scheme: pioneer in eco-friendly mobility 1,117,890 advertising panels in more than 75 countries Present in 4,280 cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants Daily audience: more than 410 million people 13,030 employees NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The following feature package is a roundup of feature stories dealing with Summer Outdoors & Entertaining, 4th of July and is appropriate for special sections and for general use. For each story included in this package, you will find the first paragraph of the feature release below, as well as its headline linked to the full text. This is the latest in a series of topical feature packages PRN will carry as part of its regular Feature News Service. Coming up in 2017 are features on: Package Name Slug Distribution Date Home & Garden Home July 6 Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Fitness July 11 Real Estate Real Estate July 18 Arts & Culture Arts July 25 Education, Back to School Education Aug. 8 Summer Outdoors & Entertaining, 4th of July Feature Package 1. Camping Comforts: Tools and Tips for When Your Kitchen is the Great Outdoors HOUSTON, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Some people pitch tents in the wild, and others drive a RV to a park with electrical hookups but everyone who camps can enjoy the pleasures of outdoor dining. These kitchen tools are portable, lightweight and sturdy, bringing convenience and refreshment to the camping experience. If you would like a copy of the complete schedule, or if you would care to comment, please email [email protected]. We welcome suggestions. Copies of previous packages are available for the media. Feature packages and feature photos are also available on the PR Newswire Web site, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/feature-news-latest-news. Photos that accompany releases are available via the PRN Multimedia Desk, 800-317-7677, or via the PR Newswire Photo Archive. Select photos are available via AP PhotoExpress and AP Images. SOURCE PR Newswire Association LLC Related Links http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/feature-news-latest-news/ NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology, is partnering with Sojern, travel's direct demand engine, to provide marketers with an even stronger understanding of travelers as they research and shop across multiple devices. Combined with its 350 million global traveler profiles and billions of predictive purchase intent signals, Sojern utilizes the Tapad Device Graph to resolve the complex travel consumer journey, target travelers more precisely and derive more actionable insights for its travel clientele. According to Sojern's research, travelers visit hundreds of websites preceding their trip purchase, with some consumers reaching upwards of 450 touchpoints prior to booking. Sojern's partnership with Tapad will help unify these touchpoints across devices, enabling travel brands to more effectively nurture and engage potential buyers during the purchase process regardless of which device they use. "Sojern has been focused on travel for over a decade, helping brands activate predictive purchase signals and leverage our traveler profiles into effective performance marketing campaigns," said Mat Harris, Sojern's VP of product and enterprise solutions. "The cross-device insights we gain from the Tapad Device Graph provide a valuable tool for our customers to reach travelers across devices in real time, at scale and on the right device." Prior to selecting Tapad as its cross-device partner, Sojern surveyed several probabilistic and deterministic cross-device vendors and performed an extensive global test. The test was an examination of scale, match rate and several other factors, which enabled Sojern to learn as much as possible about each vendor. After examining the final test results, Sojern selected Tapad based on its excellent test performance, tried-and-true experience in the market and complimentary business model. To date, Sojern has already seen an amplification rate of more than 600 percent as a result of the integration, meaning the Tapad Device Graph is connecting an average of six or more device and browser IDs for every one existing Sojern ID. "Not only is Sojern a compatible partner for our singular device graph capabilities, but they are also an incredible data partner to help expand our work in the travel industry," said Pierre Martensson, SVP and GM of Tapad's global data division. "Working with the team at Sojern allows us to solve a true challenge within the travel industry today: creating a unified view of customers so travel brands can better understand and access their key audiences at every point along their path to purchase." About Tapad Tapad Inc. is a marketing technology company renowned for its breakthrough, unified, cross-device solutions. The company's signature Tapad Device Graph connects millions of consumers across billions of devices. The world's largest brands and most effective marketers entrust Tapad to provide an accurate, privacy-conscious and unified approach to connecting with consumers across screens. In 2015, Tapad began licensing the Tapad Device Graph and swiftly became the established gold-standard throughout the ad tech ecosystem. Tapad is based in New York and has offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Oslo, San Francisco and Singapore. Tapad's numerous awards include: Forbes' Most Promising Companies, Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, Crain's Fast 50, TMCnet Tech Culture Award and Global Startup Award's "Startup Founder of the Year." Tapad was acquired by the Telenor Group in 2016. Telenor is one of the world's largest mobile operators with 214 million subscribers in 13 countries. About Sojern Sojern is travel's direct demand engine, delivering $10B in direct bookings for thousands of brands from global enterprises to boutique operators across industries including hotel, airline, cruise, transportation, tourism and more. Specializing in traveler path-to-purchase data for over a decade, Sojern activates multi-channel branding and performance solutions by combining billions of search and booking intent signals with proprietary data science methods to analyze the world's travelers in real-time. Recognized on the Top Company Cultures list by Entrepreneur Magazine, Sojern is headquartered in San Francisco, with teams based in Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Mexico City, New York, Omaha, Paris, Singapore, and Sydney. For more information, visit http://www.sojern.com/. Media Contact: Natalie Vegel [email protected] SOURCE Tapad Related Links http://www.tapad.com UK's digital money transfer company Azimo received the Judges Overall Favorite Award while Safaricom, the parent company of the mobile service M-PESA received the Mobile Creativity Award and US online money transfer service Xoom received the Digital Pioneer Award. Other awardees were, identity company Trulioo for Potential for Growth, Start-up Moneytis for Most Innovative Service, Mexican Bitcoin company Bitso, Pioneering Spirit, Singapore-based TransferTo, Networking Hub and Zimbabwe's mobile money service EcoCashDiaspora, the Visionary Award. ComplyAdvantage received the Innovative Service for Compliance, Fintech Airpocket, Remittances & Financial Inclusion and Blockchain-Powered Remittance Service Everex, the Service Originality Award. The Voter's Pick award went to Digital Agent & Money Transfer Marketplace WireCash who received 9,857 online public votes. The entries were judged by an independent judging panel co-Chaired by US blockchain entrepreneur Greta Geankoplis and Filipino fintech expert Luis Buenaventura with the well-known expertise of Leon Isaacs, Faisal Khan, Yakov Kofner, Sofia Freyder, Francois Briod, Mehul Dasai and Juan Llanos. Mentions were given to ten contestants to highlight their contributions to the technological advances in remittances. For Diaspora Impact, Daviplata Global from Banco Davivienda (Colombia) and EnviouChegou from US money transfer company Pontual (for the Brazilian diaspora), Digital Transition for US money transmitters Transfast and Uniteller. Digital Pioneer for Spain's TransferZero, Innovative Agent Solution for Guatemala's RedChapina, Remittance Software for UK's RemitOne and Remittance Formalization for United Arab Emirates UAExchange. Mexico's Sistema de Transferencia y Pagos STP received the Poised for Succeed Mention and US IdentityMind the Market Understanding-Clear Vision Mention. Hugo Cuevas-Mohr, Director of the RemTECH Awards, stated: "We are extremely happy to have been part of IFAD's Global Forum GFRID2017, a key to the success of the RemTECH Awards. I thank the judges and congratulate the winners hoping that this effort will significantly benefit the technological advancement of the industry in order to better serve remittance users everywhere, reduce costs and increase transparency. We have many reasons to proudly celebrate the International Day of Family Remittances." The RemTECH Awards have been developed by IMTC, the International Money Transfer & Cross-Border Payment Conferences, who has announced that the second edition of the awards will take place in 2019. LINKS: RemTECH Awards: http://remtech.org/ ; IMTC: http://imtconferences.com ; Global Remittance Forum: http://bit.ly/GFRID2017RT ; International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD): http://www.ifad.org ; International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR): http://www.un.org/en/events/family-remittances-day/ More Information Claudia Avila ([email protected]) +1 3057420759 SOURCE IMTC Related Links http://imtconferences.com BELLINGHAM, Wash., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Space Goat Productions has launched pre-orders for The Terminator: The Official Board Game, based off of the iconic 1984 film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Pre-orders will be available via Backerkit and will give consumers access to exclusive discounts for 30 days. Box for The Terminator: The Official Board Game Box for the Space Goat Exclusive Termination box, with over 20 extra miniatures. The original Terminator Kickstarter made almost 200% of its goal, and unlocked a number of stretch goals including foil printing, and loads of miniatures. For 30 days, fans who didn't pledge for the campaign can pre-order now and get access to Space Goat Exclusive products and discounts. Retailers can also still pre-order these items for their store if they email [email protected]. The Terminator: The Official Board Game is an asymmetrical strategy game played across two boards, one in 1984 and one in 2029. One player takes control of all the forces of the Skynet machines: Hunter Killer flying machines, Terminator Endoskeletons, and new robots based on the classic 80's aesthetic. The rest of the players take the role of the human resistance, struggling against the impossible odds of the machine uprising. Pre-orders are available at https://terminator.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders and will only be available until July 13th. MORE ABOUT SPACE GOAT PRODUCTIONS: Created in 2006, Space Goat Productions has decades of combined experience producing comic books, TV, animation, video games, commercial art, and concept design. This past year, Space Goat began production on board games for both the Evil Dead and Terminator franchises, and has since acquired The Howling along with a few other top secret licenses soon to be announced. About Creative Licensing Located in Los Angeles CA, Creative Licensing is a full service independent merchandise licensing agency that specializes in long-term brand development. Founded in 1982, Creative Licensing currently represents a large catalogue of classic films and properties. http://www.creativelicensingcorporation.com/ About Studiocanal STUDIOCANAL is a subsidiary of the CANAL+ Group. It is one of Europe's leading companies in the market for co-production, acquisition, distribution and sale of international feature films. The company distributes a total of more than 50 films a year throughout Europe. Additionally, STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most important libraries in the world, with more than 5,000 international titles. T1, THE TERMINATOR, ENDOSKELETON, and any depiction of Endoskeleton are trademarks of Studiocanal S.A.S. All Rights Reserved. 2017 Studiocanal S.A.S. All Rights Reserved. Contact: JD Boucher 3606066779 [email protected] SOURCE Space Goat Productions Related Links http://spacegoatproductions.com SALT LAKE CITY, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tolero Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing treatments for serious hematological diseases, today announced that the Company will present preclinical data from its alvocidib program at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 22nd Annual Congress, June 22-25 in Madrid. Alvocidib is an investigational inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), which is in Phase II development for the treatment of MCL-1-dependent relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The preclinical findings elucidate alvocidib's mechanism of action in AML, support the rationale for evaluating alvocidib and 7+3 (ACD) versus 7+3 alone in newly diagnosed AML patients, and suggest it has potential utility in high-risk AML. The posters will be displayed on e-poster screens throughout the Poster Session, spanning Friday, June 23, 09:30 CEST Saturday, June 24, 19:00 CEST. "These additional data add to our growing body of evidence which supports the ongoing development of alvocidib for the treatment of MCL-1-dependent relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia," said David J. Bearss, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Tolero Pharmaceuticals. "The findings, to be presented at EHA, reinforce our understanding of alvocidib's mechanism of action in AML. Inhibition of CDK9-driven expression of MCL-1 by alvocidib thus bolsters our confidence that the alvocidib-containing regimen may be effective in patients with MCL-1-dependent AML." Alvocidib enhances the activity of cytarabine and daunorubicin (7+3) in non-clinical models of acute myeloid leukemia The prognosis of patients with AML remains poor, with an expected 5-year survival of approximately 25%. The standard-of-care regimen for newly diagnosed patients, cytarabine and daunorubicin (7+3 treatment), has persisted largely unchanged for more than 30 years, leaving a significant unmet clinical need for improved therapeutic options in these patients. These non-clinical data demonstrated that alvocidib treatment reduced the expression of the key survival factor, MCL-1, at the protein and mRNA levels in a time and concentration-dependent manner in AML cells. Treatment with ACD resulted in the enhanced induction of apoptosis in AML cell lines and in regressions in an AML tumor xenograft model. These findings provide a clear rationale for evaluating ACD versus 7+3 in newly diagnosed AML patients. By an MCL-1-dependent mechanism, alvocidib potentiates the activity of cytarabine and mitoxantrone when administered in a time sequential regimen in AML Treatment with alvocidib has shown improvements in the complete remission rates of newly diagnosed AML patients when administered before cytarabine and mitoxantrone (ACM regimen) in a randomized Phase II study compared to 7+3. Although the ability of alvocidib to inhibit CDK9-driven expression of MCL-1 is documented, the mechanism underlying the improved activity found in the ACM regimen is not fully understood. Results of this in vitro study demonstrated that alvocidib, followed by cytarabine and mitoxantrone, was more active than cytarabine and mitoxantrone alone and correlated with the downregulation of MCL-1 at the protein and mRNA levels. Further, the data suggest that MCL-1 repression is the primary mechanism of action for alvocidib, and that the ACM regimen may be effective in high-risk AML, because of this activity. About Alvocidib Alvocidib is an investigational agent which is a small molecule inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9). It is currently in development as part of combination therapy for frontline and relapsed/refractory AML. CDK9 is a protein critical to the regulation of gene expression, including the MCL-1 gene and other important genes involved in cancer. Given the potential role CDK9 de-regulation plays in expression of cancer-associated genes related to cell division and proliferation, CDK9 may be an attractive target for the treatment of various cancers. About Tolero Tolero Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company researching and developing treatments to improve and extend the lives of patients with oncological and hematological diseases. Our diverse pipeline targets important biological drivers of blood disorders to treat leukemias, anemia, and solid tumors, as well as targets of drug resistance and transcriptional control. Tolero is based in the United States and is wholly owned by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd., a pharmaceutical company based in Japan. Additional information about the company and its product pipeline can be found at www.toleropharma.com. Disclaimer Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management's assumptions and beliefs in light of information presently available, and involve both known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking statements set forth in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. We do not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof. Information concerning pharmaceuticals (including compounds under development) contained within this material is not intended as advertising or medical advice. Media Contacts: Maggie Beller Russo Partners, LLC (914) 960-2092 [email protected] David Schull Russo Partners, LLC (858) 717-2310 [email protected] SOURCE Tolero Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Related Links http://www.toleropharma.com BOSTON, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Transparency-One, the source to store supply chain transparency solution, today released details regarding the expansion and adoption of its platform. Global network adoption Global brands and their suppliers continue to adopt the Transparency-One platform for source to store risk management. Companies are using Transparency-One to manage end-to-end supply chains across multiple product categories, including fruits, vegetables, seafood, apparel, and consumables. Transparency-One and SGS are enabling Mars Food to share details of its rice supply chain from farm to fork. Luc Beerens, Global Sustainable Sourcing Director at Mars Food, explains how working with Transparency-One and SGS, with the support of Blippar, will help the company realize its 2020 ambition of sourcing UNCLE BENS rice from sustainable sources. The suppliers supporting these supply chains span a wide range of countries, from the United States to China, the UK to Thailand, France to Ecuador, and Latvia to India. Suppliers located in these and other countries have connected to the Transparency-One platform to share critical supply chain information such as facility, country of origin, compliance certifications, and sub-tier suppliers with their supply chain partners. Comprehensive supply chain risk management With Transparency-One, companies can ensure regulatory compliance and assess numerous areas of critical business risks such as: Modern slavery and forced labor, e.g. child and migrant labor in Turkey Sustainability and social responsibility around targeted commodities, e.g. Uzbekistani cotton Product quality and safety, e.g. "Italian" tomatoes grown in China Regulation requirements, e.g. capture of relevant documentation to support global regulations such as the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), France's Devoir de Vigilance, and the UK Modern Slavery Act Connecting supply chain information to consumer insights Transparency-One, in partnership with SGS and Blippar, provide an end-to-end solution to connect supply chain information with consumer insights. Mars Food has selected Transparency-One to support its sustainable rice sourcing initiative. "At Uncle Ben's we want to connect consumers with our farmers in a credible way," said Luc Beerens, Global Sustainable Sourcing Director at Mars Food. "SGS provides credibility, the Transparency-One tool provides transparency through supply chain mapping and proactive risk management, and Blippar provides engagement through its mobile application, enabling shoppers to scan the Uncle Ben's pack and get connected with our farmers." About Transparency-One Transparency-One enables companies to discover, analyze, and monitor all suppliers, components, and facilities in the entire supply chain. Transparency-One combines cutting-edge graph database technology, supply chain expertise, and global supplier onboarding services to help all supply chain stakeholders reduce business risk. The company is based in Boston, Massachusetts with offices in Paris, France. http://www.transparency-one.com Contact: KellyAnn Tsai +1 617-804-0430 [email protected] SOURCE Transparency-One NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- UnionPay International announced today that Chen Jing is appointed to be in charge of UnionPay's business in the Americas. Prior to this appointment, Chen Jing was General Manager of the Products Department of UnionPay International. Miriam Park, the former head of the American market will be transferred to be General Manager of South Korea Branch. CEO of UnionPay International, Cai Jianbo, said in the US that, the personnel adjustment is made based on the company's business development and talent cultivation. We hope that, under the leadership of Chen Jing, UnionPay will reach in-depth cooperation with more mainstream institutions in the US, further expanding UnionPay's acceptance scope, enhancing acceptance quality, making new breakthroughs in card issuance, and promoting UnionPay innovative payment products and services in the market. In North America, UnionPay cards are accepted at almost all the ATMs in the US. Also, cardholders can pay with UnionPay credit cards at over 80% of the local merchants or pay with UnionPay debit cards at merchants with PIN pads. In Canada, 90% of ATMs and more than 100,000 merchants accept UnionPay cards, while a number of daily spending merchants have supported UnionPay mobile QuickPass, enabling cardholders to pay by taping their mobile phones at the QuickPass terminals. Meanwhile, UnionPay is making progress in Latin America, expanding its acceptance network to scenic spots, department stores, duty-free stores and restaurants favored by tourists. For instance, about 90% of ATMs in Mexico accept UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal, while 90% of merchants in Peru and 70% in Brazil and Ecuador accept UnionPay cards for payment. UnionPay cards were also issued in Surinam and Antigua. SOURCE UnionPay International COLLEGE PARK, Md., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland has named Jennifer King Rice, Ph.D., as Dean of the College of Education, effective July 1, 2017. As dean, Rice will lead the College in developing a clear identity, vision, and strategy to advance inspired learning and develop positive solutions to today's most pressing education issues. "I am very enthusiastic about the future of the College of Education under Dr. Rice's leadership," said Mary Ann Rankin, UMD's senior vice president and provost. "She has a clear vision for the college, a deep commitment to excellence, transparency, and collaboration and a tremendously effective personal management style. She will be a great dean and university leader. I look forward eagerly to working with her." Rice joined UMD's College of Education in 1995 as an assistant professor, and currently serves as associate dean for graduate studies and faculty affairs, and professor of education policy. She was the founding director of UMD's Center for Educational Policy and Leadership, during which time she established important relationships with policy research organizations. "Being a part of the College of Education has been a remarkable experience over the past twenty years, and now being able to serve in this new role as dean is a true honor," says Rice. "I look forward to working with the very talented faculty, staff and students in the College to drive our work forward in being a center for cutting-edge research in education, and developing the next generation of educators for our state and nation." Rice has served with distinction in many roles at UMD, including the University Senate; chair of the campus Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Committee; an ADVANCE professorship; the President's Commission Task Force on Innovations and Efficiencies in Administrative Services; and chair of the Graduate School Review Committee. She has consulted with state and federal organizations, including the Maryland State Department of Education, the Maryland State Attorney General's Office, and the U.S. Dept. of Education, where she served two terms on the National Center for Education Statistics Technical Planning Panel on Education Finance. Prior to joining UMD, Rice conducted research at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington, D.C., and at the Finance Center of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at Cornell University. Drawing on her grounding in economics, finance, and public policy and a deep commitment to equity, Rice's research is focused on how to most efficiently acquire and allocate resources to provide equitable and adequate educational opportunities for all students. Her work has provided conceptual frameworks and empirical evidence on various education policies, and her most recent work focuses on the policies and resources needed to staff all schools with high quality educators. Rice is past president of the Association for Education Finance and Policy; and has been a Fellow with the National Education Policy Center; the Big Ten Academic Alliance; the Urban Institute; and the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation. She received the Exceptional Scholarship Award from the College of Education and the Outstanding Writing Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. She was recently recognized as a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher. Rice earned her B.S. in mathematics and English at Marquette University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in education administration and social foundations at Cornell University. About University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 56 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.9 billion operating budget, and secures $560 million annually in external research funding. For more information about the University of Maryland, College Park, visit www.umd.edu. SOURCE University of Maryland Related Links https://www.umd.edu/ DENVER, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Strong profitability and rising global demand create a strong incentive for U.S. pork processors to expand capacity. The impending increase in demand for hog supplies will create favorable terms for producers, while intensified competition among processors could lead to a short-term compression in packer margins, according to a new report from CoBank. "U.S. pork packing capacity will increase eight to ten percent by mid-2019, when five processing facility construction projects are complete and fully operational," said Trevor Amen, an economist with CoBank who specializes in animal protein. "Hog production is expected to increase two to four percent in both 2017 and 2018 to meet the demand for more supplies, with the bulk of the increased production coming from small to mid-size pork producers in the Midwest." Three new state-of-the-art pork processing facilities with the capacity to process more than 10,000 hogs per day are currently under construction. Two of the facilities are being built in Iowa and one in Michigan. Two smaller plants with daily capacities of less than 5,000 head are being renovated in Missouri and Minnesota. "As each of the new projects comes online, hog supplies will adjust upward," said Amen. "Transitional market conditions such as these typically come with increased price volatility over the short term, and bargaining leverage will shift in favor of producers as the expansion of hog supplies catches up with processing capacity." However, lean hog prices may soften until a new market equilibrium is established and an increase in exports fills the demand gap, added Amen. Exports Will Play a Critical Role The success of this substantial increase in processing capacity and hog production hinges largely on continued global demand for U.S. pork. While exports in 2017 are up 15 percent through April, total annual exports for the year are expected to increase five to eight percent, with an additional increase of three to six percent in 2018. Exports have been a boon to the industry, but the potential risk of export disruption carries severe consequences. "Continued global demand for U.S. pork will be a critical factor as the market adjusts over the next two years," said Amen. "Domestic consumer demand has been very strong and we expect that to continue. However, prospects for a further boost in domestic demand are limited. Therefore, export markets will have to absorb the production increases." U.S. producer access to foreign markets will be critical to preventing a domestic supply glut as well as deterioration in margins for both producers and processors. Processing Facility Upgrades to Continue To remain competitive, processors must continuously upgrade or replace existing facilities to implement new technology, including automation and mechanisms that ensure compliance with stricter food safety standards. "Historically, initial losses in new or expanded plants are inevitable and packer margins are typically narrower than pre-expansion," said Amen. "But margins improve and normalize following the transition period and processors are better positioned with efficiency gains and an improved ability to customize production." Longer term pressure could persist for older plants as aging technology inhibits efficiency gains. Eventually, the cycle of replacing older infrastructure will reach its next phase and new investments take the place of retired capacity. A brief video synopsis of the report, "New Processing Capacity Shakes Up the Hog Industry" is available on the CoBank YouTube Channel. The full report is available to media upon request. About CoBank CoBank is a $128 billion cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving more than 70,000 farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country. CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture, rural infrastructure and rural communities. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore. For more information about CoBank, visit the bank's web site at www.cobank.com. SOURCE CoBank Related Links http://www.cobank.com BALTIMORE, MD, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Signal Hill today announced the publication of its Customer Interaction Management (CIM) Platform and Adjacencies Landscape, an overview of the CIM market that has been created by Signal Hill. The landscape is part of a comprehensive Investment Thesis focused on the CIM and adjacent markets, perspectives on future technologies and their impact on the marketplace, analyses of historical and projected M&A activity, M&A consolidators, a review of the capital markets environment, and profiles of more than 300 companies representing over $120 billion in valuation. The full CIM Investment Thesis is maintained and updated by Signal Hill's CIM team, led by managing director Chris Hieb. The CIM space, as defined by Signal Hill, encompasses a broad range of software functionality including traditional contact center, CRM, workforce and knowledge management, to newer technologies such as advanced analytics, self-service pathways, and artificial intelligence. The manner and mode in which customers interact with enterprises continues to shift dramatically. Technological enablement and demographic shifts are driving omni-channel engagement including self-service chatbots, text messaging, AI-driven virtual assistants, and social media channels, which are resulting in beneficial, economic impacts to global enterprises. Capital investment in leading-edge customer interaction technologies has driven market adoption and, as a result, M&A activity among vendors looking to provide the broadest portfolio of offerings in order to further differentiate and compete. "The CIM space is growing rapidly and experiencing a high velocity of M&A and investment activity," said Mr. Hieb. "The CIM Investment Thesis, which includes the landscape, is a key part of our practice's focus, and we are continuing to work closely with industry leaders to further refine the Thesis and to facilitate market activity." The landscape can be accessed via the link here and on Signal Hill's website. From the landscape, users may also link to an additional resource that provides further information on CIM market companies. Please reach out to Mr. Hieb if you have any questions or would like to learn more about the CIM Investment Thesis. About Signal Hill Signal Hill LLC, along with its affiliate Signal Hill Capital Group (together, "Signal Hill"), is a leading investment banking and advisory boutique serving the M&A and private capital raising needs of growth companies and was named 2016 Boutique Technology Investment Bank of the Year by the Global M&A Network. Signal Hill's experienced bankers provide deep domain expertise and an unyielding commitment to clients in Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) and Services. With more than 600 completed transactions and offices in Baltimore, Bangalore, Boston, Mumbai, Nashville, New York, Reston and San Francisco, Signal Hill leverages deep strategic industry and financial sponsor relationships to help our clients achieve Greater Outcomes. For more information visit www.signalhill.com. Signal Hill is not responsible for any third party content linked to from our website. Signal Hill does not endorse or adopt any third party website. Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a454039b-af9b-42ee-aa3c-b79470ca7639 Chris Cardone has demonstrated that persistence and passion for the trade can truly propel one to success, as it's the fourth year that the New York based bartender has participated in the program. Cardone impressed the judges with his creative showmanship and keen interest in providing the best experience for the customer and as a result earned himself the honor of representing the US in the global finals in August. "I'm so honored to be named the US Best Bartender of the Year. My experience in the program has helped to strengthen my abilities, knowledge and connection to the bartending community in such an impactful way and I know it will help to directly benefit the future of my career in this industry. I'm thrilled to represent my country at the Global Finals in Mexico City and I am thankful that I will have the support of my colleagues and my country behind me," commented Cardone. The sixth iteration of the World Class U.S. competition drew in thousands of applicants, which led to a series of grueling regional competitions that proved that the skill of the bartending community is at an impressive all-time high. From there, fifteen bartenders advanced to the national competition in San Diego, CA hosted from June 13th to 14th, to impress judges by drawing unique inspiration from their experience behind the bar coupled with the local flavor of their respective hometowns. The bartenders demonstrated their knowledge, skill and creativity by crafting cocktails featuring a selection of the Diageo Reserve brands including Bulleit Bourbon, CIROC Vodka, Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch Whisky, Ketel One Vodka, Tanqueray No. TEN, Tequila Don Julio and Zacapa Rum. The finals are judged by a selection globally acclaimed bar-industry leaders including the 2016 Global winner Jennifer Le Nechet, 2014 Global winner Charles Joly, past U.S. winners Tyson Buhler, Ricky Gomez, acclaimed bartenders and educators including Tony Abou-Ganim, Julie Reiner and more. The two-day competition experience put the bartenders' skills, senses and agility to the ultimate test with a series of difficult challenges. From crafting eight well-balanced cocktails in ten minutes or less in 'Lightning Round'; to developing palate-pleasing cocktail pairings for specialty culinary dishes in the 'Tasting Menu'; to drawing inspiration from fresh, seasonal ingredients found at a local market to craft out-of-the-box creations in the 'Market Basket'; to mastering the element of surprise in 'Dealer's Choice'; to finally creating cocktails inspired by the culture and flavors of Mexico in the 'Viva Mexico' challenge the 2017 World Class program allowed each competitor to showcase their incredible depth of knowledge along impeccable and ever-important hospitality. "The level of skill from each of the competitors continues to astound us and demonstrates the growing expertise of the bartenders in today's industry. We are so proud that this program continues to contribute to their careers and provides such camaraderie for the community," comments Aaron Gregory Smith, Executive Director of the USBG. Taylor Blades Director of On Premise for Diageo North America further comments, "The evolution of this program from the first year to the sixth, has been truly inspiring to watch. The level of commitment and engagement that each participant brings to the competition exemplifies the impressive talent found in today's bartending community. We are proud to be committed to providing each participant with innovative new techniques, social responsibility ethics and ongoing education to help elevate their craft to the next level." Cocktails featured throughout the competition have been captured on Twitter and Instagram @WorldClassUS for creation and inspiration. When showcasing your own mixology creations or savoring award-winning cocktails crafted by your favorite local bartender, USBG World Class reminds you to drink responsibly. For additional information about the program and for detail on the upcoming global competition, follow @WorldClassUS on Twitter and Instagram, use the hashtag #WorldClass and visit www.facebook.com/WorldClassUS. About USBG The United States Bartenders' Guild unites the largest network of professionals in the U.S. in its mission to empower bartenders to take charge of their careers. The USBG accomplishes its mission through working with committed partners to enrich the career advancement of its members with peer-to-peer learning, expert instruction, service projects and competition. With over 60 years of presence in the United States and international coverage in affiliation with the International Bartender's Association (IBA) in over 50 countries, the United States Bartenders' Guild is setting the standard for the profession throughout the country. USBG members don't follow trends they set them and passionately advocate for bartenders nationwide to do the same. For more information, visit www.usbg.org. About Diageo: Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan's and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray and Guinness. Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people and its brands, visit www.diageo.com. For Diageo's global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit www.DRINKiQ.com. Celebrating life, every day, everywhere. SOURCE Diageo Related Links http://www.diageo.com CINCINNATI, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vantiv, Inc. (NYSE: VNTV), a leading provider of payment processing services and related technology solutions for financial institutions, credit unions and merchants of all sizes, was selected the winner of the 2017 NAFCU Innovation Award for its fraud protection solution, OmniShield. The award, which was announced on June 14 during NAFCU's annual conference and solutions expo in Honolulu, comes on the heels of recent internal analysis of MasterCard data by Vantiv that showed Gross Fraud Basis Points for Vantiv issuers were 32 percent lower than the industry average.1 OmniShield's powerful protection in fighting fraud translates to a significant cost savings for financial institutions and credit unions. "This Innovation Award is further proof that Vantiv, a leading payment processor, can continue to bring groundbreaking solutions to the market," said Randy Salser, president of NAFCU Services. "The judges, prominent industry and trade media executives, have independently taken note of Vantiv's ongoing innovative spirit." Vantiv's OmniShield provides 24/7/365 support and operates using three strategic componentsPeople, Process, and Technologyand utilizes advanced software to trigger real-time alerts when fraudulent transactions are suspected. OmniShield's multivalent approach has yielded significant results beyond the lower-than-average Gross Fraud Basis Points. For example, Vantiv's internal fraud analysis also found Vantiv issuers suffered fewer fraudulent transactions per card on average than US issuers.1 "OmniShield presents a real cost savings to credit unions and financial institutions by reducing fraud loss while providing best-in-class security against fraudulent transactions," said Bill Hampton, senior vice president and general manager of financial institution services at Vantiv. "Because OmniShield is tailored to the needs of each financial institution, Vantiv is able to deliver the most comprehensive fraud coverage available on the market." Learn more about Vantiv and its OmniShield Fraud Protection solution for financial institutions and credit unions here: https://www.vantiv.com/businesses/financial-institutions-payment-processing/omnishield. ABOUT NAFCU SERVICES INNOVATION AWARDS NAFCU Services Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU). NAFCU Services exists to connect innovative credit unions to the best industry partners. Our Preferred Partner Program has been supporting credit union success for over 40 years. Credit unions rely on NAFCU Services and our Preferred Partners for superior solutions in areas such as technology, security, risk management, operations, insurance, payments, and more. Combined, our partners' products serve virtually 100% of all credit unions. NAFCU Services selects only those companies that are highly qualified industry leaders, so that credit unions gain access to a vetted portfolio of providers they can trust. For more information, visit www.nafcu.org/nafcuservices and follow on Twitter. ABOUT VANTIV Vantiv, Inc. (NYSE: VNTV) is a leading payment processor differentiated by an integrated technology platform. Vantiv offers a comprehensive suite of traditional and innovative payment processing and technology solutions to merchants and financial institutions of all sizes, enabling them to address their payment processing needs through a single provider. We build strong relationships with our customers, helping them become more efficient, more secure and more successful. Vantiv is the largest merchant acquirer and the largest PIN debit acquirer based on number of transactions in the U.S. The company's growth strategy includes expanding further into high-growth channels and verticals, including integrated payments, eCommerce, and merchant bank. Visit us at www.vantiv.com, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube. 2017 Vantiv, LLC. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Vantiv and other Vantiv products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Vantiv, LLC in the U.S. and other countries. CONTACTS Adam Kiefaber Leader, Corporate Communications 513-900-5097 [email protected] Ian Wissman Corporate Communications 513-900-5897 [email protected] __________________________ 1 Vantiv issuer fraud rates vs. US issuer (Visa, MasterCard) averages based on Q4, 2016 MasterCard Benchmarking Report. SOURCE Vantiv, Inc. Related Links http://www.vantiv.com TUCSON, Ariz., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While "universal health care" sounds wonderful and is often promoted as a goal for the U.S., the recent results in Venezuela, previously the richest country in Latin America, are a cautionary tale, writes Lawrence Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D., in the summer issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been quoted as saying: "I doubt there is anywhere in the world, with the exception of Cuba, with a better health system than this one." But when patients go to the hospital, they are expected to bring their own medicine and medical supplies, Dr. Huntoon notes. Many essential medicines are available only on the black market. Elevators and air conditioning often don't work, and water supply may be intermittent. Still worse, hospitals may have no food for starving babies. "The consequences of these shortages created by socialist policies are dire," Dr. Huntoon writes. "The maternal mortality rate in 2016 was 130.7 per 100,000 births. The infant mortality rate in 2016 was 18.61 deaths per 1,000 live births," a sharp increase from previous years. "Many patients who have treatable conditions die. Patients also die while waiting for surgery." Venezuela has refused humanitarian aid, denying the existence of a crisis. "Socialists never admit when socialism fails," writes Dr. Huntoon. "Socialists always try to defy human nature and basic economic principles in imposing supposed beneficent policies, Dr. Huntoon observes. "The 'beneficiaries' of egalitarian socialist policies are always the ones who suffer, while the socialist elites live a life of wealth and comfort." The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943. SOURCE Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) Related Links http://www.aapsonline.org HAMPTON ROADS, Va., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Despite its critical and growing importance, computer science is taught in only a small minority of U.S. schools. In our technology-driven world exists a gender-gap in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, with only 1 out of 3 high school girls entering college in a STEM related field. The Verizon Foundation has awarded a $10,000.00 grant to the national nonprofit Good Girls Write Code to empower girls in grades K-12 with technical skills needed to become the next generation of women-leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators of technology. The grant will provide girls in low-income areas with access to computer science education and exploration of STEM careers they may not have otherwise considered. Learning computer science fosters critical thinking skills through math and science and provides girls with an avenue to creatively express themselves through visual representation. Girls of this age group are open to the positive peer influences, positive female role models and the confidence enhancing lessons that are all parts of Good Girls Write Code programs. The Verizon Foundation's grant provides Good Girls Write Code the ability to expand its computer science programs and provide training to teachers in Title I schools across Hampton Roads, VA. "The Verizon/Good Girls Write Code partnership focuses on the principle that all girls should be afforded equal opportunity and accessibility to computer science education. This grant will allow Good Girls Write Code to expand its reach to all girls nationwide with the opportunity to learn technical skills that offer a brighter future." said Sasha Oppleman, Founder and CEO of Good Girls Write Code. Recent studies suggest women make up approximately 25% of STEM related jobs. The deficiency of women in STEM careers creates an untapped pool of potential candidates for employers searching for qualified employees and hinders the growth of our economy. Over 50% of companies in the U.S., state they are having difficulty finding qualified employees with STEM skills necessary to do their job. However, less than 10% of schools in the U.S. incorporate a computer science program in their curriculum. Good Girls Write Code aims to solve this problem by offering our computer science programs as an after-school "coding club" or as part of the STEM curriculum in schools nationwide. One teacher writes that our programs are "an amazing opportunity for not only myself, but the girls as well." She continues to state that she is "thankful that I was able to bring this opportunity to my school, giving girls a chance to learn coding, and participate in something that they wouldn't have ever thought to explore otherwise.Mission accomplished Good Girls Write Code." Contact: For the full review and more reviews like it visit: https://greatnonprofits.org/org/goodgirls-write-code To learn more about Good Girls Write Code and their available program visit: URL: http://goodgirlswritecode.org Follow us on Facebook (@GoodgirlsWC) Follow us on Twitter (@GGWriteCode) To learn more about the work the Verizon Foundation is doing visit: http://www.verizon.com/about/responsibility/giving-and-grants Follow Verizon Foundation on Facebook (@VerizonFoundation) Follow Verizon Foundation on Twitter (@VZFoundation) Goodgirls Write Code, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Tax ID #47-3944987 CONTACT: Callie Werwath, 1-757-506-3100, [email protected] SOURCE Goodgirls Write Code Related Links http://goodgirlswritecode.org PUNE, India, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Market Research Future has a Half Cooked Research Report on Veterinary Surgical Instruments Market. The Global Market for Veterinary Surgical Instruments is growing continuously and expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2014 to 2023. Market Overview: The Global Veterinary Surgical Instruments Market was around US$ 726.3 million in 2015 and is expected to reach US$ 1.28 billion by 2023. The Global Veterinary Surgical Instruments Market has been evaluated as moderately growing market and it is expected that the market will continue to grow similarly in the near future. Veterinary is concerned with prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases in animals. It also deals with the treatment and cure for the injuries. Increasing awareness about animal health is driving the market for veterinary surgical instrument market. Growing number of veterinarian and veterinary clinics are major drivers of the market. Veterinary surgical instruments are used in general care, surgery, and treatment. About 75% of veterinarians are working in private hospitals or pet clinics. Changing disease pattern, diversity, and number of animal species needs different surgical approach. Pet ownership is trend in urban area and it is growing continuously. Pet grooming and other health related issues are growing which is good factor for growth of veterinary surgical instruments. Farmers are also getting more aware about the health of their cattle which is good sign for the growth of the market. Veterinary instrument manufacturers are developing new instruments along with traditional ones to provide more usable product in the market. Veterinary instruments are used in orthopedic surgery, oncologic surgery, and dental surgery and so on. The type of surgery may vary depending on type of animal. Availability of skilled veterinary professionals, advanced healthcare facilities and infrastructure are key market drivers in most of the North American and European countries while lack of knowledge about diseases, lack of availability of skilled veterinarians and veterinary facilities, slow adoptability of new technology are prohibiting the growth for the market. Global Veterinary Surgical Instruments Market Players: There are plenty of large and small market players which operate in this market all over the globe. Some of them are B. Braun Vet Care GmbH (Germany), Eickemeyer Veterinary Equipment Inc. (Canada), Jrgen KRUUSE A/S (Denmark), MEDICON eG (Germany), MEDTRONIC (Republic of Ireland), Sklar Surgical Instruments (USA), Surgical Holdings. (UK), Whittemore Enterprises. (US) Request a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2785 Regional Analysis: Depending on geographic region, Veterinary Surgical Instruments Market is segmented into four key regions: Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Considering the global scenario of the market, Europe is believed to be the largest market for Veterinary Surgical Instruments. Due to increasing demand of meat and milk products in European countries are driving the growth for the market. There are around 2,43,000 veterinarians and about 350 million cattle in Europe, which means there is 0.38 veterinarians per 1000 population. Changing disease pattern and increasing awareness about animal health is driving the growth for the Europe veterinary surgical instruments market. Many NGO's and government are working to improve the healthcare for animals. Moreover the North America market is also growing and second largest market for Veterinary Surgical Instruments. Increasing pet ownership and growing awareness about livestock diseases are driving the growth in North America veterinary surgical instruments market. Top class healthcare facilities and innovative approach towards new medical practices are major market drivers in North America. Veterinary surgical instruments manufacturers are investing money in R&D to develop new and innovative product for market. Availability of skilled veterinarian are another major factor for the growth of the market. On the other hand, Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow at the fastest pace in the Veterinary Surgical Instruments during the forecasted period. Rising demand and awareness are key market drivers in Asia-Pacific region. Veterinary healthcare market size is huge and this market has high potential for growth. Farming is main profession in most of the Asian countries thus they have cattle in there farm, increasing diseases and growing awareness are leading the growth for the market in this region. Increasing number of veterinarian is also key factor for the growth of the market. Rest of the World is likely to have a limited but steady growth in the market. Lack of access to veterinary healthcare, lack of skilled veterinary professionals, lack of knowledge about diseases are prohibiting the growth of the market in this region. Browse Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/veterinary-surgical-instruments-market-2785 Commenting on the report, an analyst from Market Research Future (MRFR)'s team said: The market for Veterinary Surgical Instruments is growing moderately and expected to continue its growth similarly in near future. Veterinary Surgical Instruments are useful during the surgery or operation of animal. These instruments mainly are of two types based on their use such as general use and specifically used during surgery. Increasing demand for veterinary treatment is driving the growth for the market. Veterinary instrument manufacturers are also developing new products and expanding their service network which is good sign for the market. Increasing consumer awareness is also one of the key factor in driving the growth for Veterinary Surgical Instruments Market. Market Segmentation: Veterinary Surgical Instruments market has been segmented on the basis of type which comprises Scalpel handles, Forceps, Dressing and tissue forceps, Scissors, Needle holders, Retractors, and Others. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into Orthopedic, Sterilization, Ophthalmic, Dental, and others. On the basis of animal market segmented into Canines, Felines, and Large Animals. Browse Related Report: Veterinary Imaging Market Information, by Type (Radiology, Ultrasound, CT Scan, Endoscopy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)), Application (Orthopedic, Dental, Oncology, Cardiology), Type of Animal (Canines, Felines), and End User (Veterinary Hospitals and Clinics, Research Centers) - Forecast to 2023 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/veterinary-imaging-market-2919 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members. Contact: Akash Anand, Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India +1 646 845 9312 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Market Research Future SAN DIEGO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ViaCyte, Inc., a privately-held regenerative medicine company, today announced a presentation at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2017 Annual Meeting in Boston. ViaCyte is developing novel stem cell-derived islet replacement therapies for insulin-requiring diabetes. The presentation at ISSCR details methods of generating mature glucose-responsive insulin-producing beta cells in vitro. The work presented is an extension of the first ever report of generating glucose-responsive beta-like cells in vitro from pluripotent stem cells, published September 2014 in Nature Biotechnology by Alireza Rezania, Ph.D., and colleagues. "We believe that these in vitro cells have now acquired some cardinal features of naturally occurring mature human pancreatic beta cells. The ability to create mature pancreatic beta cells in vitro is valuable not only for research into cell replacement therapies but also for disease modeling and drug testing," said Dr. Rezania, Senior Scientific Director at ViaCyte. "In our study, detailed kinetic characterization of the generated cells shows that insulin secretion is acutely coupled to glucose levels. I look forward to discussing these results with the stem cell community as we work to establish the metrics that define the mature pancreatic beta cell in vitro." Details of the presentation are as follows: Event: ISSCR 2017 Annual Meeting Speaker: Dr. Alireza Rezania, Senior Scientific Director Title: Differentiating ES Cells to Mature Pancreatic Beta Cells in Incubators Date/Time: June 15, 4:05 pm EDT Location: Boston Convention and Exhibition Center For more information about ViaCyte's participation in industry events, please visit: http://viacyte.com/news-events-2/viactye-events/ About ViaCyte ViaCyte is a privately-held regenerative medicine company developing novel cell replacement therapies as potential long-term diabetes treatments to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and diabetes-related complications. ViaCyte's product candidates are based on the derivation of pancreatic progenitor cells from stem cells, which are then implanted in a durable and retrievable cell delivery device. Once implanted and matured, these cells are designed to secrete insulin and other pancreatic hormones in response to blood glucose levels. ViaCyte has two products in development. The PEC-Direct product candidate delivers the pancreatic progenitor cells in a non-immunoprotective device and is being developed for type 1 diabetes patients who have severe hypoglycemic episodes, extreme glycemic lability, and/or impaired awareness of hypoglycemia. The PEC-Encap (also known as VC-01) product candidate delivers pancreatic progenitor cells in an immunoprotective device and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 trial in patients with type 1 diabetes who have minimal to no insulin-producing beta cell function. ViaCyte is headquartered in San Diego, California. The Company is funded in part by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and JDRF. For more information on ViaCyte, please visit www.viacyte.com and connect with ViaCyte on Twitter and Facebook. SOURCE ViaCyte, Inc. Related Links http://viacyte.com FREDERICKSBURG, Va., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Virginia Partners Bank is pleased to announce that their common stock is now trading, under the symbol "PTRS", on the OTC Market exchange. "This will provide our shareholders with greater liquidity, open up our stock to a broader audience, and increase the visibility of our company," said Lloyd B. Harrison, president and CEO. "This is part of the Bank's deliberate strategy to position itself for growth." Since it was founded in 2008, the Bank has grown to $372 million in assets. Virginia Partners Bank operates three full-service branches in the Fredericksburg, VA market as well as locations in Maryland, where it trades under the name "Maryland Partners Bank (a division of Virginia Partners Bank)". In 2015, the Bank opened a full-service branch and commercial banking office in La Plata, MD and is continuing its growth strategy with the establishment of a Loan Production Office in Annapolis, MD, which opened in January, 2017. Virginia Partners Bank is also pleased to announce that FIG Partners, LLC, a banking industry specialist, has committed to provide market making services to our shareholders. About FIG Partners, LLC FIG Partners LLC is an employee-owned broker/dealer specializing in financial institutions. Their expertise includes independent research on more than 120 public bank stocks and the industry at large. They provide strategic advice and have advised on more than $2.6 billion of M&A transaction value since 2007. They are OTC market-makers for 750 banks nationwide. FIG Partners' Corporate & Private Client Services team will assist Virginia Partners Bank shareholders with any questions or inquiries regarding market making or FIG Partners. The Corporate & Private Client Services team consists of Mr. Acampora, who has over 30 years of experience working with individual shareholders of community banks, and Troy N Carlson, who has more than 20 years of experience as a strategic advisor to community banks, thrifts and their executives. Please contact Mr. Acampora or Mr. Carlson if you have interest in buying or selling stock in Virginia Partners Bank. Their contact information is below: Michael Acampora, Senior Vice President Troy N Carlson, Senior Vice President Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Phone: 904-354-3441 Phone: 732-383-8424 www.vapartnersbank.com SOURCE Virginia Partners Bank Related Links http://www.vapartnersbank.com NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- New York Comprehensive Medical Care, Long Island's premiere Primary Care and Cardiology clinic, announced today the launch of Pilip Healthcare, an affordable and convenient online medical service. Patients will benefit from access to an immediate connection to a doctor within the comfort of their homes, anytime and anywhere. Pilip Healthcare comes at a time of skyrocketing insurance costs and increasing difficulty in securing physician appointments. Medical care any time any day. With health premiums now, on average, at $500-$1,500 a month and yearly deductibles topping $5,000 or even $10,000 annually, healthcare is often a luxury that many consumers can't afford. The Congressional Budget Office's recent report has declared that the new Healthcare bill, if passed, would leave an estimated 24 million more people without healthcare by 2026. The need for convenient, cheap medical care has never been greater. The overall price tag of healthcare in the United States is at historic levels, making it unsustainable. A recent article by PBS quotes the Department of Health and Human Services data that National health expenditures will hit $3.35 trillion this year, which equates to $10,000 for each person. Close to $1 trillion is spent on hospital care. Getting medical care within hours of being sick minimizes unnecessary costs associated with ER visits, and in some cases very expensive hospital care. The New York Times has recently published an article which clearly shows the disparity in life spans by as much as 10-15 years of rich and poor is on the rise, mainly due to the lack of affordable and available medical care. Physician insurance reimbursements have been decreasing for years, which has directly caused an increase in the number of patients they see per day, resulting in long wait periods to see a doctor. In addition, wait times on arrival are often 1-2 hours, and evening and middle of the night visits are almost impossible. According to Forbes, U.S. workforce illness costs $576 billion annually from sick days which Pilip Healthcare aims to reduce by treating patients when they first notice an acute illness. "Pilip Healthcare is a perfect blend of telemedicine and concierge care, where now you can feel like you have a physician inside your home at any time of day or week," says Dr. Pilip, Founder and CEO of Pilip Healthcare. "For only twenty dollars a month, patients can have immediate access to a primary care doctor that can treat most acute and chronic illnesses at the moment a person becomes sick. Getting medical care within hours of being sick minimizes sick days, and unnecessary costs associated with ER visits, and in some cases, very expensive hospital stays. We are thrilled to bring quick, easy and affordable medical access to Americans across the country." To sign up for Pilip Healthcare Online, visit https://www.piliphealthcare.com. About Pilip Healthcare Pilip Healthcare is a monthly, subscription medical service that allows patients to speak with a doctor online. Twenty dollars a month provides access to chronic medical management as well as the ability to be treated for acute illnesses 24/7/365. Once someone becomes a member of Pilip Healthcare, a detailed medical information survey of allergies and medication history is taken, as well as pharmacy information, so that patients can be treated any time they are sick without the need to leave their home, hotel room or place of employment. For more information, visit https://www.piliphealthcare.com. About New York Comprehensive Medical Care NYCMC, based in Smithtown, Long Island, is one of Long Island's Premiere Medical Clinics. Their method is preventative medical care, with a philosophy to avoid unnecessary hospital visits by having patients visit as frequently as it takes to control their chronic medical disorders. http://www.newyorkcmc.com. Media Contact: Adalbert Pilip 347-665-2905 [email protected] Related Links https://www.piliphealthcare.com SOURCE Pilip Healthcare Related Links https://www.piliphealthcare.com BEIJING, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Yirendai Ltd. (NYSE: YRD) ("Yirendai" or the "Company"), a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China, today announced that it was awarded the Best P2P Lending Platform in China Award at The Future of Finance Summit (the "Summit") held in Singapore on June 8-9, 2017. Yirendai is the first FinTech company in China to receive this prestigious reward. Organized by The Asian Banker, a leading provider of strategic intelligence on the financial services industry, the Summit is an all-inclusive annual gathering that brings together a wide range of market players -- banks, FinTech players, insurance companies, asset managers, investors and customers -- who are shaping the future of finance. Each shortlisted company for an award undergoes a rigorous three-month assessment by a panel of well-known bankers, consultants and analysts selected by The Asian Banker that evaluates the company's management capabilities, business influence, financial performance, customer experience, risk management, technology, innovation and strategy. In addition, Yirendai received a P2P Audit Certification at the Summit. The Asian Banker introduced the P2P Audit Award at this year's summit to help maintain industry standards as well as help customers, investors and regulators to identify credible players in the digital world. The evaluation process involves audit submissions to be completed in a comprehensive data sheet where the basic quantitative and qualitative information will be collated and processed. "Yirendai's recognition as the best P2P lending platform in China is a clear demonstration of the progress we have made in executing our sustainable business growth, consumer brand building and strong partnerships strategies as well as our industry leading position in China's FinTech industry," commented Ms. Yihan Fang, Chief Executive Officer of Yirendai. "We have always been in close communication with various regulatory bodies to ensure our full compliance. By maintaining some of the industry's highest standards, we were also able to receive P2P Audit Certification at the Summit. We will continue to uphold the highest standards as we optimize our business operations to further support long-term sustainable growth and profitability." About Yirendai Yirendai Ltd. (NYSE: YRD) is a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China connecting investors and individual borrowers. The Company provides an effective solution to address largely underserved investor and individual borrower demand in China through an online platform that automates key aspects of its operations to efficiently match borrowers with investors and execute loan transactions. Yirendai deploys a proprietary risk management system, which enables the Company to effectively assess the creditworthiness of borrowers, appropriately price the risks associated with borrowers, and offer quality loan investment opportunities to investors. Yirendai's online marketplace provides borrowers with quick and convenient access to consumer credit at competitive prices and investors with easy and quick access to an alternative asset class with attractive returns. For more information, please visit yirendai.investorroom.com. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: Yirendai Hui (Matthew) Li Director of Investor Relations Email: [email protected] Christensen In China Christian Arnell Phone: +86 (0) 10-59001548 E-mail: [email protected] In U.S. Linda Bergkamp Phone: +1 (480) 614-3004 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Yirendai Ltd. Related Links http://yirendai.investorroom.com/ Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL) ("Ship Finance" or the "Company") announced today that it has exercised its call option at a price of 100.50 percent of par value with regards to the NOK 600 million senior unsecured bonds due October 2017, ISIN NO 0010661655. The settlement date will be 28 July 2017 and the bonds will be transferred to the payment agent for deletion immediately upon delivery to the Company. June 15, 2017 The Board of Directors Ship Finance International Limited Hamilton, Bermuda Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain forward looking statements. These statements are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including Ship Finance management's examination of historical operating trends. Although Ship Finance believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control, Ship Finance cannot give assurance that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or intentions. Important factors that, in the Company's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in this presentation include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market as a result of changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in the Company's operating expenses including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ZingBox, a leading Internet of Things (IoT) security solution provider, today announced it has entered a strategic partnership with SoftBank C&S to expand the company's global presence. SoftBank C&S will serve as a global channel partner introducing the ZingBox IoT Guardian solution to the Japanese market and beyond. "Global demand for IoT security solutions is on the rise and we required a partner that could help us address the IoT security needs in markets outside the U.S.," said Xu Zou, co-founder and CEO, ZingBox. "SoftBank C&S offers a strong background in distributing networking and security solutions and a robust global network of system integrators and resellers that will allow ZingBox to serve a wide range of customers." ZingBox's IoT security solution has seen strong market demand in Japan across advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and enterprise verticals. With deep expertise in the Japanese market, SoftBank C&S will enable ZingBox to expand its business and scale its operations globally to support large, multinational customers. "SoftBank C&S is committed to providing the best security technologies and products to our customers and partners. We've carefully evaluated many solutions, and ZingBox clearly stands out with its disruptive AI technology and innovative IoT device personality-based approach to ensure IoT service integrity and continuity," said SoftBank C&S president and CEO, Yasuo Mizoguchi. "It is the purpose-built IoT security solution we see on the market that is industry agnostic and is effective in healthcare, manufacturing, office/building automation, and other industries." IoT Guardian, ZingBox's SaaS-based security solution, leverages machine learning to discover, assess risk, baseline normal behavior, detect anomalous activities and provide real-time remediation across an organization's entire IoT footprint. The patent-pending solution has a deep grasp of each IoT device's personality, analyzing communication to and from every device, watching constantly for deviations in behavior and providing alerts for suspicious behavior. ZingBox IoT Guardian is available now with a tiered SaaS pricing model based on number of devices being secured. For more information, visit www.zingbox.com. ZingBox Social Media Twitter: @ZingBoxSecurity LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/2iKU8wE About ZingBox Enabling the Internet of Trusted Things, ZingBox provides hospitals, companies and manufacturing facilities with Internet of Things (IoT) security software that helps ensure service delivery. ZingBox's new approach is based on Deep Learning and enforcement of trusted behavior. Founded by Silicon Valley veterans with expertise in cybersecurity, IoT, Deep Learning, and networking, ZingBox was selected by the Stanford StartX program, and was recently named one of NetworkWorld's hottest security startups. For more information, visit www.zingbox.com. Contact: JoAnn Yamani, Esq., APR [email protected] 408-781-5719 SOURCE ZingBox Related Links http://www.zingbox.com Columbia, MD, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Since it first opened its doors in October 2009, Hagler and Associates has prided itself on its exciting company culture, according to Ahmad Hagler, president of Hagler and Associates. According to Hagler, A large portion of the success at Hagler and Associates can be attributed to the values instilled within the company culture such as exhibiting hard work, bringing a positive attitude each day, as well as having fun. Another aspect of the company culture Halger values is the importance in taking care of the environment. One of our newest clients that we signed with is a business that provides people with renewable energy that is actually better for the environment, Hagler said. Hagler explained that Hagler and Associates decided to partner with this client because it was the only company he felt was truly making large strides in trying to make a difference to improve the environment. Lastly, Hagler and Associates articulated its excitement in continuing to work with community organizations such as MDSPCA, the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore, A Wider Circle, and more. Providing opportunities to create well-rounded employees is a major focus at Hagler and Associates. Volunteering and giving back are some of the best ways to assist in the teams personal and professional development, Hagler said. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Paris, June 11 : An Algerian man who was shot after attacking a policeman with a hammer at the Notre Dame cathedral last week was charged by a French court with terrorism. Judiciary sources told Efe news that Farid Ikken, 40, was charged on Saturday with attempted terrorist homicide of a person vested with public authority, and with criminal association for extremist purposes. Prosecutor Francois Molins told the media that Ikken had been radicalized very quickly, alone and by means of the internet. The first elements of the investigation present Ikken as an individual influenced by propaganda from the Islamic State (IS) terror group, to which he vows his loyalty on a video. At his home in Cergy on the outskirts of Paris, police found on his computer, his camera and his mobile phone, numerous propaganda documents of that terrorist organisation along with news about the attacks in the French capital in November 2015 and in Brussels in March 2016. Among them is an "action manual for lone wolves", Molins said, adding that the man describes himself as a "soldier of the caliphate". Ikken, who was born in 1977 and who wounded the policeman in the neck with a hammer purchased at a supermarket, had decided to take action a few days before doing so. He was brought down by a colleague of the agent, who shot him in the side. New Delhi, June 15 : The government on Thursday categorically denied that Russia had offered to mediate between India and Pakistan. In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay also said that Russia was aware of India's position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan needed to be addressed bilaterally. "No offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India," the spokesperson said. "It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence," Baglay added. India's reaction came after Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said during a briefing that his country appreciated Russia's "attention and intention to play a role in this longstanding issue". Zakaria said this when asked if Russian President Vlamidir Putin, during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO, had offered to mediate between India and Pakistan to resolve issues between the two countries. "Pakistan welcomes UNSC Permanent Member, Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this longstanding issue on the UNSC agenda," Zakaria said. Ghaziabad, June 15 : A man who duped buyers by giving away useless stuff instead of products advertised on an online platform was arrested here after he tried to cheat one of his victims twice. Police said Sohail of Muradnagar in Ghaziabad district posted an advertisement of a second hand mobile phone. When Manish Pathak of Ram Nagar negotiated to buy it for Rs 9,000, Sohail arranged a meeting at Lalkuan area. Sohail handed over a neatly wrapped product which looked like a mobile phone, took the money and sped away on his motorcycle. This happened on Wednesday. When Pathak opened the packet, he found a simple piece of glass -- no phone. He complained on Thursday to police who told him to call Sohail from another mobile phone in response to a second online advertisement Sohail had posted for another product. This time, the unsuspecting Sohail agreed to meet Pathak -- without knowing his real identity -- at Hapur Chungi where policemen were present in plainclothes. When Sohail spotted Pathak, he tried to escape but it was too late. Sohail admitted to police that he had cheated three others in the past, Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said. "The police team has done a good work. In a crime of this sort, such fast action by police is appreciable," Tomar told the media. San Antonio, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority released a request for qualifications to establish a prequalified list of artists, which will be used to create a streamlined selection process for public art projects for the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. Emerging and established public artists working in a variety of media and artistic approaches are invited to apply. This is an amazing opportunity for many exceptional artistic talent from the local, national, and international arts community to contribute work that will leave a lasting impact on Bexar County, said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. The revitalization of San Pedro Creek is a unique opportunity to use art to showcase our communitys vibrant history and culture. The purpose of the prequalified list of artists is to provide a streamlined application for artists interested in being commissioned for public art projects for the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. Artists will be commissioned for temporary, permanent and performance-based artwork while the park is under construction, in newly opened sections of the park, and to participate in planning for future phases. The first section of San Pedro Creek Culture Park will open on May 5, 2018 as part of the Tricentennial celebration. Artists may apply now through June 30, 2017 at PublicArtist.org to be considered for the prequalified list. ### About the San Pedro Creek Improvements Project:Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority, in coordination with the City of San Antonio, are transforming San Pedro Creek as a cultural park to reflect its place in our cultural history, improve its function in flood control, revitalize natural habitat and water quality, and catalyze economic development. To learn more about the San Pedro Creek Improvements Project, visit spcproject.org. Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e65d4260-4feb-4c91-8345-6208efb85fe5 Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/07d54f6c-282b-4470-9997-d9f38a240c47 New Delhi, June 15 : The CBI on Thursday said it did not delay forwarding to British authorities evidence for extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, charged with money laundering in an about Rs 900-crore IDBI Bank loan default involving his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA). The agency's reaction came in the wake of reports that there was a delay from India in sharing Mallya's case documents with British authorities. In a statement, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) clarified that the documents related to extradition of Mallya, who has been in London since March 2016, were sent to British authorities in February this year while supporting documents were handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) much before the Tuesday (June 13) hearing in the case. The CBI statement also said the hearing on June 13 was for Case Management Review to determine further steps to be taken up in the case and to draw a timetable for extradition proceedings and that it was not a hearing for extradition. Maintaining that there was no delay "whatsoever", the agency said the evidence like extradition dossier, chargesheet, non-bailable warrant, sworn affidavit of a CBI Superintendent of Police, accompanied the request for extradition of Mallya in February and the additional documents were handed over to the CPS on May 2 and May 3. "The additional evidence like supplementary chargesheet (forwarded to a Mumbai court on June 2) of Rs 900 crore fraud case, evidence containing falsities, misstatements and false representations by Mallya was forwarded through diplomatic channels before the hearing on June 13." The CBI also made it clear that the British court had not criticised India's extradition request during the hearing. "During the hearing on June 13, when the counsel of fugitive Mallya sought a date in March-April 2018, Aaron Watkins of CPS opposed the same." "To justify a later date, the defence counsel raised the issue of delay, which is nothing but a figment of his imagination. The specialist prosecutor of CPS confirmed that during the proceedings on June 13, there was no criticism of the extradition request or of the Indian government. Senior district judge fixed next case management hearing on July 6 when the dates for extradition hearing will be decided," the CBI statement said. It said that the request for extradition of Mallya was forwarded on February 9 to the British authorities through diplomatic channels. "The Secretary of State, UK, certified the request and sent it to the Court. The Court after satisfying itself, issued an arrest warrant and Mallya was arrested in London on April 18 morning. Following the arrest, Mallya appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on April 18 and was granted conditional bail." "The same day, the prosecutors of CPS sought a meeting with officers of CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED). Accordingly, a joint CBI and ED team led by Rakesh Asthana (Additional Director CBI) visited London during May 2 and 3 and provided all the additional documents sought and also answered the queries raised," the statement said. In March 2016, the ED had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Kingfisher Airlines in the IDBI bank loan default case. Mallya's company also owes around Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of 17 Indian banks. The loan default cases are being probed by the ED and the CBI. Darjeeling, June 15 : Violence singed the West Bengal hills on Thursday as angry Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters went on the rampage against security forces after a police raid on party chief Bimal Gurung's house in Darjeeling district. The protesters set fire to some vehicles, including one belonging to a media house and also a state-run bus. In the morning, GJM activists, with their women's wing Nari Morcha in the vanguard, virtually surrounded the police force as they were returning after the raid on Gurung's house in Patlebas, and started stoning the police from elevated areas in the hills. Several police personnel were injured in the stoning. In response, the security forces lobbed tear gas shells at the protesters after a baton charge failed to control the situation. Later, large police reinforcements arrived in the area. A North Bengal Transport Corporation bus, bound for Bijanbari from Siliguri, was set ablaze by pro-Gorkhaland protestors, who also beat up the driver and the conductor. In neighbouring Kalimpong district, alleged GJM supporters torched the Pedong police outpost. Police arrested Nari Morcha leader Karuna Gurung from Kurseong. Accusing the state government of "high handedness and oppression", GJM general secretary Roshan Giri appealed to the central and state governments to intervene and sort out the "political problem". "The GJM has not started the violence in the hills. The state government did. They are trying to suppress us using the police. To protest against the police high handedness, we are calling for an indefinite general strike in the hills," Giri said. "This is a political problem, not a law and order situation. The Government of India and the government of West Bengal should solve it politically," Giri said. The GJM central committee met at Mangalabari in the Dooars (foothill of the Himalayas) and brought out a torch rally at night in the Terai plains close to the hills and the Dooars. GJM central committee member Sandip Chettri said protest rallies would be brought out on Friday in protest against the police action. Police raided Gurung's house on Thursday morning, amid the ongoing GJM-sponsored indefinite shut down in the hills, and said they have seized bows and arrows, knives, axes, explosives and a large quantity of cash. "Two persons have been detained so far in the incident," Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi, the superintendant of police of Darjeeling district said. "It seems that they gathered all these arms to attack the police. No peace loving person can have this amount of arms in store," he claimed. Refuting the police allegations, Giri said the bows and arrows stored in the party office was for the annual archery programme of the local schools. "What have they found? Bow and arrow? That is a traditional weapon in the hills. Those were stored for the annual archery programme of the nearby schools," Giri claimed. Meanwhile, the women Morcha activists gathered outside Gurung's house in large numbers and demonstrated demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland. "We want a separate Gorkhaland. We strongly condemn the raid and ransacking at our leaders house," a woman GJM activist asserted. Terming the GJM's call for complete shut down as illegal and a crusade against the people, state Tourism Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Gautam Deb vowed to stop the strike at any cost. "The High Court and the Supreme Court have already declared such strikes as illegal. This is a strike against the people of the hills. The state administration and the Trinamool leadership would unite the people of the hills to prevent the bandh," Deb said. Parliamentary Affairs and BJP leader Ananth Kumar held the Chief Minister responsible for the ongoing unrest. "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has not handled the situation in the hills with as much caution and understanding as she should have. That is why there is so much tension in the region," Kumar claimed. He said the Centre was in favour of peace and development across the state and urged the state government to hold discussions with the agitators in the hills. However, he sidestepped the issue of a separate state of Gorkhaland, commenting "I can say just this much at this moment." Hyderabad, June 15 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has urged the Centre to exempt works under beedi and granite industries, irrigation and drinking water from the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime. He sent letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in this regard. Stating that Telangana has thousands of workers depending on the beedi industry for their livelihood, Chandrasekhar Rao said imposing excess taxes on the industry will adversely affect the interests of beedi workers. He also mentioned that there are about 2,000 granite processing units employing about two lakh people directly and about five lakh indirectly. KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, pointed out that the GST Council has proposed 12 per cent GST on granite and marble raw blocks and 28 per cent GST on finished products. He requested the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister to use their good offices to ensure that the GST on granite, both raw and finished products, is reduced to 12 per cent. He mentioned that Telangana has taken up a number of massive infrastructure programmes, including the prestigious 'Mission Bhagiratha' drinking water and irrigation projects, with huge investments. Considering that the irrigation and drinking water projects are for larger public welfare, it would be appropriate to bring them under the exempted category or at least put them in the lower GST slab of 5 per cent, he wrote. New Delhi, June 15 : The US State Department on Thursday named three key Islamic State (IS) operatives, including an Indian recruiter, to its Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) list, an official statement said. The State Department has designated Mohammad Shafi Armar, Oussama Ahmad Atar, and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali as SDGTs, which imposes strict sanctions on these persons and bars US nationals from engaging in transactions or dealings with designated persons and all their property and interests in property subject to United States jurisdiction is blocked. Armar, a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka, is said to have recruited at least 30 men for IS in India, according to Indian intelligence agencies. The State Departmennt termed Armar "a leader and head recruiter in India" for the IS. "He has cultivated a group of dozens of ISIS sympathizers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps," the State Department statement said. According to it, Belgian-Moroccan Oussama Atar is a "senior leader of IS' external operations efforts and has established a network to carry out attacks in Europe" and was "a leading coordinator of the November 2015 Paris attacks and March 2016 attacks in Brussels". The State Department said Atar was responsible for recruiting, training and sending "at least some of the individuals to Paris to launch the November 2015 attacks, which killed and injured hundreds, including Americans". He also recruited and mentored two of the bombers involved in the March 2016 Brussels attacks that killed 32 and left many more wounded, according to it. Al Binali, it said, departed Bahrain to join the terrorist group in 2014 and has since appeared in multiple IS propaganda videos calling on Bahrainis, specifically members of Bahrain's security forces, to join Islamic State. "Today's action notifies the US public and the international community that Atar, Armar, and Binali have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism. Designations expose and isolate organisations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the US financial system," the State Department said. New Delhi, June 15 : With issues such as spectrum auction and double taxation facing it, the telecom industry is suffering from a "structural issue" which needs to be corrected by the government, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Vodafone India Sunil Sood said here on Thursday. "Our belief in COAI is that there is a structural issue in the industry which needs to be corrected," Sood said on the sidelines of the Annual General Body Meeting of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). "The government said that they wanted to auction the spectrum, but they did not change the profit sharing which they had in the past. There should not be charges over and above the auction because market discovery has a value and spectrum has already discovered it," he added. On the imposition of 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the telecom sector, Sood expressed concern and said that the rise of tax slab will have an increasing impact on the industry. "In GST, as an economy we have moved to consumption-based charging. The issue is that in the manufacturing industry they killed the excise duty and subsumed it within GST. In our industry, the recommend of excise is less than 3 per cent but that is not subsumed," Sood explained. "So, therefore, we have had an increasing impact of GST by it going up from 15 per cent to 18 per cent. Our request therefore is to structurally correct that. In our industry also it should be subsumed license free as part of GST." COAI, the apex industry association for India's telecom sector, in its announcement of its leadership for the term 2017-18 said Sunil Sood will continue as the Vice-Chairman of COAI. Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (India and South Asia) of Bharti Airtel, was re-elected as the Chairman. Kharkutta (Meghalaya), June 15 : Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday hit out at the Congress for painting the BJP as "anti-Christian" and on the "beef ban". "Where is the ban? Please ask the Congress as to where a ban on beef consumption is mentioned. They (Congress) have nothing else to talk of and so this non-issue has been made to look like the BJP government is anti-Christian," said the Congress-turned-BJP leader at "Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas Sammelan" here in Meghalaya's North Garo Hills district, bordering Assam. "Today, the Congress party is unable to find fault with BJP, so they have come with a political conspiracy to paint BJP with the tag of anti-Christian and beef ban. If it so, why should many BJP MLAs and frontrunner of the party in Arunachal belongs from Christian community," he asked. The Arunachal Chief Minister also criticised his Meghalaya counterpart Mukul Sangma for the lack of development in the state. "A leader should have a holistic vision for the state but the Chief Minister of Meghalaya has failed to realise it. Sangma has failed the state. There its utter chaos in the state and the people of the state has suffered in all fronts of socio-economic development," Khandu said. He said the Congress is a party with high command culture with no democratic system, where the party workers themselves are clueless about the party programmes. Darjeeling, June 16 : Violence singed the northern West Bengal hills on Thursday as angry Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters went on rampage torching a railway station, a police outpost as also vehicles after a police raid on party chief Bimal Gurung's house in Darjeeling district. The Gayabari station of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - declared as a heritage site by the UNSECO, a state transport bus and several vehicles including one belonging to a media house were set on fire by the protestors, hours before the GJM called an indefinite general strike in the hills encompassing Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Dooars (foothills of the Himalayas covering stretches of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar district). In Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed intelligence failure for the fresh unrest in the hills, where the GJM sponsored shutdown entered day three. On Thursday morning, GJM activists, with their women's wing Nari Morcha in the vanguard, virtually surrounded the police force as they were returning after the raid on Gurung's house in Patlebas, and started hurling petrol bombs and stones from elevated areas in the hills. Several police personnel were injured. In response, the security forces lobbed tear gas shells at the protesters after a baton charge failed to control the situation. Later, large police reinforcements arrived in the area. A North Bengal Transport Corporation bus, bound for Bijanbari from Siliguri, was set ablaze by pro-Gorkhaland protestors, who also beat up the driver and the conductor. Later in the day, the picturesque Gayabari station - which had retained its old structure over the years - was torched. In neighbouring Kalimpong district, alleged GJM supporters torched the Pedong police outpost. Police claimed to have seized bows and arrows, knives, axes, explosives and a large quantity of cash from Gurung's house. "Two persons have been detained so far in the incident," said Darjeeling's Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi. "It seems that they gathered all these arms to attack the police. No peace loving person can have this amount of arms in store," he claimed. Police also arrested Nari Morcha leader Karuna Gurung from Kurseong. Accusing the state government of "high handedness and oppression", GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri appealed to the central and state governments to intervene and sort out the "political problem". "To protest against the police high handedness, we are calling for an indefinite general strike in the hills," Giri said. "This is a political problem, not a law and order situation. The Government of India and the government of West Bengal should solve it politically," he said. The GJM central committee met at Mangalabari in the Dooars and brought out a torch rally at night in the Terai plains close to the hills and the Dooars. GJM central committee member Sandip Chettri said protest rallies would be brought out on Friday in protest against the police action. Refuting the police allegations, Giri said the bows and arrows stored in the party office were for the annual archery programme of the local schools. Meanwhile, the women Morcha activists gathered outside Gurung's house in large numbers and demonstrated demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland. "We want a separate Gorkhaland. We strongly condemn the raid and ransacking at our leaders house," a woman GJM activist asserted. Terming the GJM's call for complete shut down as illegal and a crusade against the people, state Tourism Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Gautam Deb vowed to stop the strike at any cost. Union Parliamentary Affairs and BJP leader Ananth Kumar held the Chief Minister responsible for the ongoing unrest, but urged her to hold discussions with the agitators in the hills. "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has not handled the situation in the hills with as much caution and understanding as she should have. That is why there is so much tension in the region," Kumar claimed. Blaming intelligence failure for the trouble that sparked off on June 8, when the state cabinet had met in Darjeeling, Banerjee, without naming the GJM, alleged that there was a conspiracy to attack her ministerial colleagues. "The administration had no information about the brewing tension. It was an intelligence failure," she while speaking at a function organised by Kolkata police. Kolkata, June 15 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed grief at the passing away of former Chief Justice of India P.N. Bhagwati. "Saddened at the passing of former Chief Justice of India Shri PN Bhagwati Ji My condolences to his family, friends and colleagues," she tweeted. Bhagwati died in Delhi a few days after he was admitted to a Delhi hospital with a brief illness. He was 95. Known for introducing and pioneering Public Interest Litigation, Bhagwati had also participated in India's freedom movement. Chief Justice of India from July 12, 1985, to December 20, 1986, Bhagwati was born on December 21, 1921, and studied in Bombay. The son of N.H. Bhagwati, who went on to become a Supreme Court judge, he began his law practice at the Bombay High Court and was elevated to the bench of the Gujarat High Court in 1960. He became its Chief Justice in 1967, and a Supreme Court judge in 1973. Rome, June 16 : Turkish border guards shot dead five Syrian citizens including a one-year-old baby girl as they tried to cross Turkey's tightly controlled border, a Syrian monitoring group said. Two other men were wounded by Turkish border guards in the incident at Hatia in northwest Idlib province, reported the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies for its information on a network of activists and doctors inside Syria. As the civil war between pro-government forces and rebels reaches its endgame, Idlib has become a dumping ground for civilians and fighters bussed northward from rebel-held areas across Syria that have submitted to government control in recent months. Turkish border guards have shot and beaten civilians caught crossing illegally, Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported. London, June 16 : Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has said that Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi will not join the English Premier League side. "No. I don't think so," the former Barcelona vice president told Xinhua. "I know Messi very well. He and his family are my good friends. I think he has settled in Barcelona. He has been in Barcelona all his life," he was quoted as saying. But Soriano, who worked in Barcelona between 2003 and 2008, did not exclude the star's possibility of leaving Nou Camp when his contract expires next year. "Or at least next year, maybe he can finish that career (in Barcelona). After that he can go to China or US. But now I think he will stay in Barcelona." Messi has been linked with a move to the Etihad ever since his mentor, Pep Guardiola, first joined the Manchester club last summer. Messi, who turns 30 later this month, is talking about a new deal with Barcelona and reports said that he will take home 504,000 pounds-a-week in a deal worth 26 million pounds a season. Calgary, Alberta, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The PCL family of companies is pleased to announce that PCL Construction Management Inc. (Calgary) has been awarded the $1.1 billion design-build contract for the new Calgary Cancer Centre project. PCL president and CEO Dave Filipchuk said, PCL is honored to be leading the team that will bring this world-class facility to Calgary, knowing that we can help make a very real difference in our community to cancer patients and their families. Our company takes pride in all of the projects we build, and the Calgary Cancer Centre will be another exceptional facility where our health-care building expertise shines through. The Calgary Cancer Centre is PCLs largest design-build lump sum project to date. The new facility will measure over two million square feet, including a 1,650-stall underground parking garage and a 984 linear foot elevated walkway that connects with existing facilities. There will be 160 inpatient beds; fifteen new radiation vaults; outpatient cancer clinics; a clinical trials unit; and research laboratories. The vision for the centre is to deliver leading comprehensive cancer care that integrates patient- and family-focused care, education, prevention, screening, and cancer research. It will also be one of the most energy efficient hospitals in North America, and LEED Silver certification is targeted. PCL is looking forward to working with the Province and local partners DIALOG and Stantec on this project. Construction will begin in late 2017 and is scheduled for completion in 2022. About PCL Construction PCL is a group of independent construction companies that carries out work across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and in Australia. These diverse operations in the civil infrastructure, heavy industrial, and buildings markets are supported by a strategic presence in 31 major centers. Together, these companies have an annual construction volume of $8.3 billion, making PCL the largest contracting organization in Canada and one of the largest in North America. Watch us build at PCL.com. Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8a8c9729-8266-4dc1-bd33-53e394a6f4d2 Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cbae7e0c-b6bf-4c69-9e08-e02e85b9637d New Delhi, June 16 : Love your hair? Then don't think of dancing in the rain. Use minimum hair products to keep them healthy, and grab a moisturiser with lactic acid to keep feet soft, say experts. Vandana Punjabi, dermatologist, cosmetologist, consultant, Nanavati Super Specialist, suggests how to fight hair-related problems like stickiness, greasiness and dandruff. Try to keep the number of hair products to a minimum. Try to use only a mild shampoo and conditioners and refrain from the use of hair sprays in particular. Use a conditioner after every wash but ensure that you apply it more on the hair shaft than the scalp and the roots of your hair. Keep your hair clean by washing it regularly. Eat a balanced and protein-rich diet. Make it a point to munch on plenty of fruits and vegetables and drink plenty of water. Monsoon dos: Try out a shorter hairstyle, a hot oil massage once a week is a good option as it keeps the hair nourished. Monsoon don'ts: Avoid using a hairdryer. In case it is necessary, ensure that your hair is almost dry and hold the dryer more than six inches from your scalp. Avoid exposing your hair to a lot of chemicals. This means that you should refrain from straightening your hair, highlights etc. Try to avoid getting your hair wet in the rain, especially the initial rain. This is because the rainwater brings down the pollutants from the air and they eventually weaken the shaft bonds making your hair dull and lifeless. Geeta Fazalbhoy, dermatologist and founder of Skin & You Clinic, Nariman Point, points out that there is a need to take proper care of feet too, especially during monsoon as they will be more prone to fungal attack. Kabul, June 16 : At least four people were killed and seven others wounded after two suicide bombers struck a mosque in Afghanistan capital Kabul on Thursday night, an Interior Ministry official said. "Two suicide bombers tried to assault Al Zahra Mosque in western side of Kabul. But policemen guarding the building identified and intercepted the attackers," Xinhua quoted Najib Danish as saying. He said the attackers fled to the building's kitchen shortly after police opened fire on them but they blew up their explosive vests, killing one police and one civilian near them. Those among the injured were three police personnel and four civilians. The injured were transferred to a police hospital in the district and an investigation has been launched into the incident. No group has claimed the responsibility for the attack yet. There Are No Silver Bullets: My Family, My Depression (Brown Books Publishing Group, June 2017) by Brent Blonigan As an incredibly successful businessman, Blonigan is opening up an important dialogue that reveals CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners suffer from depression too. Success is not a safeguard against these types of struggles. Milli Brown, founder and CEO of Brown Books Publishing Group is proud to announce the publication of Brent Blonigans memoir, titled There Are No Silver Bullets: My Family, My Depression. In this deeply personal memoir, successful businessman and entrepreneur Brent Blonigan recounts his lifelong battle with depression. Through self-reflection and personal anecdotes, he examines the impact family, culture, religion and society have had on his life and evaluates their impact on who he is today. From his complicated relationships with both his mother and father, to high school shenanigans and trying to fit in, to the corruption found in the churches and schools in his small Minnesota town that shook the foundation of his Catholic upbringing, Blonigan offers an unexpected inside view of how the puzzle pieces of his past helped him come to terms with who he is today. There Are No Silver Bullets sheds light on one mans depression. Blonigan has never told his story in full until now. However, he understands the value for both he and his readers in sharing his story about depression. While he still finds it difficult to talk about his feelings and experiences, he now shares what he has learned in the hopes it will help others. Reflective questions at the end of each chapter offer self-examination as a tool readers can use to consider the internal and external influences that may have contributed to their own emotional reality. This book is a source of hope and comfort to those fighting the demons of depression by revealing that they are not alone, says Brown. As an incredibly successful businessman, Blonigan is opening up an important dialogue that reveals CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners suffer from depression too. Success is not a safeguard against these types of struggles. Depression is a very real subject, says Blonigan. But there are no silver bullets. There is no magic solution that will make your problem go away in one fell swoop. Rather than looking for silver bullets, I would like to see more emphasis put on sharing the narratives of those who are afflicted narratives like the one in my book. I hope it encourages people to share their stories as well and continue this conversation. For more information, please visit http://www.BrentBloniganBooks.com About The Agency at Brown Books (ABB) As a sister company of Brown Books Publishing Group, The Agency at Brown Books is backed by more than 20 years of publishing excellence, leveraged in the first full-service public relations, marketing, branding and distribution provider within a publishing house. The Agency provides high-level public relations, marketing and distribution services for not only Brown Books authors, but also non-affiliated authors, all within the same house. For more information, please visit http://www.TheAgencyatBB.com About Brown Books Publishing Group (BBPG) Founded in 1994 as an Entrepreneurial Publisher for Entrepreneurial Authors, Brown Books Publishing Group was established to fill a need in the publishing world by allowing authors to have a voice in the publishing process while retaining the rights to their intellectual property. Applying this innovative Relationship Publishing model, Brown Books has cultivated a prestigious stable of authors, from New York Times bestsellers to Pulitzer Prize winners and more. Boasting hundreds of high-quality books across genres, Brown Books is a fiercely independent publisher that encourages author empowerment. In 1994, Brown Books ushered in A New Era in Publishing, and more than two decades later, continues to be a successful innovative leader in the publishing industry. For more information, please visit http://www.BrownBooks.com STEVENSVILLE, Md., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Federal Resources, a leading provider of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions, today announced a partnership with Orion Labs, a voice company revolutionizing push-to-talk communications. This partnership allows Federal Resources to offer Orion Labs innovative push-to-talk solution to federal, state and local government organizations throughout the United States and Canada. Partnering with Orion Labs will allow Federal Resources to offer its customers a groundbreaking approach to real-time communications. Orion Labs smart wearable walkie-talkie, Onyx, and real-time voice service simplify communication and collaboration for teams through secure one-to-one and one-to-many instant push-to-talk functionality across any distance, over any cellular data or Wi-Fi network, anywhere in the world. Paired with the same iOS and Android phones that users carry with them today, the Orion Labs solution also gives teams the ability to see real-time location and availability of team members for more effective coordination. Real-time communications among our customers remains an important aspect of day-to-day operations. Orion Labs innovative approach to the category of a powerful, secure voice platform coupled with a highly functional and easy-to-use smart wearable device will be a game-changer for many of our customers, said Rob McWilliams, CEO of Federal Resources. Our customers already trust us to offer state-of-the-art solutions for their specialized teams; were doing that now for the traditional push-to-talk category with this strategic partnership with Orion Labs. Orion Labs was inspired by the experience of founders Jesse Robbins and Greg Albrecht of working with real-time voice communications in emergency situations as a firefighter and EMT respectively. Our partnership with Federal Resources is personally important to us as Orion Labs mission to connect the world by voice was driven by our own experiences as first responders, said Jesse Robbins, CEO of Orion Labs. The ability for heads-up, real-time, secure communications between teams no matter where they are in the world is transformative for organizations. Were pleased to be working with Federal Resources to bring our solutions to their customers. Federal Resources will be showcasing Orion Labs Onyx at the Hazmat Conference 2017 in Baltimore, MD from June 15 - 18. About Federal Resources Founded in 1986, Federal Resources is a leading provider of quality products and mission-critical solutions that support the U.S. Military, Federal Government, State/Local Responders, and International Markets. Specializing in comprehensive life-cycle sustainment solutions; procurement and acquisition; technical services and asset management; and training expertise, the organization is dedicated to serving its diverse range of well-established and emerging market segments. Federal Resources strives to fulfill and expand upon its mission to ensure end-users are equipped with the most innovative, reliable, and cost-effective products and technologies available on the market. For more information, visit www.federalresources.com. About Orion Labs Orion Labs is a San Francisco company dedicated to connecting people, organizations and machines through seamless voice communication without boundaries. Orion Labs platform delivers greater collaboration between individuals, groups and machines in real-time, anywhere in the world. Through its push-to-talk hardware and real-time voice platform, Orion Labs provides a heads-up and eyes-free experience that allows users to communicate effectively, without losing focus, for higher productivity. Orion Labs was founded by cloud infrastructure pioneers Jesse Robbins and Greg Albrecht, who were inspired by years of experience using traditional radio communications as firefighters and EMTs. To learn more, visit www.orionlabs.io. Stay in touch with Orion Labs | Facebook | Twitter | Blog VidaPrimo EVP & GM Stephen Brooks VidaPrimo, the premier Latin Music video network, will distribute its vast library of music-related video content onto branded channels on both Roku and Amazon Fire, two of the worlds largest digital streaming platforms. The announcement was made by VidaPrimo Executive Vice President and General Manager Stephen Brooks. Last month, VidaPrimo took its first foray onto connected television distribution via a reciprocal agreement with Music Choice. We are excited to take the next step in our network expansion by announcing our entry onto streaming device platforms, beginning with Roku and Amazon Fire, says Brooks. Roku is available in two of our top 3 markets, the US and Mexico, and is the gold standard of streaming platforms. Amazon Fire is growing rapidly, and integrates with Amazon Instant Video, where we also distribute. We couldnt be happier to build our audience of Millennial Latinos on these world-class platforms. Roku and Fire users are extremely loyal. Brooks pointed to a recent study that revealed over 20 million US households used them at least 15 times per month, with daily average use at 3.5 hours. That type of engagement blows every other advertising-ready platform out of the water, he says. The mantra for VidaPrimo in 2017 is to continue building VidaPrimos audience, irrespective of device. We know we need to be wherever our consumers are, says Brooks. We have moved aggressively on social media, online video, connected television and now streaming device platforms. And each new platform inherently imbues our original content with more value. The expansion to new platforms is also vital to media buyers that need a vehicle to reach the Latin Millennial audience. The various platforms give us more ways to connect brands and advertisers to their customers through the VidaPrimo extended network. Brooks adds. And with our buying tools, agencies can run campaigns across our network in a single I/O. About VidaPrimo: VidaPrimo is a global media company that provides advertisers access to an exploding marketplace of US and Latin American Millennials as they consume the hottest content in the young Hispanic culture. Through agreements with more than 120 of the hottest Latin Rhythm artists, VidaPrimo is one of the largest Latin Music Multi-Platform Networks with presence across YouTube, DailyMotion, Amazon Video Direct and its owned and operated platform on VidaPrimo.com. With 60mm+ monthly views in the US and over 400mm across Latin America, VidaPrimo reaches 25 percent of US based Hispanic Millennials and an average of 20 percent of Millennials in Latin American countries. The VidaPrimo advertising platform leverages its massive reach of engaged Latin Millennials and connects them with brands through high quality in-stream video opportunities in front of premium content. Additionally, VidaPrimo offers creative product integration, custom video production and fan activation opportunities. Daniella Muheim This amazing woman has left a legacy to help the 2 million people in the United States who live with aphasia - a language impairment due to stroke. Voices of Hope for Aphasia invites the community to celebrate National Aphasia Awareness Month this June with a ribbon-cutting for the official launch of the Danniella Muheim STARS Program. The event will include demonstration stations where attendees will be able to see the technologies that people with aphasia can use to support reintroduction to meaningful activities. From small-town Canada to the stars. Danniella Muheim was born in a small Manitoba town of about 10,000 people, just northeast of Winnipeg. Gifted and driven, she eventually earned a Master of Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech and was awarded a prestigious Amelia Earhart Fellowship by Zonta International. In 1996, Dannie joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), later helping to build the James Webb Space Telescope a space-based observatory (launching in October 2018) that will have better sensitivity and cover longer lightwaves than Hubble. Muheim led a team at Goddard Space Flight Center that analyzed the JWSTs function, structure, and design. Sadly, in 2012, at the age of 46, Danniella suffered a stroke. As an extrovert with many friends, one of her most devastating symptoms was aphasia an impairment that makes it difficult both for people to convey and understand language. Danniella did not allow her condition to sideline her, though, returning to part-time work at NASA in 2014. She was also passionately committed to supporting and educating others as an active member of Voices of Hope for Aphasia. Dannie passed away in November 2015, but her mission to help, inspire, and inform people with aphasia lives on through VOHAs STARS Program launched by her generous bequest. Partnering with her husband Des, we wanted to honor her spirit, her background, and her intention to help people with aphasia, through technology. said VOHA Board Member Debbie Yones, M.S., CCC-SLP. She was an incredibly motivating and passionate woman. Ribbon-cutting launches STARS for people with aphasia The ongoing STARS Program, available to the local community, provides technological support and hands-on training for people with aphasia and their families, within fun and social settings. People with aphasia may have difficulty learning to use technical devices through typical avenues, said VOHA Executive Director Jackie Hinckley Ph.D, CCC-SLP. Even though much of technology is hands-on, learning how to use certain tools is often reliant on written or oral language. The four STARS Modules are the Explorer Lab (one-on-one technological training), Mission Training (group learning and tool-sharing sessions), Launch Programs (community outings), and TELE:SCOPE Grants (funding to purchase assistive devices). The STARS Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, free and open to the public, will occur Wednesday, June 28, 10:30-11:30 a.m, at the Sunshine Center in St. Petersburg (330 5th Street North, 33701). To learn more, please call Jackie Hinckley at (727) 249-1953, or email Jackie@vohaphasia.org. Voices of Hope for Aphasia is a registered 501(C)(3) nonprofit and the only community-based aphasia organization in West Florida for people living with aphasia and their families. Additional Resources: The Danniella Muheim STARS Program: http://www.vohaphasia.org/aphasia-programs/stars/ Muheims Obituary (Baltimore Sun; November 8, 2015): http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/baltimoresun/obituary.aspx?pid=176398560 James Webb Space Telescope (Muheims project): https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/ Amelia Earhart Fellowship (awarded to Muheim): https://www.zonta.org/Global-Impact/Education/Amelia-Earhart-Fellowship ### National Housing Tides Index Infographic June 2017 U.S. housing markets strengthened marginally this month as the Housing Tides Index rose to 72.3 from 71.8 in May. Market Highlights: mortgage delinquency down, rent increases may ease soon and new highs for post-recession home sales prices. This week marks the release of the June Housing Tides Report, featuring an update to the Housing Tides Index, an objective and sophisticated approach to quantifying and comparing the health of U.S. housing markets. This months Index update reveals an improvement in housing market health as loan performance improved to the best levels in nearly a decade. Understanding the health of a housing market and its relationship to other top markets requires an aggregated, comprehensive view of the industry. The Housing Tides Index provides a succinct monthly measure of market health across the top 41 U.S. markets. Referencing 18 market indicators ranging from unemployment rates and housing permits to rental vacancy and mortgage foreclosure rates, the Tides Index helps users understand exposure at a deeper level than is currently possible. Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS) recently reported that the mortgage delinquency rate fell to 3.62% in March, and a review of historical U.S. mortgage delinquency data provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that this is the lowest rate of mortgage delinquency since late 2007. This continues the trend of mortgage market normalization, though delinquencies have not yet fallen to their pre-recession level of less than 3% of borrowers delinquent. On a similar note, BKFS reported a fall in the foreclosure rate to 0.88% of all mortgages, which is also a multi-year low. However, considerable differences in foreclosure rates remain among U.S. states. States with a judicial foreclosure process where proceedings must go through a court still have far higher foreclosure rates; judicial states New York and New Jersey had rates over 2.5% in March per the BKFS report, while non-judicial states Colorado and California recorded foreclosure rates of 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. After falling at the end of 2016, median asking rents for two-bedroom units have risen in two straight months according to latest data from Zillow. Still, with the asking rate at $1,575 per month nationally in April, rents remain below the peak of $1,750 seen June 2014. We expect rent price increases to ease in the near term given the high number of rental units under construction (U.S. Federal Reserve data show 612.1k housing units in buildings with five or more units under construction in April, the highest total since late 1974). However, despite the large number of apartments approaching completion, upward pressure on rental prices should continue due to persistent tightness and rising prices in the for-sale market. Real estate brokerage Redfin reported that housing supply edged up slightly to 3.1 months of supply nationally in April while the median sales price reached a new high of $280k. 26 of the 41 metro areas tracked by the Tides team set new highs for nominal post-recession median sales price in April. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that the U.S. effective mortgage interest rate for loans closed decreased to 4.1% in April after peaking at 4.4% in February. As such, mortgage interest rates are higher than the recent low of 3.72% seen just prior to the presidential election, though rates remain favorable when compared to the historical norm. Single-family housing permits fell sharply in aggregate across the metro areas we track, totaling just 35,600 in April after reaching 40,100 in March. Multi-family permits increased in April, totaling 24,200, but the six-month moving average fell slightly to a rate of 23,500 permits per month. Highlighting the Ten Healthiest U.S. Housing Markets - June, 2017 - Please reference the attached graph to view the Ten Healthiest U.S. Housing Markets. Click here to view the complete Housing Tides Index of the top 41 U.S. markets. Media Exclusive! Housing Tides Media Monthly Pulse Subscribe to our email service exclusively created for media that delivers an updated infographic depicting the latest monthly Housing Tides Index, the complete Index as it appears in the Housing Tides Report, and a brief executive summary. All content can be shared in print and digital publications, with attribution to the Housing Tides Report. Members of the media can subscribe to the Housing Tides Media Monthly Pulse here. For deeper insights into the Housing Tides Index, read our most recent blog discussing the indicators which are necessary to assessing market health. About Housing Tides Housing Tides (Tides) is the only monthly report that provides a comprehensive measure and aggregated understanding of the health of the U.S. housing and home building industry. Designed to take the guesswork out of the vast amount of forecasting information published about this sector, Tides is a sophisticated report that delivers city-specific, updated information when market conditions change. It is the only report that uses natural language processing and machine learning to correctly understand and synthesize large volumes of data, making it more comprehensive, balanced, and reliable than any other report of its kind. For further information, please visit housingtides.com and connect on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Housing Tides is proudly partnered with IBM Watson. Visitors to the Sofitel Paris Baltimore hotels lobby are gaining unique insights into Paris thanks to the Christie MicroTiles Welcome Wall and Float4. The 9 by 7-foot wall (3 x 2 meters) also keeps guests up-to-date with the latest news and transforms into an interactive creative canvas that sees guests draw and share their artwork and take selfies using the integrated photo booth. From the concierge to the maitre d'hotel, even staff members can manage and update content to share their insights about Paris - the world renowned City of Lights - as well as France itself. Using web-based technology for the menus and content, and leveraging real-time rendered 3D and complex physical simulations thanks to Float4s proprietary RealMotion technology, the MicroTiles wall combines elegance and complexity with the creative expertise from Float4 to blend seamlessly into the environment. Float4 was involved at both the strategic and tactical levels in this project. We provided a turnkey solution for the client from ideation, to design, production and on-site integration, said Alexandre Simionescu, co-founder of Float4. We developed a content strategy that incorporates ambient visual content to make it informative as well as artistic. Beyond its ability to complement the aesthetics of the space, the Welcome Wall is a conduit between the local knowledge and the guest experience, which makes their hotel stay all the more unique. Content is also controlled and curated by hotel staff using the content management system developed by Float4, and according to Simionescu, the Sofitel Baltimore Hotel is the only one in the country using this technology. Overall, it reflects the commitment of the establishment to be forward thinking in the visitor journey. Hotel Sofitel Paris Baltimore presented an opportunity for our multidisciplinary team to provide a solution that could position our client as an early adopter in the hotel industry, Simionescu added. The smart digital element both enhances the customers journey and facilitates the hotels staff workload. It offers interactive, artistic and informative content at a luxury hotel in Paris to provide a unique, connected experience. The project integrates seamlessly into the physical environment and while deliberately understated, the combination of motion tracking, multi-touch capability, a resolution well beyond 4K and real time generative content make this installation stand apart, concluded Simionescu. We would describe this installation as a return on objectives rather than a return on investments since the goal is to engage and attract a diverse audience in this upscale environment. In fact, the hotel staff nicknamed the wall TOM, which stands for: Technology. Optimal. Magnificent. Used by CNN, Stanford University and the San Francisco PUC among other high profile installations, Christie MicroTiles are the ultimate digital canvas - providing clean images, vibrant, true-to-life colors, brilliant displays, 24/7 reliability and the flexibility to design in almost any shape or size. About Christie Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual and audio technologies company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the worlds most advanced projectors, complete system displays, and cinema audio solutions; Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images, accompanied by awe-inspiring sound. Visit http://www.christiedigital.com. OnTrac and AB&R (American Barcode & RFID) announced a strategic partnership to help drivers deliver packages more efficiently. The two companies are joining forces to address issues in mobility, route management, and package tracking. If you make an online purchase from an e-commerce site that ships from the Western US, then most likely OnTrac is the parcel logistics company behind the delivered package, stated Mike Stryczek, CEO of AB&R. We are excited to be working with the OnTrac team on the next generation route management solution for enhanced driver efficiency, increased flexibility, and superior package tracking. AB&R is working together with OnTrac to move their devices over to AndroidTM devices. The AndroidTM operating system is much more touch-friendly. This means less reading errors and faster response times in the delivery management application. An important factor when speed and efficiency are the main components for generating and increasing revenue. OnTrac and AB&R are also developing an easy to use, customizable delivery application for OnTrac Service Providers. The upgraded application will allow an OnTrac Service Provider to quickly adjust their route by dragging and dropping addresses, integrating google maps for turn by turn navigation, and sync functionality that will send data back to OnTracs delivery management system for administrators to take action in real-time. OnTrac is looking forward to working with AB&R as the delivery application receives an important upgrade, says OnTrac Vice President of Information Technology Timothy Elder. On Time Delivery For Less is the cornerstone of all OnTrac services, and these changes will ensure that performance continues to the OnTrac standard. With AB&Rs support, OnTrac will have a mobile package tracking system that allows Service Providers to deliver more packages in less time. This partnership is to benefit everyone from OnTrac employees throughout the supply chain all the way down to OnTrac customers. About OnTrac OnTrac specializes in delivery services throughout the eight western area states, an area that is home to over 60 million consumers. OnTrac was founded in 1991, and has grown to become a top choice for e-commerce and companies looking to speed up parcel distribution without the cost of express shipping. In 2014, OnTrac launched DirectPost, and became the first regional logistics company to offer a USPS Package Consolidation Service. OnTrac is a SmartWay Transport Partner, a USPS Workshare Partner, and is integrated with over thirty different multi-carrier software providers. OnTrac is comprised of three divisions based on service offerings; overnight, messenger, and international. For more information on overnight services, call 800.334.5000 or visit ontrac.com. For more information on messenger services, call 888.334.5001 or visit ontracmessenger.com. For more information on international services, call 800.628.4868 or visit ontracinternational.com. About AB&R Since 1980, AB&R (American Barcode and RFID) has been a nationally-recognized integrator of proven solutions that drive efficiency and productivity in the supply chain. Those solutions include asset tracking, inventory management, work force mobilization, wireless networking, and the managed services to support them all. For further information about AB&R please visit http://www.abr.com. AB&R and the AB&R logo are registered trademarks of American Barcode and RFID, Inc. All other logos, product names and brand references appearing in this document are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. Dr. Ilana Ressler has joined RMACT Team My grandmother taught me the importance of knowledge and confidence, which is something I strive to bring to my patients during their treatment, says Dr. Ressler. There is a new addition to the family at Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut (RMACT): Dr. Ilana Ressler, a physician Board-Certified in both Reproductive Endocrinology (REI) and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Ressler is part of a team of six infertility doctors at RMACT who treat patients with whole-patient care, which takes into account patients overall physical, mental, endocrine and reproductive health. Dr. Ressler finds working with infertility patients rewarding, especially when she can diagnose and help treat patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), one of the leading causes of infertility in women. PCOS goes undiagnosed in 50% of women who have the condition. Managing PCOS can be transformational and help patients avoid major medical conditions such as heart disease, endometrial cancer and infertility. My grandmother taught me the importance of knowledge and confidence, which is something I strive to bring to my patients during their treatment, says Dr. Ressler, who will see patients at all five of RMACTs locations. While I treat them with advanced infertility medicine and procedures, they can be empowered to improve their chances of success through things such as nutrition and stress management. Dr. Ressler began her education at Duke University, earning a BS in Psychology. She then received her medical degree at Case Western Reserve University, and completed her residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago. During her residency, Dr. Ressler was awarded the Professional Dedication to Residency Award in 2009, and the Overall Excellence in Gynecologic Care Award in 2010. In 2013 she completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Cincinnati. In 2016, Dr. Ressler was chosen by her peers at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) for the Fertility and Sterility Star Reviewer Award. She also writes literature reviews for the Society of Reproductive Surgeons. She is a member of the ASRM, the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (SREI), and is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). Dr. Ressler serves as a Medical Advisor for Yesh Tikva, which was established to create a Jewish community of support for those experiencing infertility. She also launched the Pies for Prevention program in her Westchester community to benefit Sharsheret, the nonprofit organization supporting Jewish women and families facing breast and ovarian cancer. I am so pleased that Dr. Ressler has joined our physician team, says Dr. Mark Leondires, Medical Director at RMACT. She brings with her compassion, knowledge and personalized care while using the best science to help all of our patients to reach their goals. About Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut (RMACT) RMACT specializes in the treatment of infertility, including assisted reproductive technologies (ART) such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and Pre-implantation Genetic Screening (PGS). RMACT, Fairfield Countys largest fertility clinic and egg donation center, is one of 11 leading In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) centers nationwide chosen by In Vitro Sciences to participate in its Centers of Excellence program. RMACT has offices in Norwalk, Danbury, Stamford and Trumbull, and an affiliate office now in Poughkeepsie, NY. RMACT also offers infertility treatment financing and support services, such as nutrition counseling, individual and couples psychological counseling, acupuncture and yoga, through RMACTs Integrated Fertility and Wellness Center. The RMACT team includes lead physicians Drs. Mark P. Leondires, Spencer S. Richlin and Joshua M. Hurwitz, as well as fertility specialists Drs. Cynthia M. Murdock, Shaun C. Williams and Ilana B. Ressler. All six physicians are Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologists and are members of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Five of the doctors are Castle Connolly "Top Doctors" and members of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), the Fairfield County and Connecticut Medical Societies. RMACTs IVF laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and CLIA; other accreditations include the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and the American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). For more information visit http://www.RMACT.com or find us on Facebook. Researchers, funders and research organisations can now easily see the volume and type of activity a publication is receiving, which can give an early indication of engagement Researchfish, the research impact assessment platform provider, today announced that Altmetric badges, which showcase the online engagement surrounding scholarly publications, have been integrated into the Researchfish platform. The integration further enhances the information collected by research funders, allowing an increasingly comprehensive picture of the broader impacts relating to scholarly work to be collated and analysed. These insights provide vital data for institutions and faculty to use in reporting back to key stakeholders including donors, the general public and government. The Altmetric badges will appear alongside the publication title in instances where Altmetric has found attention for the item from online channels including public policy sources, the mainstream media, social networks, and scholarly forums. Users can hover over the badges to see a summary of activity, and click through to the associated Altmetric details page to see the 4 most recent mentions from each attention source. Speaking about the integration, Sean Newell, Researchfish CEO, said, We are very excited about this integration. Researchers, funders and research organisations can now easily see the volume and type of activity a publication is receiving, which can give an early indication of engagement. Altmetrics Founder, Euan Adie adds, Were really pleased that Researchfish have decided to integrate Altmetric data into their platform. In doing so, theyre providing users with valuable evidence of the wider influence and reach of their research, helping them to demonstrate its value to funders, management and other important audiences. Additional Resources for Journalists Interviews with Sean Newell, Researchfish CEO, Dr Beverley Sherbon, Researchfish Research and Impact Advisor and Catherine Williams, Chief Marketing Officer, Altmetric, available upon request. PR Contact Michael Francis, Marketing Manager, Researchfish, michael.francis(at)researchfish(dot)com, +44 1223 926020; +44 7894 690732 About Researchfish Founded in 2011 and with over 45B of tracked funding, funding organisations across the globe use the Researchfish platform to measure research impact of over 2M outcomes of over 100K research awards. Comprehensive reporting gives a broader and deeper understanding of the activities of research, showing pathways to research impact. This enables organisations to inform future funding strategies and increase opportunity for collaboration. More information, including international case studies, can be found at http://www.researchfish.com. Twitter @researchfish. About Altmetric Altmetric was founded in 2011 and has made it a mission to track and analyze the online activity around scholarly literature. It collates what people are saying about published research outputs in sources such as the mainstream media, policy documents, social networks, blogs, and other scholarly and non-scholarly forums to provide a more robust picture of the influence and reach of scholarly work. Altmetric works with some of the biggest publishers, funders, and institutions around the world to deliver this data in an accessible and reliable format. Altmetric is supported by Digital Science a technology company that combines world-class technology with a resolute focus on scientists and those who support the research process. Find out more at altmetric.com and follow us on Twitter @altmetric. Digital Science is a technology company serving the needs of scientific and research communities at key points along the full cycle of research. It invests in and incubates research software companies that simplify the research cycle, making more time for discovery. Its portfolio companies include a host of leading brands including Altmetric, BioRAFT, Figshare, IFI CLAIMS, Labguru, Overleaf, ReadCube, Symplectic, UberResearch, Peerwith, GRID, TetraScience and Transcriptic. It is operated by global media company, the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. Visit http://www.digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on Twitter. C&S Wholesale Grocers and U-Haul joined with The Conservation Fund today to announce their commitment to protecting forest-based supply chains. Each company will start by measuring and then offsetting a portion of their wood fiber usefrom pulpwood to cardboard paper productsby contributing to the ongoing conservation of more than 8,700 acres of working forestland surrounding Success Pond in Northeastern New Hampshire. U-Haul and C&S Wholesale Grocers are corporate leaders who understand that protecting forests can create a vitally important link to sustainable supply chains, said Larry Selzer, President and CEO of The Conservation Fund. Through this partnership, we will broaden our collective efforts to ensure that Americas working forests continue to remain environmental and economic assets for generations to come. The Fund is continuing to raise capital for the protection of more than 8,700 acres of forestland adjacent to Success Pond. The conservation effort at Success Pond includes an estimated $3 million public-private partnership with lead support from USDAs Forest Legacy Program. Support from U-Haul will help offset a portion of the millions of boxes the company sells every year. Support from C&S Wholesale Grocers will protect sustainably managed forests to help offset the wood used in many of the pallets the company utilizes in the transport of food and groceries to its resellers. Boxes used for packing and moving are essential to our customers and are thereby fundamental to our nation's mobility. We recognize that manufacturing boxes can have an impact on our nation's forests, said J.T. Taylor, President at U-Haul International, Inc. Ten years ago we initiated our Take a Box, Leave a Box program, providing customers a way to share used boxes with other customers who are in the process of moving. Partnering with The Conservation Fund on the conservation of Success Pond Forest is another important step in reducing that impact by ensuring forests remain environmental and economic assets for the long-term and supporting a sustainable supply chain. U-Haul Company is committed to the communities we serve and safeguarding the forests that clean our air, purify our water, and shelter wildlife now and into the future. Richard B. Cohen, Chairman and CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers said: From transporting fresh, healthy produce to shipping seafood and soap, tens of thousands of businesses rely on pallets to help run their daily operations. By permanently protecting working forests, we can help create a responsible supply of wood for C&S customers and beyond. A conservation easement on Success Pond will be held by the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Once secured this will ensure the forest will be sustainably managed and continue to be open for public outdoor recreation into the future. With the ongoing production of responsibly harvested timber, the land will continue to support more than 20 local and regional jobs for loggers, truckers, foresters, and road contractors, while providing timber to mills in New Hampshire, Maine and Canada. The protection of the forest surrounding Success Pond is part of the Mahoosuc Gateway Initiative, a broader conservation effort of 30,000 acres led by The Conservation Fund that includes protection of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and working forestland in New Hampshires North Country region. This initiative illustrates how public and private sector leaders are able to join state partners to help conserve our natural resources, said New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. We commend those companies willing to invest in a unique partnership with long-term results for our environment and economy. More than half of U.S. forests are considered working forests and are used for timber and paper production. Over 45 million acres of these forests are at risk of being converted for commercial and residential use. The Conservation Fund created The Working Forest Fund in the late 1990s to protect these lands through the placement of conservation easements on working forestland. The Fund develops and implements sustainable forest management plans prior to returning them to private ownership or public agency stewardship. To date, the Working Forest Fund has helped protect more than 400,000 acres, including forests in Maine and North Carolina now permanently protected through a partnership with Apple. Our window for protecting working forests is closing, but we have the right approach and an ever-expanding group of committed partners, said Selzer. Overcoming this complex conservation challenge requires some of our most innovative thinking. Our nations conservation challenges can only be solved by bringing leading companies and environmental groups together, he concluded. C&S Wholesale Grocers and U-Haul have worked closely with The Conservation Fund on several environmental programs, each for more than a decade. This is each companys first partnership focused on measuring and offsetting a portion of their fiber footprint. About C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., based in Keene, NH, is the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S. and the industry leader in supply chain innovation. Founded in 1918 as a supplier to independent grocery stores, C&S now services customers of all sizes, supplying more than 14,000 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases, and institutions with over 140,000 different products. To learn more, please visit http://www.cswg.com. C&S community involvement programs support initiatives to fight hunger and to promote the health and enrichment of communities that are homes to the company's employees and facilities. To learn more, please visit http://community.cswg.com. About U-Haul U-Haul was founded by a Navy veteran who grew up during the Great Depression. Tires and gas were still rationed or in short supply during the late 1940s when U-Haul began serving U.S. customers. Today, that background is central to the U-Haul Sustainability Program: Serving the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Our commitment to reduce, reuse, and recycle includes fuel-efficient moving vans, neighborhood proximity, moving box reuse, moving pads made from discarded material and packing peanuts that are 100 percent biodegradable. To learn more, please visit https://uhaul.com/sustainability. About The Conservation Fund At The Conservation Fund, we make conservation work for America. By creating solutions that make environmental and economic sense, we are redefining conservation to demonstrate its essential role in our future prosperity. Top-ranked for efficiency and effectiveness, we have worked in all 50 states since 1985 to protect more than 7.8 million acres of land. http://www.conservationfund.org Wind Turbine Technician Academy students training in the field. Eleven students from across the country have spent the last six months, five days a week for eight hours a day in Kalamazoo, Michigan at the nations leading training program for wind turbine technicians. Friday, June 16, the 10 men and one woman will walk the stage at Kalamazoo Valley Community Colleges Groves Center as graduates of the intensive training program. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. The competency-based Wind Turbine Technician Academy provides a fast track to jobs that are in demand and pay high wages. Kalamazoo Valley offers the course as a non-credit, full-time program allowing students the chance to be job-ready in less than six months. Focused on specific, hands-on competencies, the unique training model moves students from the classroom to the learning labs and into the field quickly. Graduates include: Shelby Beeghly of Newport, Rhode Island Pierre Camp of Novato, California Ram Dealy of Middletown, Connecticut Reily Janson of Boulder, Colorado Oleksandr Karatsyuba of Elkhart, Indiana Chris McCollough of Titusville, New Jersey Nick Norton of Battle Creek, Michigan Nick Ruby of Scottville, Michigan Brian Seklecki of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Robert Strong of Hopkins, Minnesota Tanner Swartz of Plymouth, Indiana The program requires graduates to achieve 100 percent success in meeting industry standards in core areas of qualification. The graduates must successfully complete written assessments, practical examinations in the lab, and demonstrate their capabilities in the field. More than 96 percent of Wind Turbine Technician Academy alumni work in the wind industry, with the majority accepting offers for employment prior to graduation. The Academy is offered twice a year, in January and July. The next academy begins on July 6, 2017. For more information call 269.353.1560, email careeracademies(at)kvcc(dot)edu or visit http://www.kvcc.edu/wind. Media Contact: Michael R. Collins Executive Vice President for Enrollment and Campus Operations 269.488.4255 or mcollins(at)kvcc(dot)edu Latvian English Olaine, 2017-06-15 19:29 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- May 2017, consolidated sales Sales, Thsnd. EUR Changes to May, 2016 Share in total sales Russia 3 389 -11% 31% Latvia 2 335 35% 22% Ukraine 1 134 13% 10% Belarus 879 136% 8% The Netherlands 839 4214% 8% Tajikistan 364 162% 3% Uzbekistan 302 13% 3% Kazakhstan 284 316% 3% Germany 157 NA 1% Lithuania 169 42% 2% Other 961 -38% 9% Total 10 813 19% 100% Sales of SIA Latvijas Aptieka during May 2017 were 1.7 million euros, which represents an increase by 31% compared to the same period of 2016. Sixty-five pharmacies were operating during this period. Sales of SIA Silvanols in May 2017 reached 0.38 million, which is an increase by 12% compared to May of 2016. During May 2017, SIA Silvanols sold its products to eight European countries during this period and with assistance of AS Olainfarm also to Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Russia and Armenia. Sales of SIA Tonus Elast during May 2017 reached 0.55 million euros. The company made its sales in 22 countries in four continents According to preliminary results, consolidated sales of AS Olainfarm in five months reached 49.01 million euros, which represents an increase by 11% compared to five months of 2016. The biggest sales increase was achieved in The Netherlands, where sales grew by 561%, and Germany, where sales grew by 230%. Biggest sales reductions took place in Ukraine, where sales shrunk by 40% and Turkmenistan, where sales shrunk by 36%. Major sales markets of the group during May 2017 were Russia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and The Netherlands. 5 months of 2017, consolidated sales Sales, thsnd. EUR Changes to 5 months of 2016 Share in total sales Russia 15 753 20% 32% Latvia 12 188 16% 25% Belarus 4 572 12% 9% Ukraine 4 344 -40% 9% The Netherlands 3 331 561% 7% Kazakhstan 988 34% 2% Italy 825 40% 2% Lithuania 700 23% 1% Germany 654 230% 1% Turkmenistan 590 -36% 1% Other 5 068 -12% 10% Total 49 014 11% 100% Sales of SIA Latvijas aptieka in five months of 2017 were 8.5 million euros, which represents an increase by 8% compared to the same period of 2016. Sales of SIA Silvanols during this period were 2.45 million euro, which represents an increase by 23% compared to five months of 2016. Products of SIA Silvanols were sold to nine European countries and, with the help of AS Olainfarm also to Lithuania, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Armenia. Sales of SIA Tonus Elast in five months reached 3.1 million euros, and its products were sold to 33 countries in four continents. According to unconsolidated preliminary results for May 2017, sales of AS Olainfarm during this period reached 9.09 million euros, which represents an increase by 9% compared to the same period of 2016. The biggest sales increase was achieved in The Netherlands, where sales grew by 4214%. Sales to Kazakhstan grew by 243%, sales to Tajikistan increased by 150%, but sales to Belarus grew by 136%. Significant shipments were also made to Germany. The major sales markets during this period were Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus and The Netherlands. During May 2017, products of AS Olainfarm were sold to 28 countries in three continents. May 2017, unconsolidated sales Sales, thsnd. EUR Changes to May, 2016 Share in total sales Russia 3 234 -15% 36% Latvia 1 171 8% 13% Ukraine 1 134 13% 12% Belarus 879 136% 10% The Netherlands 839 4214% 9% Tajikistan 347 150% 4% Uzbekistan 302 13% 3% Kazakhstan 235 243% 3% Germany 154 NA 2% Lithuania 146 43% 2% Other 649 -56% 7% Total 9 090 9% 100% According to preliminary unconsolidated numbers, sales of AS Olainfarm in five months of 2017 reached 39.75 million euros, which represents an increase by 3% compared to the same period of 2016. The most rapid sales increase was achieved in The Netherlands, where sales grew by 561% and Germany, where sales grew by 226%. The biggest sales reduction during this time took place in Ukraine, where sales shrunk by 41%. The major sales markets of As Olainfarm during these five months were Russia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and The Netherlands. In total during five months of 2017, products of AS Olainfarm were sold to 40 countries in five continents. Five months of 2017, unconsolidated sales Sales, thsnd. EUR Changes to five months of 2016 Share in total sales Russia 14 436 10% 36% Latvia 6 034 5% 15% Belarus 4 521 11% 11% Ukraine 4 252 -41% 11% The Netherlands 3 331 561% 8% Italy 792 35% 2% Kazakhstan 699 -5% 2% Germany 646 226% 2% Turkmenistan 590 -36% 1% Lithuania 580 19% 1% Other 3 867 -26% 10% Total 39 748 3% 100% General meeting of shareholders of AS Olainfarm held on June1, 2017 approved operating plan of the company, providing that unconsolidated sales of the company in 2017 will reach 96 million euros, while consolidated sales of the company will reach 127 million euros. According to these preliminary sales numbers, in five months of 2017 the company has met 41% of annual target for unconsolidated sales and 39% of annual target for consolidated sales. JSC Olainfarm is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Latvia with more than 40 years of experience in production of medication and chemical and pharmaceutical products. A basic principle of company's operations is to produce reliable and effective top quality products for Latvia and the rest of the world. Products made by the Group are being exported to more than 35 countries of the world, including the Baltics, Russia, other CIS, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Digital transformation is the most urgent challenge faced by every business today, affecting every department within travel organisations, says Leo Langford, the conference producer. He adds, With the pace of change today, the best way for companies to benchmark their strategy against the industry is to actually go out to meet and hear from the leaders and disruptors themselves. What better place to than amongst 200 of their peers? EyeforTravels Digital Strategies for Europe conference will be composed of the following elements: *Digital Transformation Discover the latest in tech-disruption and how to reposition your business strategy to take advantage of it *Marketing Analytics Master channel attribution, harness social media and utilise mobile to drive personalisation and loyalty *Digital Partnerships Explore how partnerships drive greater customer journey control and how new revenue frontiers for your travel enterprise *The Technology Revolution Dive into how AI, machine learning, blockchain, chatbots and voice control are disrupting the travel industry Confirmed speakers participating in the event include: Fabrice Otano, Chief Data Officer, Accor Brenda Van Leeuwan, CEO, Eurail.com Rajat Dharwan, CTO, Contiki Dan Christian, Chief Digital Officer, The Travel Corporation Tess Matisson, Head of Digital Innovation, Choice Hotels Tero Valkiala, Head of Digital, FinnAir Gian Caprini, Head of Digital Marketing, Expedia Affiliate Network, Expedia Olga Trosina, Head of e-commerce, AirBaltic Andrew Watson, Regional Director of Marketing - Western Europe, Starwood Hotels Camilla Moe Bogen, Global Head of Social Media, Momondo Riko Van Santern, VP Digital Strategy & Distribution, Kempinski Hotels Gudmundur Gudnason, Director of Digital Business Development, Icelandair Alessandra Di Lorenzo, Chief Commercial Officer Media & Partnerships, Lastminute.com Group Stephen Glenfield, Head of Digital, Heathrow Airport Andrei Grintchenko, Head of Business Intelligence, IATA Ignazio Pisano, Head of Management Information, Europcar Amer Mohammed, Head of Digital Innovation, Stena Line The conference this year will be co-located with EyeforTravels Smart Travel Data Europe conference, with shared sessions that will bring data and digital professionals who work in travel together to drive progress and profit. Delegates will have access to all the conference sessions as well as networking events taking place at the event. For more information, visit http://events.eyefortravel.com/digital-strategies-travel-europe/ About EyeforTravel: Eyefortravel is a community of commercial, marketing, digital and data experts that are evolving how travel is sold and customers life time value increased. Our mission is to help the travel industry deliver a winning customer experience that tackles commoditisation, differentiates the brand and drives loyalty. Our objective that day was simple; stimulate the Brandon economy by the growing its small and medium businesses and bring attention to Family Promise. Isham Harris, the CEO of MerchantSide Marketing Group, a full-service Brandon-based digital marketing, website design, and website development company with extensive experience in website implementation today, this week broke the Brandon Chamber of Commerce attendance record with 158 attending the recent Synergy event. Tampa Bay Buccaneers CEO, Brian Ford, whose attendance was 136, held the previous attendance record. This was the first time in history that a speaker at this event promised a personal money-back guarantee to every ticket holder, with a refund available to anyone who felt that the value of the presentation didnt exceed the ticket cost by 500x, said Harris. As a passionate marketer and Brandon community advocate, it was an absolute pleasure working with all the business owners in attendance and providing them with actionable strategies and tactics to grow their businesses. Our objective that day was simple; stimulate the Brandon economy by the growing its small and medium businesses and bring attention to Family Promise. In addition to the new attendance record, MerchantSide Marketing Group utilized the platform to raise awareness for, as well as donate to, the Family Promise of Brandon, a charity for homeless families in the greater Brandon community. We believe in total community integration and do our part to ensure everyone in Bandon is provided with the support and resources that they need, said Harris. I thank the Brandon Chamber of Commerce for putting on this event, and look forward to continued collaboration for years to come. MerchantSide Marketing Group is the highest rated marketing agency of its kind in Brandon, and is well known in the Tampa/Brandon metro area for providing ROI (return on investment) focused websites and digital marketing services, starting from the marketing strategy and content as the foundation of all website and campaign designs. On average, MerchantSides clients make back a 4 to 12 time return on what they pay for their marketing services. Their services include website design and development, search engine marketing, social media marketing, and enterprise marketing audits and consultations. For more information, visit: http://MerchantSide.com or http://www.FamilyPromiseBrandon.org Did you know that you can test for HIV in the privacy of your own home? The maker of the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test, the first FDA-approved in-home HIV test, is working with BlackDoctor.org, the leading destination for Black health information and news, to raise awareness of HIV home testing and encourage testing among African Americans. BlackDoctor.org will produce a series of custom articles, videos and Facebook Live discussions for the campaign. BlackDoctor.org, now in its 12th year, reaches over 40 million readers monthly and engages more than 1.5 million followers on Facebook with culturally-relevant content that gives African Americans access to a trusted platform to find critical health information and empowers them to act on it. African Americans account for a higher proportion of new HIV diagnoses, those living with HIV, and those ever diagnosed with AIDS, compared to other races/ethnicities, states the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). There are a number of challenges that contribute to the higher rates of HIV infection among African Americans and chief among them is a lack of awareness of HIV status. African Americans deal with a great deal of stigma, fear and misinformation when it comes to HIV and getting tested. Our intention with this campaign is to create a safe space for conversation, let our readers know that they have options for testing and inspire more of us to learn our status, shared Sandria Washington, BlackDoctor.org Executive Editor. Were excited to join forces with OraSure to make this happen. The OraQuick In-Home HIV Test is the same test used by healthcare professionals since 2004. In 20 minutes, a consumer can know their status using a simple oral sample. For convenience, the test is available for purchase at most pharmacies nationwide, in-store and online. Since its FDA approval in 2012, the OraQuick In- Home HIV Test has enabled people across the country to test for HIV in the privacy of their own homes. We are pleased to be working with BlackDoctor.org to encourage HIV testing and drive awareness of the many testing options available, shared Kathleen Weber, SVP and General Manager, Consumer Products. On National HIV Testing Day, June 27, BlackDoctor.org will host a Facebook Live on relationships and healthy sexuality as part of the series. To learn more about OraQuick and where to buy, visit http://www.oraquick.com. # # # About BlackDoctor.org BlackDoctor.org (BDO) is the worlds most comprehensive online health resource for Black consumers. With a monthly total audience reach of 40 million, BDO is the leading producer of targeted, culturally and clinically accurate health and editorial content on African Americans. BDO also boasts the largest online database of Black physicians and dentists as part of its free doctor search tool, and a medical expert panel including many of the most respected and accomplished experts in their field. Learn more about BlackDoctor.org at http://www.BlackDoctor.org and follow us on Twitter @BlackDoctor, and Facebook at facebook.com/BlackDoctor.org. About OraSure Technologies OraSure Technologies is a leader in the development, manufacture and distribution of point of care diagnostic and collection devices and other technologies designed to detect or diagnose critical medical conditions. Its first-to-market, innovative products include rapid tests for the detection of antibodies to HIV and HCV on the OraQuick platform, oral fluid sample collection, stabilization and preparation products for molecular diagnostic applications, and oral fluid laboratory tests for detecting various drugs of abuse. OraSure's portfolio of products is sold globally to various clinical laboratories, hospitals, clinics, community-based organizations and other public health organizations, research and academic institutions, distributors, government agencies, physicians' offices, commercial and industrial entities and consumers. The Company's products enable healthcare providers to deliver critical information to patients, empowering them to make decisions to improve and protect their health. For more information on OraSure Technologies, please visit http://www.orasure.com. Today, Cram Fighter Inc., the industry leader in personalized study plan software, announced that the company recorded new highs for key metrics in the 2016-2017 school year. Among other milestones, Cram Fighters subscribers passed the 5,000 mark. Cram Fighter also increased the mix of our subscriber base. While the company is mostly known for supporting students taking USMLE Step 1 or COMLEX Level 1, Cram Fighters study planning software also supports students taking other medical board exams, as well as the MCAT for pre-meds. Compared to the 2015-2016 academic year, this year saw a +29% increase in subscribers for the Step 2 CK, a +220% increase in subscribers for Shelf exams, and a +123% increase in subscribers for the MCAT. Cram Fighters customers were busy, too, using Cram Fighter to easily and efficiently build and manage their personal study schedules. This year, subscribers completed 2,021,512 study tasks assigned by Cram Fightera 72% increase to the previous year! Using Cram Fighter, medical and premedical students collectively saved an astonishing 38,463 hours building and rebalancing their study schedules as compared to manually doing so. And finally, Cram Fighters Campus Hero program also enjoyed significant increases. Campus Heroes are Cram Fighters on-campus representatives who spread the word about Cram Fighter and provide their classmates with Cram Fighter discounts. This year, the network of Campus Heroes at med schools around the country increased by 54%. We are proud to see the company reach these historic growth levels. It further validates the effectiveness of our productthat creating and sticking with a Cram Fighter study schedule works, said Amit Mathew, Cram Fighter President. We're encouraged by the positive comments we receive from all of our new and returning users. It's clear we are alleviating a lot of stress by helping students see what they need to do each day, and get back on track when they fall behind. About Cram Fighter: Cram Fighter helps thousands of students annually prepare for medical board exams such as the USMLE and COMLEX, as well as the MCAT. The company offers an automated and personalized study plan solution, so students don't have to spend hours or days creating a plan by hand, in Excel, or Google Calendar. In addition to board exam preparation, Cram Fighter can also support a students academic coursework. For more information on Cram Fighter, please visit http://www.cramfighter.com Our approach has the potential to re-define the definition of drug-like, which will unlock a vast array of molecules for clinical development. Cybrexa Therapeutics, a start-up cancer therapeutics company, announced today that it has secured a Series B round of financing in the amount of $6 million. An investment vehicle affiliated with HighCape Partners, Connecticut Innovations, and a group of private investors participated in the round. The Series B funding will enable Cybrexa to complete the build-out of its facilities and continue the development its tumor-localizing DNA repair inhibitors, which they refer to as Tumor Specific Drugs (TSDs). Cybrexa was founded by successful entrepreneurs Per Hellsund, Kevin Didden and Kevin Rakin, who most recently built and successfully exited Cyvek, Inc. Hellsund serves as the President and CEO, and Didden and Rakin serve as board members. Additional members of the founding team include Ranjit Bindra, M.D., Ph.D., and Peter Glazer, M.D., Ph.D., from the Yale School of Medicine. Bindra and Glazer are both physician-scientists and world-renowned experts in DNA repair. Their work has been published in numerous high-impact journals, including Science, Nature, and Science Translational Medicine. Hellsund commented, We are very pleased to have closed our Series B financing. Our approach has the potential to re-define the definition of drug-like, which will unlock a vast array of molecules for clinical development. Our collection of TSDs can be combined with numerous chemotherapies and also radiotherapy, allowing the safe delivery of higher drug doses, with enhanced efficacy. About Cybrexa: Cybrexa is a privately funded biotechnology company dedicated to developing an entirely new class of small molecule DNA repair inhibitors (TSDs) that directly target the tumor microenvironment. This approach leverages a novel tumor-localizing peptide technology developed by an internationally recognized research laboratory at Yale. The Company is led by an experienced team of researchers and business executives who have developed and commercialized technologies, launched products, driven sales, negotiated partnerships, and led a number of companies from start up to liquidity events. For more information about Cybrexa, please call 203-717-2731 or visit us on the web at http://www.cybrexa.com Storefront, a Customized eCommerce Store for Your Website Storefront enables pawn shop owners to create an eCommerce page and sell inventory from their own website while integrating directly with PawnMaster pawn software to make inventory management and sales reporting seamless. Data Age Business Systems, the developers of PawnMaster, the industry-leading pawn shop software, announced its latest eCommerce integration, Storefront. Storefront enables brick and mortar pawn shop owners to create an eCommerce page and sell inventory from their own website while integrating directly with PawnMaster pawn software to make inventory management and sales reporting seamless. Storefronts innovative technology makes it easy to create an omnichannel experience for shoppers. eCommerce transactions in Storefront are directly integrated into PawnMaster POS without success fees or revenue sharing. PawnMaster clients also benefit from Search Engine Optimization (SEO), improving their rankings on Google and other search engines for their own websites. The product helps them gain a competitive advantage by improving their web presence and credibility with both their virtual and physical audiences. Consumers benefit from Storefront because they have the choice of making purchases in store or online. Oftentimes, a pawn shop customer will go in to pay on a loan and see an item of interest but may not be able to make the purchase at that time. Offering the items online makes it easier for them to make their purchase when the time is right, and because the Storefront e-commerce site works around the clock, PawnMaster clients are selling inventory even outside of retail hours. Data Age understands that, in alternative lending, loans are an important part of doing business. With this product, shop owners have another way to free up capital invested in inventory that can be used to secure more loans by moving that inventory faster. After surveying hundreds of clients, consumer experience has become a big focus for Data Age because it is on our clients radar. As Data Age builds out new products and services, we are focused on helping our customers provide exceptional experiences both in their shops and online, said Len Summa, CEO, Data Age Business Systems, Inc. Offering multiple eCommerce options to our pawn brokers is vital to all of our futures. At Data Age, we not only look at trends within our own industry and customer base, but the responsibility has expanded to enabling our clients to grow and better serve their customers the consumer. PawnMaster is recognized for continually providing solutions for pawn shops to keep current on retail consumer trends in a highly regulated industry. PawnMaster clients can further expand their reach by adding e-foro, an integrated multi-listing tool. With e-foro, pawn shop owners can list their items to eBay, Craigslist, Amazon and Gunbroker, giving them access to millions of users who already shop those channels. About Data Age Business Systems/PawnMaster Data Age offers industry leading financial transaction software solutions that enable businesses doing non-traditional lending, buy/sell, check cashing and even retailers to scale their organization, deliver exceptional customer service, capture data quickly and accurately, mitigate risk, adhere to regulatory mandates, manage employee challenges, and drive profitability. To learn more, visit http://www.pawnmaster.com or call 1-888-949-7296. Los Angeles, CA: Vault Pharma, an immunology-focused biotechnology company developing precision therapies for cancer, Womens health, and infectious diseases, has been selected as a finalist and will present before an international panel of judges and investors on June 21, 2017, in San Diego at Start-Up Stadium at the BIO International Convention, the world's largest biotechnology event. Emerging biotechnology companies from around the world submitted applications to compete in the annual event. Judges consisting of entrepreneurial, investment, start-up, economic development, capital formation and academic experts awarded "finalist" status to only 40 companies. "It is an honor to be included among the elite group of BIO's Start-Up Stadium finalists," said Oliver Foellmer, President and Chief Executive Officer at Vault Pharma. "The designation validates our vision of the revolutionary therapeutic potential of the Vault Platform Technology and the company as an engaging commercial partner." Representatives from Vault Pharma will present during the 2-4 p.m. PST time block on June 21 at the BIO International Convention at the San Diego Convention Center at Ground Level, Hall H, Booth #5815. Vault Pharma pioneered and developed a unique therapeutics platform using the bodys own naturally occurring vault protein particles found abundantly in human cells to activate the immune system against cancer cells, bacteria and viruses. The vault particle was discovered by Vault Pharma Founder Dr. Leonard Rome, Distinguished Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Vault Pharma is expected to introduce its leading drug candidate, VPI-101, into Phase I clinical trials in 2017. A potential cancer immunotherapy treatment, VPI-101 has shown effectiveness in lung cancer, glioblastoma (brain tumors) and melanoma. VPI-101 successfully completed preclinical animal efficacy and active ingredient phase I safety trials. In addition, Vault Pharma is in the preclinical development stages for a therapeutic vaccine for Chlamydia-related pelvic inflammatory disease, a major cause of pain and infertility in young women, and trachoma, a neglected tropical disease that is the leading cause for blindness in developing countries. About Vault Pharma Vault Pharma, with headquarters in Los Angeles, Calif., is a leading immunology-focused biotechnology company developing and commercializing immunotherapy treatments for cancer and infectious diseases. Vault Pharmas mission is to develop safe and effective immunotherapeutics that will transform existing treatment paradigms. Startup Funding Book Read this book before you start your business - its practical, intelligent advice could save you many months and missteps," Philip Anderson, Professor of Entrepreneurship, INSEAD. Today, Nicolaj Hjer Nielsen, a successful Copenhagen, Denmark-based Serial Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, and University Lecturer, has confirmed that his brand new publication Startup Funding has become an instant hit within the global startup and entrepreneurship communities with 35,000 readers downloading the book from 150 different countries worldwide. The new release goes live via Amazon and Kindle on Thursday, June 15th, 2017. For the past 18 years, Nicolaj Hjer Nielsen has dedicated his professional career to nurturing entrepreneurial spirited individuals with his unique insights into the intriguing world of startup funding. Most business book are written from the perspective of Silicon Valley. While there is plenty of capital available, the Author believes investors can act somewhat differently outside of the California tech bubble. For instance, startups in the United Kingdom, and Spain do not need to understand how Silicon Valley investors think but rather must focus on knowing precisely how local investors process decision making information. This is where Startup Funding becomes their step by step handbook. "As a Serial Entrepreneur and Angel Investor, I felt it was vitally important to write this book and share my first-hand experiences on financing. I've seen way too many startups repeat every funding mistake that I once made in the past. Now, the next wave of ambitious entrepreneurs can avoid the traps I fell into and enjoy even more funding success," expressed, Nicolaj Hjer Nielsen, MBA, Author, Startup Funding. "There's so much talk about the lack of funding. But what I see is the knowledge gap being a huge problem. Today, many entrepreneurs lack funding because they ask the wrong type of investors at a bad time. What's more, so many entrepreneurs let themselves down by not knowing how to communicate with investors effectively. Beta-readers have documented how reading Startup Funding altered their entire view on how to go about getting funding. Praise from industry experts followed: "Getting a startup actually started, funded, and then operational is not for the faint-of-heart. Its a complex and generally daunting process. Nicolajs The Startup Funding Book is your go-to how-to manual for navigating your path in building a startup you can be proud of. As an entrepreneur myself, I can say the book needs to be on your list of required reading," Shomit Ghose, Managing Director, and Partner, Onset Ventures. "Nicolaj Nielsen shows you how to analyse what funding your venture needs and assesses the pros and cons of every major source. He then helps you reverse-engineer the way investors will think about financing your business and teaches you how to align your pitch with their mindsets. The section on how to find and work with a co-founder is worth the price of the book alone. Read this book before you start your business - its practical, intelligent advice could save you many months and missteps," Philip Anderson, Professor of Entrepreneurship, INSEAD. "Nicolaj was instrumental in getting Recon Instruments off the ground. As one of its first shareholders, he led the first angel round and subsequently helped raise millions of dollars from angel investors around the world, using his network and expertise to identify people that would invest in what seemed at the time to be a crazy idea. His personal drive and ability to simplify and drive clarity were hugely beneficial in navigating the sometimes complex process of early stage fundraising. I strongly urge entrepreneurs to follow his pragmatic advice in this book. It will get you results," Dan Eisenhardt, Co-Founder, Recon Instruments. "When I read business books, I normally set out to highlight everything I find important with a yellow marker. I drop some books half way because I've marked almost nothing. I read others to the end because I frequently find important passages to mark up. And then occasionally I read books where I have to stop using the marker since I would otherwise need to paint most of the book yellow. Nicola's book falls into this third category. It is extremely concise and practical, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to raise capital for a start-up company," Lars Tvede, Investor, Author, and Serial Entrepreneur. The crafting of Startup Funding has been an 18-month collaborative labour of love with hundreds of contributors. Additionally, a total of 260 pages are systematically spread over 14 concise chapters detailing 25 case studies. Highlights include top tips on where to find investors and the best approaches to take to win their full backing, what investors are really looking for but wont tell you, and how best to persuade banks, angel investors, and VCs at the top of their game. About Nicolaj Hjer Nielsen: Nicolaj Hjer Nielsen, MBA is the Author of the new book taking the internet by storm entitled "Startup Funding" (ISBN: 9788799990207). As a leading startup funding expert, he has secured finance from friends, family, angel investors, VCs, and public funders. He loves to bounce new ideas with fellow entrepreneurs and increasing the prospects of success for new ventures. His specialty is discovering IT startups with a higher than average level of potential. He has also reviewed thousands of opportunities with an expert eye and invested in many promising new enterprises. Nicolaj earned his MBA from INSEAD in France and Singapore - ranked No.1 MBA programme in the world 2017 by the Financial Times. He lectures on Entrepreneurship at Copenhagen Business School. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Funding-Nicolaj-H%C3%B8jer-Nielsen-ebook/dp/B072MRR8LV Join the conversation via Nicolajs Social Media communities: -https://www.facebook.com/StartupFundingBook/ -https://twitter.com/NHoejer -https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolajnielsen/ Hydraulics Online has a clear track record in getting involved with interesting challenges, so they are the perfect partner for us. The ground-breaking Hyperloop concept is a new mode of transport in which pressurised capsules will ride on an air cushion along pressurised tubes. Hyperloop was first conceived by Elon Musk (SpaceX, Tesla) and the concept was unveiled by Musk in 2013. Since then, Musk has been developing the concept, opening a global competition to design the pods which will run on the system, and building a half-scale track located at the SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, California. HypED is one of 24 technical teams worldwide and one of only four in Europe that have been selected as finalists in the competition to build a Hyperloop Pod. The team is currently manufacturing the prototype pod and preparing for travel to California in late summer 2017, where it will compete against other finalists. Hydraulics Online is supplying the hydraulic equipment for the pods dynamic elements, including the high-speed braking, which will use a hydraulic circuit in order to engage the brake at high speeds. Adam Anyszewski, HypED President, commented: We chose to work with Hydraulics Online because it has a very wide product offering and offers custom design services. Our design is different to existing market solutions so this expertise is important to us. Hydraulics Online has a clear track record in getting involved with interesting challenges, so they are the perfect partner for us. Mark Tonks, co-founder and MD at Hydraulics Online, said: We are delighted to be supporting the HypED team in this exciting and innovative venture. The Hyperloop concept has been referred to as disruptive because it has the potential to transform the way we travel offering a greener solution for high-speed travel. It is exciting for us, because it demonstrates that hydraulics have an important role to play in the futuristic technologies of tomorrow. We are delighted to be working with the HypED team and will do everything we can to help support their bid in this competition. Alongside its technical team, the HypED team are proposing a route between London and Edinburgh as part of the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, promoting the feasibility of Hyperloop travel in the UK. About Hydraulics Online Ltd Thanks to its independence and strong partnerships with the major manufacturers and niche players in the industry, Hydraulics Online offers a highly competitive service to a truly global customer base. Renowned for their ability to source elusive or obsolete hydraulic equipment and supplies, Hydraulics Online also offers specialist support in hydraulic systems design, hydraulic engineering projects, and the prototyping of new hydraulic concepts. Established in 2004, and ISO 9001 accredited, Hydraulics Online is committed to excellent customer service offering bespoke support, global delivery, rapid and timely service, and a friendly and team-oriented approach. More information: http://www.hydraulicsonline.com/ Email: helenbaker(at)hydraulicsonline.com About HypED HypED is a University of Edinburgh student society dedicated to accelerating development of Hyperloop technology and implementing Hyperloop in the UK. We have over 50 members in the team working on various aspects of the project including technical design of the prototype, manufacturing, economic feasibility, stakeholder engagement and publicity. After a successful year, HypED has advanced to the final stages of SpaceXs Hyperloop Pod competition, held in California in Summer 2017. We are one of 24 finalists selected to compete, after showing our technical excellence and ambition both in the previous competition and in SpaceX and university presentations. The competition challenges students to design and build a pod to race along a mile-long Hyperloop tube. For more information on the competition, please have a look at: http://www.spacex.com/hyperloop. HypED has also progressed in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge. Our proposed route linking Edinburgh to London has been selected as a possible location for the very first commercial Hyperloop. This Summer, we will present our case at a global conference in Amsterdam, discussing the feasibility of making Hyperloop in the UK a reality. Email: team(at)hyp-ed.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hypedinburgh/ Multi-Tech Systems, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of M2M and IoT devices, today announced that CEO Stefan Lindvall was awarded an 2017 Owler Top Rated CEO award. Stefan Lindvall brings more than 20 years of high level experience in the wireless industry to MultiTech. For the first time, Owler is honoring the top rated CEOs on their platform. CEOs are rated by members of the Owler community, who have collectively contributed more than a quarter million ratings this year. Owler analyzed those ratings, ultimately distributing 1,000 awards to the highest rated CEOs from over 167,000 CEOs on Owler. Winners span from 50 cities and 25 industries worldwide. Stefan Lindvall was in good company, making the list alongside leaders of Salesforce, LinkedIn, and Netflix. 2017 Owler Top Rated CEO Awards provide a complete market view of a CEOs rating, which includes ratings from employees, competitors, followers, and general Owler users. Additionally, Stefan Lindvall has created one of the leading wireless design services companies in the U.S, Connected Development. Prior to MultiTech and Connected Development, Stefan served as President of the Americas at Wavecom and before that held various leadership positions at Sony-Ericsson and Ericsson including, Vice President m2m Sales, Americas. Lindvall received his MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Linkoping, Sweden. The 2017 Owler Top Rated CEO Awards are a true market view of the most esteemed CEOs, said Jim Fowler, CEO at Owler. These winners are truly the best of breed: they beat out the other 99.4 percent of leaders on our platform to win a coveted 2017 Owler Top Rated CEO Award. About Owler Owler is the worlds largest community-based business insights platform that business professionals use to outsmart their competition, gain competitive insights, and uncover the latest industry news and alerts. Owler is powered by an active community of 1 million business professionals who contribute unique business insights such as competitors, private company revenue, and CEO ratings. From startups all the way to large enterprises (including 96% of the Fortune 500), CEOs, salespeople, marketers, product managers, and all types of business professionals use Owler daily. Launched in 2014, and funded by Norwest Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures, Owler is headquartered in San Mateo, CA with offices in Spokane, WA, and Coimbatore, India. About MultiTech MultiTech designs, develops and manufactures communications equipment for the industrial internet of things connecting physical assets to business processes to deliver enhanced value. Our commitment to quality and service excellence means you can count on MultiTech products and people to address your needs, while our history of innovation ensures you can stay ahead of the latest technology with a partner who will be there for the life of your solution. For more information, please visit http://www.multitech.com or visit our mbed page here. MultiTech Press Contact: Jennifer Costello, MG Communications; Tel: 781-715-4870, Email: jennifer(at)mgresults.com PALO ALTO, Calif., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) today announced it has been awarded a research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a reference design for an exascale supercomputer that will enable a broad set of modeling and simulation applications unachievable today, accelerating breakthroughs in science, medicine, technology, engineering and many other fields. Scientific applications would impact nearly every corner of research, from the physics of star explosions to precision medicine for cancer. To deliver exascale performance in 2022-23, high-performance computing (HPC) machines will need to be 10 times faster and more energy efficient than todays fastest supercomputers. This will require active research into technologies that will dramatically improve compute processing power while at the same time reduce energy consumption and space requirement by an order of magnitude. HPEs reference design will address this set of challenges, as well as the memory, fabric capacity and bandwidth constraints of todays HPC architecture, to deliver exascale computing performance with low latency. At the heart of HPEs exascale reference design is Memory-Driven Computing, an architecture that puts memory, not processing, at the center of the computing platform to realize a new level of performance and efficiency gains. HPEs Memory-Driven Computing architecture is a scalable portfolio of technologies that Hewlett Packard Labs developed via The Machine research project. On May 16, 2017, HPE unveiled the latest prototype from this project, the worlds largest single memory computer. We are excited at the opportunity to provide the technical blueprint for an exascale system that will process data faster than any supercomputer available today and enable a new era of computational and scientific capabilities, said Bill Mannel, vice president and general manager, HPC Segment Solutions, HPE. Our novel Memory-Driven Computing architecture combined with our deep expertise in HPC and robust partner ecosystem uniquely positions HPE to develop the first U.S. exascale supercomputer and deliver against the PathForward programs goals. Fundamental technologies of the architecture that will be instrumental in the exascale project include a new memory fabric and low-energy photonics interconnects. The memory fabric is an ideal foundation for a wide range of emerging HPC and data intensive workloads, including big data analytics. HPE also continues to explore nonvolatile memory options that could attach to the memory fabric, significantly increasing the reliability and efficiency of exascale systems. HPE will work with industry partners to develop world-class open architectures based upon open industry standards. At the core of this strategy is the use of the industry-led Gen-Z (www.genzconsortium.org) chip-to-chip protocol. Gen-Z provides a memory-semantic chip-to-chip communications protocol that allows for the tight coupling of many devices including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, DRAM, NVM, system interconnects and a host of other devices, all sharing a common address space. This allows for the creation of memory centric system designs which offer dramatic improvements in application performance and power efficiency. The Gen-Z protocol is enabling the industry to collaborate on the development of supercomputers that harness best-of-breed technologies encouraged by an open and competitive ecosystem. We see this DOE grant as a vote of confidence in the ability of HPE and Hewlett Packard Labs to help overcome daunting technology challenges that are impeding everyones progress toward exascale computing, said Steve Conway, IDC research vice president of high performance computing. As the global HPC market leader, HPE is highly motivated and well positioned to accelerate the move toward this next milestone in computing capability. Once it becomes practical, exascale computing will give a powerful boost to scientific innovation and industrial competitiveness. HPE is being awarded this research and development contract from the DOEs Exascale Computing Project (ECP) under a program called PathForward. The program will accelerate R&D to support the governments growing supercomputing needs. Exascale computing is a developing area of HPC that will enable systems capable of at least one quintillion calculations per second. This program furthers the DOEs goals of maximizing the benefits of HPC for the United States by accelerating the development of a capable exascale computing ecosystem. Additional Information About Hewlett Packard Enterprise Hewlett Packard Enterprise is an industry leading technology company that enables customers to go further, faster. With the industrys most comprehensive portfolio, spanning the cloud to the data center to workplace applications, our technology and services help customers around the world make IT more efficient, more productive and more secure. Forward-Looking Statement This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of Hewlett Packard Enterprise could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of Hewlett Packard Enterprise for future operations; other statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that expected benefits may not materialize as expected and other risks that are described in Hewlett Packard Enterprises filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risks described in Hewlett Packard Enterprises Registration Statement on Form 10 dated July 1, 2015, as amended. Hewlett Packard Enterprise assumes no obligation and does not intend to update any forward-looking statements. DiscoverLocal capitalizes on the hyperlocal nature of search engine results to effortlessly increase your librarys relevance. Demco Software today launched Demco DiscoverLocal, a unique new product that uses the increasing popularity of open web searches to a librarys advantage. The new tool from Demcos software division is the first of its kind to give libraries top ranking in local search results, driving awareness of collections and also of programs and events for both public and academic libraries. By elevating the library's presence on search results pages, Demco DiscoverLocal increases resource usage and facilitates more focused program and event marketing. Increasing a librarys relevance with Demco DiscoverLocal is simple. The library uploads metadata about its collection via MARC records and Demco Software does the rest of the work. Search engines crawl these tagged resources and promote them to local community members, or students and faculty for academic libraries, as they search for events, programs, book titles and media on their favorite search engines. Not only does your library show up in searches, but relevant programs, events and materials can show up at the top of the results for optimal discovery. Users can immediately reserve items, register for events or sign up for a library card if necessary. Libraries gain greater insights into their communities interests through robust, real-time reporting of search activity. Over 40,000 Google searches are performed every second and near me searches have doubled since last year. Your community members are regularly going online to find local events to attend and to search for books and other resources to borrow, shared Ravi Singh, Executive Director of Demco Software. Demco DiscoverLocal capitalizes on the hyperlocal nature of search engine results to effortlessly increase your librarys relevance. With Demco DiscoverLocal, public libraries can drive usage and increase library card requests from those who dont have them yet. Academic libraries can drive participation in their events and usage of their collections. To learn more about how Demco Software drives greater community awareness of public and academic libraries value, see a live demo of Demco DiscoverLocal in booth #4617 at the American Libraries Association Annual Conference June 22-25 in Chicago, IL or visit http://demcosoftware.com/products/discoverlocal/. ## About Demco Software Libraries that prioritize community engagement make their strategic goals a reality with Demco Software. Demco Software unites Evanced Solutions software, Boopsie mobile apps and new tools like Demco DiscoverLocal to provide the next level of innovative solutions for libraries. Partner with Demco Software to increase your librarys relevance and discoverability through deeper community engagement, streamlined program management and increased mobility. Learn more by visiting demcosoftware.com or by calling 866.434.5098. Over the remaining months of the centennial anniversary of WWI, Carnegie Council will support and publish original research and analyses on the war, its long-term impacts on societies around the world, and its lasting imprint on the present. Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is pleased to announce the launch of a new fellowship program on "The Living Legacy of the First World War." In June 1917one hundred years ago this monththe first 14,000 American Expeditionary Force soldiers landed in Saint-Nazaire, France. Their arrival marked a tectonic shift in global politics, as the United States turned the principled idealism of its progressive era outward in an effort to restructure a broken international system. Over the remaining months of the centennial anniversary of World War I, Carnegie Council will support and publish original research and analyses on the war, its long-term impacts on societies around the world, and its lasting imprint on the present. World War I ended an era in some ways resembling the current oneremembered for its relative stability, globalizing trends, and economic transformations. Yet, it was also an era marked by dramatic economic and political inequalities, with much of the worlds population living under direct imperial administration. The war nourished the seeds of change. It beckoned the last gasps of imperial competition among the European great powers, and triggered the collapse of several longstanding multinational empires. It challenged the validity of monarchical rule and provided a platform for the proponents of global self-governance. The war irrevocably transformed ideas about nationalism, imperialism, collective security, global governance, transnationalism, and great power politics. Funded with a grant from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, this project will create up to 10 new nonresident fellowships to conduct original historical research on various aspects of the First World War, breathing new life into this rich history and gleaning lessons, trends, and perspectives obscured to earlier observers. Fellows will also employ their historical studies to shed light on the contours of the modern worldexploring the wars enduring presence in contemporary ethical debate, political discourse, governing institutions, demography, law, international relations, and other relevant areas. They will publish and publicly present their findings in articles and podcasts in the months leading up to Armistice Day, 2018. With the passing of the last veterans of the Great War, active public remembrance is essential. The "Living Legacy" project will join other centennial initiatives that help rising generations to understand the weight and gravity of this moment in global history; to grapple with the dynamics and dilemmas citizens and their leaders faced; and to discover for themselves the meaning of the war in the past, present, and future. This project has been made possible with the generous support of the Richard Lounsbery Foundation. ABOUT THE RICHARD LOUNSBERY FOUNDATION The Richard Lounsbery Foundation aims to enhance national strengths in science and technology through support of a variety of programs in research, education, and public policy. Among its international initiatives, the Foundation has a long-standing priority in Franco-American relations, as Richard Lounsbery was a U.S. Army officer who served in France during World War I. For more, go to http://www.rlounsbery.org ABOUT CARNEGIE COUNCIL Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1914, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is an educational, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that produces lectures, publications, and multimedia materials on the ethical challenges of living in a globalized world. For more, go to http://www.carnegiecouncil.org Through this program, students will be able to engage in private, group discussions about topics and issues not addressed in medical school. Building on their longtime collaboration with MedPage Today, AMSA has partnered with MedPage Todays sister-company for[MD], to launch the AMSA Mentorship Program, powered by for[MD]. The AMSA Mentorship Program, powered by for[MD], offers AMSAs U.S. medical student members direct access to practicing physician mentors across the country with varying backgrounds. In addition to these physician mentors, students will receive curated content in key areas of interest deemed fundamentally important to medical students, such as: Preparing for the Match, Succeeding in Residency, Wellness Strategies, Test and Rotations, and Career Planning. Medical students routinely seek direct access to practicing physicians recognizing they have invaluable experience, knowledge and insight to share that can help them navigate medical school and their career path, said Jamie Thayer Scates, Chief Partnership Officer at AMSA. Through this program, Jamie noted, students will be able to engage in private, group discussions about topics and issues not addressed in medical school. Additionally, they will have the unique opportunity to connect one-on-one with physician mentors and dive deeper into specific areas of interest or receive guidance in a protected environment. These physicians-in-training are already making critical decisions that will influence their careers, patient care and the entire health care ecosystem, stated Greg Chang, founder of for[MD]. The goal of the AMSA Mentorship Program is to equip these future physicians with the support and guidance they need to maximize their time in medical school and make better, informed decisions. To enhance the experience for students, for[MD], MedPage Today, and AMSA have recruited additional partners to offer access to related content and provide physician mentors. These partners include the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American College of Radiology, American Gastroenterological Association, the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and many more. for[MD], a property of Everyday Health Professional, is the healthcare professional network. Founded by physicians and administrators, for[MD] partners with over 140 of the world's leading medical schools, societies, and training programs. for[MD] delivers industry-leading user engagement through a combination of technology, services, and data. To learn more, visit us at http://www.formd.com/our-solution. MedPage Today, a property of Everyday Health Professional, is a leading digital provider of health news that reaches an audience of over 800,000 practicing U.S. physicians across numerous specialty areas. Our highly-tailored content experiences enable healthcare professionals to stay informed, receive tools that aid in their clinical practice, help make better decisions for their patients, and deliver better outcomes. To learn more, visit us at http://www.MedPageToday.com. AMSA is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. To learn more about AMSA, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online at http://www.amsa.org. Pangea Money Transfer, a remittance app built for the mobile user, is donating one percent of all transactions on International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR), Friday, June 16. The money will benefit Aldeas Infantiles SOS in Mexico, which provides parental care, education and housing for abandoned and orphaned children. IDFR, a United Nations-sanctioned day of observance that began in 2015, is aimed at recognizing the significant financial contribution migrant workers make to the wellbeing of their families back home and to the sustainable development of their countries of origin. Aldeas Infantiles SOS is a part of SOS Children's Villages International, a global non-profit organization that builds families and communities for children in need across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. At Pangea, many of us are immigrants ourselves, said CEO Nishu Thukral. This is more than a job to us. Supporting Aldeas Infantiles SOS on the International Day of Family Remittances aligns very well with our mission, and were excited to give back to a worthwhile cause. The Pangea app makes it easy for users from the U.S. to quickly and securely send money to friends and family in a few simple steps. The app features an intuitive set-up process that takes only a few seconds, a smooth user interface and a low, transparent fee structure. Registered senders can login and repeat past transfers in only one click. Within minutes, recipients can get their money in cash at thousands of pickup locations, or have it deposited directly into a bank account or onto a debit card. The Pangea Money Transfer app is available for free on iOS and Android, or you can try it out online at GoPangea.com. To inquire about becoming a Pangea partner, visit http://get.gopangea.com/partnerships. # # # About Pangea Money Transfer: Pangea Money Transfer is a mobile-centric remittance platform that allows on-the-go users to send money from the U.S. to Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic in less than 30 seconds -- all for a low flat fee. Receivers can collect the money at thousands of retail locations or have it directly deposited into any bank account or onto a debit card. Pangeas remittance solution is flexible, fast and easy to use, earning Best User Experience and Fastest Transfer at the 2017 Finder Money Transfer Awards. As a result, the platform has achieved industry leading loyalty and referral rates. To stay up to date on Pangea expansion news and product announcements, visit GoPangea.com. Online school students celebrate achievements at in-person graduation ceremonies This years 2016-2017 graduating class is a reflection that online education has entered a new age of acceptancefamilies see this learning option as a credible pathway for a quality education from elementary all the way through high school For an increasing number of students graduating from high school this month, online education has been more than just a supplemental alternative its been all theyve ever known. Across the nation from Maine to California, 27 Connections Academy-supported online public schools will graduate students and celebrate their achievements during traditional in-person commencement ceremonies. The Class of 2017 includes nearly 30 graduates from six online public schools who are among a new generation of students to complete their entire elementary to high school academic journey online. In fact, the number of Connections Academy graduates to exclusively complete their education online has increased since Connections first graduating class in 2009, as many Connections Academy-supported schools enter their second decade of serving students completely online. This years 2016-2017 graduating class is a reflection that online education has entered a new age of acceptancefamilies see this learning option as a pathway for a quality education from elementary all the way through high school, said Steven Guttentag, president and co-founder of Connections Academy. Whether its due to a need for schedule flexibility or a result of being significantly ahead of peers academically, were now seeing increasing numbers of successful graduates who enrolled in one of our schools at age five or six and continued for the duration of their K-12 education journey. Were proud of these students, and all our students who are currently celebrating their high school graduation milestone. One example of a student who completed kindergarten through 12th grade via Connections Academy is Minnesota-based student Grant Rubietta, who is graduating from MTS Minnesota Connections Academy this year at age 15. Grant's story is uniqueby age three, he was reading and doing math, testing off the charts for a child of his age. His parents felt that a bricks-and-mortar public or private school wouldnt allow Grant to work at his accelerated pace, so they enrolled him in online school in kindergarten. While enrolled in Connections Academy, he took additional college courses through the University of Northwestern - St. Paul, and also participated in competitive swimming, piano and Boy Scouts. Grant will head to the University of Minnesota this fall. In California, student Emily Munoz and her family chose California Connections Academy @ Capistrano when deciding where Emily should start kindergarten. The online school model offered Emily flexibility to pursue her passions: art and fashion. Among her many extracurricular activities, Emily creates duffel bags for foster children through the Together We Rise non-profit organization. This fall, Emily will head to Brigham Young University - Idaho to pursue a degree in psychology. An Ohio Connections Academy student, Delaney Fugate, followed a similar path. In first grade, her parents chose to enroll her in online school because they didnt feel that the local school options would be a good fit for Delaney or her sister. The family was pleased with the quality and accessibility of the teachers, and chose to stay with Connections Academy through high school. Now a graduating senior, Delaney is ready to continue her classes at Sinclair Community College to become a graphic designer. Though the number of Connections Academy students choosing online school as a long-term solution continues to rise, other 2017 graduates enrolled later in their academic careers, such as Texas Connections Academy @ Houston student Rachael Flam. Rachael, a nationally ranked gymnast, came to Connections Academy seven years ago to accommodate her busy training schedule of 37 hours per week. Between her gymnastics accolades and straight As, Rachael is heading on to Stanford University this August with a full-ride scholarship and a spot on the womens gymnastics team. In New Jersey, graduating senior Jenna Oursler-Cherins suffered a concussion as a high school freshman and fell behind in school. A public Connections Academy-supported school wasnt available in her state, so Jenna enrolled in International Connections Academyan online global private school. Jenna was able to catch up in school and maintain her competitive equestrian activities five days a week. With a full resume of volunteer work to tout as well, Jenna was accepted to several top colleges and universities across the country. She will head to the University of California, Berkeley this fall. Regardless of the reason for enrolling or length of tenure in online school, graduating seniors from various backgrounds, geographies and academic achievement levels have found success with Connections-supported schools. The total figures are still being tabulated for the class of 2017. However, of the previous years online public school graduating class, 69% of Connections Academy graduates planned to attend college or enter a vocational program, 25% were moving into the workforce, 2% were joining the military, and 4% had other plans for their future. Those who had higher education on their agenda were accepted to over 600 colleges and universities across the U.S., and accumulated over $25 million in scholarships and awards To learn more about Connections Academy-supported online public schools, visit http://www.ConnectionsAcademy.com, or visit http://www.InternationalConnectionsAcademy.com to learn more about the private online school option About Connections Academy For over fifteen years, Connections Academy has delivered individualized learning to students through tuition-free virtual public schools. In the 20162017 school year, Connections Academy supported 32 virtual public schools in 26 statesserving over 60,000 students. An accredited online private school, International Connections Academy (iNaCA), serves students in grades K12 throughout the United States and abroad. In 2016, iNaCA served students in 49 countries including the U.S. Hallmarks of the Connections Academy online school program include: personalized learning, flexibility, certified teachers, technology and an award-winning curriculum. Connections Academy and International Connections Academy are part of the global education company Pearson. For more information, visit http://www.ConnectionsAcademy.com. NAVEOS Business Partner Award While we already work with a large number of hospitals within New Jersey, this partnership will introduce NAVEOS to those New Jersey hospitals unfamiliar with our best-in-class data analytics services. In late May the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) welcomed NAVEOS as a business partner. Founded in 1918, the NJHA is a not-for-profit organization comprised of close to 400 healthcare organizations. NJHA is committed to delivering support and services to the states hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers. NAVEOS is proud to offer expert advice to NJHAs members on industry best practices as well as assist with maximizing their governmental reimbursement payments to ensure their organization can continue to fulfill its mission of caring for those patients most in need. Together NAVEOS and NJHA are committed to helping support New Jersey hospitals, and healthcare providers. We are pleased to become a business member of NJHA, said Mike Sabo, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Product Strategy & Development of NAVEOS. While we already work with a large number of hospitals within New Jersey, this partnership will introduce NAVEOS to those New Jersey hospitals unfamiliar with our best-in-class data analytics services. About NAVEOS NAVEOS is the proven leader in maximizing the value of governmental program reimbursement payments for healthcare providers. Since 2005, our superior approach to data analytics and proprietary software platform has enabled healthcare providers to receive the maximum value possible in reimbursement payments. NAVEOS has developed a fully integrated software solution with a national eligibility verification network for both Medicare and Medicaid data. This system, which is the most robust in the industry, uses sophisticated algorithms to match eligibility data with patient data, applies the most up to date federal and state regulatory parameters, then builds comprehensive deliverables for supporting DSH/340B/Uncompensated Care filings. By leveraging our state-of-the-art technology and unsurpassed domain expertise, we generate best-in-class deliverables that yield impressive value and achieve a stellar audit acceptance rate. Questions can be directed to NAVEOS at info(at)naveosdata.com or (888)550-2708. While inequalities in school funding resulting from governmental funding systems have long been a source of concern to education researchers and policymakers, a recent report from the Center for American Progress examines a source of educational inequality that receives less attention: private fundraising by parents. Hidden Money: The Outsized Role of Parent Contributions in School Finance was reviewed by Maia Cucchiara of Temple University. The report focuses on the 50 Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) that raised the most money in 2013-2014. It reached two main findings. First, the PTAs raising large amounts were located in wealthier schools and districtsthose with low rates of student poverty. Second, while a PTA in a high-poverty community may raise only a few hundred dollars, the PTAs in this sample raised hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Using case studies, the report considers district regulation of private fundraising. Professor Cucchiara concludes that the reports findings about the scope and beneficiaries of private fundraising are credible and importantshowing the impact successful PTAs can have. However, the focus on a small number of schools and districts, a lack of attention to school and community context, and problems with the case study design limit the reports overall relevance. In addition, it is important to note that most funding inequalities arise at the state level; funds raised by parents represent only a minute portion of overall school spending. Nevertheless, Professor Cucchiara concludes that the reports recommendations, especially in support of equity grants, will be useful to district-level policymakers. Find the review by Maia Cucchiara at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-fundraising Find Hidden Money: The Outsized Role of Parent Contributions in School Finance, by Catherine Brown, Scott Sargrad, and Meg Benner, published by Center for American Progress, at: https://cdn.americanprogress.org/content/uploads/2017/04/18074902/ParentFundraising-report-corrected.pdf Find Documents: Press Release: nepc.info/node/8709 NEPC Review: nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-fundraising Report Reviewed: cdn.americanprogress.org/content/uploads/2017/04/18074902/ParentFundraising-report-corrected.pdf The National Education Policy Center (NEPC) Think Twice Think Tank Review Project (http://thinktankreview.org) provides the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: http://www.greatlakescenter.org The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu Noitom's Hi5 VR Glove will launch during 2017 the Japan XR Hackathon. Noitom, the company dedicated to making innovative and affordable motion capture solutions accessible to everyone, is on the heels of launching their latest product, Hi5 VR Glove. The launch is taking place during the Japan XR Hackathon, the second annual event of its kind, this year hosted by Noitom and its community partners to promote the development of original XR content and applications that facilitate the work of humanitarian agencies. The 30-hour Japan XR Hackathon will take place from June 24-25 and its headquarters will be in Tokyos Odaiba district with six satellite locations spread throughout the country that include: Ishikawa, Okayama, Fukuoka, Okinawa, Osaka and Hiroshima. Prior to the actual hackathon event, participants will have access to training sessions through scheduled seminars. The Japan XR Hackathon welcomes any participants interested in working with VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality), together referred to as XR. Entry into the hackathon is free and will be on a first come, first serve basis. Equipment will be provided by the hackathon as well as refreshments and internet access. The ultimate goal of the Japan XR Hackathon is to create a complete XR experience that can be showcased to the public and used in real-life emergency scenarios that require humanitarian aid. Registration information for Japan XR Hackathon can be found at https://vrhackathon.jp. Among the many highlights of this years hackathon, will be the official launch of the Noitom Hi5 VR Glove. The gloves made their initial appearance earlier this year during CES in las Vegas where it was announced that they will soon be available as the companys first consumer market product. Since then, Noitom has continued to develop the gloves from their original prototype version, including improving the design and capabilities. In anticipation of the gloves launch, developers were invited to sign-up for the Hi5 VR Glove Early Developers Program. Participants of the hackathon will be among the very first to create content using the Hi5 VR Glove. Designed for fully immersive hand interactions in virtual reality, the Hi5 VR Glove is a wireless, full-finger action, motion capture glove that delivers high performance tracking, pinpoint accuracy and plug-and-play convenience for transporting hands into the virtual reality experience. The Hi5 VR Glove was developed as an accessory for the HTC VIVE TRACKER but is also compatible with Noitoms Project Alice B2B mixed reality platform. The hackathon will last approximately 30 hours beginning at 9 am on June 24 and ending at 6 pm on June 25th. At the end of the hackathon, judges will spend three hours visiting each participant. Twenty finalists will be chosen for a public demo day at Startup Hub Tokyo on July 2nd and will have the opportunity to win a fund of up to $40,000 worth in support, equipment and travel expenses to turn their concept into reality. This year, Noitom is presenting the Japan XR Hackathon with Silicon Valley Virtual Realitys Japan Chapter as a community partner and Panora Virtual Reality as a media partner. HTC Vive, Microsoft Hololens and Unity have also lent their support as platinum sponsors. Aiuto and Akatsuki are coming in as gold sponsors. Tsinghua Tongfang, AMD, MSI and Coolmaster are lending their support as silver sponsors. We also thank COLOPL, IBM Watson, Tsukumo, OSVR and MONO for their material support for the hackathon. To register and learn more about Japan XR Hackathon, please visit vrhackathon.jp For more information about the Hi5 VR Glove, please visit hi5vrglove.com. To learn more about Noitom, go to noitom.com. Founded in 2011, Noitom Ltd. works with a team of dedicated engineers who develop world-class motion capture technology for consumer and industrial markets through the integration of MEMS sensors, pattern recognition, human kinetics and wireless transmission. Noitom is an international leader in innovative technology for use in animation, film, medical applications, robotics and gaming. Noitom is headquartered in Beijing with affiliate offices in Shenzhen. For further information about Noitom and its services, please visit, http://www.noitom.com. For general inquiries, please email, info(at)noitom.com. Storefront of Absolute Perfection- Wilmington, NC "It's truly exciting to be operating in North Carolina, especially in the Wilmington market, The community is just fantastic and the people down here are just so amazing."- CEO, Bill Valway Today, Absolute Perfection Window Tinting and Graphics, an automotive, residential and commercial company spreads their branches to Wilmington, North Carolina. Having gained immense success in the Maryland, DC and Virginia markets, CEO, Bill Valway did adequate research and found that North Carolina was the perfect fit for expanding his business ventures. North Carolina has a flourishing community and Absolute Perfection Window Tinting and Graphics wants to take ownership of positively continuing to shape the community. The company ensures a product that encourages safety with an aesthetically appealing outcome. This company gained notoriety as they were awarded 2014 Eastman Window Film National Dealer of the Year, and the Geico World HQ Window Film Project just to name a few. They also made the INC 5000 list, a record of Americas fastest growing privately held companies for 2 consecutive years. Their team helped gross over 3.1 million dollars in revenue and continues to exponentially grow thanks to the loyal customers. Window tint has the ability to reduce up to 84% of solar heat and save up to 33% on energy by reducing HVAC costs while increasing heat rejection as well as UV ray exposure. This division dedicates its effort into making sure that customers residential, commercial and automotive assets are aesthetically, ecologically, and comfortingly taken care of. The AP Applied Graphics division also had the opportunity to sign a multi-million dollar Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) Bus contract to wrap more than 387 buses, thanks to the divisions VP Chris Fong who led the bidding process. This was the largest graphics film purchase in 3Ms purchase territory within the history of Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. The Wilmington store was opened on March 1st as the next phase of an 8 year expansion strategy. Stake holders in the company are confident that this organic growth combined with strategic acquisitions will lead them to the ultimate goal of operating nationally with revenues surpassing $50 million. Following careful marketing research this team found Wilmington to be the most beneficial advancement. They have already proudly tackled uplifting the community by working with the Wilmington International Airport, as well as numerous conservation projects for two major school districts. Over the next three years they hope to become the largest window tinting and graphics provider in the state of North Carolina. This company respects and honors the North Carolina community. They have extreme optimism as they prepare to become a national firm that markets all over the U.S, focusing specifically on areas east of Missouri. Their motto rings true to the quality of the service theres no greater satisfaction than a job well done and that is an understatement when it comes to the outcome of their products! Sioux Chief Manufacturing recently named Kyle Meagher as Regional Sales Manager for territories in the western U.S. Meagher moves into this new role after having positions in both Customer Service and Regional Sales Support for Sioux Chief. Meagher is very familiar with the territories he will be responsible for, and has been working with the sales reps in those areas since 2014. Kyle was already an important part of the sales department, said Michael Foster, Director of National Sales. He has a sincere commitment to Sioux Chief and our Reps. With his work ethic, creativity and responsiveness, I knew he was ready to take on this position. Im honored to be a part of the value Sioux Chief brings to the plumbing industry, said Meagher. It is very rewarding pioneering new products and providing solutions to contractors. Ive learned through Sioux Chief that theres real power in doing something you believe in. Before working at Sioux Chief, Meagher studied business at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. For more information on Sioux Chief, visit their website at http://www.siouxchief.com. Kokomo, Indiana, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, released on Thursday, June 15 a solicitation in which it outlined plans to bring on a small business contractor to renovate Building 667 on Grissom Air Reserve Base in Indiana. The contractor who receives the contract must be a certified small business, and also must provide the materials, engineering, labor, supervision, and inspection required to renovate Building 667. According to the solicitation, the scope of the project includes, but is not limited to: Upgrading communications, mass notifications, alarms, and emergency lighting to comply with applicable codes Upgrading HVAC, plumbing, restroom fixtures, electrical wiring, and lighting to comply with current energy standards Upgrading parking, sidewalks, curbs, and ramps to comply with applicable handicap access standards Replacing floor, wall, and ceilings The contractor has 270 calendar days from the day the contract is signed to complete the project, with no designated winter exclusion period. The Air Force also in its solicitation indicated that it expects the renovation to cost between $1 million and $5 million. The relevant NAICS Code is 236220, with a small business size standard of $36.5 million. Responses are due by no later than 2 p.m. on June 19, and can be e-mailed to Contracting Officer Don A. Roque at don.roque.1@us.af.mil and to Contract Specialist Michelle R. Long at michelle.long.3@us.af.mil. The contractor who receives this contract also must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) database and have as part of the Registration all current Representations and Certifications. US Federal Contractor Registration, the worlds largest third-party government registration firm, completes the required Registrations on behalf of its clients. It also makes available information about opportunities like this, as well as training on how to locate, research, and respond to opportunities. We also make available for our clients and for contracting officers our proprietary Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS). Our Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS) gives you in one place instant bid notifications, bid proposal prospecting, and information about government procurement officers. We make this search tool available to clients, as part of our commitment to helping each and every USFCR client succeed and thrive as a government contractor. For contracting officers, the AFPDS gives them in one place access to a database of available contractors and also a place to post information about opportunities. Contracting officers get free access to AFPDS. We also provide interested contracting officers a list of contractors who may be able to provide a service and/or product that they need. For more information, to get started with a SAM registration, to learn more about how US Federal Contractor Registration can help your business succeed, to find out how we can help you complete the processes necessary to become certified as one or more types of small business(es), and/or to speak with our federal training specialists about how to craft a memorable proposal, call 877-252-2700, ext. 1. Almost five years after Superstorm Sandy, one third of homeowners in several coastal states are still unaware of hurricane deductibles and how they work, a new Insurance Research Council (IRC) poll has found. The findings come as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects two to four major hurricanes this hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 through November 1. Homeowners in New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Texas were asked whether they were familiar with hurricane deductibles, which is a higher deductible found in homeowners insurance policies that applies when a hurricane occurs. Not only did 33 percent of respondents say they had never heard of these deductibles or were not sure what they were, one quarter of respondents lacked an understanding of deductibles in general. The findings from this survey suggest that ample room exists for educating homeowners about a key feature of every homeowners insurance policydeductibles, said Elizabeth Sprinkel, senior vice president of the IRC. The need is especially acute as the 2017 hurricane season gets underway and insurers hope to minimize post-event misunderstandings with their policyholders regarding deductibles. Hurricane deductibles were a prominent issue in 2012, with misunderstanding and confusion due to the fact that Sandy did not make landfall as a hurricane. These deductibles, which became more common after insurers suffered heavy losses from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, are often calculated as a percentage of the insured value of a home, another concept the IRC survey found unfamiliar to homeowners. One in three respondents with percentage-based hurricane deductibles did not know or were unsure of the percentage applicable to their deductible, and four in 10 did not understand the basis for calculating the deductible. One in four respondents incorrectly thought the percentage was applied to the total amount of their claim. The survey also found that the level of understanding of hurricane deductibles varied across the five states studied. Compared with respondents in the other states, New Jersey respondents demonstrated the lowest level of awareness and understanding of several hurricane deductible issues, despite the fact that about 346,000 homes in New Jersey were damaged or destroyed by Sandy. The report, Public Understanding of Hurricane Deductibles, Need for Consumer Education Persists, is based on an online survey conducted by GfK Public Affairs & Corporate Communications on behalf of the IRC. 1,047 homeowners were surveyed 200 or more in each of the 5 states studied. Only homeowners living in selected counties where the home involved was their primary residence and with insurance coverage purchased exclusively from private insurance companies were included in the survey. For more detailed information on the studys methodology and findings, contact David Corum at 484-831-9046 or by email at IRC(at)TheInstitutes.org. Visit IRCs website, http://www.insurance-research.org, for information about purchasing a copy of the report. ### NOTE TO EDITORS: The Insurance Research Council is a division of the American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (The Institutes). The Institutes are the leader in delivering proven knowledge solutions that drive powerful business results for the risk management and property-casualty insurance industry. Institute knowledge solutions include the CPCU designation program; associate designation programs in areas such as claims, risk management, underwriting, and reinsurance; introductory and foundation programs; online courses; research; custom solutions; assessment tools; and continuing education (CE) courses for licensed insurance professionals and adjusters through its CEU business unit. The IRC provides timely and reliable research to all parties involved in public policy issues affecting insurance companies and their customers. The IRC does not lobby or advocate legislative positions. It is supported by leading property-casualty insurance organizations. Tobacco Road Partners, a private investment partnership led by entrepreneurs Brandon Garcilazo and Keith Laabs, announced today that it has completed its initial fundraising and has begun a search for acquisition targets. Garcilazo and Laabs, backed by a team of successful entrepreneurs, executives and investors, are interested in acquiring a single privately-owned, high potential business. Tobacco Road Partners will look to acquire a lower-middle market company with $10 - 40 million in annual revenue, two to seven million in annual cash flow and a history of consistent profitability. The team will explore opportunities in the business services, healthcare services and IT/software industries, among others, in a search that will span the United States, but primarily focus on the Southeastern U.S. Tobacco Road Partners seeks an investment opportunity in which a current owner-operator is looking to transition away from daily operations. Post-acquisition, both Laabs and Garcilazo will take on senior leadership roles within the business and dedicate their efforts to long-term growth of the company. Garcilazo and Laabs met at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Garcilazo has a background in investment banking with J.P. Morgan, middle market private equity with H.I.G. Capital, management consulting with McKinsey & Co. and private equity portfolio company operations. Laabs has a background in management consulting at both Bain and McKinsey & Co., as well as strategy and M&A at Coca-Cola, and operations at Rubicon Global, a high-growth, venture-backed business in the waste management space. Gerald Risk, vice chairman and former president of Asurion, expressed anticipation for the newly formed venture. We are excited to be partners with Brandon and Keith. They are exactly the kind of high potential, early career leaders we love to back, said Risk, We believe the combination of their operational experience, educational background, and raw talent positions these two entrepreneurs to help the owner of one great company achieve their liquidity and succession objectives. Coley Andrews, co-founder and managing member of Pacific Lake Partners added, We are delighted to be partnered with Brandon and Keith on their endeavor to acquire and grow a great small business. Aaron Gabbart, vice president at Peterson Partners stated, The Peterson Partners team is eager to team up with Brandon and Keith as they endeavor to become entrepreneurs through acquisition. We believe their professional background and unique skillset will bring them success as investors during their search and as operators in an acquired business. Garcilazo commented, "Our goal is to provide a small business owner with an attractive exit alternative, while protecting their legacy, by providing investment capital, a dedicated leadership team, entrepreneurial energy, and deep operational expertise." "We will bring continuity to the customers, employees and community of an acquired business, Laabs added. We have a unique long-term perspective, enabling us to add and unlock value, free of artificial deadlines." About Tobacco Road Partners Tobacco Road Partners, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a private investment partnership focused on acquiring a single company, and growing the business over the long term. Backed by a team of successful entrepreneurs, executives, and investors, Tobacco Road Partners aims to invest in a business with two to seven million in annual cash flow. The firm is particularly well-positioned to be an attractive exit option for business owners who are looking to transition away from day-to-day operations, as Tobacco Road Partners offers both investment capital and a dedicated management team. http://www.tobaccoroadpartners.com Kettera Strategies LLC and its Hydra marketplace, a global platform providing investors with access, daily transparency, intra-month liquidity and notional funding to established and emerging alternative asset managers, today announced that Dr. Nicola Meaden Grenham, co-founder of Dumas Capital, has been named Strategic Adviser to the firm. We have the highest respect for Nicola and her many accomplishments in the alternatives sector, said Terri Engelman Rhoads, Kettera President. We look forward to working with Nicola as Strategic Adviser to help expand our footprint internationally. Ketteras Hydra marketplace uses technology to advance the requirements of investors and investment managers seeking to expand their relationships and enhance their activities in the ever-developing sector of asset management. Im excited to work with Kettera to help familiarize the European market with Hydras many benefits, said Dr. Grenham. Hydra gives investors high levels of flexibility, liquidity, capital efficiency and transparency in addition to providing managers with access to new markets. Serving as Strategic Adviser to Kettera, Dr. Grenham brings more than 20 years experience in the alternative investment sector. She is co-founder of Dumas Capital Ltd., a Dublin-based specialist consultancy firm. In 1990 she founded TASS, the hedge fund industrys first electronic global information and research company. Dr. Grenham then established the Blackstone Groups international hedge fund business in London and from 2008 to 2012 served as Chief Executive of Alpha Strategic Plc. About Hydra and Kettera Strategies Kettera Strategies LLC owns and operates Hydra, a leading independent, custody-based managed account marketplace. Hydra provides institutional investors, family offices, wealth managers and high net worth investors with efficient access to global macro, FX, volatility and managed futures strategies. More than 40 investment strategies are available on Hydra. Hydra allows investors to access single managers or create bespoke, multi-manager portfolios from an array of established and emerging managers. The marketplace is custody-based and offers enhanced liquidity, partial funding and daily performance reporting. Hydra is independent and objective, freeing it from conflicts of interests often associated with bank and brokerage based groups. Important Risk Information The past performance of any investment product or any trading advisor associated with the Hydra marketplace is not necessarily indicative of the future results of either this investment product or any corresponding segregated portfolio (the Hydra Cell). There is no guarantee or representation made that any Hydra Cell investment program, trading manager or investment product associated therewith will be successful. Startupbootcamp, one of the worlds largest and most influential innovation engines, has opened applications for its digital health program in Miami. Entrepreneurs working at the intersection of healthcare and technology with proven and tested models are encouraged to apply from now until Sept. 1st, 2017. Companies chosen to participate in the program will receive funding, implementation opportunities across a diverse array of healthcare providers, insurers and pharma companies, a mentor network of industry leaders and top-tier healthcare investors and a comprehensive suite of services. Last years program chose less than five percent of applicants and resulted in multiple implementations and financings from Miami Childrens Hospital, University of Miami, Florida Blue, Jackson Health System, Univision and many others. Read more here. Serial entrepreneur Wolf Shlagman, CEO of CareAngel, and Founder of Consulta-a-Doc (sold to Teladoc and Kleiner Perkins) highlighted: The program surpassed our expectations and resulted in multiple customer contracts and venture financing. I highly recommend this program to any serious entrepreneur looking to take their healthcare business to the next level. Companies chosen to participate will join Miamis growing healthtech ecosystem. Named #1 in startup activity this year by the Kauffman Foundation, Miami counts 16 hospitals, over 1,000 life science companies and a legacy of successful healthcare companies including Mako Surgical (sold to Stryker), Simply Healthcare (sold to Anthem) and Navarro Discount Pharmacy (sold to CVS). Dr. Narendra Kini, CEO at Miami Childrens Hospital, a Startupbootcamp partner commented on Miamis expanding ecosystem: We expect to see the next major healthcare players originate in Miami. Startupbootcamp has really brought to life the technology startup scene in Miami. By focusing on health it is really building out the ecosystem for innovation. Startupbootcamp launched its first U.S. program in Miami in November 2015 with the support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and other partners. Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director for Miami, commented on Miamis appetite for fresh talent: Miamis growing startup scene, coupled with Startupbootcamps track record in helping to accelerate companies, offers entrepreneurs a great opportunity to scale and find success. We look forward to seeing the ideas that a new batch of local and global talent can bring to our innovation ecosystem. Apply here: https://www.f6s.com/startupbootcampdigitalhealthmiami18/apply About Startupbootcamp Startupbootcamp is a global family of industry-focused innovation programs with 20 programs globally and a mentor network across 30 countries. In Miami, Startupbootcamp has partnered with the Knight Foundation, Miami Children's Hospital, University of Miami Health System, Univision and private healthcare investors for its innovation program and seed fund focused on transforming healthcare from Miami. To date, the Miami program has invested in ten companies from across the US, Latin America and Israel. For more, visit: http://www.startupbootcamp.org/accelerator/digital-health-miami/ Google Ad Grants for Non Profits Behind word-of-mouth among Chapelwood members, this was by far our most effective method of advertising the festival! Red Iron Marketing, a complete Web marketing agency specializing in Web design, online marketing strategy and SEO for churches and other nonprofit organizations, announces the launch of a new service designed to help nonprofit organizations take advantage of Google Ad Grants and claim their share of free AdWords advertising dollars up to $10,000 per month. Google AdWords is a powerful way for nonprofits to build brand awareness and share their compelling stories to gain support for their mission and vision. Through the Google Ad Grant program, a philanthropic initiative launched by the technology giant as part of Google for Nonprofits, qualified organizations can apply for and receive up to $10,000 per month in free Google AdWords to run text ads on Google Search, raising their organizations visibility. Red Iron Marketing has launched a new service to educate nonprofit leaders about the availability of AdWords funding and to help them apply for Google Ad Grants. Nonprofit organizations may learn that they can get up to $10,000 in AdWords advertisingcompletely freeand wonder, Whats the catch? There are some daily limits to the ad budget and cost-per-click. But theres no catch. The program fits perfectly with Googles corporate philosophy of serving those who help others, says Toby Dagenhart, president and founder of Red Iron Marketing. How Nonprofits Can Qualify for $10,000 in AdWords To qualify, nonprofit organizations in the U.S. must hold valid 501(c)(3) status for a charitable, educational, religious, literary, scientific, or other tax-exempt purpose, and be registered with their local TechSoup organization. Organizations must acknowledge and agree to Googles required certifications regarding nondiscrimination and donation receipt and use. Interested organizations can begin by applying to Google for Nonprofits. In addition, organizations must have a live website with substantial content. The organization can use that content as the basis for AdWords campaigns, with ads and keywords matching the nonprofits programs and services. Furthermore, the AdWords account must be actively managed, with an administrator logging in at least once a month and making one change to the account every 90 days. Organizations are limited to a budget of $329 per day, with a maximum cost-per-click (CPC) of $2, and are not required to spend the entire $10,000 each monthalthough funds cannot be rolled over. Red Iron Marketing Helps Nonprofits Spend AdWords Dollars Wisely Applying is easy, but some nonprofits may not have the staff or time to begin the process. In addition, managing a successful AdWords campaign takes time, knowledge, and staff that nonprofits may not have.. Whatever an organizations level of expertise, whether the nonprofit needs help getting started or would like to take its advertising program deeper to make the most of the grant money, Red Irons new service is designed to assist. We want to help nonprofit organizations take advantage of this programfirst and foremost, simply by educating them about its existence and, secondly, using our expertise in Web design and search engine marketing to help nonprofits get the most out of Googles in-kind donation, says Dagenhart. With experts specializing in AdWords, search engine marketing, and Web design, Red Iron Marketing can help nonprofits find the best keywords, create optimized text-based campaigns, and even produce optimized Web pages to help achieve the organizations objectives. From promotions for local events to calls for donations or volunteers, Google AdWords campaigns can be more effective than traditional advertising channels, including local television and radio ads, store flyers, and local newspaper advertising. We used Google AdWords text-based search ads heavily to get the word out about our Easter Egg Hunt and Family festival, says Whitney Hall, Special Events Coordinator for Childrens Ministries at Chapelwood (TX) United Methodist Church. Behind word-of-mouth among Chapelwood members, this was by far our most effective method of advertising the festival!" If a nonprofit hasnt used AdWords in the past, this opportunity to try it is too good to pass up, says Dagenhart. Any nonprofit can maximize their ad spend and leverage the platform to its highest capabilities with Google Ad Grants. About Red Iron Marketing Based in Houston, Red Iron Marketing is a complete Web design and search engine marketing agency dedicated to helping churches, educational facilities, and nonprofit organizations share their stories, manage their online reputations, and promote their mission and vision using todays technology. Red Iron Marketing offers a full range of services including domain name registration, custom site design and development, website marketing, and fully customized website applications.For more information, visit http://www.redironmarketing.com or email info@redironmarketing.com. To schedule a media interview or for more details about Red Irons Google for Nonprofit services or other Web design or Web marketing services, contact Toby Dagenhart, 713-515-2658. DFW Senior Living communities ask neighbors to donate the gift of music to seniors enrolled in local MUSIC & MEMORY programs. The communities we serve are limited on how many residents we can provide their personalized playlist to due to device accessibility, Three local senior care facilities are holding a Music Drive to help Texas residents in need. Partnered with Lifetime Wellness, organizers with Settlers Ridge Care Center (Celina), Villages on MacArthur (Irving), and Williamsburg Village Healthcare Campus (DeSoto) are seeking community donations from June 14 through July 12, 2017 to benefit seniors enrolled in the MUSIC & MEMORY programs. MUSIC & MEMORY is a non-profit organization which provides personalized music to those in nursing homes and other care organizations who suffer from a wide range of cognitive and physical challenges. Research proves that music helps trigger memories and improve quality of life in those struggling with Alzheimers or dementia. The communities we serve are limited on how many residents we can provide their personalized playlist to due to device accessibility, says Susan McKinney, VP of Operations for Lifetime Wellness. Wed love to provide each resident with a personal device loaded with their favorite music and to spread the contributions to our fellow neighbors who also offer the MUSIC & MEMORY program. Who/Where: 1. Settlers Ridge Care Center Celina 2. Villages on MacArthur Irving 3. Williamsburg Village Healthcare Campus DeSoto When: June 14, 2017 to July 12, 2017. What: The facilities are kindly asking for the following donation items. New and used devices (example: iPods or MP3 players in working condition) Device chargers New over-the-ear headphones iTunes gift cards Monetary contributions Judy Buczkowski is one of the first patients to participants in the local MUSIC and MEMORY program. Buczkowski has limited psychomotor skills and dementia limits her ability to communicate. Her playlists are composed of classic hits from the 1970s like Eddie Floyd, Gloria Gaynor and the Trammps. Buczkowskis husband of nearly 50 years says the music has proven to be a priceless tool. I have witnessed the reactions Judy and other residents have while listening to their music, says John Buczkowski. Judy will smile and perk up when she has her earbuds on. The music brings back something that I can't explain. Any smile or reaction I see in Judy lets me know that she is still with me. If she smiles, it brings a smile to my face as well. It is so heartwarming to see her reactions to the music. About Settlers Ridge Care Center: Located in North Denton and Collin County, Settlers Ridge Care Center of Celina is a registered Eden Alternative community with a beautiful memory care neighborhood. We are dedicated to the spirit of our residents and committed to creating a better social and physical environment for living life to the fullest. For more information, please visit: http://srsnf.com. About Villages on MacArthur: Villages on MacArthur is a senior living complex like no other, offering skilled care, rehabilitation and memory care. At Villages on MacArthur, we recognize that sometimes the transition from hospital to home is not easy. Thats why we strive every day to provide consistent quality care and the best rehabilitative services to our residents. To learn more, please visit: http://villagesonmacarthur.com. About Williamsburg Village Healthcare Campus: Williamsburg Village Healthcare Campus is a compassionate skilled nursing team, comprehensive rehabilitation services, and a versatile memory care program help each resident live life to the fullest. Visit http://wvsnf.com for more information. About Lifetime Wellness Lifetime Wellness, LTD, provides quality comprehensive wellness programs to all our partners. Our customized approach affords us the opportunity to improve the quality of lives of all those we touch. Our goal is to ensure that every client we assist is provided with all the tools necessary to achieve success. Our clients include Independent Living, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing and Rehab, and Memory Care Facilities. Learn more at http://www.LifetimeWellness.us. Getting paid for medical services is not a certainty unless documentation supports it. AudioEducator, a division of audio conference and corporate education leader ProEdTech, will host the live webinar 2017 CMS Guidelines for Physician Documentation with industry veteran Melody S. Irvine, CPC, CPMA, CEMC, CFPC, CPB, CPC-I, CCS-P, CMRS on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 1:00 pm ET. This session will identify common errors in medical record documentation that affect physician reimbursement. Most physicians understand the importance of documenting services effectively and yet still miss crucial elements while documenting services. To ensure proper reimbursement, improving clinical documentation is essential, especially since physicians are increasingly subjected to pre- and post-payment audits, as well as third-party scrutiny. Even when physicians have been getting paid for their services, continuing payment is not a certainty unless their documentation supports the services they provided. Payment can be affected by lack of specificity in clinical documentation, but connecting it with quality of care and physician reimbursement remains a challenge. This session with expert speaker Melody S. Irvine will help physicians analyze documentation for the biggest issues affecting their reimbursement. Melody will identify common errors in medical record documentation by reviewing examples of actual documentation. The session will help auditors, office managers, physicians, and coders understand: Importance of proper physician documentation General principles of documentation Documentation legal aspects Documentation guidelines from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Importance of auditing documentation OIG recommendations Improvement in clinical documentation Common documentation errors identified by the Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC) and Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) programs Common evaluation and management (E&M) services identified by CERT How to identify incomplete documentation Medicares policy on medical necessity Insights on E&M medical necessity Legal ramifications of incorrect documentation For more information and to register, visit: https://www.AudioEducator.com/medical-coding-billing/cms-guidelines-for-physician-documentation.html About ProEdTech ProEdTech is a leading source of knowledge and training for professionals in over 15 industries, serving individuals, businesses and their employees around the globe. It offers webinars, online conferences, seminars, boot camps, books, DVDs, white papers, industry reports and other learning tools from industry experts and insiders who provide a fresh perspective on key issues, trends and regulations in order to simplify governance, risk and compliance (GRC) for enterprises and industry professionals. ProEdTechs AudioEducator webinars offer updates, regulatory knowledge and information on the latest news in various medical specialties, as well as coding and billing updates, and analysis of regulations that affect ambulatory surgical centers, home health, long term care and hospice facilities, hospitals and healthcare systems, health insurers and physician practices. Webinars are also offered through AudioSolutionz in the technology, human resources, construction and housing, ICT and telecom, manufacturing, consumer packaged goods and retail, safety and security, transportation, energy and environment, education, trade, and chemicals industries. ProEdTechs Eli Financial platform offers tax and banking professionals, focusing on providing high-quality online training products customized for U.S. lenders and tax practitioners that include the latest updates from the IRS, CFPB and other regulatory authorities. Lawyers across the United States depend on Eli CLE for top quality online continuing legal education (CLE) programs, which can be completed for MCLE credits. ProEdTech regularly provides professionals the opportunity to get answers to their most complex questions directly from experts, without having to attend costly live conferences. To learn more, visit: http://www.ProEdTech.com. Resonance Consultancy, the leading advisors in real estate, tourism, and economic development for countries, cities and communities, is pleased pleased to announce America's Best Cities, a ranking of the 50 Best Large American cities as well as the 50 Best Small American Cities. The winning cities were unveiled at a June 14 awards celebration at New York University sponsored by National Geographic Travel, who will use the Resonance ranking and insights for future editorial and content projects. This is one of the most comprehensive American city rankings ever attempteddeveloped to quantify and benchmark the relative quality of place, reputation and competitive identity for U.S. principal cities with metropolitan populations of 200,000 or more. The ranking analyzes and compares 27 factors in six key categories using a combination of core statistics and online ratings and reviews. This helps cities understand their strengths and weaknesses through the lens of the people who matter most: their residents and visitors. A COMPREHENSIVE RANKING OF AMERICAS BEST CITIES For more than a decade, Resonance has created place-branding strategies, tourism and economic development plans and trend reports for city, tourism and economic development organizations, says Resonance President and CEO Chris Fair. We do this to empower place managers and marketers with new tools and perspectives on the key factors that shape a citys competitive identity, community well-being, and future prosperity. Fair says his firm has come to understand that traditional performance indicators aloneeconomic output, investment and visitor numbers, for exampledont reveal the whole story for cities and their tourism and economic development agencies. Visitors and citizens themselves are increasingly influencing the identity and perception of cities through the millions of evaluations of experiences they share online with family, friends and people around the world. Much more than traditional marketing, these opinions and attitudes influence the way people perceive places and shape where talent, tourism and investment flow, he says. This social media data also provides a rich new source of information to benchmark the experiential quality of one city to the next. So without further ado, here are Americas Best Cities in 2017 LARGE CITIES (POP. 1 MILLION+) New York Chicago Los Angeles San Francisco Las Vegas San Diego Houston Miami Seattle Washington SMALL CITIES (POP. UNDER 1 MILLION) Honolulu Tucson Charleston Omaha Albuquerque Tulsa Myrtle Beach Madison Asheville El Paso The full 2017 Worlds Best City Brands Report can be downloaded for free at BestCities.org. Follow on Twitter and Instagram @ResonanceCo #BestCities ABOUT RESONANCE CONSULTANCY As leading advisors in real estate, tourism, and economic development for three decades, Resonance combines business strategy and marketing creativity to shape the future of communities, cities and countries. Our services span place development strategy, place marketing, placemaking and place branding. Our team has completed more than 100 visioning, strategy, planning, policy and branding projects for destinations and developers in more than 70 countries. We work with developers, planners, architects, DMOs, economic development agencies and others to make places the best they can be. To learn more about us and our services, please visit ResonanceCo.com. 30 For more information or interviews, please contact: Sara Peary Vice President, Public Relations Resonance Consultancy 1-949-887-4476 speary(at)resonanceco(dot)com As the eCommerce industry continues to boom and mature, marketers need an easy way to analyze the deluge of data around customer experience to ensure their site is more efficient, easier to use, said Jeff Catlin, CEO of Lexalytics Lexalytics, the leader in cloud and on-prem text analytics solutions, announced today the eCommerce Industry Pack, a specialized version of the companys text analytics software. The eCommerce Industry Pack is engineered to help online retailers enhance the customer experience, including checkout and payments, shipping and delivery, and the sites overall shopping performance. The eCommerce Industry Pack leverages Lexalytics deep experience in developing natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML) and (AI) artificial intelligence technologies to gain insights from large volumes of data. Retailers and social media marketers can quickly analyze feedback from sources such as online comment sessions, customer surveys, product reviews, social media and call logs to uncover correlations that arent obvious to humans. For example, if a marketer receives negative customer feedback around the holiday shopping season related to shipping and delivery issues, were the majority of those comments about a particular shipping carrier? Retailers using the eCommerce Industry Pack can quickly examine that information to determine what might be happening with that carrier. As the eCommerce industry continues to boom and mature, marketers need an easy way to analyze the deluge of data around customer experience to ensure their site is more efficient, easier to use and more interesting than any of the latest crop of exciting startups. We can help them ensure that any issues are quickly addressed while theyre still manageable, well before they get to the point that customers and careers are adversely affected, said Jeff Catlin, CEO of Lexalytics. The eCommerce Industry Pack is our latest offering to help customers in specific vertical industries get valuable insights, right out of the box. The eCommerce Industry Pack contains over 100 eCommerce-specific entities, including the names of major eCommerce sites, payment and shipping services, and loyalty programs. The pack also includes more than 4,800 sentiment phrases drawn from original eCommerce feedback straight from customers. In a test of over 1,000 documents, the Lexalytics eCommerce Industry Pack achieved 87 percent overall agreement with human annotators, far surpassing the gold standard at which humans agree of approximately 80 percent. In addition, Lexalytics offers complex intention analysis for eCommerce, identifying whether someone intends to buy, sell, quit or recommend a product or service. In doing so, Lexalytics empowers the company or sales team with immediately actionable information on the state of important leads the lifeblood of any company. The Lexalytics eCommerce Industry Pack is now available for Lexalytics on-premise Salience and SaaS Semantria platforms. For more, please visit https://www.lexalytics.com/technology/industry-packs or contact sales(at)lexalytics(dot)com. About Lexalytics Processing billions of unstructured documents every day globally, Lexalytics is the industry leader in translating text into profitable decisions. Lexalytics deploys state-of the-art cloud and on-prem text and sentiment analysis technologies that transform customers thoughts and conversations into actionable insights. The on-premise Salience and SaaS Semantria platforms are implemented in a variety of industries for social media monitoring, reputation management and voice of the customer programs. Based in Boston, MA, Lexalytics has offices in the US and Canada. For more information, please visit http://www.lexalytics.com, email sales(at)lexalytics(dot)com or call 1-617-249-1049. Follow Lexalytics on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Discovery by Pitt researchers in mouse models suggest that targeting a sub-population of immune cells could unlock the potential of immunotherapy to help successfully treat more cancers. Researchers at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC have discovered a clue that could unlock the potential of immunotherapy drugs to successfully treat more cancers. The findings, published in Cell, were made in mice and showed that targeting a sub-population of immune cells called regulatory T cells could be an effective approach to treating cancers. The findings also point to what could be an important mechanism by which current immunotherapy drugs work, providing clues to making them more effective. Immunotherapy drugs that push the immune system to detect and kill cancer cells have been successful against several cancers, yet they are still only effective in approximately 10 to 30 percent of patients with certain tumor types. Exactly why these drugs dont work in more patients has remained a mystery. The discovery points to what could be an important mechanism by which current immunotherapy drugs work, providing clues to making them more effective. Regulatory T cells (Tregs; pronounced tee-regs) help maintain a delicate balance in our immune system. They act like a dimmer switch, keeping the lights bright enough to detect and eliminate threats, but not so bright that our own cells are hurt, said Dario Vignali, Ph.D., who holds the Frank Dixon Chair in Cancer Immunology, and is professor and vice chair of immunology at Pitts School of Medicine. In cancer, Tregs can be detrimental because by turning down the lights, they prevent the immune system from detecting and killing cancer cells. While creating drugs to eliminate Tregs may seem like a logical approach to treatment, they could lead to life-threatening autoimmune complications, making them unusable in cancer patients. Thus, we need to identify approaches that selectively target Tregs in tumors, sparing those outside the tumor, said Vignali, who also is co-director of the Cancer Immunology Program at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. A few years ago, Vignali and his colleagues discovered that a surface protein called neuropilin-1 (Nrp1), which is expressed on almost all Tregs that infiltrated mouse tumors, was required to maintain the function, integrity and survival of Tregs within the harsh tumor microenvironment. Thus, Nrp1 on Tregs helps suppress the bodys natural anti-tumor immune response thereby helping the tumor survive. Importantly, blocking or deleting Nrp1 in Tregs in mice only impacted their function in tumors and not in the rest of the body, resulting in tumor eradication without inducing autoimmune or inflammatory disease. What weve shown in the current study is that in mice, Nrp1 expression by Tregs is required to maintain their ability to prevent the immune system from clearing the tumor. Interestingly, when Tregs lose Nrp1, they not only fail to suppress, they also become active participants in the anti-tumor immune response, said Vignali. Intriguingly, we also found that in cancer patients who had a poor prognosis, the Nrp1-expressing Treg subset was much higher, suggesting that the findings could apply to humans as well. To arrive at their findings, the research team created a genetically modified mouse model in which the Nrp1 gene was deleted in only half the Treg cell population, but not the other half. Tumor growth in this model, they found, was dramatically reduced when compared to a normal mouse in which Nrp1 was present in all Tregs. Not only did Tregs without Nrp1 have a reduced ability to turn down the lights, they also prevented the normal Treg population from performing their own immunosuppressive functions. This allowed the immune system to see and attack the tumor, said Abigail E. Overacre-Delgoffe, a graduate student in Vignalis lab and the first author of the Cell study. Genomic and cellular analyses revealed that a secreted immune molecule called interferon-gamma (IFN) prevented the dimmer switch function of Tregs in the mice, particularly and selectively in the tumor microenvironment. Using another genetically modified mouse model, they found that the role of IFN in diminishing Treg function was crucial to the success of immunotherapies targeting the PD1 protein that have been proven to be very effective in patients. While we thought that IFN might impact the function of Tregs and thus influence immunotherapy outcome, the magnitude of the effect really took us by surprise. When we deleted the receptor for IFN in Tregs so they were no longer sensitive to the impact of IFN, the immunotherapy drug had absolutely no effect, said Vignali. In essence, IFN seems to make Tregs fragile so that they lose their suppressive function, but only in the tumor. Thus, maybe making Tregs fragile is a critical requirement for effective immunotherapy. Overall, the authors note that their findings are significant because they show that if we can get a portion of the tumor-associated Tregs to lose their immunosuppressive functionspossibly by using IFNit may be enough to set off a chain reaction where these cells can influence other tumor-associated Tregs, consequently promoting anti-tumor immunity without the adverse autoimmune side effects. Additionally, in the near-term, tracking Treg functional fragility may prove to be an effective approach to monitor whether immunotherapy treatments are effective in patients. Additional authors on the study are Maria Chikina, Ph.D., Rebekah E. Dadey, Hiroshi Yano, Ph.D., Erin A. Brunazzi, Gulidanna Shayan, William Horne, Ph.D., Jessica M. Moskovitz, Jay K. Kolls, M.D., Cindy Sander, Yongli Shuai, Daniel P. Normolle, Ph.D., John M. Kirkwood, M.D., Robert L. Ferris, M.D., Ph.D., Greg M. Delgoffe, Ph.D., Tullia C. Bruno, Ph.D., and Creg J. Workman, Ph.D., all of Pitt. The study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01 CA203689, F31 CA189441, CA047904, CA21765, CA097190, CA121973, P30 CA047904, S10 OD011925, S10 OD019942, and the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. Vignali and Delgoffe have disclosed competing financial interests and have submitted patents regarding Nrp1 that are pending or granted. Calgary, Alberta, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- - Aeromexico, Mexico's global airline, started to serve its fourth Canadian destination the Calgary-Mexico City route on June 1, with daily nonstop service. The new flight is operated with the carrier's Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 160 seats including 16 in Clase Premier, Aeromexico's Business Class cabin, with the following flight schedules: Calgary Mexico City* Mexico City - Calgary* AM 613 11:30 p.m. 6:05 a.m. Daily AM 612 6:00 p.m. 10:30 p.m. Daily *Times are published in local time and are subject to changes without notice. The addition of Calgary to our route network in Canada strengthens our presence by providing another travel option to Central Canada. Aeromexico currently serves the four largest cities in Canada, establishing us as one of the best options to travel directly from Mexico City to the province of Alberta while allowing our customers traveling from Canada to connect to Leon (Bajio), Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, among the 44 destinations we serve in Mexico," said Anko van der Werff, Aeromexico's Chief Revenue Officer. "This destination is known for its growing oil and gas industry, and is ideal for business travelers looking to fly directly to Calgary without having to stop in other cities in Canada. Calgary is also a hub where our codeshare partner WestJet allows us to aggressively expand connectivity options to 35 destinations nationwide." Anko added. Aeromexicos new daily non-stop service from YYC Calgary International Airport to Mexico City provides an important new link to a growing business market, allowing a number of industries in our province to benefit from a direct connection to one of Canadas largest trading partners, said Bob Sartor, President and CEO for The Calgary Airport Authority. As our city and province works to diversify the economy, YYC will continue to play a significant role in driving the economy forward by creating new business and tourism opportunities through our extensive route network. Increasing air access to keep the province competitive in the market place is essential as our government works to strengthen and diversify Albertas economy. Alberta is ready to welcome more visitors, investors, and trade partners from Mexico, said Alberta Culture and Tourism Minister Ricardo Miranda. This new, direct route is estimated to create more than 300 jobs and generate $46 million in economic output for the province, putting Alberta on the map as a world-class tourism destination and a great place to invest. Bienvenido a Alberta! In 2011, Aeromexico started to serve the Canadian market with direct service to Montreal, Quebec and in just six years, the carrier has expanded its presence to the country's Central, Western and Eastern provinces. In addition, as of June 19 this year, the airline will increase service to two daily flights from Mexico City to Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, for the summer season through August 20, offering more than 9,900 seats per week and more than 60 nonstop flights to all customers traveling to this northernmost country on the North American continent. oo00oo About Grupo Aeromexico Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V. is a holding company whose subsidiaries provide commercial aviation services and promote passenger loyalty programs in Mexico. Aeromexico, Mexicos global airline, offers more than 600 daily flights and operates its main hub out of Terminal 2 at the Mexico City International Airport. Its route network spans more than 80 cities on three continents including 45 in Mexico, 22 in the United States, 15 in Latin America, four in Canada, four in Europe and three in Asia. Grupo Aeromexico's fleet of close to 120 aircraft includes Boeing 787, 777, and 737 jet airliners and next generation Embraer 170 and 190 models. In 2012, the airline announced the most significant investment strategy in aviation history in Mexico, to purchase up to 100 Boeing aircraft including 90 MAX 737 airliners and ten B787-9 Dreamliners. As a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, SkyTeam offers customers more than 1,000 destinations in 177 countries served by the 20 SkyTeam airline partners, rewarding passengers with benefits including access to 672 premium airport lounges around the world. Aeromexico also offers travel options with its codeshare partners Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, and WestJet with extensive connectivity in countries like the United States, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. www.aeromexico.com and www.skyteam.com Attachments: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/534eea3e-21e8-49b8-9689-bd556fa5ffca Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/05964bea-3cf3-4daa-a857-441b26239c6e I thank my team. Each day they work incredibly hard to build our business. This award is for them. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (June 13, 2017) Fort Lauderdale-based Future Energy Solutions (FES) was honored with a 2017 South Florida Good to Great Award by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. The Award recognizes businesses that have achieved greatness in their mission and established themselves as industry leaders. Honored in the 51 to 249 employees category, FES joins a select group of previous winners that includes Royal Caribbean, Burger King Corporation, FPL and AutoNation, among several other highly successful companies. Its unparalleled business model, the Gold Initiative Program, drives Future Energy Solutions success. Offering qualifying business owners a zero capital cost lighting upgrade, the widely accepted Program provides energy efficient fixtures and installation, while assuming all maintenance liabilities for its new lighting solutions. Drawn from Jim Collins book Good to Great, the Award identifies companies that have shown a pattern of transitioning from solid performance to great performance over a four-year period while demonstrating proven leadership and a solid workforce base. Finalists undergo a comprehensive examination by an esteemed panel of judges from the business schools at Barry University, Florida International University and Johnson & Wales. Accepting the award on behalf of Future Energy Solutions, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Gold acknowledged his staff for its effort in building a company that is active in 30 states. I thank my team. Each day they work incredibly hard to build our business, Gold said. This award is for them. The salute goes hand-in-hand with Golds belief that businesses dont make people; rather, it is people who make a business. Quickly approaching the 70-employee mark in the U.S., the FES team is spread across several regions, but most are based at the Companys 66,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. The team is composed of an eclectic group of professionals from diverse backgrounds, but with a common commitment: Future Energy Solutions. The Good to Great Award is the latest in the Companys collection of accolades. A finalist in Top Places to Work from the Sun Sentinel, South Florida Business Journal and Florida Trend, FES has received multiple honors in the Stevies and Golden Bridge Awards. In 2016, FES was nominated by the Business Journal as the Fastest Growing Business in South Florida (eighth in all Florida). About Future Energy Solutions Future Energy Solutions (FES) is an award winning privately owned business that provides energy efficient infrastructure upgrades to businesses and other organizations under a unique plan at no capital cost to the customer. FES has experienced extraordinary growth due to wide acceptance of its Gold Initiative Program. The Program is based on providing turnkey energy efficient lighting infrastructure from design, supply, installation and funding. In addition, FES assumes all maintenance responsibilities for customers who partner with the Company throughout the term of the Program. The Company specializes in targeting customers currently operating inefficient high intensity discharge (HID), high pressure sodium (HPS) and fluorescent lighting systems in which lighting forms an essential part of the businesses operations and cost base. For more information, visit http://www.feslighting.com. Midsize employers are faced with increasing challenges in administrating employee leave. They have responded by increasing their use of external partners who have the expertise and technology to ensure their leave management practices are in compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and state/local leave laws. Whether a company is just getting started, looking for tips on advancing their companys leave management program, or trying to understand the current environment, this webinar is designed to help. Leveraging insights from Guardians 2017 Absence Management Study and more than 70 years of collective experience among the presenters, this webinar will address current trends, challenges, and potential solutions for midsize employers. The session will offer practical advice, actionable insights, and best practices, especially for firms with 50 to 500 employees. To help HR professionals and business owners better understand leave management, United Benefit Advisors (UBA), in conjunction with Guardian, will host a webinar titled, The Leave Management Puzzle: Challenges & Solutions for Midsize Employers on Thursday, June 22, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. To receive complimentary access to the webinar, enter code GNUBA62217 when registering. This webinar has been submitted for 1.25 re-certification credit hours from the Human Resource Certification Institute. Mid-size employers are realizing that inconsistent leave policies and procedures, or simply approving all leave requests, can potentially hurt their company in a variety of ways, says Wes Thornhill, Guardian Group Sales Consultant. Not managing leave properly exposes employers to potential litigation from non-compliance with federal and state laws, reduces productivity from inappropriate use of leave, and possibly lowers employee morale because leaves policies may be deemed unfair or biased, adds Ann Johnson, Guardian Account Manager. These challenges apply to all employers not just very large companies, but particularly midsize firms, many of whom may not have the internal resources to effectively manage leave across multiple locations and in multiple states, according to Wes. ABOUT THE PRESENTERS ANN JOHNSON, Account Manager at Guardian Based in the Chicago regional office, Ann works with our core market customers (100 to 1,000 lives), focused on retention and revenue growth, for life, accident, disability, FML, worksite and stop-loss. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Ann helps employers implement the most effective solutions based on their company's needs. Ann has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota. WES THORNHILL, Group Sales Consultant at Guardian Based in the Indianapolis regional office. Wes builds partnerships with brokers and consultants and their customers (25 to 1,000 lives), focused on sales growth and persistency for life, accident, disability, FML, dental, vision, worksite and stop-loss. Wes began his career with Guardian upon college graduation in 2004 and has a bachelor's degree in Economics & Management from DePauw University. JENNIFER LYONS, Product Manager at Guardian Jennifer is responsible for advancing the product strategy of Guardian's absence management business. She has been with Guardian for nine years. Jennifer has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, specializing in absence, disability, and life products. She has held positions in Underwriting and Product & Business Development with several of the largest group insurance carriers. GENE LANZONI, Assistant Vice President, Group & Worksite MarketingThought Leadership at Guardian Gene has nearly 30 years experience in marketing and market research as well as broad experience in the financial services industry. He previously served as Vice, Global Market Research at Prudential Financial and Vice President and head of Market Research for U.S. Business at MetLife. Gene holds a bachelor's degree in Marketing and Communications from The College of New Jersey. ABOUT GUARDIAN Guardian is a UBA Strategic Alliance for Dental, Life, AD&D, Disability, Vision, and Worksite Benefits. Guardian is dedicated to helping customers provide the right group benefits while managing costs by offering innovative plan designs, leading technology platforms, and more effective ways to engage employees. Our ability to deliver high quality customer solutions is backed by more than 150 years in the insurance industry, a strong mutual foundation, and exemplary financial ratings*. From identifying needs to ongoing service, customers of all sizes rely on our comprehensive approach to meeting their benefits needs. For more information, visit the Guardian website. *Ratings as of 3/17 and are subject to change. ABOUT UNITED BENEFIT ADVISORS United Benefit Advisors (UBA) is the nations leading independent employee benefits advisory organization with more than 200 offices throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. UBA empowers more than 2,000 Partners to both maintain their individuality and pool their expertise, insight, and market presence to provide best-in-class services and solutions. Employers, advisors and industry-related organizations interested in obtaining powerful results from the shared wisdom of our Partners should visit http://www.UBAbenefits.com. Vistatecs Suzanne Marie Frank will be at LocWorld34 Barcelona on behalf of Women in Localization. Suzanne will be available at booth 215 to discuss the growing organization and to provide information on events around the world. Suzanne comments, I am delighted to be involved with Women in Localization at LocWorld34, the chapters throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas are expanding and with the recent announcement of a partnership with LocWorld this is an exciting opportunity. The LocWorld conference management team is encouraging attendees of LocWorld34 to visit the Women in Localization booth to learn more about the organization and the upcoming networking events taking place in their 11 chapters around the world. In Barcelona, Vistatecs Esther Curiel will be hosting a panel discussion Marketing Content at the Speed of Agile Game Changing Times for Global Brands which echoes the growing importance of agile marketing and delves into the little-discussed subject of how it can be applied to global markets. Esther will be joined by speakers on this topic from GetYourGuide, The Nielsen Company, Beabloo and Salesforce. The Barcelona localization event is expected to attract over 600 global business executives from 45 countries. About Women in Localization Women in Localization (WL) is the leading professional organization for women in the localization industry with thousands of members globally. Its mission is to foster a global community that inspires professional equality in the localization industry and supports women through all phases of their careers. Started in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2008, WL has expanded its membership to include women across the globe, encouraging members to meet in other local geographies. About LocWorld LocWorld is the worlds leading Localization conference and it brings together professionals from the fields of international business, localization and globalization. The event was created in 2003 by Ulrich Henes (founder of The Localization Institute) and Donna Parrish (publisher of MultiLingual magazine). About Vistatec Vistatec has been supporting some of the worlds most iconic brands to optimize their global commercial potential since 1997. Vistatec is one of the worlds leading localization solutions providers headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in Mountain View, California, USA. Media Contact Simon Hodgkins Chief Marketing Officer info(at)vistatec.com http://www.vistatec.com Wealth Migrate, an online real estate investment marketplace, announces the global opening of its #LikeAMillionaire luxury condo give-a-way. The competition, which is open to all new users who sign up on the WealthMigrate.com platform, is another example of how Wealth Migrate is putting quality real estate within reach of middle class investors throughout the globe, who typically do not have access to these types of deals. The condo, valued at over $200,000 USD, will be located in Cape Town, South Africas hottest new, Zero-2-One Tower development, which will stand as the tallest building in Cape Town, one of the most sort-after cities in the world. While the contest has been open to South African residents for the past month, it was recently opened to a global audience to reflect the truly global nature of the Wealth Migrate marketplace. Wealth Migrate which was recently voted one of KPMGs top 50 global FinTech companies, has users from over 92 countries and investments from 4 continents on their real estate investment marketplace. The mission of Wealth Migrate is to help investors from all over the world have access to high quality real estate investments in developed markets, say Scott Picken CEO of Wealth Migrate. While our marketplace allows investors to access these investment offerings for as little as $1,000, we wanted to take our commitment to giving everyone an opportunity to own quality real estate a step further by giving away a unit, in what will be the most iconic piece of real estate in Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town has consistently been rated as one of the top ten international travel destinations in the world by numerous publications. The Zero-2-One Tower, standing 42 stories tall, is set to be the tallest building in Cape Town upon completion in 2020. The competition is open to all new users on the platform. By signing up at WealthMigrate.com new users are automatically entered into the drawing for the Zero-2-One condo prize. Also for every friend who you refer and they sign up as a user you will get an extra chance in the draw. Picken says, People ask me what is the catch? I give them a simple answer that Uber gave out free rides with coupons so that when people tried the service they realized how much better it was than the traditional taxis. We feel the same way about online real estate investing. All we want to do is for people to experience the future of real estate investing. With a global team of real estate partners and market experts spread across its USA, China, UK and Australian offices, Wealth Migrate is one of the only global investment platforms to offer users direct investment opportunities in currency stable real estate markets from around the world. About Wealth Migrate Wealthmigrate.com is a leading global online investment marketplace that offers international investors direct access to exclusive real estate investment opportunities in the premier world markets, including the USA, Australia, the UK and South Africa. Wealth Migrate was founded in 2010 by renowned global Fintech & real estate investors Scott Picken and Hennie Bezuidenhoudt. Wealth Migrate partners with best-in-class developers and real estate investment companies, giving investors access to premier real estate opportunities with experienced, on-the-ground partners. For more information, go to http://www.wealthmigrate.com. Terms and conditions apply. Zumwalt Prairie. Image Credit: J. Johansen, NRCS. U.S.-based private investment fund Climate Trust Capital, an independent entity of the long-standing, mission-driven nonprofit The Climate Trust, today announced it has reached agreement on its first carbon investment in the grassland conservation sector. The $260,000 commitment is among the first investments from Climate Trust Capitals $5.5 million Fund I. The Fund I pilot launched in October 2016, and was seeded by a Program-Related Investment from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and supported by a Conservation Innovation Grant awarded in 2015 by the USDAs Natural Resources Conservation Service. Fund Is investment thesis is to identify and invest in carbon offset projects that produce attractive risk-adjusted returns. Ranch owners, Dan and Suzy Probert and family, have teamed up with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to ensure the ranch will be managed to benefit both ranching livelihoods and the native habitat and wildlife it supports. The agricultural conservation easement on the property allows for livestock grazing that follows a grazing management plan created with TNC. The 12,225-acre Lightning Creek Ranch project is part of a larger effort to conserve North Americas largest remaining intact bunch grass prairie habitat, while also supporting the local ranching community. Located in Oregons Wallowa County, the project area is considered some of the most unique and ecologically important land in the country. Climate Trust Capital has made an eleven-year commitment to invest in the project, which is estimated to keep 55,000 tons of carbon emissions out of the atmosphere by preventing native grassland from being converted to crop production. An agricultural conservation easement, which prevents conversion of the property for residential or commercial energy development or crop production, ensures the grassland will remain intact in perpetuity. Fund Is investment amount is based on the anticipated ten-year value of carbon credits from the project. The bulk of Climate Trust Capitals investment helped TNC pay for the conservation easement, with a small portion reserved to cover the costs associated with developing and verifying the carbon offset project. Climate Trust Capital will actively manage the carbon offset portfolio for the project during its investment term. Lightning Creek Ranch is the first grasslands project to join our Climate Trust Capital Fund I portfolio, and we are elated to be able to provide capital to this charismatic project in our own backyard, said Mik McKee, land asset manager for The Climate Trust. The environmental benefits to be gained from preserving native grasslands are vast, with impacts ranging from improved water quality and soil erosion prevention to the safeguarding of carbon stored in the ground. This investment grade project reflects our ongoing strategy of supporting quality projects in the early stages of development to elevate their impact. Climate Trust Capitals Fund I is focused on supporting innovative U.S.-based carbon offset projects in the forestry, grassland conservation, and livestock digester sectors. The Lightning Creek Ranch project was identified as a match for conservation finance, with the offer of upfront investment supporting the purchase of an agricultural conservation easement and the development of a carbon offset project. The Lightning Creek Ranch project will be developed in accordance to the Climate Action Reserves protocol for Avoided Conversion of Grassland. We are fortunate to enter into one of our very first investments with partners known for their integrity, and in a sector and geography that affords such a great potential for impact, said Sean Penrith, executive director for The Climate Trust. The Lightning Creek project beautifully bridges the tension between conservation and grazing, and is a true reflection of our investment philosophy. In the course of building our portfolio for Fund I, our team has expressed a lot of optimism around the potential for impact in the grasslands conservation sector, said Kristen Kleiman, director of investments for The Climate Trust. Climate Trust Capital leverages our technical expertise and robust buyer network, to ensure optimal long-term performance and the best possible premiums for the sale of generated credits. We are proud of the progress weve made in building and deploying our Fund in the past six months, and look forward to future investments in carbon that align with our conviction that carbon prices are undervalued and will provide investors with long-term, risk-adjusted returns, continued Penrith. Our patient approach rewards project owners as carbon prices increase over time, while meeting our personal commitment to preventing a disastrous rise in global temperatures brought about by climate change. ### Building upon a legacy of innovation and leadership in the carbon market, The Climate Trust mobilizes conservation finance to maximize environmental returns. We value air, water and soil through the development, purchase and sale of qualied osets and a relentless investment in people and projects with environmental purpose | http://www.climatetrust.org | @climatetrust | facebook.com/TheClimateTrust Don Keller and Tim Kelley (L to R), owners of Blue Sky Exhibits and winners of the 2017 Small Business of the Year award. It's Blue Sky Exhibits' commitment to forging personal relationships, and their dedication to our communitys charitable organizations that make them inspirational leaders and business owners," said David Connell, President & CEO, Cobb Chamber. The Cobb Chamber of Commerce awarded Marietta-based Blue Sky Exhibits the prestigious 2017 Small Business of the Year Award at its First Monday Breakfast this week. The Cobb Chamber recognized 25 small businesses in the community, with Blue Sky Exhibits being distinguished among five finalists and awarded the highest honor. Blue Sky was also recognized as one of the Top 25 Award winners in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2016. Blue Sky Exhibits was co-founded by business partners Don Keller and Tim Kelley in 2003 when they realized there was a need in the exhibit industry that wasnt being met. After 9/11, the exhibit industry changed. Travel slowed down and it had a major impact on exhibit companies, said Don Keller, owner/co-founder of Blue Sky Exhibits. We realized there was a growing need in the industry for an exhibit company that brought true creativity, maximum value and deeper, longer lasting customer relationships. That was the inspiration behind Blue Sky Exhibits. More than 13 years after its founding, the company has become a thriving business with 29 full time employees and 92 clients across the United States. Blue Sky Exhibits has corporate offices in Marietta, Georgia with fabrication and warehousing in Atlanta with additional warehouses in Chicago, Las Vegas and Orlando. Their loyal customers include Amazon, Cartoon Network, Century 21, Delta Airlines, Fruit of the Loom, Merial, SanMar and many others. True to their values, some of their client relationships began before the inception of Blue Sky Exhibits. Don and Tims dedication to creativity, service and value truly set them apart, said David Connell, President and CEO of the Cobb Chamber. It is their commitment to forging personal relationships with businesses both small and large, as well as the time, energy and resources they dedicate to supporting our communitys charitable organizations that make them inspirational leaders and business owners; they are most deserving of this prestigious award. Blue Sky Exhibits consistently creates vivid, engaging environments that grab attention on the trade show floor. Their exhibits often win Most Memorable or Best of Show awards due to the companys creative innovation, expert craftsmanship and perfectly executed tech components. Blue Sky Exhibits is committed to showcasing their clients with an unforgettable brand experience, face-to-face marketing and compelling strategies. Their trade show marketing services have yielded considerable results for each of their clients across a variety of industries. "It is such an incredible honor to be recognized by the Cobb Chamber as the 2017 Small Business of the Year, said Tim Kelley, owner/co-founder of Blue Sky Exhibits. As an entrepreneur, I am grateful that the Cobb Chamber has been there for Blue Sky at all stages of our growth over the past 13 years. We are incredibly honored and humbled to receive this award, and are thankful for the ongoing support of our phenomenal Blue Sky team, our families and our friends. About Blue Sky Exhibits Founded in 2003, Blue Sky Exhibits is a premier exhibit company dedicated to building and maximizing face-to-face marketing opportunities. We design, build, store and manage environments across a variety of industries, providing custom and portable exhibits for trade shows, corporate interiors and other settings. Our extensive experience, uncompromising customer service and dedication to producing creative, impactful exhibits enable our clients to own the floor. For more information, please visit http://www.blueskyexhibits.com. Attorneys Anselmo Alegria and Andrew Barovick, founding partners of Alegria & Barovick LLP, recently attended the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) Spring Conference in Washington, DC. The NOSSCR conference is beneficial to attorneys for a number of reasons; for example, it provides an update on the laws in the Social Security disability area and a plethora of practical tips by experienced practitioners. It is also an opportunity to network with lawyers from all over the country who practice in this area of law, said Barovick. The conference gave us the opportunity to learn about technological advances in the applicable areas of legal tech, such as case management software, and to acquaint ourselves with advertising/promotional vendors for law firm marketing. NOSSCR workshops included Case and Client Preparation for a Successful Disability Hearing, Recent Regulatory Changes Addressing Medical Source Evidence, How to Prepare Disability Clients for Effective Hearing Testimony, Cross-Examining the Medical Advisor and more. The big takeaway for me was finding out about the wealth of materials that exist that can be used to cross-examine vocational experts, who typically get a free pass otherwise and usually testify in a way that hurts our clients, e.g. coming up with jobs that are allegedly available in abundance in the U.S. economy that the client is capable of performing, even in his or her physically or mentally limited state, concluded Barovick. Often, the jobs cited by the vocational expert either dont really exist or exist in small numbers in far away parts of the country, or are unrealistic for other reasons. About Alegria & Barovick LLP Attorneys Andrew Barovick and Anselmo Alegria are the principals of Alegria & Barovick LLP, a New York litigation firm whose areas of practice include Social Security disability law, medical malpractice and personal injury. For more information, please call (914) 761-1133, or visit http://www.alegriabarovicklaw.com. About the NALA The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361. Blue Branch Speak to any successful person, and they will tell you that you have to lead by example, and I have adopted that same principle at Blue Branch. I believe that has been one of the biggest factors in our success. Sales and marketing professionals from all over the UK were in attendance for the event, held at the 4-Star Hilton Newcastle Gateshead. Located on the scenic banks of the River Tyne, the Hilton offers an ideal setting for corporate events and conferences with innovative event spaces accommodating up to 500 people. About Blue Branch - http://www.bluebranch.org/about/ Attendees comprised of rookie sales and marketing professionals, as well as more experienced entrepreneurs and business owners. There was a host of guest speakers at the event, each speaking on a specialist subject. Guest speakers on the day included award-winning entrepreneurs and business owners from all over the UK and Managing Director at Blue Branch, Rania Noumaan, was honoured to be among them. Attendees were split into two groups based on industry experience with the rookies making up group one. Group two was comprised of leaders and business owners. Topics covered by the speakers at the event included: goal setting, sales basics, setting expectations, laying solid foundations, how to stand out, recruitment, development, how to have important conversations, team leadership and business development. Ms Noumaan was invited to speak to the second group of delegates on the topic of management. The entrepreneur and director at Blue Branch shared the valuable experience she has gained in almost three years as a business owner and encouraged those in a management position to be a leader, not a boss. Speak to any successful person, and they will tell you that you have to lead by example, and I have adopted that same principle at Blue Branch. I believe that has been one of the biggest factors in our success, said Ms Noumaan. After the meeting had come to a close, both groups of attendees had the opportunity to socialise and network. One of the greatest advantages to attending industry events, besides the tremendous information that is shared, is the chance to meet new people and forge connections. There were some very successful and influential individuals in attendance, and I made it my mission to get their attention and make a connection, said Ms Noumaan. Blue Branch has become one of Edinburghs leading event promotions companies. The firms unique marketing campaigns are delivered personalised on a face-to-face basis, focusing on building strong relationships with the companys clients and consumers. Ms Noumaan was thrilled to acquire new connections at the event, and she is excited to foster those relationships in the coming months. For more information follow @Blue_Branch and 'like' them on Facebook. The Reismans recognize law firm excellence and innovation. Our customers inspire everything we do at Clio, and The Reismans will give us the opportunity to celebrate their success. Clio, the leader in cloud-based legal practice management software, announced today the launch of The Reismans, the inaugural program established to recognize Clio customers who demonstrate law firm excellence and innovation. Winners will be selected in the following categories: innovation, best new law firm, community work, and growth. Named for Clio's very first customer, Catherine Reisman, an entrepreneurial attorney whose feedback helped shape the software, The Reismans celebrate the legal industry's game-changers, groundbreakers, and pioneers. "Our customers inspire everything we do at Clio, and The Reismans will give us the opportunity to celebrate their success," said Jack Newton, Co-Founder and CEO at Clio. "When Catherine took a chance on the first version of Clio almost 10 years ago, we didn't know what the company would become, but we knew we couldn't let her down." Clio customers are invited to apply to be recognized for their impact in the legal field in any of the following categories: Law Firm Innovation will honor a practice that has successfully challenged industry norms, either through technology, delivery of legal services, or meeting the needs of a non-traditional market. Best New Law Firm will honor a newcomer who has weathered the trials of entrepreneurship and come out on top. Community Champion will honor a firm that prioritizes giving back to their community, whether it be through pro bono work, donations, volunteering, mentorship, or another altruistic activity. Best Growth Story will honor a firm that has experienced exceptional gains. "By recognizing firms of different sizes and at different levels of success, we're really highlighting the most enterprising and ambitious of our community," said Newton. "Our customers are on the leading edge of this industry, and were proud to honor their hard work." Submissions will be judged based on several factors, including a compelling story, well-documented results, relevance to the category, and Clio's role in the success. Winners will be presented on stage at the Clio Cloud Conference in New Orleans, September 25-26, 2017. Additionally, winners will receive a digital badge, a professional video highlighting their firm, a press release announcing their recognition, and inclusion in future Clio marketing materials. Submissions are open until July 13, 2017. About Clio Clio is the most comprehensive cloud-based practice management platform for the legal industry. With the help of the cloud, Clio eases the process of time tracking, billing, administration, and collaboration for law firms of all sizes. Based in Vancouver, B.C. and launched in 2008, Clio is used by legal professionals in over 50 countries. Learn more at clio.com. English French NANOBIOTIX: NEW TRANSLATIONAL DATA PRESENTED AT ASTRO, NCI AND SITC'S IMMUNOTHERAPY WORKSHOP Translational data showing tumor immune activity and positive Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) in human and mouse model Confirmation of the ability to transform "cold" tumors into "hot" tumors and that NBTXR3 treatment may have an impact on the tumor microenvironment Opening up of the potential for NBTXR3 to treat metastases Paris, France and Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), June 15, 2017 - NANOBIOTIX (Euronext: NANO - ISIN: FR0011341205), a late clinical-stage nanomedicine company pioneering new approaches to the treatment of cancer, today presented new translational data at the "Immunotherapy workshop - Incorporating Radiation Oncology into Immunotherapy" co-sponsored by the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), that takes place from June 15 to 16, 2017 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Nanobiotix's lead product, NBTXR3, has a universal physical mode of action which is designed for the local destruction of tumors. In addition to the physical destruction of cancer cells, recently published data suggests that NBTXR3 generates immunogenic cell death which could trigger a specific immune response to attack the tumor. Many tumors exhibit little or no response to therapies targeting the immune system and are considered "cold". The explanation for the lack of response in its simplest form, is a lack of immunogenicity. The ability of NBTXR3 to generate intratumoral immunogenic cell death (ICD) could be a key to significantly increasing the number of patients who can benefit from the help of their immune system to fight their cancer. Today, Nanobiotix presented new translational data from its immuno-oncology program. "Hafnium oxide nanoparticle, a potent radiation enhancer for in situ cancer vaccine" (June 15, 2017) J. Galon1, M. Lae2, Z. Papai3, P. Rochaix4, L.C. Mangel5, F. Hermitte6, Z. Sapi7, M. Delannes4, T. Tornoczky5 , A. Vincent-Salomon2, V. Servois2, H. Brisse2, S. Paris8, A. Pottier8, and S. Bonvalot2 1INSERM, Paris, France, 2Institut Curie, Paris, France, 3Magyar Honvedseg Egeszsegugyi Kozpont, Budapest, Hungary, 4Institut Universitaire du Cancer, Toulouse, France, 5Pecs University, Pecs, Hungary, 6HalioDx, Marseille, France, 7Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, 8Nanobiotix, Paris, France. Human Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) patients data In tumors of STS patients, a significant increase of T cells (CD3+, CD8+) and a marked increase of dendritic cell (CD103+) infiltrates in post- versus pre-treatment were observed for NBTXR3 plus radiotherapy arm, while no differences were seen in the use of radiotherapy alone. These findings demonstrate the ability of NBTXR3 to transform cold tumors (as Soft Tissue Sarcoma) in hot tumors. Large hemorrhagic zones have been found in tumor tissues treated with NBTXR3, whereas tumors treated with radiotherapy alone did not show such patterns. This finding shows that NBTXR3 could affect the tumor microenvironment and potentially allow better infiltration of activated T Cells. The upregulation of adaptive immunity gene expression between pre- and post-treatment was pronounced for NBTXR3 plus radiotherapy - 72 genes only up-regulated with the NBTXR3 treatment, showing enrichment of cytokine activity and of the T cell receptor signaling pathway. A number of upregulated genes correspond to existing or promising IO targets, enabling a potential combination of NBTXR3 with therapeutic approaches, like products targeting PD1, PDL1, CTLA4, etc. This data requires confirmation in additional studies. Asymmetrical volcano plot shows a trend toward the upregulation of panimmune genes in post-treated tumors of Soft Tissue Sarcoma patients. The two charts compare the results of patients treated with radiotherapy alone (left), with patients treated with radiotherapy plus NBTXR3 (right). Mice model (CT26) data In mice, the abscopal effect (i.e. an effect outside the scope of the localized treatment) was evaluated. A tumor was implanted on each side of each mouse; one of the tumors was treated with either NBTXR3 and radiotherapy, or radiotherapy alone; while the other remained untreated. The treated tumors, both those that received NBTXR3 and radiotherapy and those that received radiotherapy alone, demonstrated volume shrinkage. However, the study showed that only the use of NBTXR3 with radiotherapy resulted in a control on the untreated tumors (abscopal effect). No effect was observed in control groups and groups treated with radiation therapy alone. In this model, NBTXR3 plus radiotherapy induces a noticeable increase of CD8+ and macrophages infiltrates in both tumors (treated and untreated). At the same time, no effect was observed in cases where radiotherapy was used alone, when compared to control groups (that received no irradiation). This demonstrates that NBTXR3 plus radiotherapy can induce a marked systemic antitumor immune response on distant and untreated tumors where radiotherapy alone couldn't. Conclusion Taken together, these non-clinical and preliminary clinical results confirm that NBTXR3 plus radiotherapy could efficiently prime the adaptive antitumor immune response, turning "cold" tumors in "hot" tumors. Additionally, these results suggest that the physically-induced response and subsequent immune activation triggered by the NBTXR3 treatment could be generic. NBTXR3 with radiotherapy could transform these tumors into an effective in situ vaccine, opening up very promising perspectives in the treatment of local cancer and metastases. Tumor Immune Cell Infiltrates (TILs) NBTXR3 competitive positioning in IO Many IO combination strategies focus on 'priming' the tumor, which is now becoming a prerequisite of turning a "cold" tumor into a "hot" tumor. Compared to other modalities that could be used for priming the tumor, NBTXR3 could have a number of advantages: The physical and universal mode of action that could be widely applied across oncology; the one-time local injection and good fit within existing medical practice already used as a basis for cancer treatment, as well as a very good chronic safety profile and well-established manufacturing process. The new clinical data and previous pre-clinical data indicate that NBTXR3 could play a key role in oncology and could become a backbone in immuno-oncology. *** About NANOBIOTIX: www.nanobiotix.com Nanobiotix (Euronext: NANO / ISIN: FR0011341205) is a late clinical-stage nanomedicine company pioneering novel approaches for the treatment of cancer. The Company's first-in-class, proprietary technology, NanoXray, enhances radiotherapy energy with a view to provide a new, more efficient treatment for cancer patients. NanoXray products are compatible with current radiotherapy treatments and are meant to treat potentially a wide variety of solid tumors including soft tissue sarcoma, head and neck cancers, liver cancers, prostate cancer, breast cancer, glioblastoma, etc., via multiple routes of administration. NBTXR3 is being evaluated in: soft tissue sarcoma (STS), head and neck cancers, prostate cancer, and liver cancers (primary and metastases). Additionally, head and neck cancer and rectal cancer trials led by Nanobiotix's Taiwanese partner, PharmaEngine, are underway in the Asia Pacific region. The Company has filed in August 2016 for market approval (CE Marking) in Europe for its lead product NBTXR3. The Company started in 2016 a new preclinical research program in Immuno-oncology with its lead product NBTXR3, which could have the potential to bring a new dimension to cancer immunotherapies. Nanobiotix is listed on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris (ISIN: FR0011341205, Euronext ticker: NANO, Bloomberg: NANO: FP). The Company Headquarter is based in Paris, France. Affiliate in Cambridge, United States. Contact Nanobiotix Sarah Gaubert Director, Communications & Public Affairs +33 (0)1 40 26 07 55 sarah.gaubert@nanobiotix.com / contact@nanobiotix.com Noel Kurdi Director, Investor Relations +1 (646) 241-4400 noel.kurdi@nanobiotix.com / investors@nanobiotix.com Media relations France - Springbok Consultants Marina Rosoff +33 (0)6 71 58 00 34 marina@springbok.fr United States - RooneyPartners Marion Janic +1 (212) 223-4017 mjanic@rooneyco.com Disclaimer This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Nanobiotix and its business. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Nanobiotix considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that the estimates contained in such forward-looking statements will be verified, which estimates are subject to numerous risks including the risks set forth in the update of the reference document of Nanobiotix filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorite des Marches Financiers) under number D.16-0732-A01 on December 27, 2016 (a copy of which is available on www.nanobiotix.com) and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Nanobiotix operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Nanobiotix or not currently considered material by Nanobiotix. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Nanobiotix to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. This press release and the information that it contains do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe for, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, Nanobiotix shares in any country. At the moment NBTXR3 does not bear a CE mark and is not permitted to be placed on the market or put into service until NBTXR3 has obtained a CE mark. If a kitchen sink is stopped up, sometimes a quick DIY will fix the problem, but many times it wont. Ben Franklin Plumbing, the top drain cleaning service for Wichita and Central Kansas, is proud to announce a new update to its all-in-one page on stopped drains and solutions. Drain cleaning service can vary depending on the work needed to solve the problem. Locals in Wichita as well as surrounding cities such as Derby, Andover and Haysville, Kansas, can learn the best way to approach a clogged drain. If a kitchen sink is stopped up, sometimes a quick DIY will fix the problem, but many times it wont, explained Jason Clark, Manager of Ben Franklin Plumbing of Wichita, Kansas. We just posted information about the possible clues to a clogged sink. It can help Central Kansas locals learn the best possible approach to fixing a backed up sewer properly. If need be, they can then call in the professionals. To read the updated informational page please go to http://www.benfranklinwichita.com/clogged-drain. Causes for a clogged sink and the best approach to fix a stopped drain can be reviewed. Details for finding the best drain cleaning service in Central Kansas can also be found. Areas of service include Andover, Derby, Haysville and Wichita, Kansas. Top Drain Cleaning Service in Wichita can take the Mystery out of a Clogged Sewer Central Kansas residents may find solving mysteries an enjoyable pastime. A good murder mystery on TV, or a board game can be a relaxing and fun past time. If the bathtub drain has become stopped up, figuring out the problem may not be as pleasant, however. Residents in Andover, Derby or Haysville, Kansas may not want to spend the time searching for clues to a backed up sewer system. Instead, finding an expert drain cleaning service to get the answers quickly may be the preferred choice. To further educate consumers on the pros and cons of DIY vs. a professional drain service, Ben Franklin Plumbing has announced a newly updated page on the topic. Possible answers to a stopped drain in the kitchen, bathroom or wash room can be reviewed. A clogged drain could mean more than clearing out piled up debris in the home sewer system. Culprits causing clogged drains can include tree roots in the main sewer system or corroded sewer lines. A top-rated drain cleaning service can help find answers to the mystery of a stopped drain at home or work. Residents of Derby, Haysville, Andover or Wichita can then contact the best drain cleaning service in Central Kansas to solve the mystery of backed up pipes. About Ben Franklin Plumbing of Wichita, Kansas Ben Franklin Plumbing is a top-rated plumbing company at http://www.benfranklinwichita.com/, serving greater Wichita and located at 2825 E. Kellogg Avenue. The company offers 24 hour, emergency service not only to Wichita but to surrounding communities such as Derby, Andover, Haysville and Wichita. In addition, its licensed plumbers can effect toilet repairs and replacements, water heater repairs and replacement, and all types of sewer unclogs and repairs. Quick drain cleaning service and support is a specialty. The company boasts many positive reviews on Internet sites such as Google+, and is proud to set its goal as being the best plumbing company in Wichita. Tel. 316-858-5985 Eagle Eye and Cameramanager dealers world-wide will now have a wider selection of cloud video products to meet their customers' needs. Eagle Eye Networks, Inc. today announced the acquisition of Panasonic Cloud Management Service Europe B.V. (PCMSEU) makers of Panasonic Cameramanager and Panasonic Nubo. PCMSEU operated the largest number of cloud recorded cameras in Europe and now combined with Eagle Eye creates the worlds first global cloud video surveillance company. Panasonic Cloud Management Service Europe B.V. will be renamed 'Eagle Eye Networks B.V.' and will function as the European Headquarters for Eagle Eye - selling and supporting the expanded Eagle Eye product line. "Our dealers in Europe have responded with overwhelming support for this acquisition. It will greatly enhance our sales and support efforts in the European market," said Dean Drako, CEO of Eagle Eye Networks. "The strong and experienced team in cloud video surveillance at our new Eagle Eye EMEA Headquarters will make it possible for us to provide a tremendous level of support to all of our dealers in the region." All of PCMSEU's employees have been retained. The management team of Rishi Lodhia and Tijmen Vos are continuing to drive the business as Managing Director and Technical Director of Eagle Eye Networks EMEA. The addition of the full Cameramanager and Nubo engineering and support teams will greatly enhance the size, scope, and investment by Eagle Eye in cloud video solutions worldwide. Rishi Lodhia stated, This is a unique opportunity to bring two pioneers in cloud video surveillance together and deliver a broad portfolio of innovative cloud surveillance solutions. Eagle Eye and Cameramanager dealers worldwide will now have a wider selection of cloud video products to meet their customers' needs. Products The Panasonic Cameramanager product will be renamed Eagle Eye CameraManager. Eagle Eye plans to increase investment and support of the product to expand its sales globally for those customers that desire direct camera to cloud connectivity. The CameraManager solution does not have an onsite bridge device, as the Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera VMS does, and can therefore be more cost effective for smaller camera counts per location. The company expects to quickly expand the global markets that Eagle Eye CameraManager serves. CameraManagers cloud surveillance products are popular amongst resellers and customers for their reliability, ease of use, and rich feature set, which includes optional storage methods, motion detection, push notifications, and cloud based video analytics. CameraManager is the ideal video solution for small and medium sized businesses seeking an affordable, quality cloud solution with small camera counts. Eagle Eye Cloud Security VMS will continue to be sold in Europe by Eagle Eye Networks B.V. for customers that require a large selection of camera interoperability or need more than a few cameras per location. Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera VMS currently supports over 1,000 different digital cameras, over 10,000 different analog cameras, up to 10 years of video retention, and can handle very large camera counts. Panasonic Nubo (http://www.nubocam.com) is part of the acquisition and will be renamed "Eagle Eye NuboCam." The revolutionary LTE camera has opened up the category of mobile video monitoring. It is a versatile LTE camera that connects anytime and anywhere over a cellular or wireless network. It offers consumers and businesses the ability to see their valuables anywhere, anytime. The Eagle Eye NuboCam will continue to be promoted, integrated, and enhanced. The combined offering of the Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera VMS with the new Eagle Eye CameraManager and Eagle Eye NuboCam will provide Eagle Eye dealers the broadest product line available from any cloud video provider in the world. Datacenters The acquisition of PCSMEU will provide two additional datacenter locations in the Netherlands to support operations. The Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera VMS is powered by multiple Tier IV datacenters globally distributed. The infrastructure has been specifically designed for video and is managed directly by Eagle Eye personnel to provide maximum security, performance, and availability. The datacenters also support developer activity for the cloud-based Eagle Eye Video API, which allows businesses and developers to integrate camera video into their applications without having to worry about a complex infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks operates eight datacenters, located in California, Texas, Canada, Japan (x2), UK, and the Netherlands (x2). To learn more about Eagle Eye Networks, visit https://www.eagleeyenetworks.com/eagle-eye-networks-acquires-panasonic-cloud-management-service-europe-b-v/ About Eagle Eye Networks Eagle Eye Networks, Inc. delivers the first on-demand cloud based security and operations video management system (VMS) providing both cloud and on-premise recording. Eagle Eye Networks also provides a cloud video API for integrations and application development. The Eagle Eye Platform offers secure, encrypted recording, camera management, mobile viewing and alerts, and first responder realtime video access all 100% cloud managed. The Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera Video Management System supports a broad array of IP and analog cameras while using Intelligent Bandwidth Management, making it easy to deploy at single and multiple sites. The API platform uses the Eagle Eye Big Data Video Framework, with time based data structures used for indexing, search, retrieval and analysis of the live and archived video. Eagle Eye Networks sells through authorized reseller and installation partners. The headquarters is at 4611 Bee Caves Rd, suite 200, Austin, Texas, 78746. For more information, please visit http://www.EagleEyeNetworks.com or call +1-512-473-0500. About Panasonic Cloud Management Service Europe BV PCMSEU was a subsidiary of Panasonic and the leading provider for cloud video surveillance in Europe. PCMSEU offered cloud based video surveillance connecting PC, Mac, smartphone and tablet to cameras via the cloud. Created in 2007 by Rishi Lodhia and Tijmen Vos the company is based in Amsterdam and has customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Brazil, Latvia, Russia, Turkey, Spain, UK, France, Italy, USA, and Singapore. About Eagle Eye Networks EMEA B.V. Eagle Eye Networks B.V. is a subsidiary of Eagle Eye Networks, Inc. providing sales support and development resources in Europe, Middle East, and Africa for the full line of Eagle Eye products. For more information visit http://www.EagleEyeNetworks.com and http://www.NuboCam.com. +31 (0)88 00 68 450. PRESS CONTACT INFO USA Deborah Demarchi Director of Marketing Eagle Eye Networks, Inc. +1-512-473-0500 EUROPE Xander van Baarsen Marketing Manager Eagle Eye Networks B.V. +316 46 27 32 51 Eagle Eye and Cameramanager dealers worldwide will now have a wider selection of cloud video products to meet their customers' needs. Eagle Eye Networks, Inc. today announced the acquisition of Panasonic Cloud Management Service Europe B.V. (PCMSEU) makers of Panasonic Cameramanager and Panasonic Nubo. PCMSEU operated the largest number of cloud recorded cameras in Europe and now combined with Eagle Eye creates the worlds first global cloud video surveillance company. Panasonic Cloud Management Service Europe B.V. will be renamed 'Eagle Eye Networks B.V.' and will function as the European Headquarters for Eagle Eye - selling and supporting the expanded Eagle Eye product line. "Our dealers in Europe have responded with overwhelming support for this acquisition. It will greatly enhance our sales and support efforts in the European market," said Dean Drako, CEO of Eagle Eye Networks. "The strong and experienced team in cloud video surveillance at our new Eagle Eye EMEA Headquarters will make it possible for us to provide a tremendous level of support to all of our dealers in the region." All of PCMSEU's employees have been retained. The management team of Rishi Lodhia and Tijmen Vos are continuing to drive the business as Managing Director and Technical Director of Eagle Eye Networks EMEA. The addition of the full Cameramanager and Nubo engineering and support teams will greatly enhance the size, scope, and investment by Eagle Eye in cloud video solutions worldwide. Rishi Lodhia stated, This is a unique opportunity to bring two pioneers in cloud video surveillance together and deliver a broad portfolio of innovative cloud surveillance solutions. Eagle Eye and Cameramanager dealers worldwide will now have a wider selection of cloud video products to meet their customers' needs. Products The Panasonic Cameramanager product will be renamed Eagle Eye CameraManager. Eagle Eye plans to increase investment and support of the product to expand its sales globally for those customers that desire direct camera to cloud connectivity. The CameraManager solution does not have an onsite bridge device, as the Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera VMS does, and can therefore be more cost effective for smaller camera counts per location. The company expects to quickly expand the global markets that Eagle Eye CameraManager serves. CameraManagers cloud surveillance products are popular amongst resellers and customers for their reliability, ease of use, and rich feature set, which includes optional storage methods, motion detection, push notifications, and cloud based video analytics. CameraManager is the ideal video solution for small and medium sized businesses seeking an affordable, quality cloud solution with small camera counts. Eagle Eye Cloud Security VMS will continue to be sold in Europe by Eagle Eye Networks B.V. for customers that require a large selection of camera interoperability or need more than a few cameras per location. Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera VMS currently supports over 1,000 different digital cameras, over 10,000 different analog cameras, up to 10 years of video retention, and can handle very large camera counts. Panasonic Nubo (http://www.nubocam.com) is part of the acquisition and will be renamed "Eagle Eye NuboCam." The revolutionary LTE camera has opened up the category of mobile video monitoring. It is a versatile LTE camera that connects anytime and anywhere over a cellular or wireless network. It offers consumers and businesses the ability to see their valuables anywhere, anytime. The Eagle Eye NuboCam will continue to be promoted, integrated, and enhanced. The combined offering of the Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera VMS with the new Eagle Eye CameraManager and Eagle Eye NuboCam will provide Eagle Eye dealers the broadest product line available from any cloud video provider in the world. Datacenters The acquisition of PCSMEU will provide two additional datacenter locations in the Netherlands to support operations. The Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera VMS is powered by multiple Tier IV datacenters globally distributed. The infrastructure has been specifically designed for video and is managed directly by Eagle Eye personnel to provide maximum security, performance, and availability. The datacenters also support developer activity for the cloud-based Eagle Eye Video API, which allows businesses and developers to integrate camera video into their applications without having to worry about a complex infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks operates eight datacenters, located in California, Texas, Canada, Japan (x2), UK, and the Netherlands (x2). To learn more about Eagle Eye Networks, visit https://www.eagleeyenetworks.com/eagle-eye-networks-acquires-panasonic-cloud-management-service-europe-b-v/ About Eagle Eye Networks Eagle Eye Networks, Inc. delivers the first on-demand cloud based security and operations video management system (VMS) providing both cloud and on-premise recording. Eagle Eye Networks also provides a cloud video API for integrations and application development. The Eagle Eye Platform offers secure, encrypted recording, camera management, mobile viewing and alerts, and first responder realtime video access all 100% cloud managed. The Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera Video Management System supports a broad array of IP and analog cameras while using Intelligent Bandwidth Management, making it easy to deploy at single and multiple sites. The API platform uses the Eagle Eye Big Data Video Framework, with time based data structures used for indexing, search, retrieval and analysis of the live and archived video. Eagle Eye Networks sells through authorized reseller and installation partners. The headquarters is at 4611 Bee Caves Rd, suite 200, Austin, Texas, 78746. For more information, please visit http://www.EagleEyeNetworks.com or call +1-512-473-0500. About Panasonic Cloud Management Service Europe BV PCMSEU was a subsidiary of Panasonic and the leading provider for cloud video surveillance in Europe. PCMSEU offered cloud based video surveillance connecting PC, Mac, smartphone and tablet to cameras via the cloud. Created in 2007 by Rishi Lodhia and Tijmen Vos the company is based in Amsterdam and has customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Brazil, Latvia, Russia, Turkey, Spain, UK, France, Italy, USA, and Singapore. About Eagle Eye Networks EMEA B.V. Eagle Eye Networks B.V. is a subsidiary of Eagle Eye Networks, Inc. providing sales support and development resources in Europe, Middle East, and Africa for the full line of Eagle Eye products. For more information visit http://www.EagleEyeNetworks.com or http://www.NuboCam.com. +31 (0)88 00 68 450. PRESS CONTACT INFO USA Deborah Demarchi Director of Marketing Eagle Eye Networks, Inc. +1-512-473-0500 EUROPE Xander van Baarsen Marketing Manager Eagle Eye Networks B.V. +316 46 27 32 51 Use your health & fitness data from your wearables to drive sales and service performance with FitProductivity. We're transforming Salesforce.com into a Health Productivity platform. FitBliss, the leading corporate wellness platform for millennials, today announced at the Chicago Salesforce World Tour Event its newest platform application, FitProductivity for Salesforce, which boosts sales, service, and marketing performance based on fitness apps and wearable data. The FitProductivity platform application uses data science to predict and boost CRM performance based on wearable data & health recommendations. FitBliss is committed to the mission of providing impactful ways to improve the health, happiness, and productivity of the global workforce. Were transforming Salesforce into a Health Productivity platform, said Navid Rastegar, CEO of FitBliss. FitProductivity is a game-changer in health and productivity, where employees can see a direct correlation between their fitness & health data and their CRM performance. With FitProductivity, a rep can see what their health optimals are which has proven highest output of productivity. Now getting 8 hours of sleep, 25 minutes of daily exercise, and 8,500 steps equals hitting sales quota, and possibly lead to a promotion. Salesforce has the largest software ecosystem, worth $389B (source). With 1 in 5 Americans owning a wearable, the wearables market is projected to be nearly a $6B industry by 2018 (source). At the intersection of the health & productivity, the FitProductivity application gives employers and employees both an ROI in the form of Sales, Service, & Marketing performance based on optimizing health for their employees, where current spending is $700 employee/year on wellness incentives. Introducing FitProductivity With FitProductivity, Salesforce users can integrate their favorite fitness app and/or wearable (i.e. Fitbit, Apple Watch, Garmin, Strava, and more) and create goals that track their fitness progress and their CRM progress. FitProductivity provides employees with productivity-driven health tips, helping provide a personalized experience to achieve both the Fitness Goal and the CRM Goal. With machine learning, FitProductivity intelligently provides tips that have proven results of Goal achievement based on each individual sales/service/marketing rep. Our goal is to create high performing sales, service, and marketing teams. We provide insights to employees on how to become the best version of them everyday at work through their health & fitness management, says Rastegar. Each rep has access to view how much of their historical fitness/health activities drove their personal highest levels of historical Salesforce productivity (i.e. Leads created, Opportunities Closed, Cases Closed). As sales, service, and marketing teams feel the compounding stress of quota attainment & quantifiable KPIs, healthy habits drive a potential 19% increase in sales, 29% increase in profits, and 7% increase in customer engagement (source). Now, the reps tracking their fitness, sleep, exercise activities, and other health data have insights on how to optimize both their health & productivity together (The Optimized Employee). Productivity-Driven Health Tips FitBliss FitProductivity platform will use data science to generate the most valuable health tips for employees. These health tips focus on productivity and health/fitness goals that are created by the sales/service/marketing reps. Each tip drives its value to the rep associating the tip to the health & productivity goals. FitTips is a revolution to health education as the value of drinking 8 glasses of water now has not only an impact in the health of the employee, but its proven to contribute towards the success of the employees quota achievement, says Rastegar. Each FitTip that is provided is provided based on the science of the employees goals, historical achievements, and time-based engagements, giving the employee what matters most to them at the time it matters most. FitBliss has teamed with Healthwise, a leader in health content, to provide valuable & proven digital health collateral. Healthwise is excited to be working with FitBliss to demonstrate the impact employee wellness has on overall employee performance, says Dave Mink, Chief Client Officer at Healthwise. FitProductivity is available on the Salesforce AppExchange marketplace for Salesforce customers to implement for their Sales, Service, and Marketing teams. More information, email: getfitproductivity(at)fitbliss.com About FitBliss For innovative enterprise organizations, FitBliss socially connects employees on their health and wellness, gamifying wearable devices and fitness apps, and providing productivity-driven health recommendations. With our patented millennialized corporate wellness platform, our clients have reached record high wellness participation, achieved healthiest employer recognitions, and with the FitBlissONE program raised thousands of dollars for their philanthropic initiatives. FitBliss has clients and participants ranging from companies like: J.W. Marriott, MedeAnalytics, RhythmOne, Zendesk, L'Oreal, Blue Wolf (IBM), and Yellow Pages. http://www.fitbliss.com 1.415.562.8437. About Healthwise Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. People have turned to Healthwise information two billion times to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say no to the care they dont need. Healthwise partners with hospitals, electronic medical record (EMR) providers, health plans, care management companies, and health websites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve. http://www.healthwise.org. 1.800.706.9646. About Salesforce AppExchange Salesforce AppExchange is the worlds leading enterprise apps marketplace that empowers companies to sell, service, market and engage in entirely new ways. With 3,500 partner apps and more than 4 million customer installs, it is the most comprehensive source of cloud, mobile, social, IoT, analytics and artificial intelligence technologies for businesses. Additional Resources Become a fan of FitBliss: http://www.facebook.com/fitblisscom Follow FitBliss on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fitblisscom Like Salesforce on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/salesforce Follow Salesforce on Twitter: https://twitter.com/salesforce Salesforce, AppExchange and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc. Freedom Financial Network (FFN) has announced plans to move to a new 300,000-square-foot office campus at 2100 E. Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe to accommodate explosive growth in the Phoenix market. The financial services company is expanding with a build-to-suit lease at Rio2100, a 52-acre mixed-use development. Occupying two four-story buildings, the new offices will provide almost 33 percent more space than FFNs present operations, and on one campus, according to Kevin Gallegos, vice president of Phoenix operations. Employees will begin work in the first building in April 2018, and in the second in April 2019. Currently, FFN leases 210,000 square feet of office space across four buildings near I-10 and Baseline in Tempe. The Phoenix market has proven to be an exceptional base for FFNs rapid growth, says Gallegos. As the company continues to expand its services and client base, the ability to accommodate staff growth, and include all employees on one campus, will be a tremendous asset. Career hiring event: June 22 FFN opened its office in Tempe in April 2006 with six employees. Today, it employs more than 1,500. In January, the company announced plans to hire nearly 1,000 additional employees in Tempe this year, and has hired 442 to date. The company will hold a career fair Thursday, June 22, 3-6 p.m., at its office at 4625 S. Wendler Drive. Hiring managers will be looking to fill customer service, negotiations, loan servicing and underwriting positions. Job seekers should arrive with resumes and be prepared to interview that day, says Gallegos. No advance notice or reservations are required. Employees love working at Freedom Financial Network and take great pride in the culture weve built to serve our customers, says Linda Luman, vice president of human resources. She emphasizes that FFN hires people who can focus on both the companys mission and community engagement. Activities in the Tempe office include monthly wellness events for employees, a company-sponsored Freedom Fund that provides grants to employees who have financial hardships, and a Sunshine Committee that focuses on helping both employees and the local community. Our focus is building on the solid foundation and culture weve established in Tempe, says Luman. Its really exciting to reflect that culture in the new campus as we continue building for the future. For nine years, the Phoenix Business Journal has designated FFNs Tempe office as one of Phoenixs best for employees. In 2016, the company ranked No. 1 in the Extra-Large category of the publications Best Places to Work awards program. Freedom Financial Network (http://www.freedomfinancialnetwork.com) Freedom Financial Network, LLC (FFN), is a family of companies providing innovative solutions that empower people to live healthier financial lives. For people struggling with debt, Freedom Debt Relief offers a custom program to significantly reduce and resolve what they owe more quickly than they could on their own. FreedomPlus tailors personal loans to each borrower with a level of customer service unmatched in the industry. Bills.com helps homeowners better understand their loan options and make smarter mortgage decisions. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, FFN also operates an office in Tempe, Arizona, and employs more than 1,700. The company has been voted one of the best places to work in both the San Francisco Bay area and the Phoenix area for several years. Marina Ross joins Greenberg Traurig in Miami. International law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A., announced the addition of real estate attorney Marina I. Ross as a Shareholder in the firms Miami Real Estate Practice. Ross has been practicing in Florida since 2002, focusing on commercial real estate and finance transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, development, and construction. She has wide-ranging experience in the hospitality and leisure sector. She also represents developers in ground up development projects, along with real estate investment trusts (REITs) and private equity funds in a range of office, retail, and multi-family projects. Ross clients include Rescore Corp., a REIT; Encore Housing Opportunity Fund II, a privately-held REIT; and Miami Worldcenter Associates. She has been involved in numerous prominent projects, such as the Miami Worldcenter and Margaritaville Resort in Orlando. Greenberg Traurig is the perfect national platform on which I can grow my client base, said Ross, who is a native of Russia and came to the United States on her own for college. The firms national and global reach allow me to serve my clients interests in the most efficient and effective way. Admitted to practice in Florida, Ross was recognized in 2017 as one of the Top Lawyers in South Florida Real Estate by the South Florida Legal Guide, and was selected by the publication in 2015 and 2016 for inclusion as a Top Up and Comer. Fluent in Russian, Ross received her juris doctorate magna cum laude from the University of Miami Law School, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi. She is a member of the Dade County Bar Associations Young Lawyers Section, the Russian American Bar Association and CREW-Miami. We are pleased to have Marina join the firm as part of our continuing effort to grow our acclaimed real estate practice, said Miami Co-Managing Shareholder Yosbel A. Ibarra. Her international background is a great addition to our team and reflects the nature of our client base. Also joining Greenberg Traurig as an Associate is Eric Fisher. About Greenberg Traurig, LLP Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GTLaw) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and is celebrating its 50th anniversary. One firm worldwide, GTLaw has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and among the Top 20 on the 2016 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law. Food for Good is providing meals to 1,200 kids all summer long. We hope the entire community rallies behind this remarkable effort and joins in our campaign to Say Goodbye to Childhood Hunger! Dickinson Insurance & Financial Services has announced the latest beneficiary of their vibrant community involvement program serving the families and businesses of greater Little Rock. The new campaign partners with Arkansas Dream Centers Food for Good Summer Program to combat childhood hunger in Arkansas. Donations may now be made at https://www.crowdrise.com/say-goodbye-to-child-hunger-this-summer. The state of Arkansas ranks as one of the hardest places for children to live because of food insecurity, with 1 in 5 kids not sure where they will get their next meal. During the school year, schools provide what for many is their only good, nutritious meal of the day. But in the summer, these programs go away and kids are left hungry. Every weekday through August 12th, at 66 Food for Good sites throughout the state, meals are being served at no charge to children through age 18. In fact, Food for Good has a goal of feeding a whopping 150,000 meals to children this year. Can we donate $10 in your name to ensure that no child feels hunger this summer? asks Jason Dickinson, owner of Dickinson Insurance & Financial Services. Food for Good is providing meals to 1,200 kids all summer long. We hope the entire community rallies behind this remarkable effort and joins in our campaign to Say Goodbye to Childhood Hunger! All readers who would like to join Dickinson Insurance in providing nutritious meals for children need not even reach into their own pockets to do so. The agency itself has pledged to donate $10 to Food for Good for each and every referral they receive for an insurance quote, with no purchase necessary. To recommend friends and family for a no-obligation quotation, simply visit http://www.dickinsoninsuranceagency.com/Say-Goodbye-to-Child-Hunger-This-Summer_28_community_cause. Meanwhile, the Dickinson Insurance team is enthusiastically promoting the initiative through a dynamic social media and email outreach campaign, as well as featuring the cause in their print and electronic magazine, Our Hometown. Helping customers and friends to live well and thrive, the publication is delivered to thousands of households in Little Rock and surrounding communities every month. Current and past issues may be enjoyed by visiting http://www.dickinsoninsuranceagency.com/Our-Hometown-Magazine_39. The agency has made an ongoing commitment to positively impact the communities they serve by seeking out and supporting local worthy causes every two to three months as part of the nationally celebrated Agents of Change movement. Readers are encouraged to submit ideas for future initiatives at http://www.dickinsoninsuranceagency.com/Submit-A-Community-Cause_54. Those wishing to stay involved are encouraged to bookmark http://www.dickinsoninsuranceagency.com/community-cause and are invited to share the page with others who have an interest in helping the community. About Dickinson Insurance & Financial Services Dickinson Insurance & Financial Services is an award-winning insurance and financial services provider. Serving families and businesses with integrity from four offices in the Little Rock area, their mission is simple: provide the finest insurance and financial services in the industry, while delivering consistently superior service. Jason Dickinson and his team of caring professionals believe in protecting all the things which are most important to clients (their families, homes, businesses, cars and more), as well as preparing strategies enabling long-term financial success. Their dedicated experts in Little Rock, Bentonville, Bryant and Conway may be reached by calling 1-800-667-3268. To learn more about the agency, please visit http://www.dickinsoninsuranceagency.com/ Having recently been rewarded for his impressive achievements and contributions to the industry at the 2017 Sales and Marketing Awards in London, Managing Director Roel Mojico is keen to maintain momentum. The innovative young business owner was due to make a speech on the subject of Business Foundations at a conference held at the Manchester Central Convention Complex on the 11th of June. During his talk the CEO summarized his experiences as a business owner, providing an insight into how he has developed as a leader, his goals for the future and how he plans to lead Mojico to even greater success. About Mojico - http://www.mojico.co.uk/about-us/ Having recently been rewarded for his impressive achievements and contributions to the industry at the 2017 Sales and Marketing Awards in London, Managing Director Roel Mojico is keen to maintain momentum. Mr Mojico outlined how he attended the event with the aim of taking advantage of the number of influential leaders in attendance, regarding the event as an ideal opportunity to network with other efficacious sales and marketing figures, boosting the company's profile. Roel Mojico travelled from Sheffield to Manchester for the second quarterly seminar of the year, which boasted a guest list of all the top performing leaders from the Northern region. Mojico was in good company, with the managing director conducting his speech alongside several industry professionals who discussed other core topics such as "How to Separate Yourself", "How to Develop Leaders" and "Identifying and Addressing Important Conversations." Mojico is an outsourced sales and marketing firm based in Sheffield. The company specializes in a personalized form of direct marketing which allows them to connect with their clients ideal consumers in person. The firm believes this face-to-face interaction with customers allows the company to encourage long-lasting and personal business relationships between brand and consumer. For more information Follow @Mojico_ on Twitter and Like them on Facebook. Weve seen our clients struggle to effectively review texts, chats and other data found on cell phones. Were excited to build on the capabilities of Relativity, making texts as easy to review as emails. QDiscovery today announced the launch of QMobile Insight, a revolutionary new approach to analysis and review of mobile device data, including texts, chats and call logs, in Relativity, kCuras eDiscovery software. Demand for mobile device data is increasing in litigation and investigations. As mobile data volumes grow, legal professionals and computer forensic experts must review and analyze communications from many different channels and devices, which can be complex and cumbersome. Mobile data has been available only in spreadsheets and pdfs, requiring significant manual work by litigation support professionals and attorneys. QMobile Insight offers a new approach to handling mobile device data that leverages the full capabilities of eDiscovery review and analysis in Relativity. QMobile Insight standardizes and integrates data from mobile devices, so attorneys and litigation support professionals can review the information all together in Relativity, instead of separate spreadsheets and pdfs. It allows them to use Relativitys analytics features, like email threading and data visualizations, to identify patterns in conversations and see how conversations move between communication channels. Recognizing these patterns could be key to identifying critical evidence. Weve seen our clients struggle to effectively review texts, chats and other data found on cell phones, says David Barrett, CEO of QDiscovery. We have a very collaborative culture here at QDiscovery; QMobile Insight is the direct result of two teams forensics and project management coming together and applying their unique skill sets jointly to meet a real client challenge. Were excited to build on the capabilities of Relativity with a new tool for our clients, making texts as easy to review as emails. Whether its litigation, information governance, a government request or an internal investigation, Relativity provides organizations with a complete set of flexible tools to tackle their unique challenges through every phase of a project. As a platform, Relativity allows developer partners like QDiscovery to design, build and integrate applications that extend its functionality. QMobile Insight is now part of the Relativity Ecosystem, which includes applications and integrations built by Relativity developer partners. Communications media is constantly evolving, which can present a host of legal challenges for organizations, said Perry Marchant, vice president of engineering at kCura. By integrating tools like QMobile Insight into Relativity, we can further simplify and accelerate eDiscovery by offering our users an easy way to review and analyze many kinds of mobile data. Were excited to welcome QMobile Insight to the Relativity Ecosystem. About QDiscovery QDiscovery is a premier provider of electronic discovery and digital forensic services across the entire EDRM spectrum. Our dedicated team of eDiscovery professionals, forensic experts and litigation support specialists serves corporations, law firms and government enterprises, helping them manage complex matters and reduce the expense of litigation. Our single source platforms allow clients to process and review faster, leverage advanced analytics, streamline workflows, and automate complex productions, ultimately translating to lower costs. Our foremost focus is to provide clients with unparalleled customer service and cost-effective solutions. QDiscovery was named one of the 20 Most Promising Legal Technology Solution Providers 2017 by CIOReview. Contact solutions(at)qdiscovery.com or visit http://www.qdiscovery.com for more information. About kCura kCura are the developers of Relativity, an e-discovery platform used by more than 12,000 organizations to manage large volumes of data and quickly identify key issues during litigation, internal investigations, and compliance projects. Relativity has over 150,000 active users in 40+ countries from organizations including the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 70 Fortune 100 companies, and more than 195 of the Am Law 200. Corporations, law firms, and government agencies use Relativity on-premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid platformwith hosted, on-demand solutions available through a global network of partners. As a platform, Relativity also allows developers to design, build, and integrate applications that extend its functionality. kCura has been named one of Chicago's Top Workplaces by the Chicago Tribune for six consecutive years and received the CityLIGHTS Lighthouse Award from the Illinois Technology Association in 2016. Please contact kCura at sales(at)kcura.com or visit http://www.kcura.com for more information. HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:BCRH) ("Blue Capital"), a Bermuda holding company that, through its operating subsidiaries, offers collateralized reinsurance in the property catastrophe market and invests in various insurance-linked securities, today provided a portfolio update. Mike McGuire, Chairman and CEO of Blue Capital, commented: We are pleased to report strong portfolio execution during the June renewal period. Overall market price reductions were larger than initially anticipated, with the Florida market being 5% - 7.5% down year on year. However, due to the strength of our established long term relationships, the high quality of our underwriting and portfolio management teams and our strategic alignment with Sompo International, we were able to construct an attractive portfolio with risk adjusted pricing down 3%. As of June 1, 2017 the Company bound indemnity reinsurance contracts with expected total annual premiums of $4.7 million, an increase of $2.0 million when compared to the same period in 2016. The business underwritten by the Company is expected to produce a net rate on line for the portfolio of 17.7%, which is an increase of 170 basis points when compared to the same period in 2016. The higher rate on line is a result of increased deployment in the June renewal period, which was primarily focused on Florida exposed accounts that have a higher rate on line than the portfolio average. The Companys in-force portfolio deployed as of June 1, 2017 consisted of approximately 30.2% in support of first event reinsurance coverages, 46.2% in support of catastrophe quota share coverages and the balance in support of second and subsequent event coverages. A breakdown of the current portfolio is set out below: Portfolio Summary The following unaudited tables provide a breakdown of the of the Companys portfolio by contract type, zone and peril (as at 1 June 2017). Exposure is defined as deployed collateral plus net premium minus ultimate losses. Contract Type Exposure (US $ millions) Exposure as a % of Current Portfolio Positions Held Property Catastrophe Total 143.0 89.8 % 83 Prop Cat First Event XOL 121.9 76.6 % 67 Prop Cat Subsequent Event XOL 11.5 7.2 % 10 Prop Cat Aggregate XOL 9.6 6.0 % 6 Industry Loss Warranty Total 13.2 8.3 % 4 ILW - Subsequent Event XOL 13.2 8.3 % 4 ILW - First Event XOL 0.0 0.0 % 0 ILW - Aggregate XOL 0.0 0.0 % 0 Cat Bond Total 0 0.0 % 0 Retrocessional Hedging Total 3.0 1.9 % 3 Current Portfolio 159.2 100 % 90 XOL = excess of loss ILW = Industry Loss Warranty Asset Class Investment (US$ millions) Investment as a % of Current Portfolio Positions Held Traditional 143.0 89.8 % 83 Quota Share Retrocessional 73.7 46.3 % 21 Indemnity Retrocession 37.9 23.8 % 15 Indemnity Reinsurance 31.4 19.7 % 66 Non-Traditional 13.2 8.3 % 4 Industry Loss Warranties 13.2 8.3 % 4 Other non-property catastrophe risk2 0.0 0.0 % 0 Cat Bonds 0.0 0.0 % 0 Retrocessional Hedging 3.0 1.9 % 3 Current Portfolio 159.2 100 % 90 1 Underlying positions held within the quota share retrocessional agreements totals 1,500. 2 Contracts transacted in an International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. contract format. Portfolio Return Summary 1 Illustrative Net Aggregate Return Distribution 2017 Portfolio Returns No Loss Return 15 % Expected Return Range2 6 11% Probability of: Mean or Greater Return 72 % Breakeven or Greater 83 % Loss to NAV Greater than 5% 12 % Loss to NAV Greater than 10% 9 % Loss to NAV Greater than 15% 6 % Loss to NAV Greater than 25% 3 % Loss to NAV Greater than 35% 2 % 1 The portfolio return summary is provided for illustrative purposes only. The projections are derived by reference to the Company's modelled portfolio as at 1 June 2017 and do not take into account actual costs, expenses or other factors which are not attributable to the portfolio. As such, the in force portfolio return summary should not in any way be construed as forecasting the Companys actual returns should no losses occur or otherwise. 2 Net aggregate return distribution between a mean and median catastrophe year. Probable Maximum Loss The exposures summarised below represent the sum of all collateral invested less reinsurance recoverable. Per the Companys Investment Policy, the net first event Probable Maximum Loss (PML) in any one zone will not exceed 35% of the Companys Shareholders Equity (at the time the investment is made). For contracts that overlap zones, the total exposure is counted in each of the exposed zones. Territory / Region / Peril First Event VaR1 as a % of NAV US Florida Hurricane 30.7 % Japan Earthquake 18.2 % US California Earthquake 15.5 % US Gulf Hurricane 9.9 % US Northeast Hurricane 9.2 % UK & Ireland Windstorm 9.1 % US MidAtlantic Hurricane 7.0 % Japan Windstorm 6.4 % All other territory / region / peril zones < 5.0% 1 Value at Risk (VaR) represents the 99.0 percentile or the 1 in 100 year event for windstorm perils and the 99.6 percentile or the 1 in 250 year event for earthquake perils. About Blue Capital Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings Ltd., through its operating subsidiaries, offers collateralized reinsurance in the property catastrophe market, leveraging underwriting expertise and infrastructure from established resources. Underwriting decisions, operations and other management services are provided to Blue Capital by Blue Capital Management Ltd., a subsidiary of Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Sompo Holdings, Inc.), a recognized global specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and a leading property catastrophe and short tail reinsurer since 2001. Additional information can be found in Blue Capital's public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or at www.bcapre.bm. Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements in this press release may include, and Blue Capital may make related oral forward-looking statements which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Such statements may include forward-looking statements both with respect to us in general and the insurance and reinsurance sectors specifically, both as to underwriting and investment matters. Statements that include the words "should," "would," "expect," "estimates", "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "target," "anticipate," "seek," "will," "deliver," and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify forward-looking statements in this press release for purposes of the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or may be important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the effects of competitors pricing policies, greater frequency or severity of claims and loss activity, changes in market conditions, decreased demand for property and casualty reinsurance, changes in the availability, cost or quality of reinsurance or retrocessional coverage, our inability to renew business previously underwritten or acquired, uncertainties in our reserving process, changes to our tax status, reduced acceptance of our existing or new products and services, a loss of business from and credit risk related to our broker counterparties, assessments for high risk or otherwise uninsured individuals, possible terrorism or the outbreak of war, a loss of key personnel, political conditions, changes in insurance regulation, operational risk, including the risk of fraud and errors and omissions, as well as technology breaches or failure, changes in accounting policies, our investment performance, the valuation of our invested assets, a breach of our investment guidelines, potential treatment of us as an investment company or a passive foreign investment company for purposes of U.S. securities laws or U.S. federal taxation, respectively, our dependence as a holding company upon dividends or distributions from our operating subsidiaries, the unavailability of capital in the future, developments in the worlds financial and capital markets and our access to such markets, government intervention in the insurance and reinsurance industry, illiquidity in the credit markets, changes in general economic conditions and other factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the risk factors included in Blue Capitals most recent report on Form 10-K and other documents of Blue Capital on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements made in this material are qualified by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by Blue Capital will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Blue Capital or its business or operations. Except as required by law, Blue Capital undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. The contents of any website referenced in this press release are not incorporated by reference herein. TORONTO, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. (CSE:SNA) (CSE:SNA.CN) (OTCBB:SNAVF) ("Star" or the "Company"), announces that a total of 8,795,000 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company have been exercised at a price of C$0.06 per common share up to June 11, 2017, resulting in proceeds to the Company of C$527,700. The warrants were originally issued during June, 2015, through a private placement of 16,140,000 units, with each unit consisting of one (1) share of common stock and one (1) warrant to purchase one (1) share of common stock. 8,070,000 of the warrants, plus 725,000 Finders Fee warrants were exercisable to purchase one (1) common share at $0.06, with the remaining 8,070,000 being exercisable, as amended, to purchase one (1) common share at $0.09. The latter warrants expire September 11, 2017. Viraf S. Kapadia, Chairman and CEO of Star said: The exercise of warrants by these shareholders provides a strong vote of confidence in Star, and increases our resources as we continue to reorganize our sales program and maintain our commitment to our R&D partners and to our customers. About Star Navigation: Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. owns the exclusive worldwide license to its proprietary, patented In-flight Safety Monitoring System, STAR-ISMS, the heart of the STAR-A.D.S. System. Its real-time capability of tracking performance trends and predicting incident-occurrence enhances aviation safety and improves fleet management while reducing costs for the operator. Stars MMI Division designs and manufactures high performance, mission critical, flight deck flat panel displays for defence and commercial aviation industries worldwide. Certain statements contained in this News Release constitute forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words may, would, could, will, expected and similar expressions, as they relate to Star or its management are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect Stars current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause Stars actual performance or achievements to vary from those described herein. Should one or more of these factors or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Star does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release. Please visit www.star-navigation.com or Jean-Louis Larmor, (416) 252-2889 Ext. 221 Jean-louis.larmor@star-navigation.com Gold Feather Marketing Group Attn.: Anahadjeet Garewal (647) 409-3434 info@goldfeathermarketing.com The fund is under the name Peri-urban Commercial Vegetables Value Chains for Poverty Reduction and Food Security. READ ALSO: The fund is expected to be disbursed through the World Bank (WB). The financial facility will also be used for the establishment of vegetable warehousing and irrigation systems for better post-harvest handling and market linkages in the Greater Accra, Western, Eastern and Volta regions. The support is targeted at groups such as smallholder and less-resourced vegetable producers. Objectives Women and the youth in some selected communities in the four regions will benefit from this facility. It will also promote irrigation schemes to facilitate all-year-round vegetable production and consumption, as well as develop the capacities of farmers to enable them to improve the productivity and quality of their produce. Other objectives are reducing post-harvest losses through efficient post-harvest handling mechanisms and facilitation of access to high value markets to ensure appreciable income levels for farmers. Partner Reports show that the productive partner to participate in the project implementation process is B- BOVID Limited, a Takoradi-based Agro-farm entrepreneur. READ ALSO: ENGIE and eleQtra sign an agreement for the development of a wind project in Ghana The company would be providing the matching grant for the establishment of a cold chain centre (Vegetable Warehousing System), and would consequently manage the system to enhance efficiency. Mr. Issa Ouedraogo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of B-BOVID says the Greater Accra Regions in Ghana will build the modern warehousing systems to stem the challenge of post-harvest losses. NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guggenheim Investments, the investment management division of Guggenheim Partners, today announced that the following Guggenheim equity exchange traded funds (ETFs) have declared quarterly distributions. The table below summarizes the distribution for each Fund. Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share XLG Guggenheim S&P 500 Top 50 ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.811 RSP Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.321 OEW Guggenheim S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.115 RPV Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Value ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.294 RPG Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.119 RFV Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Value ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.294 RFG Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.159 RZV Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Value ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.197 RZG Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Growth ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.106 RTM Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.412 RGI Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Industrials ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.327 RYT Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Technology ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.260 Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share RYH Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.161 RHS Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.661 RCD Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.322 RYE Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.214 RYF Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.140 RYU Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.636 EWRE Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Real Estate ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.208 EWMC Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Equal Weight ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.145 EWSC Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Equal Weight ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.096 EWEM Guggenheim MSCI Emerging Markets Equal Country Weight ETF 6/16/17 6/20/17 6/30/17 $0.247 Past performance is not indicative of future performance. To the extent any portion of the distribution is estimated to be sourced from something other than income, such as return of capital, the source would be disclosed on a Section 19(a)-1 letter located on the Funds website under the Literature tab. Distributions may be comprised of sources other than income, which may not reflect actual Fund performance. For more information, please visit http://www.guggenheiminvestments.com/etf . About Guggenheim Investments Guggenheim Investments is the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners, with $217 billion1 in total assets across fixed income, equity, and alternative strategies. We focus on the return and risk needs of insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, consultants, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors. Our 275+ investment professionals perform rigorous research to understand market trends and identify undervalued opportunities in areas that are often complex and underfollowed. This approach to investment management has enabled us to deliver innovative strategies providing diversification and attractive long-term results. Read a funds prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) carefully before investing. It contains the funds investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information, which should be considered carefully before investing. Obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) at http://guggenheiminvestments.com or call 800.820.0888. The referenced funds are distributed by Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC. Guggenheim Investments represents the investment management business of Guggenheim Partners, LLC (Guggenheim), which includes Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors (GFIA), Security Investors, LLC (SI), the investment advisors to the referenced fund. Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC is affiliated with Guggenheim, SI, and GFIA. 1 Guggenheim Investments total asset figure is as of 3.31.2017. The assets include leverage of $11.7bn for assets under management and $0.4bn for assets for which we provide administrative services. Guggenheim Investments represents the following affiliated investment management businesses: Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, Security Investors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, Guggenheim Real Estate, LLC, GS GAMMA Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Partners Europe Limited, and Guggenheim Partners India Management. These raffia bags are making impressive statements in the international bag world. She is the founder of AAKS Hand Craft which creates durable bags, characterized by bright exuberant colours with style. The Ghanaian business woman, Akosua graduated from Kingston University London with a BA (Hons) Fashion degree. She now stocks her woven bag collections at Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. "Now I sell in 46 stores in 16 countries around the world, and I've only been in business since 2014," she says. It all started when Akosua Afriyie-Kumi visited a small tranquil village in the Northern region of Ghana and spotted a group of local weavers making baskets by twisting raffia to sell along the streets. Apparently, Akosua was so green to the business world, but she felt raffia bags could be a good opportunity when she stumbled on it. Although she had little knowledge about business when she started, she capitalized on her social networks. Just after few months of her setting up her designer bag business, raffia bags gained traction on Pinterest, and also made way to the attention of U.S. retailer Anthropologie. "To get a call almost three months after launching from Anthropologie was one of the greatest moments of my brand," says Afriyie-Kumi. Due to the quality of the bags, Anthropologie recommended AAKS to Urban Outfitters(URBN) (both subsidiaries of URBN brands), which included her in its Spring/Summer 2016 collection. Urban Outfitters will stock her new collection in its Miami and Hawaii stores. Workforce The rising demand for her bags has made Akosua increase the number of weavers from three to 30 weavers. According to her, each bag can take as long as a week to be ready "as raffia palms are taken from the south to the north of Ghana, where they are twisted into strands by hand and dyed using organic colouring. Once dry, the weaving begins." READ ALSO: Government wages war on oil smugglers With the pricing, Akosua says the bags sell between $70 and $270. "I limit production to a maximum of 200 bags a month, to ensure quality and ethical production. A lot of stores are surprisingly OK with us not over-producing, as our bags become more exclusive," she says. Akosua is currently based in Ghana but finds herself travelling to and throughout Europe and Africa. She particularly visits Cape Town, London, Accra frequently to work with local artisans, experience the diverse culture of the continents and discover new inspirations for her brand. Stefan Lumiere was found guilty earlier this year Lumiere is the ex-brother in law of Visium's founder, Jake Gottlieb, a physician who founded the firm, which became known for investing in healthcare stocks. The hedge fund attracted billions in assets, often from public pensions and endowments, even as Wall Street players distanced themselves, Business Insider previously reported. Billionaire hedge funder Steve Cohen, for instance, stopped hiring from Visium before the government's indictment became public. At its peak, Visium managed $8 billion, and its shuttering marked one of the most notable insider trading cases in recent years. Sanjay Valvani, a star fund manager overseeing the firm's flagship healthcare fund, committed suicide last year days after he was accused of insider trading. Valvani had maintained his innocence. Gottlieb hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing. Lumiere's boss, Chris Plaford, pleaded guilty and cooperated with the government investigation. A spokesperson for Visium didn't respond to a request comment. Jonathan N. Halpern and Jonathan H. Friedman, who are lawyers for Lumiere at law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, said in a statement: This last two years have seen the Liberal Democrats recover since the devastation of the 2015 election. That recovery was never inevitable but we have seen the doubling of our party membership, growth in council elections, our first parliamentary by-election win for more than a decade, and most recently our growth at the 2017 general election. Most importantly the Liberal Democrats have established ourselves with a significant and distinctive role - passionate about Europe, free trade, strong well-funded public services underpinned by a growing market economy. No one else occupies that space. Against all the odds, the Liberal Democrats matter again. We can be proud of the progress we have made together, although there is much more we need to do. From the very first day of my leadership, I have faced questions about my Christian faith. I've tried to answer with grace and patience. Sometimes my answers could have been wiser. At the start of this election, I found myself under scrutiny again - asked about matters to do with my faith. I felt guilty that this focus was distracting attention from our campaign, obscuring our message. Journalists have every right to ask what they see fit. The consequences of the focus on my faith is that I have found myself torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader. A better, wiser person than me may have been able to deal with this more successfully, to have remained faithful to Christ while leading a political party in the current environment. To be a political leader - especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 - and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me. I'm a liberal to my finger tips, and that liberalism means that I am passionate about defending the rights and liberties of people who believe different things to me. There are Christians in politics who take the view that they should impose the tenets of faith on society, but I have not taken that approach because I disagree with it - it's not liberal and it is counterproductive when it comes to advancing the gospel. Even so, I seem to be the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in. In which case we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society. That's why I have chosen to step down as leader of the Liberal Democrats. I intend to serve until the parliamentary recess begins next month, at which point there will be a leadership election according to the partys rules. This is a historic time in British politics. What happens in the next months and years will shape our country for generations. My successor will inherit a party that is needed now more than ever before. Our future as an open, tolerant and united country is at stake. The cause of British liberalism has never been needed more. People who will fight for a Britain that is confident, generous and compassionate are needed more than ever before. That is the challenge our party and my successor faces and the opportunity I am certain that they will rise to. I want to say one more thing: I joined our party when I was 16, it is in my blood, I love our history, our people, I thoroughly love my party. Imagine how proud I am to lead this party. And then imagine what would lead me to voluntarily relinquish that honour. In the words of Isaac Watts it would have to be something 'so amazing, so divine, (it) demands my heart, my life, my all'. Theres no better example of this imbalance than the male-dominated comedy movie market, where women are rarely ever given the opportunity to helm outside of rom-coms. So even though there has been needed attention and praise for recent releases like Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman and Sofia Coppolas The Beguiled, we shouldnt ignore the significance of Sony releasing Lucia Aniellos raunchy R-rated comedy Rough Night on Friday. In the last 20 years, there arent many examples of women making studio R-rated comedies. The three Bridget Jones movies were all helmed by women (Sharon Maguire did the first and third movies, Beeban Kidron made the second), in 2009 Nancy Meyers made Its Complicated, and then you have to go all the way back to 1998's Dave Chappelle-starring classic Half Baked, directed by Tamra Davis. So Aniello, who is best known for directing and cowriting many episodes of the Comedy Central hit Broad City, is the latest on a very short list. Which she wasnt aware of for a while. I think it's a big deal because it's my first movie, period, Aniello recently told Business Insider. That's why it feels like a pretty big moment for me. The fact that there's this additional curse thing that has been broken, which I didn't know about until a few weeks ago, I just hope in some small way if this movie is able to pave the way for anybody else to make an R comedy by women for women, then I think its done its job. Aniello and her partner Paul W. Downs (who along with being a writer on Broad City also plays Trey on the show) wrote the script for "Rough Night" during a break between seasons of Broad City. While much of the humor and story on the show which follows the antics of Ilana (Ilana Glazer) and Abbi (Abbi Jacobson) as they navigate life in New York City revolve around experiences the staff had in their 20s, Aniello and Downs thought of a way to explore life in their 30s. We realized that a lot of our closest friendships have kind of gone to the back burner, Aniello said. We had a lot of bachelorette and bachelor parties that we went to and we started talking about this idea of what happens when you have people from college you feel you could never ever live without, but 10 years later, where are you? And is everyone on equal footing or are there issues that have come up? They decided to explore those questions inside a raunchy comedy. Over the course of a bachelorette party in Miami, five friends have fun until everything goes very wrong after the stripper they hired dies in a horrific accident. Aniello and Downs began to pitch it to studios, but there were two stipulations to buying the project: Aniello would have to direct it and Downs would have to play the super-sensitive fiance, Peter. And to their delight, multiple studios were interested in the script, but Sony was the most aggressive. From the first conversation, Sony was ready to throw down and make the movie, Aniello said. For us we weren't necessarily interested in who is going to give us the most money, we were like, Let's make this thing, and that was always our goal from day one. We would have Kickstartered it if we had to, shot it on cell phones in a borrowed house. We just wanted to make something that we really cared about. But then things got even better when they found that one of the most bankable actresses in the world wanted to play the lead: Scarlett Johansson. It was a complete shot in the dark, Aniello said about sending the script to Johanssons people. I dont even know if she was looking for that kind of a thing. However, Aniello felt the only way to pull off the emotional third act of the movie in which bachelorette Jess (Johansson) and her friends (Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, Kate McKinnon, Zoe Kravitz) open up about being left out of each others lives was with a lead who had serious chops. We definitely wanted an actress who had the range of comedy and drama. For us there were very few people in general that we were interested in, Aniello said. Though Aniello had no doubts Johansson could pull off the comedy, having seen her hold her own on Saturday Night Live, watching her work on the set of a fast-paced comedy movie was still impressive. We would give her a Post-It with 30 words on it and she would read it once, hand it back, and I would say, Action, and she would deliver it verbatim, perfect timing, Aniello said. Shes an unbelievable machine. Looking back on the first major movie theyve been able to make, Downs recalls the back-and-forth with the studio that all hard-R movies experience, like a scene in which his character is offered oral sex at a gas station. Downs said they had to shoot a version that didnt include the mention of oral sex to appease the studio, but after test screenings, the dirtier version was kept. But another highlight was the camaraderie that was built because of the female power behind the scenes. Comedy has always been a boys' club, so I think in that way we knew it was significant that Lucia was directing, Downs said. And because it was a woman director and a female cast, all around the same age, they all became girlfriends. Thats the biggest success of this film, how much everyone got along. Im lucky to be in a position where I can help move the needle, so Im kind of concentrating on that, Aniello said of her place in furthering women-directed comedies. Come and laugh and maybe Hollywood will let women make more R comedies. Construction of utilities have stalled over six months and constructors have said the 30-month completion schedule may be impossible. Contracta Engenharia Ltda, the Brazilian construction firm that is in charge of the project began work in July 2015 and is expected to complete in January 2018. The project which costs $298 million includes the the construction of over 10, 000 stores and re-construction of the Kejetia Terminal. The Redevelopment which is 70% complete has been made almost impossible to continue following a suit by a private businessman against the contractor. They have been restricted from working within sixty meters of the private facility. Project consultant, Anthony Yeboah-Asare says he is skeptical about meeting the set date for completion with the ongoing litigation still unsettled. As we are talking now, there is a portion of the land which we call the technical area which is still being disputed and thats where they are going to do utility installations; the water pumps, the transformers, gas stations and things like that. These are key installations that are going to support the operations of the market which are still not on-board even though the machines are in the system," he told journalists in Kumasi. Other major components of the construction that has been put on hold because of the suit is the development of a ring-road. READ ALSO: Hotel owner killed in Kumasi Project Manager, Jorge Tavares Almeda had earlier appealed to who was on an inspection tour at the project site to help address the issue of the disputed land. The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, has pledged to help resolve the dispute by settling it out of court. The Deputy Minority Leader, James Avedzi told Accra-based Citi FM that they are in doubt the bill will yield the required results since no strategy has been put in place to ensure prices of spare parts also reduce to reflect the tax removal. The targeted beneficiary who are actually the consumers will eventually not benefitThe Minority is not against it. It is only saying that there must be a mechanism to ensure that the effect is felt by the consumer. The mechanism to ensure that if you go to the market, the importer pays less duty or no duty on the parts at the ports. The mechanism must be put in place to ensure that the price of spare parts reflect that reduction. The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta announced the scrapping and revision of some taxes as promised by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during its campaign ahead of the 2016 elections. He explained that although some of those taxes were introduced by the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to increase revenue, they had become an unprofitable means of raising money and also a burden to the private sector, stifling their development. Parliament subsequently approved four amendment Bills to scrap taxes as proposed in the 2017 budget. The Bills were the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, Special Petroleum Tax (Amendment) Bill, Special Import (Amendment) Bill and Customs and Excise (Petroleum Taxes and the Petroleum Related Levies (Repeal) Bill. Below is the list of taxes that have been abolished and reviewed by the government Abolished taxes 1 percent Special Import Levy; 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on financial services; 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on selected imported medicines, that are not produced locally; Initiate steps to remove import duties on raw materials and machinery for production within the context of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) Protocol; 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on domestic airline tickets; 5 percent VAT/NHIL on Real Estate sales; Excise duty on petroleum; Special petroleum tax rate from 17.5 percent to 15 percent; Duty on the importation of spare parts; Levies imposed on kayayei by local authorities; Taxation, the gains from realisation of securities listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange or publicly held securities approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Reviewed taxes They argue that the absence of a proper mechanism to monitor the margin of reduction in prices would make little of the slashed taxes. The Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr. James Klutse Avedzi explained to Citi Business News the government must not leave the full implementation to the spare parts dealers alone in the country. READ ALSO: The targeted beneficiaries would eventually not benefitif we are saying that theres a free market and for that matter if I reduce the duty then the market should use its own demand and supply interactions to reduce the prices, then there is no need in coming out with this policy, he stated. Parliament on Wednesday, June 14th, 2017, passed the Customs Amendment Bill. This also followed the scrapping of import duties on imported spare parts by the government. The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta at this years budget presentation asserted that the import duties were part of the twelve tax reliefs outlined to bring respite to local businesses. The move was however conspicuously missing in initial amendments to the tax policies by the Finance Ministry. READ ALSO: The Abossey Okai Spare parts dealers association for instance was optimistic of an eventual scrapping after approval by Parliament. Though the traders had already indicated plans to reduce their prices to reflect the tax cuts, Mr. Avedzi wants the government to closely monitor their operations to give value for money to the final consumer. Addressing the issue, Samson Awingobit Asaki, Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association explained that the tax would add to the already high cost of operation importation. READ ALSO: Bill passed to scrap taxes on spare parts He added that the increment would force them to increase the price of goods for consumers to bear the cost. The president announced that parliament had accepted that a 0.2 percent import tax be put on import to fund the AU. The new tax which would be on all imports outside of the AU would make that there was enough funds in its coffers so as to avoid borrowing for other nations. However importers of goods outside the continent are displeased. Some say the tax is just a ruse to replace the tax that were removed earlier this year. Mr. Asaki explained that the effects of the tax would basically be borne by every importer as almost of them import their goods from outside the AU. However, the legislature has denied claims to that effect saying, the court did not order the closure of the university. READ ALSO:University of Education temporarily shuts down In an interview with AccraFM on Wednesday June 14, 2017, Mr Afenyo-Markin said: The registrar of the institution is up to some mischief with some people and that, in itself, I am sure, will give rise to another action in court. So, simply put, I will say that the court did not order the closure of the university. This matter is in court as we speak and if I go on about it again in the media, it will not be helpful, but what I will say is that the court never ordered the closure of the university. The University of Education was sued at the Winneba High Court in connection with a writ brought by one Supi Kofi Kwayera represented today Tuesday 13 June, 2017 in court by the Member of Parliament of Effutu, Hon. Alexander Afenyo Markin challenging the legality of certain actions taken by the then Governing Councils of the University. The mother-of-twins praised the President for approving a state burial for Major Maxwell and also planting a seed fund for his family but same should be replicated for the family of the Policeman who was shot by his colleague. She indicated that replicating what the government did for Major Maxwell Mahama for the deceased Police will help fight corruption in the Police because they will not feel discriminated against. Mr. President you promised to fight corruption but do you now understand why our men in black are so corrupt. If 1 is buried as a hero and other as a common criminal..hmmm. And why is the police force boasting of that 10,000ghc when this man was actually shot by his own colleagues. If we want our police force to be disciplined like our military men then we better treat them equally. HAMILTON, BERMUDA, June 15, 2017 - DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) ("DHT") announced the results of its 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Annual Meeting"). The Annual Meeting was held on Thursday, June 15, 2017. At the Annual Meeting, DHT received overwhelming support from its shareholders who elected Jeremy Kramer as a Class I Director for a term of three years, amended DHT's articles of incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock from 150,000,000 to 250,000,000 and ratified the selection of Deloitte AS as DHT's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017. The motions to elect Jeremy Kramer, amend the articles of incorporation and ratify the selection of Deloitte received the support of over 95%, 93% and 98% of votes cast respectively. About DHT Holdings, Inc. DHT is an independent crude oil tanker company operating a fleet of crude oil tankers in the VLCC and Aframax segments. We operate through our wholly owned management companies in Oslo, Norway and Singapore. For further information: www.dhtankers.com. CONTACT: Eirik Ube, CFO Phone: +44 1534 639 759 and +47 412 92 712 E-mail: eu@dhtankers.com He said some officials at the seat of government, are piling pressure on members of the task force to return the seized cars to persons from whom the cars were confiscated. READ MORE: John Dumelo allegedly gave out government car to his girlfriend Abronye DC speaking on Accra-based Asempa FM Thursday June 15 said "Let me use your platform to tell those officials at the Flagstaff House that most of the confiscated cars are parked at the Regional Coordinating Council. They can go and pick them and return to the people we retrieved them from. I, Abronye DC, will not worry myself and drive to Sunyani to go for the cars." It will be recalled that the 33-year-old sent one of the cars, black V8 Toyota Land Cruiser with registration number GE 8118-16 to a workshop in Abelempke, Accra for total rebranding when National Security Operatives pounced on it. READ MORE: Social media trolls John Dumelo after government cars are collected from him The vehicle is said to be one of the 200 vehicles the presidency said are missing. But Abronye said "John Dumelos seized car is at the Flagstaff House Annex. It should be returned to him. That of Elvis Afriyie Ankrah and Kofi Adams should also be returned to them. All the cars that I seized have been parked at the Regional Coordinating Council in Sunyani and so the people we seized the cars from can go for their vehicle because the work we are doing is useless. Sarkodie has been accused of mocking Krobo women in a song titled Jennifer Lomotey by Kurl Songx, who won the MTN hitmarker show in 2016. A line in the song attributed to Sarkodie mocked: Krb nii baa papa a ahwene da ne sisi. kmfo Ankye de adwaman no ab ne dua. According to the Kloma Hengme Association, a line in the song attributed to Sarkodie translates as A noble Krobo lady with beads around her waist who has been cursed by Okomfo Anokye with promiscuity is discriminatory and demeans the people of Krobo. This [lyric] is founded on a myth and in this case, this myth is created to cast aspersions on the Krobo people. They are therefore prejudiced and discriminatory, contrary to Article 17(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana which provides that [a] person shall not be discriminated against on grounds of [] ethnic origin [...], the group said in a letter serving notice about the possible suit. Writing on behalf of the Krobo heritage and advocacy group, Lawyer, Kwadkwo Apiegyei-Atua, is asking Sarkodie to implement six reliefs one of which is the payment of GH2,000,000 to the people of Krobo or prepare to meet him in court. The song was produced by David Kojo Kyei (aka Kaywa) and Joy News sources say he has received the notice on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. The demands by the group that describes itself as a Krobo heritage and advocacy group whose mission is to project Krobo values as the basis to promote the development of the Krobo people is for hiplife artiste to do the following: 1. Issue an immediate order to the relevant media houses asking them to halt playing the Jennifer Lomotey song on their airwaves; 2. Expunge or cause to be expunged the portion of the lyrics which my clients find offensive and defamatory or completely ban the use of that song from the airwaves; 3. Expunge or cause to be expunged all audio and video clips of the song which are found on various social media platforms that are registered in your name; 4. Write an unreserved apology to the Chiefs and people of the Krobo Traditional Area, including a statement to the effect that such an offensive act will not be repeated against the Krobo people; 5. Make a statement to the general public advising them to desist from transferring or sharing the song which contains the offensive lyrics with anybody else; and, 6. For denting the image of the Krobo people and dragging their hardearned reputation in the mud, pay a compensation of two million Ghana cedis (GHS2, 000,000) to the Krobo people. This comes on the back of the arrest of two women who were seen in a video on social media dipping peeled oranges into a solution to impact the colour of the orange. The two women were arrested after a swoop at the Madina market on Tuesday, June 13. They have been granted bail as investigations continue. READ ALSO: Two women arrested for adulterating oranges Even though some Ghanaians have commended the FDA for the arrest, others feel that the Authority had been harsh on the two women considering some of the foods consumed in the market are coloured as well. But speaking to Pulse.com.gh, the Head of Communications at the FDA, James Lartey said the action by the two women should not be taken lightly. He said that although their aim was to beautify the oranges by making them appear yellow, the fear is that they may lack knowledge on the type and exact quantity to use, which could eventually be harmful to the consumer. When you go to industry, they know that for example, manufacturing 40 litres of a drink, let me take 1 gramme of a food colour and use because they know that using 1 gramme will not be harmful. But these women...what is the knowledge; all they know is they are colouring, and so they can pick any quantity at all which may be harmful to the consumer, he explained. Mr Lartey further indicated that his biggest fear is whether the two women were actually using food colour or some other solution which can be harmful. He, however, indicated that the Authority is investigating the issue and would also continue to educate traders on the dangers of the haphazard use of food colours. We have a department, that is, the Food Safety Management Department. They go to the market and they organise the women and they sensitise them on some of these colour adulteration, the danger of putting a foreign material, and all those things. From the the La Gatas, the Veeras, the Unforgiveables and to the Kumkum Bagyas: almost every TV station in Ghana now has at least one soap opera on their daily programme line-ups. As worrying as the trend has been, there is no denying of the fact that local movies in recent times have lost the kind of appeal that they used to have. Today the name Otavio is more popular than David Dontoh, just like mentioning Pragya will now be more recognizable than Maame Dokono. You should see how kids at the junior and senior high schools narrate the storylines of these Mexican and Asian soap operas with relative ease. But before these telenovelas, Ghanaians were used to watching some local drama series. And we enjoyed them! Unfortunately, these local drama series are nowhere to be found now. Pulse.com.gh brings you a compilation of some of the Ghanaian drama series that were once hot-cake on our TV screens. Taxi Driver With a star-studded cast which features the likes of veteran actor Sam Adjeteyfio (T.T), and Prince Yawson (Waakye), this series had just everything: comedy, drama and educative storyline. Themed on a taxi driver who always had something to say about every situation, the episodes of this series left viewers with pieces of advice on each occasion. Cantata Perhaps the most watched series among the lot. Cantata used to be showed only on Sundays, however, nobody ever wanted to miss it. From the cast singing, to trying to recap true life stories; Cantata was just the complete package. Inspector Bediako The local drama series Inspector Bediako was humorous, but contained a lot of educative content. Inspector Bediako was a detective who would go every length to uncover what was hidden. The series was enjoyed by adult and children alike. Home Sweet Home Perhaps the most popular Ghanaian series in the mid-2000s. Home Sweet Home told the story of a family, and the power play between the youth. The series was particularly aimed at bringing to the fore how parental control could make or unmake the lives of children. Things we do for love A TV series designed for the youth, Things we do for love had messages targeted to the youth in a bid to help straighten their lives. Adjetey Annan (Pusher), Majid Michel (Shaker) and Jackie Appiah (Enyonam) all started their movie careers by starring in this series. Things we do for love opens the public to the secret things the youth do when on campuses, as well as how a lack of parental control could make their wards wayward. By the fire side Our Saturday afternoons have never been the same since the series By the fire side was taken off our screens. This TV Series had the likes of Grace Omaboe, popularly known as Maame Dokono sitting children down and narrating stories to them. The judge, Aret Nsomoh ordered the journalists to stay out of the court room. She said: "I don't want any journalist in my court room." The case was, however, adjourned to 29 June as the prosecutor, George Amega, told the court that he was waiting for advice from the Attorney General on the case. Daniel and Vincent were rearrested and arraigned after a High Court discharged them due to a decision by the Attorney General to discontinue at the court. He said this when he visited the Interior Minister to discuss issues affecting the Police Service. He explained that the recent deaths of police personnel in the line of duty showed that a measure must be out in place to cater for their family they leave behind especially their spouses and children. READ ALSO: Man who allegedly killed Michel Camp police officer shot dead The recent killing of front line officers in the line of duty goes to confirm the increasing hazardous nature of the police professionhowever, it is the dream of the current police administration to establish a police fund. This will give hope to personnel especially those in the front line and also reassure all that their welfare is of paramount importance to the administration, IGP Apeatu said. Referencing the late American President, John F, Kennedy, IGP Apeatu said: I do not want us to ask what we can get from the Ghana Police Service, but what can we give to make the service a better institution. READ ALSO: Police mounts search for baby thief in Kumasi At least, we can reduce the initial pain and frustration that the bereaved families go through in such circumstances with a cushioning insurance cover, he added. The IGPs announcement comes after a Lance Corporal was shot dead by his colleagues after they mistook him for an armed robber in May 2017. In June 2017, another police officer was killed at Tulaku near Michel Camp in the Tema area. The Accra Central District Court judge, Arit Nsemoh was said to have ordered the journalists to stay out of the court room. She said: "I don't want any journalist in my court room." The judges outburst came right after the suspects; Daniel Asiedu and Vincent Bosso were ushered into the courtroom by police investigators. READ ALSO: Judge bars journalists from covering JB murder case But speaking on Accra-based Class FM, the GJA president said his outfit spoke with the judge for her side of the story. We spoke to the judge and she gave her side of the story. Our decision to talk to her is predicated on the principle that every story has two sides. The side she gave was that she was caught unawares, she didnt know that the journalists were entering the court room with cameras, and that was in violation of the rules governing court proceedings. So she asked the cameraman and the reporter to leave the courtroom with the camera. I then asked her whether the order for the journalists affected other media houses or journalists, especially those from the print, and she said no. She said she couldnt even identify the journalists and that all that she realised was that some cameramen were at the gate pointing fingers at her. She felt it was unethical and unlawful, so she exercised her powers and asked the police to ask them to vacate the premises. But she is not against journalists entering her courtroom to do what they are supposed to. The relatives of the deceased, who had earlier suspected contract killing have since filed a complaint with the police, Accra-based Joy FM reports. According to the family, the businessman (name withheld) is a close business associate of the late Anthony Owusu Adomako. The family said that before the death, the two had engaged in some violent exchanges. The deceased had accused the suspect of cheating him in a business deal amounting to some thousands of Ghana Cedis, the family said. The Public Relations Officer at the Ashanti Regional Command, ASP Juliana Obeng, said that the police had received the information from the family and they would soon go after the said businessman. We are in touch with the family...They have given us some leads and at the appropriate time we are going to move on that lead or that piece of information that the family has given us, she said. The owner of Coconut Guest House at Adiebeba in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, was on Monday stabbed to death by some unknown persons. The deceased was stabbed after some attackers stormed the guest house at about 11 p.m. The 78-year-old died shortly upon arrival at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. READ ALSO: Hotel owner killed in Kumasi The Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Juliana Obeng, told Luv FM that the attackers did not pick anything from the hotel. A 52-year-old receptionist was invited for questioning while investigations continue. The receptionist was alleged to have been led at knife-point from the reception to the lobby where Owusu Adomako was relaxing after close of work. The Director of Elections of the party, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo who disclosed this said that the school will train its members on the core values of the NDC. He told Accra-based Peace FM that the aim of the school is also to help party members acquire in-depth knowledge of the values and objectives of the party. He believes that the move will enable the party regain power in the next election. Lets respect the party. Lets work for the party . . . I believe that the NDC will rise up again and will form the next government God willing come the year 2020, he said. The NDC recently marked its 25th year anniversary at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region. Several party bigwigs, including former president John Mahama were present at the rally. Mr Rawlings used the opportunity to call on the party to always uphold the principles of truth and integrity in all their endeavours. The MCE was sworn into office on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, under heavy security presence. The Regional and Municipal Security Councils agreed that there will be a permanent joint military and police rapid response squad at the Municipal Assembly complex to avoid any clashes. READ ALSO: Savulugu MCE confirmed amid tight security However, the youth of Savelugu dared to march to the municipal assembly office a day after her induction. They went there to lock the office up but were prevented by the police at the premises. A protester who spoke to Accra-based Class FM said Today, we organised ourselves to go to the assembly and locked the assembly down because we will not allow the woman to be the MCE. You cant impose anyone on us... So they came out with a lot of policemen in two buses and a pickup to harass us and we say they cant harass us. They started beating us and we also started protecting ourselves. Right now they are shooting bullets to scare us away and we are saying that we are also not going to move. All of us are at Savelugu and we will never allow the woman to be the MCE at all cost. Hajia Ayishetu was confirmed in May 2017 and has since not reported to work because some residents, led by New Patriotic Party (NPP) constituency executives, have refused to allow her to set foot in her office. The NPP youth say that she is an alien to them. They explain that she is not a registered voter in the area, has not participated in or contributed to any of the partys activities. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Uzo Aduba moved to America from Nigeria as a young child. She recalls that as a child she was teased about her Nigerian name Uzoamaka (meaning the road is good), therefore asked her mother to call her Zoe. According to her, "I never considered it as an adult. I went through that struggle when I was a kid. When I was in elementary school the constant mispronunciation and they straight up laughing at your name. I came home one day from school and I said to my mum can you call me 'Zoe'. She stopped cooking and said "Why?" If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Dostoyevsky, then they can learn to say Uzoamaka. And that was the only time I had a conversation about changing my name." Punch reports that Adebayo was apprehended in the Ikorodu area of the state after she dumped the baby because, according to her, she could not take care of the child. The suspect, an orphan, has reportedly told the police that she was impregnated by one Martins Tewogbade, an apprentice who lives in the Bariga area of the state and that she gave birth to the baby on April 30, 2017, at a private hospital in the neighbourhood. It was learned that Tewogbades parents rejected the baby after Adebayo put to bed and she had to relocate with the child to a friends house in the Igbode area of Ogun State. While there, Adebayo approached a worker at a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in the town sometime in May 2017 and begged the woman to take custody of the child. The baby was in the care of the church worker who has been identified as Mrs. Joke Fatai, until Saturday, June 10, when Adebayo went to withdraw the infant and took her to Ikorodu where she allegedly tied the babys mouth and nose and dumped her in the bush and returned to Bariga, where she told people that the child had died. However, the baby was found by some members of a vigilance group in the early hours of the following day and was later reunited with Fatai while residents of Igbode eventually traced Adebayo to Bariga where she was arrested. A resident of Bariga, Yusuf Tolagbe, narrated that an angry crowd wanted to beat up Adebayo but were restrained by members of a child rights organization in the area, Child Protection Network. Ayomides mother died shortly after giving birth to her. Her fathers whereabout is unknown. She was living with an elderly man and has finished her secondary school education Last year, the man observed that she was pregnant. After prodding her, she said it was Martins (Tewogbade), an apprentice, that impregnated her. But the boys parent did not accept the pregnancy, claiming that it belonged to a taxi driver, who they usually saw her with She left the community after she gave birth in April and came back on Sunday, telling people that the baby was dead. It was when the woman (Fatai) and some people came on Monday with the baby that we discovered she was lying. The Coordinator of Child Protection Network, Toyin Okanlawon, said the case was reported to the police at the Bariga Division and Adebayo and Tewogbade's mother were arrested and later transferred to the Gender Unit of the Lagos State Police Commands Headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos. The babysitter explained that she saw the mother back the baby carelessly and corrected her. She later came to meet the woman to help her take care of the baby. The woman took care of the baby and Ayomide till June 10 when she carried the baby to the bush in Ikorodu. She tied her mouth and nose in an attempt to kill her, but the vigilantes saw the baby in the bush at night and rescued her. The boy did not deny to the police that he impregnated the girl. Presently, both of them are at the police command. The baby has been handed over to Martins mother for care, Okanlawon said. The State Police Public Relations Officer [PPRO], ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole who confirmed the incident, said the police would work with the state government to ensure the safe custody of the baby, while Adebayo and Tewogbola are under investigations. For now, we cannot confirm that she attempted to kill the baby. She said she just dropped her in the bush. It is possible she wanted to abandon her and run away. Even though one of the kingpins of the business Evans, this doesn't mean that there aren't kidnappers out there watching our daily moves. Unfortunately, the state of security in Nigeria is still low despite Evans' arrest. It's every man for himself out there and you have to be vigilant. Don't take anything for granted. Below are 7 tips to avoid being kidnapped. 1) Spread your money in various accounts It is not smart to put all your savings in just one bank account. You never know if your account manager is in league with a kidnapper. Trust no one. Spread your money so that no one is aware you have a lot of money and can pay a huge ransom. 2) Avoid being flashy in public In a country where the gap between the rich and poor is wide, you have to be careful how you appear in public. Wearing expensive watches, chains is not a good idea. You never know if kidnappers are watching now. In all cases try your best to look plain as possible. If you can't get security guards. 3) Watch how you speak in front of domestic servants A lot of people talk recklessly in the presence of their gate men, house helps and drivers. Don't talk about money you are expecting or sending in front of just anyone. People have been kidnapped based on information that their domestic staff told a kidnapper. Talk about money when you are alone or in front of people you absolutely trust. 4) Be conservative on social media This one is pretty obvious. Do not flaunt your wealth on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or SnapChat. You are calling undue attention to yourself and making yourself a target. 5) Tint the windows of your expensive ride If you have a very expensive car, get permission from the police to have tints. This would make you as anonymous as possible. 6) Don't be predictable When coming home or going home, don't take the same roads all the time. Try to be unpredictable. Take alternative routes, use a different car, enter a cab instead. This could throw off any kidnappers on your tail. 7) Public donations in church Evans who has been able to elude the police for over 10 years since he embarked on the inglorious crime reign, was arrested inside his palatial mansion in the Magodo Phase II GRA on Saturday, June 10, 2017, and according to the source, has been lamenting his downfall. It was gathered that Evans has been lamenting his fall from grace and has refused to mix with other detainees, claiming that he has been used to a lavish lifestyle and cannot see himself living with the other low lives in the cells. The police source who is a senior officer added that Evans who made billions of Naira from his many high-profile kidnapping and lived in opulence is finding it had to adjust to the harsh environmental conditions within the police cell. Evans has been weeping uncontrollably because he is in a cell with common poor criminals despite all the wealth and mansions he owned. He cries every time and has refused to be consoled by his fellow inmates because he is not used to the kind of lifestyle in the cell. He has started talking. He has given us locations of other detention camps he had in Lagos. Aside from the known one in New Igando where was in charge, he had two others and detectives would visit the places. He also said that his very first robbery was in Sokoto State and that they killed the victim. He is still being interrogated and more details would come out after the camps have been visited. According to New Telegraph, the older Onwuamadike who lamented that he did not know that his son was living in ill-gotten affluence in Lagos while he wallowed in poverty in the village, said he was shocked when he saw his son being paraded on the television after his arrest. The old man said the last time he saw Evans was in 2008 and had warned him to desist from crime and had no idea that his son had come into so much wealth albeit acquired illegally. Onwuamadike who lives in his country home at Akammili, Umudim, Nnewi Local Government Area of Anambra State, said that he tried his best to raise Evans by sending him to the best schools around but insisted that it was when his mother left him when he was three-years-old, that she started manipulating him which culminated into his becoming a crime kingpin. In the interaction, the father said he used to be very wealthy but Evans' mother led to his downfall and she left him with nothing, taking along the young child with her. His current wife and her son also accused Evans' mother of being the person behind Evans' predicament, painting him as a good and loving son who was only under the influence of his mother. "I am begging the Federal Government to forgive Evans and give him another chance. I have not been able to sleep since I received the phone call informing me that my son has been arrested. My son is a good boy, but his mother misled him. She manipulated him spiritually. I was devastated when I heard the news through a telephone call; since that call, I had not been able to sleep. I believe in a straight forward and honest life. If I noticed someone is not honest, I run away from the person. When my business was thriving, I did business with white people. I was one of the early millionaires that emerged from this town until things went wrong courtesy of my first wife in 1985. She caused me so many problems and eventually caused my financial ruins. In fact, she brought me down to where I am today. Im suffering and I can barely put food on my table. I tried to raise my son well and send to good schools but my estranged wife kept interfering in his academics. You wont believe that my son, Chukwudumeje (Evans) has not visited home since 2008. The last time I saw him was 10 years ago. I asked him the sort of business he was into. He said he was into drug trafficking. I advised him to desist because it was an illicit business and the law was against it. I told him plainly that it was better to be involved in a legitimate business and wait for Gods blessings. I did good business and it thrived; I was very successful. I have traveled to so many countries of the world in the course of my business. His mother started manipulating him when he was only three years old; look at where it has got him. I dont even have his phone number. Im pleading with the Nigerian authorities to have mercy on him and give him a second chance. He was misdirected and misled by his mother. I heard about all the millions, and I said to myself; so I have such manner of a rich son and the roof over my house is leaking? I now survive by selling pigs. Evans stepbrother, Chidolie Onwuamadike who also spoke, said his brothers ruin was caused by his mother, noting that if Evans had followed their fathers advice, he wouldnt have become a criminal. As brothers, we dont even interact at all. I dont have his number and my heart is pained because he is such a loving, nice guy from the little I know of him. Evans' mother, Etty Onwuamadike, while speaking, tearfully pleaded with the government to give her son a second chance: This much was made known by the Nigeria Union in South Africa in a message stating that two communities in the country have ordered Nigerians living there to quit their territories after accusing them of committing crimes and turning their women into prostitutes. In the statement, the President of the Nigerian Union, Ikechukwu Anyene, said the Kuruman community in Northern Cape Province gave Nigerians until Thursday, June 15, 2017, to leave the place while the Klaafontein community, Extension 5, Johannesburg, also directed landlords not to renew the rent of Nigerians in the area. Anyene said the grievances of the South Africans was that Nigerians were responsible for some social vices such as illicit drug trade and prostitution and they blame every crime in the country on Nigerians even when it was clear they were not committed by Nigerians. Anyene narrated how a Ugandan man allegedly raped a girl in Kwazulu Natal Province and was described as a Nigerian in the media just to make it seem as if the man was a Nigerian. The Nigeria Union held series of meetings with the affected communities as well as police and local authorities on the recent threats to Nigerians. We have also written reports on these incidents and sent to the Nigerian Mission and the South African police. We recommended interventions before the June 15 deadline to the mission and we are waiting for their response. The union is worried that any incident involving non-South Africans are attributed to Nigerians. There have been sustained media propaganda against our people 19 years ago, what was known as 'killer beans' struck the South-Western part of Nigeria. During this month, at least 16 people in the South-Western area of Nigeria died from eating beans. This occurrence led to what was known as 'killer beans'. 14 people in Lagos reportedly died after eating beans. An akara seller in Ogun state died after eating her own beans cakes when she tried to prove to her customers that they were not poisonous. Beans is very popular in the country. Nigerian food items such as 'akara' and 'moin-moin' are also gotten from beans. Nigerians didn't dare go anywhere cooked beans, akara or moi moi during this period. It wasn't just a regional thing. The fear of killer beans went around the country and in millions of homes, beans was banned. Many people did not dare go near beans. Beans sellers in the country ran out of business in no time. As expected there was no official statement from the Federal Ministry of Health. Daily newspaper The Guardian in an editorial said the silence from the ministry "deepened the puzzle and fright, magnifying the potency of the rumour mill." And there were a lot of rumours. I heard two during this period. The first rumour was that a gang of armed robbers had gotten their hands on a big batch of contaminated beans and sold it to traders for cheap. The second rumour was a conspiracy theory that a certain powerful region in the country wanted to do away with Yoruba people. The silence of the Ministry of Health did nothing to make the situation better. Prof. A. Daramola, then a lecturer at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training in Ibadan, Oyo state perhaps gave the most scientific reason behind the 'killer beans'. He said that it was most likely that the beans that killed the 16 Nigerians were highly treated with chemicals and not fit for consumption. How did killer beans go away? The Military Administrator of Lagos state Col. Buba Marwa had it up to here with what was going on. One day he hit the streets and was televised eating akara he bought from the roadside. The public confidence in Marwa by Lagosians at this time was sky high. His anti-armed robbery initiative 'Operation Sweep' had endeared him to many of the city inhabitants. Marwa's good standing (and the fact he did not die after eating akara) encouraged people to start eating beans again. Jibrin also described the news as another round of character assassinations from career political antagonizers who are threatened by his advocacy for transparency. The embattled Rep member was recently invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to shed more light on the budget padding allegations which he levelled against the House Speaker, Yakubu Dogara. Jibrin, in a statement which he sent to Pulse News, said "My attention has been drawn to a false claim attributed to some mischievous impersonators that I've been expelled from my party, the All Progressives Congress, at the Local Government branch. "This report, I've gathered, came from a dubious character and known fraudster who is neither the chairman of my party at the local government level nor a part of the party executive at the state level. The party is not even aware of this impersonation making the rounds in the media. "This is yet another round of character assassinations from career political antagonizers who are perpetually threatened by our advocacy for transparency in public service and political leadership. "Recall that I honored the invitation of the EFCC in a bid to shed light on the cases of corruption perpetrated by some principal officers of the house of representatives, despite dissuasions by these saboteurs of my party's change agenda and stand against corruption. "The initiators of this false claim of my expulsion by my party are hired hacks engaged by some politicians in Abuja in continuation of their futile bids to frustrate my anti-corruption campaigns. " I wish to remind the public, and especially the media, that this report did not originate from my party, the APC. I have a cordial relationship with my party, and we have been working hand in hand to actualize our agenda for a better Nigeria. " Justice Lateefa Okunnu, in her ruling, on Wednesday, struck out an application by Mr Rowaye Jubril, the jailed Managing Director of Brila Energy Ltd, seeking a stay of execution of the courts judgment ordering his company to refund the sum to the Federal Government. An order of stay of execution of a judgment must be based on a valid appeal, she said, noting there is no proof before the court to show that Brila Energy Ltd filed the notice of appeal. Okunnu, therefore, upheld the submission of the EFCC on the matter. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Okunnu had on March 16, convicted and sentenced Jubril to 10 years imprisonment over a N754 million oil subsidy scam. She had ordered Brila Energy to refund N963.7 million to the Federal Government. Earlier during proceedings, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), Counsel to Jubril had in an application dated May 16, sought to stay the execution of the portion of the judgment which ordered the refund of the money to the government. Pedro had also sought an interlocutory injunction restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from enforcing the judgment. Mr Seidu Atteh, the Counsel to the EFCC, however, in a counter-affidavit, urged the court to refuse application of the applicants. This is coming on the heels of a statement issued by Eric Joyce, a former British military officer, calling on Buhari to prove that he is alive. Mohammed also said that the President is aware of Osinbajos activities, adding that there is so much trust between both of them. Speaking on the agitation by some Nigerians for the country to be restructured, the minister said that restructuring is not the priority of the Buhari administration. ALSO READ:Eric Joyce says President needs to prove that he is alive Mohammed also sad "The Acting President is daily in touch with Mr President so I am very confident that Mr President is in the full know of what the Acting President is doing and there is so much trust between the acting president and the president I dont think there should be an area of concern at all. I have said at several fora that the priority of government right now is to keep this government one and safe. The priority is to revamp the economy and the priority of this government right now is to ensure that we fight corruption and that we put this country on a very stable footing. The issue of restructuring might come later but right now it is not on our front burner. Justice Ahmed Mohammed handed down the ruling today, June 15, 2017, after the prosecution team's application for witness protection. The ruling means the 14 witnesses will testify behind a screen provided by the court. Despite the screen, the witnesses will still be visible to the judge, defendant and the legal teams of the prosecution and defence. Only members of the public will be disallowed from getting a look at the witnesses. Justice Mohammed ruled that the application was in order with the Section 232 (4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 that allows the use of such screen by prosecution witnesses in cases involving economic and financial crimes. Dasuki's counsel, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), had objected to the application, saying it was an abuse of court process, but the judge sided with the prosecution. Speaking on the ruling, he said, "Section 232 (4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act permits the use of screen in a charge of economic and financial crimes; and money laundering is part of the charges instituted against the defendant. "Therefore, the request is in order, especially when it has not been shown that it will prejudice against the defendant." The Commissioner for Agriculture, Kehinde Oloruntoba said that the exercise is not targeted at any particular section of the state. Oloruntoba also said that the move is aimed at forging lasting peace between the herdsmen and farmers. The Kogi state government, in a statement sent to Pulse News, said "Our attention has been drawn to an erroneous interpretation of our memo dated 20th May, 2017 with reference number MOA/KGVL40.VOL1/92 reconstituting the grazing reserve management committee." We wish to state as follows: 1. That the Committee is set up to look at the workability of reconstituting the Grazing Reserve Committee in the two gazetted grazing reserves and other possible suitable locations in the State to deal with the the menace of farmers Fulani crisis following the directive of the federal government of Nigeria. 2. That the two grazing reserves locations gazette over 20 years ago and not under the administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello. 3. That NO BILL has been sent to Kogi State House of Assembly in this regard. 4. That this exercise is NOT targeted at any particular section of the state as part of the terms of reference of the committee is to identify other locations within the state. 5. That in view of the amount of interest and concerns it has generated, the committee has been dissolved and the entire exercise put on hold immediately. ALSO READ: Dino Melaye escapes assassination in Lokoja 6. That the State Government has devised other ingenuous ways of dealing with the Fulani - Farmers crisis in the State. 7. That Government of Alhaji Yahaya Bello will continue to develop all parts of the State evenly. 8. That Kogi State Ministry of Agriculture shall involve all Stakeholders in finding a lasting solution to the herdsmen-farmers problems. For the few surviving soldiers who fought under his hand in the war that followed, he was a father and a leader. For the generation that came after, those who saw him in documentaries and read of him in books, he is the symbol of lost values, a throwback to what the ideal Igbo man should be: strong, informed, industrious, fearless. Perhaps more than anything, Ojukwus defiance is what has made him a deity of sorts among his people. When he declared the Republic of Biafra, Eastern Nigeria was in the disadvantage in population, finance, military power and everything that would matter in the months to come. Looking back now, 50 years later, Ojukwu was well aware that the odds were not in his favor, but it is clear that the decision was made in spite of the circumstances, not because of them. It was in an attempt to draw from this sentiment that a certain London-based radio broadcaster from Abia re-created Radio Biafra and began a campaign to whip up the undead desire for secession. Nnamdi Kanu was born Nwannekaenyi Nnamdi Kenny Okwu Kanu in Isiama Afara, a town in the area of Umuahia, the capital of Abia State. The exact date of his birth is not public knowledge, most claims put it at some time in 1970. He attended Liberty Avenue Primary School, Umuahia before stepping up to the town's Government Secondary School to continue his education. Whenever there is a conversation about most of the worlds most iconic rebel leaders, it is easy to see their influences as well as the formative steps; Castros first speech, Kagames first battle, the baby steps that helped them grow into the roles that they assumed in later years. Kanu spent his formative years in the Igbo hinterland; by default, he must have been exposed to a more emotionally-influenced interpretation of the war, and the circumstances that surrounded it, from older soldiers and superiors. Beyond that, there is enough to suggest that he was born close to the nucleus of the war, both in location and ideology. His father, Eze Israel Okwu Kanu, an Igbo chief, conveyed much-needed aid to soldiers and civilians during the civil war. Not far from the Kanu family home is what is left of what used to be headquarters of the Biafran army, where his family claims Ojukwu once spent a couple of nights. Kanu was also born at a time when the war was a very recent memory and like many of his peers, the perspective he was afforded would have been fresh and relatively untouched by time. Kanu would go on to study at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka after secondary school, but after a series of strikes, he crossed the seas to London where he claims he finished his tertiary education. There is no information on what university he attended or what course he studied. According to The Telegraph, he made his home in Sandlings Close, Peckham, an area in London that is also known as 'Little Lagos' for the large number of Nigerians who live there. The self-proclaimed leader of Biafra holds a British passport that guarantees his entry into the United Kingdom at any point that he wishes. It is not clear how Kanu spent most of his time in London, but what we do know is that it was while he was here that he first became involved in the fight for Biafra. This is where things get interesting. There are reports that he joined the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the major face of Biafra at the time and became a favorite of its leader, Ralph Uwazurike. At the time, Uwazurike was a marked man in the face of the Obasanjo administration. After several excursions with his newest friends, the Department of State Services (DSS), starting in 2003, he was aware that he could only find success with a new approach. That new approach was Radio Biafra. Radio Biafra has its origins as a pirate radio station that broadcast propaganda during the civil war from a studio mounted on a jeep; a measure that the war and hovering warplanes made necessary. Uwazuruikes brainchild was intended for a similar purpose; a medium of spreading the message and ideals of the secessionist country to Igbo people and apologists across the world. The station was to broadcast from a location outside Nigeria that the federal government would have no control over; because of Kanus residence in London, his eloquence and his relationship with MASSOBs leader, he seemed the obvious choice for the role. But Kanu had other ideas, in the weeks that followed, he took charge of Radio Biafra and from his council flat in Peckham, went rogue on MASSOB. The year was 2009. This decision would also have implications when he, alongside other disgruntled members of MASSOB formed a splinter group, what we now know as IPOB, short for the Indigenous People of Biafra. History has proved that it is near impossible to instigate widespread rebellion or upheaval without some sort of propaganda machine or media. In Nazi Germany, radio was the tool of choice for Hitler and Goebbels and Kanu put it to similar use. Kanu used Radio Biafra to spread a deeply sectarian and militant message, as he put it " Biafra or Death", often referring to Nigeria as a zoo that was destined to go up in flames. In a video that has since gone viral on social media, he said of spiritual leaders from the South-Wests Yoruba tribe, It's always Yoruba people, head of Pentecostal, head of Catholic, head of Anglican. Hausas are killing us, Yorubas are sucking our blood. If youre attending a Yoruba church, you should be ashamed of yourself, he continued. Anybody attending a pentecostal church with a Yoruba pastor is an idiot, a complete fool, an imbecile. They are worse than Boko Haram. If your pastor is Yoruba, you are not fit to be a human being. These rants on Radio Biafra sparked a new conversation among its listeners; one where violence was often mentioned and war was an inevitable means to the desired end. ALSO READ: Our failure to learn from the past is why we are inching towards another civil war Among the Igbos, the desire for separation may have become understated to a large degree in the years that followed the war, but like all ideas that have gained a romantic appeal, it has always been a constant. As such, pro-Biafra rhetoric is not a strange concept, either to the Igbo or Nigerians of other tribes. What set Kanu apart and grabbed attention in those early years is also the reason why among more nuanced spectators, he is not taken seriously. Unlike other pro-Biafra groups, Kanu has made little attempt to appeal to reason in achieving his goals. His version of the struggle for Biafra has been defined by an excessively crude and one dimensional method. While the most prominent of these groups, MASSOB believes that Biafra can be achieved by negotiation and its detailed 25-step plan, Kanu, on the other hand, believes that the only solution is war, and every other Nigerian is the enemy. On 19 October 2015, Ralph Uwazuruike cleared the air about Kanus membership, disclosing that he does not belong to the movement and was sacked for indiscipline and for inciting violence among members. Broadcasting in over 100 countries around the world, Radio Biafra had such massive reach that it spread quickly, its nightly broadcasts heard at home in Nigeria and by supporters in far-flung places like Australia. In hindsight, it would appear the most pivotal tool in Kanus rise, even if that success came with its own thorns. In 2014, the stations existence became public knowledge and in the months before the presidential elections, Nigerias primary broadcasting agencies tried to pull down its transmission, with little success. Arrests were made in 2015; three members of IPOB, David Nwawusi, Benjamin Madubugwu and Chidiebere Onwudiwe were detained at various times during the year for connecting Radio Biafra transmitters to Ericsson masts in eastern states. More than a decade after he left the country, Radio Biafra put Nnamdi Kanu in the national conversation, but only to a degree. At the height of the stations popularity, Kanu was little more than a faceless monster, a largely unknown entity. While his message had found willing listeners, many agreed that he would have to leave London for Nigeria to be taken seriously. Yet, absurdly, even after his return, it is this air of mystery cultivated over time, that has created an image that is seen as untouchable by most of his followers. Nnamdi Kanu is a walking, breathing conundrum. Where the integrity of his peers has come under question at one point or the other, he has branded himself as the outlier. He portrays himself as the quintessential Igbo man, first and above anything else. In his tirades, he preaches that the Igbo are a subset of the jewish people and identifies as a Jew, referring to the regular idea of the Christian God as a sham, like the rest of Nigeria. In place of this, he says the Igbo will practice Judaism in the new country and offers obeisance to a new god of Biafra, Chukwu Okike Abhiama. When he makes public appearances, it is full regalia, with a Jewish cap, a handfan with the rising sun of the Biafran flag printed on it, and a Jewish prayer shawl; often appearing like something between a Jewish priest with an apprentice stylist and a hippy Igbo traditional ruler. His appearance is no mistake; Kanu makes concerted efforts to keep it up, enhancing it as much as the circumstances allow. When he was released from jail in April 2017, he wasted no time in visiting Enugu to pray at the Cenotaph erected in memory of the soldiers who lost their lives in the civil war. Whenever Nnamdi Kanu enters Biafraland, he would first go to Hill Top Ngwo to pray at the Cenotaph before proceeding to his home to see his parents and his people, a source told Nigerian newspaper, Daily Post. He has paid his customary homage to the memory of our fallen heroes. It is here that our failure to properly examine the history and educate ourselves on the Biafran war has played straight into his lap. His core audience is a new generation that only saw the war in books and stories and he is able to sell them his own idea of the country of their dreams, re-imagined to suit his inclinations. For them, Nnamdi Kanu is the new Biafra in flesh. It is no mistake that this pristine image has amassed followers in the tens and hundreds of thousands, young men who in recent months have begun to refer to him as our father, the leader of Biafra. An IPOB press release from 2015 even goes further to refer to him as Prophet Nnamdi Kanu This image is often re-enforced by his closest friends and family members. "My brother was singled out by God for this mission" Kanus brother and fellow Biafra agitator, Prince Kanu told the Telegraph in January. When he was further prodded, he claimed his brother was led by a vision he had in 2006 in Croydon, a fair distance from Nigeria and Igbo land, if we are to put it lightly. The success of this re-branding has reduced the pro-Biafra struggle into a personality cult of sorts, with reports of supporters kneeling down before him and kissing his feet upon his release from detention. In reality, what Kanu has created is an illusion; a representation of the fallacious history that he invokes and the promise of the future he seems so willing to fight for. It is an image that is as convenient as it is effective. ALSO READ: Nnamdi Kanu is not the messiah for Biafra But for all that Nnamdi Kanu has done to put himself in the frontlines of the struggle for Biafra, no-one has done more to help his cause than the Nigerian government. While Radio Biafra put him in the list of pro-biafra agitators, a vast majority of the people he hoped to lead still viewed his message at arms length, with a certain degree of skepticism. What they said was pretty simple; here was a man, calling on them to defend themselves and their sovereignty and prepare for war with the rest of Nigeria, yet he was miles away in a flat in London, speaking into a microphone from an undisclosed location. It only made sense that whoever sought to lead them would lead from the front. In the final months of 2015, Kanu decided to pay a visit to Nigeria, taking up temporary residence in Lagos Golden Tulip Hotel. Barely days after, he was nowhere to be found. On October 18, 2015, reports made the rounds that Kanu had been arrested by the dreaded Department of State Services. He told his lawyers that he had been held in secret for four days. In the weeks that followed, the IPOB leader was charged with treasonable felony for a speech he delivered at the World Igbo Congress in 2015 where he asked the bewildered audience for 'guns and bullets' to fight the war for Biafra. Alonside him were the three IPOB members arrested for planting Radio Biafra transmission equipment early in that year. Political analyst Cheta Nwanze describes his arrest as a mistake because it played into his hands. As Nwanze told the BBC in May, When the 2015 election happened, there was a slowdown in the popularity of his radio station and thats when he decided to come to Nigeria to get arrested Nnamdi Kanu had spent months accusing the government of a conspiracy against the Igbo people and moonlighting as the patron saint of information and freedom from oppression; if his supporters suspected that his truth was a threat to the government, his arrest gave credence and credibility to those claims. Even after the courts ruled that he should be released in November 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari's federal government pulled a rabbit out of the hat, and ensured that he was re-arrested and held again. The DSS presented a court order that gave it license to keep him custody for an extra three months for 'questioning'. As one commentator put it, this authoritarian approach inspired the feeling that perhaps, this guy is not totally wrong Kanu would spend go on to spend months in and out of Kuje Prisons, often falling victim to the crippling judicial system and the DSS underhanded tactics to hold him for as long as possible. The news of his arrest and detention spurred protests across the east and in other countries where his message had struck a nerve and earned him followers. When he was finally arraigned before the Wuse Zone 2 Magistrate Court in Abuja in November 2015, IPOB members and sympathizers travelled in luxury buses and gathered en masse outside the court to demand his immediate release. As the trial and detention continued, so did the calls for his freedom. If Nnamdi Kanu was a loud mouth rebel-at-large before October 2015, his incarceration upon his arrival in Nigeria elevated him to the status of a martyr among his followers. After months within those prison walls in Abuja, Nnamdi Kanu has been regained his freedom, released on bail on April 28, 2017. His detention has served the direct opposite of its purpose; making him the face of the renewed struggle for separation. Since his release, he has kept a relatively low profile. Besides closed door meetings with Igbo leaders and his visit to the Enugu Cenotaph, he has only made the news for relatively bland reasons, such as his interaction with two of Nigerias most divisive political figures, Ekiti governor Ayo Fayose and former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode. His careful treading has been a factor, not of choice, but of his stringent bail conditions, including a ban from addressing a gathering of more than 10 people. In a Nigeria where the adverse standard of life and its many manifestations dominate the headlines and cover stories, Biafra has re-entered the mix with a sense of urgency that does not feel familiar. The Igbos struggle for secession is as valid as it was 50 years ago. Ojukwus reasons for pulling out are still very present; a political system that is tailored to suit the North and its large population, the perpetuity of the northern cabal and its stranglehold on federal power, absurd levels of corruption and nepotism at various levels of government, and a level of insecurity that suggests that the government can only do so much to protect its citizens. Many point to examples such as the spread of the government's infrastructure projects, and in particular, the rail network that is supposed to cover the whole of the country. Despite the presence of commercial hubs in Onitsha and Aba, much of the South-East is not covered in the plans that have been released by Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi. Ethnic and tribal tensions are also as high as ever; on June 6, 2016, a group of Northern leaders gathered at the iconic Arewa House to sign what is now known as the Kaduna Declaration, giving Igbos in the North a three-month ultimatum to leave the region. Yet, it remains to be seen if Biafra is really the answer. Despite the resurgence of the campaign for secession and the emergence of new characters like Nnamdi Kanu, a good number of Igbos remain skeptical about the prospect. They cite the lack of political unity and harmony among the Igbos as well as the absence of the elaborate structures to support an active economy that the new nation will need to survive. Mitterrand Okorie, a social commentator, and lecturer at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike in Umuahia thinks that while the campaign for Biafra holds water, a lack of consultation has made the struggle one-dimensional. I think the agitation for Biafra is valid, the whole marginalisation of the Igbos has taken another dimension, the level is almost criminal.", he told Pulse in a phone interview. There is a bit of sort of trying to punish the South-east for their sins and it doesnt give us a sense of belonging in Nigeria, There is a lack of consultation in how IPOB is trying to navigate. You dont just suppose everyone is part of the struggle. Some are new federalists, they want a restructured union. They dont want separation for various reasons. This category of Igbo people have never had to sit down in a consultative way to know how this struggle is going to happen There are also important preliminary questions that have been left unanswered, such as the borders of the proposed country and the inclusion of the South-South states, to the effect that what obtains now feels like a case of pulling the cart before the horse. But we have to ask where does the map of Biafra start? Somebody may say it is the right time for Biafra to arise, but I dont think it should include non-Igbos state. Thats the conversation we ought to have, Okorie added. Nnamdi Kanu and IPOBs call for Biafra does not incorporate these questions, or even pay them any attention. While it is important to recognise the nature of his role in bringing the conversation about Biafra to the frontlines, what he offers is overtly inflexible; a myopic approach that has portrayed the struggle as little more than a rebel movement. As the days pass, the shallow extent of his ideals continues to come across, just a few weeks after his release, he conferred honorary Biafran citizenship on Ayo Fayose, a political figure whose credibility wanes with each visit to Ado-Ekiti's pepper sellers. The press releases may imply a sense of direction and coherence but his actions suggest a man who is swinging wildly with a blindfold in the hope that he will hit a bag full of validation, instead of one with the comprehensive strategy and intellectual consideration that the agitation for Biafra requires. READ ALSO: IPOB honours Fayose with honorary citizenship As Okorie put it in simpler terms, you cannot achieve self-actualization by referring to your country as a Zoo The agitation of millions of Igbo people across Nigeria represents more than such simplistic logic. In recent times, they have presented different facets of the case for separation. There have been calls to go back to the drawing board, including demands for a true sovereign national conference and a referendum to determine the pulse of the Nigerian people. 50 years after the first shots were fired, it is clear that the Igbo desire for a single homogeneous state is still as strong as ever. In the last two years, it has gone from a by-line and the stuff of aggressive folklore to a dream that seems realer with each day. The spokesperson for the Lagos Airport Police Command, DSP Joseph Alabi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday that the warning was issued by the police commissioner at a recent meeting with the officers. He said that the Commissioner, Mr Basan Gwana, had warned that any officer caught flouting the order, which is already being implemented at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, would be dealt with accordingly. The Airport Police Command is fully committed to the implementation of the executive order, with the support and cooperation of other agencies at the airport. At a meeting held recently with officers, the CP warned that anybody caught flouting the order will face an immediate disciplinary action, Alabi said. According to him, the officers have also been removed from some parts of the terminal, while all the screening desks had been collapsed into one, in compliance with the order. He said that with the new arrangement, touting had drastically reduced at the airport, as only people with legitimate businesses were allowed into the terminal. Alabi said the command would continue to intensify efforts geared toward securing the airport and its environs, to guarantee the safety of passengers, airline operators and other users. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the building located close to the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, is owned by an indigene based in Europe. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity told NAN that the incident occurred at about 2a.m Tuesday after heavy rainfall recorded in the area. The source said that the deceased, all believed to be non-indigenes and construction workers in the building were fast asleep when the structure collapsed. A neighbor, Angela Ivories told journalists that one of the survivors and student of the Oko polytechnic, simply identified as Samuel sustained fracture on his hand. When the building first showed sign of collapse on Sunday, Musa advised his co-workers to vacate the building, but some of them did not heed his advice, she said. According to Ivories, it was that same night they were advised to vacate the building that the structure collapsed. Anambra State Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Prof. Peter Katchy, confirmed the incident. The state Commissioner for Environment, Chief Ifeanyi Ejikeme, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Awka. It works in such a way that when it approaches the yellow light, people are advised to leave the flood-prone areas with their personal effects." It must not get to the red light for people to leave because it will be catastrophic by then. The commissioner urged residents to imbibe the spirit of cleanliness both in their compounds and work places and ensure that waterways were not blocked. Residents should not wait for government to force them to sanitise their surroundings." According to IPOB, the meeting was an insult to the sensibilities of Biafrans all over the world. The group also described those who attended the meeting as political jobbers who have no right to speak for Igbos, Daily Post reports. According to IPOBs spokesman, Emma Powerful, We the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the supreme leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu wish to place on record our unequivocal condemnation of the wholesomely senseless and futile gathering of a few compromised political jobbers from core Igbo states of Biafraland in Abuja yesterday. This meeting we understand was convened at the instigation of the Nigerian Acting President Professor Yemi Osinbajo following the political fallout from the hugely successful IPOB sit at home order of 30th of May 2017. With one or two exceptions and with the greatest respect to the attendees to this Nigeria sponsored gathering in Abuja, the so-called South East delegation is in no way representative of the views of the leadership of IPOB worldwide, neither can they claim with any degree of sincerity to be speaking for the masses. Therefore all Professor Osinbajo has succeeded in achieving with this meeting is to waste scarce resources that could have been channelled towards more useful purposes. None of those that attended this meeting with Osinbajo gave the order for people to sit at home on May 30th. So we are at a loss to understand the justification for their invitation to the meeting to discuss something they know nothing about. IPOB viewed the meeting with certain Igbo politicians who are sympathetic to APC as an insult to the sensibilities of Biafrans all over the world, especially the memory of the dead and injured. Our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has made it abundantly clear that any discussion or dialogue with Nigerian government that doesnt include an agreement on a referendum date to determine the issue of Biafra once and for all time, is an exercise in futility. In this regard, we wish to inform the government of Nigeria that the gathering and deliberations they thought they had yesterday is a complete waste of time and will continue to be until the Federal Government does the needful. We note and respect the presence of Chief Nnia Nwodo the Ohaneze Leader and two others at that very meeting, however the rest are nothing to write home about. We do not think that presiding over the distribution of monthly allocation from Abuja qualifies any political office holder to discuss issues pertaining to IPOB and Biafra restoration when the leadership can be directly contacted. Since August 2015 that Nigerian Government and her security operatives, especially the Army, Navy, DSS and Police, have been killing and abducting innocent and peaceful IPOB members, none of the governors that attended this meeting in Abuja rose to condemn the brutal and barbaric repression of IPOB peaceful agitation for an independent homeland for Biafrans. None of them offered any comment in condemnation of the well documented atrocities despite the existence of overwhelming evidence to substantiate the facts alluded to in the widely received Amnesty Report on the senseless slaughter of IPOB members. How can such persons now go to Abuja to discuss issues bothering on the activities of IPOB when they know nothing about the modus operandi of the organisation. Only IPOB can and will discuss issues pertaining to her activities, not compromised politicians. From time, we firmly resolved that nobody among the governors or politicians can set an agenda for IPOB except our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The sooner Nigerian Government understands this, the better. Therefore, any meeting without the consent of our leader or those nominated by him in a representative capacity, is a complete waste and unacceptable to IPOB. Mohammed made the statement in Lagos when he declared open an exhibition of stolen artifacts recently repatriated from Europe and America. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exhibition of the no fewer than 150 artifacts was titled Return of the Lost Treasure Some of the artifacts on exhibition at the National Museum include NoK Terracotta head, Oba Esigie ivory pendant, Plague of One Ozolua Nibarami Eko and the Ogiurho Game Board . Mohammed, however, said there must be conscious efforts by all stakeholders to appreciate and harness the potential of culture to drive the economy. Culture is as important to the economy as petroleum. As a matter of fact, culture is even more important to the economy than petroleum. This is because petroleum is an exhaustive resource. Culture is not, because it is about us as a people, he said. The minister said the countrys artifacts were part of the our culture as they told our history and represented our way of life. While saying artifacts had immense economic value, Mohammed called for perception change of the works by Nigerians. He said a good number of Nigerians erroneously linked artifacts with fetish practices, saying the belief had affected appreciation of the works locally. He described as ironical that foreigners valued Nigerian artifacts more than Nigerians themselves, hence why some of them were smuggled out of the country. Mohammed said the repatriation of some of the most valuable artifacts from the the West was cheery news in view of their historical, cultural, social and aesthetic values. Also the importance of these artifacts as a source of education and an enabler of tourism cannot be over-emphasised. Nigerian traditional art, the works of our forefathers bears testimony to skilled craftsmanship, and creative ingenuity of the great dynasties that once existed in our country, he added. He said the artifacts, some of which he claimed were centuries old, were repatriated after series of engagements between the government and governments of those countries into which they were smuggled. He said other stakeholders, as well as international security agencies also helped in the repatriation of the works. The minister said but for legal challenges and the fact that some of the works were being hidden in homes abroad, more would have been repatriated. He however said government was unwavering in efforts at combating the smuggling of artifacts and recovery of stolen ones. He commended the governments of Switzerland, France, South Africa and the United States for their efforts in helping to repatriate the artifacts from their respective countries. The minister also commended the Nigeria Customs Service for their efforts at tracking some of the artifacts especially at the borders. He, however, said illicit trade in stolen artifacts was still a challenge and urged the National Commission for Museums and Monuments to double its effort in checking the trade in the cultural property. It is my wish that the commission will begin to look at the means and opportunities to re-invigorate its export and clearance permits operations and even devise other methods of checking the illicit trafficking in cultural property he said. The minister said he would liase with the police authorities to see the possibility of creating a special unit to fight trafficking in artefacts. He also said the ministry would continue to study the cases of trafficking and see how it can domesticate the provisions of UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property. In his speech, Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Alhaji Yusuf Usman commended the efforts of the minister in the repatriation of the artifacts. He said the great synergy between the ministry and the repatriation unit in his office helped a great deal in achieving the feat. Usman said the commission would come up with result oriented strategies to ensure a lid was put on illicit trafficking of artefacts. In a remark, Chairman of Culture and Tourism of the House of Representatives, Mr Omoregie Ogbeide described the return of the artefacts as a welcome development. Ogbeide, represented by Rep. Oghene Egoh however urged Nigerians to show more interest in artefacts by visiting museums in the country to learn more about them. The return of these artefacts is commendable but Nigerians especially young people should appreciate these artefacts by visiting museums. If the works are back in the country and nobody goes to see them at the museum, then what we are celebrating today is nothing more than a carnival he said. A culture expert at UNESCO, Prof Folarin Shylon said policing was central to combating trafficking of cultural property. The EU Commission announced the support on Thursday in Brussels, Belgium. The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, gave the appreciation in a statement signed by his Media Adviser, James Akpandem in Abuja. According to Udoma, the package is for the provision of basic services including energy, education and health, job creation, strengthening, monitoring and evaluation systems as well as public financial management systems. The minister, who signed the package agreement on behalf of Nigeria, described it as another positive effort in the collaboration between the EU and the Nigerian Government. He said that the support showed collaboration to collectively work towards ameliorating the sufferings of the victims of Boko Haram insurgency. The minister said that the Financing Agreement signed on Thursday was for the sum of 20 million Euros from the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. A total sum of 143 million Euros is now secured from the EU under this framework for ameliorating of the sufferings of the affected population estimated at more than 14 million people. Udoma said that the Nigerian government had devoted substantial resources to bring the humanitarian situation in the North-East under control. He added that the government had also devoted resources to meet the humanitarian needs of the victims and restore normalcy to the area. Udoma, however, said there was still a huge funding gap despite the efforts of the government, adding that it was reason the government appreciated the support of the EU and the United Nations systems. He said that their support had been useful in leading the other development partners in the support process. Udoma said that the process for the selection of implementation partners had reached an advanced stage with the World Bank. The EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, said the support package would assist approximately 1.3 million internally displaced people and affected communities in and around the Borno State. Our assistance will not only target the immediate needs of the people but, it will also help to restore basic services, stimulate employment and create livelihood opportunities, particularly for women and young people, he said. Also speaking, Christos Stylianides, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said that the EU was committed to get lifesaving aid to those in need in Nigeria. Emergency aid can help them but to do so aid organisations need safe and full access to do their job. He said that EU also needed to think about the long term implications and how to help communities recover. I have visited the country several times and seen the sufferings caused by the victims of terrorism but also the strength and determination of the local people to rebuild their lives. The ultimatum was announced yesterday, June 14, 2017, by the union's National Executive Council (NEC) headed by ComradeMichael Alogba Olukoya. Speaking after the council's meeting in Ibadan, Olukoya listed the 19 states that were included in the ultimatum. He read, "Benue (10 months); Ekiti and Cross River (six months each); Kogi (15 months with half salary being paid since 2013); Ondo (five months), Taraba (four months); Niger (three months), Delta (three months), and Oyo (three months owed primary and secondary school teachers). "Abia (five months); Osun (paying teachers half salary for 23 months); Nasarawa (paying half salary for 18 months to primary school teachers); Plateau (half salary since 2010); Adamawa (four months) and Bayelsa (eight and half months). "Imo (paying 70 per cent monthly salary to primary and secondary school teachers); Kwara (paying by percentage and owing four months) as well as Borno and Zamfara (both yet to implement national minimum wage)." Stating that failure to obey the ultimatum by its expiration date will be met with an indefinite action strike, Olukoya said, "We hereby give a 30-day ultimatum to all the above mentioned states to pay all the outstanding salaries being owed the teachers. "They will soon collect another Paris Club money and so we hope they will pay all the backlog of salary arrears. "If any state fails to pay up within this stipulated time, we shall converge again and give a notice of action. There is going to be total disconnect between us and such governments. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Obanikoro had in 2010 sued the NBC at an Edo High Court for damages over a fatal accident involving his daughter, Abidemi. Obanikoros co-applicants in the suit are his daughter, Miss Abidemi Obanikoro, and Mrs Agnes Akele, the wife of his driver. On May 13, 2007, Abidemi, her friend, Miss Ibukun Adeniyi, Obanikoros driver and a police orderly had set out from Lagos to Igbinedion University, Okada in Edo, Abidemi and Adeniyis school. During their trip, a NBC vehicle which was alleged by the applicants to be driven recklessly crashed into the senators vehicle killing all occupants with the exception of Abidemi. Abidemi, who was badly injured, was immediately flown to South Africa for life-saving medical treatment. In 2010, Obanikoro sued the NBC for damages at the Edo High Court, Auchi because the accident occurred within its jurisdiction. The court had ordered that N1.5million should be awarded to Obanikoro as expenses incurred on behalf of his late driver and police orderly. It awarded 184,236.52 dollars (N76.69 million) as cost for medical expenses for Abidemis treatment in South Africa and 48,779.66 South African Rand (N1.07 million) for her hotel accommodation in South Africa. The court also awarded N10 million to Akele for the pain and suffering over the death of her husband, the driver of the car. Obanikoros daughter was also awarded N10 million as general damages for her pain and suffering while N500,000 was awarded as costs of the action. NAN reports that although the NBC appealed the amount awarded in favour of the applicants, Obanikoro, through his lawyer, Mr Lawal Pedro, (SAN), had registered the judgment before the Lagos High Court because NBCs headquarters is located in Lagos. The one-time senator subsequently got a garnishee order from an Ikeja High Court against five banks where the NBC had accounts and the NBC appealed the order. During proceedings on Wednesday, counsel to the NBC, Mr Ademola Olawoye, in an application requested that the court should set aside the garnishee order as it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. He argued that any adjudication on the case should be stalled pending the outcome of the appeal at the Court of Appeal. Olawoye argued that since an appeal had been filed in respect of the judgment delivered by Edo High Court, no other court could adjudicate on the matter. Counsel to the applicants, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), however, told the court to disregard the argument of the NBC, noting that there was no evidence before the court that they had appealed the N96.8m judgment. He drew the courts attention the fact that the appeal form which was presented to the court by the NBC as proof that they had filed an appeal at a higher court had no official Court of Appeal stamp and appeal number. The order for stay of proceedings purportedly obtained by the judgment-debtor cannot prevent a garnishee proceeding. Garnishee actions are a separate proceedings and cannot be affected by stay of execution of the judgment obtained from the Edo High Court, Pedro said. Pedro urged the court to disregard the argument of the NBC and allow the garnishee order to be executed. To celebrate the holy month Ramadan, Saudi Arabia sent 200 tons of dates to Nigeria as gifts, but it has been repackaged and sold in Abuja markets. The ministry released a statement through its spokesman, Clement Aduku, who said, "It is important to note that once the dates were delivered to their final destinations, the ministry of foreign affairs became devoid of any subsequent responsibility. "It is therefore disappointing to learn that some of the consignment is being sold for profit Omisore has fired back at Sowore, who had accused Saraki of bribing the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to get a favourable ruling of his case before the Danladi Umar-led tribunal which he won yesterday, June 14, 2017. Sowore had accused Saraki of bribing Danladi$2 million to gain victory at the tribunal in charge of his case of false assets declaration filed by the Federal Government in 2015. Omisore said the allegations were baseless and was a crude attempt by Sowore's Sahara Reporters media outfit to extort money from the Senate President. Tweeting with his handle (@MrBanksOmishore), he said, "@yelesowore everyone knows you have strong appetite for $$$, if you had evidence of $2 million bribe, you will blow whistle. "You are a fraud & days of fake news[are] coming to an end. Nigerians are wiser, you cant use propaganda to extort. "I know this is a personal loss for you. No more excuse for you to milk your pay masters to use CCT to blackmail." He continued, "OMOYELE SOWORE is a THIEF, BARAWO. You cannot use your platform to blackmail Saraki to get $$$[dollars]." Omisore confirmed this to PulseNigeria on Thursday, saying Sowore demanded $1 million to desist from spreading malicious stories about the Senate President. While he continued to attack Sowore, Omisore also hailed Saraki's victory at the tribunal on Wednesday, "The victory from CCT today is victory for democracy, victory for rule of law. Loss for propagandist like @YeleSowore "Im sure if the prosecution had a case or we paid @YeleSowore as demanded. Im sure it will be justice even with same judges in your eyes." This followed a Point-of-Order raised by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Sen. Bala NaAllah at plenary. Quoting Order 43 of Senate Standing Rule, NaAllah said that there were media reports credited to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to the effect that the National Assembly did not possess any power to alter the budget. He expressed concern that such statement was attributed to the acting president, saying that he was knowledge enough in law. We have operated the Constitution from 1999 to date and I have had the privilege to work with the Acting President while I was practicing in Lagos as a lawyer. We did a lot of things together. So, he is somebody that I know so much. I will rather believe that what was alleged to have been said could not have been said by him and even if he spoke on the matter, he was misquoted. For the avoidance of doubt, this same Constitution we operated from 1999 to date has section 80, and the title of section 80 is `Power and Control over Public Funds, he said. He read out the provisions of sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Constitution to support the argument, adding the Constitution recognised that Nigeria operated a federal structure. NaAllah said that the Constitution also recognised that Nigeria was multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-religious and that that was the reason issues of domination were raised in the constitution-making process. He explained that it was the fear of domination that made framers of the Constitution to provide for representation on the basis of population and land mass and on the basis of equality of states. This is what gave birth to a bi-cameral legislature the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House provides representation based on population and land mass while the Senate is based on equality of states. So, I know that the Acting President who is a Professor of law is sufficiently trained in law to know that the National Assembly has powers to tinker with the budget. I am not making a case for him and I do not want to believe that he said what has been alleged that he said. I also want to assuage the fears of my colleagues that what was alleged to have been said does not represent the spirit of the framers of our Constitution, NaAllah said. He said that the explanation was necessary to allay the fears of the lawmakers. In his remarks, President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, said that there was no ambiguity in the Constitution on the responsibility of the National Assembly. He commended the deputy leader of the senate for raising the point, and said that he also sure that the acting president must have been misquoted on the issue. This matter has been cleared and settled by the Constitution. So, I dont think there are any issues here that are vague. I will like to believe too that the Acting President must have been wrongly quoted, he said. Saraki said that the leadership of the national assembly has had consultations with the Executive. According to him, those consultations did not in any way suggest that we will give up legislative powers as contained in the Constitution. I want to reassure our members on this because it is very important. Based on what we have heard, you may be concerned that one way or another, the leadership has given up some of these powers. That is not the case. I believe that as responsible statesmen, there are times we consult and do our best to work with the Executive and assist them. But, as we bend backwards, I dont think that it should be misrepresented that powers given to us in the Constitution do not exist. That is not the case, and this Senate will continue to defend the Constitution and ensure that anything we do is in line with the laws of the land, Saraki said. The state deputy governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd) said on Thursday in Yenagoa that the state received additional N6.61 billion in March 2017. He said that the Paris Club refund to states is not a gift from the Federal Government to pay salaries; it is state governments money that was deducted without consulting the states. At a meeting, it was decided that the money should be paid in two installments. A chart was drawn and the entitlements of every state were written. But the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria decided that if the money was released to states for payment of salaries, there would be too much money in circulation. It was then decided that the money would be paid in four installments, which is 25 per cent at a time. ALSO READ:APC accuses Governor Fayose of lying about Paris Club refund When the first 25 per cent was paid, Bayelsa state could have received N21.168 billion, but when the money came, they only released N14.5 billion to us. But again, the N14.5 billion was not for the state government alone, because out of the amount, N1.3 billion was for the local government councils," he added. Here are our best five movies for the year 2017, so far 1. Get Out Released: February 24 Cast Director: Jordan Peele About the movie From my point of view, the storyline of Get Out is classic enough to make the list of 2017 best movies. In the movie, Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the stage of meeting the parents. She invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could never have imagined. Get Out is a classic. A movie to watch Here are viewers reactions to Get Out, on Twitter 1. S. @sopharush #getout One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. All the hidden messages and truth on racism & the appropriations of black culture. 6:26 AM - 27 Feb 2017 2. Logan Lerman @LoganLerman Do yourself a favor and see @JordanPeele 's film #GetOut this weekend. It's a masterpiece. Just see it. Please. #getouttothefuckingtheaters 10:03 PM - 24 Feb 2017 3. @liestoldbyT The moments where all the black people in the theater clapped at the appropriate times during #getout had me dead. Thank you @JordanPeele 6:24 AM - 25 Feb 2017 4. Jay Dav-O @ChocnessMonsta #GetOut is being called "racist" and "anti-white." Which means they had no idea it was going to be well received. Go see it twice. 3:55 PM - 25 Feb 2017 5. Bell Bibs DeVoe @MBibs Don't let the Oscars mishap distract you from the fact that @GetOutMovie did $30.5 mil in its 1st weekend on a $4.5 mil budget. #GetOut 5:26 PM - 27 Feb 2017 2. I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore Released: February 17 Cast Director: Macon Blair About the movie Ruth (Lynskey), a nurse, and her rattail-sporting, weapon-obsessed neighbor Tony (Wood) hunt down a local burglar, in this maniacal mystery. Blair's not the first person to find existential enlightenment at the end of an amateur detective tale, but he might be the first to piece one together from cursing octogenarians, ninja stars, Google montages, gallons of Big Red soda, upper-deckers, friendly raccoons, exploding body parts, and the idiocy of humanity. Balancing the tension of a Cormac McCarthy thriller with the wacky edge of Will Ferrell's wildest comedies, I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore is a cathartic neo-noir that drives donuts around our everyday troubles. Here are viewers reactions to "I don't feel at home in this world anymore," on Twitter 1. vicki nerino @vickinerino Jun 13 I'm watching I dont feel at home in this world anymore for the 3rd time so far this month. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Obvs. 2. supr funky loco baby @faniganpan Jun 7 "I dont feel at home in this world anymore" is an amazing movie I had low expectations but it was incredible hOO RAH! 3. PaulGregory @PaulGregory_ Apr 21 'I dont feel at home in this world anymore' is one of the best films I have ever seen with my face and eyes @MaconBlair. Amazing film! 4. Rico Barrios @Rikigoya Mar 2 @elijahwood that film "I dont feel at home in this world anymore" is so great and your part was so awesome. you're so awesome. 5. Erin @erincandy Mar 26 I Dont Feel at Home in This World Anymore was great. Really took some crazy turns in the end wow. Loved it! A+ suggestion @scottEweinberg 3. The Lost City of Z Released: April 14 Cast Director: James Gray About the movie The Lost City of Z is the rare film to channel nature's bewitching powers. Hunnam, rousing and physical, stars as Percy, a turn-of-the-20th-century military man who embarks to South America to map Bolivia and cleanse his family name of scandal. Months of starvation, illness, piranha-infested waters and encounters with natives end with the near-discovery of a hidden, advanced civilization. Gray makes room for court scenes, WWI battles, tender family drama, and a musical score that can stand alone. But in the end, the verdant unknown of Amazonia that has its way with Fawcett and our senses, reflecting a profound component of human nature. Here are viewers reactions to Lost City of Z, on Twitter 1. Jim Holden @thejimholden I *think* #TheLostCityofZ may almost be a mini masterpiece. Gorgeous, glorious, fascinating. 3:43 PM - 30 Mar 2017 2. Courtney jeff @Lalamajelle I will describe #TheLostCityofZ with three words: epic, simple, and wonderful. 3:00 AM - 31 Mar 2017 3. IndieWireVerified account @IndieWire Apr 11 #TheLostCityOfZ opens Friday. It's the kind of old-fashioned adventure that Hollywood studios stopped making 4. Stephen FordVerified account @Lunsfuhd Apr 29 GO see The Lost City of Z. It's an incredible cinematic feat. A beautifully told story with incredible performances. Wow. 5. RogerEbert.com @ebertvoices Apr 17 Scene for scene, James Gray's THE LOST CITY OF Z is a splendid film 4. Logan Released: March 3 Cast Director: James Mangold About the movie According to the storyline, the members (Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup) of the colony ship Covenant are bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, but somehow, they discover what they think to be an uncharted paradise. While there, they meet David (Michael Fassbender), the synthetic survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. The mysterious world soon turns dark and dangerous when a hostile alien life-form forces the crew into a deadly fight for survival. Here are viewers reactions to Logan, on Twitter 1. Khan Murad @Khan_Murad1 #Logan was incredible a perfect farewell to @RealHughJackman's Wolverine, it was exactly how a Wolverine movie should be 7:17 PM - 1 Mar 2017 2. Connor Behrens @ConnorFilm #Logan is an utterly phenomenal piece of art. Thank you for pouring your heart and soul into this character for 17 years, @RealHughJackman. 4:33 AM - 3 Mar 2017 3. olly. @olisanamariner After being hit in the feels over and over, AND OVER again... I left that cinema speechless. #Logan 8:47 PM - 2 Mar 2017 4. Chris Z @ImmortalZman I just watched #Logan and... words can not describe how much I loved it. 6:32 AM - 3 Mar 2017 5. jenine @SocialBeginning Sad to see you go #Logan @WolverineMovie@RealHughJackman 4:34 AM - 3 Mar 2017 5. Wonder Woman Released date: June 2, 2017 Cast Director: Patty Jenkins About the movie Wonder woman is superb! Diana, who later became wonder woman (Gal Gadot), was a princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that's raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny. Here are viewers reactions to Wonder woman, on Twitter 1. Angie J. Han @ajhan #WonderWoman is the ray of light the DCEU has been waiting for. Gal Gadot just owns it. 3:35 AM - 19 May 2017 2. Courtney Howard @Lulamaybelle My reaction to @WonderwomanFilm: exciting, powerful, bold, epic, simply wonderful and - best of all - absolutely empowering. 3:00 AM - 19 May 2017 3. Steven Weintraub @colliderfrosty Happy to report 'Wonder Woman' is a blast and @GalGadot is fantastic. Her chemistry with Chris Pine is magnetic. Absolutely recommended. 3:01 AM - 19 May 2017 4. Silas Lesnick @silaslesnick Very pleased to report that #WonderWoman is the best DC movie since THE DARK KNIGHT. I'm already looking forward to seeing it again. 3:00 AM - 19 May 2017 5. Umberto Gonzalez @elmayimbe #WonderWoman is hands down the best DCEU Film to date! The film is SO GOOD. I absolutely loved it! Bravo @PattyJenks@GalGadot @GeoffJohns In a statement by the Publicity Secretary of Osun APC, Barr. Kunle Oyatomi, the party said the purported withdrawal and resignation by Adeleke, was purely a reconsideration as well as an admission of his apparent weakness to confront a tough challenger with substantial grassroots backing. Adeleke had alleged that he withdrew from the APC primary because of manipulation and interference by some political godfathers and the decision of the party not to conduct the primary election in Iwo, being the headquarters of the Osun West Senatorial District. The party however, countered that the allegations by Adeleke were not only baseless and unsubstantiated; they were equally unfounded and had no direct or indirect bearing with the candidates decision to abandon his quest for the partys ticket. Oyatomi said Adeleke was not conversant with the established procedure for the nomination of a candidate to contest an election in the APC. The party scribe said that checks also revealed that Adeleke was never a member of APC in the state as there is no evidence of his registration as a member in his Abogunde/Sagba Ward 2 in Ede North LGA, his ward, adding that there were also no records of his involvement in party meetings at all levels. He noted that the party also received petition dated the 9th day of June, 2017, which was to the effect that Adeleke is not a member of the APC in the state. The statement said in part: "It is obvious that Otunba Ademola Adeleke is not conversant with the processes for the nomination of a candidate to contest an election in our party. "Contrary to his erroneous claim of obvious manipulations and interference, paragraph 16(d) of the 2014 Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for Public Office makes it clear that the National Working Party (NWC), acting on behalf of National Executive Committee (NEC), is the ultimate authority on the qualifications of candidates to contest a primary election. "This is more so if an appeal is lodged by any aggrieved aspirant or candidate. Therefore, the decision of the NWC cannot be seen as manipulation as this has been the standard practice of our great party since its formation. "Second, the claim that the primary was not held at the Senatorial District headquarters is baseless. For one thing, there is no such thing as a senatorial district headquarters in the 1999 Constitution. "As such, there is no provision either in the Constitution of the APC or the 2014 Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for Public Office that the primaries must be held at a particular venue. For example, the presidential primary in 2015 was held in Lagos. It could have been held in Osogbo or anywhere else in the country. "Third, available records now reveal that Otunba Adeleke was never a member of APC in the state, as there is no evidence of his registration as a member in his Abogunde/Sagba Ward 2 in Ede North LGA. There are also no records of his involvement in party meetings at all levels. "Rather, there is a petition, dated the 9th day of June, 2017, which is to the effect that Otunba Adeleke is not a member of the APC. At best, his only affiliations with the party were his occasional appearances with his late brother, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, at party functions, particularly the campaigns. "The fact that he is a member of the Adeleke family therefore cannot and does not confer membership of the APC on him. This is like the case of Fadeyi Oloro, a popular Yoruba artiste, who always attends APC functions, without being a member of our great party. "In any event, at the Security Stakeholders Meeting held just yesterday, where Otunba Adeleke was represented by his brother, Dele Adeleke, he did not object to the arrangements for the primary, but rather concurred with the outlined procedure, including the venue, security and logistic arrangements." Oyatomi averred that the purported withdrawal and resignation of Adeleke was therefore, a second thought as well as an admission of his obvious weakness to confront a formidable opponent with massive grassroots support. He said that APC Osun State Chapter cannot be blackmailed by an opportunist and an upstart, who was committed to stealing the partys mandate to the detriment of loyal and committed members that have toiled and sacrificed to build a formidable party of choice in the state and the country at large. Oyatomi noted that the lesson anyone should learn from the above scenario is that it would be right for party to always queue behind a loyal member when a very important political decision is to be taken. He continued; "The lesson to be learnt from this unfortunate event is that the party should stand at all times by its committed and loyal members, and abide by the constitution and core values that bind loyal party members. Our members should henceforth understand the hypocrisy of political jobbers, who are affiliating with us for pecuniary benefits. "It is instructive to reflect on the sad irony of Otunba Adeleke's behaviour. It will be recalled that it was Senator Mudashiru Olatunji Husain, who, in 2015, voluntarily relinquished the senatorial seat, which he won in the 2011 senatorial election against Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke with a landslide margin of 112,000 votes, at the behest of the party. "As a loyal party member, Senator Hussain accepted the demand of the party to surrender the Senate seat he occupied to Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke without a contest, as a mark of honour for the deceased Senator and respect for the decision of the party. "Let us contrast this with the noise and cacophony of Ademola Jackson Adeleke on the just decision of the apex decision making organ of the party, the NWC, to have a fair contest within the party, involving him and Senator Hussain, who yielded the seat for his brother two years ago, for the determination of who is the democratic choice of the party for the senatorial ticket in the West Senatorial election of July 8, 2017. "Otunba Adeleke's behaviour is aptly captured in the popular 1970s lyric of Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, which spoke of a proverbial fortune finder, who wants to die with it. You would wonder about what the person who lost the fortune should do. The UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Former British Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown made this known in a meeting with newsmen in New York. Brown, who's also chair of the Commission on Financing Education Opportunity, explained that the commission was giving more funds to help the Nigerian education system move forward. He said: We think there are probably around 11 million children that are not in school. We know that the Boko Haram attacks remained a huge problem and the terrain too. These have prevented girls, particularly, from going to school and we know that there have been many abductions. And they are still tragically many of the girls that were kidnapped from Chibok that have not returned. Brown also said his commission wants every child to be safe at school. In fact, there's a new proposal that should help raise more funds. The UN education envoy lauded the 30 million dollars Nigerias Safe Schools Initiative launched in April 2014, describing it as a novel idea. We want every girl to be safe and boys also to be safe when they go to school but particularly girls. The Safe Schools Initiative is designed to help fortify the schools and also help the telecommunications between the schools and prevent the attacks. This is so people can get advanced warnings and to give people the security that there might be some better protection in case there was an attack. So the Safe School Initiative has been something that other countries adopted since Nigeria led the way. The Safe Schools Initiative is being implemented in different parts of the world but obviously we need more resources into the Nigerian system and thats what this new proposal is about. Brown said ground-breaking International Finance Facility for Education could make it possible to fully finance universal education by 2020 and unlock Sustainable Development Goals. The UN former British premier commended the UN and the international donors and partners for efforts to raise multilateral education aid to low-income countries from current 1.6 billion dollars to over four billion dollars a year by 2020. This up-front investment in education, modeled on the proposals of Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, to convert billions into trillions. It can ensure the delivery of our Sustainable Development Goal promises. Indeed, an International Finance Facility for Education will not only create more educational opportunity than ever before. It will multiply job prospects, slow population growth, reduce infant and maternal mortality and hasten a 70 per cent increase in GDP per head by 2050. Cavusoglu met Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha as well as Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani as Ankara steps up its efforts to solve the standoff. The state-run Anadolu news agency said that Cavusoglu would on Thursday travel on to Kuwait -- which is also seeking to solve the crisis -- before on Friday holding talks with Saudi King Salman in Saudi Arabia. "This absolutely needs to be overcome," Cavusoglu told Anadolu in Doha after the talks, describing the current situation as deeply undesirable, especially during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. "This needs to be overcome through dialogue and through peace. Turkey will also make its contribution," he added. "God willing, we will overcome this and we are working to overcome this. This is the purpose of these visits." Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism". The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf but is also keen to maintain its improving relations with the key regional power Saudi Arabia. Turkey also is eager to maintain workable relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia's foe with whom Doha's critics say Qatar maintained excessively close ties. Ankara vehemently rejected the accusations -- already strongly denied by Doha -- that Qatar supports terrorism, arguing the country had been a staunch opponent of Islamic State (IS) jihadists. But Grindeanu vowed Thursday that he would not step down until President Klaus Iohannis had appointed a successor from his Social Democratic party (PSD). "Romania needs stability and responsibility," he wrote Thursday on Twitter while continuing with official business as usual, including a meeting with British Defence Minister Michael Fallon. His defiant stance presents a conundrum for centre-right Iohannis, who under constitutional rules can nominate a new candidate only once the post has been vacated. The move also infuriated the PSD, which called for a no-confidence vote that could take place next Wednesday. "I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this and that Mr Grindeanu would respect democratic rules," said PSD head Liviu Dragnea after a meeting of about 60 party members Thursday in Bucharest. But analysts say the standoff is the culmination of a power struggle between the 43-year-old premier and Dragnea, the powerful PSD head who had been hoping to lead the government himself. The party boss, 54, was barred from running for premier because of a voter fraud conviction and is currently on trial for alleged abuse of power, a charge he denies. Dragnea has made no secret of the fact that he had chosen Grindeanu as premier because he was a docile party loyalist. But the prime minister has become increasingly rebellious, according to analysts. "There's a clear difference between the Grindeanu who was appointed by Liviu Dragnea and the one who refused Wednesday to step down," political expert Ioan Stanomir told AFP. "The only explanation for Grindeanu's elimination is Dragnea's wish to have absolute power inside the PSD and across the country," journalist Marian Sultanescu wrote on the independent news website Gandul.info. 'We're waiting' The uncertain situation is the second major crisis to hit the PSD since it rode back into power in December, barely a year after being forced from office over a deadly nightclub blaze. And in this case, the PSD has acknowledged that its hands are tied. "We're waiting for Mr Grindeanu to resign," the party's general secretary, Codrin Stefanescu, told journalists in Bucharest on Thursday. The party had been hoping to avoid calling a no-confidence vote -- and the political damage it could wreak on the party's image -- thanks to an intervention by the president. But Iohannis appears to have ruled out naming a new premier while the post is still occupied. "Mr Iohannis calls on the ruling coalition to quickly resolve this crisis to avoid a period of political instability," the president's spokeswoman Madalina Dobrovolschi said. The standoff comes just months after Romania saw its largest protests since the fall of communism when the government tried to water down anti-corruption laws. Analysts say Grindeanu's fall from favour could be linked to his perceived failure to push through the contested legislation, which could have allowed Dragnea to run despite his conviction. "Liviu Dragnea only wants one thing -- amendments to the anti-corruption laws" that currently prevent him from becoming premier, according to former PSD member Alin Teodorescu. The PSD was forced out in the wake of angry protests in 2015 over a nightclub fire in Bucharest that killed 64 people and was widely attributed to corrupt officials turning a blind eye to fire regulations. A decade after joining the European Union, the former communist nation of 20 million inhabitants remains mired in poverty. "He was quite short. Apart from that I cannot remember much about him," Turdubayeva, who lives in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, said of the ordeal three years ago. "I had never even met him before." The practice of bride kidnapping, known locally as Ala-Kachuu, is widespread in the conservative Muslim-majority nation. An estimated 12,000 women and girls are abducted every year in Kyrgyzstan -- often with the connivance of their relatives -- and offered to a potential husband, according to the UN. Turdubayeva resisted and, in the end, she managed to get away unmarried. Many others aren't so lucky. Now her story and those of four other women have been turned into short animations as part of a project aimed at lifting the veil on bride kidnapping. "People see the drama of bride kidnapping in a girl getting bundled into a car by several men, but often it doesn't happen like that," said Tatyana Zelenskaya, one of the artists behind the "One Day They Stole Me" series. "The real drama (comes) later when the would-be in-laws were persuading her to stay," Zelenskaya said. "How did they impose their will on her in that moment and why did she accept the marriage? This is what I wanted to understand." 'I will never forgive' Turdubayeva appears as "Nargiza" in one of the short cartoons. Sketched in thick dark lines, it tells of her scheming aunt and how she was tricked into being driven to an unknown man's home under the pretence of getting a lift home from work. "My mother is still in contact with her, but I will never forgive her," Turdubayeva said of her aunt through tears. Other cartoons in the series are even darker. In one of them, a heroine named Begaim is raped by the man she is supposed to marry, a common danger for women subjected to bride kidnapping. In another, the marriage ends in divorce. So far, the animations have only been shown as clips on YouTube which have been embedded by local media, but Zelenskaya is hopeful they might one day be shown on national television. In a sign of how sensitive the issue remains in Kyrgyz society, Turdubayeva is the only one of the five heroines to publicly reveal her identity. While Turdubayeva has been widely applauded for coming forward, she has also received hate mail on social networks, where the clips have been widely shared. The abusive messages came mostly from men. "Some of them told me, 'You're a fool, you should have stayed with him. You are both Kyrgyz, which is the main thing'," she told AFP. Slow to change The problem of bride kidnapping has deep roots in Kyrgyzstan. As in other parts of the former Soviet Union, including the Caucasus, bride kidnapping pre-dates Communism, which failed to completely eradicate the practice. Kidnappings surged after the impoverished country's independence from Moscow in 1991, as the country went into economic freefall. Some experts have linked the practice to the economy, and specifically rural families' inability to pay high bridal prices, which are often reduced in cases where the bride is kidnapped. Traditional arranged marriages, such as those seen in neighbouring Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, are less common in Kyrgyzstan. Zulfiya Kochorbayeva, an expert at the Agency of Social Technologies, a nonprofit group, adds that young rural men and women "lack places where they can socialise and build relationships." "I remember at my school, one of my schoolmates was stolen straight from the graduation ball," Kochorbayeva recalled. "Around half of my schoolmates got married in this way," she said. Criminal offence Kyrgyz officials say incidents of bride kidnapping are declining thanks to tougher legislation, including a 2012 law that specifically targets such kidnappings with prison terms of up to 10 years. Kochorbayeva told AFP there had been recent instances of kidnappers receiving criminal sentences, alongside a push from civil society to curb the phenomenon. But a UN report published in 2016 found that almost a third of people in the country were still unaware that bride kidnapping is a criminal offence. And Kochorbayeva said instances of girls or women reporting the crime remain the exception. "The rate of discovery is still very weak," she said. "It is difficult for girls to file complaints, considering their own families may not support them." She says that reflects Kyrgyzstan's patriarchy. Thomas Thabane's wife Lipolelo, 58, was shot dead in the Ha Masana village, 35 kilometres (22 miles) south of the capital Maseru where she lives, as she was driving with a friend on Wednesday. Samonyane Ntsekele, the secretary general of Thabane's All Basotho Convention party, said the prime minister-elect was devastated by the shooting. "Yes it is true that Mrs Lipolelo was shot dead last night... Everyone is traumatised by these developments," he said. Thabane is due to replace Pakalitha Mosisili, prime minister since 2015, after forming a coalition with three other parties following elections earlier this month that handed his party most seats in parliament. He and Lipolelo are understood to have been embroiled in a bitter divorce dispute. Lipolelo reportedly won a court case against Thabane during his first stint as prime minister affirming her position as Lesotho's first lady instead of Thabane's youngest wife, Liabiloe Thabane. A police source told AFP that Lipolelo had been driving with a friend when they spotted a man walking down the road. "The suspect pulled out the gun and opened fire on them. Lipolelo died on the spot while the other woman is fighting for her life in hospital," he said. Police spokesman Clifford Molefe confirmed there had been a shooting. History of political instability "A 58-year-old woman was shot dead last night at Ha Masana but it is too early to disclose the name of the deceased or whom she is related to," he said. Detectives are investigating the incident, he added. Ntsekele said it was too early to know if the shooting would affect Thabane's inauguration. But Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesman for South African deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa who has played a key mediation role in Lesotho, told broadcaster SABC he hoped the ceremony would go ahead as planned. Thabane is due to be sworn in at the Setsoto stadium in Maseru, marking the impoverished country's third attempt at a coalition government. Both of the previous joint administrations have collapsed. Lesotho has a long history of political instability having suffered coups in 1986 and 1991. The small kingdom was plunged into crisis in 2014 when soldiers attempted to oust Thabane during his last stint as prime minister. The 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Cincinnati spent more than a year in North Korean detention after being arrested for stealing a political poster from a hotel. His family have said he was "terrorised and brutalised" by Kim Jong-Un's regime. "Otto Frederick Warmbier, who had been in hard labour, was sent back home on June 13, 2017 on humanitarian grounds according to the adjudication made on the same day by the Central Court of the DPRK," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a one-line statement. Warmbier's release came after a flurry of secret diplomatic contacts between Washington and Pyongyang, which culminated in Joseph Yun, the State Department's special envoy on North Korea, travelling to Pyongyang to secure Warmbier's release. "Joseph Yun went to Pyongyang to accompany Mr Warmbier home," Thomas Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters in Seoul Wednesday. Warmbier's parents Fred and Cindy have said that they were told their son had been in a coma since March 2016, allegedly after falling ill from botulism and being given a sleeping pill. "Otto is not in great shape right now," Fred Warmbier told Fox News Wednesday. Warmbier had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour, a sentence the US decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime, accusing the North of using him as a political pawn. The New York Times reported a senior US official as saying the authorities recently received intelligence indicating Warmbier was repeatedly beaten while in custody. The release came amid tension between Washington and Pyongyang following a series of missile tests by the North, focusing attention on an arms buildup that Pentagon chief Jim Mattis on Monday dubbed "a clear and present danger to all." "Erdogan is a dictator. Anyone who is against him, even if acquitted in court, will face a new trial before they are even released from prison. You can't get away," he told AFP. A supporter of cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed by Erdogan for an abortive coup against him last July, Guven fled to Greece in 2015 with his wife and two children after on-and-off stints in police custody. His magazine, critical of the Ankara government, had already been hit with a flurry of state lawsuits -- first on economic grounds, then on charges of extremism. Guven paid 15,000 euros ($17,000) to smugglers who led him and his family across the river Evros into northeastern Greece. It is the same land route followed for years by Kurdish guerrillas, and now refugees from Syria and other war-torn and poverty-stricken countries into the European Union. But because Turks are deemed to be wealthier, the price charged by smugglers is far higher, explains Guven, who faces a 22.5-year prison sentence if he goes back. "For Syrians generally the price is 250 euros. For Erdogan opponents it's 5,000 euros per person," he says. "But the smugglers gave us a discount, my eight-year-old daughter and my five-year-old son counted as one," the 38-year-old adds. Over 100,000 people have been sacked or suspended from the public sector in Turkey for suspected links to the Gulen movement under a state of emergency imposed a few days after the foiled putsch, and renewed three times. Over 50,000 judges, police officers, civil servants and journalists have been arrested. The Turkish government claims ordered the July 15 attempt to oust from power. , who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies the charges. Some 400 Turkish citizens have requested asylum in Greece since July. Others have sought refuge in Germany, Britain, Spain and Portugal. Some support Gulen but there are others, more affluent members of the secular Turkish elite who are worried by what they see as a hard turn to Islamisation spearheaded by Erdogan. For the latter, an additional draw is that Greece offers a five-year visa to anyone spending over 250,000 euros on buying a house. "There is enormous interest in the Greek property market," says Michalis Katsaros, a real estate agent active in the north of the country. Ironically, many choose to relocate to the Athens suburb of Palio Faliro, home to thousands of ethnic Greeks kicked out of Istanbul in the 1960s during a Greek-Turkish crisis over Cyprus. "They welcome and help us, it's like finding old acquaintances," said a exile from Turkey who declined to be named. "Europe must prepare itself to receive Turkish refugees," said another. Before fleeing Turkey illegally, Guven says he and his wife spent nearly two months apart, hiding in separate cities and fearful of being caught due to widespread talk of torture in police cells. He is among very few Turks who agreed to speak publicly on the issue. Others approached by AFP declined to be named, fearing for the fate of family members back in Turkey. And even though there are around 40 families of fellow exiles now near him, Guven is wary of keeping contact with them. 'Can never be sure' "You can never be sure. We fear Erdogan may send someone who seems to be one of us to find us. So we don't trust each other," he says. Guven said he picked Greece as the "only democratic country on (Turkey's) borders." In contrast, fellow EU member Bulgaria "sends back all political refugees," he says. But among the community of exiles, there is now concern after a number of alleged illegal deportations -- known as refoulement -- of Turkish asylum seekers from Greece. The Hellenic League for Human Rights said another Nocta journalist, managing editor Murat Capan, had been immediately imprisoned by Turkey after being sent back on May 24. The league said Capan and other Turkish asylum seekers had been handed over by Greek police to "masked gunmen" who bound their hands, put them on an inflatable boat and abandoned them on the Turkish side of Evros river, near a Turkish army outpost. Guven, who spoke to his colleague's family, confirmed the story. "Essentially they sent him back. We are not sure if it was done by police because those who did it wore masks," he said. The Greek government, who recently angered Ankara by refusing to return eight Turkish officers sought in relation to the coup, officially denied involvement. Akay was charged with "membership in an armed terror group" over alleged links to the organisation of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based preacher blamed by Ankara for the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He had vehemently denied the charges, which had caused an uproar among the international legal community. The court found Akay guilty of using Bylock, a special communication service which Ankara claims was especially created for Gulen supporters, the Dogan news agency said. The judge was sentenced by an Ankara court to seven years and six months in jail. He was released pending the ruling from the supreme appeals court -- the Yargitay -- a date for which has not been set. If the verdict is confirmed by the higher court, he will go back to jail. The court also placed an overseas travel ban on Akay, Dogan reported, meaning there is no prospect of him resuming his work with the UN courts system. Turkey blames Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, for orchestrating the failed putsch and has repeatedly asked Washington to extradite him. Gulen has denied the charges. Akay, one of the highest-profile suspects arrested in the post-coup crackdown, was detained in September at the family home and had been held in jail since. In his initial testimony, Akay had admitted downloading Bylock but said he had not used any password to access the system. Akay had been working with the UN international court trying suspects over the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and his detention has paralysed proceedings into an appeal hearing of former Rwandan minister Augustin Ngirabatware. The UN court has already said Turkey has failed to comply with its obligations and said it would report Ankara to the UN Security Council. MICT president Judge Theodor Meron "deeply regrets this action of the Turkish authorities, in further breach of Judge Akay's protected status under the international legal framework," the Hague-based tribunal said in a statement. Akay was charged with "membership in an armed terror group" over alleged links to the organisation of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based preacher blamed by Ankara for the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last July. Gulen denies any involvement in the botched coup. Akay has vehemently denied the charges against him, which caused an uproar in the international legal community. His arrest in September last year, his detention and a legal case against him "are inconsistent with the assertion of his diplomatic immunity by the United Nations," the MICT said. He has been released under judicial supervision pending confirmation of the verdict by Turkey's top appeals court, and the MICT stressed "the verdict has yet to acquire legal finality". Meron said he remained "gravely concerned", although he welcomed "as a humanitarian matter that Judge Akay has been provisionally released". He called on Ankara to "take urgent steps to respect the protected status of Judge Akay and to resolve the situation consistent with international law." The UN court ordered in late January that Akay should be released by at least mid-February so he can return to his work in The Hague, where the appeals case of a former Rwandan minister has been paralysed by the judge's absence. Augustin Ngirabatware is calling for a 30-year jail term imposed for his role in his country's 1994 genocide to be overturned. The MICT said in March it would report the matter to the UN Security Council as the case against Ngirabatware languished, with the Rwandan's lawyers saying their client "remains in prison for a crime he did not commit, waiting for a hearing he cannot have". In Turkey, Akay was found guilty of using Bylock, a communications service which Ankara claims was especially created for Gulen supporters, the Dogan news agency reported. He was released pending the ruling from the supreme appeals court, a date for which has not been set. If the verdict is confirmed by the higher court, he will go back to jail. Almost two years after his trial opened, Bosco Ntaganda took the stand for the first time expected to talk about events in 2002 and 2003, when his rebel forces rampaged through neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo's gold-rich Ituri province, murdering and raping civilians and plundering their possessions. Instead, the man once dubbed "The Terminator" told the International Criminal Court about his time as a young soldier in the Ugandan-backed Rwandan army during that country's genocide in which some 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis, were murdered. "I was young, but I was already in the army and was a soldier," said Rwandan-born Ntaganda, who is now accused of playing a major role in the unrest in the eastern DRC in 2002-03. "I witnessed horrific events," he told the Hague-based ICC, adding "I lost many members of my family during the genocide against the Tutsis." "Our superiors had told us what we have just seen as soldiers -- if possible we had to do everything to prevent this from happening in Africa again," the soft-spoken Ntaganda said, speaking in Swahili. "This was in my mind wherever I went. I do not wish to see any other community experience what my community went through," said Ntaganda, who was smartly dressed in a dark blue suit, light shirt and blue tie. Savage ethnic attacks Ntaganda, 43, denies 13 charges of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity committed by his Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), a militia drawn from the Hema ethnic group which prosecutors say targeted the Lendu and other non-Hema groups. Fighting in Ituri has left some 60,000 dead since 1999 according to rights groups, in a conflict exacerbated by the wealth of regional resources including gold and other minerals used in electronic products. Ntaganda has been charged with ordering hundreds of deaths through savage ethnic attacks by the FPLC, which was then the armed wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots. During the prosecution's case, which took 64 days to complete, a witness told the tribunal in The Hague of seeing "tied-up bodies" left in their underwear, "their heads crushed." Ntaganda "was one of the most important commanders" involved in the savage ethnic attacks carried out by the FPLC, ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said at the opening of the trial in September 2015. 'Not The Terminator' The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been mired for two decades in ethnically-charged wars, as rebels battle for control of mineral resources. The unrest spiralled to encompass armies from at least six African nations, claiming hundreds-of-thousands of lives in one of the world's most deadly recent conflicts. At the start of his trial Ntaganda, known for his trademark pencil moustache and his penchant for cowboy hats and fine dining, told the judges he rejected being called "The Terminator". The ICC issued two arrest warrants against Ntaganda who evaded capture until unexpectedly walking into the US embassy in Kigali in 2013 and turning himself in. Ntaganda's defence team plans to call 109 witnesses and four experts, seeking to overturn his image as a merciless warlord. The former rebel went on a two-week hunger strike last year after judges slapped tight restrictions on him when prosecutors accused him of bribing witnesses. If convicted he could face up to 30 years behind bars, or life if such a sentence is "justified by the extreme gravity of the crime," under ICC rules. CAMBRIDGE A man who was pulled over last October with a little over 100 grams of cocaine in his vehicle lost the second part of his bid to suppress his statement to police in Henry County Circuit Court Tuesday. Just over 100 grams of cocaine and a little cannabis was found in Frederick Rumble's vehicle during a traffic stop three miles east of Geneseo on Oct. 14, 2016. He was charged with Class X felony possession with intent to deliver cocaine and Class 1 possession of cocaine His attorney, Leah Patton, of Davenport, argued Tuesday that he could not have intelligently waived his Miranda rights when he offered the incriminating statement that the drugs were his, not his co-defendant's, and he found them on a Chicago street corner. In denying the defense motion, Judge Jeffrey O'Connor said Tuesday he did not have to hear about Mr. Rumble's 10 to 20 prior arrests to know he had an ordinary capability to understand Miranda warnings. He said if there was evidence that Mr. Rumble had diminished capacity, Tuesday's hearing would have been the time to hear it through Mr. Rumble's own testimony. Mr. Rumble didn't testify, however, and all the judge heard was the officers' accounts that Mr. Rumble appeared to understand them, and that he was not under the influence of narcotics or alcohol. Mr. Rumble allegedly told the first officer to read him his Miranda warnings that he did not understand. At the Geneseo police station, he immediately told the interviewing officer, Mark Thatcher, that he did not want to speak to him, which is evidence that he knew his rights, as assistant state's attorney Stephanie Barrick pointed out. We were maybe in the interview room 30 seconds, said Sgt. Thatcher. Mr. Rumble knocked on a holding cell door to get another officer's attention and asked to speak to Sgt. Thatcher again. Sgt. Thatcher testified that he opened the door and asked Mr. Rumble if he wanted to speak to him. At that point, Mr. Rumble told him,"Hey, it's all mine. Malik Forest (the driver) had nothing to do with this, and I found them on a street corner in Chicago." Sgt. Thatcher said he told Mr. Rumble that wasn't enough information and he needed details such as who he got the drugs from and where he would be selling them. He said he didn't start the interview nor ask any incriminating questions. Sgt. Thatcher said Mr. Rumble didn't offer any information, and the exchange ended. Ms. Patton said the officer got it backward with a statement first, and no further Miranda or follow-up with a waiver. He doesn't do anything to actually ensure that Mr. Rumble understands his Miranda rights, she said. The judge said it sounded to him as though Mr. Rumble wanted to negotiate with the officers. That doesn't sound like a stranger to a police station to me, he said. On May 5, the judge denied a different motion to suppress, which had been argued on the grounds that officers could not legally search a vehicle based on a quantity of cannabis that was only a civil violation. The judge had asked how officers were supposed to know, based on a canine's alert to odor, how much contraband was in the vehicle. Although more than 100 grams of cocaine was found in Mr. Rumble's vehicle, only a gram of cannabis was detected. The judge said that would invalidate many searches. SHERRARD -- The village board listened to public comment and then discussed a proposed amendment to the liquor license ordinance that would allow another bar at a meeting Monday night. Terry Peterson, owner of bars in Milan and Matherville, approached the village when he was in the process of negotiating the purchase of a building owned by Oscar Perez about adding another license to the ordinance so he could sell alcohol both on-site and to be consumed off the premises. Citizens voiced concerns over the proposed amendment. Joan Strom, owner of two bars in the village, questioned the capability of a town with a population of 640 (during the 2010 census) to support three bars. She told board members they may gain one business if they issue an additional liquor license, but they will lose two. "There is not room in this town for three bars," she said. "I struggle every day." Nellie Iverson, who previously owned a bar in Sherrard for 20 years, agreed with Ms. Strom, adding that it would be an embarassment for a small town to have that many bars. "We need Sherrard to patronize Sherrard," she said. "There isnt enough clientele in this town to do another liquor license." Sherrard resident Terri Jones added that she was concerned that the village couldnt afford to provide the necessary law enforcement. "I dont think its going to bring in people from outside," Ms. Jones said. "Its just going to help people who cause trouble at one -- they can go to another bar. Trustees decided to postpone any decision on the request. After hearing from everybody tonight, we decided to take it back to the committee and listen to what everybody has to say," Trustee Shawn Wyant said. "Well take the recommendation from the committee back to the July meeting." The committee meeting will be held at 4 p.m. today and is open to the public. In other business, trustees approved an acceptance agreement with the developers of Fyre Lake for the village to take over responsibility of the paved portion of 310th Street and in return receive the deed to an outlot the village needs to build an emergency water connection to the Fyre Lake Water Co. Other highlights of the agreement include the village accepting responsibility for lift stations as they are updated. "Were trying to link up with them in the event that our water tower should go down, they could provide water to us, and if their water tower goes down, we can provide water to them, which makes everything safer for everybody," village attorney John Remus said, This is the first step in a process that will include a separate agreement with Fyre Lake Water Co. The board turned down the first number offered by the neighboring water company at $412 per day if the emergency connection has to be used for the village. Mayor Henry said negotiations will continue. "Were going to get things together and make this work," he said. The board also: -- Heard a fireworks display is scheduled for July 4 at Fyre Lake. -- Approved giving $500 to Mercer County Better Together SAN FRANCISCO (AP) United Parcel Service employees on Thursday visited a growing memorial at a San Francisco packing facility to pray and sign a poster honoring three longtime colleagues who were shot and killed a day earlier by a co-worker. They described the atmosphere as downcast as they went back to work. Isaiah Miggins, a UPS loader on the overnight shift, said it was hard to finish his shift. "Everybody was down," Miggins said, adding that UPS is like the U.S. Post Office: "We gotta get those packages out." UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said the company has marshaled additional drivers, loaders and management from other facilities to help with the backlog. Grief counselors were also at the facility. San Francisco police had a priest on site Wednesday. Investigators were trying to determine what prompted Jimmy Lam to open fire during a Wednesday meeting with co-workers. Lam, 38, a UPS driver, filed a grievance in March claiming he was working excessive overtime. It seems he specifically went after the three drivers he killed before fatally shooting himself, said Joseph Cilia, an official with a Teamsters Union local that represents UPS workers in San Francisco. Cilia said witnesses told him that Lam walked up to driver Benson Louie and shot him during the meeting. As his co-workers frantically fled the room, he shot Wayne Chan in the back and then walked up and "finished him," Cilia said, citing witnesses. Victim Mike Lefiti was fleeing from the building when Lam went to a street and shot him, he said. "It's senseless. I can't think of anything. Why him? Why them?" Cilia asked. Police had few details on Lam. UPS CEO David Abney said the company was investigating the circumstances that led up to the shooting. Lefiti, 46, and Louie, 50, had each worked for UPS for 17 years, according to the company. Chan, 56, had 28 years of service, and Lam was an 18-year veteran. Police returned control of the building to UPS on Wednesday night. It was cleaned, and deliveries resumed Thursday, Rosenberg said. The makeshift memorials were created at two corners of the building with flowers and signs. Two other UPS employees were wounded and later released from a hospital. Amid the barrage of gunfire, some workers sought refuge on the roof of the four-story facility, while others ran outside and pounded on the windows of a public bus, witnesses said. "They were screaming, 'Go! Go! Go!'" said Jessica Franklin, 30, who was riding to work when the bus made a regular stop in front of the UPS facility. "As they got on the bus, they were all ducking." Auto shop owner Robert Kim said he saw "a mob of UPS drivers" running down the street screaming "Shooter! Shooter!" The shooting prompted a massive police response in one of the city's industrial neighborhoods, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from downtown San Francisco. Miggins said he saw Lefiti, known as "Big Mike," as he arrived for work just before 9 a.m., a few minutes before the shooting started. "He was a joyful man. Always happy," Miggins said. A photo on Lefiti's Facebook page shows him in his brown UPS uniform holding a trophy. He also posted photos of his UPS truck and an award for 15 years of service to the company in 2015. TRAVELLERS are not often kind about the Tazara Railway, which runs from the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia. Standing in the queue to buy tickets at the grand Chinese-built terminus in Dar es Salaam, you will likely hear a slew of complaints of delays, cancelled trains and derailments from those who have travelled on the railway before. Four decades after it saw its first through train, the 1860km 1067mm-gauge Tazara - nicknamed uhuru (freedom) railway by the Chinese, Zambian and Tanzanian workers who built it - feels like an ageing Cinderella waiting for her prince. That may change if the efforts by its director Mr Bruno Chingandu, appointed in 2016, bear fruit. Last year, Chingandu embarked on a roadshow to meet potential freight customers, some of whom had previously used the railway before poor service and operational inefficiencies drove them into the arms of waiting truckers. The roadshow extended the length of the railway and included such heavyweight customers as Lafarge Zambia, Impala Terminals and Chambishi Copper Smelter in Kitwe in the heart of Zambias Copperbelt. Chingandu has emphasised placing customers at the centre of all marketing efforts, Tazara spokesman Mr Conrad Simuchile told IRJ. He has endeavoured to transform Tazara into a customer-centric institution. That the director has been lobbying Zambian copper miners for their business is no surprise: although copper was never intended to be the railways only major source of traffic when the Tazara opened in 1976, landlocked Zambias need for a rail route to the sea that did not depend on then-Apartheid-ruled South Africa was one of the major driving forces behind its construction, and getting that through traffic back will be vital to its survival. Breaking the chains It is a small irony that the idea of a railway linking Zambia with the East African coast was first dreamed-up by British colonial officials wanting to build a railway from Cape Town to Cairo but the dream was eventually realised using a $US 500m interest-free loan from China as an anti-imperialist project. Early surveys, such as that carried out by engineering consultants Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners in 1949, found that the proposed railway would not be economically viable unless the country it traversed was developed. Roads would be better, said the consultants. Meanwhile, a study by the former East African Railways and Harbours Board concluded that it would take 20 years to build a railway across the undeveloped swathes of then Northern Rhodesia (Zambia before independence) and Tanganyika (Tanzania). Zambias president from 1964 to 1991 Mr Kenneth Kaunda and Mr Julius Nyerere, Tanzanias first president after it became a republic in 1962, were champions of self-determination for African countries and an international railway linking the two countries would unlock Zambias economy potential and unshackle it from its southern neighbours. At the same time, China was looking to fund projects in Africa. While the diplomatic wrangling took years to resolve, in 1967 Kaunda and Nyerere signed a deal with Chinas president Mr Liu Shaoqi in Beijing to build the line, and the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) was born. Constructing the railway was a military campaign. Thousands of Chinese engineers were joined by 7000 Tanzanian youths recruited through a national service programme. They were given two weeks of basic training and sent to one of the 12 base camps and divided into work parties. Some of the teams had as few as eight or 10 people, others numbered in the thousands. The project was a reminder that building railways in Africa is not easy. The survey parties took a year to traverse difficult country full of wild animals, wide rivers and malaria. The first 180km from Dar es Salaam to Mlimba took just a year to build but the next section through the mountains and valleys of the Great Rift slowed construction to a crawl. Almost all of the railways 18 tunnels and 46 high bridges are found in the 160km between Mlimba and Makambako. Progress was easier through the Miombo forests of Zambia, however, and the railway reached the terminus at New Kapiri Mposhi at the end of 1974, four years after the first sod was turned. While the railway was certainly a technological and social achievement, it was hampered from the start by operational constraints. The line is single track throughout, with long passing loops at manned stations. Poor maintenance means derailments are frequent and cause lengthy delays which ripple to the ends of the line. It is also saddled with a huge wage bill and efforts to reduce staff numbers have often resulted in crippling strikes. In January, passenger train operations were halted for a week after unionised employees went on strike to demand that the salary dollar exchange parity rate be adjusted. While the dispute was quickly resolved, no trains ran for a week, putting another dent in the railways reputation. Despite its sometimes erratic operation, the railway is a lifeline to the thousands of people who live along its route, places which have poor road networks and in some cases no roads at all. High operating costs exacerbated by declining freight and passenger revenues mean the Tazara has never been able to repay its debts, currently estimated at $US 500m, although China has long written-off half of the original loan. This includes historical construction loans and statutory liabilities, as well as payments owed to retired and current staff, Simuchile explains. In 2015, South African economic policy think tank Brenthurst Foundation, carried out a route diagnostics exercise on the Tazara. A lot of harsh questions have to be asked, says foundation director Dr Greg Mills. Why has the Tazara not worked, can a commercial case be made for it, and can the politics be managed? The Tazara was designed to carry 5 million tonnes of freight a year but decades of deficient maintenance coupled with chronic shortages of locomotives and wagons mean current capacity is estimated around 600,000 tonnes per year. Actual figures have fallen well short of that: in 2014-15, the railway carried just 88,000 tonnes of freight compared with around 630,000 tonnes in 2005. Meanwhile the staff complement is around 3000, most of whom are Tanzanians. The railway is hugely overstaffed, says Mills. There are endemic shortages of fuel and salaries, and fuel pilfering is part of the business. Freight trains usually take four days to travel the length of the line, and while there are supposed to be 10 freight trains a week, only two trains are currently operating. The condition of the [passenger] equipment is beyond description, Mills says, who rode the passenger train from Zambia to Dar es Salaam in 2015. The railway requires about $US 271m in the short-to-medium term to fix the track and repair - and buy - new wagons and locomotives. Currently Tazara has 13 locomotives available on an average day. These are mostly General Electric units, the original Chinese locomotives having long-since retired. The total requirement for break-even operations is around 30 reliable locomotives, Simuchile says. Funds are also needed for new signalling and communications equipment which Tazara officials say is practically non-existent. Despite the Tazaras various troubles getting much coverage in the local press, its officials say things are looking up. The railway is expected to carry 5 million passengers and 150,000 tonnes of freight in the current financial year, which ends on June 30. Along with Chingandus marketing efforts, managers have also improved operational execution, Simuchile says. This is evidenced by improved transit times which have come down from more than 35 days to less than seven days with reduced accident and security risks. Improving services But increasing demand from customers has laid bare the need to rehabiliate the Tazaras rolling stock and infrastructure. The pressure to find investors is now acute. China has repeatedly extended financing to Tazara, most recently with a $US 22.4m cash injection in 2015 which, according to Reuters, was earmarked to buy four new locomotives among other measures to boost capacity. Both governments are actively seeking private backers to fill the investment gaps in Tazaras operations. Simuchile says Tazara is currently in discussion with various parties including potential Chinese backers. No concrete agreement has been reached with any investor yet and the invitation remains open to any interested potential suitors, he says. The multi-million dollar question is whether Tazara can be made to work. Mills believes it can. One of the keys to making the railway viable will be getting vastly improved service from Zambia Railways which operates Zambias north-south main line from the Copperbelt, via Kapiri Mposhi, where it connects with the Tazara, Lusaka and Livingstone, to Zimbabwe. The Tazara will also have to offer a dramatically improved service to compete with the countrys powerful trucking industry. Mills says there is a commercial case for the Tazara: It would support development of Zambia and there are lots of good partners. One quick fix suggested by the Brenthurst Foundation is for businesses to buy paths on the railway to ensure they get a dedicated freight service. The biggest task, however, will be to sort out the bottleneck at the port of Dar es Salaam. According to a World Bank report, average dwell time for vessels at anchorage and in the port was 20 days in 2012, compared with an international average of three to four days. That inefficiency alone was costing Tanzania and its neighbouring countries more than $US 2.6bn per year. It will need real political support, says Mills. The railway will need to be recapitalised and it will need a plan. SOB has already applied to the Swiss Federal Transport Office (BAV) for financial support, which would enable it to begin procurement for the project. According to Mr Markus Barth, head of infrastructure at SOB, the idea is to use existing rolling stock on existing infrastructure, the aim being to operate the train automatically. SOB says automatic operation will not only improve safety, capacity, punctuality and efficiency on the entire system but also forestall signalling errors. The pilot project will be carried out on the Mogelsberg - Wattwil - Nesslau-Neu St Johann Toggenburg line. The train will run without passengers in intervals between the regular services. This stretch is almost ideal, according to Barth, as it is equipped with modern signalling and operating systems, has few level crossings, modern rolling stock and new LFC communications equipment. SOB hopes to launch the tender for the pilot project by the end of this year with a view to organising financing and selecting a contractor by mid-2018. The pilot is due to begin in 2020 with commercial operations starting between 2023 and 2025. THE rumble of trains travelling at low speed along the newest and most advanced railway line in the Middle East has started to attract the attention of residents, and interrupt the silence of the desert south of Medina. Five years after the signing of a contract awarded in October 2011, the Saudi Arabian authorities and the Spanish-led consortium in charge of executing the final construction phases and the operation of the Haramain high-speed rail line linking Medina, Jeddah and Mecca have finally reached a detailed agreement which foresees a partial opening for demonstration purposes only this year, followed by the inauguration of the entire line in 2018. When the project was launched, the biggest obstacle to completing it on time was expected to be the need to reconcile the wealth of experience of operating high-speed railways in temperate countries with the considerable challenge of running high-speed trains in one of the harshest climates in the world. However, as it turned out, delays to the project have been influenced more by the fragility of governance inside the winning Al Shoula consortium. Al Shoula is a rather heterogeneous group, comprising 14 companies: two from Saudi Arabia - investment group Al Shoula and construction firm Al Rosan - and 12 based in Spain, with the latter including both public and private undertakings. The Spanish Ministry of Public and Development is represented in the consortium through infrastructure manager Adif and national train operator Renfe, both expected to maintain and operate the system for 12 years, plus the national engineering firm Ineco. Private members of Al Shoula comprise consultants Consultrans; OHL, Copasa and Imathia which are in charge of track construction and maintenance; Inabensa and Cobra (ACS) tasked with installing electrification and electro-mechanical equipment; Talgo for the supply of high-speed trains; Dimetronic (now part of Siemens Rail Automation) for signalling; and Indra, which is responsible for several ancillary and control systems ranging from intrusion detection to ticketing. Delays The Haramain project has suffered from a series of delays, and is now expected to be ready two years later than originally envisaged. Adif initially estimated that the line would be finished during the second half of 2016, but construction difficulties and governance problems inside the consortium have forced it to revise the opening date several times. In July 2015 the consortium acknowledged problems with the construction of a 3km tunnel on the outskirts of Jeddah but even so its then president Mr Pablo Vazquez stated: I think we can open the entire line by January 1 2017 and we have caught up with the delays. Vazquez has since been succeeded by Mr Jorge Segrelles. A new opening date was announced last November and then ratified on January 16 during a visit to Saudi Arabia by a Spanish delegation led by Spains King Felipe VI when Saudi authorities agreed to extend the delivery deadline by 14 months until March 2018 and to acknowledge 150m in cost overruns. Although this was only a minor victory, it was a victory for some of the Spanish construction companies in the consortium. They had initially sought around 500m in higher-than-expected costs compensation, but in exchange for accepting substantially less they got more time to deliver the infrastructure, and consequently avoided delay penalties of more than 400m. With a 6.7bn budget, the Al Shoula consortium is responsible for the whole of Phase 2 and thus carries the lions share of the total weight of the Haramain project, as it includes not only the construction of the superstructure but also the supply of high-speed trains and the operation of the entire system and its maintenance for 12 years after opening. Under Phase 1, a Chinese-French consortium constructed the formationa and sub-grade and the associated civil works, and local firms started the construction of the five stations on the line, some of which were only finished recently. The line has a total length of 453km and follows the historical Haramain route in the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula, connecting Medina in the north with the still scarcely populated King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), Jeddah and finally Mecca in the south. The line starts at an altitude of 654m in Medina and descends to KAEC on the Red Sea coast which is at sea level before climbing again to Mecca which is 277m above sea level. The line also serves King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the main entry point for Hajj pilgrims, via a branch line with two flyovers, one per direction to enable trains to run north to Medina and south to Mecca. The railway was conceived as a passenger-dedicated line, and will be used only by the trains now being manufactured by Talgo. It is double-track throughout as it will serve every major populated urban center in Western Arabia, but also to maximise capacity in order to ensure a steady flow of the thousands of passengers who travel each day during the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. A special timetable will be operated during this period with trains running at less than 7-minute headways on the Jeddah - Mecca section. The normal service pattern during the rest of the year will consist of four trains per hour between Mecca and KAEC, seven from Mecca to Jeddah and two between Mecca and Medina, with an end-to-end travel time between the two holy cities of less than 2h 30min. The line will be operated using 35 high-speed trains manufactured by Talgo which has an option to supply 20 more. The trains have a maximum commercial speed of 300km/h, with the two power cars generating a combined output of 8MW. Each train will have 13 cars providing 417 seats, with a total length of 215m. The trains are based on the T350 platform operating in Spain as series 102 and 112 but have been specifically adapted for the desert climate, with a certified thermal resistance of up to 50C and an auxiliary power supply able to keep the air-conditioning system working for more than two hours in case of failure of the overhead electrification. The trains also feature blowers positioned close to the wheels to clear sand off the track, positive atmospheric pressure, military-grade air filters, reinforced door seals to prevent dust ingress, and polyurethane sheets to the driving cab window to reduce wear from blowing sand. Delivery of the fleet is on time: eight trains have already been sent to Saudi Arabia, while the remaining trains are being manufactured at Talgos plants in Madrid and the Basque Country. Talgo will also supply an additional T350 train for the exclusive use of the Saudi royal family. While the technical specifications of the royal train are secret, it is expected to have a hybrid power supply. The line has been designed for 320km/h operation and is being equipped with standard-gauge track, overhead electrification at 25kV 60Hz with C-350 catenary, and ETCS Level 2 signalling without a fallback system. All the systems have been designed to take into account the extensive experience accumulated by Adif and Renfe on the Spanish high-speed rail network, but several questions still hang over the operating phase. The desert sand and dust are expected to pose a challenge. Along 20km of the line there is some risk that advancing dunes, which can travel at a rate of 30m per year, could consume the track, while sections of the line totalling 197km are also exposed to the desert sands. Blowing sand can reduce driving visibility, increase abrasion and degrade the rail-wheel interface, and reduce the flexibility of ballasted track. Several measures are being implemented to minimise these problems. They include the construction of retaining walls and ditches along the line and the use of slab track instead of ballast in the most exposed sections to ensure that the sand does not percolate the track bed and can be removed easily. Some observers have also cast doubt on whether the initial passenger demand expectations can be met. The Spanish consortium initially calculated ridership at more than 166,000 passengers per day and up to 60 million passengers per year, which is more than double the total usage of the entire Spanish high-speed rail network. According to some sources, not only could this figure have been overestimated but the fall in oil prices, which has hit the Saudi economy, could also dampen demand and have a direct impact on operating revenue. Regardless of the challenges posed by the relentless heat and the perennially moving sand, the fact is that where the track is already available trial running has been underway continuously for several months under real climatic conditions. This is providing vital information to help achieve a partial opening between Medina and Jeddah later this year, even if it is restricted to demonstration services, paving the way for high-speed rail to attain new operating parameters in 2018. Welcome to Railway Gazette. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of these cookies. You can learn more about the cookies we use here. OK Taiwan's Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR)mandated for submission within 10 months after the presidential inaugurationoffers an assessment of Taiwan's security environment and the ways in which the Ministry of National Defense (MND) plans to respond over the next four years. Published in March, Taiwan's latest QDR represents the third installment of this process and the first under President Tsai Ing-wen's administration. Our analysis of this document, specifically when compared with the 2013 and 2009 QDRs, reveals that the current iteration maintains a remarkable amount of thematic consistency in areas such as defense strategy, reform of the military service system, and defense budget constraints with earlier versions despite the transition of power to the opposition party in 2016. There is also considerable evolution in the focus on developing Taiwan's domestic defense industry under President Tsai. Perhaps one of the most significant changes is that the new QDR appears to reflect heightened uncertainty over the future course of U.S. policy in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, the new QDR is more forward leaning than previous editions on the need for Taiwan to procure specific weapon systems to provide for its defense. First, regarding consistencies across QDRs, the MND's defense strategy at its core remains the same. Although the MND pitches a new catchphrase dubbed resolute defense, multi-domain deterrence (), this should not be interpreted as being at odds with the previous adage that Taiwan seek to develop and maintain resolute defense, credible deterrence. Indeed, both strategies seek to deter or, if necessary, repel a Chinese attack against the island by developing key capabilities and enhancing the Taiwan military's ability to conduct joint operations. Multi-domain deterrence, however, reflects the MND's assessment of the potential battlefield implications of the Chinese military's reorganization in 2016. Beijing's heavy emphasis on cross-domain situational awareness and proficiencymost acutely displayed by its establishment of the PLA Strategic Support Force which combines cyber, electronic jamming, and space warfarehas likely convinced the MND of the need to complicate multiple forms of warfare simultaneously. Thus, the 2017 QDR emphasizes that Taiwan's armed forces should be able to present multiple dilemmas to the enemy and deter aggression. There are many other commonly addressed topics across QDRs. For instance, Taiwan's desire to transform its armed forces into an all-volunteer force, first introduced in 2009, is also noted in 2017, but with little fanfare, probably because of the problems the MND has experienced in making the transition to an all-volunteer system. Taiwan's limited defense budget, which creates a variety of challenges in defense planning, is another familiar theme. What is interesting here is that, while the 2009 QDR leads off by advocating raising Taiwan's defense budget to at least three percent of GDP, subsequent QDRs resist reiterating this call and instead only highlight the fact that Taiwan's defense budget is constrained. All QDRs offer updates on China's ongoing military modernization and the implications for Taiwan's own planning. Another important consistency, albeit with notable evolution that reflects stronger emphasis under President Tsai, is the call to develop an indigenous defense industry to produce advanced armaments for Taiwan's defense. Starting in 2009, the QDR advocated for the creation of a self-reliant defense establishment, with no further details. By 2013, the MND had fleshed out the domestic defense industry concept further, stating that Taiwan would turn to domestic experts for military projects exceeding $1.6 million (2013 currency conversion), and it would seek domestic industry offsets of at least 40 percent for foreign procurement. Taiwan's latest QDR highlights aerospace, shipbuilding, and information security as priority areas for investment. Indeed, the Tsai administration's renewed push to build conventional diesel-electric submarines indigenously is evidence of the seriousness with which her government is approaching the domestic defense industry. It should be noted that the emphasis on the defense industry is part of President Tsai's five-plus-two innovative industries initiative, which underscores that it is not just about bolstering Taiwan's defense capabilities, but also an important component of her broader approach to economic policy. One of the major areas of departure from past QDRs is in describing U.S. policy toward the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, the 2017 QDR states that U.S. policy remains to be seen while the rise of China has a tremendous impact on the surrounding regions. By contrast, the 2013 QDR lauded Washington's strategic rebalance because it enabled the United States to continue to play a leading role in the Asia-Pacific. In what might be interpreted as a hedge, the QDR later states that the United States had sustained its forward military presence in the region while strengthening its key capabilities for future operations. Despite these comments on the U.S. military presence and future capabilities, it is noteworthy that the latest QDR appears to reflect some uncertainty about the overall direction of U.S. Asia policy under the Trump administration. This should come as no surprise given uncertainty in the region about the economic and diplomatic components of the Trump administration's approach to Asia, particularly U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and concerns related to Trump's recent statement that he would check with China first before considering another phone call with President Tsai. Separately, in a first for a QDR, the 2017 version points to a specific military capability that Taiwan assesses is needed for defense. The MND notes that Taiwan's armed forces are planning to acquire new fighters capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) and having stealth characteristicsalmost certainly a reference to acquiring the U.S. F-35. None of the previous QDRs ever mentioned specific systems of interest, only armaments that had already been agreed to with the United States. For example, the 2009 QDR references a deal with Washington to acquire attack helicopters, Patriot III missiles, upgraded E-2T aircraft, submarine-launched harpoon missiles, and medium-range anti-armor missiles. This comes as some observers highlight concerns that the Trump administration might be delaying Taiwan arms sales as it seeks China's cooperation on North Korea. When considering Taiwan's 2017 QDR, there are notable consistencies with previous QDRs, but also a noticeable evolution in thought on key programs and initiatives. Additionally, the 2017 version appears to signal some uncertainty about the direction of U.S. Asia policy under the Trump administration, which is understandable in light of the fact that it has yet to announce a strategy to replace the U.S. rebalance or pivot to Asia. The MND's decision to reference the need to acquire the F-35 suggests growing alarm in Taipei over the improving accuracy of the Chinese military's targeting of Taiwan's runways and the threat this poses to the island's air-to-air capabilities. Hence, U.S. policymakers might interpret the 2017 QDR as a reflection of an increasingly anxious Taiwan that would greatly benefit, not only from reassurances, but also from a serious U.S. reconsideration of its defense needs. The main point: Taiwan's 2017 QDRthe first under President Tsaiemphasizes a number of issues that figured prominently in previous QDRs, including defense strategy, reform of the military service system, and challenges related to defense budget constraints. The latest QDR also calls for acquisition of new fighters and highlights the importance President Tsai attaches to improving Taiwan's domestic defense industry, with particular emphasis on aviation, shipbuilding and information security. Additionally, the QDR appears to reflect some uncertainty about U.S. Asia policy under the new administration, underscoring the importance of U.S. reassurances and consideration of Taiwan's defense needs, including arms sales. Derek Grossman is a senior defense analyst at RAND Corporation. He formerly served at the Defense Intelligence Agency as the daily intelligence briefer to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs at the Pentagon. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, or the U.S. government. Michael S. Chase is a senior political scientist at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, and an adjunct professor in the China Studies and Strategic Studies Departments at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Logan Ma is a research assistant at RAND Corporation. He formerly served at the American Institute in Taiwan, the Freeman Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and the World Resources Institute. This commentary originally appeared on Global Taiwan Brief on June 14, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on the website. The purposes of using cookies are defined in the Privacy Policy of RAPSI If you agree to continue using cookies, please click the "Confirm" button. If you do not agree, you can change your browser settings. It was the handshake seen around the world. White-knuckled and vise-like, the salutation-cum-confrontation in Brussels between U.S. President Donald Trump and newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron galvanized the worlds attention. The meeting has since been subjected to countless interpretations, ranging from a clash of civilizations and collision of generations, to a dynamic and dashing Old World strutting its stuff in front of a crinkly and corpulent New World. The actors then offered their own interpretations of the exchange. In a newspaper interview, Macron confessed the handshake was not innocent. France had to show at this moment of truth that it will not make little concessions, even symbolic ones. Trump followed by refusing to make the one concession -- admittedly an odd word for the acceptance of a non-binding agreement negotiated by the previous White House and signed by more than 190 other nations -- for which the world had hoped. Reportedly bewildered by the handshake and irritated by Macrons subsequent gloss, he boasted, in a counter-interpretation both fatuous and false, that he was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris. Macrons riposte was sudden and sharp. In a video, the French president denounced Trumps decision as wrong-headed and vowed, in effect, that France would now lead the resistance against global warming and, by extension, the American presidents collaboration with these toxic trends. Effortlessly segueing from French to English, Macron then invited American researchers and renewable energy entrepreneurs to relocate to France, where they would find a government keener on their work than their own government. All of the sudden, it seemed a monde a lenvers: a world turned upside down. Unknown four years ago and installed as president four weeks ago, Macron has unleashed France onto the world stage. This is a dizzying turnaround for a nation thought too afflicted by terminal decline, encumbered by an obsolete political system, and burdened by the reputation, in Donald Rumsfelds famous phrase, as old Europe. But is Macrons sudden prominence fueled only by global frustration with Trump? While some might dismiss the 39-year-old presidents sudden notoriety to a trump de loeil effect, history instead suggests it is equal to the trempe de Gaulle, or the mark of the Fifth Republics founder. In the republic the General built, the prime minister governs and the president presides. Under this division of responsibilities, in which the government proposes and the president disposes, the most regalien, or sovereign, of realms is foreign policy. This is because the measure of a nations grandeur is reflected by the role it plays on the world stage. Domestic politics was, for Charles de Gaulle, the continuation of foreign policy by other means. No one grasps this Gaullist fact better than Macron. As one of his closest advisers told Le Monde, the new president completely understands that more than half of his time will be given to foreign affairs. While the specifics of the new presidents foreign policy remain largely undefined, he had announced the contours during his campaign. They will be shaped, Macron affirmed, by a gaullo-mitterrandienne vision. The phrase reflects Macrons en meme temps, or on the other hand tendency. His goal is to tack between the Gaullist ambition for France to assume a leading role in a Europe of nations and Mitterrands aim of nestling France in a fully integrated Europe. This dialectical approach was emphasized, both theatrically and rhetorically, in the days following Macrons victory. In his first official address on the evening of his victory, he declared: My commitment is to defend France, its vital interests, its image and its message. I will also defend Europe, the common destiny that continents peoples have given themselves. At stake is our civilization and our way of life, our freedom and our values, our common enterprises and our hopes. If there were any doubts as to what Macron meant by our, he quickly dissipated them. For his inauguration, the soundtrack for his dramatic and solitary march across the Louvres courtyard -- reminiscent of the atmospherics surrounding Mitterrands 1981 inauguration at the Pantheon -- was not the Marseillaise, but instead the European Unions official hymn, the Ode to Joy from Beethovens Ninth Symphony. No less telling was the choice of Berlin for his first foreign visit. At his joint press conference with Merkel, Macron observed: We are at a historic moment for Europe one that must be a time of new foundations. The German chancellor, who has now seen four French presidents come and go, responded by noting that Germany does well only when Europe does well, and Europe does well only with a strong France within Europe. At first, this might have struck cynics as boilerplate, not a blueprint -- as verbiage, not a vision. But Trumps tragicomic trip to Brussels focused the minds of Merkel as well as Macron. When Merkel announced that it was time for Europeans to take our fate in our own hands, she was aligning herself with Macrons gaullo-mitterrandienne aspirations. In this worldview, Macron declared during his campaign, France and Europe are poised at equidistance between the United States and Russia. With Russian President Vladimir Putins recent visit to Versailles, Macron showed the same moxie as in his meetings with Trump. While their handshake was cordial, Macrons remarks at the joint press conference were blunt. As a marble-faced Putin listened, Macron lambasted Moscows efforts to interfere in the French election, blasting state-controlled sites like Russia Today and Sputnik for planting false news stories in the French media. But crucially, he also described himself as someone who, having said what needs to be said, moves on. He looked forward, he concluded, to undertaking common actions with Russia -- a sentiment he did not express to Trump at the end of the G-7 summit meeting. Two related and critical aspects to Macrons gaullo-mitterrandienne orientation that have received little attention are his approach to the Middle East and choice of Jean-Yves Le Drian as minister of foreign affairs. While he supported the French intervention in Mali under Francois Hollande, Macron has expressed serious misgivings over the military intervention in Libya under Nicolas Sarkozy. In an interview with the French news site Mediapart, he declared that over the past decade, Frances response to global crises has succumbed to a neoconservative tendency with sometimes unfortunate consequences. Armed intervention, he insisted, makes sense only when it follows a diplomatic map. As defense minister under Hollande, Le Drian oversaw Operation Serval, which stands as one of that governments few major successes. According to his biographer Hubert Coudurier, Le Drian is a known, trusted, and respected quantity with American defense officials, which will help guarantee that, despite the current tension, relations will not suffer. What is in store for Frances relationship with the United States in the apres-handshake era? Conservative outlets in France worried that Macron had overplayed his hand. Le Point fretted if it was the handshake that imperiled the world, while LExpress warned that Macron should not have boasted about his reasons for the gesture. Yet these voices have been drowned out by En Marches landslide victory in this weeks legislative elections. The showdown in Brussels seems only to have burnished Macrons standing, and thus his party, among French voters, with one commentator going so far as to claim that, with the handshake, Macron invented gaullo-mitterrandisme. De Gaulle famously described the direct election of the president, which he introduced via referendum in 1962, as the encounter between a man and the people. With the people speaking as loudly in the legislative elections as they did in the presidential election, it is safe to say that Macron has the credibility needed for the regalien realm of foreign policy. It remains to be seen how well he can carry the rest of Europe in his effort to keep to the strait and narrow of his gaullo-mitterrandienne path. On Sunday, French voters headed to the polls to vote in the first round of the parliamentary elections. A month after the election of its new president Emmanuel Macron, succeeding the socialist Francois Hollande, the country chose to grant the new executive the necessary seats in the National Assembly in order to enact legislation. Macrons independent political party En Marche! received 32.5 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, a considerable amount of members of parliament from the establishment Socialist Party and Republican Party have already struck deals with Macrons movement in order to see themselves unopposed in their electoral district. As a result, many opposition parliamentarians will also support the government of the newly appointed Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. The center-right Republican Party has received 20 percent of the vote and is likely to be the largest opposition party in parliament, while the Socialist Party, which had governed France for the last five years, only got 9 percent. Most extraordinary is the participation rate of 49 percent, which is the lowest in the history of the French Republic. The election night was particularly bitter for Marine Le Pen, whose National Front, the third largest party, got 13 percent of the vote. Now, the National Fronts chances of success in next weeks second round are dim. Only a few of Le Pens nationalist candidates are expected to win in the runoff next Sunday. The National Front, contrary to its expectations, has failed to considerably increase its share of votes. This is mostly due to infighting following Le Pens election loss against Macron. Her party leadership has been ideologically divided, and one key playerher niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen, who had been one of the partys two members of parliament until nowhas left the movement completely. This result provides Macron with the comfortable majority that he wanted. In fact, only a few days ago the new president had expressed his fear of ending up with too many [members of parliament], leading French commentators to mock his political party for its inexperienced candidates, many having never held elected office in their lives. And indeed, Macrons En Marche! is expected to get an absolute majoritybetween 415 and 450 seats. There are 577 seats and only 289 are needed for a majority. Regardless of these eventual problems, Macron sees himself confirmed once again. He is now embodying the so-called Republican Front. Inspired by the name of Le Pens National Front, the Republican Front gathers those who reject the rampant nationalist positions of the French far right, which they consider contrary to the Republican spirit. While not an established party in itself, the Republican Front represents a coalition of different parties in the Republique against a particularly unpopular candidate like Marine Le Pen. Macron was, in fact, fortunate to run against Le Pen in the presidential election because the major policy differences enabled him to stand out as the candidate for a tolerant and open France. The excitement for this new and young president, upon close analysis of his political manifesto, inevitably falls short. As a former economic advisor to the wildly unpopular Francois Hollande, Macron has been inside the political bubble in Paris for quite a while. In fact, he also served as minister of the economy under Hollandes socialist government. For his presidential run, his manifesto is therefore, to no surprise, very similar to that of the last government. One of the ways that Macron wanted to stand out was through his love for the European Union. Before his victory speech at the Louvre in Paris, Macron walked onstage to Beethovens Ode to Joy. In an interview with French newspaper Liberation, Macron said, You cannot be timidly European, and called for fiscal harmonization in the EU. Macrons radical pro-EU stance is expected to further divide the country given that an increasing number of French people growing skeptical of the European Union. Additionally, Frances new president wants to collectivize military forces and surveillance programs. For instance, he wants to create an EU biometric identification card for all citizens. For the Eurozone, the body organizing the policy of the European common currency, Macron calls for a minister of finance and a completely new parliament, which would increase bureaucracy. Other questionable stances of Macron include the introduction of a Buy European Act, which would limit private-public partnerships to companies willing locate at least 50 percent of production to Europe. That type of limitation would foster EU-protectionism. It is a stance that is even more paradoxical, given the readiness of European leaders to oppose Donald Trump for protectionism. Macron also wants to further intervene in the agricultural sector and on the housing market, intends on introducing a permanent state of emergency (effectively reducing civil rights) and favors military interventionism in Syria with a UN mandate. The parliamentary vote on Sunday has given Emmanuel Macron the first confirmation in his policies, which he will try to implement after receiving a large majority. He has crushed party establishments on both sides yet recycled the same old and ineffective policies of the past, and as of now the French public seems oblivious to this massive rebranding effort. Beware the day that the public discovers that it attributed one of its biggest mandates in Frances history to the person who will effectively do the exact same thing as the last person. But until then, En Marche! . . . The British election has seen pundits lurch from one misguided certainty to another Nature abhors a vacuum - and political commentators abhor a vote without a narrative. So it is that pundits are lining up to proclaim the British election the end of hard Brexit. This is far from certain. At this point, it is not clear that a softer Brexit is any more likely than it was before the election. True, Prime Minister Theresa May - who had championed a hard Brexit since she came to power - did not achieve the majority she hoped for. Equally true is the fact that the opposition Labour Party surpassed all expectations, while the anti-Brussels UK Independence Party was wiped out. But there are a few caveats to add at this point. 1. The election wasnt really about Brexit May claimed that she called the election to resolve divisions in Westminster over Brexit. Yet there was no real division between the major parties: Labour had just applied a three line whip to induce its MPs to support the Conservatives triggering of Article 50. Moreover, neither party campaigned on a Brexit-based platform. The Conservatives focused almost exclusively on personal leadership, while Labour railed against domestic austerity. Labour did reject Mays farcical claim that no deal was a tolerable outcome, but given that they also pledged to end freedom of movement and to exit the single market, there is little basis for the claim that Labour represented a softer Brexit and that the public has endorsed that vision. 2. The pro-European parties did badly The two parties that did campaign for a softer Brexit received little public backing. The Liberal Democrats made opposing hard Brexit the centerpiece of their offer and were rewarded with a paltry net gain of four seats, and obtained those on an even lower vote share than their disastrous 2015 result. The Scottish National Party also campaigned for a softer Brexit and promptly lost 21 seats over half their total. Hardly a ringing endorsement for todays narrative of a Revenge of the Remainers. 3. UKIP was always destined for oblivion UKIP had already achieved its sole objective - to secure a referendum on EU membership. The party had nowhere else to go. Moreover, without their charismatic former leader Nigel Farage, and lacking the backing of billionaire Aaron Banks, UKIP was always doomed to irrelevance. Their collapse tells us very little about public views on Brexit. Coalition of chaos So the British public didnt vote for a softer Brexit but that isnt the only factor at play. Theresa May has been forced into a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland in order to cobble together a wafer-thin majority in Parliament. This is a crutch that may force the prime minister to compromise with a range of actors within and beyond her party on a series of issues, including Brexit. Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who helped the Tories win 13 extra seats north of the border, has urged May to "look again" at her Brexit plans. Mays Chancellor, Philip Hammond, was on Monday rumored to be drumming up support in the City of London for a move to soften the governments line. Former Tory Prime Ministers David Cameron and John Major have urged May to reconsider her firm stance. And even prominent Leave campaigner Michael Gove - newly promoted to Mays Cabinet - has proposed a consensual approach in partnership with other parties. These proposals will face fierce pushback, however, from hardcore Euroskeptic backbenchers within the Tory party. As Caroline de Gruyter noted last month, many European leaders hoped May would secure a decisive electoral victory. This was because they understood that the real threat to her authority would come not from reluctant remainers unwilling to accept a severance, but from hardcore euroskeptics unwilling to entertain any continuing ties between the United Kingdom and European Union. Now that she has been badly wounded, these vultures are circling. Moreover, it is not even clear whether such a consensual approach is possible, or what it would look like. Everyone knows the pro-European positions of the Lib Dems, Scottish National Party, and Greens. But the most important players now are Labour and the DUP. And no one really knows what they stand for on Brexit. Northern Ireland is vulnerable to a hard border with its European neighbour, the Republic of Ireland. The DUP will push hard to avoid such an outcome. But the party is also a staunch promoter of British nationalism and a strong proponent of the idea that Britain should be free to strike its own trade deals around the world which means being outside the EU customs union. How these two factors will resolve themselves is anyones guess. What does Labour want? Labour is perhaps an even greater conundrum. Prominent Labour centrist Yvette Cooper has called for a cross-party Brexit commission in a bid to soften the governments position. But the position of her own party is far from clear. For starters, we do not know whether Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wants a softer Brexit. He was a lukewarm supporter of the Remain campaign, and many aspects of EU policy are at odds with his traditional left-wing values. Keeping Britain in the Single Market, for example, would require continued adherence to a range of regulations he personally disagrees with. More importantly, Labours surprising success last week depended to a significant extent on hedging its Brexit stance: The party drew support from young, metropolitan pro-Europeans as well as older Leave voters in Northern rust-belt towns. Corbyn expects another general election before the years end and on Tuesday told his MPs to remain in permanent campaign mode. This likely means the party cannot take a strong soft Brexit line for fear of alienating its Leave-voting supporters. It also means it is unlikely to forge a consensual approach with the government: better to let the Conservatives put forward their own Brexit bills, vote against them and trigger another election. Tick-tock Finally, there is the ticking hand of time. A softer Brexit which would keep Britain in the customs union or single market and involve a deal on freedom of movement, ECJ jurisdiction and many other complex matters will take more time to negotiate. But the deadline for the end of talks is already set in stone. And while all this turmoil unfolds in British politics, time marches on with its customary indifference. The United Kingdom has already squandered one-eighth of the negotiating time made available when Article 50 of the EU treaty was triggered, and if another election is called, it will lose far more still. With each day that passes without a British negotiating position, the chances rise of the hardest of all Brexits no deal at all. Not that I am predicting a hard Brexit. I was catastrophically wrong about the UK election and have no intention of making any grandiose predictions in the near future. My point is that, for a brief moment, the UK election caused political pundits to question their certainties and wonder about the distortions of group-think. Yet five minutes later they were tripping over each other to agree that the result heralds a new direction for Brexit. It doesnt. If the election result revealed anything, it is the need for more humility on the part of political commentators. What kind of Brexit will we end up with? I dont know. Over the past two years, Venezuela has sunk into a deep economic crisis brought on by a decline in oil prices, and its reverberating effects have left the country's ruling party desperate. In an environment where regular protests and widespread disapproval have become the norm, President Nicolas Maduro's administration is clinging to power despite the increasing likelihood that it will lose the next presidential election. Now, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) has begun coalescing into opposing factions, and how its struggle plays out will determine just how long the administration is able to protect its rule. For the president and his inner circle, losing control of the country could mean being jailed by an opposition government or even being extradited to the United States on criminal charges. To prevent this, Maduro and his allies, including influential PSUV power broker Diosdado Cabello and Vice President Tareck El Aissami, have called for a constitutional assembly to rewrite the constitution. The move could allow the government to rework elements of the country's electoral law and perhaps delay the next presidential race, cementing Maduro's position in power in the process. An Opposition Faction Emerges But segments of the administration are already thinking about a future without Maduro. A faction of the PSUV that includes Attorney General Luisa Ortega has emerged hoping to block Maduro's attempts at firming up his political position. Over the past three months, Ortega has consistently opposed the Maduro administration's actions, including its attempt to dissolve congress in March and its use of military courts to try civilian protesters. More recently, Ortega also attempted albeit unsuccessfully to get the Supreme Court to halt the constitutional assembly. In her fight against the president, Ortega is joined by former Cabinet ministers, retired military officers, district attorneys and retired and active law enforcement officials. For Ortega's faction, the strategy chosen by Maduro and his comrades is simply unsustainable. A majority of voters likely now oppose the PSUV and there have been consistent clashes in the streets. The current administration cannot survive without further repressing demonstrators and manipulating the electoral system to its benefit tactics that would drive increasingly violent and potentially deadly protests over the coming year. A heavier crackdown on protests also could attract the attention of the United States, which has considered implementing damaging sanctions against Venezuela's crucial oil sector. In the face of these risks, PSUV officials belonging to Ortega's group have begun to search for a political solution that protects their interests in the long run. That solution, it seems, is to oust the virtually unelectable Maduro. According to a Stratfor source, the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) believes Ortega's ultimate aim is to use Article 350 of the constitution in her quest to remove the administration from power. The article states that the nation's republican values should be protected against any legislation, authority or government that disregards them, essentially permitting the country's armed forces and civilians to commit insubordination in certain circumstances. By issuing a statement invoking Article 350, Ortega would be gambling on the hope that Venezuela's wavering armed forces would definitively choose a side, potentially giving her faction the institutional heft it needs to remove Maduro. In conjunction with the invocation of Article 350, Ortega also could encourage a declaration by the country's National Assembly that the president is not fulfilling the constitutional duties of his post. This could spur the attorney general's office to conduct pre-trial hearings against members of the ruling party and possibly the president himself. The DGCIM, moreover, believes that Ortega would also use the threat of recognizing foreign extradition warrants to further pressure the government. A Ruling Party Clings to Power Despite Ortega's efforts, ousting Maduro's administration will not be easy. In recent years, key individuals threatened by institutional dissent, such as Cabello, have developed a network of defenses designed to make any attempts to remove them as messy as possible. These moves date as far back as 2014, when Maduro removed former National Bolivarian Intelligence Service chief Miguel Rodriguez Torres as interior minister. According to a Stratfor source, Rodriguez Torres was becoming an obstacle to Cabello's influence within the country's security institutions, and Cabello was concerned about his close relationship with Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez. The following year, Maduro appointed his ally Gen. Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez as interior minister. The removal of Rodriguez Torres was critical for allowing Cabello to build up his network of colectivos, or unofficial government-funded militias. By early 2015, Cabello and his allies had begun the process of expanding their command over the colectivos previously controlled by the Interior Ministry. Freddy Bernal, a PSUV civilian official sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, then coordinated with Cabello-allied state governors to create a nationwide colectivo movement that boasts thousands of members. National Guard Commander Nestor Reverol has backed the use of these expanded colectivos, drawn from the patronage networks known as Bolivar-Chavez Battle Units, to fight against protesters, and they have been closely aligned with the National Guard and Bolivarian National Police in the latest wave of protests. Maduro's administration has even considered including these units in the regular military as an auxiliary force against ceaseless unrest. The colectivo expansion of the past few years has provided greater security for Cabello and his allies, despite the government's unpopularity, and has served as a deterrent against a potential uprising from a military whose loyalty to the political leadership is increasingly in doubt. Any segment of the armed forces thinking of rising up against the administration would risk having to fight the colectivos' thousands of armed civilians a conflict sure to be bloody. A Nation Looks Ahead As it stands, the PSUV's opposing factions are locked in what could prove a lengthy struggle. Maduro, Cabello and their allies may be at the helm of a nation with an increasingly hostile population, but they control enough political and security institutions to make challenging them difficult. Meanwhile, the face of that dissidence, Ortega, is not likely to back down, though she presently lacks the means to stop the government's push toward a constitutional assembly. She can and likely will, however, use every tool she has to work toward her ultimate goal of removing Maduro from power, including threatening investigations against PSUV and military officials and urging the armed forces to rebel. As violent protests escalate and dissident PSUV members ramp up the pressure on Maduro and his allies, the most important figure to watch will be Padrino Lopez. As the head of the armed forces, he will eventually be forced to make a decision about where his troops' loyalties lie as the rift between members of the ruling party widens. Padrino Lopez's support for the Maduro's administration likely depends on the level of unrest in the streets and whether the defense minister wants to be party to severe crackdowns on the opposition. In the event of a serious incident such as a massacre of protesters, it's possible that Padrino Lopez's allegiance will shift to Ortega. Maduro and his circle of supporters have not yet acted to remove Ortega, probably because doing so would bring the government's split out into the open. But the divisions within Venezuela's ruling government will only grow in the months ahead as Ortega's faction continues finding new ways to pressure the administration. Unless the military switches sides or makes a sudden coup attempt, there are few organizations capable of halting Maduro and Cabello as they fight to stay in power. Nevertheless, Ortega and the nation's consistent waves of protesters ensure that the threats to Maduro's administration will not be eliminated anytime soon. And as Maduro continues to push for a constitutional assembly, conflict and dissent will weigh heavily on the government in Caracas. 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Price: $ 1 Seller State of Residence: New Jersey State/Province: Mexico Number of Bedrooms: 1 Number of Bathrooms: 1 Location: , Nuevo Vallarta You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 1 , We're sorry, this article is not currently available At a time of massive job losses that is what the much-vaunted Indian IT sector needs. Ritwik Sharma reports. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Tough times ahead IT services sector currently employs around 3.9 mn The sector sees growth declining to single digit, beginning FY17 Companies can no longer afford thousands of employees on the bench IT sector hired 27,000 less people in FY17, says Nasscom Infosys automated nearly 11,000 jobs Companies to face dual impact of automation and local hiring in the US Projects become short-term and outcome-based A large chunk of mid-level employees may be at risk unless they reskill At a time of massive job losses in the much-vaunted Indian IT sector -- with the likes of Wipro, Cognizant and Infosys handing out the pink slip to numerous employees in recent months -- the need for reskilling workers to avoid redundancy is greater than ever. Companies are adopting automation with an eye on cutting costs. The question is, how can companies help minimise the resulting threat of lay-offs by reskilling employees? In response to queries, a statement from Wipro Limited pointed out that in FY 17, it trained 39,600 employees in digital skills and now has 61,000 such technical personnel. "We have created technology academies, which provide hands-on immersive training on emerging technologies by way of virtual projects. We also introduced different learning interventions leveraging collaboration tools, peer mentoring and crowdsourcing to encourage employees to develop expertise in new-age technologies," the statement notes, adding the company has tie-ups with premium universities to offer courses on emerging technologies. While companies claim to upskill workers, the sense is that mid to senior level employees are in the firing line, especially those resistant to change. Rishabh Kaul, co-founder of outbound hiring platform provider Belong, says, "We're witnessing a new tech order where systems of engagement technologies in the form of IoT [Internet of Things], augmented and virtual reality are fusing and enabling systems of insight technologies in the form of artificial intelligence [AI]/cognitive and deep learning to drive action for businesses. Macro factors like increase in the number of connected devices projected at a CAGR of 34 per cent -- to reach 21 billion by 2020 -- and the fact that customers are becoming more discerning toward products and services and heightened competition are driving this change." He adds that a tricky part for companies is that anything repetitive is going to be automated. And with changes in curriculum being a slow process, educational institutions may not be able to keep pace with the new skills demanded. As a result a new ecosystem -- MOOCs (massive open online courses), certification programme providers, third-party services which interact with large companies in terms of learning management -- has gained importance. "Freshers are easier to reskill, since they don't have the baggage of years spent on a single role. So, the real challenge happens at the mid to senior level, where you've been used to doing something for 10 years." S Viswanathan, chief people officer, NIIT Technologies Ltd, says changes in technology and industry are heightened now and we may be at a point of inflection. The company hasn't faced the scourge of lay-offs, and it says annually every employee goes through training depending on their specific needs. "But what we did last year is probably more important than historically what we do. We put about 10 per cent of our technical staff through a digital programme, to completely skill them in new roles. And in the current year, we are looking at pushing that number up to 20 per cent of our workforce, because customer needs are completely changing." The challenges vary for different types of companies. "If you look at our key verticals of travel and insurance, they went digital much sooner. And therefore, we have got more exposure and visibility into what's happening. I guess some other organisations got surprised to see things change so dramatically and therefore they are adapting to 'how do I retool employees'," he says. Tata Communications has an innovation programme, "Shape the Future", that encourages employees to come up with product or business ideas and if selected, it supports them with the wherewithal to even incubate them as new business. Aadesh Goyal, global head, HR, Tata Communications, says: "We have the rare advantage of having a view into both the emerging markets and developed economies and to make appropriate changes to the way we conduct our talent strategy. We've transformed our learning strategy and made learning digital, virtual and always available." According to Tata Consultancy Services, the company has managed to stay ahead and get the time for preparedness and to avoid lay-offs. Ashok Krish, head, workplace reimagination practice, TCS, says, "Almost three years ago, we embarked on skilling about 200,000 employees out of their legacy technologies into digital ones. You had two years to do that. But today you need to be able to transform people skills in six months and need to take the very same people in the next six months to train them in something entirely different, because technologies and priorities will keep changing." In the last one year, he adds, the firm has pushed everyone into "a culture of continuous learning anytime, anywhere". He calls it a reskilling programme on steroids -- moving away from a classroom model where one spends four to six weeks in learning something deeply to a mobile-friendly learn-as-you-go approach. The message to employees is that there is a groundbreaking change in industry business models across sectors. And to enable those changes, there are diverse digital technologies where one can't specialise but learn a bit of everything. The market share of Mondelez, which owns Cadbury, for its premium brands is way ahead of competitors, despite a stiff fight in this arena. IMAGE: The premium segment, say experts, is around 30 per cent of India's Rs 8,200-crores overall chocolate market. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters. One of the fastest growing chocolate categories in India, the premium segment, is also among the most competitive. And, American major Mondelez, maker of the Cadbury brand, retains its hold here by a wide margin. According to Nielsen data, sourced from the industry, Mondelez, the multi-billion American company (owners of Kraft, Oreo, Nabisco) which took over the classic, oh-so British brand in a hostile takeover in 2009, has nearly 24 per cent of the market where the unit price is Rs 40 and above. In contrast, rivals Nestle and Ferrero have barely 1.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent, (both figures have been rounded off) respectively, in the same category. The premium segment, say experts, is around 30 per cent of the Rs 8,200 crores overall chocolate market in this country. It is also growing at a faster clip, at nearly 20 per cent annually, ahead of the overall chocolate markets 13 per cent yearly growth. IMAGE: Cadbury has consistently tried to innovate in India's premium market, to stay ahead, offering new products al the time. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters. Premium brands like Silk from Mondelez have also done well, Nielsen data show, growing its share by 200 basis points to touch 5.5 per cent now, from 3.5 per cent in 2015. IMAGE: Nestle has plans to launch new versions of KitKat in India. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters. Prashant Peres, director, marketing, chocolates, Mondelez India, said the company has consistently innovated in the premium market, to stay ahead. Innovations in the Silk portfolio like Silk Oreo (combining biscuits and chocolates), Bubbly (aerated chocolate) and Caramello (liquid centre-filled chocolate) are together now nearly Rs 400 crores in size. Of this, Bubbly, launched in July 2015, is Rs 261 crores. Some other innovations such as Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvelous Creations and Cadbury Fuse are also growing their share, he said. Cadbury Fuse, launched in September 2016, has a share of 1.1 per cent, according to Nielsen data. The market share of Marvelous Creations, also launched in 2016, could not be ascertained. IMAGE: Ferrero Roche owns just 0.6 per cent of the premium segment in India. Photograph: Kind Courtesy J.P.Lon/Wikimedia Commons. Mondelezs premium launches come as rivals Nestle and Ferrero press the accelerator, launching new variants of flagships like KitKat and Ferrero Roche, pushing distribution aggressively and increasing investment in the category. Ferrero, which has an overall market share of 8.5 per cent in chocolates, has said it will double investment in India to Rs 1,600 crores in the next few years. It is the third largest chocolate maker in India, after Mondelez (65 per cent overall market share) and Nestle (14.6 per cent overall), respectively. IMAGE: Mondelez, the multi-billion American company (owners of Kraft, Oreo, Nabisco) which took over the classic, oh-so British brand in a hostile takeover in 2009, has nearly 24 per cent of the premium chocolate market in India, where the unit price is Rs 40 and above. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters. Peres says Mondelez will sustain its momentum in the premium market with new launches. In the past three years, it has put forth nearly 10 new products in the premium market. The company might also introduce new global brands in the premium market, sector experts said. Besides Toblerone and Cadbury, it has no other global chocolate brand in India. 'The toughest challenge is not to satisfy the luxury customer.' 'The toughest challenge is to satisfy the budget customer.' IMAGE: Rahul Pandit, right, managing director and CEO, Roots Corporation Limited, that runs the Ginger chain of hotels. Photographs: Kind Courtesy Ginger The 41st Ginger hotel is about to open its doors in Teli Galli, Andheri East, northwest Mumbai, about ten minutes from the city's international airport. The hotel awaits the last few permissions from the government before it can start checking guests in at its Coffee and Keys front desk. Meanwhile, a variety of test runs are happening on its premises. And meticulous prepping. General Manager Arif Asmath has been going around making a long list of things to be remedied. Whether it is the angle of the signage on floor 2. Or spots where the wall is getting unnecessarily scuffed. Multiple rounds of training are happening all over the place. In the kitchen. Behind the cash register. At the X-ray machine outside the main doors. In the lobby. This Ginger, with 142 rooms, feels much more upmarket than many of its older sisters and brothers. Shiny and sleek. Rooms, with wood tile floors, are elegant if spartan. Views of the less hectic Teli Gali outside are pleasant. But it sits nearly at the same price point (somewhere between budget and midscale) as other Gingers, offering double rooms for Rs 5,555 per night. Uniquely -- and in sync with the group's special focus of attracting many more of the growing population of single women travellers -- it has a special ladies floor where all rooms are only given to women guests. And that floor's elevator is sealed off from other floors and guests. Some of Ginger's senior management -- Rahul Pandit, the MD and CEO, and Nikhil Sharma, chief operating officer -- are sitting in a conference room off the main lobby, in earshot of some eleventh hour drilling. It is the war room. F&B keeps sweeping in and out with trays of beverages and tidbits for the big guns to sample. All manner of important consultations are happening too. Cell phones trill non stop. It has taken three-and-a-half years to get this hotel, which has several environment-friendly features, going. Although India's license raj is a dinosaur of the past, it still requires an extraordinarily long time to get permissions to build or run a new hotel. The Ginger chain, which began in 2004, will within months be up to nearly 50 hotels when several more open in Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Surat, the Jim Corbett National Park, Gurgaon, and Lucknow. It has been a unusual journey for the group as it works to frugally upgrade its offering, while constantly unraveling the requirements of the tricky Indian budget customer, who wants everything, be it bandwidth or bed width, at the lowest price, of course. Little things, explains Pandit, work magic. Like instead of dispensers, providing bars of orange-fragrance glycerine soap -- Indians seem to like their soap cakes. Or extending the complimentary breakfast hours at Gingers located at both business and leisure destinations to 11 am and 12 pm respectively. "One of the GMs told me 'I don't want to do this... I had family who had breakfast at 7 am, then they went to the beach and at noon again had breakfast. Look I am going to lose my lunch scene.' I said, 'but look at the positives. That guy is going to come back to you!'" says Pandit The chain is now seeing an uptick in foreign tourist check-ins at some Ginger locations like Bhubaneshwar, Manesar, Agartala, Guwahati and Noida. It expects the Mumbai Ginger will see many overseas tourists footfalls. In an interview to Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel, Pandit and Sharma shed light on what works in the budget and mid-scale hotel sector. They also provide key insights into the behaviour of the Average Indian Hotel Guest. Pandit and Sharma also explain why the Indian hotel industry is not growing as fast as it could. India's Socialist past has lead to hotels being considered a luxury item and not part of infrastructure or of national economic importance. But tourism, says Pandit, is a soft power and hotels promote tourism, they can be environmentally friendly and offer safe, secure employment in many rural areas. How does India fare compared to hotel room numbers worldwide? Do we have enough rooms? If you see our sector globally: It is a regular pyramid of supply. All over the world today, there are 20 million plus hotel rooms. The world population is 7 billion. So the ratio works out to about 28 rooms per 10,000 people. The most mature (hotel) market is the US, who has over one-fourth of the global supply. 5 million rooms sit there. The US has a population of 300 million, so the US has 180 rooms per 10,000 people. ... In India the big thing is our supply -- only one room to 10,000. So if you were a global CEO, sitting somewhere, you would say, 'Hey, big land of opportunity coming here.' But then you have to see what was happening... Globally, for one luxury hotel room, there are three upscale rooms, five mid-scale and seven budget. Like any other industry, at the luxe price point, you have the least. When you come down, you have the max. In India it is an inverted pyramid. Of the tracked supply that we have, more than 65 per cent sits in luxury or upscale rooms. So it is like you board a 200-seater aircraft and when you go in you say: 'Hey, 130 seats are first or business.' Then you say it is a very odd configuration in the aircraft. In India it is like that. Why does India have an inverted pyramid of hotel room numbers? For two reasons. Real estate in India is not zoned by end-use. In mature economies, when a government plans a city or a development, (it says) this plot of land is residential, this is commercial, this is warehousing, this is hospital, this is retail and so forth. Two things happen as a result of that. First of all, the government is able to plan civic amenities. And infrastructure -- how much transport do you need, how much road. Land use -- is planned. Second, when you know that on this plot of land I can only do a hotel or a hospital or school or whatever, your returns are capped by that end use. In India, there is no classification like that. We have just essentially three (classifications) -- industrial, residential and commercial. Within that, it is open to each state government to change land use. Two things happen as a result of that. First of all, land becomes a tradable commodity, because you can flip its use. The second, planning for civic amenities, is very odd. Take as an example, Bombay. How do you plan in a place like that? As a result of land being a commodity, the embedded cost of land in a hotel project in India could be as a high as 50 to 60 per cent. Globally, land cost typically is between 15 and 20 per cent. In China it could be (as low as) 0 to 10 to a top end (amount) of 15. For people who are doing hotel development in India, if the embedded cost of land is very high, then many think it is more risk averse to go upmarket... They would say if 60 percent of my capex is anyway fixed, then for a little more incremental increase at the top of the up cycle, I would be able to (earn) better. The second thing is the RoE (return of equity). For the hotel sector in India, the RoE is typically Return of Ego. The word 'hotel' is very synonymous with luxury. The market is not so mature to understand differentiation... Being a hotel owner is a matter of ego or pride. So many people have a very irrational frame of returns. You are not competing for returns. A large part of the hotel supply in India has been created by independents. It is also conversion of cash into an asset. If the cash was left at home, it may get raided or it may depreciate. The moment it is in an asset -- even if the business returns are zero -- your asset is still appreciating. The third thing is, even though we call our hotel sector an industry, if you go by the RBI, it is still not considered an infrastructure item. So hotels don't get infrastructure lending, even for budget and mid-market hotels. Hotels in India get debt in double digits for very short repayment tenures (5 to 7 years). In mature economies, hotels get access to debt in single digits and the tenure could be 20 to 25 years. Since the business needs so much capital injection and you do capex recovery only after a full cycle (of seven years), it is a business of long gestation. All of these factors lead to that (inverted pyramid). IMAGE: Please click on each of the rooms in the image to get the numbers on India's acute hotel room shortage. Graphic: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com and Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com What are the unique issues that arise while dealing with the Indian customer? What do customers think of hotels? They think it is an item of luxury. Next of the prevailing supply (available), the majority of it is upscale and luxury. Globally, when you travel down these price points, what is changing essentially is not the product. What is changing is the ambit of services. At luxury you get everything 24x7. When you come to budget you are effectively getting coffee and doughnuts in the lobby. But in India, our arbitrage is not on labour. Our labour costs are low. Our arbitrage is capital. So if you go to a dhaba also, the guy will come and serve you a cup of tea in your car. The big difference between Indian consumers versus other consumers in more mature markets, Indian consumers expect service at all price points. They are used to it. Many of the consumers, people who then trade down from here, they are more appreciative of value. (They understand that) you are getting a low price and you are (still) getting a larger ambit of services. But the toughest challenge is not to satisfy the luxury customer. The toughest challenge is to satisfy the budget customer. This guy may be moving from the unbranded or unstructured market, where everything was available. That establishment (where he used to stay) may not have been obeying local fire safety norms. It may not have been built on approved land. So on and so forth. But the guy was getting everything. Even though the basics of the business -- which is hygiene and security -- may have been missing. When they come to the structured market, which has all these constraints, the consumer becomes very, very finicky. Because if (say) they were staying in guest houses, the guy was serving you 24 hours, he is used to everything (even if he didn't know where it was being made and how it was being made). When he comes here -- to a hotel in the structured market, which may be built on land which is for that purpose, obeying all government and fire safety norms -- his expectation typically is 'Hey everything is available to me. Everyone is at my beck and call.' The other issue that comes in here is, because the word hotel in India is synonymous with luxury, the image it conjures is that: 'When I am landing at a hotel it is a luxury experience.' The expectation is that when I drive my car in, there would be a valet. There would be someone saluting me. There would be someone carrying my luggage and all of that. Now you see the global brands. When they have come into India they have had to adopt. If you look at say a Fairfield or a Marriott or an Ibis, all of these guys globally would not have in-room dining, would not have luggage delivery. The Ibis at Delhi airport, interestingly, has a heated swimming pool! It is the first of its kind in the world (at that price point). Nowhere would they have stuff like that. The Indian consumer demands so much service. Given that Indians are often poor users of facilities, what happens to hotel maintenance costs? You must have to spend hugely in that area. Yes and no. We spend a lot on maintenance. One reason is because we deliver occupancy rates which are typically 20 per cent higher than the market. We get more heads on beds. So there is more utilisation of the rooms. We make our rooms such that in five to seven years we can effectively replace the room, unlike a luxury product. So were going with the intent to sell them maximum seven years. Anyway then, we redo the room. The cost of maintenance for those seven years -- we have to be at it -- is high so that it is right. For example, if it is plumbing fittings or if it is the furniture in the room, we don't use teak, which you would find in luxury rooms. In that sense, if you were to look at opex (operating expenses) over a full cycle -- let's say a seven year period -- and include the cost of replacement, then it may be higher, but it is as per design. Don't miss the next part of this interview! 'A President who is a living embodiment of high principles can tone up the entire national fabric,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant. The Presidential sweepstakes have begun with the notification of the Election Commission of India setting the process in motion. India's President is a patently, if not blatantly, ostentatious oddity in a country whose people are yet to be assured of their basic services. He is a person invisible most of the time, cast in the cavernous cage of a Rashtrapati Bhavan, bound hand and foot by the Constitution with no role other than signing on the dotted line and performing meaningless rituals. Out of the 13 Presidents India has had so far, only four could be said to be memorable in popular esteem; the rest were either mediocrities or mockeries. The reason is obvious: The political class of whichever complexion does not want to instal anyone of true and solid worth, strong moral fibre and high professional and intellectual endowments with capacity for independent thinking, who would presume to hold it to account. With the result, though the Constitution makers conceived the President to be a tribune of the people and made him an integral part of Parliament itself, political parties have tended to treat the post as a sinecure and the occupant as a cipher, with little use for any experience and knowledge he may bring to it. In brief, the choice of the President has been reduced to a game of oneupmanship that political parties play among themselves. This time too the charade of winnowing the several names that are being merrily bandied about is going on in the time-dishonoured fashion. I think it is high time the selection process ceased to be the exclusive preserve and prerogative of a select few with their own axes to grind. It should be broadened and deepened to include consultations with eminent achievers in different walks of life, such as eminent professionals, the scientific community, the legal fraternity, business and industry, trade unions, women's groups, voluntary organisations, the academia and even the student community, encompassing the civil society in general. For instance, as suggested at one time by the former chief election commissioner, Mr T S Krishnamurthy, We, the People, who, till now had been mute, and sidelined, spectators, should demand adoption of a Constitutional amendment to include in the Presidential electoral college all elected representatives in local governments, as a way of broad-basing the composition of the electors to the high office. This will be in consonance with the Indian tradition of janapadas and it will also enable Panchayati Raj institutions to slowly evolve into a Peoples' Parliament. This will also get over the limitations of an indirect election, and generate a sense of the people's participation in the choice. It will lead to the President being regarded, when s/he assumes charge, the friend, philosopher and guide to her/his council of ministers, Parliament and the people as a whole, reflecting their aspirations and symbolising the unity of the nation. This will help her/him rise to his full potential as the First Servant of the People, exactly as the founding fathers intended her/him to be. Indeed, if s/he is a person of sagacity and integrity, s/he can, from behind the scenes, even serve as a great force safeguarding the noble values of India's glorious heritage and the nation's paramount interests. Whoever is elected, s/he should conduct herself/himself as a role model, and as a standard-bearer and a shining beacon, who will do the country proud. Here are a few benchmarks against which the people, and s/he herself/himself, should judge her/his worthiness for the job. Adopting a simple and austere lifestyle: S/he should eschew ostentation and opulence, and lead a frugal life, emulating A P J Abdul Kalam. Being accountable to the People: The oath the President takes requires her/him not only to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law, but also to devote herself/himself to the service and well-being of the people of India. 'Preserving' the Constitution means not allowing it to be trampled upon and not letting the institutions it has created be defiled and subverted. Being sensitive and responsive to People's representations: The President has to sensitise her/his secretariat to the imperative need to respond promptly to, and follow up on, the letters and representations received from the People. Hitherto the practice has been to forward them to the concerned ministries/agencies, with a copy endorsed to the sender, and then forget about them. Instead, s/he should introduce the practice of her/his secretariat ascertaining from the government the nature of the action taken and informing the sender. A time limit of two months should also be fixed for taking action. Visiting various parts of the country, especially the farthermost corners, frequently: This can be with five objectives in mind: To be visible and accessible to all sections of people; To enthuse individuals and institutions engaged in worthwhile public causes; To put heart into the weaker sections of society by having a running awareness of their problems; To maintain contact with youth and women, in particular, so as to channelise their energies towards nation-building activities; and to inspect schemes and projects undertaken by the government so as to keep those implementing them on their toes. Diligently scrutinising Cabinet papers and proposals coming to her/him: The Constitution gives the President the right, 'generally or otherwise', to require reconsideration of any advice given by the Cabinet, although s/he is bound to follow the advice received after such reconsideration. Under a centuries-old convention, the British monarch on whom India's Presidency has been modelled, enjoys the right 'to advise, encourage and warn' the ministers in furtherance of the national interest. India's President can also press this into service, by having the Bills and other proposals properly scrutinised, before approving them. Keeping abreast of developments: There is already a practice in Britain of the prime minister having lunch with the monarch every Tuesday during which there is an informal and comprehensive exchange of views and information. In India too, it is desirable to adopt a similar practice. It can also be extended to cover heads of political parties and Members of Parliament. The President, of course, should be liberal in giving as many visitors from the different parts of the country as possible opportunities to meet her/him, and earnestly pursue the matters they bring to her/his attention. Briefing himself on the quality of governance: The President can also meet periodically functionaries such as the Central Vigilance Commissioner; Chairman, Union Public Service Commission; Secretaries to government and heads of Public Sector Enterprises to get an overall picture in regard to the quality of governance. Using Rashtrapati Bhavan to generate new ideas or launch non-political initiatives: Even within the Constitutional parameters, a keen and creative President can use her/his stature and influence to bring together leading lights in various fields such as agriculture, industry, science, technology, education, population trends, social service and environment, and encourage them to do out-of-the-box thinking on current and emerging issues of importance and forward to the government or the concerned agencies recommendations for further course of action. This was what C Subramaniam used to do when he was the governor of Maharashtra, thereby converting the Raj Bhavan into a veritable power-house of ideas. Keeping a watchful eye on defence and security: The Constitution vests the supreme command of the defence forces of the Union in the President, stating that the exercise of her/his authority by the Supreme Commander should be regulated by law. No such law has so far been passed. Arguably, while the President qua President is bound by Cabinet advice, the Supreme Commander, with a distinct and separate role in its own right, should be empowered to act in her/his best judgment when the nation's defence demands instant decisions in grave situations. Otherwise, s/he will be neither supreme nor a commander. Time-lines for definitive disposal of references on various issues: As at present, there is no time limit prescribed for giving Presidential assent to Bills, especially those received from the states. The delays in dealing with petitions for clemency, pardon, and the like often reach unacceptable proportions. Generally speaking, a sense of time, simplicity and integrity is still foreign to the national character. A President who is a living embodiment of high principles can tone up the entire national fabric. B S Raghavan, a former member of the Indian Administrative Service, has worked closely with the first three prime ministers of India. He had held high positions in the state and central governments, and the United Nations, and is a regular commentator on national and international affairs. IMAGE: A P J Kalam, the most popular Rashtrapati India has ever had, with President Pranab Mukherjee at a meeting in 2014. Photograph: PTI Are we creating videos that can flick on the jihadi switch, asks Vaihayasi Pande Daniel. Are we nurturing Khuram Butts, Rachid Redouanes and Youssef Zaghbas in our backyard? Is India on a path similar to Britain's? Take a look at the facts surrounding the recent London attack that killed eight young people and wounded 48. As the investigation into the London attack proceeded, the British authorities called up Islamabad to see if the Jhelum, Pakistan-born Butt had perhaps been radicalised in his country of birth. But no, Butt was radicalised right in the heart of London. Butt had no need to travel to ISIS strongholds in Raqqa, Syria, or Mosul, Iraq, to get into the groove of extreme Islam. He could enroll in a do-it-yourself 'course' close to his London home. Butt, and others like him, had likely been radicalised on British tax-payers' money. Living intermittently on welfare, and in council housing, many Islamist radicals don't hold down regular jobs, yet marry, have children, pump iron, meet fellow extremists, get doctrinised and march before Britain's parliament, waving jihadi flags. Once radicalised, they act against the country that nurtures and supports them and their families. The insightfully crafted Jamie Roberts documentary The Jihadis Next Door -- compulsory viewing, readers -- bravely attempts to understand how an ordinary devout, mosque-going Muslim abandons his regular faith for extremism. The filmmaker spent two years following and filming a group of Islamist extremists in London. These men seek, Roberts discovered, a purer form of Islam, rejecting democracy, secularism, freedom and human rights. They believe their understanding of Allah is above all other faiths and wish to live under Shariah law. The extent of radicalisation is severe and eerie enough for them to believe that their own devout Muslim parents -- some of whom have passed away -- are living in hell for not being their kind of Muslims. Robb Leech's My Brother the Terrorist follows a similar exploratory path. There are two crucial factors -- both Roberts and Leech note -- that aid the process of indoctrination of European-raised terrorists. Indeed, a phenomenon that needs examination, and to be underlined, is that a majority of recent terrorist attacks in Europe were committed by Muslims born or brought up in Europe. One of these factors -- a budding jihadi mentions to Roberts -- is that many are pushed in this direction by strong feelings of exclusion arising from racial discrimination or bullying. The second -- and more crucial -- factor is the videos they are shown of alleged atrocities against Muslims in places like Palestine, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere -- including India. Even Salman Abedi -- the terrorist responsible for the suicide attack outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester -- is a product of rebels opposed to Libya's late dictator Colonel Muammar Gadaffi. Whatever your politics, if Gadaffi had not been toppled, the Manchester bombing may not have happened. The videos have a captivating effect in getting troubled, questioning Muslims to cross over to the dark side and join the jihadis. The videos that potential jihadis are shown -- some footage appears in Roberts and Leech's documentaries -- demonstrate how cheap Muslim lives are. That realisation turns on the jihadi switch in these conflicted individuals. And terrorists are born. Are we in India creating videos that can flick on the jihadi switch? Our national narrative now almost on a daily basis offers gruesome footage that could potentially indoctrinate disaffected individuals. Show people video of a man trussed up in front of an army jeep and led through five or six hours to villages in Kashmir, and you may flick that switch. Show people video of a defenceless man being mercilessly beaten to death for leading a cow down the road in Alwar, Rajasthan, by gau rakshaks and you are in danger of flicking that switch. Show people video of a desperate man, holding up a hand dripping blood, pleading for mercy in the last minutes of his life, as he is being slaughtered in broad daylight for kidnapping children he never did, and that switch could get flicked on. We are creating now, on a regular basis, video footage that could provoke disaffected individuals towards extremism. Apart from the government not containing or condoning such violence, there is you and me who do not speak up forcefully and vigorously enough to deplore this potentially explosive national narrative. When acts of Islamic terrorism occur, the world shakes its collective heads in bewilderment. They wonder why Muslims do not vocally denounce these acts of terror. The world puzzles over what Muslims are doing to curb radical members of their community. Indeed, there is much that Muslim communities everywhere can do to curb and evetually exterminate Islamic terrorism. But let us come back to our part of the world. How seriously and sincerely do we denounce what some of us are doing to others? Our silence has a price. Let us never forget it. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Hurling petrol bombs and stones, Gorkhaland supporters on Thursday fought pitched battles with police, who broke up protests, bursting teargas shells and baton-charging violent crowds, plunging Darjeeling hills into deeper turmoil. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, meanwhile, called an indefinite shutdown after police raided premises connected to its chief Bimal Gurung and some other leaders. The outfit had earlier called a shutdown of the offices of the state government and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, which its controls. The Centre on Thursday rushed an additional 400 paramilitary personnel to Darjeeling to help the local administration restore peace. These are in addition to around 1000 personnel, including 200 women, already stationed there, a home ministry official said in New Delhi. GJM supporters surrounded a police contingent at Patlebas when it was returning after a series of raids on premises connected with Gurung, whose separatist campaign is escalating fast after it joined forces with arch rival Gorkha National Liberation Front two days ago, and attacked them. GNLF, an ally of the Trinamool Congress, had on Wednesday snapped its ties with West Bengals ruling party, giving a fillip to the agitation for a separate state of Gorkhaland. They (GJM) threw stones, hurled petrol bombs and fired on the police, S N Gupta, an IG rank officer who has been tasked by the state government with handling the volatile situation in Darjeeling, told reporters. Gupta and two other senior West Bengal officers are camping in town to ensure the situation does not spiral out of control. A media vehicle was also set ablaze by the protesters. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata, We want peace in the hills. There is peace in Bengal. If anybody violates law, the administration will take action. Law will take its own course. There was peace in the hills. A few leaders are doing goondagiri (hooliganism). But one cannot do politics with guns and bombs. We will curb their violent agitation, she later said at a police event in Kolkata. We are with the people of the hills. A conspiracy was hatched to disturb peace there. We will not allow this, she said, adding, We are ready to shed blood, but will not allow peace to be disturbed in the hills. There were reports of clashes between police and protesters from several places, as they threw stones at each other. Baton-wielding policemen were seen chasing away the agitators and bursting teargas shells to break up protests. Earlier in the day, police seized more than 300 weapons, including pickaxes, bows and arrows, explosives, night vision binoculars and cash during raids on premises connected with Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills at the peak of the tourist season. The separatist stir in the hills, known the world over for producing aromatic tea, is fast turning into a major political headache for the Mamata Banerjee government and is likely to cripple the tourism industry, critical to the regions economy. The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us by using huge police force, said GJM general secretary Roshan Giri, who is in the national capital. The Centre and the state government should resolve the political problem, he said. Later in the day, Giri, accompanied by Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Darjeeling S S Ahluwalia, met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and sought the Centres intervention to restore peace in the hill district and foil West Bengal governments attempt to make teaching Bengali language mandatory in schools. The GJM is an ally of the Centres ruling National Democratic Alliance. We have apprised the home minister of the prevailing situation in Darjeeling and Mamata Banerjee governments attempts to impose Bengali in schools in Darjeeling. We have urged him for immediate central intervention to bring back peace there, Giri told reporters after meeting Singh. Giri said the West Bengal government was conspiring to suppress the democratic movement for Gorkhaland by using force and brutal methods. We strongly condemn the raids at our offices in Darjeeling. Whatever the police found in our offices were planted by police themselves, he claimed. On the recovery of weapons, Giri had earlier said, What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition. What is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition. Giri said Bengali and Nepali, the language spoken in Darjeeling, are in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution and hence equal respect should be shown to both. We will not accept imposition of Bengali in Darjeeling, he asserted. The GJM leader said the home minister assured them that he would speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue and try to find a solution. Ahluwalia demanded that the Mamata Banerjee government issue an official order clarifying that teaching of Bengali language will not be made mandatory in Darjeeling in order to address the concerns of the people in the hills. Police sources said in Darjeeling that some GJM activists also were arrested during raids at Singmari and Patlebas. Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists, a senior police official said speaking on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurungs residence had been raided. The developments came a day after Gurung declared the GJMs campaign will not stop until a separate Gorkhaland state has been created. He has asked tourists to avoid visiting Darjeeling. A Telugu Desam Party MP on Thursday allegedly went on the rampage, pushing an airline staffer and throwing a printer on the floor, after he was denied boarding by IndiGo for being late -- prompting a flying ban by the budget carrier as well as state-run Air India. While IndiGo had finally accommodated J C Diwakar Reddy of Telugu Desam Party, to which Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju also belongs, on the same flight on Thursday morning, later it decided to ban him from taking its flights. State-run Air India soon followed suit by barring him from its own flights. Earlier this year, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was temporarily banned by airlines from flying after he assaulted an Air India staffer, triggering a major controversy. Following this, the Centre released its draft rules for a national no-fly list for unruly passengers and proposed a ban on flying from three months up to an indefinite period. The government is expected to finalise these rules shortly. Reddy was scheduled to fly IndiGos flight 6E-608, which departs from Visakhapatnam at 8.10 am, to Hyderabad. But he reached just 28 minutes before the scheduled departure, according to the airline. As per norms laid out by the aviation regulator, airlines close check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure. Reddy -- who had allegedly vandalised the Air India office at Gannavaram airport in Vijaywada last year after he missed his flight -- got into a verbal spat with the ground staff and threw a printer kept at the airlines counter after he was informed that boarding for his flight had closed. Television channels also showed CCTV visuals of him allegedly pushing an IndiGo employee. The staff politely informed him that boarding for flight 6E-608 is closed and offered to accommodate Mr Reddy in the subsequent flight. Mr Reddy expressed his annoyance and soon raged against the staff using aggressive and abusive behaviour, IndiGo said in a statement. Late in the evening, a top airline official said that IndiGo will not allow Reddy on its flights. When asked whether the decision to ban the TDP member was of IndiGo alone or other Federation of Indian Airlines members are also on board about the decision, the official said, I speak only for my airline. FIA members are IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and Jet Airways. When contacted, Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said, The incident that happened at Vizag airport is a matter of concern. As IndiGo has banned the MP from travelling, Air India is also barring him. Jet Airways, GoAir and SpiceJet did not immediately respond to queries on whether Reddy would be banned from their flights also. In a statement, IndiGo said, Any untoward conduct which compromises the safety and security of our passengers and staff is a serious concern for us. Safety and security of passengers, crew and the aircraft is the top priority and it cannot be compromised. The death toll in a devastating fire that engulfed the 24-storey residential block in west London rose to 17 on Thursday, even as many people were still unaccounted for with police saying there was little chance of finding any survivors from the smouldering building. IMAGE: Smoke continues to rise from the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images London Fire Brigade fire fighters worked through the night to try and account for whole families that are still missing in the huge fire at the Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate in Latimer Road. The fire was reported at 01:16 am (local time) on Wednesday. About 600 people were believed to have been inside the towers 120 flats, many of them asleep, when the blaze ripped through the building. Police confirmed 17 deaths among the 600 residents thought to have lived in the tower but expect that toll to rise significantly as the building is searched. Scotland Yard said the death toll of 17 is expected to rise further as the emergency services have lost hope of rescuing any more people alive from the building. IMAGE: Police forensics carry a stretcher with a body bag on out of the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images Nearly 78 people were injured, and 34 remain in hospitals across London -- 18 of them in critical condition. There is going to be a long and complex recovery operation. I do anticipate the number of fatalities will sadly increase, said Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Mundy. Responding to a question, he said there was nothing to suggest the fire had anything to do with terrorism. London fire commissioner Dany Cotton said it was not safe for fire crews to go all the way out to the edges of the building. The fire is now out, there are small pockets of smouldering. You will see wisps of smoke coming out all day due to the heat of the building and the remaining contents. There are, as we believe, still unknown numbers of people in the building, Cotton told Sky News. Due to the severity of the fire and the way things are, it will take a long time for us to be able to do that search to properly identity anyone who is left in the building... tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. The severity and the heat of the fire will mean that it will be an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive, she said as she indicated that the search operation could take weeks. IMAGE: A firefighter is seen in a lower window of the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images Fire fighters worked through the night to dampen the fire. Crews using an aerial platform were going floor by floor shining lights into the building, BBC reported. Almost all of the building had been searched but crews were still trying to put out pockets of fire in hard to reach places and unknown numbers remain inside, London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Steve Apter said. Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, who praised the efforts of the fire crews and said her thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. Prince Philip and I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of fire fighters and other emergency services officers who put their own lives at risk to save others. It is also heartening to see the incredible generosity of community volunteers rallying to help those affected by this terrible event, she said. IMAGE: The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 50 people are receiving hospital treatment. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images British Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a proper investigation after the building went up in flames early on Wednesday morning amid growing concerns about how the fire could have spread so rapidly. Syrian refugee named as first victim A 23-year-old Syrian student, who had fled his war-torn country and arrived in the UK three years ago, was on Thursday named as the first victim of the London inferno. Mohammed al-Haj Ali, a civil engineering student at West London University, was separated from his older brother Omar on the stairs as they tried to escape the devastating fire that engulfed the 24-storey residential block Grenfell Tower. Ali was following Omar but let go of his hand after becoming overwhelmed by the smoke. He returned alone to their flat on the 14th floor, where he was trapped for two hours. Abdulaziz Almashi, a friend of the family, said that Ali remained trapped with the fire fighters unable to reach above the 13th floor. He survived Assad, the war in Syria, only to die in a tower block in London. There are no words, Almashi was quoted as saying by an English daily. -- H S Rao Speaking in Downing Street, she said, When its possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken. More than 1 million (Rs 8.25 crore) have been raised to help those affected by the massive blaze which ripped through the building. Volunteers and charities helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight. Gurdwaras, mosques and churches opened their doors to the people rendered homeless, which included hundreds from nearby housing blocks that were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Bhupinder Singh, one British Sikh volunteer handling donations, said, It is times like this that the best of our community comes out. This is where you find out how good it is to live in England and how good it is to be a Londoner. IMAGE: People write tributes and messages of condolences for the victims on a wall near to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images Questions have been raised about why the fire appeared to spread so quickly and engulf the entire building instead of being contained within a few flats. One focus of the investigation is expected to be the buildings rain-screen cladding that was installed for better insulation during the nearly 10-million-pound refurbishment work carried out on the building last year. Construction firm Rydon, which carried out the refurbishment, said on its website, Rydon completed a refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation on behalf of the Council, which met all required building control, fire regulation and health & safety standards. We will cooperate with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their enquiries into the causes of this fire at the appropriate time, it said. Concerns have also been raised about fire alarms not going off and the lack of sprinklers. IMAGE: A boy wears a face mask as he walks past clothing, water and food that has been provided at Latymer Church near to the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images The building, dating back to 1974, is owned by the local government council and houses some of the poorer sections of the working class in the north Kensington area of London, one of Londons richest boroughs in terms of funding and amenities. Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it had received complaints over the refurbishment works, after a residents action group said its warnings about safety had fallen on deaf ears. The local Grenfell Action Group had claimed, before and during the refurbishment, that the block constituted a fire risk and residents had warned that access to the site for emergency vehicles was severely restricted. Appeals are being made on social media for news of friends and family who are still missing and the Indian High Commission in London has also made an appeal on Facebook for any Indians caught up in the tragedy to make contact. Children and a baby were seen being thrown out of the windows to be caught by emergency workers and members of the public below. London Fire Brigade said it had rescued 65 people as flames engulfed the block, and had managed to reach all 24 floors, though a full search of the building has not been completed. The special counsel appointed to probe alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 United States presidential polls is now also investigating President Donald Trump for possible obstruction of justice, according to a media report. The probe by special counsel Robert Mueller, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation chief, "marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin," The Washington Post reported. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes by Trump associates, the daily said, quoting unnamed US officials. According to the paper, Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers's recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's investigators as early as this week. "The investigation has been cloaked in secrecy, and it is unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI," it said. The White House has been directing all questions related to this to Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz. "The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal," Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Kasowitz, was quoted as saying. The Post reported that the obstruction of justice investigation of the president began days after James Comey was fired as the FBI Director on May 9. Mueller is overseeing a host of investigations involving people who are or were in Trump's orbit, people familiar with the probe were quoted as saying. "The investigation is examining possible contacts with Russian operatives as well as any suspicious financial activity related to those individuals," the daily said. Significantly, Preet Bharara, the India-born former top US federal prosecutor, earlier this week had said that there was enough evidence to begin an obstruction of justice case against Trump over his alleged interference in the Russia probe. Trump has said he is "100 per cent" willing to testify under oath on Comey meetings and tell the FBI Special Consul Robert Muller that he never asked FBI to stop investigating. The report comes a day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a close aide of Trump, vehemently denied any role in Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 US polls and dismissed accusations that he discussed such an effort with Russian officials as an "appalling and detestable lie". Sessions' testimony came in the wake of fired FBI Director Comey's assertion that he believed he was fired by Trump as part of an effort to influence the agencies' investigation into Russia's meddling in the presidential polls. Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Russia: Police humiliate and mistreat hundreds of detained peaceful protesters Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Russia: Police humiliate and mistreat hundreds of detained peaceful protesters, 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59422f124.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Hundreds of peaceful anti-corruption protesters in Russia's two largest cities have been subjected to cruel and degrading treatment in police detention over the past 48 hours as authorities continue their crackdown on participants of mass rallies that took place across the country on 12 June, Amnesty International said today. "The Russian authorities have used mass detentions as a tactic to crush peaceful protests. But the reprisals haven't stopped there. Hundreds of peaceful protesters in Moscow and St Petersburg were locked up in police stations overnight, in plainly degrading conditions, crowded cells with little or no food, bedding or easy access to sanitation," said Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International. "We have received numerous reports of people piled on top of one another in police stations, where police dealing with extreme backlogs in processing cases forced them to stay overnight on the floor or even on the street while in police custody. It is an outrage for anybody to be detained and subjected to these inhumane conditions, let alone detained simply for peacefully expressing their views." According to OVD-Info monitoring group, Russia's police forces detained at least 1,721 peaceful protesters on 12 June, smashing its already atrocious record when more than a thousand people were detained during a previous wave of peaceful demonstrations in March. The latest wave of arrests saw around 800 peaceful demonstrators detained in Moscow alone, and a similar number in St Petersburg, with dozens more locked up in cities and towns across Russia. While most of them were released shortly after police processed their individual administrative detention reports, the backlog forced hundreds to wait overnight for their reports and, in many cases, their trials. In one example, 10 peaceful protesters were huddled together in a cramped room with only three chairs and no beds in a police station in St Petersburg's Kalininsky district. They spent two nights in these conditions as they awaited trials in courts overwhelmed by the caseload. Six detainees at another police station in the same district complained about appalling conditions of detention. Police transported them from the court packed together in a very tight car, where, in their words, they could hardly breathe. According to the detainees, they have not slept for the past two days and were forced to serve their "administrative arrest" for up to five days in a cell with no bedding as the remaining cells were overcrowded. At least three people were forced to spend the night in the open air outside Moscow's Alekseevsky police station due to the lack of free cells. "It appears the authorities in Russia wanted to send a further message by making these detentions slow, humiliating and painful. The Russian authorities must stop detaining peaceful protesters, whose only 'crime' was to irk those in power. If there are any case where protesters are arrested for an internationally recognizable offence, they must be treated in a humane manner," said Denis Krivosheev. Amnesty International reiterates its call on Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all peaceful protesters detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly during anti-corruption rallies. Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today Lesotho: End culture of impunity to reverse recent spike in human rights violations Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Lesotho: End culture of impunity to reverse recent spike in human rights violations, 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59422f804.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Lesotho's newly elected government must act swiftly to ensure accountability for past human rights violations and end the spike in abuses recorded in recent years, Amnesty International said today. The organization is releasing a human rights agenda today for the new government ahead of the inauguration of the incoming Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane, on 16 June. "For the past few years, Lesotho has been characterized by a political and security crisis, resulting in a spike in human rights violations. Since 2014, we have documented a pattern of arbitrary arrests and detentions of opposition party members, journalists, human rights defenders and members of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF)," said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Southern Africa. SHARE THIS TwitterFacebookEmail "The authorities must demonstrate a clear break from the past and urgently initiate a programme of human rights reform, including accountability and justice for the victims of human rights violations and abuses." Amnesty International calls on the new Lesotho government to: End the practice of arbitrary arrests and politically motivated prosecution; Take effective measures to end the practice of torture and other ill-treatment; Ensure accountability and justice for victims of human rights violations and abuses, including the killing of Lieutenant-General Maaparankoe Mahao; End attacks on the right to freedom of expression; Comply with Lesotho's international and regional human rights obligations and commitments. Background: Lesotho held an election on 3 June 2017 after former Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili lost a vote of no confidence in Parliament on 1 March 2017. A coalition of four political parties, made up of the All Basotho Convention (ABC), the Monyane Moleleki-led Alliance of Democrats (AD), Basotho National Party (BNP) and the Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL) formed a ruling coalition after combining their 63 parliamentary seats. Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International Journalist missing in separatist eastern Ukraine Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 14 June 2017 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Journalist missing in separatist eastern Ukraine, 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/594230b34.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is very worried about Stanislav Aseyev, a journalist and blogger based in the eastern city of Donetsk who has been missing for more than ten days. His family fears he is being held by the pro-Russian separatists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). RSF calls for his immediate release. - PDF / Read in Russian Aseyev, 27, who writes under the pseudonym of Stanislav Vasin, was due to have sent a report to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on 3 June but it never arrived and neither his colleagues nor his mother have been unable to locate him. His mother last spoke to him on 2 June. Relatives who went to his apartment said it had been searched and his computer was missing. A formal investigation into his disappearance was opened on 8 June. His family and colleagues fear that he is being held and possibly tortured by members of the DPR's "ministry of state security." "Stanislav Aseyev's situation is extremely worrying," RSF said. "We hold the DPR's self-proclaimed authorities responsible for his fate and for his safety. And we urge all of the region's political actors, including the international organizations that have a presence there, to help obtain his immediate release." Yehor Firsov, a former parliamentarian who is a friend of Aseyev's, says he is being held by the pro-Russian separatists who control the Donetsk region. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has said it knows where he is but has not provided any further information. As well as blogging about daily life in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, Aseyev works for several Ukrainian media such as Ukrainski Tijden, Ukrainska Pravda and Dzerkalo Tijnia. He uses a pseudonym because of the sensitive nature of what he covers and the fact that he works for independent media outlets. As well as being lawless, the separatist-controlled, pro-Russian territories in eastern Ukraine are also in the process of becoming news and information "black holes" to which critical journalists and foreign observers are now rarely admitted. Ranked 102nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index, Ukraine continues to be the scene of an "information war" with Russia. UN: Drastic Cuts to Darfur Mission Misguided Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, UN: Drastic Cuts to Darfur Mission Misguided, 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/594232954.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. A planned reduction of peacekeeping troops in Darfur risks leaving civilians without much-needed protection in the face of continued violence, Human Rights Watch said today. The United Nations Security Council, which has to renew the mandate for the African Union/United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) before the end of June 2017, should ensure the mission continues to protect civilians from the full range of threats they face, including outside of the greater Jebel Marra area, where they intend to establish a presence. When deciding how quickly to reduce the size of the force, the Security Council should leave flexibility for the mission to respond to evolving threats, and strengthen the mission's human rights monitoring and reporting capacities. "The planned cuts reflect a false narrative about Darfur's war ending," said Daniel Bekele, senior director for Africa advocacy at Human Rights Watch. "There is no reason to believe that government attacks on civilians and other abuses have ended since the same security forces remain in place; they have never been prosecuted for their crimes and can't be relied on to protect civilians." Sudan's forces have carried out fewer attacks on civilians in 2017, particularly since the United States announced it would lift economic sanctions on Sudan, but violence and abuses against civilians persist. The government routinely denies peacekeepers access on the ground and refuses to issue visas to mission personnel. In late May and early June, Sudanese forces attacked villages in northern and eastern Darfur when rebels clashed with government forces, displacing thousands of people, credible sources reported. The AU-UN mission's report for the first quarter of 2017 found an increase in human rights violations and abuses compared with the same period in 2016, and confirmed that Sudanese government restrictions seriously hamper the peacekeepers from protecting civilians. The envisioned cuts are part of a strategic review process that began in 2014, amid Sudanese government demands that the mission come up with an exit strategy. A joint AU-UN strategic review of the mission proposed a reduction of nearly half the troops within a year, the closure of 11 bases, and the withdrawal of military forces from 7, citing improvements to the security situation. The changes would cut the military component's physical presence from 36 team sites to 18. The military component of the peacekeeping mission currently provides protection for civilian patrols more than 250 times a day and provides escorts to aid groups more than 20 times a week. The proposed reductions are likely to limit the ability to conduct patrols and escorts, and the areas where other aid groups can provide food, medical attention, and other essential aid. The cuts would restrict traditional peacekeeping and emergency attention to the greater Jebel Marra area, despite clear signs that civilians in other parts of the region still need protection. In 2015 and 2016, Human Rights Watch and others documented large-scale attacks by the government's Rapid Support Forces on hundreds of villages. The same forces reportedly fought rebels and attacked villages in May 2017. About 2.7 million people remain displaced across Darfur, with over 1.6 million living in 60 camps, and hundreds of thousands as refugees in Chad. The Darfur region remains under a state of emergency. The peacekeepers' own reporting describes how intercommunal conflicts and proliferation of militia groups and prevailing lawlessness all threaten civilians. The reduction of the peacekeepers' footprint across Darfur will most likely limit needy communities' access to life-saving aid as humanitarian groups won't be able to reach areas in need without the protective presence of the peacekeeping forces, Human Rights Watch said. The Security Council should ensure that any cuts are sequenced appropriately and still allow the peacekeepers to serve Darfur's most vulnerable people. The Security Council should also make the mission's human rights component a priority. The unit has a 43 percent vacancy rate and no staff in Khartoum since 2014, due to the government's restrictions and refusal to grant visas. The Security Council should urge the mission, which has not issued any public human rights reports in the last year and which has been accused of covering up abuses in the past, to resume public reporting so that council members have regular updates on the situation on the ground. It should also insist that the Sudanese government expedite the visas and access it has systematically denied the peacekeepers for years. "It's too early to talk about moving from peacekeeping to peace building across Darfur, where hundreds of thousands of civilians confront the threat of violence every day," Bekele said. "As the recent bloodshed and displacement of civilians shows, the UN needs to recognize that a temporary lull does not signal an end of the conflict or risk to civilians." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Political will, financial support needed to bolster new approach to cholera in Haiti UN deputy chief Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Political will, financial support needed to bolster new approach to cholera in Haiti UN deputy chief, 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5942340c4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. In the weeks following Hurricane Matthew last October, the number of suspected cholera cases increased. However, the number of suspected cases has since declined significantly. As of 27 May of this year, the Haiti Ministry of Health had reported 6,762 suspected cases, compared to 16,822 at the same time last year, she said. The vaccination campaign being carried out by the Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is well advanced, and is expected to reach 85 per cent of the 700,000 target by the end of this month. The next campaign, scheduled for the last quarter of 2017, aims to vaccinate 2.6 million people in the country's most vulnerable areas. As of 20 April, voluntary contributions to the UN Cholera Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund totalled about $2.7 million from seven Member States, namely Chile, France, India, Liechtenstein, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom, against the envisaged expenditure of $400 million over two years. Outside of the Trust Fund, Canada and Japan, committed nearly $7 million. The Fund has also received approximately $17,000 from UN staff members and private donors. However, three projects, which together cost $2.5 million, have nearly depleted the Trust Fund, which now has just $183,000. No new contributions have been received. The Secretary-General proposes to address the need for resources in several ways, including the soon-be-announced appointment of a high-level envoy to develop a comprehensive fundraising strategy to seek additional voluntary contributions from Member States and other sources. The Secretary-General and she will continue to use their own interactions with world leaders to urge them to provide further voluntary financial and other appropriate support. The Secretary-General has asked Member States to consider voluntarily waiving the return of the 2015-2016 unencumbered balances and credits from miscellaneous income and adjustments from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, a peacekeeping mission known as MINUSTAH, and instead direct them to the Trust Fund. Those balances total $40.5 million, she said. In his remarks, General Assembly President Peter Thomson said much remains to be done to eliminate cholera in Haiti, and help move the country from fragility to sustainable development and economic growth. If we are to live together as good neighbours and employ our international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, here is a prime opportunity for good action, he said. In Kabul, UN chief calls for peace and compassion Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, In Kabul, UN chief calls for peace and compassion , 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/594237794.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Expressing solidarity with Afghan people, in the wake of recent violence in the country, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today underscored the Organization's full commitment to work with the Government and people of the country to build a sustainable and prosperous future for them. Peace is the solution [] the international community, the neighbouring countries [and] all those related to the Afghan crisis need to come together and understand that this is a war that has no military solution, said the Secretary-General, at a press conference in Kabul, where he arrived earlier today. We need to have peace, he added, underscoring that at the same time, the level of humanitarian assistance to the country had to be increased and conditions needed to be created for Afghanis to be able to live in dignity. Since his time as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2005-2015), Mr. Guterres has been paying a solidarity visit to Muslim communities during the holy month of Ramadan, and his visit to Afghanistan was a continuation of his expression of solidarity with them. While in Kabul, the UN chief met with displaced men and women from the Kapisa province, now living in a settlement on the outskirts of Kabul. In their interaction, the displaced persons underscored that security remained the prerequisite for their return to their homes and that education, including for women and girls was critical for supporting themselves and their families. They also stressed their need for medical care. I have an enormous admiration for the courage and the resilience of the Afghan people, and they were very eloquently demonstrated in my meeting this morning, noted the UN chief. The Secretary-General also held bilateral meetings with Ashraf Ghani, the President of Afghanistan, as well as the country's Chief Executive Officer, Abdullah Abdullah, where they discussed cooperation between the Organization and the Government of Afghanistan as well as the security situation in the country and the need to better mobilize the international community to counter terrorism. UN rights chief urges dialogue among Qatar and countries involved in diplomatic dispute Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, UN rights chief urges dialogue among Qatar and countries involved in diplomatic dispute, 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/594238e44.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Voicing alarm over the possible impact on the rights of people in the wake of decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain to cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, the top United Nations human rights official called on all States involved to urgently resolve the dispute. It is becoming clear that the measures being adopted are overly broad in scope and implementation, and have the potential to seriously disrupt the lives of thousands of women, children and men, simply because they belong to one of the nationalities involved in the dispute, said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement issued by his Office (OHCHR). I urge all States involved to solve this dispute as quickly as possible through dialogue, to refrain from any actions that could affect the well-being, health, employment and integrity of their inhabitants, and to respect their obligations under international human rights law. The High Commissioner noted that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have issued directives to address the humanitarian needs of families with joint nationalities, but added that such measures appear not to be sufficiently effective to address all cases. He added that OHCHR has been receiving reports that specific individuals have already been summarily instructed to leave the country they are residing in, or have been ordered to return home by their own Government. Among those likely to be badly affected are couples in mixed marriages, and their children; people with jobs or businesses based in States other than that of their nationality; and students studying in another country, he pointed out. He also expressed concern over reports that that the UAE and Bahrain are threatening to jail and fine people who express sympathy for Qatar or opposition to actions of their own governments, noting that such actions would appear to be a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression or opinion. Head of UN human rights inquiry decries 'disastrous' civilian death toll in Syria Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Head of UN human rights inquiry decries 'disastrous' civilian death toll in Syria, 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5942392e4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Conflict in Syria continues to rage with disastrous consequences for civilians who continue to bear the brunt of the six-year war, the head of a United Nations-mandated human rights investigation said today. In an update to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, appealed to the warring parties to stop fighting and get back to the negotiating table. Civilians, he said, are in the unenviable role of being the target of most of the violence, he said. In his latest update to the Human Rights Council, Mr. Pinheiro said it was his twentieth report to the body and underscored once again the unspeakable toll on civilians. The so-called de-escalation zones agreement which is guaranteed by Russia, Turkey and Iran had resulted in a discernible reduction in violence in Idlib and western Aleppo. And while that initiative along with UN-facilitated intra-Syrian talks was a step in the right direction, the enduring violence in Homs, Damascus and southern Dara'a, has not changed in nature, he explained to the Council members. Whether it be the unrestrained use of airstrikes against residential neighbourhoods, attacks against doctors and hospitals, or the use of suicide bombers that deliberately target civilians, fighting remains brutal in purpose and reprehensible in method, stated Mr. Pinheiro. Intensified airstrikes led to a 'staggering loss of life' in Raqqa He went on to note that Syrian opposition forces were continuing their assault on Raqqa city, where the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) was losing ground. Success against the terrorist group could lead to the liberation of civilians trapped in the city, including Yazidi women and girls, three years after they were captured in neighbouring Iraq to be sold as sex slaves to ISIL fighters. ISIL's abuse of the Yazidi people is nothing less than an ongoing and unaddressed genocide, Mr. Pinheiro said. Grave as this charge is, he insisted that the fight to retake terrorist strongholds should not be at the expense of the mounting number of civilians killed in airstrikes a reference to aerial attacks that had preceded the opposition forces' advance on Raqqa, and which he said had caused a staggering loss of life. Elsewhere in what remains of Syria's cities and towns, some 600,000 people remain under siege. They have been denied humanitarian aid for prolonged periods, and this has led to severe shortages of food and stunted children whose health will be affected for life, Mr Pinheiro stated. The only way to end this suffering is to end the war, he appealed to parties involved in the conflict - and to Member States who could influence those fighting: Time and time again, warring parties and influential States have failed to capitalize on the opportunities presented by respites from hostilities. And time and again, Syrian men, women, and children pay the price for the continuation of the war. Warring parties must not let yet another opportunity pass by. The parties must press to ensure that any de-escalation in hostilities is accompanied by renewed efforts to access communities in need, to strengthen the human rights protections for all people across Syria, and to generate meaningful momentum for peace. Hundreds of thousands in eastern Ukraine at grave risk after water supplies disrupted UN aid chief Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Hundreds of thousands in eastern Ukraine at grave risk after water supplies disrupted UN aid chief, 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59423b664.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Raising alarm over lack of safe drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the so called contact line in Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine since 11 June, the top United Nations relief official today called on all parties to the conflict to abide by their obligations under international law and ensure that civilian areas and infrastructure are not targeted. Some 400,000 people have not had access to water for four days due to shelling of the First Lift Pumping Station of the South Donbass Water Pipeline this past Sunday. Water supply to another 700,000 could also be cut off at any time. The conflict, now in its fourth year, is denying vulnerable people of their most basic need water, said the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien in a statement today. I appeal to all parties to the conflict to immediately ensure a prolonged cessation of hostilities to allow critical repair and maintenance to restore the water supply, including the facilitation of any movements across the 'contact line'. In the statement, Mr. O'Brien, who is also the UN Under-Secretary-General for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, expressed deep worry over possible outbreaks of water-borne diseases and the effect that water cuts will have on health facilities in the area. Emergency services and aid agencies are working together to provide water to affected communities by any means possible [but] the need for urgent and permanent repairs to the pumping station is paramount, he added, reminding all parties to the conflict of their obligation to respect civilian areas and infrastructure. The intentional disruption of access to sufficient quality water supply in conflict-affected areas is a clear violation of international humanitarian law, he underscored. Since the start of the conflict in April 2014, more than 1.6 million people have become internally displaced and some three million are estimated to be in territory controlled by armed groups. Also, more than 10,000 people, including over 2,700 civilians, have lost their lives and about 24,000 injured. UN aid official warns of 'disastrous consequences' of power cut in Gaza Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, UN aid official warns of 'disastrous consequences' of power cut in Gaza, 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59423c2a4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. A senior United Nations humanitarian official in the occupied Palestinian Territory warned today about the disastrous consequences of a further reduction in electricity supply to the Gaza Strip on the living conditions of two million Palestinians. A further increase in the length of blackouts is likely to lead to a total collapse of basic services, including critical functions in the health, water and sanitation sectors, said UN Humanitarian Coordinator Robert Piper in a statement. The people in Gaza should not be held hostage to this longstanding internal Palestinian dispute, he added, calling on the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Israel to put the welfare of Gaza's residents first. This year marks 50 years since the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which resulted in Israel's occupation of the Palestinian Territory. Early this week, the Israeli cabinet agreed to a reduction in the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, following a decision by the Palestinian Authority to reduce its monthly payments for that supply by 30 per cent. The reduction will bring most households and service-providers down to 2 hours or so of power per day, he said. Hospitals, water supply, waste water treatment and sanitation services have already been dramatically curtailed since mid-April and depend almost exclusively on a UN emergency fuel operation. An additional reduction in electricity will require the delivery of one million litres of fuel monthly, under the UN operation, to keep minimum functions operating at 186 essential facilities across the Strip. The UN has already appealed to the international community to support its limited humanitarian efforts to prevent the collapse of vital life-saving, health, water, sanitation and municipal services, Mr. Piper said. A grifter in his 20s is popping up around the city under the guise of buying cellphones from people and then stealing them while falsely identifying himself as a police officer, according to the real police. Cops say that the suspect, a man between the ages of 22 and 27, has struck in three separate incidents in February, April and June this year. In each case, the man allegedly arranged to buy a cellphone from his victim over Craigslist, then identified himself as a police officer when he met the sellers, claimed the phones were stolen and took them. In the February crime, the suspect met a 24-year-old woman on Columbus Avenue and West 63rd street on the evening of the 19th after arranging to buy two phones from her. When they met, he pulled out a badge and took the cellphones, while also grabbing the woman's breast before driving away in a white four door sedan. In the April incident, the suspect met up with a 16-year-old boy, on the evening of the 15th, under the auspices of buying a phone. The pair met up at 200 Eastern Parkway, and while the man didn't get away with the phone, investigators say he did pull out a shield again and tell the 16-year-old he was a cop before driving away in the same white four door sedan. Finally, on the afternoon of June 3rd, the suspect met another person, a 23-year-old man, at 2155 University Avenue. Police say the suspect once again pulled out a shield and said he was an officer, and this time he got away with the cellphone, before fleeing in the white four door sedan, which this victim said had New Jersey license plates. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. Burma: Warnings Not a Free Pass to Harm Civilians Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 14 June 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Burma: Warnings Not a Free Pass to Harm Civilians , 14 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/594283697.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The Burmese military and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) should provide civilians with safe exit routes from conflict areas and ensure that civilians are properly distinguished from combatants, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 3, 2017, fighting erupted in Tanai Township in western Kachin State between the Burmese army, known as the Tatmadaw, and the KIA. On June 4, mortars landed near a village in the township, injuring a woman and her two daughters, aid groups reported. Human Rights Watch was unable to establish who was responsible for the attack. On June 5, Tatmadaw helicopters dropped leaflets over Tanai Township, the aid groups said, ordering local residents to evacuate specific areas by June 15, or they would be "considered as cooperating with the terrorist group KIA," and warning that the Tatmadaw would soon "clear the area." "Military operations must be conducted by all parties in a way that respects international law and protects the vulnerable civilians in Tanai Township," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "Parties to a conflict can't declare people terrorists or combatants simply because they refused to leave their homes." An escalation of violence between the Tatmadaw and the KIA followed the June 3 fighting. That has caused local residents from at least three surrounding towns to seek shelter in the town of Tanai, but the army has blocked most routes out of surrounding villages, aid groups told Human Rights Watch. Many villagers and migrant workers trapped by the fighting have been forced to walk long distances as they cannot afford the high rates that operators of motorboats or cars charge to evacuate them. Aid groups have only recently gained access to villagers north of Tanai to assist with transportation. As of June 14, four of the five main roads leading to Tanai town remained blocked, the aid groups said. The total number of those displaced by the fighting could not be confirmed. Under customary international humanitarian law, parties to the conflict should take all feasible steps to remove civilians from the vicinity of military objects. All parties are also obligated to facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need. Human Rights Watch obtained a copy of the warning leaflet dropped on June 5, which identified 10 mining sites it claimed were illegal and were destroying the environment. The warnings did not specify where the "local residents and migrant workers" should seek safety. It is not clear how many people in Tanai Township were notified or how many received the warnings, but images of the warnings were spread on social media. Aid groups also confirmed that villagers arriving in Tanai town had received the warnings. The warning said that local people and migrant workers living in the identified areas must evacuate by June 15, and "the people who don't leave will be considered as cooperating with the terrorist group KIA (Kachin)." It said that the warnings were delivered to help prevent civilian casualties. Under customary international humanitarian law, parties to a conflict must, where circumstances permit, provide effective advance warnings of attacks that may affect the civilian population. To be "effective," a warning must take into account the amount of advance notice and the ability of civilians to flee the area to safety. Civilians who do not evacuate following warnings are still fully protected by law. Even after effective warnings have been given, attacking forces may not assume that civilians have evacuated, and must remain aware of the presence of civilians in an area. The attacker remains obligated to distinguish between military targets and civilians or civilian objects, and must still take all feasible precautions to avoid loss of civilian life and property. It is a violation of the laws of war to presume that anyone who remains in an area following warnings to flee is a legitimate military target. Warring parties may not cause forced displacement by threatening civilians with deliberate harm if they did not heed warnings. The renewed fighting in Kachin State comes on the heels of the six-year anniversary of the resumption of active hostilities between the Tatmadaw and the KIA. On June 9, 2011, a major army offensive on KIA-controlled territories broke a 17-year ceasefire. Since the resumption of fighting, Human Rights Watch has documented numerous violations of human rights and humanitarian law by both the Tatmadaw and the KIA. Tatmadaw abuses include torture, forced labor, attacks on civilians, extrajudicial killings, destruction of property, and the use of child soldiers. The KIA was found to have used child soldiers and landmines. A June 14 report by Amnesty International details numerous abuses by both the Tatmadaw and the KIA, as well as other ethnic armed groups, in both Kachin and Shan States over the last seven months. "While it is important that the Tatmadaw issued warnings, its threats to treat the civilians as combatants because they choose to stay in their homes violates the principle of civilian immunity," Adams said. "It's a tactic that terrorizes, not protects." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Egypt: Intensifying Repression of Basic Freedoms Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 15 June 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Egypt: Intensifying Repression of Basic Freedoms, 15 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/594284374.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Egyptian authorities in recent weeks have arrested at least 50 peaceful political activists, blocked at least 62 websites, and opened a criminal prosecution against a former presidential candidate, Human Rights Watch said today. The actions are further closing any remaining space for free expression. The charges against the activists appear to be based on peaceful criticism of the government and some local law provisions, such as insulting the president, that inherently violate the right to freedom of expression. At least eight face possible five-year prison terms under Egypt's 2015 counterterrorism law for their posts on social networking sites. The website blocks affected major Egyptian and international news organizations as well as political groups. "Egyptian authorities are using the pretext of fighting terrorism to crush peaceful dissent," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle east director at Human Rights Watch. "The government isn't going to make inroads against extremists by shutting down peaceful opposing voices." Among those arrested was a prominent human rights lawyer, Khaled Ali, whom prosecutors called for questioning on May 23, 2017, and subsequently sent for a fast-track trial on the charge of "committing a scandalous act" in public. Ali ran for president in 2012, coming in seventh with about 134,000 votes. He has signaled interest in challenging President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the 2018 presidential election. The wave of arrests during April and May was reported by Freedom for the Brave, an independent Egyptian group that tracks such arrests. On June 1, the group released a detailed list of the 42 people detained, showing that 29 remained in custody, four of whom had already been sent to trial. Many were active in movements critical of the government, including the nascent Bread and Freedom Party. Prosecutors accused 17 of membership in prohibited groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood and the April 6 Youth Movement. On June 13, Interior Ministry forces arrested five more activists and three journalists from around the Journalists Syndicate in downtown Cairo. The government invoked article 28 of Law 95/2015 for Confronting Terrorism to charge at least eight activists with "propagating ideas or beliefs advocating the commission of terrorist acts." The charges stemmed from Facebook posts, according to a statement by six Egyptian rights groups. Mohamed Walid, a Bread and Freedom Party member from Suez, was arrested after posting, "I am neither pro-Mubarak nor do I belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, I just want to live as a human being," as well as "down with the military rule" and the slogan of the Bread and Freedom Party, "bread and freedom for all people." Human Rights Watch reviewed the prosecution file for Andrew Nassef, also charged with "promoting terrorism." It stated that prosecutors seized publications and banners from his home that were critical of the government, such as "January 25 Again," a reference to the 2011 uprising, and "Release Egypt." Nassef's Facebook posts cited in the file included: "When will we overthrow the prisons and military dictatorships again," and, "Seek freedom and talk about every oppressed person in the country whether you know him or not () because one day it will be your turn." Other detainees are accused of insulting the president, spreading false news, or using social networking sites to incite against the state or advocate the overthrow of state institutions. On May 24, Egyptian authorities imposed a coordinated blackout on at least 21 websites, most belonging to news organizations, for allegedly "supporting terrorism and spreading lies," according to an unnamed senior security source who spoke to the official Middle East News Agency. The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, an independent Egyptian rights group, said the block had grown to 62 sites as of June 12. Among those affected were Egyptian news websites such as Mada Masr, Masr al-Arabiya, and Daily News Egypt; Turkish news websites; international news websites such as Al Jazeera and the Huffington Post's Arabic edition; the official websites for the Muslim Brotherhood and the Palestinian movement Hamas; and the website for the Tor Project, which supports internet anonymity. The move occurred hours after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates blocked access to Al Jazeera and other Qatar-based websites, ostensibly in reaction to statements by Qatar's emir published by Qatar's state news agency. The apparently coordinated effort by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other allied countries to isolate Qatar stemmed from years of anger at Qatar's foreign policy and has in recent days extended to Saudi Arabia and the UAE severing all ties and closing air, land, and sea transportation to Qatar. Qatar claimed that the statements attributed to the emir were false and that its news agency had been hacked. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and British law enforcement officials supported that assessment, media reports said. Egypt has gone further, extending its censorship to domestic opposition movements, including by blocking a website for the National Popular Campaign to Defend the Land, which opposes a plan by al-Sisi to cede two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. The Sisi administration has sought parliamentary approval to move ahead with the plan, despite court rulings that it is illegal. It went before the parliament for debate on June 11 and 12, and parliament approved the decision on June 14. On June 13, while activists gathered at the Journalists Syndicate to protest the agreement, Interior Ministry security forces surrounded them and arrested some. At least eight, including three journalists, are being held for investigation by prosecutors for protesting without a license. On May 31, representatives of four websites, including Mada Masr, said they would file a joint complaint to the prosecutor general on the basis that the block was unlawful. Ali, the lawyer and former presidential candidate, was also a key member of a legal team that successfully challenged the decision to cede the two islands to Saudi Arabia. He was accused of making an obscene gesture with his middle fingers during a celebratory street protest following the Supreme Administrative Court's ruling on the Red Sea islands issue in January. The charge is punishable with a sentence of up to one year or a fine of 300 pounds (US$17) under article 278 of Egypt's penal code. Ali's lawyers told Human Rights Watch that they fear that a conviction on a charge of public indecency would probably prevent Ali from running for president in 2018, since elections laws disqualify those sentenced for "crimes that undermine honor." No law defines such acts, but the lawyers said that Egyptian courts have interpreted sexual gestures or conduct as offenses that undermine honor. Though many countries criminalize offenses to public order, prosecuting someone for making an obscene gesture during a peaceful protest would be an unreasonable limitation on freedom of expression, and it would be disproportionate to penalize such an act with imprisonment or the forfeit of political rights, Human Rights Watch said. The Dokki Misdemeanour Court for Minor Offenses in Cairo has scheduled Ali's next hearing for July 3 and ordered that defense lawyers be allowed to obtain the case file. Egypt's constitution, in article 57, states that it is "impermissible" to deprive citizens of the right "to use all forms of public means of communications" or to interrupt or disconnect them arbitrarily. Article 71 states that "it is prohibited to censor, confiscate, suspend or shut down Egyptian newspapers and media outlets in any way." However, Egypt's 59-year-old emergency law, which al-Sisi invoked on April 11 after deadly twin church bombings by the extremist group Islamic State, allows the authorities to censor publications at will. After al-Sisi declared the state of emergency, Ali Abdel Aal, the parliament speaker, said that social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube would fall under its surveillance and censorship provisions, the newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm reported. The Human Rights Committee, the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, stated in its general comment 34 that the prohibition of "a site or an information dissemination system from publishing material solely on the basis that it may be critical of the government or the political social system espoused by the government" constitutes a violation of the right to free expression. Egypt ratified the covenant in 1986. Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch UN envoy strongly condemns attack on popular restaurant and hotel in Somali capital Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 15 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, UN envoy strongly condemns attack on popular restaurant and hotel in Somali capital, 15 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/594285e04.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The United Nations envoy for Somalia today strongly condemned last night's attack on a pizza restaurant and an adjacent hotel in Mogadishu that reportedly killed at least 19 people. Last night's attack was clearly aimed at civilians who were breaking the fast, said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Michael Keating, in a statement to the press. There can be no justification for such acts of wanton bloodshed. The holy month of Ramadan is a time of peace and compassion; the attackers have shown cynical contempt for this, and set back the prospect for a peaceful solution to Somalia's problems, he added. Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was triggered by a suicide car bomber and targeted customers who frequent the Pizza House restaurant and adjacent Posh Hotel. Five militants who seized control of the restaurant were subsequently killed by Somali security forces. On behalf of the United Nations and the broader international community, he extended heartfelt condolences to the families and victims of the deceased and wished a full and speedy recovery to those who sustained injuries. Raif Badawi five years too many in Saudi prisons Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 15 June 2017 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Raif Badawi five years too many in Saudi prisons, 15 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/594287a04.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. In the run-up to the fifth anniversary of Saudi blogger and citizen-journalist Raif Badawi's arrest in Jeddah in June 2012, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates its call for his immediate and unconditional release. On 17 June, Raif Badawi will complete his fifth year in detention for creating an online discussion forum and will have completed half of his ten-year prison sentence, although his wife and three children (who were granted political asylum in Canada in 2013) hope he will get a royal pardon for Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. Convicted of insulting Islam, Badawi was sentenced in May 2014 to ten years in prison, 1,000 lashes, a fine of 1 million riyals and a ten-year ban on leaving the country after completing his jail term. "Raif Badawi has just spent five years in prison, a punishment that is out of all proportion to what he was supposed to have done," said Alexandra El Khazen, the head of RSF's Middle East desk. "We ask the Saudi authorities to free him unconditionally so that he can join his family now instead of waiting another 15 years before seeing them again." His wife, Ensaf Haidar, has tried to rally support all over the world for his release. Last month she was in London, where together with RSF and English PEN she met with the lawyers who are working on her husband's case. "It's still very difficult for us, his family, five years later, but I try to stay positive," she said during her London visit. Awarded the 2014 RSF Press Freedom Prize in the Netizen category, Badawi was subjected to an initial session of flogging in January 2015, which set off an international outcry. Subsequent sessions were postponed on various grounds, including medical grounds. Badawi has received a great deal of support within the international community and has been given many awards in the past few years, the most distinguished of them being the Sakharov Prize in 2015. The Saudi authorities accused him of violating article 6 of the cyber-crime law, which penalizes any online content that "undermines public order, religious values, public decency or privacy." In particular, he was accused of criticizing and mocking the religious police on his online discussion forum, the "Liberal Saudi Network." He was first arrested in 2008, shortly after creating the website, and was released after several hours of interrogation. The site's co-founder, human rights activist Suad Shammari, was herself arrested in October 2014 for posting tweets that were deemed to have insulted Islam and endangered public order. She was freed three months later. Eleven journalists and citizen-journalists are currently jailed in Saudi Arabia in connection with their reporting. The country is ranked 168th in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index. November 2022 is Subscriber Appreciation Month We're launching a full month of surprises to say thank you to our most loyal subscribers! Cambodias Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday called on exiled former opposition party leader Sam Rainsy to return to the country, mocking him as a cowardly politician for reneging on a statement that he would return if an order prohibiting his entry was lifted. Addressing a commencement ceremony at the National Education Institute in the capital Phnom Penh on Thursday, Hun Sen said he listened to an RFA Khmer Service interview with Sam Rainsy on Wednesday during which he said he would return to Cambodia if the government lifted a government order effectively banning airline companies from flying him home. Hun Sen then ordered the lifting of the ban imposed on Oct. 12, 2016, and dared his long-time opponent to return to the country to face a criminal conviction observers have called politically motivated and handed down by courts controlled by the prime minister. The former ban was enforced to avert any dangernot to take aim at banning his [Sam Rainsys] rights, the premier said. Yet, Sam Rainsy turned it around and said that we were infringing upon his rights. As a leader, we dont want to see violence erupt when he sets his foot on [Cambodian] soil, he told the audience. Its clear that an arrest will be made in accordance with the courts power as ordered by the prosecutor and judicial police. The judgments mandate how long [he] must serve in jail. Hun Sen went on to say that in less than 10 hours after the ban was dropped, Sam Rainsy changed his mind about returning. That is why in my [Facebook] comments, I raised a question at the end as to what has become an obstacle for [his] returnand that is prison! he said. And if prison has become such an obstacle, he wont return during his entire life. Sam Rainsy has been convicted in a number of cases brought before the Cambodian courts by Hun Sen or other ruling Cambodian Peoples Party members, and has been living in France since 2015 to avoid arrest in a defamation case brought by former Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in 2008. Time to get serious Sam Rainsy responded to Hun Sens comments on Thursday, writing on his Facebook page: I did say in an email to a journalist on deadline that I would return to the country if the travel ban was lifted. This was shorthand for the restoration of my democratic rights which have been improperly removed. Canceling the travel ban while leaving the rest of the intimidation in place is not a serious advancement, he continued. Its time to get serious if we want to have a real democratic competition in 2018, he said referring to national elections next year that could result in the end of strongman Hun Sens 32-year reign as prime minister. When it comes to cowardice in the fight between two politicians, isnt the coward the one who uses a countrys tribunal, army and police under his control, to eliminate his opponent? he asked. Isnt the coward the one in the position of a dictator who publicly says he is prepared to physically suppress 100 to 200 personsas he actually did when staging a military coup in July 1997in order to preserve his power? Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said the Cambodian government was playing Sam Rainsy like a yoyo by pushing him out, then allowing him back by dropping the travel ban, and then issuing news of charges against him to try to push him out again. What they are trying to do is they try to show that there was reconciliation after the [commune council] elections, he told RFA, referring to June 4 local polls in which the opposition made significant inroads, particularly in urban areas. Taking aim at HRW Hun Sen also reacted to a statement by Brad Adams, executive director of HRWs Asian division, who had criticized the commune elections, saying Adams should stop committing a sin against the Cambodian government. Instead, Hun Sen commended the election process in which his CPP won in most areas as having been conducted in a good environment with high voter turnout and no violence. He said several embassies in Cambodia, including the American embassy, had issued statements hailing the election process, though HRW called it neither free nor fair. Various embassies including the U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh issued statements saying the elections were good, he said. Yet, there is Human Rights Watch saying that the election was not good. Hence, who should we listen to this time? he said. For them, nothing is good, in particular so long as the CPP wins. or until the CPP is dissolved. I want to convey this to Brad Adams: You had better change! Please stop committing a sin [against the government], he said. Kem Sokha in Battambang Meanwhile, Kem Sokha, Sam Rainsys successor as head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), told supporters in northwestern Cambodias Battambang province on Thursday that people voted for the CNRP in large numbers in the commune elections because of the growing number of cases of social injustice under the CPP government. Addressing more than 1,000 supporters in a voter appreciation event in Prek Preah Sdech commune in Battambang city where the CNRP won in a landslide, Kem Sokha said young people have turned to the CNRP because in the last few years the CPPs maltreatment of citizens is now widely read and seen on social media platforms such as Facebook. CPP spokesperson Sok Ey San responded by saying that Kem Sokha made the comment only to confuse citizens and seek their votes in the national elections in 2018. But political researcher and analyst Meas Ny said: Should the government continue to fail to ignore strengthening the social justice system by allowing politicians to interfere in it, the popularity of the ruling party will suffer further. Three of Adhoc Five ill In a related development, three of five jailed human rights activists known as the Adhoc FiveYi Soksan, Nay Vanda, and Ny Sokhahave become seriously ill in prison due to lack of access to proper medical treatment, the daughter of one of them said Thursday. The three officials of the domestic rights group along with their colleague Lim Mony and National Election Committee (NEC) deputy secretary-general Ny Chakrya have been held for 12 months at Prey Sar Prison in the capital Phnom Penh amid a wide-ranging probe into an alleged extramarital affair of Kem Sokha. San Vathanak Vattey, daughter of Yi Soksan, said the health conditions of the trio have deteriorated because doctors from nongovernmental organizations have not been allowed to provide treatment for them inside the prison as they had in the past. She said her father was trying various drugs at random to help ease a liver ailment. It has been three months already that hes gone without a physician to take care of him, she said. It is really difficult for him. The domestic human rights group Licadho used to send physicians to provide treatments for detainees at the 11 correction centers across the country. But Am Sam Ath, Licadhos head of investigations, said the provision of medical treatment inside prisons is not the same as before because the Ministry of Interior prohibits access to correction centers. He said the ministry did not state the reason for the move. Prison department spokesperson Nuth Savana said every prison has its own doctors, but if the three want to be treated by outside physicians, they must seek court approval. They can file a request with the prosecutor, and if the prosecutor approves, we will allow them to go, he said. Everything depends on the prosecutor. Reported by Zakariya Tin, Thai Tha, Hour Hum, and Moniroth Morm for RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Dog meat is "still available" in the southern Chinese city of Yulin, whose annual dog-meat festival has been the target of international campaigns by animal rights activists, despite a proclaimed ban in the run-up to the festival, local residents told RFA. While local officials have been walking up and down markets ahead of the June 21 festival warning vendors not to display the meat openly, it is still possible to buy dog meat in the Guangxi province-based city, local residents said. "The authorities can't stop people from displaying a phone number so that anyone who wants to buy dog meat can just go and pick it up at a different stall, or at someone's home," Yulin resident Chen Chaoyuan said. "I don't think that they can really control this, because even though there are blank spots on the stalls [where dog meat would have been], there are phone numbers, so that everyone knows where to go to get it." The official website of the Yulin municipal government carried no public announcement of the purported ban when visited by RFA on Thursday. And the Yulin municipal branch of the ruling Chinese Communist Party told the Beijing Express newspaper on Thursday that the government couldn't ban something it hadn't started. "This is a local, traditional custom, which was never led by the government, and therefore there was no ban," the branch propaganda team said. "As for the so-called ban on trading in dog-meat, we have never heard of such a policy, neither did we publicize it." Local tradition Chen said local people eat dog meat on a regular basis, not just during the festival, so the June 15-21 ban will have little impact on the trade in dogs for meat, which has been the target of animal rights campaigners. Yulin resident Su Shaoliang said that while he does eat the meat, a properly enforced government ban wouldn't make much difference to his life. "It's pretty common to eat dog meat in southern China, but if the rest of the country or the world thinks that it's not a good thing to do, I can just as easily not eat it," Su said. He said the Yulin dog-meat festival is a fairly recent invention in the Guangxi region. "We never used to have it, and then gradually, there it was," Su said. "I don't even know how that happened." And Yulin resident Tian Aijun said the meat is gradually becoming less popular among his friends as it gains a reputation for being associated with animal cruelty. "Cruelty is cruelty, but I don't think it has much to do with what you eat," Tian said. "I think they will naturally stop doing this [under the influence of] many things, including a sense of what is civilized." But animal lover Li Guijun from the central province of Hunan said the practice should be banned immediately on animal rights grounds. "Our country really has a long way to go when it comes to the protection of animal rights," Li said. "I think an outright ban on the eating of dog-meat would be difficult, though, but this festival is ... really too barbaric." "We should perhaps look at it from a cultural perspective ... Chinese people have historically always eaten dog-meat, so we will have to take it step by step," she said. International image Animal rights campaigners this year submitted a petition to the Yulin municipal government bearing 1.1 million signatures in protest at the festival. Recent opinion polls have shown that more than 60 percent of Chinese people believe that the Yulin dog-meat festival has tarnished China's international image. Meanwhile, French retailer giant Carrefour announced on Thursday it has removed dog meat products from two of its supermarket chains in China, following an outcry from the animal rights campaign group, Animal Asia. The group says it has been asking the company to do this since 2012. Carrefour's offerings to Chinese customers included "Fankuai turtle-juiced dog meat," selling for 136 yuan (U.S. $20), and packs of dried dog meat selling for 25.60 yuan (U.S. $3.76) apiece. As many as 10 million dogs are killed every year for the purpose of consumption in China, according to the Humane Society International. Reported by Tam Lee for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Authorities in central Myanmars Magway region have charged three journalists under a controversial telecommunications law after one posted messages on social media about a dispute at a construction site and the two others commented on them, one of the reporters and a police officer said Thursday. On May 28, MGY Journal editor Tin Shwe posted a message on Facebook saying residents of Myinkin village were opposed to road construction workers bulldozing area trees and another calling on authorities to investigate a businessman from Magway township who had illicitly supplied bricks for the project. Zar Zar San, a reporter with Democracy Today Journal, and Phyupwint Nayche, a reporter with the Myanmar Times, later commented on the posts about the project and the bricks, which are illegal to produce in Magway region. Tin Shwe, also known as Minbu, told RFAs Myanmar Service Thursday that he was told the three of them had been charged under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, which prohibits the use of telecom networks to defame people. Violators are subject to jail terms of up to three years and a fine. In Magway region, brick and sand businesses are banned, but some people are doing it illegally [so] we posted about [this and the construction dispute] on Facebook, he said. We have heard that Zar Zar San Phyupwint Nayche and I were charged under 66(d) at Magways No. 2 Police Station, but we havent received any notification from them. Kyaw Soe, an officer at No. 2 Police Station, confirmed to RFA Thursday that the three journalists had been charged for posting incorrect information by the head of Maehla Taung village tractwhich administrates Myinkin village. Tin Shwe and two female journalists were charged under 66(d) by Maehla Taung village administrator Htay Lwin, he said, adding that Zar Zar San and Phyupwint Nayche had been charged on June 10. It was not immediately clear when Tin Shwe had been charged. Kyaw Soe said the three reporters had traveled to the construction site at Myinkin village and told residents that brick companies are banned from operating in Magway region, before posting information about what they had seen on Facebook. Htay Lwin claimed that the villagers had no problem with the road construction project and that the Facebook post was false, he added. Thats why Maehla Taung village administrator Htay Lwin filed against them under 66(d), as he believes they insulted him through social media, Kyaw Soe said. We have already questioned Htay Lwin and Tin Shwe. Tin Shwe said he will bring the two female journalists to us for questioning and after we question them, we will have what we need to proceed with the case. Controversial law Article 66(d) is frequently used by those in powerful positions to silence their critics. News of the charges against the three journalists comes one week after a Myanmar court rejected bail for Kyaw Min Swe, editor-in-chief of The Voice Daily, and the newspapers satire columnist British Ko Ko Maung, who were detained June 2 over an article that allegedly insulted the armed forces and charged under Article 66(d), sparking a protest campaign from fellow journalists who say it curbs free speech. Days ahead of the court decision, more than 100 Myanmar journalists gathered in Yangon to call on the government to drop lawsuits filed against reporters under Article 66(d) and abolish the law. Reported by Wai Mar Tun and Zaw Tu for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Tibetan nomads previously forced from traditional grazing lands in a state-directed resettlement scheme in Qinghai are now being told to go back, as authorities begin to target their current homes for development as tourist centers and housing for government employees, Tibetan sources say. The new policy, announced last year and affecting residents of Dzatoe and Domda towns in Qinghais Yulshul (in Chinese, Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, has negatively impacted the resettled Tibetans, who were told to reduce their herds when they were first moved, a local resident told RFAs Tibetan Service. After two years of living in the new towns, residents are now being forced to move back to their original grasslands without their animals, which are the main source of livelihood in Tibetan nomadic communities, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Sites being vacated will now be developed as housing for government workers and tourists, the source said. Houses in Dzatoe town have been demolished and leveled for new construction, the source said, adding that without assurances of financial assistance from Chinese authorities, the Tibetan residents are suffering great hardship. Residents of a resettlement site near Domda town in Yulshuls Tridu (Chenduo) county have also been told to return to the areas from which they were formerly removed, a second source said, also speaking on condition he not be named. China is said to be planning a major tourist development project in the place where Tibetan nomads were forced to move some years back, the source said. Though some families have already returned to their former homes, they had already gotten rid of their animals, the source said, adding that other families have remained behind in the hope that government authorities will provide alternative housing for them. Now the authorities are planning to demolish the houses built for the nomads and build housing instead for new Chinese migrants and tourists in the Domda area, which is known for its natural scenic beauty and good supplies of water and electricity, he said. Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. A young Tibetan living in northwest Chinas Qinghai province has been released after being held by police for more than two weeks over his possession of a photo of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, RFAs Tibetan Service has learned. Taken into custody recently at a teashop in Qinghais Golog (in Chinese, Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the young man defended his right to keep the photo, which was stored as an image on his mobile phone, he told RFA in a telephone interview. I am a faithful Tibetan Buddhist who has absolute reverence for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the young man said, speaking on condition he not be named. And so I cannot accept that possession of His Holinesss picture should be considered illegal. The Dalai Lama, who turns 82 this year, fled Tibet into exile in the midst of a failed 1959 national uprising against Chinese rule, and possession or displays of his photo or public celebrations of his birthday have been met with harsh punishment in the past. Also found on the young mans phone was an image of the banned Tibetan national flag, he said. During the 15 days of my detention, the police interrogated me on a variety of issues related to my possession of those incriminating pictures, particularly the Tibetan national flag, and asked me many questions, he said. However, they did not beat or physically harm me in any way. 'Big trouble' The young Tibetans interrogators warned him not to listen to or read news coming from media sources outside China, however, adding that even if he came across this by accident, he should be careful not to share it with others, he said. And they told me that if they ever found me in possession of pictures like this again, I would be in big trouble, he said. The Dalai Lama, who escaped to India almost ten years after Chinese troops marched into Tibet in 1950, is reviled by Chinese leaders as a dangerous separatist who seeks to split the formerly self-governing region from Beijings rule. In what he calls a Middle Way approach, though, the Dalai Lama says that he seeks only a meaningful autonomy for Tibet as a part of China, with protections for the regions language, religion, and culture. Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney. An ethnic Kazakh imam from Habahe county, Altay prefecture, in northwestern China's Xinjiang region, in an undated photo. An ethnic minority Kazakh imam has died in police custody in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang, with authorities attributing the cause of death to "suicide," sources in the region told RFA. The Kazakh imam, known by a single name, Akmet, was detained last week by authorities in Xinjiang's Sanji (in Chinese, Changji) Hui Autonomous Prefecture, a source close to the case said on Thursday. "We don't know exactly what happened, why he was detained by the authorities, but two or three days later, they said he had hanged himself," the source said. "They have already handed over his body to his family," he said. The source said that the China-based Kazakh ethnic minority, many of whom are Muslims, have recently been targeted in a similar manner to the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group, with a slew of restrictions preventing them from moving freely between China and neighboring Kazakhstan. Earlier this year, a prominent Kazakh imam known as Okan was jailed for 10 years by a court in Habahe county, Altay (Aletai) Prefecture, for performing traditional funeral prayers in accordance with Islamic customs, Kazakh sources said. Okan's jailing came three years after the sentencing of Habuli, an imam from a mosque near the regional capital Urumqi three years earlier, they said. Meanwhile, the ruling Chinese Communist Party appears increasingly concerned about cross-border movements and communication between Kazakhs within its own borders and those in Kazakhstan. "Local religious affairs bureau leaders and village chiefs have been putting pressure on [Kazakhs in China] to cut off all ties with people in Kazakhstan, including unfriending anyone on [smartphone messaging app] WeChat who is in Kazakhstan," one local Kazakh told RFA after requesting anonymity. "There was one Kazakh guy from Tacheng district who was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for posting something on WeChat about the Kazakh government's immigration policies," the source said. He also cited the cases of an ethnic Kazakh musician from Xinjiang's Kumul (Hami) city, who was sentenced to eight years over a Kazakh song with religious content that he sent to his brother. "These guys weren't extremists in any way," the source said. "They wrote a pop song that harked back to traditional Kazakh culture, with religious content. One of the brothers sent it to the other one, and was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment." Calls to the Hami municipal government offices rang unanswered during office hours on Thursday. Restrictions on Kazakhs Many of the religious restrictions imposed for many years on Xinjiang's Uyghur population have been applied to Kazakhs, too, according to members of the ethnic group in China and Kazakhstan, where some have staged a protest in recent weeks over the enforced cutting off of communications with friends and family across the border. The authorities are increasingly policing their speech, however, even to the extent of criminalizing formulaic exchanges of blessings using traditional Islamic phrases, the Kazakh source said. "China-based Kazakhs like to exchange blessings with each other using religious language before and after worship, such as on Friday, but they can now face a sentence of one to three years for this," the source said. "This is terrible. Religious phrases are also banned on WeChat." A leaked copy of a June 5 speech made by deputy Xinjiang party secretary Zhu Hailun indicates that "dealing with the issue of Chinese nationals overseas in Kazakhstan" has recently been identified as a matter of urgency for the local government. "Chinese nationals in Kazakhstan must be made to return their [Kazakh] residency cards, their pensions, and any land or grasslands that they own," the leaked memo shows. "We must also properly carry out propaganda work with the Chinese Kazakh population in Kazakhstan," it says. "They must not be allowed to do or say anything that hurts the national image." "Pay attention to online attitudes and comments, so as to avoid anything happening that could have an impact on President Xi Jinping's forthcoming trip," it said. President Xi attended leadership summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)a regional grouping of China, Russia, and their neighbors in Central Asiain the Kazakh capital Astana last week, where he called for greater cross-border cooperation between its members. The SCO has been accused by rights groups of facilitating each others' human rights abuses, while justifying them as being part of antiterrorism cooperation. Official figures show that there are around 1.5 million Kazakhs in China, mostly concentrated in and around the Ili Hasake (Yili) Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. China has previously welcomed Kazakhs who wished to relocate from Kazakhstan, but now many Kazakhs with Chinese nationality are heading back in the other direction, with their numbers peaking at nearly 38,000 in 2006. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Members of the worldwide community of Uyghurs rallied on Thursday in defense of their language, warning that their Turkic tongue and cultural identity are under threat from heavy-handed Chinese policies to assimilate the central Asian ethnic group. Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) invites all concerned individuals, human rights groups and governments to speak out against Chinese government policies aimed at undermining the linguistic rights of the Uyghur people, the Washington-based group said in a statement. The UHRP and other exile organizations launched International Uyghur Language Day in 2015 to celebrate the vibrancy and richness of the Uyghur language and celebrate contributions to humanity by Uyghur scientists, philosophers and poets, UHRP Director Omer Kanat said in a statement. Uyghurs are rightfully proud of these achievements and wish to secure a future for their children as speakers of Uyghur, Kanat added. Scholars say there are more that 10 million speakers of Uyghur, a Turkic language with similarities to Uzbek. Native speakers are concentrated in the Chinese-controlled Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, but significant numbers are also found in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In Xinjiang, where it is an official language, Uyghur is under pressure from Chinese policies, Kanat said. China has implemented a series of policies that undermine the Uyghur language with the goal of establishing Chinese as the Uyghurs first language, he said. Despite guarantees in international and domestic law, the Chinese authorities have unilaterally prioritized communication in government, commerce and education among Uyghurs toward Mandarin Chinese, Kanat added. Harsh new policies Kanat took aim at what Chinese call bilingual education policies, which he said are undermining the Uyghur language and its official position in the region. Currently, everyone can see that Chinese government increasing its forceful measures to assimilate Uyghur language and identity. This years observation of language day comes amid a deepening clampdown on the Muslim Uyghurs religious and cultural practices that has seen Beijing roll out a series of repressive policies in the Xinjiang region. In recent weeks, Chinese authorities across Xinjiang have punished Uyghurs for trying to fast during Ramadan, forced restaurants to stay open and restricted access to mosques to discourage traditional observation of the holy month, and even gone as far as embedding Chinese officials in Uyghur homes to curb religious observance. A related campaign, unveiled in April, declared overly religious namessuch as Islam, Quran, Mecca, Imam, Saddam, Hajj, and Medinawere banned under the ruling Chinese Communist Party's Naming Rules For Ethnic Minorities, RFAs Uyghur reported recently. That ban, which means that any babies registered with such names would be barred from the hukou household registration system that gives access to health care and education, was extended to cover anyone up to the age of 16, official sources told RFA earlier this month. China has vowed to crack down on what it calls religious extremism in Xinjiang, and regularly conducts "strike hard campaigns including random, nighttime police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including clothing and personal appearance. And while Beijing blames some Uyghurs for a string of violent attacks and clashes in recent years, critics say repressive domestic policies are responsible for violence that has left hundreds dead since 2009. We hope every Uyghur family, every single Uyghur man and woman to speak Uyghur in the International Uyghur Language Day, Dolkun Isa, the general secretary of the World Uyghur Congress, told RFA. Through this kind of activities, we (resist) Chinese governments systematically assimilationist policies on Uyghur language, culture and identity, he said. Reported and translated by Eset Sulayman for RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Paul Eckert. Vietnamese authorities have extended the detention of activist and blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, often known as blogger Mother Mushroom, and kept her incommunicado, her mother told RFAs Vietnamese Service on Thursday. Quynh, who was honored this year with the U.S. State Departments International Woman of Courage Award for her work highlighting rights abuses and promoting peaceful dissent in the one-party communist state, has been held incommunicado since her arrest by Vietnamese authorities last October. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, Quynhs mother, told RFA she was told on June 4 by court clerk Trinh Thi Bien that her daughters detention in Khanh Hoa province would be extended by two months and 15 days. I immediately applied for a visit, and on June 5 I went to the detention center, but couldnt see Quynh despite the regulation that I can meet her when the investigation expires. They still refused, Lan said. On Monday (June12), I asked the court again about who is in charge of my visit. They gave me a document saying it was the detention center, she told RFA. Next Monday, June 19, I am going to the detention center again to ask for a visit, but I do not know what excuse they will give me this time," Lan added. Lan also said that since her daughter was arrested she has been followed constantly and blocked while walking by authorities as well as men in plainclothes. Authorities have said Quynh is being detained on charges of "propaganda against the state" under article 88 of the Vietnam Penal Code. Also on Thursday, citizen journalist Nguyen Van Hoa, an activist known for filming protests against a polluting steel plant, had his charges formally changed from "taking advantage of democratic freedoms and rights to violate the interests of the state to the potentially more severe "propaganda against the state" under Article 88 of the Vietnam Penal Code, his lawyer told RFA. All I know right now is that his charge has been changed into Article 88. I still have not been granted legal documents to be able to defend him, nor have I been able to approach him, said lawyer Ha Huy Son. Now that his charge has been changed, I dont know if his family still wants me to defend him. I dont know if Hoa has asked for a lawyer, either, added Son. Hoa, 22, who is also a digital security trainer and regular contributor to RFA, was the first person to broadcast live footage of protests outside Taiwan-owned Formosas steel plant located at the deep-water port in Ha Tinh province using a flycam drone. Last October, his footage of more than 10,000 peaceful protesters went viral. Formosa has acknowledged that its steel plant caused a toxic waste spill last year that killed an estimated 115 tons of fish and left fishermen jobless in four coastal provinces. The company pledged U.S. $500 million to clean up and compensate people affected by the spill, but the government has faced protests over the amount of the settlement and the slow pace of payouts. Police arrested Hoa on Jan. 11 amid detentions of several activists in advance of the Tet holiday later that month. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Emily Peyman. Written in English by Paul Eckert. VIRGINIA BEACH Let the grocery price wars begin or rather continue. Lidl opened its first U.S. stores Thursday including sites in Hampton and Virginia Beach giving American consumers their first look inside the Germany-based grocer that is positioned to compete head on with Walmart and Aldi on price. The chain has at least seven stores under development in the grocery-saturated Richmond market, with the first of those stores expected to open in coming weeks. Officials on Thursday did not give specific dates on when those stores would open. We are looking forward to opening in Richmond, said Brendan Proctor, president and CEO of Lidl US, who was at the Virginia Beach store for the opening. Stores at 6196 Providence Road in Virginia Beach and at 2000 W. Mercury Blvd. in Hampton opened to crowds that showed up for early-morning ribbon-cutting ceremonies and for advertised specials that included $2.49 large seedless watermelons, Black Angus beef patties for $3.49 a pound and 39 cents each for butter croissants. A total of nine Lidl stores in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina opened Thursday. The company plans to open about 100 stores along the East Coast by the summer of 2018. *** The Virginia Beach and Hampton stores saw a steady stream of customers Thursday. Anna Knowlton and Sandra Roebuck were first and second in a line of people waiting to get into the Virginia Beach store before it opened. Roebuck said they arrived about 4 a.m. I just want to see what kind of deals theyve got. Im always looking for deals, Knowlton said. Queen Nicholson of Chesapeake, who also arrived before sunrise, said she was curious to see what Lidl was all about. Im shopping for specials, she said, adding that she shops at multiple stores, including military commissaries. If I can find a special, Ill go there. So thats between Aldi, Walmart, Farm Fresh, Food Lion, Nicholson said. We came for the fruits and vegetables, Christina Wilkins said as she waited with her 15-month-old son in the checkout line at the Lidl in Hampton. She was particularly impressed with the price of plantains. They were 19 cents. So I got eight. Usually they are 35 to 40 cents apiece, Wilkins said. *** In the U.S., Lidl (pronounced lee-dle to rhyme with needle) stores are approximately 36,000 square feet about the size of a typical Food Lion store. The stores have six aisles, and each store has a bakery near the front entrance. Dairy, frozen foods, and beer and wine are on the stores periphery. If you look at store positioning, in terms of who is the Coke to their Pepsi, it would be Aldi, said consultant Robert Kelley, who served as vice president of operations for Ukrops Super Markets from 1987 to 2004. There are limited assortments, very price-driven. ... They like to say they are higher quality and cheap, like Trader Joes, the sister organization to Aldi, said Kelley, who founded Henrico County-based Pure Culture Consulting and works with firms on brand positioning, strategic planning and culture transformation. Lidl is opening its first U.S. stores ahead of the companys original schedule, which may be a strategic move in the Richmond market. Florida-based Publix is also preparing to enter the Richmond market this summer. Publix bought 10 of 19 area Martins stores. Lidl stores in the Richmond area expected to open soon are at 12151 W. Broad St. in the GreenGate mixed-use development in Short Pump , at 1311 Mall Drive near Chesterfield Towne Center and at 5110 S. Laburnum Ave. Lidl is a formidable competitor in the low-price realm, said Jeffrey Metzger, publisher of the industry publication Food World, which tracks the grocery industry in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, central Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Their (sales) circular is online and is pretty impressive, Metzger said. Its all kind of generic, private label. Part of the mindset with Lidl and Aldi is youve got to buy (store brand) lemonade, for instance. Clearly there is an audience for that, but its not the entire audience because some people want to buy Country Time or Minute Maid , he said. About 90 percent of Lidls products are private-label store brands, officials said. Kelley, who also teachers graduate-level classes at the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University, said a project he had his MBA students do on grocery stores was telling. The millennials in the room loved Aldi. Their primary grocery store was Martins or Kroger, but yet they still were shopping Aldi quite a bit. If they like Aldi, I think they are going to love Lidl, Kelley said. My big question is what are they going to do to Food Lion, Kelley said. Lidl, like Aldi, requires customers to bag their own groceries. You can bring your own bags or pay a little extra for store bags. Unlike Aldi, there is no 25-cent deposit to use a grocery cart. Lidls U.S. headquarters is in Arlington County. The company operates more than 10,000 stores in 27 countries throughout Europe. Store hours are typically 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. *** Lidl to date has focused on buying land and building new stores from the ground up. Proctor said going forward the company is considering leasing existing space. We are also willing to do leases as well across the East Coast. ... We like to secure our land and build it, but also we are looking at lease options of existing buildings, he said. Would those building have that distinctive Lidl look? Several law enforcement officials in Virginia face potentially losing federal funding, but refuse to change their policies since they say they are following the law when dealing with federal immigration officials. Chesterfield County was among hundreds of jurisdictions cited by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement this year for limiting its cooperation with ICE. The county was one of two jurisdictions in the state along with Arlington County listed in ICE reports specifically as having policies limiting that cooperation. The reports came in response to President Donald Trumps Jan. 25 executive order that stated in part that jurisdictions that fail to comply with applicable federal law do not receive Federal funds, except as mandated by law. That order has since been frozen by a federal judge. The reports issued so far, which span from Jan. 28 to Feb. 17, flagged Chesterfields policy of notifying ICE when a detainee is going to be released, but refusing to hold someone for any additional time. ICE typically requests jails hold someone for another 48 hours after they would have been released to give ICE agents extra time to begin the deportation process. In 2014, Chesterfield was the first area locality to stop holding people solely on ICE detainer requests after a federal judge ruled doing so constituted a civil rights violation. Other localities followed suit in 2015 in response to an opinion issued by Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring that said local authorities dont have to honor the detainer requests, which are administrative and not approved by a judge. Though they feel they stand on firm legal ground, Chesterfield Sheriff Karl Leonard and other law enforcement leaders are still uncertain about the potential financial consequences of being placed on the ICE reports. We operate under very lean budgets in the county, and any loss of federal revenues could adversely affect our operations, Leonard said. I havent seen anything that tells me the financial part is off the table. Maj. Susie Doyel, director of administration with the Arlington Sheriffs Office, shared that same uncertainty. Theres no way to know what that impact would be. I think its hard to speculate, but its certainly not going to affect what we do, Doyel said. Five local jails also were listed at least once in another section of the ICE reports. That section named jurisdictions that have at one point declined the ICE requests. Those jails are the Chesterfield County Jail, the Henrico Jail, the Richmond City Justice Center, Riverside Regional Jail and Pamunkey Regional Jail. Im just going to have that risk because Im going to follow the law, Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. said of the funding. Id rather be part of that (list) rather than be sued for something illegal. That is against the law, and Im not going to do that. Officials with Henrico, Pamunkey Regional Jail and Riverside Regional Jail all said their jails shouldnt have been on the list, and Henrico and Pamunkey officials both said ICE has since acknowledged errors. A federal judge in San Francisco froze Trumps order in April. In court, the governments lawyers suggested cities and towns were overreacting to the order because federal officials have not yet defined sanctuary cities or moved to withhold funding from them, The Washington Post reported. Theres no standard definition for sanctuary cities, which can refer to policing policies or sometimes to localities that dont cooperate with ICEs request to detain someone after their scheduled release date from jail. But on television and in news conferences, the judge pointed out, the president and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have threatened to sanction such jurisdictions, according to The Post. Sessions then issued a memorandum on May 22 saying that the executive order around funding only applies to jurisdictions that willfully violate a federal statute. That statute requires information sharing of someones immigration status between localities and federal immigration authorities. The statute is quite narrow, and does not govern detainers, said Lena Graber, a staff attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. She said she cant speak for ICE on what on Earth they are doing with those reports. But because the administration is now bound by the more narrow interpretation from Sessions memo, it makes it more unlikely that the ICE reports could be the basis for funding decisions, Graber said. They (the Trump administration and Department of Justice) have committed themselves to the narrowest possible interpretation of the Executive Orders language in the hopes that they can get away with just that much, Graber said. *** Despite their financial concerns, Leonard and other law enforcement leaders cited by ICE said their policies wont change. They know it is illegal yet they insist I do it, Leonard said of ICE. They, ICE, want me to violate constitutional rights to make it easier for them to pick people up, but they would not be the ones being sued. Like some other law enforcement leaders whose offices were placed on the ICE lists, Leonard said the jails policy will remain unchanged because he is simply following the law. Henrico County recently settled a lawsuit brought against the sheriff after an El Salvadoran immigrant was held for immigration authorities beyond his scheduled release for drunken driving. The terms of the settlement were made confidential. Doyel, with the Arlington Sheriffs Office, said the settled Henrico lawsuit says to us that we are doing the right thing. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged in November 2014 that the increasing number of federal court decisions that hold that detainer-based detention by state and local law enforcement agencies violates the Fourth Amendment. Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, called ICEs list nothing more than an intimidation tactic. When law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines ICEs ability to protect public safety and carry out its mission, ICE spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell wrote in an email. The last report covered up to Feb. 17, and the reports have since been suspended as ICE continues to analyze and refine its reporting methodologies, according to its website. Some sheriffs as well as Kemi Bello, a spokesperson for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said the reports were put on hold because of widespread reports of inaccuracies. It is upsetting a list so inaccurate has been given so much credibility, especially when it has financial implications, Leonard said. ICE plans to resume the reports, but theres no set date for when that would happen. Cutrell would not say whether she expects Chesterfield to be placed on any future list again. Leonard, however, does. CHARLOTTESVILLE A former University of Virginia student and grandson of a former Virginia governor has been charged with rape in connection with an incident in February. Stephen Dalton Baril, 20, of Richmond, was arrested by Charlottesville police on Wednesday morning after he turned himself in to the magistrates office. According to authorities, Baril faces charges of rape and forcible sodomy in connection with a Feb. 1 incident. Hours after his arrest, Baril made his first appearance in district court, where Judge Robert Downer agreed to set a $10,000 bond for his release. At the hearing, city prosecutor Areshini Pather gave a rundown of the allegations against Baril. According to Pather, Baril knew the alleged victim socially and had met with her at Trinity Irish Pub on the night of the alleged assault. Pather said the underage Baril bought the alleged victim a shot of tequila and tried to kiss her, although she declined. The two then went to Barils residence. At Barils apartment, the alleged victim went to the bathroom and, when she returned to Barils bedroom, found that he had undressed down to his underwear, Pather said. He then forcefully pushed her onto the bed and sexually assaulted her, Pather said, leaving bites to her lip and breast, as well as bruises to her chin and arm. Pather added that Baril then restrained the alleged victim, relenting and letting her off the bed when she insisted on leaving. Baril later texted the alleged victim, Pather said, saying that he was sorry for having gotten over-excited. The alleged victim went to the hospital later and underwent a physical examination showing that she had sustained an injury to her genitals, Pather said. In court, Barils father testified that, if left in his parents custody, Baril would not have access to drugs or alcohol. He further said that Baril was no longer enrolled at U.Va., saying it was very difficult under the circumstances for him to continue his education. A U.Va. spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on Barils enrollment status. An owner of Trinity Irish Pub also did not respond to requests for comment. Attorney Rhonda Quagliana asked Downer to allow Baril to be released into the custody of his parents despite Pathers objections. Downer granted the request, but he noted that Baril was not permitted to contact the victim and would be subject to electronic monitoring. Baril is the son of Steve Baril, an attorney who made an unsuccessful bid in 2005 for the Republican nomination for Virginia attorney general. Barils grandfather was politician John N. Dalton, who served as the 63rd governor of Virginia from 1978 to 1982. At a roundtable discussion with state transportation officials last Friday, Donald Trump said Americas aging roads, bridges, railways and water systems were being scoffed at and laughed at. He vowed that they will once again be the envy of the world. This seems to be a core theme for Trump: Americas greatness depends on others envying us rather than scoffing and laughing at us. He said much the same thing when he announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement: At what point does America get demeaned? At what point do they start laughing at us, as a country? We dont want other leaders and other countries laughing at us anymore. And they wont be. They wont be. To be sure, America is in dire need of massive investments in infrastructure. The nation suffers from overflowing sewage drains, crumbling bridges, rusting railroad tracks, outworn roads and public transportation systems rivaling those of Third World nations. The American Society of Civil Engineers, giving Americas overall infrastructure a grade of D-plus, says we would need to spend $3.6 trillion by 2020 to bring it up to par. The problem isnt that were being laughed at. Its that were spending hours in traffic jams, on disrupted flights and in slow-moving trains. And were sacrificing billions in lost productivity, avoidable public health problems and increased carbon emissions. But what Trump is proposing wont help. Its nothing but a huge and unnecessary tax giveaway to the rich. His $1 trillion infrastructure plan, unveiled last week, doesnt amount to $1 trillion of new federal investment in infrastructure. It would commit $200 billion of federal dollars over 10 years, combined with about $800 billion of assorted tax breaks to get developers to build things instead of the federal government doing it. And its hardly a plan. Its not much more than a page of talking points. Worse, its underlying principle is deeply flawed. It boils down to a giant public subsidy to developers and investors, who would receive tax generous tax credits in return for taking on the job. Which means the rest of us would have to pay higher taxes or get fewer services in order to make up for the taxes the developers and investors would no longer pay. For example, in one version Ive seen, for every dollar developers put into a project, theyd actually pay only 18 cents (after tax credits), and taxpayers would contribute the other 82 cents through their tax dollars. No one should be surprised at this scheme. Its what Trump knows best. After all, he was a developer who made billions, often off sweeteners like generous tax credits and other subsidies. The public would also pay a second time. The developers would own the roads and bridges and other pieces of infrastructure they finance. Theyd then charge members of the public tolls and fees to use them. In place of public roads and bridges, wed have private roads and bridges. Think of America turning into giant, horizontal-like Trump Tower wherever you looked. These tolls and fees wont come cheap. Theyd have to be set high in order to satisfy the profit margins demanded by the developers and the investors who back them. Worst of all, wed get the wrong kind of infrastructure. Projects that will be most attractive to developers and investors are those with tolls and fees that bring in the biggest bucks giant mega-projects like major new throughways and new bridges. Developers and investors wont be interested in the thousands of smaller bridges, airports, pipes and water treatment facilities across the country that are most in need of repair. Theyre not likely to respond to the needs of rural communities and smaller cities and towns that are too small to generate the tolls and other user fees that equity developers and investors seek. They wont be attracted to the most important first priority for our nations infrastructure: better maintenance of what we already have. With improved maintenance, it wouldnt be necessary to completely rebuild. But investors and developers want to build anew. They cant reap big rewards from maintenance. Nor will they want to put their efforts and money into projects that dont have proven financial track records, like many clean energy innovations which, not incidentally, might have enabled us to meet our targets under the Paris climate accords, were we still part of the Paris accords. We shouldnt have to pay twice over for the wrong infrastructure. To really make America great again, we need the correct infrastructure in the right places infrastructure thats for the public, not for big developers and investors. Sorry, Donald. The only way we get this is if big corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes to support it. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. A Nashville, Tennessee, bank has scheduled a deal-signing Friday to acquire BNC Banks nine Roanoke branches. BNC customers will receive details about coming changes from purchaser Pinnacle Bank in August, said Pinnacle spokesman Joe Bass. Eventually the company will reflag all BNC branches with the Pinnacle name. The issuance of new debit cards is also part of the plan, Bass said. A full brand change of all BNC offices and services shoulld be complete by Sept. 30, the company said. BNC, based in High Point, North Carolina, acquired its nine Roanoke branches in mid-2015 from Valley Bank, which was then the Roanoke Valleys largest surviving homegrown bank. Valley Bank customers who kept their accounts as BNC Bank absorbed Valley Bank can count on more change as Pinnacle repeats the process. Shareholders of BNC and Pinnacle approved the planned $1.9 billion merger Monday. Pinnacle Financial Partners, whose Pinnacle bank has 50 offices and assets of $11.7 billion, will buy BNC Bancorp, which operates 76 branches known as BNC Bank in Virginia and Bank of North Carolina elsewhere. Once it absorbs BNCs assets, Pinnacles assets will exceed $20 billion. Roanokes school year ended June 1, but some city elementary and middle school students still are taking Standards of Learning tests, something educators elsewhere said is uncommon. Beyond stating that testing has continued at several schools, Roanoke school officials wont say how many students are testing or the schools they attend. They also wont say why students are still testing. The results determine whether schools are accredited. School spokesman Justin McLeod said it is pretty routine to test after the last day but declined to answer any additional questions about testing until June 23, the last day the state allows SOL testing. The city school board chairwoman and vice-chairwoman deferred questions about testing procedures to Superintendent Rita Bishop, who is at an out-of-state conference this week. Other school board members did not respond to requests for comment or declined to speak to the issue. Thursday, McLeod provided the following statement from the district: Receiving this request at 2 p.m. on the day it is due does not provide the division enough time to respond and ensure accuracy. The Virginia Department of Educations testing window is open until June 23, and Roanoke City Public Schools is taking advantage of the opportunity to test those students who are eligible and interested in retaking a standardized test. At this time, we do not have a final number of students who participated. As has been mentioned, the Superintendent is happy to discuss this with you and [sic] when she returns next week. McLeods statement was in response to the fifth request for information over a period of seven days. One educator confirmed that Westside Elementary is a school where students have tested since summer break began. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, learned about it from students, who told how they were asked to come back to retest. The educator was told later that testing had continued because the school needed more students to pass in order for Westside to earn full accreditation. This upset the educator, who said the school should be celebrating its overall improvement this year. People lose sight that these are children, the educator said. Its not worth it to test for the sake of testing. Theyre children. McLeod said the district tested everybody that we felt needed to be tested. Everything we have done is absolutely by procedure. Of course we want our schools accredited, McLeod said in an email Thursday evening. All but six of Roanokes schools were fully accredited this year; the others are partially accredited. Two city middle schools received warnings this year because they didnt meet benchmarks outright or make enough progress toward the benchmarks. Three elementary schools were reconstituted after failing to make the required improvements for the fourth year in a row. Westside is one of the reconstituted schools. In the fall, state officials recommended denying accreditation to both Westside and Hurt Park elementary schools, but an in-person appeal by Bishop resulted in partial accreditation after she assured members of the Virginia Board of Education that the schools would hit the benchmarks this year. I promise you that well deliver, Bishop told state board members in October. Both schools have high hurdles to clear to meet that target. Barely half of Hurt Parks students passed reading tests last year; at Westside, roughly two-thirds passed. In reading, 75 percent of students must pass for full accreditation. Hurt Park and Westside are two of the districts highest poverty rate schools, according to state data on students who are eligible for free lunches. Both schools have experienced high teacher and principal turnover in recent years. Next year, Hurt Park will have its fifth new principal since Bishop became superintendent 11 years ago; Westside will have its sixth. Efforts to reach Hurt Parks principal were unsuccessful. Westsides principal declined to comment. A spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education said testing after school lets out isnt typical. I can tell you it is not common for testing [in] the elementary and middle school grades to continue after the close of the school year, Charles Pyle wrote in an email. Other area school districts also said testing elementary and middle school students after the school year ends is uncommon or doesnt happen at all. Its not a regular occurrence, but it also isnt unheard of, said Brenda Drake, a spokeswoman for Montgomery County schools. Ben Williams, Roanoke Countys director of testing, said typically there might be five or so cases a year requiring students test after the last day. Bedford County, Franklin County and Lynchburg school officials said they dont retest elementary or middle school students in the summer. Parents must give permission for elementary or middle school students to retest. Its not clear what Roanoke parents have been told about the retakes or whether transportation was provided to students. The reading and writing tests at those grade levels are taken online unless students have testing accommodations because of a disability. Computer-adaptive tests implemented this year were designed to shorten the length of time it takes for students to complete tests. Its unclear who is administering to students testing now; most teacher contracts ended June 2. The state gives school districts flexibility on when they administer SOL tests. For elementary and middle school students, the spring testing window runs from April 10 to June 23. The state instructs districts to identify a test window of three to four weeks within the statewide testing window to administer tests to all students taking the test for the first time. The states testing manual says that if students qualify for a retake, it must be completed within three weeks of their first attempt or by June 23, whichever comes first. Roanoke told the state it would test grades three through eight between May 1 and May 26, Pyle said. Because of the window set by the state, any testing going on in Roanoke now is likely retesting. There are only a few circumstances under which elementary and middle school students can retest. One is if a student scores between 375 and 399 (just missing the passing score of 400). If a student scores below 375, the student can only retest if theres an extenuating circumstance or a legitimate reason kept them from sitting for the regularly scheduled test. The state leaves it up to district superintendents to determine what qualifies as an extenuating circumstance. Roanokes policy on retaking SOL tests doesnt specify what would be an extenuating circumstance. The district requested more time to respond to a request for public records detailing retake requests that were made and granted. District officials estimated it would take staff 13 hours to gather the records. As with summer testing, other area school districts said they encounter few cases of testing because of extenuating circumstances. Both Roanoke County and Montgomery County said they had no such retakes this year. Its not an apples-to-apples comparison between those two districts and Roanoke, though. More students would be expected to have extenuating circumstances in a high-poverty district such as Roanoke because the likelihood of instability in their lives is greater. The number of tests given due to extenuating circumstances varied at three other districts where more than two-thirds of students qualify for subsidized lunches. Lynchburg didnt retest any students because of extenuating circumstances. Comparably sized Portsmouth gave 879 retests, according to data from the Virginia Department of Education. Much smaller Harrisonburg gave 53 retests to elementary school students and 156 retakes to middle school students this year, according to data provided by the district. This is only the third year that elementary and middle school students could retest at all. In the first two years, retakes have generally raised scores for schools, sometimes by wide margins. Statewide last year, retakes raised passing rates by 4 percentage points in reading and 5 points in math. The Republican Party wants us to grade Donald Trump on a curve. No other conclusion is possible after a week of high drama and reality avoidance that would have wrecked the presidents good name, if he had one. The highlight, of course, was former FBI Director James Comey testifying under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee and accusing Trump of lies, plain and simple. But before we get to that, lets parse some of the weaselly evasions that preceded it. The day before Comeys appearance, for instance, national security chiefs Mike Rogers and Dan Coats, testifying before the same committee, refused to answer directly when asked whether Trump ever asked them to intervene in an FBI investigation. Two days before that, Trump surrogates Sebastian Gorka and Kellyanne Conway insisted with straight faces that Trumps often-damning tweets statements by the president in his own words were not to be taken seriously. Next to them, Comey was some combination of Captain America and Pope Francis for plain moral rectitude sometimes even at his own expense, as when he admitted failing to push back forcefully enough against the presidents misbehavior. But it was Trumps character and actions that were squarely in the bulls eye. Comey explained that he committed his meetings with Trump to contemporaneous memos because of the nature of the person he was dealing with a precaution he never felt the need for with Presidents Obama and Bush. He confirmed that Trump asked him to stop investigating Mike Flynn, the former national security adviser, who lied about his contacts with Russian officials. And he described an Oval Office meeting where Trump asked everyone but him to clear the room, then said, I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let him go. That would seem clearly inappropriate if not illegal, especially since Trump fired Comey after he refused that request and cited the investigation as the reason. But Trumps Republican defenders kept looking for loopholes. Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) seized upon Trumps use of the word hope to suggest the president never actually ordered Comey to let Flynn off the hook. Apparently, English is not Rischs first language and he is unschooled in its nuances. Suffice it to say, when Tony Soprano says, Nice place you got here; hope nothing happens to it, buy fire insurance. Meantime, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) meandered incoherently through a confusing thicket of questions and misstatements that seemed designed to suggest a double standard in the fact that the FBIs investigation into Hillary Clintons emails ended last year, while the Russia probe is ongoing. Or, he could have been asking who stole his Metamucil. It was hard to tell. Even House Speaker Paul Ryan got into the act, noting that Trump is just new to this. By this, he probably meant governing, although he could have meant accountability. Either way, his point was apparently that the man who said I alone can fix America should be given time to learn how to do his job. But that presupposes Trumps willingness to learn. Or his ability. No evidence exists to support either idea. Bottom line: this attempted defense of the indefensible is threadbare and outrageous. The GOP asks us to put their party above our country, to grade this presidency on a curve like you would a poor student who was trying real hard. But theres no curve that can save Donald Trump. This president has failed. Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald who is syndicated by the Tribune Content Agency. By John Long It hasnt seemed to attract much attention around here, but this month marks the 75th Anniversary of a crucial moment in our history: the American victory in the Battle of Midway. I thought it worth dusting off a piece I wrote five years ago for the 70th Anniversary: June, 1942: So far the war has been disastrous for the United States in the Pacific. In the six months since Pearl Harbor, the Japanese have conquered enormous stretches of territory with barely a response from the US. But Yamamoto, the planner of the Pearl Harbor attack, had predicted that Japan would have six to twelve months to run wild before the Americans recovered. Time was running out. At the Battle of the Coral Sea in May, wed slowed Japans southward advance, so the question became where will they attack next? Unbeknownst to the Japanese, the US was reading, if imperfectly, their coded transmissions. Cryptanalysts had uncovered evidence of an impending attack on target AF. But where was AF? Suspecting it to be Midway, an unimpressive hunk of coral but our westernmost base in the Pacific, the codebreakers designed a bit of ingenious subterfuge. They broadcast a fake message that Midway was having problems with its fresh water supply. Sure enough, a coded message was soon intercepted revealing that AF was short on water. We had our answer. Chester Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet, quickly dispatched all available resources to meet the threat (ignoring a Japanese diversionary attack on the Aleutian Islands). Among the flotilla was the USS Yorktown. At Coral Sea, Yorktown had been damaged and had limped back to Pearl expecting a three-month repair job. Instead, the carrier was back at sea in three days. That little factoid alone explains much of how the US will win this war. The two fleets encountered each other only through aircraft and submarines. World War II was the first naval war in which surface fleets fought extended engagements without ever coming in sight of one another. On the morning of June 3 the each side discovered the other. A showdown was inevitable. The Japanese commander, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, had to divide his attentions between two targets: the American fleet and Midway itself. Meanwhile, US admirals Frank Jack Fletcher and the cagey Raymond Spruance seemed to sense instinctively what the Japanese would do. Their battle plan depended on more than a little luck, but they got the job done. On the morning of June 4th, Spruance launched successive waves of torpedo bombers against the Japanese fleet. They all encountered heavy losses without scoring a hit; 35 of 41 planes and crews were lost. Finally, while the torpedo bombers tied up the Japanese fighter screen below, a wave of dive bombers snuck into the battle zone at high altitudes and attacked with ferocious, devastating accuracy. It is hard to overstate what happened next. I often put it to my students this way: at 10:25 a.m. on the morning of June 4, 1942, the United States was losing WWII. At 10:30, we were winning. Three Japanese carriers were aflame and sinking after this attack, and a fourth would succumb later. The US, meanwhile, lost only the already damaged Yorktown, which gave a good fight before sinking. The Japanese losses, of course, were more crucial. In essence, the Battle of Midway restored parity in the Pacific. But it would not stay at parity. Over the course of the war, the US would launch fourteen fleet carriers, most notably of the superb Essex class, and 75 smaller escort carriers. Japan, in contrast, could only launch six fleet carriers into the war after Midway. As Yamamoto had predicted, the sleeping giant was awake. It was the decisive turning point in the Pacific. Japan, who had only advanced for six months, would now be in retreat for the rest of the war. America, which had been too staggered to do much of anything since Pearl Harbor, had now found her footing. Victory was a long way off. But it no longer seemed impossible. Every American school kid should know the story of Midway. Every potential enemy should heed the warning contained in the tale: what the US can and will do when push comes to shove. Seventy-five years later, few of those valiant sailors and pilots, these men who snatched victory from defeat, are still with us. For those who remain, thank you. For those who never made it home, and those who have since passed on, we honor your memory. Long is the education director for the National D-Day Memorial. With wonderful views and easy access, its understandable why Trout Creek Canyon northeast of Helena is a popular spot. After hikers park at the trailhead adjacent to Vigilante Campground, the wide and well-maintained trail takes them on a casual route up the canyon floor. Hikers, bikers and dog walkers frequent the area, but fellow users tend to disappear just as quickly as they come around the many corners and thick willows along the trail. The first mile is an interpretive trail with 10 stations to stop and learn about local geology, vegetation and wildlife, however, brochures are often scarce so download station descriptions before embarking. (A copy of the brochure can be found with this story online at Montana Untamed.)Large pines and spruce provide broken shade, while occasional openings offer views up and down the canyon at the rising limestone walls. Wildflowers, mossy rocks, birds and other wildlife are all part of the trip to Trout Creek Canyon. Past the final interpretive marker the trail narrows and steepens slightly. The creek goes underground for about a mile only to reappear farther up the canyon. The final stretch intersects Forest Service Road 138 and marks the end of the 3-mile jaunt in. The hike out makes this a 6.2-mile roundtrip. Besides its beautiful canyon walls and clear stream, probably the biggest attraction to Trout Creek is its relatively gentle trail that gains only about 800 feet of elevation. A road once snaked up the canyon until a 1981 spring flood destroyed the 3-mile stretch. Following the flood the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest has maintained the trail as nonmotorized. Trout Creek Canyon is open all year but late spring through early fall is the prime time for most hikers and bikers. A Michigan man who moved to East Helena to be with a woman he met through an online dating site and later assaulted was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison. The woman had popped blood vessels from being choked, a bruised groin from being kicked and a broken toe, among other injuries, according to testimony in the trial of Timothy Craig Haithcox. District Judge Mike Menahan sentenced Haithcox to 10 years with all of it suspended for aggravated kidnapping, 10 years with all suspended for tampering with a witness, and 20 years with 5 suspended for aggravated assault. In March, a jury decided he wasnt guilty of a felony charge of sexual assault and tampering with evidence. Jurors also found him not guilty of a felony assault with a weapon, but guilty of a lesser charge. During trial, prosecutors said Haithcox held the woman captive in their home and attacked her, leaving bruises literally from head to toe during the April 2016 incident. The woman told investigators Haithcox threatened to kill her at least 30 times on April 11. He was also accused of slamming her head into a bathroom wall, threatening her with a knife and hitting her head with a bottle. Lewis and Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher said Haithcox told the woman to tell police she was injured during a mugging. BILLINGS Stakeholders in Montanas largest coal-fired power plant expect to operate Colstrips two least-dated units into the 2030s, even as consumers demand cleaner energy and the federal government softens regulations of greenhouse gasses. Three of Colstrip Power Plants six owners are being edged by climate change policy in Washington and Oregon, which is where most of the consumers live who are reliant on Colstrip power. The exodus is expected to begin in the early 2030s, with two utilities servicing Oregon Portland General Electric and Pacificorp under agreement to stop selling coal power to customers there. Washington utilities Puget Sound Energy and Avista Corp. face consumer pressure to get out of Colstrip, but not a state mandate. Nonetheless, the plan for the Puget Sound Energy, is to get out of Colstrip in the 2030s, as well. Our view of our future is that Puget Sound Energy involvement will be finished in the 2030s based on what we know now, said Gran Ringel, a PSE spokesman. PSE, based in Bellevue, Washington, has the largest Colstrip stake of the power plants six owners. The company owns half of the four-unit power plants two original generators, Units 1 and 2. It also owns a 25 percent share in Units 3 and 4, the least dated generators, which are equipped with better pollution controls. Units 1 and 2 are scheduled to be shuttered no later than 2022, perhaps sooner as Colstrip stakeholder Talen Energy considers an earlier exit. Talen has said it is losing millions of dollars on the older units, of which the Pennsylvania utility, now owned by a holding company, has 50 percent ownership. Among Colstrips supporters, who worry about the loss of more than 300 power plant jobs, and the future of the surrounding community that bears the power plants name, theres always concern the power plant will close earlier than expected. Those concerns were stirred Tuesday by a Seattle Times story about the power plants owner re-mediating a contract with the mine that supplies coal to Colstrip. The current contract with Westmoreland Coal Co. for coal from Rosebud Mine expires in 2019. The next contract, now being negotiated, would end in 2029. The power plants owners are asking that they be allowed to walk away from the deal before 2029 should demand change. The power plants demand for coal will change as Units 1 and 2 shut down and demands for Colstrip power change, Ringel said, though Units 3 and 4 arent eyed for closure in the 2020s. The 2030s will bring big changes, mostly likely beginning with the utilities selling power in Oregon. PacificCorp, based in Salt Lake City, owns 10 percent of Colstrip Units 3 and 4. At 148 megawatts, PacifiCorps electricity from Colstrip is enough to power more than 100,000 homes. PacifiCorp is the smallest shareholder at the power plant. In Oregon, PacifiCorp must stop selling coal power by 2030 because of the Oregon Clean Electricity and Coal Transition plan. However, PacifiCorp sells power in several Western states with no coal power restrictions. PacifiCorp has indicated to Washington state regulators that it could be getting out of Colstrip as early as 2032 because of regulatory challenges. Portland General Electric, Based in Portland, Oregon, owns 20 percent of Colstrip Units 3 and 4. At 296 net megawatt capacity, its power can light nearly 300,000 homes. PGE is getting out of Colstrip by 2035. Thats the date set by an Oregon Clean Electricity and Coal Transition plan signed into law in March 2016. Its a law PGE supported as an alternative to a citizen petition forcing Oregon utilities to cut coal power from their portfolios much sooner. It will begin tapering off coal power by 2025 and be almost off by 2030. Renewable energy must also be half of PGEs portfolio by 2040. In Washington, Puget Sound Energy faces consumer demand for power generated without producing greenhouse gasses. It has also agreed, in partnership with Talen Energy, to shutter Colstrip Units 1 and 2 in order to settle a pollution lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club and Montana Environmental Information Center. PSEs 667-megawatt share of Colstrip capacity is enough to power more than 600,000 homes. Washington has created a law allowing PSE to nest egg money for the closure and clean up of Units 1 and 2. It has already estimated the cost of closing Units 1 and 2 at between $130 and $200 million, including environmental cleanup. The cost to customers of keeping Colstrip online is a big issue. Avista Corp., based in Spokane, Washington, owns 15 percent of Colstrip Units 3 and 4. Unlike Puget Sound Energy, Avista Corp. hasnt been under pressure by the state Legislature or its customers to get out of Colstrip. It was under pressure under the federal Clean Power Plan to cut its cord on coal power, but President Donald Trump has killed that environmental mandate. Consumer pressure in Washington state to cut ties to coal power, hasnt gone away. In Montana, the states largest regulated utility, NorthWestern Energy, owns 30 percent of Colstrip Unit 4 and has an agreement for power from Unit 3 if needed. Like Avista, NorthWestern Corp. hasnt been under pressure by the state government or its customers to get out of Colstrip. It has insisted Units 3 and 4 will last into the 2040s. Officers from Rotherham Central local policing team pictured with some of the cannabis seized POLICE uncovered more than 400,000 worth of cannabis in three days at empty homes that had all been turned into dangerous drug factories. The first haul was found at a rented property on Grange Lane, Maltby, on Monday (12). Sgt Dave Baines said a couple of hundred plants, worth around 160,000, had been found. Those responsible had tapped straight into the mains, it was quite dangerous, he said. The second raid took place on Tuesday after a member of the public tipped police off about an empty property on Godstone Road, Rotherham. A very sophisticated cannabis set-up including infra-red technology, gas canisters, CO2 generator and a timer system was found. Sgt Baines added: Ive never seen anything like it before. He added: The gas was not properly turned off and it had leaked throughout the house. The cannabis crop (pictured with officers from Rotherham Central local policing team) was worth around 60,000. The gas and electricity has been by-passed dangerously and gas had flooded into the place it was lucky it didnt go up, added Sgt Baines. Gas engineers was called to the scene to make the address safe. On Wednesday, police were called to a property on Cambridge Street, Clifton, by the landlord and 250 plants worth around 200,000 were uncovered. No arrests have been made in connection to the three drug busts but police said forensic work was ongoing. Cannabis hauls were coming thick and fast for the team, said Sgt Baines, and were a key part of their work to crack down on anti-social behaviour in the Wellgate area. Sgt Baines said perpetrators often rented out properties for the intention of cannabis production and would employ people such as Vietnamese nationals to live in the property and cultivate the crop. HALL Water levels continued to rise Wednesday evening in the Clark Fork River through Missoula, while ranchers, road crews and residents upstream sorted through the aftermath of record high stream flows. A storm that stalled Monday night and Tuesday over the Sapphire Mountains dumped record amounts of rain on the Bitterroot Valley to the west and the Flint Creek Valley to the east. The weather station at the Gird Point Lookout in the upper Bitterroot measured 3.7 inches of precipitation, the same amount recorded at Georgetown Lake at the top of the Flint Creek Valley. Philipsburg received another 3.66 inches. The result was landslides, closed roads, power outages, flash floods and broad meadows of rushing, sometimes whitecapped water in both valleys long after the sun came out Wednesday. On an average June 14, Flint Creek reaches the Clark Fork River at Drummond at a rate of 276 cubic feet per second. On Tuesday at 9:15 p.m. and again on Wednesday at 4:30 a.m. it reached 1,740 cfs. By 5:30 p.m. the flow had dropped below 1,400 cfs still far above the previous record of 1,100 in 2011. Weve had two 100-year floods in the last six years, noted Rex Radtke, vice president of the Flint Creek Water Users Association. Stockmen north of Hall scrambled to save a system of headgates, especially the giant one at the top of the states Allendale Canal that serves the bottom 12 miles of the valley to Drummond. Honestly, the amount of uprooted trees that were going down here was just amazing, said Radtke, who made the call at 4 p.m. Tuesday to breach the Allendale below the headgate. So if that headgate blows out itll put (the water) back in the creek so it doesnt run through the valley and flow out in a whole lot of other really bad spots, said Butch Friede, who was busy Wednesday afternoon helping fill giant sandbags to shore up the breach. Georgetown Lake overflowed and for the first time in years, water poured down the Flint Creek Dam spillway. The rush met up with Fred Burr Creek above Philipsburg, which Rick Day, Granite Countys Disaster and Emergency Services director said has been one of the big contributors to the problem. Private bridges on Fred Burr Creek failed, stranding a couple of residences until water levels go down. Other families chose to leave their homes on Tuesday as the water rose, said Scott Dunkerson, Granite County sheriff. Several homes and an apartment building in south Philipsburg were in the path of a flash flood Tuesday night. Dunkerson said those residents were dealing with flooded basements on Wednesday after a rush of water came down Frost Creek. Power was restored by 3:30 p.m. Wednesday to all but one of the roughly 15 homes up Boulder Creek, which flows through Maxville. Susan Malee of NorthWestern Energy said the electricity was cut about 24 hours earlier until a tree could be removed from a live line. Earlier estimates were that the homes wouldnt get power back until Thursday while crews waited for the waters to recede. It was a safety issue, Malee said. They didnt want to try and cut the tree out with water raging around them. On the other side of the Sapphires, ditch managers scrambled to save the Bitterroots largest irrigation ditch. We had water running everywhere, said Tim Meuchels, who manages Daly Ditches. Ive never seen so much water at one time that was so widespread. Well have thunderstorms hit and dump a lot of water, but you dont see this over the whole valley. Bitterroot National Forest hydrologist Ed Snook said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that a 100-year 48-hour rain for that area would top out at 3.1 inches. We beat that easily with this storm, Snook said. Its very possible that we dont have a rainfall event on record that matches this one. While water levels dissipated upstream, the Clark Fork River above Missoula steadily rose throughout Wednesday, from 12,200 cfs at midnight Wednesday to 16,500 cfs by 7 p.m. It wasn't expected to exceed the 88-year record of 23,700 cfs, set in 2011. Botswana Diamonds said it recovered 223 microdiamonds from 160kg of kimberlite drill core from its new Frischgewaagt Project, in South Africa. It said the kimberlite drill core results were modelled to an estimated grade range of 20 to 270 carats per hundred tonnes at a bottom cut off of 0.6 mm, with the largest stone being a white transparent crystal diamond falling in the -1.18+0.85 mm sieve. This is an excellent result and shows the potential of Frischgewaagt. We need more drill samples to refine the grade estimate, said company chairperson John Teeling. This will be done in the coming months. Earlier work indicated diamond values of over $200/ct. The geophysics work which is almost complete and the drilling to follow is targeted to produce an Inferred Resource by the end of the year. Botswana Diamonds entered into an option and earn in agreement with Vutomi Mining and Razorbill Properties, a private diamond exploration and development firm in South Africa last February. Botswana Diamonds agreed to pay Vutomi a total of 942,000 in cash, of which 581,000 would be used to fund exploration activities. In addition, the company would issue 100 million ordinary shares of 0.25p each to Vutomi shareholders, after which the company would own 72 percent of Vutomi. Vutomi had a portfolio of more than 20 high interest kimberlites, many of which were diamondiferous spanning the Limpopo, North-West and Free State Provinces of South Africa. The flagship project, Frischgewaagt, was in the Limpopo Province 300km north of Johannesburg and was immediately adjacent to the Marsfontein Mine which was previously operated by De Beers. A sampling programme, which was undertaken in 2016, yielded a raw diamond value of $180/ct from 247 carats and kimberlite intersections. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau from Gaborone, Botswana, Rough&Polished Sky Italia said it has secured exclusive live rights to all UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches from the 2018/19 season through to 2020/21. In Italy, Sky has acquired exclusive TV rights to over 340 matches on all platforms. The new Champions League format will feature four Italian teams (up from two plus one at qualifiers in the current format) increasing the minimum number of games featuring Italian teams by 70% vs the average over the last five years. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News After reporting a contraction in regional manufacturing activity in the previous month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report on Thursday showing a rebound in activity in the month of June. The New York Fed said its general conditions index shot up to 19.8 in June from a negative 1.0 in May, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to rise to 4.0. The bigger than expected increase by the headline index came amid a rebound in new orders, as the new orders index jumped to 18.1 in June from a negative 4.4 in May. The report also said the shipments index climbed to 22.3 in June from 10.6 in May, with the increase indicating faster growth. Meanwhile, the New York Fed said the number of employees index dropped to 7.7 in June from 11.9 in the previous month. The prices paid index also edged down to 20.0 in June from 20.9 in May, while the prices received index rose to 10.8 from 4.5. Looking ahead, the New York Fed said the index for future conditions inched up to 41.7 in June from 39.3 in the May. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Forex News PRAGUE Having been tested successfully on beer-loving Czechs, the beer train is heading for the United States and China. Just imagine: you order a pint of beer, or even a cool glass of orange juice, and your drink is served by a model freight train arriving at your table. The only thing you have to do is to pick up your glass before the train departs. It's reasonably fast, efficient and fun. Petr Fridrich came up with the concept in the Czech city of Brno in 2009. "I used to be a collector of engines, train models. It combines business with a hobby," he said. "Men are like big children." Expansion came in the form of two further railway restaurants in the Czech capital of Prague. Around 6 million drinks have been served on the elaborate networks of rail tracks. One of the restaurants in Prague serves about 1,500 on average every day, with about half of going to foreign tourists, unsurprisingly. And about 10 percent go to kids. "The figures look good," Fridrich said. "A reason why we decided to expand." Next stop Chicago. "We were looking for an interesting place in the United States and we ended up in Chicago," Fridrich said. "That we wanted to start making beer added to our decision. There is a large German community, they know what it (beer) is about and a significantly large space was available. At the moment, we are finalizing the last details of the rent contract." There are novelties to be introduced. The restaurant that might open at the turn of the year will include a craft brewer, making a Czech style pilsner beer and a new control system for the trains. The Piko trains might also be replaced by models Fridrich has been developing with his people. If business goes well, the plan would be for some 30 restaurants in America. The China expansion will be different, involving franchises. The first one in China is also due to open by the turn of the year, with some 120 inked in for the coming 15 years. Fridrich concedes that China is an unknown territory: "We have no idea what to expect." This dynamic helped Gov. Laura Kelly win reelection in Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly won a second term in a historic win in the Kansas governor's race. Her performance in Johnson County helped deliver a narrow victory. The launch of the Samoa Law Reform Commissions Report on the Sex Offenders Register yesterday is a step in the right direction. And with Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaois use of such strong language in relation to repeated sex offenders, it certainly sends the message that there is no place in this country for such people. Which is fantastic. At last we are moving on to something that should have been established a long, long time ago. We say this because over the years weve been extremely concerned about repeated sex offenders and sexual predators roaming the streets including sex offenders sent back to Samoa from overseas. The problem is a lot more than that of course. Weve also had international sex offenders and pedophiles who arrive as so-called investors, setting up businesses and mixing with our people. They end up going about their business completely undetected. Its scary but that has been our reality. How many girls, boys and young women have become their victims, we dont know. But now at long last, we are moving in the right direction. All thats needed now is the law to be passed by Parliament and we are away with the Sex Offenders Register. The fact is the number of cases before the Court involving repeated sex offenders are truly alarming. Many years ago, the man who made the initial call for Samoa to establish a Sex Offenders Register was Justice Vui Clarence Nelson. It is worth revisiting what led to the call for it. Justice Vui had apparently become increasingly concerned about the number of cases where repeated sex offenders had surfaced. You couldnt blame him. The last straw was when he jailed a father found guilty of 13 counts of rape against his biological daughter. The Court heard that the man was convicted and imprisoned in New Zealand in 2009 for indecently assaulting a female between the age of 12 and 16 years. After he was sent back to Samoa, the Court was told that the defendant treated his daughter like his wife. He imprisoned her in her own home and his behavior was rightly described by Justice Vui as sick. I find it astounding how a convicted sex offender deported from an overseas jurisdiction because of his offending, considered dangerous enough to warrant being accompanied to Samoa not by one but two police officers, can then be permitted to live freely and anonymously in our community with no restriction whatsoever, Justice Vui said at the time. With nothing in place to prevent possible reoffending, this case once again highlights the need for a Sex Offenders Register for registration of serious sex offenders. So that such offenders can be supervised and monitored post-release from prison. Irrespective of whether they are convicted and imprisoned in Samoa or elsewhere. It seems to be a normal practice now that sex offenders convicted in overseas jurisdictions are being returned to Samoa upon expiry of their sentences. Then (they) are released back into an unsuspecting community which is blissfully ignorant of the criminal past of these people who walk and live among them. This is the proverbial insertion of the wolf into the sheeps den. We couldnt agree more. Anywhere else in the world, there would be an uproar. We see it everyday in the news. When ever a known sex offender moves into a neighbourhood in New Zealand for example, the residents become alarmed. They immediately make noises to alert the authorities that they are not happy. The same should happen here. Weve said this before and we will say it again. We acknowledge that protecting the human rights of an offender is obviously an important consideration. But we believe that must come second to the need to protect potential and innocent victims. Besides, the sexual predators we are talking about are seasoned offenders. Some of them are extremely sick. Dont get us wrong, the Register will not solve all our problems right away. But this is the real world and we know from countless studies carried out around the globe that perpetrators of child sexual abuse rarely change their ways without treatment and therapy by trained professionals, and supported by some degree of monitoring in local communities. In other words because there is none of that available in Samoa, it is absolutely futile to hope and pray that these people will somehow change their ways. One of the biggest points against the Register is the rights of sex offenders to privacy. We find this absolutely ridiculous. What about victims? What about innocent girls whose right to grow up free from being abused are taken away by these monsters? To say that Samoa has a sex crime problem is an understatement. We have a crisis on our hands that requires immediate action. Not a week goes by without cases of rape, incest, molestation, sexual assault being heard by the Court. What does that tell us about our country? Think about those girls and women whose rights are violated every time this happens. They are daughters of Samoa. They are sisters, daughters, wives, mothers and they deserve better. They have a right to be protected, which is a very basic human right they are entitled to and we should grant them. This is why we believe the time is right to set up a Sex Offenders Register. At this point, we applaud everyone involved in making this happen. We want to congratulate Justice Vui, the government, the Samoa Law Reform Commission and everyone who have been advocating for this. We have had enough of seeing our young girls being destroyed by these ruthless animals. Its time we stand up and drive them to where they really belong behind bars. Have a safe Thursday Samoa, God bless! Dear Editor, With all do respect to you Mrs. Parker, the criticism is warranted due to the lack of electricity and water to some of our people while the government is funding your sons dream. We are proud of your son and his accomplishment. The criticism means people are paying attention. The government needs to know that there are people with basic needs that are being ignored. There is also a conflict of interest in play here. Other Samoan athlete could not get a penny from the government to support their endeavor, but since your son is related to the P.M, it becomes a negative perception from our people. Your son can make more money if his team/promoters is putting up their own money like any other champion fighter. Having a country put up money for his fight while some of its people are suffering from lack of basic necessity is not a positive image for him. You as a mother have every right to defend your son against criticism. I am proud of you for standing up for your son. But I hope you can share the view and the sentiment of those who are being ignored by the P.M and his Cabinet. I hope you can understand the criticism and speak out against the lack of jobs for our people. T. Leone BLOOMINGTON An Indiana man is in custody for a Wednesday morning robbery at the PNC Bank, 2217 W. Market St. on the citys west side. Police were called to the bank at 11:25 a.m. where witnesses reported a man entered the bank, unarmed, and demanded money from an employee. The suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled east on foot. There were no injuries reported. Officers arrived in the area and were given additional information that included a still photo taken from a video camera and vehicle information. Officers released that information to other police agencies and a short time later, the suspect's vehicle was spotted on Interstate 74 near LeRoy by an Illinois State trooper. A traffic stop was made and the suspect was taken into custody. The McLean County Sheriffs Department and LeRoy Police Department assisted. The 31-year-old man is from Fort Wayne, Ind. and is expected in McLean County Court today or Friday to face formal charges and have his bond set. He is being held in McLean County jail. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Bloomington police at (309) 434-2359 or detective Steve Moreland at smoreland@cityblm.org. Dear Editor, Re: The spirit of the Mau The big question that no one has addressed, even the government, is this. The leaders and the main chiefs of the Mau Movement that were exiled to other Pacific Islands never surrendered, refused to surrender to the British and were exiled. I therefore keep hearing this phrase being used for the last 50 or so years - Independence Celebration. My question is, if the leaders never surrendered, then independence from who or what? Our sovereign was never surrendered and the history books should accurately reflect that. Our use of this term Independence Celebration, is in my own personal view, a great disservice to the stand by these leaders. All other administrative maneuvering later on which involved NZ was to keep the peace but the facts are the leaders never surrendered, hence the continuing struggle then. A more appropriate phrase to be used during our celebrations is: Affirmation of our Sovereignty instead of the demeaning term independence. It accurate reflects the struggle of those that were exiled and the facts of history. Doctor G.F. Dear Editor, Re: Corruption breeds poverty and hardship. They in return produce thieves. Mataafa, please lets take a faifeau for example, ok? One side is Corruption and Poverty and Hardship on other side, right? So which side do you think the faifeau is standing tall? Be good to hear your answer but to me, its an insult for any Samoan to say that our faifeau are poor and need water..ei? Am I right? Oh, lets say Tuilaepa or The Government, for example. If the leader is corrupted, then all his boys and girls are too, is that right Mataafa? Take you Mataafa for example, if you are corrupt then your kids are corrupt too, is that right? So faifeau and Tuilaepa please dont get excited yet its only an example. Truth is...if corruption starts from the top, then poverty and hardship have no choice but support it. Corruption has the power. Dont people care anymore about the Bible and its teachings? No. Because the top is so corrupted that they themselves are not reading The Bible. They are only using The Bible to gather wealth for themselves. Have we forgotten that God is watching no matter what? They forgot God is watching like you say Mataafa. They are not stupid Are we becoming a nation that is no longer God-fearing? Yes we are. Why? Those at the top are corrupted times eleven. Fear God is The Beginning of Wisdom. Fear faifeau is the beginning of foolishness. Would you steal if you knew God is watching you while you are stealing? No. I know because I grew up like that. So why do you steal? Because the faifeau you are fearing is not there. Would you do it if he/she is there? Do these people not care at all that Samoa has just officially become a Christian state? You know, if that kind of bill was introduced in the Muslims World. They would burn and kill those who introduce it. Understand Matafa? GOD ESTABLISHED SAMOA NA FAAVAE E LE ATUA SAMOA I tell you truth Mataafa, that is the message for the Government. The God who Established Samoa wrote in every Samoans heart that we are Christians before we entered Earth. Dont insult Him. In Samoa, most of our leaders especially the government - dont believe they exist. What about our faifeau? I red article this week about this guy who only worry about his maumaga eaten by pigs. You see Mataafa, now even pigs steal, ei? How low? Next thing, pigs can fly. But I tell you what, it might happen. Samoa will be the first country where pigs fly. To remind them the time they steal, while their God is watching. Imagine people from Earth come to see that in Samoa and they ask. How did those pigs get their wings? Stole them from the chickens. Now Samoa bans all chickens - SA-MOA. ETERNAL LIFE IS GODS GIFT. WISDOM IS AN INHERITANCE. You see Mataafa, when a Samoan swears that one ai****, it hurts God. Please faifeau tell your people to stop swearing. God is watching. Ben Valelei Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi did not mince words when he compared sex offenders to dogs and animals. The description was made during the launch of a number of reports by the Samoa Law Reform Commission (S.R.L.C) yesterday. Among them was the Sex Offenders Registry Report. The Prime Minister recalled when the suggestion was made for a Sex Offenders Registry by Justice Vui Clarence Nelson. After reading the recommendation, he immediately sent a note to the Attorney General. Submissions from these public consultations have assisted the Commission to develop recommendations in its final reports, which was approved by Cabinet and published in May 20, 2015, he said. The Commission also developed a Sex Offender Registration Bill which reflected the recommendations made in the final report. Although the Sex Offenders registered final report was completed two years ago, its official launch yesterday was fitting given prevalence of sexual crimes in Samoa. The Commissions report highlights that between 2009 and 2013, there were 535 crimes of a sexual nature reported to the Police. The overall trend shows a 20per cent increase in reporting of sexual crimes from 2009 to 2013. The most common types of reports of sexual crimes include rape, indecent assault and attempted rape. The key aim of the Commissions final report was to therefore consider how a sex offenders register could better protect victims of sexual crimes - including children - and reduce sexual crimes in Samoa. Overall the Samoa Law Reform Commissions final report recommended the establishment of a Sex Offenders Register through legislation called the Offender Registration Act. The Sex Offender Register for Samoa plans to help law enforcement and crime prevention. Supreme Court Justice Vui who has been vocal and a strong advocate for the Sex Offenders Registry said the launch of the final report is a step forward. I think this is a great step forward for the country, he said. I think its going to be a useful piece of legislation and its going to tackle the increase of sexual offending that is happening now. Its not getting any smaller by the day, its increasing and we have to do something and this is the sort of constructive measure that the country can take to tackle offending like that, Vui said. Other reports launched yesterday included the: - The Pule a le Matai Sao Final Report 2017; - Alcohol Reform Final Report 2016; - Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Final Report 2016; - Supreme Court Rules 1980 and Magistrate Court Rules 1971 (Civil Procedure Rules) Final Report 2016 - Review of the Property Law Act 1952 Issues Paper 1 & 2 ABOUT THE SEX OFFENDERS REGISTER REPORT ACCORDING TO ACTING EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ULUPALE FUIMAONO As you are aware, the review of the Sex Offenders Register resulted from a call from Justice Nelson in 2013 to establish a sex offenders register when a sex offender was convicted again for the same type of sexual offending. The Attorney General then referred this reference to the Commission to assess whether it is appropriate for Samoa to establish a sex offenders register and whether such a register would deter sexual re-offending. A Discussion Paper by the Commission was approved by Cabinet and published in April 2013, which raised issues surrounding the establishment of a sex offenders register. Consequently, public consultations were held in October 2013 in both Upolu and Savaii on the Discussion Paper. Submissions from these public consultations have assisted the Commission to develop its Final Report, which was approved by Cabinet and published in May 2015, containing recommendations for reforms. The Sex Offenders Register Final Report resulted in the Sex Offenders Registration Bill 2017 which is now with the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly for tabling before Parliament. The Samoa Law Reform Commission was fortunate to receive funding from the United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) for our Sex Offenders Register (SOR) Project. The governments move to tax the Head of State and Church Ministers is a step away from becoming law. This was confirmed by the Minister of Revenue, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, during an interview with the Samoa Observer. It has been approved by Cabinet, he said. Although its approved by Cabinet, it has to be approved by Parliament in order for it to be implemented. And once that is done, it wont be effective until January 2018. He said Cabinets endorsement follows a report from the Ministry of Revenue, which gathered the views from several public consultations held. Some of the consultations were poorly attended. Despite what our Ministry wants, we depend on Cabinet and Parliament for their approval and final decision, he said. Its now with Parliament and each constituency has its representative in there, so once its approved by Cabinet then it will be effective by January 2018. He told Samoa Observer earlier the governments intention is for everyone in Samoa to be taxed. Tialavea said the Ministry has been entrusted with the task of generating revenue to pay for the developments and they are not leaving any stone unturned. I took the oath when I was selected as the Minister that I would do everything to make sure that we get extra money for the development of the country, he said. So we are now in the process and we are reviewing the laws to make sure that everyone pays taxes. Tialavea said the review includes the existing law which excludes Church Ministers from paying income tax. The proposed changes targets the money church ministers receive from the congregation every two weeks (alofa/peleti). We will not touch other contributions made by the church. We believe those other contributions are for the development of the churches. This will also exclude the money they get from funerals, weddings, and other things. This is one of the issues that has caused a lot of criticism from Church members and Church Ministers. Last month the nations biggest denomination, the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S), rejected the said plan by the government. The decision was reached during the Churchs annual conference. A formal letter was to be presented to the government outlining the churchs objection and the rejection of the governments plan was widely supported by the Churchs membership. As reported earlier, Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi is supportive of the move to tax the Head of State and Church Ministers. He said the review should have happened 20 years ago. They shouldve done this a long time ago, said Tuilaepa. That is why I am grateful to the Minister and his Ministry for coming up with this plan. Tuilaepa said the proposed change is not targeting any particular group. Tax money is extremely important to development, Tuilaepa said. As you know, these monies are for the development of our country. But we are not targeting a group of people. The first day of the ANZ Banks leadership conference in Apia on Tuesday ended on a high note. The Bank, known for its charitable connections with the Samoa Cancer Society, presented the charitys Executive Officer, Shelley Burich, with a $20,000 donation. ANZ have been a massive support over the years, with technical assistance, human resources, and volunteers: they always have staff members available to help us; we are always so grateful, said Mrs. Burich. The work undertaken by the Society is paramount to the health of the Samoan people, as Cancer continues to place as the second highest cause of death on the Island. We do not have oncology services in the Hospital, a Cancer Unit, or trained nurses or doctors. The only service that is available in terms of treating cancer is surgery. Samoa Cancer Society is currently the only organisation in Samoa that is doing anything to spread awareness of the disease. Ms. Burich explains that this serves to increase the significance of the charitys mission. Our role really is to play a big part in early detection, teaching people the signs and symptoms of cancer. Educating them to recognise what might be cancer and encouraging them to seek medical assistance and advice. Established in 1998, the group started as a voluntary committee of Doctors, growing into the incorporated Society we see today. They have recently developed their patient support department which is inundated with valuable work, due to the high prevalence of Cancer among the Samoan people. Ms. Burich told the Samoa Observer that they, see so many late presentations, so unfortunately many of the patients are diagnosed at a late stage, meaning our work is palliative and home care. With no official palliative care or hospice, its up to their families to look after them. At such a difficult time, the Society offers emotional support not only to the patient, but their entire family. She added that we ourselves are reliant on donations just to keep our doors open, but what we can do is help people navigate the health system. We are that link between the health service and the patient. ANZ Banks donation will help the Society to continue their valued work here in Samoa. This particular donation is set aside for the printing of Breast Cancer brochures, which help patients to recognise symptoms and encourage them to seek help, increasing their chances of survival. Breast Cancer is the most prevalent Cancer in women and numbers are rising. We always strive to do a lot for Breast Cancer: we have Pink-tober, where we encourage people to wear pink to raise awareness. The money coming to us today, will go a long way in supporting the society in terms of its operational costs, we have breast cancer brochures already, but we have run out of the English version. This donation will allow us to continue to circulate them. The World Tourism Organization (U.N.W.T.O) has appointed the Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, as Special Ambassador of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism 2017. The ceremony took place in New York on 7 June on the side-lines of the UN Ocean Conference, where among other activities the Prime Minister addressed participants on the value of tourism to sustainably advance the blue economy. The designation of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development was due to the recognition by the United Nations of the potential of the tourism sector to contribute to the fight against poverty, to help curb climate change, promote gender equality and foster mutual understanding and peace amongst diverse cultures, Tuilaepa said. Tourism is a sector that is vital to the livelihoods of our people and touches all the three dimensions of sustainable development, the social, economic and environmental aspects. U.N.W.T.O Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai said: As a people-to-people activity, it has helped and continues to contribute to the revitalization of our culture, customs and traditional crafts, and plays a pivotal role in the preservation of our cultural heritage and is a force that promotes peace and understanding. The International Year is a unique opportunity to promote common action and enhance the power of tourism to build a better world. We thank Samoa for leading the initiative for the adoption of the UN resolution declaring the International Year and for its sustained, exemplary contribution in promoting the value of our sector towards the achievement of the 2030 Development Agenda, particularly for the Small Islands Developing States (S.I.D.S). The Special Ambassadors of the Year are leaders and prominent personalities committed to promote the role and contribution of tourism in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (S.D.Gs) and the 2030 Agenda. While tourism is included in three of the S.D.Gs S.D.G 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all; SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production and S.D.G 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, it can advance all 17 S.D.Gs. The Ocean Conference was an opportunity to highlight how tourism can effectively contribute to Goal 14. U.N.W.T.O joined the World Bank and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (U.N.D.E.S.A) to discuss and launch the report The Potential of the Blue Economy: Increasing Long-term Benefits of the Sustainable Use of Marine Resources for Small Island Developing States and Coastal Least Developed Countries. U.N.W.T.O was also co-organizing a Side Event on the European Union tourism committed to Blue Growth on the 8 June with DG MARE and NECstour. Coastal and Maritime Tourism is one of the key sectors of the European Union Blue Growth Strategy with a high potential for sustainable jobs and growth. Tourism employs over 3.2 million people and generates a total of 183 billion Euros in gross value added, representing over one third of the maritime economy. The universal dimension of the SDGs provides the EU regions with the opportunity to show leadership and share best practices to extend and scale up their Blue Growth strategy in other parts of the world, and in particular through their island territories in SIDS regions. Special Ambassadors of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development: - Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa - Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia - Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera, President of Costa Rica - Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities - Simeon II of Bulgaria - Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization - Huayong Ge, CEO of UnionPay - Michael Frenzel, President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry LONDON (AP) London firefighters combed through a burned-out public housing tower Thursday in a grim search for missing people as police and the prime minister launched investigations into the deadly inferno, with pressure building on officials to explain the disaster and assure that similar buildings around the country are safe. At least 17 people were killed as flames raced through the 24-story Grenfell Tower early Wednesday, trapping people inside their apartments. Many people remained unaccounted for Thursday, and officials weren't sure exactly how many were missing. But they expected the death toll to rise significantly. London Police said an investigation had been launched to determine whether the blaze involved any crimes and Prime Minister Theresa May announced a public inquiry, a type of probe that's used to investigate issues of major public concern. In addition, London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for an interim report on the fire to be published this summer. "People deserve answers. The inquiry will give them that," said May, the Conservative leader who set aside her efforts to form a new government Thursday to visit the scene of the blaze. An angry crowd confronted Khan as he visited the high-rise. "How many children died? What are you going to do about it?" asked 7-year-old Kai Ramos. As the boy pressed, the Labour politician pledged to get answers. The tower is in the North Kensington neighborhood, a working-class, multi-ethnic area next to some of the richest neighborhoods in Britain. Some observers asked whether hazards in the Grenfell complex, which had 120 apartments that housed as many as 600 people, were ignored because its residents are mainly poor. A tenant group had complained for years about the risk of a fire in the building, owned by the local government in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Fire safety engineers were stunned at how rapidly the fire spread, engulfing the building in less than an hour in the middle of the night and preventing firefighters from reaching many people inside. Some jumped to their deaths rather than face the flames, and witnesses reported seeing small children thrown from the tower by their families in a desperate bid to survive. Firefighters trying to race into the building were protected from the falling debris by police officers who placed riot shields over their heads. Queen Elizabeth II praised the firefighters' bravery, and their commissioner noted the trauma they had seen. One officer was in tears after seeing someone plunge out a window, Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton told Sky News. "We like to think of ourselves as 'roughty, toughty' and heroes they are heroes but they have feelings. People were absolutely devastated by yesterday's events," Cotton said. Some parts of the tower were unsafe for firefighters to enter Thursday, so the fire department worked with structural engineers to shore it up so crews could conduct thorough searches for victims, Cotton said. Specially trained dogs were being brought in to aid the search. Police were unsure whether they would even be able to identify everyone. In addition to those killed, ambulance crews took 74 people to hospitals after the fire. Thirty were still hospitalized on Thursday, with 15 in critical condition. One of the first victims was identified Mohammed Alhaj Ali, a 23-year-old Syrian refugee studying in London and hoping to return to help his war-torn country. Fears grew for others, such as Bassem Choukeir, his wife Nadia, her mother Sariyya and the couple's three daughters Mirna, Fatmeh and Zaynab. They lived on the 22nd floor, and the Lebanese Embassy has listed them as missing. Families were also concerned about two young Italian architects who were missing. Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi, both 27, lived on the 23rd floor. "The flames are in the living room. There are flames around us," Trevisan told her mother in a farewell phone call thanking her for all she had done, family lawyer Maria Cristina Sandrin said. Gottardi told his father in separate calls that suffocating smoke in the stairs kept them inside their apartment and awaiting rescue. Authorities have refused to speculate on what could have started the blaze. But the focus has turned to renovations completed last year that added decorative touches to the building. The project included installing insulated exterior cladding, double-glazed windows and a communal heating system. "Some very hard questions have to be asked, and some very hard questions must be answered" about the cladding, building regulations, fire protections and more, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said. "Every single person that lives in a high rise apartment today is going to be thinking, 'How safe am I?'" Britain's government has ordered checks at towers going through similar renovations, and some London neighborhood authorities said Thursday they'd do extra fire-safety assessments at public housing high-rises. More than 1 million pounds ($1.27 million) has been raised to help victims of the fire. Volunteers and charities worked through the night to find shelter, food and clothes for people who had lost everything. By Thursday, community centers had been so overwhelmed by food and clothing donations that they started turning away new donations. St. Clement's Notting Dale, a church near the tower, was turned into an informal center for people searching for missing friends and family. Signs bearing a missing persons' hotline number were tied to a fence. By the church's front door, residents taped signs looking for information about Khadija Saye, last seen on the 20th floor, and Mariem Elggwahry, last seen on the 19th floor at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. At Latymer Community Church a few blocks away, messages of hope and condolences were written on a board in English, Arabic and Spanish. "Praying for auntie," one message read. In a wide-ranging alliance to treat a variety of metabolic illnesses, the University of California San Diego has entered into a five-year-partnership with Janssen Pharmaceuticals. The partnership with Janssen, a subsidiary of medical products giant Johnson & Johnson, will address obesity, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), metabolic liver disease and related conditions, said Dr. Jerrold Olefsky, associate dean for scientific affairs at UC San Diego School of Medicine. It starts July 1. The goal is to meld each partners expertise in different scientific disciplines to discover the factors that drive disease progression, identify clinically useful biomarkers, therapeutic targets and new gastric bypass procedures, Olefsky said. Advertisement Janssen is contributing a substantial amount of money, he said, declining to be more specific. The money will pay for expenses such as lab technicians, research fellows, analysts, and supplies. Janssen will also contribute its medicinal chemistry resources, such as screening compounds for potential efficacy, he said. Much of that work requires instruments and tools that academic researchers may not have. They may have some kind of genetically manipulated mouse that we would like to have and they would send it to us, Olefsky said. Theres lots of ways they would provide help. UCSD provides its own academic expertise and clinical resources, Olefsky said. The university recently established a research center on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a widespread condition that often goes without symptoms. It can lead to NASH, and in the worst cases, progress to cirrhosis and liver failure. The partnership will include visits by Janssen scientists to UCSD, where they can work with their collaborators, learn certain scientific techniques pertinent to the research, and share ideas, he said. We want to make this as integrated as possible, he said. A joint steering committee composed of equal numbers of Janssen and UCSD representatives will govern the partnership. Ownership of intellectual property such as patents will go to either partner or both according to established procedures. All of the research performed by UCSD can be published, Olefsky said, although Janssen will have the right to view it before publication to identify anything that should be patented. Olefskys own research has drawn Janssens interest, including a 2014 study Olefsky led found that obesity-related diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome are triggered by a lack of oxygen in adipose cells. Janssen has also collaborated with Olefsky to identify compounds to provide new approaches to halting insulin resistance and the diseases it triggers. Science Playlist On Now In a first, scientists rid human embryos of a potentially fatal gene mutation by editing their DNA On Now Space station flyovers visible from San Diego this week 0:55 On Now UCSD's 'ghost drivers' begin testing people's reaction seemingly empty cars 1:29 On Now 10 interesting facts about Mars On Now Kids can add years to your life On Now LA 90: SpaceX launches recycled rocket On Now Big passions, big giving: Malin Burnham 2:30 On Now Big passions, big giving: Darlene Shiley 2:40 On Now Big passions, big giving: Joan and Irwin Jacobs 2:45 On Now Ocean temperatures warming at rapid rate, study finds bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1020 Nearly 7,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers who own or lease clean-energy vehicles will soon receive a $200 credit on their residential utility bills. The credits are part of the California Air Resources Boards efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will go to customers who enrolled in the Electric Vehicle Climate Credit Program by the May 31 deadline. For those owners of all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids who missed the deadline, SDG&E says they can apply next year. The credit program is scheduled to run through 2020 and the $200 credit can be applied to each clean-energy vehicle that a customer owns or leases. Advertisement When our customers plug in to charge their cars, they are using some of the cleanest energy available in the state because 43 percent of SDG&Es electricity supply comes from renewables, John Sowers, SDG&E senior vice president of asset management, said in a statement. The credits are applied to residential owners of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, not to commercial fleets. The money for the program comes from the sale of low-carbon fuel credits administered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) under the agencys Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program. But some critics are not enamored with the idea. This is a slick way to tax people who dont have electric cars and give money to people who do have electric cars, said Adrian Moore, vice president of policy at the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation, which advocates free-market economic policies. The $200 credit adds to a series of incentives California policymakers have adopted to entice car buyers to purchase or lease vehicles that meet the states definition of a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV). The state offers rebates of $2,500 for battery electric vehicles, $1,500 for plug-in hybrids and $5,000 for hydrogen fuel cell cars, such as the Toyota Mirai. The state also grants stickers that allow owners of ZEVs to drive in the high-occupancy-vehicle lane on the freeway, even if they are traveling alone. The federal government offers tax credits for clean-air vehicles of up to $7,500. If you think about what the average person spends on gas every year, a $200 credit is not much of an incentive to buy an electric vehicle, Moore said. Helen Gao, communications manager at SDG&E, said the transportation sector accounts for the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. According to CARB, transportation is responsible for 37 percent of total emissions. If we reduce emissions, we help clean the air and we also help the cities and local governments here meet their climate action goals, Gao said. Its estimated there are more than 24,000 drivers of clean-energy vehicles in the San Diego region and SDG&E said about 6,900 of those will receive the $200 credit, which they can expect to see within the next two months. For electric and plug-in hybrid owners who may have missed this years deadline, SDG&E has set up an interest list on its website: www.sdge.com/evcc. Drivers have to enroll each year to received the $200 credit, even those who are receiving a credit this year. In addition to the electric vehicle credit, SDG&E also issues what is known as the California Climate Credit to residential and small-business customers that totals $59.24 for the year. The climate credit comes from payments made by the states greenhouse gas emitters, including power plants, who are required to buy carbon pollution permits at the cap-and-trade auctions run by CARB. Business rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski ALSO Electric vehicles see a boost in early year sales in California Clunkers for ZEVs? Bill aims to boost sales of clean cars in California Conking out: Why low-emissions vehicles sales are sluggish Some parents in the San Dieguito Union High School District are protesting what they say are inferior facilities and resources for special education students. The flash point for their complaint is a transitional program for developmentally disabled students ages 18 to 22 on the grounds of Earl Warren Middle School. The program is housed in new portable classrooms that parents say contrast starkly with well-lit modern buildings on the newly rebuilt campus. Superintendent Eric Dill said the intent was to give the young-adult program its own space, separate from the middle school students. The portable units are similar to those used for general education students on campuses such as La Costa Canyon High School and Carmel Valley Middle School, he said. Advertisement Parents have also complained that the district lacks a coherent curriculum to prepare special education students for independent life and employment after high school. Dill said the district is reorganizing its special education services and has recently hired some new administrators with specific experience in special education. Last week, about 50 parents concerned about the situation rallied outside a San Dieguito school board meeting. A parent later presented the board with a 50-page petition detailing the groups concerns, and requested a plan for improvements within 60 days. If that doesnt work, the parents said they plan to file a formal complaint. School Board President Amy Herman said some of the concerns were new to the district, and that she takes them seriously. I want to state unequivocally that it is not our intent to treat our special education students in an inequitable manner, Herman said in an e-mail to the Union-Tribune. The board was not aware of many of the concerns that were shared with us on on Thursday at our our board meeting, or that were outlined in the petition given to us that night. Although there are many issues to address, I am committed to working cooperatively with our special education families and district staff to come up with possible solutions, Herman said. Parents said long-standing misgivings about the districts special education program came to a head after they saw the new classrooms for the transitional program. They had previously received assurances that students would receive a state of the art facility, said Lucile Lynch, whose twin 18-year-old sons are in special education in the district. The districts response was to replace the old portables with new ones and move them to a segregated location tucked behind the Earl Warren Middle Campus, Lynch said. The portable units are larger than the previous buildings, she said, but have few windows, leading some parents to compare them to cargo containers. Instead of natural light, Lynch said, they have fluorescent lighting, which can create a subtle distraction for students with autism and other developmental disabilities. A private sensory room, intended to create a quiet, calming space, also lacks windows, she said. In one of the classrooms, a bathroom opens directly into a kitchenette used to teach cooking and other household skills. Lynch and other parents said the buildings compare poorly to general education facilities on the Earl Warren campus that feature spacious classrooms with natural light. They say the disparity constitutes a separate and unequal learning environment for students in special education. Dill said seventh- and eighth-grade special education students will attend class in the new permanent buildings on the main campus, and be included in general education as much as possible. As for the transitional programs portable structures, theyre not old, dilapidated classrooms, Dill said. They were recently purchased and installed in that location. He acknowledged parents concern about natural lighting, however, and said the district is trying to fix that. If theres one thing where they fell short it was in the number of windows that were ordered, Dill said. The reason for that is that were running a lot of power and data into the classrooms. Now were re-configuring the infrastructure in the walls to provide the same power and bandwidth that we need, but also to provide for windows. Lynch and other parents said special education students at the districts middle schools and high schools arent getting a structured curriculum and lack access to general education classes and activities. Thats just a general lack of inclusion that goes on, said parent Melanie Landers, whose son has high-functioning autism and now attends private school. (In the San Dieguito district) there is no curriculum for special education students from seventh to twelfth grade. Theres no consistency, theres no accountability. Lynch said parents are requesting a set of measures that could improve, if not entirely resolve, their concerns. In addition to adding more windows and better bathroom access, they want the district as an interim measure to add a third portable classroom to accommodate an additional teacher and students. Theyre also asking the district to adopt standardized special education curriculum and offer more electives and job training. And they want students to be welcomed into mainstream electives and activities. Dill said the new assistant principals at La Costa Canyon High School and Carmel Valley Middle and Pacific Trails Middle Schools have worked as special education teachers, and the new principal at Earl Warren has both taught and supervised special education. Can we improve on functional life skills and other courses for students who might not be diploma-bound? he asked. Absolutely, we can always improve our curriculum and instruction. Those are the things we are going to move forward with new leadership at that level. Dill said he would review the list of issues the parents submitted and look for solutions. We will certainly take those concerns seriously and work to improve our programs to support successful student outcomes, he said. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan CHICAGO Illinois Republicans have presented what they're calling a "compromise" budget and reform plan to end the state's nearly three-year budget impasse. It was a familiar refrain Wednesday with Republicans presenting an outline for a four-year property tax freeze, term limits and pension reform, among other things. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said that with those changes, Republicans will agree to a four-year income tax increase. But Democrats running the Legislature have said they've already considered and passed several of the reforms. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has pushed for them since taking office in 2015. Republicans say Democratic efforts fall short. The new fiscal year starts July 1. The Senate passed a $37 billion budget that includes a tax increase. The House adjourned May 31 without considering it. People concerned about gang-related crime in Vista are invited to attend a town hall meeting Thursday evening hosted by the North County Gang Commission. The event comes as gang prosecutors are seeing a high number of graffiti, drug and property crimes in the city, said Deputy District Attorney Laurie Hauf. There has also been recent gang violence near transit areas and in neighborhoods. Wed like to talk to the Vista community to see what their thoughts are and any suggestions that they have, said Hauf, who also chairs the gang commission. Advertisement The commission whose mission is to prevent, disrupt and dismantle gang activity also wants to hear from people who have experienced gang problems. Vistas gang problem reaches outside the city. With roughly 200 gang members and no rivals in town, people in the gang often head into neighboring North County communities for confrontations. The town hall will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, 600 N. Santa Fe Ave. Childcare and Spanish translation services will be provided. After the town hall, parents will be able to sign up their children for summer programs. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT Loving beer, craving waves Summer time, and the brewing is easy for Josh Schaner. The 27-year-old surfer is head brewer at Pizza Port Solana Beach, a five-minute walk from Fletcher Cove. Q. What beers do you grab after an afternoon spent carving waves? A. Perfect beers after a surf sesh? A Kolsch, a pale ale, a dry IPA, blonde ales, maybe even a nice kettle sour. Something light bodied and refreshing. Nice hoppiness and not too much in abv (alcohol by volume), so you can have a few! Advertisement Q. Pizza Port pumps out a tsunami of ocean-themed beers, everything from Shark Bite to Swamis. Whats your favorite? A. Ponto Session IPA. This beer is perfect for a hot summer beach day: light-bodied, low abv, nice hoppiness. Whether the waves are mackin or the sun is blasting at Ponto Beach, this crisp and hoppy session IPA always does the trick. Q. What would be your perfect day on a local beach? A. It would probably take place here in Solana. I would definitely have my dog with me, a surfboard or two, a small ice chest with a few cans and a growler of fresh brew. Sun is out, waves are firing, everyone else is at work or on some other beach! Kings of Beer For me, Saint Archers Tusk & Grain got off to a raw start. My palate found No. 01 the inaugural offering in this series of barrel-aged beers too sweet and too boozy. (And perhaps too young. I was advised this imperial stout would mellow with time.) But Greg Peters, the brewing wizard behind T&G, kept refining and experimenting. His latest entries are more polished and satisfying. Take, for instance, this weeks King. Tusk & Grain Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy (11.32 percent alcohol by volume) begins with a rich, malty Scottish style then adds toasted hazelnuts and cacao nibs. Still plenty potent, this Wee Heavy is balanced, kept upright by its finely calibrated blend of whiskey-like mash, nuts and bittersweet chocolate. Unlike last weeks King, Telegraphs Reserve Wheat Ale (5 percent), this is a robe-and-slippers beer, ideal as a nightcap. Reserve Wheat, a Berliner weisse from Santa Barbara, is tart, funky and light enough to be a midday refreshment. Conscious Consumer How do small, independent local breweries stand out in a marketplace increasingly dominated by ales and lagers from multinational behemoths? One way: labeling their beers as the products of small, independent local outfits. Its all about education, said Jill Davidson, president of the San Diego Brewers Guild. Just getting the word out. For its Conscious Consumer campaign, the guild is giving member breweries and affiliates window clings, advertising their support for this group. Also in the works: tap danglers, little signs for taps dispensing beer made in San Diego by breweries based in San Diego and owned by San Diegans. Identifying truly local breweries can be confusing, Davidson noted. Some San Diego breweries are owned by out-of-town interests Saint Archer by MillerCoors, for instance, and Ballast Point by Constellation Brands. The new 10 Barrel brewpub in East Village is a link in the global Anheuser-Busch InBev chain. In the wake of this changing landscape, Davidson said, we felt it was important to have more transparency to support our local members. Best of the week, local Lets get this summer started with a beer-focused party or four: 1. San Diego International Beer Festival, the West Coasts largest B.F., will host five sessions Friday through Sunday at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, plus a beer dinner Thursday night. More than 200 breweries pouring more than 400 beers our mugs overflow. Tickets, $55 to $110, are sold at sandiegobeerfestival.com or at the door. 2. The San Diego-Tijuana Japan Societys 15th annual Beer & Sake Festival, kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday. Held at Harrahs Southern California Resort, 777 Harrahs Rincon Way, Valley Center, it will feature beer and sake duh plus sushi and demonstrations of tuna-slicing and samurai dueling. Tickets, $40 to $120, can be found at japan-society.org. 3. The Tony Gwynn 5.5 K honors Mr. Padre, the late batting champion whose hits often split the 5.5 hole between third base and shortstop. The 8 a.m. race begins and ends at AleSmith Brewing, 9990 AleSmith Court, San Diego. Register at the brewery or online at tonygwynn5k.org entrance fees are $25 to $100, although the kids 200-meter dash, 9:45 a.m., is free. 4. Neighborhood will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a block party on Eighth Avenue between Market and G streets, Saturday, 1 to 6 p.m. Craft beer, craft cocktails, food and music, the latter from rapper Talib Kweli, are on the menu. Tickets, $45, are available at eventbrite.com. Pro tip This summer, Im collecting beer recommendations from the pros people who work on the beach. Abby Kelm, its your turn: Since we are right on the beach, weve got the beautiful boardwalk and ocean view and youre sitting in the sun, a lot of people like lighter beers, said Kelm, 27, a bartender at Pacific Beachs JRDN. St. Archer Blonde, a Kolsch, is light and easy sipping, not too heavy. And a lot of people, since they are in San Diego, want one of our IPAs. Latitude 33 Blood Orange IPA has a little sweetness on the end, and its from Vista so its local. Beer Videos Twitter: @peterroweut peter.rowe@sduniontribune.com Was the pistachio ice cream you ate growing up neon green? If so, then you clearly werent eating real pistachio gelato. Authentic pistachio is the palest of greens, getting its color from just-finely-ground nuts. Technicolor pistachio gets it tint from, well, were not sure, but we know we dont want to eat it. Back away from the grocery store ice cream aisle, San Diego. Theres never been a better time to indulge in gelato, the ultra-creamy, intensely flavored frozen treat imported from Italy and now made throughout the county. Advertisement From Carlsbad to Little Italy, La Jolla to Rancho San Diego, homemade artisan gelato frozen in Italian is being created in small batches, with most made exclusively from organic, local, super-fresh ingredients. Significantly lower in butterfat than ice cream from 0 to 8 percent on average, versus 10 to 18 percent or higher gelato is churned with less air, so its unexpectedly denser and richer in the mouth. A little goes a long way. And while its not quite health food, well make the case that the way its crafted at a premium shop, with just a handful of ingredients, gelato needs to be your go-to dessert of the summer. Or year-round, like the Italians. As a food, gelato is as important in Italy as pizza and spaghetti, said Marco Saba, co-owner of Bobboi Natural Gelato, a 3-year-old shop in La Jolla. Gelato is the king of all desserts. With his partner Andrea Racca, Saba demonstrated to the Union-Tribune what goes into Bobbois gelato and what doesnt. 1 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Pistachio gelato going into flash freeze. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Fresh fruit are the key ingredients in the gelato. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Owners Marco Saba on the left and Andrea Racca on the right pouring gelato out of machine. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Co-owner Andrea Racca pours gelato into a container. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. The gelato comes out of machine, ready for flash freeze. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Simple ingredients make the pistachio gelato. Milk, sugar, pistachios, water and salt. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Owners Andrea Racca on the left and Marco Saba on the right inside their kitchen. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Message reads in front of store. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Logo os business. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Co-owner Marco Saba hands a gelato sample. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Pistachio gelato served. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Owners Andrea Racca on the left and Marco Saba on the right inside their kitchen preparing for a mango gelato. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Many flavors available. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 14 San Diego, California, USA, May 25th, 2017: | Bobboi Natural Gelato is a real Italian style gelato parlor located in La Jolla. Bobboi makes gelato from scratch every day, using local fresh and organic raw materials. Co-owner Marco Saba serving inside the store. | Alejandro Tamayo The San Diego Union Tribune 2017 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) The recipe for mango sorbetto (sorbet), for example, calls for 50 percent fresh Mexican Ataulfo mango, water and sugar, but no dairy, so its vegan. After 10 minutes in the Italian-made gelato machine, it comes out creamier and more vibrant tasting than any frozen fruit-water should be. The pistachio is equally simple milk, cream, sugar, California pistachios and a touch of sea salt. (See recipes for make-at-home gelato below.) The taste is anything but; emerging nearly white from the gelato machine, the pistachio was luscious and complex. Pistachio is the benchmark flavor for judging a gelateria, as well as stracciatella, Racca said, referring to the creamy white gelato with little shreds of chocolate throughout. The partners, who are from the Sardinia, are committed to the same ethos that drives top-notch chefs its fresh, its on the menu. The secret of a good gelato, a good sorbetto, is the right choice of ingredients, Saba said. We dont go and buy whatever we find at the market. If its not right, if we dont like the ingredient, we make something else. On the day of recent visit, flavors included the familiar, like chocolate hazelnut, salted caramel and coconut, as well as the unique Meyer lemon and sage, blueberry and lavender and orange and ginger. In fact, most local gelaterias are experimenting with flavors that are way outside the supermarket ice cream box. You might find mojito or strawberry basil at Nado Gelato in Coronado and at EscoGelato in Escondido, there might be apricot goat cheese or sour cream brown sugar. To the owners of Bobboi, who worked together at a gelateria when they were kids in Italy, the flavors themselves arent as important as the reaction they get from customers. Making gelato is second career for them, Saba was a tax attorney and Racca, who has a business degree from the University of San Diego, was an executive at a wholesale electrical products company. We wanted to do something for smiles, Racca said. We made people miserable with our work before and one day I said (to Saba), I just want to go back to La Jolla and open a gelateria. Now were making people happy. Bobboi Natural Gelato, 8008 Girard Ave., La Jolla. (858) 999-1362 or bobboi.com. The Sweet 6 A select list of other artisan gelato makers in San Diego: Pappalecco: The ever-expanding local chain of cafes, which proudly proclaims to use only five ingredients in each its gelatos, now has five locations (Hillcrest, Kensington, Little Italy, Del Mar and Cardiff). Order yours in a cup, cone, stuffed in a croissant or affogato (drowned) in espresso. pappalecco.com. EscoGelato: Owner and Escondido native Suzanne Schaffner said the secret to her gelatos success is its freshness. Its never more than two days old in the case. You make and it and you serve it right away, she said. Want to know where Escos ingredients come from? The farms it sources from are listed on the website. 122 S Kalmia St., Escondido. (760) 745-6500 or escogelato.com. Herb + Eatery: Not hand-scooped, but handmade and sold in pint containers at this marketplace attached to Herb +Wood. Flavors vary based on what theyre making at the restaurant. Last week there was matcha, black currant, vanilla bean, Turkish coffee blackberry. Alas, no thyme and black pepper. 2210 Kettner Blvd., Little Italy. (619) 794-2790 or herbandeatery.com. Nado Gelato: This all-natural gelateria from Bottega Italiana (which also has a location at Westfield UTC and sells at various stores and restaurants in San Diego) has 60 flavors rotating through its artisanal arsenal. Nearly half are dairy free and the cream-based lineup taps into traditional Italian tastes (panna cotta, mascarpone) and all-American (pumpkin, peanut butter). 1017 C Ave., Coronado. (619) 522-9053 or bottegaitaliana.com. Gaia Gelato: Run by cousins Cristina Amoroso and Paola Richard who also come from Italy and also made a dramatic career change Gaia exudes Roman authenticity. Small batches of gelato, from whiskey and cream to Nutella and Italian coffee, are made daily and not sold after 24 hours. 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad. (442) 500 8231 or gaiagelato.com. Dolci Cafe Italiano: A popular neighborhood Italian restaurant that makes its own gelato from scratch, Dolci creates a dozen flavors that lean heavily on the classics: tiramisu, chocolate hazelnut, caramel and pistachio. Dont worry if youre not hungry for a full meal, you can still come in just for gelato. 2650 Jamacha Road, Rancho San Diego. (619) 660-2013 or dolcicafeitaliano.com Bobbois Simple Secrets For those with home gelato makers, Bobboi owners Andrea Racca and Marco Saba shared their recipe for pistachio and mango gelato. Each recipe yields about two pints of gelato. ORGANIC PISTACHIO GELATO Ingredients 2 cups organic whole milk 1/3 cup organic heavy whipping cream 1 cup organic evaporated cane sugar 1 cup organic roasted pistachio kernels 1/3 tsp. Mediterranean sea salt (dont use if pistachios come salted) Directions Pour milk and cream in a pan and warm. Mix sugar and salt in a bowl and pour in the warm milk and cream. Mix and bring to 150 degrees. Take off the heat and let the mix rest for four hours. When cool, pour in a blender and mix pistachios at max speed for one minute. Pour mix in an ice-cream or gelato machine for about half hour. ORGANIC ATAULFO MANGO GELATO Ingredients 1 pound organic Ataulfo mango pulp 1 cup organic evaporated cane sugar 10 oz. water Directions (Note: For one pound of mango pulp you will need about two pounds of whole mangoes, about five mangoes. Mangoes must be ripe with a warm yellow to orange pulp.) Mix pulp with water and sugar in a blender. Blend until you get a smooth mix. Pour mix in an ice cream or gelato machine for about half hour. Food & Wine Videos Twitter: @sdeditgirl michele.parente@sduniontribune.com Moonlight Stage Production opened its 2017 season Wednesday with a series of firsts. The Disney-born rock opera Aida is the first show of the summer season; this is the musicals first staging at the Vista amphitheater; and its the first Moonlight production to feature a cast made up almost exclusively of people of color. But the opening night audience on Wednesday clearly witnessed another first: the sexiest onstage coupling in a Moonlight production this reviewer has seen in more than 20 years. Co-stars Daebreon Poiema and Richard Bermudez, who play the star-crossed lovers Aida and Radames, steam up the stage with their romantic chemistry. One passionate kissing scene conducted near the front rows brought gasps, embarrassed giggles and hearty hoots of encouragement from the crowd. Advertisement First produced in 1999, Aida is based on the 1871 Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The victorious Egyptian general Radames is betrothed to the princess Amneris, but falls in love instead with her slave, Aida, who is secretly the princess of Nubia, a rival African country. The musical adaptation features a score by Elton John and Tim Rice. Johns signature songwriting style start quiet with piano, then sweep to a high-note crescendo can be heard in many of the numbers. And the more dramatic talk/sung numbers bear a strong lyrical resemblance to Rices work with Andrew Lloyd Webber in Jesus Christ Superstar. The ballads and duets have fared well with time, but some of the ensemble numbers and orchestration feel like theyre stuck in the 80s. Director/choreographer John Vaughan has modernized what he can, particularly with his African- and Middle Eastern-inspired choreography and his cast, which is almost entirely actors of color. Aida is rarely staged because its vocal demands are so specific. You need multi-octave, rock-trained voices that can belt to the extreme. Fortunately, Poiema and Bermudez are more than up to the task. Virtually unrecognizable from her starring turn in last seasons Sister Act, Poiema acts with subtlety and naturalism and her vocal beauty is unmatched. The ultra-fit (and often bare-chested) Bermudez a Moonlight veteran who continues to grow in vocal power and technique easily navigates the tortuous score and never misses a note. Theyre well-matched in song and romance. Vista-raised Bets Malone stars in the tricky role of Amneris, a character who transitions in two hours from ditzy, fashion-obsessed teen to mature, benevolent queen. Malone is a fine actor and vocal interpreter and shes very funny in her characters comic scenes. Yet while she sings well in the lower-range solo Every Story is a Love story that opens and closes the show, some of the higher notes in her first-act number My Strongest Suit sounded shrill. Theres nice support work from vocalists Terrance Spencer and Gabrielle Jackson as the Nubian slaves Mereb and Nehebka, as well as big-voiced Bill Ledesma as Radames father, Zoser. Conductor and musical director Lyndon Pugeda had his work cut out for him with the hard-charging score, but the orchestra and vocal ensemble sounded crisp. The productions design team includes lighting by Jean-Yves Tessier and sound by Jim Zadai. The rented costumes (coordinated and executed by by Carlotta Malone, Roslyn Lehman and Renetta Lloyd) and sets have a look that blends antiquity with futurism. Aida isnt a perfect musical. Although much of the music is beautiful, some numbers are cheesy and over-dramatic. Still, theres no denying the talent onstage and the progressive thinking of Moonlights artistic team, which continues to push boundaries with new musicals and fresh ideas. Every show this season, and the just-announced 2018 season, are new to the Moonlight stage. Still to come this summer: Disneys The Little Mermaid (July 19-Aug. 5), Andrew Lloyd Webbers Sunset Boulevard (Aug. 16-Sept. 2) and Lin-Manuel Mirandas In the Heights. Next summers shows are Mamma Mia, Disneys Newsies, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Chicago. Aida When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays, through July 1. Where: Moonlight Amphitheatre, Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista. Tickets: $23-$55, reserved. $17-$22, lawn seating. Phone: 760-724-2110 Online: moonlightstage.com pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com. Twitter: @pamkragen A nine-month old baby was killed on Wednesday afternoon in eastern Tijuana when a man stabbed the childs mother and her three children, according to preliminary information from Tijuana Municipal Police. The incident occurred in Terrazas del Valle, a low-income neighborhood on Tijuanas eastern outskirts off the free road to Tecate. The suspect was the biological father of one of the children and the stepfather of the two others, according to the police report. The man, who was not identified, was in custody Wednesday evening. Advertisement The baby was declared dead at a nearby clinic. According to a report in the newspaper Frontera, the suspect is the father of the oldest of the three children, while the two younger ones are offspring of the womans new partner. The report said that the suspect tried to flee the scene, but was caught by neighborhood residents, who turned him over to police. sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com @sandradibble Steve Zimmer is about to lose his seat on the Los Angeles school board, but he pulled off an 11th-hour political triumph by engineering a contract extension for Supt. Michelle King. The move means that the new school board, the first with a majority supported by charter school backers, will inherit a longer commitment to King, whose performance as superintendent has received mixed reviews. The new charter-friendly majority came after the most expensive school board election in U.S. history. Charter supporters saw the election as a way to make fundamental changes in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which already has more charters than any other district. Advertisement But a debate has long raged about whether the explosive growth of charter schools does long-term harm to the traditional school system and students who remain in it. Critics say the decision on future leadership of L.A. Unified should have been left to the newly reconstituted board, which takes charge in July. Supporters of the action call it a reward for a job well done that will ensure needed stability in the nations second-largest school system. The boards action, by a 6-1 vote, extended Kings contract two years, until the end of June 2020. Kings extension comes after a bitter campaign face-off with backers of charter schools on one side and allies of the teachers union on the other. When the mudslinging and vote counting ended, charter-friendly political newcomers Nick Melvoin and Kelly Gonez were victors. But before they could take office, the current board majority, which has concerns about unlimited charter growth, had one or two last chances to get things done. The most daring move Tuesday was Kings contract extension. The internal debate took place in a closed session that began at 9 a.m. and ran until nearly 3 p.m., delaying the start of the regular public meeting by two hours. Kings future was far from the only topic the board also discussed hires and lawsuits. Board members eventually emerged in public, but they withheld the announcement about King until 11 p.m., after the regular meeting ended. King expressed gratitude for the boards action in a statement Tuesday but left the board meeting without taking questions from reporters. The prolonged sessions dampened what was supposed to be an important public hearing on the $7.5-billion budget, which is scheduled for a vote next week. Even though the district faces critical questions over its solvency, the board never truly uncorked that topic. And most public speakers had given up and gone home by 10:30 p.m., when the board belatedly asked for input, hours after the scheduled time. To some degree, Kings extension is symbolic. Her contract guarantees only a 90-day severance. It also sets a maximum severance of one year of pay or the remainder of her contract, whichever is less. Kings salary is $350,000 per year. But the deal was fully intended to bind the new board to King, according to a district insider who was not authorized to speak on the record. When you know you will not have control, you stop others from making their moves quickly, the source said. We know what we have. What will we get if they do a buyout and bring in their own person? The board still could make such a change, the source said, but the argument has to be stronger. Theres precedent for an outgoing board to extend a superintendents contract, but it didnt end well. In 1999, the board extended the contract of Supt. Ruben Zacarias. Then three new board members joined the seven-member body. The new majority replaced Zacarias within months and had to pay a larger buyout because of the extension. The new majority in that case justified its action by saying Zacarias was unable to handle a crisis in the school construction program. A crisis real, perceived or manufactured is a handy tool in such situations. In 2006, a differently configured board acted quickly to limit the options of successors. Board members at that time worried that L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was about to take control of the school system. They wanted to put a superintendent in place before he could choose his own person. The political uncertainty limited the field of applicants and may have rushed the process. Retired Navy Vice Adm. David Brewer got the job, and Villaraigosa never obtained direct control but he helped elect board members who, two years later, successfully pushed to buy out Brewers contract. As in many large urban school systems, churn at the top is pretty much constant, exacerbating problems, said David Rattray, executive vice president of the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce. Each time you get a new superintendent, theres just this tremendous turmoil that is generated for one or two years, Rattray said. The superintendent of such a large district starts becoming more impactful in their second, third and fourth year. Thats when they start to develop their momentum. Still, critics including Melvoin, who replaces Zimmer in July said the decision was the new boards to make. I was surprised they didnt defer any action on contracts, Melvoin said. Its something I do think well revisit given the incoming boards charge to evaluate the superintendent. Gonez declined to comment. Both she and Melvoin said theyve had positive meetings with King since the May election. The California Charter Schools Assn., however, did not mince words. Yesterdays vote was clearly a power play by the outgoing board, led by Steve Zimmer, to tie the hands of new board members mere days before they take office, the group said. The association, while it did not criticize King, said the boards action underscored the need for new leadership. Charters are privately operated public schools. Most are nonunion. Under California law, the school district is required to authorize charter schools. But charter growth has exacerbated district financial strains because most education funding follows the student. Concern over the budget motivated outgoing board member Monica Ratliff to support the extension. She spoke of the need to have a calm environment as we go into these difficult budget times. Board member Monica Garcia, who cast the lone no vote, expressed confidence in King in a statement Tuesday but added, it is my view that she is best affirmed by that new board. Garcia and Ref Rodriguez are expected to be part of the new charter-friendly majority. Rodriguez also expressed qualms about the timing but endorsed King. I believed it was important to show my support for her and the work she has done, Rodriguez said. The performance of King, a career district employee, never became an issue in the recent election, but L.A. Unified itself was on trial in the campaign. This was particularly true in District 4, which stretches from the Westside to the west San Fernando Valley. Two-term incumbent Zimmer, the school board president, was targeted by charter backers in a campaign that portrayed the district as woeful and blamed him for all its woes. In his campaign, and in his justification for Tuesdays action, Zimmer spoke of an improving school system that has advanced markedly under King. He cited three examples. The first was Kings shepherding of district resources to get record numbers of students to graduate. The second was her focus on improving the skills of students still learning English. The third was her role in the districts unwavering support of families with immigrants in the face of increased pressure from the Trump administration. A statement from Zimmer added another point of praise for Kings support of restorative justice, which is aimed at ending suspensions and expulsions by improving counseling and developing students senses of citizenship and personal responsibility. The performance of the superintendent has been extraordinary in ways that we expected and ways that we havent expected, Zimmer said. We really do see this district as on the right track, and we want to endorse that track. Most of the efforts cited have critics as well as champions either of the ideas themselves or how theyve been executed. Politics are always at play, said UCLA education professor Tyrone Howard. Folks want to see their people kept in places where they can support a particular issue or agenda. Even with a new contract, of course, he said of King, that doesnt make her exempt from any kind of removal. howard.blume@latimes.com Twitter: @howardblume anna.phillips@latimes.com Twitter: @annamphillips The fight over what to do with Columbus Day in Los Angeles is heading for a showdown at the City Council one that has already exposed lingering wounds over race, oppression and national identity. The councils Rules, Elections, Intergovernmental Relations and Neighborhoods Committee unanimously endorsed a proposal this week to take Columbus Day off the city calendar and put in its place a new Indigenous Peoples Day. The proposal, backed by Native American community leaders, would allow the city to acknowledge the contributions of indigenous, aboriginal and native people on the second Monday of October, currently a paid holiday for city workers. But it has drawn opposition from Italian American civic groups, who argue that their ancestors have also faced oppression and turned to Columbus Day as a way to recognize their heritage. Advertisement The disagreement between those two camps played out during a lengthy Wednesday night hearing. No one in the room spoke against the creation of Indigenous Peoples Day. Instead, the debate focused mostly on a symbolic question: Who loses out if Columbus Day is replaced with a celebration of something else? Councilman Mitch OFarrell, a member of the Wyandotte Nation originally from Oklahoma, said the change in holidays would provide a form of restorative justice to Native Americans. Replacing Columbus Day, he said, would provide a public acknowledgment that Christopher Columbus arrival in the 15th century set in motion the subjugation, enslavement and genocide of indigenous peoples across the Western Hemisphere. Its a really devastating history, he said. It was almost immediate subjugation and slavery. Councilman Joe Buscaino, a first-generation Italian American from San Pedro, promised to fight OFarrells proposal when it reaches the council and said this weeks committee vote made him embarrassed to be a council member. Buscaino has offered a counter-proposal to rename Columbus Day in the citys administrative code as Immigrant Heritage Day. He argued that OFarrells proposal would needlessly divide Angelenos at a time when inclusiveness is needed. I strongly support an Indigenous Peoples Day in the city of Los Angeles, but not at the expense of another culture or group of people, said the councilman, whose port district has a significant number of Italian American residents. To me, I feel like its removing Martin Luther King Day out of our books or removing Cesar Chavez Day, he said. Council President Herb Wesson, who heads the rules committee, spent much of this weeks meeting trying to find a solution where neither side would feel left out. He eventually acknowledged such a goal was not possible. There will be some people that will be unhappy, he said. Los Angeles provides its employees with 12 paid holidays a year, and the most recently added is Cesar Chavez Day, established in 2002. That year, city lawmakers considered replacing Columbus Day, which has been a federal holiday since the Great Depression, with Cesar Chavez Day. The council soon faced a backlash from Italian Americans, who called the proposal racist, and both holidays were allowed to coexist. If OFarrells proposal is approved by the council later this year, it would go into effect no later than 2019. Columbus Day would remain a national holiday. Several U.S. cities, including Seattle, Portland, Albuquerque and Denver, have already replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. Los Angeles has been discussing the idea for nearly two years. Buscaino suggested that Indigenous Peoples Day could be held in August or September. So far, three council members David Ryu, Gil Cedillo and Mitch Englander have signed on to his plan for Immigrant Heritage Day, arguing that Columbus Day is not so much about the Italian explorer as the fight for recognition by Italians and other immigrants. Ann Potenza, president of Federated Italo-Americans of Southern California, told council members that Italians who came to the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries also confronted slurs and injustices. Columbus Day, she said, let them know that its OK to come from another country, and the things that you contributed here are important. Potenza said she favors the idea of holding an Indigenous Peoples Day but not on the day currently reserved for Columbus Day. She said she prefers Buscainos alternative proposal. The councils rules committee proposed having Oct. 12 declared as an Italian American heritage day in Los Angeles but not as a city holiday. The panel also asked city officials to look into the possibility of creating a city holiday that would commemorate immigrants, diversity or possibly the concept of America. Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who serves on the committee, pointed out that an Immigrant Heritage Day would exclude two groups: African Americans and Native Americans. He and Wesson worried aloud that backers of President Trump would use the replacement of Columbus Day in Los Angeles to publicly sow divisions between different groups. It just destroys me, like somebody shooting gasoline in my veins, to give this administration anything else they can use to make people think its OK to look at us as if we dont belong here, Wesson said. OFarrell, for his part, compared his proposal to the recent removal of statues in parts of the South that recognize the Confederacy. Backers of OFarrells proposal said Columbus activities in the Caribbean, including his enslavement of Native Americans, should not be sanitized. We need this recognition, said Whittier resident Patricia Lopez, who serves on the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission. We need this day to heal. Rudy Ortega Jr., tribal president of the Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, said Native Americans have experienced numerous defeats, losing land, their water rights and much more. Passage of OFarrells proposal, he said, would allow the citys indigenous people to stand proud. We want one little victory, he said. david.zahniser@latimes.com Twitter: @DavidZahniser ALSO Goodbye, Columbus? L.A. councilman wants to establish Indigenous Peoples Day Opinion: Are you celebrating Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day? This is why we still have Columbus Day UPDATES: 6:00 p.m.: This article was updated with additional context and reaction. This article was originally published at 5 a.m. A Colorado man was convicted Thursday of kidnapping an intoxicated exchange student in Pacific Beach during New Years celebrations and raping her at knifepoint in his pickup. The San Diego Superior Court jury deliberated for just over half a day before reaching the guilty verdict against Jacob Skorniak, 51. The charges of rape, kidnapping with intent to commit rape and sexual penetration of an unconscious person, as well as allegations that include using a deadly weapon, could send him to prison for 81 years to life. For the record: A previous version of this story misidentified the date when the defendant was taking photos of women in swimsuits at a San Diego beach before the kidnapping and rape in Pacific Beach. It was Dec. 31, 2015. Before the attack, Skorniak had quit his job at a Colorado thrift store and spent several weeks traveling up and down the California coast, living out of his pickup, he testified. On Dec. 31, 2015, he spent time during the day at a San Diego beach taking dozens of photos of womens swimsuit-clad bodies. That night, he was driving around in Pacific Beach when he saw the 21-year-old German exchange student walking, and he offered her a ride, he testified. What happened next was a consensual sexual encounter, he said. Advertisement Deputy District Attorney Lisa Fox argued that was a lie. The only reason that happened was because she was terrified, there was a knife to her neck, Fox said in closing arguments Wednesday. The victim, who had been taking classes at San Diego State University, returned to Germany shortly after the attack and declined to come back to the U.S. to testify in the case. Prosecutors relied on physical evidence, her early statements to police, and testimony from her friends, family and other witnesses. On New Years Eve, the woman had gone to dinner with friends, then to a friends home and finally to a Mission Beach bar. The woman told police she consumed several drinks before she was attacked, including wine, champagne, gin and tequila. The victim had a blood-alcohol content of 0.09 percent when she was examined at a hospital about eight hours after the attack. Her blood-alcohol content was at least twice that amount when she met Skorniak, according to testimony. Shortly before midnight, the woman wasnt feeling well and took an Uber to go home while her friends continued on to another bar. The driver testified that the woman got out of the car a few blocks from her home, and she immediately threw up. She then told the driver: I walk. I walk. The woman told officers the next thing she remembered was being in the pickup with a stranger. She said he cut her clothes and held the knife near her head during the sexual assault. At one point, the woman unknowingly caused her cellphone to dial her familys number in Germany, causing her mother and father to hear every parents nightmare, Fox said. The victims father testified that he heard his daughter plead with someone not to hurt her, heard her whimper and cry, and heard what was clearly the sounds of sex. Her sister called the womans friends in San Diego and told them about the call. The friends called 911 and rushed to the victims home. A few hours later, around 3 a.m., Skorniak and the woman pulled up to a gas station, where he filled the tank and used the restroom. The victim motioned to an off-duty bouncer filling up at the gas station, told him her name and that she had been kidnapped. She did not get out of the vehicle. That person reported to police the license plate number of the pickup. Skorniak then drove the woman back to her home, dropping her off nearby. Police were outside her home by then, interviewing her friends. Skorniak was arrested in San Bernardino on Jan. 21, 2016. Officers found nine pairs of womens underwear in his truck, including the victims slashed pair, which he said he kept as souvenirs. He testified that he picked up the exchange student and began flirting with her. He took her to a secluded area and began kissing her before using a pocket knife to cut off her clothing. He said he did not smell alcohol on her. Skorniak said she did not resist during the sexual encounter but later freaked out and wanted to be driven home. He video recorded part of the incident, but he denied putting the knife to her neck. Defense attorney Kristin Scogin told the jury during closing arguments that the womans lack of testimony left a lot of holes in the story. Things arent adding up here, she said of the prosecutions theory. She said there was no evidence to suggest the woman was forced into Skorniaks truck, and the woman didnt get out of the pickup at the gas station when she could have. Scogin said Skorniaks 20-second video didnt show the woman pleading for help, and she told her friend not to call police. Skorniak will be back in court on July 12 for a hearing on how his prior convictions, including a 1995 robbery conviction out of Utah, might affect his sentence. dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @danalittlefield ALSO: Man accused of New Years Eve rape bound over for trial Victims relative overhears assault on cellphone Police search for accused Pacific Beach rapist The 14th Dalai Lama is a Nobel laureate and the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Hes also a box office smash. Within hours of offering tickets to the Dalai Lamas two talks at UC San Diego Fridays address to the public and Saturdays commencement speech all 50,000 were snapped up. More than 110 journalists from Brazil, France, Japan, China and other nations sought credentials to cover the event. Advertisement Colleges annually host cap-and-gown rites, but UC San Diego has never seen one like this. This is five times as many people as weve ever had, said Steven Evans, who is supervising the events audio and video feeds. By landing a world-renowned figure for its graduation ceremonies, UC San Diego intended to make a statement about its own world-class stature. The keynote speaker should be one who represents the values of UC San Diego, said Chancellor Pradeep Khosla. And its clear to me that His Holiness his message of peace, his message of happiness, his message of love, spirituality really reflects some of our own views on life. But on a campus with a growing Chinese student population, this visit is not without controversy. For decades, Beijing has denounced the Dalai Lama as a separatist, intent on Tibet seceding from China. Since 3,500-plus Chinese citizens study on this campus, making up 12.5 percent of the student body, those charges resonate here. Some Chinese students have said theyll protest the Dalai Lamas visit. The Dalai Lama is a political figure who is not in accordance with the current government, said Shihao Han, 24, a Shenzen resident who will receive a masters degree in International politics Saturday. While Han does not intend to protest, he knows others who do. So Im not that surprised that some Chinese students are upset, he said. I am astonished by this university making that decision. This is not the only American campus grappling with Chinese politics. Last month, a Chinese student at the University of Maryland was bashed in online Chinese forums after her graduation speech favorably compared some aspects of life in the U.S. with her experiences at home. Not long ago, these cross-cultural clashes were unthinkable for one simple reason: Few Chinese were allowed to visit the West. In the 1964-65 school year, only five Chinese citizens studied on U.S. campuses. In the 2015-2016 school year, 328,547 did. Eric Fish, a writer at the New York-based Asia Society, is researching a book on Chinese students on U.S. campuses. Hes unsure whether these visitors will return home with a new appreciation for democracy. There are kind of competing narratives about whether study in the United States makes Chinese more pro-American, Fish said, or more nationalistic, more anti-American. Person and message Last summer, UC San Diego contacted the Dalai Lamas home base in Dharamsala, India. Would he be interested in addressing the Class of 2017? Six weeks later, while on a previously scheduled trip to India, Khosla detoured to Dharamsala to extend the invitation in person. The Dalai Lama quickly accepted. Students like Ricky Flahive, a lifelong Chula Vista resident, were thrilled. Hes even more excited now. Graduating with degrees in political science and sociology, Flahive was selected to be a student speaker at commencement. I know that UC San Diego strives for high-profile speakers at graduation, said the 23-year-old Flahive. But I was kind of blown away that they got someone with such a high profile as the Dalai Lama, with such a geo-political impact. Even among the schools Chinese population, some are eager to hear from this famous figure. I am excited about it, said Moses Gao, 25, a computer science graduate student from Dalian, a seaport in northeastern China. I want to listen to what he will talk about, his opinions and his ideas. I know he will not talk about politics, so I think it is not a problem. The visit may still be a problem for UC San Diegos chapter of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association. After the Dalai Lamas stop here was announced in February, the group issued a statement slamming the provocative and offensive decision. After 15 Chinese students met with Khosla, the group issued another statement, apologizing for some inappropriate wording and denying the group is directed by the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. Last month, the association set up a display outside the schools Geisel Library, presenting its account of the life and significance of the Dalai Lama. For centuries, China has claimed Tibet. As early as the 17th century, though, the men known as Dalai Lama exercised political as well as spiritual control over Tibet. The current Dalai Lama was regarded as Tibets titular ruler until the 1950s, when China sought to reassert control over what it saw as a renegade province. In 1959, after Chinese troops crushed a short-lived rebellion, the Dalai Lama fled to India. He initially led a government-in-exile, funded in part by the CIA, but eventually stopped advocating Tibetan independence. In 2011, he resigned all formal authority and spoke in favor of a middle path, with Tibet remaining a part of China but with greater autonomy. While some still see him as a political leader, a living symbol of Tibetan resistance, an aide said his speeches this week will be apolitical. Look at the person, listen to his message and think about what he is saying, advised Lama Tenzin Dhoden, a Lake Elsinore resident whose official title is Personal Emissary for Peace to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The event that is being held in June is all about embracing the beauty of diversity in our world. Panda Express Studying in La Jolla, Shihao Han noticed Americas fascination with all things Chinese. Everything that concerns China whether anti-China or pro-China is a good source of news, he said. China has become such a focus now in the international community. That scrutiny extends to Chinas Communist Party. Theres a totally different set of ideologies, which makes some Americans angry and distrustful, he said. And that, in Hans analysis, leads to the Wests fascination with the Dalai Lama. Certain figures are used to push back, he said, to promote American values, to say democracy will prevail in the end. Some Chinese students, though, have no opinion about the Tibetan monk visiting campus. I dont really know many things that the Dalai Lama did or didnt do in the past, said Weining Xu, a 20-year-old math economics major from Shanghai. I dont have strong feelings about him. Caleb Liu, 25, an electrical engineering graduate student from coastal Shandong province, wasnt surprised by Xus indifference. Tibet and China actually I think most Chinese students dont understand that very well. Planning to attend commencement, Liu isnt worried about the keynote speaker. As long as he doesnt talk much about politics or badly about the Chinese government, he said, its OK with me. Edison Huang, a 22-year-old computer science student from Guangzhou, agreed. Im OK with that, he said of the Dalai Lamas appearance here. Hes supposed to be a peaceful person. And if something happened before, it happened. We cant change the past. Huang said hes enjoyed his time at UC San Diego and in this country. One thing bothered him, though. Here, when people say Chinese food, sometimes thats Panda Express, he said. Thats not real. ALSO: Coming to a university near you: the Dalai Lama and a commencement controversy Faith and reason: the Dalai Lama at UC San Diego Dalai Lama draws crowds to SDSU A budget that is designed to make the the San Diego Unified School District more fiscally stable than it has been in years was presented to trustees this week. We made a commitment as a board that were going to live within our means, Trustee John Lee Evans said a Tuesday night meeting meeting. Balancing the $1.3 billion budget required cutting $124 million and sending layoff notices to hundreds of employees, but trustees and staff member said the painful actions have made the districts financial future more hopeful and sustainable. Advertisement For the first time since 2011, San Diego Unified is asking the San Diego County Office of Education to identify its budget as positive, meaning the district should be able to meet its financial obligations for the next three years. For the past five years, it has submitted a qualified budget, meaning it may not be able to meet its obligations over three years. The reason now we want to go to positive certification is weve shown we can make the most difficult cuts, Evans said. And were going to continuing to look at never having one more position than we need or one more supply than we need in coming years. This years budget doesnt solve every financial problem facing the district, however. A multi-year budget projection presented to the board Tuesday showed a $46 million deficit in the 2018/19 school year down from $52.5 million projected earlier and a $68 million deficit in 2019/20. The months leading up to the proposed budget have been marked by contentious board meetings, town halls with trustees and employees and demonstrations against layoffs and cutbacks. Through it all, Superintendent Cindy Marten said the district was committed to making difficult but responsible choices to tackle a projected $128 million structural deficit, or a continuous imbalance in funds. A structural deficit still exists in the proposed 2017-18 budget, but has been reduced to $11.6 million and could be wiped out in three years with further reductions, trustees were told Tuesday. This years budget reductions included cutting 65 out of 372 bus-driving jobs, with other cuts made to library technician positions, mental health clinician jobs and other non-teaching employees. The equivalent of about 175 full-time positions outside the classroom were eliminated. Earlier in the year, about 960 layoff notices were sent to teachers and other certificated employees. The number of teachers facing job losses dropped to 378 after 528 teachers took an early-retirement incentive. The number of outstanding layoff notices could drop to 150 or 200 as teachers begin applying for open positions later this week, district public information officer Andrew Sharp said. At Tuesdays board meeting, teachers and counselors who were facing their last day of employment the very next day pleaded one last time with the board to rescind layoff notices. Lindsay Burningham, president of the San Diego Education Association, also made a plea to rescind the layoffs and urged the board to look for other solutions in future budgets. Instead of taking away support and resources from our current students, we need to figure out how we can increase revenue, she said. Theres not enough focus on how to increase student enrollment to increase our revenue so we dont have to do this over and over again. Burningham had said at town hall meetings that the district should use any increased revenue from the state to reduce layoffs, but Marten opposed the idea. The district received an additional $9.48 million from a revised state budget released last month, but $4.8 million of that was one-time funding that could not be counted on for continuing expenses, such as salaries. Marten said $1 million of that money is going to fund music and arts programs at all elementary schools. The budget is focused on six specific goals the district has identified as part of a Local Control and Accountability Plan required by the state. Goal one, which focuses on closing the achievement gap and creating high expectations for all students, will receive $323 million in the new budget, up from $288 million in the 2016-17 school year. Goal two, pathways to college and career readiness, will receive $68 million, down from $72 million last year. Goal three, which focuses on quality leadership, teaching and learning, will receive $479 million in the new budget, down from $510 million last year. Goal four, which funds programs that create positive school environments and support for the whole child through counseling, guidance and health services, will receive $257 million in the budget, up from $231 million last year. Goal five, which focuses on increasing parent and community engagement, will receive $6.9 million, up from $5.2 million last year. Marten said district cuts would not affect classroom sizes, with many cuts focusing on the central office. That reduction was evident in funding for goal six, which focuses on district-wide support services and communications, That goal will receive $72 million in the new budget, down from $106 million in the 2016/17 school year. gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 An extra $10 million for homeless youth services has been included in the state budget following requests for increased funding in the field from Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego. He said theres been some areas of improvement on homelessness the number of homeless veterans in San Diego County has dropped according to the latest annual count, for example. But we are not seeing similar downward pressure on homeless youth numbers, Gloria said Thursday. In fact, those numbers are going up. Advertisement Gloria said the latest statewide count of homeless youth show an increase of 7 percent, and the latest count in San Diego showed homeless youths made up 19 percent of the countys homeless population. In reality, the number could be even higher. People who work in the field have said it is difficult to accurately gauge the number of homeless youth because they tend to shy away from shelters and often are not recognized as being homeless. Gloria said the states current allocation for homeless youth service is just $2 million and is not from a dedicated funding source. While $10 million isnt much considering the size of the state, Gloria said he hopes the money will be leveraged and help align programs with best practices and create models that can be replicated. San Diego is expected to receive $2.5 million for homeless youth services. The Legislature is scheduled to consider the 2017-18 budget later on Thursday. Gloria also is the author of Assembly Bill 1406, which seeks to expand the states investment in homeless youth services by establishing the Homeless Youth Housing Program. The program would provide grant funding to local planning continuums, governments and community-based organizations that focus on ending youth homelessness. AB 1406 was passed by the Assembly on May 31 and is in the state Senate for consideration. Since arriving in Sacramento as a new Assembly member following last Novembers election, Gloria said he has found legislators throughout the state, including in rural areas, are taking homelessness seriously. He also said approaching the problem incrementally can lead to successful results, as demonstrated when efforts were made to in helping homeless veterans. gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 The Persian Gulf this month has been gripped by an unprecedented crisis involving Qatar and several other countries that could see thousands of people forced to move and start new lives. Ongoing tension in the region escalated to crisis level June 5 when a coalition of Arab states in the Gulf Cooperation Council announced a coordinated diplomatic break with Qatar, a small nation with big clout thanks to its wealth of oil and natural gas. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, plus non-GCC member Egypt, accused Qatar of harboring, funding and championing Islamist terrorists, in part via the Doha-based satellite news channel Al Jazeera. Advertisement The countries cut air, sea and land links with Qatar. Several ordered Qataris in their countries to return home, and their citizens to leave the country within two weeks. Although gulf countries have staged blockades of Qatar before and scored concessions, some analysts said the situation had not been quite like this. This is a major crisis. Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain will not back down this time. The stakes are high because it can undermine what the GCC has achieved since its inception in 1981, said Omar Mohamed, a strategic analyst with the government of Bahrain based in Manama, the capital. Kuwait, a GCC member, and other nations are trying to mediate the crisis. What happens next and who will benefit the most remains unclear for the six-nation GCC, which also includes Oman. The political and economic alliance was created to generate unity among the member countries based on common objectives and identities, but the Qatar tension has created a significant roadblock. Here are some reasons for the dispute and what they may mean to the U.S. and others. For starters, Qatar denies the accusations regarding Islamist extremists, calling them unjustified. It also emphasizes the importance of maintaining its sovereignty. The state of Qatar has been subjected to a campaign of lies that have reached the point of complete fabrication, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement this month. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani decried the blockade this week, but said his country was open to a diplomatic solution. Qatar is willing to sit and negotiate about whatever is related to gulf security, he said during a briefing in Paris after diplomatic meetings Monday. He said Qatar supports Kuwaits efforts to mediate the crisis, but warned that Qatars foreign policy would not be open to negotiation. Whatever relates to our foreign affairs ... no one has the right to discuss, he said, adding that Qatar would also refuse to silence Al Jazeera. Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani speaks to a reporter in Doha on June 8. (KARIM JAAFAR / AFP/Getty Images) The foreign and economic ministers of Qatar are members of the royal family under emirs absolute monarchy. Qatar is the size of Connecticut, with a population of 2.6 million, only about 300,000 of them Qatari citizens. Its oil- and gas-rich, and its leaders have managed to defy larger Arab neighbors in recent years in part by leveraging that wealth and ties with another neighbor, Iran, and the United States 10,000 U.S. troops are based at Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha. Arab countries had initially dominated the Qatari monarchy after its independence in 1971. Then Qatari Crown Prince Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani seized power in a 1995 coup and began to reshape his countrys influence through strategic alliances with Iran, trade relations with Israel and construction of the U.S. air base. Qatars economy flourished, buoyed by liquefied natural gas markets in Asia, expanding from $8.1 billion in 1995 to $210 billion in 2014. Qatars leaders sought to capitalize on the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, partnering with Turkey to back anti-government forces in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Saudi Arabia and its allies saw the uprisings as a threat and backed the governments. After the uprisings, Qatars emir abdicated, replaced by his younger, less experienced son. Arab leaders refocused on their differences with Iran, and after the 2015 U.S.-Iran nuclear agreement, allowed Qatar leeway, hoping to not strain relations with Washington. The UAE has urged Saudi leaders to be more proactive in confronting Qatar, said Andrew Bowen, a visiting scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington. The blockade gives the Saudis an opportunity to demonstrate their strength at a time when they are trying to position themselves as the leader of an Islamic military alliance, battling Houthi rebels in Yemen and Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, analysts said. The Saudis and Emiratis have to get their own house in order first before they create the larger alliance, the Arab NATO, said Theodore Karasik, a senior advisor at Gulf State Analytics, a Washington-based think tank. Qatar has to be brought around, put out of business or absorbed. The crisis has a direct impact on the United States in that this split in the GCC needs to be healed in order to prosecute the war against extremism, he said. The deadline for Qatari citizens to return and foreign nationals to depart is looming days before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of the Eid holiday. To do this blockade and have nationals dispelled on the eve of Eid sends a very negative message both socially and financially, Karasik said. Qatars National Human Rights Committee released a report this week alleging at least 764 human rights violations since the blockade began, including restrictions of freedom of expression and movement that left families divided, students sent home from school, laborers without jobs and business interrupted. The groups chairman, Ali Bin Smaikh Marri, urged the U.N. Human Rights Council to condemn the blockade because it infringes on the rights of more than 13,000 citizens in the four Arab countries involved. These procedures are worse than the Berlin Wall, Marri said in Geneva on Friday. President Trump initially praised the Qatar blockade on Twitter as the sort of strike against terrorism supporters he had urged during his visit last month to Riyadh. But the administration has since opposed the blockade. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis warned that Russia could take advantage of the gulf split and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the Arab nations to end the blockade for humanitarian and military reasons as they continue to battle Islamic State. On Thursday, Tillerson called Omans foreign minister, who stressed the importance of supporting Kuwaits efforts to resolve the crisis through diplomacy, according to a ministry statement on Omani state TV. The U.S. signed a $12-billion deal this week to supply Qatar with F-15 fighter jets. On Thursday, U.S. and Qatari naval ships were conducting joint exercises off the Qatari coast. Qatari officials have refused to back down, defending Al Jazeera, redirecting flights and receiving food and other support from Turkey and Iran. Qatars refusal to capitulate could delay Saudi Arabias regional plans, particularly if Qatar allies such as Turkey step in to broker an agreement. The crisis has a direct impact on the United States in that this split in the GCC needs to be healed in order to prosecute the war against extremism. Theodore Karasik, senior advisor at Gulf State Analytics On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as part of mediation efforts to resolve the crisis. Cavusoglu was expected to travel from Jeddah to the holy city of Mecca, where the king is based for the last days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The visit came after Cavusoglu held talks with his counterparts in Kuwait Thursday. Turkeys president and state media have championed Qatar. Turkeys parliament already approved deploying up to 3,000 troops to its base in Qatar, where 100 are already stationed. Turkey may be seeing this as an opportunity to reassert itself, Bowen said, especially after President Recep Tayyip Erdogans recent reelection. For Erdogan, this is a golden opportunity to assert himself as the regions dominant player. Although Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, during the last year it has aligned its regional strategy with Russia, which hasnt yet taken a position on the gulf crisis. That could soon change, Karasik said, given Russias interest in controlling Qatars share of the liquefied gas market in coming years, and its power to entice Qatari officials with the promise of a share in rebuilding Syria. On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned Saudi King Salman to discuss the aggravated situation around Qatar, which unfortunately does not help consolidate joint efforts in resolving the conflict in Syria and fighting the terrorist threat, the Kremlin said in a statement. If Turkey and Russia broker an end to the blockade, that could further undercut the Arab alliance Trumps administration backed at last months summit. The message at the Saudi summit was supposed to be all roads go through Riyadh, not Ankara and Moscow, Bowen said. Mohamed, the Bahrain-based analyst, said he expects Qatar will have to eventually relent, because an axis where it is part of a Turkey-Iran alliance and out of the GCC is just not feasible or doable in the long term, nor is this a result the U.S. would be comfortable with. Qatar must realize that this is not an attempt to control its sovereignty like it claims. On the contrary, the demand by its fellow GCC members is what is expected of all normal law-abiding states, Mohamed said. It is in Qatars strategic interest to realize this sooner rather than later. molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com ALSO Trump again criticizes Qatar as his aides scramble to head off crisis with the U.S. ally Arab nations add dozens to Qatar terror list, escalating crisis in the region Op-Ed: Qatar is a financier of terrorism. Why does the U.S. tolerate it? UPDATES: June 16, 1:35 p.m.: This article was updated with the Turkish foreign ministers visit to Saudi Arabia and information on a report by Qatars National Human Rights Committee. This article was originally published June 15 at 3:30 p.m. Mayor Kevin Faulconer is hiring a new top adviser as he continues to pursue a stalled expansion of the convention center and several other priorities in his second term. Aimee Faucett, who is on the convention center board of directors and works for the Chamber of Commerce, has experience both inside and outside City Hall to help the mayor secure support for the expansion from the City Council and labor groups. Faucett, 43, will replace chief of staff Stephen Puetz, who has been planning since last month to leave City Hall for a consulting job. Advertisement Faucett previously spent many years as an aide to local Republican politicians, including Faulconer and Mayor Jerry Sanders. I look forward to helping Mayor Faulconer get the expansion of the Convention Center across the finish line, tackle the homeless crisis, make housing more affordable, grow our economy and deliver excellent city services to every community, Faucett said in a news release. The announcement comes three days after the City Council voted 5-4 to reject the mayors proposed November special election for a hotel tax increase to expand the convention center. The ballot measure would also boost money for homeless programs and street repair. Some of the five council members who voted no raised concerns about the proposal not including wage rules favored by labor unions, such as local hire requirements and a project labor agreement. Previous plans to expand the convention center that got blocked in court included such wage rules in a deal brokered between labor leaders and Sanders, for whom Faucett worked as deputy chief of staff. Faucetts career has focused mostly on policy making. Puetzs expertise is campaigns and political strategy. The mayor was criticized this week for last-minute cuts he made to the office budgets of two council members who opposed the special election: Barbara Bry and Chris Ward. Those cuts were described by critics as retaliation, a dangerous precedent and something that could prompt a legal battle and a challenge to the citys charter. Faulconer said he was excited to have Faucett, who served as his chief of staff when he was a council member, back on his team. Aimee is one of the most respected civic leaders in San Diego and her love for public service shines through everything she does, Faulconer said. We have a lot of things to get done for our city and I know Aimee is ready to get started. Councilman Ward said he looks forward to working with Faucett. It will take everyone at the table to achieve a convention center expansion, address housing and homelessness, and keep San Diego on the right track, and Im glad shell be such an important part of reaching the solutions we need, Ward said. A spokeswoman for the local chapter of the Building and Construction Trades Council declined to comment on Faucett because union officials havent yet had discussions with her about the convention center. But the spokeswoman, Carol Kim, reiterated her labor groups opposition to a hotel tax measure this year to fund a convention center expansion. Faulconer spokesman Matt Awbrey said Faucetts 20 years of local political experience would be helpful on the convention center and other issues. Theres a lot of work to get done on that convention center expansion, from working with the City Council to the community to labor and contractors, he said. There are a lot of people were going to continue to engage on this because this is a top priority. Awbrey said Faucetts position on the convention center board since December 2015 would be key. Aimee is very familiar with the convention center, its needs and the opportunity we have to really kick-start our economy and grow with this expansion, Awbrey said. We are losing jobs, economic activity and conventions to other cities right now. Faucett is scheduled to replace Puetz on July 17. Her annual salary will be $190,000. Puetz is paid $176,000. Faulconer and Faucett would need to secure one additional council vote by late August to have enough time for the city to hold a November special election on the convention center expansion, which would require two-thirds approval because its a tax increase for a specific purpose. But if five council votes are secured, a special election could be called for December, January or subsequent months. Or the measure could appear on the June 2018 primary ballot or the November 2018 general election, the preference of many critics who oppose having a special election this year. Faucett, a 1996 San Diego State University graduate, has been chief operating officer for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce since shortly after leaving City Hall with Sanders in 2012. Before joining Faulconers council staff, she served as chief of staff for Councilman Jim Madaffer and as a community liaison for former Councilwoman Judy McCarty. Faulconer also appointed Faucett to his mayoral transition team in 2014 and his Chargers stadium task force in 2015. Puetz, who will join national consulting firm Axiom Strategies, thanked the mayor. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of San Diego and help implement Mayor Faulconers vision of an inclusive city government that creates opportunities for San Diegans and delivers results for every neighborhood, he said. Puetz, who faced criticism recently for having his wedding and reception at the home of a local developer, has served as Faulconers chief of staff since he took office in winter 2014, and led his City Council office in 2013. Puetz, 34, was married in 2015 at the $8.9 million estate of developer Morgan Dene Oliver, a longtime Faulconer supporter. Puetz paid $427 for use of the property. The citys Ethics Commission said the wedding rental arrangement met with its conflict-of-interest rules. Stephen has been my trusted adviser for many years, said Faulconer. His strong work ethic, tenacity and love of San Diego have served our city well. Having Stephen at the helm was pivotal in returning City Halls focus to our neighborhoods and making city government more efficient, effective and customer-service oriented. Puetz also ran Faulconers successful mayoral campaign in 2014 and the 2012 council campaigns of Mark Kersey and Scott Sherman. Awbrey said the departure of Puetz had been in the works long before the council rejected the special election this week. He said Puetz agreed to take his new position last month but waited to make an announcement until the new city budget was finalized on Tuesday. The convention center proposal is the latest in a long series of attempts to expand the waterfront facility, with the most recent dying in 2014 when a judge ruled unconstitutional a plan to finance the expansion with an hotelier-approved room tax hike. The new proposal would increase San Diegos comparatively low hotel tax rate by 1 to 3 percent depending on proximity to the convention center. It would expand the size of the convention center to more than 1.2 million square feet from the current 816,000 at an estimated cost of $630 million to $685 million. The measure would also provide an estimated $10 million per year each for homeless programs and street repairs. david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick Closed-door meetings conducted by the San Diego County Water Authority deprive the public of its right to monitor the agency and must be opened up to ratepayers and others, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in San Diego County Superior Court. The suit, brought by public-interest attorney Cory Briggs, demands an end to private, unnoticed and unrecorded gatherings long held by the agencys appointed delegates to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, or MWD, a regional agency based in Los Angeles. The six-page complaint filed on behalf of the nonprofit advocacy organization San Diegans for Open Government also asks a judge to rescind any and all actions taken by the delegates in the course of the meetings, which have been held behind closed doors on a regular basis for decades. Advertisement Briggs and other critics say the private gatherings dont qualify for exemptions spelled out under Californias Ralph M. Brown Act. That law, passed in 1953, allows closed-door meetings of small collections of board members only on a social or chance basis, or if their official task is temporary. The idea is to prevent officials from conducting government business outside the view of the public, which pays for it. The agency has long maintained its compliance with both the letter and the spirit of state open meeting law. Spokesman Mike Lee declined to answer questions about the lawsuit, which he said the agency would address through the court system. A letter last week by the authoritys top lawyer defended the delegate meetings as legal and necessary to protect county ratepayers interests. It was sent in response to a demand letter Briggs authored last month asking that the get-togethers be opened to the public after The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on possible violations of state open-meetings laws. The reply from agency general counsel Mark Hattam cautioned Briggs against pursuing the lawsuit filed this week. A separate letter addressed to Briggs one day after that action was filed calls attention to next weeks regular board meeting, where a committee will consider what could prove an important tweak in agency rules governing the delegates panel. The move looks to bring the group into compliance with state water-district law by deleting a line of administrative code that says delegates are individually and collectively authorized to represent the agency at MWD meetings. Briggs has singled out that description of the panels collective powers as evidence the delegates qualify as one of several small groups of officials subject to state open meeting law, something the county agency has repeatedly denied. It says the delegates are merely individual board members appointed to represent the agencys interests at MWD not subject to open meetings laws. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the wording change. The move was recommended by Hattam, whose Tuesday letter to Briggs said it may or may not affect the open government advocates decision to file suit. Agency directors also learned this week that board chair Mark Muir has disbanded three task forces that had, like the delegates group, held private meetings that came under fire from attorneys and open government advocates. Multiple U-T Watchdog reviews of payroll documents showed the number of closed-door meetings held by those and other water panel groups easily topped the tally of meetings held in public, leaving open the possibility that directors could use the gatherings to reach a behind-the-scenes consensus on agenda items that are supposed to be aired in the open. General Manager Maureen Stapleton cited that coverage in an email last week, telling board members she and Hattam had met to discuss meeting format changes they hoped would address critics concerns. Muirs June 8 memo outlining the moves also announced two new task forces one to advise the board on energy storage development opportunities at San Vicente Reservoir and another geared toward the agencys complex, long-running legal dispute with MWD, the Los Angeles regional authority, over water importing charges. Only the latter will hold public meetings. Payroll records show the agency already had an MWD litigation strategy group that convened at least 10 closed-door meetings since 2016, most recently on April 24. Lee said that group no longer exists. Previously Imagine a plan that guarantees citizens, legal residents and undocumented immigrants taxpayer-funded health care. This plan would give patients a rich list of benefits without co-pays, deductibles or premiums. Even better, this plan would do all of this while also cutting current health care spending. So whats the catch? The catch is that this plan would be run by the same state government struggling to fund basic services. Embracing a fantasy that promises everything to everybody, the Senate recently passed Senate Bill 562, which would create a government-run health care monopoly that would essentially outlaw private health insurance. Related: Universal health care turns out to be good for business Advertisement It establishes a single-payer health care system run by political appointees, includes provisions yet to be detailed and is paid for with new taxes yet to be announced. Because of the lack of specifics and the negative effects that monopolies generally bring, I opposed SB 562 on the Senate floor. The Assembly may vote on the bill later this year. Single-payer sounds like an innocuous term that implies that it is simply cutting out the health insurance industry between physicians and patients. But SB 562 would do more it would give Sacramento total control over Californias health care system. The state alone would decide how much physicians, nurses and other health professionals will be paid making them de facto government employees. Sacramento would have this power because SB 562 eliminates private insurance, Medicare, Medi-Cal, coverage for military retirees and Covered California. It instead creates a public monopoly. It also eliminates employer-paid health benefits, which means single-payer would likely shift some health care costs from employers to employees. SB 562 is grounded in the belief that government bureaucrats know best. With the difficulties that the state already has in properly funding schools, fixing our roads (the state recently passed a massive car and gas tax increase) and completing huge projects without going over budget (i.e. high-speed rail), I doubt government bureaucrats will somehow magically make health care a more affordable and better experience for everyone. According to a Senate analysis, it would cost at least $400 billion a year to provide for the health care of all Californians. I think the $400 billion estimate is too conservative. If SB 562 were to become law, the annual cost would certainly be much higher than advertised as supporters assume provider reimbursement rates close to those for Medicare, yet the bill gives doctors and nurses the right to negotiate rates. We can assume doctors and nurses will not embrace pay cuts for government health care. The Senates fiscal estimate also assumes the state would retain the existing $200 billion in local, state and federal funding it currently receives to offset the total $400 billion cost. However, there is no guarantee that the federal government will cooperate and grant the necessary waivers or change the laws to allow California to incorporate Medicare, Medi-Cal and Covered California subsidies into a single state program. The denial of a waiver would fatally cripple the implementation of SB 562. Even assuming that the federal government does grant the waiver, California would still have to find an additional $200 billion per year to fulfill SB 562s requirements. For perspective, this cost is higher than the $183 billion that Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed in his 2017-18 state budget (general and special funds) to pay for schools, law enforcement and everything else. The Legislature would have to significantly raise taxes on everyone to come up with $200 billion. Even if the Legislature did find that money, it would still have to pay its other obligations. For example, the state owes anywhere between $450 billion and $1 trillion in unfunded pensions for retired state workers. As the federal government grapples with the failures we are seeing with the Affordable Care Act, California should not create a new, massive and untested health care bureaucracy through SB 562. The Legislature should refocus its efforts on improving existing health programs and on helping those who do not have access to necessary care. I hope Gov. Brown vetoes SB 562 should it land on his desk. Single-payer is a false promise that would ruin the states precarious finances and threaten funding for other critical priorities. Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, represents the 36th Senate District in the California Legislature, which covers northern San Diego and southern Orange counties. She is the Senates Republican leader. Something nefarious is happening in San Diego politics. Bonnie Dumanis calls it succession planning, the Union Tribune editorial board called it a coronation, the San Diego Free Press called it circumventing democracys vetting process and community groups call it unfair. We all know what it truly is a well-orchestrated plan by Bonnie Dumanis to bypass the will of the voters. The position of district attorney is an elected position, meaning the voters get to decide. Dumanis thinks differently and believes it is her prerogative to single-handedly pick the next district attorney. She announced a succession plan, resigned her position, and engaged in a well-orchestrated plot to bypass the will of the voters and position her personal choice, Summer Stephan, for district attorney. Related: A caretaker DA not in publics best interest Advertisement Related: Political succession plan not right way to choose DA What changed this from an elected position to an appointment by the Board of Supervisors? Dumanis is quitting her job. On April 20, 2017, Dumanis announced she was resigning to pursue a position with the county Board of Supervisors and did not want to create any conflict with or distraction from the important work of the District Attorneys Office. This is not a credible explanation given that she ran for mayor in 2012 without resigning her position as DA. She wasnt concerned about distractions or conflicts and continued to collect a paycheck as DA during her failed mayoral campaign. Why step down now? She wants the Board of Supervisors to appoint Stephan, giving her the advantage of incumbency, scaring off challengers and practically guaranteeing she will be elected in 2018. This assault on our political process was enough to jar me from the joys of retirement and put a suit back on. I am clearly not the only one who perceives this as an injustice. Concerned voters, the Democratic Party, community groups and the U-T Editorial Board have all cried foul. But they offer a practical and reasonable solution the appointment of an interim caretaker district attorney who will pledge not to run in 2018. I am seeking to serve as the caretaker until the next district attorney is rightfully chosen by the voters. I am uniquely qualified to lead the office during this transition time free from political influence, or the distractions of running a campaign. I will not run for DA. Why am I the best choice for the caretaker district attorney position? Experience. I served as a deputy district attorney in San Diego County for 33 years. I have more trial experience, leadership experience and more years of service as a prosecutor than both candidates combined. I successfully tried well over 100 felony trials to verdict. I tried almost every type of case that our office prosecutes including special circumstance murders, first and second-degree murders, attempted murder of police officers, sex crimes, torture, child abuse, elder abuse, bank robberies, financial crimes, vehicular homicides and other types of violent crimes. I handled tens of thousands of felony cases in the disposition process. Because of the number and variety of cases I handled, I have a depth of experience not shared by any other applicant. Positions of leadership I held in the office include: Chief of the Case Disposition Unit, Chief of Pretrial and Case Disposition Division, Assistant chief of the Family Protection Division, and Assistant chief of the Superior Court Division I am easy to work for; I am a problem solver; I have the courage to make difficult decisions; I have good common sense, excellent judgment and a strong moral compass. I am never afraid to do the right thing even when it is difficult, and even when it is not politically expedient. I am also fiscally conservative. The taxpayers expect their money should be spent wisely on the core mission of this office achieving justice. While a division chief, I identified areas of redundancy and implemented a program of immediate sentencings that saved the county over $1 million dollars per year. My colleagues recently honored me with the Edwin L. Miller Lifetime Achievement Award. Here is a brief excerpt from the award: In his years of service as a prosecutor, he has left a lasting mark on the office, his colleagues, the bench, the defense bar and the community. He has been a leader in this office ... He has always been a professional, honest, hardworking and skilled prosecutor. Known for his cool and calm demeanor, his big picture attitude and for doing the right thing always, he is well respected and emulated by many. Walden is a retired deputy district attorney. The voters alone should decide San Diego Countys next elected district attorney. Unfortunately, resigning DA Bonnie Dumanis has misappropriated the interim DA appointment process as a means of fulfilling her political succession plan. This isnt fair, and it isnt right. If the county Board of Supervisors signs off on Ms. Dumanis succession plan by selecting Summer Stephan as the interim DA, the voters will be denied the opportunity to evaluate equally every candidate for district attorney in 2018. The community is justified in demanding this appointment process not be reduced to a cynical means of enhancing Ms. Stephans ballot designation through the power of incumbency. The path to becoming the next elected DA should be solely through election, not political appointment. Related: A caretaker DA not in publics best interest Advertisement Related: Voters, not politicians, should choose next DA To protect the integrity of the appointment process, on May 1, I announced that I would be applying for the interim DA position and pledged not to seek election in 2018 even if selected. Since then, Greg Walden joined me in this pledge, and we have gone so far as to execute declarations under penalty of perjury ensuring that we will not seek election in 2018. Because of this pledge, we have been described as the caretaker candidates for interim DA. Ms. Stephan declined to join our pledge and has declared her candidacy for election in 2018. The decision before the board for interim DA is now stark: caretaker or candidate. The board should reject Ms. Dumanis succession plan and select a caretaker for two reasons. First, the nearly 3.3 million community members of San Diego County, the more than 1,000 employees of the DAs office and 12,800 annual crime victims deserve an interim DA focused exclusively on public safety. For these next 18 months, my vow is to take the office completely out of the business of politics. I will spend all my time meeting with deputy district attorneys, law enforcement, community stakeholders and victims of crime. In contrast, Ms. Stephan is already obtaining campaign contributions and securing endorsements. A politically distracted DAs office is a disservice to the community, and there is a tangible cost. In the last year, the public learned of the taxpayer dollars wasted in unnecessary assault rifle purchases, an unprecedented ramping up of civil asset forfeiture cases by the office ($13,387 in 2012 vs. nearly $2.7 million in 2016), and an abysmal conviction rate revealed by an internal office memo showing that only 64 percent of the defendants that went to trial in 2016 on felony charges were found guilty of a felony. Second, there are inevitable conflicts of interest which would result from a declared candidate serving as the interim DA. On this point Ms. Dumanis and I appear to agree. When Ms. Dumanis announced her resignation on April 20, she stated that she was considering running for a seat in 2018 on the Board of Supervisors. She offered as justification for her resignation: I do not want to create any conflict with, or distraction from the important work of the District Attorneys Office. Remarkably, Ms. Dumanis now orchestrates a succession plan for Ms. Stephan awash with the same conflict and distraction. Where are the applications for the interim DA position from the long-serving assistant DA or any one of the four other chief deputies besides Ms. Stephan none of whom would face the conflict or distraction of seeking election? Having served with Mr. Walden as a deputy district attorney, I also believe him capable of leading the office. What I cannot tolerate is San Diegos most powerful prosecutor attempting to replace the will of the people with the wants of the political. My efforts are a serious defense of the voters right to decide the next elected DA free from Ms. Dumanis meddling. I have publicly wondered about a fix in the process. This paper recently reported that Ms. Dumanis and Ms. Stephan met 10 times with individual supervisors from July to December 2016. Nevertheless, I trust that the board will ultimately decide on a caretaker interim DA. As stated in my application: In a time when so many of the offices challenges involve zealously protecting the publics faith and trust in the criminal justice system, the idea that the board can through a single June vote defeat the publics ability to fully and equally vet all candidates for election in 2018 risks causing a tear in the fabric of community trust that will not be easily mended. The San Diego Union-Tribunes editorial got it right: Board should pick caretaker county DA. Gordon currently practices business litigation and white collar defense at the law firm of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek in San Diego. The recent landmark ruling on teacher tenure found that state laws giving teachers strong lifetime employment protections after less than two years on the job has resulted in a school system that denies poor and minority students an equal education by disproportionately assigning them to incompetent teachers who are virtually impossible to fire. Critics of the decision say its unfair to teachers. Below is a commentary on the ruling from and a teachers union representative and a local school board trustee. For another view, go here. A trial judge in Los Angeles recently bought into the hoax that teachers are to blame for low student test scores and should be stripped of their professional rights. In Vergara vs. California, a judge issued a ruling that strikes down statutes protecting teachers from arbitrary firings, providing transparency in layoff decisions and supporting due process rights. These statutes provide important employment protections to California educators. The courts decision is an egregious example of legislating from the bench. Worse, the courts policy preferences are fundamentally flawed. Advertisement The case, manufactured by a Silicon Valley millionaire and a corporate public relations firm, misrepresents the beneficial purposes of the laws under attack. The suit has nothing to do with whats best for kids, but is about undermining the teaching profession and pushing their agenda on our schools. Providing due process, often erroneously referred to as tenure, to teachers provides various benefits to schools and students. Those benefits include giving teachers freedom to take pedagogical risks such as challenging drill and kill test preparation or canned curriculum. The statutes give teachers peace of mind that they will not be fired as a result of favoritism or political pressures. The statutes value teachers experience and professionalism. They ensure that more experienced educators will not get laid off simply as a cost-cutting measure. During the trial, numerous school administrators, principals, renowned education experts and teachers testified that the statutes work well and are used efficiently by school districts throughout California. For example, administrators are easily able to identify what plaintiffs call grossly ineffective teachers within even the first year of practice, and they regularly release probationary teachers who have not performed satisfactorily. While we should do everything we can to avoid layoffs in the first place, using hire dates in the layoff process is fair, transparent and efficient. It recognizes that experience counts and is much more reliable and sensible than trying to rank teachers based on students standardized test scores. The Vergara backers argue that due process statutes negatively and disproportionately impact poor students and students of color. Without evidence, they claim the statutes somehow cause inexperienced and incompetent teachers to be assigned to high-needs schools. Lets put aside the inconsistency between this argument and their challenge to the layoff statute, premised on the illogical notion that experience doesnt matter and shouldnt be considered in the layoff process. Lets also put aside that if it were true these statutes caused poor student outcomes, then charter schools, which are exempt from the statutes, would perform better than regular public schools rather than on average performing the same or worse. Professional rights for teachers neither treat minority students differently nor cause the achievement gap. This is caused by more profound factors like lack of funding, poverty, class sizes and inadequate student support. As San Diego Unified School Districts experiences show, the way to improve student achievement in high-needs schools and, indeed, in all schools is to foster collaboration among teachers and trust among the school community, while also ensuring great learning and teaching conditions in those schools. A real problem we face, especially in high-poverty schools, is extraordinarily high teacher turnover. Nearly 50 percent of teachers leave the profession in the first five years, mainly due to under-resourced schools, and difficult learning and teaching conditions. The answer is to improve learning conditions by lowering class sizes; ensuring there are enough adults in the system, including counselors, specialists, and health care workers; ensuring teachers have time to collaborate with each other; providing safe and well-maintained facilities; restoring art, music, and elective classes; training capable administrators; providing after-school programs; encouraging parent and community involvement in schools; and otherwise making schools great places to teach and learn. Education expert Linda Darling-Hammond testified in defense of the statutes at trial, stating research proves that schools that devote their resources to improving the teaching and learning conditions are able to maintain a stable, experienced teacher workforce. That is where we must direct our efforts. Eliminating teachers professional rights will not improve learning conditions and will do nothing to close the opportunity gap between affluent and poor students. Armenian Minister of Justice Davit Harutyunyan told reporters today that hell be implementing slow but steady measures to do away with the roots of corruption and bribery within the countrys court system. The steps we are taking, starting from restricting illegal personal enrichment and doing away with various categories of cash flows, are already in the parliament, Harutyunyan said. The minister promised that serious measures would be taken to improve conditions in the countrys penal institutions over the long-term, adding that problems which have accumulated and taken hold over years cannot be resolved overnight. Harutyunyan was Armenia's deputy minister of justice from 1997 to 1998, and minister of justice from 1998 to 2007. The Donald Trump-hating media and Hollywood crazies must bear some responsibility for the Alexandria shootings. The constant drumbeat of hatred for Republicans in general and President Trump in particular is enough to push the already vulnerable into violence. Dick Larsen Advertisement San Diego Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below. OK, enough - enough! Its time to stop all this hate and descent. There are a lot of people who cannot tell the difference between fact, fantasy and B.S. and they end up believing it all and take action. The news media has to take some blame for the violence and violent discourse that comes across our television set every day. But there is plenty of blame to go around. I often see attempts to pit blue states against red states and vice versa. Our California governor is making noise about California becoming its own country, Indeed, he is already signing treaties with other countries. If this is what you want, have at it, but it will be at the cost of the freedom that we cherish. It is time that we try to see the world through our neighbors eyes and stick to the truth and decency that we had when I was a young man. Think about what you can do to make this a better place to live and raise our families and then go do it. God bless America. Don Crosby Rancho Bernardo Want to see more letters that appear only online? Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. Jurors in the sexual assault trial of Bill Cosby were deadlocked Thursday, but the judge sent them back into deliberations to keep trying for a unanimous verdict. They still had not reached a verdict by Thursday evening. Judge Steven T. ONeill told them it was their a duty to work toward an agreement. While you should not hesitate to re-examine your own views and change your opinion if you are convinced that your opinion is erroneous, do not feel compelled to surrender your honest belief as to the weight or effect of the evidence solely because of the opinion of your fellow jurors, or for the mere purpose of returning a verdict, ONeill said. The comedian and television star is being tried in the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on three charges of aggravated indecent assault. Prosecutors say Cosby, now 79, drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand in 2004. The jury began deliberating Monday. The 12 jurors comprising seven men and five women spent 30 hours talking in total before telling the judge they couldnt reach a verdict. Cosby has pleaded not guilty to all three charges. Here are a few more details on the case: Prosecutors say the comedian gave Constand pills that immobilized her and that she couldnt fight off his sexual advances. His lawyers say the two were in a relationship and that what happened was consensual. Constand worked for Temple University in Philadelphia, and Cosby is a Temple graduate with a home in the area. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Fifty-eight women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, though only Constands case has ended up in criminal court. Spokesman Andrew Wyatt said the failure to quickly reach a verdict just reinforces the case for Cosbys innocence. Whats next? Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer Ed Paskey told The Associated Press that judges most commonly will ask jurors to keep at it even after continued deadlock. Its a very, very rare occasion that a judge is going to let a jury off the hook on the first indication theyre hopelessly deadlocked, Paskey said. If you start to get into three or four full days, then there is going to be some concern after that point that perhaps a jury is not going to be able to reach a verdict. Theres also no rule on how many times the judge can send them back to deliberate again, so he may keep pushing them. A mistrial could be called if the deadlock continues for too long. After that, prosecutors could decide to retry the case down the road or abandon it. Those watching the trial closely are sharing their thoughts about it on Twitter, forming their own opinions on the verdict Cosby deserves or commenting on how the trial is going. For ongoing updates from the trial, go here. Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @abbyhamblin Fox News move to change its on-air image continued Wednesday with news that the network was no longer using its Fair and Balanced slogan, prompting reactions and curiosity over a network that appears to be in soul-searching mode. Gabriel Sherman, a New York magazine reporter who has covered the network extensively over the years, broke the story indicating that Fox News executives last August began moving away from the old slogan in favor of its other one: Most Watched. Most Trusted. Inside sources reportedly told Sherman that the old Fair and Balanced slogan was often mocked and was too closely associated with Roger Ailes, the network founder who died in May after being driven out of the company amid a sexual harassment scandal. Ailes resigned from Fox News in July 2016 following a string of sexual harassment allegations against him. According to Sherman, it was Ailes who came up with the slogan when he launched the network in 1996. Court documents show it was trademarked in 2003. For many years, Fox News was a ratings juggernaut. Despite its success, many people ridiculed the slogan. Jon Stewart, the former host of The Daily Show, mocked it. And now-Sen. Al Franken, D-Minnesota, once published a book parodying the slogan. Criticism of it persists to this day. As news broke that the network was abandoning the slogan, many people took to Twitter to take their shot at the 21-year-old tagline. Since Ailes departure last year, the network has undergone a major shakeup of its on-air lineup. In early January this year, host Megyn Kelly left the network to pursue her own show on NBC. Then, in April, the host of the networks most successful show, Bill OReilly, was ousted after he too faced a sexual harassment scandal. Related: It's official: Bill O'Reilly is done at Fox News Later that month, the network announced Tucker Carlson would take over OReillys evening spot. A few weeks later, in May, the network abruptly fired Bob Beckel, a co-host on The Five prime-time talk show, over a racial remark he made to an African-American colleague. Could the change in slogan be reflecting a new direction the network is taking post-Ailes? Joy-Ann Reid, an MSNBC political commentator, mused about the significance of such a change in an age when other online media outlets like Breitbart News and the Daily Caller compete for the same audience. CNN later reported that Fox may soon introduce a new slogan, but that report was not yet confirmed by the network. What do you think should be the new slogan for Fox News? Chime in with your thoughts. Have some thoughts to share? Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet. Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @RunGomez Read The Conversation on Flipboard. ALSO Ad boycott of Bill O'Reilly's show triggers debate on media impact Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that if former FBI Director James Comey faces prosecution for leaking the content of his private conversations with President Donald Trump , Russia was ready to offer him asylum. Putin made that and other remarks about America from the FBI investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election to the retaliatory sanctions that followed during the broadcast of a television show in which he answers questions from the public every year. Three hours into the question-and-answer show, Putin was asked to comment on Comeys testimony revealing himself last week as the source of a leaked memo to The New York Times detailing a meeting in which Trump asked the then-FBI director to let go of an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn . Related: How Daniel Richman was outed as 'close friend' who leaked Comey memo By doing so, Putin said, Comey went from being a security service director to a civil activist advocating a certain belief. Then whats the difference between the FBI director and Mr. [Edward] Snowden? Putin asked, according to translation provided by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Suffice to say that, at least in America, Putins comments were regarded as subtle mockery also known on the internet as trolling given his disdain for the accusations made against Russia. For context, Russia offered and gave asylum to Snowden after he leaked top-secret documents to The Guardian and The Washington Post during the Obama administration in 2013. If extradited to the U.S., Snowden would face espionage charges. Comeys leak, however, does not amount to the same level of offense that Snowden committed. During his testimony before the senate intelligence committee, Comey said he wrote the memo as an unclassified document and did so out of an abundance of caution to corroborate his account of that meeting with Trump in March. Putin is known to mock American life and politics, and this may be his latest attempt to downplay the significance of the FBIs investigation. Russians and Americans may interpret those words differently. Do you agree with Putin that Comey acted as an activist in leaking the memo to the press? Have some thoughts to share? Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet. Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @RunGomez Read The Conversation on Flipboard. ALSO Comey memo about Trump, Flynn probe draws talk of Nixon Team Trump defends firing of FBI Director James Comey Did Comey sway the 2016 election? Idea makes him 'mildly nauseous,' he says SAN DIEGO A San Diego man sexually assaulted and strangled two young boys who were out on a bicycle ride more than 10 years ago, a prosecutor told a jury today. Scott Erskine, 40, could face the death penalty if convicted of the March 27, 1993, deaths of Jonathan Sellers, 9, and Charlie Keever, 13. He took these young boys, and he bound them, and he gagged them, and he raped them and he killed them, prosecutor Valerie Summers said in her opening statement at trial. Advertisement Erskine coughed loudly and seemed to choke as Summers recited the gruesome details of the way the boys died. Keevers mother sat in the first row of the audience; Sellers mother was in the next row back. The prosecutor said Sellers ended up going on the bicycle ride with Keever because Sellers older brother had to go to a band recital. A man doing wind-sprints near the Otay River bed in southern San Diego found the boys bodies two days later in an igloo-style fort-type enclosure. DNA samples were collected from the victims, but it wasnt until 2001 that advanced DNA technology allowed scientists to learn that someone elses DNA was left in Keevers mouth, the prosecutor said. A cold DNA hit on prison inmates revealed a match between the DNA left in Keevers mouth and Erskine, Summers said. Erskines DNA was also found on two cigarette butts found outside the fort, the prosecutor said. The defendant is charged with two counts of murder, with allegations that he used a rope to strangle the two boys. Erskine also is charged with special circumstance allegations that the murders happened during the commission of a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 14, that both boys were tortured and an allegation of multiple murders. Defense attorney Larry Ainbinder told the jury that the victims somehow came into contact with Erskine the day they died and were overpowered, bound, gagged and killed. And unspeakable crimes were committed against them, the attorney said. They were strangled and they were murdered and they were horrified. Ainbinder said the DNA swabs taken from Keevers mouth connected Erskine to the murders. The attorney said he and co-counsel Juliana Humphrey would not be seeking an acquittal in the guilt phase of trial. We will not ask you to return a verdict of not guilty, Ainbinder said. The attorney began his opening statement by telling jurors that Erskine was charged last year with the June 1989 rape and murder of a woman in Palm Beach, Fla. after DNA swabs taken from her mouth at the crime scene connected the defendant to the murder. Ainbinder told the jury that in October 1993, seven months after the boys were killed, Erskine attacked and raped a woman he met at a San Diego bus stop. Erskine was serving a sentence of 70 years to life in prison for that crime when he was charged in March 2001 with the murders of Sellers and Keever. If the defendant is found guilty, a penalty phase would follow for jurors to recommend the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole. A veterans group can restore a memorial cross in the Mojave Desert under a court settlement that ends a decade-old legal battle, the National Park Service said Tuesday. A federal judge approved the lawsuit settlement on Monday, permitting the park service to turn over a remote hilltop area known as Sunrise Rock to a Veteran of Foreign Wars post in Barstow and the Veterans Home of California-Barstow. The park will give up the acre of land in exchange for five acres of donated property elsewhere in the 1.6 million acre preserve in Southern California. Advertisement The swap, which could be completed by the end of the year, will permit veterans to restore a cross to the site and end a controversy that became tangled in the thorny issues of patriotism and religion and made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003. The last cross was ordered removed by the park service in 2010 because of a court order. The donated land is owned by Henry and Wanda Sandoz of Yucca Valley. Henry Sandoz, 72, cared for and replaced several crosses at the hilltop site over the years that were later defaced or stolen. He has a replacement 7-foot steel cross ready to go, said his wife, Wanda, 68. Were very hopeful. Weve been disappointed in the past, she said in a telephone interview. We thought when the Supreme Court ruled that wed be out there within days putting it back up. Things move kind of slow but we really think this is it this time. Once the swap is complete, the park service will fence the site, leaving entrances for visitors, and post signs noting that it is private land. A plaque will be placed on the rock noting that it is a memorial for U.S. war veterans. We want to wrap this, we want to get it done, Mojave National Preserve spokeswoman Linda Slater said of the controversy. No cross can go up until the exchange is complete. Wanda Sandoz said a wooden cross was first erected on Sunrise Rock in 1934 by a World War I veteran, Riley Bembry. He and other shell-shocked vets had gone out to the desert to recover and would hold barbeques and barn dances near the site, she said. Her husband knew Bembry and promised the dying vet that he would look after the cross, Wanda Sandoz said. He kept the promise for decades. We love the cross, she said. Its in a beautiful spot. ... My husband is not a veteran but he feels like this is something he can do for our country. The wooden cross was eventually replaced with one made of steel pipes. However, the site became part of the national preserve in 1994 and that meant the cross was then on public land. The settlement involves a lawsuit filed in 2001 by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a retired park service employee who argued that the Christian religious symbol was unconstitutionally located on government land. Federal courts ordered the removal of the cross. In 2003, Congress stepped in and ordered the land swap. But the courts said the transfer was, in effect, an unacceptable end run around the constitutional problem. The issue wound its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in April 2010 refused to order removal of the cross and directed a federal judge to look again at the congressional transfer plan. Justice Anthony Kennedy, siding with the 5-4 majority, wrote that the cross evokes more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten, he said. Justice John Paul Stevens, one of the dissenters, wrote that troops killed in battle deserve to be honored, but government cannot lawfully do so by continued endorsement of a starkly sectarian message. Weeks after the court decision, the metal cross - which had been covered up to comply with court injunctions - was stolen. A replica mysteriously appeared on the site, but park service officials ordered it taken down because of a court order against displaying a cross on the site. A second lawsuit was filed last year against the federal government on behalf of the veterans. That suit pushed for the land swap and will be dropped once the exchange is complete, said Gregg Wooding of the Liberty Institute, a Texas-based nonprofit legal organization that filed the suit. The World Bank today presented results of a study entitled Future Armenia-A Systematic Country Evaluation describing the economic model of Armenia as having exhausted itself and in need of change. Citing a low growth rate, double-digit unemployment, and one-third of the population living under the poverty line, World Bank experts told a Yerevan audience that the new model would target fundamental relations of growth-poverty and would resolve system-wide problems linked to a shrinking and aging labor base and climate change. If no change is made to the current economic strategy, then Armenia will only be able to ensure a modest per capita growth that will not greatly impact poverty. Moreover, Armenia faces two fundamental systematic challenges-an aging and shrinking population and climate change-both of which will further decrease the countrys growth potential if the economic policy isnt changed, reads the World Bank report. The World Bank proposes: Rebalancing growth by a transition to greater exportable goods and services. To fashion a business sector that is dynamic, competitive and creates jobs. Increase individual productivity and remove obstacles to getting work Ensure flexibility of the economic model World Bank experts noted that Armenian exports arent all that competitive due to limited variety and low quality. While growth of agricultural exports has been noteworthy, the increase has mainly been based on tobacco and alcohol products. The experts said that while Armenias current economic model has led to a drop in poverty, its mostly been in the Yerevan. They also reported that instead of a growing middle class, more people are becoming economically vulnerable. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/15/2017 -- The need of compact and small size devices that includes all the required components such as microprocessor, memory and peripherals among others packaged together onto the single chip has impacted the market of System on Chip (SoC) at the global level. To further, provide in-depth analysis, Market Research Hub (MRH) has recently added a report titled as "System on Chip (SoC) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 2025" to its vast report repository. The researched report provides an in-depth study of the SoC market global analysis by various market growth factors forecasted for 2017-2025. Request Free Sample Report : http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1109483 The SoC (System on Chip) components vary based on the device it is to be used in. Mostly it consists of a graphic processing unit (GPU), microprocessor, timing sources, memory, analog interfaces, peripherals, external interfaces, power management circuits and voltage regulators among others. SoC contains everything that is present within the motherboard of a computer but consumes much lesser space and power. The compact System on Chip gives similar or better performance that has ultimately resulted in its growing applications across different industries and hence growth in its market growth at a fast pace. The report starts with the global system on chip market overview; product definition, industry evolution, drivers & restraints, porter's analysis, global market attractiveness analysis, share analysis by company (2016) and finally, competitive strategies adopted by leading players. Further, the global SoC on the basis of different types has been segmented that comprises digital, analog, mixed signal and others. Telecommunication, consumer electronics, automotive and others are the various application feature in the report. On the geographical basis, various regions that are considered under this report are North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. A precise detail about the revenue has also been provided in USD billion for this market along with the CAGR for the forecast period of 2017 to 2025. The discussed region's (SoC) market analysis is done that discusses market key trends, market by country, market by type and market by application. Browse Full Report with TOC - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/system-on-chip-soc-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2017-2025-report.html The last section detail the company with description, business overview, SWOT analysis, financial overview and strategic overview. Various company listed with provided detail are Broadcom Limited (Singapore), Apple Inc. (The U.S.), Intel Corporation (The U.S.), Infineon Technologies (The U.S.), Qualcomm Inc. (The U.S.), Samsung Electronics (South Korea), STMicroelectronics N.V. (Switzerland), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Taiwan), MediaTek Inc. (Taiwan) and Toshiba Corporation (Japan). Check Other Semiconductors Industry Reports - United States Programmable Logic Devices (PLD) Market Report 2017 - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/united-states-programmable-logic-devices-pld-market-report-2017-report.html United States Polystyrene Capacitors Market Report 2017 - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/united-states-polystyrene-capacitors-market-report-2017-report.html EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Intruder Detectors Market Report 2017 - http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/emea-europe-middle-east-and-africa-intruder-detectors-market-report-2017-report.html About Market Research Hub Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRH's expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps. MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients. Contact Us 90 State Street, Albany, NY 12207, United States Toll Free : 866-997-4948 (US-Canada) Tel : +1-518-621-2074 Email : press@marketresearchhub.com Website : http://www.marketresearchhub.com/ Read Industry News at - https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/15/2017 -- New Report on Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage, made by adding a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) to a solution of tea and sugar. During the course of the week-long (or more) fermentation process, the cultures metabolize the sugar and tea components to render a naturally carbonated beverage, with a slightly sweet-tart flavor, full of healthy components like B vitamins, organic acids, antioxidants, and trace amounts of alcohol. Scope of the Report: This report focuses on the Kombucha in Europe market, especially in Germany, UK, France, Russia, and Italy. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application. Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers GT's Kombucha, KeVita, The Humm Kombucha, Live Soda Kombucha, Red Bull, Kombucha Wonder Drink, Townshend's Tea, Celestial Seasonings, Kosmic Kombucha, HIGH COUNTRY, NessAlla Kombucha, Reed's, Buchi Kombucha. Request a Brochure of This Report, here @ http://www.intenseresearch.com/market-analysis/europe-kombucha-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and.html#request-sample Market Segment by Countries, covering Germany UK France Russia Italy Market Segment by Type, covers Herbs Spices Fruit Original Others Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into Age <20 Age 20-40 Age >40 Inquiry For Buying This Premium Report, here @ http://www.intenseresearch.com/market-analysis/europe-kombucha-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and.html#inquiry-for-buying There are 14 Chapters to deeply display the Europe Kombucha market. Chapter 1, to describe Kombucha Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force; Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Kombucha, with sales, revenue, and price of Kombucha, in 2015 and 2016; Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016; Chapter 4, to show the Europe market by countries, with sales, revenue and market share of Kombucha, for each country, from 2011 to 2016; Chapter 5 and 6, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016; Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, to analyze the key countries, with sales, revenue and market share by types and applications; Chapter 12, Kombucha market forecast, by countries, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021; Chapter 13 and 14, to describe sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Appendix and data source. Internet access is not enough to transform economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, write Sanna Ojanpera and Mark Graham. Africa has traditionally been left out of what is called the knowledge economy. Whether it is the number of books published per capita or patents issued per country, most African countries tend to come at the bottom of the list. But the world is changing. In 2017, over half the worlds population will have access to the internet a gateway to what Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales refers to as the sum of all human knowledge. Academic articles are spread slightly more evenly across the continents, while digitally-mediated knowledge production is more concentrated in developed countries. Sanna Ojanpera and Mark Graham The rapid growth of internet use on the continent has sparked hopes for the democratisation of knowledge production. Rwandas president, Paul Kagame, has expressed these hopes by saying: In Africa, we have missed both the agricultural and industrial revolutions and in Rwanda we are determined to take full advantage of the digital revolution. Is the excitement warranted? Digital disappointment For several years we worked with colleagues at the University of Oxford to examine some of these claims. It makes sense that countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States, which have huge resources to invest in tertiary education, would be able to produce a lot of academic articles a measure of traditional knowledge production. By the same logic, shouldnt the newly democratised access to the internet now mean that places such as Nigeria or Kenya can better compete in those measures of the digital knowledge economy? We tested this by comparing academic articles with two modern, digital measures of knowledge production: the uploading of computer code onto the worlds largest repository (GitHub), and the registering of domain names (such as .com or .za). What we expected to find is that academic articles are heavily concentrated in the global North, while collaborative coding and domain registrations are distributed more evenly. Not so: it turns out that the global and regional patterns of digital knowledge production are actually more uneven than those of academic articles. Sub-Saharan Africa is the continent that contributes the least to all three categories. Its share of academic articles is only 1.1 per cent. With 0.5 per cent of collaborative coding and 0.7 per cent of domain registrations, the region produces an even smaller share of digital knowledge. Content creation across continents Click to enlarge Heres a telling statistic: France produces 3.2 times more academic articles, 5.7 times more collaborative coding and 3.4 times more domain registrations than all Sub-Saharan African countries together. Connectivity is not enough Our results also suggest that the factors often framed as catalysts in Africas transformation do not have the same influence across measures of the knowledge economy. Take connectivity: while it plays a role in all three categories, it seems to have a strong effect only on digital content creation. On the other hand, the production of academic articles is more strongly related to a countrys gross domestic product (GDP) than to connectivity. Innovation capacity appears to have a positive relationship to all three content types. And education looks related only to the variation in academic articles. The uneven geographies of digitally mediated content indicate a worryingly diminishing role for Sub-Saharan Africa vis-a-vis other world regions. Sanna Ojanpera and Mark Graham In other words, while connectivity is important for creating digitally mediated knowledge, merely increasing connectivity might not allow African countries to leapfrog to higher levels of digital engagement. Wealth, innovation capacity and public spending on education matter as well.This matters because governments, donors and others are directing enormous public and private resources to increasing connectivity and supporting digital development initiatives in Africa. Our findings suggest a need to take a critical look at their investments. A total shift into industries based on technology and human capital may not be on the immediate horizon economies in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to rely heavily on extractive industries and agriculture. But knowledge-based economic practices are emerging: innovation hubs, labs and research and development centres are appearing across the continent, while local entrepreneurial initiatives use technology at the grassroots. Going further than this, towards a transformation into knowledge economies, will need far more concentrated effort than simply increasing internet connectivity. One barrier highlighted by our findings is the short supply of locally produced knowledge. Without investing to shift the trends shown in our research, Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a worryingly diminishing role in the worlds digital knowledge economy. Sanna Ojanpera is a researcher and Mark Graham professor, both at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. Ojanpera can be contacted at [email protected] and Graham at [email protected] This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk. [NAIROBI] Researchers should refine and communicate relevant scientific research findings effectively to policymakers and development practitioners to inform strategies and interventions needed to address urban violence in Sub-Saharan Africa, a meeting has heard. The Safe and Inclusive Cities (SAIC) initiative meeting which was held in Kenya last month (29-31 May) attracted researchers from around the globe to discuss findings of research that links urban violence, poverty and inequality. The researchers found that poor governance, restrictive gender roles, and lack of access to basic services for young people are among the main factors driving violence in many of the global Souths urban centres. The initiative that began in 2012 is funded by the UKs Department for International Development in collaboration with Canadas International Development Research Centre to support experts globally to find pathways and innovations to reduce violence in urban centres. It is prudent that policymakers and urban planners are presented with research results and policy briefs to use in decision-making. Charlotte Wrigley-Asante, University of Ghana With 15 research teams globally, SAIC researchers have been working in cities across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America to test the effectiveness of violence reduction strategies, innovations and key knowledge gaps in the links between urban violence, inequalities and poverty. For example, through focus group discussions and community debate groups, policymakers, local people, police, and urban planners in two Ghanaian cities Accra and Kumasi are presented with research results to help make informed decisions on security. Charlotte Wrigley-Asante, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghanas Department of Geography and Resource Development, says that Sub-Saharan Africa need to increase the uptake of research in policies and decision-making as these studies give factual information of problems affecting the continent. Scientific research is on the increase, creating innovations and new interventions to address problems in our cities such as violence, Wrigley-Asante tells SciDev.Net. It is prudent that policymakers and urban planners are presented with research results and policy briefs to use in decision-making. She explains that the use of geographic information system to map out violence hotspots in urban centres is helping police plot out hotspots to reduce violence in Accra and Kumasi. Researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa, adds Wrigley-Asante, should look beyond publications and increase efforts to explain research findings to policymakers and members of the public to help increase research uptake and adoption of innovations that offer solutions to developmental challenges such as insecurity. Hugo van der Merwe, the head of research, learning and knowledge at South Africa-based Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, tells SciDev.Net: The challenge we still experience in Sub-Saharan Africa today is the huge gaps between researchers and policymakers. Merwe, who is part of the SAIC research teams, says that researchers need to find new ways to present knowledge in accessible manner to policymakers and urban planners such as through discussion forums. We need to create more opportunities for researchers to interact with policymakers, Hugo adds. Joan Clos, the executive director UN-Habitat, urges researchers to contribute to urban planning and design as this has the potential to create jobs and wealth. This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk. Researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory stated that climate models recently predict heavier rainfalls in the future for tropical regions as global warming continues. The JPL scientists also believed that precipitation models these days underestimate the amount of rain due to the rising global warming effect. According to Phys Org, recent NASA studies stated that tall, high-altitude clouds in the tropical regions will shrink more. However, that might not be the case as human activities were said to contribute to the increase of climate change. Hence, the result of the study mentioned that there would be fewer heat-trapping clouds that would cause cooler and more unstable air leading to more rain in the future. The JPL team from NASA then assessed climate data collected from the past 30 to 40 years ago and compared them to 23 climate model simulations from the same period. Su alongside the four universities then studied the data through retrospective simulations and utilizing NASA's spaceborne Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and ground observations along with other satellite instruments. Furthermore, the study led by Su discovered that most climate models in the recent decades didnt provide effective prediction regarding the rate of increased precipitation. The team also discovered that the zone of rising air at the center of the Hadley Cell will narrow more as a result of more rainfall. With that said, Hadley Cell was then identified to be an area of rising air with a sinking air offset. "This study provides a pathway for improving predictions of future precipitation change," lead study author and researcher at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Hui Su concluded as reported by Science World Report. Nonetheless, Su and his team concluded that updating the predictive climate models in regards to tropical high clouds and air flow would open avenues for more effective climate models in the future. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications under the title Tightening of Tropical Ascent and High Clouds Key to Precipitation Change in a Warmer Climate. Romania has passed a new bill in the Parliament to implement a ban on the use of the wild animals in circuses. The animal rights group has welcomed this move. The bill says any animal whether captured or born in the captivity will no more be allowed to become a part of the public shows. That means circuses can't use wild animals for public shows. The director of the WWF Romania, Magor Csibi, utters that no wild animal will suffer for the amusement of the people in Romania. According to Phys.org, circuses in Romania will get 18 months to abide by the rules. The circuses have to transfer the animals to the zoos or the reserves. President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, needs to sign the bill into law. The signature of the President would help the bill to become effective to enforce the rules. The important fact is circus owners in Romania have to abide by the rules strictly. They could face the criminal charges and simultaneously one-year imprisonment if they fail to follow the new rules. Though, the owners will still have the authority to use certain animals, like the dolphins and the exotic birds in some specific situations. The decision by the Parliament of Romania comes after a painful incident took place in January that includes the death of eleven animals. According to Romania-Insider, 11 animals died after a circus building caught fire in Bucharest. The firefighters were able to save only 21 animals. These eleven animals include four cats, two tigers, three dogs, and two Vietnamese pigs. The animals mainly belonged to the Globus Circus of Romania. The manager of the Globus Circus, Victor Coman, informed that some of the animals also belonged to a trainer from the Ukraine. After this incident, a public campaign regarding the ban on the use of the trained animals in the circuses gained momentum. Above sixty thousand signatures in support of the campaign built pressure on the authorities to address the issue properly. So far six European Union countries have banned the use of the wild animals in circuses. Romania will be the seventh EU state to follow that footprint. Hong Kong has finally landed a bill to implement a ban on the ivory trade. This bill must be helpful to stop the illegal poaching of the elephants. Hong Kong, a densely populated city in southern China, is a key center of the ivory sales. Last year the city made an announcement about the implementation of a ban on the export and import of the goods. Though, later a clarification surfaced and pointed out that the complete abolition of the trade can only be possible by 2021. On Wednesday an amendment was presented to bring some changes to the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance. The amendment can make the existing ordinance stronger so that it can eradicate the local ivory trade in the Hong Kong city. But, the important fact is a five-year time is necessary to complete the whole process. According to Phys.org, Environment minister Wong Kam-sing produced the bill on Wednesday at the legislative council. He uttered that Hong Kong city should provide a response to the international community's demand. He indicated that the complete closure of the ivory trade must be possible by the year 2021. Recently, the manager of the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Erik Mararv, stated about his bitter experience. He revealed that last year poachers attacked his team when they were close to the elephant carcass. Three rangers died due to this violent incident. Erik Mararv argued that ivory traders in Hong Kong should not get the compensation as this act could encourage the business. The demand for the African ivory is very high in China and Hong Kong. The importance of this ivory explores its necessity as the symbol of status and as ornaments. The use of the elephant task in some traditional medicine also raises its demand in the market. Though, the sellers associated with the ivory trade want compensation. These sellers in Hong Kong state that an international ban affected their market and they are no more able to offload their stocks. The trading of the elephant ivory became illegal in 1989 after the severe decrement of the giant animal's population. WildAid previously reported that the Hong Kong Legislative Council Panel heard the views of both the members who support or against the ivory ban. The Panel listened to the remarks of 20 members who supported the ivory ban. On the other hand, 15 traders raised their voice against the ban. The panel received 275 letters in support of the ivory ban compared to 40 submissions against the ban before the hearing. During the meeting, 150 supporters gathered outside to voice their views in favor of the Hong Kong city's initiative to stop the illegal trade. These supporters included people from different African nations. The number of the elephant reached to 600,000 from millions by the end of the 1980s in Africa. Currently, the number is 415,000. The decreasing trend is quite visible through the numbers. The lawmaker Regina Ip questioned about the compensation of the traders in Hong Kong. But, the Environment minister Wong Kam-sing reported that the government is not ready to buy the ivory. He revealed that Hong Kong city is determined to shut down this market. Saturn will have its closest view during its opposition on June 15, 2017. This is the period in which the ringed-planet, the Earth and the Sun are all in a straight line. The planet Earth is placed in the middle. With Saturn's opposition, one could see the planet clearly at the best view as well as its moons. Probably, one of the moons of Saturn that you could view most is the Titan, which is about 50 percent larger than the Earth's Moon. Titan orbits Saturn about every 16 Earth days. Meanwhile, Earth's Moon orbits for 27.3 days, according to NASA. In addition, the viewers with their telescope could also capture the amazing rings of the planet Saturn. These rings composed of three major rings, namely the A, B and C. The A-ring is the outermost ring that is separated from the B-ring, which is the brightest and the widest. Meanwhile, the innermost C-rings starts along the inner edges of the B-ring and appears translucent than the A and B-rings. The rings are also tilted far forward, according to Sky & Telescope. One could also see the famous dark gap known as the Cassini's Division. This is a hair-like gap that separates the A-ring from the broad B-ring. You can use a magnification of 100x to 200x to see it clearly. The A- and B-rings will also appear brilliant white with a hue of yellow. On the other hand, if you focus on them for a few minutes and shift to the planet, it will appear tan or brown. One could also be amazed on the combination of colors of the planet and its rings that appear strikingly. During the opposition, the Sun will strike the ring particles from the Earth's view. With this, the shadows they cast are hidden behind their small bulks. On the other hand, without the shadows, the rings will turn bright. So, what are you waiting for? Get your telescopes and be amazed to look at one of the most beautiful planets in the universe tonight! If or when humans colonize Mars, one important aspect will have to be addressed -- sex. On a recent webcast from Washington, Assistant Professor Kris Lehnhardt from George Washington University described sex in space as a real concern that has not been discussed yet. According to Huffington Post, there are many things that humans need to prepare for before they even attempt to embark on deep space missions such as journey to Mars. During the spaceflight, or once they reach their destination, humans have to effectively combat the negative effects of radiation, be nutritionally sustained and maintain physical, mental and psychological well-being. These are factors that are being addressed by scientists. However, according to Lehnhardt, in all the criteria being discussed, humans have missed out on something crucial: They do not know about human reproduction in space. If we are talking about colonization, there is a key component to colonization that makes it possible and that is having babies, and this is something we have frankly never studied, Lehnhardt said. If we want to become a spacefaring species and live in space permanently, this is a crucial issue we need to address that has not been fully studied yet. DNA India reports that at the moment, even researchers cannot be too sure about what will occur if humans were to have sex and reproduce in space. Earlier this year, a team of Japanese researchers revealed that they had successfully bred a litter of mice pups with sperm that was frozen and then stored on the International Space Station (ISS). According to the research team, the ability to successfully store, transport and use sperm -- from space back to Earth -- could be helpful when humans start exploring the solar system more regularly. The researchers from Japan had even indicated that it could start the first "lunar sperm bank" that would allow humans to store samples on the Moon to safeguard it in the event of natural or manmade disasters on Earth. HARTSVILLE, S.C. - South Carolinas weather makes water activities nearly a year-round pastime. And as of July1, Hartsville water enthusiast will be able to take advantage of kayaking on Prestwood Lake without having to invest in a kayak. Hakuna Matuna, a kayak rental business is opening on that date. Owner Hannah Stanley said the name for her business came to her in a dream. The idea for the new business was carefully thought out when she participated in Leadership Hartsville. As she went through the program, Stanley said she had her eyes focused on what Hartsville is lacking that would make it a better place to live and work. She came up with a play to rent kayaks. She said Hartsville focusing more and more on tourism and outdoor activities. As director of sales for Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton in Hartsville, Stanley said she sees a lot of people looking for things to do when their stay in town keeps them here over the weekend or the have downtime. So, she thought kayaking would be the perfect way to spend that extra time. She said Hartsville residents also enjoy outdoor activities. Some people already own kayaks and enjoy the activity, but for others an investment of $300 or more dollars prevents them from participating. I like to go out on the creek, she said. Arriving just in time for summer vacations, Stanley said she has purchased seat on top kayaks, tandem kayaks and paddle boards. She said the tandem kayaks are an option for parents with children too young to operate one alone. They can ride together. Stanley said her brother, Noah, and her father, Billy Stanley, will be operating the business for her. They will meet the renters as Lawton Park with the kayaks. Stanley said she has an exclusive use agreement with the city of Hartsville. While the kayaks wont officially be ready for renting until July 1, Stanleys website will be up and running today so people can begin reserving them. Stanley said renting kayaks for a day on Prestwood Lake is a great birthday party idea. She said they will have an option of having a tour guide. After being out on the water, the party participants can enjoy cake and gifts at the Lawton Park. This is just the first step in a bigger plan for the business, she said. Stanley already has ideas for expanding her business. She said people who own their kayaks have had the opportunity to enjoy the waters around Hartsville for kayaking, now others will be able to do so. For more information, visit www.hakunamatuna.com. To reserve a kayak, email Stanley at booking@hakunamatuna. Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. A LEGO exhibition which opened in Scunthorpe last month has been hailed as a success by North Lincolnshire Council. Brick City, which opened on May 13, gives visitors the chance to explore the world through LEGO. It closes on Tuesday (June 20) and a spokesman for the local authority said over 10,000 people have visited the exhibition - a third of a year's worth of visitors at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Church Square. "They have an electronic counter. On the first day, it broke the counter!," he added. We would like to see your LEGO creations - big or small! Send them in to newsdesk@scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk (Image: Brickstand) Artist Warren Elsmore and his team have carefully recreated iconic buildings and landmarks from around the world entirely out of this beloved children's toy. Brick City allows you to travel the world from the lively streets of Rio de Janeiro and New York, to Copenhagen and Venice, and from medieval Japan to glitzy Las Vegas. The Brick City exhibition features over 60 models from across five continents. Whereas the smallest models are made up over less than 100 bricks, the jaw-dropping centrepiece of the exhibition is London St Pancras Station, which is built from 180,000 pieces of LEGO and measures two by four metres. LEGO bricks are unique in their appeal, having been a top-selling toy for over 50 years. The use of LEGO in art inspires creativity and encourages us to look at bit closer at the architecture of our global cities. Warren's spectacular models have been exhibited across the globe and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. A man seriously injured in a motorbike accident 10 months ago has died after complications with surgery, his family have said. Carl Lock was a gentle giant who will be remembered as a man willing to help anyone at any time, his wife Dawn has said in tribute. She is now calling on members of the biker community to join a convoy of motorcyclists in the funeral procession next Friday (June 23). Mr Lock was the owner of North Lincs Freight Services on Hoylake Road, Scunthorpe and the bikes will follow the lorry he is to be carried in. He had an accident at the Cadwell Park circuit in August last year and had undergone a series of operations. He died after what the family say were complications following an operation this month. Mrs Lock, 48, said: He was a fantastic guy to everyone. He worked in haulage and drove the lorries he wasnt a boss behind a desk. There was nothing that he would not do and all the drivers thought the world of him. As people have already written down, he wasnt a boss, he was a friend. He started his own business in 1997. He came from a council estate and worked really hard. Mr Lock doted on his daughters Amy, 23 and Emily, 17, and was passionate about motorbikes, having previously ridden at the Derby Phoenix motorcycle club. He had also been a bodybuilder and competed in Strongman competitions. Mrs Lock, of Bigby Road, Brigg, said: He had always been interested in bikes and had his bike licence before his car licence. He was absolutely brilliant as a dad, he doted on his girls and spoilt them rotten with their horses and funding their obsession with competing. Three weeks ago he watched me qualify at the National Cross Country on the horse he bought me in Derbyshire. He was really pleased for me. He was brilliant so supportive. Carl and Dawn met each other by chance in 1991. Mrs Lock said: I ended up working in a potato place and Carl was delivering potatoes. He was pretty sure of himself. There was him and a friend who made a smart comment when I walked past. He came back and apologised and said about going for a drink. She added that she will treasure family holidays in Moraira, Spain, where they tried to travel to twice a year. We used to go there all the time, she said. The girls used to go and absolutely loved it and we used to do Strongman. When I started doing Strongwoman Carl got involved doing Strongman. We knew the community and Carl said that he wanted to retire there. There is an absolutely gaping hole since Carl died. I dont know how to carry on without him. But everyone has been so good. The biking community have been amazing. The drivers are absolutely devastated. For them all to stand in the yard on the Sunday afternoon Ive never seen anything like it. Mrs Lock added that other workers had compared Mr Locks death to losing a brother and had been unable to clean up his possessions and coffee cup. Its just silly things, said Mrs Lock. I cant empty his bin because it has his things in it. The family have received messages from bikers in Australia and have received tweets from former superbikes stars Jamie Whitham and James Toseland. The funeral is taking place at Woodlands Crematorium in Scunthorpe on Friday, June 23, with the procession to leave Bigby Road, Brigg at around 2pm. Mrs Lock said: I want him to be remembered as someone willing to help anyone at any time. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Double world champion Tai Woffinden has thanked all his fans for rallying round himself and his wife Faye after they were burgled at the weekend. Woffinden estimates that around 20,000 of personal belongings were taken when he was riding in the Czech Grand Prix on Saturday. His wife Faye was at her parents home watching on television. "Personally I think they were disturbed when Faye got home, from the information I have," Woffinden said. "It's naturally a horrible time, particularly for Faye when I'm away racing. I was so angry when I was told about it. "It is what it is, there's nothing we can do about it now but I would urge everyone to look at their home security as we will. "Our thanks to all the fans who have sent messages of support through social media, once again they have proved how special they are." Woffinden has continued his fine league form in recent days. On Sunday the day after the burglary he scored 13 from five in Worclaws 51-39 Polish League win over Leszno. He followed that on Tuesday when he carded 11+1 from five in the Swedish League as Masarna beat Piraterna 54-36. It was a good way to bounce back from the tough Grand Prix Woffinden experienced when he missed out on the semi-finals by a point. "I touched the tapes in my third ride and I would say that moment cost me a semi-final place," the Scunthorpe-born star continued. "You can count on one hand the amount of times I've touched the tapes in my professional career and it's something I just have to get over and move on. "When you look at the programme, that was a race I certainly felt I would win, particularly after my previous ride when I won it. "We just have to look forward now and onto the next one in Denmark. "Also thanks to all the British fans who travelled there and got behind me, I thought it was a home Grand Prix at times!" Woffinden has also spoken again of making more of practice the day before a GP - by making it a qualifying day. "I would have a transponder on the bike to time laps," he said. "Other forms of motorsport do it, not only does it establish the riding order in a better manner than a lottery, it makes Friday more of an event. "It would enhance the weekend experience for supporters and give the riders something to go for. Practice can often become a waste of time because the track on a Saturday can be completely different. "But if you have something to aim for in testing, it would be different." The agency audited the deal following a request from a House of Representatives inquiry committee into irregularities surrounding a contract extension for the management and operation of JICT. Based on the investigation, the BPK concluded that there were numerous indications of violations and irregularities surrounding the contract extension, which was signed on Aug. 5, 2014, BPK head Moeharmadi Soerja Djanegara was quoted as saying. It was found that the contract extension was not in the business plan and did not obtain approval during an RUPST [annual shareholders meeting]. Suddenly it was decided to extend the contract from 2015 to 2039, she said, adding that the contract between Pelindo II and HPH should have expired in 2019. Had no contract extension been made until 2019, JICT would be 100% owned by Indonesia, she added. HPH declined to comment when contacted by Seatrade Maritime News. At Grand Traverse Distillery, they mill each grain that goes into their spirits at the distillery. Dearborn, Ferndale, and five other communities in metro Detroit were recognized June 6 as part of a clean energy and environmental leadership event hosted by the Michigan Green Communities Network. The MGC is a statewide, environmental network of local officials and university staff that promotes sustainability initiatives at the local, regional, and state levels. Each year, the organization orchestrates the Michigan Green Communities Challenge, where cities across the state create sustainability projects, such as green infrastructure upgrades and renewable energy projects. The most successful projects are then awarded a gold, silver, or bronze certificate. Benefits of the program include establishing a benchmark system for the progress of the project, creating a roadmap for sustainability initiatives, and competing and comparing with other communities. The challenge is offered annually but is available for the rest of the year as a tool for cities to benchmark sustainability. Many communities participated in the MGC challenge for the first time this year, including Clinton Township. Clinton Township is honored to achieve a silver certification from our first MGC challenge, said Elizabeth Vogel, the citys deputy supervisor. We are proud of the work we have accomplished, especially stormwater runoff mitigation efforts achieved by investments at the Township Civic Center. Indeed, these green infrastructure investments will improve water quality in the Clinton River, and benefit the health of residents. Receiving a gold certification was the city of Dearborn for integrating sustainability as a basic component of its 2030 master plan. Novi was also awarded a gold certification for incorporating sustainability into its capital improvements planning process. Receiving bronze certifications were the cities of Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, River Rouge, and West Bloomfield Township. Ferndale implemented sustainability into its master plan, while Pleasant Ridge teamed up with Detroit-based nonprofit, EcoWorks, to record energy use of all government buildings in the city. The city of River Rouge was recognized for creating a revolving energy fund to support energy improvements at the local library, and the government of West Bloomfield requires the use of low-impact design and green infrastructure through ordinances Organized in 2009, the MGC is a partnership of the Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Association of Counties, and the Michigan Townships Association. Created by Quality Precast, Inc. Walls created by Quality Precast, Inc. Created by Quality Precast, Inc. Green Bay Packaging is expanding Alamo and Pavilion townships will see business growth and new jobs in coming months. Of the two business expansion projects, the greatest number of jobs will go to Alamo Township. Local manufacturer Quality Precast, Inc. will construct a new 25,000-square-foot production facility and corporate headquarters in Alamo Towship. It plans to add 20 new jobs. The company is a precast manufacturer specializing in manholes, large block retaining walls and more. It will invest more than $1.35 million in the expansion. The company received a $3,000 grant approved by the Kalamazoo County Brownfield Authority to conduct Phase I environmental site assessment. And Alamo Township is also supporting the project with a 12-year tax abatement. Quality Precast was started in 2004 and has grown to be a leader in the Great Lakes region. It is a Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) certified supplier. Its expansion will allow the company to move all production inside the building and run 365 days per year. The 20 jobs created by this expansion will make a great impact on the local community in Alamo Township, says Ron Kitchens, senior partner and chief executive officer of Southwest Michigan First. In Pavilion Township, custom corrugated packaging specialist Green Bay Packaging has broken ground on a 107,000-square-foot expansion. It plans to add three new jobs. Founded in 1933, Green Bay Packaging manufactures high-quality products for a variety of retail packaging and labeling applications. It has 31 locations across the U.S. and Mexico. Its expansion in Kalamazoo County will be completed through an investment of $10.8 million and has been supported by a 12 year tax abatement approved by Pavilion Township. Green Bay Packaging says it is positioning itself for a successful future, using its added square footage to house a new corrugating line. The expansion of Green Bay Packaging is a testament to the companys strong presence in Southwest Michigan, says Kitchens, senior partner and chief executive officer of Southwest Michigan First. Southwest Michigan First is an organization of privately funded economic development advisors who act as the catalyst for economic growth in Southwest Michigan. Source: Southwest Michigan First Belle Isle: Ethan Stanton wanted to give back instead of just wandering through the woods. Photo by Imad Hassan At 20 state parks and recreation areas across southern Michigan, groups of volunteer stewards regularly roll up their sleeves to help protect and restore natural areas. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Volunteer Steward Program puts volunteers to work, typically removing invasive species, planting native species, and collecting native seed. The program holds about 200 workdays per year. In Michigan, we have a lot of really nice, high-quality natural areas within our state parks, says DNR Natural Resource Steward Laurel Malvitz-Draper, who manages the program in southeast Michigan. When an invasive plant moves in, it really disrupts the balance of an ecosystem. Invasive plants can outcompete native plants for nutrients and moisture in the soil, which causes ripple effects to insects, birds, and animals, she says. By removing invasive plants, we seek to restore balance to ecosystems so they can provide their normal functions or ecosystem services and provide habitat for a diverse array of native flora and fauna. Volunteers pull garlic mustard. Photo by Allison Torres Burtka. At a recent workday at Highland Recreation Area in White Lake, Malvitz-Draper led a team of volunteers in pulling garlic mustard, a non-native invasive plant from Europe, out of the ground in wooded areas. She explained how the plant threatens native plant species, and how one garlic mustard plant can spread thousands of seedsand those seeds can remain viable for up to 12 years in the seed bank (where they are stored in the soil). Garlic mustard is allelopathic, meaning it secretes a chemical into the soil through its root system that hinders other plants from growingincluding native wildflowers and other plants that serve as food for native insects and animals. Malvitz-Draper says that keeping invasive species in check preserves and enhances Michigans natural areas, making them more enjoyable for visitors. And in a broader sense, biodiversity is essential. Simply put, species depend on one another for survival, Malvitz-Draper says. Maintaining ecosystems like wetlands is really important for filtering the water we need to survive and for water storage in the event of storms or severe weather. These are things we take for granted until those ecosystem services are no longer available. On the west side of the state, the stewardship program manages critical dune habitat. Those areas are a magnet for tourism, says Heidi Frei, a natural resource steward who manages the program in southwest Michigan. The land is part of the local economy and what locals depend on, so its important to preserve and improve those areas, she says. A cadre of volunteers Volunteers are trained on their tasks for each three-hour workday. They get to learn about local ecosystems, play a part in protecting them, and enjoy fresh air and exercise while theyre at it. Bill Burpee and his wife are regular volunteers who initially got involved as a way of giving back, he says. Then we found out that being out in the woods is very pretty. Volunteers pull garlic mustard. Photo by Allison Torres Burtka. The Stewardship Unit is part of the DNR Parks and Recreation Division, and it is funded through user fees (like camping fees) and the state's Recreation Passport. Frei notes that the DNR is responsible for close to 300,000 acres. Theres not enough staff to do this work on every acre of land that we manage, so volunteer participation is critical to help get this work done, Malvitz-Draper says, noting that park staff often are focused on maintaining and running facilities such as campgrounds. The program also helps educate the public about these issues, Malvitz-Draper says. Having volunteers engaged in this sort of activity is a win-win in terms of getting some hands-on work done in the field, as well as educating our citizens about some of the concerns or impacts to our natural areas. Plus, its fun, Frei says. Volunteers enjoy working in these areas, and they get to know the park in an entirely different way when they get involved in managing it. The volunteer stewards are this legion of people that really care, and that we can call upon to assist us, Frei says. At the same time, they can be our ambassadors. The workdays usually bring in about 10 to 20 volunteers, about half of whom are regulars and half of whom are less experienced, Malvitz-Draper says. After being trained, some volunteers may also work independentlymonitoring forests for diseases, surveying birds, redistributing beetles, monitoring insects, planting native plants, collecting native seed, and mapping invasive species. The program, as it exists today, began in 2006, and has seen noticeable progress since then, Malvitz-Draper says. Having worked in some of these sites for 10-plus years, its really exciting to see the impact and progress weve madeto know that were getting ahead of the seed bank and were really able to protect habitat for our native species. Volunteers pull garlic mustard. Photo by Allison Torres Burtka. Over the years, weve been able to broaden our scope and control invasive species in larger areas, Malvitz-Draper says. That's especially true with garlic mustard. Patches that used to take us several workdays now will just take us part of one workday. She attributes this success to the consistency of the effort from year to year. Park visitors might not know much about invasive plants, but they can tell the difference between a nicely managed area and one overrun with invasive species. When the native species are protected and the natural areas are well managed, people want to recreate more, Frei says. Its important to safeguard these areas because its just kind of our job, says Nicole Timmreck, a forestry major at Michigan State University who volunteered at the Highland workday. In Michigan, we pride ourselves on our resources and natural areas. Why not take care of them? Find out more at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Volunteer Steward Program website . This story is a part of a statewide Community Impact Series edited by Nina Ignaczak. Support for this series is provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Elizabeth Lian Jacob Pinney-Johnson and his daughter When Elizabeth Lian got the call offering her a position at the Burma Center in her former hometown of Battle Creek, she was working for a corporation in Houston in her newly begun life after graduation.The job offer tugged at her. Battle Creek, an unlikely home to over 2,500 Burmese American refugees since the 1980s, had also been Lians home during formative years in her adolescence when she attended Lakeview High School. She remembered fondly many teachers who had held her hand at a time when she was struggling with English and in that state of becoming somebody, she says.I think Ive always had it in me that I wanted to empower and serve refugee communities because of my own refugee background, says Lian, who has lived in seven countries and speaks five languages fluently. When Martha (Thawnghmung, Burma Center Executive Director) contacted me, it was hard for me to say yes, but I felt it was calling to me. I wanted to give back to the community that helped raise me.At only 26, Lian was first offered a position as Assistant Executive Director, but she declined due to her age and inexperience and instead asked for the title Program Manager, a position under which she oversees many of the Burma Center programs that serve youth, family, and adults through language, advocacy, and community engagement.Of particular importance to Lian is a current project called the Burmese American Professional Network, a program whose goal is to connect Burmese Americans in a variety of fields in higher education with college-bound Burmese Americans to increase networking and success.Lian herself experienced challenges in college due to language, culture, race, and adjustment so she knows firsthand how personal support, especially by those who have undergone what you are going through, is invaluable. There were a lot of times I thought I might not make it through, she says. If I hadnt faced those challenges and barriers, I dont think I would be able to hold the position I do today.While Lians multi-cultural experiences are an asset, at times, she says, they also pose a challenge in a community the size of Battle Creek.I tend to think of things at a global level, she says. Working here sometimes, I have to shrink it down to a local level.In all Lian does, whether it is working with her team or with the public, Lian says her motivating mission is empowerment.When I see people on our staff who are working and feeling empowered, I know they can spread that feeling to the people we are working within the community, Lian says. To me, to be a leader is to make more leaders. I dont think I have any power to make anyone a leader. Every person already has what it is needed to be successful inside of them. I just hope to empower more people to become the leaders that they already are.When Erin Denay, 25, Executive Director of Open Roads of Kalamazoo graduated from Western Michigan University with majors in Environmental Science and Sustainability and in Organizational Communication, and with a minor in Nonprofit Leadership, she saw her end career goal as becoming an executive director of a nonprofit organization.She had no idea she would fulfill that dream so soon. Denay, who directs Open Roads Bike Program, a Kalamazoo nonprofit that launched in 2013 and has been growing every year since, has found a perfect match for her passion for sustainability and service to the community. The program currently serves 450 youth by fulfilling its mission to teach youth bike mechanic skills and social skills in order to better prepare them for their future. One way the program does this is through its weekly Fixapaloozas, where an entire bike shop plus parts are moved to different locations in the city to help youth fix broken bikes.Were giving bikes a new life -- these hefty objects, says Denay. Otherwise they end up in a landfill. Likewise, were teaching kids about taking care of old things instead of just getting new ones.Denay thinks of sustainability at Open Roads in a tri-fold way: fixing and saving the bikes, sustaining and helping develop youth who learn to care for the bikes while learning about how to manage their emotions and recognize their dreams, and creating a positive atmosphere so the staff, both paid and volunteer, stay on and grow, fulfilling the organizations mission.Recently, Open Roads graduated its first student who started off in the Earn a Bike program while he was in the juvenile home. He attended programs every year since and just this year became an instructor for Earn a Bike, coming full circle. This is the kind of sustainability Denay seeks--creating programming thats engaging enough that youth will keep coming back year after year.Were still a younger nonprofit so that means we need some strong leadership to vision and guide us to a next sustainable step to help maintain funding diversity and lessen staff turnover, says Denay, who has been on the job since 2015. My job is to take us to that next level and to empower our employees to produce quality programs along the way so we are able to have a lasting impact on the population we are serving.Denay concedes nonprofit professionals can get burnt out pretty quickly so she seeks to model a balance of work, fun, and self-care. The staff tries to go on bike rides together. We try not committing to too many things. We encourage plenty of sleep and nutritional foods. We want to set the tone to be really strong and healthy, she says. Ultimately it leads to staff sustainability. You want to have a staff that knows you care about them.Jacob Pinney-Johnson 29, has been involved in nonprofit work and community service since his graduation from WMU, including serving as media and outreach coordinator for the Society for History and Racial Equity and as a coordinator for Project X, a leadership program geared towards young adults.Currently he applies his community engagement experience, along with his parenting skills as the father of a four-year-old daughter, to his new position as a community educator with Fatherhood Initiatives, an offshoot of Healthy Babies, Healthy Starts , run by the Kalamazoo Health and Community Services and funded in part by a United Way of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Regions grant.His job involves educating new fathers about what it means to be a man and father in our culture, mens health issues, family history, education and childcare. He also advocates for new fathers in the community. One challenge of community service, as Pinney-Johnson sees it, is to not become overwhelmed by all the problems you see.Right now, being involved with fatherhood, I think a lot about our families and the stress and trauma that families specifically in Kalamazoo are going through in terms of racial disparities and economic equalities, he says. Being a lifelong resident of Kalamazoo and being fortunate to be involved in social justice and nonprofit work is great, but also tough sometimes, because a lot of my friends and my family are wrapped up in the struggle of mental health and the struggle of poverty. Theres that feeling that you cant help everybody.What motivates Pinney-Johnson is his sense of carrying on a legacy of fighting racial disparities and advocating for social justice. His father, David Johnson, was a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Youth Chapter President in the 1960s and led boycotts for racial justice. His grandfather traveled from Mississippi to Kalamazoo in 1913 to escape racial persecution including threats from the Klu Klux Klan.When people who knew them say to me, your grandfather and father would be proud, and I think about the legacy that Im passing on to my daughter, that brings me pride.These inspiring young nonprofit leaders and devoted advocates are bettering lives in Southwest Michigan. In the process, they are becoming the changes in the world they wish to see, to paraphrase an often-quoted saying by Gandhi.As a person who is passionate about sustainability, both in the community and the environment, Denay sees her young age as an asset. Im like a sponge, she says. I try to absorb everything thats going on. Being young, Im still discovering things about me and what I want out of my life so Im open to learning with the students were serving, our staff, our board, and other community nonprofits. Young Nonprofit Leaders in West Michigan from Michigan Nightlight on Vimeo. Pinney-Johnson, who sees leadership as a collaborative effort, considers himself an aspiring leader. To be a leader, you have to have what I call some juice. You have to be willing to work harder, work longer, and not just work smarter. And doing all that in balance. Realizing that my leadership cant just be community and organizationally-based. It has to start in the home.And Lian is very aware that she is not just managing an organization, but trying to create revolutionary change for a large group of people.Its a lot of responsibility. When I think of making that kind of change and empowering these individuals, while I, on a daily basis am not always empowered, I can feel overwhelmed, says Lian, who says she continues to face discrimination due to her race, culture, and gender. The best in me cannot always come out. If Im still struggling, how can I help other people make this change? While I cant say Ive overcome all obstacles, the fact that Im still in the fight is what makes me most proud.This article is part of Michigan Nightlight, a series of stories about the programs and people that positively impact the lives of Michigan kids. It is made possible with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation . Read more in the series here Sober but optimistic is how Dr. David A. Ansell describes the subject of his work on inequities in heath care. Dr. Ansell is the senior vice president of community health equity and associate provost for clinical affairs at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, work he says he does as a physician under the umbrella of human rights activist.He's written two books that call attention to structural violence in healthcare. His latest, The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills , was released this spring. Dr. Ansell spoke Tuesday, June 6, at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine to talk about the connection between racism and income inequality to health.There were 260 people in attendance for Dr. Ansell's lecture, according to Tim Ready, Director of the Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations, who were co-sponsors of the event. In addition, Dr. Ansell spoke the following day to about 75 MD's at the Grand Rounds of the internal medicine physicians from both hospitals and the medical school.Ansell went on to meet with about 40 nonprofit and public sector organization leaders at a community leadership luncheon. Ansell's visit came about in part through the efforts of Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo in the hopes that community leaders would engage with Ansell, especially on the topic of health.Structural violence is caused by laws, procedures, practices that disadvantage some over others, Dr. Ansell says, and he refers to this death gap as a form of structural violence. He says that for every million people who have no health insurance, 1,000 will die every year. When social structures or institutions keep people from being able to meet basic needs such as adequate healthcare it is more than unfair, it is violenceDr. Ansell began his work as a young resident at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, one of the most famous teaching hospitals in the country. Dr. Ansell called it run down and decrepit and adds, it was allowed to be degraded because the patients it served were poor, Black and Brown.Dr. Ansell says everything he learned, he learned at Cook County Hospital. He went there for one reason --healthcare was a human right. Dr. Ansell stayed there for 17 years, before moving on to Mt. Sinai Health System, but, before he left, he learned a lot about the troubling practice of "patient dumping."When a hospital transfers a patient to another hospital after learning a patient is uninsured or doesn't have a means to pay for treatment that is patient dumping. As the publicly funded safety net hospital, Cook County was where patients were "dumped" on a regular basis.Dr. Ansell saw this going on, and he and a colleague decided to do a study, which he refers to as an experience in speaking up. The study tracked 500 patients who were transferred for having no means to pay. It only took three weeks to track that many patients. Uninsured patients weren't told the real reason for their transfer. Instead, they were told the hospital they were being transferred out of didn't have any beds.Why would the hospitals lie? Dr. Ansell describes it as the insidiousness of structural racism. How do our systems replicate historical injustices, with white on top and Brown and Black on bottom? Ninety percent of the patients transferred were Black or Brown because they were more likely to be uninsured. Twenty-five percent were unstable at the time of transfer, he says. Here I am, a young resident, and who's on the other line? Someone like me. A nice person. They were told by administrators to send patients who were uninsured and I was supposed to accept them.The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal law that requires hospital emergency departments to stabilize and treat patients, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. The law was enacted as a result of Dr. Ansell's and other studies. Dr. Ansell calls EMTALA the only form of guaranteed universal healthcare the United States has. And, he adds, we only have it because people stood up.Patient dumping was a symptom of how structural violence disparately affects people's lives. The life expectancy of residents of Chicago's South Side neighborhoods is only 69 years, which is equal to that of such countries as India and the Philippines. But only a few miles away, residents of Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhoods are likely to live to at least 85, equal to the average life expectancy of Singapore and Japan -- the two countries with the longest life expectancies in the world.That 16-year span is bigger than the difference in life spans between Haiti and the United States and Dr. Ansell notes, this disparity is not unique to Chicago; it is prevalent in communities across the entire United States. Similar disparities can be seen in Kalamazoo County," Ready says, citing statistics from the federal Centers for Disease Control. "White residents, on average, live five years longer than their African-American neighbors, and the richest 25 percent of area residents live about eight years longer than the poorest 25 percent. Ready says that these differences reflect "differential exposure to environmental stressors and other social determinants of health related to racism and economic insecurity."In May, the Washington Post reported on a study which revealed that while life expectancy, as a whole, is increasing in the U.S., in some U.S. communities life expectancy is declining. And the gap is widening by as much as 20 years.Locally, Cradle Kalamazoo , with its focus on infant mortality, is the group most actively working on health equity, Ready says. The YWCA and the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine have been the lead partners working on this, and Ready says the work that they have been doing is completely consistent with the goals of the Walker Institute.Dr. Ansell calls the right to access healthcare, not a matter of left or right, but a matter of right and wrong. He says that the right to healthcare is embodied in International Law, Article 25 UN Declaration of Human Rights and in the World Health Organization's 1946 Constitution , which the United States signed onto. But, Ansell says, we've never really taken it to heart.A growing majority of Americans believe access to healthcare is a moral issue. According to a Pew Research Center Survey , 60 percent of Americans believe the government should be responsible for ensuring all Americans have healthcare coverage, while only 38 percent believe it should not be the government's responsibility. That 60 percent is up from 51 percent just a year ago.Dr. Ansell says that people worry about healthcare and healthcare costs. Deductibles are rising, both with the ACA and employer-based plans, and small businesses, who have to buy their own insurance, struggle to pay healthcare costs.People skip care because of this, he says. Medicaid is insurance for poor people, older people, and people with disabilities. When you defund Medicaid you defund lots of people. The GOP bill wants to take $600- to $800 billion and give it to the top 1 percent of the country, he adds.Dr. Ansell's life work and his books are bringing attention to the statistical inequities in healthcare and fixing the problem will require a shift in the way the U.S. handles healthcare. Dr. Ansell ends his talk with a quote from Louis Pasteur: One does not ask of one who suffers: What is your country and what is your religion? One merely says: You suffer, that is enough for me. ON THE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM (DOT) TERMINATING ITS ADVERTISING CONTRACT WITH MCCANN WORLDGROUP PHILIPPINES We thank the Department of Tourism (DOT) for listening to the views and sentiments of its stakeholders, especially in the light of the controversy involving the department and its advertising agency. We trust that the DOT would put its best foot forward as it moves on from this episode. Press Release June 15, 2017 Sen. De Lima asks: Where is the President? Sec. 12, Art. VII of the 1987 Const. states that in case of serious illness of the President, the public shall be informed of the state of his health. Malacanang might be taking this provision literally, if it is reserving any announcement on the President's unscheduled "vacation" and cancellation of schedules until such time when the situation is already "serious". Of course, Malacanang is well within the constitutional bounds when it refuses to fully inform the public about the President's "vacation", but it is also its moral obligation to go beyond what the Constitution requires. This is called transparency and accountability, two words that are already lost to this administration and its senior cabinet officials. Until transparency and accountability become real in this administration, and not mere by-words spouted senselessly, rumors about the President's condition will continue to abound. We do not need this at a time when the AFP is waging a war against terrorists in Marawi. The public needs to be fully informed. Knowing the truth about the President's state of health is both a matter of public interest and national security. For the past several days, the men and women of our uniformed service have remained in their post, have continued to discharge their solemn duty to defend the Filipino people, and some have even made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Amidst their continued and constant service, WHERE is the President? Where is our Commander-in-Chief? Shootings memorial: A memorial ceremony, hosted by Alameda for Black Lives, will mark the anniversary of the June 17, 2015, mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., that resulted in nine deaths. Participants will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the southwest corner of Webster Street and Atlantic Avenue in Alameda. Information: www.alamedaforblacklives.org. Saturday Nuclear weapons march: Womens March to Ban the Bomb, in support of U.N. negotiations on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Demonstrators will meet at 11:30 a.m. at El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com. In San Francisco, marchers are planning to meet at noon at U.N. Plaza. For information: bln.sf.ca@gmail.com. In San Jose, marchers will meet at 11:30 a.m. at Winchester and Stevens Creek. For information: http://bit.ly/2s6WWpz. Anti-Trump discussion: Hosted by the Freedom Socialist Party, a conversation on countering racism and fascism. The event begins at 2 p.m. A $3 to $5 donation is requested at the door. The event is at New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk St., San Francisco. For information: (415) 864-1278 or www.socialism.com. Nuclear weapons film: A screening and discussion of The Nuclear Requiem, on the challenges of controlling nuclear weapons. The free, two-hour event starts at 3:30 p.m. at the Los Altos Public Librarys Orchard Room, 13 S. San Antonio Road. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com. Wednesday Refugees event: A community briefing, Helping Refugees Today: What We Need to Know, What We Need to Do, presented by immigration and refugee resettlement professionals. The event is from 6:30-8 p.m. at St. Marks Lutheran Church, 1111 OFarrell St., San Francisco. Information: gracecathedral.org/refugees. Thursday Coal film: A free screening of From the Ashes, a National Geographic documentary about coal, followed by a discussion on the environment and climate. The film begins at 7 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. For information: www.nocoalinoakland.info. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. June 24 Climate change: Hosted by the Older Womens League of California, a discussion and postcard writing to elected representatives to push for climate change support. The event is from 10 a.m.-noon at the Northern Police Station Community Room, 1125 Fillmore St., San Francisco. For information: info@owlsf.org. July 2 Impeachment march: Nationwide marches will call for President Trumps impeachment. The march in San Francisco begins at 1 p.m. along the Embarcadero and will head to Powell and Market streets. For information: http://bit.ly/2sYoEER. Californias firearms laws, already among the nations toughest, have been further stiffened by legislators and voters in the past year with bans on high-capacity gun magazines and the sales of guns with so-called bullet buttons that enable speedy reloading, and a requirement, to take effect in 2019, of background checks for buyers of ammunition. And as firearms advocates challenge those laws in court, lawmakers are considering further measures that would ban gun possession on school grounds and limit purchases of rifles and shotguns to one per month, a restriction that already applies to handguns. But one of the Legislatures leading supporters of gun control said Wednesday that without congressional action to stem the free flow of weapons throughout the country, theres not much more the state can do. We have tightened our laws but we dont have closed (states) borders, said state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. Until Congress acts and addresses what is a national issue in a country awash in guns, were going to see these horrific tragedies. Whatever lessons can be drawn from the gun deaths Wednesday of three victims and the shooter at a UPS warehouse in San Franciscos Potrero Hill neighborhood, and the wounding of a congressman and two police officers in Virginia, Wiener said, they do not show a need for more guns in the worlds most heavily armed nation. But Craig DeLuz of the Firearms Policy Coalition, a Sacramento organization that has sued to overturn some of the recent state laws, said the restrictive measures enacted by both California and the city of San Francisco had obviously done nothing to prevent the bloodshed, and may even have encouraged it. The laws that have been passed only disarm law-abiding citizens and prevent them from being able to defend themselves, DeLuz said. San Francisco has enacted some gun ordinances that go further than the state laws one, which survived a court challenge, requires handgun owners to keep their weapons disabled or stored in locked containers. But Wiener, a former city supervisor, said the expansion of state laws has left little room for further local regulation. DeLuzs group and the National Rifle Association have filed separate suits contending Californias laws violate the constitutional right to possess guns for self-defense, declared by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008. On Tuesday, the gun organizations asked a federal judge in San Diego to block enforcement of the states ban on magazines containing more than 10 cartridges, scheduled to take effect July 1, as a violation of both gun-ownership rights and property rights. State law already prohibits sale of those weapons, but the new legislation, and a ballot measure approved by the voters in November, forbid their possession as well. Suits have also been filed to challenge the ban on bullet buttons, a common feature of semiautomatic rifles. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has been considering for weeks whether to review a challenge by firearms advocates to Californias long-standing law requiring owners to get law enforcement approval before carrying a concealed handgun in public permits that are virtually unavailable in the Bay Area and other urban centers. The justices are likely to decide by the end of this month whether they will take up the case or leave the law intact. A federal appeals court upheld the law last year and said the Second Amendment right to bear arms does not apply outside the home, an issue the high court has not yet addressed. Regardless of the gun laws constitutionality, the NRA and its allies have been effective at persuading Congress that such restrictions are ineffective and unnecessary. The last significant federal gun control law was an assault weapons ban, less stringent than Californias, which was sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in 1994 and expired 10 years later. Attempts to revive it have been unsuccessful. Gun restrictions dont matter to criminals who ignore laws against homicide, said Sean Brady, a lawyer for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, the NRAs state affiliate. He said there is no evidence that gun control reduces violence to the contrary, American civilians are armed, and bad guys are more reluctant to attack them. The statistics say otherwise, countered Ari Freilich, legislative director of the San Francisco-based Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. He said California has reduced its rate of gun homicides by more than 60 percent since 1993, when it began tightening its firearms laws, changing from one of the most violent states to one of the safest. If it were true that guns everywhere made communities safer, America would be by far the safest country on Earth, Freilich said. We have more than one gun per person, and we have by far the largest (incidence) of gun violence. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko State gun laws Recent gun laws enacted by the California Legislature and voters include: A ban on possession of gun magazines holding more than 10 cartridges, effective July 1. A ban on sales of guns with bullet buttons, which allow owners to reload semi-automatic weapons quickly by pushing a button with a small tool or a bullet to detach an empty magazine. A requirement that buyers of ammunition undergo background checks, starting in 2019. A requirement that those convicted of felonies or violent misdemeanors, which make gun ownership illegal, keep records showing they have relinquished their weapons. A requirement that any gun theft be classified as a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, changing the law that made the theft a misdemeanor if the gun was worth less than $950. A requirement that ammunition dealers report a loss or theft to police within 48 hours. At a time when so much housing being added to Bay Area cities seems interchangeable, the Piazza Angelo at Trinity Place in San Francisco wins points for oddball joy. Burly chunks of marble along the walkway include carvings of classical figures. One slope is landscaped to suggest an overgrown, long-idle quarry. Hovering above the piazza, 92 feet tall, is a gleaming metal sculpture of an abstract swirling Venus de Milo. Stranger still, this fanciful oasis is tucked within three multistory slabs of brown-and-gray precast concrete an indulgent counterpoint and a reminder that sometimes a developers ego can be a good thing. The piazza accompanies the third phase of Trinity Place, which now contains 1,398 apartments and will add 402 more, plus retail, in a fourth building along Market Street. Its the largest concentration of apartments on any single block in the city, next to a BART station and on the edge of Civic Center. Trinity Place also is the final complex conceived by Angelo Sangiacomo, who died in 2015 at age 91. His aggressive tactics as a landlord fueled the passage of rent control here in the 1970s, yet his passion for creating buildings with character was real. That tension, between profit and place making, plays out at Trinity Place. The architecture is more drab than dynamic, steep cliffs of precast concrete that blur into each other. The tallest structure, a 24-story slab with a six-story glass base and a partly metal facade, has a crisp efficiency. But instead of the boldly overlapping volumes and forms that were promised when the complex was approved in 2007 a right-angled collage at skyline scale the second and third buildings have been filled in and smoothed out. The design is by Arquitectonica, a Miami firm that has used this super-sized approach in cities around the world, including an apartment block in our very own Mission Bay. There, the contrast in colors and depth delivers a (pleasing) visual punch. Here, less so. Piazza Angelo, by contrast, shows the ebullience of a developer who built a compound for his family in Italy that includes a restored castle. Theres white marble in the new plaza as well, the tallest sample rises a good 10 feet. Some pieces gleam behind windswept bunch grasses in the sloped quarry. Others reveal sculpted slivers of classical imagery, including a veiled torso and an upside-down Davids head. Nicole Boliaux/The Chronicle Two statues in the passageway from Eighth Street seem encased in ice. Just because. Theres plenty else to describe marble table for 18 with marble-block seating, anyone? but the sensory overload can be distilled to the central pairing of a lawn of artificial turf, and the corkscrewed Venus with the surrounding structures reflected on its stainless steel skin. The Venus is by Denver artist Lawrence Argent, who also conceived the plazas dreamy though muscular theme: A quarry that has been there, and stood the test of time that resonated with the family, said Walter Schmidt, who heads Trinity Properties. Angelo told Lawrence, Consider the whole space as your canvas. Argent developed his ideas with Arquitectonicas Bernardo Fort-Brescia and landscape architects Guzzardo Partnership of San Francisco. Add the structural engineering prowess of Magnusson Klemencic Associates to make sure Venus stays upright, and the Italian holiday is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The conceptual landscape that captivated Sangiacomo will strike many visitors as kitsch. But Im charmed even if an overblown fantasia isnt my personal taste. And thats where the value of ego comes in. Piazza Angelo has personality, from a tiled mosaic entryway reminiscent of M.C. Escher to the faux outcrops of chiselled stone that are a genuine tactile pleasure. This isnt a landscape architects bid to look trendy. Its Sangiacomo notion of an urban refuge coupled with Argent seizing the chance to conjure a romantic terrain from scratch. Thats not to give rich mens ego a pass. The presence of Donald Trump in the White House shows where a developers hubris can lead. Still, the lush and loopy plaza within Trinity Place wouldnt exist unless Angelo Sangiacomo genuinely had wanted to create something that he saw as a gift to the city. And his family, to its credit, continued on that path. One piece of the complex remains to be built, the 17-story outpost along Market Street. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, and the design should have the energy missing from the second and third buildings including an eight-story portal from Market Street that will lead past cafes into Piazza Angelo. In 2015, Trinity Properties sought to remove the portal, but the citys Planning Department said no. Lets hope that Trinity executives and the family resist the urge to whittle down costs as the final decisions are made on the fine-grain design details. Sangiacomo wouldnt have it any other way. Place is a weekly column by John King, The San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron San Francisco police were digging into the past of a United Parcel Service employee as they tried to figure out why he allegedly killed three co-workers at a company distribution center before shooting himself to death Wednesday. The San Francisco Police Department identified the shooter as Jimmy Lam, 38, of San Francisco. They seized Lams BMW, which was parked near the shooting scene, and raided his home in San Franciscos Inner Richmond neighborhood, where neighbors said he mostly kept to himself. Workers at the UPS building at 320 San Bruno Ave. said the gunman was a fellow employee, and Assistant Police Chief Toney Chaplin said the shooter was wearing a UPS uniform. A union official said Lam had filed a grievance complaining that he was working excessive overtime, according to the Associated Press. Lams neighbors said they often saw him walking around in a company uniform, looking at his phone and smoking a cigarette. In the afternoon, officers left his home one of two units in a grayish-green building with what appeared to be a computer, several bags of evidence and a file box. Around the same time, police towed away a black 2012 BMW coupe registered to Lam that had been parked near the shooting scene. Im a little creeped out, said Jennifer Plog, who lives next door to Lams home and said he had appeared harmless. Its creepy knowing that people next door have the ability to have guns and shoot people they work with. It makes me feel unsafe. No one interviewed in the neighborhood of two-story homes and apartments said they had spoken with Lam. According to court records, Lams only brushes with the law involved driving. In 2010, he was convicted of driving under the influence and was placed on probation after San Francisco police said he crashed into parked vehicles. He allegedly had neither a valid license nor insurance. Three years later, city prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his probation when he was arrested again for driving under the influence. Police officials said they recovered two guns from the scene of the shooting, including what they described as an assault pistol. They did not provide further details or say where the guns had come from or whether they had been legally purchased. The shooting happened at 8:55 a.m. as UPS workers gathered for a regular meeting called Wednesday Wellness, causing panic as employees dived to the ground or ran for safety. In addition to killing three, the gunman wounded at least two others, while three people were injured while fleeing, officials said. When responding police officers encountered the suspect inside the building, officials said, he raised a pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. Vivian Ho and Michael Cabanatuan are San Francisco Chronicle reporters. Email: vho@sfchronicle, mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @VivianHo @ctuan Saul Chavez was not at El Gran Taco Loco, his Bernal Heights taqueria, on June 18, 2016, the day it was destroyed, his life interrupted, his bank accounts gutted. The 41-year-old restaurateur was on a catering job when employees called him to say that Cole Hardware, the business next door, was on fire. First Chavez tried to reassure them. After the calls kept coming, worry escalating with each one, he told them to leave. By the time Chavez was able to return to the restaurant, the fire had destroyed six buildings and left more than 50 people homeless. The fire department later attributed the blaze to a smoldering cigarette or barbecue coals that someone next door had thrown into a trash can. Immediately after the fire, Chavez forwarded the restaurants telephone number to his personal cell phone. Customers called him nonstop, trying to place takeout orders, forcing him to explain over and over about the fire. It was as if he was being hounded by his own tragedy, as if it wouldnt let him catch his breath. But each caller offered consolation as well. Some customers even called back to check in: When would El Gran Taco Loco reopen? When would El Gran Taco Loco reopen? At first, Chavez assumed it would be a matter of months. Jets of water had turned the place into a mess all the ceiling tiles dropped to the floor but the equipment seemed unharmed. The city gave him $10,000 in emergency funds while he waited for insurance to kick in. Several thousand more arrived from a GoFundMe campaign set up by a neighbor. When construction crews demolished the Cole Hardware building, exposing the upper floors of the hotel El Gran Taco Loco was housed in, Chavez realized the situation was more dire. Charred craters in the top stories looked as if Godzilla had raged down Mission Street, spewing napalm. Then, in September, the landlord notified Chavez that a clause in his lease allowed the building owner to cancel the agreement if the space couldnt be occupied for more than three months. The news unmoored him. A refrain punctuates Chavezs story: The fire changed my life. Chavez had spent 15 years running El Gran Taco Loco, just two doors down from his uncles seafood restaurant, Playa Azul, which was also destroyed in the blaze. Chavez had three kids in private school. A house in San Leandro. He had just fixed up a taco trailer to expand his business. He fell into a deep depression, compounded by the fact that he couldnt sleep more than a few hours a night. It was mollified by one thought: Somewhere in my body, I have a smart heart to make me think this way: It was just money. Something you can fix, he says. Fixing it meant hunting for a new space in Hayward, closer to his house, until he heard that the owner of Taqueria Menudo in the Excelsior was selling the business after four decades. Even if I dont live here, I trust this area, Chavez says of the southern stretch of Mission Street. It would have been easier for him to take over Taqueria Menudos existing business no reapplying for liquor licenses, no wrangling with his insurance company, no remodeling the bathrooms to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act but Chavez had worked too hard to build his brand. So he embarked on eight months of renovation. He and a few employees manned the El Gran Taco Loco trailer at As games and street-food pods, and Chavez logged each appearance on Facebook. Nicole Boliaux/The Chronicle On May 22, he finally posted, Our first day of business at the New Location in Excelsior Neighborhood! El Gran Taco Loco is the first of the businesses displaced by the fire to reopen. The owner of the hotel that used to house the taqueria and the 3300 Club has put the building up for sale. Playa Azuls renovation is stuck in limbo. Plans to build a five-story condo building on the site of the old Cole Hardware have just been filed, and the hardware store may or may not return. Jose Marenco, who owns Jenny & Jesse, a Honduran restaurant most people know as El Paisa, says he will reopen at 3322 Mission St. this week. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. The new Excelsior location is glutted with light. Its 16-foot-high walls are painted in crimson, marigold and saffron so vivid you can feel the colors soaking into your skin. The menu glows on a bank of tall LCD screens, one of which flashes advertisements for El Gran Taco Locos truck. It takes five screens to list all of the dishes the restaurant now sells. San Francisco taquerias, Chavez says, may have the reputation of serving Mexican fast food, but theyve really become more like all-day diners. Tacos and burritos may be its mainstay, but the restaurant serves egg dishes from morning until night, and has added soups and entrees. If we dont have those options we send people to the competition, he says. Nicole Boliaux/The Chronicle His life resumed. Chavez now holds court from the back table, wearing jeans and a company T-shirt. Half of his former employees returned, leaving the jobs theyd found after the fire to work for him again. Even more reassuring: Although he has moved 18 blocks from the old location he counted customers with faces he vaguely remembers greet him as if theyve known him forever. What it says to me, he says, is that we were doing things right. El Gran Taco Loco: 4591 Mission St., at Brazil Avenue, San Francisco. (415) 695-0621, www.elgrantacoloco.com Jonathan Kauffman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jkauffman@sfchronicle.com Visit Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, and its clear that rustic describes more than just a beer style. At the end of a warehouse park in a residential neighborhood in Capitola (Santa Cruz County), the brew house looks like an antique relic, with crusty wooden foudres (oak vats), old dairy equipment and discarded Lipton tea barrels. Bottling is done by hand, nearly every day. There are no buttons to push. The word rustic has become synonymous with saison, says Tim Clifford, the brewerys co-owner. But what we meant by rustic is just the way we make our beer. We started out scrappy, laughs co-owner Adair Paterno. Altogether, the brew house cost less than $10,000 to set up. Weve since kind of upgraded, she adds. But not really. That scrappiness has no doubt intensified the impassioned following of SARA, as the business is known, which in its short life span has skyrocketed to a cult of obsessive proportions. Demand for SARAs beers far outruns supply: When I meet them, on a Tuesday, a 10-barrel batch they brewed the previous Friday has already sold out. Limited-edition beers sold to their club are getting flipped for many multiples of their price on the secondary market. Since they dont distribute heck, they dont even deliver the beers are hard to find, even in the Bay Areas top beer bars. Now, at 5 years old, SARA is at a crossroads. So far, rusticity has defined the brewery: its tiny production levels (just 1,350 barrels last year; maybe 1,500 this year), its off-the-path location in Capitola, its scrappy-warehouse vibe. But SARA is growing up. To increase production capacity, and to reach more customers, Clifford and Paterno are about to open a second, 2,000-square-foot taproom and barrel-storage facility in downtown Santa Cruz. And this time around, its going to take more than $10,000 and some Lipton tea barrels. If the expansion detracts somehow from the SARA cult fever, the co-owners are OK with that. Sure, being limited creates some buzz, Paterno says, but saying no all the time is hard. Were transitioning from this fun thing we started to, five years later, having to run a real business, with real bills, Clifford says. We have responsibilities to our employees. We have to be more practical. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Its not only their business thats coming to an end of innocence its Paterno and Clifford themselves, too. When SARA began, the two were partners in life as well as in business. But theyve since ended their romantic relationship. They had been a couple for 20 years when they opened the brewery together. At the time, Paterno was a litigator for the city of Santa Cruz, and Clifford worked at Seven Bridges Organic home-brew supply shop, moonlighting as a home brewer. His best beer, which kept winning home-brew competitions, was a brett-infected saison: Adairius, named for his girlfriend. In 2011, ready to go pro, Clifford decided to open a combination brewery-winery with local winemaker Jon Benedetti, largely because he wanted access to Benedettis discarded wine barrels. They called it Sante (after Benedettis great-grandfather) Adairius (after Cliffords signature beer). But they couldnt get the hybrid facility approved by the states Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. To salvage her boyfriends dream, Paterno bought Benedetti out of the business. (His winery, Sante Arcangeli, found a home in Pescadero.) It was a slow start. Its been glacial, Clifford says of their growth rate. Describing themselves as extremely risk-averse, the two took on no investors and little bank debt. Establishing infrastructure took a while; hence the old dairy equipment. In exchange for used barrels, theyd trade local wineries kegs of beer. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle As for a recruitment strategy, all six of SARAs current employees began as customers. One night, for example, the tasting rooms credit card machine broke, so Paterno gave away beer for free. A customer, Jon Drinnan, returned first thing the next morning to settle up his tab. He became SARAs head brewer. The business was just starting to find its footing when, in 2014, Clifford and Paterno ended their romantic relationship. It was not an amicable parting. And it didnt stay secret for long: They were outed publicly by another brewer at the states annual craft beer conference. Trying not to burden their staff with the drama, Clifford and Paterno took to renting a nearby co-working space whenever they needed to have a meeting together, because they knew it would inevitably escalate to a screaming match. The question became: Who would get the brewery? Both considered leaving. Clifford took a sabbatical. For the sake of the business, it was the best call, he says. What kept them together as business partners was that we agree a lot on beer, Paterno says. On whats good and not good and on what our brewery should be. The choice to stay, in the end, didnt even feel like a choice. SARA had become our identity, for both of us, Clifford says. Today, they discuss the breakup with what feels like remarkable candor. When Paterno says, It was a rough year and a half, she wears that memorys still-fresh pain. But like many modern families, the two still exude an undeniable intimacy, of the sort that after 20 years cannot be erased. They acknowledge that their relationship can be difficult for new romantic partners to process. But in some ways, I like my relationship with you better now, Clifford says to Paterno. Silence, for a beat. Then she turns to me: Business relationships are hard no matter what. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle The rustic brew house, so far, has been more help than hindrance. Physical spaces matter a lot when youre making the kind of microbially driven beers that have become SARAs calling card. They like to refer to that style which incorporates a mix of yeast and bacteria to carry out alcoholic and lactic fermentations as mixed fermentation, which they prefer to farmhouse ale. (Were not in a farmhouse, Paterno says.) The moniker saison also works. If the flavors of an IPA are determined largely by its hops, and a porter by its malt, then saison is defined by its yeast. As a home brewer, Clifford attended talks by Vinnie Cilurzo, brewer-owner of Russian River Brewing Co., a mixed-fermentation pioneer. Vinnie would end the talk by handing out oak chips soaked in his culture, Clifford recalls. The charge: Heres my bacteria, now go make your own beer with it. Clifford spent years developing his proprietary yeast strain tirelessly experimenting with combinations of commercial strains and still-alive bottle dregs before arriving at the house culture used on SARA beers today. Arguably, that house culture is SARAs most valuable asset. Over time, the culture changes, and takes on a life of its own, says Clifford. The beers we make today are direct descendants of the beers weve made before. They consider their flagship, Saison Bernice, a granddaughter of sorts to the original Adairius. (Bernice is Cliffords mothers middle name a more suitable namesake, he felt, after the breakup.) The proprietary nature of a brewerys culture is lately a bone of some contention, and raises issues analogous to the open-source software movement. You cant copyright a yeast strain. But you can protect it. To throw off would-be plagiarists, for example, some brewers will add a Champagne yeast just before bottling, so that anyone who buys a bottle cant isolate the fermenting strain. Inspired by pro-open source Russian River, SARA began issuing a friendly message on bottles of Saison Bernice: The beer in this bottle is alive. So is the yeast. Grow it, keep it, use it. We encourage you to brew your own. But Clifford and Paternos commitment to open source was tested when they got a call from Jim Withee of Giga Yeast, the laboratory where they bank their culture. A very large brewery had called Giga Yeast asking for some of the SARA strain. Withee did not release it, but Clifford and Paternos ire had been provoked. As a brewer, Id want to have my own identity, Clifford says. Incorporating other house cultures into your own, in his view, is like being a scholar you should build on other peoples ideas, not steal them entirely. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Withee has gotten several more requests for SARAs magic potion. As time goes by, Cliffords views on open source have changed. My idols in this business are people like Vinnie, who is so open, he says. But I see the merit in being private, too. Imitation is flattery, of course, but Clifford and Paterno fear the proliferation of bad imitations a legitimate concern when youre dealing with funky, sour, bacterially precarious beers. The danger is that, when the quality isnt there, youre dumbing down a product that turns people off from the whole category, Clifford says. SARA isnt just a saison house, despite the presence of that saison-connoting word (rustic) in their name. They make IPAs, lagers, porters and more. We had one of their stouts a couple months ago, says Christian Albertson, owner of Mission beer bar Monks Kettle. And my staff was like, They should just do stouts. Except that they do hoppy really well, and tart saisons really well. Most brewers would go to extreme lengths to separate the equipment used on funky beers, which incorporate spoilage agents like brettanomyces, lactobacillus and pediococcus, from clean beers like IPAs. SARA does not. They have, admittedly, had bacterial issues, but thats the price of biodiversity. Once, a huge foudre became infected with something nasty, and they had to dump all its beer, plus the foudre. But the clean beers come out clean. Im realizing they have a freakish gift for new styles, says Ben Henning, in charge of beer at State Bird Provisions and the Progress. The sours are the ones that, when the bottles are released, get the lines out the door. But the lagers are pretty stunning. The hoppy beers are consistently incredible. Somehow, the character, whether its the brewing style or the yeast, is always harmonious. Those who want SARA beers have to put in some legwork or at least gas mileage to get them. Everyone has to come to Capitola, including bar and restaurant buyers like Henning and Albertson. Ninety-two percent of their sales come from direct-to-consumer purchases, making their business model more like a boutique winery than a typical brewery. Membership in their beer club, the SARA Cellar, is coveted, and the limited-edition bottles acquired through it are getting resold online; much to Clifford and Paternos dismay, three $20 bottles were recently flipped for $550. Paterno and Clifford are uncomfortable with the hype, in part because they still feel like theyre figuring out this whole brewery thing not to mention their own relationship. Theyre nervous about the Santa Cruz taproom, which they hope to open by August, and the challenges of staffing, permitting and increased public visibility that will come with it. For the moment, the new space will just be barrel storage and a tasting room. But Clifford is already envisioning adding brewing equipment there and making a bona fide second brew house. Theres a high demand for our beer, and even five years in, we cant meet it, Clifford says. Paterno quickly adds: But we want to. Tasting Notes: Sante Adairius Rustic Ales Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine, beer and spirits writer. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob There are lots of races in Cars 3. There are races in big stadiums, on dirt tracks, on simulators, and even through the woods with the headlights out. The races, almost too many to count, take up an enormous amount of screen time, so if youre someone who cant get enough of contests between animated automobiles, this movie is a dream come true. For everyone else, this latest installment in the Pixar franchise is a disappointment. Its essentially a drama about a midlife crisis. Our hero, Lightning McQueen a red car voiced by Owen Wilson was a naive up-and-comer in the original Cars. The new film is the inevitable eventual sequel, the formula to go to when there are no other ideas. Its the story of Lightnings coping with decline, with the realization that there are other, faster cars entering the sport. As in the other Cars movies, the cars are people, though its never exactly clear to what extent they are born whole, as fixed entities, and to what extent they have parts that can be replaced. In other words, where is the soul or the brain located? If Lightning McQueen wants to go faster than his new rival Jackson Storm (voice of Armie Hammer), couldnt he just get a brand-new engine? Or would that be like a person getting a head replaced? We do know that the cars here can get body work and a paint job, but that might be the equivalent of a haircut. Or a face-lift. But wait, arent we taking this all too seriously? Well, sure, but the movie invites it. Aside from the whimsicality of the cars-are-people setup, a setup were already used to from two previous films, Cars 3 has nothing funny about it. Instead it invites us into the pain and self-questioning that comes to every great athlete when he realizes that hes slipping. So when were not seeing a red car chasing a blue car, Cars 3 consists of lots of forlorn whining from Owen Wilson one of the best forlorn whiners in the business as Lightning swings from hope to doubt to despair over his career. This is the movies emotional hook, the thing the audience is supposed to invest in and worry about. But would it really be so terrible to retire? Its a difficult adjustment that all athletes ultimately face, but its not the end of the world. Director Brian Fee and a team of seven screenwriters (including himself) attempt to intensify the rooting interest by making Lightnings young rival arrogant and obnoxious. But even then, the notion of beating him hardly rises to the level of a moral quest. The filmmakers overestimate the audiences investment in Lightning McQueens automotive supremacy. Or perhaps they do realize it, because midway the movie starts focusing on the character of Lightnings trainer, an enthusiastic young female car named Cruz (Cristela Alonzo). The movies pivotal conversation, in which Cruz reveals that she once hoped to be a racer but found that she lacked the nerve, is a standout piece of writing, a scene that could, with some obvious adjustments, work just as well with live actors. Cars 3 goes through lots of predictable paces, and for all the emphasis on speed, it takes a long time getting to where its going. However, Pixars production values alone make Cars 3 intermittently entertaining, and the facial expressions of the cars are emotionally on target and uncanny in their evocation of human expression. That alone is a worthwhile achievement. Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicles movie critic. Email: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MickLaSalle Cars 3 Animated drama. Starring the voices of Owen Wilson and Cristela Alonzo. Directed by Brian Fee. (G. 109 minutes.) Abacus: Small Enough to Jail: Hoop Dreams director Steve James profiles the Sung family, a group of Chinese bankers in New York targeted by the government in the wake of the recent mortgage crash. The trial itself is filled with drama, but the resourcefulness and loyalty of the family is the centerpiece. Charged with a crime that could destroy them, their defense feels like a piece of the American dream. Not rated. 88 minutes. Peter Hartlaub Megan Leavey: Kate Mara stars in this real-life story of a small-town good-for-nothing who joins the Marines and becomes part of the canine unit, sniffing out bombs in Iraq. Its not a war movie, but rather an examination of the real bonds that develop between people and animals. PG-13. 116 minutes. Mick LaSalle My Cousin Rachel: Based on the Daphne du Maurier novel, this is the story of a young man who becomes obsessed and baffled by his guardians widow, a charming but mysterious woman (played by Rachel Weisz). Its a fascinating and well-made film directed by Roger Michell that seems to be a morality tale but is something more complicated. PG-13. 106 minutes. Mick LaSalle Wonder Woman This is a different kind of comic book movie, with a sense of history and purpose, featuring a star-making performance by Gal Gadot in the title role. Co-starring Chris Pine and directed by Patty Jenkins (Monster). PG-13. 141 minutes. Mick LaSalle Wisconsin Chamber Orchestras conductor and music director Andrew Sewell has accepted a new position as music director of the San Luis Obispo Symphony. Its a job hell be able to do while still conducting the WCO. In fact, theres precedent for him performing two conducting jobs at once. For 10 years when he first came to Madison, Sewell was music director of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra as well as for the Wichita Symphony Orchestra in Kansas. That lasted from 2000 to 2010. He lived in Madison, but commuted to Wichita, which had the bigger symphony at the time. Sewell signed an initial three-year contract with the San Luis Obispo Symphony, and plans to commute to that central California coastal city. He will start the job July 1 and will officially take the podium there on Oct. 7. Theres great opportunity to grow the orchestra and do something similar to what Ive done in Madison, Sewell said Wednesday from California. The San Luis Obispo Symphony is a full orchestra with about 88 players. WCO has 36 members. Both the San Luis Obispo Symphony and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra are 57 years old. They were looking for a music director who had been around a long time, and I saw an opportunity to make a difference, said Sewell, a native of New Zealand. Sewell said he had a week of candidacy with the San Luis Obispo Symphony in October, and got to know the community. He was chosen from among five candidates for the position during an 18-month search. The San Luis Obispo Symphony has a indoor season of about five classical concerts as well as a couple of outdoor pops concerts, and is looking to do some more outdoor concerts, Sewell said. The California orchestra also has a chamber music series and an educational program. The schedule fits very neatly between my duties and concerts that I do in Madison with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. So it actually has worked out very, very well, he said. Sewells contract with the WCO lasts until August 2019. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestras free Concerts on the Square series starts Wednesday, June 28, and can draw up to 40,000 people per week. Theres no reason for me to not continue, Sewell said. They were looking for a music director who had been around a long time, and I saw an opportunity to make a difference. Wisconsin Chamber Orchestras conductor and music director Andrew Sewell Theres no question that Californias Board of Equalization has to change. After a brutal March audit found that the board had been inappropriately intervening in the agencys operations and the board members couldnt explain how it had misallocated tens of millions of dollars worth of tax revenue, Gov. Jerry Brown stripped the board of its hiring and purchasing authorities. More audits, including those digging into alleged nepotism practices at the agency, are in the works. In Sacramento, few are defending the boards current practices. But theres plenty of debate about the best way to fix its problems. The five-member board, which employs nearly 5,000 workers, sets tax rates and collects about $60 billion in taxes every year, is the countrys only elected state-tax board. For decades, good government groups and commissions have called for the boards elimination. Its functions could be completed by other revenue-collecting departments in state government, and the elected officials might have conflicts of interest because they respond to complaints from the same business groups that offer campaign donations. But getting rid of the board would require a constitutional amendment and a vote of the people. Also, state legislators may not be so keen to eliminate a board that provides a well-salaried landing place for many termed-out politicians. (Board members are paid $142,577 per year.) So state Controller Betty Yee, an ex-officio member of the board, is proposing an overhaul to significantly change its duties. Her plan would shift the vast majority of the boards employees to a newly created department under the governors authority, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. These employees would handle the daily work of tax collection. The board itself would retain its duties for reviewing and adjusting property-tax assessments, setting gas-tax rates, and assessing taxes for insurance companies, alcohol and pipelines. (Those are the boards listed duties in the state Constitution.) Meanwhile, a second new department, also under the governors authority, would handle taxpayer appeals. This department would be staffed by administrative law judges who have the expertise to handle the work, Yee explained. The board members will be solely focused on their constitutional responsibilities, Yee said. This process works in other states. Yees plan was swiftly endorsed by Brown, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Treasurer John Chiang. Its part of a trailer bill for the state budget. Yet it seems remarkably inefficient not to mention expensive to take one state board and split it into three. Yee said her focus was on responding immediately to audit findings, and thats commendable. It might help solve the boards problems in the short haul. But in the long haul, California still has no answer for the purpose of the Board of Equalization in the 21st century. Thats a finding that can be discovered only by the voters. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle On June 10, during the holy month of Ramadan, there were anti-Sharia law marches in 24 different U.S. cities put on by ACT for America. While a select few chose to march against Sharia law across the country, my mosque in Milpitas held a peaceful Iftar dinner to break fast together. The rallies against Sharia law are misplaced and counterproductive. Sharia law means the law of the Quran, the Muslim holy book. It outlines the behaviors, morals and beliefs of Islam, which are based on a message of peace and free will and can never run counter to the law of the land in a free society. The tower proposed for the northwest corner of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue is big and bold in every respect. It would rise 40 stories. It would cost more than $400 million to build. It would bring a European-style piazza, an expansive restaurant with 30-foot glass walls and 304 luxury condos to one of the citys busiest crossroads. But as is often the case in San Francisco land-use fights, disputes over the biggest projects often come down to disagreements over seemingly small details. In the case of the One Oak Street tower, which goes before the Planning Commission on Thursday for approvals, the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association is pushing the developer to trim the number of parking spaces by 60 spots, from 136 to 76. This would represent a reduction from .45 to .25 parking spaces per unit, or from nearly 1 for every 2 to 1 for 4. Neighborhood association member Jason Henderson says that the disagreement is about more than 60 spaces. Its about precedent and following planning rules. He argues that the Market and Octavia Neighborhood Plan, adopted in 2007, specifically calls for a 1-for-4 parking-space ratio for the four corners of Market and Van Ness. The idea is that the area is as well-served by public transit as any in the city. To exceed that requires a conditional use authorization, which the developer, Build Inc., is seeking from the Planning Commission. In addition, Henderson is concerned that allowing more spots for cars at One Oak will set a precedent for the other two towers proposed for the intersection: 30 Van Ness and 10 South Van Ness. We worked really really hard for a decade to adopt the Market Octavia plan, and the agreed-upon parking ratios after lengthy debate was that these very transit rich corners would be .25-to-1, said Henderson. We want to stick with the hard-fought, democratically vetted ratio. The developer says the 136 spaces it is proposing is as low as it can go and still obtain financing for the project. Furthermore, it argues that the .45 parking ratio is precedent-setting: No San Francisco high-rise condo tower defined as being taller than 25 stories has had such a low parking ratio. This will be the single lowest parked high-rise residential condo tower ever approved or built in San Francisco period, said Build Inc. partner Michael Yarne. Nothing comes close. The average high-rise condo project in San Francisco has had a parking ratio of 1.04 per unit, according to Alan Mark of the Mark Co., which markets condominiums. Two downtown projects that are under construction 706 Mission St. and 181 Fremont St. have ratios of 1.37 and 1.25, respectively, and the recently completed Lumina at Rincon Hill came in at 1.07. The tower with the lowest ratio, Millennium Tower at 301 Mission St., has .85 spots per units. Even the .45 parking ratio poses a sales and absorption risk for those large units that cannot be marketed with a parking space, Mark said. More than 50 percent of the building is to include two- and three-bedroom units. That parking has become the most contentious issue facing One Oak Street is somewhat ironic considering that Yarne, who is heading up the project, is something of an anti-car crusader he has never owned a vehicle. Yarne said that he expects and hopes that the 136 parking spaces wont generate a lot of traffic because residents will get around mostly by foot, bike and public transportation. Its a marketing tool, Yarne said. Nobody, myself included, expects people in this building to be driving everywhere. We dont. But the marketing professionals will tell you until the cows come home that people want the option. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle Lurking beneath the debate over parking is the question of what sort of building One Oak will be. Though rental buildings dont require as much parking, Build Inc. says the project, designed by SFMOMA designer Snohetta along with local firm SCB, is so expensive to construct that it is not economically feasible as rental. Underwriting it as apartments would require above-market rents of $7.95 a quare foot nearly $8,000 for a 1,000-square-foot unit. We are in challenging times in San Francisco because construction costs are high and sales prices have flattened, Yarne said. The project also comes with hefty fees. Build is proposing to fulfill its affordable housing requirements off-site, by paying the city $29 million to fund the construction of 94 units of permanently affordable units, 72 of which will be on three Hayes Valley parcels that were freed up when the Central Freeway ramp north of Mission Street was torn down. Yarne said that Build would have liked to build the affordable units but that the city preferred a cash payment to the Mayors Office of Housing and Community Development. Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association President Gail Baugh said she would prefer Build to meet its affordable housing requirements onsite at One Oak. Yarne said that is not possible, given the high cost of the building and the fact that low-income residents would have a hard time paying homeowner fees, which will likely be high. Baugh said she feared One Oak, which will have a swimming pool, will attract an uber-rich buyer and be far out of reach for current Hayes Valley residents who might want to live there. Henderson called the parking a luxury accoutrement. But Yarne said the building and its plaza which would replace a surface parking lot, a doughnut shop and a rundown building will become a destination for residents throughout surrounding neighborhoods. Build is establishing a community-facilities district a tax on condo owners that will permanently fund the maintenance of the plaza, which will be heavily programmed with arts events. The plaza will not only sit on top of a Muni subway stop but directly adjacent to what will likely be a busy Bus Rapid Transit stop. The plaza will be washed and cleaned and maintained at a standard not seen anywhere in San Francisco, Yarne said. Todd David, executive director of the Housing Action Coalition, which advocates for market-rate and affordable-housing development, said that One Oak will be a transformative project and that the .45 parking ratio is a good compromise. I get why the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association doesnt what that much parking, but to me, its a question of balance, David said. Is it in our interest to stop production of 375 units of market- rate and affordable units because of disagreement over 60 parking spaces? If the Planning Department approves the development, it goes to the Board of Supervisors Land Use and Transportation Committee in July and later to the full board for final approval. J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen President Trump is celebrating his 71st birthday Wednesday at the White House, overshadowed by an unwelcome number: For the first time, in Gallup's daily tracking poll, 60 percent of those surveyed disapprove of the job Trump is doing. Just thirty-six percent give him a thumbs-up. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, both Republicans, never reached 60 percent in the survey. Neither did Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. RELATED: Trump job approval falls to 34 percent, his lowest yet, in national poll President George W. Bush was nearly five years into his presidency when public discontent at the Iraq War, and Bush's inept response to Hurricane Katrina, pushed his "negatives" above the 60 percent mark. Trump has reached the 60 percent disapproval mark in less than five months. The low rating comes amidst continued demonstrations of Trump hubris. At a meeting Monday, Cabinet secretaries were called upon one-by-one and sang the praises of the 45th president. So did Trump, who said: "Never has there been a president, with few exceptions -- in the case of FDR he had a major Depression to handle -- who has passed more legislation, who's done more things than we have done." RELATED: West Coast leaders vow 'green wall' against Trump on climate Trump has, however, done unpopular things. The so-called "Trumpcare" bill passed by the House -- officially the American Health Care Act -- was supported by just 21 percent of Americans, according to a Quinnipiac Univresity poll released this week. Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord on June 1, in the face of polls showing two thirds of Americans concerned about global warming and its negative impacts on the planet. On June 8th, fired FBI Director James Comey went before the Senate Intelligence Committee, called Trump a liar, and confirmed that the reason for his firing was the Bureau's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. RELATED: AG Ferguson sues, rebukes Trump admin. on energy rollbacks The Gallup results track closely with last week's Quinnipiac poll, which pegged Trump's job approval rating at 34 percent, with 57 percent disapproving of the job he is doing. The daily poll by Gallup involves interviews with approximately 1,500 U.S. adults, done by phone. It has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent. A state appeals court seemed skeptical Thursday of arguments that the billionaire owner of picturesque Martins Beach in San Mateo County had the right to lock its gates and cut off access that members of the public had held for many decades. Appealing a judges order that requires owner Vinod Khosla to seek a permit from the California Coastal Commission to keep the gates closed, attorney Erin Murphy told the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco that Khosla has a fundamental right to exclude the public from private property without state interference. But Justice Terence Bruiniers told Murphy that her argument might be a little more persuasive if the beach hadnt had a long history of public access before Khosla closed it in 2010. Another member of the three-judge panel, Justice Henry Needham, said the plain language of state law appears to define any change of public access to coastal land as development, requiring a Coastal Commission permit. Murphy disputed that merely closing the gates meant that Khosla had developed the land, but said any state action allowing the public to invade your private property would be a type of confiscation a taking, in legal terms that requires compensation under U.S. Supreme Court property-rights rulings. The case may be headed for the nations high court if California courts uphold the commissions authority. Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, bought nearly 90 acres of coastal property from its longtime owners for $32.5 million in 2008 and shut the public access gate in September 2010, citing the cost of maintenance and liability insurance. The previous owners had admitted the public for at least 70 years. A San Mateo County judge ruled in 2014, in a suit by the Surfrider Foundation, that Khoslas actions had amounted to development, requiring a state permit. Khosla has kept the gates closed, despite the judges injunction, and has said he would provide beach access across a portion of his land if the state paid him $30 million. If Khosla loses his appeal and seeks a permit, the Coastal Commission could decide to pay him for the use of his land, though that amount would be much less than $30 million. But in a separate case, a group called Friends of Martins Beach is scheduled to go to trial in October on its claim that the former owners of Martins Beach had effectively granted the public a right of access that Khosla could not revoke. If that claim succeeds, Khosla would not be compensated. Eric Buescher, a lawyer for the Surfrider Foundation, told the court that Khosla should have realized, before he bought the property, that the states official land-use plans guaranteed a public right of entry. The California Coastal Plan refers to Martins Beach as a place where public access exists, Buescher said. And by law, he said, the shoreline is public trust land that cannot be entirely closed off. Deputy Attorney General Joel Jacobs, representing the Coastal Commission, told the court that even if Khosla has a fundamental right to own and maintain his property, he is not immune from state authority. Even a fundamental right can be regulated, Jacobs said, noting that the fundamental right of free speech is subject to time, place and manner restrictions. The Coastal Act says you may exercise those rights subject to the requirement that you obtain a permit. A ruling is due within 90 days. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In Cole Valley and the Haight-Ashbury, Wayne Chan was as much a part of the neighborhood fabric as the shopkeepers and residents to whom he had delivered UPS packages for more than a decade. On Thursday, his customers, many of whom had gotten used to seeing him nearly every day, were mourning the man with the friendly smile and the sometimes goofy humor. Chan, 56, was one of three veteran UPS drivers killed Wednesday when a co-worker opened fire at a company distribution center on Potrero Hill. The San Francisco resident had worked for UPS for 28 years and spent at least half that time on the Cole Valley-Haight route, his customers said. He was on a first-name basis with many of the people he delivered to from the young parents and graying hippies of Cole Valley to the part-time employees at Amoeba and the Booksmith in the Haight. Id seen him every day for eight years. He was a really sweet guy, super-friendly, happy to be doing his job, said Camden Avery, a store manager at the Booksmith since 2009. He was just part of the community. He would chit-chat and remember our staff by name. He was just a really thoughtful guy with a kind presence. Avery said Chan didnt talk much about his personal life, though he commented from time to time about how much he enjoyed fixing up his home. On Facebook, other customers said theyd had similar conversations with Chan about renovations and how much pride he took in his home. Steve Silberman said Chan was always professional and efficient and he had a sly, spunky side too. Silberman, an author who writes from his Cole Valley home, got packages from Chan almost every day. Chan would ring the buzzer on Silbermans apartment, and when Silberman would turn on the intercom to ask who was there Chan would answer with a gruff, UPS! Hed say it in this really funny way, like an exaggerated New York accent, or like the voice of the old switchboard operator, Silberman said. I will so miss hearing that voice coming through the intercom. They werent close friends and they didnt exchange a lot of personal information, but their lives were intertwined nonetheless, Silberman said. Seeing Chan was always a bright spot in his day. He was somebody I saw several times week for a decade and a half. I saw him more than most of my close friends, Silberman said with a chuckle. We have these passing relationships with people all the time, in various service positions, but he always radiated a sense of duty and responsibility, as well as an extremely warm and funny social presence. He represented UPS at its best. Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday Currently Reading What is the Summer of Love? A brief history of one of San Francisco most defining moments This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate When asked what a normal night at Codeword is like, co-owner Barry Synoground laughed: Were lucky enough to not be normal. One night, he said, the all-ages South of Market nightclub could host a full-on rave; the next, a drag show, a burlesque event, a cocktail hour or a house music dance party, full of people embracing San Franciscos misfit scene until the wee hours. But too often, the space on Folsom Street would just be empty, sucking up money that could instead be used to salvage DNA Lounge, a beloved San Francisco nightclub under the same ownership that has lately experienced financial hardship. Thats why, Synoground said, at the end of next month, Codeword and its attached pizza joint needs to close. We were feeling too spread thin, Synoground said. Since Codeword and DNA Pizza opened about three years ago, they hardly ever attracted enough business to pay the rent. But the spurts of business they would get, Synoground said, were enough to keep the proprietors going and make them believe things would get better. It only takes a couple of really cool events to make you want to continue, he said. But the pocketbook was not able sustain it. A second DNA Pizza location on Eleventh Street will stay open, however. Codeword hosted a range of events and was often used as a space for new talent to perform before moving on to larger audiences at DNA Lounge. Codeword regulars like 21-year-old Ginger Paintstains, an employee of DNA Lounge, were heartbroken to hear of its closing, which was announced on its website this week. Its kind of terrifying, said Paintstains, who helped host its Sunday night Noise Complaint event. Were losing spaces to have this community-building. In San Francisco, where soaring housing prices have begun pushing younger people out of the city, Codeword and DNA co-owner Jamie Zawinski said they have struggled to capture the interests of people in their 20s. Zawinski, a well-known figure in the nascent days of the World Wide Web, bought DNA Lounge in 1999 when he noticed the citys culture was shifting. Buying the nightclub was his way of trying to preserve the vibrant spirit he encountered when he came to the Bay Area. But over the years, attendance kept dropping, and the nightclub struggled to turn a profit. Zawinski announced in December that DNA might have to shut its doors if something didnt change. Closing Codeword is a sacrifice the owners are making to try to direct more of their attention both financial and mental to saving DNA Lounge. Its hard to quantify the brain drain in financial terms, Zawinski wrote in a blog post announcing the closure. Every hour that I and my managers spend trying to figure out how to improve Codeword is an hour that is not being spent thinking about how to improve DNA, where the potential benefits could be much larger. And hopefully this closure is worth it, Synoground said, because in San Francisco, the loss of places like DNA Lounge and Codeword is starting to be the new normal. Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani Last year, software engineer Elizabeth Ford got what many young engineers in the Bay Area once considered the dream job pitch: Would she be interested in working at Uber? Ford was blunt with the recruiter, telling her the company was immoral and asking not to be contacted again. As an engineer in the Bay Area, I feel weve pretty much turned on Uber, said Ford, 27, who works at restaurant startup Eatsa. On Tuesday, Uber said it would be taking 47 steps to address a recent string of controversies about its anything-goes, cutthroat corporate culture, including allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior accusations that have made Ford and many other tech workers, particularly women, skeptical of joining the company. Ford said Tuesdays actions did not change her views. The company still has so much toxicity, she said by email. They would need to change everything about their culture and how they operate to make me want to work there. Silicon Valley recruiters, tech workers and analysts agree that it will continue to be challenging for Uber to rehabilitate its reputation within the tech industry and return to the days when the company enjoyed almost unfettered access to the valleys talent pipeline. The companys months-long investigation resulted in recommendations for mandatory leadership training, formalizing the handling of employee complaints and new limits on alcohol and illegal drugs at company events. Ubers board also announced that CEO Travis Kalanick would take an indefinite leave of absence. Last week, more than 20 Uber employees were fired. It was perhaps the darkest day in the eight-year history of the company, which invented a ride-hailing app that disrupted transportation in cities around the globe and boasts the highest value of any private tech firm in the world at an estimated $69 billion. Concerns about Ubers ability to change seemed to be exacerbated Tuesday when hours after the company promised to do better a member of the board of directors was forced to resign after making a sexist comment during a staff meeting to discuss the efforts. Billionaire David Bonderman apologized Tuesday after saying that research shows that having more women on the board of directors would lead to more talking. The comment came in response to a remark by fellow board member Arianna Huffington that theres a lot of data that shows when theres one woman on the board, its much more likely there will be a second woman on the board. Although nobody can put precise numbers on how many potential employees are avoiding the firm, Ubers troubles are remarkable even in an industry that has struggled for years with the underrepresentation of women and minorities. Uber released its first employee diversity report in March, revealing that women accounted for just 15.4 percent of it tech workforce and 36.1 percent of all Uber employees. I dont know any woman who is dying to work for Uber, Silicon Valley recruiter Y-Vonne Hutchinson said. Perceptions of Uber have created a rift in the tech world. Many workers want to join the company, which is widely considered one the most innovative and exciting tech firms. Just last week, Uber announced that Bozoma Saint John, an African American woman, was leaving Apple to join Uber in the newly created position of chief brand officer. And Harvard Business School Professor Frances Frei has been hired to address Ubers leadership problems. But for others, the company carries a huge stigma. For the past year, some female engineers have been posting on social media their rejections of Ubers unsolicited recruitment attempts, creating a snapshot of the companys talent travails. A online campaign called Dear Uber Recruiter expressed many of the complaints. Some of the women declined to use their names in media interviews, saying they had faced online harassment after posting messages on social media, but still discussed their experiences. One woman showed the rejection email she sent Uber, which opened with, I would never work for such a sexist, evil company as Uber. Uber did not respond to a request for comment on this story. After simmering for years, Ubers troubles burst into public view this year with a blog post by a former Uber engineer Susan Fowler. She described a workplace where lines were regularly crossed and boorish behavior was tolerated. Fowler said her boss propositioned her on her first day at work. When she complained to the companys human resources department, she wrote, the incident was played down and she was encouraged to switch departments. In another incident, she alleged that all of the teams male engineers were given leather jackets as a company perk, but the female engineers were not because there were too few of them to qualify for a bulk discount. Her post went viral, sparking discussion inside and outside the company about how Uber treats its female workers. Fowlers blog post came after years of questionable conduct by Uber executives. Kalanick once was quoted describing his company as Boob-er because its success attracted women to him. A senior executive had floated a plan at a dinner party attended by a BuzzFeed reporter to dig into the personal lives of journalists, including female writers, who wrote unflattering articles about the company. In response to Fowlers blog post, Kalanick immediately tweeted that the allegations were abhorrent & against everything we believe in and subsequently announced that an investigation into Ubers workplace would be led by Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general. On Sunday, almost four months later, Ubers board of directors voted to adopt all of the recommendations from Holders report. Last week, Uber said it had fired 20 workers for sexual harassment and discrimination, bullying and other workplace infractions uncovered by the report. On Tuesday afternoon, Fowler dismissed the companys announcements of steps to address its internal culture. Its all optics, she wrote on Twitter. All major tech firms have struggled with hiring and retaining female and minority workers, a finding supported by numerous studies. The topic is regularly discussed, pushed by many corporate leaders and addressed by company initiatives. Last week, former first lady Michelle Obama spoke at an Apple developers conference and urged the industry to make room for more female tech workers. Whether its Google or Uber or Facebook or Intel, we have seen how incredibly difficult it is to turn around a big company, said Freada Kapor Klein, who, along with her husband Mitch Kapor, was an early investor in Uber. On Tuesday, after the Uber reports recommendations were released, the two Silicon Valley financiers wrote an open letter saying that they believe Ubers problems, while extreme, are not so different from problems at other large tech firms. But they believed Ubers reaction showed sincerity in action, and we are hopeful that their actions will continue to meet the aspirations of this report. Kapor Klein, who runs the Kapor Center for Social Impact, has made it her mission to transform Silicon Valley into a more welcoming place for women and minorities. Last month she co-wrote a study based on a poll of more than 2,000 people who left technology jobs, finding that feelings of unfairness or mistreatment were driving people from the industry. And although diversity training and other efforts help, CEOs have to be really willing to step up and explain why this is a business issue, she said. Joelle Emerson, who runs Paradigm Strategy, a San Francisco firm that helps tech companies such as Slack and Pinterest with diversity efforts, said she was dismayed by recent reports that a top Uber executive, Eric Alexander, had flown to India to obtain the confidential medical records of a woman who said she was raped by an Uber driver. Alexander shared the medical records with other top Uber leaders, including Kalanick, because they didnt believe the womans claim and feared it was part of a smear campaign by a competitor, according to Uber. Alexander left Uber last week. Emerson was floored by that revelation. To her, it showed the depth of the discrimination against women that a rape victim was doubted. It is so, so quintessentially rape culture that when a customer is sexually assaulted, you make a trip around the world to disprove that, Emerson said. Elizabeth Dwoskin and Todd C. Frankel are Washington Post writers. Chris Rickert | Wisconsin State Journal Urban affairs, investigations, consumer help ("SOS") Follow Chris Rickert | Wisconsin State Journal Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The billionaire businessman-turned-president and a Wisconsin governor whose campaigns have been fueled by millions in donations from the business community were at Waukesha County Technical College on Tuesday to bemoan the shortage of trained workers and to talk up governments role in training them. Then they retired to a Milwaukee hotel for a fundraiser for the governor. Attendees, who included many business bigwigs, paid $1,000 per person and $10,000 to have a photo taken with the president. Its all just a little too convenient. Donald Trump and Scott Walkers purpose was to draw attention to the tens of thousands of jobs going unfilled in Wisconsin because of a shortage of skilled workers and to the states 106-year-old apprenticeship program to turn people into efficient worker bees for business. Given that there are a lot of stellar employees out there whose only job-training was on-the-job training (after they were hired and while they were getting paid), Ive always thought employers could do way more to solve their own worker-shortage problems without appealing to the government or requiring that applicants have already paid for their own tech-college training. The key questions about Wisconsins apprenticeship program are whos paying, how much and for what? There are about 11,000 people currently in the program who get paid by participating employers to work and to take classes at Wisconsin Technical College System campuses, according to Karen Morgan, director of the Department of Workforce Developments Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards. The program gets about $1.8 million annually from the state for administration. Companies in the program are not required to pay for their apprentices tuition and books, Morgan said, and she wasnt able to provide any hard data on how many of them do, but her feeling was that it was the majority of employers. For those who arent reimbursed by their employers for classroom learning, Walker signed a bipartisan bill into law in 2013 that provides reimbursement of up to $1,000 in taxpayer dollars per apprentice to cover educational costs. DWD says the program has paid out about $795,204 since it was started. Meanwhile, the apprenticeship program is the beneficiary of two federal grants totaling $6.5 million that go toward getting more people into apprenticeships including women and minorities and to expanding apprenticeship programs and developing curricula for new industry sectors, like information technology, Morgan said. Worth noting is that building contractors have long relied on the unions to train their workers. So its strange that after he and his fellow legislative Republicans pushed for the states right-to-work law and other policies that make it harder for unions to thrive and provide worker training, Walker is now sounding the alarm on workforce development. I couldnt help but wonder how many people could be trained with the $1 million or so Walkers fundraiser reportedly raised. But then again, they kind of are. Business leaders donations to politicians help leverage a lot more in tax dollars to train business employees. The Trump administration is delaying new rules that would erase the federal loan debt of student borrowers cheated by for-profit colleges. The announcement by the Education Department on Wednesday came just weeks before the rules, adopted during the Obama administration, were to take effect on July 1. The new rules stood to benefit students from failed for-profit colleges already seeking to have their loans forgiven, as well as others who might be eligible to do so. They also established tougher standards intended to check the flow of further federal funds to rogue for-profit operators. My first priority is to protect students, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement issued by the department. Fraud, especially fraud committed by a school, is simply unacceptable. Unfortunately, last years rule-making effort missed an opportunity to get it right. The result is a muddled process thats unfair to students and schools, and puts taxpayers on the hook for significant costs. The department said it would develop fair, effective and improved regulations to protect individual borrowers from fraud, ensure accountability across institutions of higher education and protect taxpayers. In the interim, the department said it would continue to process nearly 16,000 claims for debt relief being made under existing rules, and said some borrowers could expect loans to be discharged within the next several weeks. The latest moves come amid complaints from veterans groups, consumer advocates and state prosecutors that the Education Department is backing off its clampdown on abusive practices within the for-profit sector. The Obama administration pushed through sweeping regulatory changes after hundreds of affiliated for-profit schools were accused of widespread fraud and collapsed, leaving enrolled students with huge debts and no degrees. The failure of two mammoth chains, Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institutes, capped years of complaints that some career training schools took advantage of veterans and others, using deceptive marketing and illegal recruitment practices. Few higher-education institutions could survive without federal student aid, which includes billions of dollars in guaranteed loans. Yet the money kept going to the schools despite warning signs at some, like defaults, failed standards, and numerous government investigations and lawsuits. When students default on federally backed loans, often because high-wage jobs for graduates fail to materialize as promised, taxpayers are left to pick up the bill. For-profit colleges have vehemently opposed the regulations, saying they endanger the schools viability. They complain that the entire industry is being unfairly singled out. Industry executives are particularly riled by automatic loan discharges for broad groups of defrauded students; more rigorous financial-risk standards; and a new ban on forced-arbitration agreements, which prevent students from bringing lawsuits. Under the rules frozen on Wednesday, education officials could, for example, take into account lawsuits, accrediting agency reports, and graduates job placement and wage records in deciding whether an institution remains eligible for federal student aid. The goal was to hold violators financially responsible for soured loans instead of dumping the burden on taxpayers. The department cited as reason for the delay a federal lawsuit to block the new rules filed on May 24 by an association of colleges in California. But the justification for the postponement seemed to shift, according to draft Department of Education memos obtained by the New York Times. One memo dated last month showed that the department was initially examining whether it could delay implementation to assess the budget effect. Another draft dated June 6 cited continuing litigation as the reason. Critics including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Patty Murray of Washington, both Democrats, argue that the department cannot unilaterally suspend negotiated rules, which go through a long process intended to ensure that the viewpoints of the public and stakeholders are taken into account. They cant delay the rule before undertaking a similar process, said Toby Merrill, founder and director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard Law School, which represents borrowers. Patricia Cohen is a New York Times writer. After watching the documentary Letters From Baghdad by Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum, you might be forgiven for wondering why David Lean, when mulling over making a film about British influence in the Middle East, didnt choose Gertrude Bell as his subject instead of T.E. Lawrence. Although Lawrence of Arabia is a great movie, and Lawrence was obviously an intriguing and important figure, Bell (1868-1926) also fits that bill. Bell was a British noblewoman who developed a fascination with the Middle East, became fluent in Arabic, became a friend of various tribes and eventually helped advise the British on the formation of modern Iraq. A conventional movie about Bell was released earlier this year. The critically drubbed Queen of the Desert, not seen by me, starred Nicole Kidman as Bell and is available for streaming. But Krayenbuhl and Oelbaum take an interesting approach with their film. They pretend as if theyre making the film in the late 1920s, soon after Bells death: basically, making a movie about current events. They interview Bells friends and colleagues, including Lawrence they are actually actors playing those real-life characters, and their words are taken from their correspondence and journals. We hear Bells own words, also through correspondence and journals, through the voice of Tilda Swinton. The result is something that feels fresh and modern. Add to that the newsreel and documentary footage from the Middle East during the early 1900s and archival photographs, and the filmmakers successfully transport the viewer to places such as Baghdad, Syria and London during the first two decades of the 20th century. Although it would take much more than a 95-minute documentary for true enlightenment, Letters to Baghdad also helps us understand the complex political situation stemming from the gradual dissolution of the Ottoman Empire which made Turkey a world power for centuries and the increasing presence of Western influence (and later, occupation) in Iraq and Syria during World War I, when the value of oil became an economic priority for the first time. Bell began as a kind of ethnographer and historian, but her work was immediately seen as political. Her book on Syria was seen as a threat to the Ottomans, who thought she was a British spy. Eventually she did work in an official capacity for Britain, and worked with Lawrence and Winston Churchill. She was instrumental in brokering a political compromise that made Prince Faisal the guy played by Alec Guinness in Lawrence of Arabia the first king of Iraq. And yet, she had reservations about Britains involvement. In one letter, she writes, We rushed into this business with our usual disregard for a comprehensive political scheme. Can you make people take your side when theyre not sure youll be on theirs? Did I say this seemed like current events? G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BRfilmAllen Letters From Baghdad Documentary. With the voice of Tilda Swinton. Directed by Sabine Krayenbuhl, Zeva Oelbaum. (Not rated. 95 minutes.) WASHINGTON Police in the U.S. capital are seeking the arrest of a dozen Turkish security agents and two others accused of taking part in a violent attack on protesters during an official visit by Turkeys president last month, a melee that became a major irritant in U.S.-Turkish ties. District of Columbia Police Chief Peter Newsham joined Mayor Muriel Bowser at a news conference Thursday to announce arrest warrants issued for nine Turkish security agents, three Turkish police officers and two Canadians. Newsham urged those being sought and some still unidentified to surrender and face American justice, adding two people were arrested a day earlier in the case. Relations were severely strained even before the melee, which came as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived May 16 at the Turkish ambassadors residence after a White House meeting with President Trump. Newsham said video showed security guards and some Erdogan supporters attacking a small group of protesters. Nine people were hurt. We all saw the violence that was perpetrated against the protesters, Newsham said. Were not going to tolerate this. He said many were being sought on assault charges, and other counts. Erdogans security detail returned with him to Turkey after his visit, so it was unclear if any would face any immediate U.S. legal repercussions. However, they could end up being threatened with arrest if they return to the U.S. If any are still in the country, they could be expelled if Turkey refuses to waive diplomatic immunity. They should bring themselves here to the United States to answer these charges, Newsham said. The Turkish Embassy in Washington and Turkeys foreign affairs ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, upon learning of the charges, the foreign ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass to issue a protest, according to U.S. officials. Turkeys U.S. embassy alleged the demonstrators were associated with the PKK, which has waged a three-decade-long insurgency against Turkey and is considered a terrorist group by the United States. Newsham said Thursday there was no indication that the protesters were part of a terrorist group. Sarah Brumfield and Matthew Lee are Associated Press writers. 1 Sect leader captured: Polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs was captured Wednesday night in South Dakota after being on the run for nearly a year when he escaped from home confinement in Utah pending trial on a multimillion-dollar food stamp fraud scheme. The FBI announced the capture Thursday with a tweet: #ARRESTED: FLDS leader Lyle Jeffs in custody after nearly a year on the lam. The group, known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is based in a small community on the Utah-Arizona border, but it also has a small compound in far west South Dakota. 2 Wrongful-death lawsuit: The family of an unarmed black man fatally shot by a white Oklahoma officer filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in federal court Thursday against the city of Tulsa and the policewoman, who was acquitted of manslaughter charges last month. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Terence Crutcher seeks at least $75,000 in damages and calls for widespread reform in the Tulsa Police Department, including mandatory training for police officers on managing suspects with mental health or substance abuse issues as well as mandatory activation of dash cameras during encounters. CINCINNATI Otto Warmbier, who was medically evacuated from a 17-month detainment in North Korea this week, has extensive loss of brain tissue and is in a state of unresponsive wakefulness, doctors said Thursday. Doctors said they dont know what caused the brain damage. When asked whether it could be the result of beating or other violence while in prison, they said that Warmbier did not show any obvious indications of trauma, nor evidence of either acute or healing fractures. Members of the Southern Baptist Convention voted Wednesday to condemn a white nationalist group during their annual convention, but only after fierce backlash following their decision a day earlier not to move forward with a resolution opposing the movement. The decision was met with a standing ovation as about 5,000 members of the denomination voted to affirm their opposition to the alt-right movement, which seeks a whites-only state. But it was not a decision easily reached. Dwight McKissic, a black pastor from Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, had introduced the resolution calling on the denomination to make it clear it had no sympathy for the alt-right. "I saw people identifying themselves as Southern Baptist and members of the alt-right, so this is horrifying to me," McKissic said. "I wanted the Southern Baptist Convention to make it very clear we have no relationship to them." Members had already voted Tuesday to condemn gambling and Planned Parenthood, and they adopted a statement on the importance of public officials who display "consistent moral character." That resolution also commended "those leaders who choose not to meet privately with members of the opposite sex who are not their spouse," referring to Vice President Pence, who drew attention when he said he doesn't eat alone with a woman other than his wife. But when the resolution on the alt-right resolution failed to move forward because of objections to some of the wording, many younger members and evangelicals of color became upset. "I thought it would be a slam dunk, but I misread Southern Baptists apparently," McKissic said. WATCH: Initially, the Southern Baptist Convention declined to denounce the alt-right (story continues below): Barrett Duke, chairman of the SBC's resolutions committee, told Religion News Service that the committee's decision to not bring the resolution forward for a vote on Tuesday was "not an endorsement of the alt-right." He said the initial resolution did not clearly define who the alt-right is. A call to Duke was not returned. The debate over the resolution highlights the divisions within the denomination. A majority of white evangelicals supported the election of President Donald Trump. But many evangelicals of color have questioned that support and criticized Trump's policies as harmful to minorities, if not racist. While several Southern Baptist leaders have served on Trump's evangelical advisory board, many younger Southern Baptists - including the denomination's Ethics and Religious Liberty president Russell Moore - vocally opposed his candidacy. When the membership failed to move the vote forward - and Richard Spencer, one of the alt-right's most vocal proponents took to Twitter to comment on the decision - the leadership of the convention decided to continue to work through the night and reintroduce the resolution. The initial text of the resolution called on Southern Baptists to "reject the retrograde ideologies, xenophobic biases, and racial bigotries of the so-called 'Alt-Right' that seek to subvert our government, destabilize society, and infect our political system," which was removed in the final version. RELATED: What is the alt-right? A primer (story continues below): The new text of the resolution noted some of the convention's previous actions on race, including how Southern Baptists voted in 1995 to apologize for the role that slavery played in the convention's creation. It noted how in 2012 it elected its first black president. More than 20 percent of Southern Baptist congregations, it says, identifies as predominantly nonwhite. "Racism and white supremacy are, sadly, not extinct but present all over the world in various white supremacist movements, sometimes known as 'white nationalism' or 'alt-right,' " the resolution states. Southern Baptists "decry every form of racism, including alt-right white supremacy, as antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ" and "we denounce and repudiate white supremacy and every form of racial and ethnic hatred as of the devil." Moore and Steve Gaines, the president of the SBC, who worked on the revised resolution, declined to comment on the resolution before it came to a vote. But Moore said he was encouraged by the decision to revisit the resolution. "They recognize that white supremacy in this alt-right guise is dangerous and devilish and we need to say something," Moore said. McKissic, who wrote the original resolution, declined to speculate over why the committee didn't bring his proposal forward. He said black Southern Baptists were disappointed by how it was handled, but it became clear on Tuesday that a large number of white Southern Baptists wanted to vote on the resolution. "I don't think they anticipated how white people would get upset about this and demand something be done," McKissic said. "I'm encouraged and heartened by this. It was the white people who said, no we will not take this sitting down. We don't want this association with the convention." Just before the proposal was passed, one member asked Southern Baptist leaders whether a study of the "alt right and the alt left" could be done this year. But then several Southern Baptists stood before the convention urging the convention to adopt the resolution before it passed. The Southern Baptist Convention has a long and complicated history on race, one that has recently gotten wrapped up in many Southern Baptists' support for Trump. Some of the committee members are affiliated with National Religious Broadcasters and First Baptist Church in Dallas, institutions that are seen as friendly to Trump. The committee considering resolutions has 10 members, one of whom is black. The SBC has made steps to condemn racism in the past, but it still struggles on issues related to race. In April, five white Southern Baptist seminary leaders posted a racially insensitive photo on Twitter with many of them dressed in hoodies and pointing as though they were holding guns. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's Barry McCarty, who is chief parliamentarian of the SBC, was shown holding a gun. H.B. Charles, who was just elected the first black pastor to serve as the president of the next Southern Baptist pastor's conference in Dallas in June 2018, said Tuesday's resolution was another example of how the convention still has a long way to go on race. "If we had fumbled the ball and kept going without addressing this, it would have been damaging for those from the outside looking in, who could've concluded that the SBC does not care about matters of race," Charles said. "I'm glad we picked up the fumble and are trying to address this before we leave. It could have had a really bad effect on our witness." The Southern Baptist Convention of 15.2 million members is the nation's largest Protestant denomination, but its membership is on the decline. Attendance was down nearly 7 percent from the year before and baptisms were down 5 percent. Just 6 percent Americans who identify as Southern Baptist are black, according to the Pew Research Center, and 85 percent are white. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A UPS workers deadly rampage in San Francisco began when he walked into a company building, stepped through a crowd of fellow delivery drivers and, without warning or a single word, shot one of them execution-style in the head, a witness said Thursday. After Jimmy Chanh Lam fatally shot Benson Louie, he continued firing as his shocked co-workers dived for cover. Within minutes, Lam, 38, killed two more drivers and wounded another two Wednesday morning before he turned the gun on himself as police descended on the company distribution center. It was a horrible, horrible scene, and I was front and center, Leopold Parker, a 53-year-old senior driver with the United Parcel Service, said in a telephone interview. It was not pretty. Parker doesnt know why Lam first shot Louie, a 50-year-old San Francisco resident and volleyball enthusiast with a wife and two daughters. Nor does he know why he shot the others. His account provided the first picture of the chilling shooting even as he, his colleagues and police investigators struggled to figure out a motive for the violence. Ive known the guy for 17 years, Parker said. No one saw it coming. One veteran UPS driver, though, said Thursday that Lam had been troubled in the past, speaking of personal problems and a drunken driving conviction from 2010. In the weeks before the shooting, Lam seemed especially isolated and depressed, 56-year-old Shaun Vu said in a phone interview from New Orleans, where he was vacationing. Jimmy had a problem with alcohol, said Vu, who as the most senior driver in UPS Sunset office became a confidant to Lam and other drivers in that area. He got a DUI and talked about it to me. He had a problem with the relationship with the mother of his child. He didnt feel good about his situation. At one point about three years ago, Lam, who lived in the Inner Richmond neighborhood, was so despondent that Vu recommend he see a psychiatrist. The younger driver took about three months off work, Vu said, but seemed to bounce back. Before the shooting, Vu said he noticed Lam was again a little down. I talked to him two or three weeks prior to this incident, Vu said. I asked how he was, and he said, Not too good. Thats as far as he would answer me. You could figure he was in a bad place. The shooting happened just before 9 a.m. Parker, of San Francisco, said his day had started like any other in the 29 years hes worked for UPS. He began his shift at 7 a.m. doing special deliveries for customers who pay extra to get their packages before 8 a.m. Parker then returned to the third floor of the Potrero Hill warehouse, where other drivers were punching in and holding the usual Wellness Wednesday meeting and breakfast. So were going through our normal breakfast routine. We started our meeting, and the next thing you know, Jimmy comes right out of the crowd, Parker said. He blasted Benson in the head, and he dropped right in front of me. Pandemonium erupted. Parker said he dived into his truck, which was parked just feet away, as his manager jumped behind the vehicle while calling 911. Then I heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, Parker said. I looked out of the truck, and I saw Jimmy running out of the building. Parker said he ran to the roof with other drivers. I was just scared, he said. At that point, he didnt know that Lam had fatally shot not only Louie but Wayne Chan, 56, of San Francisco, and Michael Lefiti, 46, of Hercules. Two other wounded drivers, identified in a UPS email as Xiao Chen and Edgar Perez, were treated for gunshot wounds at San Francisco General Hospital and released. Chen was shot in the ankle, Perez in the arm. Officers, including SWAT members, swarmed to the scene, prompting Lam to shoot himself, said Assistant Chief Toney Chaplin. Once the scene was clear, police escorted workers, including the drivers on the roof, out of the building. Chaplin said two guns were recovered. He described one as an assault pistol, suggesting it may not be legal under Californias assault weapons ban, but did not elaborate. After speaking with grief counselors and his fellow drivers, Parker said he had pieced together Lams final moments after he shot Louie. From what I gathered, Wayne was hit next, then Mike ran out of the building, he said. I assume Jimmy ran out of the building and shot Mike outside. Like the other 350 or so people who work at the UPS facility, Parker was grasping to understand why Lam went on a killing rampage. Lam, he said, was a calm, mild-mannered dude, and even though he didnt spend time with him outside of work, they would chat in the locker room. Lam started as a UPS driver in San Francisco in 1999 and never complained about his fellow workers, said Joseph Cilia, the secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 2785, the drivers union. Whenever theres a dispute between co-workers, he said, the union will intervene and bring in a counselor, but that was never an issue with Lam. The gunmans only beef in recent memory, Cilia said, was a grievance he filed in March about working mandatory overtime. Vu said such grievances are not unusual. If you ask all the drivers, 85 to 90 percent have grievances, he said. Im positive that was not the issue. It was not long hours that triggered this. Lam had no known history of violence. But despite working as a UPS driver for almost two decades, his driving record was peppered with crashes and allegations of drunkenness incidents that all happened outside work, in his personal vehicle, records show. In 2010, he was convicted of driving under the influence and placed on probation after San Francisco police said he crashed into parked vehicles after drinking heavily at a bar. Three years later, city prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his probation when he was arrested again for driving under the influence. And in April 2014, his license was suspended for a year after he was deemed a negligent operator, state records show. He needed help, and I dont think he got the help he needed, Vu said. As memorials of flowers and candles grew Thursday near the shipping facility where drivers from around the Bay Area were filling in for other drivers who stayed home to process the trauma Parker said he hadnt been able to shake the image of Louie getting killed in front of him. He took the day off and will probably take more. He could have easily shot me, he said. I just cant go back in the building. Chronicle staff writers Filipa Ioannou and Vivian Ho contributed to this report. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @evansernoffsky After visiting Madison six times, former President Barack Obama could leave a permanent imprint on a city and county that enthusiastically backed him. Dane County officials announced plans Thursday to name the City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., after the 44th president of the United States. Standing at the base of the buildings steps, County Executive Joe Parisi said resolutions will be introduced to the County Board and Madison City Council to establish the Downtown structure as the President Barack Obama City-County Building. He deserves to be honored and deserves to be recognized, Parisi said. Not only for his accomplishments, but for his commitment to civil discourse and respect, both for those with whom he agreed and for those with whom he disagreed. The building, a block away from the state Capitol, has had its current name since it opened in 1956. Sup. Al Matano, who introduced a resolution Thursday to the County Board, called the City-County Building virtually no name at all. If approved, county officials said it would be the first seat of government named after the 55-year-old Obama, who left the White House in January when President Donald Trump was sworn into the office. Obama publicly visited Madison four times as president, as well as two times while campaigning in the 2008 presidential election season when he was a U.S. senator from Illinois. His first public visit came in October 2007, and on his final trip the day before the 2012 presidential election Obama held a rally with musician Bruce Springsteen outside the City-County Building. On the City Council side, Ald. Samba Baldeh, 17th District, plans to introduce a resolution at the councils June 20 meeting. The proposals will go through city and county committees to get input before being considered for adoption. Parisi said the former commander-in-chiefs work on fighting terrorism, commitment to stemming climate change and support for marriage equality are among the reasons to name the building after Obama. This is the seat of city and county government, Parisi said. Dane County overwhelmingly supported and supports President Obama and his policies. In 2008, 72.8 percent of Dane County residents voted for Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden, and 71 percent chose that ticket in 2012. But Republican Party of Dane County Chairman Scott Grabins called the proposal a political stunt. Grabins said local officials should focus on issues other than naming buildings. Its purely political, he said. While not being opposed to naming public spaces after politicians, Grabins took issue with the timing of the announcement. It is meant, purely, to sort of stick their thumb in the eye of President Trump, he said. Parisi noted two prominent government buildings in Downtown named after politicians, the Tommy G. Thompson Commerce Center, 201 W. Washington Ave., named after the four-term Republican governor, and the Risser Justice Center, 17 W. Main St., across West Doty Street from the City-County Building, named for the four generations of the Risser family that have served in the state Legislature, including current Democratic state Sen. Fred A. Risser the longest-serving state legislator in American history and his father, former Sen. Fred E. Risser. Those facilities are aptly named and pay tribute to people who were dedicated servants to this community and beyond, Parisi said. While I certainly didnt agree with Gov. Thompson on all of his policies, I frankly think the facility thats named after him is well-deserved. A plaque would be placed outside the City-County Building if the County Board and City Council resolutions are approved, which could happen later this summer. We feel that as a community, we not only appreciated President Obama for being the president he was, Matano said, but also the style and grace with which he served and the somewhat personal connection he developed with our community. OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso Gaetan Santomenna lost his wife, his 9-year-old son and his mother the night jihadists attacked his Cappuccino Cafe in Burkina Fasos capital before striking a nearby hotel. Now a year and a half later, hes reopening doors to the popular restaurant as a sign of resistance to the growing extremism in this West African country. I owe it to my children, to my family, to all those who have left us, Santomenna said. To accept defeat would be to not pay homage to them. Three Islamic extremists opened fire on the cafe the night of Jan. 15, 2016, killing 30 people of 11 nationalities. It was the first attack of its kind in Burkina Faso, which previously had been spared the kind of violence directed at expatriate targets in neighboring Mali. The cafe reopens Thursday night at the exact time 7:30 p.m. that gunfire rang out there. The cafe now features bulletproof windows and other heightened security measures, but security analysts say the capital, Ouagadougou, remains vulnerable with growing extremism in the countrys far north. This week, the U.S. State Department issued a warning to Americans urging them to avoid Burkina Fasos volatile north because of persistent security threats including terrorism. The region is now the home of a local preacher, Ibrahim Malam Dicko, who has claimed recent deadly attacks against troops and civilians. His association, Ansarul Islam, is now considered a terrorist group by Burkina Fasos government. Nearly a dozen attacks have left at least 33 people dead in the region since January, officials say. Scores of schools have closed after teachers received threats telling them to teach about the Quran and Islam or leave. Brahima Ouedraogo is an Associated Press writer. LONDON London firefighters combed through a burned-out public housing tower Thursday in a grim search for missing people as police and the prime minister launched investigations into the deadly inferno, with pressure building on officials to explain the disaster and assure that similar buildings around the country are safe. At least 17 people were killed as flames raced through the 24-story Grenfell Tower early Wednesday, trapping people inside their apartments. Many people remained unaccounted for Thursday, and officials werent sure exactly how many were missing. But they expected the death toll to rise significantly. London police said an investigation had been started to determine whether the blaze involved any crimes, and Prime Minister Theresa May announced a public inquiry, a type of probe thats used to investigate issues of major public concern. In addition, London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for an interim report on the fire to be published this summer. People deserve answers. The inquiry will give them that, said May, the Conservative leader who set aside her efforts to form a new government Thursday to visit the scene of the blaze. An angry crowd confronted Khan as he visited the high-rise. How many children died? What are you going to do about it? asked 7-year-old Kai Ramos. As the boy pressed, the Labor politician pledged to get answers. The tower is in the North Kensington neighborhood, a working-class, multiethnic area next to some of the richest neighborhoods in Britain. Some observers asked whether hazards in the Grenfell complex, which had 120 apartments that housed as many as 600 people, were ignored because its residents are mainly poor. A tenant group had complained for years about the risk of a fire in the building, owned by the local government in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Fire safety engineers were stunned at how rapidly the fire spread, engulfing the building in less than an hour in the middle of the night and preventing firefighters from reaching many people inside. Some jumped to their deaths rather than face the flames, and witnesses reported seeing small children thrown from the tower by their families in a desperate bid to survive. Danica Kirka is an Associated Press writer. Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Borough President James Oddo, alongside Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, spoke at Borough Hall Thursday afternoon to urge Staten Islanders to join in the fight against litter. "We are taking more litter off the streets of Staten Island than ever before, and we still have a litter problem," said Oddo. "Own the 18" is an event from June 16 to 18 urging Staten Islanders to clean the areas in front of their homes and businesses up to 18 inches into the street. "We are working really hard to put more and more work into Staten Island, but we still need help," said Garcia. "We can't keep New York City clean all by ourselves." Oddo noted that the law as presently constituted does place responsibility on building owners to clean surrounding litter, though the city doesn't actively ticket those who don't abide. According to New York City Administrative Code: Section 16-118(2)(a), "...persons shall also remove garbage, refuse, rubbish, litter, debris and other offensive materials between the curbstone abutting the building or premises and the roadway area extending on and one-half feet (18 inches) from the curbstone into the street on which the building or premises front." Oddo said: "We need more Staten Islanders who care about what our community looks like to join the fight." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Dozens of dead fish and horseshoe crabs were found washed up on the shore from Wolfe's Pond Park to Lemon Creek in Prince's Bay on Wednesday. Staten Islanders went out to the shore to fish and found the dead sea creatures. That particular area of the beach is normally crowded, but one Great Kills resident, Brian Butz, said it was empty. "I went fishing there and there were multiple fish on the beach with missing body parts," Butz said. "There's tons of horseshoe crabs too." Butz said he normally fishes near the beach in Wolfe's Pond Park and even went fishing the night before. "I went there yesterday and there was nothing there," he said. "I fished there until 7:30 p.m. and I went today around noon." After seeing the dead fish and crabs, he left after 15 minutes. He didn't want to catch anything that could be contaminated by what possibly killed the fish and crabs. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation did not immediately return a request for comment at the time of publication. McSweeney's comments were in response to a story in the Kane County Chronicle, wherein a fellow Republican - State Rep. Steve Andersson of Geneva - pushed for a tax hike during an emergency town hall in his district. "Raising taxes will kill jobs and hurt families. Any Illinois Republican who supports a tax increase is a tax collector for government bureaucrats and the Cellini family's shady warehouse lease," McSweeney said in a statement Wednesday. "We need to stop the madness and cut spending, not raise taxes." GENEVA, IL - If the governor and the heads of the GOP House and Senate caucuses are softened up and ready to Illinois taxpayers under the bus with another income tax hike, there's one state rep that's determined to resist the plan: state Rep. David McSweeney (R-South Barrington): In the Kane County Chronicle story , Andersson supports raising the personal income tax rate to 4.95 percent and the corporate tax rate to 7 percent, along with new taxes on services such as landscaping and barbering. Andersson told his constituents the tax hike "would help shore up the states need for revenue to pay its bills, its pensions and support its programs." Andersson's public statements are notable, as GOP House Leader Jim Durkin whisked the second term lawmaker into House GOP leadership, where Andersson is now GOP floor leader. After May 31st, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan will need a few Republican votes to meet the required post-session super-majority to pass a budget into effect. Without an agreed up budget, Illinois could enter its three consecutive year with no state budget - only paying budget items that are ordered by the courts to be paid. Andersson told the town hall audience he disagrees with those that say no budget is better than a bad budget. "Our cash flow would be so limited, that we may default on our debt. Our bonds won't get paid. Our state employees would not get paid," he said. It's all about getting Governor Rauner and Speaker Madigan to compromise, Andersson said. Rumors are the governor may be calling the General Assembly back into session next week to vote on a compromise before the new fiscal year starting July 1st. ROCKFORD - Republican State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) voiced his outrage with the radical Left's rhetoric that likely aggravated the Belleville native that shot at Republican members of the U.S. Congress Wednesday morning in Alexandria, Virginia. While not an official comment, Senator Syverson's Facebook post was clear: he blames "credible" personalities as Liberal leaders that led the way to James Hodgkinson's attack: By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree "According to the Comptrollers office, Illinois owes $15.1 billion in unpaid bills. This backlog is growing every day. It is telling that over a third of the money or $5.6 billion is owed to Chicago-based vendors," Skillicorn said in a statement issued Thursday. "It is an opportune time to conduct a forensic audit of the backlog to ensure that only truly legitimate expenses are paid and I am publicly calling on Comptroller Mendoza to do so. EAST DUNDEE - State Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) says it is time for a forensic audit of Illinois' unpaid bills - some reported to have been waiting for three years. Skillicorn said that it is appropriate for an immediate suspension of the payment penalty under the Prompt Pay Act, which will save Illinois taxpayers over $800 million. "It is nonsensical to self-impose a penalty that was meant to be an incentive to pay our bills on time when its blatantly obvious that we cant! And if you believe that to be unfair to vendors, bear in mind that currently they are being paid zero!" he said. Some will criticize a forensic audit of the backlog as being costly and taking too much time," he said. "In response to this, the state could potentially save billions," Skillicorn said. "Every option to save taxpayer money must be explored during this crisis. For too long the state has been spending money on auto pilot." Waste and fraud are hallmarks of government spending. I dont believe our illustrious state is free of such abuses, so lets find out exactly where we stand, said Skillicorn. On most of our backlog we are over 8 months behind on payments. Surely, timely payments is not a believable excuse any longer. How many of our bills are owed to family members of convicted felon Bill Cellini? How much is owed to Speaker Madigans law firm? How many connected individuals are on the list? How much of our backlog is going towards corruption? I publicly call on Comptroller Susanna Mendoza to conduct a forensic audit on the entire $15.1 billion backlog immediately! "We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced," Pinheiro told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. He referred to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed militia dominated by Syrian Kurds. Dylan has been accused of lifting lines from older artists for his songs in the past, though many fans dismiss it as simply reflecting the common borrowing of the folk-and-blues milieus he drew from. Early in his career, he used the melody of the slave song "No More Auction Block for Me" for his protest classic "Blowin' in the Wind." He has since drawn upon other material, sometimes extensively, in everything from his paintings to his memoir "Chronicles: Volume One." ACT senator Zed Seselja is hosting drinks with resources minister Matthew Canavan for Australian Christian Lobby director Lyle Shelton. The Liberal senator said he was pleased to be hosting drinks for the religious lobbying group and denied it was a fundraiser. Senator Zed Seselja. Credit:Andrew Meares Mr Shelton said he was approached by Mr Canavan several months ago with the drinks set to take place Tuesday, June 20. "[Senator Canavan] rang me some months ago ... and just wanted to do something to help encourage our team after what was a pretty traumatic event," Mr Shelton said. A Queanbeyan man who fled a Fyshwick post office robbery on a motorbike with his accomplice will be in jail for at least two years for his part in the crime. Dwayne John James Goward, 29, rode away on a motorcycle with a man who used a fake, shortened firearm to hold up the Australia Post store on June 30, 2016 and demanded money. Justice John Burns handed Goward a jail term of two and a half years on a charge of aggravated robbery and backdated the sentence to his imprisonment on June 30 last year, setting a 22-month non-parole period. As Goward was handcuffed on Thursday and led away, his mother at the back of the ACT Supreme Court said "I love you, son", while other family members stood up in support of him. Justice Burns said Goward was not the instigator of the robbery and had a lesser role but noted it was "a serious example of this kind of offending". The National Capital Authority could force the ACT government to realign its light rail route to Woden, substantially blowing out both the cost of the project and travel time, if the agency decided the tram would spoil the Commonwealth Bridge vista. The Australian Parliament will also have to rubber-stamp the route over Commonwealth Bridge, National Capital Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow revealed in parliamentary hearings on Thursday. Parliament House from Commonwealth Avenue Bridge. The National Capital Authority could force the ACT government to realign its light rail route to Woden away from the bridge because of its nationally significant vista. Already the NCA, which has planning jurisdiction in the Parliamentary Zone, has said trams must be wire-free from the time they leave the Northbourne Avenue terminus, until a point yet to be determined down Adelaide Avenue. But when asked if the NCA had the power to force the ACT government to use Kings Avenue Bridge rather than Commonwealth Bridge to preserve the Parliament House vista, Mr Snow acknowledged they did. Canberra's National Capital Authority has given reluctant endorsement to a controversial new security fence at Parliament House, describing it as necessary amid heightening terror threats. Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow told a parliamentary committee on Thursday the 2.6 metre metal fence, about to be installed across the lawns of the building as part of a wider security upgrade, was not ideal but required because of security risks for MPs and visitors in high profile setting. Geoffrey Robinson and Barbara Aurand of Florida at Parliament House. Credit:Karleen Minney The final design and exact location for the fence have been kept secret from the public, even as temporary construction fencing is in place on the sloping lawns. Senate President Stephen Parry has previously said discussing details of the plan would add to security threats. Is it a boy or a girl? In the world of reptiles it is not so simple. A University of Canberra-led research collaboration has discovered reptile's sex determination process can switch rapidly from one determined by chromosomes to one determined by temperature. Temperature is a key factor in sex determination in reptiles. Credit:University of Canberra The study, published on the cover of Nature, has proven climate-induced change of male bearded dragon lizards into females occurs in naturally occurring populations. Using field data from 131 adult lizards and controlled breeding experiments the researchers conducted molecular analyses showing that some warmer lizards had male chromosomes but were actually female. You've heard of speed dating? How about speed planting? The Landcare for Singles tree planting event is 9.30am to 1.30pm this Saturday on a Cotter Road farm, Stromlo. (Map details available upon booking.) Plant a tree and maybe find love this weekend. Credit:Erin Jonasson Funded by the National Landcare Programme, the speed planters' hard work will support efforts to restore endangered Box-Gum Woodlands in the ACT. Landcare spokeswoman Rebecca Palmer-Brodie said it was a "really unique way to not only help the local environment, but also meet some like-minded people". Fox News is "Fair and Balanced" no more. In the latest sign of change at the cable news network, the "Fair and Balanced" motto that has long been a rallying cry for Fox News fans - and a finger in the eye of critics - is gone. The channel confirmed on Wednesday (US time) that slogan and network have parted ways. "The shift has nothing to do with programming or editorial decisions," the network said in a statement. Instead, the slogan was dropped in part because of its close association with Roger Ailes, network's co-founder, former chairman and the originator of the phrase, who was fired in August in a sexual harassment scandal. The network said that "Fair and Balanced" was shelved as a marketing tool after Ailes' departure. In its place is a new motto: "Most Watched, Most Trusted." Investors have jumped into the infant formula company Bellamy's after it emerged from a two-day trading halt, rocketing the shares up by almost 13 per cent to $6.50 in trading on Thursday. The surge in the price of Bellamy's shares is a strong backing of the latest moves to overhaul the embattled company, which were unveiled in a statement to the ASX on Tuesday. After a turbulent period late last year and early this year for the company, which saw Bellamy's shares plunge below $4 in January as its infant formula lost Australian market share and it revised its China sales down, the latest moves continue the company's stabilisation plans. New South Wales and Victoria will be hit the hardest by the 1,400 job cull flagged by Telstra, a move unions describe as an "ambush" on workers. The telco giant on Wednesday said it will sack around 1,400 employees within the next six months as part of a drive to become "leaner" in the face of growing pressure on earnings from the rollout of the national broadband network and aggressive new competitors. Almost 90 per cent of the cuts will come from NSW and Victoria, while roughly 172 workers will be culled from Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland combined, Telstra spokesman Jon Court said. Mr Court said the restructures will affect most parts of the company including Telstra's retail, operations, government enterprises and services and, to a smaller extent, its media and marketing sectors. Given the lengths the government has gone to in order to conceal the human cost of its refugee detention program since 2014, it seems probable a major motivation for its agreeing to pay at least $70 million in compensation to Manus detainees is to avoid an embarrassing court case. If this is the case then it must come close to setting a new high water mark for political cynicism. Attempts by Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, to portray the outcome as a win for all concerned are doomed to failure. His claim it was a "prudent outcome" is risibly reminiscent of lipsticking a pig. Equally farcical is the official line the decision to settle does not, in any way, "represent an admission of wrongdoing" from the Australian Government. I am alarmed at signs in the United Kingdom and Australia of a tendency to describe the British Labour Party's election result as a success. While the result had many positive features, Labour's campaign must ultimately be judged as a failure. After all, it lost. Theresa May ran the worst campaign in living memory yet her Conservatives won 56 seats more than the Labour Party. It's important to remember that May was invited to form a government as the leader of the party with the most seats (318), compared to Labour (262) and the remainder (62, excluding the Speaker and Sinn Fein). Jeremy Corbyn deserves recognition for outperforming expectations. It's even possible he opened the way to a subsequent victory. Efforts by well-meaning apologists to absolve Islam when Muslims in Australia turn to violence are ultimately futile, as the tragic case of Yacqub Khayre in the recent Brighton siege demonstrates. As a refugee worker among Khayre's Somali community, I was among the many Melburnians who welcomed his family from the horrors of civil war. In that decade, I grew to deeply love the Somali people including Khayre's family. My heart was continually rent by the stories of unimaginable pain and loss so many of my friends had suffered. It was rent again as refuge in Australia failed to break the cycle of violence for the troubled Khayre. Police responding to the hostage crisis in Brighton. Credit:Luis Ascui Khayre was clearly sending (yet another) salvo across the bows of the narrative that "this has nothing to do with Islam". Surely this has at least something to do with Islam. I know this because I have discussed theology with the people Khayre hung out with; listened to the Islamic teachers Khayre was influenced by; been to the Islamic centres Khayre has been to; and read the theologians that outline the traditional Islamic approach to politics. In short, whatever social or personal factors drove Khayre's act it was, to some degree, also driven by a traditional Islamic political theology. Australia's greenhouse gas emissions could return to 2005 levels by 2030 without new government action, contrary to the scenario modelled by the Finkel review, according to a new report by respected analyst Hugh Saddler. Under Australia's Paris climate commitments, total emissions are to drop 26-28 per cent on 2005 by the end of the next decade, a pace the Chief Scientist Alan Finkel has modelled for the electricity sector in this review. While the reductions since 2005 have achieved about half of the annual reductions needed to hit the 2030 goal of 430-442 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, they have come mostly from reduced land clearing in Queensland and NSW. Both states, though, are likely to see emissions rebound from 2013 lows as restrictions ease. "In the absence of further policy action, Australia's total emissions will increase from the [2015 level] of 525.6 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent to between 571 and 616 million tonnes by 2030," Dr Saddler said in the first National Energy Emissions Audit report prepared for The Australia Institute. Tony Abbott is the most high-profile backbencher in Australia, with regular appearances in newspapers, on radio and television and in contributions to Coalition party room debates. As a former prime minister, he has made the most of the multiple media platforms available to him. But there is one place the member for Warringah has remained largely silent: question time. From his perch on the backbench, Mr Abbott has asked just one "Dorothy Dixer" question of a government minister in the current Parliament. A push by Labor and the crossbench to set up a banking commission of inquiry has fallen just short, after a tied vote in the lower house helped the Turnbull government stymie the move. Earlier on Thursday, the Senate voted to set up a powerful commission of inquiry into Australia's big banks and financial sector, in a win for Labor, the Greens and the crossbench. And in the final hours of the parliamentary sitting week, Greens lower house MP Adam Bandt, backed by crossbencher Bob Katter, moved to force debate on the commission of inquiry, which has much the same powers as a royal commission but reports to the Parliament, rather than the executive. Rain, hail or shine, Melbourne loves its markets. And this week, there's a brand new one kicking off in Footscray. Plus there's still plenty of great mid-season sales to splurge on. Calling all vintage lovers. Footscray Finds, a brand new market, will host stalls selling everything from secondhand fashion to vegan produce. The monthly market will also host music acts, with DJ Emma Peel (PBS radio) lined up for the opening day. Footscray Library Car Park, 56 Paisley Street, Footscray. Sunday 8am-1pm. Australian buildings are cloaked in "millions of square metres" of flammable cladding, and authorities have been aware of the safety threat since at least 2010. In the wake of London's deadly tower fire, Fairfax Media can reveal the Australian Building Codes Board was told seven years ago that combustible cladding was widely installed across the nation. It's the same type of cladding that may have been installed on London's Grenfell Tower during a recent renovation, it is understood. A letter sent to the building codes board in June 2010 by a fire safety consultant said aluminium composite panels had been widely installed in Australia for about 25 years. However the panels did not comply with building regulations because they were combustible. "Oh, dear," Ms Sharobeem said. Acting commissioner Reginald Blanch, QC, asked: "Isn't the only conclusion you dishonestly transferred the money as reimbursement?" "I disagree, it didn't happen," she replied. When the NESH board questioned the payment, Ms Sharobeem told them it was an expense for the sister organisation, the Immigrant Women's Health Service. "We traced the $3000 in IWHS books as well, it is paid by me to Westmead Hospital education department as a contribution to [a domestic violence] conference which I presented a paper at on behalf of IWHS," Ms Sharobeem reassured board members. Westmead Hospital advised the commission no such presentation was made. Ms Sharobeem insisted it was. Ms Sharobeem was also accused of racking up $34,000 in traffic fines over eight years, including $10,000 from 2014-15 alone with the State Debt Recovery Office seeking payment covering some 40 offences, the commission heard. In a fiery exchange with counsel assisting the commission, Ramesh Rajalingam, Ms Sharobeem defended her actions in claiming the fines from an organisation that cared for newly arrived immigrant women. You're using IWHS funds to pay for your own tickets, Mr Rajalingam said, waving a folder filled with the receipts of just one year. "It's part of my package," she replied. Mr Rajalingam asserted it was improper for the IWHS to pay. "Who should pay it?" Ms Sharobeem said. "It's part of my package. All the fines were paid by the service because it was part of my package. It's a ticket given during working hours. "When I received my work, I was told that the car and everything associated with the car was part of your package," she told the commission. It came a day after she said she did nothing wrong having the IWHS pay for renovations on the building she owned that housed the organisation. Ms Sharobeem was also accused of ordering IWHS staff to sign declarations they were driving her car when she was issued with an infringement notice because she "didn't have many points left". In another example, she was fined $132 for driving at 60km/h in a 40km/h zone. It was noted by the booking police officer that a woman was driving the car. When she was pulled over, the officer noted that she said: "I can't believe it. I've had problems." But her son Charlie Sharobeem signed a statutory declaration that he was driving the car. Ms Sharobeem was also accused of purporting to be a treating psychologist to the Department of Corrections in the case of a young man known to her family. The man had issues with drugs and gambling and had breached parole. In a parole report from August 2011, the parole officer referred to the man's "treating psychologist". "[The man's] psychologist stated that she continues to work closely with both the offender and his family," the report said, noting there were further appointments with the psychologist scheduled. Ms Sharobeem said she had seen the man as "an aunty" offering him and the family support. Ms Sharobeem has falsely claimed to have a PhD and be a practising psychologist and regularly saw clients as a treating psychologist while not registered, ICAC has heard previously. She has no qualifications but maintains she has an honorary doctorate from a university in Cairo that she cannot substantiate because of a fire during the Arab Spring. The commission was also shown parole details from Bankstown Community Corrections concerning the parole case, in which Ms Sharobeem was referred to as "Dr". Mr Rajalingam asserted Ms Sharobeem had told the Department of Corrections she was a psychologist. She said she did not remember. You were his psychologist, weren't you? asked Mr Rajalingam. No, I referred him, she replied. Ms Sharobeem was also accused of receiving money from the Smith Family to hold employment courses for immigrant women but of never using the money to conduct them. Instead it's alleged other organisations such as TAFE ran those courses at their own expense. Even then she inflated the numbers attending the courses so she could impress her funders with the good work so she could derive more funds into the future, the commission heard. The NSW government says it does not know how many buildings are clad in the material blamed for the recent London residential inferno as a fire safety authority warns the cladding is slipping past the state's building inspection regime. Cheap non-compliant apartment cladding often makes use of glue, cork and other flammable materials and early analysis suggests it may have been linked to the engulfing of a 24-storey high-rise in London's Grenfell Tower within minutes and other conflagrations. But Australia's authority on fire protection has warned the use of such material presents a latent safety danger for Sydney, which is in the middle of a historic, sustained apartment construction boom. "We've developed a culture of saying this looks like any other material ... it's fine," said Matthew Wright, the deputy chief of the Australian authority on fire protection, the Fire Protection Association of Australia. A map showing the ground stations that received quantum entangled photons from the Micius satellite orbiting 500 kilometres above Earth. Credit:Science/Pan Professor Tommaso Calarco from Ulm University in Germany, who was not connected to the study, said: "This is not only a major step forward scientifically but an important aspect of strategic intention by the Chinese government." Distribution of entangled particles will provide a quantum key distribution mechanism that allows for provably secure communications, beyond which is possible now. Such a network is still years away, however. "It is informally known the intention is to use this for secure key distribution starting with Chinese embassies worldwide," Professor Calarco said. He said the European Union had fallen behind China in this race. "It is an open secret in our community that the US is investing in this area, too," Professor Calarco said. Professor Lu said the next step in developing a global network would be to test quantum key distribution and to establish a quantum connection between China and a ground station in Vienna. Professor Anton Zeilinger from the University of Vienna has had a long, friendly competition with the Chinese group led by his former PhD student, Jan-Wei Pan. However, they are collaborating on this project. "This is the first distribution of [quantum] entanglement from a satellite, setting a new distance record," Professor Zeilinger told Fairfax Media. In response to concerns about working with China on quantum cryptography, Professor Zeilinger said: "In our collaboration we have agreed in writing that everything will be published. And this works. The Chinese colleagues follow the agreement." Professor Lu said his team publishes all its result in public and "wants to share our results with the world". Last August the Chinese Academy of Sciences put an experimental satellite into orbit named Micius after a 5th-century BC philosopher. On board that satellite is a quantum-enabled transmitter that can split photons a single packet of light into two entangled photons. In quantum mechanics, when particles such as photons are entangled, one particle instantaneously reacts to an interaction with its pair, theoretically over an infinite distance. Einstein dismissively called this "spooky action at a distance". In this experiment led by Professor Pan two beams of entangled photons were fired at separate ground stations. Using what is known as a Bell test, the Chinese physicists successfully established that the photons had retained quantum entanglement. Professor Lu said that six million entangled photon pairs were produced every second on the satellite. Almost all of these were lost in transmission, with just 1.1 photon pairs arriving on the ground every second. Professor White from EQUS said: "One pair a second sounds bad, but if you compared optical fibres over same distance it would take 100,000 years for one photon pair to arrive." Dr Ben Buchler at the Australian National University, who was not connected with the study, said the result was amazing. "It's so quick; they only launched last August and they've already got results," he said. "The immediate implication of the experiment is that these two ground stations have random chains of information that no one else has." Professor Lu said the Pan group at Hefei University would now look to distribute quantum keys across China and then to Vienna before hopefully launching a new satellite. The firefighters union has launched an extraordinary attempt to block the release of an investigation into workplace bullying, sexism, discrimination and harassment in Victorian firefighting services. The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission was asked by the Andrews government to investigate the workplace culture of the MFB and CFA last year and the findings are due to be released soon. United Firefighters Union secretary Peter Marshall. Credit:Justin McManus The United Firefighters Union had sought an urgent injunction in the Supreme Court to have the report suppressed. However, the matter has now been adjourned with no further hearings set. Allegations of bullying and discrimination have been levelled at the CFA and MFB for some time. The Commission's investigation was triggered as a result of the Fire Services Review which reported early last year. Australian buildings are cloaked in "millions of square metres" of flammable cladding, and authorities have been aware of the safety threat since at least 2010. In the wake of London's deadly tower fire, Fairfax Media can reveal the Australian Building Codes Board was told seven years ago that combustible cladding was widely installed across the nation. Fire rapidly engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in London on Wednesday. Credit:Getty Images It's the same type of cladding that may have been fitted on London's Grenfell Tower during a recent renovation and that fuelled a massive fire at the Lacrosse apartment tower in Melbourne. Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne has assured the public a fire of the magnitude of the Grenfell Tower blaze would "not happen here in Victoria". Melbourne Express: Friday, June 16, 2017 Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Victoria Police is set to gain extraordinary powers to tackle terrorism and gun crime, with laws allowing officers to search suspects without a warrant. The Chief Commissioner, at his discretion, will be able to impose an order on a person that means they, as well as their cars and property, can be searched at any time. Guns seized in an international operation that ended in Melbourne last year. Credit:Penny Stephens Known as firearm prohibition orders, the conditions could be placed on someone as young as 14 if the Chief Commissioner believes it is in the public interest. An order can be granted even if the suspect does not a have a prior conviction. The types of people who might qualify include those exhibiting radicalised behaviour, as well as bikies, organised crime figures and young gang members, Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said. The owner of a labrador stabbed to death by a Mirrabooka man has slammed the sentence handed down to him by the Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday. Jayde Paul Rowan was handed a seven month suspended sentence by chief magistrate Steven Heath for the attack on the four-year-old dog named Luna in a Mirrabooka park last month. Luna's owner visited the reserve last month to read the tributes made by the local community. Credit:Jerrie Demasi- 9 News Perth Owner Bridgette Millen told media the verdict was not justice for her beloved pet. "I'm very disappointed, upset and angry in the conviction because that not only doesn't give justice to Luna but it also shows everyone... that it's not only okay to carry a knife and get away with it but it's also okay to hurt a harmless animal," she said. A 12-year-old girl was also missing. Jessica Urbano was last seen trying to escape from the 20th floor. Her family has checked all the hospitals but to no avail. Her sister Melanie said: "They [the hospitals] don't know anything. They don't have lists." Her aunt Sandra Ruiz said: "She will be very, very, very scared. We're just desperate to find her. Somebody gave her a phone and she rang her mum at 1.29am and at 1.39am. She was with a group of people in the fire escape... That's the last they've heard of her." Zainab Dean and her two-year-old son Jeremiah were in their flat on the 14th floor. Her brother Francis Dean said: "I told her to leave by the stairs but she said she had been told to stay inside her flat. I fear the worst. I'm so upset." Hesham Reman, 57, had also been told to stay put in his 19th-floor flat. His nephew Karim Musilly spoke to him by phone at 1.30am. "He had phoned the police who said stay in your flat and put a wet towel under the door," said Mr Musilly, "Then the phone went dead." Ali Yawar Jafari, 82, was with his wife and daughter in the lift travelling down when, overcome by smoke, he decided to get out at the 10th floor. His son, Hamid Ali Jafari, said he had not been seen since. Saber Neda, 57, a father-of-three, had not been seen since telling his wife Shakila, 45, and son, Farhad, 24, to flee the building while he stayed behind. He was last heard from at 2.20am when he made a frantic call to say there was "no help" coming. Nura Jamal and her two sons, aged six and 11, are still missing. Her daughter is understood to have been treated in hospital. Mrs Jamal called her friend at around 2am and said: "Forgive me, the fire is here, I'm dying." Nadia Choucair, a teaching assistant at Avondale Park Primary School, is understood to have lived on one of the top floors of the tower with her husband, her three daughters and her mother-in-law. One neighbour who gave her name as Hulya said Mrs Chouchair had called a friend saying she thought she was going to die. Mrs Chouchair had not been heard from since. Another mother Ranya Ibrahim, 30, sent pleas for help from her Snapchat account at 3am. Her friend Maseen, who lives nearby, said: "My friend, Ranya Ibrahim, lives on the top floor with her two children who are just three and five years old. "I received a Snapchat video from Ranya at 3am just after the fire started and I haven't heard from her since." The first victim of the Grenfell Tower fire in London has been named as Mohammad al-Haj Ali, a 23-year-old Syrian refugee. Mr Haj Ali's friend and co-founder of the Syria Solidarity Campaign Abdulaziz al-Mashi confirmed the news, saying he had met Mr Haj Ali while working for the organisation, which promotes freedom, peace and democracy in Syria. Mr Haj Ali lived on the 14th floor of Grenfell Tower and tried to escape the deadly blaze with his brother Omar, who was with him in the flat. But Omar "lost Mohammad on the way out", the Syria Solidarity Campaign said in a statement. Bangkok: Lee Kuan Yew would turn in his grave if he knew about the feud that has broken out publicly in his family, two years after his death. Over decades the Cambridge-educated lawyer ruthlessly crushed critics who dared suggest any misuse of official power on the island at the tip of peninsular Malaysia. The former prime minister turned it into a glittering regional financial powerhouse with a $US300 billion ($396 billion) economy. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Credit:AP But misuse of power is what his daughter Lee Wei Ling, a well-known neurosurgeon, accused her elder brother and current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of doing in an explosive escalation of a feud that has shocked many people in strictly-controlled Singapore, where criticism of leaders is rare. On Thursday Dr Lee hit back in a Facebook post at PM Lee who earlier claimed the row was "merely a family affair". She said her brother's "misuse of official power" against his siblings suggested he could do the same to ordinary Singaporeans. Beirut: Air strikes by a US-led coalition have caused a "staggering" loss of civilian life in recent months around the Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, a United Nations investigative body said Wednesday. A US-backed ground force entered the city with the help of coalition air raids last week, three years after the area became a hub from which IS leaders planned expansion throughout the region and attacks around the world. An image distributed by IS's propaganda agency Amaq shows a Raqqa mosque damaged by the coalition earlier this month. Credit:AP Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, chairman of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said Wednesday that coalition air strikes have deepened the suffering in the city held by extremist fighters. "We note in particular that the intensification of air strikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced," Pinheiro told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. He referred to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed militia dominated by Syrian Kurds. PHILIPSBURG:--- Parliament needs to be transparent with its budget! During budget debates, members of parliament pose numerous questions, some critical, many political, concerning governments budgeting and spending, but no one raises questions about parliaments budget and parliaments spending. The reason for this is because parliaments budget is camouflaged among the budgets of the High Councils of State. Furthermore, according to the Compatibility Ordinance and the Rules of Order of Parliament the budget of Parliament is drafted by the Secretariat of Parliament, approved by the Presidium and then sent to the Minister of Finance to be included in the national budget. So nobody really takes a critical look at parliaments budget, not even the members of parliament themselves. Did you know that in 2017 budget close to 400.000,00 guilders were allocated to vacation allowance for parliament? Annually, parliamentarians get a vacation allowance of 6% of their annual income. A parliamentarian grosses approximately Fl. 18.000,00 monthly. Now you do the math and calculate his or her vacation allowance! Yes, vacation allowance for parliamentarians who for most of the year seem to be on vacation. Yes, vacation allowance for parliamentarians who seemingly have no problem abdicating their responsibility to attend meetings and to represent the people. At the Tripartite and IPKO meetings currently taking place in the Netherlands, the UPP faction again forfeits the opportunity to represent the people. And the reason given is a flimsy excuse. According to Faction Leader Franklyn Meyers, after the discussion at the last IPKO meeting parties present were told that decisions taken were not binding. Does this mean that the UPP will be boycotting all future IPKO meetings? Yes, vacation allowance for parliamentarians whose absence is the cause that the President of Parliament has had to postpone many parliamentary committees meetings due to a lack of quorum? And what about the Member of Parliament who has been consistently absent from all meetings of parliament? I really wonder how parliamentarians feel collecting a vacation allowance when they should know they do not deserve it! Have you wondered how much money is spent on Parlatino? Well you will not be able to find it in the budget. A seven man/woman parliamentary delegation recently returned to the island after attending yet another meeting of the Latin American Parliament, popularly called Parlatino. For six years our parliamentarians have been going faithfully, twice a year, to Panama to attend parliamentary meetings conducted in Spanish, a language which most of our parliamentarians are not versed in at that level. Even one of the integrity reports was very critical of our parliamentarians attending Parlatino. It is negative for St. Maartens reputation, when at meetings of Parlatino the smallest country has the largest delegation- a quote from Doing the Right Things Right. Financially, our parliaments association with Parlatino costs Sint Maarten tens of thousands of guilders in tickets, travel allowance, hotel accommodations and not forgetting a membership fee of approximately US$ 20,000.00 per year. Upon return from Parlatino, the people of Sint Maarten do not get a report of what transpired during these meetings neither do we see, hear or experience any added value that these meetings have on our local parliamentarians. Parliament controls, or rather ought to control the governments budget and also the budgets of the High Councils of State, such as the Advisory Council, the Ombudsman, etc. But who controls Parliaments budget? According to the Annual Reports of Parliament, the Financial Committee of Parliament meets with the High Councils of State to discuss their draft budgets. Yet Parliament does not even discuss its own budget in its Financial Committee. Parliaments draft budget is only discussed by the Presidium which is currently comprised of the President and two Vice Presidents, namely MPs Sarah Wescot-Williams, Drs. Rodolphe Samuel and Frans Richardson respectively. The Annual Reports of Parliament make mention of the fact that the budget is also deliberated in a Faction leaders meeting. Legally, according to the Compatibility Ordinance and the Rules of Order of Parliament, the budget need only be discussed and approved by the Presidium. SMCP believes that this should change and that Parliaments budget should also be discussed in the Financial and Central Committee meetings and ultimately approved by Parliament in a public meeting. Parliament should be made accountable to the people as far as its budget is concerned. SMCP is of the opinion that just as each government department is represented in a separate chapter in the national budget, so also Parliament and each High Council of State should be listed as a separate chapter in the national budget. In this way, the people would be able to see exactly how much money each one of these institutions is costing the taxpayers. After Parliament, the highest supervisory body is the public (the voters) and as such, they should have insight into the budget and financial statements of Parliament. The General Auditing Chamber has its complete budget online. Parliament should also exercise such transparency and post its budget online as well. SMCP is of the opinion that Parliaments finances should be audited and made public. If political parties are required to present a registered accountants report to the Electoral Council how much more should Parliament be also held accountable to the people for its financial management. Wycliffe Smith Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party SANUWAVE Health Appoints Colonel Dr. Patrick Sesto to Its Medical and Science Advisory Board SUWANEE, GA (Marketwired) 06/15/17 (OTCQB: SNWV) today announced the appointment of retired Colonel Dr. Patrick Sesto to the Companys Medical and Science Advisory Board. Dr. Sesto served 27 years active duty as an officer in the US Army utilizing his doctorate in Podiatric Medicine. Dr. Sesto was appointed by Major General Peake, US Army Surgeon General, to be his Consultant for Army Podiatry, a position he held for seven years. With this engagement, the Companys Medical and Science Advisory Board has expanded to three members. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Sesto to our Medical and Science Advisory Board, said Kevin A. Richardson II, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SANUWAVE Health, Inc. Dr. Sestos experience working with all ailments related to the feet will be invaluable as we move forward toward our FDA approval. Dr. Sesto has had extensive experience utilizing SANUWAVEs predecessor product, the OssaTron, which is now operated and owned by Premier Shockwave. He has extensive knowledge of the benefits shock wave will bring to the diabetic foot population. Dr. Sesto provided valuable guidance in helping us craft our responses to questions recently submitted by FDA in response to our de novo petition. We especially look forward to his strong relationships in the medical community, but also his guidance as we expand into other wound and orthopedic indications. We look forward to benefiting from his insight as we work to commercialize the dermaPACE upon FDA approval and advance the Company to the achievement of our current goals. Dr. Sesto completed his Podiatry education at Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine and was accepted into the Armys two-year surgical residency program. After completion of the program and passing the Boards, he was appointed Director. Within the next year, Dr. Sesto established the only 3-year Podiatry Surgical residence program in the military. Prior to retirement, Dr. Sesto was the longest serving Chief of Podiatry for the Army, and also served as the Consultant for 7th Medical Command, Europe while stationed in Frankfort, Germany. As a Colonel, Dr. Sesto received numerous awards and decorations, most notably the Legion of Merit award for his contributions to the Armys Podiatry program. Dr. Sesto was on the leadership team for 12-man hyperbaric chamber and wound-care center for Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, GA. Dr. Sesto retired in 2017. He and his wife live in Leland, North Carolina. Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Sesto said, I am very excited to join SANUWAVEs Medical and Science advisory board at this pivotal time. SANUWAVE represents a compelling growth opportunity with the results of the dermaPACE Phase III clinical trials and the on-going use of the dermaPACE and orthoPACE devices outside of the United States. I look forward to working with the management team to guide them on future indications and follow on clinical work with the dermaPACE and orthoPACE devices. SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (OTCQB: SNWV) () is a shock wave technology company initially focused on the development and commercialization of patented noninvasive, biological response activating devices for the repair and regeneration of skin, musculoskeletal tissue and vascular structures. SANUWAVEs portfolio of regenerative medicine products and product candidates activate biologic signaling and angiogenic responses, producing new vascularization and microcirculatory improvement, which helps restore the bodys normal healing processes and regeneration. SANUWAVE applies its patented PACE technology in wound healing, orthopedic/spine, plastic/cosmetic and cardiac conditions. Its lead product candidate for the global wound care market, dermaPACE, is CE Marked throughout Europe and has device license approval for the treatment of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the U.S., dermaPACE is currently under the FDAs de novo petition review process for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. SANUWAVE researches, designs, manufactures, markets and services its products worldwide, and believes it has demonstrated that its technology is safe and effective in stimulating healing in chronic conditions of the foot (plantar fasciitis) and the elbow (lateral epicondylitis) through its U.S. Class III PMA approved OssaTron device, as well as stimulating bone and chronic tendonitis regeneration in the musculoskeletal environment through the utilization of its OssaTron, Evotron and orthoPACE devices in Europe, Asia and Asia/Pacific. In addition, there are license/partnership opportunities for SANUWAVEs shock wave technology for non-medical uses, including energy, water, food and industrial markets. This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future business development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the key risks, assumptions and factors that may affect operating results, performance and financial condition are risks associated with the regulatory approval and marketing of the Companys product candidates and products, unproven pre-clinical and clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, the Companys ability to manage its capital resource issues, competition, and the other factors discussed in detail in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Millennium Park Capital LLC Christopher Wynne 312-724-7845 SANUWAVE Health, Inc. Kevin Richardson II CEO & Chairman of the Board 617-306-1350 zvelo Announces New IoT Security Solution for Unprecedented Device Profiling and Anomaly Detection GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO (Marketwired) 06/15/17 , the leading provider of content categorization and malicious detection data services for web pages, devices and traffic, today announced the beta release of . zvelo IoT Security includes a lightweight, software-based sensor powered by algorithms that provides dynamic device discovery, comprehensive device profiling, and compromised device detection. The new solution can specifically recognize without any prior information IoT and BYOD devices on or joining a network. It then continuously monitors devices to determine if behavior is abnormal or otherwise indicative of having been compromised. zvelo IoT Security is a solution designed for integration in an OEM model with wireless routers, SMB-to-enterprise level gateway routers, or UTM appliances (and supports WiFi, Bluetooth, LoRa, and narrowband networks). These vendors can leverage zvelos new solution to differentiate their products with unprecedented IoT security, device profiling, and anomaly detection capabilities. Prospective OEM vendor partners can request information on beta participation, as well as general availability features and dates, by contacting zvelo sales. The explosion of IoT devices has thus far outpaced effective security practices to keep them from being too easily compromised, said Jeff Finn, CEO, zvelo. Unless stronger action is taken, IoT breaches will continue to make headlines. By thoroughly understanding each devices normal and abnormal traffic and behavior and by enabling network security vendors to address targeted devices before harm is done zvelo IoT Security is a critical new solution for safeguarding networks. Whereas other solutions may provide basic device profiling, detection, and vulnerability scanning, zvelo IoT Security uniquely achieves dynamic device discovery by inspecting all seven layers of a network-connected devices OSI model and recognizing the unique communications functions the device performs. This ability to identify any device by its communications fingerprint further enables zvelo IoT Security to detect anomalous traffic and behavior at a much deeper and more detailed level than previous alternatives could offer. Customers integrating zvelo IoT Security into their solutions are equipped with the most detailed IoT device information available, empowering them to make fully informed decisions for handling devices across their networks. zvelo IoT Security also allows end users of IoT products to freely add devices to their networks knowing that any malicious activity will be automatically identified and addressed. zvelo IoT Security collects signals and threat intelligence from devices and continuously sends them to the zveloNET cloud for analysis. This system then flags any detected anomalies and provides a zSCORE of the trustworthiness for each device, which represents an assessment of potential risk based on the devices current behavior. Sysadmins can configure network solutions that utilize zvelo IoT Security to take the desired action when anomalous behavior or traffic is detected. In addition to IoT devices, zvelo IoT Security supports PCs, smartphones, tablets, printers, scanners, Bluetooth devices, IP phones and systems, security video and alarm devices, and industrial and manufacturing devices. If you are interested in participating in the zvelo IoT Security program or wish to speak with us about how zvelo IoT Security can add value to your wireless router, gateway router, or UTM appliance, email . As a leading provider of content categorization and malicious detection data services for web pages, devices and traffic, zvelo is the trusted partner for the markets preeminent ad tech, network security, and mobile service provider/subscriber analytics vendors. zvelo solves a diverse range of business needs including providing the foundational datasets for web filtering, parental controls, brand safety, contextual targeting, subscriber analytics, and ad fraud prevention. zvelo, headquartered just outside of Denver, is committed to providing the markets highest quality data products and best responsiveness. The company has additional offices in the Philippines and Florida. To receive more information about this topic, or schedule an interview, email: . Druva Extends Comprehensive Data Protection and Governance Capabilities to Microsoft SharePoint Online SUNNYVALE, CA (Marketwired) 06/15/17 , the leader in cloud data protection and information management, today announced extended data protection and governance support for Microsoft SharePoint Online. With the Druva inSync comprehensive data management solution, customers can better protect, preserve and discover crucial business data across Office 365, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive, to fully protect Microsoft Office 365 investments. With the growing use of SaaS applications for business, its very easy to overlook the importance of protecting that data in the cloud, said Steven Hill, Senior Storage Analyst at 451 Research. Most SaaS user agreements still hold customers responsible for their own data protection; making it very risky to assume that key data is being adequately protected simply because its generated in the cloud. Microsoft Office 365 continues to see aggressive adoption by global enterprises, and according to one leading analyst firm, it will be used by more than 80% of businesses by 2020. Whether data lives on site, on endpoints or in cloud applications, concerns about unintentional or accidental data loss, corruption and leakage, as well as emerging compliance mandates (e.g. GDPR) and maintaining legal data integrity persist and need to be addressed. According to industry analyst firm Gartner, When production data moves to the cloud, many organizations dont realize that they are still responsible for their data no matter where its located.(1) To overcome these challenges, Druvas overall support for the , in addition to the new support for SharePoint Online, expands data protection and governance capabilities to bring a holistic view across all end-user data with a single access point for protecting, viewing and managing the data. With and other variants of malware roaming the Internet, data protection is of foremost importance to my organization, said Peter Volante, IT Manager, Insite Security. Druvas support for SharePoint Online will add another layer of defense and ensure we have the ability to recover any file from any point in time, providing increased resiliency and peace of mind. We need the ability to restore our SharePoint data from any point in time and to alternative locations, said Matt Bornhorst, Systems Administrator, Polen Capital. Druvas support for SharePoint Online will give us the granular level of file management and recovery we require, extending our existing backup infrastructure to ensure that all of our business data is protected. With extended support for SharePoint Online, joint customers will benefit from: : Druva inSync centralizes visibility into corporate data stored within Microsoft Office 365 (OneDrive, Exchange Online and SharePoint) and end-users devices, enabling enterprises to regain control over users data. This ensures that both end-user productivity and corporate governance requirements are met. Druva inSync automatically backs up Office 365 data, cloud to cloud, without impacting the corporate network or requiring user intervention. IT administrators can recover directly back to their Office 365 environment, from any snapshot point, dramatically reducing the time needed to recover lost data. Druva inSync collects and preserves dispersed enterprise data wherever it resides including endpoints and cloud apps. Druva inSync merges all data sources to provide a single dashboard, with customer compliance and legal workflows, so enterprises can easily search, collect and preserve data to support legal and compliance needs. Nearly half of all enterprise data lives outside the data center, and is scattered across endpoints and cloud applications. Druva inSync leads the way in simplifying how enterprises manage and protect dispersed business-critical data, said Dave Packer, Vice President of Product and Alliance Marketing, Druva. We understand that enterprises have distinct data management needs, and we are committed to supporting them accordingly. Druva inSync support for SharePoint online is another step in our mission to give companies a comprehensive view of their data. Druva inSync support for SharePoint Online is available in Summer 2017. Please visit our solutions pages to learn more about and . Druva is the leader in cloud data protection and information management, leveraging the public cloud to offer a single pane of glass to protect, preserve and discover information dramatically increasing the availability and visibility of business critical information, while reducing the risk, cost and complexity of managing and protecting it. Druvas award-winning solutions intelligently collect data, and unify backup, disaster recovery, archival and governance capabilities onto a single, optimized data set. As the industrys fastest growing data protection provider, Druva is trusted by over 4,000 global organizations and protects over 25 PB of data. Learn more at and join the conversation at . (1) Gartner, Adopt Microsoft Office 365 Backup for Damage Control and Fast Recovery after Malicious Attacks, Pushan Rinnen and Garth Landers, May 26 2017 Media Contact: Stacey Collins Burbach Phone: +1.415.310.9767 Email: Four Eastpointe citizens filed a federal lawsuit against Mayor Monique Owens Wednesday alleging their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when they were not allowed to speak during audience participation at a recent city council meeting. What does a 'Strengthen Our Schools' win mean for Penn-Harris-Madison? One of three candidates backed by a conservative-leaning group has flipped a seat on the Penn-Harris-Madison school board. Here's what we know. Optimization Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should? Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools. And now we have Theresa May, who didn't really want Brexit either, but decided after last summer's referendum to throw her support behind leaving the European Union if it meant that she could become prime minister. "The lady's not for turning," is one of the more famous quotes uttered by Margaret Thatcher. But her heirs currently leading the Tories are now turning so quickly that many observers aren't just getting dizzy. They are becoming nauseous. Incompetently Cool and Calculating Great Britain may be an island, but economically it is the most interconnected country in Europe: The financial center in London, the country's carmakers, what's left of British industry and even the country's infrastructure. France delivers electricity, water sanitation facilities in southern England belong to Germans and large airports such as Heathrow are owned by Spaniards. One quarter of the doctors who keep afloat the NHS -- Britain's comparatively deficient health care system -- come from the Continent. Paris, June 15, 2017 (SPS) - The French organization ACAT asked the French president, Emanuel Macron, through a communique to include in his agenda in Morocco, the issue of Saharawi political prisoners, especially the group of Gdeim Izik. The organization said that it had submitted multiple documents to international rapporteurs, denouncing the trial of Gdeim Izik's group, drawing attention to the fact that the evidence was based on statements obtained under torture. The head of the Middle East and North Africa in the organization, clarified that "President Macron has to address the issue of human rights in Western Sahara" adding that "if Morocco is an important ally for France, that does not means, to stop asking it about human rights." In its statement, ACAT denounced the fact that the court does not respect procedural rules, which is a violation of the Istanbul protocol and international humanitarian law, citing the case of Nama Asfari, who suffered torture, as reported by the UN Anti-Torture Committee in its 2012 report. In the same regard, the human rights organization expressed its concern about the limits imposed by Morocco to prevent the defense of prisoners from doing their work under legal conditions.SPS 125/090/TRA This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD The move this month of consumer-goods giant Henkels North American headquarters to the city has mustered an enthusiastic reception from business leaders and elected officials, who see the companys arrival as an economic boon to the area. Henkels relocation of its laundry, beauty and home-care divisions from Scottsdale, Ariz., to the downtown BLT Financial Centre marks the largest corporate addition to Stamford this year. The company has said it will initially employ 266 in its offices at 200 Elm St., with plans to expand that contingent to about 500. Up to $20 million in state aid and a $30 million investment by Henkel are funding the development of the new hub. Its really good news, said Jack Condlin, president and CEO of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce. Its a sizable business that has moved in. This is the type of thing we need to have happening here. Weve been a little shy in the past couple of years with bigger businesses coming in. A message left for Henkel was not returned. Building and Land Technology, the landlord of the BLT Financial Centre, declined to comment. Major presence Henkel will occupy 155,000 square feet at 200 Elm St. The company will occupy all of the sixth floor and most of the fifth floor. In addition to offices, Henkels space will include a laboratory for the development and testing of its beauty products. The laboratory will include a center focused on product formulations and packaging, a clinical testing facility and a hair learning salon, according to the company. The companys consumer-goods brands include Persil, All, Purex, Schwarzkopf, Snuggle, Dial, Got2b, Renuzit and Loctite. In addition to the transfer of its Arizona operations, the company is also moving Wilton-based Sun Products, which was acquired last September, to Stamford. Henkels global headquarters is in Dusseldorf, Germany. Henkel, as a corporation, probably isnt going to have much of a compelling need or reason to change vendors or find new vendors, per se, because of the nature of how the global economy works these days, said David Lewis, founder and CEO of the Norwalk-based HR outsourcing firm Operations Inc. But when a business like that moves into town, there is a trickle-down effect with all the employees working there. All of them, individually, can become consumers of the businesses in the area. Other white-collar businesses in the area could benefit from Henkels arrival, said Joe McGee, vice president of public policy for The Business Council of Fairfield County. When firms relocate headquarters here, they provide business to professional-services firms that offer accounting, tax and legal services, McGee said. Thats what weve seen over the last 30 years. Two professional-services powerhouses will be neighbors of Henkel at the BLT Financial Centre. Deloitte occupies about 120,000 square feet in the clock-tower building at the adjoining 695 E. Main St. RSM plans to move its Stamford offices from Canal Street to 200 Elm St. next month. It will lease approximately 29,000 square feet on the second floor. Attracting others? Stamford already commands a reputation as a top economic performer in the state. Its unemployment rate last year totaled 4.2 percent, the lowest among the states five most populous cities. But the city has also endured some major setbacks. Royal Bank of Scotland has laid off some 600 Stamford-based employees since the beginning of 2015. Another banking totem, UBS, has also shrunk its local presence, closing its trading floor at 677 Washington Blvd. and last year moving a reduced contingent from that property across the street into RBS building at 600 Washington Blvd. A couple of miles away, the acquisition last year of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide by Marriott has so far produced about 215 local layoffs. In contrast, the recruitment of Henkel underscores the argument put forth by many in the city that Stamford represents Connecticuts economic engine. Its a clear vote of confidence that we have a desirable place for a company like Henkel, McGee said. We have the workforce and location that they desired. The extent to which Henkel can build up its Stamford headcount will determine how much state aid it receives. It comprises one of about 15 companies receiving subsidies through the state Department of Economic and Community Developments First Five Plus program. I do think Henkel was worth the investment from the state, particularly as we continue to recover from the recession, said state Rep. Caroline Simmons, D-Stamford, who is co-chairwoman of the state General Assemblys Commerce Committee. We need to do everything we can to attract companies and bring more job creation to the state. But we also need to ensure were holding state investments accountable to ensure theres oversight of taxpayer dollars. pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Does America need another online grocer? The field is already a clash of the titans. Internet giants like Amazon and Google, retail behemoths like Walmart, Safeway and Target, and scores of brick-and-mortar stores like Whole Foods (often partnered with delivery services like Instacart or Postmates) are pursuing Internet food sales, a market that could surge to $100 billion by 2025, according to the Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen Co. Now a small San Francisco startup called Movebutter is jumping into the arena, offering direct-to-consumer delivery via FedEx with special boxes and dry ice to keep food fresh. It said its tested the concept for almost two years, initially in San Francisco (where it has a warehouse and uses couriers rather than FedEx). In recent months its added tests nationwide and now says it will deliver to all 50 states. Movebutters proposition: Smaller is better. It offers a carefully selected lineup of organic produce, meats, dairy, packaged foods and other staples. It describes the approach as a mashup of Apple and Trader Joes. We are building the supermarket of the future, said Chai Mishra, Movebutter CEO. We took a reverse approach from other online markets. Rather than offering the entire contents of a supermarket, some 40,000 to 50,000 items, Movebutter will launch with just 500. It carries just one brand of each: its own. Will that fly with Americans accustomed to a plethora of choices? The average supermarket has dozens of peanut butter options, for instance, while Movebutter will offer three: creamy, chunky and honey roasted. I dont think you can call this a grocery store with only 500 products, said Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist at Golden Gate University. Still, she said, fewer choices can be a positive, as people are overwhelmed with options. Its exhausting to consumers to constantly research what theyre buying, she said. Trader Joes and Costco are beloved because they narrow options to what they know shoppers will love and shoppers trust their pricing to be fair. But Movebutter lacks the reputation those retailers have built up, she and others said, and offers far fewer products. Mishra wants to make a virtue out of the minimalist vision. Americans are also attuned to the concept of deserving the best items, he said. The majority of people want to know theyre buying the best item at the fairest price. At some point, youre just paying for a Super Bowl ad or bright packaging; that doesnt resonate with the audience. Americans are also used to quick turnaround. Mishra said Movebutter orders will arrive within two days and the company will cover shipping costs, but many rivals already offer same-day delivery, and others are experimenting with it. Movebutter designed its own boxes using a material similar to Styrofoam, but as biodegradable as possible. Inside, dry ice and gel packs (also planned to be biodegradable by year end) keep meats and produce cold. When people hear about it, they think its crazy: Ship fresh food across the country? Mishra said. But we can ship anywhere and be 100 percent certain the food will get there safe and sound. Weve tested in places like Georgia (to prove) the food can stay in the box for three to five days in the hot sun and be fine. Experts said that consumers might not cotton to that approach. Over-packaging and waste is a huge problem both in terms of cost and push back for the shoppers who are concerned about sustainability of the planet key drivers for Millennials and (Gen) Z, said Phil Lempert, the food trends editor for NBCs Today show whos known as the Supermarket Guru. While Movebutters concept is interesting, it hasnt yet shown how well it can execute, Lempert said. They have a glitzy website with all the right words but little to back it up, he said, noting that the companys Facebook and Twitter pages are relatively inactive, odd for a Bay Area consumer startup. Movebutter controls its whole supply chain, buying directly from suppliers, largely mom-and-pop concerns, and packaging food as its own brand, Mishra said. Thats why it claims its prices are about 25 percent lower than other organic grocers, even though it springs for the delivery costs, because it cuts out the middleman. The implication I take is that compared to a traditional quality grocer like Kroger, Wegmans (or) Publix, the price is pretty much the same, Lempert said. The company wont disclose funding or staffing other than saying it has less than 100 headquarters employees. In this age of VCs throwing money at food delivery startups, that implies that the funding number must be small, Lempert said. Movebutter has one warehouse in San Francisco and soon will open two more, one each in Texas and New York. Of course, theres already been an Internet-only grocer: Webvan, one of the biggest flameouts of the dot-com era. Mishra said Webvans mistake was offering too many items. The operational complexity goes up with the number of items, he said. We work with way fewer items than anyone else. Weve spent a lot of time finding the best suppliers and figuring out what customers are actually buying. Mishra pitches Movebutter as a way to address the issue of food deserts areas that lack stores carrying fresh food. While thats a commendable idea, experts said, again, the company hasnt explained how it will execute and hasnt detailed its pricing. My hunch is that this will cater to a markedly upscale clientele, a la Silicon Valley, said April Rinne, an independent adviser focused on new business models. I would be much more excited about Movebutter if they could show how exactly they will reach middle and even lower classes, who are significantly more disadvantaged when it comes to accessing nutritious, affordable food. Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 5 of 5 STAMFORDSt. Johns Episcopal Church in Stamford will host an art show featuring works from Haitian and local artists to raise money for the Bon Samaritan School in Haiti from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on June 30 at the church at 628 Main St., Stamford. Wine and appetizers will be served for a $10 cover charge. NEW CANAAN The Jazzholes surprise people in two ways: First, they are a classic rock cover band, not a jazz ensemble. Second, the six-piece unit whose lineup includes a publisher, a financial consultant and a managing director at a beverage investment firm does not fit the rock n roll image. I dont look like Im in a rock band, said John Nesbett, a New Canaan resident, and founder and president of a local investor services firm. Weve only just begun to play in New Canaan and everybody has a very similar expression. They say, Thats so interesting, but theyre really expecting that well suck. But according to Nesbett, the groups keyboardist, expectations are soon dashed once the band leans into its set, which on an average night might include hits with deep cuts mixed in by the Velvet Underground, the Doors, the Rolling Stones and other usual suspects in the classic rock canon. Usually people are pleasantly surprised when we do very studied renditions of these songs. We really do try to do it justice, because its great music, Nesbett said. Though theyve only recently begun to play in the area, the Jazzholes have local roots, or otherwise met in college. Nesbett and bassist Paul McDaniel studied at Connecticut College together and reside in New Canaan. Drummer Chris Fischer is a New Canaan native who now lives in Ridgefield, as does acoustic guitarist and percussionist Jason Camillos. Lead guitarist Tony Verbeck grew up with Nesbett in Darien and now lives in New Jersey. Guitarist Peter Schellbach studied with Camillos at Princeton University. Its a tangled web. Were connected from way back, Nesbett said. On Saturday, the Jazzholes will play a benefit Saturday for Ridgefields Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art at the Heights at Brother Vics in South Salem, N.Y. According to Camillos, the bandmates have been playing together since at least the 1990s. Weve been playing together as a band for more than 20 years. Right out of college we kind of all came together, Camillos said. We didnt find each other on Craigslist, which is what happens with most bands. Usually, you have these personalities and youre trying to make them click, but we are truly the best of friends and it goes back to our teenage years. And so that translates to the music, Nesbett said. Earlier iterations of the band went by the monikers Crazy Chester and Nez, wrote original music and were active on the New York City bar scene, playing venues around Manhattan with a shifting lineup of musicians. The band adopted the name the Jazzholes when its current roster began to coalesce as a show of their sense of humor. When we were first playing as a band we were just throwing out names and it just kind of stuck, Camillos said. They continue to play shows regularly in venues in Long Island and Connecticut, and they have a standing gig at the Red Lion in Greenwich Village. After two decades of playing, the group has learned to adapt to the surprise of its new listeners, embracing their distinctly non-rock n roll look and misleading name. Weve talked about changing the name a hundred times and we never do, Camillos said. It causes confusion, so whenever were being billed for a show we make sure the words rock n roll are in there. justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1 J an Hammer, a partner and tech investor with Index Ventures, shares the secrets of his success, including endless to-do lists and being contrarian. What is Index Ventures? Index is one of the worlds largest venture-capital firms with offices in the US and Europe. We look for start-up companies with ambitious entrepreneurs using technology to build the Next Big Thing. Were currently investing over $1 billion from two funds. Our success stories have included household names like Deliveroo, Farfetch, TransferWise and King, and we have over 80 London-based companies working with us. What do you do? I look at companies in their very early stages to try to find those which might be the next Facebook. Then I have to convince them to come and work with us, because they usually have alternative choices. After that is the post-investment phase, where we help the companies we invest in, trying to work out what their strategy to conquer the world might be, and working with them over the course of five to 10 years to bring their vision to life. What do you like about the job? Its a privilege to be meeting and working with exceptional entrepreneurs who are literally changing the world we live in. I love it that were not just making our investment decisions sitting at a desk reading through clever reports by the McKinseys of this world. Rather, were getting our information from entrepreneurs at the frontline on what they and their customers are doing. From those nuggets of gold, we develop the patterns that help us make our investment decisions. What dont you like? We see a ton of really inspiring ambitious, visionary people every day but we just cant invest in them all. Saying no can often be tough, although we do try to stay in touch and put them in contact with others in our network. You never know: what isnt ready for you now might be perfect next year. What was your biggest break? My first investment here at Index; Adyen. Its an Amsterdam-based company that allows businesses to accept payments in apps, online or in store. I started tracking it in 2010 and we invested in 2011, when it was very nascent. Now it has 500 employees handling $100 billion of transactions a year for Facebook, Uber, Spotify, Airbnb, Burberry and many others. What we do is very high risk. A lot of start-ups fail, so for me to have made that investment so soon after I joined Index was definitely my biggest break. What was your biggest setback? I grew up in the Czech Republic and got a scholarship to study in Switzerland before going to university in Oxford. But I had always wanted to make my life in the US. In 2000 I finally got a chance, getting a job to work with Morgan Stanley in New York in their technology team. But when I got there, I soon found I hated the job, the bank and my boss. It was heartbreaking. And then the tech bubble burst a few months later. My plans went out of the window and I had to head back to Europe. But you know what? When I got back, I went to business school (INSEAD), developed my interest in tech and got a job at a later-stage private-equity company called General Atlantic in London and New York. It was brilliant, and led to me getting this job at Index. So, the disappointment of that start in banking was the best thing that could have happened to me. If it hadnt, I might still be working in some boring finance job. Work/life balance? I live with my wife and three daughters in London, so I have to be really organised to keep that work-life harmony. A lot of my colleagues make fun of me, but Im obsessed with to-do lists. I make list after list and juggle them around each other but it helps me stay on top of my work and social life. Theres that saying: find fun in everything you do, then you never work a day in your life. Its a great concept. Part of that is choosing to work with people you enjoy being with. Ive definitely found that at Index, where we do meet up with our families out of work for events like the kids Christmas party every year. Tips for people starting off in your industry? Be curious! Read up on technology, follow the key opinion formers but develop your own point of view too. Be original, contrarian. Connect your own dots and have an opinion of your own on what will be the next greatest company. And spend your time meeting and learning from entrepreneurs, not schmoozing with venture capitalists like us! T onight Philip Hammond delivers his first Mansion House speech as Chancellor. It was not a speech he ever expected to give. The Prime Minister and her close advisers had made it clear to everyone that he was for the chop after the election. Now they reap where they sowed. The advisers are out and making their excuses, Mrs May is beleaguered and Mr Hammond is asserting his new-found authority as leader of the sensibles in the Cabinet. So he will enjoy his dinner. He should use the occasion to make the economy the priority in the Brexit negotiations. For he has the numbers political and economic on his side. Once the results of the general election were clear, this paper was the first to point out that there was no parliamentary majority for leaving the EUs customs union. There are enough Tory MPs who believe in free trade to flex their muscles in the division lobbies. The DUP can never allow itself to be party to the imposition of a hard border with the Irish Republic, and the costs that would impose on farmers and businesses. Withdrawing from the customs union would represent a major act of protectionism that would damage exporters, raise prices and bring delays and bureaucracy at borders. It was always a mistake to want to leave it. The reason given by the Brexit ideologues was that, outside the customs union, Britain would be able to conclude its own free trade deals with the rest of the world, like China and India. This paper is passionately in favour of more trade with these big markets but we are also sceptical that Britain would be able to negotiate better and earlier trade deals than the much larger EU. The Trump administration now says any deal with Britain must come after a transatlantic trade and investment partnership with the EU. They have also spoken ominously of dealing with the issue of Britains trade surplus with the US. Any deal with India will require us to issue many more visas to Indian migrants, which will contradict the Tory pledge to cut migration. It must also be dawning on the Governments business managers that outside the customs union any trade deal will need to be passed through the House of Commons good luck assembling a majority for allowing imports of Chinese steel and American hormone-injected beef, let alone foreign companies bidding for public-sector contracts. Staying in the customs union involves no tricky parliamentary votes and is one way to avoid some of the economic damage facing Britain if it leaves the EU in 2019. Remaining in the European Economic Area, as a sensible transition arrangement, is another proposition put forward by this paper and while that battle is still to be won, we note it is now gaining traction. Our exclusive YouGov poll shows a majority of the public now favour a soft, or sensible, Brexit. For the tiny number who really thought Brexit heralded more free trade, less regulation and the UK emerging as Singapore-lite, the scales must surely now be falling from their eyes. In this House of Commons, they dont have the numbers. Mr Hammond does, and he should use them to protect our economy. London comes together Londoners first response to the Grenfell Tower fire was to help the victims every way they could: countless people, as Home Secretary Amber Rudd writes here, donated clothes, food or time. There has been an equally generous response to this papers appeal for money to help those affected, led by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, as well as corporate donors and individual wellwishers. The victims are from all ethnicities, backgrounds and religions and the people helping are equally varied: this is London at its best. A huge fire has raged through a 24-storey block of flats in north Kensington, killing at least 12 people and leaving many more missing or injured. The inferno broke out at Grenfell Tower, home to hundreds of residents in the Lancaster West Estate shortly before 1am on Wednesday morning. The blaze is thought to have started on the third or fourth floor before destroying flat after flat as flames and smoke ripped through the block. Grenfell Tower, which was built in 1974, is owned by Kensington and Chelsea council and run by its housing association, Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation. Aerial footage shows the full scale of the fire The block contains 120 flats made up of a mix of social housing and also private homes which are sold or rented out by KCTMO. Photos taken from inside the 1,971 a month flat when it was listed for rent. Last year a multi-million pound refurbishment of the block was completed which included work to modernise the tower with cladding and replacement windows. One of the two-bed flats, on the 18th floor of the building, was listed to rent at the end of the last year for 1,971 a month. The tower is near to Portobello Market and Ladbroke Grove. Photos of the inside of the flat shows a fitted kitchen, open plan living room, two double bedrooms, bathroom and separate toilet. The advert boasts of the flats location near to Latimer Road Tube station and says the property is well insulated. Many people living across the tower blocks 24 storeys are as yet unaccounted for. Witnesses and survivors of the fire today told how they heard knocking on their doors as people ran round the building warning people to get out. The communitys response to the horrific events was praised by many as hordes of people donated food, clothing and toiletries to the dispossessed. L ondoners are fortunate enough to be able to say that home is where the art is. The capital is blessed with an abundance of museums and art galleries - but if youre looking to go further afield this summer, there are plenty of exhibitions worth travelling for. If youre tired of the Tate or just fancy getting away from the big city, check out our guide to the best exhibitions outside of London. Wyndham Lewis: Life, Art War A Battery Shelled, 1919 (IWM Art) Where is it? Imperial War Museum North in Manchester (June 23 - January 1) Wyndham Lewis is remembered as a novelist and the co-founder of the Vorticist movement, but his war paintings have great significance too. He was commissioned as a war artist in 1917, and in the largest UK retrospective of his work to date, the Imperial War Museum North looks at over 160 works in their largest visual arts exhibition yet. Expect to be challenged by the life and work of this controversial figure. How far from London? It takes just over two hours from Euston. A book to read on the train: The Lonely City by Olivia Laing charts the authors time spent living alone in New York, when she combated her loneliness by learning about artists whose work both interrogated and exuded loneliness. Phyllida Barlow (Stephen White) Where is it? Turner Contemporary in Margate (Until September 24) Phyllida Barlow has been the name on the art worlds lips this year. She represented Britain at this years Venice Biennale, with her unwieldy sculptures receiving great acclaim. At 73 years old, her success has come late - but look at this fascinating collection of sculptures and drawings and youll see that her age is by far the least interesting thing about her. How far from London? You can be beside the seaside with 90 minutes on the high speed train from St Pancras. A book to read on the train: The Power by Naomi Alderman, which recently won the Baileys Prize and imagines a future when women suddenly discover the power is in their hands - literally - in the form an electrical current. Perfect if you've streamed every available episode of The Handmaid's Tale. John Minton John Minton, Bridge from Cannon Street Station, 1946 / Royal College of Art Where is it? Pallant House Gallery in Chichester (July 1 - October 1) This major exhibition of John Mintons work marks the centenary of his birth in 1917. Minton was much-loved as a tutor as Camberwell School of Art and the Royal College of Art, and as a Bohemian figure in London in the 1940s and 50s he counted Lucian Freud and Keith Vaughan as close friends.The scope of the show is wide, featuring amongst many other things paintings of bomb-damaged Blitz-era London, portraits of young men and depictions of historic events like the death of Nelson. How far from London? Its an hour and a half via train from London Victoria. A book to read on the train: Matt Haigs How to Stop Time. It's about a man with a pretty big secret, that being that he's actually been alive for centuries. Benedict Cumberbatch recently acquired the film rights, so read it before it hits the big screen. Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship Eric Ravilious, The Westbury Horse, 1939. (Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne ) Where is it? Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne (Until September 17) This exhibition explores the untold stories of much-loved artist and designer Eric Ravilious and his circle of friends. Marking the 75th anniversary of his death, it shows the significance of his relationships with a number of artistic figures including Paul and John Nash. Visitors will be able to see many works that have never been shown before, and understand the ways in which their lives coincided at significant moments like the Second World War. How far from London? It takes around an hour and twenty minutes from London Victoria. A book to read on the train: Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney. Celebrate your friendships with a portrait of female pals complete with Facebook messaging history - it's been compared to Girls and Fleabag. That Continuous Thing: Artists and the Ceramics Studio, 1920 to Today Aaron Angell Flower, Bread Knife 2015 (Courtesy of the artist, Rob Tufnell, London and Studio Voltaire London. ) Where is it? Tate St Ives (Until September 3) A weekend retreat to the gorgeous Cornish coast is the perfect opportunity to potter over to Tate St Ives to learn about how the ceramics studio has changed over the last century. It will feature work from Gillian Lowdnes, Richard Slee and 2016 Turner Prize nominee Anthea Hamilton to tell the surprising story of how the potters wheel really was reinvented. How far from London? Get comfy - its about a five hour train ride from London Paddington. A book to read on the train: Amy Liptrots The Outrun charts how returning to the Orkney Islands after struggling with addiction helped her to find new hope. Read it as you whizz along the Cornish coast and youll be yearning to plan your next trip. Portraying a Nation: Germany 1919-1933 Otto Dix, 1891-1969 Self-Portrait with Easel 1926 ( DACS 2017. Leopold-Hoesch-Museum & Papiermuseum Duren) Where is it? Tate Liverpool (June 23 - October 15) Learn about the story of the Weimar Republic from two significant artists of the time. This offers the story through the eyes of painter Otto Dix and photographer August Sander. Expect both glamour and misery in a journey of over 300 paintings, drawings, prints and photographs. How far from London? Head to Liverpool Lime Street, which takes just over two hours from Euston. The gallery is about a fifteen minute walk from the station. A book to read on the train: Swing Time by Zadie Smith - the much-loved authors latest book about two dancer sisters is out in paperback this summer, so its bound to be this years summer read. Howard Hodgkin: Painting India Howard Hodgkin, Letters from Bombay, 201214 Where is it? The Hepworth Wakefield (July 1 - October 8) Howard Hodgkin, who passed away earlier this year, was recognised as one of the great British contemporary painters. He was so inspired by India that he returned almost annually to the country for 50 years, and it was an enduring, constant presence in his work. This show at the Hepworth Wakefield offers the chance to see exactly how this manifested itself, as well as items from his personal archive that document his journeys to India. How far from London? You can get to Wakefield in a nifty two hours from Kings Cross. A book to read on the train: Bleaker House by Nell Stevens, for how NOT to get inspiration from travel. Stevens book charts her journey to a small unpopulated island near the Falklands to try and write a novel, which didnt quite pan out the way she planned. Cornelia Parker: Verso Verso (Cornelia Parker) Where is it? The Whitworth in Manchester June 16 - November 5 Cornelia Parker was named this years official election artist, but no painting, photograph or sculpture could quite have encapsulated the dramatic events that transpired. On a different tack, shes exploring the side of objects that we dont see in a new show at the Whitworth in Manchester. Looking at the back of handsewn button cards in the Manchester Galleries collection, shes made the back the front and found abstract drawings. How far from London? You can be at Manchester Oxford Road, a 20 minute walk away, in two and a half hours. A book to read on the train: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Meet your new heroine, who is already getting the big screen treatment via a film produced by Reese Witherspoon. Honeymans celebrated debut is about a woman who is is fine - but thats about it. Alphonse Mucha: In Quest of Beauty Reverie, 1898 (Mucha Trust) Where is it? The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool (June 16 - October 29) Relish the work of one of the most prominent artists of the Art Nouveau movement in this exhibition about Czech-born Alphonse Mucha. Around 100 works explore the theme of beauty, with an instantly recognisable aesthetic. How far from London? Get to Liverpool Lime Street from Euston within two and a half hours. A book to read on the train: Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic is the first Instagram novel - but dont worry, you dont have to read it through a weird filter. Its another debut that has got people excited, about a twenty-three year old searching for her internet twin. Quentin Blake: The Only Way to Travel (Quentin Blake, 2017) Where is it? The Jerwood Gallery in Hastings (June 14 to October 10) Visitors can see an unexpected side to the much-loved childrens author in this major exhibition, with new works exploring issues such as mental health and the refugee crisis. Whilst youre there youll also be able to see Royal Academician Jean Cookes moving self-portraits, and bold works from Kath Thompson inspired by the history of painting. How far from London? You can get to Hastings from Charing Cross in under two hours. A book to read on the train: My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal, hotly anticipated for this years Desmond Elliott Prize, is about institutional racism in the care system in the 1980s. Many are describing it as the debut of the year, in an already crowded market. B attersea Arts Centre have announced that they will hold a fundraiser for those affected by the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower. The event, organised along with comedian Mark Thomas, will take place at the arts venue next Monday (June 19), with all proceeds going to the Grenfell Tower Appeal. Daniel Kitson will host the event, which will feature a line-up of some of the UKs best comedians including Jeremy Hardy, Josie Long, Heydon Prowse, and Imran Yusuf. More acts are still to be confirmed. Thomas, who will also feature in the line-up, said that organising the fundraiser is the least we can do to help our fellow Londoners. After the fire at Battersea Arts Centre and the support people gave, it is fitting that the organisation should now be hosting an event to help others, he said. A fire at the venue in 2015 saw its historic grand hall completely destroyed. Tickets for the event are on sale now; bac.org.uk/grenfell H undreds more paintings and photographs will go on show under plans for a 35.5 million facelift at the National Portrait Gallery. The planned project which was boosted today by a 9.4 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund will see the buildings East Wing opened up to the public for the first time since the Sixties and expand its gallery space and public areas by a fifth. It will be the biggest expansion of the gallery since the opening of its Ondaatje Wing in 2000 and includes plans to make the main entrance more accessible, rehang the collection, and build a learning centre complete with studio spaces. Gallery director Dr Nicholas Cullinan said the National Portrait Gallery was the nations family album. Thanking the Heritage Lottery Fund, he said: This major grant enables the biggest transformation the gallery has ever undertaken. We are going to make ourselves an essential place for everyone to feel part of the culture they have been born into, chosen, or are seeking to understand; to become a truly national gallery for all. The gallery is launching a UK-wide education programme aimed at reaching more than 300,000 young people and more than 200,000 schools. It will also set up Citizen UK, a project exploring immigration from the West Indies, China and South Asia, that will see it work with local archives and libraries across London. The search for an architect starts this year with building work scheduled to start in 2020 and be finished two years later. Sir Peter Luff, who chairs the Heritage Lottery Fund, said the gallery was loved and admired. T he path of one the Second World Wars most daring raids is being retraced to raise money for injured Special Forces heroes. The event will honour the Cockleshell Heroes who took part in Operation Frankton, a Royal Marine attack on the Nazi-occupied port of Bordeaux in 1942 which helped lead to the formation of the Special Boat Service. Ten commandos set out in canoes to destroy German ships but only two survived. Winston Churchill is said to have credited the attack with shortening the war by six months. In September, a team will travel to France for a sponsored 70-mile paddle, retracing the route the commandos took 75 years ago. Mission: the team training to retrace the steps of Operation Frankton / Lucy Young Today, the team took part in a training exercise on the Thames, where they were joined by Lord Ashdown, patron of the SBS Association. He said: As a former Royal Marine who served in the SBS I am very well aware of the bravery of those who took part in this remarkable operation. The character of these men remains a guiding star for our members today. Five military canoes filled with SBSA members paddled from Lambeth Pier past HMS Belfast and the Tower of London, under Tower Bridge, ending at Butlers Wharf Pier. Model Jodie Kidd, who also took part, said: I can speak at first hand about the amazing work the SBSA does supporting soldiers, veterans and their families too. I urge everyone to get behind these special people who give so much to defend our country. Loading.... Todays paddle kicks off a series of events organised by the SBSA building up to the 75th anniversary of Operation Frankton. It took place in December 1942, when 10 commandos set out in canoes, or cockles from HMS Tuna, 12 miles off the mouth of the Gironde estuary. Their objective was to blow up German cargo ships laden with supplies intended for the Nazi war effort 70 miles upriver in Bordeaux. Only four men reached the port commander Major Herbert Blondie Hasler and Marine Bill Sparks in one canoe, and Corporal Albert Laver and Marine Bill Mills in another. They managed to plant their explosives before fleeing but only Hasler and Sparks survived, making it into Spain and down to Gibraltar. Lord Mountbatten called it the most courageous and imaginative of all the raids ever carried out by the men of Combined Operations. The commandos were immortalised as the Cockleshell Heroes in the 1955 film of the same name, starring Trevor Howard. To donate, visit http://ch75.org/ W e need a great leader just now, dont we? Failing that, it would be good to have even a notion of what one might look like. The new film Churchill, starring Brian Cox and released today, is not a lot of help there. Set over a few days before the Normandy landings in June 1944, it shows Churchill in decline, losing his nerve, opposing Operation Overlord because of the guilt he felt about the casualties at Gallipoli in 1915. The scriptwriter Alex von Tunzelmann acknowledges: There are some who will react against any depiction of Churchills depression because they think it undermines his status as a hero. To my mind, it does the opposite. The greatest thing we can do for our historical icons is remember they were human. The conservative historian Andrew Roberts has indeed lambasted the film for getting absolutely everything wrong, in his view. Churchill is presented as a petulant, ill-tempered, sarcastic, unpleasant, decrepit, oafish drunken has-been who was trying to disrupt the war effort and violently opposed the campaign that was ultimately to liberate Europe, and so therefore was totally wrong on almost the single most important military decision of the war. It is a depiction that Dr Goebbels would have been delighted with He goes further, saying the film is a foul slander. When it closes on the statement that Churchill is often acclaimed as the greatest Briton of all time, the audience is being invited to challenge that, Roberts suggests, by concluding that he cant be great, because he got D-Day so badly wrong, the moronic old drunk. The outraged Roberts argues that there is a sense of profound decadence in any society that dishonours its greatest heroes Churchill Clip - I Would Have Us Do More! However, being primarily interested in the historical record, he does generously concede the film to be well acted and photographed. In many respects it is but Brian Coxs central performance remains fundamentally preposterous, like many other portrayals of Churchill in films and on TV. In the most obvious ways, it could hardly be an easier thing to represent, depict or signify Churchill, for he has one of the most immediately recognisable appearances ever, outdoing even Charlie Chaplin. Nothing is simpler than to supply the pot belly and the stooped posture, the bald pate and down-turned mouth, the siren suit or formal three-piece with bow-tie, the flourished cigar, the homburg, the bow-wow growl. Advances in prosthetics mean that the babyish shape of the face can be readily replicated too. The greatest thing we can do for our historical icons is remember they were human Yet the more that is made of these handy signifiers, the less Churchill comes to life. There is this difficulty: we have all seen so much documentary footage of Churchill that we know precisely how he looked (or at least appeared in public). The more a performance of Churchill draws our attention to these details, perversely, the more we are reminded that the actor is not actually the real thing, the more our very attention works against the suspension of disbelief. Churchill and the actor do not meld into a single being. In the new film, the director uses the familiar technique of trying to ease us in to credulity by beginning many scenes with out-of-focus impressions of the familiar silhouette before sharpening up the shot. It only delays the protest. Churchill - Trailer This sense of knowing exactly how someone not just looked but moved and sounded is a problem that obviously does not arise in portraying historical figures from eras pre-dating documentary film. It also arises less in live theatre, which is not such a directly comparable medium and where a bigger leap of faith must be made from the start. Admittedly, seeing Churchill played on screen does provide another enjoyment, a kind of delight in the sheer effrontery think of our gruntmeister Timothy Spall doing his utmost with his cameos in The Kings Speech but that is not an effect that always enhances a drama. Moreover, excellent as prosthetics now are in simulating appearances, they cannot contribute to expression. When there is expression, it is the actors own. Churchill actors interview Cox is much more convincing in this film when he is photographed in a static pose but even then he does not disappear into the part. You keep thinking: Why has Brian Cox got all that stuff on his face? And you are reminded of him in his previous roles too particularly reminded, when he is wearing that boiler suit, that he was cinemas first, and perhaps best, Hannibal Lecter. Later this year we are promised another fine actors take on WSC. Darkest Hour, directed by Joe Wright and written by Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything), about the first five weeks of Churchills premiership in the summer of 1940, stars Gary Oldman. At 58, he is seven years younger than Churchill was then, and so slender that he reportedly had to wear half his own body weight in prosthetics. So far only stills of his performance have been released and they look stunning. It will be fascinating to see if the illusion is sustained in motion. Loading.... Oldman is, incidentally, the fifth Harry Potter alumnus also to have played Churchill (so far Daniel Radcliffe awaits the hour and the embonpoint.) According to IMDb, there have been no fewer than 208 film or television portrayals of Churchill to date. Memorable characterisations have included Albert Finney in HBO film The Gathering Storm (2002), in which he lends his big actorly presence to the role, overcoming some gratuituous bathroom nudity early on. Brendan Gleeson was even better, as a hard-mouthed tough in the HBO follow-up, Into the Storm (2009), for which he won an Emmy. Richard Burton remained richly and indigestibly theatrical in his TV versions, The Valiant Years (1960-63) and The Gathering Storm (1974), while the performance by Bob Hoskins in When Lions Roared (1994), about the Tehran conference, is best enjoyed as comedy, especially with Michael Caine gamely playing Stalin. Among the best recent performances must be counted Sir Michael Gambons wounded but still imposing incarnation in Churchills Secret (2016), about his recovery from a serious stroke in 1953, thanks to the devoted nursing of Romola Garai. Popular act: Gary Oldman is one of many actors to take on the role of the great statesman But the Churchill that serious Churchillians most esteem is that of Robert Hardy, who has played him seven times, notably in Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981) and Bomber Harris (1989). Hardy achieves presence, rather than attempting impersonation and he has been made an honorary member of the International Churchill Society in gratitude. On Desert Island Discs in 2011, Hardy revealed the humility with which he approached the role I didnt think I was anywhere near it, I didnt think I had the capacity as well as that, after taking advice from Churchills dentist, he had a special Churchillian dental plate made, so that I was constantly trying to overcome this thing, until a wild dog snatched it away from him in Arizona. John Lithgow approached his part in The Crown with similar modesty, saying, I thought theyd got the wrong guy. In every superficial way he seemed wrong: a lean and amiable 6ft 4in American playing the fat 5ft 7in bulldog. But his performance is enchanting, particularly in his audiences with the Queen, whom he towers over. Somehow that only makes him all the more commanding. He inserted cheek plumpers, stuffed cotton up his nostrils and donned a fat suit yet never declined into mere resemblance. Churchill was such a wonderful tangle of idiosyncrasies and contradictions that an extremely unlikely piece of casting like this was an ingenious idea, he has said. My greatest ambition was just to make people temporarily forget about the actual Winston Churchill and accept this. We delight in it, every time he comes on screen. The key to playing a great man, it turns out, is not to try to copy him but find him within. Churchill is in cinemas today P ierre Koffmann, who was responsible for training Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre-White, has called the salaries paid to chefs in the UK stupid. As a young chef you are paid between 15,000 and 18,000, which living in London means living in poverty, he said. He also warned that the salaries meant fewer French chefs were moving to London than before, adding that if Brexit meant those who had come from Europe were forced to leave, then restaurants would start closing very quickly. The legendary French chef, who was among the first in London to gain three Michelin stars when his Chelsea restaurant La Tante Claire was given the accolade in 1983, was speaking ahead of a special evening being held at Victorias Aster restaurant next week. He will be the first to be featured as part of the restaurants in conversation series, which will see chefs talk through their influences and ideas with Bloomberg food critic Richard Vines, while diners eat a meal based on the chefs recipes. Finnish meets French: Helena Puolakka The dinner will see Koffmann and Asters executive chef Helena Puolakka reunited in the kitchen. She worked as head chef at La Tante Claire when she first arrived in London in 2001 and, like many chefs, states him as one of her greatest mentors. It will be the only place in London to try Koffmann's food currently, after his restaurant at The Berkeley closed at the end of last year. Together they have designed a five-course tasting menu incorporating their individual styles while staying true to Asters Nordic-French roots. Dishes will include pan-fried foie gras with smoked eel and apple salad, plus the iconic pigs trotter Pierre Koffmann with pomme mousseline and a port wine sauce Koffmanns signature dish. Richard Vines said: People are in love with food in London now and theres a lot of interest in the people who create it. The chefs are the artists, they could be painters or musicians but these are the people who create the food. He added: I myself am fascinated by hearing their stories and their thinking behind the food and I see why home cooks want the chance to meet the people who created the dishes they are eating. Following the inaugural event with Koffmann, he will host another with Scottish chef Tom Kitchin. The Aster Chef Series event with Pierre Koffmann will take place on Monday June 19 at Aster. Tickets for the five-course dinner are priced at 55 per guest available here, or 90 with wine pairing available here. C yril Connolly said a writers sole responsibility was to produce a masterpiece. Patience Gray achieved that with Honey from a Weed: Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, The Cyclades and Apulia, published in 1986, when she was in her late sixties. For those who treasure this original combination of recipes, memoir and travel writing, it is a touchstone: a book to make you reconsider your entire attitude not just to food but to its place in life, to life altogether, even. Many chefs and food writers have been influenced by it. Gray is the secret inspiration behind many current trends in food, such as localism, foraging, seasonality and slow food. Yet she remains much less well known generally than such contemporaries as Elizabeth David or Jane Grigson. Adam Federman, an American investigative and environmental journalist and sometime cook, aims to change that with this accomplished biography, published by an independent house in Vermont specialising in sustainable living. At first it seems to offer excessive detail for a life of a fairly obscure food writer; rapidly, the interest of her story justifies the approach. Patience Stanham was born in 1917 in Surrey. Her mother came from a family of well-to-do shop-owners, her father, an unsuccessful businessman, from a Polish-Jewish family who had converted to Christianity and changed their name. Even as a child, Gray appears to have been intransigent and wilful, believing herself intellectually superior. Patience did little to mask the contempt she felt for her parents, the rigid world of manners they inhabited, and the appearances they struggled to maintain, says Federman. Over time England itself would come to stand for some of the shortcomings of her childhood, what she saw as a series of deceptions, however small, and things unsaid. The subjects that mattered life, death, beauty and love were left unspoken. Thanks to a London-based aunt, she was able to study at Queens College and the LSE. Aged 21 she formed a relationship with a persuasive, deceitful, card-carrying Communist called Thomas Gray, eight years her senior and a married man. She had three children by him, a son in 1941, a daughter in 1942, and a third child, given up for adoption and not surviving infancy, in 1943. She changed her name to Patience Gray but Thomas Gray proved useless as a partner and father. During her third pregnancy Patience left him and ruthlessly cut him out of her life, pronouncing their relationship pure folly on her part. Her children never met him, nor even saw a photograph of him until they were in their fifties. In postwar London, Patience picked up work in publishing, writing and graphic design. In 1953, with a writer called Primrose Boyd, she proposed a book on European cooking to Penguin. Plats du Jour, published in 1957, with delightful illustrations by David Gentleman, sold well and remains charming, offering basic advice about food and wine, albeit with an innovative chapter on fungi. In 1958 Patience was appointed the first womans editor of The Observer but she was not satisfied by a life of commentary rather than creation. In the early Sixties she joined her lover, the Belgian sculptor Norman Mommens, on his travels around Europe in search of a place to live and work, with stays in Carrara, Catalonia and Naxos, before, in 1968, they discovered and bought a ruined farmhouse, Spigolizzi, on the arid, deserted Ionian coast of Apulia. Patience and the Sculptor spent the rest of their lives there until Patiences death in 2005. They lived a life of back-to-the-land rigour, harvesting olives, making wine, growing tomatoes, beans and figs, and eating wild greens, prepared simply and traditionally, while well aware that this ancient way of life was fast disappearing around them. More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review Towards the end of her life Patience really did look like a witch, according to her grand-daughter and she kept a big black snake in her studio. She last travelled to London in 1990 and despised urban life. She thought consumerism and convenience to be pure nonsense. She found London to be a mass of people living in a forest of material objects and mechanical devices. Honey from a Weed, which she had been assembling for years, was eventually published by Prospect Books, created by the food historian Alan Davidson, an admirer who became a friend. It has a lived authority that makes almost all current cookbooks seem spurious. Poverty rather than wealth gives the good things of life their true significance, Patience believed. Abstinence, enjoyment, celebration, all have natures approval; if you practise the first, you maintain what is priceless enjoyment, and its crown, celebration. Not that she believed these values could be trivially assumed or transferred. Told near the end of her life that peasant cooking had become trendy in London, she retorted How on Earth can you have peasant cooking without a peasantry? Yet the book still has much to impart about sacralising the everyday. In her last recorded interview she spoke up for daydreaming. You could say that I have sort of responded against the present time where I feel that nothing is sacred. Its a counterpoint to that. Because things are sacred. Thats what I feel. P aolo Zanelli is on a mission to desnobbify wine. The certified sommelier, who grew up in the wine region of Friuli Venezia Giulia in northern Italy, was mystified when he moved to the UK. People were put off by wine as they perceived it as a luxury for a few chosen ones, he says. This was very odd for me because growing up in wine country, I knew that wine was not made by noblemen in fancy chateaux but by down-to-earth wine growers. Zanelli set up Pulp the wine club for those that dont do wine clubs, a website and delivery service aimed squarely at millennials in order to break the glass wall that the old-fashioned wine market put up between consumers and winemakers. Not only will it send out themed tasting boxes each month (ie oaked wines or rioja) but it is also working on an algorithm to allow a more personalised service. Using previous preferences, it will present customers with a shortlist of wines tending towards the quirky, lesser known and less expensive (9-18) to choose from when dining out. Because it should be as easy to order a great value, interesting wine as it is a craft beer. Thats how it works at Dineramas Winerama, where youre encouraged to sip brilliant, fun wines such as Au Bon Climat Wild Boy Chardonnay (as funky as the label, may cause mild hallucinations) alongside your giant burger or pizza. On 22 June the Shoreditch-based night market is hosting a super-millennial-friendly Love Europe wine tasting evening (tickets from robersonwine.com), where for a tenner you can taste 20 new wines from indie European producers, all of which are then available to buy for under 20 and guaranteed to beat a panic-bought bottle of supermarket Pinot Grigio. Taking the snobbery out of wine, then, is the future. Just like Zanelli, Jackson Boxer and Christopher Coopers mission statement at their new wine delivery service, Ohsomm, is No snobs, no jargon, no guesswork. They leave out information about producers and years, so you dont get bogged down in the details, instead choosing your wine based on moods and moments: a Chablis from Burgundy, for example, for when youre feeling Zen, or a French Merlot for brunching. Given their pedigree (Boxer is the grandson of the legendary Arabella and chef patron at Brunswick House; Cooper was Soho House Groups head wine buyer and sommelier) you can probably trust their judgement. Forget conflicting advice about third bottle from the top and whiffs of manure; the new wine clubs are inclusive for anyone and everyone with a taste for the good stuff. T hought wed reached peak unicorn food? Think again, because theres a new multicoloured food stuff thats about to take over your Instagram feed. This is the unicorn pizza, the latest rainbow-coloured dish that follows fresh on the heels of rainbow bagels, doughnuts and lattes. The mesmerisingly technicolour invention first arrived on our radar after Industry Kitchen in New York City Instagrammed a picture of their take on the sugary trend. Officially named the Pop Candy Land Pizza, the stateside-based dish features multicoloured dough, topped with colourful icing, sprinkles and pop rocks. A post shared by Industry Kitchen (@industrykitchen) on Jun 12, 2017 at 9:01am PDT Us Londoners might be a 12-hour plane journey from New Yorks rainbow slices - but now, with the help of Firezza in Dean Street, unicorn pizzas have officially arrived in London for the first time. The Italian pizzeria uses melted marshmallows in different colours to replace the tomato sauce on a regular pizza, and adding a unicorn horn of white marshmallows to the top. Next, they sprinkled jelly beans across the base and added the finishing touch - lashings of pink glitter. Sadly, the unicorn pizza isnt part of Firezzas permanent menu, so if you want to try a slice yourself youll have to get crafty in your own kitchen - but just think of the Insta-envy you'll induce from fellow rainbow food-loving Londoners. Head chef Edin Basic said: 'Unicorn pizza is something that's kind of current at the moment and we really wanted to create our own version.' We just wanted our chefs to be a bit more creative because making the same pizzas can be a bit repetitive. It's out of the ordinary and not something we'd normally do but we just though, "Hey, why not?"' T he past few months have been unsettling for Simon Sebag Montefiore. The toffy historian-turned-swashbuckling novelist has been signing lucrative television and film deals for almost every book he has ever written, while mourning his wife Santas younger sister, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, who died suddenly of peritonitis in February. What can I say? We miss her and cant believe shes gone. I cant believe Im not going to hear her voice on the phone ringing up any more, says Sebag, as everyone calls him. Were having coffee at his regular haunt, The Ivy in Kensington, just a stones throw from his home, and hes talking for the first time about the death of the former It-girl and how he and Santa were the first to get the call. Tara was 45 and had given up her rackety lifestyle. She was not unwell and did not have a brain tumour, as some reports suggested. She was fragile, but then she was always fragile, Sebag explains. She lived fast and furiously. She was on TV, she sang songs, wrote books and columns, and had an exciting romantic life... he pauses and smiles, ...she was this amazingly turbulent, tempestuous, unpredictable, flamboyant, often hilarious, often heart-breaking presence in our lives. Now its like the vanishing of some extraordinary castle on a hill thats always been there. So its been a really tough, tragic, sad and surreal time, but were just coming out of it now. Sebag and Santa, now 51 and 47, who are both prolific and commercially successful writers in their own right he of epic histories, she of romantic sagas found solace working together on the second in a planned series of four childrens books called The Royal Rabbits of London. Billed as The Hobbit-meets-Watership Down, the first instalment came out in October and film rights have already been snapped up by 20th Century Fox, who want it to be the new Ice Age. Are there any named stars yet, isnt one of the rabbits called Clooney? Yah, hes a very chic, dapper, grey-haired rabbit. It would be great to have Clooney doing Clooney, yah, yah, Sebag nods and laughs. So theres a hint. Meanwhile, Sebags biography of the sexually rapacious Catherine the Great and her lover, Prince Potemkin, is being developed by Angelina Jolie, whos going to play Catherine, while Lionsgate is turning his history of Jerusalem into a multi-episode TV drama, like Game of Thrones. Simon with his wife Santa, left, and her sister Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, right, who diedin February / Getty Images Sebag adds that his book about Young Stalin (2007) has been bought, though not yet cast, and needs to be played by someone very handsome and quite satanic Zayn Malik is supposed to look like Stalin, another hint, while The Romanovs, published last year, has been bought for another TV drama. Sebag rattles this all off with the same fluent ebullience that made him such a hit as the urbane yet scholarly, floppy linen-suited narrator on those history documentaries about Byzantium and Jerusalem for the BBC. Theres a restlessness about him too - Santa has called him exhaustingly Tiggerish - as well as a sense of mischief. His book launch of The Romanovs, held in the ballroom at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and attended by le tout literary London, became almost as debauched as the ill-fated Russian dynasty, with some guests falling flat on their faces after guzzling too many margaritas. It was in honour of the Romanovs terrible trajectory. I enjoy tequila, which has a strange effect on people and makes parties more fun than warm white wine, Sebag roars with laughter. Is it true that duchesses got so drunk they forgot to take home their handbags? Yes, there were all sorts of people doing amazing things, having sex with people they werent meant to be having sex with, in the cloakroom it was very entertaining, Sebag chortles. How on earth does he know? The woman in the cloakroom told me. This week sees the launch of his new novel, Red Sky at Noon, which continues his long love affair with Russia. Part of his Moscow trilogy, plotwise it falls between One Night in Winter and Sashenka, although it can be read as a standalone novel. Set in 1942, the adventure about a buccaneering Jewish soldier called Benya Golden joining a penal battalion of Cossacks to fight the Nazis is actually a western set on the eastern front that pays homage to my heroes, Elmore Leonard and Cormac McCarthy, with plenty of love, adultery, marriage and children. The first two books have sold 100,000 copies and have done especially well in Russia, much to Sebags surprise. Youd think theyd hate some English person writing about Russia, but they love it. Naturally, he would love to interview President Putin, whom he calls an original 21st-century statesman channelling the traditions of Romanovs and the Stalinists. He finds Putins effect on Trump particularly compelling. Trump wants to be the first American tsar. With his hero worship of Putin, his admiration for the apparent omnipotence of the Kremlin, schoolboyish crush on Putins gangster swagger and his contempt for democracy, Trump wants to rule with his family, taking decisions purely because hes right about everything like a tsar. But hes no match for Putin. Somebody whos made it in reality TV versus someone whos survived in the Kremlin for 20 years? Hell be eaten alive. Tara Palmer-Tomkinson - In pictures 1 /37 Tara Palmer-Tomkinson - In pictures Tara Palmer-Tomkinson waves as she arrives at Westminster Abbey before the wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton, in central London April 29, 2011 Jasper Juinen/Reuters Tara posing in 1994 Rex Features With Tamara Beckwith in 1995 Rex With Prince Charles in Klosters, Switzerland in 1996 Rex Making an entrance at the premiere of Evita at the Empire, Leicester Square in 1996 Dave Benett With Princes Charles and Harry and her sister Santa on a ski lift at Klosters in 1997 Mike Forster/Associated News In the snow at Swiss ski resort Klosters in 1997 John Stillwell/PA Best Dressed Woman of the Year in 1997 Ken Towner Dressed as Bond Girl Honey Rider for her James Bond-themed birthday party at Tramp in 1998 Dave Benett With Nell McAndrew when the pair were in the jungle on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here in 2002 Rex With Prince Charles in 2003 during a reception at Clarence House Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA On the runway at the Tristan Webber fashion show as part of London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2005 Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Arriving for the premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in July 2005 at Leicester Square Ian West/PA Relaxing in a yellow Lamborghini Murcielago in February 2006, as she arrived for the Philip Treacy fashion show in Central London John Stillwell/PA At the Glamour Women Of The Year Awards in Berkeley Square in June 2006 Dave Benett Arriving for the 2007 TV Quick / TV Choice Awards Ian West/PA Arriving in September 2007 for the Moet and Chandon Mirage evening in Holland Park Chris Jackson/Getty Images Very much the socialite in July, 2009 Geoff Caddick/PA Launching her book Inheritance at Asprey in September 2010 Dave Benett Tara promoting Asda's Tickled Pink campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2010 John Wright/Asda/PA At the WTA Pre-Wimbledon Party at Kensington Roof Gardens in June 2012 Dave Benett Tara breaks down when interviewed by Jeremy Kyle in 2014 ITV At the memorial service for Sir David Frost at Westminster Abbey in March, 2014 Chris Jackson/Getty Images Attending the launch of Dame Joan Collins' new book The St. Tropez Lonely Hearts Club at Harry's Bar in May 2016 Dave Benett At the wedding of Lady Melissa Percy to Thomas van Straubenzee at St Michael's Parish Church in Alnwick in July 2016 Jonathan Pow/PA At The Frost family final Summer Party to raise money for the Miles Frost Fund in partnership with the British Heart Foundation in July 2016 Dave Benett At the Belstaff Presentation, Spring Summer 2016, London Fashion Week Rex Features At an event by Supporting Wounded Veterans and Skiing With Heroes in October 2016 Dave Benett The testimony of ex-FBI director James Comey highlights what he calls the greatest triumph of Russian espionage in history they have somehow provoked a schism between an American President and his security agencies. Every Russian emperor from Peter the Great to Stalin and Putin knows a leader and his security agencies must never be parted. His safety depends on their slavish devotion. Sebags fascination with Russia began after he gave up investment banking, which I hated and was very bad at, to become a foreign correspondent during the break-up of the Soviet Union in the early Nineties, writing for The New York Times and The Spectator. I was driving across Georgia with a warlord and his bodyguards riding shotgun with their Kalashnikovs in a convoy of Mercedes and Land Rovers. The guy put on Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon on a cassette, which they played on loudspeakers as we raced across the mountains and I remember thinking this sure beats respectable life in England. So does the respectably married balding Jewish writer (his words) and father of two a son, 14, and a daughter, 16 miss those glory buccaneering days now? Yes. It was amazing to see history being made and really, it was the inspiration for writing about Benya Golden and the cavalry on the Russian steppes. Red Sky at Noon is published today (Century, 16.99) P olice have seized a horror weapon in a chase through south London. Officers said they recovered the sword-like weapon after a man ran from a car. An image taken by officer in Kennington showed an enormous knife with a curved, serrated blade. The weapon, which was contained in a black sheath, was seized in Kennington Lane, near the junction with Kennington Road on Wednesday. They tweeted: After running from a car in Kennington, a male has been detained and found by PD Hardy, his drugs and this. A spokesman for the Met said: Officers from the Lambeth Gangs Unit arrested a male in possession of an offensive weapon and possession of drugs following a foot chase from a vehicle in Kennington at approximately 8.30pm hours on June 14. At this time a 19-year-old male remains in custody at a south London police station. A man has been arrested over allegations he posted photos of a Grenfell Tower victims body on social media. The 43-year-old was detained at around 6pm on Wednesday near Latimer Road station, close to the scene of Wednesdays devastating fire, Scotland Yard said. At least 12 people were confirmed dead in the Notting Hill tower block blaze by Thursday morning. Police warned that number was expected to rise as the investigation continued. A spokesman for the Met Police said: A 43-year-old man was arrested near to Latimer Road station at around 6pm on Wednesday, 14 June, on suspicion of sending malicious communications and obstructing a coroner. The arrest relates to the fire at Grenfell Tower. The man has been to a west London police station where he remains in custody. A mother today said she was praying for her missing five-year-old son who she was separated from as the family fled for safety from the Grenfell Tower fire. Genet Shawo was attempting to escape the blaze with husband Paulos Petakle, a taxi driver, and their two children Luca, 3 and Isaac, 5. But Isaac, who had been holding a neighbours hand, got lost in the thick black smoke as they made their way from their 18th floor flat down the fire escape. The family has heard no news of the Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary pupil since. Choking back tears, Mrs Shawo said: I will not fear the worse, I am still hoping and praying for him. He is a beautiful boy. Isaac Paulos, missing in the Tower block fire He told us during the fire that he didnt want us to die. My neighbour said he would hold him and bring him down. But when I got outside I realised Isaac wasnt there. I have been to all the emergency centres, all the hospitals and there is no news of him. "I just want help, anyone who has any information can they please come forward. Missing, feared dead: Yasin el-Wahabi Mrs Shawo described how the family, who are originally from Ethiopia, tried to flee the blaze. We opened the door and there was thick smoke which came into our home. You couldnt see anything it was so dark. The fire was so hot. I was helping my neighbour to put towels on his children, and started helping them down. I had put a wet towel already on Isaac. Nora Huda, 15, is also among the missing "My neighbour said he had lost hold of him inside and couldnt find him. It was so dark, you couldnt see anything in the smoke. I am praying he managed to get out somehow or someone else saved him. A significant number of the 24-storey tower blocks 600 tenants - including a two-year-old boy and 82-year-old grandfather - are still unnaccounted for. Another family-of-five are also feared to have died in the inferno. Mariem Elgwahry was on the 19th floor of the tower and was last seen with her mother at 2.30am. She is missing along with three family members Relatives of Abdul Aziz el-Wahabi, 52, his wife Faouzia el-Wahabi, 42, and their three children, Yasin, 21, Nur Huda, 15, and Mehdi, eight, are waiting for news amid fears the family has died. Otman Boujettif, 42, a cousin, said: We spoke to them at about 1.30am but theyd been told by the fire brigade to stay in their flat, put towels down, wet the floors and wait." He said relatives scoured rescue centres and emergency wards hunting for the family before Hanan el-Wahabi, a 39-year-old aunt, was told by fire officers to expect the worst. Ms el-Wahabi, who lives on the ninth floor of the tower, said she spoke to her brother: I told him to leave. He said he was going to come. Then I called him and he said there was too much smoke. A family member said: "We fear they have all been wiped out." Fears were also growing for missing three-year-old Amaya Tukuh, who was on the 19th floor with her mother Amal Ahmadin, father Mohammed and cousin Amna. Community worker Barsenet Zewde said: They were all in the flat and nothing else was heard of them. Their relatives are desperate for information. Among the missing Tony Disson, 66, who phoned his three sons at 3am to say he was trapped in his bathroom. His son Lee launched a social media appeal for information about the retired market trader, but a close friend last night appeared to confirm his death, saying: We have been told that Lees dad did not make it. Mother-of-two Rania Ibrham, 30, sent a WhatsApp video to a pal begging for help at 2.54am. Neither she nor her children, aged five and three, have been seen since. Teaching assistant Nadia Choucair, 33, was in a flat on an upper floor with her husband, mother, and young daughter who called a friend at 2am to say: Goodbye. Were not going to make it. I love you. Mariam Elgwahry, 27, shared a flat on the 19th floor with her mother Eslan, 64, and three family members who are also missing. Jessica Urbano, 12, borrowed a phone to tell her mother she was hiding in the fire escape on the 20th floor but the call was cut off. She has not been heard from since leading to her parents to launch a desperate online appeal. Nicholas Burton woke up in hospital after the blaze and is now hunting for his wife Maria Del Pilar Burton, 65, who has Alzheimers. Berikti Habtom, 35, and her son Buroke, 12, were believed to be at home when the fire started. Her sister Arsiema was desperately seeking news of their safety last night. Mohamdenur Tuccu, 44, finished work as a security guard at Red Consultancy and went back to break Ramadam fast his with wife Amalahmedin and their three-year-old daughter Mayah in their 19th floor flat. Diabetic Hesham Rahman 57, texted relatives from his 20th floor apartment at 3am to say he could smell smoke. Ali Yawar Jafari, 82, was escaping with his wife and daughter in a lift when he got out at the tenth floor, unable to breathe. His family reached the ground floor but he has not been heard from since. Isra Ibrahim, 32, Fras Ibrahim, 38, and Fathia Ahmed, 72, were all in flat 206 when the fire began and are still missing, along with Berikti Habtom, 30, and her son Buroke, 12. Mrs Habtoms sister Alula Arsieme said: We have been to every hospital and called every number we can but nothing. We are devastated. Mariem Elgwhary, 27, who lived on the 19th floor, and her mother Suhar, are also missing. Friend Agz Urbankfa said: We have heard nothing. We are increasing desperate. At 2.30am she spoke to her brother but since then nothing. Shocked locals look on as the fire rages (NIGEL HOWARD) / NIGEL HOWARD I think she may have headed up to the roof to get away from the fire but I really dont know. Grandfather Rkia Hamdan was searching hospitals and sharing updates on social media in a bid to trace his missing family of four, including Tazmin Belkadi, six, sister Malek, 10, mother Farah Hamdan and father Omar Belkadi. He said: We cant find them. Theyve got two little girls and were just so upset and worried about them. Zainab Dean, who lived on the 14th floor with her son Jeremiah, two, is feared dead after being advised to stay in their flat. Debris on the ground after the blaze / Jeremy Selwyn Her brother Francis Dean, 47, said a firefighter borrowed his phone during the blaze to speak to his sister. He told her to keep calm and that they were coming to get her. He kept saying that to her again and again. But then he handed me the phone and said, Tell her you love her. I knew then to fear the worst. The phone went dead and I could not talk to her. Two brothers who fled Syria as refugees three years ago when civil war engulfed their home city of Daraa were also caught up in blaze. Inferno: the raging fire at its height / Jeremy Selwyn Business student Omar Alhajali, 25, escaped their 14th floor flat and was today recovering in hospital. But he became separated from younger brother Mohammad, a 23-year-old engineering student, who was confirmed by close friends to have died. Kareen El Beyrouty said: They are lovely boys and have been through hell to get here. Syrian refugees come here to escape death, not to meet it. Architecture graduate Marco Gottardi and Gloria Trevisan, both 27, who had moved to London to seek work, were on the 23rd floor when the fire broke out. The inferno viewed from ground level / Jeremy Selwyn Speaking from his home in Venice, Mr Gottardis father, Giannino, said his son tried to reassure him and his wife Gloria, until his last words were to admit that the situation was plummeting. Unable to hold back his tears, Mr Gottardi said: At 4.07am he informed us that their apartment was flooded with smoke and that the situation became an emergency. "From that moment we could not talk to him, the phone was unreachable. Theresa May promises 'proper investigation' into Grenfell Tower fire Tottenham MP David Lammy has appealed for information about his dear friend Khadija Saye, 24. The artist and photographer lived on the 20th floor with her mother, Mary Mendy. On Twitter, Mr Lammy said: If you have any information about Khadija Saye please contact me. She is our dear friend, a beautiful soul and emerging artist. Meanwhile an elderly man believed to be partially blind was miraculously rescued from the inferno after using his jumper as a makeshift SOS flag. A firefighter who tackled the Grenfell Tower blaze has given a harrowing insight into the scale of the unprecedented incident that left at least 12 people dead. The man, known only as Mick, posted a picture of his helmet on social media with the caption: You know its not going to be good when youre told to write your name on your helmet before you go in. Messages of praise for the crew member and his colleagues who were called to the inferno in the Lancaster West estate in the early hours of Wednesday began to pour in since the post went live. Dozens of Twitter users responded, thanking Mick and the hundreds of other firefighters and officers who attended for their bravery. A man who said he witnessed the blaze unfold wrote: Thank you on behalf London sir! I stood and watched in horror, you ran to fix the horror. Grenfell fire update: 12 dead with death toll expected to rise One social media user wrote: Thank you to you all for your immense bravery going into that building," with another adding: "Utmost respect from one fireman to another. I hope I never have to do this in my remaining career. Thoughts to all buddy. Mick, who lives in Essex, posted the photograph of his helmet on Twitter hours after the devastating fire completely engulfed the 24-storey building. It is thought that fire crews were told to write their names on helmets so they could be quickly identified if anything went wrong as they tackled the blaze. London Fire Brigade has been contacted for comment. Alongside his name, Mick had written A33 on his helmet which is understood to be the code for Tottenham Fire Station. At least 12 people died and many more are still missing after flames tore through the 24-storey tower in the early hours of Wednesday. Grenfell Tower Firefighters - In pictures 1 /32 Grenfell Tower Firefighters - In pictures A firefighter pours water over his head after battling a huge fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Firefighters spray water after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west Londo PA A firefighter investigates a floor after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters rest as they take a break in battling a massive fire that raged in a high-rise apartment building in London AP A firefighter close at the scene after a fire engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Alex Lentati The moment a resident is carried out of the Grenfell Tower block by fire bridgae and riot police carrying shield Sky News Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Alex Lentati Emergency services gather close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters rest as they take a break in battling a massive fire that raged in a high-rise apartment building in London AP Firefighters wait to start their shift after a massive fire raged in a 27-floor high-rise apartment building in London AP Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground near a tower block severly damaged by a serious fire, in north Kensington, West London REUTERS Emergency services gather close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters react as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower AFP/Getty Images Emergency personnel operate during the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 27-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA A firefighter rests during the ballte against the blaze at Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Nigel Howard A London Fire Brigade worker moves air tanks close to the scene of a fire that engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters spray water after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Fire crews rest as they take part in the operation to put out a fire in a high rise apartment block in London AP A firemen reacts after battling a huge fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Residents were trapped "screaming for their lives" as flames raged through a 27-storey tower block in Notting Hill Alex Lentati Emergency services spray water towards a fire that engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Emergency services have warned more fatalities are likely in what is expected to become of Britain's worst peacetime fires since the Blitz. Grateful Londoners have cheered firefighters in the street for their selfless work to save those trapped as flames ripped through the tower. Onlookers were seen applauding firefighters in the streets as they came off shift, while cafes threw open their doors to offer free refreshments to the workers left shattered by a 10-hour battle against the blaze. T heresa May faced calls to order a full-scale public inquiry into tower block safety as she visited the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire. Labour also demanded that a minister make a statement in Parliament, condemning paralysis in Downing Street for hampering the Governments response. There was also a warning that up to one in five fire safety checks on tower blocks may be inadequate and that some assessors may not be properly qualified. As pressure grew for a public inquiry, Kensington Labour MP Emma Dent Coad said: I would absolutely back it. Hammersmith Labour MP Andy Slaughter said: A full public inquiry would seem to be a suitable route. But we also need rapid action to identify causes and risks and give assurances to those hundreds of thousands of people who live in high-rise blocks. Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures 1 /18 Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures The top section of the death trap Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn The tower today, after the flames were extinguished Jeremy Selwyn A close up of the tower's damaged windows PA Fire service personnel survey the damage PA The tower today, after it emerged at least 17 were killed Jeremy Selwyn Rows of blackened windows after the fire Jeremy Selwyn Police sent in sniffer dogs today to search for bodies Jeremy Selwyn PA The Grenfell Tower at dawn today Jeremy Selwyn Donations have flooded in for victims Jeremy Selwyn Water is sprayed on Grenfell Tower PA Rows and rows of blackened windows. It is feared over one hundred people may have perished Jeremy Selwyn Part of the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP Fire crews examine the wreckage PA A public inquiry would take evidence from the town hall, fire experts, victims and the Government including former housing minister Gavin Barwell, who is now Mrs Mays chief-of-staff. He has faced allegations that his department failed to act swiftly enough on proposals to improve safety. Shadow housing minister John Healey called for fire safety recommendations made in 2013, following the fatal Lakanal House blaze in Camberwell in 2009, to be implemented. These called for sprinkler systems to be installed in the highest-risk tower blocks and better advice for residents. Grenfell Tower Tribute Wall Sian Berry, who chairs the London Assemblys housing committee, said a review after the Lakanal House fire found about 20 per cent of risk assessments were inadequate and that potentially a number of assessors were not suitably qualified. Greg Hands, the new minister for London, said: This is an ongoing incident and all parts of government will be working together along with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Mayors office. A s the smoke from Grenfell Tower cleared and fire crews picked through the wreckage, Londoners moved by harrowing stories of victims trapped in the flames helped in whatever small ways they could - including the capital's taxi drivers. The streets around Lancaster West Estate site of the catastrophic fire that ripped through a 24-storey apartment block in the early hours of Wednesday teemed on Thursday with emergency services workers as well as volunteers eager to help victims. Messages posted to social media told how black cabbies and Uber drivers alike gave free trips to firefighters and those delivering donations to people affected by the disaster. A big shout out to the London cabbie who's just taken all the bags of clothes, toiletries, etc we had collected at work for the Grenfell Tower victims and is taking everything to a drop off point free of charge, wrote one woman on Facebook. A customer of Piccolo sandwich bar, thank you very much! she added. Another grateful passenger posted a note of appreciation to Twitter to an Uber driver who sacrificed part of the fare to help. Shout out to my amazing Uber driver Naim, who when realising the trip was to take donations over to Grenfell, split the fare with me, wrote the passenger. Another Twitter user wrote: "In a cab [because] my donations are so heavy and my driver just decided to drive me for free to join in the volunteering." Meanwhile, one firefighter posted to Facebook: Upon being relieved from duty to go back to station I was walking back to the appliance which was parked some distance away, [and a] black taxi pulls over to ask if I need a lift anywhere. A cab driver has also advertised on social media that he would give those visiting loved ones in hospital a ride. If anyone needs a lift to see sick relatives/friends at hospital, please get in touch. Free of charge, he wrote. Uber meanwhile told the Standard it is providing free transport to assist dozens of British Red Cross volunteers working in the area. Unknown numbers of people were still missing on Thursday afternoon, while Londons fire chief warning he expected no further survivors to be found. Seventeen people are so far confirmed dead in the inferno that engulfed the Notting Hill tower block, but it could be weeks before the final death toll is established. T here are still unknown numbers of people missing in the Grenfell Tower disaster and it could be weeks before the final death toll is established, Londons fire commissioner said today. Dany Cotton said that tragically we are not expecting to find anyone else alive as the number of fatalities confirmed so far rose to 17. Sniffer dogs were being sent in to search for further victims, she said. She warned that it would take a long time for firefighters to conduct a full search of the tower block because of the severity of the blaze. She said her colleagues and police would work in the quickest way possible but that the fingertip examination of the charred building had to be done properly so that relatives could be told with certainty whether their loved ones had perished. A close up of the charred shell of the tower / Jeremy Selwyn Ms Cottons comments came as she confirmed that the ferocious blaze which swept through the 24-storey tower block in north Kensington early yesterday has finally been extinguished after burning for around 24 hours. A total of 17 people are known to have died so far with 34 others still in hospital of whom 18 are in a critical condition. Police have also said that the death toll is expected to rise with some sources suggesting that the final number could be as high as 100 or more. The Queen paid tribute to the bravery of firefighters in a message today. Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures 1 /18 Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures The top section of the death trap Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn The tower today, after the flames were extinguished Jeremy Selwyn A close up of the tower's damaged windows PA Fire service personnel survey the damage PA The tower today, after it emerged at least 17 were killed Jeremy Selwyn Rows of blackened windows after the fire Jeremy Selwyn Police sent in sniffer dogs today to search for bodies Jeremy Selwyn PA The Grenfell Tower at dawn today Jeremy Selwyn Donations have flooded in for victims Jeremy Selwyn Water is sprayed on Grenfell Tower PA Rows and rows of blackened windows. It is feared over one hundred people may have perished Jeremy Selwyn Part of the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP Fire crews examine the wreckage PA She also praised the incredible generosity of volunteers offering their support to those affected. In a statement from Buckingham Palace, the Queen said: My thoughts and prayers are with those families who have lost loved ones in the Grenfell Tower fire and the many people who are still critically ill in hospital. Prince Philip and I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of firefighters and other emergency services officers who put their own lives at risk to save others. Tributes to victims at the scene / PA It is also heartening to see the incredible generosity of community volunteers rallying to help those affected by this terrible event. Many of the residents who survived spent the night in temporary shelters nearby waiting to be rehoused and to hear news of missing friends, relatives and neighbours. Hundreds of people have also called a special casualty bureau set up to take reports of people thought to be in the block at the time of the fire who have not been heard from since. A firefighter douses himself with water at the scene of the blaze / EPA As messages of sympathy poured in, the Queen said her thoughts and prayers are with those families who have lost loved ones in the Grenfell Tower fire and the many people who are still critically ill in hospital. Prime Minster Theresa May was also visiting the site to deliver her condolences after promising a full investigation into the cause of the blaze and any safety improvements that might be needed at other tower blocks. When its possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken, said Mrs May. Firefighters at work at the scene / PA Giving the latest update on the blaze, fire commissioner Cotton said that although parts of the building were still smouldering, the fire had been finally extinguished. She warned, however, that fears about structural safety meant that firefighters have so far been unable to reach beyond the 20th floor and that it was impossible at this stage to say how many people had lost their lives. There are unknown numbers of people in the buliding, she said. Due to the severity of the fire and the way things are it will take us a long time to do for us to do that search to properly identify anyone who is still in the building. Tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. Fire crews pore through the debris / PA This will take weeks before the building is properly cleared and searched properly. We want to do this in the best way and the quickest way possible but we must do it with certainty so we can give people the news they need to hear. Its a shocking number that have already been involved in this fire but I suspect the numbers will go up. It was the worse thing I have ever seen. Words cant describe it. It was truly awful. Ms Cotton said that it was far too early to establish the cause of the fire but that firefighters had been into the flat where it had started and had begun their investigations. The blaze was under control today / PA She added that more than 300 firefighters had now been involved in tackling the fire and that nine had suffered minor injuries from burns or smoke inhalation. Many were traumatised by what they had witnessed. The thing that worries me going forward is the psychological effect. A lot of my firefighters experienced things they will never have seen before and I spoke to some people who were truly distressed, not least because they knew there were people in there and they were battling through the heat but couldnt get there. I saw one of my officers who was very near when someone came out of the window and he was in tears. People were absolutely devastated by yesterdays events. Police and Health and Safety Executive investigators have been working with firefighters to examine why the fire spread so rapidly through the tower block amid claims of negligence and inadequate safety precautions. Grenfell Tower continues to smoulder 24 hours after start of fire A formal criminal investigation has yet to be opened. But London MP David Lammy said prosecutions should follow. We should call it what it is, its corporate manslaughter, thats what it is and there should be arrests made, frankly, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. Mr Lammy also said he had heard nothing from family friend Khadija Saye, 24, since the fire. As the seconds pass we grow more sad and bleak every second, he said. It also emerged today that a London Assembly study found a fifth of fire safety assessments were inadequate and often carried out by people who were not well enough qualified. Sian Berry, a Green member of the assemblys housing committee, said she she believed this was because checks had become less rigorous in recent years. She also warned that residents - who had raised repeateded concerns about safety at Grenfell Tower - had been ignored and treated as troublemakers instead of being taken seriously. There are many, many groups, like the Grenfell Action Group, who are getting involved in trying to make their homes better and they are treated with suspicion by the authorities - they are regarded as troublemakers as this group was - and I think we need to change that at a much bigger level. A ctivists demanding justice for the victims of the Grenfell Tower blaze stormed Kensington Town Hall amid mounting anger over the official response to the tragedy. Hundreds of people gathered outside the Kensington and Chelsea Council headquarters demanding answers from the authorities before dozens stormed the building. It came as Theresa May was heckled with yells of "shame on you" after meeting fire victims at St Clement's Church close to the scene of the blaze. She has pledged five million pounds of Government funding to be spent on emergency supplies, food and clothing for the victims. Earlier on Friday, police confirmed at least 30 people had died in the Wednesday's tragedy and that many more were still unaccounted for. Firefighters were continuing their search of the 24-storey west London tower block on Friday afternoon. Follow our coverage live. A 20-year-old woman is fighting for her life after a moped ploughed into her on City Road, Islington, before speeding off from the scene. The crash took place at 9.30am, amid rush hour traffic, and paramedics dashed to the scene close to the junction with Wakeley Street. An eyewitness told the Islington Gazette of blood in the road while the woman - who suffered head injuries - appeared to be unconscious. A spokeswoman from the Met Police said: "Police were called at approximately 9.35am on Thursday, 15 June to reports of a scooter in collision with a female pedestrian in City Road at the junction with Wakeley Street, N1. "Officers and London Ambulance Service attended the scene and the victim - aged 20 - was taken to hospital for treatment. She remains there in a critical condition. "The scooter, with a rider and a pillion passenger, rode off from the scene." Officers from the Central North Command Unit are investigating. There have been no arrests and enquiries are ongoing. J eremy Corbyn said "the truth has got to come out" as he visited those affected by the Grenfell Tower blaze. The Labour leader spoke to volunteers and community leaders at St Clements Church, where a refuge centre has been set up to help victims of the devastating fire. His visit came hours after Theresa May made a private visit to the blaze site. She met with fire crews who have been searching for bodies and working to extinguish flames still flickering at the 24-storey tower, but did not speak to members of the public or media. Jeremy Corbyn spoke to friends and family of missing residents / David Mirzoeff/Reuters The Prime Minister later announced a judge-led public inquiry into the disaster amid growing anger over safety failings. Asked about an investigation into the circumstances of the fire, Mr Corbyn said: "We have to get to the bottom of this. "The truth has got to come out and it will." Rick Findler/PA As volunteers showed him donations that have poured in since the disaster, he told them: "It's great that you're in place." Mr Corbyn's Labour colleague David Lammy, MP for Tottenham MP, said arrests should be made over what he branded corporate manslaughter. He is searching for close family friend, 24-year-old artist Khadija Saye, who lived on the towers 20th floor. The Labour leader said "the truth has got to come out" / Neil Hall/Reuters This is the richest borough in our country treating its citizens in this way, Mr Lammy said. Its corporate manslaughter. There should be arrests made frankly. Residents of Grenfell Tower, on the Ladbroke West estate, had repeatedly raised concerns about fire safety. They have claimed their fears "fell on deaf ears" at Kensington and Chelsea council and the company that manages the authority's social housing. Jeremy Corbyn visited spoke to volunteers, emergency services and community leaders / Jack Taylor/Getty Images Kensington Labour MP Emma Dent Coad said she "would absolutely back" a public inquiry. Hammersmith Labour MP Andy Slaughter said: A full public inquiry would seem to be a suitable route. But we also need rapid action to identify causes and risks and give assurances to those hundreds of thousands of people who live in high rise blocks. The flames were still burning inside the tower today / PA There have been warnings that one in five fire safety checks on tower blocks may be inadequate and that some fire risk assessors may not be properly qualified. Police and fire minister Nick Hurd was due to update MPs on Thursday afternoon during a special meeting in Parliament, as Labour claimed paralysis in Downing Street was hampering the Governments response. A public inquiry would take evidence from the town hall, fire experts and victims of the tragedy. It will likely also hear from the Government, the former Tory housing minister Gavin Barwell who is now Mrs Mays chief-of-staff, who has faced allegations that his department failed to act swiftly enough on proposals to improve safety. T ributes have been paid to a kind and charitable refugee who was named as one of the first victims of the devastating Grenfell Tower blaze. Mohammed Alhajali, 23, who has been in the UK since 2014, was killed in the deadly inferno at the 24-storey west London tower block in the early hours of Wednesday morning. His friend Abdulaziz Almashi said that Mr Alhajali, a civil engineering student, "was kind, charitable and full of passion for his family". "He was such a loveable, amazing person. It's unbelievable, just crazy, and so unfair," Mr Almashi told the Standard. Mr Almashi, co-founder of the Syria Solidarity Campaign, met Mr Alhajali whilst working for the organisation which promotes freedom, peace and democracy in Syria. The organisation said in a statement that Mr Alhajali was on the phone for two hours with a friend in Syria while the fire raged, as he waited to be rescued. 'Kind and charitable' Ms Alhajali / Syrian Solidarity Campaign "When the fire reached his flat on the 14th floor, Mohammed bid his friend goodbye, saying that the fire had reached him," it said. "Mohammed undertook a dangerous journey to flee war and death in Syria, only to meet it here in the UK, in his own home. "Mohammed came to this country for safety and the UK failed to protect him. The scene of the major fire in Notting Hill. (NIGEL HOWARD ©) / NIGEL HOWARD "We absolutely agree that a thorough investigation into Building Regulations should take place immediately." Mr Alhajali, who had lived in Grenfell Tower for about a year, often attended events to "campaign for the rights of Syrian people and against the ideology of Isis," said Mr Almashi. In his first year at the University of West London, he wanted to one day return to Syria to use his engineering skills. "He said, 'We will need civil engineers when the war is over - I want to go back and rebuild my country,' " said Mr Almashi. The Syria Solidarity Campaign is now fundraising for his funeral. The University of West London said in a statement: "We are shocked and saddened to learn of the death of our student. Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures 1 /18 Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures The top section of the death trap Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn The tower today, after the flames were extinguished Jeremy Selwyn A close up of the tower's damaged windows PA Fire service personnel survey the damage PA The tower today, after it emerged at least 17 were killed Jeremy Selwyn Rows of blackened windows after the fire Jeremy Selwyn Police sent in sniffer dogs today to search for bodies Jeremy Selwyn PA The Grenfell Tower at dawn today Jeremy Selwyn Donations have flooded in for victims Jeremy Selwyn Water is sprayed on Grenfell Tower PA Rows and rows of blackened windows. It is feared over one hundred people may have perished Jeremy Selwyn Part of the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP Fire crews examine the wreckage PA "Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family and friends." The university said it was aware of a number of students living in or near to Grenfell Tower and had been reaching out to them to offer assistance and confirm their safety and security. Mr Alhajali's brother Omar Alhajali was also caught up in the blaze, but managed to escape in conditions of thick smoke and darkness, said friends. Aerial footage shows the full scale of the fire He was later found in hospital in a stable condition. Unknown numbers of people were still missing on Thursday afternoon with Londons fire chief warning no further survivors were expected to be found. Seventeen people were so far confirmed to have died in the inferno but it could be weeks before the final death toll is established. A lorry driver has been cleared of causing the death of a cyclist by careless driving. Magda Tadaj, 25, was killed after suffering catastrophic injuries in a crash with a lorry in Croydon, south London, on the afternoon of May 23 last year. The driver of the black Scania lorry, 49-year-old Darren Anderton, was charged and was taken to trial accused of causing her death. The Old Bailey previously heard how Anderton stopped and saw Ms Tadaj lying in the road. He waited for around eight minutes for paramedics to arrive before driving off. Tragic: Magda Tadaj died in a cycle crash / Facebook Police tracked him down after he completed his delivery and arrested him on suspicion of causing death by careless driving. Aftermath: Police at the scene of the crash / @MPSCroydon On Thursday a jury found him not guilty, clearing him of the charge. The court heard he had left his base in Coventry at about 4am and driven about 140 miles (225km) before the crash in St James's Road, Croydon, south London. Anderton, of Acacia Road in Nuneaton, said he had been driving for 30 years and had considered himself a "good driver". Additional reporting by Press Association. T he external cladding blamed for the ferocity and speed of the Grenfell Tower blaze has been fitted to dozens and possibly hundreds of other towers across London, it was claimed today. Councils have been keen to cover the outside of ageing concrete blocks dating from the Sixties and Seventies with coloured panels to make them look less of an eyesore and also improve their environmental performance by reducing heat loss. However, experts argue they can fatally weaken the fire prevention defences built into the structure of buildings by letting flames jump very fast up the outside of buildings, fuelled by a disastrous chimney effect. Although exact numbers are not known, Matthew Needham-Laing, head of construction at lawyer Katten Law UK, said that of the 4,000 old tower blocks left in Britain a large proportion will have been clad to extend their usable lifespans. Some of those refurbished by Rydon, the contractor that worked on the Grenfell Tower, include Ferrier Point in Canning Town and five towers on the Chalcot Estate in Camden. Southwark alone has 317 tall towers, more than any other UK local authority area. Notting Hill Grenfell Tower Fire - In pictures 1 /49 Notting Hill Grenfell Tower Fire - In pictures A blaze rages through Grenfell Tower block in Notting Hill Jeremy Selwyn Aerial view of the fire at Grenfell Tower, Notting Hill Jason Hawkes Jeremy Selwyn Aerial view of the fire at Grenfell Tower, Notting Hill Jason Hawkes Jeremy Selwyn A firefighter investigates a floor after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower PA Exhausted firefighter rest on steps of houses after ours of tackling the blaze Alex Lentati Jeremy Selwyn Residents wave frantically at a window during the blaze Nigel Howard Emergency personnel operate during the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 27-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA A police officer helps to evacuate a local resident from close to the scene of a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London Reuters Debris and ash surrounding Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate, Latimer road Jeremy Selwyn A fleet of ambulances at the scene ready to deal with the injured AFP/Getty Images A firefighter rests during the battle against the blaze at Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn Firefighters prepare to enter the building to tackle the flames EPA Nigel Howard Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Flames engulf the tower block in Notting Hill AFP/Getty Images This shocking image shows flames engulfing the 27 storey tower Jeremy Selwyn Police and Emergency services at the scene of a major fire in Notting Hill after a block of flats Grenfell Tower is engulfed in flames Nigel Howard A person peers out of a window from the building on fire in London AP Firefighters react as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower AFP/Getty Images Smoke rises from the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Alex Lentati Aw omen react followign the blaze at Grenfell Tower Alex Lentati Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Jeremy Selwyn A water jet douses the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block seen through a fence in North Kensington EPA Young children wear protective face masks near the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Two men hug within the security cordon as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire AFP/Getty Images A man (circled) looks from a window as smoke pours from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower PA Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Alex Lentati Firefighters on the scene at Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road early this morning Alex Lentati A view of debris from the Grenfell Tower fire covering a football pitch EPA Aerial view of the closed of Westway follwing a the fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate, Latimer Road. Jeremy Selwyn Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images A local resident is carried to receive some medical aid at a community centre close to a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower PA Mr Needham-Laing added: "If indeed this is a cladding-related fire, as seems likely, it will not have been the first and will not be the last in a series of such fires. Building regulations have not caught up with these new materials, specifically in relation to fire standards. Stay in your flats is perfectly sensible advice in a general brick building, where a standard fire door can last 30 minutes, providing enough time for rescue. But this cladding causes fire to jump over the fire-breaks and up the side of the building, rendering current building regulations moot. Eyewitness to Grenfell Tower fire breaks down on live television Regulations were last updated in 2013 but weve since had a rash of cladding-related fires in Dubai, China and other markets with these materials. The findings came amid accusations about a growing litany of failures and inadequacies at Grenfell Tower, including a lack of sprinklers, effective alarms and the single staircase for escape. Planning documents show that the metal skin on the outside of panels was originally designed to be made of zinc, which has a relatively high melt point but ignites when it reaches 900C. However, updates suggest this was changed to aluminium, which has a lower 600C melt point but does not ignite. There were also questions about whether the fire stops supposed to be in the cavity between the claddings insulation and its outer metal skin were installed. Without them fire can rise rapidly through the cavity. Grenfell Tower Firefighters - In pictures 1 /32 Grenfell Tower Firefighters - In pictures A firefighter pours water over his head after battling a huge fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Firefighters spray water after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west Londo PA A firefighter investigates a floor after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters rest as they take a break in battling a massive fire that raged in a high-rise apartment building in London AP A firefighter close at the scene after a fire engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Alex Lentati The moment a resident is carried out of the Grenfell Tower block by fire bridgae and riot police carrying shield Sky News Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Alex Lentati Emergency services gather close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters rest as they take a break in battling a massive fire that raged in a high-rise apartment building in London AP Firefighters wait to start their shift after a massive fire raged in a 27-floor high-rise apartment building in London AP Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground near a tower block severly damaged by a serious fire, in north Kensington, West London REUTERS Emergency services gather close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters react as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower AFP/Getty Images Emergency personnel operate during the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 27-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA A firefighter rests during the ballte against the blaze at Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Nigel Howard A London Fire Brigade worker moves air tanks close to the scene of a fire that engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters spray water after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Fire crews rest as they take part in the operation to put out a fire in a high rise apartment block in London AP A firemen reacts after battling a huge fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Residents were trapped "screaming for their lives" as flames raged through a 27-storey tower block in Notting Hill Alex Lentati Emergency services spray water towards a fire that engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Niall Rowan, chief operating officer of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, said: I have seen video taken last night which shows very narrow fire spread up the side of the building. It took only around 30 seconds for a plume no wider than a metre to go right up to the top of the building. The insulation panels are believe to have been made by Suffolk-based Celotex, owned by French building materials giant St Gobain. The panels used met the highest grading level for fire retardant qualities. A spokesman said: Our thoughts are with those affected by the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower. Our records show a Celotex product (RS5000) was purchased for use in refurbishing the building. If required, we will assist with enquiries from the relevant authorities at the appropriate time. A doctor today told how his hospital re-activated its emergency response to the London Bridge attacks to treat victims of the Grenfell Tower inferno. Duncan Bew, clinical director of the major trauma centre at Kings College Hospital, said all its patients had been hurt in the blaze. He said the patients of all ages, including children suffered predominantly smoke inhalation injuries. He praised the bravery of the emergency services at the scene, and said: We were significantly worried and prepared that the building may collapse and we would be faced with a second incident and another wave of resulting casualties. Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures 1 /18 Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures The top section of the death trap Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn The tower today, after the flames were extinguished Jeremy Selwyn A close up of the tower's damaged windows PA Fire service personnel survey the damage PA The tower today, after it emerged at least 17 were killed Jeremy Selwyn Rows of blackened windows after the fire Jeremy Selwyn Police sent in sniffer dogs today to search for bodies Jeremy Selwyn PA The Grenfell Tower at dawn today Jeremy Selwyn Donations have flooded in for victims Jeremy Selwyn Water is sprayed on Grenfell Tower PA Rows and rows of blackened windows. It is feared over one hundred people may have perished Jeremy Selwyn Part of the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP Fire crews examine the wreckage PA Mr Bew told the Standard: Most people, to different degrees, had been trapped in the building and had to evacuate themselves through thick acrid smoke. "They couldnt see going down the stairwell and very bravely made their way down. Kings, in Denmark Hill, was one of six hospitals treating more than 70 blaze victims. All 12 patients taken to Kings by the London Ambulance Service were admitted for care. "Patients were also taken to the Royal Free, St Marys, Chelsea and Westminster, St Thomas and Charing Cross. It is understood seven of the patients at Kings required intubation artificial breathing support. The priority was to protect each patients airway and ventilate them. Mr Bew said: The main risk is for injury to the airway and also damage to the lungs. People can have a much more severe injury than is at first recognised. They breathe in toxic smoke into the lungs themselves. The burnt out shell of Grenfell Tower A full trauma team was in place before the first patient arrived at Kings at about 3am. Throughout the night we maintained vigilance on what was happening at the scene, he said. We were quite concerned that the situation could escalate to a mass-casualty event, when we might have had a very large number of patients that require intensive care support. Mr Bew feared the small number of patients brought to the hospital meant many others may have died inside. We geared ourselves up to be able to receive substantially more patients than made it, he said. We were sad not to receive more. A nurse at the Royal Free in Hampstead told how a patient revealed she had called a relative to say goodbye because she feared she was going to die in the inferno. Daniel Almeida, 30, a charge nurse, said he feared for the long-term mental health of the victims, such was the emotional impact of the blaze. One patient made a phone call while in the building to the relative to say goodbye, he told the Standard. Its quite frightening. You dont know what sort of consequences there will be, or what will happen in the future, after these sort of things. The Royal Free received 12 patients, including children. All were suffering from smoke inhalation rather than burns. Several, including a child, had to be anaesthetised and intubated to allow their breathing to be controlled artificially. By last night, eight of the 12 patients had been discharged. D istraught residents of the estate where at least 17 people were killed in a horrific tower block blaze have told how they believe safety concerns were ignored because officials "don't care" about working class people. Residents living in tower blocks close to Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West estate said they were now "scared" for their own safety, and that managers and the council had not acted on concerns raised in meetings. It comes after it emerged a resident of the tower block had written a chilling blog post after a renovation in 2016, saying only a "catastrophe" would lead to changes being made. Firefighters are still searching the Grenfell Tower block after it became engulfed in flames in just minutes when a fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Theresa May visited the tower today / Rick Findler/PA Andrew McLeod, 25, said he knew residents who had concerns raised during meetings that were ignored. He said: "I think there's a bigger picture here. We've been trying to get change and improvements and everything. The Prime Minister at the site of the blaze / Jeremy Selwyn "I think that people on this side of the class divide do feel that they are unfairly treated and not listened to. "If you do look at the bare facts things were flagged up on numerous occasions in a very formal way. "People have asked why are we not being heard? They've ignored people." Andrew McLeod, 25, said working class people on the estate felt unfairly treated Scrawled alongside tributes to victims on a wall outside Latymer Community Centre, where volunteers set up a makeshift refuge centre, were messages calling for "justice for Grenfell." Another referenced "poor people politics". Cye Elliot, 75, a visa adviser who lives close to the estate, said: "It's just total neglect. The burnt out shell of Grenfell Tower "It's arrogance, disrespecting people. Because they were working class they can get away with it." She added: "You see the block where all these people were killed and then you see the people coming along with the kids going to private schools. It's poignant." Marcus Smith, 40, has spent most of his life living in a low-rise building on the estate and had friends in Grenfell Tower when it burned. Grenfell Tower Tribute Wall His friend, who lived in the 12th floor of the tower, escaped the blaze but is thought to have suffered severe burns. He said: "They wanted to make it look nice because they're regenerating the area. "Don't get me wrong, it looked nice. But you could see how dangerous it was. That plastic [cladding.] Heads need to roll over this." Retired window fitter Neil Davis, 67, lives in Dixon House on the Ladbroke West estate, a multi-storey tower block opposite Grenfell Tower. He said his tower block had been visited and fire doors fitted, but safety concerns still existed. Neil Davis said the tower blocks needed more investment He said: "They haven't invested enough in the blocks. "That shouldn't burn. Putting a plastic front on and expecting it to hold a fire back. "It takes years to get anything done - that guy predicted this." Among those who added tributes on Thursday morning was a woman who said she knew 11 people who perished in the tower. Her two friends and their children were neighbours on the 22nd floor of the building and are thought to have been unable to escape. One woman living in Dixon House, who did not want to be named, said she was concerned that there is "only one way out" of the block if a fire breaks out. She said: "[The staircase] is narrow and small as well. To be honest I'm scared, even when I'm sleeping I'm not sleeping fully now. "I think they don't care about people on this estate". It came as claims emerged the cladding fitted to the exterior of the building was fitted to dozens and possibly hundreds of other towers across London. Some of those refurbished by Rydon, the contractor that worked on the Grenfell Tower, include Ferrier Point in Canning Town and five towers on the Chalcot Estate in Camden. Southwark alone has 317 tall towers, more than any other UK local authority area. B ritons want Theresa May to change course away from her plan for a hard Brexit, a poll reveals today. Fewer than half of people quizzed think she should continue trying to leave the European Union on the negotiating terms she set out before the general election, found YouGov. And confidence in the Governments handling of the exit talks has slumped since the election. Only 22 per cent think the Government is doing a good job down from 40 per cent since April. The findings come as Downing Street insists there is no change to the approach set out by the Prime Minister in keynote speeches earlier this year, which critics said pointed to a hard Brexit with a risk of no deal on trade. A clear majority of the public think the Government should go ahead with Brexit following last years referendum but the country is split over how best to achieve it. Of the 70 per cent who think Brexit should happen, 44 per cent believe in it, while another 26 per cent are accepters who did not vote for it but think the Government has a duty to honour the vote. Loading.... Some 43 per cent say Mrs May should continue with the negotiating strategy she set out before the election. But a greater proportion think there should be a change of direction, including 23 per cent who want to look for a softer Brexit during the talks, due to start next week. This includes keeping access to the European single market of 500 million customers, the UKs biggest export market. Seven per cent think that the Government should cancel Brexit following its election setback. Another 17 per cent say there should be a second referendum so that people have a chance to change their minds. Loading.... Asked to rank the sort of Brexit they would like to see, over half said either a soft Brexit or remaining in the EU. Fewer people, 45 per cent, preferred either a limited trade deal or none at all. A majority, 52 per cent, support the negotiating targets set out by Mrs May in January, which included leaving the single market and the customs union and guaranteeing rights for EU citizens and security co-operation. But fewer people think Mrs May can get that sort of deal now. Only 37 per cent now have confidence in her ability to deliver it, down from 48% in March. Over a third think the General Election result has made it more likely that Britain will get a poor deal on Brexit. Anthony Wells of YouGov said: While the majority of the British public still think the government should press on with leaving the EU, they are far more finely balanced over whether it should go ahead with the sort of Brexit that Theresa May has set out. The good news for the Prime Minister is that the majority of Britons still approve of the broad negotiating targets she set out in January. However, last weeks result seems to have made them less confident in her ability to deliver on them. One notable thing is that taken together the proportion of people who support either remaining in the EU or a soft Brexit is higher than the total who support a harder Brexit, but whether softening the terms of leaving the EU is politically possible in the short term is a different matter. S inn Fein warned Theresa May today that her deal with the DUP puts her in violation of the Good Friday agreement, Gerry Adams has said. "We have just finished a meeting with the British prime minister and her secretary of state, and we told her very directly that she was in breach of the Good Friday agreement," said Mr Adams, speaking from Downing Street. "And we itemised those matters in which she was dilatory or in default in relation to that agreement," he added. The party will oppose any deal between the Government and the DUP which undermines the peace deal, the Sinn Fein leader warned. Sinn Fein would support any additional monies going to the Northern Ireland Executive, he said, but added: "A little side bargain to keep Theresa May in power, a temporary little arrangement, won't have any integrity." Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill left, with Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald / AFP/Getty Images Michelle O'Neill, leader of Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, said: "We were very clear with the prime minister that any deal with herself and the DUP cannot undermine the Good Friday agreement. "We made it very clear that any package (on restoring power-sharing) that is delivered, there has to be a strong financial package to allow us to deliver good public services when we get the executive up and running again." Mr Adams said he and his colleagues had handed over the late Martin McGuinness's resignation letter, written when he stood down as Northern Irelands deputy first minister in January. Mr McGuinness's letter laid out the remaining obstacles to power-sharing in Northern Ireland, said Mr Adams. The remarks come amid mounting criticism that Mrs May's proposed deal with the Unionist MPs - needed for the Tories after they lost their majority - jeopardises peace in Northern Ireland. Detractors of the pact include former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major, who said it risked Westminster's neutrality in an ongoing and fragile process. Sir John Major has voiced fears over the Northern Ireland peace process / PA I am concerned about the deal, I am wary about it, I am dubious about it, both for peace process reasons but also for other reasons as well," he said in an interview with BBC Radio 4's the World at One. He added: A fundamental part of that peace process is that the UK government needs to be impartial between all the competing interests in Northern Ireland. "The danger is that however much any government tries, they will not be seen to be impartial if they are locked into a parliamentary deal, at Westminster, with one of the Northern Ireland parties. The last thing anybody wishes to see is one or other of the communities so aggrieved that the hard men, who are still there lurking in the corners of the community, decide that they wish to return to some form of violence. J o Swinson has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Tim Farron as Liberal Democrat leader after his sudden announcement that he was standing down. Senior Lib-Dems said she was in pole position to win backing to take the helm of the party if she wished to do so. However, they are also pushing for a double act involving Ms Swinson and former Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable, particularly over Brexit. Lib-Dem sources believe East Dunbartonshire MP Ms Swinson, 37, who has a three-year-old son, has the talent, communication skills and energy to take the party forward. However, another option being mooted is Sir Vince, 74, becoming an interim Brexit leader, and then stepping down to allow former business minister Ms Swinson to take over before the next election, if it is held in 2020. The Lib Dems have never had a female leader and one senior source said: We need a generational change...to a younger generation. Former Energy Secretary Sir Edward Davey and former health minister Norman Lamb may also throw their names into the hat if there is a leadership contest. Mr Farron announced he was quitting yesterday, saying he had been unable to reconcile his Christian faith with the demands of leading a progressive, liberal party. His shock announcement came just hours after the partys openly gay home affairs spokesman Lord Paddick said he was standing down citing concerns about the leaders views on various issues. P hilip Hammond has withdrawn from a major speech in which he was due to flex his muscles over Brexit in light of the tragedy at Grenfell Tower. The Chancellor announced he would not be giving the annual Mansion House speech where he was due to announce new measures to protect growth during negotiations with the EU. He tweeted after the blaze killed at least 17 people: "In view of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, I have withdrawn from giving the Mansion House speech tonight. My thoughts are with local community." In the run-up to the speech, Mr Hammond was understood to be undecided how explicit to be over his belief that negotiations must include ways of keeping the benefits of the customs union and the single market, while having a lengthy transition period to allow businesses to adapt to any changes. Cabinet ministers pushing for a soft Brexit have strengthened their hand on the senior Whitehall committee that will oversee the talks. Damian Green, the First Secretary and a passionate Remain campaigner, has taken a place on the committee, alongside Mr Hammond. Boris Johnson and David Davis, both Brexiteers, sit on the committee, which is chaired by the PM. The Chancellor sent a clear signal of his priorities earlier today by revealing that the speech will announce moves to reassure businesses they will still be able to get access to investment funding after the withdrawal. Investors need certainty in order to continue to support the UK economy and create jobs as we leave the EU, he will say. That is why we will fortify the vital financial support that helps businesses to grow from cutting edge start-ups right through to large scale infrastructure projects. The Lord Mayor of the City of London was due to add his voice to a growing chorus of business leaders urging Theresa May to strike a Brexit deal with the EU before negotiations draw to a close. Mr Hammond had been due to say that ministers are in discussion with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to ensure UK projects can access its funds during the remaining period of Britains EU membership. The EIB currently lends around 42 billion to UK projects including new London Underground trains and new tram networks in Manchester and Nottingham. At the same time he was expected to say that the UKs own financing schemes stand ready to provide additional support and certainty to investors. The British Business Bank (BBB) will extend the limits of its venture capital investment programme to enable it to provide greater levels of investment into individual funds that would otherwise struggle to raise capital. If necessary, Mr Hammond was due to say, he is ready to bring forward some of the 400 million in additional investment which he announced in last years Autumn Statement. The Treasury estimates that in the short-term, up to 80 million could be released, unlocking up to 320 million of total investment in the coming months. T he Queens Speech and the State Opening of Parliament has been rescheduled for June 21 after it was delayed by Theresa Mays frantic negotiations with the DUP. The event, which marks the start of the parliamentary year, had been due to take place on Monday the same day as the start of Brexit negotiations. On Thursday, newly-appointed Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom announced it would go ahead two days later than planned. She said in a statement: "The Government has agreed with Buckingham Palace that the State Opening of Parliament will take place on 21 June 2017." Theresa May welcomes 'most diverse' parliament yet It has been pushed back by Downing Street after Mrs May failed to win a majority in the Commons, leaving her frantically attempting to negotiate a deal with the controversial DUP. She is hoping to come to a confidence and supplydeal with the Northern Ireland party, which will mean they prop up her minority in the Commons and vote through the Queens Speech. The speech is the centrepiece of the State Opening. During it, the Queen will read out the pre-prepared words written by Tory ministers which will set out the Government's legislative programme for the coming year. DUP talks: Theresa May arrives in Downing Street on Wednesday. / REUTERS It will essentially outline a list of laws the Government is hoping to pass and highlight their priorities for the coming Parliament. The content of the speech is expected to be a moderated version of Mrs Mays manifesto after her authority was weakened by the surprise election result. It will be followed by several days of debate before being voted on. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is expected to read out an alternative Queens Speech which he will urge other parties to support in an attempt to topple the Conservative government. It is very unusual for the Queens Speech to be delayed but in the UKs last government coalition in 2010, the Queens Speech did not take place until 20 days after the General Election. P rince Harry today paid a poignant tribute to the heroes and victims of the Borough Market terror attack. Harry, 32, went to the scene of the tragedy - where three jterrorists armed with knives killed eight people and injured 48 before being gunned down by police - to show the world the market is "open for business." A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "Prince Harry was keen to come down as soon as possible to spread the message that this vibrant market is open for business." He also went behind the stall at "Bread Ahead" run by baker Matt Jones, 47, whose staff fought off attackers with brooms and crates as they went on the violent rampage stabbing innocent people. "The strength of this community and London as a whole is magic, the prince told Mr Jones. Matt told Harry: "The business was in full operation. I was at home at the time but I had staff working on the night of the attack. "Two of them got involved throwing bread crates at the attackers to try and save one of the women being attacked. It was really bad. Market visit: Prince Harry chats to traders / John Stillwell/PA "Yesterday saw so many regular customers coming back. A lot of customers buy their bread here. Harry coming here is great for business," he said. During the 45 minute visit the Harry, 32, met Ganga Garbuja, security guard for the Market on the night of the attack. The prince met a collection of traders and restaurateurs surf near the Wheatsheaf pub, near where the attackers were killed by police. He also met Jack Appleby who got people to safety pulling the shutters down on the Market Porter pub. Borough Market Managing Director Darren Henaghan said: "It is absolutely marvellous that Prince Harry came here today. It means a great deal to everyone connected with the market." The visit came as it emerged the prince, along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, had contributed to our Dispossessed Fund after to help those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy. They hope their contribution will inspire others to give what they can too. Borough Market reopened on Wednesday in a show of defiance as Londoners were told: "This is your market." Prince Harry speaks to baker Matt Jones / John Stillwell/PA In an emotional ceremony the market fell silent for one minute at 9.30am in honour of those killed and injured in the June 3 atrocity. Many wept as they linked arms in a show of solidarity following the attack. Others wore t-shirts emblazoned with the message 'We Are Family' alongside the Borough Market logo and date of the attack. The market bell tolled at 10am, hailing its reopening. Heroes bravely fought off the attackers as they carried out the rampage before being shot dead by armed police. Spaniard Ignacio Miralles de Imperial, 36, used his skateboard as a weapon as he battled to protect a woman before being knifed to death. Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, ran towards danger to tend to the injured before being fatally stabbed. A second Australian, 21-year-old nanny Sara Zelenak was also killed in the attack along with James McMullan, 32, from Hackney and Frenchmen Sebastien Belanger, 36, Xavier Thomas, 45, and Alexandre Pigeard, 27. Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, was the first of the dead to be named. T wo soldiers have been confirmed dead after an incident at a military firing range in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. Both victims were from the Royal Tank Regiment and were injured at Castlemartin on Wednesday afternoon, Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood said. Two people are still being treated for their injuries. Mr Ellwood said: "It is with great sorrow I can confirm the death of a second soldier from the Royal Tank Regiment following yesterday's incident at Castlemartin Ranges." A 48-hour worldwide ban was placed on the use of ammunition deployed during the fatal training exercise after paramedics rushed to the scene, which is the only UK Army range available for armoured units for direct-fire live gunnery exercises. The medics arrived shortly after 3.30pm, and two men were taken to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, one to Heath Hospital in Cardiff and another to a hospital in Birmingham by air ambulance. A statement from the Royal Tank Regiment - the oldest tank unit in the world, according to its website - said its investigations were continuing. It said: "Our thoughts are with the friends and families of all those involved." The regiment was formed at around the time of the First World War and had 25 battalions fighting across the globe during the Second World War. Today the regiment, based in Tidworth, Wiltshire, consists of three squadrons - Ajax, Badger and Cyclops - each equipped with 18 Challenger 2 battle tanks, the unit's Ministry of Defence website says. On June 7, the regiment posted on its Facebook page saying Badger squadron had arrived in Castlemartin for its annual firing period. "Stay tuned for more photos and videos of the awesome firepower of the Challenger 2," the post said. On June 11, an update showed a video of a tank firing on the range. It was captioned: "FIRING! Here a crew from BADGER take on a tank target in Castlemartin. FEAR NAUGHT." The deadly incident came five years after a 21-year-old soldier died when he was shot in the head while relaxing at a safe location outside Castlemartin. A 2013 inquest into the death of Mike Maguire heard he was hit in the temple by a single bullet after live machine gun fire was wrongly directed inland towards the safe haven. The inquest jury ruled Ranger Maguire, a member of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, was unlawfully killed. Additional reporting by Press Association D onald Trump is under investigation for possible obstruction of justice by the special counsel appointed to examine Russias role in the presidential election, it was reported today. Robert Mueller is overseeing an FBI inquiry into Russias alleged meddling in the 2016 election but has now widened the probe to include the president, it is claimed. The development, revealed in todays Washington Post, is the first time the president has been personally linked with the near year-long inquiry. Until recently, investigators had focused on alleged ties between the Kremlin and top officials in Mr Trumps campaign. Last week ex-FBI chief James Comey told a separate inquiry by the US Senate Intelligence Committee that he assured Mr Trump he wasnt personally under investigation. But officials told the Post that changed days after Mr Trump fired Mr Comey on May 9. The former FBI director told senators: I was fired, in some way, to change or the endeavour was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. He also alleged Mr Trump sought to persuade him to drop inquiries into ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn, who resigned in February after misleading Vice-President Mike Pence over contact with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to Washington. Mr Mueller plans to interview other senior intelligence officials who were allegedly pressured to weaken the investigation, the Post reported. The director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Mr Rogers recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, have reportedly agreed to be interviewed. Officials were quoted as saying that the investigation of attempted obstruction of justice is based on more than a war of words between the president and Mr Comey. One meeting under scrutiny was said to be that of Mr Trump and Mr Coats on March 22. Mr Trump allegedly appealed for his new intelligence chief to intervene and encourage Mr Comey to ease up on inquiries into Mr Flynn. The president is adamant that he did not attempt to strong-arm any of his senior law enforcement officials. Although he did not deny the Post report, Mr Trumps lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, said last night: The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal. Obstruction of justice is defined as interfering with a judicial or congressional investigation with corrupt intent. Legal action against a president would take the form of impeachment, Stanford law professor David Sklansky has said. The prime minister of Australia has been recorded mocking Mr Trump. In the film, released by The Nine Network, Malcolm Turnbull impersonates the president at yesterdays Mid-Winter Ball in Canberra. He says elections are so easy to win adding: I have this Russian guy... After the two leaders met in New York last month, Mr Trump called their relationship fantastic. T his is the shocking moment a French conservative politician lay out cold in a Paris market after a man attacked her. A firefighter rushed to the aid of Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, 44, former vice-president of the Republicans party and a former environment minister under Nicolas Sarkozy. Ms Kosciusko-Morizet, known in France by the initials NKM, was leafleting for the Republicans ahead of Sunday's legislative elections when a man in a checked shirt jabbed his finger at her and tried to throw her leaflets in her face. He called her a "dirty bobo" - a derisive term for bourgeois urban dwellers - and blamed her for Paris's socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, getting into power. The man, described as in his fifties, tried to throw leaflets in the politician's face / AFP/Getty Images Ms Koscuisko-Morizet had been defeated in Paris's 2014 mayoral race by Ms Hidalgo. The politician toppled over and briefly lost consciousness in the fracas, while the man - described as in his fifties - fled. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet on the floor of the Paris market / AFP/Getty Images Ms Koscuisko-Morizet is standing for election in a central Paris constituency and is campaigning for the Republicans as they face polls on Sunday in which the party of President Emmanuel Macron, Republic on the Move, is set to make sweeping gains. The Mayor of Paris has called the attack "intolerable" while Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was reported to have visited Ms Koscuisko-Morizet in hospital after the attack. Earlier: The French politician is campaigning for the Republicans / AFP/Getty Images "I condemn this unacceptable act of violence," he wrote on his Twitter account. Paris prosecutors have said they are looking into the incident. B en Stiller has reunited Vince Vaughn and ex-wife Christine Taylor for a long-awaited Dodgeball comeback. The cast of the 2004 hit comedy reprise their roles for a charity special of the much-loved slapstick comedy, to raise money for Stillers own charity. Launching the Omaze Campaign in a short video teaser, Stiller goes head-to-head with Vaughn as they make their return as White Goodman and Peter La Fleur. Taylor is also back as La Fleurs girlfriend Kate, while Justin Long also makes an appearance in the brand new clip. In the video, released on Wednesday, Stiller explains that fans can sign up to either The Globo Gym or Average Joes team to be in with a chance of actually playing dodgeball with the actor himself. The proceeds of the charity match will all go to the Stiller Foundation, with fans asked to donate a minimum of $10 to enter. The foundation, which was founded in 2011, supports global education initiatives for children including the rebuilding of schools in Haiti. Stiller and Taylor recently announced that they would be splitting after 11 years of marriage. With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate, they said in a statement. "Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time." E lizabeth Banks has sparked a race row after she tried to call out Steven Spielberg over a lack of lead female roles in his films. The 43-year-old actress, who called the directors a** out in front of a huge crowd at the Women in Film Crystal Awards, is being accused of ignoring Whoopi Goldberg's lead in The Color Purple. Speaking on stage she said: I went to Indiana Jones and Jaws and every movie Steven Spielberg ever made, and by the way, hes never made a movie with a female lead. Sorry, Steven. I dont mean to call your a** out, but its true. Named and shamed: Steven Spielberg was called out by Elizabeth Banks / Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty But Banks statement wasnt entirely true. Spielberg, 70, directed Goldberg in the 1986 film - and people made sure to point it out. One Twitter user posted: So... Does the fact that The Color Purple doesn't count to you mean you only consider white women as women @ElizabethBanks? Another tweeted: The unsurprising but wildest part of this whole 'Color Purple debacle is white feminist @ElizabethBanks hasn't offered an apology. Banks, who said she has been fuelled by anger and jealousy in the industry, went on to recall a time before she had children when a mother told her that it was difficult to get her young sons to watch a female-led film. She said: I was really angry at this woman, and I didnt have the words or the experience or the voice in that moment to tell her how crazy it is that, like, youre in charge of what they do, youre their mother! Like buy a f****** ticket to a movie with a woman. Take them, give them the experience of seeing an amazing women on film! I didnt have that voice then, but I have it now. And Im the mother of two boys and their favorite movie for like two and a half years was Frozen. Standard Online has contacted a representative for Banks for comment. Hammond, 47, was airlifted to hospital on Saturday when he lost control of a Rimac Concept One electric car while filming the Hemberg time trial for the Amazon series. Clarkson has now confirmed that the accident has delayed filming and resulted in fellow presenter James May flying out to do a shoot originally meant for Hammond. Many of you have been asking if Hammonds broken knee will affect the filming for season two of the Grand Tour. And the short answer is: yes, he wrote on Drivetribe. Richard Hammond escaped serious injury in the crash / PA As I write, James May is sitting in the hell hole that is Gatwick Airport waiting for a budget airline to take him to a shoot that Hammond should have been doing. Clarkson said he has been up since dawn, rewriting all of the scripts and ideas we had to accommodate the fact that Hammond cant drive for the next few months while Hammond is enjoying pretty nurses attending to his every need, and [giving] him drugs. The Grand Tour: Episode 2 1 /10 The Grand Tour: Episode 2 The Grand Tour: Episode 2 Amazon Prime The Grand Tour: Episode 2 Amazon Prime The Grand Tour: Episode 2 Amazon Prime The Grand Tour: Episode 2 Amazon Prime The Grand Tour: Episode 2 Amazon Prime The Grand Tour: Episode 2 Amazon Prime The Grand Tour: Episode 2 Amazon Prime The Grand Tour: Episode 2 Amazon Prime He said Hammond will probably be back in the office next week, and told fans hes lined-up a list of jobs he can do on one leg including replacing the toner in the photocopier and making coffee. Hammond showed off the injuries he sustained in the high-speed crash by posting a picture of a long scar on his leg. I'm pleased to announce that after two sleepless nights and several hours' surgery, my Swiss Army Knee is finished and works, he wrote on DriveTribe. It bends in the middle and whilst a problem at airport security, is at least rustproof. It is the second time the motorhead has suffered a serious crash while filming after he was left with life-threatening head injuries following an accident on Top Gear in 2006. Ashley Banjo and Alexander Armstrong have gathered a coterie of celebs to celebrate 20 years since the iconic Full Monty film and raise awareness and money for mens cancers. Heres everything you need to know about the show: Whats it about? Seven celebrities are recreating the iconic striptease performance from 90s movie The Full Monty in aid of charity. The stars will be instructed in the art of dance by Ashley Banjo (a prerequisite on all of ITVs dance-related shows), before they pull off a hopefully perfect performance in front of an audience at the London Palladium. Which stars will be stripping for charity? The seven celebrities wholl be getting their kit off for a good cause are TOWIEs Elliot Wright, Strictly star and McFly drummer Harry Judd, Olympic Swimmer Mark Foster, Death in Paradise actor Danny John Jules, Pointless presenter Alexander Armstrong, former ballet dancer Wayne Sleep, Emmerdales Matthew Wolfenden and journalist Dominic Littlewood. Whats The Full Monty? The original 1997 movie starred Robert Carlyle as Gaz, an unemployed Sheffield steel worker on the brink of being sued for child support payments by his estranged wife. In a desperate bid to raise some cash, Gaz and his friend Dave persuade four similarly down-on-their luck steelworker friends to put together a male strip-tease act. The group sets themselves apart by promising to go the Full Monty (completely naked) on stage. Whens it on? The one-off show airs tonight at 8.30pm on ITV. An innocuous geocache stirred up a lot of trouble Thursday morning. Scottsbluff Police responded to a small park near the Broadway River Bridge at about 7:53 a.m. Capt. Tony Straub said that a parks employee contacted the police about a suspicious device under a pine tree in the park. "It did have the appearance of a pipe bomb," Straub said. "It was camouflaged and had a wire coming out of it." Police and fire crews surrounded the park, blocking it off with crime scene tape and ordering the public away from the area. A bomb squad member could be seen surveying the area and returning to the parking lot. After a few minutes, another member of the team yelled "fire in the hole" at least twice and triggered an explosion. Police detonated the item in place, in case it was an explosive. The item was a geocache. A geocache is an item used in treasure-hunting game. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and attempt to find the geocache, usually a container with interesting items, hidden at that location. The geocaches are often hidden at locations that are easily accessible to the public. A search of the site geocaching.com showed a number of geocaches hidden at Scottsbluff parks. "Anytime we have something like this, close to the pathway where people are traveling or walking, we have to use an abundance of caution and make sure that we protect the public," Straub said. There are homophobes, xenophobia and after listening to Sen. Bernie Sanders verbal attack on Russell Vought, President Trumps nominee to be deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Christophobia needs to be added to the list. Sanders feels Vought is unsuitable for the position because of his belief that salvation is found alone through Jesus Christ. Voughts religious belief system makes him, according to Sanders, Really not someone who this country is supposed to be about. You have got to be kidding? Sanders, have you not read the Constitution, specifically the First Amendment? Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. It does not say you cannot have religious beliefs, nor does it state strong religious beliefs are unconstitutional. It does say the state cannot establish a religion. As you examine Sanders foolish statement it makes you wonder if he isnt trying to establish a state church, the church of secularism. Secularism is defined by Merriam Webster as indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations. If you want to serve your country, under Sanders religious litmus test, you are to march in lock step with secularism. That is not what our First Amendment says. We cannot disqualify someone based on the color of their skin, nor their sex, sexual orientation or what nation they came from, but Sanders is suggesting being a devote Christian is grounds for discrimination. America is a nation of diversity and that includes different faiths. It also includes different levels of commitment to ones beliefs. Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford correctly warned that Sanders comments come dangerously close to crossing a clear constitutional line for how we evaluate qualifications for public service. The First Amendment, he said, is crystal clear that the federal government must protect every Americans right to the peaceful and free exercise of religion. We cannot say we have the free exercise of religion and also require people to practice their faith only in a way that government officials prefer. Sanders disregard for the First Amendment of our Constitution is scary. Devote followers of Jesus are not calling for the murder of those who do not adhere to their beliefs. They do not threaten violence if their holy book is destroyed and they are some of the first on the scene when disaster hits. Are they perfect? No, but if you read the Gospels, you will see there is no room for racism or xenophobia (read the genealogy of Jesus) nor can you make a strong case for male superiority (Jesus first missionary was a woman he met at a well, the first to tell of his resurrection were women). Yes, many have misused the teachings of Jesus, but his teachings are far from being out of line with what we, as a country, are supposed to be about. I thought as a nation, we were about loving your neighbor as yourself, doing to others as you would have them do to you, caring for the widows, orphans and others in need. Obviously, Sanders is scared of the influence a Jesus Christ follower like Vought might have on this country. Afraid the country might love their neighbors a little more. They might give to those in need or even turn the other cheek when made fun of for being different. Jesus believing Christians are not the enemy. They should not be disqualified from service to their country because of a Christophobic senator does not understand the First Amendment he was elected to protect. ************ On a different topic all together I was asked by a reader, how is your wife doing? If you are a regular reader of my column you know she has battled cancer this last year. Next week, we go back for her second post chemo check-up. A trip we will be making every three months for the next five years. My lovely bride is, however, doing very well. She is cancer free and steadily regaining her strength. It is scary how the chemo can suck away your strength and leave you completely wiped out. It is a hard battle, but she is on the positive side of recovery. The sister-in-law of the missing 58-year-old Deborah Sabra remains hopeful that the woman is still alive after police found a body in a creek near her home on Wednesday. My heart is heavy right now, said Lisa Harris. Im praying its not her. I dont want this on any family, but I pray it wasnt her. Im holding onto my faith. Harris was at the scene where earlier police found a womans body partially submerged in a creek. The identity of the woman has not been determined, and authorities are sending the body to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for an autopsy Thursday, according to a Statesville Police Department press release. The release said police couldnt confirm if the body was Sabras. The body was found about 12:30 p.m. about a block from the home of Sabra, who went missing June 1. The creek runs through a heavily wooded, rocky area near a neighborhood off Diamond Street. Harris said she didnt think Sabra, who was disabled and walked with a cane, could have made it down the creek on her own. She continued to insist that foul play was involved in Sabras disappearance. Sabra was last seen June 1 getting into a red car with another woman, according to the Statesville Police Department. A Silver Alert was issued for the woman on June 2 because she has dementia, type 1 diabetes and high blood pressure and may have been without her medication. Since Sabra went missing, Harris, along with other family and friends, canvassed the neighborhood asking people if they saw or knew anything. Harris also handed out flyers. Last week, SPD announced they were looking into unconfirmed reports that Sabra was seen in the Manchester area of Warren County, Tennessee soliciting rides. Police also said they believed Sabra may have left the area because her family was planning on placing her in a nursing home. Harris denied this, saying she planned for Sabra to live with her. We havent gotten any proof that was my sister (whose body was found) Harris said. So please, please keep looking for her. Sabra is black, 5 feet 5 inches tall and 230 pounds. She has short black hair, brown eyes and has a slight limp. She could be using a cane. 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National leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), major at rule, Liviu Dragnea said Wednesday that he drew up an official notification to President Klaus Iohannis telling him about the decisions made by the PSD's National Executive Committee at its convention the same day. He added that he will submit the notification by the next morning, according to AGERPRES. "Together with the colleagues from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) [junior in the ruling coalition] and from PSD in the ruling coalition we drew up an official notification to Romania's President that will be sent this night, if possible, if not first time next morning, in which we officially inform the President about the decisions we made and our future proposals. The President will be informed about political decisions we made today," Dragnea said at Parliament Palace after a convention of the PSD's National Executive Committee. He added that he is absolutely convinced President Iohannis will proceed very wisely with this matter. "Besides our legitimate right to make such decisions - because this was similar or symmetrical political decisions like the ones made when the incumbent government was formed - we had an obligation to conduct this assessment and we are under an obligation to take the measures that help us all benefit from the provisions in the government programme. Hopefully, Mr Sorin Grindeanu will understand this if he believed and still believes in the government programme in this country. At the same time, I am perfectly sure that Romania's President will approach the matter very wisely," said Dragnea. You can also read: PM Grindeanu: Evaluation I saw tonight was justification to tell me to resign. Kolkata, June 15 (IBNS): The Central Marketing Organisation (CMO) of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) organised an interactive meet with the companyas major customers in the Eastern region here on Thursday. The event was attended by Union Steel Minister Birender Singh and Union Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo Sai. Addressing the gathering, the Union Steel Minister, while touching upon the governments long-term vision for transforming the Indian steel sector, stressed upon the biggest challenge facing the industry of boosting steel demand and increasing steel consumption. As enunciated in National Steel Policy 2017, Shri Singh said, India would more than double steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030-31. The challenge, however, is to grow demand during this period so that current domestic per capital steel consumption of 65 kg increases proportionately, Singh said. This, he pointed out, could be achieved through innovative marketing. While the Steel Ministry is doing its bit to promote steel usage and spread awareness about the benefits of using steel over other materials, domestic steel makers also need to walk the extra mile for producing world-class steel, he added. He said he looked forward to suggestions and views from steel consumers to make the steel industry more robust and vibrant, and to make India a leader in steel usage and innovation. Singh and the other dignitaries present discussed various steel industry-related issues with SAILs key customers from different steel-using segments in the Eastern region such as Utkarsh India Limited, PDP Steels Ltd, Skipper Ltd, Simplex Infrastructures Ltd, Texmaco Ltd, among others. Barthwal, who also spoke at the meet, said that under the current circumstances it was vital that any gap between producers, customers and fabricators be addressed through such meets. India is currently exporting 7 million tonnes of steel and we need to double this to increase our market presence globally, he added. Mondal, on her part, welcomed the views and suggestions put forth by the customers at the meet. Various issues related to pricing, deliveries, product development, etc., were discussed, and she assured that all inputs would be acted upon. Thimpu, Jun 15 (IBNS): The eight edition of the Mountain Echoes Literary Festival, a literary, arts and cultural festival, will be held in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, from August 25-27 this year. The Festival brings together writers, biographers, historians, environmentalists, scholars, photographers, poets, musicians, artists, film-makers to engage in cultural dialogue, share stories, and create memories in the shadow of the beautiful mountains. The Festival will be inaugurated on August 24 in Thimpu, the capital of Bhutan. Mountain Echoes literary festival was established under the patronage of the Royal Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, and the eighth edition of the festival aims to provide a collaborative platform for cultural dialogue and encourage the exchange of ideas, stories and experiences, according to the organisers. The organisers said that the 2017 festival will explore globally relevant issues such as environmental conservation, natural history, spirituality, and the global evolution of textiles and design traditions, among others, thereby bringing together a range of expertise and perspectives on stage throughout the three days. Festival Co-Director and author Namita Gokhale said, Over the last eight years Mountain Echoes has established itself as one of the most thoughtful, moving and evocative celebrations of literature anywhere on our planet. The shared narratives of Bhutan and India, and of mountain regions everywhere, expand the space for insights across cultures and geographies. Headliners for the eighth edition include Markus Zusak, an Australian author known for his international best-sellers such as The Book Thief; Francesca Beard, a London-based writer and performance poet; American television host and author Padma Lakshmi and Indian author Ashwin Sanghi. Bhutan will be represented by Kyabje Khedrup Rinpoche Ugyen Tenzin Thinley Lhendup, ace photographer and filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji, Khenpo Sonam Bumdhen of the Central Monastic Body, and front-runners of the Bhutanese fashion world, Chimmi Choden and Chandrika Tamang. Festival Co-Director and Founder of Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy, Siok Sian Dorji said, Over the past seven years, Mountain Echoes has achieved tremendous positive feedback in Bhutan and encouraged participation from people across the country. Masterpieces on canvas, through music and performances, or literature, there's something for everyone. The festival as always is free for everyone to attend. Bhutanese author and Festival Co-Director Tshering Tashi added, "Over the years, the festival has boosted tourism here whilst also giving the people of Bhutan a window to global literature. 2017 will see an increase in the number of Bhutanese delegates at the festival and we are excited to offer the world a glimpse into our varied cultural heritage through the numerous gatherings planned. Prayaag Akbar, award winning journalist and author of the bestselling book Leila; leading mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik, Sahitya Akademi Award winner Jerry Pinto and Sharanya Manivannan, author of the critically acclaimed The High Priestess Never Marries: Stories of Love and Consequence are also expected to attend. The event, an initiative of the India-Bhutan Foundation, in association with Indias literary consultant Siyahi, is presented by the Jaypee Group and powered by Rajasthan Government's Department of Tourism. Festival Co-Director Pramod Kumar KG, Managing Director of Eka Archiving Services Pvt. Ltd, a museum consulting firm said, Mountain Echoes goes beyond just literature and books. It is a festival that celebrates ideas, creativity, and culture. Each year we aim to make the festival bigger than last year, curating a program that is enriching and inspiring. This year will be no different as the eighth edition promises to keep audiences engaged through a series of thought provoking workshops and sessions. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Eastern Himalayas, Mountain Echoes literary festival's panel of advisors includes Bhutans Secretary of Ministry of Information and Communications Dasho Karma W Penjor, authors Kunzang Choden and Malvika Singh, publisher Meru Gokhale, Member of Parliament Pavan K Varma, and development specialist and writer Sonam Wangmo Jhalani. To know more, visit http://www.mountainechoes.org/ The filmmakers of the biopic All Eyez on Me hope the movie gives audiences a better idea of the genius of Tupac Shakur while telling a bit of a cautionary tale. The world feels Tupac contradicted himself over and over again, says Eyez producer L.T. Hutton, who had been a friend of the rapper and has been working on bringing the story to the screen for nearly a decade. We give Tupac a chance to explain himself. The film, which hits screens Friday on what would have been the rappers 46th birthday, doesnt try to solve his murder. Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996 while in a car with record mogul Suge Knight. The goal was to tell the events that led to Pac being in the car the night he was killed, says director Benny Boom, who was an aspiring rapper himself before moving to film. Shakur was only 25 when he died. His mother, who raised him, and his father were members of the Black Panther Party, and he was named after a Peruvian revolutionary. The rapper lived in New York City before moving to Baltimore as a teen and attending a public arts school with Jada Pinkett (pre-Smith), with whom he remained friends throughout his life. Uprooted before he graduated, his family moved to the Bay Area, and he soon became involved in the Oakland rap scene, where he got his first break. His career took off in 1991. More than 75 million of his records have been sold over the years. Shakurs lyrics often reflected concerns of the black community while making social-justice ideas accessible. He was always writing poems and stories, notes Demetrius Shipp Jr., the 28-year-old unknown who plays Shakur in Eyez. There was so much creativeness flowing from him at all times. The first thing audiences will notice about Shipp in the role is his uncanny resemblance to the rapper. Even as a kid in Carson, his friends call him Pac. His father was a record producer who worked on one of Shakurs last songs. At a friends urging, the actor made an audition tape in 2011 for the role, which included rapping and performing a speech that Shakur had made to reporters. Though the filmmakers were interested, they werent ready yet, and neither was Shipp. I was 22 then and not necessarily aware of the magnitude of what was needed to tackle the role. It wouldnt be until late 2015 when Shipp was officially cast. The thing about having an unknown actor is that there is no baggage, says Boom, whose real name is Douglas. (He took the stage name during his rap days.) Demetrius is so fresh that it helps the audience to really connect. Its like having Tupac for Juice, which is a great performance because it was so raw. Thats what Demetrius was for this movie. The 1992 film Juice was Shakurs first starring role. He would star in John Singletons Poetic Justice the next year, but six arrests beginning in 1993 would derail his film career. Most damning was a sexual-abuse charge for which Shakur would serve nine months in prison. The rapper, who was recovering from gunshot wounds at the time of the sentencing, both apologized to his victim, saying he had lost focus, and said that he hadnt committed a crime. Eyez doesnt gloss over any of this. The film does draw from other accounts of what happened at the time, including things Pinkett Smith and Snoop Dogg said, but Hutton didnt want to re-interview people remembering through the haze of time instead, the filmmakers relied on research for the script. Aside from Tupac and Biggie, almost everyone else is still alive, including the young lady who accused him of rape. So we were careful with the way we told the stories. Biggie Smalls, the rapper Christopher Wallace, was also known as the Notorious B.I.G. Considered a rival of Tupac, Wallace died in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles a little more than six months after Shakur was killed. The director says there was more than ego and competition in the pairs relationship. Tupac and Biggie did have a real friendship. It wasnt just a rivalry. Hutton says part of why it took so long to get Eyez made was securing the rights to songs and financing a $38 million investment. "For I was hungry and you gave me to eat. In Truth I tell you in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me." Matthew 25 Last Sunday at Mass, Father T (Monsignor Telthorst) centered his homily on how we feed the hungry. Later, we watched a video from Bread for the World foundation. As I watched, my thoughts drifted to the activities going on in our parish hall at the same time. Several volunteers were sorting the canned goods, paper and laundry products, shampoos, soaps, etc. that had been collected for the last three weeks for our semi-annual food drive for the Rock Church. This is one of the programs we have participated in our parish since its inception. When Mary, Mother of the Church was built in 1971 we were extremely blessed to have it founded by the Redemptorists the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. The Redemptorists were founded by St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori in Scala, Italy in 1732. The orders goal was to mission among the people, especially those who are marginalized." The current order now ministers in more than 77 countries around the world. Our first pastor, Father Ed Nugent decided to link us with another of their churches St. Alphonsus Rock Catholic Church. The Rock as it is affectionately known is called this because it was the first stone church built in St. Louis in 1867 and is located on North Grand avenue down the street from the Fox Theatre. As our sister parish, we share with them many connections, most notably our monthly food collection and semi-annual food drive. After Mass, I went downstairs with my bag of canned goods and spoke to some of the volunteers, Lori Fick, Nancy Forsythe, and Mary Scalzo. As they sorted, they shared their thoughts on why they worked with this particular program. Forsythe moved to the parish in 1980 and began working with the food collections. She said, I have always had a place to live and food to eat. I needed to give back to others who needed our help. This was my way of giving back. Scalzo and her family moved in the parish in 1983 and was also drawn to this program. She wanted to be a role model for her three children and often brought them to help with the sorting. More than 30 years later, her children all live in different states and they each volunteer at their parish in their own food collection program. Fick explained that besides the monthly food collection, the semi-annual food drives were held in May and December to ensure that the children would have available food during those times that they were out of school during summer and winter breaks. The children were eligible for the breakfast and lunch meals during the school year but had no resources during school breaks. These two drives helped to stock their pantries during those crucial times. We also donate $500 in meat. In 2010, we added a new program, the Mary, Mother of the Church/St. Vincent de Paul conference. In Paris, France, 1833, Frederic Ozanam, a young student revived a student organization that had been suspended during their revolutionary war. A fellow student challenged him and said that the Catholic Church had done good things in the past but what do you do now?" This spurred Frederic to organize the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, in honor of their patron. St. Vincent de Paul was known as The Apostle of Charity and Father of the Poor. The organization came to the St. Louis in 1845 and was first established at the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France popularly known as The Old Cathedral. The Society is comprised entirely of women and men volunteers, who take no compensation. They offer person-to-person service, visiting homes with offers of food, clothing, utility assistance, rent, prescriptions, medical needs, shelter and teaching how to escape poverty. There are currently over 100,00 volunteers in the United States. We have also established our own food pantry at MMOC to assist people in our own community. One in six children in the United States lives in a family that struggles with hunger. Poverty-focused development assistance is less than 0.5 percent of our federal budget and domestic nutrition programs are less than 3 percent. Investing in anti-hunger programs save money for the future, lift many out of poverty and help end hunger. John 6 reads: "I am the Bread of Life. No one who comes to me will ever hunger." We help feed the body. Jesus feeds the soul. Anton has a Ph.D in educational studies from St. Louis University and lives in South County, where she attends the Mary, Mother of the Church parish. She is a regular Faith Perspectives contributor on STLtoday.com/religion. Darjeeling, June 15 (IBNS) : Amid escalating unrest in the Darjeeling hills, West Bengal police on Thursday raided the office of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurungas and recovered a huge cache of weapons, reports said. Weapons like crossbows, arrows, knives and machetes were recovered from the office. In protest against the crackdown, the GJM called an indefinite shutdown in the hills. The development comes a day after Gurung said the agitation for a separate Gorkhaland will continue and asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling. Last week, violence broke out in the hills with the GJM going for an agitation during the visit of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her cabinet colleagues and a host of high officials. The GJM, gradually being threatened with the rise of TMC in the hills, was protesting against Bengali being made compulsory in schools. Going on a rampage, GJM supporters had attacked police, torched vehicles and damaged public and private property. The agitation took a turn for the worse as the GJM revived its demand for separate statehood for Darjeeling and threatened to prolong the stir. . Meanwhile, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) has severed its ties with the TMC and joined hands with the GJM. Many popular Mexican street foods tortillas, esquites, pozole are based on corn, a crop originally cultivated by ancient peoples around what is now Oaxaca, Mexico. Pierde Almas Ancestral Corn Whiskey is distilled from native corn grown in that Mexican state. Thirty-five of the approximately 60 distinct varieties of native corn still thrive in Oaxaca, and Pierde Almas has a goal of promoting biological and cultural diversity by ensuring the survival of these indigenous species. Pierde Almas whiskey is unaged hooch, exhibiting greener, more herbaceous flavors than the analogous moonshine of the rural U.S., and you can taste the corn. Jonathan Barbieri, an artist and owner of Pierde Almas, says that when Mexicans try his whiskey, they ask Whats that aroma? Its so familiar! I say, Its your childhood, the smell of tortillas ballooning up over a wood fire on a hot comal. Sierra Norte Single Barrel Whiskey, made with native black corn from Oaxaca, is another brand to look for. Aged in wood, this whiskey is dark with buttery, caramel-like vanilla flavors. Both brands have been introduced within the past year in the U.S. Ancestral corns used by Pierde Almas and Sierra Norte are very different from the corn grown in the U.S. Jay Schroeder, who previously managed the bar at Logan Squares Mezcaleria Las Flores, says, In the U.S., when we think of corn, we think of sweet corn. In Mexico, the vast majority of corn is field corn, closely related to the ancient plants from which all corn came. Over hundreds of years of human domestication, several different varieties emerged. Many of these are different colors, such as deep purple or rusty red. Schroeder has mixed emotions about the cultivation of these native types of corn for whiskey. The idea behind both Pierde Almas and Sierra Norte is coming from a good place, he said. The idea is to promote the growth of ancestral corn varietals, but he added, Selling corn for whiskey production is replacing growing corn for subsistence. Barbieri explains that his whiskey company was founded on the premise that if we could create a demand for native corn grown by small farmers, we might fortify and defend the rich biodiversity and heritage in the face of mono-cropping and the wind-driven pollen of genetically modified strains that threaten to destroy this great, 6,500-year-old patrimony. I never visited the little observatory that my Collinsville High School debating team partner, Tim Brown, and his father set up in some woods to gaze at the cosmos. Frankly, I thought that the sky, which had fascinated Tim since childhood, was rather boring. When youve seen one star, I figured, youve seen them all. His father, Jim Brown, was an English professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville who would later serve as chancellor of the whole Southern Illinois University system. But in those woods in the late 1960s, Jim was a devoted dad encouraging a motivated son. Although I lacked that particular motivation, even my eyes will be cast upward in about 9 weeks, when the moon passes in front of the sun hereabouts and plunges daylight briefly into night. A total solar eclipse will occur shortly after noon Aug. 21. How big a deal is this? I called Tim to ask. His interest in the heavens did not end at that homemade observatory. Tim Brown went on to be a world-class astronomer and, as luck would have it, one of the foremost experts on the sun. (These days, he works mostly on creating instruments for exploration, and in some other celestial pursuits.) His simple advice: You need to see this. As eclipse excitement grows, so do cautions about eye safety On Aug. 21, millions of people across the United States will have the opportunity to view a Tim has seen two, both back in the 1970s, and recalls them as like a religious experience. He added, Even a near-eclipse of 95 percent would not be the same. Many of us probably have seen a total eclipse of the moon, which occurs when the Earth gets in the way of the sunlight. Explained Tim: A lunar eclipse is cold pancakes with no syrup compared to this. Observers will experience a midday darkness comparable to a moonlit evening, Tim explained. It will be too dark to read. The stars will appear. A dramatic corona will circle the blacked-out sun. There will be a twilight-like appearance at the horizon all the way around. The temperature might fall 5 degrees. It makes no sound, of course, but Tim recalled, I thought I should hear it. It was so spectacular that it felt like it should involve more of my senses. For the record, the event has little significance to researchers, since space-based equipment provides a better view of the sun. He said, The most important thing about the eclipse is that it captures peoples interest in the physical world. It is causing excitement around here, given that the last one here was in 1442, before Christopher Columbus was born. There can be up to seven solar eclipses a year somewhere on Earth, but the paths are so narrow and so much of the planet is oceans or otherwise remote that relatively few people get to see one. Some are partial, with the moon not large enough in the sky to cover the whole sun. This will be the grand kind, amazing for its accessibility as it tracks southeast from Oregon to South Carolina. The center line of the 70-mile-wide path will cross Missouri just above Kansas City and exit just below St. Louis. It will enter Illinois over Chester and pass over Vienna before exiting north of Metropolis. Public safety officials in Missouri and Illinois are bracing for throngs of visitors who may clog highways and overburden services. But what I write here is in no way a warning. I am specifically not advising you to plan carefully or make sure you can provide for your own needs. Others may say those things, but I shall not. My reluctance dates to 1999, when Pope John Paul II visited St. Louis something almost as rare as a solar eclipse. I wrote then that nervous police were worried based on a papal visit to Denver that gridlocked motorists might be deprived of food and medical care. The St. Louis turnout ended up lighter than expected. My columnist colleague Bill McClellan whimsically suggested in print that my story had scared people away. I whimsically responded in print that obviously I had saved lives. So this time, I say yall come to the eclipse. There will be plenty of room. Wide open highways. Abundant food. Plentiful restrooms. A hospital every 100 yards. But I will provide this downer: Historically, the St. Louis area is overcast on about 20 percent of its Aug. 21sts, and has precipitation at some point on 29 percent of them. I hereby disavow responsibility if the show is spoiled by clouds or rain. In the worst case, if you are willing to settle for cool, dry pancakes, there will be a total lunar eclipse to see here Jan. 31. Or you could wait for the next total solar eclipse. Its expected back in the St. Louis area in 2505. ST. JACOB An Arizona man in a classic car was killed in a head-on crash on Illinois Route 4 Thursday morning. Investigators with the Illinois State Police are investigating the four-vehicle crash that happened at Ellis Road, south of U.S. 40, about 7:30 a.m. Authorities identified the deceased man as Pasqual L. Rodolpho, 57, of Waddell, Ariz. Rodolpho was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Illinois State Police trooper Calvin Dye Jr. No one else was injured. Rodolpho was northbound in a 1949 Plymouth sedan when a 2002 Ford pick-up truck pulling a boat in the southbound lanes encountered slowed traffic. The pickup struck the rear of a southbound 2004 Honda, then crossed into the northbound lanes, where it hit Rodolpho's Plymouth head-on. A northbound tanker truck then hit the Ford. Route 4 was closed for about six hours as authorities investigated and cleaned up the scene. The other drivers involved were Ryan J. Krider, 23, of Chillicothe, Ill., who was in the Ford pickup; Neil E. Vollmar, 46, of Edwardsville, in the Honda; and Allan S. Gieseking, 48, of Highland, in the tanker truck. JERSEYVILLE The police officer who was wounded in a shootout with a burglary suspect on Tuesday was recovering from multiple gunshot wounds, police said Wednesday. The officer, identified Wednesday as Nathan Miller, 30, of the Jerseyville Police Department, was among a group of officers responding to a burglary alarm downtown about 1 a.m. Tuesday. The alarm came from DJs Pub and Grill, which was closed. The officers encountered Austin Durham, 24, leaving the building, police said. After noticing the officers, Durham ran for several blocks. When Durham reached a point where he had to climb over a fence to continue fleeing, Miller caught up with him. Police said Durham began shooting at Miller, who shot back after being struck by bullets. Durham was shot four times, according to Jersey County Coroner Larry Alexander, and later pronounced dead at Jersey Community Hospital. He was from Carrollton, in nearby Greene County, authorities said. Miller was still in the ICU at St. Louis University Hospital on Wednesday but was recovering from his injuries, authorities said. Miller has been with the Jerseyville department since 2014 and worked as a police officer in St. Louis for three years before that. Jerseyville police and the Illinois State Police were investigating the shooting. The bar is only a few blocks from the Jerseyville Police Department, and the Jersey County sheriffs office is a few blocks in a different direction. Jerseyville is about 40 miles north of St. Louis. ST. LOUIS The Missouri Civil War Museum in Jefferson Barracks is claiming ownership of the controversial Confederate statue in Forest Park, but city officials maintain they have control over both the structure and its removal. Citing a 1912 city ordinance giving the United Daughters of the Confederacy the green light to erect and maintain the monument in the citys largest public park, museum executive director Mark Trout said the organization signed over the rights to the museum on Tuesday. Its the same deed of gift form that we require for any artifact, Trout said. St. Louis officials have discussed taking down the memorial since 2015, but its proved to be a political and logistical challenge. Its also sparked a debate similar to those surrounding other Confederate monuments throughout the country, with some residents fighting to protect them as pieces of American history and others contending they are painful reminders of white supremacy. The museum has tried to take control of the St. Louis monument before, when a committee formed by former Mayor Francis Slay began exploring the possibility of moving it. In letters to committee members in 2015, Trout expressed the museums interest and asked the city to relinquish its current responsibility and liability of preserving the Confederate Monument at Forest Park by transferring the full ownership of the monument to our institution. But a potential deal fell through when the city wanted a say in how the monument would be displayed in the future. St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson shares that position, said her spokesman, Koran Addo. If youre taking it down because you consider it offensive ... you dont want it to go to a place where it would be celebrated, Addo said on Wednesday. Trout said he has no hostility toward the city, but the museum wouldnt allow St. Louis leaders to have influence over how the memorial would be featured down the line. There is not a museum in this world that doesnt have some sort of controversial, divisive item or artifact in their collections. Thats part of preserving history, he said. The moment we have governments telling museums how and why they can do things, were in trouble. The museum would consider legal action if the city doesnt forfeit the monument, Trout said. The city argues it has the right to say whats in its public parks. Its our position that the city is in control of the monument, Addo said. At an unrelated news event Monday, Krewson said taking down the 38-foot structure a process that requires carefully moving and transporting 14 different pieces would help the community move forward. If theres a good thing to come out of this, its that weve had a lot of discussion about this that we may not have had, Krewson said. Meanwhile, city aldermen are considering a bill that would require any Confederate monuments in city parks to be removed within 120 days of the bill becoming law while prohibiting any other Confederate memorials in St. Louis public parks in the future. The measure also would mandate the renaming of Confederate Drive in Forest Park to Scott Joplin Drive, in honor of the famed ragtime music composer, and require the use of private dollars to remove existing Confederate memorials. In addition to grappling with a tight budget, leaders and activists have argued that the black community shouldnt have to foot the bill to remove what they feel is a monument to slavery. Fundraising efforts have been launched by St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones, whose GoFundMe campaign has generated more than $17,000, and the Missouri Civil War Museum, which began accepting contributions on its website on Friday. Addo said Wednesday the removal process would be funded almost entirely with private donations. The removal process could begin this week, he said, but the monument would likely not come down until next week at the earliest. Kevin McDermott of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. New Delhi, Jun 15 (IBNS): The Supreme Court (SC), on Thursday, issued notice to the Union government based on pleas challenging the government's notification banning sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter, according to media reports. The apex court has asked the Union government to reply within two weeks. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 11, media reported. On May 26, the Union Ministry of Environment issued the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017. According to the notification, No person shall bring cattle to an animal market unless upon arrival he has furnished a written declaration signed by the owner of the cattle stating the name and address of the owner of the cattle, with a copy of the photo identification proof. Giving details of the identification of the cattle and stating that the cattle has not been brought to market for sale for slaughter. The notification raised countrywide debates on the issue, According to media reports, states such as Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tripura have said they are against the implementation of the notification as it would affect the livelihood of many people. A petitioner approached the highest court saying that the notification was not only "discriminatory" and "unconstitutional" but also impinged upon a cattle trader's right to free trade. On May 30, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court issued an interim stay on the implementation of Central government's rules banning the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter at animal markets. JEFFERSON CITY Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens administration is signaling that the governor wants even tougher restrictions on abortions than those endorsed by the Senate early Thursday morning. The governor, who was in Washington on Thursday, did not specifically say he was unhappy with the Senate version, but his top policy advisor tweeted that he was hopeful the House would beef up the legislation as part of a special session on abortion called by the rookie chief executive, a Republican. The bill passed by the Senate tonight is a good start, Greitens policy director Will Scharf wrote on Twitter. Looking forward to seeing how the House can substantially improve it to protect life! After a day of closed-door negotiations, the Senate voted 20-8 to nullify a St. Louis ordinance that bans discrimination based on the procedure. The measure also includes stricter regulations, including annual inspections of abortion clinics. Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said the Senate version was the product of intense bargaining among senators, some of whom are not happy with Greitens for calling the special session. If the House changes the measure, it would require the Senate to return to Jefferson City, triggering additional debate and more friction between senators and the governor. Richard told the Post-Dispatch that the final bill was a compromise that was reached without having to use a parliamentary maneuver to force a vote. You can only do what you can do, Richard said. We did the best we could do with what we had. The measure approved by the Senate would give the state attorney general power to prosecute violations of abortion laws. To address concerns from local prosecutors, senators said the attorney general must give 10 days notice before acting. The legislation also requires abortion clinics to submit fetal tissue samples to a pathologist within five days. The pathologist would then have 72 hours to respond. Currently there are no deadlines. It also would give authority to the state Department of Health and Senior Services to review fetal tissue reports. The proposed changes come as Missouri is already among the most stringent states when it comes to abortion restrictions. Women, for example, must wait 72 hours after receiving counseling before getting an abortion. The state also bans abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The House, meanwhile, is poised to take up the Senate bill in a committee on Monday, with an eye on moving a measure to the full House on Tuesday. In a separate tweet, Scharf said it was great working with pro-life leaders in the Senate like Sens. Andrew Koenig of Manchester, Bob Onder of Lake Saint Louis, Paul Wieland of Imperial, Ed Emery of Lamar, Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau and Dave Schatz of Sullivan. Disappointed in others, Scharf later tweeted. Richard said those comments appeared to be a slap in the face of other senators who voted for the measure, including Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane. Riddle had been absent from the negotiations for most of the day Thursday while she recovered from double knee replacement surgery. But, at midnight, she was brought to the Capitol to cast her vote. She was taking her health in jeopardy, Richard said. A gunman on Wednesday killed three people at a UPS facility in San Francisco before killing himself, Assistant Police Chief Toney Chaplin told reporters. Two other people were shot and survived, he said. The gunman fatally shot himself when confronted by police, authorities said. Police have not released the names of the gunman or the victims. Officers responded to a report of an active shooter about 8:55 a.m. local time (11:55 a.m. ET) at the UPS San Francisco Customer Center, a couple of blocks east of Franklin Square. The package sorting and delivery facility employs 350 people. Officers arrived to learn the suspect was still inside the building, Chaplin said. A police "contact team" soon found him armed with an assault pistol, the assistant chief said. "The suspect put the gun to his head and immediately discharged the weapon," he said. No officer fired a shot during the confrontation, according to Chaplin. UPS spokesman Steve Gaut released a statement saying that six employees were involved in a "shooting incident" but that the company cannot provide any identifications until the police investigation is complete. Chaplin said that although the suspect was wearing a UPS uniform, investigators have yet to confirm whether he was an employee. Chaplin said authorities don't know at his point whether the shooter targeted victims. Earlier, Chaplin said there is no indication the shooting was terror-related, without providing a motive. Five other people were injured, likely during the evacuation, he said. Police have completed the search for additional victims. Authorities have interviewed all witnesses and are talking to the victims' families, he said. A woman named Michelle, who did not want to provide her last name, was walking to work across the street from a UPS facility when she saw several UPS employees running down the street. They told her to run because there had been a shooting, she told CNN, explaining she ran about a block with the workers. "I was confused. They crossed the street and when they got to me, they said, 'Run, there is a shooter,' so I started to run with them," she said. "Several of them said it was a driver they worked with who had a gun and opened fire. I feel terrible for the people hurt and for the UPS team that was there but survived." Antonio Salic told CNN he was working in a house across from the UPS building when he heard shots fired. "I peeked out the window," he said. "I saw people getting out (of the building), and they were wounded. A lot of people were running." The construction worker said he also saw people on the roof with their hands up, letting police know they were unarmed. "Police approached and they were taken to a safe place," he said. In its statement, UPS said the company wasn't immediately sure of the status of the survivors who were taken to the hospital. "The company is saddened and deeply concerned about affected employees, family members and the community we share," the statement said. Aerial footage showed police leading dozens of people, many in matching brown work uniforms, out of a building. A tactical vehicle arrived shortly thereafter. The site of the shooting was in the Potrero Hill area, a largely residential neighborhood. The shooting was also not far from a Whole Foods market and the brewery that makes Anchor Steam beer. Residents were warned to avoid the area because of heavy law enforcement activity. CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton, Stella Chan, Sonya Hamasaki, Gisela Crespo, Scott Glover, Eric Levenson and Darran Simon contributed to this report. New Delhi, June 15 (IBNS) : Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been asked by its own Government to pay more than Rs. 27 lakh as rent for the party office building it has been "llegally occupying", an NDTV report said. The notice has been served by the Public Works Department (PWD) which asks for the payment of Rs. 27,73,802. According to reports, in April, the civic body had sent notice to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the chief of AAP, asking him to immediately vacate the party office. The contention of the corporation was that the building was allotted in violation of rules. NDTV says quoting its sources that Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has cancelled the allotment. The AAP Government cleared the allotment in 2015 - as part of a policy for allotment of land to state parties - and later gave itself the party office. The bungalow that the party took up was earlier allotted to Asim Ahmed Khan, then Delhi minister, who was sacked over corruption charges. AAP has said that it will explore its legal options as other political parties too had been allotted bungalows to use as office space, NDTV says. A simple solution seems available for solving the mystery of why the St. Louis County Council cut ties with auditor David Makarewicz and then secretly gave him a $50,000 settlement that included a gag order. Council members should lift the gag order and let him talk. County residents deserve to hear what Makarewicz has to say. The unusual step of paying a settlement to a public employee and tying it to a gag order is baffling. The Missouri Constitution prohibits counties and cities from providing extra compensation to employees after their service has been completed. But County Counselor Peter Krane, who negotiated and signed the agreement, told Post-Dispatch reporter Stephen Deere that the payment was a settlement of a doubtful and disputed claim. Its a potential claim, Krane said. We set forth where we believe it may originate. Attorney doublespeak? A potential claim or a doubtful and disputed claim? In the settlement, Makarewicz agreed not to sue for age discrimination and not to enter any county property without clearance from security. If he poses a threat, the public deserves to know. Conduct the peoples business in broad daylight and people wouldnt have to wonder. Dont hide Makarewicz, 59, a political appointee who was kept on after his term expired in 2015. Un-gag him and let him shed some light. It appears the settlement may have been engineered so Council Chairman Sam Page, who initiated the process against Makarewicz, could replace him with his longtime buddy, Mark Tucker, 47. St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger, a certified public accountant, questioned Tuckers qualifications, saying he has no accounting experience. None. The auditors job is to examine St. Louis Countys $650 million budget, watch over county contracts and keep tabs on financing. It is an important function in safeguarding public dollars and making sure money is spent properly. Stenger has the most to lose by letting Makarewicz speak up, since the former auditors settlement came amid allegations that Stengers campaign donors benefited from contracts. Stenger denies steering business their way and says he supports letting Makarewicz speak. Stengers office last month cited a hiring freeze and blocked hiring an internal auditor to serve under Tucker. Page used that to attack Stenger, accusing his administration of undermining the auditors office in violation of county and state law. The auditors office is budgeted for three positions but one has been vacant for years. An external audit from 2015 recommended that the county consider additional staffing or external resources. Stenger said the auditors office functioned well with two people and that Page wanted to hire more auditors to compensate for Tuckers lack of experience. Something doesnt smell right in the county government center. Freeing Makarewicz to talk might clear up the whiff of scandal. The Anthropocene is the name for a new geological epoch in which humanity has become a dominant global force re-shaping the geological, biological and atmospheric dynamics of Earth. This means big challenges but also many opportunities. Ever-increasing technological progress and human development are opening up novel and exciting opportunities for addressing some of these key challenges. There is a need for alternative visions of the future that go beyond the typical narratives of collapse and dystopia. Seeds of Good Anthropocenes With this goal in mind, the Seeds of Good Anthropocenes initiative aims to collect and develop a suite of alternative visions for Good Anthropocenes positive futures that are socially and ecologically desirable, just, and sustainable. The objective is to counterbalance prevailing dystopic visions of the future that may be inhibiting our collective ability to move creatively towards a better trajectory for the Earth and humanity. This initiative is a collaboration between the Stockholm Resilience Centre, McGill University in Canada, and the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST) at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The project is one of the Future Earth Fast Track Initiatives, and is also part of the Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS). A key factor in this endeavour are the Seeds - mostly small-scale, experimental projects, organizations and initiatives that employ new ways of thinking or doing and exist at the margin of the current world. These can be new social institutions, technologies, or frameworks for understanding the world. Over the past two years, these Seeds have been collected in a database through global online surveys and a number of workshops, funded by Swedbio in Sweden. Creative visioning Now the Seeds have been used as a foundation upon which to build better futures. In a first exploratory workshop co-hosted by the GRAID programme and the CST, a diverse group of over 20 scientists, artists, and change makers were brought together in November 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa. Four groups of participants were formed, each starting with a set of three very different Seed projects and initiatives. Based on their Seeds, each group was tasked with imagining what southern Africa would be like if these Seeds were to grow, combine and become the new normal. Throughout the workshop the participants were actively encouraged to think outside the box and stretch their imaginations. Darjeeling, June 15 (IBNS) : Hours after the raid in Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) office, GJM activists clashed with police on Thursday, injuring at least thee law keepers and went on a rampage, setting fire to vehicles and Government buildings in Darjeeling district. The fresh violence that erupted on the fourth day of GJM's indefinite shutdown, prompted police to resort to lathicharge and lob tear gas shells to control the situation. In the morning, a huge police force, led by Darjeeling SP Akhilesh Chaturvedi, carried out a raid at GJM party office at Patlebas and claimed to have recovered a huge cache of weapons and cash. Following the raid, GJM supporters started brick batting policemen at Patlebas and Singmari. Few policemen were injured in the skirmish. Several police vehicles and an SUV of a private news channel were ransacked and then set on fire by strike supporters at Patlebas area. The strikers allegedly set a sericulture office and a Government-owned tourist lodge on fire at Reshambari and Kalimpong respectively. A heavy police force along with RAF and CRPF rushed to the violence-hit areas and the cops restored to lathicharge and lobbed tear gas shells to bring the situation under control. Darjeeling SP Akhilesh Caturvedi told IBNS, "We raided GJM office at Patlebas and recovered several arrows, modern mechanised bows, prohibited arms, explosives including contrabands, night vision binocular, wireless device and huge amount of cash. We have booked two people." "We have deployed heavy forces to the areas where GJM supporters are trying to trigger violence. Situation is under control now," Chaturvedi said. Meanwhile, the GJM leadership has claimed that the recovered arrows and bows a part of the hill's tradition and not meant to attack anyone. ADG (law & order) of WB Police, Anuj Sharma, however, told IBNS that the weapons and explosives were stored there to attack security personnel. "Our raids at several locations in Darjeeling hills are underway and will continued in future. Strike supporters are trying to prevent police from doing their duties and they are attacking cops. Police action will be strengthened to restrain the situation," Sharma added. A senior police official confirmed that two GJM leaders, Binod Pradhan and Karuna Gurung, were arrested from Kalimpong and Kurseong respectively on Thursday. Senior IPS officer Javed Shamim told IBNS, "Police marches are currently underway in Darjeeling hills. Situation is under control now, no more violence has been reported." (Reporting by Deepayan Sinha) IBB Consulting: Majority Of Paid OTT Users Willing To Spend More On Existing Subscriptions, Add New Ones New consumer research and insight from IBB Consulting reveals engagement with paid OTT, plans to add and spend on new services, and interest in live OTT subscription content. PHILADELPHIA( ) IBB Consulting, a premier consulting firm guiding business and technology innovation at the convergence of media, broadband, and mobility, today announced its latest insights into the market for paid OTT or SVOD services. In a survey of 1,051 U.S. online consumer adults that subscribe to at least one paid OTT service, IBB found that a majority of SVOD subscribers (61%) are willing to spend $2 or more to keep their favorite service and (81%) are willing to spend to add a new service that had content they found interesting. Details about these findings are available in the report Paid OTT Video Services: Research & Insights Into Growth Opportunities & Consumer Behaviors, available for download via IBBs website. IBB Consultings latest research and analysis of the paid OTT market reveals engagement with SVOD, plans to add and spend on new services, and interest in live OTT subscription content. Additional key takeaways include: More than half (51%) of paid OTT users subscribe to more than one SVOD service, with 18% paying for three or more; Younger demographics, especially millennials, are more likely than any other demographic to subscribe to three or more paid OTT services; Based on average SVOD pricing, a majority (61%) of SVOD subscribers are willing to pay at least 20% more for their favorite service; Interest in live TV is strong, with nearly half (47%) of paid streamers willing to pay beyond their current subscription costs to add live content, Millennials are more likely than any other demographic to be willing to spend on live streaming content; and 29% of paid OTT video subscribers plan to add an additional paid service within the next six months. There is continued increasing demand for SVOD, and having the right tools and data to find and engage customers when theyre ready to buy is critical in this competitive market, said Jonathan Weitz, partner, IBB consulting. When IBB works with clients on SVOD marketing strategies, we emphasize that essential components of a world-class offering are a high-quality viewing experience with compelling features and an attractive interface, instant access to a diverse set of flagship content, and easily findable ancillary programming that feels familiar but offers new content to discover. As paid OTT users evolve in their willingness to seek out and buy new services, so does their viewing behavior and demands. When it comes to finding content, one-third of users say they prefer browsing and surfing, 24% rely on suggestions from social media, 19% get recommendations online and 13% rely on either in-app recommendations or search tools. Almost half of consumers preferred discovery options require that OTT providers offer features that support a better experience, said Weitz. This means that in addition to improving how paid OTT providers market to new users, they must also take steps to ensure that offerings are easy to use. With constantly expanding libraries, strong human curation and effective recommendation engines driven by machine learning, in particular, are key to the overall SVOD customer experience. IBB Consulting advises media companies that a subscription OTT offering must either launch as a world-class offering or evolve quickly to meet this standard. Paid OTT services have the potential to become revenue centers that lay the foundation for future offerings. Commenting on the demands of market competition, Weitz said, Today, SVOD services must look incredible, function smoothly and deliver consistently outstanding customer experiences. And as OTT becomes more international, differentiation on a global scale is even more essential. This requires a solid marketing strategy for scaling user bases and mitigating churn. IBB recommends that SVOD services implement comprehensive plans that include span segmentation, programmatic, cross-channel attribution, email marketing, and push messaging and CRM. For more of IBBs insights into the OTT market opportunity visit www.ibbconsulting.com or download the full Paid OTT Video Services report here. Charts to accompany the data discussed in the report are available at https://ibbconsulting.com/ott-assets. About IBB Consulting IBB Consulting is a premier consulting firm serving top companies in wireless and mobility, broadband and media. Founded in 2001, IBBs team of senior industry experts leverages its extensive business planning, strategy and execution experience to help clients pioneer new products and services, develop innovative business models, and successfully execute business operations. IBB has worked with leading companies to conceive and grow some of the most significant strategic, marketing and operational and technology initiatives in the industry. The firm is based in Philadelphia. More information about IBB is available at www.ibbconsulting.com. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is to arrive at the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA) in Islamabad on Thursday amid tight security and an extensive protocol for his appearance before the joint investigation team (JIT) probing his family's involvement in the Panama Papers leak case. The prime minister's personal secretary will be the only one allowed to enter the FJA building with him. However the premier will face the JIT panel alone. The JIT had prepared the questionnaire for the prime minister and his children last month. It questioned Hussain Nawaz, the PMs elder son, on May 28. Hussain has made five appearances before the JIT so far. The investigation team has also grilled the PM's younger son, Hassan. According to the notice issued to the PM, he has been called as a witness, not as an accused party in the case. Read more: Prime Minister Nawaz chairs high-level huddle prior to JIT appearance However, sources privy to the development say the JIT may ask him how he and his children acquired properties and set up various businesses in different parts of the world. Investigators may also ask the PM about the factual variations in speeches he delivered on different forums after the Panama Papers surfaced, including his address to the nation, his speech in the National Assembly and his statement before the Supreme Court. Sources said investigators may put questions developed in the light of the statements of his cousin Tariq Shafi and other witnesses. The JIT has also summoned Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in connection with the probe, while Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani, the author of the Qatari letter, has reportedly offered investigators the opportunity to come to Qatar to record his statement. Explore: Panama Case: JIT summons Captain (R) Safdar on June 24 The son-in-law of the prime minister retired Captain Mohammad Safdar has also been summoned by the JIT on June 25. Security tightened for PM's appearance In spite of PM Nawaz's directive for PML-N leaders and supporters to not converge at the FJA, a crowd has started gathering outside the security parameter in support of their leader. Also read: PML-N believes in supremacy of constitution: Marriyum Aurangzeb Banners popped up in the capital welcoming the premier in the run-up to his JIT appearance. All roads leading to the H-8/4 sector, which houses the Judicial Academy, will remain sealed for the duration of the prime minister's appearance and no civilians will be allowed to enter the area all day. About 2,500 police personnel along with paramilitary troops have been deployed in and around the area. Well-equipped police teams are manning the checkpoints and the road blockades. The sub-sector has been searched and scanned while contingents of the anti-riot unit, anti-terrorism squad and police commandos will also be deployed in and around the area. The police reserves have been put on a standby. Read more: Panama Case: JIT summons CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif Journalists and media representatives have been designated a special entrance and an enclosure at the FJA, with strict orders to not break the security parameter. . Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is chairing a high-level consultative session prior to his departure for the Federal Judicial Academy where he will be questioned by the Panama case Joint Investigation Team (JIT). Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan are attending the meeting. Dar briefed the premier over the documents he will be taking along with him, informed sources. The JIT is probing the premiers familys global money trail in light of the Supreme Court's April 20 judgment in the Panama Papers case. Extraordinary security arrangements have been put in place in and around the academy, where the JIT secretariat is based. The Islamabad Police, along with Rangers and other law enforcement personnel, have drawn up a special security and traffic plan for the premiers visit. A total of 2,668 security personnel, including 400 from the FC and 180 from the Punjab Rangers, have been deployed for the event. A security cordon has been put in place around the building, with special entry for the media only. The Islamabad Traffic Police has also issued a special traffic plan, so citizens going in and out of Sector H-8 are not inconvenienced. Kolkata, Jun 15 (IBNS): The Kolkata Police on Thursday quizzed Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel in an extortion case while Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC)'s deputy mayor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker Iqbal Ahmed was interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with Narada sting operation, officials said. After starting probe into Narada sting, CBI on June 8 served notice to TMC leader Iqbal Ahmed directing him to appear before the Central investigation agency on June 10. Later, Iqbal Ahmed sought one week time from the CBI and he along with his counsel visited CBI's office at south Kolkata's Nizam Palace on Thursday morning. A CBI source told IBNS that Iqbal Ahmed is being quizzed by the investigators since 11 am. Meanwhile, Narada News's CEO Mathew Samuel, who carried out the entire sting operation, is being interrogated by Kolkata Police at Muchipara Police Station since Thursday afternoon, in connection with an extortion case , according to officials. While entering Muchipara Police Station, Mathew Samuel told reporters that he would visit city police headquarters at Lalbazar and the offices of Enforcement Directorate and CBI after getting out from Muchipara Police Station. Meanwhile, the ED has summoned Iqbal Ahmed in connection with Narada sting money laundering case on June 21, sources said. Since March 14 last year, news portal- Narada News- released several sting operation footage, where TMCs leaders, ministers, MPs and MLAs were seen allegedly taking bribes. From the beginning, TMC leadership has claimed that the sting footage is doctored and is a conspiracy of the opposition party. After getting direction from the Calcutta High Court and Supreme Court, the CBI started probing into the case. On April 17, the investigation agency registered an FIR in connection with the case under several non-bailable sections against 12 influential leaders, cabinet ministers, MLAs and MPs of TMC and one senior IPS officer, who were allegedly seen taking bribes in the sting footage, reports said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also registered a money laundering case based on the Narada sting and the Central Economic Intelligence Agency is currently investigating the case. (Reporting by Deepayan Sinha) Darjeeling, June 15 (IBNS): Amid ongoing unrest in West Bengal's Darjeeling, Roshan Giri, a leader of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), on Thursday said that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will meet a leader of his party, media reports said. The statement came from Giri at the time when GJM is carrying out an indefinite strike in the hills of West Bengal, with the claim to form a separate state. The indefinite strike has entered into the fourth day on Thursday. Amid escalating unrest in the Darjeeling hills, West Bengal police on Thursday raided the office of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung and recovered a huge cache of weapons, reports suggested. Weapons like crossbows, arrows, knives and machetes were recovered from the office. In protest against the crackdown, the GJM called an indefinite shutdown in the hills. The development comes a day after Gurung said the agitation for a separate Gorkhaland will continue and asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling. Last week, violence broke out in the hills with the GJM going for an agitation during the visit of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her cabinet colleagues and a host of high officials. The GJM, gradually being threatened with the rise of TMC in the hills, was protesting against Bengali being made compulsory in schools. Going on a rampage, GJM supporters had attacked police, torched vehicles and damaged public and private property. The agitation took a turn for the worse as the GJM revived its demand for separate statehood for Darjeeling and threatened to prolong the stir. . Meanwhile, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) has severed its ties with the TMC and joined hands with the GJM. Guwahati, June 15 (IBNS): Security forces have apprehended seven hardcore militants of outlawed NDFB (S) and its three linkmen in Assam, officials said on Thursday. Based on specific information about moving of NDFB (S) militants, Army and Kamrup Police jointly launched operation on Wednesday and nabbed four NDFB (S) militants and three link men moving through National Highway 31. Among the nabbed militants and linkmen, four were identified as Bidyaram Brahma alias B Madai alias B Onjula, Pradeep Daimari, Gwmbwr Boro and Ansula Boro. Guwahati based defence PRO said that, the nabbed militants have been trained in 36 to 38 batches of NDFB (S). The militants were actively involved in extortion, arms smuggling and other nefarious and anti national activities, the Defence PRO said. The SDPO Rangiya and a team of Army, Red Horns Div intercepted the militants, while they were moving to undertake a bank robbery in areas of Boko . One 9mm pistol along with five live rounds and a Khukri were recovered from the apprehended militants. The apprehension of this important cadre is significant towards thwarting the subversive plans of NDFB (S). The apprehended militants and linkmen have been handed over to Rangiya Police Station on Thursday. On the other hand, Guwahati city police apprehended three more militants of the outfit group at Kamakhya railway station on Thursday. (Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath) Doha (Qatar), Jun15 (IBNS): Qatar Airwaysa, through a press release, announced that its operations to and from its Doha hub are running smoothly, with the vast majority of flights operating as per the schedule. The announcement was in the wake of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and a few other countries, severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, alleging that the country is supporting terrorism. The countries also imposed air travel ban and some even barred using of their airspace, media reports said. The airlines said that in the past week, the airline has flown approximately 1,200 flights between Doha and its network of more than 150 destinations around the globe, with 90 per cent of those flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time. The airline recently launched direct service to Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Qatar Airways' service to Nice, France, will commence on July 4, and flights to Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on July 17. Other new destinations planned for the remainder of this year and 2018 include Las Vegas (US), Canberra (Australia), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon), Medan (Indonesia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Santiago (Chile) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and others. Earlier this week the airline released its annual report for the fiscal year 2017, revealing a net profit of $541 million, a 21.7 per cent year-on-year increase. The results also show an annual revenue increase of 10.4 per cent. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: Qatar Airways global operations continue to run smoothly, with the vast majority of our network unaffected by the current circumstances. Our focus is on supporting any passengers impacted by the current situation and ensuring that we continue to deliver our award-winning service. Our network expansion continues with two new destinations launching in the next month. As far as we are concerned, it is business as usual. In light of the blockade, the airline said that it has significantly increased the operations of its global call centre and social media to ensure that customers are not inconvenienced. The airline has extended its commercial policy to ensure greater flexibility for refunds and rebooking for any passengers whose flight is impacted by the recent travel bans. The airline has also introduced new functionality on Facebook to provide customers with flexible call-back options. A Waikato dairy farming company has received seven convictions and been fined a total of $52,500 for discharging dairy effluent into the environment and breaching council abatement notices ordering a halt to unlawful discharges. The offending followed the conversion of a dry stock farm to a dairying operation. In the Hamilton District Court this week, Judge David Kirkpatrick handed down the sentence to Cazjal Farm Limited for breaches of the Resource Management Act at its Wharepuhunga farm near Otorohanga between June and October 2016. The prosecution, brought by Waikato Regional Council, followed complaints about dairy effluent entering streams on the property. The councils investigation found that the farm was converted from dry stock to an intensive dairy operation in early 2014 and, on occasion, would milk over 1000 cows, creating large volumes of dairy effluent at the cow shed and a feed pad. Due to the steepness of the land, and significant rainfall in the area, there was a need for a substantial effluent management infrastructure to protect against unwanted discharges into the environment. Unfortunately, a woefully inadequate storage facility was in place meaning that discharges of dairy effluent into the environment were inevitable, says the councils investigations manager Patrick Lynch. Despite formal direction from the council the required infrastructure was not installed until after a prosecution had commenced and four separate discharge incidents had been identified. In his sentencing decision, Judge Kirkpatrick said: I appreciate that the cost of conversion is significant, but it is not an acceptable approach to move some of that cost on to the environment by delaying the installation of a complete effluent disposal system. Trying to stop 50,000 tonne ships using small boats is silly say Port of Tauranga CEO Mark Cairns today. To me the silliest thing is, we remember five years ago we had the Rena running aground. These ships cant stop, says Mark, commenting on this mornings blockade of the Tauranga harbour entrance. (Ngai Te Rangi Iwi annouced it was blockading the port today to protest the Crowns decsion to admit Hauraki iwi representatives onto the Tauranga Moana Governance Group). If they stop (their engines) guess what happens, they end up on the centre bank. So theyre not only putting their own lives at risk, they are risking a hell of an environmental consequence, says Mark. I respect their right to peaceful protest, but to be putting a waka in the channel and thinking they are going to stop a 50,000 tonne vessel is a pretty silly thing to do. Were working with police and the harbourmaster, encouraging them to take strong action if they risk their own lives getting in the way of these vessels. But like I said, if they want to have peaceful protests on the side of the channel, thats their right. If the protesters do succeed in delaying any shipping, Ngai Te Rangi Iwi would be liable to legal action from the ship owners and operators, says Mark. Charter fees for the big container ships are in the region of $US50,000 a day, plus the ships would incur additional berthage costs all of which the iwi could be sued for. I understand the background to it, says Mark. Thats a matter they need to be taking to the Minister. And if they feel hes not listening I respect their right to peaceful protest but its pretty silly to be putting peoples lives at risk. Police were out in the entrance with the harbourmaster today speaking to the skippers of the vessels and taking photos. Protester Jack Thatcher says the blockade is not aimed at or intended to impede the port operations. Only two ships were expected to arrive today, with two departures scheduled for tonight. Theres not much shipping at all, so we are not really impeding anything," says Jack. "The whole thing is not about the port. Its about our making a statement to the Crown in regards to settlements being made that give rights to iwi outside of our area. This is just making a statement that we are unhappy. It gives them certain rights to our land, buildings, and enables them to interact within the moana in terms of local authorities. We are angry at that so we are making our statement here. It is understood that Hauraki affiliated iwi are pushing for a seat on the Tauranga Moana Governance Group currently comprising Ngai Te Rangi, Ngati Ranginui, Ngati Pukenga, plus four representatives from the three local authorities and one from the Crown. New York, June 15(Just Earth News): Conflict in Syria continues to rage with adisastrous consequencesa for civilians who continue to bear the brunt of the six-year war, the head of a United Nations-mandated human rights investigation said on Wednesday. In an update to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, appealed to the warring parties to stop fighting and get back to the negotiating table. Civilians, he said, are in the unenviable role of being the target of most of the violence, he said. In his latest update to the Human Rights Council, Pinheiro said it was his twentieth report to the body and underscored once again the unspeakable toll on civilians. The so-called de-escalation zones agreement which is guaranteed by Russia, Turkey and Iran had resulted in a discernible reduction in violence in Idlib and western Aleppo. And while that initiative along with UN-facilitated intra-Syrian talks was a step in the right direction, the enduring violence in Homs, Damascus and southern Dara'a, has not changed in nature, he explained to the Council members. Whether it be the unrestrained use of airstrikes against residential neighbourhoods, attacks against doctors and hospitals, or the use of suicide bombers that deliberately target civilians, fighting remains brutal in purpose and reprehensible in method, stated Pinheiro. Intensified airstrikes led to a 'staggering loss of life' in Raqqa He went on to note that Syrian opposition forces were continuing their assault on Raqqa city, where the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) was losing ground. Success against the terrorist group could lead to the liberation of civilians trapped in the city, including Yazidi women and girls, three years after they were captured in neighbouring Iraq to be sold as sex slaves to ISIL fighters. ISIL's abuse of the Yazidi people is nothing less than an ongoing and unaddressed genocide, Pinheiro said. Grave as this charge is, he insisted that the fight to retake terrorist strongholds should not be at the expense of the mounting number of civilians killed in airstrikes a reference to aerial attacks that had preceded the opposition forces' advance on Raqqa, and which he said had caused a staggering loss of life. Elsewhere in what remains of Syria's cities and towns, some 600,000 people remain under siege. They have been denied humanitarian aid for prolonged periods, and this has led to severe shortages of food and stunted children whose health will be affected for life, Pinheiro stated. The only way to end this suffering is to end the war, he appealed to parties involved in the conflict - and to Member States who could influence those fighting: Time and time again, warring parties and influential States have failed to capitalize on the opportunities presented by respites from hostilities. And time and again, Syrian men, women, and children pay the price for the continuation of the war. Warring parties must not let yet another opportunity pass by. The parties must press to ensure that any de-escalation in hostilities is accompanied by renewed efforts to access communities in need, to strengthen the human rights protections for all people across Syria, and to generate meaningful momentum for peace. Photo: UNICEF/UNI178367/Tiku Source: www.justearthnews.com A man had a sawn-off shotgun thrusted into his neck and was accused of being a Mongel Mob member as his son watched from the passenger seat. This is the incident that Bay of Plenty Police are appealing for any information on and are turning to the public to help. Whakatane Detective Sergeant Darren Thomas says police are investigating an incident in Whakatane on January 17 at about 8pm, in which a man and his son were threatened with a firearm. The man and his young child were driving along Lord Cobham Drive in Whakatane when they were cut off by a silver car and forced to stop. Three men, wearing bandannas across their faces, got out of the silver car and approached the victims, who remained seated in their car. A fourth man remained in the silver car. Darren says the offenders proceeded to accuse the victim of being a Mongrel Mob member and put a sawn-off shotgun to the side of his neck and cocked the trigger. At this stage the victims young child understandably became upset. He told the child to close his eyes as he thought he was going to be shot in the head and he didnt want his child to see that. The offender with the shotgun then pulled the trigger, the gun went click but did not fire. The group then walked back to the silver car laughing and drove away. This is was an incredibly distressing event for the victims and Police are determined to find the men responsible and hold them accountable, says Darren. We are working closely with the two victims and providing them with the support they need. Police believe the man was mistakenly identified as a gang member and for that reason are concerned that the offenders involved in this incident could have gone on to stop other vehicles that night. If people have experienced something similar to the incident described above, potentially witnessed such an event or have other information which may help our investigation, we ask that they contact us. This incident occurred on the same day that police were responding to tensions between rival gangs during a funeral procession through the wider Whakatane area, says Darren. Read more here. We want to reassure members of the public that we have arrested and charged more than 20 people in relation to the events that day, and are focused on trying to ensure people in the Whakatane community are safe, and feel safe. People with information in relation to this event can ring Whakatane Police on 07 308 5255 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. We encourage anyone who observes any incident which puts people at risk to ring 111 immediately, says Darren. The stunning 55.4-metre superyacht Turquoise was drawn by Dubois Naval Architects, featuring gleaming lines ideal for a breakthrough thriller looking to showcase the exclusivity of yachting lifestyle. However, with a rapidly advancing world of technology at our fingertips, we dont have to wait for Hollywood stalwart Julia Stiles to show us around during the pilot episode, as we can now step on board through VR. Click here to see for yourself. A world of luxury awaits those stepping on board, with Jacuzzi, open spaces across her exterior and a modern chic interior ideal for spending time away from the stress of terra firma. Without doubt this is a yacht that has been designed for entertaining, adds Cecil Wright & Partner broker Henry Smith. Positioning the very generous galley on the main deck means large numbers of guests can be catered for with minimal issue. The expansive sundeck lends itself to parties. I have been lucky enough to attend a few of these and the enormous sun pads and in particular the oversized Jacuzzi always come into play! Following a refit in 2014, the elegant and comfortable H2 interiors accommodate 12 guests in comfort and opulence. She boasts a stunning array of interior furnishing with a neutral color palette that offers warmth and homeliness through a seamless interior finish. Its lounge areas; a splendid merging of sharp white, pastel grey and oak trimmings welcome a contemporary twist to an otherwise classic living space. Discovering its master suite and series of guest rooms, lavish textures pay testament to the visual allure of European elegance; take its luxe blend of cappuccino with lashings of metallic, offering all the comfort of home one could desire. Available for sale with Cecil Wright & Partners and charter with TWW Yachts, Turquoise is one of the finest yachts on both the market, and the water, today. New York, June 15(Just Earth News): The African Union (AU) and the United Nations are proposing 44 per cent and 30 per cent reductions in their troop and police presence in Sudan's Darfur region as a step towards an eventual exit, a senior UN peacekeeping official told the Security Council. The reconfiguration of UNAMID is an important milestone towards the completion of its mandate, said Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations El-Ghassim Wane as he updated the 15-nation Council on the recommended changes to the Mission. The AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur, referred to by its acronym UNAMID, was formally established by the Security Council on 31 July 2007 through the adoption of resolution 1769. He stated that the level of armed hostilities remained significantly lower than in previous years, noting that a successful military campaign by the Government has reduced the rebellion to a small presence in Western Jebel Marra and that the number of inter-communal security incidents has decreased. Progress has been made also on the political front, he added. Yet, given that 2.7 million people remain internally displaced, a number of crucial grievances at the origin of the conflict and key issues related to its aftermath still needed to be addressed, he said. These circumstances require UNAMID to adjust to new realities, Wane said, explaining the proposal features a two-pronged approach combining peacebuilding and peacekeeping tasks. Most parts of Darfur require a more peacebuilding-oriented approach, while in and around the Jebel Marra, the Mission would focus on traditional peacekeeping tasks. The reconfiguration would bring the troop ceiling down to 8 battalions from the current 16, or to 8,736 troops, and the police ceiling down to 2,360 from 3,403. It would also include the closure of 11 team sites, the opening of one temporary operating base in the Jebel Marra and the withdrawal of the military from another seven team sites. Wane that the political process should have a strong focus on the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, which is now incorporated in the Constitution and contains useful provisions to address the underlying causes of conflict and to create peace dividends for the population in Darfur. Protection of civilians activities in the greater Jebel Marra area would revolve around physical protection and emergency relief, whereas in the rest of the Darfur states it will focus on livelihood issues and rule of law capacities. On the issue of inter-communal conflict, the Mission should prioritize those that have the potential to cause the highest number of causalities and derail national political processes. Wane said that the successful reconfiguration of the Mission requires the full support and cooperation of the Government of Sudan and its institutions, including to ensure that there is no security vacuum in areas vacated by UNAMID. Photo: Albert Gonzalez Farran/UNAMID (file) Source: www.justearthnews.com Students in the Auto Technology Department at East Syracuse Minoa High School have been building cars to raffle for 12 years. Over time they've restored cars, and built kit cars. Last year they restored a 1956 Ford F-100 pickup. The money they get from each raffle pays for the purchase of the next year's car. This year they've restored a 1967 Chevy Camaro, a beautiful coupe that arguably may be the finest car they've been involved with. The Camaro, built by the Auto Technology class of Ryan Beckley, is finished in High Octane Red, set off by black stripes, coincidentally similar to one of the many Camaros Chevrolet used in print advertising during 1967. Not coincidentally, 1967 was the year Chevrolet introduced the Camaro, in response to the 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang. So even though the nameplate is 50 years old this year, Camaros have been manufactured only for 43 years since production ceased in 2002, but began again in 2009 when Chevy introduced the fifth-generation car. Given the fact that Chevrolet's Camaro was brought to market three years after the Mustang made its debut, indicates that General Motors was caught off guard by Ford's introduction. One of the reason's this car is so nice is because it was in very decent condition when it was bought in Winchester, Virginia. Ryan Beckley said he found the car on Craig's List. By chance, his parents were driving south and volunteered to stop in Winchester, to look at the car. "My father called and said this is the car I should buy," he said. "He told me it was in good shape, and it would make a great project car." Beckley wasted no time buying the car and getting it to East Syracuse, where his auto tech students were waiting in anticipation. Even though the car was in good shape, that didn't mean the class took any short cuts arriving at the finished product. They disassembled the car, repaired or replaced every part and made sure everything is like new. Through contacts and partnerships, Beckley's classes have established over the years, many parts are contributed when the class undertakes a new build. For example, businesses such as Syracuse-based Saves Auto Body Supply, has contributed the paint and body work materials for many of the cars. "It's a great partnership, and we're very happy to participate," said Pat Sweeney, owner of Saves. Sweeney spoke highly of Ryan Beckley, saying he "has enthusiasm for the industry, and he teaches the proper way to fix cars." Lee Waters, of East Syracuse Chevrolet, where most of ESM's cars have been painted, said the dealership likes to participate in the program because "the project helps kids get into the business, and it's a way to show what the body shop can do." The major reason why the cars are sent out for paint is because auto painting is a highly technical process requiring an environmentally approved painting booth. Schools typically don't have the expensive DEC-approved equipment, but auto dealers do. Sweeney, of Saves Auto Body, said: "Career and technical education (CTE) is something schools got away from over the years. Automotive career paths need to be promoted." He pointed out that some auto painters, for example, "make upwards of $90,000." Programs like Beckley's "provide results for the future," Sweeney said. Another partnership that paid benefits is between the auto tech students and Old Air Products, of Fort Worth, Texas. Because the ESM class shows its car annually at the PPG Syracuse Nationals, it was able to build a friendship with a neighboring vendor at the show a few years ago, Old Air, which resulted in the company providing air conditioning for the project car each of the past two years. Beckley said he knows that not all of his students are interested in working in the auto industry, although all of his students contribute to each year's build in one way or another. "Some of the kids want this as a career, but others just want the knowledge," Beckley said. One student who wants a career in the automotive industry, is Ryan Hargraves, a senior who graduates this month. "I'm sure I want to work in the industry," he said, as he walked around the car demonstrating a great deal of knowledge about the build process. "I like seeing what happens when you put all of the work into it," Hargraves said. "You start out with nothing and it becomes something you can be proud of." All students in the class do a 15-week internship at an auto-related business somewhere in the area, a process that helps define who wants to pursue a future in the industry and who doesn't, Beckley said. Tim Shane, another senior who graduates this year, noted he appreciates going with the car to shows such as the PPG Syracuse Nationals, because it gives everyone a chance to interact with people in the car business and hobby. "They teach you new things and sometimes you teach them stuff they don't know," Shane said. Visitors to the Syracuse Nationals, July 14, 15, 16, can see the car on display in the Center of Progress building at the New York State fairgrounds. Visitors can buy raffle tickets there, too. Tickets are one for $10, three for $25, and 15 for $100. Tickets are also for sale through the mail at: East Syracuse Minoa C.H.S., Department of Automotive Technology, 6400 Fremont Road, East Syracuse, N.Y. 13057, Attn: Ryan J. Beckley. Make checks payable to: SGBC Spartan Garage Booster Club. East Syracuse Minoa High School 1967 Camaro * Built by: Students in teacher Ryan Beckley's Automotive Technology class * Engine: 327 cubic inch V-8 * Transmission: 4-speed manual * Color: High Octane Red/black stripes * Equipment: Power disc brakes/front; air conditioning; cowl induction hood; power steering * Why this car is important: It's been 50 years since Chevy introduced the Camaro in 1967 * Number of 1967 Camaros produced: 58,808 with 6-cylinder engines, 162,109 with V-8 engines You can win this car * Raffle tickets: 315-434-3313 * Winner chosen: 8 p.m., July 16, at East Syracuse Minoa High School's Spartan Garage, at the school. Winner does not need to be present. Cars built and raffled by the ESM Auto Technology class * 2006: Cobra kit car * 2007: Cobra kit car * 2008: 1968 Chevy Camaro * 2009: 1969 Pontiac Firebird * 2010: 1933 street rod * 2011: 1955 Chevy pickup * 2012: Cobra kit car * 2013: 1972 Chevy Chevelle * 2014: 1963 Buick Wildcat * 2015: 1965 Ford Mustang * 2016: 1956 Ford F100 pickup * 2017: 1967 Chevy Camaro Know about a car you'd like to see featured? Contact Kenn Peters: kpeters@twcny.rr.com. Previously from Kenn: Bruce Petrie and his 1954 Ford Crestline Victoria. More great cars and news about cars. Syracuse, NY -- A gunman who killed a Syracuse University student delivering chicken wings lost his appeal to reduce his 75-year-to-life sentence. Dominic Dennard was 23 years old in 2002 when he took three men hostage in an Ostrom Avenue apartment during a drug robbery. He was waiting for someone to return home with drugs or money. Instead, Simeon Popov, a Bulgarian student studying for a Master's degree in trombone, came to the house to deliver an order of chicken wings from a nearby pizza parlor. Dennard shot Popov in the face, killing him. In 2004, County Court Judge Joseph Fahey sentenced Dennard to 75-years-to-life in prison: 25 years to life for murder, 25 years for burglary and 25 years for robbery. "You created two of the saddest people I have ever seen in my 54 years, " the judge told Dennard at sentencing. "You destroyed Simeon Popov and you destroyed his parents' lives. You left the world a darker place as a result of that." Dennard has previously lost an appeal to have his conviction overturned on the grounds that his first trial ended in a hung jury. Dennard was convicted after a second trial. This time, he argued that Fahey illegally sentenced him to consecutive prison terms for robbery and murder. If he'd succeeded, it could have shaved 25 years off his minimum sentence. But a five-judge appellate court ruled that Fahey had discretion to sentence Dennard to consecutive prison time. The robbery conviction related to the three victims held at gunpoint and the murder conviction related to the dead SU student. Dennard could have been sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted of intentional murder during the course of a robbery. But he was acquitted of that charge. Instead, he was convicted of murder simply due to the fact someone was killed during the course of a robbery. That does not require proof of intent. AUBURN, N.Y. -- Brandon Hinman faces up to seven years in prison for violating the terms of his probation from his 2014 forgery conviction. Hinman faces numerous violations of his probation, including failure to report to probation six times between February and May, failure to report to court four times since November and failure to submit to a drug test. Hinman also allegedly provided a sample for a drug test that appeared to be tampered with, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said. Hinman appeared in front of Cayuga County Judge Thomas Leone this morning. If Hinman pleads guilty to the violations of probation, Leone said Hinman would face 2 to 6 years in state prison. If Hinman is found guilty after a probation hearing, which is scheduled for later this month, Hinman will face 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison. Hinman, 34, is the widower of Jenna Hinman, a 26-year-old Central New York mother whose battle with a rare pregnancy-related cancer and premature delivery of twin daughters captured the attention of people around the world. She died in May 2014, and is survived by her twin girls, who turned 3 in March. Hinman was arrested several months after his wife's death and charged with stealing about $45,000 worth of donations from a bank account set up to help cover medical expenses and to benefit his daughters. He was charged in July 2014 with the two felonies in connection with allegedly forging names on checks to get money from the account. He pleaded guilty in April 2015 to second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and third-degree grand larceny, both felonies. Hinman was sentenced in June 2015 to six months in jail and 5 years probation. Hinman has been in Cayuga County jail since May 15. His lawyer, David Elkovitch, argued today that Hinman's case should remain with Judge Michael McKeon, who supervises felony treatment court. Elkovitch said felony treatment court was established to help people not hurt people. "He hasn't messed up more than a lot of other people," Elkovitch said about Hinman's probation violations. Elkovitch said the only reason this case is different is because it involves Hinman. Hinman is also required to pay $45,300 in restitution. Budelmann said earlier this month that Hinman is behind on his payments. Hinman is required to pay $850 a month and has paid about $13,000 in three years. Elkovitch said that Hinman is up to date with restitution payments. He said Budelmann is incorrect with the statement that Hinman is behind on his payments. Jeff and Kim Blaisdell, Jenna Hinman's parents, are raising the twins. Kim Blaisdell said all restitution payments and all the money raised in the GoFundMe account in 2014 are being held in a trust fund for when the girls reach 21 and 25 years old. Blaisdell, who spoke with the media after court this morning, said this case is not about money. "We want justice," she said. "At the end of the day, I have two little girls at home." Hinman is due back in court for a violation of probation hearing scheduled for June 29. NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- In 2003, Kirk R. Jones became the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls without protection. Two weeks ago, Jones' body was found downriver from the falls after he apparently tried again, according to police. Jones, then 40, became the first person in recorded history on Oct. 20, 2003, to survive a plunge into the falls without being inside a barrel or other device. He was wearing only his clothes that day. His body was discovered June 2 in the Niagara River, at the mouth of Lake Ontario, said Det. Sgt. Brian Nisbet of the New York State Park Police. The location is about 12 miles from the falls. "That's the guy,'' Nisbet said when asked whether it was the same man who'd survived the falls 14 years ago. It appears Jones had gone over the falls again, Nisbet said. The U.S. Coast Guard discovered Jones' body in the Niagara River in the village of Youngstown, Nisbet said. Investigators determined Jones had been in the Niagara Falls area on April 19 and "may have been attempting a stunt by going over Niagara Falls in a large inflatable ball," Nisbet said. The stunt failed, resulting in Jones' death, Nisbet said. Police spotted the 10-foot ball, which someone could get inside, spinning in the rapids above the falls April 19, Nisbet said. It went over the falls and was recovered by the Maid of the Mist boat, he said. The ball was unmanned, he said. Police have been unable to locate Jones' relatives, Nisbet said. Jones was living in Canton, Mich., when he went over the falls in 2003. His family told reporters then that he'd planned it as a daredevil stunt. But Jones said he was trying to kill himself. He pleaded guilty in Canada to a criminal charge of unlawfully performing a stunt and mischief and was fined nearly $3,000. Canada banned Jones for life for the act. "I'm feeling very happy to be alive," Jones told reporters after appearing in court in 2003. "I ask that no one ever try such a terrible stunt again." He said then that he was done with the falls. "I understand what I did was wrong," Jones told reporters. 'You'll never see an action in Niagara waters with my name written on it again." He suffered broken ribs and a bruised spine in the 180-foot fall into the Horseshoe Falls that straddle the U.S.-Canada border. He jumped into 150,000 gallons-per-second of rushing water. Jones appeared on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" a week afterward and described going feet-first over the falls, staring into a sunny sky. He heard people screaming that there was a man in the water, he said. He felt the river moving fast toward the falls, with the sound of the rushing water getting louder. "I felt like and heard a suction -- a suction that, like a large vacuum cleaner, you suck up an insect on the counter," Jones said in the interview. "And I was actually sucked inside, immediately, inside the curtain of the falls. Inside it. And enveloped in it, actually." He recalled spiraling as he fell at a tremendous speed. He felt an "unbelievable" pressure on his head, he said in the TV interview. Jones recalled feeling pain when he crashed into a granite table at the bottom of the falls, then blacking out temporarily. When he came to underwater, he swam up to the surface and took his first breath, he said. Jones and his brother, Keith Jones, planned to write a book, tentatively titled, "You're Kidding Me: A Knucklehead's Guide to Surviving Niagara Falls." There's no evidence the book was ever published. Kirk Jones joined a Florida-based circus soon after his plunge, using his fame to get a job as a stunt performer. Jones, 53, had recently been living in Spring Hill, Fla., according to public records. His relatives could not be reached for comment. Since Jones survived in 2003, three other people have lived after going over the falls without protection. The most recent was in 2012. Contact John O'Brien anytime by email, Twitter, or at 315-470-2187. Haiyan, China, June 15(Just Earth News): An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of nuclear safety experts on Thursday completed an assessment of long-term operational safety at the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Unit 1 in China. The Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation (SALTO) review mission was requested by Nuclear Power Operations Management Co., part of China National Nuclear Power Co. (CNNP). The 12-member team, which began its in-depth review on 6 June, focused on aspects essential to the safe Long-Term Operation (LTO) of Unit 1, which was put in commercial operation in 1991. The design life of the plants Unit 1 is 30 years. Chinas National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) requires a Periodic Safety Review (PSR) to be performed every 10 years. The plant license expires in 2021. The plant intends to extend its operating lifetime to 50 years and submitted a license renewal application to NNSA in 2016. The SALTO team reviewed the plants organization and programmes related to LTO, including human resources and knowledge management. The findings of SALTO reviews are based on IAEA safety standards. The IAEA team concluded that the plant had made significant progress on ageing management and preparation for safe LTO and made several recommendations for further enhancements. The plants LTO project has addressed most of the areas recommended by IAEA safety standards, and is addressing remaining topics. The team identified several good practices and performances at the plant that will be shared with the nuclear industry globally, including: An organizational structure in place to support preparation for safe LTO. Comprehensive implementation of leak rate testing of containment isolation valves. Revalidation of time-limited ageing analyses of mechanical components. The recommendations provided by the team for improvements to LTO safety, included: The plant should make its PSR more comprehensive. The plant should establish and implement a comprehensive environmental qualification programme. The plant should implement effective ageing management programmes for civil structures and components. The plant management said it was committed to implementing the recommendations and requested that the IAEA schedule a follow-up mission in approximately two years. The team provided a draft report to the plant management. The plant and NNSA will have an opportunity to make factual comments on the draft. A final report will be submitted to the plant, NNSA and the Chinese Government within three months. The review team comprised experts from Argentina, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the USA and the IAEA. Source: www.justearthnews.com New York, June 15(Just Earth News): Expressing solidarity with Afghan people, in the wake of recent violence in the country, United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres on Wednesday underscored the Organization's full commitment to work with the Government and people of the country to build a sustainable and prosperous future for them. Peace is the solution [] the international community, the neighbouring countries [and] all those related to the Afghan crisis need to come together and understand that this is a war that has no military solution, said the Secretary-General, at a press conference in Kabul, where he arrived earlier on Wednesday. We need to have peace, he added, underscoring that at the same time, the level of humanitarian assistance to the country had to be increased and conditions needed to be created for Afghanis to be able to live in dignity. Since his time as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2005-2015), Guterres has been paying a solidarity visit to Muslim communities during the holy month of Ramadan, and his visit to Afghanistan was a continuation of his expression of solidarity with them. While in Kabul, the UN chief met with displaced men and women from the Kapisa province, now living in a settlement on the outskirts of Kabul. In their interaction, the displaced persons underscored that security remained the prerequisite for their return to their homes and that education, including for women and girls was critical for supporting themselves and their families. They also stressed their need for medical care. I have an enormous admiration for the courage and the resilience of the Afghan people, and they were very eloquently demonstrated in my meeting this morning, noted the UN chief. The Secretary-General also held bilateral meetings with Ashraf Ghani, the President of Afghanistan, as well as the country's Chief Executive Officer, Abdullah Abdullah, where they discussed cooperation between the Organization and the Government of Afghanistan as well as the security situation in the country and the need to better mobilize the international community to counter terrorism. Photo: UNAMA/Fardin Waezi Source: www.justearthnews.com Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Islamabad, June 15 (IBNS) : Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday appeared before the joint investigation team probing Panama Papers case at Federal Judicial Academy in Islamabad, Radio Pakistan said. He will record his statement and answer queries of the JIT. The JIT is is probing allegations of money-laundering against Sharif and his family. The investigation was mandated by the Supreme Court. The Prime Minister's son Hassan and Hussain Nawaz have already been summoned and questioned by the JIT in recent days. The Prime Minister reached the Academy without official protocol. Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif also accompanied him. Radio Pakistan says it is for the first time in the country's history that an elected Prime Minister has presented himself for accountability. According to state radio, the Prime Minister had asked the party leaders and activists not to gather outside the Federal Judicial Academy (F) when he will made his appearance before the investigation team. The JIT had issued call-up notice to the PM on June eight asking him to bring all relevant record. The PM has been called as a witness to record statement, not as an accused party in the case. Mobile roaming charges now dropped across 28 EU countries, for users living in an EU country for at least 8 months each year "The European Union is about bringing people together and making their lives easier. The end of roaming charges is a true European success story. From now on, citizens who travel within the EU will be able to call, text and connect on their mobile devices at the same price as they pay at home. Eliminating roaming charges is one of the greatest and most tangible successes of the EU. Over the last 10 years, our institutions have been working hard together to fix this market failure. Each time a European citizen crossed an EU border, be it for holidays, work, studies or just for a day, they had to worry about using their mobile phones and a high phone bill from the roaming charges when they came home. Roaming charges will now be a thing of the past. As of tomorrow, you will be able to remain connected while travelling in the EU, for the same price as at home. It has been a long time coming, with many actors involved. By working closely together, the European Union has delivered a concrete, positive result for European citizens. We are proud that the EU has put an end to very high roaming prices and thankful to those who showed the determination to overcome the many challenges and pursue this goal. At the same time, the EU has managed to find the right balance between the end of roaming charges and the need to keep domestic mobile packages competitive and attractive. Operators have had 2 years to prepare for the end of roaming charges, and we are confident that they will seize the opportunities the new rules bring to the benefit of their customers. The end of roaming charges is at the foundation of the EU's Digital Single Market and is another step towards building a united and sustainable European digital society, accessible for all our citizens." Image credit: uSwitch.com As of tomorrow, 15 June 2017, roaming charges in the European Union will no longer apply. President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat, on behalf of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, issued the following statement: Salesforce on Wednesday announced the Sales Cloud Lightning Partner Relationship Management app as a replacement for partner portals and electronic data interchanges that lack modern features such as built-in mobile, social analytics and AI capabilities. The PRM app has an interactive Guided Setup Wizard that lets channel managers configure, customize and deploy the app in days. It manages lead distribution, deal registration and marketing development funds, and it automatically assigns partners into meaningful tiers for targeted promotions and customized content. It also has AppExchange Components such as Xactly and NetExam. Among Sales Cloud Lightning PRMs Features: Lightning CMS Connect, which lets channel managers drag and drop existing website content, graphics and videos to keep branded partner experiences up to date; Einstein Content Recommendations, which use machine learning to recommend files such as logo graphics, product placement instructions, and pricing documentation for a new product; and Channel Marketing Automation, which lets companies build, track and analyze email campaigns using the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, to deliver 1:1 customer journeys on any device. Sales Cloud PRM is all about making your partners an extended part of your sales team and giving them the tools and information needed to accelerate deals, said Greg Gsell, senior director of Salesforce sales cloud product marketing. Its a turnkey app built entirely on the Salesforce Intelligent Customer Success Platform, which includes Service Cloud, he told CRM Buyer. Service Cloud helps companies globally deliver intelligent, conversational customer service. Partners account for one third of the average companys revenue, and more than two-thirds of revenues for companies in high-tech, manufacturing and telecom, Salesforce has found. Salesforces Rationale PRM is not new, noted Rebecca Wettemann, VP of Nucleus Research. Whats new is Salesforces approach, which brings a modern UI and AI capabilities to PRM, she told CRM Buyer. The app gives customers the advantages of Salesforces workflow automation and other tools for partner management, not just community collaboration, Wettemann said. It will improve partner stickiness for users, because in a cloud world, partners can switch alliances more easily and quickly, she pointed out. Providing them with modern tools and more ready access to support will make switching less attractive. Partner relationship management used to just be lead distribution, but now companies must deeply engage with partners to drive channel success, noted Gsell. You need PRM blended with CRM to deliver a great experience. Manufacturing companies are placing increasing emphasis on customer relationships, customer service, and new technologies such as AI, because technology makes it easier for customers to switch, said Salesforce. Einstein can help partners with content recommendations, and I can see it progressing to suggest optimum product and solution bundles, observed Cindy Zhou, principal analyst at Constellation Research. Target Market The PRM app is for any company or industry looking to increase partner engagement and deal velocity within their channel sales organizations, Gsell said. Manufacturing, high-tech and telecoms have the highest amount of revenue coming from indirect channels such as resellers, distributors and partners, Constellations Zhou told CRM Buyer. The PRM app simplifies the setup process and minimizes the need for IT support for companies to help their partners get up and running fast, she said. Accessing the latest information on products or solutions, marketing materials and sales team training via mobile devices is becoming increasingly critical, Zhou noted, and the PRM apps one-stop-shop solution can lead to increased sales and faster deal cycles. The apps strengths are mobile engagement for partners, a clean UI, and integration with CMS, learning management systems and compensation, Zhou said. However, at US$25 per member per month, it could be challenging for companies with broad networks of partners, resellers, distributors and dealers to enable, she cautioned. Other companies, such as Microsoft Dynamics, SugarCRM and Zoho, have partner enablement portals that are due for a refresh, Zhou pointed out. There will be more announcements to come. Theres been a lot written recently about how artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation are going to displace millions of workers. However, these powerful new technologies already have spawned a surge in demand for a new wave of highly skilled consultants to help organizations capitalize on the added business opportunities resulting from the latest innovations. Although the potential business benefits that can be derived from AI, ML and automation are obvious, attaining these benefits requires highly specialized skills that most organizations currently lack. Salesforce sees the demand for this unique set of consulting skills rising and has launched a new US$50 million SI (system integrator) Trailblazer Fund and SI Trailblazer Alliance Initiative to fill the void. Growing customer demand for Salesforce has created a critical need for more Salesforce-trained consulting partners as part of the thriving Salesforce Economy,' said Tyler Prince, Salesforces EVP of worldwide alliances and go-to-market innovation. Consulting firms play a pivotal role in the Salesforce ecosystem, noted the new funds administrator, John Somorjai, Salesforces EVP of corporate development and Salesforce ventures. Meeting Demand Their comments reminded me of the market forces that propelled International Network Services (INS) a network consulting company I was a part of in the 1990s to tremendous success. Cisco Systems at that time was riding a wave created by the rapidly growing demand for their routers among major service providers and enterprises seeking to build out new Internet Protocol networks. Ciscos executives recognized that the biggest impediment to continued growth was lack of sufficient manpower to properly plan, design, implement and manage their latest networking products. In response to this potential speed bump, Cisco not only made a strategic investment in INS, but also used our successful network consulting methodologies as a model for other firms entering the market. Fast-forward to 2006, when Salesforce found itself in a similar position, as demand for its Software as a Service solutions started to gain traction. Although there were a handful of consulting companies helping customers implement Salesforces solutions such as Bluewolf Salesforce made a seed investment in Appirio, a new consulting company. The Scalability Challenge Jim Goetz, an INS alum who had become one of the most successful venture capitalists at Sequoia Capital, also backed Appirio. Investing in a professional services company at that time was very unusual, because most VCs didnt see the consulting model as scalable, and they were concerned that the primary intellectual capital and assets (i.e., people) easily could walk out the door. What set consultancies like INS and Appirio apart, and attracted the attention and funding of VCs, was the promise of a more repeatable, and therefore scalable, business model that would combine traditional professional services with a widening array of software-powered solutions. That formula not only led to the acquisition and successful exits of those firms (INS by Lucent and Appirio by Wipro), but also made companies like Bluewolf and Cloud Sherpas targets for acquisition by IBM and Accenture respectively. Smart Bets Based on these experiences, the investment community is making more bets on consultancies. For instance, 2nd Watch earlier this year received $19 million in funding to scale its consulting business, which is focused on AWS, Azure and other cloud infrastructure service requirements. While the good news is that many of the first generation cloud-native consultancies found success and an exit via acquisition, the new challenge is to find the next generation of consultancies that can help corporate clients adopt a new round of AI, ML, automation and Internet of Things technologies and applications. With its new SI Fund, Salesforce is joining a growing number of VCs to help the next generation of specialized consultancies fill the void and help their mutual customers capitalize on the latest technological innovations and market opportunities. Rumors that the upcoming iPhones will support wireless charging have been circulating for a while, but it seems that the feature has now been all but confirmed. Wistron, the main iPhone manufacturer in India, said the next generation of Apple's handsets will boast this ability, as well as being waterproof. Apple recently partnered with the Taiwanese contract manufacturer to assemble older generations of iPhones in India, which will bring down prices and allow expansion within the country. Speaking to reports after the company's annual shareholders meeting yesterday, Wistron CEO Robert Hwang said: "Assembly process for the previous generations of [iPhones] have not changed much, though new features like waterproof and wireless charging now require some different testing, and waterproof function will alter the assembly process a bit." While Wistron currently only manufactures the iPhone SE, Apple analysts Jeff Pu and Arthur Liao say it is splitting orders with Foxconn for the upcoming 5.5-inch iPhone, which is assumed to be the iPhone 7s Plus. So it appears that the wireless charging comments relate to the upcoming handset. The current generation of iPhones is rated IP67, denoting that they are fully protected against dust ingress and can withstand being submerged in water for up to 30 mins at a depth of around 3 feet. It seems as if the next iPhones could have an IP68 rating, meaning they are more resilient and can withstand depths of around 5 feet for 30 minutes. It's expected that all new iPhones - the 7s, 7s Plus, and flagship 8 model - will come with these new and improved features. Bosphorus Strait, which divides Europe and Asia in Turkish city Istanbul, has suddenly undergone a change in color. While this surprised residents, scientists are quick to attribute it to plankton explosion across the Black Sea. Not A Pollution Spill Or Serious Phenomenon Spring phytoplankton blooms in the area continued to grow in the early part of June, as captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra satellite of NASA last June 8. The sudden transformation of the typically blue waters of Bosphorus Strait surprised locals, which posted some images on social media. Some feared of a pollution spill, while others suggested an earthquake rocking the Aegean region last Monday, June 12. Scientists were quick to downplay the seeming mystery of color change that went with a sharp smell of water. This has nothing to do with pollution, said Hacettepe University professor Ahmet Cemal Saydam in an AFP report, instead pointing to the explosion of phytoplankton Emiliania huxleyi. In fact, the environmental science expert added, the occurrence was actually good for anchovies, which is a staple food in Istanbul. Why The Milky Turquoise Waters? Phytoplankton, NASA reported in a statement, are microscopic floating organisms making their own food from sunlight as well as dissolved nutrients. They generally support fish, shellfish, along with other marine creatures. When these blooms occur too frequently or widely, they may result in eutrophication or the loss of oxygen from the water. Low oxygen levels in water can lead to die-offs among marine life. The milky coloration, NASA added, is likely brought about by a specific phytoplankton growth, particularly of a coccolithophore. Emiliania huxleyi, a coccolithophore species, is a mono-celled organism that can adapt and thrive in waters spanning from the equator to the sub-Arctic region. This specific organism is white calcium carbonate-plated. When present in huge numbers, it tends to result in water with a milky sheen. Last year, New Jersey beachgoers were surprised by the view of aquamarine waters when they were typically grayish along the shore. The ocean around South Jersey was shown by NASA satellite photos to take on a greenish shade due to phytoplankton bloom, with the microorganisms visible along the Long Beach Island coast to Cape May. Greening Of Arctic Ice Recently, the greening of Arctic ice was exposed as a fallout of the massive phytoplankton bloom under the sea. Its blamed on no less than global warming. There is a humungous erosion of area covered under sea ice, and sea ice is heavily thinning today. Strong sea ice cover used to serve as a buffer against sunlight reaching the water below, protecting against plankton growth. With progressive Arctic ice loss over the years and decades, sea ice color is also undergoing changes, going from white to darker hues as more sunlight penetrate the water beneath. In the Arctic food web, phytoplankton is the significant base, and their growth draws in more fish and large predation. This paves the way for more food for local Arctic communities. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. School officials and authorities have confirmed a case of active tuberculosis at the George Bush High School campus in Fort Bend County in Texas. A public health inspection has been started and will continue in the next few days, according to the Fort Bend County Health and Human Services as revealed in an official statement. Routine Inspection Following Active TB Case Blood testing at the school will start on June 19. Officials noted that 600 students who need to be tested, as well as their families, will be notified. Among teachers, 27 will also undergo testing. Based on the health departments protocol, a probe should be done to find potential infections from the source case. Family members are tested first, and then those who made close contact with the patient, including people in their school or work environments. Those who are not deemed at risk but are seeking medical evaluation are advised to visit their doctor or a health clinic. Authorities discovered the active case last May 30, but have not revealed if the said case is a student, teacher, or school employee. Just last March, 66 prisoners in a suburban Seattle county jail were tested for TB after an inmate was discovered to be infected. The affected inmate was in contact with other prisoners as well as staff from Nov. 20, 2016, when he was admitted to the facility, to March 1, when he was diagnosed. The Truth About Tuberculosis Caused by bacteria, tuberculosis usually leads to a disease of the lungs. It may, however, also affect other body organs. TB is not spread as easily as other infections such as cold or flu. It can spread from one person to another, but it could take prolonged close contact with someone with active TB to get sick. It may also be transmitted if droplets are coughed or sneezed out and reach another persons lungs. TB symptoms include prolonged coughing for more than two weeks, night sweats, fevers, unexplained loss of weight, and blood in cough. It is important to note, however, that a positive diagnosis may not necessarily mean one has active TB. It simply reflects bacterial exposure, and the patient may not develop the disease at all or spread it to anyone else. TB Diagnosis: Trends And Problems In 2016, TB killed 1.8 million worldwide or 4,900 people every day. Among the biggest issues here is drug-resistant tuberculosis, called Ebola with wings by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to poor cure rates. Around the world, there are 10.4 million new cases diagnosed, with India carrying the biggest burden at 27 percent. A majority of patients suffer from Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in their lungs, some of which can be spread from animals to humans. Despite the growing issue of drug resistance, the WHO excluded TB from its recent antimicrobial resistance (AMR) priorities report. A full third of the deaths from AMR are directly attributable to TB. Tuberculosis is the single greatest antimicrobial threat, said Stephen Lewis of AIDS Free World in a keynote speech. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A team of Australian scientists has invented a solar paint that could soon power our homes and cars. The team, led by Torben Daeneke, says they are hopeful that this new solar paint will provide a clean and affordable source of energy for people around the globe. Powering The Car Of The Future While the idea of powering our cars by paint might sound like something out of a science-fiction novel, the concept behind this paint is fairly simple. By combining a catalyst with the white color used in toothpaste, the research team was able to create a white paint that, when combined with sunlight, turns water into hydrogen which can then be used to power cars. In order to facilitate this process, a catalyst composed partially of molybdenum sulfides is used as both a lubricant and as a means of conducting electricity. The white paint color is necessary to draw in light. Once the water has been converted into usable energy, it then has to be transported to the car's engine. The team says that there are several options available and they are currently working to determine which would be the best means of transferring the energy. There are plenty of cars that already use hydrogen and solar energy as power sources, so once this technology is finalized, it should be an affordable way to reduce carbon emissions as well as the cost of one's daily commute back and forth from work. Solar Paint At Home And Work Since this substance is basically just a fancy white paint, it has applications beyond uses in just cars. The most obvious implication would be to use the paint in homes, perhaps in conjunction with traditional solar panels. Such a setup could drastically reduce a household's electric bill. Of course, the downside to this paint is that it currently only exists in white so those hoping for a bit more visual flair will be disappointed. Businesses could also benefit from this setup as modern offices consume a lot of electricity, and every business is looking to cut costs. Solar Paint Timetable The research team believes that this solar paint is about five years away from being ready for commercial use. However, Daeneke did note that once it is ready, the paint should be fairly affordable so in addition to helping the planet, it will also help people's bank accounts. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Court of Appeals of the National Court of Justice announced Thursday the annulment of the eight-year sentence against the former vice-president of Ecuador Jorge Glas and six others... | Read More Heads up to prevent injury from falls Morning walks in my neighborhood are one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. I love the coolness of daybreak and the special sightings of the stag and two does that frequent our open space. I also enjoy my walk because each day at... Signs that point to the best time for retirement Ive been thinking a lot about retirement lately. One of our amazing staff members, who has been with Senior Concerns for the last 13 years, retired last month. It just doesnt seem real. I always thought of Dana as young. Certainly not the person to... Rethinking the mandatory retirement age How old is too old for working at a job? Last week a news story hit my inbox and it really got me to thinking about age and retirement. The article noted that Target Corp. abandoned its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its CEO,... Tips to promoting a healthy nights sleep for children Question: Help, please. My daughter is almost 2 years old and has been an easy child to put into her own bed. Yet in the past few weeks she is purposefully stretching out the bedtime routine longer and longer. She wants more: more stories, more... Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over his war in Ukraine. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission The Delhi government has issued a notice to the Aam Aadmi Party asking it to pay Rs 27 lakh as fine for failing to vacate its office premises in the national capital. By Kumar Kunal: The Aam Aadmi Party has landed in a fresh controversy related to its party office. The Delhi government's PWD department has served a notice on the political group to pay Rs 27 lakh as fine for having failed to vacate its Rouse Avenue office within the stipulated time. Mail Today is in possession of a copy of the notice served to the Aam Aadmi Party. advertisement The notice was served on Tuesday in reply to the party's plea in which party requested to continue its operations from the 206, Rouse Avenue address. It was addressed to the Aam Aadmi Party's national secretary Pankaj Kumar Gupta. The letter written by deputy secretary, Debasis Biswal mentions that there is no provision under the rules to extend the "illegal occupation". Hence, the party is liable to pay a penal rent for the period of unauthorised occupation, says the notice. RS 27 LAKH FINE The amount which has been calculated by the department up to May 31 amounts to Rs 27,73,802, says the letter. The letter further says that the dues will further accrue up to the date the premises are finally vacated. In another notice, the government also turned down the proposal of party in which it asked for an alternative accommodation before vacating the Rouse Avenue office. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, in early April, had cancelled the allotment of 206, Rouse Avenue premises as the party office of AAP. The bungalow was allocated through a state cabinet decision of the Aam Aadmi Party last year. In an earlier communication to the government, L-G Anil Baijal had communicated to the government that he was within his right to cancel the allocation of the office as it had been usurped by violating the rules. In a note written to the Government which has challenged LG order Baijal has written that it is a clear case of conflict of interest as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also the convenor of Aam Aadmi Party and hence action can be taken on that front as well. ALSO READ | Kejriwal blames BJP after L-G cancelled Rouse Avenue land for AAP office ALSO READ | After Shunglu report, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party finds itself without a headquarter ALSO WATCH | Election Commission holds EVM hackathon challenge; NCP, CPI-M participate, AAP pulls out --- ENDS --- It's a First World problem: What do you do with the toys in your garage when you downsize the family home? And it has a First World solution. Buy a "man cave" to store them in. Cashed-up downsizers and small businesses are underpinning strong sales of "man caves" small industrial units in commercial-zoned suburbs, often built with a mezzanine, kitchenette, toilet and shower for comfort. Man caves at the Base in Yarraville, an industrial development by Cubed Projects. The shift towards apartment living in Sydney and Melbourne and the ability to purchase property in self-managed super funds has resulted in a corresponding boom in sales of industrial warehouse/office units. Small units close to the city centre with easy road access are now considered "luxury" items. The 11 pages hand written confessional statement given in 2005 is an important piece of evidence under the act and not just against the accused himself, but also against other co-accused in the Mumbai blasts case. By Vidya : It was in the same year that Abu Salem was extradited from Portugal that he gave his confessional statement under the Terrorist and Disruptive Prevention Act (TADA). The 11 pages hand written confessional statement given in 2005 is an important piece of evidence under the act and not just against the accused himself, but also against other co-accused in the case. advertisement Salem had retracted his statement in the court later, but at that time he had said in his statement that in the first week of January 1993, he was told by one Aziz, whose business was to smuggle silver in a Maruti van. He says that Aziz did not disclose the location to him. But Salem added that he was not aware about any arms and ammunition being transported in the vehicle, till the concealed weapons were opened by convict Baba Chauhan. It was at Aziz's instance that Salem along with Sameer Hingora went to Haneef's office. Haneef was the owner of Magnum Video and from there the trio went to actor Sanjay Dutt's house at Pali Hill. He did not remember while giving confession in which vehicle he had gone, but at the residence Sameer and Haneef had spoken to Dutt. That very night Aziz told Salem to go with Aziz's brother in law Baba Chauhan, the next morning, along with Sameer and Haneef in a Maruti van to Sanjay Dutt's house. The next morning Salem and Baba Chauhan went in a Maruti van following Sameer's car and reached Sanjay Dutt's house. Sameer was the one who told Dutt "saman le aya hun" (have brought the good). At that time there was a policeman who was present there who was asked by Sanjay Dutt to go somewhere else. The policeman went away. It was after the policeman's departure that all of them opened the bags that was in the vehicle and Salem says that it was for the first time that he saw 8 - 10 rifles, 80 - 90 hand grenades, some magazines and ammunition. "I was shocked and was scared at what was happening. Until then I was under the impression that what was in the bags was only silver," says Salem. In the confession Salem says that Sameer Hingora, Dutt and Baba Chauhan were picking up each of the stuff and looking at them. Dutt picked up some of the consignment and after that Salem and Baba Chauhan hid the rest of the consignment back in the car in the floor and sides of it. The visitors then left in their respective cars from Dutt's residence. advertisement After 2 - 3 days, he went to Sanjay Dutt's house again with Haneef and Manzoor Ahmed as asked by Aziz. Dutt gave him a bag full of ammunitions and guns. Aziz was the one who told him to keep the bag in Bandra resident Zaibunnissas house. Anees Ibrahim, younger brother of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, had already informed her to do so according to Salem. Later that bag changed a few hands until the deadly blasts rocked Mumbai on 12th March 1993. At that moment when the blasts happened Salem says that he was in his shop in Amboli and was asked by Aziz to leave the city after Baba Chauhan was arrested. Salem says that he had asked Aziz about the deadly consignment and he had told him that it all belonged to Dawood Ibrahim's younger brother Anees and Kayuum and that he should not tell anyone about it. After the blasts, Salem went to Azamgarh and from there took his wife Sameera to Lucknow and got in touch with a fake passport maker and after that he fled to Dubai around the end of 1993 from where he stayed in various countries including USA until he was caught in Portugal. --- ENDS --- advertisement "It was just his dream to be a bull rider," she said. "It started when [he was] nine years old and my husband put him on his first poddy calf. "It was just in his blood. He lived and dreamed rodeo. "Every weekend he was riding. He was the Australian champion [for steer riding] when he was 14 years old." Lawyer Chris Clarke, partner at Attwood Marshall Lawyers, said Mitchell's insurance coverage under an industry policy was inadequate, offering up to $50,000 for his injuries. Mr Clarke discovered Mitchell could be categorised as a "deemed worker" under Schedule 1 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998. The Camden Show Society and Australian Bushmen's Campdraft and Rodeo Association Limited had held a public performance during which Mitchell was injured, suffering a traumatic brain injury. "There was no case law on it. It was a basically a test case to make sure he could be categorised as a worker and the Commission has determined that he is a worker under the deemed worker provisions," Mr Clarke said. "It comes down to the definition of an entertainer. "It is obscure and a part of the regulation which is very rarely used, but it was of great assistance on this occasion." Mr Clarke said Mitchell had been awarded lifetime cover for medical expenses, travelling expenses, weekly payments of workers compensation until retirement age, a lump sum estimated at about $200,000 and payments for his mother as a carer. "It couldn't have been prosecuted without the help of WIRO (Workers Compensation Independent Review Office) which funded the legal case," Mr Clarke said. Without WIRO's help, Mr Clarke said Mitchell's mother would not have been in a financial position to prosecute the claim. Mr Clarke is now looking into the cases of two other bull riders who were catastrophically injured after Mitchell's accident. He said Mitchell's case had set a precedent that may help other bull riders receive compensation for their injuries. "If need be, we will commence proceedings in the Commission for those two bull riders as well," Mr Clarke said. Hugh Southwell, president of the Camden Show Society said his organisation had "a great deal of sympathy for the Gajkowski family and in particular, Mitchell". "He deserves some sort of compensation," Mr Southwell said. However, Mr Southwell said his society did not agree with the Workers Compensation Commission decision. "It is in the hands of our insurers as to whether they wish to accept the determination or encourage icare [Insurance and Care NSW] to lodge an appeal," he said. "Camden Show don't agree with the finding and think it has wider ranging implications for the agricultural show movement, rodeos and other sporting groups and community events." Linda Cusworth, Bannockburn End the finger-pointing and blame game Peter Dutton claims that the Labor government's actions caused, or allowed, the Manus detainees to win a compensation claim. If the Coalition government knew there was a weakness at law, then it, and particularly Mr Dutton, are grossly negligent and, by inference, incompetent, in not moving swiftly to deal with the situation. Right from when it (Tony Abbott and latterly Malcolm Turnbull) gained power. For heaven's sake, can everyone stop posturing and finger-pointing and just get on with doing what is needed? Chris Waters, Ormond Why pay $90m if there's nothing to hide? It appears that the fearless warriors of our government and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton would rather spend $90 million than risk the emergence of the truth regarding Australia's immoral offshore detention program. Why? Surely they have nothing to hide or to fear. Eric Kennelly, Ballarat Central And why pay it if the detention is legal? The Australian government is paying compensation to the Manus Island refugees for the damage it has caused to them. How then can the government maintain the fiction that the refugees are being detained legally? Reg Murray, Glen Iris THE FORUM An avoidable disaster After all these years, the British still have not got the message about the danger of aluminium in a fire. This was spectacularly demonstrated in the Falklands War when ships with aluminium superstructure were burnt with a terrible loss of life. Britain's Admiralty may have got the message but it does not appear to have been passed on to the civil authorities. It is also odd that residents of London's Grenfell Tower had been attending meetings about safety issues while the "experts" blundered on regardless. Heads should roll. John Coffey, Fitzroy North Act on deadly cladding My union, the oft-demonised Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union, has been warning of the danger posed by flammable cladding for at least two years. Will the many buildings with non-compliant cladding be retrofitted with safe cladding at a substantial cost to the owners and/or government departments that approved the use of the faulty products? Or will we wait for deadly fires of our own before doing anything about it? Can we at least not build any more buildings using this stuff? Zane Alcorn, Coburg North The terror at home The focus, and massive spending, on anti-terrorism measures seems misdirected when governments around the world allow the building industry to expose tens of thousands of citizens to intense horror, and put their lives at risk, all as a result of cost-cutting and profit making. Sue Dyer, Downer, ACT Self-punishing shame I agree with the psychologist and author of The New Manhood, Steve Biddulph, that the experience of toxic shame is the pivotal factor in the disintegration of men's lives ("Radicalism or simply horrible acts by pathetic men?", Comment, 14/6). However, I do not believe that he has presented sound evidence to suggest that this is the primary source of the acts of terrorism that we are witnessing, more recently in Western democracies. These are despicable acts of outward aggression. I think that toxic shame is something that we as males turn inwards on ourselves. Hence, it is self-punishing in its effect. The ultimate evidence of this is the shockingly high male suicide rate. Rick Mann, St Kilda The forgotten lawyers Professor Rosalind Croucher, who is tipped to replace Gillian Triggs as head of the Australian Human Rights Commission, is "well regarded within the legal fraternity" (The Age, 15/6). I wonder if she is also well regarded within the legal sorority. Jill Rosenberg, Caulfield South Ensuring a balance The solution to the gender imbalance in the awarding of Honours is to provide that, for each category, regardless of the number of nominations, the number of male recipients should not exceed the number of female recipients. Far too simple, I suppose. Tim Freer, Torquay Prejudice, ignorance So three government ministers will be hauled before the Supreme Court of Victoria to explain why they should not be charged with contempt after accusing the judiciary of advocating softer sentences for terrorists (The Age, 15/6). Comments by populist, pot-stirring MPs on the courts and their processes and decisions show why politicians are held in low regard. Their remarks reflect on them and their ideologies, and highlight their own prejudices and ignorance. Andrew Moloney, Frankston Our right to speak out It is appalling abuse of the powers of the courts that three MPs have been requested to appear before the Victorian Supreme Court. All they did was comment on the making and implementation of laws. The High Court has ruled that the constitution provides citizens with a right to participate in democracy, including speaking out. Those who are concerned about separation of powers should not be criticising the MPs but the court for interfering with parliament-related activities. The notion that the MPs were trying to influence the court could have any validity only if there were a non-zero prospect that it might be so influenced. The court's action seems to be an admission that it is capable of being influenced. To my mind, the court has scored an own goal, disrespecting itself and inviting further disrespect. Ross Drynan, Lindfield, NSW Living in the Dark Ages The Coalition is hampered by an ideological fixation in the past. Scientists have been warning for more than two decades that the world must reduce carbon emissions if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Fortunately, developments in solar and wind technologies have resulted in prices falling so much that these are now cheaper than new coal-based generation. BP has reported that global coal production dropped by a record amount in 2016, largely as a result of China and the United States burning less black stuff. Meanwhile, our government seems hell-bent on using taxpayer funds to help build one of the world's largest coal mines, on the doorstep of our Great Barrier Reef. This will add to greenhouse gas emissions and it ignores the global trend for employment and investment shifting from coal to renewable energy. Barrie May, Glen Waverley Unsustainable landfills Instead of using a huge amount of valuable space for landfill, perhaps we should ban their use altogether within 10years. If everyone took responsibility for the waste they created, and we paid up front for the environmental and disposal costs, we would soon develop the technology and policies to ensure that waste was minimised, and all products were reusable, recyclable and/or biodegradable. Simply burying our resources in landfill is totally unsustainable. Jennie Epstein, Little River Loyalty to the people Given the revelations about foreign political donations, and the lobbying by the domestic coal industry, one wonders about the motivation behind the government's difficulty with the Finkel report. Are MPs who are resisting its recommendation for a Clean Energy Target doing the bidding of the industry or foreign donors? Do they hope to be rewarded with high-paying positions on coal company boards/resource councils or work as industry consultants after they leave parliament? Tony Abbott and his colleagues claim their opposition is about keeping power prices under control. However, their government, along with the Rudd/Gillard government, have followed the deregulation, privatisation ideology of the energy industry initiated in the Kennett/Howard era. This has led to gas prices quadrupling, electricity prices doubling and a likely supply crisis this summer. Governments should put the interests of the Australian people first. Craig Horne, Fitzroy North How can I be true blue? Prime Minister, how can I be more patriotic? Should I sing Advance Australia Fair every day and chant "Oi, oi, oi" at sporting events? Should I proclaim that our involvement in the Vietnam War was a solidarity struggle with the Vietnamese, or our campaign in Iraq was to create a democratic society? Or should I march on the street to demand that large corporations pay their fair share of tax, brown coal production ceases and university fees for local students are abolished? Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Nalliah Suriyakumaran, Preston Teaching respect Wendy Knight (Letters, 14/6) is worried that her child, who is now a teacher, will suffer aggression from her pupils or their parents. She implies that schools are no longer safe working places. As a young teacher in the 1950s, I seldom saw parents. Back then, clumsily, I dealt with aggression from the technical school boys in my classes. Most parents that I met expressed gratitude for the discipline. These days, parents seem to have more influence in school activities and are more likely to strongly criticise or threaten teachers who deal strongly with recalcitrant students. There seems to be a breakdown in the agreement about what constitutes the discipline and respect expected of young people. This does not help in the creation of a society that values decency and respect. Leo Gamble, Mentone A longer bus route The route of the proposed "Doncaster bus rapid transit" system (between East Doncaster and Southern Cross Station) should extend across Alexandra Parade to the top of Swanston Street, where it could service the education and hospital precinct. This would also mean the buses would avoid the congestion at Hoddle Street etc. Robert New, Vermont The right to bear arms It is ironic that US Republican congressman Steve Scalise, whose party vehemently opposes the introduction of strict gun control laws, and several others, were shot in an act of political violence. Get angry, get a gun, shoot someone seems to be the American way. Harry Kowalski, Ivanhoe AND ANOTHER THING Politics Tony, retire from politics and return to Britain. Your title as our most brutally effective opposition leader is unassailable. Rod Williams, Surrey Hills Perhaps Turnbull would define what constitutes a "patriot". Mina Hilson, West Footscray Patriots keep their money here, not in offshore tax havens. Patriotism is the last resort of a failing leader. Maureen Peck, White Hills The Coalition promised "growth". Who knew it was talking about the government's credit card debt? Berys Dixon, Moonee Ponds Who will go first: Trump, May or Turnbull? Edith Wilke, Cowes At 75, can I please have a government which does something before I cark it? Des Crowle, Casterton Manus settlement $90 million in total, but no admission of liability. Laughable. Stephen Baldwin, Frankston Is Dutton's belligerence only exceeded by his incompetence? Ian Maddison, Parkdale I had a weird dream. Dutton, the Mad Hatter, was chasing a white rabbit down the hole. It was an asylum seeker. Pamela Papadopoulos, South Yarra Be warned, Mr Dutton. I feel another donation to Get Up! is looming. Peter Gribben, Drouin Furthermore Network 10 back to Channel O. John Rawson, Mernda Mia Freedman is a silly little girl. Moira Tucker, Frankston The French never cease to amaze, do they? First they elect a suave, metrosexual, pro-European President, flinging him in the faces of Anglo-Saxon troglodytes lining up behind Donald Trump and Theresa May on the way to various exits. McDonald's Credit:AP Now comes the news that McDonald's restaurants in France are offering cutlery with some of their burgers, along with table service. The plastic knives and forks will be handed out to diners who order pricey "signature" burgers at the country's 1400 outlets, according to British newspaper The Telegraph. "That applies as much in relation to sentencing decisions of courts as to any other issue." He conceded MPs needed to be "mindful of all of our different responsibilities", referring to the duty to not prejudice cases before a court. "But our first responsibility as members of parliament is to the people who send us here, to the voters who send us here, and to stand up for their interests, for their expectations," he said. "And I'm quite confident that that is all my colleagues were doing." Industry Minister Arthur Sinodinos said he was "surprised" to see his colleagues hauled before a judge to explain themselves, because "this is a country which prizes free speech". "Politicians from time to time will say some pretty colourful things and I believe that politicians should have the right to do so," he told ABC Radio National on Wednesday night. "If they say something that's obviously defamatory or libellous or whatever, that's a separate matter, but politicians have got to have a right to make commentary on matters of public interest and public policy." Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce declined to comment other than to say: "the whole issue about contempt of court is you don't talk about court proceedings". The ministers are believed to have the strong support of their colleagues from throughout the Coalition. "We're all on the same page, this is outrageous," one MP said. "The judiciary is not above criticism. If they're suggesting they're above criticism that's a big problem in our democracy. I think they know this isn't contempt but I think they want to send a message." Senator Brandis, the country's chief law officer, told the Senate his colleagues were "well aware" of the importance of judicial independence. "The independence of the judiciary has never been understood by the judiciary themselves to be a prohibition against criticism," he said. "The courts cannot be and are not immune from criticism, which may extend to robust observations of a particular decision or penalty." The ministerial trio also won the backing of crossbench senator and free speech crusader David Leyonhjelm, who lambasted "unelected" judges as "dear little daffodils" who couldn't handle criticism. "Frankly, I think contempt of the court is when you do a brown eyes," he said, referring to the practice of removing one's trousers and pointing one's posterior in someone's direction. In a letter obtained by Fairfax Media, Judicial Registrar Ian Irving said comments by the three ministers published in The Australian, accusing the judiciary of going soft on terrorists, would appear to bring the court into disrepute. Mr Hunt reportedly said: "The state courts should not be places for ideological experiments in the face of global and local threats from Islamic extremism that has led to such tragic losses." Mr Sukkar was quoted as saying: "Labor's continued appointment of hard-left activist judges has come back to bite Victorians". He also said the soft attitude of judges "has eroded any trust that remained in our legal system". Minter Ellison partner Peter Bartlett said judges were rightly subjected to public criticism from politicians and the community for their decisions. But he said some of the ministers' comments had gone too far by suggesting the judges were ideologically motivated. "That's crossing the line. That's suggesting bias with judges," he said. However, Mr Bartlett said it was disappointing the ministers had been required to explain their actions in the court. He believed it was unlikely they would be charged. "I would hope that the ministers apologise to the court and get a rap over the knuckles and nothing more," he said. It is understood Labor MPs have been told to exercise caution on the matter. But opposition whip Graham Perrett said the episode was at the very least a good lesson for all involved. "Generally the Parliament and executive at any level of government should be respectful of the judiciary," he told Fairfax Media. "Unless you are aware of the individual facts, how could you possibly comment with any authority on a decision handed down by the court?" Loading Beyond the headlines of Eman Sharobeem claiming $3000 for liposuction for her son, and arguing that claiming $34,000 in traffic fines was "part of her package", a far more troubling aspect has emerged from the latest evidence at ICAC of the former celebrated women's rights activist. And it goes to corporate governance, due diligence, use of public money and oversight. Eman Sharobeem leaves the corruption hearing. Credit:Kate Geraghty When it came to doling out money and awards to Ms Sharobeem, who checked any of it? When Ms Sharobeem applied to be a part-time commissioner of the then Community Relations Commission in 2011, her CV contained claims she had a PhD and was a doctor in psychology. A report into Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey's use of a private email address has been forwarded to the state corruption watchdog. Mr Bailey has been under fire for deleting a private email account following reports he was contacted at the address by the Electrical Trades Union over the merger of Energy Super and Victoria's Equip Super. A report into Minister Mark Bailey's emails has been handed to the CCC. Credit:Glenn Hunt An RTI application for the correspondence was rejected on the grounds the minister's old email account - mangocube6@yahoo.co.uk - was "closed", or deleted. Under the Public Records Act, ministers' public records, including emails, must not be destroyed without the authorisation of the State Archivist. Australia's growing medicinal cannabis industry is confident investors will be "more inclined to open their wallets" after Parliament's shock decision to fast track terminally ill patient's access to the drug. Chris Nasr, founder of medicinal cannabis startup Leafcann, said classing medicinal cannabis as Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Category A benefits patients and provides stability for the Australian industry to expand. Greater legal stability has been welcomed by the nascent cannabis industry. Credit:The Age "It's a very big positive for small business and companies looking to set up to assist Australian patients because it validates the demand model for the market." The Greens, Labor, One Nation and independents voted to reverse the Coalition's restrictions on medicinal cannabis. The Australian Medical Association fiercely opposed the changes, which cuts down the time between approved doctors ordering and receiving the medication for their authorised patients. Only 133 terminally ill patients accessed medicinal cannabis under the previous scheme, with many turning to the black market during the months-long wait time. Health Minister Greg Hunt labelled the move "reckless and irresponsible", paving the way for dodgy overseas products and criminals accessing illegal drugs. Mr Nasr said "when the changes have many more positives and far outweigh the negatives of the decision, then it would have been reckless and irresponsible if it didn't pass." Rhys Cohen from medicinal cannabis leadership program Cann10 Australia said the changes make it easier for patients to access the medicine and get data about how it is used in a clinical setting. The man accused of the fatal Bourke Street rampage, Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas, could plead that he is unfit to stand trial, a court has heard. Mr Gargasoulas' lawyers have begun approaching mental-health experts to arrange for their client to be assessed. Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas is facing six charges of murder and 28 counts of attempted murder and is due to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on August 1. Credit:Facebook Victoria's Director of Public Prosecutions and defence lawyers for Mr Gargasoulas appeared before the Supreme Court on Thursday to update Justice Lex Lasry on the case against the 26-year-old driver of the car that allegedly hit dozens of people in central Melbourne on January 20. Mr Gargasoulas is charged with six counts of murder following the deaths of six people, including a 10-year-old girl and a three-month-old baby boy. Cancer conwoman Belle Gibson has again failed to turn up to court, prompting a judge to suggest the disgraced blogger may be "thumbing her nose" at the bench. The consumer watchdog has called for harsh penalties over Gibson's global health and wellness scam but Justice Debbie Mortimer has made it clear that Gibson's "capacity to pay" any fine imposed by the Federal Court would be taken into consideration before a penalty is handed down. The court heard that it was difficult to assess whether Gibson would pay a fine because she has not presented a defence in the civil case brought against her. The disgraced wellness figure has refused to take part in the legal proceedings. Justice Debbie Mortimer suggested Gibson may be too embarrassed to "show her face" or could be "thumbing her nose at the courts." By Vidya : The Bombay High Court today asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to inform the lower court to not go ahead with the proceedings in the Adarsh scam trial till June 21. The Bombay High Court was hearing a petition filed by Congress leader Ashok Chavan, who is challenging the sanction for his prosecution in the Adarsh scam. advertisement Chavan's lawyer Amit desai told the division bench headed by Justice Ranjit More that the lower court is in the process of issuing summons for starting of the trial. The lawyer said that if the trial begins, then the very challenge to the granting of sanction would become infructuous. "The sanction itself is challenged, so if that has not been decided how can the lower court begin the trial?" asked Desai. The CBI lawyers in the court opposed any move to delay the trial any further. However, after the court pressed for it, advocate Hiren Venegaonkar agreed to inform the lower court accordingly. ASHOK CHAVAN HELPED RELATIVES Governor C Vidyasagar Rao had last year granted sanction for the prosecution of Ashok Chavan in the scam. The BJP-led government in the state had said that it was only after Governor was fully satisfied that "prima facie there is certainly a nexus established between all the acts of Chavan while handling files pertaining to Adarsh and the benefits derived by his close relatives in the form of membership in the Adarsh society," the sanction was granted. Chavan had also prima facie been found "to be tainted with criminality" by a two-member judicial commission, according to the government. Although the CBI had asked for Governor's sanction in 2013 as well but the then Governor K Sankaranarayanan had refused permission to prosecute Chavan in the scam. Chavan is accused of approving additional floor space index for Adarsh society in return for two flats for his relatives. He was also charged with illegally approving, as the then revenue minister, allotment of 40 per cent of the flats in the housing society, meant for serving and former servicemen and war widows, to civilians. He was made an accused in the scam by the CBI in 2013 and since then the trial is yet to begin in the case. Also read: Telangana hit by biggest land scam, Opposition demands CBI inquiry Also read: Samruddha ponzi scam: ED attaches Rs 207 crore property of main accused --- ENDS --- Fewer than 20 owners of Mercedes-Benz coupes similar to the one belonging to murdered mother Karen Ristevski still need to speak with police about what they were doing on the day she went missing. When they do, detectives believe they will know who killed her. Her husband Borce is still a suspect. Nearly a year after Ms Ristevski went missing, police have released fresh CCTV footage of a black Mercedes-Benz SLK coupe travelling towards Mount Macedon, the area her body was found. A joint inquest has been held into the death of two psychiatric patients who were discharged from care and were subject to community treatment orders when they died in car crashes in Western Australia after driving recklessly. Mamadou Diallo was driving on Great Eastern Highway in Wundowie, north-east of Perth, on May 22, 2015, when without warning he swerved onto the wrong side of the road, colliding head-on with a truck. A Canberra man is on trial in the ACT Supreme Court this week accused of sexually assaulting his partner in their home. Credit:Louie Douvis The 39-year-old Guinean man was not wearing a seat belt and there is evidence he did not hit the brakes. The WA Coroner's Court heard on Thursday that Mr Diallo suffered his first psychotic episode in 2006, the year after he came to Australia on a tourist visa, and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2013 before being held for two months as an involuntary patient at Bentley Hospital. Two men have been charged after they allegedly tried to escape from police by driving head-on at an officer's vehicle following a car chase through Perth's south east. At around 11pm, officers were driving on Mason Road, near Warton Road in Huntingdale when they spotted the white Holden Commodore. Police will allege the driver proceeded to drive head-on at a pursuing police vehicle. Credit:Marina Neil/Fairfax Media Officers noted the car was exceeding the posted speed limit and attempted to stop the vehicle. The car failed to stop for police and instead forced officers to chase the vehicle through Huntingdale's side-streets. The 24 storey Grenfell Tower went up in flames on June 12. Credit:AP The tower block was recently refurbished at a cost of 8.7 million ($A14.6 million), with work completed in May last year. The exterior of the 1970s-built tower was modernised with cladding and replacement windows, while additional homes were added using vacant space in the building. A boy wears a face mask as he walks past clothing, water and food that has been provided at Latymer Church near to the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road. Credit:Getty Management of the tower was passed from the council to the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation in 1996 after the tenants and leaseholders voted to manage their own homes. The organisation said in a statement on its website: "It is too early to speculate what caused the fire and contributed to its spread. We will co-operate fully with all the relevant authorities in order to ascertain the cause of this tragedy. Firefighters at Grenfell Tower. Credit:Getty Images "We are aware that concerns have been raised historically by residents. We always take all concerns seriously and these will form part of our forthcoming investigations. While these investigations continue with our co-operation, our core priority at the moment is our residents." But the former chairman of the tenancy body which manages the Grenfell building said he had concerns about the way it was being run for years. People pray and candles are lit outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block. Credit:Getty "This is a scandal. This is one of the biggest scandals in the country - and it could have been avoided," Reg Kerr-Bell, former chairman of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenancy Management Organisation, told Daily Express. "We felt there was a disaster waiting to happen and we were going to have a meeting with the MP so that we could put these concerns to them." Mr Kerr-Bell said he also had concerns over the building's 2016 refurbishment, which was undertaken by a company now in liquidation. "This refurbishment contract should never have been managed by TMO. "It was too big for them. My great concern was about the viability of the project." Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a "proper investigation" after the fire tore through the building. Speaking in Downing Street, May said: "When it's possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be and action will be taken." Many people are unaccounted for and firefighters are continuing to tackle "pockets of fire", with the operation now in the "recovery phase". Commander Stuart Cundy of the Metropolitan Police said: "This is going to be a long and complex recovery operation and I do anticipate that the number of fatalities will sadly increase beyond those 12." Residents' groups have claimed they voiced concerns about the safety of the building, which had been recently refurbished, while those who escaped complained their fire alarms had not been set off by the blaze. Policing and Fire minister Nick Hurd said emergency checks would be carried out on tower blocks undergoing similar renovations. Grenfell Tower, which built in 1974, was refurbished at a cost of STG8.7 million ($A14.6 million), with work completed in May 2016. Rydon Group, which that carried out the refurbishment, said the project "met all required building regulations". But a line stating the project had met all "fire regulation and health and safety standards", which was included in an earlier release, had disappeared. Witnesses described hearing screams for help from people trapped on the upper floors of the block as flames engulfed the building, which contains 120 flats thought to be home to between 400 and 600 people. Washington: Law enforcement officials plan to announce charges Thursday against a dozen members of the Turkish president's security detail for their involvement in a brutal attack on protesters outside the Turkish ambassador's residence here last month, two US officials said Wednesday. Authorities have already charged several others, including two Americans and two Canadians, with taking part in the skirmish. The Washington police have been investigating the May 16 incident along with the State Department and the Secret Service. The police planned to announce the charges at a news conference on Thursday morning, according to the two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the charges before they were made public. Washington police officials confirmed that the two Americans are Sinan Narin, of Virginia, and Eyup Yildirim, of New Jersey. Narin was charged with felony and misdemeanour assault. Yildirim, who can be seen on video repeatedly kicking a protester, was charged with two felony counts and one misdemeanour assault count. The two did not immediately return calls Wednesday requesting comment. Washington: US President Donald Trump attacked what he called a "phony story" on Thursday after a report that he is under investigation for possible obstruction of justice by the special counsel probing alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," Trump wrote on Twitter, later repeating his accusation that the probe is a "witch hunt." Donald Trump has lashed the investigations into him and his team. Credit:AP The Washington Post, citing unidentified officials, reported on Wednesday that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the Replican president for possible obstruction of justice.. By Press Trust of India: (Updating with additional inputs and reactions) Mumbai, Jun 15 (PTI) The BJP is ready for mid-term elections in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said, in an apparent response to Shiv Senas threat to withdraw support but the chief of the junior ally today mocked at the poll retort. The fresh spat between the two traditional allies broke out ahead of the BJP president Amit Shahs Maharashtra tour beginning tomorrow, as the saffron party hardened its stand vis-a-vis its belligerent ally. advertisement Fadnavis remarks come days after Shiv Sena threatened to withdraw its support to the BJP-led NDA government in Maharashtra, in which it is a junior partner, if a blanket loan waiver is not granted to farmers and implemented by the next month. However, state unit BJP president Raosaheb Danve said though there are no chances of early polls, the party is prepared to face them if such a situation were to arise. Fadnavis comment, however, seems to have ruffled Thackerays feathers at a time when the BJP is trying to seek the Senas assured support for the upcoming presidential elections. The Sena earlier threatened to take an "independent stand" in the polls. Sena mouthpiece Saamana has reported that Shah will meet Thackeray on June 18. Amid reports speculating mid-term polls in Maharashtra against the backdrop of farmers stir for a complete loan waiver and Senas threat to withdraw support, Fadnavis yesterday said the state BJP unit is prepared for early polls. The Fadnavis government recently agreed in principle to grant a "complete and conditional" loan waiver to farmers. "Some people said (when the farmers agitation was on) that they will bring the government down, they will withdraw support. I said we are ready for mid-term polls. "If someone wants to impel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will be able to form government again," he told reporters here without naming any party. Fadnavis remarks come days after Sena MP Sanjay Raut suggested that his party would withdraw support if the loan waiver was not announced. Hitting back at Fadnavis, Thackeray today said the talk of mid-term poll indicates that BJP has a lot of money lying with them. He alleged the issue of the mid-term poll seems to have been raked up in a bid to postpone distribution of the loan waiver money. The state government last Sunday announced waiver of farm loans. "If you (Fadnavis) are ready (for mid-term polls), you (BJP) have money. If that is the case then you should give that money to farmers so that there will be no need for mid-term polls at all..You seem to have hoards of money...give farmers a loan waiver, clear their 7/12 (land records) extracts (of liabilities) without imposing any conditions, and we will continue to support you," Thackeray told reporters at Shegaon town in Buldhana district. advertisement Thackeray himself on Tuesday warned the BJP that his party would take a "big step" if the loan waiver for farmers announced by the state government is not implemented by next month. He today said the issue of mid-term polls is raked up to delay implementation of the loan waiver. "I fear that this issue has been raked up now to divert attention from the loan waiver, instigate us and to prolong waiving loans. If you do not implement loan waiver, there will be a political earthquake. Farmers have shown how an earthquake can hurt (the government)," Thackeray added. Appealing to farmers to stay united on the loan waiver issue, the Sena chief said that in case of a rift among them they will miss this opportunity to get their loans waived. "However, Sena will not let this happen and keep backing farmers until a complete loan waiver is given. "Loan waiver is not the complete solution to treat the agrarian crisis but that does not mean you do not start the first line of treatment. There has to be a beginning. Farmers are dying for want of loan waiver," he said. advertisement He said after waiving loans of farmers they should be empowered so that they do not fall into the vicious cycle of borrowing and indebtedness again. "Moreover, a proper MSP (Minimum Support Price) should be given for their agri produce," Thackeray added. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Mumbai, the state unit BJP chief said there are no chances of early polls. "There are no chances of interim elections in the state. However, if situation demands, the BJP is ready for interim elections," Danve said. When asked to comment on Thackerays statement that the BJP is sitting on a pile of money, Danve said, "This question should be asked to him (Thackeray)." PTI ENM MM ND NSK GSN GSN --- ENDS --- Auto Trader New Car Awards Winners Revealed 10,000 car buyers have their say on the UKs best new cars Jaguar XF takes New Car of the year Award Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Skoda scoop two awards each LONDON - June 15, 2017: Auto Trader, the UKs largest marketplace for new and used cars, launched the inaugural Auto Trader New Car Awards in London yesterday, unveiling 10 new cars which can truly be described as consumer car champions. Ditching the traditional ?expert panel of judges and replacing them with 10,000 genuine car owners, the Auto Trader New Car Awards relies on the honest opinions of consumers who have bought, driven and lived with their new vehicles, giving them an ultimate authority in shortlisting the UKs most highly-recommended new cars. The car owners that powered the Awards were asked about the criteria that governs each of Auto Traders editorial reviews, which covers car ownership and driving aspects such as: running costs, handling, reliability, practicality, performance, equipment, interior and safety. And its not just the judging process that has had a refreshing revamp. The Auto Trader New Car Awards celebrates the cars that champion the specific and current drivers for car purchasing, covering areas such as family life, city driving, buying your very first car or just opting for something a little greener. Auto Trader research reveals that almost half (45%) of car buyers claim they dont know what the traditional car type categories mean (e.g. SUV). And a third are open to buying new or used car, so providing guidance for consumers is key to helping in their decision making. Auto Trader Cars Editor, Andy Pringle, said: the aim of Auto Traders New Car Awards was to make car awards simpler and easier to understand for car buyers, but also to put the power in the hands of the consumer, providing an accurate reflection of the cars that are true consumer champions. The winners of the Auto Trader New Car Awards are: Best car for families - Mercedes-Benz E-ClassBest car for city drivers - Mini HatchBest value new car - Skoda YetiBest car for long distances - Mercedes-Benz C-ClassMost fun car to drive - Audi TTBest car for new drivers - Ford FiestaCar brand with best features - VolvoGreen Car of the Year - Volvo XC90 HybridBest car launched in the last year - Skoda KodiaqNew Car of the Year - Jaguar XF Pringle, adds: our New Car of the Year award winner, the Jaguar XF, deserves special recognition, as it came out on top scoring highly in categories such as comfort, safety, power, and good features and accessories. Jeremy Hicks, Jaguar Land Rover UK MD, said: "We're extremely proud of any award for our products, but this latest Auto Trader Car of the Year title for the Jaguar XF is a real highlight. Voted for by 10,000 members of the UK car-buying public, it's a clear indication that we're producing cars that speak to everything modern drivers are looking for. That was always our target with the XF we wanted it to be capable of everything without compromise; stylish, dynamic, luxurious, comfortable and affordable to run. I'm extremely pleased to see that car-buyers agree we've succeeded." The Auto Trader New Car Awards follows the addition of over 6,000 brand new ?virtual cars now available on Auto Trader. As well as the new car reviews and rich media content the marketplace, consumers can now choose a brand new car and order it from a local franchise dealer. AUTO LAB RADIO SATURDAY MORNING LIVE! - Auto Lab Call-In Radio LIVE Worldwide From New York City 7-9 AM Saturday June 17, 2017 Auto Lab Talk Radio The Auto Lab Radio Show is Broadcast every Saturday 7 to 9 AM On New York City's WNYM Radio AM 970 and Streamed Worldwide On The Auto Channel This Weeks Show Broadcast Date: June 17, 2017 Car Question or Concern? Call Toll Free 888-692-7234 Auto Lab is a 28 year old interactive automotive-focused New York area radio call-in show hosted by Professor Harold Wolchok. Each week a cadre of experienced hands-on automotive experts are in-studio with advice for the New York area's 12 million people, providing listeners with honest, practical and street-smart car repair and buying advice. Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format. Listeners can hear the past 18 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on www.theautochannel.com. Listen - Auto Lab Page (Includes Audio-on-Demand Archives, Auto Programs at Community College Database, Guests Pictures This Weeks Show: June 17, 2017 Auto Lab In-Studio Auto Experts Discuss: Repairs, Second Opinions, Regular Maintenance, How To's, Safety, Used and New Car Buying, Ombudsmen Suggestions Harold Bendell - Major Auto Fred Bordoff - Bronx Community College - CUNY Automotive Technology Department Tim Cacace - Master Mechanix Auto Repairs David Goldsmith - Urban Classics Auto Repairs Joseph Guarino-Joe Guarino's Auto Repairs Jerry Pastore-D & J Diagnostic Johanna Pastore-D & J Diagnostic Joanne Porcelli, Esq Michael Porcelli - Auto Mobile Services Nicholas Prague- MTA and Rockland Community College, SUNY Auto Lab Correspondent Interviews: Featuring Auto Safety News, New Car Reviews, Technology and Latest Auto World Information That Will Effect You! Broadcast Date: June 17, 2017 Robert Erskine, Senior European Correspondent, Suffolk England BALLS TO TRANSPORT! John Russell Senior Correspondent Impressions Of The 2017 KIA FORTE Russ Rader, Vice President Insurance Institute for Highway Safety MORE THAN HALF OF MID-SIZED SUV HEADLIGHTS TESTED RATE MARGINAL OR POOR Robert Sinclair Jr.- AAA Northeast UPDATED OIL PRICES INFORMATION By Press Trust of India: By K J M Varma Beijing, Jun 15 (PTI) China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved USD 150 million equity investment loan to the India Infrastructure Fund, the banks first such loan to fund private projects, a statement said today. The Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) who met in Jeju in South Korea has approvedUSD 150 million equity investment to the India Infrastructure Fund, said a statement from the bank. advertisement The bank, in which India is a lead partner, has approved two loans and one equity investment totalling USD 324 million to support infrastructure projects in India, Georgia and Tajikistan. The Infrastructure Fund aims to invest in mid-cap infrastructure companies in India, and to expand the banks equity and loan deal sourcing pipelines in the private sector through its equity participation in this fund, the statement said. This initiative will benefit local infrastructure development by enhancing private capital inflows from global long-term investors, such as public pension funds, endowments and insurance companies, it said. "Approving our first equity investment is another milestone for the Bank and will enhance our potential to source and fund high quality, private sector projects," said D J Pandian, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer AIIB. "These three projects demonstrate a growing sophistication in our ability to support our member countries across different region," he said. AIIB also approved loans to support transport and power projects in Georgia and Tajikistan. Besides India, the bank has grantedUSD 114 million loan for the Georgia Batumi Bypass Road Project, which is the banks first loan to Georgia, co-financed with the Asian Development Bank. The project aims to improve regional connectivity and efficiency of road transport along the East?West Highway in Georgia. The project will construct a new, two lane road approximately 14.3-km long in a key section of the East?West highway that skirts the port city of Batumi. The bank has grantedUSD 60 million loan for the Tajikistan Nurek Hydropower Rehabilitation Project Phase I, co-financed with the World Bank (IDA Credits and Grants). The project aims to rehabilitate and restore the generating capacity of three units of the Nurek hydropower plant, improve their efficiency and strengthen the safety of Nurek dam operations. ThAIIBwas officially established late last year with 57 founding members. With authorised capital of USD 100 billion, China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 per cent voting shares. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 per cent followed by Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany with 4.5 per cent. PTI KJV MRJ AKJ MRJ --- ENDS --- advertisement NOTICE OF SALE Case No.: 3:21-cv-00770-SVH BY VIRTUE of that certain Decree of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina heretofore granted in the case of ... NOTICE OF LIEN SALE Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below at the location indicated: Store # ... NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATES All persons having claims against the following estates are required to deliver or mail their claims to the indicated Personal Representatives, appointed to administer these... The late Countess Mountbatten of Burma on her wedding day Beautiful Patricia Mountbatten Weds Capt. Lord Brabourne (originally appeared in the Ottawa Journal, 28 Oct 1946) Romsey, Hampshire, England, Oct. 27 Lovely Patricia Mountbatten [1], daughter of one of Britains foremost warriors [2], was married Saturday to Capt. Lord Brabourne [3] in the splendor of Romseys Norman Abbey, and afterward King and Commoner toasted the couple whose wedding gave this ancient town the finest fete in its history. The service was performed in the presence of 1,300 persons, ranging from farm and domestic employees of the two families to generals who had served under Viscount Mountbatten in Asia, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester and two other clergymen. The 22-year-old bride, a Wren officer during the war, was attended by Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, Princess Alexandra, daughter of the Duchess of Kent, and her sister, Pamela. She wore a gown fashioned from Indian silver-gold brocade [4]. The bridesmaids wore satiny blue. The King attended in the uniform of an Admiral and the Queen was in silver grey, with silver fox furs and hat trimmed with ostrich feathers [5]. Viscount Mountbatten likewise wore his admirals uniform. The bridegroom was in the garb of his Coldstream Guards regiment. Prince Philip of Greece was conspicuous in his navy livery [6]. Despite cold, rainy weather, all except the bride and her father, who arrived in an automobile, walked a considerable distance to and from the church, returning with smiles and nods the cheers and handwavings of crowds who waited along the way for many hours. The bridesmaids trains soaked up water and mud, but there was no faltering in the procession. Inside the Abbey nine-year-old Princess Alexandra sought impulsively to straighten the folds of one soiled train, but was admonished by Lord Mountbatten with the slight lift of a finger. After the services two receptions were held, the first at Broadlands, Mountbatten home just outside town, where the King raised a glass of champagne to the bride and bridegroom, and the second in Romseys community hall, in which were gathered gift-bearing tenants from the Mountbatten estates and from those of the bridegrooms family in neighboring Kent. Friends said the couple would honeymoon on the continent, travelling by car, but withheld the itinerary. A report that the two would sail for the United States in the Aquitania was denied officially. Many persons noted pointedly the absence of the Duke of Windsor, Patricias godfather [7] and one of the Mountbattens intimates before he relinquished his kingdom to marry Mrs. Wallis Simpson. They interpreted this as further indication of the royal familys unwillingness to raise embarrassing social questions, and as a re-emphasis of the Dukes position that his wife must be accepted on his terms with a title of Royal Highness for her and all the precedence that goes with it. NOTES 1. Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (1924-2017) was the elder daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and his wife, Edwina Ashley. She married John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne on October 26, 1946; they were a rare aristocratic couple who each held peerages in their own right. Patricia served in the Womens Royal Naval Service in World War II, and met her husband, who was one of her fathers aides, during her time serving in Asia. Both John and Patricia survived the IRA bombing in 1979 that killed her father, his mother, and one of their sons. She was a first cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh and a godmother to Prince Charles. She died on Tuesday at the age of 93. 2. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-1979), born Prince Louis of Battenberg. (He had just been created Viscount Mountbatten of Burma at the time of this wedding; he was upgraded to Earl Mountbatten the following year.) Lord Mountbatten was a titanic figure in the British royal world of the twentieth century, with family connections that tied him to several reigning royal families. His great-grandparents were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; his aunts included Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna of Russia; and his siblings were the Marquess of Milford Haven, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and Queen Louise of Sweden. He had a brilliant career in the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of First Sea Lord, and served as the last Viceroy of India. He was an influential figure in the lives of his nephew, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his great-nephew, Prince Charles. He was killed in an IRA bombing in 1979. 3. John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne (1924-2005) was the husband of Countess Mountbatten. Lord Brabourne served in the Coldstream Guards during the war, and later became a noted film and television producer. He survived the IRA bombing that killed his father-in-law, his mother, and one of his sons in 1979. He died in 2005, and his son, Norton, became the 8th Baron Brabourne. After Patricias funeral, Norton will also become the 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma. 4. Patricia also wore a diamond and pearl star tiara with her wedding ensemble. The tiara is a family heirloom, given to the Marchioness of Milford Haven (Patricias grandmother), by her godmother, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll. The tiara was meant to replace an earlier star tiara, which had been lost in Russia during World War I. By the time of this wedding, the tiara was owned by Patricias mother, Edwina. Today, it still belongs to Patricias family. 5. At the time of this wedding, the reigning king and queen were King George VI (1895-1952) and Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002) of the United Kingdom, parents of the present Queen. 6. Prince Philip, who was a first cousin of the bride, wasnt only conspicuous because of his naval livery. As you can see in the moving image above, newsreel cameras caught him in close conversation with Princess Elizabeth, and rumors of a royal romance began to swirl. The couple announced their engagement a few months later, and they were married the following November. 7. Lady Mountbatten had five godparents: the Duke of Windsor (then Prince of Wales); Queen Louise of Sweden (her paternal aunt, then Crown Princess of Sweden; she was represented at the christening by the Countess of Brecknock); Lady Patricia Ramsay; Lady Margaret Lindsay; and Ruth Mary Ashley (her maternal aunt). By Press Trust of India: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has declared the results of its MBBS online entrance test after a government panel rejected allegations of question paper leak.The results, declared at around 2:15 am, are available on the official website -- aiimsexams.org and also on the websites of other six AIIMS. The entrance examination for the MBBS course was conducted on May 28 at various centres across the country. Around 2.8 lakh students appeared in the exam. advertisement On May 31, Anand Rai, who exposed the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, had alleged that the question papers of this year's entrance exam for MBBS course of the AIIMS were leaked following which the institute had constituted the committee to probe how snapshots of the test came out in public. The AIIMS committee in its report has stated that there was no question paper leak though some candidates in an examination centre in Uttar Pradesh indulged in cheating in connivance with some officials. CBI PROBE RECOMMENDED It also recommended a CBI probe into the matter. Sources said the premier medical institute through its internal mechanism had identified the candidates and the centre. Rai, in a series of tweets, posted images of question papers of the entrance examination. He claimed to have received the question paper screenshots from a source, who said these were leaked from a college in Lucknow when the online test was on. Rai had also tagged the Prime Minister's Office in his tweet and sought a CBI enquiry into the issue. ALSO READ: Delhi: High-level AIIMS committee to review safety of doctors and patients Union Cabinet gives approval for setting up of new AIIMS in Kamrup, Assam --- ENDS --- As the government confirmed to India Today, that privatisation of national carrier Air India is on track, a joint forum of unions representing Air India employees wrote to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju opposing the move. By Poulomi Saha: As the government confirmed to India Today, that privatisation of national carrier Air India is on track, a joint forum of unions representing Air India employees wrote to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju opposing the move. The letter dated 14th June, 2017 alleged an attempt was being made to demolish the national carrier, which has been built over a period of 64 years. It accused the Niti Aayog of "unilaterally, arbitrarily and illegally" recommending privatisation without seeking the opinion of stakeholders. advertisement "The recommendation to privatise Air India has come at a time, when Air India is showing all-round progress, profitability and over 33% increase in the numbers of passengers," the letter read. Speaking exclusively to India Today, JB Kadyan, Secretary General, ACEU (Air Corporation Employees Union), said, "We will approach the government first, but if they don't listen to us we will agitate. How can the Niti Aayog CEO file a report in 15 days? It shows he has written it sitting in a room, without evaluating our assets. We are not responsible for the mess of Air India, government policies are." The letter stated that successive governments have ignored reports of the parliamentary standing committee on civil aviation headed by CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury that suggested methods to improve conditions within Air India. Speaking to India Today, Sitaram Yechury alleged that vested interests were behind the government's move to sell Air India and a "scam was in the making that would be out soon". "This is very dangerous. Today you say it's loss-making and blame the workers. Wage bill of AI is not more than one third of its total cost. Where is that a burden? Two thirds are on irrational things the government has been doing like leasing in aircraft when you've ordered new aircraft, that are lying unused in hangars," he said. In conversation with India Today, Minister of state for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had assured employees of Air India that there won't be any job losses if the airline was privatised. But, this is what the unions who wrote to the Ministry fear, warning of adverse consequences for the country. ALSO READ: Air India privatisation blueprint: The Great Maharajah makeover CBI to probe Air India-Indian Airlines merger, aviation deals signed under UPA tenure --- ENDS --- Pernod Ricard partners Del Maguey Mezcal Pernod Ricard, through its New Brand Ventures division, has announced an agreement to take a majority stake in Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal. Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, founded in 1995 by artist and entrepreneur Ron Cooper, features a range of hand-crafted super-premium mezcals from the Oaxaca region of Mexico. Created from a traditional process rooted in Zapotec culture, the Single Village name identifies every Del Maguey product by the village in which it is made. Ron Cooper says: We partnered with Pernod Ricard because they understand and appreciate our mission of preserving the culture of the Zapotec people and protecting the traditional process of making mezcal. Through this partnership, our management team will gain increased opportunities to distribute our products to mezcal lovers around the world while also ensuring that the palenqueros or families we work with are able to continue crafting their liquid art for generations to come. Under the terms of the transaction, the management team of Ron Cooper, Michael Gardner, Steve Olson, and the rest of the Del Maguey team will remain in place. All of Del Magueys Mexico operations will remain intact as well. Jeff Agdern, senior vice president of Pernod Ricard USAs New Brand Ventures Division says: Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal is highly respected by consumers and the industry for its brand authenticity and relationships with local farmer producers. This acquisition has also been made possible due to Pernod Ricard Mexico teams that provided an appreciation of the link between mezcal and the economic vitality of the villages where it is produced. Alexandre Ricard, chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard, comments: We are very impressed by Del Magueys successful track record and the high quality of their mezcals. This partnership illustrates our continued strategy of partnering with dynamic entrepreneurs who share our passion for authentic, high-quality crafted premium products and further extends our fantastic portfolio of genuine brands. Global sales of mezcal rose to a record US$80 million in 2015, and US volumes jumped 279% from 2005-2015, according to International Wine & Spirits Research. 15 June 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor When Brazos Fellowship Church was founded in the early 2000s, a small group of worshippers gathered in a house in College Station. Now, after several moves, the church is housed in an artistically redesigned and renovated space that once housed a movie theater off Southwest Parkway and is about to grow again. Construction has started on adding space for the growing membership -- which is comprised mostly of Texas A&M students and young families -- including the addition of a four-story tower that will hold offices, children's Sunday school classrooms and conference space. In October, church leadership approached members asking for their support in directing funds toward the creation of new space. Senior pastor Will Lewis said the proposition took almost no persuading of the congregation, remarking that most expressed enthusiasm toward the idea of growing larger. The church was immediately able to lockdown a down payment on the project, which is projected to cost between $3 million and $4 million, and church leaders anticipate meeting their financing goals without any delay. "The only reason our church is here, after starting from someone's living room 12 years ago, is because God has provided for us through people," Lewis said. "We don't have any particular major donors; it's just a lot of people who have really big hearts." BBA Architects LP, a Brenham-based architecture firm, have drawn up designs for the church's expansion, including a restructuring of the current worship center and the addition of a four-story tower to one side of the building. In the worship center, a large balcony will be introduced that will extend seating from 750 chairs to 915. Construction on the balcony began last week, and is expected to take about four months. While work is done on the balcony, portions of the worship center will be temporarily unusable, so half of the regular Sunday crowd will be siphoned into a theater space once used for worship, where sermons will be visible on TV screens. "It will be a little nostalgic for those who have been with us since before 2013," Lewis said. "We'll probably start live streaming the services to people in that room come July." More shuffling will take place in the church, as for a short period children will be moved into the church's annex building, which usually houses teen youth group services. The teens will temporarily resume activities in another portion of the main building. Darren C. Heine of BBA Architects provided a description of what the new space will look like and what it will provide for the church. Among the features will be vertical window elements, oversized brick masonry and exterior stairs that will be in a bold color. "The building is further accented with a projecting balcony on the west and stained wood ceilings for the exterior spaces. The fourth floor conference room and roof terrace will serve both as an administrative space and new member orientation venue to emphasize and reinforce the church's mission to the twin cities and the Brazos Valley with views in all directions," he wrote. Lewis said Brazos Fellowship has maintained a close relationship with the architecture firm since the beginning. The company has performed all updates for the church's current and former locations. "They have been so generous to us, and their friendship is important," Lewis said. "Everything we have, they have helped build and design, initially doing it for free." Church leaders estimate the balcony will be completed inside the worship center no later than October, and the tower, whose foundational groundwork is being laid this month, will be completed in one year. Until then, Lewis said he knows members will be accommodating and patient, as they have shown nothing but support and excitement. "I feel so blessed to pastor one of the kindest and most wonderful churches, with people who are so giving of their time and money," Lewis said. More than 350 people gathered Wednesday at the College Station Hilton for steak, cake and celebration to honor the 10 fastest-growing businesses in Brazos County. Ten businesses were presented with awards at the Bryan Rotary 10 ceremony, with Exothermix -- which experienced a staggering 1,745 percent sales growth between 2014 and 2016 -- earning the top honor. Exothermix initially produced rechargable batteries but began making portable self-heating products for the Army in 2006 to safely heat their rations. Now, the company has found enormous success in multiple industries. "We're meeting the customers' needs for energy on demand," said Adam Laubach, Exothermix's CEO. Exothermix now applies its heating technology to everything from melting chocolate to exoskeleton support, and it expects even more success in the future. "We anticipate that heating packaging could potentially be a $1 billion unit per year business in three to four years," Laubach said. Laubach said Exothermix, based in College Station, is the "type of company would normally be on the West Coast," but it's housed in Aggieland because of its proximity to major cities and talent at Texas A&M University and the culture of the flagship university just a few miles away. "The culture of Texas A&M University really fits with us," Laubach said of Exothermix's emphasis on giving back to the community. Larry Bates, vice president of sales and marketing, said the company isn't entirely sure how to use its heat-generating technology, but it is helped by capitalism's invisible hand. "The market is teaching us almost daily on how this technology is to be used," he said. The No. 2 fastest-growing small business was A Brush Above, which undertakes projects involving commercial drywall and commercial, residential and industrial painting. The team's work can be seen at The Parc at Traditions, Scott & White Hospital and at numerous schools throughout Bryan-College Station, including Jane Long and Sam Rayburn middle schools and Rock Prairie Elementary School. Susanne Krueger, who owns A Brush Above along with Thomas Rodgers and Kaitlyn Rodgers, said the secret to its nearly 500 percent sales growth over the past three years is "great employees." "Taking the time with hiring good people makes all the difference," Krueger said. Asked to share her wisdom with small-business owners looking to grow, Krueger said to "know your people, and hang onto the good ones." Fries Financial Services, owned by Denise Fries, was presented the Anco Insurance Award for Lifetime Business Achievement by Kathy Gregory, president and CEO of Anco Insurance. Fries Financial Services began 32 years ago and evolved to specialize in retirement planning, estate planning, life insurance, long-term care insurance, college funding and investments. The company now has $268 million of assets under management for more than 1,000 clients. The business was honored with three Newman 10 Awards, including being ranked at No. 1 in 2012. The firm also has a long history of giving back to the community by raising funds and building homes for Habitat for Humanity. In his keynote speech. Brad Napp, from Gov. Greg Abbott's office, praised the "risk-takers" and "job creators" of local small- and medium-sized businesses. "Keep doing what you're doing," Napp told the crowd. "We appreciate the integral role Brazos Valley plays in the Texas economy." The awards, which were formerly known as the Newman 10 Awards, are sponsored by the Bryan Rotary Club. May 13, 1945 - June 12, 2017 Ronald Wayne Weatherford, 72, of College Station, passed away, June 12, 2017 at the College Station Medical Center. The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, Thursday, June 15th at Memorial Funeral Chapel in College Station. A funeral service is scheduled for 2:00 PM, Friday, June 16th at the Rock Prairie Baptist Church. Interment will follow at Willowhole Cemetery. Ronald was born May 13, 1945 in Madisonville, Texas, the son of R.W. and Lavada (Rush) Weatherford. After graduating from high school, Ronald joined the Air Force. While stationed at Bergstrom AFB in Austin, Texas, he married Lynette Wallace. Also while at Bergstrom AFB, he was one of ten Aircraft Mechanics cleared to work on Air Force One when President Johnson was in Texas. Mr. Weatherford owned and operated Weatherford Door Company in Bryan. He was a member and Deacon at Rock Prairie Baptist Church and a member and Chaplain of the Gideons. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved hunting and fishing. He was preceded in death by his parents, and a sister, Margaret Ann Bukowski. Survivors include his wife, Lynette; two sons, Mitch Weatherford, and Raney Weatherford; three grandchildren, Sean Curtis Weatherford and his wife Jessica, Hallie Beth Weatherford, and Rhett Wayne Weatherford; one great grandchild, Channing Reese Conde; two brothers, Orlan Weatherford & his wife Mary, James Weatherford; and many other young men he mentored and thought of as his sons. In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorial donations be made in Ronald's name to The Gideons, Still Creek Ranch or the American Heart Association. By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 13 (PTI) Angola today invited Indian businesses to invest in sectors like agriculture and mining in the resource-rich southern African nation. Angolas Economy Minister Abrahao Pio dos Santos Gourgel, who is currently on a visit here, sought Indian expertise in technology and training and capacity building. Angola has created a conducive business environment including a robust legal framework that would be attractive for Indian investors looking for business opportunities, the minister said at a conference organised by Ficci. advertisement He encouraged Indian companies and investors to work closely with their counterparts in Angola for the successful collaboration and prosperity of the two countries. The minister emphasised that the ongoing economic diversification in Angola has created potential for sustainable growth in key sectors like commercial agriculture, food processing and beverages industry, geology and mining and transports and logistics. He said there are numerous investment opportunities available, particularly in the greenfield projects, which would help in creating new production capacity and jobs. PTI RSN ABM --- ENDS --- Change sometimes is painful but often it is necessary Those of us who are creatures of habit don't like change. Nevertheless, as in taxes and death, change is inevitable. It is a complex and dynamic phenomenon with many dimensions but at its core are three basic elements: the current status, a desired outcome and the "change agent." Over the years we have seen the change process in action such as the industrial revolution, desegregation or the challenges of moving to the digital world. In most every case it involved a painful process wherein those who resist change confront those desiring change and in between are the change agents whose task is to make the "change" happen. In many cases, the life span of the change agent is short. It's the old dilemma of one side saying change is happening too fast, while the opposition complains change is taking too long. One can see the parallel in today's political scene. Many of the previous administration's policies are being dismantled while the current leadership struggles to find acceptable alternatives. In the hot seat is our current change agent who, as others have experienced in the past, receives criticism from both sides. As in all major change processes, the inevitable outcome will be that there is never a return to the old way of doing things while simultaneously desired outcomes usually are different from their original visions. The demise of the change agent almost is certain. New consensus leadership will emerge. Painful as it may be, life will go on in some form. Historians and academia will debate for years the role and effectiveness of our current change agent and how the magnitude of his and his predecessor's change process may have impacted our country and the society it serves. JIM RILEY Bryan Growth of 'stealth dorms' is a danger to the community As a Bryan resident of more than 20 years, I'm very concerned with the rapid increase in what are called "stealth dorms" now being built in established neighborhoods in Bryan. We all recognize that the dramatic growth of Texas A&M's student population has created a need for off-campus student housing. The stealth dorms seem to be multiplying by the week and while they may fill one need, they also bring special problems. There is increased traffic on normally quiet residential streets, parking congestion, occasionally excessive noise, and even danger to children walking to school. The stealth dorms directly across the street from Crockett Elementary School are one example. Many older neighborhoods have a special charm and appeal to newcomers, and are part of our city's historic past. We now are seeing existing, often smaller homes in these neighborhoods torn down so that multiple stealth dorms can be built on existing lots. Both Bryan and College Station have very few affordable housing options for young families and many of those options are being torn down for the stealth dorms. I understand the complexity of this issue, but would urge our city council and planning and zoning commission carefully to consider the broader implications of allowing more and more of these stealth dorms to be built in our community. MARGARET A. BRYANT Bryan Is government intentionally keeping Americans in the dark? While a professor at MIT, Jonathan Gruber may have become most famously known to the public for proffering that the proposed Obamacare bill only could be passed into law because of its lack of transparency and the stupidity of the American people. Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House proclaimed further that the bill must be passed to see what was in it. Was this due to its lack of clarity or her stupidity? My contention is that the American people are not informed of the opaqueness of congressional members' actions but this does not prove they are stupid. To be kept in the dark about a proposed bill or something of importance and relevancy to understanding an action is intentional. Stupidity's connotative value is understood generally to indicate the condition of one of mental deficiency. Clarity and openness regarding the political actions and compromises of members in the U.S. government can promote the condition of an informed public. The degree of our apparent stupidity may be due to the fact that there is no basis generally and objectively available to permit informed decisions. Are we being kept in the dark intentionally -- or, are we idiots who only can be stupid? JERRY BARDIN College Station "[A]dvanced fast reactors and other innovative reactor designs are unlikely to be feasible or viable in the foreseeable future. The development of such a first-of-a-kind project in South Australia would have high commercial and technical risk. Although prototype and demonstration reactors are operating, there is no licensed, commercially proven design. Development to that point would require substantial capital investment." SA as the world's nuclear waste dump The only thing left standing (apart from the shrinking uranium mining industry) was the plan to import nuclear waste as a commercial venture. Based on commissioned research, the Royal Commission proposed importing 138,000 tonnes of high-level nuclear waste (spent nuclear fuel from power reactors) and 390,000 cubic metres of intermediate-level waste. The SA Labor government then established a 'Know Nuclear' statewide promotional campaign under the guide of 'consultation'. The Government also initiated the Citizens' Jury. The first sign that things weren't going to plan for the Government was on 15 October 2016, when 3,000 people participated in a protest against the nuclear dump at Parliament House in Adelaide. A few weeks later, on November 6, the Citizens' Jury rejected the nuclear dump plan. Journalist Daniel Wills wrote: "This "bold" idea looks to have just gone up in a giant mushroom cloud. When Premier Jay Weatherill formed the citizens' jury to review the findings of a Royal Commission that recommended that SA set up a lucrative nuclear storage industry, he professed confidence that a well-informed cross-section of the state would make a wise judgment. Late Sunday, it handed down a stunning and overwhelming rejection of the proposal. "Brutally, jurors cited a lack of trust even in what they had been asked to do and their concerns that consent was being manufactured. Others skewered the Government's basic competency to get things done, doubting that it could pursue the industry safely and deliver the dump on-budget." In the immediate aftermath of the Citizens' Jury, the SA Liberal Party and the Nick Xenophon Team announced that they would actively campaign against the dump in the lead-up to the March 2018 state election. The SA Greens were opposed from the start. Premier Weatherill previously said that he established the Citizens' Jury because he could sense that there is a "massive issue of trust in government". It was expected that when he called a press conference on November 14, the Premier would accept the Jury's verdict and dump the dump. But he announced that he wanted to hold a referendum on the issue, as well as giving affected Aboriginal communities a right of veto. Nuclear dumpsters went on an aggressive campaign to demonise the Citizens' Jury though they surely knew that the bias in the Jury process was all in the pro-nuclear direction. For the state government to initiate a referendum, enabling legislation would be required and non-government parties said they would block such legislation. The government didn't push the matter perhaps because of the near-certainty that a referendum would be defeated. The statewide consultation process led by the government randomly surveyed over 6,000 South Australians and found 53% opposition to the proposal compared to 31% support. Likewise, a November 2016 poll commissioned by the Sunday Mail found 35% support for the nuclear dump plan among 1,298 respondents. The newspaper's report on its own poll was dishonest. Instead of noting that non-supporters outnumbered supporters by almost two to one, the Sunday Mail conflated responses to two different questions and claimed: "Majority support for creating a nuclear industry in South Australia is revealed in an extensive Sunday Mail survey of public opinion, in a rebuff to moves to shut down further study of a high-level waste dump." Then the Labor government announced on 15 November 2016 that it would not seek to repeal or amend the SA Nuclear Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000, legislation which imposes major constraints on the ability of the government to move forward with the nuclear waste import proposal. (The government also said that it would not encourage the federal government to repeal laws banning nuclear power, "recognising that in the short-to-medium term, nuclear power is not a cost-effective source of low-carbon electricity for South Australia"). Economic claims exposed Implausible claims about the potential economic benefits of importing nuclear waste had been discredited by this stage. The claims presented in the Royal Commission's report were scrutinised by experts from the US-based Nuclear Economics Consulting Group (NECG), commissioned by a Joint Select Committee of the SA Parliament. One of the many lies peddled by the Murdoch press was that the NECG report "backed Royal Commission findings that a nuclear dump could create $257 billion in revenue for South Australia." In fact, the NECG report did no such thing. The kindest thing the report had to say was that the waste import project could be profitable under certain assumptions, but the report then raised serious questions about most of those assumptions. The NECG report noted that the Royal Commission's economic analysis failed to consider important issues which "have significant serious potential to adversely impact the project and its commercial outcomes"; that assumptions about price were "overly optimistic" in which case "project profitability is seriously at risk"; that the 25% cost contingency for delays and blowouts was likely to be a significant underestimate; and that the assumption the project would capture 50% of the available market had "little support or justification". The farcical and dishonest engineering of a positive economic case to proceed with the nuclear waste plan was exposed by ABC journalist Stephen Long on 8 November 2016: "Would you believe me if I told you the report that the commission has solely relied on was co-authored by the president and vice president of an advocacy group for the development of international nuclear waste facilities?" No second opinion, no peer review ... no wonder the Citizens' Jury was unconvinced and unimpressed. The Jury's report said: "It is impossible to provide an informed response to the issue of economics because the findings in the RCR [Royal Commission report] are based on unsubstantiated assumptions. This has caused the forecast estimates to provide inaccurate, optimistic, unrealistic economic projections." Professor Barbara Pocock, an economist at the University of South Australia, said: "All the economists who have replied to the analysis in that report have been critical of the fact that it is a 'one quote' situation. We haven't got a critical analysis, we haven't got a peer review of the analysis". Another South Australian economist, Prof. Richard Blandy from Adelaide University, said: "The forecast profitability of the proposed nuclear dump rests on highly optimistic assumptions. Such a dump could easily lose money instead of being a bonanza." The dump is finally dumped To make its economic case, the Royal Commission assumed that tens of thousands of tonnes of high-level nuclear waste would be imported before work had even begun building a deep underground repository. The state government hosed down concerns about potential economic losses by raising the prospect of customer countries paying for the construction of waste storage and disposal infrastructure in SA. But late last year, nuclear and energy utilities in Taiwan seen as one of the most promising potential customer countries made it clear that they would not pay one cent towards the establishment of storage and disposal infrastructure in SA and they would not consider sending nuclear waste overseas unless and until a repository was built and operational. By the end of 2016, the nuclear dump plan was very nearly dead, and the Premier's recent statement that it is "not something that will be progressed by the Labor Party in Government" was the final nail in the coffin. The dump has been dumped. "Today's news has come as a relief and is very much welcomed," said Yankunytjatjara Native Title Aboriginal Corporation Chair and No Dump Alliance spokesperson Karina Lester. "We are glad that Jay has opened his ears and listened to the community of South Australia who have worked hard to be heard on this matter. We know nuclear is not the answer for our lands and people - we have always said NO." Narungga man and human rights activist Tauto Sansbury said: "We absolutely welcome Jay Weatherill's courageous decision for looking after South Australia. It's a great outcome for all involved." Lessons learned? There is much to reflect on. The idea of Citizens' Juries would seem, superficially, attractive. But bias is inevitable if the government establishing and funding the Jury process is strongly promoting (or opposing) the issue under question. In the case of the Jury investigating the nuclear waste plan, it backfired quite spectacularly on the government (Daniel Wills' analysis in The Advertiser was arguably the most perceptive). Citizen Juries will be few and far between for the foreseeable future in Australia. A key lesson for political and corporate elites is that they shouldn't let any semblance of democracy intrude on their plans. The role of Murdoch tabloids needs comment, particularly in regions where the only mass circulation newspaper is a Murdoch tabloid. No-one would dispute that the NT News has a dumbing-down effect on political and intellectual life in the Northern Territory. Few would doubt that the Courier Mail does the same in Queensland. South Australians need to grapple with the sad truth that its Murdoch tabloids the Advertiser and the Sunday Mail are a blight on the state. Their grossly imbalanced and wildly inaccurate coverage of the nuclear dump debate was with some honourable exceptions disgraceful. And that disgraceful history goes back decades; for example, a significant plume of radiation dusted Adelaide after one of the British bombs tests in the 1950s but the Advertiser chose not to report it. The main lesson from the dump debate is a positive one: people power can upset the dopey, dangerous ideas driven by political and corporate elites and the Murdoch press. Sometimes. It was particularly heartening that the voices of Traditional Owners were loud and clear and were given great respect by the Citizens' Jury. The Jury's report said: "There is a lack of Aboriginal consent. We believe that the government should accept that the Elders have said NO and stop ignoring their opinions. ... Jay Weatherill said that without the consent of traditional owners of the land "it wouldn't happen". It is unethical to backtrack on this statement without losing authenticity in the engagement process." Premier Weatherill said that one of valuable things that emerged from the Citizens' Jury "is that there was an expression of solidarity by the wider community with the Aboriginal community". Conversely, the most disheartening aspect of the debate was the willingness of the Murdoch press and pro-nuclear lobbyists to ignore or trash Aboriginal people opposed to the dump. Another dump debate Traditional Owners, environmentalists, church groups, trade unionists and everyone else who contributed to dumping the dump can rest up and celebrate for a moment. But only for a moment. Another dump proposal is very much alive: the federal government's plan to establish a national nuclear waste dump in SA, either in the Flinders Ranges or on farming land near Kimba, west of Port Augusta. In May 2016, Adnyamathanha Traditional Owner Regina McKenzie, who lives near the Flinders Ranges site, wrote: "Last year I was awarded the SA Premier's Natural Resource Management Award in the category of 'Aboriginal Leadership - Female' for working to protect land that is now being threatened with a nuclear waste dump. But Premier Jay Weatherill has been silent since the announcement of six short-listed dump sites last year, three of them in SA. "Now the Flinders Ranges has been chosen as the preferred site and Mr Weatherill must speak up. The Premier can either support us just as the SA government supported the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta when their land was targeted for a national nuclear waste dump from 1998-2004 or he can support the federal government's attack on us by maintaining his silence." Perhaps the Premier will find his voice on the federal government's contentious proposal for a national nuclear waste dump in SA, now that his position on that debate is no longer complicated by the parallel debate about establishing a dump for foreign high-level nuclear waste. This Author Dr Jim Green is the national nuclear campaigner with Friends of the Earth Australia and editor of the Nuclear Monitor newsletter. Chemical warfare agents are the new kids on the block in the warfare industry. Scientists have been trying to come up with a viable protective solution and they have finally succeeded with this lightweight fabric coating that can actually degrade the chemical toxins before they reach the skin. By India Today Web Desk: Chemical weapons are monstrous to our skin and can kill thousands in seconds. A recent study in the journal Chemistry of Materials said that scientists have recently developed a lightweight coating that can be affixed to fabrics which can neutralize those toxins from chemical warfare that can be delivered through the skin. This technique to degrade chemical warfare agents (CWAs) can eventually be used to protect soldiers and emergency responders. Dozens of chemical weapons with disastrous potential have been developed in past during their usage in the First World War. For example, just a pinprick size droplet of the nerve gas 'sarin' on the skin is deadly. Scientists are working on creating MOFs that can be used to degrade these toxic chemical agents. What are MOFs? advertisement MOFs are tiny microscopic, porous structures that have large surface areas. This allows them to absorb vast amounts of gases and other substances. The trouble with making MOFs: Scientists have started researching on the use of zirconium-based metal-organic framework (MOF) powders. The zirconium in MOFs helps neutralize toxic materials However, making MOFs can be tedious, requiring high temperatures and long reaction times Also, most MOF, which come in the form of powders, are not stable and incorporating them onto clothing has proven to be very challenging Dennis Lee, Gregory N Parsons and their colleagues wanted to grow MOFs on fabric at a room temperature, which would be capable of creating a lightweight safeguard coating that could be used in protective clothing and uniforms. Earlier, carbon based compounds to fight CWAs could only absorb the toxins but not degrade them. This invention however, can degrade the toxins. About the research Earlier, the researchers were exposed to polypropylene which is a nonwoven fabric. Polypropylene, which consists of a zirconium-based MOF that is a solvent and two binding agents, is generally used in shopping bags and certain clothing items To ensure that the MOF spreads evenly across the cloth, the fabrics were treated with thin layers of aluminum, titanium and zinc oxide The combination was tested with dimethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate (DMNP). It is a relatively harmless molecule that has a similar reactivity as sarin, soman and other nerve agents It was found that the MOF-treated cloths deactivated the DMNP in less than five minutes, suggesting this process is a viable means to create improved protective clothing Science nowadays making wonders and this is one of them. Polypropylene is a life saving chemical we are not aware of but it is almost everywhere around us. The use of this shield can help save many lives in future and would serve as a great help for the soldiers. Interested in General Knowledge and Current Affairs? Click here to stay informed and know what is happening around the world with our G.K. and Current Affairs section. To get more updates on Current Affairs, send in your query by mail to education.intoday@gmail.com --- ENDS --- WACO gets a crack at the first state championship game in school history In an important move, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) today issued formal orders authorizing disability pension to all disabled-soldiers and officers prior to 2006, even to those who had taken pre-voluntary, pre-mature retirement. By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: In an important move, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) today issued formal orders authorizing disability pension to all disabled-soldiers and officers prior to 2006, even to those who had taken pre-voluntary pre-mature retirement. Doing away with the rule that the disability pension was given only to those officers and soldiers who had sought pre-mature retirement prior to 2006. While sources said that there were multiple judicial pronouncement, the government has finally given to a long pending demand and "has been a welcome step." advertisement Sources said that while the orders came in May itself, it has been implemented only now. A letter accessed by India Today says "the President is pleased to decide that Pre-2006 Armed force personnel who were retired/discharged from service on or after 1st January 2006. Who were retained in service despite disability and retired voluntarily or otherwise will be disallowed disability elements in addition to retiring/service pension and gratuity subject to condition that their disability was accepted as attributable to or aggravated by military service and had forgone lump-sump compensation in lieu of disability." Time line: In 2004, the Delhi High Court had questioned the MoD rule that prohibited grant of disability and war injury benefits to premature retirees. Similar orders were passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and later upheld by the SC. In 2009, the MoD issued a letter authorising disability benefits to voluntary retirees but had restricted its applicability to only post-2006 retirees. The MoD, however, continued to refuse benefits to affected disabled personnel, except those who approached courts. In November 2015, a committee of experts constituted by then Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, to reduce litigation in the armed forces came down heavily on the MoD for indulging in filing frivolous appeals against its employees, including disabled soldiers. The panel specifically recommended the removal of the prohibition once it had been struck down by courts. The committee stated that the denial of benefits was based upon a "false foundation, wrong inputs and unethical propaganda". --- ENDS --- WILTON Ridgefield Road residents leading the opposition against a regulation permitting age-restricted developments on the scenic road were pleasantly surprised on Monday when town counsel Ira Bloom recommended that the town rescind the controversial directive. Blooms based his recommendation on the precedent set in a 2002 Connecticut Supreme Court case, Wilson v. Planning and Zoning of East Granby, in which the court ruled that a town must publish a public notice for a zone change decision prior to its effective date. The revelation came on the tail of Blooms review of an injunction filed last week by Patricia Frisch, a Ridgefield Road resident, to block the towns age restricted overlay district regulation (AROD). Frischs lawsuit identified a defect in the way the town had posted public notice after P&Z approved the AROD regulation in November. The lawsuit contended the regulation was made effective on the same date (Nov. 17) that the towns notice was published in the newspaper. After reviewing the lawsuit, Bloom concluded that the regulation had a fatal flaw. A court would conclude, undoubtedly, that this regulation would be void, Bloom said to the hundred-plus residents who had gathered for the Planning and Zoning Commissions final public hearing on an application that sought to remove Ridgefield Road from the overlay district. Vicki Mavis stood at the center of the resistance to age-restricted developments on Ridgefield Road. After filing an application to remove Ridgefield Road from the overlay district, seeking a moratorium on age-restricted developments, Mavis admitted was caught completely by surprise when Bloom announced the towns turnaround. We were going into the meeting thinking that they [the commissioners] were going to probably vote against us, just based off a read of the room and based on the way they were responding at the previous two hearings, Mavis said the day after the towns announcement. Though Mavis said that she was gratified by the battle the opposition had won, she also acknowledged that there was still a larger war afoot. This is not the end of the issue. They [town officials] see a need for this in the community, but that can be taken up at a later date in terms of whether the demand [for age-restricted housing] is actually there, she said. While the regulation as originally enacted is set to be scrapped at Planning and Zonings next meeting on June 26, Commissioner Rick Tomasetti stood by the spirit of the regulation, stating that there will likely be more age-restricted housing discussions down the road. Theres going to be some growing pains with this. We know this regulation is going to come off the books, but the issue isnt going to go away. The issue of who we are as a town and how we are going to plan our future isnt going to go away. Do we need to have diversity in our housing stock? Absolutely. Was this regulation imperfect? Yeah, I think most of our regulations are imperfect, Tomasetti said. Bloom pointed out that regulations revocation may actually be a blessing in disguise for the town. It will give the commission and the public an opportunity to rethink this, to continue a dialogue, to have a healthy discussion about what kind of housing needs the town has, said Bloom. Commissioner Scott Lawrence echoed this idea that Planning and Zonings decisions down the road regarding AROD regulations will benefit from the turmoil of the last two months. Will be revisiting it, try and listen to what we heard, and try to blend into it what weve heard, considering new things, Lawrence said. The impending reversal of the regulation also leaves the controversial application for a 16-unit age-restricted facility at 183 Ridgefield Rd. LLC in an uncertain position. Though the application could technically still be approved based on the regulations as they existed at the time of its submission, but that outcome is highly unlikely. Even in the event that developer Jim Fieber doesnt withdraw his application by his next scheduled meeting on July 10, Bloom said that the commission would not approve the application. Fieber would not comment on the towns decision to rescind the regulation nor on his future plans for the property. ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com; 203-354-1046; Twitter: @Tomlinson_PE Five battalions of the Indian Army have been rushed to Kashmir in order to provide protection to the annual Amarnath Yatra. The move comes as officials say peaceful conduct of the yatra is being seen as a big challenge for security forces. By Ajit Kumar Dubey, Manjeet Negi: With increasing threat perception, the Indian Army has deployed close to 5,000 additional troops in Kashmir to provide protection to the pilgrims of the annual Amarnath Yatra - in addition to the 4,000 troops rushed there earlier to prevent infiltration and carry out extensive counter terrorist operations. Officials said the peaceful conduct of the yatra is being seen as a big challenge for the security forces. advertisement Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat and DG CRPF Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar are likely to visit the state for reviewing the arrangements made for the pilgrims. In the last few years, the separatist Hurriyat Conference and the Islamic terrorists have been opposing the conduct of the yatra and several attempts have been made by these forces to stop and discourage pilgrims from attending the pilgrimage having been held since centuries. The five battalions that have been moved include engineers, signals and Territorial Army units. One battalion will be on the Sonamarg-Baltal route to the Amarnarth shrine in Jammu and Kashmir and the other one in the Pahalgam route, Army sources said. The remaining battalions will be positioned along the Srinagar-Jammu highway, north of the Jawahar Tunnel. The troops will be equipped with night-vision capability and tasked with securing the heights around the routes. The CRPF is in overall charge of conducting the yatra. In the last eight months, after the surgical strikes on PoK, the Army has been beefing up its presence in the Valley and the LoC to keep a check on terrorist operations. ALSO READ | Srinagar: 2 lakh pilgrims registered for Amarnath Yatra ALSO WATCH | Kashmir on high alert after militants carry out multiple back-to-back strikes --- ENDS --- Bond was set at $1 million on Wednesday morning for Ahmed M. Said, who is accused of causing the April death of Abdulma Khamis. Khamis was found the night of April 13 in a yard at 420 S. Cedar St., the victim of serious head injuries. He died on April 19. Said, who was already in the Hall County Jail, was arrested this week by Grand Island police. Said, 23, made his first court appearance Wednesday morning in Hall County Court in connection to the death of Khamis. He made his appearance by video from the jail. Said is charged with second-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon other than a firearm to commit a felony. Court documents accuse Said of using a metal object to commit the crime. Said is charged with intentionally and maliciously, but without premeditation, killing Khamis. Chief Deputy Hall County Attorney Sarah Carstensen detailed the charges against Said. An altercation between Khamis and Said was partially captured on a surveillance camera at the MSAS Used Car Superstore, she said. Saids cellphone also reflected the defendants interest in the case, Carstensen said. He typed questions looking for information about Khamis condition at CHI Health St. Francis, she said. Another question asked what injuries result when a person is attacked with a metal pole. According to police, the homicide occurred in the vicinity of the 700 block of West First Street. Said will have to pay 10 percent of the bond amount to be released from jail. During his appearance, Said told Judge Art Wetzel that he plans to hire his own attorney. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. July 28. Carstensen said Khamis, a 41-year-old homeless man, had severe head and brain injuries. Grand Island police say they will not be releasing further details about the case in order to protect Saids right to a fair and impartial trial. Second-degree murder is a Class 1B felony. Those found guilty of the crime must serve 20 years to life imprisonment. The second charge, a Class 2 felony, carries a sentence of one to 50 years. If found guilty of that offense, Wetzel said, the sentence would be served after the first. Police Capt. Kerry Mehlin was asked if the altercation might have involved drugs. Theres nothing to indicate right now that this homicide had anything to do with drugs, Mehlin said. Said, who is also homeless, has been in jail since April 19 because of an April 9 incident, for which he is charged with second-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. In that case, Said is accused of assaulting Deng Atem Garang Beny with a liquor bottle. On April 26, Said was fined $250 for theft by shoplifting totaling $0 to $500. According to court documents, he stole a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream from the Smoker Friendly Cigarette Store, 802 W. Second St. The other Grand Island murder case still open involves the April 8 death of Christian Peterson. The 59-year-old man was stabbed multiple times at his residence at 1309 W. Seventh St. Were still working that full-bore, Capt. Jim Duering said of the Peterson case. Theres a lot of work that went into this one and still will for court preparation, and were going to keep working that one just as hard. They might have been great rulers, but these fathers just didn't do enough justice to the idea of fatherhood. By Shivani Chhabra, Shreya Goswami: We can claim without any regret that our dads are the best. If you're a modern kid, you've probably had a father who actually invested his love and care in you. The role they play in our lives are worthy of more than just a Father's Day once a year. But we never pause to think that this role is, in fact, quite different from the ones set by fathers from Hindu mythology. advertisement And not just Hindu mythology. A warped sense of fatherhood seems to have been the norm with even the ancient Greeks. After all, Kronos ate all his kids, till his last-born Zeus slayed him. Anybody familiar with the Old Testament of the Bible (which is something the Jews, Christians and Muslims follow different versions of) would know just how much of a failure Eli, Samuel and David were as fathers. Bad dads are a part and parcel of mythologies from across the globe, and no matter how inspiring the mythical kings from the vast Hindu mythology might seem to you, you just can't deny that they didn't match up to the ideals of fatherhood. Don't believe us? Here are a few dads from Hindu mythology who just weren't the best, or even there, when their kids needed them the most. Also Read: Father's Day: A letter to gay fathers, for being the bada** champions they are 1. Dushyant and Bharat Now this story has two children abandoned by their fathers. Vishwamitra left the heavenly nymph, Menaka, and their newborn daughter--because Menaka had dared to disturb his meditation. Menaka couldn't take the child back to heaven, so she left her in the forest, where the sage Kanva found her and adopted her. That's how Shakuntala, the heroine of Kalidas's famous Abhigyanshakuntalam was born. She probably didn't know that history would repeat itself when she would fall in love with King Dushyant. The couple fell in love and married through the Gandharva ritual while Kanva was away, and their time together left Shakuntala pregnant. All she had as a proof of the wedding was a signet ring, which she was supposed to present to the king's court when she reached his capital. After Dushyant left to resume work in his kingdom, Shakuntala was cursed by sage Durvasa that her beloved would forget her. The rejection of Shakuntala by King Dushyant. Picture for representation purpose. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Raj Verma The rejection of Shakuntala by King Dushyant. Picture for representation purpose. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Raj Verma When Shakuntala travelled to Dushyant's court (and lost the ring on the way), the king rejected her. Kalidas' plot might have been poetically penned, but what sort of a man forgets a woman he married simply because of a curse? Shakuntala returned to her hermitage, and gave birth to a son--Bharat. Dushyant went on to be a king with a huge dominion, and stumbled across the young Bharat only years later. advertisement Yes, he did finally accept Shakuntala and Bharat, but the whole story points to the fact that this mythological king didn't give two hoots about the woman he had married in secret, or the son from that union. The king whose name inspired the name of India grew up without knowing the love or recognition of his father. Dushyant might have been a great conqueror, but he was clearly not a great dad. Also Read: 7 things your dad deserves to hear more than your boyfriend/girlfriend 2. Shiva and Ganesha We're all aware of the wrath, the 'destroyer of the world', Shiva is capable of. But beheading his own son? That was a little extreme. The legend described in the Shiva Purana says that Parvati created Ganesha when Shiva left for an expedition, leaving her alone and bored. On being persuaded by Lakshmi, Parvati created a statue of clay and blew life into it, and created a son who was called Ganesha. advertisement Parvati ordered her son to guard the entrance while she was bathing, which is when Shiva--oblivious to Ganesha's relation with him--returned. The obedient son that Ganesha was, he denied Shiva entry inside his mother's bath, despite all the hermits and Devas trying to convince him. A stubborn Ganesha refused to listen to anyone but his mother, enraging his father. Shiva cut off the head of Parvati's favourite son, Ganesh, out of rage. Picture for representation purpose. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Ajinkya Prabhu Soon, the father and son were involved in a battle-like situation, which ended with Shiva beheading his son. The grieving Parvati begged her husband to reinstate life into her son's headless body. Giving in to his wife's prayers, Shiva placed an elephant's head on the body, and it came to life--thus, the Elephant God was reborn. While it's okay to have ideological differences with your children--and disagreements are a part of life--such violent acts should be condemned. There were enough ways of penalising Ganesha for his behaviour; going to the extent of killing him out of rage was extreme. advertisement 3. Arjun and Iravan The son of Pandava prince, Arjun, and Naga princess, Ulupi, turned out to be the ultimate sacrificial son. Devdutt Pattanaik reveals in Jaya that Iravan played a vital role in the battle of Mahabharata. Arjun met and fell in love with the Naga princess when he was living in the forest for a year as punishment for entering Draupadi's chamber while she was with Yudhishtira. He married her, and the two were blessed with a boy, Iravan--the son Arjun abandoned shortly after, only to turn him into his scapegoat later. Iravan lived in Nagalok with his just mother, until the day he decided to visit Arjun. Arjun was fighting the battle that the Kauravas were winning, and Iravan joined in on his father's command--because that's what one should do, after a son you abandoned shows up out of respect. Arjun left Princess Ulupi and his son, Iravan, till he needed them during battles. Picture for representation purpose. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Lord Krishna - The essence of universe Soon after Iravan's entry into the battle, it was declared that the Pandavas could only win the battle if a prince was sacrificed to Goddess Kali. As expected, Iravan agreed to offer himself to the deity, because that's what an obedient son was expected to do. Iravan chopped his head off for the father who abandoned him, without looking back with regret. Arjun might be the greatest archer in the world, but clearly, he wasn't the greatest father. Also Read: Gordon Ramsay is not planning to pass on his fortune to his kids; are Indian parents listening? 4. Bhima and Ghatothkach Another scapegoat from the Mahabharata, Ghatothkacha was the son of the strongest Pandava, Bhima, and his Rakshasni wife Hidimbi. Like Arjun, Bhim abadoned his son and wife in the forest only to think of his half-human half-rakshas son when the need arose. Devdutt Pattanaik explains how Ghatothkacha embodied the strengths of a rakshas, and the intellect of a human. This made him one of the strongest warriors in the battle of Mahabharata. Abandoned by his father on Kunti's (his grandmother) wishes, Ghatothkach was remembered first when the Pandavas were too fatigued to walk. So, he carried them along with his rakshas-pals on his shoulders. Bhima's son, Ghatothkach, helped the Pandavas time and again. Picture for representation purpose. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Sri Krishna Leelai The next time Ghatothkach was called to duty by Bhima was during the battle, where he killed Kauravas like ants under an elephant's foot. To stop the terror he had unleashed on the Kauravas, Karna killed him using the Vaijanthi Shastra granted to him by Indra. Such was the power of this human-rakshas, who died serving his father, and is still an unsung hero. 5. Shantanu and Bhishma To be fair to Shantanu, one has to admit that he did try to stop Bhishma's mother, Ganga, from drowning him at birth. He pined for both Ganga and his eighth son. When the father and son were reunited on the banks of the Ganga years later, Shantanu announced Devavrata as the crown prince. But here, the good bit of this story from the Mahabharata ends. Four years after reuniting with Devavrata, Shantanu went for a little stroll in the forest, where he fell for the sweet-scented Satyavati. Of course he couldn't control himself, and Satyavati was not foolish enough to be seduced by a king without benefits. Her father, the chief fisherman of the village, asked Shantanu to vow that any child born of Satyavati and his union could claim the throne of Hastinapur. Bhishma took a vow of lifelong celibacy to make way for his father's new queen. Picture courtesy: Pinterest/WordPress.com Devavrata succumbed to his father's lust and took a bhishma pratigya of renouncing the throne, and staying a lifelong celibate so that none of his lineage could ever challenge Satyavati's children. He was named Bhishma thanks to this vow, and he didn't stray from his word till he died at Kurukshetra. Bhishma has always been an ideal for us, but don't you think Shantanu's lust was the root of everything the young prince had to go through--even the war at Kurukshetra? Also Read: Being stressed while pregnancy will increase your child's chances of binge eating 6. Hiranyakashipu and Prahlad Both the Bhagavat Puran and Vishnu Puran describe the terrifying story of this father-son duo. Most Hindu kids have grown up hearing the stories of the villain that Hiranyakashipu was, thanks to the nearly immortal boon he got from Brahma. His son Prahlad, born away from his father's evil influence under the tutelage of sage Narada, was a bhakt of Vishnu--whom Hiranyakashipu hated. Obviously, this father was very disappointed with his son for choosing a god he didn't love one bit. We're sure your father might have been disappointed with your choices--of friends, careers, or partners--and learnt to deal with them in time. That's what parents do when they realise their child is an individual, and has a right to his/her own choices. But that's a good father we're talking about, not Hiranyakashipu. Prahlad was constantly attacked by his father, till the Narasimha killed him. Picture courtesy: Pinterest/WordPress.com He tried to get his son killed on numerous occasions. At one point, he has his sister, Holika, sit with Prahlad on a burning pyre. This led to Holika dahan, but Prahlad the Devout was unscathed. Finally, Hiranyakashipu directly challenged Prahlad's beliefs, and Vishnu himself appeared in his Narasimha avatar to kill the demon king. 7. Uttaanpaad and Dhruva Another character mentioned in Bhagavat Puran and Vishnu Puran, Dhruva craved the love of his father--but did not receive it. He was born to King Uttaanpaad and his first wive, the gentle queen Suniti. His favourite wive was, however, Suruchi, who also had a son and competitor for the throne, Uttam. Suruchi always managed to turn Uttaanpaad against Dhruva. On one occasion, Dhruva was sitting on his father's lap when Suruchi forcefully separated them. When Druva lay claim to his father's affection, Suruchi told him to go and ask god for it. So Dhruva did. He performed severe austerities and prayed to Vishnu, who finally granted him his presence, love and Dhruvapad (which means that he would become a celestial body after death, and be untouched by mahapralay or apocalypse). Dhruva never received his father's affection. Picture courtesy: rupa-anuga.com Dhruva went back to his kingdom and ascended the throne at the age of six. He was a good ruler, no thanks to his dad, and became the Dhruva star after his death. If only Uttaanpaad had been a fair and loving father, Dhruva wouldn't have had to compete with his brother for his affection. Vishnu was clearly a better father-figure in this story than this king. 8. Ram and Luv-Kush There are as many versions of how Ram came to know about his sons as there are versions of the Ramayan in this subcontinent. According to the Valmiki Ramayan, Sita lived in Valmiki's ashram after her banishment from Ayodhya under the suspicion of having committed adultery. The story states that Sita had twins, Luv and Kush, who were born and brought up in Valmiki's ashram, and trained by the sage himself. They stopped the horse from Ram's Ashwamedha yagya, and went on to battle with (and defeat) Shatrughan, Bharat and Laxman. Finally, Ram encountered these twin boys in battle, and invited them to the yagya in Ayodhya after witnessing their prowess. It was then that he was told that these young warriors were his sons. Sita brought up her twin sons, Luv and Kush, without their father, Ram. Picture for representation purpose. Picture courtesy:Instagram/thomaswilliam2595 Other versions say that Luv and Kush travelled to Ayodhya with Valmiki, and sang the sage's Ramayan to the citizens as well as the king. The citizens commented on their resemblance with Ram, and Valmiki finally revealed that they were the king's true-born sons. No matter which narrative you choose to believe, it's clear that Ram's love for laws exceeded his love for his unborn children, especially when he banished Sita during her pregnancy. Some might choose to believe that this proved Ram was an ideal ruler, but don't you think he failed as a father by not just missing out on the twins' birth, but also by not keeping in touch with his wife and kids while they lived a life of penance in the jungle? Our mythical kings and princes were quite the inspiration, but only as rulers. Their lives stand testimony to the fact that they weren't the best dads; most of them were absent during their kids' childhood, some didn't even recognise the child's mother until much later. These are clearly not the examples our great fathers looked up to, and we couldn't be more glad for it. --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin George Barber (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 "With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we use it. Stephen Hawking. There have been several articles published recently, including The Jakarta Posts comment about funding for geothermal exploration. The author has been stating for quite some time that the key to geothermal development is exploration and investment and that the government has to take responsibility for this. It is well known that Indonesia has 40 percent of the worlds geothermal reserves, although these reserves are only predicted and not confirmed. In order to confirm the resources, to know the extent of the Ring of Energy, (as this is what the Ring of Fire is), to know where the reservoirs are, exploration of the whole Ring of Energy has to be carried out, this can not be done by traditional exploration methods only due to the time, cost and investment requirements of exploring for something that carries a lot of risk. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kresno Buntoro (The Jakarta Post) Bogor Thu, June 15, 2017 Tension in the South China Sea (SCS) is not receding despite the ruling of international arbitration on the territorial waters between the Philippines and China. Rivalry persists not only between maritime powers but also between the claimants. In particular, a spat between the United States and China has reached an alarming level for littoral Southeast Asian nations, as it may tilt the regions delicate balance toward an open conflict. It seems China is increasing and continuing its strategic footprint on various artificial islands, deploying new surveillance systems and establishing advanced military facilities in the area. Similarly, the US is intensifying its presence to enforce the freedom of navigation there. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hasjim Djalal (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 As a result of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed in 1982, the area of sea under Indonesian sovereignty and jurisdiction multiplied. The country has 6.3 million square kilometers of sea and 5.2 million sq km of air space under its territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction that it must defend from various threats, either to its resources, environment or national unity and security. Therefore, efforts to increase Indonesias capabilities to defend itself, particularly in its seas and air space, are not intended to threaten its neighbors, but only to protect its own resources, environment, security and national unity. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 09:08 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a55278a 1 Art & Culture Marlina-si-Pembunuh-dalam-Empat-Babak,Cannes-Film-Festival,Indonesian-movies,Indonesian-films,Mouly-Surya Free Indonesian drama film Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, the only selected feature film from Southeast Asia at the Cannes Film Festival 2017 in May, has continued to draw crowds across France. Thousands have come to watch the film, Mouly Surya, the director of the film, told kompas.com on Monday. A movie theater can accommodate an audience of 800 per screening and its generally always full. One time there was a screening for invitations only, but generally its always a full house, Mouly said, adding that the movie was still being screened in France. If Im not mistaken, the movie was shown four or five times. I wasnt at every screening." Read also: Indonesia's 'Marlina the Murderer' graces Cannes red carpet The movie is currently being screened in several cities in France. Its all in the website, but its mostly written in French so I have a hard time following it. On June 10, the movie was screened in Paris," she said. Audiences, Mouly said, were very responsive to the movie. When I attended screenings, I saw their enthusiasm. I cant say which one, but in a particular scene, they all clapped and were very appreciative, she said. Mouly also said that audience members and film critics asked her about womens issues in Indonesia. There are a lot of specific questions regarding Indonesian women. How women are in society, where inspiration for the film's story came from. Mostly they asked about that." (asw) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Beijing Thu, June 15, 2017 14:34 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5638e9 2 Science & Tech China,academic-fraud,cancer,research,#research,Fraud,medical-journal,journal Free China is investigating claims of academic fraud involving mostly Chinese cancer researchers after more than 100 articles were withdrawn from a foreign medical journal. German publisher Springer announced in April the retraction of 107 articles from Tumor Biology after finding evidence the "peer review process was compromised". The papers had been produced by Chinese medical institutions and universities and published between 2012 and 2016. It is standard practise for scholars to submit their research to peers for scrutiny before publishing to ensure the integrity of their work, but fraud is a growing problem. China's Ministry of Science and Technology said it had "zero tolerance" for such behaviour and pledged to investigate "each and every paper retracted". Researchers involved in the mass retraction have had their projects and funding suspended, it added. "The incident has had a very bad influence, seriously tarnishing the international reputation of China's scientific circle and hurting the self-esteem of Chinese scientists," the ministry said Wednesday. Read also: Award-winning photographer admits to plagiarism "But it also shows we need to strengthen punishment for academic fraud and to improve the academic atmosphere." The blog Retraction Watch said it had been told by Springer that "the reviews were submitted under the names of real researchers with faked emails. Some of the authors may have used a third-party editing service, which may have supplied the reviews." Tumor Biology is now published by SAGE Publications in the United States. It is not the first time Chinese medical experts have been caught faking peer reviews -- in 2015 London-based BioMed Central pulled 43 articles, which the Global Times said were mostly by Chinese researchers. In 2016 Springer retracted 64 articles from 10 journals, many written by Chinese contributors, the newspaper added. The latest incident highlighted the pressure on Chinese doctors in public hospitals to "publish a certain number of papers in national or international journals just to secure promotion or salary rises", Xinhua news agency said. By Press Trust of India: Dhaka, Jun 15 (PTI) Rescue workers today continued to struggle to reach remote areas of Bangladesh where monsoon rain-triggered landslides have killed over 150 people with the worst-affected Rangamati district close to the Indian border facing food, power and fuel shortages. The southeastern Rangmathi, Chittagong and Bandarban hill districts have been the worst affected regions where incessant monsoon rains have triggered a series a landslides and caused water-logging in many parts, besides submerging a number of villages. advertisement The disaster-hit Rangmathi district, which borders Mizoram and Tripura, is the worst hit and has alone seen 110 deaths, including four army personnel who were engaged in rescue operations. It is facing uncertainty due to food, power and fuel shortages. Power was out in Rangamati and it seems it would take a while before supply is put back to normal. Road communication is still cut off with piles of landmass and debris, according to local media reports. "it would take time to make things normal," Local roads and highways divisions Sub-Assistant Engineer Abu Musa was quoted as by Daily Star. Fuel shortage was running high in the district... Food supplies were also getting scarce and the top eateries in town have limited their menu, the report said. Rescuers found three more bodies ? including that of the missing army man ? as search resumed amid warning of further rain. Chittagong divisional Fire Service and Civil Defences Deputy Assistant Director Jashimuddin told the daily that the bodies were recovered. He, however, said it was unclear if it would add to the toll. Bangladesh has stepped up its search and rescue operations as the death toll in one of the worst landslides to hit the country has reached 152. The disaster claimed 32 lives in Chittagong, six in Bandarban, two in Coxs Bazar and two in Khagrachhari. Many of the victims belonged to the ethnic minority or tribal groups who live in makeshift structures along the hills in Bandarban and Rangamati where power cuts and no road connection have enhanced miseries of the residents, officials said. Densely populated Bangladesh is battered by storms, floods and landslides every rainy season but this years rain is the worst since 2007 when landslides killed 127 people in the port city. Experts and environmentalists attribute the latest spell of landslides to illegal hill cuts exposing the sandy hills to quick erosion during protracted rains. The landslides triggered by the monsoon rains came two weeks after Cyclone Mora hit Bangladesh, leaving eight people dead and damaging hundreds of homes. PTI MRJ AKJ MRJ --- ENDS --- advertisement Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Masajeng Rahmiasri (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 12:03 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a55d8d1 1 Lifestyle Idul-Fitri,Idul-Fitri-2017,ramadhan,Ramadhan-2017,photography,family,#Ramadhan,#Ramadhan2017 Free At the end of Ramadhan, Muslims will welcome Idul Fitri. Aside from its religious meaning, the day is also special for many people because it is usually a time when extended families get together to dine and communicate. For families who live far apart, it may be the only time they can all gather. During Idul Fitri, some families hire photography agencies to help them create special moments with loved ones. If you are planning to do so, here are several options of photography agencies to hire during Idul Fitri in Greater Jakarta. Read also: Four online shopping tips for Ramadhan Tarzan Photo A post shared by TARZAN PHOTO (@tarzanphotobridal) on May 30, 2017 at 2:04am PDT Established in 1948, Tarzan Photo Bridal is one of the most well-known photo studios for various occasions, such as Idul Fitri, graduation and wedding purposes. Clients of the studio range from the general public to the First Family. The photo studio is closed on June 25 and 26, the days of Idul Fitri. However, customers can ask for photo sessions with a regular price in the studio until June 23, or from June 28 by booking at least one week prior. Studio photo sessions for a family of five to seven persons start from Rp 9.75 million (US$733), which includes photo shoots in four poses, a 60 cm by 80 cm canvas photo with frame and three 11-by-14-inch photos. Price for makeup is excluded. Clients can also request a photo session in the studio on June 25 or 26 or on-call sessions at their house with prices starting from Rp 44.75 million. The on-demand service includes photo shoots in seven poses for 20 people maximum, four canvas photos in different sizes and three 8-by-10-inch photos. Location : Jl. KH Hasyim Ashari Roxy Mas Blok D 2 No. 6-7-8, West Jakarta (Showroom Roxy Mas) Read also: Laundry services, food offered in exchange for prayers King Foto King Foto boasts more than 40 years of experience. The photo studio is also closed on June 25 and 26, but clients can book photo sessions up until June 23, or from June 27 onward at least one week prior. The price for a family studio photo session for five persons at King Foto starts from Rp 8.35 million, with a 20 percent discount for bookings until the end of June. The package includes two canvas photos (60 cm by 80 cm with frame and 20 cm by 25 cm), as well as makeup and hairdo for one person. Location : Jl. KH Hasyim Ashari No 36, Central Jakarta Read also: Donate this Ramadhan through these orphanages Bernardo Pictura Bernardo Pictura, a photography agency that utilizes vintage photography, was established in 2013. It accepts photography requests for weddings, births, birthdays, corporate events and graduation ceremonies.(Bernardo Pictura/File) This professional photography agency utilizes vintage photography style and was established in 2013. It accepts requests for wedding, family, baby, birthday, corporate and graduation photos. The agency offers on-call photography service for June 25 and 26. The package includes a 90-minute photo shoot for five persons, 25 edited photos, one slideshow and one 50 cm by 75 cm canvas photo. Prices start from Rp 4 million per photo session in Jakarta, with an extra Rp 300,000 per additional person. Contact : Pauline (+62) 8119916779 Lighthouse Wedding Photography Established in 2006, Lighthouse Wedding Photography is often hired for weddings, birthdays, corporate events and commercial photo shoots. It takes a natural minimalist approach, especially in its wedding photographs.(Lighthouse Wedding Photography/File) Established in 2006, Lighthouse Wedding Photography is often hired for wedding, birthday and corporate events as well as commercial photo shoots. It takes a natural minimalist approach, especially in its wedding photographs. The studio offers on-call services on June 25 and 26, with the package including a two-hour photo session for a maximum of 10 persons, 10 edited photos, one enlarged 40 cm by 60 cm frameless photo and high resolution photo files on DVD. Prices start from Rp 3.5 million for Greater Jakarta. (kes) Contact : 08122026876 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin I Wayan Juniarta (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar Thu, June 15, 2017 10:14 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a554737 4 Art & Culture bali,culture,art-and-culture,mask Free The Bali 1928 Archive collaboration is taking the first step in documenting the cultural artifacts of Balis royal palace. Anak Agung Yoka Sara, one of Balis most prominent architects and impresarios, is not known as a morning person. His most industrious period of the day is usually late at night when he engages in nocturnal discussions with the islands young talents through the ongoing progressive art series SPRITES, or the garbage education movement, Malu Dong. Yet, on a recent Sunday he enthusiastically greeted the arrival of the morning. Dressed in a simple traditional Balinese sarong and with a burning cigarette between his lips, he emerged from a rustic stone gateway that separates the inner and middle courtyards of Puri Gerenceng, a royal palace in west Denpasar. In his right hand was a red dragon-head mask and in his left an unpolished wooden statue. There was a big smile on his face as he approached I Made Bandem, a senior art professor and one of the islands most influential scholars, who was waiting on the veranda of the palaces rustic yet majestic, colonial-style reception hall. Work in progress: This unfinished mask of a giant is one of around 80 masks and statues in the Puri Gerenceng collection.(Bali 1928 Archive/File) This one was carved by my great grandfather, Yoka proudly said as he handed over the red dragon mask to Bandem, who said he immediately took a liking to it. Read also: Bali, Ancient Rites in the Digital Age The late Anak Agung Made Gde, Yokas great grandfather, was a famous artist and carver, one of the brightest stars ever produced by Puri Gerenceng. During his time the royal palace, which served as the defensive bastion for the larger Puri Denpasar in the east, was also a thriving school for the regions aspiring mask performers and carvers. The Puri Denpasar royal palace was razed to the ground in 1906 during the historic Puputan Badung battle against the Dutch. This dragon mask is usually placed on the top of the Janggan kite as its head, Yoka added, referring to the most majestic of Balis traditional kites. With flowing tails that could reach dozens of meters, Janggan kites are a breathtaking sight to behold on the vast blue sky of Bali. The record for the longest tail is currently held by Nagaraja, a Janggan kite created by the youths of Dangin Peken hamlet in Sanur: Their kite had a 234.5-meter-long tail. Gerenceng is known as a Janggan-making region and Yoka played a pivotal role in the 2013 production of the documentary movie, Janggan: Harvesting the Wind. Legacy: Two dragon masks underline the role of Puri Gerenceng as a school for aspiring performers and carvers.(Bali 1928 Archive/File) Bandem took a ruler and began measuring the dimension of the mask as his son, Marlowe Bandem, the coordinator of the Bali 1928 Archive and Repatriation Project, typed the results of the measurements. Later on, two photographers from STIMIK STIKOM Bali, an information and technology college Bandem co-founded that is one of the principal institutions behind Bali 1928, took detailed shots of the mask from multiple angles. Read also: Malu Dong festival highlights garbage problem in Bali This is our first step in documenting and digitalizing the art collection of the royal palaces in Bali. We truly appreciate that members of the Gerenceng royal family have warmly welcomed this initiative, Bandem said. Hopefully, through this initiative we will be able to build a digital database of these prized collections that the general public scholars and art lovers could easily access. Bandem stressed that access is very important for enhancing the cultural conservation and revitalization efforts. Wider and easier access would yield stronger public participation. Dusting off: A student cleans an unvarnished mask.(JP/I Wayan Juniarta) Yoka revealed that Puri Gerenceng has a collection of about 80 masks and statues, as well as a gorgeous and historically important gamelan set. Anak Agung Ngurah Adi Ardhana, a rising star in the Bali Legislative Council who also hails from Puri Gerenceng, praised the initiative and urged the other royal families on the island to follow suit. In the past, the royal palaces were the centers of the islands art and culture; thus, we have the responsibility to educate the present generation of Balinese on the historic artworks and art forms bequeathed to us, he said. There are several important royal palaces in Denpasar, including Puri Satria seen as the successor of Puri Denpasars lineage Puri Pemecutan, Puri Jro Kuta and Puri Kesiman. All possess art collections of considerable size. Read also: A touch of Bali in the heart of Jakarta Morning chat: Yoka Sara (left) gestures as he explains the movement of the Janggan kite to Made Bandem.(JP/I Wayan Juniarta) Marlowe Bandem stated that the initiative was the logical extension of the Bali 1928 project. Through Bali 1928 we have repatriated significant numbers of Balis cultural artifacts from individuals and institutions abroad. Through this new initiative of documenting collections in royal palaces, we attempt to build a more comprehensive picture of our cultural legacy, he said. Spurred by the research of American ethnomusicologist Edward Herbst on historic recordings of traditional Balinese music and vocal music made in mid-1928 by German record company Odeon and Beka, Bali 1928 is an international collaboration involving STIMIK STIKOM Bali, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Arbiter of Cultural Traditions aimed at acquiring and restoring those historical records and bringing them back to Bali. It has published five volumes of CDs and DVDs of Herbsts research and the remastered music of Odeon and Bekas 111 discovered vinyl records. The project has also managed to secure photographs and a total of six hour-long pieces of movie footage shot by some illustrious westerners, including Colin McPhee, Miguel Covarrubias and Rolf de Mare, of the islands landscape, art performances and rituals in the 1930s. As part of bringing this wealth of historical information back to the Balinese, we have organized 35 public screenings in schools, community halls and public events across the island and have dedicated a room at STIMIK STIKOM Bali as a permanent exhibition venue for Bali 1928, Marlowe said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Carla Bianpoen (The Jakarta Post) Venice, Italy Thu, June 15, 2017 10:44 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a557265 4 Art & Culture indonesia-contemporary-art-and-design,venice-biennale Free Taking part in the worlds oldest and most prestigious art festival the Venice Biennale is the dream of almost every artist. If you are not invited by the Venice Biennales curator for the main exhibition, representing ones national pavilion is equally important. Visited by hundreds of thousands of people from the entire art world and beyond: art lovers, curators, museum directors, gallery owners, actors and actresses world celebrities and what not, the over a century old biennale this year has 89 national pavilions with their own curators and 120 artists in the central exhibition space overseen by the biennale director Christine Macel, the chief curator at the Musee National dArt Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris. When the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) announced it was replacing the Tourism Ministry as caretaker of Indonesias participation in the worlds most prestigious art festival the Venice Biennale, and that all costs would be borne by the State Budget, there was great expectation and hope that this years participation would be able to build on the two earlier successful editions of the Indonesia Pavilion in the Arsenale (2013 and 2015). This years artist selected to represent the Indonesia Pavilion in Venice is Tintin Wulia, an artist who has had a presence in many international events and with Enin Supriyanto as artistic director, as well as Agung Hujatnikajennong as curator, respected names in their profession, expectations are high for Indonesias third time in the Arsenale of the Venice Biennale. The Bali-born Tintin, who lives and works in Australia, is known to have been engaged with borders, migration and identity from the beginning of her artistic career. Read also: Art Stage Jakarta 2017 to connect Southeast Asian art scenes Works like the series (Re)collection of Togetherness and Nous Ne Notons Pas les Fleurs have enjoyed multiple displays internationally. Her concept for the Venice Biennale, which suggested a global network without borders was therefore encouraging. On paper, it even had a science fictional and pseudo-documentary treat. Digitally linking the fateful year of 1965 with life on another planet seemed to be an idea that included the future of todays population while looking back at the black pages of our history, including also her personal history. Interactive: Visitors view three interactive works by artist Tintin Wulia who has been selected to showcase her works in the Indonesia Pavilion at the worlds oldest and most prestigious art festival the Venice Biennale.(Artnivora/File) The grand idea, however, was not able to be revealed in the production of the work both in Venice and its twin version in the Jakarta Senayan City Shopping Mall. Three works were to be digitally interconnected. There was We Are Not Alone, a kind of mini dome consisting of 1001 hexagrams on acrylic plaques interconnected at 228 points with LED lamps (a reference to Saturn where in 1970 signs of life were recorded). A second work showed blinking eyeballs along a staircase that led to an elevated level where people could peep into what appeared to be the artists studio. The eyes along the staircase belonged to people who peeped into the studio. And a third, viewed by many as the center of the work, a one-channel video showing exiles of 1965, some 200 years later telling their stories in retrospect, from their 1001 homes on the planet Mars where they have been sent in exile, suspected of siding with the then Communist Party. Read also: Bazaar Art Jakarta returns with new name, video art competition They had been sent to the far flung island of Buru in the Moluccas or they had disappeared from life, or had just been killed without trial. For the 45-year-old artist, the events in 1965 had been particularly traumatic. My grandfather disappeared, but no one in the house spoke about it, she once said, reminiscing on her stress at not knowing and the silence in the house. The overall title 1001 Martian homes was inspired by Scheherazades 1001 nights of storytelling and keeping the king occupied to save her life, and was perhaps one way for the artist to save past experiences that were in the process of being forgotten. Watchful eyes: An identical pavilion is created in the Senayan City Shopping Mall in Jakarta, which should enable visitors in Venice and Jakarta to interact by applying digital technology.(JP/Jerry Adiguna) To further expand her ideas of a world without borders, an identical pavilion was created in the Senayan City Shopping Mall, which should have enabled visitors in Venice and Jakarta to interact by applying digital technology. The expansion of the pavilion to a twin version was also inspired by her Chinese ancestry. Her ancestors traveled between China and Indonesia long before the latter was a sovereign state, she said. Unfortunately the production of the pavilion was unable to match the grand idea. Not only was the internet in Venice unreliable, the futuristic awesomeness of linking the world got lost in the blinking of the LED lights in the work Not Alone and the blinking eyeballs of Under the Sun. History of Indonesia Pavilion in the Arsenale In 2013 Restu Imansari of Jakarta-based Bumi Purnati initiated and produced the Indonesia Pavilion on 500 square meters, with five leading artists Albert Yonathan, Sri Astari Rasjid, Eko Nugroho, Entang Wiharso, Tita Rubi participating and titled Sakti. In 2015, Restu again organized and produced the Indonesia Pavilion in the Arsenale, this time presenting Heri Dono in a solo show on 350 square meters, titled Trokomod. Both editions were carried out under the official auspices of the Indonesian Government through the Tourism Ministry, but with most of the costs borne by Bumi Purnati. *** 1001 Martian Homes by Tintin Wulia; The Indonesia Pavilion in the Arsenale of the Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy and the Jakarta Senayan City Shopping Mall (6th Floor) from May 13 to Nov. 26, 2017 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 06:35 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a54d1d3 1 Business CORE-Center-Reform-Economics,comments,halal-industry Free Indonesia, despite its status as the worlds most populous Muslim country, has not optimally developed its halal industry, which has great market potential, a researcher of the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia has said. According to a study conducted by research agency Thomson Reuters, Muslims worldwide spent over US$1.9 trillion in 2015 across variety of sectors, with food and beverages topping the list at $1.17 trillion, followed by clothing at $243 billion. We need to think about a roadmap to develop a halal industry [in Indonesia] that is consistent with the existing National Industry Development Masterplan (RIPIN), said CORE researcher Akhmad Akbar Susamto on Tuesday. He also called on the government to formulate detailed regulations as mandated by Law no. 33/2014 on halal certification. In accordance with the law, we should have had derivative regulations by 2016. But as of now we do not, he said. Indonesia lags behind other Muslim-majority countries in creating an ecosystem that supports Islamic economy, according to the Global Islamic Economy Indicators (GIEI) 2015 released by Thomson Reuters. Indonesia ranks tenth out of 73 countries evaluated in the study, with the score of 36. Meanwhile, Malaysia leads the list with the score of 121, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain rounding out the top three with 86 and 66, respectively. (mrc/bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Thu, June 15, 2017 07:14 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a54e0f4 2 World #London,#LondonFire Free At least 12 people are confirmed dead in a massive fire which ripped through a London tower block on Wednesday, police said. "I do anticipate that the number of fatalities will sadly increase beyond those 12," Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy said in a televised address. "Sadly I don't anticipate that there will be further survivors." Dozens of residents caught up in the blaze at Grenfell Tower in west London have received hospital treatment and 18 remain in critical care. The 24-storey tower is home to between 600 and 800 residents and has one stairway through which people could escape, locals told AFP. A newsletter last year advised residents that if there was a fire they should initially stay in their homes. Firemen spray water onto the facade of the Grenfell Tower after a fire ripped through the building in west London on June 14, 2017. At least six people were killed Wednesday when a massive fire tore through a London apartment block overnight, with survivors voicing anger over longstanding safety fears at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower.(Agence France-Presse/Ben STANSALL) London Fire Brigade said shortly after 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) the fire was still burning, more than 16 hours after the alarm was raised. "I can confirm I have had firefighters manage to get through particularly arduous conditions up to the top floor," said Steve Apter from the fire brigade. More than 200 firefighters had tackled the blaze and a minimal crew remained inside the building on Wednesday afternoon, assisted by drones. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (AFP) Sydney, Australia Thu, June 15, 2017 16:21 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a56924d 2 World #Australia,#MalcolmTurnbull,#DonaldTrump Free Australia's prime minister has taken a comical swipe at Donald Trump, mimicking his mannerisms and making reference to the Russia scandal, in comments he said were intended as "affectionately light-hearted". In a leaked audio recording that comes just months after a tetchy phone call between the two leaders, Malcolm Turnbull is heard making fun of the US president's idiosyncratic speaking style. "The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls," Turnbull said in a closed event for journalists in Canberra on Wednesday. "We are winning so much. We are winning like we have never won before. "We are. We are. Not the fake polls. Not the fake polls. They're the ones we are not winning in," he said to laughs from the audience at the Mid-Winter Ball, where politicians and Canberra journalists let their hair down. "We are winning in the real polls. You know, the online polls. They are so easy to win." Typically, the event is off-the-record, meaning journalists would not report on what was said, but a recording was leaked to the political editor at commercial broadcaster Channel Nine, who did not attend the soiree and decided to report it. Turnbull played down the speech late Thursday, saying that he was the butt of the jokes rather than Trump. "My speech was light-hearted, affectionately light-hearted," he told Melbourne's 3AW radio. "It's a breach of protocol, it's a breach of faith," he added of the leaked recording. "But it's light-hearted, it's affectionate and the butt of my jokes, was myself." In a statement cited by Channel 9, the US Embassy in Canberra said they saw the lighter-side of the address. We understand that last nights event is equivalent to our own White House Correspondents Dinner, it read. We take this with the good humour that was intended. Last month, Turnbull met the US president in New York to mend fences, after the bad-tempered call early in Trump's White House tenure. Trump reportedly exploded and cut short the conversation when he was told about a Barack Obama-era deal to move refugees from Australia to America. The Australian leader appeared to make light of that icy conversation in the leaked recording. "It was beautiful. It was the most beautiful putting-me-at-ease ever," he said. In another leaked clip, Turnbull poked fun at the ongoing controversy surrounding the Trump administration's ties to Russia. "I have this Russian guy. Believe me, it is true. It is true," Turnbull said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 14:30 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a562780 1 City Idul-Fitri-2017,beduk,festival Free The Jakarta administration will hold the final round of the Beduk Festival drumming competition on June 24 at City Hall as part of the capitals Idul Fitri celebration. Subdistrict across Jakarta will be allowed to compete in the festival and vie for a trophy and a cash prize. Jakartas assistant to the secretary for administrative affairs, Bambang Sugiono, said the competition would start on June 16 at the district level and on June 19 for municipalities. "District winners will compete at the municipal level; finalists will then compete at city hall," he said on Wednesday as quoted by beritajakarta.id. A team will comprise six members; five will hit the beduk, a large drum made of animal skin and barrel, and one will chant the takbir (prayer in praise of Allah). Assessments will be based on each groups 10-minute performance and team work, Bambang said. "The first-place winner will earn Rp 15 million [US$1,129], second-place winners will receive Rp 10 million, while the third-place winner will get Rp 7.5 million," he said, adding that each winner would also bring home a goat and governors trophy. (fac) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 11:26 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a55cd57 1 City ahok,Djarot-Saiful-Hidayat,jakarta,anies-baswedan,Jokowi Free Its official: Djarot Saiful Hidayat is now Jakarta governor, replacing Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who was convicted of blasphemy last month. President Joko Jokowi Widodo inaugurated Djarot as the new Jakarta governor at the State Palace on Thursday. Ahok was supposed to end his term in October this year following his election defeat on April 19. However, the North Jakarta District Court sentenced him on May 9 to two years in prison for blasphemy, in a controversial ruling that has, again, put the credibility of the nation's criminal justice system into question. Ahok tendered his letter of resignation to the President on May 23, one day after dropping an appeal against his two-year prison sentence. His surprise decision not to challenge his conviction has shut down any hopes that he could ever return to his post and finish his term. Ahok signed the letter at the polices Mobile Brigade Command headquarters detention center in Depok, West Java, where he is currently being detained. Jakarta governor-elect Anies Baswedan will replace Djarot in October. (ary) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 13:22 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a55fd0b 1 City robbery,armed-robbery,South-Tangerang,islamic-schools Free Five men with veils covering their heads broke into Muhammadiyah 02 vocational school in South Tangerang on Wednesday evening, stealing Rp 17 million (US$1,279.73) in cash and electronic goods worth Rp 60 million. The security officer in charge that night, Farid Iqbal, 41, was unable to stop the robbery as one of the perpetrators had threatened him with a machete. "One perpetrator held a machete to the witness's [Farid] neck," Jakarta police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said on Thursday as quoted by tribunnews.com. The robbers had also taped Farids eyes and mouth shut. His legs and hands were tied with wires. After completing the robbery, the perpetrators left Farid in one of the classrooms. Argo said the South Tangerang Police were investigating the case. (cal/dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 14:45 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5640aa 1 National Marawi,Ryamizard-Racudu,military,Malaysia,Brunei,Singapore,Philippines Free Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said that he would meet with his counterparts from the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore in Tarakan, North Kalimantan, next week to discuss the Islamic State (IS) groups threat in the region. This meeting is held to update each other, so we can be ready if anything happens, Ryamizard said on Thursday, as quoted by Antaranews.com. Ryamizard said the meeting would focus on finding ways to prevent the IS-linked Maute insurgents now holding part of Marawi in the southern Philippines from crossing Indonesian borders. The city of Marawi, which is located on Mindanao Island, shares a border with Indonesias North Sulawesi province. Marawi can be reached within five hours by boat from Indonesias Morotai Island, one of the countrys outermost islands. North Sulawesi is now on full alert because it is located near the Philippines, Ryamizard said, adding that the government had tightened security measures in the area, including intensifying sea patrol near the borders of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. The Philippines government has imposed martial law in Marawi after Maute militants stormed the city. (saf/ary) The Bihar Chief Minister also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for non-fulfilment of various promises made to Bihar during the 2014 general elections. By Press Trust of India: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday urged his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath, who visits Bihar today, not to come 'empty handed' but implement the liquor ban and 50 per cent reservation for women in local bodies. "You (Adityanath) should take cue from us and implement liquor ban and 50 per cent reservation for women in local bodies," Kumar told a public meeting after laying foundations of development projects worth Rs 300 crore. advertisement Taking a dig at the much-hyped Darbhanga visit of Yogi Adityanath today, Kumar said "He must be coming empty-handed whereas I am here to launch various development schemes." The Bihar Chief Minister also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for non-fulfilment of various promises made to Bihar during the 2014 general elections and assembly polls in the state the next year saying "We implement whatever works we promise, but others forget about it." Kumar took a pot-shot at cow vigilantes and said that they should learn to take care of stray bovines before taking law into their own hands to deal with those involved in trade of animals. He claimed that the liquor ban has become a runaway success in Bihar and asked BJP-ruled states to follow suit. Kumar said that his government will launch a total de-addiction drive as follow up action after the success of the liquor ban. Also Read: Politics of 'resignations' begin ahead of Yogi Adityanath's visit to Bihar Few Biharis spoiling our image: CM Nitish Kumar on topper scam Also Watch: Udta Bihar: India Today sting operation shows staggering rise in banned drug seizures --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 14:00 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a560774 1 Business economic-package,logistics-costs,Pramono-Anung,Darmin-nasution,Budi-Karya-Sumadi Free The government is set to announce on Thursday its 15th economic reform package, which is largely focused on addressing the countrys high logistics costs. The policies will address problems in logistics. We will introduce more efficient policies in logistics, both in bonded zones and other places, said Cabinet Secretary Parmono Anung as reported by kontan.com, adding that the new package would be announced at the State Palace in Jakarta. Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi will announce the package, Pramono added. Pamono declined to provide details on the package, saying only that he believed it would help in the smooth distribution of goods. Previously, Maritime Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that while dwelling times in Indonesias major ports have reduced, logistics costs remained high. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15 2017 Acting Jakarta governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat plans to invite former United States president Barack Obama on a trip down memory lane during the 44th US presidents visit to Jakarta early next month. In a highly anticipated visit, Obama is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta to deliver his first speech in Asia since leaving office. He is expected to speak about globalization and pluralism. Obama is set to open the fourth Indonesian Diaspora Congress held by the Indonesia Diaspora Network Global (IDNG), for which more than 6,000 Indonesians who live abroad have registered to attend. It will be held at Kota Kasablanka Mall in South Jakarta between July 1 and 4. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 12:54 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a55eb8d 1 Business Honda,motorcycle,sales-performance,May-2017 Free Sales of Honda motorcycles increased by 16 percent year on year (yoy) to 394,000 units in May alone, ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday on June 25-26, according to industry sources. The festive season also pushed up sales of all motorcycle brands by 15 percent to 531,000 units, according to Thomas Wijaya, the marketing director of Hondas local arm Astra Honda Motor, quoting Indonesia Motorcycle Producers Association (AISI) data. Sales in May were up, apparently due to the festive season and harvest season in Java, when farmers earn more so they buy more, too, Thomas told reporters during an iftar (snacks for breaking the fast) event in Jakarta on Wednesday. However, sales for the first five months was hit by low public spending and has yet to see a full recovery after the 2015 crisis led by commodity prices. Household consumption growth in the first quarter expanded by 4.93 percent, slightly lower than 4.94 percent in the same period last year. Honda motorcycle sales in January-May was down by 2 percent to 1.74 million units, while overall motorcycle sales further decreased by 5 percent to 2.32 million units. This year, Honda expects to sell between 4.3 million and 4.5 million units, from 4.38 million units last year, while AISI expects total sales to reach between 5.8 million and 6 million units from 5.9 million units in 2016. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 18:50 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a56ee85 1 Business World-Bank,Indonesia,restriction Free Indonesia saw in 2017 on a strong footing with better a global environment supported by the country's fiscal performance and better quality of spending, according to the World Bank's Indonesia Economic Quarterly report released this month. The report also highlights that a recent rating upgrade by global rating agency Standard and Poors (S&P) was significant acknowledgment of progress made by the government in improving fiscal management and credibility. However, Indonesia must continue to make progress on structural reforms. Persistent efforts remain vital to expanding the economys potential and making it less reliant on commodity exports, said Rodrigo A. Chaves, World Bank country director for Indonesia, on Thursday. The report points out that the country still sets restrictions with its Negative Investment List (DNI) that often thwarts foreign direct investment (FDI), which has yet to significantly contribute to boost Indonesias growth. On that note, the government will increasingly face difficult choices when it seeks to tackle critical, but possibly unpopular, structural reforms. The government should therefore re-evaluate restrictions, particularly those in the negative investment list, to encourage more FDI, said Hans Anand Beck, World Bank acting lead economist for Indonesia. The bank has retained its economic growth projection for Indonesia at 5.2 percent this year and 5.3 percent in 2018. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 12:16 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a55de5f 1 National ship,Malaysia,accident,Indonesia,sea-accident Free An Indonesian cargo ship with 15 people on board sank in the busy Malacca Strait on Wednesday, about 20 kilometers off Tanjung Kling, Malaysia. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Datuk Zulkifili Abu Bakar said that two crew members, the captain and a chef, were still missing, while 13 others had been rescued at 10.00 a.m. "Our command center in Johor received information from the maritime department that the vessel sank at 9:25 a.m.," Zulkifli said as quoted by Antara. A leak and bad weather are said to have caused the 53-meter long ship to sink. "We will investigate this case and our Search and Rescue [SAR] team will keep searching for the two missing crew members," he said. Malaysian SAR deployed 11 members from MMEA station in Linggi, Negeri Sembilan, with a ship and a helicopter. Muhammad Abduh, an official at the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia, said that it was seeking information about the incident. The crew is still too shocked to be interviewed, he said. (yon/ary) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Cilacap, Central Java Thu, June 15, 2017 16:43 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a56a860 1 National CentralJava,Cilacap,agrarian-reform,Jokowi,Ganjar-Pranowo Free President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo distributed about 2,500 land certificates to people in Cilacap, Central Java, as part of his ambitious agrarian reform program, which is to certify a total of 126 million hectares of land in the country. The Jokowi administration is planning to issue a total of 500,000 land certificates in Central Java this year, or 10 percent of the national target of 5 million certificates. The 2,500 people to receive certificates came from four regencies in Central Java, namely Purbalingga, Wonosobo, Banjarnegara and Cilacap. Jokowi said that of the total 126 million hectares of land, only 46 million hectares had been certified and his administration would step up efforts to issue certificates for the remaining 80 million in the next few years. "In 2018, there will be a total of 7 million new land certificates, while in 2019 we will also finish another 9 million certificates," Jokowi told the audience at Cilacap Square. Jokowi said he had asked the National Land Agency to ease the process of land certification across the country. Cilacap is the first of five regencies and cities that the President will visit during the three-day trip. Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranomo said that once their land was certified local people could use it as collateral to obtain bank loans to start a business. The governor also reminded local officials in Central Java not to collect any levies from people applying for land certificates from local agencies. (ary) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Cilacap, Central Java Thu, June 15, 2017 15:13 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a565627 1 National Jokowi,blusukan,CentralJava,Ramadan-2017 Free President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his entourage visited Cilacap in Central Java on Thursday as part of his three-day working visit in the province. Cilacap is the first out of five Central Java regencies and cities namely Banyumas, Banjar Negara, Temanggung, Wonosobo and Semarang that the President will visit during the trip. Residents in Tritih Kulon, North Cilacap, were jubilant when the President and his entourage arrived at Al Qomar mosque for midday prayers. The President acted as imam (Muslim cleric) to lead the prayers, which was joined by hundreds of locals. After the midday prayer, Jokowi distributed books, scarves, souvenirs and sarongs to people attending the event before continuing on to his next agenda of distributing land certificates to residents in Cilacap. In the afternoon, Jokowi then plans to distribute social aid in the form of staple foods, as well as hand out Indonesia Smart Cards (KIP) to students in Cilacap. Jokowi will also pay a visit to a number of Islamic boarding schools in Cilacap before heading to Banyumas on Friday morning. (ary) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Newd Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 17:05 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a56cb72 1 National police,KPK,novel-baswedan,acid-attack Free Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and National Police leaders will hold a meeting next week to discuss the latters investigation into the acid attack on ace KPK investigator Novel Baswedan. The meeting will be held on Monday or Tuesday either at the KPK or the National Police headquarters, KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif told reporters on Thursday. The planned meeting came following an explosive allegation by Novel that a high-ranking police officer was involved in plotting the attack against him. It has been more than two months after unidentified men threw acid in Novels face, injuring his face and eyes, but the police have yet to name a single suspect in the case. In an interview with TIME magazine, Novel claimed that he had received information that a police general a high-level police official was involved in the attack on him. Novel is currently undergoing treatment on his left eye in Singapore. The KPK and the police were involved in a series of conflicts in the past, mostly triggered by the formers moves to charge high-ranking police officers with graft. Laode, however, asserted that Novels damning allegation would not affect relations between the two institutions as top officials from the two institutions had been intensively communicating, especially with regard to the polices investigation into Novels case. (kuk/ary) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu and Nurul Fitri (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 The government has been widely criticized for its poor prison management ranging from rampant illegal levies, overcrowding and drug trading. Another issue that has put the countrys prison crisis into the spotlight is special cells for convicts allegedly willing to pay hefty sums to enjoy comfort behind bars. The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) recently discovered a special cell in Cipinang penitentiary occupied by Haryanto Chandra, a drug convict serving 14 years imprisonment. Haryanto is reportedly linked to the late Freddy Budiman, a notorious drug kingpin. Freddy was one of four death-row convicts executed at the high-security Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, last year. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 16:43 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a56b09f 1 City soekarno-hatta-airport,Malaysia-Airlines,Terminal-3-Ultimate Free Soekarno-Hatta International Airport operator Angkasa Pura II has said that a hard landing recently experienced by a Malaysia Airlines aircraft was not caused by flooding at one of the airport's runway. Two incidents occurred at the airport Tuesday evening. A tire on a Malaysia Airlines aircraft burst upon landing on the airport's northern runway. Later in the evening, the new terminals apron and loading dock were inundated in 20 centimeters of water. "News went viral that the incident involving the Malaysia Airlines aircraft was caused by flooding on the runway," said AP II spokesman Yado Yarismano. "No, it was not." Yado explained that airplane made a hard landing due to heavy rain, which possibly damaged the tire. Moreover, he added, there was no flooding on the runways as they were well designed with suitable drainage. (dra) By Press Trust of India: Bhubaneswar, Jun 15 (PTI) With visiting union ministers facing egg attacks and black flag demonstrations in Odisha, BJP today called for a Sundergarh shutdown on Friday on the issue and will meet the governor to draw his attention to the issue. The Sundergarh district unit has called for a 7-hour shutdown from 6 am to 1 pm on Friday to protest against the throwing of eggs at Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram?s vehicle by supporters of BJD and Congress yesterday and waiving of black flags at him in Kendrapara district. advertisement Senior BJP leader Braja Sundar Bhuyan has filed an FIR at Aul police station accusing 22 persons in the incident. Party sources said the BJP activists would stage protests tomorrow demanding arrest of the persons involved in the egg attack under the SC and ST Atrocity Prevention Act as Oram belongs to the tribal community. "The bandh call is given as Oram hails from that district and also represents Sundergarh in the Lok Sabha," said BJP state president Basant Panda. He condemned the egg throwing at Oram and said this type of incident is not acceptable in a democratic set up. "This shows lack of law and order situation in the state," Panda said adding that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is himself in charge of the home department. Panda said a BJP delegation lead by him will meet Governor S C Jamir tomorrow and apprise him about the prevailing law and order situation in the state in the wake of the frequent egg attacks and black flag demonstrations against visiting union ministers. Before Oram, Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan had also faced egg attack and black flag demonstration in the state capital. Last year Union Minister Santosh Gangwars vehicle was also attacked allegedly by BJD workers led by an MLA. Meanwhile, the police today detained at least eight Youth Congress activists on the charge of attempting to show black flag to Union Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises minister Babul Supriyo in Bhadrak district. Eggs and black flags were seized from the Congress activists, the police said. PTI AAM KK KK --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 09:30 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5533b0 1 National #KPK,#GraftCase,#Bribery-case Free The Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor) has sentenced senior police officer Adj. Sr. Comr. Raden Brotoseno to five years in prison and a Rp 300 million (US$22,580) fine for his involvement in a bribery case. We conclude that the defendant has been proven and declared guilty on a collaborative and continued graft case, presiding judge Baslin Sinaga told the court on Wednesday. Judges added that Brotoseno, who was also former investigator at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), had failed the governments efforts to eradicate corruption. Brotoseno was found guilty of accepting Rp 2.9 billion bribes in connection to a graft case related to rice field projects in Ketapang, West Kalimantan. (Read also: Guess what?: Angie reportedly marries Brotoseno) Judges stated that Brotoseno, who has reportedly married former beauty queen and House of Representatives member Angelina Sondakh, had violated Article 12a of Law No. 31/1999 on Corruption Eradication. (ecn/jun) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin I Wayan Juniarta (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar Thu, June 15 2017 The Bali 1928 Archive collaboration is taking the first step in documenting the cultural artifacts of Balis royal palace. Anak Agung Yoka Sara, one of Balis most prominent architects and impresarios, is not known as a morning person. His most industrious period of the day is usually late at night when he engages in nocturnal discussions with the islands young talents through the ongoing progressive art series SPRITES, or the garbage education movement, Malu Dong. Yet, on a recent Sunday he enthusiastically greeted the arrival of the morning. Dressed in a simple traditional Balinese sarong and with a burning cigarette between his lips, he emerged from a rustic stone gateway that separates the inner and middle courtyards of Puri Gerenceng, a royal palace in west Denpasar. In his right hand was a red dragon-head mask and in his left an unpolished wooden statue. There was a big smile on his face as he approached I Made Bandem, a senior art professor and one of the islands most influential scholars, who was waiting on the veranda of the palaces rustic yet majestic, colonial-style reception hall. This one was carved by my great grandfather, Yoka proudly said as he handed over the red dragon mask to Bandem, who said he immediately took a liking to it. The late Anak Agung Made Gde, Yokas great grandfather, was a famous artist and carver, one of the brightest stars ever produced by Puri Gerenceng. During his time the royal palace, which served as the defensive bastion for the larger Puri Denpasar in the east, was also a thriving school for the regions aspiring mask performers and carvers. The Puri Denpasar royal palace was razed to the ground in 1906 during the historic Puputan Badung battle against the Dutch. This dragon mask is usually placed on the top of the Janggan kite as its head, Yoka added, referring to the most majestic of Balis traditional kites. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 09:00 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a551769 4 National Cipinang-Penitentiary,narcotics,BNN,drug-abuse Free Jakartas Law and Human Rights office plans to move drug convict Haryanto Chandra to the high-security Nusakambangan penitentiary in Central Java from his "luxurious cell" at the Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta. The transfer will be made pending an examination into Haryanto by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), office head Endang Sudirman said on Wednesday. Once he is released from BNN, we will take action. The likely possibility is moving him to Nusakambangan, Endang said in Jakarta as quoted by kompas.com. The special cell was revealed after BNN officers raided Cipinang prison in late May. (Read also:Rp 39b seized from drug kingpin Freddy Budimans network) BNN found that Haryanto has access to special facilities, such as an air conditioner, wi-fi, a fish aquarium and a special food menu. BNN also found a laptop, an iPad, four cellular phones and one token for internet banking. Officers also caught some inmates consuming crystal methamphetamine in the cell. Endang said Cipinang penitentiary head Kunto Wiryanto and all wardens would be scrutinized. We will ask for [Kunto's] responsibility, Endang said, adding that the chief warden might face dismissal. Haryanto has also been investigated by the BNN for possible money laundering crimes related to money from drugs business. (ecn/bbs) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 14:30 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a56297d 4 City #Jakarta,#LandClearance,#eviction Free The Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) plans to demolish illegally built settlements in the Bukit Duri area in South Jakarta and Pasar Ikan area in North Jakarta, according to a city official. After clearing an area under the toll road in Kalijodo, North Jakarta, we are targeting the illegal buildings in Bukit Duri and Pasar Ikan, agency head Jupan Royter said on Wednesday as reported by wartakota.tribunnews.com. He added that he would show no mercy to residents to disrupt public order, reminding that the semi-permanent buildings erected under Kalijodo toll road lacked legal certificates and residents had been warned before demolition began. (Read also: Jakarta to stop people rebuilding on cleared land) They had been given deadline to leave the location. However, they were stubborn and insisted on living under the toll road. Still, we took the humanist yet firm approach to residents, he said. Squatters began building the semi-permanent structures after former Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama lost the April 19 election to Anies Baswedan. In his campaign promises, Anies pledged to avoid evictions if he won the election. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Elizabeth Law (AFP) Singapore Thu, June 15, 2017 08:00 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a54e7d6 2 World #singapore,#LeeHsienLoong,#feud Free Tightly-ruled Singapore was rocked by an unprecedented political drama Wednesday when a feud between the children of the late founding leader Lee Kuan Yew over his legacy burst into the open. The founder's oldest child, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, came under attack online before dawn from his younger brother Lee Hsien Yang, and younger sister Lee Wei Ling. They accused him of exploiting their father's legacy for his own political agenda, a charge the premier quickly denied. The pair also claimed that their brother had abused his powers to harass them -- and Hsien Yang said he had decided to leave the country as a result. The feud had simmered following the death in March 2015 of the elder Lee, who ruled Singapore with an iron hand but transformed the city-state from a relatively poor British colony into one of the worlds wealthiest and most stable societies. But the quarrel intensified in the small hours of Wednesday with the issuance of the extraordinary statement, which immediately went viral in a country where tough laws against protests and curbs on press freedom have stifled political dissent. "The timing is important as Singapore has been facing more uncertainty both in terms of the current and future leadership as well as the economy and regional situation," said Southeast Asia watcher Bridget Welsh, a visiting professor at John Cabot University in Rome. "An attack from trusted family members is impactful and legitimately raises questions. Some will see this as a family squabble but it is clearly more than this," she told AFP. "The effects are to raise questions about how Lee Hsien Loong is using his father's legacy... also attention will be brought to (Lee's) wife and her power and legacy... It will cause introspection about whether Singapore can be separated in the future from the Lee family." The siblings' grievances largely centre on the fate of the family's home after their father's death. The pair said their brother Lee had defied their father's instructions to tear it down. A cabinet statement Wednesday said however that PM Lee has "recused himself from all government decisions" about the fate of the former family home. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, shakes hands with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during a joint press conference at the Istana, or Presidential Palace, in Singapore, Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. (AP/Joseph Nair) Lee Hsien Loong's wife Ho Ching is the chief executive of state investment firm Temasek Holdings, which had global assets worth Sg$242 billion ($180 billion) as of March 2016. "We have felt threatened by Hsien Loongs misuse of his position and influence over the Singapore government and its agencies to drive his personal agenda," read the statement posted online by his siblings. "We have observed that Hsien Loong and Ho Ching want to milk Lee Kuan Yews legacy for their own political purposes," the statement said, adding that they harbour political ambitions for one of their sons. Michael Barr, associate professor of international relations at Flinders University in Adelaide, said "normal people who try to do something similar wouldve been dealt with by the courts by now", referring to the strong criticism of Lee. "Ultimately, how much damage to the Lee brand is done is another question," he added. The prime minister, who is on vacation overseas, fired back with his own statement, saying he was "deeply saddened by the unfortunate allegations". "Ho Ching and I deny these allegations, especially the absurd claim that I have political ambitions for my son," Lee said in a statement issued by his office. The same statement was put up on Facebook where it gathered more than 17,000 reactions and 1,500 comments, mostly supporting him. "Since my fathers passing in March 2015, as the eldest son I have tried my best to resolve the issues among us... out of respect for our parents," he added. "My siblings statement has hurt our father's legacy." The premier's siblings also alleged they were being closely monitored, adding they had lost faith in their brother's ability to lead. "We feel hugely uncomfortable and closely monitored in our own country," they said. "We do not trust Hsien Loong as a brother or as a leader. We have lost confidence in him." Hsien Yang, currently the chairman of aviation regulator Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, added that he "will leave Singapore for the foreseeable future" over the widening rift. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 19:36 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a570d7a 1 City Tangerang,robbery,sketches Free The police have released a sketch of one of two robbers involved in an armed robbery in Tangerang on Monday that claimed the life of 22-year-old student Italia Chandra Kirana Putri. [The perpetrator] is on our most wanted list at Tangerang Police precinct, Tangerang Police chief Sr. Comr. Harry Kurniawan said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com. We ask people to participate and directly report to us if they see this man, he said while showing the sketch to reporters. The sketch was made based on CCTV footage taken near the crime scene. Italia, a dentistry student at Trisakti University in West Jakarta, was shot in the chest after attacking one of two robbers attempting to steal her motorcycle at her house. The two robbers fled on their motorcycle, leaving behind Italias bleeding body. She was taken to Sari Asih Hospital in Tangerang but was pronounced dead on arrival. (hol) Topics : Tangerang robbery sketches Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ganug Adi Nugroho (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 16:38 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a569fb9 1 Politics Education,school,surakarta,PDI-P,MuhadjirEffendy Free Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) councillors in Surakarta, Central Java, have rejected a plan to keep students at school for eight hours a day, instead of five to six hours. PDI-P Surakarta chairman YF Sukasno said on Thursday said the policy would not work in some areas in the country, especially in rural areas where many students lived far from their schools. What time would these students reach home? Sukasno said. Sukasno argued that the policy would strip students of quality time with their families, from which they could learn family values. The time [allocated] for home and school should be proportional. If students study full time in school, when will they have the time for family education? Sukasno said, adding that the policy was made for families in urban, not rural, areas. (Read also: Parents, madrasah teachers concerned about five-day school policy) The PDI-P chapter in Surakarta, he said, would send a rejection letter to Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy. The minister has said the new policy will be implemented in the upcoming 2017/2018 academic year. Responding to the new policy, Surakarta Education Agency head Etty Retnowati said teachers should make school fun and interesting or the students would learn nothing but boredom. (ary) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 12:13 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a55da7c 1 City drug-abuse,arrest Free The Jakarta Police have arrested a councilor from Tabanan, Bali, for alleged drug use. The councilor, who belongs to the Golkar Party, was identified as INPW. He was arrested during a police raid of a hotel in Pecenongan, Central Jakarta. "Yes, we have arrested INPW. Our team is still conducting the investigation," said Jakarta Police narcotics unit head Sr. Comr. Nico Afinta as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday. Police are currently tracking down another suspect who was allegedly involved in the case. However, Nico declined to reveal details of the crime as police would soon officially announce the case to the public. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 14:01 1974 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a561192 1 Business BPS,exports,surplus,May-2017 Free Indonesias trade surplus in May was up by 23.6 percent to $470 million from $380 million in the same month last year, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on Thursday. The surplus was pushed by a 7.62 percent rise in exports to $14.29 billion in May from $11.52 billion in April. Meanwhile, imports also increased, but only to $13.82 billion, or 16.49 percent from $12 billion in April. [Indonesias] export performance in May was very good, thanks to increases in both oil-and-gas and non-oil-and-gas commodities, BPS social statistic director M Sairi Hasbullah told reporters, adding that imports were also up due to public preparation for Idul Fitri. Oil and gas exports were up by 22.36 percent month-on-month (mom) to $1.27 billion, while non-oil-and-gas exports were up by 6.37 percent to $13.02 billion. Non-oil-and-gas exports that increased significantly on a monthly basis were machineries, followed by iron and steel, and knit work. Exports that significantly decline, meanwhile, included sea vessels, jewelry and mineral ore. Exports for the first five months of this year were up by 19.93 percent yoy to $68.26 billion, while imports grew by 15.71 percent to $62.37 billion. The countrys top three import origins remained China, followed by Japan and Thailand. More than a quarter of our import came from China and more than 10 percent from Japan, that meant we depended a lot on these two countries for raw materials. If something happened to them, we would need to be careful, Sairi said. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington Thu, June 15, 2017 10:32 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a55653b 2 World Donald-Trump,probe,justice Free The special counsel overseeing the probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the US election is looking at whether President Donald Trump tried to obstruct justice, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, June 14, citing unnamed officials. In a pivotal shift in the investigation that has riveted Americans like no other for decades, senior intelligence officials have agreed to be interviewed by investigators working for the special counsel, Robert Mueller, the Post said. It quoted 5 people briefed on the requests and said those who have agreed to be interviewed are Daniel Coats, the director of national intelligence, Admiral Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and his recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett. The interviews could come as early as this week, the Post said. The newspaper's story was met with a furious reaction from Trump's personal lawyer. The shift toward investigating the US president began days after Trump fired James Comey as FBI director on May 9, the Post said. The stated focus has been Russia's alleged efforts to tilt last November's presidential election Trump's way and whether the winner's campaign was involved in any way. Trump vehemently denies any collusion between himself or any of his associates and Russia. Mueller, himself a widely respected former head of the FBI, has now taken up the angle of possible efforts by Trump to obstruct justice in the investigation, the Post said. Quoting officials, the newspaper said one event of interest to Mueller is an exchange on March 22, when Coats told associates that Trump had asked him to intervene with Comey to get him to back off the focus on Trump's former national security advisor Mike Flynn as part of the FBI probe of the Russia affair. A few days after the March 22 meeting, Trump spoke separately with Coats and Rogers and asked them to issue public statements to the effect that there was no evidence of coordination between his campaign and Russia. The Post said both men refused the president's request. Trump's personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz issued a statement saying the FBI was behind the Post story and called the leak "outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." The lawyer did not deny the story, however. Mueller briefed Senators Wednesday on his work. "I'm going to acknowledge we had a meeting with the special counsel Mueller, but I'm not going to get into the contents," Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters later. By Press Trust of India: Dehradun, June 15 (PTI) The CBI has decided to launch a probe into alleged irregularities running into crores of rupees in the procurement of land for National Highway 74 in Udham Singh Nagar district, said Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. The chief minister had over two months ago recommended an inquiry by the top investigative agency into the scam. advertisement Announcing this in the state assembly during its ongoing budget session yesterday, the chief minister said, "We had been very clear in our stand on this from day one and we remained unmoved. "We have to eliminate any wrongdoing from the system in pursuit of our policy of zero tolerance to corruption. I am happy that the CBI inquiry will now take things forward," he said. Taking cognisance of a report by a state government appointed special investigating team citing financial irregularities in the procurement of land for NH-74, Rawat had recommended a CBI probe into it on March 25 a week after being sworn in as CM. The delay in the Centres response to and a letter from Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari saying that a CBI probe will have an adverse impact on the morale of NHAI officials had prompted opposition Congress to allege that the BJP governments, both in the state and at the Centre, were unwilling to have the scam investigated by the agency. However, the chief minister as well as the state BJP president Ajay Bhatt maintained that there was no ambiguity over the issue and a CBI probe will definitely be ordered into the scam. The issue of delay in investigation of the scam by CBI was raked up by opposition Congress on the first day of the Budget Session amidst allegations that the scale of the scam was even larger than the numbers being talked about. A preliminary enquiry had pegged the scam to be worth almost Rs 240 crore. The inquiry had found that during the land acquisition process for the highway the land use pattern was changed from agricultural to non-agricultural to benefit a few landholders, who are believed to have got 20 times higher compensation than the actual cost. Six state-level officers have already been suspended in the matter.PTI ALM DV --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 16 2017 Five men with veils covering their faces broke into Muhammadiyah 02 vocational school in South Tangerang on Wednesday evening, stealing Rp 17 million (US$1,280) in cash and electronic equipment worth Rp 60 million. The security officer in charge that night, Farid Iqbal, 41, was unable to stop the robbery as one of the perpetrators had threatened him with a machete. One perpetrator held a machete to the witness [Farids] neck, Jakarta police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said on Thursday as quoted by tribunnews.com. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 15, 2017 08:04 1975 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a54f13a 1 News Halal-Local,halal-tourism,halal-tourism-destination,mobile-application,iOS,iOS-app,Android,Android-app Free Most Muslim tourists may have encountered difficulties finding halal food or places to pray when going on holiday or business trips. Halal Local, a marketplace containing halal tourism products has an answer for this very problem. With the app, users can find restaurants that serve halal food, accommodations with praying spaces for Muslims and the nearest mosques to users locations. Users are also able to book hotels and reserve a table in the restaurants listed in the app. Halal Local also provides halal tour services, not only in Indonesia, but also in other countries. Read also: Jakarta to host second Halal Tourism Business Meeting Akhmad Syaiful Nasrullah, co-founder of Halal Local told Antara news agency: We collect data from the Indonesian diaspora abroad, and also from halal councils in other countries. He added that the app currently has 40,000 listings of halal restaurants, hotels and homestays. In Indonesia, Lombok is still the most popular halal tourism destination, followed by Bandung. In the past, Arabian tourists used to go to Puncak [West Java] for leisure, but now they also know we have Lombok and Bandung, Akhmad said. Currently, 80 percent of the halal tourism app is still dominated by local tourists, but Akhmad hopes it can be used by Muslims around the world. The app is available for Android users in Google Play, while the iOS version is slated to be released in July. (asw) Read the digital edition 2020-09-25 E-Edition The Jewish Advocate is a not-for-profit reader-supported 501(c)3 organization. We rely on your donations which are tax-deductible. We have an update on the situation at 201 East Broadway, where construction of a seven story residential building yesterday damaged a neighboring building. Heres what weve been told this afternoon by a spokesperson for the Department of Buildings (DOB). City inspectors reported to the work site yesterday afternoon after excavation for the new building caused structural stability issues with the foundation of a four story tenement just to the east of the construction site. DOB engineers concluded that the tenement, 205 East Broadway, was not in immediate danger of collapse. A full stop work order was placed on 201 East Broadway, the development site, and a full vacate order was imposed on 205 East Broadway, the neighboring building. The American Red Cross offered all of the residents relocation assistance, but they chose to make their own arrangements. As we indicated this morning, the stop work order was partially rescinded so that the owners of both properties could bring contractors in for emergency stabilization repairs. The owner of 201 East Broadway may face fines and enforcement actions from the city, but no decisions have been made as of yet. Developer Daniel Wise purchased the property for $8.5 million and is in the process of building modular apartments on the site. He has not responded to our request for comment about yesterdays mishap. 205 East Broadway is an HDFC (Housing Development Fund Company) cooperative purchased by residents from the city in 1981, according to public records. Opinion: The NYPD should change its tactics after the recent deaths of several bicyclists. The evidence suggests that the NYPD sees New Yorkers who bike as somehow inviting injury or even death for daring to share the roads with drivers. [Daily News] The city is struggling to meet the demand for the new NYC ferry, which is providing inexpensive transit to the beach this summer. [New York Times] A profile of SHoP, one of New Yorks most prolific architectural firms. SHoP is a lead architect in this neighborhood of Essex Crossing and is partnering with JDS Development Group for a 77-story tower in the Two Bridges area. [The Real Deal] Ranger Rob releases a new hawk in Tompkins square Park. [EV Grieve] Checking in with Orange is the New Black star Jackie Cruz, a co-owner of Chillhouse on the Lower East Side. [Billboard] The bank said its "first equity investment of US$150 million will help to attract much needed private investment capital for infrastructure projects in India". The signboard of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is seen at its headquarter building in Beijing. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Ananth Krishnan: The China and India-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on Thursday announced its first equity investment, a $150 million commitment to a fund aimed at pushing infrastructure projects in India. The Beijing-based bank, a multilateral institution set up last year, that has China and India as its biggest shareholders, approved at its board of directors meeting in South Korea on Thursday, the equity investment and two loans for projects in Georgia and Tajikistan. advertisement The bank said its "first equity investment of US$150 million will help to attract much needed private investment capital for infrastructure projects in India". "Approving our first equity investment is another milestone for the bank and will enhance our potential to source and fund high quality, private sector projects," said D.J. Pandian, the AIIB's Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. The $150 million investment will support an infrastructure fund that the bank says "aims to invest in mid-cap infrastructure companies in India, and to expand the Bank's equity and loan deal sourcing pipelines in the private sector through its equity participation in this Fund". The idea is to boost private capital inflows from global long-term investors, such as public pension funds, endowments and insurance companies. China is the $100 billion bank's biggest shareholder with around 30 per cent of stock, with India the second-biggest with around 8 per cent. The bank in May announced its first loans for India, $160 million towards a power project in Andhra Pradesh. "The Power for All program in Andhra Pradesh will be the starting point for AIIB to extend its assistance to other countries in Asia moving towards an 'Energy for all' initiatives," Pandian said last month. "This aligns well with AIIB's mandate to promote economic development in Asia by helping build reliable and stable energy distribution systems." Also Read: Eye on India: China, Pakistan hold naval drills in Arabian Sea SCO's connectivity projects must not impinge on its members' sovereignty, says India's envoy Vijay Gokhale Also Watch: India and China strategic dialogue begins in Beijing; foreign secretaries discuss bilateral issues --- ENDS --- The Lower East Side is, of course, where one of Mayor Bill de Blasios biggest first term embarrassments played out (the Rivington House debacle). But thats not keeping hizzoner from bringing his election-year charm offensive to the Lower East Side. The mayor will appear at a town hall meeting next week, on Wednesday, June 21. It will take place at the Houston Street Center, 273 Bowery, at 6:30 p.m. Anyone wishing to attend is asked to RSVP by Monday (email townhallrsvp@cityhall.nyc.gov or call 212-748-0281). Questions on all subjects will be fielded by the mayor and representatives from various city agencies. The event is being held in conjunction with City Council member Margaret Chin, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez. It was de Blasios administration that lifted deed restrictions on Rivington House, the former AIDS nursing home, allowing the longtime community facility to fall into the hands of luxury condo developers. The Department of Buildings recently gave the property owners permission to perform exploratory work inside the building at 45 Rivington St. Neighbors to Save Rivington House, a local advocacy group, posted the following message on Facebook yesterday: Please attend (the town hall!) We want Mayor de Blasio to reinstate the Stop Work Order on this building. We invite him to join Council Member Chin, State Senator Squadron, Assembly Member Niou and Manhattan Borough President Brewer to fight alongside us for the return of Rivington House. China seems to have completed its String of Pearls around India with control over Gwadar port in Pakistan. A concerned India is doing its bit to counter this move by China. By Prabhash K Dutta: Chinese naval vessel is in the Pakistani waters in the Arabian Sea off Karachi. The naval forces of China and Pakistan are holding joint exercises raising concerns for geostrategic assets of India. Many observers have pointed out that Chinese activities in the Arabian Sea off Pakistan coast have increased significantly. China has called this a move to pirates in the region. advertisement China was given the authority to manage Gwadar port of Pakistan near Iran border for next 40 years. The port was developed by China. Also, there is China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China is concerned about the security of the CPEC but it is also using the project to deepen its strategic assets in the northern Indian Ocean. STRING OF PEARLS Those having slightest of interest in India-China relationship are familiar with the String of Pearls theory. The phrase seems to have been in use even before but publication of Energy Futures in Asia: Final Report in 2004 made it popular. The report said that China was working on a strategy to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean to extract maximum benefit from it and contain Indian hold in the region. China was expected to raise civilian and military infrastructure at chosen points on the islands or ports - metaphorically called pearls - surrounding India. String of pearl, in geostrategic parlance, refers to the Strait of Malacca, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Maldives, the Strait of Hormuz and Somalia. It also includes Bangladesh and Myanmar in Chinese strategy. (Photo: @poli_explorer) STRAIT OF MALACCA The Strait of Malacca connects Indian Ocean with Pacific Ocean with Malaysia and Singapore on one side while Indonesia on the other side. It is not very far from the Nicobar Islands. The Strait of Malacca is key for China's energy requirements. About 80 per cent of its fuel from the Middle East passes through this. Wary of India's stronghold in the Indian Ocean, China has been consistently working to develop friendly and cooperative relations with the countries in the region. In 1971, when China gave feelers about aligning with Pakistan during the Liberation War for Bangladesh, India had threatened to block the Strait of Malacca. Later in 1999 during Kargil war, India choked supply to Pakistan - practically blocking Karachi port - using its dominance in the Indian Ocean. China is on a mission to turn the tide against India. MYANMAR AND BANGLADESH China has developed assets in Myanmar. It has built a gas pipeline of about 2,400 km from Myanmar to China. It is also reported to have a military base in Coco Island of Myanmar. advertisement China is said to have developed a naval base near Strait of Malacca on Cocos Keeling Island, which is a distant part of Australia. Further north in the Bay of Bengal, China developed the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh. It has given China a foothold and stake in the Bay of Bengal. Significant part of Chinese trade passes through this port. China had been pushing Bangladesh to allow it to develop a small naval base near Chittagong. SRI LANKA Sri Lanka has been a trusted friend of India for decades but the years between 2012 and 2014 saw increased Chinese presence in the island country. China developed a port at Hambantola on the southeastern part of Sri Lanka. A Chinese company built the port and gained control to manage it. China was in the process of developing it into a naval base, when in January 2015, the Rajapakshe government was voted out in Sri Lanka. The Sirisena government has had better equation with the Indian government and Chinese plans seem to have received a jolt. PAKISTAN China has Gwadar port and the CPEC to protect in Pakistan. The Gwadar port has gained further significance as China joined what was originally conceived as the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. advertisement India withdrew from the project as it was not assured of the security of the pipeline in certain stretches in Pakistan. The project is now called Iran-Pakistan-China pipeline. It touches Gwadar on its route to China. The CPEC is developing into a vital geo-strategic and trade asset of China. At present, it carries only two per cent of its trade with Pakistan. But, China expects the volume to increase as it plans to route much of its trade with the Middle East and Africa through Gwadar port and the CPEC. These two also gives China an alibi to strengthen its military prowess, with active collaboration of Pakistan, in the Indian Ocean particularly around the Strait of Harmuz, which is equally vital for India's international trade. HOW INDIA COUNTERS CHINA India has identified the challenge from China's String of Pearls strategy. India has made serious attempts to improve its relation with its maritime neighbours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recast India's Look East Policy as Act East Policy with emphasis on developing infrastructure in the East Asian countries. To counter Chinese influence in Myanmar, India has recently extended over USD 1.75 billion in grants and credit to Myanmar. advertisement Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh and received his counterpart in New Delhi with an eye on China, which is reported to be developing some kind of deep sea military infrastructure at Sonadia. India has also promised USD 4.5 billion credit to Bangladesh only in April this year. Indian government's increased engagement with Sri Lanka has ensured that the pace of Chinese 'economic intrusion', in the island neighbour has slowed down in the past two years. (Photo: @rishibagree) Further, New Delhi has striven hard to counter Beijing's attempt to encircle India by launching a counter move to develop friendly relationship with the countries surrounding China. India has invested a lot diplomatically and entered into multiple pacts with countries like Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia - all surrounding China. Besides, India has good old friends in Japan, South Korea and Russia. Many suggest that China is concerned with growing Indian influence on all sides of its boundaries as its attempt to build a realistic String of Pearls is being talked about and countered openly, New Delhi's outreach has gone largely unnoticed by the world watchers. ALSO READ | Eye on India: China, Pakistan hold naval drills in Arabian Sea Chinese warships frequently visit Karachi, Gwadar in bid to expand presence in Indian Ocean China backs India's tsunami warning system in South China Sea ALSO WATCH | China, Pakistan hold joint military drills in Arabian Sea --- ENDS --- Punts is a completely unique exploration of sexuality and who has the right to sex. Punts is a small production with only four characters and two set pieces, and yet it manages to create this great sense of a satirical suburban life with all the branches that a single family with have outside their home. The entire story about a middle-class family whose eldest son, Jack, has a severe learning disability, leaving him unable to interact socially or understand social situations. Fear of how their son will cope leads to his parents specifically his mother hiring a prostitute to have sex with him, since its believed that he is likely to struggle to form a relationship naturally. Enter Julie, who turns the accepted social structure of the house on its head. Jack and Julies relationship focuses on his idea of sex as a human right, that anyone should be allowed to have that connection. Jack knows what he wants, but lacks the confidence to actually push for the freedom he desires. Julie wants to be a carer; is a sex worker to support her education and her son, who has an implied learning disability as well. Jacks mother, Antonia, is having trouble letting go of her child and the control she has on her home life whilst his father, Alistair, wants a life outside that of his children. Not only is there a conversation about sex, but also sex workers and female empowerment and what it means to have a disability or be the parent of a child with a disability. These heavy topics are wrapped in humour, sometimes uncomfortable but purposely so, and it encourages you to think about your own perceptions of these characters. The acting is incredible. Christopher Adams plays Jacks disability with skill and such care that you want things to work out for Jack with all of you. He steals the show from the very first scene. Florence Roberts, our Julie, spends quite a lot of time in her underwear, and the confidence to do such a thing in a such a small theatre is applaudable not to mention she speaks with such honest rawness when Antonia pushes and insults her. Julie is a strong woman and Roberts plays her brilliantly. Graham OMara and Clare Lawrence Moody play well against each other as concerned parents and lovers trying to find that spark again. Antonia is the antagonist of the story if there is one, and Lawrence Moody does well in playing this character that is passionate and stubborn and opinionated, although not always in the best ways. Graham plays Alistair with a strong air. He conveys his worries and his doubts and his anxiousness those such small movements. He seems to embody the character of Alistair incredibly well. The only criticism to be found would be the suddenness of the ending. By the end of the 85-minute show, it feels like there should be more to the story. A missing scene would wrap up the loose ends, specifically in Julies story. Shes the one with a serious and outstanding conflict that leads to an important scene in the play, meaning it gets attention but is never resolved. Punts is an interesting look into family structures, disabilities, sex workers and the act of sex itself. Its funny and thought-provoking, and the cast of four actors that take on these roles play each part with care and a quick wit. For ticket information, visit the Theatre 503 website. 'Yuk Foo' is the first glimpse we have been given into their new album, Visions Of A Life. Trust me, it's everything you could dream of and more. Vocalist Ellie Rowsell states that it's an open interpretation for anyone to listen and relate to when they're feeling angry and pissed off - it's an athem of frustration. This female-fronted four-piece aren't taking any shit from anyone. She's screaming, rowdy and fiery, while the guys are divulging in some rip-roaring riffs and stepping away from the twinkles of My Love is Cool. 'Yuk Foo' is the kind of track you have to put on the loudest setting. You have to yell to it and heaven forbid you don't throw yourself around your bedroom letting go of everything that's lit a fire inside of you. It's everything a good angsty rock song should be, full of feeling and expression. Wolf Alice's new album, Visions Of A Life, is due to be released 29th September, followed by an Autumn Europe/UK tour including the legendary venue of Alexandra Palace, London. A Conservative MP who lost his seat last week following the snap election has since sent a former constituent abusive messages on Facebook. Stewart Jackson had been MP of Peterborough for 12 years but lost his seat to Labour last Thursday. On Monday he sent his former constituent Christian Stanley abusive and insulting messages. Calling him a thick chav and a pillock Mr Jackson also said: Youre so thick you could chop meat on your head." Mr Stanley shared screenshots of the private messages in a Facebook post, writing alongside them: Having never spoken to him before, he contacted me via FB and what followed was a barrage of abuse and name calling by him. He was contacting me because I left some remarks about him on social media regarding his MPs expenses. Credit: Facebook/Christian Stanley Mr Jackson has been publicly criticised for his expenses in the past: according to The Telegraph his previous expenses claims include 304 for work on his swimming pool, 741 for a king-size bed and 775 for plumbing work in his summer room. In 2013 Mr Jackson was also sued by the expenses watchdog for refusing to pay back 54,000 he was alleged to have made in capital gains on his publicly funded house. Credit: Facebook/Christian Stanley Since the messages were shared other Peterborough constituents have come forward and alleged that Mr Jackson has blocked them on social media for opposing his views when he was a sitting MP. Commenting on Mr Stanley's Facebook post Sarah Wiles wote: "He blocked me on twitter when we held a bedroom tax protest outside his 2nd home in Peterborough." While another person, going by the Facebook name Thurston FW Christine, wrote: "He blocked me during the last election campaign when I asked him what his stance was on LGBT issues." As well as his expenses scandal, Mr Jackson has also had other controversies. Pink News reported in 2015 that an IP address registered to the Houses of Parliament removed information about gay rights criticism from Mr Jacksons Wikipedia page. The criticism was in relation to an email he had sent to a lesbian constituent who disagreed with his opposition to same-sex marriage. Mr Jackson isn't the only Tory to be caught out insulting someone on social media as Robert Syms, the Conservative MP for Poole recently called someone a dick on Twitter. Chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, Ian Hopkins, says the force is under real strain due to cuts. Mr Hopkins has written to all 27 Greater Manchester MPs and regional mayor Andy Burnham calling for an urgent meeting to discuss police resources and staff numbers. He believes there should be an increase in GMP's workforce rather than a decrease - which has been the pattern in recent years. GMP has seen a significant reduction in the amount of officers: in March 2010 the force had 8,128 officers but this figure now stands at 6,297 and with further planned cuts numbers are set to fall further. Writing on Twitter at the weekend, Hopkins praised his officers who were policing Parklife as well as a protest between anti-Islam and anti-fascist groups in the city centre. He wrote: Outstanding from @gmpolice officers & staff this w/e policing protest and Parklife. Real strain on everyone not just this weekend..see below. In his tweet he included a table which show planned changes to the whole GMP workforce from 2010 to 2020. The figures reveal that by March 2020 there will be 24% fewer staff than in 2010, and that overall this is larger than the average for England and Wales. Outstanding from @gmpolice officers & staff this w/e policing protest & Parklife. Real strain on everyone not just this weekend..see below. pic.twitter.com/vFJXfrYax5 CC Ian Hopkins (@CCIanHopkins) June 11, 2017 Speaking to The Guardian Mayor Andy Burnham said he was writing to the Prime Minister to raise his concerns: Theres no question about it: GMP needs more officers. They are at their limits, probably beyond them, in terms of what they are dealing with, he said, adding: You cant have these things (crime rates) going up and funding going in the opposite direction. Something has got to give. At the moment more than 1,000 officers are investiagting the recent terror attack at Manchester arena,. Both Mr Burnham and Mr Hopkins have cited a greater risk of terrorism as putting extra pressure on police and a reason for increasing staff numbers. In Song of Myself, Walt Whitman has the cosmos ask, Do I contradict myself? Very well then, it concedes, I contradict myself, / (I am large, I contain multitudes.) It is a truth we would all do well to acknowledge. We are all large, we all contain multitudes. This is not to make a virtue of hypocrisy and self-contradiction; rather, it is simply a call for recognition. Intellectual consistency requires that we acknowledge our failure to meet its high standard. If we are generous, and grant that Tim Farrons decision to resign was a purely personal matter, then we might afford him some semblance of respect. He seems to have recognised his own irreconcilable inconsistency. (Though I am not sure we should be so generous; his resignation comes after Brian Paddick, the Lib Dem peer and Home Affairs spokesman, resigned over concerns about the leader's views on various issues that were highlighted during GE17. It follows days of speculation about leadership challenges, and a general election in which Mr. Farron only retained his seat by the slimmest of margins, having lost some 300 votes to a man dressed as a fish finger. All of which suggests party pressure influenced his decision.) Or, rather, he has almost recognised it. His resignation statement is not consistent on this point. He begins by saying that he found [himself] torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader, which must surely be true. He then laments his relative lack of wisdom, for a wise man might have been able to [remain] faithful to Christ while leading a political party in the current environment, which is opaque by comparison with the preceding. Theological hermeneutics is a form of alchemy; a wise man might have convinced himself and others, which, to a politician, counts for more - that squares are circles, but persuasion and truth have little claim to familial ties. One detects some particular emphasis placed on the phrase in the current environment, which is a shifty and dishonest manoeuvre. It suggests that one cannot remain faithful to Christ because of the current environment, thereby pinning the blame for his difficulties upon said environment. Given his well-documented opinions about certain constituent elements of the current environment abortion, say we return to the fundamental disagreement, between liberalism and Christian teaching, something Mr Farron almost acknowledged before misplacing the blame. Indeed, the statement becomes less coherent as it goes on. The next paragraph is worth quoting in full, for it is a consummate piece of doublethink. To be a political leader especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bibles teaching, has felt impossible for me. Im a liberal to my finger tips [sic], and that liberalism means that I am passionate about defending the rights and liberties of people who believe different things to me. I could simply underline the above and Im sure the point would be taken. But let us examine it: Mr Farron claims it is impossible for him to be a committed Christian and lead a liberal party. Yet he claims that he is a liberal to [his] finger tips [sic]. Well, one cannot have it both ways. If he recognises a dichotomy between his religion and his philosophy, he cannot claim to be equally devoted to both. If he is a liberal to his fingertips, he cannot be a committed Christian. If he is a committed Christian, he cannot be a true liberal. It wasnt until the 20th Century that Victor Serge coined the term totalitarian, yet the Bible both by its singular teachings and by the divine provenance from which they stem is the creation myth of totalitarianism. (I anticipate the usual objections: what about charity? What about love? What about the kind and loving Jesus? I will happily list my objections to each of the above, but for now I can only call out such unlettered wish-thinking for the nonsense that it is.) And yet As Ive said before, Mr Farrons voting record is remarkably liberal. Yes, he has made moral statements in the past, on abortion for example, which are definitively illiberal. (And his remarks on homosexuality play upon that typically religious tactic of claiming distinction where there is no difference; the question, newsreaders, is about the sinfulness of sex, not persuasion. The Bible does not explicitly condemn homosexuality, but homosexual sex warrants heavenly fury.) Yet his political career has been marked the erection of a Jeffersonian wall between pure and political morality. As he has said himself: There are Christians in politics who take the view that they should impose the tenets of faith on society, but I have not taken that approach because I disagree with it its not liberal and it is counterproductive when it comes to advancing the gospel. (This makes him a deeply flawed Christian, as the Bible regards such reticence as disobedience, and insulting to God.) If we are to count ourselves as liberals, either politically or socially, we should be familiar with no, we should respect this insistence upon the divide between personal morality and public policy. Liberalism requires tolerance, not acceptance. Mr Farron may view abortion as a moral evil, but he does not believe he has a right to impose his view upon others. I am sympathetic to those who argue that this indicates a certain wooliness and lack of commitment; nonetheless, a world of rabid absolutists could never function. Society is built upon tolerance; moral condemnation, yes, but not political duress. Mr Farrons resignation statement contains many unintended ironies. But the overarching irony is this: his position has been made untenable by those who think liberalism entails moral conformity, by those who brook no dissent or disagreement. That we have become obsessed by his personal beliefs, and paid no attention to his actions, is evidence only of this: Mr Farrons faith may be incompatible with his politics. (Evidence, too, that we are selective in our outrage. Would this furore have been directed at a devotee of another monotheistic cult I might mention, one which is at least as bigoted in its approach to sexual ethics as Mr Farrons brand of Christianity? I think not.) But it is we, so puritanical in our liberalism, who are the true hypocrites. Cambridge University examiners are told to avoid words like genius, flair and brilliance to describe students work because they carry assumptions of gender inequality, an academic has revealed. Lucy Delap, a history lecturer at the university, said that academics are warned not to use these terms. Some of those words, in particular genius, have a very long intellectual history where it has long been associated with qualities culturally assumed to be male, she said. Some women are fine with that, but others might find it hard to see themselves in those categories. Dr Delap added that the university plans to rewrite the first two years of its history degree, in an attempt to root out the unhelpful and very vague talk of genius, of brilliance, of flair which carries assumptions of gender inequality and also of class and ethnicity. Male history students are statistically more likely to graduate with a first in history from Cambridge. The faculty gives confidence-building workshops in the leadup to exams, as it is thought that increased self-assurance may be one reason why male students do better. changing its exam system in a bid to close the gender gap This comes after the University of Oxford announced it would be. From the next academic year, history students will sit one take-home paper as part of their final-year exams. Just a day after the horrific Grenfell Tower fire, 17 residents have been reported dead and authorities only expect that number to rise. The first victim to be named is 24-year-old Mohammad Alhajali, a Civil Engineering student at the University of West London and a Syrian refugee who came to Britain in search of a better life. (Facebook) Alhajali resided on the 14th floor of the 24-storey building with his brother Omar, a 25-year-old business student who is currently being treated at Kings Cross hospital after evacuating the blazing tower. Muhammad was unable to make it out of the building. The brothers were granted asylum in Britain three years ago after successfully escaping from Daraa, a southern city in Syria that is the birthplace of the Syrian uprising against Assad, the countrys leader. He survived Assad, he survived the war, only to be killed in a tower block in London, Abdulaziz Almashi, a friend of Muhammad, told the Daily Telegraph. Muhammads friend Mirna Suleiman took to Facebook to express her sorrow, posting: This beautiful soul was lost today... as long as many others. His story touched me personally because he had escaped death from Syria and came to the UK to find a new life. It features all the hallmarks of Scandi-dramas: a grizzled detective with a weakness for one of his cold cases, a new partner who he doesn't entirely trust, a police chief who's giving him his last chance... But, somehow, Cardinal manages to defy the very tropes it adopts.Though the first episode begins with a typical crime drama set-up - a body being discovered and the police being called - Cardinal sets itself apart from other North American procedurals from the get-go. The camera glides across the barren, Canadian landscape, showing how isolated the crime was from civilisation, and setting the tone for the remaining 40 minutes. Harshness dominates the show from the almost greyscale colour palette to the confrontations between characters. And it doesnt shy away from the grisly details of its plot; we see the half-decayed face of the teenage victim too (though it is tastefully handled).Once the premise of the show has been established, we cut to our protagonist, Detective John Cardinal (who the show is named after). We hear some minimal exposition through dialogue between Cardinal and his new partner, Detective Lise Delorme, informing the audience that the detective had previously worked on the case and is being given a second chance now that the body has been discovered. What follows is fairly standard: they begin investigating the case, with Cardinal initially reluctant to trust Delorme but growing to believe in her judgements as time wears on. They revisit old leads, follow up new threads, create hypotheses. And yet, the acting between the leads is nuanced, giving the audience more than they would get out of a generic CSI knockoff.As I go into describing the end of the first episode and the events of the second, some spoilers will creep in, so if you want to begin watching Cardinal then look no further. For what its worth, I highly recommend the show, especially if you liked Broadchurch, or any number of the other crime dramas to come out of Scandinavia in the past ten years. Its cold, driven and compelling, and as its Canadian, there are no subtitles that you have to follow (if thats something you care about). I cant vouch for the whole season, but if theyre anything like these first episodes then watching them unfold will be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. At the end of the first episode it is revealed that Delorme was sent to the squad with the primary purpose of investigating Cardinal himself, who is suspected of leaking information to a local gang. The information grants another level of insight to Delormes actions in the episode, and you cant help but read the detectives conversations in a whole new light. The climax of the episode also reveals that Cardinals belief that a serial killer is to blame is correct. The build-up to this moment is truly chilling, and I was on the edge of my seat as he stalked through the abandoned building that the body was found in. Both of these revelations caused me to crave more of the story, so its a good thing that the next episode came straight afterwards! The second episode picks up where the first left off, with the rest of the squad being called to the scene of the next crime. It is immediately clear that this episode will be largely focused on Delorme (not just because the episode is named after her), as she is confronted by Sergeant Dyson who apparently knows about her covert investigation. As the episode progresses, more and more about Delorme is divulged. Unlike many female characters in this sort of crime drama she isnt completely cut off from the world around her, and has a supportive partner who shes trying for a baby with. This is somewhat refreshing, as were used to seeing independent Strong Female Characters in this genre, who are often childless. Delorme is a rare case, though whether her relationship will make it through the show has yet to be seen. Despite the focus on character development and enriching their backstories, this second episode leaves off on a cliffhanger which reveals some delightfully shocking details about the murders. I for one will be anxiously awaiting the next double bill of episodes. Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content: Home Page China and Pakistan have held naval drills in the Arabian Sea, the Chinese military has said, with both sides looking to deepen interoperability between their navies in the Indian Ocean. By Ananth Krishnan: China and Pakistan have held naval drills in the Arabian Sea, the Chinese military has said, with both sides looking to deepen interoperability between their navies in the Indian Ocean. A Chinese naval fleet arrived in Karachi on Saturday. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) said it comprised the guided-missile destroyer Changchun, guided-missile frigate Jinzhou and supply ship Chaohu for a four-day visit. advertisement "The Chinese naval fleet will also hold a joint drill with Pakistani Navy flotilla in the Arabian Sea of the northern Indian Ocean", the PLA said. Five surface ships and two ship-borne helicopters of the two navies will join the drills on "formation movement, joint escort, helicopter landing on each other's ships, as well as joint air defence". CHINA's SHIPS, SUBMARINES VISITING KARACHI FREQUENTLY China's ships and submarines have been visiting Karachi with increasing frequency. Chinese officials insist that the purpose of the frequent passages of their ships and submarines through the Arabian Sea was to boost capacity for escort missions aimed at anti-piracy in the Gulf of Aden, although experts have questioned this rationale considering that submarines have little operational use for anti-piracy operations. The exercises with Pakistan come as China goes ahead with developing the Gwadar port that it has been managing on the Arabian Sea, part of its China Pakistan Economic Corridor plan. Karachi is, for now, a crucial lynchpin for Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean, with Sri Lanka in the past two years declining Chinese requests for port calls after India voiced its concern when the previous Rajapaksa government gave Beijing the green light. Also read | Chinese warships frequently visit Karachi, Gwadar in bid to expand presence in Indian Ocean Also read | China defends deployment of submarines in Indian Ocean Also read | China backs India's tsunami warning system in South China Sea WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- By PTI: By K J M Varma Beijing, Jun 14 (PTI) China today said it is intensifying efforts to establish the veracity of reports over the killing of two of its nationals by the ISIS in Pakistan and offered to cooperate in investigating their alleged illegal preaching activities in the Muslim nation. "I should stress that on the possible killing of the two Chinese nationals, we express high concern. But so far, Pakistan has not confirmed the information to China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media briefing here. advertisement "We are intensifying the efforts to verify the relevant information," he said. The Ministrys response came after Chinas official media yesterday accused South Korean Christian groups and intelligence agencies of recruiting young Chinese and sending them for proselytising in Muslim countries. China has yet not released details whether the two slain Chinese nationals were associated with South Korean church groups. Chinese Foreign Ministry on June 9 said Beijing was informed by Pakistan officials that a Chinese man and a woman identified as Lee Zingyang, 24, and Meng Lisi, 26, who were kidnapped last month from Quetta may have been killed. The video of their killing emerged on the eve of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana which was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Subsequently, Pakistan Interior Ministry said the two Chinese nationals were involved in "preaching" in the country along with a Korean group. Reports from Pakistan said the two were killed by Islamic State group after being abducted by gunmen dressed as policemen in Quetta in restive Balochistan province last month. About the allegations that they were preachers, Lu said, "We always require the Chinese citizens to abide by local laws and regulations while travelling and living in foreign countries, respect the customs of the local people and stay alert to protect their safety and security." "On the information of possible preaching by the two people we will cooperate with Pakistan to investigate for further information," he said. Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist and nationalist insurgencies in Balochistan since 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting. ISIS has been making inroads in Pakistan with the help of its ties with local militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. However, the government has largely downplayed the presence of the dreaded terror outfit. PTI KJV MRJ PMS --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Tillerson By Lalit K Jha Washington, Jun 15 (PTI) Chinas cooperation in pressuring its close ally North Korea over its nuclear and missile programme is "notable but uneven", US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told lawmakers. "The approach we are taking with North Korea, as youre aware, is one of eliciting countries all over the world to support us in putting pressure on the regime in Pyongyang, to change and alter their position and their view before we are willing to sit down and conduct discussions with them," Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a Congressional hearing. advertisement Clearly, China is the capstone to achieving this kind of pressure, he said, adding that this was a topic of significant discussion in President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trumps summit in Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. "The communications have been very clear. Our expectations have been very clear with the Chinese. Their cooperation, I would say, has been notable, but it has been uneven," he said. "And we continue that dialogue with the Chinese, specifically around their actions that support revenue streams to North Korea, but also taking action against entities inside of China that may be supporting revenue streams as well," Tillerson said. The Secretary of State said he along with Defense Secretary James Mattis will be having another high-level dialogue next week when they meet their Chinese counterparts here in Washington. "That will be one of the first topics on the agenda. We have made it clear to them, and we have provided them a list of entities that we believe they need to take action against. We have asked that they take the action, but President Trump has also been very clear with President Xi that if they either dont want to take the action or they do not take the action, we will act on our own," Tillerson said in response to a question. Responding to a series of questions on Taiwan, Tillerson said that there is no change in US One-China policy. "The China-US relationship has been defined for the past 50 years by our One-China policy and our agreement around One-China policy. They have their interpretation of what that means, and we have ours, and weve agreed that we will accommodate each others interpretation," he said. "But it has led to 50 years of stability in the region. It has prevented conflict. It has allowed for this enormous economic growth that has gone on, much of which we have benefited from," Tillerson said. "As we began our dialogue with Chinese leadership, with this new administration, as you know, there was some questioning of our commitment to (the) One China early on. The president has reaffirmed that we are committed to the One- China policy," he said. advertisement Tillerson asserted that the US is also completely committed to the Taiwan Relations Act, and fulfilling all of its commitments under it. "But we are also in a discussion with China, now, about what is our relationship going to be for the next 50 years. How do we enter another era of stability and absence of conflict? And Taiwan, clearly, to the Chinese, is a part of that discussion," he said. "So it is important, as we engage with them, that we are able to fulfill our commitments to Taiwan, which we have every intention of doing, and the question is, is the One China Policy sustainable for the next 50 years? And those are the kinds of discussions were having," Tillerson said. The discussions are extremely complex in many regards, he said. "But this is what we seek is another 50 years of stability and no conflict with China in the Pacific region. Taiwan is a big element of that. North Korea is a big element of that. Their island building and militarisation of islands is a significant element of that," Tillerson said. advertisement "All of these are in our discussion with them about how do we define this relationship for the next half century, to ensure we have a continued era of no conflict and stability," said the Secretary of State. PTI LKJ ASK AKJ ASK --- ENDS --- Civil Aviation Secretary, Rajiv N Choubey has written to revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia, requesting to postpone the roll-out of the GST to September 1, 2017. By Poulomi Saha: As the date for the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime draws closer, members of certain sectors are expressing their unpreparedness for it. On Monday, Civil Aviation secretary Rajiv N Choubey wrote to revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia requesting deferment in the roll-out of GST to September 1, 2017. The GST is slated to become applicable from July 1, 2017. advertisement Writing on behalf of airlines, Choubey said that the airlines, especially full-service ones like Jet Airways and Air India, need time to make changes to their global ticketing systems. Also, there are other anomalies within the new system that airlines want addressed, the letter said. They want direct international flights to be treated on par with international connecting flights. Under the new system, direct international flights will become more expensive. Airlines want the present service tax regime to stay. Airlines also want the full input tax credit to be given on economy class travel. Currently it is applicable only on premium class travel. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global trade association of airlines, has been persistently writing to the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Finance Ministry demanding a postponement in GST roll-out because of unresolved queries concerning various aspects of core operations of airlines. In his most recent letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on June 1, IATA Chairman Alexandre de Juniac wrote, "Whilst our members wish to fully comply with GST regime, they will be unable to do so due to the sheer lack of guidelines for its application to air transport services." The finance ministry on Tuesday dispelled rumours that the GST roll-out was being pushed back and reiterated. It is slated for countrywide implementation starting from July 1, 2017. Also Read: New rules for pilots: 1 year notice period for captains, 6 months for first officers DGCA probes Jet Airways, Alliance Air mid-air near miss --- ENDS --- French charter captain stirs maelstrom at Phuket dive site PHUKET: A French charter boat captain has landed in hot water after dropping anchor at a popular dive site south of Phuket, nearly striking a submerged scuba diver on the head with the anchor in the process. tourismmarineaccidents By The Phuket News Thursday 15 June 2017, 04:45PM The anchor nearly hit a diver, then snagged the motorbike and began pulling it away. Image: Facebook The anchor nearly hit a diver, then snagged the motorbike and began pulling it away. Image: Facebook The anchor nearly hit a diver, then snagged the motorbike and began pulling it away. Image: Facebook The motorbike hauled away by the anchor was one of several that have become favourites among divers at popular dive sites off Phuket. Photo: Seafarer Divers Six divers were at the standing motorbike site, in Bay 1 off the east coast of Racha Yai Island, when the anchor came bundling down the anchor chain hitting one of the dive party on the head in the process. It was very lucky that no one was killed in the process, said one diver in a flurry of comments posted on Facebook after the incident. One instructor hit in the head with the chain. Marine police have been informed, another wrote. Adding insult to injury, after the anchor dropped it snagged the motorbike and hauled it away along the seabed, effectively removing the dive attraction. Following up on the report, Olly Wilce, the Base Manager at TUI Marine (The Moorings, Sunsail, Footloose and LeBoat) and Training Manager/Chief Instructor at JAVA Yachting, confirmed the incident was a mistake. The captain was given a full briefing, its not the companys fault, Mr Wilce reported yesterday. All my customers upon arrival are give a full chart brief on the sailing grounds and told strictly about the no anchoring areas. Racha Yai and Noi being two of them, Mr Wilce told The Phuket News. The motorbike is a diver attraction and they happened to catch it with the anchor when trying to retrieve it (the anchor). This is a mistake which has never happened with one of our yachts before. And I assure everyone it will not happen again, Mr Wilce said. Mr Wilces quick response was well received by Phukets dive community. Meanwhile, it has yet to be reported if the motorbike has been returned to the site, or if another one will be installed to replace it. Cyber criminals have started using a Chinese software called Rufus that allows the crooks to access ATM machines and loot money. The malware exploits the ATMs' outdated Windows XP software. By Shashank Shekhar: The new-age cyber criminal doesn't need your bank cards or account details to get a cash machine to spit out money. Using malware, they can hack into an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and empty it out within minutes. Security agencies have cautioned the banking sector with cases of ATM breach, which do not require cards or breaking into the hardware, coming to light in parts of the country. advertisement According to investigators, a Chinese software - Rufus - is being used by criminals to access cash dispensers and loot money. Instances have been reported in Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar and Gujarat. State police departments have written to the Reserve Bank of India, informing about this loophole in the ATM security system. Sources say cyber criminals are exploiting outdated software being used in ATMs. The compromised cash machines were found to be running on the moth-eaten Microsoft Windows XP operating system. The RBI during the global WannaCry ransomware attack last month advised ATM operators to upgrade their system. "We have so far found that this malware only targets ATMs working on Windows XP, which is prone to hacking given its low security," said Cuttack deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Sanjeev Arora. The spate of hacking incidents started in the Odisha city when Rs 17 lakh was withdrawn from an ATM and similar reports started pouring in from other parts of the state, with damages mounting to Rs 40 lakh. The cyber crime branches of West Bengal and Bihar police confirmed to Mail Today about net crooks adopting this modus operandi. A senior officer in West Bengal said his team is consulting cyber crime experts to crack such cases. Last year ATM machines were targeted with a similar ploy in Bihar's Patna, Begusarai and Jehanabad. MODUS OPERANDI Investigations revealed that the hackers went to unguarded ATMs at night. The machines were subjected to a "physical" malware attack by inserting an infected pen drive in the dispenser's USB port to transfer the malicious file, causing the machine to behave erratically. "Our probe uncovered that criminals used a key to open the upper compartment of the ATMs where the computers were located. Using an infected USB drive malware was transferred and the systems were rebooted. Once they got restarted, the systems would get de-linked from the main servers of the service provider. The malware when used on an ATM generates a code, which the crooks send to their gang members, who convert the code to a password, and as soon the password is applied the ATM dispenses cash," Arora told Mail Today. advertisement The officer explained that banks would not immediately learn about the crime as crooks bypass the server and the hackers swiftly walk away without raising an alarm. Security agencies also point out that off-site ATM vendors are violating rules and are not ensuring adequate virtual and physical security of the machines, leading to such crimes. 'NEED BETTER SOFTWARE' "The government and RBI should make ATM manufacturers compulsorily install new and robust operating systems," said Mumbai-based cyber lawyer and expert Prashant Mali. "If the government plans to increase the number of ATMs, then it should ensure that they are available whenever needed. In recent cases, we have seen ATMs going down due to attacks. It not only deprives a user from withdrawing money but also exposes them to cyber criminals." Sources say following such incidents, banks have ordered a forensic audit. But neither they nor ATM manufacturers have confirmed whether a software malfunction caused the glitch. Makers of cash dispensers have denied that any security loophole exists from their end, but acknowledged that certain cases have come to their notice though these are not widespread. advertisement According to sources, the Reserve Bank of India is aware of the situation and is closely working with National Payments Corporation of India to tell banks what security steps are required to protect the machines. State police officials have asked the RBI to instruct banks to incorporate latest security features in the ATMs. ALSO READ | When cyber criminals nearly looted USD 170 million from Union Bank of India ALSO READ | How severe was WannaCry ransomware cyber attack in India? Government says nothing serious --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Darjeeling (WB), Jun 15 (PTI) The Gorkha separatist campaign in the hills of Darjeeling spiralled deeper into violence today as protesters and riot police hurled stones at each other, while a series of raids uncovered weapons from premises connected to the movements chief. The demand by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal state is fast turning into a major political crisis for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and is likely to cripple the critical tourist industry during the peak summer season. advertisement "The present situation in the hills is created by the state government. They want to suppress us using huge police force", GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told PTI. He said the Centre and the state government should solve the "political problem". In the fog-shrouded hilly roads of Darjeeling, GJM activists sparred with paramilitary personnel, hurling stones from a distance. The policemen responded by throwing stones back as a car burnt nearby. It was not clear if the car was that of a civilian or belonged to the police. Earlier today, police recovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives in raids on premises connected with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, sparking a call by the separatist group for an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Police said some party activists also were arrested today in the raids in Singmari and Patlebas areas of Darjeeling. The developments came a day after Gurung said that his groups campaign will not stop until it a separate Gorkhaland state is created. He has asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling, a tea-growing region of West Bengal state and also one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. "Some of the premises of Gurung and other GJM activists were raided. We conducted the raids on the basis of concrete information. The raids are still on. We have arrested a few GJM activists," a senior police official told PTI on condition of anonymity. The police, however, denied that Gurungs residence had been raided. Following the raids, the GJM called for an indefinite shutdown in the hills from today. "The state government is indulging in politics of witch-hunting," Giri, the GJM general secretary, said. "The police and the state government are provoking us to call an indefinite strike in the hills. We will inform the Centre about the atrocities of the state government. We have called an indefinite shutdown in hills from today," Giri said. On the recovery of weapons, the GJM leader said, "What have they found? Khukri is part of our tradition, what is the harm in keeping it? Bows and arrows are traditional weapons. They were meant for students for archery competition". advertisement "The GJM is being targeted as we are fighting for a separate state. The police and the state government are trying to frame false cases against us," he alleged. "We will inform the Centre of the police atrocities and seek Centres intervention", Giri who is in Delhi, told PTI over phone. The raids came on the fourth day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite strike in government and GTA offices in the hills. The GJMs call for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained momentum after six other hill parties extended their support and unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday for a new state to be carved out of Darjeeling hills. The area is largely populated by Gorkhas who resent the imposition of Bengali, the predominant language of the rest of the state. Prominent among the six states to join GJM is the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which broke its alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Centre has dispatched 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the West Bengal government in restoring normalcy in violence-hit Darjeeling hills which witnessed incidents of stone pelting during GJM-sponsored indefinite bandh. advertisement The Centre had also sought a detailed report on the prevailing situation in the hill district from the state government. PTI PNT MM VJ DV --- ENDS --- The police also arrested GJM leader Karuna Gaurung from Kursiong as agitation over demands for a separate Gorkhaland intensified in hilly parts of West Bengal. By Indrajit Kundu: The West Bengal police today raided the office of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung's office in Darjeeling and seized weapons such as knives, machetes, sickles and arrows. The police raid at Gurung's office triggered a violent protest by GJM supporters who torched a police station in Kalimpong. The police also arrested GJM leader Karuna Gaurung from Kursiong as agitation over demands for a separate Gorkhaland intensified in hilly parts of West Bengal. Darjeeling: A Crossbow recovered during police raid at Gorkha Janmukti Morcha office #DarjeelingUnrest #Gorkhaland pic.twitter.com/MZzv8ng3y4- ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 Darjeeling: Weapons recovered during police raid at Gorkha Janmukti Morcha office #DarjeelingUnrest #Gorkhaland pic.twitter.com/PJ60QWurEv- ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017 advertisement A huge contingent of West Bengal police including its Counter-Insurgency Force (CIF), led by Darjeeling Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Chaturvedi broke open the gates of Gurung's office at Patlaybas area. Though Gurung was himself not present at the premises, there were a few women GJM cadres guarding the office. In an operation that lasted for half hour, police recovered a huge cache of sharp weapons like bow and arrows, axes, khukuris, spades, knives etc. A country made fire arm and cash was also recovered. Condemning the police crackdown, GJM leader Binay Tamang said bows and arrows are used in traditional tribal archery. "We are tribals, about to hold our traditional archery competition. They showed our traditional equipments as weapons. This is why we need Gorkhaland, our rights, our culture, our heritage, our traditions...nothing is respected," Tamang said. Meanwhile, in protest against the police crackdown the GJM has called for total shutdown of Darjeeling hills for an indefinite period. The police action came after Gurung announced that the agitation for a separate Gorkhaland will continue and asked tourists to avoid visiting Darjeeling. "It is not only a matter of tourists. They should try and avoid Darjeeling. Our agitation will go on. Let CRPF and Army men be deployed," Gurung said in a statement. ALSO READ: Nepali vs Bangla in Darjeeling: Demand for Gorkhaland leaves Queen of Hills boiling again Darjeeling turns into garrison as GJM calls for bandh, asks tourists to leave WATCH VIDEO: GJM supporters set police station in Pedong, Kalimpong on fire --- ENDS --- An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand. By Press Trust of India: airport Visakahpatnam, Jun 15 (PTI) Telugu Desam Party MP JC Diwakar Reddy today allegedly created a ruckus at the airport here after an airline did not let him board a flight to Hyderabad as he arrived late. As per aviation regulator DGCA norms, airlines close the check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure. advertisement Reddy, who represents Andhra Pradeshs Anantapur seat in the Lok Sabha, reported late for the flight and therefore, was not allowed to board it, a source said. He was scheduled to fly IndiGos flight 6E-608, which departs from the Viskahpatnam airport at 8.10 am, to Hyderabad. "On being informed by the airline staff that he was late and cannot be issued a boarding pass, an enraged Reddy went to the IndiGo office next to the check-in counter and created a ruckus," the airline source said. When contacted, IndiGo said it has initiated a probe into the incident, but refused to elaborate on the issue. "We are investigating the matter and have no further comments to offer," the Gurgaon-based airline said in a statement. "The safety and security of our colleagues and customers is our highest priority," it said. Reddy was not available for comments. He had last year allegedly damaged furniture at Air India office at Gannavaram Airport in Vijayawada after missing his flight for similar reasons. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju also belongs to the TDP. Earlier this year, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was temporarily banned by airlines from flying after he assaulted an Air India staffer. In May, the Centre released draft rules for a national no-fly list of unruly passengers for all domestic carriers, proposing a ban on flying from three months up to an indefinite period. The government is likely to release the no-fly list rules by June 20. PTI IAS GVS --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Peshawar, Jun 15 (PTI) The century-old ancestral house of Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar, which was already in a dilapidated condition, has collapsed but the authorities say a replica would soon come up at the site. Only the front portion and the gate of the house, situated in Mohalla Khuda Dad near historic Qissa Khawani bazaar, are intact now, according Shakeel Waheedullah, General Secretary, Cultural Heritage Council. advertisement Prominent members of the city criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government for neglecting the preservation of the iconic structure even though it was declared a national heritage in 2014 by the archaeology department. Waheedullah said he submitted six applications to the KP government to draw their attention to the condition of the house but no action was taken. He said Saira Bano, wife of Dilip Kumar, has been informed about the condition of the house. "Saira Bano became dejected after she came to know about the collapse of the ancestral house of Dilip Kumar," he said. Ehtesham Toru, President Cultural Journalist Forum KP, said it was ironic that the ancestral house was not saved from destruction. Director of Archaeology and Museums, Abdul Samad, however, called the cave in a "blessing in disguise" as it will give them a chance to reconstruct the house. Samad said the structure was in shambles and according to engineers it could not be conserved. "The only way to conserve this house was to reconstruct it as the structure was irreparable," Samad added. He said the archaeology department had to demolish the structure for its reconstruction. He said the archaeology department would soon construct a replica of the house under the KP Antiquities Act 2016. The house, Samad said, was owned by someone and conservation efforts were halted due to litigation. The new law, however, allows the archaeology department to carry on conservation or reconstruction work at any ancient site without ownership. "We have launched a project to document all historic and ancient places within the Walled City of Peshawar and under the same project, the replica of Dilip Kumars house would be reconstructed soon," Samad said. Some of the biggest Bollywood stars including Dilip Kumar, the Kapoors, Shah Rukh Khan and late Vinod Khanna belonged to Peshawar and their ancestral houses still exist in the city. Dilip Kumar was born in 1922 at Mohalla Khuda Dad and in his teens he went to Mumbai to become a cinema star. The government of Pakistan honoured him by awarding Nisha-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award of the country, in 1998. PTI AYZ BK AKJ BK --- ENDS --- advertisement Banks which have lent to telecom companies are worried about the financial health of the sector which is under debt stress. Many of them feel there may be defaults in the future. "The bankers are worried. They feel one might see defaults in future unless some solution is found soon," said an official. Four banks State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bankon 14 June met the members of the inter-ministerial group (IMG) formed to look into the health of the telecom firms. The telecom sector's debt is estimated to be over Rs.4.6 lakh crore. None of the officials or the bankers were ready to provide detailed information on what was discussed during the two-hour meeting. Punjab National Bank officials, coming out of the meeting, admitted that there was stress in the sector and that there was an urgent need to find a solution. They were not willing to come on record since they were not authorised to talk to the press. The officials said that revenues in the sector were coming down and this may further worsen the situation. SBI's exposure alone to the telecom sector is around Rs.70,000 crore. The bankers may meet the IMG, composed of officials from the finance and communications ministry, again soon. Axis Bank officials said liquidity has to increase in the telecom sector, otherwise the situation will deteriorate. This is the third meeting of the group in the series of stock-taking meetings. The officials met four telecom firms Reliance Jio, Reliance Communications, Aircel and Tata Teleserviceson 12 June. A meeting with BSNL and MTNL was held on 13 June. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India are scheduled to meet the group on 16 June. The hurdles have been cleared for India to switch over from Friday to the daily pricing mode for transport fuels in line with global rates as petroleum dealers have withdrawn their call for closure of vends on June 16. The government agreed to their demand that the price announcement would be daily made at 6 a.m. instead of midnight. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters here on Wednesday that the dealers were agreeable to the new timing and the countrywide daily revision of petrol and diesel prices from June 16 as decided. At present, the state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) review and revise retail fuel prices every fortnight on the basis of global crude oil prices, while the revision takes effect from midnight. Dealers had represented for a change in timing as under the new regime they would have to deploy manpower everyday to change rates at mid-night. "There were some practical difficulties which we have addressed in our meeting with leadership of all the three petroleum dealers association today (Wednesday). Daily prices will change from 6 a.m.," Pradhan said. Federation of All India Petroleum Traders (FAIPT) President Ashok Badhwar said they were withdrawing their call for the protest closure of vends on Friday because the government had taken the decision of daily price revision in public interest. "And in public interest, we are also withdrawing 'No Sale No Purchase' agitation planned for June 16," he said. Daily revision of retail selling prices (RSP) has already been implemented on a pilot basis in Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Visakhapatnam, Chandigarh and Puducherry from May 1. After the success of the five cities pilot, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation have now decided to implement it across the country. "This move will ensure that the benefit of even the smallest change in international oil prices can be passed down the line to the dealers and the end-users," Indian Oil said in a statement here. The FAIPT had earlier voiced concern about the impact of dynamic pricing on dealers' margins. "Dealers of five cities where it was launched have already burnt their fingers. They are crying at the inventory loss that they have already suffered due to the fluctuations in the daily changing prices," FAIPT said in a statement. On Tuesday, IOC sought to reassure dealers on their concerns about inventory loss due to the daily revision of fuel prices, even as the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association said it will join the protest closure of pumps on Friday. "The fear of dealers about inventory loss is unwarranted as the change of prices will happen both upwards as well as downwards, and thus both gain and loss would compensate each other," IOC said in a release here. All 26,000-plus, Indian Oil dealers will be given timely information on the effective prices for the day. "At a large number of Indian Oil's 10,000 automated fuel stations, daily price can be automatically updated centrally. Besides, technology also provides for scheduling the price change at midnight," it said. The Delhi Petrol Dealers Association said on Tuesday that the automation system installed by oil companies at most of the pumps in the capital are "not supporting the automatic price change in the dispensing machine". "Unless the price is pushed automatically through the automation system, the petrol dealers are not ready to do it manually or fetch the price on a daily basis as being advised by the oil marketing companies." "This manual intervention can lead to errors and delays in operation of the petrol pump," it said. India has opted for dynamic pricing, which is practised in many developed countries, owing to the recent volatility in global crude oil prices. Though oil prices had earlier fallen by more than 50 per cent in less than two years, from levels of over $120 a barrel, output cuts implemented by OPEC and non-OPEC producers this year have brought volatility in crude prices. These continued on their downward spiral following the OPEC cartel's decision last month to extend output cuts. The Indian basket of crude oils closed below the psychologically important $50-a-barrel mark last week as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East raised market concerns. According to official data, the Indian basket, comprising 73 per cent sour-grade Dubai and Oman crudes and the balance in sweet-grade Brent, closed trade on Tuesday at $47.23 for a barrel of 159 litres. By India Today Web Desk: It's not only her regular appearances with rumoured boyfriend Tiger Shroff that are grabbing eyeballs, but the 25-year-old actor recently set the Instagram on fire when she shared a hot picture of her in a bikini. The MS Dhoni: The Untold Story actor raised the temperature on social media with her throwback photo, where she is seen flaunting her tanned look in a bikini. #Throwback #tan tan ?? A post shared by disha patani (paatni) (@dishapatani) on Jun 14, 2017 at 7:55pm PDT advertisement On the work front, Disha has signed Baaghi 2 with Tiger. This is the first time that the rumoured lovebirds will be seen together on 70mm. They had earlier come together for the music video of Befikra, and their sizzling chemistry was such a hit that rumours of a real-life romance soon spread like wildfire. However, both actors have denied reports that they are romantically involved and insisted that they are "just good friends." ALSO READ: Disha Patani spends her birthday with rumoured boyfriend Tiger Shroff ALSO READ: Disha Patani beats the heat in a bikini in this sizzling photoshoot ALSO WATCH | Tiger Shroff opens up on kissing Shraddha Kapoor, his stunts and being a rebel --- ENDS --- A US media report claims to have information that President Donald Trump is being probed for possibly obstructing justice, which is an impeachable offence. By India Today Web Desk: An astonishing new report claims that United States President Donald Trump is directly being investigated for obstruction of justice, an impeachable offence. The news, if true, would mark a significant turning point as up until now Trump hasn't directly been suspected of major wrongdoing - the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating the Republican president's campaign machinery for possible collusion with Russia. advertisement Now, however, the Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, has reported that Robert S. Mueller III, a former FBI director who was appointed as special consul to oversee the Trump campaign-Russia probe, has expanded his inquiry to investigate whether Trump tried to obstruct justice. The Post's report is based on conversations with five unnamed people who are said to have been briefed on the matter. The five told the American newspaper that three senior US intelligence officials are ready to appear in front of Special Consul Mueller and provide testimony in the matter. The three officials are Daniel Coats, director of US national intelligence, Admiral Mike Rogers, chief of the National Security Agency, and Rogers's recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett. The three have agreed to appear voluntarily and the Post also reports that Daniel Coats once told his associates that President Trump had asked him to lean on the FBI and get the agency to back off Michael Flynn. Flynn was Trump's National Security Advisor, who ultimately had to step down amid raging controversy over his links to the Russian ambassador. Notably, fired FBI chief James Comey recently told US Congress that President Trump had asked him to drop the bureau's probe into Flynn as part of its wider investigation of Russia's meddling in the US presidential election. COMEY FIRING According to today's Washington Post report, Special Consul Robert Mueller's probe of whether Donald Trump obstructed justice began days after James Comey was fired as FBI director. Comey's firing set off a major controversy with the White House initially providing shifting explanations for the move. Then Donald Trump himself seemed to indicate that the FBI's probe into his campaign's links with Russia was on his mind when he decided to fire Comey. Comey, in his Congress testimony, expressed is belief that he was fired because of his bureau's Russia investigation. Critics - including Democrats - as well as some experts have said the president in firing Comey could have opened himself up to charges of obstruction of justice. James Comey, during his recent Senate testimony, refused to directly answer whether he believed Donald Trump had obstructed justice. That was something that Special Consul Mueller would have to examine, Comey had said. advertisement Notably, Comey, in his carefully-worded statement, had also said that Trump's personal conduct - whether with regards to possible collusion with Russia or possible obstruction of justice - was not under investigation while he was at the helm of the FBI. Terming the Washington Post report about Mueller investigating Trump for obstruction of justice a "leak", a spokesperson for Donald Trump's personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz was quoted by the Post, "The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal." ALSO READ | US Attorney General says didn't collude with Russia, won't reveal conversations with Trump ALSO WATCH | US pulls out of Paris Climate Accord; Trump says deal not tough on India, China --- ENDS --- Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Raj Babbar said on Thursday that farmers were feeling cheated under the BJP rule at the Centre and in the state and that his party will give voice to their problems. The party will launch a nation-wide campaign to secure justice for farmers, he said. Kicking off the party's state-wide "haq maango abhiyan" yatra (march for rights), he said that farmers all over the country were feeling cheated because they were being deprived of cheap inputs on one hand while on the other, the government was misleading them on the issue of minimum support price. Accusing Narendra Modi government of deceiving the people on the issue of jobs for rural youth, Babbar said the ruling party had made false promises in this regard. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will become the voice of the farmers, Babbar said adding that the party will launch nation-wide campaign to get them justice. Referring to the firing on farmers in Madhya Pradesh, he said that when unarmed farmers demanded their rights but they were shot at and six of them had to pay with their lives. Babbar claimed that the Centre was writing off the debts of a select group of corporates but farmers were being harassed over loans and were being pushed to the brink. The Congress will lead a campaign in all the 75 districts of UP to express solidarity with the farmers and jobless youth, he said. The party has coined the slogan "na karzmafi, na rozgar ka mauka, prachand bahumat, phir bhi prachand dhokha" (no loan waiver, no jobs; but betrayal despite massive mandate) for the campaign, which Gandhi is also expected to join. The campaign has been started at Gandhi's behest to highlight the plight of farmers and the youth and as to how they have been hoodwinked by this government which had promised loan waiver and jobs for them, Congress leaders said. In a significant victory for India at the UN, international law expert Neeru Chadha has won a crucial election to a top UN judicial body that deals with disputes related to the law of the sea, becoming the first Indian woman to be appointed as a judge at the tribunal. Chadha, an eminent lawyer and the first Indian woman to become the chief legal adviser in the ministry of external affairs, won the election yesterday to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026. Chadha got 120 votes, the highest in the Asia Pacific group and was elected in the first round of voting itself. The candidate from Indonesia got 58 votes, Lebanon 60 and Thailand 86. All three candidates went to a second round of voting in which Thailand won the other seat in the Asia Pacific group. Election was held here for a total of seven seats. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin expressed gratitude for the broad support of countries that resulted in Chadha's "emphatic success" at the elections to the ITLOS. "It reflects both an appreciation of India's global standing in matters of international law and the recognition for Chadha's expertise as a lawyer and negotiator on contemporary issues related to the Law of the Seas," Akbaruddin told PTI. "The Tribunal is composed of 21 independent members who are elected from among persons enjoying the highest reputation for fairness and integrity and of recognised competence in the field of the law of the sea," according to the information on the ITLOS website. Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson in New Delhi hailed Chadha's elections to the ITLOS saying, "Indian expertise on ITLOS stage! Neeru Chadha elected as 1st woman on Int'l Tribunal 4 Law of Seas w/ most votes in Asia Pacific Group." The Hamburg-based ITLOS, established in 1996, is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994. Chadha has extensive international arbitration and litigation experience, having served as an agent for the Indian government in its maritime delimitation case with Bangladesh. She was also India's agent for the case filed by Italy in ITLOS involving two Italian marines accused of shooting two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. Currently, eminent jurist from India P Chandrasekhara Rao is a judge at the tribunal. He was elected member of the tribunal in 1996 and his term will expire in September 2017. Chadha is only the second woman to be judge of ITLOS in its two decades of existence, where there have been a total of 40 judges, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said in a statement. Chadha holds law degrees including PhD in law from the University of Delhi and the University of Michigan. She was also the first woman chief legal adviser to the Indian government and has advised the government on diverse issues relating to the law of the sea involving interpretation of various provisions of the UNCLOS including determining the extent of coastal state's jurisdiction in different maritime zones, maritime delimitation with neighbouring states and legal issues relating to submissions on extended continental shelf. Chadha has also served as an agent before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case concerning the Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to cessation of nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament with Marshall Islands. She has represented the Indian government in various other multilateral meetings and conferences in the United Nations, AALCO (Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation), UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law), UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law). Chadha has also represented Indian government at The Hague Conference, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and ay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on subjects relating to human rights, humanitarian law, international trade, international terrorism and international criminal law. Russia has not made any offer to mediate between India and Pakistan, the government said on Thursday, after Islamabad "welcomed" Russian President Vladimir Putin's reported offer to resolve bilateral tensions. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay, in a statement said: "No offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India. " "It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence," he said. The response came after Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said: "Pakistan welcomes Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this long-standing issue on the UNSC agenda." (17:48) New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) The Congress on Thursday said during his visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should "demand and obtain credible and firm assurances from President Donald Trump that he will reverse his decision on granting H1B visa to Indian professionals". The party also demanded that the Prime Minister should respond and register protest over "disparaging obseravations" made by the US President about India while walking out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. "Prime Minister will be travelling to the US. He should demand and obtain credible and firm assurances from US President Donald Trump that he will reverse his decision which discriminates against the Indian professionals for grant of H1B visa," said Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma. "There has been a drop of 37 per cent, whereas the Indian professionals constitute less than 0.06 per cent of the American workforce. We do not want mere statements and photographs," he added. "We want answers and also how the Prime Minister responds and registers our protest over the disparaging observations made about the Republic of India recently when the US decided to walk out of the Paris Agreement. We will wait for the PM's response or reaction." Prime Minister Narendra Modi will for the first time meet President Donald Trump on June 26 at the White House. Trump's recent withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on fighting climate change created fissures in the India-US ties, especially with Trump commenting that India signed the pact only because it expected "billions and billions" in aid. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed the Madhya Pradesh government for not lodging any FIR in the killing of protesting farmers in the state. "Nine days on, 45 FIRs against protesting farmers, but not one against those who murdered six farmers in cold blood in Mandsaur," wrote Gandhi on his official Twitter account. Farmers in Madhya Pradesh were on protest from June 1 demanding better prices for their produce and debt relief. The agitation turned violent on June 6 when five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday asked members of Parliament committee attached to his Ministry for new ideas to reorganise it to meet rapidly changing security environment and emerging threats like cyber crime. "While some changes have taken place in the Ministry's structure and processes in the last 70 years, there is still need to start a larger discussion, and generate new ideas to reorganise it," Rajnath Singh said while chairing a Consultative Committee meeting attended by eight Lok Sabha and seven Rajya Sabha members here. The minister said it was just a beginning and, if necessary, further discussion would be held. He said it was for the first time that Consultative Committee's suggestions were being sought on restructuring/reorganising of the Home Ministry. Rajnath Singh said the members' suggestions have been taken note of and would be examined. He also suggested a committee of professionals be set up for detailed study of the issue. "The members said they will provide more inputs in due course and, if needed, the subject may be discussed in the committee's subsequent meetings," a Ministry statement said. The members were told about existing work load in the Ministry, requirement for long-term planning to deal with issues like terrorism and narcotics, apart from the need for police reforms, cyber security, check on porous borders, and revisiting various laws. Dr Bhagirath Prasad, Devendra alias Bhole Singh, Geetha Kothapalli, Hukum Singh, Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav, Kirti (Jha) Azad, Dr Thokchom Meinya and T.G. Venkatesh Babu from the Lok Sabha and Bhubaneswar Kalita, Dr K. Keshava Rao, Mukul Roy, Ram Gopal Yadav, Ranee Narah, S. Muthukaruppan and Shantaram Naik from the Rajya Sabha attended the meeting. Ministers of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Kiren Rijiju, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Secretary (Border Management), Secretary (Official Languages) and senior officers from the Home Ministry were also present. Sources told India Today that PMO had deliberately omitted Sreedharan's name even though he has played a pivotal role in the building of Kochi Metro. By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: The exclusion of 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan's name initially from the list of dignitaries who would share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the latter would inaugurate the Kochi Metro train on Saturday had created brouhaha. The Pinari Vijayan government of Kerala wrote to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) asking it to revise the seating plan. advertisement Later in the day, the PMO said Sreedharan has been included in the list of dignitaries. This puts an end to the controversy over the non-inclusion of DMRC principal adviser Sreedharan. However, sources told India Today that PMO had deliberately omitted Sreedharan's name even though he has played a pivotal role in the building of Kochi Metro. METRO MAN IN THE LOOP "In fact, there is a strong probability of Sreedharan being nominated as the ruling BJP-led NDA's candidate for the president's post in the July 17 election. It would be improper if he is seen sitting with PM Modi and Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on the dais just days before the name of the NDA candidate is announced. Moreover, PM Modi maintains distance with the person he has to push up," the sources said. Who should be the next President of India? PMO has kept Sreedharan in the loop, they added. This is one of the reasons why the 'Metro Man' did not object to his exclusion because he was in the know of things. According to reports, the Kerala government had submitted to PMO a list of 17 people who it wanted to share the dais with PM Narendra Modi. The list included the names of Sreedharan, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, former CM Oommen Chandy, local legislator PT Thomas Chennithala and Chief Secretary Nailin Netto, among others. But the PMO approved the names of just six people. Kochi Metro Rail Corp managing director Elias George said the final list was made by PMO. The PMO's earlier decision to omit Sreedharan's name had created a furore with the Opposition lambasting the ruling BJP. UNPERTURBED BY THE CONTROVERSY However, the man at the centre of the controversy is least perturbed. According to reports, he said there was "nothing unusual about the decision and that he accepted it". He said he had no complaints and that he would certainly attend the function. "No need to raise controversy over this issue. The PM's security is more important. I am not at all hurt," he told a section of the media. advertisement The sources said BJP had initially decided to nominate finance minister Arun Jaitley as the NDA's candidate for the president's post. After Jaitley refused the offer, BJP's choice has fallen on Sreedharan, the sources said. OTHER LEADERS FOR THE POST The other BJP leaders whose names were in the reckoning were LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, MM Joshi and Sumitra Mahajan. But Jaitley was considered the most suitable for the post. His acceptability among most of the political parties, including the Opposition, was one of the important points which went in his favour. However, Jaitley declined the offer. Had he agreed to the original plan, PM Modi would have got a chance to appoint someone else to steer the economy as the finance minister. Also, it would have been for the second consecutive that an incumbent finance minister would have been elevated as president. President Pranab Mukherjee is the first one in this regard. After Jaitley refused the offer, BJP's choice has fallen on Sreedharan, the sources said. They said the next president is likely to be from the southern part of the country - be he Sreedharan, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam or superstar Rajinikanth. The move is aimed at garnering more people support during the 2019 general elections. advertisement ALSO READ: PM Narendra Modi to take Kochi Metro on Saturday, Metro Man Sreedharan excluded from dais Why BJP may surprise again with its pick for President of India's post Presidential election 2017: How AIADMK, BJD and TRS may play kingmakers WATCH: BJP sets up three-member panel to search for presidential election candidate --- ENDS --- Two Pakistani Army soldiers were killed in retaliation by the Indian Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Bhimber Gali sector of Poonch district here, officials said on Thursday. "Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliation by Indian troops in Bhimber Gali sector on Wednesday," an official said. The Pakistani Army resorted to "unprovoked, indiscriminate" shelling and firing at three places on the LoC after which the Indian Army retaliated "effectively and strongly". The Pakistani Army violated the ceasefire at two places in Rajouri district and in Bhimber Gali sector of Poonch district on Wednesday. Pakistan had violated the ceasefire ten times during the past four days on the LoC in Jammu region. The Indian Army says that the Pakistani Army violates the bilateral ceasefire to assist infiltration of militants into the Indian side of the LoC. Why are the secular leaders silent on triple talaq which has a bearing on half of the Muslim population in the country? Why do you want to deprive Muslim women of a dignified life? These were some of the questions posed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on his maiden visit to Bihar on Thursday.. Harping on emotive issues like triple talaq, ban on illegal slaughter houses and Ayodhya temple, Adityanath slammed his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar for keeping quiet on issues concerning people, especially the vexed triple talaq matter. Addressing a public meeting at Raj Maidan here, the priest-turned-politician took on Kumar and other "secular" leaders for their "silence" on the triple talaq issue, which, he said has a bearing on half of the Muslim population in the country. "You (Nitish Kumar) have not spoken a word on triple talaq a raging issue affecting Muslim women in the country and is being dealt by the judiciary. Why are secular leaders silent on the issue? Why do you want to deprive dignified life to these women?" he asked. He hit out at "secular" leaders for "duplicity in public life" and said they say one thing and do another. The BJP leader also hit back at his detractors for painting him as "anti-Muslim" and expressing fear about the future of the minority community after he took charge in March this year. "The Muslim people feel safe and secure under the BJP rule in Uttar Pradesh and that sufficiently answers questions raised (by my detractors). Even Muslim women say that they are safe under the BJP rule," Adityanath said. He was quick to add about his government's setting up of anti-Romeo squads to deal with eve teasers. The UP chief minister said he firmly believed in the Constitution and his government has implemented various development and welfare schemes for the benefit of all sections of society. "There is rule of law in Uttar Pradeshmy government will not allow anyone to break lawit is the government's duty to guarantee security of all and the law will deal firmly with those violating rules," he said. Aditynath referred to his government's decision to ban illegal slaughter houses within 24 hours of assuming charge and dared Kumar to do the same in Bihar. On the Ayodhya issue, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the work on the Ram temple would be done as per the expectations of the people. Adityanath, whose Darbhanga visit was part of the celebration of the Narendra Modi government completing three years in power, hailed the prime minister for his visionary leadership and work on all fronts with the slogan 'Sab ka Sath, Sab ka Vikas.' He came down hard on Nitish Kumar and his Grand Alliance government for lack of development in Bihar, which, he said, was leading to massive migration from the state to other parts of the country for work. "There is an atmosphere of 'hatasha' (despair), 'nirasha' (disappointment) and 'andhkaar' (darkness) in Bihar at present," he said and wondered why the eastern state was lagging behind in development when the Centre was doing everything possible for the country's progress. The UP CM also hit out at Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad for sticking together to rule Bihar and quoting a couplet by Rahim said they looked so 'bemel' (unconnected). Adityanath, who also tried to send out the message of age-old warmth between the people of Awadh and Mithila regions, announced construction of Ayodhya-Sitamarhi road project to boost tourism between the birth place of Lord Rama at Ayodhya and his wife Sita's birth place at Janakpur located close to Sitamarhi in Bihar. Recalling that Bihar had provided leadership to the country from time to time and citing the example of the anti-corruption movement led by Jai Prakash Narayan in the 1970s, Adityanath appealed to the people of the state to bring BJP to power in 2020 to fast track development in tandem with the Narendra Modi government at the centre. "The change of guard in Bihar is necessary for integrated development of the country," he said and appealed to the youths to be the catalyst for change in the state. Adityanath said he would visit Bihar at regular intervals and cover all its districts by the time the next Assembly polls take place in late 2020 and help usher in change of guard in the state. He also urged the people to take part in large numbers at the third International Yoga Day on June 21 and credited the prime minister with making yoga an integral part of the lives of the people in the country and abroad. India, France and the European Union have come together as part of a global sustainable development project, which will work at transforming three major Indian cities by improving urban mobility and cutting down carbon footprint. French Development Agency (AFD) signs 3.5-million-euro Grant Facility Agreement with Government of India for implementing the MobiliseYourCity initiative financed by the European Union in favor of sustainable urban mobility By India Today Web Desk: India, France and the European Union have come together as part of a global sustainable development project, which will work at transforming three major Indian cities by improving urban mobility and cutting down carbon footprint. The three cities that will benefit from the global sustainable development project are Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad. "The EU grant component will ensure the sustainability of infrastructure investments by the Agence Francaise du Development (AFD). Our funding will support strategic planning, capacity building, and the design of monitoring mechanisms. advertisement "It will contribute to the Indian agenda on urban transport and climate change also by attracting the Indian industries, engineering companies and private finance institutions to invest on transport infrastructure," Ambassador of the European Union to India Tomasz Kozlowski said at a signing function in New Delhi. Primary objective India's Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) and French Development Agency (AFD), on Friday, signed a Grant Facility Agreement of 3.5 million euros, to be financed by the European Union under its Asia Investment Facility (AIF), for implementing the 'MobiliseYourCity' initiative. MobiliseYourCity (MYC) is part of an international initiative supported by the French and the German governments. It was launched at Paris' 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) in December 2015. French Development Agency, Director in India, said that the project aims at improving comprehensive mobility plans; adopting a measure-report-verify methodology to follow up on the multiple benefits for the three cities. More about the MobiliseYourCity (MYC) initiative: 1. The project seeks to back 100 cities worldwide in three years, which are engaged in sustainable urban mobility planning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 2. India is one of the very first countries to benefit from this initiative 3. Kochi, Nagpur and Ahmadabad are the cities that stayed in race to be a smart city and get mobilized by earning the grant under the Paris climate agreement 4. The initiative got highlighted by the Indian and European ministers after Prime Minister's recent visit to Europe 5. MYC is also considering expanding itself globally to help as many cities across the world so they can restrict the emissions of greenhouse gas and can promote sustainability 6. The European Union has confirmed that if the initiative requires more fund, they will help in taking the programme forward by proving loan to make it successful Background: AFD (Agence Francaise du Development), French Development Agency is a France based public financial institution, with its headquarter in Paris, which imposes the policies stated by the French government. This agency works for development in every sector It is working to preserve biodiversity and is already associated with numerous projects in India. At present, they are funding the Nagpur metro rail project, Vijayawada, Lucknow, Bangalore and Kochi Currently financing Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean and the French overseas territories, AFD is helping to make the living conditions suitable for the population out there. They are even helping these regions in improving their economic conditions advertisement "I am thrilled that India is one of the very first countries to benefit from the MYC initiative. France and India share a vibrant commitment to fight against climate change, and the implementation of Paris Agreement, as it was strongly reaffirmed by President Macron and Prime Minister Modi during their meeting in Paris on June 3," Thuaudet said. AFD's Country Director in India, Nicolas Fornage said the "outcome and efficacy" of the project would be monitored "over a period of three years." The initiative will be implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development. The AFD will be monitoring it and ensuring compliance with AFD's and EU's due diligence. (Main Image source: eeas.europa.eu) Interested in General Knowledge and Current Affairs? Click here to stay informed and know what is happening around the world with our G.K. and Current Affairs section. To get more updates on Current Affairs, send in your query by mail to education.intoday@gmail.com --- ENDS --- advertisement The Bhartiya Kisan Union has announced 'Yoga on Highway' to protest against the anti-farmer policies of the Modi government on 21st June. By Anand Patel: The Bhartiya Kisan Union has announced 'Yoga on Highway' to protest against the anti-farmer policies of the Modi government on 21st June. Naresh Tikait, president of the Union, told India Today," When Prime Minister Modi will perform Yoga at Lucknow stadium on International Yoga Day, farmers all over the country will block highways between 9 am to 12 noon as a mark of protest." advertisement He said, "The farmers have been hit due to the doublespeak of the NDA government, its leaders had promised to implement Swaminathan Commission report, but even after three years in power we have got no assurance." Thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh converged at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Thursday to stage protest against their poor condition. Mahendra Pal, a farmer from Azamgarh, complaints about the poor price of his potato crop. 'We are not getting the price government had announced, we are forced to sell potato at Rs 1.20 per kg this way we can't even get our input cost forget about profit," says Mahendra. "If the government doesn't intervenes, we will dump out potatoes on road and sit on dharna with our families," he adds. Atul Kumar Anjan of the All India Kisan Sabha said that the government is waiving off loans of industries, but when it comes to farmers it is shying away from the responsibility. "There is about 13.5 lakh crore outstanding loan on farmers, but the government is not committing waiver where as Rs 36.5 lakh crore loan of big corporate houses have been waived off so far," he alleged. Atul Anjan also claimed that GST implementation will spike price of tractor parts, pesticides, urea, plastic tubes used in farming activity. The Mahapanchayat unanimously passed a resolution condemning firing on farmers incident in Madhya Pradesh. A memorandum for Prime Minister demanding implementation of Swaminathan commission recommendations at the earliest was also passed at the farmers meeting. --- ENDS --- The 22-year-old model recently stepped out in these crazy denims that are too weird for words. By Shreya Goswami: The denim world has recently gone a little too crazy, probably because the whole world has taken the plain-old jeans for granted. Earlier this year, Vetements introduced the Bare Butt jeans, and Nordstron launched their mud-splatter-patterned jeans. And now, there's actually something called detacheable jeans! If that wasn't weird enough, Gigi Hadid just endorsed them too! Picture courtesy: Instagram/baublesandbrocade advertisement The 22-year-old model stepped out in a pair of white, detachable jeans during the weekend in New York city. She paired her all-white look with a silver-blue belt, gold necklaces, and a small purse. She matched the outfit with lace-up stilettos tied up around the jeans. Also Read: Would you rather burn a pile of cash or buy these plastic and fake-mud jeans? Also Read: Revamp your old jeans like Alia Bhatt, Parineeti Chopra and Malaika Arora The $332 (Rs 21,400 approximately) detachable cut-out side Y/Project jeans are held together with button tabs on the front and back. You can wear them as high-cut shorts, or with the straight-fit legs on. Picture courtesy: Instagram/denimologydotcom Picture courtesy: Instagram/denimologydotcom We must admit that the jeans look very interesting. They have a rare transformative power: you can just wear them as shorts when you're hot, and put the legs on when you're cold. But, it's a bit out there, isn't it? Picture courtesy: Instagram/mividaenunpostit Gigi Hadid manages to carry off the look, but we're sure that our moms would want to just do some rafoo or darning on it! It's a bit too difficult to swallow particularly because it needs a level of fashionable panache to pull off. These detachable jeans are just not made for everybody. --- ENDS --- The last days of the Newfie Pride There were many nights he didnt sleep. The numbers and scenarios turned over and over in his mind, making rest impossible. Id get up two, three oclock in the morning, night after night, come out to the kitchen table and work the numbers every ... By Press Trust of India: Los Angeles, Jun 15 (PTI) Internet search giant Google has hired Indian-origin engineer Manu Gulati, who was Apples chip architect for iPads and iPhones, to play a key role in building its upcoming flagship pixel phone, according to media reports. Gulati, who had worked at Apple for almost eight years as a micro-architect, announced the job change through LinkedIn. He is now the Lead SoC Architect for Google. advertisement He has at least 15 Apple patents related to chip design under his belt and will be key in Googles plan to build its own processors, the CNBC reported. Google is now expanding their team of chip experts so that it can build their own chipsets for future Pixel smartphones. Gulati was instrumental in Apples bid to build custom chips for the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. In the past, he has been responsible for the A4 and A9 chips which powered the 2010 iPad. Apple currently builds its own smartphone processors but Google does not. Apples newest A10X chips, for example, are built-in house instead of by companies like Intel or Qualcomm. Qualcomm currently supplies its Snapdragon processor for Googles Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. Googles new hire could help the company differentiate Pixel from the many other smartphones by other vendors that run Android on Qualcomm (QCOM, -0.92 per cent) chips. And Gulatis exit is seen as a set back for Apple (AAPL, -0.98 per cent), which has filed a number of chip-related patents that credit Gulati as an inventor. Gulatis LinkedIn profile says he is now Googles lead SOC architect. SoC stands for system on a chip. He has also been employed by Broadcom and AMD. With Gulati now part of its team, Google can have an edge over other companies while it comes as a significant blow to Cupertino-based Apple. "Apple filed a total of 15 chip-related patents that credit Gulati as one of the inventors. Some of these filings describe fundamental chip architecture, while others are more specific to certain applications," the report said. If Google begins building processors in house, like Apple, it would potentially cut down on Googles reliance on Qualcomm, the report said. Other firms, such as Huawei and Samsung, have also started to build chips in-house, allowing them to rely less on potential supply restraints from outside parties. A spokesperson for Apple was not immediately available for comment, the report said. advertisement Google confirmed that Gulati is now working for the company but declined to provide additional details. PTI KJ AKJ KJ --- ENDS --- Organization: British High Commission (BHC) Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda Office Notice No.: 05/17 KPL Starting Monthly Salary: UGX 1636 638.39 About US: The British High Commission is the diplomatic liaison office that aims to develop and maintain close bilateral relations with Uganda, in accordance with British government policies. The British High Commission is responsible for the political relationship between the UK and Uganda, and we provide advice and guidance on political and governance issues. BHC provides assistance and documentary services to British nationals in Uganda. The UK Trade and Investment Section provides assistance to both British and Ugandan businesses. Job Summary: The Community Liaison Officer will work closely with Post Management in Kampala for the well-being of all staff at Post, with primary function as advocate for and provision of support to UK-based staff and families (all Government Departments) on family and community issues, principally in the areas of information gathering, welfare and communication. This role would suit someone with experience of living overseas with a diplomatic mission. It is flexible, fun and offers possibilities for personal development. As the first person that many diplomats and their partners have contact with at the High Commission, the CLO is in many ways the face of the office. It is your role to settle people into life in Kampala, help them to navigate a new country and meet their own needs. You will also play a vital role in the overall life of the BHC. The successful candidate will be good at relating to a range of people, diligent in helping people when asked and offering when not, and customer service focussed. The role is well suited for someone looking for a flexible working pattern and friendly work environment. Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities: Information gathering for UK-based officers and their spouses/partners and families. To include information primarily on spouse/partner employment at Post; childrens education (through completion of separate HR School and Nursery Information Sheets of authorised schools at Post); medical facilities (including coordinating visits by the Regional Medical Officer); local employment or training opportunities for spouses/partners; single officer and foreign born spouse/partner issues; recreational facilities; social matters; and completion of DSFA Spouse and Partner Annual Employment Reports as well as cost of living surveys. Welfare at Post: Provision of formal and informal support to officers and families on arrival and throughout their posting. Welcoming all staff on posting/temporary duty/flexible deployment and accompanying families to ensure as smooth an integration as possible into the life of the Post community; following up to check that the settling in process is working; being a source of referral and support where questions, problems and difficulties arise; providing short Post community induction. This will include management of the domestic equipment float in liaison with the Estates Officer. Advocate for UK-based staff and families in addressing issues of importance with Post Management, including as their representative on Post Joint Management Boards, evacuation/contingency planning and housing committees, and as the chief link between Post and the DSFA in London. Tasked with communicating effectively on community and social matters across Post to all staff. The incumbent should update CLO news and information on notice boards. Information management of Post Welcome Pack, CLO homepage on Posts Intranet/SharePoint site, input to update and review of Post Report and Fact Sheet. Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience: The ideal candidate for the British High Commission (BHC) Community Liaison Officer (CLO) job opportunity should hold a Bachelors/First degree in a relevant field Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; strong IT skills; the ability to act with discretion and be adaptable. Skilled and experienced in Changing and Improving, Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering, Managing a Quality Service How to Apply: All suitably qualified and interested candidates who wish to join the British High Commission in the aforementioned capacity should apply by clicking on the link below. nd June 2017 Deadline: 22June 2017 In the midst of a diplomatic tussle with its neighbours, Qatar has signed a whopping $12 billion deal with the US for the purchase of F-15 fighter jets. By Indo-Asian News Service: The US has agreed to sell $12 billion worth of American F-15 fighters to Qatar amid an ongoing diplomatic crisis between Doha and the neighbouring Gulf countries, the media reported. "Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis met today (Wednesday) with Qatari Minister of State for Defence Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah to discuss concluding steps in finalising the Foreign Military Sales purchase of US-manufactured F-15 fighter aircraft by the State of Qatar," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Roger Cabiness told CNN. advertisement "The $12 billion sale will give Qatar a state-of-the-art capability and increase security cooperation and interoperability between the US and Qatar." "The secretary and the minister also discussed mutual security interests, including the current status of operations against IS (Islamic State), and the importance of de-escalating tensions so all partners in the Gulf region can focus on next steps in meeting common goals," Cabiness added. The Qatari defence ministry issued a statement Wednesday hailing the F-15 deal. "This agreement underscores the longstanding commitment of the State of Qatar in jointly working with our friends and allies in the US," CNN quoted al-Attiyah as saying in the statement. He also praised the US-Qatar relationship, saying the two countries had "solidified their military cooperation by having fought together side by side for many years now in an effort to eradicate terrorism." The announcement comes after a week three Gulf countries -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates -- along with Egypt moved to cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, host to the one of the Pentagon's largest military bases in the Middle East, after claiming that Doha funds terrorist groups. More Arab and Muslim-majority African countries later joined the diplomatic blockade, even as several powers have called for resolving the crisis. US officials Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have called for the crisis to be de-escalated and on Wednesday while appearing before the House foreign affairs committee, reports CNN. Speaking to the House armed services committee Monday, Mattis called the diplomatic situation "very complex", acknowledging the large US military presence and close US-Qatar military relationship. Also Read: How Saudi Arabia and allies strong-armed Qatar, blindsided US Explained: Qatar's ties with Iran and Islamist groups Iran sends planes of food to Qatar amid concerns of shortages Also Watch: Qatar isolated by Gulf countries; MEA says move won't affect India --- ENDS --- Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat Petroleum dealers may have called off a strike to not lift fresh stocks from June 16, following interventions of petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, but they have also got the minister's nod for a promise to hike petroleum dealers commission rates. According to informed sources in the petroleum and natural gas ministry, the decision was taken at a meeting attended by Pradhan with the All India Petroleum Dealers Association members in Mumbai. "During the meeting, both sides kept their perspectives. It was the union's viewpoint that they would not be able to effect new prices from midnight, and that was agreed to by the minister," said the ministry of petroleum and natural gas official. "A decision about a hike in dealers commission would also have to be taken in the near future as part of yesterday's agreement," said the official, who was part of Pradhan's entourage for the discussions in Mumbai to convince dealers about lifting oil stocks and breaking the strike. The Petroleum Price Advisory Committtee (PPAC) under MoPNG sets the commission rate for dealers, which is eventually passed on to the consumer price of petrol and diesel. "The PPAC report for a revision is due and likely to be presented to me by July 31," said K.D.Tripathi, Secretary, MoPNG, when asked about the proposed revision of dealers' commission. Confirming the development, petroleum dealers said that five to ten per cent hike is expected from the current commission payable to petroleum dealers. "Dealers are receiving the commission in two parts. One is a fixed component and the other a variable component of petrol and diesel prices as commission. After July 31, we are expecting both the fixed and the variable components of the commission on petrol and diesel prices to be revised upwards by five to ten per cent," said Nishit Goel, managing committee member, All India Petroleum Dealers Association. Once the PPAC advises the government on the rate revision for dealers' commission, minister Pradhan is likely to take it up with oil marketing companies. Depending on approval from OMCs, the new rates are likely to be brought in effect before August 15. The revised dealers' commission will be included in the daily adjusted consumer price of all fuels. The interior minister said there was gunfire outside the mosque as the suicide bomber tried to force his way inside, but he was stopped by a police officer, who died in the explosion. By AP: A suicide bomber struck outside a Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul late Thursday night, killing four people, including a leader of Afghanistan's ethnic Hazaras, Hajji Ramazan Hussainzada. Another five people were wounded, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the mosque, the group's Amaq news agency said. advertisement Danish said there was gunfire outside the mosque as the suicide bomber tried to force his way inside, but he was stopped by a police officer, who died in the explosion. Another policeman was wounded. Last year IS claimed an attack on a Shiite shrine that killed 14 people. Muslims are observing the holy month of Ramadan, during which the faithful fast from sunrise to sunset and mosques are typically crowded in the evening hours. Kabul has been battered by violence in recent weeks. The worst attack in Afghanistan's 16-year war took place on May 31 when a massive truck bomb exploded at a busy intersection in Kabul, killing more than 150 people. --- ENDS --- A day after Verizon formally acquired Yahoo and announced a new subsidiary called Oath that includes both Yahoo and AOL, it said there would not be any significant changes to the Yahoo R&D centre in India. There is limited impact on this office as it relates to the reductions we are making globally at Oath, said an Oath spokesperson in response to a query from THE WEEK. Soon after the announcement of Oath, a few media reports had claimed the new subsidiary planned to lay off around 2,100 or about 15 per cent of its workforce globally. A US-based Verizon spokesperson also ruled out the fact that there would be much changes to Verizons India operations and Verizon Data Services India (VDS India). Established in June 2001, VDS India is an extension of the global Verizon team, which works on a wide range of IT and technology initiatives, and has a 6,700-strong team that operates out of Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. According to telecom expert Pravin Prashant, Yahoo connects a global audience of more than one billion active users through its e-mail, search, communications and digital content. Verizon will look to leverage Yahoo to achieve a similar scale in mobile and it will help the former to move from a telecom firm to a mobile and media advertising player so that it can compete with giants like Google. Yahoo's R&D will help Verizon to gain inroads in digital advertising for targeting audiences in mobile business through its streamlined advertising technology. The R&D will also help Verizon business customers to leverage its technology for content creation and improving its search, said Prashant, who is the director at DigiAnalysys. On the other hand, HR expert Kris Lakshmikanth observed that Yahoo had considerably reduced the size of its India engineering centre, especially after Marissa Mayer took over as the CEO of Yahoo as she consolidated many jobs in the United States. Yahoo R&D centre in India will now be having a very small workforce, say only a couple of hundred people. Probably Verizon can rope in these people in its Indian engineering team or can probably leverage the talent of the Yahoo R&D team in India, said Lakshmikanth. There is more to Bhutan than its sheer beauty. This year, in August, literary enthusiasts will be able to live the experience as the eighth edition of the 'Mountain Echoes' literary festival will take place in Bhutan from August 25 to 27. India-Bhutan Foundation, in association with literary agency Siyahi, powered by the department of tourism and government of Rajasthan, will organise the three-day festival, which will provide a collaborative platform for cultural dialogue and encourage the exchange of ideas, stories and experiences. The 2017 edition will see eminent personalities from across the world come together to discuss a range of topics including art and culture, natural history and environment, spirituality and Buddhism, business and leadership, poetry, fashion and food. Renowned authors who will be present include Markus Zusak, an Australian author known for his international best-sellers such as The Book Thief; Francesca Beard, a London-based writer and performance poet; American television host and author Padma Lakshmi; author Ashwin Sanghi are some of the renowned names who will be present. The inauguration ceremony will be held on August 24. Kyabje Khedrup Rinpoche Ugyen Tenzin Thinley Lhendup; ace photographer and filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji; Khenpo Sonam Bumdhen of the central monastic body; and front-runners of the Bhutanese fashion worldChimmi Choden and Chandrika Tamang will mark their presence in the festival. Other well-known authors set to attend the 2017 edition of the festival include Prayaag Akbar, award winning journalist and author of the bestselling book, Leila; leading mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik; Sahitya Akademi Award winner Jerry Pinto and Sharanya Manivannan, author of the critically acclaimed The High Priestess Never Marries: Stories of Love and Consequence among others. 'Mountain Echoes' literary festival was established under the patronage of the Royal Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck. The 2017 festival will also embrace and explore globally relevant issues like environmental conservation, natural history, spirituality and the global evolution of textiles and design traditions, amongst others, thereby bringing together a range of expertise and perspectives on stage throughout the three days. Festival co-director and celebrated author Namita Gokhale said, Over the last eight years 'Mountain Echoes' has established itself as one of the most thoughtful, moving and evocative celebrations of literature anywhere on our planet. The shared narratives of Bhutan and India, and of mountain regions everywhere, expand the space for insights across cultures and geographies. Echoing Namitas thoughts, festival co-director Pramod Kumar K.G. said, Mountain Echoes goes beyond just literature and books. It is a festival that celebrates ideas, creativity, and culture. Each year we aim to make the festival bigger than last year, curating a program that is enriching and inspiring. This year will be no different as the eighth edition promises to keep the audience engaged through a series of thought-provoking workshops and sessions. Festival co-director and founder of Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy, Siok Sian Dorji, called it a confluence beyond art between the two countries. Over the past seven years, Mountain Echoes has received positive feedback in Bhutan and encouraged participation from people across the country. The vision of the festival is to present a confluence of literature, art and music from both India and Bhutan. This year's specially designed programme will enable audiences to engage in whatever form of storytelling inspires them. Masterpieces on canvas, storytelling as a performance art, literaturethere's something for everyone. The festival, as always, is free for everyone, he said. Set against the stunning backdrop of the eastern Himalayas, Mountain Echoes literary festival is supported by a panel of advisors, which include Bhutans secretary of ministry of information and communications, Dasho Karma W. Penjor, acclaimed authors Kunzang Choden and Malvika Singh, publisher Meru Gokhale, member of parliament Pavan K. Varma, and development specialist and writer Sonam Wangmo Jhalani. Even as hectic parleys are underway for choosing the next President of India, one name that keeps cropping up in the corridors of power in New Delhi is that of Draupadi Murmu's, the first tribal woman governor. Though her name is among many other probables, not much is known about the Jharkhand governor. Murmu turns 59 on June 20. Will it be a lucky birthday for her is a question on everyone's mind. For now, cards are held close to their chests by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. BJP sources had indicated that the name of the President nominee will be made public on June 23, before Modi leaves for his US tour. The last date of filing nominations is June 28. Odds are stacked in her favour as she is a tribal and if nominated, could become the first president from the community that constitutes over 8.6 per cent of the country's population. She was appointed the Governor of Jharkhand on May 18, 2015. The two-time MLA at the Odisha assembly also served as a minister in the state government. Murmus political career started in 1997, when she was elected a councillor and later became the vice-chairperson of the municipal body in Rairangpur, Odisha. In the same year, she became the vice-president of BJP Odisha ST Morcha, and later, its president. In 2013, she became the national executive member of the partys ST Morcha. In 2007, she was awarded the best MLA in Odisha's legislative assembly. Before her political career, she started as a junior assistant in the irrigation department of Odisha government. She was posted in Bhubaneshwar. Later, she taught in a private school, after which she began her political journey. She belongs to the Santhal community and takes a keen interest in preserving the Santhali language and culture. She has one daughter. A nomination for Murmu would give the BJP an edge during the Odisha assembly elections in 2019. Moreover, the opposition parties would be divided on the issue, as they may not have a sufficient reason to oppose her name. Will the majestic Rashtrapati Bhawan in Lutyens' Delhi get a second woman occupant? The suspense will be over in a week's time. Stay tuned. The move to elect the next President gained momentum as BJP's three-member panel began its consultation with the opposition leaders with a meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi scheduled for Friday. Even as the ruling party seeks to arrive at a consensus, the opposition parties held its first meeting in Delhi on Wednesday to formulate a strategy. This was our first meeting of the subcommittee. No names were discussed. As BJP's committee of ministers also started talking to the opposition parties, we did not discuss names. We will again meet next week, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said after the meeting. Among those who attended the subcommittee meeting were leaders from nine parties including Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), Sitaram Yechury (CPI(M)), Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD), Sharad Yadav (JDU), Derek OBrien (TMC), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP), Praful Patel (NCP) and R.S. Bharti (DMK). The meeting was held after Sonia Gandhi hosted a lunch for 17 parties on May 26 when the decision was taken to set up a subcommittee to hold consultations. Azad said substantial discussion would be held after government reveals its candidate's name. BJP's three-member panel comprising senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu were engaging with the NDA allies and the Opposition parties. Venkaiah Naidu has already spoken to BSP's Satish Mishra, PMK leader Ambumani Ramadoss and NCP leader Praful Patel, while Arun Jaitley is believed to be in touch with JDU chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Rajnath Singh is likely to talk to the TMC. As the big meeting with Sonia Gandhi is scheduled for Friday, some picture is likely to clear on who could be the government's nominee. The same day, the panel would also meet CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Yechury and Nitish Kumar were playing a key role in bringing the opposition unite to oppose the government's nominee if the person were to be from the RSS background. They were pushing for ideological contest even if numbers were not on their side. BJP sources said the name of candidate could be finalised by next week. The last date of filing nomination is June 28. Pankaja Munde's political decline Senior Maharashtra BJP minister and daughter of BJP stalwart late Gopinath Munde, Pankaja Munde appears to be facing a grim political future. She has lost all elections, municipal as well as cooperative bodies, in her constituency Parli. Her cousin Dhananjay Munde, a senior leader of the NCP and leader of opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, is leaving no stone unturned to decimate Pankaja's political base. Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar, BJP minister and partys rising star in Latur district, it is said, is doing his bit to help Dhananjay cut Pankaja down to size. But the biggest blow of them all could be from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Fadnavis, it is learnt, is not happy with Pankajas performance. Earlier, he had stripped Pankaja of water conservation ministry and given the portfolio to Ram Shinde. Now, the CM has decided that the ministry for OBC welfare too will be handled by Ram Shinde. After Gopinath Mundes death, Pankaja had started making efforts to emerge as the tallest among all OBC leaders. Naturally, she was keen to control OBC welfare ministry. But Fadnavis has now torpedoed her plans. Win for Aarey Colony The proposal to construct Mumbai Metros Metro Depot Workshop at the densely forested Aarey Colony is being opposed tooth and nail by the green activists in Mumbai. They have a reason to cheer now that Shiv Sena-led Improvements Committee recently rejected the proposal to change the reservation of Aarey Colonys status as No Development Zone. Uddhav Thackerays son Aditya immediately took to Twitter to cheer the Shiv Sena-led Improvements Committee. Mumbai wont be bullied into giving up Aarey for Metro Depot Workshop, by cutting its trees, when there are other alternatives, he tweeted. He also did not miss the opportunity to take potshots at the BJP. While on one hand centre speaks of Paris agreement and our commitment to fighting climate change, locally we damage Aarey forest, he tweeted additionally. Questionable comeback IPS officer R.D. Shinde has managed to return to Mumbai within a month of being transferred out of the city. Just about a month ago, Shinde was sent out of Mumbai as Deputy Inspector General of Police in Anti Naxal Operations wing. He was to be based in Nagpur. Shinde hardly went to Nagpur, claim sources. Instead, he was busy pulling the right strings to make a comeback in Mumbai. It seems he has succeeded too. The Home department yesterday issued a transfer order for Shinde. He is now back in Mumbai as Additional Commissioner of Police (protection and security). Replacing him in Nagpur is IPS officer Ankush Shinde. Amit Shah to visit Uddhav Thackeray BJP president Amit Shah will meet Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on June 18. The meeting assumes significance as Shiv Sena has been almost at war with BJP despite being part of Devendra Fadnavis government. Shah will be in Mumbai for three days from June 16. The meeting with Uddhav Thackeray has been fixed at 11 in the morning on Sunday. Sources indicate that the election of President of India will be one of the key points of discussion between Shah and Thackeray as the BJP needs Shiv Sena votes to get its candidate elected as the President of India. Shiv Sena, on the other hand, has been consistently demanding that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat be made the President. Apart from the Presidential election, Shah and Thackeray are also likely to discuss crucial issues like improving ties between the two allies. A powerful explosion rocked the entrance of a kindergarten in eastern China on Thursday while children were leaving the school, killing at least seven people and injuring 66 others, the state media reported. Image source: Google map The blast happened at around 4:50 pm at the front gate of the kindergarten in Fengxian County in east China's Jiangsu Province when children were leaving the school, officials were quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. Two people were killed at the site of the explosion while another five died later in hospital. Among the injured, nine are in critical condition, the Fengxian county government said. The number of children among the casualties has not been confirmed, the report said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, which rocked the kindergarten as parents were picking up children from the school. However, the Global Times and China Youth Daily newspapers cited witnesses as saying that a gas cylinder at a food stall had exploded. Pictures and videos posted online showed at least a dozen people lying outside the gate of the kindergarten and one woman was seen clutching her child, who is in tears. Footage of the scene showed some people covered in blood while others appeared to be unconscious and some even with their clothes burned off. Children were seen among the injured. "About 5 pm, we heard a blast and thought it might have been a gas explosion at a nearby food vendor," a local shop owner was quoted as saying by online news portal Sohu. "Many people could be dead," he said. In one video clip posted online, a man covered in blood was seen trying to stand up only to collapse again. His clothes appeared to have been burned off. In a separate video clip, people could be heard shouting: Blast, blast, dial 110 quickly! The gate of the kindergarten appeared to have been horribly bent, with shattered glass littering the scene. It is the latest tragedy to strike a kindergarten in China in recent weeks. A school bus packed with kindergarten pupils erupted in flames inside a tunnel in eastern Shandong province on May 9, killing 11 children, a teacher and the driver. Officials later said the fire was intentionally set by the driver, who was angry at losing overtime wages. China in the past witnessed knife attacks on kindergarten school children by disgruntled people. An explosion of this magnitude was rare. In January, a man armed with a kitchen knife stabbed and wounded 11 children at a kindergarten in southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. In a horrific incident, a four-month-old puppy suffered fractures after being thrown off the first floor balcony of a Gurgaon flat. The pup's owner was angry after she dropped his laptop while playing with it and chewed up the DTH wires. By Baishali Adak: A man tossed his pet puppy off his first-floor balcony in Gurgaon's Sector 42 in an act of revenge after she dropped his laptop while playing with it and chewed up the DTH wires on Tuesday night. After a neighbour, who himself owns a German shepherd, heard the cries of the pup in the bushes and confronted the offender, he allegedly scooted. advertisement The four-month-old puppy suffered a fracture on her right foreleg. She was brought by the owner's wife and their neighbour to the CGS Pet Hospital in Gurugram. The canine will undergo surgery to heal the broken bone soon. Experts said this is not an isolated incident and cases of insensitivity against animals are on the rise. In July last year, two medical students - Gautam Sudarshan and Ashish Paul - flung a stray from their private college terrace in Chennai while holding her just by the ear and skin. Similarly, a psychopath, Nakul Mishra, was found stabbing dogs to death at the Green Park Metro Station in Delhi, and an unemployed Dwarka resident chopped off the hind legs of a puppy with a hacksaw when it scratched him in December 2016. PUP'S OWNER FLEES Arvind Kumar, an IT professional and resident of HUDA, M-Block, sector 42 in Gurugram, who saw the incident happening on Tuesday, said, "It was around 11 pm. I was doing my laundry in the backyard when I heard a sharp cry from a dog. When I came down to check, I saw the fearful puppy limping and hiding in the bushes. The couple, Dora Shlem and Phillip Maxwell, reached the spot too, and when I enquired from Maxwell, he denied doing anything but immediately fled in his car. His wife Dora told me everything." Dora has given a written confession and also told Mail Today, "Generally, we love her, but that day, it really damaged the whole laptop, chewed up wires and everything. My husband got angry and flung it." Arvind said he will file an FIR against Maxwell. Abhinav Srihan, founder of the NGO Fauna Police, said, "It is extremely sad that people do such things to helpless animals. Puppies are just like human babies. They will be naughty and damage a shoe, furniture or TV once in a while. If you cannot tolerate their smell, hair or such acts, please do not adopt them." advertisement LAX LAWS Activists say the laws against such crimes are very lax and their implementation is even more pathetic. Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 has provision for a maximum fine of Rs 50 and punishment of three months only. Also, Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code, which regards killing and maiming of an animal, gives a maximum punishment of five years that has so far not been given to anyone. Amita Singh, an animal rights activist and JNU professor, said, "Our whole struggle comes to a naught when these people simply get a bail and escape with a fine of just Rs 50." Kamna Pandey, a former co-opted member of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), based in Lucknow said, "We tried very hard to get the 'Animal Welfare Bill' passed in Parliament last year. We also got letters of support signed by celebrities like actor Soha Ali Khan and MPs like Meenakshi Lekhi and Poonam Mahajan. But it got lost under the weight of heavy duty finance and political bills. After all, animals don't vote, so they don't deserve political sympathy." ALSO READ | Lapse of reason: Dog sentenced to death in Pakistan for biting a child advertisement ALSO WATCH | Diljit Dosanjh's song 'Keep 4 Pitbulls for a fight, have Pitbull fights' on animal-rights radar --- ENDS --- Special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election has expanded to include an examination of whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice, according to a new report from The Washington Post. Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Adm. Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency and Richard Ledgett, Rogers departed deputy, all agreed to participate in interviews with Muellers investigators as early as this week, five anonymous sources briefed on the requests told the Post. It wasnt immediately clear if others have been questioned by the FBI. Investigators have also been looking for proof of possible financial crimes committed by Trump associates, officials told The Post. The president previously said he had received private assurances from fired FBI Director James Comey that he was not personally under investigation as part of the probe. Comey confirmed that he provided those assurances in testimony he gave to the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8. That changed following Comeys firing, sources told The Post. The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal, Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trumps personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, told The Post. The Special Counsels office declined to comment. (AP) The following is via Breaking911.com: A black suburban plowed into a group of pedestrians in midtown Manhattan Thursday afternoon. The incident happened on the 400 block of West 37th near the Lincoln Tunnel. Ten people were injured and fire officials transported at least one person to the hospital in serious condition, others were being treated at the scene. It was unclear if the driver would face chargesthe NYPD is investigating. DEVELOPING: At least 10 injured after suburban plows into pedestrians in NYC https://t.co/7VFGugExxG pic.twitter.com/OzAoS9G3xc Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 15, 2017 BREAKING: SUV Jumps Curb, Strikes Multiple Pedestrians In Manhattan https://t.co/7VFGugExxG pic.twitter.com/2J0NOaGnGs Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 15, 2017 Scene of the crash with SUV on sidewalk, on 37th & 9th #fdny #nypd pic.twitter.com/rMnbUDPzov Shmuli Evers (@Shmuli) June 15, 2017 The incident occurred when the two girls were playing outside their grandparents' house in Pataudi. By India Today Web Desk: Two five-year-old girls, who were twins, suffocated to death inside a car in Gurgaon, Haryana. The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon in Jamalpur area of Pataudi when the two girls, while playing outside the house, got into an old car that was standing nearby. The car got locked and the twins were trapped inside. Given the excruciating heat, the girls were suffocated and by the time the family found them they had died. advertisement The twins, Harsha and Harshita, were visiting their grandparents during summer vacation. According to their uncle, when the family discovered that the girls were missing, they started looking for them in the vicinity. When they did not find the twins in and around the house, they decided to look for them in the car parked near the fields. The family found the twins unconscious inside the old car. They were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were declared brought dead. The twins' father works in the Indian Army. The girls were recently enrolled to a school in Meerut. ALSO READ: Chennai: Infosys employee's naked body found in office toilet Agra: BJP leader murdered, mob drags accused out of police jeep, beats him to death Noida: Man shoots dead business partner's wife, son, tries to kill self ALSO WATCH: Kerala shocker: 30-year-old man murders parents, kin to perform astral projection --- ENDS --- Following discreet high-level bilateral discussions held over a period of several months by the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yuval Rotem, and MFA Deputy Director-General, Head of the Division for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Sofer, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on the telephone several days ago with New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English. Following the discussions, PM English dispatched a letter to PM Netanyahu, in which he stated: First and most importantly, as I said in our conversation, I regret the damage done to relations between New Zealand and Israel as a result of New Zealands co-sponsorship of UNSC resolution 2334. We welcome the return of Israels ambassador to Wellington. The Israeli ambassador to New Zealand was recalled to Jerusalem for discussions in the wake of New Zealands co-sponsorship of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, together with Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela. In light of the telephone conversation and letter, PM Netanyahu instructed Dir.-Gen. Rotem to notify the New Zealand authorities of his decision to end the diplomatic crisis and to return Ambassador Itzhak Gerberg to his post in Wellington. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) On Wednesday, 20 Sivan, the citation for excellence was presented to volunteers of each branch of emergency services in Jerusalem. In the field of EMS, the award will be presented to Miriam and Dr. Adam Ballin for their dedication and devotion as United Hatzalah volunteers. Miriam and Adam Ballin began their work in the field of EMS while they were still living in Australia. Miriam was a dispatcher and Adam volunteered as a local first responder. They responded to serious cases and worked together as much as possible to save lives. In the organization we were involved with, which was religious in nature, women werent allowed to answer calls in the field, said Miriam. It bothered me that when Adam went out to a serious call I was not able to be there with him, aside from being on the other side of the phone line. Five years ago they immigrated to Israel and continued their work with United Hatzalah, an organization that allows people of all walks of life in Israel to volunteer in its ranks. Miriam, who is a fully registered EMT, was finally able to join her husband, a doctor when he responded to calls in the field. But she didnt stop there. Together with Rickie Rabinowitz and Avi Steinherz, Miriam spearheaded the founding and development of The Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit. The unit is currently comprised of 150 volunteers nationwide who provide support and stabilization for victims, family members, and bystanders at incidents of severe emotional trauma. We have responded to some pretty trying and serious calls together, said Miriam. In those instances, we realized the importance of supporting each other. A few examples of such incidents include when the couple responded to the Armon HaNatziv terror attack in January 2017, or when they found and treated their neighbor who had collapsed at a concert at the Jerusalem Convention Center in April. The couple, who are in their thirties, in addition to having full-time jobs and volunteering as EMS responders, are raising five children under the age of seven. Adam, after responding to an emergency call while attending a friends wedding in March spoke about what volunteering means to the couple. For us, the old saying in the right place at the right time, is actually more about being in the wrong place at the right time. When things go wrong, thats when we come in. Even if we have to leave the right place, like a friends wedding, we go to the wrong place, where a child is suffering, and we do what we can to save a life. In our line of work that really is the right place with the patients. Helping both emotional trauma patients and physical trauma patients is something that has turned from a passion to a vocation for both Miriam and Adam. Having responded to terror attacks, trauma cases, and even delivering babies, sometimes of their own neighbors, both Miriam and Adam serve as a shining example of true EMS heroes in Jerusalem. On Wednesday, they were honored by the city and presented with the citation of excellence by the Mayor of Jerusalem himself, Mr. Nir Barkat. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Supreme Court Vice President and veteran Justice Elyakim Rubinstein stepped down from the bench on Tuesday, 19 Sivan, retiring after 13 years on the Israeli High Court of Justice. A special ceremony was held attended by officials including Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked. There were tears as Shaked made mention of the justices daughter Cheri AH, who was niftar a number of months ago after battling an illness for a number of years. He was praised for his long years of public service, which in addition to the High Court included legal advisor to the Foreign Ministry, a member of the negotiating team leading to the Camp David Agreement, Deputy Chief Mission of the Israel Embassy in Washington, Cabinet Secretary, negotiator involved in the Madrid Agreement, Oslo Agreements, and attorney general. Rubinstein, who is Shomer Shabbat, is viewed by the frum community as liberal and anti-chareidi in his rulings. He ruled a doctor can refrain from treating a patient who refuses life-saving treatment; he ruled against mehadrin bus lines; and spoke out harshly about bnei yeshivos for not carrying their burden regarding the defense of the nation. He was also responsible for the cancelation of supplemental income for avreichim and more. MK Moshe Gafne at the time accused Rubinstein of taking the bread and milk from frum families, labeling him cruel and evil. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The pilot of a small airplane got a military escort from F-16 fighter jets for apparently flying into presidential air space over Wisconsin. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that two F-16s intercepted the small Cessna on Tuesday and escorted it to Dodge County Airport. The airport is about 30 miles from Pewaukee, where President Donald Trump was touring Waukesha County Technical College. Dodge County Chief Sheriffs Deputy Scott Smith says the Federal Aviation Administration reported the plane violated restricted air space. Scott says that means the plane likely violated restricted air space due to Trumps visit. Smith says the pilot is from Burlington and was unaware of the air space restriction. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says there was no threat to the public. (AP) Black Lives Matter is a movement and not an organization that can be sued by a Louisiana police officer who was injured at a protest after a deadly police shooting, a prominent activists attorney claims. A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday on whether to dismiss a Baton Rouge police officers lawsuit against Black Lives Matter and DeRay Mckesson, a Baltimore-based activist. Mckesson was one of nearly 200 protesters arrested after the July 2016 shooting death of Alton Sterling, a black man shot and killed by a white officer during a struggle outside a convenience store. Mckessons attorney, William Gibbens, said in a court filing that Black Lives Matter doesnt have a governing body, dues-paying members, bylaws, or even a central location. At best, the lawyer argued, its a community of interest. However, even as a community of interest, it would be nearly impossible to ascribe a single common purpose or interest to the hundreds of thousands of different people, many with different goals and motives, who have protested, posted online, or acted under the Black Lives Matter banner, Gibbens wrote. The unnamed officer claims a piece of concrete or rock like substance struck him in the face during a July 9 protest over Sterlings death. The officers lawsuit says he lost teeth and had injuries to his jaw and brain. The suit doesnt accuse Mckesson of throwing anything, but it claims he incited the violence on behalf of Black Lives Matter. The suit also claims Mckesson was in charge of the protests and he was seen and heard giving orders. The officers attorneys sued Mckesson individually but also served him and others with the suit as alleged agents of Black Lives Matter. Donna Grodner, an attorney for the officer, is urging U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson to deny Mckessons requests to dismiss the case. Grodner describes Black Lives Matter as a thriving, if not very wealthy, unincorporated association that solicits donations and sells T-shirts for profit. If Black Lives Matter does not exist, it should not be raising money or collecting millions in donations, she wrote in a court filing. Mckesson, who declined to be interviewed Wednesday, has described himself as a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement. No organization started the movement, he said during an interview last year. The officer suing Mckesson is identified only as Officer John Doe in the suit, saying the anonymity is for his protection. A court filing last year cited the July 2016 sniper attack that killed five Dallas police officers and a shooting 10 days later that killed three law-enforcement officers in Baton Rouge as reasons for concealing the officers identity. Mckesson was arrested near Baton Rouge police headquarters on a charge of obstructing a highway. East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said his office wouldnt prosecute roughly 100 protesters who were arrested on that same charge, including Mckesson. Mckesson and other protesters sued the city of Baton Rouge and local law enforcement officials over their arrests, accusing police of using excessive force and violating their constitutional rights. Last month, a federal judge preliminarily approved a proposed settlement of the class action. Mckesson is one of nearly 80 arrested protesters who are eligible for cash payments ranging from $500 to $1,000 if the settlement gets the courts final approval. (AP) Fort Lauderdale, FL- One of the nations busiest hubs for kosher travelers has abruptly closed a successful kosher stand. A representative of the Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services, which operates catering services at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, had promised a statement by Mr. Kevin Kelly, the CEO of the company, but it was not received in time for this issue. The kosher stand was opened with a great deal of fanfare in 2013 and, according to Jewish community sources, was extremely successful. The intent was to offer travelers a superb product, said Chef Allen Susser, who initially teamed up with Kosher Central Market to provide the upscale fare at the airport. Mr. Susser, a well-known chef with a history of being a successful restaurateur, ended his involvement with the kosher program more than a year ago. Thats really sad, he said when he learned of the closure of the kosher stand. During the past year or so, the stand was operated by Aroma Catering in Hollywood. According to Rabbi Pinchas Weitz, the stand was always under the supervision of the Orthodox Rabbinate of Broward (ORB). He too expressed surprise that the airport authorities chose to no longer accommodate the needs of kosher travelers. This comes at a time when El Al Israel Airlines announced that it would soon begin service to and from Miami. Kosher sources said that as the nations third largest Jewish community, the decision by Delaware North is extremely puzzling and even insensitive. One rabbi told Kosher Today: I get it about profits and all that and perhaps they will make more money from non-kosher food but what is America without accommodation to religious needs, especially since I doubt that they were losing money. The kosher stand was located in Terminal 3, Concourse F of the airport, which features Jet Blue. It offered a selection of kosher turkey and tuna salad sandwiches, Mediterranean and Caesar salads and a variety of gourmet muffins. Ironically, it was Jean-Pierre Turgot, general manager of Delaware North in 2013 that originally came up with the idea. When the stand opened, there was a ceremony that included Matt King, the then president of Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services: In his statement at the time, Mr. King said: We are continuously focused on offering a wide variety of options to travelers. Delaware North is thrilled to present our newest concepts in the new food court at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. In the end, however, say Jewish communal leaders, it all came down to the bottom line and not accommodation. Many travelers are hoping that a kosher stand will eventually reopen at the busy airport. (Source: Kosher Today) A federal judge in Florida has reversed his own order and will keep a self-professed neo-Nazi accused of collecting bomb-making materials in jail during legal proceedings. U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas McCoun III on Wednesday vacated his previous order that set terms of release for 21-year-old Brandon Russell. Russell was arrested last month after authorities investigating the murder of two of his roommates by a third roommate found explosives and other materials consistent with bomb-making in his Tampa apartment. McCoun said the government proved Russell would pose a danger after presenting evidence, including two rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition found in Russells car during his arrest. Russells roommate, Devon Arthurs, faces two murder charges for slaying two other roommates. Arthurs told investigators Russell was planning a bombing. (AP) (COMMUNICATED CONTENT) If you are looking for an out of town community where and are the focal point, then Rochester may be the place for you. We are a warm, caring community located in a safe, beautiful neighborhood where you can purchase a 3-4 bedroom home for under $200,000. 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If you are interested in any of these jobs please contact the person who submitted the job above. You also can always visit our website www.TorahRochester.com to learn more about the Rochester community as well as other possible job opportunities. Government Chilul Shabbos is in the rise, leading to chareidi parties in Knesset planning to meet. The Chilul Shabbos surrounds work on the Ayalon Highway as well as Israel Railways, Maatz (Government roadways authority), and more. Some chareidi lawmakers have been vocal and Minister Litzman has met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been told the Chilul Shabbos may threaten the coalition government. Yahadut Hatorah has already released a message that the government-sponsored Chilul Shabbos is at the top of the partys agenda and the prime minister has been informed and instructed to order an immediate and total halt of the Chilul Shabbos. The chareidi parties explain the Chilul Shabbos is in direct violation of coalition agreements with the chareidi parties, with the latter demanding the coalition adhere to the Shabbos status quo. The chareidi parties, or at least their leadership, will likely be meeting again to discuss the matter in the coming days. They will also have to decide where they draw their line in the sand for the chilul Shabbos after stating if it continues, they will bring down the coalition government. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) (PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE) Police are investigating a jewelry store robbery that occurred on Thursday afternoon, 21 Sivan, on Yaffo Street near Davidka Square. The thief used what was later learned to be a toy gun. The owner of the store explained to police that the robber held a pistol and stole jewelry and fled. Police combed the area and found the jewelry and the gun, which was learned to be a toy. The police investigation continues. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Media Resource Group) 10 pilgrims were killed and at least 38 injured when a tourist bus in which they were travelling skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra. By India Today Web Desk: 10 pilgrims were killed and at least 38 injured when a private bus in which they were travelling skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district on Thursday, police said. The pilgrims who earlier paid obeisance at Chintpurini temple were on their way to the popular Hindu shrine Jwalamukhi when the bus met with an accident near Dhaliara town, some 65 km from Dharamsala district headquarters. advertisement The injured were immediately rushed to the Tanda Medical College. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed grief over the incident. In May last year, a bus accident had occurred near this site in which seven people, all from Amritsar, lost their lives. They were returning home after paying obeisance at the Jwalamukhi temple. Also Read: Uttar Pradesh: 8 killed as bus falls into river in Jaunpur Uttarakhand bus accident: PM Modi announces ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for kin of deceased Also Watch: Andhra Pradesh: Bus falls into river near Vijayawada, at least 6 dead --- ENDS --- The governments of Israel and Greece on Thursday, 21 Sivan, in Thessaloniki, concluded a G2G meeting chaired by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The governments signed a joint declaration regarding the following areas: Foreign affairs; infrastructure, energy and water (natural gas; renewable energies, energy efficiency and alternative fuels; strengthening economic cooperation in the field of energy; water); environmental protection; research and innovation; telecommunication technologies; industry and small and medium sized enterprises; and diaspora. From the joint declaration: The bonds between the Hellenic Republic and the State of Israel are based on their ancient history, rich heritage and resilience to adversity. Both governments wish to underline their strong commitment to shared values, democratic principles, and international law. Their determination to work together and share their experience, knowledge and know- how has resulted in a flourishing partnership that benefits not only their peoples, but the entire region. Both governments reaffirm their aspiration to further their cooperation, work on joint projects of mutual interest, find solutions to common concerns and promote interconnectivity and complementarity in their actions. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom, GPO) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, together with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, attended the unveiling of a plaque to mark the construction of a Holocaust museum in Thessaloniki. Greek Prime Minister Tsipras noted the common history of Greece and Israel and added that the future museum would enshrine both the memory of the Holocaust and one of the most dramatic periods in the history of Thessaloniki. He remarked that the museum would also serve to impart these memories to the citys next generation as it presented what happened. He said that he looked forward to welcoming Prime Minister Netanyahu back for the dedication of the museum. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated, Im delighted to be here with my friend, the Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras and my friend, the President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades and their delegations, the members of the municipality, our delegation, my wife Sara who comes from a family of a Holocaust survivor. Her father is the only one of a family of almost 100 people who survived and therefore, this visit here is particularly moving for us because Thessaloniki is a famous city in Jewish history and in Greek history and these histories were intertwined from the fourth century B.C.E. and proceeded obviously to have a change with the infusion of Jews after the expulsion from Spain. My father was a great scholar of the Spanish Inquisition and he often talked to me about where did the Jews go and many of them went here, and of course half this city, half this city, by the beginning of the 20th century, was made of Jewish people. And then there were two great calamities: one is the fire of 1917 which burned this entire area and burned the Jewish quarter but didnt destroy the Jews and the second was a greater fire, the Nazi fire. The Nazi fire destroyed about 95% of this extraordinary and proud Jewish community. There were two reasons why they didnt destroy everyone. The first was heroism of Greeks and this was exemplified in one case that is not sufficiently well-known, the case of the Island of Zakynthos where the German commander said: Give me a list of the Jews and the Bishop and the Mayor brought a list of the Jews, their two names. They said: This is our Jews. Take us. We honor these two great heroes among the righteous among the nations in Yad Vashem, an institution that will work with this museum. Theres a second reason why they survived and that is in addition to fate. It is a special capacity, the grip of life that is exemplified among the survivors. One of them is Moshe Ha-Elion who is today 93, I believe. He lit a torch. Every year in Jerusalem, in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, we light six torches in memory of the six million. And this year, Moshe Ha-Elion lit one of the torches. And he described how he survived the Holocaust in Thessaloniki, extraordinary heroism, unbelievable, unbelievable story. And I said to him: You know, Im going to meet my friends in the Tripartite Summit in Thessaloniki. I want you to come with me. And he was very, very excited, as we were, and so we agreed. Yesterday morning, were about to fly to Thessaloniki and we hear that hes in the hospital and the doctor is treating him. He said to the doctor: Please, release me. I have to go to Thessaloniki. And the doctor refused to do that. So, I called his daughter, Rachel, and his son Eliyahu and I said: Why dont you come and represent him? And if you dont mind, Alexis, I would like them to join us in unveiling the plaque that will be in the museum to commemorate what happened here for two purposes, commemoration and prevention. We commemorate the loss of these human beings, our fellow Jews, but we also dedicate ourselves to make sure that this horror will never happen again. This is the purpose and meaning, the first purpose and the first meaning of the State of Israel, but I believe its something that should be shared by all humanity. So for these two great goals I want to thank you and I want to thank as well the Government of Germany for supporting this, the members of the Jewish community, and of course all the donors. Thank you all. Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife then attended a ceremony in which the son of a survivor, from the island of Cephalonia, of the 1953 earthquake read a letter of gratitude which was written by survivors to the State of Israel for the assistance of the Israeli navy. (Israeli navy vessels were among the first to reach the island following the earthquake.) Prime Minister Netanyahu noted that, Firefighting aircraft assisted us in extinguishing major fire in northern Israel, and saved part of Haifa, the Thessaloniki of Israel. And therefore, I would like to thank you for the help you provided. Thank you. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom, GPO) President Donald Trump is making his first Supreme Court visit at a moment of high legal drama. The justices are weighing what to do with the presidents ban on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries. But the reason for his high court trip Thursday is purely ceremonial, to mark Justice Neil Gorsuchs ascension to the bench. Trump has no role in the courtroom ceremony, but presidents often make the trip to the court from the White House to honor their nominees. While the dispute over the travel ban and other controversies have simmered during Trumps first few months in office, his choice of the 49-year-old Gorsuch for the Supreme Court won widespread praise in the legal community as well as unanimous Republican support in the Senate. A federal judge first blocked Trumps initial travel ban in early February. The president issued a revised version in March. It never took effect after judges in Maryland and Hawaii put it on hold. Two federal appeals courts have since upheld those lower court orders. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow the ban to take effect immediately. Gorsuch actually has been a member of the high court since April, and he even issued his first opinion on Monday. The investiture ceremony typically takes place before a new justices first day on the bench, but Gorsuch was confirmed and sworn in on a tight schedule. He filled the seat that had been held for nearly 30 years by Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016. The high court seat was vacant for nearly 14 months after Senate Republicans refused to take up President Barack Obamas nomination of Judge Merrick Garland. (AP) The special counsel appointed to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 presidential campaign has met with the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee in an effort to ensure their investigations dont conflict. The leaders of the Senate intelligence committee say In a statement issued Wednesday that they look forward to future engagements with Robert Mueller. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the panels top Democrat, didnt provide any other details regarding the meeting. An aide familiar with the meeting said it was held to discuss the investigations, including ways that the parallel inquiries dont interfere with one another. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. The meeting comes a day after lawmakers questioned Justice Department officials about the probe and Muellers independence, and after a friend of President Donald Trump said the White House was considering firing Mueller. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller last month, testified Tuesday he has seen no evidence of good cause to fire Mueller. Also Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley said his panel will investigate the removal of former FBI Director James Comey and any alleged improper partisan interference in law enforcement investigations. Grassley announced the investigation in a letter to California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panels top Democrat. Grassleys office said the letter is in response to a recent letter from Feinstein requesting that the committee seek details from senior FBI leadership about Comeys interactions with President Donald Trump before he was fired. The letter said the investigation will also probe Comeys testimony that Loretta Lynch, as President Barack Obamas attorney general, had directed him to describe an FBI probe into Hillary Clintons email practices as merely a matter and to avoid calling it an investigation. You and I agree that the American people deserve a full accounting of attempts to meddle in both our democratic processes and the impartial administration of justice It is my view that fully investigating the facts, circumstances, and rationale for Mr. Comeys removal will provide us the opportunity to do that on a cooperative, bipartisan basis. Feinstein has said the Judiciary Committee should investigate, but had asked Grassley to keep the investigations separate. Grassley said Comeys dismissal and Comeys testimony on Lynch should be looked at together, noting that Comey took the opportunity in his testimony to clear his own name by denouncing as false the administrations claims that the FBI rank-and-file had lost confidence in Mr. Comeys leadership in the wake of the Clinton email investigation. (AP) (PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE) NYC Councilman Mark Levine (D-Upper West Side), who Chairs the NYC Councils Jewish Caucus, addressed Agudath Israel of Americas lay leadership at a meeting June 14th at Agudath Israel Headquarters. The engaging dialogue explored issues such as burgeoning anti-Semitism on college campuses and in the political arena, and the importance of security funding for all NYC children. He also lauded the crucial role that Agudath Israels activism plays in supporting the community. The meeting also included a comprehensive report from Agudath Israels Advocacy Team on the organizations accomplishments in Albany in this legislative session, summaries of some recent and upcoming major Rabbinical events, and updates on several legal webinars run recently for nonprofits. (YWN Headquarters NYC) Majestic Wine has reported a 1.5million loss this year as it continues with a bold overhaul. The figure for the year to April 3 was down 6.2million from last year's 4.7million profit. Underlying profits tumbled 29 per cent to 12.9million on surging costs from the overhaul which has sought to 'innovate and rationalise' product range, improve the in-store experience for customers and introduce a 'new and fair' remuneration scheme for staff. Majestic wine has reported a 1.5million loss this year as it continues with a bold overhaul. Investors were left with a bitter aftertaste as shares fell two per cent to 375p in this morning's trading. But the group said it was past the financial tipping point as underlying earnings shot up 51 per cent in the second half as its turnaround started to bear fruit, with underlying sales growth of 12.1 per cent in the final six months. Majestic Wine warehouse chain saw like-for-like sales lift 5.7 per cent over the full year as it notched up eight consecutive quarters of rising sales. Rowan Gormley, group chief executive of Majestic, said: 'We are past the tipping point, both financially and operationally.' He added the group is on track to make 500 million in sales by 2019. 'We remain confident about the medium-term outlook, despite tough economic conditions, as transformation benefits are coming through and our costs are naturally coming down as a result of us reaching the next stage of the transformation plan,' he said. The company also announced that chairman Phil Wrigley would retire at the annual general meeting in August. He will be replaced by non-executive director Greg Hodder. Transformation: As well as removing its six bottle minimum policy, the group said it had been focused on 'getting the basics right'. Majestic said its online brand Naked Wines also saw strong sales growth, up 26.3 per cent to 142.2 million. After a very costly email marketing campaign, Naked Wines performed well overseas, with US sales jumping 28 per cent higher, while the group said its fine wines business Lay & Wheeler saw sales soar 36.2 per cent after 'years of languishing in the doldrums'. Majestic Wine is halfway through a three-year turnaround plan aimed at expanding and retaining its customer base, slowing down branch network expansion, and acquiring new customers for Naked Wines. In 2015 it abandoned its six-bottle minimum policy, a remnant of its warehouse days. The group has 210 Majestic Wine warehouses in the UK and two in France. It has been growing its international customer base and said overseas sales grew by 52.7 per cent over the year to 88 million. Underfire: Fusionex chief executive Ivan Teh A tech entrepreneur who claimed his company was an ambassador for Asian firms has snatched it back from investors after the firm saw its value plunge by 116 million. After listing in London five years ago, Fusionex chief executive Ivan Teh said the software firm had a responsibility to protect the reputation of others who might follow suit. But yesterday the 41-year-old seized control of the Malaysian business by the back door, with a vote to delist it from the Alternative Investment Market. The controversial plan has dismayed minority shareholders who could be left nursing huge losses on investments. Fusionexs spin doctors, broker and chairman have all walked out in protest. Teh has a 41 per cent stake, and won support from allies, including apparent family members. The resolution to allow him to take back the company was passed by 85 per cent. Since the plan was unveiled in May, it has sent Fusionexs share price tumbling from 129p to about 35.5p, wiping 14 million off its value. Minority shareholders who could lose out include the West Yorkshire Pension Fund for firefighters and council workers, among others which has a 2.8 per cent stake and Credit Suisse, which has a 3.6 per cent stake. FUSIONEX: THE LOWDOWN Computer software firm launched in 2006 by chief executive Ivan Teh, who claimed to have worked 18-hour days to get it off the ground In December 2012 he floated Fusionex in the UK - demand for shares was 300 times more than those available It was worth 117 million in February 2014. By May this year it was worth 21 million Shares have faller further and the firm is now worth just 5 million Investors are told shares had been disappointing and undervalued and Teh decides to take back the firm One of the Citys top investment groups, Standard Life, condemned the vote. Head of governance Euan Stirling said: It feels like the company has been taken from us without our consent. I dont think this has done the credibility of markets any favours at all. In a letter from the company, shareholders were told the move should not be misinterpreted as a sign of weakness and that Fusionexs future remained positive. The proposal led to PR agency Buchanan walking out. Account director Steph Watson said yesterday: The [de-listing] was not in the interests of shareholders and therefore we did not support it. Former chairman John Croft also resigned last month and broker Peel Hunt quit over major disagreements. It comes after Tehs business was hailed as a success story in the Asia Pacific entrepreneurship awards with the boss saying in 2014 of his companys flotation: Taking all that money comes with a sense of responsibility. You have to do something in return. Teh said: I appreciate that the proposal to delist did not sit favourably with every single shareholder, but I am confident that the future will demonstrate that the move will unlock the true value of Fusionex. RUBY REVENUE Precious stones specialist Gemfields said it made record revenues of 42.9 million from its latest auction of rubies from Mozambique, held in Singapore. RBS BOOST Credit agency Moodys has upgraded Royal Bank of Scotlands debt rating in a move suggesting it has growing faith in the lenders future. It means RBSs bonds have shifted back into being investment grade, up from junk status. Precious stones specialist Gemfields said it made record revenues of 42.9 million from its latest auction of rubies from Mozambique, held in Singapore TAKEOVER BACKED Shareholders have waved through the 2.2 billion takeover of oil services provider Amec Foster Wheeler by rival Wood Group. More than 99 per cent of votes cast on both sides supported the deal, which is still being investigated by competition regulators. FCA APPROVAL Another 31 finance tech firms have been given backing to develop their ideas by City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, allowing them to test unusual products without causing risks to the public. The ideas include pension-saving software and a mortgage searcher which helps borrowers understand if theyre eligible before doing a credit check. INSURANCE MAN The new chairman of insurance market Lloyds of London, Bruce Carnegie-Brown, took up his post yesterday. EURO POST Clare Francis has been appointed by Standard Chartered as the European head of its global banking division. She previously held senior roles at NatWest, Lloyds and HSBC. Thompson and First Choice owner TUI has completed its sale of Travelopia, which is made up of more than 50 brands offering specialist holidays, to private equity firm KKR for 325 million NEW DIRECTOR Iron ore giant Ferrexpo has recruited former Genel Energy director Simon Lockett to succeed Oliver Baring as a senior independent director. POWER UP Energy producer Drax has raised its dividend and said it plans to triple earnings by 2025. It will pay shareholders 50 million this year and pledged to continue increasing dividends annually. DUDLEY PLANS Bob Dudley, 61, the boss of oil giant BP, plans to stay at the helm of the oil major until at least the end of the decade, sources told Reuters. TRAVEL SALE Thompson and First Choice owner TUI has completed its sale of Travelopia, which is made up of more than 50 brands offering specialist holidays, to private equity firm KKR for 325 million. By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Tackling communal violence, growing radicalisation of youths and cyber crime may be looked by new departments to be carved out in the Union home ministry. This was hinted by Home Minister Rajnath Singh at a meeting of the consultative committee of Members of Parliament attached to the home ministry here today. advertisement Singh informed the members this is for the first time that suggestions of the consultative committee are being obtained on the restructuring and reorganisation of the ministry. He said some changes have taken place in the structure and processes of the ministry during the last 70 years but there is still a need to start a larger discussion and generate new ideas for reorganising the home ministry in a manner that it can meet the rapidly changing security environment and emerging threats such as cyber crime, according to an official statement. A home ministry official said the ministry considers communal violence, growing radicalisation of youths, among others, as emerging threats. Singh informed it is a beginning and if necessary further discussions will take place. There are six departments in the home ministry, including department of states and department of Jammu and Kashmir affairs and 21 divisions like border management, left wing extremism, union territories and foreigners. During the meeting, the MPs were informed regarding the existing work load, the requirement for long term planning to deal with issues such as terrorism and narcotics. The need for police reforms, cyber security, porous borders, revisiting of various laws was also highlighted during the meeting in which the home minister asked the members to give their suggestions on the subject. The members appreciated Singh for taking up this step as such subjects were never discussed earlier in the consultative committee meetings. The MPs said they will provide more inputs in due course and if needed, the subject may be discussed in subsequent meetings of the committee. Singh told members their suggestions have been noted by the ministry and will be examined. He also mentioned that there should be a committee of professionals for thorough study of the subject. Lok Sabha MPs Bhagirath Prasad, Devendra alias Bhole Singh, Geetha Kothapalli, Hukum Singh, Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav, Kirti (Jha) Azad, Thokchom Meinya and T G Venkatesh Babu and Rajya Sabha MPs Bhubaneswar Kalita, K Keshava Rao, Mukul Roy, Ram Gopal Yadav, Ranee Narah, S Muthukaruppan and Shantaram Naik attended the meeting. Ministers of state for home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Kiren Rijiju and senior officials of the home ministry attended the meeting. PTI ACB SKL KIS --- ENDS --- advertisement Rebel shareholders are pushing ahead with an attempted boardroom coup at Russia-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk Rebel shareholders are pushing ahead with an attempted boardroom coup at Russia-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk. Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg and other shareholders want to replace four of six board members, citing corporate governance concerns. The miners shares have fallen by more than 90 per cent since 2012, from 170p to 8.16p yesterday. But chairman Peter Hambro, 71, feared the shareholders who own 30 per cent of the group were attempting a takeover and alerted the Takeover Panel, which yesterday ruled in the rebels favour and they do not have to make a formal offer. Hambro is being blamed for many of the companys problems. Vekselbergs group Renova wants to put its employee Vladislav Egorov and Chelsea FC chairman Bruce Buck on the board. And shareholder advisory group PIRC recommends shareholders oppose Hambros re-election to the board as an executive director. He is stepping down as chairman. The companys annual shareholder meeting is due on June 22. MBABANE Its My Voice, My Future as SwaziBank, pumps in a sum of E400 000 for this years SwaziBank Schools Choral Music Competition. This years sponsorship has increased by E20 000. Last year, the sponsorship stood at E380 000. The E400 000 excludes financial support provided by the bank towards other costs of the competition such as branding, promotional merchandise and events management. Unveiling the sponsorship was the banks Managing Director (MD) Zakhele Lukhele who made it clear that the bank was excited to be part of the school programme and it was one of the reasons why they saw it fit to be part of the sponsors. It is my pleasure to welcome everyone to this event where we once again reaffirm that the SwaziBank Schools Music Competition will take place this year. The Schools Music Competition sponsorship has become a significant part of SwaziBanks Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Programme. This is an initiative that has undoubtedly created a strong bond between the bank, schools, teachers, parents and pupils, he said. He noted that since the competition was created in 2005 it has been part of the Banks CSI Program and the continued sponsorship of the competition is a representation of confidence the Bank has in this initiative. It pleases me to announce that the bank will sponsor the competition even this year, which will be for the 13th year. The sponsorship for 2017 is E400, 000, an increase from E380 000 last year, he said. He added, I am aware that the competition has already started and ends with the Champ of Champs final on Sunday July 2. Sir, The book of Revelation provides us with seven beatitudes or seven pronouncements of blessing for those who will follow Christ until the end. These blessings also serve as assurances that Christ will never leave nor forsake his faithful followers. These beatitudes begin in the first chapter and conclude in the last chapter of Revelation. They are more of a summary of the message in Revelation, put together they represent the complete blessings of God for all His faithful followers. The first blessing is for all who read, hear and keep Gods word. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3) When the books of Daniel and Revelation are clearly understood believers will have an entirely different religious experience. The second Beatitude is found in Revelation 14:13 - And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. Death is the common fate of all mankind, whether rich or poor, famous or unknown, we all die. The truth is you can live a healthy lifestyle, you can exercise and eat healthy, there will still be a time when we are destined to die.What is your life, asks James, Your life is like a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14) Life is unpredictable and brief. We dont even know what will happen the next hour, much less next week or next year. The truth is that no one can predict the future. But blessed are we if we die in the Lord. The third Beatitude of Revelation is found in chapter 16:15. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. The purpose of this blessing is to arouse Gods people to be ready for no one knows the day of His coming. Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man will come. (Matthew 24:44) The fourth beatitude is found in Revelation 19:9. And He saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And He saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. We have all been invited to this marriage supper and Christ has provided the wedding garment. This garment is a gift from Christ himself, it is His own righteousness. For us to enter heaven its not because of our own righteousness, we need the sacrificial death and atoning blood of Jesus. The next beatitude is found in Revelation 20:6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. This is a fulfillment of what will come to pass before we enter into the marriage supper of the Lamb, there will be a resurrection of the saints. Those who died in Christ will take part in the first resurrection which is the resurrection of life. The sixth beatitude is found in chapter 22, the last chapter of the Bible, and verse 7. Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. Dear reader, life is too unpredictable and too brief to live it without God at the center. We count our lives in years but God tells us in Psalm 90:12 to number our days.Lets live each day of our lives with God at the Centre. God bless you Bopoto (7663 8191) India said Russia is very well aware of our consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally. By Geeta Mohan: India has denied all reports which claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to intervene in the long-standing Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan. "No offer of mediation between India and Pakistan was made by Russia to India," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said. He said it is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterally in an environment free of terrorism and violence. advertisement During a weekly briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria was askedthat during his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of SCO Summit in Astana recently, Putin had expressed his intention to play a role in helping resolve its bilateral differences with India. "Pakistan welcomes UNSC Permanent Member Russia's attention and intention to play a role in this longstanding issue on the UNSC agenda," Zakaria said. There were reports of the offer having been made during meetings on the sidelines of the SCO Summit held in Astana last week. But both Indian and Russian side have strongly denied this unfounded report. Russian official sources have told India Today that according to their information "this aspect was not discussed at the meeting in Astana and no statement in this regard was ever made by President Putin". Pakistan has been trying to push for third party intervention on the issue of Kashmir for years now. Most of the prominent nations have recognised the fact that this is a complicated issue between the two nations and should be resolved by India and Pakistan bilaterally. Also read: Xi Jinping snubs Nawaz Sharif at SCO Summit after 2 Chinese nationals murdered in Pakistan Russia to supply S-400 missile system to India: Why Pakistan, China should worry Red Fort with Indian flag part of Pakistan tableau in SCO meet Also watch: Enhance connectivity without infringing on sovereignty: Modi at SCO --- ENDS --- SITEKI Dozens of Form IV pupils at Mhlume High School were sent home yesterday for reportedly giggling during morning prayer. The schools administration said the manner in which the pupils behaved during the morning prayer was unacceptable hence it was decided that they should be sent home to call their parents. We have a problem of indiscipline among pupils in the school; especially the Form IV class. The situation is getting out of hand hence we asked them to go home and call their parents, said the Head teacher, Siphosini Mazibuko. He clarified that the pupils had not been expelled, stating that the school administration was aware of the rules governing schools in the country, which prohibits head teachers from sending pupils home, even if those pupils owe school fees. There are other disciplinary issues that we need to discuss with the parents. There are pending cases of dagga possession which we are still investigating. The pupils had been warned many times about their behaviour but they wouldnt listen, he added. Explaining what transpired during the morning prayer, Mazibuko said his deputy was conducting the morning prayer when some Form IV pupils made a funny noise before the whole group of Form IVs laughed. He did not explain the funny noise which the pupils allegedly made, only stating that morning prayers were very important and that pupils were not expected to misbehave during assembly. However, some pupils disputed that they made a funny noise during the prayer meeting but confirmed that they giggled. MANZINI An innovative drug dealer successfully made numerous trips in and out of the country in a vehicle he had modified for the convenient storing of dagga. The police discovered a compartment beneath a Toyota Hilux driven by a Tanzanian national, which had a total of 240 blocks of dagga wrapped in masking tape. The Toyota Hilux was specially modifed in order to transport illegal drugs into the country and according to the police, it had successfully done so a number of times on different dates during 2016. The motor vehicle is currently kept at a police station. The discovery of the secret compartment was made by police officers who were on duty at the Ngwenya Border Gate on December 17, 2016. While executing their duties, searching motor vehicles and pedestrians who were exiting Swaziland to South Africa, the officers encountered one Jafari Hamisi Mkumba, who was driving a Toyota vehicle registered FD 12 TT GP and requested permission to search the car. The police did not find anything illegal inside the car and proceeded to search beneath it, where the spare wheel was kept. Above the spare wheel, the police noticed bolts and nuts attached to the car and were further met with a smell of dagga. The police requested Mkumba to unfasten the nuts and bolts but he is reported to have told them that he was unable to do so because he did not have any tools. The officers were able to obtain the tools and went on to unfasten the bolts and nuts. MANZINI A dark winter morning, the sound of a bridging firearm followed by gunshots could send anyone on a sprint. This was the case for Ndumiso Ndwandwe who encountered some bruises and a sprained neck as he ran for his life in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Ndwandwe was rushing to catch the staff bus when he heard someone yelling at him to stop. He did not see who the person was and decided to pick up his speed. What in fact caused Ndwandwe to bolt was that he heard the sound of a gun bridging, followed by numerous shots. Narrating the unbelievable tale, Ndwandwe from kaKhoza, who works at The George Hotel in Manzini, said the staff bus normally picked them up as early as 5am. He said he only got out of this house at 4.45am and therefore had to rush because he was already late. As I was running, I noticed a car parked by the side of the road but I paid no mind to it. My attention was only drawn to it when I heard someone shouting at me to stop. I did not see the person and his voice did not sound familiar, the only thing that came to my mind was to run even faster. In those few seconds of confusion, I heard the sound of a gun bridging and that was when I decided there was absolutely no way I was stopping because I thought I was going to be shot or kidnapped, narrated Ndwandwe. He said just as he was picking up speed, two gunshots were fired. He said by then, he did not even know where he was running to as those gunsshots were followed by at least two more. I ran to the nearest homestead and hid behind some bushes. I realised that there were more than two people following me. I did not think they were police officers because they were not in uniform and even though it was dark, their car did not look blue and white, he further said. MBABANE A rather peaceful march by teachers turned violent when they attempted to force their way into Cabinet gates. This resulted in a policeman losing his cool and used his baton to beat up the unruly teachers who had turned chaotic. The baton broke while the police officer used it to restrain the teachers who were pushing the Cabinet gates. The agitated officer used his baton to beat-up the hands of the teachers who were forcing the gate open. They were immediately called to order by the Executive Committee before things got out of hand. Teachers had intended to deliver a petition at the Prime Ministers offices. Along the way, they sang derogatory songs directed to the PM which cannot be repeated. Swaziland National Association of Teacher (SNAT) Freedom Dlamini said their intention was to visit the PM as he seemed to like seeing the teachers because he hardly acts on grievances, so this tells us he loves seeing us here. It has been a while since we last set foot in this place and I am sure that they wanted us to greet them, he jokingly said. Dlamini said as SNAT, they believed that there was no dog without a person to put it on the leash, which was why they were at the PMs offices. According to Dlamini, they were aware that Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service Evart Madlopha spent sleepless nights trying to stop them from delivering the petition at the PMs office. That is why we will not deliver anything but we will leave a prayer as this place desperately needs spiritual intervention, Dlamini said. At the SCO secretariat headquarters in Beijing, India's ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale said that the Eurasian grouping should pursue connectivity initiatives "with due respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all members". India's ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale (4th from right) with SCO Secretary General R Alimov (6th from right) and other envoys at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing. By Ananth Krishnan: As India's flag was formally raised at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) secretariat headquarters in Beijing, India's ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale said on Thursday that the Eurasian grouping should pursue connectivity initiatives "with due respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all members". The envoy's comments underlined the statement made by Prime Minister Modi on June 9 at the SCO's summit in Astana, which formally granted India's entry into the China and Russia-led six-member grouping, that connectivity projects shouldn't impinge on sovereignty of member countries. advertisement The SCO has backed China's One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, which has posed somewhat of a diplomatic test for India as the group's newest member. India is opposed to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor segment of OBOR, which China has billed as a "flagship", because it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The SCO's endorsing OBOR at its latest summit was not a particular issue for India as it did not have a role in the final joint statement, since its membership was only formally granted at the end of the summit. Going forward, however, India will have to find a balance between supporting connectivity projects in the region, on which China is seeking to impose its OBOR label even on unrelated projects, and expressing its strong concerns on certain aspects of OBOR. WHAT INDIA's AMBASSADOR TO CHINA SAID Underlining that balance, Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale said on Thursday at the SCO's Beijing secretariat, "We support enhanced connectivity and unimpeded trade in the SCO region and believe that such initiatives should be pursued in an inclusive and sustainable manner with due respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all members". Gokhale also said India would like to deepen practical cooperation "in our joint fight against terrorism and extremism" as well as share its expertise in areas like IT, biotech, space and renewable energy. "India stands ready to contribute to further enhancing the stature and influence of SCO", he said, and "ready to harvest new opportunities to realise the full potential of our mutually beneficial cooperation". Also read | Eye on India: China, Pakistan hold naval drills in Arabian Sea Also read | PM Narendra Modi meets China's Xi Jinping during SCO summit in Kazakhstan ALSO WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- By Christian DeFiris I was at the northwest corner of Northern Boulevard crosswalk heading south at 209th Street, half a block west from Staples Office supplies waiting for the light to cross the street. Looking east at the oncoming traffic, I noticed a small Asian boy getting ready to cross 209th from the other side. The boy had the signal to walk, but cars make the right off Northern Blvd sometimes without looking, which was the case today. A fast-moving white van was getting ready to make the turn, but could not see the child getting ready to cross. I yelled loudly and put my hand out for it to stop. I also yelled for the little boy to stop. The boy had the signal to cross, but was just looking forward and not to the left side where he should have been looking. I yelled to the little boy who was still across the street, standing stunned and told him to look both ways even when you have the light! The boy was frozen, and the vans driver, knowing he nearly killed a child, sped away. I gave the boy the signal to cross and when he got to where I was, I told him he was too short and too young to be walking home unescorted. I told him vans and trucks cant see him. The boy thanked me and, actually to my surprise, said there should be more people like you in the world. I said thank you, again told him to be careful, and I proceeded across Northern Boulevard a bit shaken, knowing what would have happened had I not been there. The boy continued on walking west on Northern, heading home, I assume. Had I not been at that exact spot at that exact time, I am 100 percent certain that child would have been struck by that van. I called the 111th Precinct later on at 9:22 p.m. to report the incident because I feel there should be a sign warning people not to make that turn when the light is red. When I called the 111th, a woman answered. I told her the story and she showed no emotion or concern at all. This is not the first time I reported dangerous situations to the 111th to get this type of reaction, which is usually one of complete disinterest. Most of the time, sadly, nothing is done. There needs to be more traffic signs on Northern Boulevard and better police monitoring and traffic enforcement. Also when police see a small child walking alone, there should be some kind of inquiry. My half-sister, Samantha Defiris, was killed on May 10, 1982, crossing York Avenue in Manhattan. She was only 13 years old. Northern Boulevard is dangerous and it needs to be made much safer. Christian DeFiris Bayside Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Philip Newman A Queens County grand jury has indicted a foreign diplomat on charges of labor trafficking, assault and other charges for allegedly keeping a foreign national as a virtual slave in the envoys Jamaica Estates home for years, Queens district attorney Richard Brown said. The diplomat is accused of not paying the household worker and using threats mixed with occasional physical harm for years to detain him until the victim managed to escape, according to Brown. Brown said the defendant is Mohammed Shaheldul Islam, 45, who has limited immunity that pertains specifically to officials actions. Brown said Islam holds the post of deputy consul general of Bangladesh. Islam was indicted June 12 before Queens Supreme Court Judge Daniel Lewis, who set bail at $50,000 and ordered the defendant to surrender his passport. Islams next court date is June 28. If convicted, Islam could face up to 15 years in prison. The 33-count indictment includes grand larceny, assault, labor trafficking, unlawful imprisonment, failure to pay the minimum wage and harassment. Brown said the indictment specified that Islam brought Mohammed Amin from Bangladesh to Queens between 2012 and 2013 to work in the diplomats household. Soon after Amins arrival the defendant was alleged to have seized Amins passport and required him to work 18 hours a day, the indictment said. Brown said that even though Mr. Amin had a contract which outlined his compensation, it is alleged that he was never paid for his work. If the victim disobeyed the defendants orders, Mr. Amin was allegedly physically assaulted, the DA said. After local news coverage of an Indiandiplomat being charged with labor trafficking, the defendant allegedly sought to cover his own alleged actions by taking most of Mr. Amins tip money (awarded by guests at dinner parties) which he gave back in the form of a check, Brown said. It was alleged that the victim then had to deposit the check into his bank account, thereby creating the appearance that the employee was receiving a paycheck. The prosecutor said when Mr. Amin asked to leave the defendants employ on several occasion, his boss allegedly threatened to kill his mother and young son and, on occasion, said he would have Mr. Amins college age daughter shamed. In May 2016 Mr. Amin escaped and reported his experience to police. By Bill Parry They came from neighborhoods like Woodside, Rockaway, Laurelton and Glendale and died in battle at places named Khe Sanh, Pleiku, Ia Drang and the A Shau Valley. To honor them, work will begin next year on the first boroughwide memorial for the 420 people who died serving in the Vietnam War. Nearly 70 veterans of the war joined elected leaders and city Parks Department officials last Friday as they unveiled the schematic design for the $2.85 million Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Elmhurst Park. More veterans call Queens home than any other borough, and the Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be a fitting and dignified tribute to those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice, Borough President Melinda Katz said. The vision for a physical, boroughwide memorial was first forged by our own veterans who wanted to memorialize the sacrifices made by hundreds of Queens residents and their families during what was a tumultuous period in our nations history. The designs unveiled today is another step forward toward the fulfillment of a promise made years ago. The semi-enclosed memorial will provide a contemplative space that honors those Queens residents who died with two semi-circular granite walls, one of which will list the 420 names of those that died. It will also have a timeline of the war. The other wall will have the name of the memorial, the five crests of the military and the Vietnam Service Medal. The granite walls, as well as the existing flagpole, will both be illuminated at night. Parks are gathering spaces where New Yorkers come to grow and play, but also to learn and reflect, Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver said. This memorial has been designed to provide community members with a place to sit and honor their friends and loved ones, and for younger generations to read about the history of the Vietnam War. It will provide a lasting memorial to ensure that their legacy lives on. While many of the neighborhoods who lost the most men have memorials, the one in the northwest corner of Elmhurst Park will be the only one representing all who died from the borough. It was the mission of Pat Toro, the longtime president of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 32, who died of Agent orange-related blood cancer in 2014. It was Pats dream that families of fallen Vietnam Veterans would have a centralized place to gather and reflect on their loved ones sacrifice, said Michael OKane, 69, the current president of Chapter 32. I wish we didnt have to wait to see this finished, but I know the design team shares our sense of urgency. The memorial is expected to be completed in the fall of 2019, but more than 750 Vietnam veterans pass each day, OKane added. The necessary capital for the project was fully secured by Katzs allocations on $2.3 million to-date, a continuation of her commitment made initially as a member of the City Council in 2007. After years of anticipation, Im so pleased to see the design for this memorial, which will honor the lives of so many who fought for our freedom, City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) said. Its so important to have daily reminders, whether its in our parks or along our streets, of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice when protecting and serving our great country and ensure their legacy lives on. By Press Trust of India: India New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Two infants suffering from foetal development issues of the liver got a second chance to life after undergoing a rare surgery at hospitals in the national capital region. In both the cases, the parents of the infants donated portion of their livers. Azariah Malala and Lilaz Bakhtiyar were both suffering from foetal development issues of the liver which posed a threat to their health and vitality, experts said. advertisement Azhariah, a six-month-old boy from Samoa Island near Fiji, was brought to Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon and diagnosed with a rare congenital defect called Biliary Atresia with cystic malformation of biliary tract. This is a condition in which the bile duct is not developed completely and is blocked, thereby not draining the bile from the liver. This results in stretching and blockage of blood supply to liver, mainly portal vein which supplies 75 per cent of blood to liver. Doctors performed an eight-hour-long liver transplant surgery on the baby, whose father donated 25 per cent of his liver to his son. The other infant, 21-month-old Lilaz Bakhtiyar, from Iraq, was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a condition in which the bile duct is not formed in the foetal stage. At three months of age, Lilaz had undergone a biopsy which helped diagnose the congenital abnormality. Her mother (A blood group) donated a portion of her liver to Lilaz who has O blood group. "Intensive treatment for removal of antibodies was done before surgery to minimise the risk of rejection. Surgery was uneventful and child was discharged in satisfactory condition, said Dr Vivek Vij, Director, Liver Transplant, Fortis Healthcare, Okhla. "Children with the foetal form of biliary atresia are more likely to require liver transplants, usually sooner rather than later. The need for a transplant is decided by the extent of damage and how badly the liver is diseased. "Paediatric patients account for about 12.5 per cent of liver transplant recipients. Biliary atresia is reason for transplant in paediatric age group in 50 per cent of patients," he said. PTI PLB KIS --- ENDS --- A suicide car bombing and armed assault by six Shabaab militants on two neighbouring restaurants in Somalia\s capital Mogadishu ended Thursday morning with at least 18 dead, the government said. "The operation is over now and the gunmen were killed by the security forces," said Mohamed Ahmed Arab, spokesman for Somalia\s security ministry. He said the six attackers one suicide bomber and five gunmen "attacked business places and killed innocent civilians: 18 civilians were killed, including a Syrian national, and more than 10 others were wounded." The attack began at around 8pm (1700GMT) on Wednesday evening with a suicide car bombing at the Posh Treats restaurant and club, after which gunmen stormed inside the nearby Pizza House restaurant. The Syrian national is believed to have been a chef at Pizza House. Both venues are popular with affluent, young and diaspora Somalis and were busy as customers broke the Ramadan fast. Islamist attacks often increase in tempo during the holy month but Wednesday\s was the first major assault by the Shabaab this Ramadan. The gunmen spent the night roaming the restaurant killing those they found trapped before they were eventually killed by security forces whose operation had been slowed by the darkness. Survivors and witnesses described chaos after the bomb went off. "I was about to have dinner when the blast threw me to the ground," said Abdikarim Ahmed, a customer at Posh Treats. "I rushed to the nearby exit and went out. I could see the chaos caused by the blast and shrapnel everywhere." Abdukadir Mohamed, who was close by, said it was the loudest blast he had ever heard in years living in Mogadishu. "It was very close. I could see the huge fire it caused, the dust, destruction, everything. Both Pizza House and Posh Treats were on fire. The whole area looked like a different place," he said. Others spoke of finding dead relatives and friends. "One of my neighbours was among the dead, a young innocent girl. When I saw her body this morning I could not stop my tears," said Abdiwahid Ali. Worshippers in a neighbouring mosque were thrown to the ground and felt the walls shake and windows shatter. "You cannot recognise this area," said Hawa Ahmed, a local resident and a regular at Pizza House, who had opted not to visit last night. "Where there were two beautiful restaurants, this morning there is complete devastation and death, blood and body parts everywhere." The Shabaab, an al-Qaeda aligned militant group that carries out regular suicide bombings and raids in the capital against civilian, government and military targets, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted a "nightclub" frequented by "foreigners, government and intelligence officials". Pizza House, where most of the civilian victims were killed, is a popular outdoor spot for iftar, the breaking of the Ramadan fast. Posh Treats in a converted villa across the road is a liberal hangout with shisha pipes and a disco, a rarity in Mogadishu. The austere Shabaab group, which wants to impose a Taliban-style rule on Somalia, has been fighting for the last decade to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Mogadishu and has also launched attacks in Kenya and Uganda, both contributors to a 22,000-strong African Union force in the country. Although pushed out of the capital in 2011 the group still controls parts of the countryside, where a drought threatens to tip into famine this year. SOURCE: AFP Emergency workers in Bangladesh on Thursday stepped up the search for victims of the country\s worst ever landslides, with mounting claims that the disaster was made worse by unchecked development. Rescuers found two more bodies, including that of a woman apparently washed away, taking the death toll from floods and landslides across southeast Bangladesh to 154. "We think she was washed away by strong currents during Tuesday\s landslides," local fire chief Didarul Alam told AFP. "We have stepped up our rescue work in the five worst affected spots. But it\s a huge struggle to dig through four feet (1.2 metres) of mud. Also villagers were not sure where the bodies were buried." Emergency workers also found the body of a soldier missing since Tuesday, army spokesman Rashidul Hasan told AFP. The landslides were the deadliest in the country\s history, eclipsing the previous highest death toll of 127 a decade ago. Bijoy Giri Chakma, an elected tribal leader in the hardest-hit district of Rangamati, told AFP the landslides were the worst he had ever seen, and blamed unplanned construction and the large-scale cutting of trees for the scale of the disaster. "Trees have been felled indiscriminately, which loosens the soil. A lot of these hills are now completely barren," said Chakma. His views chimed with those of local rights activists. "The disaster is man-made. But there is a tendency to blame nature for this," said Sheepa Hafiza, head of the rights group Ain o Salish Kendra, at a news briefing on Wednesday. Authorities say hundreds of homes were buried by mud and rubble sent cascading down hillsides after monsoon rains dumped 343 millimetres (13.5 inches) of water on the southeast of the country in just 24 hours. Disaster Management Department chief Reaz Ahmed said teams had begun to assess the full extent of the damage left by two days of incessant rains in the Chittagong hills, which cover one tenth of the country\s landmass. Authorities have opened 18 shelters in the worst-hit hill districts, where 4,500 people have been evacuated. The monsoon rains came two weeks after Cyclone Mora smashed into Bangladesh\s southeast, killing at least eight people and damaging tens of thousands of homes. South Asia is frequently hit by flooding and landslides in the summer with the arrival of the annual monsoon rains. More than 200 people were killed in Sri Lanka last month when the monsoon triggered landslides and the worst flooding the island has seen in well over a decade. SOURCE: AFP Pa. Dems could flip the House of Reps. Here's what that might mean. By Press Trust of India: terrorist by US (Eds: Updating with fresh quotes) Washington/New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) The fugitive chief recruiter for the ISIS in the Indian subcontinent Mohammed Shafi Armar was today named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US, becoming the first Indian leader of the dreaded terror outfit against whom America has slammed sanctions. advertisement The US State Treasury Department, while updating its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), has included in it Armar, a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka, clearing the way for sanctions against him. An Interpol Red Corner notice is also pending against the 30-year-old Armar, who has many aliases like Chhote Maula, Anjan Bhai and Yousuf al-Hindi. Armars name has now been added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department which enforces economic sanctions programmes, primarily against countries and groups of individuals, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers. The sanctions can be either comprehensive or selective, using the blocking of assets and trade restrictions to accomplish foreign policy and national security goals of the US. This is for the first time that the US has slammed sanctions against an ISIS leader in India. "Mohammed Shafi Armar is a leader and head recruiter in India for the Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, ISIS,? the State Department said. "He has cultivated a group of dozens of ISIS sympathisers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps," said the statement. Armar was said to have left for Pakistan along with his elder brother after crackdown on Indian Mujahideen cadres. After a fight with Bhatkal brothers, including Riyaz, the founder of IM, in Pakistan, Armar is believed to have created Ansar ul Tawhid, which later pledged its allegiance to the ISIS. There have been many reports of him having been dead in a drone attack or crackdown by the allied forces. However, every time intelligence agencies began giving credence to such reports, his name or voice cropped up in intercepts. Tech savvy, Armar has been operating on Facebook and other personal messenger services to contact, brainwash and recruit youths from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. His links to the ISIS were also the highlight of the interrogation of Yasin Bhatkal, who was arrested near the Nepal border in 2013. advertisement Armar first came on the radar of investigation agencies when the NIA was probing suspected Islamic State cadres in Ratlam of Madhya Pradesh. During the interrogation of alleged IS operatives, it emerged that Armar was motivating and radicalising Muslim youths in India. He was said to have been recruiting youths for the Jund ul Khalifa-e-Hind through online radicalisation. The NIA had charge-sheeted him along with five others for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror strikes in the national capital and also during ardh kumbh in Haridwar. The National Investigation Agency had told a special court that these accused were planning to assemble Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) using extracts from "match sticks". The United Arab Emirates had deported three Indians who were allegedly working for Armar. It emerged during the interrogation of IM suspects that he was a self-proclaimed ally of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, chief of the ISIS. Two other ISIS leaders in Europe and the Middle East, Oussama Ahmad Atar and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali were also listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the US. Oussama is a senior leader of ISIS? external operations efforts and has established a network to carry out attacks in Europe. advertisement "He was a leading coordinator of the November 2015 Paris attacks and March 2016 attacks in Brussels,? the State Department said. The Belgian-Moroccan national was responsible for recruiting, training, and sending at least some of the individuals to Paris to launch the November 2015 attacks, which killed and injured hundreds, including Americans, it said. He also recruited and mentored two of the bombers involved in the March 2016 Brussels attacks that killed 32 and left many more wounded. Mohammed Binali is a senior member of ISIS who departed Bahrain to join the terrorist group in 2014 and has since appeared in multiple ISIS propaganda videos calling on Bahrainis, specifically members of Bahrain?s security forces, to join ISIS, it said. PTI SKL LKJ SK PMS AKJ PMS --- ENDS --- ALBANY A Schenectady man faces life in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to distributing crack cocaine, authorities said. Preston James, 39, admitted that in April 2015 he sold crack cocaine four times in the Schenectady area, according to U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's James Hunt, special agent in charge of the New York division. During one sale, he sold more than 28 grams, they said. James was previously convicted of felony drug offenses in Rockland County in 2009 and Kings County in 2006. At sentencing on Oct. 13, he faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison, as well as a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least eight years and up to life. The case was investigated by the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Solomon Shinerock. SCHENECTADY Schenectady County Attorney Chris Gardner estimates the sobering cost of combating the opioid epidemic plaguing the county eclipses millions of dollars a year. And he and other officials are hoping to recoup some of that money absorbed by the county's criminal justice and social services departments for everything from the addicts and suppliers who are arrested or hospitalized to those who die. A lawsuit that Gardner and other county officials filed Thursday faults the manufacturers of prescription opiates, about a dozen of whom are named as defendants. "It's a matter of they falsely alleged that the drugs that they were selling were not addictive and should be used widely when they should only be used for acute pain management, post-operative or palliative end-of-life care or other very limited circumstances instead of being one of the most prescribed drugs in the state of New York," said Gardner during a news conference at the county chambers before the 74-page document was filed with the clerk's office. The false advertising relates to the "contacts with the doctors, the educational seminars for the doctors and other such efforts to get the doctors to prescribe the medications," Gardner said. County Legislature Chairman Tony Jasenski said his family knows two people in their 20s who were on prescription medication for chronic pain, got addicted to the drugs and then overdosed on heroin and died. "The cost of this crisis to Schenectady County residents is significant," said Jasenski, adding the county earlier this year expanded the county's drug unit in an effort step up the fight against the opioid problem. "Our investment in Schenectady County includes a lot of money spent on rehabilitation services, counseling and housing in addition to law enforcement." Jasenski said criminal acts are often committed to obtain opioids, and heroin has emerged as a cheaper alternative, Medicaid costs increase as a result of the overprescription of opioid medication and patient admission to hospitals and drug treatments also rise. James DeSantis, an addict in recovery, said the lawsuit is important but so too is personal accountability. He recalled a downward spiral that began with a prescription for hydrocodone for chronic pain that eventually led to him injecting himself with heroin with a needle. "What we're trying to do here is to get the government paid back the money that's been invested and hopefully some of that money can go towards helping people in the future," said DeSantis, co-founder of a Schenectady-based support group for recovering addicts called Breaking Barriers. Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma and Endo Health Solutions. Gardner said the companies named as defendants in the litigation were "misleading the doctors to prescribe opioid in situations where they should not have been prescribed." He said the pharmaceutical companies lied to the doctors. "It was marketed to them in a very specific fashion on that changes in the way drugs are formulated made it safe and that any addictive issues were dealt with with the reformulations," Gardner said. "The doctors are victims of this as well as their patients." The suit states that in 2012 drug companies earned $8 billion in revenue from opioids and that the defendants' "marketing campaign has been extremely harmful to Americans." "The rising numbers of persons addicted to opioids have led to significantly increased health care costs as well as a dramatic increase of social problems, including drug abuse and diversion and the commission of criminal acts to obtain opioids throughout the United States, including New York and Schenectady County," the lawsuit states. "Consequently, public health and safety throughout the United States, including Schenectady County, has been significantly and negatively impacted due to the misrepresentations and omissions by defendants regarding the appropriate uses and risks of opioids, ultimately leading to widespread inappropriate use of the drug." In 2014, there were 327 opioid-related emergency department admissions, nearly double the rate for 2010. Officials in Sullivan, Seneca, Broome, Dutchess, Erie and Orange counties as well as Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island have already filed similar suits against drug companies. Gardner urged other counties to join the fight and said that though the lawsuits are currently being filed separately by each county, the legal action may be consolidated in the future. He predicted a protracted legal battle, saying "the more counties that join with us, the more likely we are to reach a favorable settlement." Albany Gov. Andrew Cuomo, citing a list of disruptions commuters will face when Amtrak cuts capacity at Penn Station to make track repairs, said "Amtrak must pay" for the preparations other agencies are making to cope. "New York state has mobilized a multi-pronged strategy to mitigate the inconvenience of these delays," the governor said, citing accelerated bridge and tunnel repairs, conversion to cashless tolling, additional trains, express buses and ferries that will operate, and additional police to regulate traffic. "The resulting question is who pays for all of this," Cuomo said. "My answer is clear and simple Amtrak must pay," he said. "The Long Island Rail Road currently pays Amtrak approximately $50 million per year for rent of the tracks at Penn Station. "As the tracks are not available due to Amtrak's actions," he said, "they are liable for the resulting damages." Cuomo said that if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority continues payments to Amtrak, "I will seek a state law to stop them." "We certainly understand the Governor's frustration with our planned summer work," Amtrak spokesman Mike Tolbert replied. "Just as commuters in New York will be affected, Amtrak's own passengers across the Northeast will be inconvenienced, as we take the largest proportional reduction in service of all three railroads serving Penn. However, rebuilding the complex system of switches and track in Penn Station simply can't be done efficiently or promptly on nights and weekend alone. Sufficient work periods for these upgrades can only be created by impacting weekday train schedules. "While we've worked hard to minimize the impacts, we know people would prefer we didn't do this work now," Tolbert said. "However, it is essential that we proceed with this work and not let the collective lack of investment by all users in the past create greater risks for the future. We all have a responsibility for taking the necessary steps to improve Penn Station and the funding that LIRR pays Amtrak for their proportional share of operating, maintenance and capital costs is required to keep the station operating reliably and safely into the future. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. "Withholding such investments will only mean less work accomplished and more delay and impacts for riders," he said. Amtrak has already made a number of adjustments to its own schedules to allow the track work to proceed between July 10 and Sept. 1. Track conditions were blamed for two derailments this spring. So far, Amtrak hasn't said how the work will affect its train service from Albany. But the railroad is expected to redirect at least three weekday round trips to Grand Central Terminal, a place Amtrak last served in 1991. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Albany Gov. Andrew Cuomo has nominated Manhattan appellate judge Paul Feinman to fill a vacancy on the state Court of Appeals, he said Thursday. Feinmans nomination, which must be confirmed by the state Senate, comes with just days left in the legislative session. His nomination is among a number of Cuomo picks for various top state posts awaiting Senate action. Feinman would fill the spot vacated following the death of Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam in April. Feinman is an extraordinary human being and would be a great addition to that court, Cuomo said on NY1 Thursday. He was elected to serve on New York City civil court in Manhattan in 1996 and was elected to serve on the Supreme Court in the 1st Judicial District in Manhattan in 2007. He was appointed by Cuomo in 2012 to serve as an associate justice of the appellate division of the Supreme Court in Manhattan. Feinman would be the first openly gay judge on the high court, if he is confirmed. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. Sen. John Bonacic, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the Times Union last week that he was in no rush to confirm whoever Cuomos nominee to the Court of Appeals would be. A Bonacic spokesman told New York Law Journal that as of Thursday afternoon there were no plans to hold a Judiciary Committee meeting before the end of the legislative session. The session is scheduled to end next Wednesday. mhamilton@timesunion.com - 518-454-5449 - @matt_hamilton10 BALLSTON SPA A Gansevoort man was sentenced to 20 years in state prison Wednesday after admitting he had sexual contact with a child under the age of 11 last year, the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office said. William E. Slater, 46, was arrested Dec. 26 by the State Police and charged with first-degree criminal sexual act and predatory sexual assault against a child, both felonies. MALTA The Saratoga Regional YMCA and Saratoga Hospital broke ground Thursday at Saratoga Medical Park at Exit 12 of the Northway. The site will be the new home for the Y's Malta branch and medical specialty offices for Saratoga Hospital. The two-story, 55,000-square-foot shared facility will be built on the 140-acre medical park. The Y will be the first of its kind in the area and will incorporate traditional Y health and wellness activities and programs, as well as a unique level of design, which will create an integrated facility that collectively serves the needs of individuals in the community, according to the agencies. "Today marks a very significant milestone in our collective history, where we are partnering to create programs and services that not only complement one another but provide a more complete and continuous model of prevention and care," said Alysa Arnold, Saratoga Regional Y president. "Our partnership with Saratoga Hospital is the exemplification of synergy and we are excited to have the opportunity to create unique programs and services that will make our communities stronger and healthier." The Y will be able to expand its fitness and childcare programs and almost double their outreach. It will also open up opportunities for both organizations to support one another. Bill Dake, chairman of Stewart's Shops, who has helped construct multiple Saratoga Regional Y facilities, is working with both the hospital and YMCA on this project. The YMCA anticipates its facilities to be open the in spring of 2018. Saratoga Hospital is completing its final assessment of which programs and services will be offered at the new location. SCHENECTADY Jurors deliberated for about an hour over two days before convicting a 19-year-old pimp of murdering a 17-year-old girl who decided to stop working for him. A Schenectady County jury found Raekwon Stover guilty of firing a bullet into the head of Medina Knowles on Sept. 15 inside 524 Schenectady St. The Matthew Slocum retrial is all about missed opportunities. In their attempt to clear Slocum of a 2011 triple murder and cast his ex-girlfriend Loretta Colegrove as the real killer, Washington County public defenders aim to show jurors that Colegrove had opportunities to escape from Slocum and never took one. But the defense team missed some golden opportunities of their own during their cross-examination of the prosecution's star witness. Assistant Public Defender Michael Martin spent a surprisingly short period of time cross-examining Colegrove. Considering this is the woman whom the defense contends committed a triple murder and blamed her boyfriend, one would think Martin would have spent all day Wednesday grilling Colegrove. But Martin, who started questioning Colegrove late Tuesday and wrapped it up before noon Wednesday, did not ask her if she was the real killer. The background: Prosecutors say that six years ago, on July 13, 2011, Slocum murdered his mother Lisa Coon Harrington, stepfather Dan Harrington and stepbrother Joshua O'Brien with a 12-gauge shotgun in their White Creek home, then torched the place. He fled with Colegrove and their infant Raymond but surrendered to police in New Hampshire. In 2012, Colegrove's testimony helped convict Slocum. But police used a confession from Slocum after he asked for an attorney and the Appellate Division overturned the verdict. On Wednesday, Martin grilled Colegrove about why she never ran away when on run with Slocum and they were in a supermarket and pawn shop. "I don't suppose you asked the pawn guy for help?" Martin asked Colegrove "No I didn't," Colegrove responded. "I was scared." Her testimony presented Martin with a golden opportunity to confront her about the newest and most talked about evidence in the retrial: Letters she and Slocum exchanged in 2012 after he was convicted. Testimony showed Colegrove signed one letter "Loretta Slocum," which raised an obvious question: If she was afraid of Slocum, why was she writing letters to him in prison and suggesting she was his wife? Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. Martin never asked the question. Martin could not delve deeply into the letters because he ran the risk of Judge Kelly McKeighan admitting them into evidence (some of her writings could derail the defense theory). Slocum's return letters to Colegrove were already admitted into evidence and read to the jury including the "Loretta Slocum" part. Martin missed another opportunity when Michael Therrien, a convicted sex offender testified that when they were both in the Washington County jail, Slocum initially told him Colegrove was the killer. Washington County Public Defender Michael Mercure, who is defending the case with Martin and Assistant Public Defender A.J. Messersmith, declined to comment Thursday when Law Beat asked about the trial strategy. By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) "Is it appropriate that copies of files marked by the Lt. Governor to the Chief Minister should reach the BJP before they reach the CM," Arvind Kejriwal sought to know from Anil Baijal. Kejriwal shot off a letter to Baijal yesterday after the latter returned a file pertaining to constitution of six wholesale markets to the Delhi government, seeking to know if all rules were followed in nominating members of the markets committees. advertisement Notably, Vijender Gupta, a BJP MLA and the leader of opposition in Delhi Assembly, had on June 13 briefed media about the LG returning the file related to mandies to the AAP government. "This file reached my office late last evening (June 13), much after it reached the BJP and the BJP MLA had already made a statement. "Does the LG think it is appropriate that copies of files marked by the LG to CM should reach the BJP before they reach CM?" Kejriwal asked in the letter. The AAP government had sent the file to the LG for his approval on formation of committees for the six mandies. Yesterday, Gupta had alleged that, "The committees are being formed in violation of rules which lay down that the nominated members could only be agriculturist, traders and qualified commission agents and weighmen." PTI BUN KIS --- ENDS --- Albany Travelers will soon be able to fly from Albany to Pittsburgh. OneJet announced Thursday it's beginning a one-hour, two-way flight between Albany International and Pittsburgh International, with the first trips slated for June 28. Earlier: OneJet to launch nonstop Pittsburgh-Albany flight route The company, which provides transportation to small- and medium-sized airports, said the new flights are aimed at business travelers. Here are the scheduled flight times: Albany to Pittsburgh: Departing 7:20 a.m., arriving 8:35 a.m.; Departing 7:50 p.m., arriving 9:05 p.m. Pittsburgh to Albany: Departing at 5:50 a.m., arriving at 7 a.m.; Departing 6:20 p.m., arriving 7:30 p.m. The service will be operated by the company's Hawker 400XP jet aircraft, and will include security pre-access for eligible travelers, expedited boarding, complimentary wireless internet and a selection of healthy snacks. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Albany The Capital Regions economy continues to grow. The area added roughly 4,600 jobs in the last year, according to data released by the state Department of Labor Thursday, including 2,600 in the private sector. The 4,600 non-farm jobs added in the last 12 months represents about a 1 percent increase. Were continuing to see growth, Jim Ross, a labor market analyst with the Department of Labor, said, which mainly came in the construction, trade, government and information sectors. But those numbers can be deceiving: Government, which with 2,000 added jobs accounted for the biggest swing, is still far below peak or even, for that matter, pre-recession levels. Most of the growth was in local government education, Ross said. But, he said, that was expected after years of school downsizing immediately after the 2008 downturn, when government accounted for about 111,000 jobs. That number topped 115,000 at its 1990 peak. This year the number of government jobs climbed to 104,000 after plummeting to record lows in 2016. "Part of that (growth) is just bouncing back," he said. "...It's certainly not what we'd consider a growth industry." Still, Ross said its encouraging to see various sectors continue to hit record-high job levels. He also noted the uptick in retail jobs at a time of crisis for traditional storefronts. Across the nation, brick and mortar stores are closing in perpetuity as online retail eats into its once-steady profits. The Capital Region has mostly avoided the worst of that, however. We hear about closings all the time, and there has been some downsizing here, he said, but not nearly as much as it has been nationwide. Our Sears is still open, and thats a pretty good indicator, he said. The statewide economy meanwhile added 32,100 private sector jobs in May, a new record, though New Yorks unemployment rate did increase by 0.1 percent, to 4.4 percent. The Capital Regions unemployment rate was still hovering around 4 percent last month, though a precise and current number wont be available until next week. FESTIVAL Juneteenth is an annual affair in Albany. The city, along with the African American Cultural Center of the Capital Region, will co-host the 12th annual Juneteenth celebration this week, a nationwide event to commemorate the end of slavery. Juneteenth has been observed for more than 100 years, making it America's oldest known end-of-slavery celebration. This year's theme for the free, kid-friendly gathering is "It's a family affair." There will be local artists, guest speakers, free food and games and live music at the event. 1-6 p.m. Sunday. Free. Capital South Campus Center, 20 Warren St., Albany. 434-4032; http://www.aacccr.org FESTIVAL Dads rock and Albany knows it. That's why there's Dad Fest, the city's annual free outdoor music and food fest. Here you'll find plenty of opportunities to have a good time with pop and it's easier, cheaper and a lot more fun than getting dad a tie for Father's Day. Dad Fest will feature beverage tastings, activities for kids and live music by the Ramblin' Jug Stompers (1:30 p.m.), Mark Gamsjager & The Lustre Kings (3 p.m.) and the Powerhouse Funk Band (4:30 p.m.).1-6 p.m. Sunday. Free. Washington Park, Albany. 434-4032; http://www.albanyevents.org MUSIC "The Voice" winner Sawyer Fredericks opens the concert season at Scotia's Freedom Park. Fredericks, who plays Wednesday, won the NBC talent program in 2015. In May, he announced his new album, "Hide Your Ghost," and a summer tour. Fredericks isn't the only notable performer at Freedom Park this summer. Local kids' rock act the Zucchini Brothers play June 25, followed by Celtic rock/pop group Screaming Orphans (June 28), Hot Club of Saratoga (July 16), Betsy and the ByeGons (July 29), Sirsy (Aug. 9), and the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company on Aug. 20. 7 p.m. Wednesday. Free. Freedom Park, Schonowee Avenue, Scotia. http://www.freedomparkscotia.org This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate With fatigue appearing to set in, jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial reviewed portions of his accuser's testimony Wednesday as they deliberated for a third day over whether the 79-year-old star drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia estate. Jurors made the request to have portions of Andrea Constand's testimony read back to them after deliberating parts of three days without reaching a verdict in a case that has already helped demolish Cosby's nice-guy reputation. The panel of seven men and five women was set to work late for the third night in a row, asking for testimony about a detective's interview with Cosby in early 2005, about a year after Constand says the comedian assaulted her. They ordered strombolis for dinner while a court reporter raced to transcribe that portion of last week's testimony. As deliberations crossed the 24-hour mark, one juror slumped deep into his chair when the panel made a brief appearance in the courtroom. Other jurors looked weary. "Can you find 12 people who will agree? That's the question," said criminal lawyer Alan J. Tauber, who wasn't involved in the case. On Wednesday, the group wanted to hear from both Cosby and his accuser. Constand testified last week that Cosby gave her pills that left her woozy, helped her to a couch and then violated her while she was passed out, unable to say no or fight his advances. The 44-year-old Toronto woman, who spent seven hours on the stand last week, was in the gallery as portions of her testimony were read back to the jury. The panel also wanted to hear again from Cosby, who didn't testify at his trial but gave a deposition as part of Constand's civil suit against him and submitted to a police interview about her accusations. Pennsylvania detectives spoke to Cosby in his lawyers' New York City offices a few weeks after Constand went to police in January 2005. Cosby said in the interview that he gave her Benadryl, an over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine, to help her relax. He said she didn't show any ill effects from the medicine, nor did she object as he groped her. His lawyers maintain Constand was a willing sexual partner. Associated Press Reality show contestant a 'victim' A "Bachelor in Paradise" contestant says she's a "victim" of undisclosed events that led to production of the reality show being put on hold. In a statement Wednesday, Corinne Olympios said she has hired an attorney and is seeking therapy to deal with what she called the physical and emotional trauma she experienced on June 4. Olympios said she has little memory of what occurred. Warner Bros., the company behind ABC's "Bachelor in Paradise," a spin-off of "The Bachelor," suspended production and sent contestants home while it investigates allegations of misconduct on the set in Mexico. Warner Bros. also said it plans appropriate action depending on the outcome. The studio didn't provide further details and declined comment Wednesday. "Bachelor in Paradise" planned to air its fourth season this summer. Associated Press 'Most interesting man' pitching tequila "The Most Interesting Man in the World" is giving up beer for tequila. Actor Jonathan Goldsmith appeared as the sophisticated, eccentric and worldly pitchman for Dos Equis beer for nearly a decade. He's now promoting Astral Tequila. In a new ad, the 78-year-old Goldsmith nods at his Dos Equis days by raising a glass of tequila and saying, "I told you I don't always drink beer." Dos Equis announced Goldsmith's departure from the long-running ad campaign last year. It has continued the campaign with a younger actor. Associated Press Kim K discusses fame, missteps Kim Kardashian West takes her status as a role model seriously, and says part of that is owning up to her past mistakes and not letting online hatred distract her from her goals. The reality show star spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday before her keynote speech at the Forbes Women's Summit. Her conversations touched on how hurtful comments affect her, her still-growing brand, how the robbery in Paris has changed her life and husband Kanye West's photographic ability, or lack thereof. Associated Press San Francisco A gunman shot and killed three people at a United Parcel Service facility in San Francisco on Wednesday morning before fatally shooting himself in front of police officers, authorities say. Six people suffered gunshot wounds and four died, according to San Francisco police. The dead included the gunman, who shot himself in the head, according to Assistant Chief Toney Chaplin. Two guns were recovered at the scene. "We believe this incident is not related to terrorism," Chaplin said. Steve Gaut, a UPS spokesman, said the shooter was a driver and in uniform. The workers involved were gathering for their morning meeting before heading out to make deliveries, he said. The shooting occurred at 8:55 a.m. and prompted police to issue a shelter in place alert to the neighborhood. When police arrived, they encountered numerous victims and evacuated them, Chaplin said. Officers determined that the gunman was still inside the cavernous facility and actively targeting people. A team entered the building, found the gunman and saw him turn his weapon on himself, Chaplin said. In a tweet just after 10:30 a.m., police declared the building secure and said the incident was contained. Officers continued to search the building for additional victims and witnesses. Gaut said employees were evacuated from the facility, which processes packages for delivery in the San Francisco area and has 350 workers. It is unknown how many employees were in the facility at the time of the shooting, Gaut said. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee tweeted his condolences for the victims and voiced his appreciation for the city's police and first responders. "We are always saddened by the loss of life to gun violence. Any shooting is one shooting too many," Lee tweeted. "I want to offer my condolences to the individuals & families affected by the senseless act of violence at the UPS facility in Potrero Hill." Brent Andrew, spokesman for Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the hospital had received victims. May Vang, who works across the street from the facility, said by 10 a.m. police and UPS workers were standing around outside. "I didn't hear anything," she said. "I'm used to sirens going off so I didn't even pay attention." A Twitter user across the street from the building tweeted that he heard seven or eight gunshots and saw employees standing on the building's roof parking lot with their hands up. Relatives of workers began arriving later to reunite with their loved ones. One parent whose 19-year-old son works at the facility said it was his first job and he'd been there less than a year, paying his way through college. Maria Olmedo, 42, rushed to the area when she saw what had happened on the news. Her 21-year-old son is a loader and wasn't responding to her texts, she said. "It's a scary situation, I'm a mom," she said. One of her son's co-workers texted her, assuring her that he was fine. Condolences began to flow in through social media as word spread that the rampage was over and the gunman was dead. Washington President Donald Trump's decision to allow his Pentagon chief to set U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan won't mean an immediate infusion of troops but should improve management of the war, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday. Still missing: an overall Trump strategy for America's longest conflict. "I will set the U.S. military commitment, consistent with the commander in chief's strategic direction," Mattis told a Senate panel, announcing a break with past White House control over troop numbers. Mattis made the announcement a day after being verbally hammered by Sen. John McCain, the Senate Armed Services Committee's Republican chairman, for the administration's failure to present an overarching strategy for Afghanistan. Forced from power after U.S. troops invaded in October 2001, the Taliban have been increasing their hold on numerous areas and inflicting heavy losses on Afghan security forces. The U.S. has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, a cap set by President Barack Obama's White House, which controlled troop numbers in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria in a manner similar to the way the Bush administration handled such matters. Trump's decision to delegate that authority to Mattis reflects the president's view that wars are better managed by the Pentagon. Some questioned the wisdom of the president delegating such authority to the Pentagon. Christine Wormuth, the Pentagon's top policy official from 2014 to 2016, expressed confidence in Mattis' judgment and said she wouldn't be bothered by an arrangement in which the president gave his defense secretary the authority to adjust troop levels within a broad range set by the White House. "To just say to Jim Mattis, 'Do whatever you think is best,' and for Secretary Mattis to be able to add 30,000 troops, for example, without having to get the president to approve that, strikes me as unhealthy," Wormuth said. The Capital Region has its share of cold cases crimes that vex investigators, who never stop digging for fresh clues. Here are some of those mysteries: On Oct. 8, 2014, Jin Chen, 39, his wife, Hai Yan Li, 38, and their sons, Anthony, 10, and Eddy, 7, were killed in the predawn hours inside 1846 Western Ave., Guilderland. The quadruple homicide of the Chinese family shocked the local Chinese-American community and rattled the town. Despite assistance from local and Albany County investigators, the New York Police Department, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, the investigation was stalled by cultural and language barriers and a pervasive fearfulness. Interviews were difficult with those who knew the family or worked at King's Wok Chinese restaurant, owned by Chen's relatives, a half-mile from their home. Sometimes, one case leads to another. Jaliek Rainwalker was 12 when he vanished from his adoptive parents' Washington County home in November 2007. Police believe foul play was involved but no one was ever charged in his disappearance. In February, skull fragments found in state wetlands along the Hudson River in Greene County prompted widespread speculation over whether the remains belonged to Jaliek. An investigation pointed to another, unidentified adult male, age 20 to 50, State Police said. Are two cases related? A pair of grieving wives and their families remain in a state of suspended shock over strange disappearances and ongoing investigations in the cases of two men who went missing in November 2015, one while hunting with buddies in the Adirondacks, and the other on his Saratoga County property. Despite massive search efforts, no trace has been found of either Thomas Messick, 82, of Brunswick, or Fred "Fritz" Drumm, 68, of the town of Saratoga. The similarities between the disappearances of Hammond and Christina White and are uncanny: Both were red-headed, one age 18 and the other 19, who disappeared in the early 2000s from mobile home parks in Milton. Years later, hunters found their remains less than 5 miles apart, hidden in the woods of Greenfield. Jennifer "Moonbeam" Hammond, 18, was last seen in August 2003 selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door. Her remains were found Oct. 29, 2009. Christina White, 19, was last seen in June 2005, leaving her home in Saratoga Village mobile home park. Her skeletal remains were found in March 2006 in the Daketown Forest in Greenfield. Authorities believe she was stabbed to death. A personal tragedy can lead to action. For the family of Suzanne Lyall, every day is missing persons day. Lyall, a 19-year-old college student from Ballston Spa, disappeared in March 1998 somewhere between her job at Crossgates Mall and returning to the University at Albany. Her parents, Doug and Mary Lyall, founded the non-profit Center for Hope in 2000 to support families and friends dealing with "the ambiguous disappearance of a loved one." Doug Lyall died in 2015 without knowing what happened to his daughter. Reality inspired fiction when the TV series "Twin Peaks" took its plot from the 1908 murder of a young woman in Sand Lake. Hazel Irene Drew, 20, had been missing for four days when her lifeless and bloated body was discovered floating face down in Teal's Pond, Rensselaer County. "Twin Peaks" originally aired on ABC in 1990, with new episodes on Showtime this year. Islamist attackers launched a car bomb and gun attack on a busy hotel and adjacent restaurant in Somalia capital Mogadishu. Armed security forces and rescue personnel at the scene of the attack outside a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. Photo: Reuters. By Reuters: At least 19 people were killed when Islamist attackers launched a car bomb and gun attack on a busy hotel and adjacent restaurant in Somalia capital Mogadishu, a police officer said on Thursday. A car driven by a suicide bomber rammed into the Posh Hotel in south Mogadishu on Wednesday evening before gunmen rushed into Pizza House, an adjacent restaurant, and took 20 people hostage. Posh Hotel is the only venue with a discotheque in the capital. advertisement Abdi Bashir told Reuters the Somali security forces took control of the restaurant at midnight after the gunmen held hostages inside for several hours. Five of the gunmen were killed, Bashir said. "We are in control of the hotel but it was mostly destroyed by the suicide bomber," he told Reuters by phone. Witnesses said there were bodies lying at the scene on Thursday morning as ambulances came to take them away. Al Shabaab, the Islamist militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack. ALSO READ: One of London attackers was known radical Islamist, born in Pakistan Iran attacks LIVE: Islamic State claims responsibility for parliament siege, suicide bombing at Ayatollah Khomeini's shrine ALSO WATCH: Pakistan-born London Bridge attacker was earlier filmed praying with ISIS-style flag --- ENDS --- THE ISSUE: The attorney general mostly evades hard questions in Senate testimony. THE STAKES: Where are the loyalties of the nation's top prosecutor and law enforcement officer? More Information To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com or at http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion See More Collapse --- Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III clearly didn't go before Congress to testify so much as issue a self-serving statement and then all but clam up. In saying little, however, he revealed much. He revealed the United States' top lawyer and law enforcement official to be selectively ignorant of the law, apparently forgetful, frequently evasive and nonresponsive, and surprisingly fragile under cross-examination. Mr. Sessions, a former senator from Alabama, went before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday supposedly to testify on issues surrounding Russia's interference with the presidential election, particularly whether President Donald Trump's campaign, for which he was a surrogate, colluded in that effort, and on the firing of FBI director James Comey. Mr. Sessions said unequivocally he had no knowledge of such activity. Mr. Sessions seemed to have been alarmingly incurious about the Russia scandal, professing to have little knowledge of the details. Admittedly, his recusal from anything to do with the investigation into the scandal complicates his position, but it hardly bars him from being as informed as any other engaged citizen. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. With a mix of homespun chumminess and righteous indignation for any implied offense to his honor, Mr. Sessions sometimes said a lot while not actually answering more pointed questions. When senators whose time to question him was limited to five minutes each had to cut him off to stop him from running the clock with irrelevant, long-winded responses, he protested, at one point saying the pace was making him nervous. He took a similar tack in arguing he did not lie under oath in his confirmation hearing, in which he asserted he had no communications with Russian figures during the campaign, when in fact he had at least three contacts. He blamed it on his simply misunderstanding a rambling question from Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota. In fact, Mr. Franken's question was clear: How would Mr. Sessions, as attorney general, handle the question of whether the Trump campaign had improper dealings with Russia? Mr. Sessions evaded that question to answer one that hadn't been asked and the future attorney general gave false testimony in the process. Mr. Sessions also repeatedly refused to answer questions on both the tortured grounds of executive privilege that only Mr. Trump can claim, and has not, but someday might, and a "long established rule" on presidential conversations being privileged that he "believed" was in writing. Mr. Sessions certainly achieved his apparent goal of shedding no light on a scandal that cuts to the heart of our democratic system. But regardless of whether homespun casualness, selective memory and an almost scatterbrained inattention to detail was a performance or the real thing, he revealed something of grave concern in itself that the head of the Justice Department appears less concerned with justice and national security than protecting himself, and the man he helped elect. Will Waldron It's difficult to sort out the most egregious of House Republicans' excuses for their "repeal and replace" American Health Care bill, a multicar pileup initiated by its Paul Ryan brain trust. A common refrain has been that they knew it was going to be changed by the Senate anyway. Another has been that no state is really going to request the waivers we've included in the bill (wink, wink). Locally, we've been offered a whopper by Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, who has claimed that New Yorkers should have no concerns about the bill's waivers allowing states, in effect, to price out of the insurance exchanges older and sicker Americans with pre-existing conditions (a consequence confirmed by the Congressional Budget Office's recent scoring). Faso asserts the waiver provision could affect only 7 percent of Americans and not New Yorkers, because New York law protects consumers and the state would not seek a waiver. By Alok Ranjan: Israeli writer David Grossman won the prestigious 2017 Man Booker International prize in London late Wednesday for his latest novel A Horse Walks into a Bar. He beat his fellow Israeli writer Amos Oz and four other contenders for the prize, which is awarded to writers of foreign language fiction. The Pound 50,000 (Rs 40,95,800) award will be split between Grossman and Jessica Cohen, who translated the book. Grossman's novel is about a failing standup comic and his final performance. advertisement Grossman is the first Israeli to win the coveted prize. He is a bestselling Israeli writer of fiction, non-fiction and children's literature, whose works have been translated into many languages. He has previously received awards including the decorated France's Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1998. Grossman was born in Jerusalem in 1954. He studied Philosophy and Theatre at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After university, he started working for a radio station. Once, Grossman was also sacked from public radio over his critical coverage of Israel. This is only the second year that the Man Booker International prize has been awarded to a single book. Last year, the prize was won by South Korean novelist Han Kang and translator Deborah Smith for The Vegetarian. --- ENDS --- Uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the fallout from the process are becoming more pervasive and concerning after the UK's general election, according to the ICMSA. The association's president, John Comer, said that we now find ourselves in a situation where our key concern on what needs to be done are being overtaken by the massive uncertainty resulting from the election. Mr Comer addressed a Seanad Special Select Committee last week on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, but said that following the election, which saw the Tories lose their overall majority, the lack of any predictability about where, when and how a UK Government would be proceeding was becoming corrosive. Ireland must start acting on those elements that were within our own control and should begin 'Brexit proofing' exposed sectors as much as possible by introducing policies that will help them through what now looks almost certain to be a hugely uncertain number of years ahead, he said. Mr Comer urged that those measures be brought in immediately and should be a central part of Budget 2018. The potential impact on trade with the UK is the biggest concern and an agreement that eliminates the risk of the imposition of tariffs is an absolute requirement if we are to protect our hugely exposed agri-food sector, said Mr Comer. Important to be clear The ICMSA leader said it was important to be clear that investing in market diversification was important but there was no better alternative to the UK market for Irish agri-food products. Our Brexit focus must be on delivering a workable solution that ensures this trade continues without tariffs, said Mr Comer. At national level, Mr Comer said that we needed to take measures to support exposed sectors and the UK election result had only underlined the need to at least eliminate as much instability and uncertainty as is within our control. In that contex,t he said that ICMSA will redouble its lobbying aimed at convincing the Government to introduce the Farm Management Deposit Scheme that will allow individuals to hedge against bad years by depositing monies earned in good years in a Government scheme under sensible tax regulations. As things stand, Brexit is less than two years away and its difficult to imagine a more confused and uncertain situation. The associations president said that Ireland have to start making certain those things which we at least can make certain. ICMSA firmly believes that the next two Budgets need to implement initiatives to support exposed sectors such as the agri-food sector, said Mr Comer A Video and Sound Technology student has landed her ultimate dream gig after being crowned the 2017 representative in the Miss Tipperary pageant. Cailin Duggan, 19, from Birdhill scooped the honour and Miss Tipperary Great National Ballykisteen Hotel title after beating out 14 other contestants at the selection night last week. I still can't believe I won to be honest. Everyone has been so nice and supportive," the brunette beauty told the Tipperary Star this week. Cailin had previously entered the Miss Tipperary competition in 2016 after she was encouraged by a former teacher to put herself forward. I didn't have a lot of confidence at the time but I decided to do something outside of my comfort zone and push myself." However while Cailin has plenty of experience being in front of the camera having spent three years with the Limerick School of Acting, she says that these days she prefers to be behind it having just completed her first year of a camera and sound technology degree in LIT. "I just love being on set. It's a very exciting time for the industry in Ireland at the moment. There are a lot of great TV series and movies being filmed here and I think that will only continue." Cailin is also looking forward to raising the profile and some much needed funds for the Mater Foundation and Mater Family Heart Clinic for the 'beauty with a purpose' section of the pageant. The foundation is a charity close to Cailin's heart after her uncle passed away suddenly with SADS 15 years ago this month. In the intervening years Cailin's entire family have undergone medical tests in Dublin to determine if any other family members are carrying an undetected genetic condition. The whole family were tested to check if we had any life threatening heart conditions. The level of care at the Mater Clinic is unbelievable despite being entirely self funded and requires about 300,000 a year for the heart clinic alone. My main aim is to be a good representative of the county and raise awareness of the Mater Heart Clinic. Other than that I'll just enjoy every minute of the experience, she said, thanking her sponsors Larkins Gala Ballina. North Tipperary Macra AGM The North Tipperary Regional AGM took place on Friday evening last in Ballinahinch Hall. Almost 30 members from all the 5 clubs attended on the night. All the officers spoke about the year and what a successful one it was for the region. We were joined on the night by Munster Vice President Tom ODonoghue and Macra Training and Development Officer Siobhan Sexton. Both of whom highlighted the fantastic region North Tipp Macra is and that it has huge potential going forward. A massive thank you and well done to the outgoing committee who have put in a huge effort all year to making North Tipperary Macra one of the best in the country. Thank you also to the members of Ballinahinch/Killoscully Macra who provided refreshments after the meeting. Congratulations to the newly elected committee, the committee are as follows: President: Catherine Maher Chairperson: Caoimhe Egan Vice-chairperson: JC Ahern Secretary: Thomas Hayes Vice Sec: Martin Gerard Gleeson Treasurer: Mary Joyce Vice Treasurer: Miriam Crone PRO: Nora Ryan Vice PRO: Liz Gleeson Social Chair: Kevin Troy Social Secretary: Amy O'Donovan Young Farmer: Bill Gleeson, Johnathon O'Dwyer and Ed Roe Rural Youth officer: Conor O'Dea Development chair: Thomas Kelly Development sec: Kieran Meagher Nenagh Macra Best of luck to Nenagh Macra members Una Ryan and Deirdre Kirwan as they take part in the Macra Croke Park fundraiser in Croke Park on Tuesday. The money raised will be used to provide key facilities for the youth of rural Ireland. This is wonderful opportunity and we are sure that the girls will have a wonderful experience. The Tipperary Star featured prominently during the election of An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dail Eireann when Labour Leader Brendan Howlin took Deputy Michael Lowry to task over comments he made in relation to access to Government arising out of his decision to vote for Mr Varadkar. Deputy Lowry had told The Tipperary Star that he had held two discussions with Leo Varadkar before deciding to vote for him as Taoiseach. And, he told the Dail yesterday, in response to a swipe from the Labour Leader that the conversations related to the programme for government, and policies which he hoped Mr Varadkar would support. On the basis of those two discussions I had with him, I am very happy to support him as Taoiseach and to continue to support this Government, particularly on budgetary matters, he added. The Government has consistently denied it has any special arrangement with Mr Lowry in return for his support. And, the Holycross TD reacted sharply to a demand from Deputy Howlin that Mr Varadkar end contact with him. Labour TD's Brendan Howlin and Alan Kelly, who were in the dock on Dail Eireann after Deputy Michael Lowry tore strips off of them. He should not depend on Deputy Lowrys support, Mr Howlin added, claiming that in this weeks Tipperary Star he would have access to the Taoiseachs office, his officials and ministers in return for his support. However, Deputy Lowry responded to the comments which he described as being nasty and offensive, adding the Labour leaders words had been prompted by Tipperary Labour TD Alan Kelly. That would be very typical of his reaction to me in my county, he Deputy Lowry said adding that Mr Howlin had insulted the Tipperary people who had voted for him. I remind you, Deputy Howlin, like every member of this House here today, I have a democratic mandate from the people of Tipperary who have voted for me consistently and put me as their representative in this House. I have enjoyed their confidence and their trust for over 30 years and I hope when the next election is called they will re-endorse me as a member of this parliament, he said adding that he had the same entitlement to access the systems of government as any other TD. The swipe at Deputy Lowry by Mr Howlin received much commentary on social media overnight, with many stating that it was petty, inappropriate and not the time nor the occasion to air such views. Indeed, Deputy Lowry told The Tipperary Star that he had received many positive comments from the general public and from TD's in Dail Eireann for his response to Mr Howlin. On Thursday, 22 June a regional information session will be hosted by Enterprise Ireland for those interested in obtaining further information, and those who may be interested in submitting applications under the new Regional Enterprise Development Fund. The event will take place at The Strand Hotel, Limerick from 8-10am. Attendance is free, but please register your attendance in advance using the following link https://www.eventsforce.net/enterpriseireland/2100/register The competitive funding has been provided by the Department of Jobs, through Enterprise Ireland and is a key action to support the Regional Action Plan for Jobs and the Action Plan for Rural Development. The Fund is aimed at accelerating economic recovery in every part of the country by delivering on the potential of local and regional enterprise strengths. The Fund will support significant collaborative regional initiatives to build on specific industry sectoral strengths and improve enterprise capability, thereby driving job creation. Under a competitive process, Enterprise Ireland is now seeking applications for funding under four streams with varying investment levels: 1. Major Change Projects - 2m up to 5m per project 2. Regionally Significant Projects - 250,000 up to 2m per project 3. Local & Community Enterprise Development Projects - 50,000 up to 250,000 per project 4. Industry Clusters - 50,000 up to 250,000 per project Jerry Moloney, Regional Director Mid-West & Regional Development Initiatives at Enterprise Ireland said, A key role of Enterprise Ireland is supporting enterprise development. This fund will provide an important infrastructural mechanism to drive growth in developing enterprise across all regions. The fund will also support the development of industry clusters which will facilitate knowledge transfer, innovation and collaboration among organisations. These are important drivers of enterprise growth and job creation, and we look forward to supporting more regionally-based projects through this initiative. The Regional Action Plans for Jobs seek to build on the strengths and opportunities in each region and to build a regional ecosystem including a diversity of companies and sectors, sectoral clusters, a spirit of innovation and collaboration, a good physical and digital infrastructure and appropriate research and technology capability. Details of the competitive process are available on Enterprise Irelands website www.enterprise-ireland.com/REDF. The closing date for the first call for Streams 1,2,3 and 4 is 3pm Friday 18th August 2017. Tipperary County Council has moved to allay fears over the capacity of Nenagh's waste water treatment plant to deal with any new developments in the town. The move comes as Cllr Seamus Morris raised the issue at Nenagh Municipal District Council following an email from Irish Water which stated it only had the capacity for 11,000 homes. This is a surprise. We gave planning for 1,000 houses. We were told it was 25,000. We were told to zone away and build as many houses as possible, he said. However, district manager Marcus O'Connor said while the plant was at capacity, Irish Water was looking at when expansion might be needed. Now is a prudent time to look at it, he said. But Cllr Morris contended that if the economy were to turn around, the council would not have the capacity to give planning permission for houses. He pointed out that residents of the Ecovillage in Cloughjordan had been turned down for planning because its system was over capacity. We zoned on the basis that the plant had massive capacity. I'm shocked, said Cllr Morris. However, he said he didn't want to be negative and stop anything from going ahead. Cllr Ger Darcy emphasised that environment director Gerry Robinson had told the councillors Irish Water was looking at 10 or 15 years down the road and the present system was capable of meeting its current requirements. Irish Water are looking at what we need and I welcome that. We won't be left behind if a company wants to set up here. We are thinking ahead, said Cllr Darcy. Cllr Hughie McGrath asked the council to clarify that it had capacity to take what was zoned in the last couple of years. Cllr Morris pointed out that the average loading in 2015 was 14,000 while capacity was 11,000. That's not being prudent going forward. Of,course I am happy to have anything done, but these were not the figures given to the former town council, he said. And while he was happy to be wrong, he said he had not been wrong to bring the matter up. He was supported by Cllr John Carroll, who said that while Nenagh welcomed industry, that would not be to the detriment of water quality. From the 23rd June to 2nd July, breweries across Ireland will be opening their doors and inviting their local communities to join them for Indie Beer Week, a celebration of independent Irish beer making. Local brewers White Gypsy Brewing Company, Templemore are asking their local community to come and join them for events at their brewery. Be it in Waterford, Dublin, Galway, Longford, Kildare, Louth, or Tipperary nearly every county and community in Ireland now has an independent brewery in its midst. Indie Beer Week is an opportunity for people to discover the great beer being made all around them, and we are delighted to be able to join in and bring the celebrations to Tipperary. This is the beauty of the independent craft beer movement, says Kevin OHara, the current Chairman of the Independent Craft Brewers of Ireland. Its brought beer making back into local communities. As a group, we wanted to create an event celebrating the links between the breweries and their communities. This is what Indie Beer Week is all about the simple pleasure of enjoying a well-made local beer with your friends and neighbours. The calendar of events planned for the week is as diverse as the breweries participating. There will be brewery open days and tours, beer tastings and talks, fundraisers for charity, and plenty of fun and games. Something we really want to shine a light on with Indie Beer Week is that small breweries can act as a cultural and economic catalyst in a region. We want to show our commitment to our local communities and say thanks for the way they have embraced us, says OHara. Indie Beer Week kicks off on June 23rd and runs until July 2nd 2017. The initiative is co-funded by the participating breweries and the Local Enterprise Office. For a full calendar of events and to see what is happening at your local independent brewery, please go to www.indiebeerweek.ie Lt Shah Nawaz initially joined as a sepoy in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers in Sikandrabad but he wanted to work as an army officer. By Ashwini Kumar: Lieutenant Shah Nawaz's father, Mohd Ashraf is a small 'dhaba walla' in Gandoh area of Doda district in Jammu. Mohd Ashraf has nine children including three sons and six daughters. Lt. Shah Nawaz is his eldest son. "Most of our family members are running the dhaba business," said Mohd Ashraf whose family didn't talk to India Today fearing that terrorists may target Lt Shah Nawaz the way they targeted Lt Ummer Fayaz. advertisement Lt Shah Nawaz is a resident of Latizar village of Balessa area of Doda district in Jammu. "You have to walk for three kilometres from Gandoh to reach his native village," said Lt Shah Nawaz's close friend Akhtar Hussain. The village has only one government-run primary school since 1980. "Village children have to travel from Lt Shah Nawaz's village for about 8 kilometres on foot to reach the school from where the terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen operated heavily once," said the lieutenant's father. Lt Shah Nawaz is a product of the same school which is near his house. Initially, Shah Nawaz joined as a sepoy in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers in Sikandrabad where he served for two years but he wanted to work as an army officer. So, he studied further where his seniors noticed his passion for the army. LT SHAH NAWAZ'S FAMILY AND FRIENDS Lt Shah Nawaz's mother is a house wife and all his siblings are studying in school. Mohd Ashraf, Shah Nawaz's father says that his son is an army officer today because of his dedication and hard work. Shah Nawaz's mother, Shaheena Begum says, "he has become a big officer. I am very happy. I want all my other children to become officers." "I also want to become an officer like my brother. My brother worked very hard," said Shah Nawaz's younger brother, Mansoor Ahmed. Akhtar Hussain, his childhood friend and now a school teacher in the same primary school says, "He was my classmate. He had the passion to join the Indian army and he has become an officer. He will serve the country." Also Read: Why Hizbul Mujahideen is rattled after murder of Army officer Ummer Fayaz Kashmir: Army officer, who had gone to attend a wedding in Shopian district, kidnapped and killed Also Watch: Kashmir: Army Lieutenant kidnapped by terrorists, bullet-riddled body found in Shopian --- ENDS --- [June 15, 2017] Catapult Awarded Contract from the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) AUSTIN, Texas, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Catapult, a leading digital solutions and services firm announced today that it has been awarded the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) Deliverables-Based IT Services (DBITS) Contract. DBITS contracts simplify the purchasing process for local and state agencies as well as educational institutions, decreasing the need to create Requests for Proposals (RFPs). DBITS contracts also protect and support agencies by granting access to a select list of pre-approved technology providers at a special rate with shortened lead times to procure services, while providing greater flexibility to meet constituent need. As a leading IT technology firm, Catapult has served hundreds of public sector clients for more than 20 years. Despite higher regulations around both project and vendor eligibility, Catapult passed another rigorous vetting process and won the bid. Catapult has served as a contractor under the DBITS program for nearly 10 years, affirming its status as leading IT services provider within the State of Texas, as well as other states, including the State of Oklahoma and the State of Arkansas. "Catapult's long-standing and established reputation in the public sector will continue to grow with this most recent win of the DBITS contract," said Terri Burmeister, Catapult President. "As a leading technology services provider, Catapult is continuing to look for new ways to drive innovation in the public sector, specifically supporting our customers' journey to cultivate digital transformation and cloud services adoption." The DIR DBITS contract (contract number DIR-TSO-3843) is in effect through May 2, 2021. Catapult secured all five of the project categories for which it applied. The present contract allows Catapult to lead projects in Application Development, Application Maintenance and Support, Business Intelligence/Data Warehouse, Information Technology Assessments/Planning, and Technology Migration/Upgrade. ABOUT CATAPULT Catapult Systems is a modern digital solutions and services firm that specializes in emerging and business-critical technologies for large and mid-size organizations. We imagine, build and sustain IT-enabled business solutions that people love to use. Recognized as the 2016 Microsoft Partner of the Year (U.S.), Catapult specializes in digital transformation and cloud-based technologies. Catapult has offices in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, Tampa and Washington, D.C. Press Contact: Jessica Cowan Marketing Communications Manager Catapult Systems 512-605-3903 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/catapult-awarded-contract-from-the-texas-department-of-information-resources-dir-300475002.html SOURCE Catapult Systems [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 14, 2017] Yerra Solutions Wins Singapore Business Review International Business Award for Compliance Consulting SINGAPORE, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Yerra Solutions announced today that its Documentation Quality Assurance & Control Team has won the Compliance Consulting Award in the Singapore Business Review International Business Awards 2017. The award was presented to Yerra Solutions by Tim Charlton, Editor-in-Chief of the Singapore Business Review, in front of 180 participants at the Singapore Business Awards on 8 June 2017. The International Business Awards recognize the most outstanding international firms operating in Singapore, and Yerra Solutions was honored for the first time this year. Yerra won on an entry for a cross-border project involving carrying out compliance quality assurance on a set of complex financial agreements including ISDAs for a leading international bank. The award-winning service deals specifically with the Yerra team executing a large number of checks and controls to ensure that agreements were negotiated using the correct template, the correct legal language and in a way that is fully compliant with the client's guidelines. Yerra was selected for the Compliance Consulting award because of the innovative approach to this service and rigorous control and review process it helped the client put into place and for the ongoing compliance document review services is team is delivering to successfully implement the process. "We are proud of our team of lawyers and compliance professionals that has delivered work that meets the high standards of the Singapore Business Review," states Rajitha Boer, Founder & CEO of Yerra Solutions. "Not only did they meet the standards for this award but also those of our client and the regulatory body involved. This is another example of Yerra's exceptional service and international credibility paying off for a client." This year's nominations were judged by a panel consisting of Ng Jiak See, Executive Director and Head of Corporate Finance Advisory at Deloitte Singapore & Southeast Asia; Choo Eng Chuan, ASEAN Markets Leader and Partner, International and Corporate Tax services at Ernst & Young Solutions LLP; Toh Kim Teck, Assurance Partner at Foo Kon Tan LLP; and Henry Tan, Managing Director at NEXIA TS. Read more at Singapore Business Review. About Yerra Solutions Yerra serves the operational and technology needs of in-house legal & IP, eDiscovery and compliance organizations. The company's offerings include consulting, managed services and technology solutions that drive operational efficiency and improved outcomes. Yerra is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland with offices in the UK, US, Singapore, Hong Kong and Poland. Learn more at www.yerrasolutions.com. Photo(s): https://www.prlog.org/12646439 Press release distributed by PRLog To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yerra-solutions-wins-singapore-business-review-international-business-award-for-compliance-consulting-300474347.html SOURCE Yerra Solutions [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 14, 2017] Kroll Bond Rating Agency Releases Research Report on the Florida Insurance Market Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) today released a research report entitled, "Reinsurance Pricing and Capacity Are Rays of Sunshine for Florida Insurance Market." The key points made in the report are: Excess capacity and increased pricing competition in reinsurance markets are positively impacting the market for Florida property writers, as we head into what is forecast to be an active hurricane season. Insurers issuing significant business in Florida have faced profitability issues due to escalating non-hurricane losses through assignment of benefits (AOB) claims. KBRA believes investment grade financial strength ratings are possible for insurers concentrated in the state; to that end, strong balance sheets, proactive and effective risk management, and favorable operating fundamentals are essential elements. With the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season officially underway, many Florida property writers were the beneficiaries of lower reinsurance rates, driven by ecess capacity and pricing competition. Reinsurance rates fell for the sixth consecutive year at the June 1, 2017 renewal, and KBRA notes that several Florida-focused companies have recently reported improved reinsurance pricing, terms, or structures. Rising water-loss claims and increased litigation have dampened the financial performance of Florida writers in recent periods. Without significant reform, including possible legislative action on AOB, non-hurricane losses may threaten the financial stability of some insurers and could result in policies returning to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Fortunately, for primary insurers, availability of catastrophe reinsurance is at an all-time high, and pricing is at or near its lowest point in decades. These insurers have also benefited from ongoing issuances of catastrophe bonds and the strengthening of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund as a component of their reinsurance structures. Please click here to access the report. About Kroll Bond Rating Agency KBRA is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). In addition, KBRA is recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) as a Credit Rating Provider (CRP). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170614006191/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Top 6 Vendors in the FinFET Technology Market from 2017 to 2021: Technavio Technavio has announced the top six leading vendors in their recent global FinFET technology market report. This research report also lists four other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170614006239/en/ Technavio has published a new report on the global FinFET technology market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire) The global FinFET technology market is expected to grow at a CAGR of almost 42% during the forecast period. The growing implementation of miniaturization of electronic components primarily enables several devices to be fabricated within a given area. This miniaturization has resulted in the scalability of individual device parameters such as line voltage and power dissipation. The planar fabrication technologies, such as MOSFET, have enabled the optimization of one parameter that resulted in unwanted compromises in other parameters. Competitive vendor landscape The global FinFET technology market is characterized by the presence of diversified international and regional vendors. As the international players are increasing their presence, the regional vendors are finding it difficult to compete with them in the global market in terms of the quality and price. The competitive environment in this market will further intensify with the increase in product/service extensions, innovations in technology, and M&A. "Companies with better financial resources and technical expertise can develop products and make the competitor's products obsolete and non-competitive in the global market. Therefore, to remain competitive in the market, vendors must focus on developing new technologies during the forecast period and stay updated with the emerging technologies, which can impact the products," says Raghu Raj Singh (News - Alert), a lead embedded systems research analyst from Technavio. This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. Top six FinFET technology market vendors Intel (News - Alert) Intel designs and manufactures advanced integrated digital technology platforms. These platforms consist of microprocessor and chipset that may be enhanced by additional hardware, software, and services. The company sells these platforms to OEMs, online data management system, and industrial and communication equipment manufacturers in the computing and communications industries. TSMC TSMC is the largest pure-play semiconductor foundry business, manufacturing 8,941 products using 228 different technologies for 470 customers in 2015. The company does not design, manufacture, or market the semiconductor products under its brand name. Samsung (News - Alert) The company has numerous affiliated businesses, most of them are united under the brand Samsung. In addition, the company separately oversees three independent divisions, which are customer electronics, information technology and mobile communications, and device solutions. GlobalFoundries GlobalFoundries is a leading full-service semiconductor design, development, and fabrication company. It combines the manufacturing expertise, innovative technologies, and industrial insights to position the customers as leaders in the market. SMIC SMIC provides IC and technology services on process nodes that range from 0.35m to 28nm. SMIC has its marketing and customer service offices in the US, Europe, Japan, and Taiwan and a representative office in Hong Kong. Qualcomm (News - Alert) Qualcomm designs and markets wireless telecommunications products and services. In December 2016, Qualcomm begins sampling the 10nm FinFET centriq 2400 processor with 48 cores. Browse Related Reports: Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like displays, sensors, and lighting. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170614006239/en/ [June 14, 2017] Medicxi launches first $300m late-stage life sciences fund Medicxi Growth 1 (MG1), backed by Novartis and Verily Medicxi today announces the close of Medicxi Growth 1 (MG1), a new $300 million fund that will focus on growth stage companies in European life sciences. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170614006084/en/ With this new late stage fund, Medicxi will help fill a clear gap in Europe, where talented life sciences entrepreneurs do not have access to as much local financial support as their US-based counterparts to expand exciting opportunities into more mature companies. Cornerstone strategic investors backing this vision in the MG1 fund, are Novartis, Verily and the European Investment Fund (EIF). The fund also includes most of the institutional LPs that previously backed Medicxi's first fund, as well as several new investors. With Novartis' investment in MG1, Medicxi now has strategic partnerships with three of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. MG1 will be supported by a Scientifc Advisory Board (SAB), which will benefit from the sector expertise of the senior executives of Novartis and Verily. MG1 is a continuation of Medicxi's pioneering 'asset-centric' investment strategy and will be looking to invest in private or public companies with at least one asset in Phase II or beyond that Medicxi believes can become a licenced pharmaceutical product, meeting unmet medical needs. The backers share Medicxi's belief that, whilst the European life sciences sector is recognised for its innovation, it has been held back by the lack of growth capital. Giuseppe Zocco, co-founder of Index Ventures and co-leader of the firm's first growth fund in 2007, will be the Medicxi Partner responsible for a dedicated growth team. This team will be fully integrated with the established Medicxi team. Francesco De Rubertis, co-founder and Partner at Medicxi, said: "The backing by Novartis and Verily is extremely exciting for us. We look forward to inspiring and insightful sessions of the Scientific Advisory Board. We believe these meetings will greatly benefit our portfolio companies." Andrew Conrad, CEO of Verily, said: "We are excited to partner with Medicxi, Novartis and EIF to help European life sciences innovators accelerate patient and physician access to new and promising therapeutics." Pier Luigi Gilibert, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund, said: "The combination of Novartis, Verily and Medicxi will have a positive impact on the future of the life sciences sector in Europe. Since it was spun out of Index Ventures, Medicxi has continued to be a leader in the life sciences investment community, and this new fund offers us the opportunity to support companies with growth potential that for too long have had to look elsewhere." Giuseppe Zocco, co-founder and Partner at Medicxi, said: "This late-stage growth fund will support ambitious European entrepreneurs who are willing and able to build innovative companies through advanced clinical development and market entry, rather than pursuing a premature and generally suboptimal early exit through partnering or M&A." Since 2016, Medicxi has raised in excess of $500 million of new capital to invest across early and late stage companies through MV1 and MG1. -Ends- View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170614006084/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 14, 2017] UnionPay International announces the appointment of Chen Jing as Head of the American market NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- UnionPay International announced today that Chen Jing is appointed to be in charge of UnionPay's business in the Americas. Prior to this appointment, Chen Jing was General Manager of the Products Department of UnionPay International. Miriam Park, the former head of the American market will be transferred to be General Manager of South Korea Branch. CEO of UnionPay International, Cai Jianbo, said in the US that, the personnel adjustment is made based on the company's business development and talent cultivation. We hope that, under the leadership of Chen Jing, UnionPay will reach in-depth cooperation with more mainstream institutions in the US, further expanding UnionPay's acceptance scope, enhancing acceptance quality, maing new breakthroughs in card issuance, and promoting UnionPay innovative payment products and services in the market. In North America, UnionPay cards are accepted at almost all the ATMs in the US. Also, cardholders can pay with UnionPay credit cards at over 80% of the local merchants or pay with UnionPay debit cards at merchants with PIN pads. In Canada, 90% of ATMs and more than 100,000 merchants accept UnionPay cards, while a number of daily spending merchants have supported UnionPay mobile QuickPass, enabling cardholders to pay by taping their mobile phones at the QuickPass terminals. Meanwhile, UnionPay is making progress in Latin America, expanding its acceptance network to scenic spots, department stores, duty-free stores and restaurants favored by tourists. For instance, about 90% of ATMs in Mexico accept UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal, while 90% of merchants in Peru and 70% in Brazil and Ecuador accept UnionPay cards for payment. UnionPay cards were also issued in Surinam and Antigua. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/unionpay-international-announces-the-appointment-of-chen-jing-as-head-of-the-american-market-300474420.html SOURCE UnionPay International [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 15, 2017] Sympa Increases Transparency Within Organisations HELSINKI, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sympa has expanded its already comprehensive HR solution by acquiring Pulse, an employee-engagement application created by Finnish mobile-B2B software specialist, Apped. Pulse will be integrated into Sympa's end-to-end HR-solution. Organisations will be able to measure and enhance wellbeing at work by actively listening to employees through real-time Pulse surveys. Sympa HR's selection of mobile tools is growing. Pulse will be available to Sympa HR users during 2017. The new application, Pulse, makes it easy to take the pulse of an organisation with fast and agile employee surveys that anonymously capture and share co-workers' feelings on different topics. Pulse is a real-time measurement tool that allows easy capturing of co-workers' feelings, picking up topics and following weak signals within the organisation. Pulse will make Sympa HR even more effective for organisations that have chosen a low-hierarchy structure, and that aspire to transparency and dynamic decision making. With Pulse, anyone can start a topic or share ideas, and the results are available for the entire organization to follow-up, in real-time. "Research increasingly suggests that organisations often fail due to an inflexible, hierarchical management structure, that drives skilled employees to leave," says Keijo Karjalainen, Sympa's CEO and Co-Founder. "In contrast empowered companies with engaged employees are the businesses that will create tomorrow's success stories. We want to help our users empowering their teams and removing slow decision making structures." Pulse surveys ensure Sympa HR users are even better equipped to meet whatever human resource challenges come their way. "Modern HR puts employees first," Karjalainen continues, "and this is reflected in SympaHR's cutting edgeSaaS-basd service that offers speed, accessibility, mobile and an employee-oriented approach." Apped CEO Peter Lindberg tells the story behind the Pulse deal: "To Apped, Pulse was first and foremost a way to show how our cloud platform enables a new way of building b2b applications. It quickly became apparent to us that the Pulse application addressed a huge demand for change within organisations. And still the popularity of the application and the hundreds of pilot clients even left us a bit surprised. We wanted to find a home for Pulse where our vision of modern organisations is shared and where the solution is given the best possible chance to be part of improving working life for people in thousands of companies and organisations. Integrated into SympaHR Pulse gives customers a foundation, that gives them the means to put employee wellbeing at heart of their business." The Pulse mobile application integrates with corporate IT systems, and optimises the data gathered for ease of use. At present, Pulse users have to sign in with their Microsoft Office 365 account, but in the near future Sympa will include Puse within the Sympa HR solution's suite of tools. Employees can start using the application simply by downloading the application in their smartphones. More information and contacts: Kati Tammisto Marketing Director,Sympa Tel: +358-40-775-7162 Email: [email protected] Sympa: Sympa has become the fastest growing HR solutions provider in the Nordics through a simple formula: great software and overwhelmingly happy customers. We offer a fully integratable, global, cloud-based HR system that supports the entire employee life cycle, combining recruitment, HRM and HRD processes. Sympa has become a fixture on Deloitte's list of fastest growing technology companies in Finland and serves currently over 400 companies with users in more than 50 countries. The company was established in 2005 by Keijo Karjalainen and his sister, Taina. The majority of the company remains family owned, employing over 65 people in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and at its Finnish headquarters. Sympa also works through several international business partners. sympa.com www.sympa.com Apped: Founded in Helsinki in 2015, Apped provides cloud technology for fast and secure B-to-B service development. The revolutionary system manages authentication, access and integrations automatically via each user's identity. Organizations can use their internal data in a simple and secure way, making the creation of new services phenomenally easy and still safe. Pulse was the app to benefit from Apped's cloud technology, as it doesn't require registration and it integrates with organizational data automatically. www.apped.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/sympa-oy/r/sympa-increases-transparency-within-organisations,c2288829 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 15, 2017] Number of Employers Using Social Media to Screen Candidates at All-Time High, Finds Latest CareerBuilder Study CHICAGO and ATLANTA, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Before posting pictures of your late-night revelry or complaints about your job on social media, think again 70 percent of employers use social media to screen candidates before hiring, up significantly from 60 percent last year and 11 percent in 2006. The national survey was conducted online on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll between February 16 and March 9, 2017. It included a representative sample of more than 2,300 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes in the private sector. "Most workers have some sort of online presence today and more than half of employers won't hire those without one," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. "This shows the importance of cultivating a positive online persona. Job seekers should make their professional profiles visible online and ensure any information that could negatively impact their job search is made private or removed." What Are Employers Looking for? Social recruiting is becoming a key part of HR departments 3 in 10 employers (30 percent) have someone dedicated to the task. When researching candidates for a job, employers who use social networking sites are looking for information that supports their qualifications for the job (61 percent), if the candidate has a professional online persona (50 percent), what other people are posting about the candidates (37 percent) and for a reason not to hire a candidate (24 percent). Employers aren't just looking at social media 69 percent are using online search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing to research candidates as well, compared to 59 percent last year. Ponder Before You Post Learn from those before you more than half of employers (54 percent) have found content on social media that caused them not to hire a candidate for an open role. Of those who decided not to hire a candidate based on their social media profiles, the reasons included: Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos or information: 39 percent Candidate posted information about them drinking or using drugs: 38 percent Candidate had discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion: 32 percent Candidate bad-mouthed their previous company or fellow employee: 30 percent Candidate lied about qualifications: 27 percent Candidate had poor communication skills: 27 percent Candidate was linked to criminal behavior: 26 percent Candidate shared confidential information from previous employers: 23 percent Candidate's screen name was unprofessional: 22 percent Candidate lied about an absence: 17 percent Candidate posted too frequently: 17 percent Your online persona doesn't just have the potential to get you in trouble. Cultivating your presence online can also lead to reward. More than 4 in 10 employers (44 percent) have found content on a social networking site that caused them to hire the candidate. Among the primary reasons employers hired a candidate based on their social media profiles were candidate's background information supported their professional qualifications (38 percent), great communication skills (37 percent), a professional image (36 percent), and creativity (35 percent). Don't Delete, Instead Police Debating removing your social media profiles while job searching? Think twice before you hit delete. Fifty-seven percent of employers are less likely to call someone in for an interview if they can't find a job candidate online. Of that group, 36 percent like to gather more information before calling in a candidate for an interview, and 25 percent expect candidates to have an online presence. Got the Job? Stay Vigilant Just because you got the job doesn't mean you can disregard what you post online. More than half of employers (51 percent) use social media sites to research current employees. Thirty-four percent of employers have found content online that caused them to reprimand or fire an employee. Survey Methodology This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,380 hiring and human resource managers (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between February 16 and March 9, 2017 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 2,380, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2.01 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies. About CareerBuilder CareerBuilder is a global, end-to-end human capital solutions company focused on helping employers find, hire and manage great talent. Combining advertising, software and services, CareerBuilder leads the industry in recruiting solutions, employment screening and human capital management. It also operates top job sites around the world. Owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA), Tribune Media (NYSE:TRCO) and McClatchy (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com. Media Contact Rachel Nauen 773-353-3803 [email protected] http://www.twitter.com/CareerBuilderPR To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/number-of-employers-using-social-media-to-screen-candidates-at-all-time-high-finds-latest-careerbuilder-study-300474228.html SOURCE CareerBuilder [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 15, 2017] bigbasket Wins top Global Honours at the European E-Commerce Summit BANGALORE, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Only Indian company to make it to the top 3 at the summit that celebrated the best of e-commerce across Europe and other emerging markets bigbasket, India's largest online supermarket with a presence in over 25 Indian cities, has added another feather to its cap. It has bagged the 2nd place at the Global E-commerce Award ceremony that was hosted by Ecommerce Europe in Barcelona. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150911/10130176 ) The event celebrated the best of the e-commerce industry from across Europe and other emerging markets. Swedish brands Chiquelle and Ikea bagged the gold and bronze awards respectively. Chabla emerged as the winner in the entrepreneurial category. The nominees were put through the paces as they competed for the Global E-commerce Award titles. The pitch by bigbasket captured 28% of the audience votes and bagged the silver award. Chiquelle garnered 52% and Ikea got 20% of the audience votes. For judging the Global E-commerce Awards, jurors used findings from BCG's Omni-channel Shop Experience Audits as a point of departure for deliberation. In fact, bigbasket was the only Indian company to feature in the top 3. Speaking about the award, Mr Vipul Parekh, Co-Founder, Chief Finance Officer & Chief Marketing Officer, bigbasket said, "It is truly an honor and an achievement for the company to be recognized for its work on a global level. We are proud to reresent India in the international market and this award is an impetus to the work that bigbasket has been doing and will do in the years to come. We thank our 5 million customers for placing their trust in our service. This is definitely a key milestone for us and we hope it will serve as a catalyst for many more opportunities and success for the company." For the debut of the Global E-commerce Award, Simon Saneback, Founding Partner of Wellstreet and jury chair said, "We wanted to celebrate unique e-commerce experiences seen globally that push the boundaries of how brands and retailers engage consumers. That's why you see the cross section of geographies, verticals and sizes represented by the 3 finalists for this year's awards." With a few hundred daily orders, bigbasket had a modest beginning. In five years, with the support of its customers, it has surpassed the 50,000 daily orders mark to become India's largest online supermarket. The Bangalore-based company recently crossed the 5 million customers mark. bigbasket has also recently strengthened its B2B business by expanding to the HoReCa (Hotels, Restaurants, and Caterers) segment and partnering with SnapBizz, a retail-technology firm, in an effort to transform India's kirana stores into technology-enabled modern retail stores. Five years into the business, bigbasket's average monthly customer spend has grown from Rs 500 - 800 in December 2011 to Rs. 2000+. In the past year alone the company has seen over a 300% growth and continues to grow by 10% on a month-on-month basis. About Global E-Commerce Summit: The European E-commerce Awards ceremony took place during The Global E-commerce Summit at the Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I in Barcelona, Spain on Tuesday, 13 June 2017. The Global E-commerce Summit is the annual global event where established brands and retailers, entrepreneurs, ecommerce experts from emerging markets and award-winning e-commerce players of the world gather! The summit in 2017 was the 9th edition. About bigbasket: bigbasket was founded in December 2011 in Bangalore by a team of five - V S Sudhakar, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, V S Ramesh and Abhinay Choudhari. The team has both offline and online retail experience, as they had earlier set up India's first e-commerce site FabMart.com in 1999, and then established the Fabmall-Trinethra chain of more than 200 grocery supermarket stores in southern India. Servicing over 4mn registered customers; bigbasket has grown into India's largest online supermarket with over 20,000 products from over 1000 brands and presence in 25 cities across the country including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai& Delhi-NCR. bigbasket's online store offers a variety of products across various categories: Fresh Fruits & Vegetables, Grocery & Staples, Beverages, Bread, Dairy & Egg products, Branded Foods, Meat, Personal Care and Household products. bigbasket is committed to making life simpler and grocery shopping a breeze! Media Contact : Paromita Sarkar Talking Point Communications [email protected] +91-11-4103-8430 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 15, 2017] Social Networking Site for the Agricultural Community Enhances Member Experience with Major Site Upgrade BLENHEIM, S.C., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The social networking site AgFuse is now offering a greatly improved user experience and increased connectivity among members, thanks to a new design and functionalities released today. A range of new features, which includes group subscriptions and news feeds showing suggested and trending topics, allow users to access information in an easier manner. In addition to the platform's public and private groups, AgFuse now offers invitation-only "Ghost" groups, which are ideal for companies or organizations seeking a central networking spot that isn't public. These upgrades complement the AgFuse iOS app. The AgFuse Android app will be released later this summer. AgFuse empowers farmers and the agricultural community to connect with everyone from farm organizations and experts to suppliers and the media. The farming community is using AgFuse to find information, experts' insights, and useful products as well as to network, share and interact. In just a few short years, AgFuse has quickly expanded and now has members from 63 countries. Founder Pat Rogers explained the reason for the surgig popularity of the website, "Increasing numbers of agricultural professionals now have access to high-speed internet and mobile devices. This is true not only in this country, but also internationally. The truth is agricultural production is built around access to evolving information, and we're providing the data platform to spread and grow this information." Through AgFuse, the farming community can maximize the value of existing tools, and this translates into tangible, real-world successes. Daniel Hunter, a salesman with Carolina Irrigation Solutions, is using AgFuse as a platform to communicate with leads and customers. Hunter explained, "We have utilized AgFuse to make irrigators aware of the potential hazards of streaking in corn, while letting them know we can provide options for them through our company." Josh Branch, a beginning cotton, soybean and corn farmer in Bennettsville, South Carolina, said, "I use AgFuse to stay up to date on timely issues that affect my operation. Since the site is customized based on my crops and location, all of the posts and articles are relevant to me. It's great to have all of that information and a network of farmers at my fingertips." About AgFuse AgFuse was created to provide farmers and the farming community with an easy and intuitive social media platform. Through AgFuse, agricultural professionals can promote their products, interact with one another, share ideas and tips, publish research, and more. Learn more by visiting http://agfuse.com or https://twitter.com/agfusenetwork. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/social-networking-site-for-the-agricultural-community-enhances-member-experience-with-major-site-upgrade-300474301.html SOURCE AgFuse [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) is likely to declare the result of class 12 Board exam (Arts stream) today, on June 15. The Intermediate Arts exam was conducted from February 18 to March 7. By India Today Web Desk: The Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) is likely to declare the result of class 12 Board exam (Arts stream) today, on June 15. All those students who had appeared for the same are required to keep a strict watch at the official website jac.nic.in The results will also be available at jharresults.nic.in The Intermediate Arts exam was conducted from February 18 to March 7. Pass percentage advertisement JAC released the class 12 (Commerce and Science stream) exam results on May 30. The pass percentage for Inter Science is 52.35 per cent this year and the pass percentage of class 12 Commerce students this year is 60.09 per cent. (Read: Declared! AIIMS MBBS Exam 2017 result released today at aiimsexams.org) Previous year's statistics Number of candidates: Nearly 8 lakh candidates appeared for both class 10 and class 12 examination Out of the total candidates, over 4,66,746 candidates appeared in the class 10 examinations. About Jharkhand Academic Council: The Act to establish the Jharkhand Academic Council was assented by the Governor of the State on December 26, 2003, and was known as Jharkhand Academic Council Act. The Jharkhand Academic Council was established for holding and conducting examinations at the end of Intermediate, Education, Secondary Education, Sanskrit Education and Madrasa Education and for prescribing courses of studies for such examinations. For any query regarding the results, candidates can visit the official website. Read: UPSC CDS Exam (II) 2016 result declared at upsc.gov.in: Know how to check Read: Karnataka CET 2017: KEA revises option entry schedule, check important dates here --- ENDS --- [June 15, 2017] Upskill With Decision Science and Take off MUMBAI, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Indias 1st of a kind program from TimesPro to supercharge one's career Every great challenge comes with a greater opportunity. In the face of recent churn at some of India's IT majors, a lot of senior professionals are apprehensive of their future career prospects. At this career crossroads, they can chart a turnaround by using the current situation as a springboard to update their skills, learn something new and achieve even greater heights of success. Some have already chosen this opportunity to enroll for various career growth programs that will enrich their work and add value to their organization. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/523290/TimesPro_Data_Decision.jpg ) In view of the current scenario and the immense opportunity it can offer to experienced IT professionals, TimesPro has entered into a technical partnership with a global technology leader NVIDIA, the AI computing company and pioneers of the GPU or Graphics Processing Unit. Together they have ushered in various programs in data science and business analytics domain to empower experienced professionals. Three options to master Decision Science - Big Data and Business Analytics Keeping this huge demand for Decision Science Professionals, TimesPro with its technology partner - NVIDIA, recently launched three programs (to nurture big data scientists of the future) for working professionals in various stages of their career. Working professionals, who want to upgrade their skill sets and add value to their organization, shall find these programs immensely beneficial. These programs have been specially conceived for degree-holders - Bachelors or Masters in Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, etc. One can choose from: - Post Graduate Diploma in Data Science (PGDDS) - Post Graduate Diploma in Advance Data Sciences (PGDADS), and - Certificate Program in Advance Decision Science Post Graduate Diploma in Data Science (PGDDS) The PGDDS equips participants with skills and knowledge to influence decision making, strategy and operations ith fact-based insights and address real-world business problems in real time and an in-depth understanding of business performance analysis from an industry view. It focuses on the understanding of latest analytical concepts like Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics to solve business problems. Post Graduate Diploma in Advance Data Sciences (PGDADS) Advance Analytics is the intersection of business and data science. During the program, participants would learn the strength of data science concepts and tools on updated technology platforms. Besides offering a competitive advantage, PGDADS helps businesses unlock the predictive potential of data analytics. It is highly recommended for students interested in gaining knowledge in quantitative and technical methods as well as further developing their strategic and business management skills. Certificate program in Advance Decision Science This is India's first-of-a-kind advanced Decision Science module aimed at experienced professionals with relevant experience. The program focuses on imparting practical industry skills in Machine Learning, IoT, AI and Deep Learning to participants, quickly in a short span of time. The Advanced Decision Science program unlocks the predictive potential of data analytics to improve financial performance, strategic management and operational efficiency related decisions. World-Class Faculty and Focused Offline Training These programs are 100% classroom-based, with face-to-face interaction in an instructor-led classroom environment and conducted at technical centres in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata. The specially curated curriculum is delivered by the finest technical and academic minds, who have rich experience in AI/Deep Learning, Data Analytics and Machine Learning expertise. Students are hand-held by the finest technical minds in the industry and are exposed to business case studies at every step of the way. A hands-on approach and real-world problem-solving techniques fully equip them and give them competitive edge in industries like IT, Retail, Healthcare, BFSI, HR and Telecom amongst others. For more details about the program visit: http://www.timespro.com/decision-science or call 1800-102-2323 About TimesPro TimesPro (Times Centre for Learning Ltd.) is a subsidiary of The Times of India group offering a variety of courses in banking, finance and business analytics that allows a student to kick start his or her professional career. Our vision is to ensure that we provide the Indian youth with tailor-made and industry vetted educational courses that bridge the gap between the current formal education system and what the Industry requirements are, thereby making our Indiour Indian youth employable. TimesPro has 19 state of the art training centres across multiple locations in India providing skill based training to young graduates so as to make them day1 hour1 job ready. TimesPro has been awarded the coveted Brandon Hall Group Bronze Award for excellence in the Best Use of Games and Simulations in Vocational Training and Best Upcoming Education Institute by ASSOCHAM. About NVIDIA: Known as the 'AI Computing Company', NVIDIA sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefined modern computer graphics and revolutionized parallel computing with the invention of the GPU in 1999. With $6.90 billion in revenue and a market capitalization of about $84 billion, NVIDIA is a global leader in deep learning and AI. The NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI) offers hands-on training for developers, data scientists and researchers looking to solve the world's most challenging problems with deep learning. Through self-paced online labs and instructor-led workshops, DLI provides training on the latest techniques for designing, training and deploying neural networks across a variety of application domains. Media Contact: Sheetal Tambe Manager-PR Times Centre for Learning Ltd. [email protected] +91-7045186001 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 15, 2017] AIG, IBM, Standard Chartered Deliver First Multinational Insurance Policy Powered by Blockchain American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Standard Chartered Bank plc announced they have successfully piloted the first multinational, "smart contract" based insurance policy using blockchain, a distributed ledger technology. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005586/en/ The blockchain solution creates a new level of trust and transparency in the underwriting process, enabling AIG and Standard Chartered to execute multinational coverage more efficiently. Coordinating management and placement of multiple insurance policies across multiple countries is highly complex. The pilot solution was built by IBM and is based on Hyperledger Fabric - a blockchain framework and one of the Hyperledger projects hosted by The Linux Foundation (News - Alert). Working together, AIG, Standard Chartered and IBM converted a multinational, controlled master policy written in the UK, and three local policies in the US, Singapore and Kenya, into a "smart contract" that provides a shared view of policy data and documentation in real-time. This also allows visibility into coverage and premium payment at the local and master level as well as automated notifications to network participants following payment events. The pilot also demonstrates the ability to include third parties in the network, such as brokers, auditors and other stakeholders, giving them a customized view of policy and payment data and documentation. Rob Schimek, CEO of Commercial, AIG said: "Our pilot proves blockchain has a powerful role to play in the future of insurance. Any technology, including blockchain, that can increase trust and transparency for an industry whose pillars are built on that, should be fully explored. We're excited to be delivering innovation that matters to our clients - and co-developing key components of this new technology together." The three parties chose to execute this initiative in one of the most complicated areas of Commercial Insurance - multinational risk transfer - to better understand blockchain's potential to reduce friction and increase trust in other areas of the insurance value chain. How it works: Blockchain, an immutable, security rich and transparent shared digital ledger provides a single view of truth across all participants while simultaneously providing selective visibility to participants based on their credentials. It provides the ability to record and track events and associated payments in each country related to the insurance policy. No one party can modify, delete or even append any record without the consensus from others on the network. This level of transparency helps reduce fraud and errors, as well as the need for the parties to contact each other to view policy and payment data and the status of policies. Emily Jenner, Head of Insurable Operational Risk at Standard Chartered, said: "As a global bank we have to ensure consistent, trustworthy and secure financial transactions, be that as part of our business or as customers ourselves. By creating a process by which we can arrange multiational insurance contracts through blockchain we not only have transaction security but contract certainty across multiple business locations." Marie Wieck, General Manager, IBM Blockchain said: "There is tremendous opportunity to apply advancements in blockchain technology to transform the insurance industry. By creatively leveraging smart contracts to help address tough regulatory requirements across different markets, we are seeing the enormous impact blockchain can have to improve efficiency and open up new business models." The multinational "master policy" is written out of London and for the pilot, three local policies were chosen that cover the US, Kenya and Singapore. These three jurisdictions were chosen because the US is a large and complex market, Singapore is a growth market for Standard Chartered, and Kenya has a specific regulatory requirement, known as "cash before cover" which means that cover must be paid for before it is valid. "We chose these three territories because of their importance to Standard Chartered and also because of their regulatory complexity, so that we could fully test how blockchain technology might make these contracts work more efficiently," said Standard Chartered's Jenner. Notes to Editors AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance organization. Founded in 1919, today AIG member companies provide a wide range of property casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement products, and other financial services to customers in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. These diverse offerings include products and services that help businesses and individuals protect their assets, manage risks and provide for retirement security. AIG's core businesses include Commercial Insurance and Consumer Insurance, as well as Other Operations. Commercial Insurance comprises two modules - Liability and Financial Lines, and Property and Special Risks. Consumer Insurance comprises four modules - Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Life Insurance and Personal Insurance. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Additional information about AIG can be found at www.aig.com and www.aig.com/strategyupdate | YouTube (News - Alert): www.youtube.com/aig | Twitter (News - Alert): @AIGinsurance www.twitter.com/AIGinsurance | LinkedIn (News - Alert): www.linkedin.com/company/aig. These references with additional information about AIG have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release. AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. For additional information, please visit our website at www.aig.com. All products and services are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. Products or services may not be available in all countries, and coverage is subject to actual policy language. Non-insurance products and services may be provided by independent third parties. Certain property-casualty coverages may be provided by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds, and insureds are therefore not protected by such funds. IBM IBM is the leader in open-source blockchain solutions built for the enterprise. As an early member of Hyperledger, an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies, IBM is dedicated to supporting the development of openly-governed blockchains. IBM has worked with more than 400 clients across financial services, supply chains, IoT, risk management, digital rights management and healthcare to implement blockchain applications. For more information about IBM Blockchain, visit www.ibm.com/blockchain. Standard Chartered We are a leading international banking group, with more than 80,000 employees and a 150-year history in some of the world's most dynamic markets. We bank the people and companies driving investment, trade and the creation of wealth across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India. For more information please visit www.sc.com. Explore our insights and comment on our blog, BeyondBorders. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook (News - Alert). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615005586/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 15, 2017] DialogTech and Yext Make It Easy for Marketers to Measure the Impact of Phone Calls from Online Listings CHICAGO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DialogTech, the leading provider of actionable marketing analytics for phone calls, today announced a new partnership and integration with Yext, the global digital knowledge management provider. The integration, which is now available via the DialogTech call tracking app listed in the new Yext App Directory, makes it easy for marketers to measure the quantity and business impact of phone calls to any location generated from their Yext-managed listings, including those on Google, Facebook, Yelp and more. As smartphones have become the dominant device for researching local purchases, the number of phone calls to local businesses has skyrocketed. According to Google, consumers searching for local businesses on smartphones are 46 percent more likely to contact the business by calling. Those callers are also 51 percent more likely to make a purchase, making them valuable conversions for marketers to track and optimize. "DialogTech is proud to be the first and only call tracking provider selected in the Yext App Directory," said Jonathon Schuster, Vice President of Product Management at DialogTech. "Phone calls are citical touch points in the local customer journey for many industries, including franchises, automotive, retail, insurance and financial services, healthcare and home services. Yet most marketers struggle to understand how many calls they generate to each location, what happens on those calls and their impact on sales. DialogTech provides marketers with those insights and more." "Leads generated through phone calls from online listings are a fundamental data point for businesses to understand in order to drive business, but can be challenging to quantify," said Marc Ferrentino, Chief Strategy Officer of Yext. "The DialogTech integration in the Yext App Directory gives marketers an easy way to measure and hone this important source of revenue." The integration enables Yext users to insert trackable phone numbers from DialogTech into their online listings. The process is quick and easy. When consumers call those numbers, DialogTech enables marketers to see which listing drove the call, if the call was answered, how long it lasted and if the caller converted to an appointment or customer. DialogTech also records and transcribes the contents of each call and provides marketers with tools to analyze the caller's experience and the performance of the employee on the call. These insights enable marketers to help their locations make improvements to convert more callers to customers. The DialogTech call tracking app is available in the Yext App Directory, which provides deep connections to over 20 apps. The Yext App Directory connects digital knowledge with software systems across businesses, centralizing mission-critical business data. To learn more about the integration, visit the DialogTech website at dialogtech.com/solutions/integrations/yext. About DialogTech DialogTech provides actionable marketing analytics for businesses that value inbound phone calls. Consistently recognized as the leader and pioneer in call analytics and optimization, DialogTech is the trusted voice management platform for Fortune 500 brands, agencies and fast-growing companies. From call attribution to conversation analytics to caller experience optimization, only DialogTech has everything marketers need to drive the conversations that drive revenue. For more information, visit dialogtech.com. Media Contact Blair Symes DialogTech [email protected] 312-999-0119 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dialogtech-and-yext-make-it-easy-for-marketers-to-measure-the-impact-of-phone-calls-from-online-listings-300474726.html SOURCE DialogTech [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 15, 2017] Concierge Celebrates 1st Anniversary with Brigadier Security VALLEY CENTER, Calif., June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This month Concierge Technologies is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the acquisition of its Canadian subsidiary, Brigadier Security Systems. Brigadier became a wholly owned subsidiary of Concierge in June 2016 and is led by Chief Executive Officer, Rob Ast, head of sales and marketing Helen Perry-Raycraft and Chief Financial Officer, Nicole Robinson. Brigadier Security Systems operates from their offices in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan as well as from their offices in Regina under the trade name Elite Security. Combining the sales from both offices creates one of the largest security alarm providers in the province, and a significant player on a national scale. The Company's offices earned the number 1 and number 2 spots for the President's Award given by SecurTek for best in sales and customer service in Canada. Founded in 1985 as primarily an alarm monitoring company, Brigadier has grown to be so much more. By offering bundled services through their relationship with Saskatchewan telecom leader SaskTel, Brigadier provides customers with security systems, alarm monitoring, access control and video surveillance. They also specialize in creating new "Smart Home" systems for residential and commercial customers, including remote access, video streaming and other interconnected services all part of the Internet-of-Things as they become available. Since joining Concierge, Rob Ast says "Brigadier has been able to expand while the management has not been saddled with too much interference from the parent company. The most noticeable thing we have seen is on the accounting and finance side. It has been a callenge, and a benefit, to become part of a public reporting company. It forces us to be better at budgets and accounting for our expenses which, in turn, made us better managers and we're more profitable as a result. On the finance side, thanks to the Concierge balance sheet, we were able to borrow some money to buy thirteen new vehicles," offered Ast. "This allowed us to stop leasing vehicles and actually saved some money on interest we were paying. Our mobile appearance on the street is now fresh and professional. This is something I've always wanted to do and Concierge helped make it happen. They don't so much run the company, instead they are there as support. We actually enjoy the business and plan to see it continue to grow." "When we first started Concierge, we wanted to build a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that share our own positive business building experiences in a unique and supportive way," said Nicholas Gerber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Concierge. "We are proud to have joined forces with Brigadier, a company whose culture and passion for innovation and providing an excellent customer experience is similar to our own. I'd like to congratulate the team and all the employees of Brigadier and Elite on a job well done over the past year. We are on budget and profitable for 2017. As an owner, Concierge could ask for nothing more." Concierge owns and manages a diverse family of established businesses. Each of its current subsidiaries is a leader in its niche market. Each the Concierge subsidiaries are wholly-owned in order to maximize the ability to impact long-term cash flow generation and value. From time to time Concierge provides capital for its subsidiaries or corporate guarantees securing debt, contributing to their financial and operating flexibility. Concierge utilizes the cash flows generated by its subsidiaries to invest in the long-term growth and to increase value for its shareholders. About Concierge Technologies Founded in 1996, Concierge Technologies, Inc. today is a global conglomerate with operating businesses in financial services, food manufacturing, and security systems. Concierge's common stock is listed as "CNCG" on the OTC QB Exchange. This release may contain "forward-looking statements" that include information relating to future events and future financial and operating performance. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting Concierge Technologies or its subsidiary companies, please refer to the Company's recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which are available at the Company's website or at www.sec.gov. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/concierge-celebrates-1st-anniversary-with-brigadier-security-300474735.html SOURCE Concierge Technologies, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 15, 2017] Janrain Recognized as a Leader in CIAM by Leading Independent Analyst Firm CIAM Pioneer One of Two Providers that "Lead the Pack" with Highest Score Possible In Privacy Controls, Analytics and CIAM Vision, Among Others PORTLAND, Ore., June 15, 2017 /CNW/ -- Janrain, the company that pioneered the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, today announced it has been named a leader in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)--evaluated in both current offering and strategy--by independent research firm Forrester in The Forrester Wave: Customer Identity and Access Management Q2 2017. Janrain manages more than 1.5 billion consumer identities for 2,100+ global brands across a wide range of global industries, including banking, insurance, manufacturing, retail, healthcare/life sciences, media/communications, travel/transportation, and utilities/energy. The report recognizes Janrain as an early entrant in the CIAM market, having been founded in 2002. Janrain has a CIAM vision that is "more differentiated than other solutions" in this report while supporting "a broad range of security certifications including SOC2 and Privacy Shield." Janrain, the only CIAM provider to obtain the CSA Security, Trust & Assurance Registry (STAR) Level 2 certification, has also obtained independent certification of its privacy practices from TRUSTe, having met all the criteria for a clean SOC2 Type II audit for Security, Confidentiality and Availability Trust Principles. Other certifications include ISO/IEC 27001:2013, the HIPAA/HITECH Security Rule, and soon PCI. "We believe the Forrester Wave report on CIAM clearly validates Janrain's industry leadership, especially in the areas of security, privacy and scalability as we continue to break new ground with an ongoing series of industry firsts," said Jim Kaskade, CEO of Janrain. "Not only is Janrain he first CIAM provider to be GDPR ready, the first to provide Consent Lifecycle Management for GDPR, and the first to integrate a fraud score into a CIAM solution, but we're the only CIAM provider to support its clients in 65 countries with 200+ cloud data centers, while offering 99.999% availability for its clients' mission critical applications." With respect to strategy and market presence, Janrain earned scores of 4 or 5 (out of 5) for the following criteria: CIAM vision Partner ecosystem CIAM installed base Verticals and geographies In terms of current offering, Janrain earned scores of 4 or 5 for the following criteria: Social registration and login Privacy controls Analytics Integration and APIs Scalability and availability Administration Security certifications and standards support "Getting such marks from Forrester and other important research firms shows you can't select a CIAM vendor without considering Janrain. Couple this with our ongoing list of industry-first innovations and proven impact we have on our client businesses, this should render the vendor selection decision a much easier one," Kaskade added. "Our clients report a 60% reduced threat exposure, 10X improvement in customer experience, 3X boost in registrations and login activity, and 50% reduced time to market for application developers. This is what drives Janrain's success. If you need a CIAM vendor that satisfies complex, global, and mission critical requirements, we're your only choice." For more information about this report, please visit: Forrester Wave: CIAM Q2 2017 Report Janrain's Blog About Janrain Founded in 2002, Janrain pioneered Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) and is widely recognized by industry analysts as a global CIAM leader. The Janrain Identity Cloud provides identity management, security and activation solutions that enable seamless and safe customer experiences across their digitally connected world, while providing enterprise organizations with deep customer insights. Janrain's identity capabilities include social and traditional login and registration, single sign-on, customer profile data storage and management, customer segments, customer insights and engagement solutions. The company powers brands like Pfizer, Samsung, Whole Foods, Fox News, Philips, McDonald's and Dr Pepper. Janrain is based in Portland, Oregon, with offices in London, Paris and Silicon Valley. For more information, please visit www.janrain.com and follow @janrain. Media Contact: Chris Blake MSR Communications Phone: 1-415-989-9000 E-mail: [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/janrain-recognized-as-a-leader-in-ciam-by-leading-independent-analyst-firm-300474812.html SOURCE Janrain [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 15, 2017] Sepio Systems Named Winner for Prestigious Red Herring Top 100 North America Award Sepio Systems, a pioneer in securing organizations against attacks via rogue hardware devices, has been chosen as a winner of Red Herring's Top 100 North America award; one of the technology industry's most prestigious recognitions. The Top 100 awards were handed out at a special ceremony in Marina Del Rey, California, where executives presented their companies to a judging panel comprising industry insiders, analysts and journalists. The winning companies, selected from thousands of prospective startups and technology firms, represent the cutting edge of North America's world-class tech industry - and demonstrate the region's continued reputation for digital excellence. "This is a great honor for Sepio Systems to be recognized as one of the elite companies leading the next wave of innovation in the technology industry," said Yossi Appleboum, co-CEO of Sepio Systems. "Receiving this award is a tremendous validation and recognition of our mission protecting organizations as the only security solution on the market that identifies and blocks malicious hardware devices before they can cause harm." Red Herring (News - Alert) selected Sepio Systems as a finalist for its rogue-hardware detection system that identifies and exposes nefarious hardware devices installed directly into data networks. These rogue devices reside on the first layer of security and have the ability to access and extract critical data while remaining completely undetected by existing cyber awareness infrastructures. "This is one of the most innovative and exciting groups of companies we've ever hosted at a Top 100 awards show," said Alex Vieux, chairman of Red Herring. "It's always a pleasure to come to California and see the cream of North America's tech crop. 2017 has proven to be another fine year for tech, which is now simply the economy rather than a small part of it." The Top 100 North America has become a springboard for some of tech's biggest names, and a valued and trusted tool for venture capitalists, experts and analysts predicting trends at the industry's cutting edge. "Sepio Systems fully deserves its place among our finalists, and I have every confidence they will make a significant impact in the tech world," added Vieux. About Sepio Systems Sepio Systems is a pioneer in securing organizations against attacks via rogue hardware devices. Strategic cyber weapon technology that has been leaked is currently in the hands of criminal organizations that are using it against civilian commercial targets with no defenses against it. These enterprises never suspect that the seemingly legitimate devices they are using have been compromised, allowing access to key assets-often over long periods of time. Sepio Systems is headquartered in Maryland, with offices in New York and South Carolina, and a Research and Development Center in Tel-Aviv. To learn more about Sepio Systems, visit their website at http://www.sepio.systems. About Red Herring Red Herring is a global media company which unites the world's best high technology innovators, venture investors and business decision makers in a variety of forums: a leading innovation magazine, an online daily technology news service, technology newsletters and major events for technology leaders around the globe. Red Herring provides an insider's access to the global innovation economy, featuring unparalleled insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170615006091/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Amgen stock hits high on earnings, prospects of obesity drug In one of the worst years for the stock market since the 2008 financial crisis, Thousand Oaksbased Amgen is showing no signs of weakness. As of Wednesdays market close, the... Council approves rules to limit self-storage growth Future self-storage facilities in the city of Thousand Oaks will be excluded from prime commercial areas, according to a new ordinance adopted by the City Council this month. In a... Dealership does Distinguished thing SPECIAL TRIPChildren from Boys & Girls clubs in Camarillo, Simi Valley and Moorpark, and Oxnard and Port Hueneme attended Misty Copelands Oct. 18 appearance in the Distinguished Speaker Series at... If you've been wanting to take your parents to Shirdi, things are about to get a lot easier. By India Today Web Desk: The Maharashtrian town of Shirdi receives a lot of religious tourist year after year. Now, this religious tourism is all set to get a bigger boost, because if all goes to plan, Shirdi might just have an operational airport before the month of July 2017 ends. The airport is set to cut down travel time to Shirdi from Mumbai to just 40 minutes. Right now, the same distance--238 km--is covered in about five hours by road. This airport project has partly been funded by the Saibaba Sansthan Trust, reports The Indian Express. advertisement Airport officials have said that various airlines like Alliance Air, Trujet and Indigo have visited the airport site. "We expect four flights a day in the beginning. Aircraft ranging from ATRs to an Airbus 320 could land here," Suresh Kakani, vice-chairman and MD of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), which will own and operate the airport, told The Indian Express. "Based on a study, we expect passenger traffic of 700-800 daily. In addition to Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad will be among the first cities connected," said C S Gupta, general manager of MADC. The airport is being built at a cost of Rs 340 crore, and is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards the end of July 2017. --- ENDS --- In the history of the legislative council of the Karnataka Assembly, there has never a situation where a no-trust vote had to be moved against the Council chairman. By Rohini Swamy: All eyes are on the Karnataka Legislative Council today as an unprecedented no-trust motion is being moved against the Chairman D H Shankaramurthy. A no-confidence motion has been moved by the ruling Congress party. In the history of the Legislative Council of the Karnataka Assembly, which was established in 1907, there has never been a situation where a no-trust vote had to be moved against the Council chairman. Here's what you need to know Once the no-confidence motion notice is moved, the motion needs to be supported by at least five members in the House. If the Congress gets less than 10 votes, they will lose the no-confidence motion. In order to oust the chairman, the Congress needs the support of 38 members. The party has 36 members on its side, including the support of three independents, but is now falling short of two crucial votes. Shankaramurthy's fate now hinges on the support of JD(S). Both BJP and Congress leaders have stated that they are confident of getting the support of the JD(S). advertisement The JDS is in a catch 22 situation as it was through their alliance with the BJP that the JDS was able to secure the council deputy chairman's post for their candidate. It may thus, prove detrimental for the JDS to join hands with the Congress to unseat Shankaramurthy,. At present, the party strength in the 75-member legislative Council is as follows: Congress - 32 BJP - 22 JD(S) - 13 Independents - 5 Chairman - 1 Vacant - 2 The voting on the no-trust motion could not be held on Wednesday as independent MLA DU Mallikarjun was in the US and returned late in the night. Mallikarjun is said to be closely associated with the JD(S). So, the fate of Shankaramurthy hinges on which way the JD(S) vote will go. The reasons for the no-confidence motion are being seen as purely political. The JDS' decision will be crucial as they are hoping to clinch the chairman's post for their candidate Basavaraj Horatti. If the Congress agrees to the demand of the JDS, then they will have the support of the party and the no-confidence motion will go in their favour. The council chairman Shankaramurthy is backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Also Read: It is Congress's Siddaramaiah versus BJP's Yeddyurappa in Karnataka Assembly election Rahul to launch Congress election campaign in poll-bound Karnataka in July Also Watch: WhatsApp crackdown in Karnataka; Baahubali compared with Rajinikanth --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Two days post the release of her much-delayed film Jagga Jasoos, Katrina Kaif will be bringing her birthday away from the hustle bustle of Mumbai. The Bang Bang actor, who is currently busy with the promotions of Jagga Jasoos with ex-lover Ranbir Kapoor, is planning to take a short break after wrapping up her work commitments. advertisement According to a report in DNA, Katrina will be celebrating her big day in New York this year. The Phantom actor, who will be soaking in the nightlife of NYC, will be joined by family and close friends. A source was quoted as telling the daily, "Part of her birthday plans also include enjoying pancakes at the popular Bubby's on Hudson Street, which she often visits whenever in New York. Great food, uplifting music and a night out on the tiles is on the cards." Interestingly, her birthday (July 16) is coinciding with IIFA 2017, which is also taking place in New York this year. Katrina, who will perform at the award show, has decided to extend her stay in the city. On the work front, she is currently shooting for Tiger Zinda Hai with Salman Khan. ALSO READ: Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif's Tiger Zinda Hai goes to Morocco PHOTOS: Did you know Katrina Kaif was offered THESE films? ALSO WATCH: Katrina Kaif talks about her experience being a superstar --- ENDS --- It's been a little over a month since the WannaCry ransomware compromised more than 300,000 computers around the world. That appears to be just enough time for the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to attribute the attack to North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB). The Washington Post reported that the NSA linked the RGB to WannaCry after analyzing the attackers' "tactics, techniques, and targets." The report was sourced to U.S. intelligence officials who have seen the NSA's assessment on the WannaCry attack; we have not been able to independently confirm the claim at this time, though. It would make sense for North Korea to be involved, however, considering its suspected ties to other global hacking efforts. North Korea came into the spotlight back in 2014 when it was accused of hacking Sony Pictures. The country was apparently furious about a movie called "The Interview" in which Seth Rogen and James Franco play journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The hack revealed private information about Sony Pictures, its employees, and several films the studio was developing at the time. In May 2016, Symantec attributed hacks of global banks (opens in new tab) to the Lazarus group, which has ties to North Korea. The group allegedly stole $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank and attempted to steal $1 million from Vietnam's Tien Phong Bank. It might also have stolen $12 million from Ecuador's Banco del Austro, but Symantec said it didn't have details about the tools used in that incident or if it's connected to the others. That brings us to WannaCry. The ransomware struck in May, and it affected tens of thousands of computers shortly after it was unleashed on the world. It would go on to compromise hundreds of thousands more across 150 countries. Like other ransomware, WannaCry encrypted affected devices' hard drives and then offered to decrypt them if victims handed over enough Bitcoin. The attack was so severe that Microsoft released an emergency patch for otherwise unsupported versions of Windows (such as XP, 8, and so on) to prevent WannaCry from spreading further. The Washington Post reported on the motivation behind the WannaCry attack: WannaCry was apparently an attempt to raise revenue for the regime, but analysts said the effort was flawed. Though the hackers raised $140,000 in bitcoin, a form of digital currency, so far they have not cashed it in, the analysts said. That is likely because an operational error has made the transactions easy to track, including by law enforcement. The effects of WannaCry are still being felt. Earlier this week, Microsoft said that its monthly Update Tuesday release included additional patches meant to prevent nation-state attackers from compromising Windows devices. Much like the patches released in May, these updates were released to legacy versions of Windows to make sure organizations that haven't moved to Windows 10 (and there are many) aren't defenseless. The NSA might hesitate to publicly accuse North Korea of sponsoring or conducting the WannaCry attack for a few reasons. First, the attribution of cyberattacks is often tricky and requires a lot of evidence. The second is that many different countries are involved, which means the agency will have to be delicate. And the third is that, according to Microsoft, the NSA is at least partly responsible for the WannaCry attack. Here's what the company's chief legal officer, Brad Smith, said in a blog post (opens in new tab): Finally, this attack provides yet another example of why the stockpiling of vulnerabilities by governments is such a problem.This is an emerging pattern in 2017. We have seen vulnerabilities stored by the CIA show up on WikiLeaks, and now this vulnerability stolen from the NSA has affected customers around the world. Repeatedly, exploits in the hands of governments have leaked into the public domain and caused widespread damage. An equivalent scenario with conventional weapons would be the U.S. military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen. And this most recent attack represents a completely unintended but disconcerting link between the two most serious forms of cybersecurity threats in the world today nation-state action and organized criminal action. Chances are good that the NSA won't want to publicly call out North Korea for using an exploit stolen from the U.S. In the meantime, at least now we have a better idea about why the WannaCry attack occurred, and Microsoft seems to be set on preventing similar attacks in the future. Those efforts might prove futile, but at least people using legacy versions of Windows are being reminded how important it is to update their software. Robservations: NBC 5 hires Kansas City anchor Robservations on the media beat: WMAQ-Channel 5 has reached out to Kansas City, Missouri, to beef up the anchor bench at the NBC-owned station. Patrick Fazio, who's been morning news anchor at NBC affiliate KSHB in Kansas City since 2013, will join NBC 5 as an anchor and reporter, starting July 31. Just a bit of scoop about this handsome dude with good teeth who will be reading a teleprompter in another town. Checkit: Yet another step to expand Greece-Cyprus-Israel cooperation will be taken in the 3rd Trilateral Summit held in Thessaloniki on Thursday, to be attended by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. The Summit is held in a crucial period following the latest developments in the Middle East. The problems in the relations between the Arab countries and Qatar, the situation in Syria and the fight against terrorism are some of the issues that will be discussed, together with the Cyprus issue and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Before the Trilateral Summit, the High-Level Council for Greece-Israel Cooperation convened, with PMs Tsipras and Netanyahu engaging in talks. PM Netanyahu is also expected to meet with President Anastasiades. The three countries will also talk about their cooperation in the energy field, and in particular about the East Med natural gas pipeline and the Israel-Greece grid interconnection through Cyprus. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Students at the 2nd Elementary School of Kallithea in Pendeli, northern Athens, say they like their new sustainable school, which opened in September. Green roofs, harvested rainwater, floating stairs, photovoltaics, recycled water, soundproof doors and insulated floors are but some of the cutting-edge bioclimatic architecture technologies that have been introduced at 24 school buildings in Attica thanks to a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative. The noise of the childrens footsteps in the corridors is absorbed by a special floor cover, the doors have a mechanism to avoid fingers getting caught and the toilets have automatic lighting. It only costs 30 euros to run our nurses station because the school is built in such a way that it minimizes accidents and children catching colds, says the schools principal, Nikitas Tsirigos. It took pupils and staff some time to adjust to their new surroundings. The contractor called me one day to tell me a teacher had opened a window and the temperature had dropped to 19 degrees Celsius, says Tsirigos. When I advised her to close it, she started looking around for a hidden camera. A nursery has been built along the same lines next door, while similar schools have also been constructed in Gerakas, Koropi, central Athens, Ilion, Peristeri, Oropos and Keratsini at a total cost of 110 million euros. In Thiseio, we redeveloped neoclassical buildings that were being used as squats, while in Keratsini we transformed the old Armenian steam bath into an arts high school, says Nikos Mantzoufas, the Finance Ministrys special secretary for PPPs. We gave students a modern teaching environment, whereas before they had classes in prefabricated structures. The projects are also expected to boost property values in the schools broader vicinities, while a number of parents have expressed an interest in transferring their children from private schools to these public institutions. The public-private partnership, named a Project Finance Deal of the Year by World Finance magazine, had several participants: Pendeli Municipality, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the ATESE and AVAX engineering and construction firms. The contractor is being paid by the state over a 25-year period and the cost is not included in Greeces national debt. When ministry staff first heard about PPPs in 2007, they were skeptical, while many mayors raised objections on ideological grounds. By the end of 2011 the government had found companies to take on the work but local banks would not fund the projects. In the end, the firms came up with their own funds and the Commission stepped in with its JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) fund. All children can study at schools like these as long as we make use of the various European funding programs, such as the [Jean-Claude] Juncker package, says Argyris Peroulakis, deputy head of the European Commission Representation in Greece. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting products, systems and services, has announced the appointment of Goktug Gur as the new president for the Middle East and Turkey region, effective June 15. Currently the managing director for Turkey and Middle East (excluding Saudi Arabia), Gur will take on the new role, in addition to his current responsibilities. He will succeed Paolo Cervini who is moving to pursue further interests outside the company. Announcing the appointment, Murali Sivaraman, the president (growth markets) at Philips Lighting, said: "Gur has a proven record of delivering projects and successfully leading our business across a number of markets. He brings with him more than two decades of leadership in the region." His vast experience will help drive Philips Lighting Middle East and Turkey into a new era of LED (light emitting diode) adaptation, digitally connected lighting for the Internet of Things and sustainable innovation. "We congratulate him on his new assignment. I would also like to thank Cervini for his valuable contribution throughout his career at Philips Lighting, building and maintaining a successful business in the region," he added. Gur said he was excited to lead Philips Lighting through an inspiring phase in time and to build further on its regional operations. He moved to Dubai in March after four years in the role of CEO for Philips Lighting Turkey. "There is an enormous opportunity that lies ahead for Philips Lighting and I look forward to working closely with our regional team to lead this next chapter of lighting for brighter lives and a better world while focusing on growth and delivering the best results for our customers," he added. A graduate from Yldz Technical University, Department of Electrical Engineering in Turkey, Gur brings vast knowledge of the project business and regional experience having spent over 20 years in leadership positions within the region. He also has MBA degrees from the Marmara University, Turkey and the University of Maine, US. Over his 23-year career, he has delivered several marketing and solution-oriented projects in the energy sector, working across the Mediterranean, Central Asia and Middle East regions including Turkey.-TradeArabia News Service InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the worlds leading hotel companies, has announced an agreement with Bukhamseen Group Holding Company to build and operate IHG hotels in Kuwait exclusively with the business conglomerate. Under the terms of the agreement, IHG will expand its brand portfolio and hotel footprint in the market in an exclusive collaboration with the group. Founded in 1957, Bukhamseen Group Holding Company is a multinational organisation with business interests in tourism and hospitality, food and beverage, banking, education, engineering, finance, insurance, real estate as well as retail. Based in Safat, Kuwait, the group has operations in several markets in the Middle East including Egypt, the UAE, Syria and Lebanon. IHG currently operates three hotels in Kuwait in partnership with Bukhamseen Group - Crowne Plaza Al Thuraya City, Holiday Inn Al Thuraya City and Holiday Inn Salmiya. Additionally, the newest venture, located adjacent to the Crowne Plaza Al Thuraya City and Holiday Inn Al Thuraya City, is the InterContinental Al Thurayathat, which is currently under construction and is due to open in 2019. The agreement grants countrywide exclusivity (Kuwait) to the Bukhamseen Group for a 10-year term and covers six IHG brands, including InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Resort, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites. Alan Watts, chief operating officer, Asia, Middle East and Africa, IHG said: We are pleased to be signing an exclusive agreement with our long-term business partner - Bukhamseen Group, for further hotel development in Kuwait. With this signing, we look forward to increasing the momentum of our growth in the country and continue our endeavour to deliver great guest experiences to guests visiting Kuwait for business and or leisure." Pascal Gauvin, chief operating officer, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG said:Our relationship with the Bukhamseen group goes back over three decades, and together we have established a strong presence for IHG in Kuwait, with three operational hotels and one under construction. Each one of these hotels has a successful legacy in the country and we are confident that our future ventures together will follow suit. Jawad Ahmed Bukhamseen, founder and chairman, Bukhamseen Group Holding Company said: We have had a rewarding relationship with IHG over the last 30 years. It is our pleasure to strengthen this association further through an exclusive agreement which will allow us to continue to deliver hotels of international standard in Kuwait and cater to the guests looking for a truly local, Kuwaiti experience. TradeArabia News Service Bahrain and Tunisia are looking to deepen their relations and broaden their cooperation across all fields, especially the tourism sector. Shaikh Khalid bin Humood Al Khalifa, chief executive officer of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), received today Mohammed Bin Yousif, the Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia to Bahrain. During the meeting, Shaikh Khalid stressed on the importance of bilateral relations and further enhancing areas of cooperation between both countries. The Tunisian Ambassador expressed his gratitude to Shaikh Khalid for his warm welcome, valuing BTEAs constant efforts in enhancing the relations between both countries, further stating that Tunis aims to work alongside the kingdom to achieve the same goal. - TradeArabia News Service Buyers are welcome to inspect all of our furniture prior to bidding. Product Information 5 Drawers Chest/Tallboy Plus 2 Bedside Table / Cabinet Made of New Zealand pine. Stylish handles with a vinyl and metal finish. All the panels including the back and drawer bottoms are made of timber with no MDF or particle board used. Heavy duty metal runners on all the drawers ensure smoothness of operation and added strength The runners extend the drawer fully out eliminating dead space at the back of the drawer. The back panel is made of timber Overall Tallboy Dimensions: Width: 1050mm Depth: 450mm Height: 1270mm Cubic metres: 0.60m3 Overall Bedside Cabinet Dimensions (per cabinet): Width: 530mm Depth: 450mm Height: 660mm Cubic metres: 0.15m3 (per cabinet) Local or National delivery is no problem. We are happy to provide a quote for delivery to your particular area. We can also provide delivery to Rural areas (additional fee is required), please let us know your address and we can provide a quote for you. We can usually combine shipping on multiple purchases. Please ask us for details. We can make delivery arrangements nationwide. This includes to rural areas although this may cost more. Please ask us for a quote to your area if it does not appear in our delivery options. To see more photos and information, please Google "Mainland Furniture" You are very welcome to come and inspect our items prior to bidding. We are open 10am-5pm Monday to Friday and 10am-4pm Saturday and Sunday. Everything is on display. For more than 10 years we have been bringing quality furniture at great prices to our happy customers around New Zealand. All our sales are covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act. Please review our positive feedback. Options Are Effective Means to Increase Alpha Theres more than one way to grab alpha in todays equity markets than just buying or selling stocks. And thats using options. According to Grant Johnsey, Head of Institutional Sales at Northern Trusts Brokerage division, who recently spoke with Traders Magazine, options can be effectively used in a buy-side traders portfolio easily and boost his alpha capture. Grant explained that when working with institutional clients, hed seen a traditional reluctance to incorporate option strategies into their investment strategies, fueled in part by the perceived additional risk they carry. Part of that reticence comes from the traditional divisions of labor inside investment firms options based strategies do not fall neatly into the traditional buckets of equity, fixed income, or alternatives. He argued this permits pension funds and other institutional investors to miss out on opportunities that options can be an effective means of enhancing alpha and reducing risk. But now as alpha generation and preservation becomes increasingly incremental and difficult, Grant now is seeing a trend of adding option-based strategies to the investment portfolio of many institutional clients. We have seen a marked increase in the number of institutional investors that are utilizing or considering option based strategies, Grant began. Its a shift from what weve seen in the past. Historically, Grant said that options had been primarily used by either fund managers or hedge funds. These users would typically be using them to either express a view on a particular stock or segment of the market, or perhaps use as a hedging vehicle or enhance a previously established view on the market. Not so anymore. Whats different in this shift is that the demand or inquiry into the use of options is coming from the actual institutional asset owners, Grant explained. So, its coming from the pension fund or the not-for-profit/endowment. And the inquiry is not as much about expressing a view, not even necessarily how to hedge themselves, but more so a trend is on actual income generation. So, options are being used but just what types of strategies? One leg or multi-legged? As Grant sees it, both strategies are being used by different buy-siders. It depends on the fund manager hired, he explained. Primarily we are seeing simple strategies, namely covered calls or buy writes. Some managers have slightly different takes on how to implement. We also see growing interest in multi-leg strategies, namely selling volatility as well as tail risk hedging. Not all options are created equal though -as some managers have certain investment time horizons while others have different ones. So, what do they prefer monthlies, weeklies or even dailies? Grant said institutional users are opting to get their feet wet with the monthly expiration options. 1 2 next For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: The college magazine published caricatures of a couple having sex in a cinema hall while national anthem was playing on the screen. By Rohini Swamy: Courting controversy though caricatures in annual college magazines is not a new development, but the Government Brennen College in Thalassery, Kannur district of Kerala took it to a new low. The controversial caricatures seemed to have irked many. The college magazine published caricatures of a couple having sex in a cinema hall while national anthem was playing on the screen. Another caricature in the same magazine showed how a hand was holding a 'phallus' with a flag which had 'Om' printed as tied to wrist. advertisement The college magazine 'Pellet' was published as part of the 125th year celebrations of the college. After much sound and fury, the college has decided that they will not withdraw the magazine, but only the two controversial pages. No amount of defense could save the college's inappropriate caricature that has been published. The college is led by the Student's Federation of India, which is the youth wing of the CPM. CARICATURES MISINTERPRETED "The caricatures in the magazine including the cover page which shows a man with pellet wounds on his head is a reflection of the 'real' issues in our society and that the pictures were being purely "misinterpreted" by the students and political parties," said Brennen College's principal K Muralidhas in defence. The BJP state general secretary K Surendran has sought legal intervention and demanded that the principal and the magazine editor should be booked. Brennen College, a govt institute run on our taxes publishes magazine urging to have sex inside the theatres during National anthem. #Kerala pic.twitter.com/Flm7e9MiBM- Sonam Mahajan (@AsYouNotWish) 14 June 2017 "This is a deliberate attempt to disparage the national flag. The college authorities have made a mockery of the court order making it mandatory to play the national anthem in cinema halls. Such things cannot be tolerated in the name of freedom of expression," Surendran said. The youth wing of the BJP, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyrathi Parishad said that the portrayal of national symbols along with sexuality attracts treason. Incidentally, the Kerala Chief minister Pinrayi Vijayan is an alumni of this college. Also read: Kerala: Photographer who exposed 'vulgar' school uniform booked under POCSO Peacocks don't have sex: Visitors flock Kerala peafowl sanctuary to see if Rajasthan HC judge was right The story of Nagaland cop who turned Kerala billionaire WATCH | RSS leader announces Rs 1 crore bounty on Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's head --- ENDS --- Kerala's Valiya Juma Masjid has decided to deliver only one azaan on loudspeaker instead of five and has inspired 17 others to do the same in Vazhakkad. Now, we guess Sonu Nigam can move to Kerala for a good sleep. By India Today Web Desk: One of the biggest mosques in Kerala's Malappuram district, a muslim-majority area, has decided to curb noise pollution by delivering only one azaan on loudspeaker instead of five. Inspired by one of the biggest mosques in Vazhakkad, 17 other small mosques have decided to do the same setting a great example. In April 2017, Bollywood singer and musician Sonu Nigam attracted a lot of attention when he tweeted about how azaan disturbed his sleep early in the morning. advertisement Sonu received a lot of backlash for his comment on Twitter and was given murder threats even after he clarified that he meant the use of loudspeakers in general and not azaan. Also read: Sonu Nigam tweets saying he stands by loudspeaker comment, slams those who couldn't tolerate his opinion The two factions of Sunni and Mujahid (Salafi), Jamate Islami and Tableeg Jamath have also stopped the use of loudspeakers after an agreement was made last Sunday. According to the agreement, the grand mosques will deliver the azaan on loudspeaker while other smaller mosques will only repeat it without noise. The concept of delivering azaan, a prayer that is carried out five times a day, on the loudspeaker is dismissed. The president of the council, TP Abdul Azeez told Deccan Chronicle, "The decision was in response to the public opinion that indiscriminate use of loudspeakers had a negative effect on nearby schools, merchants and even public meetings of various organisations and that it should be stopped," But, this isn't the first time that mosques were requested to curb the use of loudspeakers. Back in 2015, the Muslim League supremo Hyderali Thangal requested all the mosque authorities to minimise the use of loudspeakers. Also read: Watch: Sikhs and Muslims organise interfaith langar in a mosque A five-member panel has been formed to unify the timings of the azaan prayer as well. The use of loudspeakers for other religious purposes will also be stopped. The council has also constituted a five-member panel to unify the timings of the azaan to maintain the coordination between all the mosques nearby. --- ENDS --- Launch of lyf in China to capture booming millennial market and rising co-living trend Singapore, 15 June 2017 CapitaLands wholly owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has secured contracts to manage its first three properties under its latest brand, lyf, in its two key markets China and Singapore. This marks the launch of Ascotts new co-living concept in China as Ascott seizes to capture the booming millennial market and shape the future of travel. Signifying a new way of living and collaborating as a community, Ascott is showcasing its first lyf property today, the 112-unit lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen which will open in the first half of 2018. The 120-unit lyf DDA Dalian is scheduled to open in end 2018 while lyf Farrer Park Singapore, the biggest of the three lyf properties with 240 units, is slated to open in 2021. Mr Lee Chee Koon, Ascotts Chief Executive Officer, said: Since Ascott unveiled the lyf brand in Singapore last November, we have received very strong interest in this new co-living concept designed by millennials for the growing wave of millennial and millennial-minded travellers, such as technopreneurs, startups and those in the creative industries. We are excited to be launching lyf in China with two properties and to have secured our first in Singapore. These trailblazing lyf properties not only enjoy prime locations with a ready catchment of business and leisure travellers, they also offer vibrant spaces for these change-makers to build new connections and co-create with the community therein. Mr Lee added: With the launch of lyf in these two key markets for Ascott, we are gathering momentum to capture this booming social generation. Already accounting for a quarter of Ascotts customer base, millennials are expected to be the largest spending travel demographic by 2020[1]. China is amongst Ascotts top customers globally and has the worlds second largest millennial population[2]. As global fintech hubs, China and Singapore are also homes to start-ups raking in billion-dollar deals[3]. We are therefore expecting to see more lyf properties in gateway cities in China as well as another lyf in downtown Singapore. Ascott is also actively looking at other potential markets including Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the United Kingdom, as we work towards achieving our target of 10,000 units under the lyf brand globally by 2020. Located in the economic zone or innovation park, these three lyf properties will provide conducive environments in which innovation and creativity can thrive. lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen is situated in an innovation park named Wu Tong Island that has 24 office buildings leased to firms in the technology, design, media and tourism industries. lyf DDA Dalian is in the Dalian Development Area (DDA), Chinas first Economic and Technological Development Zones that is home to start-ups, local and foreign enterprises, including Fortune 500 companies. lyf Farrer Park Singapore is conveniently located in the Central Region of Singapore and a short 15-minute drive from the Central Business District. Please refer to the Annex for more information on these lyf properties. Ascott first unveiled the lyf brand in Singapore in November 2016, and it set up the serviced residence industrys first-of-its-kind living lab to field test co-living concepts for lyf in February 2017. Working in partnership with the Singapore Management University, the lyf@SMU living lab will translate data into actionable insights so that upcoming lyf properties are tailor made for Ascotts target customers. lyf will provide global jetsetters and trendsetters with the opportunity to live your freedom in a dynamic environment and network with like-minded creatives from technopreneurs, start-up owners to individuals from the music, media and fashion industries, to bring more ideas to life. While each lyf property will offer unique features reflective of the local culture, all will provide communal spaces to cater to millennials preferences to connect, collaborate and bond as a community. These spaces can be easily converted into zones for social activities such as hackathons, innovation talks, music jamming sessions, cooking sessions, or workshops with artisans. lyf properties will be managed by millennials who are community managers, city and food guides, bar keepers and problem solvers all rolled into one. With the addition of the three lyf properties offering more than 470 units, Ascotts portfolio in Singapore will increase to over 1,200 units across nine properties, and that in China to over 17,600 units across 97 properties. [[1]] Sabre: Millennials may be the largest hotel spenders as soon as 2017 (11 March 2016), Tnooz [[2]] Where are the Global Millennials? (July 2016), A.T.Kearney [[3]] A tale of 44 cities; Connecting Global FinTech: Interim Hub Review 2017 (April 2017), Deloitte ANNEX lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen (opening 1H 2018) lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen is well-located in an innovation park named Wu Tong Island in Bao An, one of the largest districts in northwest Shenzhen of China. Wu Tong Island is a large eco-focused project comprising 24 low-rise buildings overlooking a tranquil lake and surrounded by greenery. Most of the 24 buildings are currently leased out as offices to firms in the IT, media, design, education and tourism industries. A convenience store, cafe and canteen are also available within the park. The serviced residence is a 10-minute drive from the Shenzhen International Airport, and is close to a few industrial parks. Guests can select from a range of 112 units, including studios, two-bedroom suites and three-bedroom suites. The serviced residence will also offer spaces for community bonding such as a lounge, a social kitchen and a laundromat. lyf DDA Dalian (opening 4Q 2018) lyf DDA Dalian is in the Dalian Development Area (DDA), Chinas first Economic and Technological Development Zones. The DDA is home to start-ups, 10,000 domestic companies and over 3,500 foreign enterprises, including Fortune 500 companies such as Volkswagen, Goodyear, Nissan and Intel. lyf DDA Dalian is part of an integrated development that also includes a retail component. The travelling time from lyf DDA Dalian to the city centre will be shortened to 10 minutes from the current 40 minutes when a cross-sea bridge is completed in end 2021. A total of 120 units, ranging from studios to one-bedroom apartments will be available. Facilities include a social kitchen, flexible co-working spaces and a jamming room. lyf Farrer Park Singapore (opening 2021) Strategically located within a two-minute walk from the Farrer Park MRT station, lyf Farrer Park Singapore provides convenient access to Singapores major attractions and shopping enclaves. The serviced residence is near Little India and shopping centres such as City Square Mall and Mustafa Centre. It is four train stops from Singapores premier shopping district Orchard Road, a 15-minute drive from the Central Business District and a 20-minute drive from Changi International Airport. The 240-unit serviced residence is part of an integrated development that will also comprise a retail podium and is directly opposite Farrer Park Hospital. lyf Farrer Park Singapore will include co-living features such as a social kitchen and lobby that can be converted into spaces for events, meetings, and a cafe-reception counter. Guests will be able to select from a range of studios and two-bedroom apartments. About The Ascott Limited The Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading international serviced residence owner-operators. It has over 30,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, as well as over 21,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 52,000 units in over 300 properties. The company operates three award-winning brands Ascott, Citadines and Somerset, along with The Crest Collection and lyf. Ascotts portfolio spans more than 100 cities across 29 countries. Ascott, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, pioneered Asia Pacific's first international-class serviced residence with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. Today, the company boasts over 30 years of industry track record and award-winning serviced residence brands that enjoy recognition worldwide. Ascotts achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include World Travel Awards 2017 for Leading Serviced Apartment Brand in Asia; TTG China Travel Awards 2017 for 'Best Serviced Residence Operator in China'; DestinAsian Readers Choice Awards 2017 for Best Serviced Residence Brand; TTG China Travel Awards 2017 for Best Serviced Residence Operator in China; World Travel Awards 2016 for Leading Serviced Apartment Brand in Asia, Europe and the Middle East; Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Residence Brand; Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Apartment Company; Business Traveller UK Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Apartment Company and Business Traveller China Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Residence Brand. For a full list of awards, please visit www.the-ascott.com/ascottlimited/awards/html. About CapitaLand Limited CapitaLand is one of Asias largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, it is an owner and manager of a global portfolio worth more than S$78 billion as at 31 March 2017, comprising integrated developments, shopping malls, serviced residences, offices, homes, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and funds. Present across more than 140 cities in about 30 countries, the Group focuses on Singapore and China as core markets, while it continues to expand in markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia. CapitaLands competitive advantage is its significant asset base and extensive market network. Coupled with extensive design, development and operational capabilities, the Group develops and manages high-quality real estate products and services. It also has one of the largest investment management businesses in Asia and a stable of five REITs listed in Singapore and Malaysia CapitaLand Mall Trust, CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Ascott Residence Trust, CapitaLand Retail China Trust and CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust. Visit www.capitaland.com for more information. Issued by: The Ascott Limited Website: www.the-ascott.com 168 Robinson Road, #30-01 Capital Tower, Singapore 068912 For more information, please contact: Joan Tan, Vice President, Group Communications Tel: (65) 6713 2864 Mobile: (65) 9743 9503 Email: joan.tanzm@capitaland.com Chen MeiHui, Manager, Group Communications Tel: (65) 6713 3673 Mobile: (65) 81338334 Email: chen.meihui@capitaland.com ### Acacia suggest, the recent increases in gorilla tracking permits by the Rwandan government will have a knock on effect on tourism in Uganda where the cost of a permit is now substantially less (TRAVPR.COM) UK - June 15th, 2017 - The Rwanda Development Board recently announced an increase in the price of Gorilla Tracking Permits from US$750 to US$1,500 for all visitors, effective immediately. On hearing the news, leading safari specialist, Acacia Africa was encouraged by comments* from Stephen Asiimwe, CEO of the Uganda Tourism Board, after the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) reported that their current tracking charges will be maintained. Arno Delport, Sales & Marketing Manager at Acacia Africa, comments The recent increases in gorilla tracking permits by the Rwandan government will inevitably have a knock on effect on tourism in Uganda where the cost of a permit is now substantially less and priced at only USD 600pp. Clearly, the percentage of revenue obtained by the use of the gorilla permits contributes to the primates survival, the recent baby boom in Bwindi impenetrable National Park giving hope to conservationists and exciting travellers looking to book this once-in-a-lifetime wildlife experience. Stephen Asiimwe, CEO of the Uganda Tourism Board, comments Once you have looked into the eyes of a mountain gorilla, you understand how important it is to protect these primates. It is important, that not only a wealthy minority can get the chance to experience these animals in their natural environment, but everyone who wants to contribute to their conservation. Besides, we feel obliged to our tourism partners worldwide to keep prices stable. Acacia Africa is discounting 11 of its gorilla focused camping overland trips by 15% in its current Primate Promo, if bookings are made by 30 June. All of the tours feature gorilla viewing in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the prices include transport, camping accommodation, most meals and services of a tour leader/driver. Excludes return flight. SAVE 210pp (15%) 18 day Mountain Gorillas to the Mara from 1,195pp (no single supplement) + Adventure Pass from 510pp + gorilla & chimp permit from 540pp. Offer valid on the following guaranteed departures: 19 August and 16 September. Starts Nairobi - ends Nairobi. Full tour price 1,405pp. SAVE 158pp (15%) 14 day Gorilla Encounter from 897pp (no single supplement) + Adventure Pass from 100pp + gorilla & chimp permit from 540pp. Offer valid on the following guaranteed departures: 26 August and 23 September. Starts Nairobi - ends Nairobi. Full tour price 1,055pp. SAVE 90pp (15%) Six day Troop to the Gorillas from 515pp (no single supplement) + gorilla & chimp permit from 540pp. Offer valid on the following guaranteed departures: 04 July, 22 August, 26 September. Starts Kampala - ends Kampala. Full tour price 605pp -ends- Acacia Africa (020 7706 4700). SATSA membership No. 1931, ATTA membership no. 20151, ATOL No. 6499 and ABTA No. W4093 PROTECTED. Notes to Editors featured on the ATTA (the African Travel & Tourism Association) website ### Varadkar's elevation marks another chapter in the social change that has swept through the country of 4.6 million people that only decriminalised homosexuality in 1993. Leo Varadkar speaks to people as he leaves Government buildings after being elected by parliamentary vote as the next Prime Minister of Ireland (Taoiseach) to replace Enda Kenny in Dublin, Ireland June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne By Reuters: Leo Varadkar was elected Irish Prime Minister on Wednesday, making the 38-year-old son of an Indian immigrant the first gay premier of the once-staunchly Catholic country and the youngest person to hold the office. Despite inheriting Europe's fastest-growing economy, he will face immediate challenges in the shape of neighbouring Britain's exit from the European Union, a political crisis in Northern Ireland and a housing crisis at home. advertisement Varadkar succeeded Enda Kenny earlier this month as leader of the Fine Gael party. Colleagues pinned their hopes of an unprecedented third term on the straight-talking Varadkar, who they believe can widen their appeal in elections that may be triggered as soon as next year. "Enda Kenny's leadership enabled me to become an equal citizen in my own country two short years ago and to aspire to hold this office, an aspiration I once thought was beyond my reach, at least if I chose to be myself," Varadkar said in reference to Ireland's 2015 vote to legalise gay marriage. "The government I lead will not be one of left or right. The government I lead will be one of the new European centre as we seek to build a Republic of opportunity, that is a Republic in which every citizen gets a fair go and in which every part of the country stands to share in our prosperity." Varadkar's elevation marks another chapter in the social change that has swept through the country of 4.6 million people that only decriminalised homosexuality in 1993 and legalised divorce two years later. "As the country's youngest holder of this office, he speaks for a new generation of Irish women and Irish men, he represents a modern, diverse and inclusive Ireland and speaks for them like no other," Kenny told parliament, nominating his successor. POLICY SHIFTS However it is his policies that will attract more scrutiny at home with opponents warning that the former health, tourism and social protection minister, who first joined the centre-right party aged 17, would nudge it further to the right. While analysts expect few major policy shifts from Varadkar and his new cabinet, the new Fine Gael leader has hinted at some changes. He has pledged to introduce a less ambitious debt reduction target than the one set by Kenny's government last year, and to lobby the EU for additional leeway to free up more funding for badly needed infrastructure projects. On Brexit, he wants Northern Ireland, a British province, to remain in the EU's single market and retain access to as many EU programmes as possible to ensure it secures a "soft" Brexit that he has said appears more likely following last week's British election. advertisement REFERENDUM NEXT YEAR Varadkar told parliament on Wednesday that Ireland would hold a referendum next year on liberalising Ireland's abortion laws, currently among the most restrictive in Europe. European Council President Donald Tusk, tweeting words of congratulations in the Irish language, assured Varadkar that his fellow EU leaders shared a "great sensitivity" about the challenge the island of Ireland faces in the Brexit talks. Varadkar, who took his seat in parliament 10 years ago to the day on Wednesday, named Paschal Donohoe finance minister, replacing the retiring Michael Noonan. Donohoe will also retain his existing portfolio as public expenditure minister. Donohoe, 42, has managed budgetary policy with Noonan for the last year and was previously transport minister where he successfully negotiated the sale of the state's 30 percent stake in former flag carrier Aer Lingus to IAG. Varadkar also appointed his chief rival for the leadership, former housing minister Simon Coveney, as foreign minister. Also Read: An Indian party in Ireland Indian-origin leader Leo Varadkar will be Ireland's first gay Prime Minister Also Watch: Indian-origin leader Leo Varadkar set to be Ireland's first gay Prime Minister --- ENDS --- advertisement